In the previous episode, we had witnessed a brief on the ancestral history of the Paandavas. As Chitra-Rasa addressed Arjuna during the conversation as “Taapatya”, Arjuna did not understand as to why is Chitra-Rasa addressing him like that. Normally people address him as “Arjuna” or “Kauntheya” or “Paartha”, etc. But this term “Taapatya” seemed very new for him. Upon asking Chitra-Rasa the reason for addressing him like that, Chitra-Rasa understood that Arjuna did not know his ancestral history. Thus, he narrated to the Paandavas about Tapati, who was the daughter of Soorya-Bhagawan. Chitra-Rasa explained how the family lineage grew from Tapati onwards until the birth of Kuru. He also explained who all came after Kuru and where did Paandu and Dhirdiraashtra stand in the family lineage. Even in our cases, if we are being asked about our father, grandfather and perhaps our great grandfather, we might be knowing. Normally when we do the “Shraadha-Kaarya” and “Tarpana”, it is a mandate to mention the previous three generations of our family lineage, and this is something which we would straightaway know. But if someone is going to ask us about our family lineage that was there before our great grandfather, we might not know, isn’t it? This is the similar case with Arjuna and Co. as well, and this is where Chitra-Rasa is clarifying.
With this brief understanding, now let us witness what Chitra-Rasa explained in a bit more detail. Starting with Tapati’s accord, once when King Samvarna was going on a hunting spree amidst the thick forest, he spotted Tapati amidst the beautiful landscape. As King Samvarna sees Tapati, he gets attracted by her beauty and thereby falls in love with her. With this, he struck a conversation with Tapati and proposed his love for her. However, Tapati wasn’t ready to accept King Samvarna straightaway. She conveyed to him that she is the daughter of Soorya-Bhagawan and if he has to marry her, he should go and ask her father for permission. Upon hearing this, King Samvarna got scared. He did not expect this answer from Tapati. With this, King Samvarna started losing his self-confidence. He was thinking within himself thus, “Oh no! How will I go and approach Soorya-Bhagawan to marry this girl? What kind of qualification do I even have to go and stand in front of Soorya-Bhagawan? If I go there, I’m sure that Soorya-Bhagawan would kick me out! I guess I’ve made a mistake of falling in love for this woman!” Thinking thus, King Samvarna became extremely sad and frustrated with himself. On one hand, he was not having the confidence to approach Soorya-Bhagawan, whereas on the other hand, he was unable to sacrifice his love for Tapati. His love for Tapati was so deep that he slowly started falling sick. King Samvarna fainted due to fatigue and high fever, and when Tapati comes close to him, he feels energetic. However, when Tapati is away from him, he again falls sick.
As the ministers of the kingdom see this, they were concerned. Who would run the kingdom efficiently if King Samvarna is perennially sick like this? How will the administrative duties of the kingdom be discharged if the king is not in good shape? If an enemy comes and invades the kingdom, who would protect all of them? With all these questions in mind, the ministers did not know what to do. They went straight to Sage Vasishtaachaarya for help. The ministers fell on Sage Vasishtaachaarya’s feet and explained the situation of King Samvarna to him. Upon the ministers’ request, Sage Vashishtachaarya immediately accepts it and prays towards Soorya-Bhagawan. He prays thus, “Oh Soorya Bhagawan! The one who is the most important for the survival of this world along with all its living beings! The one who gives light and food to all living beings in this world! The one who is always close to Bhagawan Narayana! I have a small request for you!” As Sage Vasishtaachaarya prays thus, Soorya-Bhagawan stops his chariot and asks him thus, “Oh Sage Vasishta! Normally you never pray anything for yourself! You are a great sage who works for the benefit of the entire world, isn’t it? I’m honoured to be of service to you! So tell me! What should I do for you?”
As Soorya-Bhagawan stops and asks thus, Sage Vasishtaachaarya explains the situation of King Samvarna to him and how King Samvarna has fallen in love with Tapati. As Soorya-Bhagawan hears this, he was extremely happy. He replies thus, “Oh great sage! Is this all for what you were praying ardently to me for? This is a simple thing! I know of King Samvarna, who is the son of the great King Riksha-raaja! He is a very good boy and my daughter should be extremely fortunate to marry King Samvarna. I shall immediately give my daughter in marriage to King Samvarna!” With this, the news was conveyed to King Samvarna and he was extremely happy! He immediately came to meet Sage Vasishtaachaarya and thanked him for the timely help.
Thus, the marriage between Tapati and King Samvarna happened in a grand manner. King Riksha was also happy with the marriage. Thus, Kuru was born to Tapati and King Samvarna. This story, as mentioned before, was narrated by Chitra-Rasa to make Arjuna understand where did Kuru and the subsequent family lineage come from. As Chitra-Rasa narrates thus, Arjuna immediately quips thus, “Oh Chitra-Rasa! All this is fine! I’m very happy that my grandfather and great grandfather have had such a beautiful and a famed history. But where did Sage Vasishtaachaarya come from? What is the significance of Sage Vasishtaachaarya?”
As Arjuna asks this question subsequently, Chitra-Rasa had to explain the entire background of Sage Vasishtaachaarya. For explaining about him, Sage Vyaasa has written about eight “Adhyaayas” inside this “Chaitra-Rasa Parva”. He has explained in detail as to how Sage Vasishtaachaarya was a Brahma-Rishi and how he entered into a feud with Sage Vishwamitra and what happened henceforth. We shall witness this also in a bit more detail in the next episode! Stay tuned for more updates! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 