The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa BOOK 1 ADI PARVA SECTION LXXIV (Sambhava Parva continued)

  The Mahabharata of

Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa BOOK 1

ADI PARVA

SECTION LXXIV

(Sambhava Parva continued)

"Vaisampayana said, 'After Dushmanta had left the asylum having made

those promises unto Sakuntala, the latter of tapering thighs brought

forth a boy of immeasurable energy. And when the child was three years

old, he became in splendour like the blazing fire. And, O Janamejaya, he

was possessed of beauty and magnanimity and every accomplishment. And

that first of virtuous men, Kanwa, caused all the rites of religion to be

performed in respect of that intelligent child thriving day by day. And

the boy gifted with pearly teeth and shining locks, capable of slaying

lions even then, with all auspicious signs on his palm, and broad

expansive forehead, grew up in beauty and strength. And like unto a

celestial child in splendour, he began to grow up rapidly. And when he

was only six years of age, endued with great strength he used to seize

and bind to the trees that stood around that asylum, lions and tigers and

bears and buffaloes and elephants. And he rode on some animals, and

pursued others in sportive mood. The dwellers at Kanwa's asylum thereupon

bestowed on him a name. And they said, because he seizes and restrains an

animals however strong, let him, be called Sarvadamana (the subduer of

all). And it was thus that the boy came to be named Sarvadamana, endued

as he was with prowess, and energy and strength. And the Rishi seeing the

boy and marking also his extraordinary acts, told Sakuntala that the time

had come for his installation as the heir-apparent. And beholding the

strength of the boy, Kanwa commanded his disciples, saying, 'Bear ye

without delay this Sakuntala with her son from this abode to that of her

husband, blessed with every auspicious sign. Women should not live long

in the houses of their paternal or maternal relations. Such residence is

destructive of their reputation, their good conduct, their virtue.

Therefore, delay not in bearing her hence.' These disciples of the Rishi

thereupon, saying 'So be it,' went towards the city named after an

elephant (Hastinapura) with Sakuntala and her son ahead of them. And then

she of fair eye-brows, taking with her that boy of celestial beauty,

endued with eyes like lotus petals, left the woods where she had been

first known by Dushmanta. And having approached the king, she with her

boy resembling in splendour the rising sun was introduced to him. And the

disciples of the Rishi having introduced her, returned to the asylum. And

Sakuntala having worshipped the king according to proper form, told him,

'This is thy son, O king! Let him be installed as thy heir-apparent. O

king, this child, like unto a celestial, hath been begotten by thee upon

me. Therefore, O best of men, fulfil now the promise thou gavest me. Call

to mind, O thou of great good fortune, the agreement thou hadst made on

the occasion of thy union with me in the asylum of Kanwa.'

"The king, hearing these her words, and remembering everything said, 'I

do not remember anything. Who art thou, O wicked woman in ascetic guise?

I do not remember having any connection with thee in respect of Dharma,

Kama and Arthas. Go or stay or do as thou pleasest.' Thus addressed by

him, the fair-coloured innocent one became abashed. Grief deprived her of

consciousness and she stood for a time like an wooden post. Soon,

however, her eyes became red like copper and her lips began to quiver.

