The Brahmanda Purana

by G.V. Tagare | 1958 | 319,243 words | ISBN-10: 8120838246 | ISBN-13: 9788120838246

This page describes the birth of karttavirya which is Chapter 69 of the English translation of the Brahmanda Purana: one of the oldest puranas including common Puranic elements such as cosmogony, genealogy, ethics, geography and yoga. Traditionally, the Brahmandapurana is said to consist of 12,000 verses metrical Sanskrit verses.

Chapter 69 - The birth of Kārttavīrya

Note: This chapter describes the Haihaya line of Yadu, in which the great king Kārttavīrya Arjuna was born. The chapter is named after that great emperor.

Sūta continued:—

1. I shall recount the line of Yadu, the eldest (son of Yayāti) of excellent splendour in detail and in the proper order. Even as I recount it, listen and understand.

2. Yadu had five sons comparable to the sons of the Devas viz.—Sahasrajit the excellent one (or the eldest), Kroṣṭu, Nīla, Añjika and Laghu.

3. The son of Sahasrajit was the glorious king named Śatajit. The three sons of Śatajit became well-known as extremely virtuous.

4. They were Haihaya, and the king Veṇuhaya. Haihaya’s heir was well-known as Dharmanetra.

5-6. Kunti was the son of Dharmanetra, Saṃjñeya was his son. Saṃjñeya’s heir was the king named Mahiṣmān. Bhadrasena was the valorous son of Mahiṣmān. He was the king and ruler of Vārāṇasī and he has already been mentioned.

7. Bhadrasena’s heir was the king named Durmada. Durmada’s intelligent son named Kanaka was well known.

8-9. Kanaka’s heirs were four and they were very famous in all the worlds. They were Kṛtavīrya, Kṛtāgni, Kṛtavarman and Kṛtaujas who was the fourth. Arjuna was the son of Kṛtavīrya. This king became the overlord of seven continents with a thousand hands.

10. Kārttavīrya performed penance for ten thousand years. His penance was extremely difficult to be performed. By means of this penance, he propitiated Datta, born of Atri.

11. Datta granted him four excellently glorious boons. He chose at the out-set the first boon viz. a thousand arms.

12-13. (His second boon was) the ability to prevent one from evil the moment he plans (lit. meditates upon) it. His third boon was protection of the Earth virtuously after conquering it righteously. His last boon was “I must be able to conquer in many battles. I must kill thousands of enemies. My death should be in a battle while fighting.”

14. This entire Earth consisting of seven continents and many towns, and encircled by seven oceans was conquered by him in a manner befitting the Kṣatriyas.

15. He possessed a thousand arms by means of his Yogic power and that too while fighting. Just as the Yoga manifests in the case of the lord of Yogas, so also the thousand arms appear by means of Māyā.

16. O excellent sages, it is heard that seven hundred sacrifices were duly performed by that king in the seven continents.

17-18. All the Yajñas of that powerful king had plenty of splendour and grandeur. Gold altars were used in all of them. All of them were performed with sacrificial posts made of gold. All the Yajñas were graced by their presence by the Devas of exalted fortune seated in aerial chariots. They were always rendered splendid and attractive by the Gandharvas and Apsaras.

19. After observing the greatness and conduct of life of that saintly king, Nārada, a Gandharva, sang the following verse about that king:

20-22. “Definitely human beings will not be able to attain the goal achieved by Kārttavīrya by means of sacrifices charitable gifts, austerities, exploits and learning.”

That king is seen everywhere in the seven continents moving about by means of his Yogic power. He is armed with bow, sword or with bows and arrows. He moves about in his chariot along with his followers.

On account of the prowess of that great king the subjects-were protected virtuously. They did not have any misery or perturbation. They suffered no less in their assets and properties.

23. He was the overlord of the people for eighty-five thousand years. He was an Emperor, the suzerain over many kings. He was the enjoyer of all gems.

24. He was the protector of animals. He was the defender of the fields. On account of his Yogic power, he was the Parjanya (lord of clouds and rain) through rain.

25. On account of his thousand arms rendered tough and rough by the frequent contact with the bow-string, he shone like the autumnal Sun with his thousand rays.

26. With a thousand elephants, that king attacked and conquered the Royal assembly of Karkoṭaka in Māhiṣmatī and built his city there.

27. (Defective verse) That lotus-eyed king used to check the speedy waves of the ocean during the rainy season. Sportingly he used to spew out its waters and make an artificial rainy season.

