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V

THE MAHABHARATAOFKRISHNA-DWAIPAYANA VYASA

TRANSLATEDINTO

ENGLISH PROSE.

Published and Distributed chiefly gratis

BY

PROTAP CHANDRA ROY

ADI PAR

VA.

CALCUTTA

:

BHARATA

PRESS.

No. 367, Upper Chitpore Road,1884.(Theright of tmnslalionis

rmrvcd.)

TABLE

OF

CONTENTS.

Introductio7i.

PAGE.Sauti's arrival at the wooJs of Naimisha.

1

The

desire of the Rishis to hear the,

Mahabharata

2ib.

Invocation to Isana

The order

of creationtiie

3Bharata5to

Vyasa's desire to publish

The Graud-sire comes

him

Ganesa undertakes to write the BhS-rataSauti's praise of the Bharata,

6ib

Dhritarashtra's lamentationsSanja}a's consolations to Dhritarashtra.

1017

Sauti's eulogies on the study of the Bharata

19 21

The

history of

Samantapanchaka

Explanation of terms indicating the divisions of an

army

22

Parva Sangraha,

Summary

of the contents of the Eighteen

main Parvas

23

Pausya Parva.Curse on Janamejaya

45it

Measures adopted by him to evadeStory of the sage

ib ib

Dhaumya.

Story of AruniStory of

46,

Upamanyu

ib

Story of Veda

51ib

Story of Utanka

Story of Paushya

5359

Utanka's arrival at Janamejaya's court

His incitement of Jiuiamejaya against Takshaka

60

PaiUoma Parva.The Rishis waitfor

Saunaka

.

6061

Genealogy of the Bhargava raaeStory of Puloma..

,

.

62 64

Story of the birth of CbyavanaBhrigu'a curse on Agui^,

ib

11

CONTENTS,PAGE.

Hymn

to Agnl

b}*

Brahma.

.

*

History of

-Rtiru

.

.

68

Story of the

Dimduva

.

,

70

Astika Parva.Story of JaratkaruBirth of Astika.

,

*

7376

.

i

History of Kadru and Vinata

,

.

77

Ocean The wager between Kadru and VinataChurningof the

78

84ib

Kadru's curse on the snakes

Kadru andsee the

Vinata go to see Uchchaisravas,

and85

Ocean

.

.

.

Birth of Gadura

87

HymnWrath

to

Gaduraand the appointment of Aruna.

88 909295 96

of the Sun,

as his charioteer

.

.

Hymn

to Indra

by Kadru

Gadura's inquiry as to the cause of his bondage

Gadura Of Kasyapa and Gadura Story of the Elephant and the Tortoise Bad omens are seen by the gods and their preparationdevisee.

means

to bring the

Amrita

97 98102

for battle

Battle of the gods with Gadura

t

107109ib

Gadura takes Of Gadura and Vishnu

away

the

Amrita

The mutual grantobtaining the

of boons

.

110Gadura'sib

Conversation of Indra with Gadura and

name

of

Suparna

Indra steals the Amrita from the snakes

112ib

The

cleaving of their tonguesof the

.

Enumeration

names of the chief serpents,

113 114115116

Asceticism of Sesha

Sesha obtains boons from BrahmaConsultation of the snakes on the subject of their

mother'a curse

,

,

CONTENTS.

Ill

PAGE.

The snakes bring up JaratkaruParikshit's hunt.

*

I

120121124>e.friends

may

be had of the

same name with me, who-?e

would besides willingly give

ADIPARVA.her to

75"

me

in

marriage as a gift in charity, I shall take her hand,

according to

poor givenunion.

ritca. But who will give away his daughter to a man like myself? I shall accept, however, any daughter I shall endeavour, O sires, to compass a to me in alms,

I will

abide by

my"

word,

I v/ill raise offsjn-ing for

your

redemption, so that,

O

fathers, ascending tO' the celestial regions

ye

may

joy as ye

like.'

So ends the thirteenth SectionParva.

in the Astika of the

Adi

Section XIV.( Astika ParvcC contln,ucd'. )

Santi said,

"That Brahmana

of rigid vows then began to

search for a wife, but found he none.

One day he went

into the

forest, and recollecting the words of his ancestors, in a faint voice thrice begged for a bride. Thereupon rose before the Brahman-a^ Vasuki with his sister and offered for the former's acceptance

the hand of the

fair one.

But the Dwija hesitated

to accept

her, thinking her not of the self-same

name with'

himself.

Theo-f

great Jaratkaru thought within himself,

I will takev'ise

none save

one

who

is

my

namesake.'

Then the'

Jaratkaru

austere devotions asked the Snake,

tell

me

truly,

what

is

tlie

name"

of this thy sister Vreplied,

Vasuki

'O Jaratkaru, the name of this

my youngerthee

sister is

Jaratkaru. Pray, accept this slender- Avaisted one for thy

spouse.

Othis

best

of Dwijas,

it

was

to

unite her with

that I have brought her up.

Tlierefore

do thou take her!*to

Saying

he offered his beautifulrites.

sister

Jaratkaru

whoAdi

then espoused her with ordained

So ends the fourteenth SectionParva.

in the Astika of the

Section XV.( Aatika

Parva continued.

)

Sauti

said,

"O

foremost of the Brahm-(truth) knowing Rishis^serpents

the mother

of the

had cursed them

of old,

saying.

Y6'

MAHABHARATA.shall

Agni

burn ye

all

in the sacrifice of

Janamejaya

!'

It

was

to neutralise that cursehissister

that the chief of the serpents married

to

that high-souled and vow-observing Rishi.

The

Rishi having formally wedded her, begat in her the great Astika, who became an illustrious ascetic, profound in the Vedas and Vedangas, who regarded all with an even eye, and who removed

the fears of his parents."

Then

aft^r a long space of time, the king of the

Panda vaAfter

line celebrated a sacrifice

known

as the

Snake

sacrifice.

that sacrifice

intended for the extermination of the serpents hadreptiles,

commenced, the powerful Astika delivered thethera and uncles.

bis bro*

spring to himself.various

He delivered his fathers also by raising offAnd by his austerities, O Brahmana, and by;

vows and the study of the Vedas, he became freed from By sacrifices he propitiated the gods and by the his debts. aloption of the Brahmacharya mode of life he conciliated the

Bishis

and by bagetting offspring he gratified his ancestors. "Thus discharging his great debts, and having acquii'ed great;

merit, Jaratkaru

went

to

heaven with his ancestors, leavingstoryof Astika, which I

Astika behind. This is related as I heard it. Now,

the

have

tell

me,

O

powerful

one of the

BhriguParva.

race,

what more

I

am

to narrate."

So ends the

fifteenth

Section in the Astika of the Adi

Section XVI.( Astika

Parva continued.

)

Saunaka said, " O Sauti, relate in detail the history of the We are extremely curious to virtuous and learned Astika. hear it. O thou amiable one, thou speakest sweetly, and we arewell pleased with thy speech.

Thou speakest even

as thy father.

Thy

sire was ever ready to please us."it.

Now

tell

us the story as

thy father toldSauti said,

"

O

thou blest

Avith

length

of

days, I will

narrate the history of Astika as I heard it from my father. O Brahmana, in the Krita (golden) age Prajapati had two fair andvirtuous daughters

named Kadru and

Vinata,

The

sisters vvere

ADI PARVA.the wives of Kasj'apa.

77his virtuous wives,

Highly gratified with

Kasyapa, resembling Prajapati himself, was desirous of conferring on each of them a boon.their lordTlie ladies were all joy because was willing to confer on them choice blessings. Kadru said, I would be mother of a thousand snakes of equal vigor.' And Vinata wished to bring forth two sons surpassing'

the thousand offspring of Kadru in strength, energy, size of body, and bravery. And Kasyapa said, be it so/ to Vinata extremely'

desirous of having offspring.

And

having obtained her prayer,

she rejoiced greatly.prowess, she

And

having obtained two sons of slpendidfulfilled.

regarded her boonsons of

And Kadru'

also

obtained her thousandchildren'

equal

vigor.

Bear yourforest,

carefully said Kasyapa and went to the leaving his two wives gratified with his blessings. "

Sauti said, "

O

best

of Dwijas,

after a long time,

KadruFive

brought forth a thousand eggs, and Vinata two.servants deposited

Their maidvessels.

the eggs separately in

warm

hundred years passed away, and the thousand eggs produced by Kadru bui^st and out came the progeny. But the twins ofVinata did not appear.

And Vinata was jealous, andit

she broke

one of the eggs and found inthe egg

an embryo with the upper

part developed but the lower undeveloped.in

At

this,

the child

became angry and thus cursed

his

mother: 'Ofive

mother, since thou hast prematurely broken this egg, thoushalt even serve as a slave.years,

And shouldst thouchild

wait

thousand

and not destroy, by breaking thethe illustrious

otiierit,

egg throughit

impatience,

within

or renderif

half-

developed, he will deliver thee from slavery.

And

thou wouldsfcfor

have the child strong, thou must take tender care of the eggall

this time.'

And

thus cursing his mother the child roseis

to

the sky.

