Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (68 page)

‘Markandeya said, “Having killed the mean Ravana, the Indra of the rakshasas and enemy of the gods, Rama, together with Soumitri, was extremely delighted. Dashagriva having been slain, the gods, with the rishis at the forefront, praised the mighty-armed one and pronounced benedictions of victory over him. All the gods praised the lotus-eyed Rama, as did the gandharvas and residents of heaven, and showered down flowers and words of praise. Having thus honoured Rama, they returned to where they had come from. O one without decay! It was as if a great festival was being held in heaven.

‘“Having killed Dashagriva, the immensely famous lord Rama, the destroyer of enemy cities, handed Lanka over to Vibhishana. The immensely wise and aged adviser Avindhya emerged, with Sita at the forefront, and with Vibhishana leading the way. With great
humility, he told the great-souled Kakutstha, ‘O great-souled one! Accept this goddess. Janaki is of good conduct.’ Hearing these words, the descendant of the Ikshvaku lineage descended from his supreme chariot. He looked at Sita, who was enveloped in tears. Her limbs were beautiful and she was seated on a vehicle, oppressed by grief. All her limbs were covered with dirt. Her hair was matted. She was attired in a black garment. On seeing her, Rama was concerned that Vaidehi had been touched by another. He told her, ‘O Vaidehi! You are free. Go. I have done my duty. O fortunate one! You once had me as a husband and therefore, I did not think that you should grow old in the house of that rakshasa. Hence, I killed the stalker of the night. How can a man like me, who knows the ways of dharma, accept a woman, even for an instant, who has been held in another man’s arms? O Maithili! Whether you are of good conduct or evil conduct, I no longer have any interest in enjoying you now. You are like oblations that have been licked by a dog.’ On hearing these terrible words, the young goddess suddenly fell down on the ground, like a severed plantain tree. Her face had been flush with delight. But that disappeared in an instant, like breath on a mirror. Hearing these words spoken by Rama, all the monkeys, together with Lakshmana, stood around motionless, as if they were dead.

‘“Then the pure-souled and four-faced god, the grandfather and the creator of the world,
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descended from a celestial chariot and appeared before Raghava, as did Shakra, Agni, Vayu, Yama, Varuna, the illustrious lord of the yakshas and the unblemished saptarshis. King Dasharatha arrived in a radiant and divine form, astride an extremely expensive celestial chariot that was resplendent and was drawn by swans. The firmament was then crowded with all the gods and gandharvas. It was as beautiful as the autumn sky, studded with stars. The illustrious Vaidehi arose in their midst and the beautiful one spoke these words to Rama, whose chest was wide. ‘O prince! I do not blame you, because I know the ways of women and of men. But listen to these words of mine. The air that is inside beings is always in motion. If I have committed an evil act, let it free my breath
of life. If I have committed an evil act, let fire, water, space, earth and air
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free my breath of life.’ Then a sacred voice spoke from the firmament. It echoed in all the directions and gladdened the great-souled monkeys. Vayu said, ‘O Raghava! This is the truth. I am the wind that is always in motion. O king! Maithili is without taint. Unite with your wife.’ Agni said, ‘O descendant of the Raghu lineage! I am the wind that resides in the bodies of all beings. O Kakutstha! Maithili has not committed a crime, even in the slightest way.’ Varuna said, ‘O Raghava! The juices in the bodies of beings owe their existence to me. I am asking you to accept Maithili back.’ Brahma said, ‘O son! This action on your part is not surprising. You are acquainted with the dharma of rajarshis. You are virtuous and follow the path of good conduct. Listen to these words of mine. O brave one! You have brought down the enemy of the gods, the gandharvas, the serpents, the yakshas, the danavas and the maharshis. Through my favours, he had earlier become invincible to all beings. For a specific reason, I ignored that evil one for some length of time. It was for the sake of his own death that the evil-souled one abducted Sita. But I protected her through Nalakubara’s curse. He had earlier been cursed by him
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that if he forced himself on any woman against her wishes, his head was certain to shatter into a hundred fragments as a consequence. O immensely radiant one! You should not have any doubt on this. You are the equal of the gods and the immortals and you have performed a great deed.’ Dasharatha said, ‘O son! O fortunate one! I am pleased with you. I am your father Dasharatha. O supreme among men! I grant you permission to rule the kingdom.’ Rama replied, ‘O Indra among kings! I bow down before you, if you are indeed my father. On your instructions, I will go to the lovely city of Ayodhya.’ O lord of men! On hearing these words, his father was delighted and said, ‘O Rama! O one with the red eyes! Go and rule Ayodhya.’ Bowing to the gods and worshipped by his well-wishers, he was united with his wife, like the great Indra with Poulomi.
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The scorcher of enemies
then granted a boon to Avindhya and honoured and gave riches to the rakshasi Trijata. Brahma and all the gods, with Shakra at the forefront, then told him, ‘O son of Kousalya! What boons that you desire shall we grant you today?’ Rama chose devotion to dharma, victory over enemies and revival of the monkeys who had been killed by the rakshasas. O great king! When Brahma pronounced words granting this, all the monkeys regained their senses and arose. The immensely fortunate Sita granted a boon to Hanuman and said, ‘O son! You will live for as long as Rama’s fame lasts. O Hanuman! O one with the yellow eyes! Through my favours, divine delicacies will always be present before you.’ Then, while all those with unsullied deeds watched, the gods, with Shakra leading the way, vanished.

