Parva 1 Chapter 5: vena carita - pṛthotpatti

Once there was a prajāpati named anga, who emerged in the dynasty of sage atri and who is a protector of dharma. That anga is a co-equal of sage atri in virtue. tasya putro'bhavat veno na-atyarthaṁ dharma-kovidaḥ | jāto mṛtyu sutāyāṁ vai sunīthāyāṁ prajāpatiḥ ||1-5-2 There emerged a son to this anga prajāpati, named vena, who is a selfmade philistine in the matters of dharma... this king vena took birth from the daughter of Death, namely lady sunītha, and prajāpati anga... saḥ mātā-maha doṣeṇa venaḥ kāla-ātmaja-ātmajaḥ | sva dharmaṁ pṛṣṭhataḥ kṛtvā kāma-lobheṣu-avartata ||1-5-3 Relegating his own dharma rearwards king vena indulged in acquisitiveness and tight-fistedness, owing to his deriving adversarial qualities of his maternal grandfather, namely the Death, because vena is the son of the daughter of ṭimegod, namely yama... maryādāṁ sthāpayāmāsa dharma upetāṁ sa pārthivaḥ | veda dharmān atikramya saḥ adharma-nirat'bhavat ||1-5-4 niḥ-svādhyāya vaṣaṭkārāḥ tasmin rājani śāsati | pravṛttaṁ na papuḥ somaṁ hutaṁ yajṣeṣu devatāḥ ||1-5-5 na yaṣṭavyaṁ na hotavyam iti tasya prajāpateḥ | āsīt pratijṣā krūreyaṁ vināśe pratyupasthite ||1-5-6 aham ijyaḥ ca yaṣṭā ca yajṣaḥ ca iti kurūdvaha | mayi yajṣo vidhātavyo mayi hotavyam iti api ||1-5-7 tamatikrāntamaryādamādadānamasāmpratam | -yadvā- tam ati krānta maryādam ādadānam asāmpratam ūcur maharṣayaḥ sarve marīci pramukhāḥ tadā ||1-5-8 When that king vena transgressed the integrity of virtue, indulged in iniquity by overstepping Vedic dharma, when he deprived the gods of the audibility of vedic-chantings and vaṣaṭ-kāra-s chanted in Vedic rituals, whereof the gods are not coming forward to partake the soma juice oblated in rituals during vena's regime, and when he made a ruthless order while his own perdition loomed large on him, proclaiming that "none should perform vedic rituals, nor offer oblations in vedic fire-altars...", furthermore when he started saying that "I am that yajna, performer of that yajna, enjoyer of that yajna - kratu-kartā-bhoktā ahamasmi - hence yajna-s should be unto me as all offertories shall belong to me..." and in this way when he flouted all the norms and started looting people by way of taxes etc., then all the prominent sages, like sage mariachi et al, spoke this to him. vayaṁ dīkṣāṁ pravekṣyāmaḥ saṁvatsara gaṇān bahūn | adharmaṁ kuru mā vena na eṣa dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ ||1-5-9 nidhane'tra prasūtastvaṁ prajāpatiḥ a-saṁśayam | prajāḥ ca pālayiṣye'hamiti te samayaḥ kṛtaḥ ||1-5-10 "Oh, vena, no doubt, you have emerged in this dynasty of prajāpati-s after the demise of atri, and you promised to rule the people righteously... and we for ourselves have entered a ritual vow that lasts for many long years... so, please do not embark on this Endeavour of altering the existing practice of vedic rituals aimed at gods... please do not change the age-old practice... " So said sages to king vena. tāṁ tadā bruvataḥ sarvān maharṣīn abravīt tadā | venaḥ prahasya durbuddhiḥ imam artham a-nartha vit ||1-5-11 Laughing at those great sages who are speaking thus, then the evil-minded vena spoke this to them, without knowing the meaning and fatality contained in the saying of sages. vena uvāca- vena said: sraṣṭā dharmasya kaḥ ca anyaḥ śrotavyaṁ kasya vai mayā | shruta vīrya tapaḥ satyaiḥ mayā vā kaḥ samo bhuvi ||1-5-12 "Who on earth can fare better than me in dharma? Why should I listen to someone? Where is someone who is a coequal of mine in the matters of scholarship, valour, or veracity, on this earth... prabhavaṁ sarva bhūtānāṁ dharmāṇāṁ ca viśeṣataḥ | saṁmūḍhā na viduḥ nūnaṁ bhavanto mām a-cetasaḥ ||1-5-13 "For all the living beings, as a matter of fact, for dharma itself I am the provenance... but, you sages are fatuous to know this owing to your half-wittedness... icchhan daheyaṁ pṛthivīṁ plāvayeyaṁ tathā jalaiḥ | khaṁ bhuvaṁ caiva rundheyaṁ nātra kāryā vicāraṇā ||1-5-14 "If I have a fancy, I will burn the earth, or deluge it in waters... or, immobilize earth and heaven... you need not treat it cavalierly..." So said vena to sages. yadā na shakyate mohāt avalepāt ca pārthivaḥ | anunetuṁ tadā venaḥ tataḥ kruddhā maharṣayaḥ ||1-5-15 nigṛhya taṁ mahātmānaḥ visphurantaṁ mahābalam | tataḥ asya savyam ūruṁ te mamanthur jāta manyavaḥ ||1-5-16 When they are not able to divert that king vena who is besmirched with euphoria, then the sages became wrathful, and those great souls having controlled that mighty vena who is jumping on everyone, they coming in fury have started giving to his left thigh. Some texts say that the sages have punished him to death, and on realising that the king has no posterity to safeguard the kingdom, then the sages started rubbing his thigh to generate offspring. nigṛhya = jīvantyā api pātayitvā. tasmin tu mathyamāne vai rājṣa ūrau prajajṣivān | hrasvaḥ ati-mātraḥ puruṣaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ ca ati babhūva ha ||1-5-17 While the great sages are giving friction to the thighs of that king vena, then there emerged a blackish stocky male dwarf. saḥ bhītaḥ prāṣjaliḥ bhūtvā sthitavān janamejaya | tam atriḥ vihvalaṁ dṛṣṭvā niṣīda iti abravīt tadā ||1-5-18 Then that dwarf stood aside with folded palms as he is panicked, and seeing him whose eyes are blank and fidgety, sage atri said to him, "sit back..." niṣīda means squat down, or hunker down, or crouch down. This has become the generic name of tribals who squat or crouch with the haunches nearly touching the heels, esp. for shelter or concealment in bushes and shrubs before pouncing / attacking their targets, say animals of prey. niṣāda vaṁśa karta asau babhūva vadatāṁ varāḥ| dhī varān asṛjat cātha veṇa kalmaṣa sambhavān || 1-5-19 And that dwarifish person has become the initiator of the line of niṣādā-s, the putative tribals, and he begot highly courageous offspring, just emerged out of the blemish of vena's enormity. dhī varān= nāvikān - who can navigate through the thick of jungles, not necessarily seafaring people. ye ca anye vindhya nilayāḥ tuśārāḥ tumburāḥ tathā | adharma rucayo ye ca viddhi tān vana sambhavān || 1-5-20 And you may know that others called tuṣārā-s, tumburā-s, who took delight in adharma and whose abode is vindhya range, have also emerged as the posterity of vena. tuṣārā tumburāḥ ca prāntya deśīyā - mleccha viśeṣāḥ; vindhya nilayāḥ - 'goṇda' iti 'kola' iti ca prasiddhāḥ; madhya deśīyāḥ. - nk. These are being called variously as koya-s, bhils, niṣādā-s in these days. --pṛthūpākhyānam - pṛthu's episode-- tataḥ punar mahātmānaḥ pāṇiṁ veṇasya dakṣiṇam| araṇīm iva saṁrabdhā mamanthuḥ te maharṣayaḥ ||1-5-21 Then those