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  ‘“The ministers said, ‘O lord! The wicked one’s chakra may be whirling, but you are observing a period of purification. This should never be regarded as the prime time for waging war. We should first resort to conciliation, donations and dissension.249 By then, you will be purified and can engage, after having worshipped the gods. You will make brahmanas offer beneficial offerings into the fire. You will make brahmanas recite words of benediction. Having then obtained the permission of the brahmanas, you can depart for victory. At this time, one should not use weapons and one should not enter into a battle. Since this is a time of purification, that is what the instructions of the elders are. One should first attempt conciliation, donations and dissension. After that, you can slay him through your valour, just as Maghavan killed Shambara.’”250

  ‘Bhishma continued, “O lord of men! At that time, hearing the words of the wise ones, especially the elders, I restrained myself. O best among the Kuru lineage! At that time, I progressively followed251 the supreme course of action indicated by those who knew about the sacred texts. I entreated the evil-minded one with sama and the other techniques that the sacred texts had thought about, but was incapable of persuading him. O son! Since he was addicted to the adharma of desiring another person’s wife, he would not be restrained. However, because of his own deeds, censured by the virtuous, his supreme chakra had already been controlled, though I did not know this. Having completed the rites of purification, I left the city on a chariot, with a bow and arrows. The brahmanas pronounced words of benediction and I proceeded to fight with the enemy. Approaching him, I began to fight with my strength and the strength of my weapons. It was like an encounter between the gods and the asuras and lasted for three days. Because of the power of my weapons, he was burnt down in the forefront of the battle. O scorcher of enemies! In front of me, the brave one gave up his life and fell down. O son! During this time, when King Ugrayudha, the lord of Nipa was slain, Prishata advanced against Kampilya. O king! With my permission, the greatly radiant one obtained his own ancestral kingdom of Ahichhatra back.252 Arjuna swiftly defeated Drupada is battle and offered Ahichhatra and Kampilya to Drona.253 Drona, supreme among victorious ones, accepted them both. But as is known to you, he returned Kampilya to Drupada. This entire story about the lineages of Drupada, Brahmadatta and the brave Ugrayudha has thus been narrated. This is the ancient history of what transpired. When asked by Markandeya, Sanatkumara also chanted to him the fruits of funeral ceremonies, performed in a self-controlled way and that of good deeds. O great king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You will hear about the conduct and the seven lives of Galava, Kandarika and Brahmadatta as the third. They were yogis who followed the brahman.”’

