Parva 1 Chapter 28: āyu vaṁśa kathanam - Legend of āyu

From among the seven sons of ūrvaśi-purūrava, one namned āyu begot five sons through lady prabha, the daughter of the eclipsing planet rāhu, the astromorphic ascending node... the first born is nahuṣa, next ones are vṛddha-śarma, rambhu, raji, and anena... who all have a renown in the triad of worlds... raji rāja upākhyānam - king raji's episode rajiḥ putra śatānīha janayāmāsa paṣcha vai | rājeyam iti vikhyātaṁ kṣatram indra bhayāvaham || 1-28-3 Out olf them prince raji begot five hundrd sons who are renowned as rājeyā-s and whose valour intimidated even indra... yatra deva asure yuddhe samutpanne su-dāruṇe | devāḥ ca eva asurāḥ caiva pitāmaham atha abruvan || 1-28-4 āvayoḥ bhagavan yuddhe ko vijetā bhaviṣyati | brūhi naḥ sarva bhūta īśa shrotum icchāmi te vacaḥ || 1-28-5 Once, when a terrtible battle between gods and demons is in offing, then both gods and demons approached grandparent brahma and asked him: “oh, god, who is going to win the forthcoming battle of ours... we would like to hear that prognostication from you...” brahma uvāca – brahma said yeṣām arthāya saṁgrāme rajiḥ ātta āyudhaḥ prabhuḥ | yotsyate te jayiṣyanti trīn llokān nātra saṁśayaḥ || 1-28-6 yato rajiḥ dhṛtiḥ tatra śrīḥ ca tatra yato dhṛtiḥ | yato dhṛtiḥ ca śrīḥ caiva dharmaḥ tatra jayaḥ tathā || 1-28-7 On which side that lord raji fights wielding weapon, that side will be conquering all the three worlds... where there is king raji there will be sedulity, where there is this assiduity there will be prosperity; where sedulity, prosperity, and probity are combinatory, then there is victory... why doubt it... te deva dānavāḥ prītā devena uktā rajeḥ jaye | abhyayuḥ jayam icchanto vṛṇvānā bharatarṣabham || 1-28-8 sa hi svarbhānu dauhitraḥ prabhāyāṁ samapadyata | rājā parama tejasvī soma vaṁśa pravardhanaḥ || 1-28-9 te hṛṣṭa manasaḥ sarve rajiṁ devāḥ ca dānavāḥ | ūcur asmat jayāya tvaṁ gṛhāṇa vara-kārmukam || 1-28-10 Gods and demons have gone to the victorious king rāji feeling happy for obtaining this information from brahma, and approached that highly valiant king strengthening lunar race, as well the son of lady prabhā, the daughter of planet rāhu, and both the gods and demons have said the same to him with all smiles, “you have to participate in war on our side wielding a best bow for our triumph..” atha uvāca rajiḥ tatra tayoḥ vai deva daityayoḥ | sva-artha-jṣaḥ svārtham-uddiśya yaśaḥ svaṁ ca prakāśayan || 1-28-11 King rāji spoke subjectively to both gods and demons regarding that matter, of course, with some self-interestedness, displaying cherish for his own renown... rajiḥ uvāca =- king raji said yadi daitya gaṇān sarvāṣjitvā [bho] śakra-purogamāḥ | indro bhavāmi dharmeṇa tato yotsyāmi saṁyuge || 1-28-12 “Oh, gods that are under thec leadership of indra, listen, if I become indra on defeating all the demons in the battle, then only I will take sides with gods... it is justifiable, isn’t it...” devāḥ pratyūcuḥ – gods replied: devāḥ prathamato bhūyaḥ pratyūcuḥ hṛṣṭa mānasāḥ | evaṁ yatha iṣṭaṁ nṛpate kāmaḥ saṁpadyatāṁ tava || 1-28-13 Gods gladly said, “Whatever you say... oh, king, deem that your desire is fulfilled...” śrutvā sura gaṇānāṁ tu vākyaṁ rājā rajiḥ tatdā | papraccha asura mukhyān tu yathā devān apṛcchata || 1-28-14 dānavā darpa pūrṇāḥ tu svārtham eva anugamya ha | pratyūcuḥ te nṛpavaraṁ sa-abhimānam idaṁ vacaḥ || 1-28-15 Having taken the opinion of gods king raji put forth the same proposition to the chiefs of demons... but the self-assured demons sensing the self-serving proposition of the king replied him in a self-respecting manner... dānavāḥ pratyūcuḥ – demons replied: asmākam indraḥ prahrādo yasya arthe vijayāmahe | asmin tu samaye rājan tiṣṭhethā rāja-sattama || 1-28-16 “Whether you fight on our side or not, celebrated prahlāda is our indra, for whom we are struggling hard to win... it is up to you, oh, king, to keep up the plighted word of yours to gods, win, and sit on the throne of indra... sa tatha iti bruvan eva devaiḥ api abhi-choditaḥ | bhaviṣyasi indro jitvā evaṁ devaiḥ uktaḥ tu pārthivaḥ | jaghāna dānavān sarvān ye vadhyā vajra-pāṇinaḥ || 1-28-17 sa vipranaṣṭāṁ devānāṁ parama śrīḥ śriyaṁ vaśī | nihatya dānavān sarvān ājahāra rajiḥ prabhuḥ || 1-28-18 When the king raji said ‘alright’ to the demons, then gods quickened him saying, “You alone will become indra... just win the battle for us...” then king raji league with the gods and defeated all the demons whom the incumbent indra should have defeated... tato rajiṁ mahāvīryaṁ devaiḥ saha śata-kratuḥ | rajeḥ putro aham iti uktvā punaḥ eva abravīt vacahḥ || 1-28-19 indraḥ asi tāta devānāṁ sarveṣāṁ nātra saṁśayaḥ | yasyā aham indraḥ putraḥ te khyātiṁ yāsyāmi karmabhiḥ || 1-28-20 sa tu śakra vacaḥ śrutvā vaṣchitaḥ tena māyayā | tatha iti eva abravīt rājā prīyamāṇaḥ shatakratum || 1-28-21 Then indra followed by all gods came to king raji and said, “I am are your son like...” and further said, “no doubt I had been indra so far... but, from now on, I will conduct myself as yet another son of yours, and get renown by undertaking deeds befitting to your sonship...” without the awareness about indra’s hoodwinking him with these words, king raji spoke to him, just to set him at ease, “alright, let it be so...” tasmin tu deva-sadṛśe divaṁ prāpte mahīpatau | dāyādyam indrāt ājahruḥ ācārāt tanayā rajeḥ || 1-28-22 paṣcha putra śatān yasya tat vai sthānaṁ śatakratoḥ | samākramanta bahudhā svarga lokaṁ triviṣṭapam || 1-28-23 Later when that godly king raji breathed his last and ascended to higher heavens, then his five-hundred sons started a squabble with indra for the throne of indra, hitherto occupied by their father, as if it is a patrimony and they are the heirs-at-law, consistent with the convention available on earth... tato bahu tithe kāle samatīte mahābalaḥ | hṛta rājyo abravīt shakro hṛta bhāgo bṛhaspatim || 1-28-24 After some time indra, dethroned and denigrated, became debilitated too, as he is not receiving nourishment through vedic-rituals, offered into fire addressing him, havis... then he addressed the mentor of gods, namely bṛhaspati... indra uvāca – indra said badarī phala mātraṁ vai puroḍāśaṁ vidhatsva me | brahmarṣe yena tiṣṭheyaṁ tejasa āpyāyitaḥ sadā || 1-28-25 brahman kṛśo'haṁ vimanā hṛta rājyo hṛta āśanaḥ | hata ojā durbalo mūḍho raji putraiḥ kṛtaḥ prabho || 1-28-26 “Will you please arrange for some ritual offertory for me... at least, oh, godly sage, a morsel of the size of