Bits of life

J-27 Words-2000

to leave for his kingdom soon. He promised her that soon after he reached his palace, he would send an envoy to the ashram to fetch her to Hastinapur. He gave her his signet ring as a symbol of recognition and left. After his departure, Shakuntala’s only engagement was to be absorbed in the thoughts of Dushyantha and their days of shared love. Her father Kanwa who was away on a pilgrimage during the period of change in Shakuntala’s life came to know of the things that transpired between Shakuntala and king Dushyantha through Priyamvada. He decided to wait and see if the king would send his envoy to take Shakuntala to his palace and then declare her as his queen.

One day sage named Durvasa came to the ashram of Kanwa. Although Shakuntala was outside in the garden sitting on a stone slab, she didn’t notice the arrival of Durvasa who was famous for quick temper. He called her by name a few times. Yet, being engaged in the thoughts of Dushyantha, shakuntala did not pay heed to the rishi. Durvasa’s anger rose and he cursed her saying that whoever was occupying her thoughts would forget her forthwith. Priyamvada and Anasuya pleaded and implored with the rishi to show some solution dissolving the curse. He took pity on shakuntala and granted that when the king Dushyantha would look at the ring given by him to Shakuntala at the time he left her, he would recall the love affair he had with her and would take her back as he promised.

The signet ring given to shakuntala got lost in the river when she was traveling by boat. So there was no way the king could remember his marriage to her.

Sage Kanwa came to know of the curse given by Durvasa and decided to wait for the right time for the dissolution of the curse. Kanwa waited for the king’s envoy and when nothing came of that expectation, he took Shakuntala to the king’s palace. At his ashram he bid her good bye as a father would do before his married daughter would leave for her husband’s place. It was no doubt, a sad moment for both the daughter and father.
At the king’s court, Kanwa and Shakuntala were let in and they were asked by the minister to tell the king what they came here for. When rishi Kanwa told him of the story of his arrival at the ashram and his secret marriage with Shakuntala and of the signet ring he had given her promising to send an envoy to fetch her to the palace, the king looked innocent of these events. Disappointed with the king’s attitude of indifference, Kanwa took Shakuntala back to the ashram.

Life had changed during the next few months. Shakuntala gave birth to a baby boy. She named him Bharata and made an effort to bring him up as a brave child. She had joined him under the sages of the different ashrams who taught every discipline necessary for a child to train in. Bharata was a strong boy. As a child of two years, he played with tiger cubs and other wild animals of the surrounding forest. He also started having tuition in various educational and martial disciplines by the rishis living in the neighborhood.

The fishermen community of Hastinapur went to the sea for hunting after the summer season. One of them caught a big fish and brought it home. When his wife gutted it, she saw a valuable gold ring in its belly. Surprised at the rare finding, the fisherman took it to the king’s court and showed it to the king. King Dushyantha looked on the ring and immediately recalled his relationship with Shakuntala. He felt sad and repentant at the way he behaved with her and rishi Kanwa. Without delay he had sent his palace guards with a palanquin for Shakuntala and an envoy through whom he expressed his deep regret for what had happened. He felt sorry and asked her for forgiveness.

Shakuntala was once again taken to Dushyanta’s kingdom in Hastinapur, this time with the king’s entourage accompanying her. Soon their marriage once announced through the land and the people accepted her as their queen.

Eventually, Bharata became the king and founded the Bharata Empire. He ruled for many years and India got its name “Bharat” from him. He was an important ancestor of the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
King Bharata had no efficient progeny. Though he had sons of his own, he found none of them to be worthy enough to become the king of the country and rule the people efficiently. So he made a commoner his inheritor. His name was Shantanu. Shantanu attained fame and glory by performing a supreme yaga called Ashwamedha yaga by which he conquered several kingdoms dukedoms and attached them to his own empire
Ashwamedha yaga-
As the name indicates it was a yaga (a ceremony that involves holy fire and to the chanting of various mantras sacrifices were offered. Sacrifice stands for offering of various grains, materials as gold and silver and ghee made from cow’s milk, sandal wood for making fire, herbs of a wide variety.) involving a horse chosen from among the best of its kind.

