Parva 1 Chapter 18: pitṛkalpaḥ (2) - Institution of fatherly gods

"When sanat-kumāra said like that to me I again asked him for further details... all that from beginning, oh, gāngeya bhīṣma, you listen from me..." Thus sage mārkanḍeya said to bhīṣma. kiyantaḥ vai pitṛ-gaṇāḥ kasmin loke pratiṣṭhitāḥ | vartante deva-pravarā devānāṁ soma varddhanāḥ || 1-18-3 "How many observances of fatherly-gods are there, and where those enrichers of life-principle of gods are abiding..." Thus mārkanḍeya is asking sanat-kumāra. sanatkumāra uvāca - sanatkumāra replied: sapta ete yajatāṁ śreṣṭha svarge pitṛ-gaṇāḥ smṝtāḥ | catvāro mūrti-mantaḥ ca trayaḥ teṣām amūrtayaḥ || 1-18-4 Seven are the orders of fatherly-gods, out of which four orders comprise manifest manes - mūrtimanta devā-s; three with manes in unmanifest forms - amūrtimanta devās... Four kinds of manes with divine manifestation are: sukala, angīrasa, susvadha, soma-pa; three kinds of manes without physique, subtler than sky, and who are able to enter even the womb of a super-microcosmic atom - paramāṇu udare api pravishanti - are: vairājā-s, agniṣvata-s, barhiṣadas. Firstly the groups without manifestation, formless fatherly-gods, are taken up for clarity, of whom vairājā-s are being narrated. Formless fatherly-gods I - vairājās. teṣāṁ lokaṁ visargaṁ ca kirtayiṣyāmi tat śṛṇu | prabhāvaṁ ca mahattvaṁ ca vistareṇa tapodhana || 1-18-5 dharma mūrti-dharāḥ teṣāṁ trayo ye paramā gaṇāḥ | teṣāṁ nāmāni lokāḥ ca kathayiṣyāmi tacchṛṇu|| 1-18-6 First let us take up the threesome group without manifestation... these groups bear the body of dharma alone... so, I would like to narrate about their genesis, names, abodes, efficaciousness to you... lokāḥ sanātanā nāma yatra tiṣṭhanti bhāsvarāḥ | amūrtayaḥ pitṛgaṇāḥ te vai putrāḥ prajāpateḥ || 1-18-7 virājasya dvijaśreṣṭha vairājā iti viśrutāḥ | yajanti tān deva gaṇāḥ vidhi-dṛṣṭena karmaṇā || 1-18-8 The abodes of these three groups are called sanātana, not meaning age old, but ever nascent... where atītam - past; anāgatam - future; vyavahitam - contiguity etc time factors are in their present only... these with subtlest possible bodies - bhāsvarāḥ - cin mātra śarīrā-s - are the brainchildren of virāja prajāpati and hence they are known as vairājas... and gods worship these groups according to procedures and scriptures... ete vai yoga vibhraṣṭā lokān prāpya sanātanān | punaḥ yugasahasrānte jāyante brahmavādinaḥ || 1-18-9 te tu prāpya smṛtiṁ bhūyaḥ sāṅkhyaṁ yogam anuttamam | yānti yoga gatiṁ siddhāḥ punarāvṛtti durlabhām || 1-18-10 They take rebirth after every kalpa, thousand eras, because their yoga - asceticism designed to amalgamate the soul with the universal spirit - will not make them to attain saguṇa-brahma, unmanifest supreme soul, even though these manes dwell in endless worlds, formless, highly worshipped etc... They transmute again and again as brahma-vādin-s, adherers of brahma, and ultimately they merge into the supreme soul... ete syuḥ pitaraḥ tāta yogināṁ yoga vardhanāḥ | āpyāyayanti ye pūrvaṁ somaṁ yoga balena ca || 1-18-11 tasmāṭ śrāddhāni deyāni yogināṁ tu viśeṣataḥ | eṣa vai prathamaḥ sargaḥ soma-pānāṁ mahātmanām || 1-18-12 Because these yogis with their yogic power firstly enrich soma; where soma is the life-principle - soma pā - somam pāyayanti, vardhayanti iti soma-pā; first offertories are to be given to these yogis, especially... thus this is about the genesis of these fatherly gods that enrich soma... Even women are entitled to offer offertories to manes. eṣa stiyo api adhikāro sati śrāddham dadatyaḥ... They