Wilson, HH - Hindu Mythology and Tradition Vol 4

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V. 4
WORK S
BY
THE LATE
HORACE HAYMAN WILSON,

M.A., F.R.S.,
MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETIES OF

CALCUTTA AND PARIS, AND OF THE ORIENTAL SOCIETY OP GERMANY;
FOREIGN MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FRANCE;
MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL ACADEMIES OF ST. PETERSBURGH AND VIENNA,
AND OF THE ROYAL ACADEMIES OF MUNICH AND BERLIN;
PH.D. BRESLAU; M. D. MARBURG, ETC.;
AND BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.
VOL. IX.
LONDON:
TRUBNER & CO., 60, PATERNOSTER ROW.
1868.
luro.
THE
VISHNU PURANA
A SYSTEM
OF
HINDU MYTHOLOGY AND TRADITION.

TRANSLATED
FROM THE ORIGINAL SANSKRIT,

AND
ILLUSTRATED BY NOTES
DERIVED CHIEFLY FROM OTHER PURANAS,
BY THE LATE
II. H. WILSON, M.A., F.R.S.,

BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT IN THE UNIVERSITY OK OXFORD,
ETC., ETC.
EDITED BY
FITZEDWARD HALL.
VOL. IV.
LONDON:
TRUBNER & CO., GO, PATERNOSTER ROW.
18(18.
—
VISHNU PURANA.
BOOK IV. (continued).
CHAPTER VI.
Kings of the lunar dynasty. Origin of Soma or the Moon: he

carries off Tara, the wife of Brihaspati: war between the gods
and Asuras, in consequence : appeased by Brahma. Birth of
Budha : married to Ila, daughter of Vaivaswata. Legend of
his son Puriiravas and the nymph Urvasi: the former institutes
offerings with fire: ascends to the sphere of the Gandharvas.
IVJAITREYA. — You have given me, reverend (pre-

ceptor), an account of (the kings of) the dynasty of the
Sun. I am now desirous to hear a description of the
princes who trace their lineage from the Moon, and
whose race is still celebrated for glorious deeds. Thou
art able to relate it to me, Brahman, if thou wilt so
favour me.
PaRasara. —You shall hear from me, Maitreya,* an
account of the illustrious family of the Moon, which
has produced (many celebrated) rulers of the earth,
a race adorned by (the regal qualities of) strength,
valour, magnificence, prudence, f and activity, and
enumerating, amongst its monarchs, Nahusha, Yayati,
* Literally, "tiger of a sage," muni-Mrdula. See Vol. III., p. 118,
note §.
t Dyuti and iila.
IV. 1
2 VISHNU PUR AN A.
Kartaviryarjuna,* and others equally renowned. That

race will I describe to you. Do you attend.
Atri was the son of Brahma, the creator of the uni-
verse, who sprang from the lotos that grew from the
navel ofNarayana. The son of iVtri was Soma^ (the
moon), whom Brahmaf installed as the sovereign of
plants, of Brahmans, and of the stars, t Soma celebrated

the Rfijasuya (sacrifice); and, from the glory thence
acquired, and the extensive dominion with which he
had been invested, he became arrogant (and licentious),
and carried off Tara, the wife of Bfihaspati, the pre-
ceptor of the gods. In vain Brihaspati sought to re-
cover his bride; in vain Brahma commanded, and the
holy sages remonstrated: Soma refused to relinquish
her.§ Usanas, out of enmity to Bfihaspati, took part
II
with Soma, t Rudra, who had studied under Angiras,
*
The Vayu says, the essence of Soma (Somatwa) issued from
the eyes of Atri, and impregnated the ten quarters. The Bhaga-
Soma was born from
vata** says, merely, that the eyes of Atri.
The Brahma Purana and Hari Vanisa give a grosser name to
the effusion.
* That is to say, Arjuna, son of Kritavirya, See, for him. Chapter XI.
of this Book,
t Called, in the original, by his epithet abjayoni.

X Compare Vol. II., p. 85.
II
In the corresponding passage of the Bhdgavata-purdna, — IX., XIV.,
6, — the name is Sukra. For the discordant accounts of the parentage of
Usanas, see Vol. II., p. l.";2, note 1; for Sukra, ibid., pp. 117, 155.
•» IX., X1V.,*3.
BOOK IV., CHAP. VI.
(the father of Brihaspati*), befriended his fellow-

student. In consequence of Usanas, their preceptor,
joining Soma, Jambha, Kujambha, and all the Daityas,
Danavas, and other foes of the gods, came, also, to his
assistance ;f whilst Indra and all the gods were the

allies of Brihaspati. t
Then there ensued a fierce contest, which, being on

account of Taraka (or Tara), was termed the Taraka-
maya or Taraka war. § In this, the gods, led by Rudra,
hurled then* missiles on the enemy;!] and the Daityas IT
(with equal determination assailed) the gods. Earth,
shaken to her centre by the struggle between such
foes, had recourse to Brahma, for protection; on w^hich
he interposed, and, commanding Usanas, with the
demons, and Rudra** with the deities, to desist from
strife, compelled Soma to restore Tara to her hus-
band, ff Finding that she was pregnant, H Brihaspati

desired her no longer to retain her burthen; §§ and, in
obedience to his orders, she was delivered of a son.
• See Vol. I., p. 153, note 2.
^^(T I
Nilakant'ha, commenting on the Mahdbhdrata, Sabhd-parvan,
si. 939, explains the term tdrakdmaya as follows: cfTT^T fTTTT ^^<il-
II
Asura.
% Danavas, in the original.
** Substituted for Sankara.
It ^^^^TTTT^Tf!: I
II AntaKprasavd.
4 VISHNU PURANA.
whom she deposited in a clump of longMunja-grass.*

The child, from the moment of its birth, was endued
with a splendour that dimmed the radiance of every
(other) divinity; and both Brihaspati and Soma,f fas-
cinated by his beauty, claimed him as their child. The

gods, in order to settle the dispute, appealed to Tara;
but she was ashamed, and would make no answer. As
she still continued mute to their repeated applications,
the child (became incensed, and) was about to curse
her, saying: "Unless, vile woman, you immediately
declare who is my father, I will sentence you to such
a fate as shall deter every female, in future, from hesi-
tating to speak the truth.": On this, Brahma § (again
interfered, and) pacified 1| the child, and then, ad-
dressing Tara, said: "Tell me, daughter, is this the
child of Brihaspati? or of Soma?" "Of Soma," said

Tara, blushing. IT As soon as shehad spoken, the lord
of the constellations** — his countenance bright, and
—
expanding with rapture, embraced his son, and said:
"Well done, my boy! Verily, thou art wise." And,
hence, his name was Budha.^
'
'He who knows.' Much erroneous speculation has origi-
nated in confounding this Budha, the son of Soma, and regent
of the planet Mercury, — 'he who knows,' 'the intelligent,' —
* The Sanskrit has ishikd, -which the scholiast explains to mean munja.
t Exchanged for Indu.
§ Pitamaha, in the original.
[I
Saihnivdryu., 'checking.'
** Udupati.
;
BOOK IV., CHAP. Vr.
It has already been related how Budha begot Puru-

ravas by Ua. * renowned
Pururavas ^
was (a prince)
and love of truth,
for liberality, devotion, magnificence,
and for personal beauty. Urvasi, having incurred the
imprecation of Mitra and Varuna, determined to take
up her abode in the world of mortals, and (descending,
accordingly,) beheld Pururavas. As soon as she saw
him, she forgot all reserve, and, disregarding the de-
lights of Swarga, became deeply enamoured of the
prince. Beholding her infinitely superior to all other
females, in grace, elegance, symmetry, delicacy, and
with Buddha, any deified mortal, or 'he by whom truth is known'

or, as individually applicable, f Gautama or Sakya, son of the
Eaja Suddhodana, t by whom, the Buddhists themselves aver,
their doctrines were first promulgated. The two characters have
nothing in common ; and the names are identical, only when one
or other is misspelt.
'
The story of Pururavas is told much in the same strain as
follows, though with some variations, and in greater or less
detail, in the Vayu, Matsya, Vamana, Padma, and Bhagavata Pu-

ranas. It is, also, referred to in the Mahabharata, Vol. I., p. 113.
It is, likewise, the subject of the Vikrama and Urvasi of Kali-
dasa, in which drama the incidents offensive to good taste are
not noticed. See Hindu Theatre, Vol. I., p. 187. The Matsya
Purana, besides this story, which is translated in the introduc-
tion to the drama, has, in another part,— c. 94,— an account of a
Pururavas who, in the Chakshusha Manwantara, § was king of

Madra, and who, by the worship of Vishnu, obtained a residence
with the Gandharvas.
See Vol. III., pp. 233-236.

•
t For a fanciful etymology of the name Buddha, as denoting the

founder of Buddhism, see Vol. III., p. 210, note §.
: See Chapter XXII. of this Book.
§ See Vol. III., p. 2.

6 VISHNU PURANA.
beauty, Parnravas was equally fascinated by Urvasi.

Both were inspired by similar sentiments, and, mutually
feeling that eachwas everything to the other, thought
no more of any other object.* Confiding in his merits,
Puriiravas addressed the nymph, and said:f "Fair
creature, I love you. Have compassion on me, and
return my affection." Urvasi, half averting her face,
through modesty, replied :t "I will do so, if you will
observe the conditions I have to propose." § "What

are they?" inquired the prince. "Declare them."
"I have two rams,"| said the nymph, "which I love
as children. They must be kept near my bedside, and
never suffered to be carried away.t You must, also,
take care never to be seen, by me, undressed; and
clarified butter alone must be my food." To these
terms the king readily gave assent.
After this, Puriiravas and Urvasi dwelt together in
Alaka, sporting amidst the groves and lotos-crowned

lakes** of Ghaitrarathaff and the other forests there
situated, for sixty-one thousand years. ^ The love of
^ One copy has sixty-one years; the Brahma Parana and
t TT^T g ITTI^^TTTTT^f I
Comment: "JTri^^Trf: I "^fÊ^t-
^^ I
§ The love-making of Pimiravas and Urvasi was somewhat less de-
licate, as represented in the B/idgavata-purdtia, IX., XIV., 18—20,
II
Uranaka, 'lambs'; and so below.
** The original has "Manasa and other lakes": TTT^reTf^ ^^'^ I
See Vol. II., p. 110, note *; and p. 117.
fj- For
this garden, see Vol. II., p. 110, note ; and p. 116.
BOOK IV., CHAP. VI. 7
Piiriiravas for his bride increased every day of its du-

ration; and, the affection of Urvasi augmenting equally
in fervour, she never called to recollection* residence
amongst the immortals. Not so with the attendant
spirits at the court of Indra; and nymphs, genii, and
quiristersf found heaven itself but dull, whilst Urvasi
was away.+ Knowing the agreement that Urvasi had
made with the king, Viswavasu§ was appointed, by
the Gandharvas, to effect its violation; and he, coming,
by night, to the chamber where they slept, carried off
one of the rams. Urvasi was awakened by its cries,

and exclaimed: "Ah me! ^Tio has stolen one of my
children? Had I a husband, this would not have hap-
pened! To whom shall I apply for aid?" The Raja
overheard her lamentation, but, recollecting that he
was undressed, and that Urvasi might see him in that
state, did not move from the couch. Then the Gan-
dharvas came and stole the other ram; and Urvasi,
hearing it bleat, cried out, that a woman had no pro-
tector, who was the bride of a prince so dastardly as
to submit to this outrage. This incensed Pururavas
Hari Vamsa|| have fifty-nine. One period is as likely as the

other.
t Apsaras, siddha, and gandharva.
^^^^c^ I
The Translator has not cared to reproduce the story of
Pururavas and Urvasi with very close literality.
§ See Vol. II.. p. 285, note f; &c.

11 ^l. 1367.
8 VISHNU PURANA.
highly; and, trusting that the nymph would not see

his person, as it was dark, he rose, and took his sword,
and pursued the robbers, calling upon them to stop
and receive their punishment. At that moment the
Gandharvas caused a flash of brilliant lightning to play
upon the chamber; and Urvasi beheld the king un-
dressed: the compact was violated; and the nymph
immediately disappeared. The Gandharvas, aban-
doning the rams, departed to the region of the gods.
Having recovered the animals, the king returned,
delighted, to his couch: but there he beheld no Urvasi;
and, not finding her anywhere, he wandered, naked,
over the world, like one insane. At length, coming to
Kurukshetra,* he saw Urvasi sporting, with four other
nymphs of heaven, in a lake beautified with lotoses;
and he ran to her, and called her his wife, and wildly
implored her to return. "Mighty monarch," said the
nymph, "refrain from this extravagance. I am now
pregnant, f Depart at present, and come hither, again,
at theend of a year, when I will deliver to you a son,

and remain with you for one night." Pururavas, thus
comforted, returned to his capital. Urvasi said to her
companions: "This prince is a most excellent mortal.
I lived with him long and affectionately united." "It
was well done of you," they repHed. "He is, indeed,
of comely appearance, and one with whom we could

live happily for ever."
When the year had expired, Urvasi and the monarch
met at Kurukshetra, : and she consigned to him his
• See Vol. II., p. 133, note 1.
f Antarvatni.
This specification of place is supplied by the Translator.
X
first-born, Ay us; and these annual interviews were re-

peated, until she had borne to him five sons. She then
said to Puriiravas: "Through regard for me, all the
Gandharvas have expressed their joint purpose to be-
stow upon my lord their benediction. Let him, there-
fore, demand a boon." The Raja replied: "My enemies
are all destroyed; my I have
faculties are all entire:
friends and kindred, armies and treasures.* There is
nothing which I may not obtain, except living in the
same region with my Urvasi. My only desire, there-
fore, is, to pass my life with her." When he had thus
spoken, the Gandharvas brought to Pururavas a vessel
with fire, and said to him: "Take this fire, and, ac-
cording to the precepts of the Vedas,f divide it into
three fires; then, fixing your mind upon the idea of
living with Urvasi, offer oblations; and you shall, as-
suredly, obtain your wishes. " The Raja took the bra-
sier, and departed, and came to a forest. Then he
began to reflect, that he had committed a great folly,
in bringing away the vessel of fire, instead of his bride;
and, leaving the vessel in the wood, he went (discon-
solate,) to his palace. In the middle of the night he
awoke, and considered that the Gandharvas had given

him the brasier to enable him to obtain the felicity of
living with Urvasi, and that
was absurd in him to
it
have by the way. Resolving, therefore, to re-

left it
cover it, he rose, and went to the place where he had

deposited the vessel; but it was gone. In its stead, he
• All my MSS. agree in reading ^s^TTRf^TrR^cfit^t I
t Amndya; and so below.

10 VISHNU PURANA.
saw a young Aswattlia tree growing out of a Sami-

plant; and he reasoned with himself, and said: "I left,
in this spot, a vessel of fire, and now behold a young
Aswattha tree growing out of a Sami-plant. Verily, I
will take these types of fire to my capital, and there,
having engendered fire by their attrition, I will wor-
ship it."
Having thus determined, he took the plants to his
city, and prepared their wood for attrition, with pieces
of as many inches* long as there are syllables in the
Gayatri. He recited that holy verse, and rubbed
together sticks of as many inches as he recited syl-
lables in the Gayatri. ^
Having thence elicited fire, he
made it threefold,f according to the injunctions of the
Vedas, and offered oblations with it; proposing, as the
end of the ceremony, reunion with Urvasi. In this
way, celebrating many sacrifices, agreeably to the form
in which offerings are presented with fire, Pururavas
obtained a seat in the sphere of the Gandharvas, and
'
It does not appear why this passage is repeated. The length
of the sticks, conformably to the number of syllables in the usual
form of the Gayatri, would be twenty-four inches. The Bhaga-

vata attaches to the operation a piece of mysticism of a Tantrika
origin. Pururavas, whilst performing the attrition, mentally iden-
tifies himself and Urvasi with the two sticks, and repeats the
'
Mantra ^^l^j^T^f^ ^^T^- I
• Angula, 'finger-breadths.'
t Professor Wilson thinks that there may be an allusion to this in

the Rigveda, I., XXXI., 4. See his Translation, Vol. I., p. 80, note b.
I These words are not from the text of the Bkdgavata, but from
Sridhara's comment on IX., XIV., 45, in that work.
was no more separated from his beloved.* Thus, fire,
that was, at first, but one, was made threefold, f in

the present Manwantara, by the son of Ila.^ +
The division of one fire into three is ascribed to Puriiravas

'
by the Mahabharata and the rest. The commentator on the former

specifies them as the Garhapatya, Dakshiiia, and Ahavaniya,§
—
which Sir William Jones Manu, II., 231, renders nuptial, cere- —
monial, and sacrificial fires; or, rather, 1. household, that Avhich
is perpetually maintained by a householder; 2. a fire for sacri-
fices, placed to the south of the rest; and 3. a consecrated fire
for oblations; forming the Tretagni, or triad of sacred fires, in

opposition to the Laukika, or merely temporal ones. To Purii-
ravas, it would appear, the triple arrangement was owing ; but
there are some other curious traditions regarding him, which in-
dicate his being the author of some important innovations in the
Hindu ritual. The Bhagavata|| says, that, before his time, there
was but one Veda, one caste, one fire, and one god, Narayaria;
and that, in the beginning of the Treta age, Pururavas made
them, all, 'three':
That is, according to the commentator, the ritual was then in-
stituted: îTTTTPTI TTcR^ ^^J^ ' ^^^ Matsya Puraria has an
account of this prince's going to the orbit of the sun and moon,
at every conjunction, when oblations to progenitors are to be of-
fered ; as if obsequial rites had originated with Pururavas. The
Mahabharata H states some still more remarkable particulars.
"The glorious Pururavas, endowed, although a mortal, with the
properties of a deity, governing the thirteen islands of the ocean,
• For the legend of Pururavas and Urvasi, see the Satapatha-brdhmana,

XL, v., I., 1.
t Treid.
X Aila,
§ See Vol. III., p. 175, note §.

II
IX., XIV., 49.
^ Adi-parvan, il. 3145-3147.

12 VISHNU PURANA.
engaged in hostilities with the Brahmans, in the pride of his
strength, and seized their jewels, as they exclaimed against his

oppression. Sanatkumara came from the sphere of Brahma, to
teach him the rules of duty; but Pururavas did not accept his
instructions; and the king, deprived of understanding by the
pride of his power, and actuated by avarice, was, therefore, ever
accursed by the offended great sages, and was destroyed."
^îf rI?T^% iloMJJÎW'rnJT^r II
fTffr ^f^f^: ft: ^r^: ITF^ ^T^fT i

:
CHAPTER VII.
Sons of Puriiravas. Descendants of Amavasu. Indra born as

Gadhi. Legend of Richika and Satyavati. Birth of Jamadagni
and Viswamitra. Parasurania, the son of the former. (Legend

of Parasurama.) Sunabsepha and others, the sons of Viswa-
mitra, forming the Kausika race.
PURURAVAS had six sons, — Ayus, Dhimat, Ama-

vasu, Viswavasu, Satayus, and Srutayus. ^ The son of
'
Considerable variety prevails in these names ; and the Matsya,
Padma, Brahma, and Agni enumerate eight.* The lists are as
follows
Mahabharata. t
14 VISHNU PURANA.
Amavasii was Bhima;^ his son was Kanchana;^ his son

was Suliotra,^ whose son was Jahnu.* This prince,
whilst performing a sacrifice, saw the whole of the
placef overflowed by the waters of the Ganges.
Highly offended at this intrusion, his eyes red with
anger, he united the spirit of sacrificed with himself,
bv the power of his devotion, and drank up the river.
The gods and sages, upon this, (came to him, and) ap-
peased his indignation, and reobtained Ganga from
him, in the capacity of his daughter; (whence she is
called Jahnavi).^
The son of Jahnu wasSumantu;'^§ his sonwasAjaka;
'
Son of Vijaya : Bhagavata. This line of princes is followed
only in our text, the Vayu, Brahma, and Hari A'ariisa, and the
Bhagavata.
^ Kanchanaprabha: Brahma, II
^ Hotraka: Bhagavata.
* The Brahma Purana and Hari Varhsa add, of this prince,
that he was the husband of Kaveri, the daughter of Yuvanaswa,
who, by the imprecation of her husband, became the Kaveri
river; — another indication of the Dakshina origin of these works. IT
The Hari Variisa has another Jahnu, to whom it gives the same
**
spouse, as we shall hereafter see.
*
Sunuta:ff Brahma. Piiru : Bhagavata.
* According to the Vdyu-purdna, his mother was Keîki. The Hari-

vamsa calls her Kesini.
t Vdfa.
* Yajnapurusha. See Vol. I., p. 61, notel; p. 163, note ».
§ This name I find in only one MS.; one other has Sudhanu; and
all the rest have Snjantu. Professor Wilson's Bengal translation has
Sujahnu. The Vdyu-purdna reads Suhotra.
II
Both Kanchanaprabha and Kanchana: Vdyu-purdna, &ai Hartvaniia.
% The Vdyu-purdna recounts the same legend.
** Where? tt I find Sunaha, apparently.
t
BOOK IV., CHAP. vir. 15
his son was Balakaswa;^ his son was Kusa,^* who had
four sons, — Kusamba,f Kusanabha, Amiirtaraya,
and Amavasu.^ Kusamba, being desirous of a son,
'
Valaka:§ Brahma. Ajaka: Bluigavata. ||
' The Brahma Purana and Hari Variisa add, that Kiisa was
in alliance with the Pahlavas and foresters.
^ Our authorities differ as to these names:
Vayu, Brahma and Hari Vaiiisa. Bhagavata.
Kusaswa or ) „ , , , „ „ t- " j.j

) Kusaswa* Kusambuff i
Kusasthambal j
Kusanabha Kusanabha Kusanabha

Amurtarayasa+t Amurtimat Murtaya§§
Vasu Kusika Vasu.
The Ramayarian!! has Kusamba, Kusanabha, Amiirtarajas, HIF and

Vasu; and makes them, severally, the founders of Kausambi, of
Mahodaya (which afterwards appears the same as Kanoj), Dhar-
maranya, and Girivraja; the latter being in the mountainous part
of Magadha.
• The Bhdgavata-purdna has Jahnu, Puru, Balaka, Ajaka, Kusa.

t Kusika, here and below, in one MS. The Vaidik tradition assigns
him to the family of Ishiratha.
X So read all my MSS. but one,
which gives Amurtiraya. See the
Mahdbhdrata, Sdnti-parvan, si. 6194. I have displaced the Translator's
"Amurttaya". His Hindu-made English version has Amurta.
§ This seems very doubtful. Probably the reading is Balaka.
II
See note *, above.
^ My MSS. give Kusamba or Kusastamba.
••
In both Brahma-purdna and the Harivamsa I find Kusamba.
the
Indeed, I have nowhere met with "Kusaswa", as son of Kusa.
tt Corrected from "Kusamba". Kusambu is, of course, a gross error;
but it is characteristic of the Bhdgavata-purdna.
Judging from my MSS., I conjecture that the correct reading may
XX
be Amurtarajasa.
§§ Corrected from " Amurttaraya".
nil
Bdla-hdnda, XXXII., 3-8. %% Corrected from "Amurttarajasa."
16 VISHNU PURANA.
engaged in devout penance, to obtain one who should

be equal to Indra. Observing the intensity of his de-
votions, Indra was alarmed, lest a prince of power like
his should be engendered, and determined, there-
own
fore, to take upon himself the character of Kusamba's
son/ He was, accordingly, born as Gadhi,* of the

race of Kusa (Kâusika). Gadhi had a daughter named
Satyavati. Richika, of the descendants of Bhrigu,
demanded her in marriage. The king was very un-
willing to give his daughter to a peevish old Brahman,
and demanded of him, as the nuptial present, a thou-
sand fleet horses, whose colour should be M^hite,f
with one black ear. Richika, having propitiated Varuna,
the god of ocean, obtained from him, at (the holy place
called) Aswatirtha, a thousand such steeds, and, giving
them to the king, espoused his daughter.^
'
The Brahma and Hari Vaiiisa make Gadhi the son of Ku-
sika; the Vayu+ and Bhagavata, of Kusamba;§ the Ramayana, ||
of Kusanabha.
^ The Ramayana notices the marriage, but has no legend.
The Mahabharata, Vana Parvan, has a rather more detailed nar-
ration, but much the same as in the text. According to the com-
mentator, Aswatirtha is in the district of Kanoj; perhaps, at the
confluence of the Kalanadi with the Ganges. The agency of the

god of Ocean, in procuring horses, is a rather curious additional
coincidence between Varuna and Neptune.
• Anciently, Gathia. See Professor Wilson's Translation of the îg-

veda, Vol. I., p. 27, note a.
t Induvarchas.
* But the Translator, according to note 3 in the preceding page, did
not find Ku-saniba in the Vdyu-purdna. It appears there, however, and
as convertible with Kusika. See Vol. III., p. 16, notes, I. 1.
§ Correct by note ft in the last page. || Bdla-kdnda, XXXIV., 5.

BOOK IV., CHAP. vn. 17
In order to effect the birth of a son, Richika^ pre-

pared a dish of rice, barley, and pulse, with butter and
milk, for his wife to eat; and, at her request, he con-
secrated a similar mixture for her mother,
by partak-
ing of which, she should give birth to a prince of
martial prowess. Leaving both dishes with his wife,
— after describing, particularly, which was intended
for her, and which for her mother, — the sage went
forth to the forests. * When the time arrived for the
food to be eaten, the queen said to Satyavati: "Daugh-
ter, all persons wish their children to be possessed of
excellent qualities, and wôuld be mortified to see them

surpassed by the merits of their mother's brother. It
willbe desirable for you, therefore, to give me the
mess your husband has set apart for you, and to eat
of that intended for me; for the son which it is to pro-
cure me is destined to be the monarch of the whole
world, w^hilst that which your dish would give you
must be a Brahman, alike devoid of affluence, valour,
and power." Satyavati agreed to her mother's propo-
sal; and they exchanged messes.
When Richika returned home, and beheld Satyavati,

he said to her: "Sinful woman, what hast thou done?
I view thy body of a fearful appearance. Of a surety,
thou hast eaten the consecrated food w^hich was pre-
In the Mahabharata, Bhrigu, the father of Richika, prepares

the Charu.
^^1^ I
The sequel of the story is considerably expanded in the
English.
IV. 2
18 VISHNU PURANA.
pared for thy mother: thou hast done wrong. In that

food I had infused the properties of power, and
strength, and heroism; in thine, the (juaUties suited to
a Bralnuan, — gentleness, knowledge, and resignation.

In consequence of having reversed my plans, thy son
shall follow a warrior's propensities, and use weapons,
and fight, and slay. Thy mother's son shall be born
with the inclinations of a Brahman, and be addicted
to peace and piety." Satyavati, hearing this, fell at
her husband's feet, and said: "My lord, I have done
this thing through ignorance. Have compassion on

me: let me not have a son such as thou hast foretold.
If such there must be, let it be my grandson, not my
son." The Muni, relenting at her distress, replied: "So
let it be." Accordingly, in due season she gave birth
to Jamadagni; and her mother brought forth Viswa-
mitra. Satyavati afterwards became the Kausiki
'"
river. Jamadagni married Renuka, the daughter of

^
Renu, of the family of Ikshwaku, and had, by her, the

destroyer of the Kshattriya race, Parasurama, who
was a portion of Narayana, the spiritual guide of the
^
universe.
So the Ramayai'iaf
'
—
after stating that Satyavati followed
her husband in death,— adds, that she became the Kausiki river;
the Coosy,+ which, rising in Nepal, flows through Purneah into
the Ganges, opposite, nearly, to Rajmahal.
' The text omits the story of Parasurama; but, as the legend
makes a great figure in the Vaishriava works in general, I have
See Original Sanskrit Texts, Part I., p. 85.

t Bdla-kdnda, XXXI V., 8.
: See Vol. II., p. 146, note §.

EXTRACT FROM THE MAHABHARATA. 19
LEGEND OF PARASURAMA.
(From the Mahabhiirata.*)
"Jamadagni (the son of Richika/) was a pious sage,

who, by the fervour of his devotions, whilst engaged
in holy study, obtained entire possession of the Vedas.
Having gone to King demanded, in mar-
Prasenajit, he
riage, his daughter Renuka; and the king gave her
unto him. The descendant of Bhrigu conducted the
princess to his hermitage, and dwelt with her there;
and she was contented to partake in his ascetic life.
They had four sons, and then a fifth, who was Jama-
dagnya,f the last, but not the least, of the brethren.
Once, when her sons were all absent to gather the
fruits on which they fed, Renuka, who was exact in
the discharge of all her duties, went forth to bathe.
On her way to the stream, she beheld Chitraratha,
the Prince of Mrittikavati, with a garland of lotoses on
his neck, sporting with his queen, in the water; and
inserted it from the Mahabharata, where it is twice related ; once,

in the Vana Parvan, and once, in the Rajadharnia section of the
Santi Parvan.+ It is told, also, at length, in the Ninth Book of
the Bhagavata, § in the Padnia and Agni Purarias, &c.
'
The circumstances of Richika's marriage, and the birth of
Jamadagni and Viswamitra, are told much in the same manner
as in our text, both in the Mahabharata and Bhagavata.
* Vana-parvan, .il. 11071—11110.

t Rama, in the original; i. e., Parasurama. See Vol. II., p. 23, notes
1 and •».
: Chapter XLIX.
§ Chapters XV. and XVI.
2*
20 EXTRACT FROM THE MAIIABHARATA.
she felt envious of tlieir felicity. Defiled by unworthy

thoughts, wetted, but not purified, by the stream,* she
returned, disquieted, to the hermitage; and her hus-
band perceived her agitation. Beholding her fallen
from perfection, and shorn of the lustre of her sanctity,
Jamadagni reproved her, and was exceeding wroth.
Upon this, there came her sons from the wood; first
the eldest, Rinnan wat, then Sushena, then Vasu, and

then Viswavasu; and each, as he entered, was succes-
sively commanded, by his father, to put his mother to
death; but, amazed, and influenced by natural affec-
tion, neither them made any reply: therefore, Ja-
of
madagni was angry, and cursed them; and they be-
came as idiots, and lost all understanding, and were
like unto beasts or birds. Lastly, Rama returned to
the hermitage, when and holy Jamadagni
the mighty
said unto him: 'Kill thy mother, who has sinned; and
do it, son, without repining.' Rama, accordingly, took
up his axe, and struck off his mother's head; where-
upon the wrath of the illustrious and mighty Jama-
dagni was assuaged, and he was pleased with his son,
and said: 'Since thou hast obeyed my commands, and
done what was hard to be performed, demand from
me whatever blessings thou wilt, and thy desires shall
Nilakant'ha, the commentator, quotes, hereupon, the following stanza,

apparently from the Mahdhhdrata:
1^ H^ fFT ^TrTt t^TTt ^fTn I
See the Uitopadeia (ed. Lassen), Book 1., il. 110; and compare the
ninth stanza of the extract given in the note to p. l-ll of Vol. III.
LEGEND OF PAHASIJ]{AMA. 21
be, all, fulfilled.' Then Rama begged of his fatlier these

boons : the restoration of his mother to life, with for-
getful ness of her having been slain, and purification

from all defilement; the retiu'n of his brothers to their
natural condition; and, for himself, invincibility in
single combat, and length of days. And all these did

his father bestow.
"It happened, on one occasion, that, during the ab-
sence of the Rishi's sons, the mighty monarch Karta-
virya, (the sovereign of the Haihaya tribe, endowed,
by the favour of Dattatreya, with a thousand arms,
and a golden chariot that went wheresoever he willed
it to go),* came to the hermitage^ of Jamadagni,
where the wife of the sage received him with all proper
respect. The king, inflated with the pride of valour,
made no return to her hospitality, but carried off with
him, by violence, the calf of the milch-cow f of the
sacred oblation,^ and cast down the tall trees sur-
'
In the beginning of the legend occurs the account of Karta-
viryarjuna, with the addition, that he oppressed both men and
gods. The latter applying to Vishnu for succour, he descended
to earth, and was born as Parasurama, for the especial purpose
of putting the Haihaya king to death.
2
In the Rajadharma, the sons of the king carry off the calf.
The Bhagavata *
makes the king seize upon the cow, by whose
* These descriptive epithets of Karta\irya are transferred hither, by

the Translator, from si. 11035, 11036. Hence I have enclosed them in
parentheses.
t Called, elsewhere, Surabhi.
: IX., XV., 26. The kings men, on the king's order, seize and carry
off the cow.
22 EXTRACT FROM THE MAHABHARATA.
rounding the hermitage. When Rama returned, his

father told him what had chanced; and he saw the
cow in affliction; and he was filled with wrath. Taking
up his splendid bow/ Bhargava, the slayer of hostile

heroes, assailed Kartavirya, who had, now, become
subject to the power of death, and overthrew him in
battle. With sharp arrow^s Kama cut off his thousand
arms; and the king perished. The sons of Kartavirya,*
to revenoe his death, attacked the hermitao'e of Jama-
dagni, when l\ama was away, and slew the pious and
unresisting sage, who called, repeatedly, but fruit-
lessly, upon his valiant son. They then departed; and,

when Rama returned, bearing fuel from the thickets,
he found his father lifeless, and thus bewailed his un-
merited fate: 'Father, in resentment of my actions,
have you been murdered by wretches as foolish as
they are base. By the sons of Kartavirya are you
struck down, as a deer, in the forest, by the huntsman's
shafts. Ill have you deserved such a death,— you, who
have ever trodden the path of virtue, and never of-

fered wrong to any created thing. How great is the
aid Jamadagni liad previously entertained Arjuna and all his

train; borrowing, no doubt, these embellishments from the similar
legend of Vasishtha and Viswamitra, related in the Ramayana.
The weapon of Rama is, however, an axe
characteristic
(Parasu), whence his name, —
Rama, 'with the axe.' It was given
to him by Siva, whom the hero propitiated on Mount Gandlia-
madana.f He, at the same time, received instruction in the use

of weapons generally, and the art of war. Rajadharnia.
• Arjuna, in the Sanskrit.

•j- Mahdbhdrata, ^dnti-parvan, si. 1748.
LEGEND OF PARASURAiMA. 23
crime that they have committed, in slaying, with their

deadly shafts, an old man, like you, wholly occupied
with pious cares, and engaging not in strife! Much
have they to boast of to their fellows and their
friends, — that they have shamelessly slain a solitary
hermit, incapable of contending in arms!' Thus lament-
ing, bitterly and repeatedly, Rama performed his
father's last obsequies, and lighted his fimeral pile.
He made a vow, that he would extirpate the
then
whole Kshattriya race. In fulfilment of this purpose,
he took up his arms, and, with remorseless and fatal
rage, singly destroyed, in fight, the sons of Kartavirya;
and, after them, whatever Kshattriyas he encountered,
Rama, the first of warriors, likewise slew. Thrice
seven times did he clear the earth of the Kshattriya
caste; ^ and he filled, with their blood, the five large
lakes of Samantapanchaka, from which he offered
libations to the race of Bhrigu. There did he behold
his sire again; and the son of Richika beheld his son,
and told him what to do. Offering a solemn sacrifice
to the king of the gods, Jamadagnya presented the
earth to the ministering priests. To Kasyapa he gave
the altar made
of gold, ten fathoms in length, and nine
in height.^ With the permission of Kasyapa, the Brah-
mans divided it in pieces amongst them; and they
were, thence, called Khafidavayana Brahmans. Having
given the earth to Kasyapa, the hero of immeasurable
'
This more than 'thrice slaying of the slain' is explained, in
the Riijatlharma, to mean, that he killed the men of so many gen-
erations, as fast as they grew up to adolescence.
' It is sometimes read Narotsedha, 'as high as a man.'
24 EXTRACT FROM THE MAHABHARATA.
prowess retired to the Maliendra iiioiintain, where he

still resides: and in this manner was there enmity
between him and the race of Kshattriyas; and thus

was the whole earth conquered by Rama."^*
The story, as told in

^
the Rajadharma section, adds, that,
when Rama had given the earth to Kasyapa, the latter desired
him to depart, as there was no dwelling for him in it, and to
repair to the seashore of the south, where Ocean made for him
(or relinquished to him), the maritime district named Surparaka.
The traditions of the Peninsula ascribe the formation of the coast
of Malabar to this origin, and relate that Parasurama compelled
the ocean to retire, and introduced Brahmans and colonists, from
the north, into Kerala, or Malabar. According to some accounts,
he stood on the promontory of Dilli, and shot his arrows to the
south, over the site of Kerala. It seems likely, that we have
proof of the local legend being, at least, as old as the beginning
of the Christian era, as the Mons Pyrrhus of Ptolemy is, pro-
bably, mountain of Parasu or Parasurama. See Catalogue
the
of Mackenzie Collection, Vol. I., Introduction, p. xcv. and ;
Vol. II., p. 74. The Rj'ijadharma also gives an account of the

Kshattriyas who escaped even the thrice seven times repeated
destruction of their race. Some of the Haihayas were concealed,
by the earth, as women; the son of Viduratha, of the race of
Puru, was preservedRiksha mountain, where he was
in the
nourished by the bears; Sarvakarman,t the son of Saudasa, was
saved by Parasara, performing the offices of a Sudra; Gopati,
son of Sibi, was nourished by cows, in the forests; Vatsa, the
son of Pratardana, Avas concealed amongst the calves in a cow-
pen; the son of Deviratha was secreted, by Gautama, on the
banks of the Ganges; Brihadratha was preserved in Gridhrakuta;
* It has not appeared worth while to point out the freedoms of trans-
lation which occur in this episode as here rendered.
t See Vol. III., p. 304, note 1,
VISHNU rURANA, BOOK IV., CHAP. Vll. 25
The son of Viswamitra was Sunalisepha,* the de-

scendant of Bhrigu,— given by the gods, and, thence,
named Devarata.^ Viswamitra had other sons, also.
and descendants of Marutta were saved by the ocean. From

these the lines of kings were continued but it does not appear, ;
from the ordinary lists, that they were ever interrupted. This
legend, however, as well as that of the Ramtiyana, Book I.,
Chapter LII., no doubt intimates a violent and protracted struggle,

between the Brahmans and Kshattriyas, for supreme domination
in India; as, indeed, the text of the Mahabharataf more plainly
denotes; as Earth is made to say to Kasyapa: ''The fathers and

grandfathers of these Kshattriyas have been killed by the re-
morseless Riima, in warfare on my acconnt:''
•qwr ÎcTTf ^ rl%^ ^ ftfrn^ft: I
^^ f^^J ^ TT^WTfW^^^WT II
'
The story of Sunalisepha is told by different authorities,
with several variations. As the author of various Suktas in the
Rich, he is called the son of Ajigarta. The Ramayana makes

him the middle son of the sage Richika, sold to Ambarisha, king
of Ayodhya, by his parents, to be a victim in a human sacrifice
offered by that prince. He is set at liberty by Viswamitra; but
ife is not added that he was adopted. The Bhagavatat concurs
in the adoption, but makes Sunalisepha the son of Viswamitra's
sister, § by Ajigarta, of the line of Bhrigu, and states his being
purchased, as a victim, for the sacrifice of Harischandra. (See
Vol. III., p. 287, note 1.) The Vayu makes him a son of Richika,
but alludes to his being the victim at Harischandra's sacrifice.
According to the Ramayana, Viswamitra called upon his sons to

take the place of Sunahsepha, and, on their refusing, degraded
them to the condition of Charidalas. The Bhagavata says, that
• Here, and everywhere below, corrected from "Sunahsephas".

+ Sdnti-parvan, il. 1800, 1801.
: IX., XVI., 30, 31.
V
26 VISHNU PUR AN A.
amon£!;st whom the, most celebrated were Madhuch-
fifty* only of the huntlred sons of Viswamitra were expelled

their tribe, for refusing to acknowledge Sunalisepha or Devarata
as their elder brother. The others consented; and the Bhagavataf
expresses this:
"They said to the elder, profoundly versed in the Mantras, We

are your followers:" as the commentator: "^^^JI^nT* ^ff'T^T. ^
f^^' I
î'l'^ Ramayana also observes, that Sunahsepha, when
bound, praised Indra with Kichas, or hymns of the Rig-veda.
The origin of the story, therefore, — whatever may be its correct
version, —must be referred to the Vedas ; and it, evidently, alludes
to some innovation in the ritual, adopted by a part only of the

Kausika families of Brahmans. t
* These fifty were the elder sons.

t IX., XVI., 35.
* On the subject treated of in this note Professor Wilson expressed
himself, at a later date, as follows:
"The story of Sunalisepa, or, as usually written, Sunalisepha, has
been, for some time, known to Sanskrit students, through the version
of it presented in the Ramayana, Book I,, Chapter LX., Schlegel; LXIII.,
Gorresio. He is, there, called the son of the Rishi Richika, and is sold
for a hundred cows, by Ambarisha, king of Ayodhya, as

his father, to
a victim for a human sacrifice. On the road, he comes to be lake Push-

kara, where he sees Viswamitra, and implores his succour, and learns,
from him, a prayer, by the repetition of which, at the stake, Indra is in-
duced to come and set him free. It is obvious that this story has been
derived from the Veda; for Viswamitra teaches him, according to Schle-
gel's text, two Gathas,— according to Gorresio's, a Mantra: but the latter
also states, that he propitiated Indra by Richas,— Mantras of the Rig-veda
(liigbhis tushfava devendram). Vol. I., p 249. Manu also alludes to the
story (X., 105), where it is said that Ajigarta incurred no guilt by giv-
ing up his sou to be sacrificed; as it was to preserve himself and family
from perishing with hunger. KulUika Bhaft'a names the son, SunaHsepha,
and refers, for his authority, to tho Bahwricha Brahmaila. The story is
BOOK IV., CHAP. VII. 27
clihanclas, Jaya, Krita,* Devacleva,f Aslitaka,t Kacli-
told, in full detail, in the Aitareya Brahmai'ia; but the Raja is named
Harischandra. He has no sons, and worships Vavnua, in order to obtain
a son, promising to sacrifice to him his first-born. He has a son, in
consequence, named Rohita; but, when Varuna claims his victim, the king
delays the sacrifice, under various pretexts, from time to time, until Ro-
hita attains adolescence, when his father communicates to him the fate
for which he was destined. Rohita refuses submission, and spends several
years in the forests, away from home. He, at last, meets, there, with
Ajigarta, a Rishi, in great distress, and persuades him to part with his
second son, SunaKsepha, to be substituted for Rohita, as an offering to

Varuna, The bargain is concluded; and Sunalisepha is about to be sacri-
ficed, when, by the advice of Viswamitra, one of the officiating priests,
he appealsto the gods, and is, ultimately, liberated. The Aitareya Brah-
maiia has supplied the commentator with the circumstances which he
narrates, as illustrative of the series of hymns in this section. Dr. Rosen
doubts if the hymns bear any reference to the intention of sacrificing
Sunahsepha: but the language of the Brahmaua is not to be mistaken;
as Ajigarta not only ties his son to the stake, but goes to provide him-
self with a knife with which to slay him. At the same time, it must
be admitted, that the language of the Siiktas is somewhat equivocal, and
leaves the intention of an actual sacrifice open to question. The Bha-

gavata follows the Aitareya and Mann, in terming Sunahsepha the son
of Ajigarta, and names the Raja, also, Harischandra. In the Vishnu

Puraiia, he is called the son of Viswamitra, and is termed, also, Deva-
rata, or god-given. But this relates to subsequent occurrences, noticed,
in like manner, by the other authorities, in which he becomes the adopted
son of Viswamitra, and the eldest of all his sons; such of whom as re-
fused to acknowledge his seniority being cursed to become the founders

of various barbarian and ontcaste races. Viswamitra's share in the legend
may, possibly, intimate his opposition, and that of some of his disciples,
to human sacrifices." Translation of the Rirjveda, Vol. I., p. 59, note a.
See, further. Professor Wilson's collective works, Vol. II., pp. 247 — 259;
Professor Max Miiller's History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, pp. 408,
et seq.
* I have substituted Jaya, Kfita, for "Kritajaya". If we were to read
only one name here, it would be, according to all my MSS., Jaya-
kfita.See note f in the next page.
t Two MSS. have
Deva. See note f in the next page. The JIari-
vamia has Devala.
+ In several copies, Ashta,
:
28 VISHNU rURANA.
cliliapa," and Harita.f These founded many fami-

lies, t (all of whom were known by the name of) Kau-
sikas, and intermarried with the families of various
^
Rishis.
'
The Bhagavata says one hundred sons, besides Devarata
and others, as Ashtaka, Harita,§ &c. Much longer lists of names
are given in the Vayu, |!
Bhagavata, IT Brahma, and Hari Vamsa.
The two latter specify the mothers. Thus : Devasravas, Kati (the
founder of the Katyayanas), and Hirariyaksha were sons of Sa-
Icivati;** Reriuka, Galava, Sankriti, Mudgala, Madhuchchhandas,
and Devala were sons of Renu; and Ashtaka, Kachchhapa, and
Harita were the sons of Dfishadwati. The same works enumerate
the Gotras, the families or tribes of the Kausika Brahmans.
These are: Parthivas, Devaratas, Yajnavalkyas, Samarshtthas,
Udumbaras, Dumlanas, Tarakayanas, Munchatas, Lohitas, Rerius,
Karishus, Babhrus, Pariins,tf Dhyanajapyas,tt Syalantas, Hi-
rariyakshas, Sankus, Galavas, Yaniadutas, Devalas, oalankayanas,
Bashkalas, Dadativadaras, Sausratas, Saindhavayanas, Nishriatas,
* Corrected from "Kachchapa".

t So reads one of my MSS.; the rest having Haritaka.
These names form, in the original, one compound, with a plural case-
ending for the whole. A consideration of the passage cited in note ||,
below, has led me to make ihe alteration notified in note • in the
preceding page. Devadeva, it may be suggested, originated, possibly, from
a careless duplication of Deva, or from "Deva, Dhruva," by corruption.
t Gotra.
§ The Bhagavata specifies only .Taya and Kratumat, also.
II
Eight are there named: Madhuchchhandas, Jay a, Kfita, Deva,
Dhruva, Ashtaka, Kachchhapa, Piirana. It will be satisfactory to the
Sanskrit scholar to see the original
^^^F^ 51^%^ -^T^^-^ ^^^:\^^ I
^ This name should be omitted. See note §, above.

** Corrected from "Silavati".
t+ Corrected from "Paninas".
+^ Corrected from "Dhyanajyapyas".
BOOK IV., CHAP. vir. . 29
Clmnchulas, Siilaiikrityas, Sankfityas, Badarariyas,* and an in-
finity of others, multiplied by interman-iages with other tribes,

and who, according to the Vayu, were, originally, of the regal
caste, like Viswâniitra, but, like him, obtained Brahmanhood,

through devotion. Now, these Gotras, or some of them, at least,
no doubt existed, partaking more of the character of schools of

doctrine, but in which teachers and scholars were very likely to
have become of one family by intermarrying; and the whole, as
well as their original founder, imply the interference of the
Kshattriya caste with the Brahmanical monopoly of religious in-

struction and composition.
* The lists of the Vdyu-purd/ia, Brahma-purdna and Ilarivamki seem

to be here amalgamated. I suspect numerous errors, but decline, gener-
ally, the task of emendation. A few accents have been supplied, where
there was ffood warrant for them.
CHAPTER VIII.
Sons of Ayus. Line of Ksbattravriddha, or kings ofKasi. Former

birth of Dhanwantari. Various names of Pratardana. Great-
ness of Alavka.
AYUS, the eldest son of Puriiravas, married the

daughter of Rah u (or Arahu*), by whom he had five
sons, — Nahusha, Kshattravriddha,^ Rambha,^ Raji,

and Anenas.^
The son of Kshattravriddha was Suhotra,*f who
had three sons, — Kasa,^t Lesa,''§ and Gritsama-
'
Dharmavriddha : Vayu. Vi'iddhasarman: Matsya. Yajna-
s arm a 11 : Pad ma.
' Darbha: Agni. Dambha: Padma.
^ Vipj'ipman: Agni and Matsya. Vidaman: Padma. The two
last authorities proceed no further with this line.
•
Sunahotra: Vjiyu, Brahma.
* Kasya: Bhagavata.
^ Sala: ||
Vayu, Brahma, Hari Vaiiisa : whose son was Arshti-
* In tbe copies of the text accompanied by the commentary, the col-
location of words, being ^T'^^TTTTTCt- ;

yields Arahii or Arabu. Two
MSS., however, of the pure text have TJ^^, »• e., Rahu. ^
The Vdyu-purdna, in the corresponding passage, gives, as wife of Pu-
riiravas, Piabha, daughter of Swarbhanu. Swarbbanu, according to our
Puraiia, — see Yol. II., p. 70, — had a daughter Prabha. One of the
Swarbbanus— for there is a second: see Vol. II,, p. 71 — is identified with
Rahu, ibid., p. 304.

t Four MSS. have Sunahotra. This being corrected to Sunahotra, we
have the genuine ancient reading. See note * in tbe next page.
: Kasya, in two MSS.
§ Two copies have Lasya.
II
I find Sala in the Vdyu-purdna.
:
BOOK IV., CHAP. VIII. 3 1
da. * The son of the last was Saimaka/ who first estab-
sheiia,f father of Charanta; Yayu: of Kasyapa; Brahma and

Hari Variisa. +
^
Here is, probably, an error; for the Vayu, Bhagavâta, and
Brahma agree in making Sunaka the son of Gritsaaiadaj and
father of Saunaka.
*
Corrected, throughout this chapter, from "Ghritsamada".
" It is to be observed, that this Gi'itsamada, who is here described as be-
longing to the regal lineage of Pururavas, is the reputed Kishi of many
hymns in the second Mandala of the Rigveda. Regarding him the Com-
mentator Sayaiia has the following remarks, in his introduction to that
Mandala
* * * * »•»*»»* -X- •» » w * » * •» *
" ' The he who received the revelation) of this Mandala was
seer {i. e.,
the Rishi Gi'itsamada. He, being formerly the son of Sunahotra in the
family of the Angirases, was seized by the Asuras, at the time of sacri-
fice,and rescued by Indra. Afterwards, by the command of that god,
he became the person named Gi'itsamada, son of Sunaka, in the family
of Bhrigu. Thus, the Anukramanikd (Index to the Rigveda) says of
him: 'That Gi'itsamada, who, having been an Angiiasa, and son of
Suuaholra, became a lihargava and son of Sunaka, saw the second Man-
dala. '
So, too, the same Saunaka says, in his Rishi-anukramana, re-
garding the Mandala beginning with 'Thou, Agni:' — Gi'itsamada, son

of Sunaka, who is declared to have been, naturally, an Angirasa, and
the son of Sunahotra, became a Bhrigu,' Hence, the seer of the Mandala
is the Rishi Gi'itsamada, son of Sunaka.'
"It will be noticed, that, (unless we are to suppose a different Gi'itsa-
mada to be intended in each case,) there is a discrepancy between the
Purauas en the one hand, and Sayai'ia and the Anukramanikd on the
other; as the Purauas make Gi'itsamada the son of Sunahotra or Su-
hotra, and the father of Sunaka; whilst the Anukramanikd, followed by
Sayaiia, represents the same personage as having been, indeed, originally,
the son of Sunahotra, of the race of Angiras, but as having afterwards
become, by what process does not appear, the son of Sunaka, of the race
of Bhrigu." Original Sanskrit Texts, Part I., p. 228 (2nd ed.).
t Corrected from "Arsht'isena". My MSS. of the Vdyu-purdna give

Arshiiieswa; and Arsht'isheua as son of Saunaka.
I Kusa: Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XVII., 3.
:
32 VISHNU I'LIiANA.
lished the distinctions of the four castes. The son of ^
Kasa was Kasiraja;^ his son was Dirghatamas;^ his son

was Dhanwantari, whose nature was exempt from hu-
man infirmities, and who, in every existence, had been
master of universal knowledge.* In his past life, (or,
when he was produced by the agitation of the milky

seaf), Narayana had conferred upon him the boon,
that he should subsequently be born in the family of
'
The expression is ^^T'^'^^lT'^fTf^tlT, 'the originator (or
causer) of the distinctions (or duties) of tlie four castes. ' The
commentator, however, understands the expression to signify,
that his descendants were of the four castes. So, also, the Vayu
"The son of (Jlritsaniada was Sunaka, whose son was Saunaka.

Brahnians, Kshattriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras were born in his
race; Brahmans by distinguished deeds." The existence of but
one caste in the age of purity, however incompatible with the
legend which ascribes the origin of the four tribes to Brahnia, is
everywhere admitted. Their separation is assigned to different

individuals; — whether accurately to any one may be doubted: but
the notion indicates that the distinction was of a social or politi-
cal character.
' Kiisiya: Brahma, t
^ Dirghatapas: Vayu. Gritsatamas § Agni. : The Bhagavata|l

inserts a Rjishtra before this prince ; and the Vayu, a Dharma,
after him.
t This explanation is borrowed from the commentary.

* Kasi: Bhmjavata-'purdna. Kasaya(?): Vdyu-purdna. Kaseya: Ha-
rivai'ida, si. 1734, in the best MSS. Vide infra, p. 40, note ».
§ Corrected from "Ghritsatamas". |!

And so the Vdyu-purdtia.
— ;
BOOK IV., CHAP. viir. 33
Kasiraja, should compose the eightfold system of

medical science/ and should be, thereafter, entitled to
a share of offerings (made to the gods). The son of
Dhanwantari was Ketumat; his son was Bhimaratha;
his son was Divodasa;^* his son was Pratardana, f
'
The eight branches of medical science+ are: 1. Salya, ex-
traction of extraneous bodies; 2. Salakya, treatment of external
organic affections : these two constitute surgery ; 3. Chikitsa, ad-
ministration of medicines, or medical treatment in general ; 4. Bhii-
tavidya, treatment of maladies referred to demoniac possession

5. Kaumarabhritya, midwifery and management of children;
6. Agada, alexipharmacy; 7. Rasayana, alchemical therapeutics;
8. Vajikarana, use of aphrodisiacs. Dhanwantari, according to
the Brahma Vaivarta Puraria, was preceded, in medical science,
by Atreya, Bharadwaja, and Charaka: his pupil Susruta is the

reputed author of a celebrated work still extant. It seems
probable that Kasi or Benares was, at an early period, a cele-
brated school of medicine. §
^ Some rather curious legends are connected with this prince,
in theVayu and Brahma Puraiias, and HariVaiiisa, and, especially,
in the Kasi Khaiida of the Skanda Puraiia. According to these
authorities, Siva and Parvati, desirous of occupying Kasi, which
* See Original Sanskrit Texts, Part I., p. 230 (2nd ed.). Many of the
personages named hereabouts are of Vaidik notoriety.
t Also called Dyumat. Bhdgavata-purdiia.

X They are named as follows, in a couplet quoted by the scholiast:
^rrî^T5Rrfh4T'f(?) ir^ ^^ ^tt f^^w: i
A second classification is given, which differs less from that of Pro-

fessor Wilson, but in which we find, as the third, fifth, and sixth branches,
kdyasuddki, kumdratantra, and agadatantra.
§ For further particulars, see a paper entitled On the Medical and
Surgical Sciences of the Hindus, in Professor Wilson's Essays, Analyti-
cal, &c,, Vol. I., pp. 269—276.
IV. 3
34 VISHNU PURANA.
SO named from destroying the race of Bhadrasreriya.

He had various other appellations, as: Satrujit, the
Divodasa possessed, sent Nikumbha, one of the Gaiias of the

former to lead the prince to the adoption of Buddhist doctrines;
in consequence of which, he was expelled from the sacred city,
and, according to the Viiyu, founded another on the banks of

the Gomati. We have, however, also some singular, though ob-
scure intimations of some of the political events of this and the

succeeding reign. Tlie passage of the Vayu is :
^^%^^ TT^ ^ Iff %^ ^^^^T I
^^%^^ 5^^ ^^'T^ 'TT^ ^frr\: II
t^^^HTf^^t ^Tt ^% im^T: II
tT^T^ T[fTTT^ fT^T %^ f^f^t^fTT II

"The king Divodasa, having slain the hundred sons of Bhadra-
sreriya, took possession of his kingdom, which was conquered
by that hero. The son of Bhadrasreriya, celebrated by the name
of Durdama, was spared, by Divodasa, as being an infant. Pra-
tardana was the son of Divodasa, by Drishadwati; and by that
great prince, desirous of destroying all enmity, (was recovered)
that (territory), which had been seized by that young boy, (Dur-
dama)." This is not very explicit; and something is wanted to
complete the sense. The Brahma Puraria and Hari Varhsa* tell
the story twice over, chiefly in the words of the Vayu, but with
some additions. In Cli. 29 we have, first, the first three lines of
the above extract; then comes the story of Benares being deserted;
we then have the two next lines f then follow
;
: t
• In Chapters XXIX. and XXXII.

t My MSS., and the printed and lithographed editions, of the Hari-
vaiiisa do nftt bear ont these unimportant statements.
* <^/. 1584, 1585; also, il. 1742—1745.
BOOK IV., CHAP. vm. 35
victor over his foes, ' from having vanquished all his
enemies; Vatsa, or 'child', from his father's frequently
t^^ ^ ^vm^ ifT^T'^ ^f^^fff: I
tr^rrnt ^riru^ ^f^^^ f^f^^m ii
"That prince (Durdama) invading his patrimonial possessions,

the territory which Divodasa had seized by force was recovered
by the gallant son of Bhadrasreriya, Durdama, a warrior desi-
rous, mighty king, to effect the destruction of his foes." Here
the victory is ascribed to Durdama, in opposition to what ap-
pears to be the sense of the Vayu, and what is, undoubtedly,
that of onr text, which says, that he was called Pratardana, from
destroying the race of Bhadrasrenya, and Satrujit, from vanquish-
ing all his foes: 7{7\: TTrT^: I ^ ^ ^^^XfpqfU'f^^n^T^^Tr:
îf^^^'T f^m Tt^ ^"f f^^l^fi: I ^y Vairasya anta, ' the
end of hostility or enmity,' is, obviously, not to be understood,
here, as M. Langlois has intimated, a friendly pacification, but
the end or destruction of all enemies. In the 32nd chapter of

the Hari Vaihsa, we have precisely the same lines, slightly varied
as to their order; but they are preceded by this verse:*
"The city, (ihat on the Gomati), before the existence of Benares,

of Bhadrasrenya, a pious prince of the Yadu race." This verse
is not in the Brahma Purana. After giving the rest of the above
quotation, except the last line, the passage proceeds :f
%T^T^ TfTTT^ ^f^^ f^f^^n^cn II
• Professor Wilson's authority seems to be peculiar here. See M.

Langlois's Translation of the Harivamsa, Vol. I., p. 146, note 16.
t SI. 1744, 1745.

3»
;
36 VISHNU PURANA.
calling him by that name; Ritadhwaja, 'he whose em-

blem was truth,' being a great observer of veracity;
and Kuvalayaswa, because he had a horse (aswa)
called Kuvalaya. The son of this prince was Alarka,
^
of whom this verse is sung, in the present day: "For

sixty thousand and sixty hundred years, no other youth
55 2*
ful monarch, except Alarka, reigned over the earth.
"The king called Asbtaratha was the son of Bhimaratha; and by

hira, great king, a warrior desirous of destroying his foes, was
(the country) recovered, the children (of Durdama) being infants."
<g R ^ same
'
TT"^ '
"Pf^H^fW^^ I
Commentary. According to the
authority, we are, here, to understand Bhimaratha and Ashtaratha

as epithets of Divodasa and Pratardana. From these scanty and
ill-digested notices it appears, that Divodasa, on being expelled

from Benares, took some city and district on the Gomati from
the family of Bhadrasrenya; that Durdama recovered the country
and that Pratardana again conquered it from his descendants.
The alternation concerned, apparently, only bordering districts;
for the princes of Mahishmati and of Kasi continue, in both an
earlier and a later series, in undisturbed possession of their
capitals and their power.
'
The Viiyu, Agni, Brahma Puranas, and Hari Variisa inter-
pose two sons of Pratardana, —
Gargaf (or Bharga) and Vatsa;
and they make Vatsa the father of Alarka; except the Brahma,
which has Satrujit and Ritadhwaja as two princes following Vatsa.
' The Vayu, Brahma, and Hari Vaiiisa repeat this stanza, +
and add, that Alarka enjoyed such protracted existence, through

the favour of Lopamudra, and that, having lived till the period
j- So reads the Vdyu-purdna.

* More or less literally. And so does the Bhagavata-purdnOy IX.,
XVII., 7.
:
BOOK IV., CHAP. VIII. 37
The son of Alarka was Sannati;^* his son was

Siinitha; his son was Suketii; his son was Dharma-
atwhich the curse upon Kasi tei'minated, he killed the Rakshasa

—
Kshemaka, by whom it had been occupied, after it was aban-
doned by Divodasa,— and caused the city to be reinhabited:
'
Several varieties occur, in the series that follows, as the
comparative lists will best show
Bhagavata.+ Brahma. Vayu. Agni.
Alarka Alarka Alarka Alarka
Santati Sannati Sannati Dharmaketu
Sunitha Sunitha Sunitha Vibhu
Suketana Kshema Suketu § Sukumara
Dharmaketu Ke turn at Dhfishtaketu Satyaketu
Satyaketu Suketu Venuhotra
Dhfishtaketu Dharmaketu Gargya
Sukumara Satyaketu Gargabhumi
Vitihotra Vibhu Vatsabhumi 11
Bharga Anarta
Bhargabhumi Sukumara
Dhfishtaketu
Venuhotf i If
Bharga
Vatsabhumi
* I find only this reading. Professor Wilson's "Santati" I take to

be a misscript of a very few MSS.
t Harivamsa, si. 1591; and again, M. 1748, 1749, with trifling devia-
tions. The Vdyu-Tpurdiia has very nearly as above the Brahma-purdna,
;
the very words there given.

: IX., XVII., 8, 9.
§ My MSS. of the Vdyu-purdna insert, between Suketu and Dhfishta-
ketu, Dharmaketu, Satyaketu, Vibhu, Suvibhu, and Sukumara.
II
On the name here, in the Vdyu-purdna, see the Translator's next
note.
f I find Venuhotra both in the Brahma-purdna and in the Harivamh,

See, toO; note 1, in the next page.
38 VISHNU PURANA.
ketu; his son was Satyaketu; his son was Vibhu; his
son was Sub vibhu; his son was Sukumara; his son was
Dhrishtaketu; his son was Vainahotra;* his son was
Bharga;f his son was Bhargabhumi,: from whom
(also,) rules for the four castes were promulgated/
The Hari Variisa§ agrees, as usual, with the Brahma, except in

the reading of one or two names. It is to be observed, however,
that the Agni makes the Kasi princes the descendants of Vitatha,
the successor of Bharata. The Brahma Purana and Hari Variisa,
determined, apparently, to be right, give the list twice over;
deriving it, in one place, from Kshattravriddha, as in our text,
the "Vayu, and the Bhagavata; and, in another, with the Agni,
from Vitatha. The series of the Brahma, however, stops with

Lauhi, the son of Alarka, and does not warrant the repetition
which the carelessness of the compiler of the Hari Vamsa has
superfluously inserted.
Our text is clear enough; and so is the Bhagavata: but the
'
Vayu, Brahma, and Hari Vamsa contain additions of rather

doubtful import. The former'! has:
"The son of Veriuhotra was the celebrated Gargya; Gargabhurai

was the son of Gargya; and Vatsa, of the wise Vatsa: virtuous
Brahmans and Kshattriyas were the sous of these two. " By the
second Vatsa is, perhaps, meant Vatsabhumi and the purport ;
* A single copy reads Vitahotra.
t One MS. has Bhargava.

I Bhargavabhiimi, in one copy.
§ ^l. 1588—1597; .</. 1749—1753. The two lists there given vary
from each other by a consideiable number of items; and neither of them,
in any copy of the Harivai'nia that 1 have seen, harmonizes with the list
in the Brahma-purana.
II
The Vdyu-purd/ia is intended.
BOOK IV., CHAP. VIII. 39
These are the Kasi* pruices, (or, descendants of
of the passage is, that Gargya (or, possibly, rather, Bharga, one
of the sons of Pratardana,) and Vatsa were the founders of two
races (Bhumi, 'earth', implying 'source' or 'founder'), who
were Kshattriyas by birth, and Brahmans by profession. The
Brahma f and Hari Variisa, apparently misunderstanding this
text, have increased the perplexity. According to them, the son
of Veiiuhotra was Bharga; Vatsabhumi was the son of Vatsa;
and Bhargabhumi (Bhrigubhumi: Brahma,) was from Bhargava.
"These sons of Angiras were born in the family of Bhrigu,
thousands of great might, Brahmans, Kshattriyas and Yaisyas:"
^^ ^(^^f^^ ^^t'T^ ^T^Ttt (^J^fT^ W^TTfi:) II
wtwwt: ^t^^T %^t%^^^t: ^f^^: t ii
The commentator § has: ^ftET^T^T^f^: g^T^T'Hf I ô^^f^-

fKf^ I ^TT'T^Tfi: I ^c^':ng: I ^tl^: r IT^^^^fl^T^^Tfi: I
^fr^ I frWTf'T'^^ ÎT'^^c^Tci; I

" Another son of Vatsa, the
father of Alarka, is described: Vatsabhumi, &c. From Bhargava,

the brother of Vatsa, (They were) Angirasas, from Galava, be-
longing to that family, (and were born) in the family of Bhrigu,
from the descent of Viswamitra." The interpretation is not very
clear; but it authorizes the notion above expressed, that Vatsa
and Bharga, the sons of Pratardana, are the founders of two
races of Kshattriya-Brahraans.
• Altered, here and elsewhere, from "Kasya"; the original being

'*^® ^^'î kings', or, as we should
^"HT^ ^Md^: or ^nir^ ?l"^fT''
say, 'the Kasis'. These rulers take their name from Kasi, or Kasiraja:
vide supra, p, 32, note +. Sridhara, commenting on the Bhdcjavata-
purdiia, IX., XVII., 10, says; efiTIJ^: | ^%^^T^ Compare Vol. II.,
I
p, 157, note f.
t This Puraiia contains, almost literally, the stanzas cited just below..
I Harivamsa, il. 1596—1598; with which compare *7, 1572—1574. See,
on both passages, Original Sanskrit Texts, Part I., pp. 52, 53 (pp. 231, 232,
2nd ed.).
§ Nilakanfiha. Arjuna Misra remarks to the like effect.

40 VISHNU PURANA.
Kasa*).^ We will now enumerate the descendants

of Raji.
'
On the subject of note 2, in p. 33, swpra, some further illus-
tration is Dana-
derivable from the Mahabharata, Santi Parvan,
dharnia. f Haryaswa the king of the Kasis, reigning between
the Ganges and the Yamuna, or in the Doab, was invaded and
slain by the Haihayas,J a race descended, according to this
authority, from Saryati, the son of Manu (see Vol. III., p. 255,
note 1). Sudeva, the son of Haryaswa, was, also, attacked and
defeated by the same enemies. Divodasa, his son, built and forti-
fied Benares, as a defence against the Haihayas ; but in vain ; for
they took it, and compelled him to fly. He sought refuge with
Bharadwaja, by whose favour he had a son born to him; Pra-
tardana, who destroyed the Haihayas, under their king Vitahavya,§
and reestablished the kingdom of Kasi. Vitahavya, through the
protection of Bhrigu, became a Brahman, j] The Mahabharata
gives a list of his descendants, which contains several of the
names of the Kasi dynasty of the text. Thus, Gritsamada is
said to be his son; and the two last of the line are Sunaka and
Saunaka. Vide supra, p. 31, note 1.
* This parenthesis, which was not marked as such in the former

edition, was supplied by the Translator. See note » in the preceding
page. The patronym which occurs of Kasa is Kaseya. Vide supra,
p. 32, note t-
t The passajê referred to is found in the Anumsana-'parvan, Chap. XXX.

+ The original so calls the hundred sons of Haihaya. He and Tala-
jangha were sons of Vatsa.
§ Corrected, here and below, from "Vitihavya".
II
For a legend touching this personage, see Professor Wilson's Trans-
lation of the Rigveda, Vol. II., pp. 207, 208; also, Original Sanskrit
Texts, Part I., pp. 51, 52 (pp. 229, 230 of the 2nd ed.).
CHAPTER IX.
Descendants of Raj i, son of Ayus: Indra resigns his throne to

him claimed, after his death, by his sons, who apostatize from
:
the religion of the Vedas, and are destroyed by Indra. Descend-

ants of Pratikshattra, son of Kshattravriddha.
RAJI had five hundred sons, all of unequalled daring

and vigour. Upon the occurrence of a war between
the* demons* and the gods, both parties inquired of
Brahma which would be victorious. The deity replied:
"That which Raji shall take up arms." Accord-
for
ingly, the Daityas immediately repaired to Raji, to
secure his alliance; which he promised them, if they
would make him their Indra, after defeating the gods.
To this they answered, and said: "We cannot profess
one thing, and mean another. Our Indra is Prahlada;f
and it is for him that we wage war." Having thus
spoken, they departed. And the gods then came to
him, on the like errand. He proposed to them the said
conditions; and they agreed that he should be their
Indra. Raji, therefore, joined the heavenly host, and,
by numerous and formidable weapons, destroyed
his
the army of their enemies.
When the demons were discomfited, Indra placed
the feet of Raji upon his head, and said: "Thou hast
preserved me from a great danger; and I acknowledge
thee as my father.: Thou art the sovereign chief over
Asura.
t For the history of Prahlada, see Vol, II., pp. 30—69.
I Hereupon the schoHast
quotes the ensuing stanza;
42 VISHNU PURANA.
all the regions; and I, the Indra of the three spheres,

am thy son." The Raja smiled, and said, "Even be it
so. The regard that is conciliated by many agreeable
speeches is not to be resisted even when such language
proceeds from a foe: (much less should the kind words
of a friend fail to win our affection)."* He, accord-
ingly, returned to his own city; tmd Indraf remained
(as his deputy,) in the government of heaven.
When Raji ascended to the skies, his sons, at the
instigation of Narada, demanded the rank of Indra, as
their hereditary right; and, as the deity refused to
acknowledge their supremacy, they reduced him to
submission, by force, and usurped his station. After
some considerable time had elapsed, the god of a
hundred sacrifices, (Indra), deprived of his share of
offerings to the immortals, met with Brihaspati, in a
retired place, him " Cannot you give me
and said to :
a little of the sacrificial butter, t even if it were no

bigger than a jujube? For I am in want of sustenance."
"If," replied Brihaspati, "I had been applied to, by
you, before, I could have done anything for you that
you wished: as it is, I will endeavour and restore you,
in a few days, to your sovereignty." So saying, he
commenced a sacrifice, § for the purpose of increasing
^rw^m H^îm ^^T^TfTT ct^t^ ^ i
wNrn ^^^cTT ^ ^7%^ f^fTT' ^^h: II
This should seem to be a quotation, without reference to book, of the

Vriil(l/i<i-cli(hi(d-ya, IV., 19.
t Saiakradi, one of bis epithets, in the original.

* ? PnroHdia-khaMa.
:
BOOK IV., CHAP. IX. 43
the might of Indra, and of leading the sons of Raji into

error, (and so effecting their downfall).^ Misled by
their mental fascination, the princes became enemies
of the Brahmans, regardless of their duties, and con-
temners of the precepts of the Vedas; and, thus devoid

of morality and religion, they were slain by Indra,
who, by the assistance of the priests (of the gods),
resumed his place in heaven. Whoever hears this
story shall retain, for ever, his proper place, and shall
never be guilty of wicked acts.
Rambha (the third son of Ay us,) had no progeny.^

Kshattravfiddha had a son named Pratikshattra; ^ his
'
The Matsya says, he taught the sons of Raji the Jina-
dharma, or Jaina religion
f^TiTVlf ^RTl^"R %^T|t ^ ^^f^ I
' The Bhagavata enumerates, however, as his descendants,
Rabhasa, Gabhira, and Akriya, whose posterity became Brah-

mans. The same authority gives, as the descendants of Anenas,
the fifth* son of Ayus, Suddha, Suchi, Trikakud,t and Santa-
raya. +
' The Vayu agrees with our text, in making Pratipaksha
(Pratikshattra) the son of Kshattravriddha § but the ;
Brahma Pa-
rana and Hari Varasa consider Anenas |1
to be the head of this
branch of the posterity of Ayus. The Bhagavata substitutes
Kusa (the Lesa of our text, the grandson of Kshattravfiddha), for
• Corrected from "fourth".

t Here insert Dharmasarathi.
X Corrected from "Santakhya".
§ I find Kshattradharma in the Vdyu-purdna. A little below, the same
Purana calls him Kshattradharman. See note ftf in the following page.
II
The descendants of Anenas are specified, in the Brahma-purdiia, as
follows: Pratikshattra, Sfinjaya, Jaya, Vijaya, Kriti, Haryaswata, Saha-
deva, Nadina, Jayatsena, Sankfiti, Kshattradharman. And herewith tal-
lies, punctually, the Harivathsa, si, 1513 — 1617.

44 VISHNU PURANA.
son was Sanjaya;* his son wasf Vijaya;^ his son was
was Harshavardhana;^§ his son
Yajnakrita;'^4 his son
was Sahadeva; his son was Adina;^] his son was Jaya-
sena;^ his son was Sankriti;** his son was Kshattra-
dharman/ff These were the descendants of Kshattra-
vriddha. I will now mention those of Nahusha.
the first name;tt and this seems most likely to be correct.

Although the different MSS. agree in reading ^ t4 <^^fTI , it
should be, perhaps, "^Tt^^ô the patronymic Kshattravriddha;

making, then, as the Bhagavata§§ does, Pratikshattra|| ||
the son
of the son of Kshattravriddha.
'
Jaya: Bhagavata, Vayu. HH
^ Vijaya: Vayu. UIF Krita: Bhagavata.
^ Haryaswa Brahma, Hari Vamsa.*** Haryavana Bhagavata.
: :
* The last of the list: Vayu.ftf Ahina: Bhagavata.

* Kshattravriddha: Brahma, Hari Vamsa. +++
* See note \\ in the preceding page.
t Sanjaya's son was Jaya, and Jaya's was Vijaya, according to all
my MSS. Also see note fttj below.

