Mahabharata: Volume 7

by Debroy, Bibek

  Janamejaya asked, ‘O brahmana! Why did Sarasvati retrace course in an eastern direction? O supreme among all officiating priests! I wish to hear this recounted. For what reason was the descendant of the Yadu lineage astounded? O supreme among brahmanas! Why did the best of rivers retrace course?’

  Vaishampayana replied, ‘O king! In an earlier era, in krita yuga, the large number of ascetics in Naimisha performed an extremely large sacrifice that went on for twelve years. O king! Many rishis came to that sacrifice. The immensely fortunate ones performed that sacrifice, in accordance with the prescribed rites. After the sacrifice had been performed for twelve years, they returned. The rishis went to visit the large number of tirthas that were there. O lord of the earth! Because of the large number of rishis, the tirthas along the southern banks of the Sarasvati seemed to look like cities. O tiger among men! Because of their love for tirthas, the supreme among brahmanas resided along the banks of the river, all the way up to Samantapanchaka. The sages, cleansed in their souls, offered oblations there and the loud sounds of incantations filled the directions. The great-souled ones offered oblations in agnihotra sacrifices there. In every direction, the best of rivers was beautiful and radiant. O great king! Valakhilyas, Ashmakutta ascetics, Dantolukhalinas and others, Samprakshalas67 and others, those who lived on air, those who lived on water, those who lived on leaves, many others who observed diverse kinds of rituals and those who used the bare earth as their beds—all these sages came there, near the Sarasvati. The best of rivers was radiant, like Ganga frequented by the residents of heaven.68 After this, the rishis, wishing to perform sacrifices and rigid in their vows, could not find a bare spot in Kurukshetra. They measured out small tirthas with their sacrificial threads and offered oblations to agnihotras and other kinds of sacrifices. O Indra among kings! Sarasvati saw that the large number of rishis was finding the situation hopeless and began to think about a means for their sake. O Janamejaya! The supreme of rivers retraced her course and created many abodes for herself, for the sake of the rishis and the pious ascetics. The supreme of rivers again flowed in a western direction. “I must go there, so that their69 arrival is not rendered futile.” O king! The great river performed this great and wonderful deed there. O Indra among kings! Those abodes of hers are famous as Naimisha. O best of the Kuru lineage! You must perform great rites in Kurukshetra. When the river retraced her course, she created many abodes for herself. On seeing these there, the great-souled Rama was overcome by great wonder. In accordance with the rites, the descendant of the Yadu lineage bathed there. He gave away gifts and diverse vessels to the brahmanas. He also gave the brahmanas many kinds of food and drink. O king! Worshipped by the brahmanas, Bala then went to the supreme of tirthas on the Sarasvati, frequented by tens of thousands of many kinds of birds. There are badari, inguda, kashmarya, plaksha, ashvattha, vibhitaka, panasa, palasha, karira, pilu and other kinds of trees there.70 They bind down the banks of the Sarasvati and make it look like a chariot. It is adorned with groves of parushas, bilvas, amratakas, atimuktas, kashandas and parijatas.71 There are also beautiful groves of plantains, beautiful and charming. There were those who lived on air, those who lived on water, those who lived on fruit and those who lived on leaves. The Dantolukhalinas were there too, as were the Ashmakuttas, Vaneyas72 and many other kinds of sages. There were the sounds of chanting and the place teemed with herds of animals. It was a place frequented by those who were without malice and devoted to dharma. The one with the plough as his weapon went to the tirtha of Sapta-Sarasvata. The great sage, Mankanaka, had performed austerities there and attained success.’

  Chapter 1256(37)

  Janamejaya asked, ‘Why is it called Sapta-Sarasvata? Who was the sage Mankanaka? How did that illustrious one observe rituals and become successful? O supreme among brahmanas! What lineage was he born in and what did he study? O supreme among brahmanas! In accordance with the proper way, I wish to hear all this.’

  Vaishampayana replied, ‘O king! The seven Sarasvatis cover this entire universe. Wherever she was powerfully summoned, Sarasvati manifested herself there—Suprabha, Kanchanakshi, Vishala, Manashrada, Sarasvati, Oghavati, Suvenu and Vimalodaka.73 The grandfather74 performed a great sacrifice on the surface of the earth and all the brahmanas assembled there. Sacred incantations from the unblemished Vedas resounded there. At that great sacrifice, performed in accordance with the indicated rites, the gods were also agitated.75 O great king! The great grandfather consecrated himself at that sacrifice. That sacrifice yielded every object of desire, everything that one could mentally think of. It yielded the objectives of dharma and artha. O Indra among kings! All of these manifested themselves before the brahmanas who were there. The gandharvas went there and large numbers of apsaras danced. Divine musical instruments were played upon. At the richness of the sacrifice, even the gods were satisfied, not to speak of the supreme wonder that arose among those who were human. In the grandfather’s presence, the sacrifice was held in Pushkara. O king! However, the rishis said, “This sacrifice will not lead to great fruits. The best of rivers, Sarasvati, cannot be seen here.” On hearing this, the illustrious one cheerfully summoned Sarasvati. O Indra among kings! Summoned by the grandfather to the sacrifice in Pushkara, Sarasvati came there as Suprabha. On seeing the swift flows of the Sarasvati, the sages were satisfied and showed a great deal of respect to the grandfather’s sacrifice. Thus, for the sake of the grandfather and to satisfy the learned ones, Sarasvati, supreme among rivers, manifested herself in Pushkara.