‘“On seeing Rama united with Janaki, Shakra’s charioteer was extremely delighted and, in the midst of his well-wishers, spoke these words. ‘O one for whom truth is valour! You have removed the misery of the gods, the gandharvas, the yakshas, men, asuras and serpents. Therefore, all the worlds, with the gods, the asuras, the gandharvas, the yakshas, the rakshasas and the serpents will speak of your deeds as long as the earth exists.’ Speaking these words to Rama, supreme among all wielders of weapons, he
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took his leave and having honoured him, departed in the chariot that was as resplendent as the sun. With Sita at the forefront, together with Soumitri, together with all the monkeys, with Sugriva leading the way, Rama arranged for the protection of Lanka. With Vibhishana at the forefront, he again crossed the bridge over the abode of sharks.
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Surrounded by his chief advisers who followed him, he used the Pushpaka vimana, which travelled through the sky and could go wherever it willed.
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With all the monkeys, the king with dharma in his soul stayed for a while on the shores of the ocean, where he had slept earlier. When the time was right, Raghava assembled them and honoured them. He satisfied them with gems and gave them leave to depart. When
the chiefs among monkeys, the monkeys with tails like cows and the bears had left, Rama returned to Kishkindha with Sugriva. With Vibhishana following and with Sugriva, from Pushpaka vimana, he showed Vaidehi the forest. Having arrived at Kishkindha, Rama, foremost among warriors, instated Angada, who had accomplished his appointed tasks, as the heir apparent.
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Together with them, and with Soumitri, Rama followed the same road
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towards his city. Having reached Ayodhya, the lord of the kingdom sent Hanuman as a messenger to Bharata and he
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observed the signs and told him
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all the pleasant news. When Vayu’s son had returned, he
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went again to Nandigrama. He saw Bharata there, his limbs covered with dirt and attired in garments made of bark, seated on his seat, with Rama’s sandals before him. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Having been united again with Bharata and Shatrughna, valorous Raghava, together with Soumitri, rejoiced. On being reunited with their elder and on seeing Vaidehi, Bharata and Shatrughna were delighted. Having held the kingdom as a honoured trust, Bharata was extremely happy and returned it to the one who had come back. On an auspicious day, under the nakshatra Vaishnava,
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Vasishtha and Vamadeva consecrated the brave one. Having been consecrated, he granted leave to his well-wishers to depart for their homes—Sugriva, foremost among monkeys, and Vibhishana, the son of Pulastya. He honoured them with all kinds of jewels and they were extremely happy and rejoiced. Having done his duty, he unhappily gave them permission to go. Having shown homage to Pushpaka vimana, Raghava, the descendant of the Raghu lineage, happily returned it to Vaishravana.
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Assisted by the devarshis, he performed ten horse
sacrifices, without any obstructions, on the banks of the Gomati, where three times the normal stipends were given.”’
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‘Markandeya said, “Thus did the mighty-armed Rama, whose energy was infinite, confront misfortune and live in the forest in earlier times. O tiger among men! Do not grieve. O scorcher of enemies! You are a kshatriya. On the basis of the valour of your arms, you are traversing a road that is blazing in its resolution. Not even the slightest bit of sin is to be found in you. Even Indra, and the gods and the asuras, may become despondent along this path. Together with the Maruts, the wielder of the vajra killed Vritra, the invincible Namuchi and the rakshasi Dirghajihva.
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Everything in this world stays with those who have aides. Who cannot be overcome in battle by someone who has Dhananjaya as his brother? Bhima is terrible in his valour and is foremost among strong ones. Madri’s two twin sons are young and great archers. O scorcher of enemies! With such aides, why do you grieve? With such aides, you can vanquish the soldiers of the wielder of the vajra, together with the Maruts. O bull among the Bharata lineage! With such great archers as aides, who are the equals of the gods, you will vanquish all your enemies in battle. Look at Droupadi Krishna. She was abducted forcibly by the evil-souled Saindhava, who was intoxicated with his valour. But these great-souled ones accomplished the difficult task of obtaining her back, after vanquishing and subjugating King Jayadratha. Rama got Vaidehi
back without any such allies. Through his terrible valour, he killed the rakshasa Dashagriva in battle. O king! Use your own intelligence to think about this. Monkeys and black-faced bears were his allies, creatures from a different species. O best of the Kurus! O bull among the Bharata lineage! Therefore, do not sorrow. O scorcher of enemies! Great-souled ones like you do not sorrow.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Thus consoled by the intelligent Markandeya, the king discarded his weakness of spirit and spoke again.’

