________________
Conclusions
ble that the original MBh ended with Yudhisthira's coronation. Therefore, that tale or episode may be called secondary which is not original, which is not connected in any way with the principal characters, or more correctly, with the central the epic, or again, shows stylistic differences or creates internal contradictions or unnecessary duplications etc.
A peculiar sense of propriety is observed in the tales of the heroes. The epic-poets portray the epic-heroes as human characters with complex personalities. But when the epics become popular, the popular mind reduces the finely modelled characters into contrasted types, and "the characteristics once chosen are preserved, and become only clearer as the drama develops"; fresh tales added to the epic, then, conform to and emphasise only the chosen characteristics of a character. Such tales reveal a peculiar pattern in characterisation,
Birth-stories also reveal reveal some definite patterns. Birth-stories of many a sage possess the motif of tapo-bhanga deliberate or accidental due to an apsaras. If it is deliberate, the efficient cause is invariably Indra. In such tales, he is generally portrayed as coward and mean under śramanic influence, but the Rsyasṛnga-tale gives us the clue that all such tales have their origin in the primitive rites of agricultural as well as procreative fertility the god of which is Indra.
The so-called "etymologische legende" must be explained as due to what is known in Linguistics as the general iconic tendency of a language "whereby semantic sameness is reflected also by formal sameness"2. This means that it is a natural tendency of any language (or of any language-speaking people) to use the language always meaningfully and to try to render the words (including names) meaningful even by creating tales if needs be. Etymological tales are due to this tendency of language. All other explanations would be only incidental and, therefore, insignificant.
163
both
The birth-stories of the Ksatriya-protagonists reveal a pattern of Brahmaṇical motifs, in which the institution of sacrifice and the theory of incarnation pressed into service to establish the super-normal character of the epic-principalities. Rāma and Kṛṣṇa are incarnations of Viṣṇu. Rama, moreover, is born due to the sacrifice. Sītā and Draupadi (and Dhṛṣṭadyumna) are born from sacrifice. The Pandava-brothers are born as partial incarnations of the five gods, Bhisma is born. out of the eighth parts of the eight Vasus. Vidura is Dharma incarnate!
The MBh poets could not do away with the two unsavoury facts about their v heroes the mystery around their births and their polyandrous marriage.
To explain the former they resort to the custom of Niyoga. They appear to put in very special efforts to play down the effect of the custom by showing it to be at
1
2
On the Meaning of the Mahabharata, Sukthankar, p. 44.
An Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics, Raimo Anttila 1972. p. 89.
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