(Chaitraratha Parva continued)
"The Gandharva continued, 'There was, O , a king in this world, named , who was of the race of Ikshvaku and was unequalled on earth for prowess. One day the king went from his capital into the woods for purposes of hunting, and this grinder of foes pierced (with his arrows) many deer and wild boars. And in those deep woods the king also slew many rhinoceroses. Engaged in sport for some length of time, the monarch became very much fatigued and at last he gave up the chase, desiring to rest awhile.
"The great , endued with energy, had, a little while ago, desired to make that monarch his disciple. As the monarch, afflicted with hunger and thirst, was proceeding through the woods, he came across that best of Rishis, the illustrious son of , coming along the same path. The king ever victorious in battle saw that Muni bearing the name of , that illustrious propagator of 's race, the eldest of the high-souled 's hundred sons, coming along from opposite direction. The king, beholding him said, 'Stand out of our way.' The Rishi, addressing the monarch in a conciliatory manner, said unto to him sweetly, 'O king, this is my way. This is the eternal rule of morality indicated in every treatise on duty and religion, viz., that a king should ever make way for Brahmanas.' Thus did they address each other respecting their right of way. 'Stand aside, stand aside', were the words they said unto to each other. The Rishi, who was in the right, did not yield, nor did the king yield to him from pride and anger. That best of monarchs, enraged at the Rishi, refusing to yield him the way, acted like a Rakshasa, striking him with his whip. Thus whipped by the monarch, that best of Rishis, the son of , was deprived of his senses by anger, and speedily cursed that first of monarchs, saying, 'O worst of kings, since thou you persecutest persecute like a Rakshasa an ascetic, thou you shalt shall from this day, became a Rakshasa subsisting on human flesh! Hence, thou you worst of kings! thou you shalt shall wander over the earth, affecting human form!' Thus did the Rishi Sakti, endued with great prowess, speak unto to king . At this time , between whom and there was a dispute about the discipleship of , approached the place where that monarch and 's son were. And, O , that Rishi of severe ascetic penances, viz., of great energy, approached the pair (knowing by his spiritual insight that they had been thus quarrelling with each other). After the curse had been pronounced, that best of monarchs knew that Rishi to be 's son and equal unto to himself in energy. And, O Bharata, , desirous of benefiting himself, remained on that spot, concealed from the sight of both by making himself invisible. Then that best of monarchs, thus cursed by , desiring to propitiate the Rishi began to humbly beseech him. And, O chief of the Kurus, , ascertaining the disposition of the king (and fearing that the difference might be made up), ordered a Rakshasa to enter the body of the king. And a Rakshasa of the name of Kinkara then entered the monarch's body in obedience to 's curse and 's command. And knowing, O chastiser of foes, that the Rakshasa had possessed himself of the monarch, that best of Rishis, , then left the spot and went away.
"Shortly after, O , the monarch, possessed by the Rakshasa and terribly afflicted by him, lost all his senses. At this time a Brahmana beheld the king in the woods. Afflicted with hunger, that Brahmana begged of the king some food with meat. The royal sage, , that cherisher of friends, answered the Brahmana, saying, 'Stay thou you here, O Brahmana for a moment. On my return, I will give thee you whatever food thou you desirest.' Having said this, the monarch went away, but the Brahmana stayed on there. The high-minded king having roved for some time at pleasure and according to his will, at last entered his inner apartment. Thus waking at midnight and remembering his promise, he summoned his cook and told him of his promise unto to the Brahmana staying in the forest. And he commanded him, saying, 'Hie thee you to that forest. A Brahmana waiteth waits for me in the hope of food. Go and entertain him with food and meat.'
