Mahabharata – 67

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva

                                   Astika & the fire sacrifice
Human civilization today is out to destroy the environment thanks to
modern science & chemistry. A similar incident took place in the world
of the Mahabharata. King Janamejaya was very powerful there. His
father was killed by the snake Takshka. King Janamejaya wanted to take
revenge not only on Takshaka but also on the species known as snakes.
The best of the then wisest men supported the king. Janamejaya raised
a sacrificial fire with the aid of Brahamins. The Brahamins chanted
mantras. The mantras compelled the snakes to fly into the flames of
the sacrificial fire & die.
Mayhem of the snakes could not be possible perhaps had Janamejaya
alone decided to destroy the snakes. The great mother of the snakes
Kadru had cursed them that they should be wiped off from the face of
the creation. Her curse seemed to materialize through Janamejaya’s
fire sacrifice intended to kill all the snakes.
The snakes were also aware of the curse of their primordial mother
upon them. They were however advised that the sister of snake king
Vasuki whose name was Manasa should be married to the great sage
Jaratkaru. Their child would rescue the snakes of the world from the
impending doom.
In the mean time Manasa was married to Jaratkaru. And she had a son by
him. The name  if the son was Astika. Early in his childhood Astika
became a great sage well  versed in the scriptures .When  Janamejaya
launched the fire sacrifice of the snakes it sent  terror into the
heart of the snakes all over the world. The snake king great Vasuki
himself was struck with terror.And at his instance Manasa summoned her
child Astika & asked him to act to save the community of the snakes.
Astika assured his mother & his maternal uncle the snake king Vasuki &
hurried to the site where the sacrificial fire was lit.
It was a vast campus where the snake sacrifice was being observed. The
campus was surrounded by a formidable wall. At the gate there were
fierce gate keepers. They would not allow any stranger to get into the
campus where the great snake sacrifice was taking place.
 The gate keepers saw the child Brahamin  Astika in front of them
begging entrance into the snake sacrifice campus. The gate keepers
were fierce. They refused the child sage. But the child sage was full
of praise of the gate keepers. Their obedience to their royal master
was commendable. The little child of a sage Astika praised the
sacrifice as well. He at the same time praised the king who initiated
the sacrifice. Thus the little child sage made his way into the very
place where the great king Janamejaya was seated surrounded by the
most powerful priests whose mantras could over power Nature. And there
was a vast gathering of the wisest men of the world including
Vedavyasa the composer of the Mahabharata. Astika was not frightened
in the least even in front of this great & noble gathering. He praised
the priests. He praised the king. He praise the wise gathering. He
opined that such a wonderful fire sacrifice  could match with those
conducted by gods themselves. The fire sacrifice conducted by Indra
the king of heavens also paled before the fire sacrifice being
organized by Janamejaya. The fire god was also praised by Astika. The
golden hue of the fire & the dalliance of the flames was never
witnessed  before in historical times. In short the little child sage
Astika’s appearance at the assembly before the sdacrificial fire
generated a calm & happiness among all the great men present there.
The king was very happy with the little Brahamin sage. He at once
wanted to grant him any boon whatever. But the chief priest of the
sacrifice, the hota who invoked the gods Chandabhargava by name
stopped  the king from granting any boon to the little sage. True that
millions of snakes had already fallen into the fire. They had more
than one head. Many of them had countless heads. They were very strong
& powerful but the mantras swept them into the fire just as the wild
west wind sweeps the dry autumnal leaves. But Takshaka the great &
famous snake who had killed king Parikshit the father of Janamejaya
had not showed up as yet. So Chandabhargava was keen on accomplishing
his project of snake killing & he did not allow any interruption to
the same. Indra the king of the gods was a great friend of Takshaka &
when Janamejayaa’s fire was lit at Hastinapur on earth Takshaka rushed
to Indra’s for rufuge. Just as at Jatinga in Assam there used to be a
miraculous fire into whose flames birds used to commit sucide,
similarly the sacrificial fire made the snakes leap into death there.
But there was no sign of Takshaka appearing. The fire god told the
priests that the Takshaka had taken the shelter of Indra the king of
heaven. The priests chanted mantras so that Takshaka along with the
god who had given him shelter was pulled to the fire.   In  other words
men were ready to kill even the gods if their desires were rebuffed.
The mantras of the men were so powerful that even Indra the king of
the gods appeared in a chariot in the skies. Takshaka was hidden in
the shwal of Indra. Lo! It was a grand sight. Indra was there in the
sky helpless sheltering Takshaka, his chariot slowly moving to the
fire .Indra was surrounded by thirty three  cores of  gods & countless
 celestial dames They were slowly moving towards the fire against
their will. No other poet in the world has ventured such a mass
massacre of gods. While the sky was alight with the thousands of gods
destined to die because of human contrivance the little child sage
Astika fully confident at heart showed no unrest of mind. Finally
Indra, scared of being killed along with all the gods abandoned
Takshaka  in the air & fled back to the heaven with his retinues.
Takshaka left in the air roared & groaned that made the world awa
struck. This made the priests happy Takshaka seemed to have been
arrested by the mantras. Now to burn him in the sacrificial fire would
not be difficult .But the wise priest did not noticed that Takshaka
was hanging in the air like the king Trisanku who hanged in the air
being  neither on the earth nor in the heaven impelled by the prowess
of  the great sage Viswamitra. In fact while Takshaka had showed up in
the air rushing down towards the fire groaning & roaring.The little
child sage Astika had ordered the snake to linger in the air.
Now taking leave of the surrounding sages Janamejaya asked the child
sage to ask from him for any boon. The child sage wanted that the
sacrifice should stop in no  moment. Janamejaya requested Astika to
ask for any other boon excepting that. But Astika said that he did not
asked for any other boon. So Janamejaya had to grant the boon that
Astika had asked for.Momently the chanting of mantras was stopped.
Streams of water were being poured to extinguish the fire& Takshaka
returned home hale & hearty. Was not Janamejaya saddened by the sudden
turn of events? Not at all. The sages & the Brahamins who had gathered
at the sacrifice were happy that the snakes were rescued Janamejaya
made profuse gifts to all the sages & Brahimins who had gathered. The
concourse dispersed in great glee. Janamejaya approached the child
sage Astika & most humbly requested him to be the chief priest of the
horse sacrifice that he would organize in times to come.
The episode is singularly unique. Even Vedavyasa the author of the
Mahabharata was present at the snake sacrifice. He had supported it on
the surface. But his creation -- a child sage Astika  annulled the
authors design. This is not all. True that the snake sacrifice had
started in all  earnest. But once the snake sacrifice was stopped
there was no one who was dissatisfied. Not even king Janamejaya was
sorry who wanted to  take revenge upon the snakes because of his
father’s demise due to snake bite. Astika now went back home &
prostrated at the feet of his mother Manasa & at the feet of maternal
uncle the snake king Vasuki. All passions spent there was the calm of
mind. In a flash the whole snake world plunged into jubilation. It
prostrated at the feet of Astika the child sage. They were ready to
give away Astika all their heart & their belongings .But  Astika asked
for only one boon from the snakes. Who ever would chant the name of
Astika must not be bitten by the snakes. They readily granted the
boon. So henceforth dear readers you must not be scared of the snakes.
Love them. Respect them if we are pursued by a snake we must remember
Astika who did not only save the snakes from their imminent death. He
also saved the mankind from the fear of the snakes. Astika’s mother
Manasa is also worshiped by all of us because she gave  birth to the
Emmanuel.
The snakes embraced each other. Great feast was organized in the snake
world. There fireworks in merriment astonished man on earth  & gods
in heaven. Nature was loud in glee.

