Prelude to the Great Bharata War
Dushyanta and Shakuntala—Romantic Wooing—Birth of
Bharata—Shakuntala's Appeal—Her Claim vindicated—King Bharata's
Reign—King Hastin and King Kuru—King Shantanu's Bride a
Goddess—Seven Babes drowned—Story of Satyavati—Vyasa, Poet and
Sage—Bhishma's Terrible Vow—Fisher Girl becomes Queen—Marriage by
Capture—A Childless King—Origin of Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidura.
Now the sire of the great King Bharata[189] was royal Dushyanta of
the lunar race, the descendant of Atri, the Deva-rishi, and of Soma,
the moon; his mother was beautiful Shakuntala, the hermit maiden, and
daughter of a nymph from the celestial regions. And first be it told of
the wooing of Shakuntala and the strange childhood of her mighty son.
[189] _Pron._ bah´ra-ta or bhah´ra-ta.
One day King Dushyanta, that tiger among men, went forth from his
stately palace to go a-hunting with a great host and many horses and
elephants. He entered a deep jungle and there slew numerous wild
animals; his arrows wounded tigers at a distance; he felled those
that came near with his great sword. Lions fled from before him, wild
elephants stampeded in terror, deer sought to escape hastily, and birds
rose in the air uttering cries of distress.
The king, attended by a single follower, pursued a deer across a desert
plain, and entered a beautiful forest which delighted his heart, for
it was deep and shady, and was cooled by soft winds; sweet-throated
birds sang in the branches, and all round about there were blossoming
trees and blushing flowers; he heard the soft notes of the kokila[190],
and beheld many a green bower carpeted with grass and canopied by
many-coloured creepers.
[190] The Indian cuckoo.
Dushyanta, abandoning the chase, wandered on until he came to a
delightful and secluded hermitage, where he saw the sacred fire of that
austere and high-souled Brahman, the saintly Kanva. It was a scene of
peace and beauty. Blossoms from the trees covered the ground; tall were
the trunks, and the branches were far-sweeping. A silvery stream went
past, breaking on the banks in milk-white foam; it was the sacred River
Malini, studded with green islands, loved by water fowl, and abounding
with fish.
Then the king was taken with desire to visit the holy sage, Kanva, he
who is without darkness. So he divested himself of his royal insignia
and entered the sacred grove alone. Bees were humming; birds trilled
their many melodies; he heard the low chanting voices of Brahmans among
the trees—those holy men who can take captive all human hearts....
When he reached the abode of Kanva, he wondered to find that it was
empty, and called out: “Who is here?” and the forest echoed his voice.
Then came towards him a beautiful black-eyed virgin, clad in a robe of
bark. She reverenced the king and said: “What seekest thou? I am thy
servant.”
Said the royal Dushyanta to the maiden of faultless form and gentle
voice: “I have come to honour the wise and blessed Kanva. Tell me, O
fair and amiable one, whither he hath gone?”
The maiden answered: “My illustrious sire is gathering herbs, but if
thou wilt tarry he will return ere long.”
Dushyanta was entranced by the beauty and sweet smiles of the gentle
girl, and his heart was moved towards her, for she was in the bloom of
youth. So he spake, saying: “Who art thou, O fairest one? Whence comest
thou, and why dost thou wander alone in the woods? O comely maiden,
thou hast taken captive my heart.”
The bright-eyed one made answer: “I am the daughter of the holy and
high-souled Kanva, the ever-wise and ever-constant.”
Said the king: “But Kanva is chaste and austere and hath ever been a
celibate, nor can he have broken his rigid vow. How came it that thou
wert born the daughter of such a one?”
Then the maiden, who was named Shakuntala, because that the birds
(shakunta) had nursed her, revealed unto the king the secret of her
birth. Her real sire was Vishwamitra[191], the holy sage who had been
a Kshatriya and was made a Brahman in reward for his austerities. It
came to pass that Indra became alarmed at his growing power, and he
feared that the mighty sage of blazing energy would, by reason of his
penances, cast down even him, the king of the gods, from his heavenly
seat. So Indra commanded Menaka, the beauteous Ap'sara, to disturb the
holy meditations of the sage, for he had already achieved such power
that he created a second world and many stars. The nymph called on
the wind god and on the god of love, and they went with her towards
Vishwamitra.
