Vishnupurana 4.20

4.20.1

śrīparāśara uvāca
parīkṣitaś ca janamejayaśrutasenograsenabhīmasenāścātvāraḥ putrāḥ //

PARÍKSHIT, the son of Kuru, had four sons, Janamejaya, Śrutasena, Ugrasena, and Bhímasena. The son of Jahnu was Suratha; his son was Vidúratha; his son was Sárvabhauma; his son was Jayasena Árávin; his son was Ayutáyus; his son was Akrodhana; one of his sons was Devatithi, and another was called Riksha; his son was Dilípa; his son was Pratípa, who had three sons, Devápi, Śántanu, and Báhlíka. The first adopted in childhood a forest life, and Śántanu became king. Of him this verse is spread through the earth; "Śántanu is his name, because if he lays his hands upon an old man, he restores him to youth, and by him men obtain tranquillity (śánti)."

4.20.2

jahnostu surathonāmātmajo babhūva //

PARÍKSHIT, the son of Kuru, had four sons, Janamejaya, Śrutasena, Ugrasena, and Bhímasena. The son of Jahnu was Suratha; his son was Vidúratha; his son was Sárvabhauma; his son was Jayasena Árávin; his son was Ayutáyus; his son was Akrodhana; one of his sons was Devatithi, and another was called Riksha; his son was Dilípa; his son was Pratípa, who had three sons, Devápi, Śántanu, and Báhlíka. The first adopted in childhood a forest life, and Śántanu became king. Of him this verse is spread through the earth; "Śántanu is his name, because if he lays his hands upon an old man, he restores him to youth, and by him men obtain tranquillity (śánti)."

4.20.3

tasyāpi vidūrathaḥ //

PARÍKSHIT, the son of Kuru, had four sons, Janamejaya, Śrutasena, Ugrasena, and Bhímasena. The son of Jahnu was Suratha; his son was Vidúratha; his son was Sárvabhauma; his son was Jayasena Árávin; his son was Ayutáyus; his son was Akrodhana; one of his sons was Devatithi, and another was called Riksha; his son was Dilípa; his son was Pratípa, who had three sons, Devápi, Śántanu, and Báhlíka. The first adopted in childhood a forest life, and Śántanu became king. Of him this verse is spread through the earth; "Śántanu is his name, because if he lays his hands upon an old man, he restores him to youth, and by him men obtain tranquillity (śánti)."

4.20.4

tasmātsārvabhomaḥsārvabhaumājjayatsenastasmādārādhitastataścāyutāyurayutāyorakrodhanaḥ //

PARÍKSHIT, the son of Kuru, had four sons, Janamejaya, Śrutasena, Ugrasena, and Bhímasena. The son of Jahnu was Suratha; his son was Vidúratha; his son was Sárvabhauma; his son was Jayasena Árávin; his son was Ayutáyus; his son was Akrodhana; one of his sons was Devatithi, and another was called Riksha; his son was Dilípa; his son was Pratípa, who had three sons, Devápi, Śántanu, and Báhlíka. The first adopted in childhood a forest life, and Śántanu became king. Of him this verse is spread through the earth; "Śántanu is his name, because if he lays his hands upon an old man, he restores him to youth, and by him men obtain tranquillity (śánti)."

4.20.5

tasmāddevātithiḥ //

PARÍKSHIT, the son of Kuru, had four sons, Janamejaya, Śrutasena, Ugrasena, and Bhímasena. The son of Jahnu was Suratha; his son was Vidúratha; his son was Sárvabhauma; his son was Jayasena Árávin; his son was Ayutáyus; his son was Akrodhana; one of his sons was Devatithi, and another was called Riksha; his son was Dilípa; his son was Pratípa, who had three sons, Devápi, Śántanu, and Báhlíka. The first adopted in childhood a forest life, and Śántanu became king. Of him this verse is spread through the earth; "Śántanu is his name, because if he lays his hands upon an old man, he restores him to youth, and by him men obtain tranquillity (śánti)."

