| YouTube Channel

और्वोपाख्यान (aurvopAkhyAna)

 
Mahabharata
English
Aurvopākhyāna(ṃ) (“the episode relating to Aurva”). § 227 (Parāśara): King Kṛtavīrya, the yājya of the Bhṛgus, at the end of the Soma sacrifice gratified the brahmans with large offerings. After he had ascended to heaven, it came to happen that his descendants were in want of wealth. Knowing that the Bhṛgus were rich, they went to them and begged. Some amongst the Bhṛgus buried their wealth under the earth, some gave it away to brahmans, and some duly gave it to the kshattriyas. Some kshattriyas, while digging at the house of a Bhārgava, came upon a large treasure. The kshattriyas then began to kill the Bhṛgus with their arrows all over the earth, even the embryos. A Bhṛgu woman fled to Himavat, holding an embryo in one of her thighs (“for 100 years, ” v. 6822). From fear a brahman woman reported this to the kshattriyas. The kshattriyas then went to destroy that embryo, which, however, came out, tearing open the thigh and dazzling the eyes of the kshattriyas so that they lost their sight. They asked the woman that they might be restored to sight, promising to abstain from their sinful practice (I, 178). She told them to ask the child, which they did, and regaining their eyesights they went away. The child (viprarshi) was named Aurva, because he had been born after tearing open his mother's thigh (ūru). Aurva devoted himself to the austerest of penances with the object of destroying the whole world to gratify his ancestors. The Pitṛs then all came from Pitṛloka, and said: “Be propitious towards the three worlds. Having grown weary with the long periods of life allotted to us, we desired our own destruction through the kshattriyas. Such as commit suicide never attain to regions that are blessed, therefore we abstained from self-destruction” (I, 179). When Aurva replied that his vow must not be in vain, the Pitṛs prevailed upon him to throw his wrath into the waters of the ocean, the whole universe being made of water. It became a large horse-head, which, emitting fire from its mouth, consumes the waters of the ocean (I, 180).-§ 228: Hearing this the viprarshi Parāśara controlled his wrath from destroying the worlds. But he performed a great rākshasa sacrifice and began to burn the rākshasas in it, and Vasishṭha did not restrain him. Desirous of ending that sacrifice the ṛshi Atri came to that place, and also Pulastya and Pulaha and Kratu, desiring to save the rākshasas. Seeing that many rākshasas had already been slain, Pulastya said: “That which befell thy father was brought about by his own curse! No rākshasa was capable of devouring Śakti
he himself provided for his own death! Viśvāmitra was only a blind instrument in that matter. Both Śakti and Kalmāshapāda have ascended to heaven, and are enjoying great happiness, as also the other sons of Vasishṭha. Abandon this sacrifice of thine.” Parāśara then brought his sacrifice to an end, and threw the fire into the woods on the north of the Himavat, where it may be seen to this day consuming rākshasas and trees and stones in all seasons (parvaṇi parvaṇi) (I, 181).