Vaisampayana said, "The protector of the earth spent there a single
night, and with his brothers, paid the highest honours to the religious
men. And Lomasa made him acquainted with the names of all of them, such
as the _Bhrigus_, the _Angiras_, the _Vasishthas_, and the _Kasyapas_.
And the royal saint paid visit to them all and made obeisance to them
with joined palms. And then he asked the valiant Akritavrana, who was a
follower of Parasurama, 'when will the revered Parasurama show himself
to the religious men here? It is desired on that occasion to obtain a
sight of the descendant of Bhrigu.'
"Akritavrana said, 'Thy journey to this spot is already known to Rama,
whose soul spontaneously knows everything. And he is in every way
well-pleased with thee, and he will show himself readily to thee. And
the saints who practise penances here, are permitted to see him on the
fourteenth and the eighth day of the lunar course. On the morrow at the
end of this very night there will set in the fourteenth day of the lunar
course. On that occasion thou wilt have a sight of him, clad in a sable
deerskin, and wearing his hair in the form of a matted mass.'
"Yudhishthira said, 'Thou hast been a follower of the mighty Rama,
Jamadagni's son; thou must, therefore, have been the eye-witness of all
the deeds achieved by him in former days. I, therefore, request thee to
narrate to me how the members of the military caste were vanquished by
Rama on the field of battle, and what the original cause of those
conflicts was.'
"Akritavrana said, 'With pleasure shall I recite to thee that excellent
story, O Bharata's son, O chief of kings, the story of the godlike deeds
of Rama, the son of Jamadagni, who traced his origin to Bhrigu's race. I
shall also relate the achievements of the great ruler of the _Haihaya_
tribe. That king, Arjuna by name, the mighty lord of the _Haihaya_ tribe
was killed by Rama. He, O Pandu's son, was endued with a thousand arms;
and by the favour of Dattatreya he likewise had a celestial car made of
gold. And, O protector of the earth, his rule extended over the entire
animated world, wheresoever located on this earth. And the car of that
mighty monarch could proceed everywhere in an unobstructed course. And
grown resistless by the virtue of a granted boon, he ever mounted on
that car, trampled upon gods and _Yakshas_ and saints on all sides
round. And all the born beings wheresoever placed, were harassed by him.
Then the celestials and the saints of a rigidly virtuous life, met
together, and thus spake to Vishnu, the god of gods, the slayer of
demons, and possessed of prowess that never failed, saying, "O blessed
and revered lord, for the purpose of preserving all the born beings, it
is necessary that Arjuna should be killed by thee." And the mighty ruler
of the Haihaya tribe placing himself on his celestial car, affronted
Indra, while that deity was enjoying himself with Sachi, his queen.
Then, O Bharata's son, the blessed and the revered god (Vishnu) held a
consultation with Indra, with a view to destroying Kartavirya's son. And
on that occasion, all that was for the good of the world of beings, was
communicated by the lord of gods; and the blessed god worshipped by the
world, to do all that was necessary, went to the delightful _Vadari_
wood which was his own chosen retreat for practising penances. And at
this very time there lived on the earth a mighty monarch in the land of
_Kanyakuvja_, a sovereign whose military force was exceedingly great.
And his name of Gadhi was famous in the world. He, however, betook
himself to a forest-life. And while he was dwelling in the midst of the
wood, there was born to him a daughter beautiful as a nymph of heaven.
And Richika, the son of Bhrigu, asked for her to be united with himself
in marriage. And then Gadhi spake to that Brahmana, who led a rigidly
austere life, saying, "There is a certain family custom in our race; it
hath been founded by my ancestors of a bygone age. And, O most excellent
of the sacerdotal caste, be it known to thee that the intending
bridegroom must offer a dowry consisting of a thousand fleet steeds,
whose colour must be brown and every one of whom must possess a single
sable ear. But, O Bhrigu's son, a reverend saint like thee cannot be
asked to offer the same. Nor can my daughter be refused to a magnanimous
saint of thy (exalted) rank." Thereupon Richika said, "I will give thee
a thousand fleet steeds, brown in hue and possessing a single sable ear;
let thy daughter be given in marriage to me."'
"Akritavrana said, 'Thus having given his word, O king, he went and said
to Varuna, "Give me a thousand fleet steeds brown in colour, and each
with one black ear. I want the same as dowry for my marriage." To him
Varuna forthwith gave a thousand steeds. Those steeds had issued out of
the river Ganga; hence the spot hath been named, _The horse's landing
place_. And in the city of Kanyakuvja, the daughter of Gadhi, Satyavati
by name, was given in marriage; and the gods themselves were of the
party of the bride. Richika, the most excellent of the sacerdotal caste,
thus procured a thousand steeds, and had a sight of the dwellers of
heaven and won a wife in the proper form. And he enjoyed himself with
the girl of slender waist, and thus gratified all the wishes and desire
that he ever had. And when the marriage had been celebrated, O king, his
father Bhrigu came on a visit to see him and his wife; and he was glad
to see his praiseworthy son. And the husband and wife together paid
their best respects to him, who was worshipped by all the gods. And when
he had seated himself, they both with joined palms, stood near him, in
order that they might do his bidding. And then the revered saint,
Bhrigu, glad at heart, thus spoke to his daughter-in-law, saying, "O
lovely daughter, as for a boon I am ready to grant thee any object of
thy wish." And there upon she asked for his favour in this, that a son
might be born to both herself and her mother. And he vouchsafed the
favour thus asked for.
"'Bhrigu said, "During the days that your season lasts, thou and thy
mother must take a bath, with the ceremony for bringing forth a male
child. And ye two must then separately embrace two different trees--she
a peepal tree, and thou a fig tree. And, O dutiful girl, here are two
pots of rice and milk, prepared by me with the utmost care. I having
ransacked the whole universe to find the drugs, the essence whereof hath
been blended with this milk and rice. It must be taken as food with the
greatest care." And saying this, he vanished from sight. The two ladies,
however, made an interchange both in the matter of the pots of rice, and
likewise as regards the trees (to be embraced by each). Then after the
lapse of very many days, the revered saint, once more came. And he came
knowing (what had happened) by his attribute of divine knowledge. Then
Bhrigu possessed of mighty strength, spake to Satyavati, his
daughter-in-law, saying, "O dutiful girl! O my daughter of a lovely
brow, the wrong pot of rice thou tookest as food. And it was the wrong
tree which was embraced by thee. It was thy mother who deluded thee. A
son will be born of thee, who, though of the priestly caste, will be of
a character fit for the military order; while a mighty son will be born
of thy mother, who, though by birth a Kshatriya will assume a life
suitable to the sacerdotal order. And his power will be great, and he
will walk on the path trodden by righteous men." Then she entreated her
father-in-law again and again, saying, "Let not my son be of this
character; but let my grandson be such." And, O Pandu's son, he replied,
"So let it be!" And thus he was pleased to grant her prayer. Then she
brought forth on the expected day a son by name Jamadagni. And this son
of Bhrigu was endowed with both splendour and grace. And he grew in
years and in strength, and excelled the other saints in the proficiency
of his _Vaidik_ lore. O chieftain of Bharata's race, to him, rivalling
in lustre the author of light (the sun), came spontaneously and without
instruction the knowledge of the entire military art and of the fourfold
missile arms.'"