http://tinyurl.com/y2v4a7vs
--The Itihāsa of दशराज्ञ युद्ध Daśarājñá yuddha, Battle of Ten Kings dates R̥gveda, since the ancient text recalls the historical events and people engaged in a series of battles on the banks of River Paruṣṇī (Ravi) and contiguous regions.
This is an addendum to
Archaeological, Indus Script evidence for Meluhha smiths, traders moving into Indo-European speaker areas of BMAC and Anau, Turkmenistan, ca. 2300 BCE http://tinyurl.com/y4h4qu3t
The battle finds mention in Avesta. "No one can compare the Avestan poetry with the Indian [Rigvedic] poetry in its content, in its style of expression, and in its entire coloring, without coming to the conclusion, on account of their agreement in small details which force themselves on us at every step, that both the literatures point not only to a common origin of these two peoples and their religions, but also to a community of Indo-Iranian religious poetry, developed in well-established forms." --[Hermann Oldenberg]
R̥gveda VII.18 andVII.83 refer to the following Anu conglomerate who opposed Sudas:
Shrikant Talageri notes that these names of the Anu conglomerate cover, in an almost continuous geographical belt, the entire sweep of areas extending westwards from the Punjab (the battleground of the dāśarājña battle) right up to southern and eastern Europe:
Clik here to view.![]()
This monograph posits ca. 8th millennium BCE as the date of R̥gveda narratives related to people engaged in दशराज्ञ युद्ध Daśarājñá yuddha. The date is evidenced by archaeological settlement of Bhirrana and by astronomical skymaps derived from details provided in Veda texts on the legends of the ṛbhu as referring to the time when the year commenced with the autumnal equinox in Canis Major. Astronomically, the time is reckoned as 7240 BCE.
ऋभु may thus refer to a smith of 8th m. BCE, one who works in iron , a smith , builder (of carriages &c ), N. of three semi-divine beings (ऋभु , वाज , and विभ्वन् , the name of the first being applied to all of them ; thought by some to represent the three seasons of the year [Ludwig RV. vol.iii , p.187] , and celebrated for their skill as artists ; they are supposed to dwell in the solar sphere , and are the artists who formed the horses of इन्द्र , the carriage of the अश्विन्s , and the miraculous cow of बृहस्पति ; they made their parents young , and performed other wonderful works [Sv-apas] ; they are supposed to take their ease and remain idle for twelve days [the twelve intercalary days of the winter solstice] every year in the house of the Sun [Agohya] ; after which they recommence working ; when the gods heard of their skill , they sent अग्नि to them with the one cup of their rival त्वष्टृ , the artificer of the gods , bidding the ऋभुs construct four cups from it; when they had successfully executed this task , the gods received the ऋभुs amongst themselves and allowed them to partake of their sacrifices &c ; cf. Kaegi RV. p.53 f.) RV. AV. &c.
R̥gveda attests the locus of speakers of Indo-European dialects, including Mleccha (Meluhha) dialect which is the lingua franca of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization evidenced by over 8000 Indus Script inscriptions which are wealth-accounting metalwork ledgers/catalogues.
Burzahom, Farmana and Bhirrama sites of Sarasvati Civilization have yielded circular pit dwellings which are characteristic Vedic houses described in the texts.
Bhirrana, pronounced: Bhirḍānā 29°33′15″N 75°33′55″E is a settlement on the banks of River Sarasvati with continuos habitation from ca. 8th millennium BCE.
Bharata Kings of R̥gveda Pratardana, Sudas, Somaka, Sahadeva, Aśvamedha etc. are followed by Kuru Śaravaṇa, Devāpi and Śantanu. Mahābhārata historical narratives are a sequel to R̥gveda Śantanu. A Bharata king mentioned in Yajur Veda is King Dhr̥tarāṣṭra. The last Bharata king mentioned in Atharvaṇa Veda is Parīkṣit. antanu was a Kuru king of Hastinapura. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, of the Solar dynasty and great-grandfather of the Pandavas and Kauravas. He was the youngest son of King Pratipa of Hastinapura and had been born in the latter's old age. The eldest son Devapi had leprosy and gave up his inheritance to become a hermit. The middle son Bahlika (or Vahlika) abandoned his paternal kingdom and started living with his maternal uncle in Balkh and inherited his kingdom. Śantanu thus became the king of Hastinapura.
This narrative clearly links Bahlika and Sarasvati Civilization area as both inhabited by Meluhha (Proto_Indo-Aryan) speakers.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Circular Pit dwelling complex,Bhirrana.
http://asi.nic.in/asi_exca_2007_bhirrana.asp
--The Itihāsa of दशराज्ञ युद्ध Daśarājñá yuddha, Battle of Ten Kings dates R̥gveda, since the ancient text recalls the historical events and people engaged in a series of battles on the banks of River Paruṣṇī (Ravi) and contiguous regions.
This is an addendum to
Archaeological, Indus Script evidence for Meluhha smiths, traders moving into Indo-European speaker areas of BMAC and Anau, Turkmenistan, ca. 2300 BCE http://tinyurl.com/y4h4qu3t
Eleven kings of the Bharata dynasty are referred in the Rig Veda: Mudgala, Vadhryasva, Divodasa, Srnjaya, Pijavana, Sudasa, Sahadeva and Somaka belong to the Northern Panchala dynasty. As Sudas lived three generations after Sri Rama, the probable date which we can assign to Sudasa is 4107/3489 B.C.E.
https://ithihas.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/date-of-mahabharatha-war/R̥gveda VII.18 andVII.83 refer to the following Anu conglomerate who opposed Sudas:
VII.18.5 Śimyu.
VII.18.6 Bhṛgu.
VII.18.7 Paktha, Bhalāna, Alina, Śiva, Viṣāṇin.
VII.83.1 Parśu/Parśava, Pṛthu/Pārthava, Dāsa.
[Puranic Anus: Madra.]
Their exodus westwards is mentioned in RV. VII.5.3 and VII.6.3.
Shrikant Talageri notes that these names of the Anu conglomerate cover, in an almost continuous geographical belt, the entire sweep of areas extending westwards from the Punjab (the battleground of the dāśarājña battle) right up to southern and eastern Europe:
(Avestan) Afghanistan: Proto-Iranian: Sairima (Śimyu), Dahi (Dāsa).
NE Afghanistan: Proto-Iranian: Nuristani/Piśācin (Viṣāṇin).
Pakhtoonistan (NW Pakistan), South Afghanistan: Iranian: Pakhtoon/Pashtu (Paktha).
Baluchistan (SW Pakistan), SE Iran: Iranian: Bolan/Baluchi (Bhalāna).
NE Iran: Iranian: Parthian/Parthava (Pṛthu/Pārthava).
SW Iran: Iranian: Parsua/Persian (Parśu/Parśava).
NW Iran: Iranian: Madai/Mede (Madra).
Uzbekistan: Iranian: Khiva/Khwarezmian (Śiva).
W. Turkmenistan: Iranian: Dahae (Dāsa).
Ukraine, S, Russia: Iranian: Alan (Alina), Sarmatian (Śimyu).
Turkey: Thraco-Phrygian/Armenian: Phryge/Phrygian (Bhṛgu).
Romania, Bulgaria: Thraco-Phrygian/Armenian: Dacian (Dāsa).
Greece: Greek: Hellene (Alina).
Albania: Albanian: Sirmio (Śimyu). "Further:a) The leader of the enemy alliance is Kavi Cāyamāna: Kauui is an Iranian (Avestan) name. b) The priest of the enemy alliance is Kavaṣa: Kaoša is an Iranian (Avestan) name.c) Kavi Cāyamāna of the battle hymn was a descendant of Abhyāvartin Cāyamāna, who is described in the Rigveda (VI.27.8) as a Pārthava. The later Iranian (Avestan) dynasty (after the Iranians migrated westwards from the Rigvedic Greater Punjab into Afghanistan, and composed the Avesta), the oldest Iranian dynasty in historical record (outside the Rigveda) to which belongedZarathushtra's patron king and foremost disciple Vištāspa, is theKavyān (Pahlavi Kayanian) dynasty descended from this sameKavi/Kauui. In later historical times, it is the Parthians (Parthava) who maintained a strong tradition that the kings of the Kavyān dynasty of the Avesta belonged to their tribe."
Arguments advanced by Shrikant Talageri: "The Rigvedic people were in northwestern India from before 3000 BCE.As per all the linguistic evidence accepted by a general consensus among linguists, this was a point of time when all the 12 branches of Indo-European languages were still together in contiguous areas in and around the Original Indo-European Homeland. In short: the Original Indo-European Homeland was in India, and the Harappan Civilization (in linguistic terms) was an "Indo-Iranian" Civilization."
The conflict between Vedic Aryans and Iranians (Indian Journal of History and Culture, Chennai, Autumn 2015) -- Koenraad Elst (2016)"Sudās, the Tṛtsu, defeats the Pauravas’ western neighbor among the five tribes, the Ānavas: “The goods of Anu’s son he gave to Tṛtsu.” (RV 7:18:13) In the next verse, the Ānavas are mentioned again, together with what remained of the Druhyutribe, as having been “put to sleep”. The enemies include Kaviand Kavaṣa, the enemy tribes Pṛśu, Pṛthu, Paktha, Bhalana(RV 7:18:7) are collectively known as Dāsa, some of them asPaṇi (lambasted already in 7:6:3), and their priests as Dasyu. Practically all the names of enemy tribes or enemy leaders are Iranian or pertain to tribes known from Greco-Roman sources as Iranian: Kavi, the name of the Iranian dynasty still featuring in Zarathuštra’s Gāthās (e.g. Gāthā 51:16, Insler 1975:107); Kavaśa/Kaoša; Dāsa/Dahae; Dasyu/
Danghyu; Paṇi/Parnoi;Ānava/Anaoi; Parśu/Persoi; Pṛthu/Parthoi; Paktha/Paštu;Bhalāna/Baluc/Bolān...Dāsas and Dasyus were “people and cultures either indigenous to South Asia or already in South Asia – from wherever or whenever they may have come – when the carriers of Rgvedic culture and religion moved into and through the northwest of the subcontinent” (Jamison & Brereton 2014:56). The thrust of Sudās’s Vedic Aryans was towards “the region to the east (…), the Gaṅgā-Yamunā Doab to which the Bharatas advanced (…) In this country of the Dāsas and Asuras”. (Pradhan 2014:188)...the source text says it is theDāsas and Dasyus who came from the west. It says that they have come to the “east” for a fight and that these “godless ones” are turned back “westward” (7:6:3); and it has them come from the westerly Asiknī/Chenab river valley to challenge and fight Sudās on the shores of the easterly Paruṣṇī/Ravi...The heroes of this hymn, the Tṛtsus (a clan around seven successive kings belonging to the broader Bhārata dynasty, including Sudās), are Āryas and supported by Indra. The enemy camp as a whole is deemed anindra, “without Indra” (7:18:16), in a verse that seems to furnish the first instance of this term. Later books use this as a standard allegation of the enemies: “Indra-less destructive spirit” (RV 4:23.7), “how can those without Indra and without hymns harm me?” (RV 5:2:3), “enemies without Indra”, truth-haters (RV 1:133:1), “my enemies without Indra” (RV 10:48:7), “Indra-less libation-drinkers” (RV 10:27:6, according to Geldner 2003/3:166, a “reminiscence of 7:18:16”). Included in the enemy camp are the Dasyus, described as “faithless, rudely-speaking Paṇis/niggards, without belief, sacrifice or worship” (RV 7:6:3). Other seers call them “without sacrifice” (RV 1:33:4, 8:70:11), “without oath” (RV 1:51:8, 1:175:3, 6:14:3, 9:41:2), “riteless” (RV 10:22:8), “godless” (adeva, RV 8:70:11), “faithless” (RV 1.33.9, 2:22:10), “prayerless” (RV 4:16:9), “following different rites” (RV 8:70:11, 10:22:8).All these are properties pertaining to religion. Dasyus are the Dāsas’ priests and the special target ofVasiṣṭha’s ire. In fact, opposition to the Dasyus is a general Vedic trait: “Dasyus never figure as rich or powerful enemies. They are depicted as sly enemies who incite others into acts of boldness (6:24:8)...Who the enemies were not None of the names or nicknames associated with the Ten Kings, their tribes or their religion is attested in Dravidian, Munda, Burushaski, Kusunda, Nahali, Tibetan or any other nearby language. Most of them, by contrast, are completely transparent as Iranian names. Similarly, their stated religious identification points to the Mazdean tradition...The first reason is that those targeted by Vasiṣṭha aremṛdhravāc (RV 7:6:3), “babblers defective in speech” (Wilson), “rudely-speaking” (Griffith), “wrongly speaking” (“misredend”, Geldner), or “of disdainful words” (Jamison and Brereton). This is not normally said of people speaking a foreign language, but of people who are comprehensible yet don’t use the accent or the sociolinguistic register we are used to. ..The Vārṣāgira battle
A few generations later, another battle pitted the same tribes against each other. The centre of Ānava culture had by then decisely shifted from Panjab to Afghanistan, and the confrontation took place on the then borderline between Vedic-Indian and Afghan-Iranian territory, beyond the Sarayu river (RV 4:30:18) near the Bolan pass in southern Afghanistan. The battle was very briefly sung esp. in RV 1:100, but may be alluded to elsewhere. It features Ṛjāśva the Vārṣāgira, i.e. “descendent of Vṛṣāgir” (RV 1:100:16-17), with Sahadeva(descendant of Sudās and father of Somaka) and three others, as defeating “Dasyus and Śimyus”. The Śimyus are one of the enemy tribes in the Battle of the Ten Kings, the Dasyus are the priests of the enemy camp.The result of this “victory” is that the kings of both sides survive the battle (as we shall see), that the division of territory remains the same, and that the chroniclers of both sides can give their own versions to claim victory. So, with the benefit of hindsight, the war in this case seems to have been pointless. In the Vedic account, it does indeed conclude the period of conflict. Bhārata expansionism into Afghanistan seems to have been overstretched, and subsequent generations left it to the Iranians: “Good fences make good neighbours.” This way, the battle ushers in a period of peaceful coexistence forming the setting of books 2, 5 and 8...The Avestan version of the same battle first of all exists. That means there are two accounts of one event. It makesZarathuštra’s patron Vištāspa (mentioned by Zarathuštra himself as his friend, follower and champion) fight against“Arjāsp” or “Arejataspa”, meaning the Vedic king Ṛjāśva., as well as against Hazadaēva > Hušdiv and Humayaka, meaning Vedic Sahadeva and his son Somaka. This is related in the Ābān Yašt, Yt.5.109, 5.113, 9.130, in which Vištāspa prays for strength to crush the Daēva-worshippers including Arejatāspa; and much later in the medieval epic Šāh Namah, esp. ch.462. (Talageri 2000:214-224, elaborating on Hodiwala 1913) In the Avestan version, the Iranians are victorious in the end...A related Vedic hymn could be read as mentioning kingVištāspa: “kimiṣṭāśva iṣṭaraśmireta īśānāsastaruṣa ṛñjate nṝ na” (RV.I.122.13). Wilson, like the medieval commentatorSāyana, identifies it as a name: “What can Iṣṭāśva, (what can)Iṣṭaraśmi, (what can) those who are now lords of the earth, achieve (with respect) to the leaders of men, the conquerors of their foes?” Similarly, translator Geldner: “Werden Iṣṭāśva,Iṣṭaraśmi, diese siegreichen Machthaber, die Herren auszeichnen?” (“Will Iṣṭāśva, Iṣṭaraśmi, these victorious sovereigns, honour the lords?”)...Consequences for the age of Zarathuštra
Since the classical Greeks already, it has been common to dateZarathuštra to the 6th century BC, hardly a few generations before the Persian wars. In popular literature, this date is still given, but scholars have now settled for an earlier date: “The archaism of the Gāthās would incline us to situate Zarathuštrain the very beginning of the first millennium BCE, if not even earlier.” (Varenne 2006:43) But how much earlier? According to leading scholar SkjaervØ (2011:350), “Zoroastrianism (…) originated some four millennia ago”.
Well, we bet on an even earlier date. If Zarathuštra was contemporaneous with the Vārṣāgira battle, and at any rate with the Ṛg-Veda, he must have lived either in ca. 1400 according to the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT), or earlier. The fact that the Vedic people had the Iranians as their western neighbours and fought with them, does not by itself prove anything about the homeland of their language family, and is in itself compatible with the AIT. But for other reasons, the AIT has been argued to be wrong (Kazanas 2015:268, Talageri 2000 and 2008), and if we go by the Out-of-India scenario, the events from the Ṛg-Veda’ Family Books are lifted back into the third millennium.
Independent of the relation with Vedic history, the Avestā itself gives more reasons for Zarathuštra’s ancientness, though not dated with precision. The first chapter of the Vendidād, discussed in Gnoli 1985:24-30, lists sixteen countries fit for Iranian habitation: most are parts of Afghanistan or due north of it (but not towards the Aral Lake, as the Aryan Invasion Theory would make you expect, nor the more westerly historical habitats of the Medes, Persians and Scythians), two are parts of Northwest India. These are Hapta Hendū, the “Land of Seven Rivers”, roughly Panjab; and Airiiānām Vaējo (the “Seed of the Aryans”), the first habitat after the Ānava ethnogenesis, which is Kaśmīr: “Given its very Oriental horizon, this list must be pre-Achaemenid; on the other hand, the remarkable extendedness of the territories concerned recommends situating them in a period much later than the Zoroastrian origins. (…) one or several centuries later than Zarathuštra’s preaching.” (Gnoli 1985:25) "
Bibliography
Avesta, the Sacred Scripture of the Parsees, Vaidika Samsodhana Mandala, Bombay 1962.
Bhargava, P.L., 1971 (1956): India in the Vedic Age, Lucknow: Upper India Publishing House.
--: 1998 (1984): Retrieval of History from Puranic Myths, Delhi: D.K. Printworld.
Elizarenkova, J., 1995: Language and Style of the Vedic Ṛṣis, Albany: SUNY.
Elst, Koenraad, 2013: “The Indo-European, Vedic and post-Vedic meanings of Ārya”, Vedic Venues 2, p.57-77, Kolkata:Kothari Charity Trust.
Fortson, Benjamin, 2004: Indo-European Language and Culture. An Introduction, Oxford: Blackwell.
Geldner, Karl Friedrich, 2003 (1951): Der Rigveda (1-2-3, in one volume), Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.
Gnoli, Gherarda, 1985: De Zoroastre à Mani, Paris, Institut d’Etudes Iraniennes, Sorbonne.
Griffith, Ralph, 1991 (1): The Ṛgveda, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Hale, Wash Edward, 1986: Asura in Early Vedic Religion, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi.
Hock, Hans Heinrich, 1999: “Through a glass darkly: modern ‘racial’ interpretations vs. textual and general prehistoric evidence on ārya and dāsa/dasyu in Vedic society”, p.145-174 in Bronkhorst, Johannes, and Deshpande, Madhav, eds. 1999:Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia. Evidence, Interpretation and Ideology, Cambridge MA: Harvard.
Hodiwala, Shapurji Kavasji, 1913: Zarathushtra and His Contemporaries in the Rigveda, Bombay: Hodiwala.
Hume, Robert Ernest, 1977 (1921): The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford: OUP.
Insler, S., 1975: The Gāthās of Zarathustra, in Acta Iranica, series 3, vol.1, Teheran-Liège: Bibliothèque Pahlavi.
Jamison, Stephanie, and Brereton, Joel, 2014: The Rigveda. The Earliest Religious Poetry of India, Oxford/New York: OUP.
Kazanas, Nicholas, 2015: Vedic and Indo-European Studies, Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.
Krishna, Nanditha, 2014 (2007): The Book of Demons. Including a Dictionary of Demons in Sanskrit Literature, Delhi: Penguin.
Martínez, Javier, and de Vaan, Michiel, 2014: Introduction to Avestan, Leiden: Brill.
Molé, Marijan, 1993: La Légende de Zoroastre selon les Textes Pehlevis, Paris: Peeters.
Nagar, Shantilal, 2012: Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Indian Rishis, Delhi: Akshaya Prakashan.
Oldenberg, Hermann, 1894: Die Religion des Veda, Berlin, W. Hertz.
Pargiter, F.E., 1962: Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Pusalker, A.D., 1996 (1951): The Vedic Age, vol.1. of Majumdar, R.C., ed.: The History and Culture of the Indian People, Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Schwartz, Martin, 2006: “How Zarathuštra generated the Gathic corpus”, Bulletin of the Asia Institute 16, .53-64.
Siddhantashastree, R., 1978: History of the Pre-Kali-Yuga India, Delhi: Inter-India Publications.
SkjaervØ, Prods Oktor, 2011: “Zarathustra: a Revolutionary Monotheist?”, p. 317-350, in Pongratz-Leisten, Beate 2011:Reconsidering the Concept of Revolutionary Monotheism, Winona Lake IN: Eisenbrauns.
Talageri, Shrikant, 2000: The Rigveda, an Historical Analysis, Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.
--, 2008: The Rigveda and the Avesta, the Final Analysis, Delhi: Aditya Prakashan.
Varenne, Jean, 2006: Zoroastre, le Prophète de l’Iran, Paris: Dervy, Paris.
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Wilson, H.H., 1997 (1860): Ṛg-Veda-Saṁhitā, Delhi: Parimal Publications..
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
This monograph posits ca. 8th millennium BCE as the date of R̥gveda narratives related to people engaged in दशराज्ञ युद्ध Daśarājñá yuddha. The date is evidenced by archaeological settlement of Bhirrana and by astronomical skymaps derived from details provided in Veda texts on the legends of the ṛbhu as referring to the time when the year commenced with the autumnal equinox in Canis Major. Astronomically, the time is reckoned as 7240 BCE.
ऋभु may thus refer to a smith of 8th m. BCE, one who works in iron , a smith , builder (of carriages &c ), N. of three semi-divine beings (ऋभु , वाज , and विभ्वन् , the name of the first being applied to all of them ; thought by some to represent the three seasons of the year [Ludwig RV. vol.iii , p.187] , and celebrated for their skill as artists ; they are supposed to dwell in the solar sphere , and are the artists who formed the horses of इन्द्र , the carriage of the अश्विन्s , and the miraculous cow of बृहस्पति ; they made their parents young , and performed other wonderful works [Sv-apas] ; they are supposed to take their ease and remain idle for twelve days [the twelve intercalary days of the winter solstice] every year in the house of the Sun [Agohya] ; after which they recommence working ; when the gods heard of their skill , they sent अग्नि to them with the one cup of their rival त्वष्टृ , the artificer of the gods , bidding the ऋभुs construct four cups from it; when they had successfully executed this task , the gods received the ऋभुs amongst themselves and allowed them to partake of their sacrifices &c ; cf. Kaegi RV. p.53 f.) RV. AV. &c.
The following sky chart in figure 9 shows the occurrence of autumnal equinox at canis major, in 7240 BCE in reference to ṛbhu legends interpreted from R̥gveda metaphors.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Clik here to view.
R̥gveda attests the locus of speakers of Indo-European dialects, including Mleccha (Meluhha) dialect which is the lingua franca of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization evidenced by over 8000 Indus Script inscriptions which are wealth-accounting metalwork ledgers/catalogues.
Burzahom, Farmana and Bhirrama sites of Sarasvati Civilization have yielded circular pit dwellings which are characteristic Vedic houses described in the texts.
Bhirrana, pronounced: Bhirḍānā 29°33′15″N 75°33′55″E is a settlement on the banks of River Sarasvati with continuos habitation from ca. 8th millennium BCE.
Hariyūpiya is an expression composed of two words:
1. हरि mfn. (for 2. » col.3) bearing , carrying (» दृति and नाथ-ह्°)
2. यूप m. (prob. fr. √ युप् ; but according to Un2. iii , 27 , fr. √2. यु) a post , beam , pillar , (esp.) a smooth post or stake; 21 of these posts are set up , 6 made of बिल्व , 6 of खदिर , 6 of पलाश , one of उडुम्बर , one of श्लेष्मातक , and one of देव-दारु) RV. &c; a column erected in honour of victory , a trophy (= जय-स्तम्भ) L.; N. of a partic. conjunction of the class आकृति-योग (i.e. when all the planets are situated in the 1st , 2nd , 3rd and 4th houses) (वराह-मिहिर 's बृहत्-संहिता)
Together, the expression Hariyūpiya refers to a lcoation which carries यूप yūpa, 'stakes used to proclaim yajña-s.
RV 6.27.5 is explained in Sāyaṇa's commentary: Favouring Abhya_vartin, the son of Ca_yama_na, Indra destroyed the varas'ikha (people), killng the descendants of Vr.ci_vat, (who were stationed) on the Hariyu_pi_ya, on the eastern part, while the western (troop) was scattered through fear. [Abhya_vartin, Ca_yama_na: names of ra_ja_s. Vr.ci_vat is the first-born of the sons of varas'ikha, thereafter others are named. Hariyūpiya is the name of either a river or a city].
A number of R̥gveda people are mentioned and the ākhyāna narrative records the exploits of Indra at this river or city called Hariyūpiya where he smote the vanguard of the Vr̥cīvan-s. The exploits are also associated with cāyamāna and abhyāvartin as names of kings involved in the battles.
अभ्य्-ावर्तिन् m. N. of a king (son of चायमान and descendant of पृथु) RV. vi , 27 , 5 and 8. "Chinese scholar Hiuen Tsang (c. 640 AD) records the existence of the town Pehowa, named after Prithu, "who is said to be the first person that obtained the title Raja(king)". Another place associated with Prithu is Prithudaka (lit. "Prithu's pool"), a town on banks of Sarasvati river, where Prithu is believed to have performed the Shraddhaof his father. The town is referred as the boundary between Northern and central India and referred to by Patanjali as the modern Pehowa." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prithu
We do not know if this is a recollection of parts of or related to the Battle of the Ten Kings (dāśarājñá) alluded to in the R̥gveda (Book 7, hymns 18, 33 and 83.4-8). The significant fact is that the battles occured on the banks of Ravi River in the Punjab.
Is it a coincidence that Harappa is located on the banks of Ravi River? "Harappa (Urdu/Punjabi: ہڑپّہ) is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about 24 km (15 mi) west of Sahiwal. The site takes its name from a modern village located near the former course of the Ravi River (Part of Panjnad, five rivers) which now runs 8 km (5.0 mi) in north. The current village of Harappa is 6 km (3.7 mi) from the ancient site. Although modern Harappa has a legacy railway station from the period of the British Raj, it is today just a small crossroads town of population 15,000." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harappa
The location of Harappa in relation to some other archaeological sites of Sarasvati Civilization may be seen on the present-day map.
Translation (Sāyaṇa/Wilson):
6.027.01 What has Indra done in the exhilaration of this (Soma)? What has he done on quaffing this (libation)? What has he done in friendship for this (Soma)? What have former, what have recent adorers obtained from you in the chamber of this (libation)? [The r.s.i is expressing his impatience at the dealing of the reward of his praises; in the next stanza, he recants].
6.027.02 Verily, in the exhilaration of this (Soma) Indra has done a good deed; on quaffing the libation (he has done) a good deed; (he has done) a good deed in friendship for this Soma; former as well as recent adorers have obtained good of you in the chamber (of the libation).
6.027.03 We acknowledge no one, Maghavan, of greatness equal to yours, nor one of like affluence, nor one of equally glorifiable riches, none has (such as) your power been ever seen (in any other).
6.027.04 Such as your power (is) it has been comprehended (by us) as that wherewith you have slain the race of Varas'ikha, when the boldest (of them) was demolished by the noise of your thunderbolt hurled with (all your) force. [varas'ikha: name of an asura; or, perhaps, the name of a people].
6.027.05 Favouring Abhya_vartin, the son of Ca_yama_na, Indra destroyed the varas'ikha (people), killng the descendants of Vr.ci_vat, (who were stationed) on the Hariyu_pi_ya, on the eastern part, while the western (troop) was scattered through fear. [Abhya_vartin, Ca_yama_na: names of ra_ja_s. Vr.ci_vat is the first-born of the sons of varas'ikha, thereafter others are named. Hariyu_pi_ya is the name of either a river or a city].
6.027.06 Indra, the invoked of many, thirty hundred mailed warriors (were collected) together on the Yavya_vati_, to acquire glory, but the Vr.ci_vats advancing in a hostile manner, and breaking the sacrificial vessels, went to (their own) annihilation. [Thirty hundred: trim.s'ac chatam varmin.ah = trim.s'ada dhikas'atam, one hundred and thirty; kavacabhr.tas, wearers of breasplates or armour; yavya_vati_ = same as hariyu_pi_ya].
6.027.07 He whose bright prancing horses, delighted with choice fodder, proceed between (heaven and earth), gave up Turvas'a to Sr.n~jaya, subjecting the Vr.ci_vats to the descendant of Devava_ta (Abhya_vartin). [Sr.n~jaya: there are several princes with this name in the pura_n.as; one of them, the son of Haryas'va, was one of the five Pa_n~ca_la princes; the name is also that of a people, probably in the same direction, the northwest of India, or towards the Punjab (Vis.n.u Pura_n.a)].
6.027.08 The opulent supreme sovereign Abhya_vartin, the son of Ca_yama_na, presents, Agni, to me two damsels riding in cars, and twenty cows; this donation of the descendant of Pr.thu cannot be destroyed. [Two damsels: dvaya_n rathino vim.s'ati ga_ vadhu_mantah = rathasahita_n vadhu_matah stri_yukta_n dvaya_n mithunabhu_ta_n, being in pairs, having women together with cars; twenty animals, pas'u_n; perhaps, the gift comprised of twenty pairs of oxen yoked two and two in chariots; the gift of females to saintly persons; this donation: du_n.a_s'eyam daks.in.a_ pa_rthava_na_m = na_s'ayitum as'akya_; pa_rthava: Abhya_vartin, as descended from Pr.thu, the plural is used honorifically].
Bharata Kings of R̥gveda Pratardana, Sudas, Somaka, Sahadeva, Aśvamedha etc. are followed by Kuru Śaravaṇa, Devāpi and Śantanu. Mahābhārata historical narratives are a sequel to R̥gveda Śantanu. A Bharata king mentioned in Yajur Veda is King Dhr̥tarāṣṭra. The last Bharata king mentioned in Atharvaṇa Veda is Parīkṣit. antanu was a Kuru king of Hastinapura. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, of the Solar dynasty and great-grandfather of the Pandavas and Kauravas. He was the youngest son of King Pratipa of Hastinapura and had been born in the latter's old age. The eldest son Devapi had leprosy and gave up his inheritance to become a hermit. The middle son Bahlika (or Vahlika) abandoned his paternal kingdom and started living with his maternal uncle in Balkh and inherited his kingdom. Śantanu thus became the king of Hastinapura.
This narrative clearly links Bahlika and Sarasvati Civilization area as both inhabited by Meluhha (Proto_Indo-Aryan) speakers.
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Circular Pit dwelling complex,Bhirrana.
ca. 8th millennium BCE. "Excavations by the ASI at Bhirrana (290 33’ N; 750 33’ E), (on the left bank of River Ghaggar), district Fatehabad, Haryana since 2003, has revealed a 4.5 m cultural sequence consisting of Hakra Ware, Early and Mature Harappan cultures. A transitional phase in between the Early and Mature Harappan cultures is also noticed. The earliest period, of the Hakra Ware culture, consisted of sub-terranean circular pit dwellings cut into the natural soil. These pit dwelling are noticed to the north of the Harappan town, and below the Early Harappan structures of the town. The Mature Harappan town consisted of a fortified settlement with two major divisions. The cultural remains consists of pottery repertoire of different kinds, antiquities of copper, faience, steatite, shell, semi-precious stones like agate, carnelian, chalcedony, jasper, lapis lazuli, and terracotta." |
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Clik here to view.![Structural evidence from Harappan site of Farmana]()
Circular dwelling houses at Farmana See:
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Vedic house.
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Bhirrana dancing girl on a potsherd is Indus Script hypertext.
Hieroglyph: meḍ 'to dance' (F.)[reduplicated from me-]; me id. (M.) in Remo (Munda)(Source: D. Stampe's Munda etyma) meṭṭu to tread, trample, crush under foot, tread or place the foot upon (Te.); meṭṭu step (Ga.); mettunga steps (Ga.). maṭye to trample, tread (Malt.)(DEDR 5057)
Rebus: meḍ 'iron' (Mundari. Remo.) karaṇa 'dance posture' rebus:karaṇa 'scribe'.
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Bhirrana Indus Script seals
http://www.frontline.in/navigation/?type=static&page=flonnet&rdurl=fl2502/stories/20080201504012900.htm
Apart from Trtsu Puru (Bharata) named in RV 7.33, the belligerents in the battle are: Ten listed as Turvasa, Yaksu (pun for Yadu), Matsya, Bhrgu, Druhyu, Paktha, Bhalana, Alina, Shiva and Visanin Other belligerents are Anava (Anu)(RV 7.18.14), the Aja and Sigru (RV 7.18.19) and the "21 men of both Vaikarna tribes" (RV 7.18.11) without a king, and individual kings Bheda (7.18.19, also mentioned RVv 7.33.3 and RV 7.83.4, the main leader slain by Sudas), Shimyu (RV 7.18.5), and Kavasa (RV 7.18.12). Puru, Parśu and Pani are also belligerents.
In one battle on the banks of Ravi river, the kings of Anu and Druhyu kingdoms were drowned.
Reasons/causes for the dāśarājñá, battle of ten kings
Turvasas and Yaksus (Yadu), together with the Matsya people (punned upon by the R̥ṣi by comparing them to hungry fish (matsya) flocking together) appear and ally themselves with the Bhr̥gu:and the Druhyu.
What was the objective of the battle? In my view, the battlefield in the Ravi riverbasin and the key cause for the battle is provided by the metaphor of 'hungry fish' used in RV VII.18.6:
"Eager for spoil was Turvasa Purodas, fain to win wealth, like fishes urged by hunger.
The Bhrgus and the Druhyus quickly listened: friend rescued friend mid the two distant peoples." (Griffith translation)
Sayana/Wilson translate the r̥ca focussing on Turvaśa's mission to acquire wealth: Turvas'a, who was presiding (at solemn rites), diligent in sacrifice, (went to Suda_sa) for wealth; but like fishes restricted (to the element of water), the Bhrigus and Druhyus quickly assailed them; of these two everywhere going the friend (of Suda_sa, Indra) rescued his friend.
रयि m. or (rarely) f. (fr. √ रा ; the following forms occur in the वेद , रयिस् , °य्/इम् , °यिभिस् , °यीणाम् ; रय्य्/आ,°य्य्/ऐ,°य्य्/आम् ; cf. 2. रै) , property , goods , possessions , treasure , wealth (often personified) RV. AV. VS. Br. S3rS. ChUp.
This comparison of Matsya people with 'hungry fish' means, that there were rivalries among the people about the use of water from the rivers for their livelihoods (hence, the signifier of hungry fish) and about the impediments caused to acquire wealth.
The pun on the word matsya, 'fish' is also a reference to the name of peoples called matsya. Matsya is one of the 16 janapada-s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsya_Kingdom This may explain the reason why the battle was joined by ten kings since a large number of people from the region of North India were concerned about their livelihood, searching for avenues to acquire wealth.
Another interpretation is possible. The fish is an Indus Script hypertext. It signifies aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'alloy metal'. The metaphor 'hungry fish' may thus be a refererence to the belligerents desirous of acquiring and possessing wealth derived from metalwork.
दशराज्ञ युद्ध Daśarājñá yuddha, Battle of Ten Kings is referred to in R̥gveda (Maṇḍala 7, hymns 18, 33 and 83.4–8), (Mookerji, Radha Kumud (1988) [first published in 1966], Chandragupta Maurya and his times (4th ed.), Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, p.1). K. F. Geldner in his 1951 translation of the Rigveda considers the hymns as "obviously based on an historical event". [Geldner, Karl Friedrich, Der Rig-Veda: Aus dem Sanskrit ins Deutsche übersetzt Harvard Oriental Studies, vols. 33, 34, 35 (1951), reprint Harvard University Press (2003)] Further elaboration in Schmidt, H.P. Notes on Rgveda 7.18.5–10. Indica. Organ of the Heras Institute, Bombay. Vol.17, 1980, 41–47.
pancajana, pancakrishtya or pancamanusha are five sons of Yayati: तुर्वश,
Turvaśa, lived southeast of the Sarasvati river region; the other four are Yadu, Druhyu, Anu and Puru. Yadu and Turvaśa were born to Devayani, and the other three were born to Śarmiṣṭha. Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras have descended from Turvaśa, (Asiatic Society of Bombay, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Bombay Branch. Journal, Volume 24. Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. p. 49.)
The locus of the main battle is near Parusni River (modern Ravi), Punjab. This battle records the victory of Tr̥tsu-Bharata (Puru) led by King Sudas, resulting in the settlement of Bharatas in Kurukshetra and emergence of Kuru kingdom. R̥gveda Maṇḍala 3 is attributed to the Bharata R̥ṣi Viśvāmitra. In this Maṇḍala 3, Viśvāmitrarefers to Bhāratam Janam, 'Bharata people or Bharata kula'. भारत as perceived by Visvamitra is cognate with 1. भारत episodes and narratives of the Great Epic and 2 .panca janah Aditi of Taitt. Sam. 7.6.1.1Pañca-janāḥ (Rv, 1.89.10; 3.37.9; 5.9.8; etc.), भारत and म्लेच्छ mleccha are the most frequently mentioned groups or collectives of people in the Veda texts and in the Great Epic, महाभारतम्. These are narratives related to the people of भरतवर्ष –and abbreviated synonyms or semantic variants of the expression: Bhārtam Janam. In the days of the Rigveda, these Bhārtam Janam had gained proficiency in working with metals and alloys, creating metal sculptures using cire perdue techniques, producing tools, pots and pans, weapons of metal and spoked-wheel chariots. In the days related to the events narrated in महाभारतम्. which expanded the Tin-Bronze Age into the Iron Age, a framework for social regulation and creation of the rashtram was outlined, consistent with the ideas formulated in Vagdevi Suktam of Rigveda (aham rashtrii samgamani vasuunaam..)
