“Sanjaya said, ‘Hearing of the origin of Death and her strange acts, king
Yudhishthira, humbly addressing Vyasa, once more said these words unto
him.’
“‘Yudhishthira said, “Many kings there were in blessed countries, of
righteous deeds and of prowess equal to that of Indra himself. They were
royal sages, O regenerate one, that were sinless and truth-speaking. Once
more, address me in words of grave import, and console me with (accounts
of) the feats of those royal sages of ancient times. What was the measure
of the sacrificial gifts made by them? Who were those high-souled royal
sages of righteous deeds that made them? Tell me all this, O illustrious
one!”
“‘Vyasa said, “There was a king of the name of Switya. He had a son who
was called Srinjaya. The Rishis Narada and Parvata were his friends. One
day, the two ascetics, for paying Srinjaya a visit, came to his palace.
Duly worshipped by Srinjaya, they became pleased with him, and continued
to live with him happily. Once on a time as Srinjaya was seated at his
case with the two ascetics, his beautiful daughter of sweet smiles came
to him. Saluted with reverence by his daughter, Srinjaya delighted that
girl standing by his side with proper benedictions of the kind she
desired. Beholding that maiden, Parvata smilingly asked Srinjaya, saying,
‘Whose daughter is this damsel of restless glances and possessed of every
auspicious mark? Is she the splendour of Surya, or the flame of Agni? Or,
is she any of these, viz., Sri, Hri, Kirti, Dhriti, Pushti, Siddhi, and
the splendour of Soma?’ After the celestial Rishi (Parvata) said these
words, king Srinjaya answered, saying, ‘O illustrious one, this girl is
my daughter. She beggeth my blessings.’ Then Narada addressed king
Srinjaya and said. ‘If, O monarch, thou wishest for great good (to
thyself), then give this daughter of thine unto me for a wife.’ Delighted
(with the Rishi’s proposal), Srinjaya addressed Narada, saying, ‘I give
her unto thee.’ At this, the other Rishi, viz., Parvata, indignantly
addressed Narada, saying, ‘Chosen before this by me, within my heart,
thou hast taken this damsel as thy wife. And since thou hast done this,
thou, O Brahmana, shalt not go to heaven as thy will.’ Thus addressed by
him, Narada answered him, saying, ‘The husband’s heart and speech
(directed thereto), (the giver’s) consent, the speeches (of both), the
actual gift made by sprinkling water, and the (recital of the mantras)
ordained for the seizure of the (bride’s hand),--these have been declared
to be indications by which one is constituted a husband. Even this
ceremonial is not all. That which (above all) is essential is the walk
for seven paces (by the bride in circumambulating the bridegroom).[88]
Without these thy purpose (about marriage) have been unaccomplished. Thou
hast cursed. Therefore, thou also shalt not go to heaven without me.’
Having cursed each other those two Rishis continued to live there.
Meanwhile, king Srinjaya, desirous of (obtaining) a son, began, with
cleansed soul, to carefully entertain the Brahmanas, to the utmost of his
power, with food and robes. After a certain time, those foremost of
Brahmanas devoted to the study of the Vedas and fully conversant with
those scriptures and their branches became gratified with that monarch,
desirous of getting a son. Together they came to Narada and said unto
him, ‘Give this king a son of the kind he desires.’--Thus addressed by
the Brahmanas, Narada replied unto them, saying, ‘So be it.’--and then
the celestial Rishi addressed Srinjaya saying, ‘O royal sage, the
Brahmanas have been pleased and they wish thee a son! Solicit thou the
boon, blessed be thou, about the kind of son thou desirest.’ Thus
addressed by him, the king, with joined hands, asked for a son possessed
of every accomplishment, famous, of glorious feats, of great energy, and
capable of chastising all foes. And he further asked that the urine, the
excreta, the phlegm and the sweat of that child should be gold. And in
due time the king had a son born unto him, who came to be named
Suvarnashthivin[89] on earth. And in consequence of the boon, that child
began to increase (his father’s) wealth beyond all limits. And king
Srinjaya caused all desirable things of his to be made of gold. And his
houses and walls and forts, and the houses of all Brahmanas (within his
dominions), and his beds, vehicles, and plates, and all manners of pots
and cups, and palace that he owned, and all implements and utensils,
domestic and otherwise were made of gold. And in time his stock
increased. Then certain robbers hearing of the prince and seeing him to
be such, assembled together and sought to injure the king. And some
amongst them said, ‘We will seize the king’s son himself. He is his
father’s mine of gold. Towards that end, therefore, we should strive.’
