वैशंपायन उवाच
इक्ष्वाकुवंशप्रभवो राजासीत् पृथिवीपतिः ॥
महाभिष इति ख्यातः सत्यवाक् सत्यविक्रमः ॥
सो ऽश्वमेधसहस्रेण वाजपेयशतेन च ॥
तोषयाम् आस देवेन्द्रं स्वर्गं लेभे ततः प्रभुः ॥
ततः कदा चिद् ब्रह्माणम् उपासां चक्रिरे सुराः ॥
तत्र राजर्षयो आसन् स च राजा महाभिषः ॥
अथ गङ्गा सरिच्छ्रेष्ठा समुपायात् पितामहम् ॥
तस्या वासः समुद्धूतं मारुतेन शशिप्रभम् ॥
ततो ऽभवन् सुरगणाः सहसावाङ्मुखास् तदा ॥
महाभिषस् तु राजर्षिर् अशङ्को दृष्टवान् नदीम् ॥
अपध्यातो भगवता ब्रह्मणा स महाभिषः ॥
उक्तश् च जातो मर्त्येषु पुनर् लोकान् अवाप्स्यसि ॥
स चिन्तयित्वा नृपतिर् नृपान् सर्वांस् तपोधनान् ॥
प्रतीपं रोचयाम् आस पितरं भूरिवर्चसम् ॥
महाभिषं तु तं दृष्ट्वा नदी धैर्याच् च्युतं नृपम् ॥
तम् एव मनसाध्यायम् उपावर्तत् सरिद्वरा ॥
सा तु विध्वस्तवपुषः कश्मलाभिहतौजसः ॥
ददर्श पथि गच्छन्ती वसून् देवान् दिवौकसः ॥
तथारूपांश् च तान् दृष्ट्वा पप्रच्छ सरितां वरा ॥
किम् इदं नष्टरूपाः स्थ कच्चित् क्षेमं दिवौकसाम् ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
ikṣvākuvaṃśaprabhavo rājāsīt pṛthivīpatiḥ ||
mahābhiṣa iti khyātaḥ satyavāk satyavikramaḥ ||
so 'śvamedhasahasreṇa vājapeyaśatena ca ||
toṣayām āsa devendraṃ svargaṃ lebhe tataḥ prabhuḥ ||
tataḥ kadā cid brahmāṇam upāsāṃ cakrire surāḥ ||
tatra rājarṣayo āsan sa ca rājā mahābhiṣaḥ ||
atha gaṅgā saricchreṣṭhā samupāyāt pitāmaham ||
tasyā vāsaḥ samuddhūtaṃ mārutena śaśiprabham ||
tato 'bhavan suragaṇāḥ sahasāvāṅmukhās tadā ||
mahābhiṣas tu rājarṣir aśaṅko dṛṣṭavān nadīm ||
apadhyāto bhagavatā brahmaṇā sa mahābhiṣaḥ ||
uktaś ca jāto martyeṣu punar lokān avāpsyasi ||
sa cintayitvā nṛpatir nṛpān sarvāṃs tapodhanān ||
pratīpaṃ rocayām āsa pitaraṃ bhūrivarcasam ||
mahābhiṣaṃ tu taṃ dṛṣṭvā nadī dhairyāc cyutaṃ nṛpam ||
tam eva manasādhyāyam upāvartat saridvarā ||
sā tu vidhvastavapuṣaḥ kaśmalābhihataujasaḥ ||
dadarśa pathi gacchantī vasūn devān divaukasaḥ ||
tathārūpāṃś ca tān dṛṣṭvā papraccha saritāṃ varā ||
kim idaṃ naṣṭarūpāḥ stha kaccit kṣemaṃ divaukasām ||
Vaishampayana said: 'There was a king, lord of the earth, born of the line of Ikshvaku, renowned as Mahabhisha, truthful of speech, whose valor matched his truthfulness. That lord, with a thousand horse-sacrifices and a hundred vajapeya rites, gratified Indra, king of the gods, and thereafter attained heaven. Then once the gods paid homage to Brahma; among those present were royal sages, and that king Mahabhisha as well. And now Ganga, the best of rivers, came before the Grandsire; her garment, moon-bright, was lifted by the wind. Then the hosts of gods at once cast down their faces; but the royal sage Mahabhisha gazed fearlessly upon that river. That Mahabhisha was condemned by the lord Brahma, who said to him: "Having been born among mortals, you shall regain these worlds only afterward." That king, having weighed in his mind all the kings rich in austerity, chose the resplendent Pratipa to be his father. And the river, seeing that king Mahabhisha lose his composure at the sight of her, and thinking only of him, she, the best of rivers, turned back with the same thought. As she went on her way, she saw the celestials -- the Vasu gods -- their bodily radiance destroyed, their strength struck down by anguish. The best of rivers, seeing them in such a state, asked: "What is this? Why are you dimmed in appearance? Is all well with the celestials?"'
56add1633adf · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 4:16:46 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here is the prelude to the birth of Shantanu (Mahabhisha) and Bhishma (the Vasus). Telling is the fall of Mahabhisha -- for what seems so small a thing: alone among all, he did not lower his eyes before Ganga as her garment was bared, while the gods turned their gaze away. Here is a subtlety of dharma even in heaven: before temptation, the senses must be restrained (the eyes lowered); Mahabhisha, yielding to attraction, 'lost his composure' -- and fell. Thus even in heaven passion, attraction to beauty, casts down; and, as with Yayati (chapter 83), the cause of the fall is not external but internal -- impurity of heart. Telling too is the mutual attraction: Ganga, herself the occasion of the fall, is captivated by Mahabhisha -- and 'turns back with the same thought'; so providence brings them together for the birth of Bhishma. And Ganga's meeting with the fallen Vasus is a second thread woven in: their curse, told further on, will find its resolution through her. Thus scripture weaves two strands -- Mahabhisha and the Vasus -- into a single knot, from which will be born Shantanu, his river-wife Ganga, and Bhishma -- and the main narrative will begin.