Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) (9 page)

‘When he was passing along the route, he met an extraordinarily large bull and an extraordinarily large man riding on it. The man addressed Utanka. “O Utanka! Eat the dung of this bull.” Though thus addressed, Utanka refused. The man said again, “Utanka, eat it. Do not hesitate. Your preceptor has himself eaten it before.” Thus addressed, Utanka agreed and ate the bull’s dung and drank the bull’s urine and then left for where the Kshatriya Poushya was. As he came near, Utanka found him seated. Utanka saluted him and said, “I have come to you as someone who asks.” The other answered, “O Bhagavan! I am Poushya. What can I do?” Utanka told him, “I have come to ask for a pair of earrings your wife wears, to give them as a gift to my preceptor. Please give me those earrings.” He told him, “Go to the inner apartments of the palace and ask the queen.” He did as he had been asked, went to the inner apartments, but could not see the queen. He again told Poushya, “You should not
treat me with a lie. Your queen is truly not in the inner apartment. I could not see her.” Thus addressed, Poushya thought for a while and said, “You must be defiled with leftover food. Try and remember. The queen cannot be seen by anyone who is defiled with leftover food. Since she is faithful to her husband, she doesn’t appear before anyone thus defiled.” Thus addressed, Utanka thought for a while. Remembering, he said, “Yes, that is true. Since I was in a hurry, I performed my ablutions while I was walking.” Poushya retorted, “This is a breaking of the rules. Ablutions cannot be performed while standing or walking.” Utanka agreed and sat down facing the east. He first washed his hands, face and feet properly. Then, silently, he thrice sipped just enough water, free from scum and froth, to reach his heart. He then washed twice and cleaned his orifices with water. Having done this, he entered the inner apartment and saw the queen.

‘On seeing him, the queen stood up, saluted him with respect and said, “O Bhagavan! Welcome. Command me as to what I should do for you.” He told her, “You should give me your earrings. I ask for them because I wish to give them as a gift to my preceptor.” She was pleased at his direct words and thought that such a worthy recipient could not be refused. Therefore, she took off her earrings and gave them to him. And told him, “Takshaka, king of the nagas, wants these earrings. Please be careful when carrying them.” Thus addressed, he told the queen, “Madam! Be reassured. Takshaka, king of the nagas, cannot overpower me.” Having said this, he took leave of the queen and went to Poushya.

‘He told him, “O, Poushya! I am very pleased.” Poushya replied, “O Bhagavan! You are a guest of many qualities. After a long time, we have found a worthy recipient in you. Therefore, I wish to perform a shraddha.
¹⁸
Stay for some time.” Then Utanka said, “Yes, I will wait. But I wish to leave quickly. Please bring whatever food is ready.” As asked, he
¹⁹
offered food that was readily available. Utanka saw that the food that was brought to him was cold and had a hair in it. He considered the food unclean and told Poushya, “Because you
have offered me unclean food, you will go blind.” In turn, Poushya replied, “Since you have rendered unclean what was clean food,
²⁰
you will be without offspring.” Then Poushya inspected the cleanliness of the food closely. Because the food had been prepared by a woman who had not braided her hair, Poushya found that the food was cold and had a hair in it and was unclean. He pacified Utanka, “O Bhagavan! The food placed before you was cold, had a hair in it and was unclean. This was an error and I seek your pardon. Please don’t make me go blind.” Utanka replied, “What I say must happen. You will go blind, but you will recover your eyesight soon. Grant me that your curse on me should also not have effect.” Poushya said, “I cannot take back my curse even if I want to. Even now, my anger has not been pacified. Don’t you know that a Brahmana’s heart is soft as butter, even though his words are like sharp razors? The Kshatriya is not like that. His words are soft like butter, but his heart is like a sharp instrument. Since that is the case, I cannot take back my curse, because my heart is still sharp. Please go.” Then Utanka said, “I showed you the unclean food that was placed before me and allowed you to pacify me. Before that, you said I would be without offspring because I had rendered clean food unclean. But the food was unclean. Therefore, your curse will have no effect. Enough.” Saying this, Utanka left, taking the earrings with him.

