Mahabharata: Volume 7

by Debroy, Bibek

  ‘While setting out on his route, Rama instructed his servants, “Bring all the objects and equipment that will be needed for a pilgrimage. Bring the fire from Dvaraka39 and the priests. Bring gold, silver, cows, garments, horses, elephants, chariots, mules, camels and carts. Swiftly bring all the garments that are required for a pilgrimage. Let us quickly go towards the flow of the Sarasvati. Bring officiating priests and hundreds of bulls among brahmanas.” O king! Having given these instructions to his servants, the immensely strong Baladeva set out on a pilgrimage at a time when the Kurus confronted a calamity. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Along the flows of the Sarasvati, he proceeded towards the ocean, with officiating priests, well-wishers, supreme among brahmanas, chariots, elephants, horses and servants. He was surrounded by many carts that were drawn by cattle, mules and camels. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In many countries along the path, large donations were given to the weary, tired of limb, children, the hungry and those who were distressed and waited for alms in different ways. O king! In all those places, brahmanas were instantly given food and whatever objects they desired. O king! On the instructions of Rohini’s son, men were stationed, with large quantities of food and drink. To brahmanas who desired happiness, extremely expensive garments, beds, covers and objects of worship were given. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Whenever a brahmana or a kshatriya wanted anything, it was seen that the object was unhesitatingly given. All those who advanced, or stayed, were happy. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Vehicles were given to those who wished to travel, drinks to those who were thirsty and tasty food to those who were hungry. The men there obtained garments and ornaments. O king! The path along which they advanced was happy in every possible way. O brave one! The men who travelled seemed to be in heaven. They were always happy and tasty and good food was always available. There were shops and stalls with merchandise, frequented by hundreds of men. There were many kinds of trees and beings, decorated with many kinds of jewels. The great-souled one was unwavering in his soul and observed rites. O king! The foremost among the Yadu lineage, the wielder of the plough, gave riches and sacrificial donations to brahmanas at sacred places of pilgrimage. He also gave away one thousand cows that yielded milk. They were covered in excellent garments and their horns were encased in gold. There were diverse horses that had been born in many countries. These, and servant-maids, were given to the brahmanas. There were gems, pearls, jewels, diamonds and the best of sparkling gold and silver. Rama gave the best of brahmanas iron and copper vessels. In this way, in the best of tirthas along the Sarasvati, the great-souled one gave away a large quantity of riches. His deeds and power were unlimited. Eventually, he cheerfully returned to Kurukshetra.’

  Janamejaya asked, ‘O best among men! Tell me about the qualities and origins of tirthas along the Sarasvati, their fruits and the deeds that must be done when one is there. O illustrious one! Tell me about these tirthas in due order. O brahmana! O supreme among those who know about the brahman! My curiosity is great.’

  Vaishampayana replied, ‘O king! The qualities and origins of all the tirthas will be extensive. O Indra among kings! However, I will tell you about these sacred spots in entirety. Listen. O great king! With the officiating priests, well-wishers and large numbers of brahmanas, the foremost among the Yadu lineage first went to the sacred Prabhasa. O Indra among men! The lord of the stars40 was afflicted by tuberculosis and was freed of his curse there. Having regained his energy, he lights up the entire universe. This is the foremost tirtha on earth. Because he obtained his radiance there, it is known as Prabhasa.’41

  Janamejaya asked, ‘Why was the illustrious Soma afflicted by tuberculosis? How did Chandra42 bathe in that supreme of tirthas? Having bathed there, how did Shashi regain his energy? O great sage! Tell me everything about this in detail.’

