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SHREE SHOOKDEO, the sage, said,--Raja! the wives of Kuns and his brothers' wives, having completed the necessary ablutions, returned in tears to the royal palace: and Shree Krishnù and Bulram, having come to Basoodeo and Dewukee, and knocked off their handcuffs and fetters, making obeisance, stood before them with joined hands. Whilst beholding the countenance of Krishnù, Basoodeo and Dewukee became possessed of knowledge, and had a firm belief in their minds, "That both brothers were deities; and that they had descended upon the earth to destroy evil spirits, and remove the burthens of the world." Whilst these thoughts were passing in the minds of Basoodeo and Dewukee, Huri, acquainted with the secrets of the heart, sent forth his delusive power, which deprived them both of understanding; and they looked upon them both again as their children. In the mean while, Shree Krishnù Chund said, with very great humility, "You have for a long time past suffered great afflictions, and have retained a constant recollection of us both. It has not been any fault of ours, because since you placed us under charge of Nund, at Gokool, we have been under the authority of others, and have had no power of our own. But this thought was constantly in our minds, that we had not contributed in any
way to the happiness of her, who had borne us in her womb; and had not enjoyed the delightful society of our parents, and had wasted our lives to no purpose in the house of strangers. They have suffered great misfortunes on our account, and we have not done them any service. In the world they are possessed of power, who serve their fathers and mothers. We have remained indebted to them, and have not been able to do any kind offices for them."
O lord of the earth! when Shree Krishnù Jee had thus given expression to his mental grief, Basoodeo and Dewukee embraced the two brothers with the greatest affection, and forgot all their former affliction in their present joy. Having thus made their parents happy, the two brothers went thence to Oogursen, and joining their hands said, "Grandfather! be pleased to assume the regal power: this is a favourable constellation and a propitious day for doing so."
When the Raja Oogursen had heard these words of Huri, he rose up, and having come and thrown himself at the feet of Shree Krishnù Chund, began to say, "O lord of compassion! be pleased to listen to my humble petition; that, as you have destroyed the great sinner, Kuns, and all evil spirits, and thereby conferred happiness on your worshippers, you should yourself ascend the throne and rule over Muttra, and grant protection to your subjects."
Krishnù replied,--"O great king! the members of the family of Judoo have not any right of inheritance to the kingly power, a circumstance which is universally known. When the Raja Jujat was in his old age, he called his son Judoo, and said to him, 'Give me your youth, and take my old age.' On hearing this, Judoo thought to himself, 'If I give my father my present youth, he, being young again, will have sexual connexion, the sin of which will fall on me: wherefore, it is better I should not do so.' Having thus reflected and considered, he said to his father, 'I cannot comply with your request.' On hearing these words, the Raja Jujat was
angry and pronounced a curse upon Judoo, saying, 'Begone! none of your descendants shall ever have regal power.' In the mean while, his younger son, named Poor, presented himself, and joining his hands said, 'Father! give me your old age, and accept my youth; this body is useless to me: if any advantage can accrue to you from it, what can be better?' When Poor had thus spoken, the Raja Jujat was highly pleased, and exchanged with him his old age for Poor's youth, and said, 'The succession to the throne shall continue in your family.' For this reason, grandfather! as I am a descendant of Judoo, it is not right for me to exercise sovereign power. Do you ascend the throne, and assume royal authority and banish all solicitude. We will accomplish, whatever you may order us to perform. We will inflict severe punishment on all, who do not obey your commands. And be not troubled with care and anxiety, but carry on a just and equitable government, and promote the welfare of your subjects. Cause search to be made for all members of the family of Judoo, who, from dread of Kuns, have abandoned their own cities to dwell under the authority of strangers, and grant them a happy settlement in Muttra. Worship brahmins, cows and the gods, and constantly give your attention to their protection and support."
Having narrated thus much, Shree Shookdeo, the sage, said, O incarnation of justice! Shree Krishnù Chund, the king of kings and the benefactor of his worshippers, knowing Oogursen to be one who offered devotion to him, having thus advised and seated him on the throne, made the marks of sovereignty on his forehead; and having raised the royal canopy over his head, both the brothers began to fan him.