.
Ancient Age. The Iberians and the Celts. The Iberian towns occupied the coasts of the south and east of the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th century BC. In the north of the Ebro, these towns had some common cultural characteristics, such as language and writing, mastery of iron metallurgy and potter's turn and basically agricultural economics. The basis of the social organization of the Iberians was the tribe, headed by the monarchy and the warrior aristocracy. The Iberians placed their villages in high places to facilitate their defense and organized them as cities. We have witnessed his burial ritual thanks to the cemeteries that have left us, where Iberian pieces have been found in the tombs.
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The Celts lived in a much larger territory: in the British Isles and in Ireland, in France, previously called Galicia, Portugal, Galicia, Asturias, Extremadura and a part of Castile and Leon, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands (Netherlands) , part of Germany, Xequia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, the central part of Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, part of the former Yugoslavia, and the central part of Turkey. The Celts lived from 1000 BC until the year 43 BC, after the Romans expelled them from their territories, the Celts (the majority) became Roman, but in Ireland there were some who still populated it. The most relevant of his tribe was that they were experts in the manufacture of weapons, armor, helmets and other types of armor with bronze. They also had druids who were the wizards of the tribe, worked hard on the field, their tools were very similar to ours, they used the sickle and the plow, and they also had the king or queen that ruled them.
http://ticotazos.blogspot.com/2013/05/edat-antiga-els-ibers-i-els-celtes.html
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Clik here to view.![Interior Santa Tecla Celtic dwelling, Spain. 2nd century B.C.]()
"Interior de un castro" Interior Santa Tecla Celtic dwelling, Spain. 2nd century B.C.E Castro, in a Celtic Village. "Amazing ruins of an ancient tribal village spanning the slopes of a mountain in Northern Spain. Santa Tecla Celtic Village clearly displays celtic village life.The uncovered ruins are a sight to see obviously each hut is connected to the group sharing a partial circular wall. They appear similar in size bases constructed of local stone with central gathering areas." https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g2137545-d3291950-Reviews-Santa_Tecla_Celtic_Village-A_Guarda_Province_of_Pontevedra_Galicia.html
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Clik here to view.![Built over a wide river with access to the North Sea and inland farms these Bronze Age houses could have easily traded grain, meat and metal tools. Yet not long after they were built 3,000 years ago the houses burned down and collapsed into the water preserving their contents | Illustration by Adolfo Arranz and Chris Bickel]()
"Built over a wide river with access to the North Sea and inland farms these Bronze Age houses could have easily traded grain, meat and metal tools. Yet not long after they were built 3,000 years ago the houses burned down and collapsed into the water preserving their contents | Illustration by Adolfo Arranz and Chris Bickel." https://www.pinterest.com/pin/554365035365893664/
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A celtic village. Drawsing.
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Clik here to view.![Modern depiction of Celtic Roundhouse, The Din Lligwy Ancient Village, 3-4th century AD, North Wales.]()
Modern depiction of Celtic Roundhouse, The Din Lligwy Ancient Village, 3-4th century CE, North Wales. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/286963807481590855/
Mudhif: Giant reed houses made in the marshes of Southern Iraq
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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/520447300685745184/
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Ma’dan reed houses , Iraq
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https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mudhif-houses
Mudhif and three reed banners
Sumerian mudhif and Sohgaura copper plate signify Indus Script hypertexts of metalwork https://tinyurl.com/yczjracd
The products produced by artisans working on the platforms of Harappa are linked to Indus Script wealth accounting system through miniature tablets of Harappa with Meluhha inscriptions which are written documents, metalwork accounting ledgers.
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Toda hut with reed roof.
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Hut. Islamkot. Thar Parkar. Sind. Pakistan.
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Mud huts. Cholistan. Pakistan.
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Roofed circular hut. Bharhut sculptural frieze. It is possible that the circular working platforms had comparable roof structures.
See: Battle of R̥gveda texts. Battle of Ten Kings (dāśarājñá) in R̥gveda https://tinyurl.com/yckdognr This link includes full texts from R̥gveda (with alternative translations) and full texts of the papers of Stuhrmann, Witzel and Talageri. An earlier comment of Talageri:
With thee are milchkine- good to milk, and horses: best winner thou of riches for the pious.
2 For like a King among his wives thou dwellest: with glories, as a Sage, surround and help us.
Make us, thy servants, strong for wealth, and honour our songs wirth kine and steeds and
decoration.
3 Here these our holy hymns with joy and gladness in pious emulation have approached thee.
Hitherward come thy path that leads to riches: may we find shelter in thy favour, Indra.
4 Vasistha hath poured forth his prayers, desiring to milk thee like a cow in goodly pasture.
All these my people call thee Lord of cattle: may Indra. come unto the prayer we offer.
5 What though the floods spread widely, Indra made them shallow and easy for Sudas to traverse.
He, worthy of our praises, caused the Simyu, foe of our hymn, to curse the rivers' fury.
6 Eager for spoil was Turvasa Purodas, fain to win wealth, like fishes urged by hunger.
The Bhrgus and the Druhyus quickly listened: friend rescued friend mid the two distant peoples.
7 Together came the Pakthas, the Bhalanas, the Alinas, the Sivas, the Visanins.
Yet to the Trtsus came the Aryas' Comrade, through love of spoil and heroes' war, to lead them.
8 Fools, in their folly fain to waste her waters, they parted inexhaustible Parusni.
Lord of the Earth, he with his might repressed them: still lay the herd and the affrighted
herdsman.
9 As to their goal they sped to their destruetion: they sought Parusni; even the swift returned
not.
Indra abandoned, to Sudas the manly, the swiftly flying foes, unmanly babblers.
10 They went like kine unherded from the pasture, each clinging to a friend as chance directed.
They who drive spotted steeds, sent down by Prsni, gave ear, the Warriors and the harnessed horses.
11 The King who scattered oneandtwenty— people of both Vaikarna tribes through lust of glory-
As the skilled priest clips grass within the chamber, so hath the Hero Indra, wrought their
downfall.
12 Thou, thunderarmed-, overwhelmedst in the waters famed ancient Kavasa and then the Druhyu.
Others here claiming friendship to their friendship, devoted unto thee, in thee were joyful.
13 Indra at once with conquering might demolished all their strong places and their seven castles.
The goods of Anus' son he gave to Trtsu. May we in sacrifice conquer scorned Puru.
14 The Anavas and Druhyus, seeking booty, have slept, the sixty hundred, yea, six thousand,
And sixandsixty— heroes. For the pious were all these mighty exploits done by Indra.
15 These Trtsus under Indras' careful guidance came speeding like loosed waters rushing downward.
The foemen, measuring exceeding closely, abandoned to Sudas all their provisions.
16 The heros' side who drank the dressed oblation, Indras' denier, far over earth he scattered.
Indra brought down the fierce destroyers' fury. He gave them various roads, the paths' Controller.
17 even with the weak he wrought this matchless exploit: even with a goat he did to death a lion.
He pared the pillars' angles with a needle. Thus to Sudas Indra gave all provisions.
18 To thee have all thine enemies submitted: even the fierce Bheda hast thou made thy subject.
Cast down thy sharpened thunderbolt, O Indra, on him who harms the men who sing thy praises.
19 Yamuna and the Trtsus aided Indra. There he stripped Bheda bare of all his treasures.
The Ajas and the Sigrus and the Yaksus brought in to him as tribute heads of horses.
20 Not to be scorned, but like Dawns past and recent, O Indra, are thy favours and thy riches.
Devaka, Manyamanas' son, thou slewest, and smotest Sambara from the lofty mountain.
21 They who, from home, have gladdened thee, thy servants Parasara, Vasistha, Satayatu,
Will not forget thy friendship, liberal Giver. So shall the days dawn prosperous for the princes.
22 Priestlike-, with praise, I move around the altar, earning Paijavanas' reward, O Agni,
Two hundred cows from Devavans' descendant, two chariots from Sudas with mares to draw them.
23 Gift of Paijavana, four horses bear me in foremost place, trained steeds with pearl to deck
them.
Sudass' brown steeds, firmlystepping-, carry me and my son for progeny and glory.
24 Him whose fame spreads between wide earth and heaven, who, as dispenser, gives each chief his
portion,
Seven flowing Rivers glorify like Indra. He slew Yudhyamadhi in close encounter.
25 Attend on him O ye heroic Maruts as on Sudass' father Divodasa.
Further Paijavanas' desire with favour. Guard faithfully his lasting firm dominion.
over.
I warned the men, when from the grass I raised me, Not from afar can my Vasisthas help you.
2 With Soma they brought Indra from a distance, Over Vaisanta, from the strong libation.
Indra preferred Vasisthas to the Soma pressed by the son of Vayata, Pasadyumna.
3 So, verily, with these he crossed the river, in company with these he slaughtered Bheda.
So in the fight with the Ten Kings, Vasisthas! did Indra help Sudas through your devotions.
4 I gladly, men I with prayer prayed by our fathers have fixed your axle: ye shall not be injured:
Since, when ye sang aloud the Sakvari verses, Vasisthas! ye invigorated Indra.
5 Like thirsty men they looked to heaven, in battle with the Ten Kings, surrounded and imploring.
Then Indra heard Vasistha as he praised him, and gave the Trtsus ample room and freedom.
6 Like sticks and staves wherewith they drive the cattle, Stripped bare, the Bharatas were found
defenceless:
Vasistha then became their chief and leader: then widely. were the Trtsus' clans extended.
7 Three fertilize the worlds with genial moisture: three noble Creatures cast a light before them.
Three that give warmth to all attend the morning. All these have they discovered, these Vasisthas.
8 Like the Suns' growing glory is their splendour, and like the seas' is their unflathomed
greatness.
Their course is like the winds'. Your laud, Vasisthas, can never be attained by any other.
9 They with perceptions of the heart in secret resort to that which spreads a thousand branches.
The Apsaras brought hither the Vasisthas wearing the vesture spun for them by Yama.
10 A form of lustre springing from the lightning wast thou, when Varuna and Mitra saw thee.
Thy one and only birth was then, Vasistha, when from thy stock Agastya brought thee hither.
11 Born of their love for Urvasi, Vasistha thou, priest, art son of Varuna and Mitra;
And as a fallen drop, in heavenly fervour, all the Gods laid thee on a lotusblossorn-.
12 He thinker, knower both of earth and heaven, endowed with many a gift, bestowing thousands,
Destined to wear the vesture spun by Yama, sprang from the Apsaras to life, Vasistha.
13 Born at the sacrifice, urged by adorations, both with a common flow bedewed the pitcher.
Then from the midst thereof there rose up Mana, and thence they say was born the sage Vasistha.
14 He brings the bearer of the laud and Saman: first shall he speak bringing the stone for
pressing.
With grateful hearts in reverence approach him: to you, O Pratrdas, Vasistha cometh.
spoil.
Ye smote and slew his Dasa and his Aryan enemies, and helped Sudas with favour, IndraVaruna-.
2 Where heroes come together with their banners raised, in the encounter where is naught for us to
love,
Where all things that behold the light are terrified, there did ye comfort us, O IndraVaruna-.
3 The boundaries of earth were seen all dark with dust: O IndraVaruna-, the shout went up to
heaven.
The enmities of the people compassed me about. Ye heard my calling and ye came to me with help.
4 With your resistless weapons, IndraVaruna-, ye conquered Bheda and ye gave Sudas your aid.
Ye heard the prayers of these amid the cries of war: effectual was the service of the Trtsus'
priest.
5 O IndraVaruna-, the wickedness of foes and mine assailants' hatred sorely trouble me.
Ye Twain are Lords of riches both of earth and heaven: so grant to us your aid on the decisive day.
6 The men of both the hosts invoked you in the fight, Indra and Varuna, that they might win the
wealth,
What time ye helped Sudas, with all the Trtsu folk, when the Ten Kings had pressed him down in
their attack.
7 Ten Kings who worshipped not, O IndraVaruna-, confederate, in war prevailed not over Sudas.
True was the boast of heroes sitting at the feast: so at their invocations Gods were on their side.
8 O IndraVaruna-, ye gave Sudas your aid when the Ten Kings in battle compassed him about,
There where the whiterobed- Trtsus with their braided hair, skilled in song worshipped you with
homage and with hymn.
9 One of you Twain destroys the Vrtras in the fight, the Other evermore maintains his holy Laws.
We call on you, ye Mighty, with our hymns of praise. Vouchsafe us your protection, IndraVaruna-.
10 May Indra, Varuna, Mitra, and Aryaman vouchsafe us glory and great shelter spreading far.
We think of the beneficent light of Aditi, and Savitars' song of praise, the God who strengthens
Law.
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Circular dwelling houses at Farmana See:
Harappan Civilization: Current Perspective and its Contribution – By Dr. Vasant Shinde (Feb. 2016) https://www.sindhulogy.org/cdn/articles/harappan-civilization-current-perspective-and-its-contribution-vasant-shinde/
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Vedic house.Image may be NSFW.
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Bhirrana dancing girl on a potsherd is Indus Script hypertext.
Hieroglyph: meḍ 'to dance' (F.)[reduplicated from me-]; me id. (M.) in Remo (Munda)(Source: D. Stampe's Munda etyma) meṭṭu to tread, trample, crush under foot, tread or place the foot upon (Te.); meṭṭu step (Ga.); mettunga steps (Ga.). maṭye to trample, tread (Malt.)(DEDR 5057)
Rebus: meḍ 'iron' (Mundari. Remo.) karaṇa 'dance posture' rebus:karaṇa 'scribe'.
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THE EXCAVATION OF 2003-04 yielded inscribed copper celts.
The finding of a needle suggested that some kind of a stitched clothing was used. As if to confirm this, a potsherd with a painting was found: Amarendra Nath said, “This is a rare painting in the Harappan context, wherein you get evidence of a person wearing a dhoti and a stitched upper garment.”
ASI
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THE ARTEFACTS UNEARTHED include pottery and potsherds, an ivory comb, bone points and chert blades.
A number of sealings and seals were found. (A seal is an original stone object, which is carved in depth. A sealing is an impression of a seal.) One of them is a cylindrical seal, which indicates contact with contemporary urban centres in Iraq. This seal has an engraving of a crocodile on the one side and Harappan characters on the other. Such types of seals have been found in Iraq. The significance of the Rakhigarhi site also lies in its having 11 burials, with the skeletons aligned north to south. The skeletons were laid in pits with grave goods, copper bangles and shell bangles. Arun Malik found an intact skeleton in a pit. The burial site is located north of the habitational site.
http://www.frontline.in/navigation/?type=static&page=flonnet&rdurl=fl2502/stories/20080201504012900.htm
Rammed floor with hearth.
Bhirrana house structures in the form of subterranean dwelling pits were, cut into the natural soil. The walls and floor of these pits were plastered with the yellowish alluvium of the Saraswati valley.Apart from Trtsu Puru (Bharata) named in RV 7.33, the belligerents in the battle are: Ten listed as Turvasa, Yaksu (pun for Yadu), Matsya, Bhrgu, Druhyu, Paktha, Bhalana, Alina, Shiva and Visanin Other belligerents are Anava (Anu)(RV 7.18.14), the Aja and Sigru (RV 7.18.19) and the "21 men of both Vaikarna tribes" (RV 7.18.11) without a king, and individual kings Bheda (7.18.19, also mentioned RVv 7.33.3 and RV 7.83.4, the main leader slain by Sudas), Shimyu (RV 7.18.5), and Kavasa (RV 7.18.12). Puru, Parśu and Pani are also belligerents.
In one battle on the banks of Ravi river, the kings of Anu and Druhyu kingdoms were drowned.
Shrikant Talageri provides the following identities of belligerents in the Ten Kings' Battle:
Prthu or Parthava (RV 7-83-1) Parthians
Parsu or Parsvas (7-83-1) Persians
Paktha (7-18-7) Paktoons
Bhalana (7-18-7) Baluchis
Siva (7-18-7) Kivas
Visanin (7-18-7) Pisachas/Dards
Simyu (718-5) Sarmatians(ancient Albanians)
Alina (7-18-7) Alans /Hellennes/ Ancient Greeks
Bhrgu (7-18-6) Phyrgians
In another battle on the banks of Yamuna river, Sudas fought with and won against Aja, Sigru and Yaksu who had united under King Bheda.
Turvasas and Yaksus (Yadu), together with the Matsya people (punned upon by the R̥ṣi by comparing them to hungry fish (matsya) flocking together) appear and ally themselves with the Bhr̥gu:and the Druhyu.
What was the objective of the battle? In my view, the battlefield in the Ravi riverbasin and the key cause for the battle is provided by the metaphor of 'hungry fish' used in RV VII.18.6:
"Eager for spoil was Turvasa Purodas, fain to win wealth, like fishes urged by hunger.
The Bhrgus and the Druhyus quickly listened: friend rescued friend mid the two distant peoples." (Griffith translation)
Sayana/Wilson translate the r̥ca focussing on Turvaśa's mission to acquire wealth: Turvas'a, who was presiding (at solemn rites), diligent in sacrifice, (went to Suda_sa) for wealth; but like fishes restricted (to the element of water), the Bhrigus and Druhyus quickly assailed them; of these two everywhere going the friend (of Suda_sa, Indra) rescued his friend.
रयि m. or (rarely) f. (fr. √ रा ; the following forms occur in the वेद , रयिस् , °य्/इम् , °यिभिस् , °यीणाम् ; रय्य्/आ,°य्य्/ऐ,°य्य्/आम् ; cf. 2. रै) , property , goods , possessions , treasure , wealth (often personified) RV. AV. VS. Br. S3rS. ChUp.
This comparison of Matsya people with 'hungry fish' means, that there were rivalries among the people about the use of water from the rivers for their livelihoods (hence, the signifier of hungry fish) and about the impediments caused to acquire wealth.
The pun on the word matsya, 'fish' is also a reference to the name of peoples called matsya. Matsya is one of the 16 janapada-s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsya_Kingdom This may explain the reason why the battle was joined by ten kings since a large number of people from the region of North India were concerned about their livelihood, searching for avenues to acquire wealth.
Another interpretation is possible. The fish is an Indus Script hypertext. It signifies aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'alloy metal'. The metaphor 'hungry fish' may thus be a refererence to the belligerents desirous of acquiring and possessing wealth derived from metalwork.
- Alinas: defeated by Sudas lived to the north-east of Nuristan, because the land was mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (Macdonell and Keith, Vedic Index, 1912, I, 39.)
- Anu: People in the Paruṣṇī (Ravi) area.
- Bhr̥gu: Probably the priestly family descended from the ancient Kavi Bhr̥gu. Later, they are related to the composition of parts of the Atharva Veda (Bhṛgv-Āṅgirasa) .
- Bhalana: Fought against Sudas; perhaps lived in the Bolan Pass area.
- Druhyu: Could be Gandhari (RV I 1.126.7).
- Matsya are only mentioned in the RV (7.18.6), but later in connection with the Śālva.
- Parśu: The Parśu have been connected by some with the ancient Persians. (Macdonell and Keith, Vedic Index. This is based on the evidence of an Assyrian inscription of 844 BCE referring to the Persians as Paršu, and the Behistun Inscription of Darius I of Persia referring to Parsa (Pārsa) as the area of the Persians. Radhakumud Mookerji (1988). Chandragupta Maurya and His Times (p. 23). Motilal Banarsidass)
- Puru: A major confederation in the Rigveda.
- Pani: A bargainer, market, N. of a class of envious demons watching over treasures RV. (esp. x , 108) AV. Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa; later associated with the Scythians.
दशराज्ञ युद्ध Daśarājñá yuddha, Battle of Ten Kings is referred to in R̥gveda (Maṇḍala 7, hymns 18, 33 and 83.4–8), (Mookerji, Radha Kumud (1988) [first published in 1966], Chandragupta Maurya and his times (4th ed.), Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, p.1). K. F. Geldner in his 1951 translation of the Rigveda considers the hymns as "obviously based on an historical event". [Geldner, Karl Friedrich, Der Rig-Veda: Aus dem Sanskrit ins Deutsche übersetzt Harvard Oriental Studies, vols. 33, 34, 35 (1951), reprint Harvard University Press (2003)] Further elaboration in Schmidt, H.P. Notes on Rgveda 7.18.5–10. Indica. Organ of the Heras Institute, Bombay. Vol.17, 1980, 41–47.
pancajana, pancakrishtya or pancamanusha are five sons of Yayati: तुर्वश,
Turvaśa, lived southeast of the Sarasvati river region; the other four are Yadu, Druhyu, Anu and Puru. Yadu and Turvaśa were born to Devayani, and the other three were born to Śarmiṣṭha. Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras have descended from Turvaśa, (Asiatic Society of Bombay, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Bombay Branch. Journal, Volume 24. Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. p. 49.)
RV 3.53.12 Praises to Indra have I sung, sustainer of this earth and heaven. This prayer of Viśvāmitra keeps secure the race of Bharatas.
The locus of the main battle is near Parusni River (modern Ravi), Punjab. This battle records the victory of Tr̥tsu-Bharata (Puru) led by King Sudas, resulting in the settlement of Bharatas in Kurukshetra and emergence of Kuru kingdom. R̥gveda Maṇḍala 3 is attributed to the Bharata R̥ṣi Viśvāmitra. In this Maṇḍala 3, Viśvāmitrarefers to Bhāratam Janam, 'Bharata people or Bharata kula'. भारत as perceived by Visvamitra is cognate with 1. भारत episodes and narratives of the Great Epic and 2 .panca janah Aditi of Taitt. Sam. 7.6.1.1Pañca-janāḥ (Rv, 1.89.10; 3.37.9; 5.9.8; etc.), भारत and म्लेच्छ mleccha are the most frequently mentioned groups or collectives of people in the Veda texts and in the Great Epic, महाभारतम्. These are narratives related to the people of भरतवर्ष –and abbreviated synonyms or semantic variants of the expression: Bhārtam Janam. In the days of the Rigveda, these Bhārtam Janam had gained proficiency in working with metals and alloys, creating metal sculptures using cire perdue techniques, producing tools, pots and pans, weapons of metal and spoked-wheel chariots. In the days related to the events narrated in महाभारतम्. which expanded the Tin-Bronze Age into the Iron Age, a framework for social regulation and creation of the rashtram was outlined, consistent with the ideas formulated in Vagdevi Suktam of Rigveda (aham rashtrii samgamani vasuunaam..)
The narratives of महाभारतम् related to material aspects of lives of people correlate with the archaeological finds of over 2000 sites on the banks of Vedic River Sarasvati. The archaeological finds attest the continuum of Veda cultural traditions exemplified by 1. the performance of Soma SamsthA YAgas and 2. metalwork contributions of the people during the Bronze Age, recorded on over 8000 Harappa (Indus) Script inscriptions which are metalwork catalogues. The continued use of Harappa (Indus) Script hieroglyphs/hypertexts as signifiers of metalwork during the Coinage period is attested in tens of thousands of punch-marked and cast coins of the civilization. Across the entire civilization area from Takshasila to Anuradhapura, punch-mark symbols are derived from Harappa (Indus) Script hieroglyphs/hypertexts.
This narrative of Sauptikaparvan of महाभारतम् is of fundamental significance in defining the weltanschauung, the value-frame of Bhārtam Janam in reference to dharma, ‘performance of duties’ and daiva, ‘fate’ which impacts material, wealth-creating activities and lend meaning to ‘being’ and ‘becoming’.
भारत [p= 753,1] mf(ई)n. descended from भरत or the भरतs (applied to अग्नि either ” sprung from the priests called भरतs ” or ” bearer of the oblation “) RV. &c; belonging or relating to the भरतs (with युद्ध n. संग्राम m. समर m. समिति f. the war or battle of the भरतs ; with or scil. आख्यानn.with इतिहास m. and कथा f. the story of the भरतs , the history or narrative of their war ; with or scil. मण्डल n. or वर्ष n. ” king भरतs’s realm ” i.e. India) MBh. Ka1v. &c; inhabiting भरत-वर्ष i.e. India BhP.
Metalwork hypertexts/hieroglyphs rendered rebus in Harappa (Indus) Script inscriptions: balad m. ox , gng.bald , (Ku.)barad , id. (Nepali. Tarai) Rebus: bharat (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1tin)(Punjabi) Rebus: bharata ‘alloy of copper, pewter, tin’ (Marathi) bhāraṇ = to bring out froma kiln (G.) bāraṇiyo = one whose profession it is to sift ashes or dust in a goldsmith’s workshop(G.lex.) In the Punjab, the mixed alloys were generally called, bharat (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin).In Bengal, an alloy called bharan or toul was created by adding some brass or zinc into purebronze. bharata = casting metals in moulds; bharavum = to fill in; to put in; to pour into (G.lex.) Bengali. ভরন [ bharana ] n an inferior metal obtained from an alloy of coper, zinc andtin.baran, bharat ‘mixed alloys’ (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) (Punjabi)ixed alloys’ (5 copper, 4 zinc and 1 tin) (Punjabi)
भारत m. fire L. n. the story of the भरतs and their wars (sometimes identified with the महा-भारत , and sometimes distinguished from it) MBh. Ra1jat. IW. 371 n. 1 and 2.
भरतवर्ष न० ६ त० । भारते वर्षे ।भरतखण्ड कुमारिकाखण्डे “कुमारिकेति विख्याता यस्या नाम्ना प्रकथ्यते । इदं कुमारिकाखण्डं चतुर्वर्गफल-व्रदम् । यथा कृतावनीयञ्च नानाग्रामादिकल्पना ।इदं भरतखण्डश्च मया सम्यक् प्रकल्पितम्” स्कन्दपु० । https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/वाचस्पत्यम्
Sanjaya said, “They had not proceeded far, O king, when they stopped, for they beheld a dense forest abounding with trees and creepers…At that hour, filled with grief and sorrow, Kritavarma and Kripa and Drona’s son all sat down together. Seated under that banyan, they began to give expression to their sorrow in respect of that very matter: the destruction that had taken place of both the Kurus and the Pandavas. Heavy with sleep, they laid themselves down on the bare earth. They had been exceedingly tired and greatly mangled with shafts. The two great car-warriors, Kripa and Kritavarma, succumbed to sleep. However deserving of happiness and undeserving of misery, they then lay stretched on the bare ground. Indeed, O monarch, those two who had always slept on costly beds now slept, like helpless persons, on the bare ground, afflicted with toil and grief…Drona’s son, however, O Bharata, yielding to the influence of wrath and reverence, could not sleep, but continued to breathe like a snake. Burning with rage, he could not get a wink of slumber. That hero of mighty arms cast his eyes on every side of that terrible forest.”Dhritarashtra asks Sanjaya: “What, however, did Kritavarma and Kripa and Drona’s son do after my son Duryodhana had been unfairly stuck down?”
Vaishampayana continues the narrative, addressing Yudhisthira:” O Pandava! The world once more became safe and sound. The gods assigned unto Mahadeva all the libations of clarified butter as the share of great deity. O monarch, when Mahadeva had become angry, the whole world had thus become agitated: when he became gratified everything became safe. Possessed of great energy, the god Mahadeva was gratified with Ashvatthama. It was for this that thy sons, those mighty car-warriors, could be slain by that warrior. It was for this that many other heroes, the Pancalas, with all their followers, could be slain by him. Thou shouldst not suffer thy mind to dwell on it. It was not Drona’s son that accomplished that act. It was done through the grace of Mahadeva. Do now what should next be done.” http://sacred-texts.com/hin/m10/m10018.htm
Book 10 called Sauptikaparva narrates the inevitability of daiva, ‘fate’. The book recounts renunciation of throne of Hastinapur by Yudhisthira. सौप्तिक mfn. (fr. सुप्त) connected with or relating to sleep , nocturnal Mr2icch. n. an attack on sleeping men , nocturnal combat MBh. R. Ka1m. Thus, the narrative in Book 10 is about sleeping men, an extraordinary metaphorical rendering of the inexorable phenomenon of daiva, ‘fate’.
अश्वत्थामा, Aśvatthāmā is commander-in-chief of Duryodhana’s army and seeks to take revenge on Pandavas for the injustices done to Kauravas. He ends up killing the Upapandavas and Uttara.
The Pandavas including Draupadi, journey through the country before their final journey to heaven.
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Pandavas. Draupadi. Dashavatara temple, Deogarh, Rajasthan.
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Pandavas. Draupadi. Dashavatara temple, Deogarh, Rajasthan.
Sculptures in hypertexts, metaphors of Candi Sukuh Java, Bhima Swarga iconographic metaphors of Bali compare with Indus Script metalwork heritage. Bhima is the smith producing a sword. Ganesa takes a dance-step. Arjuna works at the bellows.
The story of Bhima Swarga is painted around the ceiling of the Kertha Gosa Pavilion of 18thcent. at Klungkung, Bali, Indonesia. Bhima Swarga is referenced from the Mahabharata..The journey of aatman from hell to heaven narrated by Bhima Swarga (in Bali tradition) is ametaphor parallel to the Indus Script archives documenting production (purification) of metalfrom mere earth and stone through furnaces.The Candi Sukuh sculptures (in Java tradition) are also in the metalwork tradition documentingBhima and Arjuna as metalworkers.Bhima Swarga episodes are also signified on candi Sukuh sculptures with Indus Scriptmetalwork hieroglyphs and metaphors.
The total categories of people specifically named in the Great Epic number 850. In all these names which indicative collective groups of people, the most dominant use occurs for Bharatas in the Great Epic, Mahābhārata (Bharata 2261, Bharatas 418 and Bharata’s 668). Other frequencies of names of people in Mahābhārata relate mostly to mleccha (Meluhha) who mispronounce words:
Abhiras (8), Aila (14), Aja (4), Amvastha (20), Andhaka (37), Anga (52), Aratta (11), Aratta-Vahika (2), Artayani (8), Asmaka (3), Arya (3), Avanti (5), Bahlika (12), Banga (2), Barbara (5), Bharata (3,547), Bhoja (110), Bhuta (9), Brahmasastri (3), Cedi (132), China (8), Chola (4), Danda (15), Darada (18), Dasarha (121), Dasarnaka (43), Daseraka (5), Dravida (13), Dundubha (2), Gana (17), Gandhara (36), Gautami (15), Gopala (4), Govasan (4), Haihaya (30), Hansa (2), Huna (3), Ikshvaku (53), Kaikeya (92), Kalinga (87), Kamatha (1), Kamboja (75), Kanchi (7), Kanka (21), Kapa (15), Karnata (1), Karusha (25), Kashmira (8), Katirava (12), Kaunteya (12), Kauraka (460), Kekaya (55), Kerala (5), Khalin (2), Khasa (11), Kichaka (135), Kirata (22), Kitava (5), Kosala (36), Kshudraka (6), Kukura (13), Kulinda (8), Kumara (3), Kuntala 6), Kunti (1001), Kuru (1460), Kuru-Panchala (1), Kurd (1), Kusika (50), Madhu (254), Madra (56), Magadha (60), Mahisha (20), Malava (32), Malla (5), Manasa (2), Matsya (158), Mekala (5), Mleccha (66), Munda (2), Naimisha (3), Nairita (4), Nishada (184), Narayana (7), Nipa (4), Odra (1), Pahlava (3), Panchala (693), Pandava (2275), Pandya (7), Pannaga (11), Parada (6),Parvata (49), Patacchara (3), Pauloma (8), Paundra (12), Paundramatsyaka (1), Paurava (40), Prabhadra (37), Prabhadra-Panchala (1), Prachetasa (2), Pramatha (3), Pukkasa (4), Pulinda (15), Pundra (6), Raghava (1), Ramatha (4), R̥bhu (3), Rishika (6), Rohita (1), Siindhu, Saindava (244), Saka (40), Salwa (40), Samsaptaka (45), Sarabha (3), Sarava (1), Samgaka (7), Sattvata (157), Sauvira (25), Singhala (5), Sivi (27) Somaka (135). Srinjaya (307), Sura (37), Surasena (23), Surashtra (2), Swaitya (29), Savara (10), Shalva (2), Talajangha (8), Tamraliptaka (7), Tangana (12), Tapatya (5), Takshya (2) Trigarta (104), Tukhara (2), Tundikera 92), Tushara 93), Uluka (82), Uraga (40), Usinara (15), Utkala (2), Uttara-Kuru (6), Vabhravya (2), Vahika (28), Vahlika (134), Vaikanasa (14), Vaiswanara (2), Vaivaswata (9),Valmiki (9) Vanga (14), Vashneya (21), Vasati (17), Vatadhana (4), Vatsa (3), Vidarbha (35), Videha (33), Vaideha (5), Vodha (2), Vrishala (2), Vrishni (487), Yadava (68), Yadu (88), Yaudheya (3), Yavana (53), Yayavara (6)
In the context of life-activities of the people of the Bronze Age, Bharatam Janam refers to metalcasters: bharata ‘alloy of copper, pewter, tin’.Thus, I suggest that the people identified as Bharatam Janam by Rishi Visvamitra (RV 3.53.12) refers to all the people in general, the Panca jana, ‘the collective of five peoples, i.e. people in general’. The expressions, pañca-pañca-janāh or pañca-janāh refer to a collective of people. It is not necessary to precisely delineate and identify the specific groups of people referred to in this collective category of ‘four’ or ‘five’ people. For e.g., an idiom in Tamil refers to nāluper ‘four persons’ in a general reference to the ‘people’ in general and in some specific instances refers to the four pall-bearers who carry the corpse to the cremation ground. So, the idiom is: nāluper enna colluvā?‘What will four people say’ i.e. a reference to the general consensus of the people of the family circles whose opinion is the determinant of a value system, a norm in social parlance.
In the context of frequent references to mleccha as people inhabiting Bharata Varsha in many islands and in many parts of Bharata, mleccha speakers (mlecchavAcas) constituted the speaker of the lingua france, Meluhha, who pronounced Samskritam words in the colloquial tongue with mispronunciations and variant spellings. Hence, the pronunciation variations recorded in the Indian Lexicon which is a compendium of over 8000 semantic clusters encompassing Indo-Aryan, Dravidian and Mundarica streams, thus establishing the reality of Bharata sprachbund of the Bronze Age. Mleccha as the lingua franca, is attested by Manu and recognized by Bharata. These tongues are later categorized as Apabhrams’a or Apas’abda or as Desi in Hemacandra’s Desi NAmamAlA, a Prakritam lexicon.
