sagara and the haihayas, vasistha and aurva
TRANSCRIPT
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Sagara and the Haihayas, Vasistha and AurvaAuthor(s): F. E. PargiterReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, (Jul., 1919), pp.353-367Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25209522 .
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XII
SAGARAAND THE HAIHAYAS, VASISTHA AND AURVA
By F. B. PAROITEK
IN two papers published in this Journal1 1 dealt with
the stories about the first Vasistha, who is famous in
historical tradition. He ilourished during the reigns of
three kings of Ayodhya, Trayyfiruna, Satyavrata
Trisanku and Hariricandra, and his personalname was
Devaraj. This paper deals with the next great Vasistha,
who lived in the reign of a later king, Sagara. Those
papers brought the Ayodhya genealogy down to
Hariscandra and his son Rohita. The next portion of
the
genealogy
is
given
thus by live Pu ranas,2 which agree
generally, and the collated text runs thus, immaterial
variations being omitted :?
Harito Rohitasy?tha Caficur3
H?rita ucyate
Vijaya?ca Sudeva?4 ca
Ca?cu-putrau babhuvatuh
jeta ksatrasya sarvasj'a Vijayas tena sa snirtah
Rurukas5 tanayas tasya raja dharmartha-kovidah
Rurukasya Vrkah6
piltras tasinful Bah us tu jajniv?n.
The Visnu and the ?S^iura U[>apurana give the same
genealogy,the Garuda agrees omitting Sudeva, and the
late Bhagavatais somewhat similar.7 The other Puranas
1JRAS, 1913, p. 885; 1017, p. .37.
*Brahmfuicla iii, 6V?, 11710 :
Vftyu US, 110 21 : Brahma H, 20 H :
Hai ?v. 13, 750 00: I,h,ga i, C,t), I2 14.
3
Liiiga
calls Iii tuDhuudhu.
4Liiiga Sntfjtls. Hralima omits iiini and modifies the following' words
accordingly.5
Litiga calls him Rucaka.
8Vfiyu Rurukad Dhrtakah.
7 Visiiu iv, .7, 15 in prose. S?tira ,10, '17-8, calling Cuiiou Dhutvlhu
and lltiruka Knrtika. (?anula 1.18, 27 S. I'lwig?iv. ix, ,V, I 2, which
calls Ca?cu Campa (attrihuting to him erroneously the founding of Ihe
city Campa), makes Sudcva and Vijaya father and son. and calls Kiiruka
Bharuka.
JRAS. 1910. 24
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it?-l SAOARA AND TUE IIAIIIAVAS
condense it by omitting all between Rohita and Vrka, so
making Vrka Uohita's son, but the variations in theKurina MSS. show that this curtailed version is due
merely to the omission of little-known kings.1 The
Ihimayana version will be noticed separately.
Palm's son wasSagara
as all the authorities say.2 The
Rrahmfimla, Yilyu, Brahma, Harivamsa and Sivagive
lir^l a brief account of them,3 and then narrate their story
at length in a ksatriya Vial lad, wherein they all agree
closely.4 The Visnu tells the samestory in prose,
amplifying it in details." All these are narrated in the
course of the genealog}r. The Pad m agives the ballad in
a later and shorter form, with variations, as aseparate
story.6 The Vrhaumirad?ya expands the Visnu account
into along versified tale with much moralising.7
The
fullest account* is given by the Brahinfinda in another
passage, which, though greatly amplified after the fashion
of a later time, yet appears to embody genuine tradition
about Sagara.8 The Bh?gavata notices the story very
briefly in late form.0 The other Puranas merely say
Balm's son wasSagara
andgive
no account.10
The ksatriya ballad in the live Puranas mentioned is the
most trustwortlry account. They are all obviously based
1Miitsyii 1:?, 38: Padina v, 8, 143 ; and vi, 21, 11. Siva vii, 01. 22.
