Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (14 page)

‘Yudhishthira asked, “O great sage! Why was Vindhya angered and why did he suddenly begin to grow? I wish to hear about this in great detail.”

‘Lomasha replied, “At the time of rising and at the time of setting, the sun used to circumambulate the great mountain Meru, the golden king of mountains. On seeing this, Mount Vindhya told Surya, ‘O Bhaskara!
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You always go around Meru. Circumambulate me in the same way.’ Having been thus addressed, Surya replied to the king of the mountains, ‘O mountain! I do not circumambulate him out of my own desires. He who created the universe has assigned this path for me.’ Having been thus addressed, the mountain was angered and suddenly began to increase. O scorcher of enemies! He sought to obstruct the paths of the sun and the moon. Then all the gods assembled and, with Indra, went to Vindhya, the great king of the mountains. They tried to restrain him from what he was doing, but he paid no attention to their words. Then the gods went to the sage Agastya, the ascetic who was supreme among those who followed dharma and radiant in his valour, in his hermitage. The gods told him everything. The gods said, ‘Consumed and overcome by anger, Vindhya, king of the mountains, is obstructing the paths of the sun, the moon and the nakshatras. O supreme among brahmanas! No one except you is capable of restraining him. O immensely fortunate one! Therefore, restrain him.’ On hearing the words of the gods, the brahmana went to the mountain.

‘“He went to Vindhya with his wife and told him, ‘O supreme among mountains! I wish that you should create a path for me. I have to go in a southern direction for some work. O Indra among mountains! Restrain yourself until I return from there and you can then grow as much as you wish.’ O destroyer of enemies! Having made this agreement with Vindhya, Varuna’s son went towards the southern direction and has not returned till this day. Just as you
asked me to, I have told you everything about why Vindhya does not increase, because of Agastya’s powers.

‘“O king! Now listen and I will tell you how the Kaleyas were destroyed by all the gods, once they had obtained a boon from Agastya. Having heard the words of the thirty gods, Mitra and Varuna’s son asked, ‘Why have you come? What boon do you wish from me?’ Having been thus addressed, the gods spoke these words to the sage. ‘O great-souled one! O maharshi! We desire that you should act so as to drink up the great ocean. We will then be able to kill those enemies of the gods, the Kaleyas, with all their relatives.’ Having heard the words of the thirty gods, the sage said, ‘For the sake of the great happiness of the worlds, I will do what you desire.’ Having said this, the one who was rigid in his vows, went to the ocean, the lord of the rivers, with the gods and the rishis who were successful in their austerities. Men, nagas, gandharvas, yakshas and
kimpurusha
s
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followed the great-souled one, in a desire to witness the extraordinary feat. All of them went to the ocean, which was thunderous in its roar. It seemed to be dancing with the waves that leapt up at the wind. It seemed to laugh with its foam, as it dashed against the caverns. It was infested with many crocodiles and frequented by masses of diverse birds. With Agastya, the gods, the gandharvas, the great nagas and the immensely fortunate rishis approached the great ocean.”’

‘Lomasha said, “On approaching the ocean, the illustrious rishi who was Varuna’s son told the gods and the rishis who had gathered with him, ‘For the welfare of the world, I will drink up Varuna’s abode. Swiftly make the arrangements that are appropriate.’ Having spoken these words, the undecaying son of Mitra and Varuna
began to drink up the ocean in his anger, while all the worlds looked on. On seeing how the ocean was being drunk up, the immortals, together with Indra, were extremely astounded and began to worship him by chanting his praises. ‘You are the protector. You are the creator of the worlds. You ensure the welfare of the worlds. Through your grace, the universe, with all the immortals, will be saved from destruction.’ While he was worshipped by the thirty gods, the musical instruments of the gandharvas sounded in every direction. Divine blossoms were showered down on him. The great-souled one made the great ocean bereft of water.

‘“On seeing that the great ocean had been rendered waterless, the gods were extremely delighted. Grasping divine and supreme weapons, and with uplifted hearts, they began to kill those danavas. They were killed by the great-souled thirty gods, who were extremely strong and swift and roared out aloud. They were unable to withstand the force of the great-souled gods or bear that force. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Attacked by the thirty gods, the danavas let out terrible roars. Being attacked, they could put up a tumultuous fight only for an instant. They had already been burnt through the austerities of the sages who were pure in their souls. Therefore, though they tried their best, they could not prevent being destroyed by the thirty. They were adorned with golden armour, earrings and arm-guards. When they were killed, they looked extremely beautiful, like
kimshuka
flowers.
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O supreme among men! Those among the Kaleyas who were not killed, cleft the goddess earth and sought refuge in the nether regions.