भारतं, क्ली, (भरतान् भरतवंशीयानधिकृत्य कृतो ग्रन्थ इत्यण् । यद्बा, भारं चतुर्वेदादिशास्त्रे-भ्योऽपि सारांशं तनोतीति । तन् + डः ।)ग्रन्थभेदः । इति मेदिनी । ते, १३८ ॥ तत्तुव्यासप्रणीतलक्षश्लोकात्मकमहाभारतसंज्ञकेति-हासः । तस्य श्रवणादिफलं यथा, –“भारतं शृणुयान्नित्यं भारतं परिकीर्त्तयेत् ।भारतं भवने यस्य तस्य हस्तगतो जयः ॥यो गोशतं कनकशृङ्गमयं ददाति विप्राय वेदविदुषे सुबहुश्रुताय । पुण्याञ्च भारतकथां शृणुयाच्च नित्यं तुल्यं फलं भवति तस्य च तस्य चैव ॥नवनीतं यथा दध्नो द्विपदां ब्राह्मणो यथा ।ह्रदानामुदधिः श्रेष्ठो गौर्वरिष्ठश्चतुष्पदाम् ।यथैतानीतिहासानां तथा भारतमुच्यते ॥यश्चैनं श्रावयेत् श्राद्धे ब्राह्मणान् पादमन्ततः ।अक्षय्यमन्नपानं वै पितॄंस्तस्योपतिष्ठते ॥इतिहासपुराणाभ्यां वेदं समुपबृंहयेत् ।बिभेत्यल्पश्रुताद्वेदो मामयं प्रहरिष्यति ॥कार्ष्णं वेदमिमं विद्वान् श्रावयित्वार्थमश्वुते ।भ्रूणहत्याकृतञ्चापि पापं जह्यादसंशयः ॥”इति महाभारतम् ॥ * ॥तद्वृत्तान्तो यथा, –ब्रह्मोवाच ।“भारतं संप्रवक्ष्यामि भारावतरणं भुवः ।चक्रे कृष्णो युध्यमानः पाण्डवादिनिमित्ततः ॥विष्णुनाभ्यब्जजो ब्रह्मा ब्रह्मपुत्त्रोऽत्रिरत्रितः ।सोमस्ततो बुधस्तस्मादुर्व्वश्यान्तु पुरोरवाः ॥तस्माद्यस्तस्य पुत्त्रोऽभूद्ययातिर्भरतः कुरुः ।शान्तनुस्तस्य वंशेऽभूद्गङ्गायां शान्तनोः सुतः ॥भीष्मः सर्व्वगुणैर्युक्तो ब्रह्मवैवर्त्तपारगः ।शान्तनोः सत्यवत्याञ्च द्वौ पुत्त्रौ संबभूवतुः ॥चित्राङ्गदन्तु गन्धर्व्वः पुत्त्रं चित्ररथोऽवधीत् ।अन्यो विचित्रवीर्य्योऽभूत् काशिराजसुतापतिः ॥विचित्रवीर्य्ये स्वर्याते व्यासात्तत्क्षेत्रतोऽभवत् ।धृतराष्ट्रोऽग्विकापुत्त्रः पाण्डुरम्बालिकासुतः ॥भुजिव्यायान्तु विदुरो गान्धार्य्यां धृतराष्ट्रतः ।दुर्य्योधनप्रधानास्तु शतसंख्या महाबलाः ॥पाण्डोः कुन्त्याञ्च माद्य्राञ्च पञ्च पुत्त्राः प्रजज्ञिरे ।युधिष्ठिरो भीमसेनः अर्ज्जुनो नकुलस्तथा ।सहदेवश्च पञ्चैते महाबलपराक्रमाः ॥कुरुपाण्डवयोर्वैरं दैवयोगाद्बभूव ह ।दुर्य्योधनेन वीरेण पाण्डवाः स्रमुपद्रुताः ।दग्धा जतुगृहे वीरास्ते मुक्ताः सुधियामलाः ॥ततस्त एकचक्रायां ब्राह्मणस्य निवेशने ।विप्रवेशा महात्मानो निहत्य वकराक्षसम् ॥ततः पाञ्चालविषये द्रौपद्यास्ते स्वयंवरम् ।विज्ञाय वीर्य्यशुल्कां तां पाण्डवा उपयेमिरे ॥द्रोणभीष्मानुमत्या च धृतराष्ट्रः समानयत् ।अर्द्धं राज्यं ततः प्राप्ता इन्द्रप्रस्थे पुरोत्तमे ॥राजसूयं ततश्चक्रुः सभां कृत्वा यतव्रताः ।अर्ज्जुनो द्वारवत्यान्तु सुभद्रां प्राप्तवान् प्रियाम् ॥वासुदेवस्य भगिनीं मित्रं देवकिनन्दनम् ॥गाण्डीवं नाम तद्दिव्यं त्रिषु लोकेषु विश्रुतम् ।अक्षयान् शायकांश्चैव तथाभेद्यञ्च दंशनम् ॥स तेन धनुषा वीरः पाण्डवो जातवेदसम् ।कृष्णद्वितीयो वीभत्सुरतर्पयत वीर्य्यवान् ॥नृपान् दिग्विजये जित्वा रत्नान्यादाय वै ददौ ।युधिष्ठिराय महते भ्रात्रे नीतिविदे मुदा ॥युधिष्ठिरोऽपि धर्म्मात्मा भ्रातृभिः परिवारितः ।जितो दुर्य्योधनेनैव मायाद्यूतेन पापिना ।कर्णदुःशासनमते स्थितेन शकुनेर्मते ।अथ द्वादशवर्षाणि वने तेपुर्म्महत्तपः ॥सधौम्या द्रौपदीसत्या मुनिवृन्दाभिसंवृताः ।ययुर्विराटनगरं गुप्तरूपेण संस्थिताः ॥वर्षमेकं महाप्राज्ञा गोग्रहादिमपालयन् ।ततो ज्ञाताः स्वकं राष्ट्रं प्रार्थयामासुरादृताः ॥पञ्च ग्रामानर्द्धराज्यं वीरा दुर्य्योधनं नृपम् ।नाप्तवन्तः कुरुक्षेत्रे युद्धञ्चक्रुर्बलान्विताः ॥अक्षौहिणीभिर्दिव्याभिः सप्तभिः परिवारिताः ।एकादशभिरुद्युक्तास्तेऽपि दुर्य्योधनादयः ॥आसीद्युद्धं स्वर्गमार्गं देवासुरबलोपमम् ।भीष्मः सेनापतिरभूदादौ दौर्य्योधने बले ॥पाण्डवानां शिखण्डी च तयोर्युद्धं बभूव ह ।शस्त्राशस्त्रैर्महाघोरं दशरात्रं शराशनिः ॥शिखण्ड्यर्ज्जुनबाणैश्च भीष्मः शरशितैश्चितः ।उत्तरायणमीक्ष्याथ ध्यात्वा देवं गदाधरम् ॥उक्त्वा धर्म्मान् बहून् वर्षांस्तर्पयित्वा पितॄन्बहून् ।आनन्दे तु पदे लीनो विमले मुक्तकिल्विषे ॥ततो द्रोणो ययौ योद्धुं धृष्टद्युम्नेन वीर्य्यवान् ।दिनानि पञ्च द्युद्धमासीत् परमदारुणम् ॥य एते पृथिवीपाला हताः पार्थास्त्रसागरे ।शोकमासाद्य पुत्त्रेण द्रोणोऽपि स्वर्गमाप्नुयात् ॥ततः कर्णो ययौ योद्धुमर्ज्जुनेन महात्मना ।दिनद्वयं महद्युद्धं कृत्वा पार्थास्त्रसागरे ॥निमग्नः सूर्य्यलोकन्तु ततः प्राप स वीर्य्यवान् ।ततः शल्यो ययौ योद्धुं धर्म्मराजेन धीमता ॥दिनार्द्धेन हतः शल्यो बाणैर्ज्वलनसन्निभैः ।दुर्य्योधनोऽथ वेगेन गदामादाय वीर्य्यवान् ॥अभ्यधावत वै भीभं कालान्तकयमोपमम् ।अथ भीमेन वीरेण गदया विनिपातितः ॥अश्वत्थामा ततो द्रौणिः सुप्तं सैन्यं ततो निशि ।जघान बाहुवीर्य्येण पितुर्व्वधमनुस्मरन् ॥धृष्टद्युम्न जघानाथ द्रौपदेयांश्च वीर्य्यवान् ।द्रौपद्यां रोदमानायामश्वत्थाम्नः शिरोमणिम् ।ऐषीकास्त्रेण तं जित्वा जग्राहार्ज्जुन उत्तमम् ॥युधिष्ठिरः समाश्वास्य स्त्रीजनं शोकसङ्कुलम् ।स्नात्वा सन्तर्प्य देवांश्च पितॄनथ पितामहान् ।आश्वासितोऽथ भीष्मेण राज्यञ्चैवाकरोन्महत् ॥विष्णुमीजेऽश्वमेधेन विधिवद्दक्षिणावता ।राज्ये परिक्षितं स्थाप्य यादवानां विनाशनम् ॥श्रुत्वा तु मौषले राजा जप्त्वा नामसहस्रकम् ।विष्णोः स्वग जगामाथ भीमाद्यैर्भ्रातृभिर्युतः ॥”इति गारुडे १५० अध्यायः ॥ * ॥वर्षभेदः । इति मेदिनी ॥ स तु जम्बुद्वीपस्यनववंर्षान्तर्गतनवमवर्षः । तद्विवरणं यथा, –“उत्तरं यत् समुद्रस्य माद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।वर्षं तद्भारतं नाम भारती यत्र सन्ततिः ॥नवयोजनसाहस्रो विस्तारोऽस्य महामुने ! ।कर्म्मभूमिरियं स्वर्गमपवर्गञ्च गच्छताम् ॥महेन्द्रो मलयः सह्यः शुक्तिमानृक्षपर्व्वतः ।बिन्ध्यश्च पारिपात्रश्च सप्तात्र कुलपर्व्वताः ॥अतः संप्राप्यते स्वर्गो मुक्तिमस्मात् प्रयान्ति च ।तिर्य्यक्त्वं नरकं चापि यान्त्यतः पुरुषा मुने ! ॥इतः स्वर्गश्च मोक्षश्च मध्यञ्चान्तश्च गम्यते ।न खल्वन्यत्र मर्त्यानां कर्म्मभूमौ विधीयते ॥भारतस्यास्य वर्षस्य नव भेदान्निशामय ।इन्द्रद्वीपः कशेरुश्च ताम्रपर्णो गभस्तिमान् ॥नागद्वीपस्तथा सौम्यो गान्धर्व्वस्त्वथ वारुणः ।अयन्तु नवमस्तेषां द्वीपः सागरसंवृतः ॥योजनानां सहस्रन्तु द्बीपोऽयं दक्षिणोत्तरात् ।पूर्ब्बे किराता यस्यान्ते पश्चिमे यवनाः स्थिताः ॥ब्राह्मणाः क्षत्त्रिया वैश्या मध्ये शूद्राश्च भागशः ।इज्यायुद्धबणिज्याद्यैर्व्वर्त्तयन्तो व्यवस्थिताः ॥शतद्रुश्चन्द्रभागाद्या हिमवत्पादनिःसृताः ।वेदस्मृतिमुखाश्चान्याः पारिपात्रोद्भवा मुने ! ॥नर्म्मदासुरसाद्याञ्च नद्यो बिन्ध्यविनिःसृताः ।तापी पयोष्णी निर्विन्ध्याप्रमुखा ऋक्षसम्भवाः ॥गोदावरी भीमरथी कृष्णवेण्यादिकास्तथा ।सह्यपादोद्भवा नद्यः स्मृताः पापभयापहाः ॥कृतमाला ताम्रपर्णी प्रमुखा मलयोद्भवाः ।त्रिसामा ऋषिकुल्याद्या महेन्द्रप्रभवाः स्मृताः ॥ऋषिकुल्या कुमार्य्याद्याः शुक्तिमत्पादसम्भवाः ।आसां नद्युपनद्यश्च सन्त्यन्याश्च सहस्रशः ॥तास्विमे कुरुपाञ्चालमध्यदेशादयो जनाः ।पूर्ब्बदेशादिकाश्चैव कामरूपनिवासिनः ॥ओड्राः कलिङ्गा मगधा दाक्षिणात्याश्च कृत्-स्नशः ।तथापरान्ताः सौराष्ट्राः शूराभीरास्तथार्व्वुदाः ॥मारुका मालवाश्चैव पारिपात्रनिवासिनः ।सौवीराः सैन्धवा हूणाः शाल्वाः शाकल-वासिनः ॥मद्रा रामास्तथाम्बष्ठाः पारसीकादयस्तथा ।आसां पिबन्ति सलिलं वसन्ति सरितां सदा ॥समीपतो महाभाग ! हृष्टपुष्टजनाकुलाः ।चत्वारि भारते वर्षे युगान्यत्र महामुने ! ॥कृतं त्रेता द्वापरञ्च कलिश्चान्यत्र न क्वचित् ।तपस्तप्यन्ति यतयो जुह्वते चात्र यज्विनः ॥दानानि चात्र दीयन्ते परलोकार्थमादरात् ।पुरुषैर्यज्ञपुरुषो जम्बुद्बीपे सदेज्यते ॥यज्ञैर्यज्ञपतिर्विष्णुरन्यद्वीपेषु चान्यथा ।तत्रापि भारतं श्रेष्ठं जम्बुद्वीपे महामुने ! ॥यतो हि कर्म्मभूरेषा ततोऽन्या भोगभूमयः ।अत्र जन्मसहस्राणां सहस्रैरपि सत्तम ! ।कदाचिल्लभते जन्तुर्मानुष्यं पुण्यसञ्चयात् ॥गायन्ति देवाः किल गीतकानिधन्यास्तु ये भारतभूमिभागे ।स्वर्गापवर्गास्पदमार्गभूतेभवन्ति भूयः पुरुषाः सुरत्वात् ॥कर्म्माण्यसङ्कल्पिततत्फलानिसंन्यस्य विष्णौ परमात्मरूपे ।अवाप्य तां कर्म्ममहीमनन्तेतस्मिल्लयं ये त्वमलाः प्रयान्ति ॥जानीम नैतत् क्व वयं विलीनेस्वर्गप्रदे कर्म्मणि देहबन्धम् ।प्राप्स्याम धन्याः खलु ते मनुष्याये भारते नेन्द्रियविप्रहीनाः ॥नववर्षन्तु मैत्रेय ! जम्बुद्वीपमिदं मया ।लक्षयोजनविस्तारं संक्षेपात् कथितं तव ॥जम्बूद्बीपं समावृत्य लक्षयोजनविस्तरः ।मैत्रेय ! वलयाकारः स्थितः क्षारोदधिर्बहिः ॥”इति श्रीविष्णुपुराणे २ अंशे ३ अध्यायः ॥ * ॥आस्मिन् वर्षे जन्मकारणं तत्साफल्यञ्च यथा, –“शतजन्मतपः कृत्वा जन्मेदं भारते लभेत् ।करोति सफलं जन्म श्रुत्वा हरिकथामृतम् ॥अर्च्चनं वन्दनं मन्त्रजपः सेवनमेव च ।स्मरणं कीर्त्तनं शश्वद्गुणश्रवणमीप्सितम् ॥निवेदनं स्वस्य दास्यं नवधा भक्तिलक्षणम् ।करोति सफलं जन्म कृत्वैतानि च भारते ॥” * ॥अस्य पुण्यस्थलत्वं कर्म्मभूमित्वं परिमाणञ्चयथा, –“कर्म्मणां फलभोगश्च सर्व्वेषां सुरसुन्दरि ! ।नैव स्वर्गे न पाताले नान्यद्वीपे श्रुतौ श्रुतम् ॥कृत्वा शुभाशुभं कर्म्म पुण्यक्षेत्रे च भारते ।अन्यत्र तत्फलं भुङ्क्ते कर्म्मी कर्म्मनिबन्धनात् ॥हिमालयादासमुद्रं पुण्यक्षेत्रञ्च भारतम् ।श्रेष्ठं सर्व्वस्थलानाञ्च मुनीनाञ्च तपःस्थलम् ॥लब्ध्वा तत्र जन्म जीवो वञ्चोतो विष्णुमायया ।शश्वत् करोति विषयं विहाय सेवनं हरेः ॥कृत्वा तत्र महत् पुण्यं स्वर्गं गच्छति पुण्यवान् ।गृहीत्वा स्वर्गकन्याश्च चिरं स्वर्गे प्रमोदते ॥स्वर्गमागच्छति नरो विहाय मानवीं तनूम् ॥”इति ब्रह्मवैवर्त्तपुराणे श्रीकृष्णजन्मखण्डे । १ । ५९ ।अध्यायौ ॥
भारतः, पुं, (भरतस्य मुनेरयमिति । भरत +अण् ।) नटः । इति जटाधरः ॥ अग्निः ।इति त्रिकाण्डशेषः ॥ (भरतस्य गोत्रापत्य-मिति । भरत + अण् ।) भरतस्य गोत्रापत्यम् ॥(यथा, महाभारते । ३ । ११ । ७४ ।“तत्राश्रौषमहञ्चैतत् कर्म्म भीमस्य भारत ! ॥”)
भारतवर्षं, क्ली, (भारतं भरतसम्बन्धि वर्षमिति ।)जम्बुद्वीपस्य नववर्षान्तर्गतवर्षविशेषः । यथा, –“हिमाह्वं दक्षिणं वर्षं भरताय ददौ पिता ।तस्माच्च भारतं वर्षं तस्य नाम्ना महात्मनः ॥”तस्य नव भागा यथा, –“भारतस्यास्य वर्षस्य नवभेदान्निबोध मे ।समुद्रान्तरिता ज्ञेयास्ते त्वगम्याः परस्परम् ॥इन्द्रद्वीपः कसेरुश्च ताम्रवर्णो गभस्तिमान् ।नागद्वीपस्तथा सौम्यो गान्धर्व्वो वारुणस्तथा ॥अयन्तु नवमस्तेषां द्वीपः सागरसंवृतः ।योजनानां सहस्रं वै द्वीपोऽयं दक्षिणोत्तरात् ॥पूर्ब्बे किराता यस्यान्ते पश्चिमे यवनाः स्मृताः ।ब्राह्मणाः क्षत्त्रिया वैश्याः शूद्राश्चान्तःस्थिताद्विज ! ॥
इज्यायुद्धबणिज्याद्यैः कर्म्मभिः कृतपावनाः ।तेषां संव्यवहारश्च एभिः कर्म्मभिरिष्यते ॥स्वर्गापवर्गप्राप्तिश्च पुण्यं पापञ्च वै तथा ।महेन्द्रो मलयः सह्यः शुक्तिमानृक्षपर्व्वतः ॥बिन्ध्यश्च पारिपात्रश्च सप्तैवात्र कुलाचलाः ।तेषां सहस्रशश्चान्ये भूधरा ये समीपगाः ॥विस्तारोच्छ्रयिणो रम्या विपुलाश्चित्रसानवः ।कोलाहलः सवैभ्राजो मन्दरो दर्दुराचलः ॥वातन्धमो वैद्युतश्च मैनाकः सुरसस्तथा ।तुङ्गप्रस्थो नामगिरिर्गोधनः पाण्डुराचलः ॥पुष्पवीर्य्यजयन्तौ च रेवतोऽर्व्वुद एव च ।ऋष्यमूकः सगोमन्तः कूटशैलः कृतस्मरः ॥श्रीपर्व्वतश्चकोरश्च शतशोऽन्येऽल्पपर्व्वताः ।तैर्विमिश्रा जनपदा म्लेच्छाश्चार्य्याश्च भागशः ।तैः पीयन्ते सरिच्छ्रेष्ठा यास्ताः सम्यङ्निबोध मे ॥गङ्गा सरस्वती सिन्धुश्चन्द्रभागा तथापगा ।यमुना च शतद्रुश्च वितस्तैरावती कुहूः ॥गोमती धूतपापा च बाहुदा च दृषद्वती ।विपाशा देविका वङ्क्षुर्विशाला गण्डकी तथा ।कौशिकी चापरा विप्र ! हिमवत्पादनिःसृताः ॥वेदस्मृतिर्वेतसिनी रात्रिघ्नी सिन्धुरेव च ।वेण्वा च स्यन्दना चैव सवानीरा मही तथा ॥पारा चर्म्मण्वती लूपी विदिशा वेत्रवत्यपि ।सिप्रा ह्यवन्ती च तथा पारिपात्राश्रयाःस्मृताः ॥शोणो महानदश्चैव नर्म्मदा सुरसा क्रिया ।मन्दाकिनी दशार्णा च चित्रकूटा तथापगा ॥चित्रोत्पलाथ तमसा करतोया पिशाचिका ।तथान्या पिप्पला श्रोणी विपाशा वञ्जुला नदी ॥सरोरुजा शुक्तिमती मङ्गुली त्रिदिवा क्रतुः ।ऋक्षपादप्रसूता वै तथान्या वेगवाहिनी ॥शिप्रा पयोष्णी निर्बिन्ध्या तापी च निषधावती ।वेणा वैतरणी चैव शिनीवाली कुमुद्बती ॥तोया चैव महागौरी दुर्गा चान्तःशिवा तथा ।बिन्ध्यपादप्रसूतास्ता नद्यः पुण्यजलाः शुभाः ॥गोदावरी भीमरथी कृष्णवर्णा तथापगा ।तुङ्गभद्रा सुप्रयोगा वाह्या कावेय्यथापगा ।सह्यपादविनिष्क्रान्ता इमास्ताः सरिदुत्तमाः ॥कृतमाला ताम्रपर्णी पुष्यजात्युत्पलावती ।मलयाद्रिसमुद्भूता नद्यः शीतजलास्त्विमाः ॥पितृसोमर्षिकुल्या च इक्षला त्रिदिवालया ।लाङ्गूलिनी वंशकरा महेन्द्रप्रभवाः स्मृताः ॥ऋषिका च कुमारी च मन्दगा मन्दवासिनी ।कृशा पलाशिनी चैव शुक्तिमत्प्रभवाः स्मृताः ॥सर्व्वाः पुण्याः सरस्वत्यः सर्व्वा गङ्गाः समु-द्रगाः ।विश्वस्य मातरः सर्व्वाः सर्व्वाः पापहराःस्मृताः ॥अन्याः सहस्रशश्चोक्ताः क्षुद्रनद्यो द्विजोत्तम ! ।प्रावृट्कालवहाः सन्ति सर्व्वकालवहाश्च याः ॥मत्स्याः कुशूलाः कुल्याश्च कुन्तलाः काशिको-शलाः ॥अर्व्वुदाश्च पुलिङ्गाश्च समकाश्च वृकैः सह ।मध्यदेशे जनपदाः प्रायशोऽमी प्रकीर्त्तिताः ॥सह्यस्य चोत्तरेणैव यत्र गोदावरी नदी ।पृथिव्यामपि कृत्स्नायां स प्रदेशो मनोरमः ॥गोवर्द्धनपुरं रम्यं भार्गवस्य महात्मनः ।वाह्लीका वाटधानाश्च आभीराः कालतोयकाः ॥अपरान्ताश्च शूद्राश्च पह्नवाश्चर्म्मखण्डिकाः ।गान्धारा यवनाश्चैव सिन्धुसौवीरमद्रकाः ॥शतह्रदा ललित्थाश्च पारदाहारमूषिकाः ।माठरा रक्षहतकाः कैकया दशमानिकाः ॥क्षत्त्रियोपनिवेशाश्च वैश्यशूद्रकुलानि च ।काम्बोजा दरदाश्चैव वर्व्वरा ह्यङ्गलौकिकाः ॥नीचाश्चैव तुषाराश्च पह्नवा वाह्यतोदराः ।आत्रेयाः सभरद्वाजाः प्रस्थलाश्च दशेरकाः ॥लम्पकाः सूनकाराश्च चूलिका जाह्नवैः सह ।अपधाश्चालिमद्राश्च किरातानाञ्च जातयः ॥तामसा हंसमार्गाश्च का श्मीरास्तङ्गनास्तथा ।चूलिका हुडुकाश्चैव ऊर्णा दार्व्वास्तथैव च ॥ * ॥एते देशा ह्युदीच्यास्तु प्राच्यान् देशान्निबोध मे ।अन्ध्रवाका मुद्गरका अन्तर्गिरिबहिर्गिराः ॥तथा प्लवङ्गा वङ्गेया मलदा मलवर्त्तिकाः ।ब्रह्मोत्तराः प्रविजया भार्गवाङ्गेयमर्द्दकाः ॥प्राग्ज्योतिषाश्च मद्राञ्च विदेहास्ताम्रलिप्तकाः ।मल्वा मगधगोमेदाः प्राच्या जनपदाः स्मृताः ॥अथापरे जनपदा दक्षिणापथवासिनः ।पाण्ड्याश्च केरलाश्चैव चोलाः कुल्यास्तथैव च ॥सेतुका मूषिकाश्चैव कुमारा वानवासिकाः ।महाराष्ट्रा माहिषिकाः कलिङ्गाच्चैव सर्व्वशः ॥आभीराः सह चैषीका आटव्याः शवराश्च ये ।पुलिन्दा बिन्ध्यमालेया वैदर्भा दण्डकैः सह ॥पौरिका मौलिकाश्चैव अश्मका भोगवर्द्धनाः ।तैलिकाः कुन्तला ह्यन्धा उद्भिदा नाल-कारकाः ॥ * ॥दाक्षिणात्यास्त्विमे देशा अपरान्तान्निबोध मे ।सौर्पारकाः कालनदा दुल्लास्तालीयकैः सह ॥कारस्करा लोहजङ्घा वानेया राजभद्रकाः ।तोसलाः कोशलाश्चैव त्रैपुरा विदिशास्तथा ॥तुषारास्तुम्बराश्चैव पाटवो नैषधैः सह ।पुलिन्दाश्च सुशीलाश्च रूपपास्तामसैः सह ॥तथा कुरुमिणश्चैव सर्व्वे चैव करस्कराः ।नासिकाख्याश्च ये चान्ये ये चैवान्तरनर्म्मदाः ।मारुकच्छाः समाहेयाः सर्व्वे सारस्वतैः सह ।कच्छीयाश्च सुराष्ट्राश्च आवन्त्याश्चार्व्वुदैः सह ॥इत्येते ह्यपरान्ताश्च शृणु बिन्ध्यनिवासिनः ।मलजाश्च करूषाश्च मेकलाश्चोत्कलैः सह ॥उत्तमर्णा दशार्णाश्च भोजाः किस्किन्धकैः सह ।अनूपास्तुण्डिकेराश्च वीरहोत्रा ह्यवन्तयः ॥एते जनपदाः सर्व्वे बिन्ध्यपृष्ठनिवासिनः ॥अतो देशान् प्रवक्ष्यामि पर्व्वताश्रयिणश्च ये ॥ * ॥निर्हारा हंसमार्गाश्च कुपथास्तङ्गनाः खसाः ।कुत्साः प्रावरणाश्चैव ऊर्णा दर्व्वाः सहूहुकाः ॥त्रिगर्त्ता मालवाश्चैव किरातास्तामसैः सह ।कृतत्रेतादिकश्चात्र चतुर्युगकृतो विधिः ॥ * ॥एतत्तु भारतं वर्षं चतुःसंस्थानसंस्थितम् ॥दक्षिणे परतो ह्यस्य पूर्ब्बेण च महोदधिः ।हिमवानुत्तरेणास्य कार्मुकस्य यथा गुणः ॥तदेतद्भारतं वर्षं सर्व्वबीजं द्विजोत्तम ! ।देवत्वममरेशत्वं देवत्वं मर्त्यतां तथा ॥मृगपश्वम्बरचरा योनीस्तद्वत् सरीसृपाः ।स्थावराणाञ्च सर्व्वेषामतो ब्रह्मन् ! शुभाशुभैः ॥प्रयान्ति कर्म्मभूर्ब्रह्मन्नान्यलोकेषु विद्यते ।देवानामपि विप्रर्षे ! सदैवैष मनोरथः ॥अपि मानुषमाप्स्यामो देवत्वात् प्रच्युताःक्षितौ ।मनुष्याः कुरुते तत्तु यन्न शक्यं सुरासुरैः ॥स्वकर्म्मनिगडग्रस्तैः स्वकर्म्मक्षपणोत्सुकैः ।न किञ्चित् क्रियते कर्म्म सुखलेशोपबृंहितैः ॥”इति श्रीमार्कण्डेयपुराणे भारतखण्डवर्णन-नामाध्यायः ॥ ५७ ॥ * ॥ अपि च ।“भारतेऽप्यस्मिन् वर्षे सरिच्छैलाः सन्ति बहवः ।मलयो मङ्गलप्रस्थो नाकस्त्रिकूट ऋषभःकूटकः कोण्वः सह्यो देवगिरिरृष्यमूकःश्रीशैलो वेङ्कटो महेन्द्रो वारिधारो बिन्ध्यःशुक्तिमानृक्षगिरिः पारिपात्रो द्रोणश्चित्रकूटोगोवर्द्धनो रैवतकः ककुभो नीलो गोकामुखःइन्द्रकीलः कामगिरिरिति चान्ये शतसहस्रशःशैलास्तेषां नितम्बप्रभवा नदा नद्यश्च सन्त्यसं-ख्याताः । एतासामपो भारत्यः प्रजा नामभिरेवपुनन्तीनामात्मना चोपस्पृशन्ति चन्द्रवशाताम्रपर्णी अवटोदा कृतमाला वैहायसीकावेरी वेण्वा पयस्विनी शर्करावर्त्ता तुङ्गभद्राकृष्णवेण्वा भीमरथी गोदावरी र्बिन्ध्यापयोष्णो तापी रेवा सुरसा नर्म्मदा चर्म्मण्वतीअन्धः शोणश्च नदौ महानदी वेदस्मृतिरृषि-कुल्या त्रिसामा शिकी मन्दाकिनी यमुनासरस्वती दृशद्वती गोमती सरयूरोघवती षष्ठ-वती सप्तवती सुषोमा शतद्रुश्चन्द्रभागा मरुद्-वृधा वितस्ता असिक्नी विश्वेति महानद्यः ।अस्मिन्नेव वर्षे पुरुषैर्लब्धजन्मभिः शुक्ललोहित-कृष्णवर्णेन स्वारब्धेन कर्म्मणा दिव्यमानुषनारक-गतयो बह्व्य आत्मन आनुपूर्ब्ब्येण सर्व्वा ह्येवसर्व्वेषां विधीयन्ते । यथावर्णविधानमपवर्ग-श्चापि भवति । योऽसौ भगवति सर्व्वभूतात्मनिअनात्म्येऽनिरुक्तेऽनिलयने परमात्मनि वासुदेवेअनन्यनिमित्तभक्तियोगलक्षणो नानागति-निमित्ताविद्याग्रन्थिबन्धनद्वारेण यदा हि महा-पुरुषपूरुषप्रसङ्गः । एतदेव हि देवा गायन्ति ।“अहो वतैषां किमकारि शोभनंप्रसन्न एषां स्विदुत स्वयं हरिः ।यैर्जन्म लब्धं नृषु भारताजिरेमुकुन्दसेवौपयिकस्पृहा हि नः ॥किं दुष्करैर्न्नः क्रतुभिस्तषोव्रतै-र्दानादिभिर्वा द्युजयेन फल्गुना ।न यत्र नारायणपादपङ्कज-स्मृतिः प्रमुष्टातिशयेन्द्रियोत्सवात् ॥कल्पायुषां नजयात् पुनर्भवात्क्षणायुषां भारतभूजयो वरः ।क्षणेन मर्त्येन कृतं मनस्विनःसंन्यस्य संयान्त्यभयं पदं हरेः ॥न यत्र वैकुण्ठकथा सुधापगान साधवो भागवतास्तदाश्रयाः ।न यत्र यज्ञेशमखा महोत्सवाःसुरेशलोकोऽपि न वै स सेव्यताम् ॥प्राप्ता नृजातिन्त्विह ये च जन्तवोज्ञानक्रियाद्रव्यकलापसम्भृताम् ।न चेद्यतेरन्न पुनर्मृतायतेभूयो वनौका इव यान्ति बन्धनम् ।यैः श्रद्धया वर्हिषि भागशो हवि-र्निरुप्तमिष्टं विधिमन्त्रवस्तुतः ।एकः पृथङ्नामभिराहुतो मुदागृह्णाति पूर्णः स्वयमाशिषां प्रभुः ॥सत्यं दिशत्यर्थितमर्थितो नृणांनैवार्थदो यत् पुनरर्थिता यतः ।म्वयं विधत्ते भजतामनिच्छता-मिच्छापिधानं निजपादपल्लवम् ॥यद्यत्र नः स्वर्गसुखावशेषितंस्विष्टस्य सूक्तस्य कृतस्य शोभनम् ।तेनाजनाभे स्मृतिमज्जन्मनः स्या-द्वर्षे हरिर्यद्भजतां शं तनोति ॥”श्रीशुक उवाच । जम्बूद्वीपस्य च राजन्नुपद्बीपा-नष्टौ हैक उपदिशन्ति सागरात्मजैरश्वान्वेषणइमां महीं परितो निखनद्भिरुपकल्पितान् ।तद्यथा । स्वर्णप्रस्थश्चन्द्रशुक्ल आवर्त्तनो रमणकोनन्दहरिणः पाञ्चजन्यः हलो लङ्केति । एवंतव भारतोत्तमजम्बुद्वीपवर्षविभागो यथोप-देशमुपवर्णितः ।” इति श्रीभागवते महापुराणे५ स्कन्धे द्वीपवर्षवर्णनं नाम १९ अध्यायः ॥(विष्णुपुराणे च । २ अंशे ३ अध्याये ।“उत्तरं यत् समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।वर्षं तत् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र सन्ततिः ॥ १ ॥नवयोजनसाहस्रो विस्तारोऽस्य महामुने ! ।कर्म्मभूमिरियं स्वर्गमपवर्गञ्च गच्छताम् ॥” २ ॥अपरञ्च ।“अतः संप्राप्यते स्वर्गो मुक्तिमस्मात् प्रयान्ति वै ।तिर्य्यक्त्वं नरकञ्चापि यान्त्यतः पुरुषा मुने ! ॥ ४ ॥इतः स्वर्गश्च मोक्षश्च मध्यमन्तश्च गम्यते ।नखल्वन्यत्र मर्त्त्यानां कर्म्मभूमौ विधीयते ॥” ५ ॥अपि च ।“चत्वारि भारते वर्षे युगान्यत्र महामुने ! ।कृतं त्रेता द्वापरञ्च कलिश्चान्यत्र न क्वचित् ॥ १९ ॥तपस्तप्यन्ति मुनयो जुह्वते चात्र यज्विनः ।दानानि चात्र दीयन्ते परलोकार्थमादरात् ॥” २० ॥“अत्रापि भारतं श्रेष्ठं जम्बुद्वीपे महामुने ! ।यतो हि कर्म्मभूरेषा ततोऽन्या भोगभूमयः ॥ २२ ॥अत्र जन्म सहस्राणां सहस्रैरपि सत्तम ! ।कदाचिल्लभते जन्तुर्मानुष्यं पुण्यसञ्चयात् ॥ २३ ॥गायन्ति देवाः किल गीतकानिधन्यास्तु ते भारतभूमिभागे ।स्वर्गापवर्गास्पदमार्गभूतेभवन्ति भूयः पुरुषाः सुरत्वात् ॥ २४ ॥कर्म्माण्यसङ्कल्पिततत्फलानिसंन्यस्य विष्णौ परमात्मभूते ।अवाप्य तां कर्म्म महीमनन्तेतस्मिल्लयं येत्वमलाः प्रयान्ति ॥ २५ ॥जानीम नैतत् क्व वयं विलीनेस्वर्गप्रदे कर्म्मणि देहबन्धम् ।प्राप्स्याम धन्याः खलु ते मनुष्याये भारते नेन्द्रियविप्रहीनाः ॥” २६ ॥)
भारती, स्त्री, (भृ + अतच् । स्त्रियां ङीप् ।)वचनम् । (यथा, कुमारे । ६ । ७९ ।“तमर्थमिव भारत्या सुतया योक्तुमर्हसि ॥”)सरस्वती । (यथा, कालिदासः ।“वीणापुस्तकरञ्जितहस्तेभगवति भारति देवि ! नमस्ते ॥”)पक्षिभेदः । वृत्तिभेदः । इति मेदिनी । ने,१३८ ॥ यथा, –“शृङ्गारे कौशिकी वीरे सात्वत्यारभटी पुनः ।रसे रौद्रे च वीभत्से वृत्तिः सर्व्वत्र भारती ॥”भारती वृत्तिस्तु भारती संस्कृतप्रायो वाग्-व्यापारो नराश्रयः । इति साहित्यदर्पणस्य ६परिच्छेदः ॥ ब्राह्मी । इति राजनिर्घण्टः ॥(शङ्कराचार्य्यशिष्यतोटकस्य शिष्याणामन्य-तमस्य उपाधिविशेषः । यथा, प्राणतोषिण्या-मवधूतप्रकरणे ।“विद्याभारेण सम्पूर्णः सर्व्वभारं परित्यजेत् ।दुःखभारं न जानाति भारती परिकीर्त्तिता ॥”नदीविशेषः । यथा, महाभारते । ३ । २२१ । २५ ।“भारती सुप्रयोगा च कावेरी मुर्म्मुरायथा ॥”)
Note
See: Talageri's rejoinder to Narahari Achar, on The Use of “Astronomical” Evidence in Dating The Rigveda and The Vedic Period (December, 2017)
http://talageri.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-use-of-astronomical-evidence-in.html
Many R̥gveda texts deploy metaphors which are tough to interpret. Many scholars have interpreted some texts as references to astronomical phenomena. Such interpretations should be respected and used as references to cross-check the dates of events described in the texts suggested from archaeological contexts or textual sequences (of the type Shrikant Talageri derives as Early, Middle or Late Veda period texts).
http://talageri.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-use-of-astronomical-evidence-in.html
Many R̥gveda texts deploy metaphors which are tough to interpret. Many scholars have interpreted some texts as references to astronomical phenomena. Such interpretations should be respected and used as references to cross-check the dates of events described in the texts suggested from archaeological contexts or textual sequences (of the type Shrikant Talageri derives as Early, Middle or Late Veda period texts).
An examination of the chronology of RgVeda based on astronomical references using Planetarium Software
B. N. Narahari Achar (2009)
Introduction
It has been well known that more than a hundred years ago Jacobi and Tilak independently arrived at the conclusion that astronomical references in RgVeda can lead to a determination of the chronology of RgVeda. This topic has been discussed extensively in the literature. Recently Talageri has published an absolute chronology for RgVeda based on his analysis of RgVeda and Avesta. He has also established a relative chronology for different ma%}ala-s(Books) of the RgVda. It will be interesting to examine this chronology in the light of the chronology based on astronomical methods using Planetarium software.
Talageri’s Chronology
Talageri arrives at the following chronology for the Books of RgVeda:
Early VI, III, VII . 3400-2600 BCE
Middle IV, II, middle portion of I 2600-2200 BCE
Late V, VIII, IX, X and rest of I 2200-1400 BCE
Key References for the astronomy based chronology
Although there are literally hundreds of references on the astronomical method, we restrict our consideration to the following references as being the most pertinent for purposes of this brief report:
Tilak, Jacobi, Dixit, Sengupta.
The astronomical references considered most pertinent and treated in the above key references are the legends of r̥bhu-s, legend of vr̥ṣākapi, the legend of maṇḍūka-s, the legend of yama and his two dogs, the solar eclipse attributed to sage atri, and finally the occurrence of Vernal equinox inkr̥ttikā, mr̥gaśira,
ārdrā, and punarvasu .
The legend of r̥bhu-s
r̥bhu-s occur in eleven sūktas in RgVeda, I. 20, I. 110, I. 161, I. 164, IV. 33- IV.-39.
r̥bhu-s are three in number, r̥bhu, vibhvan and vāja. They represent the three seasons of the year (lunar year of 354 days) at the end of which they take rest for 12 days in the house of aghoya (the unconcealable, the sun). They are awakened from their sleep and vasta gives the information that they were awakened by the hound.
Tilak interprets this legend as referring to the time when the year commenced with equinox in Canis Major.