‘On his way, Utanka saw a naked mendicant
²¹
come towards him. He was sometimes visible and sometimes invisible. Placing the earrings on the ground, Utanka then went for some water. The mendicant quickly came to the place, picked up the earrings and ran away. Then Utanka dashed after him and seized him. Then Takshaka suddenly gave up his disguise, assumed his real form and disappeared into a large hole in the ground. Entering the world of the nagas, he went to his own home. Utanka followed him through the same hole and on entering the place, praised the nagas with the following words.
“O snakes!
²²
Subjects of King Airavata,
²³
you adorn battles, you shower like clouds, driven by wind and charged with lightning. O offspring of Airavata! Handsome and many-formed, bedecked with earrings of many colours, you shine like the sun in the sky. Many are the habitations of the nagas on the northern banks of the Ganga. Who wishes to march in an army against the blazing sun without Airavata? When Dhritarashtra
²⁴
goes out, 20,000 nagas march as companions. I salute all of you who have Airavata as their elder brother, whether they live near him or far away. For the sake of the earrings, I salute Takshaka, son of Kadru, who has always lived in Kurukshetra and the Khandava region. Takshaka and Ashvasena
²⁵
were constant companions when they lived on the banks of the river Ikshumati in Kurukshetra. I must also salute Takshaka’s youngest brother, the great-souled Shrutasena,
²⁶
who lived in Mahadyumna in a desire to become a chief of the nagas.” When he saw that in spite of the salutations, he did not get back the earrings, he saw two women weaving a cloth on a loom. There were black and white threads in the loom. He also saw a wheel being turned by six boys and a man who was handsome.

‘He praised them with the following
mantra
s. “Six boys keep turning this wheel with 360 spokes, perpetually moving in a cycle of twenty-four divisions. Two young women, representing the universe, are continually weaving with black and white threads, creating worlds and beings of the past and the present. O master of the thunderbolt!
²⁷
O protector of the worlds, the killer of Vritra
²⁸
and the destroyer of
Namuchi!
²⁹
O great-souled one who is dressed in black, who brings out truth and untruth in the worlds! O he who in ancient times obtained as his mount the horse,
³⁰
which was another form of the fire-god, from the depths of the water. I always salute you, the lord of the universe. O lord of the three worlds! O Purandara!
³¹
” Then that man said to him, “I am pleased with your salutations. What can I do to please you?” He
³²
then told him, “Let the serpents be in my power.” Then that man again said, “Blow into this horse’s anus.” He then blew into the horse’s anus and from all the horse’s orifices that were blown into there billowed out flames and smoke. This burnt down the world of the nagas. Then the alarmed Takshaka, scared of being burnt by the fire, took the earrings, fled from his palace and told Utanka, “Please take back these earrings.” Utanka took the earrings back.

‘But having taken them back, he began to think. “Today is the sacred day mentioned by my preceptor’s wife. I have come very far away. How can I then give these to her?” As he was thus thinking, the man said, “Utanka, get on this horse. It will instantly take you to your preceptor’s house.” He agreed, mounted the horse and reached his preceptor’s house. After bathing, the preceptor’s wife was dressing her hair, thinking that if Utanka did not come, she would curse him. At that time, Utanka entered, saluted her and gave her the earrings. She said, “Utanka, you have come at the right time and the right place. Welcome, my son. You have been fortunate that I have not cursed you. May good fortune be with you.” Then Utanka saluted his preceptor and his preceptor said, “Welcome, Utanka, my son. What took you so long?” Utanka replied, “Takshaka, king of the nagas, cast impediments in my path and I had to go the world of the nagas. There I saw two women weaving a cloth with black and white threads on a loom. What did that mean? I saw a wheel with
twelve spokes being turned by six boys. What did that mean? I also saw a man. Who was he? I saw an extraordinarily large horse. What was that? And as I was on my way along the road, I saw a man mounted on a bull. He respectfully addressed me as Utanka, and asked me to eat the bull’s dung, as my preceptor had done. On being requested by the man, I ate the bull’s dung. Who was this man? Please instruct me, what did all this mean?” Thus addressed, the preceptor told him, “The two women you saw are Dhata and Vidhata. The black and white threads represent night and day. The wheel with twelve spokes is the year with twelve months and the six boys turning it are the six seasons. The man is Parjanya.
³³
The horse is Agni.
³⁴
And the bull you saw on the way is Airavata, the king of elephants. The man who rode it is Indra. The bull’s dung that you ate is the nectar of immortality. It is certainly because you ate this that you were not killed in the world of the nagas. Indra is my friend and it is because of his kindness that you have returned with the earrings. Now, amiable Utanka, I give you permission to go. You will obtain good fortune.” Having received his preceptor’s permission, Utanka went towards Hastinapura, angry with Takshaka, and wishing to seek revenge.