O

Brahmana, even he

the charioteer of the Sun,

always seen in the hour of moniing.

"Then

at the expiration of the five liundred years, bursting

open the other egg, out came Gadura, the serpent-eater.tiger of the

Othe

Bhrigu

race,

immediately on seeing thewings to seekof"all.

light,

son of Vinata

left his

mother, and the lord of birds feelingfor the food assigned

hungry mounted onto

his

him by the great ordainer

78

MAHABHARATA...

AndParva.

so eails the sixteenth Section iu the Astika of the AJi'

^^

Section XVII.( Astika

Parva continued.

)

Sauti said, " O ascetic, about this time the two sisters saw Uchchaisrava approaching near, that Uchchaisrava of complacent appearance who was worshipped by the gods, that best

of

steeds,

who

at

the

churning

of

the

Ocean

for

nectar"

arose, divine, graceful, perpetually

young, creation's masterpiece,

of irrisistible vigor, and'

blest with every auspicious mark.

Why did the gods churn the ocean for Saunaka asked, which occasion, nectar and under what circumstances (an best of steeds so powerful and resplenas you say, sprang thatdent) wasit

undertaken"

?"

Sauti said,pearance, and

There

is

a mountain

named

Mem of blazingThe

apraya

looking like aits

huge heap of effulgence.

of the sun falling on

peaks of golden lustre are dispersed bythat,

them.

Abounding with gold and of variegated tints, mountain is the haunt of the gods and the Gandharvas. immeasurable, and unapproachable by men of manifoldits breast,

It issins.

Dreadful beasts of prey inhabit

and

it

is

illuminated

with divine herbs of healing virtue.

It standeth kissing

the

heavens by

its

height and

is

the

fii-st

of mountains.it.

Ordinarygraced

people cannot so

much

as think of ascending

It is

with trees and streams and resoundeth with the charming melody Standing high for infinite ages, upon it once of winged choirs.all

the mighty celestials sat them

They came

in quest of observed the rules according to the ordinance. and

down and held a conclave. amrita, they who had practiced penancesSeeingconsultation,

said the celestial assembly in anxious Suras ( gods ) to Brahma, Do thou churn the Ocean with the By doing so, amrita shall be obtained and the Asuras.'

Narayana

together with

all

drugs and

all

gems."

O

ye gods, churn ye the

Ocean, and ye shall discover dmriia.' And so ends the seventeenth Section in the Astika of the

Adi Parva.

Section XVIII.( Ast'tka

Parva continued.

)

Sauti

said, "

There

is

a mountain ofIt

name Mandara adoraedis

with peaks like those of the clouds.

the best of mountains,

and

is

covered

all

over with intertwining herbs.

There no end

roam The gods, the Apsaras, and the Kinnaras visit the place. Upwards it riseth eleven thousand yojanas, and descendeth downwards as much. The gods failed to tear it up and they came to Vishnu and Brahma who were sitting, and said. devise you some efficient scheme. Consider, ye gods, how Mandara may be upraised for our good. "febout.'

of birds pour forth their melody, and there beasts of prey

"And Vishtui, with Brahma, assented to it, And the lotus-eyed one laid the hard task on the mighty Ananta, the prince of Snakes. And the mighty Ananta, directed thereto both by Brahma and Narayana,Sauti continued,!

O

son of Bhrigu

O

Brahmana,

upraised

that

mountain

with

tlie

woodsthe gods

thereon and with the dwellers of those woods.

And

came to the shore the Ocean saying,waters forit so,

of the

'

O

Ocean with Ananta, and addressed Ocean, we have come to churn thy'

obtaining nectar.I

And

the Ocean replied,I

'

be

as

am

to

have a share of the nectar,of

amsaid

able

to

bear the agitation

my

waters by the mountain.'tiie

Andto

the

gods went to the king of'

tortoises

and

him,

Tortoise-king, thou

shalt have to hold the

on thy back.'"

The

tortoise-king

agreed,

mountain and Indra placedtheir churn-

the mountain on the former's back by means of instruments.

And

the gods and the Asuras

made Mandara

ing staff and Vasuki the cord, and set about churning the mainfor

amrlta.tail.

The Asuras held Vasuki by the hood and the gods

by the

And Ananta who was

for

Narayana, at intervals raisedit.

the Snake's hood and suddenly loweredof the friction

And

in conserpience

he received at the hands of the gods and the Asuras, black vapours with flames issued out of his- mouth

which becoming clouds charged with lightning poured downshowers to refresh the tired gods.rain

And

blossoms beginning to

on

all

sides of the go

Is

from

the trees

on the whirling

Mandara,

also refreshed

them,

80"

MAHABHARATA,And,Brahraana, out of the deep then came a tremendous

roar, liketion.

unto the roar of the clouds at the

universal

dissolu-

Various aquatic animals were crushed by

the great

mountain, and gave up their being in the salt-waters.

And

manylarge

dsvellers

of the

lower regions and inhabitants of thekilled.

world of Varuna weretrees

Fix>m

the revolving Mandara,

were

torn

up by thewater.fire

roots,

and flying into thethe

air

like birds, they fell into the

And

mutual

friction

of the

trees

produced a

which surrounded the mountain.increased,

And

the mountain looked like a mass of dark clouds charged with

lightning.

O

Brahmana, the

fire

and burnt the

lions,

elephants and other creatures that were on the mountain.carcasses of no

AndThen

end of animals floated down the waters.fire

Indra extinguished that

by descending showers.

"0 Brahmana, after the churning had gone on for sometime, the gums of various trees and hei'bs mixed witli the watersof the

Ocean.

And

the celestials

attained

immortality

by

drinking of the Avaters mixed with those

gums

vested with the

properties of amrita, and with the liquid extract of gold.

By

degrees, the milky water of the agitated deep produced clarified

butter by virtue of therise

gums andsaid,

juices.

But nectar did notare spent,

even then.

And

the gods appeared before boon-granting'

Brahma, seated on his seat andnot strengthleft to

Sir,

we

we havearisen.

churn further.

Nectar hath not yet

So that now we have no resource save Narayana.'"Hearing them, Brahma said"

to

Narayana,

'

Lord, vouchsafe

to grant the gods strength to churn afresh the deep.'

And Narayana'

agreeing to grant their various prayers,

said,

wise ones, I grant ye sufficient strength.

Go, insert

the mountain and churn the waters.'

"Re-equipped with strength, the gods began the churningagain.

After a

while,

the

mild Moon of a thousand rays

emerged from the ocean. Thereafter, Lakshmi dressed in white, and wine, the white steed, and then the celestial gem Kaustuva which graces the breast of Narayana. Lakshmi, wine,

and the steed fleet as the mind, all came before the gods on high. Then arose the divine Dhanwantari himself with thewhitevessel

of nectar

in

his

hand.

And

seeing

him, the

ADI PARTA.Asiiras set

8Z'

up a louj

cry, saying,

"

Ye have taken

all,

l(e

musthugeon,

be

ours.'

"

Aud

at length rose the great elephant, Airavata, of

bod}'

ami with two pairs of white tusks.appeared, and

And himstill

took the

holder of the thuiider-bolt.so that poison at last

But the churningbegan

went

to overspread the

earth, blazing like as(\ent of

flame mixed with fumes.

And

at the

the fearful Kahikuta,

the three Avorlds were stupefied.form, solicited by Bralima,

And

then Mahadcva of the

Mantra

to save the creation swallowed thethroat.

poison amit'lat

heldis

it

in

hia

And(

it is sairl

that the god from)

time

called Nila'thing's,

hintha,

blue-throated.filled

Seeing

all

these

wondrousto

the Asuras were

with

despair,

and preparedhis

enter

into hostilities with the gods for the possession ofnectiir.

Thereupon Narayana

called

Lakshmi and bewitching Maya.

to his aid, and assuming a ravisliing female form, co pietted with

the Asuras.their reason

And"

the Daityas,

ravished

with her charms, lostin

and unanimously placed the nectarin the

the hands of

that

fair

woman.

So ends the eighteenth SectionParva,

Astika of the Adi

Section XIX.( Astika

Parva continued.

)

Sauticlass

said, Then the Daityas and the Danavas with first armours and various weapons pursued the gods. In the"

meantime the valiant liord Vidhnu accompanied by Nara took away the nectar in his hands from those mighty Danavas,

"And then

all

the tribes of the gods during thatit

time of

great fright drank the nectar receiving

from Vishnu.

And

while the gods were drinking that nectar after which they had 80 much hankered, a Danava named Rahu was drinkino^ it inthe nectar had only reached Rahu's throat, the Sun and the Moon (discovered him and)the guise of a god.

And whenthe

communicated thely

fact to

gods.

Ami Narayanahead

instant-

cut off

with his

discus

the

well-adorned

of

the

Dauavu who was drinking

the aectur without permission.

Audi

11

if

MAHAEHAHATA.

the linge head of the Danava cut off by the discus and resembling a mouutain-peak then rose to the sky and began And the Danava's headless trunk to utter dreadful cries.fallinfT

upon the ground and

rolling

thereon naade the

Earth

tremble with her mountains,

forests,

and

islands.

