sidhellman/clean_data.txt · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 182
"Vaisampayana said, 'With the permission of the Kuru king, the Pandavas, O monarch, with their troops and the ladies of their
household, supported themselves on diverse kinds of food and drink and passed about a month in great happiness in that forest.
Towards the close of that period, O sinless one, Vyasa came there. While all those princes sat around Vyasa, engaged in
conversation on diverse subjects, other Rishis came to that spot. They were Narada, and Parvata and Devala of austere
penances, and Viswavasu and Tumvuru, and Chitrasena., O Bharata. Endued with severe penances, the Kuru king
Yudhishthira, with the permission of Dhritarashtra, worshipped them according to due rites. Having obtained that worship from
Yudhishthira, all of them sat down on sacred seats (made of Kusa grass), as also on excellent seats made of peacock feathers.
After they had all taken their seats, the Kuru king of high intelligence took his seat there, surrounded by the sons of Pandu.
Gandhari and Kunti and Draupadi, and she of the Sattwata race, and other ladies of the royal household also sat down. The
conversation that then arose was excellent and had reference to topics connected with piety, and the Rishis of old, and the
deities and the Asuras. At the close of that conversation Vyasa of great energy, that foremost of eloquent men, that first of all
persons conversant with the Vedas, highly gratified, addressed the blind monarch and once more said,--'Burning as thou art
with grief on account of thy children, I know, O king of kings, what object is cherished by thee in thy heart. The sorrow that
always exists in the heart of Gandhari, that which exists in the heart of Kunti, and that also which is cherished by Draupadi in
her heart, and that burning grief, on account of the death of her son, which Krishna's sister Subhadra also cherishes, are all
known to me. Hearing of this meeting, O king, of thine with all these princes and princesses of thy house, I have come here, O
delighter of the Kauravas, for dispelling thy doubts. Let the deities and Gandharvas, and all these great Rishis, behold today the
energy of those penances which I have acquired for these long years. Therefore, O king, tell me what wish of thine I shall grant
today. I am puissant enough to grant thee a boon. Behold the fruit of my penances.' Thus addressed by Vyasa of immeasurable
understanding, king Dhritarashtra reflected for a moment and then prepared to speak. He said,--'I am exceedingly fortunate.
Lucky am I in obtaining thy favour. My life is crowned with success today,--since this meeting has happened between me and
ye all of great piety. Today I shall attain to that highly happy goal which is reserved for me, since, ye ascetics endued with
wealth of penances, ye who are equal to Brahma himself, I have succeeded in obtaining this meeting with you all. There is not
the least doubt that this sight that I have obtained of you all has cleansed me of every sin. Ye sinless ones, I have no longer any
fear in respect of my end in the next world. Full as I am of love for my children, I always cherish their remembrance. My mind,
however, is always tortured by the recollection of the diverse acts of wrong which my wicked son of exceedingly evil
understanding perpetrated. Possessed of a sinful understanding, he always persecuted the innocent Pandavas. Alas, the whole
Earth has been devastated by him, with her steeds, elephants and men. Many high-souled kings, rulers of diverse realms, came
for siding my son and succumbed to death. Alas, leaving their beloved sires and wives and their very life-breaths, all those
