Bereft and sorrowful, the king of pigeons lamented: “Without my beloved wife, I do not wish to live. I would rather abandon this dear body. What will become of our children? I am lost, deprived of righteousness.” As he grieved thus, his words reached his wife, who remained trapped in the hunter’s cage. Hearing her husband’s anguish, she called out to him, “Here I am, bound and helpless, O best of birds. The hunter brought me here, tied with cords, O wise one.” Yet, even in her captivity, she found solace. “I am blessed, I am favored, for my husband speaks of my virtues. Whether I am truly good or not, I feel fulfilled beyond doubt. When a husband is pleased, all the gods are pleased with a woman; but if he is displeased, a woman surely meets with ruin. You alone are my destiny, my lord, my friend, my refuge. You are my vow, the supreme Brahman, heaven and liberation itself.” She urged him, “Do not grieve, O virtuous one. Keep your mind steady in dharma. By your grace, I have enjoyed many pleasures. Enough of sorrow; let your mind rest firmly in righteousness.” Moved by her words, the king of pigeons descended swiftly from the great tree to the place where his mate remained imprisoned. The female pigeon, seeing her beloved as though lifeless, turned to the unmoving hunter and pleaded, “Release him!” But the hunter replied, “Do not release him, noble one, for relationships are unstable. Hunters are food for those who move in the sky, and life is food for life.” She responded, “I remember no fault of his. Keep your mind firm in righteousness. The teacher is fire for the twice-born; among the classes, the Brahmin is the teacher. The husband alone is the teacher for women; the guest is the teacher for all. Those who please a guest with kind words are praised. For them, even the goddess of speech is satisfied. By giving food to such a one, even Indra is pleased. The ancestors are satisfied by washing the feet, Prajapati by food and drink. By such service, Lakshmi is pleased by Vishnu. All the gods are present on the guest’s bed; therefore, the guest is most worthy of honor. A guest who arrives, weary at sunset, should be known as a form of the gods, the fruit of all sacrifices. All the gods, ancestors, and sacred fires follow a weary guest; when he is satisfied, they rejoice; when he leaves unsatisfied, they too are unsatisfied. Therefore, my beloved, abandon sorrow and attain tranquility. Keep your mind pure and perform righteous acts. Helping and harming are both considered excellent; everyone does good in return to those who help them. But one who does good even to those who harm him is truly virtuous and attains merit.” The king of pigeons replied, “You have spoken well for both of us, and I agree. Yet, there is more to say—listen, O beautiful one. Some carry a thousand burdens, others a hundred, and some only ten; some support themselves easily, but we struggle to fill our bellies. Some store grain and wealth in pits, others in sheaves or in pots. Our only wealth is what we carry in our beaks. How then can I honor this weary guest who has come to us, O auspicious one? Fire, water, kind words, grass, wood—all these should be given to one who asks. This hunter is afflicted by cold.” Hearing these loving words, the king of birds climbed the tree, looked about, and saw a distant fire. He flew to it, brought back a burning stick in his beak, and kindled a fire before the hunter. Again and again, through the midnight hours, he placed dry wood, leaves, and grass upon the fire, until it blazed brightly. The hunter, chilled to the bone, warmed his exhausted limbs and found comfort. But as the fire flickered, the female pigeon saw the hunter still tormented by the fire of hunger. She said to her husband, “Do not release me, O noble one. With my own body, I shall please the suffering hunter. May you, O virtuous one, attain those worlds reserved for those who honor their guests. As long as I remain, your duty is not fulfilled; here I become the honored guest—permit me, O auspicious one.” Having spoken thus, the devoted wife circumambulated the fire three times, remembering the four-armed Lord Vishnu, soul of all, the great refuge and beloved of devotees. She said, “Enjoy as you please,” and entered the fire. Seeing her offer her life to the flames, the hunter was filled with shame and wonder. “Alas, shame upon the life of a human, for the king of birds has performed such a heroic act for my sake.” As the hunter spoke, the female bird addressed him, “Release me, O noble one. My husband is departing far away.” The hunter, trembling with fear, swiftly opened the cage and let her go. She circled her husband and sang to him by the fire. “This is the highest duty of women: to follow the husband. This path is prescribed in the Vedas and honored in all worlds. Just as one who seizes a snake pulls it from its hole, so a devoted wife follows her husband and ascends to heaven with him.