The Mahabharata/Book 1: Adi Parva/Section LXVI
Section LXVI.
( Sambhava Parva continued. )
Vaisampayana said, "It is known that the spiritual sons of Brahmā were the six great Rishis (already mentioned.) There was another of the name of Sthanu. And the sons of Sthanu gifted with great energy were, it is known, eleven. They were Mriga-vyadha, Sarpa, Niriti of great fame; Ajaikapat, Ahivradhna and Pinaki the oppressor of foes; Dahana, and Iswara, and Kapali of great splendour; Sthanu, and the illustrious Bharga. And these are called the eleven Rudras. It hath been already said, that Marichi, Angira, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Kratu—these six great Rishis of great energy—are the sons of Brahmā. It is well-known in the world that Angira's sons are three,—Vrihaspati, Utathya, and Samvarta, all of rigid vows. And, O king, it is said that the sons of Atri are numerous. And being great Rishis they are all conversant with the Vedas, crowned with ascetic success, and of souls in perfect peace. And, O tiger among kings, the sons of Pulastya of great wisdom are the Rakshasas, Monkeys, Kinnaras (half-men and half-horses), and Yakshas. And, O king, the sons of Pulaha were, it is said, the Salavas (the winged insects), the lions, the Kimpurushas (half-lions and half-men), the tigers, bears, and wolves. And the sons of Kratu, sacred as sacrifices, were the companions of Surya, (the Valakhilyas), known in the three worlds and devoted to truth and vows. And, O thou protector of the Earth, the illustrious Rishi Daksha, of soul in complete peace, and great asceticism, sprung from the right toe of Brahma. And from the left toe of Brahma sprang the wife of the high-souled Daksha. And the Muni (Daksha) begat in her fifty daughters; and all those daughters were of faultless features and limbs, and of eyes like lotus leaves. And the Prajapati Daksha, not having any sons, made those daughters his Putrikas (so that their sons might belong both to himself and their husbands.) And Daksha bestowed according to the sacred ordinance, ten of his daughters on Dharma, twenty-seven on Chandra (the Moon), and thirteen on Kashyapa. Listen as I recount the wives of Dharma according to their names! They are ten in all—Kirti, Laksmi, Dhriti, Medha, Pushti, Sradha, Kriā, Budhi, Lajjā, and Mati. These are the wives of Dharma as appointed by the self-create. It is known also throughout the worlds that the wives of Shoma, all of sacred vows, are employed in indicating time; and they are the Nakshattras and the Yoginis and they became so for assisting the courses of the worlds.
"And Brahmā had another son named Manu. And Manu had a son of name Prajapati. And the sons of Prajapati were eight and were called the Vasus whom I shall name in detail. They were Dhara, Dhruva, Shoma, Aha, Anila, Anala, Pratyusa, and Prabhasa. These eight are known as the Vasus. Of these, Dhara and the truth-knowing Dhruva were born of Dhumra; Chandrama (Shoma) and Shasana (Anila) were born of the amiable Shasa; Aha was the son of Rata; and Hutashana (Anala) of Shandilya; and Pratyusha and Prabhasa were the sons of Prabhata. And Dhara had two sons, Dravina and Hutahavyavaha. And the son of Dhruva is the illustrious Kala (Time) the destroyer of the worlds. And Shoma's son is the resplendant Varcha. And Varcha begets in his wife Manoharā three sons—Shishira, Prana, and Ramana. And the sons of Aha were Jyoti, Shama, Shanta, and also Muni. And the son of Agni is the handsome Kumara born in the forest of reeds. And he is also called Kartikeya because he was reared by Krittika and the others. And after Kartikeya were born his three brothers Shakha, Vishakha, Naigameya. And the wife of Anila is Shivā. And Shiva's sons were Manajava and Avijnata-gati. These two were the sons of Anila. The son of Pratyusha, you must know, is the Rishi by name Devala. And Devala had two sons who were both exceedingly forgiving and of great mental power. And the sister of Vrihasptai, the first of women, uttering the sacred truth, engaged in ascetic penances, roamed over the whole Earth. And she became the wife of Prabhasha the eighth Vasu. And she begat the illustrious Viswakarma the founder of all arts. And he was the originator of a thousand arts, engineer of the immortals, the maker of all kinds of ornaments, and the first of artists. And he it was constructed the celestial cars of the gods. And mankind are enabled to live in consequence of the inventions of that illustrious one. And he is worshipped for that reason by men. And he is eternal and immutable this—Viswakarma.
"And the illustrious Dharma, the dispenser of all happiness, assuming a human countenance came out through the right breast of Brahma. And Ahasta (Dharma) hath three excellent sons capable of charming every creature. And they are Shama, Kama, and Harsha. (Peace, Desire, and Gladness,) And by their energy they are supporting the worlds. And the wife of Kama is Rati, of Shama is Prapti; and the wife of Harsha is Nanda. And upon them, indeed, are the worlds made to depend (for all that their inhabitants do.)
"And the son of Marichi is Kasyapa. And Kasyapa's offspring are the gods and the Asuras. And therefore is Kasyapa the Father of the worlds. And Tastri, of the form of (a mare) Vadava, became the wife of Savitri. And she gave birth, in the skies, to two greatly fortunate twins the Aswinas. And, O king, the sons of Aditi are twelve with Indra heading them all. And the youngest of them all was Vishnu upon whom are the worlds dependent.
