Divinities of the Epic Period
The Great Indian Epics—Utilized by the Brahmans—The Story
of Manu—Universal Cataclysm—How Amrita (Ambrosia) was
obtained—Churning of the Ocean—The Demon Devourer of Sun and
Moon—Garuda, the Man Eagle—Attributes of the God Shiva—Comparison
with Irish Balor—Rise of the Goddesses—Saraswati and Lakshmi or
Sri—Fierce Durga and Kali—Sati, the Ideal Hindu Wife—Legend of the
Ganges—The Celestial Rishis—Vishwamitra and Vasishtha—History in
the Vedas—Wars between Aryan Tribes—Kernel of Mahábhárata Epic.
The history of Brahmanism during the Buddhist Age is enshrined in the
great epics _Mahábhárata_ and _Ramáyana_, which had their origin before
B.C. 500, and continued to grow through the centuries.
The _Mahabharata_, which deals with the Great War for ascendancy
between two families descended from King Bharata, has been aptly
referred to as “the Iliad of India”. It appears to have evolved from
a cycle of popular hero songs, but after assuming epic form it was
utilized by the Brahmans for purposes of religious propaganda. The
warriors were represented as sons of gods or allies of demons, and the
action of the original narrative was greatly hampered by inserting
long speeches and discussions regarding Brahmanic conceptions and
beliefs. An excellent example of this process is afforded by the famous
_Bhagavad-gita_, from which we have quoted in the previous chapter. The
narrative of the first day's battle is interrupted to allow Krishna to
expound the doctrines of the Vaishnava faith, with purpose to make
converts to the cult of Vishnu. Almost every incident in the poem is
utilized in a similar manner. In fact the epic, as we are informed in
the opening section, “furnisheth the means of arriving at the knowledge
of Brahma”. The priests, with this aim in view, loaded the chariots of
heroes with religious treatises, and transformed a tribal struggle for
supremacy into a great holy war. If the _Iliad_ survived to us only in
Pope's translation, and our theologians had scattered through it, say,
metrical renderings of Bunyan's _Pilgrim's Progress_, the Thirty-nine
Articles of the Church of England, the _Westminster Confession of
Faith_, Fox's _Book of Martyrs_, and a few representative theological
works of rival sects, a fate similar to that which has befallen the
_Mahabharata_ would now overshadow the great Homeric masterpiece. The
“Iliad of India” is a part of what may be called the Hindu Bible, which
embraces the _Ramayana_, the _Vedas_, the _Upanishads_, the _Puranas_,
&c.
The _Ramáyana_, which is called “the Odyssey of India”, because it
deals with the wanderings and adventures of the exiled prince Rama, was
utilized mainly by the cult of Vishnu, but both Vishnu and Shiva figure
as great gods in the _Mahábhárata_, and now one and anon the other is
given first place.
If the documentary material, which is available in India for dealing
with its ancient religious beliefs, were as scanty as those which
survive to us from Ancient Egypt, comparisons might have been drawn
between the Brahmanic cults and the priestly theorists of Heliopolis,
Memphis, Sais, &c., and it might have been remarked of the one nation
as of the other that its people clung to archaic beliefs long after
new and higher religious conceptions obtained as tenets of orthodox
religion. In India the process of change and development can, however,
be not only traced, but partially accounted for, as we have shown. Old
myths were embraced in the epics and the _Puranas_ for the purpose of
educating the people by effecting a compromise between folk religion
and the profound doctrines of the ancient forest sages.
“Father Manu” of the _Vedas_, who appears to have been worshipped as a
patriarchal ancestor, was, for instance, embraced in the _Mahábhárata_
by the cult of Vishnu. He had been exalted by the ritualists as one who
was greater than the gods, because he had been the first to inaugurate
sacrificial rites, and he was afterwards associated with Brahma in
performing some of the acts of Creation at the beginning of one of the
Yugas (Ages). It was necessary, therefore, to show that he owed his
power and opportunities to Vishnu.
