INDIA. PART II. HISTORY OF garded as a blemish, and was probably indicative of leprosy. Accordingly it may be inferred that Pándu would have been excluded like Dhritarashtra, had it not so happened that Vidura was begotten upon a slave. Suspicious de tails respecting Pandu's marriages. Kunti, the Raja of the Bhojas in the The marriages of Pándu are also deserving of notice. Kuntí was his first and most celebrated wife, daughter of the but her origin is involved in some obscurity. She is said to have been the daughter of Kunti-bhoja, a Chieftain in the Vindhya mountains, and to have chosen Pándu for her husband at her Swayamvara. The statement as regards her birth seems not altogether improbable. The Bhojas, of whom her father was Chieftain, were a rude race who appear to have preceded the Rajputs and to have occupied the Vindhya mountains in the Malwa country," and it is just possible that Pándu obtained a wife from such a family. But the statement that Kuntí chose Pándu at her Swayamvara is open to suspicion, for it seems scarcely possible that she should of her own accord have chosen a man for her husband who was white complexioned, or who, in other words, presented the appearance of a leper. But another statement is Myththat Kunti added which is still more questionable. She is said ter of Sura, the to have been the daughter, not of Kunti-bhoja, but Krishna. of a Chieftain named Sura, who belonged to the Yádava tribe; and it is added that Sura and Kuntibhoja were friends, and that the latter was childless, and therefore Sura presented him with Kuntí, whilst still an infant, to bring up as his own daughter. Now Sura was the grandfather of the celebrated 186, 418. The tribe of Bhojas Relics of the tribe may also was the daugh grandfather of Origin of the myth. 17 Comp. Wilson's note to Vishnu Purána, pp. are said to be still represented by the Dhar Rajas. be found in western Bahar. INDIA. PART II. manical com Mahá Bhárata to promulgate Krishna, and to ditions of Krish the Bharata Krishna, and the improbable story of his giving his HISTORY OF infant daughter to the Bhoja chieftain seems to be a myth, introduced for the purpose of connecting the family of Krishna with that of the heroes of the Mahá Bhárata. The extraordinary history of Krishna Aim of the Brahboth as a warrior and a god will form the subject pilers of the of consideration hereafter; but it may be generally the worship of stated that his worship was adopted by the Bráh- connect the tramans, and that the Brahmanical compilers of the na with those of Mahá Bhárata especially inculcated the worship of family. Krishna as an incarnation of Vishnu. Accordingly throughout the Mahá Bhárata they have endeavoured to combine as far as possible the traditionary history of Krishna with that of the heroes who fought in the great war, much in the same manner as they have brought in the mythical history of Vyása. There is Contrast behowever a difference between the two attempts which torical tradi is highly significant. The traditions of Krishna are to a great extent historical, and true to human nature, but those relating to Vyása are mythical inventions of a supernatural character. The result is that whilst it is easy to eliminate the myths referring to Vyása, it is difficult to separate the traditions of Krishna from those of Bhárata; and thus, whilst it is impossible to avoid the conviction that there is no real connection between the two series, it is better, where absolute proof is not forthcoming, to permit the connection to stand. tween the his tions of Krishna and the myth ical fables re specting Vyása. second Madri, the sister Madra seems The story of the marriage of Pándu to his wife Mádrí is perhaps less open to suspicion. is the ancient name for Bhootan, and there some reason for believing that Mádrí belonged to one of the mountain tribes occupying the southern slopes of the Himálayas, but probably much further of a Raja of Ma dra, on the southern slope of the Hima HISTORY OF, to the westward than the country of Bhootan. She was INDIA. PART II. Barbarous cus purchased with money and jewels from her brother Salya, who is described as the Raja of Madra; and the customs attributed to the people of his country are precisely of that depraved character which prevails to this day amongst the tribes of the Himálayas. They indulged in promiscuous intercourse without ple of Madra. regard to relationship. They would eat flesh and drink wine until they were drunk, and then would dance together in a medley. If victorious in a battle they never gave quarter to the enemy; but if they were defeated they made over their wives and children to the conquerors without shame or concern. toms of the peo Difficulty as regards the birth and Mádri. 