{"collection":"Hinduism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/hin/db/bk02ch03.htm","path":"hin/db/bk02ch03.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/hin/db/bk02ch03.htm","text":"THE SECOND BOOK\nChapter III\nOn the description of the curse on Gang\u00e2, Mah\u00e2bhisa and Vasus\n1-8. The Risis said :-- \u201cO Sinless S\u00fbta! You have described to us in detail the birth of Vy\u00e2sa, of unrivalled fire, and of Satyavat\u00ee; but we have one great doubt in our minds though, O Knower of Dharma! which is not being removed by your words. O Sinless one! First, as regards the mother of Vy\u00e2sa, the all auspicious Satyavat\u00ee, we have this doubt how she came to be united to the virtuous S\u2019antanu? The king S\u2019antanu, of the family of Puru is a greatly religious man; how could he have married Satyavat\u00ee knowing her to be a fisherman's daughter and born of a low family? Now say who was the first wife of S\u2019antanu and how Bh\u00eesma, the intelligent son of S\u2019antanu came to be born of the parts of Vasu? O S\u00fbta! You have told before that Bh\u00eesma, of indomitable valour, made the Satyavat\u00ee's son, the brave Chitr\u00e2ngada, king; and subsequent to his death made his younger brother Vich\u00eetrav\u00eerya king. But when the elder brother Bh\u00eesma, the greatly religious and beautiful was present, how was it that Chitr\u00e2ngada and Vich\u00eetrav\u00eerya having been installed by Bh\u00eesma himself could have reigned.\u201d\n9-12. Again on the demise of Vich\u00eetrav\u00eerya, Satyavat\u00ee became very much grieved and got two sons born of her two son's wives by Vedavy\u00e2sa? How can we explain this fact? Why did she do this? Why did she not give to Bh\u00eesma the kingdom? Why did Bh\u00eesma not marry? And how was it that the elder brother Vy\u00e2sa Deva, of indomitable valour, did such an irreligious act as to beget two (Goloka) sons from the wives of the brothers? Vy\u00e2sa composed the Pur\u00e2nas and knew everything of religion; how then did he go to other's wives, especially, of his brother's wives?\n13-14. O S\u00fbta! Why did Vy\u00e2sa Deva do such a hateful act, in spite of his being a Muni? The actions of Vedas are inferred from their subsequent good conducts; how can this act of Vy\u00e2sa be calculated as one amongst them? O Intelligent one! You are the disciple of Vy\u00e2sa; therefore you are the best man to solve our doubts. We all of this Dharmakshettra Naimis\u00e2ranya are very eager to hear this.\n15-39. At this S\u00fbta said :-- In ancient days there reigned a king named Mah\u00e2bhisa, in the family of Iks\u00e2ku endowed with all the qualities of a great king; he was the foremost of all the kings, truthful and religious. That highly intelligent king performed thousand horse-sacrifices (Asva\nmedhas) one hundred V\u00e2japeya sacrifices and thereby satisfied Indra, the king of the Devas and went to Heavens. Once, on an occasion, that king went to the abode of Brahm\u00e2; the other gods also went there to serve Praj\u00e2pati. The great river, Gang\u00e2 Dev\u00ee, too, assuming the feminine form, went to Brahm\u00e2 to serve him. Now, in the interval, violent winds arose and the clothing of Gang\u00e2 Dev\u00ee went off; at this the Devas did not look at her; rather kept their faces downwards; but the king Mah\u00e2bhisa continued gazing at her. Gang\u00e2 also came to know the king and that he had become attached to her. Brahm\u00e2, seeing that both of them are love-stricken and are shameless, became angry and cursed them immediately :-- O king! you better take your birth again in the human world and practise great meritorious deeds and come again to this Heaven. Thus saying, Brahm\u00e2 looked at Gang\u00e2, who was attached to the king, and addressed her :-- \u201cYou too better go to the human world and become his wife.\u201d Both of them, the king as well as Gang\u00e2, came out of Brahm\u00e2's abode, very much grieved in their hearts. The king Mah\u00e2bhisa thought of coming to this world and reflected on the kings thereof and settled to make the king Prat\u00eepa of Puru's family his father. At this time the eight Vasus with their wives wandering in various places and enjoying as they liked came to the hermitage of Vas'istha. Amongst the aforesaid eight Vasus Prithu and others, one Vasu Dyau's wife seeing Nandini, the sacrificial cow (K\u00e2madhenu) of Vas'istha asked her husband :-- \u201cWhose is this excellent cow that I see? Vasu then replied as follows :-- \u201c O Beautiful one! This is Vas'istha's cow. Whoever, be he a man or woman drinks her milk gets his longevity extended to ten thousand years and his youth never ends.