The Mahabharata/Book 1: Adi Parva/Section 121

Section CXXI. ( *Sambhava Parva continued.* ) Vaisampayana said, "Thus addressed, Kunti replied unto her heroic lord king Pandu—that bull amongst the Kurus—saying, 'O thou virtuous one, it behoveth thee not to say so unto me! I am, O thou of eyes like lotus-leaves, thy wedded wife, and devoted to thee! O Bharata of mighty arms, thyself shalt, in righteousness, beget upon me children endued with great energy. Then shall I ascend to heaven with thee! O prince of the Kuru race, receive me in thy embraces for begetting children! I shall not certainly, even in imagination, accept any other man except thee in my embraces! What other man is there in this world superior to thee? O thou virtuous one, listen to this Pauranic narrative that hath been, O thou of large eyes, heard by me, and that I shall presently narrate. "'There was in ancient times a king of the race of Puru, known by the name of Vyushitaswa. He was devoted to truth and virtue. Of virtuous soul and mighty arms, on one occasion, while he performed a sacrifice, the gods with Indra and the great Rishis came to him. And Indra was so intoxicated with the *Soma* juice he drank, and the Brahmanas with the large presents they received, that both the gods and the great Rishis began themselves to perform everything appertaining to that sacrifice of the illustrious royal sage. And thereupon Vyushitaswa began to shine above all men like the sun appearing in double splendour after the season of frost is over. And the powerful Vyushitaswa was endued with the strength of ten elephants. And he soon enough performed the horse-sacrifice, overthrowing, O best of monarchs, all the kings of the East and the North, the West and the South, and exacting tribute from them all. There is a proverb, O thou best of the Kurus, that is sung by all reciters of the Puranas, in connection with that first of all men—the illustrious Vyushitaswa: Having conquered the whole earth to the shores of the sea, Vyushitaswa protected every class of his subjects like a father cherishing his own begotten sons. Performing many great sacrifices he presented much wealth to the Brahmanas. And collecting jewels and precious stones without limit, he made arrangements for performing still greater ones. And he performed also the *Agni-shtoma*, and other special Vedic sacrifices, extracting great quantities of *Soma* juice. And, O king, Vyushitaswa had for his dear wife Vadrā, the daughter of Kskshivana and unrivalled on earth for beauty. And it hath been heard by us that the couple loved each other deeply. King Vyushitaswa was seldom separated from his wife. Sensual indulgence, however, brought on an attack of pthisis and the king died within a few days, sinking like the sun in his glory. Then Vadra, his beautiful queen was plunged in woe, and sonless as she was, O tiger among men, she wept in great affliction. Listen to me, O king, as I narrate to you all that Vadra said with bitter tears trickling down her cheeks,—O virtuous one, she said, women serve no purpose when their husbands are dead! She who liveth after her husband is dead, draggeth on a miserable existence that can hardly be called life! O thou bull of the Kshatriya order, death is a blessing to women without husbands. I wish to follow the way thou hast gone! Be kind, and take me with thee! In thy absence, I am unable to bear life even for a moment! Be kind to me, O king, and take me hence soon enough! O tiger among men, I shall follow thee over even and uneven ground. Thou hast gone away, O lord, never more to return! I shall follow thee, O king, as thy own shadow! O tiger among men, I will be obedient to thee (as thy slave) and will ever do what is agreeable to thee and what is for thy good! O thou of eyes like lotus-leaves, without thee, from this day, mental agonies will overwhelm me and eat into my heart! Wretch that I am, some loving couple had doubtless been separated by me in former life for which in this I am made to suffer the pangs of separation myself from thee! O king, that wretched woman who liveth even fora moment, separated from her lord, liveth in woe and suffereth the pangs of hell even here! Some loving couple had doubtless been separated by me in former life, as the consequence of which sinful act I am suffering this torture born of my separation from thee! O king, from this day I will lay myself down on a bed of Kusa grass and abstain from every luxury desiring once more to behold thee! O thou tiger among men, show thyself to me! O king, O lord, command once more thy wretched and bitterly weeping wife plunged in woe!—' "Kunti continued, 'It was thus, O Pandu, that the beautiful Vadra wept on the death of her lord. And the weeping Vadra clasped in her arms the corpse in anguish of heart. Then she was addressed by an incorporeal voice in these words:—Rise up, O Vadra, and leave this place! O thou of sweet smiles, I grant thee this boon. I will beget offspring upon thee. Lie thou down with me on thy own bed, after the catamenial bath, on the night of the eighth or the fourteenth day of the moon.—Thus addressed by the incorporeal voice, the chaste Vadra did as she was directed, for obtaining offspring. And, O thou bull of the Bharatas, the corpse of her husband begat upon her seven children in all, *viz*, three Shalwas and four Madras. O thou bull of the Bharatas, do thou also beget offspring upon me, like the illustrious Vyushitaswa, in the exercise of that ascetic power which thou possessest!'" Thus ends the hundred and twenty first Section in the Sambhava of the Adi Parva.