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The Tales In Mahabharata
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The statement about Indra becoming the god of harvest is only lop-sided. But that Indra-Mahotsava was a harvest festival is very plausible. The period around the full-moon day of Bhadrapada-Indra-dhvaja festival was celebrated about this time -is the harvesting season in India. Prin. Phatak has missed the step next to this conclusion. The full-moon day of Phalguna is exactly at six months' distance, is about the period of another harvesting season in India and marks the day of the Holl-festival throughout the northern part of India. The erotic-comic-permissive elements connected with the Holi-festival have just been referred to. Is Holi-festival another Indra-Mahotsava ?
The second part of the story of Vasu Uparicara is clearly a myth. Girikk, the daughter of the mountain Kolahala and river Suktimati, is married to king Vasu. Once, when the king is on a hunting expedition, and the queen in a receptive state, a hawk, commissioned by the king to carry his seed to his queen, drops it in the river. Yamuna where it is swallowed by a fish Adrika, a cursed apsaras, who gives birth thereby after ten months to the twins-king Matsya and Satyavati-and is released from the curse, 196 The names Girika and Adrika are synonymous. Both are from rivers. One is said to be the queen of, the other to bear the seed of, king Vasu. The mountain, the rivers and the significant names of the characters show the story to be a myth. Dr. Shastri considers the tale to be a solar myth. 197 We may add a supporting evidence by pointing out that the hawk-syena-connects the myth with the Suparna -story-cycle, for Suparna, as shown by Dange, originally meant a syena and not Garuda, 198
The narrative proceeds further to describe the birth of Vyasa, the traditional, author of the epic.199 Of the twins of the fish Adrika, the daughter Matsya was given to the fisherman Daśa. Since she stayed for some time under the care of a fisherman, she was Matsya-sagandhä. Once sage Paraśara desired her. She obtained two boons from him-that of virginity even after accepting the sage and an excellent bodily odour. She complied with the sage's desire and gave birth to sage Vyasa on the island of river Yamuna. Born on an island, the sage was called Dvaipayana (>dvipa-'an island'),200 As a son of Parašara, he was called Parāśarya.201 Since he arranged Vedas, he become Vyasa (>vi+/as-to arrange"), 209
Satyavati is the daughter of a cursed Apsaras. She, from union with sage Parāśara, gives birth to sage Vyasa, but there is no motif of an orphaned embryo. Again, Satyavati is nowhere called Matsyagandha-one with the fish-like smell. She 196 Adip. 57.32-53.
197 Vide above fn. 96.
198 Cf. This syena is called 'suparna' " (p.70) and "Garuda and Suparna are not one and the same". (p.90). Legends in the Mahabharata, S. A. Dange. Read also pp. 88-91 therein. 199 AdiP. 57.54-71.
200 AbiP. 57.71.
201 Adip. 57.69. 202 AdiP. 57.73.
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