Chapter 31

Vaisampayana said, “The royal son of Pandu then addressed Narada, saying,’O holy one, I desire to hear of the birth of the child whose excretawere gold.’ Thus addressed by king Yudhishthira the just, the sage Naradabegan to narrate to him all that had occurred in connection with thatchild of golden excreta.

“Narada said, ‘It is even so, O thou of mighty arms, as Kesava here hathsaid. Asked by thee I shall now recite the portion that remains of thisstory. Myself, and my sister’s son, the great ascetic Parvata, came (onone occasion) unto Srinjaya that foremost of all victorious kings, fordwelling with him. Honoured by him with due rites, and with every wish ofours gratified, we took up our residence in his abode. After the seasonof rains had gone, and when the time came for our own departure, Parvatasaid unto me those words of grave import suitable to the hour: ‘We have,O Brahmana, dwelt in the abode of this king for some time, highlyhonoured by him. Think of what return we should make.’ I then, O monarch,addressed Parvata of blessed aspect, saying, ‘O nephew, this becomesthee, and, O thou of great power, all this depends upon thyself. Throughthy boons let the king be made happy and let him obtain his wishes. Or,if thou choosest, let him be crowned with success through the asceticmerits of both of us.’ After this, Parvata having called king Srinjaya,that foremost of victorious persons, said unto him these words O bull ofKuru’s race, ‘We have been exceedingly gratified, O king, with thyhospitable attentions given to us with every sincerity. With ourpermission, O foremost of men, think of the boon thou shouldst solicit.Let the boon, however, be such that it may not imply enmity to the godsor destruction to men! Accept then, O king, a boon, for thou deservestone as we think.’ Hearing these words, Srinjaya replied, ‘If ye have beengratified with me, my object then has been gained, for that of itself hasbeen my greatest gain and that is regarded by me as the fruition of allmy desire.’ Unto Srinjaya who said so, Parvata again said, ‘Solicit, Oking, the fruition of that wish which thou art cherishing in thy heart,for a long time.’ Srinjaya answered, ‘I desire a son that shall be heroicand possessed of great energy, firm in his vows and of long life, highlyblessed and possessed of splendour equal to that of the Chief himself ofthe deities.’ At this, Parvata said, ‘This thy desire shall be fulfilled.Thy child, however, shall not be long-lived, for thy wish for such a sonis even for prevailing over the Chief of the gods. Thy son shall be knownby the name of Suvarnashthivin. He shall be possessed of splendour likethat of the Chief of the gods but take care to protect him always fromthat deity.’ Hearing these words of the high-souled Parvata, Srinjayabegan to beseech that saint for ordaining otherwise, saying, ‘Let my sonbe long-lived, O Muni, through thy ascetic merit.’ Parvata, however, saidnothing, through partiality for Indra. Beholding the king very cheerless,I said unto him, ‘Think of me, O king, (in thy distress), and I shallpromise to come when thought of by thee. Do not grieve, O lord of earth!I will give thee back thy beloved child, even if he be dead, in hisliving form.’ Having said so unto that monarch, both of us left hispresence for coming to where we wished, and Srinjaya returned to hisabode as he pleased. After some time had elapsed, the royal sage Srinjayahad born unto him a son of great prowess and blazing forth with energy.The child grew up like a large lotus in a lake, and becameSuvarnashthivin in reality as in name. This extraordinary fact, O best ofthe Kurus, soon became widely known over the world. The Chief of the godsalso came to know it as the result of Parvata’s boon. Fearing humiliation(at the hands of the child when he would grow up), the slayer of Vala andVritra began to watch for the laches of the prince. He commanded hiscelestial weapon Thunder, standing before him in embodied shape, saying,’Go, O puissant one, and assuming the form of a tiger slay this prince.When grown up, this child of Srinjaya may, by his achievements, humiliateme, O Thunder, as Parvata said.’ Thus addressed by Sakra, the celestialweapon Thunder, that subjugator of hostile towns, began from that day tocontinually watch for the laches of the prince. Srinjaya, meanwhile,having obtained that child whose splendour resembled that of Indrahimself, became filled with joy. The king, accompanied by his wives, andthe other ladies of his household, took up his residence in the midst ofa forest. One day, on the shores of the Bhagirathi, the boy, accompaniedby his nurse, ran hither and thither in play. Though only five years ofage, his prowess, even then, resembled that of a mighty elephant. Whilethus employed, the child met a powerful tiger that came upon himsuddenly. The infant prince trembled violently as he was being crushed bythe tiger and soon fell down lifeless on the earth. At this sight thenurse uttered loud cries of grief. Having slain the prince, the tiger,through Indra’s powers of delusion, vanished there and then. Hearing thevoice of the crying nurse, the king, in great anxiety, ran to the spot.He beheld his son there, his blood quaffed off, and lying lifeless on theground like the moon dropped from the firmament. Taking up on his lap theboy covered with blood, the king, with heart stricken by grief, began tolament piteously. The royal ladies then, afflicted with grief and crying,quickly ran to the spot where king Srinjaya was. In that situation theking thought of me with concentrated attention. Knowing that the king wasthinking of me I appeared before him. Stricken with grief as the kingwas, I recited to him all those stories, O monarch, that hero of Yadu’srace has already recited to thee. I brought Srinjaya’s child back tolife, with Indra’s permission. That which is ordained must occur. It isimpossible that it should be otherwise. After this, princeSuvarnashthivin of great fame and energy began to delight the hearts ofhis parents. Of great prowess, he ascended the throne of his father afterthe latter had repaired to heaven, and ruled for a period of one thousandand one hundred years. He worshipped the gods in many great sacrificescharacterised by profuse presents. Possessed of great splendour, hegratified the gods and the Pitris. Having procreated many sons, all ofwhom by their issues multiplied the race, he went the way of all nature,O king, after many years. Do thou, O foremost of kings dispel this griefborn in thy heart, even as Kesava has counselled thee, as also Vyasa ofaustere penances. Rise up, O king, and bear the burthen of this thyancestral kingdom, and perform high and great sacrifices so that thoumayst obtain (hereafter) whatever regions may be desired by thee!'”