Greek, Tamil and Sanskrit: Comparison Between the Myths of 29 Herakles (Related with Iole and Deianira) and Rama in Hinduism

Home , Asia (Greek myth), Hesione (mythology), Hesione (Oceanid), Libya (Greek myth)

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1 Greek, Tamil and Sanskrit: Comparison between the 2 Myths of Prometheus, Sembian and Sibi 3 4 The Prometheus myth in Greek literature deals primarily with the theft of fire. 5 The mythological story unwinds such events as the sacrificial thigh bone, God’s 6 corporal punishment, and the eating of flesh by an eagle. A link with the Ocea- 7 nus race and with the continent of Asia is also seen. Interestingly resemblances 8 with this myth can be seen in some ancient literary sources from Tamil and San- 9 skrit languages. The Tamil myth of ‘Sembian’ and the Sanskrit myth of ‘Sibi’ 10 also have resemblances with the Greek myth of Prometheus. The parallels seen 11 between these myths are examined here. 12 13 Keywords: comparative study, Indian, myth, Prometheus, Sanskrit, Sembi- 14 an, Sibi, Tamil 15 16 17 Introduction 18 19 Myths can be considered to be the ancient sources of information on an- 20 cient history and culture. Some myths even though arising in different corners 21 of the world and in different languages strangely reflect one another. The simi- 22 larities in mythologies may indicate parallels and influences of one on another. 23 If the similarities are occasional they may be seen as parallels. If the similari- 24 ties are made by personal contact, they may be seen as influences. The Greek 25 myth of Prometheus has similarities with the Tamil myth of Sembian and the 26 Sanskrit myth of Sibi. 27 28 Prometheus 29 30 There are many myths related with Prometheus, among those myths some 31 noteworthy mentions are as follows: 32 33 1. Maker of Mankind and Philanthropism 34 2. Sacrificial thigh bone 35 3. Related with fire (Theft of fire) 36 4. God’s corporal punishment 37 5. Flesh-eating by an eagle 38 6. Oceanus Race and 39 7. Prometheus’ connection with Asia. 40 41 The myths related with these topics are discussed in detail as here under 42 43 Maker of Mankind and philanthropist 44 45 Man being a social animal depends upon the help of one another. The so- 46 ciety or a person in the society needs the help of the other. In this scenario a 47 hand that is ready to help is considered to be a special character of a super hu-

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1 man or as God himself, which is made very much obvious in the myth of Pro- 2 metheus (Jones 1918). 3 λίθοι κεῖνταί σφισιν ἐπὶ τῇ χαράδρᾳ, At the ravine there lie two stones, each of μέγεθος μὲν ἑκάτερος ὡς φόρτον which is big enough to fill a cart. They ἀποχρῶντα ἁμάξης εἶναι, χρῶμα δέ ἐστι have the color of clay, not earthy clay, but πηλοῦ σφισιν, οὐ γεώδους ἀλλ᾽ οἷος ἂν such as would be found in a ravine or χαράδρας γένοιτο ἢ χειμάρρου sandy torrent, and they smell very like the ψαμμώδους, παρέχονται δὲ καὶ ὀσμὴν skin of a man. They say that these are re- ἐγγύτατα χρωτὶ ἀνθρώπου: ταῦτα ἔτι mains of the clay out of which the whole λείπεσθαι τοῦ πηλοῦ λέγουσιν ἐξ οὗ καὶ race of mankind was fashioned by Prome- ἅπαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Προμηθέως τὸ γένος theus. πλασθῆναι τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Paus. 10.4.4,. Pausanias, Description of Greece, Greek travelogue, C 2nd A.D 4 5 Thus it is described that Prometheus created humans and after that he also 6 gave mankind the much needed fire. This reveals that he was not only the crea- 7 tor, he was also a benefactor and for this noble act he even goes to the extent 8 of deceiving God. 9 10 Sacrificial thigh bone 11 12 Sacrificing animals as an offering to the Gods has been one of the im- 13 portant rituals in ancient times. At the end of the event the flesh of the sacrifi- 14 cial animal is offered to God. It is also a mark of respect given to God. Decep- 15 tion is not permitted in this ritual. Here it is needed to be seen the situation in 16 the myth of Prometheus (Smyth 1926) (Evelyn White 1914). 17 495χολή, λοβοῦ τε ποικίλην εὐμορφίαν. [495] the gods, also the speckled sym- κνίσῃ τε κῶλα συγκαλυπτὰ καὶ μακρὰν metry of the liver-lobe; and the thigh- ὀσφῦν πυρώσας δυστέκμαρτον ἐς τέχνην bones, wrapped in fat, and the long chine ὥδωσα θνητούς, καὶ φλογωπὰ σήματα I burned and initiated mankind into an ἐξωμμάτωσα, πρόσθεν ὄντ᾽ ἐπάργεμα. occult art. Also I cleared their vision to discern signs from flames,which were obscure before this. [500] Aesch. PB Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound, Greek tragedy C.5th BC

