The Markandeya Purana

by Frederick Eden Pargiter | 1904 | 247,181 words | ISBN-10: 8171102237

This page relates “the birth of the sons of draupadi” which forms the 7th chapter of the English translation of the Markandeya-purana: an ancient Sanskrit text dealing with Indian history, philosophy and traditions. It consists of 137 parts narrated by sage (rishi) Markandeya: a well-known character in the ancient Puranas. Chapter 7 is included the section known as “conversation between Markandeya and the birds”.

Canto VII - The Birth of the Sons of Draupadī

The Birds explain the fourth question—King Hariścandra incurred Viśvāmitra’s anger, and to appease him gives up to him his kingdom and all his wealth—Viśvāmitra ill-treats the queen, and five Viśve Devas censure him for his brutality—He curses them to he born as men, but exempts them from marriage—They were born as the five sons of Draupadī, and died young.

The righteous birds spoke:

There lived formerly in the Tretā Age a most exalted Rājarṣi named Hariścandra, virtuous in soul, a ruler of the earth, brilliant in fame. No famine, nor sickness, nor untimely death occurred among men, nor did the citizens delight in evil, while he ruled as king; nor, further, did the people become uproarious through wealth, valour, austerities or spirituous liquors; nor were any females born who failed to reach womanhood.[1]

And he, of mighty arm, when once chasing a deer in the forest, heard women repeatedly crying, “save us”! The king, giving over the deer, called out “fear not! who is this perverse being that, under my rule, behaves with injustice?” At this interval also the Raudra Vighnarāj, the opponent of every undertaking, who was following that cry, deliberated:—“This Viśvāmitra, full of heroism, undertaking incomparable austerities, keeping a vow, is mastering the sciences of Śiva and others, which have not been perfected before. Those sciences being mastered by this man, who governs his mind in patience and silence, are verily lamenting, afflicted with dread. How can I manage this? Glorious is this noblest of the Kauśika family; I am much weaker than he: these terrified sciences are thus bewailing: it appears to me difficult to be accomplished. Now this king has come in my way, calling out repeatedly ‘fear not!’; into him indeed entering, I will speedily accomplish my desire.”

Then the king possessed by that Raudra Vīghnarāja, who had thus taken counsel with himself, uttered this speech in anger:—“Who is this wicked man that binds fire in the corner of his garment, when I the lord am present, gleaming with the glowing splendour of my power? He today, pierced in every limb by my arrows, which in their flight from my bow illumine the other regious of the sky, shall enter upon a long sleep.”

Thereupon Viśvāmitra having heard the king’s speech was enraged: and, when that great Ṛṣi was enraged, those sciences perished in a moment. The king moreover, seeing Viśvāmitra, rich in austerities, being terrified, suddenly trembled exceedingly like the leaf of the peepul tree.[2] When the Muni exclaimed, “wretch!” and “stand!”; then the king falling prostrate in reverence addressed him:—“O adorable lord! this is my duty! I have committed no fault! Deign not O Muni! to be angry with me, who am engaged in my duty. A king, conversant with his duties, must give gifts, and must afford protection, and lifting his bow must wage war, according to the Dharma-śāstras.”

Viśvāmitra spoke:

“To whom, O king, must thou give gifts, whom must thou protect, and with whom must thou wage war? Speedily declare this, if thou fearest unrighteousness.”

Hariścandra spoke:

“I must always give gifts to brahmans principally, and to others who are straitened in their means; I must protect those in fear; I must make war with enemies.”

Viśvāmitra spoke:

“If your highness, a king, duly regards the duties of kings—I am a brahman desirous of a reward, let the desired fee be given me.”

The birds spoke:

The Raja, having heard this speech with gladdened soul, deemed himself as it were born anew, and addressed the sage of the Kauśika race: “Be it declared, adorable sir! what, free from doubt, I must give thee; consider it as already given, albeit most difficult to be obtained, whether gold or money, son, wife, body, life, kingdom, city, good fortune—whatever is the desire of my own soul.”

Viśvāmitra spoke:

“O king! this present has been accepted, which thou hast given: first, however, bestow the fee appertaining to the Rājasūya sacrifice.”

The Raja spoke:

“O brahman! I will indeed give your honour that fee. Choose, O chief of the dvijas, whatever present thou desirest.”

Viśvāmitra spoke:

Give me this earth, with its ocean, and with its mountains, villages and towns; and thy entire kingdom, O warrior, with its multitude of chariots, horses, and elephants; also thy treasury and treasure; and whatever else thou possessest, excepting thy wife, and son and body, O sinless one! and excepting thy virtue, which, O thou that knowest all the virtues, follows its possessor when he moves. What need for me to say more? Let all this be granted me.”

The birds spoke:

With gladdened mind the king, unperturbed in countenance, having heard the Ṛṣi’s speech, joining his hands respectfully replied, “So be it!”

Viśvāmitra spoke:

“If all thy property is given me, thy kingdom, the earth, thy army, thy wealth,—whose is the lordship, O Rājarṣi! when I the ascetic am seated in the kingdom?”

Hariścandra spoke:

“At what time I have yielded up the earth to thee, O brahman! at that time thou, Sir, art the owner; how much more now the king.”

