Mahabharata (English)

by Kisari Mohan Ganguli | 2,566,952 words | ISBN-10: 8121505933

The English translation of the Mahabharata is a large text describing ancient India. It is authored by Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa and contains the records of ancient humans. Also, it documents the fate of the Kauravas and the Pandavas family. Another part of the large contents, deal with many philosophical dialogues such as the goals of life. Book...

Section CXXI

"Vaisampayana said, 'Thus addressed, Kunti replied unto her heroic lord, king Pandu, that bull amongst the Kurus, saying, 'O virtuous one, it behoves you not to say so unto me.

I am, O you lotus-eyed one, your wedded wife, devoted to you. O, Bharata of mighty arms, thyself shalt, in righteousness, beget upon me children endued with great energy. Then I shall ascend to heaven with you; O prince of Kuru’s race, receive me in your embrace for begetting children. I shall not certainly, even in imagination, accept any other man except you in my embraces. What other man is there in this world superior to you?

O virtuous one, listen to this Pauranic narrative that has been, O you of large eyes, heard by me, and that I shall presently narrate.

"There was, in ancient times, a king in the race of Puru, known by the name of Vyushitasva. He was devoted to truth and virtue. Of virtuous soul and mighty arms, on one occasion, while he was performing a sacrifice the gods with Indra and the great Rishis came to him, and Indra was so intoxicated with the Soma juice he drank and the Brahmanas with the large presents they received, that both the gods and the great Rishis began themselves to perform everything appertaining to that sacrifice of the illustrious royal sage.

And thereupon Vyushitasva began to shine above all men like the Sun appearing in double splendour after the season of frost is over.

And the powerful Vyushitasva, who was endued with the strength of ten elephants very soon performed the horse-sacrifice, overthrowing, O best of monarchs, all the kings of the East, the North, the West and the South, and exacted tributes from them all.

There is an anecdote, O best of the Kurus, that is sung by all reciters of the Puranas, in connection with that first of all men, the illustrious Vyushitasva (aving conquered the whole Earth up to the coast of the sea, Vyushitasva protected every class of his subjects as a father does his own begotten sons).

Performing many great sacrifices he gave away much wealth to the Brahmanas. After collecting unlimited jewels and precious stones he made arrangements for performing still greater ones. And he performed also the Agnishtoma, and other special Vedic sacrifices, extracting great quantities of Soma juice.

And, O king, Vyushitasva had for his dear wife, Bhadra, the daughter of Kakshivat, unrivalled for beauty on earth. And it has been heard by us that the couple loved each other deeply. King Vyushitasva was seldom separated from his wife. Sexual excess, however, brought on an attack of phthisis and the king died within a few days, sinking like the Sun in his glory.

Then Bhadra, his beautiful queen, was plunged into woe, and as she was sonless, O tiger among men, she wept in great affliction.

Listen to me, O king, as I narrate to you all that Bhadra said with bitter tears trickling down her cheeks.

'O virtuous one',

she said,

'Women serve no purpose when their husbands are dead. She who lives after her husband is dead, drags on a miserable existence that can hardly be called life.

O bull of the Kshatriya order, death is a blessing to women without husbands. I wish to follow the way you have gone. Be kind and take me with you. In your absence, I am unable to bear life even for a moment.

Be kind to me, O king and take me hence pretty soon.

O tiger among men, I shall follow you over the even and uneven ground. You have gone away, O lord, never to return.

I shall follow you, O king, as your own shadow.

O tiger among men, I will obey you (as your slave) and will ever do what is agreeable to you and what is for your good.

O you of eyes like lotus-petals, without you, from this day, mental agonies will overwhelm me and eat into my heart. A wretch that I am, some loving couple had doubtless been separated by me in a former life, for which, in this life, I am made to suffer the pangs of separation from you.

O king, that wretched woman who lives even for a moment separated from her lord, lives in woe and suffers the pangs of hell even here. Some loving couple had doubtless been separated by me in a former life, for which sinful act I am suffering this torture arising from my separation from you.

O king, from this day I will lay myself down on a bed of Kusa grass and abstain from every luxury, hoping to behold you once more.

O tiger among men, show thyself to me.

O king, O lord, command once more your wretched and bitterly weeping wife plunged in woe.'

"Kunti continued,

'It was thus, O Pandu, that the beautiful Bhadra wept over the death of her lord. And the weeping Bhadra clasped in her arms the corpse in anguish of heart. Then she was addressed by an incorporeal voice in these words, "Rise up, O Bhadra, and leave this place.

O you of sweet smiles, I grant you this boon. I will beget offspring upon you. Lie you down with me on your own bed, after the catamenial bath, on the night of the eighth or the fourteenth day of the moon.'

Thus addressed by the incorporeal voice, the chaste Bhadra did, as she was directed, for obtaining offspring. And, O bull of the Bharatas, the corpse of her husband begat upon her seven children viz., three Salvas and four Madras.

O bull of the Bharatas, do you also beget offspring upon me, like the illustrious Vyushitasva, by the exercise of that ascetic power which you possessest.'"

Conclusion:

This concludes Section CXXI of Book 1 (Adi Parva) of the Mahabharata, of which an English translation is presented on this page. This book is famous as one of the Itihasa, similair in content to the eighteen Puranas. Book 1 is one of the eighteen books comprising roughly 100,000 Sanskrit metrical verses.

FAQ (frequently asked questions):

Which keywords occur in Section CXXI of Book 1 of the Mahabharata?

The most relevant definitions are: Bhadra, Bharata, Kuru, Brahmanas, Pandu, Kurus; since these occur the most in Book 1, Section CXXI. There are a total of 20 unique keywords found in this section mentioned 38 times.

What is the name of the Parva containing Section CXXI of Book 1?

Section CXXI is part of the Sambhava Parva which itself is a sub-section of Book 1 (Adi Parva). The Sambhava Parva contains a total of 78 sections while Book 1 contains a total of 19 such Parvas.

Can I buy a print edition of Section CXXI as contained in Book 1?

Yes! The print edition of the Mahabharata contains the English translation of Section CXXI of Book 1 and can be bought on the main page. The author is Kisari Mohan Ganguli and the latest edition (including Section CXXI) is from 2012.

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