Mahabharata – 66

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva

  The snake king Vasuki consoled
While the king of men Janamejaya was rejoicing to find the mighty
snakes killed one after another in the sacrificial fire, the great
Vasuki the king of the snakes was plunged in great sorrow. He wept for
the death every time a snake died. He felt that he was not worthy of
the throne of the snake dom. Because the king of the snakes could not
stand in the way of the sacrifice & he was helpless before mankind
determined to obliterate the species called snake from the face of the
globe. Today also we civilized men are out to destroy the environment.
We do not any longer use mantras to destroy the environment. We have
enough scientific tools & chemicals instead of mantras to liberate the
world from all subhuman species as well as gods & angels. The
geologists tell us of the dinosours during the Mesozoic age. Some
sixty six million years ago the dinosours were exterminated from the
face of the globe. May be the memory of the same has been displaced in
the dream of the Mahabharata that vividly describes how snakes were
being killed by the fire sacrifice conducted by man.
Vasuki witnessing the mass massacre of his subjects who were as close
to his heart as his own children tottered trembling & somehow reached
his sister Manasa. The hands of Manasa were given to Jaratkaru the
great sage so that they would beget a child who might rescue the
snakes from impending extermination. Manasa was shocked to find his
elder brother as pale as the visage of death.
Manasa went fast to his brother & received him with great honor & was
alarmed to see tears in the eyes of his elder brother.She wiped his
eyes & asked
Why Sir ?What ails you?
Vasuki reported the latest developments  in nature & the world. He
told her about the snake sacrifice & the mayhem of the mighty snakes.
Vasuki added ----
 My head reels & my heart breaks to learn the news of the death of
millions of snakes who are my subjects. My body is burning I can not
any longer distinguish between one direction & another. I am about to
fall down from the loss of consciousness. My brain is turning. My
sight is failing. Today only I shall have to leap into the sacrificial
fire raised by men. Dear sister save the snake community from the
impending doom. We brought you up with great love & care. You must
protect the snakes like another mother of snakes. We bestowed  you on
the great sage Jaratkaru so that your child is born to save us from
extermination. Now that you have a child who is well versed in sastras
.Your son Astika is a gem of a Brahamin. His heart is overflowing with
compassion for all things great & small.Ask him so that the great
attack launched by man against the snake race could be stemmed.Or else
I shall have to go to death in an attitude. I can not stand death in
life any longer.
Manasa was perfectly composed. She told her lamenting brother that he
must not worry. At once she sent for Astika her son. In no time Astika
turned up before his mother & the maternal uncle. He had  the
brightness of the sun. Peace was overflowing from his appearance like
the moon beams that flood the world. Manasa told Astika every thing
that shocked the tranqullity of the great snake king Vasuki. Manasa
asked Astika to rescue the snakes & relieve Vasukiu of sorrows
boundless.
Astika however asked Manasa -----
Tell me mother why & how the snakes had been killed.Tell me the story
& purpose of your marriage.
Manasa replied ----
The mother of the species of the snakes was Kadru, the daughter of the
great sage Ksayapa the son of the Brahma the creator.She asked her
children, the snakes to perform a fraud.The tail of Uchchaisrava the
celestial horse is white. But the snakes must embrace the tail of the
celestial horse with their bodies in such a way that it might look
black. Many of the snakes refused to obey their mother. Because they
did not want to participate in any falsehood. Their mother was very
much annoyed with the snakes presently. She cursed them that they must
be killed in a great fire. It is said that the creator Brahma was a
witness to it & he approved of the curse. Later on the gods hit upon a
plan to extract nectar from the seas. Vasuki the king of the snakes
used to lead a life of a sage who was devoted to the well being of the
gods & the world.So he agreed to function as the rope to be used in
the churning of the ocean. Thereby he under went great travails.The
gods were very happy with Vasuki. Vasuki told them that he was scared
of the curse of mother Kadru.The gods shared his anxieties. Vasuki
accompanied them to the creator Brahma. Brahma prophesied that the
snakes should be rescued by a young lad named Astika born of Vasuki’s
sister Manasa & the great sage Jaratkaru.
Dear Astika you want to learn about my marriage. My elder brother
looked after me like my father.He groomed me with great care & he was
waiting for my wedding with the great sage Jaratkaru. The sage came in
the way & we were married.
The burning of the snakes has been inaugurated by man. Now here you
are Astika. Do your duty as pre ordained by the creator Brahma. Look
at your uncle. Though he is immortal. He churned the ocean to get at
nectar for the gods who always look after the well being of the
creation. While churning the ocean  my elder brother had to drink
nectar. He bathed in nectar.But he   can not bear with the mass
killing of the snakes. He is dying of despondency & untold sorrow.
Astika listened to his mother with great devotion. Now he spoke to
Vasuki in sweet words that likened the silent songs of the stars  when
they show up in the milky way & told him ---

Oh uncle! Do not lament any more  I am presently visiting the place
where snake sacrifice takes place. I will make peace with men & your
snake kingdom will be rescued by the grace of the Lord. Trust me. You
have a lot of work at hand to save Nature & the designs of gods.You
must take heart. You must not think of dying. Otherwise we will lose
our pater familias.We will be orphans.
The speech of Astika had a tonic effect on the snake king Vasuki he
was charged with fresh vigor & fresh hopes.
Curiously enough just as in the Bhagavad Gita it is said that whenever
mischief reigns supreme in the human world god reincarnates himself
over & over again to help the pious so that they are not destroyed.In
the same way it seems that god incarnates in every species to rescue
them. The Emmanuel of the snakes was Astika. When the snakes were
saved from utter extinction the whole world joyed over it. And men
worship Manasa the mother of Astika the way we worship Mother Mary.

