Puranic encyclopaedia
by Vettam Mani | 1975 | 609,556 words | ISBN-10: 0842608222
This page describes the Story of Mandhata included the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani that was translated into English in 1975. The Puranas have for centuries profoundly influenced Indian life and Culture and are defined by their characteristic features (panca-lakshana, literally, ‘the five characteristics of a Purana�).
Story of Ի
A King of pre-eminence in the dynasty of ṣv.
Genealogy.
Descending in order from վṣṇ were born��Ѳī�śⲹ貹�վ—ṣv�վܰṣi�Śś岹�ʳܰñᲹⲹ�Kakutstha�Anenas�ṛtܱś�Prasenajit�۳ܱś�Ի.
Birth.
۳ܱś, father of Ի had a hundred wives. Still he had no children. Greatly griefstricken by the lack of a son he went to the forests to see people of virtue and piety. During his wandering in the forest he happened to reach a club of sages. ۳ܱś went and sat in their midst. He was happy to be in their midst but was worried in his mind and so he sent up deep sighs as he sat there sad and śilent. The sages asked him why he looked so sad and the King crying like a child told them the cause of his grief. The sages took pity on him and made him conduct the yāga 'Indradaivata'. They brought a jug of water made potent by recitals of mantras to be given to the queens to make them pregnant and placed the pot in the yāgaśālā. The yāga was coming to an end. One day the King felt unusually thirsty and unwilling to disturb the sages who were taking rest the King entered the yāgaśālā and finding a jug there full of water drank from it and quenched his thirst, little knowing that it contained the water made potent for a specific purpose by mantras. The next day when the sages went to the yāgaśālā they found the jug almost empty and were worried and started making enquiries. The King then confessed what he had done. The sages said that it was futile to fight against fate and somehow finished the yāga and went to their ś.
The King became pregnant and after ten months a child came out bursting open the right side of his stomach. The King consulted his ministers as to what should be done with the child and on their advice the child was taken to the forests and left there. But the child was protected by the Devas and they enquired among themselves as to whose breastfeeding it would get when Indra appeared and said "Mā� ٳ", meaning it would drink me. That was how the child got the name 'Ի'. Indra thrust the child’s big toe into its mouth and the child began to suck milk through it. Ի who grew thus drinking its own toe became a mighty man of renown. (7th Skandha, Devī Bhāgavata).
Administration of the state and marriage.
When Ի became a man of great strength his father died and he ascended the throne and became an Emperor of great fame. He conquered many kingdoms. He made his enemies flee from him. Because he intimidated the dasyus he got the name Trasadasyu. He married the perfect-figured chaste daughter Իܳī of Śaśabindurāja. She got two sons named Purukutsa and Mucukunda.
The ʳܰṇa state that Ի had another son named īṣa and fifty daughters who were all married to a sage named Saubhari.
How he caused rains in the country.
Ի ruled the country very virtuously without at any time going against truth and justice and his country became prosperous. Once it so happened that there were no rains for three successive years in the country and the greatly worried King went to the forests to know from the great sages there the reason for such a calamity. The sages told the King thus: "Oh King, of all yugas ṛtܲ is the best. This yuga is a brahmin-predominant one and Dharma stands on four legs. Penance is for brahmins only and no man of any other caste can do penance in this yuga. But in your country a Śū is performing penance and that is why the clouds refuse to shower rains. Kill him and then the evil will go". Hearing this Ի replied, "I will never kill an innocent ascetic. Teach me my duty at this time of peril". The sages were pleased at the reply of the King and advised him thus: "Oh King, start observing Vrata on the 岹śī day. (Eleventh day in each half of a month). The 岹śī which falls in the bright half of 貹岹 is called 'ʲ峾', and if you observe it by its cogency you will get not only rains but prosperity and happiness free from misery of any kind. You must persuade your subjects also to observe this".
The King on returning to his palace started observing '岹śī' along with his subjects of all the four castes and then it started to rain. Rains came in plenty and all the crops were rich. The subjects became happy. (Chapter 59, Padma Purāṇa).
Other details.
(i) Ի had to fight once against Lavaṇāsura but had to accept defeat before the god-given spear which Lavaṇāsura possessed. (Uttara 峾ⲹṇa).
(ii) Aśvinīdevas once helped Ի in his work as an owner of land. (ūٲ 112, Anuvāka 16, Ѳṇḍ 1, ṻ岹).
(iii) Ի became pure by ⲹñ and attained Svarga. (Śǰ첹 5, Chapter 257, Vana Parva).
(iv) Once 岹 spoke to ñᲹⲹ about the greatness of Ի. (Chapter 62, ٰṇa Parva).
(v) At another time Śrī ṛṣṇa spoke in glowing terms about the ⲹñ of Ի. (Śǰ첹 81, Chapter 29, ŚԳپ Parva).
(vi) Once Ѳ屹ṣṇ came to Ի disguised as Indra and conversed with him on 'Ჹ' (duties and responsibilities of a King.) (Śǰ첹 16, Chapter 64, ŚԳپ Parva).
(vii) Utatthya, son of ṅg, once taught Ի the outlines of Ჹ. (Chapter 90, ŚԳپ Parva).
(viii) Ի conquered the whole world in one day. (Śǰ첹 16, Chapter 124, ŚԳپ Parva).
(ix) On another occasion ṛh貹پ conversed with him on the subject of ҴǻԲ. (The giving away of cows as gifts). (Śǰ첹 4, Chapter 76, ԳśԲ Parva).
(x) Ի gave away as gifts millions of cows. (Śǰ첹 5, Chapter 85, ԳśԲ Parva).
(xi) Ի hated non-vegetarian food. (Śǰ첹 61, Chapter 115, ԳśԲ Parva).