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1 Greek, Sanskrit and Tamil: Comparison between Ion 2 (Euripides) and Karna (Mahabharat) on the 3 Mythological Theory of Binary Opposition 4 5 Ion is a Greek play authored by Euripides depicting the story of Ion. The 6 Mahabharata is the epic written in both Tamil and Sanskrit languages. The 7 story of Karna is one of the sub plots in this epic. In the Greek play, Creusa 8 who is impregnated by Apollo, the Sun God keeps Ion in a casket together 9 with a breast plate for his protection. In the Tamil myth, Kunti who is 10 impregnated by the SUN god places her son Karna in a casket and lets it 11 afloat in a river to conceal the birth of the child. Regarding the breast plate 12 in this story it is shown that Karna was born with the breast plate glued to 13 his breast. Creusa, the mother of Ion has had an illegal son born to her 14 before marriage and remains with no children after getting married to 15 another person. Kunti too gives birth to a son before marriage and remains 16 with no children after her remarriage. The offsprings of Ion are related with 17 the ancestors of Asians. Thus the Greek myth of Ion related with Asia has 18 resemblance with Karna, the Asian myth. 19 20 Keywords: Ion, Karna, Myth, Sanskrit, Tamil 21 22 23 Introduction 24 25 Myths are mostly seen as imaginary literatures. Some times myths have 26 also links with history. ‘Ion’, a Greek play written by Euripides consists of the 27 myth of ‘Ion’. The author relates this myth of Ion with the history of the 28 Ionians and Asians. Here the Asian myth, Karna has some resemblances with 29 the myth of Ion. Further, both the myths can be looked with the background of 30 mythological theory called binary opposition. 31 Ion – Play 32 Iōn - Ἴων is an ancient Greek play written by Euripides between 414 and 33 412 BC. It talks about an orphan Ion who was in search of his origin. Some 34 scholars lay their emphasize on saying that the myth of ‘Ion’ is not only a 35 simple play, but it shows the search of identity of the race of the origin 36 (Jonathan Hall 1997) 1 (Meltzer 2006)2. This play highlights many myths of 37 Ion, among which one of the myths of Ion has resemblance with the myth 38 related to Karna of Mahabharata. 39
1 Although Ion is a relatively obscure mythological figure, Euripides does make several innovations which bring together the two competing versions of Athenian identity. One foundation story highlights the Athenians as Ionians, who were one of the main (but less noteworthy) migratory Greek peoples. 2The story provides convenient justification for Athenian domination over the largely Ionian empire..
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1 The Myth of Mahabharata 2 3 Tamil is an ancient classical language which has its first available 4 literature called the Sangam literature. One of the poems of the Tamil Sangam 5 literature mentions about the Mahabharata war as the war between five 6 brothers versus hundred brothers (Tamil Virtual University 1995). 7 8 Greatness who gave unlimited food, until those hundred men wearing 9 golden thumpai flower garlands had seized the land and perished in the 10 field fighting furiously against the five whose horses wore swaying plumes! 11 Puranānūru 2, Poet Muranjiyūr Mudinākanār 12 Sang to Chēramān Perunchōtru Uthiyan Chēralāthan 13 14 Thus this reference mentions about the war that took place between 15 hundred men and five brothers. There is a reference that the Tamil king 16 Chēramān giving food to both the armies. It means in a way that the war has 17 taken place near his kingdom. This Tamil king Chēramān is denoted as 18 ‘Κηπροβότρου - Cerobothra’ in Greek (Wilfred 1912). Besides, another Tamil 19 king Pāndiyan also took part in the war. He is denoted as ‘Πανδίονος – 20 Pandion’ in Greek (Wilfred 1912). He fought on the side of the five brothers 21 (Tamil Virtual University 1995). 22 23 The five brothers praised your war skill 24 Line 775, Mathuraikkānji 25 Poet Manggudi Maruthanar, 26 Sang to Pandion Nedun Chezhiyan 27 The war bull of five brothers 28 Puranānūru 58, Poet Kāviripoompattinathu Kāri Kannanār 29 Sang to Pāndiyan Velliampalathu Thunjiya Peruvaluthi 30 31 Thus these references are the proof for the relation of the historical Tamil 32 king tradition called Pandion (Πανδίονος) with the myth of Mahabharata. This 33 myth was then written as an epic by a Tamil poet ‘Baratham Paadiya Perun 34 Devanar’ with 12,000 verse, in which only about 830 remains now. ‘Baratham 35 Paadiya Perun Devanar’ means a great poet who had written the epic 36 Mahabharata. He was in black in complexion3 so was he called Krishna and 37 because of his relation with water bodies he was called as Dwaipayana. The 38 other name is Vyasa meaning the divider or arranger of text. So, when he wrote 39 the epic in Sanskrit he was denoted as Krishna-Dwaipayana or Vyasa (Kisari 40 Mohan Ganguli 1896). 41 The sage Krishna-Dwaipayana completed his work in three years, raising from 42 bed very early in the day and purifying himself and performing his ascetic 43 devotions, he composed this Mahabharata. 44 Section LXII, Adivansavatarana Parva, 45 Book I, The Mahabharata
3Normally Tamilians are black in colour
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1 2 And the child of Parasara so born of me in my maidenhood hath become a great 3 Rishi endued with large ascetic powers and known by the name of Dwaipayana 4 (the island-born). That illustrious Rishi having by his ascetic power divided the 5 Vedas into four parts hath come to be called on earth by the name of Vyasa (the 6 divider or arranger), and for his dark colour, Krishna (the dark). 7 Section CV, Sambhava Parva, 8 Book I, The Mahabharata 9 His Sanskrit work consists of over 100,000 śloka or over 200,000 10 individual verse lines and about 1.8 million words in total. It also ensures the 11 thoughts of Tamil Sangam literature (Tamil Virtual University 1995) (Kisari 12 Mohan Ganguli 1896). 13 14 Pandya, who dwelt on the coast-land near the sea, came accompanied by troops 15 of various kinds to Yudhishthira, the king of kings. And, O king, when all these 16 troops had assembled, his army, finely dressed and exceedingly strong, assumed 17 an appearance pleasant to the eye. 18 Section XIX, Udyoga Parva, 19 Book 5, The Mahabharata 20 21 This reference ensures that the historical Tamil king Pandion or Pandyan 22 (Πανδίονος) fought on the side of the five brothers where he fought against a 23 king called Karna (Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1896). 24 25 Pandya at the time was slaughtering the army of Karna. That force, swelling with 26 cars and steeds and teeming with foremost of foot-soldiers, struck by Pandya, 27 began to turn round like the potter's wheel. Like the wind dispersing a mass of 28 congregated clouds, Pandya, with his well shot arrows, began to disperse that 29 force, destroying its steeds and drivers and standards and cars and causing its 30 weapons and elephants to fall down. Like the splitter of mountains striking down 31 mountains with his thunder, Pandya overthrew elephants with their riders, having 32 previously cut down the standards and banners and weapons with which they 33 were armed, as also the foot-soldiers that protected those beasts. And he cut down 34 horses, and horsemen with their darts and lances and quivers. 35 Section XX, Karna Parva, 36 Book 8, The Mahabharata 37 38 This Karna who is one of the warrior in this myth has some resemblances 39 with the myth of Greek Ion. These resemblances can be seen based on the 40 mythological theory of binary opposition. 41
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1 Binary Opposition 2 3 Binary Opposition is a mythological theory which deals with how the 4 opposite units operate a myth (Aimukhambet 2017, p.13)4. High born versus 5 Low born, Immediate child birth versus having no children for the long time 6 are some of the binary opposition. These can be seen in the myths of Ion and 7 Karna. 8 9 Ion and Karna – Characterization 10 11 Ion, who is the son of Apollo is the main character in the play. 12 Euripides naming his play as ‘Ion’ shows the important place he has given to 13 this character. 14 Ion Ἴων 1476. …. Mother, who was my father? 1476. ……..μῆτερ, πόθεν;
Creusa Κρέουσα 1482. By the nightingale's rock, Apollo— 1482. παρ᾽ ἀηδόνιον πέτραν (Potter Robert 1938) Φοίβῳ — (Murray Gilbert (1913) 15 Karna 16 17 Karna is the sub-character in the myth of Mahabharat. He is picturized as 18 son of Sun God (Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1896). 19 20 Karna, …. Begotten by the Sun himself,…… And that foremost of eloquent 21 men, the offspring of the Sun. 22 Section CXXXVIII, Sambhava Parva, 23 Book I, The Mahabharata 24 25 Here Karna is the son of Sun and Ion is the son of Apollo. Phoibos is the 26 surname of Apollo. Phoibos means ‘the shining or brilliant’, which is 27 frequently applied to Sun. Thus Ion and Karna both are sons of Sun God. In 28 this way both have resemblances in their myths and its shown in the Figure 1. 29
4The binary opposition in modern works of art originates from the system of mythical thinking has been proven in the analysis of the relationship of knowledge mythical and poetic thinking, guided theoretical research. The fact that the binary opposition in contemporary works originates from the system of mythical thinking has been proved, guided by theoretical studies, in particular, the works of the scholars like F. Sossur, C. Levi-Strauss, F. Nietzsche, D. Norman, V. Naidysh, A. Maslov and others, in the course of analyzing the continuity of mythical cognition and poetic thinking.The motives of mythical consciousness show that the dyadic unity of concepts and phenomena of binary-oppositional character is the basis of their relationship with each other.
