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Secondary Tales of the two Great Epics
one's beloved person upon the whole race of snakes and of being prevented from it by one of their own fold are taken from the Janame jaya-tale itself. The entire tale, therefore, is structured from borrowed motifs, with a view to provide an occasion for narrating the Sarpa-satra-story-group.
This means, that the second story-group of the Bbřgu-sages is also fictitious. Let us hasten to add that the occasion at which these tales are narrated -- the occasion of Saunaka's twelve-year-sacrifice 25 is also fictitious, otherwise we shall be compelled to admit that Saunaka was hearing a fictitious tale about his own grandfather from an outsider at his own sacrifice.
Incidentally, the question may well be asked : why are there two tale-groups both intended to introduce the Sarpa-satra-episode? When both of them are equally fictitious and when neither of them has any inherent connection with the sarpa-satrastory-group, why two ?
Very probably, the answer lies in the direction pointed out by F. Edgerton in his introduction to SabP. The incident of Dhstarāştra, at Duryodhana's insistence, asking Vidura to invite Yudhisthira at the famous game of dice is narrated consecutively twice in the SabP. Once, however, Vidura is shown to go first to Bhīşma 26 instead of Yudhisthira, while the second time he is shown to go, though much against his will, straight to Yudhişthira. And then there is no mention of his intended visit to Bhışma in the entire epic ! Again, Duryodhana is shown to send the Prātikāmin twice and then Duḥśāsada to fetch Draupadi into the open assembly. But with her first refusal to come, Yudhisthira is shown to send a trusted servant to her and obeying her husband's wish, she copies of her own self into the assembly, 27 Still Duryodhana sends Prātikāmin and then Duḥsasana who drags her forcibly into the court. The contradictions of these two episodes are sought to be explained by Dr. Edgerton in this way : 'Clearly we have here parts of two entirely different versions of the story. In one Yudhisthira sends a trusted messenger commanding Draupadi to come, and she does so. In the other, Duhśāsana at Duryodhana's command drages her in by violence .... the "original" author or redactor of the text to which all our manuscripts go back knew both the versions of the story, and tried to combine them, not very successfully.'28
25 According to the Satapatha-Brahmana, XIII.v.41, Saunaka is the performer of Afva
medha for Janamejaya. In the epic, Janamejaya is made the performer of Sarpa-satra in the first frame of the epic; Saunaka is the performer of a twelve-year satra in the second frame, At Janamejaya's Sarpa-satra MBh js narrated; at Saunaka's satra MBh together with the entire Sarpa-satra-story-group is narrated. Thus, Janamejaya and Saunaka are directly connected as a performer and the priest in the Brāhmana, they are separated in the epic and placed in the first and the second frame of the epic respectively.
SabP. 45.58. 27 SabP. 60.14-15. 28 SabP. Introduction, pp. xxxi-xxxii.
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