18 The inferences to be drawn from the marriages both of Kunti of Pándu are somewhat vague and unsatisfactory. The statement that he obtained one wife from the Vindhya mountains, and another from Bhootan, is open to suspicion; whilst the further statement that Kuntí was the real daughter of Sura, and only the adopted daughter of Kunti-bhoja, is apparently mythical.19 The compilers of the Mahá Bhárata have so frequently tampered with the text for the purpose of associating Krishna or his family with that of the Pandavas, that it is difficult to accept statements which have that object in view. For the 1 See the charges brought by Karna against Salya on the seventeenth day of the great war. 19 The only circumstances under which female adoption is recognized by the Hindús is in the case of prostitutes and dancing girls, who are permitted to adopt daughters for the purpose of bringing them up to their own profession. family have been so extensively Krishna's real parents are said and Devakí, a damsel of the royal The traditions respecting Krishna and his garbled that it is difficult to arrive at the facts. to have been Vasudeva, a chief of the Yadavas, family of the Bhojas, reigning at Mathura; whilst his apparent parents were Nanda and Yasoda, a cowherd and cowherdess dwelling at Gokula. It will be seen hereafter that the reverse is probably the truth; that he was really the son of a cowherd, but that his biographers invented an absurd and impossible myth for the purpose of assigning to him a nobler parentage. present, therefore, the parentage of Kuntí must be HISTORY OF regarded as altogether doubtful. sole purpose a INDIA. PART II. Mythical acdeath of Raja Pandu in the count of the jungle. beneath cri The history of Pándu's life in the jungle is filled with mythical details, which are introduced for the of ascribing supernatural powers to Bráhman's curse. He is said to have departed with his two wives to the southern slope of the Himalayas for the sake of indulging his passion for hunting; but in all probability he retired on account of his leprosy.20 The remaining details of his life might Absurd details well be passed over in silence. The wild idea of a ticism. sage taking the form of a deer, and the ostentatious statement that Pándu gave all his property to the Bráhmans, are equally unworthy of criticism. the statement that Mádrí perished with Pándu the funeral pile demands some consideration. original idea of Satí was simply that of sending Scythians. a favourite wife to keep company with her husband after death. When the ancient Scythians buried a king, they strangled one of his concubines, and buried her with him, together with his cup-bearer, cook, groom, waiting-man, messenger, and favourite horses. Amongst the Thracians there existed a still more significant custom. Every Thracian had Thracian cusseveral wives, and whenever a man died, a sharp the best-beloved 21 But self-sacrifice of upon funeral pile of Mádri on the The 2* A curious Buddhist legend respecting the retirement of both a Princess and a Raja on account of leprosy is to be found in the Mahawansi. A Princess named Priya in the city of Kapila was seized with white leprosy, and was taken to a distant jungle, and placed in a large cave where she was supplied with fire, fuel, and all kinds of food. At the same time Ráma, Raja of Benares, was seized with the same disorder, and abandoned his Raj, and retired to the same jungle. Subsequently he found a remedy in the root, leaves, fruit, and bark of a certain tree, and his body became as pure as gold. Ultimately he fell in with Priya, cured her leprosy, and married her, and they resided in the city of Koli. 21 Herodotus, IV. 71. The same idea is brought forward in the story of the adventures of the Pandavas during the thirteenth year of their exile in the city of Virata, which will appear further on. her husband Pándu. Pandu Original idea of tom of choosing wife. PART II. HISTORY OF Contest ensued between his wives as to which of INDIA. them he loved the best. On such an occasion a number of men and women assembled to hear the dispute, and finally settle the question; and when the best-beloved woman had been chosen, she received the praises of all present, and was then slain over the grave by her next of kin, and buried with her husband, whilst all the others are said to have been sorely grieved at not being thought worthy to follow their husbands." The legend of the Satí of Mádrí is precisely of this character. Mádrí disputes the honour with Kuntí, and urges the circumstances of her husband's death as a proof that she was the best-beloved, after which she sacrificed herself upon the funeral pile.23 How this extraordinary rite became sublimed into a religious duty will be considered hereafter. Similarity be tween the Sati of Madri and the Thracian custom. Myth that the Pandavas were directly begot As regards the birth of the five sons of Pán du ten by the gods, an extraordinary myth has been inserted in the Mahá Bhárata, which has not been incorporated in the foregoing text, but which may be briefly in :22 Herodotus, V. 5. 23 The extraordinary self-sacrifice of Mádrí is not without its parallel in modern times. In 1862, a horrible case occurred in Rajputana. A wandering Bhat and beggar died in a village at Jodhpur. His wife, aged twenty-two, was not with him at the time, but arrived at the village one evening six days afterwards, accompanied by her husband's brother. She then learned for the first time that her husband was dead, and at once declared her intention of becoming Satí; but she is said to have been dissuaded by her husband's relations, and to have retired for the night, having apparently abandoned the idea. In the night her brother-in-law heard her moving, and saw that she was collecting wood for a funeral pile. Accordingly he assisted her, and when the pile was finished the poor woman seated herself upon it, whilst her brother-in-law set it on fire. At early dawn the people of the village saw the blaze, and came up to see what was the matter, when they found that the woman had burnt herself to death upon the pile. The legend, however, respecting the Satí of Mádrí is not altogether without suspicion, inasmuch as it is the only instance recorded in connection with the family of Bharata. Neither the widow of Santanu nor the widows of Vichitravírya perished upon the funeral pile. |