‘Yudhishthira asked, “O great sage! I do not grieve for myself, or for my brothers, or for the loss of the kingdom, but for Drupada’s daughter. When we were oppressed by those evil-souled ones at the game of dice, we were saved by Krishna. But she was again forcibly abducted from the forest by Jayadratha. Have you ever seen, or heard of, a woman as immensely fortunate and as devoted to her husbands as Drupada’s daughter?”

‘Markandeya said, “O king! O Yudhishthira! Hear about the great fortune of a lady born in a high lineage. The princess Savitri obtained everything. There was a king in the land of Madra. He had dharma in his soul and was extremely devoted to dharma. The great-souled one was devoted to brahmanas, was united with the truth and had conquered his senses. That king had the name of Ashvapati. He performed sacrifices, was generous in giving and was skilled. He was the beloved of the citizens and the inhabitants of the countryside. He was engaged in the welfare of all beings. He was forgiving and truthful and had conquered his senses. He had no offspring. Because he was advancing in years, he was concerned. In order to obtain offspring, he resorted to severe rites. When it was time to eat, he restricted his food. He became a brahmachari and conquered his senses. O supreme among kings! He offered a hundred thousand
oblations to Savitri.
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He ate in limited quantities and skipped every sixth meal. He lived with these rules for eighteen years. When eighteen years were over, Savitri was pleased. O king! She arose from the agnihotra,
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and with great delight, showed herself to the king. The one who grants boons then spoke these words to the king. ‘O king! I am satisfied with your brahmacharya, purity, self-control, rituals and your wholehearted devotion. O Ashvapati! O king of Madra! Ask for whatever boon you desire. But do not make the mistake of disregarding dharma.’ Ashvapati replied, ‘I am desirous of dharma and have observed these rites because I desire offspring. O goddess! May I have many sons who extend my lineage. O goddess! If you are pleased with me, then I ask for this boon. The brahmanas have told me that obtaining offspring is the supreme dharma.’ Savitri said, ‘O king! Knowing of your intentions in advance, I have already spoken about your objective of obtaining sons to the grandfather.
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O pleasant one! Through the favours granted to you on earth by the self-creating one, an energetic daughter will soon be born to you. You need not make any reply to this.
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I am delighted and am telling you this on behalf of the grandfather.’ The king acknowledged Savitri’s words and requested that, through her favours, this might occur soon. When Savitri had disappeared, the king returned to his own house. He lived happily in his kingdom and protected the subjects according to dharma.

‘“Some time passed. The king, who was regulated in his vows, impregnated the womb of his eldest queen, who was devoted to dharma. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The embryo in the womb of the princess of Malava grew,
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like the lord of the stars
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in the
sky during shuklapaksha. At the right time, she gave birth to a daughter who had eyes like a lotus. The king happily performed the rites for her. Because she had been given by Savitri when oblations with savitri
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had been rendered, the brahmanas and her father gave her the name of Savitri. The king’s daughter grew, like Shri
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personified. In due course of time, the girl became a maiden. Her waist was slender and her hips were broad. She was like a golden image. On seeing her, people thought that they had obtained a celestial maiden. Her eyes were like the petals of a lotus, blazing in their energy. On seeing that energy, no one dared to marry her. On an auspicious day, having washed her hair and having fasted, she approached the gods and offered oblations into the fire, according to the prescribed rites and accompanied with recitations by brahmanas. When this was over, the goddess who was like Shri in her form, took the remaining flowers and went to her great-souled father. Bowing at her father’s feet, she first offered the remnants to him. Then, joining her hands in salutation, the one with the beautiful hips stood by the side of the king. On seeing that his daughter had grown up and looked like a goddess, the king was unhappy that no one had wished to marry her yet.