too are destined for the release from karmic cycle if they offer offertories to their manes. But, without involving womenfolk in the rigorous rituals, their participation is adjusted in sankalpa mantra saying 'mama saha kuṭumbānām...' etc. eteṣāṁ mānasī kanyā menā nāma mahā-gireḥ | patnī himavataḥ śreṣṭhā yasyā maināka ucyate || 1-18-13 mainākasya sutaḥ śrīmān krauṣcho nāma mahā-giriḥ | parvata pravaraḥ putro nānā ratna samanvitaḥ || 1-18-14 The brainchild of these formless manes is a damsel named mena who is the wife of great-mountain himavān... their son is Mt. maināka while a peaking mountain encrusted with numerous gemstones, namely Mt. krauncha, is the son of this Mt. maināka... Mt. maināka is the famous winged mountain hidden undersea for fear of indra, but came up once to help hanuma when jumping over the sea. tisraḥ kanyāḥ tu menāyāṁ janayāmāsa śaila-rāṭ | aparṇām eka-parṇāṁ ca tritīyām eka-pāṭalām || 1-18-15 The king of the mountains, namely Mt. himavān, begot three daughters through lady mena. They are a-parṇa, eka-parṇa, and the third eka-pāṭala. tapaḥ carantyaḥ su-mahat duścharaṁ deva-dānavaiḥ | lokān santāpayāmāsuḥ tāḥ tisraḥ sthāṇū jaṅgamān || 1-18-16 Undertaking a highly rigorous ascesis that is impossible either for gods or for demons, they started scorching all the sessile and mobile in all the worlds with the flare of their ascesis... āhāram eka parṇena ekaparṇā samācarat | pāṭalā puṣpam ekaṁ ca ādadhāu eka pāṭalā || 1-18-17 ekā tatra nirāhārā tāṁ mātā pratyaṣedhayat | u mā iti niṣedhantī mātṝ snehena duḥkhitā || 1-18-18 One girl subsisted on one leaf during ascesis, hence she is called eka-parṇa; the other used to take one pāṭala flower, say some trumpet-flower, hence she is called eka-pāṭala; while the other used to take no food at all, hence she is called a-parṇa. This aparṇa is pārvati. Seeing the hardship of aparṇa, her mother lady mena tried to forbid her from ascesis saying, u= oh; girl; ma= don't; 'don't undertake this hardship, my girl...' - but in vain... sa tathā uktā tayā mātrā devī duḥ-chara-cāriṇī| uma iti eva abhavat khyātā triṣu lokeṣu sundarī || 1-18-19 tathaiva nāmnā teneha viśrutā yogadharmiṇī | Whether that girl apaṇa refrained from her ascesis or not when implored by her mother addressing her as u mā.... that beautiful girl apaṇa has acquired a legendary name uma renowned in all the worlds... etattu tri-kumārīkaṁ jagatsthāsyati bhārgava || 1- 18-20 tapaḥ śarīrāḥ tāḥ sarvāḥ tisro yoga-balānvitāḥ | sarvāḥ ca brahma-vādinyaḥ sarvāḥ ca eva ūrdhva-retasaḥ || 1-18-21 This is the legend of those three damsels who are the embodied ascesis, empowered with yogic prowess, brahma adherers, and the yogin-s f first order... umā tāsāṁ variṣṭhā ca jyeṣṭhā ca varavarṇinī | mahā-yoga-bala-upetā mahā-devam upasthitā || 1-18-22 Of the three damsels uma is the eldest and foremost in possessing yogic prowess, and she is given to mahadeva, shiva, in marriage. asitasya ekaparṇā tu devalasya mahātmanaḥ | patnī dattā mahābrahman yogācāryāya dhīmate || 1-18-23 jaigīṣavyāya tu tathā viddhi tām ekapāṭalām | ete cāpi mahābhāge yogācāryāu upasthite || 1-18-24 ekaparṇa is given in marriage to the highsouled intellectual and yoga-ācārya, namely asita devala; ekapāṭala is given to another yoga-ācārya named jaigīṣa... these two asita and jaigīṣa are the foremost teachers of yoga... There is a reading difference in the names of asita and devala. Telugu version of errapraggaḍa, one of the three authors of Telugu mahabharata, says in his translation of harivamsham that ekaparṇa is married to asita and