Kali the Sinner and Kalki the Savior

 The concept of Yuga and Avatara

The terms Kalpa, Manvantara and Yuga were used by the ancient Hindus to measure time. Accordingly, one Kalpa consisted of 14 Manvantaras and one Manvantara consisted of 71 Mahayugas and one Mahayuga consisted of four Yugas (ages) namely Krita or Sathya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali or Tisya Yuga.

The doctrine of the avataras of Vishnu is one of the most firmly established tenets of Hinduism. In the Bhagavad Gita (IV:7:8), Sri Krishna says that whenever there is decline of virtue and an insurrection of vice and injustice in the world, he will appear from age (yuga) to age for the preservation of the just, the destruction of the wicked and the establishment of virtue.

In Vishnu Purana it is said that Lord Vishnu appears in the form of Kapila and preaches paramajnana in the Krita yuga (period) and in Treta yuga, he assumes the form of an emperor and destroys the wicked people. In Dvapara yuga, he assumes the form of Vyasa and divides the Vedas into four sections and at the end of Kali yuga, he assumes the form of Kalki and restores the vicious to the path of righteousness.

Kali the sinner

The present age is the age of Kali, the sin god who lords over the world. Kali was the 15^th son of Kashyapa and after Sri Krishna’s departure to Vaikunta, Kali began to extend his power and influence and religious and moral decline advances rapidly. Sage Markandeya had prophesied about the happenings in Kaliyuga thus: In Kaliyuga all people will be dishonest and their life expectancy will come down. Righteous persons will decrease and sinners will increase. Brahmins would do duties of Shudras and Shudras will become prosperous, Kings will be sinners and merchants will cheat. Rainfall will be less and everywhere there will be murders.

Agni Purana says that in Kaliyuga all people will lose their faith in god and become irreligious. There will be an inter mixture of castes and people will become thieves and evil doers. Barbarians under the guise of rulers will harass the people. At last Vishnu will appear as Kalki, destroy the barbarians and reestablish all those pure customs and morals which are based upon the due observance of the duties prescribed to the castes and the four orders. Thereafter Hari will return to heaven; and the Sathya yuga then again returning, will restore to the world purity, virtue and piety.

Kalki the savior

All Puranas mentioning the various avataras of Vishnu end with Kalki. In this avatara Vishnu will incarnate as Kalki towards the end of Kaliyuga and come riding a white horse, with a drawn sword to destroy the wicked. Kalki was (or will be) born in a village Shambhalagrama to a Brahmin couple, Vishnuyashas and Sumati. He was married to Padmavathi and had two sons, Jaya and Vijaya. Kalki was a military hero and commanded a large army by which he defeated the Mlechchas and the Bauddhas; conquered kingdoms and restored the varnashrama dharma. (About Kalki’s expedition against the Bauddhas, H.C.Norman opines that it may seem strange to find an avatara of Vishnu marching to subdue those who have been converted by Vishnu himself as Buddha).

Inconsistent statements about Kalki

According to the Puranas, Vishnu will be incarnated as Kalki/Kalkin in a village Shambhala and will destroy all Mlechhas, Shudra kings and heretics and will establish dharma, so that Krita age will then be ushered. While the Vayu Purana (58.75-90) and Matsya Purana (144. 50-64) state that it will be Pramati Bhargava who will be the avatara of Vishnu, Vayu Purana (98.104,110) and (99.396-7), Vanaparva (190. 93-97) of Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana (X.2.16-23) state that Kalkin will become a universal emperor (Chakravartin) of dharmavijayin type and will start the Krita age. In some Puranas, he is referred as Kalki and in some as Kalkin. In some Puranas, he is said to be the son of a Brahmin Vishnu Yashas and in others he is himself styled as Vishnu Yashas. In some texts he is said to have already flourished and in some to incarnate in future.

Kalki identified with historical personalities

While Hindu sources depict Kalki as a savior, Jain sources depict Kalki as a persecutor of Jains. Based on these Jain sources several historians have tried to identify Kalki with historical personalities. K.P.Jayaswal identifies Kalki with Yashodharman, the famous ruler of Malwa while K.B.Pathak identifies Kalkiraja with Mihirkula, the Huna ruler. According to D.R.Mankad, the Kalki referred by Jaina sources is different from the Kalki referred in the Puranas and he identifies Kalki mentioned in Jain works with Pushyamitra Sunga. But H.B.Bhide after critically examining the works of the Jaina authors who have referred to one Kalki or Kalkiraja says that there is absolutely no evidence in their works (which he claims as not trustworthy from the point of view of history) to identify Kalkiraja either with Yashodharman or Mihirkula.

Kalki defeated Sishunaga?

According to D.R.Mankad, Kalki lived in 1986 B.C., and was born in the dominion of Vishakhayupa of the Pradyota dynasty ruling from Avanti. It is said that the latter came to pay his homage to Kalki as soon as he was born. In the view of D.R.Mankad, Kalki was like Chanukya, a practical politician and an accomplished warrior who gathered all the prominent rulers of the day (the rulers of Kashi, Vaishali, Avanti, etc., who had long standing grudge against Magadha), into a confederacy and dealt a crushing defeat to the Magadha king Sishunaga.