4.20.6

tataś ca ṛkṣo 'nyobhavat //

In the kingdom over which Śántanu ruled there was no rain for twelve years. Apprehensive that the country would become a desert, the king assembled the Brahmans, and asked them why no rain fell, and what fault he had committed. They told him that he was as it were a younger brother married before an elder, for he was in the enjoyment of the earth, which was the right of his elder brother Devápi. "What then am I to do?" said the Rájá: to which they replied, "Until the gods shall be displeased with Devápi, by his declining from the path of righteousness, the kingdom is his, and to him therefore you should resign it." When the minister of the king, Asmarisárin, heard this, he collected a number of ascetics who taught doctrines opposed to those of the Vedas, and sent them into the forest; where meeting with Devápi, they perverted the understanding of the simple-minded prince, and led him to adopt heretical notions. In the meantime, Śántanu being much distressed to think that he had been guilty of the offence intimated by the Brahmans, sent them before him into the woods, and then proceeded thither himself, to restore the kingdom to his elder brother. When the Brahmans arrived at the hermitage of Devápi, they informed him, that, according to the doctrines of the Vedas, succession to a kingdom was the right of the elder brother: but he entered into discussion with them, and in various ways advanced arguments which had the defect of being contrary to the precepts of the Vedas. When the Brahmans heard this, they turned to Śántanu, and said, "Come hither, Rájá; you need give yourself no further trouble in this matter; the dearth is at an end: this man is fallen from his state, for he has uttered words of disrespect to the authority of the eternal, untreated Veda; and when the elder brother is degraded, there is no sin in the prior espousals of his junior." Śántanu thereupon returned to his capital, and administered the government as before; and his elder brother Devápi being degraded from his caste by repeating doctrines contrary to the Vedas, Indra poured down abundant rain, which was followed by plentiful harvests.

4.20.7

ṛkṣādbhīmasenastataś ca dilīpaḥ //

In the kingdom over which Śántanu ruled there was no rain for twelve years. Apprehensive that the country would become a desert, the king assembled the Brahmans, and asked them why no rain fell, and what fault he had committed. They told him that he was as it were a younger brother married before an elder, for he was in the enjoyment of the earth, which was the right of his elder brother Devápi. "What then am I to do?" said the Rájá: to which they replied, "Until the gods shall be displeased with Devápi, by his declining from the path of righteousness, the kingdom is his, and to him therefore you should resign it." When the minister of the king, Asmarisárin, heard this, he collected a number of ascetics who taught doctrines opposed to those of the Vedas, and sent them into the forest; where meeting with Devápi, they perverted the understanding of the simple-minded prince, and led him to adopt heretical notions. In the meantime, Śántanu being much distressed to think that he had been guilty of the offence intimated by the Brahmans, sent them before him into the woods, and then proceeded thither himself, to restore the kingdom to his elder brother. When the Brahmans arrived at the hermitage of Devápi, they informed him, that, according to the doctrines of the Vedas, succession to a kingdom was the right of the elder brother: but he entered into discussion with them, and in various ways advanced arguments which had the defect of being contrary to the precepts of the Vedas. When the Brahmans heard this, they turned to Śántanu, and said, "Come hither, Rájá; you need give yourself no further trouble in this matter; the dearth is at an end: this man is fallen from his state, for he has uttered words of disrespect to the authority of the eternal, untreated Veda; and when the elder brother is degraded, there is no sin in the prior espousals of his junior." Śántanu thereupon returned to his capital, and administered the government as before; and his elder brother Devápi being degraded from his caste by repeating doctrines contrary to the Vedas, Indra poured down abundant rain, which was followed by plentiful harvests.

