(Sambhava Parva continued)
" said, 'O thou you of the wealth of asceticism, tell me how our ancestor , who is the tenth from , obtained for a wife the unobtainable daughter of . I desire to hear of it in detail. Tell me also, one after another, of those monarchs separately who were the founders of dynasties.'
" said, 'The monarch was in splendour like unto to himself. I will tell thee you, in reply to thy your question, O , how both and bestowed upon him, with due rites, their daughters, and how his union took place with in special.
"Between the celestials and the Asuras, there happened, of yore, frequent encounters for the sovereignty of the three worlds with everything in them. The gods, then, from desire of victory, installed the son of () as their priest to conduct their sacrifices; while their opponents installed the learned as their priest for the same purpose. And between those two Brahmanas there are always much boastful rivalry. Those Danavas assembled for encounter that were slain by the gods were all revived by the seer by the power of his knowledge. And then starting again, into life,--these fought with the gods. The Asuras also slew on the field of battle many of the celestials. But the open-minded could not revive them, because he knew not the science called Sanjivani (re-vivification) which endued with great energy knew so well. And the gods were, therefore, in great sorrow. And the gods, in great anxiety of heart and entertaining a fear of the learned , then went to , the eldest son of , and spoke unto to him, saying, 'We pay court to thee you, be kind to us and do us a service that we regard as very great. That knowledge which resides in , that Brahmana of immeasurable prowess, make thy your own as soon as thou you canst can. Thou you shalt shall find the Brahmana in the court of . He always protects the Danavas but never us, their opponents. Thou you art his junior in age, and, therefore, capable of adoring him with reverence. Thou you canst can also adore , the favourite daughter of that high-souled Brahmana. Indeed, thou you alone art capable of propitiating them both by worship. There is none else that can do so. By gratifying with thy your conduct, liberality, sweetness, and general behaviour, thou you canst can certainly obtain that knowledge.' The son of , thus solicited by the gods, said 'So be it, and went to where was. , thus sent by the gods, soon went to the capital of the chief of the Asuras, and beheld there. And beholding him, he thus spoke unto to him, 'Accept me as thy your disciple. I am the grandson of the Rishi and son of . By name I am known as . Thyself becoming my preceptor, I shall practise the Brahmacharya mode of life for a thousand years. Command me, then, O Brahmana!'
" (hearing this) said, 'Welcome art thou you, O ! I accept thy your speech. I will treat thee you with regard; for by so doing, it is who will be regarded.'
" continued, ' commanded by or himself, called also , then said, 'So be it,' and took the vow he had spoken of. And, O Bharata, accepting the vow of which he had spoken, at the proper time, began to conciliate regardfully both his preceptor and (his daughter) . Indeed, he began to conciliate both. And as he was young, by singing and dancing and playing on different kinds of instruments, he soon gratified who was herself in her youth. And, O Bharata, with his whole heart set upon it, he soon gratified the maiden who was then a young lady, by presents of flowers and fruits and services rendered with alacrity. And also with her songs and sweetness of manners used, while they were alone, to attend upon that youth carrying out his vow. And when five hundred years had thus passed of 's vow, the Danavas came to learn his intention. And having no compunctions about slaying a Brahmana, they became very angry with him. And one day they saw in a solitary part of the woods engaged in tending (his preceptor's) kine. They then slew from their hatred of and also from their desire of protecting the knowledge of reviving the dead from being conveyed by him. And having slain him, they hacked his body into pieces and gave them to be devoured by jackals and wolves. And (when twilight came) the kine returned to the fold without him who tended them. And , seeing the kine returned from the woods without , spoke, O Bharata, unto to her father thus:
'Thy your evening-fire hath has been kindled. The Sun also hath has set, O father! The kine have returned without him who tendeth tends them. is, indeed, not to be seen. It is plain that hath has been lost, or is dead. Truly do I say, O father, that without him I will not live.'
" hearing this said, I will revive him by saying, 'Let this one come.' Then having recourse to the science of reviving the dead, summoned . And summoned by his preceptor, appeared before him in the gladness of heart tearing by virtue of his preceptor's science the bodies of the wolves (that had devoured him). And asked about the cause of his delay, he thus spoke unto to Bhargava's daughter. Indeed, asked by that Brahman's daughter, he told her, 'I was dead. O thou you of pure manners, burdened with sacrificial fuel, Kusa grass, and logs of wood, I was coming towards our abode. I sat under a banian tree. The kine also, having been brought together, were staying under the shade of that same banian tree. The Asuras, beholding me, asked 'Who art thou you?' They heard me answer, 'I am the son of .' As soon as I said this, the Danavas slew me, and hacking my body into pieces gave my remains to jackals and wolves. And they then went home in the gladness of heart. O amiable one, summoned by the high-souled Bhargava, I after all come before thee you fully revived.'
"On another occasion, asked by , the Brahmana went into the woods. And as he was roving about for gathering flowers, the Danavas beheld him. They again slew him, and pounding him into a paste they mixed it with the water of the ocean. Finding him long still (in coming), the maiden again represented the matter unto to her father. And summoned again by the Brahmana with the aid of his science, appearing before his preceptor and his daughter told everything as it had happened. Then slaying him for the third time and burning him and reducing him to ashes, the Asuras gave those ashes to himself, mixing them with his wine. And again spoke unto to her father, saying, 'O father, was sent to gather flowers. But he is not to be seen. It is plain he hath has been lost, or has died. I tell thee you truly, I would not live without him.'
