The Mahabharata/Book 1: Adi Parva/Section 100

Section C. *( Sambhava Parva continued. )* Vaisampayana said, "The monarch Shantanu, the adored of the gods and of the royal sages, was known in all the worlds for his wisdom, virtues, and truthfulness of speech. The qualities of self-control, liberality, forgiveness, intelligence, modesty, patience, and superior energy dwelt continually in that bull among men, Shantanu, that great being. Endued with these accomplishments and skilled also in interpreting the *Shastras*, the monarch was at once the protector of the Bharata race and of all human beings. His neck was marked with (three) lines like a shell, his shoulders were broad and he resembled in prowess an infuriate elephant. It would seem that all the auspicious signs of royalty dwelt in his person considering that to be their fittest abode. And men seeing the behaviour of that monarch of great achievements came to ascertain for themselves that virtue is ever superior to pleasure and profit. These were the attributes that dwelt in that great being—that bull among men—Shantanu. And truly there never was a king like Shantanu. And all the kings of the earth, beholding him devoted to virtue, bestowed upon that foremost of virtuous men the title of King of kings. And all the kings of the earth during the time of that lord protector of the Bharata race, were without woes, and fears, and anxieties of any kind. And they all slept in peace rising from bed every morning after happy dreams. And owing to that monarch of splendid achievements resembling Indra himself in energy, all the kings of the earth became virtuous and devoted to liberality, religious acts, and sacrifices. And when the earth was ruled by Shantanu and other monarchs like him, the religious merits of every order increased very greatly. The Kshatrias served the Brahmanas, and the Vaisyas waited upon the Kshatrias, and the Sudras adoring the Brahmanas and the Kshatrias, waited upon the Vaisyas. And Shantanu residing in Hastinapore, the delightful capital of the Kurus, ruled the whole earth bounded by the seas. He was truthful and guileless, and like the king of the celestials himself conversant with the dictates of virtue. And from the combination in him of liberality, religion, and asceticism, he acquired great good fortune. He was free from anger and malice, and was handsome in person like Soma himself. In splendour he was like the Sun and in impetuosity of valor like Vayu. In wrath he was like Yama, and in patience like the Earth, And, O king, while Shantanu ruled the earth, no deer, boars, birds, or other animals were needlessly slain. In his dominions the great virtue of kindness to all creatures prevailed, and the king himself with the soul of mercy and destitute of desire and wrath, extended equal protection unto all creatures. Then sacrifices in honor of the gods, the *Rishis* and the *Pitris*, commenced, and no creature was deprived of life sinfully. And Shantanu was the king and father of all,—of those that were miserable and those that had no protectors, of birds and beasts, in fact, of every created thing. And during the rule of that best of Kurus—of that King of kings—speech became united with truth, and the minds of men were set upon liberality and religion. And Shantanu having enjoyed domestic felicity for six and thirty years retired into the woods. "And Shantanu's son—the Vasu born of Ganga and named Deva-brata—resembled Shantanu himself in personal beauty, in habits and behaviour, and in learning. And in all branches of knowledge, worldly or spiritual, his skill was very great. His strength and energy were extraordinary. He became a mighty charioteer. In fact, he was a great being. "One day in pursuing along the banks of the Ganges, a deer that he had struck with his arrow, king Shantanu observed that the river had become shallow. And observing this, that bull among men, Shantanu, began to reflect upon this strange appearance. He mentally asked why that first of rivers ran not so quickly as before. And while seeking for a cause, the illustrious monarch beheld that a youth of great comeliness, of well-built and amiable person, like Indra himself, had, by his keen celestial weapons, checked the flow or the river. And the king, beholding this extraordinary feat of the river Ganga being thus checked in her course near where that youth stood, became very much surprised. This youth was none other than Shantanu's son. But as Shantanu had seen his son only once a few moments after his birth, he had not sufficient recollection to identify that infant with the youth before his eyes. The youth, however, seeing his father knew him at once. But instead of confessing himself, he clouded the king's perception by his celestial powers of illusion and disappeared in his very sight. "King Shantanu wondering much at what he saw and imagining the youth to be his own son, then addressed Ganga and said, 'Show me that child.' And Ganga, thus addressed, assuming a beautiful form, and holding the boy decked in ornaments in her right hand, showed him to Shantanu. And Shantanu recognised not that beautiful female bedecked with ornaments and attired in fine robes of white, although he had known her before. And Ganga said, 'O thou tiger among men, the eighth son that thou hadst sometime before begot in me is this one. Know that this excellent child is conversant with all weapons. O monarch, take him now. I have reared him with care. And