{"collection":"Hinduism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/hin/vp/vp100.htm","path":"hin/vp/vp100.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp100.htm","text":"The Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840]\n(From the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata.)\n\"JAMADAGNI (the son of Rich\u00edka 15) was a pious sage, who by the fervour of his devotions, whilst engaged in holy study, obtained entire possession of the Vedas. Having gone to king Prasenajit, he demanded in marriage his daughter Re\u0144uk\u00e1, and the king gave her unto him. The descendant of Bhrigu conducted the princess to his hermitage, and dwelt with her there, and she was contented to partake in his ascetic life. They had four sons, and then a fifth, who was J\u00e1madagnya, the last but not the least of the brethren, Once when her sons were all absent, to gather the fruits on which they fed, Re\u0144uk\u00e1, who was exact in the discharge of all her duties, went forth to bathe. On her way to the stream she beheld Chitraratha, the prince of Mrittik\u00e1vat\u00ed, with a garland of lotuses on his neck, sporting with his queen in the water, and she felt envious of their felicity. Defiled by unworthy thoughts, wetted but not purified by the stream, she returned disquieted to the hermitage, and her husband perceived her agitation. Beholding her fallen from perfection, and shorn of the lustre of her sanctity, Jamadagni reproved her, and was exceeding wroth. Upon this there came her sons from the wood, first the eldest, Ruma\u0144wat, then Sushe\u0144a, then Vasu, and then Vi\u015bwavasu; and each, as he entered, was successively commanded by his father to put his mother to death; but amazed, and influenced by natural affection, neither of them made any reply: therefore Jamadagni was angry, and cursed them, and they became as idiots, and lost all\nunderstanding, and were like unto beasts or birds. Lastly, R\u00e1ma returned to the hermitage, when the mighty and holy Jamadagni said unto him, 'Kill thy mother, who has sinned; and do it, son, without repining.' R\u00e1ma accordingly took up his axe, and struck off his mother's head; whereupon the wrath of the illustrious and mighty Jamadagni was assuaged, and he was pleased with his son, and said, 'Since thou hast obeyed my commands, and done what was hard to be performed, demand from me whatever blessings thou wilt, and thy desires shall be all fulfilled.' Then R\u00e1ma begged of his father these boons; the restoration of his mother to life, with forgetfulness of her having been slain, and purification from all defilement; the return of his brothers to their natural condition; and, for himself, invincibility in single combat, and length of days: and all these did his father bestow.\n\"It happened on one occasion, that, during the absence of the Rishi's sons, the mighty monarch K\u00e1rttav\u00edrya, the sovereign of the Haihaya tribe, endowed by the favour of Datt\u00e1treya with a thousand arms, and a golden chariot that went wheresoever he willed it to go, came to the hermitage 16 of Jamadagni, where the wife of the sage received him with all proper respect. The king, inflated with the pride of valour, made no return to her hospitality, but carried off with him by violence the calf of the milch cow of the sacred oblation 17, and cast down the tall trees surrounding the hermitage. When R\u00e1ma returned, his father told him what had chanced, and he saw the cow in affliction, and he was filled with wrath. Taking up his splendid bow 18, Bh\u00e1rgava, the slayer of hostile heroes, assailed K\u00e1rttav\u00edrya, who had now become subject to\nthe power of death, and overthrew him in battle. With sharp arrows R\u00e1ma cut off his thousand arms, and the king perished. The sons of K\u00e1rttav\u00edrya, to revenge his death, attacked the hermitage of Jamadagni, when R\u00e1ma was away, and slew the pious and unresisting sage, who called repeatedly, but fruitlessly, upon his valiant son. They then departed; and when R\u00e1ma returned, bearing fuel from the thickets, he found his father lifeless, and thus bewailed his unmerited fate: 'Father, in resentment of my actions have you been murdered by wretches as foolish as they are base! by the sons of K\u00e1rttav\u00edrya are you struck down, as a deer in the forest by the huntsman's shafts! Ill have you deserved such a death; you who have ever trodden the path of virtue, and never offered wrong to any created thing! How great is the crime that they have committed, in slaying with their deadly shafts an old man like you, wholly occupied with pious cares, and engaging not in strife! Much have