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"Yudhishthira said, 'I have heard this great narrative, O perpetuator of Kuru's race. Thou, O foremost of eloquent men, hast said |
that the status of a Brahmana is exceedingly difficult of acquisition. It is heard, however, that in former times the status of a |
Brahmana had been acquired by Viswamitra. Thou, however, O best of men, tellest us that status is incapable of being |
acquired. I have also heard that king Vitahavya in ancient times succeeded in obtaining the status of a Brahmana. I desire to |
hear, O puissant son of Ganga, the story of Vitahavya's promotion. By what acts did that best of kings succeed in acquiring the |
status of a Brahmana? Was it through some boon (obtained from some one of great puissance) or was it through the virtue of |
penances? It behoveth thee to tell me everything.' |
"Bhishma said, 'Hear, O monarch, how the royal sage Vitahavya of great celebrity succeeded in ancient times in acquiring the |
status of a Brahmana that is so difficult to attain and that is held in such high reverence by all the world. While the high-souled |
Manu in days of yore was employed in righteously ruling his subjects, he obtained a son of righteous soul who became |
celebrated under the name of Saryati. In Saryati's, race, O monarch, two kings took their birth, viz., Haihaya and Talajangha. |
Both of them were sons of Vatsa, O foremost of victorious kings. Haihaya, O monarch, had ten wives. Upon them he begot, O |
Bharata, a century of sons all of whom were highly inclined to fighting. All of them resembled one another in features and |
prowess. All of them were endued with great strength and all of them were possessed of great skill in battle. They all studied |
the Vedas and the science of weapons thoroughly. In Kasi also, O monarch, there was a king who was the grandfather of |
Divodasa. The foremost of victorious men, he was known by the name of Haryyaswa. The sons of king Haihaya, O chief of |
men (who was otherwise known by the name of Vitahavya), invaded the kingdom of Kasi and advancing to the country that |
lies between the rivers Ganga and Yamuna, fought a battle with king Haryyaswa and also slew him in it. Having slain king |
Haryyaswa in this way, the sons of Haihaya, those great car-warriors, fearlessly went back to their own delightful city in the |
country of the Vatsas. Meanwhile Haryyaswa's son Sudeva, who looked like a deity in splendour and who was a second god of |
righteousness, was installed on the throne of Kasi as its ruler. The delighter of Kasi, that righteous-souled prince ruled his |
kingdom for sometime, when the hundred sons of Vitahavya once more invaded his dominions and defeated him in battle. |
Having vanquished king Sudeva thus, the victors returned to their own city. After that Divodasa, the son of Sudeva, became |
installed on the throne of Kasi as its ruler. Realising the prowess of those high-souled princes, viz., the sons of Vitahavya, king |
Divodasa, endued with great energy, rebuilt and fortified the city of Baranasi at the command of Indra. The territories of |
Divodasa were full of Brahmanas and Kshatriyas, and abounded with Vaisyas and Sudras. And they teemed with articles and |
provisions of every kind, and were adorned with shops and marts swelling with prosperity. Those territories, O best of kings, |
stretched northwards from the banks of Ganga to the southern banks of Gomati, and resembled a second Amravati (the city of |
Indra). The Haihayas once again, O Bharata, attacked that tiger among kings, as he ruled his kingdom. The mighty king |
Divodasa endued with great splendour, issuing out of his capital, gave them battle. The engagement between the two parties |
proved so fierce as to resemble the encounter in days of old between the deities and the Asuras. King Divodasa fought the |
enemy for a thousand days at the end of which, having lost a number of followers and animals, he became exceedingly |
distressed.[250] King Divodasa, O monarch, having lost his army and seeing his treasury exhausted, left his capital and fled |
away. Repairing to the delightful retreat of Bhardwaja endued with great wisdom the king, O chastiser of foes joining his hands |
in reverence, sought the Rishi's protection. Beholding King Divodasa before him, the eldest son of Vrihaspati, viz., Bharadwaja |
of excellent conduct, who was the monarch's priest, said unto him, What is the reason of thy coming here? Tell me everything, |
O king. I shall do that which is agreeable to thee, without any scruple.' |
"The king said, 'O holy one, the sons of Vitahavya have slain all the children and men of my house. I only have escaped with |
life, totally discomfited by the foe. I seek thy protection. It behoveth thee, O holy one, to protect me with such affection as thou |
hast for a disciple. Those princes of sinful deeds have slaughtered my whole race, leaving myself only alive.' |
"Bhishma continued, 'Unto him who pleaded so piteously, Bharadwaja of great energy said, Do not fear! Do not fear! O son of |
Sudeva, let thy fears be dispelled. I shall perform a sacrifice, O monarch, in order that thou mayst have a son through whom |
thou shalt be able to smite thousands upon thousands of Vitahavya's party. After this, the Rishi performed a sacrifice with the |
object of bestowing a son on Divodasa. As the result thereof, unto Divodasa was born a son named Pratarddana. Immediately |
on his birth he grew up like a boy of full three and ten years and quickly mastered the entire Vedas and the whole of arms. |
Aided by his Yoga powers, Bharadwaja of great intelligence had entered into the prince. Indeed, collecting all the energy that |
occurs in the object of the universe, Bharadwaja put them together in the body of prince Pratarddana. Put on shining mail on |