In the _Mahábhárata_ the sage Markandeya refers to Manu as the great
Rishi, who was equal unto Brahma in glory. He had practised rigid
austerities in a forest for ten thousand years, standing on one leg
with uplifted hand. One day while he brooded in wet clothes, a fish
rose from a stream and asked for his protection against the greater
fish which desired to swallow it, at the same time promising to reward
him. Manu placed the fish in an earthen jar and tended it carefully
till it increased in size; then he put it in a tank. The fish continued
to grow until the tank became small for it, and Manu heard it pleading
to be transferred to the Ganges, “the favourite spouse of Ocean”. He
carried it to the river, and in time the fish spoke to him, saying: “I
cannot move about in the river on account of my great length and bulk.
Take me quickly to the Ocean.” Manu was enabled to carry the fish from
the Ganges to the sea, and then it spoke with a smile and said:
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A ROCK-HEWN BUDDHIST TEMPLE (AJANTA)
25]
“Know thou, O worshipful one, my protector, that the dissolution of
the Universe is at hand. The time is ripe for purging the world. I
will therefore advise thee what thou shouldst do, so that it may be
well with thee. Build a strong and massive ark, and furnish it with a
long rope; thou wilt ascend in it with the seven Rishis (the Celestial
Rishis), and take with thee all the different seeds enumerated by
Brahmans in days of yore, and preserve them carefully. Wait for me and
I will appear as a horned animal. Act according to my instructions,
for without mine aid thou canst not save thyself from the terrible
deluge.”
Manu gathered together all the different seeds and “set sail in an
excellent vessel on the surging sea”. He thought of the fish, and
it arose out of the waters like an island; he cast a noose which he
fastened to the horns on its head, and the fish towed the ark over the
roaring sea; tossed by the billows the vessel reeled about like one who
is drunk. No land was in sight. “There was water everywhere, and the
waters covered the heaven and the firmament also.... When the world was
thus flooded none but Manu, the seven Rishis, and the fish could be
seen.”
After many long years the vessel was towed to the highest peak of the
Himavat, which is still called Nau-bandhana (the harbour), and it was
made fast there. The fish then spoke and said: “I am Brahma, the Lord
of all Creatures; there is none greater than me. I have saved thee
from this cataclysm. Manu will create again all beings—gods, Asuras,
and men, and all those divisions of creation which have the power of
locomotion and which have it not. By practising severe austerities he
will acquire this power....”
Then Manu set about creating all beings in proper and exact order.[178]
[178] Condensed from _Vana Parva_ section of _Mahábhárata_, sec.
clxxxvii, Roy's trans.
Markandeya elsewhere described the universal cataclysm with more
detail. After a drought lasting for many years, seven blazing suns
will appear in the firmament; they will drink up all the waters. Then
wind-driven fire will sweep over the earth, consuming all things;
penetrating to the nether world it will destroy what is there in a
moment; it will burn up the Universe. Afterwards many-coloured and
brilliant clouds will collect in the sky, looking like herds of
elephants decked with wreaths of lightning. Suddenly they will burst
asunder, and rain will fall incessantly for twelve years until the
whole world with its mountains and forests is covered with water. The
clouds will vanish. Then the Self-created Lord, the First Cause of
everything, will absorb the winds and go to sleep. The Universe will
become one dread expanse of water.
Account has to be taken of the persistent legend regarding the ambrosia
which gave strength to the gods and prolonged their existence. In
“Teutonic mythology” it is snatched by Odin from the giants of the
Underworld, and is concealed in the moon, which is ever pursued by the
demon wolf Managarm, who seeks to devour it.
The development of the Indian form of the myth is found in the story of
“The Churning of the Ocean”, which is dealt with in the _Mahábhárata_,
the _Ramáyana_, and several of the _Puranas_.
According to the epics, the ambrosia, the Indian name of which is
amrita (both words implying immortality), was required by the gods so
as to enable them to overcome the demons. In _Vishnu Parva_, however,
a Brahmanic addition to the myth was made so as to exalt a sage and
illustrate the power he could exercise over the old Vedic deities. It
is related that Durvásas obtained from a merry nymph a sweet-scented,
inspiring garland which made him dance. He presented it to Indra,
who placed it on the head of his elephant. The elephant then began
to prance about, and grew so excited that it cast the garland on the
ground. Durvásas was enraged because that his gift was slighted in
this manner, and cursed Indra and foretold the ruin of his kingdom.