Agni ~?'.\ 27. Kfirma i, 21, 3, of which onecopy has all the above lines
except the third, calling Ca?cu Dhundhu and Kuru lui Kiirnka.-
Hut Padina vi, 21, 11-14, which calls Balm Sub?hu, perverts the
mention of gara,"
poison," in the ballad, and says his son was (?ara,
who being menaced by his enemies found refuge at Bhfirgava's hermitage,and there Sa gara was born as his son.
5
llralimfimla ?ii, G3, 120 4 : Vfiyu 88, 122 5 : Brahma S, 29-32:llariv. 13, 700-4 : Siva vii, lit, 23-5 :which are almost identical.
*Brahmfuida iii, 03, 120-41 :
Vayu SS, 127-43: Brahma 8, 35-51:
Hariv. 14, 707-84: Siva vii, 01, 20-43 : which arolargely identical.
5Visini iv, 3, 15 21.
?Pad ma vi, 21, 19-33. 7
Vrhannfuadlya 7,1-8, 63.s
P.rahmunda iii, 47, 74-
48, 49 ; and 49, 38-5751P.hfigav. ix, 8, 2-7.
!0Matsya 12, 30 : Padina v, 8, 143 : K?rma i, 21, 4 :
Linga i, GO, 14 :
iinnida 138, 2S:
Agni272, 27 : Saura 30, 30.
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s?gAr? And tue haiu?yas 355
Ort Oii?original, yet fall into two versions. The
Brahm?nda and V?yu are almost identical, and have the
best text. The Brahma and llarivaihsa arepractically
identical, curtailing the former account in some verses and
addinga little in others. The Hi va agrees generally
with
the two latter, but is briefer. The late Padma version has
elaborated the brabinanical features of Sagaras education.
The storyruns thus. Bahn was ill, and the Haihayas,
Till ajan gh asl and Hakas uniting wrested his kingdom
from him. Yavanas, Paradas, Kamhojas,
Pablavas and
?Sakas, these five tribes2 aided the Haihayas and attacked
him. These lordly ksatriyas3were stronger and seized
bis kingdom. Bfihu abandoned his capital, entered the
forest, and with his queen practised austerities. He died
there through old age and weakness. His queen,
a Yfulava princess,followed him, and her co-wife gave;
her poison in order to destroy her future child. She
made a funeral pile and placed Biihu's bodyon the fire.4
1The Tain jan gli
as were the chief brauch of the Haihayas,who were
one of the two great brunches of the Yiidavas, sec JRAS., 1914, p. 274.
,?Cana. Notwithstanding
J)r. Thomas' dissent (JKAH, 1910, p. 102)
I cannot but translate gana as"
tribe". Panai youth is
applied
here
in these Puranas to these live peoples, signifying ( I ) that each constituted
a distinct gana, so that each gana consisted of onenationality, and (2)
that each gana was not a community, but an armed host. (Jana is
a very common word in the Puranas and means a"homogeneous
group",the particular kind of homogeneity implied depending
on the
context. Applied to peoples here, it implies racial homogeneity, and
means a "tribe" in the ordinaryuse of the word. Its meaning
"homogeneous group" fitted it excellentlyasa
plural termination,
such as it became in later times ; and indeed its force is often in the
Puta?as virtuulry nothing more. In the expression Jahnu-gan? (JRAS,
1913, p. S88, n. 1) it means a "group descended from Jahnu ", or is
virtually a plural "the Jahuus". K?lid?sa's expression p?rmt?yair
ganair {id., 1915, p. 804) means (I may point out) just what every
Indian Administration knows as"
hill tribes".
:tKsat r
iya jm tfuja ? a.
4So the Viiyu and Hrahmfuida. The later llrahma and IfarivaiiMu
say she ascended the funeral pile, evidentl}' to immolate herself, and
Aiirva dissuaded her. The Visnu and VrlianuFirudlya, later still, say
so explicitly.
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?5? SAGAllA AND THE HA1HAVA?
