by Bibek Debroy
‘“While they worshipped Bhaskara in this way, a gandharva named Sudama arrived and spoke to them. ‘O brahmanas! If you wish to worship Bhaskara, you should act so that Bhanu is pleased. Therefore, go to the forest known as Guru-Vishala, frequented by the Siddhas. It is on the great mountain known as Kamarupa. You should go there quickly. There, control yourselves and worship Bhanu with all the rites. It is a beneficial region 936 that brings success, and everything that you desire will be obtained.’ Hearing these words, the brahmanas went to that forest. There, they saw the sun’s sacred and auspicious abode. 937 O brahmana! The brahmanas and other varnas fasted. Attentively, they worshipped him with incense, flowers and other expensive offerings. They controlled themselves and worshipped him with flowers, unguents, incense and fragrances. They meditated and offered oblations into the fire. They donated food and other things. O brahmana! The brahmanas acted so as to satisfy Vivasvat. The brahmanas said, ‘We seek refuge with the god Ravi. His energy is greater than that of the gods, the danavas, the yakshas, the planets and the stellar bodies. Stationed in the firmament, the lord of the gods illuminates all the directions. He envelops the earth and the firmament with his rays. He is Aditya, Bhaskara, Bhanu, Savitra, Divakara, Pusha, Aryama and Svarbhanu. 938 He is the one with the blazing rays. At the end of the four yugas, he is the fire of destruction. When everything heads towards pralaya, he is impossible to behold. He is the lord of yoga. He is infinite. He is red and yellow. He is the one who is bright. He is the one who is dark. He is in the agnihotra ceremonies of the rishis. He is established as the divinity who presides over sacrifices. We seek refuge with the god who is a mass of energy. He is the one who is not dislodged. He is without decay. He is supreme. He is mysterious. He is the supreme door to emancipation. He travels through the sky on hymns that are in the form of horses. They are always yoked together at sunrise and sunset and circle around Meru. He is satyam and he is ritam. 939 He is the sacred tirtha. Thinking of the foundation of the universe, he divides himself. We seek refuge with that Prabhakara. 940 He is Brahma. He is Mahadeva. He is the noble Vishnu. He is Prajapati. He is Vayu. He is the sky. He is water. He is the earth, with its mountains and oceans. He is the planets, nakshatras, the moon and others. He is the vanaspatis, trees and herbs. 941 Among beings that are manifest and not manifest, he is the one who initiates dharma and adharma. Your body has Brahma’s body, Maheshvara’s body and Vishnu’s body. Your own nature has three forms. O Bhanu! O radiant one! Show us your favours. Everything is embodied in his limbs. He is the lord of the universe. May the radiant one show us his favours. He is the life of the universe. His first form is without destruction. The radiance of his disc is impossible to behold. His second form is that of the amiable moon. 942 May the radiant one be pleased with us. This universe has been fashioned out of those two forms, which are full of fire and soma. May the radiant god be pleased with us.’ He was thus devotedly praised and worshipped properly, following the norms. O excellent brahmana! After three months, the illustrious and radiant one was satisfied. Ravi descended and showed them his form, which is extremely difficult to behold. He emerged from his dazzling disc, with the same radiance that the disc possessed. Savitar, the one without birth, showed his own clear form and the body hair of all the people stood up. The bodies of the brahmanas trembled. They bent down in obeisance and prostrated themselves. ‘I bow down to you. O one with the one thousand rays! I bow down to you. You are the cause behind everything and the number of your standards is innumerable. You are worshipped as a saviour. You are the destination of all sacrifices. Those who know about yoga meditate on you. Show us your favours.’”’
Chapter 107
‘Markandeya said, “The illustrious Bhanu was pleased and spoke to all the people. ‘O brahmanas and others! Tell me what you desire to get from me?’ He stood before them and his rays were so fierce that he was impossible to behold. The brahmanas, kshatriyas and others prostrated themselves and spoke. The subjects said, ‘O illustrious one! O dispeller of darkness! If you are pleased with our devotion, let our king live for ten thousand years. May he be without disease. May he triumph over his enemies. May his treasury be full. May youth not leave him.’ O great sage! The radiant one assented to what the people wanted and vanished from sight.