And from

that time ha4h arisen a long-standing quarrel between Rahu's head and the Sun and the Moon. And to this day it swalloweth

the

Sun and the Moon, (causing the

eclipses.)

ino'

And Narayana quitting his ravishing female form, and hurlmany terrible weapons at them, made the Danavas tremble.thus on the sliores of the sea of salt-water,

And

commenced the

dreadftjl battle of the gods

and the Asuras. And sharp-pointedweapons by thousands beganwith the discus and

javelins and lances and

various

to be disehai*ged on all sides.

And mangled

wounded with swords, saktis, and maces, the Asuras in large nnmbers vomitted blood and lay prostrate on the earth. Cut offfrom the trunks with sharp double edged swords, heads adorned with bright goldbodies drenchedItfell

continually on the field of battle. Theirthe great Asuras lay dead everywhere.all

in gore,

seemed

as

if

red-dyed mountain peaks lay scattered

around.

And when'

the sun rose in his splendour, thousands oftheir

warriors striking one another with

weapons, the sounds

'Alas!' andfiohtinEC

0h

' !

were heard everywhere.

The

warriors

at

a distance from one another broughtiron missiles,

one anotherclose quartersfilled

down by sharp

and those fighting atfist.

slew one another by blows of the

And

the air was

with shrieks offvounds, 'cutoff,'

distress.

Everywhere were heard the alarming

'pierce/ 'after,' 'hurl down,' 'advance.'

"And whenin the

the battle was raging fiercely,field.

yana entered the

And Narayanahis

seeing the heavenlyhis

hand of Nara, called todiscus.

mindlo!

Nara and Narabow own weapon the

Danava-destroying

And

the

discus,

Sudarshana,

destroyer of enemies,in battle,it

like to Agiii in effulgence,

and dreadful

came from the sky as soon as thought of. And when Aehyuta of fierce energy, of arms like the trunk of an came,tire,

elephant, hurled with great force the weapon, effulgent as flam-

ing

dreadful,

and of extraordinary

lustre,

and capable of

destroyidg

hostile towns.

And

that discus bla :ing like the fire

ADI PARVA.that burneth all things at the endof time, hurlel with

83force

from the handg of Narayana,

falling

constantly

everywhere

destroyed the Daityas and the Danavas by thousand,^. Sometimes it flamed like fire and consmued them all, eonietiioes it struck them down &s it coursed through the sky; and sometimes, falling on earth; like a goblin"it

drank their

life

blood.

And on

their &ide, the Danavas, white as the clouds from

which the rain hath been extracted, possessing great strength and bold hearts, ascended the sky and hurling down thousandsof mountains continually harassed the gods.

And

those dreadfulflat tops,

momitaina, like masses of clouds, with their trees andfalling

from the sky, collided with one another and produced aroar.

tremendous

And when

thousands of warriors shouted

without intermission on theforests trembled.

field of battlefall

and the mountains

with the woods thereon began to

around, the Earth with be?

Then the divine Nara coming to that dread* ful conflict of the Asuras and the Ganas (the followers of Rudra), reducing todu.st those rock-s by means of his goldheaded arrows covered the heavens with the dust.corafittcd

And

dis-

by the gods,heaven

and seeing the furious discus scourlike a blazing flame, the

ing the

fields of

mighty Dana-

vas entered the bowels of the Earth, while others plunged into

the sea of salt waters."

And having

gained the victory, the gods otTering due respecti

Mandara placed him on bis own base. And the nectar-bearing gods making the heavens resound with their shouts, v^^eut to And the gods returning to the heavens retheir own abotles.to

joiced greatly, and the vessel of nectar

ludra and the other"

gods made

over to

Nara

for careful

keep.

AndAdi

so

ends the nineteenth Section in the Astika of the

Parva.

Section XX.( Astikd Parvcb Gontinued. )Sautisaid

: ' Thus

have I recited to youot

all

about ho"r

amrita (nectar) was churned outoocfitsiou the

the Ocean, and on

whichiiiivm-

horse

Uchcbaiarava of great beauty and

84

MAHABHARATA.It

parable prowess was obtained.

was

this horse

seeing whona

Kadru asked

Vinata,of

'

Tell me, amiable sister, without takingis

much

time,

what coloro(

Uchchaisravais

?'

answered, 'that king

horaes

certainly white.is'

And Vinata What dostLet ue lay aagreeable

thou think,

sisterit.'

?

Say thou whathorse

its color.

wager uponsmiles,I

And Kadruthatthat

replied,is

Oin

thou ofits tail.

think

black

Beauteous

one, betslave.'

with

me

she

who

losetb

shall

be the other'aother aboutresolvedto

Sauti continued,

menial service as a slave, thesatisfy

"Thus wagering with each sisters went home

themselves by examiuing the horse the next day.

And

Kadru bent uponcover the horse'sslave.

practising a deception, ordered her thousand

eons to transform

themselves into black hair and speedilyinorder thatslie

tail

might notto

become a

But her sons

the snakes refusing

do her bidding,

ehe cursed them, saying, 'during the snake-sacrifice of thewise king Jauamejaya of the Pandava race,ye.'fire shall

consume

And

the

Grand-father (Brahma) himself heard this ex-

ceedingly cruel curse denouncedfates.

by Kadru impelled by thefor his

And

seeing

that

the

snakes bad multiplied exceed-

ingly, the Grand-father

moved by kind considerationall

creatures sanctioned

with

the

gods

tiiis

curse of Kadru.

Indeed, of flaming poison, great

prowess,

excess of strength,

and ever bent on biting other creatures, in consequence of such poison and for the good of all creatures the conduct of their mother towards those persecutors of all creatures was veryproper.

Fate always

inflicts

the punishment of death

on those

who

seek

the death of other creatures.

The gods having

exchanged such sentiments with each other then applauded

And Brahma calling Kasyapa to Kadru (and went away.) him spake uuto him these words: 'O thou pure one whoovercomestall

enemies,

these

snakes of flaming poison, of

huge

bodies,

and ever intent on biting other creatures, thatChild,

thou hast begot, have been cursed by their mother.not grieve forit

do

in the least.

The

destruction

of the snakesPuranas.'

in the sacrifice hath, indeed,

been indicated in the

paying

this,

the

divine

Creator of the

universe propitiated

ADIPARVA.the Prajapati (LorJof creation,

85

Kasyapa) and bestowed on

that illustrious one the knowledge of neutralising poiaous.

AndParva.

so ends the twentieth Section in the Astika of the

Adi

Section XXI.(Astika Parva cmitinued),Sauti said,"

Then when the night had passed away and the

sun had risen in the morning,the twosisters,

O thou

whose wealth

is

ascetism,

Kadru

and

Vinata,

having laid a wager

about slavery, with haste and impatience went to view the horse Uchchaisrava from a near ix)int. On their way they

saw Ocean, that receptacleed andin a

of

waters, vast and deep, agitatfull

tremendous

roar,

of

fishes

large

enough

to swallow the whale, and abounding with huge makaras and creatures of various forms by thousands, and rendered

inaccessible

by the presence of otherfierce

terrible,;

monster-shaped,also

dark, andtortoises

aquatic

animals

abounding

with

home

of

and crocodiles, the mine of all kinds of gems> the Varuna (the water-god), the excellent and beautifulNagas, the lordthefriend(or

residence of the

of rivers, the abode of the

subterraneantheterror

fire,

asylum)

of

the

Asuras,waters,

of

all

creatures,It

the grand reservoir ofis;

knowing noBacred,

deterioration.

holy,

beneficial to the gods,limits,

and the great mine of nectarand highly wonderful.creatures,

without

inconceivable,

Dark, terrible with the voicefullall

of aquaticwhirl-pools.

tremendously roaring, and

of

deep

It

is

an

object

of

terrorits

to

creatures.

Moved by the winds blowing fromwith agitation and disturbance,it

shores and heaving high

seems to dance everywhereits

with uplifted hands represented by

surges.

Full of heav-

ing billows caused by the Avaxing and waning of the moon, the

parent of (Vasudeva's great conch called) Panchajanya,, thegreat mine of gems,its

waters were formerly distitrbed in conwithin them

sequence of the agitation caused

by the LordIti

Goviuda (Vishnu)

of

immeasurable prowess when he assumed

the form of a wild-boar for raising the (submerged) Earth.

86bottomlower

MAHABHARATA.than thenether regionatlie

vow-observingfor)

Brahmavshi, Atri, could not fathom after (toilingyears.It

a hundred becomes the bed of the lotus-naveled Vishnu whenof every Yiij(t that deity of

at the

dawn

immeasurable powerItis

enjoys the deep sleep of spiritual meditation.of

the refuge

Mainaka under th^

fear of falling thunder,fierce

of the Asaras overcome in

encounters.fireis

and the retreat It offers water

as sacrificial butter to the blazing

emitted from the mouthfathomless and withoutrivers.

of

Vadava (the ocean-mare).

It

limits, vast

and immeasurable, the lord ofit

"And

they aawthat unto

rushed mighty rivers by thousands,

in pride of gait, like competitors in love, each eager for a meet-

ing forestalling the others.