Mahabharata – 65

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva

The fire sacrifice intended by Janamejaya the king of Hastinapur took off in time.Chariot loads of wood, earmarked for the sacrifice were lit by the great Brahamanas chanting mantras. Energised with tons of butter & other combustibles the fire went up & touched the skies.The heat of the great fire raised the temperature of the Hastinapur city & earth as well.Countless flies & smaller insects rushed to the fire to embrace death.The people of the whole city were excited.The sages chanted mantras to invoke gods. Thereafter songs in praise of gods pervaded the environment. And then tons of milk, somarasa, butter & honey were offered to the gods.The whole Hastinapur city reverberated with the chants. The mantras are the words that are capable of doing things that the mortals cannot do with any other kind of effort than chanting.The fire sacrifice was inaugurated to draw the snakes from the caverns measureless to man. Utanka had visited the snake world or the Nagaloka which was decked with countless palaces alighted with the gleams of jewellery,Vast gardens where countless flowers were abloom & numerous lakes diademed with lotuses that out did the rainbow hues in glory & glee embelliushed the Nagaloka.The mantras however started pulling the snakes from the Nagaloka with invisible ropes made of sound. A great number of snakes went to Indra for shelter.The great snake Takshaka was a close friend of Indra. It was him that Janamejaya wanted to kill to avenge himself of his dear fathers demise caused by his poison. Indra assured Takshaka & all other snakes come to him that they were perfectly safe in Indra’s palace.Let Mantras do whatever it can at Janamejaya’s fire sacrifice.But Indra’s hopes seemed to go amiss.

The snake sacrifice continued as per its rules.The priests competent in their respective duties clad in black clothes had their eyes red from the contact of the smoke.They poured butter into the blazing fire chanting mantras & the hearts of the snakes trembled all over the existence.Then the priest summoned the snakes by their names to fall on the fire.And the snakes began to fall into the blazing fire piteously calling one another with heart rending cries.The snakes with hissing sound & breathing heavily embraced each other presently before the impending doom.Their heads & tails mingled & they became circles or looked like rings of meteor falling from the skies.They fell into the fire.The white,the black,the blue, the old,the young all fell alike into the fire,Small snakes were there. At the same time the snakes that measured miles together & that measured hundreds of miles fell continuously with great sound in the fire.It seemed to the people of Hastinapur that there was a never ending thunder clap.And hundreds  thousands & tens of thousands of snakes lost control over their body & perished  on that occasion.And among those that perished sone looked like horses. Others looked like the trunk of an elephant. Others had huge bodies & strength comparable to the strength of a mad elephant or huge whales. Their colours were various. Their poison was virulent. They looked terrible. They fell into the fire because of the fact that their mother had cursed them.The large snakes falling into fire reminds us of Satan the fallen angel in the Paradise Lost Book I

With head uplift above the wave, and eyes
That sparkling blazed; his other parts besides
Prone on the flood, extended long and large,
Lay floating many a rood, in bulk as huge
As whom the fables name of monstrous size,
Titanian or Earth-born, that warred on Jove.

In the Mahabharata hordes of such levia than snakes were burnt to death. Must be Nature screamed at the mayhem of the snakes.Their blood & fat & marrow mingled into muddy streams & flowed ceaselessly from the altar & seemed to inundate the whole city of Hasthinapur.Ugly odour choked man & animals & the worms.It was one of the ugliest sites at which gods also trembled.

Mahabharata – 64
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva
                             The snake sacrifice takes off
Janamejaya was planning a fire sacrifice to kill the snakes.
Practically the whole of the Mahabharata from its beginning is rather
a revenge drama. Janamejaya’s father was killed by a snake. So in a
rage Janamejaya would kill all the snakes in the world. To that end he
would organize a fire sacrifice. Thus fire sacrifice was not always
meant for spiritual well being.They were often organized to satisfy
worldly emotions like anger ,hatred ,spirit of revenge & so on.
The sages must participate in the fire sacrifice. They were Brahamins.
And these  brahamins were appointed by the king so that the king’s
personal enmity against some one was gratified. Thus the Brahamins in
the Mahabharata were not ideal men who hated hatred. They were at the
beck & call of the kings & they did not have value judgment of their
own. One wonders was it righteous to kill all the members of a species
in  Nature to take revenge upon one particular person of the aforesaid
species!
These Brahamins alluded to the Purans where it was said that
Janamejaya alone could perform a fire sacrifice so that the snakes
might be killed.
The prophesy of the Puranas fired up the imagination of Janamejaya. He
felt that the future was in the present. So the arrangements for fire
sacrifice was being done with great excitement & hope.
The scriptures have laid down in great details how the props of the
fire sacrifice should be raised. And Janamejaya’s men meticulously
observed the rules laid down in the scriptures. A vast platform was
raised where countless sages could seat& a big fire could be lit up
where giant snakes could fall & get burnt. We can imagine that such a
platform & altar could compass miles together. The chief architect who
built the stage , the platform the altar said that they were not raised
in propitious time. Hence he had the misgivings that the intended
snake sacrifice might come to a halt abruptly.
Be that as it may the great drama of snake sacrifice was inaugurated.
There were the Brahamins who summoned the gods to be present at the
sacrifice .They were the hotas. When the gods would turn up there were
a group of Brahamins who would sing in praise of the gods assembled at
the call of the hotas. They were the udgathas. Once the gods were
entertained with songs another group of Brahamins  would offer food &
drinks to the gods.They would be present at the sacrifice. They were
the adhvaryus. And the person who would supervise all these functions
of a sacrifice was the Brahma. At Janamejaya snake sacrifice
Chandabhargava from Chyvana race was the hota. The learned old Kautsa
became the udgatha.Pingala was the adhvaryu. Jaimini & Svarnagarbha
were Brahma.Besides, the great sages like.Vyasa with his son and
disciples, and Uddalaka, Pramataka, Swetaketu, & another Pingala,
Asita, Devala, Narada, Parvata, Atreya, Kundajathara, the Brahmanas
Kalaghata, Vatsya, & the old & wise Srutasravas. Kohala Devasarman,
Maudgalya, Samasaurabha, and many other Brahmanas adorned the
sacrifice being present there. There is a symphony of proper names
which is time & again.

