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śrāddha mahātmyam – kaushika-putra janma-parampara
efficacy of beatification of manes – seven births of seven brāhamaṇa-s
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca – mārkaṇḍeya said:
śrāddhe pratiṣṭhito lokaḥ śrāddhe yogaḥ pravartate |
hanta te vartayiṣyāmi śrāddhasya phalam uttamam || 1-21-1
brahmadattena yat prāptaṁ sapta-jṣātiṣu bhārata |
tata eva hi dharmasya buddhiḥ nirvartate śanaiḥ || 1-21-2
pīḍayā api atha dharmasya kṛte śrāddhe purā anagha |
yat prāptaṁ brāhmaṇaiḥ pūrvaṁ tat nibodha mahāmate || 1-21-3
The worldly affairs like shruta, dhana, kula, putra, pashava ādi – education, wealth, caste,
progeny, animal-cattle etc assets - are conditional on shraddha, and even yoga, i.e., moksha results
from that shraddha... as such, I will narrate to you about the results occurring from observing śrāddha... I will also narrate about the seven births of brahmadatta and his brothers; likewise, how their mind slowly deviated from righteousness; and how a cruel act, yet which is conformable to shraddha, has been done by those brāhmaṇas... and about what bechanced on them... these topics I will narrate and you shall try to assimilate the core of these episodes...” Sage mārkaṇḍeya said to bhīṣma once upon a time, and now bhīṣma is reiterating it to dharmaja.
pīḍayā = go himsayā= by the cruel act of killing a cow.
ḥenry ḍavid ṭhoreau, [1932], has translated this episode of harivamsham as: The Transmigration of the Seven Brahmans.
tato'haṁ tāta dharmiṣṭhān kurukṣetre pitṛ-vratān |
sanatkumāra nirdiṣṭān apaśyaṁ sapta vai dvijān || 1-21-4
divyena cakṣuṣā tena yān uvāca purā vibhuḥ |
vāgduṣṭaḥ krodhano hiṁsraḥ piśunaḥ kavireva ca |
khasṛmaḥ pitṛvartī ca nāmabhiḥ karmabhiḥ tathā || 1-21-5
“Then I with a divine sight have seen the seven brāhmaṇa-s in kurukṣetra area, who are conscientious and father-abiding, about whom godly sanatkumāra elucidated to me... their names that are true to their deeds are: vāgduṣṭa, krodhana, hiṁsra, pishuna, kavi, kha-sṛma, pitṛ-varti...
second birth – sons of kaushika
kaushikasya sutāḥ tāta śiṣyā gārgyasya bhārata |
pitari uparate sarve vrata-vantaḥ tadā abhavan || 1-21-6
These seven-brāhmaṇa-s who strictly conducted themselves under their vows have taken birth as the sons of kaushika, namely viśvamitra, but they have become the disciples of sage gārgya when their father, namely viśvamitra, cursed them...
Here pitari uparate= father, when cursed. The first birth of these seven-brāhmaṇa-s is to be reckoned from the bikrth as sons of bhāradwāja; bhāradwājakauśikavyādhamṛga- cakravākahamsaśrotriya dāyādatveṣu parigaṇana : hence their seven births are
1] sons of bhāradwāja; 2] sons of kaushika, aka viśvamitra; 3] vyādha – as tribals; 4] mriga= as animals; 5] cakravāka – as chakaravāka birds; 6] hamsa- as royal swans; 7] śrotriya- as scholarly brāhmaṇa-s, among whom brahmadatta is one.
viniyogāt guroḥ tasya gāṁ dogdhrīṁ sam-akālayan |
samāna vatsāṁ kapilāṁ sarve nyāyāgatāṁ tadā || 1-21-7
teṣāṁ pathi kṣudha ārtānāṁ bālyāt mohāt ca bhārata |
krūrā buddhiḥ samabhavat tāṁ gāṁ vai hiṁsituṁ tadā || 1-21-8
On certain day those seven-brāhmaṇa disciples have taken kapila named milking cow of their guru gārgya along with its calf to nearby woods for grazing according to their routine... but on their way back they have become awfully hungry, whereby a cruel thought occurred to some them to use up that cow as their viand in all their stupidity and heedlessness, for which they have become lawbreakers...