X So read all my MSS. but one, which exhibits Kfita. Professor
Wilson had "Yajnakrit".
§ A
single copy has Haryas'wa. In two MSS., Ahina.
||
% Only one of my MSS. gives this name; all the rest showing Jayatsena.
** Here the
Bhdgavata-purdna interposes another Jaya.
ft In one MS. I find Kshattradharma; in another, Kshetradharman.
++ /. e., for Kshattravriddha.
§§ IX., XVII., 16. nil Shortened to Prati. Ifl See note ftt, below.
*** I find
Haryaswata in both works. See note || in the preceding page,
ttt Here, again, Professor Wilson's MSS. of the Vdyu-purdiia seem to
be imperfect. Mine give the following scries, to begin a little back:
Kshattradharma, Pratipaksha, Sanjaya, Jaya, Vijaya, Jaya, Haryadwana,
Sahadeva, Adina, Jayatsena, Sankriti, Kfitadharman. At the end of the
genealogy is this line:
+ See note ||
in the preceding page.
.
CHAPTER X.
The sons of Nahusha. The sons of Yayati: he is cursed by Sukra:

wishes his sons to exchange their vigour for his infirmities.
Piiru alone consents. Yayati restores him his youth: divides

the earth amongst his sons, under the supremacy of Puru.
YATl, Yayati,* Samyati, Ayati,t Viyati, and KiHti:

were thesix valiant sons of Nahusha/ Yati§ decUned
'
The Bhagavata refers, briefly, to the story of Nahusha,
which is Mahabharata more than once, in the Vana

told in the —
Parvan, Udyoga Parvan, Danadharraa Parvan, and others; also,
in the Padraa and other Purarias. He had obtained the rank of
Indra; but, in his pride, or at the suggestion of Sachi, compel-
ling the Rishis to bear his litter, he was cursed, by them, to fall
from his state, and reappear, upon earth, as a serpent. From

this form he was by philosophical discussions with Yu-
set free
dhishthira, and received final liberation. Much speculation, wholly

unfounded, has been started by Wilford's conjecture, that the
name of this prince, with Deva, 'divine', prefixed, a combina-
tion which never occurs, was the same as Dionysius, or Bacchus. ||
Authorities generally agree as to the names of the first three of
his sons : in those of the others there is much variety ; and the
Matsya, Agni, and Padma have seven names, as follows, omitting
the three first of the text:
• He, at least, of the sons of Nahusha, had Viraja for mother, accord-
ing to the Vdiju-purdna and HarivaMa. See Vol. III., p. 164, notes §
and f , _
t This name, I find, is ordinarily corrupted into Ayati or Ayati.

* In the Mahabharata, Adi-parvan, si. 3155, they appear as Yati,
Yayati, Samyati, Ayati, Ayati, and Dhruva.
§ Yati married Go, daughter of Kakutstha, agreeably to
the Vdyu-
purdna, and the Harivamia, il. 1601.
II
See the Asiatic Researches, Vol. VI., p. 500; Vol. XIV., p. 376.
4G VISHNU PURANA.
the sovereignty ;
*
and Yayati, therefore, succeeded to
the throne. He had two wives, Devayani, the daughter
of Usanas, and Sannishtha, the daughter of Vrisha-
parvan; of whom this genealogical verse is recited:
"Devayani bore two sons, Yadu and Turvasu.*

Sarmishthji, the daughter of Vrishaparvan,t had three
sons, Druhyu,: Anu,§ and Puru."^j| Through the
Matsya.
BOOK IV., CHAP. X. 47
curse of Usanas,* Yayati became old and infirm before

his time; but, having appeased his father-in-law, f he
obtained permission to transfer his decrepitude to any
one who would consent to take it. He first applied to
his eldest son,Yadu, and said: "Your maternal grand-
father has brought this premature decay upon me. By
his permission, however, I may transfer it to you for
a thousand years. I am not yet satiate with worldly

enjoyments, and wish to partake of them through the
Mahabharata; also, in the Bhagavata, with some additions, evi-

dently of a recent taste. Sarmishtha, the daughter of Vrisha-
parvan, king of the Daityas, t having quarrelled with Devayani,
the daughter of Sukra (the religious preceptor of the same race§),
had her thrown into a well. Yayati, hunting in the forest, found
her, and, taking her to her father, with his consent, espoused her.
Devayani, in resentment of Sarmishtha's treatment, demanded
that she should become her handmaid; and Vrishaparvan, afraid
of Sukra's displeasure, was compelled to comply. In the service
of his queen, however, Yayati beheld Sarmishtha, and secretly
wedded her. Devayani complaining to her father of Yayati's in-
fidelity, Sukra inflicted on him premature decay, with permission

to transfer it to any one willing to give him youth and strength
in exchange, as is related in the text. The passage specifying
the sons of Yayati is precisely the same in the Mahabharata ||

as
in our text, and is introduced in the same way: ^-m^qWiênl
•
Kavya, in the Sanskrit; from his father, Kavi. See Vol. I., p. 200,
supplementary note on ibid., p. 152.

t Sukra, in the original. Vide supra, p. 2, note ||.
* Read "Daaavas". See note + in the preceding page.
§ He was priest of the Daityas.
Adi-parvan, U. 3162. The correspondence is not of the closest.
II
48 VISHNU PURANA.
means of your youth. Do not refuse compliance with

my Yadu, however, was not wilHng to take
request."
upon him his father's decay; on which, his father de-
nounced an imprecation upon him, and said: "Your
posterity shall not possess dominion." He then ap-
plied, successively, to Druhyu, Turvasu, and Anu, and
demanded of them their juvenile vigour. They all re-
fused, and were, in consequence, cursed by the king.*

Lastly, he made the same request of Sarmishthas
youngest son, Piiru, who bowed to his father, and
readily consented to give him his youth, and receive,
in exchange, Yayati's infirmities, saying that his father
had conferred upon him a great favour.
The king Yayati being, thus, endowêd with reno-
vated youth, conducted the affairs of state for the good
of his people, enjoying such pleasures as were suited
to his age and strength, and were not incompatible
with virtue, f He formed a connexion with the celes-
tial nymph Viswachi,t and was wholly attached to her,
and conceived no end to his desires. The more they

were gratified, the more ardent they became; as it is
said in this verse :§ "Desire is not appeased by enjoy-
ment : fire fed with sacrificial oil becomes but the more
intense. II No one has ever more than enough of rice.
• For an ancient allusion to the exclusion from sovereignty of Yadu
and Turvasa, see Professor Wilson's Translation of the Rigveda, Vol III.,
p. 179, text and note 3.
I See Vol. II., p. 75, note 3; p. 80, note; pp. 284, et seq.
§ The remainder of this chapter is metrical.
II
A quotation of the Laws of the Mdnavas, II., 94.
or barley, or gold, or cattle, or women. Abandon,

therefore, inordinate desire. When amind finds neither
good nor ill in all objects, but looks on all with an
equal eye, then everything yields it pleasure. The
wise man is filled with happiness, who escapes from
desire,which the feeble-minded can with difficulty re-
linquish,and which grows not old with the aged.*
The hair becomes grey, the teeth fall out, as man ad-
vances in years; but the love of wealth, the love of
life, are not impaired by age." "A thousand years
have passed," reflected Yayati, "and my mind is still
devoted to pleasure: every day my desires are awak-
ened by new objects. I will, therefore, now renounce
all sensual enjoyment, and fix my mind upon spiritual
truth. Unaffected by the alternatives of pleasure and

pain, and having nothing I may call my own, I will,
henceforth, roam the forests with the deer."f
Having made this determination, Yayati restored
his youth to Puru, resumed his own decrepitude, in-
stalled his youngest son in the sovereignty, and de-
parted to the wood of penance (Tapovana^). To Tur-
vasu he consigned the sonth-east districts of his king-
dom; the west, to Druhyu; the south, to Yadu; and
'
Bhrigutunga, according to the Brahma.
<T^1%rTTî ^^T 5(^*1411 ViTT^ ?TT^TO»l I
f^l^ f^^'ft ^^m ^fT^Tf^ ^f ^: II
IV. 4
50 VISHNU PLIRANA.
the north, to Ann: to govern, as viceroys,* under their

younger brother Purii, whom he appointed supreme
monarch of the earth. ^
'
The elder brothers were made Mandala-nfipas, f kings of
circles or districts: Bhiigavata. t The situation of their govern-
ments is not exactly agreed upon.
Vayu and Brahma and tju ' * n
n TT -TT c ' ' Bhagavata. "
I
lailma, HariYamsa. §
''
Tui-vasu South-east South-east West

Druhyu West West South-east
Yadu South-west South South
Anu North North North
The Linga describes the ministers and people as expostulating

with Yayati, for illegally giving the supremacy to the youngest
son ; but he satisfies them by showing, that he was justified in
setting the seniors aside, for want of filial duty. The Mahabha-
rata, Udyoga Parvan, Galava Charita, has a legend of Yayiiti's
giving a daughter to the saint Galava, who, through her means,
obtains, from different princes, eight hundred horses, white with
*
W^ TTTJ^f^nft ^^T^ I
Comment: ^TJ^^^Tf^^ltTT't. I
t And see the preceding note.

+ Neither in the Bhaguvata-purdna nor even in the commentary on
it do I find the term ma/iclala-m'-ipa. Uwara is the designation which
that Purtina gives to Tnrvasn and the rest.
§ So I find in the Brahina-purd/ia, with which the Linja-purdiia,

Prior Section, LXVII., 11—12, agrees. But the llarivama, U. 1GI7-
1619, has:
Turvasu, South-oast.
Druhyu West.
Yadu, North-east.
Anu, North.
Piiru, Middle region.
II
IX., XIX., 22.
one black ear, as a fee for his preceptor Viswaniitra. Yayati,

after his death and residence in Iiidra's heaven, is again de-
scending to earth, when his daughter's sons give him the benefit
of their devotions, and replace him in the celestial sphere. It has

the air of an old story. A legend in some respects similar has
been related in our text; p. IG, supra.
CHAPTER XL
The Yridava race, or descendants of Yadu. Kartavi'rya obtains
a boon from Dattsitreya: takes Ravaiia prisoner: is killed by

Parasuriima: his descendants.
I WILL first relate to you the family of Yadu, the

eldest son of Yayati, in which the eternal, immutable,
Vishnu descended upon earth, in a portion of his es-
sence;^ of which the glory cannot be described, though
for ever hymned, in order to confer the fruit of all
their wishes —
whether they desired virtue, wealth,
pleasure, or liberation, —
upon all created beings, upon
men, saints, heavenly quiristers, spirits of evil,* nymphs,
centaurs,! serpents, birds, demons,: gods, sages, Brah-
mans, § and ascetics. Whoever hears the account of
the race of Yadu shall be released from all sin; for the
supreme spirit, that is without form, || and which is
'
Or, 'in which Krishna was born.' It might have been ex-
pected, from the importance of this genealogy, that it would
have been so carefully preserved, that the authorities would have
closely concurred in its details. Although, however, the leading
• Rdkshasa; which word, in the original, is preceded by yaksha, and

followed by guhyaka,— terms left untranslated.
t Kiihpurusha.
To render daitya and ddnava conjointly.
X
§ Devarshi and dwijarshi, in the original. For these two kinds of
Rishis, —
the second of which has the name of Brahmarshi, more usu-
ally, — see Vol. III., p. G8, note 1.
II
Nirdkriti. There is a variant, nardkriti, 'in the form of a man.' It
is noticed by the scholiast.

BOOK IV., CHAP. XI. 53
called Vishnu, was manifested in this family.*

Yadu had four sons,— Sahasrajit, Kroshtu,f Nala, and
Raghu. Satajit was the son of the elder of these; and
^
he had three sons, Ilaihaya, Venu,^t and Haya.§ The
specifications coincide, yet, as we shall have occasion to notice,

great and irreconcileable variations occur.
' The two first generally agree. There are differences in the
rest; as:
Vayu. Brahma. II
Bhagavata.^ Kiirma.
Nila Nala Nala Nila

Ajita Anjika Ripu** Jina
Raghu ff Pay oda Raghu
The Brahma and Hari VamsaH read Sahasrada for the first name;
and the Linga has Balasani, in place of Nala. §§ The Agni makes
Satajit, also, a son of Yadu.
^ Veriuhaya: Bhagavata, &c.|||| Uttanahaya: Padma. Vetta-
* This sentence renders a stanza.

t So read all my MSS.; and such is the lection of the Vdyu-purdiia.
The Translator's "Krosht'i" I take to have been a typographical error
for Krosht'fi. See notes ||
and ^, below. Also vide infra, p. 61,
note «. + One MS. has Venuhaya,
§ Mahahaya is the lection of one copy; and so reads the Bhdgavata-

purdna. In the Linga-purd/m, Satajit's sons are called Haihaya, Haya,
and Venuhaya; and so in the Ilarivamsa and the Matsya-purdna.
II
I find Sahasrajit, Payoda, Krosht'ri, Nila, and Anjika.
t IX., XXIII., 20. For Krosht'u I there find Krosht'fi.
**
Corrected from "Aripu".
tt My MSS. have Laghu. And see note §§, below.
++ Inmy MSS., Sahasrada, Payoda, Kroshfu, Nila, and Anjika.
§§ Yadu's five sons I find called, in the Linga-purdna, Sahasrajit,
Krosht'u, Nila, Ajaka, and Laghu. Only that it reads Ajika and Raghu,
the Matsya-purdna has the same names; and so has the Ki'irma-purdna,
except that it gives Anjita and Raghu (or Laghu, in some MSS.).
nil As the Vdyu-purd/ia, the Kiirma-picrd/ia, and the HarivaMa.
54 VISHNU PUKANA.
son Haihaya was Dharmanetra;^* his son was

of
Kiinti;^ his son wasS;'ihanji;^f his son was Mahishmat;*
his son was Bhadrasena;^+ his son was Diirdama;§
his son was Dhanaka, who had four sons,— Kritaviiya,
'^
haya: Matsya. |j
They were the sons of Sahasrada: Brahma and
Hari Varhsa.
'
Dharmatantra: Vayu. Dharma:1I Kurma. **
« Kirtti: Vayu. ft
' Sanjneya: Vayu. Sankhana: Agni. Sahanja, of Sahanjani-
puriiH Brahma. Sanjnita: Linga.§§ Sariihana: Matsya. Ijil So-
hanji : Bhagavata.
''
By whom the city of Mahishmati (on the Nurbudda) was
founded :1[1[ Brahma Puraria, Hari Van'isa.
* So the Bhagavata ; but the Vayu, *** more correctly, has

Bhadrasrenya.fff Vide supra, p. 33, note 2.
^ Kanaka Vayu, : &C.XXX Varaka Linga.§§§ Andhaka

: : Kurma.jj||||
• In a single MS., Dharma.

t Two of my MSS. have Sahajit.
+ My best MSS. have Bhadrasrei'iya. The Vdyu-purdna says he was
Raja of Benares.
§ Durmada: Vdyu-purdna and Blidgavata-purdna.
II
See note § in the preceding page.
% Haihaya's son was Dharma, and his was Dharmanetra, according to
the Linga-purdi'ia and the Kurina-purdna.

** And Bhdyavata-purdna, which gives hira a son Netra, father of Kiinti.
tt And Linga-purdna, Kurma-purdna, and Brahma-purdi'ia. Karta and
Karti : Ilarivamm.
IX And so the Harivamh, il. 1846.
§§ I find Sanjaya. The Kiirma-purdna has Sanjita.
nil I find Saiiihata.
«f^ One of my copies of the Vishnu-purdtm notices this fact.

•** And so the Kurma-purdna, Linga-purdna, Brahmn-purdna, IJari-
vamda, &c.
ttt See notes * and •*», above.
*ll As the Brahma-purdna and HarivaMa.
§§§ I find Dhanaka.
IJIIII I find Dhenuka.
Kritagni,* Kritavarman, f and Kritaujas. Ki'-itavirya's

son was Arjuiia, the sovereign of the seven Dwipas,
the lord of a thousand arms. This prhice propitiated
the Sage Dattatreya, the descendant of Atri, who was
a portion of Vishnu, and soUcited, and obtained from
him, these boons: a thousand arms; never acting un-
justly; subjugation of the world by justice, and pro-
tecting it equitably; victory over his enemies; and
death by the hands of a person renowned in the three
regions of the universe. With these means he ruled
over the whole earth with might and justice, and
offered ten thousand sacrifices. Of him this verse t is

still recited: "The kings of the earth will, assuredly,
never pursue his steps in sacrifice, in munificence, in
devotion, in courtesy, and in self-control." § In his

reign, nothing was lost, or injured; and so he governed
!|
* Ritavirya: Vdyu-purdiia.
t The Kvrmn-purdi'ia has Ki'itadharma.

I It runs thus, in the
Bhdgavata-'purdna, — IX., XXIII., 24:
The Vdyu-purdna has:
^^Rîftf^^ f^^^^ ^^^ ^ II
Compare the Mdrka?ideya-purdna , XIX., 29; also the Brahma-

purdiia, &c.
§ •! ^Trf ^T^^^^ '^t ^T^rf% ^Tf^T: I
^%^T%^^f*[^T IT^Îir ^^ ^ II
See Original Sanskrit Texts, Part I., pp. 171, 172.

II
The scholiast quotes, from the Kurma-purdna, the following line,
addressed to Arjuna:
And I have found the ensuing stanza, of similar purport, in an ex-

tract from the BrahmdMa-purdna:
56 VISHNU PURANA.
the whole earth, with undiminished health, prosperity,

power, and might, for eighty-five thousand years.
Whilst sporting in the waters of the Narmada, and
elevated with wine, Havana came, on his tour of tri-
umph, to (the city) Mahishmati; and there he, who
boasted of overthrowing the gods, the Daityas, the
Gandharvas and their king, was taken prisoner by
Kartavirya, and confined, like a (tame) beast, in a
corner of his capital/* At the expiration of his long
reign, Kartavirya by Paras urama, who was
was killed
an embodied portion of the mighty Narayana. Of the '
hundred sons of this king the fivef principal were
'
According to the Vayu, Kartavirya was the aggressor, in-
vading Lanka, and there taking Ravana prisoner. The circum-

stances are, more usually, narrated as in our text.
' Vule supra, p. 22. Kartavirya's fate was the consequence
denounced by Apava (or Vasishtha), the son of
of an imprecation
Varuna, whose hermitage had been burnt, according to the Ma-
habharata, Rajadharma,t by Chitrabhanu (or Fire), to whom the
king had, in his bounty, presented the world. The Vayu makes
the king himself the incendiary, with arrows given him, by
Siirya, to dry up the ocean.
"Arjuna, son of Kritavirya, teas a king with a thousand arms. By

simply calling him to mind, a thing lost or ruined is restored."
See, further, the HarivaMa, il. 1864.
• See Original Sanskrit Texts, Part II., p. 437, note 106.
+ These, according to the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XXIII., 26, were
all, out of a thousand, that survived the contest with Paiasurama.
J AnuMsana-parvan, Chapter II,

—
Sura/ Surasena, Vrishana,""^' Madhu,'^f and Jaya-

dhwaja.* The son of the last was Talajaiigha, who had
a hundred sons, called, after him, Talanjanghas: the
eldest of these was Vitihotra:t another was Bharata,^
who had two sons, Vrisha and Sujati.*^§ The son of
Vrisha was Madlm:^ he had a hundred sons, the chief
'
Urjita: Bhagavata.
^ Vi'ishabha: Bhagavata. Dhrishta: Matsya. Dhrishiia: Kur-
rna. i| Prishokta:! Padma. Vrishni: Liiiga. ** Krishiiaksha:
Brahma, f f
^ Krishna, in all except the Bhagavata. tt
* King of Avanti: Brahma and Hari Varfisa. §§

* Ananta: Vayu and Agni;|||| elsewhere omitted.
^ Durjayalff only: Vayu, Matsya.***
' This Madhii, according to the Bhagavata,fff was the son of
Kartavirya. The Brahma and Hari Variisa make him the son of
Vrisha, but do not say whose son Vrisha was. The commentator
on the latter asserts, that the name is a synonym of Payoda,
the son of Yadu, according to his authority, and to that alone. +++
* One MS. has Dhrishaiia.
t In three copies the reading is Madhudhwaja.

I In one MS., Yitabotra. In the Vdyu-purdiia, Virahotra.
§ Professor Wilson had "Sujati", by typographical error, for Sujati.
But the original, in all my MSS., ^^^^Tfft. yields only Siijata.
II
I find Vrisha and Dhfisht'a.
^ The HarivaMa has Dhrisht'okta or Dhi'ishuokta.

** I find Dhrisht'a. find Yfishaiia.
If I
\X The Brahma-purdtia has Madhupadhwaja,

§§ And so the Linga-purdna. I have corrected Professor Wilson's
"Avanti". A country, not a city, is intended.

II
The Linga-purdna has Anarta.
II
*iri[ He was son of

Krishna (?), according to the Linga-purdna.
** Vrisha and others, unnamed, were sons of Vi'tihotra, according to
the Kurma-purdna and Linga-purdna.
ttt By probable inference, but not explicitly. IX., XXIII., 28.
+++ But vide supra, p. 53, notes 1, |1, and ++.
58 VISHNU PURANA.
of whom was ViHslini;* and from liim the family f

obtained the name of Yrishni/ From the name of
tlicir father, Madhu, they were, also, called Madhu;:

whilst, from the denomination of their common an-
cestor, Yadu, the whole were termed Yadavas."^§
'
The Bhiigavata agrees with our text but the Brahma, Hari
;
Vau'isa, Linga, and Kurina make VfislianaH the son of Madhu,

and derive the family-name of Vrishnis, or Varshiieyas, from him.
^ The text takes no notice of some collateral tribes which
appear to merit remark. Most of the other authorities, in men-
tioning the sons of Jayadhwaja, observe, that, from them came
the five great divisions of the Haihaya tribe. These, according
H-o **
Avantis,'
to the Vayu,! were the Talajanghas, Vitihotras,
*
rT^nf^ if^'SW'^ ^'^fT^FTT^ci; I
He had a hundred sons,—
"Vrishiu and others."
f Gotra,
X The Translator had "Madhavas",
although the original runs: W^-
§ In Professor Johnson's Selections from the Mahdhhdrata, p. 46, note 7,
Professor Wilson seems to consider, but with little probability of cor-
rectness, as one race "the Yadavas, Jadavas, Jados, or Jats."

It has been speculated that "the Jartikas of the Malidbhdrata and the
Puraiias represent the Jat's," and that the Jat's "were » * transformed
into the Jatano, or Gitano, the Gypsies modern Europe," Sir H. M.
of
Elliot's Appendix to the Arabs in The same author
Sind, pp. 148, 67.
remarks, as to writing Jat or Jat, that "the difference of the long and
short a is a mere fashion of spelling, and shows no difference of origin,
family, or habit." The two words, properly represented, are Jat and Jat'.
Also see Professor Lassen's Indische Alterthumskunde, Vol. II., p. 877,
note 5. But the fullest extant dissertation on the Jat's will be found in
Sir H. M. Elliot's Supplemental Olossary, Vol. I., pp. 411— 416.
il
In the best MSS. I find Vrishiii.
^ My MSS. give: Virahotras, Bhojas, Avartis (or Avantis), Tundi-

keras, and Talajanghas. The Linga-purdna has: Vitihotras, Haryatas,
Bhojas, Avantis, and Siirasenas.
" Corrected, here and below, from "Avantyas"; the original, in some
MSS., — see the last note, — being ^H'^nT'm-
BOOK IV., CHAl". XI. 59
Tnndikeras, and Jatas. f The Matsya and Agni omit the first,
'^
and substitute Bhojas; and the hitter are included in the list in
the Brahma, Padma, Linga, and Ilari Van'isa. For J alas tlie
reading is Sanjatas or Sujatas.+ The Brahma Puraiia§ has,
also, Bharatas, who, as "well as the Sujatas, are not commonly

specified, it is said, 'from their great number.' They are, in all
probability, invented, by the compiler, out of the names of the

text, Bharata and Sujati.JI The situation of these tribes is
Central India; for the capital of theTalajanghas was Mahishmati,1[

or Chuli-Maheswar, ** — still called, according to Colonel Tod,
Sahasra bahu ki basti, 'the village of the Thousand-armed,' that
is, of Kartavirya. Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I.,
p. 39, note. The Tundikeras and Vitihotras are placed, in the

geographical lists, behind the Vindhyan Mountains; and the ter-
mination -kairaff is common in the valley of the Narmada, as
Bairkaira, &c. ; or we may have Tundikera abbreviated, as

Tundari, on the Taptee. The Avantis were in Ujjayini;^ and
the Bhojas were in the neighbourhood, probably, of Dluir, in
Malwa. §§ These tribes must have preceded, then, the llajput
tribes by whom these countries are now occupied, or: Rahtors,

Chauhans, Pawars, Gehlots, and the rest. There are still some
vestiges of them; and a tribe of Haihayas still exists "near the
* Tauuclikeras, according to the Brahma-purdna and Harivama.

f Nowhere do I Had this name.
+ As in the Harivainia, si. 1895.
§ And so the IlarivatUsa.
II
Vide supra, p. 57, note §.
^ "What ground is there for this assertion?

**
See Vol. II., p. 166, note 8.
ft The correct form is I§^, which is, doubtless, corrupted from X^Z?
'village'.
II Has this statement any foundation beyond the fact that Ujjayini was
called Avanti? See Vol. III., p. 246, note 2.
§§ At least, a Bhoja— one ofsome half dozen kings of that name,

known to India, — reigned at Dhara in the eleventh century. See Vol. II.,
p. 159.
M. Vivien de Saint-Martin would identify the Bhojas with the Bhotias.
Geographic du Veda, p. 136.
60 VISHNU PURANA.
very top of the valley of Sohagpoor, in Rhagel-khund, aware of

their ancient lineage, and, thongh few in number, are still cele-
brated for their valour." Tod's Annals, &c. of Rajastlian, Vol. 1.,
p. 39. The scope of the traditions regarding themêspecially, of

their overrunning the country, along with Sakas and other foreign
tribes, in the reign preceding that of Sagara (see Vol. III.,
p. 289), — indicates their foreign origin, also; and, if we might

trust to verbal resemblances, we might suspect, that the Hayas
and Ilaihayas of the Hindus had some connexion with the Hia,
Hoiei-ke, Hoiei-hu, and similarly denominated Hun or Turk
tribes who make a iigure in Chinese history.* Deguignes,
Histoire Generale des Huns, Vol. I., Part I., pp. 7, 55, 231;
Vol, I., Part II., pp. 253, &c. At the same time, it is to be ob-
served, that these tribes do not make their appearance until some
centuries after the Christian era, and the scene of their first ex-
ploits is far from the frontiers of India: the coincidence of ap-
pellation may be, therefore, merely accidental, f In the word
Haya, which, properly, means 'a horse,' it is not impossible,
however, that we have a confirmatory evidence of the Scythian
origin of the Haihayas, as Colonel Tod supposed; although we
cannot, with him, imagine the word 'horse' itself is derived from
Haya.t Annals, &c. of Rajasthan, Vol. I., p. 76.
• Colonel Tod speculates that "The Hihya [Haihaya] race, of the line
of Boodha, may claim affinity with the Chinese race which first gave
monarchs to China." Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Vol. I., p. 39,
note f.
t See Vol. II., p. 134, note f.

+ It is not at all clear that Colonel Tod proposes such a derivation.
CHAPTER XII.
Descendants of Kroshtu. Jyamagha's connubial affection for his
wife Saibya: their descendants kings of Vidarbha and Chedi.
KROSHTU,* named
the son of Yaclu/ had a son
was Swahi;"t his son was Ru-
Vi'ijmivat;^f his son
shadgu;'^§ his son was Chitraratha; his son was
Sasabindu, who was lordU of the fourteen great
!l
gems;^ he had a hundred thousand wives and a

'
In the Brahma Puraiia and Hari Vamsa, we have two fa-
milies from Kroshli'-i; one, which is much the same as that of the
text; the other makes short work of a long story, as we shall
again notice.
**
^ Vajravat: Kiirma.
^
Santiift Kurma. Swaha: Matsya. Trisanku : t! Linga.§§
* Vishaiiisu: Agni. Rishabha: |j i|
Linga. Kusika: Kurma. 11
***
Ruseku Bhagavata.
:
^
Or articles the best of their kind;ftf seven animate, and
*
So read all my MSS., instead of the "Krosht'ri" of the former
edition. Vide supra, p. 53, note f.
t And so the Vdyu-purdna, Liiiga-ptirdi'ia, Kurma-purdiia, &c. Va-

riants of our text are Yrijinivat, Vvijinivat, and Brihaddhwaja.
X Variants: Sahi and Ahi.
§ The Translator misread this name as "Riishadrii". Two of my MSS. have
Urus'anku. The reading of the best MSS. of the Harivamki is Rushadgu.
II
In the Rdmdyana, Bdla-kdMa, LXX., 28, the Sasabindus are named
in connexion with the Haihayas, Tdlajanghas, and Siiras.
^ Chakravartin.
** See note f, above. ff I find Khyati.
Vrijinavat: Bhdgavata-purdiia.
XX In the Li/u/a-purdiia and Kusankii as his son.

I find Swatin(?),
§§ The Vdyu-purdna and Brahma-purdna have Swahi.

nil I do not find
that the Linga-purdna gives this name, or any at
all, between Kusanku and Chitraratha. 1^ I find Kusanku.
***Rasadu seems to be the reading of the Vdyu-purdna; Ushadgu, that
of theBrahma-purdna.
ttt The commentary on the V ishnu-purdiia gives one set of these "gems",
:
G2 VISHNU I'URANA.
million of sons/ The most renowned of them were

Prithuyasas, Prithukarman,* Prithnjaya,t Prithu-
seven iuaiiiinate: a wife, a priest, + a general, a charioteer, § a
body of foot-soldiers, II
a horse, and an elephant, (or, instead of
the last three, an executioner, an encomiast, a reader of the
Vedas); and, a chariot, an umbrella,! a jewel, a sword, a shield,

a banner, and a treasure.
'
The text states this in plain prose; but the Vayu quotes a
verse which makes out but a hundred hundred or 10.000 sons
from the Dliarma-scu'nhitd, a metrical work; and Sridhara, in his scholia
on the Bliu(/avata-purdna, IX., XXIIL, ai, gives another set, from the
Mdrkaudeya-piirdna. The first-named set is that represented by Pro-
fessor Wilson ; but his parenthetical substitntes are derived from some
source unknown to me.
The extract from the Dharma-samhitd is as follows:
^^^TT Tmf^ ^t^t ^^^frf'fTR: II
Sridhara's quotation from the MdrkaMtya-yurdita I have not succeeded

in vcrifyinf,'':
* Pi'ithudharma : Vdyu-purdna.
t In the Vdyu-purdna I find Prithunjaya.
+ Purohiia.
§ Rathakht; 'a car-maker '
(?).
II
Patti.
^ I find no reading but chakra, a word of various meanings, 'army'

being one of tliem.
BOOK IV., CHAP. xn. 63
ki'rtti, and Pritliusravas.f Tlie son of

Pi-itbii(lana,*
the last of these six^was Tamas;^ his son was Usa-

nas,''+ who celebrated a hundred sacrifices of the
horse; his son was Siteyus;^§ his son was Rukniaka-

vacha:^ his son was Paravrit, who had five sons, il
'
The Matsya has the first, third, and fifth of our text, and
Pfithudharma, Prithukirtti, and Piithuniat. The Kiirma has,
also, six names. If but makes as many successions.

^ Suyajna: Agni, Brahma, Matsya.** Dharnia: Bhagavata. ff
^ Ushat : Brahma. Hari Van'isa.
'
Sitikshu: Agni. Sineyus : Brahma. +t Ruchaka§§: Bhaga-
vata. The Vayu has Marutta and KambaUibarhis, brothers,
instead.
* Considerable variety prevails here. The Brahma and Hari
Vamsa have Marutta, ||il
the Rajarshi (a gross blunder: see Vol. III.,
p. Kambalabarhis, Sataprasuti, Rukmakavacha; the Agni,

243),
Marutta, Kambalabarhis, Rukmeshu; whilst the Bhagavata makes
Ruckaka son of Usanas, and father to the five princes who, in
* Prithudatri: Vdyu-purdna.
t He alone is named in the Bralima-'purdna and Harivamsa.
The Linga-piirdna has Sasahindii, Anantaka, Yajna, Dhi'iti, llsanas.
I
§ Thus read two MSS., while Satayus and Satavapus are

found in
others. P>ut the ordinary lection is Siteshu; and so read the Kurma-
furdna and Linga-furd;na.

II
In the Kurma-purd/in, he has only one son, Jyamagha.
f Prithuyasas, Pvithukarman, Pi'ithujaya, Prithusravas, and Prithu-
sattama. Usanas is son of the last.

** And the Harivamsa.
tt The Vdyu-purdna has something different; but I am unable to de-
cipher what it is.
XI And the Harivamsa.

See note 5 in this page, and note 1 in
§§ Corrected from "Purujit".
the next.
Also read Maruta, in several MSS. See, further, note : in the fol-
nil
lowing page.
64 VISHNU PUR AN A.
Rukmeshu, Prithurukma,* Jyamagha, Palita, and Ha-

rita/f To this day the followmg verse relating to
Jyamagha "Of all the husbands submis-
is repeated:
sive to their wives, who have been, or who will be, the
most eminent is the king Jyamagha,^ who was the
the text, are the grandsons of Rukmakavacha.+

'
The Bhagavata has Purujit, Rukma, § Rukmeshu, Prithu,
and Jyamagha. The Vayu reads the two last names Parigha
and HariJ The Brahma and Hari Vau'isa insert Parajit*![ as the
father of the five named as in the text.*'""
^ Most of the other authorities mention, that the elder of the
five brothers, Rukmeshu, succeeded his father in the sovereignty;
and that the second, Prithurukma, remained in his brother's ser-

vice. Palita and Harita were set over Videha (f^^f^ f^rfT
^^f^ Lingaff) I
or Tirhoot; and Jyamagha went forth to settle
where he might: according Vayu, he conquered Madhya-

to the
desa (the country along the Narmadii), Mekala, and the Suktimat
mountains, tt So the Brahma Parana states, that he established
himself along the Rikshavat mountain, and dwelt in Suktiraati.
He names his son, as we shall see, Vidarbha. The country so
* Corrected, here aud below, from " Prithurukraan ". The word oc-
curs ill the midst of a comiôuiu]. For its form as given above, see the
Harivamsa, .H. 1980, with which the Vdyu-purdila, «&c. agree.
t One of my MSS. gives Paraviit but one son, Rulimeshu, and makes
him father of Prithurukma and the rest.
X This is not exact, as appears from note 1 in this page. The Linga-
purdna has Siteshu, Maruta, Kambalabarhis, Rukmakavacha.
§ Corrected from "Rukman".
II
And so reads the Linga-purdtia.
^ Instead of Paravrit.
** Only they have Hari, not Harita; and, in some MSS., Palita, for Palita.
tt Prior Section, LXVIII., 33.

II It does not appear, from my MSS. of the Vdyu-purd/ia, that
mention is made of Madhyadesa. The names occur of Narmada, Mekala,

Mi'ittikavati, Suktimati, and the Rikshavat mountains:
BOOK IV., CHAP. XII. 65
husband of Saibya." Saibya was barren; but Jyama-

gba* was so much afraid of her, that he did not take
any other wife. On one occasion, the king, after a
desperate conflict, with elephants and horse, defeated
a powerful foe, who, abandoning wife, children, kin,
army, treasure, and dominion, fled. When the enemy
was put to flight, Jyamagha beheld a lovely princess
left alone and exclaiming "Save me, father! Save me,
brother!" as her (large) eyes rolled wildly with affright.
The king was struck by her beauty, and penetrated
with affection for her, and said to himself: "This is
fortunate. I have no children, and am the husband

of a sterile bride. This maiden has fallen into my
hands, to rear up to me posterity. I will espouse her.
But, first, I will take her in my car, and convey her
to my palace, where I must request the concurrence
called is Berar; and, amongst his descendants, we have the

Chaidyas, or princes of Baghelkhand and Chandail,f and Da-
sarha (more correctly, perhaps, Dasarna, Chhattisgarh + ) ; so that
this story of Jyamagha's adventures appears to allude to the first
settlement of the Yadava tribes along the Narmada, more to the
south and west than before.
Something very similar is read in the Linga-purdna and also in the

Brahma-purdna.
* "Though desirous of progeny": "^llrtjehl^ft ^jf^ I
t That the ancient Chedi is not represented by Baghelkhaiia and

Chandail, is now settled beyond all doubt. See Vol. II., p. 157, note §§.
The Pandits of Central India, beguiled by distant verbal similarity,

maintain that Chedi is one with the modern District of Chundeyree
(Chanderi); and this groundless identification has even found its way
into popular literature. See the Hindi Premasdgara, Chapter LIII.

I I have questioned this position. See Vol. XL, p. 160, note f.
IV. 5
66 VISHNU PURANA.
of the queen in these nuptials." Accordingly, he took

the princess into his chariot, and returned to his own
capital.
When Jyamagha's approach was announced, Saibya

came to the palace-gate, attended by the ministers,
the courtiers, and the citizens, to welcome the victo-
rious monarch. But, when she beheld the maiden
standing on the left hand of" the king, her lips swelled
and slightly quivered with resentment, and she said to

Jyamagha: "Who is this light-hearted damsel that is
with you in the chariot?" The king, unprepared with
a reply, made answer precipitately, through fear of his
queen: "This is my daughter-in-law." "I have never
had a son," rejoined Saibya; "and you have no other
children. Of what son of yours, then, is this girl the
wdfe?"f The king, disconcerted by the jealousy and
anger which the words of Saibya displayed, made this
reply to her, in order to prevent further contention:
"She is the young bride of the future son whom thou
shalt bring forth." Hearing this, Saibya smiled gently,
and said "So be it;" and the king entered into his
great palace.
In consequence of this conversation regarding the
birth of a son having taken place in an auspicious con-
junction, aspect, and season, + the queen, although
passed the time of women, became, shortly afterwards,
pregnant, and bore a son. His father named him Vi-
* According to some MSS., simply "at the side of".
+ Lagna, hord, ainiuka, and avayava. The scholiast defines hord to

be half a rdii; athsaka, a ninth of one; and avayava, a twelfth of one.
—
BOOK IV., CHAP. XII. 67
darblia, and married him to the damsel he had brought

home.'^' They had three sons, Kratha, Kaisika/f —
and Romapada.^ The son of Romapada was Babhra;^
and his son was Dhriti.'* The son of Kaisika was
Chedi,t whose descendants were called the Chaidya
kings. ^ The son of Kratha was Kunti § his son wâs
"^
;
'
The Bhagavata has Kusa; the Matsya, Kausika. ||
All the
authorities agree in specifying three sons.
' Lomapada: Agni. II
' Vastu: Vayu. Kriti: Agni.

* Ahuti:Vayu. Iti:Padma. Dyuti Matsya. Bhiiti Kurma."* : :
This latter is singular, in carrying on the line of Romapada for
twelve generations further, ff

* The Bhagavata, however, makes the princes of Chedi con-
tinuous from Romapada; as, Babhru, Dhnti,^ Usika, Chedi
the Chaidyas, amongst whom were Damaghosha and Sisupala.
^ Kumbhi: Padma.
* The original runs : cf^ ^ f^'Â X^ "RHT "TT^ ^% I ¥^

fff ^ qT*IM^^ The scholiast says, in explanation : ^^ | f^^^: I
^ fe^TH^^^
I
I ^T^^^ ^^TTfTfyrrrT^Tf^^TflPl I
This obe-
dient youth, then, because of his father's prediction, married a woman
who, it seems, may have been of nubile age before he was born.
f Two of my best MSS. have Kausika.

I Chidi(?): Vdyu-purdna.
§ 9ff^^ ^^T^^^ ^f^TH^ I

"Kunti was offspring of Kratha,
son of the so-called daughter-in-law," Comment: ^TT'^T^ I ^ÎTT^^
Ij
And so the Vdyu-purdiia, the Kurma-purd/m, the Linga-purana, &c.
f Add the Vdyu-purdim, the Harivamsa, &c. The Linga-purdna reads
Romapada,
" I find Dhfiti, The Linga-purdna has Sudhiiti.
descendants of Dhriti. Some
ft There seem to be names of only seven
of Kausika's descendants, also, are particularized. But the state of my
MSS. does not warrant further detail with certainty.
\X Ki'iti is the ordinary reading.

5*
68 VISHNU PUR ANA.
Vrishni;^ his son was Nirvriti;^* his son was Dasarha;

his son was Vyoman;t his son was Jimiita; his son
was Vikriti;^: his son was Bhimaratha;§ his son \yas
Navaratha;^ his son was Dasaratha;^ his son was Sa-
kuni; his son was Karainbhi;|| his son was Deva-
rata;1f his son was Devakshattra;^ his son was Ma-
**
'
Dhfishta: Vayu. Dhrishti: Matsya.
^ Nivfitti: Vayu. ft Nidhriti: Agni. The Brahma makes
three sons,— Avanta, Dasarha, and Baliviishahan. In the Linga,
'* destroyer
it is said, of Dasarha, that he was cIT^TftlW^^*,
of the host of copper (faced; European?) foes.'
' Vikala: Matsya.

* Nararatha: Brahma, Hari Vamsa.§§
* Dridharatha: Agni. Devarata: Linga. HH
^
Soma: Linga. tIF Devanakshattra: Padma.
•
One MS. has Nirdhriti; another, Nivi'itti. The Linga-purdiia has Ni-
preceded by Ranadhrisht'a.
dhriti, The Kurma-purdiia gives Nivritti,
t Two MSS. give, like the Bhdgavata-purdna,
Vyoma. The Vdyu-pu-
rdna has Vyoman; the Linga-purdna, Vyapta.
One of my best MSS. of the Vishnu-purdna inserts Abhijit after Vyoman.
+ In three copies, Vankriti.
§ The Vdyu-purdiia interposes Rathavara between Bhimaratha and
Navaratha.
Karambhaka: Vdyu-purdiia. Karambha, in the Linga-purdna; also,
II
in the Kiirma-purdna, which has, hereabouts, numerous names, &c. which

I am unable to make out in my MSS.
% And so the Linga-purdna, &c. Devaraj: Kurma-purdna.
•* Vfita: Linga-purdna.
tt My MSS. have Nirvritti, also.
X\ In my MSS. there is a very different reading:
ÛTIT %^ffr ^T^T ÎTfriW^^- !
present chapter,
§§ This work— and so the Brahina-purdtia— has, in the
many other peculiarities, here unnoticed, as to proper names.
lill
Dridharatha, in my MSS.
%% I find Devakshattra there.
BOOK IV., CHAP. XII. G9
dhu;^ his son was Anavaratha;* his son was Kuru-
vatsa; his son was AnLiratba;f his son was Paruhotra;

his son was Aihsu;: his son was Satwata,§ from whom
'
There is great
70 VISHNU PURANA.
were termed Satwiitas. This

the princes of this house
was the progeny of Jyamagha; by Ustening to the
account of whom, a man is purified from his sins.
The Linga* has Purushaprabhu, Manwat, Pratardana, Satwata;

and the Agni, Dravavasu, Puruhuta, Jantu, and Satwata. Some
of these originate, no doubt, in the blunders of copyists; but they
cannot, all, be referred to that source.
•
My best MSS. have: Madhu, Kuruvaiiisa or Kuruvaiiisaka, Ann,
Aiiisu and Purudwat, Satwa (son of Aiiisu), Satwata.
CHAPTER XIII.
Sons of Satwata. Bhoja princfes of Miittikavati. Surya the friend

of Sattrajita : appears to him in a bodily form : gives him the
Syamantaka gem : its brilliance and marvellous properties.
Sattrajita gives it to Prasena, who is killed by a lion: the lion
killed by the bear Jambavat. Krishna, suspected of killing

Prasena, goes to look for him in the forests: traces the bear
to his cave : fights with him for the jewel : the contest pro-
longed: supposed, by his companions, to be slain: he overthrows

Jambavat, and marries his daughter, Jambavati: returns, with
her and the jcAvel, to Dwaraka: restores the jewel to Sattrajita,
and marries his daughter, Satyabhama. Sattrajita murdered by
Satadhanwan: avenged by Krishna. Quarrel between Krishna
and Balartima. Akrura possessed of the jewel: leaves Dwaraka.
Public calamities. Meeting of the Yadavas. Story of Akrura's
birth: he is invited to return: accused, by Krishna, of having
the Syamantaka jewel : produces it in full assembly: it remains

in his charge : Krishna acquitted of having purloined it.
THE sons of Satwata* were Bhajin,f Bhajamana,

Divya, Andhaka,: Devavndha,§ Mahabhoja, and
Vnshni/|| Bhajamanal had three sons, Nhni,^ Kri-
'
The Agni acknowledges but four sons; but all the rest
* Variant: Satwata; and so throughout this chapter. Satwata's wife
-was Kausalya, according to the Vdyu-purdria, Brahma-purdna, and Ilari-
vamia.
t Corrected from "Bhajina".
+ For the conflicting accounts of his parentage, see Goldstiicker's Sanskrit
Dictionary, sub voce.

§ Corrected, in this chapter, from "Devavriddha".
II
Satwata's sons, according to the Bhdgavata-piird/ia, IX., XXIV., 6, 7,
were Bhajamana, Bhaji, Divya, Vfishni, Devavfidha, Andhaka, and Ma-
habhoja.
^ He was skilled in the Dhamrveda, the Kurma-purdna alleges.
72 VISHNU PURANA.
kana/* and Vrishni,^ by one wife, and as many f by

another, t—Satajit, Sahasrajit, and Ayutajit/^§ The son
of Devavridha was Babhru, of whom this verse is re-
cited: "We hear, when afar, and we behold, w^hen
agree in the number, [j

and, mostly, in the names. Mahabhoja is
sometimes read Mahabhaga. IT
"^
Krimi: Brahma,** Agni, Kiirma. ff
^ Pariava: Vayu. Kramaiia: Brahma. +1 Kfiparia: Padma.
Kinkina Bhagavata. §§
:
' Dhrishthi: BhagavataJ| |]

Brahma. HIT
^ The Brahma and Hari Varhsa add, to the first three, Siira
and Puranjaya,*** and, to the second, Dasaka. fff
• Corrupted, in some of my MSS., into Krikwana and Krinwana.
t This second family is unrecognized by the Kurma-ptirdna.

J Both wives bore the name of Sfinjaya, agreeably to the Vdyu-pu-
rdna and Harivamm.
§ Professor Wilson had "Satajit, Sahasrajit, and Ayutajit"; but, in
all my MSS. but one, I find as above. All the names are, apparently,
different in the Vdyu-purdna, my copies of which are, here, very illegible.
The Linga-purdna has Ayutayus, Satayus, and Harshakrit, with Sfinjaya
as their mother, and does not name the first set of sons at all.
II
Not so.See the end of the next note.
% As in the Linga-purdna; Mahabahu, in the Brahna-purdna and Ha-
rivamm. Add: for Bhajin, Bhajana, Linga-purdna; Bhogin, Brahma-
purd/ia and Harivamm. Also see note in the preceding page. ]j
The Linga-purdna reads, instead of Bhajamana, bhrdjamdna, and makes

it an epithet of Bhajana.
** And Harivai'nia.
•j-f I find Nisi(?) chere. Nimlochi: Bhdgavata-piirdna.

++ And so reads the Harivainia.
§§ Kfitaka: Kurma-purdna.
II II
Vfishni is the accepted lection.
%% Vfisha, in my MSS. The Harivamia has Dhfishfa, There is no

third son in the Ktirma-purdna.
*'"
And so adds the Vdyu-purdna.
ttt This is the reading of my best MSS. Professor Wilson had "Da-
saka", The Vdyu-purdna, in my MSS., has Vamaka.
BOOK IV., CHAP. XIII. 73
nigh, that Babhru is the first of men, and Devavi'idha

is equal to the gods. Sixty-six persons, following the
precepts of one, and six thousand and eight, who were
f Ma-
disciples* of the other, obtained immortality."
habhoja was a pious prince: his descendants were the
Bhojas, the princes of MrittikavatiV + thence called
Marttikavatas.'^§ Vrishni had two sons, Sumitra and
Yudhajit:^ from the former, Anamitrali and Sini were
'
By the Parriasa river: IF Brahma Puraria: a river in Malwa.
' These are made, incorrectly, the descendants of Babhru, in
the Hari Vamsa. **

^ The Bhagavata, Matsya, and Vayu agree, in the main, as to
the genealogy that follows, with our text. The Vayu states that
Vrishni had two wives, Madri and Gandhari: by the former he

had Yudhajit and Anamitra, and, by the latter, Sumitra and De-
vamidhusha. ff The Matsya also names the ladies, but gives Su-
• So the scholiast explains the word purusha here.
^: %^ ^^^Wt "^^^Tfv: ^'t: ii
These stanzas occur in the Linga-purdna, Prior Section, LXVIIL,

6 8, —
difference,
and in the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XXIV., 9, 10, with the sole
in both works, of 'sixty-five' for 'sixty-six'. Also compare the Hari-
vama, si. 2011—2013. The Vdyu-purdna &c. have very different numbers.
The commentator dleges that the city was called Mi'ittikavana:
X
^Tt^^T^ 'n^ ST'l I 'f^^ f^fTT ^T ^frNT^flT: I

In the
text, no city at all is named, as appears from the next note.
§ The original has only cTl^T^^ ^^T îf^^^ffT ^^f : I
11
A single MS. has Anumitra.
See Vol 152, notes 2 and
f II., p. §.
•* SI. 2014.
•j-j- There seems to be something wrong here; for my MSS. of the Vdyu-
purdria agree in reading:
:
74 VISHNU PURANA.
born.^* The son of Anamitra was Nighna,f who had

two sons, Prasena and Sattrajita.t The divme Aditya
(the Sun) was the friend of the latter.
On one occasion, Sattrajita, whilst walking along the
mitra to Gandhari, and makes Madri the mother of Yudhajit,

Devamidhusha, Anamitra, and Sini. The Agni has a similar
arrangement, but substitutes Dhrishta for Vfishrii, and makes him

the fifteenth in descent from Satwata. The Linga, § Padma,
Brahma Puranas, and Hari made great confusion,
Varhsa|| have
by altering, apparently without any warrant, the name of Vrishni
to Kroshtfi.
'
The BhagavatalF makes them sons of Yudhajit; the Matsya
and Agni, us observed in the preceding note, his brothers, as
well as Sumitra's.
Here, Gandhari is rejnesented as having only one son, Sumitra; and

Madri has Yudhajit, Devamidhusha, Anamitra, and Sini.
Instead of Devamidhusha, Professor Wilson gave, by inadvertence,
"Devimidhush", as the name in the Vdyu-piird/ia. At the same time,
he found, in the Matsya-purdna, "Devamidhusha".
The Sanskrit runs: 1% ^t^T^ -gTinf^W 5^'JH^fi: I fTcT"
'^T'Tfir^fjI^ ff^T Anamitra and Sini

I
are, thus, other sons of
Vrishni. The Kurma-purdna says, expressly
t Nimna: Bhdgavata-purdna.
X Corrected, everywhere, from "Satrajit". The Bhdgavata-purdna has
both Sattrajita and Sattrajit; the Lmga-purdna, the latter. In the Vdyu-
purdna, the reading seems to be Sakrajit.
§ This Puraiia, in my MSS., has Vfishiii, not Kroshfi'i. It states, too,
that he had Sumitra by Gandhari, and, by Madri, Devamidhusha, Ana-

mitra, and Sini.
II
According to my best MSS., Gandhari is mother of Sumitra, and
of him only Madri, ; of Yudhajit, Devamidhusha, and Anamitra.
t IX., XXIV., 12.
—
BOOK IV., ciiAr. XIII. 75
sea-shore, addressed his mind to Siirya, and hymned

his praises; on which, the divinity appeared and stood
before him. Beholding him in an indistinct shape, Sat-
tnijita said to the Sun: "I have beheld thee, lord, in
the heavens, as a globe of fire. Now do thou show

favour unto me, that I may see thee in thy proper
form."* On this, the Sun, taking the jewel called
Syamantaka from off his neck, placed it apart; and
Sattrajita beheld him of a dwarfish stature, wdth a
body like burnished copper, and with slightly reddish
eyes.f Having offered his adorations, the Sun desired
him to demand a boon; and he requested that the
jewel might become The Sun presented it to him,
his.
and then resumed Having ob-

his place in the sky.
tained the spotless gem of gems, Sattrajita wore it on

his neck; and, becoming as brilliant, thereby, as the
Sun himself, irradiating all the regions with his splen-
dour, he returned to Dwaraka. The inhabitants of that
citv, beholding him approach, repaired to the eternal
male, Purushottama, — who, to sustain the burthen of
the earth, had assumed a mortal form (as Krishna),

and said to him: "Lord, assuredly the (divine) Sun is
coming to visit you." But Krishna: smiled, and said:
"It is not the divine Sun, but Sattrajita, to whom

Aditya has presented the Syamantaka gem; and he
now wears it. Gro and behold him without apprehen-
sion." Accordingly, they departed. Sattrajita, having
: Here, as just before, the Translator has supplied the name of Kfishiia.
76 VISHNU PURANA.
gone to his house, there deposited the jewel, which

yielded, daily, eight loads* of gold, and, through its
marvellous vh-tue, dispelled all fear of portents, wild

beasts, fire, robbers, and famine, f
Achyuta was of opinion + that this wonderful gem
should be in the possession of Ugrasena;§ but, al-
though he had the power of taking it from Sattrajita,

he did not deprive him of it, that he might not occa-
sion any disagreement amongst the family. Sattrajita,
on the other hand, fearing that Krishna would ask ||
him for the jewel, transferred it to his brother Pra-

sena. Now, was the peculiar property of this jewel,
it
that, although it was an inexhaustible source of good
to a virtuous person, yet, when worn by a man of bad

character, it wâs the cause of his death. Prasena,
having taken the gem and hung it round his neck,
mounted his horse, and went to the woods to hunt.
In the chase, he was killed IF by a lion. The lion, taking
the jewel in his mouth, was about to depart, when he
was observed and killed by Jambavat, the king of the
bears, who, carrying off the gem, retired into his cave,
and gave it to his son Sukumaraka** to play with.
* Bhdra, which here, more probably, imports a weight of gold equal

to twenty tulds. So the commentator understands the term; and the
same yiew is taken by Sridhara, commenting on the Bhdgavaia-purdna,
X., LVI., 11.
: Read 'wished', f^tj^t ^^ I
§ Called, in the original, or 'king". He is spoken of further on.

i/i ;//;«;/,
II
Exchanged, by the Translator, for Achyuta.
^ And so was his horse, according to the original.
** Corrected from "Sukumara", here and everywhere below.
When some time had elapsed, and Prasena did not

appear, the Yadavas* began to whisper, one to another,
and to say:t "This is Krishna's doing. Desirous of
the jewel, and not obtaining it, he has perpetrated the
murder of Prasena, in order to get it into his pos-
session."
When these calumnious rumours came to the
knowledge of Krishna,: he collected a number of the
Yadavas, and, accompanied by them, pursued the
course of Prasena by the impressions of his horse's
hoofs. § Ascertaining, by this means, that he and his
horse had been killed by a lion, he was acquitted, by
all the people, of any share in his death. Desirous of
recovering the gem, he thence followed the steps of
the lion, and, at no great distance, came to the place
where the lion had been killed by the bear. Following
the footmarks of the he arrived at the foot of a

latter,
mountain, where he desired the Yadavas to await him,

whilst he continued the track. Still guided by the
marks of the feet, he discovered a cavern, and had
scarcely entered it, when he heard the nurse of Suku-
maraka saying him: "The lion killed Prasena; the
to
lion has been by Jambavat. Weep not, Suku-
killed
maraka. The Syamantaka is your own." Thus assured
of his object, Krishna advanced into the cavern, and
II
saw the brilliant jewel in the hands of the nurse, who
* YadulokaK.
I Bhagavat, in the original.

§ Tliescene of this hunt of Krishna's was, according to the Vdyu-
purdna, the Rikshavat and Vindhya mountains.
78 VISHNU PURANA.
\yas giving it, as a plaything, to Sukumaraka. The

nurse soon descried his approach, and, marking his
eyes fixed upon the gem with eager desire, called
loudly for help. Hearing her cries, Jambavat, full of
came
ano'er, to the cave; and a conflict ensued between
him and Achyuta, which lasted twenty-one days. The
Yadavas who had accompanied the latter -waited seven
or eight days, in expectation of his return ; but, as the
foe of Madhu still came not forth, they concluded that

he must have met his death in the cavern. "It could
not have required so many days," they thought, "to

overcome an enemy;" and, accordingly, they departed,
and returned to Dwaraka, and announced that Krishna
had been killed.
When the relations of Achyuta heard this intel-
ligence, they performed all the obsequial rites suited
to the occasion. The food and water thus offered to
Krishna, in the celebration of his Sraddha, served to
support his life and invigorate his strength in the
combat which he was engaged; whilst his adver-
in
sary, wearied by daily conflict with a powerful foe,

bruised and battered, in every limb, by heavy blows,
and enfeebled by want of food, became unable longer
to resist him. Overcome by his mighty antagonist,
Jambavat cast himself before him, and said: "Thou,
mighty being, art, surely, invincible by all the demons,
and by the spirits of heaven, earth, or hell; much less
art thou to be vanquished by mean and powerless

creatures in a human shape, and, still less, by such as
we are, who are born of brute origin. * Undoubtedly,
BOOK IV., CHAP. xrii. 79
thou art a portion of my sovereign lord, Narayana, the

defender of the universe." Thus addressed by Jam-
bavat, Krishna explained to him, fully, that he had
descended to take upon himself the burthen of the

earth, and kindly alleviated the bodily pain which the
fight, by touching him with his
bear suffered from the
hand. Jambavat again prostrated himself before
Krishna, and presented to him his daughter, Janiba-
vati, as an offering suitable to a guest.
''
He also de-
Syamantaka jewel. Although
livered to his visitor the
a o-ift from such an individual was not fit for his ac-
ceptance, yet Krishnaf took the gem, for the purpose
of clearing his reputation. He then returned, along
with (his bride) Jambavati, to Dwaraka.
When the people of Dwaraka beheld Krishna alive
and returned, they were filled with delight, so that
those who were bowed down with years recovered
youthful vigour; and all the Yadavas, men and women,
assembled round Anakadundubhi, (the father of the
hero), and congratulated him. Krishna: related to the
whole assembly of the Yadavas all that had happened,
exactly as it had befallen, and, restoring the Syaman-
taka jewel to Sattrajita, was exonerated from the crime
of which he had been falsely accused. He then led
Jambavati into the inner apartments.
When Sattrajita reflected that he had been the cause
t Achynta, in the Sanakrit.

t The original has
Bhagavat.
80 VISHNU PUllANA.
of the aspersions upon Krishna's character, he felt

alarmed; and, to conciliate the prince, he gave him to
wife his daughter, Satyabhama. The maiden had been,
previously, sought in marriage by several of the most
distinguished Yadavas, as Akrura, Kfitavarman, and
Satadhanwan,* who were highly incensed at her being
wedded to another, and leagued in enmity against Sat-
trajita. amongst them, with Akrura and
The chief
Kritavarman, said to Satadhanwanrf "This caitiff Sat-
trajita has offered a gross insult to you, as well as to
us, who solicited his daughter, by giving her to
Krishna. Let him not live. Why do you not kill him,
and take the jewel? Should Achyuta therefore enter
into feud with you, we will take your part." Upon this
promise, Satadhanwan undertook to slay Sattrajita. t
When news arrived that the sons of Pandu had been

burned in the house of wax,^§ Krishna, who knew ||
the real truth, set off for Varan avata, to allay the ani-
'
This alludes to events detailed in the Mahabharata. 1
t •^^^cT^îr^T^ l[rT^5^^^'f : I
In the passage quoted in
the last note, pramtikha is rendered "most distinguished"; here, "chief".
Read: "Akrura, Kritavarman, Satadhanwan, and other Yadavas": and
"Akrura, Kritavarman, and others."
§ Jatu, 'lac'. The house referred to was smeared and stocked with
lac and other combustibles, with the intention of burning Kunti and her
SODS in it. The design fell through, so far as they were concerned.
II
Bhagavat, in the original.
^ Adi-parvan, CXLI.— CLI. These chapters comprise a section bearing
the title of Jatugriha-parvan.
mosity of Duryodhana, and to perform the duties his

relationship required. Satadhanwan, taking advantage
of his absence, killed Sattrajita in his sleep, and took
possession of the gem. Upon this coming to the
knowledge of Satyabhama, she immediately mounted
her chariot, and, filled with fury at her father's mur-
der, repaired to Varahavata, and told her husband how
had been killed by Satadhanwan, in resent-
Sattrajita
ment of her having been married to another, and how
he had carried off the jewel; and she implored him
to take prompt measures to avenge such heinous
wrong. Krishna, who is ever internally placid, being
informed of these transactions, said to Satyabhama, as
his eyes flashed with indignation: "These are, indeed,
audacious injuries: but I will not submit to them from
so vile a wretch.* They must assail the tree, who
would the birds that there have built their nests, f
kill
Dismiss excessive sorrow: it needs not your lamen-

tations to excite any wrath.": Returning, forthwith,
to Dwaraka, Krishna § took Baladeva apart, and said
to him: "A lion slew Prasena, hunting in the forests;
and now Sattrajita has been murdered by Satadhan-

wan. As both these are removed, the jewel which be-
longed to them is our common right. Up, then; ascend
your car; and put Satadhanwan to death!"
Being thus excited by his brother, Balarama en-
gaged resolutely in the enterprise. But Satadhanwan,
§ Vasudeva, ia the Sanskrit.

IV. 6
82 VISHNU PURANA.
being aware of their hostile designs, repaired to Ki'ita-

varman, and required his assistance. Kritavarman,
however, dedined to assist him; pleading his inability
to enccaae in a conflict with both Baladeva and Krish-
na.* Satadhanwan, thus disappointed, applied to
Akrura. But he said: "You must have recourse to
some other protector. How should I be able to defend
you? There is no one, even amongst the immortals,—
whose praises are celebrated throughout the uni-
verse,— who is capable of contending with the wielder
of the discus ; stamp of whose foot the three
at the
worlds tremble; whose hand makes the wives of the
Asuras widows; whose weapons no host, however
mighty, can resist. No one is capable of encountering
the wielder of the ploughshare, who annihilates the
prowess of his enemies by the glances of his eyes, that

roll with the joys of wine; and whose vast plough-
share manifests his might, by seizing and extermina-

tino; the most formidable foes."t "Since this is the
case," replied Satadhanwan,* "and you are unable to
assist me, at least accept and take care of this jewel."

"I will do so," answered Akrura, "if you promise,
that, even in the last extremity, you will not divulge
its being in my possession. " To this Satadhanwan

agreed; and Akrura took the jewel. And the former,
mounting a very swift mare,— one that could travel a
hundred leagues a day,— fled (from Dwaraka).
• Here again the original has Vasudeva; and so frequently below.

t Akriira's speech is rendered very freely. Ki'ishi'ia and Baladeva are
eulogized, in it, under the names, respectively, of Chakrin and Sirin.
I Satadhanus is the name, in the original, here and several times

below.
Wlien Krishna heard of Satadhanwan's flight, he

harnessed his four horses,— Saibya, Sugriva, Megha-
pushpa, and Balahaka,— to his car, and, accompanied
by Balarama,* set off in pursuit. The mare (held her
speed, and) accompHshed her hundred leagues; but,
when she reached the country of Mithila, (lier strength
was exhausted, and) she (dropped down and) died. Sa-
tadhanwan,^ dismounting, continued his flight on foot,
(When his pursuers came where the mare

to the place
had perished,) Krishna said to Balarama: f "Do you
remain in the car, w^hilst I follow the villain on foot,
and put him to death. The ground here is bad; and
the horses will not fee able to drag the chariot across
it." Balarama, accordingly, stayed with the car; and
Krishna followêd Satadhanwan on foot. When he had
chased him for two kos, he discharged his discus;
and, although Satadhanwan was at a considerable dis-
tance, theweapon struck off his head. Krishna, then
coming up, searched his body and his dress for the
Syamantaka jewel, but found it not. He then returned
to Balabhadra, and told him that they had effected the
death of Satadhanwan to no purpose; for the precious
gem, the quintessence of all worlds, was not upon his
person. When Balabhadra heard this, he flew into a
violent rage, and said to Vasudeva: "Shame light upon
you, to be thus greedy of wealth! I acknowledge no
*
The Vayu calls Sudhanwan, or Satadhanwan, king of
Mithila,
•
Substituted, by the Translator, for Baladeva.
t The Sanskrit has Balabhadra, here and just below.
84 VISHND PURANA.
brotherhood with you. Here hes my path. Go whither

you have done with Dwaraka, with you,
please. I
with all our house. It is of no use to seek to impose

upon me with thy perjuries."* Thus reviling his
brother, who fruitlessly endeavoured to appease him,
Balabhadra went to the city of Videha,f where Ja-
naka^ received him hospitably; and there he remained.
Vasudeva returned to Dwaraka. It was during his
stay in the dwelling of Janaka, that Duryodhana, the

son of Dhritarashtra, learned from Balabhadra the art
of fighting with the mace. At the expiration of three
years, Ugrasena and other chiefs of the Yadavas,+
being satisfied that Krishna had rtot the jewel, went to
Yideha,§ and removed Balabhadra's|| suspicions, and
brought him home.
Akrura, carefully considering the treasures^ which
the precious jewel secured to him, constantly celebrated
'
A rather violent anachronism, to make Janaka contemporary
with Balarama.
t Yideha is a country. The name of its capital, here intended, is not

mentioned. See Vol. II., p. 165.
* I find ^Û%»T"IT^f7rf*C^^t, "Babhru, Ugrasena, and other
Yadavas."
Who is the Babhru here mentioned? There would be an anachronism
in identifying him with the Babhru, son of Devaviidha, named in p. 72,
supra.
§ Videhapuri, "the capital of Videha." See notefj above.
11 My MSS. yield 'Baladeva's'.
% The original has 'gold', suvarna.

"
religious rites,* and, purified with holy prayers/

lived in affluence for fifty-two years ;f and, through the
virtue of that gem, there was no dearth or pestllencet
in the whole country.'^ At the end of that period, Sa-
*
The text gives the commencement of the prayer; § but the
commentator does not say whence it is taken: ^^•Tlffl' "^f^^-
%^Pl" f^'^'^W^T ^T"^f?I I
"O goddess, the murderer of a
Kshattriya or Vaisya engaged in religious duties is the slayer of
a Brahman;" i. e., the crime is equally heinous. Perhaps the

last word should be ^"^fTlll 'is'.
* Some of the circumstances of this marvellous gem IF seem
to identify it with a stone of widely diffused celebrity in the
East, and which, according to the Mohammedan writers, was
given, originally, by Noah to Japheth ; the Hajarul matar of the
* Yajna, 'sacrifices.'
t ^^^Rfpr tf ^fi^t^'l" t^r^^wwfT H^^(2itfr ^"RiT^

"Wt^H "^ fT^'1" f^^fS^"^TfX!r I
"For he that kills a Kshattriya or
a Vaisya engaged in sacrifice is 07i a par, for sinfulness, with the slayer
of a Brahman: therefore he kept himself invested with the mail of re-

ligious observances for sixty-two years."
I Read "portent, famine, epidemic, or the like," TT'^t^TO'T^t^TI-
§ I am at a loss to account for Professor Wilson's supposition that

a prayer is here given. All that the scholiast says is: ^^^^rft 1
So read almost all my MSS. See note f, above.

II
M. Langlois, in his translation of the HarivaMa, Vol. I., p. 170,

%
note 4, observes: "Qu'etait-ce que cette pierre poetique d\x Syamaniaca?
On pourrait, d'apres ce recit, supposer que c'etait quelque mine de dia-
mants, qui avait repandu la richesse et I'abondance dans les etats du
prince qui la possedait. On pourrait croire aussi que le Syamantaca

etait la meme chose qne cette pierre merveilleuse appelee par les Indiens
souryacdnta, et que nous prenons quelquefois pour le cristal; ou
Men
un ornement royal, marque distinctive de I'autorite, que tous ces princes
se disputaient.
86 VISHNU PURANA.
trughna, the great-grandson of Satwata,* was killed

by the Bhojas; and, as they were in bonds of alliance
with Akriira, he accompanied them in their flight from
Arabs, Sang yeddah of the Persians, and Jeddah tash of the

Turks, the possession of which secures rain and fertility. The
author of the Habibus Siyar gravely asserts, that this stone was
in the hands of the Mongols, in his day, or in the tenth f century. I
* This does not harmonize with the descent of Satrughna given in

the next chapter, if the same person is intended in both places. More-
over, the Satrughna of the next chapter is brother of Aknira, Vide
infra, pp. 94, 95.
t This should be "sixteenth". See the end of the next note.

+ "When, after escaping the tremendous catastrophe of the Deluge,
the ark rested on Mount Jiid, and the great patriarch, either by the
direct inspiration of the Divine Being, or from the impulse of his own
discretion, proceeded to allot to his children the different quarters of
the earth, he assigned Yapheth the countries of the north and east.
to
And we are further informed, that, when the latter was about to depart
for the regions allotted to him, he requested that his father would instruct
him in some form of prayer, or invocation, that should, whenever he
required it, procure for his people the blessing of rain. In compliance
with this request, Noah imparted to his son one of the mysterious names
of God, inscribing it on a stone; which, as an everlasting memorial, he
delivered, at the same time, into his possession. Yapheth now proceeded,
with the whole of his family, to the north-east, according to appointment;
devoting himself, as is the manner of those who inhabit the boundless
plains in that quarter, to a wandering and pastoral life; and, having
instituted, for his followers, the most just and virtuous regulations for
their conduct, never failed to procure for them, through the influence of
the sacred deposit consigned to him by his father, rain and moisture for
their lands,whenever occasion made it necessary. This stone has been
denominated, by the Arabs, the Hidjer-ul-mattyr, lapis imbifer, or rain-
stone; by the Persians, Sang-ijeddali, aid-stone, or stone of power; and,
by the Turks, Jeddah-taush. And it is affirmed, that the same stone was
preserved among the Moghiils and Ouzbeks, possessing the same myste-
rious property, to the days of the author, in the beginning of the six-
teenth century." Major David Price's Chronological Retrospect^ &c.,

Vol. II., pp. 457, 458.
Dwaraka. From the moment of his departure, various

calamities, portents, snakes, dearth,* plague, f and the
like began to prevail ; so that he whose emblem is Ga-
rudat called together the Yadavas, with Balabhadra
and Ugrasena, and recommended them to consider
how it was that so many prodigies should have oc-
curred at the same time. On this, Andhaka, one of the

elders of the Yadu race, thus spake: "Wherever Swa-
phalka,§ the father of Akriira, dwelt, there famine,
plague, dearth, and other visitations were unknown.
Once, when want of rain in the kingdom of
there was
Kasiraja,!! Swaphalka was brought there, and immedi-
ately there fell rain from the heavens, t It happened,
also, that the queen of Kasiraja conceived, and was
quick with a daughter;** but, when the time of de-

livery arrived, the child issued notfrom the womb.
Twelve years passed away, and still the girl was un-
born. Then Kasiraja spake to the child, and said:
'Daughter, your birth thus delayed? Come
why is
forth. I desire to Why do you inflict this

behold you.
protracted suffering upon your mother?' Thus ad-
dressed, the infant answered: 'If, father, you will pre-
sent a cow, every day, to the Brahmans, I shall, at the

end of three years more, be born.' The king, ac-
cordingly, presented, daily, a cow to the Brahmans;
and, at the end of three years, the damsel came into
* AndvrisMi. \
t Maraka.
I Uragari, in the original; significatively, 'the enemy of snakes.'
§ For his origin, vide infra, p. 94.

II
Corrected, throughout, from "Kasiraja".
^ "God rained", ^^ ^^^.

• Ascertained, says the scholiast, for such, by means of astrology, &c.
88 VISHNU PURANA.
the world. Her father called her Gandini;* and he

subsequently gave her to Swaphalka, when he came
to his palace for his benefit. Gandini, as long as she
lived, gave a cow to the Brahmans every day. Akriira
was her son by Swaphalka; and his birth, therefore,
proceeds from a combination of uncommon excel-
lence, f When a person such as he is is absent from
us, is it likely that famine, pestilence, and prodigies +
should fail to occur? Let him, then, be invited to re-

turn. The faults of men of exalted worth must not be
too severely scrutinized. "§
Agreeably to the advice of Andhaka the elder, ||
the
Yadavas sent a mission, headed by Kesava, Ugrasena,
and Balabhadra, to assure Akrurat that no notice
would be taken of any irregularity committed by him;
and, having satisfied him that he was in no danger,
they brought him back to Dwaraka. Immediately on
his arrival, in consequence of the properties of the
jewel, the plague, dearth, famine, and every other cal-
amity and portent ceased. Krishna, observing this,
reflected, ^ that the descent of Akriira from Gandini
'
Krishna's reflecting, the commentator observes, is to be
understood of him only as consistent with the account here given
of him, as if he were a mere man ; for, as he was omniscient,
* So called because of the 'cow' given away 'daily' by her father.
11
The original calls him "elder of the Yadus", ej^cf^ 4^|fV|^^
^ Called, in the Sanskrit, Swaphalki, from the father, Swaphalka.

BOOK IV., CHAP. XIIT. 89
and Swaplialka was a cause wholly disproportionate

to such an effect, and that some more powerful in-
fluence must be exerted, to arrest pestilence and
famine. "Of a surety", said he to himself, "the great
Syamantaka jewel is in his keeping; for such, I have
heard, are amongst its properties. This Akriira, too,
has been lately celebrating sacrifice after sacrifice his :
own means are insufficient for such expenses: it is

beyond a doubt, that he has the jewel." Having come
to this conclusion, he called a meeting of all the Ya-
davas at his house, under the pretext of some festive
celebration.* When they were all seated, and the
purport of their assembling had been explained, and
the business accomplished, Krishna f entered into con-
versation with Akriira, and, after laughing and joking,
said to him: "Kinsman, you are a very prince in your
liberality; but we know very well, that the precious
jewel which was stolen by Satadhanwant was de-

livered, by him, to you, and is now in your possession,
to the great benefit of this kingdom. § So let it remain.
there was no occasion for him to reflect or reason. Krishna,
however, appears, in this story, in a very different light from

that in which he is and the adventure, it
usually represented;
may be remarked, is detached from the place in which we might
have expected to find it,— the narrative of his life,— which forms
the subject of the next Book.
f Jauardana, in the Sanskrit.

* Corrected from "Sudhanwan",— a mere slip of the pen, presumably.
But vide supra, p. 83, note 1.

