424(127)
‘Yudhishthira asked, “O supreme among eloquent ones! What was the valour of King Somaka? I wish to hear accurately about his deeds and his powers.”
‘Lomasha said, “O Yudhishthira! There was a king named Somaka, devoted to dharma. O king! He had one hundred wives, all equal to one another. Though he made great efforts, a son was not born to the lord of the earth, despite a long period of time having passed. One day, after he had grown old and continued to make efforts, a son named Jantu was born to him from those one hundred wives. O lord of the earth! When he was born, all those mothers surrounded him and always gave him everything that might bring him pleasure. One day, an ant bit Jantu on his hips and the child cried out in pain at this bite. Then all the mothers were extremely distressed. They surrounded Jantu and raised a great lamentation. The lord of the earth suddenly heard these loud cries, while he was seated in the midst of his advisers and priests. The king sent for news about what had occurred and the steward brought him news about what had happened to his son. Somaka swiftly arose with his advisers and went to the inner quarters. The chastiser of enemies consoled his son. Having consoled his son, the king emerged from the inner quarters. O king! He sat down with his advisers and priests.
‘“Somaka said, ‘Shame on having a single son. It is better to have none. All beings are always prone to distress and a single son is cause for misery. O brahmana! O lord!563 I examined these one hundred wives and married them for the sake of obtaining sons. But they did not produce offspring. As I endeavoured with all of them, somehow this single son named Jantu was born. What can be greater misery than that? O supreme among brahmanas! My time has passed and so has that of my wives.564 Their lives are dependent on this single son and that is also the way for me. Isn’t there some ceremony or deed, large, small or difficult, so that I can obtain one hundred sons?’ The officiating priest replied, ‘There is such a deed, so as to obtain one hundred sons. O Somaka! If you can perform it, I will explain it to you.’ Somaka said, ‘Whether it is a good deed or a bad one, if it can get me one hundred sons, know that I will perform it. O illustrious one! Explain it to me.’ The officiating priest replied, ‘O king! I will perform the rite and you will sacrifice Jantu. Then, within a short while, one hundred fortunate sons will be born. When he is offered in the sacrifice, his mothers will inhale the smoke and all of them will give birth to extremely valorous sons. Jantu will also be born as your son from the same woman. A golden mark will be seen on his left side.’”’
425(128)
‘“Somaka said, ‘O brahmana! Whatever needs to be done, in whichever way, let it be done accordingly. In a desire to obtain sons, I will do everything that you ask me to.’”
‘Lomasha said, “Then Somaka peformed a sacrifice and offered Jantu. Out of affection for their son, the mothers forcibly tugged at him and cried out, ‘Alas! We are dead!’ Overcome with great distress, the mothers grasped him by his right hand. But the officiating priest grasped him by the left hand and pulled. As they screamed like female ospreys, he dragged their son away. Following the prescribed rites, he offered him as an oblation into the fire. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! As the offering was made, the distressed mothers inhaled the smoke and suddenly fell down on the ground. All the king’s women then conceived. O lord of the earth! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! After ten months had passed, a total of one hundred sons were born to all of them and Somaka. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Jantu was the eldest and he was born to his former mother. They loved him more than their own sons. He had the golden mark on his left side. Among those one hundred sons, he was the best in terms of qualities.
‘“Then Somaka’s preceptor565 went to the supreme world and after some time had passed, Somaka also followed him there. He saw him566 being cooked in a terrible hell and asked, ‘O brahmana! Why are you being cooked in this hell?’ Then the preceptor, who was being cooked in terrible fires, told him, ‘O king! I sacrificed for your sake and these are the fruits of that deed.’ Having heard this, the rajarshi told Dharmaraja,567 ‘I will enter this place. Set my priest free. This immensely fortunate one is being cooked in the fires of hell because of my deed.’ Dharma replied, ‘O king! No one ever obtains the fruits of someone else’s action. O supreme among givers! Behold! Your fruits are there.’ Somaka said, ‘Without this one, learned about the brahman, I do not desire these sacred worlds. I only desire to dwell with him, be it in the abode of the gods, or in hell. O Dharmaraja! My deed is identical with his. O god! Therefore, the merits or the demerits should be equal.’ Dharma replied, ‘O king! If that is your desire, then suffer those fruits with him, for an equal length of time. Later, you will obtain the objective of the virtuous.’ Then the lotus-eyed king did all that. He was the beloved of his preceptor. Together with his brahmana preceptor, and by virtue of his own deeds, he again obtained the radiant worlds. This is his sacred hermitage, radiant before us. A man who controls himself and spends six nights here, obtains the end of the virtuous. O Indra among kings! O extender of the Kuru lineage! Devoid of fever, and controlling our souls, we must spend six nights here. Ready yourself.”’
