Parva 1 Chapter 27: amāvasu vaṁśa kīrtanam - dynasty of ama-vasu

The sons of the son of lady ila, namely purūrava, through the celestial maiden ūrvaśi are: āyu, courageous amā-vasu; viśva-āyu, upright one śruta-āyu, dhṛḍha-āyu, vana-āyu and śata-āyu; these princes took birth in heavens and look like gods... amāvasoḥ ca dāyādo bhīmo rāja atha nagnajit || 1-27-2 śrīmān bhīmasya dāyādo rāja āsīt kāṣchana-prabhaḥ | vidvān tu kāṣchanasya api suhotro abhūt mahābalaḥ || 1-27-3 King amā-vasu’s sons are bhīma and nagnajit; glorious bhīma’s son is king kāṣchana-prabha, whose son is a scholar as well as a might one, named su-hotra... sauhotriḥ abhavat jahnuḥ keśinyā garbha saṁbhavaḥ | ājahre yo mahat-satraṁ sarva-medha mahā-makham || 1-27-4 This su-hotra begot through lady keshini, a prince called jahnu, who later became a great sage and conducted a supreme vedic-ritual known as sarva-medham, in which continual and sumptuous repast is provided, hence called mahat-satram... pati-lobhena yaṁ gaṅgā patitve abhisasāra ha | na icchataḥ plāvayāmāsa tasya gaṅgā ca tatsadaḥ | sa tayā plāvitaṁ dṛṣṭvā yajṣa vāṭaṁ samantataḥ || 1-27-5 sauhitriḥ abravīt gaṅgāṁ kruddho bharatasattama || 1-27-6 Desirous to get jahnu as her husband river ganga flumed towards him; but, on getting a refusal from him, she started to flood the precincts of his ritual field from everywhere; seeing which that royal sage juhnu spoke to ganga in this way with all his ire... eṣa te viphalaṁ yatnaṁ pibann ambhaḥ karomi aham | asya gaṅge avalepasya sadyaḥ phlam avāpnuhi || 1-27-7 “This is your futile effort, oh, ganga, I will just sip all your water whereby you will come down with your own adamance...” rājarṣiṇā tataḥ pītāṁ gaṅgāṁ dṛṣṭvā maharṣayaḥ | upa-ninyuḥ mahābhāgāṁ duhitR+tvena jāhnavīm || 1-27-8 So saying that rolyal sage juhnu gulped whole water of ganga... seeing this incarceration of ganga, all the other great sages have approached juhnu and requested him to release her, for which sage juhnu has accepted and released ganga... then the other sages have led her forth on her own course, deeming her as the daughter of royal sage juhnu... hence, ganga is also called as jahnavi... C.f. vālmiki rāmayāna, bāla kāṇda - ganga avataraṇa for details. yuvanāśvasya putrīṁ tu kāverīṁ jahnuḥ āvahat | yuavanāśvasya śāpena gaṅgā ardhena vinirmame || 1-27-9 However, that royal sage juhnu married River kāveri, who incidentally is the daughter of yuvanāśva; besides, River kāveri is the manifestation of River ganga herself from one-half of her current... This is an unnoted fragment in the legend of kāveri. Why kāveri is called as dakśiṇa ganga – is answered here, saying that she is one-half of ganga herself. Once, yuvanāśva cursed ganga to take birth among humans. So she became the daughter of same yuvanāśva, named as River kāveri, transmogrifying half of her current. Thus she made the curse of yuvanāśva a reality as well as her own desire in wooing royal sage juhnu. kenacit nimittena...yuvanāśvo... gangām... śaśāpa ... cakāra iti... nk. kāverīṁ saritāṁ śreṣṭhāṁ jahnoḥ bhāryām aninditām | jahnaḥ tu dayitaṁ putraṁ sunahaṁ nāma dhārmikam | kāveryāṁ janayāmāsa ajakaḥ tasya ca ātmajaḥ || 1-27-10 ajakasya tu dāyādo balākāśvo mahīpatiḥ | babhūva mṛgayā-śīlaḥ kuśaḥ tasya ātmajo'bhavat || 1-27-11 kusha putrā babhūvuḥ hi catvāro deva-varchasaḥ | kuśikaḥ kuśa-nābhaḥ ca kuśāmbo mūrti-mān tathā || 1-27-12 pahlavaiḥ saha saṁvṛddhiṁ rājā vanacharaiḥ tadā | Thus, jahnu took River kāveri as his wife. who is the best one among rivers, and an irreproachable one too.. from her he begot the rightly prince sunaha; from him the line of princes is like this: sunaha --> ajaka --> balāka-aśva --> the king kusha, who is a hobbyist of hunting, thus who hobnobbed with forest rangers and pahlavas... to this kusha there are four sons called kushika, kuśa-nābha, kuśāmba, and mūrti-mān... kuśikaḥ tu tapaḥ tepe putram indra sama-prabham | labheyam iti taṁ śakraḥ trāsāt abhyetya jajṣivān || 1-27-13 pūrṇe varṣa-sahasre vai taṁ tu shakro hi apashyata ati ugra-tapasaṁ dṛṣṭvā sahasrākṣaḥ puraṁdaraḥ || 1-27-14 samarthaḥ putra janane svam eva āṁśam avāsayat | putratve kalpayāmāsa sa devendraḥ surottamaḥ || 1-27-15 sa gādhiḥ abhavat rājā maghavān kauśikaḥ svayam | Wishing to have a son as good as indra in his stature, kushika started an ascesis... indra came to know about it, but brushed it off... later, when that ascesis is protracting for over a thousand years, then indra’s confidence started shaking... then indra thought it desirable for himself to take birth as the son of kaushika, instead of letting someone else to take birth as his rival... then just with a shade of himself indra transfigured as the son of kushika, named gādhi, the celebrated king... paurukutsi abhavat bhāryā gādhiḥ tasya āmajāyata || 1-27-16 gādheḥ kanyā mahābhāgā nāmnā satyavatī śubhā | tāṁ gādhiḥ bhṛgu-putrāya ṛcīkāya dadau prabhuḥ || 1-27-17 tasyāḥ prītaḥ abhavat bhartā bhārgavo bhṛgu-nanadanaḥ | putra arthaṁ kārayāmāsa caruṁ gādheḥ tathaiva ca || 1-27-18 kushika married a damsel from puru-kutsa dynasty and from them this prince gādhi has emerged... the most auspicious lady named satyavathi is the daughter of this gādhi, and gādhi gave her in marriage to sage ṛcīka, the son of bhṛgu, hence a bhārgava... at certain time sage ṛcīka prepared a dessert, consuming which the women will beget sons... he apportioned that dessert in two halves, one intended for his wife satyavati, another for his mother-in-law, i.e., the wife of gādhi... uvāca āhūya tāṁ bhartā ṛcīko bhārgavaḥ tadā | upayojyaḥ caruḥ ayaṁ tvayā mātrā tu ayaṁ tava || 1-27-19 tasyāṁ janiṣyate putro dīptimān kṣatriyarṣabhaḥ | ajeyaḥ kṣatriyaiḥ loke kṣatriyarṣabhasūdanaḥ || 1-27-20 tava api putraṁ kalyāṇi dhṛtimantaṁ taponidhim | shama ātmakaṁ dvijaśreṣṭhaṁ caruḥ eṣa vidhāsyati || 1-27-21 Then sage ṛcīka called and said this to his wife satyavati, “you and your mother may use up this dessert; let her know that the son she is going to deliver a son with the effect of this dessert, who will be an invincible kshatriya, and who subjugates best of kings in kshatriya world; and if you consume the other dessert, oh, auspicious lady, then you will bear a son who will be a great sage, best among brāhmaṇa-s, and a compassionate person; as such two desserts are being given...” evam uktvā tu tāṁ bhāryām ṛcīko bhṛgunandanaḥ | tapasya abhirato nityam araṇyaṁ pravivesha ha || 1-27-22 Saying so sage ṛcīka went away to woods to continue ascesis, as is his wont... gādhiḥ sa dāraḥ tu tadā ṛcīka āvāsam abhyagāt | tīrtha-yātrā prasaṅgena sutāṁ draṣṭuṁ janeśvaraḥ || 1-27-23 King gādhi and his wife arrived at the hermitage of sage ṛcīka to see their daughter satyavathi, en route to their pilgrimages... caru dvayaṁ gṛhītvā tat ṛṣeḥ satyavatī tadā | carum ādāya yatnena sā tu mātre nyavedayat || 1-27-24 mātā vyatyasya daivena duhitre svaṁ caruṁ dadau | tasyāḥ carum atha ajṣānāt ātma saṁsthaṁ cakāra ha || 1-27-25 Lady satyavati presented two desserts to her mother duly informing her about their efficacies in bringing two different sons, as has been informed by sage ṛcīka... but satyavati’s mother wilfully interchanged the vessels and gave her dessert to her daughter, while satyavati consumed that dessert intended for her mother, unwittingly and ineluctably... atha satyavatī garbhaṁ kṣatriya-antakaraṁ tadā | dhārayāmāsa dīptena vapuṣā ghora darshanam || 1-27-26 Then satyavati became heavy with child who is the prospective terminator of kshatriya-s, while that mother-to-be had become overbearing in her look tām ṛcīkaḥ tato dṛṣṭvā yogena abhyanusṛtya ca | tām abravīt dvijaśreṣṭhaḥ svāṁ bhāryāṁ varavarṇinīm || 1-27-27 mātrāsi vaṣchitā bhadre caru vyatysa hetunā | janiṣyati hi putraḥ te krūra-karma ati-dāruṇaḥ || 1-27-28 bhrātā janiṣyate cāpi brahma-bhūtaḥ tapodhanaḥ | viśvaṁ hi brahma tapasā mayā tasmin samarpitam || 1-27-29 Seeing this by his yogic vision sage ṛcīka has come to his wife from his ascesis and said to her, “your mother has hoodwinked you... you will now deliver a son whose deeds will be horrendous and gruesome... but, your mother will deliver your brother who will be the selfsame brahma, ascetically wealthy... because I gave desserts imbibing all my vedic knowledge and result of my ascesis in them... viśvaṁ= brahma kṛtsno vedaḥ. evam uktā mahābhāgā bhartrā satyavatī tadā | prasādayāmāsa patiṁ putro me na īdṛśo bhavet | brāhmaṇa apasadaḥ tatra ityukto muniḥ abravīt || 1-27-30 When her husband spoke in this way to her, satyavati entreatingly said to him, “let not my son become a blot on the escutcheon of brāhmaṇa-s, please...” Then the sage said to her: na eṣa saṁkalpitaḥ kāmo mayā bhadre tatha astu iti | ugra-karmā bhavet putraḥ pituḥ mātuḥ ca kāraṇāt | punaḥ satyavatī vākyam evam ukta abravīt idaṁ || 1-27-31 “I did not intend to make this happen in this way... laissez-aller nature of parents in breeding offspring breeds feral children... let it be so...” Again she said to him: icchan llokān api mune sṛjethāḥ kiṁ punaḥ sutam | śama-ātmakam ṛjuṁ tvaṁ me putraṁ dātum iha arhasi || 1-27-32 kāmam evaṁ vidhaḥ pautro mama syāt tava ca prabho | yadi anyathā na śakyaṁ vai kartum etat dvijottama || 1-27-33 “If you wish, oh, sage, you are capable of creating whole world anew with both sessile and mobile beings... can’t you give me just one son worth his name... it will be apt of you to accord an equable and upright son to me... that being the case, if what you say is irrevocable, let our grandson take birth with the features you described... but not our son... tataḥ prasādam akarot sa tasyāḥ tapaso balāt | bhadre na asti viśeṣo me pautre ca varavaṇini| tvayā yatha uktaṁ vacanaṁ tathā bhadraṁ bhaviṣyati || 1-27-34 Then by his yogic power that sage showed grace on her saying, “parents or grandparents do not contradistinguish between a son and a son of the son... oh, lady... because you asked for it, let happenings happen as you say... tataḥ satyavatī putraṁ janayāmāsa bhārgavam | tapasyā abhirataṁ dāntaṁ jamadagniṁ śamātmakam || 1-27-35 Later, lady satyavati delivered a brāhmaṇa-s, named jamadagni, who by his nature is inclined towards regular ascesis, perseverant and serene... bhṛgoḥ caru viparyāse raudra vaiṣṇavayoḥ purā | yajanāt vaiṣṇave atha aṁśe jamadagniḥ ajāyata || 1-27-36 Elderly bhṛgu, namely sage ṛcīka, prepared the dessert in two