  ‘O king! The sages assembled in Naimisha. O lord of men! They conversed colourfully amongst themselves. In diverse ways, the sages there talked about the study of the Vedas. The sages who were assembled there remembered Sarasvati. O great king! The rishis, who wanted to perform a sacrifice, thought of her. O Indra among kings! To aid the assembled great-souled ones, the immensely fortunate and sacred Sarasvati arrived there in Naimisha, as Kanchanakshi, for the sake of the sages who wished to perform a sacrifice. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The best of rivers arrived there and was worshipped.

  ‘Gaya performed a great sacrifice in Gaya. Sarasvati, the best of rivers, was summoned to Gaya’s sacrifice. In Gaya, the rishis, rigid in their vows, named her Vishala.

  ‘The river originates from the flanks of the Himalayas and is swift in flow. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Ouddalaka performed a sacrifice there. From every direction, a large number of sages assembled there. O king! This was a sacred spot towards the north of the region of Kosala. Before the great-souled Ouddalaka had performed his sacrifice there, he had thought of Sarasvati. For the sake of that rishi, the best of rivers had arrived at that spot. She was honoured by the large number of sages, clad in bark and deerskin. Because she had been summoned mentally, she came to be known as Manashrada.76

  ‘There is a sacred region known as Suvenurishabha, frequented by rajarshis. There, the great-souled Kuru performed a sacrifice in Kurukshetra. The immensely fortunate Sarasvati, best among rivers, arrived there. O Indra among kings! Sarasvati, with divine waters, was summoned to Kurukshetra as Oghavati by the great-souled Vasishtha.

  ‘Daksha performed a sacrifice in Gangadvara.77

  ‘Brahma again performed a sacrifice on the sacred slopes of the Himalaya mountains. The illustrious one was summoned there as Vimaloda.78

  ‘All of these come together as one flow at the tirtha of Sapta-Sarasvata. That tirtha is famous on earth. These are the seven names of Sarasvati that are recounted. The tirtha of Sapta-Sarasvata is sacred and famous. Now hear about the young Mankanaka, who observed brahmacharya. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! While he was bathing, he saw a woman sporting a lot in the waters, as she pleased. She was also bathing and was beautiful in her limbs. She was unblemished and was naked. O great king! At this, his semen fell into the waters of the Sarasvati. The great ascetic picked it up and placed it in a pot. Collected in the pot, it became divided into seven parts. Seven rishis were born from these and gave birth to the large numb
er of Maruts.79 Vayuvega, Vayubala, Vayuha, Vayumandala, Vayujvala, Vayureta and the valiant Vayuchakra—these were the ones who gave birth to the Maruts.

  ‘O Indra among kings! Other than this, listen to another wonderful account on earth. This is about the conduct of the maharshi, famous in the three worlds. O king! It has been heard that, in earlier times, after Mankanaka obtained success, his hand was wounded by a blade of kusha grass. The juice of vegetables began to flow from this. On seeing the flow of vegetable juice, he was delighted and began to dance around. O brave one! He was overwhelmed by his own energy and began to dance. On seeing him dance, all mobile and immobile objects also began to dance. O king! Brahma and the other gods and the rishis, rich in their austerities, went to Mahadeva and told him about the rishi. O lord of men! They said, “O god! You should do something to prevent him from dancing.” On seeing that the sage was extremely delighted, for the sake of the welfare of the gods, the god Mahadeva spoke to him. “O brahmana! You know about dharma. Why are you dancing around in this way? O supreme among sages! What is the reason for your delight? Tell me. O supreme among brahmanas! You are an ascetic and should be stationed on the path of dharma.” The rishi replied, “O brahmana!80 Can you not see that vegetable juice is flowing from this wound in my hand? O lord! On seeing this, I am overcome with great delight and am dancing.” The god laughed at the sage who was overcome by such emotion and said, “O brahmana! I am not astounded at all. Look at me.” O Indra among kings! Having spoken thus to the best of sages, the intelligent Mahadeva pierced his thumb with one of his fingernails. O king! Ashes, white as snow, began to flow from that wound. O king! On seeing this, the sage was ashamed and fell down at his feet. The rishi said, “I think that you are no other than the god Rudra, great and supreme. O wielder of the trident! You are the refuge of the universe, the gods and the asuras. The learned ones say that the universe has been created by you. At the time of the destruction of a yuga, everything enters into you again. Even the gods are incapable of comprehending you. How can I? O unblemished one! Everything, Brahma and the other gods, are seen in you. You are all the gods. You are the actor and the one who causes action. It is through your favours that the gods enjoy happiness, free from fear.” Thus did the rishi prostrate himself and worship Mahadeva. He said, “O illustrious one! Through your favours, let there be no decline in my store of austerities.” The god was pleased and spoke again to the rishi. “O brahmana! Through my favours, your austerities will multiply a thousandfold. I will always dwell with you in this hermitage. If a man worships me in Sapta-Sarasvata, there is nothing that cannot be attained by him, in this world or in the next. There is no doubt that he will go to the world known as Sarasvata.”81 Such was the infinitely energetic conduct of Mankanaka. He was the son of Sajanya, born from the wind god.’

