Canto 6 - Birth of Jarasandha

1. In the days of yore, there was born a king named Brihadratha, who was heroic lord of Magadha. He was matchlessly powerful who always treaded on path enlightened by Dharma (righteous motion) his fame encompassed all the ten directions in the universe, fame being caused by valour as also the loyalty and love and adoration of his subjects.

2. The ruler king whose weal was glory alone was bestowed with noble qualities, worship of Brahmins devotion to God and always intent to ensure the best in life for his subjects. His reign was motivated by selflessness and his praises were sung (by his people) as an acknowledgement of his manifest virtues. (Ballades prompted not by amazement but out of sheer respect.)

3. The king vanquished the moon in his beauty, the sun in brilliance the ocean in profundity as also Indra in ethics and morals, and Brihspati in eloquence.

4. His character was bestowed with abilities to silence his detractors defeated his force in warfare and diminished the values of the brave. He was such a great king who controlled all the people.

5. The king had amply demonstrated his valour and had adored the whole kingdom as Magadha was adapt in providing benevolent governance and acquired the grace and brilliance of mid day sun.

6. He was able to reach the apex of each activity coupled with unbounded fame. He was able to appreciate the might of mighty acknowledged the benevolence favour. He was the only refuge for the virtuous persons.

7. Even he traversed into the advanced years in age his physique was the abode for Kamdev (god of physical love/passion). The body acquiring the naturally the enticing glow. The beauty and handsomeness came naturally to his physique and thus he was able to defeat the younger persons in alluring charms and had been an epicenter of attracting charm for all people.

8. He was a king who was an embodiment of courtesy to all, justice and support for all the people and was respectful for all the brave souls on the earth.

9. He was a king who deserved deeply emotional worship for his sincerity of dutifulness always willing to abide by auspicious moments worthy of salutations by the learned, always benign in heartfelt emotions and offered salutations to each and every deserving person.

10. He was a Shiv Bhakt-worshiper of Lord Shiv frequently undertook the Yajna rites and even prays both the manifest and conceptual beauty-that is physical and aesthetic beauty.

11. He solemnised his intimacies with a pair, twin born maids just as the moon traverses for nearly two nights in a Raashi. The noble and holy king adept in providing conjugal bliss and in return experiencing the sensual gratification.

12. Soon, embarked on continual physical relationship with both of his wives each day and night, though his love for both the wives as his infatuation for them was in equal measure yet he was not bestowed with any offspring and was affected by grief and despair.

13. The king though conscious of himself being immersed in ocean of grief was dutifully and peacefully ruling his state and passed the days and nights of his life.

14. Some years were gone in this routine and there after a muni-sage happened to visit the place. The sage was not only well versed in the knowledge of the Vedas but was equally bestowed with granting the wishes to the noble and good people and caring for the best interest of all the realms of the worlds.

15. Learning about the advent of the 'Tapasvi' and the noblest soul the king accompanied by his wives made a courtesy call on the sage in humility and hospitality.

16. He sincerely and devotedly praised the sage, saying "O the greatest jewel, the best among the sages and hermits and one who has risen above the human kind and benefactor of the world your holiness and conquered your own soul. I bow before you holy saint in obeisance."

17. A true believer of religion and morality and even engaged in wel-coming the visitor with best services the king was also seeking to do good for all living beings was desirous of having a male progeny and hence he expressed his desire of the blessing before the greatest of all sages.

18. On having been welcomed by the king in the best tradition and also having been gratified by the best traditions of hospitality, the sage told the king, "May your desire come true!" These words cooled and satisfied the king's mind.

19. Coming to know about the sage who was worthy of love and respect of all who had travelled to the city from the woods the people of the city of Magadha offered the folded hands in 'Pranam' as a token of due respect.

20. The sage noticed the withered countenance and in his mind realised the despair and grief of the King. The all knowing sage begin to speak to the King in sweet and benevolent words for the welfare and happiness of the King.

21. "O king! Capable of holding your name at higher level, keeping the wives content, and amasser of religion, keeping ethical sanctity by good deeds may your kingdom flourish with wealth and grains. May your subjects be happy and contented and may you also be ensuring a conduct and discharge of the duties of the state, aimed at welfare of the people!"

22. Hearing the best and noble speech of the sage the king in reply spoke thus. "When a brilliant and luminous sage such as your holiness blesses us with a visit to the city which of our grief or adversity can survive."

