Verse 1

In plain words

2. The Birth of the Foremost of Bhāgavatas King Parīkṣit — the very self of Abhimanyu, who had attained the heaven of heroes — was growing in the womb of Uttarā when the divine missile released by Aśvatthāma came hurtling toward him at great speed, spewing sparks. Then someone divinely beautiful, holding the discus in His hand, came at great speed and cut Aśvatthāma's missile to pieces. King Parīkṣit, there in the womb, watched this with his own eyes; overcome with wonder, he thought to himself in this way: "Dwelling here with me in this womb, cutting down the missile that was coming to kill me, and protecting me — who can this boy be? Since He too dwells in the very womb where I am, shall I think of Him as my brother? If so, where did He get a discus? If He has a discus, surely I too should have had such a discus? So this is no ordinary human being." As he thought this, turning it over within himself in many ways, the boy who had protected him in the womb, radiant with the light of a crore of suns, dark and beautiful, drew near to him and vanished. The child, King Parīkṣit, who had seen this sight with his own eyes, kept remembering that divinely beautiful form alone, ceaselessly, as he

went on growing in the womb. In this way, when twice five months — ten months — had passed, a radiant boy emerged from Uttarā's womb. The moment he was born, the boy's radiance lit up the birth-chamber. It dazzled the eyes of the women who were there. They could not look upon that boy's radiance; for some minutes their wits were numbed. Subhadrā, recovering somehow, sent this good news to Yudhiṣṭhira through a maidservant. As soon as the sons of Pāṇḍu, who had been waiting, heard the good news, they were rapt with Ānanda and ordered every auspicious instrument to be played. They fired cannons. "Our lineage has survived!" — and they were filled with a sweet Ānanda. Meanwhile Yudhiṣṭhira sent word to the household priest. The citizens, hearing the auspicious music, asked what the cause was, and came running toward Indraprastha in crowds upon crowds, forming long lines. On that day not Indraprastha alone but the whole country shared in this Ānanda. Yudhiṣṭhira distributed sweets of many kinds to all who came. He gave cows in gift to the Brahmins. He sent word to the inner palace that turmeric and kuṅkuma be offered to the women in golden bowls. Within minutes they had made the whole city into a beautiful, divine mansion. They distributed silk pītāmbaras, the nine gems and other precious things to the Brahmins. All the citizens, rapt with joy that a scion of the Pāṇḍavas had been born, kept raising cries of "Victory! Victory!" In this way, on King Parīkṣit's birthday, the citizens enjoyed their Ānanda in the city with entertainments of many kinds, making no distinction between day and night. On the second day Yudhiṣṭhira summoned Kṛpācārya, the family priest, and had the jātakarma and the other saṃskāras performed. He gave valuable ornaments to the Brahmins who had come, and sent them away satisfied. The paṇḍits who had come blessed the boy in many ways and went back to their own homes.

On the third day Yudhiṣṭhira, desiring that no blemish should come upon the lovely fame of Bharatavarṣa, summoned the famous astrologers, the sāmudrikas and the foretellers of the future in the kingdom. He had fitting seats arranged for them, welcomed them with fragrant perfumes, offered them wealth, gold and garments, and requested them to grace the high seats. The Astrologers Tell the Fruits of Parīkṣit's Horoscope The famous men who had come each took their own places. Yudhiṣṭhira, joining his palms, bowed to them and prayed thus: "O knowers of the three times, who know past, future and present! My prayer is that you look at the birth-lagna and the planetary positions of the child born to us and tell us their fruit." So saying, he wrote the time of birth on a sheet of paper, placed it on a golden tray and handed it to them. Then the Brahmin astrologers first received the paper bearing the time from the golden plate, cast the infant's lagna-chart and set out the positions of the planets. Each of them, exclaiming "Āhā! Āhā!", expressed his Ānanda; with minds delighted, savouring that Ānanda, each describing it more than the next, they sank into a state where they could not think what to say. Then the best among the paṇḍits, who held the foremost seat among them, rose and said: "Mahārāja! To this day I have seen so many horoscopes. I have cast so many charts. But I have never seen or heard of so sacred a lagna-chart as this. Every kind of happiness has gathered in one place. It has reached the very place of Viṣṇu Himself. Every good quality brims over in it. Why say more? There is no doubt in saying that Manu himself has been born again in your lineage." With that, he sat down. Yudhiṣṭhira, extolling his own good fortune, joined his palms in Ānanda and answered in this manner: "Through the grace of the elders, and through God's