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1 Figure 1. Sons of Sun God – Ion and Karna 2
3 4 5 Background of the Birth - Ion 6 7 Even though Ion is the son of Apollo, his birth is not a legal birth, he was 8 born by the abuse of her mother Creusa by Apollo. 9 Creusa Κρέουσα O my soul, how shall I be silent? [860] But ὦ ψυχά, πῶς σιγάσω; how shall I reveal the hidden bed, and depart 860 πῶς δὲ σκοτίας ἀναφήνω from shame? εὐνάς, αἰδοῦς δ᾽ ἀπολειφθῶ; (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913)
10 Thus the birth situation of Ion is related with illegal, religious and forced. 11 Here there is a need to see the background of the birth of Karna. 12 13 Background of the Birth – Karna 14 15 Even though Karna is the son of Sun God, his birth did not take place 16 under legalised situaton. His mother Kunti gave birth to him before her 17 legalised marriage. For this reason she had a boon given by the religious 18 people and was put to test for the boon (Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1896). 19 20 'Thus addressed by the Brahmana, the amiable Kunti (Pritha) became curious, 21 and in her maidenhood summoned the god Arka (Sun). And as soon as he
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1 pronounced the Mantra, she beheld that effulgent deity--that beholder of 2 everything in the world--approaching her. 3 Section CXI, Sambhava Parva, 4 Book I, The Mahabharata 5 O fortunate one, with thee! By this mantra (that I am about to give thee), thou 6 shall be able to summon (to thy side) whatever celestials thou likest. And, by 7 their grace, shall thou also obtain children.' Thus addressed, the girl (a little while 8 after), seized with curiosity, summoned, during the period of her maiden-hood, 9 the god Surya. And the lord of light thereupon made her conceive and begot on 10 her a son who became the first of all wielders of weapons. 11 Section LXVII, Sambhava Parva, 12 Book I, The Mahabharata 13 14 Thus Kunti tested for the worthiness for granting her the boon, she had a 15 baby from the God without legitimate marriage. Thus the birth situation of 16 Karna is related with religious, illegal and acceptance. In this way, Ion and 17 Karna both have resemblances with some slight variation. The resemblances 18 can be looked based on the binary opposition mythological theory. 19 20 Ion and Birth – Binary Opposition 21 22 Ion was born to Apollo as his son. This birth is considered to be very high, 23 but was illegal. The people living around do not know about his father Apollo. 24 So his birth was illegitimate in the eyes of common man and this is mentioned 25 in several places in this play. 26 Ion Ἴων Alas! I am low-born. Mother, who was my father? 1477, αἰαῖ: πέφυκα δυσγενής. μῆτερ, (Potter Robert 1938) πόθεν; (Murray Gilbert 1913) 27 Ion Ἴων 309. I am called the slave of the god, 309. τοῦ θεοῦ καλοῦμαι δοῦλος εἰμί τ᾽, ὦ lady. γύναι.
Ion Ἴων [325] Perhaps my birth is some woman's 325ἀδίκημά του γυναικὸς ἐγενόμην ἴσως. wrong. (Murray Gilbert 1913) (Potter Robert 1938) Ion Ἰων ….. my father a foreigner, and myself of 582……..πατρός τ᾽ ἐπακτοῦ καὐτὸς ὢν bastard birth. And with this reproach, if νοθαγενής. I am insignificant, καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἔχων τοὔνειδος, ἀσθενὴς μὲν ὤν (Potter Robert 1938) — (Murray Gilbert 1913) 28
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1 Here there is a binary opposition because of illegal birth given by God 2 though his birth is considered high by relating with God but cursed by people 3 around as illegitimate child portraying his birth as very low.. 4 [580] you will not be called ill-born and 580δυοῖν κεκλήσῃ δυσγενὴς πένης θ᾽ ἅμα, poor, but well-born and rich. ἀλλ᾽ εὐγενής τε καὶ πολυκτήμων βίου. (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913)
5 In practical, a human born as a son of God is hard to believe. So here it is 6 argued that he is said to be the son of God only to hide his illegal birth. 7 —an affliction that happens to girls; μὴ σφαλεῖσ᾽ ἃ παρθένοις [1525] and now you are ascribe the blame ἐγγίγνεται νοσήματ᾽ ἐς κρυπτοὺς γάμους, to the god and attempt to escape the 1525ἔπειτα τῷ θεῷ προστίθης τὴν αἰτίαν, shame of my birth by saying that you bore καὶ τοὐμὸν αἰσχρὸν ἀποφυγεῖν me to Phoebus, when your lover was not a πειρωμένη, god? Φοίβῳ τεκεῖν με φῄς, τεκοῦσ᾽ οὐκ ἐκ (Potter Robert 1938) θεοῦ; (Murray Gilbert 1913) 8 9 Karna and Birth – Binary Opposition 10 11 Karna’s birth is considered high because he was born to sun God. But his 12 birth is unlawful and the people around cannot accept that his father is sun 13 God. So his birth was treated as being low. It is mentioned in several places in 14 this myth (Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1896). 15 16 ‘O mighty-armed one, thou too must tell us thy lineage and the names of thy 17 father and mother and the royal line of which thou art the ornament.’ 18 Section CXXXVIII, Sambhava Parva, 19 Book 1, The Mahabharata 20 21 Thus the lineage of Karna was questioned in the assembly of the Kings. 22 The facial expression of Karna is shown as follows. 23 24 Karna's countenance became like unto a lotus pale and torn with the pelting 25 showers in the rainy season. 26 Section CXXXVIII, Sambhava Parva, 27 Book 1, The Mahabharata 28 even as a dog doth not deserve the butter placed before the sacrificial fire. 29 Section CXXXVIII, Sambhava Parva, 30 Book 1, The Mahabharata 31 32 Thus in several places Karna was disheartened. His victory was also 33 rejected due to his low birth, his wishful bride also rejected him as a suitor in 34 marriage. 35
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1 But seeing Karna, Draupadi loudly said, 'I will not select a Sutra for my lord.' 2 Then Karna, laughing in vexation and casting glance at the Sun, threw aside the 3 bow already drawn to a circle. 4 Section CLXXXIX, Swayamvara Parva, 5 Book 1, The Mahabharata 6 7 O mother, I was abandoned by thee as soon as I was born. This great injury, 8 involving risk to life itself, that thou didst me, hath been destructive of my 9 achievements and fame. 10 Section CXLVI, Udyoga Parva, 11 Book 5, The Mahabharata 12 Thus in several places Karna, a high born, faces humiliation as a low 13 born. Both Ion and Karna, though high born face the disrespect of low born. 14 This resemblace based on the binary opposition of ‘High X Low’ is seen in 15 both these myths as shown in Figure 2. 16 17 Figure 2. Binary Opposition – High X Low Born