  Chapter 16

  ‘Markandeya said, “I will tell you about the supreme fruits of funeral ceremonies. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! This is what Brahmadatta obtained for seven lives.254 O unblemished one! On performing funeral ceremonies, their minds quickly turned towards dharma, even though they had oppressed dharma earlier. I will tell you about those seven brahmanas, who performed an act of adharma when they observed rites for their ancestors in Kurukshetra. Sanatkumara saw them and instructed them. Their names were like their deeds and they were Vagdushta, Krodhana, Himsra, Pishuna, Kavi, Khasrima and Pitrivarti.255 O son! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They were the sons of Koushika.256 But having been cursed by their father, all of them became Gargya’s disciples and started to observe vows. On the instructions of their preceptor, all of them acted properly and took his milk-yielding kapila cow257 and her calf to graze. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! However, along the route, they were hungry and overcome by childish delusion. With their minds overcome by cruelty, they wanted to kill the cow. Kavi and Khasrima tried to restrain them from doing this. But they were incapable of restraining the other brahmanas. There was a brahmana named Pitrivarti among them. He always performed funeral ceremonies and ablutions. He adhered to dharma and angrily spoke to all his brothers. ‘If we must do this, let all of us control ourselves and do it properly together. If we do this, there is no doubt that this cow will also achieve dharma. If we follow dharma in worshipping our ancestors, we will also not be tainted by adharma.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Thus addressed, all of them consecrated the cow, worshipped the ancestors by using it as an offering and thus used the cow.258 They seized the calf, went to the brahmana259 and uttered a lie. ‘A tiger has killed the cow. Accept the calf.’ He accepted it. Those brahmanas acted wrongly against their preceptor and resorted to falsehood. In due course of time, their lifespans were exhausted and they died. They were cruel and acted violently towards their preceptor, like those who were not aryas. The seven brothers were reborn as those who were fierce, conducting themselves violently.260 O son! They were spirited and powerful and became the sons of a hunter. However, they had consecrated the cow and following dharma, had worshipped the ancestors with it. Therefore, though they were reborn as a different category of being, they retained memories of what had occurred. Those seven were born in the land of Dasharna as hunters who were accomplished in dharma.261 All of them were devoted to their own dharma and were devoid of avarice and falsehood. They only did that much as was necessary for sustaining life.262 For the rest of the time, they devoted themselves to dharma and reflected on their own deeds.263 O lord of men! The names of those revered hunters, who were supremely devoted to dharma, were—Nirvaira, Nirvrita, Kshanta, Nirmanyu, Kriti, Vaidhasa and Matrivarti. O son! In the forest, though they were immersed in a dharma that required violence, they dwelt in this way, satisfying and worshipping their aged mother and father. Following the dharma of time, their mother and father eventually died. They then discarded their bows and gave up their lives in the forest. Because of their auspicious deeds, they were reborn as animals264 that remembered their past lives. As a result of the fright and the force, they were anxious and dwelt on beautiful Mount Kalanjara.265 The names of those animals were Unmukha, Nitya-vitrasta, Stabdha-karna, Vilochana, Pandita, Ghasmara and Nadi. Since they remembered their earlier lives, they reflected on the purpose of everything. They were controlled and roamed around in that forest. They were without attachments.266 They were devoid of opposite pairs of sentiments.267 All of them roamed around in that forest. They followed the dharma of behaving equally towards everyone and were auspicious in their deeds. They followed asceticism. They sustained their lives on a little bit of food and avoided drinking water. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O unblemished one! The footprints of those virtuous ones, who avoided drinking water, can still be seen on Mount Kalanjara. O son! Thus, their deeds were beyond what is good and bad. They were therefore reborn as chakravaka birds, moving from an inauspicious birth to a superior one.268 As aquatic birds, those seven dwelt in an auspicious spot, on an island in a river. They were like sages who followed dharma and abandoned the dharma of looking for a mate. The names of those birds are said to be Sumana, Muni, Suvaka, Shuddha, Chhidradarshana as the fifth, Sunetra and Svatantra. Among the seven who were born, the fifth one was also known as Panchika. The sixth was reborn as Kandarika and the seventh as Brahmadatta. They performed asceticism in their seven lives. They followed the yoga of detachment and retained the wonderful knowledge of their earlier lives, what they had learnt in the household of their preceptor, about the knowledge of the brahman. Therefore, though they roamed around in this cycle of life, they were established in the brahman. All those birds followed brahmacharya and could roam around as they willed. They wandered around there, reflecting on the dharma of yoga.

  ‘“While the birds were wandering around there, King Vibhraja, the lord of Nipa and descended from the Pourava lineage, arrived there, accompanied by his wives. His body was radiant and he was powerful. The handsome one was surrounded by the women from the inner quarters and entered that forest. On witnessing this kind of royal prosperity, the chakravaka bird known as Svatantra desired that he too might attain this state. ‘I have performed good deeds, observed austeritie
s and controlled myself. I have emaciated myself through fasting and asceticism. But all those have been rendered fruitless.’”’269

  Chapter 17

  ‘Markandeya said, “Two companions of that chakravaka bird said, ‘We have always sought to bring you pleasure. We will become your advisers.’270 Thus addressed, he271 turned his atman and intelligence towards yoga. At this time, Suvaka addressed him. ‘You are abandoning the dharma of yoga and think that the satisfaction of desire is more important. You desire an objective that is inferior. Therefore, listen to me. O son!272 You will become the king in the supreme city of Kampilya and these two friends of yours will become your advisers.’ The other four birds cursed and abandoned the three who had strayed by desiring a kingdom. Those three273 had lost their senses and had deviated from yoga. But cursed in this way, they sought refuge with their four companions. Those four were merciful and showed them their favours, Sumana speaking on their behalf. ‘There is no doubt that this curse will come to an end. When that happens, you will become humans and will resort to yoga. Because of our father’s favours and because of good deeds, this Svatantra will understand the language of all creatures. Earlier, while observing dharma for the ancestors, it was he who had protected the cow, thereby imparting knowledge to all of us and facilitating recourse to yoga. There is a shloka whose words will be full of meaning. In that human life, when a person makes you hear it, you will resort to yoga again.’”’274