The legend of vr̥ṣākapi
The legend appears in RgVeda X.86 and is not an easy hymn to understand. Tilak gives a long verse by verse discussion of this hymn and concludes that the import of the legend can be understood by taking vr̥ṣākapi to represent the sun at vernal equinox when the dog star started the equinoctial year. According to Tilak, this means vernal equinox occurring at Orion.
However, Sengupta interprets the r̥bhu legend as referring to the heliacal rising of Canis Major after the summer solstice.
The legend of maṇḍūka-s
The socalled ‘Frog Song’, is the famous sūkta in RgVeda, VII.103. Jacobi finds in this sūkta a reference to the beginning of the year in the rainy season, which occurs after the summer solstice. According to Jacobi, the first rainy month was Bh@drapada, the full moon near the nakṣatra proṣṭhapada with the summer solstice occurring in the uttaraphālguṇī nakṣatra. Jacobi finds support for his argument from the ritual of upākarma mentioned in the dharma and gr̥hya sūtra-s.
As Law has pointed out, this hymn VII.103 (considered a late hymn by Macdonnell) should not be considered in isolation, but along with two previous hymns, VII.101 and 102. These three are prayers addressed to parjanya for rain. Nirukta also indicates that this hymn is an invocation by Vasiṣṭha to parjanya for rainfall. Law indicates that summer solstice in uttaraphālguṇī also corresponds to vernal equinox in mr̥gaśiras.
Figure 1 Equinox at Mrgasira (zeta Tau) 4240 BCE
Figure 2 Equinox at Mrgasira (beta-Tau) 3820 BCE
This is based on the new identification of m=ga^iras with Beta-Tau rather than Lambda-Ori, as the former is closer to the Ecliptic and brighter.
The legend of yama and his two dogs
This legend occurs in RgVeda X.14 , in the following two verses :
“pass by a secure path beyond the two spotted four-eyed dogs, the progeny of saramā, and join the wise pit=-s who rejoice fully with yama.
Entrust him, o king, to thy two dogs which are thy protectors, yama, the four-eyed guardians of the road, renowned by man, and grant him prosperity and health.” (Wilson's translation)
The astronomical interpretation according to Sengupta, is that the two stars, a-Canis Minoris and a-Canis Majoris pointed to the south celestial pole. In other words, this referred to a time when the two stars crossed the meridian at the same time or, the two had the same right ascension.
Figure 3.Equinox at Punarvasu 5700 BCE
Figure 4. Equinox at ardra May 4, 5440 BCE
Figure 5. Heliacal rising of Canis Major 12 days after summer solstice. The sun is 18 degrees below the horizon when the star rises. The year turns out to be 2770 BCE
Figure 6. Two dogstars point to south pole 4350 BCE
The solar eclipse observed by atri
A solar eclipse observed by atri is described in RgVeda V.40 the first attempt to date it was made by Ludwig. Sengupta determines the date of this eclipse to be July 26, 3928 BCE and regards this as also the date of atri. It may be noted that there are many places in RgVeda where reference is made to atri, including the following: I.51.3, I.112.7, I.116.8, I.119.6, I.139.9, I.180.4, I.183.5, V. 73.6-7, VII. 68.5, VII.71.5, VIII.35.19, VIII.36.7, VIII.42.5, VIII.62.3-8, X.39.9,X.143.1-3,X.150.5. In particular, the legend of a^vini-s occurs in V. 73.
Figure 7. Solar eclipse at Uttaraphalguni July 26, 3928 BCE
Figure 8. Equinox at Krittika 2220 BCE
The following sky chart in figure 9 shows the occurrence of autumnal equinox at canis major, in 7240 BCE
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Discussion
Clik here to view.
DiscussionThe dates derived from astronomical references span a range from 7000 BCE-2200 BCE. The references are derived from almost all the books of R̥gVeda These dates are consistent with the date of Mahābhārata war derived on the basis of astronomical references and planetarium software by the author. However, the range of dates for RgVeda based on astronomical references and verified by planetarium software does not agree with either the relative or absolute chronology proposed by Talageri
Acknowledgement
The figures 1,2,5,6, and 8 were generated by SkyMapPro software, 3,4 and 9 were generated by SkyGazer and figure 7 was produced by Redshift 5 software.
Dikshit, S. B.,(1896) Bharatiya jyotishshastra,Poona
Frawley, D.,(1991), Gods, Sages, and Kings,Passage Press, Salt Lake City
Jacobi (1894) “On the date of the RgVeda” Indian Antiquary, xxiii, pp 154-159.
Sengupta, P. C., (1947) Ancient Indian Chronology, University of Calcutta, Calcutta.
Talageri, S. G.,(2008) The RgVeda and The Avesta The Final EvidenceAditya Prakashan, New Delhi.
Tilak, B. G., (1893, reprint 1984) The OrionCosmo Publications, New Delhi
See: Narayana Iyengar, R., 2011, Dhruva the ancient Vedic-Hindu pole star (IJHS)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/20298010/Dhruva-the-Ancient-Vedic-Hindu-Pole-Star
See: Narayana Iyengar, R., 2011, Dhruva the ancient Vedic-Hindu pole star (IJHS)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/20298010/Dhruva-the-Ancient-Vedic-Hindu-Pole-Star
Narahari Achar and Raghavan’s Chronology
3067 BCE • Krishna’s departure for Hastinapura Sept. 26 (revati nakshatra) • Krishnaa reaches Hastinapura(Bharani) Sept. 28 • Lunar eclipse on Kartika Pornima Sept. 29 • Krishnaa rides with Karna (u. phalguni) Oct. 8 • Solar eclipse at jyeshtha Oct. 14 • War starts Nov. 22
•.. Winter solstice Jan 13, 3066 BCE • Bhishma expires (rohini ) Jan 17, 3066 BCE (magha shukla ashtami)
CONCLUSIONS Astronomical references in the Epic are very consistent. The word ‘graha’ refers mostly to comets, this is especially clear by the description of ‘hairy graha’ some of which extend over three nakshatras in the sky. There is no inconsistency in planetary positions. The references to planetary positions, which are common to both udyoga and Bhishma parvans lead to a unique date for the war. Date based on data from within the Epic Date of the Mahabharata War 3067 BCE. This date should form the basis of chronology of Bharat.
The Vedic House
Louis Renou
§ 1. It is in the ritual literature, not the oral chants (Mantra), that we may hope to find information concerning the practical aspects of houses in the Vedic period. All of the Gr.hyasûtras, for example, describe rites that accompany house construction. By means of these descriptions, this ritual literature provides rare glimpses into the process of building and even into the organization of the house interior.
Terms used to denote a house vary in these texts. The most common is gr.ha ; agâra also is used, but the more specific term is shâlâ. For example, the Kaushikasûtra uses shâlâ when discussing a ritual act that is effective at a certain distance from the house or is to be used upon entering a new house. The Shatapata Brâhman.a uses shâlâ to designate "profane" habitations as distinct from cultic constructions.
Terms of a more general nature are also used, a typical habit of ritualists to avoid a precise terminology. Thus we find veshman, "habitation"; sharan.a, meaning literally "refuge"; avasâna, literally "place where one removes the harness after a journey" but also meaning "site of the house." The word that occurs most frequently in this series, however, is vâstu, designating both the house and its site. One text uses the word vimita ("construction") to refer to a ritual "hut" of the same type described in the Shrautasûtras (§ 11).
§ 2. The rituals (vidhi or karman) relating to a house are generally called vâstushamana (literally "appeasement of the soil"). In the Vaikhânasîyas, the ritual of building is integrated into the practices concerning birthing; elsewhere it stands alone. We here restrict ourselves to facts that reveal techniques of construction, leaving aside instructions given in several texts pertaining to the nature of the soil, choosing of the date to begin construction, etc.
The ground is to be cleaned with an udûha, a type of broom. Care is taken to lay out the surrounding wall (parilikhya). The shvalâyan.a Shrautasûtra, always more detailed, directs that a thousand furrows should be made. It seems that a preliminary sketch should be created by digging and tilling the soil (uddhatya).
The shvalâyana orders that the site should be of such a nature as to allow water flowing from all directions toward the center to form an ambulatory path (pradaks.in.a) around the bedroom (shayanîya); then the waters should drain without noise toward the east. According to Nârâyan.a's commentary, this means that the soil should be raised at the sides, depressed in the center, and slightly slanted to the east; and that there should be a channel (syandanikâ) to the north so that the water could drain off. The Baudâyana Shrautasûtra states only that the location of the bed (talpadesha) should be situated to the northeast.
The shvalâyana assigns the kitchen ((bhaktasharan.a) to theplace where the water drains (samavasrâva), i.e., on the east side of the house, north of the bedroom. But the same expression, under the variant samavasrava, is used to note that the general siting of the house is to be chosen such that the draining of water should be the same everywhere; similarly, Devapâla explains that "no side should be lower or higher than any other." From a shared earlier practice no doubt these two divergent traditions arose.
§ 3. The salon (sabhâ) in which Narâyan.a specifies the master of the house greets and receives his guests, is to be "built" in the part of the house "that inclines toward the south" according to the shvalâyana (i.e. in the northern part according to Nârâyan.a's commentary). Finally, the same text implies that the best situation for this room is at the water's confluence, that is to say at the center of the depression as Nârâyan.a mandates.
The shape of the site is either that of a brick (shâdâ) or of a "circle" (man.d.aladvîpa), according to some texts. The shvalâyana uses less imagistic terms: the space is either square (samacaturasra) or rectangular (âyatacaturasra).
§ 4. Construction of the house itself begins first by digging a certain number of holes (garta). These post-holes are to have a depth equal to the distance from the ankle to knee so that the water drains well from them (dhârayis.n.ûdakatara). Jayarâma, in his commentary on the Pâraskara Gr.hyasûtra, speaks of four corner holes. The Kaushikasûtra mentions a middle post-hole (madhyama garta).
The next step in the process is the installation of posts (sthûn.â) of udumbara wood. Sometimes wood of an inferior quality is used, but the Shân.khâyana Shrautasûtra recommends a ritual of atonement (prâyashcitta) to avoid potential problems. Nirukta calls the pillar (sthûn.â) "that which rests in the cavity (darashayâ)." Some commentaries indicate that if the house is "white" (dhavalagr.ha, which may mean "of stone" in this context), stones replace the sthûn.â, and one commentary adds that for houses a stone is placed at the bottom of each hole to support the post placed on top of it; however, no text of the Vedic period itself mentions stone as a building material.
Because the number of holes is not specified, we do not know the precise number of posts. The Pâraskara Gr.hyasûtra speaks of four, but this may only refer to those at the corners. In reality a rather larger number of pillars may have been used; nine are mentioned in the Shân.khâyana Shrautasûtra (see § 5).
§ 5. A central pillar (madhyamâ sthûn.â) is frequently named. (The compound form, madhyama-sthûn.â, confirms that we are dealing with a technical term. ) The Shân.khâyana uses the more poetic phrase "king-post" (sthûn.ârâja). Other texts speak of two such sthûn.ârâja, which Mâtr.datta's commentary understands to be the "two long sthûn.â to the north and south." The erection of a "king-post" (that is, a central pillar capable of supporting the entire structure according to Nârâyan.a's commentary) takes place last. More precisely, the pastamba Gr.hyasûtra instructs that the pillar to the south side of the door be first erected, then that to the north. These posts that support the door on the north and south and their post-holes are referred to as "of the portal" (dvâryâ).
§ 6. From this it seems that the door of the house, or at least the principal door, was on the east façade, but, again, texts differ. According to the Gobhila Gr.hyasûtra, the door can be to the east, north, or south; a door to the west is expressly excluded. According to the Mânava Shrautasûtra, it is to the east or south; Laugaks.i concurs. the Vaikhânasîya mentions two doors located to the east or north and enumerates east, west, south, and north doors. One text mentions a "door fastener" (dvârapidhâna); others mention paired dvârapaks.as, which undoubtedly denote either leaves or panels that comprise a door or the doors themselves.
Two texts say that there is an appended or rear door (anudvâra) "placed so that one cannot be seen" (yathâ na sam.lokî syât). One commentary says that this might mean either a door overlooking the court or one opposite the main door, and that this rule is intended to prevent the master of the house from being seen by untouchables (can.d.âlas, etc.). The Vaikânasîya gives the name bhuvan.ga ("earth edge"), by which it seems to mean the threshold (dvârapat.t.ikâ).
§ 7. Returning to the foundation posts, bamboo sleepers (vam.sha) are laid so as to connect posts to one another and to help support the roof, but no details are furnished regarding the number and arrangement of these transverse beams, apart from the central one (madhyama vam.sha). One begins by placing the east beam, then the northern one. Because these two beams are "attached" to the pillars, they bear the name "sañjanî" in one source, and the two "paks.as" of a secular hall (= the door posts of § 6?) are connected to the central beam with the aid of a cord according to another source. We learn that ritual dwellings are characterized by the west to east direction of their sleepers (vam.shas) while secular halls (shâlâs) have these oriented south to north. The wood used for these beams (vam.shas) is subject to splintering according to one text.
Only one text in the Gr.hya tradition makes reference to the disposition of rooms: the shvalâyana advises that rooms (sharan.a) should be arranged (kârayet) in the spaces between the beams (vam.shas; vam.shântara), which means, according to Nârâyan.a, that divisions by means of partitions (kud.ya), etc., are customarily fitted in between two vam.shas. This word kud.ya, however, is attested in only one Vedic source, where it refers to an exterior wall. It is also a wall or a wall's junction with a post (sthûn.â), seeing the Pâraskara Gr.hyasûtra's use of the word "sam.dhi" (juncture), but in conformity with the Yajus (sacrificial prayers), which do not view this as a technical meaning.
§ 8. We are told, incidentally, that the house is covered (channa) and that it includes roofs or awnings (chadis). We know that the roof was thatched, but specifics are given only in the Shrauta. The word stûpa (literally, it seems, a "tuft of hair" in the form of an egret bun) is found in one Mantra. As point of fact, the sacrificial yûpa post was assimilated into the symbolic stûpa, but it seems rather that the word stûpa originally designated the points of thatch that the Shrauta texts describe as being gathered back toward the post at the center of the roof (§ 17). Elsewhere it is the prastara ("bouquet of grasses placed on the vedi") that is compared with the stûpa.
A point treated with great detail is that of a "water reservoir" (man.ika) installed on four stones . The particulars given are not concerned with construction, however: the question is of a portable utensil.
Allusions are also made to seats (âsana) and to niches (upasthâna) in which images of the gods are placed. A "ritual foyer" (agninidhâna) is also mentioned.
We must recall that the act of constructing a house and particularly of raising the pillars is designated by the root mi- , which in the Mantras is generally a predicate. But the proper term to denote the erection of sthûn.â is uc-chri.
§9. Some of these indications become clearer if one compares them with those given in the Shrautasûtras. These later texts describe on several occasions - normally in the discussion of the Agnis.t.oma ceremony - a variety of small structures intended to accomodate those people who oversee or assist in the sacrifices or in ritual functions. The commentaries sometimes incorporate them under the classification "yajñâgâra." These are slight temporary constructions, not used for habitation. In spite of their special role, these shelters provide valuable information concerning the process of building: that is to say they form a commentary on the description of the dwelling in the Gr.hyasûtras, and the shared vocabulary is considerable.
At the beginning of the Agnis.t.oma ceremony, a hall (shâlâ) used to shelter those assisting in the sacrifices is described. One text calls this hall vimita, but vimita is distinct from shâlâ in that, as Sâyan.a specifies, the former is square and the latter rectangular. According to Baudâyana's Shulbasûtra, a shâlâ forms a rectangle that is 16 or 12 feet in length, 12 or 10 feet wide.
§10. If we take Baudâyana's description as a base, we see that this shâlâ consists of a system of vam.sha sleepers oriented west to east, from which the name prâcînavam.sha for this edifice is derived. More precisely, according to Sâyan.a, two traverse beams are positioned on the corner pillars and serve as lintels for the east and west doors; other beams are placed above (uparivam.sha), perpendicular to the first two. The middle beam (pr.s.t.havam.sha or madhyavala ) has its ends positioned at the center of the two lintels. The Shrauta texts do not mention the uprights (sthûn.â), but the Shatapatha Brâhman.a does speak of the "king-post of the east side." The two series of texts complement one another.
The shâlâ is slightly raised to the east, lowered to the west, and enclosed on all sides (parishrita). On the nature of this enclosure (bhittyâdinâ), similar descriptions provide us more information. Openings (atikâsha) at the four cardinal points form doors. The Gr.hyasûtras of pstamba and Hiranyakesin, however, dissociate these openings from the doors, placing them at corners (srakti) facing intermediary regions. There need not necessarily be four doors, according to the pastamba Gr.hyasûtra; however, the hall that has four doors promises the greatest boon to those making the sacrifice. Some texts mention two doors, which are specified as dvishaya, the meaning of which can be clarified if one compares a description that says the opening of a tent for chariots is such that one can see three rooms at the same time. This prescription contrasts with the non-visibility required by the Gr.hya (§ 6).
§ 11. Baudâyana again mentions a shelter (agâra) when discussing the cooking of ritual food (milk); a hut for the wife of the sacrificer (patnishâla) ; and possibly two other shelters (parivr.te) serving as some sort of bathing huts enclosed with mats. Libation huts referred to in the Kaushikasûtra have east and west doors. Finally, a structure used in the ritual of the dead (vimita or agâra) has a north and a south door.
Elsewhere, two small semi-detached sheds situated just outside of the sacrificial area are mentioned: the âgnîdhrîya or âgnîdhra, which is the residence of the priest officiating over the fire (âgnî), and the mârjâlîya where purifications are made. Both are square, each five cubits per side. The first shed has a door to the south, the second a door to the north. The âgnîdhrîya has its traverse beams oriented west-east and has four pillars; is bound on all sides with woven mats (parishrita); and its entrance is to the south. The south side of the mârjâlîya is to be left open for circulation (sam.cara) according to one source; another instead places circulation to the north in the âgnîdhrîya. (This is a slight divergence that does not necessarily indicate an authentic dual tradition).
§ 12. The most explicit instructions regarding the "house" for ritual are those which are given to us for the construction of a chariot shed (havirdhânaman.d.apa) and a "seat" [or shed for the sacrificial assembly] (sadas). These two descriptions are closely related and are meant to be complimentary.
The chariot "pavilion" (the word man.d.apa only figures in commentaries ) is a small building designed to house two chariots for the soma; it obviously is coordinated to the dimensions of the chariots, which not expressly given elsewhere.
According to the Baudâyana Shrautasûtra, six holes (garta; elsewhere also avat.a) are dug on the north-south axis in front of the two chariots, which are placed side-by-side; six holes are then dug behind along a parallel line. Into these holes are driven twelve posts (sthûn.â), the brackets of which (literally "ears"; karn.a) are oriented west-east. The Mânava Shrautasûtra discusses four sthûn.â on each side, those in front of shoulder height and those in the rear shorter. The pastamba Gr.hyasûtra speaks of pillars erected on all sides while Bhâttanârâyan.a's commentary only mentions two pillars on the front and instructs that the man.d.apa be slightly higher in the front than in the back, which agrees with the Mânava Shrautasûtra. Similarly, the pastamba Gr.hyasûtra says the man.d.apa should be slightly raisedin front, slightly lowered in back.
§ 13. According to Baudâyana, there are two cross-beams (vam.sha), one south-north, the other east-west. pastamba also mentions two north-oriented cross-beams, placed respectively on front and back pillars. Placement of a roof (chadis) comes next; the term designates a "covering" of thatch (kat.a) laid over the transverse beams. The central roof (madhyamam. chadis) is laid on first, then the lateral roofs to the north and south of the central roof. This middle roof is three cubits in width, nine in length. The interstices of the roofs (antavarta) are crammed with thatch matting (kat.a) and reeds (tejanî). Some texts also refer to two doors.
§ 14. Above the east entrance, in the space between the two middle pillars, is an ornamental fronton called the "forehead" (rarât.î). This rarât.î is a strap-work of finely knotted reeds (ais.îkî), inclined toward the east and attached to the front cross-beam by a thread. The Mânava Shrautasûtra says this rarât.î is a pad to prevent drafts (varasa) made of grasses that one places at the center of a strap-work of reeds; it seems that the grasses are gathered together by encircling them several times with thread, the two ends joined together, and the strap-work suspended from the front cross-beam.
§ 15. The enclosure (parishrayan.a) consists of two mats that are hung to surround the hall (man.d.apa). These are called ucchrâyî. One of these is attached to the post on the right side of the front door (dvârbâhu ) and unrolled towards the right in order to cover the south face and half of the east face up to the rear post on the right side; the other is reversed and arranged symmetrically with the first.
These mats are attached to the pillars by the following process: the Adhvaryu priest takes a handful of kusha grass, grasps the front right pillar, ties the grass where a needle is driven in, and passes a cord through the eye of the needle. He makes a knot (granthi); at the hanging end of the knot he secures the smaller end of the rope, then undoes the knot. Assistants cover the post from bottom to top, securing the grass by winding the cord but without making knots, and undoubtedly attaching the matted wall covering at the same time (according to Caland). The same procedure occurs for the front left pillar and both of the rear pillars. According to some authorities, the knots are only undone when all this work is complete. All the other knots referred to should also be removed.
§ 16. Most of the preceeding description of the construction of a chariot shed also applies for the "seat" (sadas) placed in front of the chariot shed in the sacrificial area: specifically the roof joints (antarvarta; § 13), cladding (parishrayan.a; § 15), instructions dealing with visibility (sâm.kâshina; § 10) and the two doors.
In some sources this covered platform (sadas) measures nine cubits in width, east-west, and 27 cubits in length north-south. Other sources give measures of 10 by 27 or 28; 9, 10.5, or 12 by 18, 21, or 24; some suggest that the dimensions can be left indeterminate or be well enough estimated by the officiants and servants, as is done for the mound of earth that serves as an altar (dhis.n.ya).
Three rows of holes are made. A central pillar of udumbara wood (from which it derives the name audumbarî sthûn.â) is raised the height of the sacrificer. Its brackets are oriented east-west. The outer pillars (paryantîya) are of navel-height, as are all the seats (sadas) (or they are improvised). The brackets of the outer pillars are also oriented east-west.
§ 17. As noted earlier, the three principal cross-beams are arranged in a south-north direction; this orientation is characteristic of the sadas in contrast to the east orientation of the chariot shed (havirdhâna). But other cross-pieces are oriented east-west.
The roofing system consists of nine roofs (navacchadi). The central roof, which rests on the audumbarî post, is secured first; then the two side roofs to the east and west; then three units to the south; and finally three to the north. The edges of the roofs to the north are inserted under those at the center so that the front edges of the southern roofs would be slightly above the others. The Mânava Shrautasûtra mentions 15, 17, 21, or 11 roofs; pastamba mentions 15, 16, 17, or 21 in conformance with the ceremonies. An awning (bhitti; perhaps made of woven bamboo) may substitute for the roof (chadis) when the latter is lacking. The pitch of the roof is towards the north in some sources; or towards the central post (audumbarî) in others.
§ 18. We have followed the systematic descriptions given by the Shrauta texts. Most refer back to the Brâhman.as or to the prose of the Sam.hitâs, but only the directions for ritual permit us to follow events in detail and in progression.
Can one go still further? If there is some trace in the Mantras of allusions to the house and its organization, is this in accord with facts given in the ritual and exegetic literature?
The R.kasam.hitâ has only very meager and predictable evidence. It is noteworthy, however, in that it does contain references to the principal elements of construction. In one section the term for beam (vam.sha) appears in a passage where it is said that the priests raised Agni [the fire-god] like a beam (vam.sha). Indra [the lord of heaven] is likened to the raised sky that does not need beams (avam.she). The R.g Veda also refers to pillars (sthûn.â) in comparisons such as "you carry men, O Agni, like a support pillar." One finds the roots stabh-/skabh-, with the derivatives skambha and skambhana closely connected in figurative uses, which may be the more ancient name for pillars (sthûn.â). This root crops up again in that sense in the form stambha in the prose of the Brâhman.as and in the Shrauta and Gr.hyasûtras.
The root sri is used in a similar sense in one passage of a funerary hymn in which the poet supplicates the Earth to allow a thousand columns to be raised in the cavity where the dead repose, so that her weight [that of the Earth] will not crush those who take refuge in her breast.
§ 19. The house itself is called gr.ha, a term corresponding to the archaic words dama and durona. This last is probably composed of dur "door" and oni "arm," equivalent to "dvârbulu" in ritual texts, thus confirming the importance of the door towards which many prescriptive comments are directed. The plural (both masculine and feminine) durya, which is also a word for house, similarly encompasses an ancient sense of stambha or sthûn.â as "the pillar of the portal," a meaning also preserved in ritual (§ 5). In brief, there is only slight discrepancy of expression between the Mantras and the prose sources, not major rethinking or changes.
The term for door itself (dvâr, etc.) is seen only in allegorical uses, but its frequency is significant. The term âtâ is also, it would seem, a name for a "door pillar or jamb."
Harmya, a word with a very broad meaning ("house and its dependencies" or "large house; castle") is a poetic term not found often in the Mahâbhârata, from which it passed into the common language. Other words are less clear, such as veshman or okas; sadas does not seem to designate a particular type of construction. Finally, there is pastya, "residence."
The word chadis is used to designate the roof of a vehicle (anas), analogous to an awning that in some of the Shrauta covers chariots (havirdhâna), which are known as chadis. As for stûpa, the word has been used to describe the high pinnacle of a tree, as a figure of celestial space, and also the plumes that form the flames of Agni. For its technical use, see § 8.
Finally, the word sabhâ, translated uniformly from the Mantras as a "(place of) public gathering, assembly," can rather be either a "meeting room of a private residence" (notably where one plays) or a house itself. One passage declares that a sacrifice confers a reward consisting of sabhâ and prâja: i.e., "house" and "children."
§ 20. Some notable details appear also in the Atharvaveda. The word shâlâ appears to be its proper term for "house." The specification of this word does not hinder the survival elsewhere of terms such as gr.ha, vâstu, âvasatha, etc. One notes also the expression mânasysa patni, "mistress of the establishment," which permits one to infer that a shâlâ is only one part of an ensemble.
The importance of the house is one of the characteristic ideas of Atharvavedic literature. It is not by chance that most of the Mantras that accompany construction, according to the evidence of the Gr.hyasûtras, are borrowed from the Atharvaveda, most notably the chant to "climb on the column of bamboo that serves as the traverse beam," which stresses the essential building operation.
The Atharvaveda maintains the productivity of verbal groups uc-chri- and ni-mi. Besides the term upamit of the R.g Veda, it uses pratimit and parimit to designate pillars (sthûn.â) that determine the site, rather than "buttresses," for which the justification is not clear. The use of sam.-car recalls the idea of ambulatory space (sam.cara) of the Shrautasûtras (§ 11).
§ 21. Hymn IX.3 contains several more precise details that are not in agreement with the facts gleaned from ritual texts. That the house is called tr.n.air âvr.tâimmediately recalls the thatched walls of the ritual shâlâ; and the term chadis [roof] is found with the epithet catus.paks.a, making a comparison to a quadruped, i.e. "a roof that rests on four corner posts."
The mention of havirdhâna, agnishâla, and sadas tends to show that the shelter described is less a private dwelling than a ritual residence comprising all the auxiliary structures necessary for large sacrifices.
In verse 21, the poet plays with numbering 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 paks.a. This does not appear to be a question of wings of the residence, but simply pillars or, if one wants, compartments that determine the placement and number of pillars. This translation of paks.a best agrees with the attribution of catus.paks.a above and of dvârapaks.a and paks.as in § 6 & § 7.
As for kosa and kulâya in verse 20, it is too much of a stretch to translate these as "plaiting and braiding, mortise and tenon" as does Henry ; kosa, at least, could be a "recess" corresponding to the niches (upasthâna) in the Pâraskara Gr.hyasûtra (§ 8).
§ 22. Other features are less easily identifiable. We ignore the role of sam.dam.sha ("tenons"?; Henry) in verse 5. The "cord" (shikya) of verse 6 has many usages in ritual. None seems indispensable here. The translators prefer to see this as an ornamental device, but it is perhaps better to recognize this as the cords that secure the pillars (sthûn.â) to the beams (vam.sha).
The palada [bundles of straw] that clad the house are undoubtedly identical to tr.n.a, which one has seen above, while paris.vañjalya must indicate the enclosure of mats that "embraces" the residence. The most difficult term is aks.u from verse 8: it is said that this aks.u has a thousand eyes (sahasrâks.a), resembling a "diadem" in that it is spread out (vitata) and tied (naddha) to the line of division (vis.ûvati). Geldner thinks another name for pr.s.t.havam.sha might be "master- beam." It is more likely a poetic term for the thatch that covers the hall (shâlâ) or the peak (stûpa) that surmounts the roof: variants clearly direct us towards reading this as an element of "covering."
§ 23. Finally, the hymn in question lays stress on a point that has given rise to a variety of modern interpretations. It is not contested that prayer is intended to accompany the erection of a house, and the Kaushiksûtra confirms that the person for whom the prayer is made receives the structure (shâlâ) by right of a ritual fee. But we read expressions such as these: "we release what of you, oh house, is tied (naddha); we undo your bonds (pâsha) and your knots (granthi)." Bonds (nahana) are untied, as, are, figuratively, the structural members and joints of the house, and the covering (apinaddha) made of it.a reed is unravelled.
One wonders with what fuss the poet so insistently describes unbinding member by member the abode whose construction he celebrates elsewhere. Zimmer sought to identify in this some magical symbolism; others argue that the hymn describes demolition, not construction at all. Henry sees in these untied pieces some sort of "scaffolding" rendered unnecessary once the house is complete; Bloomfield stresses the information given by the Kaushikasûtra above; and finally Oldenberg guesses that it has to do with the demolition of a house and its transfer to a location where it would be rebuilt.
But these inverse transactions are presented with a sort of simultaneity [in the text]: it is at the same moment when the residence is raised that its bonds are taken off one after the other. A single event fits this description: that is the final event in the making of the ritual man.d.apa (§ 15) in which one unties the knots that serve to attach the frame of the two mats to the enclosure.
§ 24. The Mantras other than those of the R.g Veda and Atharvaveda stress certain facts that are known from the ritual prose: gradually the conditions for bringing together these prescriptive texts become evident. The Vâjasaneyi Sam.hitâ enumerates sacrificial "shelters": havirdhâna, âgnîdhra, sadas, patnîshâla. This is again an advance in understanding from the Atharvaveda in determining a technical vocabulary.
Other Mantras speak of sadas and of sadasas pati. A perhaps ironic expression is sabhâsthân.u, referring to a persistent gambler as a "pillar of the games room." The word geha appears. One Mantra deals with a residence of eight pillars and ten paks.a; one variant of this latter term apparently designates pillars of the portal. Other terms that appear in Mantras are apidhâna, dvâraphalaka, and duryâ. The verse that accompanies the hanging of the rarât.î (door's fronton) conforms with ritual processes: the peak is called syû and the word rarât.î itself is evoked by the initial expression vis.n.o rarât.am asi. Another Mantra mentions tâlpya, which is undoubtedly equivalent to the beds (talpadesha) cited in § 2.
§ 25. A common fact in a group of Mantras which does not contradict any prescription is that cattle are lodged in the house. Actually, there is no decisive passage on this matter in the R.g Veda, but the Atharvaveda is more conclusive: in the course of two hymns that describe the house (shâlâ), it is said "may the calf, may the child, may the dairy cows come to you (oh, shâlâ), when they return in the evening"; also "hommage to bulls, to horses, all of which are born in the house"; and "you cover (châdayasi) in your breast, Agni, servants as well as cattle (oh shâlâ)." Other verses seem more clearly to confirm this situation than do prose citations: in one the cowshed is called gostha and in another an allusion is made to a goshâlâ.
Besides several terms that extend the notion of a "living room" or "refuge" among the names of the house given in the Naighan.t.uka, we find châyâ, which is observably derived from the Vâjasaneyi Sam.hitâ where it is juxtaposed with chadis.
[Summary]
If we rely on Vedic texts, we are in the presence of a type of house that is extremely rudimentary, composed of an armature of posts, connected at the summit by transverse beams onto which a thatched covering is attached. The walls are woven mats. Neither stone nor brick are used.
Brick, however, is well known in the tradition of the Yajurveda, but its use there is limited to the "stacking" of the fire altar (agnicayana) and of accessory annexes (dhis.n.ya). A series of five rows of bricks are laid in a certain order and are separated by beds of earth. Some of these - the "naturally perforated" svayamât.r.n.n.a - seem undoubtedly some sort of porous stone. Others are called "clay bricks" (loges.t.aka). The circumference of this construction is marked by twenty-one stones called parishrit, some of which are of a large size.
Louis Renou
§ 1. It is in the ritual literature, not the oral chants (Mantra), that we may hope to find information concerning the practical aspects of houses in the Vedic period. All of the Gr.hyasûtras, for example, describe rites that accompany house construction. By means of these descriptions, this ritual literature provides rare glimpses into the process of building and even into the organization of the house interior.
Terms used to denote a house vary in these texts. The most common is gr.ha ; agâra also is used, but the more specific term is shâlâ. For example, the Kaushikasûtra uses shâlâ when discussing a ritual act that is effective at a certain distance from the house or is to be used upon entering a new house. The Shatapata Brâhman.a uses shâlâ to designate "profane" habitations as distinct from cultic constructions.
Terms of a more general nature are also used, a typical habit of ritualists to avoid a precise terminology. Thus we find veshman, "habitation"; sharan.a, meaning literally "refuge"; avasâna, literally "place where one removes the harness after a journey" but also meaning "site of the house." The word that occurs most frequently in this series, however, is vâstu, designating both the house and its site. One text uses the word vimita ("construction") to refer to a ritual "hut" of the same type described in the Shrautasûtras (§ 11).
§ 2. The rituals (vidhi or karman) relating to a house are generally called vâstushamana (literally "appeasement of the soil"). In the Vaikhânasîyas, the ritual of building is integrated into the practices concerning birthing; elsewhere it stands alone. We here restrict ourselves to facts that reveal techniques of construction, leaving aside instructions given in several texts pertaining to the nature of the soil, choosing of the date to begin construction, etc.
The ground is to be cleaned with an udûha, a type of broom. Care is taken to lay out the surrounding wall (parilikhya). The shvalâyan.a Shrautasûtra, always more detailed, directs that a thousand furrows should be made. It seems that a preliminary sketch should be created by digging and tilling the soil (uddhatya).
The shvalâyana orders that the site should be of such a nature as to allow water flowing from all directions toward the center to form an ambulatory path (pradaks.in.a) around the bedroom (shayanîya); then the waters should drain without noise toward the east. According to Nârâyan.a's commentary, this means that the soil should be raised at the sides, depressed in the center, and slightly slanted to the east; and that there should be a channel (syandanikâ) to the north so that the water could drain off. The Baudâyana Shrautasûtra states only that the location of the bed (talpadesha) should be situated to the northeast.
The shvalâyana assigns the kitchen ((bhaktasharan.a) to theplace where the water drains (samavasrâva), i.e., on the east side of the house, north of the bedroom. But the same expression, under the variant samavasrava, is used to note that the general siting of the house is to be chosen such that the draining of water should be the same everywhere; similarly, Devapâla explains that "no side should be lower or higher than any other." From a shared earlier practice no doubt these two divergent traditions arose.
§ 3. The salon (sabhâ) in which Narâyan.a specifies the master of the house greets and receives his guests, is to be "built" in the part of the house "that inclines toward the south" according to the shvalâyana (i.e. in the northern part according to Nârâyan.a's commentary). Finally, the same text implies that the best situation for this room is at the water's confluence, that is to say at the center of the depression as Nârâyan.a mandates.
The shape of the site is either that of a brick (shâdâ) or of a "circle" (man.d.aladvîpa), according to some texts. The shvalâyana uses less imagistic terms: the space is either square (samacaturasra) or rectangular (âyatacaturasra).
§ 4. Construction of the house itself begins first by digging a certain number of holes (garta). These post-holes are to have a depth equal to the distance from the ankle to knee so that the water drains well from them (dhârayis.n.ûdakatara). Jayarâma, in his commentary on the Pâraskara Gr.hyasûtra, speaks of four corner holes. The Kaushikasûtra mentions a middle post-hole (madhyama garta).
The next step in the process is the installation of posts (sthûn.â) of udumbara wood. Sometimes wood of an inferior quality is used, but the Shân.khâyana Shrautasûtra recommends a ritual of atonement (prâyashcitta) to avoid potential problems. Nirukta calls the pillar (sthûn.â) "that which rests in the cavity (darashayâ)." Some commentaries indicate that if the house is "white" (dhavalagr.ha, which may mean "of stone" in this context), stones replace the sthûn.â, and one commentary adds that for houses a stone is placed at the bottom of each hole to support the post placed on top of it; however, no text of the Vedic period itself mentions stone as a building material.
Because the number of holes is not specified, we do not know the precise number of posts. The Pâraskara Gr.hyasûtra speaks of four, but this may only refer to those at the corners. In reality a rather larger number of pillars may have been used; nine are mentioned in the Shân.khâyana Shrautasûtra (see § 5).
§ 5. A central pillar (madhyamâ sthûn.â) is frequently named. (The compound form, madhyama-sthûn.â, confirms that we are dealing with a technical term. ) The Shân.khâyana uses the more poetic phrase "king-post" (sthûn.ârâja). Other texts speak of two such sthûn.ârâja, which Mâtr.datta's commentary understands to be the "two long sthûn.â to the north and south." The erection of a "king-post" (that is, a central pillar capable of supporting the entire structure according to Nârâyan.a's commentary) takes place last. More precisely, the pastamba Gr.hyasûtra instructs that the pillar to the south side of the door be first erected, then that to the north. These posts that support the door on the north and south and their post-holes are referred to as "of the portal" (dvâryâ).