‘“On seeing the danavas killed, the thirty gratified the bull among sages with diverse praises and words. ‘O immensely fortunate one! Through your favours, the worlds have obtained great happiness. The Kaleyas, cruel in valour, have been killed through your energy. O mighty-armed one! You ensure the welfare of the worlds. Fill up the ocean again, by giving up the water that you had drunk.’ Having been thus addressed, the illustrious bull among sages replied, ‘The
water has already been digested by me. Think of some other means and make your best efforts to fill up the ocean.’ Having heard the words of the maharshi, whose soul had been perfected, the assembled gods were surprised and distressed. They took each other’s leave and bowed in salutation to the bull among sages. O great king! All the subjects and brahmanas returned whence they had come. The thirty gods, together with Vishnu, went to the grandfather. They consulted again and again about filling up the ocean. All of them joined their hands in salutation and spoke about filling up the ocean.”’

‘Lomasha said, “Then Brahma, the grandfather of the world, spoke to the assembled gods. ‘O gods! All of you depart, as you desire and as you wish. A great deal of time must pass before the ocean returns to its natural state. The great king Bhagiratha will do this because of his relatives.’”

‘Yudhishthira said, “O brahmana! O sage! How did the relatives become the cause? How was the ocean filled through Bhagiratha’s efforts? O one rich in austerities! O brahmana! I wish to hear this in detail. Tell me the supreme account of that king.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having been thus addressed by the great-souled Dharmaraja, the Indra among brahmanas recounted the greatness of the great-souled Sagara.’

‘Lomasha said, “A king named Sagara was born in Ikshvaku’s lineage. He possessed beauty, character and strength and was powerful. But he did not have a son. O descendant of the Bharata linage! Having exterminated the Haihayas and the Talajanghas and having conquered other kings, he ruled over his own kingdom. O bull among the Bharata lineage! He had two wives who were proud of their beauty and their youth. O best of the Bharata lineage! One was from Vidarbha and the other from Shibi. O Indra among kings! Desirious of obtaining a son, the king performed great austerities,
together with his wives, seeking refuge on Mount Kailasa. While he was engaged in great austerities and immersed in yoga, he saw the great-souled Tryaksha, the destroyer of Tripura, Shankara, Bhava, Ishana, Shulapani, Pinaki, Tryambaka, Shiva, Ugresha and Uma’s consort, the one with many forms.
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As soon as he saw that granter of boons, the mighty-armed king, together with his wives, prostrated themselves and asked for a son. Hara was pleased and told the supreme among kings and his two wives, ‘O king! Considering the moment when you have asked me for a boon, sixty thousand brave sons who will be proud in war will be born to one of your wives. O supreme among men! One son will be born to the other wife. O king! But they will all be destroyed together. But you will have one brave descendant from the one who bears the single one.’ Having spoken these words, Rudra instantly vanished. King Sagara also returned to his residence with his wives, happy in his heart.

‘“O best of men! Then his lotus-eyed wives, Vaidarbhi and Shaibya, conceived. In due time, Vaidarbhi gave birth to a gourd. Shaibya gave birth to a son who was as beautiful as the gods. The king then thought about throwing away the gourd. But he heard a voice from the sky, deep in sound. ‘O king! Do not act in haste. Do not abandon your sons. Take the seeds out from the gourd. Let them be carefully preserved in a warm vessel partly filled with ghee. O king! You will then obtain sixty thousand sons. O lord of men! Mahadeva has decided that your sons will be born in this fashion. Do not make your mind act contrary to this.’”’

‘Lomasha said, “O bull among the Bharata lineage! Having heard these words from the sky, the king, supreme among
kings, respectfully acted as he had been asked to. O king! Sixty thousand sons were born to the rajarshi through Rudra’s grace. They were terrible, the performers of cruel deeds and could travel around in the sky. Since they were many in number, they oppressed all the worlds, even the immortals. Addicted to fighting, they oppressed the thirty gods, the gandharvas, the rakshasas and all other beings. Slaughtered by the evil-minded sons of Sagara, together with all the gods, the worlds sought refuge with Brahma. The immensely fortunate grandfather of all the worlds told them, ‘O thirty gods! With all the worlds, go back to where you came from. Within a short space of time, a great destruction of the sons of Sagara will occur. O gods! Their own great and terrible deeds will bring this on them.’ O lord of men! Having been thus addressed, the gods and the worlds took the grandfather’s leave and returned to where they had come from.

