Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) (22 page)

‘The illustrious Bhrigu emerged by cleaving open Brahma’s heart. Bhrigu’s son was the learned Shukra, wise and the son of one who was wise, and a planet. On being appointed by the one who created himself,
³⁹
he travels the sky to sustain life in the three worlds, presiding over rain and drought, fear and freedom from fear. He is celibate, faithful in his vows, wise, learned in yoga and has great intelligence. He is the preceptor of the gods and the demons. Bhrigu’s
son was thus appointed by the mighty one
⁴⁰
to look after that which should be obtained and preserve that which has been obtained. Bhrigu had another son named Chyavana, learned, righteous and radiant in his austerities. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In his anger, he emerged from his mother’s womb and set her free.
⁴¹
Manu’s daughter Arushi became that wise one’s
⁴²
wife and Ourva,
⁴³
of great fame, was born from her, ripping open her thighs. Even when young, he had great energy and all the qualities and practised great austerities. His son was Richika and Richika’s son was Jamadagni. Jamadagni had four great-souled sons—the youngest of them was Rama,
⁴⁴
superior to the others in all qualities, skilled in the use of all weapons and the destroyer of Kshatriyas. Ourva had one hundred sons, Jamadagni
⁴⁵
being the foremost. He
⁴⁶
had thousands of sons and thus Bhrigu’s offspring proliferated.

‘Brahma had two other sons, whose signs can be seen in the worlds. They are Dhata and Vidhata and they lived with Manu. Their sister is the beautiful goddess Lakshmi, whose abode is the lotus and her sons, born of the mind, are the horses that travel in the sky. The goddess Jyeshtha was born from Shukra and became Varuna’s wife. She gave birth to a son known as Bala and a daughter named Shura,
⁴⁷
who brings joy to the gods.

‘When hungry creatures began to devour each other for food, Adharma, the destroyer of all beings, was born. His wife was Nirriti and so rakshasas
⁴⁸
are known as nairritas. She also had three other terrible sons, always engaged in evil deeds—
Bhaya,
⁴⁹
Mahabhaya
⁵⁰
and Mrityu,
⁵¹
the destroyers of beings. The divine Tamra gave birth to five daughters known in the worlds as Kaki, Shyeni, Bhasi, Dhritarashtri and Shuki. O, ruler of men! Kaki gave birth to the owls, Shyeni gave birth to the hawks, Bhasi gave birth to the cocks and vultures, Dhritarashtri gave birth to all the ducks, swans and geese and the learned and righteous Shuki, blessed with the best qualities and adorned with the best marks, gave birth to the parrots.

‘Krodha gave birth to nine daughters who were prone to anger—Mrigi, Mrigamanda, Hari, Bhadramana, Matangi, Sharduli, Shveta, Surabhi and the famous Surasa, blessed with every fortunate mark. O best of men! Mrigi’s offspring are all the deer. O scorcher of enemies! Mrigamanda’s offspring are bears, other forms of deer and yaks. Bhadramana had the elephant Airavata as her son. Her son Airavata is a great elephant and the divine elephant. Hari’s progeny were tawny monkeys and nimble monkeys. It is said that the
golangula
⁵²
monkeys are also Hari’s sons. O fortunate one! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Sharduli gave birth to lions and tigers and certainly also to big panthers and leopards. O ruler of men! The offspring of Matangi are the elephants. Shveta gave birth to a swift cardinal
⁵³
elephant named Shveta. O king! Surabhi gave birth to two daughters, the beautiful Rohini and the famous Gandharvi. In addition, cattle were born from Rohini and horses from Gandharvi. Surasa gave birth to the nagas and Kadru to the pannagas.
⁵⁴
Anala gave birth to the seven kinds of trees that produce round fruit.

‘Anala had another daughter named Shuki. Surasa
⁵⁵
was Kadru’s daughter. Shyeni was Aruna
⁵⁶
’s wife. She gave birth to two mighty
and powerful sons, named Sampati and the valorous Jatayu. Vinata had two famous sons, Garuda and Aruna. O lord over men and chief among those who are wise! Thus have I completely described to you the origins of all principal creatures. The man who hears this is cleansed from all his sins, gets to know everything and finally attains the highest state after death.’

