The Mahabharata/Book 1: Adi Parva/Section XLVII
Section XLVII.
( Astika Parva continued. )
Sauti said, "And then Vasuki spake unto the Rishi Jaratkaru these words:—'O best of Brahmanas, this maiden is of the same name with thee. She is my sister and hath ascetic merit. I will maintain thy wife; accept of her. O thou of ascetic wealth, I shall protect her with all my ability. And O thou foremost of great Munis, she hath been reared by me for thee!' And the Rishi replied, 'This is appointed between us that I shall not maintain her: and she shall not do aught that I do not like. And if she do, I leave her.'"
Santi continued, "And when the snake had promised, saying, 'I shall maintain my sister,' Jaratkaru then went to the snake's home. Then that first of mantra-knowing Brahmanas, observant of rigid vows, the virtuous and veteran ascetic, took her hand presented to him with ordained mantras. And taking his bride with him, adored by the great Rishis, he then entered the delightful chamber set apart for him by the king of the snakes. And in that chamber was a bedstead covered with very valuable coverlets. And Jaratkaru lived there with his wife. And the excellent Rishi made an appointment with his wife, saying, 'Nothing must ever be done or said by thee that is against my liking. And upon thy doing any such thing I would leave thee and no longer continue in thy house. Take these words that have been spoken by me.'
"And then the sister of the king of the snakes, in great anxiety and grieving exceedingly, spake unto him, saying, 'Be it so.' And moved by the desire of doing good to her relatives, of unsullied reputation, she then began to attend upon her lord with the wakefulness of the dog, the timidity of the deer, and knowledge of signs possessed by the crow. And the sister of Vasuki, one day, when her season arrived, approached, after bath according to the custom, her lord the great Muni. And she conceived, and the being conceived was like unto a flame, possessed of excessive energy, and resplendent as fire, And he grew like the moon in the lighted fortnight.
"And one day, within a short time, Jaratkaru of great fame, placing his head on the lap of his wife, slept, looking lke one fatigued. And as he was sleeping, the sun entered his chambers in the western mountain. And, O Brahmana, as the day was fading, she, the excellent sister of Vasuki, became thoughtful, fearing the loss of her husband's virtue. And she thought, 'What is proper for me now to do? Shall I wake my husband or not? He is both exacting and punctilious in his religious duties. How can I so act as not to offend? The alternatives are his anger and the loss of virtue of a virtuous man. The loss of virtue is the greater of the two evils, I ween. Again, if I wake him, he will be angry. But if twilight passeth away, he shall certainly sustain loss of virtue.'
"And, having resolved at last, the sweet-voiced Jaratkaru, the sister of Vasuki, then spake softly unto that Rishi resplendent with his ascetic devotions, and lying prostrate like a flame of fire. 'O thou of great good fortune, awake, the sun is setting! O thou of rigid vows, thou illustrious one, adore the twilight after touching water! The time for the evening homa hath come. Twilight, O lord, is even now gently covering the western side!'
"And the illustrious Jaratkaru of great ascetic merit, thus addressed, spake unto his wife these words, his upper lip quivering in anger. 'Thou amiable one of the Naga race, thou hast insulted me. I shall no more abide with thee, but shall go whithersoever I came from. O thou of beautiful lower limb, I believe in my heart that the sun hath not power to set in the usual time, if I am asleep. An insulted person should never live where he hath met with the insult, far less should I—a virtuous person, or those that are like me!' And Jaratkaru, the sister of Vasuki, thus addressed by her lord, began to quake with terror, and she spake unto him, saying, 'O Brahmana, I have not waked thee from desire of insult; but I have done it so that thy daily rites may not be passed over unperformed.'
"And the Rishi Jaratkaru, great in ascetic merit, possessed with anger and desirous of forsaking his spouse, thus addressed, spake unto his wife, saying, 'O thou fair one, never have I spoken a falsehood. Therefore, go I shall. This was also the appointment between ourselves made by me with thee. Amiable one, I have passed the time happily with thee. And, O fair one, tell thy brother when I am gone that I have left thee. And upon my going away, it behoveth thee not to grieve for me.'
"Thus addressed, Jaratkaru, the fair sister of Vasuki, of faultless features, steeped in anxiety and sorrow, having mustered sufficient courage and patience, though her heart was quaking yet, then spake unto the Rishi Jaratkaru. And her words were obstructed with tears and her face was hueless with fear. And the palms of her hands were joined together, and her eyes were bathed in tears. And she said, 'It behoveth thee not to leave me without fault. Thou art ever in virtue's ways? I too have been in the same path, with heart fixed on the good of my relatives. And, O best of Brahmanas, the purpose for which I have been bestowed on thee hath not been accomplished yet. Unfortunate as I am, what shall Vasuki say unto me? And, O excellent one, the offspring desired of thee by my relatives afflicted by a mother's curse, doth not yet appear! The welfare of my relatives dependeth on the acquisition of an offspring from thee! And in order that my connection with thee may not be fruitless, O illustrious Brahmana, moved by the desire of doing good to my race do I entreat thee! And, O excellent one, high-souled as thou art, why shalt thou leave me who am faultless? This conception of mine is as yet indistinct.'
"Thus addressed, the Muni of ascetic merit then spake unto his wife, Jaratkaru, these words that were proper and suitable to the occasion. And he said, 'O thou fortunate one, the being thou hast conceived, even like unto Agni himself, is a Rishi of soul highly virtuous, and a master of the Vedas and the Vedangas.'
"And having said so, the great Rishi Jaratkaru, of virtuous soul, went away, his heart firmly fixed on practising again the severest of penances."
And so ends the forty-seventh Section in the Astika of the Adi Parva.