90 VISHNU PURANA.
We all derive advantage from its virtues. But Bala-

bhadra suspects that I have it; and, therefore, out of
kindness to me, show it (to the assembly)." When
Akrura, who had the jewel with him, was thus taxed,
he hesitated what he should do. that I "If I deny
have the jewel," thought he, "they will search my
person, and find the gem hidden amongst my clothes.
I cannot submit to a search." So reflecting, Akrura
said to Narayana, the cause of thewhole world: "It
is true that the Syamantaka jewel was entrusted to
me by Satadhanwan.* When he went from hence, I

expected, every day, that you would ask me for it;
and with much inconvenience, therefore, I have kept
it until now.f The charge of it has subjected me to
so much anxiety, that I have been incapable of en-
joying any pleasure, and have never known a moment's
ease. Afraid that you would think me unfit to retain
possession of a jewel so essential to the welfare of the
kingdom, I forbore to mention to you its being in my
hands. But now take it, yourself, and give the care of
it to whom you please." Having thus spoken, Akrura
drew forth, from his garments, a small gold box,+ and
took from it the jewel. On displaying it to the as-
sembly of the Yadavas, the whole chamber where they
sat was illuminated by its radiance. "This", said
ffTHfTT I
* Here -we find Satadhanus again, in the Sanskrit,
* Samudgaka.
BOOK IV., CHAP. xiir. 91
Akri'ira, "is the (Syamantaka) gem, which was con-

signed tome by Satadhanwan. Let him to whom it
belongs now take it."

When the Yadavas beheld the jewel, they were
filled with astonishment, and loudly expressed their
delight. Balabhadra immediately claimed the jewel,
as his property jointly with Achyuta, as formerly
agreed upon;* whilst Satyabhama demanded it, as her
right, as it had, originally, belonged to her father.
Between these two, Krishna considered himself as an
ox between the two wheels of a cart,f and thus spake
to Akriira, in the presence of all the Yadavas: "This
jewel has been exhibited to the assembly, in order to
clear my reputation. It is the joint right of Balabhadra
and myself, and is the patrimonial inheritance of Sat-
yabhama. But this jewel, to be of advantage to the
w^hole kingdom, should be taken charge of by a person
who leads a life of perpetual continence. If worn by
an impure individual, it will be the cause of his death.
Now, have sixteen thousand wives, I am not
as I
qualified to have the care of it. It is not likely that

Satyabhama will agree to the conditions that would
entitleher to the possession of the jewel ;t and, as
to Balabhadra, he is too much addicted to wine and
the pleasures of sense to lead a life of self-denial. We
are, therefore, out of the question; and all the Yada-
^^ I
Bala and Satya are the proper names that here occur.
efi^ %rI^^*ITTr The original has nothing more.

t I
92 VISHNU PURANA.
vas, Balabhadra, Satyabhama,* and myself request you,

most bountiful Akrura, to retain the care of the jewel,
as you have done hitherto, for the general good: for
you are qualified to have the keeping of it; and, in
your hands, it has been productive of benefit to the
country. You must not decline compliance with our
request." Akrura, thus urged, accepted the jewel, and,
thenceforth, wore it, publicly, round his neck, where
itshone with dazzling brightness; and Akrura moved
about like the sun, wearing a garland of light.
He who calls to mind the vindication f of (the
character of) Krishna t from false aspersions shall
never become the subject of unfounded accusation in

the least degree, and, living in the full exercise of his
^
senses, shall be cleansed from every sin.
'
The story of the Sjamantaka gem occurs in the Bhagavata, §
Vayu, Matsya, Brahma, and Hari Variisa, |1
and is alluded to in
other Purarias. H It may be considered as one common to the
whole series. Independently of the part borne, in it, by Krishna,

it presents a curious and, no doubt, a faithful, picture of ancient
manners, — in the loose self-government of a kindred clan, in the
acts of personal violence which are committed, in the feuds
which ensue, in the public meetings which are held, and the part
that is taken, by the elders and by the women, in all the pro-
ceedings of the community.
* Here again called Satya, in the original.

f Kshdland, literally, 'washing'.
* Substituted, by the Translator, for Bhagavat.
§ X., LVI. and LVII.
II
Chapters XXXVIII. and XXXIX.
^ The version of the story given in the preceding pages is much fuller
than that of any other Purana I have examined.

—
CHAPTER XIV.
Descendants of Sini, of Anamitra, of Swaphalka and Chitraka, of
Andhaka. The children of Devaka and Ugrasena. The de-
scendants of Bhajamana. Children of Siira: his son Vasudeva:

his daughter Pritha married to Pandu her: children, Yudhish-
thira and his brothers; also Kariia, by Aditya. The sons of
Paridu by Madrf. Husbands and children of Sura's other
daughters. Previous births of Sisupala.
THE younger brother* of Anamitra f was Sini;t
his son was Satyaka; his son was Yiiyudhana, also

known by the name of Satyaki; his son was Asanga;§
his son wâs Timi;^|| his son was Yugandhara. ^ These
princes were termed Saineyas.l
'
Bhuti: Vayu. Kuiii: Bhagavata.** Dyumni: Matsya.ff
^ The Agni makes these, all, brother's sons of Satyaka, and
adds another, Kishabha, the father of Swaphalka.
• 'Son', according to two MSS. f Vide supra, p. 73.

* This Sini, according to the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XXIV., 13, was
son of Anamitra. The same work, in the stanza immediately preceding
that just referred to, recognizes the Sini of our text,— a brother of Anamitra.
The Kitrma-p., also, vide supra, p. 74, note *, — speaks of two Sinis:
Here, Sini is youngest son of Anamitra, son of Vfishiii.
From this the Vdyii-purdna differs slightly.
According to this, Sini was son of Anamitra, youngest son of Vrishiii.

The Linga-purdna , Prior Section, LXIX., 15, knows only one Sini,
the youngest son of Vrishni. (?)
§ Variants: Sanga, Sanjaya, and Asima. Jaya: Bhdgavata-purdna.
II
Kuiii, in one MS.; Srii'ii, in another.
% The Vdyu-purdtia calls them Bhautyas, as being descendants of Bhiiti.

** And so in the Linga-purdna.
Cal-
tt Bhiimi, in the Harivamsa, which here wants a stanza, in the
cutta edition.
94 VISHNU PURANA.
In the family of Anamitra, Pfisni* was born; his
son was Swaphalka/ the sanctity of whose character f

has been described: the younger brother of Swaphalka
was named Chitraka.t Swaphalka had, by Gandini,
besides Akrura, Upamadgu,§ Mfidura,|| Arime-
'
The authorities are not agreed here. Swaphalka, IF according
to the Agni, as just remarked, comes from Sini, the son of Ana-
mitra. The Bhagavata, instead of Prisni, has Vrishi'ii, son of
Anamitra;** the Brahma ff and Hari Vamsa++ have Vfishni; and
the Agni, Prishni, son of Yudhajit,§§ The Matsya also makes
Yudhcijit the ancestor of Akrura, through Rishabha and Jayanta.
Yudhajit, in the Brahma, &c., is the son of Kroshtri. || jl
* Yi'ishni, in four MSS. f "Sanctity of character" is for prahkdva.

+ Chitraratha: Bhdgavata-piinma. According to the Llnga-purd/ia,
Chitraka was son of Sumitra.
§ Two MSS. give Upamangu, as in, for instance, the Vdyu-purdna;
which then has Mangn, as has the Brahmd-purdna.
Several of the notes that follow should 1)C compared together, and
with note ^ in p. 96, infra.
II
Also read Mridara and Mi'idn. The Brahma-purdi'ia has Madura.
^ According to the Swaphalka was son of Yudhajit,
Liiuja-purdna,
son of a son of Madri. son, the commentator says, was
This unnamed
Devaniidliusha; and ho explains the term Varshiii, applied to Swaphalka,
as signifying "founder of the Vrishi'ii family". The text is as follows:
Comment: ^TTÎT: frT^ ^^^W^^^TT^??^"^^ g^TTf^TT:
** Vrishi'ii was Anamitra's third son, according to the Puraua referred

to: IX.,XXIV., 14.
tt My MS. gives Prishni, son of Yudhajita. XI SI. 1908.
§§ The Vdyu-purdna has:
NJ ^ s» \e ^ \»
Compare the first verse of the stanza quoted in note ^, ahove; and see
the Ilarivamia, il. 2080. |li| Vide supra, p. 73, note 3, ad fintm-
:
BOOK IV., CHAP. XIV. 95
jaya,* Giri, Ksliattropakshattra,f Satruglina,t Ari-

mardaiia, § Dharmadhrik, Drislitasarman,1I Gandha-
||
"^"'
moclia, Avalia, and Prativaha. f f He had, also, a
^
++
daughter, Sutara. ++
'
The different authorities vary in the reading of these names,
* Professor Wilson had "Sarimejaya"; his Hindu-made English version,

''Ravi, Sarinjaya," preceded by "Mi'ida". The original, -
T'^^f^lJT-
f^Tf^'^*'? might be resolved into "Miidu, Ravisa, Arimejaya": but that
this is corrupt appears from the high authority of the Vdyu-purd/ia,
which reads
t These names are written, in the original, as one long compound;

and it is more likely than not that we should here read "Kshattra,
Upakshattra". Professor Wilson's Bengal translation has "Girikshetra,
Upakshetra". One MS. gives Kshattropeta. The Vdyu-purd/ia gives, plainly,
Girirakshas and Yaksha.
I Satruhan : BraJnna-'purdna.
§ Three MSS. have Avimardana. The Vdyu-purd/ia seems to give
Parimardana.
II
Dharmabhrit: Vdyu-purd/ia and Brahma-purdiia.
^ Corrected from "Dhrisht'asarman".
One MS. has Drisht'adharma,
** Professor Wilson had, instead of two names, "Gandhamojavaha";
and all my MSS. but one— which has Gandhamohavaha, might be read —
to yield Gandhamojavaha. There is little risk in the alteration which I
have ventured; as the Vdyu-purd/ia has
****** ^[sîft^^^Tx?-?:: I
IffT^Tf 3Tf?f^Tft ^ ^ft^T WTTl^T II
ft In the Brahna-purdiia there are, hereabouts, in my single MS., many

partly undecipherable, and yet indubitable, variations from the Vish/iu-
purd/ia. The Uariva/'/iia adds to our Purai'ia, with reference to the
chapter under annotation, not a few particulars which it has seemed
scarcely worth while to swell the notes by transcribing, particularly as
that work is so easily accessible.
XX The Vdyu-purd/ia calls her Vasudeva. See the Sanskrit quotation

in note «*, above. In the Li/iga-purd/ia, her name is Sudhara, according
to my MSS.; in the Hariva/hsa, Sundari.

96 VISHNU PURANA.
Devavat and Upadeva* were the sons of Aki'ura.f

The sons of Chitrakat were Prithu and Viprithu, §
and many others/ Andhaka|| had four sons, Ku-
tbough they generally concur in the number. If
'
The Matsya and Padma call them sons of Akrura, but, no
doubt, incorrectly.**
* Instead of these two names, one MS. has Deva and Anupadeva,
as has Professor Wilson's. Bengal translation. The Brahma-purdna gives
Yastudeva and Upadeva; the Harivaima, Prasena and Upadeva.
and Ha-
f His vi'ife, according to the Linga-purd/'ia, Brahma-purdna,
rivaihsa, is Ugraseni.
* Corrected from "Chitrika".
§ Corrected, from "Vipritha". Viduratha: Bhdgavata-purdna.
II
The Vdyu-purdna has Satyaka,
^ The Linga-purdna has, in my MSS.: Akrura, Upamangu, Mangu,
Vfita, Janamejaya, Girirakshas, Upaksha, Satrughna, Arimardana, Dharma-
bhfit, Yiisht'adharma, Godhana, Vara, Avaha, and Prativaha. The Hari-
—
vamia, si. 1916 1918, has, in my best MSS.: Akrura, Upamangu, Mangu,
Mridara, Arimejaya, Arikshipa, Upeksha, Satrughna, Arimardana, Dharma-
dhrik,Yatidharmau,Gndhramojandhaka, Avaha, Prativaha. In ^/. 2083— 2085,
we find Madura for Mridara, Girikshipa for Arikshipa, Akshepa for Upeksha,
Satruhan for Satrughna, Dharmabhrit for Dharmadhrik, and Dharmin for
Yatidharman. The Bhdgavata-purdna has : Akrura, Asanga, Sarameya,
Miidura, Mriduvid (or Mfiduri), Giri, Dharmavriddha, Sukarman, Kshetro-
peksha, Arimardana, Satrughna, Gandhamada, Pratibahu. The Brahtna-
purdiia has, with other names, Arimejaya, Avaha, and Prativaha. The
readings of the Vdyu-purdna, scattered through the preceding notes, are
especially deserving of attention.
There is little doubt, that, of all the Purai'ias, the Vdyu-purdna generally
presents, in their oldest extant Paurauik form, the particulars that make
up the works of the class to which it belongs.
** In the Vdyu-purdna they are called Prithu, Viprithu, Aswagriva,
Aswabahu, Suparswaka, Gaveshaiia, Arisht'anemi, Aswa, Suvarman,

Dharmabhrit, Abhiimi, and Bahubhiimi. In the Linga-purdna we read:
Viprithu, Prithu, Aswagriva, Subahu, Sudhasiika, Gaveshana, Arishta-
nemi, Aswa, Dharma, Dharmabhrit, Subhiimi, and Bahubhiimi. Much the
same persons are named in the Brahma-purdna, where they are called
sons of Sumitra. The list slightly differs, again, in the JIartvaMa, dl.
1920, 1921 ; 2087—2089.

The son
kiira,*Bhajamana, Suchi. ^ Kambalabarliisha.f
of Kukura was Vrishta;^+
was Kapotaroman; his son
his son was Viloman;^§ his son was Bhava/ who
was also called Chandanodakadundubhi;'^]] he was a —
'
Saiiiin:1I Vayu. Sasi: Matsya. Sini : Agni.** This last
makes them the sons of Babhvu, and calls the first Sundara.
^ Vfishni: Bhagavata,ff Vayu, Matsya, &c. ++ Dhrishta:
Agni. Dhrishnu: Brahma, §§ Hari Vaiiisa.
^ The Bhagavata puts Viloman first. The Linga makes it aa
epithet of Kapotaroman; saying he was Vilomaja, 'irregularly
begotten.' In place of Viloman, we have Raivata, Vayu;||||
Taittiri, Matsya; Tittiri, Agni.lfl
* Nava: Agni. Bala: Linga.*** Nala: Matsya. Tamas:
Kiirma. Anu : Bhagavata.
* The Matsya, Vayu, and Agni agree with our text. The
* Corrected, here and below, from "Kukkura", which I find nowhere.
The Vdyu-yurdna has Kakuda.

t Corrected from "Kambalavarhish".
+ In one MS. is Dhrishta; in another, Vrisht'i.
§ Cue MS. here inserts Taittiri; another, Taitiri.

The ordinary reading, that followed by the Translator, is: fi*gt|,-
II
ÎIT ^r^^'^^^^^^^^f^^ ;
a»^^ the scholiast has: H^^^#-
Tt^T^TT^ ^*i^«i^<<=h^«^r»i*: I
But I find, in one MS., gî^^^^T
*?Gf^'Î ff^T^'^^T'Ff^'^ "^T^T' which makes Chandananakadun-
I
.
dubhi son of Bbava; and another MS. has, by corruption, x( •« •ti •TT •!-
<4)4«^f^> The Vdyu-purdna exhil)its Chandauodakadundubhi, making
I
him son of Revata; and the Linga-purdna gives Chandananakadundubhi.

^ Corrected from "Sami".
** S'ama, in my MS. of the Brahma-purdna. The Harivaiida has,
in different MSS., Sama and Sami.

ft Vahni is the name I there find.
++ As the Linga-purdna.
§§ I find Vrisht'i.
II ;|
Revata, in my MSS. Vilomaka: Ling a-piirdim.
^^ Also the Brahma-purdna.
*•* Nala is the name, in all my MSS.
IV. 7
98 VISHNU PURANA.
friend of the Gandharva Tumburu;* — his son was

Abhijit;f his son was Punarvasu;t
was his son
Ahuka;§ and he had, also, a daughter, named Ahuki.
The sons of Ahuka were Devaka and Ugrasena. ||
The former had four sons, Devavat, Upadeva,t Su-

deva, and Devarakshita;** and seven daughters, Vrika-
deva,ff Upadeva, +t Devarakshita, Srideva, Santideva,
Sahadeva,§§ and Devaki:|]|| all the daughters were
married to Vasudeva. Ut The sons of Ugrasena were
Kamsa, Nyagrodha, Sunaman,*** Kanka, Sanku,fff
Linga, Padma, and Kurma read Anakadundubhi as a synonym

of Bala. The Brahma and Hari Van'isa have no such name, but
here insert Punarvasu, son of Taittiri. +++ The Bhagavata has a
* Variant: Tumbaru. See Vol. II., pp. 284—293.

} The Vdyu-purd/'m has Abhijita.
^ One my MSS. inverts the order of Abhijit and Punarvasu
of ; and
so do the Brahma-purdna and the Harivai'nia.
§ The Vdyu-purdna gives him two brothers, Bahuvat and Ajita.
II
In the Vdyu-purdna, Ahuka has a third son, Dhriti.
T[ One MS. has Deva and Anupadeva.
'* Devavardhana Bhdijavaia-purd/'ia.
:
If Vrishadeva: Linga-purdiia.
XX One of my MSS. has Upadevi; also, for some of the names that
follow, Sridevi, Santidevi, and Sahadevi.
§§ Mahadeva, in one copy.
nil In the Bhdgnvata-purdna they are Dhritadeva, Santideva, Upadeva,

Srideva, Devarakshita, Sahadeva, Devaki. See, further, the Ilarivainia,
a. 2026, 2027.
^^ Ilere ends the genealogical portion of the Linga-purdna, — Prior
Section, LXIX ,
42, — with these words:
*** Variant: Sunabha.

ftf Four MSS. have Sanku; one, Sanka. The Brahma-purdna has Su-
bhtishana.
XXX See note +, above.

Subluimi,* Rcishtrapala,f Yuddhamushti,! and Tiish-

timat;§ and his daughters! were Kaihsa, Kaiiisa-
vati, Sutanu, t Rashtrapah', and Kanki.**
The son was Viduratha;ff his son
of Bhajaniana^
was Sura;t+ was Samin;"§§ his son was Prati-
his son
kshattra;^ his son was Swayaiiibhoja;'* his son was
Hridika, who had Kfitavarman, Satadhanus, Ht Deva-
jl||
difterent series, or: Anu, Aiidhaka, Dundublii, Ai'ijit, *** Pu-

narvasu, Ahuka.
'
This Bhajamana is the son of Andhaka, according to all the
best authorities: so the Padma calls this branch the Andhakas.

The Agni makes hiin the son of Babhru.
- Vata, Nivata, Samin : Vayu. ff f
' Sonaswa : Matsya. Sonaksha Padma.
: Sini : Bhagavata.
* Bhojaka: Agni. Bhoja: Padma.
*
Swabhuini, the reading of Professor Wilson's Bengal translation, oc-
curs in three MSS. Kusumi, in one. SuLii: Bhdgavata-purdna.
;
t Here the Vdyu-pnrdiia inserts Sutanu.

X Corrected
from " Yuddhamusht'hi". One MS. has Yuddhasrishfi.
Srisht'i: Bhdgavata-purdna.
§ Instead of these last two names, the Vdyu-purdna has Yuddha,
Tusht'a, and Pusht'imat.
II
They are called, in the Vdyu-purdna, Karmavati, Dharmavati, Sa-
tankru(?), Rasht'rapala, and Kahla(?).
^ Siirabhii: Bhdgavata-purdna.
'*
Kanka, in two MSS., as in the Bhdgavata-purdna.
For these sons and daughters, see the Harivamia, si. 2028, 2029.
ft See Vol. III., p. 268, note *; also, infra, Chapter XX., near the
beginning,
The Vdyu-purdna gives him a brother, Rasht'radhideva or Rajya-
II
dhideva.
§§ Bhajamana: Bhdgavata-purdna.
Hridika: Bhdgavata-purdna. «|I1[
Satadhanwan: Vdyu-purdna.
nil
*** 1 find Aridyota.
ttt I there find six other brothers : S'oui, Swetavahana, Gadavarman, Ni-
tana, 6akru, and Sakrajit.
7*
t
100 VISHNU PLRANA.
iiiidliLisha,* and others/ Sura, the son of Devami-

Uhiisha,'^ was married to Marisha,f and had, by her,
' Ten sons: Matsya, &c.

* Devarlia:§ Vayu, Padnia, Agni, and Malsya;|[ and a dif-
ferent series follows, or: Kanibalabarhisha, H Asaniaiijas, Saniau-
jas, Sudariislitra, ** Suvasa, Dln'ishta, Ananiitra,f f Niglina, Sattra-

jit.t+ They all make Vasudeva the son of Sura, however; but
the three first leave itwas the son
doubtful whether that Siira
of Bhajamiina, The Bhjigavata and Brahma agree with
or not.
the text, which is, probably, correct. The Brahma has Sura, son
of Devamidhusha;§§ although it does not specify the latter
amongst the sons of Hiidika.
• In one MS., Devarhai'ia, and with Devamidha just below: the latter
is the name in the Bhdgavata-purdna. Another MS. has Devamidha, and
then Devaniidhaka.
f In the Vdyu-purdi'ia we read, according to my MSS.:
It is, thus, stated, that Devami('lhu.'<ha was son of Siira and Mashi.
This Siira seems to be the one named a little above.
By Asmaki, Sura had Devaniidhusha, it is stated just before the line
quoted.
+ As the Vdyu-purdna, my MSS. of which are, here, so incorrect, that
I scruple to conjecture their readings. Ten sons are named in the Ha-
rivaiUa, si. 2036, 2037.
§ Mention is made of this reading, as a variant, by the commentator
on the Vislinu-purdna.
See note «, above.
II
% Corrected from "Kambalavarhish".

** Corrected from "Sudanstra".
tt I fi'id Anumitra.
X\ In the Vdyu-purdna, at least according to my MSS., there are un-
deniable traces, through a haze of misscription, of several names quite
dirt'erent from those here given. Also see the Uarivaihia, si. 2038, et seq.
For the name Sattrajit, vidt supra, \>. 74, note +.
§§ Corrected from "Devamidhush". In the Ilarivai'nsa, si. 1922, 1923,

Siira is son of Dcvamidhusha and .Vsmaki, and Vasudeva is son of
Siira and Bhojya.
ten sons. On the blrtli of Vasudeva, who was one of

these sons, the gods, to whom the future is manifest,*
foresaw that the divine being f would take a human
form in his family; and, thereupon, they sounded, with
joy, the drums of heaven: from this circumstance,
Vasudeva was also called Anakadundubhi. His t ^
brothers were Devabhaga, Devasravas,§ Anadhrishti,!

Karundhaka, Vatsabalaka, f Srinjaya,** Syama,tf Sa-
mika,:: and Gari(iusha;§§ and his|||| sisters were Pritha,
Srutadeva, Srutakirtti, Srutasravas, and Rajadhidevi.
Sura had a friend named Kuntibhoja, tt to whom,
as he had no children, he presented, in due form, his
daughter Prithji.*** She was married to Pandu, and
'
Anaka, a larger, and Dundubhi, a smaller, drum.
t Bhagavat.
* Insert 'nine', following the original.
§ Devastava, in one copy.
One MS. has Anavrisht'i; another, Adhrisht'a. Anadrishi (?) : Vdyii-
II
purdna.
% In one MS. the name is Vatsandhamaka ; in another, Vamsavanaka.
" The last three names are, in the Vdyu-purd/ia, Kada, Nandana, and
Bhfinjin, as best I can read them.

tt Equivalent variant: Syamaka.
II The Vdyu-purd/ia seems
to give Sanika.
§§ Devabhaga, Devasravas, Anaka, Srinjaya,

Syamaka, Kanka, Samika,
Vatsaka, Vrika: Bhdgavata-purdria. See, further, the Harivamsa, .s7.
1926—1928. ^
nil Insert 'five'; for the Sanskrit has: -^^^^T^^ V^ ^Tf^TsfT
%^ Kunti, in two MSS.: and this is the name in the Bhdgavata-

purdiia, &c.
*** The following is taken from the Bhdgamta-purdna, IX., XXIV.,
31 — 35:
102 VISHNU PURANA.
bore him Yudhlsbthira, Bhima,* and Arjuna, who

were, in fact, the sons of the deities Dharnia, Vayu
(Air), and Indra. f Whilst she was yet unmarried, also,
she had a son I named Karna, begotten by the divine

Aditya§ (the Sun). Pandu had another wife, named
TT(?I^T^' P^^T % ^Tff ^ ^T^ ^ II
Tf^ TT^t ^ ^TtlT^ lif f^ IfT- ^' I
^^: ^W[X' ^^% fl[tft^ T^ m^n:: ii
Rfxrm'Tf^Tg^Tf x?TX!^l^ ^(5lf^^^: II
Burnouf's translation of this passage is subjoined:

"Pritha avait reû de Durvasas satisfait un charme capable de faire
apparaitre les Dieux a sa voix; un jour Pritha Youlant essayer la force

de ce charme, appela le brillant soleil.
"Le Dieu lui apparut aussitot; mais frappee d'etonnement a sa vue,

Pritha lui dit: C'est uniquement pour essayer ce charme que je t'ai ap-
pele, 6 Dieu; va, et pardonne-moi ma curiositc.
"Ma presence ne peut etre sterile, 6 femme; c'est pourquoi je desire

te rendre mere ; mais je ferai en sorte, 6 belle fiUe, que ta virginite n'en
souffre pas.
"Ayant ainsi parle, le Dieu du soleil eut commerce avec Pritha; et
apres Tavoir rendue mere, il remonta au ciel; la jeune fiUe mit aussitot
au monde un enfant male qui resplendissait comma un second soleil.
"Pritha abandonna cet enfant dans les eaux du fleuve, parce qu'elle
craignait les mauvais discours du peuple; Pai'u'lu ton a'ieul, ce monarque
plein d'un vertueux hero'isme, prit ensuite la jeune fille pour femme."
* Variant : Bhimasena.
t The two last names are Anila and Sakra, in the Sanskrit.
+ ^'I'fY'T^ '^'^'> the original calls him. In the Laics of the Mdnavas,
IX., 172, the term kdnina is applied to the son of an unmarried woman
who subsequently becomes the wife of her lover.
§ Substituted, by the Translator, for Bhaswat or Bhaskara; for the
MSS. allow an option.
:
Madri, who had, by the tvîn sons of Aditya, Nasatya

and Dasra, two sons, Nakula and Sahadeva.^
Srutadeva was married to the Karusha (prince)
Vriddhasarman, and bore him the fierce Asura*
Dantavaktra. f Dhrishtaketu,: Raja of Kaikeya,^§
married Srutakirtti, and had, by her, Santardana and
four other sons, known as the live Kaikeyas. Jaya-
||
sena,t king of Avanti,** married Rajadhidevi, and had

Vinda and Anuvinda.ff Srutasravas was wedded to
'
The Mahabharata ++ is the best authority for these circum-
stances.
^ The Padma calls him king of Kashmir.
• Mahdsura.
f The Vdtju-purdna does not call him an Asura, but king of the
Kariishas
+ Unnamed alike in the text and in the commentary. The Translator

seems to have taken his appellation from the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX.,
XXIV., 37.
§ Kekaya, in two MSS. The Bhdgavata-purdna has Kaikaya; also,

"five Kaikayas ", just below.
II
In the Vdyu-purdna, they are called Chekitana, Brihatkshattra, Vinda,
and Anuvinda; the last two being entitled '^T^(?IT ( '^T^'fSIT ?)• That
Purana, in my MSS., — which, perhaps, have omitted something, — make
no mention of the husband or children of Rajadhidevi.
^ Here, again, Professor Wilson has supplemented the original, probably —
by the aid of the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XXIV., 38. It is observable
that the names of Jayasena's two sons are not specified there.
*• The original has
'^T'^'tsft", "of Avanti", the country; and the
term applies to Vinda and Anuvinda. Some MSS. have ^SIT'^l?!!-
Compare note ||, above.
t+ Corrected from "Anavinda".
++ Particularly in the Adi-parvan: see the references in Messrs. Boht-
lingk and Roth's Sanskrit- Wdrterhuch,
Our text above is, in part, substantially repeated in Chapter XX. of
this Book.
104 VISHNU PURANA.
Damaghosha, ""
Raja of Ohedi, and bore him Sisupala.^
This prince was, in a former existence, the un-
monarch f of the Daityas, Hi-
righteous but valiant
rahyakasipu,: who was killed by the divine guardian
of creation, (in the man-lion Avatara). He was, next,
the ten-headed § Ravana), whose une-
(sovereign,
qualled prowess, strength, and power were overcome
||
by the lord of the three worlds, (Rama). Having been

killed by the deity in the form of Raghava, he had
long enjoyed the reward of his virtues, in exemption
from an embodied state, but had now received birth,
once more, as Sisupala, the son of Damaghosha, king

of Chedi.t In this character,** he renewed, with
greater inveteracy than ever, his hostile hatred towards
the god surnamed Puh(iarikaksha,ft ^ portion of the
'
The Brahma Puraria and Hari Vamsatt make Srutadeva
mother of Sisupala; and Pfithukirtti, of Dantavaktra.
* Called, in the Vdyu-purdna, a rdjarshi.

•}• Purusha.
X See Vol. II., pp. 34, et seq.
§ Dasanana, in the Sanskrit: see the next chapter. I have supplied

the parentheses that follow.
Dasagriva is, in a corresponding passage, the epithetical name of Ra-
vana, in the Vdyu-purdna.

II
Akshata,
ft The original has Puiularikanayana, a synonym of Puiidarikaksha;

on the signification of which, see Vol, I., p. 2, note 1.
Xt ^l. 1930—1932.
BOOK IV., CHAP. XIV, 105
supreme being, who had descended to Hghten the

burthens of the earth, and was, in consequence, slain
by him. But, from the circumstance of his thoughts
being constantly engrossed by the supreme being, Si-
supala wâs united with him, after death:* for the lord
aiveth to those to whom he is favourable whatever
they desire; and he bestows a heavenly and exalted
station even upon those whom he slays in his dis-
pleasure.
•
cT^^ ^ViJ^'T^T^ I
CHAPTER XV.
Explanation of the reason why Sisupala, in his previous births
as Hiranyakasipu and Ravaiia, was not identified with Vishnu,
on being by him, and was so identified, when killed as

slain
Sisupala. The wives of Vasudeva his children: Balanuna

:
and Krishna his sons by Devaki: born, apparently, of Rohiiii

and Yasoda. The wives and children of Krishna. Multitude of
the descendants of Yadu.
MAITREYA.— Most eminent of all who cultivate
piety, I am curious to hear from you, and you are

able to explain to me, how it happened, that the same
being who, when killed, by Vishnu, as Hiranyakasipu
and Ravana, obtained enjoyments which, though
scarcely attainable by the immortals, were but tem-
porary, should have been absorbed into the eternal
Hari, when slain, by him, in the person of Sisupala.*
Parasara.— When the divine author of the creation,

preservation, and destruction of the universe accom-
plished the death of Hiranyakasipu, he assumed abody
composed of the figures of a lion and a man;f so that
Hiranyakasipu was not aware that his destroyer was
*
This chapter opens with three stanzas:
^^Tt? f^f cTt ^'n^mTîT^TrtTf^ II
^ ^ fT"^ "^^^ f'TIfT: ^ ^^ ^: I
t Nri-simha.
BOOI^: IV., CHAP. XV. 107
Vishnu. Although, therefore, the quality of purity,

derived from exceeding merit, had been attained, yet
his mind was perplexed by the predominance of the
property of passion; and the consequence of that inter-
mixture was, that he reaped, as the result of his death
by the hands of Vishnu, only unlimited power and
enjoyment upon earth, as Dasanana, * the sovereign of
the three spheres: he did not obtain absorption into
the supreme spirit, f that is without beginning or end,
because his mind was not wholly dedicated to that
sole object. So, also, Dasanana, being entirely subject
to the passion of love,t and engrossed completely by
the thoughts of Janaki, could not comprehend that the
son of Dasaratha§ whom he beheld was, in reality,
(the divine) Achyuta. At the moment of his death, he

was impressed with the notion, that his adversary was
a mortal; and, therefore, the fruit he derived from
being slain by Vishnu was confined to his birth in the
illustrious family of the kings of Chedi, and the exer-
cise of extensive dominion. In this situation, many
circumstances brought the names of Vishnu to his
notice: and, on all these occasions, the enmity that had
accumulated through successive births influenced his
mind; and, in speaking constantly with disrespect of
Achyuta, he was ever repeating his different appel-
lations. Whether walking, eating, sitting, or sleeping,
his animosity was never at rest; and Krishna was ever
present to his thoughts, in his ordinary semblance,
*
gT^TTTW I
Ravaiia is meant. For Dasanana, vide supra, p. 104,
text and note §. f Para-hrahman,

X Ananga, in the original. § Dasarathi,
108 VISHNU PIRANA.
having eyes as beautiful as the leaf of the lotos, clad

in bright yellow raiment, decorated with a garland,
with bracelets on his arms and wrists, and a diadem

on his head; having four robust arms, bearing the
conch, the discus, the mace, and the lotos. Thus
uttering his names, even though in malediction, and
dwelhng upon his image, though in enmity, he beheld
Krishna, when inflicting his death, radiant with re-
splendent weapons, bright with ineffable splendour in
his essence as the supreme being; and all his
own
passion and hatred ceased, and he was purified from
every defect. Being killed by the discus of Vishnu, at
the instant he thus meditated, all his sins were con-
sumed by his divine adversary, and he was blended
with him by whose might he had been slain. I have,
thus, replied to your inquiries. He by whom the divine
Vishnu is named, or called to recollection, even in
enmity, obtains a reward that is difficult of attainment
to the demons and the gods. How much greater shall
be his recompense, w^ho glorifies the deity in fervour
and in faith!*
Vasudeva, also called Anakadundubhi, had PauraviV
'
Pauravi is, rather, a title attached to a second Rohirii, to
distinguish her from the first, the mother of Balarama. f She is
also said, by the Vayu,+ to be the daughter of Bahlika.
* The -whole of this paragraph is very freely rendered.
t The commentator says: t^^:^ ^"^^^Tft^^f^ "^ff^T f^%^-

|
I The MSS. at present accessible to me state:

BOOK IV., CHAP. XV. 109
Rolili'ii, Madira, Bhadra, Devaki, and several other

wives. His sons, by Rohii'ii, were Balabhadra, Sa-
rai'ia,* Satha,f Durmada, and others. + Balabhadra§
espoused Revati, and had, by her, Nisathall and Uhuii-
ka. The sons of Sarana were Marshi, Murshiniat,!
*' and others. Bhadraswa, Bhadra-
Sisu, Satyadhriti,
bahu, Durgama, Bhuta,ft and others:: were born in
the family of Rohini, §§ (of the race of Piirull'). The
sons (of Vasudeva), by Madira, were Nanda, Upa-
nanda, Kritaka,^t and others. Bhadra "'*'' bore him
According to this, Pauravi was daughter of Valniika.

In my copies of tho Linga-purdna, however, Pauravi is called daughter
of Bahlika. Some MSS. of the Harivanda here have Bahlika; others,
Bahlika.
* More than half my copies have Sarana.
t So read, like Professor Wilson's Bengal translation, all my MSS.
but one, which gives Sala. In the MS. which the Professor followed all
but exclusively, I find the ^ of this name so written as to look ex-
ceedingly like ^. Hence his "Saru", now corrected.

X The Bhdgavata-purdiia names Bala, Gada, Saraiia, Durmada, Vipula,
Dhruva, and Kfita.
§ In two copies, Baladeva. One MS. gives Nishadha.
||
f Altered from "Marsht'i, Marshtimat", a reading which I find in only

a single MS., and that not a good one. The variants of these names
are numerous, but of no appreciable importance.
** In one MS. I find Satya and Dhriti.
ft Instead of these two names, one of my MS.

has Damabhiita; another,
Madabhuta.
are Pindaraka and Usinara.
:: The commentator says that the others
the commentary^yield
§§ My best and oldest MSS. unaccompanied by
Pauravi, on which reading the scholiast remarks: xfti:^^!! T^^ "TT^^jf^
111!
According to all my MSS., Pura. See note f in the preceding page.
^^ In addition to these, the Bhdgavata-purdna mentions Siira, and speaks

of othersuunamed.
** According to the Bhdgavata-purdna, Kausalya whom — the com-
mentator identifies with Bhadra,— had but one son, Kesin.
110 VISHNU PURANA.
Upanidhi, Gada,* and others. By his wife Vaisah',f he

had one son, named Kausika. Devaki bore him six
sons,: — Kirttimat, Sushena,§ Udayhi, ||
Bhadrasena,
Rijudasa,11 and Bhadradeha;*^' all of whom Kaiiisa put
to death/
The enumeration of our text is rather

' imperfect. The
Vayuff names the wives of Vasudeva, Pauravi, Rohiiii, Madira,
Rudra, Vaisakhi, Devaki; and adds two bondmaids, +t Sugandhi

and Vanaraji. The Brahma Purana and Hari Vamsa§§ name
twelve wives and two slaves: Rohirii, Madira, Vaisakhi, Bhadra,
Sunamni, Sahadeva, Santideva, Srideva, Devarakshita, Vrikadevi,
Upadevi, Devaki; and Santanu|j|j and Vadava.lfl The children of
the two slaves, according to the Vayu, were Puridra, who be-
came a king, and Kapila, who retired to the woods. In the
Bhagavata, we have thirteen wives: Pauravi, Rohini, Bhadra, Ma-
dira, Rochanii, Ila, Devaki,*** Dhritadevi, Santideva, Upadevi,fff
* For two Gadas in the Bhugavata-purdna, see note X in the pre-

ceding page, and note |i
in the page following,
t Variants: Vaisali and Kausali.
\ The Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XXIV., 53, 54, names eight: Kirttimat,
Susheua, Bhadrasena, Riju, Saiiimardana, Bhadra, Sankarshaiia (lord of

and Hari; with a daughter, Subhadra. In commenting on the
serpents),
same Puraua, X., I., 8, Sridhara, according to my best MSS., substitutes
Mridu and Santardana for Riju and Saiiimardana.
§ Nearly all my MSS. give Sushena.
11
Udadhi, in one copy.
^ Corrected from "Rijudasa".
*• reads Bhadra and Vidhideva"
One MS. has Bhadradeva; and another
•ft This work says, that Anakadundubhi bad, in all, thirteen wives.
X\ Parichurikd.
§§ SI. 1947—1949.
1111
my MSS., &c.
Sutauu, in
%% Corrected from "Barava".
"* IX., XXIV., 44.
t+t I find Dhfitadeva and Upadeva.

BOOK IV., CHAP. XV. 1 1 1
When Devaki was pregnant the seventh time, Yoga-

nidra (the sleep of devotion),* sent by Vishnu, ex-
tricated the embryo from its maternal wômb, at mid-
night, and transferred it to that of Roliini; and, from
having been thus taken away, the child (who was Ba-
larama,) received the name of Sankarshana. Next, (the
divine Vishnu himself,) the root of the vast universal
tree, inscrutable by the understandings of all gods, de-
mons, sages, and men, past, present, or to come, adored
by Brahmaf and all the deities, t he who is without
beginning, middle, (or end), being moved to relieve
womb of De-
the earth of her load, descended into the
vaki,and was born as her son Vasudeva. Yoganidra,
proud to execute his orders, removed the embryo to
Yasoda, the wife of Nanda the cowherd. At his birth,
the earth was relieved from all iniquity; the sun, moon,
and planets shone with unclouded splendour; all fear
of calamitous portents was dispelled; and universal
Srideva, Devarakshita, and Sahadeva. § The last seven, in this
and the preceding list, are the daughters of Devaka. ||
* See Book V., Chapters I.— 111.

t Designated, in the original, by the epithet abjabhava.
X The original adds "also Anala and others".
§ IX., XXIV., 49—51.

II
So says the commentator on the Bhdgavata-purdna, not the text
itself.
The children of these daughters are named as follows, in the Bhdga-

vata-purdna: of Dhritadeva, Yiprisht'a; of Santideva, Prasama, Prasrita,
and others; of Upadeva, Kalpavarsha and other.';, all kings; of Srideva,
Vasu, Hamsa, Suvaiiisa, and three others; of Devarakshita, Gada and
eight others of Sahadeva, Piiru and Visruta (incarnations of Dharma and
;
of the Vasus), and six others.

112 VISHNU PURANA.
liappiness prevailed.* From the moment he appeared,

all mankmd were led into the righteous path, in liim.
Whilst powerful being resided in this world of
this
mortals, he had sixteen thousand and one hundred

wives: of these the principal were Rukmihi,f Satya-
bhama,+ Jambavati,§ Charuhasini, and four others. ||
By these the universal form, who is without beginning,

begot a hundred and eighty thousand sons, of whom
thirteen are most renowned, Pradyumna,t Cluiru- —
deshna, Samba, and others.** Pradyumna married
Kakudmati,ff the daughter of Rukmin, and had, by
her, Aniruddha.n Aniruddha married Subhadra,§§ the
granddaughter of the same Rukmin; and she bore him
For Puiidarikanayana, vide supra, p. 104, note ff.

t Daughter of Bhishmaka, king of Vidarbha. The story of Kfishua's
abducting her is told in Hook V., Chapter XXVI.
I Daughter of Sattr;ijita. Vide supra, p. 80.
§ Daughter of Jambavat. Vide supra, p. 79.
II
Professor Wilson had " Jatahasini", a misprint for Jalahasini, the
reading of all my copies l)ut one. This one, my Ajmere MS., has Cha-
ruhasini, which is much more likely to be correct. In early medieval
times, T^ and ^ were hardly distinguishable, and there was something
of resemblance between "^ and ^. It is, therefore, very likely that Ja-
lahasini originated in a graphical corruption of Charuhasini.

^ See Hook V., Chapter XXVI.
** The Linga-purdna names Charudeshi'ia, Sucharu, Charuvesha, Yaso-
dhara, Charusravas, Charuyasas, Pradyumna, and Samba, as sons by
Rukmini.
ft Corrected from "Kakudwati", with the suffrage of my two best MSS.
and the Translator's Hindu-made English version. Kakudmati is the only
form authorized by the grammarians: see the gana on Panini, VIII., II., 9.
Compare Vol. II., p. 194, text and note +.
:: See Book V., Chapter XXVIII.
5$^ One MS. has Suchaudra.
a son named Vajra. The son of Vajra was Prati-

baliii;* and his son was Sucharu/
'
The wives and children of Krishnaare more particularly
d(»scribed in the next book. The Brahma Purana and Hari
Van'isaf add some details of the descendants of Vasudeva's
brothers. Thus, Devabhaga is said to be the father of Uddhava;
Anadhrishti, I of Devasravas, a great scholar or Pandit. Deva-
sravas, another brother of Vasudeva, had Satrughna and another
son, called Ekalavya, who, for some cause being exposed when
an infant, was found and brought up by the Nishadas, and was,
thence, termed Nishtidin. Vatsavat (Vatsabalaka§) and Gaiidii-
sha being childless, Vasudeva gave bis son Kausika, || to be
adopted by the former; and Krishna gave Chiirudeshna and three
others to the latter. KanavakalF (Karundhaka) had two sons,—
Tantrija** and Tantripala.ff Avaksrinjima+t (Srinjaya) had, also,
two, — Vira and Aswahanu. The gracious Samika became as the
son (although the brother) of Syama, §§ and, disdaining the joint
rule which the princes of the house of Bhoja exercised, made
himself paramount. Yudhishthira was his friend. The extra-
vagant numbers of the Yadavas merely indicate that they were
(as they undoubtedly were) a powerful and numerous tribe, of
whom many traces exist in various parts of India. || |1
•
Professor Wilson had "Bahu"; but his Bengal translation and all
my MSS. give as above,

t SI. 1936.
I He is called father of Niviittasatru. It is Uddhava that is characterized
as a great scholar.
§ For the names parenthesized in this note, vide supra, p. 101.

II
Read Kasika, also.
^ Corrected from "Kanaka".

** I find the two forms Tandrija and Tantija.
tt In my MSS., &c., Tandripala and Tautipala. Professor Wilson reads

the two brothers' names like M. Langlois.
++ The correct name seems to be Grinjima.
§§ See the Harivamia, H. 1938. The MSS. here differ.
ml Vide supra, p. 58, note §.
IV. 8
1 14 VISIiNt m'K'ANA.
In this manner the descendants ofYadu mnltipUed;

and there were many hundreds of thousands of them,
so that it would be impossible to repeat their names
in hundreds of years. Two verses relating to them
are current:* "The domestic instructors of the boys
in the use of arms amounted to three crores and

eighty t lacs (or thirty-eight millions:). Who shall
enumerate the whole of the mighty men of the Ya-

dava race, who were tens of ten thousands and hun-
dreds of hundred thousands in number? "§ Those
powerful DaityasI! who were killed in the conflicts
between them and the gods were born again, (upon
earth,) as men, as tyrants and oppressors; and, in
order to check their violence, the gods, also, descended

to the world of mortals, and became members of the
hundred and one branches of the family of Yadu.t
The commentator observes that the last line is also read:
2I^TgfT"RT^^fT^WT% ^T^^: I
The Ahuka here referred to is, he says, father of Ugrasena. Vide supra,
p. 76.
See the Sanskrit, as quoted in the preceding
t Read "eighty-eight".
note.
* To be corrected to "thirty-eight millions and eight hundred thousand".
§ What follows of this chapter is, also, in verse.
The original has Daiteyas.
^
II
1 7I^-Wf^T^^\§T^ >jf^ ^wY î^: I
Only one god is here spoken of; and ho, as the context shows, is
Vishiiu. Compare the beginning of Chapter XI.,— pp. 52, 53, supra.
Vishnu was, to them, a teacher and a ruler; and all
the Yadavas were obedient to his commands.

Whoever listens frequently to this account of the
orio-in of the heroes of the race of Vrishni shall
be purified from all sin, and obtain the sphere of
Vishnu.
CHAPTER XVI.
Descendants of Turvasu.
PARASARA. — I shall now sumnmrily give you an

account of the descendants of Tui'vasu.*
The son of Turvasu was Vahni;^ his son was Go-
bhanu;^ his son was Traisaniba;^ his son was Karan-
(lhania;f his son was Marutta. Marutta had no
children; and he, therefore, adopted Dusliyanta, t of
the family of Puru;§ by which the line of Turvasu
'
Vurga: Agni.
'^
Bhanun)a(: Bluigavata, |1
which also inserts Bhaga he-
fore him.
' Trihhanu: Vayu. 1 Trisanu: Brahma.** Traisali: Agni.
Trisari: Matsya.
• I iind a variant, Turvasu,— a temper between the Vaidik Turvasa and

the ordinary Pauranik form. For the personaye iu question, see p. 4G
of this vohime. Three of my MSS. yield Yadu, instead of Turvasu.

t My Ariah MS. gives Turvasu, Vahni, Bhargava, Bhanu, Traisanu,
Karandhama my Ajmere MS., Turvasu, Vahni, Bharga, Bhanu,
; Chitra-
bhanu, Karandhama.
These two copies, preserved in remotely separate districts of India,
contain only the text of the Vish/iu-purd/ia; and the peculiarities which
they offer suggest that the commentator — whose readings Professor Wilson
unhesitatingly follows, — may have taken very consideral)le liberties with
the lections of manuscripts current in his day. For other peculiarities
of the kind here adverted to, see Vol. Ill,, p. 334, note ft; and p. 335,
note t'- also, p. 112, note ||, supra, and p. 125, note +, infra.
X One MS. has Dushmauta.

§ Puurava, for "oi the family of Piiru", here and just after.
II
1 find there,— IX., XXIII., 16,— Vahni, Bharga, Bhanumat.
«^ I find Trisanu. The Blidgdvata-purdiia, however, has Tril)hann.
** And the Harivai'idd. From this |)oint I am unable to verify the
Translator's references to the Brahnia-pitrdna.
'
BOOK IV., CHAP. XVI. 117
merged into that of Pnrii.' Thiss took place in conse-

quence of the malediction denounced (on his son) by
Yayati.
—
Besides Bharata, who, as will be hereafter seen, was the
'
son of Dushyanta,— the Vayii, Matsya, Agni, and Brahma Pu-

ranas enumerate several descendants in this line, for the purpose,
evidently, of introducing, as the posterity of Turvasu, the nations
of the south of India. The series is Varuttha, * (Kurutthama,t
Brahma), Andira: (Akrira, Brahma) whose sons are Pandya, ;
Karhata, Chola, Kerala. § The Hari Vamsa|| adds Kola; and the
Agni, very incorrectly, Gandhara.
» The curse alluded to is the failure of his line (Praja-sa-
muchchheda), denounced upon Turvasu, as the punishment of

refusing to take his father's infirmities upon him (vide supra,
p. 48). He was, also, sentenced to rule over savages and bar-

barians,— Mlechchhas, or people not Hindus. The Mahabharata
adds, that the Yavanas sprang from Turvasu. As sovereign of
the south-east, t he should be the ancestor of the people of Arra-
can, Ava, &c.; but the authorities cited in the preceding note
refer the nations of the Peninsula to him, and, consequently,
consider them as Mlechchhas. Manu also places the Dravidas
(or Tamuls) amongst Mlechchhas ; and these and similar pas-

**
sages indicate a period prior to the introduction of Hinduism into
the south of India.
•
In the Vdyupurdna I find Sarutha(?).
t The flarivamsa, in my best MSS., agrees with the Brahma-purdna.
: The Ilarivaihsa has Anditia; the Vdyu-purdiia, Aflira (or Aclira?).
§ The Vdyu-purdrm has
Panaya, Kerala, Chola, and Kulpa (??).
II
SI. 1836. Karnat'a is omitted there.
Vide supra, 49, and 50, notes 1 and §.
^ p. p.
* See Vol. 11., p. 184, note f; and Vol. III., p. 295, note 1.
:
CHAPTER XVII.
Descendants of Druhyu.
THEson of Druhyu* was Babhru;t his son was

Setu;: his son was Aradwat;^ his son was Gandhara;^
'
Also Araddha, § in MSS.; and Aratta, Matsya, which last
seems to be the preferable reading. The Vayu has Aruddha;||
the Brahma, Angarasetu. 1 But Aratta is a northern country, con-
tiguous to, or synonymous with, Gandhara.
2
Of Gandhara it is said, in the Vayu, that it is a large
country, named after him, and is famous for its breed of horses
The Matsya reads the beginning of the second line, -ssiKgfÛjlTT-

^rrer; showing that Aratta ff and Gandhara are much the same.
See Vol. II., p. 174, note 2.
* So read all my MSS. here. Compare note I in p. 46. supra.

t Babhrusctu, in my best MSS. of the Harivamia: in others, Ba-
bhrusena. Druhyu had two sons, Babhru and Setu: Vdyii-purdna.
I Angarasetu: HarivaiMa. And his son was Gandhara.
§ I have not met with this variant. One MS. has Arada.
II
I lind Aruddha, son of Setu; and the son of Babhru is said to havo
been Ripu.
^ The Bkdgavata-purdna has Arabdha.
** Compare the Harivamia, U. 1839, 1840.
tt Professor Wilson has elsewhere identified the people of this country

with the Aratri of Arrian. Their locality is indicated in the following
lines from the Mahdbhdrata, —
Karna-parvan, il. 2055, 2056:
'^'g^fRT f^ff^ ^"f^sg^^T ^fff^: II
See the Asiatic Researches, Vol. XV., pp. 106, 107; also, Professor
Lassen's De Pentapotamia Indica, pp. 23, 24, and his Jndische Alter-
thumskunde, Vol. I., pp. 821, 822,
BOOK IV., CHAP. XVII. 119
his son was Dharma;^* his son was Dhrita;''f his son
was Duryaman;^: his son was Prachetas, § who had
a hundred sons; and they were the princes of the law-
less MIechchhas (or barbarians) of the north. ^
'
The Brahma Purana and Hari Variisa, in opposition to all
the rest, make Dharma|| and his successors the descendants

of Anu.
2 Ghrita: Agni.lf
^ Durdama: Vayu and Bhagavata. ** The Matsya, Brahma,
and Agni insert a Vidupa (Duduha, ff orVidula) before Prachetas.
* So the Bhagavata and Matsya. The Mahabharata says, the
descendants of Druhya are the Vaibhojas, a people unacquainted
with the use of cars or beasts of burthen, and who travel on
rafts : they have no kings.
* All my MSS. but two have Gharnia; but the Vdyu-purnna reads
Dharma.
t In one MS,, Vrita.
t Most of my MSS. give Durgama; two, Durdama. I nowhere find
"Duryaman".
§ He had a sou Suchetas, according to the HarivaiMa, il. 1841.
II
Good MSS of the Harivaiida have Gharma.
1[ Some MSS. of the Vdyu-purdna give this; others, Dhfita. The same
variety of reading is found in MSS of the Harivamm.
** I find, in it, Durmada.
tt This is the name in the Uarivai'nia.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Descendants of Anu. Countries and towns named after some of
them, as Anga, Banga, and others.
ANU/ the fourth son of Yayati, had three sons,

Sabhanara, Chakshiisha,* and Paramekshu." The son
of the first was Kalanara; ^f his son was Srinjaya;t his
son was Puranjaya;§ his son was Janannejaya; his son
was Mahamani;*|| his son was Mahamanas, who had
two sons, Usinara and Titikshii. UsinaraH had five
'
By some unaccountable caprice, the Brahma Purana and
Ilari Variisa, unsupported by any other authority, here substitute,
for Anu, the name of Kaksheyu, a descendant of Piiru, and
transfer the wliole series of his posterity to the house of Piiru.
^ Paksha and Parapaksha : Vayu. Parameshu: Matsya. Pa-
roksha, Bhjigavata.
' Kalanala:** Vayu. Kolahala: Matsya. ff
''
MahasaUi: Agni.^ Mahasila: Bhtigavata.
* Two MSS. have Chakshu, the reading of the Bhagavata-purdna.

t One MS. has Kalanara; another, Kalanala.
+ Corrected, here and elsewhere, from "Srinjaya."
5^) Omitted in the Bhdgavata-purdna.
II
In three copies 1 find Mahasala.
^ For a jjeople l)earing this name, see the Kaushitaki-hrdhmana Upa-

nishad, IV., 1.
** And so in the Harivamm. Kalanala's son, accordinj^ to my MSS.

of the Vdyu-purdna, was Mahamanas; in other words, the Srinjaya, «St.c.
of our text are not menlioned. Nor, fr^m the integrity of the metre,
does it seem that anything is wanting.
ft Kalanara: Bhdgavata-purdna Paramanyn, in my best MSS. of the

IJarivai'nm.
tt And so roads the Harivamsa.

UOOK IV., CHAP. XVIII. 121
sons Sibi, Nriga/ Nara/f Krimi,t Darva. ''§

: Sibi
had four sons: Vrishadarbha, t Suvira, Kaikeya,**
II
*
Nfiga:ff Agni. tt Vana: Bhagavata.
^ Nava: Matsya. §§ Sama:|l|| Bhagavata.
^ Vrata: Agni. Suvrata: Matsya. Ifl Daksha: Bhagavata.***
According to the Brahma Purai'ia and Hari Variisa, fff the five
suns of Usinai'a were the ancestors of different tribes. Sibi was
the progenitor of the Saibas; Nriga, of the Yaudheyas; Nava, of
the Navarashtras;+++ Vrata, §§§ of the Anibashthas; and Krimi
founded the city Krimila.jjii||
* Their mothers, according to the Vdyii-purdim, were, severally, Dri-

shadwati, Nfiga, Nava, Kfimi, and Darva. Compare the Harivamsa,
si. 1675.
t Nriga and Nara are in all my MSS. but one. This, Professor Wil-
son's all but exclusive favourite, has - •T<^3J'ô . Read the first symbol as
rf, — which, in that place, it very much resembles, — and suppose an error
in T, and we get Professor Wilson's "Tfina, Gara," now discarded.
Transpose, in -•fijarô, the •! and JJ, and the true lection is restored.
I One MS. has Mrishi.

§ Corrected from "Darvan", for which 1 find no warrant, and which
is scarcely possible. A very much commoner reading than Darva is Darvi;
and one MS gives Darbha.
According to the Vdyu-purdna, they originated the Vi'isbadarbhas,
II
Suvidarbhas, Kekayas, and Madrakas.

% In one MS. I find Prishadarbha. The Vdyu-purdna has Vfishadar-
bha ; and so have the Bhdyavata-purdna and the Harivaviia.
*• Kekaya, in the Vdyu-purdna; Kaikeya, in the HarivaMa.
ft See notes * and f, above, and |||'| ,
below.
X\ And in the Harivai'nia.
§§ Add
the Vdyu-purdna and the Harivamsa.
nilSee note *»*, below.

5f^ Add the Vdyu-purdna and the Harivamsa.
*** The Bhdyavata-purdna gives Usinara four sons: Sibi, Vana, Sami,
and Daksha.
ttr &l. 1678, 1679.
X\X The Harivamsa speaks of Navarasht'ra as the kingdom of Nava.
§§§ This reading is See note ^^, above.
very qnestionablo.
Ill II
The Vdyu-purdna alleges that Sibi and the rest possessed Sibapura,
122 VJSHNU PUHANA.
and Madraka.^* Titikshuf had one son, Ushadra-

tha;"t his sonwas Hema;" his son was Sutapas; his
son was Bali, on whose wife five sons§ were begotten
by Dirghatamas, or AngaJI Banga,1f KaUnga,**
Suhma,ff and Pundra;*Jt and their descendants, and
'
Bhadra and Bhadraka: Matsya, Agni. These sons of Sibi
give name to different provinces and tribes in the west and
north-west of India.
* Rushadratha: Agni.§§ Tushadratha: Matsya.
^ Pheria: Agni. || 1|
Sena: Matsya.
*
Odra, IfH or, in some copies, Andhra :
*** Bhagavata.
Yaudheya, Navarashfra, Krimilapuri, and Ambash^ha. The passage runs,

in the Vdyu-purdna:
^Wf!^ <T^!m^^T I
• Corrected from "Madra".

f He was a renowned king in the east, the Vdyu-purdi'ia states.
X A single MS. gives Rushadratha, the reading of the Vdyu-purdna,
in my MSS. The Harivaima has Ushadratha.
§ The original has ^|<t|<| -^rA , "Kshattriyas of the race of Bali".
II
See Vol. II., p. 166, notes 3 and §,
If See Vol. II., p. 166, note 4; Vol. III., p. 293, note §§.
" See Vol. II., p. 156, notes 3 and §.
tt Only one of my MSS. has Suhma; the rest yielding Sunibha. In

Professor Wilson's Bengal translation, the Sumadra. But Suhma name is
is the correct reading, according to the Mahdbhdrata (Adi-parvan, &l.
4219), the Vdyu-purdna, the HarivamSa, &c. For the Suhmas, see
Vol. II,, p. 165, note 11.
XX One of my MSS. has Paundra; another, Paundraka. See Vol. II.,
p. 170, notes 5 and •«.

§§ Rusadratha: Bhdgavata-purdna. \\\\
Add the liarivaMa.
^% This is additional to the five names in the text; for the Bhdgavata-
purdna distinctly says, — IX., XXlll., 4, 5, — that Dirghatamas begot
six sons.
For Odra, see Vol. II., p. 177, notes 3 and •«.
••• See Vol. II., p. 170, notes 1 and X\ also, p. 184, note f-
BOOK IV., CHAP. XVIII. 123
the five countries they inhabited, were known by the

same names. ^*
The son of Anga was Para;^f his son was Divi-
'
Of Suhma I it may be remarked, that it is specified, in the Sid-
dhanta Kaumudi, § as an example of Pariini's rule h[t\ •niXJnT y
(VII., III., 24), by which Nagara, compounded with names of coun-

tries in the east, becomes Nagara, as Sauhmanagara (ÊrT^pTTIXO'
'produced, &c. in a city of Suhma.' The descendants of Anu,
according to the Mahabharata, were, all, Mlechchhas. The last-
named work, II
as well as the Vayu and Matsya Purarias, have
an absurd story of the circumstances of the birth of Dirghataraas,
who was the son of Ujasi If or Utathya, the elder brother of Bri-
haspati by Mamata, his begetting Anga and the rest.
and of
They agree in assigning descendants of all four castes to them;
the Vayu stating that Bali had XJTt'^T^^^^TT'l, ** and the ;
Matsya ascribing it to a boon given by Brahma to Bali: ^'^^

r^^«1l««rTft^?^ ^ M iff^ 'Do thou establish the four perpetual
I ,
castes.' Of these, the Brahmans are known as Baleyas Î^î: ;
WIÛ]!^ ^- The Matsya calls Bali the son of Virochana, and

^!rr'ôfi^lTTrfW«R« 5 'existing for a whole Kalpa;' identifying
him, therefore, — only in a different period and form, — with the
Bali of the Vamana Avatara. f f
' Anapana:+t Vayu. Khanapana:§§ Bhagavata. Adhiva-
* The original of this clause runs: WWTT^fffTTETWT^ ^W f«IM*H
t One MS. has Anapana; another, Anapanga.

I See Vol. II., p. 165, note 11; and p. 177, note §.
§ Vol. I., p. 579, Calcutta edition of Samvat 1920.
II
Adi-parvan, Chapter CIV.
^ Almost certainly, Utathya has no such second name.
** The entire verse is:
tt See Vol. II., p. 69, and p. 210, note 1; also, Vol. III., p. 18, note 1,
and p. 23.
II Annapana, in my MSS.
§§ I find Ehanapana.
1
124 VISHNU I'URANA.
ratha;* his son was Dharmaratha;^f his son was Chi-

traratha; his son was Romapada, ^t — also called Dasa-
ratha,§ — to whom, being childless, Dasaratha, the son
of Aja, II gave his daughter Santa, to be adopted.^ After
hana: Agni. Dadhivahana H Matsya. ** :
'
This prince is said, in the Vayu, to have drunk the Soma
juice, along with Indra:

%^ fr^^ fw ^'t: ^^w ^f 1
' The Matsya and Agni insert a Satyaratha.
^ This is noticed in the Rainayana, in the story of the hermit
Rishyasringa, to whom Santa was given in marriage. Her adop-
tive father is called, in the Ramayana, — as he is in the Agni and
Malsya, — Loniapadarff the meaning is the same, 'hairy foot.'
Ranuiyaria. I., IX. and X. ^ See, also, Prelude to the Uttara
Rama Charitra, Hindu Theatre, Vol. I., p. 289.
* Corrected from "Divaratha",— a mere oversight, unquestionably. All

my MSS., and the Mahdbhdrata, &c. have Diviralha.
t In a single copy I find Hiraiiyaratha.
Eereal)Outs there are very deplorable omissions in all my MSS. of the
Vdyu-purd/ia. With the exception of one, and that very indifferent,
there is a hiatus from this point to the closing stanza of Chapter XXII.
As is stated in the proper place, I have the help of some extracts
from a point in Chapter XXI.
* Lomapada, in the JIarivanisa.
§ Read: "his son was Chitraratha, also called Romapada; his son was
Dasaratha." So, at least, it is natural to render; the original being
fTfTf^TT^ Tt^fRT^'^Nt ^T^ 5^ ^^T^ ^% I
But the Tran-
slator has the authority of the commentator.
In the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XXIII., 6 — 10, it is Chitraratha that is
called Romapada ; he has only one son, Chaturanga ; and there is no

mention of any D;isnra1ha 'nit the father of Santa. With this compare
the llarivanisa. \\
See Vol. III., p. 313.
^ In Lakshmivallabha's Kalpadrumakalikd, mention is made of Dadlii-
vahana, Raja of Champa, who fought with Satanika, Raja of Kausambi.
•• Add the llarivaihia. ff The true Rdmdyaim has Romapada.
II Bdla-lcdnduy I., X. and XI., in the genuine Rdmdyana.
BOOK IV., CHAP. XVIII. 125
this,* Romapada had a son named Chaturanga; his

son was Prithulaksha;f was Champa, who his son
founded (the city ol^ Champa. The son of Champa *
was Haryanga his son was Bhadraratha, who had two

;
sons, Brihatkarman and Brihadratha. + The son of the

first was Bi'ihadbhanu;'^ his son was Brihanmanas;§
his son was Jayadratha, who, by a wife who was the

daughter of a Kshattriya father and Brahmani mother,
had a son named Vijaya. ^|| His son was Dhriti; his
'
The Bhaguvata differs, here, from all the other authorities,
in omitting Champa, the founder of Champjipuri, II— a city of

which traces still remain in the vicinity of Bhagulpoor; — having
inserted him, previously, amongst the descendants of Ikshwaku
(see Vol. III., p. 28i), note 1). Champa is every virhere recognized
as the capital of Anga; and the translators** of the Ramayana
were very wide of the truth, when they conjectured that it might
be Angwa, or Ava.
^ Bfihaddarbha: Brahma. The Bhagavata omits the two suc-
cessors of Champa, and makes Brihadratha, Brihatkarman, and
Bfihadbhanu sons of Pi'ithulaksha.
^ The Vayu, Matsya, and Hari Van'isa make Vijaya the
brotherff of Jayadratha. The Bhagavata agrees with our text. ++
* I find no Sanskrit t Prithula is the reading of one MS.

for this.
+ Two of ray best MSS, —those

from Arrah and Ajmere, have Bhadra- —
ratha, father of Brihadratha, father of Brihatkarman; another has, instead
of Haryanga, Harshai'ia, father of Briliadratha, father of Brihatkarman.
§ The FlarivaMa, »l. 1702, has Bhadraratha, Brihatkarman, Briliad-
darbha, Bi'ihanmanas.
II
According to the Ilarivanda, Bi'ihanmanas had, for sons, Jayadratha,
by Yasode\i, and Vijaya, by Satya.
•I Champa,—
formerly Malini: Harivamia, ^/. 1699. We now see, probably,
the source of the error "Champamalini", in Vol. III., p. 289, note 1.
** Messrs. Carey and Marshman: Vol.1., p. 119, note,
ft Read "half-brother".
of Brihanmanas,
n The Blidgavata-purdna has: Brihadratha, father
father of Jayadratha, father (by Sailibhuti,) of Vijayn.
——
126 VISHNr I'LRANA.
son was Dhritavrata; his son was Satyakarman;* his

son was Adhiratha,^ who found Karnaf in a basket, +
on the banks of the Ganges, where he had been ex-
posed by his mother, Pritha. § The son of Karna was
Vrishasena.'ll These were the Anga kings. You shall
next hear who were the descendants of Piiru.
The mother of Vijaya, from her origin, was of the Suta caste,
the genealogist and charioteer. Manu, X., 47. Her son was of
the same caste; children taking the caste of the mother: conse-
quently, the descendants of Vijaya, kings of Anga, were Siitas.
And this explains the contemptuous application of the term Siita
to Karha, the half-brother of the Pahdus ; for he, as will pre-

sently be mentioned, was adopted into the Anga family, and
succeeded to the crown.
'
Some variety prevails in the series of princes here ; but this
arises from not distinguishing the collateral lines, — the descend-
ants of Jayadratha from those of Vijaya. The Vayu and Matsya
give the latter as in our text ; but they agree, also, with the Agni
and Brahma, If in the successors of Jayadratha, as Dfidharatha
**
(or Brihadratha) and Janamejaya (or Viswajit).
^ Siirasena: Vayu. Vikarria: Brahma, ff
* Satkarman : Bhdgavata-purdna.
t "The half-brother of the Pandavas, by
their mother Pritha, who,
before her marriage to Paiidu, had borne Karna to Siirya, the god of the sun.
The affair was kept secret. The infant was exposed on the banks of the
Jumna, where he was found, and brought up, as his own, by Adhiratha
the Siita, or charioteer, of king Siira,— and his wife Radha; whence Kania
is called, also, a Siita, and Radheya, or son of Radha," So runs one
legend, in the words of Professor Wilson, in Professor Johnson's Selec-
tions from the Mahdbhdrata, p. 16, note 3.
X Manjushd, which the commentator explains by kdsht'ha-panjara.

Perhaps the receptacle was a wooden crib.
§ The original is: ^fVT^ î^^ • - * ^^ iJ^^H^m I
II
Father of Vfisha, says the HarivaMa.
^ Add the Harivai'nia.
** According to the Ilnrivamia, .H. 1704, Viswajit was father of Karna.
ft And so the llarivai'nia.

CHAPTER XIX.
Descendants of Puru. Birth of Bharata, the son of Dusliyanta :
Bharadwaja or Vitatha. Hastin, founder

his sons killed: adopts
of Hastinapura, Sons of Ajamidha, and the races derived from

them, as Panchalas, &c. Kfipa and Kripi found by Santanu.
Descendants of Riksha, the son of Ajamidha. Kurukshetra
named from Kuru. Jarasandha and others, kings of Magadha.
THE son of Puru was Janamejaya; his son was

Prachinwat;* his son was Pravira;t his son was Ma-
nasyu;: his son was Abhayada;*§ his son was Su-
*
Abhayada: Vayu. Vitamaya: Agni. Vatayudha: Matsya.
Charupada:|! Bhagavata. The Mahabharata, Adi Parvan, pp. 136,
138, has two accounts of the descendants of Puru, differing, ma-
terially, in the beginning, from each other, and from the lists of
the Purarias. In the first, 1[ Pravira** is made the son of Piiru;
his son is Manasyu , who has three sons, Sakta, Samhanana,

and Vaggmin ; and there the line stops. Another son of Puru is
Raudraswa, whose sons are Richeyu and the rest, as in our

text -,11 making them the second in descent, instead of the eleventh.
*
Corrected from "Prachinvat", for which I find no warrant in MSS.
t One MS. has Suvira.
* The reading of the Bhdgavata-purdna is Namasyu.
§ Professor Wilson had "Bhayada". This, however, I find in no MSS.
save his favourite,— so often alluded to, which is, frequently, most in-
correct, — and in his Hindu-made English version.
II
Corrected from "Charupada".
f SI. 3695 — 3701.

" With and Raudraswa for brothers.
I'swara
tt I find names to be: Richeyu, Kaksheyu, Krikaneyu, Sthamli-

their
leyu, Vaneyu, Jaleyu, Tejeyu, Satyeyu, Dharmeyu, Sannateyu.
Anwagbhanu isnamed first of all, where it is said that Raudraswa's
sons were ten. With which of them is he to be identified?
128 VISHNU PURANA.
dyumna;** his son was Bahugava;^ his sonwas Sam-

yati;^t his son wasAhaihyati;'' his son wasRaudraswa^
who had ten sons it Riteyu/ Kaksheyu,§ Sthandileyu,
In the second list, I|

the son of Piiru is Janamejaya, whose suc-
cessors are Prachinwut, If San'iyati, Ahariiyati, Sarvabhaunia, Ja-
yatsena, Avachina, Ariha, Maliabhauina, Ayutanayin, Akroilhana,
Devatithi, Ariha, liiksha, Matiniira.— wlio is, therefore, the fif-
teenth from Puru, instead of the fourth, as in (he first account, oi
the twelfth, as in the text.

'
Dhundu: Vayu. Sariibhu: Agni. Sudhanwan : Brahma.**
''
Bahuvidha: Agni and Matsya. ff
* Sariipati: Agni.
^ Omitted: Vayu. Bahuvadin: Matsya.
* Bhadraswa: Matsya.
''
Rajeyu: Vayu. Richeyu: Agni. They were the sons of
• In one MS., Sudyu.

t Four MSS. have Sailipati.
t One of my MSS. gives, instead of Ghiiteyu, &c., Kriteyu, Gai'ieyu,

Dharmeyu, Santateyu, Varpeyu, I'rasanueyu; another gives, after Stba-
leyu, only Dhnrmeyu, Satyeyu, Dhaneyu another, the sole one ;
—
that names ten,— Riteyu, Kaksheyu, Sthai'irlileyu, Ghriteyu, Kriteyu,
Sthaleyu, Jaleyu, Dharmeyu, Dhaneyu, Prasannateyu. No two of all
my MSS. agree as to this fnuiily. Professor Wilson's Bengal trans-
lation has names (in a different order,) as in the text, except that Kriteyu
stands in place of Vrateyu. Vrateyu is the ninth son, iu the Bhdgavata-
purdjia, IX., XX., 4: he and Vaneyu lieing tiiinsposed.
The Tlnrivniiim, .'7. 1G59, IGGO, bus, arcorling to my be^t MSS.:

Richeyu, Krikaneyu, Kaksheyu, Sthai'idileyu, Sannateyu, Kriteyu, Jaleyu,
Sthaleyu, Dhaneyu, Vaneyu. The variants of different copies are nu-
merous. The mother of these ten sons, according to some MSS., was
Ghi'itaohi the Apsnras.
§ Kuksheyii: Bhdgavata-'purdna.
II
SI. 37fi3 - 3778.
^ Thus the name is spelled, on etymological ground>, in the Ma-

hdbhdrata, Adi-parvnn, si. 37('.r), et f>C(j.
" And in the Uarwaihia. Sudyu: Bhdgavata-'purdna.

Rau-
ff Most of my MSS. of the Harivamia give Suhahu, ami
then
draswa; thus omitting Saiiiyati and Ahaiiiyati.

;
BOOK IV., CHAP. XIX. 129
Ghriteyu,* Jaleyu, Sthaleyu, Santateyu, DhaDeyu,f

Vaiieyu,+ and Vrateyii.^§ The son of Riteyu was
Rantinara,^|| whose sons were Taiiisu, If Apratiratha,**
the Apsaras Ghritachi ff or of Misrakesi: Mahabbarata.H

: The
Brahma Puraria and Hari Variisa have, very unaccountably, and
iu opposition to all other authorities, transferred the whole of
the descendants of Anu to this family; substituting, for Anu, the

second name in our text, Kaksheyu (p. 120, supra).
'
The Vayu names, also, ten daughters, §§ Rudra, Siidra, Ma-
dra, Subhaga, Amalaju, Tala, Khala, Gopajala, Tamrarasa, and
Ratnakuti;ii|} and adds, that they were married to Prabhakara. a
Rishi, of the race ofAtri. The Brahma Purana and Hari Van'isa Ht
have a legend of the birth of Soma (the Moon) from him and
one of these ten ; who succeeded to the power and prerogatives
of Atri. The sons of the other wives were less distinguished
but they formed families eminent amongst holy Brahmans, called
Swastyatreyas.
* Atimara orAtibhara:*** Bhagavata. Antinara: Matsya. Ma-
* One copy has Vriteyu The Bhdgavata-purdna reads Kriteyu.

t Dharnieyu : Bhdgavata-purdiia. X Satyeyu : Bhdgavata-purdna.
§ This name is in no MS. accessible to me. See note + iu the fore-
going page.
il
My Ajmere and Arrah MSS. have Atinara; another MS., Atitara;
another, Atitara; another, Matinara.
«[f
Two MSS. have Sumati; another, Trasu. One of the two copies that
read Sumati adds Asuuiati; Ajmere MS., Pramati: and they, thus,
the
recognize four sons. ** My Ajmere MS. has Atiratha.
tt So says the Bhugavata-'purdna. Also see the end of note + in the

page preceding. H Adi-parvan, M. 3698.
§§ In the Harivaihsa, ^l. 1661, they are called, in my MSS. of best
note: Bhadra, Siidra, Madra, Salada, Malada, Khala. Bala, Balada, Su-
rasa, Gochapala. Here, again, there are very many various readings.
11 II
I suspect a mistake here; but my single MS. of the Vdyu-purdria
does not enable me to ascertain the true reading. In the Harivaihia, the
epithet k^ <(^<*iT* 's applied to all the ten sisters.
%% SI. 1663—1668. ** I find Rantibhara.
IV. 9
130 VISHNU PURANA.
and Dhruva.^* of the second f of these was The son

was Modliatithi, from whom the
Kai'nva; and his son
Kanwayana+ Brahmans^§ descended. Anila^^ll was
tiiuini: Mahabharatu, H Agiii, and Bralinia. ** According to the
Matsya and Hari Van'isa (not in the Brahma Puraria), Gauri, the
daughter of tliis prince, was the mother of Mandhatfi, of the
family of Ikshwaku.ff
'
In place of these, the Matsya has Amurtirajas and Nri-
chandra; and there are several varieties in the nomenclature. In
place of the first, we have Vasu (or Trasu), Vayu; Tan'isurogha,

Agni ; Tan':surodlia, Brahma ;t+ and Suniati, Bluigavata. Piati-
ratha is read, for the second, Agni and Brahma ;§§ and,
in the
for the third, Suratha, Agni; Subahu, Hari Van'isa.

