“O king, having thus bewailed long and piteously, Pritha laid the basket on the waters of the river Aswa.  And the lotus-eyed damsel, afflicted with grief on account of her son and weeping bitterly, with her nurse cast the basket at dead of night, and though desirous of beholding her son often and again, returned, O monarch, to the palace, fearing lest her father should come to know of what had happened.  Meanwhile, the basket floated from the river Aswa to the river Charmanwati, and from the Charmanwati it passed to the Yamuna, and so on to the Ganga.  And carried by the waves of the Ganga, the child contained in the basket came to the city of Champa ruled by a person of the Suta tribe.  Indeed, the excellent coat of mail and those ear-rings made of Amrita that were born with his body, as also the ordinance of Destiny, kept the child alive.”

SECTION CCCVII

Vaisampayana said, “And it came to pass that at this time a Suta named Adhiratha, who was a friend of Dhritarashtra, came to the river Ganga, accompanied by his wife.  And, O king, his wife named Radha was unparalleled on earth for beauty.  And although that highly blessed dame had made great endeavours to obtain a son, yet she had failed, O represser of foes, to obtain one.  And on coming to the river Ganga, she beheld a box drifting along the current.  And containing articles capable of protecting from dangers and decked with unguents, that box was brought before her by the waves of the Janhavi.  And attracted by curiosity, the lady caused it to be seized.  And she then related all unto Adhiratha of the charioteer caste.  And hearing this Adhiratha took away the box from the water-side, and opened it by means of instruments.  And then he beheld a boy resembling the morning Sun.  And the infant was furnished with golden mail, and looked exceedingly beautiful with a face decked in ear-rings.  And thereupon the charioteer, together with his wife, was struck with such astonishment that their eyes expanded in wonder.  And taking the infant on his lap, Adhiratha said unto his wife, ’Ever since I was born, O timid lady, I had never seen such a wonder.  This child that hath come to us must be of celestial birth.  Surely, sonless as I am, it is the gods that have sent him unto me!’ Saying this, O lord of earth, he gave the infant to Radha.  And thereat, Radha adopted, according to the ordinance, that child of celestial form and divine origin, and possessed of the splendour of the filaments of the lotus and furnished with excellent grace.  And duly reared by her, that child endued with great prowess began to grow up.  And after Karna’s adoption, Adhiratha had other sons begotten by himself.  And seeing the child furnished with bright mail and golden ear-rings, the twice-born ones named him Vasusena.  And thus did that child endued with great splendour and immeasurable prowess became the son of the charioteer,