Part 1. Adi Parva
1. Maharaja Shantanu Marries the Celestial Ganga
MAHABHARATA
1. Maharaja Shantanu Marries the Celestial Ganga 1
2. Maharaja Shantanu and Devavrata 4
3. Bhishma Abducts Three Princesses 6
4. Bhishma Battles Parashurama 8
5. The Birth of Dhritarastra, Pandu and Vidura 11
6. The Pandavas are Born 14
7. The Poisoned Cake 20
8. The Preceptor Drona 23
9. The Curse of Parashurama 26
10. The Tournament of Arms 28
11. Tuition for Drona 31
12. The House of Lac at Varanavata 33
13. Hidimba Slain 36
14. The Cannibal Baka Slain 39
15. The Svayamvara of Draupadi 42
16. The Pandavas Marry Draupadi 47
17. Khandavaprastha 50
18. Arjuna Goes on Pilgrimage 53
19. Devouring of the Khandava Forest 56
According to the historical records of this earth, there once lived a King named Maharaja Shantanu, the son of Pratipa, who took his birth in the solar dynasty and was considered naradeva, the manifest representative of the Supreme Lord on earth. His fame and rule extended to all parts of the world. The qualities of self-control, liberality, forgiveness, intelligence, modesty, patience and power always resided this exalted emperor. His neck was marked with three lines like a conchshell, and his shoulders were broad. In prowess He resembled a maddened elephant. Above all these qualities, he was a devoted servant of Lord Vishnu, and therefore he was given the title, "King of kings."
Once when Maharaja Shantanu, that bull among men, was wandering in the forest, he came upon a place frequented by the Siddhas and Charanas (a class of heavenly demigods). There he saw an angelic woman who appeared like the goddess of fortune herself. In truth, she was the personification of the river Ganges. She was glancing at the monarch with her youthful longing eyes, and Maharaja Shantanu became attracted to her. He then approached her inquiring, "O beautiful woman, are you from the race of the Gandharvas, Apsaras, Yakshas, Nagas or the human race? As yet I have no queen, and your birth appears divine. Whatever your origin, O celestial beauty, I request you to become my wife."
The beautiful apsara (celestial maiden) then smilingly replied, "O King, I shall become your wife and obey your commands, but there are certain conditions. You should not interfere with my actions, whether agreeable or disagreeable. Also you should never chastise me with harsh words. If you assent to my request, I shall live with you." The King, infatuated with love, agreed to her proposals.
Having taken the lovely Ganga for his wife, Maharaja Shantanu passed many years in her association. She satisfied the King by her charm and affection, as well as by her music and dance; and thus the King passed many seasons unconscious of time. While enjoying himself in her company, he conceived eight children by her that were equal in quality to the heavenly gods. However, on the birth of each child, Ganga threw them into the river, exclaiming, "This is for your good!" The King was not pleased with his wife's conduct, but he dared not speak a chastising word, lest she leave his company. However, when the eighth child was born, the King could not tolerate the killing of another child and he spoke harshly, "Do not kill this child! Why do you kill your own children? O murderess of your sons, the reaction to such sin is very great!"
When reproached in these words, the celestial beauty replied, "I shall not cast this child into the river, but according to our marriage agreement, our relationship has ended. I am Ganga, the personification of the River Ganges, and I am ever-worshipped by the great sages and common people. My origin is the divine feet of Lord Vishnu. I have lived with you only to accomplish the purpose of the demigods. The eight Vasus were cursed by Vashistha Muni, and thus they have appeared on earth as a reaction to that curse. They have pleaded wth me to free them from this bondage immediately after their birth. I have lived with you long enough to fulfill my promise to the Vasus. This last child is destined to live on earth for some time. His name will be Devavrata, and he shall be famous as a lion among men."
Maharaja Shantanu then inquired from his wife, "What offense did the Vasu's commit for which they were born on earth as human beings? Why, also, is this last child destined to live on earth longer than the others? O Ganga, my wife, please clarify this."
Being thus questioned by the King of the earth, Ganga replied to the Monarch, "O best of the Bharata race, on Mount Meru there are many picturesque forests. In one such wooded region lives a renowned sage named Vashistha Muni. He is adept in the practice of austerity and meditation. With the help of his Kamadhenu cow, he performs sacrifices to please the Supreme Being. One day, the eight Vasus headed by Prithu came to that forest. Roaming about with their wives, the Vasus entered the hermitage of Vashistha Muni. At that time they spotted the celestial cow named Nandini. One of the Vasus, whose name was Dyu,then informed his wife, "This cow belongs to the eminent sage Vashistha, and it is said that the mortal who drinks the milk of this cow remains unchanged for ten thousand years.' Turning to her husband she replied, "I have a very dear friend named Jitavati who is the daughter of the sage Usinara. I wish to take this cow and calf as a present for her.' When repeatedly petitioned by his beautiful wife, Dyu, along with his brothers, abducted the Kamadhenu cow, forgetting who was the actual owner.
That evening, when Vashistha returned to his hermitage, he could not find his Kamadhenu cow or its calf. He began to search the forest, but nowhere could they be found. By his mystic power, obtained by long years of austerity, he then understood that the cow and its calf had been taken away by the Vasus. When the sage's wrath was kindled, he cursed the Vasus, "Because the Vasus have stolen my Kamadhenu cow, I curse them to be born on earth as ordinary mortals.' The sage then returned to his practice of ascetic meditation.
