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
observing that he was still fat, said again unto him, 'Upamanyu, my child,
I take from thee all thou obtainest in alms and thou dost not go a-begging
a second time, and yet art thou in healthy condition. How dost thou
support thyself?' And Upamanyu, thus questioned, answered, 'Sir, I now
live upon the milk of these cows.' And his preceptor thereupon told him,
'It is not lawful for thee to appropriate the milk without having first
obtained my consent.' And Upamanyu having assented to the justice of these
observations, went away to tend the kine. And when he returned to his
preceptor's abode, he stood before him and saluted him as usual. And his
preceptor seeing that he was still fat, said, 'Upamanyu, my child, thou
eatest no longer of alms, nor dost thou go a-begging a second time, not
even drinkest of the milk; yet art thou fat. By what means dost thou
contrive to live now?' And Upamanyu replied, 'Sir, I now sip the froth that
these calves throw out, while sucking their mother's teats.' And the
preceptor said, 'These generous calves, I suppose, out of compassion for
thee, throw out large quantities of froth. Wouldst thou stand in the way
of their full meals by acting as thou hast done? Know that it is unlawful
for thee to drink the froth.' And Upamanyu, having signified his assent to
this, went as before to tend the cows. And restrained by his preceptor, he
feedeth not on alms, nor hath he anything else to eat; he drinketh not of
the milk, nor tasteth he of the froth!
"And Upamanyu, one day, oppressed by hunger, when in a forest, ate of the
leaves of the Arka (Asclepias gigantea). And his eyes being affected by
the pungent, acrimonious, crude, and saline properties of the leaves which
he had eaten, he became blind. And as he was crawling about, he fell into
a pit. And upon his not returning that day when the sun was sinking down
behind the summit of the western mountains, the preceptor observed to his
disciples that Upamanyu was not yet come. And they told him that he had
gone out with the cattle.
"The preceptor then said, 'Upamanyu being restrained by me from the use of
everything, is, of course, tired, and therefore, doth not come home until
it be late. Let us then go in search of him.' And having said this, he went
with his disciples into the forest and began to shout, saying, 'Ho
Upamanyu, where art thou?' And Upamanyu hearing his preceptor's voice
answered in a loud tone, 'Here I am at the bottom of a well.' And his
preceptor asked him how he happened to be there. And Upamanyu replied,
'Having eaten of the leaves of the Arka plant I became blind, and so have
I fallen into this well.' And his preceptor thereupon told him, 'Glorify
the twin Aswins, the joint physicians of the gods, and they will restore
thee thy sight.' And Upamanyu thus directed by his preceptor began to
glorify the twin Aswins, in the following words of the Rig Veda:
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