Volume 24 (2017), Issue 2
The Indra Cult as Ideology
A Clue to Power Struggle in an Ancient Society
by
Mahinda Palihawadana
ed. by Peter-Arnold Mumm in collaboration with Tina West
ISSN 1084-7561 http://dx.doi.org/10.11588/ejvs.2017.2.2667
The Indra Cult as Ideology
A Clue to Power Struggle in an Ancient Society
(including a discussion of the semantics of R̥gvedic ari and its socio-political background)
Mahinda Palihawadana
ed. by Peter-Arnold Mumm in collaboration with Tina West
Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies (EJVS) Vol. 24, No. 2, 2017, 19-166. (©) ISSN 1084-7561 Contents 19
Contents
Abbreviations and Bibliography ...... 22 Foreword ...... 27 PART ONE ...... 31 I. What Lies Behind R̥ gvedic ari ? ...... 31 II. The Bharatas and their Opponents ...... 36 (1) ...... 36 (a) Devavāta and Devavant ...... 38 (b) Sr̥ñjaya and Vadhryaśva ...... 38 (c) Prastoka, Aśvatha and Divodāsa ...... 40 (d) Somaka and Pijavana ...... 42 (e) Sudās ...... 42 (2) Turvaśa-s ...... 46 (3) Pūru-s ...... 47 Trasadasyu ...... 53 Legend of Trasadasyu’s Birth ...... 55 Descendants of Trasadasyu ...... 56 Tryaruṇa ...... 57 III. Diversity of Religious Views ...... 59 (1) ...... 59 (2) ...... 59 (3) ...... 63 (4) ...... 65 (5) ...... 66 (6) ...... 70 (7) ...... 72
Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies (EJVS) Vol. 24, No. 2, 2017, 19-166. (©) ISSN 1084-7561 20 Mahinda Palihawadana: The Indra Cult as Ideology
(8)...... 73 RV 10.124: Appendix to Ch. III ...... 74 IV. Significance of Indra Cult: An Impetus to Power ...... 75 (1) ...... 75 (2) ...... 75 (3) ...... 78 (4) ...... 80 (5) ...... 81 (6) ...... 84 (7) ...... 86 (8)...... 87 V. Indra Cult (Contd.): Links Forged Between Priest and Prince ...... 89 (1) ...... 89 (2) ...... 90 (3) ...... 93 (4) ...... 96 (5) ...... 97 (6) ...... 98 VI. Ari and Sūri — The Cultural Distinction...... 100 (1) ...... 100 (2) ...... 103 (3) ...... 105 PART TWO ...... 112 VII. More about the ari - sūri Distinction ...... 112 (1) ...... 112 (2) ...... 114 (3) ...... 116 Contents 21
(4) ...... 118 (5) ...... 119 (6) ...... 122 VIII. The ‘Functional’ Aspect of the ari - sūri Distinction ...... 124 (1) ...... 124 (2) ...... 126 (3) ...... 128 (4) ...... 131 (5) ...... 132 (6) ...... 134 IX. The ari as a Devotee of the Brahmanical Cult ...... 137 (1) ...... 137 (2) ...... 139 X. Three Important Contexts ...... 142 (1: RV 1.169.6 and 10.28.1) ...... 142 (2: RV 10.27.8)...... 145 XI. The ari’s Social Position ...... 149 (1) ...... 149 (2) ...... 150 (3) ...... 152 XII. Summary and Hypothesis ...... 159 Conclusion ...... 164 Appendix I ...... 165 The Āyus ...... 165 Appendix II ...... 136 Dāsas and Dasyus ...... 136
22 Mahinda Palihawadana: The Indra Cult as Ideology
Abbreviations and Bibliography (The abbreviated forms are those used in the Notes) ABORI : Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona (1919ff.).
Añjali : AÑJALI : Papers on Indology and Buddhism, A Felicitation Volume presented to Oliver Hector de Alwis Wijesekera on his sixtieth birthday, ed. J. Tilakasiri; Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 1970. Atharva Veda : The Atharva Veda Saṃhitā. Benveniste and Renou : Émile Benveniste & Louis Renou (1934): Vr̥tra et vr̥ θragna. Études de mythologie indo-iranienne. Paris: Impr. Nationale (Cahiers de la Société Asiatique, Sér. 1,3). Br̥ had Devatā : B r̥ h a d -Devatā (attributed to Caunaka), ed. A. A. Macdonell, Harvard Oriental Series, Vol. 5 (1904). CHI : The Cambridge History of India. Vol. I Ancient India, ed. E. J. Rapson. Second Indian Reprint, S. Chand & Co., Delhi etc. 1962. Coomaraswamy : A. K. Coomaraswamy: Spiritual Authority and Temporal Power in the Indian Theory of Government. New Haven, Conn.: American Oriental Society (American Oriental Series, 22) 1942. DED : Murray B. Emenau & T. Burrow: A Dravidian