Sṛñjaya

Sṛñjaya was a king of the Śaibyā line. The ṛshis Parvata and Nārada were his friends and stayed in his home. He gave his daughter in marriage to Nārada when Nārada asked for her. This led to a dispute, and the two ṛshis put a śāpa (a curse) on each other, so both stayed at his home. Some brāhmaṇas were pleased with the king, and Nārada gave Sṛñjaya a son named Suvarṇashṭhīvin, the golden child, from whose body everything that came out was pure gold. Thieves killed the boy and found no gold. Sṛñjaya was crushed with grief. Nārada came to console him with the account of the sixteen great kings, and then brought Suvarṇashṭhīvin back to life. Vyāsamahāmuni used Sṛñjaya’s story to console Yudhishṭhira after the death of Abhimanyu.

Who he was

Sṛñjaya was a king of the Śaibyā line. He was a man of true piety, and he gave freely to brāhmaṇas. These qualities shaped the events of his life. The two great ṛshis Parvata and Nārada were his close friends and often came to his home.

The dispute of the ṛshis

Once, when Parvata and Nārada were visiting Sṛñjaya, his daughter came before the assembly. She had every auspicious mark and was more beautiful than anyone. The ṛshi Parvata saw her and made a silent saṃkalpa (inner intention) to make her his wife, but he said nothing. Nārada saw the same girl, turned to the king, and asked openly: “Sṛñjaya! If you wish for great good, give me this daughter of yours as my wife.” The king was glad to make such a gift to the devarshi (the ṛshi among the devas), and he agreed at once.

Parvata was very angry. He laid a śāpa on Nārada: “Since you have taken the girl I wanted first, you will no longer be able to travel freely to the svarga-lokas (the worlds of svarga).”

Nārada answered firmly: “A marriage is not made by inner intention alone. The sapta-padī (the seven steps) completes a wedding. You made no formal svīkāra (acceptance) and had no right to her. Since you laid a śāpa on me without cause, you too will not be able to reach the svarga-lokas without me as your companion.”

Both śāpas held. The ṛshis stayed at the home of Sṛñjaya, unable to go to the higher worlds. The Droṇa Parva (Chapter 55) gives this.

The gift of Suvarṇashṭhīvin

Sṛñjaya had no son and wished for one deeply. The brāhmaṇas who lived in his āśrama (hermitage) were moved by his sincere service and piety. They went to Nārada and asked him to give the king a son. Nārada agreed and told Sṛñjaya to ask for whatever kind of son he wished.

Sṛñjaya’s request was very exact. He asked for a son from whose body, from all that left it, including tears, spit and sweat, pure gold would flow. Nārada said “Tathāstu!” (“So be it!”) and the vara (a boon) was given. A son was born. From the moment of his birth, everything that came out of the child’s body was pure gold. The boy was named Suvarṇashṭhīvin, “the golden spitter”. His golden flow filled the treasury of Sṛñjaya, until the palace buildings, walls and furnishings were all rebuilt in solid gold. The Droṇa Parva (Chapter 55) gives this.

Grief and consolation

Thieves took Suvarṇashṭhīvin away and killed him. They hoped to find gold inside his body, but they found nothing, for the vara had left with his life. Sṛñjaya was overcome with grief and wept without stopping.

Nārada came before him, firm and kind like a teacher. He said: “Sṛñjaya! Do not grieve. Let me tell you of the sixteen great kings, Marutta and the others. Each of them was far greater than your son in dharma, jñāna (knowledge), vairāgya (non-attachment) and aiśvarya (power and wealth). Each performed unmatched yajñas and gave gifts without measure. Yet every one of them died. If even those great ones could not escape death, and your son performed no yajña, gave no great dāna (gift) and left no sons, why do you grieve?”

Nārada then told all sixteen accounts, which are the Shoḍaśa Mahārāja Kathā. After hearing them, Sṛñjaya’s grief faded. Then Nārada brought Suvarṇashṭhīvin back to life as a last act of grace. The boy stood before his father, shining and alive. Sṛñjaya received his son and performed yajñas in thanks. The Droṇa Parva (Chapters 55 and 71) gives this.

The frame for the consolation of Yudhishṭhira

Vyāsamahāmuni told the whole story of Sṛñjaya to Yudhishṭhira on the night after the death of Abhimanyu. He drew a plain comparison. Sṛñjaya had lost a son who had not fulfilled any purpose in life: no yajña, no tapas, no descendants. Sṛñjaya truly needed comfort, and even he was told of the sixteen kings and found peace. Abhimanyu, by contrast, had fully fulfilled his purpose. He had lived and died as a mahāvīra (great hero) and now shone in the highest worlds. The Droṇa Parva (Chapter 71) gives this.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva, Chapters 55 and 71