The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Adi Parva
Religion
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Adi Parva
Epic literature, Sanskrit
"Vaisampayana said, 'It is known that the spiritual sons of Brahman were
the six great Rishis (already mentioned). There was another of the name of
Sthanu. And the sons of Sthanu, gifted with great energy, were, it is
known, eleven. They were Mrigavayadha, Sarpa, Niriti of great fame:
Ajaikapat, Ahivradhna, and Pinaki, the oppressor of foes; Dahana and
Iswara, and Kapali of great splendour; and Sthanu, and the illustrious
Bharga. These are called the eleven Rudras. It hath been already said,
that Marichi, Angiras, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Kratu--these six great
Rishis of great energy--are the sons of Brahman. It is well-known in the
world that Angiras's sons are three,--Vrihaspati, Utathya, and Samvarta,
all of rigid vows. And, O king, it is said that the sons of Atri are
numerous. And, being great Rishis, they are all conversant with the Vedas,
crowned with ascetic success, and of souls in perfect peace. And, O tiger
among kings, the sons of Pulastya of great wisdom are Rakshasas, Monkeys,
Kinnaras (half-men and half-horses), and Yakshas. And, O king, the sons of
Pulaha were, it is said, the Salabhas (the winged insects), the lions, the
Kimpurushas (half-lions and half-men), the tigers, bears, and wolves. And
the sons of Kratu, sacred as sacrifices, are the companions of Surya, the
Valikhilyas, known in three worlds and devoted to truth and vows. And, O
protector of the Earth, the illustrious Rishi Daksha, of soul in complete
peace, and of great asceticism, sprung from the right toe of Brahman. And
from the left toe of Brahman sprang the wife of the high-souled Daksha.
And the Muni begat upon her fifty daughters; and all those daughters were
of faultless features and limbs and of eyes like lotus-petals. And the
lord Daksha, not having any sons, made those daughters his Putrikas (so
that their sons might belong both to himself and to their husbands). And
Daksha bestowed, according to the sacred ordinance, ten of his daughters
on Dharma, twenty-seven on Chandra (the Moon), and thirteen on Kasyapa.
Listen as I recount the wives of Dharma according to their names. They are
ten in all--Kirti, Lakshmi, Dhriti, Medha, Pushti, Sraddha, Kria, Buddhi,
Lajja, and Mali. These are the wives of Dharma as appointed by the Self-
create. It is known also throughout the world that the wives of Soma
(Moon) are twenty-seven. And the wives of Soma, all of sacred vows, are
employed in indicating time; and they are the Nakshatras and the Yoginis
and they became so for assisting the courses of the worlds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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