(Sambhava Parva continued )
"Vaisampayana said, 'The monarch Santanu, the most adored of the gods and
royal sages, was known in all the worlds for his wisdom, virtues, and
truthfulness (of speech). The qualities of self-control, liberality,
forgiveness, intelligence, modesty, patience and superior energy ever
dwelt in that bull among men, viz., Santanu, that great being endued with
these accomplishments and conversant with both religion and profit, the
monarch was at once the protector of the Bharata race and all human beings.
His neck was marked with (three) lines, like a conch-shell; his shoulders
were broad, and he resembled in prowess an infuriated elephant. It would
seem that all the auspicious signs of royalty dwelt in his person,
considering that to be their fittest abode. Men, seeing the behaviour of
that monarch of great achievements came to know that virtue was ever
superior to pleasure and profit. These were the attributes that dwelt in
that great being--that bull among men--Santanu. And truly there was never
a king like Santanu. All the kings of the earth, beholding him devoted to
virtue, bestowed upon that foremost of virtuous men the title of King of
kings. And all the kings of the earth during the time of that lord-
protector of the Bharata race, were without woe and fear and anxiety of
any kind. And they all slept in peace, rising from bed every morning after
happy dreams. And owing to that monarch of splendid achievements
resembling Indra himself in energy, all the kings of the earth became
virtuous and devoted to liberality, religious acts and sacrifices. And
when the earth was ruled by Santanu and other monarchs like him, the
religious merits of every order increased very greatly. The Kshatriyas
served the Brahmanas; the Vaisyas waited upon the Kshatriyas, and the
Sudras adoring the Brahmanas and the Kshatriyas, waited upon the Vaisyas.
And Santanu residing in Hastinapura, the delightful capital of the Kurus,
ruled the whole earth bounded by seas. He was truthful and guileless, and
like the king of the celestials himself conversant with the dictates of
virtue. And from the combination in him of liberality, religion and
asceticism, he acquired a great good fortune. He was free from anger and
malice, and was handsome in person like Soma himself. In splendour he was
like the Sun and in impetuosity of valour like Vayu. In wrath he was like
Yama, and in patience like the Earth. And, O king, while Santanu ruled the
earth, no deer, boars, birds, or other animals were needlessly slain. In
his dominions the great virtue of kindness to all creatures prevailed, and
the king himself, with the soul of mercy, and void of desire and wrath,
extended equal protection unto all creatures. Then sacrifices in honour of
the gods, the Rishis, and Pitris commenced, and no creature was deprived
of life sinfully. And Santanu was the king and father of all--of those
that were miserable and those that had no protectors, of birds and beasts,
in fact, of every created thing. And during the rule of the best of Kurus--
of that king of kings--speech became united with truth, and the minds of
men were directed towards liberality and virtue. And Santanu, having
enjoyed domestic felicity for six and thirty years, retired into the woods.
"'And Santanu's son, the Vasu born of Ganga, named Devavrata resembled
Santanu himself in personal beauty, in habits and behaviour, and in
learning. And in all branches of knowledge worldly or spiritual his skill
was very great. His strength and energy were extraordinary. He became a
mighty car-warrior. In fact he was a great king.
"'One day, while pursuing along the banks of the Ganges a deer that he had
struck with his arrow, king Santanu observed that the river had become
shallow. On observing this, that bull among men, viz., Santanu, began to
reflect upon this strange phenomenon. He mentally asked why that first of
rivers ran out so quickly as before. And while seeking for a cause, the
illustrious monarch beheld that a youth of great comeliness, well-built
and amiable person, like Indra himself, had, by his keen celestial weapon,
checked the flow of the river. And the king, beholding this extraordinary
feat of the river Ganga having been checked in her course near where that
youth stood, became very much surprised. This youth was no other than
Santanu's son himself. But as Santanu had seen his son only once a few
moments after his birth, he had not sufficient recollection to identify
that infant with the youth before his eyes. The youth, however, seeing his
father, knew him at once, but instead of disclosing himself, he clouded
the king's perception by his celestial powers of illusion and disappeared
in his very sight.
"'King Santanu, wondering much at what he saw and imagining the youth to be
his own son then addressed Ganga and said, "Show me that child." Ganga
thus addressed, assuming a beautiful form, and holding the boy decked with
ornaments in her right arm, showed him to Santanu. And Santanu did not
recognise that beautiful female bedecked with ornaments and attired in
fine robes of white, although he had known her before. And Ganga said, "O
tiger among men, that eighth son whom thou hadst some time before begat
upon me is this. Know that this excellent child is conversant with all
weapons. O monarch, take him now. I have reared him with care. And go home,
O tiger among men, taking him with thee. Endued with superior intelligence,
he has studied with Vasishtha the entire Vedas with their branches.
