Story of The Hunter and Doves
Once upon a time there lived a merciless
hunter in the heart of a forest, terrorizing birds and animals. Because of
his cruel nature he had no friends or relatives. The elders have said,
“It is unwise to be close to
Men who are wicked and cruel.
Avoid such heinous persons as
You avoid poisonous snakes.”
The hunter went out into the forest every
morning with a stick and net. One day, he threw his net and trapped a female
dove in it. Soon, thick and black clouds appeared in the sky and it began
raining cats and dogs. Scared and shivering, the hunter looked for shelter
and found it under a huge banyan tree. The rain and wind stopped suddenly.
The skies became clear with stars shining. The hunter said loudly,
“If there is anyone on the tree, I seek
shelter and food from him. I am hungry and may faint any moment. Please save
me.”
At the same time, a dove that had his
nest on the same tree was worried that his wife who had gone out had not
come back. He prayed to Gods that his wife should not come to any harm in
this wind and rain. He began telling himself,
“Blessed and happy is the man
With a caring and loving wife.
A home is not a home without a wife;
A wifeless home is like a jungle.”
The wife trapped in the hunter’s net
heard her husband’s sorrowful words and, happy that her husband loved her so
much, thought,
“Don’t call her a woman
Whose husband is unhappy;
Where happy husbands live
Heavens shower blessings.”
Later, addressing her husband, the female
dove said, “Listen to me, my dear. Even at the cost of your life, you must
come to the rescue of someone seeking shelter. This hunter is suffering from
cold and hunger and has sought shelter under our tree. You must serve him
with devotion. Don’t hate him because he has trapped your beloved wife. In
reality, the strings of destiny have bound me. Give up all thoughts of
revenge and serve the hunter with care.”
In accordance with his wife’s desire, the
dove suppressed grief and told the hunter, “Sir, you are welcome to our
modest home. Please let me know what I can do for you. Treat this as own
home and feel free to command me.”
The hunter told the dove that he was
suffering from cold and needed relief. The dove flew out, brought fire from
somewhere and a lit a small fire with dry twigs and asked the hunter to warm
himself.
The dove told the hunter, “Because of my
past deeds, I am born poor and unfortunate and do not have enough to feed
myself. What is the point in a host living if he cannot entertain a guest?
It is better he renounce this world.”
Yet he thought that it was better to die
than say no to a host. Determined to die, the dove told the hunter to wait
for a while and that soon he will have food. Then circling over the fire,
the dove jumped into the fire he lit for the benefit of the hunter.
Moved by this sacrifice, the hunter told
himself, “I am responsible for this tragedy. I will no doubt go to hell.
This dove is a great soul, he has shown me the right path. Hereafter, I will
give up all wants and desires and slowly destroy this body. Nothing, neither
cold nor sun nor wind, matters to me. I will fast and see my slow end.”
The hunter then threw his net and stick
and released the female dove from the net.
The wife then saw how her husband had
jumped into the fire to provide food for the hunter. She thought that life
without her husband was worse than death and at once jumped into the same
fire that consumed her husband. After her death, she saw her husband in the
heaven wearing royal regalia.
On seeing her, the husband said, “O my
darling, you have done well to follow me into the fire. Women like you live
happily with their husbands for 35 million years.”
The dove couple lived happily ever after.
The hunter, shunning worldly pleasures, went to a forest for realising God.
As penance had cleansed him of all desires, the hunter burnt himself in a
forest fire and attained nirvana.
Moral of
the Story :
We should never kill a person seeking asylum. |