El Devi Bhagavatam

9-26. Sûta said :-- The king S’antanu could not recognise the lady to be Gangâ; but Gangâ knew that he is the king Mahâbhisa and is born as S’antanu. Hearing the above words of the king, Gangâ, out of her previous affections, spoke out to the king, smiling :-- “O king! I know that you are the son of the king Pratîpa. Behold! Though it is inevitable that woman will get their husbands, yet who is that beautiful lady that does not husband according to her liking and qualifications? But I can take you as my husband, if you make a certain promise to me. Hear my resolve afterwards I will marry you. O king! Whatever I will do, be it good or bad, auspicious or inauspicious, you must not hinder or interrupt me

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nor ever say that is not to your liking and satisfaction. Whenever you will break this my resolve, I will instantly quit you and go to another place wherever I like. The king S’antanu, then, said :-- “Well! That will be” and promised to the above effect; then Gangâ Devî recollected within herself Vasus' words and thought of the attachment of the king Mahâbhisa and accepted S’antanu as her husband. Thus married to the king S’antanu, the beautiful Gangâ in human form went to his abode. The king, on having got possession of her, began to enjoy in pleasant gardens. The lady, too, appreciated his mental feelings and began to serve him to his satisfaction. Thus many years elapsed in lovely enjoyments and intercourses between the couple who looked like Indra and his pair Sachî; and they did not feel at all how the time passed. The lady endowed with all qualities and the clever king, well-versed in the art of loving, began to enjoy incessantly like Laksmî and Nârâyana, in their divine palace.

Thus many years passed when the lovely eyed lady became pregnant of the king S’antanu's sperm and, in due time, gave birth to a son who was a Vasu. No sooner the son was born than Gangâ Devî threw it in the waters of the Ganges. Thus the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh sons were threwn successively on the waters. Then the king became very anxious and thought within himself :-- “What am I to do now? How my family be preserved? This my wife, incarnate of sin, has killed my seven sons; if I now desist her, she will instantly leave me and go away. Now this is the eighth pregnancy as desired by me. Now if I do not interrupt her, she will certainly throw my son in the Ganges. Whether a son will be born again or not is doubtful; and even if that be born, it is doubtful whether she will preserve that child; now what am I to do in this doubtful point? However I will try my best to continue the thread of my family line.”

27-46. Now, in due time, the Vasu who, having been influenced by his wife had stolen Vas’istha's cow Nandini, became born as the eighth son of Gangâ Devî; the king S’antanu, seeing this son fell unto Gangâ's feet and said :-- “O thin-bodied woman! I pray to you to give my life to-day; better nourish this my one son. O beautiful one! You killed in succession my seven exceedingly beautiful sons. O one of beautiful hips! I now fall at your feet. O beautiful one! save the life of this child of mine. If you ask from me any other thing to day, even that be very rare, I will give it to you; but you better now keep the thread of my family line. The Pundits, versed in the Vedas, say that he who has no issues cannot go to Heaven; so, O Beautiful one! To-day I pray to you to keep the life of this my eighth son.” Though thus spoken by S’antanu,

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Gangâ Devî was eager to take away the son to throw in the waters; the king became very sorrowful and angrily spoke out “O vile and vicious woman! What are you going to do? Do you not fear hell! of what villain are you the daughter, that you are always doing this vicious deed? O Sinner! go away wherever you will or remain here as yon like, it matters little; but my son will remain here. When you attempt to bring my family to extinction, what use is there in living with you?” When the king thus spoke to the woman who was ready to take away the son she angrily spoke as follows :-- O King! When you have acted against my promise, my word is broken and my connection with you has stopped from to-day. Therefore I will take this son to the forest, where I will nourish him. I am Gangâ; to fulfil God's work I have come here. The high-souled Vas'istha cursed before the eight Vasus :-- “Better be born as men”; they became very anxious; and seeing me they prayed :-- “O Sinless one! let you be mother of us all.” O best of kings! I granted them what they desired; and then for the purpose of serving god's ends, I became your wife. Know this my history. The seven Vasus already were born and were freed; now this is the last Vasu and he will remain here for sometime as your son. O S’antanu! now take this son offered by Gangâ. Know this to be the Deva Vasu and enjoy the pleasure of having a son. O highly fortunate one! This son will be famous by the name of Gângeya (Gangâ's son) and will be the most powerful of all. O King! To-day I will take this son to the place where I chose you as my husband; I will nourish him and when he attains his youth, I will return him to you. For, this son, if deprived of mother, will not be happy nor will he live.” Thus saying, Gangâ vanished with the son; the King S’antanu became very sorrowful and passed away his time in his palace. The king thought always of the separation from his wife and son and thus painfully governed his kingdom.