  Vaishampayana replied, ‘O lord of the earth! Daksha had twenty-seven maidens as daughters and Daksha gave them to Soma.43 O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They are always united with the nakshatras and are used for computing time. O Indra among kings! Those auspicious ones became the wives of Soma. All of them were large-eyed and were unmatched on earth in terms of their beauty. But in the richness of her beauty, Rohini was superior.44 Therefore, the illustrious moon god was especially affectionate towards her. She was in his heart and he always enjoyed her alone. O Indra among kings! In those ancient times, Soma dwelt with Rohini for a long time. At this, the other nakshatras became angry with the great-souled one. They quickly went to their father, Prajapati,45 and said,“Soma does not dwell with us. He always resides with Rohini. O lord of beings! Therefore, all of us will live with you. We will live here, be restrained in our diet and perform supreme austerities.” On hearing their words, Daksha told Soma, “Treat all your wives equally, so that a great adharma does not touch you.” Daksha told all of them, “Go to Soma. On my instructions, Chandra will treat all of you equally.” Dismissed by him, all of them went to Shitamshu’s abode.46 O lord of the earth! However, as earlier, the illustrious Soma repeatedly dwelt only with Rohini and pleased her alone. The others united and again went and told their father, “We will serve you and dwell under your refuge. Soma does not dwell with us and has not acted in accordance with your words.” On hearing their words, Daksha told Soma, “O Virochana!47 Treat all your wives equally, so that I do not have to curse you.” However, the illustrious Shashi paid no attention to Daksha’s words. He continued to live with Rohini. The others were enraged and went to their father. They lowered their heads in salutation and said, “Soma does not dwell with us. Grant us refuge. The illustrious Chandra always dwells with Rohini. Therefore, save us, so that Soma accepts all of us.” O lord of the earth! On hearing these words, the illustrious one became angry. In his rage, he inflicted tuberculosis on Soma and the lord of the stars became afflicted. Overcome by tuberculosis, Shashi decayed from one day to another. O king! He made many efforts to free himself from the tuberculosis. O great king! The moon performed many different kinds of sacrifices. However, he could not free himself of the curse and was immersed in decay. As Soma began to decay, herbs ceased to grow. All of them were tasteless and without juices. All of them lost their energy. When the herbs decayed, the destruction of beings started. When the moon decayed, all the subjects became emaciated. O lord of the earth! At this, all the gods assembled and went to Soma. They asked, “Why is your form like this, without any radiance? Tell us everything about the reason behind this great fear. Having heard your words, we will think of a means.” Having been thus addressed, the one with the mark of a hare48 replied to all of them. He told them about the reason behind the curse and about his own tuberculosis. Having heard his words, the gods went to Daksha and said, “O illustrious one! Be pacified. Take away your curse from Soma. Chandra has decayed and only a little bit of him can be seen. O lord of the gods! Because of his decay, all the subjects have been overcome by decay. Many different kinds of creepers, herbs and seeds are wasting. O preceptor of the worlds! You should be pacified.” Having been thus addressed, Prajapati thought and spoke these words. “My words cannot be transgressed. It cannot be otherwise. O immensely fortunate ones! However, there is a means whereby this can be withdrawn. Let Shashi always treat all of his wives equally. Let the one with the mark of the hare bathe in the supreme tirtha along the Sarasvati. The god will then wax again. These words of mine are true. For one half of the month, Soma will always wane. But for another half of the month, Soma will always wax. These words of mine are true.” On the instructions of the rishi,49 Soma went to the Sarasvati. Along the Sarasvati, he went to the supreme tirtha of Prabhasa. The immensely energetic and immensely radiant one bathed there on the day of the new moon. He obtained his cool rays back and radiated the world again. O Indra among kings! All the gods also went to Prabhasa. With Soma, they presented themselves before Daksha. Prajapati gave all the gods permission to leave. Pleased with Soma, the illustrious one again spoke these words to him. “O son! Never disregard women. Never disregard brahman
as. Depart and always follow my instructions.” O great king! Having taken his leave, he again returned to his own abode.50 All the subjects were delighted and lived as they had earlier. This is the entire account about how the moon was cursed. This is how the tirtha of Prabhasa came to be the foremost among all tirthas. O great king! The one with the mark of the hare always bathes there on the day of the new moon. Having bathed in the supreme tirtha of Prabhasa, he obtains his handsomeness back. O lord of the earth! That spot is known as Prabhasa, because bathing there, Chandra obtained his supreme radiance back.

  ‘After this, the undecaying and powerful one51 went to Chamasodbheda. People know that spot as Chamasodbheda. The one with the plough as his weapon gave away many precious donations there. He spent a night there and bathed in accordance with the prescribed rituals. Keshava’s elder brother then quickly went to Udapana. Great fruits are obtained from observing rites there. O Janamejaya! The herbs and the earth are cool there. O Indra among kings! Though the Sarasvati has been destroyed there,52 the siddhas know this.’

  Chapter 1254(35)

  Vaishampayana said, ‘O great king! The one with the plough as his weapon then went to Udapana, associated with the illustrious Trita. He gave away a lot of objects and honoured the brahmanas. The one with the club as his weapon bathed there and was delighted. The extremely great ascetic Trita, devoted to supreme dharma, had lived there. The great-souled one had dwelt in a pit and had drunk soma juice. His two brothers had abandoned him there and had returned home. At this, Trita, supreme among brahmanas, had cursed them.’

  Janamejaya asked, ‘O brahmana! How did the extremely great ascetic fall down in Udapana? Why did his brothers abandon that supreme among brahmanas? Why did the brothers leave him in the pit and return home? O brahmana! If you think that this can be heard, please tell me all this.’

