|
|
Devi Bhagavatam (Devi
Puranam)
Chapter XXI
On the installation of Ekavīra and the birth of Ekāvalī
1-10. Vyāsa said :-- O King! In the meanwhile the King Turvasu performed the
Jātakarma (a religious ceremony performed at the birth of a child) and other
ceremonies of the child. The boy was nurtured duly and began to grow older
day by day. The King began to enjoy his worldly life on getting this son and
thought within himself that the boy had freed him from the three debts due
to the Fathers, the Risis and the Devas. Next, in the sixth month, the King
performed the Annaprāsana ceremony (putting the boiled rice in the mouth of
the child) and in the third year performed regularly his Chūda Karana (the
ceremony of the first tonsure) ceremony. He distributed on those occasions
various articles, wealth and cows to the Brāhmanas and other articles to
various other mendicants and made them glad. In the eleventh year, he
performed the boys holy thread (Upanayana) ceremony and tying the girdle
made of a triple string of Munja grass and put the boy to learn archery.
Next when the boy passed off proficiently in the study of the Vedas and in
learning the kingly duties, the King desired to install him on the throne.
The King Turvasu then collected with great care all the necessary articles
for installation in an auspicious day, the combination of Pusyā asterism and
Arka Yoga. He called then the Brāhmins, well versed in the Vedas and in the
Sāstras, and became ready, in accordance with due rites, to perform the
installation ceremony of the prince. Waters were brought from various sacred
places of pilgrimage and from the several oceans and on an auspicious day
the King performed himself the installation of his son. When the ceremony
was over the King gave away hoards of wealth to the Brāhmins and giving the
charge of his kingdom to his son, he went to the forest with a desire to
ascend to the Heavens.
11-22. Thus placing Ekavīra on the throne, the King Turvasu shewed respects
to his ministers, and, controlling his senses went to the forest accompanied
by his wife. On the top of the Maināka mountain he took up the vow of
Vānaprastha and sustaining his life on leaves and fruits began to meditate
Pārvatī. Thus when his Prārabdha Karma ended, he left his mortal coil with
his wife and went by virtue of his good deeds to the Indraloka. Hearing that
the King had ascended to Heavens, his son Ekavīra Haihaya performed his
funeral ceremonies according to the rules laid down by the Vedas. The Kings
son, the intelligent Haihaya, performed, one after another, all the
ceremonies due and began to govern the kingdom which was free from enemies.
The virtuous King Ekavīra remained duly obedient to his ministers after he
got possession of his kingdom and began to enjoy all the best things. The
powerful King one day went on horseback to the banks of the Ganges with the
ministers son. Roaming about, he found there the boughs of trees had
assumed a very graceful appearance, with loads of fruits, echoed with the
sweet voice of the cuckoos and with the humming of the bees. Close by were
the hermitages of the Munis, where the bucks were skipping about and at
other places the Vedas were being chanted. The smoke was seen rising from
the altars, where oblations were being offered and appeared to form like a
black canopy in the Heavens. Full ripe grains were enhancing the beauty of
the fields and the cowherdesses were merrily watching the fields. Places of
recreations adorned with full blown lotuses and beautiful groves were
attracting the attention of the visitors. The various trees, Piyāla,
Champaka, Panasa, Bakula, Tilaka, Kadamba and Mandāra, and others were
adorned with fruits, stealing away the minds of the people. At other places,
other trees Sal, Tamāla, Jack, Mango, Kali Kadamba, etc., stood gracefully.
Next when the King went to the Ganges water, he saw the gay beautiful full
blown lotuses were spreading their fragrant scents all around.
23-31. On the right side of these lotuses, he saw a lotus-eyed girl. She was
shining like the gold, her beautiful hairs were long and curling; her throat
was like a Kambu, belly thin, lips like the Bimba fruits, several other
limbs well built and graceful, breasts risen a little, nose beautiful and
all her body was exquisitely lovely; that lady just blooming into youth was
suffering bereavements from her comrades and was very distressed and seemed
bewildered. She was crying like an ewe in a dense lonely forest. Seeing her,
the King asked her what was the reason of her sorrows? O Cuckoo-voiced One!
You are as yet a girl; who has left you alone in this state? O Sweet One!
Tell me where is your husband now or where is your father? O One looking
askance! What is your trouble; explain it to me. O thin-bellied One! I will,
no doubt, remove all your sorrows and troubles. O fair-limbed One! In my
dominion nobody ever gives trouble to any other body. O lovely One! There is
no fear in my kingdom from thieves or Rāksasas; or any fear from any serious
dangerous calamities on this earth, fear from lions, tigers or any other
dangers while my sway is predominant.
32-41. O One of beautiful thighs! Why are you crying on this lonely bank of
the Ganges? Tell me what is your pain? O Pure One! I can remove the pains
and miseries, even of a serious nature, of men, whether they come from the
Deva or human sources; and this is my principal vow. O Large-eyed One! Speak
what is your inmost desire; I will carry it out instantaneously. When the
king thus spoke, that beautiful woman spoke in gentle words :-- O King! Hear
the cause of my sorrows. O King! Why will the people cry, to no purpose,
unless calamities come before them? O Mighty-armed One! I now tell you why I
am weeping. O King! There was a very religious King named Rabhya in another
province that is not yours. At first he had no issue. He had a very
beautiful wife named Rukmarekhā. She was clever, chaste and endowed with all
auspicious qualities. But issueless as she was, she remained very sorry and,
in a remorseful tone, she spoke to her husband Raibbya :-- O Lord! I am
barren; I have no sons; I am therefore a very unhappy creature. My life is
in vain; what use is there in my living? When the queen thus spoke very
distressedly, the king called the Brāhmanas, versed in the Vedas, and began
to perform an excellent sacrificial ceremony, in due accordance with the
Vedic rules. With a desire to get a son, he made many presents in profuse
quantities. When copious quantities of ghee were offered as oblations, there
arose, from the fire, a girl beautiful in all respects and endowed with all
auspicious signs.
