Ancient Tradition
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ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORICAL TRADITION BY F. E, PARGITER, M.A. INDIAN Civil. SERVICE (HETIRED) LATE JUDGE, HIGH COURT, CALCUTTA LONDON OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS HUMPHREY MILFORD 1922 144 DYNASTIC LISTS TABLE OF ROYAL Yadatas Haihayas 1 Manu I 2 Ila 3 Pururavas* Ayu" Nahusa* Yaynii* Yadu Krostu 10 11 Vrjinivant 12 13 11 Svahi 15 16 17 Ru^adgu 18 19 CitraraiJm 20 Sasabindu* 21 Prthusra- vas 22 Antara 23 24 Suyajna 25 26 USanas 27 28 ^ineyu 29 30 Marutta 31 32 Kambala- barhis 33 DYNASTIC LISTS 145 GENEALOGIES Kkii 146 DYNASTIC LISTS DYNASTIC LISTS 147 Kasi 148 DYNASTIC LISTS DYNASTIC LISTS 149 Ka^i — CHAPTEE XIII MAJOR SYNCHRONISMS ESTABLISHED In endeavouring to establish synchronisms^ first may be noticed those kings and rishis about whom there are copious or very clear statements. There is a very early group o£ synchronous kings. The Aiksvaku genealogy of Ayodhya states plainly that Prasenajit's son Yuvanasva married Gauri and their son was Mandhatr. The Paurava genealogy says Matinara's daughter Gaurl was mother of Mandhatr. Here there can be no doubt, for the statements are separate and explicit (chapter VI). Prasenajit therefore was contemporary with Matinara, Yuvanasva was one generation below and Mandhatr two genera- tions. Further, the Ayodhya genealogy says that Mandhatr married Sasabindu's daughter Bindumati Caitrarathi, who was the '' eldest of many brothers ; and the Yadava genealogy names Sasa- bindu, son of Citraratha, as a famous king who had very many sons.^ Here also there can be no doubt j hence Mandhatr was one generation below Sasabindu. Next Jahnu of Kanyakubja married the granddaughter of Yauvanasva,-' that is, Mandhatr; hence he was two generations below Mandhatr.* From all these we have a clear set of synchronisms thus Paurava Kanyakubja VISVAMITRA, TRISANKU, ARJUNA, RAMA 151 The next group of synchronisms is that in which Visvamitra and his nephew Jamadagni are the central figures. King Krtavlrya of the Haihayas had the Bhargavas as his priests and enriched them. His successors tried to recover the wealth, hut the Bhargavas resisted. The Haihayas maltreated them, and the Bhargavas fled to other countries for safety.^ Gadhi or Gathi was then king of Kanyakubja and had a daughter Satyavati. The Bhargava rishi Rclka Aurva, son of Urva, married her and had a son Jamadagni, and about the same time Gadhi had a son ^ Visvaratha.^ A^is- varatha, after succeeding to the kingdom,* relinquished it, placed his family in a hermitage near Ayodhya ^ and gave himself up to austerities for twelve years, after which he became a brahman with the name Visvamitra. He returned and succoured prince Satyavrata Trisaiiku ^ of Ayodhya who had befriended his family, and restored him to the throne, overcoming the opposition of the then Vasistha,'' whose personal name was Devaraj.^ Jamadagni married Kamali Renuka, daughter of Renu, a minor king belonging to the Iksvaku race, and their son was Rama Jamadagnya." Trisanku was suc- ceeded by his son Hariscandra, who had a son Rohita, and Visva- mitra and Jamadagni attended as priests at the sacrifice at which Sunahsepa was substituted for Rohita.^" Krtavlrya was succeeded by his son Arjuna Kartavlrya, who was a great king (p. 41). After a long reign he had dissension with Jamadagni, his sons killed 1 MBh i, 178, 6802 to 179, 6827. See chap. XVII for Urva. ^ MBhiii, ii5, 11044-67: v, 118, 4005-7: xii, 49, 1721-46: xiii, i, 205-47. Va 91, 66-87. Bd iii, 66, 36-58. Hv 27, 1430-51; 82, 1765-7. Br 10, 28-49. Vis iv, 7, 5-16. Bhag ix, 15, 5-11. » Va 91, 92-3. Bd iii, 66, 63-5. Hv 27, 1456-9. Br 10, 53-6. * MBh ix, 41, 2299, 2300. Earn i, 51, 20. Brhadd iv, 95. ^ He was connected with the Ayodhya dynasty through marriage ; see iufra. « Called Matanga, MBh i, 71, 2925. '' Va 88, 78-116. Bd iii, 63, 77-114. Br 7, 97 to 8, 23. Hv 12, 717 to 13, 753. Siv vii, 60, 81 to 61, 19. Lg i, 66, 3-10. Vis iv, 3, 13-14. Bhag ix, 7, 5-6. All fully discussed, JRAS, 1913, pp. 888- 900. See chap. XVIII. « MBh xiii, 137, 6257: cf. xii, 234, 8601. JEAS, 1913, pp. 896, 903: 1917, pp. 39, 54, 63. ' MBh iii, 116, 11072-4: v, 116, 3972: xii, 49, 1746-7. Va 91, 1453-5. Br 50-3. 