Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Because Bharadvāja was delivered by the Marut demigods, he was known as Vitatha. The son of Vitatha was Manyu, and from Manyu came five sons Bṛhatkṣatra, Jaya, Mahāvīrya, Nara and Garga. Of these five, the one known as Nara had a son named Saṅkṛti. (1) O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, descendant of Pāṇḍu, Saṅkṛti had two sons, named Guru and Rantideva. Rantideva is famous in both this world and the next, for he is glorified not only in human society but also in the society of the demigods. (2) Rantideva never endeavored to earn anything. He would enjoy whatever he got by the arrangement of providence, but when guests came he would give them everything. Thus he underwent con siderable suffering, along with the members of his family. Indeed, he and his family members shivered for want of food and water, yet Rantideva always remained sober. Once, after fasting for forty-eight days, in the morning Rantideva received some water and some food stuffs made with milk and ghee, but when he and his family were about to eat, a brāhmaṇa guest arrived. (3-5)
Because Rantideva per ceived the presence of the Supreme Godhead everywhere, and in every living entity, he re ceived the guest with faith and respect and gave him a share of the food. The brāhmaṇa guest ate his share and then went away. (6) Thereafter, having divided the remaining food with his relatives, Rantideva was just about to eat his own share when a śūdra guest arrived. Seeing the śūdra in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, King Rantideva gave him also a share of the food. (7) When the śūdra went away, another guest arrived, surrounded by dogs, and said, “O King, I and my company of dogs are very hungry. Please give us something to eat.” (8) With great respect, King Rantideva offered the bal ance of the food to the dogs and the master of the dogs, who had come as guests. The King offered them all respects and obeisances. (9)
Thereafter, only the drinking water remained, and there was only enough to satisfy one per son, but when the King was just about to drink it, a caṇḍāla appeared and said, “O King, alt hough I am lowborn, kindly give me some drinking water.” (10) Aggrieved at hearing the pitiable words of the poor fatigued caṇḍāla, Mahārāja Rantideva spoke the following nec tarean words. (11) I do not pray to the Supreme Personality of Godhead for the eight perfec tions of mystic yoga, nor for salvation from re peated birth and death. I want only to stay among all the living entities and suffer all dis tresses on their behalf, so that they may be freed from suffering. (12) By offering my water to maintain the life of this poor caṇḍāla, who is struggling to live, I have been freed from all hunger, thirst, fatigue, trembling of the body, moroseness, distress, lamentation and illusion. (13)
Having spoken thus, King Rantideva, alt hough on the verge of death because of thirst, gave his own portion of water to the caṇḍāla without hesitation, for the King was naturally very kind and sober. (14) Demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, who can satisfy all ma terially ambitious men by giving them the re wards they desire, then manifested their own identities before King Rantideva, for it was they who had presented themselves as the brāhmaṇa, śūdra, caṇḍāla and so on. (15) King Rantideva had no ambition to enjoy material benefits from the demigods. He offered them obeisances, but because he was factually at tached to Lord Viṣṇu, Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he fixed his mind at Lord Viṣṇu’s lotus feet. (16)
O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, because King Rantideva was a pure devotee, always Kṛṣṇa conscious and free from all material desires, the Lord’s illusory energy, māyā, could not exhibit herself before him. On the contrary, for him māyā entirely vanished, exactly like a dream. (17) All those who fol lowed the principles of King Rantideva were totally favored by his mercy and became pure devotees, attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa. Thus they all became the best of yogīs. (18) From Garga came a son named Śini, and his son was Gārgya. Although Gārgya was a kṣat riya, there came from him a generation of brah maṇas. From Mahāvīrya came a son named Du ritakṣaya, whose sons were Trayyāruṇi, Kavi and Puṣkarāruṇi. Although these sons of Duri takṣaya took birth in a dynasty of kṣatriyas, they too attained the position of brāhmaṇas. Bṛhatkṣatra had a son named Hastī, who estab lished the city of Hastināpura [now New Delhi]. (19-20)
From King Hastī came three sons, named Ajamīḍha, Dvimīḍha and Purumīḍha. The descendants of Ajamīḍha, headed by Priyamedha, all achieved the posi tion of brāhmaṇas. (21) From Ajamīḍha came a son named Bṛhadiṣu, from Bṛhadiṣu came a son named Bṛhaddhanu, from Bṛhaddhanu a son named Bṛhatkāya, and from Bṛhatkāya a son named Jayadratha. (22) The son of Jaya dratha was Viśada, and his son was Syenajit. The sons of Syenajit were Rucirāśva, Dṛḍha hanu, Kāśya and Vatsa. (23) The son of Rucirāśva was Pāra, and the sons of Pāra were Pṛthusena and Nīpa. Nīpa had one hundred sons. (24) King Nīpa begot a son named Brah madatta through the womb of his wife, Kṛtvī, who was the daughter of Śuka. And Brahmad atta, who was a great yogī, begot a son named Viṣvaksena through the womb of his wife, Sar asvatī. (25)
Following the instructions of the great sage Jaigīṣavya, Viṣvaksena compiled an elaborate description of the mystic yoga sys tem. From Viṣvaksena, Udaksena was born, and from Udaksena, Bhallāṭa. All these sons are known as descendants of Bṛhadiṣu. (26) The son of Dvimīḍha was Yavīnara, whose son was Kṛtimān. The son of Kṛtimān was well known as Satyadhṛti. From Satyadhṛti came a son named Dṛḍhanemi, who became the father of Supārśva. (27) From Supārśva came a son named Sumati, from Sumati came Sannatimān, and from Sannatimān came Kṛtī, who achieved mystic power from Brahmā and taught six saṁhitās of the Prācyasāma verses of the Sāma Veda. The son of Kṛtī was Nīpa; the son of Nīpa, Udgrāyudha; the son of Udgrāyudha, Kṣemya; the son of Kṣemya, Suvīra; and the son of Suvīra, Ripuñjaya. (28-29)
From Ripuñjaya came a son named Bahuratha. Purumīḍha was sonless. Ajamīḍha had a son named Nīla by his wife known as Nalinī, and the son of Nīla was Śānti. (30) The son of Śānti was Suśānti, the son of Suśānti was Puruja, and the son of Puruja was Arka. From Arka came Bharmyāśva, and from Bharmyāśva came five sonsMudgala, Yavīnara, Bṛhadviśva, Kāmpilla and Sañjaya. Bharmyāśva prayed to his sons, “O my sons, please take charge of my five states, for you are quite competent to do so.” Thus his five sons were known as the Pañcālas. From Mudgala came a dynasty of brāhmaṇas known as Maudgalya. (31-33) Mudgala, the son of Bharmyāśva, had twin children, one male and the other female. The male child was named Divodāsa, and the fe male child was named Ahalyā. From the womb of Ahalyā by the semen of her husband, Gau tama, came a son named Śatānanda. (34)
The son of Śatānanda was Satyadhṛti, who was expert in archery, and the son of Satyadhṛti was Śaradvān. When Śaradvān met Urvaśī, he dis charged semen, which fell on a clump of śara grass. From this semen were born two all-auspicious babies, one male and the other female. (35) While Mahārāja Śāntanu was on a hunting excursion, he saw the male and female children lying in the forest, and out of compassion he took them home. Consequently, the male child was known as Kṛpa, and the female child was named Kṛpī. Kṛpī later became the wife of Droṇācārya. (36)
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