Chapter 53

"Sura, the foremost of the Yadus, was the father of Vasudeva. He had a daughter called Pritha, who for her beauty, was

unrivalled on earth. And Suru, having promised in the presence of fire that he would give his firstborn child to Kuntibhoja, the son of his paternal aunt, who was without offspring, gave his daughter unto the monarch in expectation of his favours. Kuntibhoja thereupon made her his daughter. And she became, thenceforth, in the house of her (adoptive) father, engaged in attending upon Brahmanas and guests. One day she had to wait upon the wrathful ascetic of rigid vows, Durvasa by name, acquainted with truth and fully conversant with the mysteries of religion. And Pritha with all possible care gratified the wrathful Rishi with soul under complete control. The holy one, gratified with the attentions bestowed on him by the maiden. told her, I am satisfied, O fortunate one, with thee! By this mantra (that I am about to give thee), thou shall be able to summon (to thy side) whatever celestials thou likest. And, by their grace, shall thou also obtain children. Thus addressed, the girl (a little while after), seized with curiosity, summoned, during the period of her maiden-hood, the god Surya. And the lord of light thereupon made her conceive and beget on her a son who became the first of all wielders of weapons From fear of relatives she brought forth in secrecy that child who had come out with ear-rings and coat of mail. And he was gifted with the beauty of a celestial infant, and in splendour was like unto the maker of day himself. And every part of his body was symmetrical and well-adorned. And Kunti cast the handsome child into the water. But the child thus thrown into the water was taken up by the excellent husband of Radha and given by him to his wife to be adopted by her as their son. And the cumple gave him the name of Vasusena, by which appellation the child soon became known all over the land. And, as he grew up, he became very strong and excelled in all weapons. The first of all successful persons, he soon mastered the sciences. And when the intelligent one having truth for his strength recited the Vedas, there was nothing he would not then give to the Brahmanas. At that time Indra. the originator of all things, moved by the desire of benefiting his own son Arjuna, assumed the guise of a Brahmana, came to him, and begged of the hero his ear-rings and natural armour. And the hero taking off his ear-rings and armour gave them unto the Brahmana. And Sakra (accepting the gift) presented to the giver a dart, surprised (at his open handedness), and addressed him in these words, O invincible one, amongst the celestials, Asuras, men, Gandharvas, Nagas, and Rakshasas, he at whom thou hurlest (this weapon), that one shall certainly be slain. And the son of Surya was at first known in the world by the name of Vasusena. But, for his deeds, he subsequently came to be called Karna. And because that hero of great fame had taken off his natural armour, therefore was he--the first son of Pritha-called Kamu. And, O best of kings, the hero began to grow up in the Suta caste. And. O king, know thou that Kama--the first of all exalted men--the foremost of all wielders of weapons--the slayer of foes--and the best portion of the maker of day--was the friend and counsellor of Duryodhana. And he, called Vasudeva, ended with great valour, was among men a portion of him called Narayana-the god of gods-eternal. And Valadeva of exceeding strength was a portion of the Naga, Sesha. And, O monarch, know that Pradyumna of great energy was Sanatkumara. And in this way the portion of various other dwellers in heaven became exalted men in the race of Vasudeva, increasing the glory thereof. And, O king, the portions of the tribe of Apsaras which I have mentioned already, also became incarnate on earth according to Indra's commands-And sixteen thousand portions of those goddesses became, O king, in this world of men, the wives of Vasudeva. And a portion of Sri herself became incarnate on earth, for the gratification of Narayana, in the line of Bhishmaka. And she was by name the chaste Rukmini. And the faultless Draupadi, slender-waisted like the wasp. was born of a portion of Sachi (the queen of the celestials), in the line of Drupasla. And she was neither low nor tall in stature. And she was of the fragrance of the blue lotus, of eyes large as lotus-petals, of thighs fair and round, of dense masses of black curly hair. And endued with every auspicious feature and of complexion like that of the emerald, she became the charmer of the hearts of five foremost of men. And the two goddesses Siddhi and Dhriti became the mothers of those five, and were called Kunti and Madri. And she who was Mati became the daughter (Gandhari) of Suvala.

"Thus, O king, have I recited to thee all about the incarnation, according to their respective portions, of the gods, the Asuras, the Gandharvas, the Apsaras, and of the Rakshasas. They who were born on earth as monarchs invincible in battle, those high- souled ones who were born in the wide extended line of the Yadus, they who were born as mighty monarchs in other lines, they who were bom as Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas, have all been recited by me duly. And this account of the incarnation (of superior beings according to their respective portions) capable of bestowing wealth, fate, offspring, long life. and success, should always be listened to in a proper frame of mind. And having listened to this account of incarnation, according to their portions, of gods, Gandharvas, and Rakshasas, the bearer becoming acquainted with the creation,

preservation, and destruction of the universe and acquiring wisdom, is never cast down even under the most engrossing

sorrows,

(Sambhava Parva continued)

"Janamejaya said. 'O Brahmana, I have, indeed. heard from thee this account of the incarnation, according to their portions, of the gods, the Danavas, the Rakshasas, and also of the Gandharvas and the Apsaras. I however, again desire to hear of the dynasty of the Kurus from the very beginning. Therefore, O Brahmana, speak of this in the presence of all these regenerate

Rishis." "Vaisampayana said, "O exalted one of Bharata's race, the founder of the Paurava line was Dushmanta gifted with great energy. And he was the protector of the earth bounded by the four seas. And that king had full sway over four quarters of this world.

And he was the lord also of various regions in the midst of the sea. And that great oppressor of all foes had sway over the

countries even of the Mlechchhas,

"And during his rule there were no men of mixed castes, no tillers of the soil (for the land, of itself, yielded produce), no workers of mines (for the surface of the earth yielded in abundance), and no sinful men. All were virtuous, and did everything from virtuous motives, O tiger among men. There was no fear of thieves, O dear one, no fear of famine, no fear off disease. And all four orders took pleasure in doing their respective duties and never performed religious acts for obtaining fruition of desires. And his subjects, depending upon him, never entertained any fear. And Parjanya (Indra) poured showers at the proper time, and the produce of the fields was always pulpy and juicy. And the earth was full of all kinds of wealth and all kinds of animals. And the Brahmanas were always engaged in their duties and they were always truthful. And the youthful monarch was endued with wonderful prowess and a physical frame hard as the thunderbolt, so that he could, taking up the mountain Mandara with its forests and bushes, support it on his arms. And he was well-skilled in four kinds of encounters with the mace (hurling it at foes at a distance, striking at those that are near, whirling it in the midst of many, and driving the foe before), And he was skilled also in the use of all kinds of weapons and in riding elephants and horses. And in strength he was like unto Vishnu, in splendour like unto the maker of day, in gravity like unto the ocean, and in patience, like unto the earth. And the monarch was loved by all his subjects, and he ruled his contented people virtuously.""

(Sambhava Parva continued)

"Janamejaya said. "I desire to hear from thee about the birth and life of the high-souled Bharata and of the origin of Sakuntala And, O holy one, I also desire to hear all about Dushmanta-that lion among men--and how the hero obtained Sakuntala. It behoveth thee, O knower of truth and the first of all intelligent men, to tell me everything.