“The Gandharva continued, ‘O Paartha (Arjuna), there was a king in this world, named Kalmaashapaada, who was of the vamsha
of Ikshvaku and was unequalled on earth for prowess. One day, the king went
from his capital into the forest for purposes of hunting, and this grinder of enemies
pierced (with his arrows) many deer
and wild boars. In that deep forest, the king (Kalmaashapaada) also slew many rhinoceroses. Engaged in
sport for some length of time, the monarch became very much tired and at last
he gave up the chase, desiring to rest awhile.
“The great (Rishi) Vishwamitra,
endued with energy, had, a little while ago, desired to make that monarch (Kalmaashapaada) his disciple. As the monarch (Kalmaashapaada), pained with hunger and thirst, was
proceeding through the forest, he came across that best of Rishis, the
illustrious son of (Rishi) Vasishtha,
coming along the same path. The king (Kalmaashapaada) ever victorious in battle saw that Muni bearing the name of Shakti,
that illustrious propagator of Vasishtha’s race, the eldest of the high-souled
Vasishtha’s hundred sons, coming along from opposite direction.
“The king, seeing him said, ‘Stand out of our way.’ The Rishi (Shakti), addressing the monarch in a pacifying
manner, said to him sweetly, ‘O king (Kalmaashapaada), this is my way. This is the eternal rule of morality indicated in
every treatise on duty and Dharma, viz., that a king should ever make way for
Brahmanas.’
“Thus did they address each other respecting their right of way – ‘Stand
aside, stand aside’, were the words they said to each other. The Rishi (Shakti), who was in the right, did not yield, nor
did the king (Kalmaashapaada) yield
to him from pride and anger. That best of monarchs, enraged at the Rishi,
refusing to yield him the way, acted like a Rakshasa, striking him with his
whip. Thus whipped by the monarch, that best of Rishis, the son of Vasishtha,
was deprived of his senses by anger, and speedily cursed that first of
monarchs, saying, ‘O worst of kings, since you harass like a Rakshasa a Tapaswi,
you shall from this day, become a Rakshasa living on human flesh! Hence, you
worst of kings! you shall wander over the earth, affecting human form!’
“Thus did the Rishi Shakti, endued with great prowess, spoke to king
Kalmaashapaada. At this time (Rishi) Vishwamitra,
between whom and Vasishtha there was a dispute about the discipleship of Kalmaashapaada,
approached the place where that monarch and Vasishtha’s son were. O Paartha (Arjuna), that Rishi of severe Tapas, viz., Vishwamitra
of great energy, approached the pair (knowing by his spiritual insight that
they had been thus quarrelling with each other). After the curse had been pronounced, that best of monarchs (Kalmaashapaada) knew that Rishi (Shakti) to be Vasishtha’s son and equal to
Vasishtha himself in energy. O Bharata (Arjuna), (Rishi) Vishwamitra, desirous
of benefiting himself, remained on that spot, hidden from the sight of both by
making himself invisible.
“Then that best of monarchs (Kalmaashapaada), thus cursed by (Rishi) Shakti,
desiring to pacify the Rishi began to humbly plead him. O chief of the Kurus (Arjuna), (Rishi) Vishwamitra, discovering the inclination of the king (and fearing
that the difference between King Kalmaashapaada and Rishi Shakti might be made
up), ordered a Rakshasa to enter the
body of the king. A Rakshasa of the name of Kinkara then entered the monarch’s
body in obedience to (Rishi) Shakti’s
curse and Vishwamitra’s command. O chastiser of enemies (Arjuna), knowing that the Rakshasa (Kinkara) had possessed himself of the monarch (Kalmaashapaada), that best of Rishis, Vishwamitra, then
left the spot and went away.