Janamejaya said, ‘O great-souled and revered one! I wish to hear in detail accounts of the origins and deeds among men of all creatures who assumed human form—gods, demons, yakshas, rakshasas and other beings.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘O Indra among men! I shall tell you everything about those gods who took birth among men, and about the demons. The bull among the danavas was known as Viprachitti, and as a bull among men, he was known as Jarasandha. O king! The son of Diti, known as Hiranyakashipu, was known in the world of men as the mighty Shishupala. Prahlada’s younger brother, known as Samhrada, became known as Shalya, chief among the Bahlikas. O lord over men! Known as Anuhrada, the mighty youngest brother became famous in this world as Dhrishtaketu. O king! The son of Diti, known as Shibi, became the famous king Druma on earth. O ruler of men! The best of the asuras, known as Bashkala, was born as the famous Bhagadatta. O king! The five valorous and swift asuras—Ayahshira, Asvhashira, Ayahshanku, Gaganamurdha and Vegavan—were born on earth in the illustrious lineage of Kekaya and became great kings. The mighty asura who was known as Ketumana, was born on earth as King Amitouja. The great, fortunate and famous asura, Svarbhanu, became King Ugrasena of terrible
deeds. The great and fortunate asura, known as Ashva, became the valorous and invincible King Ashoka. O king! O bull among men! His younger brother Ashvapati, son of Diti, was born as King Hardikya. The great and fortunate asura, famous as Vrishaparva, became King Dirghaprajna on earth. Vrishaparva’s younger brother, known as Ajaka, became King Malla on earth. The strong and great asura known as Ashvagriva became King Rochamana on earth. The wise and illustrious asura known as Sukshma became the famous King Brihanta on earth. Tuhunda, supreme among asuras, became King Senabindu on earth. The extremely strong asura, known as Isripa, became King Papajit on earth, and his valour was well known. The great asura known as Ekachakra became known on earth as Prativindhya. The great asura known as Virupaksha, capable of displaying different modes of fighting, was known on earth as King Chitravarmana. The supreme danava Hara, the abductor of his enemies, was born as Suvastu, a bull among men. The mightily powerful asura, destroyer of enemy armies and known as Ahara, became famous on earth as King Bahlika. The supreme among asuras, Nichandra, whose face was like the moon, became famous on earth as the fortunate King Munjakesha. The wise and invincible asura known as Nikumbha became Devadhipa on earth, the best of kings. Sharabha, the great asura who was a son of Diti, became rajarshi Pourava among men. The asura who was known as the second Shalabha, became King Prahrada in the land of the Bahlikas on earth. Chandra, the best of Diti’s sons and as handsome as the lord of the stars
⁵⁷
in the world, became rajarshi Rishika on earth, supreme among kings. O best of kings! The best of asuras, known as Mritapa, became King Paschimanupaka on earth. The great and powerful asura known as Gavishtha became King Drumasena on earth. The fortunate and great asura, famous as Mayura, became Vishva, ruler of the earth. The asura who was his
⁵⁸
younger brother and was known as Suparna, became King Kalakriti on earth. The supremely powerful among
asuras, known as Chandrahanta, became rajarashi Shunaka on earth, supreme among kings. The great asura known as Chandravinashana became rajarashi Janaki on earth, supreme among kings. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! The supreme danava known as Dirghajihva became famous on earth as the ruler of the kingdom of Kashi. The planet who was born from Simhi and who oppressed the sun and the moon,
⁵⁹
became famous as Kratha, ruler of men. It is said that the eldest of the four sons of Anayu, the asura Vikshara, became the powerful King Vasumitra. The great asura who was Vikshara’s second brother, became king of the land of Pamsu. The best of the asuras known as Balavira became Poundramatsyaka, ruler of men. O king! The great asura known as Vritra became rajarshi Manimana on earth, ruler of men. The asura who was his
⁶⁰
younger brother and was known as Krodhahanta, became the famous King Danda on earth. The asura known as Krodhavardhana became Dandadhara on earth, ruler of men.

‘O ruler of men! The eight sons of the asura Kalaka were all born on earth and became kings who were as powerful as tigers. Out of the eight great kaleya asuras, the eldest became the illustrious King Jayatsena of Magadha. The illustrious second, equal to Harihaya,
⁶¹
became King Aparajita on earth. O great king! The third great asura, immensely powerful and with immense valour, became the king of the nishadas on earth. The fourth is known on earth as Shrenimana, supreme among rajarshis. The fifth great asura, greatest among them, became King Mahouja on earth, the tormentor of his foes. The great and wise asura who was the sixth, became Abhiru on earth, best of rajarshis. From that group
⁶²
came Samundrasena, renowned all over the earth, right up to the shores of the ocean, for his learning in dharma and artha. O ruler of men! The eighth of the kaleyas and a tormentor of enemies, known as Brihata, became a righteous king, devoted to the welfare of all beings.