Thereafter the king of the gods began to suffer loss of power, whereat
the other deities became alarmed, fearing that the demons would
overcome him in battle. Appeal was made to Brahma, who referred the
gods to Vishnu, the Preserver. That supreme being commanded that the
ocean should be churned for amrita.
In the epics the gods allied themselves with the demons to procure
amrita from Vishnu's Sea of Milk. The “churning stick” was the mountain
Mandara, and the “churning rope” the serpent Vasuka[179] (Ananta or
Shesha). Vishnu said: “The demons must share in the work of churning,
but I will prevent them from tasting of the amrita, which must be kept
for Indra and the gods only.”
[179] Va'suki.
The gods carried the mountain Mandara to the ocean, and placed it on
the back of Kurma, the king of tortoises, who was an incarnation of
Vishnu.[180] Round the mountain they twisted the serpent, which was “a
part of a part of Vishnu”, the Asuras holding its hood and the gods its
tail. As a result of the friction caused by the churning, masses of
vapour issued from the serpent's mouth which, becoming clouds charged
with lightning, poured down refreshing rains on the weary workers.
Fire darted forth and enwrapped the mountain, burning its trees and
destroying many birds, and the lions and elephants that crouched on its
slopes. In time the Sea of Milk produced butter flavoured by the gums
and juices which dropped from the mountain. The gods grew weary, but
Vishnu gave them fresh strength to proceed with the work. At length the
moon emerged from the ocean; then arose the Apsaras, who became nymphs
in Indra's heaven; they were followed by the goddess Lakshmi, Vishnu's
white steed, and the gleaming gem which the god wears on his breast.
Then came Dhanwantari, the physician of the gods, who carried a golden
cup brimming with amrita. Beholding him, the Asuras cried out: “The
gods have taken all else; the physician must be ours.”
[180] Brahma, as Prajapati, assumes, in one of the myths, the form of a
tortoise to “create offspring”.
Next arose the great elephant Airávata, which Indra took for himself.
The churning still went on until the blue, devastating poison appeared
and began to flow over the earth, blazing like a flame mixed with
fumes. To save the world from destruction, Shiva swallowed the poison
and held it in his throat. From that time he was called Nilakantha,
“the blue-throated”.
Meanwhile the demons desired to combat against the gods for the
possession of the beautiful goddess Lakshmi and the amrita. But Vishnu
assumed a bewitching female form, and so charmed the Asuras that they
presented the amrita to that fair woman.
Vishnu immediately gave the amrita to the gods, but soon it was
discovered that a demon named Rahu had assumed Celestial form with
purpose to drink it. The amrita had only reached his throat when the
sun and moon discovered him and informed Vishnu. The divine Preserver
then flung his discus and cut off Rahu's huge head, which resembled
a mountain peak. Rendered immortal by the amrita the head soared to
the sky, roaring loud and long. From that day Rahu's head, with mouth
agape, has followed sun and moon, and when he swallows one or the other
he causes the eclipses.
[Illustration: LAKSHMI ARISING FROM THE SEA OF MILK
_From a sculpture at Mâmallapuram_
26]
Meanwhile the demons fought against the gods, but were defeated,
although they flung rocks and mountains. Thousands were slain by
the sky-scouring discus of Vishnu, and those who survived concealed
themselves in the bowels of the earth and the depths of the ocean of
salt waters.
Once upon a time the ambrosia was robbed from the gods by Gar´uda,
half giant and half eagle, the enemy of serpents. This “lord of birds”
was hatched from an enormous egg five hundred years after it had been
laid by Diti, mother of giants; his father was Kas´yapa, a Brahman
identified with the Pole Star, who had sacrificed with desire for
offspring. It happened that Diti, having lost a wager, was put under
bondage by the demons, and could not be released until she caused the
amrita to be taken from a Celestial mountain where it was surrounded
by terrible flames, moved by violent winds, which leapt up to the sky.
