Mahabharata – Shibi – {Ep.175} – Stories From India Podcast

In this episode, we’re doing the story of King Shibi. We’ll see Shibi win a contest that he didn’t know he was participating in!

A Wild Party

Indra is the chief of the Devs, or Gods and he’s also the God of Rain and Thunder and Lightning. The thing about Indra is – he throws these amazing parties! The atmosphere is just amazing, and I’m not only saying that because his court is literally high up in the air. In Swarg, or heaven. Yeah, the air is definitely cleaner there. And the drinks flow freely, and the entertainment is top notch. That means sometimes I get to perform on my veena. The crowd always loves it. 

Anyway, it was at just such a party that today’s story begins. I had just performed a whole set of new songs. I was basking in all the cheers from the crowd. And I just grabbed a spot next to Indra himself. “How was that?” I asked. I was only asking out of politeness. 

“Get out of the way, Narada, we’re discussing something important here” he said. He turned back to Agni and they continued their very animated debate about who was more likely to win the next Gilli Danda World Cup.

I’m usually not very confrontational. But I don’t like being spoken to with disrespect. So this time I did use my inexhaustible knowledge of the past, present and future. “Devs beat the Asuras 9-8 in overtime. Varun knocks it out of the park to score the winning run”

They both looked daggers at me for spoiling their suspense. “This is why we shouldn’t invite Narada to these parties,” said one disgruntled Dev. Clearly he had already placed a wager on a different outcome at the Gilli Danda World cup.

Indra sighed and asked the disgruntled Dev to take a chill pill. “Well Narada, since we’re talking about these topics, who is the best gilli danda player on our team?”

I answered truthfully. And then the questions just kept coming one after another. Who was the strongest human? Bheem of course. And Krishna was the cleverest. And Hanuman was the strongest Vaanar, and so on.

Eventually, the topic got around to Kings. I was asked which King cared about his subjects the most. I answered that it was Shibi. There was a stunned silence. The reason I think it caught people by surprise soon became apparent in the next question I was asked. 

It was Varun who asked the question. “Who in Vishnu’s name is Shibi?”

It was appalling how these Gods could be so ignorant. I’m not a God myself, so maybe I just don’t understand the pressures of governing the lives of all people. Or maybe they had just been partying too hard.

Who is Shibi?

Either way I would have to explain. 

Shibi is a King. The King of the same territory as Hastinapur, from Mahabharata fame. But from a different time. This story we are in is included in the Mahabharata too. This last sentence didn’t make much sense to most of them, seeing as at the time the Mahabharat hadn’t been written yet. That’s one problem with being a time traveler with inexhaustible knowledge of the past, present and future – you sometimes forget which era you are in. But there are perks too, for example expiration dates don’t apply and I can win lottery tickets easily.

Anyway, back to the story. I explained that Shibi was more committed to the protection of his people than any other king I had observed at that time.

“You’re joking right? What about Ram and Krishna?” Challenged Varun.

“I’m not joking,” quite seriously. “It’s debatable if that is a fair comparison, since neither Ram and Krishna were ordinary humans. And besides Krishna was never really a King. Others of his choice may have ruled as figureheads, but he didn’t have the official title of King”.

Indra lowered his glasses and put aside the who’s-who guidebook he had been browsing through. “I am surprised I didn’t hear of him before, but I still can’t believe it”.

“If you ask me,” chimed in Agni. “Narada’s exaggerating again. This is just like that time when he sent us all scrambling in a panic just because Vishwamitra was visiting.”

Agni knows how to rile me up. I responded, with passion! “A) I did no such thing, and B) it was Durvasa not Vushwamitra and C) do you even know what Durvasa is going to do to you all?”

The Stage is set

“Alright, alright,” said Indra. “As your chief, it’s my duty to resolve any such disagreements.”

We were all shocked that Indra was taking his role seriously. Maybe the party was a little wilder than I had thought. 

“So I appoint Yama as the judge here.”

Yama sighed about how he had to have two portfolios – justice and death. But he accepted his role.

“And Shani will be the bookkeeper,” Indra declared.

