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CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. THE EARLY NARRATIVE POETRY OF INDIA . 1 II. THE RECORDS OF THE INDIAN HEROIC AGE . 15 III. THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE HEROIC AGE OF INDIA 33 IV. EARLY INDIAN MINSTRELSY /ND HEROIC POETRY ....... 48 V. THE COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF HEROIC POETRY ....... 70 VI. UNHISTORICAL ELEMENTS IN HEROIC POETRY . 91 VII. SOCIETY IN THE HEROIC AGE OF INDIA (I) . 114 VIII. SOCIETY IN THE HEROIC AGE OF INDIA (II) . 144 IX. GOVERNMENT IN THE HEROIC AGE . 170 X. RELIGION IN THE HEROIC AGE OF INDIA . 194 XI. CONCLUSION ...... 218 NDEX ......... 227 PREFACE TT\ISRAELI somewhere asserts that experience is less than nothing to a creative mind, and that almost everything that is great has been done by youth. The theory for but it is may not hold good latter-day society ; eminently applicable to a particular stage in the history of almost every nation. In such a state of society the energy and exuberance of youth find expression in vigorous action, *n deeds of might and valour. The individual asserts himself against old bonds and old ties, which are replaced by new. " " Yet for what we call a Heroic Age something more is necessary. The heroism must be there ; but the hero must have someone to commemorate his acts. This record of his deeds is not a product of the imagination or the brain of a later time it there then the ; originates and with performance of the heroic action. We have extant such poetic records in the literature of various countries, poems which though " widely separated from one another both in date and place " of origin present strikingly similar features. The Iliad and Beowulf, the stories of Sigurthr and Roland are records of this in type ; and the period to which they relate may, each " case, be called a Heroic Age ". The Indian student of these poems is naturally led to " " inquire how far the heroic poems of his own country show resemblances to the Western products. In the following pages an attempt has been made to study the Sanskrit heroic poems as a parallel to similar poems of European lands. This involves an examination of the origin and development of these poems, including an investigation of the society to which they relate. In this investigation I have mainly relied on the originals, though some critical works have been of viii PREFACE great help. All such obligations have been indicated in their proper place, but there is a much deeper debt which must be acknowledged here. I cannot adequately describe how much I owe to Professor H. M. Chadwick, Bosworth and Elrington Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Cambridge, but for whose help and encouragement the book would never have been written at all. Only those who have had the privilege of working with him will appreciate how deep is my debt. N. K. S. THE HEROIC AGE OF INDIA CHAPTER I THE EARLY NARRATIVE POETRY OF INDIA E narrative poetry of India, dating from about the beginning of the Christian era, is mainly to be found in two works, the Rdmdyana and the Mahdbhdrata. The main is story of the former included in the latter as an episode ; so that, in an attempt to summarize the earliest stories of the deeds of Indian kings and princes, we may confine ourselves to the latter work. The Mahdbhdrata is mainly concerned with the deeds of the Kurus and the Pandavas, who are described as cousins. Vicitravirya, the king of Hastinapura, having died early, his step-brother begot issue with his wives on the principle of the levirate. Two sons were born; and the elder, Dhrtarastra, being blind from birth, the younger son, Pandu, succeeded to the throne. After some time, however, the latter grew weary of royal duties and retired to the forest with his two wives, Kunti and Madri. It was probably in the forest that his five sons, Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, were born ; and after Pandu's death, they were taken to Hastinapura by some hermits of the forest. Dhrtarastra, who had been in charge of the kingdom, in Pandu's absence, at first accepted Yudhisthira as the heir to the throne but his eldest ; son, Duryodhana, gradually won him over and began to plan the destruction of the Pandavas, Yudhisthira and his brothers. They were persuaded to go to Varanavata, a place near by, and dwell in a house made of lac but to of ; they came know Duryodhana's plans of burning the house over their heads, and escaped in time. After adventures with various monsters of the forest, in which Bhima is very prominent, they came to Ekacakra where they remained disguised as Brahmins. There they heard the news 2 THE HEROIC AGE OF INDIA that DraupadI, the daughter of Drupada, the