18 19 20 In this way Ion and karna have similarities in that the Sun God had 21 fathered both of them but of unlawful birth and this we see as mythological 22 theory of binary opposition. 23 24 25 Child and Casket 26 27 Birth of the child is an event to celebrate and enjoy. All the relatives of the 28 child such as the mother, father, grand mother and grand father happily 29 celebrate the memorable occasion by sharing and spreading the happiness to 30 others. This is not seen to occur in illegal births. That situation is surrounded
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1 only by sadness and fear and try to hide the event. This situation is also seen in 2 the myth of Ion. 3 4 Ion and Casket 5 6 Creusa unlawfully eloped with Apollo and gave birth to Ion. This unlawful 7 incident leads to another situation. 8 [30] of glorious Athens, for you know the 30 κλεινῶν Ἀθηνῶν — οἶσθα γὰρ θεᾶς city of the goddess; take the new-born πόλιν — baby from the hollow rock, with his cradle λαβὼν βρέφος νεογνὸν ἐκ κοίλης πέτρας and baby-clothes; bring him to my shrine αὐτῷ σὺν ἄγγει σπαργάνοισί θ᾽ οἷς ἔχει at Delphi, and place him at the very ἔνεγκε Δελφῶν τἀμὰ πρὸς χρηστήρια, entrance of my temple; [35] καὶ θὲς πρὸς αὐταῖς εἰσόδοις δόμων (Potter Robert 1938) ἐμῶν.35 (Murray Gilbert 1913) 9 10 Creusa, in order to hide the new born son from the eyes of her father 11 packed up the new born child in a casket and left that place. 12 13 Karna and Casket 14 15 Birth of Karna is related with celestials. It was hard to believe at that time. 16 So Kunti, the mother of Karna was afraid of her parents and so she wants to 17 hide the child born to her . (Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1896). 18 19 And Kunti cast the handsome child into the water. But the child thus thrown into 20 the water was taken up by the excellent husband of Radha and given by him to 21 his wife to be adopted by her as their son. 22 Section LXVII, Sambhava Parva, 23 Book I, The Mahabharata 24 And after the birth of this child, the illustrious Tapana granted unto Pritha her 25 maidenhood and ascended to heaven. And the princess of the Vrishni race 26 beholding with sorrow that son born of her, reflected intently upon what was then 27 the best for her to do. And from fear of her relatives she resolved to conceal that 28 evidence of her folly. And she cast her offspring endued with great physical 29 strength into the water. Then the well-known husband of Radha, of the Sutra 30 caste, took up the child thus cast into the water, and he and his wife brought him 31 up as their own son. 32 Section CXI, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, 33 Book 1, The Mahabharata 34 35 Thus Kunti kept her new born child safely in a casket and made it to float 36 in the river. Thus myths of Ion and Karna have similarities called parallels in 37 situation such as their father being God, situation of birth and hiding the child 38 in a casket. This resemblances seen in both of these myths is shown in Figure 39 3. 40
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1 Figure 3. Casket – Ion and Karna
2 3 4 5 Casket and its Chattels 6 7 To protect the baby from the surroundings and as a mark of his forerunners 8 of the origin some specific materials were placed along with the baby in the 9 casket. It is also seen in the myth of Ion. 10 11 Ion Casket and its Chattels 12 13 Due to the illegal birth, baby Ion was kept in a casket with some chattels. 14 Ion Ἴων 1412. Is this vessel empty, or does it cover κενὸν τόδ᾽ ἄγγος ἢ στέγει πλήρωμά τι; something? Κρέουσα Creusa σά γ᾽ ἔνδυθ᾽, οἷσί σ᾽ ἐξέθηκ᾽ ἐγώ ποτε. 1413. Yes, your clothes, in which I then (Murray Gilbert 1913) exposed you. (Potter Robert 1938) 15 Thus clothes were kept in the casket along with the baby Ion. There were 16 some other chattels kept along with the baby Ion. 17 Creusa Κρέουσα 1421. A Gorgon in the middle threads of Γοργὼ μὲν ἐν μέσοισιν ἠτρίοις πέπλων. the robe. (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913)
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1 Thus Gorgon was related with the cloth of Ion. 2 Creusa Κρέουσα 1423. And, like an aegis, bordered with κεκρασπέδωται δ᾽ ὄφεσιν αἰγίδος serpents. (Potter Robert 1938) τρόπον. (Murray Gilbert 1913) 3 4 As mentioned in the play, here a special type of garment called aegis 5 bordered with the picture of serpents was found in the casket along with the 6 baby. 7 Ion Ἴων 1426. Is there anything else besides, or are ἔστιν τι πρὸς τῷδ᾽, ἢ μόνῳ τῷδ᾽ you lucky in this only? εὐτυχεῖς;
Creusa Κρέουσα Serpents; an old gift of Athena, in gold; she δράκοντες: ἀρχαῖόν τι παγχρύσῳ γένει tells us to rear children, in imitation of δώρημ᾽ Ἀθάνας, ἣ τέκν᾽ ἐντρέφειν λέγει Erichthonius of long ago. — Ἐριχθονίου γε τοῦ πάλαι μιμήματα. Ion [1430] Tells you to do what with the gold, Ἴων how to use it? Explain it to me. 1430τί δρᾶν, τί χρῆσθαι, φράζε μοι, χρυσώματι; Creusa 1431. Necklaces for the new-born baby to Κρέουσα wear, my child. δέραια παιδὶ νεογόνῳ φέρειν, τέκνον. (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913) 8 9 Along with the above mentioned things, necklaces were kept along with 10 the baby Ion (Kovacs 1999) 5. In addition to this some other things were also 11 present near the baby Ion. Ion Ἴων They are here; I long to know the third thing. ἔνεισιν οἵδε: τὸ δὲ τρίτον ποθῶ μαθεῖν.
Creusa Κρέουσα I put an olive crown around you, from the στέφανον ἐλαίας ἀμφέθηκά σοι τότε, tree that Athena first brought out of the rock; ἣν πρῶτ᾽ Ἀθάνα σκόπελον [1435] if it is there, it has not lost its green, εἰσηνέγκατο, but flourishes, born from an immortal olive 1435ὅς, εἴπερ ἔστιν, οὔποτ᾽ ἐκλείπει tree. χλόην, (Potter Robert 1938) θάλλει δ᾽, ἐλαίας ἐξ ἀκηράτου γεγώς.. (Murray Gilbert 1913) 12
5The golden necklace represents the snakes Athena put in Erichthonios’ basket and such necklaces were still given to Athenian children as a token of their identity.