And the glances she now and then cast upon the king seemed to burn the

latter. Her rising wrath however, and the fire of her asceticism, she

extinguished within herself by an extraordinary effort. Collecting her

thoughts in a moment, her heart possessed with sorrow and rage, she thus

addressed her lord in anger, looking at him, 'Knowing everything, O

monarch, how canst thou, like an inferior person, thus say that thou

knowest it not? Thy heart is a witness to the truth or falsehood of this

matter. Therefore, speak truly without degrading thyself. He who being

one thing representeth himself as another thing to others, is like a

thief and a robber of his own self. Of what sin is he not capable? Thou

thinkest that thou alone hast knowledge of thy deed. But knowest thou not

that the Ancient, Omniscient one (Narayana) liveth in thy heart? He

knoweth all thy sins, and thou sinnest in His presence. He that sins

thinks that none observes him. But he is observed by the gods and by Him

also who is in every heart. The Sun, the Moon, the Air, the Fire, the

Earth, the Sky, Water, the heart, Yama, the day, the night, both

twilights, and Dharma, all witness the acts of man. Yama, the son of

Surya, takes no account of the sins of him with whom Narayana the witness

of all acts, is gratified. But he with whom Narayana is not gratified is

tortured for his sins by Yama. Him who degradeth himself by representing

his self falsely, the gods never bless. Even his own soul blesseth him

not. I am a wife devoted to my husband. I have come of my own accord, it

is true. But do not, on that account, treat me with disrespect. I am thy

wife and, therefore, deserve to be treated respectfully. Wilt thou not

treat me so, because I have come hither of my own accord? In the presence

of so many, why dost thou treat me like an ordinary woman? I am not

certainly crying in the wilderness. Dost thou not hear me? But if thou

refuse to do what I supplicate thee for, O Dushmanta, thy head this

moment shall burst into a hundred pieces! The husband entering the womb

of the wife cometh out himself in the form of the son. Therefore is the

wife called by those cognisant of the Vedas as Jaya (she of whom one is

born). And the son that is so born unto persons cognisant of the Vedic

Mantras rescueth the spirits of deceased ancestors. And because the son

rescueth ancestors from the hell call Put, therefore, hath he been called

by the Self-create himself as Puttra (the rescuer from Put). By a son one

conquereth the three worlds. By a son's son, one enjoyeth eternity. And

by a grandson's son great-grand-fathers enjoy everlasting happiness. She

is a true wife who is skilful in household affairs. She is a true wife

who hath borne a son. She is a true wife whose heart is devoted to her

lord. She is a true wife who knoweth none but her lord. The wife is a

man's half. The wife is the first of friends. The wife is the root of

religion, profit, and desire. The wife is the root of salvation. They

that have wives can perform religious acts. They that have wives can lead

domestic lives. They that have wives have the means to be cheerful. They

that have wives can achieve good fortune. Sweet-speeched wives are

friends on occasions of joy. They are as fathers on occasions of

religious acts. They are mothers in sickness and woe. Even in the deep

woods to a traveller a wife is his refreshment and solace. He that hath a

wife is trusted by all. A wife, therefore, is one's most valuable

possession. Even when the husband leaving this world goeth into the

region of Yama, it is the devoted wife that accompanies him thither. A

wife going before waits for the husband. But if the husband goeth before,

the chaste wife followeth close. For these reasons, O king, doth marriage

exist. The husband enjoyth the companionship of the wife both in this and

in the other worlds. It hath been said by learned persons that one is

himself born as one's son. Therefore, a man whose wife hath borne a son

should look upon her as his mother. Beholding the face of the son one

hath begotten upon his wife, like his own face in a mirror, one feeleth

as happy as a virtuous man, on attaining to heaven. Men scorched by

mental grief, or suffering under bodily pain, feel as much refreshed in

the companionship of their wives as a perspiring person in a cool bath.

No man, even in anger, should ever do anything that is disagreeable to

his wife, seeing that happiness, joy, and virtue,--everything dependeth

on the wife. A wife is the sacred field in which the husband is born

himself. Even Rishis cannot create creatures without women. What

happiness is greater than what the father feeleth when the son running

towards him, even though his body be covered with dust, claspeth his

limbs? Why then dost thou treat with indifference such a son, who hath

approached thee himself and who casteth wistful glances towards thee for

climbing thy knees? Even ants support their own eggs without destroying

them; then why shouldst not thou, a virtuous man that thou art, support

thy own child? The touch of soft sandal paste, of women, of (cool) water

is not so agreeable as the touch of one's own infant son locked in one's

embrace. As a Brahmana is the foremost of all bipeds, a cow, the foremost

of all quadrupeds, a protector, the foremost of all superiors, so is the

son the foremost of all objects, agreeable to the touch. Let, therefore,

this handsome child touch thee in embrace. There is nothing in the world

more agreeable to the touch than the embrace of one's son. O chastiser of

foes, I have brought forth this child, O monarch, capable of dispelling

all thy sorrows after bearing him in my womb for full three years. O

monarch of Puru's race, 'He shall perform a hundred

horse-sacrifices'--these were the words uttered from the sky when I was

in the lying-in room. Indeed, men going into places remote from their

homes take up there others' children on their laps and smelling their

heads feel great happiness. Thou knowest that Brahmanas repeat these

Vedic mantras on the occasion of the consecrating rites of infancy.--Thou

art born, O son, of my body! Thou art sprung from my heart. Thou art

myself in the form of a son. Live thou to a hundred years! My life

dependeth on thee, and the continuation of my race also, on thee.

