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The Nagapancami As Described in the Puranas and Its Treatment in the Dharmanibandhas

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The Nagapancami As Described in the Puranas and Its Treatment in the Dharmanibandhas 1 ■Article■ The Nagapancami as Described in the Puranas and its Treatment in the Dharmanibandhas ● Shingo Einoo H. Kulke and D. Rothermund rightly points out that there has been a great discrepancy between the indologists and the social sci- entists in the studies of Indian culture [Kulke and Rothermund 1985: XVI]. The indologists, they say, have been interested in the great works of Indian literature and philosophy, and the social scientists have investigated the caste system, village and tribal lives in contem- porary society. The indologists used mainly sanskrit texts written earlier than the eighth century A.D. as the source material for their investigation, while the social scientists dealt with documents origi- nating from the eighteenth century A.D. onward. The contribu- tions made by M Marriott and M. N. Srinivas regarding the theo- ries of " great and little tradition " and of " sanskritization " respec- tively in the fifties were expected to fill the undesirable gap be- tween indology and social science. This, however, resulted in the 永ノ尾信悟 Shingo Einoo, University of Tokyo, Sanskrit Philology. Main Publications: Die Caturmasya oder die altindischen Tertialopfer: Dargestellt nach den Vor- schriften der Brahmanas und der Srautasutras= Monumenta Serindica 18. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1988. " Changes in Hindu Ritual: With a Focus on the Morning Service ", in Yasuhiko Nagano and Yasuke Ikari (eds.) From Vedic Altar to Village Shrine (Senri Ethnological Studies 36), pp. 198-237, Osaka National Museum of Eth- nology, 1993. 2 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 6, 1994 elaboration of theories and research methods only in the field of social sciences ; while the indologists remained mostly uninfluenced by the discussions on the methodology of studies of Indian culture in the last forty years [Kulke and Rothermund 1985 : XVII-XVIII]. Sanskrit texts are not the sole, but an important vehicle of great tra- dition in India [Parasher 1991: 271], and lack of contributions to the understanding of contemporary India by indologists who study these texts pose serious problems for the non-sanskritists. Great tradition appears to them as a black box, the inner structure of which is not known and, therefore, sometimes seen as a catch-all container from which they can get what they wish. So it is necessary for sanskritists to present contributions which shed some light on not only the his- torical development of some aspects of great tradition conveyed by the sanskrit texts but also, if possible, to elucidate regional distribu- tions of these aspects. Annual festivals like the Navaratra, the Holi, and so on, are cul- tural phenomena which we can observe in today's India and tradition which we can trace in many sanskrit texts like the Puranas and the Dharmanibandhas; these are texts assigned to the period between the eighth and the eighteenth century, the period which has been ne- glected by both the indologists and the social scientists. They, there- fore, offer good examples for analysing the historical development and regional distribution of certain cultural elements which make up one of the important aspects of great tradition. In this paper I take up the nagapancami or the snake worship which is usually held on the fifth day of the lunar month in the rainy season as an example for investigation. I attempt to show the great variety of the instances of the neigapancamidescribed in the Puranas and to make clear one tendency in its transmission through the later Dharmanibandhas, a tendency which can explain the regional characteristics of snake worship in contemporary India. The nagapancami, one of the vratas or religious rites and festivals usually performed on a particular day of a particular month, is de- scribed in eight Puranas (see Table 1).1) I have drawn the material The Nagapancami as Described in the Puninas and its Treatment 3 Table 1. A list of the Purdnas describing the nagapancami * The number given in round brackets is the number which I have applied in the text to the relevant passages in the Purdnas that I paraphrased. on the nagapancami from those places where the vratas are treated collectively with the exception of the Skanda Puriina. My coverage is naturally not exhaustive. It is highly possible that the number of passages referring to the nagapancami will increase if we examine 4 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 6, 1994 those places where the mahatmya or the glorification of a certain sa- cred place such as Prabhasa is refered to as I have done