Chapter 29

Vaisampayana said, “The foremost of kings, viz., Yudhishthira the son ofDharma, still remaining speechless, Pandu’s son Arjuna addressed Krishnaand spoke as follows:

“Arjuna said, ‘This scorcher of foes, viz., Dharma’s son, is burning withgrief on account of his (slaughtered) kinsfolk. Comfort him, O Madhava IOnce more, O Janardana, all of us have fallen into great danger. Itbehoveth thee! O mighty-armed one, to dispel his grief.'”

Vaisampayana continued, “Thus addressed by the high-souled Arjuna, thelotus-eyed Govinda of unfading glory turned his face towards the king.Kesava could not by any means be disregarded by Yudhishthira. From theearliest years Govinda was dearer to Yudhishthira than Arjuna himself.Taking up the king’s hand adorned with sandal-paste and looking like acolumn of marble, the mighty-armed Saurin began to speak, gladdening (thehearts of all who listened to him). His face, adorned with teeth and eyesthat were very beautiful, shone brightly like a full-blown lotus atsunrise.

“Vasudeva said, “Do not, O tiger among men, indulge in such grief thatemaciates thy body. They who have been slain in this battle will on noaccount be got back. Those Kshatriyas, O king, that have fallen in thisgreat battle, are even, like objects that one acquires in one’s dreamsand that vanish when one awakes. All of them were heroes and ornaments ofbattle. They were vanquished while rushing with faces towards their foes.No one amongst them was slain with wounds on the back or while flyingaway. All of them, having contended with heroes in great battle andhaving cast off their life-breaths then, have, sanctified by weapons,proceeded to heaven. It behoveth thee not to grieve for them. Devoted tothe duties of Kshatriyas, possessed of courage, perfectly conversant withthe Vedas and their branches, all of them have attained to that blissfulend which is obtainable by heroes. It behoveth thee not to grieve forthem after hearing of those high-souled lords of the earth, of ancientdays, that departed from this world. In this connection is cited the olddiscourse of Narada before Srinjaya when the latter was deeply afflictedwith grief on account of the death of his son. (Narada said),–Subject tohappiness and misery, myself, thyself and all creatures, O Srinjaya,shall have to die. What cause then is there for sorrow. Listen to me as Irecite the great blessedness of (some) ancient king. Hear me withconcentrated attention. Thou shalt then, O king, cast off thy grief.Listening to the story of those high-souled lords of the earth, abate thysorrow. O, hear me as I recite their stories to thee in detail. Bylistening to the charming and delightful history of those kings ofancient times, malignant stars may be propitiated and the period of one’slife be increased. We hear, O Srinjaya, that there was a king of the nameof Marutta who was the son of Avikshit. Even he fell a prey to death. Thegods with Indra and Varuna and Vrihaspati at their head came tosacrifice, called Viswasrij, performed by that high-souled monarch.[86]Challenging Sakra, the chief of the gods, that king vanquished him inbattle. The learned Vrihaspati, from desire of doing good unto Indra, hadrefused to officiate at Marutta’s sacrifice. Thereupon Samvarta, theyounger brother of Vrihaspati, acceded to the king’s request. During therule of that king, O best of monarchs, the earth yielded crops withoutbeing tilled and was adorned with diverse kinds of ornaments. In thesacrifice of that king, the Viswedevas sat as courtiers, the Maruts actedas distributors (of food and presents) and the high-souled Sadhyas werealso present. In that sacrifice of Marutta, the Maruts drank Soma. Thesacrificial presents the king made surpassed (in value) those ever madeby the gods, the Gandharvas, and men. When even that king, O Srinjaya,who transcended thee in religious merit, knowledge, renunciation, andaffluence, and who was purer than thy son, felt a prey to death, do notgrieve for thy son. There was another king of the name of Suhotra the sonof Atithi. We hear, O Srinjaya, that even he fell a prey to death. Duringhis rule, Maghavat showered gold for one whole year upon his kingdom.Obtaining that king for her lord, the earth became in reality (and not inname only as before) Vasumati.[87] The rivers, during the sway of thatking, bore golden tortoises, crabs, alligators, sharks, and porpoises,for the adorable Indra, O king, had showered these upon them. Beholdingthose golden fishes and sharks and tortoises in hundreds and thousands,Atithi’s son became filled with wonder. Collecting that vast wealth ofgold that covered the earth, Suhotra performed a sacrifice at Kurujangalaand gave it away unto the Brahmanas, When that king, O Srinjaya, whotranscended thee in the four attributes of religious merit, knowledge,renunciation, and affluence, and who was purer than thy son, felt a preyto death, do not grieve for thy son (that is dead). Thy son neverperformed a sacrifice and never made gifts. Knowing this, pacify thy mindand do not give away to grief.