Skilled in all weapons and a mighty bowman, he is like Indra in battle.
And, O Bharata, both the gods and the Asuras look upon him with favour.
Whatever branches of knowledge are known to Usanas, this one knoweth
completely. And so is he the master of all those Sastras that the son of
Angiras (Vrihaspati) adored by the gods and the Asuras, knoweth. And all
the weapons known to the powerful and invincible Rama, the son of
Jamadagni are known to this thy son of mighty arms. O king of superior
courage, take this thy own heroic child given unto thee by me. He is a
mighty bowman and conversant with the interpretation of all treatises on
the duties of a king." Thus commanded by Ganga, Santanu took his child
resembling the Sun himself in glory and returned to his capital. And
having reached his city that was like unto the celestial capital, that
monarch of Puru's line regarded himself greatly fortunate. And having
summoned all the Pauravas together, for the protection of his kingdom he
installed his son as his heir-apparent. And O bull of Bharata's race, the
prince soon gratified by his behaviour his father and the other members of
the Paurava race: in fact, all the subjects of the kingdom. And the king
of incomparable prowess lived happily with that son of his.
"'Four years had thus passed away, when the king one day went into the
woods on the bank of the Yamuna. And while the king was rambling there, he
perceived a sweet scent coming from an unknown direction. And the monarch,
impelled by the desire of ascertaining the cause, wandered hither and
thither. And in course of his ramble, he beheld a black-eyed maiden of
celestial beauty, the daughter of a fisherman. The king addressing her,
said, "Who art thou, and whose daughter? What dost thou do here, O timid
one?" She answered, "Blest be thou! I am the daughter of the chief of the
fishermen. At his command, I am engaged for religious merit, in rowing
passengers across this river in my boat." And Santanu, beholding that
maiden of celestial form endued with beauty, amiableness, and such
fragrance, desired her for his wife. And repairing unto her father, the
king solicited his consent to the proposed match. But the chief of the
fishermen replied to the monarch, saying, "O king, as soon as my daughter
of superior complexion was born, it was of course, understood that she
should be bestowed upon a husband. But listen to the desire I have
cherished all along in my heart. O sinless one, thou art truthful: if thou
desirest to obtain this maiden as a gift from me, give me then this
pledge. If, indeed, thou givest the pledge, I will of course bestow my
daughter upon thee for truly I can never obtain a husband for her equal to
thee."
"'Santanu, hearing this, replied, "When I have heard of the pledge thou
askest, I shall then say whether I would be able to grant it. If it is
capable of being granted, I shall certainly grant it. Otherwise how shall
I grant it." The fisherman said, "O king, what I ask of thee is this: the
son born of this maiden shall be installed by thee on thy throne and none
else shall thou make thy successor."'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'O Bharata, when Santanu heard this, he felt no
inclination to grant such a boon, though the fire of desire sorely burnt
him within. The king with his heart afflicted by desire returned to
Hastinapura, thinking all the way of the fisherman's daughter. And having
returned home, the monarch passed his time in sorrowful meditation. One
day, Devavrata approaching his afflicted father said, "All is prosperity
with thee; all chiefs obey thee; then how is it that thou grievest thus?
Absorbed in thy own thoughts, thou speakest not a word to me in reply.
Thou goest not out on horse-back now; thou lookest pale and emaciated,
having lost all animation. I wish to know the disease thou sufferest from,
so that I may endeavour to apply a remedy." Thus addressed by his son,
Santanu answered, "Thou sayest truly, O son, that I have become melancholy.
I will also tell thee why I am so. O thou of Bharata's line, thou art the
only scion of this our large race. Thou art always engaged in sports of
arms and achievements of prowess. But, O son, I am always thinking of the
instability of human life. If any danger overtake thee, O child of Ganga,
the result is that we become sonless. Truly thou alone art to me as a
century of sons. I do not, therefore, desire to wed again. I only desire
and pray that prosperity may ever attend thee so that our dynasty may be
perpetuated. The wise say that he that hath one son hath no son.