Mahabharata – 63
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                       AdiParva

Janamejaya enquiers of his father’s demise

While the sage Astika was growing to manhood, the young Janamejaya had already completed his glorious reign of the kingdom of Hastinapur for thousand years.One day morning Janamejaya was seated in his court like a moon surrounded by the stars of wise men & ministers.There entered the great sage Utanka the disciple of Veda.He had a prayer to Janamejaya.         Earlier Utanka was harassed by the great snake Takshaka.Curiously enough Indra & other gods rescued him from troubles.Now this great sage Utanka told the king Janamejaya that he had better take revenge upon the very Takshaka which was instrumental in killing Parikshit the noble father of Janamejaya.Though Utanka was a  great sage, Janamejaya a judicious king would not presently obey the sage.He asked the elders in the court as to how his father had died.

The elders & other courtiers recollected the whole story of the death of the noble king Parikshit.Doubtless the king was noble.He saw to that the four castes of the society would perform their duties properly as the result of which his kingdom was brimming with plenty in all aspects economic, social, & spiritual.Despite that, tired of hunting, he could not recognise a sage who had taken the vow of silence.He wanted water to slake his thirst but the sage would not respond to his request.Angry with the sage Parikshit the noble father of Janamejaya did perhaps the most ignoble act.He took a dead snake from the neighbourhood & dangled it as a neckless arround the neck of the great sage in a rage.The great sage was indifferent to what happened to him.But his son Sringi, a great sage too, came to know what happened to his father.In the absence of the king the great sage Sringi cursed him that he should be killed by the great snake Takshaka in seven days.Sringi’s father who was maligned by the king rose from meditation & was sorry for the curse that his son Sringi had uttered.Sringi was also skilled in penance.His curse would not fail.So presently Sringi’s father the great sage Samika sent his disciple Gauramukha to Parikshit’s court.Gauramukha informed that Sringi had cursed him & the king should take care.

Immediately a fresh palace was built where no stranger could enter,not even a worm.But however much man seeks to protect himself against the curse of a Brahimin sage, he can not hold out in the age of the Mahabharata.So Parikshit finally was killed by the great snake Takshaka.

Janamejaya was told that there was a Brahamin who could bring back Parikashit to life  even  if he were dead due to the bite of Takshaka.But Takshaka bribed the Brahamin & the later  did not come to rescue the king Parikshit.This put Janamejaya in great rage.As ordained by the curse of a Brahamin Takshaka could kill Parikshit.The Brahamin Kasyapa could recall the king to life.The curse of the Brahimin would be fulfilled.At the same time Parikshit returning to life could rule.Takshaka the king thought was to blame for this.

But Janamejaya enquired of the authenticity of the story of the Brahmin being bribed by the Takshaka.The ministers told the king Jananmejaya that there was a banyan tree on the road along which Takshaka & the Brahamin coming to Hastinapur in  haste.A man was up on the tree culling leaves.The Brahamin as well as Takshaka talking to each other on the road came by the banyan tree on the road side Takshaka bit the banyan tree which turned instantly into ashes.The man who was up in the tree was also turned into ashes.The Brahamin Kasyapa however chanted mantras & the tree revived.The person was also brought back to life.It was this person who had told the ministers as to the bribing the Brahamana by Takshaka.

Now Janamejaya had no doubt as to the wickedness of Takshaka.In a rage he hit up a plan to organise a fire sacrifice where by all the snakes including Takshaka would be killed.

Mahabharata – 62
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                             AdiParva.
                        Birth of Astika
We know that the fate of the serpent race was hanging in the balance.Kadru the mother of the snakes cursed them that they would be
exterminated from the face of the earth.To do away with the spell of the curse Vasuki the king of the snakes was keen on preemptive steps.He must get his sister Jaratkaru married to the sage Jaratkaru so that a child were born who would save the race of serpents.

Now that Jaratkaru had promised to his forefathers that he would marry,he resumed his globe trooting once again & surely during this phase of his wanderings he had in his mind the notion of getting married.He travelled all over the globe.But no one would offer him a
bride for a marriage.Because he looked too old for his age but Jaratkaru must keep his word.So he entered into a dense forest & cried thrice to announce that he was willing to marry a girl whose name should be Jaratkaru.The messengers of the snake king were about.They
moved like lightening & told Vasuki the snake king that Jaratkaru was there in the forest.The snake king surrounded by his courtiers rushed to  Jaratkaru the sage & humbly offered his own sister to Jaratkaru so that she could be  his bride.But Jaratkaru must marry the woman whose name was identical with his name.And it was a divine coincidence that Vasuki’s sister name was Jaratkaru.It was identical with the name of the sage.The sage told Vasuki that he would marry the princess Jaratkaru.But he would not take any responsibilities of maintaing his wife.Vasuki was agreed to whatever terms & condition that the sage Jaratkaru had set forward for getting married with Vasuki’s sister.

So in great pomp & glory Vasuki’s sister was married to the sage Jaratkaru.

