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Secondary Tales of the two Great Epics
expecting the teacher's name to be mentioned somewhere alongwith the famous student referred to so often in the Vedic works? True, Āyoda Dhaumya is said to be the younger brother of Asita Devala14 who is mentioned in some Vedic works, 15 but that fact actually goes to corroborate our position. As a younger brother of Asita Devala and as a teacher of the famous Uddalaka Aruņi, Dhaumya has a greater claim to be recorded somewhere in our numerous Vedic works ! Is not the historicity of Dhaumya, and of his pupils Upamanyu and Veda and of the latter's pupil Uttanka, strongly doubtful ? Considering the nature of these tales, the first is an etymological connection, the second is supernatural in its latter part, and the third is completely mythico-allegorical. It is very likely, therefore, that all the characters, except Uddālaka Āruņi, of this tales-group are fictitious, and are shown to be connected with the famous Brahmavadin in order to give them an appearance of being historical.
We must note here that like two frames, MBh also has two beginnings. Both Adhyâya 1 and Adhyāya 4 of Adip. begin with identical words in prose : lomaharşaņa-putra ugra-śravāḥ sūtaḥ paurāņiko naimișāraṇye saunakasya kulapater dvādaśa-vārşike satre.... Adhyâya 1 breaks off abruptly at this point into verse and completes the sentence in anuştubh metre. Adhyāya 4, on the other hand continues prose for a few lines more and then takes up verse. In both, Suta Ugraśravas Paurāņika comes to the twelve-year sattra of Sage Saunaka and begins to narrate tales to the sages assembled at the sacrifice at their request. The first beginning, after anukramani and parva-sangraha, begins in Adhyāya 3 straightway with the narrative of Janamejaya and attempts to introduce the Sarpa-satra episode through the Uttankastory-group and Uttanka's animosity against Takşaka. The second, on the other hand, begins with a group of tales of Bhțgu-sages, since Sage Saunaka at whose twelveyear-satra the entire epic is narrated is said to belong to the Bbsgu-lineage, 16 and introduces the Sarpa-satra by a story of Sage Ruru of that line and his beloved Pramadvara17 containing a motif-structure similar to that of the Janamejaya-story. 18
Now it can be shown that none of the two story-groups introducing the Janamejaya's Sarpa-satra are inherently connected with it. The portion of the first three Adhyāyas containing a summary of the epic, an index to the epic and a story-group narrated in Brāhmaṇical prose is entirely incongruent with the epic in spirit. Again, Uttanka is not necessarily required for instigating Janamejaya. The circumstances of
14 Refer above fn-10. 15 “A mythical sage of this name figures as a magician in the Atbarvaveda in conjunction
with Gaya or with Jamadagni". Vedic Index, I, p.47, vide also pp.376, 380. 16 AdiP. 5.7-8. The line is given thus : Bhțgu - Cyavana - Pramati - Ruru - Saunaka -
Saunaka. 17 AdiP. 8-11. 18 See below.
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