Dharmangada's marriages and his order as a Ruler

1. What did the king do on hearing the words of his son? О Brahmana, what did the daughter of the creator Mohini, the beloved of the king, do?

2. A particularly wonderful and holy narrative that is comparable to the nectar and is destructive of all doubts has been told by you.

3. On hearing the words of his son, the prominent king became delighted. He got up alongwith his beloved wife and surveyed the wealth (the booty brought by Dharmangada).

4-6a. Instantaneously, О king, the delighted king who was a great devotee of Vishnu, joyfully and lovingly gave to his son Dharmangada, all those serpent-girls alongwith the daughter ofVaruna, for the purpose of becoming his wives. All the remaining things, the king who was overwhelmed by the arrows of Kama gave to Mohini along with many jewels and the Danava women (?)

7-8. At an opportune time, the king called his priest and said this: “O Brahmana, may my son take in marriage the hands of all the virgins in accordance with religious rites under the ascendancy of the star propitious for marriages and on the Muhurta that confers all cherished desires.

9. Having performed the initial religious rite of the proclamation of propitiousness (known as Svasti-Vacana) through Brahmanas and after propitiating them with the gifts of cows, gold, clothes, celebrate the rite of marriage ceremony of my son Dharmangada.

10. The foolish father who does not celebrate the marriage of his son, will sink down in the terrible bottomless hell and remain there for ten thousand Yugas.

11. Hence, the father endowed with (i.e. following) religious rites should celebrate the marriage of his son. He who has settled his son, has also established his own self.

12. О god on the earth (Brahmana), when the marriage of a son is celebrated, a person derives the benefit of all sacrifices irrespective of the son being endowed with good attributes or devoid of attributes.

13-15a. The marriage of the son must be celebrated by the father who wishes for gaining merit and piety. If the father does not unite (i.e. endow) his sons with wealth and a spouse, he is despised both here and hereafter, and he should not be considered a good man. Hence sons must be settled in avocations and be provided with wives, (they must be given these facilities) so that the sons are satisfied and well honoured and are able to sport (spend their life) happily.”

15b-16a. On hearing these words of the king, the Brahmana his priest, exerted himself assiduously for the celebration of the marriage of Dharmangada, with great, delight.

16b-17a. Though he did not crave for the happiness of contact with women, on account of his bashfulness, the son accepted the betrothal ceremony at the behest of his father.

17b-18a. The prince of mighty arms, unequalled on the Earth in beauty, married the charming serpent-virgins along- with the daughter of Varuna.

18b-19. After marrying all of them in accordance with the injunctions of the sacred texts, he joyously gifted wealth, cows and jewels to the Brahmanas. After the marriage rite, he joyously bowed down to the feet of his mother and father.

20. Then the son Dharmangada spoke to the gentle lady Sandhyavall — “O gentle lady, my marriage rite has been celebrated at the instance of my father.

21. I am not retaining the memory of this fact in my mind that my marriage has already been celebrated by my father. О gentle lady, I shall serve as before my unchanging father who is a man of perfect wisdom.

22. I have nothing to do with divine enjoyment of pleasures. I don’t have any use even for heaven. Service must be rendered by me to my father as well as to you both by day and at night.

23. О son, live long. Live happily. Enjoy all pleasures in accordance with your mental inclinations (i.e. as you please). May you be long-lived, thanks to the grace of your father. О my son, delight my mind.

24. О son, with you as my son of good qualities, I have become Suputrini (mother of a good son). I have got a special place in the hearts of all my co-wives (i.e. all of them love me).”

25. After saying this, the lady embraced him, sniffed many times the crown of his head and finally discharged him to resume his duty of looking after the administration of the kingdom.

26. After being discharged by his mother, he bowed to all the other mothers. Abiding by the advice of his father, the prince looked after the problems of government administration.

27. He chastised and restrained the wicked ones; he protected the good and the well-disciplined men of virtues; he toured over all his lands and personally looked into all affairs.

28. He inspected all the affairs in each place once in a month; he looked after the breeding and rearing of elephants and horses; he surveyed the troops of spies.

29. He observed the arguments (going on in the courts of justice); everyday he examined the measures and balances; he protected men in every house.

30. No infant in the arms accustomed to suck the breasts cried for want of breast milk; nowhere did a mother-in-law lament and complain of being disrespected by the daughter-in- law.

31. No competent and efficient son begged of his father; there was no mixing and mingling of castes in any group again.

32. No man kept any concealed income; no man blamed Dharma; no woman remained without bodice if her husband was alive.

33. “May not there be the coming out of women from their houses in my country. May not the widow keep her tresses in tact.1 May not the ladies with their husband alive be devoid of hair on their heads.

34. May not the devotee observing holy rites be one who reviles always; may not the forest-dwellers permanently dwell in the city. Let there not be any ruthless person who does not give even ordinary maintenance.

35. Let these not stay in my kingdom — A cowherd desirous of urban life; an advisor devoid of good attributes; a Rtvik who has not learned the sacred texts.

1. This reference to tonsure of widows shows the lateness of this portion of NP. in date (not earlier than the 10th Gent. A.D.). There is no injunction or reference to such tonsure in the Vedas, the Grhya and Dharma Sutras or in the old Smrtis like Manu a YajAavalkya. The prohibition of widows from “adorning the hair, chewing the betel-nut, using perfumes or decking in flowers and ornaments

in the Vfddha-Hdrtta VIII. 205, shows that tonsure of widows was not in vogue then. References to Kshatriya widows of the Kaurava and Yadava families in the Mbh. (Stri 17.25, 21.6; Mausala 7-17) shows no reference to their tonsure. Vijfianesvara, on YajAavalkya III. 325, approvingly quotes in the Mitdkfard Manu’s prohibition of tonsure of women:

A late work or a Late interpolation in the Sk. P. gives us its fint indication in Kdii Khapfa 475 ff.

Restriction on wearing on bodice along with this shows that both NP a Sk. P. record a period when widows came to be looked upon as Tatis (NP. II. 24.15). Kane conjectures that this shows a society in the 10th or 11th cent. A.D. (H.D. II. i. P. 592).

36. The man who grows the indigo plant, the шдп who sprinkles profusely, the blue colour; these two sinners must be banished and so also the man who brews the liquor.

37. A back-biter, a slanderer who is fond of eating the fish on die back — may he not find a residence in my kingdom. So also the man who forsakes his own wife.

38. These persons are to be punished and given capital punishment — he who eschews Vishnu the foremost among the gods and worships any other deity; he who cohabits with a pregnant woman and he who has sexual intercourse with a young woman who has recently delivered of a child.

Конфликты в семейной жизни. Как это изменить? Редкий брак и взаимоотношения существуют без конфликтов и напряженности. Через это проходят все...

ЧТО ПРОИСХОДИТ ВО ВЗРОСЛОЙ ЖИЗНИ? Если вы все еще «неправильно» связаны с матерью, вы избегаете отделения и независимого взрослого существования...

ЧТО И КАК ПИСАЛИ О МОДЕ В ЖУРНАЛАХ НАЧАЛА XX ВЕКА Первый номер журнала «Аполлон» за 1909 г. начинался, по сути, с программного заявления редакции журнала...

Что способствует осуществлению желаний? Стопроцентная, непоколебимая уверенность в своем...

Не нашли то, что искали? Воспользуйтесь поиском гугл на сайте: