Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) (20 page)

‘Vaishampayana said, “There was a king, a ruler of the earth, always devoted to righteous conduct. His name was Uparichara and he loved hunting. That descendant of the Puru lineage was also named Vasu and, on Indra’s instructions, conquered the beautiful and handsome kingdom of Chedi. After some time, the king gave up the use of weapons and lived in a hermitage, practising austerities. One day, the thunder-wielding god
³⁸
came to him.

‘“Believing that he was trying to become the king of the gods through the practice of austerities, he tried to wean the king away from his austerities. Indra said, ‘O ruler of the world! You should ensure that the path of righteous conduct is not confused. Protect the path of righteous conduct, because that holds up the world. Protect meticulously and rigidly the practice of virtue in the world. If you protect virtue, you will see many other eternal and sacred worlds.
³⁹
Though I am in heaven and you are on earth, you have become a dear friend to me. O ruler of men! Live in that place that is the udder of the earth, stable with animals, flowers, wealth and foodgrains. It has a pleasant climate meant for enjoyment and has all the qualities of the earth and is well protected like heaven. O king of Chedi! Beyond compare on earth, this land is full of wealth, precious stones, other objects and minerals. The citizens in the cities
in this land are contented, pious and follow righteous ways. They never indulge in falsehood, not even in jest. The sons there never divide their wealth with their fathers and are engaged in the welfare of their superiors. Thin cows are never yoked to ploughs or carts for carrying goods. O king who gives reason for pride! In Chedi, all the castes are always engaged in their respective duties. Nothing that exists in the three worlds is unknown to you. I shall give you a great and excellent flying chariot,
⁴⁰
made of crystal and possessed by the gods alone, that is capable of carrying you through the sky. Among all the mortals on earth, you alone, though you possess a physical body, will ride in that best of flying chariots, as if in the form of a god. I shall also give you this garland known as
vaijayanti
,
⁴¹
made of lotuses that never fade. If you wear this, you will never be hurt by weapons in battle. O ruler of men! This unparalleled, supreme and great garland, known as Indra’s, will be your distinctive mark.’ The slayer of Vritra also gave a staff made of bamboo to protect the good and the peaceful. After one year was over, the lord of the earth
⁴²
planted this in the earth for the sake of worshipping Shakra. O ruler of the earth! From that day till now, all kings, following the example that was started, plant a bamboo pole in the ground. After that, the kings make it stand upright and decorate it with garlands, perfumes, ornaments and baskets. The worshipping is done in accordance with the rites, with garlands and ornaments, and the god who brings fortune is worshipped in his smiling form, a form he himself adopted out of his love for the great-souled Vasu. On seeing this welfare-granting and god-directed worship done, the great Indra was pleased with Vasu, chief among kings, and said, ‘The men and kings who worship me and observe my festival like the king of Chedi will gain prosperity and victory, with their kingdoms. Their cities will also expand and will always be full of joy.’ O lord of men! Thus did the great-souled and great Maghavan
⁴³
Indra bless the great king Vasu,
out of his love for him. Men who observe this festival of Shakra’s, with gifts of land and jewels, become pure and are blessed with boons, like Vasu, lord of Chedi and the performer of great sacrifices, was blessed by Maghavan. Ruling Chedi in a righteous way, Vasu, the lord of Chedi, was loved by Indra, and continued with Indra’s festival and protected the earth.

‘“He had five sons, who had great valour and infinite might. He
⁴⁴
was a universal emperor and instated his sons in many kingdoms. His famous
maharatha
⁴⁵
son Brihadratha was instated in the kingdom of Magadha. Others
⁴⁶
were Pratyagraha and Kushamba, also known as Manivahana and Macchilla, and Yadu, powerful kings invincible in battle. O king! These were the sons of that rajarshi with unbounded powers. They established kingdoms and cities named after them. Thus, the five kings, sons of Vasu, established separate dynasties that were eternal. When he seated himself or travelled through the sky in the crystal chariot obtained through Indra’s grace, the apsaras and the gandharvas worshipped the great king. And he became famous as Uparichara.
⁴⁷

‘“The river that flowed near his city, Shuktimati, was once attacked by the mountain Kolahola, maddened by lust.
⁴⁸
The mountain Kolahola was kicked by Vasu with his foot and the river flowed out freely through the gully caused by the kick. From the embrace of the mountain, the river gave birth to twins and, grateful, the river gave them to the king. Vasu, supreme among rajarshis and the provider of prosperity and vanquisher of enemies, made the son the general of his army.

