Site menu
Chapter
6: The Progeny of
the Daughters of
Daksha
(1) S'rî S'uka said:
'The son of the
Prâcetas thereafter [after he had cursed Nârada], pacified by Lord
Brahmâ, begot at his kind request [to procreate again] in his
wife Asiknî
sixty daughters who were all very fond of their father. (2)
Ten of them
he gave to king Dharma [Yamarâja], Kas'yapa he gave thirteen,
twenty-seven were given to the moon god and Bhûta, Angirâ
and Kris'âs'va he gave each two. The four remaining he also gave
to Kas'yapa. (3) Please hear from me all the different names of these
women
who
with their many children and descendants populated the three worlds and
from whom you and I are stemming.
(4) The wives of Yamarâja were Bhânu, Lambâ, Kakud, Yâmi, Vis'vâ, Sâdhyâ, Marutvatî, Vasu, Muhûrtâ and Sankalpâ. Now hear about their sons. (5) From Bhânu was born Deva-rishabha and from him was born Indrasena, oh King. Vidyota ['lightning'] appeared from Lambâ and from him there was thunder [his children]. (6) From Kakud Sankatha appeared and from him there was the son named Kîkatha who fathered many protectors of earthly strongholds. Yâmi gave birth to Svarga from whose loins Nandi was born. (7) The [ten] Vis'vadevas were born from Vis'vâ, but it is said that from them there was no progeny. The Sâdhyas who were born from Sâdhyâ, had one son: Arthasiddhi. (8) Marutvân and Jayanta took birth from Marutvatî. Jayanta was an expansion of Vâsudeva and is also known as Upendra. (9) From Muhûrtâ ['forty-eight minutes'] the Mauhûrtikas were born, a group of [thirty] gods who took birth to present the living beings the result of their personal time-bound actions. (10-11) From Sankalpâ Sankalpa [the deity presiding over one's conviction] was born and from him Kâma [the god of love] appeared. Vasu gave birth to the eight Vasus. Now listen to their names: Drona, Prâna, Dhruva, Arka, Agni, Dosha, Vâstu and Vibhâvasu. From Drona's wife Abhimati sons appeared like Harsha, S'oka, Bhaya and more. (12) Ûrjasvatî the wife of Prâna gave birth to Saha, Âyus and Purojava. From Dhruva's wife Dharani the various [gods ruling over the] cities and towns were born. (13) From the wife of Arka, Vâsanâ there were the sons named Tarsha and so on and from Dhârâ the wife of the Vasu Agni there were the sons known as Dravinaka and so on. (14) Krittikâ, another wife of Agni, gave birth to Skanda [Kârttikeya] whose sons were headed by Vis'âkha and from Dosha's wife S'arvarî the son S'is'umâra was born. He was an expansion of the Lord of Time [see 5.23]. (15) From Vâstu's wife Ângirasî the son Vis'vakarmâ [the great architect] was born who became the husband of Âkritî. From them was born the Manu named Câkshusha whose sons were the Vis'vadevas and Sâdhyas [see verse 7]. (16) Ûshâ the wife of Vibhâvasu gave birth to Vyushtha, Rocisha and Âtapa. Âtapa then fathered Pañcayâma ['the span of the day'] who awakens the living beings to engage in material activities. (17-18) Sarûpâ, the wife of Bhûta, gave birth to the millions of Rudras headed by Raivata, Aja, Bhava, Bhîma, Vâma, Ugra, Vrishâkapi, Ajaikapât, Ahirbradhna, Bahurûpa and Mahân. Their associates, the ghastly ghosts and Vinâyakas [a type of demons, hobgoblins] originated from his other wife. (19) Prajâpati Angirâ's wife Svadhâ accepted the Pitâs for her sons and [his other wife] Satî accepted Atharvângirasa as her son who was the [fourth] Veda [the Atharva Veda] in person. (20)
The wife of Kris'âs'va,
Arcis gave birth to
Dhûmaketu who in Dhishanâ begot the sons Vedas'irâ,
Devala,
Vayuna and Manu. (21-22) Kas'yapa [or Târkshya]
had four wives: Vinatâ [Suparnâ], Kadrû,
Patangî and Yâminî. From Patangî the birds originated, from Yâminî the
locusts
came and Vinatâ brought Garuda into existence - the one who
is regarded the carrier of Yajña [Vishnu] - and Anûru
[Aruna] the chariot driver
of Sûrya, the god of the sun. From
Kadrû there were the
different kinds of serpents. (23)
The wives of the moon god
[Soma] were the [goddesses
ruling the twenty-seven] lunar mansions named Krittikâ and so,
but oh son of
Bharata,
because Daksha had cursed him [for preferring Rohinî], he was
pestered by a degenerative
disease [consumption] and had no children with any of them. (24-26) Again pacifying him Soma in respect of
the division of time managed to stop the decay [reducing it to the dark
fortnight].