4.20.8

dilīpāt pratīpaḥ //

In the kingdom over which Śántanu ruled there was no rain for twelve years. Apprehensive that the country would become a desert, the king assembled the Brahmans, and asked them why no rain fell, and what fault he had committed. They told him that he was as it were a younger brother married before an elder, for he was in the enjoyment of the earth, which was the right of his elder brother Devápi. "What then am I to do?" said the Rájá: to which they replied, "Until the gods shall be displeased with Devápi, by his declining from the path of righteousness, the kingdom is his, and to him therefore you should resign it." When the minister of the king, Asmarisárin, heard this, he collected a number of ascetics who taught doctrines opposed to those of the Vedas, and sent them into the forest; where meeting with Devápi, they perverted the understanding of the simple-minded prince, and led him to adopt heretical notions. In the meantime, Śántanu being much distressed to think that he had been guilty of the offence intimated by the Brahmans, sent them before him into the woods, and then proceeded thither himself, to restore the kingdom to his elder brother. When the Brahmans arrived at the hermitage of Devápi, they informed him, that, according to the doctrines of the Vedas, succession to a kingdom was the right of the elder brother: but he entered into discussion with them, and in various ways advanced arguments which had the defect of being contrary to the precepts of the Vedas. When the Brahmans heard this, they turned to Śántanu, and said, "Come hither, Rájá; you need give yourself no further trouble in this matter; the dearth is at an end: this man is fallen from his state, for he has uttered words of disrespect to the authority of the eternal, untreated Veda; and when the elder brother is degraded, there is no sin in the prior espousals of his junior." Śántanu thereupon returned to his capital, and administered the government as before; and his elder brother Devápi being degraded from his caste by repeating doctrines contrary to the Vedas, Indra poured down abundant rain, which was followed by plentiful harvests.

4.20.9

tasyāpi devāpiśantanubāhlīkasaṃjñāstrayaḥ putrā babhūvuḥ //

In the kingdom over which Śántanu ruled there was no rain for twelve years. Apprehensive that the country would become a desert, the king assembled the Brahmans, and asked them why no rain fell, and what fault he had committed. They told him that he was as it were a younger brother married before an elder, for he was in the enjoyment of the earth, which was the right of his elder brother Devápi. "What then am I to do?" said the Rájá: to which they replied, "Until the gods shall be displeased with Devápi, by his declining from the path of righteousness, the kingdom is his, and to him therefore you should resign it." When the minister of the king, Asmarisárin, heard this, he collected a number of ascetics who taught doctrines opposed to those of the Vedas, and sent them into the forest; where meeting with Devápi, they perverted the understanding of the simple-minded prince, and led him to adopt heretical notions. In the meantime, Śántanu being much distressed to think that he had been guilty of the offence intimated by the Brahmans, sent them before him into the woods, and then proceeded thither himself, to restore the kingdom to his elder brother. When the Brahmans arrived at the hermitage of Devápi, they informed him, that, according to the doctrines of the Vedas, succession to a kingdom was the right of the elder brother: but he entered into discussion with them, and in various ways advanced arguments which had the defect of being contrary to the precepts of the Vedas. When the Brahmans heard this, they turned to Śántanu, and said, "Come hither, Rájá; you need give yourself no further trouble in this matter; the dearth is at an end: this man is fallen from his state, for he has uttered words of disrespect to the authority of the eternal, untreated Veda; and when the elder brother is degraded, there is no sin in the prior espousals of his junior." Śántanu thereupon returned to his capital, and administered the government as before; and his elder brother Devápi being degraded from his caste by repeating doctrines contrary to the Vedas, Indra poured down abundant rain, which was followed by plentiful harvests.

The son of Báhlíka was Somadatta, who had three sons, Bhúri, Bhúriśravas, and Śala.