  Vaishampayana replied, ‘O king! In an earlier yuga, there were three brothers who were sages. They were Ekata, Dvita and Trita53 and they were as radiant as the sun. All of them were like Prajapati and they had offspring. All of them were ascetics who knew about the brahman and they had attained Brahma’s world. Their father, Goutama, was always devoted to dharma. Because of their austerities, rituals and self-control, they always pleased him. After having been pleased by them for a long time, the illustrious one went to the regions that were appropriate for him.54 There were kings for whom the great-souled one had been an officiating priest. After he had gone to heaven, all of them continued to honour his sons. Trita was the best among them and was just like his father. All the immensely fortunate and auspicious sages worshipped the immensely fortunate one, as they had the learned one55 before him. O king! Once, the brothers Ekata and Dvita thought of performing a sacrifice and in particular, were concerned about the wealth required for this. O scorcher of enemies! They thought that they would take Trita and go to the houses of those who performed sacrifices.56 They would collect the required animals. They would cheerfully drink soma juice and obtain the great merits of a sacrifice. O king! The three brothers did as they had deciced. They visited all the yajamanas to collect the animals. From the yajamanas, they received a large number of animals for the sacrifice. For performing the act of sacrifice, they also obtained all the decreed gifts. The great-souled maharshis then went towards an eastern direction. O great king! Trita was cheerfully walking in front and Ekata and Dvita were following him from the rear, herding the animals. On seeing that large number of animals, they began to think about how they could appropriate all the cattle, without giving a share to Trita. O lord of men! Listen to what the cunning and wicked Ekata and Dvita said to each other, as they conversed. “Trita is skilled in performing sacrifices. Trita is established in the Vedas. Trita is capable of obtaining many other cattle. Let us go away, taking these cattle with us. Let Trita go wherever he wishes. We do not have to be with him.” As they proceeded along the path, it became night and they saw a wolf before them. Not very far from the spot, there was a pit along the banks of the great Sarasvati. Trita was in the front. On seeing the wolf along the path, he ran in fear and fell down into the pit. It was extremely deep and extremely terrible and was the cause of great fright to all beings. The immensely fortunate Trita, supreme among sages, began to scream from inside the pit. From this, the brothers realized that the sage had fallen into the pit, but they were frightened of the wolf. They were frightened of the wolf and also driven by avarice. They abandoned him and went on. O great king! The brothers were greedy for the animals and abandoned the great ascetic in Udapana,57 in a spot that was full of dust and without any water. Trita found that he was inside a pit, covered with creepers and herbs. O foremost among the Bharata lineage! He thought that he was submerged, like a wicked person in hell. However, the wise one was scared of dying, since he had not yet drunk soma juice. He began to think about how he might be able to drink soma juice there. That is what the immensely ascetic one thought about in the pit. He then saw that a creeper was hanging down there. Though the pit was covered with dust, the sage imagined that there was water there. He also thought of a fire there and thought of himself as the officiating priest. The immensely ascetic one thought of the creeper as soma. In his mind, the sage thought of the mantras of the Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas. O king! He imagined the pebbles to be grains of sugar. He thought the water to be clarified butter and allotted shares to the residents of heaven. Having drunk the soma,58 he created a tumultuous noise. O king! Those sounds created by Trita rose up into heaven. The sacrifice had been performed in accordance with the norms laid down by those who know about the brahman. While the extremely great-souled Trita performed the sacrifice, heaven was agitated. But no one knew the reason. Brihaspati heard the tumultuous sound. On hearing this, the priest of the gods spoke to all the gods. “O gods! Trita is performing a sacrifice and all of us must go there. If he is enraged, the great ascetic is capable of creating other gods.”59 Hearing his words, all the gods were frightened. Together, they went to the spot where Trita was performing his sacrifice. The gods went to the pit where Trita was. They saw the great-souled one, consecrated in the task of performing the sacrifice. They saw the great-souled one, supreme in his resplendence. They told the immensely fortunate one, “We have come for our shares.” On seeing the gods, the rishi replied, “O residents of heaven! Look at me. I am submerged in this fearful pit and am devoid of my senses.” O great king! However, Trita gave them their shares, in accordance with the decreed rites, uttering the mantras. They accepted these and were delighted. The residents of heaven obtained their shares, in accordance with the decreed rites. Pleased with him, they gave him the boons that he desired. He asked the gods for the boon that he should be freed from his distressful state. He also said, “Let a person who bathes in this pit obtain the same end as one who drinks soma.” With her waves, Sarasvati then descended into the pit. Trita was raised up by the waters and worshipped by the thirty gods. O kings! The gods agreed to what he had said and returned to where they had come from. Trita cheerfully returned to his own house. He met his brothers, the rishis, and angrily spoke harsh words to them. The immensely ascetic one cursed them. “Because of your greed for the animals, you abandoned me and ran away. You will therefore adopt their forms60 and roam around, with sharp teeth. Because of your wicked deeds, this is how you will be cursed by me. The offspring that you have will be leopards, bears and apes.” O lord of the earth! As soon as he spoke these words, because his words were always truthful, they were seen to assume these forms. The one with the plough as his weapon touched the waters there. He gave away many kinds of donations and honoured the brahmanas. Having seen Udapana, he praised it repeatedly. The one whose soul was never distressed then went to Vinashana, which was also on the river.’

