(Sambhava Parva continued)
" said, 'O , when 's conception had been a full year old, it was then that summoned the eternal to obtain offspring from him. And she offered without loss of time, sacrifices unto to the god and began to duly repeat the formula that had imparted to her some time before. Then the god, overpowered by her incantations, arrived at the spot where was seated in his car resplendent as the Sun. Smiling, he asked, 'O , what am I to give thee you?' And too smiling in her turn, replied, 'Thou you must even give me offspring.' Then the handsome was united (in intercourse) with the in his spiritual form and obtained from him a son devoted to the good of all creatures. And she brought his excellent child, who lived to acquire a great fame, at the eighth Muhurta called Abhijit, of the hour of noon of that very auspicious day of the seventh month (Kartika), viz., the fifth of the lighted fortnight, when the star Jyeshtha in conjunction with the moon was ascendant. And as soon as the child was born, an incorporeal voice (from the skies) said, 'This child shall be the best of men, the foremost of those that are virtuous. Endued with great prowess and truthful in speech, he shall certainly be the ruler of the earth. And this first child of shall be known by the name of . Possessed of prowess and honesty of disposition, he shall be a famous king, known throughout the three worlds.'
", having obtained that virtuous son, again addressed his wife and said. 'The wise have declared that a Kshatriya must be endued with physical strength, otherwise he is no Kshatriya.' Therefore, ask thou you for an offspring of superior strength. Thus commanded by her lord, then invoked . And the mighty , thus invoked, came unto to her, riding upon a deer, and said, 'What, O , am I to give thee you? Tell me what is in thy your heart" Smiling in modesty, she said to him, 'Give me, O best of celestials, a child endued with great strength and largeness of limbs and capable of humbling the pride of every body.' The thereupon then begat upon her the child afterwards known as of mighty arms and fierce prowess. And upon the birth of that child endued with extraordinary strength, an incorporeal voice, O Bharata, as before, said, 'This child shall be the foremost of all endued with strength.' I must tell you, O Bharata, of another wonderful event that occurred alter the birth of (). While he fell from the lap of his mother upon the mountain breast, the violence of the fall broke into fragments the stone upon which he fell without his infant body being injured in the least. And he fell from his mother's lap because , frightened by a tiger, had risen up suddenly, unconscious of the child that lay asleep on her lap. And as she had risen, the infant, of body hard as the thunderbolt, falling down upon the mountain breast, broke into a hundred fragments the rocky mass upon which he fell. And beholding this, wondered much. And it so happened that that very day on which was born, was also, O best of Bharatas, the birthday of who afterwards became the ruler of the whole earth.'
"After the birth of , again began to think, 'How am I to obtain a very superior son who shall achieve world-wide fame? Every, thing in the world dependeth depends on destiny and exertion. But destiny can never be successful except by timely exertion. We have heard it said that is the chief of the gods. Indeed, he is endued with immeasurable might and energy and prowess and glory. Gratifying him with my asceticism, I shall obtain from him a son of great strength. Indeed, the son he giveth gives me must be superior to all and capable of vanquishing in battle all men and creatures other than men. I shall, therefore, practise the severest austerities, with heart, deed and speech.'
"After this, the Kuru king , taking counsel with the great Rishis commanded to observe an auspicious vow for one full year, while he himself commenced, O Bharata, to stand upon one leg from morning to evening, and practise other severe austerities with mind rapt in meditation, for gratifying the lord of the celestials.
"It was after a long time that (gratified with such devotion) approached and, addressing him, said, 'I shall give thee you, O king, a son who will be celebrated all over the three worlds and who will promote the welfare of Brahmanas, kine and all honest men. The son I shall give thee you will be the smiter of the wicked and the delight of friends and relatives. Foremost of all men, he will be an irresistible slayer of all foes.' Thus addressed by (the king of the celestials), the virtuous king of the Kuru race, well-recollecting those words, said unto to , 'O fortunate one, thy your vow hath has become successful. The lord of the celestials hath has been gratified, and is willing to give thee you a son such as thou you desirest, of superhuman achievements and great fame. He will be the oppressor of all enemies and possessed of great wisdom. Endued with a great soul, in splendour equal unto to the Sun, invincible in battles, and of great achievements, he will also be extremely handsome. O thou you of fair hips and sweet smiles, the lord of the celestials hath has become gracious to thee you. Invoking him, bring thou you forth a child who will be the very home of all Kshatriya virtues.'