Assuming a golden body, bright as the sun, Garuda drank up many rivers
and extinguished the fire. A fiercely revolving wheel, sharp-edged and
brilliant, protected the amrita, but Garuda diminished his body and
entered between the spokes. Two fire-spitting snakes had next to be
overcome. Garuda blinded them with dust and cut them to pieces. Then,
having broken the revolving wheel, that bright sky-ranger flew forth
with the amrita which was contained in the moon goblet.
The gods went in pursuit of Garuda. Indra flung his thunderbolt, but
the bird suffered no pain and dropped but a single feather. When he
delivered the amrita to the demons his mother was released, but ere
the demons could drink Indra snatched up the golden moon-goblet and
wended back to the heavens. The demon snakes licked the grass where the
goblet had been placed by Garuda, and their tongues were divided. From
that day all the snakes have had divided tongues.... Garuda became
afterwards the vehicle of Vishnu; he has ever “mocked the wind with his
fleetness”.
Shiva, as we have indicated, developed from Rudra, the storm god. He
is first mentioned as Mahadeva, “the great god”, in the _Yajurveda_,
and in the _Mahábhárata_ he is sometimes exalted above Vishnu. In one
part he is worshipped by Krishna. He is the “blue-necked, three-eyed
trident-bearing lord of all creatures”. The trident is a lightning
symbol which appears to have developed from the three wriggling flashes
held in the left hand of hammer-gods like Tarku and Rammon. Shiva's
third eye was on his forehead, and from it issued on occasion a flame
of fire which could consume an enemy; once he slew Kamadeva, the love
god, who wounded him with flowery arrows, by causing the flame to
spring forth.
Balor, the night god of Irish mythology, had similarly a destroying
eye; “its gaze withered all who stood before it”;[181] he was the god
of lightning and death, the “eye-flame” being the thunderbolt.
[181] _Celtic Myth and Legend_, p. 49.
Shiva's dwelling is on the Himalayan mount Kaila´sa[182]. He is
Girisha, “the lord of the hills”, and Chandra-Shekara, “the moon
crested”, Bhuteswara, “lord of goblins”, and Sri Kanta, “beautiful
throated”. When he is depicted with five heads, he is regarded as the
source of the five sacred rivers flowing from the mountains. As the
god with snow-white face, he is the spirit of asceticism (Maha-Yogi)
adored by Brahmans performing penances. In the _Mahábhárata_ Arjuna,
the warrior, invoked him by engaging in austerities until smoke issued
from the earth. Then Shiva, “the illustrious Hara”, appeared in huge
and stalwart form and wrestled with him. Arjuna's limbs were bruised
and he was deprived of his senses. When he recovered he hailed the god,
saying: “Thou art Shiva in the form of Vishnu and Vishnu in the form
of Shiva....[183] O Hari, O Rudra, I bow to thee. Thou hast a (red)
eye on thy forehead.... Thou art the source of universal blessing, the
cause of the cause of the Universe.... Thou art worshipped of all the
worlds. I worship thee to obtain thy grace.... This combat in which I
was engaged with thee (arose) from ignorance.... I seek thy protection.
Pardon me all I have done.”
[182] Or Kailāsa.
[183] Combined with Vishnu he is Hari-hara.
Shiva, whose sign is the bull, embraced Arjuna and said, “I have
pardoned thee.”
The god was invoked by another warrior, Ashwattaman, son of Drona.
Having naught else to sacrifice, the worshipper flung himself upon the
altar fire; Shiva accepted him and entered his body so as to assist him
in slaughtering his sleeping enemies. Bloody rites were at one time
associated with Shiva worship. As the Destroyer of the Hindu Trinity,
he is armed with a discus, a sword, a bow, and a club; but his most
terrible weapon is the trident. Sometimes he is clad in the skin of an
elephant and sometimes in that of a leopard, the tail dangling behind.
A serpent, coiled on his head, rears itself to strike; another serpent
darts from his right shoulder against an enemy.