[191] _Pron._ vish-wah-mit´ra.
Menaka danced before the brooding sage; then the wind god snatched
away her moon-white garments, and the love god shot his arrows at
Vishwamitra, whereupon that saintly man was stricken with love for the
nymph of peerless beauty, and he wooed her and won her as his bride. So
was he diverted from his austerities. In time Menaka became the mother
of a girl babe, whom she cast away on the river bank.
Now the forest was full of lions and tigers, but vultures gathered
round the infant and protected her from harm. Then Kanva found and took
pity on the child; he said: “She will be mine own daughter.”
Said Shakuntala: “O king, I was that child who was abandoned by the
nymph, and now thou dost know how Kanva came to be my sire.”
The king said: “Blessed are thy words, O princess. Thou art of royal
birth. Be thou my bride, O beautiful maid, and thou wilt have garlands
of gold and golden ear-rings and white pearls and rich robes; my
kingdom also will be thine, O timid one; wed thou me in Gandharva mode,
which of all marriages is the best.”[192]
[192] The Gandharva marriage was legalized by Manu, but only for
members of the Kshatriya (kings and warriors) caste.
Then Shakuntala promised to be the king's bride, on condition that he
would choose her son as the heir to his throne.
“As thou desirest, so let it be,” said Dushyanta. And the fair one
became his bride.
Ere Dushyanta went away he promised Shakuntala that he would send a
mighty host to escort her to his palace.
When Kanva returned, the maiden did not leave her hiding-place to greet
him; but he searched out and found her, and he read her heart. “Thou
hast not broken the law,” he said. “Dushyanta, thine husband, is noble
and true, and a son will be born unto thee who will achieve great
renown.”
In time fair Shakuntala became the mother of a comely boy, and the
wheel mark[193] was on his hands. He grew to be strong and brave, and
when but six years old he sported with young lions, for he was suckled
by a lioness; he rode on the backs of lions and tigers and wild boars
in the midst of the forest. He was called All-tamer, because that he
tamed everything.
[193] A sign of martial and royal origin.
Now when Kanva perceived that the boy was of unequalled prowess, he
spake to Shakuntala and said: “The time hath come when he must be
anointed as heir to the throne.” So he bade his disciples to escort
mother and son unto the city of Gajasahvaya[194], where Dushyanta had
his royal palace.
[194] _Pron._ Gaj-as-ah-va´ya.
So it came that Shakuntala once again stood before the king, and she
said unto him: “Lo! I have brought unto thee this thy son, O Dushyanta.
Fulfil the promise thou didst make aforetime, and let him be anointed
as thine heir.”
Dushyanta had no pleasure in her words, and made answer: “I have no
memory of thee. Who are thou and whence cometh thou, O wicked hermit
woman? I never took thee for wife, nor care I whether thou art to
linger here or to depart speedily.”
Stunned by his cold answer, the sorrowing Shakuntala stood there like
a log.... Soon her eyes became red as copper and her lips trembled;
she cast burning glances at the monarch. For a time she was silent;
then she exclaimed with fervour: “O king without shame, well dost
thou know who I am. Why wilt thou deny knowledge of me as if thou wert
but an inferior person? Thy heart is a witness against thee. Be not a
robber of thine own affections.... The gods behold everything: naught
is hidden from them; verily, they will not bless one who doth degrade
himself by speaking falsely regarding himself. Spurn not the mother of
thy son; spurn not thy faithful wife. A true wife beareth a son; she
is the first of friends and the source of salvation; she enables her
husband to perform religious acts, her sweet speeches bring him joy;
she is a solace and a comforter in sickness and in sorrow; she is a
companion in this world and the next. If a husband dies, a wife follows
soon afterwards; if she is gone before, she waiteth for her husband
in heaven. She is the mother of the son who performs the funeral rite
to secure everlasting bliss for his sire, rescuing him from the hell
called Put. Therefore a man should reverence the mother of his son, and
look upon his son as if he beheld his own self in a mirror, rejoicing
the while as if he had found heaven.... Why, O king, dost thou spurn
thine own child? Even the ants will protect their eggs; strangers far
from home take the children of others on their knees to be made happy,
but thou hast no compassion for this child, although he is thy son,
thine own image.... Alas! what sin did I commit in my former state that
I should have been deserted by my parents and now by thee!... If I must
go hence, take thou thy son to thy bosom, O king.”