begot devala; ekapāṭala is married to jaigīṣa and begot shankha-likhita. Gita Press combines the names of asita and devala as one. Formless fatherly-gods II - agniṣvats. lokāḥ somapadā nāma marīcheḥ yatra vai sutāḥ | pitaro yatra vartante devāḥ tān bhāvayanti uta || 1-18-25 agniṣvāttā iti khyātāḥ sarva eva amitaujasaḥ | Next in the triad of formless manes is called the highly resplendent agniṣvat-s; agniṣu- agni karmāsu; āttā- gṛhītāḥ - those that chanced in the ritual fire intended for manes. Their abode is called soma-pada, an abode for the children of mariachi prajāpati, where gods venerate them. eteṣāṁ mānasī kanyā acchodā nāma nimnagā || 1-18-26 acchodaṁ nāma vikhyātaṁ saro yasyāḥ samutthitam | Their brainchild is damsel named acchoda who later became a river with the same name, from which a vast lake with the same name - acchoda had emerged. tayā na dṛṣṭa pūrvāḥ te pitaraḥ tu kadācana || 1-18-27 api amūrtān atha pitṝn sā dadarsha śuchismitā | saṁbhūtā manasā teṣāṁ pitṝn svān na abhijānatī || 1-18-28 She has not seen her fathers at anytime, but at certain time she took flight skyward to have their glimpse. Though she could visualize some celestials there, she could not perceive them because of their imperceptibility. vrīḍitā tena duḥkhena babhūva varavarṇinī | sā dṛṣṭvā pitaraṁ vavre vasuṁ nāma antarikṣa gam || 1-18-29 amāvasuḥ iti khyātam āyoḥ putraṁ yashasvinam | adrika apsarasā yuktaṁ vimāne adhiṣṭhitaṁ divi || 1-18-30 That best complexioned damsel acchoda has then sighed for not spotting her parents. While she is still up in the air she saw glorious amavasu, the son of ayu, viz. parichara-vasu, who by then is going in an aircraft along with an apsarasa named adrika. Then acchoda went into a flight of fancy thinking, "how nice it would if this air-voyager, namely parichara-vasu, happens to be my father!" sā tena vyabhicāreṇa manasaḥ kāma-rūpiṇī | pitaraṁ prārthayitvā anyaṁ yoga-bhraṣṭā papāta ha || 1-18-31 Because of her subverted thinking on someone else as her father that whiz-maid immediately started falling from sky, because such a thinking itself is an incongruity in yogic discipline, trīṇi apashyat vimānāni patamānā divaḥ chyutā | trasa-reṇu-pramāṇāni sā apashyat teṣū tān pitṝn || 1-18-32 su-sūkṣmān aparivyaktān agnīn agnīṣvau iva āhitān | trāyadhvam iti uvāca ārtā patantī tān avāṅ-śirāḥ || 1-18-33 While falling from sky, upside down, she caught sight of an aircraft which is of the size of a flaw-speckle in a jewel, trasa-reṇu; trasa [trāsa]= a flaw in a jewel; reṇu= speck; in which there are three fatherly-gods, who are though imperceptible and tiniest of the tiny, are glowing like the irradiated ritual fire... Then she instantly yelled at them crying, "save me... save me..." taiḥ uktā sā tu mā bhaiṣīḥ iti vyomni vyavasthitā | tataḥ prasādayāmāsa tān pitṝn dīnayā girā || 1-18-34 ūcuḥ te pitaraḥ kanyāṁ bhraṣṭa aiśvaryāṁ vyatikramāt | Those manes assuring her by saying, "mā bhaiṣī.. mā bhaiṣī... don't fear, don't fear..." have stopped her from falling. She who by now has become a fallen angel, standing in mid air then started to implore upon those manes about her ill-fate which too is now in mid-air. Then those manes pacified her by saying: bhraṣṭa-aiśvaryā sva-doṣeṇa patasi tvaṁ shuchismite || 1-18-35 yaiḥ kriyante hi karmāṇi śarīraiḥ divi devataiḥ | taiḥ eva tat karma phalaṁ prāpnuvanti iha devatāḥ || 1-18-36 sadyaḥ phalanti karmāṇi devatve pretya mānuṣe | tasmāt tvaṁ tapasaḥ putri pretya idaṁ prāpsyase phalam || 1-18-37 Unlike humans who reap result of actions after their death, gods reap it