The bull symbol, Nandi, the moon crescent on his forehead, and the
serpent girdle, indicate that Shiva is a god of fertility. A phallic
symbol is associated with his worship. In localities he is adored
at the present day in the form of a great boulder painted red which
usually stands below a tree. Offerings are made to this stone, and
women visit it during the period of the moon's increase to pray for
offspring.
As Natesa, the dancer, Shiva dances triumphantly on the body of a slain
Asura. A fine bronze in the Madras Museum depicts him with four arms,
and a beaming, benevolent face, wearing a tiara, and surrounded by a
halo of fire; he absorbed the attributes of Agni as well as those of
Rudra. He is the destroyer of evil and disease, the giver of long life
and the god of medicine, and is accordingly invoked to cure sickness.
Victims of epilepsy are believed to be possessed by Shiva.
In early Puranic times, when Brahmanism was revived and reformed, the
worship of goddesses came into prominence. This was one of the most
pronounced features of the anti-Buddhist movement, and was due probably
to the influence of Great Mother worshippers. In the Vedic Age, as
we have seen, the goddesses were vague and shadowy; as wives of the
gods they were strictly subordinate, reflecting, no doubt, the social
customs which prevailed among the Aryans. Ushas, the dawn, and Ratri,
the night, were mainly poetic conceptions. Even Prithivi, the Earth
Mother, who was symbolized as a cow, played no prominent part in Vedic
religion: a magical influence was exercised by water goddesses. The
male origin of life appears to have been an accepted tenet of Vedic
belief. Aditi, mother of the Adityas, is believed to be of more recent
origin than her sons. Indra seems to have similarly had existence
before his mother, like the other hammer gods, and especially P'an Ku
and Ptah.
Female water spirits are invariably regarded as givers of boons,
inspiration and wisdom; holy wells have from remote times been
regarded as sources of luck; by performing ceremonial acts those who
visit them obtain what they wish for in silence; their waters have,
withal, curative properties, or they may be used for purposes of
divination. The name of the goddess Saraswati signifies “waters”; she
was originally the spirit of the Saraswati river, and was probably
identical with Bharati, the goddess of the Vedic Bharata tribe. In
Puranic times she became the wife of Brahma and the Minerva of the
Hindu Pantheon. She is identical with Vach, “Mother of the Vedas”,
the goddess of poetry and eloquence, and Viraj, the female form of
Purusha, who divided himself to give origin to the gods and demons and
all living creatures. When Brahma took for a second wife Gayatri, the
milkmaid, she cursed him so that he could only be worshipped once a
year.
[Illustration: SHIVA DANCING ON TRIPURA
_From a bronze in the Madras Museum_
27]
Saranyu, who may have developed from Ushas, the Dawn, is the bride of
Surya, the sun god, and mother of the twin Aswins; she fashioned the
trident of Shiva and the discus of Vishnu, and other weapons besides.
Lakshmi, or Sri, who had her origin at the Churning of the Ocean,
became the wife of Vishnu, and the goddess of beauty, love, and
prosperity. She has had several human incarnations, and in each case
was loved by the incarnation of Vishnu. She is Sita in the Ramáyana,
and the beautiful herdswoman beloved by Krishna. Lakshmi is “the
world-mother, eternal, imperishable; as Vishnu is all-pervading, she is
omnipresent. Vishnu is meaning, she is speech; Vishnu is righteousness,
she is devotion; Sri is the earth, and Vishnu is the support of the
earth.” This benevolent goddess is usually depicted as a golden lady
with four arms, seated on a lotus.
Shiva's complex character is reflected in the various forms assumed
by his bride. As the Destroyer he is associated with Durga, who has
great beauty and is also a war goddess. As Kali she is the black
earth-mother, and as Jagadgauri, the yellow woman, the harvest bride.
