THE SVARGAKHANDA—ITS INDEBTEDNESS .

 

A careful examination of the Svargakhanda shows that it is more a compilation than an original work. The following chart shows how it has appropriated a large number of chapters and isolated verses from the Mahabharata, Ramayana, ManuSmriti and Skandapurana (Kaslkhanda).

The story of Sakuntala, related in Svargakhanda, chapters 1-5, is a reproduction of the Mahabharata story modified with the ideas and languages of Kalidasa’s famous drama Abhijnanasakuntala. As this story has a close resemblance in language and matter to the Sakuntala story of the Mahabharata we cannot agree with the view of some scholars that this story in the Svargakhanda follows that in Kalidasa’s drama, or is a recast of it.

As regards the description of the Guhyaka loka and the stories of Pingaksa (a brahmin), Samjna (wife of SQrya), Dhruva (son of king Uttanapada), and Divodasa (king of Kasl) in the Svargakhanda, it is evident that they are more or less reproductions of those given in the Kasikhanda of the Skandapurana. It is, however, interesting to note how the Vai§nava redactors of the Svargakhanda have tried to efface Shaiva influence out of it. There are some interesting cases where the Svargakhanda deliberately circumvents the Skandapurana and has put in passages in apotheosis of Vishnu. The following analysis shows how the Vaishnava redactors have introduced these modifications.

The Svargakhan< 3a, in its present form, is undoubtedly a product of Bengal. All the manuscripts of this khanda available so far are written in Bengali script and have been discovered in Bengal. Among the rivers to be invoked during bath, this khanda includes the names of the Padmavatl, Svarnarekha and Kausikl. 1 Of these three rivers the first, generally called Padma, originated in Bengal at a comparatively late period from a channel connecting the water of the Ganges with those of the Yamuna and the Brahmaputra and is mentioned and glorified in treatises in Bengal and Kamarupa only; the second better known as Suvarnarekha, is a small river in the western part of the Midnapur district of Bengal; and the third, popularly called Kosi, a tributary formerly to the Karatoya and later on to the Ganges, once marked the boundary between Bengal and Mithila. The mention of these rivers and their glorification as the Ganga. Yamuna, Godavari and Sarasvati, show that the Svargakhapdta could not have been written by any one other than an inhabitant of Bengal.

Further, the etymological explanation of the name‘Bhaglratha’ and the peculiar story of Bhagiratha’s birth, as contained in Chapter XVI of the Svargakhanda, are found only in treatises in Bengal. The story is as follows:

Dillpa, the illustrious king of the Solar race, died leaving no issue behind. Eager for a male issue his two widowed wives approached their family priest Vasistha in his hermitage and requested him to see that 'the line of Sagara 5 might continue. Vasistha was immersed in deep meditation and then gave the assurance to the queens

The line of Manu will not come to an end. O fineeyed ladies! I foresee that a great son will be born of you, O auspicious ones. So I shall make the best efforts for your sake.’ 1

Vasistha then performed Putresti sacrifice and prepared a kind of highly powerful food called ‘Caru’, which he gave to the queens with the advice that one of them was to take that Caru and the other was to have sexual union with her, behaving like a male." The queens did so, and in course of time the elder of them gave birth to a boneless son, who was no better than a lump of flesh; this is the natural consequence of the mating of females. As he was born from the union of the organs of generation (bhaga) of females, this son was named Bhaglratha.' 3 He began to grow up and learnt all the Vedas in his boyhood; but, having no bones in his body, he had an ugly look and crooked limbs. One day, while he was going to his teacher’s house for the study of the Vedas, Bhaglratha met the sage Astavakra on the way and bowed down to him. Because Bhaglratha’s limbs were deformed and unsteady and his words faltering, the sage misunderstood him and was infuriated. He said:

“If thou hast bowed down to me by showing the crookedness (of thy body) with the intention of ridiculing me, then thou shalt be reduced to ashes by my words, and not otherwise. If (on the other hand) this crooked figure has been natural to thee, then mayest thou attain a beautiful appearance and become strong immediately.” 1

As soon as the sage uttered these words, Bhaglratha turned strong, heroic and beautiful like Cupid.

It is to be noted that it is only in Krttivasa’s Ramayana, 8

7-8. According to this work, god aarxikara, on a summon by Brahma and other gods, came down to Ayodhya, met the Bhavananda’s Harivamia 1 and some other comparatively late two widowed wives of Dillpa, (blessed them with a son) and instructed them to unite mutually for that purpose. The queens did so, and one of them gave birth to a boneless male child which was no better than a lump of flesh. Disappointed at the sight of this deformed issue, the queens were going to throw it into the waters of Sarayu, when Vasistha stopped them from doing so and advised them to leave it on the road.

The queens did accordingly, and the child was endowed with a beautiful figure by the curse of As^avakra who chanced to come there on his way to the river.

As to the cause of Bhaglratha’s name, this work also says:

‘bhage bhage janmahetu bhaglrath nam’

See also D. G. Sen’s edition (9th ed ), p. 23 (which lacks the line giving the etymological explanation of Bhaglratha’s name). In Krttivasa’s Ramayasha, Adikajj< ja, edited by N.K.

Bhattashali, the story of Bhaglratha’s birth from the conjugal union of his mothers is found to have been given only in ms. kha (see Adikapda, pp. 90-92), This story, which differs considerably from that of the Svargakhaijcja, does not say that Vasistha performed any Putresti sacrifice to ensure the birth of a son to the widowed wives of Dillpa, nor does it make any mention of the sage Astavakra or his meeting with Bhaglratha.

On the other hand, it is said that Brahma effected the sexual union of the widowed queens Candra and Mala with the active help of Madana and that Bhaglratha was born with a normal body and not as a boneless lump of flesh. As regards Bhaglratha’s name this story also says:

For this second verse see also Gangagovinda barman’s edition, pp. 99. According to S. G. Roy, Bhavananda’s Harivaxnsa was composed in Sylhet or Tipperah sometime between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries A. D.

A works of Bengal 1 that we find this story of Bhaglratha’s birth, which thus appear to have originated in Bengal and attained great popularity at a comparatively late period. The use of the root { vas’ in the sense of sitting in Svargakhanda XIII. 35c (usya rajasane ramye) is notable in this connection. It has been used, as in Bengali, to mean ‘to sit’.

1. See, for instance, Mukundarama Cakravartin’s Kavikankapacaijqll pp. 776-777.

According to the story given by Mukundarama it was the sage DurvSsas who predicted that one of the two widowed queens of Dilipa would be blessed with a son and advised her to unite sexually with the other wife of Dilipa. The story agrees with that of the Svargakhapgla in introducing the sage AstSvakra and in giving the etymological explanation of Bhaglratha’s name (dui bhage janmilen n5m bhagirath). See also AdbhutScSrya’s RSmSyaija, AdikSpqla of which the story is very similar to that of ms. Kha used by N.K. Bhattasali in his edition of KrttivSsa’s RSmSyapa, Adikapqla. According to Bhattasali, AdbhutEcSrya (alias NitySnanda) was born in 1547 A D and lived during the reign of Akbar, the Mughal emperor of Delhi. See Bhattasali’s introduction (pp.XLVIIXLV1II) to his edition of the AdikSptJa of KrttivSsa’s Ramayaija. In the unique ms. of the Vasistha RamSyapa (written in Sanskrit), which was procured from the district of Birbhum and is now preserved in the Dacca University Mss. Library (see ms. no. 259), the story of Bhagiratha’s birth from the union of his mother’s has been given.

 

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