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Devi Bhagavatam
THE SECOND BOOK
Chapter I
On the birth of Matsyagandhā
1-5. The Risis said :-- O Sūta! Your words sound wonderful to us indeed!
but you have not as yet definitely spoken to us the original events in
detail; so a great doubt has arisen in our minds. We know that the king
Santanu married Vyāsa's mother, Satyavatī. Now say, in detail in how Vyāsa
became her son? How such a chaste woman Satyavatī, remaining in her own
house, came to be married again by Santanu? and how the two sons came to be
born of Santanu's sperm and Satyavatī's' ovum? Now O highly fortunate
Suvrata? Kindly describe in detail this highly sanctifying historical fact.
These Risis, who are observing vows, are desirous to hear of the birth of
Veda Vyāsa and Satyavatī.
6-23. Sūta said :-- I bow down with devotion to the Highest Primordial
Force, the bestower of the four fold aims of existence of human life, who
grants to all, their desires when so prayed by the help of the Vāgbhava
Vījamantra with their heart and soul, for the success of all their desires.
The above vīja is so potent in its effect that even pronounced very lightly,
even under a pretext, it grants all siddhis. So the Devī should be
remembered by all means; and now saluting Her, I begin my narration of the
auspicious Purānic events. In days gone by there reigned a king, named
Uparichara; he ruled over the Chedi country and respected the Brāhmins; he
was truthful and very religious. Indra, the lord of the Devas, became very
pleased by his asceticism and presented him an auspicious celestial car
(going in the air) made of pearls, and crystals, helping him in doing what
he liked best. Mounting on that divine chariot, that religious king used to
go everywhere; he never remained on earth; he used to remain always in the
atmosphere and therefore be had his name as Uparichara Vasu (moving in the
upper regions). He had a very beautiful wife, named Girikā; and five
powerful sons, of indomitable vigour, were born to him.
The king give separate kingdoms to each of his sons and made them kings.
Once on an occasion, Girikā, the wife of the Uparichara Vasu, after her bath
after the menstruation and becoming pure came to the king and informed him
of her desire to get a son; but that very day his Pitris (ancestors)
requested him also to kill deer, etc., for their Srāddha (solemn obsequies
performed in honour of the manes of deceased ancestors). Hearing the Pitris,
the king of Chedi became somewhat anxious for his menstruous wife; but
thinking his Pitris words more powerful and more worthy to be obeyed, went
out on an hunting expedition to kill deer and other animals, with the
thought of his wife Girikā in his breast. Then while he was in the forest,
he remembered his Girikā, who was equal in her beauty and loveliness to
Kamalā, and the emission of semen virile took place. He kept this semen on
the leaf of a banyan tree and thought How the above semen be not futile; my
semen cannot remain unfruitful; my wife has just now passed her menstruous
condition; I will send this semen to my dear wife. Thus thinking the time
ripe, he closed the semen under the leaves of the banyan tree and charging
it with the mantra power (some power) addressed a falcon close by thus :--
O highly fortunate one! Take this my semen virile and go to my palace. O
Beautiful one! Do this my work: take this semen virile and go quick to my
palace and hand it over to my wife Girikā for to-day is her menstruation
period.
24. Sūta said :-- O Risis! Thus saying, the king gave that leaf with the
virile therein to the falcon, who is capable of going quick in the air, took
it and immediately rose high up in the air.
25-26. Another falcon, seeing this one flying in the air with leaf in his
beak, considered it to be some piece of flesh and fell upon him. Immediately
a gallant fighting ensued between the two birds with their beaks.
27. While the fighting was going on, that leaf with semen virile fell down
from their beaks on the waters of the Jumnā river. Then the two faIcons flew
away as they liked.
28-39. O Risis! While the two falcons were fighting with each other, one
Apsarā (celestial nymph) named Adrikā came to a Brāhmin, who was performing
his Sandhyā Bandanam on the banks of the Jumnā. That beautiful woman began
to bathe in the waters and took a plunge for playing sports and caught hold
of the feet of the Brāhmana. The Dvija, engaged in Prānāyāma (deep breathing
exercise), saw that the woman had amorous intentions, and cursed her, saying
:-- As you have interrupted me in my meditation, so be a fish.
Adrikā, one of the best Apsarās, thus cursed, assumed the form of a fish
Safari and spent her days in the Jumnā waters. When the semen virile of
Uparichara Vasu fell from the beak of the falcon, that fish Adrikā came
quickly and ate that and became pregnant. When ten months passed, a
fisherman came there and caught in a net that fish Adrikā. When the fish's
belly was torn asunder, two human beings instantly came out the the womb.
One was a lovely boy and the other a beautiful girl. The fisherman was
greatly astonished to see this. He went and informed the king of that place
who was Uparichara Vasu that the boy and the girl were born of the womb of a
fish. The king also was greatly surprised and accepted the boy who seemed
auspicious. This Vasu's son was highly energetic and powerful, truthful and
religious like his father and became famous by the name of the king
Matsyarāj. Uparichara Vasu gave away the girl to the fisherman. This girl
was named Kāli and she became famous by the name of Matsyodarī. The smell of
the fish came out of her body and she was named also Matsyagandhā. Thus the
auspicious Vasu's daughter remained and grew in that fisherman's house.