And

they saw that

it

was alwaysit

full,

was and always dancing with the waves. And they saw that deep and abounding with fierce timls and makarois. And itroared constantly with the terrible sounds of aquatic creatures.

And

they saw that

it

was

vast,

and wide

as the

expanse of space,

unfathomable, and limitless, and the grand reservoir of waters."

And

80

ends tho twenty-first Section in the Astika of the

Adi Parva.Section XXII.( Astika*'

Parva continued. )

The Nagas

after a debate arrived at the conclusion thatif

they should do their mother's bidding, foring her desire she might burn themall

she failed in obtainaffection;

abandoning her

on the other hand

if

she were graciously inclined, the magnani-

mous one might

free

them from her

curse.

They

said,

'We

will

certainly render the horse's

tail black.*

And

it is

said that they

then went and became as hairs in the horse's tail, * In the meantime, the two co-wives had laid the wager.

And

having laid the wager,

O

excellent of Brahmanas, the twoof Daksha,

sisters,

Kadru and Vinata, the daughters

proceededocean.

in great delight along the sky

to the other side

of the

And

on their way they saw the Ocean, that receptacleof being^viud,

of waters,

incapable

easily disturbed, mightily agitated all

on a

sudden by the

and roaring tremendously,

Abounding with

ADI PAKYA,fishelendour."

And

thus

ends

the

twenty-third Section

the Astika of

the Adi Parva,

12

Section XXIY.(Astika Parva contimied,)Sauti"Siiid,

"Then having heardsaid,

about,

and beholding

his

own

body, that bird of beautiful feathers diminished his size,

And Gadura

'Lei no creature be afraid

;

and as ye

also are in a fright at sight of

mythat

terrible form, I will diminish

my

energy.'

Sauti

continued, "will,

Then

bird capable of going every-

where ataid

that ranger of the skies capable of calling to his

any measure of energy, bearing Aruna on his back wended from his father's home and arrived at his mother's side on the

other shore of the great ocean.

And"

he placed Aruna of greatthe

splendour in the eastern region,

when

Sun had resolved

to

burn the worlds with his

fierce rays.for did?

Saunaka

said,

"

What

the worshipful"

Sun

resolve atto

that time to burn the worlds by the gods which provoked

What wrong was done?1

him

his ire

Sauti said.

"0

thou sinless one

when Rahutlie

in the act of

drinking nectar was discovered to the gods by

Sun and the

Moon, the former from that time conceived an enmity towards And upon the Sun being sought to be devoured those deities. by that afflicter (Rahu), he became wroth, and thought, O'

this

enmity of Rahu towards

me

hath sprung from

my

desire of

benefitting the gods.

And

this sore evil I alone

have to sustain.

Indeed, at this pass help I obtain not.

Andmust

the dwellers of theit.

heavens seefore for the

me

about to be devoured and sufferI

destruction of the worldsto the

sit.'

And thereAnd with

thid"

resolution he went

mountains of the west.

And

from

that place

he began to scatter his heat around

for the destruction of the worlds.

And:

then the great Rishis' 1

Lo in the middle of approaching the gods spake unto them a great heat striking terror into every the night s[)ringethheart,

and destructive of the three'

worlds'.

And then

the

gods accompanied by the Rishis wended to the Grand-father, and said unto him, O what is this great heat to-day thatcauseth such panic?

The Sun hath

not

yet arisen,

still

the

ADI PARVA,destruction(oftlie

91

world)?'

is

obvious.

O

Lord,

wliat shall itreplied,'

be when he doth

arise

And

the Grand-father

In-

deed, the Sun is prepared to rise to-day for the destruction of the worlds. As soo-n as he appeareth he will burn everything By me hath been provided the remedy into a heap of asiies. beforehand. Tlie intcllij^ent son of Kysyapa is known to all

by the name of Aruna.splendour;

He

is

huge of body and of great

duties of charioteer andformer.Risliis,

he shall stay at the front of the Sun, doing the taking away all the energy of thetliis

And

will secure the welfare of the worlds, of thd

Andfather,

and of the dwellers of the heavens,'" Sauti continued, " And Aruna, ordered by the Granddidall

that he was ordered to do,

Atid

the Siin

rose

by Aruna's person. I have told thee all about why the in wrath, and how Aruna also was appointed as the Now hear of that other question propounded Sun's charioteer.veiled

Sun was

by thee a

little

while ago.

"

And

so ends the twenty fourth vSection in the Astika cf the

Adi Parva.

Section(

XXV,continued, j

Adlkd Parva

Sauti said,

"

Then that bird of great strength and energywill into

and capable of going atthither

every place repaired

to

hia

mother's side on the other shore of the great ocean.

For

was Vinatao-f

in

affliction,

defeated in wager and putafter,

into a stateoccasion,

slavery.

And sometime

on a certain

Kadru

calling Vinata

who had

prostrated herself

to the former, addressed her these words in the presence of her

san:

*0

gentle Vinata, there

is

in the

midst of the ocean, in

a remote quarter, a delightful and fair region inhabited by the Nagas, Bear me thither.' And then the mother of that birdof fair feathers bore (on her back or shoulders) the

mother of

the snakes.carried

And Gadurathe

alsa,

directed

by

his mother's v/ords,

(on his back)

snakes.to ascend

And

that

ranger of the

skies born of Vinata

began

towards the FJun.

And

thereupon the snakes, scorched by the rays of the Sun, swoou-

92 ed away.

MAHABHAEATA.And Kadru'I

seeing her sons into thee,

that stateall

adored:

Indra, saying,I

bow

thou lord of!

the deities

bow

to thee,

thou slayer of (the Asura) Vala

I

bow

to thee,

thou slayer of Namuchi,

O

thou of thousand eyes, thou lord of

BhacJd

!

By

thy showers, be thou the protector of the snakes!

scorched by the Sun

our great protectionclouds, thou art

1

O O!

thou best of the

deities,

thou art

thou Purandara, thou art able toart

grant rain in torrentsfire,

Thou

Vayu

(the

air),

thou art the!

and thou art the lightning of the skies

Thou

art the

propeller of the clouds,{i. e.

and thou hast been

called the great cloud

that which will darken the universe!

during the end of the Yuga)the creator of the

Thou

art the fierce

and incom!

parable thunder, and thou art the roaring cloudsworlds and theirart thelij,^ht

destroyer

!

Thou Thou

art art

imconquered

!

Thou

of all creatures,

thou art

Aditya, thou art

Vibhavasu, thou art the highest knowledge,!

Thou art thou art wonderful, thou art the greatest being Thou art the best of the wonderful and thou art a King!

deities

Thou

art

Vishnuart

!

Thou hast thousandthefinal

eyes,

thouart,

art

a god,

and thouart the

resource

!

Thou

O

deity, all!

amrita, and

thou

art

the most adored

Soma

(juice)

Thoulava(

moment, thou),

art the lunar daj*, thou

art the

minute

thou art the kshana (4 minutes).full

Thou

art

the fortnight of the!

moon and thethe

fortnight

of the

new moon

Thou

art the kala, thouall

kashtha,

andart

thou the Tvid'i. thou the days

(These are

divisions of time.)

Thou

the year, thou the seasons, thou the months, thou!

the nights,

andthe

forests

Sun

!

Thou art the fair Earth with her mountains Thou art also the firmament resplendent with Thou art the great Ocean with heaving billows!!

and abounding with timis, swallowers of thnis, tnakaras, Thou art of great renown, always adored and various fishes and by the great Rishis with minds rapt in by the wise, Thou drinkest, for the good of creatures, contemplation!

the

Soma

juice in sacrifices andof a

the clarified

butter offeredAvorfruit.

with Vashats (mantras

shippcd

ill

sacrifices

Thou art always by Brahmanas moved by desire ofkind).

Q

thou incomparable mass of strength, thou art sung

in

the

ADI FARVA.I

93

Vedmigas It is for that reason that the learned Brahmanas bent upon pertbnning sacrifices study the Vedangas witheverycare.'

And

so ends the twenty-fifth Section in the Astika of the

Adi Parva.

Section XXVI.( Astika

Parvd continued.

)

Sauti continued,

"Andfor

then the illustrious one havingbearer,

the

best

of horses

his

covered the entire firmament

thus adored by Kadru, with masses of blue cloudsi

Anding,

he commanded the clouds, saying, 'pour ye your vivifyiag'

And those clouds luminous with lightand incessantly roaring against each other in the welkin, poured abundant water. And the sky looked as if the end ofand blessed drops.the

consequence of those wonderful and terribly-roaring clouds that were incessantly begetting vastin

Yuga had come,

quantities of water.

And

in consequence of myriads of

waves

caused in the falling torrents, the deep roar of the clouds, theflashes of lightning, the violence of the wind,

and the general

agitation, the sky looked as

if

dancing in madness.

the sky became dark, the rays of the sun and the

And tlien moon totally

disappeaing in consequence of thethose clouds.

incessant

downpour by

" And upon Indra's causing that downpour, the Nagas became exceedingly delighted. And the Earth whs filled with

water

all

nether regions.

over the

And the cool clear water reached even the And there were countless watery waves all Earth. And the snakes with their mother reachedaround.

