पृष्ठम्:Birds in Sanskrit literature.djvu/२१९

386 Birds in Sanskrit Literature the pearl necklace of king महाबल with a deep blue sapphire in the centre has been compared to a V-flight of Bar-headed Geese with a Black Ibis as the leading bird :- तद्वक्षसि पृथाविन्द्रनीलमध्यमणिर्बभौ । कण्ठिका हंसमालेव व्योम्नि दात्यूहमध्यगा ॥ -जैन आदिपुराण (गुणभद्र ), 5.6. बढी and काक (i.e. जलकाक White Ibis ) dwell at a lake on the Vindhya mountain : आडीकाकबलाकाभिः सेवितं कोकिलादिभिः -स्कन्दपुराण, रेवाखण्ड, 2.22. Verse 8 of the Subhasita, p.219 mentions आटि, the Black Ibis, as moving along the edge of a lake : चरतु स्वच्छन्दमाटिस्तटे । It will now be seen that the आटीमुखयन्त्र of सुश्रुत is a pair of long curved tongs and the illustrations of it in published books including The Surgical Instruments of the Hindus by Dr. G. N. Mukhopadhyaya are incorrect. पालकाप्य (3.12.74) calls the instrument as दात्यूहं ( दात्यूहमुखं ), दात्यूह being the Black Ibis or आटी. dedication the 14. The strikingly white plumage of the White Ibis and its constant association with water has appealed to Sanskrit poets more than the other Tbises, butit is always mentioned by the name of बक. This name, it must be remembered, includes in a wider sense also the Herons, Storks and even the Flamingo and it is, therefore, very necesary that the identity of the particular bird meant in a given context is carefully determined. A few examples of बक, बकोट, श्येतबक, श्वेतकाक, and ध्वडक्ष or धुडक्षा as the White Ibis are given below :- मनुस्मृति prohibits this Ibis (बक) as food as also its wanton killing, while it decrees that a person guilty of stealing fire would be reborn as a बक, The origin of this last punishment is to be found in White Ibis to the Fire-god at the Horse Sacrifice-धुडक्षाग्नेयी – वाज. संहिता, 24.31; and "अग्नये धूडक्ष्णा" -सैत्ति संहिता, 5.5.19 where धुडक्षा and घूडक्ष्णा mean the White Ibis (from ध्वाड-पोरवाशिते, to utter a loud cry; both the Crow and the White Ibis are noisy and share the name ब्वाक्ष between them). The reason for naming the bird to the Fire-god is to be found in the bluish- black colour of the bare skin of the white bird's neck resembling skin that has been scorched or burned by fire. A parallel idea occurs in the शतपथ where a yoke bullock is said to partake of the nature of fire because that part of his neck which bears the yoke loses the hair and appears to have been scorched by fire : . दक्षिणा अनड्वान् वा स हि बहेनाऽग्नेयोऽग्निदग्धमिव ह्यस्य वहं भवति । -शतपथ ब्राह्मण, 4.5.1.15 1. 5.14; 11.195; and 12.66. 2. It is also very significant to note, in this connection, that the God of Fire himself has been called afera black-necked, in V. S. 23.13, and animals having black necks in particular are sacrificed to him, e.g. कृष्णग्रीवा आग्नेया VS 24.6, 9, 14, i.c, यः पाप्मना गृहीत स्वात् स आग्नेय कृष्णग्रीवमालभेत- TS 2.1.4.6. 387 The White Ibis occurs in parties which have been called बकप्रकराः by तोलिम्बराज who, however, makes them stop eating fish in their immediate neighbourhood because they have been charmed into inaction by the sweet tunes of Lord Krsna's flute :- निकटेऽपि गतान्गतकेलिकरान् मकरान्तसर सुबकप्रकराः । Ibises These Ibises flock to the shallow edges of tanks and rivers. दुष्टबकोटसंकटतटोद्देशास्तडागादयः । सुभाषित, 222.33. The deceitful tactics of the apparently gentle and polished ministers of state dressed in spotless white have been beautifully compared with the fishing methods of the White Ibis :- 'वहिरविकृतवेषैर्मन्दमन्दप्रचारैः निभूतनयनपातः साधुताकारसारैः । निश्कृतिनयविनीतश्चान्तरेतरमात्यैः तिमय इव बकोटवंचिता के न लोकाः ॥ हरिविलास, 2.10. यशस्तिलकचम्पू, 3.191. Verse 13 under स्थानमाहात्म्यम् in सुभाषित, 86, institutes a parallel between the moon and the White Ibis (बक) and declares the superiority of the latter because it has entirely white wings (पक्षी) as against the two fortnights (पक्षी) of the former both of which are partly light and partly dark. Numbers of these birds moving quietly through the reeds or resting amongst them until the next urge of hunger, have been held up as a model of prudent and cautious behaviour for persons finding themselves in a difficult situa- tion in enemy country. The श्वेतबक, श्वेतकाक, and ध्वादक्ष in the examples below is the White Ibis in groups :- मकंवच्छ्वेतवाकीयैरुपायैः स्वयितां सुराः । भजस्व श्वेतका कीर्य॑मिवधर्ममनर्थकः । --स्कन्दपुराण' -महाभारत ईदृशः श्वेतकाकीय राज्ञःशासनदूषकैः । -मृच्छकटिक यस्य दस्युगणा राष्ट्र ध्वाङक्षा मत्स्यान् जलादिव । - महाभारत This bird is never found away from water except when roosting for the night, and the sight of one on a hill-top is, therefore, considered unlucky : 1. Kaumarika Khanda, 21.236. 2. XII.105.15; also I.47.12. To separate the compound श्वेतकाक as श्वा + एत+काक as suggested by some is absurd. See R. B. Raddi's edition of मृच्छकटिक, Bombay, 1909, 3. IX.41, Raddi's edition. 4. XI.142.29.