The Mahabharata/Book 1: Adi Parva/Section 123

Section CXXIII. *( Sambhava Parva continued. )* Vaisampayana said, "O Janamejaya, when Gandhari's conception had been a full year old, it was then that Kunti summoned the eternal god of justice to obtain offspring from him, And she offered, without loss of time, sacrifices unto the god and began to duly repeat the formula that Durvasa had imparted to her sometime before. Then the god, overpowered by her incantations, arrived at the spot where Kunti was, seated on his car resplendent as the sun. Smiling he asked, 'O Kunti, what am I give thee?' And Kunti too, smiling in her turn, replied, 'Thou must even give me offspring!' Then the handsome Kunti was united (in intercourse) with the god of justice in his spiritual form and obtained from him a son devoted to the good of all creatures. And she brought forth this excellent child, who lived to acquire great fame, at the eighth *Muhurta* called *Avijit*, of the hour of noon of that very auspicious day of the eighth month (Kartik) *viz*, the fifth of the lighted fortnight, when the star *Jeshtha* in conjunction with the moon was ascendant. And as soon as the child was born, an incorporeal voice (in the skies) said, "This child shall be the best of men—the foremost of those that are virtuous. Endued with great prowess and truthful in speech, he shall certainly be the ruler of the Earth. And this first child of Pandu shall be known by the name of Yudhish-thira. Possessed of prowess and honesty of disposition, he shall be a famous king, known throughout the three worlds.' "Pandu, having obtained that virtuous son, again addressed his wife and said, 'The wise have declared that a Kshatriya must be endued with physical strength, otherwise he is no Kshatriya. Therefore, ask thou for an offspring of superior strength.' Thus commanded by her lord, Kunti then invoked Vayu. And the mighty god of wind, thus invoked, came unto her, riding upon a deer, and said, 'What, O Kunti, am I to give thee? Tell me, what is in thy heart? Smiling in modesty, she told him, 'Give me, O best of celestials, a child endued with great strength and largeness of limbs and capable of humbling the pride of everybody!' The god of wind thereupon begat upon her the child afterwards known as Bhima of mighty arms and fierce prowess. And upon the birth of that child endued with extraordinary strength, an incorporeal voice, O Bharata, as before, said, 'This child shall be the foremost of all endued with strength.' I must tell you, O Bharata, of another wonderful event that occured on the birth of Vrikodara (Bhima). Falling from the lap of his mother upon the ɯountain's breast, the violence of the fall broke into fragments the stone upon which he fell without his infant body being injured in the least. And he fell from his mother's lap, because Kunti, frightened by a tiger, had risen up suddenly, unconscious of the child that lay asleep on her lap. And as she had risen, the infant, of body hard as the thunder-bolt, falling down upon the mountain's breast, broke into an hundred fragments the rocky mass upon which he fell. And beholding this, Pandu wondered much. And it so happened that that very day on which Vrikodara was born, was also, O best of Bharatas, the birth-day of Duryodhana, who afterwards became the ruler of the whole earth. "After the birth of Vrikodara, Pandu again began to think, 'How am I to obtain a very superior son who shall achieve world-wide fame? Everything in the world dependeth on Destiny *and* Exertion. But Destiny can never be fulfilled except by timely exertion. It hath been heard by us that Indra is the chief of the gods. Indeed, he is endued with immeasurable might and energy and prowess and glory. Gratifying him with my asceticism, I shall obtain from him a son of great strength. Indeed, the son he giveth me must be superior to all and capable of vanquishing in battle all men and creatures other than men, I shall, therefore, practise the severest austerities with heart, deed, and speech.' "After this, the Kuru king Pandu taking counsel with the great Rishis commanded Kunti to observe an auspicious vow for one full year, while he himself commenced, O Bharata, to stand upon one leg from morning to evening, and practise other severe austerities with mind rapt in meditation, for gratifying the lord of the celestials. "It was after a long time that-Indra (gratified with such devotion) approached Pandu and addressing him, said, 'I shall give thee, O king, a son who will be celebrated all over the three worlds and who will promote the welfare of Brahmanas, kine, and all honest men. The son I shall give thee will be the smiter of the wicked and the delight of friends and relatives. Foremost of all men, he will be an irresistible slayer of all foes.' Thus addressed by Vāsava, the virtuous king of the Kuru race, well recollecting those words, said unto Kunti, 'Fortunate one, thy vow hath been successful. The lord of the celestials hath been gratified, and is willing to give thee a son such as thou desirest, of super-human achievements and great fame. He will be the oppressor of all enemies and possessed of great wisdom. Endued with a great soul, in splendour equal unto the Sun, invincible in battle, and of great achivements, he will also be extremely handsome. O thou of fair hips and sweet smiles, the lord of the celestials hath become graceful to thee. Invoking him bring thou forth a child who will be the very home of all Kshatriya virtues!'" Vaisampayana continued, "The celebrated Kunti, thus addressed by her lord, invoked Sakra, who thereupon came unto her and begat him who was afterwards called Arjuna. And as soon as this child was born, an incorporeal voice, loud