INDIA. PART II. riots a royal charioteers in! Brahmanical contempt upon open to question. The driving of chariots was a HISTORY OF favourite and royal amusement with the ancient Kshatriyas, as it was with the ancient Greeks. It Driving chawill be seen hereafter in the authentic tradition of amusement. Nala and Damayantí that the deserted Rání recognized her husband by his furious driving; whilst amongst the virtues of Maháraja Dasaratha, as described in the Rámáyana, he is said to have been a perfect charioteer. Again, the charioteer of the High rank of Sovereign is frequently represented as his confiden- ancient times. tial friend and chief adviser. Thus it will be seen that Sanjaya was the friend and charioteer of Maháraja Dhritaráshtra, and that Sumantra was chief counsellor and charioteer of Maháraja Dasaratha. But the "arrangers " of the Mahá Bhárata were Reasons why the evidently anxious to throw contempt upon chariot- compilers threw eers; and in addition to the reflection upon Karna's the charioteers. birth, there is a curious story in the narrative of the great war, of the rage of Raja Salya on being asked to drive Karna's chariot. The reason for this antagonism appears to be as follows:-The chariot confidential poeer anciently occupied the same confidential position rioteer, subsein relation towards a Raja as was subsequently filled the Purohita, or by the Purohita, or family priest. Thus, just before the breaking out of the great war, Raja Drupada sent his Purohita as envoy to Hastinapur; whilst Dhritarashtra sent his charioteer as envoy to the Pándavas. The inference, therefore, follows that Historical signithe Brahmans were jealous of the influence exer- change. cised by the charioteers; and the substitution of a Purohita for a charioteer probably marks the period in Hindú history when the military domination of the Kshatriyas was brought under the ecclesiastical and caste supremacy of the Bráhmans. sition of the cha quently held by family priest. ficance of the HISTORY OF PART II. As regards Karna, it seems not unlikely that his INDIA. father was not a charioteer in the higher sense of Karna's father the word, but a mere carter or waggoner. The language of Bhíma in taunting Karna seems to bear out this view. "You had better," he said, "take a whip and drive a bullock-cart after your father." not a charioteer but a carter. Question of Karna being created the legend. The sudden elevation of Karna to the dignity of a Raja: myth- Raja appears to be open to question. The golden seat to which he is said to have been conducted is evidently mythical. The name of the territory over which he is appointed to be Raja is equally doubtful. Anga is a country which lies far away to the eastward, in the neighbourhood of the modern town of Bhagalpur; and consequently would be separated by an interval of many hundreds of miles from the Raj of Bhárata. But still the dignity may have been conferred, like that of a modern knighthood, without reference to territory. The right of Duryodhana to create a Raja seems, however, very dubious; and the subsequent language of Bhíma to Karna appears to imply that there was no real recognition of the new rank which had been thus bestowed upon him. 5th, Legend of the birth of Karna. Early life of Kunti in the The legend of the birth of Karna is nothing more than a wild myth which has been concocted for the obvious purpose of ennobling Karna by connecting him with the royal house at Hastinápur. The myth is as extravagant and improbable as that of the birth of Vyása, and bears the same marks of a Brahmanical origin; but it may be related here, as reference is frequently made to it in the more modern portions of the Mahá Bhárata. The story is as follows: Now Kuntí, the wife of Raja Pándu, was brought up in INDIA. PART II. the house of Kunti-bhoja, the Raja of the Bhojas, and she HISTORY OF ever thought him to be her father; but her real father was Sura, the grandfather of Krishna. vásas, the sage. And it happened on a certain day that a sage named Visit of DurDurvásas came to the house of Kunti-bhoja; and he was tall in stature, and his hair was matted after the manner of a devotee, and his limbs were of the colour of honey. And Durvásas said to Kunti-bhoja :-" O Raja, I am desirous of dwelling with you, but if I do so your people must conform to all my wishes; and they must let me eat when I please, and sleep when I please, and no one must contradict me." And the Raja replied:-" My daughter Kuntí shall wait upon Kunti appointyou always, and I am sure that she will serve you to your Durvásas. heart's content." Then the Raja called to his daughter and said:-"O Kuntí, this Bráhman is about to dwell in my house, and you must serve him night and day; for he is a man of great mortification, and has subdued all his senses by the strictness of his austerities." And Kuntí had great reverence for Bráhmans, and she gladly promised to serve Durvásas, the sage, according to the will of her father. and night upon service to the Then the Raja lodged the Bráhman in the sacrificial Kunti's dutiful chamber, where he had been used to