Said Dushyanta: “It has been well said that all women are liars. Who
will believe thee? I know naught regarding thee or thy son.... Begone!
O wicked woman, for thou art without shame.”
Shakuntala made answer, speaking boldly and without fear: “O king,
thou canst perceive the shortcomings of others, although they may be
as small as mustard seeds; thou art blind to thine own sins, although
they may be big as Vilwa fruit. As the swine loveth dirt even in a
flower garden, so do the wicked perceive evil in all that the good
relate. Honest men refrain from speaking ill of others: the wicked
rejoice in scandal. O king! truth is the chief of all virtues. Truth is
God himself. Do not break thy vow of truth: let truth be ever a part
of thee. But if thou wouldst rather be false, I must needs depart,
for, verily, such a one as thee should be avoided.... Yet know now, O
Dushyanta, that when thou art gone, my son will be king of this world,
which is surrounded by the four seas and adorned by the monarch of
mountains.”
Shakuntala then turned from the king, but a voice out of heaven spoke
softly down the wind, saying:
“_Shakuntala hath uttered what is true. Therefore, O Dushyanta, cherish
thy son, and became thou wilt cherish him by command of the gods, let
his name be Bharata (‘the cherished’)_.”
When the king heard these words, he spoke to his counsellors and said:
“The celestial messenger hath spoken.... Had I welcomed this my son by
pledge of Shakuntala alone, men would suspect the truth of her words
and doubt his royal birth.”
Thereafter Dushyanta embraced his son and kissed him, and he honoured
Shakuntala as his chief rani[195]; he said to her, soothingly: “From
all men have I concealed our union; and for the sake of thine own good
name I hesitated to acknowledge thee. Forgive my harsh words, as I
forgive thine. Thou didst speak passionately because thou lovest me
well, O great-eyed and fair one, whom I love also.”
[195] Queen.
The son of Shakuntala was then anointed as heir to the throne, and he
was named Bharata.[196]
[196] This story is the plot of “Shakuntala”, the Sanskrit drama of the
poet Kalidasa, who lived in the fifth century A.D. He makes the king
give the heroine a ring, which she loses while bathing. A fish swallows
the ring, and it is found by a fisherman, who delivers it to the king.
Then suddenly His Majesty remembers his bride, whom he had forgotten
and already denied. The misfortunes of the monarch and maid resulted
from the curse of the sage Durvasas. _Pron._ Sha-koon´-ta-lah.
When Dushyanta died, Bharata became king. Great was his fame, as
befitted a descendant of Chandra.[197] He was a mighty warrior,
and none could withstand him in battle; he made great conquests,
and extended his kingdom all over Hindustan, which was called
Bharatavarsha.[198]
[197] _Pron._ chun´dra (“ch” as in “change”). Also Soma, the moon god.
[198] Subsequently the name for India as a whole.
King Bharata was the sire of King Hastin, who built the great city
of Hastinapur; King Hastin begot King Kuru, and King Kuru begot King
Shantanu.
Be it told of the King Shantanu that he was pious and just and
all-powerful, as was meet for the great grandson of King Bharata. His
first wife was the goddess Ganga of the Ganges river, and she was
divinely beautiful like to her kind. Ere she assumed human form for
a time, there came to her the eight Vasus, the attendants of Indra.
It chanced that when the Brahman Vasishtha was engaged in his holy
meditations the Vasus flew between him and the sun, whereupon the
angered sage cursed them, saying: “Be born among men!” Nor could they
escape this fate, so great was the Rishi's power over celestial beings.
So they hastened to Ganga, and she consented to become their human
mother, promising that she would cast them one by one into the Ganges
soon after birth, so that they might return speedily to their celestial
state. For this service Ganga made each of the Vasus promise to confer
an eighth part of his power on her son, who, according to her desire,
should remain among men for many years, but would never marry or have
offspring.