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535καὶ γὰρ ὅτ᾽ ἐκρίνοντο θεοὶ θνητοί τ᾽ [535] For when the gods and mortal men ἄνθρωποι had a dispute at Mecone, even then Pro- Μηκώνῃ, τότ᾽ ἔπειτα μέγαν βοῦν πρό- metheus was forward to cut up a great ox φρονι θυμῷ and set portions before them, trying to δασσάμενος προέθηκε, Διὸς νόον deceive the mind of Zeus. Before the rest ἐξαπαφίσκων. he set flesh and inner parts thick with fat τοῖς μὲν γὰρ σάρκας τε καὶ ἔγκατα πίονα upon the hide, covering them with an ox δημῷ paunch; [540] but for Zeus he put the ἐν ῥινῷ κατέθηκε καλύψας γαστρὶ βοείῃ, white bones dressed up with cunning art 540τῷ δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ ὀστέα λευκὰ βοὸς δολίῃ and covered with shining fat. Then the ἐπὶ τέχνῃ father of men and of gods said to him: εὐθετίσας κατέθηκε καλύψας ἀργέτι “Son of Iapetus, most glorious of all δημῷ. lords, good sir, how unfairly you have δὴ τότε μιν προσέειπε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε divided the portions!” θεῶν τε: Hes. Th. Ἰαπετιονίδη, πάντων ἀριδείκετ᾽ ἀνάκτων, Hesiod’s Theogony, ὦ πέπον, ὡς ἑτεροζήλως διεδάσσαο μοί- Greek epic, C.8th BC ρας. 1 2 To help mankind, Prometheus tricks the God Zeus as found mentioned in 3 the Greek tragedy C 5th B.C,. Food and meat were obviously a scarcity at the 4 time of the myth and people were themselves suffering from want and they 5 were unable to fulfill the sacrificial needs of God Zeus. Seeing this Prometheus 6 had no other way to solve this problem other than taking the dry bones of ani- 7 mals and covering them with the fat of sacrifice instead of the real meat and 8 offering them to the God Zeus. He staged this deceptive act for the benefit of 9 mankind knowing full well that he might incur the wrath of Zeus. 10 11 Related with fire (Theft of fire) 12 13 Fire is one of the main sources of energy. The use of fire is one of the re- 14 markable mile-stones in the development of mankind. It has helped man not 15 just to cook his food but also to make agricultural implements and also weap- 16 ons of war with the hard metals like bronze, copper and iron. Fire is an im- 17 portant source of energy and has an important place in modern industry and 18 war. Hence the value of fire is revealed in the myth of Prometheus (Lamb 19 1967) who was the bringer of fire and civilization to the mortals. He was the 20 giver of all arts and sciences as well as the means of sustenance. 21 ἀπορίᾳ οὖν σχόμενος ὁ Προμηθεὺς ἥντινα Then Prometheus, in his perplexity as to σωτηρίαν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ εὕροι, κλέπτει what preservation he could devise for Ἡφαίστου καὶ Ἀθηνᾶς τὴν ἔντεχνον man, stole from Hephaestus and Athena wisdom in the arts Plat. Prot. 321c

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[321δ] σοφίαν σὺν πυρί—ἀμήχανον γὰρ [321d] together with fire—since by no ἦν ἄνευ πυρὸς αὐτὴν κτητήν τῳ ἢ means without fire could it be acquired or χρησίμην γενέσθαι—καὶ οὕτω δὴ helpfully used by any—and he handed it δωρεῖται ἀνθρώπῳ. τὴν μὲν οὖν περὶ τὸν there and then as a gift to man. Now alt- βίον σοφίαν ἄνθρωπος ταύτῃ ἔσχεν, τὴν hough man acquired in this way the wis- δὲ πολιτικὴν οὐκ εἶχεν: ἦν γὰρ παρὰ τῷ dom of daily life, civic wisdom he had Διί. τῷ δὲ Προμηθεῖ εἰς μὲν τὴν not, since this was in the possession of ἀκρόπολιν τὴν τοῦ Διὸς οἴκησιν οὐκέτι Zeus; Prometheus could not make so free ἐνεχώρει εἰσελθεῖν—πρὸς δὲ καὶ αἱ Διὸς as to enter the citadel which is the dwell- φυλακαὶ φοβεραὶ ἦσαν—εἰς δὲ τὸ τῆς ing-place of Zeus, and moreover the Ἀθηνᾶς καὶ Ἡφαίστου οἴκημα τὸ κοινόν, guards of Zeus were terrible: but he en- ἐν ᾧ tered unobserved the building shared by Athena and Hephaestus Plat. Prot. 321d Plato’s Protagoras, C.4th BC 1 2 In this episode the mortals created by Prometheus seem to be at low state 3 when compared to that of other living creatures. To uplift the mortals he stole 4 the fire from God Zeus without being concerned about the consequences of 5 doing such a defying act. His only motive was somehow to help mankind . Be- 6 cause of this selfless helping character Prometheus has a very special place in 7 this myth, however this action incurs the wrath of Zeus. 8 9 God’s Corporal Punishment 10 11 Punishment is the infliction of pain for wrong doing. The aim of punish- 12 ment may vary. Punishments differ in their degree of severity and may include 13 sanctions such as reprimands, deprivations of privileges or liberty, fines, incar- 14 cerations, ostracism, the infliction of pain, amputation and even death penalty. 15 It is accorded mainly to rectify the wrong doings. Sometimes punishments are 16 very hard. Bodily punishments belongs to this category. It is also seen in the 17 myth of Prometheus (Evelyn White 1914). 18 520ταύτην γάρ οἱ μοῖραν ἐδάσσατο μητί- [520] for this lot wise Zeus assigned to ετα Ζεύς. him. And ready-witted Prometheus he δῆσε δ᾽ ἀλυκτοπέδῃσι Προμηθέα ποικι- bound with inextricable bonds, cruel λόβουλον chains, and drove a shaft through his mid- δεσμοῖς ἀργαλέοισι μέσον διὰ κίον᾽ dle, ἐλάσσας: Hes. Th. Hesiod’s Theogony, Greek epic, C.8th BC 19 20 God Zeus was very angry when Prometheus stole the fire from him, so he 21 punished him physically by cruelly nailing him to a mountain in the Caucasus 22 and driving a shaft through his middle. He also sent an eagle to eat his immor- 23 tal liver which constantly replenished itself. Prometheus underwent the pun- 24 ishment of God Zeus and bore all the physical sufferings only for the benefit of

