Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (42 page)

‘Markandeya said, “After exterminating the rakshasas, he will hand over the earth to the brahmanas at a great horse sacrifice. Having established the sacred limits decreed by the self-creating one,
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the performer of holy and famous deeds will retire to the forest when he attains old age. The men who live in the world will follow his good conduct. When thieves and rakshasas have been exterminated by the brahmanas, there will be safety again. When all the countries have been conquered, that tiger among brahmanas will establish black antelope skins, spears and tridents and other weapons there.
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He will be praised by the Indras among brahmanas and will honour them in return. Kalki, supreme among brahmanas will roam around the earth, always engaged in the killing of
dasyu
s.
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When he exterminates dasyus, terrible lamentations of ‘Alas, father!’ and ‘Alas, son!’ will be heard. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! When krita has arrived, adharma will thus be destroyed and dharma will flourish. People will again follow rituals. There will be groves, sanctuaries, large ponds, temples and many sacrifices and rituals on the arrival of krita yuga. Brahmanas will be righteous and hermits will be ascetics. Hermitages, earlier occupied by wretches, will have subjects engaged in truth. All the seeds sown will begin to grow. O Indra among kings! Every crop will grow in every season. Men will be devoted to donations, vows and rites. Brahmanas will happily be engaged in meditation and sacrifices and will desire dharma. Kings will govern the earth in accordance with the principles of dharma. In krita yuga, vaishyas will be engaged in trade, brahmanas in their six tasks
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and kshatriyas in offering protection. Shudras will devote themselves to servitude of the three varnas. This will be the nature
of dharma in krita yuga, treta and dvapara and in the last period of the yuga. I have recounted this to you. O Pandava! The numbers of the yugas are known to all the worlds. Thus have I told you everything about the past and the future, as I remember it. This is the Purana recounted by Vayu, lauded by the rishis.
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Though I am immortal, I have witnessed and experienced many courses of life in the world.
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I have told you about them.

‘“O one without decay! Now, with your brothers, listen to these other words of mine. They will free you from your doubts about dharma. O supreme among those who uphold dharma! Always unite your soul with dharma. O king! Those who have dharma in their soul enjoy bliss, here and in the hereafter. O unblemished one! Listen to the auspicious words that I will now tell you. In the course of your acts, you should never oppress a brahmana. If angered, a brahmana can destroy the world through his oath.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having heard Markandeya’s words, the king, supreme among Kurus, replied in these words to the immensely wise and immensely radiant one. “O sage! If I wish to protect my subjects, what dharma should I follow? How should I act, so that I do not deviate from my own dharma?”

‘Markandeya replied, “Be compassionate towards all beings and try to ensure their welfare, without hatred. Be engaged in the protection of your subjects, as if they are your own children. Practise dharma and avoid adharma. Worship the ancestors and the gods. If you act out of ignorance, neutralize it by offering the right donations. Discard vanity and always be humble. Conquer the entire earth and remain in joy and happiness. This is dharma as it was, and as it will be. There is nothing in the past or the future that is not known to you. O son!
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Therefore, do not suffer because of your present misfortune.
O mighty-armed one! Destiny is superior to all the gods too. Prodded by destiny, all beings are afflicted. O unblemished one! Do not have any doubts about what I have told you. If you doubt my words, your dharma will be destroyed. O bull among the Bharata lineage! You have been born in the famous lineage of the Kurus. You should practise everything in deed, thought and speech.”

‘Yudhishthira said, “O best of brahmanas! The words that you have uttered are pleasant to hear. O lord! I will endeavour to act according to your instructions. O Indra among brahmanas! I have no greed, no fear and no envy. O lord! I will do everything that you have told me.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘O king! Having heard the words of the great-souled Pandava, all the Pandavas, together with the wielder of the Sharnga bow, were delighted.
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Having heard the words of the intelligent Markandeya about the ancient accounts, they were struck with great wonder.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Pandava then spoke to Markandeya. “Tell me about the greatness of brahmanas.” Markandeya replied.
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‘“There was a king in Ayodhya, from the Ikshvaku lineage. His name was Parikshit and he went out hunting. Pursuing a deer alone on a horse, he travelled a long distance. On the way, he became exhausted, hungry and thirsty. In that part of the country, he saw a dark and dense cluster of trees. He entered the cluster of trees and in the middle, saw an extremely beautiful pond. He and his horse bathed there. He flung some lotus stalks in front of the horse.
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Then, refreshed, he sat down on the banks of the pond. While he was lying
there, he heard the sweet sound of singing. On hearing this, he began to wonder. ‘I do not see the marks of any humans here. What singing is this then?’ He then saw an extremely beautiful maiden, worthy of looking at. She was picking flowers and singing and wandered around to where the king was. The king said, ‘O fortunate one! Whose are you?’ The maiden replied, ‘I am a virgin.’ The king said, ‘I wish that you should be mine.’ The maiden replied, ‘I can only be yours if you take an oath.’ The king wanted to know what the condition was and the maiden replied, ‘You must never show me water.’ The king agreed to these words and having agreed, won her and sat down with her. While the king was thus seated, his soldiers arrived there. They had followed his footsteps. On seeing the king, they established themselves around him. Having fully recovered, the king mounted a palanquin with her and returned to his city. He pleasured there with her privately, out of sight of anyone.