‘“They were delighted at having obtained the boon. They went and assembled before the lord of men. They reported to the Indra among men exactly what had happened. O brahmana! Hearing this, his wife, Manini, rejoiced. She was filled with supreme delight and her body hair stood up in joy. However, the king thought for a long time and did not say anything to the people. Manini’s mind was filled with delight and she spoke to her husband. ‘O lord of the earth! This is good fortune. Prosper with a long lifespan.’ Delighted, Manini honoured her husband. O brahmana! However, the lord of the earth’s mind was numb with his thoughts and he did not say anything. She again spoke to her husband, whose face was downcast in his reflections. ‘O king! This is a time of great advancement. Why are you not rejoicing? You will not suffer from any disease for ten thousand years and your youth will be stable. This will happen from today. Why are you not happy then? O lord of the earth! Please tell me. What is the reason for your mind being immersed in thought, despite you having obtained this great advancement?’ The king replied, ‘O fortunate one! What is this great advancement? Why are you honouring me? I alone will remain alive for ten thousand years, not you. When you face a hardship, will that not make me miserable? There will be calamities for my sons, grandsons, great-grandsons and relatives. When I see them die, will that misery be a trifle? My extremely devoted servants and my large number of friends will be dead. O fortunate one! I will constantly face insurmountable miseries. There are those who have tormented themselves with austerities for my sake and have become emaciated and just a bundle of veins. When they die, I will remain alive and enjoy the objects of pleasure. This is shameful. Therefore, what has happened is a downfall for me, not an advancement. When you are congratulating me now, how can you not think of this?’ Manini said, ‘O great king! There is no doubt that what you have said is true. I and the citizens have erred. In our affection for you, we did not think about this. O protector of men! But since this has already happened, we should think about what can be done. The illustrious Ravi was pleased and said this. Therefore, it cannot be otherwise.’ The king replied, ‘In their affection, the citizens and my servants have done me a good deed. How can I enjoy the objects of pleasure without having freed myself of the debt to them? I will go to that mountain today. I will control my mind. For the welfare of the citizens, I will satisfy Bhaskara. For my sake, all the citizens and the relatives worshipped the lord of the gods. I will also do that now. I will fast and torment myself through austerities. I will prepare to worship Bhanu. My youth will remain stable and I will live for ten thousand years, free from disease. O one with a beautiful face! I will please the god so that this also happens to all the subjects, servants, sons, grandsons, great-grandsons and relatives. If the illustrious Ravi is pleased and ensures that they also remain alive, only then will I remain in this kingdom and happily enjoy the objects of pleasure. O Manini! Until the god does this, I will remain on that mountain. As long as my life remains, I will fast and torment myself through austerities.’ When the lord of men said this, she agreed to what he had said. With him, she also went to that large mountain.
‘“With his wife, the king went to the sun’s abode. O brahmana! They devotedly engaged themselves in serving and worshipping Bhanu. The lord of the earth became emaciated because of fasting. He tormented himself through fierce austerities, tolerating the cold, the wind and the heat. So did she. Tormenting themselves through these extremely great austerities, they worshipped Bhanu. After more than a year passed, Divakara was pleased. O brahmana! O supreme among excellent brahmanas! For the sake of all the servants, citizens and descendants, he granted the desired boon. Having obtained the boon, the king returned to his own city. He happily ruled over the kingdom. Observing dharma
, he protected the subjects. He performed many sacrifices and incessantly donated gifts. Along with Manini, the one who knew about dharma enjoyed the objects of pleasure. Along with his sons, grandsons and servants, he was happy and his youth remained stable for ten thousand years. When he witnessed his conduct, the mind of the Bhargava named Pramati was filled with surprise and he recited this chant. ‘Such is the power of Bhanu’s devotees. King Rajyavardhana has ensured a long lifespan for himself and for his own people.’ O brahmana! I have thus told you what you had asked me about, the greatness of Aditya Vivasvat, the original god. Along with all the brahmanas, if a man hears this excellent account of Bhanu’s greatness, or reads it, he is cleansed of all the sins committed over a period of seven nights. A learned person who meditates on this becomes free of disease and obtains wealth and prosperity. He is born in a lineage of extremely intelligent people and becomes immensely wise. He performs and accomplishes extremely great sacrifices and donates the best of dakshina. O supreme among sages! If a man hears about the radiant one’s conduct mentioned here, he obtains similar fruits. If the mantra is chanted during each of the three sandhyas, all the sins are cleansed. If this entire mahatmya is read in Ravi’s temple, one is not separated from the illustrious one’s presence. O brahmana! Therefore, if you desire what is extremely auspicious, nurture Bhanu’s excellent mahatmya in your mind and meditate on it. O foremost among brahmanas! If a man reads this for three days, he obtains the same auspicious fruits that are obtained by donating an extremely beautiful and milk-yielding cow, its horns encrusted with gold.”’