‘In a short while, the good Brahmana Utanka reached Hastinapura and went to seek King Janamejaya, who had only recently returned victorious from Takshashila. He saw him seated, surrounded by his advisers. He uttered blessings of victory as was proper and then addressed him in words that had the right tone and metre. “O best of kings! You are spending your time in juvenile pursuits, when an important duty urgently demands your attention.” Thus addressed by the Brahmana, King Janamejaya saluted him, as was proper, and said in a gracious tone, “I perform the duties of my Kshatriya birth by looking after my subjects. Tell me, O king of Brahmanas, what should I do? I am obediently waiting for your words.” Having been thus addressed by that best of kings, the best of Brahmanas, superior because of his good deeds, replied thus, “O king of kings! It was
Takshaka who performed violence on your father.
³⁵
Therefore, you should take vengeance on that evil-souled serpent. I think the time has come for you to take revenge, as destiny has ordained. Go, O king! And take revenge for the death of your great-souled father, who caused no offence, but succumbed to the five elements, like a tree struck by thunder, having been bitten by this evil-souled serpent. Drunk with power, Takshaka, worst of the serpent race, committed a crime when he bit your godlike father, the protector of the lineage of royal sages among kings. The evil one even repulsed Kashyapa.
³⁶
It is right for you, O king, to burn the evil one in the blazing fire of a snake-sacrifice. Do what is necessary and you will avenge your father. Thus, O king, you will also do me a great favour. O king of the world! O king who are pure! It was that evil one who obstructed me when I went on my preceptor’s work.” On hearing these words, the king was angry with Takshaka. As ghee stokes the sacrificial fire, the offerings of Utanka’s words inflamed him. In Utanka’s presence, the sorrowful king asked his advisers the details about his father’s ascent to heaven. When he heard from Utanka the circumstances of his father’s death, the king of kings was overcome with sorrow and grief.’

This parva has 153 shlokas and nine chapters.

Chapter 4: 11 shlokas
Chapter 5: 26 shlokas
Chapter 6: 16 shlokas
Chapter 7: 26 shlokas
Chapter 8: 22 shlokas
Chapter 9: 22 shlokas
Chapter 10: 8 shlokas
Chapter 11: 17 shlokas
Chapter 12: 5 shlokas

The meat of the Mahabharata doesn’t start in this parva, since one is still on the snake-sacrifice. Indeed, this parva is mostly about the Bhargava lineage, descended from the great sage Bhrigu. Bhrigu’s son was the famous Shukra or Shukracharya and so was the sage Chyavana. Bhrigu married Puloma and anyone descended from Puloma is called Pouloma. That is how this parva obtains its name. The chapters in this parva take us down Bhrigu’s lineage, through Chyavana, Pramati, Ruru and Shunaka.

Lomaharshana’s son, the suta Ugrashrava, learned in ancient tales, was present at the twelve-year sacrifice of Kulapati Shounaka,
held in Naimisharanya. Having spent a great deal of labour in learning the Puranas, he knew them well. He stood before the sages at the sacrifice, and with folded hands, addressed them, ‘What do you wish to hear? What shall I tell?’