go home, O thou tiger amog men, taking him with thee. Endued with superior intelligence, he has studied with Vasishta the whole Vedas with the Angas. Skilled in all weapons and a mighty bowman, he is like Indra himself in battle. And, O Bharata, both the gods and the Asuras look upon him with favor. Whatever branches of knowledge are known to Usana, this one knoweth completely. And so is he the master of all those *shastras* that the sen of Angira (Vrihaspati) adored by the gods and the Asuras knoweth. And all the weapons known to the powerful and invincible Rama the son of Jamadagni are known to this thy illustrious son of mighty arms. And, O king of superior courage, take home this thy own heroic child given unto thee by me. He is a mighty bowman and cognisant with the interpretation of all treatises on the duties of kings.' And thus commanded by Ganga, Shantanu taking with him his child resembling the Sun himself in glory, returned to his capital. And having reached his city that was like unto the celestial capital itself, that monarch of Puru's line regarded himself as greatly fortunate. And having summoned all the Pauravas together, for the protection of his kingdom he installed his son as his heir-apparent and associate on the throne. And, O thou bull of the Bharata race, the prince soon gratified by his behaviour, his father, and other members of the Paurava race, in fact, all the subjects of the kingdom. And the king of incomparable prowess, lived happily with that son of his. "Four years had thus passed away, when the king one day went into the woods on the banks of the Yamuna (Jumna.) And while the king was rambling there he perceived a sweet scent coming from an unknown direction. And the monarch impelled by the desire of ascertaining the cause, wandered hither and thither. And in course of his rambles he beheld a black-eyed maiden of celestial beauty, the daughter of a fisherman. The king addressing her said, 'Who art thou, and whose daughter? What dost thou do here, O timid one!' She answered, 'Blest be thou. I am the daughter of the chief of the fishermen. At his command, for religious merit I am engaged in rowing passengers across this river in my boat.' And Shantanu beholding that maiden of celestial form endued with beauty, amiableness, and such fragrance, desired her for wife. And repairing unto her father the king solicited his consent to the proposed match. But the chief of the fishermen replied to the monarch, saying, 'O king, as soon as my daughter of superior complexion was born, it was, of course, understood that she should be bestowed upon a husband. But listen to the desire I have entertained all along in my heart. O sinless one, thou art truthful; if thou desirest to obtain this maiden in gift from me, give me thou this pledge. If, indeed, thou givest the pledge, I will truly bestow my daughter upon thee, for truly I can never obtain a husband for her equal to thee.' "Shantanu, hearing this replied, 'When I have heard of the pledge thou askest, I shall then say whether I would be able to grant it or not. If it is capable of being granted, I shall certainly grant it. If otherwise, how shall I grant it?' The fisherman then said, 'O king, what I ask of thee is this: that the son born of this maiden shall be installed by thee on thy throne and none else shalt thou make thy successor.' " Vaisampayana continued, "O Bharata, when Shantanu heard this, he felt no inclination to grant such a boon, though the fire of desire sorely burnt him within. The king, with his heart afflicted by desire, returned to Hastinapore thinking all the way of the fisherman's daughter. And having returned home, the monarch passed his time in sorrowful meditation. One day Devabrata approaching his afflicted father said, 'All is prosperity with thee; all chiefs obey thee; then why is it that thou grievest thus? Busied with thy own thoughts, thou speakest not a word to me in reply. Thou goest not out on horse-back now. Thou lookest pale, and emaciated, having lost all animation. I wish to know what is the disease under which thou sufferest so that I may endeavour to apply a remedy.' Thus addressed by his son, Shantanu then answered, 'Thou sayest truly, O son, that I have become melancholy. I will also tell thee why I am so. O thou of the Bharata line, thou art the only scion of this our large race. Thou art always engaged in sports of arms and achievements of prowess. But, O son, I am always thinking of the instability of human life. If any danger overtake thee, O child of Ganga, the result is that we become sonless! Truly, alone thou art to me as a century of sons. I do not therefore desire to wed. again, I only desire, may prosperity ever attend on thee so that our dynasty may be perpetuated. The wise say that he that hath one son hath no son. Sacrifices before fire and the knowledge of the three Vedas yield, it is true, everlasting religious merits. But all these, in point of religious merit, do not come up to a sixteenth part of the religious merit attainable on the birth of a son. Indeed, in this respect there is hardly any difference between men and the lower animals. O thou wise one, I do not entertain the shadow of a doubt that one attains to heaven in consequence of having begotten a son. The Vedas which constitute the root of the Puranas and are regarded as authoritative even by the gods contain numerous proofs of this, O thou of the Bharata race, thou art a hero, of excitable