SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM: CANTO 9

(1) The son of Vyâsadeva said: 'I shall now describe the dynasty of Pûru in which you were born o son of Bharata; the kings of that dynasty were one after the other all saintly and many a brahmin line of descendants came forth from it. (2) Janamejaya was the one who appeared from Pûru, Pracinvân was his son and from him was there Pravîra after whom Manusyu appeared; it was of him that Cârupada appeared.

(3) The son appearing from him was Sudyu who had a son named Bahugava of whom was born Samyâti who had a son named Ahamyâti; the memorable Raudrâs'va was his son. (4-5) With an apsara girl known as Ghritâcî were there, alike the ten senses [of action and perception] from the life force of the universal self, ten sons born: Riteyu, Kaksheyu, Sthandileyu, Kriteyuka, Jaleyu, Sannateyu, Dharmeyu, Satyeyu, Vrateyu and Vaneyu as the youngest. (6) From Riteyu appeared a son named Rantinâva and his three sons, o ruler of man, were Sumati, Dhruva and Apratiratha. Kanva was Apratiratha's son. (7) From him there was Medhâtithi from whom there were Praskanna and others who were all twice-born souls. From Sumati there was Rebhi whose son is the known Dushmanta.

(8-9) Once Dushmanta went hunting and arrived at the âs'rama of Kanva. When he came there saw he a woman sitting who shone in her own beauty like the goddess of fortune. Seeing her he directly felt himself strongly drawn towards her, such a manifest divine beauty of a woman, and surrounded by some soldiers addressed he that best of all ladies. (10) Exhilarated by her presence was he relieved of the fatigue of his hunting excursion and asked he, driven by lusty feelings, with pleasing words jokingly: (11) 'Who are you o lotuspetal-eyed lady, whom do you belong to, o beauty to my heart, and what are your intentions being all by yourself here in the forest? (12) It appears you're of royal blood. Be sure that I as a descendant of Pûru, o raving beauty, am never of a mind to enjoy against the dharma whenever!'

(13) S'rî S'akuntalâ said: 'I, born from Vis'vâmitra, was all alone left behind in this forest by Menakâ [her mother]; Kanva that finest saint, knows all about it! O my hero, what may I do for you? (14) Please come and sit with me o lotus eyed one, accept my humble service, eat from the nîvârâ ['of a virgin'] rice that I have to offer and stay here if you wish so.'

(15) S'rî Dushmanta answered: 'This o beautiful eyebrows, is worthy your position of being born in the family of Vis'vâmitra; it is indeed so that the daughters of a royal family select to their own idea their husbands [a gandharva marriage].'

(16) Saying Aum [see B.G. 17: 24] to this, married the king, fully aware of what would befit the time and place, S'akuntalâ in line with the dharma to the gandharva rule. (17) Unerring in his virility [only for a child discharging] deposited the saintly king his semen in the queen and returned he in the morning to his own place. After due time gave she then birth to a son. (18) Kanva Muni executed in the forest the prescribed ceremonies for the son who as a child was remembered to capture a lion by force and play with it.

(19) Him, insurmountable in his strength as a partial expansion of the Lord, was by her, the best of women, taken along approaching her husband. (20) When the king did not accept them as his real wife and son, while they had done nothing wrong, could by all people be heard a loud sound from the sky: it was an unembodied voice declaring: (21) 'Since the mother is like a bellows to the son of the father that begot him, belongs the son to the father; just maintain your son o Dushmanta and do not offend S'akuntalâ! (22) What S'akuntalâ said of you being the procreator of this child is the truth; he who discharged the semen, o god of man, your good self, is the one who by the son must be saved from the punishment of [the Lord of] death.'