4.20.10

devāpirbāla evāraṇyaṃ viveśa //

The son of Śántanu was the illustrious and learned Bhíshma, who was born to him by the holy river-goddess, Gangá; and he had by his wife Satyavatí two sons, Chitrángada and Vichitravíryya. Chitrángada, whilst yet a youth, was killed in a conflict with a Gandharba, also called Chitrángada. Vichitravíryya married Ambá and Ambaliká, the daughters of the king of Káśí; and indulging too freely in connubial rites, fell into a consumption, of which he died. By command of Satyavatí, my son Krishńa-dwaipáyana, ever obedient to his mother's wishes, begot upon the widows of his brother the princes Dhritarásht́ra and Páńd́u, and upon a female servant, Vidura. Dhritarásht́ra had Duryodhana, Duhsáśana, and other sons, to the cumber of a hundred. Páńd́u having incurred the curse of a deer, whose mate he had killed in the chase, was deterred from procreating children; and his wife Kuntí, bare to him in consequence three sons, who were begotten by the deities Dharma, Váyu, and Indra; namely, Yudhisht́hira, Bhíma, and Arjuna: and his wife Mádrí had two sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, by the celestial sons of Aświní. These had each a son by Draupadí. The son of Yudhisht́hira was Prativindhya; of Bhíma, Śrutasoma; of Arjuna, Śrutakírtti; of Nakula, Śatáníka; and of Sahadeva, Śrutakarman. The Páńd́avas had also other sons. By his wife Yaudheyí, Yudhisht́hira had Devaka. The son of Bhíma by Hid́imbá was Ghat́otkacha, and he had also Sarvatraga by his wife Káśí. The son of Sahadeva by Vijayá was Suhotra; and Niramitra was the son of Nakula by Kareńumatí. Arjuna had Irávat by the serpent-nymph Ulupí; Babhruváhana, who was adopted as the son of his maternal grandfather, by the daughter of the king of Manipura; and, by his wife Subhadrá Abhimanyu, who even in extreme youth was renowned for his valour and his strength, and crushed the chariots of his foes in fight. The son of Abhimanyu by his wife Uttará was Paríkshit, who, after the Kurus were all destroyed, was killed in his mother's womb by the magic Bráhma weapon, hurled by Aswattháman: he was however restored to life by the clemency of that being whose feet receive the homage of all the demons and the gods, and who for his own pleasure had assumed a human shape (Krishńa). This prince, Paríkshit, now reigns over the whole world with undivided sway.

The son of Báhlíka was Somadatta, who had three sons, Bhúri, Bhúriśravas, and Śala.

4.20.11

śantanustu mahīpālo 'bhūt //

4.20.12

ayaṃ ca tasya ślokaḥ pṛthivyāṃ gīyate //

4.20.13

yaṃyaṃ karābhyāṃ spṛśati vīrṇaṃ yauvanameti saḥ /
śāntiṃ cāpnoti yenāgryāṃ karmaṇā tena śantanuḥ //

4.20.14

tasya ca śantano hāṣṭre dvādaśavarṣāṇi devo na vavarṣa //

4.20.15

tataścāśeṣarāṣṭravināśamavekṣyāsau rājā brāhmaṇānapṛcchat kasmādasmākaṃ rāṣṭre devo na varṣati ko mamāparādha iti //

4.20.16

tataś ca tamūcurbrāhmaṇāḥ //

4.20.17

agrajasya te hīyamavanistvayā saṃbhujyate ataḥ parivettā tvamityuktaḥsa rājā punastānapṛcchat //

4.20.18

kiṃ mayātra vidheyamiti //

4.20.19

tataste punarapyūcuḥ //

4.20.20

yāvaddevāpirna patanādibhir deṣair abhibhūyate tāvadetattasyārhaṃ rājyam //

4.20.21

tadalametena tu tasmaidīyatāmityukte tasyaṃ mantripravareṇāśmarāviṇā tatrāraṇye tapasvino vedavādavirodhavaktāraḥ prayuktāḥ //

4.20.22

tair asyāpy atiṛjumater mahīpatiputrasya buddhir vedavādavirodhamārgānusāriṇyakriyata //

4.20.23

rājā ca śantanurdvijavacanotpannaparidevanaśokastān brāhmaṇānagrataḥ kṛtvāgrajasya pradānāyāraṇyaṃ jagāma //

4.20.24

tadāśramamupagatāś ca tamavanatamavanīpatiputraṃ devāpimupatasthuḥ //

4.20.25

te brāhmaṇā vedavādānubandhīni vacāṃsi rājyamagrajena kartavyamityarthavanti tamūcuḥ //

4.20.26

asāvapi devāpirvedavādavirodhayuktidūṣitamanekaprakāraṃ tānāha //

4.20.27

tataste brāhmaṇāḥ śantanumūcuḥ //

4.20.28

āgaccha he rājannalamatrātinirbadhena praśānta evāsāvanā vṛṣṭidoṣaḥ patitoyamanādikālamabhihitavedavacanadūṣaṇoccaraṇāt //

