SECTION –CLXLVII
(Markandeya-Samasya Parva Continued)
Vaisampayana said, "And the son of Pandu
once more addressed Markandeya, saying, 'Tell us again of the great good
fortune of kings.' And Markandeya said, 'There came unto the horse-sacrifice of
king Ashtaka of Viswamitra's race, many kings. And there came unto that
sacrifice the three brothers also of that king, viz., Pratardana, Vasumanas,
and Sivi, the son of Usinara. And after the sacrifice was completed, Ashtaka
was proceeding on his car along with his brothers when they all beheld Narada
coming that way and they saluted the celestial Rishi and said unto him, 'Ride
thou on this car with us. And Narada, saying, So be it, mounted on the car, and
one among those kings having gratified the holy and celestial Rishi Narada,
said, O Holy One, I desire, to ask thee something.' And the Rishi said, 'Ask.'
And the person, thus permitted, said, 'All four of us are blessed with long
lives and have indeed every virtue. We shall, therefore, be permitted to go to
a certain heaven and dwell there for a long period. Who amongst us, however, O
king, shall fall down first?' Thus questioned the Rishi said, 'This Ashtaka
shall first come down.' And thereupon the enquirer asked, 'For what cause?' And
the Rishi answered, 'I lived for a few days in the abode of Ashtaka. He carried
me (one day) on his car out of the town and there I beheld thousands of kine
distinguished from one another by difference of hue. And beholding those kine I
asked Ashtaka whose they were and Ashtaka answered me, saying, 'I have given
away these kine. By this answer he gave expression to his own praise. It is for
this answer of his that Ashtaka shall have to come down.' And after Narada had
said so, one of them again enquired, saying, 'Three of us then will stay in
heaven. Amongst us three, who shall fall down first?' And the Rishi answered,
Pratardana.' And the enquirer asked, 'For what cause?' And the Rishi answered,
'I lived for some days in the abode of Pratardana also. And he carried me on
his car one day. And while doing so, a Brahmana asked him saying, 'Give me a
horse!' And Pratardana replied, 'After returning, I will give thee one!' And
thereupon the Brahmana said, 'Let it be given to me soon.' And as the Brahmana
spoke those words, the king gave unto him the steed that had been yoked on the
right-hand wheel of the car. And there came unto him another Brahmana desirous
of obtaining a steed. And the king having spoken to him in the same way, gave
him the steed that had been yoked on the left wheel of his car. And having
given away the horse unto him, the king proceeded on his journey. And then
there came unto the king another Brahmana desirous of obtaining a horse. And
the king soon gave him the horse on the left front of his car, unyoking the
animal. And having done so, the king proceeded on his journey. And then there
came unto the king another Brahmana desirous of obtaining a horse. And the king
said unto him, 'Returning, I will give thee a horse.' But the Brahmana said,
'Let the steed be given to me soon.' And the king gave him the only horse he
had. And seizing the yoke of the car himself, the king began to draw it. And as
he did so, he said, 'There is now nothing for the Brahmanas.' The king had
given away, it is true, but he had done so with detraction. And for that speech
of his, he shall have to fall down from heaven. And after the Rishi had said
so, of the two that remained, one asked, 'Who amongst us two shall fall down?'
And the Rishi answered, 'Vasumanas.' And the enquirer asked, 'For what reason?'
And Narada said, 'In course of my wanderings I arrived at the abode of
Vasumanas. And at that time the Brahmanas were performing the ceremony of Swastivachana
for the sake of a flowery car. 1 And I approached the king's presence. And
after the Brahmanas had completed the ceremony, the flowery car became visible
to them. And I praised that car, and thereupon the king told me, 'Holy one, by
thee hath this car been praised. Let this car, therefore, be thine.' And after
this I went to Vasumanas another time when I was in need of a (flowery) car.
And I admired the car, and the king said, 'It is thine.' And I went to the king
a third time and admired the car again. And even then the king exhibiting the
flowery car to the Brahmanas, cast his eyes on me, and said, 'O holy one, thou
hast praised the flowery car sufficiently." And the king only said these
words, without making me a gift of that car. And for this he will fall down
from heaven.'
"And one among them said, 'Of the one who is
to go with thee, who will go and who will fall down?' And Narada answered,
saying, 'Sivi will go, but I will fall down.' 'For what reason?' asked the
enquirer. And Narada said, 'I am not the equal of Sivi. For one day a Brahmana
came unto Sivi and addressing him, said, 'O Sivi, I came to thee for food.' And
Sivi replied unto him, saying. 'What shall I do? Let me have thy orders.' And
the Brahmana answered, 'This thy son known by the name of Vrihadgarbha should
be killed. And, O king, cook him for my food.' And hearing this, I waited to
see what would follow. And Sivi then killed his son and cooking him duly and
placing that food in a vessel and taking it upon his head, he went out in
search of the Brahmana and while Sivi was thus seeking, for the Brahmana, some
one told him, The Brahmana thou seekest, having entered thy city, is setting
fire to thy abode and he is also setting fire, in wrath, to thy treasury, thy
arsenal, the apartments of the females and thy stables for horses and
elephants.' And Sivi heard all this, without change of colour, and entering his
city spoke unto the Brahmana, 'O holy one, the food has been cooked.' And the
Brahmana hearing this spoke not a word and from surprise he stood with downcast
looks. And Sivi with a view to gratifying the Brahmana said, 'O holy one, eat
thou this.' And the Brahmana looking at Sivi for a moment said, 'Eat it
thyself.' And thereupon Sivi said, 'Let it be so.' And Sivi cheerfully taking
the vessel from his head desired to eat it and thereupon the Brahmana caught
hold of Sivi's hand and addressing him said, 'Thou hast conquered wrath. There
is nothing that thou canst not give unto the Brahmanas.' And saying this, that
Brahmana adored Sivi, and then as Sivi cast his eyes before him, he beheld his
son standing like a child of the gods, decked in ornaments and yielding a
fragrance from his body and the Brahmana, having accomplished all this, made
himself visible and it was Vidhatri himself who had thus come in that guise to
try that royal sage, and after Vidhatri had disappeared, the counsellors
addressed the king, saying, 'Thou knowest everything. For what didst thou do
all this?' And Sivi answered, 'It was not for fame, nor for wealth, nor from
desire of acquiring objects of enjoyment that I did all this. This course is
not sinful. It is for this that I do all this. The path which is trodden by the
virtuous is laudable. My heart always inclineth towards such a course. This high
instance of Sivi's blessedness I know, and I have, therefore, narrated it
duly!'"
Footnotes
404:1 The ceremony of Swastivachana is described
to be "a religious rite, preparatory to any important observance, in which
the Brahmanas strew boiled rice on the ground, and invoke the blessings of the
gods on the ceremony about to commence" (Vide Wilson's Dict).
A flowery car was, probably, one of celestial
make that the kings, procured from heaven by performing costly rites and
ceremonies. These were sometimes exhibited to the people, and prior to these
exhibitions, the ceremony of Swastivachana was performed.
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