while they are still with their bodies, whether those bodies are incorporeal or ethereal, or whatever... hence a curse, calamity, or scourge is instantaneous to gods... as such, you have to reap the result of your misthinking which mislaid you, because an angle is not supposed to misjudge... iti uktā pitṛbhiḥ sā tu pitṝn prāsādayat svakān | dhyātvā prasādaṁ te cakruḥ tasyāḥ sarve anukampayā || 1-18-38 avaśyaṁ bhāvinaṁ jṣātvā te'rtham ūcuḥ tataḥ tu tām | When fatherly gods have said thus to her, she piteously started to plead for her guiltlessness... and those fatherly gods have shown some mercy on her after giving a little thought to her problem. The said to her after looking into future: asya rājṣo vasoḥ kanyā tvam apatyaṁ bhaviṣyasi || 1-18-39 utpannasya pṛthivyāṁ tu mānuṣeṣu mahātmanaḥ | kanyā ca bhūtvā lokān svān punaḥ prāpsyasi durlabhān || 1-18-40 parāśarasya dāyādaṁ tvaṁ putraṁ janayiṣyasi | sa vedam ekaṁ brahmarṣīḥ caturdhā vibhajiṣyati || 1-18-41 "You have just now seen an air-voyager, isn't it... he is called uparichara-vasu... when he takes birth in human world, then you will become his daughter... while remaining a virgin you will deliver the son of sage parāśara, which son of yours, namely veda-vyāsa, will ramify veda canons... still remaining a virgin you will return to your own abode, that which is unachievable otherwise... mahābhiṣasya putrau dvau śantanoḥ kīrtivardhanau | vicitravīryaṁ dharmajṣaṁ tathā citrāṅgadaṁ śubham || 1-18-42 etān utpādya putrān tvaṁ punaḥ lokān avāpsyasi | vyatikramāt pitṝṇāṁ ca janma prāpsyasi kutsitam || 1-18-43 Later you will auspiciously give rise to two sons of mahābhiṣa, namely king shantanu; one boy will be the glorious vicitravīrya, while the other will be the righteous citrāṅgada; and later, on your begetting them you will return to your abode; thus you have to undergo this wretched life on earth because you sidestepped from the morals of manes... asya eva rājṣaḥ kanyā tvam adrikāyāṁ bhaviṣyasi | aṣṭāviṁśe bhavitrī tvaṁ dvāpare matsya-yonijā || 1-18-44 evam uktvā tu dāśeyī jātā satyavatī tadā | matsya-yonau samutpannā rājṣaḥ tasya vasoḥ sutā || 1-18-45 You will become the daughter of that king vasu through lady adrika, whom you have just now seen along with uparichara-vasu on aircraft... all this happens in twenty-eight dwāpara era... then you will emerge as the daughter of a fish, namely from this lady adrika who by then transfigures as a fish..." So said the fatherly-gods to damsel acchoda and went their way. Later, that damsel acchoda took birth as satyavathi, sired by uparichara-vasu, mothered by apsara-turned-fish, namely lady adrika. Then acchoda is called lady satyavathi, apart from her many other names like gandhavati, gandha kālī, matsya gandhī, yojana gandhī, vāsavi, kalangani, dāśanandini, daseyi, jhajhodari, and matsyodari, etc. Hence she is the daughter of a vasu, namely amavasu, or uparichara-vasu. "Thus this is some account of second group of formless fatherly-gods..." sanat-kumāra continued to sage mārkanḍeya. Next, barhiṣada-s, third kind among the formless manes is being described. A lengthy account about this acchoda/ satyavati is given at 10-47 mbṭn, available on this webpage of mbh resources. Births of gods and demigods are not by parturition. Note: God is never born like an ordinary child. The popular impression that Vedavyasa was born and that too when ṣatyavati was a virgin is not correct. - Pt. k. t. panḍurangi. Formless fatherly-gods III - barhiṣadas. vaibhrājā nāma te lokā divi santi su-darśanāḥ | yatra barhiṣado nāma pitaro divi