Kalki Purana

The Kalki Purana is one of the late Upapurana and it claims to be a continuation of the Bhagavata Purana and to deal with future events and is a purely Vaishnava work. It describes the deeds of Vishnu to be performed at the close of the Kali Yuga when he will be born as Kalki. According to R.C.Hazra, as all the manuscripts of Kalki Purana are in Bengali scripts, this Purana was written in Bengal and is probably a 18^th century A.D. work.

Iconography of Kalki

The image of Kalki, according to Vaikhanasagama should have the face of a horse and the body of a man with four hands carrying respectively, the shankha, the chakra, the khadga and the khetaka and should possess a terrific look. According to Agni Purana, Kalki should carry the dhanus and the bana and should ride on a horse.

Development of the concept of Kalkin

According to P.V.Kane it is probable that the dismal accounts of Kaliyuga were put forth in the first centuries of the Christian era when the ancient varnashrama dharma had suffered a great set-back owning to the ascendancy of Buddhism and Jainism and the invasion of foreigners like the Shakas and the Hunas. When Yashodharman defeated the great Huna invader Mihirakula, people believed that the dark ages were at an end and that an era of perfect dharma was at hand. Passages in a prophetic vein were added about the time of Yashodharman to those already existing about the decline of dharma in Kaliyuga. This necessitated that all passages about Kalkin in any work whatever, were put in later than about 530 A.D.

According to Sunil Kumar Singh, the descriptions of the Kali age in the Puranas should be analysed as symptoms of a changing society. The death of an old order, wherein the social relationships weighed heavily in favour of the Brahmins, was a matter of great concern as it inaugurated the beginning of a phase of uncertainty. It was this fear psychosis and a grave concern for the uncertain future that finds full expression in the Kaliyuga descriptions of the Mahabharata and the Puranas.

It can be presumed that the development of the concept of the arrival of Kalkin was due to the yearning of the conservative elements to reestablish their hegemony over the society.

Reference

• Vettam Mani- Puranic Encyclopedia, Motilal Banarsidass, 1975

• P.V.Kane – History of Dharmashastra, Vol 5, Part I, BORI, Poona, 1958

• P.V.Kane – History of Dharmashastra, Vol 5 Part II, BORI, Poona, 1962

• P.V.Kane – History of Dharmashastra, Vol 3, second edition,BORI, Poona, 1973

• D.R.Mankad – Puranic Chronology, Gangajala Prakashan, Anand, Gujarat, 1951

• T.A.Gopinatha Rao – Elements of Hindu Iconography, vol -I, part I, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi, 1985

• K.P.Jayaswal – The historical position of Kalki and his identification with Yasodharman, The Indian Antiquary, Vol XLVI, July 1917

• H.B.Bhide – Is Kalkiraja an historical Personage, The Indian Antiquary, Vol 48, July 1918

• K.B.Pathak – New light on the Gupta era and Mihirkula, The Indian Antiquary, Vol XLVII, January 1918

• H.C.Norman – The Kalki Avatara of Visnu, Section V – Religions of India and Iran, Transaction of the third International Congress for the History of Religions, Vol -II, Oxford Press.

• Sunil Kumar Singh – Studying the Kali Age: Problems of Perspective, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Volume 50, 1989

Outlines of Hindu temples

The art of a country reflects its social life. While the ancient Egyptian and Babylonian arts exhibit intense love of immortality, imperialistic aggression and love of splendour, the ancient Hindu art represents a fervid longing after spiritual perfection and the realization of the infinite in the finite. (V.Raghavendra Rao – South Indian Temples, QJMS, Vol -23, 1932-33, pp: 1,2)

The bhakti doctrine gave impetus for the erection of temples enshrining images. Temples arose as a place of worship for the ordinary mortals who were not equipped with mental faculties for reflection (meditation) or for the performance of austerities (Yoga) for the realization of the Absolute.

Earlier these temples were built out of perishable materials. With the commencement of the Gupta rule the practice of constructing temples with stones and bricks began in north India while temple building activities in south India commenced during the rule of the Pallavas which is supposed to have begun around 4^th century A.D.

Shilpa Shastras- Manual on Temple Architecture

The origin of the Indian temple architecture is attributed to a mythological person Vishwakarma. The Sutras, Puranas, Agamas contain references to temple architecture and sculpture. The Agamas and Silpa Shastras have laid down elaborate rules as to the place where temples are to be built, its layout, the kinds of images to be installed, the material with which such images are to be carved, the dimensions and proportions of various kinds of images and the various rituals to be carried daily after the consecration of the image in the temple. There are several books written exclusively on architecture of which Manasara, Mayamata, Kashyapa Shilpa and Agastya Sakaladhikara are works dedicated to dravida style of temple architecture. Works like Rupa Mandana, Prasada Mandana Vastu Shastra, Aparajita Prichchha and Samarangana Sutradhara are works dedicated to nagara style of temple architecture.

Types of Temples

In the beginning temples were carved out of boulders and also excavated in caves. Later structural temples were built. Examples of cave temples can be found in Badami in Karnataka state. Here of the four cave temples, one is dedicated to Shiva, two to Vishnu and one to a Jaina Thirthankara. These caves have three common features namely a pillared verandah, a columned hall and a small square garbhagriha cut deeply into the rock. The interior of these caves have wonderful images of Ardhanarishwara, Harihara, Mahishamardini, Narasimha, Varaha and Nataraja, to name a few.

The Pallava kings, Mahendravarman and Narasimhavarma initiated the technique of excavating stone temples out of solid rocks. The most famous of these ornate rock temples known as Rathas are located in Mahabalipuram in Tamilnadu. Another example of this type of temple is the monolithic Kailasa temple at Ellora, constructed by the Rashtrakuta king, Krishna I. This temple is hewn out of a single solid rock about 100 feet high. The main body of the temple occupies a rectangle 150×100 feet and the temple has a garbhagriha, preceded by a hall and in front of the hall is a detached Nandimantapa. The tower over the garbhagriha is 95 feet in height. The walls of the temple are carved by beautiful sculptures.

Classification of Indian temples

Silpa Shastras classify three kinds of temples based on the position of the image installed. The temple having a standing image is known as Sthanaka, having a seated image is called Asana and that having a reclining is referred as Shayana.

Temples in India are mostly dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti (Mother Goddess). While Vishnu temples are built on the Pancharatra Agama principles, the Shiva temples follow the dictates of the Shaivagamas. These works also has rules with regards to the mode of worship of these gods. For instance Vishnu is worshipped with Tulasi leaves, white mud (Gopichandana), a flag with monkey insignia, Sudharshana discus accompanied with the music of the flute, while Shiva is worshipped with the berry of the Rudraksha tree, ashes, bilva leaves, drona flowers, trident and a flag with the bull insignia.

The popular forms of Vishnu worshipped in temples are Varaha, Narasimha, Trivikrama, Rama, Krishna, Balaji, Padhmanabha and Ranganatha. Another popular god associated in Vaishnava temples is Hanuman.

In Indian temples Shiva is generally worshipped in the form of the phallus (Linga) fixed on a pedestal. Ganesha and Subramanya or Skanda, his two children are also important deities worshipped in Shaivite temples.

Important goddess worshipped in Shakti temples are Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Kali, Durga, Bhavani, Gauri, Annapoorna, and Chamundi.

Important parts of a Hindu Temple

A Hindu temple is a symbol or rather a synthesis of various symbols. It is conceived in terms of a human being and the names of the various limbs of the human body are applied in architectural texts to different parts of the temple structure. Important organs of the temple are garbha-griha (sanctum) wherein the idol is enshrined; antarala, ardhamantapa or shukanasi (vestibule) which is in front of the garbha–griha and an assembly hall called mahamantapa, navaranga, sabhamantapa, etc. where the devotees stand. Inside the mahamantapa or just outside it will be placed the image of the deity’s chief vehicle, Nandi (bull) in Shiva temples and Garuda (bird) in Vishnu temples (essential in dravida temples and optional in nagara temples). Later a number of halls were added like utsava mantapa (for conducting various periodical festivals), kalyana mantapa (for conducting the ceremonial marriage festival of the god and goddess), nritya and sangeetha mantapa (where song and dance in praise of gods were rendered). After the mahamantapa there will be two raised platform one behind the other (essential in dravida temples and optional in nagara temples). In the first platform a flag-post or dhvaja stambha made of wood, stone or metal is fixed. And on the other platform called bali mantapa, bali or sacrifice offering is made. The whole place is surmounted by a high prakara wall whose gateway is surmounted by a tower called gopura, normally found in dravida style of temples.

Classification of Indian temple Styles

Indian temple architecture have been categorized into three main styles; namely Nagara, Dravida and Vesara. (The nagara style further divides itself into five major groups, located variously in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Upper India, Central India and Odisha).

Features of Nagara or Northern Style of temple architecture

• Temples belonging to the nagara style of architecture were constructed in the region between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas.

• These temples have sanctum which are square in plan.

• The sanctum (garbha-griha) is roofed by a tall curvilinear tower (sikhara), gradually inclining inwards and capped by an amalaka (a sphere shaped slab with ribs round the edge). This is crowned by a finial called kalasha. The shikaras have three, five or seven vertical projections and embellished with miniature chaitya window motifs (a projected horse shoe archway which is familiar to those found above the entrance of a chaitya.) and niches and in the corners of the shikara and small amalakas, to demarcate the division of the tower into compressed storeys.

• The outer walls of the sanctum have vertical projections called rathas. In the beginning there were three such projections on each side of the wall, (left, right and back) and these temples were known as triratha temples. In course of time the number of projections was increased to five (pancharatha), seven (saptharatha) and even nine (navaratha).

• In front of the garbha–griha there is a pavilion called sabha–mandapa over which there is a pyramid like roof with horizontal tiers.

• Normally nagara style of temples has a closed passage for circumambulation around the garbha–griha, the plan being known as sandhara.

• Another feature found in nagara style of architecture is the projection in the shikara over the roof of the antarala or ardhamantapa called as shukanasa or mahanisika.

• The Kandariya Mahadeva temple at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh and the Lingaraja temple at Bhubaneshwar in Odisha are good examples of temples constructed in nagara style.

Features of Dravida or Southern Style of temple architecture

• Temples belonging to the dravida style of architecture were constructed in the region between the river Krishna and Kanyakumari.

• These temples have sanctum which are rectangular in plan

• The tower over the sanctum is called Vimana, which is of two types, kuta vimana and shala vimana. In kuta vimana the tower consists of storeys (talas) with diminishing width as it moves up and is crowned with a square, circular, hexagonal or octagonal structure with a single finial called stupi. Each storey contains a hara or string comprising a decorative kuta (a miniature square, circular or octagonal shrine with domical roof and a single finial), shala (a miniature shrine with a barrel-vault roof and a series of stupis on its ridge) and pinjara (a miniature apsidal shrine).