"These are the thirty three gods (eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Adityas, Prajapati, and Vashatkara). And I shall now recount their progeny according to their Pakshas, Kulas, and Ganas. The Rudras, the Sadhyas, the Marutas, the Vasus, the Bhargavas, and the Viswadevas are each reckoned as a Paksha. Gadura the son of Vinata and the mighty Aruna also, and the illustrious Vrihaspati are reckoned among the Adityas. The twin Aswinas, all annual plants, and all inferior animals, are reckoned among the Guhyakas.
"These are the Ganas of the gods recited to thee, O king! This recitation washes men of all sins.
"The illustrious Bhrigu came out, ripping open the breast of Brahma. The learned Sukra is Bhrigu's son. And the learned Sukra becoming a planet and engaged according to the command of the self-existent in pouring and withholding rain, and in despensing and remitting calamities, for sustaining the lives of all creatures in the three worlds traverses through the skies. And the learned Sukra, of great intelligence and wisdom, of rigid vows, leading the life of a Brahmachari, divided himself in twain by power of asceticism, and became the spiritual guide of both the Daityas and the gods. And after Sukra was thus employed by Brahma in seeking the welfare (of the gods and the Asuras), Bhrigu begat another excellent son. This was Chyavana who was like the blazing sun, of virtuous soul, of great game. And he came out of his mother's womb in anger and became the cause of his mother's release, O king, (from the hands of the Rakshasa.) And Arushi, the daughter of Manu, became the wife of the wise Chyavana. And in her was born Aurva of great reputation. And he came out ripping open the thigh of Arushi. And Aurva begat Richika. And Richika in his boyhood even became possessed of great power and energy, and of every virtue. And Richika begat Jamadagni. And the high-souled Jamadagni had four sons. And the youngest of them all was Rama (Parashurama). And Rama was superior to all his brothers in the possession of good qualities. And he was skilful in all weapons, and became the slayer of the Kshatrias. And he had his passions under complete control. And he had his passions under complete control. And Aurva had an hundred sons with Jamadagni the eldest. And these hundred sons had offspring by thousands spread over this Earth.
"And Brahma had two other sons, viz, Dhata and Vidhata, who stayed with Manu. Their sister is the auspicious Laksmi having her abode amid lotuses. And the spiritual sons of Laksmi are the sky-ranging horses. And the daughter born of Sukra, named Divi, became the eldest wife of Varuna. In her were born a son named Vala, and a daughter named Surā (wine) giving joy unto the gods. And Adharma (Sin) was born when creatures (from want of food) began to devour each other. And Adharma always destroys every creature. And Adharma had Niriti for his wife, whence the Rakshasas who are called Nairitas (offspring of Niriti.) And she hath also three other cruel sons always engaged in sinful deeds. They are Vaya (fear), Mahavaya (terror), and Mrityu (Death) who is always engaged in slaying every created thing. And all-destroyer as he is, he hath no wife, and no son. And Tamra brought forth five daughters known throughout the worlds. They are Kaki (crow), Shyeni (hawk), Vashi (hen), Dhrita-rashtra (goose), and Shuki (parrot). And Kaki brought forth the crows; Shyeni, the hawks; Vashi, the cocks and vultures; Dhrita-rashtri, all ducks and swans; and she also brought forth all Chakravakas; and the fair Shuki of amiable qualities and possessing all auspicious signs brought forth all the parrots. And Krodha gave birth to nine daughters all of wrathful disposition. And their names were Mrigi, Mrigamanda, Hari, Bhadramana, Matangi, Sharduli, Sheta, Suravi, and the agreeable Surasā blessed with every virtue. And, O thou foremost of men, the offspring of Mrigi are all animals of the deer species. And the offspring of Mrigamandā are all animals of the bear species and those called Srimara (swift-footed.) And Bhadramana begat the celestial elephant Airavata for her son. And the offspring of Hari are all animals of the monkey species endued with great activity and also all the horses. And those animals also that are called Golangula (the cow-tailed) are said to be the offspring of Hari. And Sharduli begat lions and tigers in numbers, and also leopards and, no doubt of it, all other strong animals. And, O king, the offspring of Matangi are all the elephants. And Shetā begat the large elephant known by the name Sheta endued with great speed. And, O king, Suravi gave birth to two daughters, the amiable Rohini and the far-famed Gandharvi. And, O Bharata, she had also two other daughters named Vimalā and Analā. From Rohini have sprung all kine, and from Gandharvi all animals of the horse species. And Anala begat the seven kinds of trees yielding pulpy fruits. (They are the date, the palm, the hintala, the tali, the little date, the nut, and the cocoanut.) And she had also another daughter called Shuki (the mother of the parrot species.) And Surasa begat a son called Kanka (a species of long-feathered birds.) And Shyeni, the wife of Aruna, gave birth to two sons of great energy and strength named Sampati and the mighty Jatayu. Surasa also begat the Nagas and Kadru the Pannagas (snakes.) And Vinata begat two sons Gadura and Aruna known extensively. And, O king of men, O thou first of intelligent persons, thus hath the genealogy of all the principal creatures been fully described by me. By listening to this a man is fully cleansed from all his sins, and acquireth great knowledge, and finally attaineth to the first of states in after life."
And thus endeth the sixty-sixth Section in the Sambhava of the Adi Parva.