Birds in Sanskrit Literature 8. The commonest of the 'bow and arrow' shaped Bee-eaters is the Common Indian Bec-cater found all over the country, and this should be thew and staf of the Samhitãs. In his commentary on the TS Sayanācārya renders पिप्पका and शागं simply as पक्षि विशेष and अरण्य चटक: respectively which does not help at all, but he gives greft ergfrer as a synonym for f, and if कुलाली can be explained as को भूम्यां सालयति पालयति शावकान् 'a bird that brings up its young on or under the ground," the name geret fat would be fully descriptive of the breeding habit of a Bec-cater particularly as the term fimplies a 'small bird' which the Common Bee-eater certainly is. 150 9. This Bee-eater also figures as a bird of augury in Varahamihira's Brhatsamhita under the names. of दिव्य or दिव्यक and धन्वन (दिव्यो धन्वन उक्त -Ch. 87.9: "the shining bird is the 'bow-bird"), and the render- ing of as a 'kind of animal' by M. Williams requires correction. The Pårásara Samhità quoted by Bhattotpala in his commentary on Brhatsamhita, Ch. 85.28, also mentions as the bird which breeds during the rainy season. The Common Bec-cater "generally prefers a lower perch than the larger species" and this habit of perching on low bushes has been particularly mentioned in the Brhatsamhità which says that the sight of one, on one's left, perched at a height of only one cubit is auspicious and fulfils one's desire: शस्तं वामे दर्शनं दिव्यकस्य सिद्धिर्ज्ञेया हस्तमात्रोच्छ्रितस्य । 87.18 10. The Mahabharata furnishes quite a few interesting facts about these birds, e.g., the standard or war-flag of the brave prince Abhimanyu was quite appropriately emblazoned with the figure of a 'Golden Bee- eater' (f-the golden "bow-bird') :- अभिमन्योः कुमारस्य शार्ङ्गपक्षी हिरण्मयः । रथे ध्वजवरो राजंस्तप्तचामीकरोज्ज्वलः ॥ - Mbh 7.23.89. 11. It is also interesting to note that, like some other birds, the Bee-eater too has contributed to the mythical code of punishments for certain offences laid down in the great Epic and the Puranas. A person, guilty of calumny is doomed to be reborn as a Bee-eater: 1. Cf. कुलाल 'a potter'-कुं भूमि मृत्तिकां वा लाडयति ? See Sabda-kalpadruma also. कुलाल - कुक्कुट is a Crow-Pheasant, कुंभार कुकड़ी in Marathi, which places its large nest very close to the ground in a large bush and brings up its young in that situation. Similarly the term कुलाल for an owl in अनेकार्यसंग्रह of हेमचन्द्र and the firearer (Benares editions) should refer to the Grass Owl of N. India which nests on the ground in high grass. 2. F.B.I. (Birds), 1st edition. 3. Oundh and Poona editions. Bee-eaters असूयको नरश्रापि मृतो जायति शाक:- MBh 13.111.68. Now a slanderer must have a foul tongue so that when eating bees and wasps in his next life he should be in constant danger of being stung by them on his tongue, a fitting retribution indeed! But perhaps it was not known that the Bee-eater catches a bee head-foremost, squeezes out and jerks off the sting before swallowing it, and yet how much indeed did the ancients not know about these and other birds? The later author of the Markandeya Purana¹ appears to have missed the significance of the above punishment and has changed the offence so punishable into one of stealing wearing apparel, probably of a green or golden colour (Ch.15, verse 28). The Garuda Purana¹, on the other hand, bearing in mind the following state- ment of complaining of desertion by her husband- इत्येवमुक्त्वा प्रययौ पिता वो निर्घृणः पुरा- MBh 1.232.10, condemns a deserter of his wife to be reborn as a शब्दवेधी-प्राणी i.e.a ( शब्दवेधी an arrow, प्राणी creature): धर्मपत्नीं त्यजन् शब्दवेधी प्राणी भवेत् क्षितौ ।- Garuda P. II.2.70. 151 12. Finally, we have the rather detailed and circumstantial story of the bachelor-sage Mandapāla who, to secure his proper place in heaven, had to assume the form of a male Bee-cater () and beget progeny by a female bird (). Later on when the young had been born he, privately prayed to god Agni for their safety, and, after telling his bird- wife what his sons would do when grown up, left her. The four bird-sons of his bore the names of जरितारि, सारिसूक्व स्तम्बमित्र and द्रोण:- जरितारी कुलं ह्येतञ्ज्येष्ठत्वेन प्रतिष्ठितम् । सारिसक्व: प्रजायेत पितॄणां कुलवर्धनः ॥ स्तम्बमित्रस्तपः कुर्याद् द्रोणो ब्रह्मविदां वरः । -MBh 1.232. 9, 10. Soon after however a forest fire breaks out nearby and the lives of the young unfledged birds are in danger and the mother advises them to get into a rat-hole. Ultimately the young birds pray to god Agni who spares them. The mention of the rat-hole clearly shows that the author of the story knew the breeding habits of the birds though he had to place the young out in the open to deck out the story with a pathetic conversation between them and the mother. Now the names of the four birds and the fact of a forest conflagration have certainly been taken from the hymn to the fire-god in 1. Venkateshwar Press edition. 2. A deliberately mystifying paraphrase of the name-
