Canto LXXIV - About the Tāmasa Manvantara

King Svarāṣṭra being driven from his kingdom by enemies became an ascetic, and met his deceased queen in the shape of a doe during a great flood.—He begot a son by her who became the Manu Tāmasa.—The gods, ṛṣis and kings of that manvantara are named.

Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

There lived on the earth a famous king, by name Svarāskṭra, valiant, an offerer of many sacrifices, wise, invincible in battles. The sun being invoked by bis ministers gave him a very long life; and he had a hundred happy wives, O brahman. The wives of that long-lived king were not very long-lived, O muni; and in time his servants, ministers and people came to their end. And he, being bereft^[1] of his wives and bis servants who were his equals in age, was dejected in mind and dwindled in vigour day and night. A neighbouring king named Vimarda ousted him then from his kingdom, failing as he teas in vigour, deprived of his devoted adherents, greatly afflicted. And being ousted^[2] from his kingdom, he went to a forest, despairing in mind, and taking up his abode on a sandbank in the Vitastā, illustrious as he was, he practised austerities. Undergoing the five fires in the hot season,^[3] exposing himself naked to the showers^[4] in the rainy season, and lying in water in the cold season, he lived abstaining from food, strict in his devout rites.

Afterwards there occurred, while he practised his austerities, a great flood day after day in the rainy season, with the clouds pouring down rain incessantly. The east could not be distinguished, nor the south, nor the west, nor the north; everything looked as if besmeared with darkness. The king, forced then in the excessive flood to seek the river bank, could not reach it although seeking it, being carried away by the exceedingly furious current. Now the king, after being carried a long way by the swollen water, chanced upon a Rauha doe in the water and seized her by her tail. Borne along by that flood he passed over the surface of the land hither and thither in the darkness; at length he reached a bank. Crossing an expanse of mud, which was extremely hard to be crossed, the king being drawn along by her still, gained another charming forest. The Rauha doe dragged the illustrious king along in the darkness there, while he clung to her tail, enfeebled throughout his nervous system. And he experienced an intense pleasure which arose from touching her, as he wandered continually in the darkness, with his mind drawn out in love to her. Perceiving that the king was enamoured of her, and teas engrossed in touching her back, the doe verily spoke to him within that forest:—

“Why dost thou touch my back with trembling hand? Quite otherwise has this affair turned out, O king. To no unsuitable object has thy mind gone forth; not unapproachable am I to thee, O king; but this Lola creates an obstacle to my union with thee.”

Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

And the king, on hearing the doe say thus, was aroused to curiosity and spoke thus to the Bauha doe.

“Tell me, who art thou? How dost thou, a doe, speak language^[5] like human beings? And who is this Lola who creates an obstacle to my union with thee?”

The doe spoke:

I was formerly thy darling Utpalāvatī, O king, thy wife, thy queen above a hundred others, Dṛḍhadhanvan’s daughter.

The king spoke:

What deed then didst thou do,^[6] that thou hast reached this animal condition? And true to thy husband, devoted to righteousness, such as thou wert, how hast thou thus become like this?

The doe spoke:

While a girl in my father’s home I went with my companions to a wood to play, and saw a deer united with a doe. Then approaching close I struck the doe. Frightened by me she fled away, and then the deer enraged said to me, “Silly girl! why art thou so insane? Fie on this thy evil disposition, by which thou hast rendered this period of impregnation fruitless for me!” Frightened then at hearing him speaking language as of a human being, I said to him—“Who art thou who hast reached this animal condition?” Thereupon he replied—“I am son of the ṛṣi Nirvṛti-cakṣus, by name Sutapas, but being enamoured of this doe I became a deer, and followed her in love, and she longed for me in this wood. Thou hast parted us, O naughty girl, therefore I inflict a curse on thee.” And I said—“Knowing thee not, I have sinned, O muni; be gracious! deign not Sir to cast a curse on me.” And so addressed the muni gave me this reply, O king,—“I do not inflict a curse on thee, if I may give myself to thee.” And I said—“I am not a doe, nor of deer-like form; in this wood thou wilt find another doe; meanwhile let thy feeling towards me be repressed.” When thus addressed he exclaimed, his eyes red with anger, and his lower lip quivering—“‘No doe am I’ saidst thou! thou shalt become a doe, O silly girl.” Then exceedingly agitated I fell prostrate before the highly-enraged muni, who had resumed his own form, and exclaimed “Be gracious!” again and again; “a girl is unskilled in words, hence I spoke as I did; assuredly women who have no father choose a husband themselves; and since I have a father, how can I choose, O best of munis, or do wrong? at thy feet I bow, be gracious, my lord!” While thus I lay prostrate, exclaiming repeatedly, “Be gracious! be gracious,” O high-minded king, that lordly muni spoke—“My uttered word never goes amiss. After thy death thou shalt become a doe in this very wood in thy next birth; and in the doe-condition thou shalt conceive within thee the muni Siddhavīrya’s mighty-armed son named Lola, O proud lady; and when the embryo is conceived within thee, thou shalt remember thy former life; regaining thy memory, thou shalt also utter human language. After his birth thou shalt be freed from the doe-condition and be honoured by thy husband; thou shalt attain to the worlds which^[7] are unattainable by those who commit sin. And he, Lola, mighty in valour, shall indeed strike down his father’s foes, and conquer the whole earth and then become a Manu.”