89-91. Bd iii, 66, 60-3. Hv 27, ^ 10, " Aitar Brahm vii, 3, 1 f. Sankhayana Sr Sutra xv, 17-25. Bhag dis- ix, 7, 7-25. Br 104. MBh xiii, 5, 186-7. Ram i, 61, 62. All cussed, JEAS, 1917, pp. 40, 44 f. — : 152 VISVAMITRA, TRISANKU, ARJUNA, RAMA Jamadagni, and Rama killed him.i Here then we have these synchronisms : — Haihaya Bhdrgava Rdnyakuhja Aiksvdku Krtavirya tjrva Gadhi Trayyaruna Arjuna Rcika Satyavati Jamadagni Visvamitra Trisahku Hariscandra Rama^ Rohita This group is connected with the preceding group by both the Ayodhya and Kanyakubja genealogies, and also by the collateral statement that Kusika, Gadhi's father, married PaurukutsT, a ' descendant of Purukutsa ', and she was Gadhi's mother.^ Jahnu was a contemporary of Purukutsa's son Trasadasyu {ante), and Visvamitra of Trisanku. The genealogies give seven descents from Jahnu to Visvamitra, and eight descents from Trasadasyu to Trisanku. They thus tally, and Paurukutsi was Purukutsa^s descendant in about the sixth degree. 1 MBhi, i04, 4172: iii, Ji5, 11035 ; Ji6, 11089-98; ii7, 10202-3: vii, 70, 2429: xii, 49, 1761-8. Va 94, 38, 47. Bd iii, 69, 38, 48. Hv 34, 1890. Vis iv, 11, 7. Mat 45, 44. Br 13, 196-7; 213, 114. Cf. Lg i, 68, 10 : Kur i, 22, 20 : Hv 42, 2314. Cf. MBh viii, 5, 144 xii, 362, 13879-80: xiv, 29, 824-31. '^ It should be noted that a curious statement occurs in the Ayodhya genealogy in six Puranas, which speak of Rama at a much later time, in the reign of king Mulaka (chap. VIII). Va 88, 1 78-9 and Bd iii, 63, 178-9 say Mulaka was in fear of Rama and lived protected by a guard of women (nari- kavaca). Lg i, 66, 29, Kur i, 21, 14, Visiv, 4, 38 and Bhag ix, 9, 40 say much the same. This must be connected with the statement in MBh xii, 49, 1770-8, which says that a thousand years after Rama had destroyed all the ksatriyas, a fresh generation of them, including Pratardana and others, had grown up, and he destroyed them all again and again till twenty-one times; and with the further statement (ibid. 1792-3) that then Sarva- karman, who is placed as king of Ayodhya at the same time as Mulaka (chap. VIII), was brought up in secret. All this MBh account is bralimanic and mostly fable ; heuce these two statements are of no chronological value, and the statement about Mulaka would seem to be a reflex of the fable, incorporated in the Ayodhya genealogy, while the secret bringing up would explain the phrase ndrl-kavaca. This matter is further noticed in chap. XXV. A similar fanciful mistake, MBh v, 146, 4978-81. '' Va 91, 63-6 ; Bd iii, 66, 33-6 ; Br 10, 24-8 ; and Hv 27, 1426-30 have the fullest text. Collati.'d they suggest this reading : Gadhir namabhavat putrah KauMkah Paka^asanah Paurukutsy abhavad bharya Giidhis tasyam ajilyata. HAIHAYAS, KASIS AND SAGARA 153 There is an extensive series of events which connect the Haihaya dynasty with those of Kasi and Ayodhya. The Haihaya dynasty rose to power under ^ing Bhadrasrenya, apparently in South Malwa, and extended its sway eastwards. His fourth successor, the great Arjuna KartavTrya mentioned above, reigned at ^Mahismatl (the modern Mandhata in the R. Narbada^), carried, it is said, his arms over the whole earth and came into conflict with Apava Vasistha/ so that he overran all Madhyadesa. Afterwards the Talajanghas and other Haihayas, attended by hordes from beyond the north-west, attacked Ayodhya and drove the king Bahu from the throne. Bahu begot a son Sagara, and Sagara defeated all those enemies, regained his kingdom and destroyed the Haihaya power.3 Arjuna's contemporaries have been mentioned above, namely, Trisanku and Hariscandra of Ayodhya. The genealogies give six more Haihaya kings, and Sagara was eighth in descent from Hariscandra. Thus the genealogies tally with the story of Sagara. There are further synchronisms of certain Kasi kings with Bhad- rasrenya and the Talajanghas, which arise out of a story told in the Kasi genealogy.* It runs thus. Divodasa, son of Bhimaratha, was king of Kasi and (in consequence of a curse, it is alleged) abandoned his capital Varanasi, and established himself in another city on the river Gomati in the extreme east of his territory. Bhadrasrenya, the Haihaya king, seized the kingdom,' and a Raksasa named Ksemaka occupied the city. Divodasa recovered the kingdom from Bhadrasrenya's sons, but afterwards Bhadrasrenya's son Durdama re-established himself in it. Divodasa was succeeded by his brother Astaratha. Pratardana was the son of Divodasa, and he recovered ' JEAS, 1910, pp. 441-6, 867-9. Also Pad vi, 115, 3-4; 179, 2. ' Va 94, 39-45; 95, 1-13. Bd iii, 69, 39-44; 70, 1-14. Mat 43, 41-3._ Hv 33, 1881-6. Br 13, 189-94. MBh xii, 49, 1753-8, which says Apava's heiinitage was near the Himalayas. ^ Va 88, 121-43. Bd iii, 63, 119-41. Br 8, 28-51. Hv 13, 760 to 14, 784. Siv vii, 61, 22-43. Vis iv, 3, 15-21. Also Bd iii, 47, 74 to 48, 46, which appears to contain genuine tradition.