47-69. Thus some time passed on, when, once on an occasion, the king S’antanu went out a hunting and killed, with arrows, buffaloes, boar, and other wild animals and came to the banks of the Ganges. Here he saw with great wonder that a boy was playing with a great bow and was shooting arrows after arrows. The king's attention was more attracted towards the boy, but whether that boy was his or not, did not at all come to his mind. Looking at his extraordinary feats, his agility in shooting arrows with ease and quickness, his learning that can have no equal and his beautiful form, as if of Cupid, he became greatly surprised and asked him :-- “O Sinless one! whose son are you?” The hero boy did not reply anything but went away shooting his arrows. The king thought within himself “Who is this boy? Whose son is he? What to do now? To whom

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shall I go now?” Thus pondering, he recollected within himself and began to recite verses in praise of Gangâ; Gangâ, assuming her beautiful form as before, became visible to the king. Seeing her, the king said :-- “O Gangâ! Who is this boy that has just gone? Will you show him once more to me now?” Hearing these words of S’antanu, Gangâ said :-- “O king of kings! He is your son, he is that eighth Vasu. So long I have nourished him and now I hand him over to you. O Suvrata! This is the great ascetic Gângeya. He is the illustrious scion of your family. The glory of your line will be enhanced. I have taught him the whole science of archery. This pure son of yours dwelt in the hermitage of Vas'istha and has become versed in all the Vidyâs and skilled in all the actions. Your this son knows everything that Jamadgni Paras'urâm knew. So, O king of kings! Take now your son and be happy. Thus saying, Gangâ gave him his son and vanished; the king also became very glad and embraced his son; he smelled his head and took him to his chariot and drove towards his own city. On returning to Hastinâpur, the king held a great festival (utsab) in honor of the arrival of his son; he called all his astrologers and enquired what day was auspicious. He then called all his subjects and ministers and installed Gângeya as the Crown Prince. The religious S’antanu became very happy on making Gângeya, the Crown Prince; he forgot the pains due to Gangâ's bereavement. Sûta said :-- “Thus I have described to you the cause of the curse on Vasus, the birth of Bhîsma from the womb of Gangâ, the union of Gangâ and S’antanu, etc., He who hears in this world this holy story of Gangâ's birth and the birth of the Vasu, is freed of all sins and gets mukti. O Munis! I have described these meritorious holy accounts, as I heard from the mouth of Vyâsa. Any body who hears this holy S’rîmad Bhâgavatam, endowed with five characteristics and filled with various anecdotes, that came out of the mouth of Vyâsa, finds all his sins destroyed and attains peace and blessedness. O Munis! Thus has been described completely to you this holy history.

Thus ends the fourth Chapter on the birth of the Vasus in the Mahâpurâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Second Book: Chapter 5

THE SECOND BOOK

Chapter V

On the marriage of Satyavatî

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1-20. The Risis said :-- “O son of Lomaharsana, O Sûta; you have described to us how the eight Vasus, cursed by Vas'istha, took their birth and how Bhîsma was born. O knower of Dharma! Now describe to us in detail how the greatly religious king S’antanu married the auspicious Yojanagandhâ, the chaste Satyavatî, the mother of Vyâsa,

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knowing full well that she was a fisherman's daughter? O Suvrata! Remove our this doubt. Sûta then said :-- The sage king S’antanu always used to go to forests on hunting expeditions, with his heart addicted to hunting buffaloes, deer and various other wild animals.

