Shishupala recounts the fable of the hypocritical swan
To illustrate his point, Shishupala recounts an ancient parable. An old swan living by the ocean preached dharma to the other birds, who trusted him with their eggs. In secret, the swan consumed every one.
To cement his accusation, Shishupala reached for a story. “Learned men in ancient times told this story,” he said to Bhishma. “So that you can hear, I will now recount it completely.”
In ancient times, an old swan lived near the ocean. He always spoke of dharma and instructed the other birds. “Practise dharma and avoid evil,” he told them. But his own conduct was otherwise.
The birds, trusting his sermons, brought him food — creatures from the sea. They also left all their eggs with him for safekeeping while they roamed the waters. The swan, attentive only to his own interests, ate every egg. He did this while the other birds were negligent, focused on their daily lives.
When the number of eggs began to decline, one extremely intelligent bird grew suspicious. It kept watch. It witnessed the swan’s evil act and, deeply unhappy, reported it to all the others.
The birds assembled. They saw the truth for themselves. Then they killed the untruthful swan.
Shishupala drew the line straight from the fable to the man before him. “Since your conduct is like that of the swan,” he told Bhishma, “these angry lords of the earth will kill you, like the birds killed the swan.”
He ended by quoting the song men sang about the swan: “O one who rides on the chariot of wings! Your act of eating the eggs contradicts your words. You will be killed in anger, because your soul shows your falsehood.”