Sacrifices before fire and the knowledge of the three Vedas yield, it is
true, everlasting religious merit, but all these, in point of religious
merit, do not come up to a sixteenth part of the religious merit
attainable on the birth of a son. Indeed, in this respect, there is hardly
any difference between men and the lower animals. O wise one, I do not
entertain a shadow of doubt that one attains to heaven in consequence of
his having begotten a son. The Vedas which constitute the root of the
Puranas and are regarded as authoritative even by the gods, contain
numerous proof of this. O thou of Bharata's race, thou art a hero of
excitable temper, who is always engaged in the exercise of arms. It is
very probable that thou wilt be slain on the field of battle. If it so
happen, what then will be the state of the Bharata dynasty? It is this
thought that hath made me so melancholy. I have now told thee fully the
causes of my sorrow."'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Devavrata who was endued with great intelligence,
having ascertained all this from the king, reflected within himself for a
while. He then went to the old minister devoted to his father's welfare
and asked him about the cause of the king's grief. O bull of Bharata's
race, when the prince questioned the minister, the latter told him about
the boon that was demanded by the chief of the fishermen in respect of his
daughter Gandhavati. Then Devavrata, accompanied by many Kshatriya chiefs
of venerable age, personally repaired to the chief of the fishermen and
begged of him his daughter on behalf of the king. The chief of the
fishermen received him with due adorations, and, O thou of Bharata's race,
when the prince took his seat in the court of the chief, the latter
addressed him and said, "O bull among the Bharatas, thou art the first of
all wielders of weapons and the only son of Santanu. Thy power is great.
But I have something to tell thee. If the bride's father was Indra himself,
even then he would have to repent of rejecting such an exceedingly
honourable and desirable proposal of marriage. The great man of whose seed
this celebrated maiden named Satyavati was born, is, indeed, equal to you
in virtue. He hath spoken to me on many occasions of the virtues of thy
father and told me that, the king alone is worthy of (marrying) Satyavati.
Let me tell you that I have even rejected the solicitations of that best
of Brahmarshis--the celestial sage Asita--who, too, had often asked for
Satyavati's hand in marriage. I have only one word to say on the part of
this maiden. In the matter of the proposed marriage there is one great
objection founded on the fact of a rival in the person of a co-wife's son.
O oppressor of all foes, he hath no security, even if he be an Asura or a
Gandharva, who hath a rival in thee. There is this only objection to the
proposed marriage, and nothing else. Blest be thou! But this is all I have
to say in the matter of the bestowal or otherwise, of Satyavati."'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'O thou of Bharata's race, Devavrata, having
heard these words, and moved by the desire of benefiting his father thus
answered in the hearing of the assembled chiefs, "O foremost of truthful
men, listen to the vow I utter! The man has not been or will not be born,
who will have the courage to take such a vow! I shall accomplish all that
thou demandest! The son that may be born of this maiden shall be our
king." Thus addressed, the chief of the fishermen, impelled by desire of
sovereignty (for his daughter's son), to achieve the almost impossible,
then said, "O thou of virtuous soul, thou art come hither as full agent on
behalf of thy father Santanu of immeasurable glory; be thou also the sole
manager on my behalf in the matter of the bestowal of this my daughter.
But, O amiable one, there is something else to be said, something else to
be reflected upon by thee. O suppressor of foes, those that have daughters,
from the very nature of their obligations, must say what I say. O thou
that art devoted to truth, the promise thou hast given in the presence of
these chiefs for the benefit of Satyavati, hath, indeed, been worthy of
thee. O thou of mighty arms, I have not the least doubt of its ever being
violated by thee. But I have my doubts in respect of the children thou
mayst beget."'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'O king, the son of Ganga, devoted to truth,
having ascertained the scruples of the chief of the fishermen, then said,
moved thereto by the desire of benefiting his father, "Chief of fishermen,
thou best of men, listen to what I say in the presence of these assembled
kings. Ye kings, I have already relinquished my right to the throne, I
shall now settle the matter of my children. O fisherman, from this day I
adopt the vow of Brahmacharya (study and meditation in celibacy). If I die
sonless, I shall yet attain to regions of perennial bliss in heaven!"'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Upon these words of the son of Ganga, the hair
on the fisherman's body stood on end from glee, and he replied, "I bestow
my daughter!" Immediately after, the Apsaras and the gods with diverse
tribes of Rishis began to rain down flowers from the firmament upon the
head of Devavrata and exclaimed, "This one is Bhishma (the terrible)."
Bhishma then, to serve his father, addressed the illustrious damsel and
said, "O mother, ascend this chariot, and let us go unto our house."'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Having said this, Bhishma helped the beautiful
maiden into his chariot. On arriving with her at Hastinapura, he told
Santanu everything as it had happened. And the assembled kings, jointly
and individually, applauded his extraordinary act and said, "He is really
Bhishma (the terrible)!" And Santanu also, hearing of the extraordinary
achievements of his son, became highly gratified and bestowed upon the
high-souled prince the boon of death at will, saying, "Death shall never
come to thee as long as thou desirest to live. Truly death shall approach
thee, O sinless one, having first obtained thy command."'"