(in safety) the island called

Ramaniaka.

And

so ends the twenty-sixth Section in the Astika of the

Adi Parva.

Section XXVII.('

Aatika Parva continued.

)

Sauti

said,

''And then the Nagaa wetted with the showerghid.

became exceedinglyfeathers,

And

borne by

that

bird

of fair

they soon arrived at the island.

And

that ishiud

had been appointed by the creator of the universe as the abode of the makaras. They had seen in that island ou a former occasion the fierce Asnra of the name of Luvana.

And

arrived

there

with Gadiira,

they saw there a beautiful

forest,

washed by the watersaround with variousmansions

of the sea

and resounding withof

(the music of) wingedtreesall

choirs.

Andfruits;

there were clusters

and flowers.

And

there

were

ing with lotuses.

all around and many tanks aboundAnd it was also adorned with many fair lakes of pure water. And it was refreshed with pure incensebreathing breezes. And it was adorned with many a tree

also fair

hills of Malaya (sandal wood) which seemed by Its tall ness to reach the very heavens, and which shaken by the breeze dropped showers of flowers. And there were also various other trees whose flowers were scattered all

that grows only on the

around by the breeze.

And

it

seemed asthat forest

if

these bathed

the

Nagaa

arrived

there withflowers.

showers of rain represented by

their dropping

And

was charming and

dear to the

Gandharvas' and always

gave them pleasure.

And it was full of bees mad with the honey they sucked. And the sight of its appearance was exceedingly delightful. And in consequence of many things there capable of charming everybody, that forest was fair, delightful, and holy. Andechoing with the notes of variousthe sons of Kadru.birds, it delighted

greatly

"And

then the snakes having arrived at that forest began

to enjoy themselves.

And

they

commanded'

the lord

of birds,fair

Gadura, of great energy, saying,island

convey us to some otherof theskies,

with

pure

water.fair

Thou rangerregions in

thou

must have seen manyair.)'

thy course (through the

And Gadura,

after reflecting for a few

moments, asked.

,

ADI PARYA,

95

mother Yinata, why, mother, am I to do the hidding of the snakes V And Vinata thus questioned by him thus spake unto that ranger of the skies, her son, invested with every virtue, of great energy, and great strength.his

'O ihou best of birds, I have become, from misfortune, the slave of her who hath the same husband with me. The snakes by an act of deception caused me to lose my And when liis mother had told bet and have made me so."Vinatasaid,'

bim thewhat

reason, that ranger of'

tlie skies,

dejected with

grief,

addressed the snakes, saying,thing,

Tell me, ye snakes,

by bringing

or

gaining a knowledge of Avhat thing, or doing

what

act of prowess,ye.'

we may be

freed from this state of bond-

age to

Sauti

continued,"

"Andforce.

the

snakes hearing him

said.

'Bring thou amrita byfreed from bondage.'

Then.

O

bird,

shalt

thou be

And

so

ends

the twenty-seventh Section in the Astika of

the Adj Parva.

Section XXVIII.( Astika

Parva continued.

)

Sauti!aid

said,

"

Gadura, thus addressed by'

tlie

snakes, thenI

unto his mother.

I shall

goto

to

bring amrita.

desire:

to

eat something.

Direct

me

it.'

And Vinataocean,

replied

'In a remote

region in the midst

of the

the Nishadas

have their

fair

home.

H avingof a

eaten the thousand Nishadas

that live there, bringever set

thou amrita.life

But

let

not thy heart be

on taking the

Brahmana.is,

A

Brahmanafire.

of

all

creatures must not be

slain.

He

indeed, like

A

Brah-

mana when angry becomesedged weapon.ofall

like fire or the

Sun, like poison or an

A

creatures.

For

Brahmana, it hath been said, is the master thei^e and other reasons, a Brahmana ischild,

the adored of the virtuous.

he

is

never

to

be slain by

thee even in anger.

Hostility

with the Brahmanas, therefore,

would not be proper under any circunii^tances.

O

thou sinless

one, neither Agni nor the Sun truly consuineth so as doth a Brahmana of rigid vows when angry. By these vai ious iudica-

9Gtionsis

MAHAT^HARATA.must thou knowfirst-born

a good

Brahmana,theall.'

Indeed, a

Brahmanathefour

the

of

all

ereatnres,

foremost of

orders, the father"

and the master ofthen asked,'

And Gadura

mother, of what form?

is

a

shineit

Brahmana, of what behaviour, and of what prowess like fire, or is he of tranquil mien ? And,behoveth thee totell

Doth hemother,

O

my

inquirin^

self,

assigning reasons,

those auspicious signs by which I*'

may'

recognise a

Brahmana

!'

And Vinataas a ballwill

know

replied, saying, O child, him shouldst thou amongst Brihmanas who having entered thy

throat

torture thee as a fish-hook or burn thee as flaming

charcoal.anger.' him.

A Brahmana'

must never be

slain

by thee evenson againa good"

in

And Vinata from affection for her these words: Him shouldst thou know asshall not be

told

Brahm-

ana whoshe

digested

in thy stomach.

from parental affection, rniterated those words.

And Vinata, And although

knew the incomparable strength of her son, she yet blessed him heartily, for deceived by the snakes she was very muchafflicted

by woe.

And

she said,

'

Let Maruta (the god of the

winds) protect thy wings, and the Sun and the Moon thy vertebral regions; let Agni protect they head, and the Vasus thy

whole bodyshallsit

!

I also,

O

child,

engaged

in beneficial ceremonies,

here

to

give thee prosperity.

Go

then,

O

child, in

safety to accomplish thy purpose.

Sauti continued,

"

Then Gadura, having heard the wordshis

of his mother, stretched

wings and ascended the

skies.

And endued withshadas,

great strength, he soon camelike

upon the Nibent upon

hungry and

to

another Yama.

And

slaying the Nishadas, he then raised a great quantity of dusb

that overs{)read the firmament and sucking up water from

amid

the ocean, shook the trees growing on the adjacent mountains. And then the lord of birds obstructed the principal thoroughfare of the

Nishadas by

his

mouth having increasedfly in

its

cleft

at

will.

And

the Nishadas begaa to

great haste in

the direction

of the open

mouth of the great serpent-eater.by thousands into theshaken by the wind, so

Andskies

as birds in great affliction ascend

when the

trees of the forest are

those Nishadas blinded by the dust raised by the storm entered

ADIPARVA.the

i)7

wule-extending

cleft

of Gadura's moutli open to receiveall

them.

And

then the hungry lord of

rangers of the skies,

the oppressor of enemies, endued

with great strength, and

moving with the greatest

activity to achieve his end, closed his

mouth

killing

innumerable Nishadas following the occupatioa

of fishermen."

And

so ends the twenty-eighth Section in the

Astikaof the

Adi Parva.Section XXIX.( Astllrt

Parva continued.certain

)his wife

Sauti

continued,

''

A

Brahmana with

had

entered the throat of that ranger of the skies.

And

the former

thereupon began to burn the bird's throat like flaming charcoal.

And him Gaduraanas,

addressed,

saying,

'

O

thou best of Brahm-

come out soon from my mouth which I open for thee. Brahmana must never be slain by me although he may be always engaged in sinful practices.' And to Gadura who had let this woman of thus addressed him, that Brahmana said, the Nishada caste who is my wife come out with me !' And

A

'

Gadura

said,

'Taking the

woman

also of the

Nishada caste with

Save thyself without delay inasmuch aa thee, come out soon. " thou hast not yet been digested by the heat of my stomach.'Sauti continued,'*

And

then that Brahmana accompaniedout,

by

his

wife

of

the

Nishada caste came

and eulogising

Gadura wended whithersoever he liked. And upon that Brahmana coming out with his wife, that lord of birds, fleet as themind, stretching his wings ascended the skies.

And he then

saw

his

father

;

and hailed by him, Gadura of incomparable

prowess made proper answers.then asked him,sufficient food'

And

the great Rishi (Kasyapa)?

O?

child,?

is it

well with thee

Dost thou

getj

every day

Is there food in

plenty for thee in

the world of

men

"And Gadura

replied,

'

My

mother

is

ever well.

AndI

so

my

brother, and sofor to

am Lwhich

But, father, I do not always obtain

plenty of food

my

peace

is

incomplete.

am

sent

by the snakes

fetch the

excellent

amrUa13

(Soma).

And,

^^ill

MAHAEHARATA,to-day for emancipating

Jeeil, I shall fetch it

my

mother from

her l^oudage.

My

mother had commanded me, saying,

I

Etit

thou the Nishadas. I have eaten them by thousands but my hunger is not appeased. Therefore, O worshipful one, pointout to

me some

other food, by eating which,

O

master,

may

be strong enough to bring away amrita by force. Thou shouldst indicate some food wherewith I may appease my hunger andthirst.

"

And Kasyapa

replied,

'

This lake thou seest

is

very sacred.

It hath been heard of even in the heavens,

Tiiere an elephant

with face downwards doth continually drag a tortoise his elderbrother,I shall

speak to you in detail of

tiieir

hostility in

formerlife.

life.