\u201d Hearing this, the Vasu's wife said :-- \u201cThere is a very beautiful comrade (Sakh\u00ee) of mine, the daughter of the Rajars\u00ee-Us'\u00eena in the world, of auspicious qualities. O Mah\u00e2bh\u00e2ga! Kindly bring to me from Vas'istha's hermitage that auspicious sacrificial milch cow Nandini together with her calf that yields all desires; my Sakh\u00ee will then drink her milk and be thereby free from disease, old age and become the chief amongst all mankind. Hearing thus, his wife's word, the Vasu Dyau, though sinless, stole away together with Prithu and the other Vasus the cow Nandini in utter defiance to the self-controlled Muni Vas'istha. When the cow Nandini had been stolen, the great ascetic Vas'istha came quickly to the hermitage with abundance of fruits.\nThe ascetic Muni Vas'istha, not finding, in his hermitage, his cow with her calf, searched for her in many forests and caves; but he, the son of Varuna, could not find out his cow even after prolonged searches; he, then, took recourse to meditation and came to know that the Vasus had stolen the cow and became angry. He expressed :-- \u201cWhen the Vasus have stolen this my cow in utter defiance to my self, they must be born\namongst men.\u201d When the religious Varuna's son Vas'istha thus cursed the Vasus, they became very sorry and absent-minded; all of them went to Vas'istha's hermitage and saw him there; they began to supplicate him as much as they could; and took refuge under him. Seeing the Vasus standing before him in an extremely distressed condition, the virtuous Muni Vas'istha said :-- \u201cYou all will be free from the curse within one year; but the Vasu Dyau will dwell amongst men for a long, long period as he had stolen direct my Nandini with her calf.\u201d\n40-60. While the Vasus, thus cursed, were returning, they saw on the way the chief river Gang\u00e2 Dev\u00ee also cursed and therefore distressed; all of them bowed down to her simultaneously and said: \u201cO Dev\u00ee! A serious thought is troubling our minds, how can we, who live on nectar, take our birth in human wombs; so, O best river! You better be a woman and give birth to us. O Sinless one! You better be the wife of the sage King S\u2019antanu and no sooner we be born of your womb, kindly throw us in the river Gang\u00e2 (your water). If you do thus, O Gang\u00e2 we will certainly be freed of our curse.\u201d Gang\u00e2 Dev\u00ee replied \u201cWell; that will be.\u201d Thus spoken, the Vasus went to their respective places; and Gang\u00e2 Dev\u00ee, too, thinking on the subject again and again, went out of that place. At this time Mah\u00e2bhisa became born as a son of the king Prat\u00eepa and became known as S\u2019antanu. He was exceedingly religious and true to his promise. One day while the King Prat\u00eepa was praising the S\u00fbrya Dev\u00ee (the sun) of unequalled energy, Gang\u00e2 Dev\u00ee assumed an extraordinarily beautiful feminine form and came out of the waters and sat on the right thigh, resembling like a s\u00e2l tree, of the king Prat\u00eepa. The sage king Prat\u00eep spoke out to the lady sitting on his right thigh, thus :-- \u201cO beautiful faced one! Why, unasked, have you sat on my auspicious right thigh?\u201d The lovely Gang\u00e2 then replied :-- \u201cHear why I have sat here. O best of Kurus! O king! Becoming attached to you, I have sat on your thigh; so please accept me.\u201d At this the king Prat\u00eepa spoke to the beautiful lady, full of youth and beauty, \u201cI never go, simply out of passion to another's wife. There is another point; you have sat on my right thigh; that is the seat of sons and son's wives; so, when my desired son will be born, you will then, be my son's wife. And certainly, by your good will, my son will be born.\u201d The lady, of divine form, said, Well; that will be done! and went away. The king returned to his palace, thinking of the lady. After some time, he had a son born to him and when the son attained his teens, the king desired to lead a forest life and communicated this matter to his son. He said also, if the aforesaid beautifully smiling girl comes to you to marry, then marry her. And I am also ordering you not to question her anything \u201cwho are you\u201d and so forth. If you take her as your legal wife, you will certainly be happy. Thus\nsaying to his son, the king Prat\u00eepa handed over all his kingdom to his son and gladly retired into the forest. The king practised tapasy\u00e2 in the forest and worshipped Ambik\u00e2; on quitting his mortal coil, he went by his sheer merit to the Heavens. The highly energetic king S\u2019antanu, on getting his kingdom, began to administer justice according to the laws of Dharma and governed his subjects.\nThus ends the third Chapter of the Second Skandha on the description of the curse on Gang\u00e2, Mah\u00e2bhisa and Vasus in the M\u00e2hapur\u00e2nam S\u2019r\u00ee Mad Dev\u00ee Bh\u00e2gavatam of 18,000 verses.","title":"The Devi Bhagavatam: The Second Book: Chapter 3","type":"page"}