426(129)
‘Lomasha said, “O king! It is said that Prajapati himself sacrificed here in ancient times. That sacrifice, named ishtikrita, lasted for one thousand years. Ambarisha, the son of Nabhaga, performed a sacrifice on the banks of the Yamuna. Through his sacrifices and austerities, he attained the supreme objective. This is the region where King Nahusha568 performed an extremely holy sacrifice and gave away ten padmas to the assisting priests. O Kounteya! The immensely energetic Yayati was a universal emperor who rivalled Shakra. Behold his sacrificial ground there. See how the ground is spiked with many different kinds of sacrificial altars and seems to sink down, under the weight of Yayati’s sacrificial deeds. Here is a shami tree569 with a single leaf. There is a supreme sanctuary. Behold Rama’s570 lake. Behold Narayana’s hermitage. O lord of the earth! This is the path followed by Richika’s immensely energetic son571 when he traversed the earth, immersed in yoga, on the banks of the stream Roupya.
‘“O descendant of the Kuru lineage! When I recited this genealogy, listen to what a pishacha woman, adorned with ulukhalas,572 once said. ‘Eat curds in Yugandhara.573 Spend the night in Achyutasthala. Then bathe in Bhutilaya and dwell there with your sons. After having spent one night there, if you stay for a second night, then the deeds of the day will be different from the deeds of the night.’574 O supreme among the Bharata lineage! O Kounteya! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Therefore, we will stay here tonight. This is Kurukshetra’s gate. O king! It is here that King Yayati Nahusha performed sacrifices where many jewels were given away, and Indra was delighted. This is Plakshavatarana, the supreme tirtha on the Yamuna. The learned ones say that it is the gate to the vault of heaven. The supreme rishis performed sarasvata sacrifices here. O son! With their sacrificial stakes and mortars, they then went to take their final baths. Following dharma, King Bharata performed a horse sacrifice right here and let loose a black sacrificial steed to roam the earth. It was here that Marutta, tiger among men, performed a supreme sacrifice and seated himself, protected by Samvarta, foremost among devarshis. O Indra among kings! Bathe here and you will be able to see all the worlds. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Having touched the water here, you will be cleansed of all evil deeds.”’
Vaishampayana said, ‘Having bathed there with his brothers and having been worshipped by the great rishis, the foremost among the Pandavas then spoke these words to Lomasha. “I can see all the worlds through my austerities. O one for whom truth is valour! From here, I can also see the foremost among the Pandavas,575 with his white steeds.” Lomasha replied, “O mighty-armed one! That is true. Thus do the great rishis see. Look at the sacred Sarasvati, crowded by those for whom she is a refuge. O best of men! By bathing here, you will be cleansed of all sins. The celestial rishis performed the sarasvata sacrifice here. O Kounteya! So did the rishis and the rajarshis. This is Praj
apati’s altar, extending five yojanas in every direction. This is the field of the great-souled sacrificer Kuru.”’576
427(130)
‘Lomasha said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! If mortals perform austerities here, they go to heaven. O king! Men who desire to die, come here by the thousands. In ancient times, a benediction was pronounced by Daksha when he sacrificed here. ‘The men who die here will have conquered heaven.’ This is the sacred, divine and flowing river Sarasvati. O lord of the earth! This is Sarasvati’s Vinashana. This is the gate to the land of the nishadas. O brave one! It is out of hatred for them that the Sarasvati enters the earth, so that the nishadas may not know her. This is Chamasodbheda,577 where the Sarasvati can be seen. All the sacred and divine rivers that go towards the ocean merge into her here. O destroyer of enemies! This is the great tirtha known as Sindhu, where Lopamudra went to Agastya and accepted him for her husband. O one who shines like the sun! This is the dazzling tirtha of Prabhasa. This is sacred and holy, the cleanser of sin, and is favoured by Indra. The supreme tirtha by the name of Vishnupada can be seen there. Here is the extremely sacred and beautiful river Vipasha.578 Because of sorrow for his sons, the illustrious rishi Vasishtha tied himself up and threw himself down, arising again, freed of his bonds.579
‘“O destroyer of enemies! Behold, with your brothers, the region of Kashmira,580 sacred in every way and frequented by maharshis. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! It is here that a conversation took place between all the rishis from the northern region, Nahusha,581 Agni and Kashyapa. O great king! The gate to Manasa582 is evident here. In the midst of this mountain, the illustrious Rama583 created a region for the rainwater to flow. This is the renowned Vatikashanda, where valour comes from truth. It is to the north of Videha and its gate cannot be breached. This is the auspicious place named Ujjanaka, where sacrifices of barley were made and where the illustrious rishi Vasishtha lived with Arundhati. This is the lake named Kushavan, where there are one trillion584 beds of kusha grass. Rukimini’s585 hermitage is here and she conquered her anger and found peace here. O Pandava! O great king! You have heard of the great mountain Bhrigutunga, where meditations assemble. You will see it and the rivers Jala and Upajala, near the Yamuna. Performing a sacrifice there, Ushinara surpassed Vasava. O lord of the earth! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! To know whether the king was an equal of the gods, Vasava and Agni came there. To test the great-souled Ushinara and desirous of granting him a boon, Indra became a hawk and Agni became a dove and came to his sacrifice. As a result of fear from the hawk, the dove alighted on the king’s thigh, seeking refuge there. O king! Oppressed by fear, it nestled there.”’
