Posted:
Part 54
When Arjun left for the forests a number of hermits and sages followed his lead. Arjun led them all across several beautiful rives and other landscapes offering his obeisances at all auspicious territories. At last, he requested all his followers to take rest at a beautiful grove near the Ganges.
Arjun built several small cottages for the stay of the sages accompanying him, while the sages began performing yagnas at different corners of thr grove. Soon, the hurst was transformed into a divine ashram, strewn with colourful flower-bursts and the fragrance of devotion floating abound in the air. After seeing everything to perfection Arjun finally descended into the cool waters of the river Ganga, to take a bath before performing another yagna for the welfare of his family.
As he bathed, he suddenly felt a tug at his feet. Before he could react, he felt himself being dragged back into the water body. When he realized that his strength was futile against this unnatural force he stopped fighting. Soon, he landed on the river bed, surrounded by the strangest set of corals that he had ever seen.
At a distance he spotted a fire burning. Walking up to his without hesitation he sat down, and completed the rites to the yagna, and obtained blessing from an impressed Agni deva.
Then, he turned back to see a beautiful maiden staring at him unabashed. "So," he grinned, "Not bad, huh?" No the girls smiled, and quickly hid her face which turned crimson but in a jiffy. "O the Prince of my heart! You must have heard of the Airavata dynasty of the Naga clan. I'm the daughter of the Airavata King Kaurava. I saw you bathing in the river, and, well you know, Kama deva thought it would be prudent to shoot me with his arrow. Now, won't you fulfill this little desire of mine? Oh, and they call me Uloopi." she finished with a testing smile. Arjun thought for a while nd then said, "My dear, I have been instructed by my brother and the King Yudhishthira to observe celibacy for the following twelve years. Although I am quite eager to fulfill your heart's desire, but still I have never, and I will not lie. But, if you can think of something that would both serve your purpose and save me from the sin of untruth, then know this that I will be more than eager to carry out your will."
Uloopi said, "I know why you are doing this. You and your four brothers decided that if one of you entered the room where devi Draupadi is alone with another one of you then the trespasser would have to stay in the forests and observe celibacy. But you decided that you will observe celibacy but here I am asking you to marry me. You are not proposing to me right? Trust me, this is not a lie. I know, this would be a milder sin, but look at the punya you'll gain by satisfying this one pining girl. Now wouldn't you?" She finished with a tantalizing smile. Arjun was laughing in spite of himself, "Well, you are smart!" He said.
Staying back for the night Arjun returned to the ashram the next morning. Uloopi accompanied him to the grove. "Wait." she said suddenly when they were just near the gate, "As the Queen of the Nagas of the Airavata clan, I bestow upon you the boon to be invincible before all water-borne creatures. Try and remember me, won't you?" she asked. Arjun nodded and went forward in his way.
---
Having narrated the incidents of the previous days to all sages, Arjun accompanied them to the foothills of Himachal. While traveling he touched the peaks of Agastyavat, Vashishtha-parvat and Bhrigu-tunga. On his way, he seized a number of buildings and livestock that he distributed among the sages who followed him. This was he traveled up to Hiranya-vindu post which he turned east, along the course of the rivers Nanda, Aparanda, Kaushiki and Ganga. He passed over Gaya and over Anga and Vanga. He left the Brahmans at the threshold of Kalinga and after exchanging pleasantries with the King embarked on a journey to find the ocean.
After journeying through Kalinga Arjun wandered along the coastline until he reached the legendary Mahendra-paravat-maala, and then he entered Manipur.
Having obtained the King's permission Arjun paid homage in all the surrounding temples and lodges in the royal palace itself. Therein, upon seeing Chitrangada, the beautiful daughter of the King, he was smitten by her grace. Immediately he approached the King saying, "My Lord, I am a Kshatriya prince and am willing to obtain your worthy daughter's hand in marriage. I am Arjun, the third of the illustrious King Pandu of the lineage of Kuru." The King smiled, "I'm afraid not so soon, young man. I have not been able to give her hand in marriage as yet because of a cause I will now tell you. A long time back, a most notable King in our clan of Asmad called Prabhanjan performed a severe penance seeking relief from the bane of childlessness that he suffered from. Pleased, Lord Shiva blessed him that every man in the Asmad clan shall have one boy child. This has been the case for all Kings, up to me. But no, Dhananjay, I do not complain. I have formally designated this girl as my successor. The only problem with her marriage is that, I have vowed that her son will be the Prince of my clan and not yours."
"And what if I accept the clause?" Asked Arjun.
"You will?"
"My Lord, I do."
With this, the King gave Chirtangada's hand in marriage to Arjun. He stayed in Manipur for the following three years and left upon receiving the blessings from her father after after the birth of their son.
---
After leaving Manipur Arjun traveled South to the Pancha-teertha situated on the shore of the Dakshina-sagara. He visited the five points of the teertha called the Agastya, Saubhadra, Pauloma, Kaarandhama and Bhaaradwaaja. While visiting the temples he noticed that the entire region was deserted and empty. Upon inquiring he learned that five deadly crocodiles lived there who killed any visitor who dared to have a bath. Chuckling Arjuna entered the lake himself. Immediately, a crocodile seized his leg. Undaunted, and protected by Uloopi's boon, he pulled the crocodile to the bank.
As soon as the crocodile's body left the water it transformed into a beautiful maiden. Smiling at her, Arjun asked her why she had been trapped inside the body of the beast inside lake. The woman said, "My Lord, I am an apsara, quite close to Deva Kubera. Once when my four attendants and I were returning from Indra-loka, we saw this handsome hermit, lost in his penance. Riddled by the rush of youth in our veins we decided to break his penance. When he realized we were there, he became angry and cursed us to become crocodiles an stay in this lake for a hundred years. We pleaded a lot with him and begged his forgiveness. I said, 'we were overcome with the misgivings of our young age and beauty and hence committed this heinous crime. But as they say, great men don't hurt women and we beg you to think of your stature. After all, what purpose will this curse serve to you? They say Brahmans are friendly towards every creature. We beg you, forgive us!' Hearing this, he took pity on us and said that we would have to touch the feet of any human who entered this lake and we would be free of the curse if they could pull us out with them! Also, he blessed us to name our residence as the Naari-teertha. Meanwhile, as we were wandering about looking for the suitable water to live in, we met Rishi Narad and he directed us to this Pancha-teertha in Kachcha-desha. And now you will have to liberate my attendants Saurabheyi, Sameechi, Budbuda and Lata as well!" Smiling, Arjun dived into the lake again and one by one pulled out the other four women who left for their own homes singing his praises.
---
After this, Arjun visited Manipur again with the intention of attending the naming ceremony of his son, who was then known as Babhruvahana.
From there he left for Gokarna. After traveling along the eastern coast, touching Kanyakumarika, he traveled up again along the west coast, finally reaching Prabhas where Krishna his cousin and best friend had been waiting for him.
comment:
p_commentcount