§ 6. From this it seems that the door of the house, or at least the principal door, was on the east façade, but, again, texts differ. According to the Gobhila Gr.hyasûtra, the door can be to the east, north, or south; a door to the west is expressly excluded. According to the Mânava Shrautasûtra, it is to the east or south; Laugaks.i concurs. the Vaikhânasîya mentions two doors located to the east or north and enumerates east, west, south, and north doors. One text mentions a "door fastener" (dvârapidhâna); others mention paired dvârapaks.as, which undoubtedly denote either leaves or panels that comprise a door or the doors themselves.
Two texts say that there is an appended or rear door (anudvâra) "placed so that one cannot be seen" (yathâ na sam.lokî syât). One commentary says that this might mean either a door overlooking the court or one opposite the main door, and that this rule is intended to prevent the master of the house from being seen by untouchables (can.d.âlas, etc.). The Vaikânasîya gives the name bhuvan.ga ("earth edge"), by which it seems to mean the threshold (dvârapat.t.ikâ).
§ 7. Returning to the foundation posts, bamboo sleepers (vam.sha) are laid so as to connect posts to one another and to help support the roof, but no details are furnished regarding the number and arrangement of these transverse beams, apart from the central one (madhyama vam.sha). One begins by placing the east beam, then the northern one. Because these two beams are "attached" to the pillars, they bear the name "sañjanî" in one source, and the two "paks.as" of a secular hall (= the door posts of § 6?) are connected to the central beam with the aid of a cord according to another source. We learn that ritual dwellings are characterized by the west to east direction of their sleepers (vam.shas) while secular halls (shâlâs) have these oriented south to north. The wood used for these beams (vam.shas) is subject to splintering according to one text.
Only one text in the Gr.hya tradition makes reference to the disposition of rooms: the shvalâyana advises that rooms (sharan.a) should be arranged (kârayet) in the spaces between the beams (vam.shas; vam.shântara), which means, according to Nârâyan.a, that divisions by means of partitions (kud.ya), etc., are customarily fitted in between two vam.shas. This word kud.ya, however, is attested in only one Vedic source, where it refers to an exterior wall. It is also a wall or a wall's junction with a post (sthûn.â), seeing the Pâraskara Gr.hyasûtra's use of the word "sam.dhi" (juncture), but in conformity with the Yajus (sacrificial prayers), which do not view this as a technical meaning.
§ 8. We are told, incidentally, that the house is covered (channa) and that it includes roofs or awnings (chadis). We know that the roof was thatched, but specifics are given only in the Shrauta. The word stûpa (literally, it seems, a "tuft of hair" in the form of an egret bun) is found in one Mantra. As point of fact, the sacrificial yûpa post was assimilated into the symbolic stûpa, but it seems rather that the word stûpa originally designated the points of thatch that the Shrauta texts describe as being gathered back toward the post at the center of the roof (§ 17). Elsewhere it is the prastara ("bouquet of grasses placed on the vedi") that is compared with the stûpa.
A point treated with great detail is that of a "water reservoir" (man.ika) installed on four stones . The particulars given are not concerned with construction, however: the question is of a portable utensil.
Allusions are also made to seats (âsana) and to niches (upasthâna) in which images of the gods are placed. A "ritual foyer" (agninidhâna) is also mentioned.
We must recall that the act of constructing a house and particularly of raising the pillars is designated by the root mi- , which in the Mantras is generally a predicate. But the proper term to denote the erection of sthûn.â is uc-chri.
§9. Some of these indications become clearer if one compares them with those given in the Shrautasûtras. These later texts describe on several occasions - normally in the discussion of the Agnis.t.oma ceremony - a variety of small structures intended to accomodate those people who oversee or assist in the sacrifices or in ritual functions. The commentaries sometimes incorporate them under the classification "yajñâgâra." These are slight temporary constructions, not used for habitation. In spite of their special role, these shelters provide valuable information concerning the process of building: that is to say they form a commentary on the description of the dwelling in the Gr.hyasûtras, and the shared vocabulary is considerable.
At the beginning of the Agnis.t.oma ceremony, a hall (shâlâ) used to shelter those assisting in the sacrifices is described. One text calls this hall vimita, but vimita is distinct from shâlâ in that, as Sâyan.a specifies, the former is square and the latter rectangular. According to Baudâyana's Shulbasûtra, a shâlâ forms a rectangle that is 16 or 12 feet in length, 12 or 10 feet wide.
§10. If we take Baudâyana's description as a base, we see that this shâlâ consists of a system of vam.sha sleepers oriented west to east, from which the name prâcînavam.sha for this edifice is derived. More precisely, according to Sâyan.a, two traverse beams are positioned on the corner pillars and serve as lintels for the east and west doors; other beams are placed above (uparivam.sha), perpendicular to the first two. The middle beam (pr.s.t.havam.sha or madhyavala ) has its ends positioned at the center of the two lintels. The Shrauta texts do not mention the uprights (sthûn.â), but the Shatapatha Brâhman.a does speak of the "king-post of the east side." The two series of texts complement one another.
The shâlâ is slightly raised to the east, lowered to the west, and enclosed on all sides (parishrita). On the nature of this enclosure (bhittyâdinâ), similar descriptions provide us more information. Openings (atikâsha) at the four cardinal points form doors. The Gr.hyasûtras of pstamba and Hiranyakesin, however, dissociate these openings from the doors, placing them at corners (srakti) facing intermediary regions. There need not necessarily be four doors, according to the pastamba Gr.hyasûtra; however, the hall that has four doors promises the greatest boon to those making the sacrifice. Some texts mention two doors, which are specified as dvishaya, the meaning of which can be clarified if one compares a description that says the opening of a tent for chariots is such that one can see three rooms at the same time. This prescription contrasts with the non-visibility required by the Gr.hya (§ 6).
§ 11. Baudâyana again mentions a shelter (agâra) when discussing the cooking of ritual food (milk); a hut for the wife of the sacrificer (patnishâla) ; and possibly two other shelters (parivr.te) serving as some sort of bathing huts enclosed with mats. Libation huts referred to in the Kaushikasûtra have east and west doors. Finally, a structure used in the ritual of the dead (vimita or agâra) has a north and a south door.
Elsewhere, two small semi-detached sheds situated just outside of the sacrificial area are mentioned: the âgnîdhrîya or âgnîdhra, which is the residence of the priest officiating over the fire (âgnî), and the mârjâlîya where purifications are made. Both are square, each five cubits per side. The first shed has a door to the south, the second a door to the north. The âgnîdhrîya has its traverse beams oriented west-east and has four pillars; is bound on all sides with woven mats (parishrita); and its entrance is to the south. The south side of the mârjâlîya is to be left open for circulation (sam.cara) according to one source; another instead places circulation to the north in the âgnîdhrîya. (This is a slight divergence that does not necessarily indicate an authentic dual tradition).
§ 12. The most explicit instructions regarding the "house" for ritual are those which are given to us for the construction of a chariot shed (havirdhânaman.d.apa) and a "seat" [or shed for the sacrificial assembly] (sadas). These two descriptions are closely related and are meant to be complimentary.
The chariot "pavilion" (the word man.d.apa only figures in commentaries ) is a small building designed to house two chariots for the soma; it obviously is coordinated to the dimensions of the chariots, which not expressly given elsewhere.
According to the Baudâyana Shrautasûtra, six holes (garta; elsewhere also avat.a) are dug on the north-south axis in front of the two chariots, which are placed side-by-side; six holes are then dug behind along a parallel line. Into these holes are driven twelve posts (sthûn.â), the brackets of which (literally "ears"; karn.a) are oriented west-east. The Mânava Shrautasûtra discusses four sthûn.â on each side, those in front of shoulder height and those in the rear shorter. The pastamba Gr.hyasûtra speaks of pillars erected on all sides while Bhâttanârâyan.a's commentary only mentions two pillars on the front and instructs that the man.d.apa be slightly higher in the front than in the back, which agrees with the Mânava Shrautasûtra. Similarly, the pastamba Gr.hyasûtra says the man.d.apa should be slightly raisedin front, slightly lowered in back.
§ 13. According to Baudâyana, there are two cross-beams (vam.sha), one south-north, the other east-west. pastamba also mentions two north-oriented cross-beams, placed respectively on front and back pillars. Placement of a roof (chadis) comes next; the term designates a "covering" of thatch (kat.a) laid over the transverse beams. The central roof (madhyamam. chadis) is laid on first, then the lateral roofs to the north and south of the central roof. This middle roof is three cubits in width, nine in length. The interstices of the roofs (antavarta) are crammed with thatch matting (kat.a) and reeds (tejanî). Some texts also refer to two doors.
§ 14. Above the east entrance, in the space between the two middle pillars, is an ornamental fronton called the "forehead" (rarât.î). This rarât.î is a strap-work of finely knotted reeds (ais.îkî), inclined toward the east and attached to the front cross-beam by a thread. The Mânava Shrautasûtra says this rarât.î is a pad to prevent drafts (varasa) made of grasses that one places at the center of a strap-work of reeds; it seems that the grasses are gathered together by encircling them several times with thread, the two ends joined together, and the strap-work suspended from the front cross-beam.
§ 15. The enclosure (parishrayan.a) consists of two mats that are hung to surround the hall (man.d.apa). These are called ucchrâyî. One of these is attached to the post on the right side of the front door (dvârbâhu ) and unrolled towards the right in order to cover the south face and half of the east face up to the rear post on the right side; the other is reversed and arranged symmetrically with the first.
These mats are attached to the pillars by the following process: the Adhvaryu priest takes a handful of kusha grass, grasps the front right pillar, ties the grass where a needle is driven in, and passes a cord through the eye of the needle. He makes a knot (granthi); at the hanging end of the knot he secures the smaller end of the rope, then undoes the knot. Assistants cover the post from bottom to top, securing the grass by winding the cord but without making knots, and undoubtedly attaching the matted wall covering at the same time (according to Caland). The same procedure occurs for the front left pillar and both of the rear pillars. According to some authorities, the knots are only undone when all this work is complete. All the other knots referred to should also be removed.
§ 16. Most of the preceeding description of the construction of a chariot shed also applies for the "seat" (sadas) placed in front of the chariot shed in the sacrificial area: specifically the roof joints (antarvarta; § 13), cladding (parishrayan.a; § 15), instructions dealing with visibility (sâm.kâshina; § 10) and the two doors.
In some sources this covered platform (sadas) measures nine cubits in width, east-west, and 27 cubits in length north-south. Other sources give measures of 10 by 27 or 28; 9, 10.5, or 12 by 18, 21, or 24; some suggest that the dimensions can be left indeterminate or be well enough estimated by the officiants and servants, as is done for the mound of earth that serves as an altar (dhis.n.ya).
Three rows of holes are made. A central pillar of udumbara wood (from which it derives the name audumbarî sthûn.â) is raised the height of the sacrificer. Its brackets are oriented east-west. The outer pillars (paryantîya) are of navel-height, as are all the seats (sadas) (or they are improvised). The brackets of the outer pillars are also oriented east-west.
§ 17. As noted earlier, the three principal cross-beams are arranged in a south-north direction; this orientation is characteristic of the sadas in contrast to the east orientation of the chariot shed (havirdhâna). But other cross-pieces are oriented east-west.
The roofing system consists of nine roofs (navacchadi). The central roof, which rests on the audumbarî post, is secured first; then the two side roofs to the east and west; then three units to the south; and finally three to the north. The edges of the roofs to the north are inserted under those at the center so that the front edges of the southern roofs would be slightly above the others. The Mânava Shrautasûtra mentions 15, 17, 21, or 11 roofs; pastamba mentions 15, 16, 17, or 21 in conformance with the ceremonies. An awning (bhitti; perhaps made of woven bamboo) may substitute for the roof (chadis) when the latter is lacking. The pitch of the roof is towards the north in some sources; or towards the central post (audumbarî) in others.
§ 18. We have followed the systematic descriptions given by the Shrauta texts. Most refer back to the Brâhman.as or to the prose of the Sam.hitâs, but only the directions for ritual permit us to follow events in detail and in progression.
Can one go still further? If there is some trace in the Mantras of allusions to the house and its organization, is this in accord with facts given in the ritual and exegetic literature?
The R.kasam.hitâ has only very meager and predictable evidence. It is noteworthy, however, in that it does contain references to the principal elements of construction. In one section the term for beam (vam.sha) appears in a passage where it is said that the priests raised Agni [the fire-god] like a beam (vam.sha). Indra [the lord of heaven] is likened to the raised sky that does not need beams (avam.she). The R.g Veda also refers to pillars (sthûn.â) in comparisons such as "you carry men, O Agni, like a support pillar." One finds the roots stabh-/skabh-, with the derivatives skambha and skambhana closely connected in figurative uses, which may be the more ancient name for pillars (sthûn.â). This root crops up again in that sense in the form stambha in the prose of the Brâhman.as and in the Shrauta and Gr.hyasûtras.
The root sri is used in a similar sense in one passage of a funerary hymn in which the poet supplicates the Earth to allow a thousand columns to be raised in the cavity where the dead repose, so that her weight [that of the Earth] will not crush those who take refuge in her breast.
§ 19. The house itself is called gr.ha, a term corresponding to the archaic words dama and durona. This last is probably composed of dur "door" and oni "arm," equivalent to "dvârbulu" in ritual texts, thus confirming the importance of the door towards which many prescriptive comments are directed. The plural (both masculine and feminine) durya, which is also a word for house, similarly encompasses an ancient sense of stambha or sthûn.â as "the pillar of the portal," a meaning also preserved in ritual (§ 5). In brief, there is only slight discrepancy of expression between the Mantras and the prose sources, not major rethinking or changes.
The term for door itself (dvâr, etc.) is seen only in allegorical uses, but its frequency is significant. The term âtâ is also, it would seem, a name for a "door pillar or jamb."
Harmya, a word with a very broad meaning ("house and its dependencies" or "large house; castle") is a poetic term not found often in the Mahâbhârata, from which it passed into the common language. Other words are less clear, such as veshman or okas; sadas does not seem to designate a particular type of construction. Finally, there is pastya, "residence."
The word chadis is used to designate the roof of a vehicle (anas), analogous to an awning that in some of the Shrauta covers chariots (havirdhâna), which are known as chadis. As for stûpa, the word has been used to describe the high pinnacle of a tree, as a figure of celestial space, and also the plumes that form the flames of Agni. For its technical use, see § 8.
Finally, the word sabhâ, translated uniformly from the Mantras as a "(place of) public gathering, assembly," can rather be either a "meeting room of a private residence" (notably where one plays) or a house itself. One passage declares that a sacrifice confers a reward consisting of sabhâ and prâja: i.e., "house" and "children."
§ 20. Some notable details appear also in the Atharvaveda. The word shâlâ appears to be its proper term for "house." The specification of this word does not hinder the survival elsewhere of terms such as gr.ha, vâstu, âvasatha, etc. One notes also the expression mânasysa patni, "mistress of the establishment," which permits one to infer that a shâlâ is only one part of an ensemble.
The importance of the house is one of the characteristic ideas of Atharvavedic literature. It is not by chance that most of the Mantras that accompany construction, according to the evidence of the Gr.hyasûtras, are borrowed from the Atharvaveda, most notably the chant to "climb on the column of bamboo that serves as the traverse beam," which stresses the essential building operation.
The Atharvaveda maintains the productivity of verbal groups uc-chri- and ni-mi. Besides the term upamit of the R.g Veda, it uses pratimit and parimit to designate pillars (sthûn.â) that determine the site, rather than "buttresses," for which the justification is not clear. The use of sam.-car recalls the idea of ambulatory space (sam.cara) of the Shrautasûtras (§ 11).
§ 21. Hymn IX.3 contains several more precise details that are not in agreement with the facts gleaned from ritual texts. That the house is called tr.n.air âvr.tâimmediately recalls the thatched walls of the ritual shâlâ; and the term chadis [roof] is found with the epithet catus.paks.a, making a comparison to a quadruped, i.e. "a roof that rests on four corner posts."
The mention of havirdhâna, agnishâla, and sadas tends to show that the shelter described is less a private dwelling than a ritual residence comprising all the auxiliary structures necessary for large sacrifices.
In verse 21, the poet plays with numbering 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 paks.a. This does not appear to be a question of wings of the residence, but simply pillars or, if one wants, compartments that determine the placement and number of pillars. This translation of paks.a best agrees with the attribution of catus.paks.a above and of dvârapaks.a and paks.as in § 6 & § 7.
As for kosa and kulâya in verse 20, it is too much of a stretch to translate these as "plaiting and braiding, mortise and tenon" as does Henry ; kosa, at least, could be a "recess" corresponding to the niches (upasthâna) in the Pâraskara Gr.hyasûtra (§ 8).
§ 22. Other features are less easily identifiable. We ignore the role of sam.dam.sha ("tenons"?; Henry) in verse 5. The "cord" (shikya) of verse 6 has many usages in ritual. None seems indispensable here. The translators prefer to see this as an ornamental device, but it is perhaps better to recognize this as the cords that secure the pillars (sthûn.â) to the beams (vam.sha).
The palada [bundles of straw] that clad the house are undoubtedly identical to tr.n.a, which one has seen above, while paris.vañjalya must indicate the enclosure of mats that "embraces" the residence. The most difficult term is aks.u from verse 8: it is said that this aks.u has a thousand eyes (sahasrâks.a), resembling a "diadem" in that it is spread out (vitata) and tied (naddha) to the line of division (vis.ûvati). Geldner thinks another name for pr.s.t.havam.sha might be "master- beam." It is more likely a poetic term for the thatch that covers the hall (shâlâ) or the peak (stûpa) that surmounts the roof: variants clearly direct us towards reading this as an element of "covering."
§ 23. Finally, the hymn in question lays stress on a point that has given rise to a variety of modern interpretations. It is not contested that prayer is intended to accompany the erection of a house, and the Kaushiksûtra confirms that the person for whom the prayer is made receives the structure (shâlâ) by right of a ritual fee. But we read expressions such as these: "we release what of you, oh house, is tied (naddha); we undo your bonds (pâsha) and your knots (granthi)." Bonds (nahana) are untied, as, are, figuratively, the structural members and joints of the house, and the covering (apinaddha) made of it.a reed is unravelled.
One wonders with what fuss the poet so insistently describes unbinding member by member the abode whose construction he celebrates elsewhere. Zimmer sought to identify in this some magical symbolism; others argue that the hymn describes demolition, not construction at all. Henry sees in these untied pieces some sort of "scaffolding" rendered unnecessary once the house is complete; Bloomfield stresses the information given by the Kaushikasûtra above; and finally Oldenberg guesses that it has to do with the demolition of a house and its transfer to a location where it would be rebuilt.
But these inverse transactions are presented with a sort of simultaneity [in the text]: it is at the same moment when the residence is raised that its bonds are taken off one after the other. A single event fits this description: that is the final event in the making of the ritual man.d.apa (§ 15) in which one unties the knots that serve to attach the frame of the two mats to the enclosure.
§ 24. The Mantras other than those of the R.g Veda and Atharvaveda stress certain facts that are known from the ritual prose: gradually the conditions for bringing together these prescriptive texts become evident. The Vâjasaneyi Sam.hitâ enumerates sacrificial "shelters": havirdhâna, âgnîdhra, sadas, patnîshâla. This is again an advance in understanding from the Atharvaveda in determining a technical vocabulary.
Other Mantras speak of sadas and of sadasas pati. A perhaps ironic expression is sabhâsthân.u, referring to a persistent gambler as a "pillar of the games room." The word geha appears. One Mantra deals with a residence of eight pillars and ten paks.a; one variant of this latter term apparently designates pillars of the portal. Other terms that appear in Mantras are apidhâna, dvâraphalaka, and duryâ. The verse that accompanies the hanging of the rarât.î (door's fronton) conforms with ritual processes: the peak is called syû and the word rarât.î itself is evoked by the initial expression vis.n.o rarât.am asi. Another Mantra mentions tâlpya, which is undoubtedly equivalent to the beds (talpadesha) cited in § 2.
§ 25. A common fact in a group of Mantras which does not contradict any prescription is that cattle are lodged in the house. Actually, there is no decisive passage on this matter in the R.g Veda, but the Atharvaveda is more conclusive: in the course of two hymns that describe the house (shâlâ), it is said "may the calf, may the child, may the dairy cows come to you (oh, shâlâ), when they return in the evening"; also "hommage to bulls, to horses, all of which are born in the house"; and "you cover (châdayasi) in your breast, Agni, servants as well as cattle (oh shâlâ)." Other verses seem more clearly to confirm this situation than do prose citations: in one the cowshed is called gostha and in another an allusion is made to a goshâlâ.
Besides several terms that extend the notion of a "living room" or "refuge" among the names of the house given in the Naighan.t.uka, we find châyâ, which is observably derived from the Vâjasaneyi Sam.hitâ where it is juxtaposed with chadis.
[Summary]
If we rely on Vedic texts, we are in the presence of a type of house that is extremely rudimentary, composed of an armature of posts, connected at the summit by transverse beams onto which a thatched covering is attached. The walls are woven mats. Neither stone nor brick are used.
Brick, however, is well known in the tradition of the Yajurveda, but its use there is limited to the "stacking" of the fire altar (agnicayana) and of accessory annexes (dhis.n.ya). A series of five rows of bricks are laid in a certain order and are separated by beds of earth. Some of these - the "naturally perforated" svayamât.r.n.n.a - seem undoubtedly some sort of porous stone. Others are called "clay bricks" (loges.t.aka). The circumference of this construction is marked by twenty-one stones called parishrit, some of which are of a large size.
Nothing obliges us to consider that the shelters described above were the normal type of private residence; a significant amount of the details that assist us in their reconstruction are provided by descriptions of ritual "huts," the intended use of which is entirely different. And yet no other process of construction is mentioned in these sources. This appears particularly singular today, when we are able to measure [through recently discovered archaeological sources] the degree to which architectural technologies were known to certain prehistoric civilizations in the northwest of India.
Burzahom dwelling pits (the largest measuring 2.74 metres (9 ft 0 in) at the top to 4.75 metres (15.6 ft) at the base at a depth of 3.95 metres (13.0 ft)) are ramarkable and relate to Period I of the site. The remarkable find during this period was of pits which were inferred as dwelling units; these were in circular or oval shape dug in compact natural Karewa soil formation. Some of the deep pits had steps and ladder access to the bottom level. In some of the pits the stratification revealed ash and charcoal layers, which denoted human occupancy. Post holes on the sides of pits at the surface level denoted the presence of superstructures covered with thatch made of birch. Shallow pits of circular shape of 60–91 centimetres (24–36 in) diameter adjoining the housing pits were found to contain bones of animals and also tools made of bones (of antlers used for making tools) and stones (harpoons, needles with or without eyes, awls).
Carbon dating established that the Neolithic culture of this site was traceable to the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest occupation at the site was dated to before 2,357 BCE (Kaw, M. K. (1 January 2004). Kashmir and It's People: Studies in the Evolution of Kashmiri Society. APH Publishing, pp.43-44).
The Vedic House
Louis Renou, Michael W. Meister and Carrie LaPorte
RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics
No. 34 (Autumn, 1998), pp. 142-161
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Ancient Age. The Iberians and the Celts. The Iberian towns occupied the coasts of the south and east of the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th century BC. In the north of the Ebro, these towns had some common cultural characteristics, such as language and writing, mastery of iron metallurgy and potter's turn and basically agricultural economics. The basis of the social organization of the Iberians was the tribe, headed by the monarchy and the warrior aristocracy. The Iberians placed their villages in high places to facilitate their defense and organized them as cities. We have witnessed his burial ritual thanks to the cemeteries that have left us, where Iberian pieces have been found in the tombs.
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The Celts lived in a much larger territory: in the British Isles and in Ireland, in France, previously called Galicia, Portugal, Galicia, Asturias, Extremadura and a part of Castile and Leon, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands (Netherlands) , part of Germany, Xequia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, the central part of Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, part of the former Yugoslavia, and the central part of Turkey. The Celts lived from 1000 BC until the year 43 BC, after the Romans expelled them from their territories, the Celts (the majority) became Roman, but in Ireland there were some who still populated it. The most relevant of his tribe was that they were experts in the manufacture of weapons, armor, helmets and other types of armor with bronze. They also had druids who were the wizards of the tribe, worked hard on the field, their tools were very similar to ours, they used the sickle and the plow, and they also had the king or queen that ruled them.
http://ticotazos.blogspot.com/2013/05/edat-antiga-els-ibers-i-els-celtes.html
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"Interior de un castro" Interior Santa Tecla Celtic dwelling, Spain. 2nd century B.C.E Castro, in a Celtic Village. "Amazing ruins of an ancient tribal village spanning the slopes of a mountain in Northern Spain. Santa Tecla Celtic Village clearly displays celtic village life.The uncovered ruins are a sight to see obviously each hut is connected to the group sharing a partial circular wall. They appear similar in size bases constructed of local stone with central gathering areas." https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g2137545-d3291950-Reviews-Santa_Tecla_Celtic_Village-A_Guarda_Province_of_Pontevedra_Galicia.html
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"Built over a wide river with access to the North Sea and inland farms these Bronze Age houses could have easily traded grain, meat and metal tools. Yet not long after they were built 3,000 years ago the houses burned down and collapsed into the water preserving their contents | Illustration by Adolfo Arranz and Chris Bickel." https://www.pinterest.com/pin/554365035365893664/
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A celtic village. Drawsing.Image may be NSFW.
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Modern depiction of Celtic Roundhouse, The Din Lligwy Ancient Village, 3-4th century CE, North Wales. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/286963807481590855/
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Mudhif: Giant reed houses made in the marshes of Southern Iraq
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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/520447300685745184/
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Ma’dan reed houses , Iraq
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https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mudhif-houses
Mudhif and three reed banners
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The Uruk trough. From Uruk (Warka), southern Iraq. Late Prehistoric period, about 3300-3000 BCImage may be NSFW.
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Sumerian mudhif facade, with uncut reed fonds and sheep entering, carved into a gypsum trough from Uruk, c. 3200 BCE (British Museum WA 12000). Photo source.
Fig. 5B. Carved gypsum trough from Uruk. Two lambs exit a reed structure identifical to the present-day mudhif on this ceremonial trough from the site of Uruk in northern Iraq. Neither the leaves or plumes have been removed from the reds which are tied together to form the arch. As a result, the crossed-over, feathered reeds create a decorative pattern along the length of the roof, a style more often seen in modern animal shelters built by the Mi'dan. Dating to ca. 3000 BCE, the trough documents the extraordinry length of time, such arched reed buildings have been in use. (The British Museum BCA 120000, acg. 2F2077)Another black & white view of the trough.Figure 15.1. Sealing with representations of reed structures with cows, calves, lambs, and ringed
bundle “standards” of Inana (drawing by Diane Gurney. After Hamilton 1967, fig. 1)
Three rings on reed posts are three dotted circles: dāya 'dotted circle' on dhā̆vaḍ priest of 'iron-smelters', signifies tadbhava from Rigveda dhāī ''a strand (Sindhi) (hence, dotted circle shoring cross section of a thread through a perorated bead);rebus: dhāū, dhāv ʻa partic. soft red ores'. dhāˊtu n. ʻ substance ʼ RV., m. ʻ element ʼ MBh., ʻ metal, mineral, ore (esp. of a red colour) ʼ Mn., ʻ ashes of the dead ʼ lex., ʻ *strand of rope ʼ (cf. tridhāˊtu -- ʻ threefold ʼ RV., ayugdhātu -- ʻ having an uneven number of strands ʼ KātyŚr.). [√dhā ]Pa. dhātu -- m. ʻ element, ashes of the dead, relic ʼ; KharI. dhatu ʻ relic ʼ; Pk. dhāu -- m. ʻ metal, red chalk ʼ; N. dhāu ʻ ore (esp. of copper) ʼ; Or. ḍhāu ʻ red chalk, red ochre ʼ (whence ḍhāuā ʻ reddish ʼ; M. dhāū, dhāv m.f. ʻ a partic. soft red stone ʼ (whence dhā̆vaḍ m. ʻ a caste of iron -- smelters ʼ, dhāvḍī ʻ composed of or relating to iron ʼ); -- Si. dā ʻ relic ʼ; -- S. dhāī f. ʻ wisp of fibres added from time to time to a rope that is being twisted ʼ, L. dhāī˜ f.(CDIAL 6773)Image may be NSFW.
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Cylinder seal impression, Uruk period, Uruk?, 3500-2900 BCE. Note a load of livestock (upper), overlapping greatly (weird representation), and standard 'mudhif' reed house form common to S. Iraq (lower).
Cattle Byres c.3200-3000 B.C. Late Uruk-Jemdet Nasr period. Magnesite. Cylinder seal. In the lower field of this seal appear three reed cattle byres. Each byre is surmounted by three reed pillars topped by rings, a motif that has been suggested as symbolizing a male god, perhaps Dumuzi. Within the huts calves or vessels appear alternately; from the sides come calves that drink out of a vessel between them. Above each pair of animals another small calf appears. A herd of enormous cattle moves in the upper field. Cattle and cattle byres in Southern Mesopotamia, c. 3500 BCE. Drawing of an impression from a Uruk period cylinder seal. (After Moorey, PRS, 1999, Ancient mesopotamian materials and industries: the archaeological evidence, Eisenbrauns.)Image may be NSFW.
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A cow and a stable of reeds with sculpted columns in the background. Fragment of another vase of alabaster (era of Djemet-Nasr) from Uruk, Mesopotamia.
- Fragment of a stele, raised standards. From Tello.
- Hieroglyphs: Quadrupeds exiting the mund (or mudhif) are pasaramu, pasalamu ‘an animal, a beast, a brute, quadruped’ (Telugu) పసరము [ pasaramu ] or పసలము pasaramu. [Tel.] n. A beast, an animal.
గోమహిషహాతి .
- A cow and a stable of reeds with sculpted columns in the background. Fragment of another vase of alabaster (era of Djemet-Nasr) from Uruk, Mesopotamia. Limestone 16 X 22.5 cm. AO 8842, Louvre, Departement des Antiquites Orientales, Paris, France. Six circles decorated on the reed post are semantic determinants of Glyphआर [ āra ] A term in the play of इटीदांडू,--the number six. (Marathi) आर [ āra ] A tuft or ring of hair on the body. (Marathi) Rebus: āra ‘brass’. काँड् । काण्डः m. the stalk or stem of a reed, grass, or the like, straw. In the compound with dan 5 (p. 221a, l. 13) the word is spelt kāḍ. The rebus reading of the pair of reeds in Sumer standard is: khānḍa ‘tools, pots and pans and metal-ware’.
Rebus: pasra = a smithy, place where a black-smith works, to work as a blacksmith; kamar pasra = a smithy; pasrao lagao akata se ban:? Has the blacksmith begun to work? pasraedae = the blacksmith is at his work (Santali.lex.) పసారు pasārdmu. [Tel.] n. A shop. అంగడి . - Both hieroglyphs together may have read rebus: *kāṇḍāra: *kāṇḍakara ʻ worker with reeds or arrows ʼ. [
kāˊṇḍa -- , kará -- 1 ] L. kanērā m. ʻ mat -- maker ʼ; H. kãḍerā m. ʻ a caste of bow -- and arrow -- makers ʼ.(CDIAL 3024). Rebus: kaṇḍa 'fire-altar'. khaṇḍa 'implements' (Santali) लोखंड (p. 423) lōkhaṇḍa n (लोह S) Iron. लोखंडकाम (p. 423) lōkhaṇḍakāma n Iron work; that portion (of a building, machine &c.) which consists of iron. 2 The business of an ironsmith. लोखंडी (p. 423) lōkhaṇḍī a (लोखंड) Composed of iron; relating to iron. - Image may be NSFW.
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The Toda mund, from, Richard Barron, 1837, "View in India, chiefly among the Nilgiri Hills'. Oil on canvas. The architecture of Iraqi mudhif and Toda mund -- of Indian linguistic area -- is comparable.
A Toda temple in Muthunadu Mund near Ooty, India.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toda_peopleThe hut of a Toda Tribe of Nilgiris, India. Note the decoration of the front wall, and the very small door.Image may be NSFW.
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Rebus Meluhha readings: kōṭhā 'warehouse' kuṭhāru 'armourer, PLUS kole.l'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge' PLUS ḍhāla 'flagstaff' rebus: ḍhālako 'large ingot'. Thus, the message is: armoury, smithy, forge ingots.
m0702 Text 2206 showing Sign 39, a glyph which compares with the Sumerian mudhif structure.- ढालकाठी [ ḍhālakāṭhī ] f ढालखांब m A flagstaff; esp.the pole for a grand flag or standard. ढाल [ ḍhāla ] 'flagstaff' rebus: dhalako 'a large metal ingot (Gujarati) ḍhālakī = a metal heated and poured into a mould; a solid piece of metal; an ingot (Gujarati). The mudhif flag on the inscription is read rebus: xolā 'tail' Rebus: kole.l 'smithy, temple'. The structure is goṭ 'catttle-pen' (Santali) rebus: koṭṭhaka 'warehouse'. [kōṣṭhāgāra n. ʻ storeroom, store ʼ Mn. [kṓṣṭha -- 2 , agāra -- ]Pa. koṭṭhāgāra -- n. ʻ storehouse, granary ʼ; Pk. koṭṭhāgāra -- , koṭṭhāra -- n. ʻ storehouse ʼ; K. kuṭhār m. ʻ wooden granary ʼ, WPah. bhal. kóṭhār m.; A. B. kuṭharī ʻ apartment ʼ, Or. koṭhari; Aw. lakh. koṭhārʻ zemindar's residence ʼ; H. kuṭhiyār ʻ granary ʼ; G. koṭhār m. ʻ granary, storehouse ʼ, koṭhāriyũ n. ʻ small do. ʼ; M. koṭhār n., koṭhārẽ n. ʻ large granary ʼ, -- °rī f. ʻ small one ʼ; Si. koṭāra ʻ granary, store ʼ.WPah.kṭg. kəṭhāˊr, kc. kuṭhār m. ʻ granary, storeroom ʼ, J. kuṭhār, kṭhār m.; -- Md. kořāru ʻ storehouse ʼ ← Ind.(CDIAL 3550)] Rebus: kuṭhāru 'armourer,
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Field symbol is zebu (bos indicus). pōḷa 'zebu, bos indicus' rebus: pōḷa 'magnetite, ferrite ore' [pōlāda] 'steel'.Text 1330 (appears with Zebu glyph) showing Sign 39. Pictorial motif: Zebu (Bos indicus) This sign is comparable to the cattle byre of Southern Mesopotamia dated to c. 3000 BCE. Rebus Meluhha readings of gthe inscription are from r. to l.: kole.l 'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge' PLUS goṭ 'cattle-pen' rebus: koṭṭhāra 'warehouse' PLUS sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop' PLUS aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'alloy metal' PLUS kuṭika— 'bent' MBh. Rebus: kuṭila, katthīl = bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin) PLUS kanka, karṇika कर्णिक 'rim of jar' rebus: karṇī 'supercargo, a representative of the ship's owner on board a merchant ship, responsible for overseeing the cargo and its sale'. Read together with the fieldsymbol of the zebu,the message is: magnetite ore smithy, forge, warehouse, iron alloy metal, bronze merchandise (ready for loading as cargo).
goṭ = the place where cattle are collected at mid-day (Santali); goṭh (Brj.)(CDIAL 4336). goṣṭha (Skt.); cattle-shed (Or.) koḍ = a cow-pen; a cattlepen; a byre (G.) कोठी cattle-shed (Marathi) कोंडी [ kōṇḍī ] A pen or fold for cattle. गोठी [ gōṭhī ] f C (Dim. of गोठा) A pen or fold for calves. (Marathi)
koṭṭhaka1 (nt.) "a kind of koṭṭha," the stronghold over a gateway, used as a store -- room for various things, a chamber, treasury, granary Vin ii.153, 210; for the purpose of keeping water in it Vin ii.121=142; 220; treasury J i.230; ii.168; -- store -- room J ii.246; koṭthake pāturahosi appeared at the gateway, i. e. arrived at the mansion Vin i.291.; -- udaka -- k a bath -- room, bath cabinet Vin i.205 (cp. Bdhgh's expln at Vin. Texts ii.57); so also nahāna -- k˚ and piṭṭhi -- k˚, bath -- room behind a hermitage J iii.71; DhA ii.19; a gateway, Vin ii.77; usually in cpd. dvāra -- k˚ "door cavity," i. e. room over the gate: gharaŋ satta -- dvāra -- koṭṭhakapaṭimaṇḍitaŋ "a mansion adorned with seven gateways" J i.227=230, 290; VvA 322. dvāra -- koṭṭhakesu āsanāni paṭṭhapenti "they spread mats in the gateways" VvA 6; esp. with bahi: bahi -- dvārakoṭṭhakā nikkhāmetvā "leading him out in front of the gateway" A iv.206; ˚e thiṭa or nisinna standing or sitting in front of the gateway S i.77; M i.161, 382; A iii.30. -- bala -- k. a line of infantry J i.179. -- koṭṭhaka -- kamma or the occupation connected with a storehouse (or bathroom?) is mentioned as an example of a low occupation at Vin iv.6; Kern, Toev. s. v. "someone who sweeps away dirt." (Pali)
कोंडण kōṇḍaṇa, 'cattlepen', Mesopotamia Rebus: kundaṇa 'fine gold'
One-horned young bulls and calves are shown emerging out of कोंडण kōṇḍaṇa cattlepens heralded by Inana standards atop the mudhifs. The Inana standards are reeds with three rings. The reed standard is the same which is signified on Warka vase c. 3200–3000 BCE.