his person and armed with the bow, Pratarddana, his praises sung by bards and the celestial Rishis, shone resplendent like the |
risen star of day. Mounted on his car and with the scimitar tied to his belt, he shone like a blazing fire. With scimitar and shield |
and whirling his shield as he went, he proceeded to the presence of his sire. Beholding the prince, the son of Sudeva, viz., king |
Divodasa, became filled with joy. Indeed, the old king thought the sons of his enemy Vitahavya as already slain. Divodasa then |
installed his son Pratarddana as Yuvaraja, and regarding himself crowned with success became exceedingly happy. After this, |
the old king commanded that chastiser of foes, viz., prince Pratarddana to march against the sons of Vitahavya and slay them in |
battle. Endued with great powers. Pratarddana, that subjugator of hostile cities speedily crossed Ganga on his car and |
proceeded against the city of the Vitahavyas. Hearing the clatter produced by the wheels of his car, the sons of Vitahavya, |
riding on their own cars that looked like fortified citadels and that were capable of destroying hostile vehicles, issued out of |
their city. Issuing out of their capital, those tigers among men, viz., the sons of Vitahavya, who were all skilful warriors cased |
in mail, rushed with uplifted weapons towards Pratarddana, covering him with showers of arrows. Encompassing him with |
innumerable cars, O Yudhisthira, the Vitahavyas poured upon Pratarddana showers of weapons of various kinds like clouds |
pouring torrents of rain on the breast of Himavat. Baffling their weapons with his own, prince Pratarddana endued with mighty |
energy slew them all with his shafts that resembled the lighting fire of Indra. Their heads struck off, O king, with hundreds and |
thousands of broad-headed arrows, the warriors of Vitahavya fell down with blood-dyed bodies like Kinsuka trees felled by |
woodmen with their axes on every side. After all his warriors and sons had fallen in battle, king Vitahavya fled away from his |
capital to the retreat of Bhrigu. Indeed, arrived there, the royal fugitive sought the protection of Bhrigu. The Rishi Bhrigu, O |
monarch, assured the defeated king of his protection. Pratarddana followed in the footsteps of Vitahavya. Arrived at the Rishi's |
retreat, the son of Divodasa said in a loud voice.--Ho, listen ye disciples of the high souled Bhrigu that may happen to be |
present, I wish to see the sage. Go and inform him of this. Recognising that it was Pratarddana who had come, the Rishi Bhrigu |
himself came out of his retreat and worshipped that best of kings according to due rites. Addressing him then, the Rishi said,-- |
Tell me, O king, what is thy business. The king, at this, informed the Rishi of the reason of his presence.' |
"The king said, 'King Vitahavya has come here, O Brahmana. Do thou give him up. His sons, O Brahmana, had destroyed my |
race. They had laid waste the territories and the wealth of the kingdom of Kasi. Hundred sons, however, of this king proud of |
his might, have all been slain by me. By slaying that king himself I shall today pay off the debt I owe to my father. Unto him |
that foremost of righteous men, viz., the Rishi Bhrigu, penetrated with compassion, replied by saying,--There is no Kshatriya in |
this retreat. They that are here are all Brahmanas. Hearing these words of Bhrigu that must accord he thought with truth, |
Pratarddana touched the Rishi's feet slowly and, filled with delight, said,--By this, O holy one, I am without doubt, crowned |
with success, since this king becomes abandoned by the very order of his birth in consequence of my prowess. Give me thy |
permission, O Brahmana, to leave thee, and let me solicit thee to pray for my welfare. This king, O founder of the race that |
goes by the name, has been compelled to leave of the very community of his birth, in consequence of my might. Dismissed by |
the Rishi Bhrigu, king Pratarddana then departed from that retreat, having even as a snake vomits forth its real poison and |
repaired to the place he had come from. Meanwhile, king Vitahavya attained to the status of a Brahmana sage by virtue of the |
words only of Bhrigu. And he acquired also a complete mastery over all the Vedas through the same cause. Vitahavya had a |
son named Gritsamada who in beauty of person was a second Indra. Once on a time the Daityas afflicted him much, believing |
him to be none else than Indra. With regard to that high-souled Rishi, one foremost of Srutis in the Richs goes like this viz., He |
with whom Gritsamada stays, O Brahmana, is held in high respect by all Brahmanas. Endued with great intelligence, |
Gritsamada become a regenerate Rishi in the observance of Brahmacharyya. Gritsamada had a regenerate son of the name of |
Sutejas. Sutejas had a son of the name of Varchas, and the son of Varchas was known by the name of Vihavya. Vihavya had a |
son of his loins who was named Vitatya and Vitatya had a son of name Satya. Satya had a son of name Santa. Santa had a son, |
viz., the Rishi Sravas. Sravas begot a son named Tama. Tama begot a son named Prakasa, who was a very superior Brahmana. |
Prakasa had a son named Vagindra who was the foremost of all silent reciters of sacred Mantras. Vagindra begot a son named |
Pramati who was a complete master of all the Vedas and their branches. Pramati begot upon the Apsara Ghritachi a son who |
was named Ruru. Ruru begot a son upon his spouse Pramadvara. That son was the regenerate Rishi Sunaka. Sunaka begot a |
son who is named Saunaka. It was even thus, O foremost of monarchs, that king Vitahavya, though a Kshatriya by the order of |
his birth, obtained the status of a Brahmana, O chief of Kshatriyas, through the grace of Bhrigu. I have also told thee the |
genealogy of the race that sprung from Gritsamada. What else wouldst thou ask?' |
SECTION XXXI |
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