sam-akālayan= moving the cow round, grazing; nyāyāgatāṁ= chora dravya apaharaṇam;
tān kaviḥ khasṛmaḥ caiva yācete na iti vai tadā |
na ca ashakyanta te tābhyāṁ tadā vārayituṁ dvijāḥ || 1-21-9
However, two from them, named kavi and kha-sṛma, entreatingly tried their best to prevent others from butchering the cow... but those two could not succeed in their effort...
pitṛvartī tu yaḥ teṣāṁ nityaṁ śrāddha āhniko dvijaḥ |
sa sarvān abravīt bhrātṝn kopāt dharme samāhitaḥ || 1-21-10
yadi avaśyaṁ prahantavyā pitṝn uddishya sādhu imāṁ |
prakurvīmahi gāṁ saṁyak sarva eva samāhitaḥ || 1-21-11
evam eṣā api [evamepitṝbhyaḥṣāpi] gauḥ dharmaṁ prāpsyate nātra saṁśayaḥ |
pitṝn abhyarcya dharmeṇa na adharmo asmān bhaviṣyati || 1-21-12
Yet another one from them, named pitṛvarti, who is a thoroughgoing beatifier and ritualist, spoke angrily to all of them, himself abiding by his tenets, “if it is absolutely necessary to butcher the cow, butcher it collectively, in the name of manes.... when this cow is righteously offered to manes no unrighteousness can touch us and, besides, this cow which by its own nature is a sacrificial animal, she too will meet its end as a sacrificial cow... no doubt about it...”
tatha iti uktvā ca te sarve prokṣayitvā ca gāṁ tataḥ |
pitṛbhyaḥ kalpayitva enām upāyuṣjata bhārata || 1-21-13
Saying ‘so be it...’ all of them have sublimated and immolated that cow as an offertory to manes, and devoured the leavings satisfying their hunger...
upāyuṣjata= abhakshayan= devoured.
upayujya ca gāṁ sarve guroḥ tasya nyavedayan |
śārdūlena hatā dhenuḥ vatso ayaṁ gṛhyatām iti || 1-21-14
Having used up that cow for their hunger they brought the calf home and reported to their mentor saying, “a tiger killed the cow, sir, here is its...reconcile yourself to it...”
ārjavāt sa tu taṁ vatsaṁ pratijagrāha vai dvijaḥ |
mithya-upacaryate taṁ tu gurum anyāyato dvijāḥ |
kālena samayujyanta sarva eva āuṣaḥ kṣaye || 1-21-15
Sage gārgya took the calf believing their lie unsuspectingly... those seven disciples departed from this world when their mortality is lessened, but carrying the blot of unjustly deceiving their teacher with them...
mithya= false; upacarya= vanchana = deceit; kālena= by Death; sam+a+yuj+yanta= well, joined – when they verily joined with death= when dead.
third birth – as huntsmen
te vai krūratayā hiṁsrā an-āryatvāt gurau tathā |
ugrā hiṁsā vihārāḥ ca saptā ajāyanta sodarāḥ || 1-21-16
lubdhakasya ātmajāḥ tāta balavanto manasvinaḥ |
Because they have undertaken a cruel act like savages in respect of teacher’s cow, they took rebirth as seven mighty and hearty sons of a huntsman...
pitṝn abhyarcya dharmeṇa prokṣayitvā ca gāṁ tadā || 1-21-17
smṛtiḥ pratyavamarśaḥ ca teṣāṁ jāti antare'bhavat |
jātā vyādhā daśārṇeṣu sapta dharma vichakṣaṇāḥ || 1-21-18
Because they scripturally worshipped manes and firstly offered the cow to manes before their using it up, they retained the reminiscence about their last births in the present birth as hunters... thus those seven took birth as judicious huntsmen in daśārṇa province...
Judicious huntsmen? Yes. Hunters should discriminate what to hunt and what not to hunt, because righteous hunters ought not to injure animals or birds that are in the state of: bāla, garbhiṇi, maithuna-āsakta –younglings, pregnant, or when mating.
sva-karma-niratāḥ sarve lobha anṛta vivarjitāḥ |
tāvat mātraṁ prakurvanti yāvatā prāṇa-dhāraṇam || 1-21-19
śeṣaṁ dhyāna parāḥ kālam anudhyāyanti karma tat |
nāmadheyāni ca api eṣām imāni āsan narādhipa || 1-21-20
nirvairo nirvṛtiḥ śānto nirmanyuḥ kṛtireva ca |
vaidhaso mātṝvartī ca vyādhāḥ parama dhārmikāḥ || 1-21-21
Those seven huntsmen brothers are always engrossed in their activity discarding greed and falsification... they used to hunt only that much that is useful for sustenance, and used to pull through rest of the time in contemplation... these are the names of those highly righteous hunters: nir-vaira, nir-vṛti, śānta, nir-manyu, kṛti, vaidhasa, mātṛ-varti...