viśrutāḥ || 1-18-46 tān vai devagaṇāḥ sarve yakṣagandharva rakṣasāḥ | nāgāḥ sarpāḥ suparṇāścha bhāvayanti amitaujasaḥ || 1-18-47 There are beautiful realms called vaibhrāja-realms where fatherly gods called barhiṣada-s abide... them all the groups of gods, yakśā-s, gandharvara-s, rakṣasa-s, nāga-s, including reptiles and birds adore.. ete putrā mahātmānaḥ pulastyasya prajāpateḥ | mahātmāno mahābhāgāḥ tejo-yuktāḥ tapasvinaḥ || 1-18-48 These vaibrājā-s are the children of highsouled pulastya-prajāpati, who all are highly fortunate, highly prosperous and highly resplendent beings... eteṣāṁ mānasī kanyā pīvarī nāma viśrutā | yogā ca yogi-patnī ca yogi-mātā tathaiva ca || 1-18-49 bhavitrī dvāparaṁ prāpya yugaṁ dharmabhṛtāṁ varā | Their brainchild will be a damsel named pīvari, which is just an epithet of that girl meaning she who is full of or abounding with; because she is really abounding with yogic schooling. She herself is a yogin, wife of a yogi, mother of a yogi. That righteous yogin will emerge when dwāpara era approaches. parāśara kula udbhūtaḥ shuko nāma mahātapāḥ || 1-18 50 bhaviṣyati yuge tasmin mahāyogī dvijarṣabhaḥ | vyāsāt araṇyāṁ saṁbhūto vidhūmaḥ agniḥ iva jvalan || 1-18-51 sa tasyāṁ pitṛ-kanyāyāṁ pīvaryāṁ janayiṣyati | kanyāṁ putrān ca caturo yoga-ācāryān mahābalān || 1-18-52 kṛṣṇaṁ gauraṁ prabhuṁ śaṁbhuṁ kṛtvīṁ kanyāṁ tathaiva ca | brahmadattasya jananīṁ mahiṣīṁ tu aṇuhasya ca || 1-18-53 In that dwāpara era there will be an outstanding yogi named shuka... he emerges in the line of sage parāśara, and he who will be glowing like a smokeless fire takes birth in the ritual fire generated by veda-vyāsa by rubbing two wooden sticks to kindle ritual fire... on marrying this yogin damsel pīvari, that sage shuka will beget four sons and a daughter through her, who all will become the masters of yoga... they will be known as kṛṣṇa, gaura, prabhu, and śaṁbhu, while his daughter will be called as lady kṛtvi, also known as lady kīrtimati, which girl becomes the wife of a king called aṇūhu, and begets brahmadatta, an epitome of yoga... etān utpādya dharmātmā yoga-ācāryān mahāvratān | śrutvā sva janakāt dharmān vyāsāt amita-buddhimān || 1-18-54 mahāyogī tato gantā punaḥ avartinīṁ gatiṁ | yat tat padam anudvignam avyayaṁ brahma śāśvatam || 1-18-55 Having generated these masters of yoga, having acquired the knowledge of dharma from his father vyāsa, that highly intellectual sage shuka journeys to the returnless higher world, namely the perishless, troubleless, and the eternal abode of brahma... amūrtimantaḥ pitaro dharma mūrti-dharā mune | kathā yatra iyam utpannā vṛṣṇi andhaka kula anvayā || 1-18-56 Thus this is the legend of three kinds of formless fatherly-gods, namely vairājā-s, agniṣvata-s, barhiṣada-s, whose form itself is dharma, and who are adorable even to gods... the clans of vṛṣṇi and andhaka have emerged from these assemblages alone... The second foot of the above verse, kathā yatra samutpannā vṛṣṇyandhakakulānvayā - HV_13.49; and next foots in later verse, generally do not appear in some mms. With this line it can be construed that the characters of mbh have emerged out of formless fatherly gods.’ traya ete mayā proktāś caturo 'nyān nibodha me / yān vakṣyāmi dvijaśreṣṭha mūrtimanto hi te smṛtāḥ / : BORI So far I have narrated about three groups of formless manes. Next, listen to the legend of four kinds of manes possessing divine forms, namely sukala, angīrasa, susvadha, soma-pa..., of which let us talk about sukala group first... "sanat-kumāra continued his narration. sukālā nāma pitaro vasiṣṭhasya