{"collection":"Hinduism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/hin/db/bk02ch12.htm","path":"hin/db/bk02ch12.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/hin/db/bk02ch12.htm","text":"THE SECOND BOOK\nChapter XII\nOn the birth of \u00c2stika\n1-4. S\u00fbta said :-- Hearing these words of the king, Vy\u00e2sa Deva, the son Satyavat\u00ee addressed to him before the assembly, thus :-- \u201cO king! I am now reciting to you a Bh\u00e2gavata Pur\u00e2na, holy, wonderful, filled with many anecdotes, and leading to auspicious results; listen. Before I made my son S'uka study this Pur\u00e2na; O king! I will now recite before you that highest Pur\u00e2na, with all the secrets contained therein. I have extracted this from all the \u00c2gamas; it brings in Dharma (religion), Artha (wealth), K\u00e2ma (fructification of desires) and Moksa (liberation); hearing this gives always happiness and good results.\n5-6. At this Janamejaya said :-- \u201cO Lord! Whose son is this Muni \u00c2stika? Why did he come as an obstacle in my Sarpa Yaj\u00f1a (sacrifice of snakes)? And what object had he in preserving the snakes? O highly fortunate one! Kindly describe all this in detail; after this recite the Pur\u00e2na, also, in detail to me.\u201d\n7-18. Vy\u00e2sa Deva said :-- \u201cO king! In former days there lived a Muni named Jaratk\u00e2ru. He always remained in the path of peace; and did not marry. Once he saw, in a cave in a forest, his fathers and forefathers pendant. They spoke to Jaratk\u00e2ru thus :-- \u201cO son! Marry; we will thereby be greatly pleased; if there be a son of good character born to you, we all will be freed from all troubles and we would then able to go to Heavens.\u201d Hearing this Jaratk\u00e2ru said :-- \u201cO Forefathers! If I get a girl of my name, without begging and asking and if she be entirely obedient to me, I will marry and lead a householder's life; thus\nI have spoken truly to you.\u201d Thus saying to his forefathers, Jaratk\u00e2ru went on tour to the holy places. Now it happened so, that at that very time Kadru, the mother of snakes cursed her sons, saying \u201cMay you be burnt by fire.\u201d The matters of this incident run as follows :-- \u201cAt that moment Kadru and Vinat\u00e2, the two co-wives of Kas'yapa saw the horses yoked in the chariot of the sun and thus argued with each other :-- Kadru, seeing the sun's horse, first asked Vinat\u00e2 \u201cO good one! Tell me soon, what is the colour of this horse?\u201d Vinat\u00e2 said :-- \u201cO auspicious one! What do you think?\u201d I said, the colour of the horse is white; you also better say before hand what is its colour? We will then lay a wager (and challenge). Kadru said :-- \u201cO Smiling one! I think the the horse is black. Now come; let us challenge; whoever will be defeated will become the slave of the other.\u201d Thus saying, Kadru told her sons that were obedient :-- \u201cCover by your bodies all the pores of the body of the horse of the chariot of the Sun, so it may look black; go and do it.\u201d At this some snakes replied \u201cThat cannot be.\u201d Kadru then cursed them saying :-- \u201cLet you fall on the sacrificial fire of Janamejaya.\u201d Then the other snakes tried to please their mother and coiled round the back of that horse so that the horse began to look black. Kadru and Vinat\u00e2, the two co-wives went together and saw the horse. Vinat\u00e2 saw it black and became very sorry.\n19-21. Now, Garuda, Vinat\u00e2's son, very powerful and devourer of snakes was passing that way and seeing his mother very distressed asked her :-- \u201cO Mother! Why do you look so very sorry? It seems as if you are weeping. Aruna, the charioteer of the Sun and I myself are your two sons living. Fie to us that, while we are living, you will have to suffer pains. O beautiful one! If mother suffers while the son is living, then what use is there in having such a son? So, O Mother, give out the cause of your grief and I will remove it at once.\u201d\n22-31. Hearing this Vinat\u00e2 said :-- \u201cO son! What shall I say to you of my misery; I am now become the slave of my rival wife. By some pretext she defeated me and is now telling me to carry her on my back. O son! For this reason I am sorry.\u201d Hearing these words of the mother, Garuda said :-- \u201cVery well I will carry her on my shoulders wherever she wishes to go. O auspicious one! You need not be sorry; I will remove all your cares.\u201d Vy\u00e2sa Deva said :-- Thus spoken to by Garuda, Vinat\u00e2 went to Kadru. At that time the highly powerful Garuda went there also to free his mother of her slavery and carried Kadru with all her sons on his back to the other side of the ocean. When Garuda went across the ocean, Garuda spoke to Kadru :-- \u201cO mother! I bow down to thee; kindly say how my mother can be freed\nof your slavery. Hearing this Kadru said :-- \u201cO son! If you can bring to-day by your sheer force nectar from the Deva loka and give it to my sons then you will be able to free your helpless mother. When Kadru said so, the highly powerful Vinat\u00e2's son, Garuda immediately went to the abode of Indra and, fighting hard, stole away the jar of nectar and brought and gave it to Kadru and freed his mother Vinat\u00e2 from the slavery of Kadru. In the meantime, the snakes went for their bath, after which they would drink the nectar. Indra stole away that jar which contained nectar. O king! Thus, by the sheer strength of arms of Garuda Vinat\u00e2 was freed of her slavery. On the other hand, when the snakes returned from their bath and found that there was no jar of nectar, they began to lick the Kusa grass over which the jar of nectar was kept, thinking that they would thereby get some drops of nectar which might have trickled over; and the result was that by the sharp edges of kusa grasses, the tongues of all the snakes were cut asunder into two; hence the snakes are called Dvijihva.