And the
earth afflicted with the weight of numberless human beings and elephants,
horses, and cats, was, as it were, about to sink. And during the virtuous
reign of Suhotra the surface of the whole earth was dotted all over with
hundreds and thousands, of sacrificial stakes. And the lord of the earth,
Suhotra, begat, upon his wife Aikshaki three sons, viz., Ajamidha, Sumidha,
and Purumidha. The eldest of them, Ajamidha, was the perpetuator of the
royal line. And he begat six sons,--Riksha was born of the womb of Dhumini,
Dushmanta and Parameshthin, of Nili, and Jahnu, Jala and Rupina were born
in that of Kesini. All the tribes of the Panchalas are descended from
Dushmanta and Parameshthin. And the Kushikas are the sons of Jahnu of
immeasurable prowess. And Riksha who was older than both Jala and Rupina
became king. And Riksha begat Samvarana, the perpetuator of the royal line.
And, O king, it hath been heard by us that while Samvarana, the son of
Riksha, was ruling the earth, there happened a great loss of people from
famine, pestilence, drought, and disease. And the Bharata princes were
beaten by the troops of enemies. And the Panchalas setting out to invade
the whole earth with their four kinds of troops soon brought the whole
earth under their sway. And with their ten Akshauhinis the king of the
Panchalas defeated the Bharata prince. Samvarana then with his wife and
ministers, sons and relatives, fled in fear, and took shelter in the
forest on the banks of the Sindhu extending to the foot of the mountains.
Pages:
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394