Adi Parvamu- The Story of Dushyanta

Dushyanta was a very strong, brave and a generous person. In his childhood he played in wild forests and never feared Lions, Tigers and elephants. There was no one to control him when he was a youth. He was fearless. With his immense strength, he ruled the entire earth. Everyone was very happy in his Kingdom, they did not have any difficulties. Disease, Fear, unhappiness and destruction were far out of the sight of his people. They were very satisfied in all aspects of life. Bhudevi was content and happy about the prosperity in the kingdom. Dharma was followed in all aspects in the kingdom.

One day Dushyanta went for hunting. Like the triumphal chariot harnessed by seven horses ridden by Lord Surya, Dushyanta's chariot had horses which were very strong and fast. Many other Horse Riders accompanied him on horses. Many soldiers also accompanied him with Swords, spears, poleaxes and Arrows.

Dushyanta then surrounded the entire forest. The hunters disturbed the animals by beating drums, whistling and shouting out loud. The way ocean was churned with Mount Mandara, the whole forest was shaken by the commotion created by the hunters. The animals were frightened by the sudden out burst of noises. Wild boars, bears, Lions, tigers and wild elephants started going in all directions in confusion.

Dushyanta showed all his skill in hunting, he slayed a few animals using arrows, he chased a few and hinted them down, he tore a few apart with his sword. In this killing spree he lost the count of the animals he killed and went deep in to the forest. The soldiers could not keep up with his speed and they settled down, only a few of them could go with him. Eventually they reached a river called Malini, on the banks of it was a beautiful garden. It was filled with seasonal fruits and flowers. The Khandava_forest of Indra and the the CHAITRA-RATHA of Kubera (The grove or forest of Kuvera on Mandara, one of the spurs of Meru; it is so called from its being cultivated by the gandharva Chitra-ratha.) were nothing before this garden. The garden was filled with Henna trees, Ashoka trees, flower trees, Mango trees, Banana trees and many more beautiful plants and shrubs. Listening to nightingale sing, Dushyanta entered in to the garden.

The garden honoured the King by its fragrance in the air from the beautiful flowers, flowers showered over him from the trees. As he was drawn towards the pleasant smell , reached a place where he could smell Ghee, the aroma of the Homa. Dushyanta found out that it was a tapovan and there were Aashrams close by where the Munis resided.

Tapovan was enticing his mind and he was very happy there, as he went in deeper, he heard the hymns uttered by Brahmins, Vedic Chants, conversations between saints. He had reached the Aashram of Kanva also know as NalaPittham. The Aashram reminded him of Nara Narayana Aashram located on the banks of river Ganga. Parrots were singing samagana and the elephants were listening to them. The elephants were sprinkling water from their trunks and the mist in the air was so soothing that the Lions were seated under the tree to enjoy the showers. The cats and rats were seen playing together waiting for the food given by Munis. Dushyanta was surprised by the effect created by sages. He asked his family who followed him to wait outside while he went in to pay his greetings to Kanva.