The marriage of a princess with a sage was not an exceptional inicident in ancient India.And surely the princess of the kingdom of Anga married the sage Risyasinga so that thereby the
kingdom of Anga could be saved from draught & famine.
Having married Vasuki’s sister Jaratkaru went to the palace of Vasuki he was given the whole control of the palace.It was milk white with every furniture dazzling as it were in moonlight.In the bridal bed itself the sage Jaratkaru told his wife Jaratkaru that he would live in the palace with his wife as long as she obeyed him.Even if there were any disobedence on her part over any trifle he would give her up once for all.Vasuki’s sister said yes to that.In the mean time her
fertile period set in.She begged physical union with sage Jaratkaru & sage Jaratkaru complied with the request.No wonder,the first intercourse between them sowed the seed in the womb of the sister of Vasuki,But alas! every union & consummation is dogged after by
separation & desperate condition.
One day in the afternoon the sage Jaratkaru fell asleep keeping his head on the lap of his wife.The afternoon soon turned into evening.Now the wife of the sage Jaratkaru was put in dillema.The evening means the conflunce of the day & night. It is a precious hour. Every
Brahamin should wake up this hour & have his prayer.So the wife of Jaratkaru felt that it was her duty to awaken her sage husband before the evening passes by.Or else he might later wake up from the sleep & fire her.But at the same time she remembered that Jaratkaru had told her that she must not stand in the way of his wishes.When he would want to sleep she must let him sleep.When he would want to wake up she must let him wake up.Finally he decided to awken the sage from sleep lest he missed the hour for prayer.
As soon as Jartkaru woke up from sleep he was in a huff.His wife told him that she awakened him --- the sage, lest he missed the hour for prayer.But Jaratkaru posited angrily that the evening had no power to pass away without letting Jaratkaru pray.That a sage skilled in
penance not only could control his own mind, he could control nature & even time.Be as it may now that Jaratkaru felt that he was disobeyed by his wife he would leave her wife & the comforts of palace & resume his wanderings. But her wife was in tears.The whole snake society was looking forward to her.She must have a child that would save them from their impending doom.The sage Jaratkaru told her that the seed was already sown in her womb.And it must grow into a child of great spiritual prowess that would save both the races of his mother & father from impending doom.She could be rest assured as to that.
Now abandoned by her husband, Jaratkaru the sister of Vasuki went back to her royal elder brother.Vasuki was sad to learn that the sage had left her.But she told her elder brother that she was carrying & her sage husband said that her child would save the race of the snakes.She
told Vasuki that her husband was indeed a great sage & truthful.His prophesy would not fail.Vasuki was very pleased to learn that.He saw to that his sister should be in great comfort.In due course the child was born.His father the sage Jaratkaru had told his mother that he was in the womb.He exclaimed  ---- Asti.Asti meaning --- it exists.That is the child existed in the womb of Vasuki’s sister.Hence when the child was born it was called Astika
The birth of Astika brought great joy to the snake world.They sang & danced to the beats of drums & hissing laughter.They unfurled their hoods in great glee.The gems of the  hoods shone bright like the stars in the milky way of the firmament.The flowers also laughed with
them.The creepers also danced with them.The Sun  & the Moon smilled in happiness.
Soon the baby Astika became a child fit to be sent to school.The king Vasuki requested the great sage Pramati descended of Bhrigu race & the son of Chyavana to take the charge of his education & very early in his boy hood he learned all the scriptures & was plunged in meditation & the cultivation of compassion.

Mahabharata – 61
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva
           ONE SHOULD BEGET CHILDREN
While Janamejaya & his little wife were enjoying their youth gamboling in the woods & dales, Jaratkaru the sage was stunned to see a band of very small human figures clutching to a fiber of a very small plant. Jaratkaru could see its roots. It appeared that the plant had quite a
few roots earlier. But they were already mouse eaten. There was only one root left. It was also being eaten by a mouse. The small human figures that were dangling from the fiber of the plant had their heads downward. It was a very piteous sight. The mouse was eating the last root left of the plant. And  once the last one is eaten up the plant would fall. At once those small human figures would also fall down.Their head should break. So  Jaratkaru took pity on them & asked as to who they were & why they were in such a posture. Jaratkaru told them that he was ready to invest all the wealth of his penance for their wellbeing provided he knew what was ailing them.

The small human figures thanked Jaratkaru for his offer. But even if Jaratkaru had
drained away all his spiritual wealth to rescue them from despondency
& the immediate doom, It would be of no avail.

They told sage Jaratkaru without knowing him that they had a descendant  Jaratkaru by name. He was a great sage, well versed in the Vedas & the Vedanta & all other scriptures .He had attained untold wealth derived from penance. But he did not get married .He did not beget a child. The small humans introduced themselves as belonging to the gypsy or yayavara  clan. In course of time the members of the yayavara clan were decimated on the earth. The only person surviving in the clan was Jaratkaru. And since Jaratkaru would not marry, the destiny of his ancestors who were dangling from the fiber of the plant was foredoomed to hell. Their heads were already down towards earth. When the last root was eaten up by the mouse they would straight fall  into hell through the holes into the earth that Jaratkaru would find.

The mouse was feasting on the roots of the plant in the very hole of the earth which was the gateway of the hell. Jaratkaru was amazed to see his ancestors in this miserable plight.

In the heroic poetry the heroes like Aeneas in Virgil have met their forefathers. Here is the hero who has not wielded the sword or conquered the enemies of the world without.He is not strong in his limbs. He could thereby be called an anti hero. He is also a great conqurer.The like of him is never found in prose or rhyme. He has conquered his senses & his mind.He has driven his sex energy towards his head. He met his forefathers & learnt that the conquest of the mind & spirit is not enough.
His ancestors dangling from the tree told Jaratkaru in cognito  that Jarakaru despite all his penance was also doomed to going down to hell despite  his lot of penance. The ancestors told him that they had also achieved great trophies in the tourneys offered to them by their penance but those laurels could be of no avail.

The  legitimation is that one must live two hundred percent, hundred percent physically & hundred percent spiritually. Thanks to the philosopher Malthus & the charms of capitalism, the world today has an increasing population of Jaratkarus sans  the spiritual prowess of Jaratkaru.
This episode is significant on another count. In the world today there is a large gypsy population or the Romas. They do not have any citizenship of any state. They have lost their home in timeless past.But at heart they believe that they are Indians & Hindus. When our mother India achieved freedom in 1947 they asked for citizenship of India. But our the then prime minister Pandit Nehru, a  Pandit, no doubt, did not grant the citizenship they longed for. One wonders whether this Jaratkaru was their ancestors? Because Jaratkaru lived like the gypsy. He had no home. He wondered throughout the day. Where ever night befall he would take shelter. He would not participate in any means of livelihoods. He lived on air. What Congress did not do
must be done by some political party that loves India ,Indians & Hindu religion.