" continued, 'The celebrated , thus addressed by her lord, invoked (the ) who thereupon then came unto to her and begat him that was afterwards called . And as soon as this child was born, an incorporeal voice, loud and deep as that of the clouds and filling the whole welkin, distinctly said, addressing in the hearing of every creature dwelling in that asylum, 'This child of thine yours, O , will be equal unto to Kartavirya in energy and in prowess. Invincible like himself he will spread thy your fame far and wide. As (the youngest of Aditi's sons) had enhanced Aditi's joy, so shall this child enhance thy your joy. Subjugating the Madras, the Kurus along with the Somakas, and the people of Chedi, Kasi and Karusha, he will maintain the prosperity of the Kurus. (Surfeited with libations at the sacrifice of king Swetaketu), will derive great gratification from the fat of all creatures dwelling in the Khandava woods (to be burnt down) by the might of this one's arms. This mighty hero, vanquishing all the effeminate monarchs of the earth, will, with his brothers perform three great sacrifices. In prowess, O , he will be even as Jamadagnya or . The foremost of all men endued with prowess, he will achieve great fame. He will gratify in battle (by his heroism) , the god of gods (), and will receive from him the great weapon named Pasupata. This thy your son of mighty arms will also slay, at the command of , those Daityas called the Nivatakavachas who are the enemies of the gods. He will also acquire all kinds of celestial weapons, and this bull among men will also retrieve the fortunes of his race.'
' heard these extraordinary words, while lying in the room. And hearing those words uttered so loudly, the ascetics dwelling on the mountain of a hundred peaks, and the celestials with sitting in their cars, became exceedingly glad. The sounds of the (invisible) drum filled the entire welkin. There were shouts of joy, and the whole region was covered with flowers showered down by invisible agents. The various tribes of celestials assembled together, began to offer their respectful adorations to the son of . The sons of (Nagas), the son of , the Gandharvas, the lords of the creation, and the seven great Rishis, viz., , , Gautama, , , , and the illustrious Atri who illumined the world of old when was lost, all came there. And Marichi, , , Pulaha, Kratu, the lord of creation, the Gandharvas, and Apsaras, came there also. The various tribes of Apsaras, decked with celestial garlands and every ornament, and attired in fine robes, came there and danced in joy, chanting the praises of (). All around, the great Rishis began to utter propitiatory formulas. And Tumvuru accompanied by the Gandharvas began to sing in charming notes. And Bhimasena and Ugrasena, Urnayus and Anagha. Gopati and Dhritarashtra and Suryavarchas the eighth, Yugapa and Trinapa, Karshni, Nandi, and Chitraratha, Salisirah the thirteenth, Parjanya the fourteenth, Kali the fifteenth, and the sixteenth in this list, Vrihatta, Vrihaka, Karala of great soul, Brahmacharin, Vahuguna, Suvarna of great fame, Viswavasu, Bhumanyu, Suchandra, Sam and the celebrated tribes of Haha and Huhu gifted with wonderful melody of voice,--these celestial Gandharvas, O king, all went there. Many illustrious Apsaras also of large eyes, decked with every ornament came there to dance and sing. And Anuchana and Anavadya, Gunamukhya and Gunavara, Adrika and Soma, Misrakesi and Alambusha, Marichi and Suchika, Vidyutparna and and Ambika, Lakshmana, Kshema Devi, Rambha, Manorama, Asita, Suvahu, Supriya, Suvapuh, Pundarika, Sugandha, Surasa, Pramathini, Kamya and Saradwati, all danced there together. And , Sahajanya, Karnika, Punjikasthala, Ritusthala, Ghritachi, Viswachi, Purvachiti, the celebrated Umlocha, Pramlocha the tenth and Urvasi the eleventh,--these large-eyed dancing girls of heaven,--came there and sang in chorus. And Dharti and Aryaman and Mitra and , Bhaga and , , Pushan, Tvastri and Parjanya or , these twelve Adityas came there to glorify 's son. And, O king, Mrigavyadha, Sarpa, the celebrated Niriti, Ajaikapada, Ahivradhna, Pinakin, Dahana, , Kapalin, and the illustrious Bhaga--these eleven Rudras,--also came there. And the twin Aswins, the eight Vasus, the mighty Maruts, the Viswedevas, and the Sadhyas, also came there. And , , Kachchhapa, Kunda and the great Naga ,--these mighty and wrathful snakes possessed of high ascetic merit also came there. And Tarkshya, Arishtanemi, , Asitadvaja,--these and many other Nagas, came there, so also and Aruni of 's race also came there. And only great Rishis crowned with ascetic success and not others saw those celestials and other beings seated in their cars or waiting on the mountain peaks. Those best of Munis beholding that wonderful sight, became amazed, and their love and affection for the children of was in consequence enhanced.
"The celebrated , tempted by the desire of having more children wished to speak again unto to his wedded wife (for invoking some other god). But addressed him, saying, 'The wise do not sanction a fourth delivery even in a season of distress. The woman having intercourse with four different men is called a Swairini (heanton), while she having intercourse with five becometh becomes a harlot. Therefore, O learned one, as thou you art well-acquainted with the scripture on this subject, why dost do thou you, beguiled by desire of offspring, tell me so in seeming forgetfulness of the ordinance?'"