  Chapter 1257(38)

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Rama spent a night there and was worshipped by the residents of the hermitage. The pious one, with the plough as his weapon, showed his affection for Manakanka. He gave gifts to the brahmanas and spent a night there. The one with the plough was worshipped by a large number of sages and arose in the morning. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He touched the waters and took his leave of all the sages. For the sake of tirthas, the immensely strong Rama departed quickly. The one with the plough as his weapon went to the tirtha known as Oushanasa. O king! This is also known as Kapalamochana, where the great sage, Mahodara, was freed from the large head that stuck to his thigh. O great king! In earlier times, Rama hurled a rakshasa’s head a great distance. Before this, the extremely great-souled Kavya82 had tormented himself through austerities there. It was there that the great-souled one thought about all kinds of policies. It was there that he thought about the conflict of the daityas and the danavas.83 O king! Bala reached that supreme of tirthas. In due form, he donated riches to the great-souled brahmanas.’

  Janamejaya asked, ‘O brahmana! Why is it known as Kapalamochana? How was the great sage freed from the head? Why did it stick to him?’

  Vaishampayana replied, ‘O tiger among kings! Earlier, the great-souled Raghava dwelt in Dandakaranya, to bring an end to the rakshasas who lived there. In Janasthana, with a razor-sharp arrow that was sharp at the edges, he severed the head of an evil-souled rakshasa. This fell down in a great forest. O king! Mahodara was roaming around in the forest at will. It fell down, pierced his bones and stuck to his thigh. Because it was stuck to his thigh, the immensely wise brahmana could not go to any of the other tirthas. The great sage was in pain and pus exuded from the wound. It has been heard that he went to all the tirthas on earth. The immensely ascetic one went to all the rivers and the oceans. He spoke to all the rishis who had cleansed their souls. He bathed in all the tirthas, but was not freed. The Indra among brahmanas then heard the great words of the sages about the famous and supreme tirtha on the Sarasvati. It could free from all sins and was the supreme spot for obtaining success. The brahmana went to that tirtha of Oushanasa. He touched the waters of Oushanasa tirtha. The head was freed from his leg and fell down into the water there. O king! The one with the pure soul was freed from the taint. Having been successful, Mahodara delightedly went to his hermitage. The great ascetic brahmana became pure and was freed from his exhaustion. He told all the rishis, who had cleansed their souls, about this. O one who grants honours! On hearing his words, all the assembled ones named that tirtha Kapalamochana.84 Madhava honoured the brahmanas there and gave them many gifts.

  ‘The foremost among the Vrishni lineage then went to the hermitage of Rishangu. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Arshtishena had tormented himself through terrible austerities there. The great sage Vishvamitra was able to become a brahmana there.85 O Indra among kings! The handsome wielder of the plough was surrounded by brahmanas there and departed from the spot known as Rishangu. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Rishangu was an aged brahmana who was always engaged in austerities. Having made up his mind to cast aside his body, he thought a lot. Rishangu summoned all his immensely ascetic sons and told them to take him to a spot where there was a lot of water. Knowing about Rishangu’s age, those great ascetics took that store of austerities to a tirtha on the Sarasvati. Those intelligent sons took him to the Sarasvati, where there were hundreds of tirthas, frequented by large numbers of brahmanas. O king! The immensely ascetic one bathed there, in accordance with the prescribed rites. O tiger among men! The supreme among rishis knew about the qualities of tirthas and delightedly told all his sons, who were worshipping him, “The northern bank of the Sarasvati has a lot of water. He who makes up his mind to cast aside his body there and engages in meditation and austerities, will never suffer from death.” The one with the plough as his weapon, with dharma in his soul, touched the water there and bathed. He was devoted to brahmanas and gave a lot of gifts to brahmanas.