Thus, for four years that king went out a hunting, with his son Bhîsma, deer and other wild animals and got the highest happiness as Mahâdeva finds in company with Kârtikeya. Once, on an occasion, while he was shooting arrows at rhinoceros and boar, etc., he went so far as to reach a forest on the banks of the Yamunâ, the chief of the rivers. There he began to smell an excellent nice smell that could not be described in words; he tried to find out the source and wandered here and there, and on all sides of the forest; and thought that this enchanting smell was not that of Mandâra flowers, musk, champaka nor that of Mâlatî nor that of Ketaki flower; the air was blowing saturated with peculiar fragrant smell that he never experienced before. Thus thinking of that smell, the king S’antanu, being enchanted with that, followed to its source in that forest. At last he came to a spot on the banks of the Yamunâ the chief of the rivers, where a very beautiful girl, calm and quiet and with feminine gestures and posture amorous, lovely but ill-clad, was sitting; and he found out that the above beautiful smell was coming out of her body. The form of the lady was extremely beautiful; the smell was very wonderful, and captivating the hearts of all; her age then entered to youth and she was very auspicious. The king was greatly surprised and was eager to know who the lady was; whence she had come; whether she was a Deva girl, or a human or a Gandarbha daughter or a Nâga daughter? But, being unable to come to a definite conclusion and becoming passionate, he remembered Gangâ and asked that lady sitting on the bank of the Yumnâ, thus :-- “O dear! Who are you? Whose daughter are you? Why are you alone in this lovely forest? O beautiful eyed! Are you married? Or are you as yet unmarried? So answer to all these. O lovely eyed one!  Seeing your lovely enchanting form I am become extremely passionate. So, O dear! Describe in detail to me, who are you? and what do you intend to do?” When the king spoke thus the lotus eyed nice-teethed lady replied as follows :-- “O king! Know me as a fisherman's daughter and I am completely under my father's command. O king of kings! For Dharma's sake I carry ferry across this Yumnâ river. My father has gone to-day to our house. O Master of wealth! Thus I have spoken truth to you.” Thus saying the lady desisted; the passionate king then spoke to her :-- “I am the foremost hero of the Kuru family; so choose me as your husband; then your this youth will not go in vain.

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21-32. O fawn-eyed one! I have no other wife existing; so you will be my legal wife. O Dear! Passion is giving much pains to me; therefore I am now become your obedient servant for ever. O Beloved! My former dear wife has abandoned me and gone away; but I have not married since then. Now seeing you beautiful, in all respects, I cannot bring my mind under control.”

Hearing these nectar-like beautiful words of the king, the sweet scented fisherman's daughter, though also turned extremely passionate, held patience and exclaimed :-- “O king! I also desire that which you have expressed; I am of opinion to act according to your wishes. But, what am I to do? I am not dependent. You are to know this. My father alone can give me in marriage to you. So better ask my father for me. Though I am a fisherman's daughter, still I am not wanton and wilful. I am always obedient to my father; if my father wills, you can marry me. And I will be obedient to you. O king! The god of love is tormenting me, who is endowed with youth; he does not torment you so much. Still I must regard my family manners and customs coming down from ancient times. I must hold my patience.” Sûta said :-- Thus passionately pleased with these fascinating words of the lady, the king went to the fisherman's house for the lady. Seeing the king coming, the fisherman was greatly bewildered and astonished and bowed down with great devotion and said :-- “O King! I am Thy servant. I am blessed by Thy presence. O great King! Now be graciously pleased to order me the cause of Thy arrival.” Hearing the fisherman's words, the King said :-- “O sinless one! This I tell you truly that if you give me your daughter in marriage I will certainly make her my legal wife.” The fisherman replied :-- “O king! What must be given ever, how can I say that is not to be given. Therefore if Thou askest for my daughter, I will certainly give her to Thee. But, O great King! Thou wilt have to make her son, the king of Thy kingdom; no other son of Thine could be king, after Thy absence.”

33-40. Hearing these words of the fisherman, the king S’antanu became very anxious. He remembered Gângeya and could not speak anything. He, being sick with love anxiously returned home; but he abandoned bathing, fooding, sleeping, etc. At this, the son Gângeya Bhîsma whose vow was equal to that of the gods, marking that the king was being troubled with some thought, went to him and asked why he was anxious :-- “O king! Say truly what is your anxiety; who is your enemy that is not conquered; whom do you went to bring under your control? O king! What use is there of having a son who does

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not understand the difficulties of his father, or does not try to remove these difficulties. A son can be called really the son, who is born to repay the debts incurred by him in previous births; there is no manner of discussion in this. See, Raghu's son Dâsarathî Râm abandoned his kingdom under the orders of his father and repaired to Chitrakûta forest with his brother Laksman and wife Sîtâ. The son of king Haris Chandra, Rohîta, ready to repay the debt of his father and sold by his father, worked as a servant at a Brâhmana's house. So the famous S’unahs'ephah, sold by his high souled father Ajigarta was tied for sacrifice in a sacrificial post; but he was afterwards freed by the Gâdhi's son Vis'vâmitra.

