(Sambhava Parva continued)
" said, ', then, at the command of , offered the wealth he had acquired by the prowess of his arms to , their grand-mother and their mothers. And he sent portion of his wealth to also. And the virtuous gratified his other relatives also with similar presents. Then and and the Kosala princes were all gratified with the presents made out of the acquisitions of his prowess. And in particular, upon embracing her son of incomparable prowess, became as glad as the queen of heaven upon embracing Jayanta. And with the wealth acquired by that hero performed five great sacrifices that were equal unto to a hundred great horse-sacrifices, at all of which the offerings to Brahmanas were by hundreds and thousands.
"A little while after, O bull of Bharata's race, who had achieved a victory over sloth and lethargy, accompanied by his two wives, and , retired into the woods. Leaving his excellent palace with its luxurious beds, he became a permanent inhabitant of the woods, devoting the whole of his time to the chase of the deer. And fixing his abode in a delightful and hilly region overgrown with huge sala trees, on the southern slope of the Himavat mountains, he roamed about in perfect freedom. The handsome with his two wives wandered in those woods like accompanied by two she-elephants. And the dwellers in those woods, beholding the heroic Bharata prince in the company of his wives, armed with sword, arrows, and bow, clad with his beautiful armour, and skilled in all excellent weapons, regarded him as the very god wandering amongst them.
"And at the command of , people were busy in supplying in his retirement with every object of pleasure and enjoyment.
"Meanwhile the son of the ocean-going heard that king Devaka had a daughter endued with youth and beauty and begotten upon a Sudra wife. Bringing her from her father's abode, married her to of great wisdom. And begot upon her many children like unto to himself in accomplishments.'"
(Sambhava Parva continued)
" said, 'Meanwhile, O , begat upon a hundred sons, and upon a Vaisya wife another besides those hundred. And had, by his two wives and , five sons who were great charioteers and who were all begotten by the celestials for the perpetuation of the Kuru line.'
" said, 'O best of Brahmanas, how did bring forth those hundred sons and in how many years? What were also the periods of life allotted to each? How did also beget another son in a Vaisya wife? How did behave towards his loving obedient, and virtuous wife ? How were also begotten the five sons of , those mighty charioteers, even though himself laboured under the curse of the great Rishi (he slew)? Tell me all this in detail, for my thirst for hearing everything relating to my own ancestor hath has not been slaked.'
" said, 'One day entertained with respectful attention the great who came to her abode, exhausted with hunger and fatigue. Gratified with 's hospitality, the Rishi gave her the boon she asked for, viz., that she should have a century of sons each equal unto to her lord in strength and accomplishments. Some time after conceived and she bore the burden in her womb for two long years without being delivered. And she was greatly afflicted at this. It was then that she heard that had brought forth a son whose splendour was like unto to the morning sun. Impatient of the period of gestation which had prolonged so long, and deprived of reason by grief, she struck her womb with great violence without the knowledge of her husband. And thereupon then came out of her womb, after two years' growth, a hard mass of flesh like unto to an iron ball. When she was about to throw it away, , learning everything by his spiritual powers, promptly came there, and that first of ascetics beholding that ball of flesh, addressed the daughter of thus, 'What hast have thou you done?' , without endeavouring to disguise her feelings, addressed the Rishi and said, 'Having heard that had brought forth a son like unto to in splendour, I struck in grief at my womb. Thou you hadst had, O Rishi, granted me the boon that I should have a hundred sons, but here is only a ball of flesh for those hundred sons!' then said, 'Daughter of , it is even so. But my words can never be futile. I have not spoken an untruth even in jest. I need not speak of other occasions. Let a hundred pots full of clarified butter be brought instantly, and let them be placed at a concealed spot. In the meantime, let cool water be sprinkled over this ball of flesh.'
" continued, 'That ball of flesh then, sprinkled over with water, became, in time, divided into a hundred and one parts, each about the size of the thumb. These were then put into those pots full of clarified butter that had been placed at a concealed spot and were watched with care. The illustrious then said unto to the daughter of Suvala that she should open the covers of the pots after full two years. And having said this and made these arrangements, the wise went to the Himavat mountains for devoting himself to asceticism.
"Then in time, king was born from among those pieces of the ball of flesh that had been deposited in those pots. According to the order of birth, king was the oldest. The news of 's birth was carried to and the wise . The day that the haughty was born was also the birth-day of of mighty arms and great prowess.
