by Bibek Debroy
‘“‘Having regained his composure, he spoke to all those who had forgotten theirs. “I do not think we should grieve about those who are our own. If you think about it, all relationships are temporary. Will I grieve over my son? Will I grieve over my daughter-in-law? They have done what they needed to and one should not grieve over them. Serving me and listening to my command, my intelligent son was engaged in protecting brahmanas and has now come by his death? Why should one grieve over him? A body must always go and he has given it up for brahmanas. My son has given it up for a good cause and this will certainly be beneficial. This one was born in a good lineage and followed her husband. Why should one grieve? For a woman, there is no divinity other than a husband. Had she remained alive after her husband’s death, she would have been an object of pity for our relatives and others. One should grieve then. As soon as she heard about her husband’s death, the beautiful one followed her husband. A learned person does not grieve over such a person. When a lady of the household is not separated from her husband but follows him, she should not be the subject of grief. Because of the hardships involved, if she does not follow him, she causes difficulties to herself and to the family. She was grateful and did not suffer separation from her husband. A husband confers happiness in this world and in the next world. Which woman regards him as a mere man? He, I, she and his mother should not be grieved about. Having given up his life for the sake of brahmanas, he has saved all of us. My son has given up his body, which was only half-consumed. 318 Before going, he repaid his debt to me, to dharma and to brahmanas. To protect brahmanas, he has given up his life in a battle and has proved his mother’s chastity, 319 the purity of my lineage and his valour.” Kuvalayashva’s mother also followed her husband. She glanced towards her husband and said, “My mother or my daughter have not obtained the kind of joy I obtained from hearing about my son’s death. I heard my son has died to protect sages. Even the brahmanas grieve over those who died when suffering from disease, sighing in their great misery. Such mothers have had sons in vain. When a person faces fearlessly in a battle, facing hardships from weapons for the sake of protecting cows and brahmanas, he is a true man. When a son does not refuse those who seek favours, friends and enemies, the father becomes a true father and the mother gives birth to a hero. At that time, I think a woman’s pangs of delivery become successful—when the son is victorious over enemies, or when he is killed in battle.” The king performed the funeral rites for his daughter-in-law. Emerging outside, he bathed and performed the water rites for his son.
‘“‘Talaketu emerged from the waters of the Yamuna. He addressed the prince in these sweet and affectionate words. “O son of a king! Go. Because of what you have done, I have been successful. You did not move from here and I could do what I desired to do, a sacrifice to the great-souled Varuna in the water. I have been able to accomplish everything I wished for.” The prince bowed down before him and ascending the horse that possessed the valour of Suparna 320 and the wind, he left for his father’s city.’”’
Chapter 21
‘“The sons said, ‘Wishing to honour his father’s feet and see Madalasa, the prince reached the city swiftly. He saw that the faces of the people in the city were anxious and miserable. However, on seeing him, they wondered and their faces turned joyous. With happy eyes, they told each other, “This is good fortune. This is good fortune.” Extremely curious, they embraced each other. With delight in his auspicious eyes, the prince embraced his friends, filled with great affection. He then saw that the citizens were exclaiming, “This is good fortune. This is good fortune. May you live for a long time. May you be fortunate. May those who cause impediments in your path be killed. May you delight your parents. May thorns be removed from our minds and from yours.” Speaking in this way, the citizens gathered around him, in front and at the rear. Experiencing joy at the time, he entered his father’s house. He embraced his father, his mother and his other relatives. “May you live for a long time. May you be fortunate.” They offered their benedictions. He bowed down and, surprised, asked his father, “What is this?” He told him everything. 321 He heard about the death of his beloved wife, Madalasa. He saw his parents standing before him, filled with shame and sorrow. He thought, “Hearing that I had died, the virtuous maiden has given up her life. Shame on my cruel heart. She has died because of me. Shame that I am still alive.” However, he thought and comforted his heart. Grieving, he sighed deeply, driving away his confusion. “She died for my sake. If I give up my life, what good will I do to her? Such conduct is only praised for women. If I weep, am miserable, or repeatedly exclaim, ‘My love’, that is not regarded as praiseworthy for us men. I am strong. Nevertheless, if I become pale and miserable, numb with grief, that will be a victory for the adversary. My task is to subjugate the enemy and serve the king, my father. My life belongs to him. How can I possibly give it up? What are my other duties? Should I renounce enjoying myself with women? That will also not bring any benefit to the slender-waisted one. That might be regarded as cruel. However, she has given up her life for my sake. Therefore, whether it does her good, or doesn’t do her good, I must do this.” Having made up his mind in this way, he performed the water rites and other rites. After performing the rites, Ritadhvaja said, “Since the slender-limbed Madalasa is no longer my wife, in this life, I shall no longer have a companion. Without the gandharva’s daughter who possessed the eyes of a fawn, I will not enjoy myself with any other woman. My wife followed dharma. She had the stride of an elephant. Without her, I will not enjoy myself with anyone else. I speak the truth. Therefore, I will give up all manner of enjoyment with women. I will only amuse myself with those who are my equals in age and good conduct.” O father! There is only one task to be done. But who is capable of accomplishing that? This is impossible for even lords 322 to accomplish, not to speak of others?’”