The sages replied, ‘O son of Lomaharshana! We wish to hear, and you will tell us, those who are eager to listen, some excellent tales. But at the moment, the revered Kulapati Shounaka is busy in the room with the holy fire. He knows the divine tales about the gods and the demons. He also knows the stories of the men, the nagas and the gandharvas. O Souti! At this sacrifice, that learned Brahmana is the chief priest, capable, faithful to his vows and learned in all the sacred texts and the aranyakas. He is always truthful, a hermit strict in his austerities and vows, and calm. He is respected by all of us and we must wait for him. When he has taken the honoured seat meant for the preceptor, you will reply to what the best of the Brahmanas asks you.’

Souti replied, ‘So it shall be. When that great-souled preceptor has sat down, I shall narrate, as asked by him, all the sacred stories on a wide variety of subjects.’

After that, when that bull among Brahmanas had finished all actions in accordance with the proper rites and had prayed to the gods and offered water to the ancestors, he came to the place of sacrifice where Souti was seated, in front of that assembly of brahmarshis, inflexible and successful in their austerities. Then, when Shounaka was seated among the officiating priests and assistants, who were seated, Shounaka said the following.

Shounaka said, ‘My son, in days long past, your father learnt all the Puranas. O son of Lomaharshana! Is it the case that you have learnt them too? In the Puranas are described divine stories and accounts of the wise of the original lineage. In the past, long ago, we
have heard these from your father. From those tales, I wish to hear that of the Bhrigu lineage. Tell us that story. We are all eager to hear.’

Souti said, ‘That which was correctly learnt in ancient times by great-souled Brahmanas who were the best, that which was learnt and recited by the Brahmana Vaishampayana, that which was correctly studied by my father and from him learnt by me, O descendant of the Bhrigu race,
²
hear that story of the Bhrigu lineage, revered by the gods, Indra, Agni and the Maruts.
³
O chief and great sage, I shall recite to you the history of this lineage, and related stories, as it is recounted in the Puranas. Bhrigu gave birth to a beloved son, named Chyavana Bhargava. Chyavana had a righteous son named Pramati and Pramati, in turn, had a son named Ruru, from Ghritachi. From his wife Pramadvara, Ruru had a son named Shunaka. He was righteous and learned in the Vedas, he was your great-grandfather. He was devoted to asceticism, famous, learned in the shrutis, truthful, righteous, wise in knowledge of the brahman and always had control over his senses.’

Shounaka said, ‘O son of Suta, why was the great-souled son of Bhrigu known as Chyavana? I am asking you, tell me.’

Souti replied, ‘Bhrigu had a beloved wife, widely known as Puloma. She conceived from Bhrigu’s semen and a child formed in her womb. In time, when the equable and chaste wife Puloma was in that condition, one day, the famous and righteous Bhrigu went out for his ablutions. It was then that a rakshasa named Puloman came to his hermitage. Having entered the hermitage, he saw Bhrigu’s unblemished wife, and seeing her, he was filled with lust and lost his senses. On seeing that a guest had come, the beautiful Puloma served him with roots and fruits from the forest. O Brahmana, having seen her, the rakshasa burned with lust and wished to carry away the unblemished woman. He went to the room where the holy fire was blazing brightly and the rakshasa then asked the flaming fire, “O Agni! Tell me truthfully, under oath, whose wife is she? O Pavaka!
⁴
Tell me the truth, I am asking you. This beautiful lady was earlier engaged to be my wife. But later, her father gave her to Bhrigu, who thus committed a falsehood. Tell me truly if this beautiful lady can be called Bhrigu’s wife. Since I have found her in the hermitage, I wish to carry her away. My hurt burns with rage that Bhrigu should have obtained this slim-waisted woman who was my wife first.” Thus did the rakshasa repeatedly ask the flaming fire this uncertain question of whether the lady was Bhrigu’s wife. “O Agni! You are always there in every being as witness of their righteous deeds and evil ones. O wise one! Answer my question truthfully. The wrong-doer Bhrigu abducted her, though she was my wife first. I wish to hear the truth from you. When I hear the truth from you about whether she is Bhrigu’s wife or not, I shall carry her away from the hermitage in your presence. Therefore, O fire, tell me the truth.” Having heard these words, the seven-tongued fire was extremely distressed. He was afraid to lie because of the fear of a curse. At the same time, he was scared of Bhrigu’s curse.’