(23) After his father passed away was the king succeeded by his son and he became an emperor of great fame and glory celebrated as a partial representation of the Lord on this earth [see also B.G. 10: 41]. (24-26) With the mark of the cakra on his right hand and the mark of the lotuswhorl on his soles, was he of worship with a great ceremony and was he promoted to the position of the topmost ruler and master over everything. Fifty-five horses he used for the sacrifices from the mouth of the Ganges up to the source for which he, the mighty one, appointed Bhrigu as the priest. In due order he also did so at the bank of Yamunâ where he bound [the as'vamedha plate to] seventy-eight horses of sacrifice. Of him Bharata, the son of Dushmanta, were riches given in charity, was the sacrifice established on an excellent site and were shares of a badva [13.084] cows handed out to the brahmins present. (27) The son of Dushmanta brought together for the yajña the astonishing number of three-thousand three-hundred horses and surpassed [thus], in achieving the opulence of the demigods and the Supreme Spiritual Master, all the kings. (28) In the mashnâra sacrifice gave he in charity fourteen lakhs of fine black elephants with the whitest tusks, complete with golden ornaments [mashnâra refers to the name of the place]. (29) Like it for certain is impossible to seize the heavenly planets by the strength of one's arms is it neither possible to parallel the exalted activities of Bharata, nor will any of the human rulers after him ever be able to attain such a thing. (30) All such barbarian rulers of man against the brahminical culture as the Kirâtas [Africans], the northern tribes [the Huns], the Yavanas [the meat-eaters] the Paundras [the wild men of south Bihar and Bengal] and the Kankas [kankana means bracelet], the Khas'âs [the Mongolians] and the S'akas [women/men] he killed conquering all directions. (31) Formerly conquering the godly had all the Asuras who had taken shelter of the lower worlds [Rasâtala] brought all the wives and daughters of the godly to that place below, but he took them with all their associates back to their original places. (32) For twenty-seven thousand years provided he whatever his subjects desired both on earth as in heaven and his order and command ruled in all directions. (33) He the emperor, the ruler of all rulers and places, impeccable with the opulences of the power, the realm, the order of state and such, in the end considered all of his life and goods false and thus stopped he enjoying them. (34) Of him there were, o master of man, three wives, daughters of Vidarbha, who all three were most pleasing and suitable. They afraid thinking that their sons, not being as perfect as their father, would be rejected, had killed them. (35) Thus frustrated in generating offspring performed he a marut-stoma sacrifice to beget sons whereupon the Maruts presented him Bharadvâja.

(36) [It had so happened that once] With his brother's pregnant wife desiring sex Brihaspati so inclined was forbidden to engage that way by the son in the womb, upon which he had cursed him discharging his semen anyway. (37) For Mamatâ [the mother], who out of fear to be abandoned for the illicit practice wanted to get rid of the child, was at its name-giving ceremony by the God-conscious the following verse pronounced: (38) 'O foolish woman, just keep it even though it's born from a double liaison' [and:] 'Though of an illicit connection, o Bhrihaspati, do maintain it!', and so was with this being said the child named Bharadvâja ['a burden for both'] because both the parents had turned away from it. (39) Even though the God-conscious encouraged to maintain it did the mother reject her child, with what had happened considering it without a purpose, and was it maintained by the Maruts and given [by them to Bharata] when the dynasty was unfulfilled.'

The son of Vyâsadeva said: 'I shall now describe the dynasty of Pûru in which you were born o son of Bharata; the kings of that dynasty were one after the other all saintly and many a brahmin line of descendants came forth from it.

S'ukadeva Gosvâmî said: O Mahârâja Parîkshit, descendant of Mahârâja Bharata, I shall now describe the dynasty of Pûru, in which you were born, in which many saintly kings appeared, and from which many dynasties of brâhmanas began. (Ved abase)

Text 2

Janamejaya was the one who appeared from Pûru, Pracinvân was his son and from him was there Pravîra after whom Manusyu appeared; it was of him that Cârupada appeared.

King Janamejaya was born of this dynasty of Pûru. Janamejaya's son was Pracinvân, and his son was Pravîra. Thereafter, Pravîra's son was Manusyu, and from Manusyu came the son named Cârupada. (Ved abase)

Text 3

The son appearing from him was Sudyu who had a son named Bahugava of whom was born Samyâti who had a son named Ahamyâti; the memorable Raudrâs'va was his son.

The son of Cârupada was Sudyu, and the son of Sudyu was Bahugava. Bahugava's son was Samyâti. From Samyâti came a son named Ahamyâti, from whom Raudrâs'va was born. (Ved abase)

Text 4-5:

With an apsara girl known as Ghritâcî were there, alike the ten senses [of action and perception] from the life force of the universal self, ten sons born: Riteyu, Kaksheyu, Sthandileyu, Kriteyuka, Jaleyu, Sannateyu, Dharmeyu, Satyeyu, Vrateyu and Vaneyu as the youngest.

Raudrâs'va had ten sons, named Riteyu, Kaksheyu, Sthandileyu, Kriteyuka, Jaleyu, Sannateyu, Dharmeyu, Satyeyu, Vrateyu and Vaneyu. Of these ten sons, Vaneyu was the youngest. As the ten senses, which are products of the universal life, act under the control of life, these ten sons of Raudrâs'va acted under Raudrâs'va's full control. All of them were born of the Apsara named Ghritâcî. (Vedabase)

Text 6

From Riteyu appeared a son named Rantinâva and his three sons, o ruler of man, were Sumati, Dhruva and Apratiratha. Kanva was Apratiratha's son.

