Part 5: Bharata’s previous births

“In the past four thousand kings became mendicants with Nābhi’s son. They all became ascetics living in the forest, depressed because the Master wandered without eating, maintaining silence.^[1] Among them two ascetics, Candrodaya and Sūrodaya, sons of kings Prahlādana and Suprabha, wandered through existence for a long time. Candrodaya became the son, named Kulaṅkara, of King Harimati in Gajapura by his wife Candralekhā. In the same place Sūrodaya became the son, Śrutirati, of a Brāhman, Viśvabhūti, by his wife Agnikuṇḍā.

Kulaṅkara became king and, as he was going to the ascetics’ hermitage, was addressed by the monk Abhinandana who was clairvoyant. ‘There is a serpent in a log brought to burn by an ascetic there who is performing the penance of five fires.^[2] The serpent was your paternal grandfather, Kṣemaṅkara, in a former birth. Have the log split carefully, pull him out, and protect him, sir!’ After hearing his words, the king, bewildered, went and had the log split and was astonished to see the serpent inside.

When the king wished to become a mendicant, the Brāhman Śrutirati said: ‘This religion of yours is not according to the Vedas. But if you persist, initiation should be taken in the last period of life. Why are you troubled now?’ The king’s resolution to take initiation was broken a little by that speech and he remained thinking, ‘What must I do in this matter?’ His queen Śrīdāmā, who was always attached to the family-priest, evil-minded, was terrified at the thought, ‘Now he has found out about me. I shall kill him so he can not kill us.’ With the approval of the family-priest she gave poison to Kulaṅkara and killed him.

In course of time Śrutirati died and again both of them wandered through existence for a long time, falling into various kinds of birth-nuclei. One time they were born as twin sons, Vinoda and Ramaṇa, of the Brāhman Kapila by Sāvitrī in the city Rājagṛha. Ramaṇa went to a foreign country to study the Vedas. In time, when he had completed his study of the Vedas, he went to Rājagṛha at night. With the thought, ‘This is an unseasonable hour,’ he remained outside and slept in a Yakṣa-temple open to the public. Vinoda’s wife, Śākhā, went there to keep an assignation with the Brāhman Datta and Vinoda went after her. She aroused Ramaṇa with the idea that he was Datta and embraced him. Then Vinoda drew a sword and killed him without hesitation. Then Vinoda was killed by Śākhā with Ramaṇa’s sword.

After he had wandered through births for a long time he became a rich man’s son, Dhana. Ramaṇa also wandered through births and became the son of Dhana himself by his wife Lakṣmī, named Bhūṣaṇa. Instructed by Dhana, he married thirty-two rich maidens. One time he was on the top of his house at night sporting with them. In the fourth watch of the night he saw the festival held by the gods because the omniscience of Muni Śrīdhara had arisen. A religious inclination was produced and he descended at once from the house and set out to pay him homage. On the way he was bitten by a serpent.

After wandering for a long time in good conditions of existence because of the good inclination, in the city Ratnapura in West Videhā in Jambūdvīpa he was born the son, named Priyadarśana, devoted to dharma, of Cakrin Acala by his chief-queen, Hariṇī. Though wishing to become a mendicant, at his father’s insistence he married three thousand maidens, but, nevertheless, remained disgusted with existence. Having practiced severe penance for sixty-four thousand years even as a householder, he became a god in Brahmaloka.

After Dhana had wandered through worldly existence, he became the son, Mṛdumati, of the Brāhman Agnimukha and his wife Śakunā in Potanapura. Expelled from the house by his father because of bad behavior, he became a gambler accomplished in all the arts and went home again. He gambled with dice all the time and was never beaten by anyone. Every day he won a great deal of money from players. After enjoying pleasures of the senses with the courtesan Vasantasenā, he became a mendicant at the end of his life and became a god in Brahmaloka. Because of the fault of deceit in the former birth, when he fell, he became the elephant, Bhuvanālaṅkāra, on Mt. Vaitāḍhya. Priyadarśana’s soul fell from Brahmaloka and became Your Honor’s brother, long-armed Bharata. At the sight of Bharata memory of his former births was produced and the elephant became free from excitement at once. For there is no harshness in discernment.”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See I, 168 ff.

[2]:

I.e. a fire in each direction and the sun.