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1 Further, an olive crown was kept along with the baby Ion. To sum up, the 2 following things were found to be kept along with the baby. 3 4 1. A robe with a Gorgon, 5 2. An aegis - bordered with serpents 6 3. Necklaces for the new-born baby 7 4. Olive crown 8 9 These are shown in the Figure 4. 10 11 Figure 4. Baby Ion with the Chattels
12 13 14 15 Karna Casket and its Chattels 16 17 Due to the illegal birth, baby Karna was kept in a casket with some 18 chattels (Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1896). 19 20 And on coming to the river Ganga, she beheld a box drifting along the current. 21 And containing articles capable of protecting from dangers and decked with 22 unguents, that box was brought before her by the waves of the Janhavi……. And 23 then he beheld a boy resembling the morning Sun. And the infant was furnished 24 with golden mail, and looked exceedingly beautiful with a face decked in ear- 25 rings. 26 Section CCCVII, Vana Parva: Pativrata-mahatmya, 27 Book 3, The Mahabharata 28 29 ….that child who had come out with ear-rings and coat of mail. And he was 30 gifted with the beauty of a celestial infant, and in splendour was like unto the 31 maker of day himself. And every part of his body was symmetrical and well- 32 adorned. And Kunti cast the handsome child into the water. 33 Section LXVII, Sambhava Parva, 34 Book I, The Mahabharata
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1 2 Thus baby Karna was seen in the casket with ear-rings and coat of mail. 3 Here it is note worthy that these ear-rings and coat of mail were strongly 4 attached with the body of the baby Karna. So it was thought the baby Karna 5 was born with these ear-rings and coat of mail. This coat of mail is equal as 6 breast plate or aegis as in the myth of Ion. It is shown in the Figure 5. 7 8 Figure 5. Baby Karna in the Casket with Aegis
9 10 11 In the myth of Karna born with these ear-rings and coat of mail fixed in 12 the body of the baby protected the baby and if he removed would cause danger 13 to his life. Thus the babies Ion and Karna were placed in the casket soon after 14 their birth with some chattels. In the myth of Ion there is necklace and in the 15 myth of Karna were found ear-rings. In both of these myths a special type of 16 breast plates. In the myth of Ion the breast plate was kept with the baby in the 17 casket and in the myth of Karna the baby born with ear rings and the breast 18 plate fixed with its body which is shown in the Figure 6. 19 20 Figure 6. Breast Plate in the Myth of Ion and Karna
21
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1 In the myth of Karna the garment is seen to save his life and if it removed 2 would cause danger to life (Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1896). 3 4 And Indra desirous of benefiting his own son Phalguni (Arjuna), assuming the 5 form of a Brahmana, approached Vasusena on one occasion and begged of him 6 his natural armour. Thus asked Karna took off his natural armour, and joining his 7 hands in reverence gave it unto [paragraph continues] Indra in the guise of a 8 Brahmana. And the chief of the celestials accepted the gift and was exceedingly 9 gratified with Karna's liberality. 10 Section CXI, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, 11 Book 1, The Mahabharata 12 13 Thus here the breast plate relates with the binary opposition between life 14 and death. So there is a need to see the aegis - breast plate in the myth of Ion. 15 16 Aegis 17 18 Aegis was kept with the baby Ion in the casket. There was a description about 19 this aegis in this myth which follows. 20 Creusa Κρέουσα 987. Listen, then; you know the battle of 987. ἄκουε τοίνυν: οἶσθα γηγενῆ μάχην; the giants? Πρεσβύτης Tutor οἶδ᾽, ἣν Φλέγρᾳ Γίγαντες ἔστησαν Yes, the battle the giants fought against the θεοῖς. gods in Phlegra. Κρέουσα Creusa ἐνταῦθα Γοργόν᾽ ἔτεκε Γῆ, δεινὸν There the earth brought forth the Gorgon, a τέρας. dreadful monster. Πρεσβύτης Tutor 990ἦ παισὶν αὑτῆς σύμμαχον, θεῶν [990] As an ally for her children and πόνον; trouble for the gods? Κρέουσα Creusa ναί: καί νιν ἔκτειν᾽ ἡ Διὸς Παλλὰς θεά. Yes; and Pallas, the daughter of Zeus, killed it. Πρεσβύτης ποῖόν τι μορφῆς σχῆμ᾽ ἔχουσαν ἀγρίας; Tutor [What fierce shape did it have? Κρέουσα θώρακ᾽ ἐχίδνης περιβόλοις ὡπλισμένον. Creusa A breastplate armed with coils of a viper.] Πρεσβύτης ἆρ᾽ οὗτός ἐσθ᾽ ὁ μῦθος ὃν κλύω πάλαι; Tutor Is this the story which I have heard before? Κρέουσα 995ταύτης Ἀθάναν δέρος ἐπὶ στέρνοις Creusa ἔχειν. [995] That Athena wore the hide on her
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breast. Πρεσβύτης ἣν αἰγίδ᾽ ὀνομάζουσι, Παλλάδος Tutor στολήν; And they call it the aegis, Pallas' armor? Κρέουσα Creusa τόδ᾽ ἔσχεν ὄνομα θεῶν ὅτ᾽ ᾖξεν ἐς It has this name from when she darted to δόρυ. the gods' battle. (Murray Gilbert 1913) (Potter Robert 1938) 1 2 Thus this aegis was defined as Pallas' armor – breast plate. Athena wore 3 this breast plate when she fought with Gorgon. At that time the blood of 4 Gorgon was obtained. The myth explains the extraordinary power of the blood 5 drops. Creusa Κρέουσα Two drops of blood from the Gorgon. δισσοὺς σταλαγμοὺς αἵματος Γοργοῦς ἄπο. Tutor And what power do they have over Πρεσβύτης mortals? ἰσχὺν ἔχοντας τίνα πρὸς ἀνθρώπου φύσιν; Creusa [1005] One is deadly, the other heals Κρέουσα disease. 1005τὸν μὲν θανάσιμον, τὸν δ᾽ (Potter Robert 1938) ἀκεσφόρον νόσων. (Murray Gilbert 1913) 6 7 Thus Gorgon blood was used to kill Ion. In this way the blood of Gorgon 8 related with Pallas' armor – breast plate that was used to kill Ion. Among the 9 two drops of blood collected from Gorgon, one drop of blood is deadly and 10 another drop heals disease. 11 In the myth of Karna the breast plate itself is related with the binary 12 opposition of life and death. In this way except for Gorgon blood, the other 13 incidents seem to resemble in both the myth. This binary opposition seen 14 between life and death shown in Figure 7. 15
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1 Figure 7. Binary Opposition of Breast Plate 2
3 4 5 Binary Opposition (Skill) – Land and Sky 6 7 Land and sky are binary oppositions. This oppositions seen in the myths of 8 Ion and Karna. 9 10 Ion – Land and Sky 11 12 Ion is very efficient in archery, he has the unique skill of shooting a bird 13 flying high in the sky. Ah, ah! Already the birds of Parnassus ἔα ἔα: have left their nests, φοιτῶσ᾽ ἤδη λείπουσίν τε (155) and come here. I forbid you to 155. πτανοὶ Παρνασοῦ κοίτας: approach the walls and the golden house. I αὐδῶ μὴ χρίμπτειν θριγκοῖς will reach you with my bow, herald of μηδ᾽ ἐς χρυσήρεις οἴκους — Zeus, though you conquer μάρψω σ᾽ αὖ τόξοις, ὦ Ζηνὸς (160) with your beak the strength of all κῆρυξ, ὀρνίθων γαμφηλαῖς other birds. Here comes another, a swan, to 160. ἰσχὺν νικῶν. the rim of the temple. Move your crimson ὅδε πρὸς θυμέλας ἄλλος ἐρέσσει foot elsewhere! Phoebus' lyre, that sings κύκνος. οὐκ ἄλλᾳ with you, φοινικοφαῆ πόδα κινήσεις; (165) would not protect you from my bow. οὐδέν σ᾽ ἁ φόρμιγξ ἁ Φοίβου Alter your wings' course; go to the Delian 165. σύμμολπος τόξων ῥύσαιτ᾽ ἄν. lake; if you do not obey, you will steep πάραγε πτέρυγας: your lovely melody in blood. λίμνας ἐπίβα τᾶς Δηλιάδος: (170) Ah, ah! what is this new bird that αἱμάξεις, εἰ μὴ πείσῃ, approaches; you will not place under the τὰς καλλιφθόγγους ᾠδάς. cornice a straw-built nest for your children, 170. ἔα ἔα: will you? My singing bow will keep you τίς ὅδ᾽ ὀρνίθων καινὸς προσέβα; off. Will you not obey? μῶν ὑπὸ θριγκοὺς εὐναίας (Potter Robert 1938) καρφυρὰς θήσων τέκνοις; ψαλμοί σ᾽ εἴρξουσιν τόξων. οὐ πείσῃ; χωρῶν δίναις (Murray Gilbert 1913)