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1 mankind. 2 3 Body flesh eaten by Bird 4 5 Bodily punishments are intended to inflict pain. Flogging, branding and 6 even mutilation was practiced in most civilizations in ancient times. The pun- 7 ishment received by Prometheus for the theft of fire from the god is indeed 8 very sympathetic. (Evelyn White 1914). 9 καί οἱ ἐπ᾽ αἰετὸν ὦρσε τανύπτερον: αὐτὰρ and set on him a long-winged eagle, ὅ γ᾽ ἧπαρ which used to eat his immortal liver; but ἤσθιεν ἀθάνατον, τὸ δ᾽ ἀέξετο ἶσον by night the liver grew [525] as much ἁπάντη again everyway as the long-winged bird 525νυκτός ὅσον πρόπαν ἦμαρ ἔδοι τανυ- devoured in the whole day. σίπτερος ὄρνις. Hes. Th. Hesiod’s Theogony, Greek epic, C.8th BC 10 11 Unable to bear the suffering of the mortals Prometheus had no other alterna- 12 tive than to steal the fire from Zeus, for which he had to undergo the punish- 13 ment given by Zeus who set on him a giant eagle to eat the liver of Prome- 14 theus. In this myth Prometheus is related with a strong bird which eats the flesh 15 of the human beings. 16 17 Oceanus Race 18 19 There are some myths especially related with sea. The peoples belonging 20 to fishermen community and sea traders are related with these types of myths. 21 Prometheus also related with this type of myth (Evelyn White 1914). 22 κούρην δ᾽ Ἰαπετὸς καλλίσφυρον Now Iapetus took to wife the neat-ankled Ὠκεανίνην maid Clymene, daughter of Ocean, and ἠγάγετο Κλυμένην καὶ ὁμὸν λέχος went up with her into one bed. And she εἰσανέβαινεν. bore him a stout-hearted son, Atlas: [510] ἣ δέ οἱ Ἄτλαντα κρατερόφρονα γείνατο also she bore very glorious Menoetius and παῖδα: clever Prometheus,.. 510τίκτε δ᾽ ὑπερκύδαντα Μενοίτιον ἠδὲ Hes. Th. Προμηθέα Hesiod’s Theogony, Greek epic, C.8th BC 23 24 The mother of the Prometheus was associated with sea. All other relatives 25 of Prometheus were also related with the sea. According to Aeschylus, the wife 26 of Prometheus was also connected with the sea (Smyth 1926).

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Χορός Chorus ἔμαθον τάδε σὰς προσιδοῦσ᾽ ὀλο- I have learned this lesson from observing ὰς τύχας, Προμηθεῦ. the luck, Prometheus, that has brought τὸ διαμφίδιον δέ μοι μέλος προσέπτα about your ruin. And the difference in the 555τόδ᾽ ἐκεῖνό θ᾽, ὅ τ᾽ ἀμφὶ λουτρὰ song stole into my thought [555] —this καὶ λέχος σὸν ὑμεναίουν song and that, which, about your bridal ἰότατι γάμων, ὅτε τὰν ὁμοπάτριον ἕδνοις bed and bath, I (the chorus of Oceanids) 560ἄγαγες Ἡσιόναν πείθὼν δάμαρτα raised to grace your marriage, when you κοινόλεκτρον. wooed with gifts [560] and won my (the Oceanid) sister Hesione to be your wed- ded wife. Aesch. PB Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound, Greek tragedy C.5th BC 1 In these myths it is shown clearly that Prometheus belonged to a race 2 closely linked with the sea. 3 4 Prometheus connection with Asia 5 6 Prometheus was also connected with Asia (Godley 1920). 7 [3] ἤδη γὰρ Λιβύη μὲν ἐπὶ Λιβύης λέγεται [3] For Libya is said by most Greeks to be ὑπὸ τῶν πολλῶν Ἑλλήνων ἔχειν τὸ named after a native woman of that name, οὔνομα γυναικὸς αὐτόχθονος, ἡ δὲ Ἀσίη and Asia after the wife of Prometheus; ἐπὶ τῆς Προμηθέος γυναικὸς τὴν Hdt. 4.45.3 ἐπωνυμίην. Herodotus’s Histories, C.5th BC