• In shala vimana the storeys are of the same pattern as in kuta vimana except for the crowning part which is a wagon-top, vault like or inverted boat like structure with rows of stupis on top along the ridge.

• Normally dravida style of temples the passage for circumambulation around the garbha–griha is open, the plan being known as nirandhara.

• Another important feature of dravida temples are the construction of towers over the entrance gateway called Gopura. The gateway is of granite or hard stone but the superstructure, gopura is of brick, wood and stucco. The gopura has successive tiers where life-size brick and stucco figures of men and gods are placed. Atop the gopura there is a shalashikara resembling an inverted boat like structure.

• In dravida temples we normally find a pushkarini (temple tank) which is absent or optional in north Indian temples.

• The Brihadisvara temples at Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram in Tamilnadu are good examples of temples built in dravida style.

Features of Vesara or Karnataka Style of temple architecture

• The vesara style of temple architecture emerged under the rule of Badami Chalukyas and reached its zenith during the time of the Hoysalas. The vesara type of temples can be seen around the region between the Vindhyas and the River Krishna, but mainly in the present state of Karnataka. Though this style is an amalgamation of the nagara and dravida style, it has its own unique features like-

• The plan of the temple is circular which later evolved into star-shaped.

• Temples were built over a raised platform, the surface of which is richly embellished.

• The outer walls of the temples are spaced out by means of pilasters.

• The tower (shikara) of the vesara style developed in various stages. During the early stage the vesara shikara was a blending of nagara and dravida elements and consisted of a dravida shikara with a shukanasi or the projection in front of the shikara over the antarala. Over a period of time we find the vesara tower displaying a variety of motifs and yaksha figures in its various tiers with a sculpture relating to the deity found in the sanctum being installed in the shukanasi. In the third stage, the vesara tower is found engraved with decorative motifs one above the other to give it a curvilinear tower like look with a low umbrella shaped finial at the apex.

• Another important feature of the vesara structure is the introduction of a parapet wall of haras along the edge of the mukha–mantapa and mahamandapa roof.

• From base to the top, vesara type of temples are richly carved with sculptures and friezes. Inside the temples also the door frames, pillars and ceiling are luxuriantly ornamented.

• The Mahadeva temple at Itagi and the Keshava temple at Somanathapura in Karnataka are good examples of temples built in vesara style.

Hindu Temples- A Centre for Socio-Economic and Cultural Activities

In India, temples were not merely places of worship, but also a centre for economic, social and cultural activities. Its construction used to provide employment to scores of people of various caste and creeds. First of all stone cutters used to cut blocks of raw granite from hills which was transported to the place where a temple was supposed to be raised. Then artisans used to chisel the stone and convert it into pillars, columns and idols. The building of the temple also required the assistance of masons and labourers. Once the temple was complete the idol was consecrated by Brahmin priests with full paraphernalia and attended by people of the place. People used to donate agricultural lands to the temple for its maintenance and the temple authorities used to raise crops with the help of farmers. The money which flowed to the temple in the form of donations and offering was used by the temple management to provide loans for farmers in need. The temple used to feed the devotees and hence was a large consumer of rice, pulses, ghee, jaggery, etc. The premises around the temple were used by people to sell wares like pots, edibles, flowers, incense sticks, coconuts, handicrafts and other items. All these activities provided livelihood to a large number of people. Temples had halls where artists like singers and dancers used to perform and entertain the audience. Religious discourses were organized at the temple premises and it used to provide moral lessons to the people and guide them in their daily lives. Temples also acted as mediators in local disputes and served as centers of education. During special fairs and ceremonies people of different caste had their role to play. For instance members belonging to barber community had the privilege to play the auspicious music in front of the deity; folk artists used this occasion to display their art. Thus the various activities of the temple brought about social solidarity and cohesion among different sections of the populations. In total, a large section of the population including farmers, priests, cooks, menial workers, artists, teachers, etc. were benefited by the temple.

Impact of Iconoclasm

With the advent of Islam into India, temple building activities in north India received a setback. The Delhi Sultans and their provincial governors followed the policy of demolishing temples and destroying images. Mahmud of Ghazni was deeply struck by the magnificence and beauty of the architecture of the Hindu temples at Mathura and described it in glowing terms in his letters to his amirs; but this did not diminish his iconoclastic zeal to destroy temples and images. At Somnath he broke the idol of the Somnath temple into four pieces and sent one of the pieces to be placed in front of the great mosque of Ghazni to be trodden under foot by the Muslims entering the mosque for prayers. The second piece was put in front of the gate of the Sultan’s royal palace to be walked upon and the rest of the pieces were sent to Mecca and Medina. Hasan Nizami, a Muslim historian writes that in all the cities and places the Muslims conquered, hardly an idol temple or religious sanctuary of the Hindus was left unmolested and not converted into Muslim institutions.

Sita Ram Goel in his work- Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them, The Islamic Evidence remarks that starting with Al-Biladhuri who wrote in Arabic in the 2^nd half of the 9^th century and coming down to Syed Mahamud Ul Hasan who wrote in English in the fourth decade of 20^th century, we have cited from 80 histories spanning a period of more than 1200 years. These citations mentions 61 kings, 63 military commanders and 14 Sufis who destroyed Hindu temples in 154 localities, big and small spread from Khurasan in the west to Tripura in the east and from Transoxiana in the north to Tamilnadu in the south over a period of 1100 years. In most cases the destruction of temples were followed by erection of mosques, madrasas and khanqahs on the temple sites and frequently with temple materials. Hence eminent scholar Will Durant writes that we can never know from looking at India today, what grandeur and beauty she once possessed and we shall never be able to do justice to Indian art, for ignorance and fanaticism have destroyed its greatest achievement and have ruined the rest.

