Canto CXIV - Nābhāga’s exploits (continued)

Nābhāga married the vaiśya maiden and became a vaiśya—He had a son Bhanandana, who with the help of the ṛṣi Nīpa conquered the earth and offered the sovereignty to his father Nābhāga—Nābhāga declined it as he was a vaiśya, and his wife Suprabhā then explained to him, that she was not really of vaiśya descent, bid the daughter of king Sudeva who became a vaiśya under the ṛṣi Pramati’s curse, because he would not rescue Pramati’s wife from his own friend Nala.

Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

The king thereupon desisted from battle with his son; and he indeed, that king's son, married that vaiśya maiden. He became a vaiśya thereby. Starting up he spoke to the king,— “O king, let it be declared to me what I must do.”

The king spoke:

Let Bābhravya^[1] and the other ascetics, who are engaged in the superintendence of righteousness, declare what is the occupation for this man for the end of righteousness—do thou act accordingly.

Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

Then those munis seated in the council announced that for him the tending of cattle and cultivation and trade should he the highest righteousness. And the king’s son complied with what was declared by those expounders of righteousness to be righteousness for him who had fallen from his own sphere of righteousness.

A son was born to him afterwards, who was famed by the name Bhanandana.^[2] Being sent by his mother who said, “Be a keeper of cattle, my son,” he went forth; and when enjoined thus by his mother, he prostrated himself before his mother and went to the royal ṛṣi Nīpa^[3] who had resorted to mount Himavat; and approaching him Bhanandana held his feet according to rule, and prostrating himself before this royal ṛṣi spoke:

“Adorable sir, verily I have been commanded by my mother thus, ‘Be thou a keeper of cattle’^[4]; and yet I must protect the earth; how can there he assent to her? Verily I must protect the earth,^[5] when it may be appropriated^[6] by men. This my earth is assailed by powerful heirs. Shew me how I may gain the earth through thy favour, O lord; I will carry out thy command; I am prostrate before thee.”

Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

The royal ṛṣi Nīpa then gave to high-souled Bhananda a complete set of weapons, O brahman. After acquiring skill in the weapons he went to his paternal uncle’s sons, Vasurāta and the other sons, O dvija; he was so commanded by that high-souled ṛṣi. He demanded half of the kingdom as befitted his father and paternal grandfather; and they said,—“A vaiśya’s son thou art; how shalt thou enjoy the earth?” A battle then occurred between Bhananda who was skilled in weapons and those his kinsmen Yasurāta and the rest, who were angry and showered weapons on him; but vanquishing them all when their troops had been shattered with his weapons, he, wise in righteousness, took the earth away from them by righteous combat. After vanquishing his foes, he next presented all the earth and the sovereignty to his father; and his father did not accept it, and in front of his wife made answer to the son then.

Nābhāga spoke:

O Bhananda, this kingdom is thine; let it which was ruled by thy ancestors be ruled by thee.

The king spoke:^[7]:

I did not rule the kingdom; I was not devoid of the capacity for it^[8] formerly; but preferring a vaiśya’s condition I obeyed my father’s command to that effect. Because I showed want of affection for my father in that I wedded a vaiśya maiden, I did not become a king, who enjoys the sacred worlds until the subversion of the world has arrived.^[9] If disregarding his command again I rule over the earth, there is verily no final emancipation from existence for me thereafter even during hundreds of kalpas. Nor indeed is it fit that I, who have my own pride, should enjoy the kingdom which thou hast won by thy arm, when I have no desire for it, like any weakling.^[10] Rule thou the kingdom thyself the while, or relinquish it to thy heirs. For me it is good to keep my father’s command and not to rule the earth.

Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

Laughing thereat his wife, the lady Suprabhā by name, made answer to her husband, “O king, take the mighty kingdom. Thou art no vaiśya, nor indeed was I born of a vaiśya family, O king; thou art a kṣatriya and I also was born of a family of kṣatriyas. Formerly there was a famous king Sudeva^[11] by name, and his friend w as king Dhūmrāśva’s son Nala.^[12] Accompanied by his friend he went to the wood Ānira-vana,^[13] he to sport with his wives in the month of spring, O king. Accompanied by those wives and attended by that friend he enjoyed many hinds of drinks and food then. Afterwards he saw the extremely fascinating and royally born wife of Cyavana’s son Pramati^[14] on the bank of a tank. His friend Nala, who was intoxicated and not in his right mind, laid hold of her, the while she cried out “Save me, Save me!” even as the king looked on. Her husband Pramati, on hearing her cry, at once came up hastily exclaiming “What is it?” Then he saw king Sudeva standing there, and his wife in the grasp of Nala, who was very much ont of his senses. Pramati spoke to the king then,—

“Make this man quiet! And thou art the ruler; thou, Sir, art the king; and this Nala is a bad man, O king.”

Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

On hearing that distressed ṛṣi’s appeal, Sudeva deterred by reason of Nala’s high position replied,—“I am a vaiśya; seek someone else, a kṣatriya, in order to rescue her.” Then Pramati enraged, burning forth as it were with splendour, made answer to the king who said “I am a vaiśya.”

Pramati spoke:

Be it so! thou, Sir, art a vaiśya.^[15] A kṣatriya is so named because he guards one from injury.^[16] Kṣatriyas hold the weapon in order that there may be no cry of distress. Thou being such art no kṣatriya; verily thou shalt be a vaiśya of base family.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See note * page 591.

[2]:

Or Bhalandana according to the Viṣṇu Purāṇa IV. i.

[3]:

This was apparently Nīpa of the Paurava race, who was king of Kāmpilya. He had a hundred sons who were nil styled Nīpas. His dynasty lasted till Ugrāyudha killed all the Nīpas just before the Pāṇḍavas’ time; see Harivaṃśa, xx. 1040, 1060-73,1082-86; Matsya Purāṇa xlix. 52-59.

[4]:

Go-pāla.

[5]:

Gauḥ, pālanīyā. There a double pun here with go, “cattle” and “the earth,” and the verb pāl, “to tend” and to protect.”

[6]:

There is also a play on the words svi-karaṇa, “assent,” in verse 9 and svī-kṛta, “appropriated,” here.

[7]:

This heading is superfluous; it is still Nābhāga who speaks.

[8]:

Nāsāmurthya-yutaḥ. The commentator explains it by ati-sāmarthya-yuto ’-pi, “I did not rule the kingdom, although I possessed exceptional capacity formerly.”

[9]:

For yāvad-āhūta-samplavaḥ the Bombay and Poona editions read yāvad-ābhūta-samplavam. An avyayī-bhāva compound is preferable.

[10]:

For durbalasyeha read durbalasyeva, as in the Poona edition.

[11]:

The most famous king of this name appears to have been Sudeva of the Kāśis who had a great contest with the Vītahavyas, and was father of Divodāsa (Mahā-Bhārata, Anuśās.-p. xxx. 1950-54); but this story pays no regard to chronology.

[12]:

There were many kings of this name, but none of them (as far as I have found) son of Dhūmrāśva. One of the kings of Vaiśālī was Dhūmrāśva (Viṣṇu Purāṇa IV. i.)

[13]:

I have not found any wood of this name in western India where this story is laid ; but Āmra-vana may mean simply “a grove of mangoes.”

[14]:

Cyavana was a famous ṛṣi, son of Bhṛgu. He married Sukanyā daughter of Manu’s son Śaryāti, and by her had a son Pramati. Pramati married Ghṛtācī; see MahāBhārata, Ādi-p. v. 870 and 871, and viii. 939, 940; and Vana-p. cxxii: also Śata-patha Brāh. IV. 5; Aitar.-Brāh. VIII. iv. 21). Cyavana’s region was in the west near the mouth of the R. Narmadā, see MahāBhārata, Vana-p. lxxxix. 8354, 8364 and 8365 ; cii. 8737-40 and cxxi.

[15]:

For vaiśya read vaiśyaḥ as in the Poona edition.

[16]:

Kṣatriyaḥ kṣata-rakṣaṇāt. For a different derivation; see canto cxxii.