[Illustration: SHANTANU MEETS THE GODDESS GANGA
_From the painting by Warwick Goble_
2]
A day came thereafter when King Shantanu walked beside the Ganges.
Suddenly there appeared before him a maiden of surpassing beauty. She
was Ganga in human form. Her celestial garments had the splendour of
lotus blooms; she was adorned with rare ornaments, and her teeth were
radiant as pearls. The king was silenced by her charms, and gazed upon
her steadfastly.... In time he perceived that the maiden regarded him
with love-lorn eyes, as if she sought to look upon him for ever, and
he spoke to her, saying: “O slender-waisted and fair one, art thou one
of the Danavas, or art thou of the race of Gandharvas, or art thou of
the Apsaras; art thou one of the Yakshas or Nagas,[199] or art thou of
human kind, O peerless and faultless one? Be thou my bride.”
[199] Art thou a demon or nymph or fairy or dwarf or demi-god?
The goddess made answer that she would wed the king, but said she must
needs at once depart from him if he spoke harshly to her at any time,
or attempted to thwart her in doing as she willed. Shantanu consented
to her terms, and Ganga became his bride.
In time the goddess gave birth to a son, but soon afterwards she cast
him into the Ganges, saying: “This for thy welfare.”
The king was stricken with horror, but he spake not a word to his
beautiful bride lest she should leave him.
So were seven babes, one after another, destroyed by their mother in
like manner. When the eighth was born, the goddess sought to drown him
also; but the king's pent-up wrath broke forth in a torrent of speech,
and he upbraided his heartless wife. Thus was his marriage vow broken,
and Ganga given power to depart unto her own place. But ere she went
she revealed unto the king who she was, and also why she had cast the
Vasus, her children, into the Ganges. Then she suddenly vanished from
before his eyes, taking the last babe with her.
Ere long the fair goddess returned to Shantanu for a brief space, and
she brought with her for the king a fair and noble son, who was endowed
with the virtues of the Vasus. Then she departed never to come again.
The heart of Shantanu was moved towards the child, who became a comely
and powerful youth, and was named Satanava.[200]
[200] His other names are Deva-bratta and Ganga-bratta, and he was
ultimately known as Bhishma.
When Shantanu had grown old, he sought to marry a young and beautiful
bride whom he loved. For one day as he walked beside the Jumna river he
was attracted by a sweet and alluring perfume, which drew him through
the trees until he beheld a maiden of celestial beauty with luminous
black eyes.[201] The king spake to her and said: “Who art thou, and
whose daughter, O timid one? What doest thou here?”
[201] The Pharaoh of the Anpu-Bata Egyptian story was similarly
attracted by a perfume which issued from a lock of hair. See _Egyptian
Myth and Legend_.
Said the maiden, blessing Shantanu: “I am the daughter of a fisherman,
and I ferry passengers across the river in my boat.”
Now, the name of this fair maiden was Satyavati.[202] Like Shakuntala,
she was of miraculous origin, and had been adopted by her reputed sire.
It chanced that a fish once carried away in its stomach two unborn
babes, a girl and a boy, whose father was a great rajah. This fish was
caught by a fisherman, who opened it and found the children. He sent
the manchild unto the rajah and kept the girl, who was reared as his
own daughter. She grew to be comely and fair, but a fishy odour ever
clung to her.
[202] _Pron._ sat´ya-vat-ee.
One day, as she ferried pilgrims across the Jumna, there entered her
boat alone the high and pious Brahman Parashara, who was moved by the
maiden's great beauty. He desired that she should become the mother of
his son, and promised that ever afterwards an alluring perfume would
emanate from her body. He then caused a cloud to fall upon the boat,
and it vanished from sight.
When the fisher girl became the mother of a son, he grew suddenly
before her eyes, and in a brief space was a man. His name was
Vyasa[203]; he bade his mother farewell, and hastened to the depths of
a forest to spend his days in holy meditation. Ere he departed he said
unto Satyavati: “If ever thou hast need of me, think of me, and I shall
come to thine aid.”
[203] _Pron._ vyas´a (two syllables). The reputed author of the
_Mahá-bhárata_.
