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Secondary Tales of the two Great Eples
which Pandu had retired... But neither law nor propriety would sanction the vicarious procreation by even a superior Brahman of five hefty sons in succession. This I conceive to have been the real origin of the cock-and-bull story that figures in the Epic of gods, real gods, being made by mantras, derived (only those gods knew how) from a holy Brahman again, to come down and perform this obliging service for Pandu."293 Mr. Ghose arranges the pieces of zigsaw so perfectly that it is difficult to find a hole in it.
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The author, therefore, chooses to show the five sons of Pandu as born of divine levirate. But a levirate is a levirate. Making it divine does not remove the stigma attached to it. The author tries to show the practice of niyoga as one widely practised. The fathers of the epic-heroes and villains are also shown to be born of levirate. Kings like Kalmaṣapada had taken to the practice. After Parasurama's total annihilation of the Ksatriyas, even Brahmins had performed Niyoga upon the Ksatriya-women. Both Svetaketu and Manu have sanctioned it. Still, in spite of the fact that levirate is shown to be so widely prevalent, the author yet feels constrained to add a Pañcendropakhyāna294-the tale of the five Indras-, an ingenious piece of Brahmanical concoction.
The tale runs thus: In the gods' sacrifice at Naimisa-forest, Yama was engaged as the sacrificial killer. So he could not kill people who grew both in number and years. Gods complained to Brahman who pacified them. While returning, they saw a lotus in the river Gangā. Going near, Indra saw a woman crying whose tears had become the lotus. On inquiry about the cause of her weeping, she led Indra to a god who steadied the arrogant Indra, and showing four other previous Indras like him ordered all the five to be born on earth. They, however, were granted the request to be procreated by gods, namely Dharma, Vayu, Maghavan and Aśvinau. The woman was. made their wife. The god himself with Nārāyaṇa was born as Balarama with Kesava.
According to this tale, then, the five epic-heroes are the five Indras born as Pandavas. The subtle distinction will have to be made that Dharma, Vayu etc. the seed-layers while the epic-heroes themselves are actually all the incarnations of five Indras. The contradiction in the case of Arjuna that Indra will be the seed-layer as well as the incarnation will have to be overlooked. Draupadi, according to this version, will be an incarnation of Lakṣml; according to the other story about her. previous birth, just mentioned above and which follows on the heels of this tale in this very Adhyaya, she will be a woman born with a destiny to have five husbands. To some extent, this story contradicts the incarnation motif of the Adivarśavataraṇaparvan also. Yet, the tale is very much there, and reveals by its over-doing the anxiety of its author to cover up the fact of the heroine's polyandrous marriage. author leaves no stone unturned, as it were. He musters up as many justifications as 293 Indo Aryan Literature and Culture, p.188.
294 AdiP. 189.1-40.
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