Therefore, O son, live thou in great happiness to a hundred years. He

hath sprung from thy body, this second being from thee! Behold thyself in

thy son, as thou beholdest thy image in the clear lake. As the

sacrificial fire is kindled from the domestic one, so hath this one

sprung from thee. Though one, thou hast divided thyself. In course of

hunting while engaged in pursuit of the deer, I was approached by thee, O

king, I who was then a virgin in the asylum of my father. Urvasi,

Purvachitti, Sahajanya, Menaka, Viswachi and Ghritachi, these are the six

foremost of Apsaras. Amongst them again, Menaka, born of Brahman, is the

first. Descending from heaven on Earth, after intercourse with

Viswamitra, she gave birth to me. That celebrated Apsara, Menaka, brought

me forth in a valley of Himavat. Bereft of all affection, she went away,

cast me there as if I were the child of somebody else. What sinful act

did I do, of old, in some other life that I was in infancy cast away by

my parents and at present am cast away by thee! Put away by thee, I am

ready to return to the refuge of my father. But it behoveth thee not to

cast off this child who is thy own.'

"Hearing all this, Dushmanta said, 'O Sakuntala, I do not know having

begot upon thee this son. Women generally speak untruths. Who shall

believe in thy words? Destitute of all affection, the lewd Menaka is thy

mother, and she cast thee off on the surface of the Himavat as one throws

away, after the worship is over, the flowery offering made to his gods.

Thy father too of the Kshatriya race, the lustful Viswamitra, who was

tempted to become a Brahmana, is destitute of all affection. However,

Menaka is the first of Apsaras, and thy father also is the first of

Rishis. Being their daughter, why dost thou speak like a lewd woman? Thy

words deserve no credit. Art thou not ashamed to speak them, especially

before me? Go hence, O wicked woman in ascetic guise. Where is that

foremost of great Rishis, where also is that Apsara Menaka? And why art

thou, low as thou art, in the guise of an ascetic? Thy child too is grown

up. Thou sayest he is a boy, but he is very strong. How hath he soon

grown like a Sala sprout? Thy birth is low. Thou speakest like a lewd

woman. Lustfully hast thou been begotten by Menaka. O woman of ascetic

guise, all that thou sayest is quite unknown to me. I don't know thee. Go

withersoever thou choosest.'

"Sakuntala replied, 'Thou seest, O king, the fault of others, even though

they be as small as a mustard seed. But seeing, thou noticest not thy own

faults even though they be as large as the Vilwa fruit. Menaka is one of

the celestials. Indeed, Menaka is reckoned as the first of celestials. My

birth, therefore, O Dushmanta, is far higher than thine. Thou walkest

upon the Earth, O king, but I roam in the skies! Behold, the difference

between ourselves is as that between (the mountain) Meru and a mustard

seed! Behold my power, O king! I can repair to the abodes of Indra,

Kuvera, Yama, and Varuna! The saying is true which I shall refer to

before thee, O sinless one! I refer to it for example's sake and not from

evil motives. Therefore, it behoveth thee to pardon me after thou hast

heard it. An ugly person considereth himself handsomer than others until

he sees his own face in the mirror. But when he sees his own ugly face in

the mirror, it is then that he perceiveth the difference between himself

and others. He that is really handsome never taunts anybody. And he that

always talketh evil becometh a reviler. And as the swine always look for

dirt and filth even when in the midst of a flower-garden, so the wicked

always choose the evil out of both evil and good that others speak.

Those, however, that are wise, on hearing the speeches of others that are

intermixed with both good and evil, accept only what is good, like geese

that always extract the milk only, though it be mixed with water. As the

honest are always pained at speaking ill of others, so do the wicked

always rejoice in doing the same thing. As the honest always feel

pleasure in showing regard for the old, so do the wicked always take

delight in aspersing the good. The honest are happy in not seeking for

faults. The wicked are happy in seeking for them. The wicked ever speak

ill of the honest. But the latter never injure the former, even if

injured by them. What can be more ridiculous in the world than that those

that are themselves wicked should represent the really honest as wicked?

When even atheists are annoyed with those that have fallen off from truth

and virtue and who are really like angry snakes of virulent poison, what

shall I say of myself who am nurtured in faith? He that having begotten a

son who is his own image, regardeth him not, never attaineth to the

worlds he coveteth, and verily the gods destroy his good fortune and

possessions. The Pitris have said that the son continueth the race and

the line and is, therefore, the best of all religious acts. Therefore,

none should abandon a son. Manu hath said that there are five kinds of

sons; those begotten by one's self upon his own wife, those obtained (as

gift) from others, those purchased for a consideration, those reared with

affection and those begotten upon other women than upon wedded wives.

Sons support the religion and achievements of men, enhance their joys,

and rescue deceased ancestors from hell. It behoveth thee not, therefore,

O tiger among kings, to abandon a son who is such. Therefore, O lord of

Earth, cherish thy own self, truth, and virtue by cherishing thy son. O

lion among monarchs, it behoveth thee not to support this deceitfulness.