  Chapter 18

  ‘Markandeya said, “Those seven dwelt in Manasa. They were devoted to the dharma of yoga. They always subsisted only on air and water and dried up their bodies. King Vibhraja, with the handsome body, went to that forest. He was surrounded by the women of his inner quarters, like Maghavan in Nandana. On seeing that the birds were resorting to the dharma of yoga, while he himself behaved like an ignorant person, the king was distressed. He went to his city and reflected about this. He had a son named Anuha, who was supremely devoted to dharma. Since he always minutely scrutinized the dharma of everything, he obtained such a name.275 Shuka bestowed his daughter Kriti, who possessed all the revered and auspicious marks, on him. She possessed the good qualities of virtue and conduct and was always devoted to the dharma of yoga. O Bhishma! I have already told you what Sanatkumara instructed me, about that spirited and beautiful one being a daughter of the ancestors. She is supreme among those who uphold the true dharma, one that is impossible for those with uncleansed souls to comprehend. She is the embodiment of yoga. She is the wife of yoga. She is the mother of yoga. When I spoke to you about the creation of the ancestors, I told you about her earlier. Vibhraja, the lord of men, summoned the citizens and the brahmanas who pronounced benedictions. Pleased in his mind, he instated Anuha in the kingdom. With his wives, he left for the lake, so as to perform austerities. On the shores of that lake, he abandoned desire and tormented himself through austerities. The great ascetic gave up food and survived on air. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! His resolution was that he would unite himself with yoga and be born as a son of one of those.276 With this resolution, he engaged himself in great austerities. Vibhraja, the great ascetic, was as radiant as the one with the rays.277 O best among the Kuru lineage! Because of his radiance, that forest is known as Vaibhraja. The lake is also known as Vaibhraja. O king! The four birds who followed the dharma of yoga and the three who had deviated from yoga gave up their lives.

  ‘“With Brahmadatta at the forefront, all those great-souled ones, cleansed of sin, were born in the city of Kampilya. Those four remembered their earlier births, but the other three were confused. Svatantra was born as Anuha’s son, known as the immensely illustrious Brahmadatta. As a bird, he is the one who had earlier desired that he should attain this state. Chhidradarshi278 and Sunetra were born as Vabhravya and Vatsa, as the sons of learned brahmanas, and were accomplished in the Vedas and the Vedangas. They were companions from that earlier life and became Brahmadatta’s friends. The fifth was also known as Panchala279 and the sixth as Kandarika. Panchala was accomplished in the Rig Veda and became the preceptor. Kandarika was accomplished in the chants of the Sama Veda and became the adhvaryu. Thus, they were skilled in two Vedas.280 King Anuha’s son could understand the languages of all creatures and he became acquainted with Panchala and Kandarika. They were under the subjugation of desire and addicted to sexual pleasures. However, because of what they had done in their earlier lives, they knew the truth about dharma, kama and artha. Anuha, supreme among kings, consecrated the unblemished Brahmadatta in the kingdom and attained the supreme destination. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Asita-Devala’s daughter was unassailable in her yoga. Her name was Sannati and she was Brahmadatta’s wife. Sannati was virtuous in her intelligence and conduct, devoted to the dharma of yoga. He281 obtained the supreme maiden from Brahmadatta.

  ‘“The four remaining chakravakas were born as companions and brothers in Kampilya, as the sons of a learned brahmana who was extremely poor. Their names were Dhriti, Mahamana, Vidvan and Tattvadarshi. Those four studied the Vedas and there were no gaps in their knowledge. They remembered what had transpired in their earlier lives. Devoted to yoga, all those accomplished ones wished to leave282 and sought their father’s permission. The father replied, ‘O sons! If you abandon me in this way, that will be adharma. You have not taken care of my poverty. Nor have you obtained the merit of generating sons. How can it be proper for you to depart without tending to me?’ All those brahmanas then spoke to their father again. ‘We will devise a means so that you can sustain yourself. Go and approach the unblemished Brahmadatta and his ministers. Make him hear this shloka, which is deep in meaning. With a happy mind, he will give you all the villages and other objects of desire that you seek. O father! You will be able to depart cheerfully.’ Having said this, all of them worshipped their senior. Resorting to the dharma of yoga, they advanced towards supreme withdrawal.”’

