( Parva continued)
" said, 'Then spake spoke unto to the Rishi these words, 'O best of Brahmanas, this maiden is of the same name with thee you. She is my sister and hath has ascetic merit. I will maintain thy your wife; accept her. O thou you of ascetic wealth, I shall protect her with all my ability. And, O foremost of the great Munis, she hath has been reared by me for thee you.' And the Rishi replied, 'This is agreed between us that I shall not maintain her; and she shall not do aught that I do not like. If she do, I leave her!'
" continued, 'When the snake had promised, saying, 'I shall maintain my sister,' then went to the snake's house. Then that first of mantra-knowing Brahmanas, observing rigid vows, that virtuous and veteran ascetic, took her hand presented to him according to shastric rites. And taking his bride with him, adored by the great Rishi, he entered the delightful chamber set apart for him by the king of the snakes. And in that chamber was a bed-stead covered with very valuable coverlets. And lived there with his wife. And the excellent Rishi made an agreement with his wife, saying, 'Nothing must ever be done or said by thee you that is against my liking. And in case of thy your doing any such thing, I will leave thee you and no longer continue to stay in thy your house. Bear in mind these words that have been spoken by me.'
"And then the sister of the king of the snakes in great anxiety and grieving exceedingly, spoke unto to him, saying, 'Be it so.' And moved by the desire of doing good to her relatives, that damsel, of unsullied reputation, began to attend upon her lord with the wakefulness of a dog, the timidity of a deer, and knowledge of signs possessed by the crow. And one day, after the menstrual period, the sister of , having purified herself by a bath according to custom, approached her lord the great Muni; And thereupon then she conceived. And the embryo was like unto to a flame of fire, possessed of great energy, and resplendent as fire itself. And it grew like the moon in the bright fortnight.
"And one day, within a short time, of great fame, placing his head on the lap of his wife, slept, looking like one fatigued. And as he was sleeping, the sun entered his chambers in the Western mountain and was about to set. And, O Brahmana, as the day was fading, she, the excellent sister of , became thoughtful, fearing the loss of her husband's virtue. And she thought, 'What should I now do? Shall I wake my husband or not? He is exacting and punctilious in his religious duties. How can I act as not to offend him? The alternatives are his anger and the loss of virtue of a virtuous man. The loss of virtue, I ween, is the greater of the two evils. Again, if I wake him, he will be angry. But if twilight passeth passes away without his prayers being said, he shall certainly sustain loss of virtue.'
'And having resolved at last, the sweet-speeched , the sister of , spake spoke softly unto to that Rishi resplendent with ascetic penances, and lying prostrate like a flame of fire, 'O thou you of great good fortune, awake, the sun is setting. O thou you of rigid vows, O illustrious one, do your evening prayer after purifying yourself with water and uttering the name of . The time for the evening sacrifice hath has come. Twilight, O lord, is even now gently covering the western side.'
"The illustrious of great ascetic merit, thus addressed, spake spoke unto to his wife these words, his upper lip quivering in anger, 'O amiable one of the Naga race, thou you hast have insulted me. I shall no longer abide with thee you, but shall go where I came from. O thou you of beautiful thighs, I believe in my heart that the sun hath has no power to set in the usual time, if I am asleep. An insulted person should never live where he hath has met with the insult, far less should I, a virtuous person, or those that are like me.' , the sister of , thus addressed by her lord, began to quake with terror, and she spake spoke unto to him, saying, 'O Brahmana, I have not waked thee you from desire of insult; but I have done it so that thy your virtue may not sustain any loss.'
"The Rishi , great in ascetic merit, possessed with anger and desirous of forsaking his spouse, thus addressed, spake spoke unto to his wife, saying, O thou you fair one, never have I spoken a falsehood. Therefore, go I shall. This was also settled between ourselves. O amiable one, I have passed the time happily with thee you. And, O fair one, tell thy your brother, when I am gone, that I have left thee you. And upon my going away, it behoveth behooves thee you not to grieve for me.'