41-59. It is well known that, in ancient days, the Jamadagni's son Paras'urâm cut off his mother's head under the orders of his father. He considered the father's words more important, and hence could do such an unjust act. O king! This my body is at your disposal; I can certainly do what you order me to do. So say what am I to do? as long as I am living, you need not express any sorrow; if you permit, I will do what is even hardly practicable to do. O king! Say why you are anxious; I will remove that at once with this bow in my hand. If my body goes in carrying your mandate know that your desire will be fructified. Fie to that son, who, being capable, is averse to do what his father desires! What use is there in having a son who does not remove the cause of his father's anxiety? Hearing the words of the son, the king S’antanu felt much ashamed in his heart and said :-- “O son! This is now my gravest care that you are my only son; besides you are a hero very powerful, honoured and never showing your back in battles; therefore, if, out of ill-luck you become dead in some battlefield, I will become issueless; under such circumstances what am I to do? So, O son! My life is fruitless when I have got only one son; this is my gravest care; therefore I am sorry. O son! I have no other cares that I can mention to you.” Hearing these words of the father, Gângeya called the old ministers and said that the king was too ashamed to speak out to me the real matter; so I ask you all to know exactly the king's cares and communicate them to me as they are; I can carry them out, without any hitch, then. At these Bhîsma's words, the ministers went to the king, and learned the true cause, and spoke to Bhîsma; learning this, he began to think what ought to be done.

The Gangâ's son Bhîsma, then, accompanied by the ministers, quickly went to the house of the fisherman, and with words of humility and affection, spoke :-- “O tormentor of foes! I pray to you to give your beautiful daughter in marriage to my father. Your daughter will

be my mother and I will be her servant.” The fisherman, then, said :-- “O highly lucky prince! Then the king's son will not be able to become king, in your presence; so kindly marry yourself my daughter.” At this Bhisma again said :-- Let your daughter be my mother; I will never accept the kingdom. The son of your daughter will, no doubt, become king. The fisherman said :-- “I know your words are true; but if your son be powerful, he can take forcibly the kingdom for himself.” At this Bhîsma again said :-- “O Sire! Know my words as true; I will never marry; from to-day I have accepted this difficult vow.” Sûta said :-- Hearing this firm resolve of Bhîsma; the fisherman gave over his beautiful daughter to the king S’antanu. Thus S’antanu married the dear Satyavatî; but he was quite unaware of the wonderful birth of Vyâsa Deva.

Thus ends the fifth Chapter of the second Skandha on the marriage of Satyavatî in the Mahâpurâna S’rîmad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Second Book: Chapter 6

THE SECOND BOOK

Chapter VI

On the birth of the Pândavas

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1-12. Sûta said :—Thus S’antanu married Satyavatî; two sons were born to her and they died in course of time. Out of Vyâsa Deva's semen, Dhritarâstra was born. Ambikâ Devî, the mother of Dhritarâstra closed her eyes on seeing Veda Vyâsa; hence Dhritarâstra was born blind. Seeing Dhritarâstra blind Satyavatî asked Vyâsa to go to Ambâlikâ (Pându's mother); the princess Ambâlikâ, mother of Pându turned pale at the sight of Vyâsa; hence her son became of a pale colour out of Vyâsa's wrath. Hence the name of the son was Pându. Next the maid servant, expert in the science of amorous pleasures, satisfied Vyâsa; hence her son Vidura was born of Dharma's part and became truthful and holy. Though Pându was younger, the ministers installed him on the throne. Dhritarâstra could not become king, as he was blind. By the permission of Bhîsma the powerful Pându obtained the sovereignty; and the intelligent Vidura became his minister. Dhritarâstra had two wives Gândhâri and Sauvali; this Sauvali was Vaishyâ; she was engaged in the household affairs. The king Pându had two wives, too; the first was Kunti, the daughter of Sûrasena; and the other was Mâdri, the daughter of the Madra king. Gândhâri gave birth to one hundred beautiful sons; Vais'yâ Sauvali gave birth to one beautiful son named Yuyutsu. While Kunti was a virgin, she gave birth, through the medium of the Sun, the lovely Karna; next he became the wife of Pându. Hearing this, the Risis said :-- “O Muni Sûta! What are you saying ? First Kunti brought forth a child and afterwards she was married to Pându; this

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is wonderful, indeed! How was Karna, born of Kunti, unmarried? and how came Kunti to be married afterwards? describe all these in detail.”

13-35. Sûta then said :-- “O Dvija! While Sûrasena's daughter Kunti was a virgin girl, the king Kuntibhoja asked for Kunti that she might become her girl and Sûrasena gave her to the king Kuntibhoja who brought up this beautifully smiling girl. He put to her the service of Agni of Agnihotra. Once, on an occassion, Durvâsâ Muni, engaged in the vow, lasting for four months, came there; Kunti served him during that period; the Muni became greatly pleased and gave her a very auspicious, mantra, by virtue of which any Deva, when called upon by that mantra will come to Kunti and satisfy her desires. When the Muni went away, Kunti, remaining in her house, wanted to test the accuracy of the mantra and asked within herself  “What Devatâ to call upon.” Seeing the God Sûrya had arisen in the sky, Kunti uttered the Mantra and invoked him. The Sun, then, assuming an excellent human form, came down from the Heavens and appeared before Kunti in the same room. Seeing the Deva Sun, Kunti became greatly surprised and began to shudder and instantly became endowed with the inherent natural quality of passion (had menstruation). The beautiful-eyed Kunti, with folded palm; spoke to Sûrya Deva standing before :-- “I am highly pleased to-day seeing Thy form; now go back to Thy sphere.”

