Vishnupurana 4.4.59
Viṣṇupurāṇa 4.4.59
- Language
- Sanskrit
4.4.59
hiraṇyanābhas tato mahāyogīśvaro jaiminiśiṣyo yato yājñavalkyo yogam avāpa ||
At the expiration of the period of his curse Saudása returned home. Being reminded of the imprecation of the Brahmani by his wife Madayantí, he abstained from conjugal intercourse, and was in consequence childless; but having solicited the interposition of Vaśisht́ha, Madayantí became pregnant. The child, however, was not born for seven years, when the queen, becoming impatient, divided the womb with a sharp stone, and was thereby delivered. The child was thence called Aśmaka (from Aśman, 'a stone'). The son of Aśmaka was Múlaka, who, when the warrior tribe was extirpated upon earth, was surrounded and concealed by a number of females; whence he was denominated Náríkavacha (having women for armour). The son of Múlaka was Daśaratha; his son was Ilavila; his son was Viśwasaha; his son was Khat́wánga, called also Dilípa, who in a battle between the gods and the Asuras, being called by the former to their succour, killed a number of the latter. Having thus acquired the friendship of the deities in heaven, they desired him to demand a boon. He said to them, "If a boon is to be accepted by me, then tell me, as a favour, what is the duration of my life." "The length of your life is but an hour," the gods replied. On which, Khat́wánga, who was swift of motion, descended in his easy-gliding chariot to the world of mortals. Arrived there, he prayed, and said, "If my own soul has never been dearer to me than the sacred Brahmans; if I have never deviated from the discharge of my duty; if I have never regarded gods, men, animals, vegetables, all created things, as different from the imperishable; then may I, with unswerving step, attain to that divine being on whom holy sages meditate!" Having thus spoken, he was united with that supreme being, who is Vásudeva; with that elder of all the gods, who is abstract existence, and whose form cannot be described. Thus he obtained absorption, according to this stanza, which was repeated formerly by the seven Rishis; "Like unto Khat́wánga will be no one upon earth, who having come from heaven, and dwelt an hour amongst men, became united with the three worlds by his liberality and knowledge of truth."
The son of Kuśa was Atithi; his son was Nishadha; his son was Nala; his son was Nabhas; his son was Puńd́aríka; his son was Kshemadhanwan; his son was Deváníka; his son was Ahínagu; his son was Páripátra; his son was Dala; his son was Chhala; his son was Uktha; his son was Vajranábha; his son was Śankhanábha; his son was Abhyutthitáśwa; his son was Viśwasaha; his son was Hirańyanábha, who was a pupil of the mighty Yogí Jaimini, and communicated the knowledge of spiritual exercises to Yájnawalkya. The son of this saintly king was Pushya; his son was Dhruvasandhi; his son was Sudarśana; his son was Agnivarńa; his son was Śíghra; his son was Maru, who through the power of devotion (Yoga) is still living in the village called Kalápa, and in a future age will be the restorer of the Kshatriya race in the solar dynasty. Maru had a son named Prasuśruta; his son was Susandhi; his son was Amarsha; his son was Mahaswat; his son was Viśrutavat; and his son was Vrihadbala, who was killed in the great war by Abhimanyu, the son of Anjuna. These are the most distinguished princes in the family of Ikshwáku: whoever listens to the account of them will be purified from all his sins.}
Translations (2)
- The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition — Horace Hayman Wilson 1840, English
- A Prose English Translation of Vishnupuranam — Manmatha Nath Dutt 1896, English