King Ashwapati and the Language of Birds

King Ashwapati had the power to understand the language of birds, but if he ever revealed this knowledge, he would die.
One day when the king was sitting by the royal pond with his wife, he heard some swans talking. One swan told a joke, and King Ashwapati burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" asked the queen.
"I cannot tell you," said the king. "It would cost me my life!"
But the queen persisted, and the king finally sent her back to her parents and found a wetnurse for their daughter.
That daughter was Kaikeyi, and the wetnurse was Manthara.


Inspired by: Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana by Devdutt Pattanaik
Notes: This story is on p. 70 of the book. Pattanaik notes that this story about Kaikeyi's father comes from the folk traditions of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.


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