All the inhabitants of the city were highly delighted, and began to shout forth exclamations of joyful praise, and the gods to rain flowers. O great king! having thus seated Oogursen upon the throne, the brothers brought away with them many rich dresses and jewels, and went thence to
[paragraph continues] Nund Rae Jee, in whose presence they stood with joined hands, and said with the greatest humility, "How shall we speak in fitting terms of your greatness? If we had a thousand tongues, we could not explain your many excellent qualities. You have brought us up with the greatest affection as your own sons, and shown us the most tender kindness; and our mother, Jusodha, loves us greatly, fixes her kindest regards upon us, and always treats us as her own children; she never allows her mind to be estranged from us." Shree Krishnù added, "Father! you must not be offended at my words, I will speak to you with sincerity, and will call you both my parents; but shall now remain for some days at Muttra, and having visited my brethren of the same caste, hear the history of the family of Judoo, and will gladden my mother and father with a meeting, for they have suffered great griefs on our account, if they had not had us conveyed to your house, they would not have endured any troubles." With these words Krishnù placed the dresses and jewels before Nund, and, abandoning all affection, said, "Offer my respects to my mother by kissing her feet, and continue to love me with affection."
On these words coming from Shree Krishnù's mouth, Nund Rae was very sad, and began to heave deep sighs; and the cowherds' children said to themselves, reflecting on what Krishnù had said, "This is a very strange speech he has made, we are inclined to infer from it, that he is about to deceive us, and go away, otherwise he would not have spoken so unkindly."
O great king! after a short time, one of their companions, named Soodamù, said, "Brother Krishnù! what business have you now at Muttra, that you thus unfeelingly abandon your father? You have done well in destroying Kuns, and completing the work you came to accomplish. Unite now with Nund, and come and rule over Brindabun; be not eagerly desirous to reign here, you will not be so happy as
at Brindabun. Fools, on obtaining sovereign power, forget themselves, and are delighted at beholding elephants and horses. Do not quit Brindabun to dwell elsewhere. Spring is perpetual there; the beauty of the thick woods and of the Jumna is never effaced from the mind. Brother! if you are determined on taking up your abode at Muttra, resigning the pleasures of Brindabun, not attending to my suggestion, and abandoning all affection for your parents, what accession to your greatness will you acquire by doing so. You will attend upon Oogursen, and suffer anxiety night and day. You must be subservient to him, on whom you have conferred the government. How will you submit to this disgrace? It is, therefore, most advisable that you should not cause grief to Nund Rae, but continue to remain with him. Think of the forests, the rivers and sports of Bruj. Forget not the herds! We will not let you go alone, O lord of Bruj! but will all accompany you."
Having proceeded thus far in his recitation, Shree Shookdeo, the sage, said to the Raja Pureechit,--O great king! when they had made many speeches to the above effect, ten or twenty of their companions remained with Shree Krishnù and Bulram; and they suggested to Nund Rae to go on, without any anxiety, with all others, and that they would come afterwards with Krishnù and Bulram. On hearing these words, the cowherds were in great agitation, as though they had been bitten by snakes; gazing on the face of Krishnù, and losing all resolution, they stood like pictures.
Buldeo Jee, perceiving that Nund Rae was deeply grieved, said to him, "Father! why are you so sad? We will return in a few days, after having accomplished what we have to do here. We send you on in advance of us, because our mother must be much disquieted by being left alone; she will, in a measure, be restored to confidence by your going." Nund Jee replied, "Son! come once with us, and return after the interview."
Having thus spoken, Nund was greatly disquieted and continued embracing his feet. The splendour of his understanding abated and became dull; he could not shed tears. O great king! when Shree Krishnù Chund Jee saw, that Nund and the cowherds' children were greatly troubled in mind, without being under the power of delusion, he thought to himself, that they would not live, if separated from him. He then sent forth that particular delusive power belonging to him, which has deluded the whole world. This power deprived Nund and the cowherds of all understanding. Krishnù then said, "Father! why do you indulge in such regrets? Consider what a short distance there is between Muttra and Brindabun. We are not going far from you, that you should be so sad. The people of Brindabun must be in grief, and, therefore, we send you before us."
When Krishnù had thus explained to Nund, his confidence was restored, and joining his hands, he said, "Krishnù! if these are your sentiments, I have no power to gainsay them. I will depart, as I cannot refuse compliance with your expressed wishes." When Nund Jee had thus spoken, Huri permitted him and the cowherds and their children to depart to Brindabun; and the two brothers remained at Muttra with some of their companions. The cowherds, who accompanied Nund were all during the whole journey, perplexed with heavy thoughts, like gamblers, who have lost every thing. Some retained their senses, but others had lost them entirely; they fell down on the road, tripping over each other. Although going to Brindabun they continued looking towards Muttra; and were greatly distressed by the pain of separation. In this state, they managed, by some means or other, to arrive at Brindabun. Hearing of their arrival, the Ranee Jusodha came running forth in a state of great perturbation; and being greatly disquieted in mind, at not seeing Bulram and Krishnù, she said to Nund Jee, "Husband! where have you lost our sons, that you have only brought back dresses and jewels?