^ Medhatithi is the author of many hymns in the Rig-veda;
and we have, therefore, Brahmans and religious teachers de-
scended from Kshattriyas.

^ Malina:Vayu. Raibhya:i||j Bhagavata. Dharmanetra: Brahma
* According to the Mahdhhdrata, Atli-parvan, si. 3702 — 3704, Mati-

nara, likewise called Anadhi'isht'i, had four sous: Tamsu, Mahat, Atiratha,
and Druhyu.
t The son of Atiratha, the Ajmere MS. says explicitly.
+ Variant: Kaiiwayaiia. Also vide infra, p. 140, note f.
§ According to the Bhdgavata-piirdna , Praskai'iwa and others, all
Brahmans.
II
This reading is in only one of my MSS., most of which read Ainihi.
Two have Elina, son of Metlbatithi. The Ajmere MS., too, has Elina;
Ijut it calls him son of Piiru. In the Arrah MS., the reading is Ailiua,
son of Trasu.
^ Vide supra, p. 127, note 1, ad finem.
** Add the llarivamia.
ft Compare Vol. III., p. 2C5, note 1, near the end.

++ The Harivai'ida has, in different MSS., Taiiisurodha, Taiiisurodya,
Taiiisurogha, (fee.
§§ Also in the Harivaihia, which has Apratiratha, likewise, - the pre-

ferable reading.
nil Son of Snniati, and father of Dnshyanta.

the son of Taiiisu; and he had four sons, of whom
Puri'uia. The Havi Van'isa* omits him; making sad blundering

work of the whole passage. Thus, the construction is such as
to intimate that Tamsu (or Tamsurodha) had a wife named Ila,f
the daughter of Medluitithi, — that is, his brother's great-grand-
daughter;
But this, as the comnjentator observes, is contrary to common

sense ('^îR^T^^'Sl) ; and he would read it, therefore, ^^ .rr^
g '?I^T^t^«?IT , 'the daughter of him who was named llin a
;
'
Raja so called. But, in the Vayu and Matsya, we have llina,

the daughter of Yama, married to Tan'isu, and mother of Malina
or Anila; more correctly, perhaps, Ailina:
frg^firfTT I II
The blunder of the Hari Variisa, therefore, arises from the com-
piler's reading Yasya, 'of whom,' instead of Yamasya, 'of Yama.'
It is not an error of transcription; for the metre requires Yasya:
and the remark of the commentator proves the correctness of
the reading. The name occurs llina (i^f^l), the son of Tan'isu,
in the Mahiibharata, § agreeably to the Anuvan'isa-sloka which
is there quoted. '
Saraswati bore Tariisu to Matinara ; and Tan'isu
begot a son, Tlina, by Kalingi':'
• SI. 1718, 1719.
t Ilini is the accepted reading.

+ In but one of my copies of the Vdyu-purdna do I find any portion
of this passage; and there only two lines of it occur, and in a miserably
depraved form.
§ Adi-parvan, il. 3780.
9*
:
132 VrSHNU PURANA.
Diishyanta* was the elder/f The son of Diishyanta

was the emperor Bharata. A verse explanatory of +
'
The Vayu, Matsya, and Bhagavata agree with our text, in
making these the grandsons of Tamsn; even the Brahma Parana
concurs: but the Hari Van)sa§ makes them his sons; having,
apparently, transformed Tan'iso sulah (rf^ WÔ^ '
f'^*^ son of
Taiiisu, ' into a synonym of Tamsu, or Taiiisurodha; as in these
parallel passages
"•
The son of Tainsu was the illustrious sage Dharmanetra : Upa-
danavi had, from him, four excellent sons." Brahma Puraiia.
* *
Tariisurodha was a royal sage, the illustrious institutor of laws.

Upadanavi had fom- sons from Tariisurodha." Hari Vaihsa. The
comnienlalor explains Dharmanetra (^Tf'T'^) to be 'institutor of
laws' (^^^'^ff efi'.). We have Upadanavi before,** — as the daughter
of Vrishaparvan, the Daitya, — married to Hiraiiyaksha. Hamilton
(Buchanan) H calls her the wife of Sughora. The four sons are
named, in other authorities, with some variations: Dushyanta,
Sushyanta (or Rishyanta, or Sumanta), Pravira, and Anagha (or
Naya). The Mahubhtlrata f f enumerates — Dushyanta,
five, Siira,
Bhima, Pravasu, and Vasu, — but makes them the sons of llina, and
grandsons of Tariisu.
* Variant: Dushiiiaiita.
t The original has ^X^nlT^T'^t^TT' 5'^TI i "four sons, namely,

Dushyanta and others."
+ So says the original, though, as is seen, two stanzas are quoted.
§ SI. 17'20, 1721.
II
These lines are not read much alike in any two of my copies. The
M8.S. are, evidently, very corrupt just here.
^ Genealogies of the Hindus, p. 122.
** Vol text and note
II., p. 70, 5.
tt Adi-parvan, il. 3708.

"
BOOK IV,, CHAP. XIX. 133
his name is chanted by the gods: "The mother is only

the receptacle; it is the father by whom a son is be-
gotten. Cherish thy son, Dushyanta; treat not Sakun-
tala with disrespect. Sons, who are born from the pa-
ternal loins, rescue their progenitors from the infernal
regions. Thou art the parent of this boy: Sakuntala
has spoken truth."* From the expression 'cherish'
(bharaswa) the prince was called Bharata. ^f
'
These two slokas are taken from the Mahabharata, Adi
Parvan, p. 112, t and are part of the testimony borne, by a heavenly
messenger, to the birth of Bharata. They are repeated in the
same book, in the account of the family of Piiru, p. 139. § They
occur, with a slight variation of the order, in other Purarias, as the
Vayu &c., !|
and show the greater antiquity of the story of Sakun-
tala, although they do not narrate it. The meaning of the name
Bharata is differently explained in the Sakuntala. II He is said
^ 'TT^ WffT 'rI^ ^(JTJTT^ ^^^ we

II
In the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XX., 21, 22, find these identical

words, with the chanore — mending the metre, — of TJ"^ '^J^ZffTf into XJ"^
•T^m- Burnouf translates the passage as follows:
"La Diere est le receptacle; c'est au pere qui I'a engendre qu'appar-
tient le fils: protege ton fils, 6 Diichyanta; ne meprise pas (|)akuntala.
"Un fils qui donne a son pere de la posterite, 6 roi, le fait remonter
de la demeure de Yama; tii es le pere de cet enfant: (âkiintala a dit
la verite.
t This sentence is added by the Translator.

X SI. 3102, 3103.
§ SI. 3783, 3784.

!|
Add the Hnrivnih.ia, .il. 1724—1726.
% The two explanations that follow occur near the end of Act VII.
of the Sakuntala.
"
134 VISHNU PURANA.
Bharata had, by different* wives, nine sons; but

they were put to death by their own mothers, because
Bharata remarked, that they bore no resemblance to
him, and the women were afraid that he would, there-
fore, desert them. The birth of his sons being thus
unavailing, Bharata sacrified to the Maruts; and they
gave him Bharadwaja,— the son of Brihaspati, by Ma-
mata, the wife of Utathya,f— expelled by the kick of
Dirghatamas, (his half-brother, before his time). This
verse explains the purport of his appellation: "'Silly
woman,' said Brihaspati, 'cherish this child of two
fathers' (bhara dwa-jamt). 'No, Brihaspati,' replied
Mamata: 'do you take care of him.' So saying, they
both abandoned him; but, from their expressions, the
boy was called Bharadwaja. " § He was, also, termed
Vitatha, in allusion to the unprofitable (vitatha) birth
to be so called from 'supporting' the world: he iS;, also, there

named Sarvadamana, 'the conqueror of all.'
* My Ajmere and Arrah MSS. read 'three'. Herewith the Bhdgavata-

purdiia agrees, and, further, calls them natives of Vidarbha.
t See Vol. III., p. 16, note §.

\ The rational etymology of Bharadwaja is bharat { vdja.
This stanza, which occurs in the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XX., 38,

also, is thus rendered by Burnouf:
"Femme ignorante, nourris ce tils de deux peres, [disait Brihaspati].
Nourris-le toi-mcme, 6 Brihaspati, [repondit Mamata]. Et parce que le
pcre et la mere, apres avoir ainsi parle, s'en allerent, [laissaut Tenlant,]
il fut nomme Bharadvadja.
BOOK I v., CHAP. XIX. 13^
of the sons of Bharata,' The son of Vitatha was Bha-

'
The Brahma Puraiia and Hari Varhsa (the latter, espe-
cially,) appear to have modified this legend, with the view, per-
haps, of reconciling those circumstances which are related of Bha-
radwaja, as a sage, with his history as a king. Whilst, therefore,
they state that Bhtiradwaja was brought, by the winds, to Bharata
they state that he was so brought to perform a sacrifice':, by which
a son was born, wiioni Bliaradw;lja also inaugurated:
W^^r^^wr TTlf^: ^gf^ff fTJi: II
*
fl<ft^^ f^cT^ ^"R HW^Trgrfri^^cj; ||
In the Vayu, Matsya, and Agni, however, the story is much more
consistently narrated; and Bharadwaja, being abandoned by his
natural parent, brought by the winds, as a child, not as a sage;
is
and, being adopted by Bharata, is one and the same with Vitatha,
as our text relates. Thus, in the Vayu, the Maruts bring to Bha-
rata, already sacrificing for progeny, (*jx;i[T^ fTfi: tj"^
^T^^(€f)
"'Bharadwaja, the son of Briliaspati " and Bharata, receiving him,
;
says: "This Bharadwaja shall be Vitatha:"
The Matsya, also, says, the Maruts, in compassion, took the child,
and, being pleased with Bharata's worship, gave it to him, and

he was named Vitatha:
^^^m ^T^^ ^%W. irq^Tf^rfT:
***** *
I
* ****** * * * * *
And the Agni tells the whole story in one verse:
"Then, the son of Bi'ihaspati being taken by the winds, Bhara-
* Harivama, si. 1729, 1730.

:
136 VISHNU PUR AN A.
vanmanyu:^* his sons were many:f and, amongst

them, the chief were Brihatkshattra, Mahavirya, Nara,
dwaja was transferred with sacrifice, and was Vitatha." The

account given in the Bhagavata is to the same purpose. The
commentator on the text also makes the matter clear enough
»TTTr^#^ ^Tfl^^^^^T^ f^fT^fTT 'TT^ it "The name of
Bharadwaja, in the condition of son of Bharata, was Vitatha." It
is clear that a new-born infant could not be the officiating priest
at a sacrifice for his own adoption, whatever the compiler of the

Hari Van'isa may please to assert. From Bharadwaja, a Brah-
man by birth, and king by adoption, descended Brahmans and
Kshattriyas, the children of two fathers:
The Mahabharata, in the Adi Parvan, tells the story very simply.
In one place, — p. 136, v. 3710, — it says, that Bharata, on the birth
of his children proving vain, obtained, from Bharadwaja, by great

sacrifices, a son, Bhumanyu; and, in another passage, it makes
Bhumanyu the son of Bharata by Sunanda, daughter of Sarvasena,
king of Kasi:|| p. 139, v. 3785. The two are not incompatible.
Manyu: Bhagav'ata. Suketu: Agni.H But the Brahma and
Hari Vaiiisa omit this and the next generation, and make Suhotra,
Anuhotra, ** Gaya, Garga, and Kapila the sons of Vitatha. They
then assign to Suhotra two sons, Kasika and Gritsamati, f f and
* Two MSS. have Bhumanyu.

t The Bhdgnvata-purnna says there were five: Brihatkshattra, Jaya,
Mahavirya, Nara, and liaifra.
+ My MS8, have a ditfereiit reading from this, which is unjrrammatical.
The gloss, as 1 find it, ends with the words f^fT^«Tl^t t«l^fW?T^ I
§ This is from the Vdyu-purdna; but 1 am unable to correct it by

my copy; for 1 have only one here, and that most indifferent, generally:
vide supra, p. 124, note f.
II
in the original, Sunanda is termed Kaseyi, and by the patronym ot
Sarvaseni.
**
^ Bhuvanmanyn: Vdyu-purdna. 1 find Snhotri.
ft Corrected from "Ghritsamati".

1
BOOK IV., CHAP. XTX. 1.^7
and Garga.* The son of Nara was Sankfiti:* his sons

were Ruchiradhif and Rantideva.^t The son of Garga
was Sini;^ and their descendants, called Gargyas§ and
Sainyas, although Kshattriyas by birth, became
||
Brahmans.^ The son of Mahavirya was Urukshaya,-
identify tliem and their descendants with the progeny of Ayus,

who were kings of Kasi ** (vide supra, p. 37, note 1): a piece of
confusion unwarranted by any other authority except the Agni.
'
Brihat, Aharya, Nara, Garga: Matsya.
' Guruvirya and Trideva: Vayu. The first is called Gurudhi,
Matsya; and Guru, Bhagavata: they agree in Rantideva. The

Bhjigavata describes the great liberality of this prince, and his
practice of Yoga. According to a legend preserved in the Megha
Duta. ff his sacrifices of kine were so numerous, that their blood
formed the river Charmariwati,+t the modern Chumbul.
^ Sibi: Matsya.
* The other authorities concur in this statement ; thus fur-
nishing an additional instance of one caste proceeding from an-
other. No reason is assigned : the commentator says it was from
some cause : ^^rf^(^TT%'f WT^WT^ ^^^: I §§
* Durbhakshaya:|l II
Vayu. Urukshat: Matsya. Duritakshaya:
Bhagavata.
*
In four MSS. the name is Samski'iti.
t My Ajmere MS. has Suradhi; the Ariah MS., Giinulhi.
I One Rantideva, we read in the Harshacharita, was killed by Ranga-

vati, one of his wives. See my Vdsavadattd, Preface, p. 53.
§ Three MSS. yield Gargas. ||

Saineyas, according to one MS.
^ In one MS., Urunjaya. The Vdyu-piirdna has, in my MS., Bhima.
**Read "Ka.«i kings". They were so called as being descendants of
Ka.siraja,
* e., King Ka.si. Vide supra, p. 39, note •. Kasi is a pa-
tronym of Kasa.
tt Stanza XLVII., edition of Professor Wil.son.
++ The name of the river is not in the poem itself, but is supplied by
the commentators,
§§ Compare note » in p. 145, infra.
III!
My MS. has an illegible name; but it is not this, certainly.
: .
138 VISHNU PL RAJS A.
who had three sons, Trayyariiiia,* Pushkarin, and

Kapi/f the last of whom became a Brahman, The t
son of Brihatkshattra was Siihotra,^§ whose son was
'
Trayyaruni, Puslikararuni, Kavi; || all became Brahmans:
Matsya. And there were three chief Itraiiches of the Kavyas, or

descendants of Kavi
^T^T^t g ^TT ir% "^^^ ^m ^^^^^: i
Gargas, Sank litis, and Kavyas. Ibid,

''
In the Mahabharala, H Suhotra is the son of Bhumanyu;**
and, in one place, ff the father of Ajamidha, &c., and, in another, H
of Hastin, The Brahma Puraiia, in some degree, and the Hari
Vamsa, in a still greater, have made most extraordinary confusion
in the instance of this name. In our text, and in all the best
authorities, we have three Suhotras, perfectly distinct: 1. Suhotra,
great-grandson of Amavasu, father of Jahnu, and ancestor of Vis-
wamitra and the Kausikas (vide supra, p. 14); 2. Suhotra, son of
Kshattravriddha, and grandson of Ayus, and progenitor of the
race of Kasi kings §§ (vide supra, pp. 30, et seq.) ; and, 3. Su-
* Two MSS. give Trayyaruni.

t Nearly all my MSS. have Kapila; but, in some of them, Kapila is
written over Kapi.

The
original says that they all throe became Brahmans: ll'^"=^"?f?f-
^
+
flW ^ff^Tlftl TT'gif^'R^Tgq^^T^T Professor Wilsons Bengal

I I
version is here correct. Compare Vol. Ill p. 48, note *. ,
§ Omitted in the Bhdyavala-purdiia, which makes Hastin sou of Bri-

hatkshattra.
The same names are found in the Bhdgavata-purdna.
II
The Vdyti-
purdna seems to read Trayyaruni, Pushkararuni, and Kapi.
^ Adi-parvan, il. 3714.
** And of Pushkariiu,
tt Adi-parvan, si. 3720.

II Ibid., si. 3786, 3787.
§§ See the preceding page, note ••
;
Hastin, who founded the city of Hastmapura. ** The
hotra, the son of Biihatksbattra, grandson of Vitatha, and parent

of Hastin. In the two blundering compilations mentioned, we
have, first (Hari Vamsa, ch. 20), a Siihotra, son of Brihatkshattra,
of the race of Puru: his descent is not given; but, from the names
which follow Suhotra, the dynasty is that of our present text:
secondly (Hari Vamsa, ch. 27), Suhotra, son of Kanchana, of the
line of Amavasu, and father of Jahnu, &c. : thirdly (Hari Vamsa,
ch. 29), Suhotra, the son of Kshattravriddha, and progenitor of the
Kasi kings fourthly (Hari Vaihsa, ch.32), we have the first and third
:
of these personages confounded ; Suhotra is made the son of Vita-

tha, and progenitor of the Kasi kings, the dynasty of whom is
repeated; thus connecting them with the line of Piiru, instead of

Ayus, in opposition to all authority. Again, we have a notable
piece of confusion; and Suhotra, the son of Vitatha, is made the
father of Brihat, the father of the three princes who, in our text,
and in the Hari Vamsa, ch. 20, are the sons of Hastin; and amongst
whom Ajamidha is made the father of Jahnu, and ancestor of the
Kausikas, instead of being, as in ch. 27, and as everywhere else,
of the family of Amavasu. The source of all this confusion is
obvious. The compilers extracted all the authentic traditions
accurately enough; but, puzzled by the identity of name, they have,

also, mixed the different accounts together, and caused very ab-
surd and needless perplexity. It is quite clear, also, that the Hari
Vamsa does not deserve the pains taken, and taken fruitlessly, by
Mr. Hamilton and M. Langlois, to reduce it to consistency. It is
of no weight whatever, as an authority for the dynasties of

kings, f although it furnishes some particular details, which it
has picked up, possibly, from authentic sources not now available.
'
It was finally ruined by the encroachments of the Ganges
but vestiges of it were, at least until lately, to be traced along
the river, nearly in a line with Delhi, about sixty miles to the east.
* Two of my best MSS. have Hastinapura. With reference to the

name of this place, see the Mahdbhdrata, Adi-pnroan, il. 1786, et seq.
t Nevertheless, it is but little inferior to the Vish/iu-purdiia.

140 VISHNU PURANA.
sons of Hastin were Ajamidha/ Dwimiclha, and Puru-

midha* Ajamidha was Kanwa, whose
One son of
son was Medhatithi.'f Hist other son was Brihad-
ishii,§ whose son was Brihadvasu-.MI his son was
Brihatkarman;* his son was Javadratha:'^ his son was
Viswajit;*' his son was Senajit, whose sons were Ru-
'
In one place, son of Suhotra;** in another, grandson of
Hastin f f Mahabliarata.
:
' The copies agree in this reading; yet it can scarcely be

correct. Kaiiwa has already been noticed, as the son of Apra-
tiratha. +t According to the Bhagavata, the elder §§ son of Aja-
midha was Priyamedha, from whom a tribe of Brahmans de-
! !
scended. The Matsya has Brihaddhaniis, and names the wife of

Ajamidha, Dhumini. It also, however, along with the Vayu,
makes Kahwa the son of Ajamidha, by his wife Kesini.
^ Bfihaddhanus: Bhagavata. Also called Bi'ihaddharman : Hari
Varhsa. l^H
* Brihatkaya: Bhagavata.
* Satyajit: Hari Vaihsa.
^'
Aswajit: Matsya. Visada: Bhagavata.
* One MS. gives Suramirlha. That Purumiflha left no offspring, we

learn from the Bhdgnvntn-purdna, IX., XXI., 30.
t The original afkis, a.s has the Vdyu-purdna: "^rW 6fiT^T^«TT
f^'^T*. ; thns verbally repeating what i.s .stated in p 130, supra. Here,
as before, some MSS. yield Kanwayana.
+ /. e., AjaniiVlha's. as the Sanskrit states distinrtly.
§ Briharldhanns: Vdyu-jmrdim.
II
Two of my host M8S. have Brihaddhanns.
<|[ Bi'ihadratha, in one MS. And so reads the Vdyu-purdna.
** AcU-parvan, si. 3720.
tt If'iff; ^l- ^780.
\\ Vide supra, pp. 129, 130.

§§ The Bhdgavata-purdna does not say "elder".
[Ill
Corrected from "Priyamedhas ".
^^ BrihadvishnuC?): Vdyu-purdna.
chiraswa, Kasya, Dridhadhanus, and Vatsabaim.^*

The son was Pnthusena;t his son was
of Rucbiraswa
Para;: his son was Nipa: he had a hundred sons, of
whom Samara, the principal, was the ruler of Kam-
pilya.'- Samara had three sons. Para, Sampara,§ Sa-
daswa.li The son of Para was Prithu; his son was
**
Sukriti; his son was Vibhraja; '^ his son was Anuha,
Bhagavatii.tt Matsya. Hari Vaiiisa.^t
Ruchiraswa Ruchiraswa Ruchira
Kasya Kasya Swetaketu

Dridhahanu Dridhaswa Mahiumara
Vatsa. Vatsa, king of Vatsa, king of
Avanti. Avanti.
^
Kanipilya appears to be the Kampil of the
Mohamiuedans,
the Uoab.§§ It was included in Southern Panchala. J|

situated in
The Matsya makes Samara the son of Kasya.

^ VibhrajalU in MSS.; also in the Vayu.
inadvertence: it oc-
• The "Vasahanu" of the former edition was au
Wilson's Hiudu-made English version. Two of my
curs in Professor
MSS. have Vatsa.
t Piithusheua : Vdyu-furdna. . ^,. ,
that Para and Prithusena

: It from the Bkdgavata-purdna,
seems,
were, both, sons of Ruchiraswa.
§ One MS. has
Saughara.
II
Sadaswa is the more ordinary reading.
which, unquestionably, is no word. It
m Corrected from "Vibhratra",
is enough to remind the Sanskrit scholar, that is often ^so written
for ^. "Bidhalra" is the name in Pro-

as to be easily mistakeable
See Vol. 111., p. 335, note §§.
fessor Wilson's Bengal translation.
s rough
**Anuha is a common variant. It is noted, in the Translator
reads Chaturhotra.
copy, that a certain MS. here
J.J. 7V "XXI 23
Vatsa: Vdyu-purdna.
:: Ruchiraswa, Kavya(?), Dridhadhanus,
note 6.
§§ See Vol. II., p. 1(30,
5512.
III!
See the Mahdbhdrata, Adi-parvan, SL
%J See note J, above.
f ;
who married Kritwi,* the daughter of Snka (the son

ofVyasa), and had, hy her, Brahmadatta;' his son
was Viswaksena; his son was Udaksena;" and his son
was Bhallata.^
The son of Dwiniidha' was Yavmara; his son was
Dhritiniat; '
his son was Satyadhriti; his son was Dri-
The Bhtigavata omits the descents subsequent

'
to Nipa, and
makes Brahmadatta Ihe son of Nipa by Sukriti.t In the Hari
Vamsa§ is a curious legend of the different transmigrations of

Brahmadatta and his six companions, who were, successively, as
many Bralniians, then foresters, then deer, then water-fowl, then
swans, and, finally, Brahmans again; when, with the king, they
obtained liberation. According to the Bhagavata, Brahmadatta
composed a treatise on the Yoga, a Yoga-tantra.
^ Dahdasena: Hari Vaiiisa.
^ Bhalh'ika: Vayu. ||
Bhallada: Bhagavata. The Vayu makes
him the last of the race.! The Hari Vaiiisa** adds, that he was
killed by Karna.ff The Matsya names his successor Janame-
jaya, when the race of the Nipas was exterminated by Ugrayudha
as noticed below. ++
*
So the Vayu and Bhagavata. The Matsya and Hari Variisa,
with less consistency, derive this family, also, from Ajamidha. §§

^ Kritimat: Bhagavata.
'
"Kripi, in one MS. Rnt the reading is scarcely of any account.
t By Go, according to the Blidgavata-yuruiia.
X I find Kritwi, daughter of Suka.
§ Chapter XXI.
II
I find Ehallara(?) in my one MS.
^ This statement seems to be an error. See note + + ,
below.
" SI. 1070.
ft Radheya, in the original. Karna was so called from his foster-
mother, Radhti, wife of Dhi'itaraslifra. Vide supra, p. 12C, note f.
II And so says the Vuyu-purui'ia, at least in my MS.

§§ And with these our Pnrai'ia agrees. For, after naming Bhallat'a, it
proceeds : rJ-^T^wr f^^ft^: I fl[^^^ ^ft^T^"^: I

dhanemi; his son was Su[>ai'swa-/ his son was Sii-

mati; his son was Sainnatimat;'' his son was Krita,f
to whom Hiranyanablia taught (the pliilosophy of) the
Yoga; and he ^compiled twenty-fonr Saihhitas (or com-
pendia), for tlie nse of the eastern Bi-alimans who study
the Sama-veda. The son of Krita was Uirravudha,!
by whose prowess § the Nipa race of Kshatti-iyas was
destroyed. His son was Kshemya;t his son was
''II
Between these two the Vtiyu** inserts Mahat and Rukma-

^
ratha the Matsya, Sudhanwan, Sarvabhauma, Mahapaurava, and

;
Rukmadhara; the Brahma Pnratia, .Sudharuian, Sarvabhauma,

Mahat, and Rukniaratha.
• The Bhagavataff says, he was the author of six Saiiihitas
of the Sama-veda.
*
The Hari Van'isatt says, he killed Nipa, the grandfather of
Prishata; but it liad, previously, stated, that it was the son of
Bhallata — several descents after Nipa, — who was killed by Ugra-
yudha;§§ and, again (ch. 32|||j), Prishata, conformably to other
* Two of my best MSS. have, respectively, Santimat and Saiiinati.
t The Bhdgavata-purdna has Ki'itin. But neither this nor Ki'iti seems
to be the right See Vol. III., p. CO, notes § and ||.
name. There is,
here, in the Vdyu-'pxirdAa, something that I am unable to read iu my MS.

+ Sou of Nipa, who was, apparently, son of Ki'itiu, according to the
Bhdgavata-purdna.
§ %^ in^^Tir, "by whom, to a great extent."
II
The original has only •Tl"'?'^'^* '^Tci: I
Professor Wilson has in-
serted, in his text, the commentator's gloss: •ftm: I "^t^^t^^^Tl I
^TT ^^: Ikt: I
^ Kshema, in one MS. This is the reading I fiud in the Vdyu-purdna.

** In my MS., it gives, as son of Di'itlhanemi, Suvarman; then, Sar-
vabhauma, several illegible names, and Rukmaratha, father of Suparswa.
ft IX., XXI., 28, 29. See notef, above.
:: Si 1083.
§§ ^l. 1072.
III! SI. 1793.
144 VI8HNU PURANA.
Suvira; his son was Nripaiijaya;' * his son was Bahu-

f These were, all, called Pauravas.
ratha.
Ajainidha had a wife called Nilini;t and, by her,
he had a son named Nila: his son was Santi;§ his son
was Susanti; his son was Purujanu;^ his son was I
Chakshus;^1f his son was Haryaswa,^** who had five
sons, Mudgala, Srinjaya,"^!! Brihadishu, Pravira,*^t+ and
authorities, appears as the father of Drupada, in the family of

Srinjaya. The Hari Vaihsa§§ relates the destruction of Ugra-
yudha by Bhishma, in consequence of- his demanding, in marriage,
the widow of Santanu; ilj!

after which, Prishala, it is said, re-
covered possession of Kaaipilya.

'
Puranjayarl'l Bhagavata.
^ Purujati : Vayu. *** Puruja : Bhagavata. The Brahma Pu-
rai'ia and Hari Vaihsa omit Nila and Santi.
^ Riksha: Vayu. Pritbu: Matsya. Arka: Bhagavata. Omitted:
Brahma.
* Bahyaswa: Agni.fff Bhadraswa: Matsya. Bharmyaswa:
Bhagavata.
* Jaya: Matsya. Sanjaya: Bhagavata.
^ Yavinara : Agni and Bhagavata. Javinara: Matsya.
*
Two MSS. give liipunjaya; one, Puranjaya.
t Viraratha: Vdyu-purdaa.
X In oue MS., NaLiii; the lection of the Bhdgavata-'purdna.
§ The \dyu-purdna omiLs this name.

II
A single copy exhibit* Purajanu. And see note «»* , below,
1 Corrected from "Chakshu". Oue copy has Arka.
** There is no name here, in my copy of the Vdyu-purdita.
tt 'fwo iJ8S. have Sanjaya. Referring to this place, and to Vol. 11.,
p. 180, Professor Wilson

seems to connect Srinjaya with the people of
the same name, dwelling "towards the Punjab". Translation of the
Rigveda, Vol. 111., p. 438, note 4.
++
++ Two MSS. have Yavinaia. §§ Chapter XX.
Called Bhishma's father. ^% I find Ripunjaya.
Purajanu, in my M8. fft Add the Harivaitda, il. 1777.
:
Kampilya.^ Tlieir father said: "These my five (pancha)
sons are able (alam) to protect the countries;" and,

hence, they were termed the Panchalas. -
From Mud-
gala descended the Maudgalya Brahmans:^* he had
(also,) a son named Badhryaswa, * f who had (two
'
Kapila: Matsya. Krimilaswa: Brahma.
- Panchala was, at first, the country north and west of Delhi,
between the foot of the Himalaya and the Chumbul. It was
afterwards divided into Northern and Southern Panchala, sepa-
rated by the Ganges. Makandi (on the Ganges,) and Kampilyat
were the chief cities of the latter; Ahikshatra,§ in the former. The
Panchalas, according to the Mahabharata, expelled Samvaraiia
from Hastinapura; but it was recovered by Kuru. The purport
of the term Panchala is similarly explained in other Puranas.
In the Mahabharata, they are the grandsons of Ajamidha.
^ The Matsya says, that they, as well as the Kariwas, were,
all, followers or partizans of Angiras
f^^Rnf^ tt^^t: ^t^1%TT f^^TTTEr: I
H^ irfWT^' ^
^f^m: ^R^^^^rr:
The Hari Variisal^ has nearly the same words. If
ii
* Badhryaswa ** Vayu. Panchaswa: Agni.

:
Bandhyaswa:
*
The original says that they were, at first, Kshattriyas: ^^t^rTT
f^<3|M4^ "^W^: I
On this the commentator observes, as before -.
^f^'^
note 4.
found in all my MSS. The
t This name, or some corruption of it, is
so
Translator's "Bahwaswa" I have here displaced, as having, at least
far as I am aware, no authority except that of Professor
Wilson's Bengal
translation.
Badhryaswa is genuine name— in the oldest Hindu book,— of the
the
father of Divodasa. See the Rigveda, VI., LXI., 1.
t See the Mahabharata, Adi-parvan, M. 5012.
§ See Vol. II., p. 160, note 9, and the annotations thereon.
II
SI. 1781, 1782. f And the same maybe said of the Vdyu-purdi'ia.
** Corrected from "Badhryaswa" by Professor Wilson himself, in his
Translation of the Rigveda, Vol. III., p. 504, note 1.
IV. W
—
146 VISHNU PURANA.
children,) twins, (a son and daughter), Divodasa and

Ahalya. The son of Saradwat (or Gautama*), by
Ahalya,f was Satananda;' his son was Satyadhriti, t

who was a proficient in miUtary science. Being en-
amoured of the nymph Urvasi, Satyadhriti was the
parent of two children, a boy and a girl. Santanu,§ a
Raja, whilst hunting, found these children exposed in
a clump of long Sara grass, and, compassionating their
Matsya. Bharmya:|| Bhagavata. But there is some indistinct-

ness as to his descent. The Matsya and Hari Variisall give
the son of Mudgala only his patronymic, Maudgalya. According
to the first, his son was Indrasena, and his son, Bandhyaswa.
The second** makes Badhryaswa the son of Maudgalya, by In-
drasena. The Bhagavata ft makes Bharmya the patronymic of
Mudgala, the son of Bharmyaswa, and who is the father of
Divodasa n and Ahalya:
The commentator has: ^T"^?!^ *lWj l^5'^T<T. I I
In the Ramayana, Satananda appears as

' the family priest
of Janaka, the father of Sita.
* Parenthesized by me, because supplied by the Translator. Two of

my MSS. have Gautama, not Saradwat. Compare Vol. III., p. 16, note I.
t For a story regarding Ahalya and Gautama, translated from the
Rdmdyatia, by Dr. Muir, see his Original Sa7iskrit Texts, Part I., pp. 121,
122 (2nd ed.).
+ It was, agreeably to the Bhdgavata-purd/m, his son Saradwat that

was father of Kfipa and Kfipi, named just below.
§ p. 143, note 3, ad finem.
Vide supra,
II
The Bhdgavata-purdna does not substitute Bharmya for "Bahwaswa,"
but makes Mudgala, the Bharmya, i. e., son of Bharmyaswa, — father of
Divodasa and Ahalya. The Panchalakas, collectively, are called Bharmyas

in the same Purai'ia, IX., XXII., 3.
t SI. 1780. " Harivamm, si. 1782, 1783. ft IX., XXI., 34.
\l For another Divodasa, presumably of later date than he of the Rigveda,
— which work, as we have seen in note f to the preceding page, knows
the son of Badhryaswa,— wrfe supra, p. 33.
condition, took them, and brought them up. As they

were nurtured through pity (kripa), they were called
Kripa and Kripi.* The latter became the wife of
Drona, and the mother of Aswatthaman.f
The son of Divodasa was Mitrayu;^+ his son was
Chyavana,§ his son was Sudasa;! his son was Sau-
' From whom the Maitreya Brahmans were descended: Hari
Varhsa.lF In the Matsya and Agni,** the son of Mitrayu is called
Maitreya (see Vol. I., p. 6). The Brahma Puraria and Hari
Vamsa here close the lineage of Divodasa: the Agni adds but
one name, Somapi. They then proceed with the descendants
of Sfinjaya, one of the Panchalas, — or, Panchadhanus, Sonia-
datta, Sahadeva,— and then, as in our text. The Vayu and
Bhagavata agree with the latter, in making the line continuous
from Divodasa. According to the Matsya and Brahma Puraiias, ff
the race of Ajamidha became extinct in the person of Sahadeva;
but Ajamidha himself was reborn, as Somaka, in order to con-
tinue his lineage, which was, thence, called the Somaka family.
It was in the reign of Drupada that the possessions of the Pan-
chalas were divided; Drona, assisted by the Pahdavas, conquer-
ing the country, and ceding the southern portion again to Dru-
pada, as related in the Mahabharata. The two princes last named
in the list figure in the Great War.
• The translation here both compresses and expands the original.
t He bears the patronym of Drauuayani. See the Mahabharata, Adi-

parvan, si. 7019, &c.
* I find Mitrayu everywhere but in one MS., which has Mitraghua.
For Mitrayu, see the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XXII., 1 also, Vol. III., ;
p. 64, note •. Mitreyu occurs in some MSS. of the Bhdgavata-purdna.

The Vdyu-purdi'ia has Mitrayu.
§ The original calls him a king.
The Vdyu-purdna, I think, gives him a brother, Pratiratha.
jl
^ SI. 1789, 1790. The Maitreyas are there said to be Kshattriyas.

•* Also in the Vdya-purdna.
tt Compare the Vdyu-purdna, my copy of which is, just here, such as
to forbid my entering into details with any security from error.
10*
148 VISHNU PURANA.
dasa, also called Sahadeva;* his son was Somaka;

he had a hundred sons, of whom Jantu was the eldest,
and Prishata the youngest. The son of Prishata was
Drupada; his son was Dhrishtadyumna; his son was
Dhrishtaketu.f
Another son of Ajamidha was named Riksha; ^
his
son was Sanivarana; his son+ was Kuru, who gave
his name to the holy district Kurukshetra;§ his sons
were 8udhanus,ij Jahnu, Parikshit,t and (many)
others/ The son of Sudhanus was Suhotra; his son
'
The Hari Vamsa** gives him two brothers, Dhuniravarria ff
and Sudarsana. In the Mahabharata, one listt+ agrees with the
text; the other §§ calls Samvararia the son of Ajamidha, by his
wife Riksha.
* One other is named in the Bhagavata, il|l Matsya, Brahma,
and Agni, — Animejaya, Arimardana, IfH and Nishadhaswa. The
Hari Vamsa has Sudhanwan,*** in place of Jahnu; having,
also, Sudhanus.
* According to two MSS. and the Translator's Bengal version, Saha-

deva was son of Saudasa.
t Corrected from "Drisht'aketu".
+ By Tapati: Bhdyavata-purdna.
§ The original runs: ^ f;^ ^^%'^ ^^"^ 'êRTT • ^^^ Kurukshe-
tra, see Vol. II., p. 133, note 1; p. 142, note 4.
II
Sudhanwan: Vdyu-purdua.
^ Here, and everywhere. Professor Wilson put "Parikshit", a late form
of Parikshit which my MSS. very rarely present,
** SI. 1799.
tt The Vdyu-purdna mentions him.

*l Adi-parvan, 67. 3724.
§§ Ibid., .il. 3790, et seg.
II II
This has Nishadhaswa.
^^ Him the Vdyu-purd/ia names.
**• Corrected from "Sudhanwat".
—
was Chyavana; his son was Kritaka;^ his son was

Uparichara, * the Vasu,'^f who had seven t children,
Brihadratha,§ Pratyagraha, ||
Kusamba,1f Mavella,
'
Krita: Vayu. ** Kritayajna: Brahma. Kfimi: Matsya.
Kfitin:ff Bhagavata.
^ The story of Uparichara, or a Vasu tl who, by command of
Indra, became king of Chedi, is told in the Mahabharata, Adi
Parvan§§ (Vol. I., p. 85). He is there said to have, at first, five
sons. Brihadratha (king of Magadha), Pratyagraha,!;! Kusamba

(also called Mariivahana), Mavella, and Yadu, by his wife Girika;
afterwards he has, by Adrika, an Apsaras (condemned to the form
* There may be a question whether this is the name in the Vdyu-

purdna
t Read "Vasu, surnamed Uparichara." A Vasu — see Vol. II., p, 22,
is a sort of demigod ; and it does not appear that Uparichara was turned
into one. He has the longer epithet of Chaidyoparichara, in the Hari-
varhsa, 41. 1805.
* The Vdyu-purdna names all seven but I can read only ; the first
four, in my very incorrect MS.

§ Maharatha, king of Magadha: Vdyu-purdna.
Ij
Corrected from "Pratyagra", and notwithstanding that this is the
name in all my MSS. except one, which has Pratyagratha. For all the
MSS. are wrong; the name being as I have given it. Proof of this is to
be found in the Mahdhhdrata, Adi-parvan, si. 2363, quoted in note ||||,
below.
We read, in the Vdyu-purdna, further:
The Vishnu-purana, hereabouts, is in prose. Did the Bhdgavaia-pu-

ra«a— which is metrical,— copy therefrom, in its Pratyagra?
% Kusa: Vdyu-purdna. See the verse of Sanskrit in ther preceding
note.
• I find Kfitaka. ft Corrected from "Kfiti".
*X See note f, above. §§ SI. 2334, et seq.
II II
Corrected from "Pratyagra". The original runs:
The same verse occurs in the Harivanda, U. 1806.

:
150 VISHNU PURANA.
Matsya, and others.* The son of Brihadratha was

Kusagra;f was Rishabha-/t his son was Push-
his son
pavat;§ his son was Satyadhrita;^|| his son was Su-
dhanwan IT and his son was Jantu.** Brihadratha hadff
;
another son, who, being born in two parts, which were

put together (sandhita) by (a female fiend named) Jara,
he was denominated Jarasandha.^ His son was Saha-
of a fish), Matsya (a son), and Satyavati (or Kali, a daughter)

the latter was the mother of Vyasa. The same legend is referred
to in the accounts of Uparichara and his family, in the Bhaga-
vata, Matsya, Hari Varhsa, &e.
' Vrishabha: Matsya.
' Satyajita: Vayu. Satyahita:t+ Bhagavata. §§ Satyadhfita or
Pushya: Matsya.
* This story is told in the 16th section of the Sabha Parvan
of the Mahabharata, where, also, he is called the son of Bri-
hadratha. In the Vayu, he is the son of Satyajita. l! '
The Agni
has Satyahita, Urja, Sariibhava, Jantsandha; and the Matsya,
Satyadhrita, Dhanusha, Sarva, Sariibhava, Jarasandha.
• The BItdgavata-purdna names Brihadratha, Kusamba, Matsya, Pra-

tyagra, and Chedipa, and calls theiu kings of Chedi.
t In the Vdyu-purdiia, the name, in my copy, is Kusagrya.

+ In one MS,, Vrishabha.
§ Putravat, in one copy.

Two MSS. exhibit Satyahita.
II
% A single copy gives Sumanas.

•*
Urjha, in my careless MS. of the Vdyu-purd/ia; and his son was
Nabhasa; and his, Jarasandha.
ft By another wife, says the Bhdgavata-purdna.
*+ So in the Vdyu-purdna, too.
§§ IX., XXII., 7. And it places Pushpavat after, not before, Satyahita,
It then makes Jahu son of Pushpavat, and does not speak of Sudhanwan
and Jantu.
nil Not so, according to my single MS., which is, often, very incorrect.
See note •• above. ,
deva; his son was Somapi;'* his son was Srutasra-

vas.^f These were kings of Magadha.^
'
Somadhi; Vayu.§ Udapi : Agni. Udayus: Brahma. So-
mavit: Matsya. ||
'"*
Srutakarman; Agni. Srutasarman: Brahma.
* Somadhi, in one MS.

f Omitted in my copy of the Vdyu-purdna.
* Corrected, throughout this work, from "Magadha".
For a continuation of the kings of Magadha, see Chapter XXIII. of
this Book.
§ Regarding Somadhi, it says, agreeably to the reading of my one MS,:
II
Marjari: Bhdgavata-purdna, IX, XXII., 44; but, in the seventh
stanza, Somapi.
CHAPTER XX.
Descendants of Kuru. Devapi abdicates the throne: assumed by
Santanu : he is confirmed by the Brahmans: Bhishma his son
by Ganga: his other sons. Birth of Dhfitarashtra, Paridii,
and Vidura. The hundred sons of Dhritarashtra. The five
sons of Pari du: married to Draupadi : their posterity. Pari-

kshit, the grandson of Arjuna, the reigning king.
PARIKSHIT (the son of Kuru,)* had four sons, Ja-

namejaya, Srutasena, Ugrasena, and Bhimasena.^ The
'
This, although it occurs in other authorities, appears to be
an error; for these are the sons of a subsequent Parikshit (see
the next chapter, p. 162). The Matsya omits Parikshit here; and
the Bhagavata f states that he had no children. In most of the
Pursirias, however, the line of Parikshit is continued; but there
is very great confusion in the lineage. According to the Vayu, t
Janamejaya was the son of Parikshit, whose son was Srutasena,

whose son was Bhimasena. Janamejaya had, also, a son named
Suratha; but Suratha was, also, the name of the son of Jahnu,
from whom the line continues as in the text. The Brahma Pu-
raria and Hari Van'isa also make Suratha the son both of Jana-
mejaya and of Jahnu ; and they observe, that there are two Ri-
kshas, two Parikshits, three Bhimasenas, and two Janamejayas,
in the Lunar race. § Some of the confusion probably originates
with the Mahabharata, which, as before noticed, j|
gives two lists
from Puru to Stuitanu, differing from one another, and from all
the lists of the Purarias. In the first of these lists, such collateral
* I have supplied the parentheses. But vide supra, p, 148,
t IX., XXII., 9.
+ In the single MS. to which I am here reduced, it is said that Jana-

mejaya was son of Pariksha (sic), and that Bhimasena was son of Sruta-
sena. Janamejaya and Srutasena are not connected there.
§ Harivamia, si. 1816 — 1818. Vide supra, p. 127, note 1.
i|
BOOK IV., CHAP. XX. 153
son of Jahnu* was Suratha; his son was Viduratha;f

his son was Sarvabhauma; his son was Jayasena;t his
son was Aravin;§ his son was Ayutayus; his son was
Akrodhana; one of his sons was Devatithi, and I!
another was called Riksha;1I his son was Dilipa;** his

son was Pratipa, who had three sons, Devapiff,
names have been retained as appear to have furnished our text

and that of other Purarias with distinct persons ; thus making the
members of one fraternity so many descents. Of the two lists,
however, the second is, probably, to be regarded as the more re-

cent, if not more correct; for Vaisampayana repeats it at Jana-
mejaya's request, because the latter is not satisfied with the sum-
mary account which the former had first communicated to him.
Mahabharata, Vol. I., p. 136 and p. 138.
* Vide supra, p. 148.

t Vide supra, 99, text and note ff.
p. Bindumati, who slew a Vi-
diiratha, was his queen, as we learn from Varahamihira's Brihai-saihhitd,
LXXVllI., 1. See Vol. III., p. 268, note *.
I In one MS., Jayatsena, the name 1 find in the Vdyu-purd/ia.

§ Anadhita, in the Ajmere and Arrah MSS. In the Vdyu-purdna I
find Aradhin.
!| One MS. gives Devapi. The Bhdgavata-purdna has Jayaseua, Ra-

dhika, Ayuta, Krodhana, Devatithi.
^ Rishya: Bhdgavata-purdna.
" The ordinary reading, and that known to Professor Wilson, is as
follows. fT^T^^Tftrf^: rTrT ^^^>^^: I ^5B^T#^%T: flTT^ I I
f^^tm I
"From him (Akrodhana), Devatithi; from him, another Riksha;
from Riksha, Bhimasena; and, from him, Dilipa." The commentator re-
marks, touching Riksha: TT^"3f1?^'fYS^Tr^^T'?«2i: The word
I
t!T«!T: , 'other', connected with Riksha, is, thus, to distinguish him from
Riksha, son of Ajamidha, mentioned in p. 148, supra.
Every one of my MSS. inserts Bhimasena and so does Professor
;
Wilson's Hindu-made English version. The Bhdgavata-purdna omits him.

ii- Devapi was son of Risbt'ishena, according to the Rigveda, X., XC VIH., 5.
154 VISHNU PURANA.
Santanu,* and Vahlika. The first adopted, in child-

hood, a and Santanu became king. Of him
forest-life;
this verse is spread through the earth: "Santanu is

his name; because, if he lays his hands upon an old
man, he restores him to youth, and, by him, men ob-
tain tranquillity (santi)."f
In the kingdom over which Santanu ruled there was
no rain for twelve years. Apprehensive that the
country wôuld become a desert, the king assembled
the Brahmans, and asked them why no rain fell, and
what he had committed. They told him, that he
fault
was, as it were, a younger brother married before an
elder; t for he was in the enjoyment of the earth,
which was the right of his elder brother, Devapi.§
• One MS. has, throughout this chapter, Santanu; the reading of the
Bhdgavata-purdna, and that which I find in the Vdyu-purdna.
Compare the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XXII., 13-, the Mahdbhdrata,

Adi-parvan, 3799; &c.
il.
J We read, in the Mdnava-dharma^dstra, III., 171, 172:
^ "% "iiTt^ ^T^m^f^RWTr: II

TT^
who, while his elder brother is unwedded, marries a wife with the
"He
nuptial fires, is to be known as a parivettri; and his elder brother, as
a parivitti. The parivitti, the parivettri, the female by whom the offence
is committed, he who gives her away, and, fifthly, the officiating priest,
all go to hell."
This is Dr. Muir's translation of the preceding Terses, on which he

observes: "The Indian writers regard the relation of a king to his realm
as analogous to that of a husband to his wife. The earth is the king's
bride." Original Sanskrit Texts, Part I.^ p. 275, foot-note (2nd ed.).
"What, then, am I to do?" said the Raja. To which

they repUed: "Until the gods shall be displeased with
Devapi, by his declining from the path of righteous-
ness,* the kingdom is his; and to him, therefore, you
should resign it." When the minister of the king,
Asmasarin,t heard this, he collected a number of
ascetics who taught doctrines opposed to those of the
Vedas, and sent them into the forest, where, meeting
with Devapi, they perverted the understanding of the
simple-minded prince, and led him to adopt heretical
notions. In the meantime, Santanu, being much dis-
tressed to think that he had been guilty of the offence
intimated by the Brahmans, sent them, before him,
into the woods, and then proceeded thither, himself, to
restore the kingdom to his elder brother. When the
Brahmans arrived hermitage of Devapi, they
at the
informed him, that, according to the doctrines of the
Vedas, succession to a kingdom was the right of the
elder brother. But he entered into discussion with
them, and in various ways advanced arguments which
had the defect of being contraiy to the precepts of the
Vedas. When the Brahmans heard this, they turned to
Santanu, and said: "Come hither, Raja. You need
give yourself no further trouble in this matter: the
dearth is at an end. This man is fallen from his state;
for he has uttered words of disrespect to the authority

of the eternal, uncreated Veda; and, when the elder
brother is degraded, there is no sin in the prior espou-
t Corrected from "Asmarisarin." Two of my MSS., those of Ajmere

and Arrah, do not name the minister.
156 VISHNU PURANA.
sals of his junior." Santanii, thereupon, returned to

his capital, and administered the government (as be-
fore); and his elder brother, Devapi, being degraded
from his caste by repeating doctrines contrary to the
Vedas, Indra* poured down abundant rain, which was
followed by plentiful harvests '.f
'
The Mahabharata merely states that Devapi retired to a
* Parjanya, in the Sanskrit.

t The subjoined close translation of this legend concerning Santanu is
taken from Dr. Muifs Original Sanskrit Texts, Part I., pp. 274 276 —
(2nd ed.):
"Devapi, while yet a boy, retired to the forest; and Santanu became
king. Regarding him this verse is current in the world: 'Every decrepit
man whom he touches with his hands becomes young. He is called
Santanu from that work whereby he obtains supreme tranquillity (Mnti).
The god did not rain on the country of this Santanu for twelve years.
Beholding, then, the ruin of his entire realm, the king inquired of the
Brahmans: 'Why does not the god rain on this country? What is my
offence?' The Brahmans replied: 'This earth, which is the right of thy
elder brother, is now enjoyed by thee; thou art a parivettri (one mar-
ried before his elder brother).' Receiving this reply, he again asked
them: 'What must I do?' They then answered: 'So long as Devapi
does not succumb to declension from orthodoxy, and other offences,
the royal authority is his, by right; to him, therefore, let it be given,
without further question.' When they had so said, the king's principal
minister, Asmasarin, employed certain ascetics propounding doctrines
contrary to the declarations of the Vedas to proceed into the forest, by

whom the understanding of the very simple-minded prince (Devapi) was
let to adopt a system at variance with those sacred books. King Santanu,
being distressed for his offence, in consequence of what the Brahmans
had said to him, went, preceded by those Brahmans, tu the forest, in
order to deliver over the kingdom to his elder brother. Arriving at the
hermitage, they came to prince Devapi. The Brahmans addressed to him
statements founded on the declarations of the Veda, to the effect that
the royal authority should be exercised by the elder brother. He, on
his part, expressed to them many things that were vitiated by reason-
ings contrary to the tenour of the Veda. The Brahmans then said to
Santanu: 'Come hither, king. There is no occasion for any exces-

sive hesitation in this afl'air. The offence which led to the drought is
I ' §
BOOK IV., CHAP. XX. . 157
The son was Somadatta, who had three

of Vahlika*
sons, Bhiiri, Bhurisravas,and Sala.
The son of Santanu was the ihustrious and learned
Bhishma, who was born to him by the holy river-god-
dess, f Ganga;+ and he had, by his wife, Satyavati,
two sons, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Chitrangada,
whilst yet a youth, was killed in a conflict with a Gan-
religious life. |1
The story of his heresy is narrated, much as in
the text, in the Bhagavata, Vayu, &c. The Matsya adds, that he
was, also, leprous; on which account his subjects contemned him.

He was, probably, set aside in favour of his younger brother,
either on that account, or on that of his heresy ; such a disposition
being conformable to Hindu law. According to the Bhagavata
and Matsya, he is still alive, at a place called Kalapagrama, t

where, in the Krita age of the next Mahayuga, he will be the
restorer of the Kshattriya race.
'
The Matsya says that Vahlika** had a hundred sons, or
lords of the Vahlikas.
now removed. Your brother has fallen by uttering a contradiction of

the words of the Veda, -which have been revered from time without be-
ginning; and, when the elder brother has fallen, the younger is no longer
chargeable with the offence of pdrivettrya («. e., of marrying before his
elder brother).' When he had been so addressed, Santanu returned to
his capital,and exercised the royal authority. And, although his eldest
brother, Devapi, continued to be degraded by having uttered words op-
posed to the doctrines of the Veda, the god Parjanya rained, in order
to produce a harvest of all sorts of grain."
* Vahlika, in one MS., as in my one MS. of the Vdyu-purdna.
t Amara-nadi.
I One of my MSS. has the synonymous Jahuavi.
§ Vide supra, p. 149, note 2.
Adi-parvan, il. 3750 and 3798, In the Udyoga-parvan, il. 5056, it
I
is said that he was a leper.
See Vol. 197, note and 325, text and note ..

f III., p. !|
; p.
•*'
The Matsya-purdria states that his sons were the seven Vahliswara
kings. See Original Sanskrit Texts, Part I., p. 277 (2ad ed.).
158 VISHNU PURANA.
dhai'va, also called Chitrangada. Vichitravirya* mar-

ried Ambikaf and Ambalika, the daughters of the king
ofKasi,t and, indulging too freely in connubial rites,
fell into a consumption, of which he died. By command

of Satyavati, my son Ki'ishna-dwaipayana, ever obe-
dient to his mother's wishes, ' begot, upon the widows
of his brother, § the princes Dhritarashtra and Pandu,
and, upon a female servant, Vidura. Dhritarashtra |[
had Duryodhana, H Duhsasana, and other sons, to the

number of a hundred.** Pandu, having incurred the
curse of a deer, (whose mate he had killed in the chase),
was deterred from procreating children; and his wife
Before her marriage to Santanu, Satyavati had a son,

'
Kfishna-dwaipayana, ft or Vyasa, by Parasara. He was, there-

fore, the half-brother of Vichitravirya, and legally qualified to
raise up offspring to him by his widow. This law is abrogated

in the present age. The whole story of the sons of Santanu is
told at length in the Mahabharata. tt
• From this point to near the end of the present Book there is, un-
fortunately, a break in my valuable Ajuiere MS.
t Corrected from "Amba". This was the eldest sister of Ambika

and Ambalika, and married a king of Salwa. See the Mahdbhdrata,
Udyoga-parvan, .il. 5950, et seq.
* I have corrected the Translator's "Kasi".
§ The original says, more distinctly, "of Vichitravirya." For the

ground of Professor Wilson's substitution, see note 1, above,
% By Qandhari, according to two MSS. ; and so says the Bhdgavata-

furana.
'*
The Bhdgavatn-furdna adds a daughter, DuKsala.
" from his dark complexion (krishna), and his having been
tt So called
born upon an island {dioipa) in the Ganges. " Professor Wilson, in Pro-
fessor Johnson's Selections from the Mahdbhdrata, p. 8, note 2.
++ Adi-parvan, .s7. 3800, et seq.

Kunti bare to him, in consequence, three sons, who —

were begotten by the deities Dharma, Vayu, and In-
dra,*— namely, Yudhishthira, Bhimasena,f and Ar-
juna; and his wife Madri had two sons, Nakula and
Sahadeva, by the celestial sons of Aswini.t These
had, each, a son, by Draupadi.§ The son of Yudhi-
shthira was Prativindhya of Bhimasena, Srutasoma;
; ||
of Arjuna, Srutakirtti; of Nakula, Satanika; and, of

Sahadeva, Srutakarman. The Pandavas had, also, other
sons. ' By had De-
his wife Yaudheyi,1I Yudhishthira
vaka. The son of Bhnnasena, by Hidimba, was Gha-
totkacha; and he had, also, Sai^vatraga, ** by his wife
Kasi.ff The son of Sahadeva, by Vijaya, was Suhotra;
'
The Mahabharata+t names some of them rather differently,
and adds some particulars. Thus, Yaudheya was the son of Yu-
dhishthira, by his wife Devika, daughter of Govasana, of the
Saibya tribe. The son of Bhimasena was Sarvaga, hy Balandhara,
princess of Kasi : he had, also, Ghatotkacha, §§ by Hidimba. Abhi-
manyu was the son of Arjuna, by Subhadra. The wives and
sons of the other two are the same; but Karenumati is termed a
princess of Chedi ; and Vijaya, of Madra.
• Sakra, in the Sanskrit.

t Corrected from "Bhima", here and below.
+ Compare pp. 102, 103, supra.
§ %Tf ^^t iTW T^ ^^: I
II
Two MSS. have Snitasena.
^ Pauravi: Bhdgavata-purdna.
** In one MS., Sarvaga.
tt One MS. has Kaseyi. This, like the corresponding Kasya of the
Mahdhhdrata, is a derivative of Kasi, "Sarvagata, by Kali", according
to the Bhdgavata-purdna.
It Adi-parvan, il. 3828—3833.
§§ Corrected from " Ghat'okkacha
".
160 VISHNU PUR ANA.
and Niramitra was the son of Nakula, by Karenumati.

Arjuna had Ira vat, by the serpent-nymph Uliipi;* Ba-
bhruvahana, who was adopted as the son of his ma-
ternal grandfather, f by the daughter of the king of
Manipiira;t and, by his wife Subhadra, Abhimanyn,
who, even in extreme youth, was renowned for his
valour and his strength, and crushed the chariots of
his foes in fight. The son of Abhimanyn, by his wife
Uttai-a, was Parikshit, who, after the Kurus were all
destroyed, § was killed, in his mother's womb, by the

||
magic Brahma weapon, t hurled by Aswatthaman.

He was, however, restored to life by the clemency of
that being whose feet receive the homage of all the
demons and the gods, and who, for his own pleasure,
had assumed a human shape, (Krishna). This prince,^
'
In the details immediately preceding, the Purarias generally
concur; deriving them, probably, from the same source, — the Adi
Parvan of the Mahabharata, — and employing, very frequently, the
same words. The period at which the chapter closes is supposed
*
Corrected from "Ulupi". Ulupi was daughter of the ndga Kauravya^
according to the authority of the Mahabharata, Adi-parvan, H, 7788, 7789.
The Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XX., 31, —
at least, as the passage is ex-
plained by the commentator, Sridhara,— makes Ulupi daughter of the king

of Mauipiira.
t The original has: ^rflir^TlTfTf^^t ^ gf^^TVWW W^^T^'f

•ffJT T7'=^^^^«Tr^ I
See Sridhara on the i^Mâua<a-/>wm/ia, IX., XX., 31.
Corrected from "Manipura", on the warrant of all my MSS. Ma-
X
nipiira was a city on the sea-coast of Kalinga. See the Mahabharata,
Adi-parvan, U. 7824.
§ The commentator hereupon etymologizes the name Parikshit. Tjf^-
II
Bhasiin-khia, "reduced to ashes."
% Brahmdstra. See Vol. III., p. 81, note ..
Parikshit, now reigns over the w^hole world, with un-

divided sway.
to be that at which the Vyasa who arranged or compiled the Pu-

rarias is believed to have flourished. Parikshit died of the bite
of a snake, according to the Mahabharata, Adi Parvan. The Bha-
gavata is supposed to have been narrated to him in the interval
between the bite and its fatal effect.
IV. 11
CHAPTER XXI.
Future kings. Descendants of Parikshit, ending with Kshemaka.
I WILL now enumerate the kings who will reign in

future periods/ The present monarch, Parikshit/*
will have four sons, Janamejaya, Srutasena, Ugrasena,
and Bhimasena.^f The son of Janamejaya: will be
Satanika,^ who will study the Vedas under Yajna-
valkya, and military science with Kripa; but, be-
coming dissatisfied with sensual enjoyments, he will
'
The style now adopted is that of prophecy ; as Vyasa could
not, consistently, have recorded the events which were posterior
to his time.
^
Also read Parikshita, Pariksha, and Parikshi.
^
Vide supra, p. 152. The Vayu and Matsya relate, lather
obscurely, a dispute between Janamejaya and Vaisampayana, in

consequence of the former's patronage of the Brahmans of the
Vajasaneyi branch of the Yajurveda, in opposition to the latter,
who was the author of the black, or original, Yajus (see Vol. III.,
p. 52). Janamejaya twice performed the Aswamedha, according

to the Vajasaneyi ritual, and established the Trisarvi,§— or use
of certain texts, by Asmaka and others, — by the Brahmans of

Anga and by those of the middle country. He perished, how-
ever, in consequence; being cursed by Vaisampayana. Before
their disagreement, Vaisampayana related the Mahabharata to
Janamejaya. Mahabharata, Adi Parvan.

*
The reading of the text is, rather, " his (Parikshit's) other
* Nearly all my MSS. omit this name.

Translator's note on it.
t See the opening of the last Chapter, and the
X One of my MSS. names him here. See note 4 in this page.
§ In my single copy of the V dyn,-purdna,—oi which 1 can decipher
very little just here, — the reading is Triswachi.
BOOK IV., CHAP. XXI. 163
acquire spiritual knowledge, from the instructions of

Saunaka, and ultimately obtain salvation.* His son
willbe Aswamedhadatta (a son given by the gods, in
reward for the sacrifice of a horse ^); his son will be
Adhisimakrishna;^f his son will be Nichakru,^: who
son will be Satanika;" cTT^TTtn:: ITHl^ftfifiY ^'f^'«Zrfrn§ But the
commentator refers 'his' to Janamejaya: Tf^ ^'ST^^'jf^ The | I
Vayu, Matsya, and Bhagavata also make Satanika the son of

Janamejaya. The Brahma Puraiia has a totally different series,
or: Parikshit, Siiryapida, Chandi-apida, Janamejaya, Satyakarna,
Swetakarna, Sukumara, and Ajasyama.
'
The Bhagavata The Brihatkatha
interposes Sahasranika. ||
has the same descent,1 but calls the son of Sahasranika, Uda-
yaua or Vatsa.** The Bhagavata has Aswamedhaja.
^ Adhisamakrishriaff Vayu. Adhisomakrishria Matsya. The
: :
I
^ f^^TWTT'^fTI
Corrected from "Nichakra", which
I t Corrected from "Asimakrishna",
I find nowhere but in the Lengal
translation. One MS. gives Vichakshus. In the Vdyu-purdna I find

Nribandhu, (or Nirvaktra?), and then, Ushna(?), Chitraratha, Suchidratha,
Dhfitimat, Sushei'ia. The Brahmdnda-purdna has Nribandhu, Chitraratha,
Suchidratha, Dhiitimat, Susheua.
In a Sanskrit collection of Paurai'iik extracts, prepared for Colonel
Wilford, to which I have access, there from the
is part of a chapter
Vdyu-purdna, and a similar draft from the Brahmdnda-purdna, be- —
—
ginning with mention of Adhisimakrishiia, covering nearly all the rest
of this Book. The present and the two ensuing Chapters of the Visknu-
purdna likewise occur there.
For the present I am reduced to a single MS. of the Vdyu-purdna:
vide supra, p. 124, note f.
§ This means: "Another Satanika will be his son'\ The word "^TRT^
'another', is here used with allusion to Satanika, son of Nakula, spoken
of in p. 159, supra. Two of my MSS. have WT^^'^^ cT'^; and one
omits "^nTT*- The identical words
"SJcTT'T^^ '^XJ"?^: are rendered,
near the end of this chapter, "another Satanika".
li Read Kathdsaritsdgara. See the opening of its second Lambaka.
^ The succession — Arjuna being called the founder of the family,— runs
thus: Abhimanyu, Parikshit, Janamejaya, Satanika, Sahasranika, Udayana.
** Read Vatsaraja. For its meaning, see Vol. II., p. 158, note f
tj I find Adhisimakiisbua. The Bhdgavata-purdna has Asimakfishna.
11*
164 VISHNU PURANA.
will remove the capital to Kausambi,* in consequence

of Hastinapuraf being washed away by the Ganges;
his son will be Ushna;^ his son will be Chitraratha;t
his son will be Vrishnimat;^§ his son will be Sushena;
his son will be Sunitha;^ his son will be Richa;^ his
son will be Nrichakshus:^|| his son will be Sukha-
former states, that the Vayu Puraria was narrated in this king's
reigu, in the second year of a three years' sacrifice at Kuru-
kshetra.
^ Nemichakra: Bhagavata. Vichakshus: Matsya. They agree
with the text, as to the removal of the capital, and the cause.
'
Ukta: Bhagavata. Bhiirijyeshtha : Matsya.
* Suchidratna, Kaviratha, Bha-
f Vayu; Suchidrava, Matsya;
**
gavata; is interposed between Chitraratha and Vfishnimat.
' Sutirtha: Vayu.ff
* Ruchi : Vayu. t+ Omitted : Matsya and Bhagavata.
^ Chitraksha §§ Vayu. :
*
^^?|T»-^t f'T^f^rnT I t Two MSS. have Hastioapura.
+1 Suchiratha, supplying an additional descent, was here inadvertently

passed by. He is not named in Professor Wilson's Hindu-made English
version.
§ Four MSS. have Vrishfimat. This and similar corruptions may have
originated in the all but undistinguishable way in which "'îr and "^ are
written in many MSS. Or they may have arisen from local peculiarity
of pronunciation: thus, in Bengal, the shn of Krishna has the sound

of shi.
II
Corrected from "Nrichakshu". One MS. has Vankshu.
^ An error for Suchidratha? See note + in the preceding page.
" I find Vrishfimat.
tt Sunitha, in my MS.: see note §§, below. The Brahmdnda-purana
has the same reading.
++ I find Trivakshya: see the next note. Instead of the Richa, &c. of
our text, the Brahmdncia-purdna has Nfibandhu, Suratha, Medhavin,
Nripanjaya, &c.
§§ Colonel Wilford's manuscript extracts from the Vdyu-purdna give
no name here; and the reading there found leaves no room for one:
BOOK IV., CHAP. XXI. 1 65
bala:^* his son will be Pariplava;f his son will be

Sunaya;" his son will be Medhavin; his son will be
Nripanjaya;'^ his son will be Mridu;*t his son will be
Tigma;'^ his son will be Brihadratha; his son will be
Vasudana;^§ and his son will be another Satanika; ||
Udayana;^
his son will be his son will be Ahmara;**
his son will be Khandapani;^ his son will be Nirami-
'
Sukhinala: Bhagavata. If
' Sutapas : Matsya.

' Puranjaya: Matsya.
* Xlrva: Matsya. Diirva: Bhagavata.
* Tigtnatman ** Matsya.
: Timi: Bhagavata.
^ Sudasa: Bhagavata. Vasudaman: Matsya.
' The Matsya concurs with the text (vide supra, p. 163, note 1)'
the Bhagavata has Durdamana.
^ Vahinara: Bhagavata. ff
' Daiidaparii: tt Bhagavata, Vayu, Matsya.
My other MS. of the Vdyu-purdna is here very corrupt.

* Corrected from "Sukhibala". Professor Wilson's Bengal translation
has "Sukhavala (id another MS., Sukhivala)".
t Parisraya, in the Vdyu-purdna and then follow Sunaya (or Suratha?),

\
Medhavin, Daiidapani, Niramitra, &c. This list is meagre as compared

with that of the Vishnu-purdna.
\ Durbala, in one MS. Durvi: BrahmdTida-purdna.
§ One copy has Vastunada.
11 Besides the three persons of this name mentioned in the present
chapter and the last, the Aitaretja-brdlimana VIII., XXI., speaks of a
.,
Satanika, son of Sattrajit. For still another Satanika, vide supra, p. 124,
note %. If Sukhabala: Vdyu-purdna.
•*
See Professor Aufrecht's Catalog. Cod. Manuscript., &c., p. 40.
ft So the Brahmdnda-purdna, too; and the Matsya-purdna has the
same name, with the variant Mahirata.
*+ And thus reads the Brahmdnda-purdna,
166 VISHNU PURANA.
tra;^ his son will be Kshemaka. ^ * Of him this verse

is recited: Brahmans
''The race which gave origin to
and Kshattriyas, and which was purified by regal
sages, terminated f with Kshemaka, in the Kali age."^:
'
Nimi: Bhagavata.
^ Kshepaka: Vayu. §
^ The same memorial verse s quoted in the Matsya and Vayu
Puranas, preceded by one which states the number of princes
twenty-five. The specification, however, commencing with Sata-
nika, is twenty-six or twenty-seven. The passage is:
* In three MSS. , Kshema. My Arrah MS. gives Ahinara, Niramitra,

Naravahana, Brahmadaiida, Kshemaka.
In MSS. of various Puranas, Niramitra is a frequent reading, instead
of Niramitra. Vide infra, p. 174, note *.
t Read 'shall terminate', prdpsyate.
%^ irr^ TT^-R ^ ^^t 3TT^^ ^^'V II
Compare the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XXII., 43.

§ Kshemaka, in my MS.
11
These verses are taken from the Vayu- purana. The Matsya-purdna
does not give the first, and exhibits slight differences in its readings of
the rest.
Stanzas very similar occur in the Brahmdnda-purdna; only, in reading
Hgf^ll'f^, they make, in my MS., the kings to be thirty-five in number.
CHAPTER XXII.
Future kings of the family of Ikshwaku, ending with Sumitra.
I WILL now repeat to you the future princes of

*
the family of Ikshwaku. ^
The son of Brihadbala-' will be Brihatkshana;^t his

son will be Urukshepa;*t his son will be Vatsa;^ his
son will be Vatsavyuha;*^ his son will be Prativyoma;^§
'
See Vol. III., p. 259.
' Brihadratha: Vayu. ||
^ Bfihatkshaya : f Vayu. Brihadraria: Bhagavata. Omitted:

Matsya.
* Omitted: Vayu.** Urukshaya:tt Matsya. Urukriya: Bha-
gavata.
* Omitted by all three.
^ Vatsavriddha: Bhagavata.
^ Prativyiiha : ++ Vayu.
•
Here the genealogy is continued which breaks off in Vol. III., p. 326.
For the continuation, compare the Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XII., 9
— 15.
t Bfihatkshetra is the reading of several MSS.
*
This reading I find nowhere except in the Translator's Bengal transla-
tion. Most of my MSS. have Gurukshepa; two, Urukshaya; one,
Urunjaya.
§ Corrected from " Prativyoman ". The Matsya-purdiia, too, has Pra-
tivyoma.
II
The Brahmdnda-purdna has Brihadbala. Three of my copies of the
Matsya-purdna have Brihadratha ; but the oldest and best has Brihadbala.
See, with reference to the Matsya-purdria, note ^ in p. 173, infra.
^ This is the name in the Brahmdnda-purdna.

** I tind Kshaya; and so in the Brahmdnda-purdna.
another here, very
ft One of my MSS. seems to give Surakshaya;
is,
illegible; and the third has Urukshaya.

**
So reads the Brahmdnda-purdna, also.
168 VISHNU PURANA.
his son will be Divakara;^ his son will be Sahadeva;*

his son will be Brihadaswa;^ his son will be Bhanura-
tha;^f his son will be Supratika;*t his son will be
Marudeva;' his son will be Sunakshatra; his son will
be Kiriinara:^ his son will be Antariksha: his son will
The Bhagavata inserts Bhanu. § The Matsyalj says, that

'
Ayodhya was the capital of Divakara. II The Vayu omits the

**
next twelve names ;
probably, a defect in the copies.
* Dhruvaswa: Matsya.
' Bhanumat: Bhagavata. Bhavyaratha or Bhavya: Matsya.
* Pratikaswa: Bhagavata. Pratipaswa: ff Matsya.
* The Bhagavata and Matsyat! prefix a Supratipa§§ or Supra-
tika.||!l
® Pushkara: Bhagavata.
* Hereupon the commentator remarks ;

''!I^ ^"^ TTI^f 'W^TW^ 1"^'^
t My Arrah MS. inserts Pratitaswa, as son of Bhanuratha and father

of Supratika. The Vdyu-purdria and the Brahmdnda-purdna insert Pratita.
+ Corrected from "Supratitha", which occurs in none of my MSS.,

and looks very like an inadvertence.
In the Hindu-made English translation, Supratika is so written, that,
unless scrutinized a little closely, it might be mistaken for Supratitha.
I may here refer, as there is frequent occasion for doing in the course
of my annotations, to the remark made in Vol. III., p. 335, note §§.
§ And it reads Divarka, not Divakara.
II
Its words are:
<(I And so say the Vdi/u-pitrdna, and the Brajmdn&a-purdna.
But compare note 2 in p. 163, supra.

** My MSS. of the Vdyu-purdna have the twelve names. Eight are
as in the Vishnu-purdna : for the the rest, see my annotations.
tt So reads one of my copies, as against Pratitaswa in the other two.