The Risis said :-- The beautiful Apsarā, cursed by the Muni, turned into
fish; she was afterwards cut asunder and eaten up by the fisherman. Very
well! What happened afterwards to that Apsarā? How was she freed of that
curse? and how did she go back to the Heavens?
Thus questioned by the Risis, Sūta spoke as follows :-- When the Apsarā was
first cursed by the Muni, she was greatly astonished; she began to weep and
cry like one greatly distressed and afterwards began to praise him. The
Brāhmin, seeing her weeping, took pity on her and said :-- O good one!
Don't weep; I am telling you how your curse will expire. As an effect of
having incurred my wrath, you will be born as a fish and when you will give
birth to two human children, you will be freed of your curse.
The Brāhmin having spoken thus, Adrikā got a fish-body in the waters of the
Jumnā. Afterwards she gave birth to two human children and became freed of
the curse when she, quitting the fish form assumed the divine form and went
up to the Heavens. O Risis! The beautiful girl Matsyagandhā thus took her
birth and was nourished in the fisherman's house and grew up there. When the
extraordinarily lovely girl of Vasu, Matsyagandhā attained her youth, she
continued to do all the household duties of the fisherman and remained
there.
Thus ends the first chapter of the Second Skandha on the birth of
Matsyagandhā in the Mahāpurāna Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses by
Maharsi Veda Vyāsa.
Chapter II
On the birth of Vyāsa Deva
1-10. Once on an occasion, the highly energetic Muni Parās'ara went out on
pilgrimage and arrived on the banks of the Yamunā, and spoke to the
religious fisherman who was taking his food then thus :-- O fisherman! Take
me on your boat and carry me to the other side of the river. Hearing this,
the fisherman spoke to the beautiful girl Matsyagandhā :-- O beautiful
smiling one! This religious ascetic intends to cross the river; so take the
boat and carry him to the other bank. Thus ordered by her father, the
exceedingly beautiful Vasu girl Matsyagandhā began to steer the boat whereon
sat the Muni. Thus while the boat was sliding on the waters of the Yamunā;
the Muni Parās'ara saw the beautiful-eyed damsel Matsyagandhā and became as
if under the command of the great destiny, greatly enamoured of her. He
desired to enjoy Matsyagandhā, full of youth and beauty and with his right
hand caught hold of her left hand; the blue coloured Matsya looking askance
spoke out smilingly in the following words :-- O knower of Dharma! What are
you going to do, pierced by the arrows of Cupid? What you desire now, is it
worthy of your family or your study of the Sāstras or worthy of your
Tapasyā; see, you are born in the line of Vas'istha and you are well known
as of good character. O best of Brāhmins! You are quite aware that the
attaining of a man-birth in this world is very rare; and over and above this
the attainment of Brāhminhood is, as far as my knowledge goes, particularly
difficult.
11-14. O Prince of Brāhmins! You are the foremost and best as far as your
family, goodness, and learning in the Vedas and other Sāstras are
concerned; you are well versed in Dharma; how is it, then, that you are
going to do this act, not worthy of an Ārya, though you see me possessed of
this bad smell of fish throughout my body. O one of unbaffled understanding!
O best of twice-born! What auspicious sign do you see in my body that you
are stricken with passion on my account that you have caught hold of my hand
to enjoy me? Why have you gotten your own Dharma? Thus saying, Matsyagandhā
thought within herself :-- Alas! This Brāhmin has certainly lost his brains
in order to enjoy me; certainly he will be drowned just now in his attempt
to enjoy me in this boat; his mind is so much agitated with the arrows of
Cupid that no body, it seems, can act against his will. Thus thinking
Matsyagandhā spoke again to the Muni :-- O highly fortunate one! Hold
patience! let me first take you to the other side of the river; then you may
do as you please.
15-19. Hearing these reasonable words, the Muni let loose of her hand and
took his seat on the boat and gradually got down on the other bank of the
river. But the Muni, becoming again extremely passionate caught hold of
Matsyagandhā; when the young woman spoke to Parāsara, in front of her,
shuddering :-- O best of Munis! My body is emitting very bad smell; do you
not feel this? You know very well that the sexual intercourse between male
and female of similar types brings in happiness and comfort. Thus spoken
to, Parāsara made Matsyagandhā emit sweet scent like that of musk to a
distance of one Yojana (8 miles) and her body exceedingly lovely and
beautiful and, becoming extremely passionate, again caught hold of her right
hand.