prajāpateḥ | niratā divi lokeṣu jyotir bhāsiṣu bhāsurāḥ | sarva-kāma-samṛddheṣu dvijāḥ tān bhāvayanti uta || 1-18-57 "There is a group of highly effulgent manes called su-kala abiding in an effulgent world called jyotir-bhāsam or jyotiṣmantam... these are the descendants of vaśiṣṭha-prajāpati... brāhmaṇa-s will generally adore them who can fulfil every cherished desire... teṣāṁ vai mānasī kanyā gauḥ nāmnā divi viśrutā | tava eva vaṁśe yā dattā shukasya mahiṣī priyā | eka-śṛṅga iti vikhyātā sādhyānāṁ kirtivardhinī || 1-18-58 There is a female brainchild of these fatherly gods with form, which girl is much known in celestial worlds by her name gau... she is given in marriage to shuka, where this shuka belongs, oh, mārkanḍeya, to your lineage of sādhyā-s, say brāhmaṇas... this girl gau being an epitome of according renown, has enriched the renown of whole line of brāhmaṇas... hence, this damsel gau has become famous with another name, called eka-śṛṅga... this is about manes with forms, called sukalas... sādhyā-s are a kind of gods, foremost hosts to chant and popularise veda-s, obsolete with vedas. But their collective name remained as an epithet to brahamaṇa-s, because of the similarity of the function of chanting vedas. Here is a reading problem with the name of shuka. Elsewhere this name is read as śukra, the letter r being the difference. At 1-18-24 above, while telling about the sons of ekaparṇa, ekapāṭala, harivamsham does not say about the progeny of aparṇa, say pārvati. We are told somewhere else that śukra-ācārya, the mentor of demons, is kṛtrima putra, the artificial son of aparṇa, or pārvati - shiva amsha sambhūta - and this damsel gau or eka-śṛṅga is the wife of that śukra-ācārya. marīchi-garbhān tān lokān samāśritya vyavasthitāḥ | ye tu athā aṅgirasaḥ putrāḥ sādhyaiḥ saṁvardhitāḥ purā || 1-18-59 tān kṣatriya gaṇān tāta bhāvayanti phalārthinaḥ | teṣāṁ tu mānasī kanyā yaśodā nāma viśrutā || 1-18-60 patnī sā viśva-mahataḥ snuṣā vai vṛddha-śarmaṇaḥ | rājarṣeḥ jananī cāpi dilīpasya mahātmanaḥ || 1-18-61 Next, listen about second kind of manes with forms, called aṅgirasā-s, from among the four groups of manes with forms, namely sukala, angīrasa, susvadha, soma-pa... aṅgirasā-s will be abiding in the womb of sunrays, namely solar sphere... once the sādhyā gods have flourished with the help of these aṅgirasās... kshatriya races will be usually adoring them because kshatriya-s have a descent from sun, thus have an affinity with sun... the brainchild of these aṅgirasā-s is lady yashoda, who is the wife of viśva-mahat, thus the daughter-in-law of vṛddha-śarma, and also the mother of the glorious sagely king dilīpa... tasya yajṣe purā gītā gāthāḥ prītaiḥ maharṣibhiḥ | tadā deva-yuge tāta vāji-medhe mahā-makhe || 1-18-62 agneḥ janma tathā śrutvā śāṇḍilyasya mahātmanaḥ | dilīpaṁ yajamānaṁ ye pashyanti susamāhitāḥ | satyavantaṁ mahātmānaṁ te'pi svarga jito narāḥ || 1-18-63 As usual with any other king, emperor dilīpa has also performed a great horse-ritual in the era of gods, which ritual is orchestrated by the sage descendant of śāṇḍilaya gotra, the sons of ritual-fire... everybody who saw that ritual have sung the praise of dilīpa saying, 'this ritual is conducted in an excellent manner... not only dilīpa who is the yajamāna, the officiator of ritual, but those who just witnessed this ritual will also get the merit of taking final bath of ritual, avabṛtha snānam, along with the officiator dilīpa... whereby one and all, whether they are the performers or just onlookers of the ritual, all will achieve