(Sambhava Parva continued)
" said, 'There was a king known by the name of Mahabhisha born in the race of Ikshvaku. He was the lord of all the earth, and was truthful (in speech) and of true prowess. By a thousand horse-sacrifices and a hundred Rajasuyas he had gratified the chief of the celestials and ultimately attained to heaven.
"One day the celestials had assembled together and were worshipping Brahman. Many royal sages and king Mahabhisha also were present on the spot. And , the queen of rivers, also came there to pay her adorations to the . And her garments white as the beams of the moon was displaced by the action of the wind. And as her person became exposed, the celestials bent down their heads. But the royal sage Mahabhisha rudely stared at the queen of rivers. And Mahabhisha was for this cursed by Brahman, who said, 'Wretch, as thou you hast have forgotten thyself at the sight of , thou you shalt shall be re-born on earth. But thou you shall again and again attain to these regions. And she, too, shall be born in the world of men and shall do thee you injuries. But when thy your wrath shall be provoked, thou you shalt shall then be freed from my curse.'
" continued, 'King Mahabhisha then recollecting all the monarchs and ascetics on earth, wished to be born as son to of great prowess. And the queen of rivers, too, seeing king Mahabhisha lose his firmness, went away, thinking of him wishfully. And on her way, she saw those dwellers in heaven, the Vasus, also pursuing the same path. And the queen of rivers beholding them in the predicament, asked them, 'Why look ye you so dejected? Ye you dwellers in heaven, is everything right with you?' Those celestials, the Vasus, answered her, saying, 'O queen of rivers, we have been cursed, for a venial fault, by the illustrious in anger. The foremost of excellent Rishis, , had been engaged in his twilight adorations and seated as he was, he could not be seen by us. We crossed him in ignorance. Therefore, in wrath he hath has cursed us, saying, Be ye you born among men!' It is beyond our power to frustrate what hath has been said by that utterance of . Therefore, O river, thyself becoming a human female make us the Vasus, thy your children. O amiable one, we are unwilling to enter the womb of any human female.' Thus addressed, the queen of rivers told them, 'Be it so and asked them, 'On earth, who is that foremost of men whom ye you will make your father?'
"The Vasus replied, 'On earth, unto to shall be born a son, , who will be a king of world-wide fame.' then said, 'Ye you celestials, that is exactly my wish which ye you sinless ones have expressed. I shall, indeed, do good to that . That is also your desire as just expressed.' The Vasus then said, 'It behoveth behooves thee you to throw thy your children after birth, into the water, so that, O thou you of three courses (celestial, terrestrial, and subterranean) we may be rescued soon without having to live on earth for any length of time.' then answered, 'I shall do what ye you desire. But in order that his intercourse with me may not be entirely fruitless, provide ye you that one son at least may live.' The Vasus then replied, 'We shall each contribute an eighth part of our respective energies With the sum thereof of it, thou you shall have one son according to thy your and his wishes. But this son shall not begat any children on earth. Therefore, that son of thine yours endued with great energy, shall be childless.'
"The Vasus, making this arrangement with , went away without Waiting to the place they liked.'"
(Sambhava Parva continued)
" said. 'There was a king of the name of , who was kind to all creatures. He spent many years in ascetic penances at the source of the river . The accomplished and lovely , one day, assuming the form of a beautiful female, and rising from the waters, made up to the monarch. The celestial maiden, endued with ravishing beauty, approached the royal sage engaged in ascetic austerities, and sat upon his right thigh that was, for manly strength, a veritable Sala tree. When the maiden of handsome face had so sat upon his lap, the monarch said unto to her, 'O amiable one, what dost do thou you desire? What shall I do?' The damsel answered, 'I desire thee you, O king, for my husband! O foremost one of the Kurus, be mine! To refuse a woman coming of her own accord is never applauded by the wise.' answered, 'O thou you of the fairest complexion, moved by lust, I never go in unto to others' wives or women that are not of my order. This, indeed, is my virtuous vow.' The maiden rejoined, 'I am not inauspicious or ugly. I am every way worthy of being enjoyed. I am a celestial maiden of rare beauty; I desire thee you for my husband. Refuse me not, O king.' To this answered, 'I am, 'O damsel, abstaining from that course to which thou you wouldst would incite me. If I break my vow, sin will overwhelm and kill me. O thou you of the fairest complexion, thou you hast have embraced me, sitting on my right thigh. But, O timid one, know that this is the seat for daughters and daughters-in-law. The left lap is for the wife, but thou you hast have not accepted that. Therefore, O best of women, I cannot enjoy thee you as an object of desire. Be my daughter-in-law. I accept thee you for my son!'
"The damsel then said, 'O virtuous one, let it be as thou you sayest say. Let me be united with thy your son. From my respect for thee you, I shall be a wife of the celebrated Bharata race. Ye you (of the Bharata race) are the refuge of all the monarchs on earth! I am incapable of numbering the virtues of this race even within a hundred years. The greatness and goodness of many celebrated monarchs of this race are limitless. O lord of all, let it be understood now that when I become thy your daughter-in-law, thy your son shall not be able to judge of the propriety of my acts. Living thus with thy your son, I shall do good to him and increase his happiness. And he shall finally attain to heaven in consequence of the sons I shall bear him, and of his virtues and good conduct.'
