Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (12 page)

Vaishampayana said, ‘O protector of the earth! Then those heroes, with the others,
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lived here and there, and eventually arrived at the Naimisha forest. O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The Pandavas performed their ablutions at the sacred tirtha of Gomati and donated cattle and riches. The Kouravas repeatedly satisfied the gods, the ancestors and the brahmanas at Kanya tirtha, Ashva tirtha
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and Gava tirtha.
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O lord of the earth! After staying in Valakoti on Mount Vrishaprastha, all the Pandavas bathed in Bahuda. O lord of the earth! They offered sacrifices to the gods in Prayaga, the sacrificial ground of the gods. Devoted to the truth, they cleaned their bodies and performed supreme austerities at the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna. Having been cleansed of sin, those great-souled ones gave a lot of riches to brahmanas. O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Together with the brahmanas, those sons of Pandu then went to Prajapati’s
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altar, frequented by ascetics. The brave ones lived there, performing supreme austerities. They always satisfied the brahmanas with offerings obtained from the forest. They then went to Mahidhara, worshipped by rajarshi Gaya, unrivalled in radiance, learned in dharma and the performer of pure deeds. The lake Gayashira is there and the sacred Mahanadi. The extremely sacred and supreme Brahmasara
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is there, frequented by rishis. There the illustrious Agastya went to Vaivasvata.
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O
king! That is where eternal Dharma himself lived. O lord of the earth! All the rivers originate from there. That is where Mahadeva, the wielder of the
pinaka
, is always present.
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The great Akshayavata is there and the Pandavas performed
chaturmasya
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and the great sacrifice of the rishis there. Hundreds of brahmanas, rich in austerities, came there and performed the chaturmasya sacrifice in accordance with the rites laid down by the rishis. The learned brahmanas, learned in the Vedas and always devoted to austerities, talked about sacred accounts, while they were seated in the sacrificial ground of those great-souled ones.

‘O king! There was a brahmana named Shamatha. He was learned and immersed in vows and celibate. He spoke about Gaya, the son of Amurtarayas. “O descendant of the Bharata lineage!
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Gaya, the son of Amurtarayas, is supreme among rajarshis. Listen to me as I recount his virtuous deeds. O king! His sacrifice had a lot of food and a lot of stipends. There were mountains of food, in hundreds and thousands. There were several hundred rivers of ghee and curd. There were thousands of flows of rich condiments. O king! Day after day, they were given to those who asked for them. The brahmanas ate special food that was cooked well. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! When the time came for distributing gifts, the sound of the brahman rose up to heaven. Nothing could be heard but for the sound of the brahman. O king! The sacred sound travelled through the earth, the sky and the firmament and filled them and it was extraordinary. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Satisfied with the pure food and drink, men sung a verse that radiated in every region. ‘Who is there among beings who still wishes to eat at Gaya’s sacrifice? There are still twenty-five mountains of food left. No men earlier, nor men hereafter, will do what the immensely radiant rajarshi Gaya did at this sacrifice. The gods have been extremely satisfied by the offerings tendered by Gaya. They will never be able to accept anything offered by others.’
O descendant of the Kuru lineage! Many such verses were sung at the sacrifice of the great-souled one, near the banks of the lake.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Then King Kounteya, the giver of many gifts, departed. He went to Agastya’s hermitage and lived in Durjaya. The king asked Lomasha, supreme among eloquent ones, “Why was Vatapi immolated by Agastya here? What was the power of that daitya, killer of humans? What excited the anger of that great-souled one?”

‘Lomasha replied, “O descendant of the Kourava lineage! There was once a daitya named Ilvala. In earlier times, he lived in the city of Manimati and Vatapi was his younger brother. That son of Diti once spoke to a brahmana who had the power of austerities. ‘O illustrious one! Grant me a son who is Indra’s equal.’ Since the brahmana did not give him a son who was Vasava’s equal, the asura became extremely angry with the brahmana. If he
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summoned with his words anyone who had gone to Vaivasvata’s
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world, that person would regain his body and be seen to be alive. He changed the asura Vatapi and cooked him well. He fed this to the brahmana and summoned him
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back. O lord of the earth! O king! The great asura Vatapi smilingly ripped the brahmana’s side apart and emerged. O king! He thus fed brahmana
s
again and again. The evil-minded daitya Ilvala caused violence to them.

