“(Rishi) Vasishtha
continued, ‘The Brahmana lady, thus addressed by them, said, ‘O children (meaning
O Kshatriyas), I have not robbed you of
your eye-sight, nor am I angry with you. This child, however, of the Bhrigu
race has certainly been angry with you. There is little doubt, O children, that
you have been robbed of your sight by that illustrious child whose anger has
been kindled at the remembrance of the slaughter of his race. O children, while
you were destroying even the embryos of the Bhrigu race, this child was held by
me in my thigh for a hundred years! In order that the prosperity of Bhrigu’s
race might be restored, the entire Vedas with their (six) branches came to this one (her own
child) while he was in the womb. It is
plain that this descendant of the Bhrigu race, enraged at the slaughter of his
fathers, desires to slay you! It is by his divine energy that your eyes have
been blinded. Therefore, O children, you pray to this my excellent child born
of my thigh. Pacified by your worship he may restore your eye-sight.’
“(Rishi) Vasishtha
continued, ‘Hearing those words of the Brahmana lady, all these princes
addressed the thigh-born child, saying, ‘Be favourable (Praseedham in
Sanskrit)!’ And the child became favourable
to them. That best of Brahmana Rishis, in consequence of his having been born
after tearing open his mother's thigh, came to be known throughout the three
worlds by the name of Aurva (thigh-born). Those princes regaining their eye-sight went away. But the Muni Aurva
of the Bhrigu race resolved upon overcoming the whole world. O child (Paraashara), the high-souled Rishi (Aurva) set his heart upon the destruction of
every creature in the world. That descendant of the Bhrigu race (Rishi
Aurva), for paying worship (as he
regarded) to his slaughtered ancestors,
devoted himself to the severest of penances (Tapas in Sanskrit) with the object of destroying the whole
world. Desirous of pleasing his ancestors, the Rishi (Aurva) pained by his severe Tapas the three
worlds with the Devas, the Asuras and human beings. The Pitris (Ancestors), then, learning what the child of their
race (Rishi Aurva) was about, all
came from their own region (Pitruloka)
to the Rishi (Aurva) and addressing
him said:
“Aurva, O son, you have been fierce in your Tapas. Your power has been
witnessed by us. Be favourable to the three worlds. O, control your anger. O
child, it was not from (our) inability
that the Bhrigus of souls under complete control were, all of them, unmoved to
their own destruction at the hands of the murderous Kshatriyas. O child (Aurva), when we grew tired of the long periods of
life alloted to us, it was then that we desired our own destruction through the
instrumentality of the Kshatriyas. The wealth that the Bhrigus had placed in
their house underground had been placed only with the object of anger the
Kshatriyas and picking a quarrel with them. O you best of Brahmanas, as we were
desirous of heaven, of what use could wealth be to us? The treasurer of heaven (Lord
Kubera) had kept a large treasure for
us. O child (Aurva), when we found
that death could not, by any means, overtake us all, it was then, that we
regarded this as the best means (of compassing our desire). They who commit
suicide never attain to regions that are blessed. Thinking upon this, we
abstained from self-destruction. That which, therefore you desire to do (Destruction
of every creature in the world) is not
agreeable to us. Stop your mind, therefore, from the sinful act of destroying
the whole world. O child (Aurva),
destroy not the Kshatriyas nor the seven worlds. O, kill this anger of yours
that stains your energy of Tapas.’”
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