Mahabharata: Volume 7

by Debroy, Bibek

  Janamejaya asked, ‘Why was the illustrious Agni, the creator of all the worlds, destroyed? How did the gods discover him again? Please tell me everything about this.’

  Vaishampayana replied, ‘The powerful fire god was extremely frightened because of Bhrigu’s curse.172 The illustrious one sought refuge inside a shami tree and could no longer be seen. When the fire god disappeared, all the gods, together with Vasava, were extremely unhappy. They searched for the fire that had vanished. Having reached Agnitirtha, they found Agni inside a shami tree. They found the fire god dwelling there. O tiger among men! With Brihaspati at the forefront, and with Vasava, all the gods were delighted at having found the fire god. They returned to the places that they had come from and he became the devourer of everything. O lord of the earth! Bhrigu was knowledgeable about the brahman and this happened because of his curse. Having bathed there, the intelligent one173 went to Brahmayoni. In earlier times, the illustrious lord Brahma, the grandfather of all the worlds, had bathed there, with the gods, in accordance with the rites that are laid down for the gods. Having bathed there, he174 gave away many riches. He then went to the tirtha named Koubera. O king! The lord Ailabila tormented himself through great austerities there and became the lord of riches. O king! O best of men! At that spot, many stores of riches manifested themselves before him.175 The one with the plough presented himself at that tirtha. Having gone and bathed there, in the prescribed way, he gave away riches to the brahmanas. He saw the place known as Koubera, with the best of groves. In earlier times, the extremely great-souled King Kubera tormented himself through great austerities there and obtained a large number of boons. He became the lord of riches and became a friend of the infinitely energetic Rudra. He became a god and a guardian of the world there. He also obtained a son named Nalakubara. O mighty-armed one! The lord of riches swiftly obtained all these things there. Large numbers of Maruts assembled there and consecrated him. He also obtained a vehicle there, yoked to beautiful horses. This was the celestial vimana Pushpaka. He also got the riches of the gods. O king! Having bathed there, Bala gave away many kinds of gifts. Smearing himself with white sandalwood paste, Rama quickly went to the tirtha known as Badarapachana. It was inhabited by all kinds of living beings. Auspicious flowers and fruit are always found in the groves there.’

  Chapter 1266(47)

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Rama then went to the supreme tirtha of Badarapachana. Many ascetics and Siddhas roamed around there. Bharadvaja’s daughter was unmatched on earth in beauty. The maiden was firm in her vows. O lord! Her name was Sruchavati and the maiden observed brahmacharya. O king! She performed severe austerities and observed many rules. The beautiful one had made up her mind to obtain the king of the gods as her husband. O extender of the Kuru lineage! A long period of time passed. She continued to observe those terrible rituals, which are extremely difficult for women to observe. O lord of the earth! The illustrious chastiser of Paka was supremely delighted because of her conduct, austerities and devotion. The lord, the king of the thirty gods, arrived at the hermitage, assuming the form of the great-souled brahmana rishi, Vasishtha. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing Vasishtha, supreme among ascetics and the performer of fierce austerities, she worshipped him. The fortunate one, knowledgeable about rules and sweet in speech said, “O illustrious one! O tiger among sages! O lord! What is your command? O one who is excellent in vows! I will give you everything, in accordance with my capacity. However, because I am devoted to Shakra, I will not be able to give you my hand. O one who is rich in austerities! My vows, rules and austerities are an attempt to satisfy Shakra, the lord of the three worlds.” Having been thus addressed, the illustrious god smiled and glanced at her. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He assured the one who knew about rules and said, “O one good in vows! I know that you are performing fierce austerities. O fortunate one! O one with a beautiful face! All the objectives that you have in your heart will be obtained. Everything can be obtained through austerities. Everything is established in austerities. O one with an auspicious face! All the celestial states of the gods can be obtained through austerities. Austerities are the source of great happiness. Those men, who perform great austerities and cast aside their bodies on earth, obtain the status of gods. O fortunate one! Listen to these words of mine! O immensely fortunate one! O one who is auspicious in vows. Cook these berries.”176 Having asked her to boil them, the illustrious slayer of Bala went away. Having asked the fortunate one, he went to an excellent spot that was not far from that hermitage, so as to chant and meditate there. O great king! This is famous in the three worlds as Indratirtha.