Armed with Celestial weapons, Durga is a renowned slayer of demons. In
her Kali form she is of hideous aspect. Sculptors and painters have
depicted her standing on the prostrate form of Shiva and grinning with
outstretched tongue. Her body is smeared with blood because she has
waged a ferocious and successful war against the giants. Like Shiva,
she has a flaming third eye on her forehead. Her body is naked save
for a girdle of giants' hands suspended from her waist; round her neck
she wears a long necklace of giants' skulls: like the Egyptian Isis,
Kali can conceal herself in her long and abundant hair. She has four
arms: in one she holds a weapon, and in another the dripping head of a
giant; two empty hands are raised to bless her worshippers. Like the
Egyptian Hathor or Sekhet, the “Eye of Ra”, she goes forth to slay the
enemies of the gods, rejoicing in slaughter. Like Hathor, too, she is
asked to desist, but heeds not. Then Shiva approaches her and lies
down among her victims. Kali dances over the battlefield and leaps on
her husband's body. When she observes, however, what she has done, she
ejects her tongue with shame.
As Sati, Shiva's wife is the ideal of a true and virtuous Hindu woman.
When Sati's husband was slighted by her father, the Deva-rishi,
Daksha, she cast herself on the sacrificial fire. Widows who died on
the funeral pyres of their husbands were called Sati[184], because in
performing this rite they imitated the faithful goddess.
[184] Often spelled _Suttee_.
Sati was reborn as Uma, “Light”, the impersonation of divine wisdom;
as Amvika the same goddess was a sister of Rudra, or his female
counterpart, Rudra taking the place of Purusha, the first man. Par´vati
was another form of the many-sided goddess. Shiva taunted her for being
black, and she went away for a time and engaged in austerities, with
the result that she assumed a golden complexion.
[Illustration: GANESA (see page 151)
_From a sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum_
28]
A trinity of goddesses is formed by Saraswati, the white one, Lakshmi,
the red one, and Par´vati, the black one. The three were originally
one—a goddess who came into existence when Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva
spoke of the dreaded Asura, Andhaka (Darkness) and looked one at
another. The goddess was coloured white, red, and black, and divided
herself, according to the Varaha Purana, into three forms representing
the Past, Present, and Future.
It was after Sati burned herself that the sorrowing Shiva was wounded
by Kamadeva, the love god, whom he slew by causing a flame of fire to
dart from his third eye. This god is the son of Vishnu and Lakshmi.
He is usually depicted as a comely youth like the Egyptian Khonsu; he
shoots flowery arrows from his bow; his wife Rati symbolizes Spring,
the cuckoo, the humming bee, and soft winds. As Manmatha he is the
“mind-disturber”; as Mara, “the wounder”; as Madan, “he who makes one
love-drunk”; and as Pradyumna he is the “all-conqueror”.
Gane´sa[185], the four-armed, elephant-headed god of wisdom, is the son
of Shiva and Parvati. He is the general of Shiva's army, the patron of
learning and the giver of good fortune. At the beginning of books he is
invoked by poets, his image is placed on the ground when a new house
is built, and he is honoured before a journey is begun or any business
is undertaken. The elephant's head is an emblem of sagacity. A myth
in one of the Puranas relates that the planet Saturn, being under a
curse, decapitated Ganesa simply by looking at him. Vishnu mounted on
the back of the man-eagle Garuda and came to the child's aid. He cut
off the head of Indra's elephant and placed it on Ganesa's neck. In a
conflict with a Deva-rishi Ganesa lost one of his tusks. Several myths
have gathered round this popular, elephant-headed deity, who is also
identified with the wise rat.
[185] A familiar Bengali rendering is “Gonesh”, which is often given as
a pet name to an exemplary boy.
Another son of Shiva and Parvati is Kartikeya, the Celestial general
and slayer of demons. He is also regarded as the son of Agni and the
Ganges.
The goddess of the Ganges is Gangá. This most sacred of all Indian
rivers, the cleanser of sins and the giver of immortality, was
originally confined to the Celestial regions, where it flowed from a
toe of Vishnu. How it came to earth is related in the following myth:
Sag´ara, a King of Ayodha (Oude), had great desire for offspring. He
performed penance, with the result that one wife became the mother of a
single son and the other of sixty thousand sons. He prepared to perform
a horse sacrifice, but Indra stole the sacred animal. All the sons
went in search of it by digging each for the depth of a league towards
the centre of the earth. They were, however, consumed by the fire of
Kapila, a form of Vishnu, who protected the earth goddess, his bride.