temper and always engaged in.exercises of arms. It is very probable that thou wouldst be slain on the field of battle. If it so happen, what would be the state of the Bharata dynasty? It is this thought that hath made me so melancholy, I have now told thee fully the causes of my sorrow.'" Vaisampayana continued, "Deva-brata who was endued with great intelligence, having ascertained all this from the king, reflected within himself for a while. He then went to the old minister devoted to his father's welfare and asked him about the cause of the king's grief. O thou bull of the Bharata race, when the prince questioned the minister, the latter told him about the boon that was demanded by the chief of the fishermen in respect of his daughter Gandhavati. Then Deva-brata, accompanied by many Kshatria chiefs of venerable age, himself repaired to the chief of the fishermen and begged of him his daughter on behalf of the king. The chief of the fishermen received him after due adorations, and, O thou of the Bharata race, when the prince took his seat in the court of the chief, the latter addressed him and said, 'O thou bull among the Bharatas, thou art the first of all wielders of weapons and the only son of Shantanu. Thy influence is great. But I have something to tell thee. If the bride's father were Indra himself, even *he* would have to repent if he were to reject such an exceedingly honorable and desirable proposal of marriage. That great man from whose seed this celebrated maiden named Satyavati hath been born is, indeed, equal to ye in virtues. He hath spoken to me on many occasions of the virtues of thy father and told me that that king alone was worthy of marrying Satyavati. Let me tell you that I have even rejected the solicitations of that best of Brahmarshis—the celestial Rishi Asita—who had often asked for Satyavati's hand in marriage. I have only one word to say on the part of this maiden. In the matter of the proposed marriage there is only one great objection founded on the fact of a rival existing in a co-wife's son. O thou oppressor of all foes, he hath no security, even if he be an Asura or a Gandharva, who hath a rival in thee! There is this only objection in the proposed marriage, and nothing else. Blest be thou! But this is all I have to say in the matter of bestowal or otherwise.'" Vaisampayana continued, "O thou of the Bharata race, Deva-brata having heard these words, and moved by the desire of benefiting his father, thus answered in the hearing of the assembled chiefs. 'O thou foremost of truthful men, listen to the vow I utter. There hath been born no man nor shall be, who would have the courage to take such a vow! I shall accomplish all that thou demandest! The son that may be born of this maiden shall be our king.' Thus addressed, the chief of the fishermen, impelled by desire of sovereignty (on behalf of his daughter's son) to achieve the almost impossible, then said, 'O thou of virtuous soul, thou art come hither as full manager on behalf of thy father Shantanu of immeasurable glory. Be thou also the sole manager on my behalf in the matter of the bestowal of this my daughter. But, O amiable one, there is something else to be said, something else to be reflected upon by thee! O thou suppressor of the foe, those that have daughters, from the very nature of these obligations, must say what I say. O thou devoted to truth, the promise thou hast given in the presence of these chiefs for the benefit of Satyavati hath, indeed, been worthy of thee. O thou of mighty arms, I have not the least doubt of its never being violated by thee. But I have my doubts in respect of the children thou mayst beget.'" Vaisampayana continued, "O king, the son of Ganga devoted to truth having ascertained the scruples of the chief of the fishermen, then said, moved thereto by the desire of benefiting his father, 'Chief of the fishermen, thou best of men, listen to what I say in the presence of the assembled kings! Ye kings, I have before long relinquished my right to the throne. I shall now settle the matter of my children. O fisherman, from this day I adopt the vow of Brahmacharya (study and meditation in celebacy.) If I die sonless, 'I shall yet attain to regions of perennial bliss in heaven.'" Vaisampayana continued, "Hearing these words of the son of Ganga, all the down of the fisherman's body stood erect in glee, and he replied, 'I bestow my daughter.' Immediately after, the Apsaras and the gods with the tribes of the Rishis began to rain down flowers from the firmament upon the head of Deva-brata and exclaimed, 'This one is *Bhisma* (the terrible.)' Bhisma then, for serving his father, addressed the illustrious damsel and said, 'O mother, ascend this chariot, and let us go unto our house.'" Vaisampayana continued, "Having said this, Bhisma made the beautiful maiden ride on his chariot. And arriving with her at Hastinapore, he told Shautanu everything as it had happened. And the assembled monarchs, jointly and individually, applauded his extraordinary act, and said, 'He is really *Bhisma* (the terrible).' And Shantanu also hearing of the extraordinary achievement of his son became highly gratified and bestowed upon the high-souled prince the boon of death at choice, saying, 'Death shall never come to thee as long as thou desirest to live. Truly, death shall approach thee, O sinless one, having first obtained thy command.'" Thus ends the hundreth Section in the Sambhava of the Adi Parva.