Aurva Bhfugava, taking compassionon her, brought
her
to his hermitage. She gave birth to a son bearing marksof the poison, named Sagara.1
Aurva broughthim up,
taught h ?in the Vedas, and bestowed on him Kama
Jfimadagnya's terrible lire-weapon.2 Sagara collected
an army, and with that weapon slew the H ai hayas in
battle. He determined to exterminate the Sakas,
Vavanas, Kambojas, Paradas, and Pahlavas. When he
was slaughtering them the}' lied to Vasistha for protec
tion. That great muni made acompact with them,
slopped Sagara and saved Ihem; but Sagara destroyed
(heir laws of religion and changed their mode of dress.
He made the ?Sakas shave half the head, the Y a-vanas
and Kftnibojas shave the whole head, the Paradas wear
their hair loose, and the Pahlavas grow beards. He
deprived them of the recitation of the Veda and the
exclamation vasat. These live tribes and also the
Kolisarpas, Mahisikas, D?rvas, Colas and Khasas were
all ksatriya tribes. Sagara of yore annulled their religion
according to Yasistha's word.
The R?in?yana, which gives the general genealogy
incorrectly,3calls Balm A sita and narrates the
storytwice.4 The two passages are
largely the same, but the
second alters the order of some of the lines and is
inferior. They agree with the ballad in certain expres
sions andgive
much the samestory, but are shorter, and
make a serious anachronism in calling the Bhfirgavarishi Cyavana, because Gyavana was one of the progenitorsof the
lihargavas,
an ancestor of theAurvas,and belonged
io aperiod far more ancient. Moreover, they narrate the
1That is, sagara : but the story of the second wife and the poison
appears rather to have been invented to explain the name. Brahniainla
iii, j7, 78 mentions onlyone tpiccn.
'*Hence the destruction of the Tidajaiigluis is attributed to Aurva,
Mahiiblnirnta, xiii, 153, 7223.s
JKAS, 1010, pp. 17-18.4
Hfimfiy. i, 70, 28-37 ; ii, 110, 15-24.
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:>f>S SAUAKA AND THE HAIHAVAS
and sought protection from Yasistha. He succoured them
and they continued subjects of Sagara under degradingdisabilities. The tribes here mentioned arc the bands of
(hem which invaded Ayodhy?, and not the main tribes
which dwelt outside India. During the interval the
Aiksviiku ksatriyaswere subdued, but the religious
conditions do not seem to have been ailectcd as will be
shown, and tbus the great Vasistha famity, the hereditary
priests of ?yodhy?, evidently maintained its priestly
position,so that Yasistha could interpose with authority
between Sagara and the foreign bands. Sagara altered
theirpersonal appearance, and his
changesare
noteworthy
asseemingly implying that their appearance was the
opposite before. They remained in his kingdom and
would naturally have become gradually assimilated to the
rest of the people, so that the degrading distinctions
disappeared in the course of time.
A very remarkable feature in the narrative is this, that
the live tribes are not spoken of as mlecchas or barbarians,
but arestyled ksatriyas, and so also are the Kolisarpas,
Mfihisikas, Dar vas, Colas, and Khasas. The Mfdiisikas
wereapparently the people of M?hismati. The Dur vas
and Khasas were tribes from the extreme north-west.
The Colas were not, it seems, the Colas of South India,1
but rather another frontier tribe whose name appears as
Culikas or Culikas in later times.2 Who theKolisarpas
were it is impossible to say, especially as the different
readings of the namesuggest that it is corrupt.
Further there is nosuggestion that the Sukas and four
other tribes were dill'erent in religion from thepeople of
Ayodhy?, The statement thatSagara deprived them
of the recitation of the sacred texts and the benefit of
1The Urn.lima and Ilariv., misunderstanding them as such, join
Keralas wit li them instead of Khasas. The Colas and Kenilns did not
appareully exist then as such.-
,IUAS, 1912,p.