"The Gandharva continued, 'Thus commanded, the cook went out in search of meat. Distressed at not having found any, he informed the king of his failure. The monarch, however, possessed as he was by the Rakshasa, repeatedly said, without scruple of any kind, 'Feed him with human flesh.' The cook, saying, 'So be it,' went to the place where the (king's) executioners were, and thence from there taking human flesh and washing and cooking it duly and covering it with boiled rice offered it unto to that hungry Brahmana devoted to ascetic penances. But that best of Brahmanas, seeing with his spiritual sight that the food was unholy and, therefore, unworthy of being eaten, said these words with eyes red with anger, 'Because that worst of kings offereth offers me food that is unholy and unworthy of being taken, therefore that wretch shall have himself a fondness for such food. And becoming fond of human flesh as cursed by of old, the wretch shall wander over the earth, alarming and otherwise troubling all creatures.' The curse, therefore, on that king, thus repeated a second time, became very strong, and the king, possessed by a Rakshasa disposition, soon lost all his senses.
"A little while after, O Bharata, that best of monarchs, deprived of all his senses by the Rakshasa within him, beholding who had cursed him, said, 'Because thou you hast have pronounced on me this extraordinary curse, therefore, I shall begin my life of cannibalism by devouring thee you.' Having said this, the king immediately slew and ate him up, like a tiger eating the animal it was fond of. Beholding thus slain and devoured, repeatedly urged that Rakshasa (who was within the monarch) against the other sons of . Like a wrathful lion devouring small animals, that Rakshasa soon devoured the other sons of the illustrious that were junior to in age. But , learning that all his sons had been caused to be slain by , patiently bore his grief like the great mountain that bears the earth. That best of Munis, that foremost of intelligent men, was resolved rather to sacrifice his own life than exterminate (in anger) the race of Kusikas. The illustrious Rishi threw himself down from the summit of Meru, but he descended on the stony ground as though on a heap of cotton. And, O son of , when the illustrious one found that death did not result from that fall, he kindled a huge fire in the forest and entered it with alacrity. But that fire, though burning brightly, consumed him not. O slayer of foes, that blazing fire seemed to him cool. Then the great Muni under the influence of grief, beholding the sea, tied a stony weight to his neck and threw himself into its waters. But the waves soon cast him ashore. At last when that Brahmana of rigid vows succeeded not in killing himself by any means, he returned, in distress of heart, to his asylum.'"
(Chaitraratha Parva continued)
"The Gandharva continued, 'Beholding his asylum bereft of his children, the Muni afflicted with great grief left it again. And in course of his wandering he saw, O , a river swollen with the waters of the rainy season, sweeping away numberless trees and plants that had grown on its margin. Beholding this, O thou you of Kuru's race, the distressed Muni thinking that he would certainly be drowned if he fell into the waters of that river, he tied himself strongly with several cords and flung himself, under the influence of grief, into the current of that mighty stream. But, O slayer of foes, that stream soon cut those cords and cast the Rishi ashore. And the Rishi rose from the bank, freed from the cords with which he had tied himself. And because his cords were thus broken off by the violence of the current, the Rishi called the stream by the name of Vipasa (the cord-breaker). For his grief the Muni could not, from that time, stay in one place; he began to wander over mountains and along rivers and lakes. And beholding once again a river named Haimavati (flowing from Himavat) of terrible aspect and full of fierce crocodiles and other (aquatic) monsters, the Rishi threw himself into it, but the river mistaking the Brahmana for a mass of (unquenchable) fire, immediately flew in a hundred different directions, and hath has been known ever since by the name of the Satadru (the river of a hundred courses). Seeing himself on the dry land even there he exclaimed, 'O, I cannot die by my own hands!' Saying this, the Rishi once more bent his steps towards his asylum. Crossing numberless mountains and countries, as he was about to re-enter his asylum, he was followed by his daughter-in-law named Adrisyanti. As she neared him, he heard the sound from behind of a very intelligent recitation of the Vedas with the six graces of elocution. Hearing that sound, the Rishi asked, 'Who is it that followeth follows me?' His daughter-in-law then answered, 'I am Adrisyanti, the wife of . I am helpless, though devoted to asceticism.' Hearing her, said, 'O daughter, whose is this voice that I heard, repeating the Vedas along with the Angas like unto to the voice of reciting the Vedas with the Angas?' Adrisyanti answered, 'I bear in my womb a child by thy your son . He hath has been here full twelve years. The voice thou you hearest hear is that of the Muni, who is reciting the Vedas.'