The ancestors of Jaratkaru ironically enough could not recognize him as their descendant. Because he was looking old & emaciated. This was so because Jaratkaru the great sage did not take any food for the nutrition of his body. Now that Jaratkaru learned the truth about life & now that Jaratkaru had a first hand experience of the predicament of his forefathers he was full of repentance in deference to his forefathers. He disclosed his identity before his forefathers. He told them that he would marry. But he would marry the woman who had the name of Jaratkaru.The woman should be given as alms to him. Besides he would not take  responsibilities to maintain her.
The ancestors blessed him with all their heart. Jaratkaru departed from the place. The readers are in great suspense. Will Jaratkaru find his mate as per the conditions set forth by him?.
The present episode underlines the importance of ancestor worship. In fact the practice of ancestor worship has welded many a people into a robust nation such as the nation of Vietnam.
By the by the Mahabharata revels in repetition. Earlier also the same
episode was told but the symbolism inherent in the episode was not mentioned in the earlier episode. It is here in the episode  retold that this symbolism has been decoded.This is very significant. This speaks of the relevance of repetition in the present epic.

In this context it should be remember that the episode of Jaratkaru follows the episode of Janamejaya enjoying their honeymoon.There by the episode exhorts that the amorous play between man & woman is good & Janamejaya should beget a child.

Mahabharata – 60

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva.

Parikshit’s demise

As per the curse Parikshit was destined to die of snake bite in seven days. King Parikshit was not scared of death that much. But he was deeply ashamed to learn what he had done to the great sage Shamika. He  paid homage to the emissary of Shamika & bade him fare well.Now the King sat in a meeting. All the wise men & the ministers of king’s court assembled there.The king reported as to what had befallen him. What should be done next was discussed.Finally a tall tower was raised.At the top of it a room was made.It had no passage for even a worm. The king was placed there surrounded by the snake charmers,snake hunters,doctors specialized in snake bite, Brahmins capable of driving away snakes with Mantras & other wise men.Long days & long nights passed by.On the seventh day evening the king looked at the setting sun & felt sad because if the sun had set & if the seventh day was over the curse of a sage would not come true.

It was on the seventh day that the Sun god saw a band of Brahmins going together. Besides another Brahmin in tattered robes was going fast towards Hastinapur.The brightest among the band of Brahmins asked the Brahmin in tattered robes ----- Sir where are you going in such a haste? The latter said that his name was Kasyapa. He would hurry to Parikshit’s palace. Because he had heard that Parikshit would be killed by a snake bite. The snake would be none else but the great Takshaka. The Brahamin aglow in brightness asked what would Kasyapa do there? Kasyapa said that he would bring back the fleeting breath of the king.The bright robed Brahamin smiled. He said that that was impossible.Kasyapa became angry.He said what to talk of Takshaka.He could revive a person bitten by the fiercest & most venomous snake under the sun.The Brahmin in bright robes exposed himself.He was himself the much awaited Takshaka.He bit a nearby tree on the road.It was a big tree crowned with multitudinous green leaves supported by a number of prop roots.Takshka bit it.In a flash the tree turned into ashes Kasyapa smiled & took the ashes in the palm & silently chanted a mantra.And Lo! The sun god in the skies & the land scape where the tree  was royally placed saw that from the ashes the seed of the  tree  showed up. In no time there was the seedling. The seedling soon matured into a plant.The plant became a tree And in no time the tree resurrected in all its previous glory.Takshaka was also amazed at the sight.He then told Kasyapa that he was an agent of the wishes of a Brahamin which cannot be undone.So Takshka said that Kasyapa should not go to Parikshit to rescue him.Kasyapa however overserved that he was a poor Brahmin. He needed a lot of money.Once he could save the life of Parikshit he would be blessed with untold treasure.Takshaka then offered Kasyapa a jewel.Kasyapa was simply astounded to see the glow of the jewel.He knew that the jewel could buy kingdoms.Takshaka told Kasyapa that hence forth the gem would belong to Kasyapa.Kasyapa should however go back home.He must not go to Hastinapur.Kasyapa is an interesting character.He is like the skilled men of today who have no value judgement.A comfortable life in Lus Vagus would make them happy.No matter if the world goes out of joints and Trump’s  head  is flung in the air.Takshka is also an interesting character.He was an agent of a Brahmin’s wishes.In order to succeed in his assigned task he did not hesitate to give away the gem of his head to the Brahmin who needed wealth.Here it will not be out of place to point out that Takshaka had no personal grudge against Parikshit.

Now that Kasyapa had gone back home Takshaka accompanied by his attendants reached Hastinapur in the shape of Brahamins.They were duly attainted by the king’s men.Takshaka intuited that there was no passage to enter into the king’s room.His follower Brahamins however offered fresh fruits of numerous kind to be given to the king.The Brahamins tooks gifts from  the king & dispersed to their cavernous homes.The Sun was setting.The barred clouds bloomed the soft dying day.Now Parikshit distributed the exceedingly sweet fruits among his courtiers.He took one fruit himself.It had a little blemish.The king bit it. And Lo! There was a very small worm inside the fruit.The king prayed that the worm should be transformed into Takshaka.Because the king had never transgressed any wishes of a Brahamin.This time also the curse of the sage Sringi should be fulfilled & in a flash the small worm turned into a snake.It winded around the body of the king with thundering hisses of a tsunami & in no moment beaten by the great Takshaka, it’s hood widely spread,it’s venom widely sprayed, the king fell like a banyan tree hit by storm blast,And Hastinapur was filled with tears laments & screams.

And after the death of the king his ministers with his royal priests --a holy Brahmana performed all his last rites

And then along with the wise ministers, royal priests & all the citizens, assembling together, made the minor son of the deceased  King  of Kuru race as their king. He named as Janamejaya.He was wise from his tender age.He ruled the kingdom like his grand fathers with his councillors & priests.

Wise ministers of the young king then perceived that he could now get married as he was a great warrior too.So they approached Suvarnavarma the king of Kasi for his daughter as the bride for the young king.After due enquiries the king of Kasi was satisfied.He conferred his daughter to the hands of Janamejaya.The religious rites were properly observed.The people & Brahamanis wrere feasted.The young king receiving his bride became exceedingly happy.His head was full of his wife.He was never drawn to any other woman even in thought.The mighty king gifted with great energy moved in leisurly pursuit of pleasure in the lakes, in the woods, & in the flowery fields.The great king passed his time in great joy as Pururava did on receiving the celestial dancer Urvashi.Vapustama also was completely devoted to her husband.She celebrated her beauty having a desirable husband.She pleased him by love & affection during her honeymoon with her husband.

