Koushika

Lomasha points out the place of Sharyati's sacrifice, where the Ashvins once drank soma, and mentions that the sage Chyavana was so angered by Indra that he paralysed the king of the gods — and also won Sukanya as his wife. Yudhishthira, hearing this, asks for the full story: how did Chyavana paralyse Indra, why was he angered, and why were the Ashvins made drinkers of soma?

Koushika, still shaken by the crane's death, enters a house to beg for alms. The housewife asks him to wait while she serves her hungry husband first — and Koushika burns with anger. But the housewife does not flinch. She tells him she knows what he did to the crane, and that a hunter in Mithila will teach him what dharma truly means.

A brahmana named Koushika, learned in the Vedas and rich in austerities, is reciting under a tree when a crane drops excrement on him. Overcome by anger, he fixes the bird with a terrible stare — and it falls dead on the ground. But the moment the crane lies still, Koushika is flooded with compassion and regret.