The Faith of the Sparrow

I learnt this story from one of my grandmother’s diaries. It dates back to the Great War of Kurukshetra between the Kauravas and the Pandavas when the battlefield was being prepared to facilitate the movement of vast armies with large cavalries, infantries, and chariots. Giant elephants were used to uproot trees and clear the battleground for the fight for dharma. Areas were marked for both the rival camps. The tents of the soldiers stretched as far as the eye could see. On one such tree lived a mother sparrow along with her four young ones. The little sparrows were too young to fly. And so, when their tree was knocked down by an elephant, their nest landed on the ground with the four young ones-strangely unscathed-crying for help. The mother sparrow whined softly to herself, feeling vulnerable and frightened for her children’s safety. In the days that would follow, her children would be crushed under the stampede of beasts as the war raged on full swing. She scanned the field for help and saw her saviour, Lord Krishna along with Arjun listing orders to the teams of men and elephants who worked to clear the field. They were devising a winning strategy before the commencement of the war. 

Flapping her wings to reach Krishna’s chariot, she cried, “O Lord, please save my children. They are too young to fly and save themselves.” She pointed to her nest lying exposed on the hard, muddy ground. “They’ll be crushed when the battle begins tommorrow.”  

Krishna turned his eyes to the nest and gazed at the young ones. “Forgive me, little one, but I can’t interfere with the law of nature.” he shrugged helplessly. “Maybe it is you children’s fate to die under the trampling beats.” 

“No, lord, I know you are my saviour.” she said obstinately. “Only you can save my young ones. I hand over their fate to you.”  

“Try to understand,” said the lord gently. “I can’t help them. I am but a mere mortal, an ordinary man.” 

But the sparrow had utmost faith in Krishna. She said, “I do not understand your philosophy but I know that you are the Wheel of Time. You can save my children if you want. I give in to you, O Lord.” 

The sparrow’s faith struck a chord with Krishna. “Go then, stock food for eighteen days in your nest.” he said with an expressionless gaze as the bird bowed and flew back to her nest. She mustered enough food for her family as per the lord’s orders and stayed in her nest with her young ones. 

The next day as both the armies assembled to face each other, just before the blowing of the conches announcing the onset of the war, Krishna interrupted Arjun, demanding his bow and arrow. This surprised Arjun since his friend had vowed not to lift any weapons in the war. Then, why was he asking for Arjun’s bow and arrows? What for? 

“Command me, Krishna. I’ll shoot for you.” he said confidently. But Krishna didn’t respond as he quietly took the bow from Arjun. Aiming at one of the elephants, he shot the arrow. It hit the bell around the beast’s neck instead of his hide. Sparks flew as the bell dropped to the ground. 

The mighty Arjun could not contain his smile. Krishna had missed such an easy target which he could have achieved with a single arrow. Chuckling, he offered to shoot the elephant for Krishna. But his friend forestalled him, giving back the bow and asserting that no further action was necessary. “Focus on the war,” he said. “you have work to do.” 

Krishna blew his conch as the armies clashed against each other. Blood flowed eagerly as the ground become red within hours. The carnage at Kurukshetra lasted for eighteen days at the end of which the Pandavas won after much strife and bloodshed. After the war was over, Krishna took Arjun in his chariot with the wrenching task of guiding him to the dead. Heaps of rotting flesh, severed limbs and heads lay on the ground. The bodies of several nobles and commanders waited funeral. Lifeless steeds and elephants littered the ruddy field. Krishna stopped at a certain spot and searched for something on the ground.  

Pointing to a bell, he commanded Arjun to lift it up and put it aside. This bewildered the third Pandava prince. Confusion clouded his handsome face. The instruction was simple enough but it made little sense to Arjun. Why was Krishna asking him to put aside a trivial piece of metal when so many other bodies had to be cremated? He looked incredulously at Krishna. 

“This is the same bell belonging to that elephant I shot at.” Krishna explained. “Lift it up.” 

Without further questions, Arjun bent down to lift the bell. Out flew a family of sparrows, a mother sparrow followed by her four young ones, safe and sound, from the annihilation caused by the war that had maimed millions. The mother sparrow flew to Krishna and bowed to him, her wings fluttering in joy.  

Arjun seemed confused as the sparrow thanked Krishna. 

Sensing Arjun’s dilemma, Krishna said, “The sparrow came to me for help to save her young ones when an elephant uprooted the tree of her nest. I knocked down the same elephant’s bell to save her family.” 

Upon hearing this, Arjun fell at the Lord’s feet, his eyes full of praise for his friend and admiration for the sparrow’s faith in Krishna. And so it was. Faith is often its own reward. It is also about accepting the great design of the lord as we leave our worries about things beyond our control and put in our best efforts. The sparrow followed whatever Krishna had asked her to do. She neither complained as to how he’ll save her argued him to transport her family to a much safer place. She might have asked him to provide her with food but she mobilized it herself. She didn’t refrain from the efforts expected out of her. We must learn to go with God’s plan rather than expecting our life to go the way we want it to be. Faith actually means to learn to go along with life. Action with surrender is the very essence of faith.