42-53. Her teeth were very nice, eyebrows very lovely, face enchanting like
a Full Moon, the lustre of the body lovely and of a golden colour; her hairs
were fine and curling; her lips like the Bimba flowers; her hands and face
were of a red colour; her eyes were red like lotus and her limbs were soft
and gentle. When the girl arose from the fire, the priest (Hotā) took that
lean and thin lady of a nice waist by her arms and presented her to the King
and said :-- O King! Accept this daughter, endowed with all auspicious
signs. When Homa was being performed, the daughter came up like the garland
Ekāvalī; therefore this girl became famous in this world by the name Ekāvalī.
O Ruler of the earth! Take this girl, resembling a son and be happy.
O King! Visnu, the Deva of the Devas, has given you this Jewel, this
daughter; so be contented. Hearing thus the words of the priest, the King
saw this good-looking girl and with gladdened heart took the beautiful
daughter from his hands. Thus with that lovely daughter he went to his wife
Rukmarekhā and said :-- O Beautiful One! Take this daughter. The queen
Rukmarekhā felt the pleasure of having a son when she got in her arms that
lotus eyed beautiful daughter. The King next performed the natal and other
ceremonies of the daughter and did all other acts as if she had been a son
to him duly in accordance with the rules. The King performed his own
sacrificial ceremonies and gave away lots of Daksinās to the Brāhmins and
dismissed them and became very glad. That beautiful girl was nursed and
cared after like a son and she grew older day by day. The Queen Rukmarekhā
was very gladdened to get her. On that very day the birthday festival was
performed as on the occasion of the birth of a son. And that daughter grew
older, very affectionate and dear to all.
54-61. O Lovely One! You are a king and intelligent too; I will describe to
you all the details; Hear. I am the daughter of the minister to that King.
My name is Yasovatī. That daughter and I look alike and of the same age.
Therefore the king has made me her comrade. I spend my time day and night
always with her as her constant dear companion. Ekāvalī likes very much to
remain and sport wherever she finds sweet-scented lotuses; at other places
she does not find happiness. At the distant banks of the Ganges many lotuses
grow; therefore Ekāvalī goes there with great pleasure to that place with me
and her other fellow mates. One day I told the King that Ekāvalī used to go
daily to a distant solitary forest to see the lotus-lake. Then the King
addressed her not to go and he got a lake built within the compounds of his
palace and planted many lotus seeds therein. Gradually the lotuses began to
blossom and the bees came there to drink honey. Still she used to go outside
in search of lotuses. Then the King sent armed guards to accompany her. Thus
that thin-bodied daughter of the King used to go daily to the banks of the
Ganges for play, guarded by armed soldiers, accompanied by myself and other
companions. Again when the sporting was over, she used to return to the
palace.
Here ends the Twenty-First Chapter on the Sixth Book on the installation of
Ekavīra and the birth of Ekāvalī in the Mahāpurānam Srī Mad Devi Bhāgavatam
by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XXII
On the narration to Haihaya the stealing away of Ekāvalī
1-10. Yasovatī spoke :-- O King! One day Ekāvalī got up early in the
morning and went to the banks of the Ganges, accompanied by her companions;
they began to fan her with a chowrie. The armed guards accompanied her.
Slowly she went where there were the lotuses in order to sport with them. I,
too, went with her playing with the lotuses to the banks of the Ganges and
both of us began to play with lotuses with the Apsarās. When both of us were
deeply engaged in the play, then one powerful Dānava, named Kālaketu, came
up there suddenly with many Rāksasas armed with parighas, swords, clubs,
bows, arrows and tomaras and many other weapons. Ekāvalī was playing with
the best lotuses when Kālaketu saw her in that state, blooming with beauty
and youth as if like Ratī, the Goddess of Love. O King! I then spoke to
Ekāvalī :-- Look! Who is this Daitya that has come here unexpectedly; O
Lotus-eyed One! Let us go into the central part of our armed guards. O
King! My companion and myself consulting thus, went out of fear immediately
into the centre of the armed guards. Kālaketu was seized with the arrows of
Cupid, and no sooner he looked at that beautiful young lady than he, with a
very big club in his hand, hurriedly came to us, drove away the guards, and
took away my lotus eyed companion, of thin waist. Then the young lady,
helpless, began to tremble and cried aloud.
11-22. Seeing this, I spoke to the Dānava :-- Leave her and take me. The
passionate Dānava did not take me but he went away, taking my companion. The
guards exclaimed :-- Wait, wait; dont fly away with the girl; we are
giving you a good lesson. Thus saying, they made the powerful Dānavas stop
and both the parties engaged in a very terrible conflict, astounding to all.