Riteyu had a son named Rantinâva, who had three sons, named Sumati, Dhruva and Apratiratha. Apratiratha had only one son, whose name was Kanva. (Ved abase)

Text7:

From him there was Medhâtithi from whom there were Praskanna and others who were all twice-born souls. From Sumati there was Rebhi whose son is the known Dushmanta.

The son of Kanva was Medhâtithi, whose sons, all brâhmanas, were headed by Praskanna. The son of Rantinâva named Sumati had a son named Rebhi. Mahârâja Dushmanta is well known as the son of Rebhi. (Ved abase)

Text 8-9

Once Dushmanta went hunting and arrived at the âs'rama of Kanva. When he came there saw he a woman sitting who shone in her own beauty like the goddess of fortune. Seeing her he directly felt himself strongly drawn towards her, such a manifest divine beauty of a woman, and surrounded by some soldiers addressed he that best of all ladies.

Once when King Dushmanta went to the forest to hunt and was very much fatigued, he approached the residence of Kanva Muni. There he saw a most beautiful woman who looked exactly like the goddess of fortune and who sat there illuminating the entire âs'rama by her effulgence. The King was naturally attracted by her beauty, and therefore he approached her, accompanied by some of his soldiers, and spoke to her. (Ved abase)

Text 10

Exhilarated by her presence was he relieved of the fatigue of his hunting excursion and asked he, driven by lusty feelings, with pleasing words jokingly:

Seeing the beautiful woman, the King was very much enlivened, and the fatigue of his hunting excursion was relieved. He was of course very much attracted because of lusty desires, and thus he inquired from her as follows, in a joking mood. (Ved abase)

Text 11

'Who are you o lotuspetal-eyed lady, whom do you belong to o beauty to my heart and what are your intentions being all by yourself here in the forest?

O beautiful lotus-eyed woman, who are you? Whose daughter are you? What purpose do you have in this solitary forest? Why are you staying here? (Vedabase)

Text 12

It appears you're of royal blood. Be sure that I as a descendant of Pûru, o raving beauty, am never of a mind to enjoy against the dharma whenever!

O most beautiful one, it appears to my mind that you must be the daughter of a kshatriya. Because I belong to the Pûru dynasty, my mind never endeavors to enjoy anything irreligiously. (Ved abase)

Text 13

S'rî S'akuntalâ said: 'I, born from Vis'vâmitra, was all alone left behind in this forest by Menakâ [her mother]; Kanva that finest saint, knows all about it! O my hero, what may I do for you?

S'akuntalâ said: I am the daughter of Vis'vâmitra. My mother, Menakâ, left me in the forest. O hero, the most powerful saint Kanva Muni knows all about this. Now let me know, how may I serve you? (Ved abase)

Text 14

Please come and sit with me o lotus eyed one, accept my humble service, eat from the nîvârâ ['of a virgin'] rice that I have to offer and stay here if you wish so.

O King with eyes like the petals of a lotus, kindly come sit down and accept whatever reception we can offer. We have a supply of nîvârâ rice that you may kindly take. And if you so desire, stay here without hesitation. (Ved abase)

Text 15

S'rî Dushmanta answered: 'This o beautiful eyebrows, is worthy your position of being born in the family of Vis'vâmitra; it is indeed so that the daughters of a royal family select to their own idea their husbands [a gandharva marriage].'

King Dushmanta replied: O S'akuntalâ, with beautiful eyebrows, you have taken your birth in the family of the great saint Vis'vâmitra, and your reception is quite worthy of your family. Aside from this, the daughters of a king generally select their own husbands. (Ved abase)

Text 16

Saying Aum [see B.G. 17: 24] to this, married the king, fully aware of what would befit the time and place, S'akuntalâ in line with the dharma to the gandharva rule.

When S'akuntalâ responded to Mahârâja Dushmanta's proposal with silence, the agreement was complete. Then the King, who knew the laws of marriage, immediately married her by chanting the Vedic pranava [omkâra], in accordance with the marriage ceremony as performed among the Gandharvas. (Ved abase)

Text 17

Unerring in his virility [only for a child discharging] deposited the saintly king his semen in the queen and returned he in the morning to his own place. After due time gave she then birth to a son.

King Dushmanta, who never discharged semen without a result, placed his semen at night in the womb of his Queen, S'akuntalâ, and in the morning he returned to his palace. Thereafter, in due course of time, S'akuntalâ gave birth to a son. (Ved abase)

Text 18:

Kanva Muni executed in the forest the prescribed ceremonies for the son who as a child was remembered to capture a lion by force and play with it.