‘O ruler of men! From the race of asuras known as
krodhavasha
,
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many famous kings were born on earth. I have mentioned them to you—Nandika, Karnaveshta, Siddhartha, Kitaka, Suvira, Subahu, Mahavira, Bahlika, Krodha, Vichitya, Surasa, the handsome king Nila, Viradhama, Dantavakra, Durjaya, Rukmi, King Janamejaya, a tiger among kings, Ashada, Vayuvega, Bhuriteja, Ekalavya, Sumitra, Vatadhana, Gomukha, the kings known as Karushaka, Kshemadhurti, Shrutayu, Uddhava, Brihatsena, Kshema, Ugratirtha, Kuhara, the king of Kalinga and Matimana, an Indra among men and known as Ishvara. O descendant of the Kuru lineage and O ruler of the earth! O great king! In ancient times, these kings were born on earth from the race known as krodhavasha and they had great strength and performed great deeds. O ruler of men! Devaka, who was as resplendent as the king of the gods, was born on earth as the chief of the gandharvas.

‘O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Drona, the son of Bharadvaja, was not born from a womb. He was a part of the illustrious
devarshi
Brihaspati. O tiger among kings! He had great energy and great fame and performed great deeds. He was the best among those who were skilled in the knowledge of all weapons. Those who had knowledge of the Vedas knew him to be learned in the Vedas, as well as in knowledge of weapons.
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Drona brought fame to his lineage and was like Indra in his deeds. O descendant of the Bharata lineage and O ruler of men! The brave and lotus-eyed Ashvatthama, of great valour, tormentor of enemies and fearful to enemy armies, was born from three parts of Mahadeva that merged into one—
yama
,
⁶⁵
kama
⁶⁶
and krodha.
⁶⁷
Through the curse of Vashishtha and the design of Vasava,
⁶⁸
the eight vasus were born as the sons of Shantanu,
⁶⁹
through Ganga. The youngest was Bhishma,
intelligent, learned in the Vedas, the best of speakers, fearful to enemy armies and the dispeller of fear among the Kurus. He was supreme among those who had all knowledge, had great energy and fought with the great-souled Bhargava Rama, son of Jamadagni. O king! The brahmarshi who was known on earth as Kripa and who was the embodiment of virility, was born from the group of rudras. O king! Know the king and great warrior,
⁷⁰
known in the world as Shakuni, the tormentor of foes, to be Dvapara himself. He, who was known as Satyaki, truthful to his promises, upholder of the pride of the Vrishni lineage and the tormentor of enemies, was born from parts of the divine maruts. Rajarshi Drupada, best among those skilled in the usage of all weapons, was also born in the world of men from the same gods.
⁷¹
O king! Know that Kritavarma, the best of bulls among Kshatriyas, performer of unparalleled deeds and chief among lords of men and rajarshi Virata, the conqueror of other kingdoms and scorcher of foes, were also born from the class of maruts.

‘Arishta’s son, renowned as Hamsa and king of the gandharvas, was born to propagate the Kuru lineage. He was known as Dhritarashtra, Krishna Dvaipayana’s son. He had great energy, long arms and he was a ruler of men with wisdom in his eyes. Through his mother’s fault and the anger of a rishi, he was born blind. Know that he who was known in the world as Vidura, best among all wise men, was the greatly fortunate son of Atri himself and the best among all sons. The evil-minded and evil-spirited King Duryodhana, who brought disgrace to the lineage of the Kurus, was born on earth from Kali’s part. O ruler of the earth! He was responsible for destroying everything on earth, he created discord and was hated by everyone in the world. He fanned enmity and the great fire of destruction that ended all beings. Among men, Pulastya’s sons
⁷²
were born as his brothers. Duhshasana onwards, there were 100 in number, all performer of cruel deeds. Durmukha, Duhsaha and the others, whose names will not be mentioned. All of them assisted Duryodhana. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They were all sons of Pulastya.

‘O king! Know that King Yudhishthira was a part of Dharma, Bhimasena of the god of wind and Arjuna of the king of the gods. Nakula and Sahadeva, most handsome and enchanting to all beings, were parts of the Ashvins. He who was known as Suvarcha, the mighty son of Soma, became Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu, the performer of great deeds. Know that maharatha Dhrishtadyumna was born from Agni’s part. O king! Know that the male-female Shikhandi was born from a rakshasa. O bull of the Bharata lineage! Know that Droupadi’s five sons were born from the class of the vishvadevas.
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Know that the greatly famous maharatha Karna, who parted with his natural armour, was born from the celestial sun. From the eternal god of the gods, whose name is Narayana, was born, in the world of men, the mighty Vasudeva. The immensely powerful Baladeva was a part of the naga Shesha. O king! Know that Pradyumna, of great energy, was a part of Sanatkumara. O Indra among men! In this way, the parts of many of other gods were born in Vasudeva’s lineage and increased its glory.