Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) (49 page)

‘“O Kounteya! The mighty King Samvarana, the son of Riksha and a bull among the Kurus, always used to worship the sun, with offerings and garlands, observing fasts and rituals and practising various austerities. Puru’s descendant worshipped Anshuman
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when he arose, with devotion, obedience, selflessness and purity. On seeing that Samvarana was learned in the path of dharma and was unparalleled on earth for his handsomeness, Surya decided that he was the best husband for Tapati. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! Surya desired to give his daughter to that supreme king, whose lineage was famous. Just as the blazing rays of the sun suffuse the sky with radiance, King Samvarana filled the earth with his splendour. O Partha! Just as those who know the brahman worship the rising sun, all subjects other than Brahmanas worshipped Samvarana. The fortunate king surpassed the moon in benevolence towards those who wished him well and the sun in scorching those who wished him ill. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! Tapan
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himself decided that Tapati should be given to a king who had such great virtue and qualities.

‘“O Partha! It is told that once the king, blessed with such great good fortune and immensely famous on earth, went out to hunt in the woods on the slopes of a mountain. O son of Kunti! When he
was hunting, his unequalled horse, overcome with hunger and thirst, died on that mountain. O Partha! Abandoning the dead horse, the king walked on that mountain on foot and saw a lady who had large eyes and was unrivalled in the worlds in beauty. That scorcher of enemies, a tiger among kings, was alone. That lady was also alone. He stood motionless and stared at her with an unwavering gaze. From her beauty, the king thought that she might be the goddess Shri.
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He again thought that her beauty was the manifestation of the sun’s rays on earth. The black-eyed lady stood on the mountain slope, with its trees and creepers, like a statue of gold. Having seen her, the king became contemptuous of all other beings and considered that his eyes had now accomplished their purpose. The king thought that nothing that he had seen from the date of his birth could rival her beauty. He thought that the creator had created the beauty of this large-eyed lady after churning the worlds of gods, asuras and men. The king’s heart and mind were tied up in the noose of her perfection. Deprived of his senses, he was rooted to the spot. Thus, King Samvarana then decided that the lady’s richness of beauty was unmatched in the three worlds.

‘“As soon as he had seen that fortunate one, the king of noble lineage was pierced by the arrows of the god of love and began to worry. Burning with the fierce fire of desire, he spoke to the illustrious lady, who was an adult, but was still innocent, ‘O lady with thighs like that of a plantain tree!
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Who are you? Who do you belong to? Why have you come here? O lady with the beautiful smile! Why are you wandering alone in this lonely forest? You are unblemished in every limb and adorned in every ornament. You are like a coveted ornament to those ornaments themselves. You don’t seem to be a goddess or an asuri, or a yakshi or a rakshasi, or a nagini or a gandharvi, or a human. O supreme among beautiful ones! None of the beautiful women I have seen, or heard of, can match you.’
Thus, struck by desire, did the ruler of the earth then speak to her in the lonely forest.

‘“But she did not utter a word in reply. When the king kept asking, the large-eyed lady vanished like a flash of lightning. Like one who had lost his senses, the king wandered around in the forest, looking for the lady with eyes like a lotus. Having failed to find her, that best of the Kuru lineage lamented a lot and for a long time remained motionless in grief.”’

‘The gandharva said, “When she disappeared, the king, the one who caused the downfall of enemy armies, was struck by desire and fell down on the ground. On his falling down on the ground, the one with the beautiful smile and swelling and rounded hips appeared once again before the king. In a gentle voice, the fortunate beauty then spoke to the king, the extender of the Kuru lineage who had lost his senses because of desire, ‘O tiger among kings! O fortunate one! O scorcher of enemies! You are known in the world. You should not be seen in loss of your senses. Arise! Arise!’ Having heard these sweet words, the king looked up and saw standing before him the lady with the wide hips.