they to boast of to their fellows and their friends, that they have shamelessly slain a solitary hermit, incapable of contending in arms!' Thus lamenting, bitterly and repeatedly, R\u00e1ma performed his father's last obsequies, and lighted his funeral pile. He then made a vow that he would extirpate the whole Kshatriya race. In fulfilment of this purpose he took up his arms, and with remorseless and fatal rage singly destroyed in fight the sons of K\u00e1rttav\u00edrya; and after them, whatever Kshatriyas he encountered, R\u00e1ma, the first of warriors, likewise slew. Thrice seven times did the clear the earth of the Kshatriya caste 19; and he filled with their blood the five large lakes of Samanta-panchaka, from which he offered libations to the race of Bhrigu. There did he behold his sire again, and the son of Rich\u00edka beheld his son, and told him what to do. Offering a solemn sacrifice to the king of the gods, J\u00e1madagnya presented the earth to the ministering priests. To Ka\u015byapa he gave the altar made of gold, ten fathoms in length, and nine in height 20. With the permission of Ka\u015byapa, the Brahmans divided it in pieces amongst them, and they were thence\ncalled Kha\u0144d\u0301av\u00e1yana Brahmans. Having given the earth to Ka\u015byapa, the hero of immeasurable prowess retired to the Mahendra mountain, where he still resides: and in this manner was there enmity between him and the race of Kshatriyas, and thus was the whole earth conquered by R\u00e1ma 21.\"\n____________\nThe son of Visw\u00e1mitra was \u015aunah\u015bephas, the descendant of Bhrigu, given by the gods, and thence named Devar\u00e1ta 22. Visw\u00e1mitra had\nother sons also, amongst whom the most celebrated were Madhuchhandas, Kritajaya, Devadeva, Asht\u0301aka, Kachchapa, and H\u00e1rita; these founded many families, all of whom were known by the name of Kau\u015bikas, and intermarried with the families of various Rishis 23.\n401:15 The circumstances of Rich\u00edka's marriage, and the birth of Jamadagni and Vi\u015bw\u00e1mitra, are told much in the same manner as in our text both in the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata and Bh\u00e1gavata.\n402:16 In the beginning of the legend occurs the account of K\u00e1rttav\u00edry\u00e1rjuna, with the addition that he oppressed both men and gods. The latter applying to Vish\u0144u for succour, he descended to earth, and was born as Para\u015bur\u00e1ma, for the especial purpose of putting the Haihaya king to death.\n402:17 In the R\u00e1jadharma the sons of the king carry off the calf. The Bh\u00e1gavata makes the king seize upon the cow, by whose aid Jamadagni had previously entertained Arjuna and all his train: borrowing, no doubt, these embellishments from the similar legend of Va\u015bisht\u0301ha and Vi\u015bw\u00e1mitra, related in the R\u00e1m\u00e1ya\u0144a.\n402:18 The characteristic weapon of R\u00e1ma is however an axe (para\u015bu), whence his name R\u00e1ma, 'with the axe.' It was given to him by \u015aiva, whom the hero propitiated on mount Gandham\u00e1dana. He at the same time received instruction in the use of weapons generally, and the art of war. R\u00e1ja Dharma.\n403:19 This more than 'thrice slaying of the slain' is explained in the R\u00e1jadharma to mean, that he killed the men of so many generations, as fast as they grew up to adolescence.\n403:20 It is sometimes read Narotsedha, 'as high as a man.'\n404:21 The story, as told in the R\u00e1jadharma section, adds, that when R\u00e1ma had given the earth to Ka\u015byapa, the latter desired him to depart, as there was no dwelling for him in it, and to repair to the seashore of the south, where Ocean made for him (or relinquished to him) the maritime district named \u015a\u00farp\u00e1raka. The traditions of the Peninsula ascribe the formation of the coast of Malabar to this origin, and relate that Para\u015bur\u00e1ma compelled the ocean to retire, and introduced Brahmans and colonists from the north into Kerala or Malabar. According to some accounts he stood on the promontory of Dilli, and shot his arrows to the south, over the site of Kerala. It seems likely that we have proof of the local legend being at least as old as the beginning of the Christian era, as the mons Pyrrhus of Ptolemy is probably the mountain of Para\u015bu or Para\u015bur\u00e1ma. See Catalogue of Mackenzie Collection, Introd. p. xcv. and vol. II. p. 74. The R\u00e1jadharma also gives an account of the Kshatriyas who escaped even the thrice seven times repeated destruction of their race. Some of the Haihayas were concealed by the earth as women; the son of Viduratha, of the race of Puru, was preserved in the