Sûrya Deva said :-- “O Kunti! What for you called me, by virtue of the Mantra? Calling me, why do you not worship me, standing before you? O beautiful blue one! Seeing you, I have become passionate; so come to me. By means of the mantra, you have made me your subservient so take me for intercourse.” Hearing this, Kunti said :-- “O Witness of all! O knower of Dharma! You know that I am a virgin girl. O Suvrata! I bow down to you; I am a family daughter; so do not speak ill to me.” Sûrya then said :-- “If I go away in vain, I will be an object of great shame, and, no doubt, will be laughed amongst the gods; So, O Kunti! If you do not satisfy me, I will immediately curse you and the Brâhmin who has given you this mantra. O Beautiful one! If you satisfy me, your virginity will remain; no body will come to know and there will be born a son to you, exactly like me.” Thus saying Sûrya Deva enjoyed the bashful Kunti, with her mind attracted towards him; He granted her the desired boons and went away. The beautiful Kunti became pregnant and began to remain in a house, under great secrecy. Only the dear nurse knew that; her mother or any other person was quite unaware of the fact. In time, a very beautiful son like the second Sun and Kârtikeya, decked with a lovely Kavacha coat of mail and two ear-rings, was born there. Then the nurse caught hold

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of the hand of the bashful Kunti and said :-- “O Charming one! What care can you possibly have as            long as I am living.” Kunti then, placed the son in a box and said :-- “O son! What shall I do? Being afraid of shame, I am leaving you, though you are dear to me as my life itself! I am exceedingly fortunate that I am casting aside this all auspicious son. May the attributeless Bhâgavatî Ambikâ, the World Mother and the Lady of all, endowed with attributes, protect Thee! May Kâtyâyani, the giver of all desires, feed you with Her milk! Alas! I am quitting you, born of Sûrya’s semen in this solitary forest like a vitiated wanton woman. I do not know, when shall I see your lotus like beautiful face, dearest to me like my self. Alas! I never worshipped in my former birth S’ivânî, the mother of the three worlds; I never meditated Her lotus like feet, the Giver of all happiness; hence I am so very unfortunate. O Dear son! I must perform great tapasyâ to expiate for this terrible sin, that I knowingly commit in relinquishing you in the forest.”

36-48. Sûta said :-- Thus saying to the son within the casket, Kunti gave over that to the hands of her nurse, terrified, lest some one might see her. Kunti then bathed and remained with a fearful heart in her father's house. A carpenter (charioteer?) named Adhiratha got accidentally that casket floating in the Ganges. The carpenter's wife Râdhâ, prayed for the son and nourished him under her care. Thus nourished in the carpenter's house, the famous Kunti's son Karna became a very powerful warrior. The king Pându then married Kunti in a Svayamvara, a marriage in which the girl chooses her husband from among a number of suitors, assembled together. And the all auspicious daughter of the king of Madra became also the second wife of Pându. Once, on an occasion, the powerful Pându, while hunting in the forest killed a Muni, in the form of a deer, engaged in the act of co-habitation, thinking it to be a deer. The dying Muni became inflated with wrath, cursed Pându :-- “If you co-habit, certainly you will die.” Thus cursed by the Muni, Pându became very sorrowful and abandoned his kingdom and began to live in the forest. O Munis! His two wives Kuntî and Mâdrî, followed their husband as chaste women do, to serve him in the forest. Dwelling in the hermitage of the Munis, Pându listened to the Dharma S’âstras and practised severe penance. Once while he was listening to the religious discourses of the Munis, he heard unmistakeably the Munis telling that the man who is sonless can never go to the Heavens; so he must get a son somehow or other. The Pundits declare that the sons born of the father's semen, the sons born of their daughters, the Ksettraja, the Goloka, the Kunda, the Sahoda, the Kânîna, the Krîta, one obtained in the forest, or one offered by another father, unable to

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nourish his son, all are entitled to inherit the wealth of the father; but the sons, enumerated successively are more and more inferior.

