Chapter 51 - The banishment of Asamañjasa

Sagara said:

1. O great sage, there is no doubt in this that I am quite well in every respect, since your holiness, the most excellent among the descendants of Bhṛgu, has solicitude for my peace.

2. How can I, who have been formerly trained in such a manner in wielding missiles and weapons by you, be incapable of restraining all the enemies now?

3. You are my preceptor, friend, and well-wisher, deity and kinsman. Nor do I know anyone else as my father except you.

4. All the kings were defeated by me through the missiles, the use of which has been taught by you. It is the power of your penance, remembering which, all of them had been defeated by me.

5. By means of your penance, you sanctify and protect the entire universe. Undoubtedly you are capable of creating and annihilating it also.

6. The potentiality of your penance is great. It is not common to anyone else. Here, even a part of it, if seen, causes wonder.

7. O holy lord, in your penance-grove, ever since its infancy the fawn, slowly but unhesitatingly approaches the seat of the lion and drinks water.

8. Here, due to full confidence, even a slim delicate hind offers her udder to her young one. The Ruru deer removes the itching sensation of its cheek at the tip of the horns of the black deer.

9. In order to sustain itself, a tigress killed a hind which had recently given birth to its fawn, in another forest. But the same tigress nurtures the young ones of that hind in your penance grove.

10. It is because of your penance that in the outer jungle a lion was chasing a fleeing elephant. But as soon as they entered this penance grove, they had stopped running. They stand in the same place, afraid of you.

11-12. The mongoose, rats, cats, peacocks, rabbits, serpents, wolves, boars, tigers, the fabulous eight-footed Śarabh-as, bears, monkeys, jackals, Gavayas (mountain-ox), the cows, the deer and the buffaloes abandon their natural enmity and become friendly.

13. A power of penance like this, striking the world with surprise, is not seen anywhere. O Brāhmaṇa, excepting in your case, it is difficult to be found elsewhere in the world.

14. Due to your blessings, I have conquered this earth, O Brāhmaṇa sage, and have come back to my own realm along-with my captive enemies.

15. I have all ministers under my control. I have shown sufficient and suitable care and application to the three Vargas (viz. virtue, wealth and love). I have protected the kingdom very well along the path advised by you.

16. As I continued my activities thus and stayed on the kingdom, O leading scion of the family of Bhṛgu, there arose in me a desire to see your holiness and that too with a purpose.

17. Will the protection of the Earth along with the offerings of balls of rice be restricted to me? (Will it stop with me?) Will it be so due to the fact that I have no issue?

18. This is the excessive misery in my mind and it cannot be remedied. I have approached you, thinking that, in this world there cannot be anyone else who will be able to remove it.”

19. On being told thus by Sagara, the holy lord Aurva remained silent for a moment thinking within himself, and spoke these words alongwith his directions.

20. “Observing restraints, you stay on here for sometime along with your wives; thereby you will obtain your desire. No doubt need be entertained about this”.

21. The righteous-souled king stayed there along with his wives. He was delighted and endowed with devotion. He was eagerly engaged in serving him (Aurva) for a long time.

22. By means of their humility, good conduct and devotion, the wives of the king accorded great satisfaction to the sage. They were always alert.

23. The great sage was satisfied with their devotion and sincere service. He called the queens and said these words:

24. “O gentle ladies, let any boon be chosen from us; whatever you desire. I shall grant it even if it is very difficult to get. There is no doubt about it”.

25. Then both of them bowed down their heads and respectfully spoke to the great sage—“O holy Lord, we desire sons”.

26. Then the saint said to them: “Desirous of doing what is pleasing to you both and to the king, this desired boon has been given by me.

27. Due to my blessings, both of you shall be fortunate enough to have sons, certainly. Let these further words of mine also be heard.

28. One of you will bear a single son. He will not be very virtuous. Still he will be alive till the end of Kalpa.

29. The other will give birth to sixty thousand sons. Ere long, all of them will meet with destruction without fulfilling their assigned work.

30. These two boons with such characteristic features have been given to you both. Whatever is desired by either of you, may voluntarily be recounted.”

31. When this was spoken by the sage, the daughter of the Vidarbha king chose a son who would perpetuate the line. The other queen chose the other boon of begetting many sons.

32. After granting this boon to king Sagara and honouring him along with his wives in a suitable manner, the great sage sent him off towards the city.

33. Permitted by the sage, the ruler of the Earth who was satisfied because his desire had been fulfilled, got into the chariot along with his beloved ones and went to the city quickly.

34. After entering the beautiful city fully inhabited by delighted and well-nourished people, he stayed there with great joy along with the people of the city.

