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2024-04-26, 1:29 PM |
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Chapter
20: The Dynasty of
Pûru up to Bharata
(1) The son of Vyâsadeva said: 'I shall now
describe the dynasty of Pûru in which you were born oh son of
Bharata. From the saintly kings of that dynasty many brahmin
dynasties originated. (2) From
Pûru the son Janamejaya
appeared, Pracinvân was his son and from him there
was Pravîra from whom next Manusyu appeared. He on his turn
fathered
Cârupada. (3) The
son appearing from him was
Sudyu who had a son named Bahugava. From Bahugava Samyâti
was born who
had a son named Ahamyâti. His son was called Raudrâs'va. (4-5)
Just like the ten senses [of
action and perception] originated from the primal force of the
universal self, from an Apsara
girl
known as Ghritâcî ten sons were born: Riteyu, Kaksheyu, Sthandileyu, Kriteyuka,
Jaleyu, Sannateyu,
Dharmeyu, Satyeyu, Vrateyu and Vaneyu who was the youngest. (6) From
Riteyu a son
named Rantinâva appeared and his three sons oh ruler of man, were
Sumati,
Dhruva and Apratiratha. Kanva was Apratiratha's son. (7)
From him there was
Medhâtithi from whom there were Praskanna and others who were all
twice-born souls [brahmins]. From Sumati there was Rebhi and his son
was called Dushmanta.
(8-9) Dushmanta
one day went hunting
and arrived at the âs'rama of Kanva. There he
saw a woman sitting who radiated
with a beauty like
that of the goddess of
fortune. Seeing her he immediately felt himself strongly drawn towards this manifestation of
divine feminine beauty. In the company of some
of his soldiers he then addressed that finest one of all ladies. (10)
Exhilarated by her presence he was
relieved of the fatigue of
his
hunting excursion. Driven by lusty feelings, he smilingly asked with pleasing
words: (11) 'Who are you
oh lotus petal-eyed lady? Who do you belong to oh beauty of my heart
and what are your intentions, all
by
yourself
being here in the
forest? (12) You appear to be of royal blood. You can count on it that I
as a descendant of Pûru oh raving beauty, never outside of the dharma think of enjoying whatever!'
(13) S'rî S'akuntalâ said: 'I was born
from Vis'vâmitra and was by
Menakâ [my mother] left
behind in this forest. Kanva the mighty saint, knows
everything about it!
Oh my hero, what can I do for you?
(14)
Please come and sit next to me oh lotus eyed one, accept my humble
service. Please eat from the nîvârâ ['of a
virgin'] rice that
I have to offer and stay here if you want to.'
(15) S'rî
Dushmanta answered: 'This oh beautiful eyebrows, befits your position
of being born in the family of Vis'vâmitra. It is indeed so that
the daughters of a royal family personally choose a suitable husband.'
(16) The king well aware of what would befit the time and place, said yes and then married according to the rules of dharma
with S'akuntalâ in the gandharva
way [of mutual consent]. (17)
Unerring in his virility the saintly king deposited his semen
in the queen and turned back to
his residence in the morning. In
due
course of time she
then gave birth to a son. (18)
Kanva Muni
executed in the forest the prescribed ceremonies for the child. The boy
later on became known for having captured with great force a lion and
having played with it. (19) [His
mother S'akuntalâ,] the
best of women, took him who as a
partial expansion of the Lord was
of an insurmountable strength, with her to her husband [Dushmanta]. (20)
When the king did not accept them as his wife and son, while they
had done nothing wrong, for everyone to hear there was a loud sound
from
the sky. An incorporeal voice declared: (21)
'The mother is like a
bellows to the son of the father who begot him. He therefore belongs to
the
father. Just take care of your son oh Dushmanta and do not offend
S'akuntalâ! (22) Oh
King, the son saves him who
discharged the semen from the punishment of Yamarâja [death].
S'akuntalâ who said that you are the one who fathered the child
has
spoken the truth.'
(23) After his father had passed away, the son
became an emperor of great fame and glory who was celebrated as a
partial representation of the Lord on earth [see
also B.G. 10: 41]. (24-26) He carried
the
mark of the cakra on his right hand and the mark of the
lotus whorl on the soles of his feet. Because he was of worship with a
grand ritualistic ceremony he received the position as the lord and
master over the entire world. He used fifty-five horses for
performing sacrifices from the mouth
of the Ganges up to its source. For that purpose he appointed
the son of Mamatâ as the priest. In the same way he proceeded at
the bank of
the Yamunâ where he bound [the as'vamedha plate of honor
to]
seventy-eight horses of sacrifice. He who was called Bharata, the son
of
Dushmanta, established his fire of sacrifice in the best possible way,
gave away a fortune in charity and divided a badva [13.084]
cows among the brahmins present. (27)
The son of Dushmanta who astonished all the
kings by bringing together for these yajñas
three-thousand three-hundred horses, [thus]
surpassed
the opulence of the demigods and gained [the favor of] the spiritual
master [the Lord]. (28) During
the
sacrifice
at
Mashnâra he in charity donated fourteen
lakhs of fine black elephants with the whitest tusks, that were covered
with
golden ornaments. (29) Even as one cannot seize
the heavenly worlds by the strength of one's arms, it is impossible for
any ruler in the past or the future to parallel the exalted activities
of Bharata. (30) When
he conquered the
directions he killed all the barbarian rulers who opposed the
brahminical culture like the Kirâtas [Africans],
the Hûnân [the Huns], the Yavanas [the Greek] the
Paundras [the wild men of south Bihar and Bengal], the Kankas [the
Scandinavians?], the Khas'âs [the Mongolians] and the S'akas
[the Tartars]. (31) In
the past, when the
Asuras had conquered
the demigods and they returned to the lower worlds [Rasâtala],
all the wives and daughters of the godly ones had been transported to
the nether
worlds, but he brought all of them and their associates back to
their
original
places. (32)
Sending his troops and
circulating his instructions in all directions, for twenty-seven
thousand years heaven and
earth provided whatever
his subjects desired. (33) He
the emperor, the ruler
over
all rulers and places, who was impeccable with the achievements of his
power, the
realm and the order of state, [in the end considered] all of his
life false and thus he ceased to enjoy them. (34) He, oh master of man, had three wives,
daughters of Vidarbha who were most pleasing and suitable. But afraid
that they would be rejected by
him because their
sons were not as perfect as their father, they killed them. (35) Thus being frustrated in generating
offspring
he performed a marut-stoma sacrifice to beget sons. The Maruts
thereupon presented him Bharadvâja.
(36) Brihaspati
[the scholar and priest of the demigods who was his father, in the
past] felt attracted to his
brother's pregnant wife and wanted to make love to her, but when the son in the womb
forbade him to engage that way he cursed him and discharged his semen
anyway. (37) For
Mamatâ [the mother], who out
of fear to be abandoned by her husband [Utathya] wanted to get rid of
the child, was at its name-giving
ceremony the following verse pronounced by the God-conscious ones: (38)
'Oh foolish woman, take care
of this child that has two fathers.' [She thereupon said:] 'Oh Brihaspati, maintain it
yourself although it has another father!' With both the parents having
turned away from the child by saying these words, the child was
consequently called Bharadvâja ['a burden for
both']. (39) Even though she by the God-conscious
ones was encouraged to maintain the child, the mother
still rejected it, for she thought that in the light of what had
happened, it had no purpose in life. It was maintained by the Maruts
who gave it [to
Bharata] when the dynasty was unfulfilled.'
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