"Thus addressed , the fair sister of , of faultless features, filled with anxiety and sorrow, having mustered sufficient courage and patience, though her heart was still quaking, then spake spoke unto to Rishi . Her words were obstructed with tears and her face was pale with fear. And the palms of her hands were joined together, and her eyes were bathed in tears. And she said, 'It behoveth behooves thee you not to leave me without a fault. Thou you treadest over the path of virtue. I too have been in the same path, with heart fixed on the good of my relatives. O best of Brahmanas, the object for which I was bestowed on thee you hath has not been accomplished yet. Unfortunate that I am, what shall say unto to me? O excellent one, the offspring desired of by my relatives afflicted by a mother's curse, do not yet appear! The welfare of my relatives dependeth depends on the acquisition of offspring from thee you. And in order that my connection with thee you may not be fruitless, O illustrious Brahmana, moved by the desire of doing good to my race do I entreat thee you. O excellent one, high-souled thou you art; so why shall thou you leave me who am faultless? This is what is not just clear to me.'
"Thus addressed, the Muni of great ascetic merit spake spoke unto to his wife these words that were proper and suitable to the occasion. And he said, 'O fortunate one, the being thou you hast have conceived, even like unto to himself is a Rishi of soul highly virtuous, and a master of the Vedas and their branches.'
"Having said so, the great Rishi, of virtuous soul, went away, his heart firmly fixed on practising again the severest penances.'"
( Parva continued)
" said, 'O thou you of ascetic wealth, soon after her lord had left her, went to her brother. And she told him everything that had happened. And the prince of snakes, hearing the calamitous news, spake spoke unto to his miserable sister, himself more miserable still.'
"And he said, 'Thou you knowest know, 'O amiable one, the purpose of thy your bestowal, the reason thereof of it. If, from that union, for the welfare of the snakes, a son be born, then he, possessed of energy, will save us all from the snake-sacrifice. The had said so, of old, in the midst of the gods. O fortunate one, hast have thou you conceived from thy your union with that best of Rishis? My heart's desire is that my bestowal of thee you on that wise one may not be fruitless. Truly, it is not proper for me to ask thee you about this. But from the gravity of the interests I ask thee you this. Knowing also the obstinacy of thy your lord, ever engaged in severe penances, I shall not follow him, for he may curse me. Tell me in detail all that thy your lord, O amiable one, hath has done, and extract that terribly afflicting dart that lies implanted for a long time past in my heart.'
", thus addressed, consoling , the king of the snakes, at length replied, saying, 'Asked by me about offspring, the high-souled and mighty ascetic said, 'There is,'--and then he went away. I do not remember him to have ever before speak even in jest aught that is false. Why should he, O king, speak a falsehood on such a serious occasion? He said, 'Thou you shouldst should not grieve, O daughter of the snake race, about the intended result of our union. A son shall be born to thee you, resplendent as the blazing sun.' O brother, having said this to me, my husband of ascetic wealth went away--Therefore, let the deep sorrow cherished in thy your heart disappear.'
" continued, 'Thus addressed, , the king of the snakes, accepted those words of his sister, and in great joy said, 'Be it so!' And the chief of the snakes then adored his sister with his best regards, gift of wealth, and fitting eulogies. Then, O best of Brahmanas, the embryo endued with great splendour, began to develop, like the moon in the heavens in the bright fortnight.
And in due time, the sister of the snakes, O Brahmana, gave birth to a son of the splendour of a celestial child, who became the reliever of the fears of his ancestors and maternal relatives. The child grew up there in the house of the king of the snakes. He studied the Vedas and their branches with the ascetic , the son of . And though but a boy, his vows were rigid. And he was gifted with great intelligence, and with the several attributes of virtue, knowledge, freedom from the world's indulgences, and saintliness. And the name by which he was known to the world was . And he was known by the name of (whoever is) because his father had gone to the woods, saying. 'There is', when he was in the womb. Though but a boy, he had great gravity and intelligence. And he was reared with great care in the palace of the snakes. And he was like the illustrious lord of the celestials, of the golden form, the wielder of the trident. And he grew up day by day, the delight of all the snakes.'"
