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gratified with me and gave me knowledge that is capable of aiding the acquirer in getting over rebirth.--After this, the Rishi |
named Charusirsha, that dear friend of Sakra and known otherwise under the name of Alamvana's son and who is filled with |
compassion, said,--I, in former days, repaired to the mountains of Gokarna and sat myself to practise severe penances for a |
hundred years. As the reward of those penances, I obtained from Sarva, O son of king Pandu, a hundred sons, all of whom were |
born without the intervention of woman, of well-restrained soul, conversant with righteousness, possessed of great splendour, |
free from disease and sorrow, and endued with lives extending over a hundred thousand years--Then the illustrious Valmiki, |
addressing Yudhishthira, said,--Once upon a time, in course of a dialectical disputation, certain ascetics that were possessors of |
the homa fire denounced me as one guilty of Brahmanicide. As soon as they had denounced me as such, the sin of |
Brahmanicide, O Bharata, possessed me. I then, for cleansing myself, sought the protection of the sinless Isana who is |
irresistible in energy. I become cleansed of all my sins. That dispeller of all sorrows, viz., the destroyer of the triple city of the |
Asuras, said unto me,--Thy fame shall be great in the world--Then Jamadagni's son, that foremost of all righteous persons, |
shining like the Sun with blazing splendour in the midst of that conclave of Rishis, said unto the son of Kunti these words;--I |
was afflicted with the sin, O eldest son of Pandu, of Brahmanicide for having slain my brothers who were all learned |
Brahmanas. For purifying myself, I sought the protection, O king, of Mahadeva. I hymned the praises of the great Deity by |
reciting his names. At this, Bhava became gratified with me and gave me a battle-axe and many other celestial weapons. And |
he said unto me,--Thou shalt be freed from sin and thou shalt be invincible in battle; Death himself shall not succeed in |
overcoming thee for thou shalt be freed from disease.--Even thus did the illustrious and crested Deity of auspicious form said |
unto me. Through the grace of that Deity of supreme intelligence I obtained all that He had said. Then Viswamitra said,--I was |
formerly a Kshatriya. I paid my adorations to Bhava with the desire of becoming a Brahmana Through the grace of that great |
Deity I succeeded in obtaining the high status of a Brahmana that is so difficult to obtain.--Then the Rishi Asita-Devala, |
addressing the royal son of Pandu, said,--In former days, O son of Kunti, through the curse of Sakra, all my merit due to the |
acts of righteousness I had performed, was destroyed. The puissant Mahadeva it was who kindly gave me back that merit |
together with great fame and a long life.--The illustrious Rishi Gritsamada, the dear friend of Sakra, who resembled the |
celestial preceptor Vrihaspati himself in splendour, addressing Yudhishthira of Ajamidha's race said,--The inconceivable Sakra |
had, in days of yore, performed a sacrifice extending over a thousand years. While that sacrifice was going on, I was engaged |
by Sakra in reciting the Samans. Varishtha, the son of that Manu who sprung from the eyes of Brahma, came to that sacrifice |
and addressing me, said.--O foremost of regenerate persons, the Rathantara is not being recited properly by thee. O best of |
Brahmanas, cease to earn demerit by reading so faultily, and with the aid of thy understanding do thou read the Samans |
correctly. O thou of wicked understanding, why dost thou perpetrate such sin that is destructive of sacrifice.--Having said these |
words, the Rishi Varishtha, who was very wrathful, gave way to that passion and addressing me once more, said,--Be thou an |
animal divested of intelligence, subject to grief, ever filled with fear, and a denizen of trackless forests destitute of both wind |
and water and abandoned by other animals. Do thou thus pass ten thousand years with ten and eight hundred years in addition. |
That forest in which thou shalt have to pass this period will be destitute of all holy trees and will, besides, be the haunt of Rurus |
and lions. Verily, thou shalt have to become a cruel deer plunged in excess of grief.--As soon as he had said these words, O son |
of Pritha, I immediately became transformed into a deer. I then sought the protection of Maheswara. The great Deity said unto |
me,--Thou shalt be freed from disease of every kind, and besides immortality shall be thine. Grief shall never afflict thee. Thy |
friendship with Indra shall remain unchanged, and let the sacrifices of both Indra and thyself Increase. The illustrious and |
puissant Mahadeva favours all creatures in this way. He is always the great dispenser and ordainer in the matter of the |
happiness and sorrow of all living creatures. That illustrious Deity is incapable of being comprehended in thought, word, or |
deed. O son, O thou that are the best of warriors (through the grace of Mahadeva), there is none that is equal to me in learning.- |
-After this, Vasudeva, that foremost of all intelligent men, once more said,--Mahadeva of golden eyes was gratified by me with |
my penances. Gratified with me, O Yudhishthira, the illustrious Deity said unto me,--Thou shalt, O Krishna, through my grace, |
become dearer to all persons than wealth which is coveted by all. Thou shalt be invincible in battle. Thy energy shall be equal |
to that of Fire. Thousands of other boons Mahadeva gave unto me on that occasion. In a former incarnation I adored Mahadeva |
on the Manimantha mountain for millions of years. Gratified with me, the illustrious Deity said unto me these words:--Blessed |
be thou, do thou solicit boons as thou wishest. Bowing unto him with a bend of my head, I said these words,--If the puissant |
