The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Kisari Mohan Ganguli [top 20 books to read txt] 📗

bull of the Bharata race, the earth, to the very coasts of the ocean, became filled with men that were all long-lived. The Kshatriyas performed great sacrifices bestowing much wealth. And the Brahmanas also all studied the Vedas with their branches and the Upanishads. And, O king, no Brahmana in those days ever sold the Vedas (i.e., taught for money) or ever read aloud the Vedas in the presence of a Sudra. The Vaisyas, with the help of bullocks, caused the earth to be tilled. And they never yoked the cattle themselves. And they fed with care all cattle that were lean.

And men never milked kine as long as the calves drank only the milk of their dams (without having taken to grass or any other food). And no merchant in those days ever sold his articles by false scales. And, O

tiger among men, all persons, holding to the ways of virtue, did everything with eyes set upon virtue. And, O monarch, all the orders were mindful of their own respective duties. Thus, O tiger among men, virtue in those days never sustained any diminution. And, O bull of the Bharata race, both kine and women gave birth to their offspring at the proper time. And trees bore flowers and fruit duly according to the seasons. And thus, O

king, the krita age having then duly set in, the whole earth was filled with numerous creatures.

 

“And, O bull of the Bharata race, when such was the blessed state of the terrestrial world, the Asuras, O lord of men, began to be born in kingly lines. And the sons of Diti (Daityas) being repeatedly defeated in war by the sons of Aditi (celestials) and deprived also of sovereignty and heaven, began to be incarnated on the earth. And, O king, the Asuras being possessed of great powers, and desirous of sovereignty began to be born on earth amongst various creatures, such as kine, horses, asses, camels, buffaloes, among creatures such as Rakshasas and others, and among elephants and deer. And, O protector of the earth, owing to those already born and to those that were being born, the earth became incapable of supporting herself. And amongst the sons of Diti and of Danu, cast out of heaven, some were born on the earth as kings of great pride and insolence.

Possessed of great energy, they covered the earth in various shapes.

Capable of oppressing all foes, they filled the earth having the ocean for its boundaries. And by their strength they began to oppress Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras and all other creatures also. Terrifying and killing all creatures, they traversed the earth, O king, in bands of hundreds and thousands. Devoid of truth and virtue, proud of their strength, and intoxicated with (the wine of) insolence, they even insulted the great Rishis in their hermitages.

 

“And the earth, thus oppressed by the mighty Asuras endued with great strength and energy and possessed of abundant means, began to think of waiting on Brahman. The united strength of the creatures (such as Sesha, the Tortoise, and the huge Elephant), and of many Seshas too, became capable of supporting the earth with her mountains, burdened as she was with the weight of the Danavas. And then, O king, the earth, oppressed with weight and afflicted with fear, sought the protection of the Grandsire of all creatures. And she beheld the divine Brahman—the Creator of the worlds who knoweth no deterioration—surrounded by the gods, Brahmanas, and great Rishis, of exceeding good fortune, and adored by delighted Gandharvas and Apsaras always engaged in the service of the celestials. And the Earth, desirous of protection, then represented everything to him, in the presence, O Bharata, of all the Regents of the worlds. But, O king, the Earth’s object had been known beforehand to the Omniscient, Self-create, and Supreme Lord. And, O Bharata, Creator as he is of the universe, why should he not know fully what is in the minds of his creatures including the very gods and the Asuras? O king, the Lord of the Earth, the Creator of all creatures, also called Isa, Sambhu, Prajapati, then spake unto her. And Brahman said, ‘O holder of wealth, for the accomplishment of the object for which thou hast approached me, I shall appoint all the dwellers in the heavens.’

 

“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Having said so unto the Earth, O king, the divine Brahman bade her farewell. And the Creator then commanded all the gods saying, ‘To ease the Earth of her burden, go ye and have your births in her according to your respective parts and seek ye strife (with the Asuras already born there)’. And the Creator of all, summoning also all the tribes of the Gandharvas and the Apsaras, spake unto them these words of deep import, ‘Go ye and be born amongst men according to your respective parts in forms that ye like.’

 

“And all the gods with Indra, on hearing these words of the Lord of the celestials—words that were true, desirable under the circumstances, and fraught with benefit,—accepted them. And they all having resolved to come down on earth in their respected parts, then went to Narayana, the slayer of all foes, at Vaikunth—the one who has the discus and the mace in his hands, who is clad in purple, who is of great splendour, who hath the lotus on his navel, who is the slayer of the foes of the gods, who is of eyes looking down upon his wide chest (in yoga attitude), who is the lord of the Prajapati himself, the sovereign of all the gods, of mighty strength, who hath the mark of the auspicious whirl on his breast, who is the mover of every one’s faculties and who is adored by all the gods. Him, Indra the most exalted of persons, addressed, saying, ‘Be incarnate.’ And Hari replied,—‘Let it be.’”

 

SECTION LXV

 

(Sambhava Parva)

 

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Then Indra had a consultation with Narayana about the latter’s descent on the earth from heaven with all the gods according to their respective parts. And, having commanded all the dwellers in heaven, Indra returned from the abode of Narayana. And the dwellers in heaven gradually became incarnate on earth for the destruction of the Asuras and for the welfare of the three worlds. And then, O tiger among kings, the celestials had their births, according as they pleased, in the races of Brahmarshis and royal sages. And they slew the Danavas, Rakshasas, Gandharvas and Snakes, other man-eaters, and many other creatures. And, O

bull in the Bharata race, the Danavas, Rakshasas and Gandharvas and Snakes, could not slay the incarnate celestials even in their infancy, so strong they were.’