‘“The ruler of men then addressed the black-eyed one in these words, his heart burning with the fire of desire and his words weak with emotion, ‘O black-eyed lady! O fortunate one! I am burning with desire. O lady with the large eyes! I am seeking you. Accept me in return, because my life is ebbing away because of you. O you whose complexion is like the inside of a lotus! Love’s sharp arrows never stop piercing me. O fortunate one! The god of love has bitten me like a large snake. O one with the unblemished face! O one with the tapering thighs! O one with a voice like the song of the kinnaras! My life is in your hands. O one with unblemished and beautiful limbs! O one with a face like a lotus or the moon! O bashful one! I
shall certainly not be able to live without you. O lady with the large eyes! O black-eyed one! You should not forsake me. O beautiful one! You must save me with your affection. O beautiful and timid one! O one with thighs like a plantain tree! Marry me according to the gandharva rites, because among all forms of marriage, the gandharva is said to be the best.’

‘“Tapati said, ‘O king! I am not in control of myself. I am a daughter under a father’s superintendence. If you really seek pleasure from me, go and ask my father for me. O ruler of men! You say that I have robbed you of your life. But know that at the first sight, you have also robbed me of my life. O best of kings! I am not the mistress of my own body. Therefore, I cannot come to you. Women are always dependent. But is there any woman in the three worlds who will not desire a husband like you, who has a noble lineage and is always benevolent to his dependants? Therefore, since the time is right, ask for me from my father Aditya, with reverence, austerities and rituals. O destroyer of enemies! O king! If he desires to give me to you, I shall always be under your superintendence. O bull among the Kshatriyas! I am Tapati, Savitri’s youngest sister. I am the daughter of Savitar,
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who is a torch to the worlds.’”’

‘The gandharva said, “Having said this, the unblemished one swiftly rose up into the sky. The king once more fell down on the ground. Searching for that supreme among kings, his minister and attendants found him in that state in the great forest, prone on the ground like Shakra’s flag when the season is right.
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On seeing
the great archer prone on the ground and without a horse, the minister was burnt, as if by a fire. Drawing quickly near, the minister raised the king, who was lying senseless on the ground in the affliction of desire, affectionately and reverently, just as a father raises a fallen son. This minister was old in age, wisdom, fame and deeds. When he had raised him and senses were recovered, the minister addressed him in sweet and benevolent words, ‘O tiger among men! Do not be frightened. O unblemished one! You will be blessed.’ The minister thought that the king, the destroyer of hostile armies in battle, had been lying down on the ground because he had been overcome with hunger, thirst and exhaustion. He sprinkled cold water, fragrant with the scent of lotuses, on the king’s head, but without touching the crown. Thereupon, the powerful king regained his consciousness. He then sent away all his attendants, except the minister.

‘“When that large retinue had gone away on the king’s instructions, the king again sat down on that mountain plain. Then, on that great mountain, the king purified himself and joined his palms. He raised his arms up and worshipped the sun. King Samvarana, destroyer of enemies, also mentally thought of his priest Vashishtha, supreme among rishis. Without a break, the ruler of men remained there for days and nights. Then, on the twelfth day, the brahmarshi
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came to him. Through his power of austerities, the great rishi who was self-controlled knew that, as decreed by destiny, the king’s heart had been stolen by Tapati. Then the best of sages, who was rigid in his vows, wished to bring good fortune to the virtuous king and assured him. As the ruler of men watched, the illustrious rishi ascended the sky to meet the sun, as radiant himself as that blazing one. With his palms joined, the Brahmana joyfully introduced himself to the one with a thousand rays and said, ‘I am Vashishtha.’ Then the immensely radiant Vivasvat
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said to the best of sages, ‘O maharshi! You are welcome. Tell me what you desire.’”’

‘“Vashishtha said, ‘O Vibhavasu!
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On Samvarana’s behalf, I have come to ask you for your daughter Tapati, Savitri’s younger sister. He is a mighty king with great deeds. He is great-souled and is well versed in dharma and artha. O traveller in the sky! Samvarana is a fit husband for your daughter.’”

‘The gandharva said, “Hearing these words, Savita
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decided on giving her. Divakara
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saluted the Brahmana and said, ‘O sage! Samvarana is the best among kings and you are the best among rishis. Tapati is the best of women. Why give her somewhere else?’ Thereupon, Tapana
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himself gave the unblemished and perfect Tapati to the great-souled Vashishtha, for Samvarana’s sake. The maharshi accepted the lady Tapati and taking his leave, Vashishtha returned to where the bull among the Kurus and the one with famous deeds was seated. The king was possessed by love and his heart was fixed on her. He became extremely glad when he saw that Vashishtha was leading the divine maiden Tapati, the one with a beautiful smile, towards him. The illustrious rishi Vashishtha, pure of spirit, came to the king when he had completed the twelfth night of his vows. Thus Samvarana obtained his wife through austerities and worship of the Lord Gopati
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and Vashishtha’s energy. That bull among men accepted Tapati’s hand on that best of mountains, frequented by gods and gandharvas, in accordance with the prescribed rituals.