Mahabharata – 59

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva.

Parikshit goes ahunting

While such events were taking place in the realm of snakes & heaven, king Parikshit the son of Abhimanyu went ahunting.  Parikshit the king of Pandu race of Hastinapur was an ideal king.He was drawn into the deep forest by a woonded deer.Finally the deer vanished& the king reached a pasture where there was a sage plunged in meditation.The king asked the sage whether he had seen the fleeing deer. The king asked over & over again. But there was no reply. The king himself was very thirsty & hungry. But the sage did not entertained him. The king was angry. A dead snake was nearby. The king raised it with the end of his bow & put it around the neck of the sage. The sage remained composed & did not stir. The sage was actually observing the vow of silence. But the king although very great & benevolent did not understand the sage. Disgusted & dejected the king trotted towards his capital Hastinapur.

The sage around whose neck a garland of a dead snake dangled had a son named Sringi. He was also a great sage. When Parikshit visited the sage Sringi was not there .He was at that time busy in sublime conversation with Brahama the creator of the world. Brahma bade him good bye.Sringi was on his way to his father. A friend of Sringi informed Sringi as to the predicament into which his father was put for no fault of his. The friend of Sringi Jokingly undermined the ascetic power of Sringi. Sringi was very angry at the sight of his father dipped in unplumbed depth of silence. Sringi at once cursed the king Parikshit in Parikshit’s absence.

Sringi had cursed. King Parikshit should die bitten by a snake named Takshaka in seven days according to the curse. His father sage Shamika woke up from meditation & learnt every thing.He was sorry for the curse pronounced on the king.He rebuked his son. His son however stuck to his point. He avowed that he had never told a lie in his life. Hence whatever curse he had uttered must come true

Sringi further observed that the king’s duty is to help the ascetics in their penance. On the contrary here the King tried to humiliate an ascetic. We readers also are of the same opinion with Sringi. How can a king be called good if he does not recognise an ascetic keeping a vow of silence? Fine. His father said that the spiritual prowess should be held with great restraint. One must not cherish anger, jealousy & envy in the mind. Or else the spiritual prowess will wane. Presently the sage father sent emissaries to the king Parikshit Gaurmukha by name & informed him about the curse.

Mahabharata – 58

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva.

In quest of Jaratkaru the sage

The conference of the snakes over a long passage of time went by. The gods decided to churn the ocean to retrieve nectar therefrom. To churn the ocean they needed a rope. So the gods went to Vasuki & requested him to be the rope for churning. Vasuki readily accepted the proposal. Being the rope for churning he had to undergo great pain & suffering for centuries together. Finally the churning over gods were delighted beyond words. They were deeply indebted to Vasuki who had undergone untold sufferings for the weal of gods. Vasuki was already a great friend of the gods. But amidst the jubilation of the gods for succeeding in retrieving of nectar Vasuki looked melancholy. He told the gods that he was very anxious as to the fate of the serpent race because his mother had cursed them. The gods accompanied Vasuki to  Brahma the creator. Brahma smiled & told them that they must not be worried. It was he himself who had spoken through the voice of Elapatra to the brotherhood of snakes. What Elapatra told them would come true. Vasuki must see to that the snake maiden Jaratkaru were groomed properly & she must be married to the sage Jaratkaru by name.That is all.Vasuki must send spies to all over the globe to find out the sage. Brahma told that the sage was born already.

The great Sauti was narrating these stories from the Mahabharata. Saunaka the great ascetic with his fellow ascetics were all ears to Sauti. Now Saunaka asked what could be the magic behind the name of Jaratkaru?What could be the meaning of the name? Why both Vasuki’s sister & the sage are called Jaratkaru? Sauti pointed out that the word Jara means decay & karu means beautiful. Both Vasuki’s sister & the sage were exceedingly beautiful in their childhood. But both were plunged in penance. Hence the beauty of both were decadent. Consequently both of them were known as Jaratkaru.

And on the request of Saunaka Sauti said that after commanding the snakes for searching the sage Jaratkaru Vasuki eagerly waiting for the sage. But days passed even then the famous sage Jaratkaru did not look for a wife.

Mahabharata – 57

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva.

 A conference of the snakes

We have noted that quite a few of the snakes were animated motiveless malignity. They bit men & other animals to death for no fault of theirs. The creator Brahma was however concerned with it. He did not want the creation to be destroyed by the venomous snakes. It were these snakes that engineered the fraud where by Ucchaisrava looked black. But quite a few snakes were reluctant to comply with Kadru’s fraud. One of them was Ananta the eldest of the snakes. He abhorred hatred & motiveless malignity of his snake brothers. He renounced the world in pursuit of penance. In the earlier episode we have dwelled on what became of Ananta. But there were other snakes also who did not agree with their mother. They were neither jealous nor envious nor the angry type. Since they did not comply with Kadru’s wishes, Kadru  impulsively cursed all her children, be they pious or sinful. The curse had simultaneous effect in both the worlds heaven & earth. While the snakes on the earth were constantly scared of the curse, the gods were equally shocked to learn that there would be mayhem of the snakes.

