Reading section 21

Once on a time the king, attracted by his affection for the daughters, went to the hermitage of the great ascetic to learn whether his daughters were in poverty or happiness. Repairing there he beheld a number of crystal palaces, brilliant as the rays of the sun and picturesque gardens and tanks. Entering one of the palaces and embracing his daughter, the king said to her with tears of affection and delight in his eyes—"Dear child, tell me how are you here. Are you happy here or not? Does the great sage treat you kindly? Do you remember thy early home?" Being thus addressed the daughter said to her father—"O father, this palace is picturesque surrounded by charming gardens with birds emitting sweet notes, and tanks abounding in full-blown lotuses. I have got here rich viands, fragrant unguents, precious ornaments, costly clothes, soft beds and every other thing that wealth can give. But still then, why should I not remember my early home. By thy favour I have obtained all these things. But there is one source of my grief—my husband never goes out of my house. He is solely attached to me and is always at my side; he never goes to my sisters; for this my sisters are sorry; this is the only cause of my uneasiness". Being thus addressed he went to the second palace and embracing his daughter and taking his seat he put the same question. The same account of the enjoyment of palaces and other things was given by her; she also made the same complaint that the sage was solely attached to her and paid no attention to her sisters. Hearing this the king went round all the palaces, put the same question to all his daughters and received the same reply. Having his heart filled with satisfaction and wonder he repaired to the glorious Saubhari who was alone and reverentially said to him—"O illustrious sage, marvellous is thy power—I have never seen this in any other person. Oh great is the reward of thy austere penances". Having bowed unto the sage and been welcomed by him with great reverence the king lived with him for some time and enjoying the pleasures of the place returned to his capital.

As time went on the daughters of Māndhāta bore to Saubhari one hundred and fifty sons. Gradually he became more and more attached to his children and his mind was wholly engrossed with selfish thoughts. He always used to think—"When will these sons of mine speak to me in sweet accents? When will they learn to walk? When will they attain to youth? When shall I see them wedded? When shall I behold them with their sons?" With these anticipations, he spent some time and at last thought "What exceeding folly is mine! There is no end of desires even in ten thousand or a hundred thousand years. With one desire gratified another springs up. I have seen my infants walk—I have seen their youth, their manhood, their marriage, their children, still my desires are not gratified and mind longs after seeing the descendants of their descendants. When I shall see them another desire will spring up. When that is satisfied another wish will be engendered.

"How can the growth of desires be prevented? I have now learnt that there is no end of desires till death. His mind can never be devoted to the supreme spirit who is a perpetual slave of desires. My devotions, whilst I was in the waters, were thwarted by my attachment to my friend, the fish. The outcome of that connection was my marriage and the result of that marriage is the cycle of worldly desires. Birth with one body is a source of many ills. By my marriage with the princesses I have got one hundred and fifty sons so my miseries have been multiplied to that extent. And they will be infinitely multiplied by their children, by their wives and their progeny—thus a married life is a source of individual anxiety. My devotions, which I practised in the waters, have been thwarted by my worldly wealth and I have been beguiled by the desire for the progeny which was created in me by the association with Sammada. For the ascetics separation from the world is the only way to liberation; association with others is a source of many evils. Even the most accomplished ascetic is degraded by worldly attachments what to speak of those whose observances are incomplete. Though my intellect has been possessed by the desire of married life still I shall exert myself for the salvation of my soul so that freed from human infirmities I may be released from human sufferings. For that purpose by austere penances I shall propitiate Vishnu, the creator of the universe whose form cannot be ascertained, who is smaller than the smallest, larger than the largest, the source of darkness and light—the king of gods. May my mind, freed from sins, be devoted to his body which is both descrete and indescrete substance, boundlessly mighty, at one with the universe so that I may not be born again. I seek the refuge of that Vishnu, who is the teacher of teachers, who is identical with, all beings, the pure eternal lord of all, without beginning, middle or end and besides whom there exists nothing".

SECTION III.

Parāçara said—Having thus thought within himself Sauvari renounced his children, his home, his splendour and wealth and repaired with his wives to the forest. Having daily performed there the observances of the ascetics called Vaikhānasas (or ascetics having families) he cleansed himself from all iniquities. When his mind was ripe and freed from passions he concentrated in his spirit the sacramental fires and became a religious mendicant. Then having made over all his actions to the glorious god he attained to the condition of Achyuta which is above change, the vicissitudes of birth, transmigration or death. Whoever shall read, hear, remember, or understand this story of Sauvari and his marriage with the daughters of Māndhāta, shall never, for eight successive births, be addicted to evil thoughts nor shall he act unrighteously, nor shall he think of improper objects—nor shall he be subject to selfishness; I shall now describe to you the progeny of Māndhāta.