20-34. Then the auspicious Satyavatī addressed Parāsara Muni, resolved to
enjoy her, thus :-- O Muni! Behold! all are looking at us; my father too,
is there on the bank of the Yamunā; so, O Muni! wait till night this beastly
act before all is highly unsatisfactory to me. The wise persons declare it a
great sin to commit sexual intercourse during day they have ordained night
time as the best time of intercourse for men not the day time; the more so
that many person's eyes are in this direction. So, O intelligent one! hold
on your passion for a while; for the blame pronounced by the public is
horrible. Hearing these reasonable words, the liberal minded Parās'ara
created, by his influence of Tapasyā, a dense fog so that both the banks of
the Yamunā became covered with darkness. Then Matsyagandhā gently spoke to
the Muni :-- O best of Dvījas! I am not as yet married; I am now a girl;
you will go away after enjoying me; your semen virile is not fruitless; so
Brāhman! What will be my fate? If I be pregnant today, what shall I say to
my father? and what will be my future state? There is no doubt that, after
enjoying me, you will go away; what will I do afterwards; kindly say.
Hearing these words of Matsyagandhā, Parās'ara said :-- O beloved! after
you have done my pleasant duty, you will remain a girl as you are now; yet,
O timid one! ask from me any boon you like; I will grant it to you.
Satyavatī then said :-- O best Brāhman, O giver of one's honour! grant me
these things :-- That my father and mother do not know anything of this
affair and that my virginity be again as ever the same. Also let an
extraordinarily powerful energetic son be born to me like you; let this nice
smell continue to remain always in my body and let my youth and beauty
remain afresh and increase ever more. Hearing this, Parās'ara said :-- O
beautiful one! a son, very pure and holy, will be born to you, from
Nārāyana's part! his name will be famous in the three worlds. O beautiful
one! never before my heart was agitated with such passion. I do not know why
I have become so much passionate for you. I saw the unrivalled beauties of
Apsarās but I never lost my patience; but seeing you, I have become
attracted to you; it must be under the direction of Providence; know it
certain that there must be some mysterious cause in this. However Fate is
unavoidable to all; otherwise you are full of so bad smell; why shall I be
fascinated by your sight? O beautiful one! your son will be famed in the
three worlds; will compose the Purānas and will sub-divide the Vedas.
Thus saying, the Muni Parās'ara enjoyed Matsyagandhā, who became quite
submissive; and after bathing in the Yamunā, quickly went away. On the other
hand, the chaste Satyavatī, too, became pregnant and immediately gave birth
on the island of Yamunā to a son beautiful, as if the Second Kāmadeva, the
god of Love, Kāmadeva. No sooner that son, very fiery and highly potent, was
born than he devoted his mind to tapasyā and spoke to his own mother
Satyavatī thus :--O Mother! now go wherever you like; I will also go to
perform tapasyā. O highly fortunate one; No sooner you remember me, I will
come to you. O Mother! where you will have any onerous duty, remember me and
I will instantly come to you. Let all good be unto you; now I go. Avoid all
cares and live happily. Thus saying, Vyāsadeva went out. Matsyagandhā, too,
went back to his father. Vyāsa was named also Dvaipāyan (born in an island,
a Dvīpa) in as much as Satyavatī gave birth to him in a Dvīpa island); and
as he was born of Visnu's parts, he grew up no sooner he was born.
The Muni Dvaipāyana bathed in every Tīrtha and performed the highest
asceticism. Thus Dvaipāyan Vyāsa was born of Parās'ara in Satyavatīs womb.
Seeing the advent of Kali Yuga, he adorned the tree of the Vedas with many
Sākhās (branches). It is because he expanded the Vedas many Sākhās, that
he is denominated also as VedaVyās; he composed eighteen Purānas, Samhitas,
the excellent Mahābhārat, subdivided the Vedas and made his disciples
Sumantu, Jaimini, Paila, Vaisāmpāyan, Asita, Devala and his son Suka to
study them.
Sūta said :-- O Munis! Thus I have described to you the birth of the holy
Vyāsa, the son of Satyavatī and all the causes. O Munis! Do not allow any
doubt enter your mind as regards his birth; for it is always advisable to
take up only the good things as far as the lives of great persons and Munis
are concerned. There must be some extraordinary mysterious cause owing to
which Satyavatī was born of a fish, and she was first united to Parās'ara
and then to Sāntanu. Otherwise how can one account for the fact of the Muni
Parāsara being so much agitated by passion and why he would behave like a
mean low person in the committal of a a grossly blameable act? Now has been
spoken the wonderful birth story of Vyāsa Deva together with all incidents,
and enveloped under the great mystery. If any man hears this holy narrative,
he will be freed from sins and will never fall into difficulties and will
always be happy.
Thus ends the Second Chapter of the Second Skandha on the birth of Vyāsa
Deva in the Mahāpurānam Srī Mad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses.
