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

  The Mahabharata of

Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa BOOK 1

ADI PARVA

SECTION LXVI

(Sambhava Parva continued)

"Vaisampayana said, 'It is known that the spiritual sons of Brahman were

the six great Rishis (already mentioned). There was another of the name

of Sthanu. And the sons of Sthanu, gifted with great energy, were, it is

known, eleven. They were Mrigavayadha, Sarpa, Niriti of great fame:

Ajaikapat, Ahivradhna, and Pinaki, the oppressor of foes; Dahana and

Iswara, and Kapali of great splendour; and Sthanu, and the illustrious

Bharga. These are called the eleven Rudras. It hath been already said,

that Marichi, Angiras. Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Kratu--these six great

Rishis of great energy--are the sons of Brahman. It is well-known in the

world that Angiras's sons are three,--Vrihaspati, Utathya, and Samvarta,

all of rigid vows. And, O king, it is said that the sons of Atri are

numerous. And, being great Rishis, they are all conversant with the

Vedas, crowned with ascetic success, and of souls in perfect peace. And,

O tiger among kings, the sons of Pulastya of great wisdom are Rakshasas,

Monkeys, Kinnaras (half-men and half-horses), and Yakshas. And, O king,

the son of Pulaha were, it is said, the Salabhas (the winged insects),

the lions, the Kimpurushas (half-lions and half-men), the tigers, bears,

and wolves. And the sons of Kratu, sacred as sacrifices, are the

companions of Surya, (the Valikhilyas), known in three worlds and devoted

to truth and vows. And, O protector of the Earth, the illustrious Rishi

Daksha, of soul in complete peace, and of great asceticism, sprung from

the right toe of Brahman. And from the left toe of Brahman sprang the

wife of the high-souled Daksha. And the Muni begat upon her fifty

daughters; and all those daughters were of faultless features and limbs

and of eyes like lotus-petals. And the lord Daksha, not having any sons,

made those daughters his Putrikas (so that their sons might belong both

to himself and to their husbands). And Daksha bestowed, according to the

sacred ordinance, ten of his daughters on Dharma, twenty-seven on Chandra

(the Moon), and thirteen on Kasyapa. Listen as I recount the wives of

Dharma according to their names. They are ten in all--Kirti, Lakshmi,

Dhriti, Medha, Pushti, Sraddha, Kria, Buddhi, Lajja, and Mali. These are

the wives of Dharma as appointed by the Self-create. It is known also

throughout the world that the wives of Soma (Moon) are twenty-seven. And

the wives of Soma, all of sacred vows, are employed in indicating time;

and they are the Nakshatras and the Yoginis and they became so for

assisting the courses of the worlds.

"And Brahman had another son named Manu. And Manu had a son of the name

of Prajapati. And the sons of Prajapati were eight and were called Vasus

whom I shall name in detail. They were Dhara, Dhruva, Soma, Aha, Anila,

Anala, Pratyusha, and Prabhasa. These eight are known as the Vasus. Of

these, Dhara and the truth-knowing Dhruva were born of Dhumra; Chandramas

(Soma) and Swasana (Anila) were born of the intelligent Swasa; Aha was

the son of Rata: and Hutasana (Anala) of Sandilya; and Pratyusha and

Prabhasa were the sons of Prabhata. And Dhara had two sons, Dravina and

Huta-havya-vaha. And the son of Dhruva is the illustrious Kala (Time),

the destroyer of the worlds. And Soma's son is the resplendent Varchas.

And Varchas begot upon his wife Manohara three sons--Sisira, and Ramana.

And the son of Aha were Jyotih, Sama, Santa, and also Muni. And the son

of Agni is the handsome Kumara born in a forest of reeds. And, he is also

called Kartikeya because he was reared by Krittika and others. And, after

Kartikeya, there were born his three brothers Sakha, Visakha, Naigameya.

And the wife of Anila is Siva, and Siva's son were Manojava and

Avijnataagati. These two were the sons of Anila. The son of Pratyusha,

you must know, is the Rishi named Devala; and Devala had two sons who

were both exceedingly forgiving and of great mental power. And the sister

of Vrihaspati, the first of women, uttering the sacred truth, engaged in

ascetic penances, roamed over the whole earth; and she became the wife of

Prabhasa, the eighth Vasu. And she brought forth the illustrious

Viswakarman, the founder of all arts. And he was the originator of a

thousand arts, the engineer of the immortals, the maker of all kinds of

ornaments, and the first of artists. And he it was who constructed the

celestial cars of the gods, and mankind are enabled to live in

consequence of the inventions of that illustrious one. And he is

worshipped, for that reason, by men. And he is eternal and immutable,

this Viswakarman.

"And the illustrious Dharma, the dispenser of all happiness, assuming a

human countenance, came out through the right breast of Brahman. And

Ahasta (Dharma) hath three excellent sons capable of charming every

creature. And they are Sama, Kama, Harsha (Peace, Desire, and Joy). And

by their energy they are supporting the worlds. And the wife of Kama is

Rati, of Sama is Prapti; and the wife of Harsha is Nanda. And upon them,

indeed, are the worlds made to depend.

"And the son of Marichi is Kasyapa. And Kasyapa's offspring are the gods

and the Asuras. And, therefore, is Kasyapa, the Father of the worlds. And

Tvashtri, of the form of Vadava (a mare), became the wife of Savitri. And

she gave birth, in the skies, to two greatly fortunate twins, the Aswins.

And, O king, the sons of Aditi are twelve with Indra heading them all.