712,
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SAGAKA AND THE IIAIIiAVAS o5i)
the sacred exclamation va*atmanifestly refers to the
brahmanic religion
!
and implies that they had possessedthese privileges before. Moreover, they appealed
to
Vasistha as if they had some claim to his protection. Jt
seems therefore that theywere not markedly difieren!, in
religion from Vasistha and Sagara. Had they been of
different religion, Vasistha could hardly have maintained
his position during their ascendancy, they would have
had no ground for claiming bis succour, nor he any
particularreason for so
promptly saving them. It is not
likely that theywere of alien worship when they invaded
Ayodhy?, and became converted to the brahmanic religion,
because theywere the conqueror? and the interval was too
short. The Bh?gavata, which is a veiy late and sectarian
l'uraua, recasts the story significantly. It says that
Sagara.did not kill them, adds Barbaras to them, and
mentions, in general words only, the personal restrictions
he imposed,but makes no Reference to the awkward
religious statements.
The ballad thus implies that these live foreign tribes
wereksatriyas and of much the same
religionas Vasistha
andSagara.
These two features throwlight
on the
ageof the ballad. Contingents from these tribes took part
long afterwards in the great Bhfirata battle,2 apparently
chiefly in the army of the Kainboja king.:? Theyare
sometimes spoken of in fair terms in the Mah?bharata,'1
but nowhere as of noble rank at the time of that battle,
as far as I am aware. They fell steadily in Indian
estimation in after times. Jt is said tSakas,Ya vanas
and Kfimbojaswere of ksatriya origin and became
1The Brahm?nda iii, 48, 4? says Sagara deprived them of Vedio rites
and the aid of brahmans? emphasizingthe position.
2MHIi. v, 100, 7609 ; vi, 56, 2108 ; vii, 20, 7UM-80I.
1Id. v, 18, f?i)0; 165, 5748 50: vii, 7, 1S2.
4Id. i, 67, 2608; 186, C9U5 : v, 3, 78, 81 ; 70.9, 0510: viii, 45, 2107 :
xii, 101, 3737
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3(30 SAGARA AND THE HAIHAYAS
vrsalas from not seeing brahnians.1 The five tribes are
often classed with' Barbaras,2 with Abb iras, Ki ratas and
other tribes, and with rnlecchas.3 Sakas, Ya vanas and
Pahlavas, and other low tribes are reckoned rnlecchas.4
As brahrnanic influence gradually waned in the north
west after that battle, the Pan jab nations also became
tainted in Indian opinion.Thus Yavanas, Sakas,
Pahlavas, and K?mbojas, with Barbaras and other rude
tribes, and some of the Panjab races are spoken of
disparagingly.6 They and some Panjab tribes were
pronounced wicked, men of evil customs, and rnlecchas.6
The ultimate opinion entertained by the people of
Madhyade?a about the Panjab peoples is expressed in the
vulgar tirade against the Madras put into Karna's mouth,7
in which the Madras, G?ndh?ras, Sindhus and Sau viras,8
and indeed all the Panjabraces are unsparingly reprobated.9
When the Panjabwas so regarded, these five outer nations
could not have fared better, and such is stated.10
The first passage quotedabove acknowledges that when
Sagara conquered them the oak as, Yavanas and K?mbojas
wereksatriyas and had the ministrations of brahmans,
and the references to them in the Mah?bh?rata imply that
they were hardly still in that condition at the later time
of the great battle. Its significance might be discounted
by the fact that it adds (xi'ii, 33, 2104-5) the same remark
about Dr?vidas, Kaliiidas (Kalirigas ?), Pulindas and
1Id. xiii, 33, 2103.
2Id. ii, 29, 1088 ; 31, 1199 ; 50, 1843 : iii, 253, 15254.
3
Id. ii, 52, 1199; 50, 1832, 1834, 1850; 5/, 1990-1 : iii, 188, 1283840 : ix, ,'?,74 : xii, 207, 7560.
4Id. i, 2a5, 6?83-6.
5Id. iii, 57, 1988-91 : xii, %65, 429-31.
6Id. xii, 207, 7560-1 : vii, 93, 3379-81.
7Id. viii, ?0, 1836-58; //^, 2028, to 45, 2110.
87cZ. viii, 40, 1845, 1857-8, 1861.
