Indian Myth and Legend

120

Mahabharata.

121

Asuras are sometimes called Rakshasas also.

122

Pron. pe-shatch'as.

123

Bloomfield's Atharvaveda iv, 36 (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xlii).

124

Mahabharata, Roy's trans. (Sabha Parva, p. 32).

125

Vana Parva section of Mahabharata.

126

Dasyu and Dasa are “applied in many passages of the Rigveda to superhuman enemies”. The colour reference in Dasa is probable, but it is also used in other senses. For a full discussion on conflicting views regarding Dasyu and Dasa see Vedic Index of Names and Subjects. Macdonell and Keith, vol. i, pp. 347-9 and 356-8.

127

Mahabharata, Roy's translation (Adi Parva, section, pp. 495-6).

128

Like an Egyptian Pharaoh, the rajah is here a god among men. His presence was necessary to ensure the success of rain-bringing ceremonies.

129

A convenient term as explained in our Introduction.

130

“A Rishi, ‘seer’, is primarily a composer of hymns.... The Rishis ultimately become the representatives of a sacred past.” Vedic Index of Names and Subjects vol. i, pp. 115-117 (1912).

131

Satapatha Brahmana, trans. by Prof. Eggeling (Sacred Books of the East, No. XLIII, p. 170).

132

1 Kings, x, 22.

133

Satapatha Brahmana, translated by Professor Eggeling, Part I, p. 374 (Sacred Books of the East).

134

There are formulas in Gaelic for blessing a house, &c. The customs of nailing horse-shoes upon doors and hanging up holly at Christmas for protection against evil spirits indicate the persistence of ceremonial practices long after ancient beliefs have been forgotten.

135

Bloomfield's Atharva-veda (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xlii).

136

Bloomfield's translation.

137

A History of Sanskrit Literature, Professor Macdonell, p. 199.

138

Omens and Superstitions of Southern India, by Edgar Thurston, p. 799 et seq., 1912.

139

Muir's Original Sanskrit Texts, vol. i, pp. 9-10.

140

P'an Ku in his giant form. Like the Egyptian Ptah, he is now a dwarf and anon a giant.

141

A Journey in Southern Siberia, by Jeremiah Curtin, pp. 44-8.

142

Rigveda, i, 162, and i, 163.

143

That is, the so-called “royal house”, or house of the “king of the sacred rites”.

144

A broad-headed people.

145

Horse sacrifice.

146

The Brihad Aranyaka Upanishad.

147

Dr. E. Röer's translation (Calcutta).

148

Deussen's Philosophy of the Upanishads, p. 39.

149

Muir's Original Sanskrit Texts, vol. i, pp. 29-30.

150

See Egyptian Myth and Legend.

151

Muir's Original Sanskrit Texts, vol. i, p. 46.

152

Abridged from Muir's Original Sanskrit Texts, pp. 43, 44, and Wilson's Manu, p. 50.

153

Indian cuckoo.

154

In his character as the Typhoon.

155

The present Age, according to Hindu belief.

156

“Om” originally referred to the three Vedas; afterwards it signified the Trinity.

157

See Egyptian Myth and Legend.

158

Roy's translation.

159

Roy's translation. This conception of the World God resembles the Egyptian Ptah and Ra. See Egyptian Myth and Legend.

160

Mahabharata, Vana Parva, section clxxxix, P. C. Roy's translation.

161

History of Sanskrit Literature, p. 115.

162

See Egyptian Myth and Legend.

163

Paul Deussen's translation.

164

Psyche, Erwin Rohde.

165

De Bello Gallico, vi, xiv, 4.

166

A History of Sanskrit Literature, p. 411.

167

Rigveda, i, 154, 155.

168

Hinduism, by L. D. Barnett.

169

Rigveda, ii, 33.

170

The “Divine Song”.

171

Extracts from Roy's translation of Mahábhárata.

172

Or Muttra.

173

Karma, “works” and their consequences.

174

Buddha's negative attitude towards immortality and the conception of a Supreme Being was departed from by those of his followers who have taught that Nirvana is a conscious state of eternal bliss.

175

Burnouf, quoted by Max Müller, Chips from a German Workshop, i, 222.

176

Petrie, The Religion of Egypt, pp. 92-3.

177

Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica, lib. i, chap. xxx.

178

Juggernaut.

179

Condensed from Vana Parva section of Mahábhárata, sec. clxxxvii, Roy's trans.

180

Va'suki.

181

Brahma, as Prajapati, assumes, in one of the myths, the form of a tortoise to “create offspring”.

182

Celtic Myth and Legend, p. 49.