The Brahmdiida-purdna has Suprauita.
II The reading in my MS. of the
Brahmdnda-pvrdna is Sahadeva.
§§ This is the only reading that I find. |11|
See note t, above.
BOOK IV., CHAP. xxn. 169
be Suvarna:^ his son will be Amitrajit;^ his son wiU

be Brihadraja:^ his son will be Dharmin;** his son
will be Kritanjaya;f his son will be Rananjaya; his son
will be Sanjaya; his son will be Sakya:^ his son will
be Suddhodana;*^ his son will be Ratula;'t his son
' Suparvan or Sumantra: Matsya. § Sutapas : Bhagavata. ||
' Amantravit Matsya. If:
^ Bfihadbraja:** Bhagavata.
^ Omitted : Matsya. ff Barhis : Bhagavata.
* The Bhagavata and Vayu have Sakya. My copy of the
Matsya +t has Sadhya; but the Radcliffe MS., more correctly, no
doubt, Sakya (Tf^:).
^ In some copies. Krodhodana;§§ but it is, also, Suddhodana,
Matsya and Vayu; Suddhoda, Bhagavata.

' Rahula: Vayu. Siddhartha or Pushkala: Matsya. ^^
l|]|
* Corrected from "Dharman", — the reading of the Translator's Bengal

version, also, —on the warrant of all my M8S. The Vdyu-purdna and
the Brahmdnda-purdna, too, have Dharmin.
t The Brahmdnda-purdna has Snvrata between Kritanjaya and Ra-
nanjaya.
* Two MSS. have Bahula; one, Bhanula.
§ Two of my MSS.— like the BrahmdMa-pnrdna,- g\\t Suparna; the
remaining one, Suvarna.

Suparna: Vdyu-purdna.
1
% In my copies, Sumitra and Amitrajit. Bfibadraja is distinctly called
son of the former.

** Instead of this meaningless name, I find, as in our text, Bfihadraja.
The Vdyu-purdiia and the Brahmdn&a-purdna have Bharadwaja.

ft A single MS. has Viryavat; but, probably, it is corrupt.
XX One of my MSS. has Sajya-. another, Sakya;
the oldest and best,
both, as if the person intended had two names.

§§ "Krodyodana" is the name in the Hindu-made English version,
which swarms with blunders quite as bad.

II |! The Vdyu-purdna and the Brahmdnda-purdna here read, in my MSS.:
Compare the extract in the next note.
Jil Two of my copies are extremely incorrect just here. The third and
: ;
170 VISHNU PURANA.
will be Prasenajit; his son will be Kshudraka;* his
Langala: Bhagavata. This and the two preceding names are of

considerable chronological interest; for Sakya is the name of the
author, or reviver, of Buddhism, whose birth f appears to have
occurred in the seventh, and death in the sixth, century before
Christ (B. C. 621—543). There can be no doubt of the individual
here intended, although he is out of his place; for he was the
son — not the father — of Suddhodana, and the father of Rahula;

as he is termed, in the Amarat and Haima Kosas, § Sauddho-
daniil or Suddhodanasuta, 'the son of Suddhodana,' and Rahu-
lasii, 'the parent of Rahula.' So, also, in the Mahawanso, Sid-
dhartha or Sakya is the son of Suddhodano, H and father of Ra-

hulo. Tumour's translation, p. Whether they are rightly in-
9.
cluded amongst the princes of the race of Ikshwaku is more

qnestionable; for Suddhodana is, usually, described as a petty
prince, whose capital was not Ayodhya, but Kapila or Kapila-

vastu.** At the same time, it appears that the provinces of the
Doab had passed into the possession of princes of the Lunar line
and the children of the Sun may have been reduced to the country
north of the Ganges, or the modern Goruckpoor, in which Ka-

pila was situated. The Buddhists do, usually, consider their
teacher Sakya to be descended from Ikshwaku. The chronology
is less easily adjusted; but it is not altogether incompatible.
According to the lists of the text, Sakya, as the twenty-second
of the line of Ikshwaku, is contemporary with Ripunjaya, the
oldest reads
^j^^T^ ^f^fTT fw^'R: 5^^: f fi: i
* Kshudrabaka,one copy. in
t There are some recent well-known speculations as to the age of

Buddha; but it does not seem advisable to cumber these pages with them.
These speculations would place the death of Buddha in B. C 477.
I., I., I., 10. § II., 151. Corrected from "Saudhodani ".
I II
% See Burnoufs Introduction a I'Histoire du Buddhisme Indien, Vol. I.,
p. 141 ; also, Le Lotus de la Bonne Loi, p. 388.

*• On the river Rohini, an affluent to the Raptee. Burnoufs Introduction,
&c„ Vol. I., p. 143, note 2.
I
BOOK IV., CHAP. XXII. 171
son will be Kundaka;^ his son will be Suratha;^ his
twenty-second* and last of the kings of Magadha, of the family

of Jarasandha; but, agreeably to the Buddhist authorities, he
was the friend of Bimbasara, a king who, in the Pauranik listjf
appears to be fifth of the Saisunaga dynasty, and tenth from Ri-
puujaya. The same number of princes does not necessarily imply
equal duration of dynasty; and Ikshwaku's descendants may
have outlasted those of Jarasandha; or, as is more likely, — for
the dynasty was obscure, and is, evidently, imperfectly pre-
served, — several descents may have been omitted, the insertion
of which would reconcile the Pauranik lists with those of the
Buddhists, and bring Sakya down to the age of Bimbasara. It
is evident, from what occurs in other authorities, that the

Aikshwakat princes are regarded as contemporaries even of the
Saisunaga dynasty: vide infra, p. 182, note 4.
*
Kshulika:§ Vayu. Kulakaij or Kshullaka: Matsya. Omit-
ted : If Bhagavata. In the Mahavira Charitra, a work written by
the celebrated Hen)achandra, in the twelfth century, we have a
Prasenajit, ** king of Magadha, residing at Rajagriha, succeeded
by Srehika, f f and he, by Kiilika. The Bauddhas have a Prasenajit
contemporary with Sakya, ++ son of Mahapadma, king of Magadha.
There is some confusion of persons, either in the Pauranik ge-

nealogies, or in the Buddhist and Jaina traditions ; but they agree
in bringing the same names together about the same period.
^ Omitted §§ Bhagavata.
:
* Vide infra, p. 177, notes 1, &c. f Vide infra, p. 180.

I Corrected, here and several times further on, from " Aikshwakava."
§ I find Kulika. And so reads the Brahmdnda-purdna.
I
This is the preponderant readings, in my MSS.
^ Not so. The Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XII., 14, has Raiiaka.
**
Lakshmivallabha, in his Kalpadrumakalikd, speaks of him. Different
is the Prasenajit mentioned infra, p. 186, note *.
ft A surname of Bimbisara Asiatic Researches, Vol. XX., p. 46.

:
** This Prasenajit was king of Ko.saIa; and Bimbisara, king of Ma-
gadha, was contemporary with him. See Burnouf s Introduction a I'His-

toiredu Buddhisme Indien, Vol. I., p. 145.
§§ The Bhdgavata-purdna has, like our text, Suratha.
172 VISHNU PURANA.
son will be* Sumitra. f These are the kings of the

family of Ikshwaku, descended from Brihadbala. This
commemorative verse is current concerning them:
"The race of the descendants of Ikshwâku will termi-
nate with Sumitra: it will end, in the Kali age, with
him."^*
'
The Vayu and Bhagavata § have the same stanza, j
|
We
have, here, twenty-nine or thirty princes of the later Solar line,
contemporary with the preceding twenty-six or twenty-seven of
the later dynasty of the Moon.
* The original qualifies him as 'another', '^•ST: . The allusion is
not clear.
t Besides this Sumitra and that named at p. 73, supra, the Harsha-
charita speaks of one, — son of Agnimitra, — who was slain by Miiladeva.
See the Vdsavadattd, Preface, p. 53.
The Matsya-purdna and the Brahmdnda-purdna have, essentially, the

same stanza.
§ IX., Xll., 15.
II
The stanza in the Vdyu-purdna differs, in the latter line, from the
stanza in the Vishnu-purdna; but the sense of the two is the same.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Future kings of Magadha, descendants of Brihadratha.
I WILL now relate to you the descendants of Bri-

hadratha, who will be (the kings) of Magadha. There
have been several powerful princes of this dynasty,
of whom
most celebrated was Jarasandha.* His
the
son was Sahadeva; his son is Somapi;^f his son will
be Srutavat;^+ his son will be Ayutayus;^§ his son
'
SomadJbi;|j Vayu, Matsya: H and they now affect greater pre-
cision, giving the years of the reigns, Somadhi, 58, Vayu; 50,**
Matsya.
* Srutasravas, f f 67 years, Vayu; 64, Matsya.
^ 36 years, Vayu ; ++ Apratipa, 26, §§ Matsya.
* Vide supra, pp. 150, 151.

t Also Marjari, in the Bhagavata-purdria. Vide supra, p. 151, note ||,
+ Srutasravas, at p. 151, supra. § In one copy, Srutayus.

II
And so reads the Brahndnda-purdna.
^ My manuscripts of the Matsya-purdna are so carelessly executed,
that have seldom thought it worth while to consult them.
I As, how-
ever, we are now approaching the historical period, I use them, though
to little satisfactory purpose, as will be manifest. These manuscripts
are five in number; but only four of them contain the section relating
to future kings and peoples. Of these four, one, as compared with the
others, is noticeably meagre, and omits at least a third of the kings
named in the present chapter. At the same time, it exhibits a large
number of variants. But these peculiarities seem to be merely a result
of carelessness.
** I find 58 years; the original being:
The Brahmdnda-purdna, too, has 58 years,
tt So read the Bhdgavata-purdna and the Brahmdnda-purdna, too ; and

the latter assigns him 67 years.
XX Ayutayus, and 34 years: Brahmdnda-purdna.

§§ In my MSS., Apratapin, and 36 years:
174 VISHNU PURANA.
will be Niramitra;^* his son will be Sukshattra;^f his

son will be Brihatkarman ;
^ his son will be Senajit;*
his son will be SrLitanjaya;^t his son will be Vipra;^§
his son will be Suchi;^ his son will be Kshemya;^ II
'
100 1 years, Vayu; 40, Matsya. **
'
58 years, Vayu;Matsya ;ff Sunakshatra, Bhagavata.
56,
^
23 years, Vayu and Matsya ;tt Bfihatsena, Bhagavata.
*
23 §§ years, Vayu; 50, Matsya; Karmajit, Bhagavata. ||||
* 40 years, Vayu and Matsya. IfH
^
Mahabala, 35*** years, Vayu; Vidhu,fff 28, Matsya.
'
58 years, Vayu; 64, Ht Matsya.
^
28 years, Vayu§§§ and Matsya. ||i|ii
* Niramitra is a variant in our Purana and others. Vide supra,

p. 166, note «.
t Sukshetra, in one MS.

I Sritanjaya: Bhdgavata-purdna.
§ Two copies give Ripunjaya.
Ij
Kshema; Bhdgavata-purdna. Also see notes §§§ and ||||||, below.
% Colonel Wilibrd's MS. has 50. And so has the Brahmdnda-pu-
rdna.
** One copy has Mitra.
tt A single MS. has Sumitra. The Brahmdnda-purdna gives Sukshattra

50 years.
++ And so the Brahmdnda-purdna.
§§ 100, in Colonel Wilford's manuscript extracts.
{{II
Manishin, and 50 years: Brahmdnda-purdna.
^5[ One of my MSS. of the Matsya-purdna gives 35 years.
The Brah-
mdnda-purdna gives as many years to Satayajna.
*** Corrected from "25"; for I find 35 in every one of my MSS.
ttt In two of ray MSS. the name is Prabhu; but the oldest of all has
Viryavat. Vibhu, and 28 years: Brahmdnda-purdna.
XX\ I find 58 years; and so has the Brahmdnda-purdna.
§§§ In this Purana I find Kshema. And so reads the Brahmdnda-purdna,
with 28 years.
Ijljll
Two copies have Kshema, 38 years; the other, Paksha, 28 years.
BOOK FV., OHM'. XXTTT. 1 7f)
his son will be Suvrata;^ his son will be Dharma;^ his

son will be Susrama;^* his son will be Dridhasena;*
'
60 years, f Vayu; 64, Matsya. t
^ 5 years, Vayu;§ Sunetru, 35, ||
Matsya; Dharmanetra, f
Bhagavata.
=•
38 years, Vayu;** Nivritti,tt 58, Matsya; Sama, Bha-
gavata. II
* 48 years, Vayu;§§ Trinetra, |||| 28, Matsya; Dyumatsena, ft
Bhagavata.
* Susruta, in a single MS. Professor Wilson's unmeaning "Sus'uma",

now displaced, — for which I find no authority but his Bengal trans-
lation, — evidently originated in a misreading of ^f^^; carelessly
written.
t In my MSS. of the Vdyu-purdtia, 64 years. And therewith agrees

the Brahmdnda-purdna.
X Anuvrata (or Anuvratasuta??), in two copies; io one, "Kshema's son,"

unnamed. All three agree in assigning him 60 years.
§ This Puraua has, in my MSS., Dharmanetra, who will accede to the
throne at five, and will reign for 58 years (??). Dharmakshetra, and 5 years:
Brahmdnda-purdna.
II
So in one copy; and another has 28; but the oldest of all
has 50.
^ I find Dharmasiitra.
** This Puraua, in my MSS., has 58 years, and gives them to Suvrata.
In one copy, this name is altered to Sunetra.
tt I find Nirvriti.
++ Nribhrita, and 58 years: Brahmdnda-purdna. And then follows,

there, Suvrata, with 38 years.
§§ Two of my copies give 58 years to Di'idhasena:
One assigns him 48 years, by writing cT^ over ^1|"; another has 58
years, but gives them to Brihatsena; and the remaining copy here has
a hiatus.
The Brahmdnda-purdna has Brihatsena, and 48 years.
nil One MS. has Sunetra.

^^ I find, as in our text, Di'idhasena.
176 VISPINU PURANA.
his son will be Sumati;^ his son will be Subala;^* his

son will be Sunita;^f his son will be Satyajit;^ his son
will be Viswajit;^ his son will be Ripunjaya/ These
'
33 years, Vayu;+ Mahatsena, § 48, Matsya.
* 22 years, Vayu;|| Netra, 33, Matsya. t
^
40 years, Vayu;** Abala,tt 32, Matsya.
* 80 years, n Vayu; omitted, §§ Matsya. ||||
^
35 years, Hlf Vayu; omitted,*** Matsya. fff
*
50 years, Vayu +t+ and Matsya §§§ Puranjaya and Ripunjaya
; |
are identified, Bhagavata.
* Corrected from "Suvala".

t One copy has Sunitha, the name in the Bhagavata-purdria.
I Herewith, both as to name and period, the
Brahmdnda-purdna coincides.
§ Dfidhasena, in one copy of the Matsya-purdna ;
Bfihatsena, in another,
II
In one copy I and 32 years; in another, Subala, and
find Subala,
22 years; in another, Subala, and 22 years; and two MSS. here omit a line.
% Sudhanwan, and 32 years: Brahmdnda-purdna.
" But I find the name, in four MSS. out of five, to be Sunetra. The
Brahmdnda-purdna has the same name and the same number of years.
ft Two copies have Achala.
IX I find 83 in four MSS.: the fifth, which has 80, is by far the most
incorrect, generally, of all.
§§ My oldest MS. has Sunetra, 40 years; then, Sarvajit, 80 years: a

second has Sunetra, 40 years; then, Satyajit, 80 years: the third, and
has only, instead of the two, Sarvajit, 80 years.
-worst of all,
nil The
Brahmdnda-purdna gives Satyajit a reign of only 30 years.
«|^ My two best MSS. have 25; the third and fourth, 35; and the worst
of all, 53.
*** Yiswajit is named in all my three copies. The oldest of them gives
him 35 years; the others, 53 and 25 years, respectively,
ttt According to the Brahmdnda-purdna, Viswajit will reign for a period
of 35 years.
XXX Three of my MSS. exhibit Arinjaya; the fourth, and equally the
most inferior of the five, Ripunjaya.
§§§ The Brahmdnda-purdna has Ripunjaya, and 50 years.
jlllil
Corrected from "Viswajit", -a mere slip of the pen, certainly. The
Bhdgavata-purdna, IX., XXII., 47, names Viswajit and his son Ripun-
jaya; and, in Xll., I., 2, it speaks of the Barhadratha Puranjaya, slain by his
minister Sunaka. See the beginning of p. 178, infra, and note 1 thereon.
—
BOOK IV., CHAP, xxiir. 177
are the Barhadrathas, who will reign for a thousand

^
years.
' Our list and that of the Vayu * specifies twenty-one kings f
after Sahadeva: the Bhagavata specifies twenty, t and, in another
passage, § states that to be the number.My copy of the Matsya

names but nineteen; and the Radcliffe, but twelve: but both|,
agree in making the total thirty-two. They all concur with the
text, also, in stating, that 1000 years had elapsed from the Greal
War, at the death of the last Barhadratha prince; IT and this is
more worthy of credit than the details, which are, obviously, im-
perfect.
* The Vdyu-purdna says that thirty-two kings will spring from Bri-
hadratha, aud that their kingdom will endure for a thousand years:
t It names twenty-three.
* It names twenty-one.
§ Not the text, but Sridhara, where commenting on XII., I., 1.
Il
Those copies are defective, doubtless. See notes §§ and *** in the
preceding page.
% The words of the Matsya-purdna, as given in two of my MSS., are:
^w ^^^w^ g '^^^ TT^ Hf^ffi II
We find, in the Brahmdnda-furdna, — unless the reading is corrupt,

only twenty-two kings spoken of:
IV. 12
CHAPTER XXIV.
Future kings of Magatlha. Five princes of the line of Pradyota.
Ten Saisunagas. Nine Nandas. Ten Mauryas. Ten Sungas.
Four Kanwayanas. * Thirty Andhrabhrityas. Kings of various
tribes and castes, and periods of their rule. Ascendancy of bar-
barians. Different races in different regions. Period of universal
iniquity and decay. Coming of Vishnu as Kalki. Destruction
of the wicked, and restoration of the practices of the Vedas.
End of the Kali, and return of the Kfita, age. Duration of the
Kali. Verses chanted by Earth, and communicated by Asita
to Janaka. End of the Fourth Book.
THE last of the Brihadratha dynasty, f Ripunjaya,t

will have a minister named Sanika/§ who, having
killed his sovereign, will place his son Pradyotana
upon the throne:^ his son will be Palaka;'^1F his son
'
Munika, ** Vayu ; Pulika, Matsya; Sunaka, Bhagavata.
''
For 23 years, Vayu and Matsya. f f
^ 24 years, Vayu;++ Tilaka or Balaka, §§ 28, Matsya.
* Corrected from "Kauwas". Vide infra, p. 193. note +.
t The Vdyu-purdna, the Matsya-purdna, and the Brahmdnda-purdna pre-

mise the extinction of the Brihadrathas and Vitahotras, and do not here name
the last of the Brihadrathas. But vide supra, p. and +t+
176, notes 6
* Vide supra, p. 176, note !i|||i. § A MS. has Sunaka
single
i]
Corrected from "Pradyota", which I one MS. Pradyota
find in only
is Vdyu-purdna and of
the reading of the the Bhdgavata-purdna. The
Brahmdnda-purdna has Sudyota, and 23 years.
Mention is found of a Pradyota who had a son Jaghanjaya. See my
Preface to the Vdsavadaitd, p. 53. ^ Gopalaka, in one copy.
** Sunika i.s the reading in all my four copies of the Vdyu-purdna,
and in Colonel Wilford's manuscript extracts. The Brahmdnda-purdna
has the same name.
tt The Matsya-purdna, in my copies, gives to Pulika's son the name
of Bctlaka.>iowhere does it speak of Pradyota or of the Pradyotas.
** .\dd the Brahmdnda-purdna. §§ The only reading 1 find is Palaka.
BOOK IV., CHAP. XXIV. 179
will be Visakhayupa;^* his son will be Janaka;^ and

his son will be Nandivardhana.^ These five kings of
the house of Pradyotaf will reign over the earth for
a hundred and thirty-eight t years.*
'
50 years, Vayu;§ 53, Matsya. ||
^ Ajaka, 21 years, Vayu;1[ Suryaka, 21, Matsya; Rajaka, **

Bhagavata.
^ 20 years, Vayuff and Matsya. +t
•
This number is also specified by the Vayu and Bhagavata ;§§
and the several years of the reigns of the former agree with the
total. The particulars of the Matsya compose 145 i||
years; but
there is, no doubt, some mistake in them.
* Almost as ordinary a reading, in ray MSS., is Visakharupa; and two

of them have Visakhapiipa.
t The original is XI^ TT^fTT' > "the five Pradyotas;" the reading
recognized by the commentator. One MS. yields, however, "the five
Pradyotanas." The Bhdgavata-purana has TJ^ TT^ftfTTT.) the gloss

on which is XT^rTIT^ I "IT^ff^'^T: I
The Vdyu-purdna has Pra-
dyotas.
\ "Twenty-eight", according to four copies.
§ Three of my MSS., including the two oldest and best, have Visa-
khadhiipa; another, Visakhayupa the remaining one, Visakhasiipa.
;
II
Two MSS. have Visakharupa; one, Visakhayupa, the reading of the
Bhdgavata-purana.
The Brahmdnda-purdna has Visakhayupa, and 100 years.
^ One MS. of the Vdyu-purdna -very inferior, has 31 years. — In the
Brahmdnda-purdna, Ajaka is assigned 21 years.
** Corrected from "Rajaka".
tt The name that I find everywhere in the Vdyu-purdna is Vartivar-
dhana.
++ 30 years are assigned to Nandivardhana in all my copies of the
Matsya-purdna. The Brahmdnda-purdna gives him 20 years.
§§ XII., I., 4.
I
'\ note X\, above, we are enabled to alter this number to one nearer
By
correctness, namely, 155 — There is, however, still a mistake of 3 in ex-
cess,— owing, doubtless, to corruptness of the MSS.; for all mine agree
in stating the total to be 152.
12*
180 VISHNU PUKANA.
The next prince will be Sisunaga;^ his son will be

Kakavarna;^* his son will beKshemadharman;'^ his son
will be Kshattraujas;* his son will be Vidmisara;'f
' Sisunaka — who, according to the Vayut and Matsya, § re-
linquished Benares to his son, and established himself at Giri-
vraja (or Rajagriha), in Behar, — reigns 40 years. Vayu and Matsya.

' 36 years, Vayu '
and Matsya.
' Ksheniakarrnan, IF 20 years, Vayu; Ksheniadharuian, 36,
Matsya.
* 40 years, Vayu;** Kshemajit or Kshemarchis, 36, Matsya; ff
Kshetrajna, Bhagavata.
* Bimbisara. +t 28 years, Vayu; Bindusena or Viudhyasena,
28, Matsya; §§ Vidhisara, Bhagavata.
* A Kakavarria, Raja of Chaiidi, is spoken of in the Harsha-charita.

See my Vdsavadattd, Preface, p. 53.
t Two MSS. have Vidhisara; another, Vidisara. But all three are
corruptions. See note «|[ in the next page.
: fwr ^^t ^^: "^m fir^prrat ^f^wfTT i
Two copies have Giripraja; one, Girivrala. Equally gross mistakes, it
is to be presumed, disiigure all my MSS, of the Vdyu-purdna.

§ The first verse of a stanza there given is the same as in the pre-
ceding note. The second verse runs:
^TTTW^ f ^TW ft ^?rWT^f?T f^fr^^w: I
Sakavarna or Sakavan'ia
II
is the name in all my copies of the Vdyu-
purdna.
^ Kshemavarman, MSS. of the Vdyu-purdria, those
in three of best
note; while the rest have Kshemadharman.
The Brahmdncla-purdna has Kshemadharman, and 20 years.
There is a break in Colonel Wilford's manuscript extract from the
BrahmdMa-purdna, where there should be mention of the two kings pre-
ceding Kshemadharman.
** Therewith agrees the Brahmdi'ida-purdna.
ft Three of my copies have Kshemavit, 24 years; the other, Kshe-
marchis, 40 years.
++ This reading says much for the comparative correctness of the Vdyu-
purdna.
§§ Viddhisara(?), and 28 years: Brahmdncla-purdna.
his son will be Ajatasatru;^* his son wîll be Dar-
*
25 years, Vayu;f 27, Matsya:J but the latter inserts a Kari-
wayana, § 9 years, and Bhumimitra (or Bhdmiputra), 14 years,
before him. In this and the preceding name we have appellations
of considerable celebrity in the traditions of the Bauddhas.
Vidniisara — read, also, Vindhusara, jl Vilwisara, &c., — is, most
probably, their Bimbasara, IT who was born at the same time
with Sakya, and was reigning at Rajagriha, when he began his
religious career. The Mahawaiiiso says that Siddhatto and Bimbi-
saro were attached friends, as their fathers had been before
them. P. 10. Sakya is said to have died in the reign of Ajata-
satru, the son of Bimbasara, in the eighth year of his reign. The
Vayu transposes (hese names; and the Matsya still more alters
the order of Ajatasatru; but the Bhagavata concurs with our
text. The Buddhist authority differs from the Purarias, materially,
as to the duration of the reigns; giving to Bimbisaro, 52 years,
and to Ajatasattu, 32. The latter, according to the same, murdered
his father. Mahawamso, p. 10. We may, therefore, with some
confidence, claim for these princes a date of about six centuries
B. C. They are considered contemporary wnth Suddhodana, &c.,
in the list of the Aikshwakas** (vide supra, p. 169, note 7).
* An Ajatasatru, king of the Kasis, is commemorated in the Kaushi-

taki-hrdhmana Upanishad, IV., I., and elsewhere.
t In all my MSS. of the Vdyu-purdna, the order is: Ajatasatru,
Kshattraujas, Bimbisara.
+ The Brahmdnda-purdna, at least in my single MS ,
gives 35 years
to Ajatasatru,
§ The name here intended is very doubtful in all my three MSS. of

the Matsya-purdna.
II
This — and so the Bindusena mentioned in the Translator's last
note, — looks like a corruption of Bindusara and Bindusara was a remote
;
descendant of Bimbisara. Vide infra, p. 186, note •.
% Vidmisara, &c. are, all, misspellings of Bimbisara. Vide infra,
p. 186, note «.
On the correct form of the name of the king intended, see Burnoufs
Introduction a V Histoire du Buddhisme Indien, Vol. I., p. 145, note 1,
** Vide supra, 171, note +.

p.
I
182 VISHNU PURANA.
bhaka; ^ * his son will be Udayaswa;^f his son will, also,
be Nandivardhana; and his son will be Mahanandin.^t

These ten Saisunagas will be kings of the earth for
*
three hundred and sixty-two years.
'
Harshaka, § 25 years, Vayu; Vamsaka, 24, Matsya. f ||
' 33 years, Vayu;** Udibhi or Utlasin,ft 33,Matsya. According

to the Vayu, Udaya or Udayaswa founded Kusumapura (or Pa-
taliputra), on the southern angle tt of the Ganges:
The legends of Sakya, consistently with this tradition, take no

notice of this city, in his peregrinations on either bank of the
Ganges. The Mahawamso calls the son and successor of Ajata-
satru, Udayibhaddako (Udayibhadraka ). P. 15.
^ 42 and 43 years, Vayu ; 40 and 43, Matsya. tf The Maha-

wamso has, in place of these, Anuruddhako, Mundo, and Naga-
dasako ; all, in succession, parricides : the last, deposed by an
insurrection of the people. P. 15.
* The several authorities agree in the number of ten Saisu-
*
Corrected from "Dharbaka". The Bhdgavata-purdna agrees with
our text.
t Udayana is almost as common a reading. Ajaya is the name in
the Bhdgavata-purdna.
I Corrected from " Mahanandi ", the reading of the Bhdgavata-purdna.

§ I find Darsaka.
I
Two of my MSS. have 24; the other two, 40.
^ The BrahmdMa-ptirdna, at least in my MS., has Dasaka, and a

reign of 35 years.
** The name find there in Udayin; but, in two MSS., Udaya.
that I
ft Three of my MSS. have Udambhin ; one, Udasiu. The Brahmdnda-

fjurdna has the latter, and 23 years.
II I find ;^, 'bank'.
§§ Two MSS. read xfrT^l^; and so does the BrahmdMa-purdria.

1
Corrected from "Udayinbhadraka".
Ij
^^ More clearly: Nandivardhana, 42 years, Vdyu-purdria; 40 years,

Matsya-purdna: Mahanandin, 43 years, in both those Puranas. The
Brahmdn&a-purdna agrees, as to these two kings, with the Vdyu-purdna.
BOOK IV., UHAP. XXIV. 183
The son of Mahanandin* will be born of a woman

of the Sudra (or servile) class: his name will be Nanda,
nagas, and in the aggregate years of their reigns, which the
Matsya and the Bhagavata call 360. The Vayu has 362, f with
which the several periods correspond : I the details of the Matsya
give 363. § The VaynH and Matsya IF call the Saisunagas Kshat-
trabandhus, which may designate an inferior order of Kshattri-
* Corrected from "Mahananda". f And so has the Brahmdnda-'purdna.
X I make only 3;^2.

§ Even taking account of the reigns mentioned near the beginning
of note 1 in p. 181, supra, I make out but 354.
The nominal and numerical details given below are there expressed
as follows:
^T^^Tf^ ^f^^îfW^^ tf^^T: I
g^RJT^ Hf^^f^ ^ 11^ Tff^f^rT:

following particulars answer to those contained in the
II
note:
% The last
g^^^ ^f^t^ ^W tf^ ^ftf^rr: II
^W^ '^gft^FTf^lT^ %f^:

irrNir^T^T: t^wf^f^:
II
^f^Wrf^ i
^•?:cr^TfxT ^fJir't"^Tf^1T^ ^f?T^: II
^T%^T^^N^frffift^Tg t^fTT: I
Q^ ^"%" ^f^t^ T^fi^w ^#tf^?[: II
There are similar verses in the Brahmdnda-purdna ; but they are
copied, in Colonel Wilford's volume of Pauraiiik extracts,— where alone
I have access to them, — with such deplorable carelessness, and with so

many omissions, that I can do no more than refer to them. They seem
to resemble the corresponding stanzas in the Matsya-purdna rather
more closely than those in the Vdyu-purdiia.

I 84 VISHNU PURANA.
(called) Mahapadma; for he will be exceedingly ava-

ricious.^ Like another Parasurama, * he will be the
annihilator of the Kshattriya race; for, after him, the
yas. They also observe, that, contemporary with the dynasties

already specified, — the Pauravas, the Barhadvathas, and Maga-
dhas, — there were other races of royal descent, as: Aikshwaka
princes, 24 :f Panchalas, 25, Vayu ; 27, Matsya: Kalakas + ,
or
Kasakas, or Kaseyas, § 24: Haihayas, 24, Vayu; 28, Matsya: Ka-
lingas, 32, Vayu; 40, Matsya: Sakas, Vayu; Asmakas, Matsya,
||
2o:l Kurus,** 26:tt Maithilas, 28: Surasenas, 23: and Viti-

hotras, 20.
'
The Bhagavata calls him Mahapadmapati, 'the lord of Ma-
hapadma;' which the commentator interprets '•sovereign of an
infinite host' or 'ofimmense wealth ;'tt Mahapadma signifying
100,000 millions. The Vayu and Matsya, §§ however, consider
Mahapadma as another name of Nanda. i|
||
* Vide supra, p. 23.
t It is to be understood, in this and similar cases, that the two Pn-

ranas agree.
X This is the name that I find in the Vdyu-purdna.
§ Two of my MSS. of the Matsya-purdna have this reading ; another,
Kasheyas; another, Kaleyas.
of my MSS. of the Matsya-purdna gives 22: the other three, 32.
\l
One
That is to say, where the Vdyu-purdna names the Sakas, the Matsya-
^
purdna names the Asmakas,
**
Corrected from "Kuravas".
tt I find 36 in both Puranas.
II See the commentator's words, at the end of note !|||, below.

§§ They say nothing of Nanda, naming Mahapadma only. The same
is the case with the Brahmdnda-purdna.
II
ji So considers the Bhdgavaia-purdna, where we read — XII,, 1., 8 and 9:
On the first of these verses the commentator, Sridhara, remarks:
frl I ^<! VM ^fm^ T^fi? fT^ 'TT'T I

;
kings of the earth vidll be Sddras. He will bring the

whole earth under one umbrella: he will have eight
sons, Sumalya"' and others, who will reign after Ma-
hapadma; and he and his sons^ will govern for a hun-
'
So the Bhagavata. also; but it would be more compatible
with chronology to consider the nine Nandas as so many descents.
The Vayu and Matsyaf give eighty-eight years to Mahapadma,
and only the remaining twelve to Sumalya and the rest of the
remaining eight; these twelve years being occupied with the
efforts of Kautilya to expel the Nandas. The Mahawarhso, evi-
dently intending the same events, gives names and circumstances
differently; it may be doubted, if with more accuracy. On the
deposal of Nagadasako, the people raised to the throne the min-
ister Susanago, who reigned eighteen years. This prince is,
evidently, confounded with the Sisunaga of the Puranas. He

was succeeded by his son, Kalasoko, who reigned twenty years
and he was succeeded by his sons, ten of whom reigned together
for twenty-two years: subsequently there were nine, who, ac-
cording to their seniority, reigned for twenty-two years. The
Brahman Chanako put the ninth surviving brother, named Dhana-
nando (Rich Nanda). to death, and installed Chandagutto. Ma-
hawariiso, pp. 15 and 21. These particulars, notwithstanding the
alteration of some of the names, belong, clearly, to one story;
and that of the Buddhists looks as if it was borrowed and mo-
dified from that of the Brahmans. The commentary on the Ma-

hawarhso, translated by Mr. Turnour (Introduction, p. xxxviii.),
calls the sons of Kalasoko "the nine Nandos;" but another

Buddhist authority, the Dipawamso, omits Kalasoko, and says
that Susanago had ten brothers, who, after his demise, reigned,
collectively, twenty-two years. Journal of the Asiatic Society
of Bengal, November, 1838 (p. 930).
* Several of my MSS. have Sumatya; and so has Professor Wilson's

Bengal translation. The Matsya-purdna, in my copies, has Sukulya,
with Kusala as a variant Sahalya: Brahnidrida-purdria.
t Add the Brahndnda-purana.
186 VISHNU PUKANA.
dred years.* The Brahman Kautilya will root out the

^
nine Nandas.
Upon the cessation of the race of Nanda, the
Mauryas will possess the earth; for Kautilya will
place Chandragupta^ on the throne. His son will
For the particulars of the story here

'
alluded to, see the
Mudra Rakshasa, Hindu Theatre, Vol. II. Kautilya is also
called, according to the commentator on our text, Vatsyayana,
Vishriugupta, and Chariakya. According to the Matsya Purana,
Kautilya retained the regal authority for a century; but there is
some inaccuracy in the copies, f

' This is the most important name in all the lists; as it can
scarcely be doubted that he is the Sandrocottus, or, — as Athe-
nteus writes, more correctly, — the Sandrocoptus, of the Greeks,
as I have endeavoured to prove in the Introduction to the Mudra
Rakshasa. t The relative positions of Chandragupta, Vidmisara
(or Bimbisara), and Ajatasatru serve to confirm the identification.
Sakya vvâs contemporary with both the latter, dying in the eighth
year of Ajatasatru's reign. The Mahawariiso says he reigned

twenty-four years afterwards; but the Vayu makes his whole
reign but twenty-five years, § which would place the close of it
B. C. 526. The rest of the Saisunaga dynasty, according to the
Vayu and Matsya, reigned 143 or 140 years; bringing their close
to B. C. 383. Another century being deducted for the duration
* Burnouf, citing a high Buddhist authority, a Sanskrit work, gives

the following genealogy : Bimbisara (king of Rajagriha), Ajatasatru, Uda-
yibhadra, Munda, Kakavarnin, Sahalin, Tulakuchi, Mahamaiidala, Prase-
najit, Nanda, Bindusara (kingSusima.
of Introduction
Pat'aJiputra),
a V Histoire du Buddhtsme Indim, Vol. I., pp. 358, :i59.
A Mongol authority interposes a king between Nanda and Chandra-
gupta. See the Foe Koue Ki, p. 230.
t There is something to the same effect in the Vdyu-purdna and in
the Brahmdnda-purdna,
t The identification of Chandragupta with Sandrocyptus is the property
of Sir William Jones. See the Asiatic Researches, Vol IV., p. 11.
§ I find twenty-four years, and so in the Brakmdnda-purdna.

BOOK IV., CHAF. XXIV. 187
be Biiidusara ;
^
his son will be Asokavardha-
of the Nandas would place the accession of Chandragupta B. C.
283. Chandragupta was the contemporary of Seleucus Nicator,
who began his reign B. C. 310, and concluded a treaty with him
B. C. 305. Although, therefore, his date may not be made out
quite correctly from the Paurariik premises, yet the error cannot
be more than twenty or thirty years. The result is much nearer
the truth than that furnished by Buddhist authorities. According
to the Mahawaniso, a hundred years had elapsed from the death
of Buddha to the tenth year of the reign of Kalasoko (p. 15).
He reigned other ten years, and his sons, forty-four, making a

total of 154 years between the death of Sakya and the accession
of Chandragupta, which is, consequently, placed B. C. 389, or
above seventy years too early. According to the Buddhist
authorities, Chan-ta-kut-ta (or Chandragupta) commenced his reign
396 B. C. Burmese Table; Prinsep's Useful Tables. Mr. Tumour,
in his Introduction, giving to Kalasoko eighteen years subsequent
to the century after Buddha, places Chandragupta's accession
B. C. 381, which, he observes, is sixty years too soon; dating,
however, the accession of Chandragupta from 323 B. C, or im-
mediately upon Alexander's death, —a period too early by eight
or ten years, at least.The discrepancy of dates, Mr. Tumour is
disposed to think, " proceeds from some intentional perversion of
the Buddhistical chronology." Introduction, p. l. The com-
mentator on our text says that Chandragupta was the son of
Nanda, by a wife named Mura. whence he and his descendants
were called Mauryas: ^^^ •H^'^^ XTrîrt?;^ ^TW^^
V[^ 4f)^|Ujt IT^^T^ I
Colonel Tod considers Maurya a cor-
ruption of Mori, the name of a Rajput tribe. The I'ika on the
Mahawarhso builds a story on the fancied resemblance of the

word to Mayiira (Sanskrit), Mori (Prakrit), 'a peacock.' There
being abundance of pea-fowl in the place where the Sakya tribe
built a town, they called it Mori ; and their princes were, thence,
called Mauryas. Tumour, Introduction to the Mahawaniso,
p. XXXIX. Chandragupta reigned, according to the Vayu Purana.
24 years; according to the Mahawan'iso, 34; to the Dipawariiso, 24.
'
So the Mahawarhso, Bindusaro. Burmese Table, Bin-tu-sa-
188 VISHNU PUKANA.
na;* his son will be Suyasas:* his son will be Da-
ra. The Vayu has Bhadrasara, 25 years ;t the Bhagavata, Vari-

sara. The Matsya names but four princes of this race, although
it concurs with the others, in stating the series to consist of ten.
The names are, also, differently arranged; and one is peculiar, +
They are Satadhanwan, Brihadratha, § Suka, and Dasaratha. T
Asoka, 36 years, Vayu;** Suka,tt 26,:: Matsya; Asokavar-
'
dhana, Bhagavata; Asoko and Dhammasoko, Mahawamso. This

king is the most celebrated of any in the annals of the Buddhists. §§
In the commencement of his reign, he followed the Brahmanical
faith, but became a convert to that of Buddha, and a zealous en-
courager of it. He is said to have maintained, in his palace,
64,000 Buddhist priests, and to have erected 84,000 columns (or
topes) throughout India. A great convocation of Buddhist priests
was held in the eighteenth year of his reign, which was followed
by missions to Ceylon and other places. According to Buddhist
chronology, he ascended the throne 218 years after the death of
Buddha. B. C. 325. As the grandson of Chandragupta, however,
he must have been some time subsequent to this, or, — agreeably

to the joint duration of the reigns of Chandragupta and Bindu-
sara, supposing the former to have commenced his reign about
B. C. 315,— forty-nine years later, or B. C. 266. The duration
of his reign is said to have been thirty-six years, bringing it
down to B, C. 230; but, if we deduct these periods from the date

assignable to Chandragupta, of B. C. 283, we shall place Asoka's
reign from B. C. 234 to 198. Now, it is certain that a number
of very curious inscriptions, on columns and rocks, by a Buddhist
*
t Nandasara, and 25 years BrahmdMa-purdna.
Suparswa.in two MSS. :
: See note • in p. 190, infra.

§ The Matsya-purdna gives him a reign of 70 years.
II
Asoka is the reading of all my MSS.
^f These are the first four of the series. ** And so the Brahmdnda-purdna.
tt See note , above. :: I find 36.
§§ The best account, in our language, of Asoka, is by Sir Erskine

Perry, in the Journal of the Bombay Asiatic Societi/, Vol. III., Part II.,
pp. 149—178.
saratha;^ his son will be Sangata; his son will be
prince, in an ancient form of letter, and the Pali language, exist

in India ; and that some of them refer to Greek princes, who can
be no other than members of the Seleucidan and Ptolemjean dy-
nasties, and are, probably, Antiochus the Great* and Ptolemy
Euergetes, kings of Syria and Egypt in the latter part of the
third century before Christ. Journal of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal, February and March, 1838. The Indian king appears
always under the appellation Piyadasi (or Priyadarsin), '
the
beautiful;' and is entitled Devanam piya, 'the beloved of the
gods.' According to Buddhist authorities, the Rasawahini and
Dipawaiiiso, quoted by Mr. Turnour (Journal of the Asiatic Society
of Bengal, December 1837, p. 1056, and November, 1838, p. 930),
Piyadasi or Piyadassano is identified, both by name and circum-
stances, with Asoka; and to him, therefore, the inscriptions must
be attributed. Their purport agrees well enough with his char-
acter ; and their wide diffusion, with the traditionary report of
the number of his monuments. His date is not exactly that of
Antiochus the Great; but it is not very far diiferent; and the
corrections required to make it correspond are no more than the
inexact manner in which both Brahmanical and Buddhist chrono-
logy is preserved may well be expected to render necessary.
'
The name of Dasaratha, in a similar ancient character as
that of Piyadasi's inscriptions, has been found at Gaya, amongst
Buddhist remains, and, like them, deciphered by Mr. Prinsep:
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, August. 1837, p. 677. A
names occurs in theVayu;f or: Kusala, 8 years;
different series of
Bandhupalita, Indrapalita, t Dasavarman,§ 7 years; Satadhara,

8 years; and Brihadaswa, 7 years. H The Bhagavata agrees in
• For some strictures on this position, see General Cunningham's

Bhilsa Topes, p. 112. t Immediately after Asoka.
X I find: Bandhupalita, 8 years; Indrapalita, 10 years.
§ My MSS. yield Devavarman.

So read all my MSS. and yet, a
; little further on, they agree in
naming Brihadratha as the king put to death by Pushpamitra.

^ The BrahmdMa-purd/ia has, after Asoka: Kulala, 8 years; Bandhu-
190 VISHNU PURANA.
Salisiika: his son will be Somasarman; his son will be

Satadhanwan * and his successor will be Bfihadra-
;
'
tha. These are the ten Mauryas, who will reign

^
over the earth for a hundred and thirty-seven years.
The dynasty of the Sungas will, next, become pos-
sessed of the sovereignty; for Pushpamitra, '^
the gen-
eral (of the last Maurya prince), will put his master to
most of the names and ; its omission of Dasaiatha is corrected
by the commentator.
'
Satadhanwan, Bhagavata.
''
The Vayu says nine Sumurtyasf reigned 137 years. + The
Matsya and Bhagavata have ten Mauryas, and 137 years. The
detailed numbers of the Vayu and Matsya differ from their
totals ;§ but the copies are, manifestly, corrupt.

^
The Bhagavata omits this name, but states that there were
ten Sungas ; although, without Pushpamitra, only nine are named.
The Vayu and Matsya have the same account of the circum-
stances of his accession to the throne: the former gives him a
reign of sixty, the latter, of thirty-six, years. In a play attri- jj
buted to Kalidasa, the Malavikagnimitra, of which Agnimitra is
the hero, his father is alluded to as the Senani or general, as if
he had deposed his master in favour, not of himself, but of his
palita, 8 years; something unintelligible, and denoting a hiatus; Harsha,
8 years; Saiiimati, 9 years: Salisiika, 13 years; Devadharman, 7 years;
Satadhanus, 8 years; Brihadratha, 87 years.

•
Corrected from •'Sasadharman", for which 1 tind no warrant, Pro-
fessor Wilson's Hindu-made translation excepted.
find only the reading Mauryas; nor is there room for a longer name:
t I
*
Nine Mauryas, and 137 years: Brahmdnda-purdna. Its details, in
my MS., require correction, therefore.

the period
§ The Matsya-purdna does not seem to profess
to specify
of each king's reign.
]i
And so gives the BrahmdMa-purd/ia.
death, and ascend the throne. His son will be Agni-

mitra;^* his son will be Sujyeshtha:"'' his son will be
VasLunitra;^ his son will be Ardraka;^ his son will be
son. Agnimitra is termed king of Vidisa, not of Magadha.

Pushpaniitra is represented as engaged in a conflict with the Ya-
vanas on the Indus; thus continuing the political relations with
the Greeks or Scythians of Bactria and Ariana. See Hindu
Theatre, Vol. I., p. 347.
'
8 years, Vayu;f omitted, Matsya.
^ 7 years, Vayu and Matsya. + But the latter places him after
Vasumitra;§ and, in the drama, the son of Agnimitra is called
Vasumitra.
^ 8 years, Vayu; 10 years, Matsya. ||
* Andraka, Vayu; Antaka, Matsya: they agree in his reign.
2 years. 1[ Bhadraka, Bhagavata.
* In one MS., Animitri; in another, Amitra: readings of no value.

General Cunningham informs me that he possesses two coins of an
Agnimitra, containing characters similar to those of Asoka's inscriptions,
t The following stanza — corrupt, probably,— occurs there, not naming

Agnimitra :
From this it appears that Pushpamitra had sons who ruled for eight
years. And then came Sujyeshtha, whose relationship to his predecessors

is not stated.
The first half of this stanza may have been, originally, something like
the following loose verse from the Brahmdnda-purdria, which makes
Agnimitra son of Pushpamitra, and assigns him a reign of 8 years :
The Brahmdnda-purdna has the same

*
Maisya-purdna I find, after Pushpamitra, Vasujyeshfha (Va-

§ In the
susreshtha, in two MSS.), and then Vasumitra. According to the Harsha-
charita, Agnimitra had a son Sumitra, killed by Miiladeva See my
Vdsavadattd, Preface, p. 53.
And so has the Brahmdnda-purdna.
^ My copies of the Vdyu-purdna give a reign of 10 years. The Brah-
nidrida-purdna has Bhadra, and 2 years.
192 VISHNr PURANA.
Pulindaka;^* his son will be Ghoshavasu;^ his son

will be Vajramitra;^ his son will be Bhagavata;* his
son will be Devabhuti/f These are the ten Sungas,
who will govern the kingdom for a hundred and
twelve years."
Devabhuti, the (last) Sunga prince, being addicted
to immoral indulgences, his minister, the Kanwa t
'
3 years, Vayu§ and Matsya. ||
*
3 years, Vayu;1f omitted, Matsya;** Ghosha, Bhagavata.
^ 9 years, Matsya. ff
* Bhaga, Matsya ; 32 years, Vayu and Matsya. H
* Kshemabhurai, Vayu; Devabhumi. Matsya: 10 years, both.§§
^ The Bhagavata says 'more than a hundred,' ^7TTf^<**l. I
The commentator explains it 112, ^T^lfV^*^ I

The Vayu
and Matsya have the same period. Hlf
J!
Pulinda, a shorter form, in a single copy. The same is the reading
of the Bhdgavata-purdna.
t One JIS. has Devabhiiri.

* Corrected, here and at the beginning of the next paragraph, from
"Kauwa", which I find nowhere. The Brahmdnrla-purdna first applies
to Vasudeva the term Kauwa; afterwards, that of Kanwayana.
§ So has the BrahmdMa-purdna, also.
II
In my MSS., Maruuandana, and 3 years.
m And so has the BrahmdMa-purdna.
** I find aname that looks like Megha: but all my MSS. are very
doubtful here. The specification of three years is added.

which looks, in my MSS., like Vi-
tt The Vdyu-purd/ia has a name
kramitra:only this is most unlikely, as being meaningless. The reign
is of 14 years, according to one MS.; 9, possibly, according to the rest.
The Brakmdnda-purdna has Vajramitra, and 14 years. The Vdyu-pu-
rdna, in all probability, really has the same.
XI Bhagavata, and 32 years: BrahmdMa-purdna.

§§ The BrahmdMa-purdna has Devabhumi, and 10 years.
i||| What Matsya-purdna has is not to be made out from

total the my
MSS.: the detailed reigns occupy, however, 112 years.
Though its
text declares the Sungas to be ten, it names but nine.

%% The BrahmdMa-purdna has, also, 112 years:
^rt W ^^ "I ^ ^- ^>^ ^f^fH I

:
named Vasudeva, murder him, and usurp the will

kingdom. His son
be Bhiimimitra;* his son will v^nll
be Narayana; his son will be Susarman.f These four

Kan way anas + will be kings of the earth for forty-
^
five § years.
The names of the four princes agree in all

'
the authorities. ||
The Matsya transfers the character of Vyasanin to the minister,

with the further addition of his being a Brahman, — Dwija. In
the lists given by Sir William Jones and Colonel Wilford,
the four Kaihvas are said to have reigned 345 years; but, in
seven copies of the Vishnu Puraria, from different parts of In-
dia, the number is, as given in the text, forty-five: "^^ ^'RS'T-
^RT^^TT: iTW^Wrftm^fW ^^«l^ Hf^^f^ I
There is,
however, authority for the larger number, both in the text of

the Bhagavata and the comment. The former II has
ITfTTf^ ^fW ^^f^ ^^TWT ^ wr g5i II
And the latter: ^TJ^^-n ^^TWT "^fW ITcnlNT H^f^^^Tft-

irir^lfW ^'i ^^f^ I
There is no doubt, therefore, of the
purport of the text; and it is only surprising that such a chrono-
logy should have been inserted in the Bhagavata, not only in
opposition to all probability, but to other authority. The Vayu
and Matsya not only confirm the lower number, by stating it as
a total, but by giving it in detail; thus:
* Bhiimitra Bhdgavata-purdna.
:
t Sudharman: Brahmdnda-purdna.
+ Corrected, here and further on, from "Kaiiwas", for which I find
no authority. And see the original as quoted in the Translator's note
in this page.
§ One MS. yields "forty".

ij
The Bhdgavata-purdiia omits, in his place, Susarman, whose name
is supplied by the commentator Sridhara. See, further, note «, above.
The Vdyu-purd/ia has, in my MSB., Bhiitimitra, not Bhiimimitra; and
its account of the Kai'iwayanas, if decipheval)l6, would, perhaps, prove
difterent from that of our Puraua.
f XII., I., 19.
IV. 13
194 VISHNU PURANA.
Susarman, the Kanwa,* will be killed by a power-

ful f servant, named Sipraka,t of the Andhra§ tribe,
who will become king, (and found the Andhrabhritya
dynasty^). II He will be succeeded by his brother,
Vasudeva will reign 9 years.
Bhumimitra 14
Narayana 12
Susarman 10
Total : 45 years.
And Matsya concur in this statement. H
six copies of the
The expressions Andhrajatiyas and Andhrabhi'ityas have

'
much perplexed Colonel Wilford, who makes three races out of

one, — Andhras, Andhrajatiyas, and Andhrabhrityas : Asiatic Re-
searches, Vol. IX., p. 101. There is no warrant for three races,
in the Purahas, although the Matsya, and, perhaps, the Vayu,
distinguishes two, as we shall hereafter see. Our text has but
one, to which all the terms may be applied. The first of the
dynasty was an Andhra by birth or caste (jatiya), and a servant
(bhfitya) of the last of the Kaiiwa race. So the Vayu: f^**!^
^PJIÎfft^f: I
The Matsya:
f^^gî^: ^sfTcft^: irr^rf^^t ^^^TTii ii
And the Bhagavata:**
* One MS. has Kanwayana.

t I liud '^^<^, 'by violeuce'.
+ Two MSS, give Kshipraka.

§ Corrected, here and elsewhere, from "Andhra". Similarly, I have
amended "Andhrabhritya".
II
These words I have enclosed in parentheses, as being additional to
the Sanskrit.
% And so do the fonr to which I have access. The Brahmdidia-pu-
rdna gives the same total of years tor the dynasty of the Kai'iwas,
whom it describes as Bnihmans.
* XII., I., 20.
BOOK IV., (HAP. XXIV. 195
Krishna;^ his son will be Srisatakarni;*'^* his son will

be Piirnotsanga;^ his son will be Satakarhi;*f his son
The terms 'an Andhra by caste' and 'a Bhfitya' or servant,

with the addition, in the last passage, of Vrishala, 'a Siidra',
all apply to one person Wilford has made
and one dynasty.
wild work with The name of the first of this race is
his triad.
variously read: Sindhuka, Vayu; Sisuka, Matsya; Balin, + Bhaga-

vata;§ and, according to Wilford, Chhesmaka in the Brahnianda l|
Puraria, and Sudraka or Siiraka in the Kuniarika Kharida of the

Skanda Purana: Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX., p. 107. He
reigned 23 years: Vayu and Matsya. IF If the latter form of his
name be correct, he may be the king who is spoken of in the
prologue to the Mrichchhakatika.

'
10 years,** Vayu; 18 years, Matsya.
^ 56 years, Vayu; 18 years, Matsya; 10 years, Brahmanda,
Wilford;ff Simahikarrii, Matsya;t+ Santakarria, §§ Bhagavata.
^ Omitted, Vayu; ;
18 years, Matsya; Paurnamasa, Bhagavata.
* Omitted, Vayu 11 and Bhagavata; 56 years, Matsya:
In one MS, Srisantakarni.

* Also vide infra, p. 198, note §.
t The correct form, Satakarni, is of frequent occurrence, in various

MSS. of several I'uranas accessible to me, both where this name stands
by itself and where it appears as a family-designation. Also vide infra,
p. 198, note §.
* Colonel Wilford strangely gives "Balihika, or, rather, Balihita."
Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX., p. 107.
§ See the stanza cited just above.

il
In the Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX., p. 116, Colonel Wilford has
Chhismaka, and rightly, if my .MS. is trustworthy.
^ And so stsites the BrahmdMa-purdna. The names of the Antlhra-
bhfitya kings, with the duration of their reigns, I give, from that Puraua,
in a group. Vide infra, p. 201, note ++.

**
Both the name and the period are uncertain in my MSS. Colonel
Wilford has Krishna, and 18 years.
^-f Vide infra, p. 201, note t+ > near the end.
++ Vide infra, p. 200, note * .
§§ The reading there is Srisantakarna.
II]
In Colonel Wilford's manuscript extracts, I find Purnotsanga, and
IS years. Also see the Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX., i>. IIG.
Satakanii, and 5G years, in the collection just spoken of. Colonel
%%
16'
:
196 VISHNU Pl'RANA.
will be Lambodara;' his son will be Ivilaka;^* his son

will be Meghaswati;^ his son will be Patumat;^ his
but the latter has, before him, a Srfvaswani, f 18 years.

'
18 years, Matsya. t
^
Apilaka, 12 years, Vayu and Matsya;§ Chivilika or Vivi-
lika, 11
Bhagavata.
' Omitted, Vayu and Matsya.l
*
Patumavi, ** 24 years, Vayu; Atamana,tt Bhagavata.
Wilford, in the Asiatic Researches where referred to in my last note,
has the same. It is noticeable, that, at same time, he does not

the
state the length of Srisatakarui's reign,— 56 years,— but leaves a blank.

* Two MSS. exhibit Divilaka. Colonel Wilford professes to have found
Yivilaka.
t This strange word must, certainly, be a mistake. Vide infra, p. 200,
note f.
+ In Colonel Wilford's excerpts, the Vdyu-purdria here, again, agrees
with the Matsya-purdna. But I suspect interpolation. Also see the
Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX., p. 116,
§ My MSS. of the Matsya-purdna have Apitaka; and so has the Rad-
cliffe copy, according to Professor Wilson. Vide infra, p. 199, note 4.
The name intended seems to be Vikala. At all events, it is

I!
a trisyllable; as is evident from the verse where it occurs for the
second time
Colonel Wilford has Vivilaka, which may have suggested Professor

Wilson's "Vivilika".
f It agrees, here, according to my MSS., and according to the Radcliffe
MS. as represented by Professor Wilson, with our Purana. Vide infra,
p. 200, note §.
•
This name looks rather doubtful. Colonel Wilford's MS. of extracts
has Paduravi. The Colonel prints "Pat'umabi".
The person here intended may be the same as Puclumayi, or whatever
his name is, mentioned in the Nasik cave-inscriptions. See the Journal
of the. Bombay Asiatic Society, Vol. VII., p. 52.
tt Corrected from "Drirhamana", which is quite indefensible, and must
have been misread for something else. The "rh" is meant for 'dh'.
See the verse quoted in note above. Colonel Wilford has the name
'
I have given, of which I find no variant.

; '
son will be Arishtakarman * his son will be Hala;' his
son will be Pattalaka;'f his son will be Pravilasena;*t
his son will be Sundara (named) Satakarnin;^§ his son
will be Chakora Satakarnin;*' his son will be Siva-
'
Nemikrishna, 25 years, Vayu; Arishtakarrii, 25 years,
Matsya. |1
^ Hala, 1 year, Vayu; 5 years, Matsya; Haleya, Bhagavata.

^ Mandalaka, IF 5 years, Matsya ** omitted, Bhagavata. ff ;
* Purishasena,n 21 years, Vayu; Purindrasena, 5 years,
Matsya ; Purishataru, §§ Bhagavata.

* Satakanii only, Vayu and Matsya: the first gives him three
years; II II
the second, but one. ff Sunanda,*** Bhagavata.
^
Chakora,fff 6 months, Vayu; Vikarrii, 6 months, Matsya.
* Arishtakania is the name given by Colonel Wilford.

t Corrected from "Talaka", which I find in no MS. of our Purana.
Professor Wilson's Hindu-made version has Uttalaka. Colonel Wilford
gives the name correctly. See, further, note ft, below.
t Three MSS. have, like Colonel Wilford, Praviliasena; one, Pulindasena.
§ Corrected from "Satakarni". In like manner, I have amended, just
below, "Chakora Satakarni" and "Sivasri Satakanii". Colonel Wilford
has Sundara Satakarna and Chakora Satakarni.
jl
Anisht'akarman : Bhdgavata-purd/ia.
^ Corrected from "Mandalaka".
** The Vdyu-purdna here assigns a reign of 5 years to some king
whose name is utterly corrupted in my MSS. Colonel Wilford has Pu-

laka, and o years: Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX., p. 116.
tt Not so: it has Talaka, which Colonel Wilford found, and which
is
in all my MSS., &c.

** I find Purikasheiia; and so found Colonel Wilford.
impossible.
§§ I find Purishabhiru. Colonel Wilford's "Purishbhoru" is
III!
In the Vdyu-purdna, according to my copies, Satakanii is made to
reign but one year:
And so says Colonel Wilford.
^^ Vide infra, p. 201, note f-

•** Sunandana is the name; and Colonel Wilford so has it.
Also vid^ infra, 201,

ttt The Vdyu-purdna has Chakorasatakariii. p.
note +. Chakora is the name in the Bkdgavata-purdna.

198 VISHNU PURANA.
swati;* his son will be Gomatiputra;''"" his son will

;
be Pulimat;^ his son will be Sivasri Satakarnin ^
f his
son will be Sivaskandha; t his son will be Yajnasri;*'§
1
28 years,Vayu and Matsya.H !|
Gotamiputra, ** 21 years, Vayu and Matsya.

Pulomat, ff 28 years, Matsya; Pnrimat, Bhagavata.
Omitted, Vayu; 7 years, Matsya; Medasiras, t+ Bhagavata.
Omitted, Vayu Matsya. §§
; 7 years,
29 years, Vayu;||il 9 years, Matsya.
* A single MS. has Gotaraiputra, which may be a restoration of the

original reading of the Vishnu-purdna. See note §, below. The Bhdgn-
vata-purdna has Gomatiputra.
t Colonel Wilforrl bisects him into Satakarni and Sivasri.
X One MS. gives Sivaskanda, the reading of Colonel Wilford, of the
Translator's Bengal version, and that of the Bhdgavata-purdna.
§ Satakarni, and called king of the south, — as Professor Wilson
presently states, — is referred to in an inscription at Junagur. See the
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, for 1838, pp. 339 and 341;
and the Journal of the Bombay Asiatic Society, Vol. VII., pp. 120 and
126. This inscription, which is in Sanskrit, shows that the name of the
king in question begins with a dental sibilant.
Further, in the Nasik cave-inscriptions, names are found which are sup-
posed to correspond to Srisatakanii, Gotamiputra Srisatakarni, and Ya-
jnasri Satakarni. Journal of the Bombay Asiatic Society, Vol. V., pp. 43,
47, 66.
We have,
it is evident, excellent authority for accepting Gotamiputra,
as against Gautamiputra and Gomatiputra.

II
According to Colonel Wilford, the Vdyu-purdna has Sivaswamin. I
find Sivaswati.
^ Colonel Wilford represents the Bhdgavata-purdna as naming Vat'aka
and Sivaswati between Chakora and Gomati})utra. The name Vataka is
in no MS. that I have examined; and there is no room for it in the line
where it was supposed to occur.
** Gautamiputra is in both Puranas, in my copies ; and Colonel Wilford
has this name. But see note §, above, ad finem; also, note § in p. 201, infra.
ft The Vdyu-purdna has no name here.

XX Corrected from "Medhasiras".
§§ Vide infra, p. 201, note \\.
ilil
Yajnasri Satakarnin, and 19 years, in all my copies of the Vdyu-
purdiia but one, which gives, like Colonel Wilford, 29 years.
his son will be Vijaya;^ his son will be Chandrasri;^

his son will be Pulomarchis.'^ These'' thirty Andhra-
'
6 years, Vayu* and Matsya.
^ Dandasri,f 3 years, Vayu; Chandrasri, t 10 years, Matsya;
Chandravijua, § Bhagavata.
^ Pulovapi, II
7 years, Vayu; Pulomat, 7 years, Matsya; Salo-
madhi,1[ Bhagavata.
* The Vayu and Bhagavata state, also, 30 kings, and 456
years;** the Matsya has 29 ff kings, and 460 years. The actual
enumeration of the text gives but 24 names; that of the Bhaga-
vata, but 23; that of the Vayu, but 17. The Matsya has the
whole 29 names, adding several to the list of our text; and the
aggregate of the reigns amounts to 435 years and 6 months. ++
The difference between this and the total specified arises,
probably, from some inaccuracy in theMSS. As this list ap-

pears to be fuller than any other, it may be advisable to insert
it as it occurs in the Radcliffe copy of the Matsya Purana:§§
" Colonel Wilford has Satakarni, and 60 years. I suspect an error.

t The full name, in the Vdyu-purdna, is Danflasri Satakarni.
* Vide infra, p. 201, note *» My MSS. here harmonize neither with
.
the Radclifte as quoted by Professor Wilson, nor with the MS. which he
used for his short notes hereabouts.
§ Corrected from "Chaudravijaya", the name that Colonel Wilford,
also, has. The original runs:
II
Colonel Wilford seems to have found Puloman.
^ Corrected, here and below, from "Sulomadhi" Colonel Wilford's
"Lomadhi" is a mere blunder, and easily enough to be accounted for.
See the verse quoted in note §, above.
*
The aggregate which I find is 411 years:
ft My MSS. of the Matsya-purdiia agree in saying 19; and herein, to

begin with, they must, all, be corrupt
This aggregate cannot be received with confidence, as must be clear
II
from the details given in my numerous annotations on the list that
follows.
§§ It must have been some other copy, and one abounding with omis-
sions, that Professor Wilson followed for his last twenty-four notes pre-
200 VISHNU PURANA.
bhritya kings will reign four hundred and fifty-six

years.
1. Sisuka 23 years.
2. Krishna 18
3. Simalakarrii* 18
4. Purnotsanga 18
5. Srivaswanif 18
6. Satakarrii 56
7. Lambodara 18
8. Apitaka* 12
9. Sangha§ 18
10. Satakarnill 18
11. Skandhaswati 7
12. Mrigendra1[ 3
13. Kuntalaswati** 8
14. Swatikarria 1
15. Pulomavitfl 36
IG. Gorakshaswasri t+ ... 25
ceding that under annotation ; else, why the numerous discrepancies that
present themselves, when we look into details? My four MSS. of the
Matsya-purdna, while, differing considerably among themselves, differ
quite as much from the Radcliffe copy as here cited. Whatever the
importance of the matter before us, it being hopeless, with my materials,
to make out, with certainty, the twenty-nine desired kings, and the
duration of the reign of each, I shall not enter into many particulars,
in dealing with the Translator's regal catalogue.

* To be corrected to Srimallakariii. Compare note 2 in p. 196, supra-
And I find 10 years assigned to him, in all my MSS.
t Skandhastambhi is the reading in my copies.

I Vide supra, p. 196, notes 2 and §.
§ My MSS. have Meghaswati.
[|
Swati is the reading which I find.
% Mfigendraswatikarna, in my MSS.
** All my copies give Kuntalaswatikarna.
ft Pulomavi is the name in my MSS. ; and then follows Meghaswati,

with 38 years.
t+ My MSS. have Gaurakrishna, Naurikrishna, and Vikrishiia. Compare
note 1 in p. 197, supra.
:
After these, various races will reign; as, seven
17. Hala 5 years.

18. Mantalaka* 5
19. Purindrasenaf 5
20. Rajadaswati* 6 months.
21. Sivaswati 28
22. Gautamiputra § 21
23. Pulomat 28
24. Sivasri 7
25. Skandhaswati II
7
26. Yajnasril 9
27. Vijaya 6
28. Vadasri** 10
29. Pulomat 7
Total: 435 years, 6 months.

Several of the names vary, in this list, from those in my copy.
The adjuncts Swati and Satikarriaff appear to be conjoined, or
not, with the other appellations, according to the convenience of
the metre, and seem to be the family designations or titles.
The dynasty ++ is of considerable chronological interest, as it ad-
*
This is the name in one of my MSS. ; the rest having Mandalaka.
Vide supra, p. 197, notes 3 and %.
t My copies give, after this name, Sundaraswatikari'ia, and 1 year.
Vide supra, p. 197, note 5, and the annotations thereon.
* Chakoraswatikania, in my MSS.
§ This corrects the name in note 2 in p. 198, supra, which see, and
the annotation thereon.
Ij
I lind Sivaskandasatakarni, and 9 years.
if Yajnasrisatakaruika, and 20 years, according to my MSS.
** In my copies, Chandasvisatakarni. See notes 2 and I in p. 199, supra.
tt find Swatikarna
I also, ;
Satakarnin, Satakarni, and Satakaniika.
++ Below are the details of the Andhrabhi'ityas, according to the chapter
of the BrahmdMa-purdna copied in Colonel Wilford's volume of Pauranik
extracts
Chhismaka 23 years.
Krishna 18
Srisatakarni 18
202 VISHNU PIRANA.
Abhiras, ten Gardabhilas ,

* sixteen Sakas, eight
mits ofsome plausible verifications. That a powerful race of

Andhra princes ruled in India in the beginning of the Christian
Piirnotsanga 18 years.
Satakan'ii 56
Lambodara 18
Apilaka 12
Saudasa 18
Avi(??) 12
Skandaswati 7
Bhavaka 5
Pravillasena 12
Sundara Satakarni 1
Chakora Satakarni 6
Mahendra Satakariii 3
Knntala Satakarni 8
Swatisheiia 1
Yantramati (??) 34
Satakarni 29
Avi(??) 4
Sivaskanda Satakariii 8
Yajnasri Satakarni .19
Dandasri Satakarni 3
Puloman (sic) 7
The reign of Chakora is here given as of six years, — not months, as
in the Matsya-purdna.
The Brahindnda-ptirdna asserts that these kings will be thirty in
number. The duration of the dynasty is given, but is expressed rather
enigmatically. Apparently, it is 418 years.
Colonel Wilford, in preparing his table of the Andhrabhi'ityas, in the
Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX., p. 116, could not have followed, exclusively,
for the BrakmdMa-purd/ia, the extract of his which I have been obliged
to use without means of controlling it. Thus, his text must have dif-
fered from mine or he would not have given the reign of Srisatakanii
;
as of ten years. And again, he assigns 28 years to Skandaswati; his

extract assigning only 7, and most distinctly, too. Like myself, he
seems to have had no other than the strange-looking readings Avi and
Yiintramati.
* Corrected from "Garddhabas", an inadvertence for "Gardabhas", which
I find nowhere. Professor Wilson's Hindu-made version has Gardabhiras.
: ;
Yavanas, fourteen Tusharas, * thirteen Miindas,
era, we learn from Pliny, who describes them as possessed of

thirty fortified cities, with an army of 100,000 men and 2000 ele-
phants. The Andraef of this writer are, probably, the people of
the upper part of the Peninsula; Andhra being the proper de-
signation of Telingana. The Peutingerian tables, however, place
the Andre-Indi on the banks of the Ganges; and the southern
princes may have extended, or shifted, the site of their power.
Towards the close of the dynasty, we find names that appear to
agree with those of princes of middle India, of whom mention

is made by the Chinese ; as, Yue-gnai (Yajnasri), king of Kia-
pili, A. D. 408 (Des Guignes, I., 45), and Ho-Io-mien (PulomJint),
king of Magadha in 621 (ibid., I., 56). The Pauraiiik lists place
these two princes more nearly together; but we cannot rely im-
plicitly upon their accuracy. Calculating from Chandragupta
downwards, the Indian date of Yajna and the Chinese Yue-gnai
corresponds ; for we have
10 Mauryas 137 years.
10 Sungas 112
4 Kaiiwayanas 45
27 Andhras 437§
731
Deduct, for Chandragupta's date, 312 B. C.
419 A.C.,
But 1 suspect that Gardabhila is only a Bengal corruption of (iardabhin

and that it had its origin, in part, in the liability, in the local characters,
of confusion between wf and «5T.

Compare Vol II., p. 100, note f.
Colonel Wilford writes "Gardabhinas", though regard for grammar
would have led him to write Gardabhins. Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX.,
pp. 155 and 219.

One MS. has Tushkaras. For the Tusharas or Tukharas, see Vol. II.,
p. 176, note •; and p. 186, note 5, with the annotatidns thereon.
t Pliny speaks of gens Andarce: VI., XIX.

+ The nominative case of Pulomat.
§ This total is exceedingly doubtful. Whence it is taken, too?

204 VISHNU PURANA.
eleven Maunas, — (altogether, seventy-nine prin-
a date remarkably near that derivable from the Chinese annals.

Puloman be the same with the Chinese Ho-lo-mien,
If the Indian
there must be some considerable omission in the Pauranik dy-

nasty. There is a further identification in the case of Ho-lo-
mien, which makes it certain that a prince of Magadha is in-
tended ; as the place of his residence is called, by the Chinese,
Kia-so-mo-pu-lo-ching and Po-to-li-tse-ching, or, in Sanskrit, Ku-
sumapura and Pataliputra. * The equivalent of the latter name
consists not only in the identity of the sounds Patali and Po-to-
li, but in the translation of 'putra' by 'tse'; each word meaning,
in their respective languages, '
son. ' No doubt can be enter-
tained, therefore, that the city intended is the metropolis of Ma-
gadha, — Pataliputra, or Palibothra. Wilford identifies Pulomat
or Puloman f with the Po-lo-mu-en of the Chinese; but Des
Guignes interprets Po-lo-mu-en-kue,t 'royaume des Brahmanes.'
Buchanan (Hamilton), following the Bhagavata, as to the name
of the last king, Salomadhi, would place him about A.D. 846;
but his premises are far from accurate, and his deduction, in this
instance at least, is of no weight: Genealogies of the Hindus,
Introduction, p. 16. He supposes the Andhra kings of Magadha
to have retained their power on the Ganges until the Moham-
medan invasion (or the twelfth century), when they retired to
the south, and reigned at Warankal, in Telingana. Inscriptions
and coins, however, confirm the statement of the Purarias, that
a different dynasty succeeded to the Andhras some centuries be-
fore the Mohammedan conquests; and the Chinese, also, record,
that, upon the death of the king of Magadha, Ho-lo-mien (Pu-
loman?), some time before A. D. 648, great troubles in India
took place. Des Guignes. Some very curious and authentic
testimony to the actual existence of these Andhra kings has been
* The full representation of the Chinese is "Kusumapura City" and

"Pafaliputra City",
t See note + in the preceding page.
+ Equivalent to Brdhma/ia-rdsht'ra.
BOOK IV., CHAP. XXTV. 205
ces)/* who will be sovereigns of the earth for one
lately afforded by the discovery of an ancient inscription in Gu-

jarat, in which Rudra Daman, the Kshatrapa (or Satrap) of Su-
rashtra, is recorded to have repeatedly overcome Satakarni.f king
of the southern country (Dakshinapatha). The inscription is
without date; but it is in an old character, and makes mention of

the two Maurya princes, Chandragupta and Asoka, as if not
very long prior to its composition. Mr. J. Prinsep, to whom we
are indebted for the deciphering and translating of this important
document, has been, also, successful in deciphering the legends
on a series of coins belonging to the princes of Surasht'ra,
amongst whom the name of Rudra Daman occurs; and he is in-
clined, although with hesitation, to place these princes about a

century after Asoka, — or Rudra Daman, about 153 B. C. Jour- :
nal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, May, 1837, and April, 1838.
According to the computation hazarded above, from our text, the
race ofAndhra kings should not commence till about 20 years

B. C, which would agree with Pliny's notice of them; but it is
possible that they existed earlier in the south of India, although
they established their authority in Magadha only in the first cen-
turies of the Christian era.

'
These parallel dynasties are thus particularized in our other
authorities:
Abhiras, 7, Matsya; 10, Vayu; kings of Avabhriti, 7, Bhaga-
vata. +
Gardabhins, 10, § Matsya, |1

Vayu, Bhagavata.
*
I have parenthesized this sumination, as being added from the com-
mentary.
t Corrected from "Satakarui". Vide supra, p. 198, note §.
t It calls these Abhiras by the name of
Avabhfityas. The commen-
tator on the Bhdgavata-purdna says they were so denominated, as being-
kings of the city of Avabhriti.
§ 7, in both the Puranas, in all my copies of them.
I!
Gardabhilas is the name in all my MSS. of the Matsya-purdna,
which recognizes only seven of them. Rut vide supra, p. 202, note »,
on the probability that Gardabhila is a mere corruption.
206 VISHNU PURANA.
thousand three hundred and ninety-nine* years; and,
Sakas, 18, f Matsya, Vayu; Kankas, 16, Bhagavata.