N.B.: Ksettraja - of a son, the off spring of the wife by a kinsman appointed to procreate issue to the husband.

Goloka - Bastard child of a widow.

Kunda - a child born in adultery.

Sahoda - the son of a woman pregnant at the time of marriage.

Kânîna - the son born of a young and unmarried woman.

Krîta - purchased

49-52. Hearing this, Pându spoke to the lotus-eyed Kunti to procreate sons for him soon by a great ascetic Muni :-- “By my order, you will not incur any sin in doing this. I heard that in ancient times the high souled kin Saudâsa got son from Vas'istha.” Kunti, then spoke to the king :-- “O Lord! I know one Siddha mantra; it was given to me before by the Muni Durvâsâ. Whichever Devatâ I will invoke by that Mantra, he will instantly come to my side, controlled by that Mantra.”

53-71. At the request of the husband, Kuntî invoked Dharma, the best of the Devas; and after being impregnated by him, gave birth to Yudhisthira. Then she got through Pavana Deva, the son Vrikodara; and through Indra the Lord of the Devas, Arjuna. Thus, in every year, Kunti gave birth to one son and so in three years she gave birth to three very powerful and mighty sons. At this Màdri spoke to her husband :-- “O king, the best of the Kurus! What shall I do now? Kindly suggest to me the means of procreating sons; O Lord, remove my pain.” Pându asked Kunti for this; Kunti, moved with pity, gave her the mantra, so that she might get one son. Then the beautiful Mâdrî, invoked the twin As'vin under the advice of her husband and got a pair of twins Nakula and Sahadeva through them. O Munis! Thus five Pândavas were born successively in every following year to the wives of Pându by the seed of the Devas. Once on a time Pându, whose end was drawing nigh became very passionate at the sight of Mâdrî in that solitary hermitage. He, though forbidden repeatedly by Mâdri, warmly embraced her, as if dictated by the great destroyer, and fell to the ground. As the creeper falls down when the tree is felled, so Mâdrî dropped on the ground and began to cry violently. Having heard the wailings of Mâdrî, Kunti and the five sons of Pându came there weeping and crying; a tumult then ensued and the great Munis also appeared on the scene. Then those Munis, practising great vows, knew that Pàndu was dead and performed duly, on the banks of the Ganges, the ceremony of burning the dead.

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At that time Mâdri gave over to Kunti the charge of her two sons and followed the Satî practice along with her husband to go to Satyaloka.

The Munis, then, performed Tarpana ceremonies in honour of Pându and Mâdri and took Kunti and the five sons to Hastinâpur. Knowing that Kunti has come, Bhîsma, Vidura and the relatives of Dhritarâstra within the city, all came to Kunti. They all asked Kunti :-- “O beautiful one! Whose are these five sons?” Kunti, then, remembered the curse on Pându and sorrowfully expressed :-- “ These are the Deva's sons born in Kuru family.” In order to convince the people assembled there, Kunti invoked the Devas who came in the celestial space above and said :-- “Yes, these are the sons born of our seeds.” Bhîsma, then, paid respect to the words of the Devas and honoured duly the boys. Bhîsma then took the five sons and Pându's wife to Hastinâ and gladly nourished them. O Munis! The sons of Prithâ were thus born and nourished by Bhîsma.

Thus ends the sixth chapter of the second Adhyâya on the birth of the Pândavas in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Second Book: Chapter 7

THE SECOND BOOK

Chapter VII

On shewing the departed ones

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Sûta said :--  The chaste Draupadi was the common wife of all the five very beautiful sons of Kunti; and she bore five sons, one to every husband. Arjuna had one wife more; she was Subhadrâ, the sister of S’rî Krisna. By the order of S’rî Krisna, Arjuna stole her away (took her by force). The great hero Abhimanyu was born of Subhadrâ. This Abhimanyu and the five sons of Draupadi were killed in battle. Abhimanyu's wife Uttarâ was the charming daughter of the king Virât. She gave birth to one dead child, after all the boys, the descendants of the family were extinct. The above child died out of the arrows of As'vatthâmâ. The extraordinarily powerful S’rî Krisna Himself made alive again this his sister's dead grandson. As this son was born after the family had become extinct, he became known in the world by the name of Parîksit. When the sons were all destroyed, Dhritarâstra became very sorry, and, tormented by the arrow-like words of Bhîma, remained in the kingdom of the Pândavas. Gândharî, too, exceedingly distressed on the bereavement of the sons, remained there also. Yudhisthira, day and night, served Dhritarâstra and Gândhâri. The greatly religious Vidura always used to console, by the advice of Yudhisthira, his brother Dhritarâstra, who possessed the eye of wisdom and he remained by his brother's side. Dharma`s son Yudhisthira used to serve his uncle Dhritarâstra in such a way as he might forget the pain of the death of his sons. But Bhîma used to pierce his heart by

