Chapter 99
“Santanu asked, ‘What was the fault of the Vasus and who was Apava,through whose curse the Vasus had to be born among men? What also haththis child of thine, Gangadatta, done for which he shall have to liveamong men? Why also were the Vasus, the lords of the three worlds,condemned to be born amongst men? O daughter of Jahnu, tell me all.’
“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Thus addressed, the celestial daughter ofJahnu, Ganga, then replied unto the monarch, her husband, that bullamongst men, saying, ‘O best of Bharata’s race, he who was obtained asson by Varuna was called Vasishtha, the Muni who afterwards came to beknown as Apava. He had his asylum on the breast of the king of mountainscalled Meru. The spot was sacred and abounded with birds and beasts. Andthere bloomed at all times of the year flowers of every season. And, Obest of Bharata’s race, that foremost of virtuous men, the son of Varuna,practised his ascetic penances in those woods abounding with sweet rootsand water.
“Daksha had a daughter known by the name of Surabhi, who, O bull ofBharata’s race, for benefiting the world, brought forth, by herconnection with Kasyapa, a daughter (Nandini) in the form of a cow. Thatforemost of all kine, Nandini, was the cow of plenty (capable of grantingevery desire). The virtuous son of Varuna obtained Nandini for his Homarites. And Nandini, dwelling in that hermitage which was adored by Munis,roamed about fearlessly in those sacred and delightful woods.
“One day, O bull of Bharata’s race, there came into those woods adored bythe gods and celestial Rishis, the Vasus with Prithu at their head. Andwandering there with their wives, they enjoyed themselves in thosedelightful woods and mountains. And as they wandered there, theslender-waisted wife of one of the Vasus, O thou of the prowess of Indra,saw in those woods Nandini, the cow of plenty. And seeing that cowpossessing the wealth of all accomplishments, large eyes, full udders,fine tail, beautiful hoofs, and every other auspicious sign, and yieldingmuch milk, she showed the animal to her husband Dyu. O thou of theprowess of the first of elephants, when Dyu was shown that cow, he beganto admire her several qualities and addressing his wife, said, ‘Oblack-eyed girl of fair thighs, this excellent cow belongeth to thatRishi whose is this delightful asylum. O slender-waisted one, that mortalwho drinketh the sweet milk of this cow remaineth in unchanged youth forten thousand years.’ O best of monarchs, hearing this, theslender-waisted goddess of faultless features then addressed her lord ofblazing splendour and said, ‘There is on earth a friend of mine, Jitavatiby name, possessed of great beauty and youth. She is the daughter of thatgod among men, the royal sage Usinara, endued with intelligence anddevoted to truth. I desire to have this cow, O illustrious one, with hercalf for that friend of mine. Therefore, O best of celestials, bring thatcow so that my friend drinking of her milk may alone become on earth freefrom disease and decrepitude. O illustrious and blameless one, itbehoveth thee to grant me this desire of mine. There is nothing thatwould be more agreeable to me.’ On hearing these words of his wife, Dyu,moved by the desire of humouring her, stole that cow, aided by hisbrothers Prithu and the others. Indeed, Dyu, commanded by his lotus-eyedwife, did her bidding, forgetting at the moment the high ascetic meritsof the Rishi who owned her. He did not think at the time that he wasgoing to fall by committing the sin of stealing the cow.
“When the son of Varuna returned to his asylum in the evening with fruitshe had collected, he beheld not the cow with her calf there. He began tosearch for them in the woods, but when the great ascetic of superiorintelligence found not his cow on search, he saw by his ascetic visionthat she had been stolen by the Vasus. His wrath was instantly kindledand he cursed the Vasus, saying, ‘Because the Vasus have stolen my cow ofsweet milk and handsome tail, therefore, shall they certainly be born onearth!’
“O thou bull of Bharata’s race, the illustrious Rishi Apava thus cursedthe Vasus in wrath. And having cursed them, the illustrious one set hisheart once more on ascetic meditation. And after that Brahmarshi of greatpower and ascetic wealth had thus in wrath cursed the Vasus, the latter,O king, coming to know of it, speedily came into his asylum. Andaddressing the Rishi, O bull among kings, they endeavoured to pacify him.But they failed, O tiger among men, to obtain grace from Apava–thatRishi conversant, with all rules of virtue. The virtuous Apava, however,said, ‘Ye Vasus, with Dhava and others, ye have been cursed by me. But yeshall be freed from my curse within a year of your birth among men. Buthe for whose deed ye have been cursed by me he, viz., Dyu, shall for hissinful act, have to dwell on earth for a length of time. I shall not makefutile the words I have uttered in wrath. Dyu, though dwelling on Earth,shall not beget children. He shall, however, be virtuous and conversantwith the scriptures. He shall be an obedient son to his father, but heshall have to abstain from the pleasure of female companionship.’
“Thus addressing the Vasus, the great Rishi went away. The Vasus thentogether came to me. And, O king, the begged of me the boon that as soonas they would be born, I should throw them into the water. And, O best ofkings, I did as they desired, in order to free them from their earthlylife. And O best of kings, from the Rishi’s curse, this one only, viz.,Dyu, himself, is to live on earth for some time.’
“Vaisampayana continued, ‘Having said this, the goddess disappeared thenand there. And taking with her the child, she went away to the region shechose. And that child of Santanu was named both Gangeya and Devavrata andexcelled his father in all accomplishments.
“Santanu, after the disappearance of his wife, returned to his capitalwith a sorrowful heart. I shall now recount to thee the many virtues andthe great good fortune of the illustrious king Santanu of the Bharatarace. Indeed, it is this splendid history that is called theMahabharata.'”