9Id. viii, i?, 2030, 2054-6, 2063-5, 2070 ; f5, 2086, 2099-2100, 2109
2110. Of. v. 38, 1525.10
Id.iii, ISS,
12838-40.
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SAGARA AND THE HAIHAYAS 3(31
Kolisarpas, as well as about Usin?ras and M?h isakas,
who were undoubtedly ksatriyas: but, whatever may be
the explanation regardingall these, the remarkable fact
here is that this ballad portrays the Sakas, Yavanas and
K?mbojas actuallyas ksatriyas and as
having brabmanic
ministrations, that is, as being actually in a condition
which did not apparentlyexist later at the time of that
battle, and certainly not at any still later time according
to Indian opinion. The ballad could not therefore have
been composed in after times, as the Bh?gavata version
shows itself to have been. It is therefore really ancient,
dating back to aperiod earlier than that battle.
It is not necessary to enquire what was the racial
position of the tribes mentioned. Sakas certainlywere
not Aryans by origin,even if the others were." How then
could these invading bands of Sakas and others be
regardedas ksatriyas possessing brahmanical privileges ?
The statement made in Indian tradition, that the Druhyus
of G?ndh?ra spread out to the north and other regions
beyond, and founded kingdoms among the mleccha
countries there,1 suppliesan
explanation. Those Druhyu
offshoots would naturally have established aksatriya
class in the tribes which they ruled over, and have
introduced their brabmanic religion there. These bands
probablycame from such kingdoms
:they would thus
have been ksatriyas and of the samereligion
as the people
of North India, and, asDruhyus, might naturally have
joined to help the Haihayas (who were descendants of
Yadu),
as the ballad
says.1
Brahm?mla iii, 74, 11-12; Vayu 99, 11-12; Matsya 48, 9 (which
agree) say of Pracetas, the last king named in the Druhyu genealogy:?
Pracetasali putra-satarii r?j?nali sarva eva te
mleccha-r?str?dhip?hsarve
hy ud?c?ih disam ?sthit?h.
Bh?gav. ix, 23, 15-16 says the same briefly. Visnu iv, 17, 2 is fuller?
Pracetasali pubra-satam adharmabahul?n?m mlecchan?m ud?cy?d?n?m
?dhipatyam akarot. Agni 270, 5 merely says Pracetas had a hundred
sons. The other Puranas do not notice this.
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3(32 SAGARA AND THE HAIHAYAS
As Sagarawas the eighth king after Hariseandra, this
Vasistha cannot be Devarfij, who was already of mature
agein Hariseandra s
reign,and would be several .descents
lower, even if the k.in?xs had verv short reigns. None of
the accounts give him any definite name, except the long
story in the Brah m an da and the account in the
Vrhann?rad?ya. The former (iii, J?9, 43) calls him Apava
incidentally. This, however, is apatronymic, for there
was an earlier Apava Vasistha, who lived in the reign
of the great Hai haya king Arjuna K?rtavirya, who was
father of T?laja?igha, the ancestor of the Talaja?ghas.
Arjuna reigned at M?hismati, and in his conquests north
ward burnt the empty hermitage of Apava Vasistha, son
of Varuna (Vasistha), andApava cursed him.1
?pavais
said to be apatronymic from dpxt, which is supposed to
be equivalentto Varuna,2 and that is possible because be
is called V?runi.3 The first Apava Vasistha was a con
temporary of ?rjuna K?rtavirya,4 and?pava Vasistha in
Sagara's reign could not be he, but would be a descendant
bysome
generations.
The Vrhann?rad?ya, which appears to have noteworthy
tradition, says (8, .63) that Atharvanidhi, meaning
obviously Vasistha, consecrated Sagaraas
king, thus
calling Vasistha Atharvanidhi. The sameepithet is
appliedto a later Vasistha, who was
priest to Sagara's
1Brahm?mla iii, 09, 42-4; Vayu 94, 42-4; Brahma 13, 192-4;
Hariv. 33,-1884-6, which are almost identical, but the first two give the
older text. Mah?bh?rata i, 99, 3924 gives two lines ; Matsya 43, 41
and Padma v, 12, 141 only one line. MBh. xii, 49, 1756-7 ?ire similar.
