Mahabharata – 88

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            Aadivamsavatarana Parva

Richika had a hundred sons. Jamadagni was one of them. And these hundred sons had offsprings by thousands spread all over this earth. Thus the race of Bhrigu expanded.

And Brahma had two other sons namely Dhata & Vidhata. Their status is at par with Manu. It is they who deliver the fruitions of the actions & activities of men in the world.

Their sister is the auspicious Lakshmi.She is the denizen of lotus. She caters wellbeing upon the world. And the spiritual sons of Lakshmi are the horses that sojourn in the skies.

 And the daughter of Sukra was the eldest wife of Varuna. Of her were born a son named Vala and a daughter named Sura.And when Manu & others were exchanging food with one another from each other’s dishes,the Adharma  was born. And Adharma always brings about the destruction of all creatures. And Adharma had  Niriti as his wife.From Niriti numerous  Rakshasas were born.And from Niriti three other dreadful sons were born.They were always engaged in sinful acts  of terrible nature. They stand for   Bhaya , Mahabhaya , and Mrityu respectively. And Mrityu had no wife or offspring &who is always engaged in killing every creature.

And Tamradevi  gave birth  to five daughters well known throughout the globe. They are Kaki , Syeni , Vhasi , Dhritarashtri ,& Suki.

And  from Kaki, the crows & owls,from  Syeni, the shyen birds or falcons, Vasi yielded Bhasa a  bird & vultures  Dhritarashtri produced all the ducks and swans, & from Bhadra  all chakravakas generated. And of the fair & famous  Suki, with all the good  qualities  all the birds that are known as Suk were born.

And Krodha or anger gave birth to nine cruel daughters. And their names were Mrigi, Mrigamanda, Hari, Bhadramana, Matangi, Sarduli &  Sweta. The cruel Surasa was also the child of Krodha.Curiously enough the   Surabhi, the paragon of xirtue was also a child of Krodha. 

And, Oh  Monarch ! the offspring of Mrigi are the  deer. And the offspring of Mrigamanda are the bears & the animals called srimara, And Bhadramana gave birth to  the elephant  Airavata.The great Airavata the elephant became the mount of Indra.

 And Hari gave birth to frogs, monkeys & golangula.And Sarduli gave birth to  numerous  lions and tigers also leopards. And offspring of Matangi are all the elephants. And Sweta gave birth to the large elephant known as Sweta.

 And Oh  king ! You have good fortune, Surabhi gave birth to two daughters Rohini & Gandharvi.She had also two other daughters named Vimala and Anala. Among them from Rohini all the cows&  from Gandharvi all the  horses sprang. And  Ira had three lotus eyed daughters.They later yielded  all the trees,shrubs & herbs.The names of these three daughters are Lata Ruha & Birudha.The trees that bear  fruits but do not bear flowers  are the offsprings of Lata  & they are known as large trees that are vanaspati.  The plants that have fruits after flowers  are known as plants that are vriksha.They are the offsprings of Ruha,Herbs & Shurbs are plants without flowers & fruits. Bamboo tree & grasses are the offspring of Birudha.From Bimala seven types of trees such as those of coconut & betel nut originated. Suki is the daughter of Anala.Also Surasa had a son named Kanka bird. 

And Syeni, the wife of Aruna, gave birth to two sons of great energy and strength, named Sampati and the mighty Jatayu. Surasa also gave birth to the clouds.  The Nagas,  are the offspring of  Kadru. And Vinata had two sons in the famous Garuda and Aruna. And, Oh king ! of men, thus I tell you  in details the  genealogy of all the principal animals & plants, By listening to this, a man is fully cleansed of all his sins, and acquires  great knowledge, and finally attains the finest states  after life. The study of biology thus paves the way to wisdom & liberation.