Bhargavas, the liberal/reformist Brahmins of Ancient India

The Bhargavas also called Bhrigus claim descent from the primaeval rishi Bhrigu. Bhrigu is one among the primaeval progenitors (Prajapatis) created by Brahma. While other Prajapatis are said to have issued from different limbs of Brahma, Bhrigu is represented as having sprung from Brahma’s heart, the noblest of the internal organs of man or god. The Bhargavas claim that their ancestors taught men to kindle fire by friction and thus they are the originators of the fire cult. The Bhargavas along with the Atreyas and the Kashyapas were the oldest priestly families of ancient India.

Bhrigu’s son was Dadhicha and his sons were Chyavana and Kavi. One of the descendants of Chyavana was Richika who married Satyavati, daughter of Gadhi or Gathi, the king of Kanyakubja and the sister of the famous sage Vishwamitra. Richika’s son was the illustrious Jamadagni, and his son was the famous Parashurama. Kavi’s son was Ushanas Shukra, who was a teacher of the Asuras. His daughter was married to king Yayati and gave birth to Yadu and Turvasa.

Composers of Vedic hymns

The hymns of the Rigveda are ascribed to about two dozen rishis belonging to the Bhargava family like Bhrigu, Chyavana, Gritsamada, Jamadagni, etc., and the word Bhrigu is mentioned 21 times in the Rigveda. The Bhrigus were also the founders of the Atharvanic religion along with the Angirases and the Atharvans.

Angirases, a branch of Bhrigus ?

V.G.Rahurkar opines that Bhrigus may be a section of the Angirases because Bhriguangiras is a seer of a number of hymns of the Atharvana Veda. But according to P.L.Bhargava, Angiras and Atharvan, both of which words are connected with the meaning of fire, were only epithets of the primaeval rishi Bhrigu who is regarded as the originator of the fire cult. Thus Dadhyanch (Dadhicha), Bhrigu’s son is called son of Atharvan in the Rigveda, an Angirasa in the Panchavamsha Brahmana and a Bhargava in the Puranas. Dadhicha’s son Chyavana is called both Bhargava and Angirasa in Shatapatha Brahmana. The fourth Veda is alternatively called Bhriguangiras, Atharvangiras or simply Atharvana Veda. A rishi of the Rigveda who belonged to this family called his ancestors by all the three names, Angirases, Atharvans and Bhrigus. In later times the word Atharvan fell into disuse and the word Angirasa was appropriated by a branch of this family, so that the parent stock retained only the name Bhargava.

Bhargavas feud with the Kshatriyas

The Bhargavas were a Brahmin clan perhaps more intimately associated with the ancient Kshatriyas by matrimonial ties than other Brahmin clans. On the other hand some of them seem to have come seriously into conflict with the Kshatriyas resulting in a blood feud.

The Bhargavas were priests of king Kartavirya of the Haihayas and he had bestowed great wealth on them. After his death, the princes of his family demanded it back but the Bhargavas refused to give it up. The princes tried to forcibly extract the wealth resulting in the Bhargavas to flee to other countries for safety. Later Kartavirya’s son Sahasrabahu Arjuna killed Jamadagni, who in turn was killed by Jamadagni’s son Parashurama who probably was helped by the rulers of Kanyakubj and Ayodhya with whom the Bhargavas had matrimonial alliance.

Bhargavas, the redactors of the Mahabharata

The theory – Bhrigusation of the Mahabharata was proposed by V.S.Sukthankar based on the following factors. First of all in the original saga of the Bharata, the Bhargavas are completely absent. Secondly, though not accorded any high status in the Vedic literature, they came all of a sudden into prominence in the Mahabharata with the highest number and frequency of the Bhrigu references and myths when compared to other Brahmanic families. Also the Bhargava heroes are magnified to the colossal proportion in the Mahabharata. The conclusion of V.S.Sukthankar is that the Bhrigus with ulterior motives deliberately grabbed a pre-existing text and engrafted the fabricated myths to boost their own social position and prestige.

P.K.Choudhary challenges this hypothesis and says that while the name of Bhrigu are referred 1500 times in the Mahabharata, that of the Angirasas are referred 3200 times and hence probably for this reason N.J.Shende had proposed that the Mahabharata was the creation of Bhrigu-Angiras redactors. V.G.Rahurkar also opines that the Bhrigus along with Angiras were responsible for the final redaction of the Mahabharata and making it a Dharmashastra, Nitishastra and an encyclopaedia of the Brahmanical tradition.

As scholars of repute

The Bhargava family was famous for its scholarly works on various subjects. Bhrigu is described as one of the eighteen authors on the art of building (Vastu Shilpa). Yaska, the author of Nirukta, Shaunaka, the author of Rigveda Pratishakhya and Anukramanis were Bhargavas. Their role in the composition of the Atharvana Veda was prominent. Vyasa’s disciple, Vaishampayana who was a teacher of Yajurveda is believed to have narrated the story of Bharata War to king Janamejaya, was also a Bhargava. So also was Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, Chanakya, the author of Arthasashtra and Banabhatta, the famous court poet of Harshavardhana.