The followers of the Dānavas, more cruel and all fully armed began at once
to fight with great enthusiasm for their Masters cause. Kālaketu himself
began to fight afterwards terribly and killed the guards. He, then, with his
followers, carried away my companion towards his own city. I, too, followed
my companion, when I saw her thus carried away by the Dānava and crying out
of fear. I also walked crying aloud by those tracks as would enable my Sakhī
to see me. She, too, seeing me, became somewhat consoled. Crying out
repeatedly I approached her. She was already very distressed and when she
saw me, she clasped me closely around my neck, perspiring and stunned and,
becoming more distressed, cried aloud. Kālaketu then showed his liking for
me and told that my quick-eyed companion was very afraid and that I might
comfort her. He told me thus :-- O Dear! My city is like the Devas abodes;
you will soon be able to go there. From today I become your slave, bound by
love. Do not cry thus distressedly; be comforted. In these words he told me
to comfort my dear companion. Thus speaking, that villain made both of us
mount on the beautiful chariot and making us sit by his sides went gladly
and quickly to his own beautiful palace, followed by his army.
23-30. That Demon placed both of us in a beautiful house white washed and
mirror-like and kept hundreds and thousands of Rāksasas to watch and protect
us. On the second day he called me in private :-- Your companion is very
much distressed on the bereavement from her father and mother and is
lamenting; make her understand and console her. He told me to speak the
following words to my companion :-- O One of beautiful hips! Be my wife and
enjoy as you like. O One with a face beautiful like the Moon! This kingdom
is yours; ever I am your obedient slave. Hearing his unbearable harsh words
I said :-- O Lord! I will not be able to speak her these words,
disagreeable to her. You better speak this yourself. When I spoke thus,
that wicked Dānava struck by the arrows of Cupid began to speak gently to my
dear companion of thin belly, thus :-- O Dear One! Today you have
successfully cast on me the Vasīkarana Mantra (one of the Tāntrik processes
by which a lover is made to come under subjection); O Beloved! Therefore it
is that my heart is stolen and so much brought under your subjection; this
has converted me into a veritable slave of yours; then know this as certain
that I am your slave; O Sweet One!
I am very much troubled by the Cupids arrows and I am semi-unconscious;
therefore O Lean-bellied One! Worship me. O One of beautiful thighs! This
youth is a very rare and transient thing; O Auspicious One! Now embrace me
as your husband and make your youth a veritable success.
31-36. Ekāvalī said :-- O Fortunate One! My father wanted to hand me over
to a prince named Haihaya; I also mentally adopted him as my husband. You
are certainly aware of the Sāstras; how can I now abandon the eternal
religion and the virtue of a woman and take up another husband. The girl
must accept him to whom the father betrothes. The girl is under every
circumstances dependent. Never do they get any independence. Though Ekāvalī
said thus, the vicious Daitya struck by Cupids arrows, did not desist and
did not leave me and that larged-eyed companion. His city lies in Pātāla and
is a very dangerous place; always it is guarded by Rāksasas and surrounded
by a moat; inside is built a beautiful and strong fort. Now my dear
companion, the queen of my heart, is staying there with a grievous heart and
I am here wandering hither and thither very much troubled on account of her
bereavements.
37-46. Ekavīra said :-- O Beautiful-faced One! How have you been able to
get away from the city of that wicked demon and how have you been able to
come here? I am perfectly at my wits end. Say quickly all these. O Proud
One! I doubt your words; the father of your dear companion resolved to give
his daughter to Haihaya in marriage; now I am that Haihaya. I am the King by
that name, on this earth; there is no other King by the name of Haihaya. Is
it that your dear companion is meant for me? O Bhāminī (passionate woman)!
Remove my doubts; I will kill that villain Rāksasa and bring just now your
dear companion; there is no doubt in this. O One of good vows! Shew me that
place, if it be known to you. Has anybody informed her father that She is
suffering from so many troubles? Has her father come to know that her
daughter has been stolen and carried away? And has he made any effort to
rescue her from the hands of that villain Rāksasa? Is it that the King is
calm and quiet, knowing that his daughter has been kept in prison? Or is it
that he is unable to free her from bondage? Say quickly all these things
before me. O Lotus-eyed One! You have captivated my mind by describing the
extraordinary qualities of your dear companion and have made me passionate
too. Alas! When will it be that I will free my beautiful beloved from the
greatest perilous situation and shall see her face and her eyes, beaming
with joy. O Sweet-speaking One! Say, by what means I can go to that
impassable city. How have you been able to come from there?
47-63. Yasovatī said :-- O King! In my early age I got the Mantram of the
Devī Bhagavatī with its seed Mantram (mystic syllable involving in it the
power connoted by the Devī) and how to meditate it. While I was in the
Dānavas place I thought out that at that juncture I would worship the
powerful Chandikā who gives instantaneously ones own desires. If I worship
that Sakti, That fructifies all desires, That is all mercy to Her Bhaktas,
certainly She will free my dear companion from this her bondage. Though She
is really without form, yet She, without anybodys help, by Her own force,
She is creating, preserving, and at the end of the Kalpa, destroying this
Universe. Oh! She is very wonderful indeed! Thus thinking I began to
meditate that auspicious red-robed and red-eyed Devī, the Lady of the
Universe, and recollected mentally Her form and repeated silently Her Vīja
Mantram. When I meditated thus for merely one month, Chandikā Devī became,
through my devotion, manifest to me in my dreams and began to speak in sweet
nectar-like words :-- You are now asleep; go quickly to the beautiful banks
of the Ganges. The enemy destroyer, the powerful Ekavīra, the greatest of
all the kings, will come there. Dattātreya, the Great Lord of the Munis, has
given him my Mantra named Mahāvidyā; the King also constantly worships me
devotedly with that. His mind is constantly attached to Me and he constantly
worships Me. What more to say than this fact that the king, extremely
devoted to Me, meditates on Me as the internal controller of all beings.
