sagara and the haihayas, vasistha and aurva

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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



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.



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.



?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.



:>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,



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



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.



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.



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,



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.



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.



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.



?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.



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.

sagara and the haihayas, vasistha and aurva

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