kinds... in one he instilled rudra’s tendency, and in the other viṣṇu’s... because satyavati has consumed the dessert containing Vishnu’s agency she delivered sage jamadagni with an easygoing attitude like that of viṣṇu... sā hi satyavatī puṇyā satya-dharma-parāyaṇā | kaushiki iti samākhyātā pravṛtteyaṁ mahānadī || 1-27-37 That meritorious lady who is true to her vows and conduct, satyavati, later became a great river called kaushiki... C.f. bāla kāṇda, vālmīki rāmāyaṇa ikṣvāku vaṁśa prabhavo reṇuḥ nāma narādhipaḥ | tasya kanyā mahābhāgā kāmalī nāma reṇukā || 1-27-38 There is a king called reṇu, an offshoot of ikṣvāku dynasty.... he has a daughter called kāmali, or also called as reṇuka... sage jamadagni has married this lady reṇuka... reṇukāyāṁ tu kāmalyāṁ tapo vidyā samanvitaḥ | ārchiko janayāmāsa jāmadagnyaṁ su-dāruṇam || 1-27-39 sarva vidya anugaṁ śreṣṭhaṁ dhanur vedasya pāragam | rāmaṁ kṣatriya hantāraṁ pradīptam iva pāvakam || 1-27-40 aurvasya evam ṛcīkasya satyavatyāṁ mahāyaśāḥ | jamadagniḥ tapo vīryāt jajṣe brahmavidāṁ varaḥ || 1-27-41 madhyamaḥ ca śunaḥśepaḥ śunaḥpucchaḥ kaniṣṭhakaḥ | Through lady reṇuka, alias kāmali, sage jamadagni engendered the most ferocious paraśu-rāma who became the foremost scholar among all scholars in all scriptures, an expert in archery, eliminator of hostile kshatriya-s, and who is with a bodily glow like that of blazing ritual fire... jamadagni further sired two more sons through lady satyavati... while paraśu-rāma is their eldest son, śśunaḥśepaḥ is the middle one, and śunaḥpuccha is the last son... ārchika, aurva = sage jamadagni. viśvāmitraṁ tu dāyādaṁ gādhiḥ kushika nandanaḥ || 1-27-42 janayāmāsa putraṁ tu tapo vidyā śama-ātmakam | prāpya brahmarṣi samatāṁ yaḥ ayaṁ sapta-rṣitāṁ gataḥ || 1-27-43 viśvāmitrastu dharmātmā nāmnā viśvarathaḥ smṛtaḥ | jajṣe bhṛgu prasādena kauśikāt vaṁśa vardhanaḥ || 1-27-44 Coincidentally, the son of king kushika, namely gādhi, has fathered viśvā-mitra, who is also known as viśva-ratha... this viśvāmitra is endowed with ascesis, education, and serenity... he achieved a status of a brahma-sage from a royal-sage, and ultimately stationed himself in the sphere of seven-sages... he emerged in the dynasty of kushika, hence he is otherwise known as kaushika also, owing to the beneficence of sage ṛcīka in giving a portion of divine dessert to his mother, who is also the mother of satyavati, thus satyavati is the sister of viśvāmitra... viśvāmitrasya ca sutā devarāt ādayaḥ smṛtāḥ | prakhyātāḥ triṣu lokeṣu teṣāṁ nāmāni me śṛṇu || 1-27-45 viśvāmitra’s sons are devarāta and others who are famed in al the worlds... now, listen to their names: deva-śravāḥ katiḥ caiva yasmāt kātyāyanāḥ smṛtāḥ | śālāvatyāṁ hiraṇyākṣo reṇoḥ jajṣe atha reṇumān || 1-27-46 sāṁkṛtiḥ gālavaḥ caiva mudgalaḥ ca iti viśrutāḥ | madhucchando jayaḥ caiva devalaḥ ca tatha aṣṭakaḥ || 1-27-47 kacchapo hāritaḥ caiva viśvāmitrasya vai sutāḥ | deva-shrava, kati, and hiraṇyākṣa are the sons of viśvāmitra through lady śālā-vati; of whom kati is the originator of kātyāna gotra - kātyāna lineage... viśvāmitra’s another wife is lady reṇu-mati, from whom he begot reṇumān, sāṁkṛti, gālava, mudgala, madhu-cchanda, jaya, and devala... likewise, aṣṭaka, kacchapa and hārita are also the sons of viśvāmitra through a lady called dṛṣad-vati, alias mādhavi... teṣāṁ khyātāni gotrāṇi kauśikānāṁ mahātmanām || 1-27-48 pāṇino babhravaḥ caiva dhyāna japyāḥ tathaiva ca | pārthivā