That intelligent son of Laksmī will come for sport to the banks of the
Ganges and will remove all your sorrows. That king Ekavīra, versed in all
the Sāstras will kill the Rāksasas in a dreadful battle and will rescue
Ekāvalī. So now you pay heed to my word. Lastly, She told me that my
companion should marry that beautiful King, endowed with all auspicious
qualifications. Thus saying, She disappeared and I instantly woke up. Then I
informed my lotus-eyed dear Sakhī all the details of my dream as well my
worshipping the Devī; hearing this, her lotus-face beamed with joy and
gladness. That sweet-smiling Ekāvalī very gladly told me, O dear Companion!
Go at once for our success. That truth-speaking Bhagavatī Ambikā Devī will
release us from our bondage. O King! When my dear companion ordered me
thus, I thought it proper, as also dictated to me in my dream, to go out and
soon I did it. O King! Due to the grace of the Great Devī, I came to know
the way and I also got the quick motion. Thus I have described to you the
cause of my sorrow. O Hero! Who are you, whose son are you? Speak truly to
me.
Here ends the Twenty-second Chapter in the Sixth Book on the narration to
Haihaya the stealing away of Ekāvalī in Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000
verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XXIII
On the battle of Haihaya and Kālaketu
1. Vyāsa said :-- O King! That powerful son of Laksmī, Haihaya, became very
glad to hear these words of Yasovatī and said :--
2-14. O One of beautiful thighs! Hear in reply to your query :-- I am
Haihaya, the son of Laksmī, and I am known in this world by the name of
Ekavīra. Now you have made my mind dependent. What am I to do now? where to
go? Thus distressed with bereavement from your dear companion, my mind is
struck with Cupids arrows and is confounded with her extraordinary beauty
that you just now described. Next you described her qualifications and my
mind is ravished. Again when you described before me what she uttered in the
presence of the Rāksasa, I am struck with great wonder. Your dear companion
Ekāvalī said before the vicious Dānava Kālaketu, I have already selected
the King Haihaya. I will not select any other than him, this is my firm
resolve. These words have converted me into her slave. O sweet-haired One!
Say now what service can I do to you both? I am not acquainted with that
wicked demons palace; never I went to his city. O Fair-eyed One! Say how I
can go there; for you are the only one that can lead me there. Therefore
take me quickly to that place where your beautiful clear companion is
staying. Your dear companion, the daughter of the King is very much
afflicted with sorrow; soon I will free her, by destroying that cruel
Rāksasa. There is no doubt in this. O Auspicious One! I will rescue your
dear companion and bring her to the city of yours and hand her over to the
hands of her father. Then that King, the enemy destroyer, will perform the
marriage ceremony of his daugther. I think this is the desire of your heart.
O Sweet-speaking One! Know that that is also my desire. O Beautiful One! Now
that desire will be fulfilled by your efforts. Show me quickly that place
and see my prowess. O One with a face beautiful like the Moon! It seems that
you will be able to do my work. Soon do such as I can kill that wicked
demon, who steals others wives. Now show me the way to the impassable city
of that Rāksasa.
15-26. Vyāsa said :--O King! Hearing the sweet words of the prince,
Yasovatī became very glad and gently began to speak out how he could go to
the demons city. O King! Take the success-giving Mantra of Bhagavatī and I
would then be able to show you today the city guarded by the Rāksasas. O
King! Better arrange to take your vast army with you; for you will have to
fight no sooner you go there. Kālaketu is personally a great warrior
surrounded by Rāksasas of great power and strength. Therefore be initiated
in the Mantram of Srī Bhagavatī and accompany me. So you will surely be
successful. I will show you the way to the city of that Demon. Slay that
vicious and vilest of the Rāksasas and rescue my dear companion. Hearing
thus, Haihaya was duly initiated into the great Mantram of Yogesvarī, named
Trilokitilaka Mantra (Hrīm Gaurī Rudradayite Yoge Svarī Hūm Phat Svāhā is
the Yogesvarī Mantra), by Maharsi Dattātreya, accidentally come there (as
if ordained by Fate), the chief of Jńānins (the Gnostics), that is conducive
to the welfare of the beings. Thus by the influence of the Mantram the King
got the power of knowing all things and going everywhere with unobstructed
speed. Then the King Haihaya quickly went with Yasovatī to the impassable
city of the Rāksasas, accompanied by a vast army. The city was surrounded by
snakes and guarded by the terrible Rāksasas like the city of Pātāla. The
messengers of the Rāksasa, seeing the King coming, were struck with terror
and crying aloud quickly went to Kālaketu. Kālaketu, struck with Cupids
arrows, was sitting beside Ekāvalī and was speaking many modest words when
the messenger went there suddenly and said :-- O King! The attendant of
this lady Yasovatī is coming here with a prince and an army.
27-29. O King! We cannot tell exactly whether the prince is the son of
Indra, named Jayanta or Kārtikeya. After all, puffed up with the strength of
his army, he is coming here. O King! The battle is imminent; now make your
arrangements fully and carefully; fight with the son of a Deva or abandon
this lotus-eyed Lady. O King! At a distance of three Yojanas from this
place, be is staying with his army. Now equip yourself and quickly declare
the war by blowing the war trumpets.
