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Secondary Tales of the two Great Epics
sionally an elephant is shown in the Maladhāra cakra, which seems to represent the entire body of the senses which is to be transformed through the upper cakras."73 The fact of the serpentine energy occassionally being presented as an elephant is clearly the result of the two meanings of the word 'Nāga'.74
Another combination of facts leads to some very surprising probabilities. In the famous Suparņādhyāya, the Soma is said to be guarded by the serpents. The names of the guards are given as ‘arbudo pahuso kādraveyah'.75 Now MBh tells us that Nahuşa was an ancestor of the Kurus.76 He held the position of Indra in the latter's absence due to hiding on account of the sin of Brāhmicide-Vộtravadha. He was cursed by sage Agastya to become a python. Nabusa catches Bhima and is relieved from the curse by Yudhisthira in the place called Viśāk hayupa.77 From here Pāndavas go to Dvaita-forest on the bank of river Sarasvati for their final year of forest-life.78 Now, the region of this river Sarasvati seems to be have been inhabited by the Nāgas.79 Arbudha is the present Mount Abu. Viśākhayūpa must be a place nearby. And the region to the North-East of Abu was in ancient times the bed of river Sarasvati. 80 Taksasilā may after all be the capital of Tak şaka. That region was in ancient times the country of Gāndhāra.80 The princess of this kingdom, queen-mother Gāndhari, was married to Dhịtarāştra. Now Dhịtarāștra also is the name of a Nāga81 whose progeny is said to be victimised in the Sarpa-satra by Janamejaya. The mention of a hundred sons of Dhstarăstra also reminds one of the procreative profusion of serpenis. Gāndbārī's hundred-fold embryo delivered prematurely and then preserved in the hundred vessels filled with ghee, 82 not unlikely, indicates the fact of the birth of serpentes from eggs. And the very name of their capital 'Hastināpura' indicates a Nāga establishment, since the two meanings of "Nāga' are 'a serpent' and 'an elephant'.83 Some serpents forced into the altar of the Sarpa-satra are said to be of the Kauravya' family. 84
74 Lange refers to an account of Rama-gräma-stupa believed to be protected by Nāga accor
ding to one account, by elephants according to another. He quotes Vogel : "Now, if we remember that the term 'nāga' has the double meaning of the serpent-demon and the ele. phant, we may safely assume tbat the second story has developed from the first, the word
nãga' having been taken in its another sense". vide his Legends in the Mahābhārata, p. 47. 75 Suparnādhyaya, XII 23.3. Dange also takes the line as referring to three different serpent
guards (Legends in the Mahabharata, p.87, and fn. 205) because each of the three guards
is called to answer the fault of Soma-ābarana. 76 Van P. 176.13 ff. 77 Van P. 174,16-19. 78 Vao P. 174 21. 79 Cf. Adip.205.3:
te tayā tais ca să viraih patibhiḥ pañcabhiḥ saha
babhuva parama-prītë Dāgair iva sarasvati // 80 This can be seen in the map of ancient India. Refer Vedic Index, TI 81 AdiP. 52.13. 82 AdiP. 107.8-22. 83 Refer above to fn. 74.
84 AdiP. 52.11. Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only
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