Incurring this curse I died and reached this brute condition,^[8] and through thy touch that embryo has come into being in my womb. Hence I say — To no unsuitable object has thy mind gone forth in coming to me, nor am I unapproachable;^[9] but this Lola who is conceived within me creates an obstacle.

Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

Being thus addressed the king also experienced intense joy then, thinking, “My son will conquer my enemies and become a Manu on the earth.”

Afterwards the doe brought forth that son marked with the auspicious marks; and at his birth all created things rejoiced, and especially the king. At the birth of that mighty son the doe was freed from the curse and attained to the sublime worlds. Then all the ṛṣis assembled, O best of munis, and perceiving the future prosperity of that bigh-souled child gave him a name—“He was born of his mother while she existed as an ignorant animal,^[10] and the world was enveloped in darkness,^[11] hence he shall be Tāmasa.” Then Tāmasa was brought up by the father in the forest. When he reached the age of intelligence he spoke thus to his father, O best of munis,—“Who art thou, dear father? and how am I thy son? and who was my mother? and why hast thou come here? Tell me this truly.”

Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

Thereupon his father, the large-armed king, narrated to his son how he was ousted from his kingdom and all other events. And on hearing all that, he invoked the sun and obtained celestial weapons together with the spells that controlled them in their completeness. Having mastered the use of the weapons he vanquished those enemies, and bringing them near his father released them, when they were permitted by the father to depart, observing thus his own righteousness. And his father, after seeing his son’s face happy, quitted his body and attained to the worlds, which he had won for his own by austerities and sacrifices.

He having conquered the whole earth as king by the name Tāmasa, became a Manu by name Tāmasa. Hear about his manvantara: who were the gods, who was the ruler,^[12] and who was the lord of the gods, and who were the ṛṣis, and who were that Manu’s sons, the guardians of the world.

The Satyas and next the Sudhīs, the Surūpas, and the Haris, these were the classes of gods therein, seven and twenty in number, O muni. And Śikhi Indra, mighty, great in valour, distinguished by a hundred sacrifices, became the lord of those gods. Jyotirdhāman, Pṛthu, Kāvya, Caitra, Agni, and Valaka, and also Pīvara, these seven, were the seven ṛṣis, O brāhman. And Nara, Kṣānti, and Śānta, Dānta, Jānu, Jaṅgha and others were Tāmasa’s sons, very mighty kings.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

For yukto read tyakto (see verse 5)? The Bombay edition reads mukto.

[2]:

For cyutaṃ read cyutaḥ?

[3]:

Four fires around and the sun over-bead; see Manu vi. 23.

[4]:

For abhraṅkaṣāśikaḥ read abhrāvakāśikaḥ, which is the word in Manu vi. 23.

[5]:

Mṛgī-vākyaṃ seems preferable as two words and not a compound.

[6]:

For kintu yāvat kṛtaṃ read Km tvayā vai kṛtaṃ?

[7]:

For ya read ye.

[8]:

For tīryaktvam read tiryaktvam.

[9]:

For agamyo read agamyā? see verse 18.

[10]:

Tāmasīṃ bhajamānāyāṃ yoniṃ.

[11]:

Tamasā

[12]:

For yat-patir read tat-patir, according to the Bombay edition.