‘“At that time, the illustrious Agastya saw his ancestors hanging in a cave, with their faces downwards. He asked them, ‘Why are you hanging upside down like this?’ The ones learned in the nature of the brahman replied, ‘For the sake of offspring.’ They told him, ‘We are your ancestors. We have reached this cave and are hanging
upside down for the sake of offspring. O Agastya! If you give birth to excellent offspring for our sake, we will be freed from this hell. O son! You will also attain the supreme objective.’ The energetic one, always devoted to the dharma of truth, told them, ‘O forefathers! I will do what you desire. Remove the fever from your minds.’ Then the illustrious rishi began to think about offspring. He could not see a fit enough lady in whom he could procreate himself.
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He then chose those limbs from different beings that are regarded as unsurpassed. Collecting those limbs, he created a supreme woman. Having created her for himself, the immensely ascetic sage gave her to the king of Vidarbha, who was desirous of offspring.
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The immensely fortunate one was born there, as radiant as lightning. She grew and her face was beautiful, her body was handsome. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! As soon as she was born, on seeing her, the king of Vidarbha was delighted and announced this to the brahmanas. O lord of the earth! All those brahmanas blessed her. The brahmanas gave her the name of Lopamudra. O great king! She grew up and her beauty was supreme. She swiftly grew, like a lotus in the water, or the auspicious crest of a fire. O Indra among kings! When she attained her youth, one hundred maidens adorned with ornaments and one hundred female servants served the beautiful one, attending to her instructions. O lord! Surrounded by the one hundred female servants and in the midst of the one hundred maidens, that energetic maiden blazed like Rohini
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in the sky. When she attained her youth, though she was good in conduct and manners, no man asked for her hand, out of fear for the great-souled one.
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The truthful maiden surpassed the apsaras in her beauty. She satisfied her father and her relatives with her good conduct. On seeing that Vidarbha’s daughter was accomplished and had attained her youth, the father began to think in his mind, ‘To whom shall I give my daughter?’”’

‘Lomasha said, “When Agastya thought that she had become capable of leading a householder’s life, he went to Vidarbha, lord of the earth and said, ‘O king! I have decided to be a householder for the sake of a son. O lord of the earth! I am asking for Lopamudra. Bestow her on me.’ Having been thus addressed by the sage, the lord of the earth lost his senses. He was incapable of refusing and he was unwilling to give. The lord of the earth went to his wife and told her, ‘The maharshi is full of valour. If angered, the flames of his curse will consume us.’ At that time, on seeing the lord of the earth and his wife thus miserable, Lopamudra went to them and spoke these words. ‘O lord of the earth! You should not be miserable on my account. O father! Bestow me on Agastya and save yourself.’ O lord of the earth! On hearing his daughter’s words, the king bestowed Lopamudra, in accordance with the appropriate rites, on the great-souled Agastya.

‘“Having obtained Lopamudra as his wife, Agastya told her, ‘Throw away those expensive garments and ornaments.’ The long-eyed one’s thighs were like those of Rambha.
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The garments were beautiful to see, expensive and fine. But at that, she discarded them. She donned bark and skins and rags. The long-eyed one became an equal in her vows. On going to Gangadvara, together with the wife who was devoted to him, the illustrious one, supreme among rishis, undertook severe austerities. She then served her husband with love and respect. The illustrious Agastya also exhibited great affection towards his wife. O lord of the earth! Thus, a lot of time passed. One day, the illustrious rishi saw Lopamudra after a bath. She was radiant in her austerities. He was pleased with her servitude, her purity and her self-control. He was pleased with her loveliness and her beauty and summoned her for intercourse.

‘“Then the beautiful one joined her hands in salutation, and as if in shame, spoke these words of love to the illustrious one. ‘There is
no doubt that a husband marries a wife for the sake of offspring. O rishi! But you should act towards me in accordance with the love I bear towards you. O brahmana! You should come to me on a bed like the bed in my father’s house, in his palace. I desire that you should be garlanded and adorned in ornaments. I wish to be adorned in divine ornaments that please me.’ Agastya replied, ‘O Lopamudra! O one with the beautiful waist! O fortunate one! I do not possess riches that are equal to those of your father.’ Lopamudra said, ‘O great lord! In an instant, through your austerities, you can bring all the riches that can be found in the world of the living.’ Agastya replied, ‘What you say is true. But that will fritter away my austerities. Ask me to do that which will not waste my austerities.’ Lopamudra said, ‘O one rich in austerities! Only a little bit of my season is left. I do not wish to come to you in any other way. O one rich in austerities! I do not wish your dharma to be destroyed in any way. You should therefore do what I desire, while taking care of that.’ Agastya replied, ‘O fortunate one! O beautiful one! Your mind has decided in accordance with your desire. I will go. Stay here according to your wishes.’”’