Brahm?nda iii, 70, 12-14, Vfiyu 95, 12-13 and Matsya 44, 12-13give
a fanciful explanation.2
Monier-Williams' Dictionary.3
MBh. i, 99, 3926, 3947. Byhaddevat? vi, 24 and 33 know of
a Vasistha V?runi, though the references in the two verses are chrono
logically ages apart, and would imply two such Vasisthas.
4This ?pava
Vasistha was thus acontemporary of DevaiTij
Vasistha, who has been discussed in JRAS, 1913, pp. 896-7 ; 1917,
pp. 38-9,
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SAU AKA AND THE HAIHAVAS ?lli.'J
eighteenth successor, kino* Dilipa II, in lia<diuvanisa i. 5!!.'
Now Atharvanidhi is not necessarily a name in these two
passages, because the I'rahnuinda calls the great primeval
nhrgu rishi Usanas-Hukra,2 At bar vanara ni.dhih. Vet it
may well have been a name, for there was a Vasistha
named Atharvan, because the Kirfit?rjuniya (x, 10) speaks
of "the Veda in which the order of the words was
arranged by Atharvan", and Mallituithaexplains
'Veda*
as the fourth Veda, and 'Atharvan 'as Vasistha, quoting
the dictum, A tharvanas lu mantr?ddh?ro Vasifitjia-hrtah.
Iam not aware of any tradition that throws light on that
Atharvan Vasistha, but his name makes it quite probable
that Atharvanidhi was also a name ; and as this term is.
I believe, applied only to these two Vasisthas,3 Sagaras
and
Dil?pa's,
we may, in order to
distinguish
them from
other Vasisthas, for convenience call this Vasistha in
Sagara's reign Atharvanidhi J A pava., and llilipa's priest
Atharvan id hi II. 'Phis proposal does not postulate loo
much, for there may have been two Vasisthas of the
same name, justas there were two Dilipas, two
Yuvan?svas, twollaryasvas,
and two Visvasahas in the
Ayodhy? dynasty.4I have often drawn attention to the lack of the historical
sense among brahinans, which is notorious. Itproduced
two results; first, chronology hardly existed for them.
and therefore they confused different persons of the same
name ; secondly, there was no real distinction between
history and mythology, so that thev frcelv mytholo-nzcd
incidents in traditional history. These occurrences supply
illustrations of both these errors.
1lb calls him also ??rahmaynni (i, (VI), but- this is merely
a synonym
of another appellation given him, srastith ?unith (i, ?K1) ; hol h Icnu?
meaning the primeval mythical rishi Vasistha, with whom he is confused.2
Brahnmiida iii, 30, 51-4 read with M?h. i, 76, ?IISS-?M? and Mat ?ya
:?5, ?IM.n
It is not mentioned in U?hlltngk 9c Uol.h's nor itsMonier-William-'
Dictionaries ; nor in Koiensen's Index to Ihe Ml?h.
* ,JKAS, 1?M0, pp. 18, 27, 2??. Sec also p. 'MYl, n. .3.
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3I?4 SA?AKA AND TilI^ IJAIIIAVAS
In the brahman ie fables of (he earlier Vasistha's contest
wilh Visviiniiirait is
said that Vasistha'scow created
hordes of Pahlavas, Sakas, Yavanas andK?mbojas,
as
well as Barbaras, rnlecchas, K iratas, and other rude tribes
io attack Visvfunitra.1 This Vasistha's siding with the
livf 11 bes is no doubt the origin of that ridiculous detail.
Tin* br.'ihinaus confused the two Vasisthas of Trisaiikus
1in?''and Sagara's time; and, asthe}* did not know how
these foreign tribes came to be at Ayodhy?, the tribeshad of course to be accounted for, so
(bey made the tribes
forsooth (he creation of the wonderful brabmanic cow,
and therefore created to light Visvfunitra; and further,
being ignorant of the former condition of these tribes,
they classed them with rnlecchas and barbarians according
t ) the ideas of after times. We can thus see how
hrahmanie fable grew ; and (hose features proclaim
those fables to be a brahinauical fabrication far later than
Ibis ballad.