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Cylinder seal impression, Uruk period, Uruk?, 3500-2900 BCE. Note a load of livestock (upper), overlapping greatly (weird representation), and standard 'mudhif' reed house form common to S. Iraq (lower).
Rebus: pasra = a smithy, place where a black-smith works, to work as a blacksmith; kamar pasra = a smithy; pasrao lagao akata se ban:? Has the blacksmith begun to work? pasraedae = the blacksmith is at his work (Santali.lex.) పసారు pasārdmu. [Tel.] n. A shop. అంగడి .
Both hieroglyphs together may have read rebus: *kāṇḍāra: *kāṇḍakara ʻ worker with reeds or arrows ʼ. [kāˊṇḍa -- , kará -- 1 ] L. kanērā m. ʻ mat -- maker ʼ; H. kãḍerā m. ʻ a caste of bow -- and arrow -- makers ʼ.(CDIAL 3024). Rebus: kaṇḍa 'fire-altar'. khaṇḍa 'implements' (Santali) लोखंड (p. 423) lōkhaṇḍa n (लोह S) Iron. लोखंडकाम (p. 423) lōkhaṇḍakāma n Iron work; that portion (of a building, machine &c.) which consists of iron. 2 The business of an ironsmith. लोखंडी (p. 423) lōkhaṇḍī a (लोखंड) Composed of iron; relating to iron.
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The Toda mund, from, Richard Barron, 1837, "View in India, chiefly among the Nilgiri Hills'. Oil on canvas. The architecture of Iraqi mudhif and Toda mund -- of Indian linguistic area -- is comparable.
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The Toda mund, from, Richard Barron, 1837, "View in India, chiefly among the Nilgiri Hills'. Oil on canvas. The architecture of Iraqi mudhif and Toda mund -- of Indian linguistic area -- is comparable.
A Toda temple in Muthunadu Mund near Ooty, India.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toda_people
The hut of a Toda Tribe of Nilgiris, India. Note the decoration of the front wall, and the very small door.
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Rebus Meluhha readings: kōṭhā 'warehouse' kuṭhāru 'armourer, PLUS kole.l'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge' PLUS ḍhāla 'flagstaff' rebus: ḍhālako 'large ingot'. Thus, the message is: armoury, smithy, forge ingots.
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Rebus Meluhha readings: kōṭhā 'warehouse' kuṭhāru 'armourer, PLUS kole.l'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge' PLUS ḍhāla 'flagstaff' rebus: ḍhālako 'large ingot'. Thus, the message is: armoury, smithy, forge ingots.m0702 Text 2206 showing Sign 39, a glyph which compares with the Sumerian mudhif structure.
- ढालकाठी [ ḍhālakāṭhī ] f ढालखांब m A flagstaff; esp.the pole for a grand flag or standard.
ढाल [ ḍhāla ] 'flagstaff' rebus: dhalako 'a large metal ingot (Gujarati) ḍhālakī = a metal heated and poured into a mould; a solid piece of metal; an ingot (Gujarati). The mudhif flag on the inscription is read rebus: xolā 'tail' Rebus: kole.l 'smithy, temple'. The structure is goṭ 'catttle-pen' (Santali) rebus: koṭṭhaka 'warehouse'. [kōṣṭhāgāra n. ʻ storeroom, store ʼ Mn. [kṓṣṭha -- 2 , agāra -- ]Pa. koṭṭhāgāra -- n. ʻ storehouse, granary ʼ; Pk. koṭṭhāgāra -- , koṭṭhāra -- n. ʻ storehouse ʼ; K. kuṭhār m. ʻ wooden granary ʼ, WPah. bhal. kóṭhār m.; A. B. kuṭharī ʻ apartment ʼ, Or. koṭhari; Aw. lakh. koṭhārʻ zemindar's residence ʼ; H. kuṭhiyār ʻ granary ʼ; G. koṭhār m. ʻ granary, storehouse ʼ, koṭhāriyũ n. ʻ small do. ʼ; M. koṭhār n., koṭhārẽ n. ʻ large granary ʼ, -- °rī f. ʻ small one ʼ; Si. koṭāra ʻ granary, store ʼ.WPah.kṭg. kəṭhāˊr, kc. kuṭhār m. ʻ granary, storeroom ʼ, J. kuṭhār, kṭhār m.; -- Md. kořāru ʻ storehouse ʼ ← Ind.(CDIAL 3550)] Rebus: kuṭhāru 'armourer,
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Field symbol is zebu (bos indicus). pōḷa 'zebu, bos indicus' rebus: pōḷa 'magnetite, ferrite ore' [pōlāda] 'steel'.
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Field symbol is zebu (bos indicus). pōḷa 'zebu, bos indicus' rebus: pōḷa 'magnetite, ferrite ore' [pōlāda] 'steel'.Text 1330 (appears with Zebu glyph) showing Sign 39. Pictorial motif: Zebu (Bos indicus) This sign is comparable to the cattle byre of Southern Mesopotamia dated to c. 3000 BCE. Rebus Meluhha readings of gthe inscription are from r. to l.: kole.l 'temple' rebus: kole.l 'smithy, forge' PLUS goṭ 'cattle-pen' rebus: koṭṭhāra 'warehouse' PLUS sal 'splinter' rebus: sal 'workshop' PLUS aya 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'alloy metal' PLUS kuṭika— 'bent' MBh. Rebus: kuṭila, katthīl = bronze (8 parts copper and 2 parts tin) PLUS kanka, karṇika कर्णिक 'rim of jar' rebus: karṇī 'supercargo, a representative of the ship's owner on board a merchant ship, responsible for overseeing the cargo and its sale'. Read together with the fieldsymbol of the zebu,the message is: magnetite ore smithy, forge, warehouse, iron alloy metal, bronze merchandise (ready for loading as cargo).
goṭ = the place where cattle are collected at mid-day (Santali); goṭh (Brj.)(CDIAL 4336). goṣṭha (Skt.); cattle-shed (Or.) koḍ = a cow-pen; a cattlepen; a byre (G.) कोठी cattle-shed (Marathi) कोंडी [ kōṇḍī ] A pen or fold for cattle. गोठी [ gōṭhī ] f C (Dim. of गोठा) A pen or fold for calves. (Marathi)
koṭṭhaka1 (nt.) "a kind of koṭṭha," the stronghold over a gateway, used as a store -- room for various things, a chamber, treasury, granary Vin ii.153, 210; for the purpose of keeping water in it Vin ii.121=142; 220; treasury J i.230; ii.168; -- store -- room J ii.246; koṭthake pāturahosi appeared at the gateway, i. e. arrived at the mansion Vin i.291.; -- udaka -- k a bath -- room, bath cabinet Vin i.205 (cp. Bdhgh's expln at Vin. Texts ii.57); so also nahāna -- k˚ and piṭṭhi -- k˚, bath -- room behind a hermitage J iii.71; DhA ii.19; a gateway, Vin ii.77; usually in cpd. dvāra -- k˚ "door cavity," i. e. room over the gate: gharaŋ satta -- dvāra -- koṭṭhakapaṭimaṇḍitaŋ "a mansion adorned with seven gateways" J i.227=230, 290; VvA 322. dvāra -- koṭṭhakesu āsanāni paṭṭhapenti "they spread mats in the gateways" VvA 6; esp. with bahi: bahi -- dvārakoṭṭhakā nikkhāmetvā "leading him out in front of the gateway" A iv.206; ˚e thiṭa or nisinna standing or sitting in front of the gateway S i.77; M i.161, 382; A iii.30. -- bala -- k. a line of infantry J i.179. -- koṭṭhaka -- kamma or the occupation connected with a storehouse (or bathroom?) is mentioned as an example of a low occupation at Vin iv.6; Kern, Toev. s. v. "someone who sweeps away dirt." (Pali)
कोंडण kōṇḍaṇa, 'cattlepen', Mesopotamia Rebus: kundaṇa 'fine gold'
One-horned young bulls and calves are shown emerging out of
Sumerian mudhif and Sohgaura copper plate signify Indus Script hypertexts of metalwork https://tinyurl.com/yczjracd
कोंडण kōṇḍaṇa, 'cattlepen', Mesopotamia Rebus: kundaṇa 'fine gold'Image may be NSFW.
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Sohgaura coper plate inscription. ca. 7th cent.BCE Pre-Mauryan. The Indus Script hypertext on this copper plate inscription shows shapes of two warehouses which compare with the structures shown in Louis Renou's article and consistent with the underlying model of the Sumerian mudhif or Nilgiri mund, 'temple' or hut. Kur. nubb three persons; mūnd three things.(DEDR 5052). It is possible to interpret the three long linear strokes as Hieroglyph: mūnd ‘three things’ rebus: mund ‘workplace of artisans, temple’. This complements the reading: kolom ‘three’ rebus: kolimi ‘smithy, forge’; kole.l ‘temple’, kole.l ‘smithy, forge’.
The products produced by artisans working on the platforms of Harappa are linked to Indus Script wealth accounting system through miniature tablets of Harappa with Meluhha inscriptions which are written documents, metalwork accounting ledgers.
I suggest that in the perspective of Harappa evidence of rows of circular platforms that the work platforms constituted Vedic houses.
The rows of circular work platforms, together with smelters/furnaces, constitute paṭṭaḍe, फडा phaḍā'metals manufactory' of Harappa.
The row of platforms constitute the hāˋṭ, hàṭṭi 'market, workshop'.
A possible reconstruction of the circular platform with a roofing like a mudhif (munda) is provide by the figures drawn by Louis Renou to signify a Vedic house. Such a roofed structure can be imagined on each of the circular platforms on the Harappa hāˋṭ, hàṭṭi 'market, workshop'. A group of such markets which are workshops, constitute an āvaṇa, 'a traders' village'.
http://alhurrya.com/archives/30876 A row of Mudhifs, marshes of Iraq.
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http://alhurrya.com/archives/30876 A row of Mudhifs, marshes of Iraq.
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284 x 190 mm. Close up view of a Toda hut, with figures seated on the stone wall in front of the building. Photograph taken circa 1875-1880, numbered 37 elsewhere. Royal Commonwealth Society Library. Cambridge University Library. University of Cambridge.
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284 x 190 mm. Close up view of a Toda hut, with figures seated on the stone wall in front of the building. Photograph taken circa 1875-1880, numbered 37 elsewhere. Royal Commonwealth Society Library. Cambridge University Library. University of Cambridge.Clik here to view.
Toda hut with reed roof.Image may be NSFW.
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Hut. Islamkot. Thar Parkar. Sind. Pakistan.Image may be NSFW.
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Mud huts. Cholistan. Pakistan.Image may be NSFW.
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Roofed circular hut. Bharhut sculptural frieze. It is possible that the circular working platforms had comparable roof structures.See: Battle of R̥gveda texts. Battle of Ten Kings (dāśarājñá) in R̥gveda https://tinyurl.com/yckdognr This link includes full texts from R̥gveda (with alternative translations) and full texts of the papers of Stuhrmann, Witzel and Talageri. An earlier comment of Talageri:Shrikant Talageri6 January 2017 at 07:48It is obvious that this contact between the Purus (Vedic Aryans) and the Hittites was during the period when the proto-Hittite Druhyus were still in Central Asia to the nortwest of Bactria (the "Uttara-madra" people of Puranic memory)before they migrated westwards and southwards into Turkey.Further comments by Talageri:27 June 2017Visvamitra was the earlier guru of Sudas, and this is agreed upon by everyone, which makes the reference to the Vipas and Sutudri in Book 3 earlier than the references to the Parusni and Asikni in Book 7. In fact, it is because he is replaced by Vasishtha that Witzel (among many other scholars) have unilaterally decided that Visvamitra was on the side of the enemies of Sudas in the Battle of the Ten kings out of resentment and sense of revenge. Actually, however, Visvamitra is totally absent from this battle, and his role as an enemy of Sudas in this battle is purely a figment of the scholarly imagination of these scholars.
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Sudas is Paijavana (RV VII.18.21-25), son of Pijavana. Pijavana also means 'one who speeds' or a fast mover (like Yavana).
RV III.53.14 mentions Kikata (Magadha) and its King Pramaganda. Sudas battles Pramaganda.
Witzel leans on Stuhrmann to distort the meanings of texts. Shrikant Talageri points out how the disagreements between Witzel and Stuhrmann are whitewashed by Witzel on the issue of the identification of the guru of Bharata-s.
Further comments by Talageri:
27 June 2017
Visvamitra was the earlier guru of Sudas, and this is agreed upon by everyone, which makes the reference to the Vipas and Sutudri in Book 3 earlier than the references to the Parusni and Asikni in Book 7. In fact, it is because he is replaced by Vasishtha that Witzel (among many other scholars) have unilaterally decided that Visvamitra was on the side of the enemies of Sudas in the Battle of the Ten kings out of resentment and sense of revenge. Actually, however, Visvamitra is totally absent from this battle, and his role as an enemy of Sudas in this battle is purely a figment of the scholarly imagination of these scholars.
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Sudas is Paijavana (RV VII.18.21-25), son of Pijavana. Pijavana also means 'one who speeds' or a fast mover (like Yavana).
RV III.53.14 mentions Kikata (Magadha) and its King Pramaganda. Sudas battles Pramaganda.
References to the Battle of Ten Kings occur in the following texts: RV VII, hymns 18, 33 and 83.4-8). The full texts of RV VII.18, 33 and 83 are presented below.
Translation (Sayana/Wilson):
7.018.01 Our forefathers, Indra, glorifying you, have obtained all desirable (riches); in your gift are cows easy to be milked, and horses, and you are the liberal donor of wealth to the devout. [tve = tvayi, in you].
7.018.02 You dwell with your glories like a ra_ja_ with his wives; Maghavan, who are wise and experienced, (reward our) praises with the precious metals, with cows, with horses; conduct us who are dependent on your riches. [With the precious metals: pis'a_, silver or gold, and the like; ru_pen.a hiran.ya_dina_ va_; ru_pa may also mean beauty].
7.018.03 These gratifying and pious hymns, emulous (in earnestness), are addressed on this occasion to you, may the path of your riches lead downwards; may we, Indra, (diligent) in your praise, enjoy felicity.
7.018.04 Desirous of milking you like a milch cow at pasture, Vasis.t.ha has let loose his prayers to you; every one of my people proclaims you the lord of cattle; may Indra be present at our praises.
7.018.05 The adorable Indra made the well-known deep waters (of the Parus.n.i) fordable for Suda_sa, and converted the vehement awakening imprecation of the sacrificer into the calumnation of the rivers. [Converted the vehement: sardhantam s'imyum uchahasya s'a_pam sindhu_na_m akr.n.od as'asti_h = utsahma_na_m bodhma_na_m stotuh s'a_pam abhis'asti_h sindhu_na_m akarot, he made the exerting awakening curse of the praiser the imprecations of the rivers; vis'varu_podbhavam a_tmano abhis'a_pam, the imprecation on his (Indra) has its birth in vis'varu_pa].
7.018.06 Turvas'a, who was presiding (at solemn rites), diligent in sacrifice, (went to Suda_sa) for wealth; but like fishes restricted (to the element of water), the Bhrigus and Druhyus quickly assailed them; of these two everywhere going the friend (of Suda_sa, Indra) rescued his friend. [The legend: Indra saves one of the two, Suda_sa (and perhaps slays the other), turvas'am avadhi_t; matsyaso nis'itah, fishes limited to water; the people of the country Matsya were attacked by Turvas'a, tena matsyajanapada ba_dhitah; s'rus.t.im cakruh (applied to the Bhrigus) = as'upra_ptim cakruh; sukham turvas'asys cakruh-- making the Bhrigus and Druhyus the allies of Turvas'a].
7.018.07 Those who dress the oblation, those who pronounce auspicious words, those who abstain from penance, those who bear horns (in their hands), those who bestow happiness (on the world by sacrifice), glorify that Indra, who recovered the cattle of the Arya from the plunderers, who slew the enemies in battle. [Those who dress: Denominations of the persons assisting at religious rites are: 1. paktha_sah, havis.am pa_cakah, cooks of the butter offered in oblation; 2. bhala_nasah, bhadra va_cinah, speakers of that which is lucky; 3. alina_sah, tapobhir apravr.ddhah, not eminent by austerities; 4. vis.a_n.inah, having black horns in their hands for the purpose of scratching kan.d.uyana_rtham, the same as di_ks.itah, having undergone the preliminary purification called di_ks.a; 5. s'iva_sah, ya_ga_dina_ sarvasya lokasya s'ivakarah, the makers happy of all people by sacrifice and the like].
7.018.08 The evil-disposed and stupid (enemies of Suda_sa), crossing the humble Parus.n.i river, have broken down its banks; but he by his greatness pervades the earth, and Kavi, the son of Ca_yamana, like a falling victim, sleeps (in death). [Sleeps in death: killed Suda_sa].
7.018.09 The waters followed their regular course to the Parus.n.i, nor (wandered) beyond it; the quick courser (of the king) came to the accessible places, and Indra made the idly-talking enemies, with their numerous progeny, subject among men (to Suda_sa). [Indra is said to have repaired the banks of the river so that the waters -- iyur artham na nyartham-- went to their object, that is, their former bed, not below or beyond it; the enemies Amitra_n are called vadhriva_cah or jalpaka_n].
7.018.10 They who ride on particoloured cattle, (the Maruts), despatched by Pr.s.n.i and recalling the engagement made by them with their friend (Indra), came like cattle from the pasturage, when left without a herdsman; the exulting Niyut steeds brought them quickly (against the foe).
7.018.11 The hero Indra created the Maruts (for the assistance of the ra_ja_), who, ambitious of fame, slew one-and-twenty of the men on the two banks (of the Parus.n.i), as a well-looking priest lops the sacred grass in the chamber of sacrifice.
7.018.12 You, the bearer of the thunderbolt, did drown S'ruta, Kavas.a, Vr.ddha and afterwards Druhyu, in the waters; for they, Indra, who are devoted to you, and glorify you, preferring your friendship, enjoy it.
7.018.13 Indra, in his might, quickly demolished all their strongholds, and their seven (kinds of) cities; he has given the dwelling of the son of Anu to Tr.tsu; may we, (by propitiating Indra), conquer in battle the ill-speaking man. [Seven kinds of cities: purah sapta, seven cities; nagai_h sapta praka_rah or pra_ka_ra_h, seven-walled; conquer in battle: jes.ma pu_rum manus.yam mr.dhrava_cam, speaking imperfectly or barbarously; or baddhava_cam, whose speech is threatening, obstructing or adverse].
7.018.14 The warriors of the Anus and Druhyus, intending (to carry off the) cattle, (hostile) to the pious (Suda_sa) perished to the number of sixty-six thousand six hundred and sixty; such are all the glorious acts of Indra. [Sixty-thousand: s.as.t.ih s'ata s'at. sahasra s.as.t.ir adhi s'at. = sixty hundreds, six thousands, sixty, with six more; s'ata_ni = thousands, sahasra_ni_tyartham].
7.018.15 These hostile, Tr.tsus, ignorantly contending with Indra, fled routed as rapidly as rivers on a downward course, and being discomfited, abandoned all their possessions to Suda_sa.
7.018.16 Indra has scattered over the earth the hostile rival of the hero (Suda_sa), the senior of Indra, the appropriator of the oblation; Indra has baffled the wrath of the wratfhful enemy, and the (foe) advancing on the way (against Suda_sa) has taken the path of flight.
7.018.17 Indra, has effected a valuable (donation) by a pauper; he has slain an old lion by a goat; he has cut the angles of the sacrificial post with a needle; he has given all the spoils (of the enemy) to Suda_sa. [Indra has effected: the three impossible acts are illustrative of the wonderful power of Indra].
7.018.18 Your numerous enemies, Indra, have been reduced to subjection, effect at some time or other the subjugation of the turbulent Bheda, who holds men praising you as guilty of wickedness; hurl, Indra, your sharp thuderbolt against him. [Bheda: one who breaks or separates; may mean an unbeliever, a na_stika; or, the name of the enemy of Suda_sa].
7.018.19 The dwellers on the Yamuna and the Tr.tsus glorified Indra when he killed Bheda in battle; the Ajas, the S'igrus, the Yaks.as, offered him as a sacrifice the heads of the horses (killed in the combat). [Offered to him: balim s'i_rs.a_n.i jabhrur as'vya_ni : they represented the best horses, taken; bali may also have the import of a sacrifice].
7.018.20 Your favours, Indra, and your bounties, whether old or new, cannot be counted like the (recurring) dawn; you have slain Devaka, the son of Ma_nyama_na, and of thine own will, has cast down S'ambara from the vast (mountain).
7.018.21 Para_s'ara, the destroyer of hundreds (of ra_ks.asas), and Vasis.t.ha they who, devoted to you, have glorified you in every dwelling, neglect not the friendship of you (their) benefactor; therefore prosperous days dawn upon the pious. [The destroyer: s'ataya_tu, that is, s'akti, the son of Vasis.t.ha, the father of Para_s'ara (Vis.n.u Pura_n.a 8.4)].
7.018.22 Praising the liberality of Suda_sa, the grandson of Devavat, the son of Paijavana, the donor of two hundred cows, and of two chariots with two wives, I, worthy (of the gift), circumambulate you, Agni, like the ministrant priest in the chamber (of sacrifice).
7.018.23 Four (horses), having golden trappings, going steadily on a difficult road, celebrated on the earth, the excellent and acceptable gifts (made) to me by Suda_sa, the son of Paijavana, bear me as a son (to obtain) food and progeny. [The excellent: smaddis.t.ayah, an epithet of as'vah: prasa'sta_tisarjana_ s'raddha_dida_na_n:gayukta_, being or having part of a donation made in the belief of presenting what is excellent].
7.018.24 The seven worlds praise (Suda_sa) as if he were Indra; him whose fame (spreads) through the spacious heaven and earth; who, munificent, has distributed (wealth) on every eminent person, and (for him) the flowing (rivers) have destroyed Yudhyamadhi in war.
7.018.25 Maruts, leaders (of rites), attend upon this (prince) as you did upon Divoda_sa, the father of Suda_sa; favour the prayers of the devout son of Pijavana, and may his strength be unimpaired, undecaying].
7.018.02 You dwell with your glories like a ra_ja_ with his wives; Maghavan, who are wise and experienced, (reward our) praises with the precious metals, with cows, with horses; conduct us who are dependent on your riches. [With the precious metals: pis'a_, silver or gold, and the like; ru_pen.a hiran.ya_dina_ va_; ru_pa may also mean beauty].
7.018.03 These gratifying and pious hymns, emulous (in earnestness), are addressed on this occasion to you, may the path of your riches lead downwards; may we, Indra, (diligent) in your praise, enjoy felicity.
7.018.04 Desirous of milking you like a milch cow at pasture, Vasis.t.ha has let loose his prayers to you; every one of my people proclaims you the lord of cattle; may Indra be present at our praises.
7.018.05 The adorable Indra made the well-known deep waters (of the Parus.n.i) fordable for Suda_sa, and converted the vehement awakening imprecation of the sacrificer into the calumnation of the rivers. [Converted the vehement: sardhantam s'imyum uchahasya s'a_pam sindhu_na_m akr.n.od as'asti_h = utsahma_na_m bodhma_na_m stotuh s'a_pam abhis'asti_h sindhu_na_m akarot, he made the exerting awakening curse of the praiser the imprecations of the rivers; vis'varu_podbhavam a_tmano abhis'a_pam, the imprecation on his (Indra) has its birth in vis'varu_pa].
7.018.06 Turvas'a, who was presiding (at solemn rites), diligent in sacrifice, (went to Suda_sa) for wealth; but like fishes restricted (to the element of water), the Bhrigus and Druhyus quickly assailed them; of these two everywhere going the friend (of Suda_sa, Indra) rescued his friend. [The legend: Indra saves one of the two, Suda_sa (and perhaps slays the other), turvas'am avadhi_t; matsyaso nis'itah, fishes limited to water; the people of the country Matsya were attacked by Turvas'a, tena matsyajanapada ba_dhitah; s'rus.t.im cakruh (applied to the Bhrigus) = as'upra_ptim cakruh; sukham turvas'asys cakruh-- making the Bhrigus and Druhyus the allies of Turvas'a].
7.018.07 Those who dress the oblation, those who pronounce auspicious words, those who abstain from penance, those who bear horns (in their hands), those who bestow happiness (on the world by sacrifice), glorify that Indra, who recovered the cattle of the Arya from the plunderers, who slew the enemies in battle. [Those who dress: Denominations of the persons assisting at religious rites are: 1. paktha_sah, havis.am pa_cakah, cooks of the butter offered in oblation; 2. bhala_nasah, bhadra va_cinah, speakers of that which is lucky; 3. alina_sah, tapobhir apravr.ddhah, not eminent by austerities; 4. vis.a_n.inah, having black horns in their hands for the purpose of scratching kan.d.uyana_rtham, the same as di_ks.itah, having undergone the preliminary purification called di_ks.a; 5. s'iva_sah, ya_ga_dina_ sarvasya lokasya s'ivakarah, the makers happy of all people by sacrifice and the like].
7.018.08 The evil-disposed and stupid (enemies of Suda_sa), crossing the humble Parus.n.i river, have broken down its banks; but he by his greatness pervades the earth, and Kavi, the son of Ca_yamana, like a falling victim, sleeps (in death). [Sleeps in death: killed Suda_sa].
7.018.09 The waters followed their regular course to the Parus.n.i, nor (wandered) beyond it; the quick courser (of the king) came to the accessible places, and Indra made the idly-talking enemies, with their numerous progeny, subject among men (to Suda_sa). [Indra is said to have repaired the banks of the river so that the waters -- iyur artham na nyartham-- went to their object, that is, their former bed, not below or beyond it; the enemies Amitra_n are called vadhriva_cah or jalpaka_n].
7.018.10 They who ride on particoloured cattle, (the Maruts), despatched by Pr.s.n.i and recalling the engagement made by them with their friend (Indra), came like cattle from the pasturage, when left without a herdsman; the exulting Niyut steeds brought them quickly (against the foe).
7.018.11 The hero Indra created the Maruts (for the assistance of the ra_ja_), who, ambitious of fame, slew one-and-twenty of the men on the two banks (of the Parus.n.i), as a well-looking priest lops the sacred grass in the chamber of sacrifice.
7.018.12 You, the bearer of the thunderbolt, did drown S'ruta, Kavas.a, Vr.ddha and afterwards Druhyu, in the waters; for they, Indra, who are devoted to you, and glorify you, preferring your friendship, enjoy it.
7.018.13 Indra, in his might, quickly demolished all their strongholds, and their seven (kinds of) cities; he has given the dwelling of the son of Anu to Tr.tsu; may we, (by propitiating Indra), conquer in battle the ill-speaking man. [Seven kinds of cities: purah sapta, seven cities; nagai_h sapta praka_rah or pra_ka_ra_h, seven-walled; conquer in battle: jes.ma pu_rum manus.yam mr.dhrava_cam, speaking imperfectly or barbarously; or baddhava_cam, whose speech is threatening, obstructing or adverse].
7.018.14 The warriors of the Anus and Druhyus, intending (to carry off the) cattle, (hostile) to the pious (Suda_sa) perished to the number of sixty-six thousand six hundred and sixty; such are all the glorious acts of Indra. [Sixty-thousand: s.as.t.ih s'ata s'at. sahasra s.as.t.ir adhi s'at. = sixty hundreds, six thousands, sixty, with six more; s'ata_ni = thousands, sahasra_ni_tyartham].
7.018.15 These hostile, Tr.tsus, ignorantly contending with Indra, fled routed as rapidly as rivers on a downward course, and being discomfited, abandoned all their possessions to Suda_sa.
7.018.16 Indra has scattered over the earth the hostile rival of the hero (Suda_sa), the senior of Indra, the appropriator of the oblation; Indra has baffled the wrath of the wratfhful enemy, and the (foe) advancing on the way (against Suda_sa) has taken the path of flight.
7.018.17 Indra, has effected a valuable (donation) by a pauper; he has slain an old lion by a goat; he has cut the angles of the sacrificial post with a needle; he has given all the spoils (of the enemy) to Suda_sa. [Indra has effected: the three impossible acts are illustrative of the wonderful power of Indra].
7.018.18 Your numerous enemies, Indra, have been reduced to subjection, effect at some time or other the subjugation of the turbulent Bheda, who holds men praising you as guilty of wickedness; hurl, Indra, your sharp thuderbolt against him. [Bheda: one who breaks or separates; may mean an unbeliever, a na_stika; or, the name of the enemy of Suda_sa].
7.018.19 The dwellers on the Yamuna and the Tr.tsus glorified Indra when he killed Bheda in battle; the Ajas, the S'igrus, the Yaks.as, offered him as a sacrifice the heads of the horses (killed in the combat). [Offered to him: balim s'i_rs.a_n.i jabhrur as'vya_ni : they represented the best horses, taken; bali may also have the import of a sacrifice].
7.018.20 Your favours, Indra, and your bounties, whether old or new, cannot be counted like the (recurring) dawn; you have slain Devaka, the son of Ma_nyama_na, and of thine own will, has cast down S'ambara from the vast (mountain).
7.018.21 Para_s'ara, the destroyer of hundreds (of ra_ks.asas), and Vasis.t.ha they who, devoted to you, have glorified you in every dwelling, neglect not the friendship of you (their) benefactor; therefore prosperous days dawn upon the pious. [The destroyer: s'ataya_tu, that is, s'akti, the son of Vasis.t.ha, the father of Para_s'ara (Vis.n.u Pura_n.a 8.4)].
7.018.22 Praising the liberality of Suda_sa, the grandson of Devavat, the son of Paijavana, the donor of two hundred cows, and of two chariots with two wives, I, worthy (of the gift), circumambulate you, Agni, like the ministrant priest in the chamber (of sacrifice).
7.018.23 Four (horses), having golden trappings, going steadily on a difficult road, celebrated on the earth, the excellent and acceptable gifts (made) to me by Suda_sa, the son of Paijavana, bear me as a son (to obtain) food and progeny. [The excellent: smaddis.t.ayah, an epithet of as'vah: prasa'sta_tisarjana_ s'raddha_dida_na_n:gayukta_, being or having part of a donation made in the belief of presenting what is excellent].
7.018.24 The seven worlds praise (Suda_sa) as if he were Indra; him whose fame (spreads) through the spacious heaven and earth; who, munificent, has distributed (wealth) on every eminent person, and (for him) the flowing (rivers) have destroyed Yudhyamadhi in war.
7.018.25 Maruts, leaders (of rites), attend upon this (prince) as you did upon Divoda_sa, the father of Suda_sa; favour the prayers of the devout son of Pijavana, and may his strength be unimpaired, undecaying].
Alternative translation (Grifffith): HYMN XVIII. Indra. 18
1. ALL is with thee, O Indra, all the treasures which erst our fathers won who sang thy praises.With thee are milchkine- good to milk, and horses: best winner thou of riches for the pious.
2 For like a King among his wives thou dwellest: with glories, as a Sage, surround and help us.
Make us, thy servants, strong for wealth, and honour our songs wirth kine and steeds and
decoration.
3 Here these our holy hymns with joy and gladness in pious emulation have approached thee.
Hitherward come thy path that leads to riches: may we find shelter in thy favour, Indra.
4 Vasistha hath poured forth his prayers, desiring to milk thee like a cow in goodly pasture.
All these my people call thee Lord of cattle: may Indra. come unto the prayer we offer.
5 What though the floods spread widely, Indra made them shallow and easy for Sudas to traverse.
He, worthy of our praises, caused the Simyu, foe of our hymn, to curse the rivers' fury.
6 Eager for spoil was Turvasa Purodas, fain to win wealth, like fishes urged by hunger.
The Bhrgus and the Druhyus quickly listened: friend rescued friend mid the two distant peoples.
7 Together came the Pakthas, the Bhalanas, the Alinas, the Sivas, the Visanins.
Yet to the Trtsus came the Aryas' Comrade, through love of spoil and heroes' war, to lead them.
8 Fools, in their folly fain to waste her waters, they parted inexhaustible Parusni.
Lord of the Earth, he with his might repressed them: still lay the herd and the affrighted
herdsman.
9 As to their goal they sped to their destruetion: they sought Parusni; even the swift returned
not.
Indra abandoned, to Sudas the manly, the swiftly flying foes, unmanly babblers.
10 They went like kine unherded from the pasture, each clinging to a friend as chance directed.
They who drive spotted steeds, sent down by Prsni, gave ear, the Warriors and the harnessed horses.
11 The King who scattered oneandtwenty— people of both Vaikarna tribes through lust of glory-
As the skilled priest clips grass within the chamber, so hath the Hero Indra, wrought their
downfall.
12 Thou, thunderarmed-, overwhelmedst in the waters famed ancient Kavasa and then the Druhyu.
Others here claiming friendship to their friendship, devoted unto thee, in thee were joyful.
13 Indra at once with conquering might demolished all their strong places and their seven castles.
The goods of Anus' son he gave to Trtsu. May we in sacrifice conquer scorned Puru.
14 The Anavas and Druhyus, seeking booty, have slept, the sixty hundred, yea, six thousand,
And sixandsixty— heroes. For the pious were all these mighty exploits done by Indra.
15 These Trtsus under Indras' careful guidance came speeding like loosed waters rushing downward.
The foemen, measuring exceeding closely, abandoned to Sudas all their provisions.
16 The heros' side who drank the dressed oblation, Indras' denier, far over earth he scattered.
Indra brought down the fierce destroyers' fury. He gave them various roads, the paths' Controller.
17 even with the weak he wrought this matchless exploit: even with a goat he did to death a lion.
He pared the pillars' angles with a needle. Thus to Sudas Indra gave all provisions.
18 To thee have all thine enemies submitted: even the fierce Bheda hast thou made thy subject.
Cast down thy sharpened thunderbolt, O Indra, on him who harms the men who sing thy praises.
19 Yamuna and the Trtsus aided Indra. There he stripped Bheda bare of all his treasures.
The Ajas and the Sigrus and the Yaksus brought in to him as tribute heads of horses.
20 Not to be scorned, but like Dawns past and recent, O Indra, are thy favours and thy riches.
Devaka, Manyamanas' son, thou slewest, and smotest Sambara from the lofty mountain.
21 They who, from home, have gladdened thee, thy servants Parasara, Vasistha, Satayatu,
Will not forget thy friendship, liberal Giver. So shall the days dawn prosperous for the princes.
22 Priestlike-, with praise, I move around the altar, earning Paijavanas' reward, O Agni,
Two hundred cows from Devavans' descendant, two chariots from Sudas with mares to draw them.
23 Gift of Paijavana, four horses bear me in foremost place, trained steeds with pearl to deck
them.
Sudass' brown steeds, firmlystepping-, carry me and my son for progeny and glory.
24 Him whose fame spreads between wide earth and heaven, who, as dispenser, gives each chief his
portion,
Seven flowing Rivers glorify like Indra. He slew Yudhyamadhi in close encounter.
25 Attend on him O ye heroic Maruts as on Sudass' father Divodasa.
Further Paijavanas' desire with favour. Guard faithfully his lasting firm dominion.
7.033.01 The white-complexioned accomplishers of holy ceremonies, wearing the lock of hair on the right side, have afforded me delight, when, rising up I call the leaders (of rites) to the sacred grass; the Vasis.t.has, (my sons) should never be far from me. [White-complexioned: s'vity an~cah = s'vetavarn.ah, white-coloured (applied to the vasis.t.has); wearing the lock of hair on the right side: daks.in.atas kaparda_h: kaparda = cu_d.a or single lock of hair left on the top of the head at tonsure; Vasis.t.has wear it on the right of the crown of the head, daks.in.e s'iraso bha_ge].
7.033.02 Disgracing (Pa_s'adyumna), they brought from afar the fierce Indra, when drinking the ladle of Soma at his sacrifice, to (receive) the libation (of Suda_sa); Indra hastened from the effused Soma of Pa_s'adumna, the son of Va_yata, to the Vasis.t.has. [They brought: A legend is related. The sons of Vasis.t.ha had undertaken a soma sacrifice to Indra on behalf of Suda_sa. They found that he was present at a similar solemnity instituted by the ra_ja_ Pa_s'adyumna, the son of Va_yata, on which they abused the ra_ja_, broke off his sacrifice, and by their mantras, compelled Indra to come to that of their patrons].
7.033.03 In the same manner was he, (Suda_sa) enabled by them easily to cross the Sindhu river; in the same manner, through them he easily slew his foe; so in like manner, Vasis.t.has, through your prayers, did Indra defend Suda_sa in the war with the ten kings. [He easily sle his foe: bhedam jagha_na: bheda may also be a proper name; in the war with ten kings: da_s'ara_jn~e = das'abhi_ ra_ja_bhih saha yuddhe].
7.033.04 By your prayers, leaders (of rites), is effected the gratificcation of your progenitors; I have set in motion the axle (of the chariot); be no you intert, for by your sacred metres, Vasis.t.has, (chanted) with a loud voice, you sustain vigour in Inda. [Of your rogenitors: pitr.n.a_m, in the gen., pl. used honorifically, implying father, i.e. Vasis.t.ha; I have set in motion: aks.am avyayam = rathasya aks.am avyaya_mi, ca_laya_mi, I cause to move the axle of the car, ascribing the words to Vasis.t.ha, as announcing his intention to return to his hermitage].
