by Bibek Debroy
Chapter 1638(310)
‘Yudhishthira asked, “O grandfather! How did Shuka, the great ascetic with dharma in his soul, obtain birth as Vyasa’s son? How did he obtain supreme success? Tell me that. Through which woman did Vyasa, the store of austerities, generate Shuka? We do not know anything about his mother, or about the birth of that fierce and great-souled one. When he was a child, how did his intelligence turn towards the pursuit of subtle knowledge? There is no second person in the world in whom such signs can be seen. O immensely radiant one! I wish to hear about all this in detail. Your words are the equal of amrita and I am never satisfied with hearing them. O grandfather! In due course, tell me about Shuka’s greatness, the yoga in his atman and about his knowledge.”
‘Bhishma replied, “The rishis did not make dharma dependent on grey hair, riches or relatives. A person who is devoted to learning is great. O Pandava! Everything that you have asked me about has austerities as a foundation. Austerities can be resorted to by controlling the senses and not in any other way. There is no doubt that addiction to the senses is associated with sin. It is through controlling them that a man obtains success. O son! One thousand horse sacrifices and one hundred vajapeya sacrifices are not equal to one-sixteenth of the fruits that one can obtain through these means. I will tell you how the fierce Shuka’s birth came about, the fruits of his yoga and the end that he attained. It is difficult for a person with an unclean soul to understand this. In ancient times, Mahadeva was sporting on the summit of Mount Meru, which was decorated with karnikara flowers.1006 He was surrounded by a large number of terrible spirits. In those ancient times, the goddess1007 who was the daughter of the king of the mountains, was also there. The lord, Krishna Dvaipayana, tormented himself through divine austerities there. He was devoted to the dharma of yoga and using yoga, penetrated his atman. O supreme among the Kuru lineage! For the sake of a son, he tormented himself through austerities, meditating in dharana. He repeatedly said, ‘O lord!1008 Give me an energetic son who will have the power of the fire, the earth, the water, the wind and space.’ Driven by this resolution, he prayed to the lord of the gods, one whom those with unclean souls find difficult to obtain. He worshipped him through supreme austerities. Subsisting only on air, the lord was there for one hundred years. He worshipped the many forms of Mahadeva, Uma’s consort. The brahmana rishis, all the devarshis, the guardians of the worlds, the lords of the worlds, the Sadhyas, accompanied by the Vasus, the Adityas, the Rudras, the sun, the moon, the wind, the Maruts, the oceans, the rivers, the Ashvins, the gods, the gandharvas, Narada, Parvata, the gandharva Vishvavasu, the Siddhas and large numbers of apsaras were also there. Rudra Mahadeva was decorated with beautiful karnikara flowers. He blazed in his radiance, like moonlight from the moon. That beautiful and divine forest was full of gods and devarshis. For the sake of a son, the rishi1009 was engaged in supreme yoga there. His complexion did not fade and there was no decay in his beauty. The three worlds thought that this was extraordinary. In his matted hair, his energy was like the flames of a fire. United in that infinite energy, he was seen to be blazing. The illustrious Markandeya told me about this. He always talked about the conduct of the gods. O son! Because, Krishna’s1010 matted hair blazed through those austerities, even today, it is seen to possess the complexion of the fire. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In this way, he faithfully performed austerities. Maheshvara was gratified and decided to grant him his wish. The illustrious Tryambaka seemed to smile and said, ‘O Dvaipayana! You will get the kind of son you desire. You will have a pure and great son and he will be like the fire, the wind, the earth, the water and space. His sentiments and his intelligence will be like that and he will seek refuge in the atman. He will be enveloped in energy and he will obtain fame in the three worlds.’”’
Chapter 1639(311)
‘Bhishma said, “Satyavati’s son obtained this supreme boon from the god. One day, in a desire to create a fire, he collected two sticks and was rubbing them together. O king! At that time, the illustrious rishi saw the apsara named Ghritachi. She blazed in her energy and her beauty was supreme. O Yudhishthira! In that forest, on seeing the apsara, the rishi, the illustrious Vyasa, was suddenly overcome by desire. O great king! On seeing that Vyasa’s mind was overwhelmed by desire, Ghritachi assumed the form of a she-parrot and appeared before him. Seeing the apsara assume a different form, the desire in his body did not vanish, but spread all over his body. The sage summoned his great fortitude and tried to suppress it. However, Vyasa was unable to control it and his mind was agitated. What was going to happen was certain to happen. Thus, Ghritachi’s body seized him. Wishing to control it, the sage tried to create a fire. However, his semen suddenly fell down on those sticks. However, without any anxiety in his mind, the supreme among brahmanas continued to rub those sticks. O king! Through her, the brahmana rishi had a son named Shuka.1011 When the semen fell down, the great ascetic, Shuka, was born. The supreme rishi and great yogi was born from the womb of those two sticks. At a sacrifice, when oblations are poured on the kindling, a blazing fire results. Shuka was born in such a form, flaming in his energy. O Kouravya! His radiance and supreme beauty and complexion were like that of his father. The one with the clean soul was as resplendent as a fire blazing without any smoke. O lord of men! In her own personified form, Ganga, best among rivers, came to the slopes of Meru and bathed him with her water. O Kouravya! O Indra among kings! From the sky, a staff and a black antelope skin fell down on the ground, for the sake of the great-souled Shuka. Gandharvas sang and large numbers of apsaras danced. The drums of the gods were sounded with a loud roar. The gandharvas Vishvavasu, Tumburu and Narada, and the gandharvas Haha and Huhu, praised Shuka’s birth. With Shakra at the forefront, the guardians of the worlds arrived. So did the gods, the devarshis and the brahmana rishis. The wind god showered down all kinds of divine flowers. Everything in the universe, mobile and immobile, was delighted. The great-souled and immensely radiant one1012 was delighted. With the goddess,1013 he himself arrived and when the sage’s son was born, performed the sacred thread ceremony, following the proper rites. Shakra, the lord of the gods, was delighted and gave him a divine and extraordinary kamandalu1014and celestial garments. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Swans, shatapatras,1015 thousands of cranes and blue jays circled around Shuka. The immensely radiant one obtained a divine birth from those sticks. He dwelt there, intelligent, controlled and a brahmachari. O great king! As soon as he was born, all the Vedas, with their mysteries and their collections, presented themselves before him, just as they had before his father. O great king! Thinking about dharma, he1016 chose Brihaspati, learned about the Vedas, the Vedangas and their commentaries, as his preceptor. He studied all the Vedas, with their mysteries and their collections. The lord also studied all the histories and the sacred texts about royal policy. Having given a dakshina to his preceptor, the great sage returned. Controlled and a brahmachari, he started fierce austerities. Even when he was a child, the gods and the rishis revered him, because of his knowledge and his austerities. O lord of men! His intelligence found no delight in the three ashramas, with garhasthya as their foundation. He sought insight about the dharma of moksha.”’