King · All traditions · Pan-India

Shibi

Also called: Sivi, Sibi, Shivi, Ushinara, Vrishadarbha

King of the Shibi people, son of Ushinara, proverbial for giving. In the Mahabharata he (or his father Ushinara) shelters a dove from a hawk and pays for it with his own flesh; the birds are Agni and Indra. In the Pali Sivi Jataka he gives his eyes to Sakka disguised as a blind brahmin and is the Buddha in a former birth.

Sources: The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer; The Jataka, vol. IV, tr. W. H. D. Rouse (Cambridge, 1901): no. 499 Sivi-Jataka · see Shibi's web

Relations 3

Shibi tested by

Indra (God) · King Shibi, the hawk and the dove
As the hawk demanding the dove or the king's flesh.
Agni (God) · King Shibi, the hawk and the dove
As the dove seeking refuge.

Shibi blessed by

Agni (God) · King Shibi, the hawk and the dove
Makes the scars golden and fragrant and promises the son Kapotaroman (Vana 196).

Stories 1

King Shibi, the hawk and the dove
From the epics · as the king who will not give up the dove · 6 tellings

Cited

The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer § vana.130-131 Primary text (translation)
The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer § vana.196 Primary text (translation)
The Mahabharata, tr. K. M. Ganguli (1883-96), sections read for the Vedic layer § anushasana.32 Primary text (translation)
The Jataka, vol. IV, tr. W. H. D. Rouse (Cambridge, 1901): no. 499 Sivi-Jataka § 499 Primary text (translation)