30-36. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing the messengers words, Kālaketu, the
King of the Demons, became overwhelmed with anger and at once sent many
powerful Rāksasas, holding all sorts of weapons and spoke out to them :-- O
Rāksasas! With weapons in your hands, go before them quickly. Ordering them
thus, Kālaketu asked in sweet words Ekāvalī who was in front and very
distressed. O Thin-bellied One! Who is coming here? Is he your father or any
other man coming with his army to release you. Speak this to me truly. If
your father comes here to take you back, being very much distressed with
your bereavement, I will never fight with him, if I come to know this truly;
rather I will bring him to my house and worship him with the excellent
horses, gems and jewels and clothings. Really I will show my full
hospitality duly to him when he comes here. And if any other person comes,
then I will take his life by the sharpened arrows; there is no doubt in
this. Know this as certain whoever comes here for your rescue is brought by
the hand of Death to me. Therefore, O Large-eyed One! Say who is this fool
that is coming, not knowing me as the powerful and unconquerable Kāla
(Death).
37-38. Ekāvalī said :-- O Highly Fortunate One! I do not know who is this
body coming to this side with a violent speed. O King! How can I know that
when I am in this state of confinement in your house. This man is not my
father nor my brother. Some other powerful man is coming here. I do not know
exactly what for he is coming.
39-40. The Demon said :-- My messengers say that your comrade Yasovatī has
taken with her that warrior and is coming to this side with great energy.
Where has your clever companion gone now? O Lotus-eyed! There is no enemy in
the three worlds strong enough to fight against me.
41-66. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Just then other messengers hurriedly came
there terrified and spoke to Kālaketu who had been staying in the house,
thus :-- O King! The army has come quite close to the city and how are you
staying in the house, calm and quiet? Better march out of the city with your
vast army as early as possible. The powerful Kālaketu, then, hearing their
words, mounted on the chariot and quickly went out of his city. The King
Haihaya, on the other hand, suffering from the bereavements of his dear
lady, suddenly came there mounted on horseback. The terrible fight ensued
then and there between the two and each one struck the other with sharpened
weapons and the quarters all around blazed with their glitterings and
clashings. When the terrible fight was going on, Haihaya, the son of Laksmī,
struck Kālaketu, the King of the Daityas with a very powerful club (Gadā).
Thus struck by the Gadā, the Lord of the Daityas fell on the ground like a
mountain, struck by lightning, and died. All the Rāksasas fled away on all
sides, struck with terror. Yasovatī went then very hurriedly with a
gladdened heart to Ekāvalī and began to speak to her in terms of surprise
and in sweet words :-- O Dear! O Dear! Come, Come; the great warrior, the
prince Ekavīra has killed the Lord of the Daityas in a dreadful battle. That
King is now waiting, tired in the midst of his soldiers. He has already
heard from me about your beauty and qualities; and now he is expecting to
see you. O One Looking askance! Now satisfy your eyes and mind by seeing
that King who is like the Cupid. When I described to him before on the banks
of the Ganges your beauty and qualifications, he got enamoured of you and
now he is suffering from bereavements and wants to see you. Thus, hearing,
Ekāvalī determined to go to him and as she was yet unmarried, she became
abashed and afraid. She thought how could she see the prince as she was
unmarried. It might be that he being passionate would catch her by her arms.
Thus, troubled with thought, that daughter of the King, with a sad look, and
wearing poor clothes, Ekāvalī went with Yasovatī on a palanquin, carried on
mens shoulders. Seeing that large-eyed daughter of the King coming there,
the prince said :-- O Beautiful One! My two eyes are very thirsty to see
you. Satisfy my eyes and mind by showing yourself to me. Seeing the prince
passionate and the Kings daughter very much abashed, Yasovatī, who knew
the rules of modesty, thus spoke to the prince :-- O Prince! The father of
my dear companion expressed a desire to betroth her to your hands. She is
also obedient to you. Therefore your meeting will certainly take place. O
King! Wait; take her to her father; and he will perform duly the marriage
ceremony and betroth her to your hands. Know this to be quite certain. The
King took her words to be quite just and true and taking those two ladies
went with his army to the house of the father of Ekāvalī. Ekāvalīs father
became very glad and cheerful to learn that his daughter was coming and,
accompanied by his ministers, went hurriedly to her. After a long time the
King saw his daughter in poor clothings and became highly pleased. Yasovatī
then described in detail all what happened before the King. The King then
with his minister brought with great love, courtesy and gentleness Ekavīra
to his house and on an auspicious day performed the marriage ceremony of him
with Ekāvalī, in accordance with due ceremonies and rites. Then the King
gave away many clothings, ornaments, jewels, and articles for fitting a
house and many other things and worshipped duly and sent his daughter
together with Yasovatī away with the King Haihaya. Thus the marriage
ceremony was performed and the son of Laksmī gladly returned to his house
and began to enjoy many pleasures with his wife. Then, in course of time, in
the womb of Ekāvalī the King Haihaya got a son named Kritavīrya. The son of
this Kritavīrya is known as Kārtavīrya. O King! Thus I have narrated to you
the origin of the Haihaya dynasty.
Here ends the Twenty-third Chapter in the Sixth Book on the battle of
Haihaya and Kālaketu in the Mahā Purānam Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam by Maharsi
Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XXIV
On the description of Viksepa Sakti
1-5. The King Janamejaya said :-- O Bhagavān! I am not satiated with the
drink of the divine sweet nectar-like words coming out of your lotus mouth.
You have described to me in detail the wonderful and variegated story of the
origin of the Haihaya dynasty; but, O Muni! There has arisen in my mind a
curiosity to know something more on this subject. See the Bhagavān Visnu,
the Lord of Laksmī, the Deva of the Devas, the Ruler of this whole Universe
and the Cause of the Creation, Preservation and Destruction; yet that Best
of Purusas Srī Bhagavān had to assume a horse form. He is undecaying and
independent, how then He came to be dependent? Clear this doubt of mine. O
Best of Munis! You are omniscient; therefore satisfy my curiosity by
describing this wonderful event.