kindle the sacred fire; Brahman. and Kuntí served the Bráhman day and night with all diligence and purity. And Durvásas was greatly pleased with the service of the damsel; for sometimes he would go out in the morning, and not return till evening or midnight; but Kuntí was always ready with various sorts of victuals to set before him; and if he lost his temper or used harsh words, she took no notice, but continued to serve him as diligently as before. :- Durvásas offers a boon to Kunti. When a year had passed away, Durvásas said to Kuntí :"O well-accomplished damsel, I am entirely satisfied with your service; so now ask a boon of me, and let it be such as will render you blessed beyond all other women." But Kuntí replied:-"O greatest of Bráhmans, if you and my father are contented with me, it is as if you had bestowed all blessings upon me." So the Brahman taught her a Teaches a manmantra, and said :-" Whenever you repeat this mantra, any tra to Kunti. INDIA. PART II. HISTORY OF god you desire will descend from heaven, and you will bear to him a son, who shall be like unto his father." So Kuntí made no answer, and learned the mantra; for she feared lest she should offend the Bráhman, and he should pronounce a curse against herself and her father. And Durvásas praised her greatly to the Raja, and then left the house and went his way. Kunti repeats the mantra, and Sun god. One day after this Kuntí beheld the bright Sun in the is visited by the sky, and her soul was enlightened, and she saw the Sun in the likeness of a warrior arrayed in golden mail with earrings in his ears. And she repeated the words of the mantra that Durvásas had taught her; and the god left himself in the form of a Sun to illuminate the world, and descended to the earth in the form of a Raja, with a crown upon his head and bracelets upon his arms. But when Kuntí saw him she implored his forgiveness and besought him to return; but he said:"I cannot do this, for all the gods are laughing at my discomfiture." And the eyes of Kuntí were opened, and she saw that Indra and the gods were laughing, and she was much ashamed. So the Sun stayed with her some time, and then went his way. Birth of Karna. After this Kuntí gave birth to a son with golden earrings in his ears, and a golden cuirass upon his body; and no one The babe floated knew it, and she became a virgin as before. And she took in a chest upon country of Anga. the river to the the infant and placed it in a chest, and with many tears and prayers she floated it upon the river; and the river carried the chest into the waters of the Jumná, and the Jumná carried it to the Ganges, and the Ganges to the country of Anga. And the wife of a charioteer saw the chest and carried it to her home; and her husband opened it and found the babe therein, and he and his wife brought it up as their own child; and this boy was Karna. Review of the foregoing myth. The foregoing myth is perhaps beneath criticism, Its incredibility. but still the pretensions of Durvásas are very significant, and the reference to the country of Anga is worthy of consideration. The enormous distance which the chest would have had to travel down the myth. INDIA. Karna with the Anga. Jumná and Ganges to the country of Anga is alone HISTORY OF sufficient to render the myth of the birth of Karna PART II. altogether incredible, even if his divine paternity could be explained away; but the object of the object of the myth is not devoid of interest, and can easily be explained. Local tradition in the country which Association of formerly went by the name of Anga, has preserved later Rajas of the name of Karna. A dynasty of Buddhist Rajas appear to have reigned at Anga about the second century of the Christian era under the name of Karnas; and it is by no means unlikely that the Brahmanical compilers sought to gratify the tastes of the people of the country by establishing a mythical connection between the Karna who fought in the great war, with the Karna Rajas of Anga, who flourished at a much later period. But the vast geographical interval between Hastinapur and Anga has already excited a suspicion that the connection is a fabrication; and this suspicion is confirmed by the supernatural details which the compilers have introduced to carry out their design. The next legend, namely, that of the war against Drupada, Raja of Panchála, may now be related as follows: Now when the Kauravas and Pandavas had proved be- 6th, War against Drupada, Raja fore the Maharaja and all his Chieftains, that they were of Panchala. capable of bearing arms, they were called upon by Drona to fulfil the terms upon which he had educated them, namely, to chastise Drupada, Raja of Panchála. Accordingly, Dur- Defeat of the yodhana and all his brethren marched out by themselves victory of the against Raja Drupada, but were defeated by the enemy, and compelled to return to Hastinápur. Then Yudhishthira and his brethren marched out against Drupada, and they van This tradition will be found in Dr Buchanan's account of the Bahar district, preserved in Martin's Eastern India, Vol. I. Kauravas, and Pandavas. |