The other process of mythologizing traditional history
linds one of its best illustrations in"
Aurva ". Aurra
is mpatronymic from Urva. The first Aurva was
apparently Kcika,2 and he was son of Urva.3 Urva
is mentioned in the Jm?rgava variisa4 and elsewhere.5
The next Aurva was Heika's sonJamadagni, and his son
was Kama. The Aurva here mentioned had thepersonal
nameAgni, for the genealogies go on to say that he
1Uam?yaua i, 5}, IS to 55, 3. Mahahharata i, 1/5, litiS.'HS : cf. ix,
;/, 23e I 5.-
Brahnmrnla iii, 00, 63: Viiyu ,'i/, 92: Brahma 10, 53: llariv. ;J7,
I l.-iii.:M Hli. xiii, 50, 2907 IU. Vriyiii/.l, 91 2, w here road tVrva for t?rrov ;
Ihahmatula iii, /, ?M ;"?ess oorroolly: in both At ma rana and Aftrar?tia
are mistakes for Afitiarxhia. Noue of linse Ihrco forms is in Ihe MP?h.
(-eo Soiensen's Index), ami it curtails the genealogy in i, ///;, 2f>0{) II,
and fin (lier si ill in xiii, S5. III,"?.4
Vayu 05% 9*2, which is hotter Ihan Kralim?mla iii. /, 9~>,1
Matsya H5, HI: Padma v, ?s\ 74:
llariv.
46, '2527.
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S?GAilA AND ?IJ? l?Al??AYAS 365
bestowed offspringon
Sagara,1 and three Purnnas call
him Agni,2 while two others give him the synonymousnames Vahni3 and Tejonidhi.4
These names Aurva, Jamadagni and Agni became
a fertile source of fable through misunderstandings. The
story begins thus on a basis of traditional fads. The
lihtirgavas were priests of the llaihava kino- Krtavirva
and had been enriched by bis munificence. After his
death the llaihaya ksatriyas coveted their weii.ll.li and,
as the lih?rgavas wouhl not relinquish it, used violence
to recover it and evenslaughteied the l?h?rgavas. 'The
IJh?rgavas lied northward, and one of their wives bore
a son then named Aurva/' Now about that time or
a little earlier was born the Ijhfirgava licikii. for he was
anearly contemporary
ofKrtavirya's son, king Arjuna.
since his grandson Kama killed Ai juna/' lief ka was A ur\ a
as mentioned above ; so also were bis son .1annulagui.
his son Kama,, and this descendant Agni. Such are the
traditional facts. The fable? is narrated in two forms,
the earlier form in the Mahfihlmrata7
and the later in
three Puranas.8
Agni
means "lire" and
Jamadagni 'devouringiii?'.
llama is said to have destroyed all ksatriyas oil' the
earth twenty-one times, and this is hrahinanical fable
for noksatriya would have started a
storyso
disgraceful
to his class. Aurva was misunderstood asbeing derived
1Hraliin?iida iii, 03, 150: V?yu 88, 157 : ?bahma 8, 0"? : liai iv. 15,
79?: Siva vii, (>'/, 5.'l :Agni 272, 2S. lint MHh. iii, /W, Ss:?7 9 says
Siva granted him the boon.
2Matsya 12, 40 : Pudma v, ?V,Ml :
Liiiga i, 00, I5.3
Ktirina i, ,?/, 5.4
Vrliannfirad?ya 7, 00 : .9, S, !), 05.r'
MHh. i, /7,S\ 0X02-15."j
JltAS, HMO, pp. ar> 0; 1911, p. 279.7
M lili, i, /7,V, 0S15 ?180, OSO.'J: very briefly in xiii, 50, 2905 9. The
latter assigns to Urva the part properly assigned elsewhere to Ant va
Agni.8
Matsya 175, 2.'t 02 : Padma v, :?.V, 74 I I2 : llariv. /,>;. 2527 -09 :
which all have a common text.