Liberal and reformists

The Bhargavas were a very open minded group which accepted many outsiders in their fold happily. This was done either by fusion (through marriage alliance) or by imbibing their (outsiders) customs and manners, let it be to any limited extent. In the Vedic literature it is said that if someone has no particular gotramantra, then he should recite the Bhrigu mantra. The Bhrigus launched the concept of vrata, puja, dana and tirthas in the place of usual Vedic sacrifice.

The Bhrigus and Kaundinyas played a crucial role in the Brahmanization of several south Indian communities. Even today Parashurama is worshipped as an Avatara of Vishnu and his mother Renuka (called as Yellamma) is the Kuladevi (caste deity) in many parts of the country. It is interesting to know that Parashurama and Yellamma are more popular among the lower castes than the higher ones in certain regions.

Reference

• V.S.Sukthankar – Epic Studies VI The Bhrgus and the Bharata. A Text-Historical Study, ABORI, Vol -XVIII, 1936-37

• F.E.Pargiter – Ancient Indian Historical Traditions, Oxford University Press, London, 1922

• A.P.Karmakar – Dr. V.S.Suthankar’s theory of the Bhrguisation of the original Bharata and the light it throws on the Dravidian problem, ABORI, vol -20, No.1, October 1938

• P.K.Choudhary – Bhrguisation of the Mahabharata reconsidered, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol – 59, 1998

• V.G.Rahurkar – The Vedic Priest of the Fire Cult, Viveka Publications, Aligarh, 1982

• Purushottam Lal Bhargava – India in the Vedic Age, The Upper India Publishing House Ltd, Lucknow, 1956

• Vettam Mani- Puranic Encyclopedia, Motilal Banarsidass, 1975

Facts about the Ramayana and the Mahabharata

The two great epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were composed by Valmiki and Vyasa respectively. The Ramayana consists of seven Kandas namely Balakanda, Ayodhyakanda, Aranyakanda, Kishkindhakanda, Sundarakanda, Yuddhakanda and Uttarakanda. The first and the last Kandas are considered as later additions to the original five kandas which are ascribed to Valmiki. The Ramayana is considered as a kavya (poem), and is confined to the life of Rama and his brothers and their vicissitudes.

The Mahabharata consists of 18 books, each called a parva and an annexe called Harivamsha which deals with the life and history of Sri Krishna. The 18 parvas are Adiparva, Virataparva, Udyogaparva, Bhishmaparva, Aranyaka or Vanaparva, Shantiparva, Anushasanaparva, Sabhaparva, Karnaparva, Dronaparva, Shalyaparva, Sauptikaparva, Striparva, Ashvamedhikaparva, Ashramavasikaparva, Mausalaparva, Mahaprasthanikaparva and Svargarohanaparva. The Mahabharata is considered as a ithihasa (history) and hence has utilized and incorporated a large mass of ballads and bardic verses preserved in many prominent families.

Ramayana and Mahabharata are Bardic literature

According to P.L.Vaidya, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas form a class of literature by themselves and should be styled as bardic literature. The main characteristic of this literature is that originally it consisted of small songs, ballads and even stray verses called Gatha narasamsi and continued to be sung by traditional bards and transmitted by them to succeeding generations by oral traditions. These songs or ballads later developed into Epics, Puranas and early Kavyas. According to R.N.Dandekar, ancient Indian literature was characterized by two distinct literary traditions, called the suta tradition and the mantra tradition. The mantra tradition relating to religious thought and practice, soon came to be consolidated and began to manifest itself in fixed literary forms. The suta tradition, comprising a large number of popular bardic, legendary and historical material, however continued to remain fluid for a petty long period. The historical epic poem which dealt with the Bharata War and was appropriately called Jaya, was the first literary monument belonging to the suta tradition. Jaya gradually became transformed into the epic Bharata by subsequent additions.

Orally transmitted during earlier days

Both Ramayana and the Mahabharata were in the early stages transmitted by oral traditions. Vyasa who composed Mahabharata narrated it to his five pupils who each one of them had a separate samhita of his own. Of these five samhitas of Mahabharata, we possess the full text of Vaishampayana’s samhita, transmitted through Lomaharsana Suta and his disciple Shaunaka.

Similarly Valmiki first taught the poem, Ramayana to his two disciples, Lava and Kusha, who first sung it at the court of Rama. It must have been committed to memory by several bards and sung to people in regions far and wide. In course of this propagation of Ramayana or Ramakatha, the bards must have added and even altered the story in a number of ways in the direction of its wordings or even contents. These recitations of the bards got localized and when they were reduced to writing, they assumed the form of recensions and versions current in that particular locality.

The Mahabharatha

The theme of the epic Mahabharata is the fight between the two lines of princes belonging to the dynasty of Bharata. That is why the book is called Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is the national saga of India and according to German Indologist Hermann Oldenberg - “In the Mahabharata breathe the united soul of India, and the individual souls of her people”. In the words of C.V.Vaidya, “the Mahabharata is the national poem of India and the store house of Indian genealogy, mythology and antiquity”.