8 In this myth Herodotus says that the continent of Asia was named after the 9 wife of Prometheus. In this aspect we see the connection of Prometheus with 10 the Asian continent. Thus Prometheus was related with the myths of 11 1.Philanthropic or giving mind, 2. Sacrificial thigh bone, 3. Related with fire 12 (Theft of fire), 4. God’s physical punishment, 5. flesh-eating bird, 6. Oceanus 13 race and 7. Connection with Asia. In connecting these myths it can be said that 14 Prometheus who belongs to the sea and Asia, faced body wound by the bird 15 related with fire. This is visualized in the Figure 1. 16 17 Figure 1. Prometheus Bound

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1 2 3 Prometheus belongs to the Oceanus Race. So some sea myth also may be 4 related with him. Here it is to be known about an instance which is not directly 5 related with Prometheus but related with the sea in Greek literature (Mooney 6 1912). 540 Ὧς φάτο: τοῖσι δὲ σῆμα θεοὶ δόσαν (3.540-544) Thus he spake, and the gods εὐμενέοντες. in their goodwill gave them a sign. A τρηρὼν μὲν φεύγουσα βίην κίρκοιο πελειὰς trembling dove in her flight from a ὑψόθεν Αἰσονίδεω πεφοβημένη ἔμπεσε mighty hawk fell from on high, terrified, κόλποις: into the lap of Aeson's son, and the hawk κίρκος δ' ἀφλάστῳ περικάππεσεν. ὦκα δὲ fell impaled on the stern-ornament. And Μόψος quickly Mopsus with prophetic words τοῖον ἔπος μετὰ πᾶσι θεοπροπέων ἀγόρευσεν: spake among them all: " Υ̓́ μμι, φίλοι, τόδε σῆμα θεῶν ἰότητι τέτυκται: οὐδέ τῃ ἄλλως ἐστὶν ὑποκρίνασθαι ἄρειον, (3.545-554) "For you, friends, this sign παρθενικὴν δ' ἐπέεσσι μετελθέμεν has been wrought by the will of heaven; ἀμφιέποντας in no other way is it possible to interpret μήτι παντοίῃ. δοκέω δέ μιν οὐκ ἀθερίζειν, its meaning better, than to seek out the εἰ ἐτεὸν Φινεύς γε θεᾷ ἐνὶ Κύπριδι νόστον maiden and entreat her with manifold πέφραδεν ἔσσεσθαι. κείνης δ' ὅγε μείλιχος skill. And I think she will not reject our ὄρνις prayer, if in truth Phineus said that our πότμον ὑπεξήλυξε: κέαρ δέ μοι ὡς ἐνὶ θυμῷ return should be with the help of the τόνδε κατ' οἰωνὸν προτιόσσεται, ὧς δὲ Cyprian Goddess. It was her gentle bird πέλοιτο. that escaped death; and as my heart with- ἀλλά, φίλοι, Κυθέρειαν ἐπικλείοντες ἀμύνειν, in me foresees according to this omen, so 554 ἤδη νῦν Ἄργοιο παραιφασίῃσι πίθεσθε." may it prove! But, my friends, let us call on Cytherea to aid us, and now at once obey the counsels of Argus. Argonautica

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1 The above scene is present in the Greek epic called Argonautica which 2 was written by Apollonius Rhodius in the third century B.C. It is an epic relat- 3 ed with sea journey. In this incident a soft bird (dove) frightened by a stronger 4 bird (hawk) fell on the lap of a human. It is an incident in the myth related with 5 life in the sea Thus the above said myths related with Prometheus and sea can 6 be pictured according to their relationship with the same in the Figure 2. 7 8 Figure 2. Structure of the Myth - Prometheus

9 10 11 The Myth of Sembian - Sibi 12 13 Tamil is one of the ancient classical languages of the world having ancient 14 literatures like that of the Greek language. The oldest available literature in 15 Tamil is called the Sangam literature. Many historical events and myths are 16 found in this literature. One among them is the myth of Sembian - Sibi. In the 17 poem number 37, Mārōkkathu Nappasalaiyār, Puranānūru, Sanga Ilakkiam 18 (Tamil Virtual University 1995) Sembian is praised for his kindness shown to- 19 wards a dove in safe guarding it from a Hawk.

