Lomasha Narrates the Birth of Mandhata

Lomasha said: Listen now to how the great-souled king Mandhata obtained his name — a story known throughout the worlds. There was once a king named Yuvanashva, born in the lineage of Ikshvaku. He performed a thousand horse sacrifices and countless others, giving away vast stipends to brahmanas. He was foremost among those who uphold dharma. But he had no sons. So he entrusted his kingdom to his ministers and went to live permanently in the forest, contemplating his own soul and following the rules laid down in the sacred texts. One night, his heart was dry with thirst and he entered the hermitage of the sage Bhrigu. That same night, Bhrigu's son — the great-souled maharshi Bhargava — was performing a sacrifice so that Yuvanashva might obtain a son. Mantras had been recited over water, and a large pot was filled with this consecrated water. It had been placed on the altar, intended for Yuvanashva's wife to drink so that she might give birth to a son equal to Shakra (Indra) himself. The maharshis, exhausted from staying up all night, had fallen asleep. Yuvanashva passed them. His throat was parched. He was desperate for a drink. He entered the hermitage and asked for water, but no one heard him — his voice was as faint as a bird's notes. Then he saw the pot filled with water. He ran to it, drank the cold water until his thirst was quenched, threw the rest away, and slept. When the rishis awoke and saw the pot empty, they demanded: who has done this? Yuvanashva answered truthfully: it was I. Bhargava said: This was not right. After great austerities, this water had been prepared for the sake of your son. I performed terrible austerities in the name of the brahman so that you might have an immensely strong and valorous son — one whose power would have been such that he could even have sent Shakra himself to Yama's abode. But what is done cannot be reversed. What you have done must have been decreed by destiny. Because you were thirsty, you drank water sanctified with rites and mantras, infused with my power and austerities. Therefore, you yourself will give birth to a son with these characteristics. We will perform the rites and sacrifices so that this supremely extraordinary event may occur. Then one hundred years passed. The left side of the great-souled king was rent asunder, and a son emerged — extremely energetic, blazing like the sun. And Yuvanashva did not die. This was certainly extraordinary. The immensely energetic Shakra himself came to see the child. He inserted his own forefinger into the infant's mouth and said: He will suck me. Then Indra and the other gods named him Mandhata — "he who sucks me." Having sucked the forefinger offered by Shakra, the child grew to thirteen cubits. The knowledge of the Vedas, of dhanurveda (the science of weapons), and of all divine weapons appeared before him the instant he thought of them. The bow named Ajagava, arrows made of horn, and impenetrable armor instantly followed his commands. Maghavan Shakra himself instated him as king. Mandhata conquered the three worlds with his dharma, like Vishnu in his valour. His realm was unobstructed. Gems flowed to him of their own accord. The entire earth, with all its riches, belonged to him. He performed many sacrifices and gave away abundant stipends. Having erected many sanctuaries and acquired abundant dharma, that immensely energetic and greatly radiant one obtained half of Shakra's kingdom. In a single day, he brought the entire earth — with all its habitations and stores of jewels — under his control. The four corners of the earth are still covered with his sacrificial grounds. He gave brahmanas ten thousand padmas of cattle. When there was a drought for twelve years, he made it rain so that crops might grow, while the wielder of the vajra looked on. The great king of Gandhara, born in the lunar dynasty, roared like a giant cloud — but Mandhata killed him with his sharp arrows. He subjugated the four types of beings. Through his austerities and energy, he established the worlds. Lomasha said: This is the place where he, as radiant as the sun, offered sacrifices to the gods. Behold this sacred region, in the middle of Kurukshetra. I have narrated to you everything about the great character of Mandhata and his wonderful birth, about which you had asked me.