Jarita

The sage Mandapala, denied heaven because he has no children, becomes a bird to quickly father sons. He abandons his young family, but when Agni advances to burn the forest where they live, he desperately prays to the fire god, praising him with every sacred name. Pleased, Agni grants his plea and promises to spare the children.

A forest fire races toward Jarita and her four flightless sons, trapping them. Jarita proposes sacrificing herself to shield them, but her sons argue she must survive for their lineage. When she suggests hiding in a rat hole, they face a new terror: a sanctioned death by fire, or a miserable death in the dark.

As Agni's fire sweeps through Khandava, the bird Jarita finds a hole she believes is safe and urges her sons to hide. But the young Sharngakas are paralyzed by a different fear: the rat that lives in that hole might kill them if the fire does not.

Even after securing the fire god Agni's promise to spare his sons, the sage Mandapala cannot quell his anxiety as the forest blaze rages. His current wife, Lapita, responds not with comfort but with sharp jealousy, accusing him of loving his first wife more and telling him to go to her.

After the forest fire passes, Mandapala goes to his first wife Jarita and their sons, expecting reunion. Instead, he is met with a wall of silence. When he breaks it, Jarita's rebuke is swift: go back to your other wife.