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1 “O heir of Sembean who removed the anguish of a 2 dove and owned a rage-filled army with bright spears! 3 You attacked like roaring thunder which entered with 4 flashing fire that rose in the sky, into a cave with 5 green vines, and chopped a five-headed poisonous 6 snake with white fangs.” 7 37, Mārōkkathu Nappasalaiyār, 8 Puranānūru, Sanga Ilakkiam. 9 10 Here Sembian is also related with flashing fire. In Tamil ‘Si’ and ‘Sem’ 11 are inter changeable. For example the word Sivappu denotes red colour. When 12 it denotes the red colour of the eye, it becomes Semkan. In the same way Sem- 13 bian becomes Sibi. In Japaneese language ‘bi’ becomes ‘vi’. So Sibi becomes 14 Sivi in Japaneese. This myth is mentioned in the epic Mahabharat in the form 15 of a story. 16 17 Mahabharat 18 19 This is one of the oldest epics in India written by Krishna-Dwaipayana 20 Vyasa in Sanskrit. It includes many myths and events. One among them is the 21 myth of Sembian – Sibi – Sivi (Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1896). 22 23 “Markandeya said, 'One day it was resolved by the gods that they should descend 24 on the earth and try the goodness and virtue of king Sivi the son of Usinara. And 25 addressing each other well -Agni and Indra came to the earth. And Agni took the 26 form of a pigeon flying away from Indra who pursued him in the form of a hawk, 27 and that pigeon fell upon the lap of king Sivi who was seated on an excellent seat. 28 And the priest thereupon addressing the king said, 'Afraid of the hawk and desir- 29 ous of saving its life, this pigeon hath come to thee for safety. The learned have 30 said that the falling of a pigeon upon one's body forebodeth a great danger. Let 31 the king that understands omens give away wealth for saving himself from the 32 danger indicated.' And the pigeon also addressed the king and said, 'Afraid of the 33 hawk and desirous of saving my life I have come to thee for protection. I am a 34 Muni. Having assumed the form of a pigeon, I come to thee as a seeker of thy 35 protection. Indeed, I seek thee as my life…… I am not a pigeon. Oh, do not yield 36 me up to the hawk….. And after the pigeon said so, the hawk addressed the king, 37 and said, …It is not proper for thee, O king, to interfere with my food by protect- 38 ing this pigeon …………... And at this appeal of the king, the hawk said, 'O king, 39 if thou givest me as much flesh as would be equal to the weight of the pigeon, 40 cutting it off thy right thigh; then can the pigeon be properly saved by thee; …But 41 the pigeon still weighed heavier, and then the king himself ascended the scale!” 42 43 Section 196, Book 3 44 The Mahabharata 45 46 In this myth a soft bird (pigeon) frightened by the strong bird (hawk) falls 47 on the lap of the human Siri. In this mythology the Agni denotes fire God 48 which comes in the form of a pigeon and God Indra is in the form of a hawk. It 49 is mentioned here that the hawk which belong to eagle’s family hunts the pi-

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1 geon which belong to dove’s family. Indra is the King of all Gods and head of 2 heaven like the Zeus in the Greek myth. Sembian – Sivi hides or saves the fire 3 (which is in the form of pigeon) from the King of all Gods (which is in the 4 form of hawk). For that Sembian – Sivi gives his flesh from his thigh. The 5 above thoughts are visualized in Figure 3. 6 7 Figure 3. Myth of Sembian

8 9 10 In view of this enormous sacrificial mind of Sembian for the sake of a bird 11 he is portrayed as a noble soul and is accorded a special place in the Hindu 12 religious beliefs. 13 14 Buddhism 15 16 Buddhism is the world's fourth-largest religion with over 520 million fol- 17 lowers, about 7% of the global population are Buddhists. It originated in an- 18 cient India, sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries B.C., spreading in 19 most of the places of Asia. Later, China and Japan followed Buddhism. Many 20 Buddhists monks from China travelled to India and collected books and ideas 21 that are related to Buddhism. The Buddhist monk and traveler Fa-Hien is one 22 among them. 23 24

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1 The Journey of Fa-Hien to India 2 3 Between 399 and 414 CE, the Chinese Buddhist monk Fahien (Fa-Hsien, 4 Fa Hien) undertook a trip to India via Central Asia. His mission was to collect 5 books and teachings of Budhism. After a long journey done mostly on foot and 6 a stay of about 15 years he returned to China to compile a book on his findings 7 that he had gathered during his journey. We find that he has made a mention on 8 the myth of Sembian or Sibi (Legge James 1886). 9 10 “In that country also Buddhism is flourishing. There is in it the place where Sak- 11 ra, Ruler of Devas, in a former age, tried the Bodhisattva, by producing a hawk 12 (in pursuit of a) dove, when (the Bodhisattva) cut off a piece of his own flesh, 13 and (with it) ransomed the dove. After Buddha had attained to perfect wisdom, 14 and in travelling about with his disciples (arrived at this spot), he informed them 15 that this was the place where he ransomed the dove with a piece of his own flesh. 16 In this way the people of the country became aware of the fact, and on the spot 17 reared a tope, adorned with layers of gold and silver plates.” 18 Chapter IX - Soo-ho-to 19 The travels of FA-HIEN, 20 A.D. 399-414 21 These statements reflect a connection between the myths of Sembian - Sibi 22 and Buddhism. It is to be noted that based on this myth many stone carvings 23 were made in the ancient Buddhist temples called Borobudur. 24 25 Borobudur Buddhist Temples 26 27 Borobudur, or Barabudur is a 9th century Mahayana Buddhist temple in 28 Central Java, Indonesia. It is the world's largest Buddhist temple. The temple 29 consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a 30 central dome. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. 31 The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a per- 32 forated stupa (Raffles 1817). The location of the place and the stone carvings 33 of Sembian - Sibi are visualized in Figure 4 and Figure 5. 34 35

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1 Figure 4. Borobudur

2 3 4 Figure 5. Stone Carvings of Sembian

5 1 6

1 Drawing of the author from the temple.

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1 On the right side, one can see Buddha sitting with his followers. On the 2 left side we see some persons sitting with a balance (Raffles 1817). The next 3 picture illustrates the scene very clearly. Here in one of the pans of the balance 4 a pigeon is placed. On the other pan a piece of flesh taken from the thigh of 5 the king is placed, this scene is visualized in Figure 6. 6 7 Figure 6. Myth of Sembian

