ज्वरको उत्पत्ति

Yudhishthira said O grandfather you are endued with great wisdom and thoroughly grounded in every branch of learning. From this very narrative of the destruction of Vritra the wish has arisen in my mind of asking you a question.

You have said, O king, that Vritra was Stupefied by Fever, and that then, O sinless one, he was killed by Vasava with the thunderboli.

How did this Fever, O you of great wisdom, originale, O lord, I wish to hear fully of the origin of Fever,

Listen, O king, to the origin, known all over the world, of Fever! I shall describe fully this topic, fully explaining how Fever first came into existence, O Bharata.

In days of yore, O king, there was a summit, named Savitri, of the mountains of Meru. Adored of all the worlds, it was endued with great effulgence and adorned with every sort of jewels and gems.

That summit was immeasurable in extent and no one could go there. On that mountain summit the divine Mahadeva used to sit shiningly as if on a bed-stead adorned with gold.

Sitting by his side, the daughter of the king of mountains shone in brilliance. The great gods, the Vasus of immeasurable energy, the great Ashvins, those foremost of physicians, and king Vaishravana attended by many a Guhyaka,-that king of the Yakshas, endued with prosperity and power, and having his abode on the suminit of Kailasa,-all waited upon the great Mahadeva. And the great sage Ushanas, and the foremost of Rishis headed by Sanatkumara, and the other celestial Rishis headed by Angiras, and the Gandharva Vishvavasu, and Narada and Parvata, and the various clans of Apsaras, all came there to wait upon the king of the universe.

A pure and auspicious air carrying various sorts of perfumes, blew there. The trees that stood there were adorned with the flowers of all seasons.

A large number of Vidyadharas, Siddhas and ascetics, too, O Bharata, went there for waiting upon Mahadeva, that Lord of all creatures.

Many ghosts also, of various forms and aspects, and many fearful Rakshasas and powerful Pishachas, of various forms, mad with joy, and armed with various sorts of uplifted weapons forming the train of Mahadeva, were there, every one of whom looked like a blazing fire energy.

The illustrious Nandi stood there obeying the great god, shining with his own energy and armed with a lance that resembled a flame of fire.

Ganga, also, that foremost of all Rivers and originating from all sacred waters in the universe, waited there in her embodied form, O son of Kuru, upon that illustrious gods.

Thus worshipped by the celestial Rishis and the gods, the illustrious Mahadeva of great energy lived on that summit of Meru.

After sometime had gone away, the Prajapati Daksha began to celebrate a sacrifice according to ancient rites.

All the gods in a body headed by Sakra, resolved to repair to that sacrifice of Daksha.

We have heard that the great gods ordered by Mahadeva, mounted their celestial cars resembling the fire or the Sun in sheen, and proceeded to that spot whence the Ganges is said to issue.

Seeing the deities depart, the excellent daughter of the king of mountains, addressed her divine husband, viz., the Lord of all creatures, and said, O illustrious one, who are those gods headed by Shakra going? O you who know the truth, tell me truly, for a great doubt has possessed my mind.

Maheshvara said 0 highly blessed lady, the excellent Prajapati Daksha is worshipping the gods in a House Sacrifice! These Dwellers of heaven are going there.

Uma said Why, O Mahadeva do you not go to that Sacrifice? What objection is there of your going to that place?

O highly blessed lady, the gods in days of yore made a compact by virtue of which no share was allotted to me of offerings in all Sacrifices.

According to that arrangement, O fair one, the gods do not give me, following the old custom, any share of the sacrificial offerings!

Uma said-O illustrious one, among all gods, you are the foremost in prowess. In merit, in energy, in fame, and in prosperity you are second to none, and you are, indeed superior to all.

On account, however, of this disability regarding a share I am filled with great grief, O sinless one, and a treinour fills me from head to foot.

Bhishma said Having said these words to her consort, the Lord of all creatures, O monarch, the goddess Parvati remained silent, her heart burning the while in grief.

Then, understanding what was in her heart and what her thoughts were (for wiping off that disgrace), Mahadeva addressed Nandi, saying,-Wait here.

