The Hawk and the Dove

As the Pandavas wandered the holy places in their years of exile, the sage Lomasha pointed out to them the ancient land of the Shibis and told them of the king whose name that country still honored. "There ruled here long ago," he said, "a king named Shibi, of the line of Ushinara, who was renowned across all the worlds for one thing above every other: his compassion. It was said of him that he would give anything - his wealth, his kingdom, his very body - to protect a creature that came to him for shelter. And because such fame travels even to heaven, the gods themselves came down to test whether it was true."

Yudhishthira, who held mercy and the protection of the helpless among the highest of duties, asked to hear the whole of it, and Lomasha told him the story of the hawk and the dove.