and deep as that of the clouds and filling the whole welkin, distinctly said, addressing Kunti in the hearing of every creature dwelling in that asylum, 'This child of thine, O Kunti, will be equal unto Kartyavirya in energy, and Shiva in prowess! Invincible like Sakra himself, he will spread thy fame far and wide! As Vishnu (the youngest of Aditi's sons) had enhanced Aditi's joy, so shall this child enhance thy joy! Subjugating the Madras, the Kurus along with the Somakas, and the peoples of Chedi, Kashi, and Karusha, he will support the prosperity of the Kurus. (Surfeited with libations at the sacrifice of king Shwetaki), Agni will derive great gratification from the fat of all creatures dwelling in the Khandava woods (to be burnt down) by the might of this one's arms. This mighty hero, vanquishing all the effiminate monarchs of the earth, will, with his brothers, perform three great sacrifices. In prowess, O Kunti, he will be even as Jamadagnya or Vishnu. The foremost of all men endued with prowess, he will achieve great fame. He will gratify in battle (by his heroism) Shankara, the god of gods (Mahadeva), and will receive from him the great weapon named *Pashupata*. This thy son of mighty arms will also slay, at the command of Indra, those Daityas called the Nivata-kavachas who are the enemies of the gods. He will also acquire all kinds of celestial weapons, and this bull among men will also retrieve the fallen fortunes of his race.' "Kunti heard these extraordinary words while in the lying-in room. And hearing those words uttered so loudly, the ascetics dwelling on that mountain of hundred peaks, and the celestials with Indra sitting on their cars, became exceedingly glad. The sounds of the (invisible) *Dunduvi* filled the entire welkin. There were shouts of joy, and the whole region was covered with flowers showered down by invisible agents, The various tribes of celestials, assembled together, began to offer their respectful adorations to the son of Prithā. The sons of Kadru (Nagas), the sons of Vinata, the Gandharvas, the Apsaras, the lords of the creation, and the seven great Rishis, *viz*, Bharadwaja, Kasyapa, Gautama, Viswamitra, Jamadagni, Vashishta, and the illustrious Atri who illumined the world of old when the Sun was lost, all came there. And Marichi, Angira, Pulasta, Pulaha, Kratu, the lord of creation Daksha, the Gandharvas and Apsarās, came there also. The various tribes of Apsarās, decked with celestial garlands and every ornament, and attired in fine robes, came there and danced in joy, chaunting the praises of Vivatsu (Arjuna). All around, the great Rishis began to utter propitiatory formulæ. And Tumvaru accompanied by the Gandharvas began to sing in harming notes. And Bhima-sena and Ugra-sena, Urnayu and Anagha, Gopati and Dhrita-rashtra, Surya and Varcha the eighth, Yugapa and Trinapa, Karshni, Nandi and Chitra-ratha, Shalishira the thirteenth, Parjanya the fourteenth, Kali the fifteenth, and Narada the sixteenth in this list, Sad-dha, Vrihad-dha, Vrihaka, Karala of great soul, Brahmachari, Vahuguna, Suvarna of great fame, Viswavasu, Bhumanyu, Suchandra, Sharu, and the celebrated tribes of Haha and Huhu both gifted with wonderful melody of voice, *these* celestial Gandharvas, O king, all went there. Many illustrious Apsaras also of large eyes, decked in every ornament, came there to dance and sing. And Anuchana and Anavadya, Gunamukhya and Gunavara, Adrika and Soma, Misra-keshi and Alamvusha, Marichi and Shuchika, Vidyut-parna and Tilottama and Amvika, Lakshmana, Kshema, Devi, Rambha, Manorama, Ashita, Suvahu, Supria, Suvapu, Pundarika, Sugandha, Surasa, Pramethini, Kamya, and Sharadhvati, all danced there together. And Menaka, Saha-janya, Karnika, Punjika-sthala, Ritu-sthala, Ghritachi, Viswachi, Purva-chiti, the celebrated Umlochã, Pramlocha the tenth, and Urvashi the eleventh,—these large-eyed dancing-girls of heaven came there and sang in chorus. And Dhata and Aryama and Mitra and Varuna and Angsha, and Vaga, and Indra, Vivaswan, Pusha, Tashta, and Parjanya or Vishnu,—these twelve Adityas, and the Pavakas came there to glorify Pandu's son. And, O king, Mirga-vyada, Sarpa, the celebrated Niriti, Ajaika-pada, Ahi-vradhna, Pinaki, Dahana, Iswara, Kapali, Sthanu, and the illustrious Bhagavana,—these eleven Rudras also came there. And the twin Aswinas, the eight Vasus, the mighty Marutas, the Viswa-devas, and the Sadhyas, also came there. And Karkotaka, Vasuki, Kachchapa, Kunda, and the great Naga Takshaka,—these mighty and wrathfal snakes possessed of high ascetic merit, also came there. And Tarkshya, Arishtanemi, Garuda, Asita-dhaja—these and many other Nagas came there. And Aruna and Aruni and other sons of Vinata also came there. It was only the great Rishis crowned with ascetic success and not others that saw those celestials and other beings seated on their cars or waiting on the mountain peaks. Those best of Munis beholding that wonderful sight became amazed, and their love and affection for the children of Pandu were in consequence enhanced. "The celebrated Pandu, tempted by the desire of having more children, wished to speak again unto his wedded wife (for invoking some other god). But Kunti addressed him, saying, 'The wise do not sanction a fourth delivery even in a season of distress. The woman having intercourse with four different men is called a *Shairini*, while she having intercourse with five becometh a harlot. Therefore, O learned one, well acquainted as thou art with the scripture on this subject, why dost thou, beguiled by the desire of offspring, tell me so in seeming forgetfulness of the ordinance?'" Thus ends the hundred and twenty-third Section in the Sambhava of the Adi Parva.