Chapter III
On the description of the curse on Gangā, Mahābhisa and Vasus
1-8. The Risis said :-- O Sinless Sūta! You have described to us in detail
the birth of Vyāsa, of unrivalled fire, and of Satyavatī; but we have one
great doubt in our minds though, O Knower of Dharma! which is not being
removed by your words. O Sinless one! First, as regards the mother of Vyāsa,
the all auspicious Satyavatī, we have this doubt how she came to be united
to the virtuous Santanu? The king Santanu, of the family of Puru is a
greatly religious man; how could he have married Satyavatī knowing her to be
a fisherman's daughter and born of a low family? Now say who was the first
wife of Santanu and how Bhīsma, the intelligent son of Santanu came to be
born of the parts of Vasu? O Sūta! You have told before that Bhīsma, of
indomitable valour, made the Satyavatī's son, the brave Chitrāngada, king;
and subsequent to his death made his younger brother Vichītravīrya king. But
when the elder brother Bhīsma, the greatly religious and beautiful was
present, how was it that Chitrāngada and Vichītravīrya having been installed
by Bhīsma himself could have reigned.
9-12. Again on the demise of Vichītravīrya, Satyavatī became very much
grieved and got two sons born of her two son's wives by Vedavyāsa? How can
we explain this fact? Why did she do this? Why did she not give to Bhīsma
the kingdom? Why did Bhīsma not marry? And how was it that the elder brother
Vyāsa Deva, of indomitable valour, did such an irreligious act as to beget
two (Goloka) sons from the wives of the brothers? Vyāsa composed the Purānas
and knew everything of religion; how then did he go to other's wives,
especially, of his brother's wives?
13-14. O Sūta! Why did Vyāsa Deva do such a hateful act, in spite of his
being a Muni? The actions of Vedas are inferred from their subsequent good
conducts; how can this act of Vyāsa be calculated as one amongst them? O
Intelligent one! You are the disciple of Vyāsa; therefore you are the best
man to solve our doubts. We all of this Dharmakshettra Naimisāranya are very
eager to hear this.
15-39. At this Sūta said :-- In ancient days there reigned a king named
Mahābhisa, in the family of Iksāku endowed with all the qualities of a great
king; he was the foremost of all the kings, truthful and religious. That
highly intelligent king performed thousand horse-sacrifices (Asvmedhas) one
hundred Vājapeya sacrifices and thereby satisfied Indra, the king of the
Devas and went to Heavens. Once, on an occasion, that king went to the abode
of Brahmā; the other gods also went there to serve Prajāpati. The great
river, Gangā Devī, too, assuming the feminine form, went to Brahmā to serve
him. Now, in the interval, violent winds arose and the clothing of Gangā
Devī went off; at this the Devas did not look at her; rather kept their
faces downwards; but the king Mahābhisa continued gazing at her. Gangā also
came to know the king and that he had become attached to her. Brahmā, seeing
that both of them are love-stricken and are shameless, became angry and
cursed them immediately :-- O king! you better take your birth again in the
human world and practise great meritorious deeds and come again to this
Heaven. Thus saying, Brahmā looked at Gangā, who was attached to the king,
and addressed her :-- You too better go to the human world and become his
wife. Both of them, the king as well as Gangā, came out of Brahmā's abode,
very much grieved in their hearts. The king Mahābhisa thought of coming to
this world and reflected on the kings thereof and settled to make the king
Pratīpa of Puru's family his father. At this time the eight Vasus with their
wives wandering in various places and enjoying as they liked came to the
hermitage of Vas'istha. Amongst the aforesaid eight Vasus Prithu and others,
one Vasu Dyau's wife seeing Nandini, the sacrificial cow (Kāmadhenu) of
Vas'istha asked her husband :-- Whose is this excellent cow that I see?
Vasu then replied as follows :-- O Beautiful one! This is Vas'istha's cow.
Whoever, be he a man or woman drinks her milk gets his longevity extended to
ten thousand years and his youth never ends. Hearing this, the Vasu's wife
said :-- There is a very beautiful comrade (Sakhī) of mine, the daughter of
the Rajarsī-Us'īna in the world, of auspicious qualities. O Mahābhāga!
Kindly bring to me from Vas'istha's hermitage that auspicious sacrificial
milch cow Nandini together with her calf that yields all desires; my Sakhī
will then drink her milk and be thereby free from disease, old age and
become the chief amongst all mankind. Hearing thus, his wife's word, the
Vasu Dyau, though sinless, stole away together with Prithu and the other
Vasus the cow Nandini in utter defiance to the self-controlled Muni
Vas'istha. When the cow Nandini had been stolen, the great ascetic Vas'istha
came quickly to the hermitage with abundance of fruits.
The ascetic Muni Vas'istha, not finding, in his hermitage, his cow with her
calf, searched for her in many forests and caves; but he, the son of Varuna,
could not find out his cow even after prolonged searches; he, then, took
recourse to meditation and came to know that the Vasus had stolen the cow
and became angry. He expressed :-- When the Vasus have stolen this my cow
in utter defiance to my self, they must be born amongst men. When the
religious Varuna's son Vas'istha thus cursed the Vasus, they became very
sorry and absent-minded; all of them went to Vas'istha's hermitage and saw
him there; they began to supplicate him as much as they could; and took
refuge under him. Seeing the Vasus standing before him in an extremely
distressed condition, the virtuous Muni Vas'istha said :-- You all will be
free from the curse within one year; but the Vasu Dyau will dwell amongst
men for a long, long period as he had stolen direct my Nandini with her
calf.