4.20.29

patite cāgraje naiva te parivetṛtvaṃ bhavatītyuktaḥ śantanuḥsvapuramāgamya rājyamakarot //

4.20.30

vedavādavirodhavacanoccāraṇadūṣite ca tasmindevāpau tiṣṭhatyapi jyeṣṭhabhrātaryakhilasasyaniṣpattaye vavarṣa bhagavānparjanyaḥ //

4.20.31

bāhlīkātsomadattaḥ putro 'bhūt //

4.20.32

somadattasyāpi bhūribhūriśravaśalyasaṃjñāstrayaḥ putrā babhūvuḥ //

4.20.33

śantanorapyamaranadyāṃ jāhnavyāmudārakīrtiraśeṣaśāstrarthavidbhīṣmaḥ putro 'bhūt //

4.20.34

satyavatyāṃ ca citrāṅgadavicitravīryau dvau putrāvutpādayāmāsa śantanuḥ //

4.20.35

citrāṅgadastu bāla eva citrāṅgadenaiva gandharvoṇāhave nihataḥ //

4.20.36

vicitravīryo 'pi kāśīrājatanaye aṃbāṃvālike upayeme //

4.20.37

tadupabhogātikhedācca yakṣmaṇā gṛhītaḥ sa pañcatvamagamat //

4.20.38

satyavatīniyogācca matputraḥ kṛṣṇadvaipāyano māturvacanamanatikramaṇīyamiti kṛtvā vicitravīryakṣetre dhṛtarāṣṭrapāṇḍutatprahitabhujiṣyāyāṃ viduraṃ cotpādayāmāsa //

4.20.39

dhatarāṣṭropi gāndhāryāṃ duryodhanaduḥ śāsanapradhānaṃ putraśatamutpādayāmāsa //

4.20.40

pāṇḍhorapyaraṇye mṛgayāyāmṛṣiśāpopahataprajājananasāmarthyasya dharmavāyuśakrair yudhiṣṭhirabhīmasenārjunāḥ kuntyāṃ nakulasahadevau cāśvibhyāṃ mādrayāṃ pañcaputrāḥsamutpāditāḥ //

4.20.41

teṣāṃ ca draupadyāṃ pañcaiva babhūvuḥ //

4.20.42

yudhiṣṭhirātprativindhyaḥ bhīmasenācchutasenaḥ śrutakīrtirarjunācchutānīko nakulācchutakarmā sahadevāt //

4.20.43

kāśī ca bhīmasenādeva sarvagaṃ sutamavāpa //

4.20.44

yaudheyī yudhiṣchirāddevakaṃ putramavāpa //

4.20.45

hiḍiṃbā ghaṭotkacaṃ bhīmasenātputraṃ lebhe //

4.20.46

kāśī ca bhīmasenādeva sarvagaṃ sutamavāpa //

4.20.47

sahadevācca vijayī kuhotraṃ putramavāpa //

4.20.48

reṇumatyāṃ ca nakulopi niramitramajījanat //

4.20.49

arjunasyāpyulūpyāṃ nāgakanyāyāmirāvānnāma putro 'bhavat //

4.20.50

maṇīpurapatiputryāṃ putrikādharmeṇa babruvāhanaṃ nāma putramarjuno 'janayat //

4.20.51

subhadrāyāṃ cārbhakatvepi yosāvatibalaparākramaḥsamastārātirathajetā so 'bhimanyurajāyata //

4.20.52

abhimanyoruttarāyāṃ parikṣīṇeṣu kuruṣvaśvatthāmaprayuktabrahmastreṇa garbha eva bhasmīkṛto bhagavataḥsakalasurāsuravanditacaraṇayugalasyātmecchayā kāramamānuṣarūpadhārīṇonubhāvātpunarjīvitamavāpya parīkṣijjajñe //

4.20.53

yo 'yaṃ sāṃpratamedadbhūmaṇḍalamakhaṇḍitāyatidharmeṇa pālayatīti //

4.20.53.p1

iti śrīviṣṇumahāpurāṇe caturthāṃśe viṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ (20 )