Chapter 55

“Chyavana said, ‘Do thou accept a boon from me. Do thou also, O chief ofmen, tell me what the doubt is that is in thy mind. I shall certainlyaccomplish all thy purposes.’

“Kusika said, ‘If thou hast been gratified by me, O holy one, do thouthen, O son of Bhrigu, tell me thy object in residing in my palace forsometime, for I desire to hear it. What was thy object in sleeping on thebed I assigned thee for one and twenty days continuously, withoutchanging sides? O foremost of ascetics, what also was thy object, again,in going out of the room without speaking a single word? Why didst thou,again, without any ostensible reason, make thyself invisible, and oncemore become visible? Why, O learned Brahmana, didst thou again, laythyself down on the bed and sleep as before for one and twenty days? Forwhat reason didst thou go out after thou wert rubbed by us with oil inview of thy bath? Why also, after having caused diverse kinds of food inmy palace to be collected, didst thou consume them with the aid of fire?What was the cause of thy sudden journey through my city on the car? Whatobject hadst thou in view in giving away so much wealth? What was thymotive in showing us the wonders of the forest created by theYoga-puissance? What indeed was thy motive for showing, O great ascetic,so many palatial mansions made of gold and so many bedsteads supported onposts of jewels, and gems? Why also did all these wonders vanish from oursight? I wish to hear the cause of all this. In thinking of all theseacts of thine, O perpetuator of Bhrigu’s race, I became stupefiedrepeatedly. I fail to find what the certain motive was which influencedthee! O thou, that art endued with wealth of penances, I wish to hear thetruth about all those acts of thine in detail.’

“Chyavana said, ‘Listen to me as I tell thee in detail the reasons whichhad impelled me in all these acts of mine. Asked by thee, O monarch, Icannot refuse to enlighten thee. In days past, on one occasion, when thedeities had assembled together, the Grandsire Brahman said some words Iheard them, O king, and shall presently repeat them to thee.’ Inconsequence of a contention between Brahmana and Kshatriya energy, therewill occur an intermixture in my race.[312] Thy grandson, O king, willbecome endued with great energy and puissance. Hearing this, I camehither, resolved to exterminate thy race. Indeed, I came, O Kusika,seeking the utter extermination of thy race,–in fact, for consuming intoashes all thy descendants. Impelled by this motive I came to thy palace,O monarch, and said unto thee, ‘I shall observe some vow. Do thou attendupon me and serve me dutifully. While residing, however, in thy house Ifailed to find any laches in thee. It is for that reason, O royal sage,that thou art still alive, for otherwise thou wouldst have by this timebeen numbered with the dead. It was with this resolution that I slept forone and twenty days in the hope that somebody would awake me before Iarose of my own accord. Thou, however, with thy wife, didst not awakenme. Even then, O best of kings, I became pleased with thee. Rising frommy bed I went out of the chamber without accosting any of you. I didthis, O monarch, in the hope that thou wouldst ask me and thus I wouldhave an opportunity of cursing thee. I then made myself invisible, andagain showed myself in the room of thy palace, and, once more betakingmyself to Yoga, slept for one and twenty days. The motive that impelledme was this. Worn out with toil and hunger you two would be angry with meand do what would be unpleasant to me. It was from this intention that Icaused thyself and thy spouse to be afflicted with hunger. In thy hearthowever, O king, the slightest feeling of wrath or vexation did not rise.For this, O monarch, I became highly delighted with thee. When I causeddiverse kinds of food to be brought and then set fire to them, I hopedthat thyself with thy wife wouldst give way to wrath at the sight. Eventhat act however, of mine was tolerated by thee. I then ascended the car,O monarch, and addressed thee, saying, ‘Do thou with thy wife bear me.’Thou didst what I bade, without the least scruple, O king! I becamefilled with delight at this. The gifts of wealth I made could not provokethy anger. Pleased with thee, O king, I created with the aid of my Yogapuissance that forest which thyself with thy wife didst behold here.Listen, O monarch, to the object I had. For gratifying thee and thy queenI caused thee to have a glimpse of heaven. All those things which thouhast seen in these woods, O monarch, are a foretaste of heaven. O best ofkings, for a little while I caused thee and thy spouse to behold, in evenyour earthly bodies, some sights of heaven. All this was done for showingthe puissance of penances and the reward that is in store forrighteousness. The desire that arose in thy heart, O monarch, at thesight of those delightful objects, is known to me. Thou becamest desirousof obtaining the status of a Brahmana and the merit of penances, O lordof Earth, disregarding the sovereignty of the earth, nay, the sovereigntyof very heaven! That Which thou thoughtest, O king, was even this. Thestatus of a Brahmana is exceedingly difficult to obtain; after becoming aBrahmana, it is exceedingly difficult to obtain the status of a Rishi;for even a Rishi it is difficult to become an ascetic! I tell thee thatthy desire will be gratified. From thee, O Kusika, will spring aBrahmana, who shall be called after thy name. The person that will be thethird in descent from thee shall attain to the status of a Brahmana.Through the energy of the Bhrigus, thy grandson, O monarch, will be anascetic endued with the splendour of fire. He shall always strike allmen, indeed, the inhabitants of the three worlds, with fear. I tell theethe truth. O royal sage, do thou accept the boon that is now in thy mind.I shall soon set out on a tour to all the sacred waters. Time isexpiring.’

“Kusika said, ‘Even this, O great ascetic, is a high boon, in my case,for thou hast been gratified by me. Let that take place which thou hastsaid. Let my grandson become a Brahmana, O sinless one! Indeed, let thestatus of Brahmanahood attach to my race, O holy one. This is the boon Iask for. I desire to once more ask thee in detail, O holy one! In whatway, O delighter of Bhrigu, will the status of Brahmanahood attach to myrace? Who will be my friend? Who will have my affection andrespect?'”[313]