  ‘The illustrious chastiser of Paka wished to test her. Hence, the lord of the gods asked her to boil those berries. O king! Cleansed of sin, the humble one tried to do this. She purified herself and offered kindling into a fire. O tiger among kings! The one who was great in her vows began to boil those berries. O bull among men! As she boiled them, a long period of time passed. The berries were not boiled and the day was over. The wood that she had stored was consumed by the fire. On seeing that the fire no longer had any wood, she began to burn her body. At first, the beautiful one thrust her feet into the fire. As her feet were repeatedly burnt, the unblemished one paid no attention to this. The unblemished one did not think about her feet being burnt. So as to please the maharshi, the lotus-eyed one bore this misery. Her face was cheerful. On witnessing her deed, the lord of the three worlds was pleased. He displayed his own self to the maiden. The best of the gods spoke these words to the maiden, who was extremely firm in her vows. “O fortunate one! I am pleased with your devotion, austerities and rituals. O beautiful one! Everything that you wish for will be obtained. O immensely fortunate one! You will cast aside this body and live with me in heaven. This supreme tirtha will be established in this world. O one with the beautiful brows! It will clean all sins and be known by the name of Badarapachana. It will be famous in the three worlds and will be praised by brahmarshis. O immensely fortunate one! O beautiful one! In ancient times, in this supreme tirtha, the saptarshis had left Arundhati177 and gone to the Himalayas. Those immensely fortunate ones, rigid in their vows, went there to collect fruits and roots for their sustenance. For the sake of their sustenance, they dwelt in the forests of the Himalayas and there was a drought that lasted for twelve years. Having constructed a hermitage for themselves, the ascetics dwelt there. The fortunate Arundhati always performed austerities. On seeing that Arundhati was observing fierce rituals, the three-eyed one, the granter of boons, the immensely illustrious Mahadeva, was extremely pleased. Assuming the form of a brahmana, he arrived there. The god approached her and said, ‘O fortunate one! I am looking for alms.’ The beautiful one replied to the brahmana, ‘O brahmana! Our store of food has been exhausted. Eat these berries.’ Mahadeva said, ‘O one who is good in vows! Cook these berries.’ Having been thus addressed, wishing to please the brahmana, she began to cook those berries. The illustrious one offered kindling in the fire and placed the berries on that. She listened to divine, beautiful and sacred accounts.178 Those twelve years of terrible drought passed. She was without food and was cooking, listening to those auspicious accounts. That extremely terrible period passed, as if it was a single day. Having obtained fruits, the sages returned from the mountain. The illustrious one179 was pleased with Arundhati and spoke to her. ‘O one who knows about dharma! Approach the rishis, as you used to do earlier. O one who knows about dharma! I am pleased with your austerities and your rituals.’ The illustrious Hara then showed himself in his own form. He spoke to them180 about the greatness of her conduct. ‘You have earned merit from the austerities you have performed on the slopes of the Himalayas. O brahmanas! But it is my view that what she has earned through her austerities is equal to that. This ascetic has tormented herself through extremely difficult austerities. While fasting, she has spent twelve years in cooking.’ The illustrious one then spoke to Arundhati again. ‘O fortunate one! Ask for the boon that is in your heart.’ In
the presence of the saptarshis, the one with the large and coppery eyes addressed the god. ‘O illustrious one! If you are pleased with me, let this spot become an excellent tirtha. Let it be loved by the siddhas and the devarshis and let it be known by the name of Badarapachana. O god! O lord of the gods! If a person purifies himself181 and fasts here for three days, let him obtain the fruits that are obtained from fasting for twelve years.’ Hara agreed to this and returned to heaven. On seeing this, and on seeing the virtuous Arundhati, who was capable of withstanding hunger and thirst and was yet not exhausted or pale, the rishis were astounded. Thus did the pure Arundhati attain supreme success. O immensely fortunate one! O one who is good in vows! You have done the same for my sake. O fortunate one! Your vows have been dedicated to me. Therefore, pleased with your observance of rules, I will grant you this special boon today. O fortunate one! Ask for a special and supreme boon, which is superior to the boon granted to Arundhati by the great-souled one. Through his favours and because of your energy, in accordance with the prescribed rites, I will grant you another boon. Whoever controls himself182 and spends a night in this tirtha and bathes here, will, after casting aside his body, obtain worlds that are extremely difficult to get.” Having spoken to Sruchavati, the thousand-eyed god, the illustrious and powerful one, returned again to heaven. O king! O foremost among the Bharata lienage! When the wielder of the vajra had left, celestial flowers, with divine fragrances, showered down there. In every direction, drums sounded with a loud roar. O lord of the earth! A breeze, laced with auspicious scents, began to blow. Having cast aside her body, the sacred one became Indra’s wife. She obtained him through her fierce austerities and pleasured with the undecaying one.’