"As soon as was born, he began to cry and bray like an ass. And hearing that sound, the asses, vultures, jackals and crows uttered their respective cries responsively. Violent winds began to blow, and there were fires in various directions. Then king in great fear, summoning and and other well-wishers and all the Kurus, and numberless Brahmanas, addressed them and said, 'The oldest of those princes, , is the perpetuator of our line. By virtue of his birth he hath has acquired the kingdom. We have nothing to say to this. But shall this my son born after him become king? Tell me truly what is lawful and right under these circumstances.' As soon as these words were spoken, O Bharata, jackals and other carnivorous animals began to howl ominously And marking those frightful omens all around, the assembled Brahmanas and the wise replied, 'O king, O bull among men, when these frightful omens are noticeable at the birth of thy your eldest son, it is evident that he shall be the exterminator of thy your race. The prosperity of all dependeth depends on his abandonment. Calamity there must be in keeping him. O king, if thou you abandonest him, there remain yet thy your nine and ninety sons. If thou you desirest the good of thy your race, abandon him, O Bharata! O king, do good to the world and thy your own race by casting off this one child of thine yours. It hath has been said that an individual should be cast off for the sake of the family; that a family should be cast off for the sake of a village; that a village may be abandoned for the sake of the whole country; and that the earth itself may be abandoned for the sake of the soul.' When and those Brahmanas had stated so, king out of affection for his son had not the heart to follow that advice. Then, O king, within a month, were born a full hundred sons unto to and a daughter also in excess of this hundred. And during the time when was in a state of advanced pregnancy, there was a maid servant of the Vaisya class who used to attend on . During that year, O king, was begotten upon her by the illustrious a son endued with great intelligence who was afterwards named Yuvutsu. And because he was begotten by a Kshatriya upon a Vaisya woman, he came to be called Karna.
"Thus were born unto to the wise a hundred sons who were all heroes and mighty chariot-fighters, and a daughter over and above the hundred, and another son of great energy and prowess begotten upon a Vaisya woman.'"
(Sambhava Parva continued)
" said, 'O sinless one, thou you hast have narrated to me from the beginning all about the birth of 's hundred sons owing to the boon granted by the Rishi. But thou you hast have not told me as yet any particulars about the birth of the daughter. Thou you hast have merely said that over and above the hundred sons, there was another son named begotten upon a Vaisya woman, and a daughter. The great Rishi of immeasurable energy said unto to the daughter of the king of Gandhara that she would become the mother of a hundred sons. Illustrious one, how is that thou you sayest say had a daughter over and above her hundred sons? If the ball of flesh was distributed by the great Rishi only into a hundred parts, and if did not conceive on any other occasion, how was then Duhsala born. Tell me this, O Rishi! my curiosity hath has been great."
" said, 'O descendant of the Pandavas, thy your question is just, and I will tell thee you how it happened. The illustrious and great Rishi himself, by sprinkling water over that ball of flesh, began to divide it into parts. And as it was being divided into parts, the nurse began to take them up and put them one by one into those pots filled with clarified butter. While this process was going on, the beautiful and chaste of rigid vows, realising the affection that one feeleth feels for a daughter, began to think within herself, 'There is no doubt that I shall have a hundred sons, the Muni having said so. It can never be otherwise. But I should be very happy if a daughter were born of me over and above these hundred sons and junior to them all. My husband then may attain to those worlds that the possession of a daughter's sons conferreth confers. Then again, the affection the women feel for their sons-in-law is great. If, therefore, I obtain a daughter over and above my hundred sons, then, surrounded by sons and daughter's sons, I may feel supremely blest. If I have ever practised ascetic austerities, if I have ever given anything in charity, if I have ever performed the homa (through Brahamanas), if I have ever gratified my superiors by respectful attentions, then (as the fruit of those acts) let a daughter be born unto to me.' All this while that illustrious and best of Rishis, himself was dividing the ball of flesh; and counting a full hundred of the parts, he said unto to the daughter of Suvala, 'Here are thy your hundred sons. I did not speak aught unto to thee you that was false. Here, however, is one part in excess of the hundred, intended for giving thee you a daughter's son. This part shall develop into an amiable and fortunate daughter, as thou you hast have desired' Then that great ascetic brought another pot full of clarified butter, and put the part intended for a daughter into it.
"Thus have I, O Bharata, narrated unto to thee you all about the birth of Duhsala. Tell me, O sinless one, what more I am now to narrate.'"