7.033.05 Suffering from thirst, soliciting (rain), supported (by the Tr.tsus) in the war with the ten ra_ja_s, (the Vasis.t.has) made Indra radiant as the sun; Indra heard (the praises) of Vasis.t.ha glorifying him, and bestowed a spacious region on the Tr.tsus.
7.033.06 The Bharatas, inferior (to their foes), were shorn (of their possessions), like he staves for driving cattle, (stripped of their leaves and branches); but Vasis.t.ha became their family priest, and the people of the Tr.tsus prospered. [People of the Tr.tsus: Tr.tsus are the same as the Bharatas. Sam.varan.a, the son of R.ks.a, the fourth in descent from Bharata, the son of Dus.yanta, was driven from his kingdom by the Pa_n~ca_las, and obliged to take refuge with his tribe among the thickets on the Sindhu until Vasis.t.ha came to them and consented to be the ra_ja_'s purohit, when they recovered their territory].
7.033.07 Three shed moisture upon the regions, three are their glorious progeny, of which the chief is night; three communicators of warmth accompany the dawn; verily the Vasis.t.has understand all these. [Three shed moisture: S'a_tya_ana is cited: the three who send rain on the three regions of earth, mid-air, and heaven, are Agni, Va_yu and A_ditya; they also diffuse warmth; thei offspring are the Vasus, the Rudras, the A_dityas, the latter of whom are the same as Jyotis., light].
7.033.08 The glory of these Vasi.s.t.has is like the splendour of the sun; their greatness as profound as (the depth of) the ocean; your praise, Vasis.t.has, has the velocity of the wind; by no other can it be surpassed.
7.033.09 By the wisdom seated in the heart the Vasis.t.has traverse the hidden thousand branched world, and the Apsarasas sit down wearing the vesture spread out by Yama. [The hidden thousand-branched world: nin.yam sahasravals'am abhisan~caranti, they completely go over the hidden, tirohitam, or durjn~a_nam, ignorant, sahasra vals'am, thousand-branched, that is, sam.sa_ram, the revolving world of various living beings, or the succession of many births; the allusion is to the repeated births of Vasis.t.ha, who is the first of the Praja_patis, or mind-born sons of Brahma_, who is the son of Urvas'i_; hr.dayasya praketaih prajn~a_naih, internal convictions or knowledge; this may imply the detachment of Vasis.t.ha or his sons from the world. The apsaras sit down: yamena tatam paridhim vayanto apsarasa upasedur vasis.t.ha_h: te vasis.tha_h, those vasis.t.has or that vasis.t.ha; yamena = sarvaniyantra_, by the restrainer or regulator of all; ka_ran.a_tmana_, identical with cause, that is, by acts, as the causes of vital condition; the garb paridhim, vastram, spread, tatam, by him, is he revolution of life and death; janma_diprava_ha_h, weavin, vayantah; connecting this with apsarasah, the myphs, or, the nymph Urvas'i_, who sat down or approached in the capacity of a mother, jananitvena, wearing that vesture which he was destined by former nets to wear].
7.033.10 When Mitra and Varun.a beheld you, Vasis.t.ha, quitting the lustre of the lightning (for a different form), then one of your births (took place), inasmuch as Agastya bore you from your (former) abode. [Agasya bore you: agastyo yat tva_ vis'a_ a_jabha_ra = yada_ purvavastha_na_t tva_m a_jaha_ra, when Agastya took you from the former condition; mitra_varun.au a_va_m janayisya_va, we two Mitra and Varun.a, will beget; or, a_va_bhya_m ayam ja_yeta iti samakalpata_m, the two divinities determined this Vasis.t.ha shall be begotten by us].
7.033.11 Verily, Vasis.t.ha you are the son of Mitra and Varun.a, born, Brahma_, of the will of Urvas'i_, after the seminal effusion; all the gods have sustained you, (endowed) with celestial and Vedic vigour in the lake. [Born of the will of Urvas'i_: Urvas'i_, on seeing the birth of the R.s.i, said to herself, let this be my son; Endowed with celestial and vedic vigour: brahman.a_ daivyena; adding an epithet: yuktam, joined with; devasambandhina vedara_s'ina_hambhuva yuktam; pus.kara = kumbha, pitcher used at sacrifice, or the vasati_vara, the pool of water prepared for the same. Vasis.t.ha was born when the vessel, pus.kara, was over-filled and some contents fell upon the earth. Agastya was born of the contents in the vessel; the overflowing fluid being collected together, Vasis.t.ha remained in the lake, tato apsu gr.hyama_n.a_su vasis.t.ha_h pus.kare sthitah; Pus.kara is also the name of a lake in Ajmer; Padma Pura_n.a cites it as the hermitage of Agastya (Sr.s.t.i khan.d.a)].
7.033.12 He, the sage, cognizant of both worlds, was the donor of thousands; he was verily donation; wearing the vesture spread spread by Yama, Vasis.t.ha was born of the Apsaras.
7.033.13 Consecrated for the sacrifice, propitiated by praises, they, Mitra and Varun.a, poured a common effusion into the water-jar, from the midst of which Ma_na arose, and from which also, they say, Vasis.t.ha was born. [Consecrated: satre ja_tau = ya_ge di_ks.itau, prepared by preliminary purifications for the ceremony; Ma_na: a name of Agastya with reference to his being of the measure of a span at his birth; udiya_ya tato agastyah s'amyama_tro mahitapah ma_nena sammito yasma_d ma_nya ihocyate, thence arose the great asceic Agastya of the measure of a span, as measured by a measure (ma_na); he is therefore, caled upon earth Ma_nya. Another legend: Agastya was, in a preceding birth, the son of Pulastya].
7.033.14 Pratr.ts, Agastya comes to you; welcome him with devoted minds, and he in the foremost station directs the reciter of the prayer, the chanter of the hymn, the grinder of the stone, and repeats (what is to be repeated). [Pratr.ts = Tr.tsus; in the foremost station: agre, in front, that is, as their Purohita].
7.033.02 Disgracing (Pa_s'adyumna), they brought from afar the fierce Indra, when drinking the ladle of Soma at his sacrifice, to (receive) the libation (of Suda_sa); Indra hastened from the effused Soma of Pa_s'adumna, the son of Va_yata, to the Vasis.t.has. [They brought: A legend is related. The sons of Vasis.t.ha had undertaken a soma sacrifice to Indra on behalf of Suda_sa. They found that he was present at a similar solemnity instituted by the ra_ja_ Pa_s'adyumna, the son of Va_yata, on which they abused the ra_ja_, broke off his sacrifice, and by their mantras, compelled Indra to come to that of their patrons].
7.033.03 In the same manner was he, (Suda_sa) enabled by them easily to cross the Sindhu river; in the same manner, through them he easily slew his foe; so in like manner, Vasis.t.has, through your prayers, did Indra defend Suda_sa in the war with the ten kings. [He easily sle his foe: bhedam jagha_na: bheda may also be a proper name; in the war with ten kings: da_s'ara_jn~e = das'abhi_ ra_ja_bhih saha yuddhe].
7.033.04 By your prayers, leaders (of rites), is effected the gratificcation of your progenitors; I have set in motion the axle (of the chariot); be no you intert, for by your sacred metres, Vasis.t.has, (chanted) with a loud voice, you sustain vigour in Inda. [Of your rogenitors: pitr.n.a_m, in the gen., pl. used honorifically, implying father, i.e. Vasis.t.ha; I have set in motion: aks.am avyayam = rathasya aks.am avyaya_mi, ca_laya_mi, I cause to move the axle of the car, ascribing the words to Vasis.t.ha, as announcing his intention to return to his hermitage].
7.033.05 Suffering from thirst, soliciting (rain), supported (by the Tr.tsus) in the war with the ten ra_ja_s, (the Vasis.t.has) made Indra radiant as the sun; Indra heard (the praises) of Vasis.t.ha glorifying him, and bestowed a spacious region on the Tr.tsus.
7.033.06 The Bharatas, inferior (to their foes), were shorn (of their possessions), like he staves for driving cattle, (stripped of their leaves and branches); but Vasis.t.ha became their family priest, and the people of the Tr.tsus prospered. [People of the Tr.tsus: Tr.tsus are the same as the Bharatas. Sam.varan.a, the son of R.ks.a, the fourth in descent from Bharata, the son of Dus.yanta, was driven from his kingdom by the Pa_n~ca_las, and obliged to take refuge with his tribe among the thickets on the Sindhu until Vasis.t.ha came to them and consented to be the ra_ja_'s purohit, when they recovered their territory].
7.033.07 Three shed moisture upon the regions, three are their glorious progeny, of which the chief is night; three communicators of warmth accompany the dawn; verily the Vasis.t.has understand all these. [Three shed moisture: S'a_tya_ana is cited: the three who send rain on the three regions of earth, mid-air, and heaven, are Agni, Va_yu and A_ditya; they also diffuse warmth; thei offspring are the Vasus, the Rudras, the A_dityas, the latter of whom are the same as Jyotis., light].
7.033.08 The glory of these Vasi.s.t.has is like the splendour of the sun; their greatness as profound as (the depth of) the ocean; your praise, Vasis.t.has, has the velocity of the wind; by no other can it be surpassed.
7.033.09 By the wisdom seated in the heart the Vasis.t.has traverse the hidden thousand branched world, and the Apsarasas sit down wearing the vesture spread out by Yama. [The hidden thousand-branched world: nin.yam sahasravals'am abhisan~caranti, they completely go over the hidden, tirohitam, or durjn~a_nam, ignorant, sahasra vals'am, thousand-branched, that is, sam.sa_ram, the revolving world of various living beings, or the succession of many births; the allusion is to the repeated births of Vasis.t.ha, who is the first of the Praja_patis, or mind-born sons of Brahma_, who is the son of Urvas'i_; hr.dayasya praketaih prajn~a_naih, internal convictions or knowledge; this may imply the detachment of Vasis.t.ha or his sons from the world. The apsaras sit down: yamena tatam paridhim vayanto apsarasa upasedur vasis.t.ha_h: te vasis.tha_h, those vasis.t.has or that vasis.t.ha; yamena = sarvaniyantra_, by the restrainer or regulator of all; ka_ran.a_tmana_, identical with cause, that is, by acts, as the causes of vital condition; the garb paridhim, vastram, spread, tatam, by him, is he revolution of life and death; janma_diprava_ha_h, weavin, vayantah; connecting this with apsarasah, the myphs, or, the nymph Urvas'i_, who sat down or approached in the capacity of a mother, jananitvena, wearing that vesture which he was destined by former nets to wear].
7.033.10 When Mitra and Varun.a beheld you, Vasis.t.ha, quitting the lustre of the lightning (for a different form), then one of your births (took place), inasmuch as Agastya bore you from your (former) abode. [Agasya bore you: agastyo yat tva_ vis'a_ a_jabha_ra = yada_ purvavastha_na_t tva_m a_jaha_ra, when Agastya took you from the former condition; mitra_varun.au a_va_m janayisya_va, we two Mitra and Varun.a, will beget; or, a_va_bhya_m ayam ja_yeta iti samakalpata_m, the two divinities determined this Vasis.t.ha shall be begotten by us].
7.033.11 Verily, Vasis.t.ha you are the son of Mitra and Varun.a, born, Brahma_, of the will of Urvas'i_, after the seminal effusion; all the gods have sustained you, (endowed) with celestial and Vedic vigour in the lake. [Born of the will of Urvas'i_: Urvas'i_, on seeing the birth of the R.s.i, said to herself, let this be my son; Endowed with celestial and vedic vigour: brahman.a_ daivyena; adding an epithet: yuktam, joined with; devasambandhina vedara_s'ina_hambhuva yuktam; pus.kara = kumbha, pitcher used at sacrifice, or the vasati_vara, the pool of water prepared for the same. Vasis.t.ha was born when the vessel, pus.kara, was over-filled and some contents fell upon the earth. Agastya was born of the contents in the vessel; the overflowing fluid being collected together, Vasis.t.ha remained in the lake, tato apsu gr.hyama_n.a_su vasis.t.ha_h pus.kare sthitah; Pus.kara is also the name of a lake in Ajmer; Padma Pura_n.a cites it as the hermitage of Agastya (Sr.s.t.i khan.d.a)].
7.033.12 He, the sage, cognizant of both worlds, was the donor of thousands; he was verily donation; wearing the vesture spread spread by Yama, Vasis.t.ha was born of the Apsaras.
7.033.13 Consecrated for the sacrifice, propitiated by praises, they, Mitra and Varun.a, poured a common effusion into the water-jar, from the midst of which Ma_na arose, and from which also, they say, Vasis.t.ha was born. [Consecrated: satre ja_tau = ya_ge di_ks.itau, prepared by preliminary purifications for the ceremony; Ma_na: a name of Agastya with reference to his being of the measure of a span at his birth; udiya_ya tato agastyah s'amyama_tro mahitapah ma_nena sammito yasma_d ma_nya ihocyate, thence arose the great asceic Agastya of the measure of a span, as measured by a measure (ma_na); he is therefore, caled upon earth Ma_nya. Another legend: Agastya was, in a preceding birth, the son of Pulastya].
7.033.14 Pratr.ts, Agastya comes to you; welcome him with devoted minds, and he in the foremost station directs the reciter of the prayer, the chanter of the hymn, the grinder of the stone, and repeats (what is to be repeated). [Pratr.ts = Tr.tsus; in the foremost station: agre, in front, that is, as their Purohita].
Alternative translation (Griffith): HYMN XXXIII Vasistha. 33
1. THESE who wear hairknots- on the right, the movers of holy thought, whiterobed-, have won meover.
I warned the men, when from the grass I raised me, Not from afar can my Vasisthas help you.
2 With Soma they brought Indra from a distance, Over Vaisanta, from the strong libation.
Indra preferred Vasisthas to the Soma pressed by the son of Vayata, Pasadyumna.
3 So, verily, with these he crossed the river, in company with these he slaughtered Bheda.
So in the fight with the Ten Kings, Vasisthas! did Indra help Sudas through your devotions.
4 I gladly, men I with prayer prayed by our fathers have fixed your axle: ye shall not be injured:
Since, when ye sang aloud the Sakvari verses, Vasisthas! ye invigorated Indra.
5 Like thirsty men they looked to heaven, in battle with the Ten Kings, surrounded and imploring.
Then Indra heard Vasistha as he praised him, and gave the Trtsus ample room and freedom.
6 Like sticks and staves wherewith they drive the cattle, Stripped bare, the Bharatas were found
defenceless:
Vasistha then became their chief and leader: then widely. were the Trtsus' clans extended.
7 Three fertilize the worlds with genial moisture: three noble Creatures cast a light before them.
Three that give warmth to all attend the morning. All these have they discovered, these Vasisthas.
8 Like the Suns' growing glory is their splendour, and like the seas' is their unflathomed
greatness.
Their course is like the winds'. Your laud, Vasisthas, can never be attained by any other.
9 They with perceptions of the heart in secret resort to that which spreads a thousand branches.
The Apsaras brought hither the Vasisthas wearing the vesture spun for them by Yama.
10 A form of lustre springing from the lightning wast thou, when Varuna and Mitra saw thee.
Thy one and only birth was then, Vasistha, when from thy stock Agastya brought thee hither.
11 Born of their love for Urvasi, Vasistha thou, priest, art son of Varuna and Mitra;
And as a fallen drop, in heavenly fervour, all the Gods laid thee on a lotusblossorn-.
12 He thinker, knower both of earth and heaven, endowed with many a gift, bestowing thousands,
Destined to wear the vesture spun by Yama, sprang from the Apsaras to life, Vasistha.
13 Born at the sacrifice, urged by adorations, both with a common flow bedewed the pitcher.
Then from the midst thereof there rose up Mana, and thence they say was born the sage Vasistha.
14 He brings the bearer of the laud and Saman: first shall he speak bringing the stone for
pressing.
With grateful hearts in reverence approach him: to you, O Pratrdas, Vasistha cometh.
7.083.01 Indra and Varun.a, leaders (of rites), contemplating your affinity, and desirous of cattle, the worshippers, armed with large sickles, have proceeded to the east (to cut the sacred grass); destroy, Indra and Varun.a, your enemies, whether Da_sa_s or A_rya_s and defend Suda_sa with yor protection. [Sickles: pr.thupars'avah = visti_rn.a s'vapars'u hasta, holding large rib-bones of horses; as'vapars'u = an implement for cutting the kus'a grass (as'vapars'va_ barhiracchaiti: Taittiri_ya Bra_hman.a 3.2.2.1), either the rib of a horse, or an instrument like it; it is frequently alluded to in the Bra_hman.as and Su_tras; Taittiri_ya Sam.hita_ 1.1.2: ghos.ad asi: Baudha_yana says that this is addressed to the As'vapars'u; you are the implement, the priest having taken it in his hand; as'vapars'u as'vapars'vasthi, the rib-bone of a horse, the edge of which is as sharp as a sword, and fit for cutting; tac ca khad.gavat ti_ks.n.adbaratvat lavane samarthah].
7.083.02 Where men assemble with uplifted banners, in whatever conflict, there is something unfavourable; where living beings, looking to heaven, are in fear, there, Indra and Varun.a, speak tous (encouragement). [There is something unfavourable: 'everything is evil'; yatra ca yuddhe bhuvana_, bhuvana_ni, bhu_taja_ta_ni svardr.s'ah, s'ari_rapatad u_rdhvam svargasya dras.t.a_ro vitas' ca bhayante, bibhyati, tatra, tadris'e san:gra_me he indra_varun.au no'sman adhivocatam, asmatpaks.apa_tavacanau bhavata_m = in whatever (battle) living beings and those seeing heaven (i.e. gone to heaven, departed) are in fear, there, Indra and Varun.a, plead our cause].
7.083.03 The ends of the earth are beheld laid waste; the clamour has ascended, Indra and Varun.a, to heaven; the adversaries of my people approach me; having heard my invocation, come for my defence.
7.083.04 Indra and Varun.a, you protected Suda_sa, overwhelming the yet unassailed Bheda with your fatal weapons; here the prayers of threse Tr.tsus in time of battle, so that my ministration may have borne them fruit.
7.083.05 Indra and Varun.a, the murderous (weapons) of my enemy distressme; foes among the malignant (assail me); you two are sovereigns over both (celestial and terrestrial) wealth; protect us therefore, onthe day of battle.
7.083.06 Both (Suda_sa and the Tr.tsus) call upon you two (Indra and Varun.a), in combats for the acquisition of wealth, when you defend Suda_sa, together with Tr.tsus, when attacked bythe ten ra_ja_s.
7.083.07 The ten confederated irreligious ra_ja_s did not prevail, Indra and Varun.a, against Suda_sa; the praise of the leaders (of rites), the offerers of sacrificial food, was fruitful; the gods were present at their sacrifices.
7.083.08 You gave vigour, Indra and Varun.a, to Suda_sa when surrounded on all sides by the ten ra_ja_s (in the country) where the pious Tr.tsus, walking in whiteness, and wearing braided hair, worshipped with oblations and praise. [Walking in whiteness: s'vit yan~cah kapardinas tr.tsavah: the epithes are explained: svaityam nairma_lyam gacchantah, going in, or to, whiteness, or freedom from soil; and jat.ilah, having braided hair. The Tr.tsus are the pupils of Vasis.t.ha, Vasis.t.has'is.ya_h etasanjn~a_h r.tvija_h].
7.083.09 One of you destroys enemies inbattle, the other ever protects religious observances; we invoke you, showerers (of benefits), with praises; bestow upon us, Indra and Varun.a, felicity.
7.083.10 May Indra, Varun.a, Mitra, Aryaman grant us wealth and a large and spacious mansion; may the lustre of Aditi, the augmentress (of sacrifice), be innoxious to us; we recite the praise of the divine Savita_.
7.083.02 Where men assemble with uplifted banners, in whatever conflict, there is something unfavourable; where living beings, looking to heaven, are in fear, there, Indra and Varun.a, speak tous (encouragement). [There is something unfavourable: 'everything is evil'; yatra ca yuddhe bhuvana_, bhuvana_ni, bhu_taja_ta_ni svardr.s'ah, s'ari_rapatad u_rdhvam svargasya dras.t.a_ro vitas' ca bhayante, bibhyati, tatra, tadris'e san:gra_me he indra_varun.au no'sman adhivocatam, asmatpaks.apa_tavacanau bhavata_m = in whatever (battle) living beings and those seeing heaven (i.e. gone to heaven, departed) are in fear, there, Indra and Varun.a, plead our cause].
7.083.03 The ends of the earth are beheld laid waste; the clamour has ascended, Indra and Varun.a, to heaven; the adversaries of my people approach me; having heard my invocation, come for my defence.
7.083.04 Indra and Varun.a, you protected Suda_sa, overwhelming the yet unassailed Bheda with your fatal weapons; here the prayers of threse Tr.tsus in time of battle, so that my ministration may have borne them fruit.
7.083.05 Indra and Varun.a, the murderous (weapons) of my enemy distressme; foes among the malignant (assail me); you two are sovereigns over both (celestial and terrestrial) wealth; protect us therefore, onthe day of battle.
7.083.06 Both (Suda_sa and the Tr.tsus) call upon you two (Indra and Varun.a), in combats for the acquisition of wealth, when you defend Suda_sa, together with Tr.tsus, when attacked bythe ten ra_ja_s.
7.083.07 The ten confederated irreligious ra_ja_s did not prevail, Indra and Varun.a, against Suda_sa; the praise of the leaders (of rites), the offerers of sacrificial food, was fruitful; the gods were present at their sacrifices.
7.083.08 You gave vigour, Indra and Varun.a, to Suda_sa when surrounded on all sides by the ten ra_ja_s (in the country) where the pious Tr.tsus, walking in whiteness, and wearing braided hair, worshipped with oblations and praise. [Walking in whiteness: s'vit yan~cah kapardinas tr.tsavah: the epithes are explained: svaityam nairma_lyam gacchantah, going in, or to, whiteness, or freedom from soil; and jat.ilah, having braided hair. The Tr.tsus are the pupils of Vasis.t.ha, Vasis.t.has'is.ya_h etasanjn~a_h r.tvija_h].
7.083.09 One of you destroys enemies inbattle, the other ever protects religious observances; we invoke you, showerers (of benefits), with praises; bestow upon us, Indra and Varun.a, felicity.
7.083.10 May Indra, Varun.a, Mitra, Aryaman grant us wealth and a large and spacious mansion; may the lustre of Aditi, the augmentress (of sacrifice), be innoxious to us; we recite the praise of the divine Savita_.
Alternative translation (Griffith): HYMN LXXXIII. IndraVaruna-. 83
1. LOOKING to you and your alliance, O ye Men, armed with broad axes they went forward, fain forspoil.
Ye smote and slew his Dasa and his Aryan enemies, and helped Sudas with favour, IndraVaruna-.
2 Where heroes come together with their banners raised, in the encounter where is naught for us to
love,
Where all things that behold the light are terrified, there did ye comfort us, O IndraVaruna-.
3 The boundaries of earth were seen all dark with dust: O IndraVaruna-, the shout went up to
heaven.
The enmities of the people compassed me about. Ye heard my calling and ye came to me with help.
4 With your resistless weapons, IndraVaruna-, ye conquered Bheda and ye gave Sudas your aid.
Ye heard the prayers of these amid the cries of war: effectual was the service of the Trtsus'
priest.
5 O IndraVaruna-, the wickedness of foes and mine assailants' hatred sorely trouble me.
Ye Twain are Lords of riches both of earth and heaven: so grant to us your aid on the decisive day.
6 The men of both the hosts invoked you in the fight, Indra and Varuna, that they might win the
wealth,
What time ye helped Sudas, with all the Trtsu folk, when the Ten Kings had pressed him down in
their attack.
7 Ten Kings who worshipped not, O IndraVaruna-, confederate, in war prevailed not over Sudas.
True was the boast of heroes sitting at the feast: so at their invocations Gods were on their side.
8 O IndraVaruna-, ye gave Sudas your aid when the Ten Kings in battle compassed him about,
There where the whiterobed- Trtsus with their braided hair, skilled in song worshipped you with
homage and with hymn.
9 One of you Twain destroys the Vrtras in the fight, the Other evermore maintains his holy Laws.
We call on you, ye Mighty, with our hymns of praise. Vouchsafe us your protection, IndraVaruna-.
10 May Indra, Varuna, Mitra, and Aryaman vouchsafe us glory and great shelter spreading far.
We think of the beneficent light of Aditi, and Savitars' song of praise, the God who strengthens
Law.
For a translation of RV VIII.18 by Kant Singh see:
https://www.academia.edu/8385708/Rigvedas_dasharajanya_war_-_the_battle_of_ten_kings with this preface:
"Sudas’ battle with the ten tribes Hymn 7.18 Translated by Kant SinghThe hymn is famous as an account of the famous dasrajanya battle (the battle of ten kings). As my translation shows below, this is a misunderstanding. Sudas’ war was with 21 kings. It may be that they belonged to ten tribes in all (and these ten tribes are named in the hymn). A number of their misunderstandings based on previous faulty translations are also cleared in the below work. For example,it’s clear that there was no matsya tribe involved in this battle; Sudas was himself a Bharata; Aja, Sigru and Yakshu were not his enemies; (The war is over. A celebration has been organized to felicitate Indra and Sudas. People have come from far, to pay tribute.)"
Tuesday, 9 May 2017
The Recorded History of the Indo-European Migrations - Part 3 of 4 The Anu Migrations
As we saw in the first two parts of this article, on the basis of the data and evidence in the Rigveda:
1. The Pūru Bharata-s of the Puranas were the Vedic "Indo-Aryans".
2. The Early Old Books of the Rigveda go back in time to 3000 BCE and beyond, and the "Vedic Aryans", even at that period of time in and around 3000 BCE:
a) were native inhabitants of the eastern half of the Rigvedic area, closely familiar with and emotionally attached to these eastern areas,
b) were completely ignorant of any western areas, but only just starting to become acquainted with the western areas within the geographical horizon of the Rigveda, which start appearing from east to west in clear historical contexts and as part of a historical narrative,
c) did not have even the faintest consciousness of any extra-territorial memories or migrations from the totally unknown far western areas outside the geographical horizon of the Rigveda,
d) do not make the faintest reference to any non-Indo-European language speaking (let alone specifically Dravidian or Austric language speaking) people or entities, friend or foe, in the Rigvedic area, past or present (let alone any reference to they themselves having invaded and displaced them),
e) and happen to be living in an area with (undeniably or arguably)purely Indo-European names for the rivers in the Rigvedic area with no indication that these rivers ever had any other names.
As we concluded:
a) The Rigveda was composed by native people in the same geographical area as the Harappan Civilization during the same period of time as the Harappan Civilization.
b) The Rigvedic people were in northwestern India from before 3000 BCE.As per all the linguistic evidence accepted by a general consensus among linguists, this was a point of time when all the 12 branches of Indo-European languages were still together in contiguous areas in and around the Original Indo-European Homeland.
In short: the Original Indo-European Homeland was in India, and the Harappan Civilization (in linguistic terms) was an "Indo-Iranian" Civilization.
If the Original Homeland was in India in a period recorded in the Rigveda and in Indian historical tradition, then the emigration of the speakers of the other (than Indo-Aryan) branches of Indo-European languages has to be found as recorded history. And it has to be found as recorded history extractable from the Rigvedic and (where it supplements, complements, amplifies or clarifies the Rigvedic data) from other Vedic and Puranic data.
There were basically two waves of emigrations, and in this part, we will examine this unambiguous evidence for the second wave of emigrations from India, as follows:
Section 1. The Five Tribes.
Section 2. The Linguistic Case.
Section 3. The Northern Anu-s..
Section 4. The Anu-s = The Proto-Iranians.
Section 5. The Migrations of the Southern Anu-s.
Section 6. Dāśarājña: The Oldest Record of PIE Migrations.
Section 1. The Five Tribes.
The Vedic Indo-Aryans constitute speakers of just one out of twelvebranches of IE languages, hence if they are the Pūru-s, one out of many tribes of people native to northern India as per Puranic accounts, speakers of the other eleven branches must be found among the other tribes.
Which other tribes?
The descriptions in the Puranas about the original locations of the Five Aiḷa (Lunar) tribes in northern India clearly place them as follow:
a) the Pūru-s as the inhabitants of the Central Area (Haryana and adjacent areas of western U.P.),
b) the Anu-s to the North (Kashmir and adjoining areas to the west),
c) the Druhyu-s to the West (present-day northern Pakistan),
d) and the Yadu-s and Turvasu-s to the South-west (south-western U.P, Rajasthan, Gujarat, western M.P.) and South-east (east of theYadu-s) respectively.
[The Solar race of the Ikṣvāku-s are placed to the East (eastern U.P, northern Bihar)].
Later historical events described in the Puranas see the Anu-sexpanding southwards and occupying the erstwhile territory of theDruhyu-s (present-day northern Pakistan) while the Druhyu-s move out into Afghanistan.
The Yadu-s, Turvasu-s, as well as the Ikṣvāku-s, lived to the east of the Pūru-s, in the interior of India, and play a major role in the history of India, Hinduism and Classical Indian/Hindu culture and civilization. So it is unlikely, at the least, that the speakers of the other IE proto-dialects, which became the other eleven branches of IE languages, could have been from these eastern tribal conglomerates.
The Anu-s and the Druhyu-s, on the other hand, lived to the west of the Pūru-s on the northwestern frontiers of India. and it is thereforemore likely that the speakers of the other IE proto-dialects, which became the other eleven branches of IE languages, could have been from these western tribal conglomerates.
As we saw above, the Puranas record two geographical locations of the Anu-s and Druhyu-s:
a) The original locations, with the Anu-s in the North (Kashmir and adjoining areas to the west), and the Druhyu-s to the West (present-day northern Pakistan).
b) The latter locations, with the Anu-s expanding southwards and occupying the erstwhile territory of the Druhyu-s (present-day northern Pakistan), while the Druhyu-s move further out into Afghanistan.
Further:
1. The Druhyu-s, as we see, move out from the central area into Afghanistan in very early times, and their historical narrative, even in the Puranas, slowly peters out. The Anu-s, on the other hand, in the form of their sub-tribes, like the Madra-s and Kekaya-s, continue to make waves in Puranic narrations and remain a force to reckon with in the northwest till historical times. The Anu king Śivi Auśīnara is a renowned figure in the Puranas, the Mahabharata and even in the Buddhist Jatakas. He is renowned as a Cakravartin in the Puranas, and there is even a famous tale in the Mahabharata where he shows his nobility and selflessness by carving out flesh from his own thigh to save Agni (disguised as a dove) from Indra (disguised as a hawk), both of whom have come to test his reputation for justice, truth and compassion.
2. In the Rigveda also, the Druhyu-s are more or less only a distant memory: outside the verses which contain enumerations of tribes or directional references, the Druhyu-s are only mentioned thrice in asingle hymn (VII.18), and there they are enemies of the composers of the hymn. And what is more, even in this hymn, they seem to beremnants of the original Druhyu-s and figure only as subsidiary allies of the Anu-s, since the hymns describe the dāśarājña battle, which, as we will see, was a battle between the Bharata Pūrus on the one hand and ten tribes from among the Anu tribal conglomerate (led by an Anu king and an Anu high priest) on the other, fought onAnu territory. The Anu-s, even after this battle, are mentioned elsewhere (outside the verses which contain enumerations of tribes or directional references) in V.31.4; VI.62.9 and VIII.74.4. Two of these references are clearly to the Bhṛgu-s, who are basically the priests of the Anu-s (see TALAGERI 2000:142-143), but a branch of whom later aligned with the Pūru-s and became the single most important family of ṛṣis-s in Indian tradition (see TALAGERI 2000:164-180, etc.).
The evidence clearly shows that there were two separate waves of emigration of tribes from India:
a) An earlier one of the Druhyu-s, which had already commenced its first steps in a pre-Rigvedic period, since the Rigveda from its earliest point shows the latter geographical locations of the Anu-s and Druhyus (noted above). So this wave of emigration may not be found unambiguously recorded in the Rigveda.
b) A later one of the Anu-s, which commenced well within the Rigvedic period and within the bounds of Rigvedic record, andshould be found unambiguously recorded in the Rigveda.
Before moving to the recorded evidence of the Rigveda, let us see what the linguistic theory has to say about the migrations of the different branches from the Original Homeland, wherever that Original Homeland were to be located.
Section 2. The Linguistic Case.
According to linguistic analysis, the distribution of the isoglosses (linguistic features common to two or more of the twelve IE branches) shows that the first branches migrated out from the Homeland, wherever that Homeland is to be located, in the following order: Anatolian (Hittite), Tocharian, Italic, Celtic, Germanic,Baltic and Slavic.
As Winn puts it: “After the dispersals of the early PIE dialects […]there were still those who remained […] Among them were the ancestors of the Greeks and Indo-Iranians”. These branches, and (although he does not mention it) Albanian, shared many common linguistic features (not found in the earlier emigrant branches) "also shared by Armenian; all these languages it seems, existed in an area of mutual interaction.” (WINN 1995:323-324).
These five branches (Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Armenian, Greek andAlbanian) share the following linguistic features which developed among them after the other branches had left the Original Homeland:
a) a “complete restructuring of the entire inherited verbal system” (GAMKRELIDZE 1995:340-341,345), in the Albanian, Greek, Armenian/Phrygian, Iranian and Indo-Aryan dialects, with the formation of athematic and thematic aorists, augmented forms and reduplicated presents.
b) a new formation of "oblique cases in *-bhi-" (GAMKRELIDZE 1995:345).
c) the "prohibitive negation *me" (MEILLET:1902/1967:39).
[The four Anu dialects (Albanian, Greek, Armenian and Iranian), in fact, developed an isogloss in common: an original PIE sound *tt (which remained tt in Indo-Aryan) changed in these dialects to st. Three of them, (Greek, Armenian and Iranian) underwent another innovation: *s (which remained s in Indo-Aryan) became h from initial *s before a vowel, from intervocalic *s, and from some occurrences of *s before and after sonants, and remained s only before and after a stop (MEILLET 1908/1967:113)].
[The four Anu dialects (Albanian, Greek, Armenian and Iranian), in fact, developed an isogloss in common: an original PIE sound *tt (which remained tt in Indo-Aryan) changed in these dialects to st. Three of them, (Greek, Armenian and Iranian) underwent another innovation: *s (which remained s in Indo-Aryan) became h from initial *s before a vowel, from intervocalic *s, and from some occurrences of *s before and after sonants, and remained s only before and after a stop (MEILLET 1908/1967:113)].
Vocabulary-wise also, these five branches seem to fall in one group separate from a second group consisting of the five European branches (Italic, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic and Slavic).
As these five branches were the last to remain in the Homeland, theyshould be found represented among the Anu tribes which remained in India after the Druhyu tribes had, by and large, moved outside the horizon of Rigvedic geography.
Section 3. The Northern Anu-s.
As per the Puranas, the original geographical location of the Anu-swas to the north of the Pūru-s: i.e. to the north of the Haryana region: effectively in Kashmir and the western Himalayas.
However, the Puranas describe a series of events which leads to a massive migration of Anu-s southwards from this region into the Greater Punjab. This first major movement of the Anu-s took place in a tumultuous era of conflicts recorded in traditional history: theDruhyu-s started conquering eastwards and southwards, and their conflicts brought them into conflict with all the other tribes and peoples. This led to a concerted effort by the other tribes to drive them out, and the result was that they were driven out not only from the east but also from their homeland in the northern half of present-day Pakistan. This area was occupied by the Anu-s who moved southwards and westwards: “One branch, headed by Uśīnara established several kingdoms on the eastern border of the Punjab […] his famous son Śivi originated the Śivis [footnote:called Śivas in Rigveda VII.18.7] in Śivapura, and extending his conquests westwards […] occupying the whole of the Punjab except the northwestern corner” (PARGITER 1962:264). Thus, theAnu-s, after first moving into the easternmost part of the Punjab, expanded westwards and now became inhabitants also of the areas in present-day northern Pakistan originally occupied by the Druhyu-s, while the Druhyu-s were pushed out further west into Afghanistan. This resulted (in pre-Rigvedic times) in two distinct groups of Anu-s: the northern Anu-s (in the original area, Kashmir and the western Himalayas), and the southern Anu-s (in the Greater Punjab or northern Pakistan).
Even today, a group of languages of the northern area (stretching from Kashmir to the adjacent parts of northernmost Pakistan and northeastern-most Afghanistan) constitute a distinct group of languages referred to by Grierson as the "Dardic" or "Pishacha" languages. These languages (the most important of them being Kashmiri) constitute an enigma to most linguists, since they seem to be a cross between Indo-Aryan and Iranian languages. Now, most linguists bifurcate them into two major groups (Dard and Kafiri/Nuristani) and treat the first group as being ultimately a part of the Indo-Aryan branch, and the second group (six languages - Ashkun, Bashgali or Kamkata-viri, Wasi-veri or Prasun, Tregami or Gambiri, Waigali or Kalasha-ala, and Zemiaki - all together spoken by around 100,000 people in isolated mountainous tracts in the western parts of this region) as constituting a separate "third" branch of a hypothetical earlier "Indo-Iranian" branch. This what the Wikipedia article has to say about the Nuristani languages:
"There are three different theories about the origins of the Nuristani languages and their place within the Indo-Iranian languages:
· following the studies of Georg Morgenstierne, Nuristani has generally been regarded as one of three primary sub-groups of Indo-Iranian (alongside Iranian and Indo-Aryan);
· suggestions that Nuristani may instead be a branch of the Indo-Aryan subgroup, due to the evident influence of Dardic languages, and;
· it has also been proposed that Nuristani originated within the Iranian sub-group, and was later influenced by an Indo-Aryan language, such as Dardic."