Chapter 108
‘Markandeya said, “These are the powers of the illustrious Ravi. He is without a beginning and without an end. O Kroushtuki! Full of devotion, you asked me about his greatness. He is the paramatman in whom, yogis whose minds do not waver, are immersed. He is kshetrajna for those who practise samkhya yoga. For those who undertake sacrifices, he is the lord of sacrifices. Vishnu, Isha and Brahma support Surya’s powers. O brahmana! Manu, who had all his doubts severed, was born as his son and is the lord of the seventh manvantara. Manu’s sons were Ikshvaku, Nabhaga, the immensely valiant and strong Rishta, Narishantya, Nabhaga, 943 Prishadhra and Dhrishta. Each of them was the separate ruler of a kingdom. All of them were famous because of their deeds. All of them were accomplished in the use of shastras and astras.
‘“However, Manu desired a son who would be even more distinguished than them. O great sage! The supreme one undertook a sacrifice to Mitra and Varuna. At this, there was a transgression by the officiating priest. Therefore, a slender-waisted daughter named Ila was born to Manu. Seeing the daughter who had been born, Manu worshipped Mitra and Varuna with these words. ‘I performed a sacrifice so that I might obtain a distinguished son through your favours. But a daughter has been born to an intelligent person like me. If you are pleased with me and if you wish to confer a boon on me, through your favours, let this daughter of mine become a son who possesses the best of qualities.’ The two gods agreed to this. The daughter Ila instantly became a son who was known by the name of Sudyumna. However, while Manu’s intelligent son went out on a hunt in the desolate forest, because of Ishvara’s rage, he became female again. 944 In that form, Soma’s son, Budha, had a son through her. This son was named Pururava. He conquered and became a chakravarti. When the son had been born, Sudyumna performed a great horse sacrifice and became a man again, becoming a king. Sudyumna had three sons—Utkala, Vinaya and Gaya. These three sons were born during the period when he was a man. They were immensely valiant and extensive in their energy. They performed sacrifices. The three sons who were born during the period when he was a man were kings. They enjoyed the earth, controlling their minds and following dharma. King Pururava was born during the period when he was a woman. Since he was Budha’s son, the immensely fortunate one did not obtain a share. On Vasishtha’s instructions, he was given the excellent city of Pratishthana and he became a king in that beautiful place.”’
Chapter 109
‘Markandeya said, “Manu’s son, known as Prishadhra, went to the forest on a hunt. He roamed around in that deserted and desolate forest. He did not find any deer and he was severely scorched by the sun’s rays. His limbs suffered from hunger, thirst and exhaustion and he roamed around here and there. He then saw a beautiful cow that yielded products for oblations. She belonged to a brahmana who performed agnihotra sacrifices and half of her body was hidden amidst the creepers. Taking her to be a gavaya, he struck her with an arrow. Her heart shattered by that arrow, she fell down on the ground. The brahmana who performed agnihotra sacrifices had a son who was devoted to austerities. He was a brahmachari. Seeing that the cow his father used for oblations had been brought down, he invoked a curse. This son was named Babhravya and his father had sent him to look after the cows. O sage! His mind and conduct were overwhelmed by his rage and intolerance. His eyes rolled around in his rage and there were drops of perspiration on his body. Seeing that the sage’s son was angry, King Prishadhra spoke to him. ‘Please be pacified. Like a shudra, why are you succumbing to rage? No kshatriya or vaishya will fall prey to anger in this way. Though born in the lineage of a distinguished brahmana, you are acting as if you have been born a shudra.’ The son of a foremost person was thus reprimanded by the king. Nevertheless, he cursed the evil-souled one, ‘You will become a shudra. Anything that you have learnt from your brahmana guru will be destroyed. You have caused injury to a cow my guru uses for oblations.’ Thus cursed, the king was enraged and was tormented by the curse. O brahmana! Intent on cursing the other one back, he took some water in his hands. Meanwhile, that excellent brahmana was also filled with wrath and wanted to destroy the king.