I will tell

you

in full

of their

enmity in another

Hear from me the"

truth,

in proof

whereof are they both

(in this place.)

'There was of old a great Rishi of the

name

of Vibha-

vasu.

He wasname

exceedingly wratiiful.

He

had a younger brotherascetic.

of the

of Supritika

who

also

was a great

And

the great sage Supritika was averse to keep his wealth joint with his brother's. And Supritika would always speak of partition.

After a certain time his brother Vibhavasu told Supri-

tika,

It

is

of wealth always desire to

from great foolishness that persons blinded by love make a partition of their patrimony.with each other. Thencause an

And

after effecting a partition they fight

again, enemies in the guise

of friends

estrangement

between ignorant and selfish men after they become separated and pointing out faults confii-m their quarrels in their wealth And downright ruin very so that they soon fall one by one. For these reasons, the wise, separated. soon overtakes the;

never speak well of partition amongst brothers who when divided regard not the most authoritative Shastras and are

always in fear of each other.regardingwishest to

But

as thou

Supritika,

without

my

advice, impelled by desire of separation

always

make an arrangement about your:

property, thou

must become an elephant. And Supritika, thus cursed, then Thou also must become a tortoise spake unto Vibhavasu

moving"

in the interior of the waters.

Aud

thus on account of wealth those two

fools,

Supritika

ADI PARVA,

99^

and Vibhavagu, from each other's curse, have become an elephant and a tortoise, Owinor to their wrath, they have both

become

inferior animals.

And And

they are

engaged in

hostilities

with each other, proud of their excessive strength and theweight of their bodies.in

this

lake

those two of hugehostility.

bodies are engaged in acts according to their former

Theis

other amongst them, the handsome elephant of huge body,

even

how

approaching.

And

hearing his roar, the tortoise also

of huge body, living witliin the waters,

cometh out agitatingthe elephant, with

the lake exceedingly.

And

seeing him,

trunk in a

curl,

goeth

into the water.

And endued

with great

energy, with motion of his tusks,tail,

of fore-part

of his trunk, of

and of

feet,

he agitates the waters of the lake abounding with

fishes.

And

the tortoise also offor

much

strength, with upraised

head, cometh forwardsix

an encounter.

And

the elephant

is

yojctnas in height and twice that measure in circumference.

Andin

circumference ten.

also is three yojanas and his Eat thou both of them, madly engaged the encounter and bent upon slaying each other, and accom-

the height of the tortoise

plish this business that thou desirest.

Eating that

fierce

ele=

phant,

looking

like a

huge mountain and resembling a mass of"

dark clouds, bring thou amrita.'Sauti continued,

"And having'

said

so unto

Gadura,

he

(Kasyapa) blessed him then.

Blest be

thou when thou artfilled

engaged with the gods

in

combat. Let pots

to

the brim,there are,

Brahmanas, kine, and what other auspicious objectsbless thee,

And O thou of great engaged with the gods in combat, let strength, the Richas, the Yajus, the Samas, the sacred sacrificial butter, all the mysteries (of the Vedas), and all the Vedas, be thythou oviparous one.art

O

when thou

strength."

And Gadura,

thus addressed by his father, wended to the

side of that lake.

And

he saw that expanse of clear waterall

with birds of various kinds

around.

And remembering

the

words

of his father, that ranger of the skies possessed of great

swiftness of motion seized thein each claw.

elephant and the tortoise, onetheair.

And

that bird then soared high into

And he came upon

a sacred

place

called

Alamixi and saw

100

MAHABHARATA.divine trees.

many

Andbegan

struck by the wind raised by histo

wings, those trees

shake with

fear.

And

those di-

vine trees growing on golden summits feared that theybreak.

would

And

the ranger of the skies seeing that those trees

capable of granting every wish were quaking with fear, went to other trees of incomparable appearance. And those gigantictrees were adorned with fruits of gold

and

silver

and branchesinto

of precious gems.sea.

And

they were washed with the waters of the

And

there was a large banian

among them grown:'

gigantic proportions, that then spoke unto that lord of birds while

coursing towards

it fleet

as

the mind

Sit thou on this large

branch of mine extending a hundred yojanas and eat thou theelephant and the tortoise.'

And when

that best of birds of great

swiftness, and of body resembling a mountain, quickly alighted, that banian, the resort of thousands of birds, shook and that

branch also

full of

leaves broke.

"

AndAdi

so ends the

twenty-ninth Section in the Astika of the

Parva.

Section( Astika

XXX.)

Parva continued.of

Sauti

said, "

The moment the armmight with

the tree was touched

by Gadurabroke,it

of great

his feet, it

broke.

And

as

it

was supported by Gadura. And as he cast his eyes around in wonder after having broken tliat gigantic branch, he saw that a tribe of Rishis called Valakhilyas were suspended And having seen those therefrom with heads downwards.Brahmarshis engagedin ascetic practices'

suspended therefrom,that

Gadurafromit;

said unto

himself,

Indeed, there are Rishis suspended'

I will not kill them.

And

reflecting thatslain,

if

branch

fell

down, the Rishis would be

the mighty one

held by his claws the elej)hant and the tortoise yet more firmly.

Andon

the king of birds,

from fear of slaying the Rishis and

desirous of saving them, held that branch in his beaks and rosehis wings.

And

great Ritihis seeing that act

of his

which

WJ^s

beyond even the power of the gods,

their hearts

wonder, gave that mighty bird a name.

And thpy

moved by eaid, Aa'

ADI PARVA.this ranger of the skiesrises

101

oa

its

wings bearing a heavy

burden, thereforehis food be called"

let this

foremost of bir Js having snakes for

And

Gadivra (bearer of heavy weight.)' slinking the mountains by his wings, Gadura

leisurely

coursed through the skies.

And

as he soared with the elephant

and theneath.

tortoise (in his claws), he beheld various regions under-

And

desiring as he did to save the Valakhilyas,sit.

he saw

not a spot whereon to

And

at

last

he wended to the

foremost of mountains called

Gandhamadana.in

And

he saw

there his father Kasyapa engaged

ascetic devotions.

Andand

Kasyapa

also

saw

his son

that ranger

of the

skies,

of divine

form, possessed of great splendour, energy, and strength,

endued with the speed of the windmountain peak, a ready smiterinconceivable, indescribable, frightful

or the mind, huge as a

like the curse of a

Brahmaua,endued

to

all

creatures,

with great prowess, terrible, of the splendour of Agni himself,

and incapable of being overcome by theinvincible Rakshasas, capable

deities,

Danavas, and

of splitting

mountain summits

and of sucking the ocean itself and of destroying the worlds, And then the illusfierce, and looking like Yama himself. trious Kasyapa seeing him approach and knowing also hismotive, spake unto"

him these words.'

And Kasyapa

said,

child, don't

then thou wouldst have to suffer pain."

commit a rash act, for The Valakhilyas, supif

porting themselves by drinking the rays of the Sun, might, angry, consume thee.'

Sauti continued, "

And Kasyapa

then propitiated,

for

the

sake of his son, the Valakhilyas of exceeding good

fortune

and whose sins had been destroyed by ascetic penances. And Kasyapa said, Ye whose wealth is asceticism, the essay of Gadura is for the good of all creatures. The task is great that'

he

is

striving to?

accomplish."'

It

behoveth ye to accord him

your permission

The Munis thus addressed by the illustrious Kasyapa abandoned that branch and wended to the sacred mountain of Himavata for purposes of ascetic penances.Sauti continued,"

And upon

those Rishis going away, the son of Vinata, with voice

obstructed by the branch in his beaks, asked his father Kasyapa,

102'

MAHABHARATA.thou illustrious one, where?

am

I to

throw

tliis

armis

of the

tree

Illustrious one, indicate to

me some

region that

with-

out

human beings.' And then Kasyapa spoke of a mountain without human beings, with caves and dales always coveredwith snow and incapable of ^approach by ordinary creatureseven in thouf^ht.

And

the

great bird bearing that branch,

the elephant, and the tortoise, then proceeded with great speed

towards that mountain of broad waist.of the tree with which that bird of

Andof

the great

arm

huge body flew away coulda hundred (cow)flew

not be girt round with a cord madehides.

And

Gadura, the lord of birds, then

away

for

hundred thousands of yojanas within the shortest time.tain

Andfall

going according to the directions of his father to that mounalmost in a moment, the ranger of the skieslet

the gigantic branch.

And

it

fell

with a great noise.

And

that king of rocks shook, struck with the storm raiseddura's wings.

by Ga-

And

the trees thereon dropped showers of flowers.

Andfell

the

cliffs

of that

mountain decked with gems and golditself,

and adorning that great mountain

were loosened andflowers

down on all sides. And numerous trees which with

the

falling

branch struck down

their golden

amid their

dark foliage shone there like clouds charged with lightning.

And

those trees, bright as gold, falling

down upon the groundif

and becoming dyed with mountain metals, shone aswere bathed in the rays of the sun."

they

And

the best of birds, Gadura, perching on

the summittortoise.

of that mountain then ate both the elephant and the

And

he the son of Tarkhya, endued with great speed, having

eat of the tortoise and the elephant, then rose on his

wingS

from the top of the mountain summit."