‘“O bull among the Bharata lineage! Many days passed. The valorous King Sagara instated himself for a horse sacrifice. Protected by his sons, his horse roamed the earth and reached the terrible-looking and waterless ocean. Though they sought to protect it with care, it disappeared there. O son! Then Sagara’s sons thought that the supreme horse had been abducted. Returing to their father, they told him that the horse had disappeared and had been abducted. He told them, ‘All of you go and search for the horse in all the directions.’ O great king! On their father’s instructions, they looked for the horse in all the directions, in places where there were no paths and everywhere, even in the bottom of the earth. Then all of Sagara’s sons assembled together, but could not find the horse or the person who had abducted the horse. They returned to their father, and joining their hands in salutation, said, ‘O king! On the king’s command, we have searched the entire earth, with its oceans, forests, islands, female rivers, male rivers, caves, mountains and wooded regions. O king! But we have not been able to find the horse, nor the person who has abducted the horse.’ Having heard their words, the king was angered and lost his senses. O king! Driven by destiny, he spoke these words to all of them. ‘O sons! Go away and do not return. Look for the horse in each direction. Do not return without the sacrificial horse.’ Accepting the command, Sagara’s sons began to search the earth once again.

‘“Then the brave ones saw a yawning hole in the earth. Sagara’s sons entered the hole and began to dig there. With spades and axes, they dug up the bed of the ocean. Being thus dug by the combined efforts of Sagara’s sons, Varuna’s abode was ripped apart on all sides and suffered extreme pain. Asuras, nagas, rakshasas and diverse other beings were killed by Sagara’s sons and screamed in pain. Hundreds and thousands of living beings were seen with severed heads, without torsos and with their thighs, bones and heads shattered. Thus, they continued to dig in the ocean, the abode of crocodiles.
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A great deal of time passed, but the horse could still not be seen. O lord of the earth! In their anger, Sagara’s sons then dug the ocean in the north-eastern direction, until they reached the nether regions.
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They saw the horse roaming around on the surface of the ground there and the great-souled Kapila, unsurpassed in a mass of energy and radiant in austerities, like a flaming fire.”’

‘Lomasha said, “O king! On seeing the horse, they shivered with delight. Driven by destiny, they showed no respect for the great-souled Kapila. O great king! Desirous of grabbing the horse, they dashed towards it in anger. Kapila, supreme among sages, was angered at this. Kapila, supreme among sages, was known as Vasudeva. He opened his eyes wide and created energy from them. That immensely energetic one burnt down the sons of Sagara.

‘“Having seen them burnt to ashes, the great ascetic Narada went to Sagara and told him. On hearing these terrible words from the mouth of the sage, the king was distracted for a moment. But then
he thought of the words of Sthanu.
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He thought about the horse. Then he reassured himself and summoned his son’s son, Anshuman, the son of Asamanja.
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O tiger among the Bharata lineage! He spoke these words to his grandson. ‘My sixty thousand sons are boundlessly energetic. But on my account, they have been killed through Kapila’s energy. O son!
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O unblemished one! Your father has also been abandoned by me, for the sake of protecting dharma and for the welfare of the citizens.’”’

‘Yudhishthira asked, “O one rich in austerities! Why did Sagara, tiger among kings abandon his own valorous son, one who is difficult to abandon? Tell me.”

‘Lomasha replied, “Sagara had a son famous by the name of Asamanja. He was born through Shaibya. He used to grasp the weak and crying infants of the citizens by the hooves
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and throw them into the river. Overcome by fear and grief, the citizens assembled together and with hands joined in salutation, all of them went and prayed to Sagara. ‘O great king! You are our protector from fears like the wheels of the enemy. You should therefore protect us from the terrible fear due to Asamanja.’ Having heard those terrible words of the citizens, the supreme of kings was distracted for an instant. Then he told his advisers, ‘Let my son Asamanja be expelled immediately from the city. If you wish to do that which brings me pleasure, perform this act swiftly.’ O lord of men! Having been thus addressed by that Indra of men, the advisers swiftly did what the king had asked them to. This is the entire account of how the great-souled Sagara banished his son for the welfare of the citizens. I will now recount to you everything about what Sagara told the great archer Anshuman. Listen to me.