8 9 10 In this picture, it can be seen that, a man is cutting out a portion of the 11 flesh of the king from his thigh. The pigeon is postured near the King. A 12 person is seen holding a balance, pieces of flesh are seen to be placed on one of 13 the pans of the balance. The myths of Sembian - Sibi are seen carved in the 14 Buddhist temples. On the myth of Sembian - Sibi are found represented not 15 only in the form of stone carvings but also found to be represented in the form 16 of paintings which can be seen in the ancient Buddhist temples called Caves of 17 the Thousand Buddhas. 18 19 Caves of Thousand Buddhas 20 21 The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves 22 of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 492 temples 25 km (16 mi) south- 23 east of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural 24 crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The caves are also 25 known as the Dunhuang Caves. The first caves were dug out in AD 366 as 26 places of Buddhist meditation and worship. In these caves there are many 27 paintings related with the Buddhas. Those of whom who followed the teach- 28 ings of Buddhism found a place in the paintings. In this lime-light Sembian-

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1 Sibi a person with the great quality of nobleness has also secured a place 2 among the Thousand Buddhas. It is visualized in Figure 7. 3 4 Figure 7. Cave Drawings - Sembian

5 6 2 7 In this Buddhist temple many carvings and paintings were made. On the 8 side of the big statue a painting related with Sembian - Sibi myths can be seen. 9 The following Figure 8 shows it very clearly. 10

2 Pencil drawing of the author from the cave painting.

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1 Figure 8. Sembian

2 3 3 4 Several paintings related with the myths were shown. In this Sembian - Si- 5 bi myth was highlighted here in Figure 9. 6 7 Figure 9. Sembian

8 9 4

3Drawing of the author from the cave painting. 4Drawing of the author from the cave painting.

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1 Here the person is cutting the thigh part of the Sembian - Sibi. In the other 2 caves also there are many paintings related with this myth. One among the 3 caves is cave no. 254 (Abe 1989). The above thoughts are visualized in Figure 4 10. 5 6 Figure 10. Sembian

7 8 5 9 In this picture near the Buddhist statue many paintings are seen, one 10 among them-is related with the myth of Sembian – Sibi as visualized in Figure 11 11. 12 13

5 Drawing of the author from the cave painting.

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1 Figure 11. Sembian

2 3 6 4 Here a man is seen cutting the thigh of the Sembian - Sibi to extract the 5 flesh. This Caves of the Thousand Buddhas is located at the Silk Road in 6 Dunhuang, China. The Silk Road was a network of trade routes which con- 7 nected the East and West, and was central to the economic, cultural, political, 8 and religious interactions between these regions from the 2nd century BCE. 9 This silk route starts from Greece and end in China (Naraelle 1989) as por- 10 trayed in Figure 12 below. 11

6 Drawing of the author from the cave painting.

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1 Figure 12. Silk Route

2 3 4 Thus the myth of Sembian – Sibi related with fire and flesh eating bird are 5 seen in the literatures of Tamil and Sanskrit and has also found a way in the 6 religious thoughts of these two religions, at the same time this myth has many 7 similarities with the myth of Prometheus. 8 9 Readiness in Giving 10 11 Sembian - Sibi in Tamil literature is noted for his noble qualities. He has a 12 readiness to give away everything and anything to persons who are in need. In 13 the myth of Sembian - Sibi, the God himself wants to test Sibi’s noble qualities 14 and his readiness to give. We find a parallel of the same feature in the myth of 15 Prometheus as well. 16 17 Sacrificial Thigh bone 18 19 In the myth of Sembian - Sibi the thigh bone plays a very important place. 20 Sibi cuts his thigh to extract flesh in order to save the pigeon. In the myth of 21 Prometheus, he deceives God Zeus with a thigh bone for protecting mankind. 22 The thigh bone in Prometheus is turned into the thigh-flesh in the Sibi myth. 23 24 Related with fire 25 26 In the myth of Sembian - Sibi the god of fire called Agni takes the form of 27 a pigeon and seeks refuge in the hands of the King Sibi and begs him to be 28 saved from the pursuit of the wild hawk. Here Sembian saves the pigeon which 29 is indeed the fire God. In the Prometheus myth Prometheus steals the fire. In 30 this way fire is linked in both the myths. 31 32

