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Markandeyapurana 7

English (machine translation) 7

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7.1

The birds of dharma said:
In ancient times, in the Tretā age, there was a royal sage named Hariścandra,
a virtuous ruler of the earth, excellent, of radiant renown.

7.2

There was no famine, no disease, no untimely death for men,
and the citizens took no pleasure in unrighteousness while that king ruled.

7.3

Nor were they intoxicated with the pride of wealth, valor, and austerity;
and no women gave birth before reaching youth.

7.4

Once, pursuing a deer in the forest, that mighty-armed king
heard repeatedly the cries of women saying, "Save us!"

7.5

Abandoning the deer, the king said: "Do not fear!
While I rule, who is this evil-minded one engaging in injustice?"

7.6

Following that cry, a frustrator of all undertakings,
the dread king of obstacles thought in the meantime:

7.7

"This mighty Viśvāmitra, resolute in his vow, having undertaken matchless austerity,
is mastering the sciences of Bhavā and others, which were formerly unmastered.

7.8

Being mastered by him who restrains his mind with patience and silence,
they cry out in terror. What should be done by me?

7.9

Glorious is the foremost son of Kuśika; we are very weak before him.
These [sciences] cry out in fear; it seems impassable to me.

7.10

Or rather, this king has arrived saying repeatedly, 'Do not fear!'
Entering into him quickly, I will accomplish what is desired."

7.11

Reflecting thus, the dread king of obstacles then entered the king;
and possessed by him, [the king] spoke these words out of anger:

7.12

"What sinning man binds fire in the hem of his garment,
when I, blazing with the heat of strength and splendor, am present as lord?

7.13

Today, his whole body pierced by arrows that illuminate the quarters with the release of my bow,
he will enter into the long sleep!"

7.14

Then Viśvāmitra was enraged upon hearing that king's word;
and when that best of sages was enraged, those sciences vanished in an instant.

7.15

And the king also, seeing that Viśvāmitra, a treasury of austerities,
was terrified and trembled violently, like a leaf of the holy fig tree.

7.16

When the sage said, "Stand, O wicked one!",
then that king bowed down with humility and said:

7.17

"Revered one, this is my dharma; it is not my fault, O lord.
You should not be angry with me, O sage, devoted to my own dharma.

7.18

Gifts must be given, and protection must be granted by a ruler knowing dharma;
and, raising his bow, he must fight according to the treatises on dharma."

7.19

Viśvāmitra said:
"To whom must gifts be given, who must be protected, and with whom must you fight, O king?
Tell this quickly, if you fear unrighteousness."

7.20

Hariścandra said:
"Gifts must be given to foremost brahmins and to others who have meager means of livelihood;
those who fear must always be protected; fighting must be done with adversaries."

7.21

Viśvāmitra said:
"If you, as a king, rightly observe the duty of kings,
I am a brahmin wishing to receive [a gift]; let the desired sacrificial fee be given!"

7.22

The birds said:
Hearing this word, the king, with a rejoiced heart,
thought himself as if reborn, and said to the Kauśika:

7.23

"Speak, revered one, what must be given to you without hesitation;
know it as already given, even if it be very difficult to obtain—

7.24

whether uncoined gold or coined gold, son, wife, body,
life, kingdom, city, fortune, whatever is desired by yourself."

7.25

Viśvāmitra said:
"O king, this gift that is offered by you is accepted.
First, however, grant the fee for the Rājasūya sacrifice."

7.25.p1

The king said:

7.26

"O brahmin, I will indeed give you that fee as well.
Choose, O tiger among the twice-born, whatever gift is pleasing to you."

7.27

Viśvāmitra said:
"This earth with its oceans, with its mountains, villages, and cities,
and the entire kingdom, O hero, teeming with chariots, horses, and elephants,

7.28

the storehouse and the treasury, and whatever else belongs to you—
excepting your wife, your son, and your body, O sinless one,

7.29

and dharma, O knower of all dharma, which follows one who departs.
Or what need is there to say much? Let all of this be given!"

7.30

The birds said:
With a delighted mind and an untroubled face, the king,
hearing that sage's speech, said with joined palms: "So be it!"

7.31

Viśvāmitra said:
"If your entire possession has been given to me—the kingdom, the earth, the army, the wealth—
whose is the sovereignty, O royal sage, when I, an ascetic, reside in the kingdom?"

7.32

Hariścandra said:
"At the very moment when the earth was given by me, O brahmin,
at that very moment you became master, not to speak of today as lord of the earth."

7.33

Viśvāmitra said:
"If all the earth has been given by you to me, O king,
then you ought to depart from the realm where I hold mastery."

7.34

having taken off all collection of ornaments, beginning with the waist-cord, / and tied on tree bark, along with his wife and son."