23. The sage on hearing these words intended to test the king by tact and effort and began to speak thus.

24. "O King! Are your subjects content with your reign? O king, conqueror of your adversaries, as also earning glory and adoration and also cause of

joy to the learned and equally eloquent before your wives. O the great ruler your visage does not look happy.

25. "Therefore O king, do take this opportunity and tell me what you desire to speak about if only to make it materialise through the power of Yog which it has not been possible even by destiny.

26. "O noble sage! Sages, Sanyasis and holy men, traverse this earth simply and naturally for the welfare of mankind. A swelling of compassion is always evinced in the bosoms of holy sages such as you. May you shower your blessings so that our welfare -a physical, worldly and spiritual -can be assumed."

27. "Muni Khand Kaushik the noble sage heard the king's words appreciating the emotions of his heart and also sense the desperate state of the king's mind evinced by stuttering speech. Again the king said,

28. "O saint, as an outcome of your blessing we are immersed in all pervasive happiness. But O sage you know everything worth knowing. Only I do not have a son and thus deprived of that bliss. This bliss does not come my way in nemesis or the result of my ill deeds or karmas enacted in the previous lives. So may your holiness reveal to me a means measure to outcome this deficiency."

29. "Only your holiness can ensure the furtherance of my/our clan. You are in all manner capable in bestowing filial bliss and happiness upon me and hence I have come to your refuge or moral sanction. Your blessing and concurrence may be extended to me. I am deprived of this thus I have come to you along with my wives for your blessing."

30. Suffering the feverish impact of the extremely scorching grief and gloom of his inability to have any offspring the King went to the refuge of the sage laid prostate and narrated his woe and gradually calm down.

31. On hearing the words of the king the sage started to think intently and thereafter soon in presence of all handed a fruit to the king.

32. Embellished and empowered with Yogik mantras, the sage, while giving away the invaluable fruit said his words of blessing sagacity-spoke thus,

33. "As an outcome of the empowered fruit you shall be blessed with a son who shall vanquish armies of his foes (herds). He shall also grow up to be the sustainer of the earth.

34. "May you be blessed soon with an offspring! His noble virtues will be many and more such as love for superior existence (Brahma) yearning to comply with demands of one's own religion bravery, adventure, fame and glory on earth, and learn to rule by the tenets of religion and morality dispelling of poverty and granting of wishes to the poor persons all this will be the attributes of this child that shall born in your family.

35. "These (above mentioned) virtues will come naturally to your son. This blessing of mine shall redeem you of unsurmountable calamity of your life."

36. On hearing these grand and noble words of the sage the royal couple bowed to him in obedience with a smiling countenance, their minds being swept by the tide or waves of happiness and the souls being replete with deep feeling of satisfaction.

37. The king along with his two wives offered exceptional hospitality to the sage and also on being blessed in return, proceeded back to their royal palace.

38. The sage, who possessed fruit of divine qualities bestowed it to the king and both the queens were given this fruit by the King. Thereafter, each of his two queens ate the fruit with immense and unshakeable faith in the words of the holy sage.

39. The king sat between his two wives and feeling a surge of happiness and reflecting his heartfelt happiness and firm faith in the words of the sage and told his queens- ''The words of the sage can never be untrue that is his blessing would surely ensure the fruit of the boon".

40. "The sage who has conquered all his senses and followed his Guru who has attained a state of disinterested existence has revealed the mystery of the fruit", said the king to his wives.

41. By the grace of good luck, the king who was till now enamoured of his wives began to feel emotions of deep affection and attachment.

42. Prompted by the desire for conjugal bliss the queens too found and experienced happiness with kings attitude had later both conceived, as evinced by there mind and thought reflecting a happy state of mind and physical character of conception came to be noticed.

43. With the passing of days a soul came to be permeate the physique of each queen and also it started to develop physically-feet, chest, eyes, hands, stomach, and genitals all parts of human body came to be divided into two and each part developed in the ovary of each queen.

44. The child bestowed by the blessings of the sage divided into two sections because of the fruit was consumed by two queens. Both the queens were aghast on sight of a human child comprising of two amazing vertical divisions.

45. After mutually parleying the queens took assistance of a mid wife and decided to throw away the infant boy. The helpless child was soon consigned to garbage by the chamber maids of the palace.

46. The very night a demon femme Jara who had been wandering nearby happened to hear the crying of the child lying on garbage and looked upon it.

47. The Demon femme in sheer bewilderment took both the divides of the child and joined them.

48. By this sheer act of benevolence the accursed demon femme was instantly absolved of (Mukti) some ghastly curse earned earlier by her and transformed into damsel of havens and proceeded to her abode.