The son of Ambarisha, the son of Māndhāta, was Yuvanāswa; his son was Harita from whom sprang Angirāsa Hāritas.

In the regions below the earth, the Gandharvas named Mauneyas, six million in number, had defeated the snake-gods, usurped their kingdom and stolen away all their precious jewels. Defeated by the Gandharvas the serpent chiefs addressed the lord of celestials, sleeping on the surface of the ocean of milk as he awoke from his sleep; and the blossoms of his lotus eyes opened as he listened to their hymns.

They all bowing said—"How shall we be relieved from the fear of these Gandharvas?" Where to the glorious god replied—"I shall enter into the person of Purukutsa, the son of Māndhāta, the son of Yuvanāswa and slay all the Gandharvas". On hearing these words the snake-gods bowed and went away and returning to their country sent Narmadā to secure the help of Purukutsa.

Accordingly Narmadā went to Purukutsa and led him to the regions below the earth, where, being filled with the energy of Vishnu he slew all the Gandharvas. He then returned to his own house. And the snake-gods conferred upon Narmadā a boon that whosoever should think of her, mention her name, should never have any fear from the snakes. This is the invocation: "Salutation unto Narmadā in the morning; salutation unto Narmadā at night, salutation to thee O Narmadā, save me from this serpent's poison". Whoever shall repeat this day and night shall not be bitten by a serpent in the dark or in entering a room. Nor shall he, who shall remember this, suffer from poison, when he eats even food mixed with it. They also conferred a boon on Purukutsa that none in this family shall be bitten.

Purukutsa begot on Narmadā a son, named Trasadasya, whose son was Sambbuta, whose son was Anaranja, who was killed by Rāvana when he traversed the country for conquests. Anaranja's son was Prishadaswa; his son was Haryyaswa; his son was Sumanas; his son was Tridhanwan; his son was Trayyaruna; his son was was Satyavrata who received the name of Trisanku and was degraded to the state of a Chandāla or outcast. Once on a time there was a famine for twelve years. He used to suspend flesh upon a fig-tree on the banks of the Ganges for the wife and children of Viswamitra—he did not give it with his own hands for he might not accept the present of a Chandāla. For this Viswamitra was highly pleased and took him in his living body to heaven.

The son of Trisanku was Haris Chandra, whose son was Rohitaswa, whose son was Harita, whose son was Chunchu, who had two sons named Vijaya and Sudeva. Ruruka was the son of Vijaya and his son was Vrika whose son was Bahu, This king was defeated by the tribes of Haihayas and Tālajanghas and his country was devastated by them for which he fled into woods with his wives. One of those was pregnant and the rival queen being jealous gave her poison to prevent her delivery and the child was confined in the womb for seven years. And Bahu, being stricken in years, died near the hermitage of the sage Aurva. Having constructed the funeral pile the queen was about to ascend it when the sage Aurva, who was cognisant of past, present and future came out of the cottage and prevented her saying—"Hold, hold! This is sinful; there is in thy womb a heroic king—the sovereign of many kingdoms, the offerer of many sacrifices, the slayer of his enemies and a lord paramount. Do not commit such an unrighteous act". Being addressed thus the queen gave up her intention. The sage then took her to his own cottage and after some time she gave birth to a valiant son—and with him the poison came out. And after performing ceremonies consequent upon birth, Aurva gave him, for that, the name of Sagara (from sa with and gara, poison). He then invested him with the sacred cord, taught him the Vedas and the use of all weapons and especially those of fire called after Bhārgava. When Sagara grew up he one day asked his mother, saying—"O mother why are we living here? Who is my father? Where is he?" Being thus questioned his mother related to him everything. Hearing this he was greatly enraged and promised to recover his father's kingdom and destroy the Haihayas and Tālajanghas by whom it had been devastated. When he grew up he destroyed all the Haihayas and would have also destroyed the Sakas the Yavanas, Kambojas, Paradas, and Pahnavas, had they not solicited the protection of Vasishtha, the family priest of Sagara.

Vasishtha, making them deprived of their power, although living, thus said to Sagara—"O my child, these, are already dead. What is the use of pursuing them? To keep up your vow I have made them renounce their own religion and the company of twice-born ones". Sagara reverentially obeyed the request of his spiritual guide and imposed upon them peculiar distinguishing marks. He made the Yavanas shave their heads entirely and the Sakas partially. The Paradas wore their long hair and the Pahnavas allowed their beards to grow according to his command. He withdrew from these and other Kshatriya races the privilege of offering oblations to fire and studying the Vedas. And being thus deprived from the performance of religious rites and having been abandoned by the Brāhmins they all became Mlechasas. Having thus recovered his kingdom Sagara ruled over the earth having seven continents with undisputed sway.

