Frog King Ayu Rescues His Kind and Returns Sushobhana
King Parikshit, enraged when his queen Sushobhana vanishes into a pond, orders the slaughter of all frogs. The terrified frogs appeal to their king, Ayu, who disguises himself as an ascetic and confronts Parikshit — revealing that Sushobhana is his own daughter, a deceiver of kings, and that he will return her if the slaughter stops.
The frogs were dying by the thousands. King Parikshit of Ayodhya had ordered it: kill every frog. Whoever wished to see him had to come with a dead frog as tribute. The ponds and riverbanks ran with the bodies of the small, the innocent, the ones who had done nothing.
The frogs who survived fled to their king, Ayu. They told him everything — the queen who had vanished into a pond, the king's grief, the slaughter that would not stop until every last one of them was dead.
Ayu disguised himself as an ascetic and went to Parikshit's court.
"O king," he said, "do not be overcome by anger. Have mercy. Do not destroy the innocent frogs. There are two shlokas on this: 'Do not wish to kill all frogs. O unblemished one! Control your anger. People who are ignorant destroy their extensive prosperity. Promise that when you meet them, you will control your wrath. Why must you continue with this adharma? What purpose will dead frogs serve?'"
But Parikshit's soul was overcome with grief for his beloved. "I cannot forgive," he said. "I will kill those evil-souled ones who have devoured my beloved. The frogs deserve to be killed by me. O learned one! Do not try to obstruct me."
Ayu's senses and mind were pained. He saw that the king would not be moved by reason alone. So he told him the truth.
"O king, show mercy. I am the king of the frogs and my name is Ayu. She was my daughter, named Sushobhana. She has this bad character — she has deceived many kings earlier."
Parikshit's grief turned to hope. "I desire her. Give her to me."
Ayu bestowed his daughter on the king. "Serve the king," he told her. And then he turned to Sushobhana with a curse: "Since you have deceived many kings and have committed falsehood, your sons will be the haters of brahmanas."
Parikshit received Sushobhana as if he had won the wealth of the three worlds. He prostrated himself before the king of the frogs, his voice choking with tears of joy. "You have favoured me a lot."
Ayu bid farewell to his son-in-law and went away, to where he had come from. The slaughter of the frogs ended. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 487