And

various

omens began

to appear

among

the gods fore-

boding

fear.

Indra's favorite thunder-bolt blazed

up

in a fright.

And meteorsshot

with flames and smoke, loosened from the welkin,theday.

down during

And

the respective weapons of

the Vasus, the Rudras, the Adityas, of all of them, of the Sadhyas, the Marutas, and of all the other tribes of the gods,

began

to

spend their force against each other.

And such

things had never happened even in the war of the gods and the

ADI FARVA.Asiiras.

103with thunder, and

And

the winds blew accompanied

And the sk}^ meteors fell by And even cloudless, roared tremendously. dropped showers of blood. And god of gods,thousands.

although

it

Avas

he who was thethe lustre of the

flowery garlands on the necks of the gods was dimned. And And terrible masses of their prowess suffered a diminution.

clouds dropped thick showers

of blood.

And

the

dust raisedcoronets of

by the winds darkenedthe gods.

tlie

splendour of the verysacrifices

And

he of a thousand

(Indra),

with the

other gods, perplexed with fear at sight of these dark disasters,

spake unto Vrihaspati thus

'

:

Why,?

worshipful one, have

these dark disasters suddenly arisen

No

foe

do I behold who'

would oppress us

in war.

'

And

Vrihaspati answered,it is

O

thou

chief of the gods, thou of a thousand sacrifices,fault

from thy

and carelessness, and owing

also to the ascetic

penances ofson

of the high-souled great Rishis, the Valukhilyas,

that the

of Kasyapa and Vinata, a ranger of the skies endued with great strength and possessing the capacity to assume at will

any form,

is

approaching to take away the Soma.

Andto

that

bird, foremost

among

all

endued with strength,is

is

able

rob:

ye of the Soma.

Every thing

possible,

I

ween, in him

the un-achievable he can achieve.'Sauti continued,

"

"And

Indra having heard these wordsthe

then spoke unto those that guardedtaking away the amrita.

amrita

:

'

Ahe

bird

endued with great strength and energy hasI

set his

mind on

warn ye beforehandforce.

so that

maytold

not succeed in taking

it is

away by

Vrihaspati has

meof

that his strengthit

immeasurable.'

And

the gods hearing

were amazed

and took precautions.with tbem.

And

they stood

surrounding the amrita, and Indra also of great prowess, theAvielder of the thunder, stood

Andand

the gods woreset with

curious breastplates of gold,

of great value

gems,the

and bright

leathern

armour of great toughness.

And

mightyof

deities wielded various siiarp-edged

weapons of terrible

shapes, countless in number, emitting, even all of them, sparksfire

mixed with smoke.

And

they were also armed with

many

a discus and iron mace furnished with spikes, and trident,

and battle-axe, various kinds of sharp-pointed short missiles

104 and polished swords

MAHABHATIATA.raid

maces of

terrible forma,

all

befitting

their respective bodies.

And decked

with celestial ornaments

and resplendent with those bright arms, the gods waited there,theirfeai-s

allayed.

And

the gods, of incomparable strength,

energy, and splendour, resolved to protect the amrita, capableof splitting the towns of the Asnras,inall

displayed

themselves

forms resplendent as the

fire.

there, that [would be] battle-field,

Thus the gods having stood in consequence of hundredlike " the rays of the sun.

thousands of niaces furnished

with iron

spikes,

shone

another suddenly arrived sky illumined by

And

so

ends

tiie

thirteeth

Section in the Astika of the

Adi Parva.

Section XXXI.( Af^tlhi

Parva contimied.

)fault,

Saunaka

said,

''

O

Son of Suta, what was ludra's?

what

his act of carelessness

How

was Gadura born?

in conse-

quence of the ascetic penances of the Valakhilyas

had Kasyapa

a Brainnana the king ofall

birds for his

Why also son Why?

too was he invincible of

creatures

and un-slayable of

all ?

Why

also

was that ranger of the skies capable of going intoany measure ofPurana, I should like

every place at will and of mustering at will

energyto hear

?

If these are described in the!"

them

Sauti said,of the Purana.all!

"

What

thou askest

me

is,

indeed, the

subjectrecite it

twice-born one, listen as I briefly

"

Once upon a time, wlien the Prajapati, Kasyapa, wasin a sacrifice from desire of offspring, the

engaged

Rishis,

the

gods, and the Gandiiarvas, gave him

help.

Andwood;

Indra was

appointed by Kasjapa to bring the

saerificial

and withdeities.

him

those ascetics

the Vahikhilyas,

and

all

the other

And

the lord Indra taking

up according

to hisit

own strength a

weight that was mountain-like, brought

without any fatigue.

And

he saw on the way some Pashis, of bodies of the measure

of the tiiumb, together carrying one single stalk of the

Palashaof food,

(Butea frondosa)

leaf.

And

those Rishis were, from

want

ADI PAHVA.very lean-fleshed asif

105

merged

into their OAvn bodies.afflicted

And

they

were so weak that they werehoof of a cow.

much

when sunk

in the

water that collected in an indentation on the road caused by the

And

Purandara, proud of his strength, beheld

them with surprise, and laughing at them in derision soon left them behind, insulting them besides by passing over theirheads.sorrow.

And those Rishis were at tlus possessed with rage and And they made preparations for a great act at Avhich

terrified. Hear thou, O Saunaka, of the wish for (he accomplishment of which those vow-observing, wise, and excellent

Indra was

ascetics

poured

clarified!'

butter on

ioudly uttered mantras

the sacrificial fire with There shall be another Indra of all

the gods, capable of going everywhere at will and of mustering at will any measure of energy, imparting fear unto the (present) king of the gods. By the fruit of our ascetic penances,?et

one

arise,

and strength,

an hundred times greater than Indra in coura^-e fleet as the mind, and fierce v/ithal.' And thesacrifices, iiaving

king of the gods, he of a hundred

come

to

know

of this,

became very much alarmed and sought the provow-observing Kasyapa.

tection

of the

And

the Prajapati,

Kasyapa, hearing everything from Indra went to the Valakhilyas and asked them if their act had been successful. Andthose truth-speaking Rishis replied to him, saying, 'Letit

be aa

thou say est.spake

'

Andthembeen

the Prajapati, Kasyapa,asfollows:

pacifying them,of Brahma,

unto

'

By the wordofto

this one hathascetics,

made

the

lord

the

three worlds.

Ye\

ye also have been striving

create

another Indra

Ye excellent ones, it behove th ye not to falsify the word of Let not also this purpose for (accomplishing) which Brahma!

5'e

are striving be rendered futile.

Let there

sjiring

an Indra

(Lord) of winged creatures, endued

with excess of strened body became And Gadura was vested with the tlie Sun.

lordship of the VnwU.

O

thou of the race of Bhrigu, hearken

nowAdi

to the

mighty achievement of Gadura!"thirty-first

And

so eudp. the

Section

in the

Astika of the

P:\rva.

Section( Astlka

XXXIE)

Parva continued.

Sauti said,

"O

thou

foremost of Brahnianas,for

upon the

gods having stood prepared

war

in

that

vmy, Gadura the

king of birds soon came upon those wise ones. gods beholding him of excessive strength began withfear,

Andto

the

quake

and strike one another witharchitect), of

all their

weapons.

And(tlic

amongst those that guarded the Skoma was Bhav.manacelestial

measureless might,

effulgent

as

the

electric fire,

ter of

and of great energy. And after a terrific encounonly a moment, mangled by the lord"^ of birds with and wings, he lay as dead on thehisfield.

his talons, beak,

And

that ranger of the skies darkening the worldsraisedtials

by the hurricane ofit.

by the dust wings, overwhelmed' the celesoverwhelmed by thatdusfc

And swooned away. Andwith

the

cclei^tialalo,

the

immortals

who

guarded the

amrita, blinded by that dust, could not sec Gadura

Gadura mangled the gods thusand beaks.

thus agitated

the region of thev/ith the

hciivens.

And And ha!

wounds

iniiict^d by,

his

wings

"Andsoon.

then the god of

thousand eyes commanded Vayuthou this shower of dust

(the god of wind); saying, 'dispell

O

Maruta, this

is,

indeed, thy

mighty Vayu soon dispelled thatness had disappeared, theas he of great

dust.

celestials

And then the And when the darkattacked Gadura, Andv/ork!'

might was attacked by theFit^ft,

gods, he

began toat

roar loudly, like the great cloud that' appeareth in the, sky

the end of the

fi-ightening every

creatm-e

And

that

king of birdsthe heads of

of

great energy and slayer of hostile heroes,

then rose on his

v.'ings.

And himall

sta^nng in

the skies overcelcstialb)

the gods,

the

wise ones (the

with Indra amongst them

covcrad

with double-edged

broad-

swords, iron-maces furnished with sharp spikes, pointed lances,

maces, bright ktis

of

Kadru an

the b"ii,]age

motlier,

caused by an act of deception, owing to the well-known i-easoa(the curseof Aruua), said,shall'

Although

I

have power overLet,

all

creatures, yet I

do your bidding.