When this wonder had been accomplished, Satyavati became a virgin again
through the power of the great sage Parashara, and a delicious odour
lingered about her ever afterwards.
On this maiden King Shantanu gazed with love. Then he sought the
fisherman, and said he desired the maiden to be his bride. But the man
refused to give his daughter to the king in marriage until he promised
that her son should be chosen as heir to the throne. Shantanu could
not consent to disinherit Satanava, son of Ganga, and went away with a
heavy heart.
Greatly the king sorrowed in his heart because of his love for the
dark-eyed maiden, and at length Satanava was given his secret. Then
that noble son of Ganga went to search for the beautiful daughter of
the fisherman, and he found her. The fisherman said unto him, when
he had made known his mission: “If Satyavati bears sons, they will
not inherit the kingdom, for the king hath already a son, and he will
succeed him.”
Satanava thereupon made a vow renouncing his claim to the throne, and
said: “If thou wilt give thy daughter unto my sire to be his queen, I,
who am his heir, will never accept the throne, nor marry a wife, or be
the father of children. If, then, Satyavati will become the mother of a
son, he will surely be chosen rajah.” When he had spoken thus, the gods
and Apsaras, the mist fairies, caused flowers to fall out of heaven
upon the prince's head, and a voice came down the wind, saying: “_This
one is Bhishma._”
So from that day the son of Ganga was called Bhishma, which signifies
the “Terrible”, for the vow that he had taken was terrible indeed.
Then was Satyavati given in marriage to the king, and she bore him two
sons, who were named Chitrangada and Vichitra-virya.[204]
[204] _Pron._ chit-ran´gad-a (“ch” as in “change”) _and_
vi-cheet´ra-veer-ya.
In time Shantanu sank under the burden of his years, and his soul
departed from his body. Unto Bhishma was left the care of the
queen-mother, Satyavati, and the two princes.
When the days of mourning went past, Bhishma renounced the throne in
accordance with his vow, and Chitrangada was proclaimed king. This
youth was a haughty ruler, and his reign was brief. He waged war
against the Gandhari of the hills[205] for three years, and was slain
in battle by their rajah. Then Bhishma placed Vichitra-virya on the
throne, and, as he was but a boy, Bhishma ruled as regent for some
years.
[205] An Aryan tribe in the north-west of India. Part of their
territory was included in the Persian empire. Keith identifies them
with the Gandarians who accompanied Xerxes in his campaign against the
Greeks.
At length the time came for the young king to marry, and Bhishma set
out to find wives for him. It chanced that the King of Kasi (Benares)
had three fair daughters whose swayamvara[206] was being proclaimed.
When Bhishma was told of this he at once entered his chariot and drove
from Hastinapur[207] to Kasi to discover if the girls were worthy of
the monarch of Bharatavarsha. He found that they had great beauty, and
he was well pleased thereat. The great city was thronged with rajahs
who had gathered from far and near to woo the maidens, but Bhishma
would not tarry until the day of the swayamvara. He immediately seized
the king's fair daughters and placed them in his chariot. Then he
challenged the assembled rajahs and sons of rajahs in a voice like
thunder, saying:
[206] A festival at which a princess selected a husband from among the
kings and warriors assembled together.
[207] A drive of about 500 miles. Indian poets, however, have never
troubled about geographical difficulties.
“The sages have decreed that a king may give his daughter with many
gifts unto one he has invited when she hath chosen him. Others may
barter their daughters for two kine, and some may give them in exchange
for gold. But maidens may also be taken captive. They may be married
by consent, or forced to consent, or be obtained by sanction of their
sires. Some are given wives as reward for performing sacrifices, a form
approved by the sages. Kings ever favour the swayamvara, and obtain
wives according to its rules. But learned men have declared that the
wife who is to be most highly esteemed is she who is taken captive
after battle with the royal guests who attend a swayamvara. Hear and
know, then, ye mighty rajahs, I will carry off these fair daughters of
the king of Kasi, and I challenge all who are here to overcome me or
else be overcome themselves by me in battle.”
