The sage continued.
The story of dynasty of Bharata, needs to start with Bharat himself. And to tell that I need to tell you about Dushyanta.
He was a great king, enemy of enemies; friend of all good. He kept his subjects very happy.
One day the king was out hunting. Loosing his way, he found himself in a deep forest. He found the forest full of wild animals which he killed. Roaming around he across a hut of a sage. He could hear the sound of birds chirping there. He did not dare shoot any of the birds, lest the sage curse him.
He told his followers to wait there. He decided to go, meet the sage and after taking his blessings, he would return. The sage was not in his hut at that time, but the sage's daughter, Shakuntala, was there and she served the king, as a guest who was visiting the sage.
The king seeing Shakuntala, fell in love with her. He had never anyone else who was so beautiful. He said, Fair Maiden, I am Dushyanta, the king, I have come to meet and take blessings of the sage Kanva, who lives here. Where has he gone? Who are you, fair maiden?
The girl said Father has gone deep into the forests and will be back soon. If stay a bit longer you will meet him. I am daughter of the sage Kanva.
The king said he had not seen anyone so beautiful. He also said that he had heard that the sage was celibate and had no wife. So how could he then have a daughter, so beautiful? Tell me the truth - Who are you?
The girl, Listen to the story of my birth and how I became the daughter of Kanva,
The sage Vishwamitra was praying in the forests. He had given up food and his penance was austere. Seeing this Indra got scared. Indra thought Vishwamitra wanted to take over his heaven. He sent for the apsara Menaka, whose beauty was incomparable in all the worlds. He told her to go and break the penance of Vishwamitra.
Menaka, with folded hands, bowed down to Indra. She said Vishwamitra is known in all three worlds for his anger. He was responsible for the death of the sons of Vashistha. Though born a king, by his own qualities he has become a brahman. You are afraid of him and his penance, how can I go and destroy that? As you have asked me to go, I will not disrespect your command and will go, whatever be the consequences. I need Kama, God of Love and gentle breezes to accompany me.
She went to the mountain where the sage was meditating and seeing him, started trembling in fear.Controlling herself, she went near the sage and started playing around, singing and dancing. The winds that were blowing blew off her garments which went and fell on the sage. At the same time, Kama shot his darts of love. The sage opened his eyes and saw a naked woman trying to collect her clothes. The darts of Kama had their effect. The sage's meditation was broken. He grabbed Menaka and taking her to a clearing, made love.
For a few days, Vishwamitra and Menaka stayed together in the sage's hut. One day, during dusk, the sage asked Menaka to get him some water. Menaka said, after so many days you remembered that you need to pray during dusk. Hearing this, the sage got angry. Menaka in fear, fled.
At that time, she was heavy with child. She gave birth in the forest, and left the child born in the forest and left. Seeing a child lying around, the birds of the forest, started flying over it to protect it from the harsh rays of the sun. The sage Kanva was passing by. Seeing a girl child on the forest ground, he took pity and took the child home.
Thus I came to be the daughter of Kanva.
The story of dynasty of Bharata, needs to start with Bharat himself. And to tell that I need to tell you about Dushyanta.
He was a great king, enemy of enemies; friend of all good. He kept his subjects very happy.
One day the king was out hunting. Loosing his way, he found himself in a deep forest. He found the forest full of wild animals which he killed. Roaming around he across a hut of a sage. He could hear the sound of birds chirping there. He did not dare shoot any of the birds, lest the sage curse him.
He told his followers to wait there. He decided to go, meet the sage and after taking his blessings, he would return. The sage was not in his hut at that time, but the sage's daughter, Shakuntala, was there and she served the king, as a guest who was visiting the sage.
The king seeing Shakuntala, fell in love with her. He had never anyone else who was so beautiful. He said, Fair Maiden, I am Dushyanta, the king, I have come to meet and take blessings of the sage Kanva, who lives here. Where has he gone? Who are you, fair maiden?
The girl said Father has gone deep into the forests and will be back soon. If stay a bit longer you will meet him. I am daughter of the sage Kanva.
The king said he had not seen anyone so beautiful. He also said that he had heard that the sage was celibate and had no wife. So how could he then have a daughter, so beautiful? Tell me the truth - Who are you?
The girl, Listen to the story of my birth and how I became the daughter of Kanva,
The sage Vishwamitra was praying in the forests. He had given up food and his penance was austere. Seeing this Indra got scared. Indra thought Vishwamitra wanted to take over his heaven. He sent for the apsara Menaka, whose beauty was incomparable in all the worlds. He told her to go and break the penance of Vishwamitra.
Menaka, with folded hands, bowed down to Indra. She said Vishwamitra is known in all three worlds for his anger. He was responsible for the death of the sons of Vashistha. Though born a king, by his own qualities he has become a brahman. You are afraid of him and his penance, how can I go and destroy that? As you have asked me to go, I will not disrespect your command and will go, whatever be the consequences. I need Kama, God of Love and gentle breezes to accompany me.
She went to the mountain where the sage was meditating and seeing him, started trembling in fear.Controlling herself, she went near the sage and started playing around, singing and dancing. The winds that were blowing blew off her garments which went and fell on the sage. At the same time, Kama shot his darts of love. The sage opened his eyes and saw a naked woman trying to collect her clothes. The darts of Kama had their effect. The sage's meditation was broken. He grabbed Menaka and taking her to a clearing, made love.
For a few days, Vishwamitra and Menaka stayed together in the sage's hut. One day, during dusk, the sage asked Menaka to get him some water. Menaka said, after so many days you remembered that you need to pray during dusk. Hearing this, the sage got angry. Menaka in fear, fled.
At that time, she was heavy with child. She gave birth in the forest, and left the child born in the forest and left. Seeing a child lying around, the birds of the forest, started flying over it to protect it from the harsh rays of the sun. The sage Kanva was passing by. Seeing a girl child on the forest ground, he took pity and took the child home.
Thus I came to be the daughter of Kanva.
So,Shakuntala is daughter of Vishwamitra and Menaka ..
ReplyDeleteYes. Kalidasa in his poem has a bigger role of Menaka, where she even comes to take care of Shakuntala when Dushyanta refuses to take her back. There the story revolves around a ring, which is not part of the Mahabharata.
ReplyDelete