taiḥ evam uṣitaiḥ tāta hiṁsā-dhama rataiḥ sadā |
mātā ca pūjitā vṛddhā pitā ca paritoṣitaḥ ||| 1-21-22
yadā mātā pitā caiva saṁyuktau kāla-dharmaṇā |
tadā dhanūṁṣi te tyaktvā vane prāṇān avāsṛjan || 1-21-23
Living out in such a birth contingent on cruelty to living beings, they charmed their aged farther and mother... when their parents have departed, they left off the living of hunting by discarding bows and arrows, and repaired to forests in order to leave off their lives after a few years of spiritual life in there...
fourth birth – wild animals
śubhena karmaṇā tena jātā jāti-smarā mṛgāḥ |
trāsān utpādya saṁvignā ramye kālaṣjare girau || 1-21-24
On completing the lifespan of hunters in forests they took rebirth as seven scaring and frightening wild animals on a beautiful mountain called kālanjara... but, by the dint of their good behaviour towards their parents and manes in their last birth, they still retained the memory about their last births...
unmukho nitya-vitrastaḥ stabdha-karṇo vilocanaḥ |
paṇḍito ghasmaro nādī nāmataḥ te'bhavat mṛgāḥ || 1-21-25
These seven wild animals have seven names as: unmukha, nitya-vitrasta, stabdha-karṇa, vilocana, paṇḍita, ghasmara, nādi...
tam eva artham anudhyāyanto jāti-smaraṇa saṁbhavam |
āsan vana-carāḥ kṣāntā nir-dvandvā niṣ-parigrahāḥ || 1-21-26
te sarve śubha-karmāṇaḥ sa-dharmāṇo vane-carāḥ |
yoga dharmam anuprāptā viharanti sma tatra ha || 1-21-27
jahuḥ prāṇān maruṁ sādhya laghu āhārāḥ tapasvinaḥ |
teṣāṁ maruṁ sādhayatāṁ pada-sthānāni bhārata |
tathaiva adya api dṛśyante girau kālaṣjare nṛpa || 1-21-28
They used to mill about on that mountain always reminiscing on their futurity, because they are endowed with knowledge of earlier births, duly observing forbearance, non-duality, placability, and equilibrating all pairs of opposites like hunger-hunting, animosity-friendliness etc; finally, reaching a dry land they took up asceticism sustaining themselves on meagre diet and water - as a kind of jala-tyāga-vrata, discarding water as a vow; and breathed their last... even today the footprints of those seven animals can be seen on that mountain kālanjara, where they undertook asceticism without water and food... this marks the end of their rebirth as animals...
fifth birth - cakravāka birds
karmaṇā tena te tāta śubhena aśubha varjitāḥ |
śubhāt śubhatarāṁ yoniṁ cakravākatvam āgatāḥ || 1-21-29
Then they have attained rebirth as cakravāka birds just by the dint of their pietistic behaviour even when they are wild animals, without a trace of unholiness...
śubhe deshe śara-dvīpe sapta eva āsan jala-aukasaḥ |
tyaktvā saha-charī-dharmaṁ munayo brahma-cāriṇaḥ || 1-21-30
niḥspṛho nir-mamaḥ kṣānto nir-dvandvo niṣ-parigrahaḥ |
nirvṛttiḥ nibhṛtaḥ caiva śakunā nāmataḥ smṛtāḥ || 1-21-31
te tatra pakṣiṇaḥ sarve śakunā dharma-cāriṇaḥ |
nirāhārā jahuḥ prāṇān tapo yuktāḥ sarit-taṭe || 1-21-32
Those seven water dwelling waterfowls, cārvāka birds, lived on a beautiful island like saints, duly leaving off pairing and mating... now, these seven have names like this: niḥspṛha, nir-mama, kṣānta, nir-dvandva, niṣ-parigraha, nirvṛtti, nibhṛta... even as birds they have undertaken asceticism forgoing sustenance, later they discarded lives as birds on the banks of a lake...
sixth birth – royal swans
atha te sodarā jātā haṁsā mānasa-cāriṇaḥ |
jāti-smarāḥ su-saṁyuktāḥ sapta eva brahma-cāriṇaḥ || 1-21-33
Later, those seven brothers took birth as royal swans residing about Lake mānasa, and they continued to live a celibate life because they have drawn memories of past life into this present life as swans...