Shani’s reaction was a little bit more enthusiastic than Yama’s. “Step up ladies and gents. Place your bets here. 25-1 Shibi is no. 1 in caring for his subjects”. Shani’s enthusiasm dropped a little when he found out that as the bookkeeper he couldn’t place a bet. He thought betting against Shibi was a guaranteed way to make a little money.

My thoughts were the opposite. Twenty five to one! At those odds I thought I could make a decent pile of cash. But I was the only one thinking so. Also because I had made the claim I wasn’t allowed to place a bet either. It’s fine, it’s not like I care about money anyway. And I’m not just saying it like it’s sour grapes or anything like that.

“C’mon people, someone has to bet on Shibi!” Indra encouraged. “Otherwise it’s not really a contest.”

A backbencher Dev stepped up and said he would bet on Shibi. “Ah thank you, my dear friend,” Indra said. Which made losing that money totally worth it for that backbencher dev. He hadn’t placed his wager on Shibi out of any conviction. It was only because he wanted to earn a little favor from Indra. And in his mind it totally became worth it because Indra called him “a dear friend”. What an honor!

Of course he didn’t realize that Indra had only addressed him as such because he didn’t know the backbencher Dev’s name. Well you couldn’t have expected Indra to memorize names and faces of 33 million Devs. I can, but then I am a class apart am I not?

So now that the stakes were set, and all Devs were thirsting for the chance to show Narada up, a plan was hatched to test Shibi and it was soon initiated.

To witness what happened next, Indra advised us to all disguise ourselves as ordinary humans and to show up in Shibi’s court.

We all did. If Shibi noticed that his court was suddenly packed with 33 million people more than usual he didn’t show it. Rather, he took to moving the coury proceedings outdoors. And installed a PA system and closed circuit TV so we could all see him function.

Doing this outdoors made it easier for what happened next. 

A Dove Arrives

It was a fine spring morning, and the lark was singing, and the doves were cooing. Well, not all doves were cooing. In fact one dove was screaming her head off. “Help me! Help me!” She screamed as she flew into sight. She seemed exhausted and unable to fly any more. As she was near the throne, Shibi quickly stood up, put on a large bird glove and gently caught the dove just as it reached him. 

Meanwhile, Shibi’s Minister for Ornithology poked his neighbor in the ribs and said excitedly “There! Didn’t I tell you the bird glove would come in handy one day? Allocating lakhs of rupees for bird gloves was totally worth it!”. But the neighbor, who was the Undersecretary to the Minister of Ornithology, wasn’t interested in Bird Gloves. What she wanted to know was how the dove was able to speak a human language? Parrots and Mynahs can. But Doves? That was a new one.

The Eagle is landing

The dove gasped and thanked him. But before she could explain what she needed help with, the explanation arrived on the scene. And it arrived in the form of an eagle. The eagle screeched into view. And made a grab for the dove. But it was a half-hearted grab. And Shibi was able to swat the Eagle away.

“Surrender my prey” the Eagle demanded.

Shibi looked down at the Dove. The dove looked back with tears in her eyes. “Please, no!” she said. “Don’t give me up to the Eagle”

Shibi replied that he wouldn’t. The dove had sought his protection. And he would have it. Just to confirm though, was the Dove really his subject? Because he could only protect someone who was a bonafide citizen.

Social Security for Birds

“Yes, yes,” the Dove claimed. She even had her aadhar card, if he wanted proof.

Turning to the Eagle, Shibi said that he could not hand over the Dove. Sorry, but the Dove was under his protection now. And that meant he was responsible for her welfare and security.

“So, what about me then?” asked the Eagle.

“You should have no difficulty finding other food. You’re eagle-eyed” Shibi replied.

“Oh no. You don’t get to weasel out of this King. I am your subject too,and here’s my aadhar card to prove it. That means you’re responsible for my security and welfare too. How can you do justice here if you don’t also provide for me?”

That was a valid point. And it was true, Shibi was responsible for the Eagle’s well being too. Realizing that, Shibi offered the Eagle an alternative.

“Leave this Dove alone, I can get you something else.” But it was easier said than done. Shibi couldn’t very well offer an alternative. The Eagle laughed at his suggestion of eating a plant based alternative. “Hey, I’m carnivorous, in case you didn’t notice,” he said.

