Mahabharata – 149

by

Sankar Mukherjee

and

Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                            Aadivamsavatarana  Parva

Mahabhisha cursed by Brahma & Vasu’s cursed by Vasishtha

Vaisampayana continued --- There was a king known by the name of Mahabhisha born in the Ikksvaku race. He was truthful & of great prowess. By a thousand horse sacrifices and a hundred Rajasuyas he had satisfied the chief of the gods the Indra & attained  heaven.

One day the gods assembled together to worship Brahma. Many royal sages & king Mahabhisha were also there.And Ganga,the queen of rivers, also came there.And her clothes like the rays of the moon were displaced by the act of  wind god.And as her female parts became exposed,the gods bent down their heads.But the king Mahabhisha was gazing at Ganga without any fear. Mahabhisha was for this cursed by Brahma.

Brahma  said -- You shall be re-born on earth. But you shall again attain these regions by your deeds.

King Mahabhisha then thinking about all the pious kings on earth, wished to be born as a son to Pratipa of great prowess.

And Ganga,too seeing king Mahabhisha lost her patience,went away from Brahmaloka,thinking of him.

And on her way she saw,the Vasus fainted & lying on the earth. And Ganga seeing them in that embarassing situation, asked them  --Why do you look  so dejected? You are the dwellers of heaven. Is everything right with you?

The Vasus, answered her -- Oh Gange! we have been cursed, for a minor fault, by the great sage Vasishtha. The foremost sage Vasishtha,was engaged in his evening prayers seated in a solitary place.As he was not being seen by us, we crossed him unmindfully. Therefore in anger he cursed us, saying --- Be born among men! It is beyond our power to overrule what has been said by the  Veda knowing  Vasishtha.

Therefore,Oh fortunate lady be a human female &  make us your children. We are unwilling to enter the womb of any human female.

 Ganga said to  them -- Let  it be so.

She asked them -- On earth -- among the foremost of the men who will be your father?

The Vasus replied -- On earth, Pratipa begot a son,Santanu by name.He will be a king of world-wide fame. He will be our father.

Ganga said -- Oh you sinless celestials! That is exactly my wish. I have a desire to satisfy his wishes.Your desires seems to coordinate with my wishes.  The Vasus then said, -------- It would be fitting that  you throw the children after birth, into the waters, so that,we may be rescued soon without having to live on earth for long.

 Ganga then answered --I shall do what you desire. But in order that my union is fruitful with king Santanu, provide him with a son.

 The Vasus then replied-- We shall each contribute an eighth part of our respective energies With the sum thereof, you shall have one son after your wishes. But this son shall not beget any children on earth. That son would be of great energy & prowess.

The Vasus, making this arrangement with Ganga, went away with great happiness.

The episode is really very interesting. Mahabhisha ogled at Ganga in undress & was cursed to be born on earth. This tells us that the trace of mortal longing linger in the soul even when the soul is transported to heaven.And once it is manifest in heaven one is post haste expelled from heaven. In other words heaven is a realm where there is no room for human passions. Although much of earthly activities such as songs & dance take place in heaven the earthly responses to such activities are rather a taboo in heaven. But curiously enough the person like Mahabhisha cursed in this way has the option to choose his father on earth. Ganga noticed Mahabhisha’s longing for her & she decided to satisfy the longing of Mahabhisha. That speaks of her innate compassion for every one.So she decided to be born a woman on earth to become a consort of Mahabhisha born in earth.This throws a light on the essence of the institution called marriage.Seen from the heaven’s point of view marriage on earth is not necessarily a sacrament. It is an instance of agreement.Ganga decided to become the wife of Mahabhisha or Santanu only for a time.Thereafter she would be free to pursue her will.Furthermore the gods named Vasus did not opt for any human womb to be born on earth in this episode.When gods are born like this they become demigods on earth.It seems that when we are dead our souls will get the opportunity to get our unsatisfied longings on earth satisfied through another birth & there we might choose our parents while we exists in the so called bodiless state in terms of the earth.Besides since marriage is an agreement in heaven can any husband & wife live together in heaven alight with love streaming down from Lord Brahama’s affectionate eyes?