King Sibi

Summary

King Sibi was relaxing after a religious ceremony when a dove fell in his lap, shortly after a Hawk came wanting to eat the bird. After debating about the bird for like three pages, the king decided that it was his duty to protect the bird and offered his flesh for the bird. The Hawk excepted and King Sibi’s men constructed a scale to weigh the bird and the kings flesh on.

Summary Continued

The kings servants placed the dove on one side of the scale and the king started to cut chunks of flesh of his leg to balance the scale. Even after cutting flesh from both of his legs, the scale still didn’t balance. The king then decided that it was his Dharma to save the bird and stepped on the scale himself.

Yep still Summary

When the king stepped on the scale it balanced. Satisfied the Hawk went to get his family, but suddenly turned into a god. Simultaneously the dove turned into a god too and the flesh on the scale turned into flowers. The gods praised Sibi for his integrity and Devotion to his Dharma and then flew away

Moral of the story

• The moral of the story is do the right thing all the time. King Sibi showed integrity and was even so committed that he was willing to give his own life to protect the dove.

Dharma

• Dharma is the belief that you have a duty in your life.

• In King Sibi, it was his Dharma to protect the dove from the hawk, and he was willing to give his life to defend it, and fulfill his Dharma

Karma Ancient and Modern

• Karma, in the modern sense, is what goes around comes around, but in the ancient sense of the word it pertained to the cycle of life and how your deeds determine your standing in this life and the next.

Mahabharata and the Ramayana

• Two major Sanskrit texts that demonstrate the meaning of Karma and they tell fables from the ancient times.

• They are both epic poems, and are incredibly long.

• The Mahabharata has over one and a half million words