The Mahabharata/Book 1: Adi Parva/Section 107

Section CVII. ( Sambhava Parva continued. )

Janamejaya said, "What did the god of justice do for which he was cursed? And who was the Brahmana ascetic from whose curse the god had to be born in the Sudra caste?"

Vaisampayana said, "There was a Brahmana known by the name of Mandavya. He was conversant with all duties and was devoted to religion, truth, and asceticism. That great ascetic used to sit at the entrance of his asylum at the foot of a tree, with his arms upraised in the observance of the vow of silence. And as he had sat there for years and years together, one day there came into his asylum a number of robbers laden with spoil. And, O thou bull of the Bharata race, those robbers were then being pursued by a superior body of the guardians of the peace. And the thieves entering that asylum hid their booty there, and in fear concealed themselves thereabouts before the guards came. But scarcely had they thus concealed themselves, the constables in pursuit came into the spot. The latter, observing the Rishi sitting under the tree, questioned him, O king, saying, 'O thou best of Brahmanas, which way have the thieves taken? Point it out to us so that we may follow it without loss of time.' Thus questioned by the guardians of the peace, the ascetic, O king, said not a word, good or bad, in reply. The officers of the king, however, in searching that asylum soon discovered the thieves concealed thereabouts together with the plunder. Upon this their suspicions fell upon the Muni, and accordingly they seized him with the thieves and brought him before the king. The king sentenced him to be executed along with his supposed associates. And the officers, acting in ignorance, carried out the sentence by impaling the celebrated Rishi. And having impaled him, they went to the king with the booty they had recovered. But the virtuous Rishi, though impaled and kept without food, remained in that state for a long time without dying. And the Rishi by his ascetic power not only preserved his life but summoned other Rishis to the scene. And they came there in the night in the form of birds, and beholding him engaged in ascetic meditation though fixed on that stake, they became plunged in grief. And telling that best of Brahmanas who they were, they asked him saying, 'O Brahmana, we desire to know what hath been thy sin for which thou hast thus been made to suffer the tortures of impalement.'"

Thus ends the hundred and seventh Section in the Sambhava of the Adi Parva.