The first theory is obviously based on the concept of a "proto-Indo-Iranian" language from which both "Iranian" and "Indo-Aryan" are descended. However, this is disproved by the fact that Iranian shares isoglosses (not shared by Indo-Aryan) with some other branches. Clearly, the present state of ambiguity about the entire "Dardic" languages is due to the continuous waves of Indo-Aryan and Iranian influences during the last at least 3000 years, and these languages represent the earlier forms of the Iranian branch.
The isolated Nuristani languages retain the following clues:
1. In the first palatization of the PIE (Proto-Indo-European) palato-velars, these palato-velars ḱ, ģ, ģh became lamino-alveolar sounds č (tš), ǰ (dž), ǰh (džh) in many IE branches, including Indo-Aryan and Iranian. These further became palatals c, j, jh in Indo-Aryan, but became dental affricates ć (ts), ź (dz), ź (dz) in proto-Iranian.
The Nuristani languages retained the proto-Iranian dental affricates ć (ts), ź (dz), ź (dz), but the oldest Iranian languages changed them in two opposite directions: Avestan de-dentalized the sounds into affricates s, z, z, while Old Persian de-affricated the sounds into dentals t/θ, d, d.
2. As may be noticed above, the Iranian languages (both Nuristani and Iranian proper) merged the voiced aspirated sound into the voiced unaspirated sound: thus ǰ (dž), ǰh (džh) both became ź (dz) in proto-Iranian and Nuristani, and later z in Avestan and d in Old Persian. Likewise, the original velars g, gh and the labials b, bh (all of them retained in Indo-Aryan) were merged into g and brespectively in all the Iranian languages (including Nuristani).
3. A third major change in the Iranian languages was the merger of PIE l into r. Linguists often make the mistake of assuming that this is an isogloss covering both Indo-Aryan and Iranian languages. However, the Rigveda does contain many words with the sound l, and it is clear that the merger of r and l is an isogloss covering only the Iranian languages. The westernmost dialects of the Pūru-s (i.e. the "Vedic Aryans") also shared this isogloss due to the influence of the Anu-s (proto-Iranians), but the eastern dialects of the Pūru-s retained the l, and this (in spite of the anomalous situation it creates for the AIT) is now accepted by most linguists: "the paucity of /l/ in the Rigveda may be explained as a characteristic of the Northwestern dialect, which has undergone a development parallel to Iranian, and the distinction between proto-Indo-European *l and *r is preserved in the Eastern dialects (Meillet… Bloch…. Misra…. Burrow…. Cardona…. Deshpande…. Parpola…. Meier-Brügger)" KOBAYASHI 2004:144-5.
Richard F Strand, one of the foremost experts on the Nuristani languages, in his internet article "The Evolution of the Nuristani Languages", divides this evolution into 6 stages: 1. The Aryan phase (common to Indo-Aryan, Iranian and Nuristani), 2. The Early Iranian phase (restricted to the Iranian and Nuristani languages), 3.The Transitional phase (with a break between the Nuristani and Iranian languages, but still out of the direct influence of Indo-Aryan), 4. The Indo-Aryan phase (where "the proto-Nuristânis subsequently entered the Indo-Âryan sphere, where they acquired many IA loanwords and participated in many of the Middle Indo-Âryan (MIA) changes that characterize the northwestern IA languages"), 5. The Nuristan phase (where it developed many new characteristics in isolation in the Nuristan area), and finally the last, 6. The Afghani-Islamic Stage (with large scale borrowings from Arabic, Turkish and modern Persian).
It is clear therefore that the (Dardic and) Nuristani languages represent the earlier phase of proto-Iranian, and they represent remnants of the northern Anu-s recorded in the Puranas.
Section 4. The Anu-s = The Proto-Iranians.
Before examining the stages in the migrations of the Iranians, who constitute the main body of the Anu-s, it will be in order to first examine the actual vital recorded evidence showing the identity and/or close connections between the Anu-s, their priestly class the Bhṛgu-s/Atharvan-s, and the Iranians:
a) In the Old Books of the Rigveda, the Anu-s are depicted as inhabitants of the area of the Paruṣṇī river in the centre of the Punjab (the Land of the Seven Rivers): in the Battle of the Ten Kings, fought on the banks of the Paruṣṇī, the Anu-s are the inhabitants of the area of this river who form a coalition to fight the imperialist expansion of Sudās and the Bharata-s, and it is the land and possessions of the Anu-s (VII.18.13) which are taken over by the Bharata-s after their victory in the battle. This point is also noted by P L Bhargava: “The fact that Indra is said to have given the possessions of the Anu king to the Tṛtsus in the battle of Paruṣṇī shows that that the Anus dwelt on the banks of the Paruṣṇī” (BHARGAVA 1956/1971:130).
The area, nevertheless, continues even after this to be the area of the Anu-s., who are again shown as inhabitants of the area even in the Late Books: “The Anu live on the Paruṣṇī in 8.74.15” (WITZEL 1995b:328, fn 51).
And even in later historical times, it continues to be the area of theMadra-s and the Kekaya-s, who were Anu-s.
The Avesta (Vd. I) mentions the Haptahəndu (Saptasindhavah) as one of the sixteen Iranian lands, past and contemporary.
b) The Anu tribes who fought Sudās in the Battle of the Ten Kings include at least the Parśu or Parśava (Persians), the Pṛthu orPārthava (Parthians), the Paktha (Pakhtoons) and the Bhalāna(Baluchis): all names of historical Iranian peoples in later times. The king of the Anu coalition is Kavi (Avestan name Kauui, name of the dynasty which included Vīštāspa, contemporary and patron ofZaraθuštra) Cāyamāna, and the priest is Kavaṣa (a proto-Iranian and Avestan name, Kaoša). The two most prominent Anu tribes in later texts are the Madra (the Madai or Medes) and the Kekaya (a typical Iranian sounding name).
c) In later historical times, the name Anu is prominently found at both the southern and northern ends of the area described in the Avesta: Greek texts (e.g. Stathmoi Parthikoi, 16, of Isidore of Charax) refer to the area and the people immediately north of the Hāmūn-ī Hilmand in southern Afghanistan as the Anauon or Anauoi; and Anau is the name of a very prominent proto-Iranian or Iranian archaeological site in Central Asia (Turkmenistan).
d) The conflict between the deva-s (gods) and the asura-s(demons), which is a central theme in Purāṇic mythology, is recognized (e.g. HUMBACH 1991, etc.) as a mythologization of an earlier historical conflict between the Vedic Aryans and the Iranians. There is also a priestly angle to this conflict: the Epics and the Purāṇas depict the priest of the deva-s as an Angiras (Bṛhaspati), and the priest of the asura-s as a Bhṛgu (Kavi Uśanā or Uśanas Kāvya, also popularly known in the Puranas and Epics as Uśanas Śukra or Śukrācārya).
Robert P. Goldman, in a detailed study entitled “Gods, Priests and Warriors: the Bhṛgus of the Mahābhārata”, points out that the depiction of the Bhṛgu-s in the Epics and Purāṇas “may shed some light on some of the most basic problems of early Indian and even early Indo-Iranian religion” (GOLDMAN 1977:146), and that the Bhṛgu-s may originally have been the priests of the Iranians, and that certain elements in the myths about the “ultimate disillusionment with the demons [of one branch of the Bhṛgu-s]and their going over to the side of the gods may also be viewed as suggestive of a process of absorption of this branch of the Bhṛgus into the ranks of the orthodox [i.e. Vedic] brahmins” (GOLDMAN 1977:146). [For full details of the peculiar position of the Bhṛgu-s in the Rigveda, see TALAGERI 2000:164-180].
An examination of the evidence shows the close connection between the Anu-s and the Bhṛgu-s on the one hand, and the Iranians and the Bhṛgu-s on the other:
The Anu-s and the Bhṛgu-s: the Anu-s are referred to in only fourhymns, apart from the neutral directional references, and these four hymns fall into two categories: the hostile references (in VI.62 andVII.18) and the neutral references (in V.31.4 and VIII.74.4). The close connection between the Anu-s and the Bhṛgu-s is clear from both the categories of references:
a) The hostile references, which treat the Anu-s as enemies, are inVI.62 and VII.18, and in VII.18, verse 14 refers to the Anu-s and Druhyu-s, while verse 6 refers to the Bhṛgu-s and Druhyu-s, thus making it clear that the Anu-s are somehow equivalent to theBhṛgu-s (actually the latter as the priests, and a subtribe, of the former).
b) The neutral references are in V.31 and VIII.74, and V.31.4 describes the Anu-s as manufacturing a chariot for Indra. InIV.16.20, it is Bhṛgu-s who are described as manufacturing a chariot for Indra, thus again reiterating the equivalence. [In the other neutral reference, in VIII.74.4, which refers to the sacrificial fire of the Anu-s., the reference is to an Anu king named Śrutarvan Ārkṣa (son ofṚkṣa). Both the prefix Śruta- and the name Ṛkṣa are found in the Avesta (Srūta- and Ərəxša), and, in this case, the king could be a proto-Iranian king (although the Avestan connection of the names, in itself, could also be due to the common culture of the Late Rigvedic period)].
[It is significant that the two neutral references appear in the more cosmopolitan Late Books, in which the conflicts of the earlier period have become a thing of the past, and the composers occasionally have some nice things to say about the Dāsa-s (the non-Pūru-s). Significantly, of the three hymns which have nice things to say about Dāsa-s, VIII.5, 46 and 51, the first two are hymns which have camel-gifting kings with proto-Iranian names].
Griffith has the following to say about the above reference to the Anu-s in V.31.4, in his footnote to the verse: “Anus: probably meaning Bhṛgus who belonged to that tribe”.
The Iranians and the Bhṛgu-s: Kavi Uśanā is the priest of the asura-s, who is nevertheless treated with great respect in both the Rigveda and the later texts, and often treated (in the later mythology) as even superior (in, for example, his knowledge of the sanjīvanī mantra, which could bring the dead back to life) to Bṛhaspati, the priest of the deva-s or gods. He is found in the Avesta as Kauui Usan. And the fire-priests of the Iranians are called Āθrauuan (Atharvan, the son of Bhṛgu, the archetypal fire-priest of the Vedic texts).
Goldman (see above) writes about one branch of the Iranian priests “going over to the side of the gods” and about the “absorption of this branch of the Bhṛgus into the ranks of the orthodox [i.e. Vedic] brahmins” (GOLDMAN 1977:146). This refers to a branch led by Jamadagni, who, in later Indian tradition, is treated as the patriarch of the Bhṛgu gotras among Vedic brahmins, and consequently, often even referred to as “Bhṛgu”. As we have seen in detail in our earlier book (see TALAGERI 2000:164-180), the Bhṛgus are treated with disdain in the earlier parts of the Rigveda, and it is only in the later parts of the Rigveda that they are accepted into the Vedic mainstream; and later on, in post-Rigvedic Hinduism, the Bhṛgus (descended from Jamadagni) actually go on to become thesingle most important family of Vedic ṛṣis.
An examination of the names of the Bhṛgu composers in the Rigveda shows that most of them contain name-elements in common with the Avesta, but as this is a feature found in a large number of names (whatever the family of the ṛṣis) in the Late Books (where almost all the hymns composed by Bhṛgus are found), this does not signify much. But the same cannot be said for the names of the first Bhṛgu ṛṣi of the Rigveda, Jamadagni (who belongs to the Early period), and of his son Rāma:
The name Jamadagni is clearly a proto-Iranian name: not a name containing a name-element common to both the Rigveda and the Avesta, but a name which is linguistically Iranian rather than “Indo-Aryan”. (This is in spite of the fact that the word agni for “fire” is found in the Vedic but not in the Avestan language: in opposition to this is the fact that we find the suffix -agni as a name-element inanother name only in the Avesta: the name Dāštāγni): “Iranian simply lacks the many innovations that characterize Ved.” (WITZEL 2005:367). One of these innovations is “the Ṛgvedic normalization in g- of the present stems beginning in j/g […]Avest. jasaiti:: Vedic gacchati. Note that j is retained only in traditional names such as Jamad-agni and in the perfect ja-gām-a, etc.” (WITZEL 2005:392:149). Witzel assumes that the initialj-, instead of g-, in the name Jamadagni is an exception to the rule because it is a “traditional” name; but actually the initial j- is found in the name Jamadagni because it is a proto-Iranian name.
The name of Jamadagni’s son is Rāma: he is called Rāma Jāmadagnya as the composer of X.110. However, he is also known as Parśu–Rāma in later times; and, consequently, Epic-Purāṇic mythology, in the belief that the word parśu means “axe” or “battle-axe”, creates an enduring range of mythical tales centred around the idea of an axe-wielding Parśurāma. However, the word parśu in the sense of “axe” (which is actually paraśu) is not found in the Rigveda at all: it is a much later word. The original sense of the word parśu, as an appellation in the name of Rāma Jāmadagnya, was in respect of his identity as a member of the Anu (Iranian) tribe of the Parśu.
Section 5. The Migrations of the Southern Anu-s.
The Puranas record the migrations of a major section of the Anu-s from the western Himalayan region into the Punjab region, and the early migrations occurred in the following stages:
Stage 1: To begin with, the Anu-s lived in the northern region: i.e. the western Himalayan region.
Stage 2: In the first migration, an important section migrated southwards into eastern Punjab.
Stage 3: In the second migration (or rather expansion), these Anu-s expanded westwards and occupied the whole of the Greater Punjab region.
The evidence for these three stages is recorded in the Puranas, the Rigveda and the Avesta:
Stage 1:
a) The Puranas record that the Anu-s were originally (in a pre-Rigvedic age) occupants of the region to the north of the central area occupied by the the Pūru-s, i.e. they lived in the western Himalayan region (extending westwards from Kashmir) to the north of the Haryana region.
b) The Avesta records that the ancestors of the Iranians originally lived in a land which they called Airyana Vaējo, known for its extremely severe winters.
[That Airyana Vaējo was the western Himalayan region, and not the "Arctic" as speculated by Tilak and some Zoroastrian writers, is clear from the list of sixteen Iranian lands given in the Videvdat (a late book of the Avesta). The list (covering only the areas of Afghanistan and present-day northern Pakistan) is arranged in rough geographical order, in an anti-clockwise direction which leads back close to the starting point. The sixteen evils created by Angra Mainyu in the sixteen lands created by Ahura Mazda start out with “severe winter” in the first land Airyana Vaējo, move through a variety of other evils (including various sinful proclivities, obnoxious insects, evil spirits and physical ailments), and end again with “severe winter” in the sixteenth land, Raηhā, which shows that the sixteenth land is close to the first one. And since Gnoli identifies the sixteenth land, Raηhā, as an “eastern mountainous area, Indian or Indo-Iranian, hit by intense cold in winter” (GNOLI 1980:53), it is clear that Airyana Vaējo is also likely to be an eastern, mountainous, Indian area].
Stage 2:
a) The Puranas record that “One branch, headed by Uśīnara established several kingdoms on the eastern border of the Punjab” (PARGITER 1962:264). [It may be noted that Uśīnara, with its patronymic form Auśīnara, is an Iranian name, Aošnara, also found in the Avesta].
b) The Rigveda records that in the period of the oldest Book (Maṇḍala) 6, the Anu-s were on the eastern borders of the Punjab to the west of the Vedic Aryans: In VI.27, Abhyāvartin Cāyamāna (called a Pārthava, i.e. Parthian, in verse 8) is an ally of the Vedic Aryan (Pūru Bharata) king Sṛñjaya, son of Devavāta, in a battle fought in the Haryana region.
c) The Avesta records that the ancestors of the Iranians, to escape from the severe cold of their ancestral homeland, built an enclosure called Vara in the centre of the Earth and lived safely within that enclosure. This is clearly a reference to their migration into the Haryana/eastern-Punjab area: the Haryana region is referred to in the Rigveda by two descriptive names: Vara ā Pṛthivyā (the best place on earth) and Nābhā Pṛthivyā (the navel/centre of the Earth).
Further, the Avesta shows its early ancient associations with the Haryana region by the reference to Manuša (the lake Mānuṣareferred to in the Rigveda, III.23.4, as being located at the vara ā pṛthivyāh, “the best place on earth”, in Kurukṣetra. Witzel also identifies it as “Manuṣa, a location ‘in the back’ (west) of Kurukṣetra”: WITZEL 1995b:335): Darmetester translates the verse, Yašt 19.1, as follows: “The first mountain that rose up out of the earth, O Spitama Zarathuštra! was the Haraiti Barez. That mountain stretches all along the shores of the land washed by waters towards the east. The second mountain was Mountain Zeredhō outside mount Manusha: this mountain too stretches all along the shores of the land washed by waters towards the east”. Note that the “first” mountains that rose up out of the earth (i.e. the earliest lands known to the Iranians) for the Avesta are “towards the east”. Darmetester interprets the word Manusha as the name of a mountain, but the verse specifies that it is referring only to two mountains, the “first” and the “second” mountains, close to “land washed by waters”, so the reference to Manuša (which, in the original text, is not specified as a "mountain", and which both Iranologists and Indologists identify as an Indo-Aryan and not an Iranian word) is definitely to lake Mānuṣa, and the word Haraiti is again a reference to the Sarasvati. The word barez means "mountain", but here it clearly also means "river bank", and the Russian word bereg cognate to the Avestan barez actually means "river bank", so the line can also be translated: “The first river bank that rose up out of the earth, O Spitama Zarathuštra! was the Haraiti Barez [the land on the banks of the river Haraiti]. That river bank stretches all along the shores of the land washed by waters towards the east”.
Stage 3:
a) The Puranas record that the Anu-s expanded westwards from the "eastern border of the Punjab”: “his famous son Śivi originated the Śivis [footnote: called Śivas in Rigveda VII.18.7] in Śivapura, and extending his conquests westwards […] occupying the whole of the Punjab except the northwestern corner” (PARGITER 1962:264).
b) The Rigveda, as we saw earlier, shows the Anu-s as the local inhabitants of the Punjab region in both the Old Books (during the dāśarājña battle) as well as the New Books, and they continue to be the inhabitants of the Punjab (as Madra-s and Kekaya-s) even in later historical times. That these Anu-s were Iranians is clear from the names of the Anu tribes who fought Sudās in this battle, e.g. theParśu or Parśava (Persians), the Pṛthu or Pārthava (Parthians), thePaktha (Pakhtoons) and the Bhalāna (Baluchis); and of the king of their alliance, Kavi (Avestan Kauui); and of their priest, Kavaṣa(Avestan name, Kaoša).
c) The Avesta (Vd. I) mentions the Haptahəndu (Saptasindhavah) as one of the sixteen Iranian lands, past and contemporary.
While the evidence for the three earliest stages of the Anu migrations, which took place within Indian territory and Indian traditional memory, is recorded in the Puranas, the Rigveda and the Avesta, the next stage, which moves out of India, is recorded only in the Avesta. The Rigveda only records that the people of the Asiknī (i.e. of the western Anu territory of the Asiknī or Chenab river, to the west of the Paruṣṇī or Rāvī river which was the scene of the dāśarājña battle) left their territories and were "scattered abroad" after their battle with the Pūru-s (GRIFFITH VII.5.3). And in the very next hymn, that they were driven "westwards" from "the east" (GRIFFITH VII.6.3):
Stage 4:
The Avesta, which was also recorded over a long period of time, clearly records a very late or post-Rigvedic situation, in which the Iranians (the major section of the Anu-s who migrated westwards) were now centered in and around Afghanistan.
That it was a late or post-Rigvedic period, and the next stage (stage 4) of the Iranian migrations, is clear from the chronological position of the Avesta vis-à-vis the Rigveda (given in detail in Part 2 of this article series). To give the salient points:
1. The dāśarājña battle took place during the period of the Old books of the Rigveda, and the earliest parts of the Avesta were clearly composed during a very late part of the period of the New Books, as is clear from the evidence of the name-types common to the Rigveda and the Avesta (which are older than the oldest part of the Avesta, since the ancestors of Zarathuštra - who is the composer of the Gāthā-s, the oldest part of the Avesta - already have names of these types), the meters in which the Gāthā-s are composed (found only in the New non-Family Books of the Rigveda), and the fact that certain personalities belonging to the period of the Middle Old Books of the Rigveda (4 and 2) are ancestral to Zarathuštra.
2. There is a consensus among most Iranologists that the common elements in Vedic and Iranian mythology and rituals show a late Vedic correspondence. Helmut Humbach, the eminent Avestan scholar, makes the following very pertinent observations: “It must be emphasized that the process of polarization of relations between the Ahuras and the Daēvas is already complete in the Gāthās, whereas, in the Rigveda, the reverse process of polarization between the Devas and the Asuras, which does not begin before the later parts of the Rigveda, develops as it were before our very eyes, and is not completed until the later Vedic period. Thus, it is not at all likely that the origins of the polarization are to be sought in the prehistorical, the proto-Aryan period. […] All this suggests a synchrony between the later Vedic period and Zarathuštra’s reform in Iran.” (HUMBACH 1991:23).
That the bulk of the proto-Iranians, after moving westwards from the Punjab region, had still spread only as far west as Afghanistan is clear from the geographical evidence in the Avesta:
The Vendidad or Videvdat, a late book of the Avesta, gives a list of the sixteen Iranian lands past and present: Gnoli identifies fifteen of the sixteen Iranian lands named in the Vendidād list (he declines to try to identify "the first of the countries created by Ahura Mazda, Airyana Vaējah", since "this country is characterized, in the Vd. I context, by an advanced state of mythicization" GNOLI 1980:63): "From the second to the sixteenth country, we have quite a compact and consistent picture. The order goes roughly from north to south and then towards the east: Sogdiana (Gava), Margiana (Mourv), Bactria (Bāxδī), Nisaya between Margiana and Bactria, Areia (Harōiva), Kābulistān (Vaēkərəta), the Gaznī region (Urvā), Xnənta, Arachosia (Haraxvaitī), Drangiana (Haētumant), a territory between Zamin-dāvar and Qal'at-i-Gilzay (Raγa), the Lūgar valley (Caxra), Bunēr (Varəna), Pañjāb (Hapta Həndu), Raƞhā … between the Kābul and the Kurram, in the region where it seems likely the Vedic river Rasā flowed" (GNOLI 1980:63-64).
All these regions are centered around Afghanistan and present-day northern Pakistan. Gnoli notes that India is still very much a part of the geographical picture: "With Varəna and Raƞhā, as of course with Hapta Həndu, which comes between them in the Vd. I list, we find ourselves straight away in Indian territory, or, at any rate, in territory that, from the very earliest times, was certainly deeply permeated by Indo-Aryans or Proto-Indoaryans" (GNOLI 1980:47).
However, western areas (including present-day Iran!) are still not part of the Iranian area. Gnoli repeatedly stresses "the fact that Avestan geography, particularly the list in Vd. I, is confined to the east" (GNOLI 1980:45). Elsewhere, he again refers to "the entirely eastern character of the countries listed in the first chapter of the Vendidād, including Zoroastrian Raγa, and the historical and geographical importance of that list" (GNOLI 1980:59). The horizon of the Avesta, Gnoli further notes, "is according to Burrow, wholly eastern and therefore certainly earlier than the westward migrations of the Iranian tribes" (GNOLI 1980:161).
Likewise, the Avesta does not know any area to the north, or west, of the Aral Sea. The northernmost area, the only place in northern Central Asia, named in the Avesta is Chorasmia or Khwārizm, to thesouth of the Aral Sea. However, Gnoli points out that Chorasmia "is mentioned only once" (GNOLI 1980:110) in the whole of the Avesta. Moreover, it is not mentioned among the sixteen Iranian lands created by Ahura Mazda listed in the first chapter of the Vendidad. It is mentioned among the lands named in the Mihr Yašt (Yt.10.14) in a description of the God Miθra standing on the mountains and surveying the lands to his south and north.
Gnoli emphasizes the significance of this distinction: "the countries in Vd.I and Yt.X are of a quite different nature: the aim of the first list is evidently to give a fairly complete description of the space occupied by the Aryan tribes in a remote period in their history" (GNOLI 1980:44-45). Clearly, Chorasmia is not a part of this space.
As a matter of fact, Chorasmia is named as "practically the very furthest horizon reached by Miθra's gaze" (GNOLI 1980:110), and Gnoli suggests that "the inclusion of the name of Chorasmia in this Yašt [….] could in fact be a mention or an interpolation whose purpose, whether conscious or unconscious, was rather meant to continue in a south-north direction the list of lands over which Miθra's gaze passed by indicating a country on the outskirts such as Chorasmia (which must have been very little known at the time the Yašt was composed)" (GNOLI 1980:89). The suggestion that the inclusion of Chorasmia in the Yašt is an interpolation is based on a solid linguistic fact: the name, Xvāirizəm, as it occurs in the reference, is "in a late, clearly Middle Persian nominal form" (GNOLI 1980:110).
So, by the time of composition of even the latest parts of the Avesta, the Iranians were still confined to an area no further west than Afghanistan and the bordering areas to its north. The earliest historical Iranian groups made their appearance only in Stage 5.
Stage 6:
Recorded evidence for "Iranians" of any kind in the post-Avestan period is totally missing till the first millennium BCE: "Evidence either for the history of the Iranian tribes or their languages from the period following the separation of the Indian and Iranian tribes down to the early 1st millennium BC is sadly lacking. There are no written sources, and archaeologists are still working to fill out the picture" (SKJÆRVØ 1995:156).
The earliest historical Iranians make their appearance in a very much post-Avestan period: "The earliest mention of Iranians in historical sources is, paradoxically, of those settled on the Iranian plateau, not those still in Central Asia, their ancestral homeland. 'Persians' are first mentioned in the 9th century BC Assyrian annals: on one campaign, in 835 BC, Shalmaneser (858-824 BC) is said to have received tributes from 27 kings of Paršuwaš; the Medes are mentioned under Tiglath-Pileser III (744-727 BC); at the battle of Halulê on the Tigris in 691 BC, the Assyrian king Sennacherib (704-681 BC) faced an army of troops from Elam, Parsumaš, Anzan, and others; and in the Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon (680-669 BC) and elsewhere numerous 'kings' of the Medes are mentioned (see also, for example, Boyce 1975-82: 5-13) [….] There are no literary sources for Iranians in Central Asia before the Old Persian inscriptions (Darius's Bisotun inscription, 521-519 BC, ed. Schmitt) and Herodotus' Histories (ca. 470 BC). These show that by the mid-Ist millennium BC tribes called Sakas by the Persians and Scythians by the Greeks were spread throughout Central Asia, from the westernmost edges (north and northwest of the Black Sea) to its easternmost borders" (SKJÆRVØ 1995:156).
“We find no evidence of the future ‘Iranians’ previous to the ninth century BC. The first allusion to the Parsua or Persians, then localized in the mountains of Kurdistan, and to the Madai or Medes, already established on the plain, occurs in 837 BC in connection with the expedition of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III. About a hundred years afterwards, the Medes invaded the plateau which we call Persia (or Iran) driving back or assimilating populations of whom there is no written record” (LAROUSSE 1959:321).
And all these Iranian groups were moving from east to west: “By the mid-ninth century BC two major groups of Iranians appear in cuneiform sources: the Medes and the Persians. [….] What is reasonably clear from the cuneiform sources is that the Medes and Persians (and no doubt other Iranian peoples not identified by name) were moving into western Iran from the east” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1974, Vol.9, 832).
The Iranians clearly spread out from Afghanistan, in the post-Avestan period, into Iran to the west and Central Asia to the north. Their expanding geography, in the course of time, spread them all the way out to eastern and Central Europe.
Section 6. Dāśarājña: The Oldest Record of PIE Migrations.
The migration of the Iranians from their Original Homeland in India, including the various chronological and geographical stages in that migration, is, as we saw, fully recorded history. However, this is only because we have available with us the oldest recorded texts, the Rigveda and the Avesta, whose traditional records and memories go back to those periods. If Indian and Iranian records had started with the earliest texts of the Mauryan period for India and the earliest texts of the Persians, Parthians and Medes for the Iranians, we would have continued to remain in the dark about this early history, and the fabrications of western Indologists and linguists would have faced no challenge.
In the case of the other "last" branches of Indo-European languages, i.e. of Albanian, Greek and Armenian, the earliest records commence late in their historical habitats with no memories of Proto-Indo-European times. So we do not have the same degree of corroboration from diverse sources that we have in the case of "Indo-Aryan" and Iranian. Nevertheless, we still have the recorded evidence in the Rigvedic hymns. And incredibly, this evidence is sufficient in itself:
The great historical incident recorded in the Rigveda is the dāśarājña battle, or "the Battle of the Ten Kings". This was a battle (or, as some western scholars prefer to downplay it, a "skirmish") between the Bharata Pūru king Sudās on the one hand and a coalition of ten "kings" (or more properly, ten tribes) from among the Anu-s on the other. Sudās, after letting loose a horse, set out on a campaign of conquest "east, west and north" (III.53.14). The main thrust of his expansionist drive was towards the Punjab area, the area of the Anu-s. He expanded westwards after crossing (in III.33) the two easternmost rivers, the Vipāś and Śutudrī (present day Beas and Satlej) of the Punjab, under the priestly stewardship of Viśvāmitra. Later, after a change of priests (with Vasiṣṭha replacing Viśvāmitra), he continued his forays westwards. However, ten tribes of Anu-s from the Punjab, along with some Anu-ized remnants of the original Druhyu population of the Punjab, formed a coalition to halt his advances, and confronted him on the banks of the Paruṣṇī (present day Ravi) in the heart of the Punjab. The ensuing battle, called the dāśarājña battle, or "the Battle of the Ten Kings", is the subject of a handful of hymns in the Rigveda: mainly VII.18 and VII.83, but with some important references in some other hymns in Book 7.
The importance of this great historical event is that these handful of references in just a couple of hymns of the Rigveda (both in Book 7) provide us the names of the different Anu tribes who united to fight against Sudās and the Bharata-s:
VII.18.5 Śimyu.
VII.18.6 Bhṛgu.
VII.18.7 Paktha, Bhalāna, Alina, Śiva, Viṣāṇin.
VII.83.1 Parśu/Parśava, Pṛthu/Pārthava, Dāsa.
Puranic Anus: Madra.
A few words on some of these names:
1. Dāsa is a word which refers to any non-Pūru (i.e. non-"Vedic Aryan"), but particularly to Iranians: it is found in 54 hymns (63 verses) and the overwhelming majority of these references are hostile references. But there are three verses which stand out from the rest: they contain references which are friendly towards the Dāsa-s:
a. In VIII.5.31, the Aśvin-s are depicted as accepting the offerings of the Dāsa-s.
b. In VIII.46.32, the patrons are referred to as Dāsa-s.
c. In VIII.51.9, Indra is described as belonging to both Āryas and Dāsa-s.
As all these three hymns are dānastuti-s (hymns in praise of donors), it is clear that the friendly references have to do with the identity of the patrons in these hymns. Two of these hymns (VIII.5,46) have camel-gifting patrons (and it is very likely that the third hymn has one two: this dānastuti does not mention the specific gifts received, and merely calls upon Indra to shower wealth on the patron), and the only other hymn with a camel-gifting patron is another dānastuti in the same book: VIII.6.48. These four hymns (VIII.5,6,46,51) clearly belong to a separate class from the other Rigvedic hymns: 3 of them (VIII.5,6,46) gift camels, 3 of them (VIII.5,46,51) speak well of Dāsa-s, and 3 of them (VIII.5,6,46) have patrons whose names have been identified as proto-Iranian names: A range of western Indologists (including Hoffman, Wilson, Weber, Witzel and Gamkrelidze) have identified Kaśu (VIII.5), Tirindira Parśava(VIII.6), and Pṛthuśravas Kānīta (VIII.46) as proto-Iranian names.Ruśama Pavīru, the patron of VIII.51, is not specifically named as Iranian by the scholars. However, the Ruśama-s are identified by M.L.Bhargava (BHARGAVA:1964) as a tribe of the extreme northwest from the Soma lands of Suṣomā and Ārjīkīyā. This clearly places them in the territory of the Iranians.
Now the word dāsa, though used for non-Pūru-s and mostly in a hostile sense in the Rigveda (and meaning "slave" in later Sanskrit), is clearly a word with an originally benevolent connotation. It is derived from the root √daṁś- "to shine" (obviously with a positive connotation), is found in the name of Divo-dāsa in a positive sense, and is used to describe the patrons of the hymns in the above references. Clearly, it was a tribal name among the Anu-s (the Iranians: note that the word "daha" means "man" in Khotanese), first used by the Bharata Pūru-s for the Anu-s in general and later extended to all non-Pūru-s.
2. Śimyu: This word is found only in the Rigveda, and only twice in the Rigveda: once in VII.18.5 in reference to the enemies of Sudās and later once more in I.100.18, in the hymn which describes the Varṣāgira battle (the "battle beyond the Sarayu") on the southern borders of Afghanistan, in reference to the enemies of the descendants of Sudās.
3. Madra: The Madra-s are not referred to in the Rigveda, in the descriptions of the battle between Sudās and the Anu tribes, but they were one of the most prominent Anu tribes of the area even in much later post-Rigvedic times.
4. Viṣāṇin: This may seem the only weak link in the identifications of the Anu (Iranian) tribes. However, it seems to complete the picture if they are identified with the Piśācin-s or Piśāca-s (the Nuristanis): note the interchangeability between "p" and "v" in "Paṇi" and "vaṇi", and the change of "n" in "bhalāna" (Bolan) to "Baluch".
These tribal names are primarily found only in two hymns, VII.18 andVII.83, of the Rigveda, which refer to the Anu tribes who fought against Sudās in the dāśarājña battle or "the Battle of the Ten Kings". But see where these same tribal names are found in later historical times (after their exodus westwards referred to in VII.5.3 and VII.6.3). Incredibly, they cover, in an almost continuous geographical belt, the entire sweep of areas extending westwards from the Punjab (the battleground of the dāśarājña battle) right up to southern and eastern Europe:
(Avestan) Afghanistan: Proto-Iranian: Sairima (Śimyu), Dahi (Dāsa).
NE Afghanistan: Proto-Iranian: Nuristani/Piśācin (Viṣāṇin).
Pakhtoonistan (NW Pakistan), South Afghanistan: Iranian: Pakhtoon/Pashtu (Paktha).
Baluchistan (SW Pakistan), SE Iran: Iranian: Bolan/Baluchi (Bhalāna).
NE Iran: Iranian: Parthian/Parthava (Pṛthu/Pārthava).
SW Iran: Iranian: Parsua/Persian (Parśu/Parśava).
NW Iran: Iranian: Madai/Mede (Madra).
Uzbekistan: Iranian: Khiva/Khwarezmian (Śiva).
W. Turkmenistan: Iranian: Dahae (Dāsa).
Ukraine, S, Russia: Iranian: Alan (Alina), Sarmatian (Śimyu).
Turkey: Thraco-Phrygian/Armenian: Phryge/Phrygian (Bhṛgu).
Romania, Bulgaria: Thraco-Phrygian/Armenian: Dacian (Dāsa).
Greece: Greek: Hellene (Alina).
Albania: Albanian: Sirmio (Śimyu).
Note:
1. It cannot be a coincidence that every single one of these tribal names, from only two hymns describing a single event, fits in so perfectly with the roster of Iranian, Thraco-Phrygian/Armenian, Greek and Albanian tribal names. Nor can it be branded as a P.N. Oak-like set of correspondences. Note that many of these correspondences (Parśava, Pārthava, Paktha, Bhalāna, Bhṛgu) are so obvious and undeniable that they have been accepted by many prominent western Indologists (including Witzel).
2. The above named Iranian tribes include the ancestors of almost all other prominent historical and modern Iranian groups, such as the Scythians (Sakas), Ossetes and Kurds, and even the presently Slavic-language speaking Serbs and Croats! The reader can check up the relevant encyclopedias (including Wikipedia) for the historical importance and geographical locations of all these different groups.
3. We also see here an important historical phenomenon: the tribal group which migrates furthest retains its linguistic identity, while those of that tribe who remain behind or on the way get absorbed into the surrounding linguistic group:
a) The Śimyu who migrated furthest retained their Albanian identity and dialect (Sirmio), while those among them who settled down on the way got linguistically absorbed into the Iranians (Avestan Sairima, later Sarmatians).
b) The Alina who migrated furthest retained their Greek name and dialect (Ellene/Hellene), while those among them who settled down on the way got linguistically absorbed into the Iranians (Alan).
c) The Bhṛgu who migrated furthest retained their Thraco-Phrygian/Armenian name and dialect (Phryge/Phrygian), while those among them who settled down on the way got linguistically absorbed into the Iranians (their priestly class the Āthrauuan-s), and those who remained behind got linguistically absorbed into the Indo-Aryans (as the priestly class of Bhṛgu-s). [The Armenians, in the Caucasus area, lost the name, but retained their language much influenced by Iranian].
d) The Madra who migrated furthest retained their Iranian name and dialect (Mada/Mede/Median), while those who remained behind got linguistically absorbed into the Indo-Aryans (Madra).
All in all, the two Rigvedic hymns (VII.18 and 83), which describe the dāśarājña battle or "the Battle of the Ten Kings", provide us with the oldest recorded evidence of the presence of the Last Dialects (Albanian, Greek, Thraco-Phrygian/Armenian, Iranian and Indo-Aryan) in the Original Indo-European Homeland, and of the events which led to the second Great Indo-European Migration or Expansion involving four of these five groups.
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