In the forest, Kanva Muni performed all the ritualistic ceremonies concerning the newborn child. Later, the boy became so powerful that he would capture a lion and play with it. (Ved abase)

Text 19:

Him, insurmountable in his strength as a partial expansion of the Lord, was by her, the best of women, taken along approaching her husband.

S'akuntalâ, the best of beautiful women, along with her son, whose strength was insurmountable and who was a partial expansion of the Supreme Godhead, approached her husband, Dushmanta. (Vedabase)

Text 20:

When the king did not accept them as his real wife and son, while they had done nothing wrong, could by all people be heard a loud sound from the sky: it was an unembodied voice declaring:

When the King refused to accept his wife and son, who were both irreproachable, an unembodied voice spoke from the sky as an omen and was heard by everyone present. (Ved abase)

Text 21:

'Since the mother is like a bellows to the son of the father that begot him, belongs the son to the father; just maintain your son o Dushmanta and do not offend S'akuntalâ!

The voice said: O Mahârâja Dushmanta, a son actually belongs to his father, whereas the mother is only a container, like the skin of a bellows. According to Vedic injunctions, the father is born as the son. Therefore, maintain your own son and do not insult S'akuntalâ. (Ved abase)

Text 22:

What S'akuntalâ said of you being the procreator of this child is the truth; he who discharged the semen, o god of man, your good self, is the one who by the son must be saved from the punishment of [the Lord of] death.'

O King Dushmanta, he who discharges semen is the actual father, and his son saves him from the custody of Yamarâja. You are the actual procreator of this child. Indeed, S'akuntalâ is speaking the truth. (Ved ab ase)

Text 23:

After his father passed away was the king succeeded by his son and he became an emperor of great fame and glory celebrated as a partial representation of the Lord on this earth [see also B.G. 10: 41].

S'ukadeva Gosvâmî said: When Mahârâja Dushmanta passed away from this earth, his son became the emperor of the world, the proprietor of the seven islands. He is referred to as a partial representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in this world. (Ved abase)

Text 24-26

With the mark of the cakra on his right hand and the mark of the lotuswhorl on his soles, was he of worship with a great ceremony and was he promoted to the position of the topmost ruler and master over everything. Fifty-five horses he used for the sacrifices from the mouth of the Ganges up to the source for which he, the mighty one, appointed Bhrigu as the priest. In due order he also did so at the bank of Yamunâ where he bound [the as'vamedha plate to] seventy-eight horses of sacrifice. Of him Bharata, the son of Dushmanta, were riches given in charity, was the sacrifice established on an excellent site and were shares of a badva [13.084] cows handed out to the brahmins present.

Mahârâja Bharata, the son of Dushmanta, had the mark of Lord Krishna's disc on the palm of his right hand, and he had the mark of a lotus whorl on the soles of his feet. By worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead with a grand ritualistic ceremony, he became the emperor and master of the entire world. Then, under the priesthood of Mâmateya, Bhrigu Muni, he performed fifty-five horse sacrifices on the bank of the Ganges, beginning from its mouth and ending at its source, and seventy-eight horse sacrifices on the bank of the Yamunâ, beginning from the confluence at Prayâga and ending at the source. He established the sacrificial fire on an excellent site, and he distributed great wealth to the brâhmanas. Indeed, he distributed so many cows that each of thousands of brâhmanas had one badva [13,084] as his share. (Ved abase)

Text 27

The son of Dushmanta brought together for the yajña the astonishing number of three-thousand three-hundred horses and surpassed [thus], in achieving the opulence of the demigods and the Supreme Spiritual Master, all the kings.

Bharata, the son of Mahârâja Dushmanta, bound thirty-three hundred horses for those sacrifices, and thus he astonished all other kings. He surpassed even the opulence of the demigods, for he achieved the supreme spiritual master, Hari. (Ved abase)

Text 28

In the mashnâra sacrifice gave he in charity fourteen lakhs of fine black elephants with the whitest tusks, complete with golden ornaments [mashnâra refers to the name of the place].

When Mahârâja Bharata performed the sacrifice known as Mashnâra [or a sacrifice in the place known as Mashnâra], he gave in charity fourteen lakhs of excellent elephants with white tusks and black bodies, completely covered with golden ornaments. (Ved abase)

Text 29

Like it for certain is impossible to seize the heavenly planets by the strength of one's arms is it neither possible to parallel the exalted activities of Bharata, nor will any of the human rulers after him ever be able to attain such a thing.

