“Vaishampaayana said, ‘Thus addressed, Kunti replied
to her heroic lord, king Pandu, that bull amongst the Kurus, saying, ‘O one of
Dharma, it is your duty not to say so to me. O you lotus-eyed one (Pandu), I am your wedded
wife, devoted to you. O Bharata of mighty arms (Pandu), yourself shall, in Dharma, father upon me children endued with great
energy. Then I shall ascend to heaven with you; O prince of Kuru's race (Pandu), receive me in your embrace for fathering
children. I shall not certainly, even in imagination, accept any other man
except you in my embraces. What other man is there in this world superior to you?
O one of Dharma, O you of large eyes, listen to this Pauranic narrative that
has been heard by me, and that I shall presently narrate.
“There was, in ancient times, a king in the race of
Pooru, known by the name of Vyushitaashwa. He was devoted to Satya and Dharma.
Of Dharmatma and mighty arms, on one occasion, while he was performing a yagna,
Devas with (Lord) Indra and the Maharishis came to him, and (Lord) Indra was so intoxicated with the Soma
juice he drank and the Brahmanas with the large presents they received, that
both Devas and Maharishis began themselves to perform everything relating to
that yagna of the illustrious Rajarishi. Thereupon, Vyushitaashwa began to
shine above all men like the Sun appearing in double splendour after the season
of snow is over. O best of monarchs (Pandu), the powerful Vyushitaashwa, who was endued with the strength of ten
elephants very soon performed the Ashwamedha (yagna), overthrowing all the kings of the East, the North, the West and the
South, and exacted tributes from them all. O best of the Kurus (Pandu), there is a narrative that is sung by all
reciters of the Puranas, in connection with that first of all men, the illustrious
Vyushitaashwa.
“Having conquered the whole Earth up to the coast of
the sea, Vyushitaashwa protected every class of his subjects as a father does
his own fathered sons.
“Performing many great yagnas he gave away much wealth
to the Brahmanas. After collecting unlimited jewels and precious stones, he
made arrangements for performing still greater ones. He performed also the
Agnishtoma, and other special Vedic yagnas, extracting great quantities of Soma
juice. O king (Pandu), Vyushitaashwa had for his dear wife, Bhadra, the daughter of
Kakshivat, unrivalled for beauty on earth. It has been heard by us that the
couple loved each other deeply. King Vyushitaashwa was never separated from his
wife. Excess of kaamaa, however, brought on an attack of phthisis and the king
died within a few days, sinking like the Sun in his glory. O tiger among men (Pandu), then Bhadra, his beautiful queen, was plunged
into sadness, and as she was sonless, she wept in great pain. O king (Pandu), listen to me as I narrate to you all that
Bhadra said with bitter tears trickling down her cheeks. She said, ‘O one of
Dharma, women serve no purpose when their husbands are dead. She who lives after
her husband is dead, drags on a miserable existence that can hardly be called
life. O bull of the Kshatriya varna (Vyushitaashwa), death is a blessing to women without husbands. I wish to follow the
way you have gone. Be kind and take me with you. In your absence, I am unable
to bear life even for a moment. O king (Vyushitaashwa), be kind to me and take me hence pretty soon. O tiger among men (Vyushitaashwa), I shall follow you over the even and uneven
ground. O lord (Vyushitaashwa), you
have gone away never to return. O king (Vyushitaashwa), I shall follow you as your own shadow. O tiger among men (Vyushitaashwa), I will obey you and will ever do what is
agreeable to you and what is for your good. O you of eyes like lotus-petals (Vyushitaashwa), without you, from this day, mental
agonies will bury me and eat into my heart. A wretch that I am, some loving
couple had doubtless been separated by me in a former life, for which, in this
life, I am made to suffer the pangs of separation from you. O king (Vyushitaashwa), that wretched woman who lives even for a
moment separated from her lord, lives in sadness and suffers the pangs of hell
here. Some loving couple had doubtless been separated by me in a former life,
for which sinful act I am suffering this torture arising from my separation
from you. O king (Vyushitaashwa),
from this day I will lay myself down on a bed of Kusha grass (also known as
Darbha grass, botanically called Desmostachya bipinnata) and abstain from every luxury, hoping to see you once more. O tiger
among men, show yourself to me. O king, O lord, command once more your wretched
and bitterly weeping wife plunged in sadness.’
“Kunti continued, ‘It was thus, O Pandu, that the
beautiful Bhadra wept over the death of her lord. The weeping Bhadra clasped in
her arms the deadbody in anguish of heart. Then she was addressed by an non-physical
voice in these words, ‘Rise up, O Bhadra, and leave this place. O you of sweet
smiles, I grant you this boon. I will father offspring upon you. You lie down
with me on your own bed, after the menses bath, on the night of the eighth or the
fourteenth day of the moon.’
“Thus addressed by the non-physical voice, the chaste (Patni in Sanskrit) Bhadra did, as she was directed, for obtaining offspring. O bull of the Bharatas (Pandu), the corpse of her husband fathered upon her seven children – three Shaalwaas and four Madraas. O bull of the Bharatas (Pandu), you do also father offspring upon me, like the illustrious Vyushitaashwa, by the exercise of that power of Tapas which you possess.’”
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