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1 God’s bodily treatment 2 3 In the myth of Sembian - Sibi, Indra, the chief of the Devas asks for a por- 4 tion of the flesh to be extracted from the thigh of King Sibi as a ransom for the 5 life of the pigeon. It is mentioned as a means to test the nobleness of the king 6 Sibi by Indra. In the myth of Prometheus, the Chief of the Gods, Zeus ties the 7 body of Prometheus and gives bodily punishments. In this way in both the 8 myths the king of the Gods tests them in the same manner that is through phys- 9 ical punishments. 10 11 Body flesh eaten by eagle 12 13 In the myth of Sembian - Sibi, the eagle which is actually Indra, the king 14 of the Gods, demands the thigh flesh of Sibi. Here eagle represents the king of 15 Gods. In the myth of Prometheus the flesh of the Prometheus is eaten by the 16 eagle which is the symbolic bird to represent the king of the Gods, Zeus. Both 17 the myths have the presence of the king of Gods, their representative bird(the 18 eagle), and the incident of eagle eating the human body flesh., the variation is 19 in the myth of Prometheus the liver was eaten by the bird where as in the Sem- 20 bian myth thigh flesh was demanded by the bird. In both the myths the bird 21 demands flesh of the human body for the fire. Thus, both the myths have re- 22 semblences. 23 24 Oceanus race 25 26 In Sanskrit Rig Veda (Griffith 1896) and Mahabharata epic, Sembian - 27 Sibi is represented as belonging to Nara race. Their family members are called 28 by names, Usi Nara and Sibi Nara. 29 30 Drive forward thou the wagon-ox, O Indra, which brought Usinarani's wagon 31 hither. 32 May Heaven and Earth uproot and sweep iniquity and shame away: nor sin nor 33 sorrow trouble thee. 34 Rig 10.59.10 35 36 The Mahabharata epic explains the meaning of Nara (Kisari Mohan Gan- 37 guli 1896). 38 39 “In ancient times I called the waters by the name of Nara; and because the waters 40 have ever been my ayana or home, therefore have I been called Narayana (the 41 water-homed).” 42 3 & 4, Chapter 187, Book 3, 43 The Mahabharata 44 45 In Tamil literature Sembian is related with Neer, that means any water 46 body or sea. This ‘Nara, Neer were also related with sea in Greek myths 47 (Mooney 1912)..

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1 “But to them appeared Glaucus from the depths of the sea, the wise interpreter of di- 2 vine Nereus [Νηρῆος],” 3 Line. 1311. Book 1, 4 Argonautica 5 6 Thus the race Nara is related with sea and the Greek Prometheus is also re- 7 lated with sea. In this way, both the myths are related with sea. The base of the 8 Sembian myth is to safe guard a soft bird (pigeon or dove) frightened by the 9 strong bird (hawk) which fell on the lap of the King Sibi. Even though it is not 10 present in the Prometheus myth, but in the sea myth of the Greeks. In Greek it 11 is related with the augury of the bird. The bird related with augury is called as 12 ‘ὄρνις’ in Greek. In Tamil the augury of the bird itself called as ‘Orthal’ as 13 same in the Greek language (Pugazhendhi 2018). 14 aNagkuTai mun'n'Ir paran'ta ceRuvin Men of great action listen to bird omens, uNagku tiRam peyarn'ta veN kal amiztam and go kuTa pula marugkin uymmAr, puL Ort- with protective groups, ….. tup paTai amaittu ezun'ta peruj cey ATavar Akanānūru 207, Mathurai Eluthālan Chēnthampoothanār, Sanga Ilakkiam (Tamil Virtual University 1995) 15 16 It ensures the transfer of this myth between Greek and Tamil. Thus the 17 Greek myth of Prometheus and the Tamil myth of Sembian are very closely 18 related. All the above said aspects are compared in Table 1. 19 20 Table 1. Comparison of Myths S.No. Myths Prometheus Sembean or Sibi or Sivi or Sibae 1. Donating mentality Punished by God Tested by God 2. Fire Steal the Fire Hide the Fire God as in the form of pigeon 3. Flesh eating Bird Eagle eat the liver for Hawk demanded the flesh for the theft of fire the fire God 4. Thigh Cheating thigh-bones Thigh flesh was demanded for the part of Zeus 5. Race Belongs to the ocea- Belongs to the oceanus race nus race In some myth he is belongs to nara (Sibinara, Usinara) family. Nara means water or sea as in Nereus in Greek. 6. God Titan God God Buddha 21 22

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1 Besides, there is also one other main difference between these two myths. 2 3 Difference 4 5 In the Greek myth, Prometheus steals the fire from Zeus, in the Indian 6 myth, the fire God Agni is saved by Sembian from the eagle. This is the main 7 difference between these two myths. Hence, there is a need to find the unique- 8 ness in this difference. 9 10 Uniqueness in the difference 11 12 In the Greek myth, Zeus God is related with eagle. 13 So the sentence …. 14 1. Prometheus stole the fire from the Zeus God = Prometheus stole the fire 15 from the eagle God. 16 2. Prometheus stole the fire from the eagle God = Prometheus taken the fire 17 from the eagle God. 18 3. Finally it means Prometheus taken the fire from the eagle God. 19 In the Indian myth Sembian saved the pigeon from the hawk (eagle family) 20 means … 21 1. Sembian save the pigeon from the eagle = Sembian save the pigeon from the 22 eagle God. [ Since the God only is in the form of eagle] [And the same God is 23 also the king of Gods, like Zeus] 24 2. Sembian saves the pigeon from the eagle God = Sembian save the fire God 25 [Because the fire god is only in the form of pigeon in Indian myth.] from the 26 eagle God. 27 3. Sembian save the fire from the eagle God = Sembian take the fire from the 28 eagle God. 29 3.Finally it means Sembian take the fire from the eagle God. 30 31 In this way, the Greek Prometheus stole the fire from the Zeus God and in 32 the Tamil myth, Sembian save the pigeon from the eagle are both one and the 33 same. Here it is required to finalize whether the similarities seen between these 34 two myths are occasionally parallels or influenced by one another. 35 36 Influence between Tamil and Greek myths 37 38 Greeks and Tamilians had trade relations from the pre historic era (Pugaz- 39 hendhi 2020). Owing to these trade relations some myths were transformed 40 within this societies (Pugazhendhi 2021). So the similarities seen between 41 Sembian and Prometheus are not only occasionally parallels, but might be in- 42 fluenced by one another. In Greek Sembian - Sibi - Sivi is mentioned as Sibae. 43 The Greek Geographer, Strabo, gives his views saying that some ancient peo- 44 ple who lived during 1 B.C were related to both Greek Prometheus and Tamil 45 Sibae (Jones 1924).