Mahadeva has been gratified with me, then let my devotion to him be unchanged, O Isana! Even this is the boon that I solicit.-- |
The great God said unto me,--Be it so--and disappeared there and then.' |
"Jaigishavya said, 'O Yudhishthira, formerly in the city of Varanasi, the puissant Mahadeva searching me out, conferred upon |
me the eight attributes of sovereignty.'" |
"Garga said,--'O son of Pandu, gratified with me in consequence of mental sacrifice which I had performed, the great God |
bestowed upon me, on the banks of the sacred stream Saraswati, that wonderful science, viz., the knowledge of Time with its |
four and sixty branches. He also, bestowed upon me, a thousand sons, all possessed of equal merit and fully conversant with |
the Vedas. Through his grace, their periods of life as also that of mine have become extended to ten millions of years.'" |
"Parasara said,--'In former times I gratified Sarva, O king. I then cherished the desire of obtaining a son that would be |
possessed of great ascetic merit, endued with superior energy, and addressed to high Yoga, that would earn world-wide fame, |
arrange the Vedas, and become the home of prosperity, that would be devoted to the Vedas and the Brahmanas and be |
distinguished for compassion. Even such a son was desired by me from Maheswara. Knowing that this was the wish of my |
heart, that foremost of Deities said unto me.--Through the fruition of that object of thine which thou wishest to obtain from me, |
thou shalt have a son of the name of Krishna. In that creation which shall be known after the name of Savarni-Manu, that son |
of thine shall be reckoned among the seven Rishis. He shall arrange the Vedas, and be the propagator of Kuru's race. He shall, |
besides, be the author of the ancient histories and do good to the universe. Endued with severe penances, he shall, again, be the |
dear friend of Sakra. Freed from diseases of every kind, that son of thine, O Parasara, shall besides, be immortal.--Having said |
these words, the great Deity disappeared there and then. Even such is the good, O Yudhishthira, that I have obtained from that |
indestructible and immutable God, endued with the highest penances and supreme energy.' |
"Mandavya said,--'In former times though not a thief and yet wrongly suspected of theft, I was impaled (under the orders of a |
king). I then adored the illustrious Mahadeva who said unto me,--Thou shalt soon be freed from impalement and live for |
millions of years. The pangs due to impalement shall not be thine. Thou shalt also be freed from every kind of affliction and |
disease. And since, O ascetic, this body of thine hath sprung from the fourth foot of Dharma (viz., Truth). Thou shalt be |
unrivalled on Earth. Do thou make thy life fruitful. Thou shalt, without any obstruction, be able to bathe in all the sacred waters |
of the Earth. And after the dissolution of thy body, I shall, O learned Brahmana, ordain that thou shall enjoy the pure felicity of |
heaven for unending Time.--Having said these words unto me, the adorable Deity having the bull for his vehicle, viz., |
Maheswara of unrivalled splendour and clad in animal skin, O king, disappeared there and then with all his associates.' |
"Galava said, Formerly I studied at the feet of my preceptor Viswamitra. Obtaining his permission I set out for home with the |
object of seeing my father. My mother (having become a widow), was filled with sorrow and weeping bitterly, said unto me,-- |
Alas, thy father will never see his son who, adorned with Vedic knowledge, has been permitted by his preceptor to come home |
and who, possessed of all the graces of youth, is endued with self-restraint.--Hearing these words of my mother, I became filled |
with despair in respect of again beholding my sire. I then paid my adoration with a rapt soul to Maheswara who, gratified with |
me, showed himself to me and said,--Thy sire, thy mother, and thyself, O son, shall all be freed from death. Go quickly and |
enter thy abode; thou shall behold thy sire there.--Having obtained the permission of the illustrious Deity, I then repaired to my |
home, O Yudhishthira, and beheld my father, O son, coming out after having finished his daily sacrifice. And he came out, |
bearing in his hands a quantity of Homa-fuel and Kusa grass and some fallen fruits. And he seemed to have already taken his |
daily food, for he had washed himself properly. Throwing down those things from his hand, my father, with eyes bathed in |
tears (of joy), raised me, for I had prostrated myself at his feet. Embracing me he smelt my head, O son of Pandu, and said.--By |
good luck, O son, art thou seen by me. Thou hast come back, having acquired knowledge from the preceptor.' |
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing these marvellous and most wonderful feats of the illustrious Mahadeva recited by the |
ascetics, the son of Pandu became amazed. Then Krishna, that foremost of all intelligent persons, spoke once more unto |
Yudhishthira, that ocean of righteousness, like Vishnu speaking unto Puruhuta.' |
"Vasudeva said, 'Upamanyu, who seemed to blaze with effulgence like the Sun, said unto me,--Those sinful men that are |
stained with unrighteous deeds, do not succeed in attaining to Isana. Their dispositions being stained by the attributes of Rajas |
and Tamas, they can never approach the Supreme Deity. It is only those regenerate persons who are of cleansed souls that |
succeed in attaining to the Supreme Deity. Even if a person lives in the enjoyment of every pleasure and luxury, yet if he be |
devoted to the Supreme Deity, he comes to be regarded as the equal of forest recluses of cleansed souls. If Rudra be gratified |
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