Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (43 page)

Vaishampayana said, ‘The rishis and the Pandavas again asked Markandeya, “Is there anyone who has a longer life than you?”

‘He told them, “Yes, there is a rajarshi named Indradyumna. When his merits were exhausted, he fell down from heaven, exclaiming, ‘My deeds have been lost.’
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He came to me and asked me whether
I knew him. I told him, ‘We are not chemists.
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We pursue our goals by tormenting our bodies and minds. We do not perform acts for the sake of wealth. There is an owl in the Himalayas by the name of Prakarakarna. He may know you.’ But the Himalayas where he lives, is a long distance away from here. He became a horse and carried me to the place where the owl was. Then the rajarshi asked it, ‘Do you know me?’ It reflected for some time and then said, ‘No. I do not know you.’ Hearing these words, rajarshi Indradyumna again spoke to the owl. ‘Is there anyone who has a longer life than you?’ The owl replied, ‘There is a lake by the name of Indradyumna. A crane named Nadijangha lives there and he is older than we are.
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Ask him.’ Indradyumna then took me and the owl to the lake where the crane named Nadijangha lived. We asked it, ‘Do you know the king named Indradyumna?’ It thought for a while and replied, ‘No. I do not know King Indradyumna.’ We asked it, ‘Is there anyone who has had a longer life than you?’ It replied, ‘There is a tortoise named Akupura who lives in this lake. He is older than I am.’ We replied, ‘Perhaps he knows about this king. Let us ask Akupura.’ The crane then spoke to the tortoise Akupura. ‘We need to ask you something. Please be kind enough to come to us.’ Hearing this, the tortoise emerged from the lake and came to where we were standing, on the banks of the lake. When it came, we asked it, ‘Do you know of this king named Indradyumna?’ It thought for some time and then its eyes were filled with tears. Its heart was agitated and it trembled. It almost lost its senses. Then it joined its limbs in salutation and said, ‘How can I not know that king? In earlier times, when kindling the sacrificial fire, he erected sacrificial stakes one thousand times.
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This lake was created from the hooves of cattle he gave away as gifts. I have
lived here ever since then.’ As soon as we heard these words of the tortoise, a celestial chariot descended from the world of the gods and words were heard about Indradyumna. ‘Heaven is ready for you. That is your appropriate place. Your deeds are great. Go there in a cheerful frame of mind. The words about sacred deeds touch the heaven and the earth. As long as there is sound, so long does man live. Whenever a being’s evil deeds are recounted on earth, he descends to the inferior worlds as long as those words are recounted. Therefore, right till the end, any man on earth should be engaged in good deeds. He should avoid evil conduct and seek refuge in dharma.’ On hearing this, the king replied, ‘Wait until I have returned these seniors to the places I brought them from.’ He brought me and the owl Prakarakarna to our usual places. Then he returned in that chariot to the place that was appropriate for him. Though I have a long life, this is what I have witnessed.” This is what Markandeya told the Pandavas.

‘The Pandavas happily said, “That was proper. You did the right thing in restoring King Indradyumna to heaven again, when he had fallen from the world of heaven.” He replied, “Devaki’s son Krishna also saved rajarshi Nriga, when he had descended into hell and was in distress. He returned him again to heaven.”’
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Vaishampayana said, ‘O bull among the Bharata lineage! Dharmaraja Yudhishthira again asked Markandeya, without sin, old in his austerities and with a long life. “O one learned in dharma! You know about the gods, the danavas and the rakshasas, the various lineages of kings and the eternal lineages of the rishis. O supreme among brahmanas! There is nothing in this world that is unknown
to you. O sage! You know about the celestial stories of men, serpents and rakshasas. O brahmana! The famous Kuvalashva was born in the unvanquished lineage of the Ikshvakus. I wish to hear the details about why his name was changed to Dhundhumara. O best among the Bhargava lineage! I wish to learn about this. What was the reason why the wise Kuvalashva’s name was changed?”

‘Markandeya replied, “O King Yudhishthira! I will tell you the story. Listen. The account of Dhundhumara is full of dharma. O lord of the earth! Listen to it, how King Kuvalashva of the Ikshvaku lineage, lord of the earth, became Dhundhumara. O son!
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O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There was a famous maharshi by the name of Utanka. O Kourava! He had his beautiful hermitage in the desert regions. O great king! Wishing to worship Vishnu, the lord Utanka performed difficult austerities for a large number of years. Pleased with him, the illustrious and worthy one himself appeared before him. As soon as he saw him, the rishi prostrated himself and praised him with many hymns. ‘O god! All beings, with the gods, the asuras and men, and all mobile and immobile objects, have been created by you. O immensely radiant one! Brahma, the Vedas and all that is capable of being learnt has been created by you. O god! The heaven is your head. Your eyes are the moon and the sun. O one without decay! The wind is your breath. The fire is your energy. All the directions are your arms. The great ocean is your stomach. O god! The mountains are your thighs. O Madhusudana! The sky is your navel. The goddess earth is your feet. The herbs are your body hair. Indra, Soma, Agni, Varuna, the gods, the asuras and the great serpents bow down before you and praise you with many hymns. O lord of the earth! You permeate all beings. The immensely powerful practitioners of yoga and the maharshis praise you. When you are satisfied, the universe is at peace. But when you are angered, there is great fear. O supreme among beings! You alone are the dispeller of all fear. You are the cause of happiness to gods, humans and all beings. O god! Through three strides, you covered the three worlds. The prosperity of the asuras was destroyed by you. Through your
valour, the gods attained supreme bliss. O immensely radiant one! It was your wrath that vanquished the Indras among the daityas. You are the creator and the destroyer of all beings. Worshipping you, all the gods attain happiness.’

‘“Having been thus praised by the great-souled Utanka, Vishnu Hrishikesha spoke to Utanka. ‘I am pleased with you. Ask for a boon.’ Utanka replied, ‘It is already enough of a boon that I have seen Hari, the eternal being, the divine lord who is the creator of the universe.’ Vishnu said, ‘O supreme among brahmanas! I am pleased with your steadfastness and your devotion. O brahmana! O twice-born one! But you must accept a boon from me.’ O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Thus instructed by Hari to ask for a boon, Utanka joined his hands in salutation and asked for a boon. ‘O lord! O one with the lotus eyes! O great lord! If you are pleased with me, let my mind always be fixed on dharma, truth and self-control, eternally, and let me always be devoted to you.’ Visnu replied, ‘O brahmana! Through my favours, all this will happen. A yoga will manifest itself in you. United with it, you will accomplish a great task for the dwellers of heaven and the three worlds. A great asura named Dhundhu is now performing terrible austerities for the destruction of the worlds. Listen. I will tell you who will kill him. There will be a famous king by the name of Brihadashva. He will have an obedient and sacred son, known by the name of Kuvalashva. O brahmana rishi! On your instructions, this best of kings will use my powers of yoga and become Dhundhumara.’
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Having thus spoken to Utanka, Vishnu disappeared.”’

‘Markandeya said, “O king! When Ikshvaku died, Shashada became the king of Ayodhya and obtained the earth. He had the greatest dharma in his soul. Shashada had a valorous son
named Kakutstha. Kakutstha’s son was Anenas and Anenas’s was Prithu. Prithu’s son was Vishvagashva and Vishvagashva begot the wise Ardra. His son was Yuvanashva and his son was Shravasta. King Shravasta built Shravasti.
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Shravasta’s son was the immensely strong Brihadashva and Kuvalashva is known as Brihadashva’s son. Kuvalashva had twenty-one thousand sons. All of them were learned, powerful and unassailable. Kuvalashva surpassed his father in all the qualities. O great king! In due course of time, Brihadashva instated the supremely brave Kuvalashva, who was always immersed in dharma, in the kingdom. Having handed over the prosperity to his son, the wise king Brihadashva, the destroyer of his enemies, went to a hermitage to practise austerities. O king! O Yudhishthira! Utanka, supreme among brahmanas, heard that rajarshi Brihadashva had left for the forest. Then the immensely energetic Utanka, limitless in his soul, went to that supreme among men, foremost among those who were skilled in the use of all weapons. He tried to restrain him.

‘“Utanka said, ‘O king! It is your duty to protect and you should perform that duty. It is through your favours that we live without anxiety. O king! Protected by a great-souled one like you, we will be without anxiety. Therefore, you should not depart for the forest. Great dharma can be seen in protecting the subjects. That cannot be seen in the forest. Therefore, give up such an inclination. O Indra among kings! There is no dharma that can be seen, which is like protecting the subjects. This is what rajarshis have practised earlier. Protect the subjects, as they should be protected by the king. O king! Else, I will not be able to perform my austerities without anxiety. There is a desert region near my hermitage and there is an ocean of sand known by the name of Ujjanaka. It is many yojanas long and many yojanas wide. An extremely valorous, powerful and terrible Indra among the danavas dwells there. He is the son of Madhu and Kaitabha and this extremely terrible one has the name of Dhundhu.
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O king! This infinitely valorous one lives under the ground. O great king! Kill him and then go to the forest. He lies there, engaged in terrible austerities
for the sake of destroying the world. O king! He will destroy the thirty gods and the world. He cannot be killed by the gods, the daityas, the rakshasas, the nagas, the yakshas or any of the gandharvas. O king! He has obtained such a boon from the grandfather of all the worlds. Destroy him and be fortunate. Do not have any other resolution. Achieve a great deed and attain eternal and undecaying fame. That cruel one sleeps under the sand. He breathes at the end of the year. At that time, the entire earth, with its mountains, forests and groves, begins to tremble. His breath raises a great cloud of dust that obstructs the path of the sun. The earth trembles for seven days. There are sparks and flames, mixed with terrible smoke. O king! It is for this reason that I cannot remain in my own hermitage. O Indra among kings! Therefore, destroy him for the welfare of the worlds. When this asura has been killed, the worlds will be healthy again. I think that you are quite capable of destroying him. Your energy will be increased by Vishnu’s energy. Earlier, Vishnu gave me a boon for his destruction. Whichever king kills that terrible and great asura, will be united with Vishnu’s own unassailable energy. O Indra among kings! Accept that energy, which the earth finds difficult to bear. O protector of the earth! The immensely energetic Dhundhu cannot be killed by someone who has limited energy, even if he tries for a hundred years.’”’