‘“The daughter of the river was named Girika and the king
⁴⁹
made her his wife. Once, the time for intercourse arrived and Vasu’s
wife, Girika, having purified herself by bathing at the fertile time, informed her husband about her state. But on that very day, his ancestors came to him and asked the best of kings and wisest of men to kill some deer. Thinking that the command of his ancestors should be followed, he went out to hunt, thinking of Girika, who was exceedingly beautiful and like Shri
⁵⁰
herself. He was so excited that the semen was discharged in the beautiful forest and wishing to save it, the king of the earth collected it in the leaf of a tree. The lord thought that his semen should not be wasted in vain and that his wife’s fertile period should not pass barren. Then the king thought about this many times and the best of kings firmly decided that his semen would be productive, since the semen was issued when his queen’s time was right. Learned in the subtleties of dharma and artha, the king consecrated the semen, which was productive for producing progeny, and addressed a hawk that was seated nearby. ‘O amiable one! Please take this seed to my wife Girika. She is in her season now.’ The swift hawk took it from him and flew speedily through the sky.

‘“When the bird was thus swiftly flying through the sky, another hawk saw him and thought that the hawk was carrying some meat and flew at him. The two birds fought with their beaks in the sky. When they were thus fighting, the semen fell into the waters of the river Yamuna. An apsara known by the name of Adrika lived in the water of the Yamuna as a fish, because she had been cursed by Brahma. In the form of a fish, Adrika speedily came to where Vasu’s semen fell from the hawk’s claw and swallowed it up immediately. O best of the Bharata lineage! Some time after this, the fish was caught by fishermen and she was in her tenth month.
⁵¹
From the stomach of the fish there emerged twins in human form, a boy and a girl. They
⁵²
marvelled at this and went and told the king, ‘O king! These two have been born in human form inside a fish.’ Then King Uparichara accepted the male child and he later became the righteous
and truthful king named Matsya. As soon as the children were born, the apsara was also immediately freed from her curse. The beautiful one had earlier been told by the illustrious god
⁵³
that she would be freed from her non-human form when she gave birth to two human children. Following these words, after giving birth to two children and after being killed by the fishermen, she left the form of a fish and assumed her own divine form. The beautiful apsara then went up to the sky, following the path of the
siddha
s,
⁵⁴
rishis and
charana
s.
⁵⁵
The girl, the daughter of the fish, smelt of fish. She was given by the king to the fishermen, saying that she would be their daughter.

‘“This girl was called Satyavati. She was possessed of great beauty and had every quality and character. But because she lived among fishermen, that sweet-smiling girl carried the smell of fish for a long time. Wishing to serve her father, she plied a boat on the water. One day, when going on a pilgrimage, Parashara saw her. She was extremely beautiful and an object of desire even to siddhas. As soon as the wise one saw the beautiful one, the best of the sages wanted to make love to Vasu’s daughter. She told him, ‘O holy hermit! The rishis are standing on both banks of the river. How can we have intercourse when they are looking at us?’ Thus addressed by her, the great lord
⁵⁶
created a fog so that the entire place seemed to be covered in darkness. On witnessing this sudden creation of fog by the great rishi, the girl was surprised and overcome with modesty. Satyavati spiritedly said, ‘O great lord! Know me to be a virgin and under my father’s protection. O unblemished one! My virginity will be sullied if I unite with you. O best of the Brahmanas! If my virginity is lost, how will I be able to return home? O wise one! I will not be able to stay at home. O great lord! Bear this in mind and then do what is proper.’ The best of the rishis was very pleased at her words and replied, ‘Even after you do that which pleases me, you will remain a virgin. O beautiful, but timid one! Ask me for any boon that you desire. O one with beautiful
smiles! My boon has never proven to be fruitless.’ Having been thus addressed, she asked for the boon that her body might always have sweet scents. The great lord granted her what her heart desired. Then, having obtained the boon, she was extremely happy. The one adorned with all the charms of a woman had intercourse with that rishi of wonderful deeds. Thereafter, she became known on earth as Gandhavati.
⁵⁷
Men on earth could smell her fragrance from the distance of one yojana and after that, she was also known as Yojanagandha.

