HISTORY OF the meeting between the son and the father. INDIA. PART II. Death of Sensational descent into pents. of the Serpent as a guardian deity. The Raja manifests his filial respect by wiping the shoes of Arjuna with his long hair; upon which Arjuna strikes him to the earth, and accuses him of being a coward and the son of a herdsman. Next follows the mythical battle in which Arjuna is slain; and the palace rings with the screams of his wife Chitrángadá, who calls for a funeral pile that she may be burned with the body of her slaughtered husband. Lastly, the descent into the subterranean the city of Ser- regions, and conquest of the city of Serpents, create a sensational thrill in a Hindú audience, which few who have not resided in India will be able to apHindu worship prehend. Ages of Brahmanism have failed to crush out the old primitive worship of the serpent, as the mysterious deity of the regions below. To many he is the guardian deity of the household, to be propitiated with mantras and offerings of food; and, according to the popular belief, it is the great Raja of Serpents, the mighty Sesha-nága, who supports the universe upon his head. But still the Hindú imagination calls up exaggerated visions of the terrible serpent-gods, whose irresistible coils and venomed fangs are deadly to all save the all-powerful charmer; whose gleaming coats are radiant with a thousand dyes, and whose wrathful hoods are sparkling with countless gems; whose city in the under world is as brilliant as a mine of jewels, and who dwell there in endless numbers, with wives of unearthly beauty, and children as fascinating and as terrible as themselves. Exaggerated ideas of a city of cobras. The religious ideas connected with the old worship of serpents may be reserved for discussion hereafter; but still it may be remarked how admirably the present myth is adapted to wean a barbarous people INDIA. the mythic de Munniporees. from so low a form of worship, and to lead them to HISTORY OF adopt the gods of the Bráhmans. Not a single idea PART II. is expressed which could wound the prejudice of the Adaptation of serpent worshipper. The power of the Serpents is tails to the duly acknowledged, and their city is described with a marvellous power of fancy. But the Serpent Raja himself acknowledges the superiority of Krishna; and the city of the Serpents is conquered by the son of Arjuna. The result has been that notwithstanding the late advent of Bráhmanism, the myth of the sacrificial horse has taken a powerful hold upon the minds of the rude and half-savage Munniporees. The spot where the horse is said to have entered the Munnipore_valley is still pointed out, and goes by the name of Sagon-mang, or "horse-lost; " the spot where he was caught is still called Sagon-pul, or "horse-stopped;" and the part of the palace enclosure into which he is said to have been led is still called Sagon-keephum, or "horse-tying place." The cavity down which the descent was made in search of the jewel is still to be seen; and there in that cavity is said to reside the Serpent ancestor of the Rajas of Munnipore, and over it is still placed the throne of the reigning Raja." Locale of the adventures of the horse still pointed out by the Muniporees. The later adventures of the horse are of very Later advenminor importance. They are mere extravagances with Krishna. 19 For many particulars in the foregoing observations, I am indebted to Colonel MacCulloch, the present Political Agent at Munnipore. It is somewhat curious that the mythical account of Arjuna's adventures in Munnipore should have been composed many centuries before the actual introduction of Brahmanism into the country. Yet such would appear to be the case, for the myth is referred to in the Vishnu Purána, which seems to have been composed in the eleventh century; whilst the evidence of Colonel MacCulloch is indisputable as regards the absence of all traces of Brahmanism prior to the eighteenth century. (See Wilson's Introduction to the Vishnu Purána.) From the allusion to the Chandels it would seem that the myth was composed in the North-Western Provinces, where the Chandels are to be found. See ante, p. 404, note. tures of the horse connected PART II. Dubious character of the miracle of Krishna's re man to life. HISTORY OF referring to Krishna, from which nothing tangible INDIA. can be inferred. The eleventh adventure contains the story of the son of Jayadratha being restored to life by Krishna; but the alleged miracle is in storing a dead every way exceedingly dubious. The young man dies suddenly on hearing that Arjuna has entered the Raj; upon which Krishna takes him by the hand, and restores him to life. Here, if the myth were a true