As one cannot approach the heavenly planets simply by the strength of his arms (for who can touch the heavenly planets with his hands?), one cannot imitate the wonderful activities of Mahârâja Bharata. No one could perform such activities in the past, nor will anyone be able to do so in the future. (Ved abase)

Text 30

All such barbarian rulers of man against the brahminical culture as the Kirâtas [Africans], the northern tribes [the Huns], the Yavanas [the meat-eaters] the Paundras [the wild men of south Bihar and Bengal] and the Kankas [kankana means bracelet], the Khas'âs [the Mongolians] and the S'akas [women/men] he killed conquering all directions.

When Mahârâja Bharata was on tour, he defeated or killed all the Kirâtas, Hûnas, Yavanas, Paundras, Kankas, Khas'as, S'akas and the kings who were opposed to the Vedic principles of brahminical culture. (Ved abase)

Text 31

Formerly conquering the godly had all the Asuras who had taken shelter of the lower worlds [Rasâtala] brought all the wives and daughters of the godly to that place below, but he took them with all their associates back to their original places.

Formerly, after conquering the demigods, all the demons had taken shelter in the lower planetary system known as Rasâtala and had brought all the wives and daughters of the demigods there also. Mahârâja Bharata, however, rescued all those women, along with their associates, from the clutches of the demons, and he returned them to the demigods. (Ved abase)

Text 32

For twenty-seven thousand years provided he whatever his subjects desired both on earth as in heaven and his order and command ruled in all directions.

Mahârâja Bharata provided all necessities for his subjects, both on this earth and in the heavenly planets, for twenty-seven thousand years. He circulated his orders and distributed his soldiers in all directions. (Ved abase)

Text 33

He the emperor, the ruler of all rulers and places, impeccable with the opulences of the power, the realm, the order of state and such, in the end considered all of his life and goods false and thus stopped he enjoying them.

As the ruler of the entire universe, Emperor Bharata had the opulences of a great kingdom and unconquerable soldiers. His sons and family had seemed to him to be his entire life. But finally he thought of all this as an impediment to spiritual advancement, and therefore he ceased from enjoying it. (Ved abase)

Text 34

Of him there were, o master of man, three wives, daughters of Vidarbha, who all three were most pleasing and suitable. They afraid thinking that their sons, not being as perfect as their father, would be rejected, had killed them.

O King Parîkshit, Mahârâja Bharata had three pleasing wives, who were daughters of the King of Vidarbha. When all three of them bore children who did not resemble the King, these wives thought that he would consider them unfaithful queens and reject them, and therefore they killed their own sons. (Ved abase)

Text 35

Thus frustrated in generating offspring performed he a marut-stoma sacrifice to beget sons whereupon the Maruts presented him Bharadvâja.

The King, his attempt for progeny frustrated in this way, performed a sacrifice named marut-stoma to get a son. The demigods known as the Maruts, being fully satisfied with him, then presented him a son named Bharadvâja. (Ved abase)

Text 36

[It had so happened that once] With his brother's pregnant wife desiring sex Brihaspati so inclined was forbidden to engage that way by the son in the womb, upon which he had cursed him discharging his semen anyway.

When the demigod named Brihaspati was attracted by his brother's wife, Mamatâ, who at that time was pregnant, he desired to have sexual relations with her. The son within her womb forbid this, but Brihaspati cursed him and forcibly discharged semen into the womb of Mamatâ. (Ved abase)

Text 37

For Mamatâ [the mother], who out of fear to be abandoned for the illicit practice wanted to get rid of the child, was at its name-giving ceremony by the God-conscious the following verse pronounced:

Mamatâ very much feared being forsaken by her husband for giving birth to an illegitimate son, and therefore she considered giving up the child. But then the demigods solved the problem by enunciating a name for the child. (Ved abase)

Text 38

'O foolish woman, just keep it even though it's born from a double liaison' [and so said she:] 'Though of a illicit connection, o Brihaspati, do maintain it!', and so was with this being said the child named Bharadvâja ['a burden for both'] because both the parents had turned away from it.

Brihaspati said to Mamatâ, "You foolish woman, although this child was born from the wife of one man through the semen discharged by another, you should maintain him." Upon hearing this, Mamatâ replied, "O Brihaspati, you maintain him!" After speaking in this way, Brihaspati and Mamatâ both left. Thus the child was known as Bharadvâja. (Ved abase)

Text 39

Even though the God-conscious encouraged to maintain it did the mother reject her child, with what had happened considering it without a purpose, and was it maintained by the Maruts and given [by them to Bharata] when the dynasty was unfulfilled.

Although encouraged by the demigods to maintain the child, Mamatâ considered him useless because of his illicit birth, and therefore she left him. Consequently, the demigods known as the Maruts maintained the child, and when Mahârâja Bharata was disappointed for want of a child, this child was given to him as his son. (Ved abase)