Janamejaya said, “It behoveth thee to narrate to me in full the greatness
of the Brahmanas even as the mighty ascetic Markandeya had expounded it
to the sons of Pandu.”
“Vaisampayana said, ‘The eldest son of Pandu had asked Markandeya saying,
‘It behoveth thee to expound to me the greatness of Brahmanas.’
Markandeya answered him saying, ‘Hear, O king, about the behaviour of
Brahmanas in days of old.’
“And Markandeya continued, ‘There was a king, by name Parikshit in
Ayodhya and belonging to the race of Ikshvaku. And once upon a time
Parikshit went a-hunting. And as he was riding alone on a horse chasing
deer, the animal led him to a great distance (from the habitations of
men). And fatigued by the distance he had ridden and afflicted with
hunger and thirst he beheld in that part of the country whither he had
been led, a dark and dense forest, and the king, beholding that forest,
entered it and seeing a delightful tank within the forest, both the rider
and the horse bathed in it, and refreshed by the bath and placing before
his horse some stalks and fibres of the lotus, the king sat by the side
of the tank. And while he was lying by the side of the tank, he heard
certain sweet strains of music, and hearing those strains, he reflected,
‘I do not see here the foot-prints of men. Whose and whence then these
strains?’ And the king soon beheld a maiden of great beauty gathering
flowers singing all the while, and the maiden soon came before the king,
and the king thereupon asked her, ‘Blessed one, who art thou and whose?’
And she replied, ‘I am a maiden.’ And the king said, ‘I ask thee to be
mine.’ And the maiden answered, ‘Give me a pledge, for then only I can be
thine, else not.’ And the king then asked about the pledge and the girl
answered. ‘Thou wilt never make me cast my eyes on water’, and the king
saying, ‘So be it,’ married her, and king Parikshit having married her
sported (with her) in great joy, and sat with her in silence, and while
the king was staying there, his troops reached the spot, and those troops
beholding the monarch stood surrounding him, and cheered by the presence
of troops, the king entered a handsome vehicle accompanied by his (newly)
wedded wife. And having arrived at his capital he began to live with her
in privacy. And persons that were even near enough to the king could not
obtain any interview with him and the minister-in-chief enquired of those
females that waited upon the king, asking, ‘What do ye do here?’ And
those women replied, ‘We behold here a female of unrivalled beauty. And
the king sporteth with her, having married her with a pledge that he
would never show her water.’ And hearing those words, the
minister-in-chief caused an artificial forest to be created, consisting
of many trees with abundant flowers and fruits, and he caused to be
excavated within that forest and towards one of its sides a large tank,
placed in a secluded spot and full of water that was sweet as Amrita. The
tank was well covered with a net of pearls. Approaching the king one day
in private, he addressed the king saying, ‘This is a fine forest without
water. Sport thou here joyfully!’ And the king at those words of his
minister entered that forest with that adorable wife of his, and the king
sported with her in that delightful forest, and afflicted with hunger and
thirst and fatigued and spent, the king beheld a bower of Madhavi
creepers[48] and entering that bower with his dear one, the king beheld a
tank full of water that was transparent and bright as nectar, and
beholding that tank, the king sat on its bank with her and the king told
his adorable wife, ‘Cheerfully do thou plunge into this water!’ And she,
hearing those words plunged into the tank. But having plunged into the
water she appeared not above the surface, and as the king searched, he
failed to discover any trace of her. And the king ordered the waters of
the tank to be baled out, and thereupon he beheld a frog sitting at the
mouth of a hole, and the king was enraged at this and promulgated an
order saying, ‘Let frogs be slaughtered everywhere in my dominions!
Whoever wishes to have an interview with me must come before me with a
tribute of dead frogs.’ And accordingly when frogs began to be terribly
slaughtered, the affrighted frogs represented all that had happened unto
their king, and the king of the frogs assuming the garb of an ascetic
came before the king Parikshit, and having approached the monarch, he
said, ‘O king, give not thyself up to wrath! Be inclined to grace. It
behoveth thee not to slay the innocent frogs.’ Here occurs a couple of
Slokas. (They are these):--‘O thou of unfading glory, slay not the frogs!