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Ἄορνον δέ τινα πέτραν, ἧς τὰςῥίζας ὁ When Alexander, at one assault, took Ἰνδὸς ὑπορρεῖ πλησίον τῶν πηγῶν, Aornus, a rock at the foot of which, Ἀλεξάνδρου κατὰ μίαν προσβολὴν near its sources, the Indus River ἑλόντος, σεμνύνοντες ἔφασαν τὸν flows, his exalters said that Heracles Ἡρακλέα τρὶς μὲν προσβαλεῖν τῇ πέτρᾳ thrice attacked this rock and thrice ταύτῃ τρὶς δ᾽ἀποκρουσθῆναι. τῶν δὲ was repulsed; and that the Sibae were κοινωνησάντων αὐτῷ τῆς στρατείας descendants of those who shared with ἀπογόνους εἶναι τοὺς Σίβας, σύμβολα τοῦ Heracles in the expedition, and that γένους σώζοντας τό τε δορὰς ἀμπέχεσθαι, they retained badges of their descent, καθάπερ τὸν Ἡρακλέα, καὶ in that they wore skins like Heracles, τὸσκυταληφορεῖν καὶ ἐπικεκαῦσθαι βουσὶ carried clubs, and branded their cattle καὶ ἡμιόνοις ῥόπαλον. βεβαιοῦνται δὲ τὸν and mules with the mark of a club. μῦθοντοῦτον καὶ ἐκ τῶν περὶ τὸν And they further confirm this myth by Καύκασον καὶ τὸν Προμηθέα: the stories of the Caucasus and Pro- metheus, 15.8, Greek Geography, Strabo , 1 B.C. 1 2 This reference related with the three characters such as the Heracles, Pro- 3 metheus and Sibae lived in India. It is mentioned that the Sibae embraced the 4 costume of the Heracles. The connection between Prometheus and Sibae is not 5 mentioned in this Greek reference. The Tamil myth highlights the link between 6 Prometheus and Sibae and relate with fire and flesh eating bird. The myth re- 7 lated with terrifying pigeon by the hawk fell upon the lap of king Sembian has 8 a main place in this myth which is not directly related with the myth of Prome- 9 theus but present in the sea related myth. Thus the myth related with Sembian 10 seems to be a trans-placement myth of Prometheus as in Figure 13 and Figure 11 14 and are formed as Sembian myths as in the Figure 15. 12 13 Figure 13. Trans placement of Prometheus Myths

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1 Figure 14. Promotheus Myth to Sembian Myth

2 3 Figure 15. Structure of Sembian Myth related with Promotheus Myth

4 5

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1 References 2 3 Abe Stanley K (1989) Mogao Cave 254: a case study in early Chinese Buddhist art. 4 PhD dissertation, Berkeley: University of California. 5 Evelyn White Hugh G (1914) Hesiod’s Theogony. Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University 6 Press, London: William Heinemann Ltd. 7 Godley A D (1920) Herodotus’s The Histories. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 8 Griffith Ralph T H (1896) The Rig Veda. India: sacred-texts.com. 9 Jones H L (1924) The Geography Of Strabo. London: Cambridge 10 Jones W H S (1918) Pausanias Description Of Greece. William Heinemann Ltd, 11 Cambridge, 12 London: Harvard University Press. 13 Kisari Mohan Ganguli (1896) Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa’s The Mahabharata. India: 14 Sacred.com. 15 Lamb W R M (1967) Plato’s Protagoras. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; 16 London: William Heinemann Ltd. 17 Legge James (1886) The Travels of Fa-Hien. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. 18 Mooney George W (1912) Apollonius Rhodius’s Argonautica. London: Longmans 19 Green. 20 Naraelle Hohensee (1989) Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Buddhist Art on China’s Silk 21 Road. Getty Research Institute, China: Dunhuang Research Academy. 22 Pugazhendhi D (2018) Bird Omen in Tamil, Sanskrit and Greek Literature. Journal of 23 Tamil Studies, International Institute of Tamil Studies, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, In- 24 dia, Issue 99: 94-100. 25 Pugazhendhi D (2020) The Greek root word ‘Kos’ and the trade of ancient Greek with 26 Tamil Nadu, India. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 27 14(3): 185–192. 28 Pugazhendhi D (2021) Greek, Tamil and Sanskrit: Comparison between the Myths of 29 Herakles (related with Iole and Deianira) and Rama in Hinduism. Athens Journal 30 of Philology 8(1): 09–36. 31 Raffles Thomas Stamford (1817) The History of Java. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 32 Smyth Herbert Weir (1926) Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound. Cambridge: Harvard Univer- 33 sity Press.. 34 Tamil Virtual University (1995) Sangam literature. Tamil Nadu, India: Government 35 of Tamil Nadu. 36 37