‘Lomasha said, “O Kouravya! Knowing that King Shrutarvana had riches greater than those of any other king, Agastya went to him to beg for riches. Having heard of the arrival of the one who had been born in a pot,
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the king went out with his advisers to the borders of his kingdom, to receive him with great respect. After having offered gifts to the guest in the prescribed manner, the king joined his hands in salutation and respectfully asked him about the reason
for his arrival. Agastya said, ‘O lord of the earth! Know that I have come to you for riches. According to your capacity, give me a share, without taking away from others.’ Giving him a complete account of his income and expenditure, the king replied, ‘Now that you know, take from me whatever riches you desire.’ The brahmana looked on both sides impartially. On seeing that the income was equal to the expenditure, he thought that if he took anything away, he would cause oppression to beings.

‘“Therefore, taking Shrutarvana with him, he went to Vadhryashva. He received them at the borders of his kingdom, in accordance with the prescribed rites. Vadhryashva offered them the gifts due to guests and water for washing the feet, and with their permission, asked them the reason for their arrival. Agastya said, ‘O lord of the earth! Know that we have come to you with a desire for riches. According to your capacity, give us a share, without taking away from others.’ Then the king gave them a complete account of his income and expenditure and said, ‘Now that you know, take whatever is left.’ The brahmana looked on both sides impartially. On seeing that the income was equal to the expenditure, he thought that if he took anything away, he would cause oppression to beings. Then the three of them—Agastya, Shrutarvana and King Vadhryashva—went to Purukutsa’s son Trasadasyu, the possessor of great riches. O great king! On hearing of their arrival, Trasadasyu received them, together with his mounts, at the borders of his kingdom, in the prescribed manner. The supreme of kings from the Ikshvaku lineage showed them his respects in the appropriate fashion. When they were comfortable, he asked them the reason for their arrival. Agastya said, ‘O lord of the earth! Know that we have come to you with a desire for riches. According to your capacity, give us a share, without taking away from others.’ The king gave them a complete account of his income and expenditure and said, ‘Now that you know, take whatever is left.’ The brahmana looked on both sides impartially. On seeing that the income was equal to the expenditure, he thought that if he took anything away, he would cause oppression to beings. O great king! Then all those kings looked at one another. Together, they spoke to the great sage, ‘O brahmana!
There is a rich danava named Ilvala on earth. Let us all go to him now and ask for riches.’ O king! The thought of asking riches from Ilvala seemed to them to be a proper one. So they went to Ilvala together.”’

‘Lomasha said, “Having heard that the maharshi had arrived with the kings at the borders of his kingdom, Ilvala went out with his advisers, to show them his respects. O Kouravya! The best of asuras offered them his hospitality. He then cooked his brother Vatapi well. On seeing that the great asura Vatapi had been cooked as meat, all the rajarshis were miserable and lost their senses. But Agastya, supreme among rishis, told the rajarshis, ‘You should not act out of despondence. I will eat up the great asura.’ Then the great rishi seated himself on the best seat. Ilvala, king of the daityas, smilingly served him. Agastya then ate up all of Vatapi. When the eating was over, the asura Ilvala summoned him.
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O son! But the great-souled Agastya only belched.
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On seeing that the great asura had been digested, Ilvala was distressed. He joined his hands in salutation, and together with his advisers, asked, ‘Why have you come? Tell me what I can do for you.’ At that, Agastya smiled and replied, ‘O asura! We know your powers and that you are the lord of all riches. These ones are not that rich and my need for riches is great. Give us a share according to your capacity, but without taking away from others.’ At that, Ilvala bowed in obeisance before the rishi and told him, ‘If you know what I intend to give you, I will give you those riches.’ Agastya replied, ‘O asura! You intend to give the kings ten thousand cows each. O great asura! You wish to give them that much of gold. You wish to give me twice that much and a golden
chariot. O great asura! You wish to give me two steeds with the speed of thought. Go and ask and you will find that the chariot is made of gold.’ O Kounteya! On asking, it was found that the chariot was indeed made of gold. Miserably, the daitya gave them a lot of riches. The horses Vivaja and Suvaja were yoked to the chariot. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In the twinkling of an eye, all those riches were carried to Agastya’s hermitage.