‘“The great lord Parashara went on to his own home. And Satyavati was extremely happy to have obtained this matchless boon. On that very day, she conceived as a result of the intercourse with Parashara and gave birth to Parashara’s immensely powerful son on an island in the Yamuna. With his mother’s permission, he decided to adopt a life of asceticism and went away, saying that he would instantly appear before her whenever she remembered him for any specific act. Thus was Dvaipayana born in Satyavati’s womb through Parashara. Because he was born on an island, he came to be known as Dvaipayana. Knowing that dharma loses one leg at the end of every yuga
⁵⁸
and that human life expectancy on earth and strength follow the pattern of the yugas, and moved by his desire to please Brahma and the Brahmanas, the learned one divided the Vedas. Thus, he came to be known as Vyasa.
⁵⁹
The greatest lord and granter of boons then taught the Vedas and the fifth Veda Mahabharata to Sumantu, Jaimini, Paila, his own son Shuka and his disciple Vaishampayana. Separately through them the Bharata Samhita became manifest. Then, Bhishma, of great valour and great fame, successor to Shantanu, was born in Ganga’s womb through the semen of the Vasus.

‘“There was a great and famous ancient rishi known as Animandavya. Though not a thief, he was suspected of being a thief and was impaled on a stake. Thereupon, the ancient maharshi summoned Dharma
⁶⁰
and addressed him in these words. ‘In my childhood, I pierced a locust
⁶¹
with a blade of grass. O Dharma! I remember that sin of mine. But I cannot remember any other. Since then, I have practised austerities a thousand times. Have not these great austerities neutralized a single sin? The killing of a Brahmana is more heinous than the killing of all other beings. O Dharma! Because of your sin,
⁶²
you will be born in the womb of a Shudra.’ Being thus cursed, Dharma was born in the womb of a Shudra in the form of Vidura, learned, righteous and pure of body. From Gavalgana, Sanjaya,
⁶³
who was like a sage, was born as a suta.

‘“Karna, of great strength, was born from Surya when Kunti was still a virgin. He emerged from his mother’s womb with natural armour
⁶⁴
and a face adorned with earrings.
⁶⁵

‘“Vishnu himself, worshipped by all the worlds, appeared in Devaki through Vasudeva, for the welfare of the world. He is of great fame, the god without beginning and without end, the lord and creator of the universe, unmanifest, without decay, the brahman, the chief, without any attributes, the great soul, eternal, nature, the lord who controls, the prime being, the creator of the universe, the source of the sattva quality, perennial, without deterioration, infinite, incapable of being moved, the god who is the supreme soul, Lord Narayana,
the upholder, perpetual, the supreme one without decay. This prime being, with infinite wealth and the lord and grandfather of all beings, took his birth in the lineage of the Andhakas and the Vrishnis in order to increase righteousness in the world.

‘“The great warriors Satyaki and Kritavarma, skilled in the use of weapons and well versed in the use of all arms, always obedient to Narayana, were born from Satyaka and Hridika, as experts in use of weapons. The spilt semen of maharshi Bharadvaja, great in the practice of austerities, was kept in a vessel. There it grew and from that was born Drona. Goutama’s semen fell on a clump of reeds and from that were born twins, Kripa
⁶⁶
of immense strength and Ashvatthama’s mother.
⁶⁷
Ashvatthama was born from Drona, blessed with the boon of knowing all weapons. From the sacrificial fire was then born Dhrishtadyumna, as radiant as the fire itself. The mighty hero was born with a bow in his hand, for Drona’s destruction. From the sacrificial altar was born Krishna,
⁶⁸
beautiful and radiant. She had a fascinating body and shone with supreme beauty. Then were born Prahlada’s disciples, Nagnajit and Subala. Subala had a son named Shakuni. Through the curse of the gods, the son of the king of Gandhara
⁶⁹
became the enemy of virtue and a destroyer of beings. The other
⁷⁰
became Duryodhana’s mother. Both
⁷¹
were skilled in material pursuits.