Vyasa was a contemporary of Pandavas and Kauravas and he was a witness to many of the events of the Mahabharata. Vyasa composed the Mahabharata over a period of three years after the passing away of Sri Krishna and the Pandavas and the story was propagated by his disciple Vaishampayana at the time of the serpent sacrifice of Janamejaya, the great grandson of Arjuna. As the great Bharata War was a great catastrophe for the nation and its culture, the surviving Vyasa should have deemed it necessary to preserve all the traditional lore, which might have already assumed a literary form. Vyasa had composed only the essence of Mahabharata comprising 8800 shlokas and that work was called Jaya. Vaishampayana added a few verses of his own and brought the number to 24,000 verses and the book was named Bharatasamhita and finally Suta made more additions and inflated the work to 1,00,000 verses and named it Mahabharata.

The Mahabharata text was originally committed to memory and recited freely and differently by different rhapsodists. Hence from generations to generations, from place to place, from bard to bard, the wording, even the contents would vary a little, until the text is committed to writing. According to P.V.Kane, in the present text of Mahabharata there are three elements- 1. The bare story of the Pandavas and the Kauravas, 2. The Upakhyanas, concerning gods, sages, brahmins, kings and others and 3. Didactic matters insisting on doing one’s duties and the role of dharma and philosophy. It is clear that the Mahabharata had become, long before the 7^th century A.D., a work for popular education and was being recited before general audiences of men and women in India.

Critical Edition of the Mahabharata

The need for a critical or correct edition of the Mahabharata was first mooted by Prof. M. Winternitz in 1897. The task of preparing the critical edition was taken by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona in 1919 and scholars like Utgikar, V.S.Sukthankar, S.K.Belvalkar, R.N.Dandekar, S.K.De and and others worked as editors of various parvas. The manuscripts of Mahabharata selected for preparing the critical editions were written in eight scripts, namely Sharada, Nepali, Maithili, Bengali, Devanagari, Telugu, Grantha and Malayalam scripts. Of the two recensions of Mahabharata, northern and southern, the northern was found to be more authentic while the southern was found to contain later elements. Hence the editors preparing the critical edition of Mahabharata accepted the northern text as the principle and southern as a secondary text.

The Mahabharata was composed earlier than the Ramayana

According to P.V.Kane, the main characters of the Mahabharata were known long before Panini and tales related to Pandava heroes had been embodied in a work or in works in verse long before Patanjali wrote and that the core of the Mahabharata existed before 500 B.C. The same cannot be said about the Ramayana and there is no evidence to show that the principal characters of the Ramayana were known to Panini or even to Patanjali. At the most one can say that the three names, Dasharatha, Rama and Sita were probably known about 250-200 B.C., but not described as endowed with the qualities they bear in the extant Ramayana. In the view of P.V.Kane, the core of the Ramayana story may be only as old as 300 -250 B.C. at the most. According to V.S.Sukthankar, Ramayana was composed in the interval which separated Bharata from the Mahabharata. Ramayana was a well-known work before the Mahabharata reached its ultimate form and it is also possible that when the Ramayana was composed by the poet Valmiki, the heroic poem Bharata, the nucleus of our Mahabharata was already long in existence.

Mahavibhasha, a commentary on the Jnanaprasthana of Katyayaniputra composed perhaps during the reign of king Kanishka, has a short passage which says that in the book called Ramayana, there are 12,000 shlokas and they refer to two topics – the abduction of Sita by Ravana by violence and the rescue of Sita by Rama and their return. This is the earliest record mentioning the word Ramayana and its size. A terracotta from Kausambi dated 2^nd century B.C., (in the Allahabad museum) depicts the abduction of Sita by Ravana. H.D.Sankalia is of the view that even the critical edition of the Ramayana is not only later than Mahabharata but also later than the Puranas like Vayu Purana and Matsya Purana. According to him the Ramayana in its present state cannot be earlier than 5^th century A.D.

The Bharata and the Ramayana may have been indeed more or less independent products, different in origin and treatment. But when the Bhargava redactors set to work and convert the Bharatha into the Mahabharata, they had already the archetype of our Ramayana text before them and they made full use of it, absorbing in their own encyclopaedic work and perhaps also influenced by it in no small degree.

The Ramayana

Of the two epics, the appeal of the Ramayana has been deeper and larger than that of the Mahabharatha, the main reason being that the Ramayana is a homogeneous text, with a simple and straightforward story. The Ramayana is a living tradition not only in India but in several countries world wide. Since ancient times it has been in the limelight and the source of ethical and moral values to Indian society. The immortality of the Ramayana is proclaimed by Brahma - “As long as the hills endure and rivers flow, till that date Ramayana will continue to flourish”.

The original Ramayana composed by Adikavi Valmiki must have been a text quite brief and probably without embellishments. No manuscript of this text is available today. It consisted of only five Kandas and it represented Rama as a human hero, while the Balakanda and the Uttarakanda glorify Rama as an incarnation of Vishnu. According to Ananda Guruge, the development of the Ramayana took place in various stages. First there were the ballads and cycles of ballads centering round Ayodhya, Kishkindha and Lanka. Secondly they were put together by the poet Valmiki into an epic of about 12,000 verses. Thirdly the poem which was originally divided into Adhyayas came to be divided into five Kandas. Fourthly the original text developed into recensions and interpolation took place. Finally the legendary portion of the Balakanda and the Uttarakanda were added probably under Brahmanical influence. The extant Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses.

Later the text must have gone on expanding and through the course of centuries several additions must have been made to the text of the Adikavi and later transmitted to south India. Later more additions were made to the southern recession texts also.