king of Paiicala, 1 was going to choose a husband at a svayamvara from a gathering of princes. It was not quite a free choice, for the princess was to choose the most successful hero from amongst competitors in archery. Arjuna, disguised as a Brahmin, succeeded where all the other heroes failed and Drupada accepted him as his son-in-law. The Pandavas, however, wished to enter into a polyandrous marriage, and Drupada was persuaded to allow all the five brothers to marry her. With the Paiicala king as their ally, they made Dhrtarastra come to terms with them. They were given half of the to choose built a kingdom, but were a new capital ; they wonderful city, Indraprastha. The brothers married other wives, and Arjuna's marriage with Subhadra, the sister of Vasudeva Krsna, is noteworthy as an instance of marriage by capture. After some years of prosperous rule at Indraprastha, the Pandavas wanted to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice, which would imply their overlordship over the rest of India. Jarasandha, the powerful king of Magadha, was killed, and other princes were subdued. The sacrifice was there hitch performed ; but was a slight as Sisupala, one of the assembled princes, would not accept the deification of Krsna and was killed by him. The Pandavas were now the most powerful princes of India, and this fact excited the envy of their cousins. They persuaded Yudhisthira to play at dice with their maternal uncle, Sakuni. The latter, who was apparently playing with loaded dice, won all throws against Yudhisthira, who lost not only his kingdom, but his brothers and himself and his wife, all of whom he had staked. Draupad! was insulted by Duryodhana's brother, and they all had to go into the forest to lead a hermit's life for twelve years. Moreover, they were to spend a thirteenth year in concealment in some king's service. They spent this year in the service of Virata, the king of Matsya, discharging various assumed functions. About this time Duryodhana and his friends invaded Virata's land on a cattle-raiding expedition and were repelled, mainly through Arjuna's prowess. Then the Pandavas revealed themselves and Virata offered his daughter Uttara in marriage to Arjuna. Arjuna declined the offer himself, but accepted it on behalf of his son, Abhimanyu, who was 1 See p. 94 for explanation of the term. EARLY NARRATIVE POETRY 3 the accordingly married to Uttara. The friends of Pajidavas at the it were invited to the marriage-feast ; and assembly was decided that a messenger should be sent to Hastinapura asking for the surrender of Yudhisthira's kingdom, and that the help of other princes should be solicited for the purpose. The exchange of messages between the Kauravas Dhrtarastra and his sons and the Pandavas does not lead the friends of the former assemble to any settlement ; and at Hastinapura, while those of the latter come to Upaplavya. Krsna decides to side with the Pandavas as a non-combatant, and act as Arjuna's charioteer. Preparations for the war are hurried on, and Dhrstadyumna, the son of Drupada, is appointed commander- in-chief of the Pandava forces, while Bhisma, Dhrtarastra's uncle, is in charge of the Kauravas. After nine days of hard fighting Bhisma is killed by Arjuna with the help of Sikhandin. Dro^a, the military preceptor of the Kauravas and the Pandavas, is the next leader of Duryodhana's army. In the engagements that follow many prominent heroes lose their lives among others, Abhimanyu and Ghatotkaca on the Pandava side and Jayadratha on the Kaurava. Then Drona himself is killed through a deception practised by Yudhisthira on the advice of Krsna. Karna, the Suta prince of is Drona's successor Afiga, ; and Salya, the prince of the Madras, is his charioteer. There are encounters 1>e!ween Yudhisthira and Duryodhana, between Dhrstadyumna and Krpa, between Bhima and ASvatthama, Drona's son. But the main event is Karna's with fight Arjuna ; and Arjuna kills Karna when the latter is at a disadvantage through the wheels of his chariot having sunk into the earth. is the next leader of the Salya Kauravas ; but things go with them. badly Salya, Sakuni, and finally Duryodhana himself are killed of ; and the Kaurava host only three heroes are left. These three call to mind the various acts of treachery of the Pandavas and decide to fall on them when asleep at night. succeed in the They surprising Paiicjava host ; and almost all the supporters of the Pancjavas are slain. They have, however, gained the victory and they enter into the possession of the whole kingdom, while Dhrtar&stra and the older people retire into the forest. Yudhisthira then perform* the great horse-sacrifice and establishes his claim as the 4 THE HEROIC AGE OF INDIA suzerain of the whole of North India.