\n32-36. The snake V\u00e2suki and others, whom Kadru, the mother of snakes, cursed, went to Brahm\u00e2 and took his refuge and informed all of the cause of their terror, the curse from their mother; when Brahm\u00e2 spoke to them :-- \u201cGo and give the sister of V\u00e2suki, named Jaratk\u00e2ru, in marriage to the great Muni Jarat K\u00e2ru, (both of the same name). In her womb, a son named \u00c2stika will be born; and he will certainly deliver you from your difficulties. Hearing those beneficial words of Brahm\u00e2, V\u00e2suki went to the forest and requested humbly the great Muni Jarat K\u00e2ru to accept in marriage her own sister when the Muni, knowing the girl to be of his name, spoke out thus :-- \u201cBut when your sister will act against my wishes, I will forsake her at once.\u201d\n37-46. Under these conditions, the Muni married her. And V\u00e2suki, after giving her sister in marriage according to her own wishes to the Muni, returned to her own abode. O Tormentor of foes! Then the Muni Jaratk\u00e2ru built a white hut of leaves in that great forest and began to pass his days happily in enjoyment with his wife. Once, on an occasion, after he had taken his dinner he slept and told his wife not to awaken him under any circumstances and fell fast asleep. The beautiful sister of V\u00e2suki sat by his side. When the evening time came and the sun began to set, the V\u00e2suki's sister Jaratk\u00e2ru became afraid at the thought that the evening Sandhya might not be performed by the Muni and thought thus :-- \u201cWhat am I to do now? My heart finds not rest if I do not awaken him; and if I awaken him, he will forsake me at once. Now if I do not awaken him, the evening will pass away to no purpose. Whatever it be, if he quits me or if my death ensues, that is better than the non-observance of Dharma; for when Dharma is destroyed, hell ensues.\nThus thinking, the girl awakened him saying :-- \u201cO One of good vows! It is evening time; so get up; etc.\u201d The Muni got up in great anger and addressed his wife :-- \u201cWhen you have disturbed my sleep, I now go away from you; you also better go to your brother's house.\u201d When the Muni said so, V\u00e2suki's sister spoke out, trembling :-- \u201cO One of indomitable lustre! How will the object be served for which my brother has given me in marriage with you.\u201d\n47-50. The Muni then spoke firmly to his wife Jaratk\u00e2ru :-- \u201cThat is within your womb.\u201d Jaratk\u00e2ru then, forsaken by the Muni, went to the abode of V\u00e2suki. When her brother V\u00e2suki asked her about her son, she said :-- \u201cThe Muni has forsaken me, saying that the son is within your womb.\u201d At this V\u00e2suki trusted; and said :-- \u201cThe Muni won't ever tell lies\u201d and gave shelter to his sister. O Kurusattama! After some time, a famous boy named the Muni \u00c2stika was born.\n51-56. O king! That Muni boy, the knower of truth, had desisted you from your sacrifice of snakes for the preservation of his mother's family. It is well and good, befitting you, that you respected the words of the Muni \u00c2stika, born of Y\u00e2y\u00e2vara family and the cousin of V\u00e2suki. O Mighty-armed! Let all auspiciousness come to you; you have heard the whole Mah\u00e2bh\u00e2rata and gave away lots of things in charities. You have worshipped innumerable Munis. But, O king! Though you have done so many good things, yet your father has not attained heaven and you have not been able to sanctify your family. So, O king Janamejaya! Now install a capacious temple of the Dev\u00ee with the highest devotion; then all your desires will be fulfilled. The all auspicious Dev\u00ee, the Giver of all desires, makes the kingdoms more stable and increases the family, if She be always worshipped with the highest devotion.\n57-64. O king! You better perform duly the Dev\u00eemakha Yaj\u00f1a Yotistoma and others, pleasing to the Dev\u00ee, and hear the great Pur\u00e2na S\u2019r\u00eemad Dev\u00ee Bh\u00e2gavatam, filled with accounts of the glorious deeds of the Dev\u00ee. I will make you hear now that Divine Pur\u00e2na, filled with various sentiments, highly sanctifying and capable to carry one across this ocean of world. O king! There is no other subject in this world worthy to be heard than the above Pur\u00e2na and there is no other thing to be worshipped then the lotus feet of the Dev\u00ee. O king! Those are certainly fortunate, those are intelligent and blessed, in whose hearts of love and devotion reign always the Dev\u00ee Bhagavat\u00ee. O illustrious scion of Bharata's family! Know them to the always afflicted with troubles who do not worship in this world the great Mother Mah\u00e2m\u00e2y\u00e2. O king! Who is there that will not worship Her when Brahm\u00e2 and all the Devas\nare always engaged in Her devotional service. O king! He who hears always this Pur\u00e2na gets all his desires fulfilled; in former days Bhagavat\u00ee Herself spoke this excellent Pur\u00e2na to Visnu. O king! Your heart will be appeased and become peaceful when you hear this; and, as a result of your hearing this Pur\u00e2nam, all your ancestors will attain endless Heavenly life.\nThus ends the Twelfth Chapter of the Second Skandha on the birth of \u00c2stika in the Mah\u00e2pur\u00e2nam S'r\u00eemad Dev\u00ee Bh\u00e2gavatam of 18,000 verses by Maharsi Veda Vy\u00e2sa. Here ends as well the Second Book.","title":"The Devi Bhagavatam: The Second Book: Chapter 12","type":"page"}