"When the Vasus heard of Vashistha's curse, they came to his hermitage to pacify him. They praised him with amiable words and offered to return the cow. However, they failed to obtain clemency from the great sage. The great brahmana Vashistha, who is naturally kind to everyone, then compassionately said, "This curse is the suitable punishment to rectify your enjoying mentality. You will be freed from it shortly after your earthly birth. However, your brother Dyu, who actually stole my cow, shall have to domicile on earth for a long period of time. Dyu, though living on earth, shall not marry and have children. He will, however, be a man of kingly virtue and will know the essence of the holy scriptures. He will be an obedient servitor to his father, but will have to live without female companionship.'
"The Vasus" Ganga continued, "then came to me and begged a benediction. They asked that I cast them into the waters of the Ganges immediately upon taking their birth. O best among kings, I have fulfilled their desire, but this last child, Dyu, will have to reside on earth for some time to fulfill the curse of Vashistha Muni." Having related the Vasus' history, Ganga disappeared with the child, and the King returned to his palace with a sorrowful heart.
Thus Ends the Mahabharata Summation to the First Chapter of the Adi Parva, Entitled, Maharaja Shantanu Obtains the Celestial Ganga for His Wife.
Chapter Commentary
Maharaja Shantanu lived in the age of the Dvapara yuga, more than five thousand years ago. He was a saintly King who cared about his citizens and sought their welfare.Time passes through four ages; the first being the Satya yuga which is compared to spring time. In this age persons have long lives and are very much inclined toward meditation and austerity. The Treta yuga is compared to the summer time. In this age people are very pious and there are hardly any stringent miseries. The Dvapara age is like autumn time. Material miseries become apparent and the principles of religion decline. The age we are living in now is the age of kali, which is compared to the winter season. Most people are not inclined toward spiritual life, and because of this they suffer stringent material miseries. They commit grossly sinful acts for which they suffer life after life. The history of the earth, before the Kali age, is recorded in such Vedic literatures as the Puranas, Mahabharata, and Ramayana. These divinely inspired literatures are filled with histories of saintly emperors who protected their citizens, endeavoring to elevate them to the platform of God realization. This Mahabharata is a factual historical account of what happened on earth thousands of years ago.
In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna told Arjuna, "In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Vishnu, and blessed them by saying, "Be thou happy by this yajna [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you all desirable things.'"(Bg.3.10) Advanced human society centered on God realization has been existing since the beginning of creation. In fact, the Puranas are historical records of civilizations more advanced than the one today. The people and civilizations of this present age, Kali yuga, have actually diminished in good qualities as confirmed in the Srimad Bhagavatam, "O learned one, in this iron age of Kali men have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed." (S.B. 1.1.10) This is a quotation by Saunaka rishi to the sages of Naimisharanya. We learn from Vedic history that thousands of years ago men were more advanced in moral qualities and that civilizations were more prosperous, materially and spiritually. This point will be discussed in greater detail as this narration proceeds.
Since the historical past cannot be perceived by the gross senses, we have to accept authorities who have knowledge of the past, present and future. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna states, "From Me comes knowledge, remembrance and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known. I am the compiler of Vedanta and, indeed, I am the knower of the Vedas." (B.g. 15.15) Lord Krishna is the Supreme Godhead and the Supreme Authority. Because He is God, He knows everything about the past, present and future. What is written in the Puranas is His account of the past. Therefore, if we accept His statements as they are handed down in disciplic succession and understood by the spiritual master, then we can have perfect knowledge of the past without having to waste billions of dollars on mental speculation. This Mahabharata is an emanation from that Supreme Being, and was compiled by Srila Vyasadeva who was empowered for this exact purpose.
The disciplic succession is maintained by Lord Krishna so that perfect knowledge is available at all times. The skeptics will say that it is impossible not to make a mistake in handing down disciplic knowledge, because of man's imperfection. However, a bona fide spiritual master does not have the imperfection of mortal senses. How is this? Because a pure devotee of God is being directed by the Lord in the heart, his senses become as good as the Lord's. Pure devotees of God may differ in implementing God's will according to time, place and circumstance, but the conclusion of the teachings is the same. In the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna states, "The Supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings received it in that way. But in the course of time the succession was broken, and, therefore, the science as it is appears to be lost." (B.g. 4.2) The disciplic succession was broken when Duryodhana became king, and therefore Lord Krishna had to reestablish it by removing Duryodhana and establishing Maharaja Yudhisthira as a saintly king, able to carry on the disciplic succession. The Supreme Lord fulfills all desires. If one wants perfect knowledge of God, the Lord will send his authorized representative to teach him.
Sometimes we fantasize that we are more materially advanced than previous civilizations, considering our archeological findings. We will learn from the Mahabharata that human beings had superior intelligence and stronger bodies in bygone ages. A man could capture knowledge just by hearing it once and could recall it anytime during his life, verbatim. He didn't need computers, printing presses or books, for just by hearing from teachers and authorities once, he would remember it for the rest of his life. However, today, we are not so fortunate. The brain cannot retain knowledge just by hearing once. The knowledge needs to be repeated again and again. We need computers and books to help us for we lack that power of remembrance. Oral tradition is actually superior if the brain is superior.
In this first chapter of the Adi Parva, Ganga, the goddess of the river Ganges, was married to Maharaja Shantanu to fulfill the curse of Vashistha Muni. The children born of their marriage were destined to die after birth, due to a sin that was performed in a previous life. Today, children are killed in the womb for the same reason. If we kill, we will be killed. That is the law of nature or karma. For sins committed in a previous life, we suffer in this life. If a child is aborted in this life, that child killed in a previous life. How...
JagadanandaPanditaDas