heaven..." that is how dilīpa's performance of his duty as a king remained laudable... susvadhā nāma pitaraḥ kardamasya prajāpateḥ | samutpannāḥ tu pulahān mahātmāno dvijarṣabhāḥ || 1-18-64 lokeṣu divi vartante kāma-geṣu vihaṅgamāḥ | tāṁścha vaiśya-gaṇān tāta bhāvayanti phalārthinaḥ || 1-18-65 teṣāṁ vai mānasī kanyā virajā nāma viśrutā | yayāteḥ jananī brahman mahiṣī nahuṣasya ca || 1-18-66 Next, listen about third kind of manes with forms, called susvadha-s, from among the four groups of manes with forms, namely sukala, angīrasa, susvadha, soma-pa... The ancestors of kardama-prajāpati are the descendants of pulaha-prajāpati, and these are the fatherly gods collectively termed as su-svadhas... they are otherwise called as vasu-s also, and they will be flitting like birds in a heavenly abode called kāma-da... the fraternity of vaishya-s will be worshipping these fatherly gods su-svadhas... the brainchild of this group of manes is lady vi-raja who is the mother of king yayāti and the wife of king nahuṣa... Perhaps M. A. Langlois' version might have had the extra foot cited at 1-18-56, kathā yatra samutpannā vṛṣṇyandhakakulānvayā at this place because he says: ... l'*puse de ṇahucha, l'a*eule de l'illustre race des Vrishnis et des āndhacas... the ancestress from whom the famous breeds of Vrishnis and āndhacas have come up... traya ete gaṇāḥ proktāḥ caturthaṁ tu nibodha me | utpannā ye svadhāyāṁ te soma-pā vai kaveḥ sutāḥ || 1-18-67 hiraṇyagarbhasya sutāḥ śūdrāḥ tān bhāvayanti uta | mānasā nāma te lokā yatra tiṣṭhanti te divi | So far I have narrated about three kinds of manes with forms, now listen about fourth kind of manes with forms, called soma-pā-s, from among the foursome groups of manes with forms, namely sukala, angīrasa, susvadha, soma-pa... Lady svadhā, the daughter of kavi - kaveḥ duhitāri - begot soma-pā-s, the manes with forms, and they abide in the celestial worlds called mānasa... and those that have sprung from the yogic fire of hiraṇyagarbha are called as śūdrā-s, who hold these manes, soma-pā-s, in high adoration... teṣāṁ vai mānasī kanyā narmadā saritāṁ varā || 1-18-68 yā bhāvayati bhūtāni dakṣiṇā patha gāminī | purukutsasya yā patnī trasaddasyoḥ janani api || 1-18-69 The brainchild of these manes is the damsel narmada, who is the best river that flows southward sanctifying one and all... she is the wife of purukutsa through whom she got a son called trasadas... teṣām atha abhyupagamān manuḥ tāta yuge yuge | pravartayati śrāddhāni naṣṭe dharme prajāpatiḥ || 1-18-70 pitṝṇām ādi sargeṇa sarveṣāṁ dvijasattama | tasmāt enaṁ sva-dharmeṇa śrāddha-devaṁ vadanti vai|| 1-18-71 When dharma declines in era after era and results in eschewing of rituals aimed at manes dwindle, then manu-prajāpati-s will be generating these fatherly gods from the start, only for the revival of dharma... therefore, by his very nature, sva-dharma, i.e., on his becoming the lord of fatherly gods - yama sarva śrāddha devata adhipatitva hetunā; yamaḥ pitṛiṇām adhipatiḥ - shruti; god yama is called śrāddha-deva... because he leads the soul on its exit from mortal world till it is cleansed of sins... rather, with a guidance/punishment factors of a father... pitṝ smārādhana phalam - fruits of beatifying manes sarveṣāṁ rājataṁ pātram atha vā rajata anvitam | dattaṁ svadhāṁ purodhāya śrāddhaṁ prīṇāti vai pitṝn || 1-18-72 Among all, silverware is most suited in these rituals for manes for according water symbolically for feet-wash, mouth-wash, and for purificatory sipping - arghya, ācamana, kara-pāda prakśālanādi kriyā-s - or, at least