vipra yonau yataḥ mohān mithya-upacaritaḥ guruḥ |
tiryak yonau tataḥ jātāḥ saṁsāre paribabhramuḥ || 1-21-34
yataḥ ca pitṛ-vākya arthaḥ kṛtaḥ svārthe vyavasthitaiḥ |
tato jṣānaṁ ca jātiṁ ca te hi prāpur guṇottarām || 1-21-35
Even though they are brāhmaṇa-s by original birth they had to take rebirth in animality owing to their committing an offence towards their teacher in all their stupidity... even then, they retained the knowledge of previous births because they have always given preference to filial duty over their own needs...
sumanāḥ śuchi-vāk śuddhaḥ paṣchamaḥ ccidra-darśanaḥ |
su-netraḥ ca svatantraḥ ca śakunā nāmataḥ smṛtāḥ || 1-21-36
They are known by these namnes in this birth as swans: sumana, śuchi-vāk, shuddha, paṣchama, ccidra-darśana, su-netra, svatantra...
paṣchamaḥ pāṣchikaḥ tatra sapta jātiṣu ajāyata |
ṣaṣṭhaḥ tu kaṇḍarīko abhūt brahmadattaḥ tu saptamaḥ || 1-21-37
One from these seven brothers who happened to be the fifth son of kaushika, named as kavi,now takes rebirth as pānchika; while thesixth son of kaushika named kha-sṛmatakes birth as kaṇḍarīka; further, the seventh son of kaushika named pitṛ-varti will take rebirth as brahma-datta...
teṣāṁ tu tapasā tena sapta-jāti-kṛtena vai |
yogasya cāpi nirvṛttyā pratibhānāt ca śobhanāt || 1-21-38
pūrva-jātiṣu yat brahma śrutaṁ guru-kuleṣu vai |
tathaiva avasthitā buddhiḥ saṁsāreṣu api vartatām || 1-21-39
Even if they re cycling through rebirths their knowledge of brahma has not retrograded, why because - they have learnt veda-s methodically in the past; they have followed observances – brahma-niṣṭha; postulations of veda – veda pratipādanam; yogic practices – yoga-anusaraṇam; philosophical outlook – tattava-cicāraṇametc...
nirvṛttyā = niṣpattyhā = by derivation –of yogic merit from previous births; pratibhānāt= pūrva janma karma sphuraṇāt= by glitter and gleaming of old knowledge.
te brahma-cāriṇaḥ sarve vihaṅgā brahma-vādinaḥ |
yoga dharmam anudhyānto viharanti sma tatra ha || 1-21-40
Even in this birth as swans those seven brothers, who are basically the adherent of brahma-theory, have conducted themselves in a similar method, i.e., following yogic practises etc, always reminiscing past events while moving there about at Lake mānasa...
teṣāṁ tatra vihaṅgānāṁ charatāṁ sahacāriṇām |
nīpānām īśvaro rājā vibhrājaḥ paurava anvayaḥ || 1-21-41
vibhrājamāno vapuṣā prabhāvena samanvitaḥ |
śrīmān antaḥpura vṛto vanaṁ tat pravivesha ha || 1-21-42
At one time when these swans are moving in a cluster they saw the king of nīpa, named vibhrāja, a descendant of puru line... he arrived there clustered with the inmates of his palace-chambers, as if he is a royal swan surrounded by many such swans, while his bodily effulgence filled everywhere when he swanned around that place...
svatantraḥ ca vihaṅgo asau spṛhayāmāsa taṁ nṛpam |
dṛṣṭvā yāntaṁ śriyā upetaṁ bhaveyam aham īdṛśaḥ || 1-21-43
yadi asti sukṛtaṁ kiṣchit tapo vā niyamo api vā |
khinno asmi hi upavāsena tapasā niṣphalena ca || 1-21-44
On seeing that king, the seventh swan named svatantra, started thinking like this, “had I acquired a little merit through my ascesis or principled way of life, I too would have taken a birth like that of this king... but, I am rendered woebegone, indeed, by these unworthy fasts and worthless ascesis...
iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi pitṛkalpe
[śrāddha mahatmyam nāma] ekaviṁśo adhyāyaḥ
Thus, this is the twenty-first chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the efficacy of beatification in causing rebirths.
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