heroes have become guests of the king of the dead. What end, O regenerate one, has been attained by those men who have been
slain, for the sake of their friend, in battle? What end also has been attained by my sons and grandsons who have fallen in the
fray? My heart is always pained at the thought of my having brought about the slaughter of the mighty Bhishma, the son of
Santanu, and of Drona, that foremost of Brahmanas, through my foolish and sinful son who was an injurer of his friends.
Desirous of obtaining the sovereignty of the Earth, he caused the Kuru race, blazing with prosperity, to be annihilated.
Reflecting on all this, I burn day and night with grief. Deeply afflicted with pain and grief, I am unable to obtain peace of mind.
Indeed, O father, thinking of all this, I have no peace of mind.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing these lamentations expressed in diverse ways, of that royal sage, the grief, O Janamejaya,
of Gandhari, became fresh. The grief also of Kunti, of the daughter of Drupada, of Subhadra, and of the other members, male
and female, and the daughters-in-law, of the Kuru race, became equally green. Queen Gandhari, with bandaged eyes, joining
her hands, addressed her father-in-law. Deeply afflicted with grief on account of the slaughter of her sons, she said,--'O
foremost of ascetics, sixteen years have passed over the head of this king grieving for the death of his sons and divested of
peace of mind. Afflicted with grief on account of the slaughter of his children, this king Dhritarashtra, always breathes heavily,
and never sleeps at night. O great Rishi, through the power of thy penances thou art competent to create new worlds. What
need I say then about showing this king his children who are now in the other world? This Krishna, the daughter of Drupada,
hath lost all her kinsmen and children. For this, she who is the dearest of my daughters-in-law grieves exceedingly. The sister
of Krishna, viz., Subhadra of sweet speech, burning with the loss of her son, grieves as deeply. This lady that is respected by
all, that is the wife of Bhurisravas, afflicted with grief on account of the fate that has overtaken her husband, always indulges in
heart-rending lamentations. Her father-in-law was the intelligent Valhika of Kuru's race. Alas, Somadatta also was slain, along
with his sire, in the great battle![47] Alas, a century of sons, heroes that never retreated from battle, belonging to this son of
thine, this king of great intelligence and great prosperity, has been slain in battle. The hundred wives of those sons are all
grieving and repeatedly enhancing the grief of both the king and myself. O great ascetic, stricken by that great slaughter, they
have gathered round me. Alas, those high-souled heroes, those great car warriors, my fathers-in-law, Somadatta and others,--
alas, what end has been theirs, O puissant one? Through thy grace, O holy one, that will happen in consequence of which this
lord of Earth, myself, and this daughter-in-law of thine, viz., Kunti, shall all become freed from our grief. After Gandhari had
said so, Kunti, whose face had become wasted through observance of many hard vows, began to think of her secret-born son
endued with solar effulgence. The boon giving Rishi Vyasa, capable of both beholding and hearing what happened at a remote
distance, saw that the royal mother of Arjuna was afflicted with grief. Unto her Vyasa said,--'Tell me, O blessed one, what is in
thy mind. Tell me what thou wishest to say. At this, Kunti, bending her head unto her father-in-law, and overcome with
bashfulness, said these words unto him, relating to the occurrences of the past.'"

