Site menu |
|
Login form |
|
Search |
|
Our poll |
|
Statistics |
Total online: 1 Guests: 1 Users: 0 |
|
Welcome, Guest · RSS |
2024-03-29, 9:55 AM |
|
Chapter
1: King
Sudyumna Becomes a Woman
(1) The king said: 'I have listened to your
descriptions of all the periods of the Manus and the wonderful actions
performed by the Lord of Unlimited Potency during those periods. (2-3) He who was known by the name of Satyavrata,
the saintly king and ruler of Dravidades'a, received spiritual knowledge at the end of the previous day of
Brahmâ, by rendering service to the Original Person [the Purusha].
I
heard
from you how he, as a son of Vivasvân [the sun god],
thus became the Manu. You have spoken about his many sons: the kings
headed by Ikshvâku [8.13:
1]. (4) Oh
brahmin, please describe to us
always eager to listen to your stories, the dynasties of those kings and what characterized them oh
greatly fortunate one. (5) Please tell us about all those pious and celebrated
souls who were there before us, who will be there after us and who live
at present with us.'
(6) S'rî
Sûta said: "After
Parîkchit thus in the
assembly of all the brahmin followers
had requested this, the
powerful S'uka, the one most
learned in the dharma, gave a reply. (7) S'rî S'uka said: 'Oh subduer of the enemies, I will now tell
you the most important about the
dynasty of Manu, because not even
a
hundred
years
would
be
enough
to
do
this
extensively. (8)
When
the Supersoul, who is
the Original Transcendental Person of all higher and lower forms of
life, found Himself at the end of the kalpa, outside of Him
nothing of this universe or anything else existed. (9)
From His navel a golden lotus
generated upon which oh King, the selfborn one with his
four heads appeared [Lord Brahmâ, see also 3.8]. (10) Marîci
appeared from Brahmâ's mind
and Kas'yapa was there from him. He on his turn begot in Aditi, the
daughter of Daksha, a son: Visvasvân [see also 6.6: 38-39]. (11-12) Vivasvân
begot
in
Samjñâ,
Manu S'râddhadeva who
with his wife S'râddhâ from his sense control fathered ten
sons
whom he gave the names Ikshvâku, Nriga, S'aryâti, Dishtha,
Dhrishtha, Karûshaka, Narishyanta, Prishadhra, Nabhaga and
the mighty Kavi. (13) He,
the Manu, at first had no sons,
but the great personality, the powerful Vasishthha, performed a sacrifice for the demigods Mitra and Varuna that would bring him
sons. (14) But
S'râddhâ, Manu's wife who as prescribed observed a payo vrata [vow of drinking only, see 8.16], approached
with obeisances the performing priest during the sacrifice
and begged him for a daughter.
(15) The ritvik in charge [the adhvaryu] told the
priest performing the oblations [the hota] to engage with this
in mind, whereupon the brahmin took the ghee and recited the mantra vashath ['unto
the Living Being'].
(16) With that transgression of the performing
priest a daughter was born named Ilâ ['the libation']. When Manu
saw her he most dissatisfied said to his guru: (17) 'Oh
my
lord,
what
is
this?
As
a
result
of the actions of you
transcendentalists, there is alas this painful deviation.
This rebellion against the Absolute Truth never should have happened! (18)
How could you, versed in
Vedic
knowledge, connected and austere of whom all impurities were burned
away, deviate from your decision? Since when are the demigods of false
promises?'
(19) Having heard what he said, the most
powerful one, their
great-grandfather
Vasishthha who had
understanding
for the mistake the performing priest had made, spoke to [Manu] the son of
the sun god. (20) 'This
unexpected result was the consequence of the wrong action of your
priest. I will employ however my power to give you a nice son!'
(21) With that decision oh King,
the renown powerful master Vasishthha offered prayers to the
Original Person with the wish that Ilâ turned into a man. (22)
Pleased by him the Supreme
Controller Hari granted the desired
benediction so that Ilâ became a nice man who was called
Sudyumna. (23-24) One
day Sudyumna was on a
hunting trip
in the
forest oh King and was accompanied by a couple of associates. While
riding a
horse from Sindhuprades'a he went north in pursuit of the game. For the
occasion the hero was equiped with a beautiful bow with remarkable
arrows and an armor. (25) At
the foot of mount Meru he
happened to enter the Sukumâra forest where the mighty Lord S'iva
is
enjoying with his wife Umâ.
(26) Having
entered
there
oh ruler of man, Sudyumna,
the
pre-eminent
hero,
saw himself changed into a woman and his horse
into a
mare [see also 5.17: 15]. (27) All his companions were also changed
into
the opposite sex and seeing each other like this they got very
depressed.'
(28) The honorable king [Parîkchit] said:
'How can that realm have this quality? How came this about oh mighty
one? This is what we very much would like to hear you deliberate on.'
(29) S'rî S'uka answered: 'Saints fixed in
their vows dispelling the darkness in every direction, once came there
to see the Lord of the Mountain, S'iva. (30)
Ambikâ [Durgâ] who sat naked on her husband's lap was most
ashamed when she saw them. Quickly she got up and covered her breasts. (31) The saints seeing the two enjoying sexual
intercourse desisted from proceeding further and departed immediately
for the âs'rama of Nara-Nârâyana. (32) Because of this the mighty Lord wishing to
please his sweetheart said: 'Anyone who enters this place will turn
into a woman on the spot!' (33) Ever since
males in particular do not enter that forest whereabout she
[Sudyumna] in the company of her associates [now] wandered about from
stretch to stretch. (34) When she as a most
exciting woman, thus surrounded by other women was loitering near his âs'rama,
the powerful Budha [the son of the moon and
deity of
Mercury] wished to enjoy her. (35) She also
longed to have him, the beautiful son of king Soma, for her husband
and thus she from him gave birth to a son named Purûravâ. (36) I've heard that Sudyumna who thus as a king
born from Manu had achieved the female status, [then] remembered
Vasishthha,
the preceptor of the family. (37) The
merciful sage seeing him in that condition was very aggrieved. He
desired the return of his maleness and began to pray to Lord S'ankara
[S'iva]. (38-39) S'iva being pleased with
him oh servant of the state, in order to keep his promise [to
Umâ]
and to show the sage his love, said: 'This disciple of your line will
one month be a female and the next month be a male. Sudyumna may with
this arrangement [then] rule the world as he likes.' (40) With this settlement he by the mercy of
the âcârya acquired the desired maleness and ruled
over the
entire world, even though the citizens were not quite happy with it. (41) From Sudyumna three sons were born
listening to the names of Utkala, Gaya and Vimala oh King. They became
kings over the southern realm and were very religious. (42) Thereafter, when the time was ripe, the
master of the kingdom who was so mighty, handed the world over to his
son Purûravâ and left for the forest.'
|
|