devarātāḥ ca śālaṅkāyana bāṣkalāḥ || 1-27-49 lohitā yama-dūtāścha tathā kārīṣavaḥ smṛtāḥ | sauśrutāḥ kauśikā rājan tatha anye saindhavāyanāḥ || 1-27-50 devalā reṇavaḥ caiva yājṣyavalkya aghamarṣaṇāḥ | auduṁbarā hi abhiṣṇātāḥ tārakāyana chuṣchulāḥ || 1-27-51 śālāvatyā hiraṇyākṣāḥ sāṁkṛtyā gālavāḥ tathā | bādarāyaṇinaḥ ca anye viśvāmitrasya dhīmataḥ || 1-27-52 Among the grandsons of kaushika some famous people, beginning with pāṇini, are twelve: pāṇini, babhrava, dhyāna-japya, pārthiva, deva-rāta, śālaṅkāyana, bāṣkala, lohita, yama-dūta, kārīṣava, saushruta, saindhavāyana... besides them, there are some more who are the sons of devala and grandsons of reṇu too... apart from them, yājṣyavalkya et al are six: they are yājṣyavalkya aghamarṣaṇa, auduṁbara, abhiṣṇa, tārakāyana, and chuṣchula... and there are the grandsons of śāla-vati, i.e. the sons of hiraṇyākṣa... and some of the grandsons of reṇu like sāṁkṛtya-s and gālava-s are there... and some others like bādarāyaṇina are also there... Here a confused reading occurs about who belongs to whom. nk gives some account: ...gotrāṇi – pautādayaḥ; pāṇinādayaḥ dvādaśa.... reṇoḥ pautrāḥ.. etc... ṛṣi antara vivāhyāḥ ca kauśikā bahavaḥ smṛtāḥ | pauravasya mahārāja brahmarṣiḥ kaushikasya ca | saṁbandho api asya vaṁśe asmin brahma kṣatrasya viśrutaḥ || 1-27-53 There were inter-linear marriages among kauśikā-s, even if there is a difference in ṛṣi antara, i.e., pravara bheda –mutation in lineage; the pravara-s under kaushika gotra will often be changing because there are both kshatriya-s and brāhmaṇa-s in kaushika gotra, as is evident from the relations of paurava-s with both vaśiṣṭa and viśvamitra... viśvāmitra ātmajānāṁ tu śunaḥśepo agrajaḥ smṛtaḥ | bhārgavaḥ kauśikatvaṁ hi prāptaḥ sa munisattamaḥ || 1-27-54 viśvāmitrasya putraḥ tu śunaḥśepo abhavat kila | śunaḥśepha assumes a good name among the sons of viśvāmitra... though he took birth as brāhmaṇa, i.e., the third son of ṛcīka and satyavati, he has become a de facto member of kaushika lineage, as he became the son of viśvāmitra, owing to the following incident... haridashvasya yajṣe tu pashutve viniyojitaḥ || 1-27-55 devaiḥ dattaḥ śunaḥśepo viśvāmitrāya vai punaḥ | devaiḥ dattaḥ sa vai yasmāt deva-rātaḥ tato'bhavat || 1-27-56 Once, this śunaḥśepa was about to be used as a sacrificial animal in the ritual of haridashvasya aka harish-candra... but viśvāmitra averted it by teaching a hymn to śunaḥśepa with which gods have released him from becoming a sacrificial animal and restored hi m to viśvāmitra... because he is given by gods, he is called deva-rāta... devarāta ādayaḥ sapta viśvāmitrasya vai sutāḥ | dṛṣadvatī sutaḥ cāpi viśvāmitrāt tatha aṣṭakaḥ || 1-27-57 aṣṭakasya suto lauhiḥ prokto jahnu gaṇo mayā | atha ūrdhvaṁ pravakṣyāmi vaṁśam āyoḥ mahātmanaḥ || 1-27-58 On the whole, viśvāmitra’s sons are reckoned as seven, including this devarāta... that way, lady dṛṣadvati’s son aṣṭaka is also sired by viśvāmitra... and this aṣṭaka’s son is lauhi... so far, I have said about the lineage of amāvasu, the descendant of purūrava, all stemming from royal sage jahnu... from this point forward I will narrate about the dynasty of king āyu... --o)0(o-- iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi amāvasu vaṁśa kīrtanaṁ nāma saptaviṁśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus, this is the twenty-seventh chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the dynasty of amā-vasu. --o)0(o--