Birth of Śakuntalā

  janamejaya uvāca

sambhavaṁ bharatasyāhaṁ caritaṁ ca mahāmateḥ

śakuntalāyāścotpattiṁ śrotumicchāmi tattvataḥ

Janamejaya said: I desire to hear in detail account of birth and career of high souled Bharata and birth of Birth of Śakuntalā.

duṣyantena ca vīreṇa yathā prāptā śakuntalā

taṁ vai puruṣasiṁhasya bhagavan vistaraṁ tvaham

śrotumicchāmi tattvajña sarvaṁ matimatāṁ vara

O holy man! Tell me in full how that hero, that lion among men, obtained Śakuntalā. I desire to hear it, therefore, O knower of truth, O best among wise men! You should narrate it to me!

vaiśampāyana uvāca

sa kadācinmahābāhuḥ prabhūtabalavāhanaḥ

vanaṁ jagāma gahanaṁ hayanāgaśatairvṛtaḥ

balena caturaṅgaṇa vṛtaḥ paramavalgunā

Vaiśampāyana said: Once upon atime Duṣyanta of mighty arms, accompanied with very large army with hundreds of horses and elephants, went into a dense forest. Army was of 4 kinds: infantry, cavalry, elephants and car warriors.

khaḍgaśaktidharairvīrairgadāmusalapāṇibhiḥ

prāsatomarahastaiśca yayau yodhaśatairvṛtaḥ

Surrounded by hundreds of warriors, who were armed with swords, darts, maces and big clubs, lances and spears in their hands, king marched out.

siṁhanādaiśca yodhānāṁ śaṅkhadundubhiniḥsvanaiḥ

rathanemisvanaiścaiva sanāgavarabṛṁhitaiḥ

nānāyudhadharaiścāpi nānāveṣadharaistathā

hreṣitasvanamiśraiśca kṣveḍitāsphoṭitasvanaiḥ

āsīt kilakilāśabdastasmin gacchati pārthive

prāsādavaraśṛṅgasthāḥ parayā nṛpaśobhayā

dadṛśustaṁ striyastatra śūramātmayaśaskaram

Lion like roars of the warriors, sounds of conches and drums. Rattle of wheels of the cars, shrieks of the huge elephants and clash of weapons of various soldiers dressed in various dresses, neighing of horses, all these indistinct sounds, mixing together, raised a deafening kila kila sound when king was on the march. Beautiful ladies from the terraces of magnificent mansions beheld heroic, illustrious and kingly monarch to pass.

śakropamamamitraghnaṁ paravāraṇam

paśyantaḥ strīgaṇāstatra vajrapāṇiṁ sma menire

ayaṁ sa puruṣavyāghro vasuparākramaḥ

yasya bāhubalaṁ prāpya na bhavantyasuhṛdgaṇāḥ

They knew that king to be destroyer of foes like Indra. They thought him to be wielder of thunder bolt himself. They said: This is that best of heroic men who is as powerful in battle as Vasu. All enemies are destroyed by his great prowess.

iti vāco bruvantyastāḥ striyaḥ premṇā narādhipam

tuṣṭuvuḥ puṣpavṛṣṭīśca sasṛjustasya mūrdhani

tatra tatra ca viprendraiḥ stūyamānaḥ samantataḥ

Saying this, ladies, out of love towards him, showered flowers on the head of the king to his great gratification. Having been blessed by the best of Brāhmaṇas everywhere on the way.

niryayau paramaprītyā vanaṁ mṛgajighāṁsayā

taṁ devarājapratimaṁ mattavāraṇadhūrgatam

dvijakṣatriyaviṭśūdrā niryāntamanujagmire

dadṛśurvardhamānāste āśīrbhiśca jayena ca

King started for the forest with desire of killing deer. King, seated on the back of mad elephant, looked like king of celestials and was followed by Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas and Śūdras. They uttered blessings and cried victory from all sides.

sudūramanujagmustaṁ paurajānapadāstathā 

nyavarta tata paścādanujñātā nṛpeṇa ha

Citizens and other people also followed him for some distance. Then they returned when they were commanded by the king.