As Ananta was no longer there Vasuki was elected the king of the snakes. He likened Indra who was elected by the gods. Presently after assuming the throne of the snake world Vasuki summoned a conference of the snakes. Because as a king he must see to that the species called snake are not wiped off from the face of the existence. So the conference deliberated on how to save the snake from their impending doom. They were already in the know that the king Janamejaya would summon a fire sacrifice where they would be pulled from their habitats with the power of Mantra & flung into the sacrificial fire. How to escape from the destruction of the snakes to happen in times to come? The snakes at the assembly had different suggestions. Some of them said that they would bite Janamajaya to death. That would resolve the problem. Others said that they themselves would play the role of the ministers who would advise Janamajaya so that the latter restrain himself from doing the fire sacrifice. Others said they would simply kill the priest & preceptor of Janamejaya with venomous bites. Some others suggested that they would pollute the ingredients for the fire sacrifice by pissing & shitting on them. Others said that they would steal away all the props of the fire sacrifice while the priests would be busy otherwise. Vasuki however could not agree with these suggestions. He knew that the curse of a mother could not be avoided so easily. If Janamajaya’s fire sacrifice does not take place there will be some other happening that would bring about the disaster of the race of the snakes. Then a snake named Elapatra rose to  speak. He pointed out that what is lotted could be blotted only with the aid of fate. True that the snakes are destined to die because of their mother’s curse. When the mother cursed snakes Elapatra was very scared & took shelter in the mother’s lap. Seated there he could see the gods approaching Brahma the creator. They were shocked to learn that snakes would be killed. But Brahma smiled at them. He told that the sinful among the snakes would be killed no doubt. But others must survive. This could be done through a marriage deal. Vasuki has a sister in Jaratkaru. She should be married to a man of the same name. Their child would save the snakes from impending doom.

Thus begetting a child is value in the Mahabharata . It is a child alone who can save it’s race from impending destruction. And we surmise that henceforth the whole snake world was full of prayer for the child to be born from the womb of their sister Jaratkaru. It is the mother that can give birth such children. So every mother is venerable.

Thanks to great economist Malthus & capitalist values women are no longer revered as would be mothers. Hence the humanity today is equally scared of an impending spell to work.If another nuclear war takes place man shall have fight with sticks again.

Be that as it may the snakes learning that the saviour must come to set up a kingdom of heaven in the measureless caverns where snakes live , the whole crowd of snakes dispersed dancing dangling their hoods that shone like flowers.

Mahabharata – 56

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva.

Transformation of Seshnaga

May be betting even when one is in the right is rather bad. Committing fraud is however subject to punishment.  Vinata joined in the betting to overpower Kadru her sister.She must pay for this. She becomes a servant of her sister. Fine but did not Kadru commit a fraud? She asked her children to cover the tail of the celestial horse with their own bodies so that the tail of the horse looked black. It should be noted that quite a few among the snakes did not agree to obey their mother. Kadru was enraged .She cursed all his children that they must be killed in times to come. Be that as it may quite a few snakes obeyed their mother & fraud paid divident to Kadru. For a long time Kadru owned Vinata as her slave. Does it not mean that the world today is run on fraud? It might take ages together before the fraud is punished. However with the birth of Garuda the curse fallen on earth & the man kind will be dispelled. So the wise among men are praying for Garuda to incarnate.

The curse of Kadru however could not scare the righteous among the snakes. The eldest among them Ananata or Seshanaga left hearth & home & plunged in penance. He laboured hard till he became skin & bone. Then the creator of the Universe Lord Brahma appeared before him .He told Ananta that by force of penance he had conquered the inner world. He had no longer envy or jealousy. But Brahma told Ananta that the penance of his has great power & force. The great energy generated from his pious person might burn the world. It might dethrone Indra the king of gods. Brahma added that the energy had better be use to do good to the world. Seshanaga did not want to remain with his snake brothers who are full of envy & jealousy. He however was ready to obey Brahma the creator. Brahma said that there was instability in the earth. And the earth must be given a support so that  the earth does not suffer from the assault from any external force. To that end the Seshnaga had better hold the earth on his head with thousand hoods. Seshnaga or Ananta readily accepted the task. But how could he enter into the entrails of the earth? Brahma said that the earth herself would give passage  to its entrails on its own. So it happened & Ananta went down the earth to hold the earth on its head so that the earth could perform its daily sojourn from dawn to dusk in the skies. At the instance of  Brahma Ananta became a good friend of Garuda.Seshnaga  was thus transformed into god.

The episode clearly states that through penance & love for others one could become a god.

Mahabharata – 55

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            AdiParva.

As we have already told Garuda had brought nectar from the moon it was an instance of a terrible adventure that reminds us of the adventures in the regions of Greece & Rome. Now he talked to his step brothers------ the countless snakes. Snakes were visibly happy to find nectar brought for them. So Vinata was at once liberated from her servitude. Garuda asked his step brothers to go & bathe presently before they take nectar. They rushed away to have a bath & cleansed themselves.Back from the bath they rushed to take nectar. One snake tried to out run the  other  to reach the nectar. But alas! To their utter dismay they found that there was no nectar for them to drink. They went mad & started licking the Kusha grass on which the vessels full of nectar were placed. Since the kusha grass had held the vessels of nectar it is deemed to be sacred. During sacrifice & rituals of worshiping kusha grass therefore widely used among the Hindus. However licking the kusha grass the snakes had their tongues split into two. Because the edge of kusha grass as sharp as blade.The snakes felt deceived. Be that as it may, Vinata is now free from servitude. Those who  hear or read this episode with all attention will attain lot of spiritual wealth.

Be that as it may Saunaka asked Sauti the narrater to tell us the names of the  serpents who figure significantly among the clans of the snakes. Sauti said that it is difficult to name the principal snakes. They are numerous. But let me name a few of them-- Sesha was born first, and then Vasuki. Then were born Airavata, Takshaka, Karkotaka, Dhananjaya, Kalakeya, the serpent Mani, Purana, Pinjaraka, and Elapatra, Vamana, Nila, Anila, Kalmasha, Savala, Aryaka, Ugra, Kalasapotaka, Suramukha, Dadhimukha, Vimalapindaka, Apta, Karotaka, Samkha, Valisikha, Nisthanaka, Hemaguha, Nahusha, Pingala, Vahyakarna, Hastipada, Mudgarapindaka, Kamvala Aswatara, Kaliyaka, Vritta, Samvartaka, Padma, Mahapadma, Sankhamukha, Kushmandaka, Kshemaka, Pindaraka, Karavira, Pushpadanshtraka, Vilwaka. Vilwapandara, Mushikada, Sankhasiras, Purnabhadra, Haridraka, Aparajita, Jyotika, Srivaha, Kauravya, Dhritarashtra, Sankhapinda, Virajas, Suvahu, Salipinda, Prabhakara, Hastipinda, Pitharaka, Sumuksha, Kaunapashana, Kuthara, Kunjara, Kumuda, Kumudaksha, Tittri, Halika, Kardama, Vahumulaka, Karkara, Akarkara, Kundodara, and Mahodara.