by Bibek Debroy
Chapter 5(2)
Shri-Shuka said, ‘When his father was thus engaged, Agnidhra followed his instruction. He ruled over the subjects who resided in Jambudvipa, protecting them and looking upon them as his own sons. Once, he desired to obtain the world of the ancestors. 33 He went to the valley in the mountain 34 that celestial women sport in. He collected all the required objects and with single-minded attention, worshipped the illustrious lord and creator of the universe. 35 He performed austerities. The illustrious and original being discerned his intentions. There was an apsara named Purvachitti who was singing in his assembly. He sent her down to him. She went to an extremely beautiful grove in the hermitage. It was dense with many kinds of trees, with thick branches and golden creepers, vibrating because couples of land birds were perched there, singing in melodious tones. There were waterbodies filled with sparkling water, lotuses and karandavas, swans and many other aquatic birds which called out in response. She wandered around there. As she walked in that graceful and enticing way, her anklets tinkled. The prince’s eyes, which were like a pair of lotus buds, were closed in the yoga of meditation. Hearing the pleasing and tinkling sounds from the ornaments on her feet, he opened his eyes slightly and looked at her. Not very far from him, she was inhaling the fragrance of the beautiful flowers, like a bee. Her glances brought delight to the minds of gods and men. Her gait, playfulness, bashfulness, modest glances, sweet voice and limbs delighted the minds of men. Her mouth was like an opening for the one who has flowers as his weapon. 36 Her mouth seemed to ooze out flows of amrita. Her smiles and speech were intoxicating. Swarms of bees, blind with intoxication, surrounded her. As she walked swiftly, her breasts, which were like pots, quivered. The burden of her hair hung down, up to the girdle. She was like a goddess and he looked at her. Seizing the opportunity, the illustrious Makaradhvaja brought him under his subjugation. Like a senseless person, 37 he spoke to her. “O noble sage! Who are you and what do you want to do on this mountain? Are you a maya of the supreme divinity, the illustrious one? O friend! Are you wielding these two stringless bows 38 for your own sake? In this desolate spot, which unwary animal do you wish to hunt? O glorious one! Your arrows are like the petals of lotuses. 39 They are gentle and without tufts, but are extremely pointed at the tips. In this forest, we do not know whom you desire to aim these at? May your valour be for the benefit of foolish people like us. O glorious one! Your disciples are around you, 40 reading and singing Sama hymns with their mysteries, as they glorify their lord. Flowers are falling down from the braids in your hair and all the large number of rishis are worshipping and seeking them, as if they are the branches of the Vedas. O brahmana! The tinkling of the bells on your feet are like the calls of tittira birds. 41 Though their forms cannot be seen, we can hear them. The girdle encircling your well-rounded hips is as beautiful as a kadamba flower, surrounded by a circle of flames. Where did you get this bark? O brahmana! What is inside these two beautiful mounds? 42 Though you are slender at the waist, you are carrying them and my eyes have been attracted to them. These mounds of yours are pinkish-red and their fragrance has permeated my hermitage. O extremely fortunate one! You have perfumed it. O best among friends! Show me the region where people are born with such beautiful limbs on their chest. You are agitating the minds of people like us. From your sweet words, gestures and the nectar in your mouth, those born there must possess many wonders. What do you eat to sustain yourself? O dear one! A fragrance, like that of oblations, is emanating from it. 43 Since you do not blink, you are Vishnu’s portion. There are two makaras in your ears. 44 Your eyes are like a couple of restless fish. Your teeth are as beautiful as an array of birds. 45 Your face is like a pond and swarms of bees are buzzing around you. You are playing with a ball in your hand and your palm is like a lotus. As I follow its movement in different directions, my eyes have become agitated. You are not aware that the mass of your curly and matted hair is hanging loose. Like a lascivious person, the wind is trying to steal your lower garment. O store of austerities! Where did you get this form? It destroys the austerities of those who are trying to perform austerities? So as to obtain this, what kind of austerities did you perform? O friend! You should perform austerities in my company. Is the creator of the universe pleased with me? 46 O beloved brahmana! You have been given to me by the gods and I will not let go of you. My mind and my sight will not let you go. O one with the beautiful mounds! Take me with you, as a follower, wherever you wish and these auspicious friends of yours can also follow.” He was accomplished in entreating women and was skilled in carnal pleasures. With an intelligence like that of the gods, he used such words to make the celestial lady become attached to him. Because of his intelligence, good conduct, beauty, age, prosperity and generosity, her mind was attracted to the lord of hordes of heroes. She spent ten thousand human years with the lord of Jambudvipa, enjoying heavenly pleasures. It is said that Agnidhra, supreme among kings, obtained nine sons through her—Nabhi, Kimpurusha, Harivarsha, Ilavrita, Ramyaka, Hiranmaya, Kuru, Bhadrashva and Ketumala. She gave birth to these sons, one son a year. After this, leaving her home, Purvachitti again presented herself before the god Aja. Through the favours of their mother, Agnidhra’s sons naturally obtained well-formed bodies and strength. They were just like their father and he divided up the divisions 47 of Jambudvipa for them to enjoy. King Agnidhra’s desires were still not satiated and, day and night, he remembered the apsara. Therefore, following the rites of the sacred texts, after death, he obtained the same world as her. This is the world that the ancestors enjoy. When their father died, the nine brothers married Meru’s nine daughters, known as, Merudevi, Pratirupa, Ugradamshtri, Lata, Ramya, Shyama, Nari, Bhadra and Devaviti.’