story, it is impossible to avoid the conviction that the young man did not die from so trifling a cause, but merely fell into a swoon, from which he was recovered by Krishna. Triumphant return of sacrificial horse, an illustration of Hindú re joicings. The adventures of the horse being brought to a Arjuna with the close, Krishna returned to Hastinápur, and was subsequently followed by Arjuna. The triumphant entry of Arjuna is described in the usual fashion. All the people of the city dressed out their houses, and put on their best attire, to welcome back the victorious prince. The armies of Arjuna, and those of the Rajas accompanying him, marched in grand array amidst the acclamations of the multitude. Garlands were thrown down from the verandahs, and money was scattered in all directions. Finally Yudhishthira gave a magnificent reception to all the Yudhishthira's Rajas assembled, and received each one so graciously that they are said to have all repented that they had not submitted at a much earlier period, and spent their entire lives in the service of so great a Raja. Gracious character of reception of the Rajas. 3rd, Narrative of the sacrifice of the horse combined with the offering of homa. The narrative of the third and concluding event in the performance of the Aswamedha resembles in some respects the description of the Rajasúya, inasmuch as it involves two distinct classes of ceremonies, namely: First. The rites connected with the sacrifice of the horse, which may be regarded as forming a part HISTORY OF of the original Kshatriya tradition. Secondly. The rites connected with the offering of the homa, which may be regarded as the details of a Brahmanical sacrifice, introduced by the Brahmanical compilers, for the purpose of imparting a Brahmanical tone to the performance of the Aswamedha. The INDIA. PART II. the homa intro Brahmanical sacrifice. It will be seen hereafter that an attempt has been The offering of made to represent these two distinct classes of rites duced as a as forming a part of the ancient ceremony. horse is apparently sacrificed in a paved area surrounded by pillars, whilst the homa is prepared and offered in eight sacrificial pits; but still the descriptions of the two rites are so carefully blended together in the Mahá Bhárata that it is difficult to separate them. When, however, consideration is given to the radical difference between the sacrifice. of the horse and the offering of homa, and especially to the fierce opposition which prevailed between those who persisted in sacrificing animals and those who denounced the bloody offerings, it is impossible to arrive at any other conclusion, than that the account in the Mahá Bhárata is a compromise attempted by the later Brahmanical compilers to combine the simple offering of the homa with that sacrifice which formed the essential ceremony in the performance of an Aswamedha. stages in the an Aswamedha. Having thus indicated the difference between Seventeen, what appears to be two distinct narratives, it may performance of now be as well to describe the Aswamedha as nearly as possible in the order in which the incidents appear in the Mahá Bhárata. The stages in the ceremony appear to have been seventeen in number, and are as follows: HISTORY OF 1st, The bathing of Raja Yudhishthira, and of INDIA. PART II. Description of the Aswamedha. Preparations. Draupadí as his Rání. 2nd, The ploughing by Yudhishthira of the space set apart for the sacrifice with a golden plough. 3rd, The sowing of the space with different kinds of grain by Draupadí. 4th, The paving of the space with golden bricks. 5th, The eight pillars set up round the pave ment. 6th, The eight pits prepared for the homa, with eight corresponding ladles. 7th, The collection of vegetables and medicinal herbs for the homa. 8th, The procession to bring water from the Ganges. 9th, The performance of the homa. 10th, The purification of the Raja and the horse with the Ganges water. 11th, The speaking of the horse. 12th, The sacrifice of the horse. 13th, The offering of the horse to the gods. 14th, The distribution of the merits of the Aswamedha. 15th, The disposal of the remains of the homa. 16th, The distribution of presents. 17th, The feast. The narative of these several rites, as it appears in the Mahá Bhárata, may now be related as follows: Now all this while, the preparations were in progress for the performance of the Aswamedha sacrifice. A golden throne was set up on a high place for Maháraja Dhritarashtra, and beneath that was another throne for Raja Yudhishthira; and The thrones of thrones of gold and sandal-wood were arranged for all the other Rajas and Chieftains according to their several gold and sandalwood. |