This volume details the remainder of the Dwita Mandala as well as the entire Bharata Mandala. Also, we have the beginning of the Mahabharata in the Bharata Mandal. In the Dwita Mandala the account of King Yayati continues. We see the sudden decrepitude of King Yayati in his youth as he is cursed by the great Shukracharya, the Preceptor of the Demons and the father of Devayani, his Queen. This occurred as he could not control his desire for Sharmishta, her friend. After the passage of several years, when Yayati’s four sons had grown up, Shukracharya gives him the boon that he could regain his youth for a limited time, if one of his sons was willing to lend him his youth and accept instead his old age. Out of the four sons, the youngest, Pururava, the son of Sharmishta, agrees to this strange demand. Consequently, he is the one who inherits the Kingdom after Yayati’s departure from this world. What follows is the wonderful tale of the immortal love of Pururava and Urvashi, a divine danseuse. She remains with Pururava for a hundred years before leaving him and her son, Dushyanta when he is only a child. So many stories have been told of this unique love story that it is of interest even today. But the departure of Urvashi left a broken-hearted Pururava behind and he told his son not to trust in love. When Dushyanta grows up, he takes as his consort the beautiful Shakuntala, the daughter of the great Rishi Vishwamitra and Menaka.  An interesting story is behind her birth. In fact, Vishwamitra was deep in his meditation to garner immense spiritual riches and he was very near his goal. At that time, Lord Indra sent the divine danseuse Menaka to disrupt his tapasya and make him interested in day to day life.  Shakuntala was the result. After her birth, Menaka left the world as her mission was fulfilled. When Rishi Vishwamitra realised the truth he became consumed with a devouring anger against Lord Indra. He left the little baby girl alone in the depth of an immense forest. The vultures took care of the little baby on finding it alive. Subsequently, Rishi Kanva on passing through the forest heard a little baby crying. He took the baby girl and gave her the name Shakuntala. We can enjoy the detailed story of Dushyanta and Shakuntala, their love and their separation due to Dushyanta’s loss of memory. Shakuntala’s valiant son, Damnaka at the age of two managed to save a rabbit from the mouth of a python. He was living in the wilderness and made friends with all wild animals. His best friends were a family of lions who carried him on their backs and played with him. He grew up to be the glorious Bharata, from whom India received her name. During his education, he learnt to worship sound in order to reach spiritual heights.  With his reign, the Bharata Mandala begins. Under him, the whole world was divided into seven regions. Out of these, Bharata was the one which was to be the spiritual centre of the world. Even now we can see that after the ravages of the Iron Age, we find the greatest number of spiritually advanced teachers in India.

This is followed by the detailed accounts of the reign of Ajatashatru, Kuru, Hasti and Pratipa. King Kuru is known mostly for undertaking 100 Yajnas as commanded by Lord Shiva. Lord Indra then placed obstacles during the 100th Yajna as no competition was allowed in the world. After a long struggle, Lord Indra grants that the area of Kurukshetra becomes the holy land and any warrior dying there would ascend directly to heaven. Then we see the life of Shantanu, his marriage with Ganga devi and subsequently with Satyavati. We also read about how Rishi Bhrigu composed the Bhrigu Samhita to help and provide guidance to generations living in the turbulent and ominous Iron Age. We can even now obtain divine help and guidance from this miraculous source, penned thousands of years before, to live his or her life to the utmost.

Interspersed in between, we read about the Vamana incaranation of Lord Vishnu and how he defeated the invincible Bali just by asking him the boon of three feet of land and many other stories. The fifth volume ends with the magnificent and thrilling first chapter of the Mahabharata called the ‘Aadi Parva” which tells the story of the early days of the Pandavas and the Kaurava’s, the birth of Lord Krishna and the increasing jealousy of the Kaurava’s for the Pandavas.  So much so that Duryodhan often plans to kill his cousins, particularly Bhima, against whom he is particularly incensed.