Yavanas, 8,Matsya, Vayu, Bhagavata,
Tusharas, 14, Matsya, Vayu; Tushkaras, + 14, Bhagavata.
Marundas, § 13, Vayu; Puriindas, |
13, Matsya; Suruntlas, 1 10,
Bhagavata.
Mauiias, 18.** Vayu; Hiinas, ID, Matsya; ff Maulas, :t+ lU \^\rî-
gavata. §§
Total: 85 kings,
j
Vayu; 89, Matsya; 76, and 1399 years, Bha-
gavata.
The otlier two authorities give the years of each dynasty sev-
erally. The numbers are, apparently, intended to be the same;
but those of the Matsya are palpable blunders, although almost
all the MSS. agree in the reading. The chronology of the Vayu
is: Abhiras, 67 years; Gardabhins, 72; Sakas, 380; Yavanas, 82;
Tusharas, 500 (all the copies of the Matsya have 7000) ; Marundas,
* Corrected, on the authority of all my MSS., from " ninety ". And
the commentary has T^^T^g^lJlJ-fT^^TfW I
t 10, in the Vdyu-purdna, according to my MSS.

* I find Pushkasas.
§ One MS. yields Murm'idas, the better reading, almost certainly.
jl
My oldest MS. yields Puraiiclas; two, Puruiidas; the remaining, Pa-
ranjas.
^ Guruiidas, according to my MSS., &c.
** This is to be exchanged for 11. The MSS. have 18, it is true; buf,
further on, they correct themselves. Vide infra, p. 210, note ^.
ft The Matsya-'purdna has, besides, several particulars which I cannot
decipher.
++ This is, probably, a Bengal corruption of Mauuas, the name which

my MSS. &c yield. On the liability of confusion between wf and 5f,
vide supra, p. 202, note *.
The Bhdgavata-purdtia says that the Maunas will reign for a period
of 300 years.
§§ The BrahmdMa-purdna, in my one MS agrees with the Vdyu- ,
purdna, as known to me, a few particulars excepted. Thus: it assigns

the Sakas 300 years; it has Swarandas, not Mnnnu'las; and it makes
the Mauna kings eleven only.
nil Those totals are supj)lied l>y the Translator.

BOOK IV., CHA]'. XXIV. 2U7
then, eleven Pauras will be kings for three hundred
200;* and Mlechchhasf (intending, perhaps, Maunas), 300 years.

Total, J 1601 years; or less than 19 years to a reign. Tliey are
not, however, continuous, but nearly contemporary, dynasties;
and, if they comprise, as they probably do, the Greek and
Scythian princes of the west of India, the periods may not be
very wide of the truth. The Matsya begins the list with one
—
more dynasty, another Andhra {vide supra, p. 194, note 1), of
whom there were seven:
"When the dominion of the Andhras has ceased, there shall be

seven other Andhras, kings of the race of their servants; and,
then, nine§ Abhiras. ''
The passage of the Vayu, although some-
what similar in terms, has a different purport:
^•yiuji ^f^m^ ^ ^^t ^wt: ^«tt: 5^: 1
"Of these, the Andhras having passed away, there shall be seven
contemporary races; as, ten Abhiras," &c The passage is dif-
ferently read in different copies; but this is the only intelligible
reading. At the same time, it subsequently specifies a period

for the duration of the Andhra dynasty, different from that be-
fore given, or three hundred years, as if a different race was
referred to :
*
This interpretation may be doubtful. The original, as alone 1 iiiid
it, runs:
4jî!^l ^^: ^-Ki rT^T^ %^giTrf^: II
t Vide infra, p. 210, note ^.

+ This is the Translator's total.
§ Only one of my MSS. has a reading that yields a luimber; and that
number is ten.
The lection which I find is ^f^rlT*. ^W I
II
^ So have, to be sure, all my MSS. uf the Vdyu-purdi'ia; and the

grammar and metre are correct Still, the verse look.s uuuaturai. I
.
208 VISHNU PURANA.
years. ^
When they are destroyed, the Kaila-
"The Andhras shall possess the earth two hundred years and
one hundred." The Matsya has twice five hundred:
"The Sriparvatiya Andhras, twice five hundred years." One MS.

has, more consistently, fifty-two years: f^tj^TlIrf ^^TT^ But
there is, evidently, something faulty in all the MSS. The ex-
pression of the Matsya, 'Sriparvatiya Andhras,' is remarkable;

Sriparvata being in Telingana. There is, probably, some con-
fusion of the two races, the Magadha and Tailinga kings, in
these passages of the Puraiias. The Bhagavata has a dynasty of
seven Andhra kings, but of a different period (vide supra, p. 194,
note 1). Colonel Wilford has attempted a verification of these

dynasties; in some instances, perhaps, with success, though, cer-
tainly, not in The Abhiras he calls the shepherd-kings of

all.
the north of India. They were, more probably, Greeks, or Scy-

thians, or Parthians, along the lower Indus. Traces of the name
occur, as formerly observed,* in tlie Abiria of Ptolemy; and
the Ahirs,f as a distinct race, still exist in Gujerat. Araish-i-
Mahfil. The Sakas are the Sacse; and the duration of their
power is not unlikely to be near the truth. The eight Yavana

kings may be, as he supposes, Greek princes of Bactria, or,
rather, of Western India. The Tusharas he makes the Parthians.
If the Bhagavata has the preferable reading, Tushkaras, + they
should not be surprised if it were a corruption of the same words that

we find in the Brahmdncla-purdna:
The period here recognized is of two hundred and fifty years.

* Vol. II., p. 185, note 2. Also see the same volume, p. 133, text,
and note *
Dr. Bhau Daji announces that he has discovered an inscription of the

Abhiras near Nasik. One of their kings, he says, was Iswarasena, son of
Sivadatta. Journal of the Bombay Asiatic Society, Vol. VIII., p. 243.
f For the tril)e of Ahirs, see Sir 11. M. Elliot's Supplemental Glossary,
pp. 6—9.
X It does not seem that it has. Vide supra, p. 206, note +.
kila* Yavanas will be kings, the chief of whom will
were (he Tochari, a Scythian race. The Muriindas, or, as he

has it, Mauruiidas, he considers to be a tribe of Huns, — the Mo-
ruiidas of Ptolemy. According to the Matsya, they were of
Mlechchha origin (Mlechchha-sariibhava). The Vayu calls theuj
Arya-mlechchhas; quere, barbarians of Ariana. Wilford regards

the Maunas as, also, a tribe of Huns and the word is, in all ;
the MSS. of the Matsya, Hunas;t traces of whom may be still

found in the west and south of India: t Inscription at Merritch,
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. HL, p. 103. The
Gardabhins Wilford conjectures to be descendants of Bahraui
Gor, king of Persia; but this is very questionable. That they
were a tribe in the west of India may be conjectured; as some
strange tales prevail, there, of a Gandharva, changed to an ass,
marrying the daughter of the king of Dhara: (Asiatic Researches,
Vol. VI., p. 35, and Vol. IX., p. 147; also, Cutch \ by Mrs. '
Postans, p. 18); fables suggested, no doubt, by the name Garda-

bha, signifying 'an ass'.There is, also, evidently, some affinity
between these Gardabhins and the old Gadhiya Paisa, or 'ass-
money', as vulgarly termed, found in various parts of Western
India, and which is, unquestionably, of ancient date: Journal of
the Asiatic Society of Bengal, December, 1835, p. 688. It may
be the coinage of the Gardabha princes; Gardabha being the
original of Gadha. meaning, also, an 'ass'. I have elsewhere

conjectured the possibility of their being current about a century
and a half before our era: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,'
Vol. III., p. 385. Colonel Tod, quoting a parallel passage in
Hindi, reads, instead of Gardabhin,§ Gor-ind, which he explains
"the Indras (or lords) of Gor"; but the reading is, undoubtedly,
erroneous.
'
The copies agree in reading Pauras; but the commentator
* Almost as common as this reading is Kailikila; aiul I find Kilakila
and Kaichchhikila, also. See, further, p. 211, infra, notes 1 and :.
t See Vol. II., p. 134, note f-

\ This position is open to much doubt.
§ Corrected from " Garddhabhin"'.
IV. 14
210 VISHNU PURANA.
be Vindhyasakti : his son will be Puranjaya;* his son

will be Ramachandra; his son will be Dharma,f from
remarks that it is, sometimes, Maunas:t but they have already

been specified ; unless the term be repeated in order to separate
the duration of this dynasty from that of the rest. Such seems
to be the purport of the similar of the Bhagavata §
passajj;e :
" These kings (Andhras, &c.,) will possess the earth 1099 years,
and, the eleven Maulas, 300:"
No such name as Pauras occurs in the other authorities. The

analogy of duration identifies them with the Mlechchhas of the
Vayu : "Eleven Mlechchhas will possess the earth for three cen-
turies:"
And the Vayu may refer to the Maunas; as no other period is
assigned for them. The periods of the Bhagavata — 1099 and

300, — come much to the same as that of our text, 1390;** the
one including the three centuries of the Maunas, the other stating
it separately. The Vayu, apparently, adds it to the rest; thus
making the total 1601, ff instead of 1390. It is evident that the
* Parapnranjaya, in one MS. Vide infra, p. 212, notes § and [

.
t Corrected from "Adharma", for which I find no authority. The

origmal runs: ffiÎT^^T^ Even Professor Wilson's Bengal translation
I
has Dharraa.
I Three of luy MSS. actually have Maunas.
§ XII., I., 29, 30.
II
I find if^wfT^ I ^îds supra, p. 206, note ++.
% One of my MSS. reads 4^1 «t| '^^'re"^'^ I

Also vide supra, p. 206,
note **.
** Our text affords an aggregate of 1399, Bhdyavata-purdna.
like the
Vide supra, p. 206, note •.
tt The Translator, not the Vdyu-purdna, supplies this total.

—
whom will be Varanga,* Kritanandana, SushiiiaMdi,f

Nandiyasas, Sisuka, and Pravira: these m411 rule foi' a
hundred and six years. ^

From them will proceed
same scheme is intended by the several authorities; although

some inaccuracy affects either the original statement or the
existing manuscripts.
'
Kilakila, Kolakila, Kolikila, Kilinakila, as it is variously
read. I Sir William Jones's Pandit stated that he understood
it to be a city in the Maratha country (Asiatic Researches,
Vol XI., p. U2); and there has been found a confirmation of
his belief, in an inscription where Kilagila, § as it is there
termed, is called the capital of Marasiiiiha Deva, king of the
Konkan : Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. IV., p. 282.
This inscription dates A. D. 1058.The Puraiias refer, probably,

to a long antecedent date, when the Greek princes, or their
Indo-Scythic successors, following the course of the Indus, spread
to the upper part of the western coast of the Peninsula. The
text calls them Yavanas ; and the Vayu and Matsya say they
were Yavanas in institutions, manners, and policy: Î^TfTJ WTT-
fft'S^fTI I
:
The Bhagavatal names five of their princes,
Bhutananda, Vangiri, Sisunandi, Yasonandi,** and Praviraka,
* Four MSS. have Vangara; one, Vyangala.

t Substituted for the "S'udhiuandi " of the former edition, which I
have met with nowhere. Sushinandi, the ordinary lection, is the word
in Professor Wilson's Hindu-made version. One MS. has Sukhinandi;
one, Sushiruandi; one, Sishyanandi.
* Four MSS. of the Vdyu-purdna have Kolikiias; one, Kilakilas. Two
copies of the Matsya-purdna give Kilikilas; one, Kilakilas; the fourth, Kila-
kalas. The reading of the Brahmdnda-purdna is Kailakilas. The Bhdga-
vata-purdna speaks of KiHkila, which the commentator Siidhara says
is the name of a city. The commentator on the Vishnu-puran a calls the
city Kehkila.
§ It seems to be a mountain, giving name to a stronghold thereon.
These words I find in the Matsya-purdna, but not in the Vdyu-
I
purdna,
% XII., I., 30, 31.
** Called brother of Sisunandi.
212 VISHNU FURANA.
thirteen sons; then, three Bahlikas; and Pnshpami-

tra, and Patumitra, and others, to the number of
who will reign 106 years; and they are, therefore, imperfect re-
presentatives of the series in our text. The Matsya has no further

specific enumeration of any dynasty. The Vayu makes Pravira
the son of Vindhyasakti ;* the latter reigning 96 years, and the
former, 60. f The latter is king of Kanchanapuri, + ' the golden
city,' and is followed by four sons, whose names are not men-
tioned. Between Vindhyasakti and Pravira, however, a dynasty
of kings is introduced, some of the names of which resemble
those of the Kilakila princes of the text. § They are: Bhogin
(the son of Seshanaga ), Sadachandra, Nakhavat, Dhanadha-
|1
mita, H Vimsaja, Bhutinanda, — at a period before the end of the
Sungas? (the copies have '^^T^ •!

*"
^^^^), Madhunandi,
his younger brother, Nandiyasas f f and, ;
in his race, there will be
* Dr. Bhau Daji has published an inscription from Ajunta, in which,

he says, there is mention of a king Vindhyasakti and his son Pravara-
sena. The same names of sire and son are found, he alleges, in the
Vdyu-purdna. His MSS. must differ, then, from mine. See the Journal
VII., p. 65.
of the Bombay Asiatic Society, Vol.
stated that Dauhitra and
t In the BrahmdMa-purdiia, it seems to be
others — see below, — will reign for sixty years; and then follows some-
thing quite unintelligible in my MS.
I In the
Vdyu-purdna, the city is called Kanchanaka.
§ The Vdyu-purdna anything but clear, hereabouts, in my MSS.
is
It speaks — see the next note, —

of Parapuranjaya (or Swarapuranjaya,
according to three copies out of five) and he is said to be son of Sesha,

;
king of the Nagas. Vide supra, p. 210, note *.

I find, in the
II
Vdyu-purdna:
The BrahnidMa-purdna has the same verse.

% Three MSS. of the Vdyu-purdna have Dhanadharman; the remaining
two, Dhanadharma.
** One MS. has H; and so reads the Brahmdnda-purdna. The resulting
sense is "after the Sungas".
tt The Brahmdnda-purdna, at least as known

to me, has, instead of
these names: Kamachandra, Nakhavat(?), Varadharmin, Vangava(?), Bhii-

minanda, Sisunandi, Naudiyasas.
thirteen, will rule over Mekala. *

There will be nine
three other Rajas, — Dauhitra, * Sisuka, and Ripukayan.f These

are called princes of Vidisa or Videsa, t — the hitter meaning,
perhaps, 'foreign,' — and constitute the Naga dynasty. Our text
calls Vindhyasakti a Murdhabhishikta, § —a warrior of a mixed

race, sprung from a Brahman father and Kshattriya mother. ||
'
The text of this passage runs thus :
TTr'J'^^T^^îr^ ^T^j^-
'Their sons,' fTr^'^T: • the commentator explains by f^^«I^MT-

îft ^^T^snr ^"^V, "thirteen sons of Vindhyasakti
^'^TW
and the rest." The Bhagavata has a different statement, identi-
fying the sons of the Vindbya race with the Bahlikas, and
making them thirteen:
"The Bahlikas will be their thirteen sons." As the commen-

tator: %^t ^cTT^T^^t ^^T^^ ^Tf^^T ^rWR*^q^(^^ f rH
^f^^f^TT "There will I
be, severally, thirteen sons, called Bahli-
kas, of Bhutananda and the rest." The following verse is:
" Pushpamitra, a king, and, then, Durmitra." Who or what they
were does not appear. The commentator says: "Pushpamitra
•
Variants: Dauhitrya and Daihitra.
t I find nothing like this name, but, in most of my MSS., Purikaya.
The rest seem to speak of a city, Purikaya. The Brahmdmla-purnna
gives Purikaya.
All my MSS. have Vaidesa, with Vaidisaka as its adjective. One
I
or other must be wrong.

§ The commentator explains this term, and rightly, l)y mukhya. He
adds that there is a variant, TT^f^'^: ,
which he explains by -^fw-
Ij
This is the definition of what is more ordinarily written mvrdkdva-
sikta.
^ Not one of my MSS. has anything Imt - •q^f^TT^^^W I
The Translator's reading seems to be corrnpted from a fragment of the

comment: ^xqf^^T^'^^^lT I
•• See note • in p. 215, infra.

"
214 VISHNU PURANA.
kings in the seven Kosalas; and there will be as
was another king; and Durmitra was his son:" ^SI'^J tj'oqf^'^
TRT^ TT^^: I ^"m ^ ^f^"^ 'TUT 5"^: I

Here is, evi-
dently, careless and inaccurate compilation. The Vayu, though

not quite satisfactory, accords better with our text. "Pravira,
it says, "will have four sons. When the Vindhya race is extinct,
there will be three Bahlika kings, — Supratika, Nabhira, who will
reign thirty years, and Sakyamanabhava* (quere this name),

king of the Mahishas.f The Pushpamitras will then be, and
the Patumitras, also, who will be seven kings of Mekala. Such
is the generation:"
IT^'H^'R^ TT^T ^ffftWT ^f^TTfTf: II
**
^^{^"Rt ^:
^^ ^rf^nftfTT ^rlfTT: II
The plural verb, with only two Bahlika names, indicates some
omission; unless we correct it to *f|"i^% 'they two will reign:'
but the following name and title, "Sakyamanabhava, king of the
Mahishas," seems to have little connexion with the Bahlikas. If.
in a subsequent part of the citation, the reading 'trayodasa' be

correct, it must, then, be thirteen Patumitras; but it will be dif-
ficult to know what to do with 'sapta', '

seven.' ff If, for 'santa-
* See note , below.

I|
f The Sanskrit cited requires 'Mahishins'.

+ One MS. has ^Tnf1"^«S'^ *TTT^' ^'î^'h gi'^ês Bhara, instead of
Nabhira.
§ One of my MSS, gives f^lff?TI , the reading of the BrahmdMa-
purdna.
II
In one of my MSS., f^^t •IT^T^'^^m ; and the Brahmdnda-
purdria, in my one copy, has ^T"Wl" •TTTRT^^T^T I
5[ This is the only reading of my MSS.; and the Brahmdnda-purdna

has the same.
** The Brahmdnda-purdna has the same verses, but, in my single MS.,
in a very corrupt form,
ff The seven kings of Mekala are unnamed, as in our Purai'ia. As to

the Pushpamitras and the Patumitras, the import is, probably, that
BOOK IV., CHAr. XXIV. 215
many Naishadha princes.'*
tih'', we might read 'saptatih', 'seventy', the sense might be,

"these thirteen kings ruled fur seventy-seven years, f However
this may be, it seems njost correct to separate the thirteen sons
Vindhya princes from the three Bahlikas, and
or fanjilies of the
them from the Pushpamitras and Patumitras, who governed Me-
kala, a country on the Narmada (see Vol. II., p. 160, note 4+).
What the Bahlikas (or princes of Balkh,) had to do in this part of

India is doubtful. The Durmitra of the Bhagavata has been conjec-
tured, by Colonel Tod (Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society,
Vol. I., p. 325), to be intended for the Bactrian prince Deme-
trius: but it is not clear that even the Bhagavata considers this
prince as one of the Bahlikas; and the name occurs nowhere else.
'
For the situation of Kosala, see Vol, 11. , p. 172, note 2.
there were thirteen of the latter, while the number of the former is not
mentioned. See the next note, near the end.

"
On referring to the beginning of note 1 in p. 213, supra, it will
be seen that the Translator has transcribed a part of the original of this
passage. I repeat a few words there given, and continue the
quotation :
"Then the Pushpamitras and the Patumitras, thirteen, will reign; and
the Mekalas will be seven; and there will be nine kings in Kosala;
and there will be just as many Naishadha kinas."^ The comment is as
follows; ^xq^T^T^^T^nrt^^ I ^^^ ^^Î^^T: ^F I ^tll-
Thus, it is not where the Pushpamitras and the Patumitras

said
—
dynasties, probably, their founders, Pushpamitra and Patu-
named from
njitra,— will reign; there is no mention, as there is in the Vdyu-purdna
of Mekala; we are told nothing, here, of the Kosalas, but of the city of
Kosala; and the "seven" defines the number of the Mekala kings.
If we suppose that our text— which, here, is in prose, and, therefore, com-
paratively liable to vitiation, should read ^^qfTTTTg, it will harmonize
with the Vdyu-purdna, in not defining the number of the Pushpamitras,
and in recognizing the Patumitras as thirteen. Vide supra, p. 214, note ft-
One of my MSS. yields Mekalakas, for Mekalas,

be the sense, even if the
t Such, owing to the word iti, could not
reading were as it is suggested to alter it.
X The only Mekala named there is a designation of the river Narmada.
—
216 VISHNU PURANA.
In Magadha,* a sovereignf named Viswasphatika

will establish other tribes: he will extirpate the Kshat-
triya (or martial) race, and elevate fishermen, t bar-
The three copies of the Vayu read Komala, and call the kings
the Meghas, "more strong than sapient: "§
^TT^^t g TT^T^ *rf^wfnT ît^^tt: I
The Bhagavata agrees wifh our text.** The Vayu says, of the
Naishadhas, or kings of Nishadha, that they were, all, of the
race of Nala: •i<?J«jlJlT^jrrr: I

The Bhagavata adds two other
races, seven Andhras (^vide supra, p. 199, note 4), and kings of
Vaidura; with the remark, that these were, all, contemporaries;
being, as the commentator observes, petty or provincial rulers,
In the extract from the Vdyu-purdna in the note under annotation,

there is mention, however, of a Mekala, —a city, in all likelihood, and the
capital of the Mekala kings of our text.
• Corrected from "Magadha", the Sanskrit being TT^Tîq |«|^| A
city seems to be intended.
t The original does not designate him as such.

+ Kaivarta. The word is, probably, here used in the sense of the
offspring of Nishada men and Ayogavi women. See the Laws of the
Mdnavas, X., 34.

§ From the correction made in note ^, below, it comes out that the
Meghas were 'both strong and sapient.'

The proper and more ancient form
jj
is Kosala, — with the dental sibi-
lant; and, as ^ and '^ are frequently interchanged by careless scribes,
there is no doubt that ^^^'^t is the right word here. The Brahmdiida-
purdiia has efi^lT^'^t >
yielding Kosala.
% The correct reading, unquestionably, is that which 1 find, •Tq'^ ' I'he
kings of Kosala are, thus, said to be nine in number.

Its words— XII., 1., ;«,— are:
t^T^fl^ HT^T %^^T^fr H^ ff II
Llere the kings of the Kusalas are distinctly declared to be seven.

H
barians, * and Brahnians, (and other castes) to power.*

The nineNagasf will reign in Padmavati, Kantipuri,t
'
The Vayu has Viswasphani § and Viswasphirii ; the Bhaga-
vata, Viswasphurti, or, in some MSS., Vi.s-waphiirji. [
The castes
he establishes, or places in authority, to the exclusion of the
Kshattriyas, are called, in all the copies of our text, Kaivartas,
Patus, H Pulindas, and Brahmans. The Vayu (three MSS.) has
Kaivartas, Panchakas, Pulindas, and Brahmans:
The Bhagavata** has Pulindas, Yadus, and Madrakas. The Vayu

describes Viswasphani as a great warrior, and, apparently, as a
eunuch:
f^^gWrfW^T^f^: W^^Tf^liftT^^^tt II
He worshipped the gods and manes, and, dying on the banks of

the Ganges, went to the heaven of Indra:
^^"m ^^f^t ^ n^^^ Tf^^fcf II ::
* The original says Yadus and Pulindas.

t Nagasena, called one of the Nagas, is mentioned in the Harsha-
chartta, and is said to have been slain at Padmavati. See my Vdsa-
vadattd, Preface, p. 53. A Nagasena is named in the second inscription
on the Allahabad pillar. See the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
1837, p. 979; also, the Journal of the Bombay Asiatic Society, Vol. VIll.,
p. 247.
+ Variants: Kantipuri and Kantapuri. One of the best of my MSS.
names the first only of the three cities in the text.
§ This is the name that I find in the Vdyu-purdna. The Brahmdnda-

jmrd/ia has Viswaspharni and Viswasphat'i.
II
This is no reading. The more ordinary that I find is Viswasphiirji.
If In only one MS. have met with this reading.

I See note *, above.
** XII., I., 34.
ft I find two better readings than this; namely, lft^Tirf?ffT<^^ "^

and ^f^^T^ffTX^ft^% I
The latter is the lection of the BrahmdncLa-
purdna, also.
II The Brahmdnda-purdna has four lines, instead of these three, and

says that the king committed suicide by throwing himself into the Ganges.
218 VISHNU PURANA.
and Math lira; and the Guptas of Magadha,* along the

Ganges, to Prayaga. f A prince named Devarakshita
^
' Such appears to he the purport of our text : •T'^ •TTTT ''RTT-
"^rfsfT I
+ The nine Nagas might be thought to mean the same as
the descendants of Sesha Naga ; but the Vayu has another series
here, analogous to that of the text: "The nine Naka kings will
possess the city Champavati;§ and the seven Nagas(?) I, the
pleasant city Mathura. Princes of the Gupta race will possess
all these countries, the banks of the Ganges to Prayaga, and Sa-
keta, and Magadha: " f
"W ^ gft' x-mi 'H'n ^^^rf^ ^f t ii
This account is the most explicit, and, probably, most accurate,

of all. The Nakas were Rajas of Bhagulpoor; the Nagas, ff of
Mathura; and the intermediate countries, along the Ganges, tt
were governed by the Guptas (or Rajas of the Vaisya caste).
* See note , below.

+
t For a peculiar reading of this passage, on the warrant of two MSS.

consulted by the Reverend Dr. Mill, making the Magadhas and the
Guptas rulers over the Magadhas, see the Journal of the Asiatic Society
of Bengal, 1837, p. 10.
+ The natural sense of these last words is: "The Magadhas and the
Guptas will rule over Prayaga on the Ganges." Any place at the con-
fluence of sacred rivers may be called Prayaga.
§ In Colonel Wilford's MS. excerpts, the text yields Padmavati, with
which the BrahmdMa-purdna agrees.
I!
Mannas, according to Colonel Wilford's extracts. And here, again,
the BrahmdnHa-purdna has the same reading.
1[ According to the Sanskrit, "the Magadhas",
** Vdyu-purdiia.
^T^ft, in three copies of the
ft For the situation of the kingdom of the Nagas, see the Journal of
the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1865, Part I., pp. 116, 117.
++ See note +, above.
"
BOOK IV., CHAl'. XXIV. 219
will reign, in a city on the sea-shore, over the Kosalas,
The Bhagavata* seems to have taken great liberties with the

account; makes Viswasphiirti king over Anuganga, the
as it —
course of the Ganges from Hurdwarf (according to the commen-
tator,) to Prayaga, — residing at Padniavati: +
omitting the Nagas altogether, and converting 'gupta' into an

epithet of '
medini',— " the preserved (or protected) earth." Wil-
fordil considers the Nagas, Nakas, and Guptas to be, all, the
same. He says: "Then came a dynasty of nine kings, called
the nine Nagas, or Nakas. These were an obscure tribe, called,
for that reason, Guptavaiiisas. There were nine families of them,
who ruled, independent of each other, over various districts in Anu-
ganga, such as Padmavati," &c. &c. That city he calls Patna; but,
in the Malati and Madhava, f Padmavati lies amongst the Vindhya
hills. Kantipuri he makes Cotwal, near Gwalior. The reading
of the Vayu, Chanipavati, however, obviates the necessity of all
vague conjecture. According to Wilford, there is a powerful

tribe, still called Nakas, between the Jumna and the Betwa.**
Of the existence and power of the Guptas, however, we have
recently had ample proofs, from inscriptions and coins, as in the
Chandragupta and Samudragupta of the Allahabad column (Jour-
March and June, 1834), and
nal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
Kumaragupta, Chandragupta, Samudragupta, Sasigupta, &c.. on
the Archer coins, found at Kanauj and elsewhere (Asiatic Re-
XII., I., 35. f The commentator has Gangadwara.

* The same as Padmavati. This the Translator had but I have cor-
;
rected it as above.
§ For a previous translation of this stanza and its preceding context,
with remarks thereon, by the Reverend Dr. Mill, see the Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1837, pp. 16, 17.
|l Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX., pp. 114, 1)5.
% See Profossor Wilson's Select Specimens of the Theatre of the Hindus,
Vol. II., p. 95, note f.
** Colonel Wilford's words are: "on the banks of the Jumna and the
Betwa-nadi.
,
220 VISHNU Pl'RANA.
03ras,* Pun3rakas,f and Tamraliptas.M The Gu-

has§ will possess Kalinga, Mahishaka, ^ and the
i|
searches, Vol. XVII., pi. I., fig. 5, 7, 13, 19; and Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, November 1835, pi. 38 and 39; and in
other numbers of the same Journal), in all which, the character

in which the legends are written is of a period prior to the use
of the modern Devanagari, and was current, in all probability,
about the fifth century of our era, as conjectured by Mr. Prinsep.

See his table of the modifications of the Sanskrit alphabet from
543 B. C. to 1200 A. D. : Journal of the Asiatic Society of Ben-
gal, March, 1838.
'
The Vayu also mentions the descendants of Devarakshita,
ôr Daivarakshitas), as kings of the Kosalas, Tamralipta, and the
sea-coast;** so far conforming with our text, as to include the
* The compound in which these names are combined allows of our

reading either Odras or Andras. One MvS. yields Udras.
t Some MSS. omit this people. One copy yields Paui'idrakas.
: Most of my MSS. have ÎTÎ ^^ IJ^^tTT^f^HT'^^^fTZgTY
^, which implies "a city on the sea-shore", in addition to the Kosa-
las, &c. But some copies give, instead of -TT^, 'city," - ll'qnl
which extends the dominion of Devarakshita as far as the sea-coast.
§ The only grammatical reading that I find — and it occurs in only
oneMSS. — is as follows : ^f^T^^^ft^^TTTf^'^fmT ^f T ^^f%;
which makes the rulers Guhas of Bhauma (?). This is, however, extremely
doubtful. My copies of the Vdyu-purdna have Guha, in the singular;
as if a person were intendeii. In the Mahdbhdrata, Sdnti-parva/i, si.
7659, we read of the Guhas, a nation in the south of India, who, pos-
sibly, took their name from Guha, prince of the Nishadas, a friend
of Rama.
have nowhere found
I a lection answering to Professor Wilson's
"mountains of Mahendra ". The Vdyu-purdna has ^'%«^f^Tvf'^T1^ |
II
Corrected from "Kalinga".
Tf Corrected from "Mahihaka". Mahishmas, according to one MS. The
Vdyu-purdna has the short form, Mahishas.
** The Vdyu-purdna has more, in all my copies. Its reading seems
to be:
We are to add, then, the Andhras and the Paui'idras. For the Andhras,
mountains of Mahendra.^* The race of Manidhanaf

will occupy the countries of the Naishadas,t Naimi-
shikas, and Kalatoyas. ^ The people called Kanakas §
western parts of Bengal, Tumlook, Medinipoor, and Orissa. One

copy reads Andhra, perhaps for Odra, Orissa; and one lias
Champa, for the capital, which is, probably, an error, although

II
the two other MSS., being still more faulty, do not offer the
means of correction.
The Vayu has the same. The countries are parts of Orissa
'
and Berar.
' The Vayu has sons of Maiiidhanya for the ruling dynasty,
but names the countries those of the Naishadhas, Yudakas,ir
Saisikas, ** and Kalatoyakas. f f The first name applies to a tract
of country near the Vindhya mountains, but the last, to a country
in the north, tt The west or southwest, however, is, probably,
intended, in this place.
see Vol. II., p. 170, note +, and p. 184, note f; also, p. 199, note 4,
and p. 205, note 1, supra: for the Pauiulras, Vol. II., p. 177, note tt>
and p. 184, note f. Puiulra, whence the Paundras are supposed to have
originated, is mentioned in p. 122, supra.
It is most probable that the people spoken of along with the Pauiulras
or Pauudrakas, in the Laws of the Mdnavas and in the Mahdhhdrata,
are the Andhras, not the Audras.
* Corrected from "Mahendra".
t Corrected from "Mauidhanu", One AIS. has Mai'iidhanyaka; one,
Mauidhava; several, Manidhara, the name in Professor Wilson's Hindu-
made translation. The Brahmdnda-purdna has Maladhanya.
+ Corrected from "Nishadas". § Kanas, according to one MS.
II
So read three of my MSS.; the rest having something very different,
but illegible.
•f Padukas or Pudakas, according to my MSS. The Brahmdnda-purdna,

in Colonel Wilford's manuscript extract from it, has Padumas. •
** Agreeably to different MSS., these people are cal'ed Saisikas, Sai.si-

nas, Sai.sitas, and Sausitas. See Vol. II., p. 177, text and note ».
After the passage, in the Brahindnda-purd/ta, corresponding to thi.s,
there is, evidently, a considerable hiatus in Colonel Wilford's MS. extract.
I* See Vol. II., p. 1G8, note 5.

222 VISHNU PURANA.
will possess the Amazon country* and that called

Miishika. ^f Men of the three tribes, but degraded,
and Abhiras and Siidras, will occupy Saurashtra,
Avanti, Sura, Arbuda, and Marubhumi;+ and Sudras,
outcastes, and barbarians will be masters of the banks
'
The Stri Rajya is, usually, placed § in Bhote. It may, per-
haps, here designate Malabar, where polyandry equally prevails.
Miishika, or the country of thieves, was the pirate-coast of the
Konkan. The Vayu reads Bhokshyaka (or Bhokhyaka) for Mii-
shika:
The Bhagavata omits all these speciiications subsequent to the

notice of Viswasphiirti.
* Stri-rdjya. But one of my copies has Trairajya.
t According to one MS., the people here spoken of are the BLiishi-
kas; and so read some copies of the Mahdbhdrata, where Professor Wilson
found Miishikas. See Vol. II., p. 178.
+ I find nothing to justify this rendering. The ordinary reading, as

known to me, is as follows: îTT^T^f^^T'I^^Tr^flTf^^^t^
WTSITf^Tî^T^^T^T *ft'^f«fl I
"Outcastes, uuregeuerate tribes,
Abhiras, Sudras, and such others will govern the Saurasht'ras, the Avan-
tis, and the Sudras, and the regions of Arbuda and Marubhiimi."
Several of my best MSS. yield, instead of Sudras, as the name of a
nation. Suras. Both the Sudras and the Siiras are found mentioned in
association with the Abhiras. See Vol. II., p. 133, note «; p. 184,
note 1; and p. 186, notes 2 and «; also, p. 224, infra, note +.
After the Sudras — the nation so called, —a single copy introduces the
Abhiras : and another copy has 'mountaineers', adrija, in lieu of 'un-
regenerate tribes', adwija.
Abhira, equally with Siidra, denotes a caste, as well as a people.
Saurashtra — for which the Translator's "Saurashtra" must be ex-
changed, in order to obtain a recognized word, — cannot be substituted
for Surasht'ra, whence Surat.
§ By whom?
Ij
This verse, as thus given, is of extremely doubtful correctness, in
its second half. The words in my MSS. were, apparently, corrupted from
something ditferent.
The Vdyu-purdna here concludes its specification of peoples and tribes.
— :
of the Indus, Darvika, the Chandrabhaga, and Kas-

' 1*
mira.
'
From this we might infer that the Vishnu Puraria was
compiled when the Mohammedans were making their first en-
croachments on the west. Tliey seem to have invaded, and to
have settled, in Sindh early in the eighth century, although In-
dian princes continued on the Indus for a subsequent period
Scriptor. Arab, de Rebus Indicis, Gildemeister, p. 6. They were
engaged in hostilities, in 698 or 700, with the prince of Kabul,
in whose name, however disguised by its Mohammedan represen-
tations of Ratil, Ratbal, or Ratibal, f it is not difficult to recogni/e
the genuine Hindu appellation of Ratanpal or Ratnapala. Their
progress in this direction has not been traced; but, at the period
of their invasion of Sindh, they advanced to Multan, and, probably,
established themselves there, and at Lahore, within a century.
Cashmere they did not occupy till a much later date; and the
Raja Tarangini takes no notice of any attacks upon it. But the
Chinese have recorded an application from the king of Cashmere,
Chin-tho-lo-pi-li, — evidently the Chandrapida of the Sanskrit,
for aid against the Arabs, about A. D. 713: Gildemeister, p. 13.
Although, therefore, not actually settled at the Punjab so early

as the beginning, they had commenced their incursions, and had,
* The ordinary reading is: f^J^fTZ^f^^Tf^^^T'nîrrT??^-

Tf^^^^T(?n ^^^rr^: ^g^ ^^f^r l
" Umegenerate tribes,
barbarians, and other Sudras will rule over the banks of the Indus, and
the regions of the Darvika, of the Chandrabhaga, and of Kasmira."
One of my MSS. has, instead of -
^f^^» , -xp^ô. On this
reading, we must translate: "the regions of the Chandrabhaga and of

Kasmira, as banks of the Indus."
far as the
My best copies of the commentary have the following: ^f^^^ |
^f^cfiTffS^T^T ^f'TI I
The Darvika river is, thus, identified with the
Devika. For the Devika, see Vol. II., p. 144, text, and note 4 ; and
p. 147, notes 2 and f.
The Translator's "Darvika", so far as I know, is nothing.
t Dr. Gildemeister does not appear to have found the last two variants
here given.
224 VISHNU PURANA.
These will, all, be contemporary monarchs, reigning

over the earth; — kings of churlish spirit, violent tem-
no doubt, made good their footing, by the end, of the eighth, or

commencement of the ninth, century. This age of the Puraria
is compatible with reference to the contemporary race of Gupta
*
kings, from the fourth or fifth to the seventh or eighth century :
or, if we are disposed to go further back, we may apply the pas-

sage to the Greek and Indo-Scythian princes. It seems more
likely to be the former period; but, in all such passages, in this
or other Puranas, there is the risk that verses inspired by the
presence of Mohammedan rulers may have been interpolated into

the original text. Had the Mohammedans of Hindusthan, however,
been intended by the latter, the indications would have been
more distinct, and the localities assigned to them more central.
Even the Bhagavata, the date of which we have good reason for
conjecturing to be the middle of the twelfth century, and which
influenced the form assumed, about that time, by the worship of
Vishnu, cannot be thought to refer to the Mohammedan conquerors
of Upper India. It is there stated that "rulers fallen from their
castes, or Sudras, will be the princes of Saurashtra, Avanti,
Abhira, Sura, Arbuda, and Malava;t and barbarians, Sudras, and
other outcastes, not enlightened by the Vedas, will possess Kas-
mira, Kaunti, and the banks of the Chandrabhaga and Indus:"
^(!iTfi[^T ^f^f^ ^TTr^rr ^^fvxn: ii
Now, it was not until the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that
the Mohammedans established themselves in Gujerat and Malwa;
and the Bhagavata was, unquestionably, well known, in various
*
This position is not yet established.
t Peoples, not countries, are intended in the original. For "Sau-
rashtra", vide stipra, p. 222, note I, ad finem..
\ I tind, now, that ^5*1: is the more ordinary reading. See Vol. II.,
p. 133, note «.
per, and ever addicted

to falsehood and wickedness.
They death on women, children, and cows;
will inflict
they will seize upon the property of their subjects;*
they will be of limited power, and will, for the most
part, rapidly rise and fall: their lives will be short,
their desires insatiable; and they will display but little
piety. The people of the various countries intermin-
gling with them will follow their example; and, the bar-
barians being powerful in the patronage of the princes,
whilst purer tribes are neglected, the people will
perish.' Wealth and piety will decrease day by day,
parts of India, long before that time. (Account of Hindu Sects,

Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVI. f) It cannot, therefore, allude to
Mohammedans. By specifying the princes as seceders from the
Vedas, there is no doubt that the barbarians and outcastes in-
tended are so only in a religious sense; and we know, from in-
disputable authorities, that the western countries, Gujerat, Abu,
Malava, were the chief seats, first of the Buddhists, and, then, of
theJainas, from a period commencing, perhaps, before the Christian
era, and scarcely terminating with the Mohammedan conquest.
Inscriptions from Abu; Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVI.
'
The commentator, having, no doubt, the existing state of
things in view, interprets the passage somewhat differently. The
original is: t^ f^fTTSTT ^TTT^^^^Rft^ TT^T^^^jfîJTWt
^^^T^T^T^: f^T7^%r ^(Ijtt^t: 3T^T: ^qf^^f% I
The
comment explains '^jfxjfllj-: 'strong' (^f^:), and adds: 'the
Mlechchhas will be in the centre, and the Aryas, at the end:'
^'^fr T^ ^rn^T'^T^ i;^"f^W5 meaning, if any thing, that
* M<MI<I»1M*<« I
There is a variant, M<,*<|«^KM<i: , "intent
on the wives of others."
+ Or Professor Wilson's collected Works, Vol. I.
I Two of my MSS., unaccompanied by the commentary, have 4^t^|-
^TTTT"^- and, at the end of the passage extracted, '^'^?T^f?fr I
IV. 15
: —
22C VISHNU PURANA.
until the world will be wholly depraved.* Then pro-

perty alone will confer rank; wealth will be the only
the unbelievers are in the heart of the country, and the Hindus,
on the borders; —a description, however, never correct, except
as applicable to the governments, and, in that case, inconsistent
with the text, which had, previously, represented the bordering
countries in the hands of outcastes and heretics. All that the
text intends is, to represent infidels and foreigners high in power,
and the Brahmans depressed. It is not unlikely that the reading
is erroneous, — notwithstanding the copies concur, — and that
the passage should be, here, the same as that of the Vayu
f^M<44|U! ^<l^ ^"nrf^^fnT t TT^T: II t

"Intermixed with them, the nations, adopting, everywhere, barbaric
institutions, exist in a state of disorder; and the subjects shall be
destroyed;" the expression MIechchhacharas chat being used

instead of Mlechchhas chary as cha. A passage similar to that of
the text — noticing the intermixture of Hindus and barbarians,
occurs in a different place (see Vol. II., p. 130, note 1 §), and
designates the condition of India in all ages. At no period has
the whole of the population followed Brahmanical Hinduism.
t^frT I
t The Matsya-purdna has:
Herewith, as to the words ^T^T ^"^T^— or ^"RT^^T: ,

^s most
MSS. of the Matsya-purdna read, — agrees the Brahindnda-purdna, as
known to uie. One of my copies of the Vdyu-purdna, too, has tJIT'^-
%^^rr: I
I And such appears to have been the reading of our Purana, l)efore
its text was tampered with by the conimeutator. See note + in the
preceding page.
§ With reference to the verse there quoted, see note f, above, at
the end.
;
source of devotion passion will be the sole bond of

;
union between the sexes; falsehood will be the only

means of success in litigation and women will be ob- ;
jects merely of sensual Earth will be

gratification.
venerated but for its mineral treasures;'* the Brah-
manical thread will constitute a Brahman; external
types (as the staff and red garb,f) will be the only
distinctions of the several orders of life ;+ dishonesty §
will be the (universal) means of subsistence; weakness

will he the cause of dependence;' menace and pre-
sumption will be substituted for learning; t liberality
C'rt-
will be devotion;** simple ablution wih be purifica-
tion ;-ff mutual assent will be marriage; fine clothes
TV
1
That is, there will be no Tirthas,
— places held sacred, and
objects of pilgrimage; no particular spot of earth will have any
especial sanctity.
^ Gifts will be made from the impulse of ordinary feeling,
not in connexion with religiousrites, and as an act of devotion
and ablution will be performed for pleasure or comfort, not reli-

giously, with prescribed ceremonies and prayers.
*
T<^frrer*TTf^^ irNÎ^: l
The Translator's explanation of
these words is taken from the commentary.
t This explanation is supplied by the Translator.
§ Anydya.
I!
Avriti, 'protection,' 'security.'
** The original adds ^TSTffW ^T^t^W'T' > implying, that a man, if
rich, will be reputed pure.
tt WT'W^ TT^T>il«T%fTI I
This seems to mean, that mere bathing
will pass for a complete toilette.
228 VISHNU PUUANA.
will be dignity;^ and water afar off will be esteemed

a holy spring.* x\midst all castes, he who is the
strongest will reign over a principality f thus vitiated
by many faults. The people, unable to bear the heavy
burthens timposed upon them by their avaricious
sovereigns, mÎI take refuge amongst the valleys of
the mountains, and will be glad to feed upon (wild)
honey, herbs, roots, fruits, leaves, and flowers: theii-
only covering will be the bark of trees; and they will
be exposed to the cold, and wind, and sun, and rain.
No man's life will exceed three and twenty years.
Thus, in the Kali age, shall decay constantly pro-
ceed, until the human race approaches its annihila-
tion.
When the practices taught by the Vedas and the in-
stitutes of law shall nearly have ceased, and the close
of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine
being who exists, of his own spiritual nature, in the
character of Brahma, and who is the beginning and
the end, and who comprehends all things, shall des-
cend upon earth: he will be born in the family of
'
The expression Sad-vesa-dharin (^'^llJ'^TfT'l) is explained
to mean either one who wears fine clothes, or who assumes the
exterior garb of sanctity. § Either interpretation is equally al-
lowable.
* "Holy spring" is to render tirtha.
t Bhu-maAciala, 'the earth.'

* The original has kara-bhdra, 'load of taxes,' '
§ The commentator confines himself to explaining the term hy ddmbhika,

'a hypocrite.'
Vishnuyasas,— an eminent Brahman of Saihbhala* vil-

lage,— as Kalki,endowed with the eight superhuman
faculties. By his irresistible might he will destroy all
the Mlechchhas and thieves, and all whose minds are
devoted to iniquity. He will, then, reestablish right-
eousness upon earth; and the minds of those who live
at the end of the Kali age shall be awakened, and
shall be as pellucid as crystal. The men who are, thus,
changed by virtue of that peculiar time shall be as the

seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race
who shall follow the laws of the Krita age (or age of
purity). As it is said: "When the sun and moon, and
(the lunar asterism) Tishya,f and the planet Jupiter
are in one mansion, the Krita age shall return, "^t
Thus, most excellent Muni, the kings who are past,
who are present, and who are to be, have been enu-
merated. From the birth of Parikshit to the corona-
tion of Nanda it is to be known that 1015 years have
'
The Bhagavata agrees § with the text, in these particulars.
The chief star of Tishya is d in the constellation Cancer. {[
* Called Sambhala, in the Bhdgavata-purdna, XII., II., 18. Neither

the family of Vishnuyasas nor the village of Kalki is specified in the
Vdyu-purdna, the Matsya-purdna, and the Brahmdnda-purd/ia.
+ More commonly denominated Pnshya. '
I The whole of this paragraph is condensed, or loosely rendered ; and

the same remark holds good as to the rest of the chapter.
§ It corresponds almost literally : XII., II., 24. A similar stanza is
found in the Vdyu-purdna and in the Brahmdnda-purdna.

il
See Colebrooke's Miscellaneous Essays, Vol, II., table opposite
p. 322.
:
230 VISHNU rUHANA.
elapsed.^* When the two first stars of the seven
'
All the copies concur in this reading:
Three copies of the Vayu assign to the same interval 1050 years,
• We read, in the Bhdgavata-purdna, XII., II., 26 — 32
Tmi[^^^^ g lift ^TW^lftTTT'l II
fi^^ w^ -T^ f^% ^n^TT Mw II
% ^^^ fi[wr: ^T^ ^srg^ ^Tf^rTi ^^t: ii
rT^Tf^TTtSfff^^f^ q-R ^^TT^ ^^: II
m^f^m^XT?I-Wt ^1TWT% TTTiTffT: I
fT"Rc5jrf^WTT^TWT^ ^ '^m^ff:
^f^^ II
^T^ %^^r^^ ^^rrg f^'^Tf^ ff I
f»^ niTTr^ ^f^^T^TîTfTTai^: ii
ij^ w^v^ ^^^

^^"RT^t ^f^: I
fT^T 'T^rqaj^^ ^f^ft Tf^^ffT II
"From your birth [Parikshit is addressed by Suka,] to the inauguration

of Nanda, 1115 years will elapse.
"Of the seven Rishis two are first perceived rising in the sky; and
the asterism which is even with the middle
observed to be, at night,
of those two stars is that with which the Rishis are united; and they
remain so during a hundred years of men In your time, and at this
moment, they are situated in Magha.
"When the splendour of Vishnu, named Krishna, departed for heaven,
then did the Kali age, during which men delight in sin, invade the
world. So long as he continued to touch the earth with his holy feet,
so long the Kali age was unable to subdue the world.
"When the seven Rishis were in Magha, the Kali age, comprising
1200 [divine] [432.000 common years], began; and, when, from
years
Magha, they shall reach Purvashadha, then will this Kali age attain its
growth, under Nanda and his successors."
This rendering is by Colebrooke, and will be found in his Miscella-
neous Essays, Vol. II., pp. 356, 357; or Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX.,
p. 359.
: ;
Rishis (the great Bear) rise in the heavens, and some
^WTIT^tTT; ^"<^ °^ ^^^ Matsya five copies have the same, ifgi-
jj^tTT;, or 1050 years, whilst one copy has 1500 years, T?gH"-
ff^'^-^T^;^ I
* The Bhagavataf has 1115 years:
which the commentator explains, '-a thousand years and a hundred

with fifteen over": XJ^^-jftTft ITTI ^^^f^ He notices, ^ 1
nevertheless, —
although he does not attempt to account for the
discrepancy,— that the total period from Parikshit to Nanda was,
actually, according to the duration of the different intermediate
dynasties, as enumerated by all the authorities, fifteen centu-
ries; viz.:
Magadha kings 1000 years.
Pradvota, &c 138
Sisunaga, &c 362
1500 years.
The shorter period is best proportioned to the number of kings
for, reckoning from Sahadeva, (who was contemporary with Pa-

rikshit), and taking the number of the Barhadrathas from
the
Matsya, t we have thirty-two of them, five of the Pradyota
race,§ and ten Saisunagas; or, in all, forty-seven, which, as

H
the divisor of 1050, gives rather more than twenty-two years to
a reign.The Vayu and the Matsya further specify the interval

from Nanda to Puloraat (the last of the Andhra kings), as being
83611 years; a total that does not agree exactly with the items
previously specified
•
In Colonel Wilford's taanuscript extract from the BrahindMa-pu-
rdna, the reading is Xig^lftTTt> thus making the period one of 1015
years.
t See note « in the preceding page.

* Vide supra, p. 177, note 1.
§ Vide supra, p. 179.
II
Vide supra, p. 182.
Matsya-purdi'ia and the Brahmdnia-purdna seem to say so;
f The
but, in all my five copies of the Vdyu-purdna, there is the word ITTTTQ",
where Professor Wilson tinds mention of Pulomat.

232 VISHNU I'LRANA.
lunar asterism is seen at night at an equal distance
between them, then the seven Rishis continue station-
9 Nandas 100 years.

10 Mauryas 137
10 Sungas 112
4 Kanwas 45
29 Andhras 460
62 854 years.
In either case, the average duration of reign is not improbable;
as the number gives less than fourteen years to each
highest
prince. It is important to remember that the reign of Parikshit
is, according to Hindu chronology, coeval wîth the commence-
ment of the Kali age; and, even, therefore, taking the longest
Pauranik interval, we have but sixteen centuries betwêen Chan-
dragupta, — or, considering him as the same vs'ith Sandrocoptos,
nineteen centuries B. C, — for the beginning of the Kali age.
According to the chronology of our text, however, it would be
but B. C. 1415; to that of the Vayu and Matsya, B. C. 1450; and
to that of the Bhagavata, 1515. According to Colonel Wilford's
computations (Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX., Chronological Table,
p. 116), the conclusion of the Great War took place B. C. 1370.
Buchanan conjectures it to have occurred in the thirteenth century

B. C. Vyasa was the putative father of Paridu and Dhfita-
rashtra, * and, consequently, was contemporary with the heroes
of the Great War. Mr. Colebrookef infers, from astronomical
data, that the arrangement of the Vedas, attributed to Vyasa, took
place in the fourteenth century B. C. Mr. Bentley brings the
date of Yudhishthira, the chief of the Pandavas, to .575 B. C.
(Historical View of the Hindu Astronomy, p. 67) ; but the weight
of authority is in favour of the thirteenth or fourteenth century
• Vide supra, 1,08.

p.
t Miscellaneous Essays, Vol. I., pp. 109, 110, and pp. 200— 202. Also
see an extract from a searching and critical article by Professor Whitney,
quoted in the present work, Vol. II., pp. 273—275.
.
ary, in that conjunction, for a hundred years of men.*

At the birth of Parikshit, they were in Magha; and the
Kali age then commenced, which consists of 1200
(divine) years. When the portion of Vishnu (that had
been born from Vasudeva) returned to heaven, then
B. C, for the war of the Mahabharata, and the reputed com-

mencement of the Kali age.
'
A similar explanation is given in the Bhagavata, * Vayu,
and Matsya Puranas ; and like accounts , from astronomical
writers, are cited by Mr. Colebrooke (Asiatic Researches, Vol.
IX., p. 358). f The commentator on the Bhagavata thus explains
the notion :
•"
The two stars (Pulaha and Kratu,) must rise or be
visible before the rest ; and whichever asterism is in a line south
from the middle of those stars is that with which tlie seven stars
are united; and so they continue for one hundred years." t Colonel
Wilford has, also, given a like explanation of the revolution of
the Rishis (Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX., p. 83). According to
Bentley, the notion originated in a contrivance of the astronomers
to show the quantity of the precession of the equinoxes: "This
was by assuming an imaginary line, or great circle, passing
through the poles of the ecliptic and the beginning of the fixed
Magha, which circle was supposed to cut some of the stars in
the Great Bear. * * *. The seven stars in the Great Bear
being called the Rishis, the circle so assumed was called the
line of the Rishis; and, being invariably fixed to the beginning
of the lunar asterism Magha, the precession would be noted by
stating the degree &c. of any moveable lunar mansion cut by
that fixed line or circle, as an index. " Historical View of the
Hindu Astronomy, p. 65.
* Vide supra, p. 230, note •

t Or Miscellaneous Essays, Vol. II., p. 355.
* These are, mostly, Colebrooke's own words, a little altered. The
Sanskrit is very much fuller. See the Asiatic Researches, Vol. IX.,
p. 360; or Miscellaneous Essays, Vol, II., p. 357.

: —;
234 VISHNU PURANA.
the Kali age commenced. As long as the earth was

touched by his sacred feet, the Kali age could not affect
it. As soon as the incarnation* of the eternal Vishnu
had departed, the son of Dharma, — Yudhishthira,f
with his brethren,* abdicated the sovereignty. Ob-
serving unpropitious portents, consequent upon Krish-
na's disappearance, he placed Parikshit upon the
throne. When the seven Rishis are in Piirvashadha,
then Nanda will begin to reign;' and thenceforward
the influence of the Kali will augment. §
'
The Bhagavata has the same; and this agrees with the pe-
riod assigned for the interval between Parikshit and Nanda, of
1050 years; as, including Magha, we have ten asterisms to Piir-
vashadha, or 1000 years. The Vayu and Matsya are so very in-
accurate, in all the copies consulted, that it is not safe to affirm
what they mean to describe. !|
Apparently, they state, that, at
the end of the Andhra dynasty, the Hishis will be in Kfittika,

which furnishes other ten asterisms; the whole being nearly in
accordance with the chronology of the text ; as the total interval
from Parikshit to the last of the Andhras is 1050 + 836 = 1886

and the entire century of each asterism, at the beginning aud end
of the series, need not be taken into account. The copies of the
Matsya read
• Amia.
t Vide supra, pp. 102 and 159.
* Read "younger brethren", the original being ^Kiif^l
|
f^T^^TfR^^^ ^rf€^ft if^^ffT II
I
The interesting passages thus referred to, consisting of some ten
stanzas in each I'uraiia, and of about as many in the Brahmdnda-pu-
rdna, are so extremely corrupt, in all my MSS., that I am unable to
cite them. Specimens of what I find in my copie.s will be seen in
notes in the two following pages.
The day that Krishna shall have departed from the

earth will be the first of the Kali age, the duration of
"The seven Rishis are on a line with the brilliant Agni;"" that
is, with Kfittika, of which Agni is the presiding deity, f The
Vayu intends, in all probability, the same phrase; but the three
copies have TT<f^^ "^Tf^, + a very unintelligible clause. Again,

it seems as if they intended to designate the end of the Andhra
race as the period of a complete revolution, or 2700 years; for
the Vayu has:
" The races at the end of the Andhras will be after 2700 years."
The Matsya has:
* Corrected, on the authority of all my MSS., from IT(f)H ifMTT?

which breaks the metre.
t Whence Krittika has Agneya as a synonym. See Vol II., p. 277,
ad calcem.
t The text of the Vdyu-purdna is, evidently, somewhat corrupt, here-
abouts ; but, in the context of the passage from which these words are
taken, the computations are retrograde. Thus, we read:
All my MSS. have, to be sure, at the beginning of this stanza, ^R^-

%TrfH^«fiTt1[ But the Matsya-purdna and the BrahmdMa-piirdna
I
iuruish the restoration of what is, without question, the true lection.
§ This line is immetrical and ungrammatical, aud says nothing of
"the end of the Andhras". My best MSS. have:
^Hf^T- ^t^^rr ^î^^WT %i^^^n: g^: i
The corresponding verse of the Brahmdnda-purdna is, in my sole
copy, crowded with mistakes of transcription

II
I can but partially amend this incorrect verse by the aid of my
MSS. One of them ends it with ^^SH^Tirt 5^^"^: JÎ I
The Brah-
mdnda-purdnn gives, at its close: rT<J?^'^! X(^', \ Compare the reading
in the note immediately preceding.
236 VISHNU FIRANA.
which you shall hear: it will continue for 360.000

years of mortals. After twelve hundred divine years
shall have elapsed, the Krita age shall be renewed.
Thus, age after age, Brahmans, Kshattriyas, Vaisyas,
and Siidras, excellent Brahman, men of great souls,
have passed away by thousands, whose names, and
And, at the close of the passage, after specifying, as usual, that
"the seven Rishis were in Magha, in the time of Parikshit":
the Vayu adds:
a passage which, though repeated in the M8S., is, obviously,
most inaccurate; although it might, perhaps, be understood to

intimate that the Rishis will be in the twenty-fourth asterisni
after the Andhra race: but that would give only 1400 years from
Parikshit to Pulomat; whilst, if the twenty-fourth from Magha

was would give 2400 years; both periods being in-
intended, it
compatible with previous specifications. The Matsya has a dif-

ferent reading of the second line, but one not much more satis-
factory :
"A hundred years of Brahma will be in the twenty-fourth

(asterisra?). " In neither of these authorities, however, is it pro-
posed, by the last-cited passages, to illustrate the chronology of

princes or dynasties. The specification of the period, whatever
it may be, is that of the era at which the evil influence of the
Kali age is to become most active and irresistible.
* All my MSS. have mfrf^^' ^"^ ^"^ ^"*^^ t^® verse, in one of
them. So, perhaps, the Matsya-purdna is intended to read; and so the
Vdyu-purdna and the BrahmdMa-purdna actually do rea<l, according to
my copies.
t IffT ^TTT. iS) prol)ably, the correct reading of the end of this verse.
My best MSS. give, at its beginning, ^H^Wtir I

tribes, and faniilies I have not enumerated to you,

from their great number, and the repetition of appel-
lations it would involve. * Two persons,— Devapi, of
the race of Puru,t and Maru,: of the family of
Ikshwaku,— through the force of devotion, § continue
alive throughout the whole four ages, residing at the
village of Kalapa. They will return hither, in the be-
|!
ginning H of the Krita age, and, becoming members of

the family of the Manu, give origin to the Kshattriya
dynasties.^ In this manner, the earth is possessed,
through every series of the three first ages,— the Krita,
Treta, andDwapara,— by the sons of the Manu; and
some remain in the Kali age, to serve as the rudiments
of renewed generations, in the same way as Devapi
and Maru are still in existence.**
I have now given you a summary account of the
sovereigns of the earth: to recapitulate the whole

would be impossible even in a hundred lives. These
'
The Bhagavata has the same; Devapi, as the commentator
observes, being the restorer of the Lunar, and Maru, of the
Solar, race.
t So yield all my MSS. ; but we should here read Kuru. Vide supra,
pp. 148 and 152.
* See Vol. Ill , p. 325.
§ Yoga.
II
Sea Vol. III., p. 197, text and note §.
^ There is no word, in the Sanskrit, corresponding to this.
** See Original Sans/crit Texts, Part 149 (pp. 277, 278, in the
1., p.
2nd ed.).
238 VISHNU PURANA.
and other kings, who, with perishable frames, have

possessed this ever-during world, and who, blinded
with deceptive notions of individual occupation, have
indulged the feeling that suggests " This earth is mine
—it is my son's— it belongs to my dynasty, " have, all,
passed away. So, many who reigned before them,

many who succeeded them, and many who are yet to
come, have ceased, or will cease, to be. Earth laughs,
as if smiling with autunmal flowers, to behold her
kings unable to effect the subjugation of themselves.*
1 will repeat to you, Maitreya, the stanzas that were
chanted by Earth, and which the Muni Asitaf commu-

nicated to Janaka, whose banner was virtue: "How
great is the folly of princes, who are endowed with
the faculty of reason, to cherish the confidence of am-
bition, when they themselves are but foam upon the
wave! Before they have subdued themselves, they
seek to reduce their ministers, their servants, their
subjects, under their authority; they then endeavour
to overcome their foes.t 'Thus', say they, 'will we
conquer the ocean-circled earth', and, intent upon
their project, behold not death, which is not far off.
But what mighty matter is the subjugation of the sea-
girt earth to one who can subdue himself? Emanci-
gnr-RfTt: ^Tt^ ^<ft^ ^^^TT II
Read "harassed with the enterprise of self-conquest".
t not clear who he was.

It is The best known Asita was son of Bha-
rata: Rdmdyana, Bdla-kdiida, LXX., 27; Ayodhyd-kdMa, CX., 15: &c.
See Vol. III., p. 297, note \.
"They wish, after subduing themselves, to reduce," &c.

f
BOOK IV., CHA1\ XXIV. 239
pation from existence is the fruit of self-control. It is

through infatuation* that kings desire to possess nie,
whom their [)redecessors have been forced to leave
w^hom their fathers have not retained. Beguiled by
the selfish love of sway, fathers contend with sons,
and brothers w4th brothers, for my possession.
Foolishness has been the character of every king who
has boasted 'AH this earth is mine — everything is
mine —it will be in my

house for ever'; for he is dead.
How is it possible that such vain desh'es should sur-
vive in the hearts of his descendants, who have seen
their progenitor, absorbed by the thirst of dominion,
compelled to relinquish me, whom he called his own,
and tread the path of dissolution?* When I hear a
king sending word to another, by his ambassador,
'This eai'th is mine; immediately resign (your pre-
tensions to) it,' I am moved to violent laughter, (at
first); but it soon subsides, in pity for the infatuated
fool."
These were the verses, Maitreya, which Earth re-
cited,and by listening to which, ambition § fades away,
like snow^ before the sun. I have now related to you
the whole (account of the) descendants of the Manu,
amongst whom have flourished kings endowed with
* Vimiidhatwa.
l^TWt 'Trff^ ^TlffT II
§ Mainatwa.
240 VISHNU PL RAN A.
a portion* of Vishnu, engaged in the preservation of

the earth. Whoever shall listen (reverently and) v^îth
faith, to this narrative, proceeding from the posterity

of Manu, shall be purified entirely from all his sins,
and, with the perfect possession of his faculties, shall
live in unequalled affluence, plenty, and prosperity.
He who has heard of the races of the Sun and Moon,
of Ikshwaku, Jahnu, Mandhatri,f Sagara, and Raghu,
who have, all, perished ;+ of Yayati, Nahusha, and their
posterity, who are no more; of kings of great might,
resistless valour, and unbounded wealth, who have
been overcome by still more powerful time, and are,
now, only a tale; he will learn wisdom, and forbear to

call either children, or wife, or house, or lands, or
The arduous penances
wealth, his own. that have been
performed by heroic men obstructing fate for count-
less years, religious rites and sacrifices of great effi-

cacy and virtue, have been made, by time, the subject
only of narration. § The valiant Pfithu traversed the
universe, everywhere triumphant over his foes; yet he
was blown away, like the light down of the Simal||
* The original has aihidMa, "a portion of a portion."

t Corrected, here and below, from " Mandhatri ".
+ Read "Sagara, Avikshita, and the Raghus". The Translator was mis-
taken in thinking that he found anything answering to "who have, all
perished". The original runs:
Avikshita, or the son of Avikshit, was Marutta. See Vol. III., p. 243,
and p. 244, note §.
§ fTTT rnft ^: 5^^^^-
Sdlinali, in the original. Seinal is the llimli lor il.

II
tree, before the blast of time. He who was Kartavirya

subdued innumerable enemies, and conquered the
seven zones of the earth ; but now he is only the topic
of a theme, a subject for affirmation and contradiction.^
Fie upon the empire of the sons of Raghu, who tri-
umphed over Dasanana,* and extended sway to their
the ends of the earth! For was it not consumed, in
an instant, by the frown of the destroyer Vf Mandha-
tri, the emperor of the universe, is embodied only in
a legend; and what pious man who hears it will ever

be so unwise as to cherish the desire of possession I
in his soul? Bhagh'atha, Sagara, Kakutstha, Dasanana,

Rama, § Lakshmana, Yudhishthira, and others have
been. Is it so? Have they ever really existed? Where
are they now? We know not. |i The powerful kings
'
To be the cause of Sankalpa, 'conviction,' 'belief,' and
Vikalpa, 'doubt,' 'disbelief.' The Bhagavata indulges in a sim-
ilar strain, and, often, in the same words. The whole recalls
the words of the Roman satirist:
I, demens, et saevas ciirre per Alpes,
Ut pueris placeas, et declamatio fias.^
* Here, again, — see the preceding page, note I, — the Translator has
strangelymisapprehended the original, which speaks of the empire "of
Dasanana, Avikshita, and Raghava":
All my MSS. have this reading, yielding Avikshita, though Avikshita

would equally well suit the metre.
t The original has Antaka, who is one with Yama. See Vol. I.,
p. 188, note 1; and Vol. II., p. 112, note.

" Desire of possession is to render mamativa.
"'
I
§ The Sanskrit has Raghava.

^m ^ fwmj i> ^ ^ T f%^: I
^ Juvenal., X., 166, 167.
IV. 16
242 VISHNU PURANA.
who now are, or who will be, as I have related them

to you, or any others who are unspecified,* are, all,
subject to the same late;f (and the present and the

future will perish and be forgotten, like their prede-
cessors), t Aware of this truth, a wise man will never
be influenced by the pi'inciple of individual appropria-
tion; and, regarding them as only transient and tem-
poral possessions, he will not consider children and
posterity, lands and property, or whatever else is per-
sonal, to be his own. §
* AbidheydJi.
+ There is nothing-, in the Sanskrit, answering to the words which I
have here marked ofl' with parentheses.

VISIINC PURAnA.
BOOK V.
CHAPTER I.
The. death of Kariisa announced. Earth, oppressed by the Daityas,

applies to the gods. They accompany her to Vishnu, who
promises to give her relief. Kaiiisa imprisons Vasudeva and
Devaki. Vishnu's instructions to Yoganidra.
iVlAITREYA.'— You have related to me a full account

of all the different dynasties of kings, and of their
'
The whole of this Book is dedicated to the biography of
Krishna. Many of the Purarias omit this subject altogether, or
only allude to it occasionally. In others, it is equally prominent.
The Brahma Parana gives the story exactly in the same words
as our text. Which has the best right to them may be ques-
tioned; but, as it is usually met with, the Brahma Puraria is a
very heterogeneous compilation. The Hari Vamsa has a narra-
tive more detailed than that of the text, with additions and em-
bellishments of its own. The Brahma Vaivarta, throughout,
celebrates the acts of Krishna; and one portion of it, the Krishna
Janma Kharida, especially describes his boyhood and youth.
The incidents are the same, in general, as those in \he text; but
they are lost amidst interminable descriptions of Krishna's sports
with the Gopis, and with his mistress Radha, — a person not noticed
elsewhere: the whole is in a style indicative of a modern origin.
The Agni Puraria and Padma Purana (Uttara Karida) have ac-
counts of Krishna; but they are mere summaries, compiled, evi-
dently, from other works. The principal authority for the ad-
ventures of Krishna is the Bhagavata, the tenth Book of which
246 VISHNU PURANA.
successive transactions. I wish, now, to hear a more

particular description, holy Rishi,* of the portion of
Vishnu^ that came down upon earth, and was born in
is exclusively devoted to him. It is this work which has. no

doubt, mainly extended the worship of Krishna; as its popularity
is evinced by its having been translated into all the spoken
languages of India professing to have a literature. The Preni-
sagar, its Hindi version, is well known; but there are, also, trans-
lations in Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, &c. It does not seem likely,
however, that the Vishnu Puraria has copied the Bhagavata; for,
although its greater conciseness may, sometimes, look like abridg-

ment, yet the descriptions are, generally, of a more simple and
antiquated character. Here, as usual, the Mahabharata is, no
doubt, the earliest extant authority: but it is not the earliest;
for, whilst it omits to narrate most of his personal adventures
unconnected with his alliance with the Pandavas, it often alludes
to them, and names, repeatedly, his capital, his wives, and his
progeny. It also devotes a section, the Mausala Parvan, to the
destructionof the Yadavas. The story of Krishna, the prince

and hero, must have been complete, when the Mahabharata was
compiled. It is doubtful, however, if Krishna, the boy, and his
adventures at Vrindavana, were not subsequent inventions. There
are no allusions to them, in the poem, of an unsuspicious nature.
The only ones that I have met with are contained in a speech
by Sisupala,t— Sabha Parvan, Vol. I., p. 3(50,— in which he re-

viles Krishna ; but they may easily have been interpolated. There
may be others scattered through the poem; but I have not ob-
served them.
'
The notices of Krishna's origin and character, in various
passages of the Mahabharata, are by no means consistent, and
indicate different dates, at least. In an address to him by Ar-
juna,— Vana Parvan, Vol. I., p. 426,— he is said to have passed
thousands of years in various holy places, engaged in arduous
• Brahmarshi. See Vol. III., p. 68, note 1.
t On the passage referred to, see Original Sanskrit Texts, Part IV.,
pp. 170, et seq., and p. 248.

' ;
BOOK v., CHAP. I. 247
the family of Yadu. Tell me, also, what actions he*

pertbi-med in his descent, as a part of a part of the
Supreme, upon the earth/
penances. He is frequently identified with the Rishi Nai-ayaria;
or he and Arjuna are said to be Narayaiia and Nara:f
In the Dana-dhainia, he is represented as a worshipper of Siva,

and propitiating him and his wife Uma, and receiving, as boons,
from them, wives and children. § As a warrior and prince, he is
always on the scene; but he is, repeatedly, called an An'isa (or
portion) of Vishnu; whilst, in a great number of places, he is
identified with Vishnu or Narayaria, and is, consequently, 'all

things.' This latter is his character, of course, amongst the
Vaishriavas, agreeably to the text of the Bhagavata: li"^!!^ ^^-
Sfjw-i^-^, "Kfishria is the lord (Vishnu) himself."
'
This is a still further diminution of Krishna's dignity: he is
not even a part, but 'a part of a part,' Au'isaihsavatara (^njT-
l^T^^TT)- B"^ '-hi^^ ^^® commentator maintains, is to be under-

stood only of his form or condition as man, not of his power
as it suffered no diminution, either in its primary or secondary
state, — as light, by suffusion, suffers no decrease; and a verse of
the Veda is cited to this effect: "Though that which is full be
taken from what is full, vet the remainder is undiminished:"
"Krishna is, nevertheless, the very supreme Brahma; though it
be a mysterv how the Supreme should assume the form of a man:"

i^t WW 'TTT^ff^ Tt ^t in: WW I
^^
'ÎntheTriginal, ^^^TTF^^^tW: , 'the divine Purushottama.
note 1; and Vol. III., p. 68, note 1 also, Origi-
t See Vol. I., p. Ill, ;
nal Sanskrit Texts, Part IV., pp. 192—206.

I
Mahdhhdrata, Sdnti-parvan, si. 13165.
§ See Original Sanskrit Texts, Part IV., pp. 163, et seq.
runs:
II
The first verse of the quotation, as given by the commentator,
This passage is from the âtapatha-brdhmana, XIV., VIII., 1.
1 Thus cited by the commentator.

248 VISHNU PURANA.
Paraâra.— 1 will relate to you, Maitreya, the ac-
count which you have requested; — the birth of a part

of a part of Vishnu, and the benefits which his actions
""
conferred upon the world.
Vasudeva formerly married the daughter of Devaka,
the illustrious Devaki,f a maiden of celestial beauty.:

After their nuptials, Kamsa, the increaser of the race
of Bhoja, drove their car, as their charioteer. As they
were going along, a voice in the sky, sounding aloud,
and deep as thunder, addressed Kamsa, and said: "Fool
that you are, the eighth child of the damsel whom you
are driving in the car shall take away your life."^§
On hearing this, Kamsa drew his sword, and was about
to putDevaki to death; but Vasudeva interposed, say-
ing: "Kill not Devaki, great warrior. Spare her life;
So the Bhagavata, in one passage, predicts that the Para-pu-

il
rusha (Purushottama, or Vishnu,) will be born, visibly, in the

dwelling of Vasudeva:
The Bhagavata tells the circumstance as in the text. The

'
Hari Vaihsa makes Narada apprise Kamsa of his danger. Na-

rada's interposition is not mentioned until afterwards, by our
authority. Devaki is the cousin of Karhsa. Vide supra, p. 98.
For the original and an improved translation ol the present Chapter,
from its beginning to this point, see Original Sanskrit YVxt.s, Part IV.,
p. 217. A considerable extract from the commentary, with an English

version, will, also, be found in the following pages.
t Vide supra, p. 98. t Devatopamd.
§ ^TWrTT ^f% ^ ^ ^TT T^ f^rTTR: I
II
X,, I., 23. I have completed the stanza.
and deliver to you every child that she may bring

I will
forth." Appeased by which promise, and relying on

the character of Vasndeva, Kamsa desisted from the
attempt.
At that time, Earth, overburthened by her load, re-
paired to Mount Meru, to an assembly of the gods, and,
addressing the divinities, with Brahma at their head,
related, in piteous accents, all her distress. "Agni,"
said Earth, "is the progenitor of gold; Siirya, of rays
of light. ^ The parent and guide"" of me, and of all
spheres, is the supreme f Narayana, who is Brahma,
the lord of the lord of patriarchs; the eldest of the
eldest-born; one with minutes and hours ;+ one with
time; having form, though indiscrete. This assem-
blage of yourselves, gods, is but a part of him.
The Suns,§ the Winds, the Saints, i
the Rudras, the
Vasus, the Aswins, Fire, If the patriarch-creators of
the universe, of whom Atri is the first, all are but
forms of the mighty and inscrutable** Vishnu. The
'
Agni, or fire, refines gold, burns away the dross, according
to the commentator. The sun is the lord of the rays of light,
or, as the cause of rain and vegetation, the lord of cattle. The
phrase is: ^^7 ^: ipft ^: |
• "Parent and guide" is to render guru. Vandya is a variant.
t Guru.
§ Corrected from "sun"; the original exhibiting the phiral. For a

similar passage, in which the Suns are spoken of, vide infra, p. 258.
"M \ f^
li WT
*\\f\'. MX^T> "the Adityas, the Maruts, and the Sadhyas."
,
See Vol. II., pp. 27, 79, 22.