40-60. While the Vasus, thus cursed, were returning, they saw on the way the
chief river Gangā Devī also cursed and therefore distressed; all of them
bowed down to her simultaneously and said: O Devī! A serious thought is
troubling our minds, how can we, who live on nectar, take our birth in human
wombs; so, O best river! You better be a woman and give birth to us. O
Sinless one! You better be the wife of the sage King Santanu and no sooner
we be born of your womb, kindly throw us in the river Gangā (your water). If
you do thus, O Gangā we will certainly be freed of our curse. Gangā Devī
replied Well; that will be. Thus spoken, the Vasus went to their
respective places; and Gangā Devī, too, thinking on the subject again and
again, went out of that place. At this time Mahābhisa became born as a son
of the king Pratīpa and became known as Santanu. He was exceedingly
religious and true to his promise. One day while the King Pratīpa was
praising the Sūrya Devī (the sun) of unequalled energy, Gangā Devī assumed
an extraordinarily beautiful feminine form and came out of the waters and
sat on the right thigh, resembling like a sāl tree, of the king Pratīpa. The
sage king Pratīp spoke out to the lady sitting on his right thigh, thus :--
O beautiful faced one! Why, unasked, have you sat on my auspicious right
thigh? The lovely Gangā then replied :-- Hear why I have sat here. O best
of Kurus! O king! Becoming attached to you, I have sat on your thigh; so
please accept me. At this the king Pratīpa spoke to the beautiful lady,
full of youth and beauty, I never go, simply out of passion to another's
wife. There is another point; you have sat on my right thigh; that is the
seat of sons and son's wives; so, when my desired son will be born, you will
then, be my son's wife. And certainly, by your good will, my son will be
born. The lady, of divine form, said, Well; that will be done! and went
away. The king returned to his palace, thinking of the lady. After some
time, he had a son born to him and when the son attained his teens, the king
desired to lead a forest life and communicated this matter to his son. He
said also, if the aforesaid beautifully smiling girl comes to you to marry,
then marry her. And I am also ordering you not to question her anything who
are you and so forth. If you take her as your legal wife, you will
certainly be happy. Thus saying to his son, the king Pratīpa handed over all
his kingdom to his son and gladly retired into the forest. The king
practised tapasyā in the forest and worshipped Ambikā; on quitting his
mortal coil, he went by his sheer merit to the Heavens. The highly energetic
king Santanu, on getting his kingdom, began to administer justice according
to the laws of Dharma and governed his subjects.
Thus ends the third Chapter of the Second Skandha on the description of the
curse on Gangā, Mahābhisa and Vasus in the Māhapurānam Srī Mad Devī
Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses.
Chapter IV
On the birth of the Vasus
1-8. Sūta said :-- On the king Pratīpa, ascending to the Heavens, the truly
hero-king Santanu went out a hunting tigers and other forest animals. Once,
while he was roaming in a wild wilderness, on the banks of the Ganges, he
saw a fawn-eyed well decorated beautiful woman. No sooner the king Santanu
saw her than he became addicted to her and thought within himself thus :--
Certainly my father spoke of this beautiful faced woman who is looking like
a second Laksmī, endowed with beauty and youth. The king could not rest
satisfied simply with seeing the lotus-like face. The hairs on his body
stood on their ends and his heart was very much attracted to her. Gangā Devī,
too, knew him to be the king Mahābhisa and became, in her turn, very much
attached to him. She then went smiling towards the king. Seeing the blue-coloured
lady looking askance at him, the king became very happy and consoled her in
sweet words and said :-- O, one of beautiful thighs! Are you Devī; Mānusī
(human kind) Gandharvī; Yakshī, the daughter of Nāgas (serpents), or a
celestial nymph? Whoever you may be, O beautiful one! be my wife; your sweet
smiles, it seems, are brimful of love; so be my legal wife to-day.
9-26. Sūta said :-- The king Santanu could not recognise the lady to be
Gangā; but Gangā knew that he is the king Mahābhisa and is born as Santanu.
Hearing the above words of the king, Gangā, out of her previous affections,
spoke out to the king, smiling :-- O king! I know that you are the son of
the king Pratīpa. Behold! Though it is inevitable that woman will get their
husbands, yet who is that beautiful lady that does not husband according to
her liking and qualifications? But I can take you as my husband, if you make
a certain promise to me. Hear my resolve afterwards I will marry you. O
king! Whatever I will do, be it good or bad, auspicious or inauspicious, you
must not hinder or interrupt me nor ever say that is not to your liking and
satisfaction. Whenever you will break this my resolve, I will instantly quit
you and go to another place wherever I like. The king Santanu, then, said
:-- Well! That will be and promised to the above effect; then Gangā Devī
recollected within herself Vasus' words and thought of the attachment of the
king Mahābhisa and accepted Santanu as her husband. Thus married to the
king Santanu, the beautiful Gangā in human form went to his abode. The
king, on having got possession of her, began to enjoy in pleasant gardens.