183

Or Kailāsa.

184

Combined with Vishnu he is Hari-hara.

185

Often spelled Suttee.

186

A familiar Bengali rendering is “Gonesh”, which is often given as a pet name to an exemplary boy.

187

In Vishnu Purana the Rishis are divided as follows: 1, Brahmarishis, sons of Brahma; 2, Devarishis, semi-divine saints; 3, Rajarishis, royal saints who had practised austerities. There are variants in other sacred books which refer to Maharishis, Paramarishis, &c.

188

Or Nãrada.

189

Rigveda, viii, 53. 9-11, and vii, 18.

190

Pron. bah´ra-ta or bhah´ra-ta.

191

The Indian cuckoo.

192

Pron. vish-wah-mit´ra.

193

The Gandharva marriage was legalized by Manu, but only for members of the Kshatriya (kings and warriors) caste.

194

A sign of martial and royal origin.

195

Pron. Gaj-as-ah-va´ya.

196

Queen.

197

This story is the plot of “Shakuntala”, the Sanskrit drama of the poet Kalidasa, who lived in the fifth century A.D. He makes the king give the heroine a ring, which she loses while bathing. A fish swallows the ring, and it is found by a fisherman, who delivers it to the king. Then suddenly His Majesty remembers his bride, whom he had forgotten and already denied. The misfortunes of the monarch and maid resulted from the curse of the sage Durvasas. Pron. Sha-koon´-ta-lah.

198

Pron. chun´dra (“ch” as in “change”). Also Soma, the moon god.

199

Subsequently the name for India as a whole.

200

Art thou a demon or nymph or fairy or dwarf or demi-god?

201

His other names are Deva-bratta and Ganga-bratta, and he was ultimately known as Bhishma.

202

The Pharaoh of the Anpu-Bata Egyptian story was similarly attracted by a perfume which issued from a lock of hair. See Egyptian Myth and Legend.

203

Pron. sat´ya-vat-ee.

204

Pron. vyas´a (two syllables). The reputed author of the Mahá-bhárata.

205

Pron. chit-ran´gad-a (“ch” as in “change”) and vi-cheet´ra-veer-ya.

206

An Aryan tribe in the north-west of India. Part of their territory was included in the Persian empire. Keith identifies them with the Gandarians who accompanied Xerxes in his campaign against the Greeks.

207

A festival at which a princess selected a husband from among the kings and warriors assembled together.

208

A drive of about 500 miles. Indian poets, however, have never troubled about geographical difficulties.

209

The Kasi tribe was Aryan but was disliked by the eastern Aryans because its beliefs were not according to the standards imposed by the Brahmans. Conflicts were frequent.

210

Pron. has-teen´a-poor. Marriage by capture was called a Rákshas marriage, and was sanctioned by Manu.

211

She helps to kill Bhishma in the great war, having changed her sex with a Yaksha.

212

A similar practice is referred to in Genesis xxxviii; it was a regular institution among the ancient Hebrews.

213

This custom is called “niyoga”, and was legalized by Manu, but only for the lower castes.

214

Pron. dreet´a-rash´´tra, Pan´doo, and Ve-dur´a (“u” as “oo”).

215

Pron. pan´davas and kow´ravas.

216

Pron. pree´tha and ma-dree´.

217

Krishna of the Yadavas was descended from the moon through Yadu: Bharata was descended through Puru, Yadu's brother.

218

A mantra.

219

Identified with Cashmere by some of the authorities.

220

Pron. yoo-dish´thi-ra (h sounded after t).

221

Pron. arjoo´na´´.

222

The upper part of the Punjab, which was ruled over ultimately by the sons of Duryodhana. Another explanation is that the Kauravas, or Kuru brothers, were called after their eponymous ancestor, King Kuru. The Kuru people are believed to be a group of the tribes mentioned in the Rigveda. The Kurus may have been late-comers who formed a military aristocracy, and displaced earlier settlers who opposed their rule.

223

Pron. bhee´ma.

224

The Mahá-bhárata favours the Pandavas from the outset.

225

Pron. door-yo´dhan-a.

226

Pron. droo´pa-da.

227

Pron. prish´ata.

228

Pron. pan-chal´a.

229

Pron. ash-wat-tha´ma. Aswa, a horse; sthama, sound or strength.

230

Apparently Drona had a claim to part of the kingdom ruled over by Drupada.

231

Like the Parthians, the ancient Hindus were expert archers on horseback.

232

This is a notable example of the characteristic exaggerations of late Brahmanical compilers. Other exaggerations are of milder form.

