Basantak was the closest friend of Siddhartha and the royal couple wanted him to be with the prince as much time as possible. He understood Siddhartha’s nature well and had adjusted himself to it. When the prince lapsed into his contemplative mood he would not disturb him. He would let him ponder and spoke only when Siddhartha would return to communicative mode. They liked to take a stroll the garden.
That day, due to some reason Basantak could not come, so, Siddhartha went for the stroll with his cousin brother, Devdutta although by nature they were poles apart, just the opposite to be exact.
Where as Siddhartha was quite, peace loving, kind and compassionate, Devdutta was boisterous, noisy, boastful, cruel and aggressive.
The two walked into the garden. Devdutta was boasting about something. After some time he realised that Siddhartha was not listening to his story. He was walking along lost in his own thoughts. Devdutta felt slighted. He stopped talking. Meanwhile, Siddhartha sat under a tree in his ponderable mood. Devdutta walked away seething in anger.
Just then, some swans flew overhead. The face of Siddhartha brightened up. He watched the regal birds with wonder struck eyes. The elegance and the beauty of the swans brought an admiring smile on his face. To him the spotless white colour of the birds was the symbol of purity and sublime nobility.
Then, to his horror he saw an arrow shoot up and hit a swan. The swan screamed and flapped its wings in pain. It lost height and started falling down. It landed near where Siddhartha was sitting and flip flopped.
Instinctively, he ran to the swan and picked it up. The first thing he did was to pull out the arrow. Then he wet the corner of his muslin kurta in the dew water that had collected on the leaves of caladiums. With it he cleaned the arrow wound of the swan. He took the bird in his lap and tried to comfort it caressing and saying soothing words in a soft tone. He plucked a leaf and poured some dew drops in the beak of the bird. The bird looked recovering from the shock and injury.
It pleased Siddhartha. He gently rocked the bird in his lap and softly sang a song of divine bond between the living creatures. In this manner he had created such sympathy with the bird that he could virtually feel the pain of the bird and the bird could feel Siddhartha’s compassion for it.
Then, Devdutta arrived there swinging his bow in his left hand. His eyebrows narrowed when he saw a swan in the lap of Siddhartha.
He growled, ‘‘Siddhartha! I shot a swan and it fell down somewhere here. Have you seen…?’’
Siddhartha opened his eyes and spoke, ‘‘Shot an arrow? The swan I hold in my lap fell down here pierced by an arrow. I pulled out the arrow from the body of the poor bird. Is that your arrow?’’
Devdutta picked up the arrow and said, ‘‘Yes, this is my arrow. So, that swan you hold is mine. Give it to me. It is my kill.’’
Siddhartha protested, ‘‘Kill? It is not killed. It is alive and I saved it.”
Devdutta was now getting angry, ‘‘Well why did you save it? You should have let it die. I hunted it and it’s mine.’’
‘‘No! I saved it and it stays saved. Saving the injured and the suffering is our human duty.’’
‘‘My God! You talk like an old stupid saint. What is wrong with you Siddhartha? Stop acting sissy and wring the neck of that silly bird. I must show it to my people of prove my marksmanship. Come…,” Devdutta said in an agitated tone.
‘‘I don’t like that animal talk, Devdutta. I will keep the bird and nurse it back to health. I would not surrender the bird, whether you like it not,’’ was the calm reply of Siddhartha.
Devdutta glared at his cousin brother. He would have struck Siddhartha had he not been prince, a superior to him in position. He breathed hard and ground his teeth.
Then he announced, ‘‘I am going to the king to demand justice. I will tell him how you are wrongly in possession of my property and refusing to give it up.’’
Siddhartha nodded his head.
In a huff, Devdutta marched towards the royal court where King Shudhodhana was sitting in the throne. Siddhartha followed him with the swan lovingly held in his arms.
The arrival of the two in the royal court in agitated mood raised eyebrows. It was obvious that the royal youngmen had some serious dispute. The king looked at Devdutta and raised his eyebrows in question.
Devdutta spoke, ‘‘Your Majesty, we were in the garden, Siddhartha and I. Some swans flew overhead presenting an opportunity to test our arrow shooting skill. Without wasting time I targeted a swan and shot it down with my arrow. It fell down near Siddhartha. Instead of admiring my shot he picked up the swan and claimed it saying that the bird belonged to him. It was that swan he is holding now. Brother Siddhartha is refusing to hand it over to me.’’
The king turned to Siddhartha demanding an explanation. Siddhartha pleaded, ‘‘Your Majesty, this innocent swan was flying overhead doing no harm to anyone. An arrow was shot up which hit this bird. Devdutta says that he shot the arrow. This bird fell down just infront of me. It was not dead but merely wounded by the arrow. The wounded swan was flip flopping in pain. Naturally I went to its help and drew out the arrow. I found that the swan was not fatally injured. With due care it could regain health. So, I treated the wound and took charge of it. All the people in this court can see that the swan is not dead. It is full of life and comforted in my arms. Why should I give this bird to anyone who wants it dead? It came into my refuge and I am protecting and nursing him. That is my case, Once it regains health I will set if free to fly in the wide open skies.’’
The king looked thoughtful.
As another member of royal family and his own son was concerned in the dispute, the king thought it prudent to consult his ministers.
The ministers confabulated and the chief minister revealed the majority view, ‘‘Your Highness, we feel that Prince Siddhartha’s stand has more merit. Had the arrow straight away killed the swan then there was no scope for any dispute. But the arrow shot by Devdutta merely injured the bird which left open the doors for several possibilities and third party involvements as it happened in the present case. Since Prince Siddhartha saved the bird he became the party to have the latest claims over it which fact overrides all previous claims. More so, because his act is directly opposite to the act of Devdutta which brings in the natural law—‘A saviour has greater right over the saved one than the killer.’ The saved must get the benefit of the kindness of our prince. We all feel that the natural justice must prevail and the swan should remain with Prince Siddhartha.’’
The king accepted the majority view of his ministers and gave the final verdict, “The court recognises the natural law which says that a saviour has a greater right than a killer. Hence, the swan shall stay with the Prince Siddhartha. This royal court hopes that the prince would release the swan after it has recovered from the injuries as promised.’’
Prince Siddhartha went to his palace happily with the swan in his arms.
When the swan regained its health Siddhartha set if free to let it enjoy the natural life.