a plum fruit with which I can enliven myself for some time to come... robbed is my kingdom, rifled is my throne... I have become frail, fraught, indisposed or impuissant, or whatever... all this is done by those stupid sons of king raji... bṛhaspatiḥ uvāca - bṛhaspati said yadi evaṁ choditaḥ śakra tvaya asyāṁ pūrvam eva hi | na abhaviṣyat tvat priya-artham akartavyaṁ mama anagha || 1-28-27 prayatiṣyāmi devendra tvat priyārthaṁ na saṁśayaḥ | yathā bhāgaṁ ca rājyaṁ ca na cirāt prati-lapsyase || 1-28-28 tathā tāta kariṣyāmi mā bhūt te viklavaṁ manaḥ | ”You should have approached me long back for help and I would have done any unseemly deed for your sake... now, let me try to manage as to how you will get back your realm and prosperity... I will do my best for your betterment... you don’t worry...” So said bṛhaspati to indra. tataḥ karma cakāra asya tejaso vardhanaṁ tadā || 1-28-29 teṣāṁ ca buddhi saṁmoham akarot dvijasattamaḥ | na-asti-vāda-artha-śāstraṁ hi dharma-vidveṣaṇam param || 1-28-30 paramaṁ tarka-śāstrāṇām-asatāṁ tat mano'nugam | na hi dharma-pradhānānāṁ rochate tat katha antare || 1-28-31 Then bṛhaspati embarked on a mission of brainwashing the sons of king raji in order to restore indra’s magnificence. He started to indoctrinate the sons of raji with the tenets of godlessness; apostatise hitherto maintained dharma; and with ku-tarkam, froward logic... kutarka is not illogic but a kind of pigheaded logic where contumacy alone persists. te tat bṛhaspati kṛtaṁ śāstraṁ shrutva ālpa chetasaḥ | pūrva ukta dharma śāstrāṇām abhavan dveṣiṇaḥ sadā || 1-28-32 pravaktur nyāya-rahitaṁ tat mataṁ bahu menire | tena adharmeṇa te pāpāḥ sarva eva kṣayaṁ gatāḥ || 1-28-33 Swept away by the lucrative tenets made by bṛhaspati, those halfwits have started to pontificate the newfound gospel, duly abominating the regular scriptures on dharma, by which non- conformity those delinquents have been reduced to nothing... trai-lokya rājyaṁ śakraḥ tu prāpya duṣprāpam eva ca | bṛhaspati prasādāt hi parāṁ nirvṛtim abhyayāt || 1-28-34 Thus indra rejoiced highly on regaining his realm on the triad of worlds at the beneficence of bṛhaspati which is otherwise impossible... te yadā tu susaṁmūḍhā rāga-unmattā vi-dharmiṇaḥ | brahma-dviṣaḥ ca saṁvṛttā hata-vīrya-parākramāḥ || 1-28-35 tato lebhe sura aishvaryam indraḥ sthānaṁ tatha uttamam | hatvā raji sutān sarvān kāma-krodha-parāyaṇān || 1-28-36 indra thus regained the heavenly office and prosperity only on eliminating the sons of king raji, who fell afoul of greed and ire, because they are bewitched by egotism, anti-establishment, and corrupting canons, whereby they are rendered decrepit of valour and grit, and became winnable... ya idaṁ chyāvanaṁ sthānāt pratiṣṭhāṁ ca śatakratoḥ | śṛṇuyāt dhārayet vāpi na sa daurātmyam āpnuyāt || 1-28-37 lucklessness will not touch him, who has fallen from a graceful position and would like to regain it, if he reads / listens to this episode of indra... --o)0(o-- iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi āyoḥ vaṁśa kīrtanaṁ nāma aṣṭāviṁśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus, this is the twenty-eighth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the dynasty of āyu, the son of ūrvaśi-purūrava. --o)0(o--