THE SANSKRIT EPICS' REPRESENTATION OF VEDIC MYTHS DANIELLE FELLER THE SANSKRIT EPICS' REPRESENTATION OF VEDIC MYTHS MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED • DELHI ná v≤ u etán mriyase ná ri∑yasi dev≤◊ íd e∑i pathíbhi˙ sugébhi˙ Ùgveda 1.162.21 Contents Acknowledgments...............................................................xi Abbreviations....................................................................xiii 1. Introduction......................................................................1 The texts.............................................................................1 Vedic versus epic................................................................ 10 Secondary literature............................................................. 17 Myth................................................................................ 19 Myth in the Epics............................................................... 29 Methodology ..................................................................... 40 2. When Agni Goes Hiding................................................ 49 Introductory....................................................................... 49 The Ùgveda ....................................................................... 51 Who finds Agni? ............................................................ 58 Wild versus tame fire....................................................... 66 How Agni became a god .................................................. 70 The late Veda..................................................................... 74 The Mahåbhårata................................................................. 79 Bh®gu's curse: 1.5-7 ........................................................ 80 Agni and A∫giras: 3.207.................................................. 83 Agni and Atharvan: 3.212.6-19 ......................................... 84 The Agni-t¥rtha: 9.46.12-20.............................................. 85 Pårvat¥'s curse: 13.83-84 .................................................. 87 Agni's reasons for hiding.................................................. 88 The identification of Agni with those who find him.............100 viii The Sanskrit Epics' Representation of Vedic Myths Agni's functions ............................................................108 The procreative fire.........................................................112 Procreation and sacrifice..................................................120 Conclusions......................................................................125 3. Indra, the Lover of Ahalyå ............................................127 Introduction......................................................................127 The two Råmåyaˆa versions.................................................128 The Vedic antecedents of the story of Indra and Ahalyå.............130 Indra, the lover of Ahalyå................................................132 Indra as Gautama ...........................................................133 Indra as a ram................................................................135 Indra's testicles..............................................................137 lndra's release from the curse............................................139 The Dumézilian theoretical framework ...................................142 Reassessing Dumézil's Theory..............................................145 Conclusions......................................................................156 4. The Theft of the Soma...................................................159 Introduction......................................................................159 The history of the mythical motif .........................................161 The Ùgveda ..................................................................161 The later Veda...............................................................164 The Suparˆåkhyåna ........................................................168 The Råmåyaˆa...............................................................168 The Mahåbhårata............................................................171 Power-relations..................................................................177 The protagonists of the story................................................185 The soma .....................................................................185 The snakes and the eagle .................................................190 Contents ix Conclusions......................................................................203 5. Upamanyu's Salvation by the Aßvins............................207 Introductory......................................................................207 Summary of MBh 1.3.19-82................................................208 The Vedic antecedents.........................................................212 Patterns of initiation...........................................................219 Fasting ........................................................................224 The secluded place .........................................................226 Blindness.....................................................................227 Burial..........................................................................229 The story of Utta∫ka...................................................230 Tests and temptations.....................................................232 Visions and revelations...................................................235 Rebirth and immortality..................................................240 MBh 13.14 and 14.52-57....................................................242 Conclusions......................................................................249 6. Raˆa-yajña: the Mahåbhårata War as a Sacrifice...........253 Introductory......................................................................253 Raˆa-yajña........................................................................257 Violence and human sacrifice ...............................................261 Rules and expiations ..........................................................263 The aims of the raˆa-yajña...................................................266 The deities of the raˆa-yajña.................................................268 The Earth .....................................................................268 K®∑ˆa and Íiva..............................................................277 The aftermath of the war......................................................283 Conclusions......................................................................290 x The Sanskrit Epics' Representation of Vedic Myths 7. Conclusions ..................................................................295 The Brahmins' Superior Status.............................................295 Parallels between the myths and the central events of the Epics ..297 The ritual elements of myths................................................300 The importance of Vedic gods in the Epics.............................306 The continuation of Vedic mythical thought in the Epics ..........310 Bibliography......................................................................317 Secondary Literature, Texts and Translations...........................317 Texts and Translations........................................................344 General Index....................................................................351 Acknowledgments This book is the slightly modified version of my Ph.D. thesis defended at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, in June 2001. A Ph.D thesis is not just the work of one person, but also the sum total of the investment made by others, in the form of advice, discussion, criticism, computer help or moral support. My thanks go first of all to Prof. Johannes Bronkhorst, who directed this thesis, and who never withdrew his support, even when progress was slow and the outcome seemed doubtful. Secondly to Prof. Alf Hiltebeitel and Prof. Peter Schreiner, who were members of the jury. My debt to these three scholars is beyond words to express. Each one of them could have written a much better book than this one, and I owe them all my gratitude for letting me go my own way, in spite of all my shortcomings, for which I am of course entirely responsible. In the course of writing my thesis, I received great help in the form of stimulating discussion from Dr Andreas Bigger, who very generously devoted much time thinking over some of the problems raised in this study. Dr Katja Kupfer very kindly helped me get the Vedic accents right. Dr Sibylle Walther gave me an invaluable outsider's view on my writing. Mr Raymond Conus provided sorely needed help with the final computer formatting and with the index. My gratitude goes to my colleagues, doctoral students of the Section de langues et civilisations orientales of the University of Lausanne, for providing a congenial environment of friendly discussion. My warmest thanks are due to the scholars of the Sanskrit Department of the University of Poona, especially to Prof. Ganesh U. Thite who initiated me into Vedic studies. While writing this thesis, I have immensely benefited from being able to attend some of the Dubrovnik International Conferences on the Sanskrit Epics and Puråˆas, and I here xii The Sanskrit Epics' Representation of Vedic Myths wish to express my heart-felt thanks to Prof. Mislav Jezic, and Mrs Klara Gönc Moacanin, the kind organisers of these conferences.