The lady, too, appreciated his mental feelings and began to serve him to his
satisfaction. Thus many years elapsed in lovely enjoyments and intercourses
between the couple who looked like Indra and his pair Sachī; and they did
not feel at all how the time passed. The lady endowed with all qualities and
the clever king, well-versed in the art of loving, began to enjoy
incessantly like Laksmī and Nārāyana, in their divine palace.
Thus many years passed when the lovely eyed lady became pregnant of the king
Santanu's sperm and, in due time, gave birth to a son who was a Vasu. No
sooner the son was born than Gangā Devī threw it in the waters of the
Ganges. Thus the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh sons were
threwn successively on the waters. Then the king became very anxious and
thought within himself :-- What am I to do now? How my family be preserved?
This my wife, incarnate of sin, has killed my seven sons; if I now desist
her, she will instantly leave me and go away. Now this is the eighth
pregnancy as desired by me. Now if I do not interrupt her, she will
certainly throw my son in the Ganges. Whether a son will be born again or
not is doubtful; and even if that be born, it is doubtful whether she will
preserve that child; now what am I to do in this doubtful point? However I
will try my best to continue the thread of my family line.
27-46. Now, in due time, the Vasu who, having been influenced by his wife
had stolen Vasistha's cow Nandini, became born as the eighth son of Gangā
Devī; the king Santanu, seeing this son fell unto Gangā's feet and said :--
O thin-bodied woman! I pray to you to give my life to-day; better nourish
this my one son. O beautiful one! You killed in succession my seven
exceedingly beautiful sons. O one of beautiful hips! I now fall at your
feet. O beautiful one! save the life of this child of mine. If you ask from
me any other thing to day, even that be very rare, I will give it to you;
but you better now keep the thread of my family line. The Pundits, versed in
the Vedas, say that he who has no issues cannot go to Heaven; so, O
Beautiful one! To-day I pray to you to keep the life of this my eighth son.
Though thus spoken by Santanu,
Gangā Devī was eager to take away the son to throw in the waters; the king
became very sorrowful and angrily spoke out O vile and vicious woman! What
are you going to do? Do you not fear hell! of what villain are you the
daughter, that you are always doing this vicious deed? O Sinner! go away
wherever you will or remain here as yon like, it matters little; but my son
will remain here. When you attempt to bring my family to extinction, what
use is there in living with you? When the king thus spoke to the woman who
was ready to take away the son she angrily spoke as follows :-- O King! When
you have acted against my promise, my word is broken and my connection with
you has stopped from to-day. Therefore I will take this son to the forest,
where I will nourish him. I am Gangā; to fulfil God's work I have come here.
The high-souled Vas'istha cursed before the eight Vasus :-- Better be born
as men; they became very anxious; and seeing me they prayed :-- O Sinless
one! let you be mother of us all. O best of kings! I granted them what they
desired; and then for the purpose of serving god's ends, I became your wife.
Know this my history. The seven Vasus already were born and were freed; now
this is the last Vasu and he will remain here for sometime as your son. O
Santanu! now take this son offered by Gangā. Know this to be the Deva Vasu
and enjoy the pleasure of having a son. O highly fortunate one! This son
will be famous by the name of Gāngeya (Gangā's son) and will be the most
powerful of all. O King! To-day I will take this son to the place where I
chose you as my husband; I will nourish him and when he attains his youth, I
will return him to you. For, this son, if deprived of mother, will not be
happy nor will he live. Thus saying, Gangā vanished with the son; the King
Santanu became very sorrowful and passed away his time in his palace. The
king thought always of the separation from his wife and son and thus
painfully governed his kingdom.
47-69. Thus some time passed on, when, once on an occasion, the king
Santanu went out a hunting and killed, with arrows, buffaloes, boar, and
other wild animals and came to the banks of the Ganges. Here he saw with
great wonder that a boy was playing with a great bow and was shooting arrows
after arrows. The king's attention was more attracted towards the boy, but
whether that boy was his or not, did not at all come to his mind. Looking at
his extraordinary feats, his agility in shooting arrows with ease and
quickness, his learning that can have no equal and his beautiful form, as if
of Cupid, he became greatly surprised and asked him :-- O Sinless one!
whose son are you? The hero boy did not reply anything but went away
shooting his arrows. The king thought within himself Who is this boy? Whose
son is he? What to do now? To whom shall I go now? Thus pondering, he
recollected within himself and began to recite verses in praise of Gangā;
Gangā, assuming her beautiful form as before, became visible to the king.
Seeing her, the king said :-- O Gangā! Who is this boy that has just gone?
Will you show him once more to me now? Hearing these words of Santanu,
Gangā said :-- O king of kings! He is your son, he is that eighth Vasu. So
long I have nourished him and now I hand him over to you. O Suvrata! This is
the great ascetic Gāngeya. He is the illustrious scion of your family. The
glory of your line will be enhanced. I have taught him the whole science of
archery. This pure son of yours dwelt in the hermitage of Vas'istha and has
become versed in all the Vidyās and skilled in all the actions. Your this
son knows everything that Jamadgni Paras'urām knew. So, O king of kings!
