Sambodhi 1996 Vol 20

Author(s): Jitendra B Shah, N M Kansara
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 48

44
M. SRIMANNARAYANA MURTI
SAMBODHI
It is said (a singular number for the dvandva compound) of words expressing (śūdras who are) unexpelled; from what (they are) unexpelled ? They are unexpelled from the Āryävarta. Then what is Āryävarta ? It is (that region which is lying) to the East of Ādarśa, to the West of Kālakavana, to the South of Himalayas and to the North of Pāriyātra. But if so, the compound kiskindliagandikam, sakayavanam or sauryakrauñcam cannot be derived. Then they are unexpelled from the habitation of the Āryans. What, then, is the habitation of the Aryans ? It is a village (grāma), a station of herdsmen (ghosa), a town (nagara), or an occupation of gypsies (sanvāha). Even then there are those like Candālas and mırtapas who are members of the great habitation and living (in those habitations); in such cases (the itaretarayoga-dvandva compounds like) candālam?tapā!ı cannot be accomplished. If so, they are unexpelled from the sacrificial rite. Then (the samālāra-dvandva compounds) taksāyaskāram and rajakatantuvāyam cannot be accomplished. If so, then, they are those who are unexpelled from the plate. Unexpelled are those, the plate in which they eat becomes pure by a purificatory rite. The expelled are those, the plate in which they eat does not become pure even by a purificatory rite The paraphrase of Patañjali manifests his religious predilections and also his great insight regarding the expulsions that could have taken place on political, social and religious considerations. For example, according to the AitareyaBrālimana (7,18), the sage Viśvāmitra was condemned by a curse with fifty of his sons to live on the borders of the Aryan settlements and these people settled in the south of Vindhyas and came to be known as the Andhras, Pundras, Śabaras, Pulindas and Mütibas; all these descendants of Viśvāmitra were treated on a par with the non-Aryan tribes called Dasyus'. The very sons of Viśvāmitra were degraded to the status of dasyus and were treated on a par with sūdras, being deprived of their profession as priests and of education in the Vedic lore, while their own kinsmen, like Madhucchandas, became even the composers of several hymns in the Rgveda. But they were allowed to join their kinsmen in common eating, as is evidenced by such compounds like kişkindhagandikam; Kiskindha and Gandika are the regions lying outside the Āryävarta. Similarly the compounds Śakayavanam and sauryakrauñcam confirm that the Āryans were maintaining social and political contacts with the foreign nationals like the Śakas and the Greeks. But when they developed their religion culminating in the form of sacrificial science, they looked down upon them and hence they were treated on a par with śūdras; at the same time they maintained good social contacts in the form of common eating