SECTION IV.

Parāçara said:—Sagara had two wives Sumati, the daughter of Kasyapa and Kesini, the daughter of king Viderbha. Having no offspring the king earnestly solicited the help of the sage Aurva who conferred upon him a boon that one wife should bear him a son who would keep up the race and the other sixty thousand sons; but he allowed them to make their election. Kesini chose to have one son and the other chose to have sixty thousand. Within a few days Kesini gave birth to a son named Asamanjas who upheld the family and Sumati the daughter of Vinata gave birth to a sixty thousand sons. Asamanjas had a son whose name was Ansumat.

Asamanjas was very wicked from his boyhood. His father hoped that with manhood he would reform his conduct. But he continued same even with age so his father renounced him. The sixty thousand sons of Sagara followed the example of their brother Asamanjas. The sons of Sagara having thus trodden the paths of virtue and piety in the world the celestials went to the ascetic Kapila, who was free from guilt, versed in learning and in whom was a portion of Vishnu. Having bowed unto him they said—"These sons of Sagara have followed the conduct of Samanjas. If they continue so how will the world be upheld? Thou art incarnate for the protection of the world". Hearing this Kapila said—"They shall soon be destroyed".

Thereupon Sagara undertook the celebration of a horse sacrifice. They were all engaged to look after the horse. Nevertheless some one stole the horse and carried it to the region below the earth. He then ordered them to search out the steed. Then following the impressions of its hoofs with perseverance they dug downwards each for a league. And coming to the region beneath they saw the horse walking freely. They saw at a distance Kapila, illuminating with the radiance of his person all the quarters, up and down like unto the autumnal sun freed from clouds. Then with uplifted weapons they rushed towards him, saying—"Slay him, slay him; this villain has spoiled our sacrifice; he has stolen our horse". Then turning his eyes a little Kapila looked towards them and with the sacred flame that came out of his body, the sons of Sagara were in no time reduced to ashes.

When Sagara came to know that all his sons, whom he had sent in quest of the horse, had been destroyed by the might of the sage Kapila he sent Asamanja's son to bring the animal. Ansumat, proceeding by the path which Sagara's sons had dug, arrived where Kapila was and reverentially bowing unto him so pleased him that he said—"Go my son and gave over the horse to your grand father; ask of me a boon; thy grand-son shall bring down the river of heaven on earth". Ansumat begged of the glorious Rishi a boon that his uncles, who had died on account of his displeasure although unworthy of it, might be raised to heaven. The Rishi said—"I have told you that your grandson shall bring down the Ganges upon earth. When the ashes and bones Sagara's sons shall be washed by her waters they shall be raised to heaven. Such is the glory of the stream that issues from the toe of Vishnu that they all, who bathe in it intentionally or accidentally, go to heaven. Even those shall go to heaven whose bones, skin, fibres, hair or any other part shall be left after death upon the earth which is contiguous to the Ganges". Thereupon reverentially bowing unto the sage and taking the steed, he went where his grandfather was celebrating the sacrifice. On receiving back the horse Sagara completed the sacrifice and in memory of his sons he gave the name of Sagara[256] to the chasm which they had dug.

The son of Ansumat was Dilipa; his son was Bhagiratha who brought down the Ganges on earth, whence she is called Bhāgirathi. The son of Bhagiratha was Sruta, whose son was Nabhaga, whose son was Ambarisha, whose son was Sindhudwipa, whose son was Ayutaswa, whose son was Rituparna, the friend of Nala, well-skilled in dice; the son of Rituparna was Sarvakāma, whose son was Sudāsa whose son was Sandasa named also Mitrasaha.

Once going out on hunting, the son Sudāsa met with a couple of tigers who had cleared the forest of the deer. He killed of these tigers with an arrow. At the time of dying the form of the animal was changed and it assumed that of a dreadful and hideous fiend. And the second disappeared saying—"I shall take vengeance upon you".

After some time Saudāsa celebrated a sacrifice which was conducted by Vasishtha. At the end of the ceremony Vasishtha went out when the Raksha assuming the shape of Vasishtha said—"The sacrifice is finished to-day. You must give me flesh to eat; I shall just now come back". Having said this he went away and transforming himself into the shape of the cook prepared some human flesh. Saudāsa placing it on a dish of gold, waited for Vasishtha. As soon as the sage came back the king offered to him the dish. Thereat the sage thought—"Alas! what improper conduct on the part of the king that he is offering me flesh!" Then by virtue of his meditation he came to know that it was human flesh. Being worked up with ire accordingly he imprecated the king—"Since you have offered, though you know it, to such holy men as we are what should not be eaten, henceforth, your appetite shall be excited by similar food".

