The Ungrateful Guest

The sages told the Pandavas of Rajadharma, the noble crane who was a friend of the gods, and of the ungrateful guest who repaid his kindness with the worst of all betrayals - a tale of the supreme sin of ingratitude, and of the justice that fell upon the one who killed his benefactor.

By a beautiful lake there dwelt a crane named Rajadharma, a bird of noble nature and great virtue, the son of the sage Kashyapa and a friend of the gods themselves, who came and went between the lake and the courts of heaven. He was wise and gentle and generous, devoted to the duties of hospitality and friendship, and his name, Rajadharma, meant the very law of kings - the duty of the noble to protect and to give. He lived in peace by his lake, honored by the creatures around him and beloved of the gods, a being of rare goodness.