The Mahabharata/Book 1: Adi Parva/Section 99

Section LXLIX. *( Sambhava Parva continued. )* Shantanu asked, 'What was the fault of the Vasus and who was Apava through whose curse the Vasus had to be horn among men? What also hath this child of thine—Gangadatta—done for which he shall have to live among men? Why also were the Vasus—the lords of the three worlds—condemned to be born anongst men? O daughter of Janhu, tell me all.'" Vaisampayana continued, "Thus addressed, the celestial the daughter of Janhu, Ganga, then replied to the monarch, her husband—that bull amougst men—saying, 'O thou best of that Bharata race, he who was obtained as son by Varuna was called Vashishta—the Muni who afterwards came to be known as Apava. He had his asylum on the side of the king of mountains Meru. The ground was sacred and abounded with birds and beasts, and there bloomed at all times of the year flowers of every season, And, O thou best of the Bharata race, the foremost of virtuous men, the son of Varuna, practised his ascetic penances in those woods abounding with sweet roots and fruits and water. "'Daksha had a daughter known by the name of Surabhi. And, O thou bull of the Bharata race, Surabhi, for benefiting the world, brought forth, by her connection with Kasyapa, a daughter (Nandini) in the form of a cow. The foremost of all kine, Nandini, was the cow of plenty (capable of granting every desire.) And the virtuous son of Varuna obtained Nandini for his *Homa* cow. And the cow, dwelling in that hermitage which was adored by Munis, roved fearlessly in those sacred and delightful woods. "One day, O thou bull of the Bharata race, there came into those woods adored by the gods and celestial Rishis, the Vasus with Prithu as their head. And wandering there with their wives, they enjoyed themselves in those delightful woods and mountains. And as they were wandering there, the slender-waisted wife of one of the Vasus, O thou of the prowess of Indra, saw in those woods Nandini the cow of plenty. And as she saw that cow possessing the wealth of all accomplishments, large eyes, full udders, fine tail, beautiful hoofs, and every other auspicious sign, and yielding much milk, she showed it to her husband named Dyau. And, O thou of the prowess of the first of elephants, when Dyau was shown that cow, he began to admire its several qualities, and addressing his wife said—O thou black-eyed girl of fair thighs, this excellent cow belongeth to that Rishi whose is this delightful asylum. And, O thou slender-waisted one, that mortal who drinketh of the sweet milk of this cow remaineth in unchanged youth for ten thousand years.—And, O best of monarchs, hearing this, the slender-waisted goddess of faultless features then addressed her lord of blazing splendour and said,—There is on earth a friend of mine, by name Jitavati, possessed of great beauty and youth. She is the daughter of that god among men, the royal sage Usinara endued with intelligence and devoted to truth. I desire to have this cow, O thou illustrious one, with her calf for that friend of mine. Therefore, O thou best of celestials, bring that cow so that my friend drinking of its milk may alone become on earth free from disease and decrepitude. O thou illustrious and blameless one, it behoveth thee to grant me this desire of mine. There is nothing that would be more agreeable to me.—Hearing these words of his wife, Dyau, moved by the desire of humouring his wife, stole that cow, along with his brothers Prithu and others. Indeed, Dyau, commanded by his lotus leaf-eyed wife, did her bidding, forgetting at the moment the-high ascetic merits of the Rishi who owned her. He did not also think at the time that he fell with the commission of the sin of stealing the cow. "'When the son of Varuna returned to his asylum in the evening with the fruits he had collected, and beheld not the cow with its calf there, he began to search for it in the woods. But when the great ascetic, of superior intelligence, found not his cow on search, he saw by his ascetic vision that it had been stolen by the Vasus. His wrath was instantly kindled and he cursed the Vasus saying,—Because the Vasus have stolen my cow of sweet milk and handsome tail, therefore shall they certainly be born on earth.— "'O thou bull of the Bharata race, the illustrious Rishi Apava thus cursed the Vasus in wrath. And having cursed them the illustrious one set his heart once more on ascetic meditation. And after that *Brahmarshi* of great power and ascetic wealth had thus in wrath cursed the Vasus, the latter, O king, coming to know of it, speedily came into his asylum. And addressing the Rishi, O thou bull among kings, they endeavoured to pacify him. But they failed, O thou tiger among men, to obtain grace from Apava—that Rishi conversant with all rules of virtue. The virtuous Apava, however, said—Ye Vasus, with Dhava and others, ye have been cursed by me! But ye shall be freed from my curse within a year of your birth among men. But he for whose deed ye have been cursed by me, he, *viz*, Dyau, shall, for his sinful act, have to dwell on earth for length of time. I shall not render futile the words I have uttered in wrath. Dyau, though dwelling on earth, shall not beget children. He shall, however, be virtuous and conversant with all *Shastras*. He shall be an obedient son to his father, but shall have to abstain from the pleasure of female companionship.— "'Thus addressing the Vasus, the great Rishi went away, The Vasus then together came to me. And, O king, they begged of me the boon that as soon as they would be born, I should throw them into the water. And, O best of kings, I did as they desired, in order to free them from their earthly life. And, O best of kings, from the Rishi's curse, this one only—Dyau himself—is to live on earth for some time.'" Vaisampayana continued, "Having said this, the goddess then and there disappeared. And taking with her the child she went away to the region she chose. And that child of Shantanu was named both Gangeya and Deva-brata and excelled his father in all accomplishments. "Shantanu, after the disappearance of his wife, returned to his capital with a sorrowful heart. I shall now recount to thou the many virtues and great good fortune of that illustrious king Shantanu of the Bharata race. Indeed, it is this splendid history that is called the Mahabharata." And so ends the ninety-ninth Section in the Sambhava of the Adi Parva.