Antecedents of sage Valmiki

The Drona Parva of the Mahabharata mentions a Bhargava Valmiki, a brahmin born in the Bhargava gotra or family. The popular legend connected with Valmiki, identifies Valmiki with a certain robber who later became a poet. The earliest reference to Valmiki as a robber is found in the Skanda Purana which is dated 800 A.D. and according to scholars is not a very reliable source of information about Valmiki. Indian traditions believe Valmiki to be a contemporary of Rama and an eye witness to at least some of the important events of the story. He lived in an ashram on the banks of river Tamasa and his hermitage was visited by both Sita and Shatrughna and Lava and Kusha were born in his hermitage. Alfred Bloch assumes Valmiki to be a court poet of the Ikshvaku dynasty and a contemporary of Rama while Minoru Hara opines that Valmiki was a singer of tales and according to J.L.Brockington Valmiki used and to some extent incorporated older material in his epic. The view that Valmiki incorporated older material in his epic is also echoed by C.Rajagopalachari, one of the foremost interpreters of the Ramayana and Ananda Guruge, the Sri Lankan scholar. According to C.Rajagopalachari, the story of Rama had been in existence long before Valmiki wrote his epic and gave form to a story that has been handed down from generation to generation. Similarly Ananda Guruge opines that ballads centering round Ayodhya, Kishkindha and Lanka were put together by the poet Valmiki into an epic of about 12,000 verses. But according to Kamala Ratnam, nowhere in the Indian literature, Valmiki is called a compiler and the Ramayana itself shows that it is no haphazard collection of cycles of ballads but a unitary poem, mostly the work of a single poet.

Morning Star of Indian Classical Poetry

Hailed as Adikavi, the first poet, and the mentor of all later poets, especially of those of the Rama narrative tradition, Valmiki is described by Prof. M.Hiriyanna as the Morning Star of Indian Classical Poetry, while the great poet Bhavabhuti regards Valmiki as the essence of poetry. According to G.K.Bhat, Valmiki is a Maha Kavi and Bharata Kavi. While other poets could be remembered for their great poetic achievements and read for pleasure and enjoyment of beauty, Valmiki is a national memory, never to be forgotten. Monier Williams opines that in the whole range of worlds literature, there are few, more charming poems than the Ramayana.

Beginning of Sanskrit language

The composition of the Ramayana marks a distinct stage in the development of Sanskrit language and poetry. Actually the denomination ‘Sanskrit’ is used for the first time in the Ramayana. Sanskrit means Samskrita, refined or cultured. The language of the earlier Vedic literature, in fact, had no name. It was called just Vak, speech. Panani used the term Chhandas to refer to the language of the Vedas and Bhasha (Sanskrit) as the language spoken by the people during his times.

Critical edition of the Ramayana

The task of preparing the critical edition of the Ramayana was taken by the Oriental Institute of Baroda in 1954 on the lines of the critical editions of Mahabharata published by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona. A number of scholars like G.H. Bhatt, P.L.Vaidya, D.R.Mankad and others brought out critical editions of the various Kandas of Ramayana with the help of original manuscripts. In the preparation of the critical editions of Ramayana, two major groups of recessions of Ramayana, the northern and the southern were utilized. Manuscripts of the northern group included those of Sharada (Kashmiri), Nevari (Nepali), Bengali and Devanagari scripts. The southern group had manuscripts in Telugu, Grantha and Malayalam scripts and also in Devanagari. The date of these manuscripts range from 1020 A.D. to 1860 A.D. and no manuscript of the Ramayana older than 1020 A.D. was found. Though inflated, the southern recension of the Ramayana contained a more archaic text and was adopted as the main text by the editors preparing the critical version of the Ramayana.

Reference

1. G.K.Bhat – The Genius of Valmiki, ABORI, vol -67, No 1/4, 1986

2. Kamala Ratnam, R.Rangachari – Valmiki and Vyasa, Publication Division, Government of India, 2012

3. Dinesh Sakalani – Questioning the Questioning of Ramayanas, ABORI, vol – 85, 2004

4. P.V.Kane – The Two Epics, ABORI, vol – XLVII, 1966

5. P.Nagaraja Rao – Sri Rama and the moral ideal (Dharma), Journal of the Ganganatha Jha Research Institute, vol -xvii, May-Aug, 1961

6. Vettam Mani- Puranic Encyclopedia, Motilal Banarsidass, 1975,

7. Guruge Ananda W.P. - The Society of the Ramayana, Abhinava Publications, New Delhi, 1991

8. A.D.Pusalker – Studies in the Epics and Puranas, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay

9. Vaidya P.L. - Edited - The Ayodhya Kanda, 2^nd Book of Valmiki Ramayana, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1962

10. Vaidya P.L. - Edited - The Yuddha Kanda, 6^th Book of Valmiki Ramayana, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1971

11. D.R.Mankad – Edited – The Kishkinda Kanda, 4^th Book of Valmiki Ramayana, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1965

12. P.K.Gode – Edited, V..S.Sukthankar – Critical Studies in the Mahabharata, Vol – I, V.S.Sukthankar Memorial Edition, Karnatak Publishing House, Bombay, 1944

13. H.D.Sankalia – The Ramayana in Historical Perspective, Macmillan India Ltd, 1982

14. C.V.Vaidya – The Mahabharata – A Criticism, 1905