•[ VahnayaK; i. e., the Agnis, or 'Fires'. There are forty-nine of
them. See Vol. I., p. 156, note 1. Also compare note § to p. 258, infra.
** "Mighty and inscrutable" is intended to represent aframeya.
250 VISHNU PURANA.
Yakshas, Rakshasas, Daityas, spirits of evil,* ser-

pents,and children of Danu, the singers and nymphs
of heaven, are forms of the great spirit, Vishnu.
The heavens, painted with planets, constellations, f
and stars: fire, water, wind, and myself, and every
perceptible thing; the whole universe itself, con-
sists of Vishnu. The multifarious forms of that mani-
fold being encounter and succeed one another, night
and day, like the waves of the sea.+ At this present
season, many demons, of whom Kalanemi is the chief,
have overrun, and continually harass, the region of
mortals. The great Asura Kalanemi, that was killed ^
by the powerful Vishnu, has revived in Kaifisa, the son

of Ugrasena; and many other mighty demons, more
than I can enumerate,— as Arishta, § Dhenuka, Kesin,
Pralamba, Naraka, ;
Sunda,1f and the fierce Bana,**
the son of Bali,''^— are born in the palaces of kings.
Countless hosts ff of proud and powerful spirits, chiefs
'
According to the Vayu, Kalanemi, or Kayavadha, was a son
of Virochana, the grandson of Hirar'iyakasipu.+t His death is
described in the Hari Varhsa. §§

^ These appear subsequently in the narration, and are de-
stroyed by Krishna. || II
* PUdcha. See Vol. notes 2 and

II., p. 74, 3. f Riksha.
§ See Vol. II., p. 70, note §. |( See Vol. II., p. 71.
See Vol. ** See Vol.

f II., p. 69, note 1. 11., p. 69.
tt Akshauhini.
\\ See Vol. II., pp 30 and 69.
§§ Chapter XLIX.
nil As we shall see, two of them, Dhennka and Pralamba, were slain
by Balarama.
of the demon-race, assumino; celestial forms, now walk

the earth; and, unable to support myself beneath the
hicumbent load, I come to you for succour. Illustrious
deities, do you so act, that I may be relieved from my
burthen; lest, helpless, I sink into the nethermost

abyss.
When the gods had heard these complaints of Earth,
Brahma, at their request, explained to them how her
burthen might be lightened. "Celestials," said Brahma,
"all that Earth has said is, undoubtedly, true. I, Maha-
deva,f and you all, are but Narayana: but the imper-
sonations of his power are for ever mutually fluctua-
ting;and excess or diminution is indicated by the pre-
dominance of the strong and the depression of the
weak.t Come, therefore; let us repair to the northern
coast of the milky sea, and, having glorified Hari, report
to him what we have heard. He, who is the spirit of
all, and of whom the universe consists, constantly, for
the sake of Earth, descends, in a small portion of his
essence, to establish righteousness below" Accord-
ingly, Brahma, § attended by the gods, went to the
milky sea, and there, with minds intent upon him,
praised him whose emblem is Garuda.
"0 thou," said Brahma, "who art distinct from
holy writ;^ whose double nature is twofold wis-
'
Anamnaya (tRTT^^^); not the immediate object of the
• Rasdtala. See Vol. II., p. 209, note 1, and p. 211, note 1.
t Called, in the original, Bhava. See Vol. I., p. 116.
: f^^jf^T^ ^T^^ fi"rerT^^ ^t'^t'i i
§ Substituted, by the Translator, for Pitamaha.

252 VISHNU PURANA.
dom/ superior and inferior, and who art the essen-

tial end of both; who, aHke devoid and possessed
of form, art the twofold Brahma;^ smallest of the
least, and largest of the large: ail, and knowing all
things; that spirit which is language: that spirit

which is supreme; that which is Brahma, and of
which Brahma is composed! Thou art the Rig-, the
Yajur-, the Sama-, and the Atharva-Vedas.* Thou art
accentuation, f ritual, signification, + metre, and astro-

nomy; history, tradition, § grammar, theology, logic, ^ 1'
and law:** thou who art inscrutable. Thou art the doc-
trine that investigates the distinctions between soul,
Vedas. ft which is devotion, not abstraction: ritual or worship,

not knowledge.
'
The two kinds of knowledge (^ f^%) are termed Para
(Tnrr), 'supreme,' and Apara (^T??;!), 'other' or 'subordinate'.
The first is knowledge of Param Brahma, of spirit abstractedly
considered, perfect knowledge derived from abstraction; the
second is knowledge of Sabda-Brahma, of spirit as described and

taught in the Vedas or their supplementary branches. The iden-
tity Supreme with both descriptions of holy knowledge
of the
pervades the whole of the address.
^ Pararn Brahma and Sabda-Brahma. See the preceding note.
^^WW ^ ^^ ^W W^JT^"^ ^?l

Nirukta.
II
See Vol. III., 67.

t Sik-sha. + p.
§ Purdna.
\\ Mimdmsd.
•[ Nydyikfl or Tydyakn.
* Here the original addresses Adhokshaja. See Vol. I,, p. 28, note t.
tt This is the commentator's definition.

and and body,f and matter endowed with qual-

life,*
ities and that doctrine is nothing else but thy nature

:
^
Inherent in and presiding over it.^t Thou art iniper-

(êptible, indescribable, inconceivable: without name,
or coloui", or hands, or feet; pure, eternal, and infinite. §
Thou hearest without ears, and seest without eyes.

Thou ai't one and multiform. Thou movest without
feet; thou seizest without hands. Thou knowest ail,
but art not by all to be known. He who beholds ^
'
The doctrine alluded to may be either intended generally;
or, in the several instances, — the discussion of the spiritual soul
and living soul, of body subtile and sensible, and of matter en-
dowed with qualities, — reference may be purposed to the Vedanta,
Yoga, and Sankhya systems.
^ That is, as the Sabda-Brahma, the Supreme is identical
with philosophical doctrines, being the object, the instigator, and
the result.
^ This is taken from the Vedas, ^ the original of which is
* The jivdtman and the paramdtinan, or individuated spirit and the

supreme spirit, according to the commentator. The former, as con-
trasted with the latter, —
pure spirit, Brahma, is a synthesis — of spirit
and cognitive internal organ, which organ Brahma does not possess.
See my translation of A Rational Refutation of the Hindu Philosophical
Systems, Preface, p. ix., note +, et aliter.
t Body, says the commentator, in its gross aspect and in its tenuous.
^ The passage is from the iiwetdswatara-upanishad, — III., XIX.

;
254 VISHNU PURANA.
thee as the most subtile of atoms, not substantially

existent, puts an end to ignorance; and final emancipa-
tion is the reward of that wise man whose understand-
ing cherishes nothing other than thee in the form of
supreme delight.^* Thou art the common centre of
all," the protector of the world; and all beings exist in
thee. All that has been, or will be, thou art. Thou art
the atom of atoms; thou art spirit; thou only art distinct
from primeval nature, ^f Thou, as the lord of fire t in
quoted and translated by Sir William Jones: see his Works,

Vol. XIII., p. 368. The passage is thus cited by the coninientator
on our text:
fTTTT¥T'2t g^^ *?fTnT?^ II
"Without hand, or foot, he runs, he grasps ; without eyes, he sees

and, without ears, he hears. He knoweth all that may be known;
and no one knoweth him. Him they call the first great spirit."
'
Varenya riipa: explained by Paramananda miirti, "he whose
form (or impersonation) is supreme felicity."
2 Literally, '
navel of all ' , ?# f^'^^f^: I
The passage is
also read ^^ f^"g?rrf^: , "Thou art all and the first;" the cause
or creator.
^
Or the passage is understood, "Thou art one subsequently
to Prakriti:" ^cfi; 1?1[^: qT^TRI^ l§ -^'^^^ is, thou art Brahma,
^<<iy.^MifM<.d: xn:T<JH: ii
t The ordinary reading ^^^Î X(T7^'' '^T^Tfi;

is I
I Literally, '
the divine Fire VR^f^fTTlTt
',
Hutdâ |
is fire, especi-
ally in its divine aspect, as Agni.
§ This is the reading of some MSS.

BOOK v., CHAP. r. 255
four manifestations/ givest light and fertility to Earth.

Thou art the eye of all,* and wearer of many shapes,
and unobstructedly traversest the three regions of the
universe, f As fire, though one, is variously kindled,
and, though unchangeable in its essence, is modified
in many ways, so thou, lord, who art one omnipresent
form, takest upon thee all modifications that exist, t

Thou art one supreme; thou art that supreme and eter-
nal state which the wise behold with the eye of know-
ledge. There is nothing else but thou, lord: nothing
else has been, or will be. Thou art both discrete and
indiscrete, universal and individual, § omniscient, all-
the active will of the Supreme, creating forms from rudi mental
matter.
'
As the three fires ||
enjoined by the Vedas, and the fire
(metaphorically) of devotion; or, lightning, fire generated artifi-
cially, solar heat, and the fire of digestion (or animal fire): or^
Vishnu, in that character, bestows vigour, H beauty, power, and
wealth.
* To the letter, 'the eye everywhere' or 'in all respects',

f^'^^^fT^'^' I
The Translator renders the explanation of the commentator.
It is said, thus, that he planted his step in three places. The reference
the scholiast says, is to the three steps of Vishuu. See Vol. III., p. 18,
text and note +.
I find no variant of the first line that regularizes the prosody,
§ ^TfS^rfg^^^'R^ , "collective and distributive."
II
The three principal fires, out of an aggregate of five, are here in-
tended. See Vol. III., p. 175, note §; and p. 11, note 1, supra.
^ Varchas.
f
seeing, omnipotent, possessed of (alt) wisdom, and

strength, and power. Thou art hable neither to dimi-
luition nor increase; thoii art independent, and without

beginning; thou art the subjugator (of all). Thou art
unaffected by weariness, sloth, fear, anger, or desire.
Thou art free from soil,* supreme, merciful,' uniform,
undeeaying,t lord overall, the stay of all, the fountain
of light, imperishable. To thee, uninvested by matei-ial
envelopes,'"* unexposed to sensible imaginings, § aggre-
gate of elemental substance,^ spirit supreme,; be ado-

ration! Thou assumest a shape, O pervader of the uni-
verse, not as the consequence of viitue or vice, nor
from any mixture of the two, but for the sole object
11 i
of maintaining piety (in the world).'
'
Prita. One copy has Santa, 'calm,' '
undisturbed. ' If
^ Beyond the separate layers or envelopes of elementary sub-

stances (see Vol. I., p. 40); or, according to the Vodanta notions,
uninvested by those grosser sheaths or coverings, derived from
food and the like, by which subtile body is enclosed.
^ Mabavibhuti samsthaua (JT^Tf^^jfTf^^TT)- Vibhuti is ex-
plained by Prapancha. — sensible, material, or elementary sub-
stance, constituting body.

* The passage is somewhat obscurely expressed, and is dif-
ferently interpreted. It is:
'n^T<a!lr*ITWT^T ^TTWRiTTWTW ^ I
"Not from no cause, nor from cause, nor from cause and no
* Niravadya.
t Niranisht'ha. And several MSS. have niraJhisht'a.
* Akshara-krama, 'of unfailing might.'
I
j
Purushottama.
^ I find the variant prdpta.
t
The unborn, universal* Hari, having heard, with

his mental ear,f these eulogiums, was pleased, and thus
spake to Brahma: "Tell me, Brahma, what you and the
gods desire. Speak boldly, certain of success." +
Brahma, beholding the divine, universal § form of Hari,
quickly prostrated himself, and again renewed his prais-
es: "Glory to thee, the thousand-formed, the thou-
'
sand-armed, the many-visaged, many-footed; to thee,

the illimitable author of creation, and
preservation,
destruction: most subtile of the subtile, most vast of
the great; If to thee, who art nature, intellect, and con-
sciousness; and who art other spirit even than the spir-
cause." The term 'no cause' may, the commentator says, desig-
nate fixed prescribed duties, the Nitya-karman; 'cause' may
signify occasional sacrifices, the Kamya-karman : neither of these
can form any necessity for Vishnu's descent, as they might of a
mere mortal's being born on the earth. Or, Kararia is explained
to mean 'obtaining pleasure', from Ka (oR) and Araiia (^"5[;i!f),
'obtaining;' obtaining happiness, or the cause of it, piety, virtue
(\JTT); and, with the negative, Akararia (êRTT[;Tjf). the reverse,

pain, the consequence of wickedness (^^^). The purport is
clear enough : it is merely meant to state, that Vishnu is not

subject to the necessity which is the cause of human birth.
f Literally, 'with his mind,' manasd.
§ VUwarupa.
This means, that Brahma resumed his panegyric, "the gods being
prostrated in awe." There are no variants in my MSS.
IV. 17
258 VISHNU PURANA.
itual root of those principles!^ Do thou show favour

upon us. Behold, lord, this earth- oppressed by mighty
Asuras, and shaken to her mountain-basements,* —
comes to thee, who art her invincible defender, to be
I'elieved from her burthen. Behold me, Indra, f the
Aswins,t Varuna, and Yama, the Rudras. the Vasus,
the Suns, the Winds, Fire, § and all other celestials, pre-
pared to execute whatever thou shalt will that we shall
do. Do thou, in whom there is no imperfection,
sovereign of the deities, give thy orders to thy servants.
Lo! we are ready."
When Brahma had ended, the supreme lord plucked
off two hairs, one white and one black, and said to the
gods: "These my hairs shall descend upon earth, and
shall relieve her of the burthen of her distress. Let all -
'
The term Pradliaiia, which is repeated in this passage, is
exphiiiied. in the second place, to mean Puiiis, ' souP or '•spirit':
^ The same account of llie origin ol' Kiishiiu is given in the
Mahabharata. Adi Parvan, Vol. 1., p. 2(36. The white hair is

impersonated as Balaninia; the black, as Krishna. The couHiieii-
tator on our text maintains that this is not to be literally un-
derstood: "Vishnu did not intend that the two hairs should be-
come incarnate; but he meant to signify, that, should he send
them, they would be more than sufficient to destroy Kaiiisa and
Vritra-ripu, 'the toe ot

t Designated, in the original, by his epithet
Vritra.' See Vol. II., p. 79, note *.
* The Sanskrit names Nasatya and Dasra. The two are often called
Nasatyas, as well as Aswins Vide supra, p. lO'i.
§ Agni. Read 'the Fires', Vide supra, p. 249, note ^.
i
SI. 7306—7308. The passage is extracted, translated, and commented
on, iu Original Sanskrit Texts, Part IV., pp. 220—222.
the gods, also, in their own portions, go down to earth,

and wage war with the haughty Asnras, who are there
incorporate,^' and who shall, every one of them, be
destroyed. Doubt not of this. They shall perish before
the (withering) glance of mine eyes. This my (black)

hair shall be impei'sonated in the eighth conception of
the wife of Vasudeva, Devaki,— who is like a goddess,—
and shall slay Kaiiisa, who is the demon Kalanemi."
Thus haA'ing spoken, Hari disappeared; and the gods,
bowing to him, though invisible, returned to the sum-
ujit of Moiuit Mei'u, from whence they descended upon
earth, f
The Muni Narada informed Kamsa that the suppoi*-
ter of the earth, Vishnu.:would be the eighth child
of Devaki and, his wrath being excited by this report,
:
he placed both Vasudeva and Devaki in confinement.

Agreeably to his promise, the former delivered to
Kamsa each infant, as soon as it was born. It is said
that these, to the number of six, were the children oi'
the demon Hiranyakasipu, § who were introduced into

the womb (of Devaki), at the command of Vishnu,
his demons. Or, the birth of Rama and Krishna was a double
illusion, typified by the two hairs."
This seems to be a refine-
ment upon an older and somewhat undignified account of the
origin of Krishna and his brother. The commentator on the
Mahabharata argues that they are to be understood merely as
the media by which Devaki and Rohirii conceived.
* Purvotpanna, "who were produced aforetime," is what I find.
t For the original of thi.s paraj^raph, the native comment on it, and
a traiislatioii of both, see Oriyinal Sanskrit Texts, Pan IV., pp. 218 and 220.
X The Translator often, as here, puts "Vishnu", where the original has
Bhagavat. § See Vol II.. p. 30.
17*
(during the hours of Devakfs repose), by (the goddess)

Yoganidra/ the great ilkisory energy of Vishnu, by "'
whom, as utter ignorance,f the whole world is beguiled.

To her Vishnu said: "Go, Nidra, to the nether regions,
and, by my command, conduct, successively, six (of
their princes), to be conceived of Devaki, When these
shall have been put to death by Kamsa, the seventh
conception shall be formed of a portion of Sesha, who
is a part of me; and this you shall transfer, before the
time of birth, t to Rohinf, another wife of Vasudeva,
who resides at Gokula.§ The report shall run, that
Devaki miscarries, through the anxiety of imprison-
ment, and dread of the Raja of the Bhojas.t From
being extracted from his mother's womb, the child shall
be known by the name of Sankarshana; and he shall
be (valiant and strong, and) like the peak of the white
mountain** (in bulk and complexion). I will, myself,
'
Yoganidraff (^^f^^) is the sleep of devotion or abstract-
ion, the active principle of illusion, personified, and also termed
Maya and Mahamaya, also Avidya (or ignorance). Jn the Durga
Mahatmya of the Markahdeya Puraiia, slie appears as Devi or
Durga, the Sakti or bride of Siva, but, in our text, as Vaishriavi,
or the Sakti of Vishnu.
* Malidmdyd, "the great Illusion."

f Avidya.
X ^WfTT^î , which, the commentator alleges, means " at the time
of birth".
§ Compare p. Ill, supra.
\\ '^^^t[^'^[î3[^'. 1 "from confinement in prison," according to the

commentator.
•[The original, Bhojardja, intends Kaiiisa. Vide infra, p. 271, note \.
** For the mountain-range here mentioned, called Swetadri, see Vol. II.,
p. 102; also, ibid., pp. 114, 115, and 256.

ft See Oriyiiial Sanskrit Texts, Part IV., pp. 370, 371.
;
BOOK v., CHAP. 1. 261
become incarnate in the (eighth) conception of Devaki

and you immediately take a similar character-, as
shall
the embryo-ot!spring of Yasoda. In the night of the
eighth lunation of the dark half of the month Nabhas,*
in the season of the rains, I shall be born. Yon shall
receive birth on the ninth. Impelled and aided by my
power, Vasudeva shall bear me to the bed of Yasoda,
and you, to that of Devaki. Kaiiisa shall take you, and
hold you up, to dash you against a stone; but you shall
escape (from his grasp,) into the sky, where the hun-
dred-eyed f Indra: shall meet and do homage to you,
through reverence for me, and shall bow before you,
and acknowledge you as his sister. Having slain Sum-
bha, Nisumbha, § and numerous other demons,* you
shall sanctify the earth in many places.'^ Thou art
'
Allusion is here made to the exploits of Durgii, as celebra-
ted Durga Mahatmya; and it must be posterior
especially in the
to or some similar composition. The passage
the date of that
may be an interpolation; as the Markandeya Puraria. in general,
has the appearance of being a more recent compilation than the
Vishnu. II
- This refers to the Pithasthanas. H fifty-one places, where,

according to the Tantras, the limbs of Sati** fell, when scattered
The Sanskrit has •Wf% ITKlITSWrt^ "Krishna's eighth of Nabhas,"

which denotes the eighth day of the light fortnight of Nabhas, sacred
to Krishna. Nabhas is the same month as Sravana, July and August. —
t Ordinarily, Indra is said to have a thousand eyes, as is indicated
by his epithet sahasrdksha. I Sakra, in the Sanskrit.
§ Corrected from "Sumbha" and "Nisumbha". The two Danavas re-
ferred to were brothers.
Ii
See Vol. I., Preface, p. LV., note *.
^ See Vol. I., Preface, pp. LXXXIX. and XC.
•• Corrected, here and below, from "Sati".
262 VISHNU PURANA.
wealth, progeny,* fame, patience, heaven and earth,

fortitude, t modesty, nutrition,: dawn, and every other
female (form or property). § They who address thee,
morning and afternoon, with reverence and praise, and
call thee Arya, Durga, Vedagarbha, Ambika, Bhadra,
Bhadrakali,1fKshemya,** or Kshemankari, ff ^h^^^ ^'^-
ceive, from my bounty,:: whatever they desire. Pro-
pitiated with offerings of wine, and flesh, and various
by her husband, Siva, as he bore her dead body about, and tore
itto pieces, after she had put an end to her existence, at Dak-
sha's sacrifice. This part of the legend seems to be an addition
to the original fable made by the Tantras; as it is not in the Pu-
ranas (see the stoiy of Daksha's sacrifice). §§ It bears some anal-
ogy to the Egyptian fable of Isis and Osiris. At the Pithastha-
nas, however, of Jwalamukhi, Vindhyavasini, || jj
Kalighat, IfH and
others, temples are erected to the different forms of Devi or Sati,
not to the phallic emblem of Mahadeva, which, if present, is, there,
as an accessory and embellishment, not as a principal; and the

chief object of worship is a figure of the goddess, — a circumstance
in which there is an essential difference between the temples of
Durga and shrines of Osiris.
• I do not find ^ cffTf , ^»i ^nfffTi 'humility;" and so reads the

commentator, who explains the word by fîfij .
t Dhriti. Two pages on, it is rendered by "patience': "fortitude"

being there employed to translate dhairya.
: Pushii.
§ Compare the list in Vol. I., p. 109.
11
See Vol. I., p. 116, note 1.
% See Vol. I., Preface, p LXXXIX.

•• Corrected from "Kshemi".
ft I find the variant Kshemakari.
:: Praadda.
§§ Vol. I., pp. 120—134.
II II
Near Mirzapore.
^^ A few miles .south of Calcutta.
Book v., chap. i. 263
viands, thou shalt bestow upon mankind all their pray-
ers. Through my favour, all men shall ever have faith

in thee. Assured of this, go, goddess, and execute my
commands. 55 *
CHAPTER II.
The conception of Devaki: her appearance: she is praised hy

the gods.
THE nurse of the universe, (Jagaddhatri,) thus en-

joined by the god of gods, conveyed the six several
embryos (into the womb of Devaki^), and transferred
the seventh, (after a season,) to that of Rohihi; after
which, Hari, for the benefit of the three regions, became
incarnate, as the conception of the former princess, and
Yoganidra, as that of Yasoda, exactly as the supreme
Vishnu* had commanded. When the portion of Vishnu
had become incorporate upon earth, the planetary bod-
ies moved in brilliant order in the heavens, and the
seasons were regular and genial, f "No person could
bear to gaze upon Devaki, from the light (that invested
her); and those who contemplated her radiance felt
their minds disturbed. The gods, invisible to mortals,

celebrated her praises continually, from the time that
Vishnu was contained in her person. "Thou", said the
divinities, "art that Praki'iti, infinite and subtile, which
'
It is mentioned, in the preceding Chapter, that they were, all,
put to death, in which the Hari Vamsa concurs. The Bhagavata

makes Karhsa spare them, and restore them to their parents; as
he had nothing to apprehend from their existence.
* ParameshtTiin is the term here rendered "supreme Vishnu." The

commentator explains it by farameiwara. Parameshthin is the same as
Brahma, in Vol. II., p. 19, note.
BOOK v., CHAP. II. 265
formerly bore Brahma in its womb. Then wast thou

the goddess of speech, the energy of the creator of the
universe, and the parent of the Vedas.* Thou, eternal
being, comprising, in thy substance, the essence of all
created things, wast identical with creation; thou wast

the parent of the triform sacrifice, becoming the germ
of all things. "I* Thou art sacrifice, whence all fruit pro-
ceeds: thou art the wood,+ whose attrition engenders
fire. As Aditi, § thou art the parent of the gods; as
Diti, I
thou art the mother of the Daityas, (their foes).
Thou art light,! whence day is begotten; thou art hu-
mility,** the mother of (true) wisdom; thou art kingly
policy, ff the parent of order ;++ thou art modesty, the
progenitrix of affection ;§§ thou art desire, of whom love
is born;^ thou art contentment, whence resignation is
derived; 1ft thou art intelligence, the mother of know-

ledge:*** thou art patience,!! t the parent of fortitude ;n:
• There is neither this nor so much in the original:
For Vedagarbha, vide supra, p. 262.
+ Arani. See Vol. III., p. 330, note •.
§ See Vol. II., pp. 26, 27.

See Vol.
! II., pp. 26 and 30.
^ Jyotsnd, 'the morning twilight.' See Vol. I., p. 81.
Samnati. See Vol. I., pp. 109 and 155.

ft Niti is the term rendered "kingly policy".
*+ Naya. See Vol. I., p. 110.
Ill, note
§§ Prairaya: explained by vinaya. See Vol. L, p. 1.
nil ^rWWT fT^^T I

Comment: ^rw: ^TP^ft^^: I 'Pf ^^TT
^^Tf^^^: I
tt gfHWt^Wlf^W^ I
*» Avabodha. See Vol.1., pp. 109, 110. Dhairya.

ftt Dhriii. Itt
1
266 VISHNU PURANA.
thoii art the heavens, and thy childi-en are the stars;*
and from thee does all (that exists) proceed. Such, god-
dess, and thousands more, are thy iniirhty faculties;
and now innumerable are the contents of thy womb,

O mother of the universe, f The whole earth, decorat-
ed with oceans, nu)untains,+ rivers, continents, for-
ests, § cities, villages, towns, i
and hamlets;! all the
fires, waters, and winds; the stars, asterisms, and plan-
ets; the sky, crowded with the variegated chariots of
the gods; and ethei', that provides space for all sub-
stance;** the several spheres of earth, sky, and heaven,
of saints, sages, ascetics, and of Brahma; ff the whole
egg of Brahma, with all its population of gods, demons,tt
spirits, §§ snake-gods, fiends, i
:; demons,iri ghosts, and
imps,*** men and animals, and whatever creatures have
life, comprised in him who is their eternal lord, and
the object of all apprehension; whose real form, na-
ture, name, and dimensions are not within human ap-
*
The original has graha, riksha, and tdrakd. Compare the Sanskrit
extract of note ••, below.
t Jagaddhdtri.
t I have inserted this word, for adri.
§ This, too, 1 have intercalated, for vaim.

1
Kharvat'a.
^ Khet'a.
ft Maharloka, janoloka, tapolokn, and Rrahmalokn. They are named

in the original. See Vol. 1., p. 98, note 1 and Vol. II., pp. 3'J6, et seq.
,
II Daitya, in the original.

§§ To represent both gandharva and chdraiia.
lill
Yaksha.
•f^ Rdkshasa.
*•• Guhyaka. See Vol. III., p. 116, note f.
BOOK v., CHAP. ir. 267
prehension; — are, now, witli that Vishnu, in thee.*

TlioiiartSwaha: thou artSwadha;f thou art wisdom,
ambrosia, t light, and heaven. Thou hast descended
upon earth, for the preservation of the world. Have
compassion upon us, goddess; and do good unto the
world. Be proud to bear that deity by whom the uni-
verse is upheld."" §
^^nf'W^TTJTTWTf^ ^ f^t^^l^^ II
Some MSS., as is observed by the commentator, have •TTT- instead

of "^:XT- • The Translator has taken both, and has omitted to render
oJ5?t-, which is deiined by lild, while rtipa is defined by tattwa.
iSome remarks oti the expression Hid will be found in one of my an-
notations on Chapter XIII. of this Book.
t For Swaha and Swadha, see Vol. I., pp. lu9, and 156, 157.
* Sudhd. See Vol. II., p. 300, note «.
Isana, ordinarily denoting Siva, here appears as a name of Vishnu.

It is similarly applied in the Mahdhhdraia, Adi-parvan, si. 22.
CHAPTER TIL
Birth of Krishna; conveyed, by Vasudeva, to Mathura. and ex-

changed with the new-born daughter of Yasoda. Karhsa
attempts to destroy the latter, who becomes Yoganidra.
THUS eulogized by the gods, Devaki bore, in her

womb, the lotos-eyed (deity), the protector of the world.
The sun ofAchyuta rose in the dawn ofDevaki, to cause
the lotos-petal of the universe to expand. On the day
oi' his birth, the quarters of the horizon were irradiate
with joy, as if moonlight was diffused over the whole
earth.* The virtuous experienced new delight, the
strong winds were hushed, and the rivers glided tran-
quilly,when Janardana was about to be born. The
seas,f with their own melodious murmurings, made
the music, whilst the spirits and the nymphs of heaven
danced and sang: the gods, walking the sky, showered
down flowers upon the earth and the (holy) tires glow-
:
ed with a mild and gentle flame. At midnight, when

the supporter of all was about to be born, the clouds
emitted low pleasing sounds, and poured down rain of
flowers.
As soon as Anakadundubhit beheld the child, of
the complexion of the lotos-leaves, having four arms,
and the (mystic mark) Srivatsa on his breast, he ad-
Knumudi, in this iiassnge, means, according to the commentator, the

full-moon of Kaumnda, a name of the month of Karttika.
t Sindhu.
^ Vide supra, p. 101, note 1,
BOOK v., CHAP. III. 269
dressed him in terms of love and reverence, and repre-

sented the fears he entertained of Kaiiisa. "Thou art
born," said Vasudeva, "0 sovereign god of gods, bearer

of the shell, the mace, and the discus; but, now, in
mercy, withhold this thy celestial form; for Kaihsa will,
assuredly, put me to death, when he knows that thou

hast descended in my dwelling." Devaki, also, exclaim-
ed: "God of gods, who art all things, who comprisest
all the regions of the world in thy person,* and who,
by thine illusion, hast assumed the condition of an in-
fant,have compassion upon us, and forego this thy
four-armed shape; nor let Kamsa, the impious son of
Diti, know of thy descent."
To these applications Bhagavat answered, and said:
"Princess, in former times, I was prayed to by thee,
and adored, in the hope of progeny. Thy prayers have

been granted; for I am born thy son."f So saying,
he wâs silent. And Vasudeva, taking the babe, went
out, that same night: for the guards were, all, charmed
by Yoganidra, as were the warders at the gates of Ma-
thura; and they obstructed not the passage of Anaka-
dundubhi. To protect the infant from the heavy rain
that fell from the clouds of night, Sesha, (the many-
headed serpent), followed Vasudeva, and spread his
hoods (above their heads); and, when the prince, with
the child in his arms, crossed the Yamuna river, deep
as it was, and dangerous with numerous whirlpools,
t ^ffr^^ ^7^^ ^^" ^TTf^T rT^Î ^ I
^T?l^ ^-^ m^Tt ^TfTtif ^STff^^TT?!; II

270 VISHNU PI'RANA.
the waters were stilled, and rose not above his knee.*
On the bank he saw Nanda and the rest, who had come
thither to bring tribute due to Kaihsa; but they beheld
him not/f At the same time, Yasoda was, also, under
the of Yoganidra, whom she had brought
influence
forth, asher daughter, and whom (the prudent) Vasu-
deva took up. placing his son in her place, by the side
of the mother. He then quickly returned home. When
Yasoda awoke, she found that she had been delivered
of a boy, as black as the dark leaves of the lotos; and
she was greatly i-ejoiced.
Vasudeva, bearing off the female infant (of Yasoda),

reached his mansion, (unobserved, and entered), and
placed the child in the bed of Devaki. He then re-
mained as usual. The guards were awakened by the
cry of the new-born babe ; and, starting up, they sent
word to Kamsa, that Devaki had borne a child. Kaihsa

immediately repaired to the residence of Vasudeva,
where he seized upon the infant. In vain Devaki con-
vulsively entreated him to relinquish the child.: He
'
Tbe Bhagavata, more consistently, makes Vasudeva tind
Naiida and the rest fast asleep, in their houses,Hand subsequently
describes their bringing tribute or tax (kara) to Kaiiisa.
last clause by the Translator.

suppliefl The oonimentator
+ This is
adds, that Nanda and companions came, because beguiled by Yoga-

his
and this remark seems to have been misunderstood. The ori-

nidra;
ginal is:
BOOK v., CHAP. ITT. 271
threw it (rnthlessly,) against a stone; but it rose into

the sky, and expanded into a gigantic figure, having
eight arms, each wielding some formidable weapon.*
This (terrific being) laughed aloud, and said to Kaiiisa:
"What avails it thee, Kaiiisa, to have hurled me (to the
gi-oiuid)? He is born who shall kill thee,— the mighty
one amongst the gods, who was, formerly, thy destroyei-.
N(nv (piickly secure him, and provide for thine own
welfare." Thus having spoken, the goddess, decorated
with heavenly garlands and perfumes, and hymned by
the spirits of the air,f vanished from before the eyes
of Bhojaraja.^t
'
Cliiet" of tlii> trihe of Rhoja. a l>raii<'li of the "^'adavas. I '/V/c
S7ipr(i, p. 7?>.
t SidMa.
I Corrected from " Bhoja raja ". In another place, Bhojardja is rendered,
and rigjhfly, "the Raja of the Bhojas ', /. e., Kaiiisa. Vide su/jra, p. 260,
text and note % .
CHAPTER IV.
Kamsa iuldresses his friends, announces theii- danger, and orders

male children to be put to death.
KAMSA, much troubled in mind, summoned all his

principal Asuras,— Pralamba. Kesin, and the rest,— and.
said to them: "0 valiant chiefs, Pralamba, Mahabalni,*
Kesin, r)heniika, Pi'itana, Arishta, and all the rest of
you, hear my words. The vile and contemptible deni-
zens of heaven are assiduously plotting against my
life;f for they dread my prowess. But, heroes, I hold
them of no account. What can the impotent Indra or
the ascetic +Hara perform? Or what can Hari accom-
plish, except the murder of his foes by fraud? § What
have we to fear from the Adityas, the Vasus, the Agnis,

or any others of the immortals, who have, all, been
vanquished by my
arms? Have I not seen
resistless
the king of the gods, when he had ventured into the

conflict, quickly retreat from the field, receiving my
shafts upon his back,— not, bravely, upon his breast?

When, in resentment, he withheld the fertilizing show-
ers from my kingdom, did not my arrows compel the
clouds to part with their waters, as much as were re-
quired? Are not all the monarchs of the earth in terror
I have inserted this name. The Translator seems to have taken

the word for an epithet, and as not worth rendering. See an annotation
near the end of Chapter XII. of this Book. Mahabahu, a Danava, is
spoken of in the Harivavda, &l. 200.
+ Ekachdrin; 'solitary', according to the commentator.

BOOK v., CHAP. IV. 273
of my prowess, and subject to my orders, save, only,

Jarasandha, my sire ?
^ '''
Now, chiefs of the Daitya race,
it is my determhiation to inflict still deeper degradation
upon these evil-minded and unprincipled gods.f Let,
therefore, every man who is notorious for liberality +
(in gifts to gods and Brahmans), every man who is re-
markable for his celebration of sacrifices, be put to
death ; that, thus, the gods shall be deprived of the
means by which they subsist. § The goddess who has
been born as the infant child ofDevakihas announced
to me that he is aoain alive who, in a former beino-
was my death. Let, therefore, active search be made
forwhatever young children there may be upon earth;
and let every boy in whom there are signs of unusual
vigour be slain (without remorse)."
Having issued these conunands, Kaiiisa retired into
his palace, and liberated Vasudeva and Devaki from
their captivity. "It is in vain," said he to them, "that
'
Jarasandha, prince of Magadha. was the father-in-law oC
Kamsa. il
Guru, in the original. The commentator says that Jarasandha was

his 'superior', because his father-in-law.
fT^ ^ ^T^ ^TT%g î^x^^^ftr II
+ Yaiaswin is so detiued by the commentator. Tapaswin, 'ascetic',

is a variant. ,
§ I find no reading but
Kuiiisa married Kajivalochana, daughter of Jarasandha, king ot Ma-

gadha. See the Muhdbhurata, Sab/id-parvan, «/. 610.
IV. 18
274 VISHNU PURANA.
I have slain (all) your children; since, after all, he who

is destined to kill me has escaped. It is of no use to
regret the past.* The children you may hereafter have
may enjoy life unto its natural close: no one shall cut
it short." Having thus conciliated them, Kaihsa, alarm-
ed for himself, withdrew into the interior apartments
of his palace.
TT^ tTfTfTfq^ I
CHAPTER V.
Nanda returns, witli the infants, Krishna andBalartlma, toGokula.

Piitana killed by the former. Prayers of Nanda and Yasoda.
WHEN Vasudeva was set at liberty, he went to the
waggon of Nanda, and foinid Nanda there, rejoichig

that a son was born to him/ Vasudeva spake to him
kindly, and congratulated him on having a son in his
old age. "The yearly tribute," he added, "has been
paid to the king; and men of property should not tarry
(near the court), when the business that brought them
there has been transacted.* Why do you delay, now
Up, Nanda, quickly, and
that your affairs are settled?
your own pastures ;f and let this boy, the
set off to
son whom Rohini has borne me, accompany you, and
be brought up, by you, as this your ow^n son." Ac-
cordingly, Nanda and the other cowherds, their goods
being placed in their waggons, and their taxes having
been paid to the king, returned (to their village).
'
It is, literally, 'went to the cart' or 'waggon,' •T*^^ ll'^Z
^TTH; as if Nanda and his family dwelt in such a vehicle, as the
Scythians are said to have done. The commentator explains f§a-
kata (IJoRt:) '-the place of loosing or unharnessing the waggon,"

ir«fiZT^'ft^^^T«T^ I
In the Bhagavata, t Vasudeva does not
quit Mathura, but goes to the halting-ground of Nanda, who has
come to that city, to pay his taxes: ^"5£ft rT^^'Tt^'f; explained
by the comment rf-jg ^^TtT^T'T lI^ZtTrTT^fTT^ I
* The commentator gives the reason: ^^^J'TT'Tt '^S^«T^f5T>:?T«f
f Literally, 'herd',— ôA-w/a.

+ X., Prior Section, V., 20.
18-
—
276 VISHNL- PURANA.
Some time after they were settled at Gokala, (the

female fiend) Putana, the child-killer, came thither, by
night, and, finding (the little) Krishna asleep, took him
up, and gave him her breast to suck. ^
Now, whatever
child is suckled, in the night, by Putana instantly dies;
but Krishna, laying bold of the breast with both hands,
sucked it with such violence, that he drained it of the
and the hideous f Putana, roaring aloud, and giv-
life;*
ing way in every joint, + fell on the ground, expiring.

The inhabitants of Vi'aja awoke, in alarm, at the cries
of the fiend, (ran to the spot, and) beheld Putana lying
on the earth, and Krishna in her arms. Yasoda, snatch-
ing up Krishna, waved over him a cow-tail brush,
to guard him from harm, w^hilst Nanda placed (dried)
cow-dung (powdered,) upon his head. He gave him,
also, an amulet;^ saying, at the same time: "May Hari,
'
In the Hari Vaiiisa, § this female fiend is described as coming
in the shape of a bird.
^ The Raksha — the preserver, or preservative against charms,
is a piece of thread or silk, or some more costly material, bound
round the wrist or arm, with an appropriate prayer, such as that
in the text. Besides its application to children, to avert the effects
of evil-eyes, or to protect them against Daens or witches, there
is one day in the year, the Rakhi Piiriiima, or full moon in the
month of Sravana (July — August), when it is bound upon the

wrists of adults by friendly or kindred Brahmans, with a short
prayer or benediction. The Rakhi is, also, sent, sometimes, by
t Because, says the commentator, she resumed, at the time of death,

her proper form.
: f^f^^^T^'^^T I § SI. 3423.

BOOK v., CHAP. V. 277
the lord of all beings (without reserve), protect you;

he from the lotos of whose navel the world was devel-
oped, and on the tijj of whose tusks the globe was
upraised from the waters May that Kesava, who !'•'
assumed the form of a boar, protect thee If May that
Kesava, who, as the man-lion,: rent, with his sharp

nails, the bosom of his foe, ever protect thee! May
that Kesava, who, appearing, first, as the dwarf, § sud-
denly traversed, in all his might, with three paces, the
three regions of the universe,, constantly defend theelH
May Govinda guard thy head; Kesava, thy neck; Vish-
nu, thy belly;*"" Janardana, thy legs and feet; the eter-
nal and irresistible Narayaha, thy face, thine arms, ff

thy mind, and faculties of sense!:: May all ghosts,
goblins, §§ and spirits malignant and unfriendly, ever
fly thee, 11 appalled by the bow^ the discus, mace, and
persons of distinction, and, especially, by females, to members of

a different family, or even race and nation, to intimate a
sort of
brotherly or sisterly adoption. Tod's Rajasthan, Vol.I.,pp.3l2,313.
• See Vol. I., p. 61, note 2.
Nrisimha. See Vol. ll., p. 34, note 1 ; also, p. lOG, supra.

:
§ See Vol. I., Preface, p. LXXV.

|1See Vol. III., p. 18, text and note :.
1 ^T^^ Twg ^^T ^^^ ^: ^WT^^fi: I
tt '^T^ JT^'^ ^; t^6 t^° divisions of the arms.
§§ Kvshmdncia. See Vol. 1., p. 166.
II
I
Rdkshasa.
278 VISHJSU riHANA.
sword of Vishnu, and the echo of his shell! May Vai-

kuntha* guard thee in the cardinal points; and, in the
intermediate ones, Madhusiidanalf May Hrishikesat
defend thee in the sky; and Mahidhara,§ upon earth!"
Having pronounced this prayer to avert all evil,!'
Nanda put the child to sleep, in his bedf underneath

the waggon. Beholding the vast carcass of Putana,
the cowherds were filled with astonishment and terror.
• A metronym of Vishnu; one of the names of his mother being Vi-

knntha. See Vol III.,and note ff.
text
t "The destroyer of Madhu", a demon. See Vol, 11., p. 5'2.
+ Corrected from "Rishikesa". For lli'ishikesa, see Vol. I., p. 2, note 1.
§ Being interpreted, "the upholder of the earth."

j|
Sirastyayana.
^ FcDijankiku, 'cot', according to the commentator.
CHAPTER VI.
Krishna overturns a waggon casts down two trees. The Gopas

:
depart to Vfindavana. Sports of the boys. Description of the

season of the rains.
ON one occasion, whilst Madhusudana was asleep

underneath the waggon, he cried for the breast; and,
kicking up his feet, he overturned the vehicle; and all
the pots and pans* wêre upset and broken. The cow-
herds and their wives (hearing the noise,) came, exclaim-
ing: "Ah! ah!" And there they found the child sleep-
ing on his back. "Who could have upset the waggon?"
said the cowherds. "This child," replied some boys,
(who witnessed the circumstance). "We saw^ him,"
said they, "crying, and kicking the waggon with his
feet; and sowas overturned. No one else had any-
it
thing to do with it." The cowherds were exceedingly

astonished at this account; and Nanda, not knowing
what to think, took up the boy; whilst Yasoda offered
worship to the broken pieces of pots and to the wag-
gon, with curds, flowers, fruit, and unbruised grain, f
The initiatory rites requisite for the twô boys were
performed by Garga, t who was sent to Gokula, by Va-
sudeva, for that purpose. He celebrated them without
* Some MSS. have, instead of Î^^T'^!^, ^tg^TT!^?^ I

The com-
mentator takes notice of this variant.
: See Vol. II., p. 213.

280 VISHMU PL'RANA.
the knowledge of tlie cowherds;' and the wise sage,
amongst the wise, named the elder of them

enihient
Rama, and the other, Krishna. In a short time, they
began to crawl about the ground, supporting themselves
on their hands and knees, and creeping everywhere,
often amidst ashes and filth. Neither Rohini nor Ya-
soda was able to prevent them from getting into the
cow-pens, or amongst the calves, where they amused
themselves by pulling their tails. As they disregarded
the prohibitions of Yasoda, and rambled about together
constantly, she became angry, and, taking up a stick,
followed them, and threatened the dark-complexioned

Krishna with a whipping.* Fastening a cord round
his waist, she tied him to the wooden mortar;"" and,
being in a great passion, she said to him: "Now, you
naughty boy, get away from hence, if you can." She
then went about her domestic aft'airs. As soon as she
'
The Bhagavataf describes Garga's interview with Nanda, and
the inducements of the latter to keep the former's celebration of
the Sariiskaras (or initiatory rites) of the two boys secret from
the Gopas. Garga there describes himself as the Purohita+ (or
family priest) of the Yjidavas.
""
The Ulukhala (or mortar) is a large wooden bowl, on a
solid stand of timber; both cut out of one piece. The pestle is,
also, of wood and
; they are used chiefly for bruising or threshing
unwinnowed corn, and separating the chaff from the grain. As
important agents in household economy, they are regarded as sa-
cred, and even hymned in the Vedas. §
The MSS. containing the commentary omit this stanza.
t X., Prior .Section, Chapter VIII.

+ Rather, as dchdrya. § As in the Rigveda, L, XXVIII., 5 and 6.
BOOK v., CHAP. VI. 281
harl departed, the lotos-eyed Krishna, endeavouring to

extricate himself, pulled the mortar after him, to the
space between two Arjuna-trees that grew near togeth-
er. Having dragged the mortar between these trees,
it became wedged awry there; and, as Krishna pulled
it through, it pulled down the trunks of the trees.*
Hearing the crackling Vraja came
noise, the people of
to see what was the matter; and there they beheld

the two lar2;e trees, with shattered stems and broken
branches, prostrate on the ground, with the child fixed
between them, with a rope round his belly, laughing,
and showing his white little teeth, just budded. It is
hence that Krishna is called Damodara,— from the bind-
ing of the rope (daman) round his belly (udara).^f
The elders of the cowherds, with Nanda at their head,
looked upon these circumstances with alarm, consider-

ing them as of evil omen.t "We cannot remain in this
place," said they. "Let us go to some other (part of
the) forest; for here many evil signs threaten us with
destruction:— the death of Putana, the upsetting of the
'
Our text and that of the Hari Van'isa take no notice of the
legend § of Nalakubaraj and Manigriva, sons of Kubera, who,
according to the Bhagavata, H had been metamorphosed, through
a curse of Narada, into these two trees, and for whose liberation
this feat of Krishna was intended.
§ This legend is referred to by the commentator.
i!
Corrected from '"Nalakuvera".
^ X., Prior Section, IX., 22, 23. Nalakubara and Manigriva are there
called guhyakas.
282 VI8HNU I'l'RANA.
waggon, and the fall of the trees without their being

blown down by the wind. Let us depart hence, without
delay, and go to Vi'indavana, where terrestrial prodi-
gies may no more disturb us."
Having thus resolved, the inhabitants of Vraja com-
municated their intention to their families, and desired
them to move without delay. Accordingly, they set
off, with their waggons and their cattle, driving before
them their bulls, and cows, and calves.'^ The frag-

ments of their household stores they threw away; and,
in an instant, Vraja was overspread with flights of
crow^s. Vfindavana was chosen by Krishna,— whom
actsdo not affect, f— for the sake of providing for the
nourishment of the kine; for there, in the hottest sea-
son, the new grass springs up as verdantly as in the
rains. Having repaired, then, from Vraja to Vrinda-
vana, the inhabitants of the former drew up their wag-
gons in the form of a crescent. ^
+
'
The Hari Vamsa, § not satisfied with the prodigies which had
alarmed the cowherds, adds another, not found, it is believed,
anywhere else. The emigration, according to that work, originates,
not with the Gopas, but the two boys, who wish to go to Vrin-
davana; and, in order to compel the removal, Krishna converts
the hairs of his body into hundreds of wolves, who so harass and
alarm the inhabitants of Vraja, that they determine to abandon
their homes.
t Aklishta-karman, "resohite in achievement," or "indeftitigable."
§ Chapter LXV.
BOOK v., (HAT. vr. 283
As the two boys, Ramu and Damodara, grew up,

they were ever together same place, and engaged
in the
in the same boyish sports.* They made themselves

crests of the peacocks' plumes, and garlands f of forest-
flowers, and musical instruments of leaves and reeds,
or played upon the pipes used by the cowherds, t
Their hair was trimmed like the wings of the crow;^
and they resembled two young princes, portions of the
deity of war. § They were robust; and they roamed
about, (always) laughing and playing, sometimes with
each other, sometimes with other boys; driving, along
with the young cowherds, the calves to pasture. Thus,
the two guardians of the world Mêre keepers of cattle,
until they had attained seven years of age, in the cow^-
pens of Vfindavana. ||
Then came on the season of the rains, when the

atmosphere laboured with accumulated clouds, and
the quarters of the horizon were blended into one by
'
The Kaka-paksha, or crow's wing, implies the hair left on
each side of the head; the top being shaved.
t Avataiiisaka, a word of various meanings. According to the scho-

liast, it here signifies 'ear-rings'.
Knmara, Skanda, or Karttikeya is called Pavaki, because a son of Pa-

vaka. The commentator says that the two parts aihia —
or forms of —
Karttikeya, Sakha and Visakha, are meant by "the two Pavakis",
li »T^T^% I
—
284 VISHNU PURANA.
the driving showêrs.* The waters of the rivers rose,

and overfloMêd their banks, and spread beyond all
bounds, like the minds of the weak and wicked, trans-
ported beyond restraint by sudden prosperity, f The
pure radiance of the moon was obscured by heavy va-
pours; as the lessons of holy writ are darkened by the
arrogant scoffs of fools (and unbelievers), t The bow
of Inclra§ held its place in the heavens, all unstrung,
like a worthless man elevated, by an injudicious prince,
to honour. The white line of storks appeared upon
the back of the cloud, in such contrast as the bright
conduct of a man of respectability t opposes to the be-
haviour of a scoundrel.** The ever-fitful lightning, in
its new alliance with the sky, was like the friendship
of a pi'ofligate f f for a man of worth. +t Overgrown by

the spreading grain, §§ the paths were indistinctly
traced, like the speech of the ignorant, that conveys
no positive meaning, ill!
* There is here a stanza, — and one recognized by the commentator,

which the Translator has passed by -.
"The earth, luxuriant with new-grown grass, and bestrown with .in-
kragopas, then became emerald and, as it were, adorned with rubies."

The mkragopa or indragopa is a beautiful insect which no one that
has seen it in India can ever forget.
§ Sakra, in the original.
1 KuUnn. " Durvritta. ft Durjana. \\ Pravara.

§§My MSS. have sashpa, 'young grass,' — not sasya.
;
BOOK v., CHAP. VI. 285
At this time, Krishna and Rama, accompanied by

the cow-boys, traversed the forests, that echoed with
the hum of bees and the peacock's cry.* Sometimes
they sang in chorus, or danced together; sometimes
they sought shelter from the cold, beneath the trees
sometimes they decorated themselves with flowery
oar]ands,f— sometimes, with peacocks' feathers; some-
times they stained themselves of various hues, with
the minerals of the mountain sometimes, weary, they
;
reposed on beds of leaves, and, sometimes, imitated, in

mirth, the muttering of the thunder-cloud; sometimes
they excited their juvenile associates to sing;: and,
sometimes, they mimicked the cry of the peacock, with
their pipes. In this manner, participating in various
feelings and emotions, and affectionately attached to
each other, they wandered, sporting and happy, through
the wood. At evening-tide came Krishna and Bala-
rama,§ like two cow-boys, along with the cows and
i
the cowherds. At evening-tide, the two immortals,

having come to the cow-pens, joined, heartily, in what-
ever sports amused the sons of the herdsmen, t
t The Sanskrit has garlands of âf/amâ-blossoms.
§ Here called, in the original, Bala.
il ^TI%^T\I"^, "clad like cowherds," is one reading; ^TTq^^TT'

"carrying cowherds' pipes," is another.
.
CRAPTER VII
Krishna combats the serpent Kaliya: alarm of his parents and com-
panions: he overcomes the serpent, and is propitiated by him:
commands him to depart from the Yamuna river to the ocean.
ONE day, KiHshi'ia. unaccompanied by Rama, went

to Vrindavana, He was attended by (a troop of) cow-
herds, and gaily decorated with wild flowers. On his
way, he came to the Yamuna,"' which was flowing in
sportive undulations, and sparkling with foam, as if
with smiles, as the waves dashed against the borders.

Within its bed, however, was the fearful pool of the
serpent Kaliya, f— boiling with the flres of poison,—
^*
from the fumes of which, large trees upon the bank

were blighted, and by whose waters, when raised, by
a gale, into the air, birds were scorched. Beholding
this dreadful (lake), which was like another mouth of
death, Madhusudana reflected, that the wicked and
poisonous Kaliya, who had been vanquished by him-
'
The commentator says, this means nothing more than tliat
the waters of the pool were hot: f^'CnflT'TT TTrf cTH^TfT Tf%^ § I
I do not know if hot springs have been found in the bed, or on

tilt' borders, of the Jumna. The hot well of Sita-kurid, near
Mongir, is not far from the Ganges.
*
Kalindi, one ofits synonyms, in the original. The Yamuna is so
called from Mount Kalinda, whence it rises.
t In some MSS., he is here called Kaliya; and so his name is ordi-
narily written in the sequel. For his origin and abode, see Vol. II.,
p. 74, note 1, and p. 210, note 1.
§ I ilo nol find those words, Imt sonio1hin<T Ijko them, in the ronniiPntavy.
"
BOOK v., CHAP. VIT. 287
self (in the person of Garuda), and had been obHged

from the ocean (where he had inhabited the island
to fly
Ramanaka), must be lurking at its bottom, and defiling
the Yamuna, the consort of the sea, so that neither men
nor cattle could slake their thirst by her waters. Such
being the case, he determined to dislodge the Naga,
and enable the dwellers of Vraja to frequent the vicin-
age without fear:* for it was the especial purpose, he
considered, of his descent upon earth, to reduce to sub-
jection all such violators of law. "Here," thought he,
"is a Kadamba-tree, which is sufficiently near. I can
climb up it, and thence leap into the serpent's pool."
Having thus resolved, he bound his clothes f tightly
about him, and jumped, boldly,: into the lake of the
serpent-king. The waters, agitated by his plunge amidst
them, were scattered to a considerable distance from
the bank; and, the spray falling upon the trees, they
were immediately set on fire by the heat of the poison-
ous vapour combined with the water; and the whole
horizon was in a blaze. § Krishna, having dived into
the pool, struck his arms in defiance;^ and the snake-
'
Slapping the upper part of one arm with the hand of the
other is a common act of defiance amongst Indian athletae.
t Parikara, '
a girdle.
* Vegita, 'expeditiously.''
king, hearing the sound, quickly came forth. His eyes

were coppery red; and his hoods were flaming with
deadly venom. He was attended by many other (power-
ful and) poisonous snakes,— feeders upon air,— and by
hundreds of serpent-nymphs, decorated with rich jewels,

whose ear-rings glittered with trembling radiance, as
the wearers moved along.* Coiling themselves around
Krishna, they, all, bit him with teeth from which fiery
poison was emitted. Krishna's companions, beholding
him in the lake, encompassed by the snakes twining
around him, ran off to Vraja, lamenting and bewailing
aloud his fate.f ''Krishna," they called out, "has fool-
ishly plunged into the serpent's pool, and is there bit-
ten to death by the snake-king. Come and see." The
cowherds, and their wives, and Yasoda, hearing this
news, which was like a thunderbolt, ran, immediately,
to the pool, frightened out of their senses, and crying:
"Alas! alas! where ishe?" The Gopis were retarded
by Yasoda, who, in her agitation, stumbled and slipped
at every step;t but Nanda, and the cowherds, and the
invincible § Rama hastened to (the banks of) the Ya-
muna, eager There they beheld him
to assist Ki'ishha.
(apparently) in the power of the
serpent-king, encom-
passed by twining snakes, and making no effort (to
escape). Nanda, as soon as he set his eyes upon his
: IT IT liT^TNf n ^^ 'ft^^T^ffTf^y^:
îft^^T ^*t ^TRTt ^' ff^'lf^ ^t II
§ Adbhutu-vikrama.
BOOK v., CHAP. VII. 289
son, became senseless; and Yasoda, also, (when she

beheld him, lost all consciousness). The Gopis, over-
come with sorrow, wept, and called affectionately, and
with convulsive sobs,* upon Kesava. "Let us all," said
they, "plunge, with Yasoda, into the fearful pool of the
serpent-king. We cannot return to Vraja. For what
is day, without the sun? What, night, without the
moon? What is a herd of heifers, without its lord?
What is Vraja, without Krishna? Deprived of him, we
will go no more to Gokula. The forest will lose its
delights; it will be like a lake without water. f When

this dark-lotos-leaf-complexioned Hari is not present,
there no joy in the maternal dwelling. How strange
is
is this! And, as for you, ye cowherds, how, poor beings,
will you live amidst the pastures, when you no longer

behold the brilliant lotos-eyes of Hari? + Our hearts
have been wiled away by the music of his voice. § We
will not go, without Pundarikaksha, to the folds !| of
Nanda. Even now, though held in the coils of the ser-
pent-king, see, friends, how his face brightens with
smiles, as we gaze upon him!"
When the mighty son of Rohini,1F (Balarama,) heard
these exclamations of the Gopis, and, with disdainful
glance, beheld the cowherds overcome with terror,
Some MSS. begin this line with tJJ"^^, — referring to Vraja, — the
reading preferred by the commentator,
I'
Gokula. ^ Rauhiueya; in the original.
IV. 19
f
290 VISHNU PURANA.
Nanda gazing fixedly upon the countenance of his son,

and Yasoda unconscious, he spake to Krishna in his
own character: "What is this, god of gods? The
quaUty of mortal is sufficiently assumed. Dost thou
not know thyself eternal ? Thou art the centre of crea-
tion; as the nave is of the spokes"of a wheel.* A por-

tion of thee have been born, as thy senior, f
I, also,
The gods, to partake of thy pastimes as man, have,

all, descended under a like disguise; and the goddesses
have come down to Gokula, to join in thy sports.

Thou, eternal, hast, last of all, appeared below.: Where-
fore, Krishna, dost thou disregard these divinities,
who, as cow^herds, are thy friends and kin ? these sor-
rowing females, who, also, are thy relations ? § Thou
hast put on the character of man; thou hast exhibited
the tricks of childhood. ||
Now let this fierce snake,
though armed with venomed fangs, be subdued (by thy

celestial vigour)."
t Only thus much is translated of the following:
^T^TXIf^T THrTT '^ ^^# ^ ^^*T^: II
f^^% ^JTt^nJIT^^TT^f ^ ^fTrfVr: II
^^rftwf^J^ ^'g fT^til^TfTT^^: II
The scholiast tacitly recognizes these lines as part of the text, and
comments on them,
+ The original is, here, not very closely adhered to:
§ Here, again, the rendering is very free.
II
Bdla-chdpala.
BOOK v., CHAP. vir. 291
Thus reminded (of his real character, by Rama),

Krishna smiled gently, and (speedily) extricated him-
self from the coils of the snakes. Laying hold of the
middle hood of their chief with both his hands, he

bent it down, and set his foot upon the hitherto un-
bended head, and danced upon it in triumph. Wherever
the snake attempted to raise his head, it was again
trodden down; and many bruises were inflicted on the
hood, by the pressure of the toes of Krishna. * Tram-
pled upon by the feet of Krishna, as they changed po-
sition in the dance, the snake fainted, and vomited forth
much blood. ^
Beholding the head and neck of their
lord thus injured, and the blood flowing (from his
mouth), the females f of the snake-king implored the
clemency of Madhusudana. "Thou art recognized,
god of gods!" they exclaimed. "Thou art the sovereign
of all; thou art light supreme, inscrutable; thou art the
mighty lord,t the portion of that (supreme light). The
The expressions are ^x^^ T^^- ^""^ ^"^mrT'RMM'T

''
i
And Rechaka and Daridapata are said to be different dispositions

of the feet in dancing; variations of the bhrama, or pirouette:
the latter is the a-plomb, or descent. It is also read Daridapiida-
nipatena, § "the falling of the feet, like that of a club." ||
^Trr: W^^^^^ ifW^nt^^^ft: i
t Patni, '
wives.'
+ Parameiwara.
§ Also, ^Ti^xrr^fVTm^^ i
The commentary quotes a considerable extract, from some unnamed

metrical authority, on the steps in dauciug.
19*
:
292 VISHNU PUKANA.
gods themselves are unable worthily to praise thee,

the lord self-existent.* How, then, shall females pro-
claim thy nature? How shall we (fully) declare him,
of whom the egg of Brahma, made up of earth, sky,
water, fire, and air, is but a small portion of a part?
Holy sages have in vahi sought to know thy eternal

essence. t We bow to that form: which is the most
subtile of atoms, the largest of the large; to him whose
birth is without a creator, whose endknowsno destroyer,
and who, alone, is the cause of duration. There is no
wrath in thee; for thine is the protection of the world;
and, hence, this chastisement of Kaliya. Yet, hear us.§
Women are to be regarded with pity by the virtuous
animals are humanely treated, even by fools, n Let,
therefore, the author of wisdom t have compassion
upon this poor creature. Thyself, as an oviparous,
hooded snake, art the upholder of the world. Oppressed
by thee, he will speedily perish.** What is this feeble
serpent, compared to thee, in whom the universe re-
X Faramdrtha.
The only readings that 1 lind yield a very different sense. The
Ij
ordinary original is:
Instead of ^^1"^, one MS. has ^^TT "^ I
% "^HcIT ^T'"^*^® vocative.
^m ^ T^^Tfr ^^T'g^T^^ ^^<T»l II
Krishna is not here called a snake. Some copies have, instead of

1
poses? Friendship and enmity are felt towards equals

and superiors, (not for those infinitely beneath us*).
Then, sovereign of the world, have mercy upon us.
This (unfortunate) snake is about to expire. Give us,
as a gift of charity, our husband."

When they had thus spoken, the Naga himself, al-
most exanimate, repeated, feebly, their solicitations for
mercy. "Forgive me," he murmured, "0 god of gods!
How shall I address thee, who art possessed, through
thine own strength and essence, of the eight great fac-
ulties,-in energy unequalled?! Thou art the Supreme,
the progenitor of the supreme (Brahma). Thou art the
Supreme and from thee the
Spirit; Supreme proceeds.
Thou art beyond all finite objects. How can I speak
thy praise?: How can I declare his greatness from
whom come Brahma, Rudra, Chandra, In dra, the Maruts,
the Aswins, the Vasus, and Adityas; of whom the
whole world is an infinitely small portion, § a portion
destined to represent his essence and whose nature,
;
primitive or derived, li
Brahma and the immortals do
not comprehend? approach him, to whom
How can I
the gods offer incense and flowers t culled fiôm the

groves of Nandana; whose incarnate forms the king of
• haye parenthesized these -words; there being nothing, in the orig-
I
inal, to them.
answering Even a Pauranik writer would not use in
such a lax way a word corresponding to "infinitely",
* -^ tn:^^ xR:^rr^: trt wf{: ^tw^- i
§ Tj?fiT^î^^;wtir-
II
Sat and asat.
^ Pushpdnulepana, "unguents made from flowers,"
294 VISHNU PURANA.
the deities ever adores, unconscious of his real person;

whom the sages that have withdrawn their senses from
all external objects worship in thought, and, enshrining
his image in the purposes of their hearts, present to it
the flowers of sanctity?^* am quite unable,

I god
of gods, to worship or to hymn thee. Thy own clem-
ency must, alone, influence thy mind to show me
compassion. It is the nature of snakes to be savage;
and I am born of their kind. Hence, this is my nature,
not mine offence. The world is created, as it is de-
stroyed^ by thee; and the species, form, and nature of
all things in the world are thy work. Even such as
thou hast created me, in kind, in form, and in nature,
such I am; and such are my actions. f Should I act
differently, then, indeed, should I deserve thy punish-
ment; for so thou hast declared. ^
Yet, that I have been
'
Bhava-pushpas. There are said to be eight such flowers:
clemency, self-restraint, tenderness, patience, resignation, devotion,
meditation, and truth, t
^ Both in the Vedas and in the institutes of law ; where it is
enjoined, that every one shall discharge the duties of his caste
and condition; and any deviation from them merits punishment;
as by the texts f'Tf5r^T^'^% ('(l^t, "In following prohibited
observances, a person is punishable;" and ^^^f^f^Tf ^^
t ^^ H^m fit ^rnrr ^w %^T i
^^Tf 'T '^ ^gifÎ^ %ftff T^T II
+ The commentator has : ahiihsd, indriya-nigraha, sarva-bhiitd-dayd,

kshatnd, soma, tapas, dhydna, satya.
panished by thee is, indeed, a blessing; for punishment

from thee alone is a favour. * Behold, I am now v^îthout
strength, without poison,— deprived of both by thee!
Spare me my life. I ask no more. Command me what
I shall do."t
Being thus addressed by Kaliya, Krishna replied-.:
"You must not tarry here, (nor anywhere) in the stream
of the Yamuna. Depart, (immediately), with your fam-
ily and followers, to the sea, where Garuda, the foe
of the serpent-race, will not harm you, when he sees
the impression of my feet upon your brow\"§ So saying,
Hari set the snake-king at liberty, who, bowing, rev-
erentially, to his victor, i departed to the ocean; aban-
doning, in the sight of all, the lake he had haunted, ac-
companied by all his females, children, and depend-
ants. When the snake was gone, the Gopas hailed
Govinda as one risen from the dead, and embraced
him, and bathed his forehead withtearsof joy.t Others,
contemplating the water of the river, now freed from
^^l^fTj f^ f^mn^,** "Who does acts unsuited to his natural

disposition incurs guilt."
I This introduction is supplied by the Translator.
§ Murdhan^ 'head.'
II
'To Ki-ishna', in the original.
*•
These quotations are taken from the commentary.
296 VISHNU PURANA.
peril,* were filled with wonder, and sang the praise of

Krishna, who is unaftected by works. f Thus, eminent
by his glorious exploits, and eulogized by the Gopas
and Gopis, Krishna returned to Vraja. +
•
1^ Tn^m^ ^^ I
t Aklisht'a-karman. Vide supra, p. 2o'2, note f.

+ Instead of the reading of two verses, MSS. con-
here rendered, the
taining commentary have three verses, naming Baladeva, Nanda>
the
and Yasoda, as accompanying Krishna on his way back to Vraja.
CHAPTER VIII.
The demon Dhenuka destroyed by Rama.
AGAIN, tending upon the herds, Rama and Kesava*

wandered through the woods, and (on one occasion),
came to a pleasing grove of pahns, where dwelt the
fierce demon f Dhenuka, + feeding upon the flesh of
deer. § Beholding the trees covered with fruit, and
desirous of gathering it, the cowherds called out (to
the brothers), and said: "See, Rama; see, Krishna! In
this grove, belonging to the great Dhenuka, the trees
are loaded with ripe fruit, the smell of which perfumes
the air. We should like to eat some. Will you throw
some down?"il As soon as the boys had spoken, San-
karshana and Krishna (shook the trees, and) brought
down the fruit on the ground. Hearing the noise of
the falling fruit, the fierce II and malignant demon**
(Dhenuka), in the form of an ass, hastened to the spot,
in a (great) passion, and began to kick Ramaff on the
* The original has Bala.

+ Ddnava.
X According to the Harivamia, si. 3114, Dhenuka was the same as
Khara, for whom see Vol. III., p. 316, note !].
§ The reading accepted by the commentator yields "flesh of men
and kine."
^ Durdsada.
** Daiteya.
tt Substituted, by the Translator, for Bala.
298 VISHNU PURANA.
breast with his hinder heels. Rama,* however, seized

him by both hind legs, and, whirling him round, until
he expired, tossed his carcass to the top of a palm-tree,
from the branches of which it struck down abundance
of fruit, like rain-drops poured upon earth by the wind.f
The animals that were of kin to Dhenuka came run-
ning to his aid; but Krishna and Rama+ treated them
in the same manner, § until the trees were laden with
dead asses, li
and the ground was strewed with ripe
fruit. Henceforward, the cattle grazed, unobstructed,
in the palm-grove, and cropped the new pasturage,

where they had never before ventured.^
'
This exploit is related in the Bhagavata, Hari Vamsa, and
othef Vaishriava Piuarias, much in the same strain, but not always
in the same place. It more commonly precedes the legend of the
discomfiture of Kaliya.
* Elsewhere it is said that Krishna slew Dhenuka. See, for instance,

the Mahdhhdrata, Udyoga-parvan, si. 4410.
+ Balabhadra, in the original. See the next note.
II
Daitya-gardabha. This term is applied, throughout the chapter, to
Dhenuka and his kindred. Their proper form, then, was the asinine,
though they were of demonic extraction.
CHAPTER IX.
Sports of the boys in the forest. Pralamba, the Asura, comes

amongst them : is destroyed by Rama, at the command of
Krishna.
WHEN the demon in the form of an ass, and all his
tribe, *had been destroyed, the grove of palms became

the favourite resort of the Gopas and their wives ;f and
the sons of Vasudeva, greatly pleased, repaired to the
Bhandira fig-tree, t They continued to wander about,
shouting, and singing, and gathering fruits and flowers
from the trees; now driving the cows afar to pasture;
now calling them by their names: now carrying the
foot-ropes of the kine upon their shoulders; now orna-
menting themselves with garlands of forest-flowers.
They looked like two young bulls, when the horns first
appear. § Attired, the one in yellow, and the other, in
sable garments, they looked like two clouds, one white,
and one black, surmounted by the bow of Indra.'; Sport-
ing, mutually, with frolics beneficial to the world, they
roamed about, like two monarchs over all the collected
• Anuga.
t "Of the kine", likewise, and first of all: jft'ftM'ft'fY'lT'^ I
X fnS^T^^ is the reading here followed; but that acce|)ted by the
commentator ^ is | U^'^T^'^'f , his explanation of which is -. ^TS^'^T'?^

^^^rM«(f^ '^•T^ I
The tree referred to is, therefore, called Bhandira.
In other works, however, it is called Bhandira, also.
§ The allusion here, the commentator says, is to their hair, as being

tonsured in a peculiar fashion. Vide, supra, p. '283, note 1.
300 VISHNU PURANA.
sovereigns of the earth. Assuming human duties, and

maintaining the human character, they strayed through
the thickets, amusing themselves with sports suited to
their mortal species and condition, in swinging on the
boughs of trees,* or in boxing, and wrestling,! and
hurling stones.
Having observed the two lads thus playing about,
the Asura Pralamba, seeking (to devour) them, came

amongst the cowherd boys, in the shape of one of
themselves, and mixed, without being suspected, in
their pastimes;: for he thought, that, thus disguised,
it would not be difficult to find an opportunity to kill,
first, Krishna, and, afterwards, the son of Rohini. §
The boys commenced playing at the game of leaping
like deer, two and two together.^ Govinda was match- 1|
ed with Sridaman,t and Balarama,** with Pralamba:
'
Jumping with both feet at once,— as deer bound,— two boys
together. The one that holds out longest, or comes to a given
point first, is the victor; and the vanquished is then bound to
carry him to the goal, if not already attained, and back again to
the starting-post, on his shoulders. The Bhagavata does not spe-
cify the game, but mentions that the vanquished carry the victors
on their backs.
•
^r5^f^^Tf^: I
Comment: ^tZJ^^TT^^t^TTtf : |
•j- Vydydma.
§ Ranhineya, in the original.
% A friend of Krishna.
•* Bala, in the Sanskrit.
BOOK v., CHAP. IX. 301
the other boys were coupled with one another, and

went leaping away. Govinda* beat his companion, and
Balarama, f his and the boys who were on Krishna's
;
side were, also, victorious. Carrying one another, they

reached the Bhandira-fig; and from thence those who
were victors were conveyed back to the starting-ground
by those who were vanquished. + It being Pralamba's
duty to carry Sankarshana, the latter mounted upon
his shoulders, like the moon riding above a dark cloud;
and the demon ran off with him, but did not stop.§
Finding himself, however, unable to bear the weight
of Balarama, he enlarged his bulk, (and looked) like
ll
a black cloud in the rainy season. Balarama, "IT behold-

ius him like a scorched mountain,— his head crowned
with a diadem, and his neck hung round with garlands,
having eyes as large as cart-wheels, a fearful form, and
shaking the earth with his tread,— called out, as he was
carried away, to his brother: "Krishna, Krishna, I am
carried off by some demon, disguised as a cowherd,
and huge as a mountain.** What shall I do? Tell me,
Madhusiidana. f f The villain runs away with speed."
Krishna +t opened his mouth, smiling,— for he well knew
*
Substituted, by the Translator, for Kfishiia.
f "The son of Rohiiii, in the original."
II
Rauhineya, in the Sanskrit.
^ In the Sanskrit, Sankarshana.