regarding the Skanda Puratna's seventh Khanda, the mahatmya of Prabhasa. Table 1 indicates clearly that most of the Puranas contain more than one description of the nagapancami.2) In what follows I have collected the various instances of the description of the nagapancami and paraphrased the relevant texts. Among the various types of nagapancami which I have come across in the Puranas there are some whose date of performance is not specifically defined. I have there- fore begun with those varieties whose performance is stipulated for the pancami day, though we do not know either in which month they were performed or whether the performance took place in the bright half or the dark half of the month. Next, I treat examples of the nagapancami performed on the pancami day of several months, and then describe those nagaparkami whose celebration is assigned to the fifth tithi of a particular month, beginning with the month of 8ravana. 1. Bhavisya Purana 4.36.60-61. A mantra for protection from harm by snakes: 0171kurukulle hurp phat svaha.3) If people worship snakes with flowers on one hundred pancami days, they will have no fear from snakes in their houses. 2. Bhavisya Pureina 4.36.1-35=1.32.1-39.4) (1) Dear to the nagas is the pancami day with its great festival dedicated to the nagas. (2) Vasuki, Taksaka, Kalika, Manibhadraka, Dhrtarastra, Rai- vata, Karkotaka and Dhanamjaya5) grant people freedom from danger. (3) In the houses of those who bathe the nagas with milk on the pancami day there will be no fear from snake-bite. (4-27) In these verses the well-known episode of the sarpasat- tra performed by Janamejaya is related in order to account for the necessity of bathing the snakes with milk on the pancami day. 6) (4-28ab) The pancami is given to the magas by Brahma as a The Nagapancami as Described in the Puranas and its Treatment 5 day of joy. (4-28cd) The householder performing the ritual should feed a meal to the brahmins. (4-29-30) A mantra is given here to be recited at the time of sending away the brahmins after the meal, stating that all the nagas living everywhere will be pleased.7) (4-31-32ab) After having worshipped the nagas and the brah- mins and sent them away, the householder takes dinner with the members of his family. (4-32cd-35cd) The result of the rite : After death, riding on a celestial vehicle, surrounded by the Apsaras, the house- holder goes to the city of the nagas and enjoys himself as long as he wishes. In the next birth he becomes the king of the world, etc. 3. Skanda Purcina 7.1.186.9-11. (9) On the paticami day, the householder fasts and bathes in Nagasthana. (10-11) After having performed the s'raddha (ancestor worship) and given the daksina (sacrificial fee) to the brahmins he feeds them with milk-rice, regarding them as Sesanaga. (10cd) Freed from all distress he goes to the world of Rudra. 4. Vardha Purana 24.32-33. (32) It was on the pancami day that Brahma made contract with the nagas. Therefore this day is favorable and carries away all sins. (33) On this day people avoid sour things, and bathe snakes with milk. The snakes become friendly. 5. Bhavisya Purana 4.36.36-53=1.32.40-59.8) (37) A man killed by snake bite goes to the nether world and becomes a harmless snake. (38-39) Krgia asks Yudhisthira what one should do when one's relatives die from snake bite. (40-51) For one year, every month on the pancami day in the bright half month9) beginning from the month of Bhad- 6 Journal of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 6, 1994 rapada, the householder worships one of the twelve nagas,10) whose images are made of gold, silver, wood, or clay, with flowers of the oleander, the lotus, and the jasmine, and with sandal paste and oblations of food, and feeds the brah- mins with ghee, milk-rice and modaka. After one year he performs the Narayanabali11) and Vrsotsarga12) for the dead person and holds a concluding feast, where the brah- mins are also fed with a meal. (52-53) Result: the dead person is delivered and there is no fear from snakes. 6. Garuda Puriitta 1.129.29cd-31ab. (30d-31a) On the pancami day in the bright fortnight of every month, especially the month of Bhadrapada. (29cd-30d) The householder worships Ananta, Vasuki, Sankha, Padma, Kambala, Karkotaka, Dhrtardstra, 8ankhaka, Kaliya, Taksaka, and Pingala. (31b) He goes to heaven and obtains release. 7. Varaa Pureina 60.1-8.13) (1) A householder who performs the santivrata (rite for ap- peasement) always attains tranquillity. (2a-c) For one year beginning from the palicami day in the bright fortnight of the month of Karttika he does not eat sour things. (3ab) In the night he worships Hari lying on 8esa. (3cd-5) The eight nagas are first worshipped at the various parts of the body of Hari (angapuja), and are worshipped individually afterwards.
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