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1 Thus Ion attacked the flying birds accurately from the land with this 2 special skill in archery. This is also seen in the myth of Karna. 3 4 Karna – Land and Sky 5 6 Karna is a great warrior using his bow and arrow. He can even shoot the 7 arrow towards the moving object hanging on the sky by seeing the image of it 8 being reflected in the water on the ground. 9 10 Causing some machinery to be erected in the sky, the king set up a mark attached 11 to that machinery. And Drupada said, 'He that will string this bow and with these 12 well-adorned arrows shoot the mark above the machine shall obtain my daughter.' 13 Section CLXXXVII, Swayamvara Parva, 14 Book I, The Mahabharata 15 16 "And (some amongst) those kings in exerting with swelling lips each according to 17 his strength, education, skill, and energy,--to string that bow, were tossed on the 18 ground and lay perfectly motionless for some time. Their strength spent and their 19 crowns and garlands loosened from their persons, they began to pant for breath 20 and their ambition of winning that fair maiden was cooled. Tossed by that tough 21 bow, and their garlands and bracelets and other ornaments disordered, they began 22 to utter exclamations of woe. And that assemblage of monarchs, their hope of 23 obtaining Krishna gone, looked sad and woeful. And beholding the plight of 24 those monarchs, Karna that foremost of all wielders of the bow went to where the 25 bow was, and quickly raising it strung it and placed the arrows on the string. And 26 beholding the son of Surya--Karna of the Suta tribe--like unto fire, or Soma, or 27 Surya himself, resolved to shoot the mark, those foremost of bowmen--the sons 28 of Pandu--regarded the mark as already shot and brought down upon the ground. 29 But seeing Karna, Draupadi loudly said, 'I will not select a Suta for my lord.' 30 Then Karna, laughing in vexation and casting glance at the Sun, threw aside the 31 bow already drawn to a circle. 32 Section CLXXXIX, Swayamvara Parva, 33 Book I, The Mahabharata 34 35 The above said structure of archery competition is shown in the Figure 8. 36 37
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1 Figure 8. Karna and His Archery Competition
2 3 4 This skill of karna made him a great warrior with special skill and talent in 5 the myth. It shows that this myth belonged to the era of archery (Pugazhendhi 6 D 2021, p.15)6. Even though Karna was master in archery the brides refused to 7 marry him due to his illegal low birth. Thus both Ion and Karna have 8 resemblances in the skill of arrow shooting. This has an important place in the 9 myth of Karna but it is considered as one of the incidents and not given much 10 importance in the myth of Ion. The arrow shooting from the land to the object 11 of the sky is a binary opposition between the land and sky, that which is seen in 12 both these myths. 13
6There are numerous developments in the history of war weapons. Stones and bones were first stage, metal sword were the second stage. The sword can attack the enemy nearby. The third stage in the development of the war weapon was the invention of bow and arrow. It can attack even enemies far off. The development of war weapons such as archery is reflected in the myths of Herakles……… This clearly shows that both the myths belonged to the era of archery. In both the myth the archery competition determines the life partner. At this point of the myth there seems to be a main difference between them. Even though Herakles emerged victorious, Eurytus did not keep up his word and refused to give his daughter to Herakles as a prize, whereas in the myth of Rama, the father of the bride accepted to give her daughter as a prize for the winner in the archery competition.
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1 Binary Opposition – Rich and Poor 2 3 Rich and poor are binary oppositions. In the play ‘Ion’ introduces the son 4 of God, Ion as homeless and very poor. Later Ion becomes a king. 5 where his scepter awaits you, and οὗ σ᾽ ὄλβιον μὲν σκῆπτρον ἀναμένει abundant wealth; although you suffer πατρός, from one of these two conditions, [580] πολὺς δὲ πλοῦτος: οὐδὲ θάτερον νοσῶν you will not be called ill-born and poor, 580δυοῖν κεκλήσῃ δυσγενὴς πένης θ᾽ but well-born and rich. ἅμα, (Potter Robert 1938) ἀλλ᾽ εὐγενής τε καὶ πολυκτήμων βίου. (Murray Gilbert 1913) 6 7 Thus the binary opposition between rich and poor are seen in the myth of 8 Ion. This should be searched in the myth of Karna. 9 10 one who is not a king, I will install Karna as king of Anga.' 11 Section CXXXVIII, Sambhava Parva, 12 Book 1, The Mahabharata 13 14 Thus in the first part Karna lived a life of a son of charioteer and then 15 become a king. In this way the binary opposition between rich and poor seen in 16 the myths of Ion and Karna. It is depicted in the Figure 9. 17 18 Figure 9. Binary Opposition – Rich and Poor
19 20 21 Thus Ion and Karna, both have similarities called as parallels in both of the 22 myths with the binary oppositions such as 1. High born versus Low born, 2. 23 Life versus Death, 3. Land versus Sky and 4. Rich versus Poor. Some of these 24 are related with their birth. Birth is related with mother. So there is a need to 25 research about the characterization of mother in these myths. 26
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1 2 Mother 3 4 Mother has a main role in the life of all living beings. This characterization 5 is seen in both these myths. 6 7 Mother in the Myth of Ion 8 9 The mother is a main character in the play Ion. The name of the mother 10 character is Creusa. There are many binary oppositions that are seen in the 11 making of this character. 12 13 Binary Opposition – Human versus Copula 14 15 Creusa is a normal woman. But she has illegal relationship with God. Thus 16 a binary opposition, Human versus God is seen in the mother characterization 17 of the Ion myth. Kunti is a normal woman. She has illegal relationship with the 18 Sun God. Thus a binary opposition, Human versus God is seen in the mother 19 characterization of the Karna myth. Thus both Creusa of Ion myth and Kunti of 20 Karna myth have the resemblances in the binary opposition of Human versus 21 God. This illegal connection leads to another binary opposition. 22 23 24 Binary Opposition – Legal, Hidden Bed 25 26 Marriage has an important role in fulfilling the purpose of woman being a 27 legitimate wife. Some times man and woman have illegal relationship without 28 the knowledge of their parents and society. Mostly it is not welcomed by their 29 parents and society. The same has also happened in the life of Creusa and she 30 was worried about her hidden bed which is not known to their parents. 31 Creusa Κρέουσα O my soul, how shall I be silent? [860] But ὦ ψυχά, πῶς σιγάσω; how shall I reveal the hidden bed, and 860 πῶς δὲ σκοτίας ἀναφήνω depart from shame? εὐνάς, αἰδοῦς δ᾽ ἀπολειφθῶ; (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913)