The dedication of a tank is more meritorious than that of a hundred

wells. A sacrifice again is more meritorious than the dedication of a

tank. A son is more meritorious than a sacrifice. Truth is more

meritorious than a hundred sons. A hundred horse-sacrifices had once been

weighed against Truth, and Truth was found heavier than a hundred

horse-sacrifices. O king, Truth, I ween, may be equal to the study of,

the entire Vedas and ablutions in all holy places. There is no virtue

equal to Truth: there is nothing superior to Truth. O king, Truth is God

himself; Truth is the highest vow. Therefore, violate not thy pledge, O

monarch! Let Truth and thee be even united. If thou placest no credit in

my words, I shall of my own accord go hence. Indeed, thy companionship

should be avoided. But thou, O Dushmanta, that when thou art gone, this

son of mine shall rule the whole Earth surrounded by the four seas and

adorned with the king of the mountains."

"Vaisampayana continued, 'Sakuntala having spoken to the monarch in this

wise, left his presence. But as soon as she had left, a voice from the

skies, emanating from no visible shape, thus spoke unto Dushmanta as he

was sitting surrounded by his occasional and household priests, his

preceptors, and ministers. And the voice said, 'The mother is but the

sheath of flesh; the son sprung from the father is the father himself.

Therefore, O Dushmanta, cherish thy son, and insult not Sakuntala. O best

of men, the son, who is but a form of one's own seed, rescueth

(ancestors) from the region of Yama. Thou art the progenitor of this boy.

Sakuntala hath spoken the truth. The husband, dividing his body in twain,

is born of his wife in the form of son. Therefore, O Dushmanta, cherish,

O monarch, thy son born of Sakuntala. To live by forsaking one's living

son is a great, misfortune. Therefore, O thou of Puru's race, cherish thy

high-souled son born of Sakuntala--And because this child is to be

cherished by thee even at our word, therefore shall this thy son be known

by the name of Bharata (the cherished).' Hearing these words uttered by

the dwellers in heaven, the monarch of Puru's race became overjoyed and

spoke as follows unto his priests and ministers, 'Hear ye these words

uttered by the celestial messenger? I myself know this one to be my son.

If I had taken him as my son on the strength of Sakuntala's words alone,

my people would have been suspicious and my son also would not have been

regarded as pure.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'The monarch, then, O thou of Bharata's race,

seeing the purity of his son established by the celestial messenger,

became exceedingly glad. And he took unto him that son with joy. And the

king with a joyous heart then performed all those rites upon his son that

a father should perform. And the king smelt his child's head and hugged

him with affection. And the Brahmanas began to utter blessings upon him

and the bards began to applaud him. And the monarch then experienced the

great delight that one feeleth at the touch of one's son. And Dushmanta

also received mat wife of his with affection. And he told her these

words, pacifying her affectionately, 'O goddess, my union with the? took

place privately Therefore, I was thinking of how best to establish thy

purity. My people might think that we were only lustfully united and not

as husband and wife, and therefore, this son that I would have installed

as my heir apparent would only have been regarded as one of impure birth.

And dearest, every hard word thou hast uttered in thy anger, have I, O

large-eyed one, forgiven thee. Thou art my dearest!' And the royal sage

Dushmanta, having spoken thus unto his dear wife, O Bharata, received her

with offerings of perfume, food, and drink. And king Dushmanta, then,

bestowed the name of Bharata upon his child, and formally installed him

as the heir apparent. And the famous and bright wheels of Bharata's car,

invincible and like unto the wheels of the cars owned by the gods,

traversed every region, filling the whole Earth with their rattle. And

the son of Dushmanta reduced to subjection all kings of the Earth. And he

ruled virtuously and earned great fame. And that monarch of great prowess

was known by the titles of Chakravarti and Sarvabhauma. And he performed

many sacrifices like Sakra, the lord of the Maruts. And Kanwa was the

chief priest at those sacrifices, in which the offerings to Brahmanas

were great. And the blessed monarch performed both the cow and the

horse-sacrifices. And Bharata gave unto Kanwa a thousand gold coins as

the sacerdotal fee. It is that Bharata from whom have emanated so many

mighty achievements. It is from him that the great race called after him

in his race are called after him. And in the Bharata race there have been

born many godlike monarchs gifted with great energy, and like unto

Brahman himself. Their number cannot be counted. But, O thou of Bharata's

race, I shall name the principal ones that were blessed with great good

fortune, like unto the gods, and devoted to truth and honesty.'"