Parva 1 Chapter 22: pitṛkalpaḥ (6) - cākravāka varṇanam – portrayal of cārvāka birds

When the swan svantantra is talking that, then two more swans of that flock said this to him, “if you become a king, we two shall become your well-wishing ministers, because we always seek your welfare as dear friends of yours...” “So be it” – said svatantra, the seventh swan, making an accord with those two. When those three swans are building castles in the air in this way, then the second swan, named suchi-vāk, said this to them... The chapter heading cakravāka varṇanam – portrayal of cārvāka birds – does not go along with the matter in the chapter. Life as cārvāka-s is over in the last chapter itself, and they are now in the life of haṁsa-s, swans. Even the colophon at the end of chapter of citraśāla edition says – pitṛ-vākye – which vākyam of pitar-s is unfindable in the text. May be it is pitṛ-kalpe. However, these are retained because citra-śāla edition has them like that. yasmāt kāma pradhānaḥ tvaṁ yoga dharmam apāsya vai | evaṁ varaṁ prārthayase tasmāt vākyaṁ nibodha me ||1-22-3 rājā tvaṁ bhavitā tāta kāmpilye na atra saṁśayaḥ | bhaviṣyataḥ sakhāyau ca dvāu imau sachivau tava ||1-22-4 “Wherefore you are craving for a materialistic living deviating from the spiritual life, therefore take note of my word... you, svatantra... you will become the king of kāmpilya and these two cohorts of yours will become your ministers... “Whereas we the other four swans, we will take birth in a chaste brāhmaṇa family in the same kāmpilya city, and we will become the most eminent scholars in veda-s, and then on spending a life unentangled by riches or power, we will get salvation... so, you need not think that this is a curse, but it is a blessing in disguise...” śaptvā ca an-abhibhāṣyāṁ tāṣ catvāraḥ cakruḥ aṇḍajāḥ | tāṁ trīn abhīpsato rājyaṁ vyabhicāra pradarśitān ||1-22-5 Having said so in a curse-like manner those four of the avian brothers have stopped talking to the rest, i.e., three of them who diverging from their main stay longed for kingship... śaptāḥ khagāḥ trayaḥ te tu yoga-bhraṣṭā vichetasaḥ | tān ayācanta caturaḥ trayaḥ te saha-cāriṇaḥ ||1-22-6 Then those three swans that transgressed from their yogic path and received curse-like wish fulfilment have become perturbed, and started begging excuses from the four associates who cursed them... teṣāṁ prasādaṁ te cakruḥ atha etān su-manā abravīt | sarveṣām eva vacanāt prasāda anugataṁ vacaḥ ||1-22-7 The four swans who cursed have become kind-hearted and spoke these words that contained some benefit of the curse... antavān bhavitā śāpo yuṣmākaṁ nātra saṁśayaḥ | itaḥ chyutāḥ ca mānuṣyaṁ prāpya yogam avāpsyatha ||1-22-8 “Undoubtedly this curse will become the terminator of your mortality... when this life of swans comes to an end you will take up the life of humans, wherefrom you get final release... sarva sattva rutajṣaḥ ca svatantro ayaṁ bhaviṣyati | pitṛ prasādo hi asmābhiḥ asya prāptaḥ kṛtena vai ||1-22-9 gāṁ prokṣayitvā dharmeṇa pitṝbhya upakalpyatām | asmākaṁ jṣāna saṁyogaḥ sarveṣāṁ yoga sādhanaḥ ||1-22-10 When this swan svatantra gets rebirth as human i.e., as brahmadatta, the king of kāmpilya, he will be conversant with the speech factor of all living beings... in fact, it is he who is the root cause for our enlightenment, because he once said that we should offer our food firstly to manes, as in the case of the cow we all offered to manes in past life... imaṁ ca vākya saṁdarbha ślokam ekam udāhṛtam | puruṣa antaritaṁ śrutvā tato yogam avāpsyatha ||1-22-11 In the next life, when our human lives come to an end, we end up ourselves in final release... there will be a situational verse to this effect, listening to which we will get emancipation from the cycle of rebirths...” So said the swan suchi-vāk to other swans...” thus mārkaṇḍeya is continuing his narration to bhīṣma, and bhīṣma is reiterating it to dharmaja. This ‘situational verse’ is a coded message to brahmadatta from others asking him to relinquish human life; this occurs as 19th verse in Ch 24. sapta vyādhā daśārṇeṣu mṛgāḥ.... 1-24-20 --o)0(o-- iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi pitṛvākye [cākravāka varṇano nāma] dvāviṁśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus, this is the twenty-second chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating portraying cākravāka birds. --o)0(o--