Creusa Κρέουσα when I was silent on this union, silent on the 868 σιγῶσα γάμους, lamented birth. σιγῶσα τόκους πολυκλαύτους; (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913)
Creusa Κρέουσα I will no longer conceal this bed, 874. οὐκέτι κρύψω λέχος, (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913) 32
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1 Creusa Κρέουσα [880] ungrateful betrayers of the beds 880 λέκτρων προδότας ἀχαρίστους. they forced. (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913)
2 Thus Creusa censured about her secret marriage. After certain period of 3 time enemies defeated her country and the victorious king married her. 4 Creusa Κρέουσα Taking me as the dowry of war and the prize of 298. φερνάς γε πολέμου καὶ δορὸς his spear. λαβὼν γέρας. (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913)
5 6 Thus there are some sexual incidents seen in the life of Creusa before and 7 after legal marriage. This binary opposition shall be used in situations between 8 before and after marriage that which is seen in the myth of Creusa. 9 10 Unlawful Marriage of Kunti 11 12 Kunti had illegal connection before her legal marriage. 13 14 Hearing this, Kunti said, 'O slayer of foes, a certain Brahamana gave me this 15 formula of invocation as a boon, and, O lord, I have summoned thee only to test 16 its efficacy. For this offence I bow to thee. A woman, whatever be her offence, 17 always deserveth pardon.' Surya (Sun) replied, 'I know that Durvasa hath granted 18 this boon. But cast off thy fears, timid maiden, and grant me thy embraces. 19 Amiable one, my approach cannot be futile; it must bear fruit. Thou hast 20 summoned me, and if it be for nothing, it shall certainly be regarded as thy 21 transgression.' 22 Section CXI, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, 23 Book 1, The Mahabharata 24 And the Rishi said, 'Those celestials that thou shall summon by this Mantra shall 25 certainly approach thee and give thee children.' 'Thus addressed by the Brahmana, 26 the amiable Kunti (Pritha) became curious, and in her maidenhood summoned the 27 god Arka (Sun). And as soon as he pronounced the Mantra, she beheld that 28 effulgent deity--that beholder of everything in the world--approaching her. 29 Section CXI, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, 30 Book 1, The Mahabharata 31 32 Thus the binary opposition related with legal and hidden bed seen in the 33 myth of Kunti. In this way both Creusa and Kunti have resemblances in this 34 binary opposition, legal versus illegal. 35
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1 Binary Opposition – Son and Sonless 2 3 Giving birth to a son transforms the woman from being a wife to become a 4 mother. The motherhood of a woman is portrayed high only if it happens after 5 a legal marriage. Contrarily in the illegal relationship which leads to secret 6 marriage, the woman if she conceives creates problems. It is also seen in the 7 life of Creusa. Soon after the secret marriage Creusa gave birth to a son. But 8 after the legal marriage she had no children born to her for a long time. This 9 binary opposition operates the play Ion. 10 Though married a long time [65] they are χρόνια δὲ σπείρας λέχη childless; so they have come to this oracular 65ἄτεκνός ἐστι, καὶ Κρέουσ᾽: ὧν shrine of Phoebus, in longing for a child. οὕνεκα (Potter Robert 1938) ἥκουσι πρὸς μαντεῖ᾽ Ἀπόλλωνος τάδε ἔρωτι παίδων. (Murray Gilbert 1913) 11 Chorus Χορός I see tears and mournful cries and attacks of ὁρῶ δάκρυα καὶ πενθίμους groaning when my queen knows that her ἀλαλαγὰς στεναγμάτων τ᾽ ἐσβολάς, husband is blessed with a child, [680] while ὅταν ἐμὰ τύραννος εὐπαιδίαν she is childless and deprived of children. πόσιν ἔχοντ᾽ εἰδῇ, (Potter Robert 1938) 680 αὐτὴ δ᾽ ἄπαις ᾖ καὶ λελειμμένη τέκνων. (Murray Gilbert 1913) 12 13 This reference shows the childlessness of Creusa after her lawful marriage. 14 But she had a lawless child before her lawful marriage. 15 Ion Ἴων O my dearest mother! I see you with joy, I ὦ φιλτάτη μοι μῆτερ, ἄσμενός σ᾽ ἰδὼν am held to your joyful face.They embrace. πρὸς ἀσμένας πέπτωκα σὰς παρηίδας.
Creusa Κρέουσα O child, o light dearer to your mother than ὦ τέκνον, ὦ φῶς μητρὶ κρεῖσσον ἡλίου — the sun [1440] —the god will forgive 1440συγγνώσεται γὰρ ὁ θεός — ἐν χεροῖν me—I hold you in my arms, unexpectedly σ᾽ ἔχω, found, when I thought you lived in the ἄελπτον εὕρημ᾽, ὃν κατὰ γᾶς ἐνέρων world below, with the dead and χθόνιον μετὰ Περσεφόνας τ᾽ ἐδόκουν Persephone. ναίειν. (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913) 16 17 Thus there is a binary opposition seen between giving birth very soon and 18 not having any children for long time related with illegal and legal marriage in 19 the characterization of Creusa in the myth of Ion. This is to be researched in 20 the myth of Karna. 21
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1 Kunti - Son and Sonless 2 3 Kunti had a son immediately with the Sun God before her illegal marriage. 4 After the legal marriage she remained with no children with her legal husband. 5 Thus the characterization of myth of Kunti has binary opposition related with 6 having children and not having children related with illegal and legal marriage. 7 In this way both Creusa of Ion myth and Kunti of Karna myth have binary 8 opposition related with giving birth and not giving birth and that is shown in 9 the Figure 10. 10 11 Figure 10. Giving birth versus not giving birth
12 13 14 Binary Opposition - Leave and Reclaim of the child 15 16 Creusa had an illegal son before her legal marriage. Afraid of her parents 17 she abandoned her child. 18 Creusa Κρέουσα She exposed out of doors the child that τὸν παῖδ᾽ ὃν ἔτεκεν ἐξέθηκε δωμάτων. she bore. Ἴων Ion 345ὁ δ᾽ ἐκτεθεὶς παῖς ποῦ 'στιν; εἰσορᾷ (345) Where is the exposed child? Is it φάος; alive? Κρέουσα Creusa οὐκ οἶδεν οὐδείς. ταῦτα καὶ μαντεύομαι. No one knows.This is what I am asking the oracle. Ἴων εἰ δ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ ἔστι, τίνι τρόπῳ διεφθάρη; Ion
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If it is no longer alive, how was it Κρέουσα destroyed? θῆράς σφε τὸν δύστηνον ἐλπίζει κτανεῖν.
Creusa Ἴων She expects that wild animals killed the ποίῳ τόδ᾽ ἔγνω χρωμένη τεκμηρίῳ; unfortunate one. Κρέουσα Ion 350ἐλθοῦσ᾽ ἵν᾽ αὐτὸν ἐξέθηκ᾽ οὐχ ηὗρ᾽ By what sign did she know this? ἔτι.
Creusa Ἴων (350) When she came to the place where ἦν δὲ σταλαγμὸς ἐν στίβῳ τις αἵματος; she had exposed him, she could no longer find him. Κρέουσα οὔ φησι. καίτοι πόλλ᾽ ἐπεστράφη πέδον. Ion (Murray Gilbert 1913) Was there a drop of blood in the path?