‘Markandeya said, “O best of Kouravas! Having been thus addressed by Utanka, the unvanquished rajarshi joined his hands in salutation and said, ‘O brahmana! Your arrival will not be in vain. O illustrious one! I have a son, known by the name of Kuvalashva. He is intelligent and swift to act. His valour is unmatched on earth. There is no doubt that he will accomplish that which is pleasant for you. He is surrounded by his brave sons, all of whom
have arms like clubs. O brahmana! Please give me permission to leave, since I have discarded all weapons.’ Having been thus addressed, the infinitely energetic sage agreed. The rajarshi directed his son to the great-souled Utanka. Having done this, he went to an excellent forest.”

‘Yudhishthira asked, “O illustrious one! O one rich in austerities! Who was this immensely valorous daitya? Whose son was he and whose grandson? I wish to know all this. O one rich in austerities! I have not heard of this immensely strong daitya. O illustrious one! O immensely wise one! O one rich in austerities! I wish to know everything in detail, the way it occurred.”

‘Markandeya said, “O king! O lord of men! Listen to it, exactly the way it happened. O bull among the Bharata lineage! When the world became one terrible ocean and all mobile and immobile objects and all beings had been destroyed, the illustrious Vishnu, the eternal and undecaying being, the source of everything in the world, slept alone on the ocean. He was stretched out on the great serpent Shesha, whose energy is limitless. O illustrious one! The immensely fortunate Hari, the undecaying one and the creator of the world, slept in the coils of that great serpent, which encircled the expanse of the earth. While the god was thus asleep, a lotus sprouted from his navel and it was the equal of the sun in its radiance. From that lotus, which was like the sun and the moon in its splendour, emerged grandfather Brahma himself, the preceptor of the worlds. He is the four Vedas, with four forms and four faces. He is extremely strong and valorous and is unassailable because of his powers.

‘“Once upon a time, the supremely brave danavas, Madhu and Kaitabha, saw the immensely radiant lord Hari, asleep on his celestial bed in the coils of the serpent, which was many yojanas long and many yojanas wide. He wore a diadem and the Koustubha gem.
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He was attired in a yellow garment made of silk. O king! He blazed in his radiance, energy and beauty, equal to the extraordinary sight of a thousand suns. Madhu and Kaitabha were extremely surprised to see the lotus-eyed grandfather on the lotus. They tried to terrify
the infinitely energetic Brahma. Repeatedly terrified by those two, the immensely famous Brahma shook the stalk of the lotus and Keshava woke up. Govinda saw those powerful danavas. On seeing them, the god said, ‘O immensely strong ones! You are welcome. I am pleased with you. Ask for the best of boons.’ O great king! Those two great asuras were extremely brave and began to laugh at Hrishikesha. They replied to Madhusudana, ‘O supreme among gods! O god! We are the ones who grant boons. Ask for a boon from us. Without hesitation, ask for a boon and we will grant it to you.’ The lord said, ‘O brave ones! I will accept a boon from you. Grant me the boon that I desire. Both of you are endowed with great valour and there is no man who is your equal. O ones for whom truth is valour! I wish to kill you for the welfare of the world. Grant me the boon that this desire to kill you is satisfied.’ Madhu and Kaitabha replied, ‘O supreme among beings! We have never uttered a falsehood before, not even in jest. We have always been steadfast in our devotion to dharma and truth. There is no one who is our equal in strength, beauty, valour, tranquility, dharma, austerities, generosity, conduct, power and self-control. O Keshava! A great calamity confronts us. But do what you have said. It is impossible to overcome destiny. O god! O lord! O supreme among the best of the gods! But there is one thing that we wish you to do. You must kill us in a spot that is completely uncovered.
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O one with the beautiful eyes! We will become your sons. O god! O supreme among gods! Know that this is the boon that we ask for.’ The illustrious one replied, ‘It shall be that way. Everything will happen the way you have stated.’ Then Govinda thought, but he could not see any spot that was uncovered. When Madhusudana could not find such a spot in heaven and earth, the supreme god glanced at his own uncovered thighs. O king! Madhusudana then sliced off the heads of Madhu and Kaitabha, with the end of his sharp and terrible chakra.”’
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