Pacify thy wrath! The prosperity and ascetic merits of those that have
their souls steeped in ignorance suffer diminution! Pledge thyself not to
be angry with the frogs! What need hast thou to commit such sin! What
purpose will be served by slaying the frogs!’ Then king Parikshit whose
soul was filled with woe on account of the death of her that was dear to
him, answered the chief of the frogs who had spoken to him thus, ‘I will
not forgive the frogs. On the other hand, I will slay them. By these
wicked wretches hath my dear one been swallowed up. The frogs, therefore,
always deserve to be killed by me. It behoveth thee not, O learned one,
to intercede on their behalf.’ And hearing these words of Parikshit, the
king of the frogs with his senses and mind much pained said, ‘Be inclined
to grace, O king! I am the king of the frogs by name Ayu. She who was thy
wife is my daughter of the name of Susobhana. This, indeed, is an
instance of her bad conduct. Before this, many kings were deceived by
her.’ The king thereupon said to him, ‘I desire to have her. Let her be
granted to me by thee!’ The king of the frogs thereupon bestowed his
daughter upon Parikshit, and addressing her said, ‘Wait upon and serve
the king.’ And having spoken these words to his daughter, he also
addressed her in wrath saying, ‘Since thou hast deceived many Kings for
this untruthful behaviour of thine, thy offspring will prove
disrespectful to Brahmanas!’ But having obtained her, the king became
deeply enamoured of her in consequence of her companionable virtues, and
feeling that he had, as it were, obtained the sovereignty of the three
worlds, he bowed down to the king of the frogs and reverenced him in due
form and then with utterance choked in joy and tears said, ‘I have been
favoured indeed!’ And the king of the frogs obtaining the leave of his
daughter, returned to the place from which he had come and some time
after the king begot three sons upon her and those sons were named Sala
and Dala and Vala, and some time after, their father, installing the
eldest of them of all on the throne and setting his heart on asceticism,
retired into the forest. One day Sala while out a-hunting, beheld a deer
and pursued it, on his car, and the prince said to his charioteer, ‘Drive
thou fast.’ And the charioteer, thus addressed, replied unto the king,
saying, ‘Do not entertain such a purpose. This deer is incapable of being
caught by thee. If indeed Vami horses had been yoked to thy car, then
couldst thou have taken it.’ Thereupon the king addressed his charioteer,
saying, ‘Tell me all about Vami horses, otherwise I will slay thee,’ Thus
addressed the charioteer became dreadfully alarmed and he was afraid of
the king and also of Vamadeva’s curse and told not the king anything and
the king then lifting up his scimitar said to him, ‘Tell me soon, else I
will slay thee.’ At last afraid of the king, the charioteer said, ‘The
Vami horses are those belonging to Vamadeva; they are fleet as the mind.’
And unto his charioteer who had said so, the king said, ‘Repair thou to
the asylum of Vamadeva.’ And reaching the asylum of Vamadeva the king
said unto that Rishi, ‘O holy one, a deer struck by me is flying away. It
behoveth thee to make it capable of being seized by me by granting me thy
pair of Vami horses.’ The Rishi then answered him saying, ‘I give thee my
pair of Vami horses. But after accomplishing thy object, my Vami pair you
should soon return.’ The king then taking those steeds and obtaining the
leave of the Rishi pursued the deer, having yoked the Vami pair unto his
car, and after he had left the asylum he spoke unto his charioteer
saying, ‘These jewels of steeds the Brahmanas do not deserve to possess.
These should not be returned to Vamadeva.’ Having said this and seized
the deer he returned to his capital and placed those steeds within the
inner apartments of the palace.
“Meanwhile the Rishi reflected, ‘The prince is young. Having obtained an
excellent pair of animals, he is sporting with it in joy without
returning it to me. Alas, what a pity it is!’ And reflecting in this
strain, the Rishi said unto a disciple of his, after the expiration of a
month, ‘Go, O Atreya, and say to the king that if he has done with the
Vami steeds, he should return them unto thy preceptor.’ And the disciple
Atreya, thereupon, repairing to the king, spoke unto him as instructed,
and the king replied saying, ‘This pair of steeds deserves to be owned by
kings. The Brahmanas do not deserve to possess jewels of such value. What
business have Brahmanas with horses? Return thou contentedly!’ And
Atreya, thus addressed by the king, returned and told his preceptor all
that had happened, and hearing this sad intelligence, Vamadeva’s heart
was filled with wrath, and repairing in person to the king he asked him
for his steeds, and the king refused to give the Rishi what the latter
asked, and Vamadeva said, ‘O lord of earth, give me thou my Vami horses.
By them hast thou accomplished a task which was almost incapable of being
accomplished by thee. By transgressing the practices of Brahmanas and
Kshatriyas, subject not thyself, O king, to death by means of the
terrible noose of Varuna.’ And hearing this, the king answered, ‘O
Vamadeva, this couple of excellent well-trained, and docile bulls are fit
animals for Brahmanas. O great Rishi, (take them and) go with them
wherever thou likest. Indeed, the very Vedas carry persons like thee.’
Then Vamadeva said, ‘O king, the Vedas do, indeed, carry persons like us.
