( Parva continued)
" said, 'O foremost of persons acquainted with , the mother of the snakes had cursed them of old, saying, 'He that hath has the Wind for his charioteer (viz., ) shall burn you all in 's sacrifice!' It was to neutralise that curse that the chief of the snakes married his sister to that high-souled Rishi of excellent vows. The Rishi wedded her according to the rites ordained (in the scriptures), and from them was born a high-souled son called . An illustrious ascetic; versed in the Vedas and their branches, he regarded all with an even eye, and removed the fears of both his parents.
"Then, after a long space of time, a king descending from the Pandava line celebrated a great sacrifice known as the Snake-sacrifice, After that sacrifice had commenced for the destruction of the snakes, delivered the Nagas, viz., his brothers and maternal uncles and other snakes (from a fiery death). And he delivered his fathers also by begetting offspring. And by his austerities, O Brahmana, and various vows and study of the Vedas, he freed himself from all his debts. By sacrifices, at which various kinds of offerings were made, he propitiated the gods. By practising the Brahmacharya mode of life he conciliated the Rishis; and by begetting offspring he gratified his ancestors.
"Thus of rigid vows discharged the heavy debt he owed to his sires who being thus relieved from bondage ascended to heaven. Thus having acquired great religious merit, , after a long course of years, went to heaven, leaving behind. There is the story of that I have related duly Now, tell me, O tiger of 's race, what else I shall narrate."
So ends the fifteenth section in the Parva of the Adi Parva.
( Parva continued)
" said, 'O , relate once more in detail this history of the learned and virtuous . Our curiosity for hearing it is great. O amiable one, thou you speakest speak sweetly, with proper accent and emphasis; and we are well-pleased with thy your speech. Thou you speakest speak even as thy your father. Thy your sire was ever ready to please us. Tell us now the story as thy your father had related it.'
" said, 'O thou you that art blest with longevity, I shall narrate the history of as I heard it from my father. O Brahmana, in the golden age, had two daughters. O sinless one, the sisters were endowed with wonderful beauty. Named and , they became the wives of . derived great pleasure from his two wedded wives and being gratified he, resembling himself, offered to give each of them a boon. Hearing that their lord was willing to confer on them their choice blessings, those excellent ladies felt transports of joy. wished to have for sons a thousand snakes all of equal splendour. And wished to bring forth two sons surpassing the thousand offsprings of in strength, energy, size of body, and prowess. Unto to her lord gave that boon about a multitude of offspring. And unto to also, said, 'Be it so!' Then , having; obtained her prayer, rejoiced greatly. Obtaining two sons of superior prowess, she regarded her boon fulfilled. also obtained her thousand sons of equal splendour. 'Bear the embryos carefully,' said , and then he went into the forest, leaving his two wives pleased with his blessings.'
" continued, 'O best of regenerate ones, after a long time, brought forth a thousand eggs, and two. Their maid-servants deposited the eggs separately in warm vessels. Five hundred years passed away, and the thousand eggs produced by burst and out came the progeny. But the twins of did not appear. was jealous, and therefore she broke one of the eggs and found in it an embryo with the upper part developed but the lower one undeveloped. At this, the child in the egg became angry and cursed his mother, saying. 'Since thou you hast have prematurely broken this egg, thou you shall serve as a slave. Shouldst should thou you wait five hundred years and not destroy, or render the other egg half-developed, by breaking it through impatience, then the illustrious child within it will deliver thee you from slavery! And if thou you wouldst would have the child strong, thou you must take tender care of the egg for all this time!' Thus cursing his mother, the child rose to the sky. O Brahmana, even he is the charioteer of , always seen in the hour of morning!
"Then at the expiration of the five hundred years, bursting open the other egg, out came , the serpent-eater. O tiger of 's race, immediately on seeing the light, that son of left his mother. And the lord of birds, feeling hungry, took wing in quest of the food assigned to him by the Great Ordainer of all.".
So ends the sixteenth section in the Parva of the Adi Parva.
( Parva continued)
" said, 'O ascetic, about this time the two sisters saw approaching near, that steed of complacent appearance named Uchchaihsravas who was worshipped by the gods, that gem of steeds, who arose at the churning of the Ocean for nectar. Divine, graceful, perpetually young, creation's master-piece, and of irresistible vigour, it was blest with every auspicious mark.'
" asked, 'Why did the gods churn the Ocean for nectar, and under what circumstances and when as you say, did that best of steeds so powerful and resplendent spring?'
" said, 'There is a mountain named Meru, of blazing appearance, and looking like a heap of effulgence. The rays of the Sun falling on its peaks of golden lustre are dispersed by them. Decked with gold and exceedingly beautiful, that mountain is the haunt of the gods and the Gandharvas. It is immeasurable and unapproachable by men of manifold sins. Dreadful beasts of prey wander over its breasts, and it is illuminated by many divine life-giving herbs. It stands kissing the heavens by its height and is the first of mountains. Ordinary people cannot even think of ascending it. It is graced with trees and streams, and resounds with the charming melody of winged choirs. Once the celestials sat on its begemmed peak--in conclave. They who had practised penances and observed excellent vows for amrita now seemed to be eager seekers alter amrita (celestial ambrosia). Seeing the celestial assembly in anxious mood -yana said to Brahman, 'Do thou you churn the Ocean with the gods and the Asuras. By doing so, amrita will be obtained as also all drugs and gems. O ye you gods, chum the Ocean, ye you will discover amrita.'"