The royal guests who were there accepted the challenge, and Bhishma
fought against them with great fury. Bows were bent and ten thousand
arrows were discharged against him, but he broke their flight with
innumerable darts from his own mighty bow. Strong and brave was he
indeed; there was none who could overcome him; he fought and conquered
all, until not a rajah was left to contend against him.[208]
[208] The Kasi tribe was Aryan but was disliked by the eastern Aryans
because its beliefs were not according to the standards imposed by the
Brahmans. Conflicts were frequent.
Thus did Bhishma, the terrible son of the ocean-going Ganga, take
captive after battle the three fair daughters of the King of Kasi; and
he drove away with them in his chariot towards Hastinapur.[209]
[209] _Pron._ has-teen´a-poor. Marriage by capture was called a Rákshas
marriage, and was sanctioned by Manu.
When he reached the royal palace he presented the maidens unto Queen
Satyavati, who was well pleased, and at once gave many costly gifts to
Bhishma. She decided that the captives should become the wives of her
son, King Vichitra-virya.
Ere the wedding ceremony was held, the eldest maiden, whose name was
Amba, pleaded with the queen to be set free, saying:
“I have been betrothed already by my sire unto the Rajah of Sanva. Oh,
send me unto him now, for I cannot marry a second time.”
Her prayer was granted, and Bhishma sent her with an escort unto the
Rajah of Sanva. Then the fair Amba related unto him how she had been
taken captive; but the rajah exclaimed, with anger: “Thou hast already
dwelt in the house of a strange man, and I cannot take thee for my
wife.”
The maiden wept bitterly, and she knelt before the monarch and said:
“No man hath wronged me, O mighty rajah. Bhishma hath taken a terrible
vow of celibacy which he cannot break. If thou wilt not have me for
wife, I pray thee to take me as thy concubine, so that I may dwell
safely in thy palace.”
But the rajah spurned the beautiful maiden, and his servants drove
her from the palace and out of the city. So was she compelled to seek
refuge in the lonely forest, and there she practised great austerities
with purpose to secure power to slay Bhishma, who had wronged her. In
the end she threw herself upon a pyre, so that she might attain her
desire in the next life.[210]
[210] She helps to kill Bhishma in the great war, having changed her
sex with a Yaksha.
Her two sisters, Amvika and Amvalika, became the wives of
Vitchitra-virya, who loved them well; but his days were brief, and he
wasted away with sickness until at length he died. No children were
born to the king, and his two widows mourned for him.
The heart of Queen Satyavati was stricken with grief because that her
two sons were dead, and there was left no heir to the throne of King
Bharata.
Now it was the custom in those days that a kinsman should become the
father of children to succeed the dead king.[211] So Queen Satyavati
spake unto Bhishma, saying: “Take thou the widows of my son and raise
up sons who will be as sons of the king.”
[211] A similar practice is referred to in Genesis xxxviii; it was a
regular institution among the ancient Hebrews.
But Bhishma said: “That I cannot do, for have I not vowed never to be
the sire of any children.”
In her despair Satyavati then thought of her son Vyasa, and he
immediately appeared before her and consented to do as was her
desire.[212]
[212] This custom is called “niyoga”, and was legalized by Manu, but
only for the lower castes.
Now Vyasa was a mighty sage, but, by reason of his austerities in his
lonely jungle dwelling, he had grown gaunt and repulsive of aspect so
that women shrank from before him; fearsome was he, indeed, to look
upon.
Amvika closed her eyes with horror when she beheld the sage, and she
had a son who was born blind: he was named Dhritarashtra. Amvalika
turned pale with fear: she had a son who was named Pandu, “the pale
one”.
Satyavati desired that Vyasa should be the father of a son who had no
defect; but Amvika sent her handmaiden unto him, and she bore a son
who was called Vidura. As it happened, Dharma, god of justice, was put
under the spell of a Rishi at this time, to be born among men, and he
chose Vidura to be his human incarnation.
The three children were reared by Bhishma, who was regent over the
kingdom, and was yet subject to Queen Satyavati. He taught them the
laws and trained them as warriors. When the time came to select a king,
Dhritarashtra[213] was passed over because that he was blind, and
Vidura because of his humble birth, and Pandu, “the pale one”, was set
upon the throne.
[213] _Pron._ dreet´a-rash´´tra, Pan´doo, _and_ Ve-dur´a (“u” as “oo”).