(Sambhava Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'O Janamejaya, when Gandhari's conception had been a
full year old, it was then that Kunti summoned the eternal god of justice
to obtain offspring from him. And she offered without loss of time,
sacrifices unto the god and began to duly repeat the formula that Durvasa
had imparted to her some time before. Then the god, overpowered by her
incantations, arrived at the spot where Kunti was seated in his car
resplendent as the Sun. Smiling, he asked, "O Kunti, what am I to give
thee?" And Kunti too smiling in her turn, replied, "Thou must even give me
offspring." Then the handsome Kunti was united (in intercourse) with the
god of justice in his spiritual form and obtained from him a son devoted
to the good of all creatures. And she brought his excellent child, who
lived to acquire a great fame, at the eighth Muhurta called Abhijit, of
the hour of noon of that very auspicious day of the seventh month
(Kartika), viz., the fifth of the lighted fortnight, when the star
Jyeshtha in conjunction with the moon was ascendant. And as soon as the
child was born, an incorporeal voice (from the skies) said, "This child
shall be the best of men, the foremost of those that are virtuous. Endued
with great prowess and truthful in speech, he shall certainly be the ruler
of the earth. And this first child of Pandu shall be known by the name of
Yudhishthira. Possessed of prowess and honesty of disposition, he shall be
a famous king, known throughout the three worlds."
"'Pandu, having obtained that virtuous son, again addressed his wife and
said, "The wise have declared that a Kshatriya must be endued with
physical strength, otherwise he is no Kshatriya. Therefore, ask thou for
an offspring of superior strength." Thus commanded by her lord, Kunti then
invoked Vayu. And the mighty god of wind, thus invoked, came unto her,
riding upon a deer, and said, "What, O Kunti, am I to give thee? Tell me
what is in thy heart." Smiling in modesty, she said to him, "Give me, O
best of celestials, a child endued with great strength and largeness of
limbs and capable of humbling the pride of every body." The god of wind
thereupon begat upon her the child afterwards known as Bhima of mighty
arms and fierce prowess. And upon the birth of that child endued with
extraordinary strength, an incorporeal voice, O Bharata, as before, said,
"This child shall be the foremost of all endued with strength." I must
tell you, O Bharata, of another wonderful event that occurred after the
birth of Vrikodara (Bhima). While he fell from the lap of his mother upon
the mountain breast, the violence of the fall broke into fragments the
stone upon which he fell without his infant body being injured in the
least. And he fell from his mother's lap because Kunti, frightened by a
tiger, had risen up suddenly, unconscious of the child that lay asleep on
her lap. And as she had risen, the infant, of body hard as the thunderbolt,
falling down upon the mountain breast, broke into a hundred fragments the
rocky mass upon which he fell. And beholding this, Pandu wondered much.
And it so happened that that very day on which Vrikodara was born, was
also, O best of Bharatas, the birthday of Duryodhana who afterwards became
the ruler of the whole earth.
"'After the birth of Vrikodara, Pandu again began to think, "How am I to
obtain a very superior son who shall achieve world-wide fame? Every thing
in the world dependeth on destiny and exertion. But destiny can never be
successful except by timely exertion. We have heard it said that Indra is
the chief of the gods. Indeed, he is endued with immeasurable might and
energy and prowess and glory. Gratifying him with my asceticism, I shall
obtain from him a son of great strength. Indeed, the son he giveth me must
be superior to all and capable of vanquishing in battle all men and
creatures other than men. I shall, therefore, practise the severest
austerities, with heart, deed and speech."
"'After this, the Kuru king Pandu, taking counsel with the great Rishis
commanded Kunti to observe an auspicious vow for one full year, while he
himself commenced, O Bharata, to stand upon one leg from morning to
evening, and practise other severe austerities with mind rapt in
meditation, for gratifying the lord of the celestials.
"'It was after a long time that Indra (gratified with such devotion)
approached Pandu and, addressing him, said, "I shall give thee, O king, a
son who will be celebrated all over the three worlds and who will promote
the welfare of Brahmanas, kine and all honest men. The son I shall give
thee will be the smiter of the wicked and the delight of friends and
relatives. Foremost of all men, he will be an irresistible slayer of all
foes." Thus addressed by Vasava (the king of the celestials), the virtuous
king of the Kuru race, well-recollecting those words, said unto Kunti, "O
fortunate one, thy vow hath become successful. The lord of the celestials
hath been gratified, and is willing to give thee a son such as thou
desirest, of superhuman achievements and great fame. He will be the
oppressor of all enemies and possessed of great wisdom. Endued with a
great soul, in splendour equal unto the Sun, invincible in battles, and of
great achievements, he will also be extremely handsome. O thou of fair
hips and sweet smiles, the lord of the celestials hath become gracious to
thee. Invoking him, bring thou forth a child who will be the very home of
all Kshatriya virtues."'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'The celebrated Kunti, thus addressed by her lord,
invoked Sakra (the king of the gods) who thereupon came unto her and begat
him that was afterwards called Arjuna. And as soon as this child was born,
an incorporeal voice, loud and deep as that of the clouds and filling the
whole welkin, distinctly said, addressing Kunti in the hearing of every
creature dwelling in that asylum, "This child of thine, O Kunti, will be
equal unto Kartavirya in energy and Siva in prowess. Invincible like Sakra
himself he will spread thy fame far and wide. As Vishnu (the youngest of
Aditi's sons) had enhanced Aditi's joy, so shall this child enhance thy
joy. Subjugating the Madras, the Kurus along with the Somakas, and the
people of Chedi, Kasi and Karusha, he will maintain the prosperity of the
Kurus. (Surfeited with libations at the sacrifice of king Swetaketu), Agni
will derive great gratification from the fat of all creatures dwelling in
the Khandava woods (to be burnt down) by the might of this one's arms.