After the completion of the Ashwamedha yaga, the yagadhipathi (meaning the performer of the yaga) would let horse (ashwa means horse in Sanskrit) run whichever direction it chose. In the places that it stopped, the heads of those particular states would surrender to the yagadhipathi. In case a particular head didn’t surrender, the yagadhipathi (in this case, Shantanu) would declare war on him and conquer that land and he would attach it to his own. Suppose that particular king opposed and conquered the yagadhipathi in the war then the horse would become his own and he would take over the rival’s kingdom. The task was quite challenging. King Shantanu performed many such Ashwamedha yagas and attained fame.
Shantanu had many of his desires fulfilled. Conquering new countries, bringing them all under one administration with Hastinapur as his capital, ruling with principles and keeping the welfare of the as his major priority were done with great attention and concern. He was a young man and a handsome person as well. He was not married yet and he was at the right stage for it.
On a cool spring evening, king Shantanu went for a stroll on the bank of river Ganga. He alighted from his horse and tied it to the trunk of a tall tree and started walking on the river bank. All was calm except for a soft breeze that ruffled the lightest of leaves on the gooseberry trees around. Shantanu saw a beautiful girl wandering about on the shore. He was unable to take off his glance off her face. Then he neared her and asked to marry him. The girl said,
“O king! I am Ganga. I am willing to marry you on one condition.”
The king asked her to speak her mind.
“after my marriage to you, you should not question my actions. I will behave as I wish. The minute you raise a question and ask for a response, I will walk out on you and I will never return.”
Shantanu, desperate to marry Ganga promised her everything would be as she wished and wanted. He brought her to the palace and married her as per the royal tradition. They led a happy life and a year later, Ganga gave birth to a boy child. Soon after the birth of the child, she took him to the river Ganges and drowned him. Shantanu was stunned out of his wits but couldn’t dare to ask her the reason behind her action. They had six more children, all boys. Ganga did the same with them as with her first child. Shantanu was becoming absolutely frustrated and angry with Ganga. He thought her inhuman and heartless. What kind of mother would do such a monstrous thing?

They had an eighth child on an auspicious day. Soon after the birth of the baby boy, Ganga started walking towards the bank of the river to drown it. Unable to control his instinct to save the child from drowning Shantanu stopped her and asked her,

“Why do you do that? Aren’t you the mother of the children you have been drowning all these years?”

Shantanu knew the outcome of his stopping Ganga from what she was doing. Yet he stopped her because he was a human being with emotions which he could no longer control.

“O King! I am doing this with a reason and a purpose. The children I have been giving birth to are actually born here due to a curse set on them by sage Vasistha. They were all heavenly entities named vasus (vasus are the attendant deities of Indra representing the elements of nature i.e water, fire, air, earth, sky sun, moon and stars.) once they visited the earth and went to sage Vasistha’s hermitage. They saw the holy cow, Kamadhenu and one of the vasus named Prabhasa wanted to steal it from the rishi Vasistha. The others helped in stealing it. So the sage Vasistha cursed them to be born as human mortals. Repenting for the misdeed they committed they implored with the sage Vasistha to forgive them and suggest a solution to remove the curse. The rishi softened the effect of the curse for the seven vasus. He told them that the moment they would be born, their mother Ganga would drown them and their curse would get mitigated. However, Prabhasa who was responsible for the theft was given a more severe punishment. He would live longer and bear with mortal life. The bright feather in his crown would be that he would become famous by his prudence and wisdom, archery and war craft. This child who is our eighth child is Prabhasa. I am taking him with me to get him educated by the celestial teachers and when he grows to boyhood, I will bring him back.”

Soon after that incident, Ganga disappeared along with the infant.
From then on Shantanu led an austere life. He gave up pleasures and luxuries of royal life and led a simple and spiritually oriented life.

On an evening when there were strong winds and a stormy weather prevailing, Shantanu took a walk on the banks of the river Ganga. He saw a little boy of four or five playing with his beautiful mother on the shore. He was shooting arrows and building a bridge with them on the rising waves of the river. As the king transfixed at the sight of a small boy making a bridge across the Ganges, the lady saw him. She came to him with a smile and said,

“O King Shantanu! I am Ganga your erstwhile queen. This is your son whom I took with me to get him educated. Now he is ready with his education completed. He read the Vedas and he well versed in all spiritual doctrines. He is also an expert in the art of arms and statecraft. He is the finest of archers. He will be a guide to future generations of your dynasty and will bring fame and name to the family that rules the kingdom of Hastinapur. Take him with you and have the pleasure of seeing him grow.”

Shantanu took the little boy, Deva Vrata to his palace and spent his time in taking care of him. The child Deva Vrata was ideal in every aspect. As he grew his abilities and efficiency too started unfolding. Soon he was a strapping young man. Shantanu was most happy whenever he gazed at Deva Vrata. He started making plans to make him the crown prince.

Shantanu was completely free from his daily chores of courtly importance. His time now was his own. Leisurely life might have planted seeds of desire in him. Soon he started