  Janamejaya asked, ‘Who was the illustrious mother of that beautiful one? How was she reared? O brahmana! I wish to hear this. My curiousity is supreme.’

  Vaishampayana replied, ‘On seeing the large-eyed apsara Gritachi, the seed of the great-souled brahmana rishi, Bharadvaja, fell. The one who was supreme among those who meditate, picked that seed up in his hand. It was kept in a cup made of leaves and the beautiful one was born from this.183 All her birth rites were performed by the one who was rich in austerities. The great sage, Bharadvaja, also named her. In the presence of a large number of rishis, the great-souled one gave her the name of Sruchavati. Leaving her in that hermitage, he returned to the slopes of the Himalayas. The immensely generous one184 bathed there and gave away riches to the great brahmanas. Extremely controlled in his soul, the foremost of the Vrishni lineage then went to Shakra’s tritha.’

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  Vaishampayana said, ‘The strong and foremost one among the Yadu lineage then went to Indratirtha. In accordance with the prescribed rites, having given riches and jewels to the brahmanas, he bathed there. The king of the immortals had performed a hundred horse sacrifices there. The lord of the gods had also given a large quantity of riches to Brihaspati. As instructed by those who are learned about the Vedas, he had incessantly performed sacrifices there and given away all the indicated gifts. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! The immensely radiant one had performed one hundred sacrifices. Having performed them in the prescribed way, he had become famous as Shatakratu.185 That sacred, auspicious and eternal tirtha is named after him. It is famous as Indratirtha and cleanses from all sins. The one with the club as his weapon bathed there, in accordance with the prescribed rites. He honoured the brahmanas and gave them food, drink and garments.

  ‘He then went to the auspicious and supreme tirtha known as Ramatirtha. The immensely fortunate Bhargava Rama,186 the extremely great ascetic, subjugated the earth, slaying all the bulls among the kshatriyas. With his preceptor Kashyapa, supreme among sages, at the forefront, he performed a vajapeya187 and one hundred horse sacrifices there. As a gift, he gave him188 the entire earth, with all its oceans. O Janamejaya! Rama189 gave riches to the brahmanas there. He bathed there and duly honoured the brahmanas. In that sacred tirtha in that auspicious land, the fair-complexioned one gave away riches and honoured the sages.

  ‘He then went to Yamunatirtha. O lord of the earth! Fair in his complexion, the immensely fortunate Varuna, Aditi’s son, had performed a rajasuya sacrifice there. Varuna, the slayer of enemy heroes, had performed that supreme sacrifice there, after defeating men and the gods in a battle. While that supreme sacrifice was going on, a battle commenced between the gods and the danavas and this led to destruction in the three worlds. O Janamejaya! After that excellent rajasuya sacrifice was over, there was a great and terrible clash among the kshatriyas. Madhava Rama, with the plough as his weapon, bathed in that supreme tirtha and gave away riches to the brahmanas. The delighted brahmanas praised Vanamali.190

  ‘The lotus-eyed one then went to Adityatirtha. O supreme among kings! The illustrious and radiant sun god performed a sacrifice there and obtained power and lordship over the stellar bodies. O lord of the earth! All the gods, together with Vasava, the Vishvadevas and the Maruts, the gandharvas and the apsaras, Dvaipayana, Shuka, Madhusudana Krishna, the yakshas, the rakshasas and the pishachas are always there, on the banks of that river. O scorcher of enemies! That apart, many thousands of others who are successful in yoga are always present, in the sacred and auspicious tirtha on the Sarasvati. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! In earlier times, having slain the asuras Madhu and Kaitabha, Vishnu had bathed in that supreme and excellent tirtha. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Dvaipayana, with dharma in his soul, had also bathed there and had obtained supreme success in yoga, accomplishing the ultimate objective. The great ascetics, rishis powerful in yoga, Asita and Devala, had resorted to supreme yoga there.’