Sagara was informed that his sons would come to life again and rise
to heaven when the Ganges flowed down to the earth. His grandson went
through rigid penances, and at length Brahma consented to grant the
prayer that the sacred river should descend from the Himalayas. Shiva
broke the fall of the waters by allowing them to flow through his hair,
and they were divided into seven streams. When the waters reached the
ashes of the slain princes, their spirits rose to heaven and secured
eternal bliss. Sagra island, at the mouth of the Ganges, is invested
with great sanctity, on account of its association with the King of
Ayodha of this legend. All the Indian rivers are female, with the
exception of the Sona and Brahmaputra, the spirits of which are male.
[Illustration: KARTIKEYA, THE WAR GOD
_From a painting by Surendra Nath Gangoly_
(By permission of the Indian Society of Oriental Art, Calcutta)
29]
Other goddesses include Man´asa, sister of Vasuka, King of the Nagas,
who gives protection against snake bites, and is invoked by the serpent
worshippers: Sasti, the feline goddess of maternity and protectress
of children, who rides on a cat; and Shitala, the Bengali goddess of
smallpox, who is mounted on an ass, carries a bundle of reeds in her
hand, and is clad in red; she is propitiated on behalf of victims of
the dreaded disease.
A prominent part is played in the Brahmanic mythology of the
Restoration period by the Deva-rishis, the deified Vedic poets, sages,
and priests, who stand between the Vedic gods and the Trinity of
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Originally there were seven Deva-rishis, and these were identified with
the seven stars of the Great Bear, their wives being represented by the
Pleiades. Their number was, however, increased in time.[186] Sometimes
they visit the earth in the form of swans, but more often they are
brooding sages who curse gods and mortals on receiving the slightest
provocation.
[186] In _Vishnu Purana_ the Rishis are divided as follows: 1,
Brahmarishis, sons of Brahma; 2, Devarishis, semi-divine saints; 3,
Rajarishis, royal saints who had practised austerities. There are
variants in other sacred books which refer to Maharishis, Paramarishis,
&c.
One of the most prominent of these Rishis is Na´rada[187], who cursed
and was cursed by Brahma. In the _Mahábhárata_ he is a renowned
teacher and a counsellor of kings, and also a messenger between Indra
and heroes. He is a patron of music, and invented the Vina (lute) on
which he loves to play. His great rival is Parvata, who also acts as a
Celestial messenger.
[187] Or Nãrada.
Daksha is the father of Sati, the peerless wife of Shiva. It was on
account of this rishi's quarrel with her husband, who was not invited
to a great feast, that she flung herself upon the sacrificial fire.
Shiva cut off Daksha's head and replaced it with the head of a goat.
Bhrigu was the patriarch of a Vedic priestly family. He married a
daughter of Daksha, and was the father of Lakshmi, wife of Vishnu, who
rose from the ocean of milk. Bhrigu once cursed Agni, whom he compelled
to consume everything. Angiras, Kratu, and Pulaha were Deva-rishis
who also married daughters of Daksha. Pulastya was a famous slayer of
Rakshasas. He once cursed a king who refused to make way for him on a
narrow forest path, and the king became a Rakshasa.
Marichi was the grandfather of the dwarf incarnation of Vishnu, and
Atri was the father of the irascible sage Durvasas, a master curser.
Vasishtha is sometimes referred to as identical with Vyasa, the reputed
arranger of the Vedas, and author of the _Mahábhárata_. He possessed
a wonderful cow which granted whatever he wished for. A king named
Vishwamitra desired to possess this wonderful animal, and when he
found that he was unable to obtain it by force, he determined to raise
himself from the Kshatriya to the Brahman caste by performing prolonged
austerities. When Vishwamitra secured this elevation he fought with his
rival.