Souti said, ‘O Brahmana, having heard Agni’s words, the rakshasa assumed the form of a boar and carried her away with the speed of the mind and of thought. Bhrigu’s child, who was in her womb, was angry at this violence and fell down from his mother’s womb. For this reason, he got the name Chyavana.
⁵
On seeing the child fall from his mother’s womb, blazing like the sun, that rakshasa let go of her, but fell down, burnt to ashes. O Brahmana, O descendant of Bhrigu! Puloma, the lady with the beautiful hips, almost fainted with grief, but picked up Chyavana and walked away. Brahma himself, the grandfather of all the worlds, saw Bhrigu’s unblemished wife weeping, eyes filled with tears. The venerable Brahma, grandfather
of all beings, consoled his daughter-in-law and a great river was formed from the tears that fell from her eyes. The river followed the footsteps of the famous Bhrigu’s wife. On seeing it follow the path of his son’s wife, the venerable grandfather of the world named it himself. He called it Vadhusara and it passed near Chyavana’s hermitage. Thus was Chyavana born, the mighty son of Bhrigu.

‘On seeing Chyavana and also the beautiful young lady there, the angry Bhrigu asked his wife Puloma, “Who told the rakshasa who was here about you, so that he wanted to carry you away? O lady of beautiful smiles! That rakshasa could not have himself known that you were my wife. Tell me who told him, because I wish to curse him in my anger. Who does not fear my curse? Who dared to transgress?” Puloma replied, “O Bhagavan! I was made known to the rakshasa by Agni. Then that rakshasa carried me away, crying like a female osprey. I was freed only through the extraordinary energy of your son. That rakshasa let go of me, fell down on the ground and was burnt to ashes.” Having heard this from Puloma, Bhrigu became very angry. Out of his anger, he cursed Agni that he would be an omnivore.’
⁶

Souti said, ‘Being thus cursed by Bhrigu, the angry Agni said, “O Brahmana! What do you mean by displaying this rashness today? I always try to stick to the righteous path and tell the truth impartially. On being asked, I told the truth. Where is my transgression? A witness who is asked and knows the facts, but testifies to that which is false, dooms both his ancestors and his descendants for seven generations. And he who knows the truth about an action, but knowingly does not speak, is certainly tainted by the same sin. I am also capable of cursing you, but I hold Brahmanas in esteem. O Brahmana! Although
these are known to you, I shall nevertheless recount them to you. Listen. Having multiplied myself through my powers of yoga, I am present in many forms, in
agnihotra
s,
⁷
sattra
s
⁸
and other sacrifices and rituals. When ghee is offered to me in accordance with the rituals prescribed in the Vedas, the gods and also the ancestors appear in it and are satisfied. The gods are the waters and the ancestors are also the waters. The gods and the ancestors have equal rights to perform
darsha
s
⁹
and
pournamasa
s.
¹⁰
Therefore, the gods are the ancestors and the ancestors are the gods. Depending on the stage of the moon, they are worshipped as one and also separately. The gods and the ancestors eat what is poured on me. I am therefore known as the mouth of the thirty-three gods
¹¹
and the ancestors. On the day of the new moon the ancestors, and on the day of the full moon the gods, are fed through my mouth the ghee that is offered to me. If I am their mouth, how can I become an omnivore?” After contemplating this problem for some time, Agni withdrew himself from everywhere, from the agnihotras of the Brahmanas, from sattras and other sacrifices. Being deprived of
omkara
s,
vashatkara
s,
¹²
svadha
s
¹³
and
svaha
s,
¹⁴
all the creatures became miserable.