7.35

The birds said: / Saying "So be it," and having done so, the king set out to go / together with his wife Śaivyā and his young son.

7.36

Then, blocking his path as he went, he said to the king: / "Where will you go without giving me the sacrificial fee for the Rājasūya?"

7.37

Hariścandra said: / "Reverend sir, this kingdom of mine, freed from thorns, has been given to you; / O brahmin, now only this triad of our bodies is left to me."

7.38

Viśvāmitra said: / "Even so, you must indeed give me the sacrificial fee for the sacrifice; / especially for brahmins, an unfulfilled promise ruins [the giver].

7.39

As much as will satisfy the brahmins in a Rājasūya, O king, / exactly that much sacrificial fee for the Rājasūya must be given.

7.40

Having promised, one must give; aggressors must be fought; / and those in distress must be protected: you yourself promised this before."

7.41

Hariścandra said: / "Reverend sir, at present I have nothing; I will give it to you in the course of time. / Show mercy, O brahmin-seer, considering my good faith."

7.42

Viśvāmitra said: / "How long a time must I wait for you, ruler of men? / Tell me quickly, otherwise the fire of my curse will burn you."

7.43

Hariścandra said: / "In a month, O brahmin-seer, I will give you the wealth for the sacrificial fee; / at present I have no wealth; please deign to give me leave."

7.44

Viśvāmitra said: / "Go, go, best of kings, observe your own dharma! / May your journey be auspicious, and may there be no adversaries!"

7.45

The birds said: / And having received permission to go, the lord of the earth departed; / his beloved, unaccustomed to walking on foot, followed him.

7.46

Seeing that best of kings departing from the city with his wife and son, / the citizens and the king's followers cried out in distress:

7.47

"Alas, lord, why do you abandon us who are ever afflicted by suffering? / You are dedicated to dharma, O king, and one who bestows favors upon the citizens.

7.48

Lead us too, O royal seer, if you have regard for dharma! / Stay for a moment, O king of kings, so that we may drink the lotus of your face

7.49

with the black bees of our eyes! When shall we see you again? / He before and behind whom monarchs marched as he journeyed—

7.50

his wife here follows him, holding her young son! / He before whom servants mounted on elephants marched as he journeyed—

7.51

that very same king of kings, Hariścandra, walks today on foot! / Alas, O king, your delicate face with lovely brows, beautiful skin, and high nose,

7.52

distressed by dust on the road—what will it become? / Halt, halt, best of kings! Observe your own dharma!

7.53

Compassion is the highest dharma, especially of kṣatriyas. / What use are wives, what use are sons, O lord, or wealth, or grain?

7.54

Abandoning all this, we have become your shadow! / Alas, lord! Alas, great king! Alas, master! Why do you abandon us?

7.55

Where you are, there indeed are we; that is happiness where you are; / that is the city where you are; that is heaven where our king is!"

7.56

Hearing these words of the citizens, the king, overwhelmed by grief, / halted then upon the path out of compassion for them alone.

7.57

Seeing him agitated by the citizens' words, / Viśvāmitra, his eyes rolling in rage and fury, came up and spoke these words:

7.58

"Fie on you of wicked conduct, false and deceitful in speech, / who, having given me the kingdom, wish to take it back!"

7.59

Addressed thus harshly by him, trembling and saying, "I am going," / he went swiftly, pulling his beloved by the hand.

7.60

As he pulled his wife, delicate and afflicted by exhaustion, / Kauśika suddenly struck her with a wooden staff.

7.61

Seeing her struck thus, King Hariścandra, / afflicted by sorrow, said "I am going," and uttered nothing else.

7.62

Then the five compassionate Viśvedevas said: / "What worlds will this exceedingly wicked Viśvāmitra attain,

7.63

by whom this best of sacrificers has been deposed from his own kingdom? / Or whose pressed soma, purified with faith in a great sacrifice, / shall we drink, rejoicing, accompanied by mantras?"

7.64

The birds said: / Hearing their words, Kauśika, filled with extreme wrath, / cursed them: "All of you shall attain human state!"

7.65

And propitiated by them, the great sage spoke again: / "Even in human state, you shall have no offspring;

7.66

there shall be no taking of a wife, nor shall there be envy; / freed from desire and anger, you shall become gods again."

7.67

Then those gods descended with portions of themselves into the house of Kuru, / born from the womb of Draupadī as the five sons of the Pāṇḍavas.

7.68

For this reason, the five sons of the Pāṇḍavas, great chariot-warriors, / did not obtain wives, due to the curse of that great sage.

7.69

All this relating to the story of the Pāṇḍavas has been told to you; / the four questions have been proclaimed. What else do you wish to hear?

7.69.p1

Thus ends the seventh chapter, titled "The Origin of the Sons of Draupadī," in the glorious Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.

7.69.p2

Chapter Eight

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