Some Vedic scholars regard Vishwamitra and Vasishtha as actual
historical personages. They argue that Vishwamitra was originally a
Purohita (family priest) in the service of Sudas, the king of an Aryan
tribe called the Tritsus. References are found in the _Rigveda_ to the
wars of Sudas, who once defeated a coalition of ten kings. Vishwamitra
is believed to have been deposed by Sudas in favour of Vasishtha, and
to have allied himself afterwards with the enemies of the Tritsus.[188]
[188] _Rigveda_, viii, 53. 9-11, and vii, 18.
Professor Oldenberg, the German Sanskrit scholar, is convinced,
however, that there is no evidence in the _Rigveda_ of the legendary
rivalry between Vishwamitra and Vasishtha. He regards the Vasishthas as
the family priests of the Bharata tribe and identical with the Tritsus.
[Illustration: PARVATI, WIFE OF SHIVA (see page 150)
_From a South Indian temple_
30]
Among the tribes which opposed the advance of the conquering King
Sudas, who appears to have been a late comer, was the Puru people
on the banks of the Saraswati river. We find that the early authors
suddenly cease to refer to them, and the problem is presented: What
fate had befallen the Purus? Professor Oldenberg, whose view is
accepted by Professor Macdonell, Oxford, explains that the Purus merged
in the Kuru coalition. The Kurus gave their name to Kuru-kshetra,
the famous battlefield of the epic _Mahábhárata_; they had already
fused with the Panchala tribe and formed the Kuru-Panchala nation in
Madhyadesa, the “Middle Country”, the home of Brahmanic culture, the
birthplace of the famous old _Upanishads_.
The Bharatas, and their priestly aristocracy of Tritsus, the
Vasishthas, appear to have joined the Kuru-Panchala confederacy about
the time that the _Brahmanas_ were being composed, and these were
probably influenced by the ritualistic practices of the Vasishthas.
There are references to Agni of the Bharatas, and a goddess Bharati is
mentioned in connection with the Saraswati river.
It appears highly probable that the Bharatas and the Kuru-Panchalas
represent late invasions of peoples who displaced the earlier Aryan
settlers in Hindustan. Among the enemies of the invaders were the
Kasis, a tribe which became associated with Benares. It is not
possible to prove the theory that this people had any connection with
the Kassites who established a Dynasty at Babylon. The Kassites are
believed to be identical with the Cossæi of later times, who were
settled between Babylon and the Median highlands. Some think the
Kassites came from Asia Minor after the Hittite raid on Babylon, if
the Kassites, as Hittite allies, were not the actual raiders. The fact
that the Maltese cross, which is found on Elamite neolithic pottery,
first appears on Babylonian seals during the Kassite Dynasty, suggests,
however, that the Kassites came from the east and not the west, with
the horse, called in Babylon “the ass of the east”.
The great epic _Mahábhárata_, “the Iliad of India”, may have been
founded on the hero songs which celebrated the Aryan tribal wars in
India. Its action is centred in Kuru-kshetra, “the country of the
Kurus”, in which the Bharatas had settled. Two rival families contend
for supremacy; these are the Kauravas (the Kurus) and the Pandavas who
are supported by the Panchalas and others. The Pandavas and Kauravas
are cousins and the descendants of the eponymous King Bharata. In the
royal family tree the tribal names of Kuru and Puru appear as names of
kings.
A popular rendering is given in several chapters which follow of the
epic narrative embedded in the _Mahábhárata_, which is about eight
times as long as the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ combined. This monumental
work is divided into eighteen books; a supplementary nineteenth book
alone exceeds in length the two famous Greek epics.
As we have stated, the _Mahábhárata_ had its origin as an epic prior
to B.C. 500. It was added to from time to time until it assumed its
present great bulk. The kernel of the narrative, however, which appears
to have dealt with the early wars between the Kurus and Panchalas, must
be placed beyond B.C. 1000.
Our narrative begins with the romantic stories which gathered round
the names of the legendary ancestors of the Kauravas and the Pandavas.
The sympathies of the Brahmanic compilers are with the latter, who are
symbolized as “a vast tree formed of religion and virtue”, while their
opponents are “a great tree formed of passion”.