Riksha mountain, where he was nourished by the bears; Sarvakarman, the son of Saud\u00e1sa, was saved by Par\u00e1\u015bara, performing the offices of a \u015a\u00fadra; Gopati, son of \u015aivi, was nourished by cows in the forests; Vatsa, the son of Pratarddana, was concealed amongst the calves in a cow-pen; the son of Deviratha was secreted by Gautama on the banks of the Ganges; Vrihadratha was preserved in Gridhrak\u00fata; and descendants of Marutta were saved by the ocean. From these the lines of kings were continued; but it does not appear from the ordinary lists that they were ever interrupted. This legend however, as well as that of the R\u00e1m\u00e1ya\u0144a, b. I. c. 52, no doubt intimates a violent and protracted struggle between the Brahmans and Kshatriyas for supreme domination in India, as indeed the text of the Mah\u00e1bh\u00e1rata more plainly denotes, as Earth is made to say to Ka\u015byapa, 'The fathers and grandfathers of these Kshatriyas have been killed by the remorseless R\u00e1ma in warfare on my account.'\n404:22 The story of \u015aunah\u015bephas is told by different authorities, with several variations. As the author of various \u015a\u00faktas in the Rich, he is called the son of Ajigartta. The R\u00e1m\u00e1ya\u0144a makes him the middle son of the sage Rich\u00edka, sold to Ambar\u00edsha, king of Ayodhy\u00e1, by his parents, to be a victim in a human sacrifice offered p. 405 by that prince. He is set at liberty by Vi\u015bw\u00e1mitra, but it is not added that he was adopted. The Bh\u00e1gavata concurs in the adoption, but makes \u015aunah\u015bephas the son of Vi\u015bw\u00e1mitra's sister, by Ajigartta of the line of Bhrigu, and states his being purchased as a victim for the sacrifice of Hari\u015bchandra (see n. 9. p. 372). The V\u00e1yu makes him a son of Rich\u00edka, but alludes to his being the victim at Hari\u015bchandra's sacrifice. According to the R\u00e1m\u00e1ya\u0144a, Visw\u00e1mitra called upon his sons to take the place of \u015aunah\u015bephas, and on their refusing, degraded them to the condition of Ch\u00e1\u0144d\u0301\u00e1las. The Bh\u00e1gavata says, that fifty only of the hundred sons of Visw\u00e1mitra were expelled their tribe, for refusing to acknowledge \u015aunah\u015bephas or Devar\u00e1ta as their elder brother. The others consented; and the Bh\u00e1gavata expresses this; 'They said to the elder, profoundly versed in the Mantras, We are your followers:' as the commentator; ###. The R\u00e1m\u00e1ya\u0144a also observes, that \u015aunah\u015bephas, when bound, praised Indra with Richas or hymns of the Rig-veda. The origin of the story therefore, whatever may be its correct version, must be referred to the Vedas; and it evidently alludes to some innovation in the ritual, adopted by a part only of the Kau\u015bika families of Brahmans.\n405:23 The Bh\u00e1gavata says one hundred sons, besides Devar\u00e1ta and others, as Asht\u0301aka, H\u00e1rita, &c. Much longer lists of names are given in the V\u00e1yu, Bh\u00e1gavata, Br\u00e1hma, and Hari V. The two latter specify the mothers. Thus Deva\u015bravas, Kati (the founder of the K\u00e1ty\u00e1yanas), and Hirany\u00e1ksha were sons of \u015ailavat\u00ed; Re\u0144uka, G\u00e1lava, Sankriti, Mudgala, Madhuchchandas, and Devala were sons of Re\u0144u; and Asht\u0301aka, Kachchhapa, and H\u00e1rita were the sons of Drishadvat\u00ed. The same works enumerate the Gotras, the families or tribes of the Kau\u015bika Brahmans: these are, P\u00e1rthivas, Devar\u00e1tas, Y\u00e1jnawalkyas, S\u00e1marshanas, \u00dadumbaras, Duml\u00e1nas, Tarak\u00e1yanas, Munch\u00e1tas, Lohitas, Renus, Karishus, Babhrus, P\u00e1ninas, Dhy\u00e1najy\u00e1pyas, \u015ay\u00e1lantas, Hirany\u00e1kshas, \u015aankus, G\u00e1lavas, Yamad\u00fatas, Devalas, \u015a\u00e1lank\u00e1yanas, B\u00e1shkalas, Dadativ\u00e1daras, \u015aau\u015bratas, \u015aaindhav\u00e1yanas, Nish\u0144\u00e1tas, Chunchulas, \u015a\u00e1lankrityas, Sankrityas, V\u00e1dara\u0144yas, and an infinity of others, multiplied by intermarriages with other tribes, and who, according to the V\u00e1yu, were originally of the regal caste, like Visw\u00e1mitra; but, like him, obtained Brahmanhood through devotion. Now these Gotras, or some of them at least, no doubt existed, partaking more of the character of schools of doctrine, but in which teachers and scholars were very likely to have become of one family by intermarrying; and the whole, as well as their original founder, imply the interference of the Kshatriya caste with the Brahmanical monopoly of religious instruction and composition.","title":"The Vishnu Purana: Book IV: Legend of Para\u015bur\u00e1ma","type":"page"}