•*
This sentence is rendered very freely,
ft The original has Madhunishiidana.
XI The Sanskrit has Govinda.
302 VISHNU PURANA.
the might of the son of Rohini, *— and repUed "Why :
this subtle pretext of merely mortal nature, f thou who

art the soul of all the most subtile of subtile things?
Remember yourself, the radical cause of the whole
world,— born before all cause, and all that is alone, when
the world is destroyed, t Dost thou not know that
you and I are, alike, the origin of the world, who have
come down to lighten its load? The heavens are thy
head; the waters are thy body;§ earth is thy feet; thy
mouth is eternal fire; the moon is thy mind;t the
!|
wind, thy breath; thy arms and hands are the four re-
gions of space.** Thou hast, mighty lord, a thousand
heads, ff a thousand hands, and feet, and bodies. A
thousand Brahmas spring from thee, who art before
all, and whom the sages praise in myriads of forms, it
No one (but I) knoweth thy divine person. Thy in-

carnate person is glorified by all the gods. Knowest
thou not, that, at the end of all, the universe disappears
in thee; that, upheld by thee, this earth sustains living
and inanimate things; §§ and that, in the character of
uncreated time, with its divisions of ages, developed
*
Rauhineya, in the original.
I Here, again, the translation is far from literal.
§ Miirti.
II
Vaktra.
•[f
Manas.
tt Vaktra.
§§ Chardchara.
from an instant, thou devourest the world?* As the

waters of the sea, when swallowed up by submarine
flame, are recovered by the winds, and thrown, in the
form of snow, upon the Himachala, where, coming into
contact with the rays of the sun, they reassume their
watery nature;^ so, the world, being devoured by thee,
' This passage is read and explained differently in different
copies. f In some it is:
^^r^^^f?T 5^^%^ II
And this is explained: ^^^^^ ^T'^^T^'T ^f^^T ^tT *rNrt
fcT 1J"Î II
" Tlie water of the ocean, devoured by the tire called
Vadava, becoming condensed, or in the form of dew or snow, is
seized by the wind called Kastaka, § from which the Vadava fire
has departed, consisting of a pipe of the solar rays, and, being

placed in the air, lies or is on the Himachala," &c. This is rather
an awkward and confused representation of the notion; and the
other reading is somewhat preferable. It consists simply in sub-
f«T^^q5f ^^^ff^f^ I
The "instant", or 'twinkling', is here intended as the smallest di-

vision of time, extending to yugas or ages.
t The various readings of the passage are, according to my copies of

the text, few and unimportant; and my several MSS. of the commentary
all agree together. The Translator transcribes but a small portion of the
scholiast's remarks.
+have displaced the immetrical reading ^7^^7f^«TT'5i i" favour

I
of the only one that I find in MSS., including those accompanied by

the commentary.
§ According to some copies of the commentary, the wind here spoken
of is called Karshaka. This name, at all events, is intelligible, which
the other is not.
304 VISHNU PURANA.
at the period of dissolution, becomes, of necessity, at

the end of every Kalpa, the world again, through thy
creative efforts.* Thou and I, soul of the universe, are
but one and the same cause of the creation of the earth,
although, for its we exist in
protection, distinct individ-
uals. Calling to memory who thou art, being of illim-
f destroy, of thyself, the demon. Suspend-

itable might,
ing awhile your mortal character, do what is right."
Thus reminded by the magnanimous Krishna, the
powerful Baladevat laughed, and squeezed Pralamba
sti(uting c()TM for T^^; tliat is, according to the commentary,
water devoured bv the tire is thrown, by the wind Ka, j|

made
of a solar ray &c., on the Himachala, where it assumes the form
of snow;" and so on. However disfigured by inaccurate views
of some of the instruments in operation, the physiology is, in the
main very correct, and indicates accurate observation of natural
phenomena. The waters of the ocean, converted into vapour by
solar heat, are raised, by the same influence, into the air, and
thence borne, by the winds, to the summits of lofty mountain-
t Ameydtrnan.
X Bala, in the original.
§ I do not find this; and it seems to have been put together, with
additions, from the words of the scholiast. Perhaps the Translator here
transcribes some marginal gloss on the latter part of the scholiast's
explanation ; for the first quotation contains only a part of it.
II
Nowhere do I meet with the ^T'^ ^^f the Translator, from which he
has extracted "Ka". The only variant of ^'^, in my MSS., is '^l^ ,
the tJJT^ of which, the commentator explains, signifies f^^T^^ f^TT'l, I

with his knees, * striking him, at the same time, on the

head (and face), with his lists, so as to beat out both
his eyes. The demon, vomiting blood from
his mouth,
and having his brain forced through the skull, f fell
upon the ground, and expired. The Gropas, beholding
Pralamba slain, were astonished, and rejoiced, and cried
out "Well done", and praised Balarama.+ And, thus
commended by his play-fellows, and accompanied by
Krishna, Bala,§ after the death of the Daitya Pralamba,
returned to Gokula. ^
ranges, where they are arrested by a diminished temperature,

descend in the form of snow, and again supply the streams that
perpetually restore to the sea the treasures of which it is as per-
petually plundered.
'
According to the Hari Vamsa|| the gods, themselves, praised
this proof of Rama's strength (bala), and hence he derived the
name of Balarama.
* The Sanskrit has nothing corresponding to the words "with his

knees".
+ Substituted, l)y the Translator, for Bala.

§ The original has Rama.
11 SI. 3785.
IV. 20
CHAPTER X.
Ueseviptioii of autuinn. Krisliiui dissuades Naiida tVoiu worship-
ping India: recommends liini and the Gopas to worship cattle
and the mountains.
WHILST Rama and Kesava were sporting, thus, in
Vraja, the rainy season ended, and was succeeded by

the season of autunui, when the lotos is full-hlown.
*
The (small) 8a[)hari fish, in their watery hurrows,
were oppressed by the heat, like a man by sellish de-
sires,who is devoted to his family, f The peacocks,

no longer animated by passion, \Yere silent amidst the
woods, like holy saints + who have come to know the
unreality of the world. The clouds, of shining white-
ness,exhausted of their watery wealth, deserted the
atmosphere, like those wdio have acquired wisdom, and
depart from their homes. § Evaporated by the rays of
the autumnal sun, the lakes were dried up, like the
hearts of men, when withered by the contact of selfish-
ness. !| The (pellucid) waters of the season wêre suit-
ably embellished by white water-lilies; as are the minds
of the pure, by the apprehension of truth. Brightly, in
the starry sky, shone the moon, wîth undiminished orb,

like the saintly being who has reached the last stage of
* Yogin.
§ ^37^^ ^^!W^^ f^4^T: f^rT^jf^: I

:
BOOK v., CHAP. X. 307
bodily existence, in the company of the pious.* The

rivers and lakes f slowly retired from their banks: as
the wise, by degrees, shi-ink from the selfish attachment
that connects them with wife and child. + First aban-
doned by the waters of the lake, the swans § again be-
gan to congregate, whose devotions
like false ascetics
are interrupted, and they are again assailed by innu-
merable afflictions. I
The ocean was still and calm,

and exhibited no undulations, like the perfect sage who
has completed his course of restraint, and has acquired
undisturbed tranquillity of spirit. t Everywhere the
waters were as clear and pure** as the minds of the
wise who behold Vishnu in all things. The autumnal
sky was wdiolly free from clouds, like the heart of the
ascetic ffwhose cares have been consumed by the fire
of devotion. The moon allayed the fervours of the sun
as discrimination alleviates the pain to which egotism
gives birth. The clouds of the atmosphere, the mud-
diness of the earth, the discoloration H of the waters,
were, all, removed by autumn; as abstraction§§ detaches
the senses from the objects of perception. The exer-
cise of inspiring, suppressing, and expiring the vital
t " Rivers and lakes " is for jaldsaya.
§ Haihsa.
**
"Clear and pure" is to render ati-prasanna.
It Yogin.
++ Kdlushya, 'foulness.'
§§ Pratydhdra, 'restraint of the senses.'
20*
;
308 VISHNU PURANA.
air was as if performed, daily, by the waters of the

lakes, (as they were full, and stationary, and, then, again
*
declined). ^
At this season, when the skies were bright with
f Krishna, repairing to Vraja, found

stars, all the cow-
herds busily engaged in preparing for a sacrifice + to
be offered to Indra;^ and, going to the elders, he asked
'
A set of very poor quibbles upon the terms § of the Pnina-
yama: or, Piiraka, f
drawing in the breath through one nostril;
literally, 'filling;' Kunibhaka, closing the nostrils, and suppressing
the breath, — keeping it stationary or confined, as it were in a
Kumbha or water-pot; and Rechaka, opening the other nostril,
and emitting the breath,— literally, 'purging' or 'depletion.' The
waters of the reservoirs, replenished, in the beginning of the au-
tumnal season, by the previous rains, remain, for a while, full,
until they are drawn oft" for irrigation, or reduced by evaporation

thus representing the three operations of Puraka, Kunibhaka, and
Rechaka.
^ No public worship is offered to Indra, at present ; and the
only festival in the Hindu kalendar, the Sakradhwajotthana, % —
the erection of a flag in honour of Sakra or Indra, — should be
held on the twelfth or thirteenth of Bhadra, ** (which is in the
t Nakshatra.
X Maha.
§ The commentator gives a quotation, apparently from some Yoga
treatise, elucidating them.
!l
The Translator had, here, and near the end of the note, "Piirana",
which occurs in the commentator's explanation of the technicality piiraka:
^T^: TJTW TT^:

I I
^ The names of the festival which I find are Sakrotthana, Sakrottha-

nadhwajotsava, Indradhwajasamutthiina, &c.
** Light fortnight. The mouth of Bhadra includes part of August and
part of Sepl ember.
them, as if out of curiosity, what festival* of Inclra it
was in wliich they took so much pleasure. f Naiida re-

plied to his question, and said: ''Satakratut (or Indra)
is the sovereign of the clouds and of the waters. Sent
by him, the former bestow moisture upon the earth,

whence springs the grain by which we and all embod-
ied beings subsist; with which, also, and with water,
we please the gods,§ Hence, too, these cows bear calves'
and yield milk, and are happy, and wêll-nourished,i|
So, when the clouds are seen distended with rain, the
earth is neither barren of corn, nor bare of verdure;
nor is man distressed by hunger. Indra, t the giver of
water, having drunk the milk of earth by the solar
rays, sheds it, again, upon the earth, for the sustenance
of all the world. On this account, all sovereign prin-
ces offer, with pleasure, sacrifices to Indra,** at the end
very middle of the rainy season), according to the Tithi Tattwa, ff

following the authority of the Kalika and Bhavishyottara Pura-
rias. The Sakradhwajotthana is, also, a rite to be performed by
kings and princes. It may be doubted, therefore, if the text in-
tends any particular or appointed celebration.
*
Maha.
t This sentence is much more compressed than the original.
\ See Vol. I., p. 150.
% Parjanya, in the original,

**
The original has Sakra.
tt See Raghunandana's Institutes of the Hindoo Religion, Vol. I.,
pp. 73 — 75. Also see the âbdakalpadrwma, sub voce "Îfi^Si^ |

.
310 VISHNU PURANA.
of the rains;* and so, also, do we, and so do other

people."
When Krishnaf heard this speech from Nanda, in
regard to the worship of Indra,t he determined to put

the king of the celestials into a passion, and replied: We,
father, are neither cultivators of the soil, nor dealers
in merchandise: cows are our divinities ;§ and wê are
sojourners in forests. There are four branches of know-
ledge,— logical, scriptural, practical, and political/ Hear
me describe what practical science is. Agriculture,
commerce, and tending of cattle,— the knowledge of
''
these three professions constitates practical science.
Agriculture is the subsistence of farmers; buying and
selling, of traders. Kine are our support. Thus, the
knowledge of means of support! is threefold. The ob-
ject that is cultivated by any one should be, to him,
'
Or, Anvikshiki (^T*^fW«fft), the science of inquiring by
reasoning, Tarka (rfefi), or logic; Trayi (^4^'), the three Vedas
collectively, or the doctrines they teach: Vartta (^TtIT), rendered
'practical,' is the knowledge of the means of acquiring subsistence

(^flT) : the fourth is Daridaniti (rf Uvj^tDfTT), the science of govern-
**
ment, both domestic and foreign.
*
in'^flf, "during the rainy season," literally. But the Translator
has the authority of the comment: Ryff^ I TfTT'^Tf^fTT ITl^^ ^TIJ"
t In the original, Damodara.

* Sakra, in the Sanskrit.
§ The original has the singular.
f "The knowledge of means of support" is to render vdrttn.

" This note is taken, as to its substance, from the commentary. Com-
pare Vol. I., p. 85, note 1 ; and p. 86, note •
as his chief divinity:* that should be venerated and

worshipped, as it is his benefactor. He wlio worshij)S
the deity of another, and diverts from him the reward
tliat is his dne,t obtains not a prosperous station,:
either in this world or in the next. Where the land
ceases to be cultivated, there are bounds assigned,

beyond which commences the forest: the forests are
bounded by the hills; and so far do our limits extend.
We are not shut in with doors, nor confined within
walls; we have neither fields nor houses; we wander
about, happily, wherever we list, travelling in our wag-
gons.^The spirits of thesemountains, § it is said, walk
the woods in whatever forms they will, or, in their
proper persons, sport upon their own precipices. If 1'
they should be displeased with those who inhabit the

forests, then, transformed to lions and beasts of prey,
they will kill the offenders. We, then, are bound to
worship the mountains, to offer sacrifices to cattle. If
What have we to do wHth Indra?** Cattle and moun-
'
These nomadic habits are entirely lost sight of in the parallel
passages of those Puranas in which the juvenile life of Krishna
is narrated. The text of the Hari Variisa is, in most of the other
verses, precisely the same as that of the Vishnu Puraria; putting,
however, into the mouth of Krishna a long additional eulogium

on the season of autumn.
t ^^^^t: ^^nf?r# ^"?i(?r^TT tt: i
* "A prosperous station" is for sohhana.
§ Literally, "these mountains."

ij Sdnu.
•* Mahendra, in the original.

—
312 VISHNU PURANA.
tains are (our) gods. Brahmans offer worship with

prayer; cultivators of the earth adore their landmarks;*
but we, who tend our herds in the forests and moun-
tains, f should worship them and our kine. Let prayer
and offerings, then, be addressed to the mountain Go-
vardhana; and kill a victim in due form, t Let the
whole station collect their milk, § without delay, and
feed, with it, the Brahmans, and all who may desire
to partake of it. When the oblations have been pre-
sented, and the Brahmans have been fed, let the Go-
pas circumambulate the cows, decorated with gar-
lands! of autumnal flowers. If the cowherds will
attend to these suggestions, they will secure the favour
of the mountain, of the cattle, and, also, mine."
When Nanda and the other Gopas heard these words
expanded with delight, and they
of Krishna, their faces
said that well. "You havejudged rightly,
he had spoken
child," exclaimed they. "We will do exactly as you
have proposed, and offer adoration to the mountain."
Accordingly, the inhabitants of Vraja worshipped the
mountain, presenting to it curds, and milk, and flesh;
and they fed hundreds and thousands of Brahmans,
and many other guests who came (to the ceremony).
* Sitd. But there is a variant, — the reading of the commentator,

sira, 'the plough.'
t ^f^^^T^?r?rr: l some MSS. have ^f^^^^^5^: |
§ The Translator has taken this meaning oi sandoha from the comment:
i| Hoina.
^ Apida, 'chapiet.'
even as Krishna had enjoined: and, when they had

made their offerings, they circumamhiilated the cows
'•"
and the bellowed as loud as roaring clouds.

bulls, that
Upon the sunnnit of Govardhana, Krishna presented

himself, saying "I am the mountain," and partook of
much food presented by the Gopas; whilst, in his own
form as Krishna, he ascended the hill, along with the
cowherds, and worshipped his other self. Having pro- ^
mised them many blessings, f the mountain-person of

Krishna vanished; and, the ceremony being completed,
the cowherds returned to their station.
'
The Hari Vamsa says:t "An illusory Krishna, having be-
come the mountain, ate the flesh that was offered:"
Of course, the 'personified' mountain is intended, as appears from

several of the ensuing passages; as 'for instance', he says, §
presently: "I am satisfied; and then, in his divine form, he
smiled:"
The Hari Variisa affords, here, as in so many other places, proofs

of its Dakhini origin. It is very copious upon the homage paid
to the cattle, and their decoration with garlands and plumes of
peacocks' feathers, of which our text takes no notice. But, in
the south of India, there is a very popular festival, that of the
Punjal, scarcely known in the north, when cattle are decorated
and worshipped ; a celebration which has, no doubt, suggested to

the compiler of the Hari Vamsa the details which he describes.
^^^^Tft? ^^nr: ^fft^T ^^r^ ^^ ii
: SI. 3874.
§ SI. 3876.
CHAPTER XI.
India, offended by the loss of his offerings, causes heavy rain

to deluge Gokula. Krishna holds up the mountain Govardhana,
to shelter the cowherds and their cattle.
INDRA, *
being thus disappointed of his offerings,
was exceedingly angry, and thus addressed a cohort
of his attendant clouds, called Saiiivartaka. "Ho!
clouds," he said, "hear my words, and, without delay,
execute what I command. The insensate cowherd
Nanda, assisted by his fellows, has withheld the usual
offerings to us, relying uponf the protection of Krishna.
Now, therefore, afflict the cattle, that are their suste-
nance, and whence their occupation + is derived, with
rain and wind. Mounted upon my elephant, as vast as
a mountain-peak, I will give you aid, in strengthening
the tempest." When
Indra§ ceased, the clouds, obe-
dient to his commands, came down, in a fearful storm
of rain and wind, to destroy the cattle. In an mstant,
the earth, the points of the horizon, and the sky were,
all, blended into one by the heavy and incessant shower.
The clouds roared aloud, as if in terror of the light-
ning's scourge, and poured down uninterrupted to]'-
rents. II
The whole earth was enveloped in (impene-
trable) darkness by the thick and volumed clouds;
* Sakra, in the Sanskrit.
I Adhmdta, 'inflated by.'

* Gopatya.
§ The original has Surendra.
:
BOOK v., CHAP. XI. 315
and above, below, and on every side, the world was

water. The cattle, pelted by the storm, shrunk, cower-
: '"
ing, into the smallest size, or gave up their breath

some covered their calves with their flanks; and some
beheld their young ones carried away by the tiood.
The calves, trembling in the wind, looked piteously at
their mothers, or implored, in low moans, as it were,
the succour of Krishna, f Hari, beholding all Gokula
agitated with alarm, — cowherds, cowherdesses, and
cattle t all in a state of consternation,— thus reflected:
"This is the work of Mahendra, in resentment of the
prevention of his sacrifice; and it is incumbent on me
to defend this station of herdsmen. I will lift up this
spacious mountain from its stony base, and hold it up,
as a large umbrella, over the cow-pens." § Having thus
determined. Krishna immediately plucked up the moun-
tain Govardhana, and held it (aloft), with one hand,
in sport, herdsmen: "Lo! the mountain
saying II
to the
is on high. Enter beneath it, quickly; and it will shel-
ter you from the storm. Here you will be secure, and
at your ease, in places defended from the wind. Enter,
(without delay); and fear not that the mountain will
t The Sanskrit says nothing of the calves looking piteously at their

mothers
* In the original, the cows are named before their keepers.
II
Here the Sanskrit gives Krishna the title of Jagaunatha,
:
316 VISHNU PURANA.
fall." upon this, all the people, with their herds, and
their waggons and goods, and the Gopis, distressed by
the rain, repaired to the shelter of the mountain, which
Krishna held, steadily, (over their heads). And Krishna,
as he supported the mountain, was contemplated, by
the dwellers of V raj a, with joy and wonder; and, as
their eyesopened wide with astonishment andpleasiu'e,
the Gopas and Gopis sang his praise.* For seven days
and nights did the vast clouds, sent by Indra, rain upon
the Gokula of Nanda, to destroy its inhabitants; but
they were protected by the elevation of the mountain
and the slayer of Bala, Indra, being foiled in his pur-
pose, commanded the clouds to cease, f The threats
oi' Indra t having been fruitless, and the heavens clear,
all Gokula came forth (from its shelter), and returned
to its own abode. Then, Krishna, in the sight of the
surprised inhabitants of the forests, restored the great

mountain Govardhana to its original site.^
'
It seems not unlikely that this legend has some reference to
the caves or cavern-temples in various parts of India. A remark-
able representation of it occurs upon the sculptured rocks of Ma-
habulipoor. It is related, much to the same purport, in the Bha-
gavata, &c. Sisupala, ridiculing the exploit, asserts that Govar-
dhana was nothing more than an ant-hill.
• This sentence is rendered very freely.

t This sense is not conveyed by the original:
Indra, not named, is here referred to as Balabhid. For Bala, an

enemy of the celestials, see the Rigveda, passim.
+ Devendra, in the Sanskrit.

CHAPTER XII.
Iiulra comes to Gokula; praises Krishna, and makes him prince

over the cattle. Krishna promises to hefriend Arjuiia.
AFTER Gokula had been saved by the elevation of

the moiintaui, Indra* became desirous of beholding
Krishna. The conqueror of his foes, accordingly, mount-
ed his -vast elephant, Airavata,f and came to Govar-
dhana, where the king of the gods beheld the mighty
Damodara: tending cattle, and assuming the person
of a cow-boy, and, although the preserver of the whole
world, surrounded by the sons of the herdsmen. §
Above head he saw Garuda, the king of birds, in-
his ||
visible to mortals. If spreading out his wings, to shade

the head of Hari. Alighting from his elephant, and
addressing him apart, Sakra, his eyes expanding with
pleasure, thus spake to Madhusudana: "Hear, Krishna,
the reason why I have come hither,— why I have ap-
proached thee; for thou couldest not, otherwise, con-
ceive it. Thou, who art the supporter of all,** hast
descended upon earth, to relieve her of her burthen.

In resentment of my obstructed rites, I sent the clouds,
to deluge Gokula; and they have done this evil deed, ff
•
Designated, in the original, by his epithet Pakasasana,
'
the chastiser
of Paka', a Daitya slain by ludra.
t See Vol. I., p. 146, note 1.
I The Sanskrit has Krishna,

§ The translation is, here, compressed. || irf^^^^ I
If =?l«?T\5T^^fT I
There is a variant, ^nT'fT^^lff I
*" Parameswara.
The original adds
ft Kadana. The commentator explains it by vlmurda.

;
ThoLi, by raising up the mountain, hast preserved the

cattle; and, of a verity, I am much pleased, hero,
with thy wondrous deed. The object of the gods is,
now, methinks, accomplished; since, with thy single

hand, thou hast raised aloft this chief of mountains.
I have now come, by desire of the cattle, ^ grateful for
their preservation, in order to install you as Upendra:

and, as the Indra of the cows, thou shalt be called Go-
vinda."^* Having thus said, Mahendra took a ewerf
'
Gobhis cha choditaH (iftf^'^ ^f?[fT:) ; that, is, 'delegated,'
says the commentator, 'by the cow of plenty, Kamadhenu, and

other celestial kine, inhabitants of Goloka, the heaven of cows.'
Hut this is, evidently, unauthorized by the text; as celestial cat-
tle could not be grateful for preservation upon earth : and the
notion of Goloka, a heaven of cows and Krishna, is a modern
piece of mysticism, drawn from such sectarial works as the
Brahma Vaivarta Puraria and Hari Vatiisa.

^
The purport of Indra's speech is to explain the meaning of
two of Krishna's names, Upendra and Govinda. The commenta-
tors on the Amara Kosa agree in explaining the first, the young-
er brother of Indra, 5;?g;-r^5!^T^'^^ conformably to the syno-

nym that immediately follows, in the text of Amara, + Indravaraja
(^r^jiq-^^), a name that occurs also in theMahabharata; Krishna,
as the son ofDevaki, who is an incarnation of Aditi, being born
of the latter, subsequently, to Indra. Govinda is he who knows,
finds, or tends, cattle; Gam vindati (t]j f^^fTf)- The Paurariik
etymology makes the latter the Indra (Xy^. quasi JJ^) of cows
and, in this capacity, he may well be considered as a minor or
^'g^ ^^Tf^^ 'ftf^^!^^ ^f^^srf^ II
t Ohdntd.
: I., I. I., 15.
BOOK v., CHAP. XII. 819
from his elephant,* Airavata, and, with the holy water
inferior Iiitlra; such being the proper sense of the term Upendra
(Upa in composition); as, Upa-puraiia, 'a minor Furaiia,' &c'.
The proper import of the word Upendra lias, however, been anx-
iously distorted by the sectarian followers of Krishna. Thus,
tlic commentator on our text asserts that Upa is, here, synony-
mous with Upari ('Îjf^). and that Upendratwa, 'the station of
Upendra," means 'rule in the heaven of heavens, (Toh)ka;' a new
creation of this sect, above Satya-loka. which, in the iincorrupt
Paurahik system, is the highest of the seven Lokas: see Vol. II.,
p. 2'27. So the Hari Vaii'isaf makes Indra sav :
TT^tff^ ^%^^-^ ^Tf^fft 'ftf^TTt^T: I
"As thou. Krishna, art appointed, by the cows, Indra superior to

me, therefore the deities in heaven shall call thee Upendra." The
Bhagavata does not introduce the name, though it, no doubt,
alludes toit, in making the divine cow Surabhi, who is said to
have come from Goloka with Indra. address Krishna, and say:
"We, instructed by Brahma, will crown you as our Indra." Ac-

cordingly, Krishna has the water of the Ganges thrown over him
l»y the elephant of Indra; and Indra, the gods, and sages praise
him, and salute him by the appellation of Govinda. The Hari
Vaihsa§ assigns this to Indra alone, who says: "I am only the
Indra of the gods: thou hast attained the rank of Indra of the
kine; and they shall, for ever, celebrate thee, on earth, as Go-
vinda:"
All this is very different from the sober account of our text, and
is, undoubtedly, of comparatively recent origin.
* Upavdhya.
t SI. 4005, 4006.
+ êR is the reading in the passage as cited by the commentator.
§ SI. 4004, 4005.

320 VISHNU PURANA.
it contained, performed (the regal ceremony of) asper-

sion. The cattle, as the rite was celebrating, deluged
the earth with their milk.
When Indra'" had, by direction of the kine, inau-
gurated Krishna, t the husband of Sachit said to him^
affectionately: "I have, thus, performed what the cows
enjoined me. Now, illustrious being, hear what further
I propose, with a view to facilitate your task. § A por-
tion of me has been born as Arjuna, '
the son of Pri-

tha.t Let him ever be defended by thee, and he will
assist thee in bearing thy burthen.** He is to be cher-
ished by thee, Madhusiidana, like another self." To this,
Krishnaff replied: "I know thy son, H who has been
born in the race of Bharata; and I will befriend him as
long as I continue upon earth. As long as I am pre-
sent, invincible §§ Sakra, no one shall be able to subdue
Arjuna in fight. When the great demon ij
i
Kamsa has
been slain, and Arishta, Kesin,Kuvalayapida, Naraka,tt
and other fierce Daityas shall have been put to death,
* Devendra, in the original.

t The Sanskrit has Janardana.
* Sachipati, a title of Indra. See Vol. II., p. 72, note 2.
§ WTT^^T^^^T I
1| Vide supra, pp. 101, 102, and pp. 158,. 159

^ In the original, Krishna is here addressed as purusha-vydghra, "tiger
of a man." See Vol. III., p. 118, note §; also, supra, p. 1, note *.
t+ Bhagavat, in the Sanskrit.

II The original has Partha, a metronym of Arjuna. Vide supra, pp.
101, 102.
§§ Arindama.
III!
One of the Daityas, Mahal)ahu, is intended by the term translated
"the great demon". Vide supra, p. 272, note ».
^^ These Daityas, Kuvalayapida excepted, are named in p. 250, supra.
BOOK v., CHAP. XII. 321
there will take place a great war,* in which the bur-

then of the earth be removed, f Now, therefore,
will
depart; and be not anxious on account of thA^ son: for

no foe shall triumph over Arjuna, w^hilst I am present.
For his sake, I will restore to Kuntit all her sons, with
Yudhishthira at their head, unharmed, when the Bha-
rata war is at an end."
Upon Krishna's § ceasing to speak, he and Indra||
mutually embraced; and the latter, mounting his ele-
phant, Airavata, returned to heaven. Krishna, with
the cattle and the herdsmen, went his way to Vraja,
where the wives of the Gopas watched for his ap-
proach, t
• Mahdhava.
t In the original, India is here addressed as Sahasraksha, 'thousand-
eyed.' Vide supra, p. 261, text and note j.
I Kunti, so called from her father, Kunti or Kuntibhoja, is the same
person as Pi'itha. Vide supra, pp. 101, 102, and 158, 159.
§ Janardana's, according to the Sanskrit.
II
Substituted, by the Translator, for Devaraja.
There is a variant, ending the second verse with the words '^f^^T-
IV. 21
:
CHAPTER XIII.
Krishna praised by the cowherds: his sports with the Gopis

their imitation and love of him. The Rasa-dance.
AFTER Sakra had departed, the cowherds said to

Krishna,* whom they had seen holding up Govar-
dhana: "We have been preserved, together with our
cattle,from a great peril, by your supporting the moun-
tain (above us). But this is very astonishing chiUFs
play, unsuitable to the condition of a herdsman: and
all thy actions are those of a god. Tell us what is the
meaning of all this.f Kaliya has been conquered in

the lake;+ Pralamba has been killed; Govardhana has
been lifted up: oin* minds are filled with amazement.
Assuredly, we repose at the feet of Hari, thou of
unbounded might. § For, having witnessed thy power,
we cannot believe thee to be a man. Thy affection,
Kesava, for our women and

and for Vraja; children,
the deeds that thou hast wrought which all the gods
would have attempted in vain; thy boyhood, and thy
* The original gives him the epithet aklisht'a-kdrin, the same as
aklisht'a-karmnn, for which vide supra, p. 282, note f.
+ Toya. The scene of Kaliya's defeat was the Yamuna. Vide supra,
p. 286.
§ ^-m ^m it: ^^^ ^mît'TfTf^^T I
The cowherds adjure Krishna by the feet of Hari. And the com-
mentators repeat the leading words of the text, of which 1 find no
X^^^ M 1'^^^ nothing about
variants :
1 rf 1 ^T irmT: I
original has
sleeping.
BOOK v., CHAP. XIII. 323
prowess; thy humiliating* birth among st us,— are con-

tradictions that fill us with doubt, whenever we think
of them. Yet, reverence be to thee, whether thou be
a god, or a demon, f or a Yaksha. or a Gandharva, or
whatever we may deem thee; for thou art our friend."
When they had ended, Krishna remained silent, for
some time,: as if hurt and offended, § and then replied
to them: ''Herdsmen, if you are not ashamed of my
relationship; have merited your praise; what occa-
if I
sion is you to engage in any discussion (con-

there for
cerning me)? If you have (any) regard forme; if I
have deserved your praise; then be satisfied to know
that I am your kinsman. I am neither god nor Yak-
|j
sha, nor Gandharva, nor Danava. I have been born

your relative; and you must not think differently of
me." Upon receiving this answer, the Gopas held their
peace, and went into the woods, II leaving Krishna ap-
parently displeased ** .
But Krishna, observing the clear sky bright with the

autumnal moon, and the air perfumed with the fra-
grance of the wild water-lily, ff in whose buds the
clustering bees were murmuring their songs, H felt in-
clined to join with the Gopis in sport. Accordingly,
he§§ and Rama commenced singing sweet low strains,
Asobhana. f Danava.
X "For a moment," accordinpf to the original, kshanam.
§ Pranaya-kopavat, "affectionately vexed."
^ Variant: Vraja, instead of vana.

•* Pra/iaya-kopin the same as pranaya-kopavat. See note
;
§, above,
§§ Called, in the original, Sauri.

21*
324 VISHNU PURANA.
in various measures,* such as the women loved; and

they, as soon as they heard the melody, quitted their
homes, and hastened to meet the foe of Madhu.f One
damsel gently sang an accompaniment to his song;
another attentively listened to his melody. One, call-
ing out upon his name, then shrunk abashed; whilst

another, more bold, and instigated by affection, pressed
close to his side.t One, as she sallied forth, beheld

some and dared not ven-
of the seniors (of the family),
ture, contenting herself with meditating on Krishna, §
with closed eyes, and entire devotion, by which, im-
mediately, acts of merit were effaced by rapture,
all
and was expiated by regret at not beholding

all sin
him;j| and others, again, reflecting upon the cause of

the world, in the form of the supreme Brahma, obtained,
by their sighing, final emancipation. Thus surrounded
by the Gopfs, Krishna t thought the lovely moonlight
night of autunm propitious to the Rasa-dance.^ Many
'
The Rasa-dance is danced by men and women, holding each
others' hands, and going round in a circle, singing the airs to
which they dance. According to Bharata. the airs are various,
both in melody and time; and the number of persons should ncit
exceed sixty-four:
• There are four readings here, all containing unintelligible techni-

calities. The commentators dwell on this passage at length,
t Madhusudana.
§ Govinda, in the original.

This is a very free rendering.
^ For Govinda, again.

** Quoted by the commentators.
of the Gopis imitated the ditlererit actions of Krishna,

and, in his absence, wandered through Vrindavana,
(representing his person). "1 am Krishna," cries one.
'•Behold the elegance of my movements." "I am
Krishna," exclaims another. "Listen to my song."*
"Vile Kaliya, stay! For I am Krishna," is repeated by
a third, slapping her arms in defiance. A fourth calls
out: "Herdsmen, fear nothing; be steady: the danger
of the storm is over. For, lo! I lift up Govardhana, for
your shelter."! And a fifth proclaims: "Now let the
herds graze where they will: for I have destroyed
Dhenuka." Thus, in various actions of Krishna, the
Gopis imitated him, whilst away, and beguiled their
sorrow by mimicking his sports. X Looking down upon
the ground, one damsel calls to her friend, as the light
down upon her body stands erect (with joy), and the
lotoses of her eyes expand: "See, here are the marks
of Krishna's feet, as he has gone along sportively, and
left the impressions of the banner, the thunderbolt, and
the goad.^ § What lovely maiden has been his compan-
'
The soles of the feet of a deity are, usually, marked by a
variety of emblematical figures. This is carried to the greatest
extravagance by the Buddhists; the marks on the feet of Gautama
jftx^t ^^: ^ %^ T«f ^^T^ ^^ni: II
According to the Pauranik writers, "the acts of the divinity are his,
Hid, or sport"; and even "his appearances are regarded as his lild, or
—
326 VISHNU FUHANA.
ion, inebriate with passion, as her irregular footmarks

testify?* Here Damodara has gathered flowers from
on high; for we see alone the impressions of the tips
of his feet. Here a nymph has sat down with him.
ornamented with flowers, fortunate in having propi-
tiated Vishnu in a prior existence. f Having left her in
an arrogant mood, because he had offered her flowers,
the son of Nanda has gone by this road; for. see, un-
able to follow him with equal steps, his associate has
here tripped along upon her toes, and, holdinghishand.
the damsel has passed, as is evident from the uneven
and intermingled footsteps.* But the rogue has merely
being 130. See Transactions of fhe Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. III.,
p. 70. It is a decoration very moderately employed by the Hindus.
pastime". Professor Wilson's collected works, Vol. I., p. 124; Vol. III.,
p. 147.
A similar phraseology, as if with design to convey an impressive idea
of the divine nature, — absolute inertness and ataraxy being the subliniest
attributes of the Supreme, — has been employed elsewhere than India. in
"Every providential energy of deity, about a sensible nature, was said,

by ancient theologists and philosophers, to be the sport of divinity."
Thomas Taylor, Metamorphosis, Sfc. of Apuleius, p. 43, note 1.
For the scholiastic Supreme of the Hindus, which, only that it has —
neither mate nor emanations, may be compared with the Bc:>i,i of
Gnosticism, — see note * to p. 253, supra. Brahma, the sole existence,
all else being sheer phantasm, — is pure spirit, and, therefore, incognitive.
In short, it is not to be construed to the imagination, and is indis-
tinguishable, save to the eye of faith, from a nonentity.

The Puranas generally modify this view, which is that of the Vedanta
philosophy. See Vol. I., p. 41, note 2; and p. 172, notes 1 and «.
For extracts from Dr. South and Erigena, see the supplement to
this note, at the end of the volume.
T?^Tf^ (T^n^fTTf^ ^^5?T^fI^^ ^ II
^ This sentence, in its latter portion, is freely translated.

taken her hand, and left her neglected; for here the
paces indicate the path of a person in despair. Un-
doubtedly, he promised that he would quickly come
again; for here are his own footsteps returning with
speed. Here he has entered the thick forest, imper-
vious to the rays of the moon; and his steps can be
traced no further."* Hopeless, then, of beholding
Krishna, the Gopis returned, and repaired to the banks
of the Yamuna, where they sang his songs ;f and pre-
sently they beheld the preserver of the three worlds, t
with a smiling aspect, hastening towards them. On

which, one exclaimed ''Krishna! Krishna!" unable to
articulate anything else; another affected to contract
her forehead with frowns, as drinking, with the bees
of her eyes, the lotos of the face of Hari; another, clo-
sing her eyelids, contemplated, internally, his form, as
if engaged in an act of devotion. Then Madhava, com-
ing amongst them, conciliated some with soft speeches,
some, with gentle looks ;§ and some he took by the

hand: and the illustrious deity sported with them in
the stations of the dance. As each of the Gopis, how-
||
ever, attempted to keep in one place, close to the side

of Krishna, the circle of the dance could not be con-
structed; and he, therefore, took each by the hand, and,
t Charita, 'achievements.'
I Also here called aklisht'a-chesht'ita, "unwearied in exploits." Com-
pare aklisht'a-karman, in note f to p. 282, supra.
§ *JH^Ttf^%.) "with frowning looks."
II Tnf^: iT^Twf^Tnf^'TfiftfH: ^f ^t^t^ i

328 VISHNU PURANA.
when their eyeUds were shut by the effects of such

touch, the cu'cle was formed.^ Then proceeded the
'
This is a rather inexplicit statement;* but the comment
makes it clear. Krishna, it is said, in order to form the circle,
takes each damsel by the hand, and leads her to her place. There
he quits her; but the effect of the contact is such, that it deprives
her of the power of perception ; and she contentedly takes the
hand of her female neighbour, thinking it to be Krishna's. The
Bhagavataf is bolder, and asserts that Krishna multiplied him-
self, and actually stood between each two damsels:
The Rasa-dance, formed of a circle graced by the Gopis, was,

then, led off by the lord of magic, Krishna having placed him-
self in the midst of every two of the nymphs." il
The Hari Variisall
intimates the same, though not very fully:
^T^^: ^"^^JT^fTft ^*Wt 'ft^^'T^T: II
"Then all the nymphs of the cowherds, placing themselves in
couples in a row, engaged in pleasant diversion, singing the deeds

of Krishna." The Pankti, or row, is said, by the commentator,**
• And the rendering is very far from being literal,
t X., Prior Section, XXIII., 3.

I The commentator
Ratnagarbha, who quotes the first two verses cf
this stanza, gives the second thus:
§ I have completed Professor Wilson's partial citation of this passage.
M. Hauvette-Besnault's translation of the entire passage quoted

II
above is as follows: "La fete du rasa, embellie par le cercle des Gopis,
etait menee par Crichna, qui, usant de sa puissance magique et se
plafant entre elles, deux a deux, les tenait embrassees par le cou; et
chaque femme croyait qu'il etait aupres d'elle."
Vide infra, p. 3^1, note •*.
5/. 4088.
<|I
•• Nilakantha.
1
(kiK;e, to the music of theii' clasbinn; hracelets, and

sorm's that celebrated, in suitable strain, the charms of
to mean, here, the Mai'idala, or ring; and the 'couples', to imply

that Krishna was between every two. He quotes a verse' to this
efl'ect, from some other Vaishnava worlv ^^^TT^'TT^'tTT; ^T^^T^ :
w[yi^ ^T^T '^T^r: ^^^fr ^"qj^fj "^^^^^î

* * * * i
''Between each two damsels was Madhava and between each two ;
Madhavas was a nymph; and the son of Devaki played on the

flute". For, in fact, Krishna is not only dancing with each, but
also, by himself, in the centre. For this the commentator on the
Hari Varhsa cites a passage from the Vedas:
^% ^^^tfr ^4t^ ^^T fT^^^ TtTfTTj: ^N 1
Literally, "The many-formed (being) assumes (various) bodies.
One form stood apart, occupying triple observance." t Now, if
the verse be genuine, it probably refers to something that has

little todo with Krishna; but it is explained to apply to the Rasa;
the form of Krishna being supposed to be meant, as wholly
distinct from the Gopis, and yet being beheld, by every one of
them, on each side and in front of her. In the meditation upon

Krishna which is Brahma Vaivarta, he is to be
enjoined in the
contemplated in the centre of the Rasa Maridala, in association
with his favourite Radha. But the Maiidala described in that work
is not a ring of dancers, but a circle of definite space at Vrinda-
vana, within which Krishna, Radha, and the Gopis divert them-
• The quotation seems to be prose,
t Rightly, and as quoted by the commentator:

tl^T ^% g^^^^T ^^^T fTW"^ ^N TfTfT^T I
This is the first verse of Rigveda, III., LV., 14. Professor Wilson,
in his translation of the Rigveda, Vol. III., p. 98, renders it thus: "The
earth wears bodies of many forms: she abides on high, cherishing her
year and a half old (calf)."

* This interpretation does not represent accurately the meaning of
the verse as explained by the commentator on the Harivaihsa. But the
commentator's explanation is not worth stopping to set forth.
330 VLSHNU I'URANA.
the autumnal season.* Krishna sang the moon of

autumn,— a mhie of gentle radiance; but the nymphs
repeated the praises of Krishna alone, f At times, one
of them, wearied by the revolving dance, threw her
arms, ornamented with tinkling bracelets, round the
neck: of the destroyer of Madhu:§ another, skilled hi the
selves, not very decorously. This work has, probably, given the
tone to the style in whicli the annual festival, the Rasa Yatra, is
celebrated, in various parts of India, in the month of Karttika,
upon the sun's entrance into Libra, by nocturnal dances, and re-
presentations of the sports of Krishna. A circular dance of men

and women, however, does not form any prominent feature at
it may be doubted if it is ever performed.
these entertainments; and
Some of the earliest labourers in the field of Hindu mythology
have thought this circular dance to typify the dance of the planets
round the sun (Maurice, Ancient History of Hindus, Vol. 1.,
p. 108; Vol. XL, p. 35G); but there is no particular number assigned

to the performers, by any of the Hindu authorities, beyond its
limitation to sixty-four. At the Rasa Maridala of the Brahma
Vaivarta. Radha is accompanied by thirty-six of her most particu-
lar friends amongst the Gopis ; but they are, each, attended by
thousands of inferior personages ; and none of the crowd are left
without male multiples of Krishna. The only mysticism hinted
at, in that Puratia, is, that these are, all, one with Krishna; the
varied vital conditions of one spirit being represented by the Go-
pis and the illusory manifestations of Krishna; he himself being
supreme, unmodified soul.
t ^^ * '^^, "placed on the shoulder,"
§ Madhu-nighdtin.
art of singing his praises, embraced him.^' The (h'ops
of perspiration from the arms of Hari were like fertil-
izing rain,which produced a crop of down upon the

temples f of the Gopis. Krishna sang the strain that
was appropriate to the dance. The Gopis repeatedly
exclaimed "Bravo, Krishna!" to his song. When lead-
ing, they followed him; when returning,: they encount-
ered him: and, whether he went forwards or back-

wards, they ever attended on his steps. Whilst frolick-
ing thus with the Gopis, they considered every instant,
wîthout him, a myriad § of years; and, prohibited (in
vain) by husbands, fathers, brothers, they went forth,
at night, to sport with Krishna, the object of their

affection.;! Thus, the illimitable being, the benevolent
remover of all imperfections, assumed the character of
a youth amongst the females of the herdsmen of Vraja; If
pervading their natures, and that of their lords, by his
own essence, all-diffusive like the wind. For, even as,
in all creatures, the elements of ether, fire, earth, water,
and air are comprehended, so, also, is he everywhere

**
present, and in all.
The damsel not only embraced but kissed him.

f The original, kapola, yields 'cheeks.'
I Valane, "in turning."
§ Kofi, 'ten millions.'
•* In the Journal Asiatique for 1865, pp. 373—445 (Series Vl., Vol. V.),
M. Hauvette-Besnault has published the text, accompanied by an exact

332 VISHNU PURANA.
and elegant translation, of the Fanchddliydyi, i C, Chapters XXIX.—

XXXIIl. of the Bhdgavata-purdna, Book X., Prior Section, on the frolics
of Krishna with the gopis. In his introductory remarks, M. Hauvette-
Besnault has pertinently quoted, in the original, nearly the whole of
the present Chapter of the Vishnu- yurdna.
This careful scholar would render a real service to literature by com-
pleting the edition of the Bhdgavata-'purdna which was left unfinished
hy the lamented Burnouf. The concluding Books of the B/uhjavata,

as may be inferred even from the notes of the present volume, are well
worthy of translation in detail.
CHAPTER XIV.
Krishna kills the demon Arishta, in the form of a hull.
ONE evening, whilst Krishna" and the Gopis were

amusing themselves in the dance, the demon Arishta,
disguised as a savage bull,f came to the spot, after
having spread alarm through the station. His colour
was that of a cloud chai-ged with rain: he had vastt
horns; and his eyes were like two (fiery) suns. As he
moved, he ploughed up the ground with his hoofs; his
tongue was repeatedly licking his his tail was lips;
were firm, and, be-

erect; the sinews of his shoulders
tween them, rose a hump of enormous dimensions; his
haunches were soiled with ordure, and he was a terror
to the herds; his dewlap hung low; and his face was
marked with scars, from butting against the trees. §
Terrifying all the kine, the demon who perpetually
haunts the forests in the shape of a bull, destroying
hermits and ascetics, advanced. [,
Beholding an animal
of such a formidable aspect, the herdsmen and their
women were exceedingly frightened, and called aloud
on Krishna, who came to their succour, shouting, and
slapping his arms in defiance. If When the Daitya heard
the noise, he turned upon his challenger; and, fixing
* Janardana, in the original.

t The Sanskrit simply calls Arisht'a samada, 'furious,'
* Tikshna, 'sharp.'
§ The description of Arisht'a is not rendered to the letter.
f^WT^^T^^ ^^52ref7r ^: wî II

384 VISHNU PUR ANA.
his eyes and pointing his horns at the belly of Kesava,
he ran furiously upon the youth. Krishna stirred not

from his post, but, smiling in sport and derision, awaited
the near approach of the l)ull, when he seized him, as
an alligator* would have done, and held him, firmly,
by the horns, whilst he pressed his sides with his knees.
Having thus humbled his pride, and held him captive
by his horns, f he wrung his throat, as if it had been
a piece of wet cloth, and, then, tearing off one of the
horns, he beat the fierce demon with it, until he died,
vomiting l)lood from his mouth. Seeing him slain, the
herdsmen glorified Krishna,! as the companies of the
celestials of old praised Indra, § when he triumphed
over (the Asura) Jambha. ^jj
'
This exploit is related a little more in detail in the Bhaga-
vata and Hari Van'isa.
* Grdha.
+ The orifjinal has Janardana.

§ Substituted, by the Translator, for Sahasraksha. Vide supra, p. 321,
note f.
Ij
There is mention of Jambha and Kujambha in p. 3, supra. In the
Mahdbhdrata, Sdnti-parvan, U. 3660, Jambha, Bala, and Paka are named
together.
CHAPTER XV.
Kan'isa informed, by Narada, of the existence of Krishna and
lialarama: he sends Kesin to destroy them, and Akrura, to
bring them to Mathura.
AFTER (these things had come to pass,) Arislita

the bull-demon,* and Dhennka, andPralamba had been
slahi,Govardhana had been lifted up, the serpent Ka-
liyahad been subdued, the two trees had been broken,
the female fiend Piitana had been killed, and the wag-
gon had been overturned, Narada went to Kamsa, and
related to him the whole, beginning with the trans-
ference of the child from Devaki to Yasoda. Hearing

this from Narada, Kamsa was highly incensed with
Vasudeva, and bitterly reproached him, and all the
Yadavas, in an assembly of the tribe. Then, reflecting
what was to be done, he determined to destroy both
Raina and Krishna, whilst they were yet young, and
before they had attained to manly vigour; for which
purpose he resolved to invite them from Vraja, under
pretext of the solemn i-ite of the lustration of arms,f
when he would engage them in a trial of strength with
his chief boxers, Chanura and Mushtika, by whom they
would, assuredly, be killed.: "I will send," he said,
'•the noble Yadu,§ Akrura, the son of Swaphalka,!; to
Gokula, to bring them hither. I will order the fierce

Kesin, who haunts the woods of Vr in da van a, to attack
*
Kakudmin. + Dhanur-maha.
X There is much freedom in the rendering of this sentence.
§ Yadu-'pungava.
II
Vide supra, p. 94.
336 VISHNU PUR ANA.
them; and he is of unequalled might, and will surely

kill them. " Or, if they arrive here, my elephant, Ku-
valayapida, shall trample to death these two cow-boy
sons of Vasudeva." Having thus laid his plans to
destroy Rama and Janardana, the impious Kaiiisa sent
for the heroic Akrura, and said to him: "Lord of liberal
gifts, ^
attend to my words, and, out of friendship for
me, perform my orders. Ascend your chariot, and go
hence to the station of the herdsman Nanda. f Two
vile boys,t portions of Vishnu, have been born there,
for the express object of effecting my destruction. On

the fourteenth lunation I have to celebrate the festival
of arms;^ and I wish them to be brought here, by you,
'
Dana-pati. The epithet refers to Akrura's possession of the
Syamantaka gem (r/c?e su2n-a, p. 91), although, as here used by
Kamsa, it is an anachronism; the gem not becoming his until

after Krishna's maturity.
^ Dhanur-maha (îl^^f)- The same phrase occurs in the dif-
ferent authorities. In its ordinary acceptation, it would imply any

military festival. There is one of great celebrity, which, in the
south of India, closes the Dasahara, or festival of Durga, when

military exercises are performed, and a field is ravaged, as typi-
cal of the opening of a campaign. Worship is paid to military
implements. The proper day for this is the Vijaya dasami, or
tenth of the light half of Aswina, falling about the end of Sep-
tember or beginning of October. Transactions of the Bombay
Society, Vol. III., p. 73; also, Amara Kosa, § under the word
ÎT'^^T'i (Lohabhisara). Both our text and that of the Bha-
rTW^T^fTR^RTTf ^^ ^Trff^^f^ II
•j- Nanda-gokula.
* The original has "sons of Vasudeva", ^^^^fft I
§ II., VIII., II., 62. I

More usually read ^îf^fTT-
HOOIv v., CHAP. XV. 337
to take part in tlie games, and that tlie people may see
them engage in a boxing-match with my two dexterous
athletc'B,* Ghanura and Miishtika; or, haply, my elephant,
Kuvalayapida, driven against them by his rider, f shall

kill these two iniquitous youngsters, sons ofVasudeva.
When they are out of the way, I wîll put to death Va-
sudeva himself, the cowherd Nanda, and my foolish
father, Ugrasena; and 1 will seize upon the herds and
flocks, t and all the possessions, of the rebellious Go-
pas, who have ever been my foes. Except thou, lord
of liberality, § all the Yadavas are hostile to me: but I
will devise schemes for their extirpation; and I shall,
then, reign over my kingdom, ||
in concert with thee,
without any annoyance. Through regard for me, there-
fore, do thou go, as I direct thee; and thou shalt com-
mand the cowdierds to bringwith speed, their sup-
in,
plies of milk, and butter, and curds." t
gavata, liowevei-, intimate the celebration of the feast in question

on the fourteenth day of the fortnight (in what month, is not
specified); and an occasional 'passage of arms,' therefore, is all
that is intended. The fourteenth day of the light lunation of any

month is, commonly, held appropriate for a holyday or religious
rite. It will be seen, in the sequel,** that the leading feature of
* 'Pancratiasts, ' more nearly; malla, in the Sanskrit For the imiiort
of this term, see an annotation near the end of Chapter XX. of the present
Book.
t Mahd-mdtra.
t Qo-dhandni.
§ Ddna-pati.
Ii î^l«^cl ,
says the original, — "freed from Yadavas."
** See Ohaptor XX. nf tins Hook,
IV. 22
—
338 VISHNU PURANA.
Being thus instriicted, the iUustrious Akriira readily
undertook to visit Krishna;* and, ascending his stately

chariot, hef went forth from the city of Mathura.
the ceremonial was intended to have been a trial of archery,
spoiled by Ki-ishi'ia's breaking the bow that was to have been

used on the occasion.
t Madhu-priya is the epithet which the original here gives hiui. It

means, literally, "clear to the Madhus;" i.e., the commentators say, "to
the family of Madhu,"
.
CHAPTER XVI.
Kesin, in the form of a horse, slain by Krishna: he is praised
by Narada.
KESIN, confiding in his prowess, having received

the commands of Kaihsa, set. off to (the woods of)
Vrindavana, with the intention of destroying Krishna.
He came (in the shape of a steed), spurning the earth
with his hoofs, scattering the clouds with his mane,

and springing, in his paces, beyond the orbits of the
sun and moon. The cowherds and their females, hear-

ing his neighings, were struck with terror, and fled to
Govinda upon him to save them.
for protection, calling
In a voice deep as the roaring of the thunder-cloud,
Krishna replied to them: "Away with these fears of
Kesin! Is the valour of a hero annihilated by your
alarms? What is there to apprehend from one of such
littlemight, whose neighings are his only terrors; a
galloping and vicious steed, who is ridden by the
strength of the Daityas?* Come on, wretch! I am
Krishna; and I will knock all thy teeth down thy
throat, as the wielder of the tridentf did to Pushan.^:
'
As Virabhadra did to Pusha§ or Pushan,— a form of Siirya,—
at the sacrifice of Daksha. See Vol. I., p. 131, note 1|
f^^^^1#T ^^m ^^^Tf^TT II
f Pindkadhrik. The pindka is, here, a club.
'
umff 1^ Fwt^t ^wtfr^ fx?-n^^ I
§ Nominative case of, not an optional substitute for, Pushan,
II
Also see Original Sanskrit Texts, Vol. IV., pp. 168 and 322.
22"
340 VISHNU FUUANA.
Thus deiying lihii to combat, Govinda went to en-

counter Kesin. The demon
ran upon h'un, with his
mouth opened wide; but Krishna,* enlarging the bulk
of his arm, thrust it into his mouth, and wrenched out
the teeth, which fell from his jaws like fragments of
white clouds, f Still, the arm of Krishna, in the throat
of the demon, continued to enlarge, like a malady in-
creasing, from its commencement, till it ends in disso-
lution. + From his torn lips the demon vomited foam
and blood; his eyes rolled in agony; his joints gave
way; he beat the earth with his feet;§ his body was
covered with perspiration he became incapable of any ;
effort. The formidable demon, having his mouth rent II
open by the arm of Krishna, fell down, torn asunder,

like a tree struck by lightning. He lay separated into
two portions, each having two legs, half a back, half a
tail, one ear, one eye, and one nostril. Krishna stood. If
unharmed and smiling, after the destruction of the

demon, surrounded by the cowherds, who, together
with their women, were filled with astonishment at the
death of Kesin, and glorified the amiable god with the
lotos-eyes.** Narada, the Brahman, ff invisible, seated
' Janardana, in the original.
t The only reading that 1 find is ^^T îf^TT^'^^^'^t^ft: I
Ratnagarhhas interpretation is: "like a disease neglected troni ils lie-
ginning": î^^TfrT'TTT'^ ^3^^fT: ^f^Wf^fi: I

Sridhara's com-
ment is briefer.
§ Here follow the untranslated words Î^tb^ ^^(^^^ |
II
Asura.
**
^ Insert 'unwearied', T!I5TT?T^rT«TI I
Pundarikdksha.
ft Vipra. Narada is commonly considered to he a Devarshi. See
Vol. ill., p. 08, 1. 1; hut also see Vol. 1., p. 100, note 2.
:
BOOK v., CHAP. xvr. 341
in a cloud, beheld the fall of'Kesin, and delightedly ex-

claimed: "Well done! lord of the universe,* who, in
thy sports, f hast destroyed Kesin, the oppressor of
the denizens of heaven!* Curious to behold this great
combat between a man and a horse,— such a one as
was never before heard of,— I have come from heaven.
Wonderful are the works that thou hast done, in thy
descent (upon the earth). They have excited my aston-
ishment; but this, (above all), has given me pleasure.
Indra§ and the gods lived in dread of this horse, who
tossed his mane, and neighed, and looked down upon
the clouds. For this, that thou hast slain the impious
Kesin, thou shalt be known, in the world, by the name
of Kesava.^ j
Farewell!! I will now depart. I shall
meet thee again, conqueror of Kesin, in two days

more, in conflict with Kamsa *'^"'
When the son of Ugra-
'
Or Kesi and va 'who kills, '—from vadh or badh, 'to kill.'
But tins is a Paurai'iik etymology, and less satisfactory than the

usual grammatical one of Kesa, 'hair,' and 'va' possessive af-
fix; Krishna corresponding, in this respect, to the Apollo Crini-

fus. It is, also, derived from the legend of his origin from 'a
hair" {vide supra, p. 258, note 2). And, again, Kesa is said to
purport •
radiance' or 'rays', whether of the sun, or moon, or
fire, — all which are the light of Krishna, — whence he is called
Kesava, 'the rayed' or 'radiant'. Mahabharata, Moksha Dharma.
* Jaganndtha.
t Vide supra, p. 325, note §.
* Tridivaukas.
§ Substituted, by the Translator, for Sakra.
II
Ciimpare the Harivaimâ, ^l. 4337
** SJee Chapter XX. of this Book.

342 VISHNU PURANA.
sena, with his followers, shall have been slain, then,
upholder of the earth, will earth's burthens have been

lightened by thee.* Many are the battles of the kings
that I have to see, in which thou shalt be renowned.
I will now depart, Govinda. A great deed, and ac-
ceptable to the gods, has been done by thee. I have
been much delighted with thee, and now take my
leave, "t When Narada had gone, Krishna, not in any
way surprised, returned, with the Gopas, to Gokula,—
the sole object of the eyes of the women of Vraja.
^
'
The legend is told by all the other narrators of Krishna's
juvenile exploits.
t ^^t ^T^Tf^ ^f^^ ^^^T^ ^^rf fTî: I

343
CORRIGENDA, &c.
p. 2, note |. Also see Vol. I., p. 200, supplement to p. 152.
P. 11, note •. Puniravas and Urvasi are, both, named in the Rigveda,
X., XCV. For other references touching them, see Original Sanskrit
Texts, Part I., p. 226, et aliter (2nd ed.).
P. 14, note **. In si. 1761 of the Harivaiiisa, we find its second mention
of .Inhmi and his wife Kaveri. Probably it was in note 2 to p. 138
that Professor Wilson entertained the intention, which he pretermitted
to fulfil, of recurring to Kaveri.
P. 15, 1. 1. Read Kusa.
P. 15, notes, 1. 14 For Girivraja, see p. 180, note 1.
P. 17, 1. 3 ah infra. For the original, from this point of Chapter VII.
to its end, and an improved translation, see Original Sanskrit Texts,
Part I., pp. 349—351 (2nd ed.).
P. 20, notes, 1. 4 ab infra. Read fxjfr^j^.
P. 25, notes, 11. 9 and 12. For "^f^^cR^w^, here rendered "remorse-
less", see p. 282, note f.
P. 26, notes, 1. 2. Read Devarata.
P. 26, notes, 1. 5. Read ^^r^cq-TT^^
P. 30, note *. I am indebted to Dr. Muir for calling my attention to
Asura Swarbhanu of the Rigveda, V., XL. See Original Sanskrit
the
Texts, Part I., pp. 469, 470 ('ind ed.).
P. 31, notes, last line. That is to say, the Bhdgavata-purdna has Kusa,
where the Vishnu-purdna has Lesa.
P. 32, 1. 2. For Kasiraja, read king of the Kasis. Compare supple-
mentary note, a little below, on p. 57, notes 4 and §§. Also see my
Benares, Ancient and Medieval, p. 7, notes 2 and 7.
P. 32, note 2. Read Kasiya.
P. 32, note [. My MSS. of the Vdyu-purdna are rather doubtful as to
the reading Rasht'ra.
P. 33, 1. For another Divodasa, see p. 146, 1. 1.
5. Regarding the
Kasis and the two Pauraiiik Divodasas, I have elsewhere written as
follows: "The Rigveda affords no warrant for connecting with the
Kasis any person whom it mentions. It speaks of Divodasa, and it
speaks of Pratardana ; but only in later literature are they called father
and son, and rulers of the Kasis; and, where Katyayana, in his Rig-
veddnukramanikd, characterizes the latter as Kdiirdja, he may have
expressed himself metachronically, under the influence of a modern
tradition which he and his contemporaries accepted. As to the former,
we find, indeed, in post-vaidik books, two Divodasas into whom a ;
single personage seems to have been parted. One of them is son of

Bhadryaswa, as in the Rigveda; but it is the other, the son of Bhi-
maratha, and father of Pratardana, that is called king of the Kasis.
It may be atUled, that there is no ground for considering Badhryaswa
and Bhimaratha to be two names of one and the same person." Benares,
&c., p. 9, note 1.
P. 36, I. 1. Read Ritadhwaja.

344 COHRlGENI>A, &c.
P. 39, notes, 1. 9 ah infra. See, for Kdsirdja, supplementary note, a

little above, on p. 32, 1. 2.
P. 40, notes, 1. 2. Read Santi Parvan.

P. 40, note •. Kasi, too, is a patrouym of Kasa.
P. 43, notes, 1. 3 ab infra. Read Si'iajaya.
P. 44, note X\. For Kshattravriddha, read Lesa. See p. 31, note X.
P. 47, notes, 1. 7 ab infra. Read ^^ ^^T^ ^ ^.

P. 47, note \\. Substitute, for the whole: Adi-parvan, .si 37i;2,
P. 55, notes, 1. 3 ab infra. Instead of cT^, some copies of the commen-

tary read cT''^.
P. 57, notes 4 and §§. We should translate: "king of the Avantyas",
to render In many such cases, the subjects of a ruler, not
Avantya.
his territory, uuist be understood. Compare Kdiirdja, &c. &c.
P. 59, notes, 1. 21. The "Gehlots" or Gahlots are referred to Guhila or
Gobhila, as their eponyniist. See the Journal of the American Oriental
Society, Vol. VI., pp. 500, 510, and p. 518, note n.
P. 73, notes, 1. 12. Read ^Z-
P. 73, note +. In one copy of the commentary, I find, as the reading,
Mfittikavata, —
the true name, in all probability. As to Mrittika-
vati,— by which appellation the same place seems to be designated,—
it is represented as having been on the Narmada See the Ilarivamsa,
si. 1983.
P. 74, notes, 1. 13. Read '^^S[f^'i.

P. 84, notes f and §. It should have been added, that the capital of
Videha is This is not the name of a country, as Professor
Mithila.
p. 330, note 1, and elsewhere,— supposes it
Wilson— in Vol. III., to he.
P. 87, 11. 12, 14, and 18. The term "Kasiraja", it is most likely,^ is no
proper name here, but simply descriptive,— "king of the Ka.sis." See
supplementary note on p. 32, 1. 2, of this volume. ^
P. 103, note «. For of Avanti, the country, read Avantyas. ^

P. 108, note f- 'i'ê reading should be, undoubtedly: ^^cflftW^f^-
P. 109, note iji.. Piiru must be right. See the preceding note.
P. 110, 1. 4. Read Kaiiisa.
P. HI, notes, 1. 3 ab infra. Read Suvam.â.
P, 126, note f- Also vide supra, p. 101, note ***.
P. 14(5, note ++. See supplementary note on p. 33, 1. o.
P. 148, notes, 1. 7 Read Hari Vamsa.

P 150, 11. 6 and 7. For an account, from the Mahdbhdrata,
of the birth
'of Jarasandha, see Original Sanskrit Texts, Part IV., pp., 247, 248.
it is, in substance, as follows. Jarasandha's father. King Bnhadratha,
had two wives. After having long been barren, each of them bore
him half of a son. These moieties, contemplated with horror, were
cast away. Jara, a female ghoul, that she may carry otf the pieces
the more readily, lays them together. The halves coalesce, and become
endowed with life. The l>oy thus patched up wails out; whereupon
the servants sally forth from Brihadratha's palace,
and the king and
(lueen with them. The ghouless assumes a human form, and makes
over the infant to its father. She discloses that she has been wor-
house-goddess,
shipped, in i.-norance of her real character, as the king's
and adds, that, in gratitude for the homage done her, she has restored
CORKIGENDA, &o. 345
the monarch his son, the halves of whom, she alleges, were united
into an animated whole quite independently of her will or power.
Ri'ihadratha subsequently directs his subjects, the inhabitants of Ma-
gadha, to celebrate a great festival in Jara's honour.
Herein, as Dr Muir repeats after Professor Lassen, we are furnished
with "an instance of the local adoration of particular deities in ancient
India."
P. 151, notes, 1. 2 ab infra. For seventh, read ninth.
P. 158, note 1. See Colebrooke's Digest of Hindu Law, Vol. II., pp.
466 — 476.
P. 158, note +.For the probably correct interpretation of the original,
Kdsirdja, see supplementary note on p. 3'2, 1. 2.
P. 159, notes, 1. 4 For hy, read by.
P. 159, note ff. In the Mahdbhdrata, Adi-parvan, 3829, we read, that
Bhimasena married cRJ'^t '^^T'^X!t, "Balandhara, daughter of the
king of the Kasis." M Fauche, mistaking an accusative for a locative,
has translated: "Bhimasena epousa dans Kagi Balandhara." I doubt
whether Kasi or Kasi, as the name of a city or kingdom, is anywhere
to be met vvith in ancient Sanskrit literature.
P. 164, note f. For Hastinapura, compare p. 139, note «.
P. 166, notes, 1. Read verse is.
3.
P. 170, notes, 1. Read Mahawaiiiso.
10.
P. 171, notes, 1. 18. Read Rajagi'iha.
P. 173, notes, last line. Read ^fziT^'"-
P. 180, note 1; and p. 181, note .. here We have traces of a second
dynasty of Kasi kings. For the first, see pp. 30—40.
P. 186, note « . The king named between Nanda and Chandragupta I
have conjectured, very hesitatingly, may have borne the api>ellation of

Brihanmanas. See my Benares, &c., p. 12, note 2.
P. 189, notes, 1. 8. Read Priyadarsin.
P. 198, note §. For further mention of Srisatakarni, see lieneral Cun-
ningham's Bhilsa Topes, pp. 264 and 272.
P. 200, notes, 1. 19. Read while differing.
P. 203, notes, last line. Read is it.
P. 212, 1. 1. Here and elsewhere, the most carefully written MSS. yield
Bahlikas. Vahlika, Vahlika, &c., I am, therefore, disposed to account
erroneous.
P. 231, 1. 1; p. 232, 1. 2; and p. 234, 1. 8. Read Risbis.
P. 235, notes, 1. 1. Read "ff^FTTf^ •TT •
P. 237, 1..3. Regarding Devapi, see p. 153, note !+•

P. 240, notes, 1 4. A comma has disappeared from the end of the line.
P. 247, note |
. The passage here referred to occurs, likewise, in the
Brihad-dranyaka Upanishad, as V., 1: see Messrs. Boehtlingk and Roth's
Sanskrit- Worterhach, Vol. I., under ^x[. In Vol. V., again under
^^ , the same learned and most meritorious lexicographers indicate
the following similar stanza from the Atharva-veda, — X., VIII., 29:
The commentator whom I intend, in my note under remark, is Ratna-

garbha. See, a little below, supplementary annotation on p. 303,
note 1, &c.
.
346 CORRIGENDA, &c.
P. 250, noteft- For an explanation of the t&rm akshauhini, see a note

on Book v., Chapter XXII.
P. 252, note f. Read Sikshd.
P. 259, note f- For the native, read Sridhara's.
P. 2fil, notes, 1. 7. Read places where.
P. 261, note *. The mistake of the Translator is borrowed from his
Bengal version.
P. 262, notes, Read fable, made.
1. 4.
P. Read Three pages.
262, note f.
P. 267, note See Vol. II., p. 337, supplementary note on p. 59,
•.
1. 8. On ndman, as alleged to signify 'essence', see Burnoufs Mro-
duction a VlUatoire du Buddhisine Indien, Vol. I., p. 502, note 2, by
Dr Theodor Goldstiicker. Burnouf appends to the note these words:
"Je n'ai pu jusqu'ici justifier cette interpretation par les textes."
P. 280, note «. The stanza occurs in the MSS. accompanied by Sri-
dhara's commentary.
P. 284, note • Read commentators.
.
P. -286, note §. The words quoted by the Translator are Sridhara's.

P. 290, note f. Both the scholiasts expound the stanzas here transcribed.
P, 291, note \\. Sridhara, who, equally with Ratnagarbha, cites the
verses on dancing, attributes them to Bharata.
P. 293, 1. 12. Inadvertently, I have not corrected the Translator's
"Brahma" Brahma. But see the next note.
into
P 293, note I. As Dr. Muir suggests to me, I should have added, that
^T^T^' means 'preceding the Supreme,' not "the progenitor of the
supreme (Brahma)", an XfT^Tf^TT: means 'supreme beyond the
i
Supreme', not ''beyond all finite objects These hyperboles, it scarcely

'
need be observed, are designed to express incomprehensibilities.

P. 295, notes, 1. 1. I have to thank Dr Muir for calling my attention
to the fact, that the adage adduced should be rendered:" Ho who does
an act suited to his natural disposition incurs no guilt."
P. 296, note t- The Translator has followed the text as accepted by
Sridhara.
P. 297, note §. The reading which Professor Wilson prefers is Sridhara's.
P. 297, notes, 1. 8. Read ^^"gft '^7{'>

P. 299, note t .
-i^Jf^X^t i"^ the lection of Sridhara.
P. 303, note 1; and )•. 3n4,
!|. Of the two commentaries
notes § and
on Book v., Ratnagarbha's and Sridhara's, the Translator has relied
on the former, most generally, and, in speaking of "the commentator",
refers thereto, except in those scattered cases where I have noted
to the contrary. These two commentaries— the latter of which was
inaccessible to me, when preparing my annotations on the first twelve
Chapters of Book V.,— coincide, in a noticeable degree, not only in the
authorities which they adduce, but in their elucidations,— as to their
general drift, and, sometimes, as to the very words in which they are
delivered. Ratnagarbha's, it seems from internal evidence, is the more
recent composition.
In the Translator's note to which this annotation is appended, two
explanations are cited, as if occurring "in diflferent copies". They
are, in fact, from different commentaries,— Ratnagarbha's and Sridhara's,
:
CORRIGENDA, &c. 347
respectively. The words of Sridhara, as professedly copied by Pro-

fessor Wilson, deviate somewhat, as usual, from a punctual represen-
tation.
ef)]^ is the lection which Sridhara prefers to the more ordinary
P. 304, notes, 1. 2. Read -7r%"TT^® •
P. 304, note «. In commenting on this stanza, Sridhara quotes from

Daiulin, to whom, therefore, he must have been posterior.
P. 308, The quotation is given by Sridhara, also, who claims
note §.
to take from the Yoga-sdstra.
it
P. 308, note jj. For commentator's, &c., read commentators' quotation

explanatory of the technicalities ptiraka, Sec.
P. 312, note «. Sridhara's reading to which the Translator here

It is
accords the preference.
P. 316, note f. See, further, for Bala, p. 334, note ||.
P. 317, note *. See, for Paka, note in p. 334. ;:
P. 318, note f. Read Ghant'd.

P. 326, notes, 1. 6 ah infra. In a sermon by Dr. South, preached at
—
Westminster Abbey, Feb. 22, 1684 5, is the following passage:
"
'T is,
as it were, the sport of the Almighty, thus to baffle and confound the
sous of men by such events as both cross the methods of their actings
and surpass the measure of their expectations."
With the /j'i'Aos of the Gnostics compare "the superessential one
of Plotinus, to whom neither Intelligence, nor Self-consciousness, nor
Life, nor even Being can be attributed." Coleridge's Aids to Reflection,
p. 158, (ed. of 1836).
Erigena deity into something well-nigh as shadowy:
sublimates
"Deus itaque nescit se quid est, quia non est quid; incomprehensibilis
quippe in aliquo, et sibi ipsi et omni intellectui." De Divisione Na-
turae, II., 28 (ed. Migne, col. 589).
It seems, that, in the sphere of the profundities, the election lies,
to most minds, between something like this and the popular theologies
which offer, as their first principle, a Supreme constituted in the image
of man.
P. 329, note *. The quotation referred to, when read unmangled, turns
out to be half of a Janaki stanza
^^^nWf^rW ^n^% *Tî: ^^'fr %^^t ^^^Y^^^: ii
P. 331, notes, 1. 3 ab infra. Read ^fXTfTTtf rf^
Printed by Unger Brothers (Th. Glrimm), Berlin, Friedrichsstrasse 24.

1
DATE DUE
BL1135.P8A3 1864V.4
The Vishnu Puran a system of Hindu
;
Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library
1 1012 00163 2373

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si^

HORACE HAYMAN WILSON,

MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETIES OF

HINDU MYTHOLOGY AND TRADITION.

FROM THE ORIGINAL SANSKRIT,

II. H. WILSON, M.A., F.R.S.,

Kings of the lunar dynasty. Origin of Soma or the Moon: he

IVJAITREYA. — You have given me, reverend (pre-

* Literally, "tiger of a sage," muni-Mrdula. See Vol. III., p. 118,

t Dyuti and iila.

Kartaviryarjuna,* and others equally renowned. That

plants, of Brahmans, and of the stars, t Soma celebrated

with Soma, t Rudra, who had studied under Angiras,

t Called, in the original, by his epithet abjayoni.

(the father of Brihaspati*), befriended his fellow-

assistance ;f whilst Indra and all the gods were the

Then there ensued a fierce contest, which, being on

band, ff Finding that she was pregnant, H Brihaspati

• See Vol. I., p. 153, note 2.

whom she deposited in a clump of longMunja-grass.*

cinated by his beauty, claimed him as their child. The

child of Brihaspati? or of Soma?" "Of Soma," said

§ Pitamaha, in the original.

BOOK IV., CHAP. Vr.

It has already been related how Budha begot Puru-

females, in grace, elegance, symmetry, delicacy, and

with Buddha, any deified mortal, or 'he by whom truth is known'

follows, though with some variations, and in greater or less

detail, in the Vayu, Matsya, Vamana, Padma, and Bhagavata Pu-

It is, likewise, the subject of the Vikrama and Urvasi of Kali-

dasa, in which drama the incidents offensive to good taste are

tion to the drama, has, in another part,— c. 94,— an account of a

Pururavas who, in the Chakshusha Manwantara, § was king of

See Vol. III., pp. 233-236.

t For a fanciful etymology of the name Buddha, as denoting the

§ See Vol. III., p. 2.

beauty, Parnravas was equally fascinated by Urvasi.

observe the conditions I have to propose." § "What

Alaka, sporting amidst the groves and lotos-crowned

^ One copy has sixty-one years; the Brahma Parana and

§ The love-making of Pimiravas and Urvasi was somewhat less de-

licate, as represented in the B/idgavata-purdtia, IX., XIV., 18—20,

** The original has "Manasa and other lakes": TTT^reTf^ ^^'^ I

See Vol. II., p. 110, note *; and p. 117.

Piiriiravas for his bride increased every day of its du-

one of the rams. Urvasi was awakened by its cries,

Hari Vamsa|| have fifty-nine. One period is as likely as the

t Apsaras, siddha, and gandharva.

§ See Vol. II.. p. 285, note f; &c.

highly; and, trusting that the nymph would not see

at theend of a year, when I will deliver to you a son,

of comely appearance, and one with whom we could

• See Vol. II., p. 133, note 1.

first-born, Ay us; and these annual interviews were re-

awoke, and considered that the Gandharvas had given

have by the way. Resolving, therefore, to re-

cover it, he rose, and went to the place where he had

• All my MSS. agree in reading ^s^TTRf^TrR^cfit^t I

t Amndya; and so below.