Sakra, theof theDii-

mighty snakes become

my

food

'.'

And

the flayer

112

KAHAEHAEATAiliiiu'

navas, having' saiJ unto

Be

it so,'

tLen went to Harl theof

god

of god'^,

of great

soul,

the lorJ

Yogees.

And

the

latter sanctioned

everything that had

been said by Gadura.

And And

the worshipful lord of the heavens again said unto Gadura,

'I shall bring

away the Soma whenso,

tliou

placest

it

down."the

having said

he bade farewell to Gadura.to the

And

bird of fair feathers then went

vicinage of his mother

with great speed."

And GaduraI

in joy then spake unto all the snakes,

'

Here

havegrass.

brought the amrita.

Let

me

placeit

it

on

some kusaye have per-

O

ye snakes, sitting here, drink ofrites.

after

formed your ablutions and religiousthis

As

said

by

ye, letfor

my mother become

from this day a freed- woman,'

by

me

hath been accomplished your bidding.'

And

the snakes

having said unto Gaduraablutions.

Be

it so,

'

then went to perform their

And Sakra

in the

meantime taking up the amrita

wended back

to the heavens.

And the

snakes, after performing

their ablutions, their daily devotions,

and other sacredamritd.

rites,

returned in joy, desirous of drinking the

And they

saw that the bed of kusa grass whereon the amrita had been placed was empty, the amrita itself having been taken away by a counter act of deception. And they thereupon began tolick

with their tongues the husa grass as the amrita had been

placed thereon.

And

the tongues of the snakes

bj'

that act

became dividedtact with

in twain.

And

the Jaisa grass

too

from conthus by

amrita became sacred from that time.for the snakes,

And

the illustrious Gadura was amrita brought (from the heavens)

and brought

and by him thus were the snakes

made"

of divided tongues.

And

the bird of fair feathers very

much

delighted, enjoyed

himself in those woods accompanied by his mother.of grand achievements, deeply reverencedskies, gratified his

And hetlie

by

all

rangers of

mother by eating of the snakes.listen to this

"And

that

man who wouldmerit

story, orto

read

it

to an assembly of good Brahmanas,

must surely go

heaven

acquiring great

from

the

recitation of (the deeds of)

Gadura.

"

ADIPARVA,

11 Q

AndAdi

so enJa the tliirfy-fourtli Section iu the

Astlka of the

Parrfi.

Section( Astlka

XXXV.)tlie

Parva continued.of Suta,

Saunaka

said,

"

O

son

thou hast nnfolded

reason why the snakes were cursed by their mother, and why

Vinata was also cursed by her son.bestowal of boons bytheir

Thou bast

also related the

husband on Kadru and Vinata.sons.

Thou hast likewise told us the names of Vinata's But thou hast not yet recited the names of the snakes. are anxioi^s to hear the names of the principal ones.Sauti S^d, "

We

O

thou whose wealth

is

asceticism,all

from feauthesnalcesr.

f being lengthy,

I shall not

mention the names of

But

I will recite the

namesfirst,

of th chief ones. Listen ye to me.

Sesha was born

and then Vasuki.

(Then were born)

Airavata, Takshaka, Karkotaka, Dhananjaya, Kalakeya, the ser-

pent Mani, Purana, Pinjarakaand Elapatra, Vamana,Nila, Anila,

Kalmasha, Savala,kha,

Aryaka,

Ugraka, Kalasapotaka,

Suramu-

Dadhimukha, Vimalapindaka, Apta, Karotaka, Sanklia, Hemaguha, Nahusha, Pingala, BahyaHastipada, Mudgarapindaka, Kamvala, Aswatara, Kakarna,Valisikha, Nisthanaka.liyaka, Vritta,

Samvartaka, Padma, Mahapadma,

Sankhamu-

kha, Kuslimandaka, Kshemaka, Pindaraka, Karavira, Pushpa-

danstraka, Vilwaka, Vilwapandara, Mushakada, Sankhashirah,

Purnabhadra, Haridraka, Aparajita, Jyotika, Srivaha, Kauravya, DhritaraRtra,Sankhapinda, Virajah, Sabahu, Salipinda,tipinda, Pitharaka,

Has-

Sumukha, Kaunapasliana, Kuthara, Kunjara, Prabhakara, Kumuda, Kum.udakshya, Tittiri, Halika, Kardama, Vahuniulaka, Karkara, Akarkara, Kundodara and Mahodara,Thus,

O

best of Dwijas,

have

I

told the

names of theasceticism,

principal serpents.

From

fear of length I

have not told theis

names

of the rest.

O

thou whose wealth

the

sons of these

snakes,

with their grandsons, are innumerable.

Reflecting upon this, I shall notascetics, in this world

the

name them to thee. O best of number of snakes defies calculation,of them,

there being

many thousands and arbudas

15

4.^14!

MAHABHARATA,Andso suds the thirty-fifth

Section iu the Astika of the

Alii Parva,

Section

XXSVI.

( Astika Pai^t^a continued.. )

thou hast named many o-f the energy and incapable of being easily serpents gifted with great cui-se ?" overcome. What did they do after liearing of that

Saunaka

said,

"

O

child,

of great Sauti said, "Tlie illustrious Bhesha amongst them, practised hard penances, living renown, leaving his mother, And he was enair and rigidly observing his vows.

upon gaged

in these

ascetic devotions,

having arrived at Gandha-

and the inadana, Vadari, Gokarna, the woods of Pushkara, his days in those sacred And he passed foot of Himavat.recrions,

some

of

which were sacredrigid

for their

waters and others

fur their soil,

in the

observance of his vows, with ain completecentral.

sinoleness of aim

andin

his passions

Anddried

theliairivn,

Grand-father of

all srav

him

that

ascetic with

knotted

and

clad

rags,

his

flesh,

skin,

and sinews

owing to the hard penances he v/as practising.Grand-fatheraddressing

And

rhe

him

thatis

penance-practising

one of

firm fortitude, said,?

'What

this that thou doest,

Let the welfare of the creatures of the worlds also O thou sinless one, thou art afflicting eJio-acre thv thoughts. O Shesha, tell me by thy hard penances. all creatures

O

Shesha

the desire that''

is

implanted in thyreplied,

breast.'

And Shesha

'My uterine

brothers are

all

of

wicked hearts.of one:

I do not desire to live

amongst them.

Let

this be sanctioned

by

thee.

Like enemies, theyI

are always

jealous

another.

amher

therefore

engaged in asceticVinata'sson,

devotions

I will not see them even.

They never show anyIndeed,

kindness for Vinata

and

son.

capable of ranging through the They always envy him. ours.

skies, is

another brother of

he too is much stronger, boon by our father the high-souled from the bestowal of the Kasyapa. For these, I am engaged in ascetic penances, and I

And

ADI PARVAi

]15^

wiH cast off them I may"so,'

this

body of mine, so that companionship withlife.'

avoid, even in another state of

And

the

Grand-father spake unto ShcshaI

who had

said

Q Shesha,O

know the behaviourowing

of

all

thy brothers, andtheir mother.

their great danger

to their offence against

But,

Snake, a remedy hathIt

been provided byfor thy

me

even

before-hand.

behoveth thee not to grieve

brothers.I have

O

Shesha, ask then of

me

the boon that thou desircst.

been highly gratifiedboon.

v;ith thee

and Iitis

will

grant thee to-day athat thy heart

O

thou best of snakes,'

fortunate

hath been set on virtue.firmly set on virtue.

Let thy heart be more and more

"And Sheshaboon thatvirtueis

replied,

'0

divine Grand-father, this

is

(he

desired by me, that

my

heart

may

always joy in!

by mand,turestains

O Loi'd of all " And Brahma said, O Shesha, lam exceedingly gratified this thy self-denial and love of peace. But by my comandin blessed ascetic penances,'

let this act

be done by thee for the good ofthis

my

crea^:

!

Holding properly and wellforests,

Earth with her motm-

and

her seas and towns and retreats for enjoyments;thou,

80

unsteady, remain!

Shesha, so that she

may

be

steady"

And Shesha

said,

'

divine

lord of all creatures,

grantorlord

of boons,

O

lord of the Earth, lord of every created thing,I will,

of the universe,

even as thou sayest, hold the Earthlord of all creatures,

steady.

Therefore,'

place

thou that on

my

head."

And BrahmaSheAnd,

said,

'

O

beat of snakes,

go thou underneathacrevice"to

the Earth,

will

herself give

thee

pass

through.certainly

O

Shesha, by holding this Earthis

thou shalt

do what

prized by

me

very greatly.'

Sauti continued,of the

"And

then the elder brother of the kingto

snakes entering by a hole passed

the other

Bule

of the Earth,

and holding

her, supports

with his headround.

the:

goddess Earth with her belt of seas going

all

"And Brahma

said,

'O Shesha, be&tofalone,

snakes, thou

art the

god Dbarma^ because

with thy huge body, thou 5U-

116portestthis

MAHABHARATA.Earth takingit

everything

with her, evert

as I

myself or Vala\

(Indra) can'."*'

Sauti continued,of great prowess,

A