SECTION –CCCIV
(Pativrata-mahatmya Parva Continued)
Vaisampayana said, "When that foremost of
Brahmanas had gone away on some other errand, the maiden began to ponder over
the virtue of those mantras. And she said to herself, 'Of what nature are those
mantras that have been bestowed on me by that high-souled one? I shall without
delay test their power'. And as she was thinking in this way, she suddenly
perceived indications of the approach of her season. And her season having
arrived, while she was yet unmarried, she blushed in shame. And it came to pass
that as she was seated in her chamber on a rich bed, she beheld the solar orb
rising in the east. And both the mind and the eyes of that maiden of excellent
waist became rivetted fast upon the solar orb. And she gazed and gazed on that
orb without being satiated with the beauty of the morning Sun. And she suddenly
became gifted with celestial sight. And then she beheld that god of divine form
accoutred in mail and adorned with ear-rings. And at sight of the god, O lord
of men, she became curious as to the (potency of the) mantras. And thereupon
that maiden resolved to invoke him. And having recourse to Pranayama, she
invoked the Maker of day. And thus invoked by her, O king, the Maker of day
speedily presented himself. And he was of a yellowish hue like honey, and was
possessed of mighty arms, and his neck was marked with lines like those of a
conchshell. And furnished with armlets, and decked with a diadem, he came
smiling, and illumining all the directions. And it was by Yoga power that he
divided himself in twain, one of which continued to give heat, and the other
appeared before Kunti. And he addressed Kunti in words that were exceedingly
sweet, saying, 'O gentle maiden, over-powered by the mantras, I come hither
obedient to thee. Subject as I am to thy power, what shall I do, O queen? Tell
me, for I shall do whatever thou mayst command? Hearing these words of the
deity, Kunti said, 'O worshipful one, go thou back to the place thou hast come
from! I invoked thee from curiosity alone. Pardon me, O worshipful one!' Surya
then said, 'O damsel of slender waist, I will, even as thou hast said, return
to the place I have come from! Having called a celestial, it is not, however,
proper to send him away in vain. Thy intention, O blessed one, it is to have
from Surya a son furnished with a coat of mail and ear-rings, and who in point
of prowess would be beyond compare in this world! Do thou, therefore, O damsel
of elephantine gait, surrender thy person to me! Thou shall then have, O lady,
a son after thy wish! O gentle girl, O thou of sweet smiles, I will go back
after having known thee! If thou do not gratify me to-day by obeying my word, I
shall in anger curse thee, thy father and that Brahmana also. For thy fault, I
will surely consume them all, and I shall inflict condign punishment on that
foolish father of thine that knoweth not this transgression of thine and on
that Brahmana who hath bestowed the mantras on thee without knowing thy disposition
and character! Yonder are all the celestials in heaven, with Purandara at their
head, who are looking at me with derisive smiles at my being deceived by thee,
O lady! Look at those celestials, for thou art now possessed of celestial
sight! Before this I have endued thee with celestial vision, in consequence of
which thou couldst see me!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Thereupon the
princess beheld the celestials standing in the firmament, each in his proper
sphere 1, even as she saw before her that highly resplendent deity furnished
with rays, viz., Surya himself. And beholding them all, the girl became
frightened and her face was suffused with blushes of shame. And then she
addressed Surya, saying, 'O lord of rays, go thou back to thy own region. On account
of my maidenhood, this outrage of thine is fraught with woe to me! It is only
one's father, mother, and other superiors, that are capable of giving away
their daughter's body. Virtue I shall never sacrifice, seeing that in this
world the keeping of their persons inviolate is deemed as the highest duty of
women, and is held in high regard! O thou possessed of wealth of splendour, it
is only to test the power of my mantras that I have, from mere childishness,
summoned thee. Considering that this hath been done by a girl of tender years,
it behoveth thee, O lord, to forgive her!' Then Surya said, 'It is because I
consider thee a girl that, O Kunti, I am speaking to thee so mildly. To one
that is not so I would not concede this. Do thou, O Kunti, surrender thyself!
Thou shalt surely attain happiness thereby. Since, O timid maiden, thou hast
invoked me with mantras, it is not proper for me to go away without any purpose
being attained, for, if I do so I shall then. O thou of faultless limbs, be the
object of laughter in the world, and, O beauteous damsel, a bye-word with all
the celestials. Do thou, therefore, yield to me! By that thou shalt obtain a
son even like myself, and thou shalt also be much praised in all the
world.'"
Footnotes
593:1 In the original., Vimanam, i. e., a car.
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