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his arrow-like words that he pronounced so loud as to reach the ears of the old king Dhritarâstra. Bhîma used to-say :-- “In the battle field I killed all the sons, of the wicked blind king (Dhritarâstra) and it was I that sucked well and drunk, full to the brim, the blood of the heart of Duhs'âsana. Now this blind king eats shamelessly like a crow and a dog, the mass of food (Pinda) given by me, and thus is bearing uselessly the burden of life. Daily Bhîma used to tell, thus, harsh words to him; whereas the religious Yudhîsthira used to console him, saying “Bhîma is a quite illiterate brute” and so forth. The king Dhritarâstra remained there with a grieved heart for eighteen years; the one day he proposed to the Dharma's son Yudhîsthira about his intention to dwell in forest thus :-- “To-day I wish to perform Tarpanas in the names my sons. True it is, that Bhîma performed the funeral obsequies of them all; but, having in view of the former enmity, he did not do anything for my sons. If you give me some money, I will, then, perform the funeral obsequies of my sons and then retire to the forest to perform tapasyâ that I can go to Heaven.” Vidura also asked Yudhîsthira privately pay to Dhritarâshtra the sum that he wanted; Yudhîsthira also intended to pay the required money. Then Yudhîsthira, the lord of the world call his younger brothers and addressed them as follows :-- “O highly fortunate ones! Our revered uncle is desirous to perform the funeral obsequies of his sons; so we will have to give him some money for the purpose.” Hearing these words of his elder brother of indomitable valour, Pavana's son, the mighty armed Bhîma became very angry and spoke out follows :-- “O highly lucky one! Is it that we will have to give wealth for the spiritual benefit of Duryodhana and others? What a great stupidity can there be than the fact that such a malevolent blind king is deriving so great happiness at your hands? O Ârya! It is by your bad counsel that we suffered endless troubles in the forest and the extremely good Draupadi was brought before the public in the hall by Duhs'âsana. O one of good vows! It is for your satisfaction alone that we, though we were very mighty, had to remain in the house of Matsya Râj Virât as servants. Had you not been our elder brother and not been addicted to the gambling, would it have been possible I, who killed Jarâsandha, would have been a cook to Virât Râj! Never we had been put to so great a trouble! Never would the mighty armed Arjuna, the Vâsava's son, have acted the part of an actress (a dancer), dressing himself in a female garb, under the name Vrihannalâ. Alas! What more painful could there be by assuming a human birth that the hands of Arjuna, that wielded always the Gândîva bow, would have worn bracelets befitting a woman? I would have been happy then

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had I, seeing the braid of hair on Arjuna's head and the collyrium in his eyes, cut off the head of Dhritarâstra!

O Lord of the earth! Without asking you, I set fire on the house, named Jatugriha (a lac-house, as built by Duryodhana in order to burn up the Pândavas) and therefore the vicious Virochana, who wanted to burn us, was himself burnt up. Again, O Lord of men! similarly, without asking you, I slew Kichaka; this is now the one thing I regret that I could not have killed in the same way the sons of Dhritarâstra before the public hall. O king of kings! It was simply your stupidity that you liberated Duryodhana and other sons, the great enemies of the Gandarbhas, when they had been imprisoned by them. Again to-day you are willing to give wealth for the spiritual benefit of those Duryodhana and others! But, O Lord of the earth, I would never give wealth, even if you request me specially to do this.

Thus saying, Bhîma went away. Dharma's son Yudhisthira then consulted with the other three brothers and gave abundance of wealth to Dhritarâstra. With this sum, the Ambikâ's son Dhritarâstra duly performed the Srâdh ceremony of his sons and gave away lots of things to the Brâhmanas. The king Dhritarâstra, thus performing all the funeral obsequies, became ready to go early to the forest with Gândhârî, Kunti and Vidura. By the help of Sanjaya, the highly intelligent Dhritarâstra became informed of the roads of the forest, and then went out of the house. Sûrasena's daughter Kunti, though stopped by her sons, followed them. Bhîma and other Kauravas went along with them weeping up to the banks of the Ganges and thence returned to Hastinâpura.