This mighty hero, vanquishing all the monarchs of the earth, will with
his brothers perform three great sacrifices. In prowess, O Kunti, he will
be even as Jamadagnya or Vishnu. The foremost of all men endued with
prowess, he will achieve great fame. He will gratify in battle (by his
heroism) Sankara, the god of gods (Mahadeva), and will receive from him
the great weapon named Pasupata. This thy son of mighty arms will also
slay, at the command of Indra, those Daityas called the Nivatakavachas who
are the enemies of the gods. He will also acquire all kinds of celestial
weapons, and this bull among men will also retrieve the fortunes of his
race."
"'Kunti heard these extraordinary words, while lying in the room. And
hearing those words uttered so loudly, the ascetics dwelling on the
mountain of a hundred peaks, and the celestials with Indra sitting in
their cars, became exceedingly glad. The sounds of the (invisible) drum
filled the entire welkin. There were shouts of joy, and the whole region
was covered with flowers showered down by invisible agents. The various
tribes of celestials assembled together, began to offer their respectful
adorations to the son of Pritha. The sons of Kadru (Nagas), the son of
Vinata, the Gandharvas, the lords of the creation, and the seven great
Rishis, viz., Bharadwaja, Kasyapa, Gautama, Viswamitra, Jamadagni,
Vasishtha, and the illustrious Atri who illumined the world of old when
the Sun was lost, all came there. And Marichi, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha,
Kratu, Daksha the lord of creation, the Gandharvas, and Apsaras, came
there also. The various tribes of Apsaras, decked with celestial garlands
and every ornament, and attired in fine robes, came there and danced in
joy, chanting the praises of Vibhatsu (Arjuna). All around, the great
Rishis began to utter propitiatory formulas. And Tumvuru accompanied by
the Gandharvas began to sing in charming notes. And Bhimasena and Ugrasena,
Urnayus and Anagha, Gopati and Dhritarashtra and Suryavarchas the eighth,
Yugapa and Trinapa, Karshni, Nandi, and Chitraratha, Salisirah the
thirteenth, Parjanya the fourteenth, Kali the fifteenth, and Narada the
sixteenth in this list, Vrihatta, Vrihaka, Karala of great soul,
Brahmacharin, Vahuguna, Suvarna of great fame, Viswavasu, Bhumanyu,
Suchandra, Sam and the celebrated tribes of Haha and Huhu gifted with
wonderful melody of voice,--these celestial Gandharvas, O king, all went
there. Many illustrious Apsaras also of large eyes, decked with every
ornament came there to dance and sing. And Anuchana and Anavadya,
Gunamukhya and Gunavara, Adrika and Soma, Misrakesi and Alambusha, Marichi
and Suchika, Vidyutparna and Tilottama and Ambika, Lakshmana, Kshema Devi,
Rambha, Manorama, Asita, Suvahu, Supriya, Suvapuh, Pundarika, Sugandha,
Surasa, Pramathini, Kamya and Saradwati, all danced there together. And
Menaka, Sahajanya, Karnika, Punjikasthala, Ritusthala, Ghritachi, Viswachi,
Purvachiti, the celebrated Umlocha, Pramlocha the tenth and Urvasi the
eleventh,--these large-eyed dancing girls of heaven,--came there and sang
in chorus. And Dharti and Aryaman and Mitra and Varuna, Bhaga and Indra,
Vivaswat, Pushan, Tvastri and Parjanya or Vishnu, these twelve Adityas
came there to glorify Pandu's son. And, O king, Mrigavyadha, Sarpa, the
celebrated Niriti, Ajaikapada, Ahivradhna, Pinakin, Dahana, Iswara,
Kapalin, Sthanu and the illustrious Bhaga--these eleven Rudras,--also came
there. And the twin Aswins, the eight Vasus, the mighty Maruts, the
Viswedevas, and the Sadhyas, also came there. And Karkotaka, Vasuki,
Kachchhapa, Kunda and the great Naga Takshaka,--these mighty and wrathful
snakes possessed of high ascetic merit also came there. And Tarkshya,
Arishtanemi, Garuda, Asitadvaja,--these and many other Nagas, came there,
so also Aruna and Aruni of Vinata's race also came there. And only great
Rishis crowned with ascetic success and not others saw those celestials
and other beings seated in their cars or waiting on the mountain peaks.
Those best of Munis beholding that wonderful sight, became amazed, and
their love and affection for the children of Pandu was in consequence
enhanced.
"'The celebrated Pandu, tempted by the desire of having more children
wished to speak again unto his wedded wife (for invoking some other god).
But Kunti addressed him, saying, "The wise do not sanction a fourth
delivery even in a season of distress. The woman having intercourse with
four different men is called a Swairini (wanton), while she having
intercourse with five becometh a harlot. Therefore, O learned one, as thou
art well-acquainted with the scripture on this subject, why dost thou,
beguiled by desire of offspring, tell me so in seeming forgetfulness of
the ordinance?"'"