Then those robbers inspired with avarice, penetrating into the king’s
palace, forcibly took away prince Suvarnashthivin. Having seized and
taken him to the woods, those senseless idiots, inspired with avarice but
ignorant of what to do with him, slew him there and cut his body in
fragments. They saw not, however, any gold in him. After the prince was
slain, all the gold, obtained in consequence of the Rishi’s boon,
disappeared. The ignorant and senseless robbers struck one another. And
striking one another thus, they perished and with them that wonderful
prince on the earth. And those men of wicked deeds sank in an
unimaginable and awful hell. Seeing that son of his, obtained through the
Rishi’s boon thus slain, that great ascetic, viz., king Srinjaya,
afflicted with deep sorrow, began to lament in piteous accents. Beholding
the king afflicted with grief on account of his son, and thus weeping,
the celestial Rishi Narada showed himself in his presence. Listen, O
Yudhishthira, to what Narada said unto Srinjaya, having approached that
king, who afflicted with grief and deprived of his senses, was indulging
in piteous lamentations. Narada said, ‘Srinjaya, with thy desires
unfulfilled, thou shalt have to die, although we utterers of Brahma, live
in thy house. Avikshit’s son Marutta even, O Srinjaya, we hear, had to
die. Piqued with Vrihaspati, he had caused Samvatta[90] himself to
officiate at his great sacrifices! Unto that royal sage the illustrious
lord (Mahadeva) himself had given wealth in the shape of a golden plateau
of Himavat. (With that wealth) king Marutta had performed diverse
sacrifices. Unto him, after the completion of his sacrifices diverse
tribes of celestials, those creators of the universe, with Indra himself
in their company and with Vrihaspati at their head, used to come. All the
carpets and furnitures of his sacrificial compound were of gold. The
regenerate classes, desirous of food, all ate as they pleased, at his
sacrifices, food that was clean and agreeable to their desires. And in
all his sacrifices, milk and curds and clarified butter and honey, and
other kinds of food and edibles, all of the best order, and robes and
ornaments covetable for their costliness, gratified Brahmanas, thoroughly
conversant with the Vedas. The very gods used to become distributors of
food in king Marutta’s palace. The Viswedevas were the courtiers of that
royal sage, the son of Avikshit. By him were gratified the denizens of
heaven with libations of clarified butter. And gratified (therewith),
these, in their turn, increased that powerful ruler’s wealth of crops
with copious showers of rain. He always contributed to the gratification
of the Rishis, the Pitris, and the gods, and thereby made them happy, by
practising Brahmacharya, study of the Vedas, obsequial rites, and all
kinds of gifts. And his beds and carpets and vehicles, and his vast
stores of gold difficult to be given away, in fact, all that untold
wealth of his, was given away voluntarily unto the Brahmanas. Sakra
himself used to wish him well. His subjects were made happy (by him).
Acting always with piety, he (ultimately) repaired to those eternal
regions of bliss, acquired by his religious merit. With his children and
counsellors and wives and descendants and kinsmen, king Marutta, in his
youth, ruled his kingdom for a thousand years. When such a king, O
Srinjaya, died who was superior to thee, in respect of the four cardinal
virtues (viz., ascetic penances, truth, compassion, and liberality), and
who, superior to thee, was much superior to thy son, do not grieve saying
“O Swaitya,” for thy son who performed no sacrifice and gave no
sacrificial present.’