Chapter 5(3)
Shri-Shuka said, ‘Merudevi did not have any sons and Nabhi wished to have offspring. Therefore, controlling themselves, they worshipped the illustrious lord of sacrifices. It is impossible to obtain the illustrious one through performing different types of rites, objects appropriate to the time and the place, mantras, rituals, dakshina 48 and the invocation of many kinds of ordinances. However, he is affectionate towards his devotees and is pleased through pure words and faith. He manifests himself in his beautiful and unvanquished form to those who are his own and who worship him in the proper way, accepting him in their hearts. His beautiful form and limbs are a delight to the heart, mind and eyes and reveal themselves. Thus it was. He was radiant in his two-armed form. The supreme being was clad in a yellow silken garment. The shrivatsa mark was on his chest. He had a conch shell, a lotus, a garland of wild flowers, a chakra, the immortal jewel, 49 a mace and other objects. His dazzling and excellent diadem, earrings, girdle, necklace, armlets, anklets and other ornaments decorated his body. On seeing him, the officiating priests, the assistant priests and the lord of the house 50 were like poor people when they obtain a lot of riches. With a great deal of respect, they bowed their heads down and worshipped him with all the requisite objects.
‘The officiating priests said, “O most exalted among those who are worshipped! We are your servants. We are repeatedly bowing down before you. On your own, please accept our worship. Since you are incomprehensible, we cannot worship you. However, we have been instructed by virtuous ones. Which man, immersed in the transformations of the gunas of Prakriti, is capable of describing the lord who is beyond Purusha and Prakriti? The names, forms and qualities of the material world cannot determine your form. You are most auspicious and supreme in all the qualities. Even if one of your parts is worshipped, you destroy all the sins of people. Devotedly, your servants are worshipping you with faltering words, prayers, water, branches with new shoots, tulasi leaves and freshly sprouted durva grass. O supreme one! This should indeed satisfy you. We have worshipped you properly with many objects, without hoping to get anything in return. Your self is certainly the source of all the purusharthas. 51 They directly flow from you, continuous, uninterrupted and increasing. O protector! All this is only for the sake of obtaining your be
nedictions. 52 You should be pleased with our worship. O supreme among all supreme beings! We are supremely ignorant. We are foolish and do not know what is best for us. You are boundless in compassion. We have not worshipped you properly. However, because of your own greatness, you have sought to confer liberation on us and have revealed yourself to us, like an ordinary person. O supreme among those who should be worshipped and supreme among those who confer boons! At the sacrifice of the royal sage, you have shown yourself to your own devotees. This sight of you is itself a boon. O accumulation of qualities! There are sages whose non-attachment has increased. They have burnt down all their impurities through the fire of knowledge. Content in their own atmans, they have attained your state. They continuously chant about your qualities and even for them, this represents supreme bliss. Your qualities, deeds and names can destroy all sins. May we be able to utter them even when we stumble a bit, are hungry, are falling down, are yawning, are amidst hardships, or are incapacitated because of fever or impending death, so that we can’t remember them. Moreover, this royal sage desires offspring. O lord! He hopes for a son who will be exactly like you. Your blessings can yield heaven and liberation. With an offspring as the ultimate objective, he is worshipping you, like a person who approaches the lord of riches for a mere husk. Is there anyone in this world who has not been vanquished by your invincible maya, whose path cannot be determined? 53 With the intelligence confounded, one therefore succumbs to material objects, which are like poison and suffuse one’s nature, even if one worships at the feet of great ones. O lord who performs many acts! You have indeed been invited here by wicked ones for a material objective. O lord of the gods! This shows disrespect towards you. We are ignorant. However, because of your amiability, please pardon everything.”’
Shri-Shuka said, ‘Thus the illustrious one, foremost among gods, was praised in prose 54 by those at whose feet the lord of the varsha worships. 55 Filled with kindness, he replied.
