2023-03-03 12:33:06 by Alok Kumar
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Slōkās 1 to 13: Queen Devāyi conceives. Her longings
during pregnancy are described.
1. The queen conceived by the king and bore in
her womb, the seed of royal race, as the cosmic waters
held in them the tējas virile of Brahma with which the
three worlds were created.
2. The queen put aside her jewels. Her face was
somewhat pale like the sara reed and her form unusually
slender. She shone like a river in autumn with lotuses
gone and with the globe of the moon reflected on its
watery surface.
3. She who was the beloved consort of the lord of
this earth, indulged in tasting particles of it as if to
teach the responsibility of earth-sway to the infant in
her womb.
4. The very nature of her longings in her
pregnancy which always took a daring turn suggested
that her would-be son would be wedded to heroic
accomplishments.
5. Without caring for the Tungabhadra which
flowed nearby and which was easily fordable, she desir-
ed to sport in the Tāmraparṇi in company with her army
of elephants that would raise waves in its waters (while
they submerged with their huge bodies).
6. Though she was physically unable to walk as
far as the pleasure-hill where the deer were quietly