highminded sages still becoming furious again gave friction to the right hand of vena as if it is a stick of araṇi, wooden sticks used to generate ritual fire. pṛthuḥ tasmāt samuttasthau karāt jvalana saṁnibhaḥ | dīpyamānaḥ sva-vapuṣā sākṣāt agniḥ iva jvalan ||1-5-22 From that right hand of vena there emerged the highly resplendent pṛthu, where his physique blazed like the blaze of ritual fire. sa dhanvī kavacī jātaḥ pṛthureva mahāyaśāḥ | ādyam ājagavaṁ nāma dhanur gṛhya mahāravam | śarāṁśca divyān rakṣa-arthaṁ kavacaṁ ca mahāprabham ||1-5-23 That highly renowned pṛthu emerged with bow and armour, where his bow called ājagava is highly twanging, and the armour is highly lustrous, and the divine arrows are highly protective. tasmiṣ jāte atha bhūtāni samprahṛṣṭāni sarvaśaḥ | samāpetur mahārāja venaḥ ca tridivaṁ gataḥ ||1-5-24 Oh, king janamejaya, when pṛthu took birth all the beings are highly rejoiced and came rushing towards him... and in the meanwhile king vena went to heaven. samutpannena kauravya sat-putreṇa mahātmanā | trātaḥ sa puruṣavyāghra puṁ nāmno narakāt tadā ||1-5-25 As soon as he got a perfect and worthy son, namely pṛthu, then king vena is rescued from falling into a hell called punnāma-nararaka, to where sonless fathers are destined, and went to heaven. taṁ samudrāḥ ca nadyaḥ ca ratnāni ādāya sarvaśaḥ | toyāni ca abhiṣeka-arthaṁ sarva eva upatasthire ||1-5-26 pitāmahaḥ ca bhagavān devaiḥ āṅgirasaiḥ saha | sthāvarāṇi ca bhūtāni jaṅgamāni tathā eva ca ||1-5-27 samāgamya tadā vainyam abhyaṣiṣcan narādhipam | mahatā rājarājyena prajāpālaṁ mahādyutim ||1-5-28 When all the oceans and rivers have fetched and readied gems and waters from all over to anoint pṛthu as emperor, then brahma came there along with sages, gods, and all sessile and mobile beings, and anointed that vena's son pṛthu as the king of kings to administer kingship. angīrasā-s is upalakśaṇa - denotative for other sages available around brahma. saḥ abhiṣiktaḥ mahātejā vidhivat dharma-kovidaiḥ | ādi rājye tadā rājṣāṁ pṛthuḥ vainyaḥ pratāpavān ||1-5-29 pitra apa-raṣjitāḥ tasya prajāḥ tena anuraṣjitāḥ | anurāgāt tataḥ tasya nāma rājā iti ajāyata ||1-5-30 And he who is anointed thus by the experts in dharma had made his subjects delighted, which delight is usurped by his father vena, as such the name 'rāja' to the ruler has come to stay according to its definition, say, anu raṣjante asmin prajā iti raja padam; in whom people take delight for his delightful ruling - he is rā+ja. āpaḥ tastambhire cāsya samudram abhiyāsyataḥ | parvatāḥ hca daduḥ mārgaṁ dhvaja-bhaṅgaḥ ca na-abhavat ||1-5-31 akṛṣṭa pacyā pṛthivī sidhyanti annāni cintayā | sarva kāma-dughā gāvaḥ puṭake puṭake madhu ||1-5-32 When he sailed on sea water remained quiet, mountains gave him passable ways, slouching trees are not knocking his flag down, earth gave yield though uncultivated, provisions available within arms reach, cows milked every desire, and the sap of every leaf is like honey. Uncultivated earth gave yield - soil is so rich; cintanāt annāni sidhyanti is not by wish food is available, but food is at hand to commoners. Milk and milk products yielded returns with which the desires are fulfilled. And puṭake pupṭake = on leaf, on leaf - on every leaf sap is honey like - all culminating into good governance. etasmin eva kāle tu yajṣe paitāmahe śubhe | sūtaḥ sūtyāṁ samutpannaḥ sautye ahani mahāmatiḥ ||1-5-33 During this time when an auspicious vedic ritual aiming at brahma is being conducted, there arose highminded sūta, at the time of sūti, i.e., during the time when soma creeper is pressed for juice - soma abhiṣava kāle; on the day of sauti i.e., a nominated day for pressing soma juice during the period of vedic ritual. tasmin eva mahā-yajṣe jajṣe prājṣo'tha māgadhaḥ | pṛthoḥ stava-arthaṁ tau tatra samāhūtau surarṣibhiḥ ||1-5-34 tāu ūcur ṛṣayaḥ sarve stūyatām eṣa pārthivaḥ | karmaiḥ tat anurūpaṁ vāṁ pātraṁ ca ayaṁ narādhipaḥ ||1-5-35 During that period of ritual itself learned māgadhā has also emerged, and the sages have invited those two, sauti and māgadha. Assigning the duty of eulogising pṛthu, sages said this to both of them, "you two shall sing the praise of this king... that activity will be appropriate for you... and this king too is a befitting personality for it..." tāu ūcatuḥ tadā sarvān tān ṛṣīn sūta-māgadhau | āvāṁ devān ṛṣīṁ caiva prīṇayāvaḥ sva-karmabhiḥ ||1-5-36 na ca asya vidmo vai karma na tathā lakṣaṇaṁ yaśaḥ | stotraṁ yena asya kuryāva rājṣaḥ tejasvino dvijāḥ ||1-5-37 Then those two, sūta and māgadha, spoke to the sages in this way, "we will definitely please the gods and sages with our activity... but, we are unaware of this king's achievements, let alone his profile or renown, without which, oh sages, how can we sing the praise of this radiant one..." ṛṣibhiḥ tau niyuktau ca bhaviṣyaiḥ stūyatām iti | yāni karmāṇi kṛtavān pṛthuḥ paścāt mahābalaḥ ||1-5-38 Sages said to those eulogists, "sing the glory of his future acts..." and pṛthu's future acts remained just as sung by those two eulogists. The sages said this about pṛthu's future as below: satya vāka dānaśīlo ayam satyasa.ndho nareśvaraḥ | śrīmān jaitraḥ kśamāśīlo vikrānto duṣṭa śāsanaḥ || 1-5-39 dharmajṣaḥ ca kṛtajṣaḥ ca dayāvān priya bhāṣaṇaḥ | mānyo mānayitā yajvā brahmaṇyaḥ satya sa.mgaraḥ || 1-5-40 śamaḥ śāntaḥ ca nirato vyvahāra sthito nṛpaḥ | 1-5.41 a "This king would be truthful to his word, bountiful by his will, forthright and forbearing, prosperous and victorious, conqueror as well as chastener of evildoers, diligent and scrupulous, benignant and amicable, honoured and honouring, vedic ritualist and upholder of brahma, an epitome of truth itself, calm and collective, and that king will always be engaged in his kingly activities..." So said sages to eulogists foreseeing the future of pṛthu. tataḥ prabhṛti vai loke staveṣu janamejaya| 1-5.41 b āśīrvādāḥ prayujyante sūta māgadha vandibhiḥ || 1-5-41 From then onwards, oh, janamejaya, whenever such praises of legitimization are to be heard, or blessings needed to be showered, then the eulogies sūtā-s and māgadhā-s have come into vogue. Later, they have become heavily worded praise songs minus any achievements. tayoḥ stavaiḥ tasyaiḥ suprītaḥ pṛthuḥ prādāt prajeśvaraḥ| anūpa deśaṁ sūtāya magadhaṁ māgadhāya ca || 1-5-42 And pṛthu pleased with their eulogies bequeathed the province called anūpa to eulogist sūta, and a province called māgadha to eulogist māgadha. taṁ dṛṣṭvā parama-prītāḥ prajāḥ praāhuḥ maharṣayaḥ | vṛttīnām eṣa vaḥ dātā bhaviṣyati janeśvaraḥ ||1-5-43 tataḥ vainyaṁ mahārāja prajāḥ samabhidudruvuḥ | tvaṁ naḥ vṛttiṁ vidhatsva iti maharṣi vacanāt tadā ||1-5-44 On observing pṛthu, the great