vessels with the amalgam of silver... and manes will be pleased to receive offertories when given in this way with svadha-suffixed chant formulae... Vedic chants have some formula suffixes, in which svahā-kāra; vaṣaṭ-kāra; hanta-kāra; svadhā-kāra will be generally used. Chanting for gods will have svāha-kāra - svāha-ending - devebho svāhā; hanta-kāram - hanta-ending, when used to address humans, say guests etc - mānuṣebhyo hanta; and svadhā ending is directed towards manes - said below: somasya āpyāyanaṁ kṛtvā agneḥ vaivasvatasya ca | udagāyanam api agnau agni abhāve apsu vā punaḥ || 1-18-73 somas, agni, yama, these three gods are to be worshipped through ritual fire as said in somāya pitṛmate swadhā... namo agnaye kavyavāhanāya swadhā... namo yamāya aṅgīrase swadhā namaḥ... in the absence of this is to be carried out in waters, at least... Or, it is performable at least in the palms of brāhmaṇas... because scripts say... a true brāhmaṇa-s palms are as good as ritual fire... agni mukhā vai devāḥ... pāṇi mukhāḥ pitaraḥ... pitṝn prīṇāti yo bhaktyā pitaraḥ prīṇayanti tam | yat shanti pitaraḥ puṣṭiṁ prajāḥ ca vipulāḥ tathā || 1-18-74 svargam ārogyam eva atha yat anyat api ca īpsitam | He who trustfully worships manes will derive peacefulness, well-being, unending progeny, heaven, health, or whatever desired, from them... deva-kāryāt api mune pitṛ-kāryaṁ viśiṣyate || 1-18-75 devatānāṁ hi pitaraḥ pūrvam āpyāyanaṁ smṛtam | śīghra prasādā hi akrodhā lokasya āpyāyanaṁ param || 1-18-76 sthira-prasādāḥ ca sadā tāt namasyasva bhārgava | Prior even to rituals aimed at gods manes are to be beatified, because rituals towards manes are more important that the rituals towards gods... oh, mārkanḍeya, pacification of fathers is primary because they endow beneficence, and that beneficence is more dependable... hence one has to worship his ancestors... pitṛ-bhaktaḥ asi viprarṣe mat bhaktaḥ ca viśeṣataḥ || 1-18-77 śreyaḥ te adya vidhāsyāmi pratyakṣaṁ kuru tat svayam | divyaṁ cakṣuḥ sa vijṣānaṁ pradiśāmi ca te anagha || 1-18-78 Oh, mārkanḍeya, you are a true devotee of your father, as well as mine, especially... hence, I am bestowing a gnostic eye to you so that you yourself can have a look at them... gatim etām apramatto mārkaṇḍeya niśāmaya | na hi yoga-gatiḥ divyā pitṝṇāṁ ca parā gatiḥ || 1-18-79 tvat vidhena api siddhena dṛśyate māṁsa-cakṣuṣā | sa evam uktvā devesho mām upasthitam agrataḥ || 1-18-80 cakṣuḥ dattvā sa vijṣānaṁ devānām api durlabham | jagāma gatim iṣṭāṁ vai dvitīyaḥ agniḥ iva jvalan || 1-18-81 You may carefully see the augustness of manes, and there is no other better way to achieve the end-in-view in the quadruple of dharma, artha, kāma, moksha, than the veneration of manes ... none can see those fatherly-gods with fleshy eyes..." Saying so sanat-kumāra staying before me gave a gnostic vision which is an impossible thing to get even to gods, and made me to see the establishment of fatherly gods... while he went on his way like another glowing ritual fire... tat nibodha kuruśreṣṭha yat mayā āsīt niśāmitam | prasādāt tasya devasya durjṣeyaṁ bhuvi mānuṣaiḥ || 1-18-82 "I have narrated to you, oh, bhīṣma, whatever I have heard from that divine personality sanat-kumāra, which is otherwise impossible to know by humans on earth..." Thus sage mārkanḍeya said to bhīṣma. --o)0(o-- iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi pitṛkalpe aṣṭādaśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus, this is the eighteenth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the institution of fatherly-gods. --o)0(o--