Mahabharata – 143

by

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                   Aadivamsavatarana Parva

Shakuntala’s Argument continues at the court & Dushmanta accepts Shakuntala as his wife

Shakuntala continued  -- Oh king! You are finding fault of mine.That is as small as a mustard seed.But you can not espy your fault which is as big as an apple. 

Menaka being a prostitute is counted a goddess.Even the goddesses are inferior to Menaka.Therefore by birth I am better off than you.Oh king! you can only travel on earth.I can travel on earth & in the sky.Just see the difference between Sumeru & mustard. And I can travel to the palace of Indra the king of the heaven,Kuvera the god of  wealth,Yama the god of death & Varuna the god of water.So just see my powers & prowess .Oh king! Whatever I say are naked truth.These are not out of malice.This is just for your information. Pardon me.The ugly person believes himself as beautiful till he looks at his shadow in the mirror. And after looking at the mirror he finds out the difference between him & others.The beautiful person never ignores any one. And superflous & harsh - tongued persons  say ill of others & oppresses them.When the other persons say both pleasant & unpleasant words the illiterate person only takes account of the unpleasent & the trifle.The bear takes the faeces leaving the flowers. On the other hand when others say both pleasant & unpleasant words the wise take into account the pleasant only,as a swan accepts only milk from the mixed liquid.By speaking cruel words the honest person feels sorry. But the wicked feel happy by speaking evil about others.The wise feel happy by showing respect to the old aged people.Likewise the wicked feel happy by ill treating others. The wise live happily knowing the faults of others full well.And they never discuss the issues with others.The illiterate are always distracted finding faults of others.And where the wise criticize others the wicked speak evil about others. Nothing in this world is more laughable when a wicked person identifies an honest person as  wicked.When an atheist is scared of the ferocious snake what should I say about a god fearing person.Gods destroy the wealth of a person who ignores his able son.   He never achieves heaven.The forefathers say that the son is the only support during one’s old age.It is through the son that the future generation & righteousness are maintained.  Therefore one never forsakes his son.Manu classified sons in the following classes:

1. In the womb of one’s own wife,

2. In the womb of a woman other than the legal wife,

3. Acquired,

4. A boy who is looked after by some one else other than the father & so on.

Son is the cause of one’s reputation & righteousness.Son is the boat of liberation from hell.Oh king!Your duty is to protect truth,soul & different religions.Therefore you can not give up your son.You can not act like a hypocrite.It is better to dig a pond rather than hundred wells. It is better to perform one sacrifice than to dig hundred ponds.And it is better to beget a son than to perform hundred sacrifices & to keep the truth is better than hundred sons.Truth is heavier than hundred horse sacrifices.Reading the entire Vedas, bathing at holy places & truth may be of equal merit.Nothing is better than truth.No righteousness exists without truth.And nothing is more alarming than than falsehood.Oh king! Truth is at per with the supreme reality.Pursuit of truth is the only part of righteousness. And let truth stay in your soul for all the time.But if you act deceptively & don’t believe in my words.Alas! I am going back on my own.It is not possible to stay together.Dushmanta without your patronage even,my son will rule the whole globe surrounded by the Himalayas & four oceans.By saying this Shakuntala left the king.Then a celestial voice said to Dushmanta surrounded by ministers,priests & acharyas --  Mother is like the container.The son belongs to the  father.The father is reborn as the son.Dushmanta keep this son & maintain him.And do not ignore Shakuntala.It is through the son a family continues.Thus the son rescues the father from the abode of the god of death.Shakuntala said the truth.You are the father of this son.The god by way of dividing  the body of the father creates the son.Mother brings forth the son.Oh Dushmanta!Look after the son of Shakuntala.It is a misfortune to the father who abandons his son &  carries on his life.Oh king of Puru race! The boy is your legitimate son in the womb of Shkuntala.Take care of the noble minded boy.On our request you have to maintain the boy.Let the boy be known as  Bharata.King Dushmanta on hearing the celestial voice was very pleased & said to his ministers & priests -- You have already heard the voice of the heavens.I also know that the boy is my legitimate son.But if I accepted the boy on the request of Shakuntala people might doubt that the boy might not be my legitimate son.The king then by the command of the celestial voice proved the boy as his legitimate son & with smiling face became extremely happy & accepted the boy as his son.And the king with joyful mind performed the religious rites like the holy secred thread ceremony & so on.Thus he observed  the responsibilities of the father.The brahmanas & those who sang in praise of the king welcomed the stance of the king.And the king taking the boy in his arms fondled the son by kissing his head.And the king was overwhelmed with the feeling  of pleasure in touching the son.The king showed due respect to  Shakuntala by admitting her as his legal wife.Then he appealed to Shakuntala  -- I married you in the absence of any wittness of the people.Therefore deliberately I behaved that way to prove that you are innocent.Otherwise the people might think otherwise.May be,they assume that women are fickle  by nature.And they might think that the inherent fickleness of women impelled me to unite with you.But I wanted that the truth should be disclosed.As soon as I saw you I secretly decided in my mind that your son should be the crown prince.But I had to wait for the voice from the heaven.And Oh my beloved one!with magnificent look I have already pardoned you for telling harsh words to me.The great king Dushmanta honoured Shakuntala by giving her clothes fit for queens.She was offered food & drink.  And the king named the son of Shakuntala -- Bharata. Dushmanta made him the crown prince. And after that the king Dushmanta rulled for hundred years.Then leaving the kingdom he went to the forest & ascended the heaven.