‘“The prime minister then asked the women who waited on the king. ‘What is happening?’ The women replied, ‘We have seen something that we have not seen before. No water is brought here.’ Having heard this, the minister constructed a grove. It had beautiful trees, with many roots, flowers and fruit. But it had no water. He went to the king in private and said, ‘There is a beautiful grove without any water. Pleasure yourself happily there.’ On hearing these words, the king entered the grove with the queen. One day, he was roaming in that wonderful grove with his beloved and became exhausted, hungry and thirsty. He saw a wonderful cluster of
atimukta
s.
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On entering it with his beloved, the king saw a pond with clear water, covered by the creepers. As soon as he saw it, he sat down on its banks with his queen. The king told the queen, ‘Let us descend into the water of this pond.’ On hearing these words, she got down and immersed herself in the pond. But she did not surface again. The king searched for her, but could not find her. He had the water taken out and found a frog seated near the mouth of a hole. The angry king passed an order. ‘Kill all frogs. Whoever wishes to see me, has
to come with a dead frog as a tribute.’ When this terrible destruction of the frogs continued, all the frightened frogs went to the king of the frogs and told him what was happening. Then the king of the frogs adopted the disguise of an ascetic and went to the king. Having approached, he said, ‘O king! Do not be overcome by anger. Have mercy and do not destroy the innocent frogs. There are two shlokas on this. “Do not wish to kill all frogs. O unblemished one! Control your anger. People who are ignorant, destroy their extensive prosperity. Promise that when you meet them, you will control your wrath. Why must you continue with this adharma? What purpose will dead frogs serve?”’ But the king’s soul was overcome with grief for his beloved and he told the frog, ‘I cannot forgive. I will kill those evil-souled ones who have devoured my beloved. The frogs deserve to be killed by me. O learned one! Do not try to obstruct me.’ On hearing these words, his senses and mind were pained and he replied, ‘O king! Show mercy. I am the king of the frogs and my name is Ayu. She was my daughter, named Sushobhana. She has this bad character and she has deceived many kings earlier.’ The king replied, ‘I desire her. Give her to me.’ The father bestowed her on the king, with the words, ‘Serve the king.’ He also told his daughter, ‘Since you have deceived many kings and have committed falsehood, your sons will be the haters of brahmanas.’ Having obtained her, the king’s heart was set on the pleasures of making love. It was as if he had won the wealth of the three worlds. He prostrated himself before the king of the frogs and in a voice choking with tears of joy, said, ‘You have favoured me a lot.’ Having bid farewell to his son-in-law, the king of frogs went away, to where he had come from.

‘“After some time, the king had three sons through her. Their names were Shala, Dala and Bala. After some time, since his soul was set on austerities, the king instated the eldest Shala on the throne and left for the forest. One day, Shala went out hunting. He saw a deer and pursued it on his chariot. He told the charioteer, ‘Drive me faster.’ The charioteer replied to the king, ‘Do not insist on this course of action. You would have been able to catch the deer only if Vamya horses had been yoked to the chariot.’ The king then told the charioteer, ‘Tell me about Vamya horses. Otherwise, I will kill you.’ Having been
thus addressed by the king, he was frightened of the king’s anger, as well as of Vamadeva’s curse, and said, ‘Vamya horses are those that belong to Vamadeva. They are as swift as the mind.’ On hearing this, the king told him, ‘Go to Vamadeva’s hermitage.’ Having gone to Vamadeva’s hermitage, he told the rishi, ‘O illustrious one! I pierced a deer and it has run away. You should give me a couple of Vamya horses so that I can catch it.’ The rishi replied, ‘I will give you the Vamyas. But when you have finished, you must return them immediately.’ Having accepted the horses and having taken the rishi’s permission, he yoked the Vamya horses to his chariot and pursued the deer. But when he was travelling, he told the charioteer, ‘These horses are gems. They do not deserve to be possessed by a brahmana. I am not going to return them to Vamadeva.’ Having thus spoken, he caught the deer. He returned to his city and lodged the horses in the inner quarters of the palace. The rishi thought, ‘This prince is young. Having obtained these excellent horses, he is enjoying them. He will not return them to me. What a nuisance!’ Having thought this, when a month had passed, he told his disciple. ‘O Atreya! Go to the king and tell him that if he is through with the horses, he should return the Vamyas to your preceptor.’ He went and told the king. But the king replied, ‘These horses deserve to be possessed by kings. Brahmanas do not deserve such gems. What will brahmanas do with horses? Return.’ Returning, he told this to the preceptor.