28. Shaken and tossed about by him while playing, the Narmadā, having garlands with golden fillets, approached him in an apprehensive manner and produced a loud cry of distress released through the waves.

29. Once he waded through the great sea and tossed up the waves and tides by means of his thousand arms, creating an untimely high tide as though blown up by the wind.

30. When the great ocean was being agitated by his thousand arms, the great Asuras in the Pātāla (nether-worlds) remained hidden and motionless.

31-32. With his thousand arms, the king stirred up the ocean in the same manner as the Devas and the Asuras churned up the ocean of milk. A great number of fishes concealed under the great waves were crushed down to pieces. The foams were tossed up and down. The sea became rough and unbearable when so many whirlpools and eddies were caused, when it was stirred up by Kārttavīrya.

33-34. The agitation of the sea by the king was like that of the ocean of milk churned with the Mandara mountain, for the sake of producing nectar.

On seeing the excellent king of terrifying appearance, the great serpents became frightened. They hung down their heads and fled immediately. \Vhen they hung down their heads they appeared like the stumps of plantain trees in the evening that remain motionless in a place devoid of wind.

35-36. In strong and steady bows, he tied the string firmly and fitted five hundred arrows. With his prowess he rendered Rāvaṇa, the king of Laṅkā, senseless along with his army. He defeated him in the battle and subjugated him. After gaining control over him, he brought him to Māhiṣmatī and tied him there. Pulastya, thereupon, approached Arjuna, propitiated him and pacified him.

37-38. On being requested by Pulastya, the king set Paulastya (i.e. Rāvaṇa, the grandson of Pulastya) free.

The twanging sound of the bowstring produced by his thousand arms, resembled the thundering sound of the groups of bursting clouds at the end of Yuga.

Indeed, Bhārgava was a warrior of great prowess and heroism, because in the battlefield, he cut off his thousand arms as though they were a forest of golden palmyras.

39-41. Once, he was earnestly requested by the fire-god who was thirsty and hungry. The lord of subjects granted seven continents as alms unto the firegod. Fire blazed at the tips of his arrows with a desire to consume the cities, villages, towns and cowherd colonies.

With the help of valorous exploits of Kārttavīrya the leading man firegod of great fame burned mountains and forests.

42-44. The fìregod accompanied by Haihaya (i.e. Kārttavīrya) arrogantly burned down the vacant hermitage of Varuṇa’s son entirely. Vasiṣṭha was the name of that son whom Varuṇa obtained. He was excellent and brilliant. He became a famous sage by the name Āpava. The saintly lord Āpava then cursed Arjuna out of anger.[1]

45-47. “Since this forest of mine has not been spared by you, O Haihaya, another king named Arjuna, son of Kuntī who will become a king will supersede the difficult task achieved by you.[2] Rāma the most excellent one among those who strike (with weapons) will-cut off thousand arms (of Sahasrārjuna). Rāma a sage, a Brāhmaṇa of great strength and prowess will crush Arjuna and kill him.”

48. On account of the curse of that intelligent sage, Rāma became the cause of his death. In fact this boon had been chosen by that king himself formerly.

49-50. He had a hundred sons. Five of them were very great warriors. They were very strong, heroic, well-versed in wielding weapons, famous and virtuous-souled viz. Śūra, Śūrasena Vṛṣāsya, Vṛṣa and Jayadhvaja. It was Jayadhvaja who perpetuated his line. He was the ruler of Avanti.1 2

51-53a. Tālajaṅgha was the valorous son of Jayadhvaja. He had a hundred sons. It is reported that they were well-known by the name of Tālajaṅghas. Thus five groups of the noble-souled Haihayas have become famous viz. Vītihotras, Bhojas, Āvantis, the valorous Tuṇḍikeras and the Tālajaṅghas.

53b-57. The son of Vītihotra was the king named Atlanta. Durjaya, his son, became a destroyer of his enemies. That king had received the boon of never losing his wealth. With his great power, the great king protected his subjects. He never lost his wealth. He regained whatever was lost.

If a person were to recount the birth story of Kārttavīrya, the intelligent one, his riches will increase. His piety will develop further. He will be honoured in heaven like a person who performs sacrifices and like a donor.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The curse motif was very popular with Purāṇa-writers to explain any miraculous or unlikely event, here the killing of a great hero like Kārttavīrya. The explanation of Kārttavīrya’s anti-sage action is given in the next chapter VV. 1-14.

[2]:

Probably the idea is that Arjuna will gain a better reputation in this task in the context of Khāṇḍavadāha.

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