SECTION CXV
(Sambhava Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'Meanwhile, O
Janamejaya, Dhritarashtra begat upon Gandhari a hundred sons, and upon a Vaisya
wife another besides those hundred. And Pandu had, by his two wives Kunti and
Madri, five sons who were great charioteers and who were all begotten by the
celestials for the perpetuation of the Kuru line.'
"Janamejaya said, 'O best of Brahmanas, how
did Gandhari bring forth those hundred sons and in how many years? What were
also the periods of life allotted to each? How did Dhritarashtra also beget
another son in a Vaisya wife? How did Dhritarashtra behave towards his loving
obedient, and virtuous wife Gandhari? How were also begotten the five sons of
Pandu, those mighty charioteers, even though Pandu himself laboured under the
curse of the great Rishi (he slew)? Tell me all this in detail, for my thirst
for hearing everything relating to my own ancestor hath not been slaked.'
"Vaisampayana said, 'One day Gandhari
entertained with respectful attention the great Dwaipayana who came to her
abode, exhausted with hunger and fatigue. Gratified with Gandhari's
hospitality, the Rishi gave her the boon she asked for, viz., that she should
have a century of sons each equal unto her lord in strength and
accomplishments. Sometime after Gandhari conceived and she bore the burden in
her womb for two long years without being delivered. And she was greatly
afflicted at this. It was then that she heard that Kunti had brought forth a
son whose splendour was like unto the morning sun. Impatient of the period of
gestation which had prolonged so long, and deprived of reason by grief, she
struck her womb with great violence without the knowledge of her husband. And
thereupon came out of her womb, after two years' growth, a hard mass of flesh
like unto an iron ball. When she was about to throw it away, Dwaipayana,
learning everything by his spiritual powers, promptly came there, and that
first of ascetics beholding that ball of flesh, addressed the daughter of
Suvala thus, 'What hast thou done?' Gandhari, without endeavouring to disguise her
feelings, addressed the Rishi and said, 'Having heard that Kunti had brought
forth a son like unto Surya in splendour, I struck in grief at my womb. Thou
hadst, O Rishi, granted me the boon that I should have a hundred sons, but here
is only a ball of flesh for those hundred sons!' Vyasa then said, 'Daughter of
Suvala, it is even so. But my words can never be futile. I have not spoken an
untruth even in jest. I need not speak of other occasions. Let a hundred pots
full of clarified butter be brought instantly, and let them be placed at a
concealed spot. In the meantime, let cool water be sprinkled over this ball of
flesh.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'That ball of flesh
then, sprinkled over with water, became, in time, divided into a hundred and one
parts, each about the size of the thumb. These were then put into those pots
full of clarified butter that had been placed at a concealed spot and were
watched with care. The illustrious Vyasa then said unto the daughter of Suvala
that she should open the covers of the pots after full two years. And having
said this and made these arrangements, the wise Dwaipayana went to the Himavat
mountains for devoting himself to asceticism.
"Then in time, king Duryodhana was born from
among those pieces of the ball of flesh that had been deposited in those pots.
According to the order of birth, king Yudhishthira was the oldest. The news of
Duryodhana's birth was carried to Bhishma and the wise Vidura. The day that the
haughty Duryodhana was born was also the birth-day of Bhima of mighty arms and
great prowess.
"As soon as Duryodhana was born, he began to
cry and bray like an ass. And hearing that sound, the asses, vultures, jackals
and crows uttered their respective cries responsively. Violent winds began to
blow, and there were fires in various directions. Then king Dhritarashtra in
great fear, summoning Bhishma and Vidura and other well-wishers and all the
Kurus, and numberless Brahmanas, addressed them and said, 'The oldest of those
princes, Yudhishthira, is the perpetuator of our line. By virtue of his birth
he hath acquired the kingdom. We have nothing to say to this. But shall this my
son born after him become king? Tell me truly what is lawful and right under
these circumstances.' As soon as these words were spoken, O Bharata, jackals
and other carnivorous animals began to howl ominously And marking those
frightful omens all around, the assembled Brahmanas and the wise Vidura
replied, 'O king, O bull among men, when these frightful omens are noticeable
at the birth of thy eldest son, it is evident that he shall be the exterminator
of thy race. The prosperity of all dependeth on his abandonment. Calamity there
must be in keeping him. O king, if thou abandonest him, there remain yet thy
nine and ninety sons. If thou desirest the good of thy race, abandon him, O
Bharata! O king, do good to the world and thy own race by casting off this one
child of thine. It hath been said that an individual should be cast off for the
sake of the family; that a family should be cast off for the sake of a village;
that a village may be abandoned for the sake of the whole country; and that the
earth itself may be abandoned for the sake of the soul.' When Vidura and those
Brahmanas had stated so, king Dhritarashtra out of affection for his son had
not the heart to follow that advice. Then, O king, within a month, were born a
full hundred sons unto Dhritarashtra and a daughter also in excess of this
hundred. And during the time when Gandhari was in a state of advanced
pregnancy, there was a maid servant of the Vaisya class who used to attend on
Dhritarashtra. During that year, O king, was begotten upon her by the
illustrious Dhritarashtra a son endued with great intelligence who was
afterwards named Yuvutsu. And because he was begotten by a Kshatriya upon a
Vaisya woman, he came to be called Karna.
"Thus were born unto the wise Dhritarashtra
a hundred sons who were all heroes and mighty chariot-fighters, and a daughter
over and above the hundred, and another son Yuyutsu of great energy and prowess
begotten upon a Vaisya woman.'"
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