‘“On hearing these unpleasant words, Vamadeva was filled with anger. He himself went to the king and asked for his horses. But the king refused. Vamadeva said, ‘O king! Return the Vamya horses to me. You have undertaken a deed that others cannot accomplish. Varuna will kill you with his terrible noose. You are trying to create a split between brahmanas and kshatriyas.’ The king replied, ‘O Vamadeva! These two bulls have been trained well and are docile. They are the appropriate mount for a brahmana. O maharshi! Take them and go wherever you want. The chants themselves bear someone like you.’
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Vamadeva said, ‘O king! The chants indeed bear someone like me, but that is in the next world. O king! In this world, these are
my mounts, and for others who are like me.’ The king replied, ‘Then let four donkeys bear you. They are excellent. Or there are fleet horses. Use those. But these Vamyas deserve to be possessed by a kshatriya like me. Behold. They cannot belong to you.’ Vamadeva said, ‘It has been said that a brahmana’s vow is terrible. O king! If I have lived by such vows, then terrible giants with bodies made of iron and holding sharp spears will slice you into four parts.’ The king replied, ‘O Vamadeva! Let those who bear sharp spears know that you, a brahmana, are willing to kill in speech, thought and deeds. On my instructions, let them kill you, with your disciple.’ Vamadeva said, ‘O king! A brahmana can never be chastised, in speech, thought and deeds. But one who is learned in the brahman and has practised austerities, can prove superior to the best in this world.’ O king! When Vamadeva spoke these words, rakshasas arose, terrible in form. With raised spears, they rushed towards the king, so as to kill him. In a loud voice, he cried out, ‘O brahmana! Even if all the Ikshvakus, Dala and the vaishyas who are ruled by me tell me, I will not give up the Vamyas. O Vamadeva! They are not ones who follow dharma.’ While he was still speaking, the yatudhanas
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struck the lord of the earth and he fell down on the ground.

‘“On learning that the king had been killed, the Ikshvakus instated Dala on the throne. Brahmana Vamadeva then went to the kingdom and spoke these words to King Dala. ‘O king! It has been said in all dharma that gifts must be given to brahmanas. O Indra among kings! If you fear to transgress dharma, immediately give the Vamyas to me.’ Having heard these words of Vamadeva, the king was angered and spoke to his charioteer. ‘Bring me one of those beautiful and poisonous arrows that have been carefully kept. Pierced by it, Vamadeva will lie down prone on the ground in pain and dogs will tear him apart.’ Vamadeva said, ‘I know that you have a son who is ten years old. O Indra among kings! He has been born from your queen Shyenajit. Urged by my words, you will soon kill that beloved son with your terrible arrows.’ O king! Thus instructed by Vamadeva, that arrow, fiery in power, killed the prince in the inner quarters of the palace,
as soon as it had been released by Dala. On hearing this, the king said, ‘O Ikshvakus! I will perform a pleasant task for you. I will kill this brahmana today. Bring me another of my fiery arrows. O lords of the earth! Witness my valour now.’ Vamadeva replied, ‘O Indra among men! This is a terrible and poisonous arrow. You have aimed it at me. But you will not be able to aim or shoot.’ The king said, ‘O Ikshvakus! Behold. I am unable to release the arrow that I have grasped. I will not be able to perform the task of killing him. Let Vamadeva live and may he have a long life.’ Vamadeva said, ‘Touch the queen with this arrow and you will be freed from your sin.’ The king did as he had been asked to and the princess spoke to the sage. ‘O Vamadeva! O brahmana! If I have honoured my husband and have lain down with him day after day, let me be able to serve brahmanas and attain the sacred worlds after death.’ Vamadeva said, ‘O one with the beautiful eyes! You have saved the king’s lineage. Ask for an unequalled boon and I will give it to you. O princess! O unblemished one! Rule over your relatives and this extensive kingdom of the Ikshvakus.’ The princess said, ‘O illustrious one! I ask for the boon that my husband should now be freed from his sin. May you bless him, with his sons and relatives. O foremost among brahmanas! This is the boon that I want.’ On hearing the princess’s words, the sage said that it would be that way. At that, the king was extremely happy. He bowed in obeisance and returned the Vamyas.”’