The king said—"It was yourself who commanded this food to be prepared". Vasishtha said—"By me, how could that have been". And being engaged in meditation again he found out the whole truth. Being pleased with the king he said—"The food to which I have doomed you shall not be your sustenance for ever; it shall be only so for twelve years". And the king, taking water in his palms addressed himself for cursing the sage but gave up his intention, being reminded by his queen Madayanti that it ill became him to imprecate a curse upon a holy teacher who was the guardian divinity of the family. Unwilling to throw the water upon the earth lest it should wither up the grain for it was filled with malediction and being equally unwilling to throw it up into the air lest it should blast the clouds and dry up their contents, he threw it upon his own feet. Scalded by the heat which was in the water on account of his angry imprecation the feet of the king became spotted black and white and he therefore obtained the name of Kalmashapāda (i.e. having spotted feet).

On account of Vasishtha's curse the king used to become a cannibal every third night and travelling through the forests devoured many men. Once on a time he saw a pious sage engaged in dalliance with his wife. And beholding that terrible Rākshasa form they fled away in fear but he got hold of the husband whilst they escaping. Thereupon the wife of the Brāhman begged of him her husband again and again—"Thou art the great king Mitrasaha, the pride of Ikshwaku race—not the Rākshasa. It is not proper for thee who knowest the nature of women, to carry off my husband and devour him". In vain did she lament in many ways; he devoured the Brāhman as a tiger devours a deer. Being worked up with ire the Brāhman's wife addressed the king and said—"Since, you have devoured my husband before I was satiated in his company, you shall die as soon as you shall associate with your queen". Having thus cursed him she entered the flames.

After the expiration of twelve years when he was freed of the curse, he, being desirous of dallying with his wife, thought of Madayanti who reminded him of the curse of Brahmani. He, therefore, abstained from conjugal intercourse. Being childless he solicited the help of Vasishtha and Madayanti became pregnant. The child was not born for seven years, and the queen divided the womb with a sharp stone and a son was born who was named Asmaka. The son of Asmaka was Mulaka. When the Kshatriyas were rooted out from the earth, he was concealed by a number of women, hence he was called Narikavachā (having woman for armour). The son of Mulaka was Dasaratha; his son was Ilavile; his son was Viswasaha; his son was Khatwanga, called also Dilipa, who, being invited by the gods in a war with the Asuras, destroyed a number of them. Being pleased thereby the celestials asked him to pray for a boon. Dilipa said—"If you press me to accept a boon, tell me what is the duration of my life". The god said "The length of your life is but an hour". Thereupon Khatwanga, who was gifted with great velocity, came down, in his easy-coursing car to the world of mortals. Having reached there, he prayed and said—"If my soul has never been dearer to me than the sacred Brāhmans; If I have never deviated from the satisfaction of duty; if I have never looked upon gods, men, animals, vegetables, and all created things as different from the imperishable, may I then attain unswervingly to that divine being, upon whom the holy sages meditate".

Having thus spoken he was united with that supreme being—Vāsudeva who is the preceptor of all the gods, who is abstract existence and whose form cannot be described. Thus he was united with Vāsudeva and obtained absorption.

A stanza was cited by the seven rishis in the days of yore—"There shall be no king on earth like Khatwanga. He came from heaven, dwelt an hour on earth, and became united with three worlds by means of his liberality and knowledge of truth".

The son of Khatwanga was Dirghābahu, whose son was Raghu, whose son was Aja, whose son was Dasaratha. The glorious god, from whose navel the lotus springs, was born for the protection of the world, as the four sons of Dasaratha—namely Rāma, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna. While a boy Rāma was taken by Viswamitra to protect his sacrifice and slew Tadakā. In the sacrifice, Māricha was slain and thrown away. Suvahu and others were also slain by him. He removed the iniquity of Ahalyā by merely looking upon her. Arriving at the palace of Janaka he easily broke the bow of Maheswara, and received Sitā, self-born daughter of the king Janaka as the meed for his prowess. He humbled the pride of Parusharama—the Ketu of the Haihaya race and the slayer of all Kshatriyas. At the behest of his sire and not being sorry for the loss of kingdom he went to woods accompanied by his brother Lakshmana and his wife, where he destroyed in battle Viradha, Kara, Dusana and other Rākshasas, the headless demon Kavandha and Vali the king of monkeys. Having constructed a bridge across the deep and slain all the Rākshasas, he brought back his spouse Sitā who had been carried away by the Ten-necked Rāvana. Having purified her by the fiery ordeal, and accordingly her virtue chanted by the celestials, he returned with her to Ayodhyā.