‘The dumb one 323 said, “Hearing their words, their father was immersed in thought. Thinking about it, the king of the nagas smiled and told his sons, ‘Hearing that something cannot be achieved, men do not attempt it. Having not engaged in enterprise on that account, they cause great harm to themselves. Therefore, without giving up on his manliness, a man must undertake a task. The success of a task depends on destiny and on manliness. O sons! Hence, I will make efforts. Without any delay, to the best of my ability, I will embark on austerities.’ Having said this, the Indra among the nagas went to the tirtha in the Himalaya mountains known as Plakshavatarana. 324 Going there, he performed extremely difficult austerities. Using excellent words, he worshipped the goddess Sarasvati, immersing his mind in her. He was restrained in diet and bathed thrice a day. 325 Ashvatara said, ‘I worship the auspicious goddess Jagaddhatri. 326 I praise and bow my head down before Sarasvati, born from Brahma. O goddess! There is the real and the unreal, the states of artha that are bonds in the path of moksha. O goddess! You are not attached to all those, but appear to be attached to them. O goddess! You are the supreme Akshara 327 in which everything is established. You are Akshara, the supreme brahman. You are the Akshara in which the entire universe resides. Just as fire exists in kindling and atoms 328 exist in the earth, in that way, the brahman and the entire universe are established in you. O goddess! The imperishable sound Oum, and everything mobile and immobile, exist in you. O goddess! The three syllables 329 and everything that exists and everything that does not exist are in you. O goddess! O Sarasvati! The three worlds, the three gods, the three Vedas, the three fires, the three stellar bodies, the three categories, dharma and the other three, the three gunas, the three sounds, the three taints, the three ashramas, the three times, the ancestors and day and night exist in you. 330 O Sarasvati! All these measurements, in units of three, are your manifestations. Those who know about the brahman perform various rituals instructed in the ancient and original Brahmana texts, offerings of soma, oblations and food and the seven sacrifices. 331 O goddess! All these have invocations to you. However, you have another supreme form of ardhamatra 332 that can
not be ascertained. That is without transformation and without decay. It is divine and transcends measurement. I am not capable of pronouncing that supreme form. It is incapable of being pronounced through the tongue, the palate or the lips, not even by Indra, the Vasus, Brahma, the sun, the moon or the stellar bodies. You are the abode of the universe. The universe is your form. You are the goddess of the universe. You are the supreme goddess. You have been spoken about in Samkhya and Vedanta and the many branches of these texts have sought to determine this form. This is without a beginning, without a middle and without an end. It is all that exists and all that does not exist. It is one, but is manifested in creation in many different forms. It cannot be described, but is sought to be described in the six qualities. 333 What is described through the six qualities resides in the three gunas. This alone is the source of the many kinds of powers. These supreme powers are manifested in you. Happiness, unhappiness and supreme bliss are manifested in you. O goddess! In this way, you pervade the entire universe, everything that has components and everything that does not have components. The dual form of the brahman exists in you and so does the non-dual form. The eternal exists in you and so does that which is not eternal, the gross and the subtle and the most subtle of the subtle, all that is on earth, the sky and everywhere else. You are the truth experienced in all these forms. Everything that is manifest, everything that is not manifest, everything that exists alone or through the elements, everything on earth, in heaven or elsewhere, all these can be known through your vowels and consonants.’ Sarasvati, Vishnu’s tongue, was praised in this way and replied to the great-souled naga, Ashvatara. Sarasvati said, ‘O lord of the nagas! O Kambala’s brother! I will confer a boon on you. Tell me what is in your mind and I will bestow that boon on you.’ Ashvatara replied, ‘O goddess! Kambala was my former aide. Please give us the different kinds of sounds and all their combinations.’ Sarasvati said, ‘O unblemished one! O Indra of the serpents! O excellent naga! Through my favours, I grant you and Kambala, the seven svaras, the combination into seven ragas, the seven kinds of songs, the seven murchhanas, the forty-nine talas and the three gramas. All these will be known to you. 334 O Indra of the nagas! That apart, through my favours, you will know the four padas, the three talas and the three kinds of laya. 335 I have given you four things—pada, tala, laya and the break in the music. You have also been given everything that these depend on, vowels and consonants. I have given you and Kambala all this. O naga! On earth and in the nether regions, the two of you, and no one else, will be the ones who propound this. In Patala, the world of the gods and earth, there will be no one other than the two nagas.’ Having said this, the lotus-eyed goddess, Sarasvati, vanished instantly from the naga’s sight. As she had said, the two brothers got to know everything about pada, tala, svara and everything else.
‘“The lord Hara, the god who destroyed Ananga, is stationed at the summit of Kailasa, Indra among mountains. 336 They went there. To the tune of stringed musical instruments, they worshipped him with the seven kinds of songs, characterized with laya and the other things. They controlled their minds and their bodies and made supreme efforts in the morning, in the evening, at noon and during the sandhyas. They praised the one with the bull as his banner 337 for a long period of time. Pleased with their songs, he said, ‘Ask for a boon.’ Ashvatara and Kambala bowed down together and said, ‘O Mahadeva! O Shitikantha! O Umapati! O illustrious one! O god of the gods! O Trilochana! 338 If you are pleased with us, then grant us the boon we wish for. O god! Kuvalayashva’s wife, Madalasa, has died. Let her immediately be born as my daughter, with an age identical to what it was when she died. May she be able to remember her past life and let her be born with the kind of beauty she used to possess. According to your words, let the yogi, the mother of yoga, be born again.’ The lord replied, ‘O best among the nagas! It shall be exactly as you have described. O supreme serpent! Without any doubt, listen to my words. When the funeral ceremony is over, think of me and worship the ancestors. Out of the pindas that are offered, eat the middle one yourself. 339 It shall be as you wish and at that instant, the one with the excellent eyebrows will be born from your middle hood. 340 The fortunate one will be born in the exact form she died in. Eat the pinda yourself and all this will occur. At that instant, she will emerge from your middle hood. This is the truth.’ Hearing this, they bowed down to Maheshvara. Filled with satisfaction, they reached Rasatala. The naga, Kambala’s younger brother, performed the funeral ceremony. In that way, he ate the pinda in the middle. As soon as he ate the pinda, the slender-waisted one was born from the breath of his middle hood, in exactly the same form she had possessed when she had died. The excellent serpent did not tell anyone about this. He kept the one with the excellent teeth in the inner quarters of his house, protected by female guards.
