________________
94
A CULTURAL STUDY OF THE NISITHA CURNI
robbed the people passing through their habitats. They were totally barbarious people living outside the pale of the Aryan society, and even the sight of an Aryan was a surprise (kotua) to them.2 They are mentioned as ṇillajjas1 or people without any sense of shame, for they openly cohabited with their women. Sometimes, illicit relations seem to have existed between the Aryan male and the non-Aryan female, particularly the Pulinda female." The Pulindas used to eat meat of the dead cows.* It has been clearly indicated that the Pulindas or the non-Aryans as a whole were allowed to eat meat of the dead cows, but they were not allowed to kill a living cow.5 According to Vedavyāsa, all those castes, who indulged in killing animals, were to be termed as antyajas," The status of the Pulindas as outcastes is evident from the text.
(xiv) Śabara-Śabara as a non-Aryan tribe has been mentioned along with the Pulindas and the Coras residing in the dense forests outside the Aryan regions. In the Kadambari as well as in the Harşacarita of Bana the Sabaras are shown as residing in the Vindhya forests. The Sabaras along with the Pulindas, Kirātas and other non-Aryan tribes have been included in the Sudra-varna in the Amarakosa.10
(xv) Varuḍa11--The Varudas earned their livelihood by making ropes and selling the winnowing baskets. 12 Varuda
1. NC. 4, p. 49.
2. ffl-Ibid.; Brh. Vr. 3, p. 680.
3. NC. 4, p. 49.
4. NC. 3, p. 521.
5. सा (जरगवी) पुलिंदेहिं "सयं मय" त्ति खइया -- Ibid.
6. Vedavyāsasmrti, 1. 12-13.
7. NC. 3, p. 87.
8. Agrawala, V.S., Kādaṁbarī: Eka Sāṁskṛtika Adhyayana, p. 42. 9. In the Harsacarita (p. 232 ) Bhukampa is described as a general of Sabaras, the lord of all this Vindhyan range, the leader of all the village chiefs.
10. Amarakosa, II. 10-21.
11. आवकहितो जहा गड वरुड. डुबादि - NC. 4, p. 280.
12. सुप्पादिया रुडं करेत्ता वरुडा – NC. 3, p. 270.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