‘The illustrious one said, “O rishis! I am certainly pleased and your words will not be false. He has sought a son who is exactly like me and this boon is not easy to obtain. Since I am matchless, there can be no one who is like me. However, the words of brahmanas cannot be false. After all, the lineage of brahmanas is like my mouth. Therefore, it shall be that way. Since there is no one who is my equal, my portion will descend through Agnidhra’s son.”’
Shri-Shuka said, ‘The illustrious one said this to Merudevi’s husband, while she heard, and disappeared. O Vishnudatta! 56 At the sacrifice, the supreme rishis pleased the illustrious one in this way. Wishing to do what would be agreeable to Nabhi, he descended in Merudevi. Desiring to exhibit dharma to mendicants 57 who are naked and hold up their seed, he descended in a form that was pure.’
Chapter 5(4)
Shri-Shuka said, ‘Thus, he was born with all the signs of the illustrious one. He was tranquil and impartial towards everyone. He possessed great powers and wasn’t attached to prosperity. Day by day, his powers increased. Ordinary people, subjects, brahmanas and gods greatly wished that he would rule over the surface of the earth. His bodily features were superior and were extolled in great shlokas. Because of his vigour, strength, beauty, fame, valour and prowess, his father gave him the name of Rishabha. 58 The illustrious Indra was envious and did not rain down in this varsha. Ascertaining this, the illustrious Rishabhadeva, the lord of yoga, laughed. Using the maya of his yoga, he showered down on his own varsha of Ajanabha. 59 As he desired, Nabhi obtained an excellent son and was filled with overwhelming jubiliation. He accepted the words of the illustrious and ancient being that he had himself accepted this form to follow the dharma of the world of men. Overcome by maya, he addressed him as “My child” and “My son”. He reared him affectionately and was exceedingly happy. King Nabhi knew that the citizens of the city and the countryside and the ordinary people loved his son. To protect the ordinances, he cheerfully instated him and entrusted him to accomplished brahmanas. With Merudevi, he went to Vishala and engaged in meditation. He worshipped the illustrious Vasudeva, known as Nara and Narayana. In the course of time, he attained his 60 greatness. O Pandaveya! Two shlokas are cited about him. “Which man can undertake the deeds of the royal sage, Nabhi? Because of his pure deeds, he obtained Hari as his son.” “Who can be more devoted to brahmanas than Nabhi? Worshipped in auspicious ways, the brahmanas used their energies and the lord of sacrifices showed himself at his sacrifice.” The illustrious Rishabhadeva regarded his varsha as a place where he would undertake action. For instance, he resided in his preceptor’s house. He then obtained the permission of the preceptors to become a householder and gave them gifts. 61 Seeking to instruct about dharma by following it, he obtained Jayanti from Indra 62 and married her. He performed both types of deeds mentioned in the sacred texts. 63 Through her, he had one hundred sons who were exactly like him. Among them, the eldest was the great yogi, Bharata. He was best in qualities. It is after him that this region came to be known as Bharatavarsha. Among the other ninety-nine, the foremost were Kushavarta, Ilavarta, Brahmavarta, Malaya, Ketu, Bhadrasena, Indrasprik, Vidarbha and Kikata. There were also Kavi, Havi, Antariksha, Prabuddha, Pippalayana, Avirhotra, Drumila, Chamasa and Karabhajana. These nine immensely fortunate ones were excellent in conduct and exhibited the dharma of following the illustrious one. Their greatness was enhanced by the illustrious one. I will describe this to you when I recount the conversation between Vasudeva and Narada. 64 The younger eighty-one of Jayanti’s sons followed the instructions of their father. They were great in conduct and extremely learned. They were brahmanas who performed sacrifices, pure in their deeds. The illustrious one, known as Rishabha, was in control of his own self. He was always free from the progression of undesired objects. He only felt absolute bliss. Though he was like the lord himself, he acted in a contrary way. 65 He followed and taught about the dharma that had become neglected over time. He was impartial, tranquil, friendly and compassionate. For the sake of dharma, artha, fame, joy and immortality of subjects who were in the householder stage in this world, he laid down rules. Whatever is undertaken by the best is followed by the world. 66 He himself knew everything about the secret dharma of the brahman. 67 However, he followed the path shown by brahmanas and ruled over the people in accordance with sama and other modes. 68 As instructed, he performed one hundred sacrifices faithfully and worshipped, with all the objects appropriate to the time and the place. The officiating priests were young and appropriate to the place. When the illustrious one ruled over this varsha, there was no man who desired something for himself that did not exist. 69 No one desired anything from anyone else. No one ever glanced at anything that belonged to the master. They found increasing affection within their own inner selves. While roaming around, the illustrious Rishabha once went to Brahmavarta. There was an assembly of the foremost among brahmana rishis there. His sons were well controlled, devoted and affectionate. However, he wished to instruct them. While the subjects heard, he spoke to them.’