So ends the seventeenth section in the Parva of the Adi Parva.
( Parva continued)
" said, 'There is a mountain called Mandara adorned with cloud-like peaks. It is the best of mountains, and is covered all over with intertwining herbs. There countless birds pour forth their melodies, and beasts of prey roam about. The gods, the Apsaras and the Kinnaras visit the place. Upwards it rises eleven thousand yojanas, and descends downwards as much. The gods wanted to tear it up and use it as a churning rod but failing to do so same to and Brahman who were sitting together, and said unto to them, 'Devise some efficient scheme, consider, ye you gods, how Mandara may be dislodged for our good.'
" continued, 'O son of ! with Brahman assented to it. And the lotus-eyed one () laid the hard task on the mighty , the prince of snakes. The powerful , directed thereto both by Brahman and , O Brahmana, tore up the mountain with the woods thereon and with the denizens of those woods. And the gods came to the shore of the Ocean with and addressed the Ocean, saying, 'O Ocean; we have come to churn thy your waters for obtaining nectar.' And the Ocean replied, 'Be it so, as I shall not go without a share of it. I am able to bear the prodigious agitation of my waters set up by the mountain.' The gods then went to the king of tortoises and said to him, 'O Tortoise-king, thou you wilt will have to hold the mountain on thy your back!' The Tortoise-king agreed, and contrived to place the mountain on the former's back.
"And the gods and the Asuras made of Mandara a churning staff and the cord, and set about churning the deep for amrita. The Asuras held by the hood and the gods held him by the tail. And , who was on the side of the gods, at intervals raised the snake's hood and suddenly lowered it. And in consequence of the stretch received at the hands of the gods and the Asuras, black vapours with flames issued from his mouth. These, turned into clouds charged with lightning, poured showers that refreshed the tired gods. And flowers that also fell on all sides of the celestials from the trees on the whirling Mandara, refreshed them.
"Then, O Brahmana, out of the deep came a tremendous roar like unto to the roar of the clouds at the Universal Dissolution. Diverse aquatic animals being crushed by the great mountain gave up the ghost in the salt waters. And many denizens of the lower regions and the world of were killed. Large trees with birds on the whirling Mandara were torn up by the roots and fell into the water. The mutual friction of those trees also produced fires that blazed up frequently. The mountain thus looked like a mass of dark clouds charged with lightning. O Brahmana, the fire spread, and consumed the lions, elephants and other creatures that were on the mountain. Then extinguished that fire by pouring down heavy showers.
"After the churning, O Brahmana, had gone on for some time, gummy exudations of various trees and herbs vested with the properties of amrita mingled with the waters of the Ocean. And the celestials attained to immortality by drinking of the water mixed with those gums and with the liquid extract of gold. By degrees, the milky water of the agitated deep turned into clarified butter by virtue of those gums and juices. But nectar did not appear even then. The gods came before the boon-granting Brahman seated on his seat and said, 'Sire, we are spent up, we have no strength left to churn further. Nectar hath has not yet arisen so that now we have no resource save .'
"On hearing them, Brahman said to , 'O Lord, condescend to grant the gods strength to churn the deep afresh.'
"Then agreeing to grant their various prayers, said, 'Ye you wise ones, I grant you sufficient strength. Go, put the mountain in position again and churn the water.'
'Re-established thus in strength, the gods recommenced churning. After a while, the mild Moon of a thousand rays emerged from the Ocean. Thereafter sprung forth Lakshmi dressed in white, then , then the White Steed, and then the celestial gem Kaustubha which graces the breast of . Then Lakshmi, and the Steed, fleet as the mind, all came before the gods on high. Then arose the divine Dhanwantari himself with the white vessel of nectar in his hand. And seeing him, the Asuras set up a loud cry, saying, 'It be ours.'
"And at length rose the great elephant, , of huge body and with two pair of white tusks. And him took the wielder of the thunderbolt. But with the churning still going on, the poison Kalakuta appeared at last. Engulfing the Earth it suddenly blazed up like a fire attended with fumes. And by the scent of the fearful Kalakuta, the three worlds were stupefied. And then , being solicited by Brahman, swallowed that poison for the safety of the creation. The divine Maheswara held it in his throat, and it is said that from that time he is called Nilakantha (blue-throated). Seeing all these wondrous things, the Asuras were filled with despair, and got themselves prepared for entering into hostilities with the gods for the possession of Lakshmi and Amrita. Thereupon then called his bewitching Maya (illusive power) to his aid, and assuming the form of an enticing female, coquetted with the Danavas. The Danavas and the Daityas charmed with her exquisite beauty and grace lost their reason and unanimously placed the Amrita in the hands of that fair damsel.'"
So ends the eighteenth section in the Parva of the Adi Parva.