SECTION XXX

"Kunti said, 'O holy one, thou art my father-in-law and therefore, my deity of deities. Verily, thou art my god of gods. Hear my
words of truth. An ascetic named Durvasas, who is of the regenerate order and who is full of wrath, came to my father's house
for eleemosynary charity. I succeeded in gratifying him by the purity of my external behaviour and of my mind, as also by
refusing to notice the many wrongs he did. I did not give way to wrath although there was much in his behaviour quite capable
of exciting that passion. Served with care, the great ascetic became highly pleased with me and disposed to grant me a boon.
'Thou must accept the boon I shall give,' were his words to me. Fearing his curse, I answered him, saying,--'So be it.' The
regenerate Rishi once more said unto me,--'O blessed damsel, O thou of beautiful face, thou wilt become the mother of
Dharma. Those deities whom thou wilt summon will be obedient to thee.' Having said those words, the regenerate one vanished
away from my sight. I became filled with wonder. The mantra, however, which the Rishi gave has dwelt in my memory at all
times. One day, sitting within my chamber I beheld the sun rising. Desiring to bring the maker of day before me, I recollected
the words of the Rishi. Without any consciousness of the fault I committed, I summoned the deity from mere girlishness. The
deity, however, of a thousand rays, (summoned by me) came to my presence. He divided himself in twain. With one portion he
was in the firmament, and with the other he stood on the Earth before me. With one he heated the worlds and with another he
came to me. He told me, while I was trembling at his sight, these words,--'Do thou ask a boon of me.' Bowing unto him with
my head, I asked him to leave me. He replied unto me, saying,--'I cannot bear the idea of coming to thee fruitlessly. I shall
consume thee as also that Brahmana who gave thee the Mantra as a boon.' The Brahmana who had done no evil--I wished to
protect from Surya's curse. I therefore, said--'Let me have a son like thee, O god.' The deity of thousand rays then penetrated
me with his energy and stupefied me completely. He then said unto me,--'Thou wilt have a son,' and then went back to the
firmament. I continued to live in the inner apartments and desirous of saying the honour of my sire, I cast into the waters my
infant son named Karna who thus came into the world secretly. Without doubt, through the grace of that god, I once more
became a virgin, O regenerate one, even as the Rishi Durvasas had said unto me. Foolish that I am, although he knew me for
his mother when he grew up, I yet made no effort to acknowledge him. This burns me, O regenerate Rishi, as is well-known to
thee. Whether it is sinful or not so, I have told thee truth. It behoveth thee, O holy one, to gratify the craving I feel for
beholding that son of mine. O foremost of ascetics, let this king also, O sinless one, obtain the fruition today of that wish of his
which he cherishes in his bosom and which has become known to thee.' Thus addressed by Kunti, Vyasa, that foremost of all
persons, said unto her in reply,--'Blessed be thou; all that thou hast said unto me will happen. (As regards the birth of Karna) no
fault is ascribable to thee. Thou wert restored to virginity. The deities are possessed of (Yoga) puissance. They are able to
penetrate human bodies.[48] There are deities. They beget (offspring) by thought alone. By word, by sight, by touch, and by
sexual union, also, they beget children. These are the five methods. Thou belongest to the order of humanity. Thou hast no fault
(in what happened). Know this. O Kunti. Let the fever of thy heart be dispelled. For those that are mighty, everything is
becoming. 'For those that are mighty, everything is pure. For those that are mighty, everything is meritorious. For those that are
mighty, everything is their own.'"

SECTION XXXI.

"Vyasa said, 'Blessed be thou, O Gandhari, thou shalt behold thy sons and brothers and friends and kinsmen along with thy
sires this night like men risen from sleep. Kunti also shall behold Karna, and she of Yadu's race shall behold her son

"Vaisampayana said, 'With the permission of the Kuru king, the Pandavas, O monarch, with their troops and the ladies of their

household, supported themselves on diverse kinds of food and drink and passed about a month in great happiness in that forest.

Towards the close of that period, O sinless one, Vyasa came there. While all those princes sat around Vyasa, engaged in

conversation on diverse subjects, other Rishis came to that spot. They were Narada, and Parvata and Devala of austere

penances, and Viswavasu and Tumvuru, and Chitrasena., O Bharata. Endued with severe penances, the Kuru king

Yudhishthira, with the permission of Dhritarashtra, worshipped them according to due rites. Having obtained that worship from

Yudhishthira, all of them sat down on sacred seats (made of Kusa grass), as also on excellent seats made of peacock feathers.

After they had all taken their seats, the Kuru king of high intelligence took his seat there, surrounded by the sons of Pandu.

Gandhari and Kunti and Draupadi, and she of the Sattwata race, and other ladies of the royal household also sat down. The

conversation that then arose was excellent and had reference to topics connected with piety, and the Rishis of old, and the

deities and the Asuras. At the close of that conversation Vyasa of great energy, that foremost of eloquent men, that first of all

persons conversant with the Vedas, highly gratified, addressed the blind monarch and once more said,--'Burning as thou art

with grief on account of thy children, I know, O king of kings, what object is cherished by thee in thy heart. The sorrow that

always exists in the heart of Gandhari, that which exists in the heart of Kunti, and that also which is cherished by Draupadi in

her heart, and that burning grief, on account of the death of her son, which Krishna's sister Subhadra also cherishes, are all

known to me. Hearing of this meeting, O king, of thine with all these princes and princesses of thy house, I have come here, O

delighter of the Kauravas, for dispelling thy doubts. Let the deities and Gandharvas, and all these great Rishis, behold today the

energy of those penances which I have acquired for these long years. Therefore, O king, tell me what wish of thine I shall grant

today. I am puissant enough to grant thee a boon. Behold the fruit of my penances.' Thus addressed by Vyasa of immeasurable

understanding, king Dhritarashtra reflected for a moment and then prepared to speak. He said,--'I am exceedingly fortunate.

