0069. The Lord Krishna and the Lapwing's Nest

From Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita, online at: Internet Archive.

Notes. In the Markandeya Purana, there is a story about birds kept safe under a bell, but with no mention of Krishna's role. Because the birds were present for the great battle, they were able to share stories of the battle later on with the sage Jaimini.

Summary: This story takes place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, where in the midst of battle, Krishna rescues a small mother bird and her chicks.

Read the story below:

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THE LORD KRISHNA AND THE LAPWING'S NEST

(lapwing, OBS, Delhi)

It was the battlefield of Kurukshetra. The white conch-shells were about to sound, the elephants to march forward, and the attack of the archers to commence. The moment was brief and terrible. Banners were flying, and the charioteers preparing for the advance.

Suddenly a little lapwing, who had built her nest in the turf of a hillock in the midst of the battlefield, drew the attention of the Lord Krishna by her cries of anxiety and distress for her young.

"Poor little mother!" He said tenderly; "let this be thy protection!" and, lifting a great elephant-bell that had fallen near, He placed it over the lapwing's nest.

And so, through the eighteen days of raging battle that followed, a lapwing and her nestlings were kept in safety in their nest, by the mercy of the Lord, even in the midst of the raging field of Kurukshetra.