12.18 Vana
Vali had a hundred sons, the eldest among whom was Vana. Vana was devoted to Shiva. He was also extremely powerful. He defeated Indra and conquered the three worlds.
Indra and the other gods went to Shiva. “Your devotee, Vana is oppressing us,” they told Shiva. “Please take care of him.”
Shiva took up a single arrow and with this, he completely burnt up Vana’s city.
(This is deviation from the usual account of the Puranas, such as the Vishnu Purana or the Bhagavata Purana. In those accounts, Krishna fought with Vana and defeated him, although Shiva fought on Vana’s side. It was because of Krishna’s blessings that Vana became Shiva’s companion. Vana’s capital was named Shonitapura.)
When Vana’s city was being burnt up, Vana emerged and started to pray to Shiva’s linga (image of Shiva). Pleased at Vana’s prayers, Shiva made Vana a ganapati. Thus, Vana came to be Shiva’s constant companion.
12.19 The Solar Dynasty
The sun-god, Vivasvana, was the son of Kashyapa and Aditi. He had four wives, Samjna, Rajni, Prabha and Chhaya.
Samjna’s son was Vaivasvata Manu. Rajni’s children were Yama, yamuna and Revanta. Savarni, Shani, Tapati and Vishti were Chhaya’s children and Prabha’s son was Prabhata.
(The names do not tally across the Puranas. For example, in the Markandeya Purana, the sun had only two wives, Samjna and Chhaya. Yama and Yamuna were also the children of Samjna.)
Vaivasvata Manu had nine sons. Their names were Ikshvaku, Nabhaga, Arishta, Karusha and Prishadhra. Manu also had a daughter named Ila, from whom the lunar dynasty originated.
Ikshvaku’s son was Vikukshi and this was the line of Kakutstha. In this line was born Rama, of Ramayana fame.
The names of several kings of the solar dynasty are given. But these we will not reproduce, as they are merely a catalog of names.
12.20 The Lunar Dynasty
Budha was the son of the moon-god Chandra. Budha married Ila and they had a son named Pururava.
Pururava married the apsara Urvashi and they had six sons. One of these sons was Ayu and amongst Ayu’s descendants was a king named Yayati.
Yayati had two wives. The first was Devayani, daughter of Shukracharya, the preceptor of the demons. The second wife was named Sharmishtha and she was the daughter of Vrishaparva, the king of the danavas. Yayati and Devayani had two sons, Yadu and Tursavu. Yayati and Sharmishtha had three sons, Druhya, Anu and Puru. When it became time for Yayati to retire to the forest, he gave puru the bulk of the kingdom and Puru’s descendants came to be known as the Pauravas. Yadu was given some land towards the south-west and his descendants were the Yadavas. Turvasu ruled to the south-east, Druhya to the west and Anu to the north.
One of Yadu’s descendants was the king Kritavirya and Kritavirya’s son became famous as Kartavirya Arjuna. he had a thousand arms and was the most skilled of fighters. He eventually met his death at the hands of Parashurama.
Kartavirya Arjuna had several hundred sons. But the five most important ones were Shura, Shurasena, Krishna, Dhrishna and Jayadvaja. Jayadvaja was devoted to Vishnu, but his brothers were more inclined towards the worship of Shiva.
The four brothers told Jayadhvaja. “Stop worshipping Vishnu. Our father was a devotee of Shiva’s and it is our duty to follow the example set by our father. Let us worship Shiva.”
“It is my duty to worship Vishnu,” replied Jayadhvaja. “Vishnu is the lord of everything, he is the preserver. How can I do otherwise?”
The brothers debated about the virtues of worshipping Shiva vis-a-vis Vishnu, but could arrive at no consensus. They therefore decided to seek the advice of the seven great sages (saptarshi), chief amongst whom was Vashistha.
Vashishtha told the brothers, “One worships the god that one chooses, there are no rules in this regard. All gods yield the desired fruit, if properly worshipped. To the extent that there are rules, there are as follows. Kings worship Vishnu and Indra; brahmanas worship Agni, Aditya, Brahma and Shiva; the gods worship Vishnu; the demons worship Shiva; the yakshas and gandharvas worship Chandra; the sages worship Brahma and Shiva; and women worship Parvati. But for humans, the best way is to realise that Shiva is no different from Vishnu and that Shiva and Vishnu should therefore be worshipped simultaneously.”
The Kurma Purana also gives the names of several kings belongings to the lunar dynasty. But these we will gloss over, as they are merely only a catalogue of names.
12.21 Durjaya and Urvashi
There used to be a king named Durjaya. He was learned in the shastras and a good king. His wife was a beautiful and good woman.
One day, King Durjaya went to the banks of the river Kalindi. There he met the apsara Urvashi and fell in love with her. He married Urvashi and lived with her for many years.
After several years had passed, Durjaya remembered his kingdom and wife. He told Urvashi, “Please let me return to my home now.”
“Not yet, king,” replied Urvashi. “Please stay with me for one more year.”
“I will return as soon as I have visited my kingdom,” said Durjaya. “I promise you that I will not tarry there. Therefore, let me return.”
“I will let you go on condition that you do not live as the husband of any other woman,” replied Urvashi.
Durjaya agreed to this condition and returned home. But because of the word that he had given Urvashi, he stayed away from his wife and did not venture near her. His wife tried to find out what the matter was, but Durjaya would not reply. Finally, the queen got to know what Durjaya had done and realised that her husband had committed a sin. He should not have married Urvashi while his wife was still alive. The queen therefore told Durjaya, “You have sinned. You must perform penance. That is the sort of action that befits a king, not this despondency that you have become addicted to.”
King Durjaya went and met the sage Kanva to ascertain what sort of penance should be performed for the sin that he had committed. Kanva advised him to go to the Himalayas and meditate.
While Durjaya was going to the Himalayas, he met a gandharva king. The gandharva king wore a divine garland, Durjaya remembered Urvashi. He thought that the garland was a fitting adornment for no one but Urvashi. He began to fight with the gandharva over the possession of the garland. Durjaya managed to defeat the gandharva king and obtain the garland. He immediately hastened to banks of the river Kalindi, because he thought that he might find Urvashi there. But Urvashi was not to be found, and Durjaya roamed the world in search of her.
Finally, Durjaya arrived in the region of Mount Sumeru. The lake Manasa is located there. And by the shores of the lake, Durjaya found Urvashi. He gave the apsara the garland and lived happily with her for some time.
After a few days had passed, Urvashi asked Durjaya, “King please tell me what transpired when you went home.”
Durjaya thereupon told Urvashi about the conversation that he had with his wife and about what the sage Kanva had asked him to do.
Urvashi was alarmed when she heard the king’s account. “What have you done?” she exclaimed. “Hasten back, otherwise Kanva and your wife will curse the two of us.”
But Durjaya was so smitten with love for Urvashi that he refused to listen to Urvashi’s entreaties. Urvashi therefore made herself very ugly. This repelled Durjaya, and he gave Urvashi up.
For twelve years Durjaya performed difficult tapasya, living only on fruits and roots. For another twelve years, he lived only on air. After having thus meditated for twenty-four years, Durjaya went to Kanva’s hermitage and told the sage all that he had done.
“I am pleased that you have realised the folly of your ways and have performed tapasya,” said Kanva. “But that alone is not enough. Your sin has been too severe. Go to the city of Varanasi and live there. Shiva is ever-present in that city and he will pardon all your sins.”
Durjaya did this and was pardoned all his sins. Such are the benefits of praying to Shiva and such are the virtues of the wonderful city of Varanasi.