6-16. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hear what I heard of yore from Nārada how this
doubt was removed. The mind-born son of Brahmā, Maharsi Nārada got powers to
go everywhere by virtue of his Tapas, could know everything, was of a calm
and quiet nature, dear to all and he was a poet. On one occasion he went out
on tour round the world, playing with his lute in time with Svar and Tān.
One day he came to my Āsrama, singing many things concerning Brihat
Rathantara Sāma Veda and the sweet nectar-like Gāyatrī, the Giver of
Liberation. O King! There was a very sacred place of hermitage, beaming as
it were with happiness and self-knowledge, named Samyāprāsa, on the banks
of the river Sarasvatī. There was situated my hermitage. Seeing the lustrous
Nārada the son of the Grand Sire Brahmā, coming, I got up and offered him
duly Pādya (water to wash his feet) and Argha (offerings of worship), etc.,
and worshipped him. When that Muni of indomitable lustre took his seat on
the Āsana, I sat beside him. When I found Nārada, the Giver of Knowledge, at
rest and quiet, I duly asked him the very same question that you have asked
me just now. O Best of Munis! What happiness is there on the beings taking
their birth in this world. I never found it in any place or in any concern,
this I can say positively. Still why do the high minded persons do Karma,
fascinated by the enchantments of the world. Look! I was born in an island.
Just after my birth, my mother forsook me. Helpless, I grew in the forest as
my Karma allowed. Next I performed a very severe tapasyā before Mahādeva,
the Deva of the Devas, on the mountain with a desire to have a son.
17-38. As a fruit of that I got Suka as my son, the foremost of the
Gnostics, and taught him completely the essence of the Vedas from the
beginning to the end. O Devarsī! When my son got wisdom from you, he left
this world even when I became very distressed on his bereavement and wept
aloud and he went away to the next world. Very much afflicted for the
parting of my son, I abandoned the great Mountain Meru. I got very lean due
to the absence of my dear son whom I loved very much; and becoming very
distressed and knowing this whole world to be an illusion, I remembered my
mother and went to the Kuru Jāngala district, as if bound up and controlled
by the snares of Māyā. When I heard that the King Sāntanu had married my
mother, I built my hermitage on the holy banks of the Sarasvatī and remained
there. When the King Sāntanu went to the next world, my chaste mother
remained with two sons. At that time Bhīsma looked after their sustenance
and maintained them. The intelligent Gangās son Bhīsma Deva installed
Chitrāngada on the throne. A short while after this, Chitrāngada, too,
looking like a second Cupid and extremely lovely, went to the jaws of death.
The mother Satyavatī was drowned in the sorrows for his son Chitrāngada and
began to weep for him. O King! Knowing my mother in that sorrowful
condition, I went to her. Bhīsma and I then consoled her with hopeful words.
Bhīsma Deva was averse to marrying and then becoming a King; and, therefore,
he installed again the younger brother, the powerful Vichitravīrya on the
throne. O King! Bhīsma defeated by his own prowess the kings and brought the
two daughters of the King Kāsīrāj and handed them over to Satyavatī, so
that she might give them over to Vichitravīrya. Then, on an auspicious day,
and in an auspicious Lagna (moment) when the marriage ceremony of my brother
Vichitravīrya was performed, I became glad. My brother, a good archer, was
shortly afterwards attacked with consumption and thus he died without any
issue. At this my mother became very sad and dejected. Seeing the husband
dead, the two daughters of Kāsīrāja became ready to preserve their religion
of chastity and said to their mother-in-law, sorrowful and weeping :-- We
two shall accompany our husbands and become Satī (i.e., be burnt up with our
husbands). O Devī! We will go to the Heavens with your son. We, the two
sisters united, will enjoy with him in the Nandana Garden. The mother was
very much attached to them and with the permission of Bhīsma Deva, very
affectionately made them desist from this great attempt. When all the
funeral obsequies of Vichitravīrya were over, my mother consulted with
Bhīsma and remembered me in Hastinānagara. As soon as she remembered me,
immediately I knew her mental feelings and hurriedly came to Hastinānagara
and, with my head bowed, fell prostrate before her feet, and with folded
hands addressed my mother who was very much inflamed with the fire of sorrow
for the death of her son, thus :-- O Mother! Why have you called me here
mentally? I see you are very much dejected; I am your servant; order me what
I can do for you. O Mother! You are my greatest place of pilgrimage and you
are my highest deity; I am very anxious since I have come here; say what you
desire.
39-44. Vyāsa said :-- O Best of Munis! When I said thus and waited before
her, then she looked at Bhīsma standing close by and said :-- O Child! Your
brother died of consumption; therefore I am very sorrowful, lest the family
becomes extinct. O Intelligent One! For the continuance of the line, then,
with the permission of the Gangās son, I have called you here today by the
Samādhi Yoga. O son of Parāsara! You re-establish the name of Sāntanu that
is going now to be well nigh extinct. O Vyāsa Deva! Relieve me soon from
this sorrow of mine, lest this line be extinct. There are the two daughters
of Kāsīrāja, honest and good and endowed with youth and beauty. O Highly
Intelligent One! Better you cohabit with them and save the family of Bhārata
by begetting sons. You will not be touched with any sin.