gracious glance, and through the blessings of the best of paṇḍits such as you, we have been able once again to obtain such a jewel of a son in our lineage. Yet whatever auspicious marks there may be in the lagna-chart, what meaning would they have if he lacked the good qualities of serving paṇḍits, Brahmins and sādhus, as our tradition requires? So will such sacred good qualities become part of this boy's nature, or not? If you would look at the lagna-chart and tell me, I shall be blessed." So he asked to know once more. To that, the Brahmin, a knower of the divine, said: "Mahārāja! You need not have the slightest doubt about that. He will be a devotee of the gods and of the Brahmins. He will perform yajñas, yāgas and the other kratus. He will attain the same renown and good fame that your ancestor Bharata earned. He will perform even the Aśvamedha and the other great yāgas. He will spread the honour of his lineage over the earth. He will win the esteem of gods, dānavas and humans alike. Indeed one may say that no such great soul has ever before been born in your lineage." So they set forth good qualities and good conduct of many kinds. Though there were many more auspicious signs and good qualities still, the knowers of the divine lacked the courage to speak of them, fearing that the king might think them exaggerations if they said too much; so they related only the main points and fell silent. Meanwhile Dharmaja, who had been listening to the boy's virtues and good conduct, could not have his fill however much he heard, and kept wishing to know still more. The astrologers noticed his eagerness and, wishing to show their own eagerness as well, submitted humbly: "O King! You wish to know something more. You may ask without hesitation. We too rejoice to tell it." Seizing the moment, Yudhiṣṭhira, full of eagerness, came forward and said: "O Vipras! In this boy's reign,

will any wars at all break out for him? And if they do, will victory be his?" So he asked. Then the Vipras said: "Mahārāja! During his reign he will have no one who could even be called an enemy. So why fear war? In his life the thing called defeat will not come — it does not exist. This is truth, truth." The moment all the Vipras spoke this with one voice, Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva and the rest, who had been listening with Yudhiṣṭhira and rejoicing, looked into one another's faces and expressed their Ānanda. Whatever the Cause or Occasion, Karma Must Take Its Course Meanwhile Dharmaja began, "If that is so…", about to ask something, and then, saying nothing more, nodded his head and appeared to be pondering something. The Vipras said: "Mahārāja! There is something you intend to ask. We are ready to tell you everything without hesitation. So do not hide it; reveal it." And so they gave him courage. Then Dharmaja said: "Ah, it is nothing at all. You have declared that the boy's virtues are great, that he will have no enemies, that he will perform yajñas, yāgas and the other kratus, that he will uplift the lineage, that there will be no wars at all, and that the very word 'defeat' will not enter his life. It is a great Ānanda. But I wish to hear, just once, how his final end will be." Seeing him ask this, faltering somewhat, his brothers said: "Why this doubt now? We shall see to the state of things then, when that time comes. Whatever its cause or occasion, karma cannot fail to take its course. What is born cannot but die. The more our elder brother's Ānanda grows, the further the matter is going astray. This much is enough. Beyond that, whatever the divine will is, so it will come to pass." And with that they kept quiet. But Dharmaja would not rest with that; because his curiosity to know grew intense, he asked, thinking that the final end of so virtuous a one

might well be something truly wonderful. As he asked, the Brahmins cast some charts again, made their calculations, and sank for a while into thought. Seeing this, Dharmaja began to question them anxiously. Then the astrologers said: "Mahārāja! Because of a sage's curse, he will renounce the kingdom." At those words Dharmaja was startled: "What! A sage's curse? They said he would have no enemies at all, that he would win the esteem of all, that gods, dānavas, humans and all the rest would bear him goodwill, that he would serve the devotees of the gods and of the Brahmins. How can one so rich in good conduct become the target of a sage's curse? What wrong could he possibly commit? This is astonishing!" So he pondered. Then the Brahmins, going by their astrological calculations, told him that it could be seen that a snake would bite him. The moment he heard those words, Dharmaja sank down, crushed. The Ānanda he had enjoyed all that while vanished in an instant, and grief grew and grew.