Now please take notice of all the names of the wives of
Kas'yapa, the mothers from whom all the living beings of this
entire universe were born: Aditi, Diti, Danu,
Kâshthhâ, Arishthâ, Surasâ, Ilâ, Muni,
Krodhavas'â, Tâmrâ, Surabhi, Saramâ and Timi.
From Timi the aquatics appeared and the animals of prey were the
children of Saramâ. (27)
From Surabhi the buffalo
found its existence as also the cows and other animals with cloven
hooves oh King. From
Tâmrâ the eagles, the vultures and so on came into being and from Muni
there were the different angels. (28) The reptiles such as the dandas'ûka
snakes originated from Krodhavas'â, from Ilâ all
the creepers and trees came and all the evil ones [like the demons and
cannibals] were there from
Surasâ. (29-31) From
Arishthâ there were only Gandharvas and from Kâshthhâ
there were the animals whose hooves are not split. From Danu there were
sixty-one sons born; the ones important are: Dvimûrdhâ,
S'ambara, Arishthâ, Hayagrîva, Vibhâvasu, Ayomukha,
S'ankus'irâ, Svarbhânu, Kapila, Aruna, Pulomâ and
Vrishaparvâ as also Ekacakra, Anutâpana,
Dhûmrakes'a, Virûpâksha, Vipracitti and Durjaya. (32)
Suprabhâ, the daughter of
Svarbhânu married Namuci, but S'armishthhâ born from
Vrishaparvâ went to Yayâti the powerful son of
Nahusha. (33-36) There
were four very beautiful
daughters of Vais'vânara: Upadânavî, Hayas'irâ, Pulomâ
and
Kâlakâ.
Hiranyâksha married Upadânavî and Kratu married
Hayas'irâ oh King, but when on the plea of Lord Brahmâ the
two daughters
Pulomâ and Kâlakâ of
Vais'vânara married
to the oh so mighty prajâpati
Kas'yapa, the Pauloma and Kâlakeya demons were born from them who
were very keen on fighting. When the sixty thousand of them [headed by Nivâtakavaca] were
a disturbance to the sacrifices in the heavenly places, your
grandfather [Arjuna] single-handedly killed them just to please Indra
oh
King. (37)
From Vipracitti's wife Simhikâ one hundred and one sons were
born who all obtained a planet
of their own:
Râhu was the eldest and the hundred others were [called] the
Ketus. (38-39) Now
hear
from
me
the
chronological
order
of
the
dynasty
that originated
from Aditi,
wherein Nârâyana, the
One
Almighty
Lord,
manifested as a plenary expansion
of Himself [called Vâmana]. Vivasvân, Aryamâ,
Pûshâ and Tvashthâ followed by Savitâ, Bhaga,
Dhâtâ, Vidhâtâ, Varuna, Mitra, S'atru and
Urukrama [were her twelve sons month by month consecutively presiding
over the sun. Urukrama is the dwarf-incarnation Vâmana]. (40) The most
fortunate Samjñâ,
gave as the wife of
Vivasvân birth to the
Manu called S'râddhadeva as also to the twin the demigod
Yamarâja
and his sister Yamî [the river Yamunâ]. She appeared on
earth in the form of a mare and gave birth to the
As'vinî-kumâras. (41)
Châyâ [another
wife of the sun god] got from him the sons S'anais'cara
[Saturn] and Sâvarni Manu as also a daughter named Tapatî
who selected Samvarana for her husband. (42)
Aryamâ's wife
Mâtrikâ gave birth to many scholarly sons. It was from their [talents] that Lord
Brahmâ created humanity [as we know it]. (43) Pûshâ
remained
childless
living
on
dough
only.