Creusa She says not. Although she went back and forth over much ground. (Potter Robert 1938) 1 It happened that, as the sun rose, the κυρεῖ δ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ἱππεύοντος ἡλίου κύκλῳ priestess entered the god's prophetic προφῆτις ἐσβαίνουσα μαντεῖον θεοῦ: shrine; she saw the baby and marvelled ὄψιν δὲ προσβαλοῦσα παιδὶ νηπίῳ that some girl of Delphi had dared [45] ἐθαύμασ᾽ εἴ τις Δελφίδων τλαίη κόρη to cast her secret child into the house 45 λαθραῖον ὠδῖν᾽ ἐς θεοῦ ῥῖψαι δόμον, of the god; she was eager to take it ὑπέρ τε θυμέλας διορίσαι πρόθυμος ἦν: away from the shrine; but she let the οἴκτῳ δ᾽ ἀφῆκεν ὠμότητα — καὶ θεὸς harsh intent gave way to pity—and the συνεργὸς ἦν τῷ παιδὶ μὴ 'κπεσεῖν δόμων — god worked with her, so the child might τρέφει δέ νιν λαβοῦσα. τὸν σπείραντα δὲ not be hurled out of his house—she took (Murray Gilbert 1913) up the child and raised it. (Potter Robert 1938) 2 3 At the end of the play Creusa reclaimed her child. 4 Creusa Κρέουσα [1490] I fitted around you these baby- παρθένια δ᾽ ἐμᾶς λάθρα ματέρος clothes, the work of my flying shuttle, 1490σπάργαν᾽ ἀμφίβολά σοι τάδ᾽ ἐνῆψα, done when I was a girl, in secret from my κερ- mother. I did not offer you milk, nor a κίδος ἐμᾶς πλάνους. mother's nourishment from the breast, γάλακτι δ᾽ οὐκ ἐπέσχον, οὐδὲ μαστῷ nor did I wash you; you were cast out on τροφεῖα ματρὸς οὐδὲ λουτρὰ χειροῖν, the deserted cave, [1495] a victim of the ἀνὰ δ᾽ ἄντρον ἔρημον οἰωνῶν beaks of birds, and a feast for Hades. 1495γαμφηλαῖς φόνευμα θοίναμά τ᾽ εἰς Ἅιδαν ἐκβάλλῃ. Ion Mother, you dared to do terrible things. Ἴων
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ὦ δεινὰ τλᾶσα μῆτερ. Creusa Bound down by fear, my son, I cast your Κρέουσα life away; [1500] unwillingly I killed ἐν φόβῳ, τέκνον, you. καταδεθεῖσα σὰν ἀπέβαλον ψυχάν: Ion 1500ἔκτεινά σ᾽ ἄκουσ᾽. And I was about to kill you! Ἴων Creusa ἐξ ἐμοῦ τ᾽ οὐχ ὅσι᾽ ἔθνῃσκες. Ah! dreadful was my fortune then, dreadful these things also; I am whirled Κρέουσα here [1505] and there to misery, and back ἰώ: δειναὶ μὲν τότε τύχαι, again to joy; but the wind is changing. δεινὰ δὲ καὶ τάδ᾽: ἑλισσόμεσθ᾽ ἐκεῖθεν Let it remain; the past evils are enough; 1505ἐνθάδε δυστυχίαισιν εὐτυχίαις τε now let there be a favoring breeze, after πάλιν, troubles, my son. μεθίσταται δὲ πνεύματα. (Potter Robert 1938) μενέτω: τὰ πάροιθεν ἅλις κακά: νῦν δὲ γένοιτό τις οὖρος ἐκ κακῶν, ὦ παῖ. (Murray Gilbert 1913) 1 2 Thus the binary opposition of abandoning the child and reclaiming the 3 child later is seen in the characterization of Creusa in the myth of Ion. It 4 should be searched in the myth of Karna. Karna’s mother Kunti left her baby in 5 the river. That baby was brought up by a charioteer. When the baby became an 6 adult Kunti reclaimed him. 7 8 Kunti said, 'Thou art Kunti's son, and not Radha's. Nor is Adhiratha thy father. 9 Thou, O Karna, art not born in the Suta order. Believe what I say. Thou wert 10 brought forth by me while a maiden. I held thee first in my womb. O son, thou 11 wert born in the palace of Kuntiraja. O Karna, that divine Surya who blazeth forth 12 in light and maketh everything visible, O foremost of all wielders of weapons, 13 begat thee upon me. O irresistible one, thou, O son, wert brought forth by me in 14 my father's abode, decked with (natural) ear-rings and accoutred in a (natural) 15 coat of mail, and blazing forth in beauty. 16 Section CXLV, Udyoga Parva, 17 Book 5, The Mahabharata 18 19 Thus both the myths of Ion and Karna regarding their mothers Creusa and 20 Kunti have the binary opposition of leaving and reclaiming their child. This is 21 pictorized in Figure 11. 22
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1 Figure 11. Leave X Reclaim
2 3 4 Thus the mothers in both these myths have parallels in the binary 5 oppositions - 1. Human versus God relationship, 2. Lawful versus Hidden 6 Bed, 3. Giving birth versus not giving birth, 4. Abandoning versus Reclaiming 7 the child. In this way the resemblances seen between these two myths can be 8 seen as in Table 1. 9 10 Table 1. Comparison S. No. Ion Karna
1. Highborn - Son of Apollo Highborn 2. Son of Apollo, the Sun Son of Sun 3. Mother kept the newly born Mother kept the newly born baby in baby in the casket and leave the casket and leave in the river 4. Athenas breast plate along Baby with the breast plate in the with the baby’s casket casket 5. Life and death depends upon Life and death depends upon the the breast plate breast plate 6. Knowledge of archery Named for his extraordinary skill in archery.
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7. Grown as poor and at the end Grown as poor and at the end attain attain kingship kingship 1 2 Mothers 3 S. Creusa Kunti No. 1. Unlawful connection with Unlawful connection with Sun, the Apollo, the god god 2. Immediate birth of child in Immediate birth of child in unlawful unlawful marriage marriage 3. Childless with the lawful Childless with the lawful husband husband 4. Kept the unlawful baby in the Kept the unlawful baby in the casket casket and leave and leave in the river 5. Recovered the baby in a grown Recovered the baby in a grown up age up age 4 5 The resemblances seen between the two myths can be categorized as 6 parallels and influences. If the resemblances are occasional and there is no 7 contact between these two then it can be called parallels. If there is any 8 connection in the occurrences between these two then it is called as influence. 9 Here there is a need to search the influential factors in these myths. 10 11 12 Mythological Theory of Influence 13 14 The Greek play ‘Ion’ mentioned about the possibilities of influence. The 15 myth of Ion is not only related with Greek, but also with Asia. 16 Priestess Προφῆτις (1355) Now take them and find your 1355. λαβών νυν αὐτὰ τὴν τεκοῦσαν mother. ἐκπόνει.
Ion Ἴων I will go over all Asia and the boundaries πᾶσάν γ᾽ ἐπελθὼν Ἀσιάδ᾽ Εὐρώπης θ᾽ of Europe. ὅρους. (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913) 17 18 This reference highlights the relationship of Asia in this myth along with 19 Europe. Apart from this few, some of the races also had influences in this 20 myth.