Shibi proposed a few other alternatives – including an all-expenses paid trip out of the kingdom where the Eagle was welcome to grab any food not in Shibi’s protection. But the Eagle was adamant. 

A Deal is made

Finally, having rejected everything else, the Eagle made a particularly violent suggestion. He would accept a portion of Shibi himself. Equal in weight to the dove. That’s rather gross. Shibi protested. But the Eagle calmly replied that it wouldn’t kill Shibi probably. I mean look at how light the Dove was. Shibi would hardly notice if a part of him equal to the Dove’s weight went missing.

Surprisingly, Shibi gave in. So, he summoned weighing scales and the best doctors and anesthesiologists in his Kingdom. They began the procedure and weighed Shibi’s flesh against the Dove. But no matter what they did, the Dove was always heavier. 

The Minister for Metrics and Measurements offered his opinion. “Either the scales are completely broken, or the Dove has put on a hundred pounds in the last few minutes”.

Well, the scales were tested by having the Dove sit on the other pan. But that proved it wasn’t the scales that were wrong.

The steaks get higher

Shibi was silent through all of this. He might have gone to the extent of amputating his limbs if at this point, the dove hadn’t suddenly screamed “Hold up! Time out! Stop! Let’s end this right here”

The Eagle too nodded its head vigorously. “I’m not going to eat that,” it said. And added “You sir, are one sick person”.

Shibi said it was just his duty, what was wrong with that. He was acceding to his subjects’ demands. 

“Yeah, I get that. But you know you should push back you dude. Be reasonable. Like, do a referendum, get public opinion, even put me in jail for endangering the life of the King”

The dove sighed and signaled to the Eagle. “It’s okay Agni. I think it’s time to give up the game”. With that instantly the two birds transformed – into Indra, and Agni.

“We were just testing you,” Indra began to explain. “You see all this started because…” 

Agni cleared his throat to interrupt. It was obvious he was still shaken and uncomfortable with what he had witnessed. “Indra, let’s get quickly to the mumbo-jumbo part where we restore Shibi back exactly to how he was”.

Indra nodded and did indeed skip right to the mumbo-jumbo part which restored Shibi exactly back to how he was. Yama, as the judge declared Shibi the winner, and everyone returned to Swarg.

I won, but….

Shibi’s court returned back to normal, now that the Devas were all returning to Swarg. But the sobering mood amongst the Devas was the opposite of what it had been at the start of the story. I tried making light conversation with some of the Devas on the way back. But most of them brushed me off. My polite small talk was met with “Go away Narada” or “You caused all this, just stay away from me”. 

I was right all along, but I bet, compared to me, even an Asura would have been more popular in that crowd at that time.

Only one Deva returned happily. The backbencher Dev who had bet on Shibi to balance the books. No one really learned his name, but he did make a pile of money when he wasn’t expecting to.

That’s all for now

Some notes on the show

This story is one of the peripheral tales told in the Mahabharata. Figures, because Shibi ruled the same area as Hastinapur though he was from a different era. The city Sehwan, in Pakistan, used to be called Shibistan, named after this Shibi. And to give you a sense of the geographical reach of this King, the Chola dynasty claimed that Shibi was one of them.

We have met both Indra and Agni before in several episodes. Check the links here for other Mahabharat stories as well.

The story has parallels in other cultures as well—for example, the story of Abraham in the Hebrew Bible. On command from God, Abraham was ready to sacrifice his Son but was interrupted at the last minute. In a slightly different variation in Greek mythology, Tantalus sacrificed his young boy and uh… served him up in a dish for the Gods of Mount Olympus. Zeus, the chief of the Greek Gods, was pretty disgusted, even though he had seen and done some wild stuff himself. Zeus and other Olympians restored the boy but punished Tantalus by putting him in the Underworld and putting his food and drink tantalizingly out of reach.

Of course, Shibi is seen in a much more positive light than that.

That’s all for now. 

Next Time

In the next episode, we’ll cover the story of Tilottama. I’ve had a listener request for a story of this Apsara, or Celestial Dancer. We’ll see how Tiolttama saves the world, from yet another powerful-and-destructive wish granted by my dad, Brahma the creator. And yes, I appear in the next story too. A little bit.