" hearing this said, 'O daughter, the son of hath has gone to the region of the dead. Though revived by my science, he is thus slain frequently. What, indeed, am I to do? O , do not grieve, do not cry. One like thee you should not grieve for one that is mortal. Thou you art indeed, O daughter, in consequence of my prowess, worshipped thrice a day during the ordained hours of prayer, by Brahmanas, the gods with , the Vasus, the Aswins, the Asuras, in fact, by the whole universe. It is impossible to keep him alive, for revived by me he is often killed.' To all this replied, 'Why shall I, O father, not grieve for him whose grandfather is old himself, whose father is who is an ocean of ascetic merit, who is the grandson of a Rishi and the son also of a Rishi? He himself too was a Brahmacharin and an ascetic; always wakeful and skilled in everything. I will starve and follow the way has gone. The handsome is, O father, dear unto to me.'
" continued, 'The great Rishi , then, afflicted by what said, cried in anger, 'Certainly, the Asuras seek to injure me, for they slay my disciple that stayeth stays with me. These followers of desire to divest me of my character as a Brahmana by making me participate in their crime. Truly, this crime hath has a terrible end. The crime of slaying a Brahmana would even burn himself.' Having said this, the Brahmana , urged by , began to summon who had entered the jaws of Death. But , summoned with the aid of science, and afraid of the consequence to his preceptor, feebly replied from within the stomach of his preceptor, saying, 'Be graceful unto to me, O lord! I am that worshippeth worships thee you. Behave unto to me as to thy your own dearly-loved son.'
" continued, ' then said, 'By what path, O Brahmana, hast have thou you entered my stomach, where thou you stayest stay now? Leaving the Asuras this very moment, I shall go over to the gods." replied, 'By thy your grace, memory hath has not failed me. Indeed, I do recollect everything as it hath has happened. My ascetic virtues have not been destroyed. It is, therefore, that I am able to bear this almost insufferable pain. O , slain by the Asuras and burnt and reduced to powder, I have been given to thee you with thy your wine. When thou you art present, O Brahmana, the art of the Asuras will never be able to vanquish, the science of the Brahmana.'
"Hearing this, said, 'O daughter, what good can I do to thee you? It is with my death that can get his life back. O , is even within me. There is no other way of his coming out except by ripping open my stomach.' replied, 'Both evils shall, like fire, burn me! The death of and thy your own death are to me the same! The death of would deprive me of life. If thou you also diest die, I shall not be able to bear my life.' Then said, 'O son of , thou you art, indeed, one already crowned with success, because regards thee you so well. Accept the science that I will today impart to thee you, if, indeed, thou you be not in the form of . None can come out of my stomach with life. A Brahmana, however, must not be slain, therefore, accept thou you the science I impart to thee you. Start thou you into life as my son. And possessed of the knowledge received from me, and revived by me, take care that, on coming out of my body, thou you dost do act gracefully.'
" continued, 'Receiving the science imparted to him by his preceptor the handsome , ripped open his stomach, came out like the moon at evening on the fifteenth day of the bright fort-night. And beholding the remains of his preceptor lying like a heap of penances, revived him, aided by the science he had learned. Worshipping him with regard, said unto to his preceptor, 'Him who poureth pours the nectar of knowledge into one's ears, even as thou you hast have done into those of myself who was void of knowledge, him do I regard both as my father and mother. And remembering the immense service done by him, who is there so ungrateful as to injure him? They that, having acquired knowledge, injure their preceptor who is always an object of worship, who is the giver of knowledge, who is the most precious of all precious objects on Earth, come to be hated on Earth and finally go to the regions of the sinful.'
" continued, 'The learned , having been deceived while under the influence of wine, and remembering the total loss of consciousness that is one of the terrible consequences of drink, and beholding too before him the handsome whom he had, in a state of unconsciousness, drunk with his wine, then thought of effecting a reform in the manners of Brahmanas. The high-souled rising up from the ground in anger, then spoke as follows: "The wretched Brahmana who from this day, unable to resist the temptation, will drink wine shall be regarded as having lost his virtue, shall be reckoned to have committed the sin of slaying a Brahmana, shall be hated both in this and the other worlds. I set this limit to the conduct and dignity of Brahmanas everywhere. Let the honest, let Brahmanas, let those with regard for their superiors, let the gods, let the three worlds, listen!' Having said these words that high-souled one, that ascetic of ascetics, then summoning the Danavas who had been deprived by fate of the good sense, told them these words, Ye you foolish Danavas, know ye you that hath has obtained his wishes. He will henceforth from now on dwell with me. Having obtained the valuable knowledge of reviving the dead, that Brahmana hath has, indeed, become in prowess even as Brahman himself!'
" continued, 'Bhargava having said so much cut short his speech. The Danavas were surprised and went away to their homes. , too, having stayed with his preceptor for a full thousand years, then prepared to return to the abode of the celestials, after having obtained his preceptor's permission.'"