And the youngest of them all was Vishnu upon whom the worlds depend.

"These are the thirty-three gods (the eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras, the

twelve Adityas, Prajapati, and Vashatkara). I shall now recount their

progeny according to their Pakshas, Kulas, and Ganas. The Rudras, the

Saddhyas, the Maruts, the Vasus, the Bhargavas, and the Viswedevas are

each reckoned as a Paksha. Garuda the son of Vinata and the mighty Aruna

also, and the illustrious Vrihaspati are reckoned among the Adityas. The

twin Aswins, all annual plants, and all inferior animals, are reckoned

among the Guhyakas.

"These are the Ganas of the gods recited to thee, O king! This recitation

washes men of all sins.

"The illustrious Bhrigu came out, ripping open the breast of Brahman. The

learned Sukra is Bhrigu's son. And the learned Sukra becoming a planet

and engaged according to the command of the Self-existent in pouring and

withholding rain, and in dispensing and remitting calamities, traverses,

for sustaining the lives of all the creatures in the three worlds,

through the skies. And the learned Sukra, of great intelligence and

wisdom, of rigid vows, leading the life of a Brahmacharin, divided

himself in twain by power of asceticism, and became the spiritual guide

of both the Daityas and the gods. And after Sukra was thus employed by

Brahman in seeking the welfare (of the gods and the Asuras), Bhrigu begot

another excellent son. This was Chyavana who was like the blazing sun, of

virtuous soul, and of great fame. And he came out of his mother's womb in

anger and became the cause of his mother's release, O king (from the

hands of the Rakshasas). And Arushi, the daughter of Manu, became the

wife of the wise Chyavana. And, on her was begotten Aurva of great

reputation. And he came out, ripping open the thigh of Arushi. And Aurva

begot Richika. And Richika even in his boyhood became possessed of great

power and energy, and of every virtue. And Richika begot Jamadagni. And

the high-souled Jamadagni had four sons. And the youngest of them all was

Rama (Parasurama). And Rama was superior to all his brothers in the

possession of good qualities. And he was skilful in all weapons, and

became the slayer of the Kshatriyas. And he had his passions under

complete control. And Aurva had a hundred sons with Jamadagni the eldest.

And these hundred sons had offspring by thousands spread over this earth.

"And Brahman had two other sons, viz., Dhatri and Vidhatri who stayed

with Manu. Their sister is the auspicious Lakshmi having her abode amid

lotuses. And the spiritual sons of Lakshmi are the sky-ranging horses.

And the daughter born of Sukra, named Divi, became the eldest wife of

Varuna. Of her were born a son named Vala and a daughter named Sura

(wine), to the joy of the gods. And Adharma (Sin) was born when creatures

(from want of food) began to devour one another. And Adharma always

destroys every creature. And Adharma hath Niriti for his wife, whence the

Rakshasas who are called Nairitas (offspring of Niriti). And she hath

also three other cruel sons always engaged in sinful deeds. They are

Bhaya (fear), Mahabhaya (terror), and Mrityu (Death) who is always

engaged in slaying every created thing. And, as he is all-destroying, he

hath no wife, and no son. And Tamra brought forth five daughters known

throughout the worlds. They are Kaki (crow), Syeni (hawk), Phasi (hen),

Dhritarashtri (goose), and Suki (parrot). And Kaki brought forth the

crows; Syeni, the hawks, the cocks and vultures, Dhritarashtri, all ducks

and swans; and she also brought forth all Chakravakas; and the fair Suki,

of amiable qualities, and possessing all auspicious signs brought forth

all the parrots. And Krodha gave birth to nine daughters, all of wrathful

disposition. And their names were Mrigi, Mrigamanda, Hari, Bhadramana,

Matangi, Sarduli, Sweta, Surabhi, and the agreeable Surasa blessed with

every virtue. And, O foremost of men, the offspring of Mrigi are all

animals of the deer species. And the offspring of Mrigamanda are all

animals of the bear species and those called Srimara (sweet-footed). And

Bhadramana begot the celestial elephants, Airavata. And the offspring of

Hari are all animals of the simian species endued with great activity, so

also all the horses. And those animals also, that are called Go-langula

(the cow-tailed), are said to be the offspring of Hari. And Sarduli begot

lions and tigers in numbers, and also leopards and all other strong

animals. And, O king, the offspring of Matangi are all the elephants. And

Sweta begat the large elephant known by the name of Sweta, endued with

great speed. And, O king, Surabhi gave birth to two daughters, the

amiable Rohini and the far-famed Gandharvi. And, O Bharata, she had also

two other daughters named Vimala and Anala. From Rohini have sprung all

kine, and from Gandharvi all animals of the horse species. And Anala

begat the seven kinds of trees yielding pulpy fruits. (They are the date,

the palm, the hintala, the tali, the little date, the nut, and the

cocoanut.) And she had also another daughter called Suki (the mother of

the parrot species). And Surasa bore a son called Kanka (a species of

long-feathered birds). And Syeni, the wife of Aruna, gave birth to two

sons of great energy and strength, named Sampati and the mighty Jatayu.

Surasa also bore the Nagas, and Kadru, the Punnagas (snakes). And Vinata

had two sons Garuda and Aruna, known far and wide. And, O king of men, O

foremost of intelligent persons, thus hath the genealogy of all the

principal creatures been fully described by me. By listening to this, a

man is fully cleansed of all his sins, and acquireth great knowledge, and

finally attaineth to the first of states in after-life!'"