Take now your son and be happy. Thus saying, Gangā gave him his son and
vanished; the king also became very glad and embraced his son; he smelled
his head and took him to his chariot and drove towards his own city. On
returning to Hastināpur, the king held a great festival (utsab) in honor of
the arrival of his son; he called all his astrologers and enquired what day
was auspicious. He then called all his subjects and ministers and installed
Gāngeya as the Crown Prince. The religious Santanu became very happy on
making Gāngeya, the Crown Prince; he forgot the pains due to Gangā's
bereavement. Sūta said :-- Thus I have described to you the cause of the
curse on Vasus, the birth of Bhīsma from the womb of Gangā, the union of
Gangā and Santanu, etc., He who hears in this world this holy story of
Gangā's birth and the birth of the Vasu, is freed of all sins and gets mukti.
O Munis! I have described these meritorious holy accounts, as I heard from
the mouth of Vyāsa. Any body who hears this holy Srīmad Bhāgavatam, endowed
with five characteristics and filled with various anecdotes, that came out
of the mouth of Vyāsa, finds all his sins destroyed and attains peace and
blessedness. O Munis! Thus has been described completely to you this holy
history.
Thus ends the fourth Chapter on the birth of the Vasus in the Mahāpurāna
Srīmad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses.
Chapter V
On the marriage of Satyavatī
1-20. The Risis said :-- O son of Lomaharsana, O Sūta; you have described
to us how the eight Vasus, cursed by Vas'istha, took their birth and how
Bhīsma was born. O knower of Dharma! Now describe to us in detail how the
greatly religious king Santanu married the auspicious Yojanagandhā, the
chaste Satyavatī, the mother of Vyāsa, knowing full well that she was a
fisherman's daughter? O Suvrata! Remove our this doubt. Sūta then said :--
The sage king Santanu always used to go to forests on hunting expeditions,
with his heart addicted to hunting buffaloes, deer and various other wild
animals.
Thus, for four years that king went out a hunting, with his son Bhīsma, deer
and other wild animals and got the highest happiness as Mahādeva finds in
company with Kārtikeya. Once, on an occasion, while he was shooting arrows
at rhinoceros and boar, etc., he went so far as to reach a forest on the
banks of the Yamunā, the chief of the rivers. There he began to smell an
excellent nice smell that could not be described in words; he tried to find
out the source and wandered here and there, and on all sides of the forest;
and thought that this enchanting smell was not that of Mandāra flowers,
musk, champaka nor that of Mālatī nor that of Ketaki flower; the air was
blowing saturated with peculiar fragrant smell that he never experienced
before. Thus thinking of that smell, the king Santanu, being enchanted with
that, followed to its source in that forest. At last he came to a spot on
the banks of the Yamunā the chief of the rivers, where a very beautiful
girl, calm and quiet and with feminine gestures and posture amorous, lovely
but ill-clad, was sitting; and he found out that the above beautiful smell
was coming out of her body. The form of the lady was extremely beautiful;
the smell was very wonderful, and captivating the hearts of all; her age
then entered to youth and she was very auspicious. The king was greatly
surprised and was eager to know who the lady was; whence she had come;
whether she was a Deva girl, or a human or a Gandarbha daughter or a Nāga
daughter? But, being unable to come to a definite conclusion and becoming
passionate, he remembered Gangā and asked that lady sitting on the bank of
the Yumnā, thus :-- O dear! Who are you? Whose daughter are you? Why are
you alone in this lovely forest? O beautiful eyed! Are you married? Or are
you as yet unmarried? So answer to all these. O lovely eyed one! Seeing your
lovely enchanting form I am become extremely passionate. So, O dear!
Describe in detail to me, who are you? and what do you intend to do? When
the king spoke thus the lotus eyed nice-teethed lady replied as follows :--
O king! Know me as a fisherman's daughter and I am completely under my
father's command. O king of kings! For Dharma's sake I carry ferry across
this Yumnā river. My father has gone to-day to our house. O Master of
wealth! Thus I have spoken truth to you. Thus saying the lady desisted; the
passionate king then spoke to her :-- I am the foremost hero of the Kuru
family; so choose me as your husband; then your this youth will not go in
vain.
21-32. O fawn-eyed one! I have no other wife existing; so you will be my
legal wife. O Dear! Passion is giving much pains to me; therefore I am now
become your obedient servant for ever. O Beloved! My former dear wife has
abandoned me and gone away; but I have not married since then. Now seeing
you beautiful, in all respects, I cannot bring my mind under control.