‘Then, in great anxiety, the sages went to the gods and said the following words. “O faultless beings! Because of the loss of fire, the three worlds are confounded at having lost their sacrifices. Without losing any more time, please decree what is to be done.” The gods and the sages then went before Brahma. They told him about the curse on Agni and his withdrawal from all sacrifices. They said, “O illustrious one! Agni has been cursed by Bhrigu for some unknown reason. How can he who is the mouth of the gods and receives the
first part of all sacrificial offerings and is also the acceptor of all offerings in all the worlds ever become an omnivore?” Having heard all this, the creator of the world summoned Agni to his presence. He addressed Agni, who is the creator of all the worlds, like him, and is also eternal, in gentle words. “You are the creator of all the worlds and you are their destroyer. You preserve the three worlds and ensure that all sacrifices and ceremonies are preserved. Therefore, O lord of the worlds! Act in a way that the rites thrive. O eater of the sacrificial ghee! How have you become thus deluded? You are always pure in this universe. You are the refuge of all living creatures. With your entire body, you cannot become an omnivore. O Fire, with a crest of flames! Only flames that are meant for accepting oblations will devour everything. Just as everything touched by the sun’s rays are rendered pure, anything that has been burnt in your flames will become pure. O Agni! You are the supreme energy. You have issued forth from your own energy. Through your own lustrous power, make the sage’s curse come true. Accept the gods’ share, and your own, when they are offered into your mouth.” Agni replied to the grandfather, “Let it be that way.” He went away to obey the instructions of the god Parameshthin.
¹⁵
In great delight, the gods and the sages returned the way they had come. And the sages continued to perform all their sacrifices and ceremonies, as they had done before. The gods rejoiced in heaven, as did the many living beings on earth. Freed from the taint of the curse, Agni was also extremely happy. Such is the ancient history of the curse that was imposed on Agni, with the destruction of Puloman and the birth of Chyavana.’

Souti said, ‘O Brahmana! Chyavana, the son of Bhrigu, then had a son from his wife, named Sukanya. Sukanya’s son was the great-souled Pramati, of resplendent energy. In turn, Pramati had a
son named Ruru, from Ghritachi. Ruru had a son named Shunaka from his wife Pramadvara. O Brahmana! I will tell you all the accounts of Ruru, whose energy was resplendent. Listen to it in detail. In days long gone by, there was a sage named Sthulakesha. He possessed the power of austerities and learning and was known for devoting himself to the welfare of all creatures. O Brahmana! O sage! At this time, Menaka
¹⁶
conceived a child through the king of the gandharvas, named Vishvavasu. O descendant of the Bhrigu lineage! When the time came, the apsara Menaka delivered her child near Sthulakesha’s hermitage. After leaving her child on the banks of the river, she went away. The great sage and great Brahmana, Sthulakesha, found the daughter abandoned on the banks of the river. He saw her to be blazing in beauty, like the child of an immortal. On finding her, the best of the sages was driven by compassion and adopted her. The beautiful and radiant girl grew up in that hermitage. Since she was superior to all the others in beauty and in every quality, the great sage gave her the name of Pramadvara.
¹⁷

‘When Ruru saw Pramadvara in that hermitage of his,
¹⁸
the righteous man, in control over himself, fell in love with her. Through his friends, he made his father Pramati, descended from Bhrigu, acquainted with his love. Thereupon, Pramati asked the famous Sthulakesha. Then the sage engaged Pramadvara with Ruru, fixing the date for marriage as one when the
nakshatra
¹⁹
Bhagadaiva
²⁰
would be in the ascendant. A few days before the date fixed for the wedding, when the beautiful girl was playing with her friends, her time having come and driven by destiny, she didn’t see a coiled snake and stepped on it with her foot. Driven by the requirements of destiny, the snake sunk its venomous fangs into the body of the careless girl. As soon as she was bitten by the snake, she suddenly fell down senseless on the ground. She, who was so beautiful when alive,
became painful to look at when dead. Thanks to the snake’s venom, the slender-waisted girl looked more beautiful than when alive, as if asleep on the ground. Her father and other hermits who were there, saw her lying motionless on the ground, as beautiful as a lotus. Overcome with compassion, all the best of Brahmanas assembled there—Svastyatreya, Mahajanu, Kushika, Shankhamekhala, Bharadvaja, Kounakutsa, Arshtisena and Goutama, and also Pramati and his son and other inhabitants of the forest. They were overcome with compassion when they saw the maiden dead with the snake’s venom and wept. But in great pain, Ruru left.’