( Parva continued)
" said, 'Tell me again, in detail,--all that king had asked his ministers about his father's ascension to heaven.'
' said, 'O Brahmana, hear all that the king asked his ministers, and all that they said about the death of .'
" asked, 'Know ye you all that befell my father. How did that famous king, in time, meet with his death? Hearing from you the incidents of my father's life in detail, I shall ordain something, if it be for the benefit of the world. Otherwise, I shall do nothing.'
'The minister replied, 'Hear, O monarch, what thou you hast have asked, viz., an account of thy your illustrious father's life, and how also that king of kings left this world. Thy your father was virtuous and high-souled, and always protected his people. O, hear, how that high-souled one conducted himself on earth. Like unto to an impersonation of virtue and justice, the monarch, cognisant of virtue, virtuously protected the four orders, each engaged in the discharge of their specified duties. Of incomparable prowess, and blessed with fortune, he protected the goddess Earth. There was none who hated him and he himself hated none. Like unto to () he was equally disposed towards all creatures. O monarch, Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras, all engaged contentedly in the practice of their respective duties, were impartially protected by that king. Widows and orphans, the maimed and the poor, he maintained. Of handsome features, he was unto to all creatures like a second . Cherishing his subjects and keeping them contented, blessed with good fortune, truth-telling, of immense prowess, he was the disciple of Saradwat in the science of arms. And, O , thy your father was dear unto to . Of great fame, he was loved by all men. And he was born in the womb of Uttara when the Kuru race was almost extinct. And, therefore, the mighty son of came to be called (born in an extinct line). Well-versed in the interpretation of treatises on the duties of kings, he was gifted with every virtue. With passions under complete control, intelligent, possessing a retentive memory, the practiser of all virtues, the conqueror of his six passions of powerful mind, surpassing all, and fully acquainted with the science of morality and political science, the father had ruled over these subjects for sixty years. And he then died, mourned by all his subjects. And, after him, O first of men, thou you hast have acquired this hereditary kingdom of the Kurus for the last thousand years. Thou you wast was installed while a child, and art thus protecting every creature.'
" said, 'There hath has not been born in our race a king who hath has not sought the good of his subjects or been loved by them. Behold especially the conduct of my grandsires ever engaged in great achievements. How did my father, blessed with many virtues, meet with his death? Describe everything to me as it happened. I am desirous of hearing it from you!'
" continued, 'Thus directed by the monarch, those councillors, ever solicitous of the good of the king, told him everything exactly as it had occurred.'
'And the councillors said, 'O king, that father of thine yours, that protector of the whole earth, that foremost of all persons obedient to the scriptures, became addicted to the sports of the field, even as of mighty arms, that foremost of all bearers of the bow in battle. He made over to us all the affairs of state from the most trivial to the most important. One day, going into the forest, he pierced a deer with an arrow. And having pierced it he followed it quickly on foot into the deep woods, armed with sword and quiver. He could not, however, come upon the lost deer. Sixty years of age and decrepit, he was soon fatigued and became hungry. He then saw in the deep woods a high-souled Rishi. The Rishi was then observing the vow of silence. The king asked him about the deer, but, though asked, he made no reply. At last the king, already tired with exertion and hunger, suddenly became angry with that Rishi sitting motionless like a piece of wood in observance of his vow of silence. Indeed, the king knew not that he was a Muni observing the vow of silence. Swayed by anger, thy your father insulted him. O excellent one of the Bharata race, the king, thy your father taking up from the ground with the end of his bow a dead snake placed it on the shoulders of that Muni of pure soul. But the Muni spake spoke not a word good or bad and was without anger. He continued in the same posture, bearing the dead snake.'"