“O Paartha (Arjuna), shortly
after the monarch (Kalmaashapaada),
possessed by the Rakshasa (Kinkara)
and terribly pained by him, lost all his senses. At this time, a Brahmana saw
the king in the fores. Pained with hunger, that Brahmana begged of the king
some food with meat. The Rajarishi, Kalmaashapaada, that cherisher of friends,
answered the Brahmana, saying, ‘You stay here, O Brahmana, for a moment. On my
return, I will give you whatever food you desire.’ Having said this, the
monarch (Kalmaashapaada) went away,
but the Brahmana stayed on there. The high-minded king having roamed for some
time at pleasure and according to his will, at last entered his inner
apartment. Then waking at midnight and remembering his promise, he summoned his
cook and told him of his promise to the Brahmana staying in the forest. He
commanded him, saying, ‘You go to that forest. A Brahmana waits for me in the
hope of food. Go and entertain him with food and meat.’
“The Gandharva continued, ‘Thus commanded, the cook went out in search
of meat. Distressed at not having found any, he informed the king of his
failure. The monarch (Kalmaashapaada),
however, possessed as he was by the Rakshasa (Kinkara), repeatedly said, without hesitation of any kind, ‘Feed him with human
flesh.’
“The cook, saying, ‘So be it,’ went to the place where the (king’s) executioners were, and from there taking
human flesh and washing and cooking it duly and covering it with boiled rice
offered it to that hungry Brahmana devoted to Tapas. But that best of
Brahmanas, seeing with his spiritual sight (Siddha Chakshusha in Sanskrit) that the food was unholy and, therefore,
unworthy of being eaten, said these words with eyes red with anger, ‘Because
that worst of kings (Kalmaashapaada)
offers me food that is unholy and unworthy of being taken, therefore that
wretch shall have himself a fondness for such food. Becoming fond of human
flesh as cursed by (Rishi) Shakti of
old, the wretch (Kalmaashapaada)
shall wander over the earth, alarming and otherwise troubling all creatures.’
The curse, therefore, on that king (Kalmaashapaada), thus repeated a second time, became very strong, and the king,
possessed by a Rakshasa nature, soon lost all his senses.
“O Bharata (Arjuna), a
little while after that best of monarchs (Kalmaashapaada), deprived of all his senses by the
Rakshasa within him, seeing (Rishi) Shakti
who had cursed him, said, ‘Because you have pronounced on me this extraordinary
curse, therefore, I shall begin my life of cannibalism by eating thee.’ Having
said this, the king (Kalmaashapaada)
immediately slew (Rishi) Shakti and
ate him up, like a tiger eating the animal it was fond of. Looking (Rishi) Shakti thus slain and devoured, (Rishi)
Vishwamitra repeatedly urged that
Rakshasa (who was within the monarch)
against the other (99) sons of (Rishi) Vasishtha. Like an angry lion devouring
small animals, that Rakshasa soon devoured the other sons of the illustrious (Rishi)
Vasishtha that were junior to (Rishi) Shakti in age. But (Rishi) Vasishtha, learning that all his sons had
been caused to be slain by (Rishi) Vishwamitra,
patiently bore his grief like the great mountain that bears the earth. That
best of Munis (Rishi Vasishtha),
that foremost of intelligent men, was resolved rather to sacrifice his own life
than destroy (in anger) the race of
Kushikas. The illustrious Rishi (Vasishtha) threw himself down from the summit of Meru, but he descended on the
stony ground as though on a heap of cotton. O son of Pandu (Arjuna), when the illustrious one found that death
did not result from that fall, he kindled a huge fire in the forest and entered
it with readiness. But that fire, though burning brightly, did not consume him.
O slayer of enemies, that blazing fire seemed to him cool. Then the great Muni (Vasishtha) under the influence of grief, seeing the
sea, tied a stony weight to his neck and threw himself into its waters. But the
waves soon threw him ashore. At last, when that Brahmana (Rishi Vasishtha) of rigid vows (Vrata in Sanskrit) succeeded not in killing himself by any
means, he returned, in distress of heart, to his ashrama.’”
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