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The Tale of Subhum Chakri
Yoga Shastra, Second Light, Verse 27
The two gods, having not received the desired response, departed from there, thanking the sage Jamdagni with the words, "Blessed, blessed." They went to test the sage. Upon reaching the sage's hermitage, they saw that his long matted hair was as vast as a banyan tree and touched the ground. His feet were covered with termite mounds. In the tangled web of his beard, the gods, disguised as a pair of ducks, built their nest. Then the male duck said to the female duck, "I am going to the Himalayas." The female duck replied, "If you go there, you will fall in love with another duck and will not return. Therefore, I will not allow you to go." The male duck said, "My dear, if I do not return, I will be guilty of cow slaughter." Thus, the female duck, bound by the oath of the male duck, said, "My dear, if you swear by the sin of this sage, then I can allow you to go. May your journey be auspicious." Upon hearing this, the sage, filled with anger, grabbed both birds with both hands and said, "I perform such arduous austerities that just as darkness does not remain in the presence of the sun, how can my sins endure while I am engaged in my austerities?" To this, the male duck said to the sage, "Do not be angry. The truth is that your austerities are not successful, because 'Aputraasyagatirnasti' - 'Without a son, there is no good fortune for a man.' Have you not heard this scriptural saying?" Accepting the words of the birds as true, the sage thought, "I am without a wife and son, therefore my austerities have been wasted and have flowed away like water." Seeing the sage thus disturbed, Dhanvantari thought, "These sages have misled me. Curse them! I should abandon their company." With this thought, he also became a Shravak. "When there is realization, who does not have faith? Indeed, everyone does." After that, the two gods became invisible.
Meanwhile, Jamdagni, the sage, reached the city called Nemikoṣṭhaka. There, King Jitashatru ruled, the father of many daughters. Just as Mahadeva had gone to Daksha Prajapati for the sake of obtaining a daughter, so too did the sage go to the king with the desire to obtain a daughter. The king, standing up, welcomed him and, with folded hands, asked, "Lord, why have you come? Whatever your command, please speak, I am ready to serve you." To this, the sage said, "I have come to you to request a daughter." The king said, "I have a hundred daughters. Take whichever one you desire." The sage went into the inner apartments of the daughters and said to the princesses, "Which of you is willing to become my wife?" Hearing this unexpected proposal, the princesses looked at the sage and said, "Oh, matted-haired one! White-haired one! Weak one! Begging mendicant old man! Are you not ashamed to speak like this to us, young maidens?" Thus saying, the princesses spat upon him. Therefore, just as fire flares up from the wind, so too did the fire of anger flare up in Jamdagni. With the power of his austerities, he twisted the princesses into shapes like bent bows. At that time, seeing a girl playing on a pile of dust in the courtyard, the sage called her to him and said, "Oh, Renukā! Do you desire me?" Thus saying, he showed her the fruit of the Bijore tree. She also extended her hand, indicating acceptance. Just as a poor man clutches tightly to wealth, so too did the sage clutch the girl to his chest. Therefore, the king, giving cows as a gift, also gave the girl to him. Because of the affectionate relationship of a sister-in-law with the remaining 99 daughters of the king, the sage, with the power of his austerities, restored them to their former beauty. Curse the fools for this kind of waste of austerities! The princess was still young, innocent, and beautiful. Therefore, the sage took her to his hermitage. The days of the ascetic passed quickly. The girl now reached the lion gate of the beautiful youth, like the play-garden of Kamadeva. Just as Mahadeva had performed the ritual of accepting the hand of Parvati, so too did Jamdagni, the sage, marry the girl in the presence of fire. When she became of age, the sage said to her, "My dear, I am preparing a special food for you, blessed with a mantra. If you eat it, you will be blessed with a son who will be the best among Brahmins." To this, Renukā said to her husband, the sage, "My dear, my sister Anantvirya is the wife of the king of Hastinapur. Please prepare a Kshatriya food, blessed with a mantra, for her as well." The sage...