Lucky am I in obtaining thy favour. My life is crowned with success today,--since this meeting has happened between me and

ye all of great piety. Today I shall attain to that highly happy goal which is reserved for me, since, ye ascetics endued with

wealth of penances, ye who are equal to Brahma himself, I have succeeded in obtaining this meeting with you all. There is not

the least doubt that this sight that I have obtained of you all has cleansed me of every sin. Ye sinless ones, I have no longer any

fear in respect of my end in the next world. Full as I am of love for my children, I always cherish their remembrance. My mind,

however, is always tortured by the recollection of the diverse acts of wrong which my wicked son of exceedingly evil

understanding perpetrated. Possessed of a sinful understanding, he always persecuted the innocent Pandavas. Alas, the whole

Earth has been devastated by him, with her steeds, elephants and men. Many high-souled kings, rulers of diverse realms, came

for siding my son and succumbed to death. Alas, leaving their beloved sires and wives and their very life-breaths, all those

heroes have become guests of the king of the dead. What end, O regenerate one, has been attained by those men who have been

slain, for the sake of their friend, in battle? What end also has been attained by my sons and grandsons who have fallen in the

fray? My heart is always pained at the thought of my having brought about the slaughter of the mighty Bhishma, the son of

Santanu, and of Drona, that foremost of Brahmanas, through my foolish and sinful son who was an injurer of his friends.

Desirous of obtaining the sovereignty of the Earth, he caused the Kuru race, blazing with prosperity, to be annihilated.

Reflecting on all this, I burn day and night with grief. Deeply afflicted with pain and grief, I am unable to obtain peace of mind.

Indeed, O father, thinking of all this, I have no peace of mind.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing these lamentations expressed in diverse ways, of that royal sage, the grief, O Janamejaya,

of Gandhari, became fresh. The grief also of Kunti, of the daughter of Drupada, of Subhadra, and of the other members, male

and female, and the daughters-in-law, of the Kuru race, became equally green. Queen Gandhari, with bandaged eyes, joining

her hands, addressed her father-in-law. Deeply afflicted with grief on account of the slaughter of her sons, she said,--'O

foremost of ascetics, sixteen years have passed over the head of this king grieving for the death of his sons and divested of

peace of mind. Afflicted with grief on account of the slaughter of his children, this king Dhritarashtra, always breathes heavily,

and never sleeps at night. O great Rishi, through the power of thy penances thou art competent to create new worlds. What

need I say then about showing this king his children who are now in the other world? This Krishna, the daughter of Drupada,

hath lost all her kinsmen and children. For this, she who is the dearest of my daughters-in-law grieves exceedingly. The sister

of Krishna, viz., Subhadra of sweet speech, burning with the loss of her son, grieves as deeply. This lady that is respected by

all, that is the wife of Bhurisravas, afflicted with grief on account of the fate that has overtaken her husband, always indulges in

heart-rending lamentations. Her father-in-law was the intelligent Valhika of Kuru's race. Alas, Somadatta also was slain, along

with his sire, in the great battle![47] Alas, a century of sons, heroes that never retreated from battle, belonging to this son of

thine, this king of great intelligence and great prosperity, has been slain in battle. The hundred wives of those sons are all

grieving and repeatedly enhancing the grief of both the king and myself. O great ascetic, stricken by that great slaughter, they

have gathered round me. Alas, those high-souled heroes, those great car warriors, my fathers-in-law, Somadatta and others,--

alas, what end has been theirs, O puissant one? Through thy grace, O holy one, that will happen in consequence of which this

lord of Earth, myself, and this daughter-in-law of thine, viz., Kunti, shall all become freed from our grief. After Gandhari had

said so, Kunti, whose face had become wasted through observance of many hard vows, began to think of her secret-born son

endued with solar effulgence. The boon giving Rishi Vyasa, capable of both beholding and hearing what happened at a remote

distance, saw that the royal mother of Arjuna was afflicted with grief. Unto her Vyasa said,--'Tell me, O blessed one, what is in

thy mind. Tell me what thou wishest to say. At this, Kunti, bending her head unto her father-in-law, and overcome with

bashfulness, said these words unto him, relating to the occurrences of the past.'"