 

“Janamejaya said, ‘I desire to hear from the beginning of the births of the gods, the Danavas, the Gandharvas, the Apsaras, men, Yakshas and Rakshasas. Therefore, it behoveth thee to tell me about the births of all creatures.’

 

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Indeed, I shall, having bowed down to the Self-create, tell thee in detail the origin of the celestials and other creatures. It is known that Brahman hath six spiritual sons, viz., Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha and Kratu. And Marichi’s son is Kasyapa, and from Kasyapa have sprung these creatures. Unto Daksha (one of the Prajapatis) were born thirteen daughters of great good fortune. The daughters of Daksha are, O tiger among men and prince of the Bharata race, Aditi, Diti, Danu, Kala, Danayu, Sinhika, Krodha, Pradha, Viswa, Vinata, Kapila, Muni, and Kadru. The sons and grandsons of these, gifted with great energy, are countless. From Aditi have sprung the twelve Adityas who are the lords of the universe. And, O Bharata, as they are according to their names, I shall recount them to thee. They are Dhatri, Mitra, Aryaman, Sakra, Varuna, Ansa, Vaga, Vivaswat, Usha, Savitri, Tvashtri, and Vishnu.

The youngest, however, is superior to them all in merit. Diti had one son called Hiranyakasipu. And the illustrious Hiranyakasipu had five sons, all famous throughout the world. The eldest of them all was Prahlada, the next was Sahradha; the third was Anuhrada; and after him were Sivi and Vashkala.

And, O Bharata, it is known everywhere that Prahlada had three sons. They were Virochana, Kumbha, and Nikumbha. And unto Virochana was born a son, Vali, of great prowess. And the son of Vali is known to be the great Asura, Vana. And blessed with good fortune, Vana was a follower of Rudra, and was known also by the name of Mahakala. And Danu had forty sons, O Bharata!

The eldest of them all was Viprachitti of great fame Samvara, and Namuchi and Pauloman; Asiloman, and Kesi and Durjaya; Ayahsiras, Aswasiras, and the powerful Aswasanku; also Gaganamardhan, and Vegavat, and he called Ketumat; Swarbhanu, Aswa, Aswapati, Vrishaparvan, and then Ajaka; and Aswagriva, and Sukshama, and Tuhunda of great strength, Ekapada, and Ekachakra, Virupaksha, Mahodara, and Nichandra, and Nikumbha, Kupata, and then Kapata; Sarabha, and Sulabha, Surya, and then Chandramas; these in the race of Danu are stated to be well-known. The Surya and Chandramas (the Sun and the Moon) of the celestials are other persons, and not the sons of Danu as mentioned above. The following ten, gifted with great strength and vigour, were also, O king, born in the race of Danu;—Ekaksha, Amritapa of heroic courage, Pralamva and Naraka, Vatrapi, Satrutapana, and Satha, the great Asura; Gavishtha, and Vanayu, and the Danava called Dirghajiva. And, O Bharata, the sons and the grandsons of these were known to be countless. And Sinhika gave birth to Rahu, the persecutor of the Sun and the Moon, and to three others, Suchandra, Chandrahantri, and Chandrapramardana. And the countless progeny of Krura (krodha) were as crooked and wicked as herself. And the tribe was wrathful, of crooked deeds, and persecutors of their foes. And Danayu also had four sons who were bulls among the Asuras. They were Vikshara, Vala, Vira, and Vritra the great Asura. And the sons of Kala were all like Yama himself and smiter of all foes. And they were of great energy, and oppressors of all foes. And the sons of Kala were Vinasana and Krodha, and then Krodhahantri, and Krodhasatru. And there were many others among the sons of Kala. And Sukra, the son of a Rishi, was the chief priest of the Asuras. And the celebrated Sukra had four sons who were priests of the Asuras. And they were Tashtadhara and Atri, and two others of fierce deeds. They were like the Sun himself in energy, and set their hearts on acquiring the regions of Brahman.

 

“Thus hath been recited by me, as heard in the Purana, of progeny of the gods and the Asuras, both of great strength and energy. I am incapable, O

king, of counting the descendants of these, countless as they are, are not much known to fame.

 

“And the sons of Vinata were Tarkhya and Arishtanemi, and Garuda and Aruna, and Aruni and Varuni. And Sesha of Ananta, Vasuki, Takshaka, Kumara, and Kulika are known to be the sons of Kadru; and Bhimasena, Ugrasena, Suparna, Varuna, Gopati, and Dhritarashtra, and Suryavarchas the seventh, Satyavachas, Arkaparna, Prayuta, Bhima, and Chitraratha known to fame, of great learning, and a controller of his passions, and then Kalisiras, and, O king, Parjanya, the fourteenth in the list, Kali, the fifteenth, and Narada, the sixteenth—these Devas and Gandharvas are known to be the sons of Muni (Daksha’s daughter as mentioned before). I shall recount many others, O Bharata! Anavadya Manu, Vansa, Asura, Marganapria, Anupa, Subhaga, Vasi, were the daughters brought forth by Pradha, Siddha, and Purna, and Varhin, and Purnayus of great fame, Brahmacharin, Ratiguna, and Suparna who was the seventh; Viswavasu, Bhanu, and Suchandra who was the tenth, were also the sons of Pradha. All these were celestial Gandharvas.

And it is also known that this Pradha of great fortune, through