The ascetics went to the auspicious S’atayûpa hermitage on the banks of the Ganges and building a hut practised tapasyâ with their hearts concentrated. Thus six years elapsed when Yudhisthira, troubled by their bereavements, said to his younger brothers :-- “ I dreamt that our mother Kunti got very lean and thin. Now my mind wants bitterly to see mother, uncle, aunt, the high souled Vidura and the highly intelligent Sanjaya. If you approve, I want to go to there.” Then the five brothers, Pându's sons, became desirous to see Kunti, and taking with them Draupadî, Subhadrâ, Uttarâ, and other persons went to the Satayûpa hermitage and saw the persons there; but not seeing Vidura, Yudhisthira asked :-- “Where is Vidura?” Hearing this Dhritarâstra said :-- “Vidura has taken up Vairâgyam (dispassion) and has gone alone to a solitary place and is meditating in his heart the eternal Brahmâ.” Next day while the king Yudhisthira was walking along the banks of the Ganges, he saw in the forest Vidura, engaged in his vow and become lean and thin by his tapasyâ; he then exclaimed :-- “I am the king Yudhisthira;

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I am saluting you.” The holy Vidura heard and remained motionless like a log of wood. Within an instant a wonderful halo came out of Vidura's face and entered the mouth of Yudhisthira, both of them being Dharma's parts. Vidura then died; Yudhisthira expressed great sorrow. When the Vidura's body was going to be set on fire, a celestial voice was heard :--“O king! He was very wise; so he ought not to be burnt; you can go away as you like.” Hearing this, Yudhisthira bathed in the pure Ganges and returned to the As'rama and informed everything in detail to Dhritarâstra. While the Pândavas were staying in the hermitage with the other inhabitants of the city, Vedavyâsa, Nârada, and other high-souled Munis came there to Yudhisthira. Kunti then spoke to the auspicious Vyâsa :-- “O Krisna! I saw my son Karna, only just when he was born; my mind is being very much tormented for him; so, O great ascetic! Show him once to me. O highly fortunate One! You alone can do this; so O Lord! Satisfy my heart’s desire.” Gândhârî said :-- “O Muni! I did not see while Duryodhan went to battle; so, O Muni! Show me Duryodhana with his younger brothers.” Subhadrâ said :-- “O Omniscient one! I want very much to see the great hero Abhimanyu, dearer to me than my life even; O great ascetic! Show him once to me.” (33-57.)

Sûta said :-- Satyavatî's son Vyâsa Deva, hearing their words, held Prânâyama (deep breathing exercise) and meditated on the eternal Devî, the force of Brahmâ. When the evening time came, the Muni invited Yudhisthira and all others to the banks of the Ganges. He then bathed in the Ganges and began to chant hymns in praise of the Devî Brahmâmayî Prakriti, resting on the Purusa, the Dweller in the Mani Dvîpa, with attributes, at the same time transcending them, thus :-- “O Devî! When Brahmâ was not, Visnu was not, Mahes'vara was not, nor when existing lndra, Varuna, Kuvera, Yama, and Agnî, Thou alone existed then; my salutation to Thee.

When there existed not water, Vâyu, ether, earth and their Gunas, taste, smell, etc., when there were no senses, mind, Buddhi, Ahamkâra; when there existed no Sun, Moon nor anything, Thou alone existed then; so, O Devî! I bow down again and again to Thee. O Mother! Thou holdest all these visible Jîva lokas in the cosmic Hiranyagarbha; again Thou bringest this Hiranyagarbha, the sum-total of Linga Sarîras (the subtle bodies), with the Gunas Sattva, Rajas and Tamas to a state of equilibrium named Sâmyâvasthâ and remainest quite independent and apart for a Kalpa period. At that time even those that are possessed of the power of great discrimination and dispassion cannot fathom Thy nature. O Mother! These persons are praying to me to see their dead

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ones; but I am quite incapable to do that. So kindly shew them their departed ones early.” While Vyâsa praised thus the Devî, the Devî Mahâmâyâ, the Lady of the Universe, of the nature of Universal Consciousness called all the departed ones from the Heavens and showed them to their relatives. Then Kunti, Gândhârî, Subhadrâ, Uttarâ, and the Pandavas became very glad to see their relatives come to them again. Vyâsa, of indomitable valour, again remembering Mahâmâyâ, bade good bye to the departed ones; it seemed then, a great magic had occurred. The Pandavas and the Munis bade good bye to each other and went to their respective places. The king Yudhisthira talked on the way about Vyâsa and ultimately came to Hastinâ. (58-68.)

Thus ends the seventh chapter of the Second Skandha on shewing the departed ones in the Mahâpurânam S’rî Mad Devî Bhâgavatam of 18,000 verses.

The Devi Bhagavatam: The Second Book: Chapter 8