SECTION XXX

"Kunti said, 'O holy one, thou art my father-in-law and therefore, my deity of deities. Verily, thou art my god of gods. Hear my

words of truth. An ascetic named Durvasas, who is of the regenerate order and who is full of wrath, came to my father's house

for eleemosynary charity. I succeeded in gratifying him by the purity of my external behaviour and of my mind, as also by

refusing to notice the many wrongs he did. I did not give way to wrath although there was much in his behaviour quite capable

of exciting that passion. Served with care, the great ascetic became highly pleased with me and disposed to grant me a boon.

'Thou must accept the boon I shall give,' were his words to me. Fearing his curse, I answered him, saying,--'So be it.' The

regenerate Rishi once more said unto me,--'O blessed damsel, O thou of beautiful face, thou wilt become the mother of

Dharma. Those deities whom thou wilt summon will be obedient to thee.' Having said those words, the regenerate one vanished

away from my sight. I became filled with wonder. The mantra, however, which the Rishi gave has dwelt in my memory at all

times. One day, sitting within my chamber I beheld the sun rising. Desiring to bring the maker of day before me, I recollected

the words of the Rishi. Without any consciousness of the fault I committed, I summoned the deity from mere girlishness. The

deity, however, of a thousand rays, (summoned by me) came to my presence. He divided himself in twain. With one portion he

was in the firmament, and with the other he stood on the Earth before me. With one he heated the worlds and with another he

came to me. He told me, while I was trembling at his sight, these words,--'Do thou ask a boon of me.' Bowing unto him with

my head, I asked him to leave me. He replied unto me, saying,--'I cannot bear the idea of coming to thee fruitlessly. I shall

consume thee as also that Brahmana who gave thee the Mantra as a boon.' The Brahmana who had done no evil--I wished to

protect from Surya's curse. I therefore, said--'Let me have a son like thee, O god.' The deity of thousand rays then penetrated

me with his energy and stupefied me completely. He then said unto me,--'Thou wilt have a son,' and then went back to the

firmament. I continued to live in the inner apartments and desirous of saying the honour of my sire, I cast into the waters my

infant son named Karna who thus came into the world secretly. Without doubt, through the grace of that god, I once more

became a virgin, O regenerate one, even as the Rishi Durvasas had said unto me. Foolish that I am, although he knew me for

his mother when he grew up, I yet made no effort to acknowledge him. This burns me, O regenerate Rishi, as is well-known to

thee. Whether it is sinful or not so, I have told thee truth. It behoveth thee, O holy one, to gratify the craving I feel for

beholding that son of mine. O foremost of ascetics, let this king also, O sinless one, obtain the fruition today of that wish of his

which he cherishes in his bosom and which has become known to thee.' Thus addressed by Kunti, Vyasa, that foremost of all

persons, said unto her in reply,--'Blessed be thou; all that thou hast said unto me will happen. (As regards the birth of Karna) no

fault is ascribable to thee. Thou wert restored to virginity. The deities are possessed of (Yoga) puissance. They are able to

penetrate human bodies.[48] There are deities. They beget (offspring) by thought alone. By word, by sight, by touch, and by

sexual union, also, they beget children. These are the five methods. Thou belongest to the order of humanity. Thou hast no fault

(in what happened). Know this. O Kunti. Let the fever of thy heart be dispelled. For those that are mighty, everything is

becoming. 'For those that are mighty, everything is pure. For those that are mighty, everything is meritorious. For those that are

mighty, everything is their own.'"

SECTION XXXI.

"Vyasa said, 'Blessed be thou, O Gandhari, thou shalt behold thy sons and brothers and friends and kinsmen along with thy

sires this night like men risen from sleep. Kunti also shall behold Karna, and she of Yadu's race shall behold her son