49. After the departure of Jara the forsaken child shouted to wail loudly in a voice comparable to the thunder of the clouds and soon caused all the persons sleeping in their homes to wake up from slumber.

50. In sheer curiosity the men and women flocked into various groups and experienced the wail of the extraordinary. The wailing turned into high pitch deafening.

51. The news of this event soon reached the palace and the king after consulting his ministers went to the place where the child was lying.

52. The king was taken aback by the huge headed obese child with brilliance of sunshine.

53. The people gathered there were happy to see their noble king at the spot and told him "O king you are extremely fortunate that you who are devoid of any child so far have blessed you with such an offspring."

54. On knowing this that child is a heavenly gift bestowed by the God himself the king felt an inner surge of happiness and accepted the child as his own offspring blissfully.

55. Affectionately the king snuffed the head kissed the head of the child and took it upon his lap. The king then proceeded to his palace. Who does not feel happy and elated on obtaining ones object of desire?

56. Both the queens alarmed at the sight of this child with liberated limbs regarded the child as a horrible creature and regarded the child only as burden on its kith and kins and at a right hour spoke to the king.

57. The king, on hearing the words of both the queens, was lost in a solemn feeling of uneasiness and bewilderment and curiously at the same time mind full of the feel that the child was born as a boon from the holy sage and became happy and for a while forgot the mental state of his palace habitants.

58. The king having learnt the story of the birth of the child and being reminded of the blessings of holy sage became worried and perturbed. Truly he who hesitates has to face unsound state of mind or intellect.

59. Realising that it is very difficult to solve the riddle of the birth of this child and driven by the desire to ascertain what mystery lays in the days to come. The king decided to organise a conference for deliberations extending over seven days and nights where in the learned seers and persons with scientific temper and exploring minds participated.

60. In the conference an astrologer on hearing the tale sounding the stronger birth of the prince child though for a while and bowing to the king spoke to the royal assembly and said,

61. "O king this child has twin body right since his conception and therefore has been discarded and thrown away from a window but that apart this child has been saved by your highness and born to your queens.

62. "A demon femme named Jara was wandering about the same night and out of curiosity saw the lying child and joined both fractions of his physique and having done this good deed of benevolence disappeared from there.

63. "O King! The physique of the child joined together by Jara the demon femme, has become strong and fortified. O King, you were told about the blessing (in the shape of fruit) as a means to bestow a male child to your highness and this is the very same child-Jarasandha."

64. The king listened to the highly amazing narration of the astrologer and being happy and contented ended the conference and felicitated the astrologer.

65. Hearing the complete detailed narration and realising it as a factual story the king called for an another astrologer when he came he bowed to the best of the Brahmins and narrated the tale as desired to know what lay in future of the child. The astrologer disclosed his identity to the king and spoke to him thus.

66. "O king, I am a disciple of the sage Kaushik and may you please know that he himself has sent me to your court at an appropriate time.

67. "O king, your son is but a complete symbolic identity and I pray, do not regard him as an abnormal or ill omen. And do not also see in him any dark shadow of coming calamity, do not burden yourself with unwarranted anxiety and worry.

68. The astrologer who was aware of the mystery of the prince's birth happily blessed the king and departed from the palace.

69. After giving respectful farewell to the disciple of the sage the king happily named the child as Jarasandha. As he was physically joined by Jara the demon femme.

70. All the people ensured utmost care and comfort for this child. The king too ensured his upbringing with special efforts and concern. His growth which can be said to be like the growth of Moon in 'shuklapaksha'.

71. The child in its playfulness and growth went on to be the very dear to his sire's heart by such infancy characteristics as crawling etc. The king Brihadratha who saw the growing child with deep concern and affection passed the happy days of his life.

72. Adapt as expanding the childhood pleasures the royal child grew to acquire strength and guts just in the presence of his elders and rapid progression. Gradually youth came like the heat of the Sun traversing to midday.

73. Consulting his state council of ministers and subjects also in consultation with his two wives the king declared the child as his heir, apparent amidst the rituals of chanting the mantras by the holy Brahmins.

74. Observing the Kumar indulging in the unbounded pleasures in his youthful days who can be compared to an intoxicated elephant.

75. Thereafter king Brihadratha formally established him as the king of the state of Magadha by holding religious and ritualistic ceremonies.

76. Having seated the son on the throne of the state the king forsook all the cares and the worries of the world.