The History of Antiquity, Vol. 4 (of 6)Duncker, Max
History
The History of Antiquity, Vol. 4 (of 6)
Duncker, Max
History, Ancient
In the Vishnu-Purana Sudas is the fiftieth successor of Ikshvaku on the
throne of the Koçalas. His priest was Vasishtha; and Viçvamitra, the son
of a great Kshatriya, the king of Kanyakubja (Kanoja), wished to drive
him out. One day, while hunting, Sudas met a Brahman, who would not move
out of the way for him, and he struck him with his whip. The Brahman was
Çakti, the eldest of Vasishtha's hundred sons. Çakti pronounced on the
king the curse that he should become a cannibal, and the curse was
fulfilled. But by the help of an evil spirit Viçvamitra was able to
bring the consequences of the curse on the sons of Vasishtha; Çakti
himself and all his brothers were eaten by the king. In despair at the
death of his sons, Vasishtha sought to put an end to his own life, but
in vain. When at length he returned to his settlement, he found that the
widow of his eldest son was pregnant; and when she brought forth
Paraçara the hope of progeny revived in him. But Sudas desired to eat
Paraçara also. Then the holy Vasishtha blew on Sudas, sprinkled him with
holy water, and took the curse from him, and in return the king promised
never to despise Brahmans, to obey their commands, and show them all
honour. And when Paraçara grew up, and wished to avenge the death of his
father, Vasishtha told him that under the rule of Kritavirya (he is said
to have reigned over a tribe of the Yadavas) the Bhrigus, the priests
of the king, had become rich in corn and gold by his liberality. Arjuna,
the successor of Kritavirya, had fallen into distress, and sought aid
from the Bhrigus. Then some of them buried their possessions out of fear
of the Kshatriyas, and when by accident a Kshatriya discovered the
treasure hidden in the house of a Bhrigu they slew all the Bhrigus. But
their widows fled to the Himalayas, and there one of them brought forth
Aurva, who desired to avenge the death of the Bhrigus by the slaughter
of the Kshatriyas. But the spirits of the holy Bhrigus warned him to
give up his passion, and curb his anger; by concealment they had roused
the anger of the Kshatriyas, in order to arrive the sooner in heaven. In
like manner Paraçara abandoned the idea of avenging his father.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account