The Mahabharata/Book 1: Adi Parva/Section 199

Section CLXLIX. *( Vaivahika Parva Continued. )* Vaisampayana said, "Vyasa continued, 'In days of yore, the celestials had once commenced a grand sacrifice in the forest of Naimisha. And in that sacrifice, O king, Yama the son of Vivaswan became the slayer of the devoted animals. And Yama being thus employed in that sacrifice, he did not, O king, slay a single one amongst human beings. And death being suspended in the world, the number of human beings increased very greatly. Then Soma and Shakra and Varuna and Kuvera, the Sadhyas, the Rudras, the Vasus, the twin Aswinas,—these and other celestials went unto Prajapati the Creator of the universe. And struck with feat at the increase of the human population of the world, they addressed the master of the creation and said,—Alarmed, O lord, at the increase of human beings on earth, we come to thee for relief! Indeed, we crave thy protection!—And hearing those words, the Grand-father said,—Ye have little cause to be frightened at this increase of human beings. Ye all are immortal! It behoveth ye not to take fright at human beings!—The celestials replied,—The mortals have all become immortal. There is no distinction now between us and them. Vexed at the disappearance of all distinction, we have come to thee inorder that thou mayest distinguish us from them!—The Creator then said,—The son of Vivaswan is even now engaged in the grand sacrifice. It is for this that men are not dying. But when Yama's work in connection with the sacrifice terminates, men will once more begin to die as before. Strengthened by your respective energies, Yama will, when that time comes, sweep away by thousands the inhabitants of the earth who will scarcely have then any energy left in them.' "Vyasa continued, 'Hearing these words of the first-born deity, the celestials returned unto where the grand sacrifice as being performed. And the mighty ones sitting by the side of the Bhāgirathee saw a (golden) lotus carried along the current. And beholding that (golden) lotus, they wondered much. And amongst them, that foremost of celestials—Indra—desirous of ascertaining whence it came, proceeded along the source of the Bhāgirathee. And reaching that spot where the goddess Gangā issues perennially, Indra beheld a woman possessing the splendour of fire. And the woman desirous of fetching water was washing herself in the stream, weeping all the while. And the tear-drops she shed, falling on the stream, were being transformed into golden lotuses. And the wielder of the thunder-bolt beholding that wonderful sight, approached that woman, and asked her, saying,—Who art thou, amiable lady? Why also dost thou weep? I desire to know the truth. O tell me everything!—' "Vyāsa continued, 'The woman hearing this, answered,—O Shakra, thou mayst know who I am, and why, unfortunate that I am, do I weep, if only, O chief of the celestials, thou comest with me as I lead the way. Thou shalt then see what it is I weep for.—Hearing these words of the lady, Indra followed her as she led the way. And soon he saw, not far off from where he was, a handsome youth with a young lady seated on a throne placed on one of the peaks of the Himavat, and playing with dice. And beholding that youth, the chief of the celestials said,—Know, intelligent youth, that this universe is under my sway!—And seeing that the person addressed was so abstracted with dice that he took no notice of what he said, Indra was possessed with anger and repeated,—I am the lord of the universe!—And the youth who was none else than the god Mahādeva, seeing Indra filled with wrath, only smiled, having cast a glance upon him. And at that glance the chief of the celestials was at once paralysed and stood there like a stake. And when the game of dice was over, Isāna addressed the weeping woman, saying,—Bring Shakra hither, for I shall soon so deal with him that pride may not again enter his heart.—And as soon as Shakra was touched by that woman, with limbs pralysed by that touch the chief of the celestials fell down upon the earth. And the illustrious Isāna of fierce energy said unto him,—Act not, O Shakra, ever again in this way. Take up this huge stone, for thy strength and energy are both immeasurable, and enter the hole (it will disclose); where await some others possessing the splendour of the sun and who are all like unto thee.—And Indra on removing that stone beheld a cave on the breast of that king of mountains, within which were four others resembling Indra himself. And beholding their plight, Shakra was possessed with grief and exclaimed,—Shall I be even like these?—Then the god Girisha (Isāna), looking full at Indra with expanded eyes, said in anger,—O thou of a hundred sacrifices, enter this cave without loss of time, for thou hast, from folly, insulted me before my eyes.—Thus addressed by the lord Isāna, the chief of the celestials, in consequence of that terrible imprecation, was deeply pained, and with limbs weakened by fear he trembled like the wind-shaken leaf of a Himalayan fig. And cursed unexpectedly by the god owning a bull for his vehicle, Indra, with joined hands and shaking from head to foot, addressed that fierce god of multiform manifestations, saying,—Thou art today, O Bhava, the foremost of the infinite universe!—Hearing these words, the god of fiery energy smiled and said,—Those that are of disposition like thine never obtain my grace. These others (within the cave) had at one time been like thee. Enter thou this cave, therefore, and lie there for some time. The fate of ye all shall certainly be the same. All of ye shall have to take your births in the world of men, where having achieved many difficult feats and slaying a large number of men, ye shall again, by the merits of your respective deeds, regain the valued region of Indra. Ye shall accomplish all I have said and much more, besides, of other kinds of work!—Then those Indras, divested of their glory, said,—We shall go from our celestial regions even unto the region of man where salvation is ordained to be difficult of acquisition. But let the gods Dharma, Vāyu, Maghavān, and the twin Aswinas beget us upon our would-be mother. Fighting with men by means of both celestial and human weapons, we shall again come back into the region of Indra.—" "Vyāsa continued, 'Hearing these words of the former Indras, the wielder of the thunder-bolt once more addressed the foremost of the gods, saying,—Instead of going myself, I shall, with a portion of my energy, create from myself a person for the accomplishment of the task (thou assignest), to form the fifth among these.—Viswabhuk, Bhuta-dhāmā, Shivi of great energy, Shānti the fourth, and Tejaswi, these, it is said, were the five Indras of old. And the illustrious god of the formidable bow, from his kindness, granted unto the give Indras the desire they cherished. And he also appointed that woman of extraordinary beauty, and who was none else then the celestial Sree herself, to be their common wife in the world of men. And accompanied by all those Indras, the god Isāna then went unto Nārāyana of immeasurable energy,—the Ininite, the Immaterial, the Increate, the Old, the Eternal, and the Spirit of this universe without limits. And Nārāyana approved of every thing. And those Indras then took their birth in the world of men. And Hari (Nārāyana) took up two hairs from his body. And one of these hairs was black and the other white. And those two hairs entered the wombs of two of the dames of the Yadu race, of name Devaki and Rohini. And one of these hairs, *viz*, that which was white, became Valadeva. And the hair that was black became born as Keshava's self, Krishna. And those Indras of old who had been confined in the cave on the Himavat were none else than the sons of Pandu all endued with great energy. And Arjuna of the Pāndavas, called also Savya-sāchi (using both hands with equal dexterity) is a portion of Shakra.' "Vyāsa continued, 'Thus, O king, they who have been born as the Pāndavas are none else than those Indras of old. And the celestial Sree herself who had been appointed as their wife is this Draupadi of extraordinary beauty. How could she whose effulgence is like that of the sun or the moon, whose fragrance spreadeth for two miles around, take her birth in any other than an extraordinary way, *viz*, from within the earth, by virtue of thy sacrificial rites? Unto thee, O king, I cheerfully grant this other boon in the form of spiritual sight. Behold now the sons of Kunti endued with their sacred and celestial bodies of old!'" Vaisampayana continued, "Saying this, that sacred Brāhmana, Vyāsa, of generous deeds, by means of his ascetic power granted celestial sight unto the king. And thereupon the king beheld all the Pāndavas endued with their former bodies. And the king saw them possessed of celestial bodies, with golden crowns and celestial garlands, and each resembling Indra himself, with complexions like unto that of the fire or the sun, and decked in every ornament, and handsome, and youthful, with broad chests and statures measuring about five cubits. And endued with every accomplishment, and decked in celestial robes of great beauty and in fragrant garlands of excellent make, the king beheld them as so many three-eyed gods (Mahādeva), or Vasus, or Rudras, or Adityas themselves. And observing the Pāndavas in the forms on the Indras of old, and Arjuna also in the form of Indra sprung from Shakra himself, king Drupada was highly pleased. And the monarch wondered much on beholding that manifestation of celestial power under deep disguise. And the king looking at his daughter, that foremost of women endued with great beauty, like unto a celestial damsel, and possessed of the splendour of fire or the moon, regarded her as the worthy wife of those celestial beings, for her beauty, splendour, and fame. And beholding that wonderful sight, the monarch touched the feet of Satyavati's son, exclaiming, 'O great Rishi, nothing is wonderful in thee!' And the Rishi cheerfully continued, 'In a certain hermitage there was an illustrious Rishi's daughter, who, though handsome and chaste, obtained not a husband. And the maiden gratified, by severe ascetic penances, the god Shankara (Mahādeva). And the lord Shankara, gratified with her penances, told her himself,—Ask thou the boon thou desirest!—Thus addressed, the maiden repeatedly said unto the boon-giving Supreme lord,—I desire to obtain a husband possessed of every accomplishment.—And Shankara, the chief of the gods, gratified with her, gave her the boon she asked, saying,—Thou shalt have, amiable maiden, give husbands.—The maiden, who had succeeded in gratifying the god, said again,—O Shankara, I desire to have from thee only *one* husband possessed of every virtue!—The god of gods, well pleased with her, spake again, saying,—Thou hast, O maiden, addressed me full five time, repeating, *give me a husband.* Therefore, O amiable one, it shall even be as thou hast asked. Blest be thou. All this, however, will happen in a future life of thine.—' "Vyāsa continued, 'O Drupada, this thy daughter of celestial beauty is that maiden. Indeed, the faultless Krishnā sprung in Prishata's race hath been pre-ordained to become the common wife of five husbands. The celestial Sree, having undergone severe ascetic penances, hath, for the sake of the Pāndavas, taken her birth as thy daughter, in the course of thy grand sacrifice. That handsome goddess waited upon by all the celestials, shall, as a consequence of her own acts, become the (common) wife of five husbands. It is for this that the Self-create hath created her. Having listened to all this, O king Drupada, do what thou desirest!'" Thus ends the hundred and ninety-ninth Section in the Vaivahika of the Adi Parva.