suparṇapratimenātha rathena vasudhādhipaḥ

mahīmāpūrayāmāsa ghoṣeṇa tridivaṁ tathā

sa gacchan dadṛśe dhīmān nandanapratimaṁ vanam

bilvārkakhadirākīrṇaṁ kapitthadhavasaṁkulam

Thereupon, king got upon his car, which was equal to Garuḍa in speed and filled whole world, even heavens, with the rattle of his car wheels. Thus proceeding he saw a forest like Nandavana in heavens. It abounded in Bilva, Arka, Khadira, Kapittha and Dhava trees.

viṣamaṁ parvatasrastairaśmabhiśca samāvṛtam

nirjalaṁ nirmanuṣyaṁ ca bahuyojanamāyatam

Its soil was uneven and covered with blocks of stone, loosened from the hills. There were no water and human habitations. It extended to many yojanas.

mṛgasiṁhairvṛtaṁ ghorairanyaiścāpi vanecaraiḥ

tad vanaṁ manujavyāghraḥ sabhṛtyabalavāhanaḥ

loḍayāmāsa duṣyantaḥ sūdayan vividhān mṛgān

bāṇagocarasamprāptāṁstatra vyāghragaṇān bahūn

pātayāmāsa duṣyanto nirbibheda ca sāyakaiḥ

dūrasthān sāyakaiḥ kāṁścidabhinat sa narādhipaḥ

abhyāśamāgatāṁścānyān khaṅgena nikṛntata

kāṁścideṇān samājaghne śaktyā śaktimatāṁ varaḥ

It was full of deer, lions and other fearful animals of the forest. That best of kings, Duṣyanta, with the help of his soldiers and servsnts beat the forest thus killing many animals. Duṣyanta pierced with his arrows many tigers that were within shooting range and killed them by hundreds. King wounded many by arrows that were out of the shooting rage and not to be killed by swords. He killed by his sword those that were near at hand. That best of wielders of darts, killed many by hurling his darts at them.

gadāmaṇḍalatattvajñaścacārāmitavikramaḥ

tomarairasibhiścāpi gadāmusalakampanaiḥ

cacāra sa viibighnan vai svairacārān vanadvipān

rājñā cādbhutavīryeṇa yodhaiśca samarapriyaiḥ

loḍyamānaṁ mahāraṇyaṁ tatyajuḥ sma mṛgādhipāḥ

tatra vidrutayūthāni hatayūthapatī ca

mṛgayūthānyathautsukyācchabdaṁ cakrustatastataḥ

śuṣkāpi nadīrgatvā jalanairāśyakarśitāḥ

vyāyāmaklāntahṛdayāḥ patanti sma vicetasaḥ

kṣutpipāsāparītāśca śrāntāśca patitā bhuvi

Greatly expert player of clubs, king of matchless prowess Duṣyanta, thus fearlessly roamed over the forest. King, as he roamed about, killed many beasts of the forest with his swift flying darts and some by his heavy clubs. When forest was thus agitated by wonderfully powerful king and his soldiers, ever delighting in it like in sports, lions left in thousands that forest. Having thus lost their kings, other beasts uttered loud cries in fear and anxiety and fled in all directions. They fell down on all sides, being hungry, thirsty and tired of running and without being able to quench their thirst in the river beds which were dry.

kecit tatra naravyāghrairabhakṣyanta bubhukṣitaiḥ

kecidagnimathotpādya saṁsādhya ca vanecarāḥ

bhakṣyanti sma māṁsāni prakuṭya vidhivat tadā

tatra kecid gajā mattā balinaḥ śastravikṣatāḥ

saṁkocyāgrakarān bhītāḥ pradravanti sma vegitāḥ

śakṛnmūtraṁ sṛjantaśca kṣarantaḥ śoṇitaṁ bahu

Some of them were eaten up by those best of warriors. Some were quartered and roasted in fires lit up by them and then they were eaten by the warriors in the proper way. Many stromg elephants, maddened with pains of their wounds, fled in fear with their upraised trunks. Those wild elephants, ejecting urine and dung in fear and copiously vomiting blood, fled.

vanyā gajavarāstatra mamṛdurmanujān bahūn

tad vanaṁ balameghena śaradhāreṇa saṁvṛtam

vyarocata mṛgākīrṇaṁ rājñā hatamṛgādhipam

Many big and strong elephants during the time of running trampled to death many soldiers of the king. Forest, which had been full of animals, was soon made by king and his innumerable followers, bereft of lions and tigers and other beasts.