The Four Wise Birds - Jaimini Questions

Dadi: "Guddu beta, today I'll tell you a very unusual story - about a sage who got his deepest questions answered by four talking birds!"

Guddu: "Talking birds? Like parrots?"

Dadi: "These were no ordinary birds, beta. They were learned scholars trapped in bird bodies because of a curse. But they knew more than most sages!"

Guddu: "How did birds become scholars?"

Dadi: "Listen to the whole story. There was a sage named Jaimini, a devoted student of the great Vyasa - the one who wrote the Mahabharata. After studying the great epic, Jaimini had four questions that puzzled him deeply."

Guddu: "What were the questions?"

Dadi: "Very profound ones! First: Why was Lord Vishnu, who is God himself, born as a mortal human named Krishna? Second: How did one woman, Draupadi, become the wife of five brothers? Third: Why did Balarama, Krishna's gentle brother, have to do penance for killing a brahmin? Fourth: How did the young sons of the Pandavas die without anyone protecting them?"

Guddu: "Those ARE deep questions, Dadi!"

Dadi: "Jaimini went to his teacher Markandeya for answers. But Markandeya said, "I must go perform Vedic rituals. For your questions, travel to the Vindhya mountains. There you will find four wise birds living in a cave. They can help you.""

Guddu: "Birds in a cave? This gets stranger!"

Dadi: "Jaimini was skeptical, but he trusted his teacher. He traveled to the mountains and found the cave. Inside were four magnificent birds named Pingalaksha, Vivodha, Suputra, and Sumukha."

Guddu: "Why were they in bird bodies?"

Dadi: "They were once brahmins - great scholars. But their father, Sukrsa, was starving and asked his sons to sacrifice themselves as food for a famished bird. They refused, so he cursed them to become birds themselves!"

Guddu: "That's harsh!"

Dadi: "Their mother was also cursed by the sage Durvasa to become a bird. So the whole family ended up as birds! But their knowledge remained - they were still scholars, just in feathered bodies."

Guddu: "Did they answer Jaimini's questions?"

Dadi: "Yes! First, they invoked Lord Vishnu and Brahma. Then they explained each mystery beautifully. About Krishna being born as a human, they described how the divine takes human form out of love - to experience life with us and guide us from within."

Guddu: "What about Draupadi and the five brothers?"

Dadi: "They explained it was destiny from a previous life - a complex web of karma and boons that brought them together."

Guddu: "Dadi, why did sages send people to birds for wisdom?"

Dadi: "That's the beautiful teaching, beta! Wisdom can come from unexpected sources. The birds looked ordinary, but they held extraordinary knowledge. Markandeya knew that sometimes we need to humble ourselves and learn from those we might not expect."

Guddu: "Like learning from younger people sometimes?"

Dadi: "Exactly! Or from simple villagers, or animals, or nature itself. The story teaches us not to judge teachers by their appearance. The greatest wisdom might come in the humblest package."

Guddu: "What happened after the birds answered?"

Dadi: "Their explanations filled chapters 4 through 45 of the Markandeya Purana! That's a lot of wisdom. When they finished, Jaimini thanked them deeply and departed, his doubts cleared."

Guddu: "Did the birds ever become human again?"

Dadi: "The story doesn't say. But perhaps they didn't need to - they had found peace and purpose in teaching wisdom, whatever their form."

Guddu: "What's the lesson for me, Dadi?"

Dadi: "Several lessons! First, it's okay to have questions - even the wisest sages had doubts. Second, seek answers from unexpected places - wisdom might be waiting where you least expect it. Third, curses and difficulties can become opportunities - those birds used their situation to become respected teachers."

Guddu: "And fourth?"

Dadi: "Fourth, knowledge isn't limited by the body. Those birds couldn't fly south or build normal nests - but they could fly through scriptures and build nests of wisdom in seekers' hearts."

Guddu: "That's beautiful, Dadi!"

Dadi: "So next time you see a bird, beta, wonder what wisdom it might be carrying. You never know!"

Guddu: "I'll listen more carefully to bird songs now!"

Dadi: "*laughs* Who knows - maybe they're discussing philosophy!"