‘“But his father approached quickly and restrained him. ‘O child! There has been enough of this excessive rage. It is a great enemy. For dvijas, equanimity brings benefit in this world and in the next one. Anger destroys austerities. An angry person is dislodged from a long lifespan. If a person is angry, his knowledge melts away. An angry person’s objective is destroyed. A person prone to rage does not attain dharma. A wrathful person does not attain artha. If a person’s mind is overwhelmed by rage, he does not obtain happiness. Nor does he attain kama. Even if the king killed the cow knowingly, a person who knows about what is good for himself must show him compassion. Or perhaps he killed my cow in ignorance. Since there was no evil in his mind, how is he then worthy of a curse? A person who desires what is good for himself must not cause an impediment to another man. All compassionate people must show compassion to those who are foolish in their knowledge. If learned men bring down the staff of chastisement on those who have inadvertently committed a crime, I think ignorant men are superior to the learned ones. O son! You should not have cursed the king today. The cow has come about her miserable death because of her own past deeds.’ Lowering down his shoulders, Prishadhra bowed down before the sage’s son. He said, ‘Please show me your favours. I killed her in my ignorance. O sage! My mind took her to be a gavaya and I killed her. A cow must not be killed. O sage! I killed the cow used for oblations inadvertently. Please show me your favours.’ The rishi’s son replied, ‘O lord of the earth! Since my birth, I have never uttered a lie. O immensely fortunate one! Though I was overcome by rage, it cannot but be true. O king! Therefore, I am incapable of countering the curse. However, I will withdraw the second curse that I was about to invoke.’ After he said this, the father took his son and returned to his own hermitage. Prishadhra became a shudra.”’
Chapter 110
‘Markandeya said, “Karusha’s sons were seven hundred brave kshastriyas, known as the Karushas. 945 From these valiant ones, thousands of others were born. Dishta’s son was Nabhaga. While he was still in early youth, he saw the daughter of a vaishya. She was extremely beautiful. As soon as he saw her, Madana agitated his mind. The son of a king kept regretting and sighing. The mind of the son of a king was under the sway of Ananga. He went to her vaishya father and asked for his daughter. The father joined
his hands in salutation and spoke to the prince, whose father he was scared of. O brahmana! Therefore, he said, ‘You are kings and we are your servants. We pay you taxes. Why do you wish to have an alliance with the likes of us?’ The prince replied, ‘Desire and confusion bring about an equality in human bodies. When the appropriate time arrives, the human body is united with these. 946 Perhaps such sentiments have a beneficial effect. Even if they belong to different classes, the virtuous survive by depending on each other. Thus, depending on the time, appropriate sentiments become inappropriate and inappropriate sentiments become appropriate. Since worthiness depends on time, the worthy become unworthy and the unworthy become worthy. The body is nourished through food and other desired objects. Therefore, it is proper that one should eat after ascertaining the right time. I respect your daughter and you should bestow her on me. If this is not done, it is evident that my body will face a hardship.’ The vaishya said, ‘We are dependent on the lord of the earth and you are also dependent on the lord of the earth. Take your father’s permission and accept her. I will bestow her on you.’ The prince replied, ‘Those who follow their gurus must ask their gurus about all tasks. But the gurus should not be informed about a task like this. How can the gurus be made to hear about a topic that concerns Manmatha? 947 This is perverse. The gurus must be asked about other things.’ The vaishya said, ‘From your point of view, this is a topic about desire and you should not ask your guru. I will ask him. From my point of view, this is not a topic about desire.’ Thus addressed, the prince remained silent.