  Chapter 19

  ‘Markandeya said, “Vibhraja283 possessed yoga in his atman. He was united with austerities and was known as Vishvaksena. On one occasion, with his wife, Brahmadatta was cheerfully roaming in the forest, like Shatakratu with Shachi.284 The lord of men heard the voice of a male ant. Overcome by desire, it was shrieking piteously and seeking the favours of a female ant. The small female ant was angry and the male one was trying to pacify it. On hearing this, Brahmadatta suddenly burst out in great laughter. O afflicter of enemies! At this, Sannati was miserable, distressed and ashamed.285 She spent many days without any food. When her husband tried to restrain her, the one with the beautiful smiles replied, ‘O king! Since you have laughed at me, I am not interested in remaining alive.’ At this, he told her the reason, but she did not believe him. O king! She angrily told him, ‘This cannot be true. How can a man understand the language of an ant? That is only possible through the favours or the gods, or as a result of good deeds performed in an earlier life, or through the fruits of austerities. O king! O lord of men! It cannot be known otherwise. If you really do know it, then prove it to me. O king! Otherwise, I take a pledge that I will give up my life.’ O lord! The king heard the queen’s harsh words and, extremely distressed, devotedly sought refuge with the supreme among gods, the lord Narayana, the lord of all beings. The god Narayana Hari, the illustrious one who is compassionate towards all creatures, showed himself before the king and said, ‘O Brahmadatta! Your welfare will be ensured in the morning.’ Having said this, the illustrious god disappeared.286

  ‘“The four brahmanas had given a shloka to their father. Having studied the shloka obtained from his sons, he thought that he had become successful. He wished to approach the unblemished king when he was with his ministers and on seeing him, he desired to make him hear the shloka. Having obtained the boon from Narayana, the king happily bathed his head and proceeded to enter the city on a golden chariot. Kandarika, bull among brahmanas, grasped the reins. Vabhravya was engaged in fanning with a whisk. The brahmana decided that this was the best time to make the king and his advisers list
en to the shloka. ‘There were seven hunters in Dasharna and they became animals on Mount Kalanjara. There were chakravaka birds in an island in a river and we are headed there.’ O unblemished one! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On hearing this, Brahmadatta and his advisers, Panchala and Kandarika, were confounded. While the citizens saw them in this dishevelled state, the reins, the goad and the whisk fell down. O scorcher of enemies! For an instant, the two of them and the king remained stationed on the chariot in this way. They then regained their senses and returned.287 They remembered the lake and the yoga. He288 gave the brahmana a large quantity of riches and objects of pleasure. He instated Vishvaksena, the scorcher of enemies, in his own kingdom. With his wife, Brahmadatta left for the forest. The patient Sannati, Devala’s daughter, was extremely delighted and spoke to the king, who had gone to the forest to pursue yoga. ‘O great king! I knew that you knew about the speech of ants. However, since you were addicted to desire, I feigned to be angry, so as to goad you. From here, we will now head towards the supreme and beneficial destination. Yoga had vanished from you, but I have made you remember it again.’ On hearing his wife’s words, the king was extremely delighted. He regained yoga in the forest and obtained the destination that is so very difficult to get. With yoga in his soul, Kandarika became successful and through his deeds, obtained the pure destination of yoga, the supreme samkhya yoga. In due course, he composed the absolute text that is known as Panchala.289 The great ascetic obtained the best of fame and the status of being a preceptor of yoga. O one without decay! This is an ancient account that I myself witnessed. O Gangeya! If you sustain this, you will also be united with what is beneficial. If others sustain such supreme conduct, they will never be born as inferior species. If one hears about this account, which is deep in its meaning, one obtains the great destination. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The dharma of yoga always circles around in his heart. Amidst all these bonds, such a person always finds peace. Such people become successful and their minds turn towards the objective that is extremely difficult to obtain on earth.”’