[paragraph continues] You have thrown away the gold, and kept the glass. You have foolishly rejected nectar, and taken poison. Like a blind man, obtaining possession of the philosopher's stone, who throws it away, and afterwards strikes his forehead on hearing of its valuable qualities. You have thrown away gems of high value, (meaning Krishnù and Bulram.) You have thus lost our sons, and brought dresses and jewels instead of them. What will you do with wealth without them? O foolish husband! how can we pass life without them, whose separation from us even for a moment caused us the deepest grief? What was the state of your feelings, when they suggested separation?"
Nund Jee was much grieved at these words, and replied, with downcast looks, "It is true Krishnù gave me these dresses and jewels; but I know not who brought them here. How shall I mention what Krishnù said to me? You will also be grieved, when you hear his words. He returned to me after having killed Kuns, and made use of most unkind expressions. They have become the sons of Basoodeo; and have gone away from us, after having completely gained our affections. When I was astonished at what they said, they talked of remuneration to us for bringing them up. Do not call Huri, Nund's son; look upon and worship him as a deity. I thought, that he was Narayun from the very first; but being under the power of delusion, regarded him as a son."
O great king! when Nund Rae Jee had repeated truly all Shree Krishnù had said to him, Jusodha, being under the influence of delusion, at one time looked upon Krishnù as her son, and was sorrowful and disturbed in mind, and shed tears. At another time, recovering her reason, she regarded him as a deity; and meditating upon him, and celebrating with songs his excellent attributes, she dissipated the grief of her mind. And in this manner all the inhabitants of Bruj, both men and women, being deeply imbued with love for Huri, held various discourses regarding him, which I have not power to describe.
For which reason, I will mention the sports of Muttra; listen attentively. When Huldhur and Gobind came to Basoodeo and Dewukee, after having permitted Nund Rae to depart, they were delighted at seeing them, and forgot all their former griefs, as a devotee is delighted on obtaining the fruit of the penance which he has performed. Basoodeo Jee first addressed Dewukee, saying, "Krishnù and Buldeo have dwelt amongst strangers, and have ate and drank with them; and are not acquainted with the customs of their own caste. It is right, therefore, that we should send for, and consult the family priest, and act by his advice." Dewukee assented. Basoodeo Jee then sent for Gurg, the sage, who was the family priest; and on his arrival, after having explained all the perplexities of his mind, enquired, "O great king! kindly inform us, what we ought to do." Gurg, the sage, replied, "First of all send an invitation to all their brethen of the same caste; and afterwards admit Bulram and Krishnù to the caste, and present them with Brahminical threads."
When the family priest had thus spoken, Basoodeo sent an invitation into the city, and invited all Brahmins, and all descendants of Judoo. They came, and were received with the greatest respect, and offered seats. Basoodeo, first of all, having gone through all the ceremonies of initiation into caste, and caused their nativities to be written, presented to the Brahmins ten thousand cows with horns of gold, backs of copper, and feet of silver, dressed out in silken cloths, which cows he had made a vow to give at the birth of Krishnù. He afterwards caused festive rejoicings to be made, and having observed all the customs and ordinances of the Vedas, bestowed Brahminical threads on Bulram and Krishnù; and, having made presents to the two brothers, sent them forth to acquire knowledge. They departed and came to the house of a learned sage and great pundit, named Sandeepun, of the city of Awuntika, who was then residing at Benares, and possessed of great knowledge; and approaching him with an obeisance, and joined
hands, they said to him with great humility of manner, "O king of sages! take compassion on us, and with sincerity of mind bestow upon us the gift of knowledge." O great king! when Shree Krishnù and Bulram Jee had made this humble address to Sandeepun, the sage, he brought them to his house in the most affectionate manner, and began to instruct them with great kindness. In a short time, having read the four Vedas, and Oopvedas, six Shastrùs, nine treatises upon Grammar, eighteen Pooranùs, and discourses upon charms, amulets, enchantments, futurity, astrology, physic, copulation, music and prosody, they became the receptacles of the fourteen sciences. After this, the two brothers said one day to their spiritual preceptor, with joined hands and great humility, "O great king! it is said, that however much a man may give in different births, and various descents upon the earth, he cannot give a sufficient recompense to those who have imparted knowledge to him: but please to direct that we should make you a present according to our power; and we will bestow it to the utmost limit of our means; and receiving your blessing return home."
When Shree Krishnù and Bulram had thus spoken, Sandeepun, the sage, rose up, and engaged in thought and reflection returned home. He explained to his wife, "That the two children, Bulram and Krishnù, are immortal deities, and have descended upon the earth for the sake of their worshippers, and to remove the burthens of the world. I have discovered this secret by witnessing their sports; because they, who read continually in several successive births, cannot fathom the depths of sea-like knowledge, and behold they have, in this state of infancy, passed over this limitless and unfordable sea in a few days: they can accomplish whatever they wish in a single second." The sage added, "What boon shall we ask of them, wife?"
