Pralolupa had travelled from the Vindhya Mountains, his birthplace, to the Himalayas, north of Jambudvipa. Pralolupa was the great grandson of Sampati. Sampati and his brother Jatayu were sons of Arun, Garuda's brother. So Pralolupa was a direct descendant of the mighty Garuda. His father, Kunti, the king of birds, had passed away. Pralolupa had been sent for. The throne of the birds was empty and he needed to take his place as the king of the birds.
It was in a deodar forest on the banks of the river Vipasha
that Pralolupa first saw her. Lavanya possessed a captivating beauty, her
presence a solitary grace amidst the trees. He approached her, and she offered
no objection to the presence of the king – a king who had lost his heart to
her. He would visit her every day. Slowly, he felt she was also beginning to
like him. He then proposed to her. She accepted. A day was decided, and on that
day, Lavanya was declared the queen.
Pralolupa led a happy life. Soon he became happier when
Lavanya gave birth to two sons. The first was named Kanka, and the younger,
Kandhara. Kanka was wise. He was respected by all. Not only the birds, but
everyone knew about Kanka. They knew that after Pralolupa, Kanka would be king.
When Pralolupa was old, he declared Kanka the king of birds,
and along with Lavanya left the land to spend their last days in the Vindhya
Mountains, on the banks of the Narmada.
Kanka along with Kandhara ruled the kingdom. While Kanka
would oversee the administrative side of things, Kandhara was interested in
warfare. He would spend his days training. Kandhara was strong. He had a large
wingspan, and with a mere flap he could raise a storm.
One day Kanka wanted to survey the kingdom. He flew
northeast. He crossed glaciers and pine forests and soon spotted the Mansarovar
Lake. This was the place where the great Mahadeva had held the wild Ganga
captive in his hair and had let her go, when Bhagirath pleaded with him. Kanka
rose higher. The great mountain, Kailash, was on the banks of the lake. Shiva
and Kubera, the god of wealth, resided on the mountain. When Ravana had
captured the golden city of Lanka, Kubera had taken shelter in Kailash. Kubera
lived there with his followers, the yakshas.
As Kanka flew higher, he saw something. On the holy
mountain, on a flat slab of rock, a yaksha was making love to his wife in the
open. While the act itself was natural, it was not something to be done under
the open sky. On this mountain, which was an abode of deities, their open
display seemed to defile the surroundings. The yaksha, whose name was
Vidyudrupa, realized he had been spotted. He became furious. He barely managed
to cover himself and shouted at the bird, "What are you doing here? Why do
you stare at me when I am with my wife? Flee from here before I kill you."
Kanka replied back, "You do not own this place. The mountain is part of
nature. If you don't want anyone to watch you, you need to take cover. There
are so many caves; go there."
Vidyudrupa was ferocious. He was being lectured by a mere
bird. A king of birds, but still a bird. He picked up his sword and hurled it.
Kanka was still speaking and did not realize when the sword came flying towards
him and pierced his heart. With a great shriek, Kanka fell. He landed on a
rock. Profusely bleeding, he slipped and fell, landing near the Mansarovar
Lake.
Kandhara heard the news. He heard how his unarmed elder
brother had been slain by a yaksha turned rakshasa. He knew what he had to do.
He put on his armour. He first went to the banks of the lake where Kanka's
lifeless body lay. Kandhara could not hold back his emotions. The gentle Kanka
lay, half submerged in the lake. Kandhara leaped into the sky and was soon back
with sandalwood. Making a pyre, he performed the last rites of his brother. He
sat there watching the fire burn. Later, he collected the ashes of his brother
and scattered them in the wind; his brother could be one with nature now.
Kandhara now knew what he had to do. He began flapping his
wings. A violent dust storm formed and enveloped the area. All, including the
animals, yakshas, and the ganas of Shiva, wondered how this could occur
suddenly. The mountains had begun trembling. Vidyudrupa was still with his
wife, and both were drinking, except now he had moved himself into a cave. The
rakshasa came out of the cave, hastily covering himself. He was wondering where
the storm had come from when he saw Kandhara materialize in front of him. To
the disbelief of Vidyudrupa.
Kandhara stood before Vidyudrupa. The rakshasa remembered
his sword. He picked that up and said, "I killed your brother with this
sword. His dry blood is still stuck to it."
With a loud cry, Kandhara launched himself at the rakshasa.
Vidyudrupa was a seasoned warrior. He swung his sword, aiming for Kandhara.
Kandhara dodged the blows, all the time flapping his wings to create a storm.
Vidyudrupa began to release other weapons. He threw spears and hurled rocks at
the bird. Kandhara dodged everything. He opened his beak wide and shattered
each weapon. Vidyudrupa then released the sword that he had used to kill Kanka.
Kandhara broke the sword into two. Kandhara then swooped down and seized the
rakshasa. Kandhara soared into the sky, carrying the rakshasa. He then began
dashing Vidyudrupa’s body against the jagged faces of the mountains. Then
Kandhara released his grip. Vidyudrupa’s lifeless body fell down, disappearing
into the depths of a dark ravine. Exhausted, Kandhara flew back to the flat
slab of rock where he had first seen the rakshasa. He landed and sat there,
tired from the fight.
Madanika, Vidyudrupa’s wife, emerged hesitantly from the
cave. She had seen the entire fight, hidden in the cave. She liked the bird. He
was powerful, a king, and Vidyudrupa was gone.
Madanika approached Kandhara. "Kandhara," she
said. "You have killed my husband. I observed your strength and the
finality of your actions. It appears to be of advantage for me to align myself
with you. I propose to be your wife." Kandhara looked at her, suspicious.
"Why?" he asked. "Your husband just tried to kill me, and I
eventually killed him."
Madanika looked at Kandhara. "Pragmatism. Vidyudrupa is
no more. You are powerful. I am destined to be loyal to the one I am one with.
You can trust me. I like you and your looks."
Kandhara said, "I am a bird, Madanika. You are
not."
Madanika smiled. "I am a daughter of Menaka, the
apsara. I possess the gift of shapeshifting at will." She closed her eyes.
Slowly, her human form began to transform, and she changed into a beautiful
bird, with colourful feathers. Kandhara looked at her. She was beautiful. Her
beauty reminded him very much of Lavanya, his mother. He agreed and accepted
Madanika as his wife.
Some more on this
The story explores the principle of dharma — that behavior
must be appropriate to time, place, and circumstance. Vidyudrupa’s public act
of intimacy in a sacred space represents a violation of dharma, not because
intimacy is wrong, but because of his disregard for sacredness.
Kanka’s death is avenged not out of blind rage, but as a
restoration of order, showing that adharma (wrongdoing) has inevitable
consequences.
Madanika’s transformation and pragmatic choice to ally with
Kandhara represents adaptability and the survival. Loyalty shifts toward
strength rather than sentiment.
Vidyudrupa’s anger shows the destructiveness of ego. He
could not accept correction from a "mere bird," and this arrogance
ultimately leads to his downfall. Wisdom can come from unexpected sources and
should not be rejected due to pride.
Madanika’s ability to shapeshift signifies the deeper truth
that the essence is more important than the outer form. Her transformation into
a bird to align with Kandhara suggests that spirit and loyalty transcend mere
physical categories.
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