Hearing these nectar-like beautiful words of the king, the sweet scented
fisherman's daughter, though also turned extremely passionate, held patience
and exclaimed :-- O king! I also desire that which you have expressed; I am
of opinion to act according to your wishes. But, what am I to do? I am not
dependent. You are to know this. My father alone can give me in marriage to
you. So better ask my father for me. Though I am a fisherman's daughter,
still I am not wanton and wilful. I am always obedient to my father; if my
father wills, you can marry me. And I will be obedient to you. O king! The
god of love is tormenting me, who is endowed with youth; he does not torment
you so much. Still I must regard my family manners and customs coming down
from ancient times. I must hold my patience. Sūta said :-- Thus
passionately pleased with these fascinating words of the lady, the king went
to the fisherman's house for the lady. Seeing the king coming, the fisherman
was greatly bewildered and astonished and bowed down with great devotion and
said :-- O King! I am Thy servant. I am blessed by Thy presence. O great
King! Now be graciously pleased to order me the cause of Thy arrival.
Hearing the fisherman's words, the King said :-- O sinless one! This I tell
you truly that if you give me your daughter in marriage I will certainly
make her my legal wife. The fisherman replied :-- O king! What must be
given ever, how can I say that is not to be given. Therefore if Thou askest
for my daughter, I will certainly give her to Thee. But, O great King! Thou
wilt have to make her son, the king of Thy kingdom; no other son of Thine
could be king, after Thy absence.
33-40. Hearing these words of the fisherman, the king Santanu became very
anxious. He remembered Gāngeya and could not speak anything. He, being sick
with love anxiously returned home; but he abandoned bathing, fooding,
sleeping, etc. At this, the son Gāngeya Bhīsma whose vow was equal to that
of the gods, marking that the king was being troubled with some thought,
went to him and asked why he was anxious :-- O king! Say truly what is your
anxiety; who is your enemy that is not conquered; whom do you went to bring
under your control? O king! What use is there of having a son who does not
understand the difficulties of his father, or does not try to remove these
difficulties. A son can be called really the son, who is born to repay the
debts incurred by him in previous births; there is no manner of discussion
in this. See, Raghu's son Dāsarathī Rām abandoned his kingdom under the
orders of his father and repaired to Chitrakūta forest with his brother
Laksman and wife Sītā. The son of king Haris Chandra, Rohīta, ready to repay
the debt of his father and sold by his father, worked as a servant at a
Brāhmana's house. So the famous Sunahs'ephah, sold by his high souled
father Ajigarta was tied for sacrifice in a sacrificial post; but he was
afterwards freed by the Gādhi's son Vis'vāmitra.
41-59. It is well known that, in ancient days, the Jamadagni's son
Paras'urām cut off his mother's head under the orders of his father. He
considered the father's words more important, and hence could do such an
unjust act. O king! This my body is at your disposal; I can certainly do
what you order me to do. So say what am I to do? as long as I am living, you
need not express any sorrow; if you permit, I will do what is even hardly
practicable to do. O king! Say why you are anxious; I will remove that at
once with this bow in my hand. If my body goes in carrying your mandate know
that your desire will be fructified. Fie to that son, who, being capable, is
averse to do what his father desires! What use is there in having a son who
does not remove the cause of his father's anxiety? Hearing the words of the
son, the king Santanu felt much ashamed in his heart and said :-- O son!
This is now my gravest care that you are my only son; besides you are a hero
very powerful, honoured and never showing your back in battles; therefore,
if, out of ill-luck you become dead in some battlefield, I will become
issueless; under such circumstances what am I to do? So, O son! My life is
fruitless when I have got only one son; this is my gravest care; therefore I
am sorry. O son! I have no other cares that I can mention to you. Hearing
these words of the father, Gāngeya called the old ministers and said that
the king was too ashamed to speak out to me the real matter; so I ask you
all to know exactly the king's cares and communicate them to me as they are;
I can carry them out, without any hitch, then. At these Bhīsma's words, the
ministers went to the king, and learned the true cause, and spoke to Bhīsma;
learning this, he began to think what ought to be done.
The Gangā's son Bhīsma, then, accompanied by the ministers, quickly went to
the house of the fisherman, and with words of humility and affection, spoke
:-- O tormentor of foes! I pray to you to give your beautiful daughter in
marriage to my father. Your daughter will be my mother and I will be her
servant. The fisherman, then, said :-- O highly lucky prince! Then the
king's son will not be able to become king, in your presence; so kindly
marry yourself my daughter. At this Bhisma again said :-- Let your daughter
be my mother; I will never accept the kingdom. The son of your daughter
will, no doubt, become king. The fisherman said :-- I know your words are
true; but if your son be powerful, he can take forcibly the kingdom for
himself. At this Bhīsma again said :-- O Sire! Know my words as true; I
will never marry; from to-day I have accepted this difficult vow. Sūta said
:-- Hearing this firm resolve of Bhīsma; the fisherman gave over his
beautiful daughter to the king Santanu. Thus Santanu married the dear
Satyavatī; but he was quite unaware of the wonderful birth of Vyāsa Deva.
Thus ends the fifth Chapter of the second Skandha on the marriage of
Satyavatī in the Mahāpurāna Srīmad Devī Bhāgavatam of 18,000 verses.
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