[88] We hear also, O Srinjaya, thatVrihadratha the king of the Angas, fell a prey to death. He gave away Ihundred thousand steeds. A hundred thousand maidens also, adorned withgolden ornaments, he gave away as presents in a sacrifice he performed. Ahundred thousand elephants also of the best breed, he gave away aspresents in another sacrifice performed by him. A hundred millions alsoof bulls, adorned with golden chains, with thousands of kine accompanyingthem, he gave away as sacrificial presents. While the king of Angaperformed his sacrifice by the hill called Vishnupada, Indra becameintoxicated with the Soma he drank, and the Brahmanas with the presentsthey received. In the sacrifices, O monarch, numbering by hundreds, thatthis king performed of old, the presents he made far surpassed those evermade by the gods, the Gandharvas, and men. No other man was born, or willever be born, that gave or will give away so much wealth as was givenaway by the king of the Angas in the seven sacrifices he performed, eachof which was characterised by the consecration of the Soma.[89] When, OSrinjaya, this Vrihadratha even, who was thy superior in the fourattributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey to death, do notgrieve for thy son that is dead. We hear also, O Srinjaya, that Sivi, theson of Usinara, fell a prey to death. That king swayed the whole earth asone sways the leathern shield in his hand. Riding on a single car thatproved victorious in every battle, king Sivi caused the whole earth toresound with the rattle of his wheels and subjugated all monarchs.[90]Usinara’s son Sivi gave away, in a sacrifice, all the kine and horses hehad, both domestic and wild. The Creator himself thought that no oneamongst the kings of the past or the future had or would have the abilityto bear the burthen, O Srinjaya, that Usinara’s son Sivi, that foremostof kings, that hero who was possessed of prowess equal to that of Indrahimself, bore. Do not, therefore, grieve or thy son who never performedany sacrifice nor made any gift. Indeed, O Srinjaya, when Sivi, who wasfar superior to thee in the four attributes and who was purer than thyson, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is dead. Wehear, O Srinjaya, that the high-souled Bharata also, the son of Dushmantaand Sakuntala, who had a vast and well-filled treasury, fell a prey todeath. Devoting three hundred horses unto the gods on the banks of theYamuna, twenty on the banks of the Saraswati, and fourteen on the banksof Ganga, that king of great energy, in days of old, performed (in thisorder) a thousand Horse-sacrifices and a hundred Rajasuyas. No oneamongst the kings of the earth can imitate the great deeds of Bharata,even as no man can, by the might of his arms, soar into the welkin.Erecting numerous sacrificial altars, he gave away innumerable horses anduntold wealth unto the sage Kanwa.[91] When even he, O Srinjaya, who wasfar superior to thee in the four attributes and who was purer than thyson, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is dead. Wehear, O Srinjaya, that Rama also, the son of Dasaratha, fell a prey todeath. He always cherished his subjects as if they were the sons of hisown loins. In his dominions there were no widows and none that washelpless. Indeed, Rama in governing his kingdom always acted like hisfather Dasaratha. The clouds, yielding showers season ably, caused thecrops to grow abundantly. During the period of his rule, food was alwaysabundant in his kingdom. No death occurred by drowning or by fire. Aslong as Rama governed it, there was no fear in his kingdom of anydisease. Every man lived for a thousand years, and every man was blessedwith a thousand children. During the period of Rama’s sway, all men werewhole and all men attained the fruition of their wishes. The very womendid not quarrel with one another, what need then be said of the men?During his rule his subjects were always devoted to virtue. Contented,crowned with fruition in respect of all the objects of their desire,fearless, free, and wedded to the vow of truth, were all the people whenRama governed the kingdom. The trees always bore flowers and fruit andwere subject to no accidents. Every cow yielded milk filling a drona tothe brim. Having dwelt, in the observance of severe penances, for fourand ten years in the woods, Rama performed ten Horse-sacrifices of greatsplendour[92] and to them the freest access was given to all. Possessedof youth, of a dark complexion, with red eyes, he looked like the leaderof an elephantine herd. With aims stretching down to his knees and ofhandsome face, his shoulders were like those of a lion and the might ofhis arms great. Ascending upon the throne of Ayodhya, he ruled for tenthousand and ten hundred years. When, he O Srinjaya, who transcended theein the four principal attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell aprey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is dead. We hear, OSrinjaya, that king Bhagiratha also died. In one of the sacrifices ofthat king, intoxicated with the Soma he had drunk, Indra, the adorablechastiser of Paka and the chief of the gods, vanquished, by putting forththe might of his arms, many thousands of Asuras. King Bhagiratha, in oneof the sacrifices he performed, gave away a million of maidens adornedwith ornaments of gold. Each of those maidens sat upon a car and untoeach car were attached four steeds. With each car were a hundredelephants, all of the foremost breed and decked with chains of gold.Behind each elephant were a thousand steeds, and behind each steed athousand kine, and behind each cow a thousand goats and sheep. (Theriver-goddess) Ganga, named (from before) Bhagirathi, sat upon the lap ofthis king dwelling near (her stream), and from this incident she came tobe called Urvasi.[93] The triple-coursed Ganga had agreed to be thedaughter of Bhagiratha of Ikshvaku’s race, that monarch ever engaged inthe performance of sacrifices with presents in profusion unto theBrahmanas.[94] When he, O Srinjaya, who transcended thee in respect ofthe four principal attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a preyto death, do not grieve for thy son. We hear, O Srinjaya, that thehigh-souled Dilipa also fell a prey to death. The Brahmanas love torecite his innumerable deeds. In one of his great sacrifices that king,with heart fully assenting, gave away the entire earth, abounding withwealth, unto the Brahmanas. In each sacrifice performed by him, the chiefpriest received as sacrificial fee a thousand elephants made of gold. Inone of his sacrifices, the stake (set up for slaughtering the victims)was made of gold and looked exceedingly beautiful. Discharging the dutiesassigned to them, the gods having Sakra for their chief, used to seek theprotection of that king. Upon that golden stake possessed of greateffulgence and decked with a ring, six thousand Gods and Gandharvasdanced in joy, and Viswavasu himself, in their midst played on his Vinathe seven notes according to the rules that regulate their combinations.Such was the character of Viswavasu’s music that every creature (whateverhe might be) thought that the great Gandharva was playing to him alone.No other monarch could imitate this achievement of king Dilipa. Theelephants of that king, intoxicated and adorned with housings of gold,used to lie down on the roads.[95] Those men proceeded to heaven thatsucceeded in obtaining a sight even of the high-souled king Dilipa whowas ever truthful in speech and whose bow could bear a hundred foes equalin energy to a hundred Anantas.[96] These three sounds never ceased inDilipa’s abode, viz., the voice of Vedic recitations, the twang of bows,and cries of Let it be given. When he, O Srinjaya, who transcended theein the four principal attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell aprey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is dead. Yuvanaswa’s sonMandhatri also, O Sanjaya, we have heard, fell a prey to death. Thedeities named Maruts extracted that child from his sire’s stomach throughone of its sides. Sprung from a quantity of clarified butter that hadbeen sanctified by mantras (and that had by mistake been quaffed by hissire instead of his sire’s spouse) Mandhatri was born in the stomach ofthe high-souled Yuvanaswa. Possessed of great prosperity, king Mandhatriconquered the three worlds. Beholding that child of celestial beautylying on the lap of his sire, the God asked one another, ‘From whom shallthis child obtain suck?’ Then Indra approached him, saying, ‘He shallobtain stick even from me!’ From this circumstance, the chief of thedeities came to call the child by the name of Mandhatri.[97] From thenourishment of that high-souled child of Yuvanaswa, the finger of Indra,placed in his mouth, began to yield a jet of milk. Sucking Indra’sfinger, he grew up into a stout youth in a hundred days, In twelve dayshe looked like one of twelve years. The whole earth in one day came underthe sway of that high-souled and virtuous and brave king who resembledIndra himself for prowess in battle. He vanquished king Angada, Marutta,Asita, Gaya, and Vrihadratha the king of the Angas.[98] When Yuvanaswa’sson fought in battle with Angada, the Gods thought that the firmament wasbreaking with the twang of his how. The whole earth from where the Sunrises to where he sets is said to be the field of Mandhatri. Havingperformed Horse-sacrifices and a hundred Rajasuyas, he gave unto theBrahmanas many Rohita fishes. Those fishes were each ten Yojanas inlength and one in breadth. Those that remained after gratifying theBrahmanas were divided amongst themselves by the other classes. When he,O Srinjaya, who transcended thee in respect of the four principalattributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey to death, do notgrieve for thy son that is dead. We hear, O Sanjaya, that Yayati, the sonof Nahusha, also fell a prey to death. Having subjugated the whole worldwith its seas, he journeyed through it, decking it with successivesacrificial altars the intervals between which were measured by throws ofa heavy piece of wood. Indeed, he reached the very shores of the sea ashe proceeded performing great sacrifices (on those altars along hisway).