The unflinching faith of a sparrow - A story from Mahabharat

The unflinching faith of a sparrow - A story from Mahabharat The preparations for the Kurukshetra war was underway, when soldiers were preparing the ground by uprooting trees by using elephants. On one of the trees resided a mother sparrow with her four children who were barely hatched. When the tree was uprooted, she fell down on the ground along with her children, but managed to survive, but her babies were too young to fly away to safety. At a distance they saw Krishna and Arjuna on a chariot discussing war strategies. The mother sparrow flapped her wings and flew towards Krishna and begged “ O Lord, please save my little ones. They still cannot fly. Tomorrow, when the war begins, they will be crushed to death.” Krishna responded “ You may be right, but I cannot go against the laws of nature by protecting you”. The bird replied “ I understand your predicament. But you are the protector of this universe. You may watch my babies die or protect them. The choice is yours . I will simply seek refuge in you.” Krishna said “ Stock 3 weeks worth of food in your nest. Leave the rest to the Kalachakra ( time cycle) to take its course and decide your fate.” The bird thanked Krishna and set out on its mission. Meanwhile, the war was about to begin and Krishna snatched the bow and arrow from Arjuna and aimed at the elephant that uprooted the tree which had the birds. Instead of killing it, he aimed at the bell tied around its neck and brought it down and handed back the bow to Arjuna. “What’s the reason for your strange act, O Lord? “ asked a perplexed Arjuna. Krishna said “ This elephant brought down the innocent birds by uprooting the tree. However, he didn’t kill them. Hence I just brought down its bell instead of killing it. “ Later, the war took place for 18 days and there was a lot of death and destruction. The bodies of dead soldiers and animals were strewn all around. There was mayhem everywhere. Then Krishna observed the bell which he brought down and asked Arjuna to pick it up. The moment he picked up the bell, he was shocked to see the sparrow with her children who had by now developed their wings and were ready to fly. The bell provided the protective cover to the birds and was intact for 18 days. This was nothing short of a miracle. The birds were in a lockdown for 18 days and survived in the backdrop of all the death and destruction happening around them. Is there something we too can learn during this lockdown? Let;s stay safe and keep ot