But that is in the world hereafter. In this world, however, O king,
animals like these carry me and persons like me as also all others.’ At
this the king answered, ‘Let four assess carry thee, or four mules of the
best kind, or even four steeds endued with the speed of the wind. Go thou
with these. This pair of Vami horses, however, deserves to be owned by
Kshatriyas. Know thou, therefore, that these are not thine.’ At this,
Vamadeva said, ‘O king, terrible vows have been ordained for the
Brahmanas. If I have lived in their observance, let four fierce and
mighty Rakshasas of terrible mien and iron bodies, commanded by me,
pursue thee with desire of slaying, and carry thee on their sharp lances,
having cut up thy body into four parts.’ Hearing this, the king said,
‘Let those, O Vamadeva, that know thee as a Brahmana that in thought,
word, and deed, is desirous of taking life, at my command, armed with
bright lances and swords prostrate thee with thy disciples before me.’
Then Vamadeva answered, ‘O king, having obtained these my Vami steeds,
thou hadst said, ‘I will return them.’ Therefore, give me back my Vami
steeds, so thou mayst be able to protect thy life.’ Hearing this, the
king said, ‘Pursuit of deer hath not been ordained for the Brahmanas. I
do punish thee, however, for thy untruthfulness. From this day, too,
obeying all thy commands I will, O Brahmana, attain to regions of bliss.’
Vamadeva then said, ‘A Brahmana cannot be punished in thought, word or
deed. That learned person who by ascetic austerities succeedeth in
knowing a Brahmana to be so, faileth not to attain to prominence in this
world.’
“Markandeya continued, ‘After Vamadeva had said this, there arose, O
king, (four) Rakshasas of terrible mien, and as they, with lances in
their hands, approached the king for slaying him, the latter cried aloud,
saying, ‘If, O Brahmana, all the descendants of Ikshvaku’s race, if (my
brother) Dala, if all these Vaisyas acknowledge my sway, then I will not
yield up the Vami steeds to Vamadeva, for these men can never be
virtuous.’ And while he was uttering those words, those Rakshasas slew
him, and the lord of earth was soon prostrated on the ground. And the
Ikshvakus, learning that their king had been slain, installed Dala on the
throne, and the Brahmana Vamadeva thereupon going to the kingdom (of the
Ikshvakus), addressed the new monarch, saying, ‘O king, it hath been
declared in all the sacred books that persons should give away unto
Brahmanas. If thou fearest sin, O king, give me now the Vami steeds
without delay.’ And hearing these words of Vamadeva, the king in anger
spoke unto his charioteer, saying, ‘Bring me an arrow from those I have
kept, which is handsome to behold and tempered with poison, so that
pierced by it Vamadeva may lie prostrate in pain, torn by the dogs.’
Hearing this, Vamadeva answered, ‘I know, O king, that thou hast a son of
ten years of age, called Senajita, begotten upon thy queen. Urged by my
word, slay thou that dear boy of thine without delay by means of thy
frightful arrows!’
“Markandeya continued, ‘At these words of Vamadeva, O king, that arrow of
fierce energy, shot by the monarch, slew the prince in the inner
apartments, and hearing this, Dala said there and then, ‘Ye people of
Ikshvaku’s race, I will do ye good. I shall slay this Brahmana today,
grinding him with force. Bring me another arrow of fierce energy. Ye
lords of earth, behold my prowess now.’ And at these words of Dala,
Vamadeva said, ‘This arrow of terrible mien and tempered with poison,
that thou aimest at me, thou shall not, O ruler of men, be able to aim
nor even to shoot.’ And thereupon the king said, ‘Ye men of Ikshvaku’s
race, behold me incapable of shooting the arrow that hath been taken up
by me. I fail to compass the death of this Brahmana. Let Vamadeva who is
blessed with a long life live.’ Then Vamadeva said, ‘Touching thy queen
with this arrow, thou mayst purge thyself of the sin (of attempting to
take the life of a Brahmana).’ And king Dala did as he was directed and
the queen then addressed the Muni, and said, ‘O Vamadeva, let me be able
to duly instruct this wretched husband of mine from day to day, imparting
unto him words of happy import; and let me always wait upon and serve the
Brahmanas, and by this acquire, O Brahmana, the sacred regions
hereafter.’ And hearing these words of the queen, Vamadeva said, ‘O thou
of beautiful eyes, thou hast saved this royal race. Beg thou an
incomparable boon. I will grant thee whatever thou mayst ask. And, O thou
faultless one, rule thou, O princess, these thy kinsmen and this great
kingdom of the Ikshvakus!’ And hearing these words of Vamadeva the
princess said, ‘This, O holy one, is the boon I seek, viz., that my
husband may now be freed from his sin, and that thou mayst be employed in
thinking of the weal of his son and kinsmen. This is the boon that I ask,
O thou foremost of Brahmanas!’
“Markandeya continued, ‘Hearing these words of the queen, that Muni, O
thou foremost of the Kuru race, said, ‘So be it.’ And thereupon king Dala
became highly glad and gave unto the Muni his Vami steeds, having bowed
down unto him with reverence!’”