"Yudhishthira said, 'O great Brahmana, how was that tiger among kings,
Mandhata, Yuvanaswa's son, born,--even he who was the best of monarchs,
and celebrated over the three worlds? And how did he of unmeasured
lustre attain the very height of real power, since all the three worlds
were as much under his subjection, as they are under that of Vishnu of
mighty soul? I am desirous of hearing all this in connection with the
life and achievements of that sagacious monarch. I should also like to
hear how his name of Mandhata originated, belonging as it did to him who
rivalled in lustre Indra himself: and also how he of unrivalled strength
was born, for thou art skilled in the art of narrating events.'
"Lomasa said, 'Hear with attention, O king! how the name of Mandhata
belonging to that monarch of mighty soul hath come to be celebrated
throughout all the worlds. Yuvanaswa, the ruler of the earth, was sprung
from Ikshvaku's race. That protector of the earth performed many
sacrificial rites noted for magnificent gifts. And the most excellent
of all virtuous men performed a thousand times the ceremony of
sacrificing a horse. And he also performed other sacrifices of the
highest order, wherein he made abundant gifts. But that saintly king had
no son. And he of mighty soul and rigid vows made over to his ministers
the duties of the state, and became a constant resident of the woods.
And he of cultured soul devoted himself to the pursuits enjoined in the
sacred writ. And once upon a time, that protector of men, O king! had
observed a fast. And he was suffering from the pangs of hunger and his
inner soul seemed parched with thirst. And (in this state) he entered
the hermitage of Bhrigu. On that very night, O king of kings! the great
saint who was the delight of Bhrigu's race, had officiated in a
religious ceremony, with the object that a son might be born to
Saudyumni. O king of kings! at the spot stood a large jar filled with
water, consecrated with the recitation of sacred hymns, and which had
been previously deposited there. And the water was endued with the
virtue that the wife of Saudyumni would by drinking the same, bring
forth a god-like son. Those mighty saints had deposited the jar on the
altar and had gone to sleep, having been fatigued by keeping up the
night. And as Saudyumni passed them by, his palate was dry, and he was
suffering greatly from thirst. And the king was very much in need of
water to drink. And he entered that hermitage and asked for drink. And
becoming fatigued, he cried in feeble voice, proceeding from a parched
throat, which resembled the weak inarticulate utterance of a bird. And
his voice reached nobody's ears. Then the king beheld the jar filled
with water. And he quickly ran towards it, and having drunk the water,
put the jar down. And as the water was cool, and as the king had been
suffering greatly from thirst, the draught of water relieved the
sagacious monarch and appeased his thirst. Then those saints together
with him of ascetic wealth, awoke from sleep; and all of them observed
that the water of the jar had gone. Thereupon they met together and
began to enquire as to who might have done it. Then Yuvanaswa truthfully
admitted that it was his act. Then the revered son of Bhrigu spoke unto
him, saying. "It was not proper. This water had an occult virtue infused
into it, and had been placed there with the object that a son might be
born to thee. Having performed severe austerities, I infused the virtue
of my religious acts in this water, that a son might be born to thee. O
saintly king of mighty valour and physical strength! a son would have
been born to thee of exceeding strength and valour, and strengthened by
austerities, and who would have sent by his bravery even Indra to the
abode of the god of death. It was in this manner, O king! that this
water had been prepared by me. By drinking this water, O king, thou hast
done what was not at all right. But it is impossible now for us to turn
back the accident which hath happened. Surely what thou hast done must
have been the fiat of Fate. Since thou, O great king, being athirst
hast drunk water prepared with sacred hymns, and filled with the virtue
of my religious labours, thou must bring forth out of thy own body a son
of the character described above. To that end we shall perform a
sacrifice for thee, of wonderful effect so that, valorous as thou art,
thou wilt bring forth a son equal to Indra. Nor wilt thou experience any
trouble on account of the labour pains." Then when one hundred years had
passed away, a son shining as the sun pierced the left side of the king
endowed with a mighty soul, and came forth. And the son was possessed of
mighty strength. Nor did Yuvanaswa die--which itself was strange. Then
Indra of mighty strength came to pay him a visit. And the deities
enquired of the great Indra, "What is to be sucked by this boy?" Then
Indra introduced his own forefinger into his mouth. And when the wielder
of the thunderbolt said, "He will suck me," the dwellers of heaven
together with Indra christened the boy Mandhata, (_literally_, Me he
shall suck). Then the boy having tasted the forefinger extended by
Indra, became possessed of mighty strength, and he grew thirteen cubits,
O king. And O great king! the whole of sacred learning together with the
holy science of arms, was acquired by that masterful boy, who gained all
that knowledge by the simple and unassisted power of his thought. And
all at once, the bow celebrated under the name of Ajagava and a number
of shafts made of horn, together with an impenetrable coat of mail, came
to his possession on the very same day, O scion of Bharata's race! And
he was placed on the throne by Indra himself and he conquered the three
worlds in a righteous way, as Vishnu did by his three strides. And the
wheel of the car of that mighty king as irresistible in its course
(throughout the world). And the gems, of their own accord, came into the
possession of that saintly king. This is the tract of land, O lord of
earth, which belonged to him. It abounds in wealth. He performed a
number of sacrificial rites of various kinds, in which abundant
gratuities were paid to the priests. O king! he of mighty force and
unmeasured lustre, erected sacred piles, and performed splendid pious
deeds, and attained the position of sitting at Indra's side. That
sagacious king of unswerving piety sent forth his fiat, and simply by
its virtue conquered the earth, together with the sea--that source of
gems--and all the cities (or the earth), O great king! The sacrificial
grounds prepared by him were to be found all over the earth on all sides
round--not a single spot, but was marked with the same. O great king!
the mighty monarch is said to have given to the Brahmanas ten thousand
padmas of kine. When there was a drought, which continued for twelve
consecutive years, the mighty king caused rain to come down for the
growth of crops, paying no heed to Indra, the wielder of the
thunder-bolt, who remained staring (at him). The mighty ruler of the
Gandhara land, born in the lunar dynasty of kings, who was terrible like
a roaring cloud, was slain by him, who wounded him sorely with his
shafts. O king! he of cultured soul protected the four orders of people,
and by him of mighty force the worlds were kept from harm, by virtue of
his austere and righteous life. This is the spot where he, lustrous like
the sun, sacrificed to the god. Look at it! here it is, in the midst of
the field of the Kurus, situated in a tract, the holiest of all. O
preceptor of earth! requested by thee, I have thus narrated to thee the
great life of Mandhata, and also the way in which he was born, which was
a birth of an extraordinary kind.'"
Vaisampayana said, "O scion of Bharata's race! Kunti's son, thus
addressed by the mighty saint, Lomasa, immediately put fresh questions
to him, with regard to Somaka."