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108
Secondary Tales of the two Great Epics
bals and is reinforced by the Janamejaya-episode which itself seems to be another Nāga-myth, both possibly offshoots of the same myth of the Nāga-destruction, we shall, at least, be in good company. 2. Tales of the Heroes
As we saw in the first chapter, the very first probable tales added to the epics must have been those whose connection with the original heroic poem would be more or less casual, that is, tales connected - if not with the central theme - at least with the central heroes, referring either to their early histories or to all kinds of their adventures and without having any reference whatever to the great battle. Therefore, we shall observe the patterns of these tales.
It is often observed that the popular mind has a peculiar sense of propriety. It works at and handles the epic in its own way. When a genius poet composes an epic, he creates characters which are complexes of good and evil qualities in varying shades. He hardly paints types. But once the epic becomes popular, “The popular mind reduces the finely modelled characters of the epic histories ... ... into contrasted types, black against white. Duryodhana is a bad character;"101 Bhīma bas a blind strength; Arjuna is romantically heroic; Yudhisthira is Dharma incarnate. Consequen. tly, the fresh tales added to the epics in the name of a particular character conform to and emphasise that quality of that character which has become popular,
Thus, for example, the tales wherein Bhīma is the hero, form a group by themselves. Bhima is the son of Vāyu, the Wind-god, 102 and possesses superhuman strength. It is he who kills the demon Hidimba and marries his sister Hidimba.103 It is he who replaces the Brāhmin boy in the city of the Ekacakrā and kills the demon Baka.104 It is he, again, who kills the demons Kirmita 105 and Jata 106 in the Van P. He also kills Manimān with a host of Rāk şasas of Kubera on the Gandhamādana mountain. 107 The killing of the wrestler Jim uta108 and the hundred Kicakas in VirP is also attributed to him.109 It is he who takes the vow of killing Duḥśāsana 110 kills him and drinks his blood -- the most horrible scene even as described in the epic. If Duryodhana represents the āsuri sampat, Bhima represents the asurī strength and is, indeed, the right match for Duryodhana. Both are born on the same day. 111 If Bhima has 101 A New History of Sanskrit Literature; Krishna Chaitanya, 1962. p.301. 102 AdiP. 114.9-11. 103 AdiP. 139-142. 104 AdiP, 143-152. 105 Van P. 11. 106 VanP. 154. 107 VanP. 151-153. 108 Vir P. 12.21-23. 109 VirP. 21-22. 110 SabP. 61.46. 111 AdiP. 114,14.
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