Having slain a number of Gandharvas, Bharata became the master of their country and having slain the Rākshasa chief Lavana, the son of Madhu, Satrughna took possession of their capital Muthrā.

Having thus by their unequalled might and strength the world from the grasp of the wicked, Rāma, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna went back to heaven and were followed by those inhabitants of Kosala who were one-mindedly devoted to those incarnate portions of Vishnu.

Rāma had two sons one was named Kusa and the other Lava. Lakshmana too had two sons by the name of Angada and Chandraketu. The sons of Bharata were Taksha and Pushkara. Subāhu and Surasena were the sons of Satrughna.

The son of Kusa was Atithi, whose sort was Nishadha, whose son was Nala, whose son was Nabhas, whose son was Pundarika, whose son was Kshernadhanwan, whose son was Devanika, whose son was Ahinagu, whose son was Paripatra, whose son was Dala, whose son was Chhala, whose son was Uktha, whose son was Vajranābha, whose son was Sāukanātha, whose son was Abhyuthitaswa, whose son was Viswasaha whose son was Hiranyanabha, who was a pupil of the great ascetic Jamini and imparted spiritual knowledge upon Jajnawakla. The son of this pious king was Pushya whose son was Dhruva Sandhi, whose son was Sudarsana, whose son was Agniverna, whose son was Sighra, whose son was Maru who, by virtue of his power of devotion, is still living in the village called Kalpā and who in future will be the restorer of the Kshatriya race in the solar dynasty. Maru's son was Prasusruta, whose son was Susandhi, whose son was Amarsha, whose son was Mahaswat, whose son was Visrutavat, whose son was Vrihadbala, who was slain in the great war by Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna. These are the most illustrious kings is the race of Ikshawku. Whoever hears of account of them will be freed from all sins.

SECTION V.

The son of Ikshawku, by name Nimi, instituted a sacrifice for a thousand years and appointed Vasishtha as the presiding priest. Vasishtha said to him—"I have been already appointed by Indra for presiding at a sacrifice for five hundred years. Wait for some time, I shall come and officiate as a priest at your sacrifice". Being thus addressed the king did not answer. And Vasishtha went away supposing that he had agreed. Nimi in the meantime engaged Gautama and other ascetics and conducted the sacrifice. After the sacrifice of the king of celestials had been finished, Vasishtha hurried on to celebrate Nimi's sacrifice and found that it was being conducted under the superintendence of Gautama. Vasishtha then imprecated a curse upon the king who was asleep, saying "Since the king, not informing me, has entrusted Gautama with the charge of the sacrifice, he shall cease to exist in a corporeal form". When Nimi got up he came to know what had happened and in return imprecated a curse upon his unjust preceptor that he should also cease to exist in a corporeal form as the punishment of uttering a curse upon him without previously communicating with him. Nimi then gave up his bodily form. The spirit of Vasishtha, also renouncing his body, was united with the spirits of Mitra and Varuna for some time, when at last on account of their lustful desire for the nymph Urvasi he was born again in a different body. Nimi's body continued to be handsome and being embalmed with fragrant oils and resins it was not decomposed and remained like the corpse of one just dead. When the gods arrived there to receive their portion on the completion of the sacrifice the priests requested them to confer blessings upon the celebrator of the sacrifice. And being ordered by the celestials for the same Nimi said—"O celestials, you remove all ills from the world. There is not in the world a greater cause of distress than the separation of soul and body. I therefore wish to dwell in the eyes of all beings and not to take up a corporeal form any more". The celestials agreed to this and Nimi was placed by them in the eyes of all living beings and therefore their eye-lids are ever opening and shutting. As Nimi had no son the sages were afraid that the earth would have no ruler. So they churned the body of the king and a son was born who was named Janaka. As his father had no body Janaka was also called Videha. He also received the name of Mithi for having been produced by mathana or agitation. The son of Janaka was Udavasu, whose son was Nandivarddana, whose son was Suketu, whose son was Devarata, whose son was Vrihaduktha, whose son was Mahavirya, whose son was Satyadhristi, whose son was Dhrishtaketu, whose son was Haryyaswa, whose son was Maru, whose son was Pratibandhaka, whose son was Krisaratha, whose son was Krita, whose son was Vibudha, whose son was Mahadhriti, whose son was Kritirāta, whose son was Mahadhriti, whose son was Suvarnaroman, whose son was Haraswaroman, whose son was Siradhwaja.