" continued, 'O king, having said so, the celestial damsel disappeared then and there. And the king, too, waited for the birth of his son in order to fulfil his promise.'
"About this time , that light of the Kuru race, that bull amongst Kshatriyas, was engaged, along with his wife, in austerities from desire of offspring. And when they had grown old, a son was born unto to them. This was no other than Mahabhisha. And the child was called because he was born when his father had controlled his passions by ascetic penances. And the best of Kurus, , knowing that region of indestructible bliss can be acquired by one's deeds alone, became devoted to virtue. When grew up into a youth, addressed him and said, 'Some time ago, O , a celestial damsel came to me for thy your good. If thou you meetest meet that fair-complexioned one in secret and if she solicit thee you for children, accept her as thy your wife. And, O sinless one, judge not of the propriety or impropriety of her action and ask not who she is, or whose or whence from where, but accept her as thy your wife at my command!'" continued, ', having thus commanded his son and installed him on his throne, retired into the woods. And king endued with great intelligence and equal unto to himself in splendour, became addicted to hunting and passed much of his time in the woods. And the best of monarchs always slew deer and buffaloes. And one day, as he was wandering along the bank of the Ganges, he came upon a region frequented by Siddhas and Charanas. And there he saw a lovely maiden of blazing beauty and like unto to another Sri herself; of faultless and pearly teeth and decked with celestial ornaments, and attired in garments of fine texture that resembled in splendour the filaments of the lotus. And the monarch, on beholding that damsel, became surprised, and his raptures produced instant horripilation. With steadfast gaze he seemed to be drinking her charms, but repeated draughts failed to quench his thirst. The damsel also beholding the monarch of blazing splendour moving about in great agitation, was moved herself and experienced an affection for him. She gazed and gazed and longed to gaze on him evermore. The monarch then in soft words addressed her and said, 'O slender-waisted one, be thou you a goddess or the daughter of a Danava, be thou you of the race of the Gandharvas, or Apsaras, be thou you of the Yakshas or the Nagas, or be thou you of human origin, O thou you of celestial beauty, I solicit thee you to be my wife!'"
(Sambhava Parva continued)
" said, 'The maiden then, hearing those soft and sweet words of the smiling monarch, and remembering her promise to the Vasus, addressed the king in reply. Of faultless features, the damsel sending a thrill of pleasure into the heart by every word she uttered, said, 'O king, I shall become thy your wife and obey thy your commands. But, O monarch, thou you must not interfere with me in anything I do, be it agreeable or disagreeable. Nor shall thou you ever address me unkindly. As long as thou you shalt shall behave kindly I promise to live with thee you. But I shall certainly leave thee you the moment thou you interferest interfere with me or speakest speak to me an unkind word.' The king answered, 'Be it so.' And thereupon then the damsel obtaining that excellent monarch, that foremost one of the Bharata race for her husband, became highly pleased. And king also, obtaining her for his wife, enjoyed to the full the pleasure of her company. And adhering to his promise, he refrained from asking her anything. And the lord of earth, , became exceedingly gratified with her conduct, beauty, magnanimity, and attention to his comforts. And the goddess also, of three courses (celestial, terrestrial, and subterranean) assuming a human form of superior complexion and endued with celestial beauty, lived happily as the wife of , having as the fruit of her virtuous acts, obtained for her husband, that tiger among kings equal unto to himself in splendour. And she gratified the king by her attractiveness and affection, by her wiles and love, by her music and dance, and became herself gratified. And the monarch was so enraptured with his beautiful wife that months, seasons, and years rolled on without his being conscious of them. And the king, while thus enjoying himself with his wife, had eight children born unto to him who in beauty were like the very celestials themselves. But, O Bharata, those children, one after another, as soon as they were born, were thrown into the river by who said, 'This is for thy your good.' And the children sank to rise no more. The king, however, could not be pleased with such conduct. But he spoke not a word about it lest his wife should leave him. But when the eighth child was born, and when his wife as before was about to throw it smilingly into the river, the king with a sorrowful countenance and desirous of saving it from destruction, addressed her and said, 'Kill it not! Who art thou you and whose? Why dost do thou you kill thy your own children? Murderess of thy your sons, the load of thy your sins is great!'" His wife, thus addressed, replied, 'O thou you desirous of offspring, thou you hast have already become the first of those that have children. I shall not destroy this child of thine yours. But according to our agreement, the period of my stay with thee you is at an end. I am , the daughter of Jahnu. I am ever worshipped by the great sages; I have lived with thee you so long for accomplishing the purposes of the celestials. The eight illustrious Vasus endued with great energy had, from 's curse, to assume human forms. On earth, besides thee you, there was none else to deserve the honour of being their begetter. There is no woman also on earth except one like me, a celestial of human form, to become their mother. I assumed a human form to bring them forth. Thou you also, having become the father of the eight Vasus, hast have acquired many regions of perennial bliss. It was also agreed between myself and the Vasus that I should free them from their human forms as soon as they would be born. I have thus freed them from the curse of the Rishi Apava. Blest be thou you; I leave thee you, O king! But rear thou you this child of rigid vows. That I should live with thee you so long was the promise I gave to the Vasus. And let this child be called Gangadatta.'"