428(131)
‘“The hawk said, ‘All the kings of the earth say that you have dharma in your soul. Why do you therefore perform a deed that is against all dharma? O king! I am suffering from hunger and this is my decreed food. Do not protect it out of avarice for dharma. Otherwise, you will discard dharma.’
‘“The king replied, ‘O great bird! This bird is terrified out of fear for you and has sought shelter. To protect its life, it has sought refuge with me. O hawk! Do you not see that it is supreme adharma for me to give up this dove, which has sought refuge from fear? O hawk! It can be seen that this dove is agitated and trembling. It has come to me for its life. Giving it up merits condemnation.’
‘“The hawk said, ‘O lord of the earth! All beings sustain themselves through food. They prosper through food and live because of food. One can live for many nights after giving up objects that are difficult to discard. But one cannot live for a long time after giving up food. O lord of the earth! If I am deprived of my food, my life will give up my body and tread the path from which one does not return.586 O one with dharma in your soul! After my death, my son and wife will perish. While protecting the dove, you are not protecting many lives. Dharma that stands in the way of another dharma is not dharma at all. It is evil dharma. O one for whom valour is based on truth! Dharma that does not conflict with anything is the right dharma. O lord of the earth! When there is a conflict, you must decide in accordance with what is important and what is unimportant. That should be dharma where there is no conflict. O king! After measuring the important with the unimportant and determining what constitutes dharma, and what does not constitute dharma, you must decide that to be dharma which is weightier and act accordingly.’
‘“The king replied, ‘O supreme bird! Your words seem to bring much welfare. Are you Suparna,587 king of the birds? There is no doubt that you are conversant with dharma. You have spoken many attractive words, full of dharma. I do not see anything that is not evident to you. Then how can you think it virtuous to discard someone who has sought refuge? O bird! All your efforts are to get food. You are capable of appeasing your hunger through other food, that which is more plentiful. For your sake, I will now cook whatever you desire—cow, bull, boar, deer or buffalo.’
‘“The hawk said, ‘O great king! I do not desire a boar, a bull, a deer or anything else. I do not eat them. What use are they to me now? O bull among the kshatriyas! O protector of the earth! Give up the food that has been earmarked for me by destiny. Release the dove. It is the eternal rule that hawks eat doves. O king! Not knowing a plantain tree, do not climb it.’588
‘“The king replied, ‘O one who is worshipped by masses of birds! Rule over this prosperous kingdom of Shibi. O hawk! Alternatively, I will give you everything that you desire. O hawk! But I will not give up the bird that has sought refuge with me. O supreme bird! Tell me what deed I must perform so that you give this up. I will not give up this small bird.’
‘“The hawk said, ‘O Ushinara! O lord of men! If you have so much affection for the dove, then cut some flesh from your body and weigh it, so that it is equal to the dove. O king! When your flesh is equal to the dove, you can give it to me and I will find satisfaction.’
‘“The king replied, ‘O hawk! I think this request of yours is a favour. I will right now give you an equal amount of my own flesh.’”
‘Lomasha said, “O Kounteya! The king was learned in supreme dharma. The illustrious one cut his own flesh and weighed it against the dove. When he found that the dove was heavier than this flesh, King Ushinara again cut some more flesh and gave it. Thus, there was no more flesh left to weigh against the dove. Having given up all the flesh, he himself ascended the scales.”
‘“The hawk said, ‘O one learned in dharma! I am Indra and that dove is the bearer of the sacrificial offerings.589 We came to your sacrificial grounds to test you about dharma. O lord of the earth! This deed of yours, your cutting off flesh from your body, will be resplendent in the world. O king! As long as men talk in this world, so long will your eternal deed be established in this world.’”
‘Lomasha said, “O Pandava! Behold the seat of that great-souled king. It is sacred and the cleanser of all sins. Look at it with me. O king! It is here that the gods and the eternal sages are always seen by brahmanas, who are great-souled and performers of holy deeds.”’
429(132)
‘Lomasha said, “O Indra among men! Behold the sacred hermitage of Shvetaketu, the son of Uddalaka, whose fame as a knower of mantras was recounted on earth. It always has trees full of fruit. Shvetaketu saw Sarasvati herself there, in her human form. When Sarasvati appeared, Shvetaketu told her, ‘Give me the power of speech.’ O king! At that time, Ashtavakra, the son of Kahoda, and Shvetaketu, the son of Uddalaka, were the foremost among those who knew the brahman and were uncle and nephew. Uncle and nephew, the illustrious brahmanas, went to the sacrifice of King Videha, lord of earth. They vanquished the immeasurable Bandi in a debate.”
Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) Page 16