233

Kripa, like Drona, was of miraculous birth. He and his sister were found in a forest, and were adopted by King Shantanu.

234

Half man and half eagle, and enemy of the serpent race.

235

The Kurus and Panchalas were allies.

236

The modern-day Hindu regards Yudhishthira as an ideal man.

237

Allahabad, then probably a frontier town of the area of Aryan control, pronounced Var´an-a-vart´´ha.

238

The god of wind.

239

Bald as a pot. Pron. gat-ot-katch´a.

240

Pron. eka chak´ra.

241

As a rule the Asuras are the enemies of the gods and the Rakshasas the enemies of mankind. See Chapter IV.

242

Charms.

243

A man-devouring demon was supposed to sit under a bridge in Caithness every night. When a late wayfarer began to walk over, the monster growled, “Tramp, tramp, tramp”, so as to terrify him and obtain him for food. According to local belief, the demon “had eyes like a saucer, a nose like a poker, and a mouth like a cave”. The Egyptian demon Set was red like the Indian Rakshasa. Red-haired people are disliked in India still; a native girl with auburn locks is not cared for as a bride.

244

Pron. dhrish-ta-dyum´na.

245

Pron. drow´pa-dee´´

246

Pron. bal-a-rah´ma.

247

Pron. indra-prast´ha.

248

In Ganjam district, Madras.

249

Pron. pra-bha´sa.

250

Pron. soo-bhad´ra.

251

Krishna's father, Vasudeva, was the brother of Pritha, mother of Arjuna.

252

Pron. ab-hi-mun´yoo (“u” as in “bun”).

253

In one of the Egyptian temple chants Osiris is called “the progeny of the two cows Isis and Nepthys”.

254

Like the European household elves and fairies.

255

Pron. ja-ra-sund´ha.

256

That is, in Northern India.

257

Pron. sish-oo-pah´la.

258

Pron. chay´dee.

259

A gift of fruit or flowers, like an offering to the image of a god.

260

Krishna represented the worshippers of Vishnu, of whom he was an incarnation. Sishupala, who was reputed to have been born with three eyes, was an incarnation of Shiva. Rukmini was an incarnation of Lakshmi.

261

Candahar

262

Pron. doo-sas´a-na.

263

Similar to “Amen”.

264

The sun god.

265

Like the “Pot of Worth” possessed by the Celtic Finn-mac-Coul.

266

Like the Celtic giant Caoilte, who went swifter than the March wind, and the Teutonic storm-giant Ecke, who gave chase to Dietrich in his character as Thunor (Thor).—See Teutonic Myth and Legend, Chapter xxxviii.

267

Like the Teutonic elf-king Laurin, whose wonderful rose garden is among the Tyrolese mountains.—Teutonic Myth and Legend.

268

In the next life in this world, according to the belief in transmigration of souls.

269

Like Dietrich von Bern, he assumes the character of the thunder god, and reminds us of Thor going eastward to battle against the Jotuns.

270

For slaying a sea giant, the Celtic Finn-mac-Coul was awarded by the king of Erin the “Horn of Worth”, which could be heard “over seven hills”. Like Arjuna's war shell, it was evidently the “thunder horn”.

271

Demons and giants.

272

Dhritarashtra being still alive and the Pandavas having refused to attend, Duryodhana was unable, as he desired, to perform the greater sacrifice.

273

A necessary religious act of purification before prayer. Karna thus imperilled his soul's welfare to be avenged upon his rival.

274

A supernatural gift in such circumstances carried with it fatal consequences.

275

Pron. jay-a-drat´ha.

276

Babu P. C. Roy comments on this head: “The cow is the only food in this sense. The cow gives milk. The milk gives butter. The butter is used in Homa (the offering). The Homa is the cause of the clouds. The clouds give rain. The rain makes the seeds to sprout forth and produce food.”

277

A form of the goddess Kali, wife of Shiva.

278

Pron. vir-at´a.

279

Pron. kee-chak´a (“ch” at in “change”).

280

Pron. oot´ar.

281

The late Professor H. H. Wilson considered that the Kamboja were troops of Khorasan, Balkh, and Bokhara, that the Sakas, the Sacæ of the ancients, were some of the Scythians from Turkestan and Tartary, and that the Yavanas, “Ionians”, were the Greeks of Bactria. The peoples of south and east included half-breeds and aborigines.

282

A long section of the Mahábhárata occurring here, and forming a sort of episode or discussion by itself, is called “Bhagavadgita”, and is dealt with more fully in Chapters VI, VII.

283

Although the brother of Madri, mother of the two younger Pandava princes, he was an ally of the Kauravas.

