Birds in Sanskrit Literature Eagles and the white-bellied Sea-Eagle have very loud and raucous calls. and are therefore, whereas the call of the Osprey is a shrill musical whistle and it is for this reason कुरर मत्स्यरङ्क is a common name for Kingfishers and has been extended to these large fishers both in popular nomenclature and in poetry. The fishing Eagles do not dive for fish but take it from the surface of the water or from the shallows. in the following verse is therefore the Osprey diving in the sea for fish: 186 "मत्स्यरडकनिरातङ्क लवणाम्भसि मज्जसि इयं हि जाठरी ज्वाला व्याकुलीकुस्ते न कम् ॥" F: in the following are either Gulls or Ospreys: "अस्माद् हंसा जलक्लिन्ना: पक्षैः सलिलरेणुभिः कुरराः सारसाव निष्पतन्ति पतत्रिणः ॥ रामायण, IV.52.12. उद्घट is the Demoiselle crane with the descriptive epithet of fe which rately, if ever, swims and never dives, so also the wr, the Indian crane. Both these birds cannot therefore be intended and 'e': must be understood to mean swimming and diving birds in general i.e., other than the Geese, Ducks and Gulls. 2. The बेस्ांतर जातक, verse 2106, mentions उक्कुस (उत्क्रोश) and कुरर as different birds in the Himalayas and the commentary explains as a 'dark-plumaged' and as a 'white-plumaged' which agrees very well with the dark-grey or brown body-colour of the Fishing Eagles, and the white head and lower parts of the Osprey respectively. There is an interesting play upon the word in its two different meanings of Osprey and Demoiselle Crane in a story of the महाभारत where the fish-eating bird, having, once upon a time, been punished with death for taking life by the vegetarian birds (Swans), is changed into a mainly vegetarian , the Crane: "सामिषं कुररं दृष्ट्वा वध्यमानं निरामिषैः । आमिषस्य परित्यागात् कुररः सुखमेधते ॥ " 12.179.9 This example of the virtue of giving up meat-eating is repeated in ga नागरखण्ड (185.10), and the भागवत has the following: “सामिषं कुररं जघ्नुः बलिनो ये निरामिषाः । तदामिषं परित्यज्य स सुखं समविन्दत ॥ " 11.9.2 11. The Allahabad edition reads सलिलविलव for सलिलरेणुभि: If the description- जलविलना रेणुमि is confined only to इंसा; it is possible to render कुरर and सारस of the second line as referring to the Demoiselle and T cranes. Osprey 187 बलिन: are the Swans See Art. 84A. In the स्कन्दपुराण, however, फुरर, described as holding a snake in its talons, is not the Osprey which does not kill or eat snakes but the .White-bellied Sea-Eagle, which lifts up sea-snakes for food. The line dividing and is so thin that they are often confused both in the lexicons and literature. "आकाशस्थं ददर्शाऽसौ सामिषं कुररं नृप । भ्रममाणं गृहीताहि वध्यमानं निरामिषैः।" रेवाखण्ड. 54.59. -निरामिष: i.e. इसे: as in the verse from the भागवत. For Fishing and Sea Eagles see Art.52C.