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  Vaishampayana said, ‘In earlier times, Asita-Devala dwelt there.191 He was a store of austerities and had dharma in his souls. He resorted to the dharma of a householder. He was pure and controlled and always devoted to dharma. The great ascetic never punished anyone. He treated all beings equally, in his deeds, thoughts and speech. O great king! He never resorted to anger and treated the pleasant and the unpleasant as equal. The great ascetic treated gold and stones equally. He honoured gods, guests and brahmanas. He was always devoted to brahmacharya and always devoted to dharma. O great king! Once, while that intelligent sage was controlled and engaged in yoga in that tirtha, a mendicant named Jaigishavya came to him. O king! The immensely radiant one began to dwell in Devala’s hermitage. O great king! Always devoted to yoga, the great ascetic192 attained success there. While the great sage Jaigishavya dwelt there, Devala always looked towards his needs and never deviated from dharma. O great king! They spent a long period of time in this way. There was an occasion when Devala did not see the sage Jaigishavya. O Janamejaya! However, when it was time to take food, the intelligent mendicant, learned in dharma, presented himself before Devala. On seeing the great sage appear in the form of a mendicant, he honoured him greatly and was full of great delight. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Devala honoured him to the best of his capacity, controlling himself in many ways and following the rites indicated by the rishis. O king! However, on one occasion, on seeing the immensely radiant sage, a grave thought arose in the mind of the great-souled Devala. “I have spent a long time, honouring him in many ways. However, this idle mendicant never speaks to me.” Having thought this, Devala travelled through the sky and went to the great ocean, carrying a handsome pot with him. The one with dharma in his soul went to the ocean, the lord of the rivers. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having gone there, he found that Jaigishavya had reached before him. Seeing this, the lord Asita was supremely astounded. He thought, “How could the mendicant have arrived at the ocean and bathed here?”193 Maharshi Asita thought in this way. Having bathed in the ocean in accordance with the rites and purifying himself, he chanted. O Janamejaya! The handsome one chanted, performed the daily rituals and returned to the hermitage, filling the pot with water. As the sage entered his hermitage, he saw Jaigishavya seated in the hermitage. Jaigishavya never spoke
a word. The immensely ascetic one lived in that hermitage, as if he was a piece of wood. He was like an ocean. He194 had seen him bathe in the waters of the ocean and now saw him enter the hermitage before him. O king! On seeing the powers of the ascetic Jaigishavya, immersed in yoga, the intelligent Asita-Devala began to think. O Indra among kings! The supreme among sages reflected. “How could I see him in the ocean and again in the hermitage?” O lord of the earth! The sage, learned in the use of mantras, thought in this way and then rose up into the sky from his hermitage. Devala wished to find out who the mendicant Jaigishavya was.

  ‘As he travelled through the sky, he saw many controlled siddhas. He saw that those siddhas were worshipping Jaigishavya. Asita made efforts to be firm in his vows and was enraged at this. Devala next saw Jaigishavya ascend to heaven. He next saw him roaming around in the world of the ancestors. From the world of the ancestors, he saw him travel to Yama’s world. From Yama’s world, he rose to Soma’s world. He saw the great sage Jaigishavya travel around in this way, ascending to the sacred worlds of those who perform special sacrifices. He next arose to the world of those who perform agnihotra sacrifices and worlds of ascetics who perform darsha and pournamasa sacrifices.195 The intelligent one saw him in the worlds meant for those who sacrifice with animals and roaming around in the unblemished worlds revered by the gods. He went to the regions meant for ascetics who perform many chaturmasya sacrifices,196 those who perform agnishtoma sacrifices and also ascetics who perform agnishtuta sacrifices. Devala saw him reach all those regions. He saw him in the worlds meant for the immensely wise ones who perform vajapeya, the best of sacrifices, and give away a lot of gold. Devala also saw Jaigishavya in the worlds meant for the performers of pundarika and rajasuya sacrifices. He saw him in the worlds meant for the best of men who perform the best of sacrifices, ashvamedha and naramedha.197 Devala saw Jaigishavya in the worlds meant for those who sacrifice everything that is difficult to obtain and for those who perform soutramani sacrifices.198 O king! There are those who perform dvadashaha199 and diverse other sacrifices. Devala saw Jaigishavya in the worlds meant for them. Asita next saw him attain the worlds of Mitra, Varuna, Adityas, the Rudras, the Vasus and Brihaspati’s region. Asita saw him transcend all these worlds and go to Goloka200 and the world meant for those who know about the brahman. Asita saw Jaigishavya go to all these worlds. Through his energy, he rose up, beyond the three worlds and was seen to travel to the worlds meant for those who are devoted to their husbands. O scorcher of enemies! However, then Asita could no longer see Jaigishavya, the supreme sage. Using his powers of yoga, he disappeared.