He
had
broken
his
teeth because he had
shown them when he had to laugh about the anger of Daksha [when
he insulted Lord S'iva, see 4.5:
21, 4.7:
4]. (44)
From the marriage between Tvashthâ and the girl called
Racanâ who was a Daitya daughter, the two sons Sannives'a and the
very powerful Vis'varûpa were born. (45) He
[Vis'varûpa] was by the
God-conscious ones, despite of
being the son of a daughter of their enemies, accepted as their priest, after they were abandoned by their spiritual master Brihaspati
because they had disrespected
him.'
(4) The wives of Yamarâja were Bhânu, Lambâ, Kakud, Yâmi, Vis'vâ, Sâdhyâ, Marutvatî, Vasu, Muhûrtâ and Sankalpâ. Now hear about their sons. (5) From Bhânu was born Deva-rishabha and from him was born Indrasena, oh King. Vidyota ['lightning'] appeared from Lambâ and from him there was thunder [his children]. (6) From Kakud Sankatha appeared and from him there was the son named Kîkatha who fathered many protectors of earthly strongholds. Yâmi gave birth to Svarga from whose loins Nandi was born. (7) The [ten] Vis'vadevas were born from Vis'vâ, but it is said that from them there was no progeny. The Sâdhyas who were born from Sâdhyâ, had one son: Arthasiddhi. (8) Marutvân and Jayanta took birth from Marutvatî. Jayanta was an expansion of Vâsudeva and is also known as Upendra. (9) From Muhûrtâ ['forty-eight minutes'] the Mauhûrtikas were born, a group of [thirty] gods who took birth to present the living beings the result of their personal time-bound actions. (10-11) From Sankalpâ Sankalpa [the deity presiding over one's conviction] was born and from him Kâma [the god of love] appeared. Vasu gave birth to the eight Vasus. Now listen to their names: Drona, Prâna, Dhruva, Arka, Agni, Dosha, Vâstu and Vibhâvasu. From Drona's wife Abhimati sons appeared like Harsha, S'oka, Bhaya and more. (12) Ûrjasvatî the wife of Prâna gave birth to Saha, Âyus and Purojava. From Dhruva's wife Dharani the various [gods ruling over the] cities and towns were born. (13) From the wife of Arka, Vâsanâ there were the sons named Tarsha and so on and from Dhârâ the wife of the Vasu Agni there were the sons known as Dravinaka and so on. (14) Krittikâ, another wife of Agni, gave birth to Skanda [Kârttikeya] whose sons were headed by Vis'âkha and from Dosha's wife S'arvarî the son S'is'umâra was born. He was an expansion of the Lord of Time [see 5.23]. (15) From Vâstu's wife Ângirasî the son Vis'vakarmâ [the great architect] was born who became the husband of Âkritî. From them was born the Manu named Câkshusha whose sons were the Vis'vadevas and Sâdhyas [see verse 7]. (16) Ûshâ the wife of Vibhâvasu gave birth to Vyushtha, Rocisha and Âtapa. Âtapa then fathered Pañcayâma ['the span of the day'] who awakens the living beings to engage in material activities. (17-18) Sarûpâ, the wife of Bhûta, gave birth to the millions of Rudras headed by Raivata, Aja, Bhava, Bhîma, Vâma, Ugra, Vrishâkapi, Ajaikapât, Ahirbradhna, Bahurûpa and Mahân. Their associates, the ghastly ghosts and Vinâyakas [a type of demons, hobgoblins] originated from his other wife. (19) Prajâpati Angirâ's wife Svadhâ accepted the Pitâs for her sons and [his other wife] Satî accepted Atharvângirasa as her son who was the [fourth] Veda [the Atharva Veda] in person. (20)
The wife of Kris'âs'va,
Arcis gave birth to
Dhûmaketu who in Dhishanâ begot the sons Vedas'irâ,
Devala,
Vayuna and Manu. (21-22) Kas'yapa [or Târkshya]
had four wives: Vinatâ [Suparnâ], Kadrû,
Patangî and Yâminî. From Patangî the birds originated, from Yâminî the
locusts
came and Vinatâ brought Garuda into existence - the one who
is regarded the carrier of Yajña [Vishnu] - and Anûru
[Aruna] the chariot driver
of Sûrya, the god of the sun. From
Kadrû there were the
different kinds of serpents. (23)
The wives of the moon god
[Soma] were the [goddesses
ruling the twenty-seven] lunar mansions named Krittikâ and so,
but oh son of
Bharata,
because Daksha had cursed him [for preferring Rohinî], he was
pestered by a degenerative
disease [consumption] and had no children with any of them. (24-26) Again pacifying him Soma in respect of
the division of time managed to stop the decay [reducing it to the dark
fortnight].