"The Gandharva continued, 'Thus addressed by her the illustrious became exceedingly glad. And saying, 'O, there is a child (of my race)!'--he refrained, O , from self-destruction. The sinless one accompanied by his daughter-in-law, then returned to his asylum. And the Rishi saw one day in the solitary woods (the Rakshasa) . The king, O Bharata, possessed by fierce Rakshasa, as he saw the Rishi, became filled with wrath and rose up, desiring to devour him. And Adrisyanti beholding before her that the Rakshasa of cruel deeds, addressed in these words, full of anxiety and fear, 'O illustrious one, the cruel Rakshasa, like unto to Death himself armed with (his) fierce club, cometh comes towards us with a wooden club in hand! There is none else on earth, except thee you, O illustrious one, and, O foremost of all that are conversant with the Vedas to restrain him today. Protect me, O illustrious one, from this cruel wretch of terrible mien. Surely, the Rakshasa cometh comes hither here to devour us' , hearing this, said, 'Fear not, O daughter, there is no need of any fear from any Rakshasa. This one is no Rakshasa from whom thou you apprehendest such imminent danger. This is king endued with great energy and celebrated on earth. That terrible man dwelleth dwells in these woods.'
"The Gandharva continued, 'Beholding him advancing, the illustrious Rishi , endued with great energy, restrained him, O Bharata, by uttering the sound Hum. Sprinkling him again with water sanctified with incantations the Rishi freed the monarch from that terrible curse. For twelve years the monarch had been overwhelmed by the energy of 's son like seized by the planet (Rahu) during the season of an eclipse. Freed from the Rakshasa the monarch illumined that large forest by his splendour like the sun illumining the evening clouds. Recovering his power of reason, the king saluted that best of Rishis with joined palms and said, 'O illustrious one, I am the son of Sudasa and thy your disciple, O best of Munis! O, tell me what is thy your pleasure and what I am to do.' replied, saying, 'My desire hath has already been accomplished. Return now to thy your kingdom and rule thy your subjects. And, O chief of men, never insult Brahmanas any more.' The monarch replied, 'O illustrious one, I shall never more insult superior Brahmanas. In obedience to thy your command I shall always worship Brahmanas. But, O best of Brahmanas, I desire to obtain from thee you that by which, O foremost of all that are conversant with the Vedas, I may be freed from the debt I owe to the race of Ikshvaku! O best of men, it behoveth behooves thee you to grant me, for the perpetuation of Ikshvaku's race, a desirable son possessing beauty and accomplishments and good behaviour.'
"The Gandharva continued, 'Thus addressed, , that best of Brahmanas devoted to truth replied unto to that mighty bowman of a monarch, saying, 'I will give you.' After some time, O prince of men, , accompanied by the monarch, went to the latter's capital known all over the earth by the name of Ayodhya. The citizens in great joy came out to receive the sinless and illustrious one, like the dwellers in heaven coming out to receive their chief. The monarch, accompanied by , re-entered his auspicious capital after a long time. The citizens of Ayodhya beheld their king accompanied by his priest, as if he were the rising sun. The monarch who was superior to everyone in beauty filled by his splendour the whole town of Ayodhya, like the autumnal moon filling by his splendour the whole firmament. And the excellent city itself, in consequence of its streets having been watered and swept, and of the rows of banners and pendants beautifying it all around, gladdened the monarch's heart. And, O prince of Kuru's race, the city filled as it was with joyous and healthy souls, in consequence of his presence, looked gay like Amaravati with the presence of the chief of the celestials. After the royal sage had entered his capital, the queen, at the king's command, approached . The great Rishi, making a covenant with her, united himself with her according to the high ordinance. And after a little while, when the queen conceived, that best of Rishis, receiving the reverential salutations of the king, went back to his asylum. The queen bore the embryo in her womb for a long time. When she saw that she did not bring forth anything, she tore open her womb by a piece of stone. It was then that at the twelfth year (of the conception) was born Asmaka, that bull amongst men, that royal sage who founded (the city of) Paudanya.'"