[99] Having performed a thousand sacrifices and a hundred Vajapeyas,he gratified the foremost of Brahmanas with three mountains of gold.Having slain many Daityas and Danavas duly arrayed in battle, Nahusha’sson, Yayati, divided the whole earth (among his children). At lastdiscarding his other sons headed by Yadu and Drahyu, he installed (hisyoungest son) Puru on his throne and then entered the woods accompaniedby his wife, When he, O Srinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the fourprincipal attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey todeath, do not grieve for thy son that is dead. We hear, O Srinjaya, thatAmvarisha also, the son of Nabhaga, fell a prey to death. That protector(of the world) and foremost of kings was regarded by his subjects as theembodiment of virtue. That monarch, in one of his sacrifices, assigned tothe Brahmanas, for waiting upon them, a million of kings who hadthemselves performed thousands of sacrifices each. Men of piety praisedAmvarisha, the son of Nabhaga, saying that such feats had never beenachieved before nor would their like be achieved in the future.[100]Those hundreds upon hundreds and thousands upon thousands of kings (thathad at the command of Amvarisha waited at his sacrifices upon theBrahmanas that came there) became (through Amvarisha’s merits) crownedwith the fruits of the Horse-sacrifice, and followed their lord by theSouthern-path (to regions or brightness and bliss). When he, O Srinjaya,who far surpassed thee in the four principal attributes and who was purerthan thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy child that isdead. We hear, O Srinjaya, that Sasavindu also, the son of Chitrasena,felt a prey to death. That high-souled king had a hundred thousand wives,and million of sorts. All of them used to wear golden armour and all ofthem were excellent bowmen. Each of those princes married a hundredprincesses, and each princess brought a hundred elephants. With each ofthose elephants were a hundred cars. With each car were a hundred steeds,all of good breed and all decked with trappings of gold. With each steedwere a hundred kine, and with each cow were a hundred sheep and goats.This countless wealth, O monarch, Sasavindu gave away, in aHorse-sacrifice, unto the Brahmanas. When he, O Srinjaya, who farsurpassed thee in the four principal attributes and who was purer thanthy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy child that is dead.We hear, O Srinjaya, that Gaya also, the son of Amurtarayas, fell a preyto death. For a hundred years, that king subsisted upon the remains ofsacrificial food. (Pleased with such devotion) Agni desired to give himboons. The boons solicited by Gaya were, ‘Let my wealth be inexhaustibleeven if I give ceaselessly. Let my regard for virtue exist for ever. Letmy heart ever take pleasure in Truth, through thy grace, O cater ofsacrificial libations.’ It hath been heard by us that king Gaya obtainedall those wishes from Agni. On days of the new moon, on those of the fullmoon, and on every fourth month, for a thousand years, Gaya repeatedlyperformed the Horse-sacrifice. Rising (at the completion of everysacrifice) he gave away a hundred thousand kine and hundreds of mules(unto the Brahmanas) during this period. That bull among men gratifiedthe gods with Soma, the Brahmanas with wealth, the Pitris with Swadha,and the women with the accomplishment of all their wishes. In his greatHorse-sacrifice, king Gaya caused a golden ground to be made, measuring ahundred cubits in length and fifty in breadth, and gave it away as thesacrificial fee. That foremost of men, viz., Gaya, the son ofAmurtarayas, gave away as many kine as there are sand grains, O king, inthe river Ganga. When he, O Srinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the fourprincipal attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey todeath, do not grieve for thy son that is dead. We hear, O Srinjaya, thatSankriti’s son Rantideva also fell a prey to death. Having undergone theausterest of penances and adored him with great reverence, he obtainedthese boons from Sakra, having solicited them, saying ‘Let us haveabundant food and numerous guests. Let not my faith sustain anydiminution, and let us not have to ask anything of any person.’ Theanimals, both domestic and wild, slaughtered in his sacrifice, used tocome to him, viz., the high-souled Rantideva of rigid vows and greatfame, of their own accord. The secretions that flowed from the skins ofthe animals (slaughtered in his sacrifices), produced a mighty andcelebrated river which to this day is known by the name of Charmanwati.King Rantideva used to make gifts unto the Brahmanas in an extensiveenclosure. When the king said, ‘Unto thee I give a hundred nishkas! Untothee I give a hundred,’ the Brahmanas (without accepting what wasoffered) made a noise (expressive of refusal). When, however, the kingwould say, ‘I give a thousand nishkas,’ the gifts were all accepted. Allthe vessels and plates, in Rantideva’s palace, for holding food and otherarticles, all the jugs and pots, the pans and plates and cups, were ofgold. On those nights during which the guests used to live in Rantideva’sabode, twenty thousand and one hundred kine had to be slaughtered. Yeteven on such occasions, the cooks, decked in ear-rings, used to proclaim(amongst those that sat down to supper): ‘There is abundant soup, take asmuch as ye wish; but of flesh we have not as much today as on formeroccasions.’ When he, O Srinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the fourprincipal attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey todeath, do not grieve for thy son that is dead. We hear, O Srinjaya, thatthe high-souled Sagara also fell a prey to death. He was of Ikshvaku’srace, a tiger among men, and of superhuman prowess. Sixty thousand sonsused to walk behind him, like myriads upon myriads of stars waiting uponthe Moon in the cloudless firmament of autumn. His sway extended over thewhole of this earth.[101] He gratified the gods by performing a thousandHorse-sacrifices. He gave away unto deserving Brahmanas palatial mansionswith columns of gold and (other parts) made entirely of that preciousmetal, containing costly beds and bevies of beautiful ladies with eyesresembling petals of the lotus, and diverse other kinds of valuableobjects. At his command, the Brahmanas divided those gifts amongthemselves. Through anger that king caused the earth to be excavatedwhereupon she came to have the ocean on her bosom, and for this, theocean has come to be called Sagara after his name. When he, O Srinjaya,who far surpassed thee in the four principal attributes and who was purerthan thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son that isdead. We hear, O Srinjaya, that king Prithu also, the son of Vena, fell aprey to death. The great Rishis, assembling together in the great forest,installed him in the sovereignty of the earth. And because it was thoughtthat he would advance all mankind, he was, for that reason, called Prithu(the advancer). And because also he protected people from injuries(Kshata), he was, for that reason, called a Kshatriya (protector frominjuries). Beholding Prithu the son of Vena, all the creatures of theearth exclaimed, ‘We have been lovingly attached to him.’ From thiscircumstance of the loving attachment (to him of all creatures), he cameto be called a Raja (one that can inspire attachment). The earth, duringhis sway, yielded crops without being tilled, every leaf that the treeshad bore honey; and every cow yielded a jugful of milk. All men were haleand all their wishes used to be crowned with fruition. They had no fearof any kind. They used to live, as they pleased, in fields or in(sheltered) houses. When Prithu desired to go over the sea, the watersbecame solidified. The rivers also never swelled up when he had to crossthem but remained perfectly calm. The standard on his car moved freelyeverywhere (without being obstructed by any impediment). King Prithu, inone of his grand Horse-sacrifices, gave away unto the Brahman as one andtwenty mountains of gold, each measuring three nalwas.[102] When he, OSrinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the four principal attributes and whowas purer than thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy sonthat is dead. Upon what, O Srinjaya, dost thou reflect in silence? Itseems, O king, that thou hearest not these words of mine. If thou hastnot heard them, then this discourse of mine has been a fruitlessrhapsody, like medicine or diet, to a person on the point of death.’

“Srinjaya said, ‘I am attending, O Narada, to this discourse of thine, ofexcellent import and perfumed like a garland of flowers,–this discourseupon the conduct of high-souled royal sages of meritorious deeds andgreat fame, that can certainly dispel grief. Thy discourse, O great sage,has not been a fruitless rhapsody. I have been freed from grief at thyvery sight. Like one never satiated with drinking nectar, I am notsatiated with thy words. O thou of true sight, if thou, O lord, beinclined to show thy grace towards this person burning on account of thedeath of his son, then that son, through that grace of thine, is sure tobe revived and to mingle once more with me (in this life).

“Narada said, ‘I will give back to thee that son of thine, namedSuvarnashthivin, whom Parvata gave thee and who has been bereft of life.Of the splendour of gold, that child shall have a thousand years.'”