On hearing these words, she thought for a short time and said "Go and ask them for our deceased son's corpse; they will bring it to us, if they possess the powers of Huri."
Having thus reflected, Sandeepun, the sage, came out of his house with his wife, into the presence of Shree Krishnù and Buldeo, and joining his hands said, in a supplicating manner, "O great king! I had a son, with whom, on a certain festival, I went, accompanied by my relations, to bathe in the sea, when we arrived there, and all having undressed began to bathe, a great wave of the sea came, in which my son was drowned, and did not come forth again. Some shark must have swallowed him, I am greatly grieved for his loss, if you desire to make me a present, as your spiritual preceptor, restore that son, and remove the affliction of my mind."
On hearing these words, Shree Krishnù and Bulram, having made obeisance to their spiritual preceptor and his wife, and having ascended their ruth, went towards the sea for the purpose of bringing their son; and, having proceeded on their journey for some time, arrived on the shore. Seeing them approach in angry mood, the sea was alarmed, and assuming mortal shape came forth with many presents from her own element, and stood on the shore before them trembling, and greatly agitated with fear; placing her presents before them, and bowing her head, and making submissive salutations, she said with joined hands, and in a tone of supplication, "Great is my good fortune, that Krishnù has appeared to me, for what purpose have you come here?" Shree Krishnù Chund said, "My spiritual preceptor came here with his relatives to bathe; whose son you swept away with a wave; bring him here, and give him up to us. This is the purpose for which we have come."
The sea replied, bowing her head, "I have not overwhelmed him with a wave. You are the spiritual guide of all, and lord of the universe, and are the deity under the form of Ramù. I have been very much afraid since this circumstance occurred, and have continued to live with a regard to the dignity of my character and my limits." Huri replied, "If you did not take him off, who else did so?" The sea said,
[paragraph continues] "O lord of compassion! I will explain the mystery: there is a demon, named Sunkasoor, in the form of a shell, who dwells in me, and who exercises tyranny over all animals, moving in the water, and carries off all who come to the shore to bathe; perhaps he may have taken away your preceptor's son. I do not know certainly that he has done so; but be pleased to come into the sea yourself and ascertain."
On hearing these words Krishnù went eagerly into the sea; on beholding Sunkhasoor, he killed him, and splitting his belly, cast out his entrails. He did not find his spiritual preceptor's son; and in consequence thereof, expressed regret to Bulbhudrù, saying, "Brother! I have destroyed Sunkhasoor to no purpose." Bulram Jee replied, "It does not matter, carry him now about with you." On hearing this Huri made that shell his weapon. The two brothers proceeding thence reached the city of Jum, the region of the dead, the name of which is Sunjumnee, and Dhurm Raj, the Raja thereof. On beholding them, Dhurm Raj descended from his throne, and advancing to meet them, gave them a most welcome reception. Having seated them on a throne, washed their feet, and taken the water with which their feet had been washed, he said, "Happy is this place! fortunate this city! which Krishnù has visited, and fulfilled the supplications of his worshippers. Give me some business to perform for you, that your servant may execute it." Krishnù replied, "Bring the son of my spiritual preceptor."
When Huri had thus spoken, Dhurm Raj went off immediately and brought the child, and joining his hands said in a tone of submission, "O lord of compassion! through your favour I knew, beforehand, that you would come to fetch the child, and have therefore taken the greatest care of him; and have not yet restored him to life." O great king! with these words Dhurm Raj, presented the child to Huri, who immediately placed him upon his ruth, and proceeding thence conveyed him in a short time to the presence of his spiritual
preceptor. The two brothers, joining their hands said, "O divine preceptor! what further orders have you for us?"
On hearing these words, and seeing his son, Sandeepun, the sage, was highly delighted, and bestowing many benedictions on Shree Krishnù and Bulram Jee said, "What more shall I ask, O Krishnù! you have conferred the greatest happiness on me by restoring my son. Great will be my renown from having had such pupils as you. Return home now; and may you have a safe and pleasant journey."
When the spiritual preceptor had given them this injunction, the two brothers departed, after the usual ceremonies of obtaining permission to go, and salutation; and ascending their ruth proceeded on their journey, and arrived at Muttra. On hearing of their arrival, the Raja Oogursen, together with Basoodeo and the inhabitants of the city, both male and female, came forth to meet them. They met them outside the city, and being greatly pleased brought Krishnù into the city in musical procession, spreading silken cloths on the road for him to walk upon. There were rejoicings and festivities in every house.