Shibi's Story

Raajaa Shibi was a great donor. So once to test his large heartedness, Indra and Agni Dev once appeared in his court in disguise of a hawk (or falcon) and a pigeon. Being chased by the hawk, pigeon took refuge in king's lap. The hawk which closely followed  demanded his prey contending that the bird was allotted to him as his food and king had no right to take his food from him.

The king was not prepared to give a creature coming in his protection, so he requested him to take many other animals' flesh in exchange of that bird. But hawk did not agree for that as he did not want to take other's lives. Then Raajaa offered his own flesh, to which the hawk agreed. 

So Raajaa got a scale in the court, put the pigeon on one side and started putting his own flesh on the other side of the scale. But Raajaa's flesh was never got equal to the pigeon's flesh. He kept keeping his flesh, chopping little by little, on the scale but the pigeon was always outweighed it. At last the king had to offer his whole body to hawk. The then both birds took their real form and blessed Raajaa and made him whole as before.
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