Now please take notice of all the names of the wives of
Kas'yapa, the mothers from whom all the living beings of this
entire universe were born: Aditi, Diti, Danu,
Kâshthhâ, Arishthâ, Surasâ, Ilâ, Muni,
Krodhavas'â, Tâmrâ, Surabhi, Saramâ and Timi.
From Timi the aquatics appeared and the animals of prey were the
children of Saramâ. (27)
From Surabhi the buffalo
found its existence as also the cows and other animals with cloven
hooves oh King. From
Tâmrâ the eagles, the vultures and so on came into being and from Muni
there were the different angels. (28) The reptiles such as the dandas'ûka
snakes originated from Krodhavas'â, from Ilâ all
the creepers and trees came and all the evil ones [like the demons and
cannibals] were there from
Surasâ. (29-31) From
Arishthâ there were only Gandharvas and from Kâshthhâ
there were the animals whose hooves are not split. From Danu there were
sixty-one sons born; the ones important are: Dvimûrdhâ,
S'ambara, Arishthâ, Hayagrîva, Vibhâvasu, Ayomukha,
S'ankus'irâ, Svarbhânu, Kapila, Aruna, Pulomâ and
Vrishaparvâ as also Ekacakra, Anutâpana,
Dhûmrakes'a, Virûpâksha, Vipracitti and Durjaya. (32)
Suprabhâ, the daughter of
Svarbhânu married Namuci, but S'armishthhâ born from
Vrishaparvâ went to Yayâti the powerful son of
Nahusha. (33-36) There
were four very beautiful
daughters of Vais'vânara: Upadânavî, Hayas'irâ, Pulomâ
and
Kâlakâ.
Hiranyâksha married Upadânavî and Kratu married
Hayas'irâ oh King, but when on the plea of Lord Brahmâ the
two daughters
Pulomâ and Kâlakâ of
Vais'vânara married
to the oh so mighty prajâpati
Kas'yapa, the Pauloma and Kâlakeya demons were born from them who
were very keen on fighting. When the sixty thousand of them [headed by Nivâtakavaca] were
a disturbance to the sacrifices in the heavenly places, your
grandfather [Arjuna] single-handedly killed them just to please Indra
oh
King. (37)
From Vipracitti's wife Simhikâ one hundred and one sons were
born who all obtained a planet
of their own:
Râhu was the eldest and the hundred others were [called] the
Ketus. (38-39) Now
hear
from
me
the
chronological
order
of
the
dynasty
that originated
from Aditi,
wherein Nârâyana, the
One
Almighty
Lord,
manifested as a plenary expansion
of Himself [called Vâmana]. Vivasvân, Aryamâ,
Pûshâ and Tvashthâ followed by Savitâ, Bhaga,
Dhâtâ, Vidhâtâ, Varuna, Mitra, S'atru and
Urukrama [were her twelve sons month by month consecutively presiding
over the sun. Urukrama is the dwarf-incarnation Vâmana]. (40) The most
fortunate Samjñâ,
gave as the wife of
Vivasvân birth to the
Manu called S'râddhadeva as also to the twin the demigod
Yamarâja
and his sister Yamî [the river Yamunâ]. She appeared on
earth in the form of a mare and gave birth to the
As'vinî-kumâras. (41)
Châyâ [another
wife of the sun god] got from him the sons S'anais'cara
[Saturn] and Sâvarni Manu as also a daughter named Tapatî
who selected Samvarana for her husband. (42)
Aryamâ's wife
Mâtrikâ gave birth to many scholarly sons. It was from their [talents] that Lord
Brahmâ created humanity [as we know it]. (43) Pûshâ
remained
childless
living
on
dough
only.
He
had
broken
his
teeth because he had
shown them when he had to laugh about the anger of Daksha [when
he insulted Lord S'iva, see 4.5:
21, 4.7:
4]. (44)
From the marriage between Tvashthâ and the girl called
Racanâ who was a Daitya daughter, the two sons Sannives'a and the
very powerful Vis'varûpa were born. (45) He
[Vis'varûpa] was by the
God-conscious ones, despite of
being the son of a daughter of their enemies, accepted as their priest, after they were abandoned by their spiritual master Brihaspati
because they had disrespected
him.'