‘“As soon as it was day, every day, the two sons of the lord of the nagas happily sported with Ritadhvaja, like immortals. One day, the naga Ashvatara cheerfully told them, ‘Why don’t you do what I have spoken to you about earlier? The prince has done you a good turn. O sons! Why don’t you bring the granter of honours to my presence so that I can do him a good turn?’ He thus affectionately spoke to his two sons yet again. They went to their friend’s city and played with the intelligent one. In the course of the conversation, they lovingly asked Kuvalayashva to visit them in their own house. The prince told them, ‘All the riches, mounts and garments in my house belong to you. I will give you whatever you want, wealth, jewels and other things. O sons of a dvija! 341 Since you love me, all this should be given to you. Indeed, I am so evil-souled that I have been deceived by destiny. Therefore, though you sport in my house, you have this sense of “your” and “our”. If you wish to do something that will please me and show me a favour, then have a sense of ownership in all the riches that are there in my house. What is yours in mine. What is mine is yours. O friends! Know this. You are like the breath of my life, roaming around outside. O excellent dvijas! Do not speak of a difference again. Show me great favours by being affectionate towards me and do not curse me in your hearts.’ Thus addressed by him in those affectionate words, the two sons of the naga spoke lovingly to the prince. ‘O Ritadhvaja! There is no doubt about what you have said. It is not that we think in a different way. However, our great-souled father, who is like your father too, has told us this. “I wish to see Kuvalayashva.” He has told us this repeatedly.’ Immmediately, Kuvalayashva rose up from his excellent seat. He stood on the ground and bowed down. Kuvalayashva said, ‘My father has said this. I am blessed. I have performed an extremely auspicious deed. Who else is like me? My father is himself anxious to see me. Let us arise and proceed. Even for an instant, let us not ignore his command. I will swear on his feet that I will not cross what he wants.’ Having said this, the prince emerged from the city with them and reached the auspicious Goutami. 342 The prince proceeded between the two sons of the Indra of the nagas and thought that their house was on the other side of the river. But they dragged the prince down and conveyed him to Patala.
‘“In Patala, he saw those two naga princes in different form. They had auspicious svastika marks on hoods adorned with jewels. He saw their beautiful forms and his eyes dilated in wonder. He smiled and lovingly told them, ‘O excellent dvijas! Excellent.’ The news was conveyed to their father, Ashvatara, the serene lord of the nagas, who was revered even by the residents of heaven. The prince saw that Patala was beautiful and was filled with children and youthful and aged nagas. Here and there, the naga maidens played, adorned with beautiful earrings and necklaces. As they proceeded, the sounds of singing and the playing of musical instruments like veenas, flutes, drums and cymbals followed them. Shatrujit’s son saw Patala, decorated with hundreds of mansions. With the two nagas he loved, the scorcher of enemies entered the residence of the king of the nagas. He saw the great-souled lord of the nagas seated there. He was attired in divine garlands and garments, adorned with jewels and earrings. The immensely fortunate one wore armlets and neck
laces made of sparkling pearls. He was seated on a seat that was completely made out of gold and was studded with jewels, coral and lapis lazuli. They presented him and said, ‘This is our father.’ They told their father, ‘This is the valiant Kuvalayashva.’ Ritadhvaja bowed down at the feet of the Indra among the nagas. The naga raised him and firmly embraced him. He inhaled the fragrance of his head and said, ‘May you live for a long time. May the array of your enemies be destroyed. May you serve your parents. O child! You are fortunate, since my sons speak about your qualities when you are not present. May you prosper in thoughts, words and deeds. The life of a person with qualities is praised. A person who has no qualities is dead, even though he may be alive. With his qualities, a person satisfies his parents and causes anxiety in the hearts of his enemies. Performing beneficial deeds for gods, ancestors, brahmanas, friends, those who seek something and others, he creates trust in great people. 343 Relatives thus desire that a person with qualities should live for a long time. Such a person does not criticize others and is compassionate towards those who face hardships. Since a person with qualities is a refuge for those who are distressed, his birth is successful.’ Having told the brave Kuvalayashva this, the serpent desired to honour Kuvalayashva and told his sons, ‘In due course, let us finish our bathing and other things. We will drink liquor and enjoy ourselves with the food we want. After this, for a short period of time, we will delight our hearts in conversation with Kuvalayashva. Let him happily remain here for a while.’ Shatrujit’s son did not say anything in reply, but signified assent. The generous lord of the nagas acted accordingly. With his sons and the prince, the truthful lord of the giant nagas happily enjoyed himself, eating, drinking and enjoying other objects of pleasure.”’