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Creusa, take your son and go to the land of λαβοῦσα τόνδε παῖδα Κεκροπίαν χθόνα Cecrops; set him on the royal throne. For he χώρει, Κρέουσα, κἀς θρόνους was born from Erechtheus and is fit to rule τυραννικοὺς my land; (1575) and he will be famous ἵδρυσον. ἐκ γὰρ τῶν Ἐρεχθέως γεγὼς throughout Hellas. He will have four sons, δίκαιος ἄρχειν τῆς γ᾽ ἐμῆς ὅδε χθονός, from one stock, and they will gave names to 1575ἔσται τ᾽ ἀν᾽ Ἑλλάδ᾽ εὐκλεής. οἱ the land and the tribes of people who τοῦδε γὰρ inhabit it. Geleon will be the first; then παῖδες γενόμενοι τέσσαρες ῥίζης μιᾶς second . . . ἐπώνυμοι γῆς κἀπιφυλίου χθονὸς (1580) Hopletes and Argades, and the λαῶν ἔσονται, σκόπελον οἳ ναίουσ᾽ Aegicores will have a tribal name from my ἐμόν. aegis. Their sons in turn, at the appointed Γελέων μὲν ἔσται πρῶτος: εἶτα time, will settle in the island cities of the δεύτερος…. Cyclades, and the lands along the shore, 1580Ὅπλητες Ἀργαδῆς τ᾽, ἐμῆς τ᾽ ἀπ᾽ which will give strength to my land; [1585] αἰγίδος they will colonize the plains of the two ἔμφυλον ἕξουσ᾽ Αἰγικορῆς. οἱ τῶνδε δ᾽ mainlands, Asia and Europe, on opposite αὖ sides; they will become famous under the παῖδες γενόμενοι σὺν χρόνῳ πεπρωμένῳ name of Ionians, in homage to this boy's Κυκλάδας ἐποικήσουσι νησαίας πόλεις name. (Potter Robert 1938) χέρσους τε παράλους, ὃ σθένος τἠμῇ χθονὶ 1585 δίδωσιν: ἀντίπορθμα δ᾽ ἠπείροιν δυοῖν πεδία κατοικήσουσιν, Ἀσιάδος τε γῆς Εὐρωπίας τε: τοῦδε δ᾽ ὀνόματος χάριν Ἴωνες ὀνομασθέντες ἕξουσιν κλέος. (Murray Gilbert 1913) You and Xuthus will have children Ξούθῳ δὲ καὶ σοὶ γίγνεται κοινὸν γένος, together: [1590] Dorus, from whom the 1590 Δῶρος μέν, ἔνθεν Δωρὶς Dorian state will be celebrated throughout ὑμνηθήσεται the land of Pelops. The second son, πόλις κατ᾽ αἶαν Πελοπίαν: ὁ δεύτερος Achaeus, will be king of the shore land Ἀχαιός, ὃς γῆς παραλίας Ῥίου πέλας near Rhion; and a people called after him τύραννος ἔσται, κἀπισημανθήσεται will be marked out as having his name. κείνου κεκλῆσθαι λαὸς ὄνομ᾽ ἐπώνυμος. (Potter Robert 1938) (Murray Gilbert 1913) 1 2 These references ensure the influences of certain races like Geleon, 3 Hopletes, Argades, Aegicores, Ionians, Dorians and Achaeus on this myth. 4 Apart from this, the influence of the myth of Karna also needs to be studied. 5 For this the knowledge about the trade relationship between Greeks and 6 Tamilians is to be known. 7 8 9 The Trade between Greeks and Tamilians 10 11 Trade took place between Greeks and Tamilians from the ancient times 12 (Pugazhendhi 2020). Greek ships travelled to the Πανδίονος - Pandion or
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1 Pandyan kingdom who fought with Karna and the Κηπροβότρου - Chēramān 2 kingdom who gave food to the soldiers of this Mahabharata mythical war. 3 Βασιλείας δ ἐστὶν ἡ μὲν Τύνδις Tyndis is of the Kingdom of Cerobothra; it Κηπροβότρου, κώμη παραθαλάσσιος is a village in plain sight by the sea. ἔνσημος· ἡ δὲ Μουζιρὶς βασιλείας μὲν Muziris, of the same Kingdom, abounds in τῆς αὐτῆς, ἀκμάζουσα δὲ τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς ships sent there with cargoes from Ἀριακῆς εἰς αὐτὴν ἐρχομένοις πλοίοις Arabia, and by the Greeks; it is located καὶ τοῖς Ἑλληνικοῖς· κεῖται δὲ παρὰ on a river, distant from Tyndis by river and ποταμὸν, ἀπέχουσα ἀπὸ μὲν Τύνδεως διὰ sea five hundred stadia, and up the river τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ διὰ θαλάσσης σταδίους from the shore twenty stadia. Nelcynda is πεντακοσίους, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ κατ αὐτὴν distant from Muziris by river and sea about εἴκοσι.Ἡ δὲ Νέλκυνδα σταδίους μὲν ἀπὸ five hundred stadia, and is of another Μουζιρέως ἀπέχει σχεδὸν πεντακοσίους, Kingdom, the Pandion. This place also is ὁμοίως διά τε ποταμοῦ (καὶ πεζῇ) καὶ διὰ situated on a river, about one hundred and θαλάσσης, βασιλείας δέ ἐστιν ἑτέρας, twenty stadia from the sea. τῆς Πανδίονος· κεῖται δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ παρὰ Periplus of the Eritheranian Sea (Wilfred ποταμὸν, ὡσεὶ ἀπὸ σταδίων ἑκατὸν 1912) εἴκοσι τῆς θαλάσσης. — παράγραφοι 53-54, Περίπλους της Ερυθράς Θαλάσσης 4 5 These descriptions are mapped in Figure 12. 6 7 Figure 12. Tamil Nadu as mentioned in Greek Text
8 9 . 10 It ensures the ancient contact of Greeks with Tamilians. It may also be 11 noted that the ancient Greeks knew about the ‘Κηπροβότρου - Cerobothra’
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1 and ‘Πανδίονος – Pandion’ who were directly related with the myth of Karna. 2 So through this sea trade the myth Ion and Karna might have transformed 3 between Greek and Tamil lands. This shows that the resemblances between 4 these two myths are not occasional or parallels, but influencial according to the 5 mythological theory of influences. 6 7 8 Conclusion 9 10 The myth of Ion is seen in Greek. The myths of Mahabharata and Karna 11 seen in Tamil and Sanskrit languages. There are some parallels seen between 12 the myths of Ion and Karna. The ancient trade relation between Greeks and 13 Tamilians ensures the influences of these myths with one another similar to so 14 many other myths (Pugazhendhi 2021). 15 16 17 References 18 19 Aimukhambet Z A (2017) The Poetic Interpretation of Binary Opposition in the 20 Structure of Myth. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 21 (IX.1). 22 Jonathan Hall (1997) Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge 23 University Press, 46-54. 24 Meltzer Gary S (2006) Euripides and the Politics of Nostalgia. Cambridge: Cambridge 25 University Press. 26 Kevin H Lee (1997) Introduction to Euripides' Ion. Warminster: Aris & Phillips Ltd. 27 Kovacs David (1999) Euripides’s Ion. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 28 Potter Robert (1938) Euripides’ s Ion. New York: Random House. 29 Pugazhendhi D (2021) Greek, Tamil and Sanskrit: Comparison between the Myths of 30 Herakles (related with Iole and Deianira) and Rama in Hinduism. Athens Journal 31 of Philology 8(1): 09–36. 32 Pugazhendhi D (2020) The Greek root word ‘Kos’ and the trade of ancient Greek with 33 Tamil Nadu, India. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 34 14(3): 185–192. 35 Murray Gilbert (1913) Euripidis Fabulae. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 36 Tamil Virtual University (1995) Sangam literature. Tamil Nadu, India: Government 37 of Tamil Nadu. 38 Kisari Mohan Ganguli (1896) Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa’s The Mahabharata. India: 39 Sacred.com. 40 Wilfred H (1912) The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Green, and Company, New 41 York: Longmans.
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