Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (Volume 1).pdf/255

Rh wish to know the disease thou sufferest from, so that I may endeavour to apply a remedy.' Thus addressed by his son, Santanu answered, - 'Thou sayest truly, O son, that I have become melancholy. I will also tell thee why I am so. O thou of Bharata's line, thou art the only scion of this our large race. Thou art always engaged in sports of arms and achieyements of prowess ! But, Oson, I am always thinking of the instability of human life! If any danger overtake thee, O child of Ganga, the result is that we become sonless! Truly thou alone art to me as a century of sons! I do not, therefore, desire to wed again. I only desire and pray that properity may ever attend on thee so that our dynasty may be perpetuated. The wise say that he that hath one son hath no son. Sacrifices before fire and the knowledge of the three Vedas yield, it is true, everlasting religious merit, but all these, in point of religious merit, do not come up to a sixteenth part of the religious merit attainable on the birch of a son ! Indeed, in this respect, there is hardly any difference between men and the lower animals. O wise one, I do not entertain a shadow of doubt that one attains to heaven in consequence of his having begotten a son. The Vedas which constitute the root of the Puranas and are regarded as authoritative even by the gods, contain numerous proof of this. O thou of Bharata's race, thou art a hero of excitable temper, who is always engaged in the exercise of arms. It is very probable that thou wilt be slain on the field of battle. If it so happen, what then will be the state of the Bharata dynasty! It is this thought that hath made me so melancholy ! I have now told thee fully the causes of my sorrow,

Vaisampayana continued - Devavtata who was endued with great intelligence, having ascertained all this from the king, reflected within himself for a while. He then went to the old minister devoted to bis father's welfare and asked him about the cause of the king's grief. O bull of Bharata's race, when the prince questioned the minister, the latter told him about the boon that was demanded by the chief of the fishermen in respcet of his daughter Gandhavati. Then Devavrata, accompanied by many Kshatriya chiefs of venerable age, personally repaired to the chief of the fishermen and begged of him his daughter on bebalf of the king. The chief of the fishermen received him with due adorations, and thou of Bharata's race, when the prince took his seat in the court of the chief, the latter addressed bim and said, -'O bull among the Bharatas, thou art the first of all wielders of weapons and the only son of Santanu, Thy power is great! But I have something to tell thee. If the bride's father was Indra himself, even then he would have to repent of rejecting such an exceedingly bonourable and desirable proposal of marriage. The great man of whose seed this celebrated 31