45-55. Vyāsa said :-- O Devarsī! Hearing the mothers words, I became very
anxious and humbly told her with great shame :-- O Mother! To touch
anothers wife is a very sinful act; knowing well the path of Dharma, how
can I willingly and intentionally violate that? So also, the Maharsis say
:-- That the wife of a younger brother is like a daughter. Studying all the
Vedas, how can I do this blame-worthy and adulterous act? To preserve a line
of family by illegal ways is never to be done; for then the fathers of the
sinners can never cross this ocean of world. How can he, who is the
spiritual preceptor of all, and the writer of all the Purānas, do this act
knowingly which is awfully strange and very bad and nasty in its nature. My
mother was very much plunged into the sea of sorrows for the bereavement of
her son; so to preserve the family, She came again to me, weeping and said
:-- O son of Parāsara! If you follow my word, you wont incur any sin. O
Child! If the reasonable words of the Gurus be even faulty, one should obey
them according to the tradition of the Sistas. Therefore, O Child! Keep my
word and preserve my honour; no sin will touch you. O Child! Think very
well. Your mother is very sorry and is immersed in the ocean of afflictions;
therefore it is your paramount duty to make her happy by begetting child for
the continuance of the family. Hearing my mother speaking to me thus,
Bhīsma, the Gangās son, the expert in finding out truth in fine points with
regard to Dharma, said to me :-- O Dvaipāyana! You are wholly sinless; you
ought not therefore to argue on this point; obey your mother as she says and
be happy.
56-61. Vyāsa said :-- O King! Hearing his words and my mothers request, I
decided to do this very hateful act with a fearless heart without any
suspicion. When Ambikā finished her ablutions after menstruation, I gladly
cohabited with her in the night; but that young lady seeing my ugly ascetic
form, was not attached to me; I then cursed that beautiful woman thus :-- As
you closed your eyes at the first cohabitation with me, your son will be
born blind. O Muni! On the second day my mother enquired me when I was alone
:-- O Dvaipāyana! Will there be born a son of the daughter of Kāsīrāj? I
then bowed my head with shame, and told, Mother! The son will be born
blind, through my curse. O Muni! The mother then rebuked me harshly, O
Child! Why did you curse that the son of Ambikā would be born blind?
Here ends the Twenty-fourth Chapter in the Sixth Book on the description of
Viksepa Sakti in the discourse between Vyāsa and Nārada in the Mahāpurānam
Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter XXV
On the cause of Moha of Vyāsa Deva asked before Nārada
1-10. Vyāsa said :-- OKing! The mother became astonished to hear me.
Becoming very anxious for a son, she began to speak to me. O Child! The wife
of your brother, the daughter Ambālikā of Kāsīrāj, is a widow; she is very
sorrowful; she is endowed with all auspicious signs and endowed with all
good qualities; better cohabit with that beautiful young wife and get a
child according to the tradition of the Sistas. Persons born blind are not
entitled to kingdoms. Therefore take my word and procreate a beautiful son
and thus keep my honour. O Muni! Hearing the mothers words, I began to wait
in Hastināpura till Ambālikā, the daughter of Kāsīrāj, finished her
ablutions after menstruation. That Kings daughter, of curling hairs, came
to me alone at her mother-in-laws order, and became very much abashed.
Seeing me an ascetic with matted hairs on my head and void of every love
sentiment, perspiration came on her face; her body turned pale and her mind
void of any love towards me. When I saw that lady trembling and pale beside
me, I angrily spoke :-- O One of beautiful waist! When you have turned out
pale, considering your own beauty, let your son be of a pale colour. Thus
saying I spent there that night with Ambālikā. After enjoying her I took
farewell from my mother and went to my place.
11-21. In due course, the two daughters of the King gave birth to two sons
respectively, one blind and the other pale. The son of Ambikā was named
Dhritarāstra; and the son of Ambālikā was named Pāndu, as his colour was
pāndu (pale). Mother became absent-minded when she saw the two sons in those
states. After one year she again called me and said :-- O Dvaipāyana! These
two persons are not so fit to become kings; therefore beget one more son
beautiful and according to my liking. When I consented, she became very
glad and, in due course, asked Ambikā to embrace me and give birth to a son,
endowed with extraordinary qualities, and fit to preserve the line worthy of
the Kuru dynasty. The bride did not then say anything on account of her
bashfulness. But when I went in the night time according to my mothers
order, to the sleeping room, Ambikā sent to me a maid-servant of
Vichitravīrya, full of youth and beauty, and adorned with various ornaments
and clothings. That maid-servant of beautiful hairs and of a swan-like gait
adorned with garlands and red sandal-paste, came to me with many enchanting
gestures and making me take my seat on the cot, became herself merged in
love sentiments. O Muni! I became pleased with her gestures and amorous
sports and passed the night, full of love towards her and played and
cohabited with her. At last I gladly gave her the boon, O Fortunate One!
Your child, begotten by me, will be endowed with all good qualities, will be
of good form, will be conversant with all the essences of Dharma, calm and
quiet and truthful.
22-34. In due course, a child named Vidura was born to her. Thus I had three
sons; and in my mind grew up Māyā and affection that these were my sons.
When I saw again those three sons, heroic and full of manliness, the only
cause of my sorrow due to the bereavement of my son Suka vanished away from
my mind. O Lord of Dvījas! Māyā is very powerful and extremely hard to be
abandoned by those who are not masters of their senses; She enchants even
the wise, though She does not possess any form nor any substratum nor any
support. I could not find any peace, even in the forest, as my mind was
attached to my mother and children. O Muni! My mind then began to oscillate
like a pendulum and I remained sometime in Hastināpura and sometime on the
banks of the Sarasvatī. I could not stay in a certain fixed place. By
discrimination, the knowledge sometimes flashed in my mind :-- Whose sons
are these? The attachment is nothing but merely a delusion. On my death they
would not be entitled to perform my Srāddha ceremony. These sons are
begotten by ways and manners not sanctioned by Dharma; what happiness can
they bring to me? O Muni! The powerful Māyā has caused this delusion in me.
