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Secondary Tales of the two Great Epics
his priest.... He was a Kuru prince .... "32 More interesting is the information about a second Janam-ejaya who "is in the Pañcuvimśa Brāhmana .... a priest who officiated at the Snake-sacrifice."32
Turning to Ādip now, we find that Janamejaya is perfor.ning a long Satra at Kurukşetra. He has three brothers Śrutasena, Ugrasena, Bhimasena. A dog coming up near the sacrifice is beaten up by the brothers, The dog's mother, Saramā, the divine bitch, curses Janamejaya to be visited upon by an unseen calamity. The king is dejected.33 Upon the completion of the sacrifice, he returns to Hastinapura, and searches for a priest who can appease his pāpakrtyā. Śrutaśravas recommends his son Somaśravas, born of a sarpi (a female serpent). The son can appease all křkyäs except that of Mabädeva; he has taken a vow that if any brāhmin asks of him anything he would give it away. Janamejaya accepts him as his priest and instructs his brothers to do whatever the priest says. He himself then goes to Taxila, achieves victory over it34 and returns. Then Uttanka comes to him at Hastināpura35 and instigates him to perform the Snake-sacrifice. Then, after the interruption of the tales of Bhrgu-sages, 38 the complete history of the snake-sacrifice is narrated.37 Then, the entire story of the MBh, as it was narrated at this sacrifice by Vaišampāyana to Janamejaya, follows. In the end, 38 it is again said that Janamejaya, having discharged the brāhmins who had completed the sacrificial ceremonies, returned from Taxila to Hastināpura.
We saw above that Jānamejaya is mentioned in the beginning of the MBh with many details which are similar to those mentioned in Satapatha Brāhmana. XIII. V. 4. We quote the relevant Brāhmaṇa text below:
etena hendroto daivāpaḥ śaunakaḥ Janamejayam pariksitam yājayāñ cakāra teneștvā sarvām pāpa-křtyām sarvām brahma-hatyām apajaghāna sarvām ba vai pāpa-krtyām sarvām brahma-hatyām apahanti yo'śvamedhena yajate 1/1,
tad etad gāthayābhihitamasandivati dbänyādam rukmiņam harita-srajam
abadhnad aśvam sārangam devebhyo janamejaya 1/itil/2. ete eva purve'banī jyotir-atirätras tena bbimasenam ete eva purve'hani gauratiratras tenograsepam ete eva purve'banī āyur-atirātras tena śrutasenam itv ete pārikșitiyās tad etad gāthayā'bhigītam -
päriksita yajamānā aśvamedhaih paro'varam
a jahuḥ karma pāpakam punyāḥ punyena karmaņ'eti 1/3. 32 Vedic Index, I, pp.273-4. 33 Adip. 3.1-9 34 AdiP. 3.10-18. 35 AdiP. 3.178 ff. 36 AdiP. 4-12. See above fns. 16 & 17. 37 AdiP. 13-53. 38 SvaP, 5.29. Cf, tatas takşaśilāyaḥ as punar āyad gajāhvayam 11
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