SECTION CXXIV
(Sambhava Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'After the birth of
Kunti's sons and also of the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra the daughter of the
king of the Madras privately addressed Pandu, saying, 'O slayer of foes, I have
no complaint even if thou beest unpropitious to me. I have, O sinless one, also
no complaint that though by birth I am superior to Kunti yet I am inferior to
her in station. I do not grieve, O thou of Kuru's race, that Gandhari hath
obtained a hundred sons. This, however, is my great grief that while Kunti and
I are equal, I should be childless, while it should so chance that thou
shouldst have offspring by Kunti alone. If the daughter of Kuntibhoja should so
provide that I should have offspring, she would then be really doing me a great
favour and benefiting thee likewise. She being my rival, I feel a delicacy in
soliciting any favour of her. If thou beest, O king, propitiously disposed to
me, then ask her to grant my desire.'
"Hearing her, Pandu replied, 'O Madri, I do
revolve this matter often in my own mind, but I have hitherto hesitated to tell
thee anything, not knowing how thou wouldst receive it. Now that I know what
your wishes are, I shall certainly strive after that end. I think that, asked
by me, Kunti will not refuse.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'After this, Pandu
addressed Kunti in private, saying, 'O Kunti, grant me some more offspring for
the expansion of my race and for the benefit of the world. O blessed one,
provide thou that I myself, my ancestors, and thine also, may always have the
funeral cake offered to us. O, do what is beneficial to me, and grant me and
the world what, indeed, is the best of benefits. O, do what, indeed, may be
difficult for thee, moved by the desire of achieving undying fame. Behold,
Indra, even though he hath obtained the sovereignty of the celestials, doth
yet, for fame alone, perform sacrifices. O handsome one, Brahmanas,
well-acquainted with the Vedas, and having achieved high ascetic merit, do yet,
for fame alone, approach their spiritual masters with reverence. So also all
royal sages and Brahmanas possessed of ascetic wealth have achieved, for fame
only, the most difficult of ascetic feat. Therefore, O blameless one, rescue
this Madri as by a raft (by granting her the means of obtaining offspring), and
achieve thou imperishable fame by making her a mother of children.'
"Thus addressed by her lord, Kunti readily
yielded, and said unto Madri, 'Think thou, without loss of time, of some
celestial, and thou shall certainly obtain from him a childlike unto him.'
Reflecting for a few moments. Madri thought of the twin Aswins, who coming unto
her with speed begat upon her two sons that were twins named Nakula and
Sahadeva, unrivalled on earth for personal beauty. And as soon as they were
born, an incorporeal voice said, 'In energy and beauty these twins shall
transcend even the twin Aswins themselves.' Indeed possessed of great energy
and beauty, they illumined the whole region.
"O king, after all the children were born
the Rishis dwelling on the mountain of a hundred peaks uttering blessings on
them and affectionately performing the first rites of birth, bestowed
appellations on them. The eldest of Kunti's children was called Yudhishthira,
the second Bhimasena, and the third Arjuna, and of Madri's sons, the first-born
of the twins was called Nakula and the next Sahadeva. And those foremost sons
born at an interval of one year after one another, looked like an embodied
period of five years. And king Pandu, beholding his children of celestial
beauty and of super-abundant energy, great strength and prowess, and of
largeness of soul, rejoiced exceedingly. And the children became great
favourites of the Rishis, as also of their wives, dwelling on the mountain of a
hundred peaks.
"Some time after, Pandu again requested
Kunti on behalf of Madri. Addressed, O king, by her lord in private, Kunti
replied, 'Having given her the formula of invocation only once, she hath, O
king, managed to obtain two sons. Have I not been thus deceived by her, I fear,
O king, that she will soon surpass me in the number of her children. This,
indeed, is the way of all wicked women. Fool that I was, I did not know that by
invoking the twin gods I could obtain at one birth twin children. I beseech
thee, O king, do not command me any further. Let this be the boon granted (by
thee) to me.'
"Thus, O king, were born unto Pandu five
sons who were begotten by celestials and were endued with great strength, and
who all lived to achieve great fame and expand the Kuru race. Each bearing
every auspicious mark on his person, handsome like Soma, proud as the lion,
well-skilled in the use of the bow, and of leonine tread, breast, heart, eyes,
neck and prowess, those foremost of men, resembling the celestials themselves in
might, began to grow up. And beholding them and their virtues growing with
years, the great Rishis dwelling on that snowcapped sacred mountain were filled
with wonder. And the five Pandavas and the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra--that
propagator of the Kuru race--grew up rapidly like a cluster of lotuses in a
lake.'"
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