‘“With Vashishtha’s permission, the rajarshi
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desired to sport with his wife on that mountain. He then instructed his minister to rule over his city, kingdom, mounts and armies. Bidding farewell to the king, Vashishtha left. The king sported on that mountain like a god. The king pleasured with his wife in the groves and streams of
that mountain for twelve years. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! For those twelve years, the one with a thousand eyes
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did not pour any rain in the king’s city and kingdom. Because of hunger and starvation, the men became like dead bodies. The city looked like a city of the king of the dead, populated by dead people. Then, seeing that condition, the illustrious rishi Vashishtha, learned in dharma, went to the supreme among kings.
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O king! He brought back the tiger-like king, who had been away from his city for twelve years, together with Tapati. When that tiger among kings entered the city again, the slayer of demons
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poured down rain, as before. Thus, enervated by that foremost among kings, who had himself enervated his soul, the city and the kingdom became extremely happy. With his wife Tapati, the king performed sacrifices for twelve years, like Shakra,
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lord of the maruts.

‘“O Partha! This is the story of the greatly fortunate Tapati of ancient times. She was the daughter of Vivasvat and it is after her that you are named Tapatya. O Arjuna! O greatest among those who scorch! On Tapati, King Samvarana had a son named Kuru. Born in that lineage of Tapati, you are known as Tapatya.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Hearing the gandharva’s words, the bull of the Bharata lineage, Arjuna, shone with joy, like the full moon. His curiosity was excited by what he had heard about Vashishtha’s ascetic powers. The best of the Kurus, the great archer, spoke to the gandharva, “I wish to hear the story of the rishi whom you have referred to as Vashishtha. Tell me in detail. O lord of the gandharvas! Tell me who this illustrious rishi, the priest of our ancestors, was.”

‘The gandharva said, “Desire and anger, which even the gods find difficult to conquer, were overcome through his
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austerities and washed his feet. Though the supreme sage’s wrath was stirred at Vishvamitra’s evil deed, he was noble enough not to annihilate the Kushikas.
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Though he mourned the death of his sons, and had the power to do so, he did not perform any terrible deed to destroy Vishvamitra. Like the great ocean does not cross its shoreline, he did not transgress Yama’s law by bringing his sons back from the land of the dead. Obtaining this great-souled and self-controlled supreme rishi Vashishtha as their priest, Ikshvaku and other kings conquered the entire earth. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! These kings performed many sacrifices. O best of the Pandavas! This brahmarshi was the priest for those excellent kings, like Brihaspati was for the gods.

‘“Therefore, look for a Brahmana in whose heart dharma is supreme, who is learned in the Vedas and in dharma and who has all the qualities, and appoint him as your priest. O Partha! A Kshatriya of noble birth who wishes to conquer the earth must first appoint a priest to be in front, so that the kingdom flourishes. A king who wishes to conquer the earth must have a Brahmana before him. Therefore, let a Brahmana who has all the qualities be your priest.”’

‘Arjuna said, “How did the hostility between Vashishtha and Vishvamitra, both of whom lived in divine hermitages, arise? Tell us in detail.”

‘The gandharva said, “O Partha! Vashishtha’s account is known as a purana in all the worlds. Listen to me as I recount it in its entirety.
O bull of the Bharata lineage! There was a great king in Kanyakubja. He was known in the world as Gadhi and he was devoted to true dharma. His virtuous son, a conqueror of enemies, was known by the name of Vishvamitra and he had many armies and mounts. With his ministers, he used to wander in deep forests and beautiful wildernesses, to hunt deer and boar. Once, tired and exhausted from pursuit of a deer, that best of men came to Vashishtha’s hermitage. On seeing him come, the fortunate and illustrious rishi, Vashishtha, offered homage to Vishvamitra, the best of men. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He welcomed him and offered him water to wash his feet and face and gave him offerings of forest fare.