sages have said to the people, "this king will allocate respective occupations to you all..." and then according to the saying of the sages, people rushed to pṛthu and said, "be pleased to allocate our duties and functions ..." saḥ abhidrutaḥ prajābhiḥ tu prajā hita cikīrṣayā| dhanur gṛhya pṛṣatkāṁś ca pṛthivīm ādravat balī || 1-5=45 The, pṛthu who is interested in the welfare of people took his bow and ran after Mother Earth. Here we find the narration jumpy. Other texts say that he ran after earth when a famine broke out and when gods and earth were unyielding to prayers. ato vaiṇya bhaya trastā gaur bhūtvā prādravan mahī| tāṁ pṛthur dhanur ādāya dravantīm anvadhāvata || 1-5-46 sā lokān brahma loka ādīn gatvā vaiṇya bhayāt tadā| pradadarsha agrato vaiṇyaṁ pragṛhīta shara āsanam || 1-5-47 jvaladbhir nishitair bāṇair dīpta tejasam achyutam| mahāyogaṁ mahātmānaṁ durdharṣam amarair api || 1-5-48 alabhantī tu sā trāṇaṁ vaiṇyam eva anvapadyata| On seeing pṛthu running after her with bow in hand, Mother Earth took the form of a cow and fled in scare to all of the abodes of gods, like brahma loka etc., and as none in any world could stall pṛthu for his radiance, fierce and glowing arrows, and for his unassailability even for gods, and thus Mother Earth not getting a haven anywhere, had to return to pṛthu alone for refuge. kṛtāṣjali puṭā bhūtvā pūjyā lokaiḥ tribhiḥ tadā || uvāca vaiṇyaṁ na adharmyaṁ strī vadhe paripashyasi [kim?]| kathaṁ dhārayitā ca asi prajā rājan vinā mayā || 1=5=50 mayi lokāḥ sthitā rājan mayi idaṁ dhāryate jagat| mat vināśe vinaśyeyuḥ prajāḥ pārthiva viddhi tat || 1-5-51 na tvam arhasi mām hantuṁ śreyaḥ cet tvaṁ cikīrṣasi| And she who is adorable to all the three worlds, that Mother Earth stood nearby him with adjoined palms and said to pṛthu, "won't you anticipate sin in killing a female... oh, king, how do you sustain people without me... you should know that the perish of kings and people is included in my perish... hence, you are not supposed to eliminate me if you desire welfare of your subjects... prajānāṁ pṛthivīpāla śṛṇu ca idaṁ vacaḥ mama || 1-5-52 upāyataḥ samārabdhāḥ sarve sidhyanti upakramāḥ| upāyaṁ pashya yena tvaṁ dhārayethāḥ prajām imām || 1-5-53 hatvā api māṁ na śaktaḥ tvaṁ prajānāṁ poṣaṇe nṛpa| anubhūtā bhaviṣyāmi yat ca kopaṁ mahāfyute ||1-5-54 avadhyāḥ ca striyaṁ prāhuḥ tiryak yoni gateṣu api| sattveṣu pṛthivīpāla na dharmaṁ tyaktum arhasi || 1-5-55 "Oh, king, listen to my words, everything is achievable if you make haste upon your endeavour... hence, firstly seek out an idea with which you can sustain these people... I will be obliging if you leave off your fury ... killing even mammalian females is a sin... even if it is so, it will not be apt of you to forsake dharma in killing a harmless cow like me..." So said the cow-like Mother Earth to king pṛthu. evaṁ bahu vidhaṁ vākyaṁ śrutvā rājā mahāmanāḥ| kopaṁ nigṛhya dharmātmā vasudhām idam abravīt || 1-5-56 On listening to various arguments of Mother Earth in the form of cow, that highminded pṛthu restrained his anger and spoke to her in this way. iti śrīmahābhārate khilabhāge harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi pṛthūpākhyāne paṣchamo'dhyāyaḥ || 5 Thus, this is the fifth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the legend of emperor pṛthu and his father vena. --o)0(o--