284

Behar.

285

A daughter of Drupada who exchanged her sex with a Yaksha. She was a reincarnation of the Princess Amba of Kasi, who, with her two sisters, was captured by Bhishma at the swayamvara. Her sisters were the mothers of Pandu and Dhritarashtra.

286

No widows were burned with their husbands, for the Satí (or Suttee) ceremony had not yet become general in India; nor did the Brahmans officiate at the pyres.

287

Royal territory.

288

The Easter full moon.

289

Here we meet with the familiar father-and-son-combat theme of which the stories of the Persian Sohrab and Rustem, the Germanic Hildebrand and Hadubrand, and the Celtic Cuchullin and Conlaoch are representative variants. Arjuna had effected a temporary exogamous marriage according to matriarchal customs.

290

Offerings.

291

Indra's heaven.

292

Celestial weapon.

293

The south-eastern division of Central India.

294

An incarnation of Manu, the first lawgiver.

295

It was a religious necessity to have offspring. A son performed the funeral rites which rescued his father's soul from hell.

296

The ceremony at which a princess made public choice of a husband from among a number of suitors gathered together.

297

Two of the ten Rishis (saints) who were sons of Bráhma. Narada was a messenger of the gods. Parvata was his great rival.

298

Indra wonders that no battle-slain heroes are arriving at the Indian Valhal.

299

At the period the poem was composed there were only four “guardians”; later there were eight.

300

Evidently the zenana system was in vogue prior to the Mohammedan conquest.

301

Death by hanging was not regarded as a special disgrace.

302

Deities cast no shadows, they never perspired, nor did their feet touch the ground when walking. Their eyes never winked.

303

Heaven, earth, and the underworld.

304

Dowson regards the demon Kali as the personification of the Kali Yuga.

305

The ceremony of purification included the sipping of water and the washing of feet.

306

Ayodhyá signifies “invincible” city. It is identified with the modern Oude.

307

The power of a curse is illustrated in Southey's Curse of Kehama.

308

A (not) soka (sorrow). This beautiful tree has exquisitely coloured and abundant blossom, varying from rich orange red to primrose yellow. It is sacred to Siva.

309

They are coloured red, white, and blue.

310

Rutting elephants. The seasonal juice is odorous, and issues from minute holes on each side of the elephant's temples.

311

Manibhadra, the demi-god, was worshipped by travellers, and resembles Kuvera, god of wealth.

312

A curious glimpse of Hindu ideas regarding demi-gods or demons.

313

This serpent was a demi-god with human face and hands. It ruled its kind in the underworld, and recalls the Egyptian king serpent in the story of the shipwrecked sailor.—See Egyptian Myth and Legend. It is also called Vasuka and Shesha.

314

Oudh.

315

The moon is masculine, and the marriage occurs at a certain phase. In Egypt the moon is male, but was identified with imported female deities. In Norse mythology Mani is moon god; there was, however, an earlier moon goddess, Nana. In Ireland and Scotland the moon was not individualized—that is, not in the Gaelic language. The words for moon in A. Saxon and German are masculine; in Gaelic they are feminine.

316

The Gaelic Diarmid had similarly a beauty spot on his forehead. Women who saw it immediately fell in love with him.

317

Dasarna, “Ten Forts”, in the south-eastern part of Central Hindustan.

318

A Bráhman village settlement.

319

Ten twists or “eddies” of hair called A-vartas—one on forehead, two on breast, one on each flank hollow, &c.

320

This recalls: “He came even unto them.... The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.”—2 Kings, ix, 20.

321

The Indian peacock is sensitive to rain, and goes round “dancing” when it is coming on.

322

The powers given Nala by the gods as marriage gifts are here illustrated.

323

A part of the ceremony of purification. The mouth was washed after eating, drinking, expectorating, slumbering, &c.

324

According to the laws of Manu, second marriages were unlawful. Apparently, however, they were permissible at the early period of the poem, at least in some districts.

325

Heaven, the earth, and the underworld.

326

A sign of divine approval and favour.

327

Pron. val-mee´kee.

328

The kingdoms of Oudh and North Behar.

329

Pron. a-yõd´hya.

330

Easter full moon.

331

As we have seen, Arjuna and an army accompanied the white horse which was sacrificed in the Mahábhárata.

332

The spirits of ancestors.

333

The Vedic deities.

334

Pron. rah´va-na.

335

He is called a Rakshasa king in the Ramayana. Ravana appears to be the Brahmanical conception of Vritra, the ruler of the Danavas or Asuras. Lanká is Ceylon.