Viśvāmitra spoke:

“If O king! the whole earth has been given me by thee, thou must deign to depart from the realm where I hold sway, unfastening all thy ornaments, such as thy waisthand and every thing else, and clothing thyself with the bark of trees, together with thy wife and son.”

The birds spoke:

Having said “So be it!” and having so done, the king started to go, in company with his wife Śaivyā and his young son. Then he addressed the king, having obstructed the road as he was moving—“Where wilt thou go, without giving me the fee appertaining to the Rājasūya sacrifice?”

Hariścandra spoke:

“Adorable Sir! this kingdom has been given thee free from adversaries: these our three bodies, O Brahman! are all that remain to me this day.”

Viśvāmitra spoke:

“Nevertheless thou must assuredly give me the sacrificial fee; a promise unfulfilled, especially to brahmans, proves injurious. As long as brahmans delight, O king! in the Rājasūya sacrifice, so long indeed must the fee for the Rājasūya sacrifice he given. After making a promise, one must bestow the gift; and one must fight against assailants; so too the afflicted must he protected; thus hast thou already agreed.”

Hariścandra spoke:

“Adorable Sir, I have nought at present; I will give thee the fee after a while: and show me favour, O Brahmarshi! hearing in mind noble behaviour.”

Viśvāmitra spoke:

“What length of time must I wait for thee, O guardian of men! Tell me speedily, or the fire of my curse shall consume thee.”

Hariścandra spoke:

“In a month will I give thee the fee-money, O Brahmarshi! At present I have no means; deign to grant me this permission.”

Viśvāmitra spoke:

“Go, go, O noble king; observe thy duty; and may thy way be auspicious! May there be no enemies!”

The birds spoke:

Permitted to go, the king departed; his queen, who was unused to walk afoot,[3] followed him. Seeing that most noble king departing from the city with his wife and son, the citizens raised a cry and followed the king, exclaiming

“Alas, O master! why leavest thou us, who are afflicted with continual sufferings? Thou, O king, art devoted to righteousness, and thou art the benefactor of the citizens. Lead us also, O Rājarṣi! if thou regardest righteousness. Stay a moment, O king of monarchs! Our eyes as bees drink[4] thy lotus-like mouth. When again shall we behold thee, who, when thou goest forth, art preceded and followed by kings? Here is thy wife, holding her young son in her hand, following thee, before whom, when thou goest forth, go thy servants seated on elephants! Here goes today walking afoot the king of monarchs, Hariścandra! Alas, O king, what will thy very youthful, beautiful-browed, soft-skinned, fine-nosed face become, when injured by the dust on the road? Stay, stay, O best of kings, observe thy own duty. Mildness is a very noble virtue, especially among kṣatriyas; what need have we of wife, what need of children, or of wealth, or of grain, O master? Abandoning all this, we have become mere shadows of thee. Alas master! alas Mahārājā! alas, O lord! why dost thou abandon us? Where thou art, there indeed will we be. That is joy, where thou indeed art. That is our city where thou art. That is Svarga where thou, our king, art.”

Having thus heard the citizens’ address the king, overwhelmed with grief, stood then in the road through very compassion for them. Still Viśvāmitra, seeing him distressed by the citizens exclamations, approaching him, with eyes rolling in anger and impatience, spoke: “Pie on thee, vile in thy conduct false, crooked in thy speech! who also, after giving me thy kingdom, wishest again to withdraw it.” The king thus roughly accosted by him replied thus trembling, “I am going” and departed hastily drawing his wife in his hand. Thereupon the sage of the Kauśika family suddenly belaboured with a wooden staff the very youthful toil-wearied wife, as the king was drawing her along. Seeing her thus beaten, the king Hariścandra, oppressed with pain, exclaimed “I am going nor did he utter aught else.

But then spoke five Viśve Devas full of pity, “This Viśvāmitra is very wicked; what worlds will he obtain, who has uprooted this best of sacrificers from his throne? By whose funeral ceremony further shall the soma juice expressed at the great sacrifice be purified, by drinking which we shall reach the exhilaration that is preceded by incantations?”

The birds spoke:

Having heard this their remark, the sage of the Kauśika race, exceedingly enraged, cursed them—“Ye shall all assume human form!” And propitiated by them, the great Muni added, “Although in human form, ye shall have no offspring. There shall be neither marriage of wives for you, nor hostility: freed from love and anger ye shall become gods again.” Thereupon those gods descended to the mansion of the Kurus with their own portions; they were born of the womb of Draupadī as the five grandchildren of Pāṇḍu. Hence the five heroic Pāṇḍaveyas did not take to themselves wives, through the curse of that great Muni.

All this has been declared to thee with reference to the tale of the Pāṇḍaveyas. Thy four questions have been answered in song. What else dost thou wish to hear?

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

An allusion to infanticide?

[2]:

Ficus religiosa. The leaf, which varies from 2½ to 5½ inches in length and almost the same in breadth, is ovate-cordate, and has a long slender apes (acumen) 1 to 2 inches long. It has a round flexible stalk 2 to 3 inches long, which is twisted so as to make the inner surface of the leaf face outwards from the branch. The leaf hangs downwards by the long stalk, with its inner surface, which is slightly concave, facing outwards, and thus catches the lightest breeze.

[3]:

Read padbhyām for pradbhyām.

[4]:

Better pivāma for pibāmo, let us drink ?

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