Mahabharata – 204

by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
    Aadivamsavatarana Parva

At Hastinapura Royal gate Kunti with childrens and bodies of king Pandu and queen Madri

With the passing away of Pandu and Madri the children of Pandu with their mother Kunti left the forests to go back home to Hastinapura.The ascetics who lived in the forest accompanied Kunti and her children in their journey home.They reached the lion gate of the palace of Hastinapura. The ascetics then requested the guards of the gate to inform the king of their arrival.The men carried the message at once to the court. And the citizens of Hastinapura,hearing of the arrival of thousands of gleemen and ascetics,were  astonished. The citizens soon after the sunrise began to come out in numbers with their wives and children to see those ascetics. Seated in all kinds of cars and conveyances by thousands, vast numbers of Kshatriyas with their wives,and Brahmanas with theirs came out. And Vaisyas and Sudras also responded in a large number on the occasion. The vast gathering was very peaceful, they were not jealous of each other. Rather their virtuous heart was filled with  sorrow. And there also came out Bhishma,the son of Santanu. Somadatta, Valhika and the royal blind sage Dhritarashtra,Sanjaya and Vidura himself and the respected Satyavati and the illustrious Ambalika and Gandhari accompanied by other ladies of the royal household also showed up. The hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, decked with various ornaments, also came out. Then the Kauravas accompanied by their priest, saluted the rishis by lowering their heads and took their seats before them. The citizens also saluting the ascetics and bowing down to them by way of touching the ground,took their seats there.Then Bhishma, seeing that huge gathering perfectly quiet,duly worshipped, those ascetics by offering them water to wash their feet.He offered them the customary arghya. And having done this, he informed them about the sovereignty and the kingdom.Then the oldest of the ascetics with matted hair on head and clothed in animal skin,stood up. Taking other rishis in confidence he spoke as follows---You  all know that the ruler of the kingdom of the Kurus known as king Pandu, had after abandoning the worldly  pleasures decided to dwell in the Sata-Sringa mountain. He adopted the Brahmacharya mode of life there. By some miracles his eldest son, Yudhishthira,was born there, by the grace of Dharma himself. Then that illustrious king obtained from Vayu this other son--the foremost of all mighty men--called Bhima. This other son, begotten upon Kunti by Indra,is Dhananjaya.His achievements will surprise all bowmen in the world. Look here again at these, twin children begotten upon Madri by the twin Aswins. Leading a life in righteousness, during Vanaprastha in the woods, the illustrious Pandu has thus revived the almost extinct line of his forefathers. The birth, mental and physical maturity, and Vedic studies of these children of Pandu, will, no doubt, give you great pleasure. Steadily adhering to the path of the virtuous and the wise, and leaving behind him these children, Pandu departed from us seventeen days ago. His wife Madri, seeing king Pandu’s death sacrificed her life through penance and has gone with her lord to the region reserved for chaste wives. Accomplish now whatever rites should be performed for their benefit. These are the unburnt bodies of king Pandu and queen Madri. Here also are their children, with their mother.Let these be now received with due honour. After the completion of the first rites in honour of the dead, let the virtuous Pandu, who had all along been the supporter of the dignity of the Kurus, have the first offerings of annual Sraddha performed with a view to place him formally among the Pitris or the ancestors.The ascetics with Guhyakas, having said this to the Kurus, disappeared in a flash from the very sight of the people and Kurus. And seeing the Rishis and the Siddhas thus vanish in their sight like vapour appearing and disappearing in the skies, the citizens filled with wonder returned their homes.