Summoning all his Yoga powers, that Lord of all lords of Yoga, that god of gods, that holder of Pinaka, possessed of great energy, quickly proceeded to the place accompanied by all his dreadful followers and destroyed that Sacrifice. Of these followers of his, some yelled, and some laughed terribly, and some, O king, extinguished the fires with blood; and some, having dreadful faces, pulling up the sacrificial stakes, began to whirl them. Others began to devour those that were celebrating the Sacrifices.

Then thus afflicted on every side, that Sacrifice, assumed the form of a deer and tried to fly away through the firmanent.

Learning that the Sacrifice was running away in that form, the powerful Mahadeva began to pursue him with bow and sorrow.

On account of the ire which then filled the heart of that foremost of all gods, possessed of matchless energy, a dreadful drop of sweat appeared on his forehead.

When the drop of sweat fell down on the Earth, there immediately appeared a blazing fire resembling the conflagration that appears at the end of the cycle.

From that fire came out a dreadful being, O king of very short stature, having blood-red cyes and a green beard.

His body was covered all over with hair like a hawk's or an owl's and his hair stood erect. Of dreadful form, his complexion was dark and his dress blood-red. Like a fire burning a heap of dry grass or straw, that Being of high energy speedily consumed the embodied form of Sacrifice.

Having performed that feat, he then rushed towards the gods and the Rishis that had gathered there. The gods filled with fear, fled on all sides. The earth shook with that Being's tread, O King, O foremost of Bharata's race.

Exclamation of 'Oh' and 'Alas' arose throughout the universe. Marking this, the before powerful Grandfather, appearing Mahadeva, addressed him thus.

O powerful one, the deities will henceforth give you a share of the sacrificial offerings! O Lord of all the gods, let this anger of yours be withdrawn by you.

O scorcher of enemies, there, those gods, and the Rishis, on account of your anger, O Mahadeva, have become greatly agitated.

This Being, also, that has originated from your sweat, O foremost of gods, shall walk among creatures, O righteous-souled one, under the name of Fever.

O powerful one, if the energy of this Being remains intact, then the entire Earth herself will not be able to bear him. Let him, therefore, be divided into many parts.

When Brahman had said these words, and when his proper share was appointed of the sacrificial offerings, Mahadeva replied to the Grandfather of great energy, saying,-So be it.

Indeed, the holder of Pinaka, viz., Bhava, smiled and became filled with joy. And he accepted the share that the Grandfather settled the offerings in sacrifices.

Knowing the constituents of everything, Mahadeva then divided. Fever into many parts, for the peace of all creatures. Listen, O son, as how he did this.

The heat in the heads of elephants, the bitumen of mountains, the moss that floats on water, the slough of snakes, the sores that appear in the hoofs of bulls, the barren tracts of Earth full of saline matter, the dullness of vision of all animals, the diseases in the throats of horses, the crests appearing on the heads of peacocks, the eye-disease of the koel, each of these was named Fever by the great Mahadeva.

This is what we have heard. The liverdisease also of sheep, and the hiccup of parrots are also known as forms of Fever. To this must be added the toil that tigers suffer, for that also, O righteous king, is known as a forms of Fever.

Besides these, O Bharata, amongst men, Fever, enters all bodies at the time of birth, of death, and on other occasions.

This Fever is known to be the dreadful power of Maheshvara. He has authority over all creatures and should, therefore, be respected and adored by all.

It was by him that Vritra, that foremost of virtuous persons, was possessed when he yawned. It was then that Shakra discharged his thunderbolt at him.

The thunderbolt, entering the body of Vritra, O Bharata, divided him in two parts. Divided in two by the thunderbolt, the great Asura endued with great Yoga powers, went to the region of Vishnu of great energy.

It was on account of his devotion to Vishnu that he had succeeded in overwhelming the whole universe. And it was owing to his devotion to Vishnu that he ascended, when killed, to the region of Vishnu.

Thus, O son, while describing the story of Vritra have I recited to you fully the narrative of Fever! What else shall I describe to you?

That man who will read this account of the origin of Fever with rapt attention and cheerful heart shall become free from disease and shall always have happiness for his lot. Filled with joy he shall have all his wishes gratified.