35. At the same time, O king, the two queens intimated to the king with great joy the fact that they had conceived.

36. The foetus of the queens developed day by day like the moon in the bright half of the lunar month, along with the wealth of pleasure and contentment of the parents and the citizens.

37. When the time was complete, Keśinī gave birth, in an auspicious hour, to a son of unmeasured lustre and resplendent like the fiery sun-stone.

38. After the due performance ofjātakarman (post-natal holy rite) etc., the king named him Asamañjasa.

39. At that time, Sumati too gave birth to a pot-gourdlike foetus. On seeing it being given birth to, the king wished to throw it away.

40. On coming to know of it, the holy sage Aurva came there as though by chance. Welcomed and honoured perfectly by the king, he hurriedly spoke to him thus.

41. “This foetus in the form of a pot-gourd, O king, should not be thrown away. It does not desrve to be abandoned because it contains the nucleus of your sixty thousand sons.

42. Hence, let it be cut into small pieces and be preserved carefully in pots of ghee covered with lids. The pieces should be kept in separate pots.

43. If this is done properly, O king, you will have sons as are mentioned before, due to my grace. There is no doubt about it.

44. When the time is complete, they will break open the pots and come out separately. Thus, O king, sixty thousand sons will be born unto you”.

45. After saying thus, the saintly lord Aurva vanished there.

The King carried out everything in the manner mentioned by Aurva.

46. After a year was completed, children were born every day out of the pots of ghee, after breaking them open one by one.

47. In this manner the sons of the king were born and brought up in groups, O king, making up the total of sixty thousand.

48. They had great strength and valour. They did not perform any rite separately. (They worked collectively in every respect). They were unassailable and ruthless in particular.

49. The king, the most excellent among the intelligent ones, was not very much pleased with them. But he considered the holy son of Keśinī as his beloved son. He honoured him much.

50. The king duly celebrated his marriage. He too delighted his friends by means of his good qualities.

51. A glorious son well-known by the name of Aṃśumān was born to that son of Keśinī.

52. Even in his infancy, he was extremely intelligent. By means of his exalted and noble qualities, he extremely delighted his friends and grand-father.

53. In the meantime that son of the king, Asamañjasa, was possessed by a certain Piśāca (ghost). He became devoid of all good pursuits and activities.

54. In his former birth, he was a Vaiśya in the realm of ascertain king. He was conversant with Dharma. He possessed plenty of wealth and food-grains.

55. Once, as he was wandering about in the forest, he saw an excellent treasure-trove. Overwhelmed by the habitual greed of a Vaṇik (merchant), he began to take possession of the same.

56. Then the Piśāca who was keeping watch over that treasure-trove approached him and said:—

“I have been hungry for a long time staying here and keeping watch over this treasure-trove.

57. Hence, in order to alleviate it, give me beef and at my behest take away this treasure as you please”.

58. He promised the same to him saying—“I shall give you beef”. Encouraged by the Piśāca, he took possession of the treasure-trove.

59. On account of his foolishness, he did not give the ghost what had been promised. He did not take note of the anger of the ghost arising from his failure to give what had been promised, O king.

60. After waiting for a long time with a desire for food, the ghost from whom the wealth had been taken away became distressed due to hunger and died.

61. The Vaiśya attained death at the proper time and was born again as the son and perpetuator of the line of Sagara and Keśinī.

62. Recollecting the previous enmity, the bodiless one assumed the form of wind, O King, and entered the body of the prince.

63-65a. On being possessed by the ghost the prince became cruel-hearted. His mental balance was upset on being forcibly attacked by the ghost. Like a merciless fellow, he began to work havoc in the city without any propriety or justice. The wicked fellow began to kill boys, young men, old men and women. After killing them, the merciless one threw their bodies in the Sarayū.^[1]

65b-69. On being harassed by him many times and observing his ignoble activities, the citizens went to the king and appealed to him.

On hearing it, the king was overwhelmed with grief. He called the prince to him and conscientiously forbade him on various occasions. Although he was prevented by that noble-souled father many times, there was no positive result. (All his advices) became like burnt barley grains put in hot water (i.e. became fruitless). When he was not able to make him desist from his sinful activity, the king banished him from his realm because he was afraid of the public outcry”.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The Piśāca motif is adopted by the author of Bd.P. to justify the changed attitude of prince Asamañjasa. According to Bh.P. IX.8.15.19, prince Asamañjasa was a Yogī who outwardly behaved in a censurable manner (probably as prescribed for Pāśupatas). When banished, he returned all the children hale and hearty to their parents who believed that Asamañjasa killed them.