What! Knowing this Samsāra to be unreal, Alas! I have fallen into this well
of the Darkness of delusion. Thus I repented when I thought over the matter
deeply and when I was alone in a solitary place. When, subsequently, through
the mediation of Bhīsma, the powerful Pāndu got the kingdom, I became
pleased to see the prosperity of my son. O Muni! This is also the creation
of Māyā. The daughter of the King Sūrasena, named Kuntī, and the daughter
of the King of Madra, named Mādrī became the two beautiful wives of Pāndu.
Pāndu was cursed by a Brāhmana that he would die if he cohabited with any
woman; he therefore became dispassionate and quitting his kingdom, went to
the forest with his two wives. Hearing Pāndu gone to the forest I felt pain
and went to my son who was staying with his wives and consoling him, came to
Hastināpura, where I held a conversation with Dhritarāstra and then came
back to the banks of the river Sarasvatī.
35-50. Pāndu in his forest life, got five sons out of his wives by the Devas
Dharma, Vāyu, Indra, and the twin Asvins. Dharma, Vāyu, and Indra begat
respectively of Kuntī the three sons Yudhisthira, Bhīmasena and Arjuna; and
the two Asvins begat of Mādrī the two sons Nakulu and Sahadeva. Once Mādrī,
full of youth and beauty, was staying alone in a solitary place and Pāndu
seeing her embraced her and due to the curse, died. When the funeral pyre
was ablaze, the chaste Mādrī entered into the fire and died a Satī. Kuntī
was prevented from doing so, as she was to nurse and look after her young
children. The Munis then took the sorrowful Kuntī, the daughter of Sūrasena,
bereft of her husband to Hastināpur and handed her over to the high-souled
Bhīsma and Vidura. When I came to hear this, my mind was greatly agitated to
see the pain and pleasure that other people suffered. Bhīsma, Vidura, and
Dhritarāstra began to nourish and support Yudhisthira and others as they
considered them the sons of their dearest Pāndu. The cruel and wicked sons
of Dhritarāstra, Duryodhana and others united with each other and began to
quarrel horribly with the sons of Pāndu. Dronāchārya came there accidentally
and Bhīsma treated him with great respect and requested him to stay in
Hastināpura and educate the sons of Kuru. Karna was the the son of Kuntī,
when she was young and unmarried; and he was quitted by her no sooner he was
born. The charioteer Sūta (or carpenter) Adhiratha found him in a river and
nourished him. Karna was the foremost of the heroes and therefore the great
favourite of Duryodhana. The enmity between Bhīma and Duryodhana, etc.,
began to grow greater day by day. Dhritarāstra, thinking the difficult
situation of his children, fixed the residence of the sons of Pāndu at the
Vāranāvata city so that the quarrels might die away. Out of enmity,
Duryodhana ordered his dear friend Purochana to build there a house of lac
for the Pāndavas. O Muni! When I heard that Kuntī and her five sons were
burnt in the lac-house, I became merged in the ocean of sorrows and thought
that they were my grandsons. I was overwhelmed with sorrow and began to
search after them in deep forests day and night till at last I found them in
Ekachakrā city, lean and thin and very much distressed with sorrow.
51-63. I became very glad to see them and sent them soon to the city of the
King Drupada. Wearing the deers skin, they went there dejected with sorrow
in the Brāhmins dress and stayed in the royal court. The victorious Arjuna
shewed prowess and pierced the mark (the eye of the fish) and obtained
Krisnā, the daughter of the King Drupada. By the order of the mother Kuntī,
the five brothers married her. O Muni! I became very glad to see that they
were all married. The Pāndavas , then, accompanied by Pānchālī, soon went to
Hastināpura. Dhritarāstra then fixed Khāndavaprastha as the residence of the
Pāndavas. Visnu, the son of Vāsudeva, then performed the Yajńā with the
victorious Arjuna and satisfied the Great Fire. The Pāndavas next performed
the Rājasūya sacrifice and that made me very glad. Seeing the affluence and
prosperity of the Pāndavas and the great assembly hall beautiful and
exquisitely artistic, Duryodhana was burnt up, as it were, with malice and
made arrangements for play in dice, very injurious in its consequences.
Sakuni was expert in playing deceitfully and Yudhisthira the son of Dharma,
was not expert in this play. So Duryodhana made Sakuni play for him and
stole away all that Yudhisthira had and insulted, at last, in the royal
assembly, the daughter of Drupada, Yajńāsenī and gave her much trouble. The
Pāndavas then went with Pānchālī in an exile in the forest for twelve years.
And I was very much grieved to hear this O Muni! Though I know all about the
Sanātan Dharma, yet I was deluded and merged in these worlds of pains and
pleasures. Who am I? To whom do these sons belong? My mind roams day and
night on the thought of all these. O Muni! What shall I do? And whither
shall I go? I dont find happiness anywhere; my mind is, as it were,
floating in a rocking machine and it is never being fixed. O Best of Munis!
You are all-knowing; solve my doubts so that my mental fever may be
quietened and I may be happy.
Here ends the Twenty-fifth Chapter on the cause of Moha of Vyāsa Deva asked
before Nārada in Srī Mad Devi Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda
Vyāsa.
Next >
Devi Puranam index
Email
this page to a friend
|
|