  Chapter 1255(36)

  Vaishampayana said, ‘O king! The one with the plough as his weapon then went to Vinashana. The Sarasvati became invisible there, because of her hatred for the shudras and the abhiras.61 O foremost among the Bharata lineage! Because the Sarasvati disappeare
d there, as a consequence of her hatred, the rishis speak of that place as Vinashana. Having touched the waters of the Sarasvati there, the immensely strong Bala62 went to Subhumika, also located on the supreme banks of the Sarasvati. Pure apsaras are always engaged in sporting there. Their faces are fair and the innocent ones sport there. O lord of men! Every month, the gods and the gandharvas go there. That sacred tirtha is frequented by the brahmanas. Gandharvas and large numbers of apsaras can be seen there. O king! They unite happily in that spot. Amidst the creepers there, the gods and the ancestors find delight. Divine and sacred flowers repeatedly shower down there. O king! That is the sporting ground of the beautiful apsaras. Along the supreme banks of the Sarasvati, Subhumika is famous. Madhava63 bathed there and donated riches to the brahmanas. He heard the songs and the sounds of celestial musical instruments. He saw a large number of shadows of gods, gandharvas and rakshasas. Rohini’s son then went to the tirtha of the gandharvas. With Vishvavasu at their head, the gandharvas are engaged in austerities there. They are engaged in beautiful dancing, singing and the playing of musical instruments. The wielder of the plough gave away many riches to brahmanas there and also goats, cattle, mules, camels, gold and silver. He fed the brahmanas and satisfied them with extremely expensive gifts that they desired. Praised by the brahmanas, Madhava then departed with them. The mighty-armed one, the scorcher of enemies, adorned with a single earring, left the tirtha of the gandharvas. He went to the extremely great tirtha of Gargasrota. The aged Garga, cleansed in his soul, performed austerities there. O Janamejaya! He got to know about the reckoning of time, the movements of stellar bodies and about favourable and unfavourable portents.64 The auspicious tirtha along the Sarasvati is known by the name of the great-souled one. That is the reason that tirtha is known by the name of Gargasrota. O king! Wishing to know about the reckoning of time, the immensely fortunate rishis, rigid in their vows, always worshipped the lord Garga there. O great king! Bala, smeared with white sandalwood paste, went there and, in accordance with the rites, gave away riches to the sages who were cleansed in their souls. He gave away many kinds of rich foodstuff to the brahmanas who were there. Attired in blue garments, the immensely illustrious one then went to the tirtha known as Shankha. He saw Mahashanka65 there. It was as large as Meru and was like a white mountain. It was frequented by large numbers of rishis. The powerful one, with the palm tree on his banner, saw it rise on the banks of the Sarasvati. Yakshas, vidyadharas, immensely strong pishachas, thousands of siddhas—all of them were seen there, giving up the fruits of that tree. They only enjoyed those at the right time, observing vows and rituals. They obtained those after following rules and wandered around separately. O bull among men! They roamed around, invisible to men. O lord of men! That tree is famous in this world. It is the source of the sacred tirtha of the Sarasvati, renowned in the world. The illustrious tiger of the Yadu lineage donated copper and iron vessels and many garments at that tirtha. He worshipped the brahmanas and was honoured back by those stores of austerities. O king! The one with the plough as his weapon then went to the sacred Dvaitavana. Having gone there, Bala saw sages attired in many different kinds of garments. He worshipped the brahmanas and bathed in those waters. He donated all the objects of pleasure to the brahmanas. O king! Bala then went to the region south of the Sarasvati. The mighty-armed and greatly illustrious one, with dharma in his soul, went only a short distance away. The one without decay went to the tirtha of Nagadhanva. That was the abode of Vasuki, king of the serpents. O great king! There, the immensely radiant one66 was surrounded by many serpents. There were fourteen thousand rishis and siddhas there. The gods went there and instated Vasuki, supreme among serpents, as the king of all the serpents, in accordance with the proper rites. O Kourava! There is no fear from serpents there. According to the decrees, he gave away many stores of jewels to the brahmanas there. O king! Radiant in his own energy, he then set out in an eastern direction. Joyfully, the one with the plough bathed in many tirthas. He donated riches to the brahmanas and met the ascetics. The one with the plough as his weapon honoured large numbers of rishis there. Rama then went to the tirtha that was frequented by a large number of rishis, at the spot where the Sarasvati returns in an eastern direction. The great-souled one wished to see Naimisharanya of the rishis. The one with the plough saw the great river retrace course there. O king! Bala, smeared with white sandalwood paste, was astounded.’