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?MO SAMARA AND THE HAIHAYAS
from urn."
thigh," and so taken to mean "born from
the thigh". Further, into it was apparent!}' importeda
supposition that it was connected with nrrl, "the earth,"
so that it meant"
belonging to orexisting
in the earth ".
Those remarks being premised, the fables may be given
very hrielly.
The Mah?bh?rata story given above continues thus.
The son was born from his mother's thigh1 and was
therefore called Aurva.2 lie at once blinded her
assailants with his splendour, and restored their sight
at their prayers: but filled with wrath at the sufferings
of the lih?rgavas, he determined to destroy the world.
His forefathersappeared
and entreated forbearance, and
atlength he cast the fire of his wrath into the sea, where
it became ahuge horse's huad,:i as those know who know
the Veda.4
The I'urana fable drops the Haihayas altogetherand
says Urva was celibate and practisingausterities. The
munis expostulated with him for not continuing his
family : so in dudgeon he put his thigh into tire and
rubbed it; and forthwith from his thigh? was born as
a son a Fire.Spreading everywhere
and
burning
all
creatures this Antaka Fire grew, but .Brahimi intervened
and assigned it to the vadttbdmukha in the ocean,
declaring that it would burn up gods, demons, and all
beings at the dissolution. It was a fuel-less lire,
a terrible mfiyfi, fashioned l_ryUrva's son Aurva Agni.
The fable adds that the demon king ILiranyakasipu,
seeing all that, obtained the promise of that m?y?,0 and
'Also Mah?bh?rata i, 00, 2010. Brahtn?nda iii, /, 95.
-Some of the passages say it was Orva who was so born, but the
dillerenee is immaterial here.J
/ laya-Aira*, which = radah?tttuhha.4
The reference appears to be to lligveda viii, 102, 4.
From the father's thigh, also Vayti 05, 92 (where for tthvor read
tl'rrxi).
rtMatsya 175, M75 : Padina v, 38, 11.1 24 : Hariv. 40, 2570-82.
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SAGARA AND THE HAIHAYAS 3G7
consequently in agreat battle with the gods the demons
made use of it with disastrous effect on the gods.1
These fables are an excellent instance of the way in
which the brahinans confused and lnvthologizcd trndi
tioiial history. Aurva, son of Urva, became a son born
from the thigh (urn). Then, because of the fierce anger
felt by the Bh?rgavas against their persecutors coupled
with the names
Jamadagni
and
Agni,
the idea of fire
became blended with that explanation,so that A um?
wasdazzling like the noonday
sun and nourished against
those enemies a wrathcompared
to fire ; and this notion
developed into the statement that he was Aurva. Agni,an
embodied Fire raging for general destruction. Next Anna
wasapparently connected with the earth (nrr.l), and so
the fire of Aurva's wrath wascapable
ofdestroying
the whole earth ; and thus it and Aurva Agni became
aworld-devastating fire.2 This led on to its connexion
with fire inside the earth, and it became the fire existing
as the vadahtlmukha beneath the ocean/1 Finally its
latency and destructive power suggested that it was the
anlaka or samnartaka. fire, which will consume the world
at the dissolution.1 It is etherealized as a fire persistingwithout fuel, an anrm moy?, and is at length identified
with Visnu/' The derivation of Aurva from ?ru may
be popular fancy, but all the rest of this mythologizing
is brahmanical, one of the best instances of the confusion
produced by the lack of the historical sense.
1Matsya 175, 18 22 : Padina v, 38, 09-73 : Mariv. 40, 2522-0.
2
See also V?yn 97, 18.3 Also llaghnvaihsa ix, 82. See Matsya.-7/, 29-.'IO.*
Also Matsya 2, 5.n
llariv. 41, 2119. Cf. Malmbh?rata iii, 189. I2901, 12900 7.