Itihasa

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Itihasas
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Itihasa (

Sanskrit: इतिहास, lit.'traditional accounts of past events')[1] refers to the collection of written descriptions of important events in Hinduism. It includes the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the Ramayana. The Mahabharata includes the story of the Kurukshetra War and preserves the traditions of the Lunar dynasty in the form of embedded tales. The Puranas narrate universal history – the books discuss in depth the topics of cosmogony, myth, legend and history. The Ramayana contains the story of Rama and is incidentally related to the legends of the Solar dynasty. A story is considered to be itihasa only when the author of the story has himself witnessed or is part of the story.[2] Vyasa, who wrote the Mahabharata, is himself a character in the story. Similarly, Valmiki, who wrote the Ramayana, was also a character in the story. Many classical Indian poets derive the plots of their poetry and drama from the Itihasa.[3] The tradition of itihāsa is generally understood to be developed by the bardic tradition of Sūtas and Cāraṇas whose duties consisted of composing royal eulogies.[4]

Etymology

The Sanskrit term itihāsa (इतिहास) was derived from the phrase iti ha āsa इति ह आस, which means "so indeed it was".

Hindu tradition

Cosmogony

According to the

Kalpa, (a single day in the life of) Brahma), an equivalent of 1,000 Maha Yugas, at the end of which, the creation is destroyed and is followed by a Pralaya
(dissolution) of equal length. The creation starts again, in the next Kalpa in an endless cycle of creations and dissolutions.

The traditions relate that the present Kalpa is called

Vaivasvata after the Manu who presides over it. It is to Vaivasvata Manu that the royal genealogies of the Itihasa trace their origin. It was in the Chakshusha manvantara, which immediately preceded the present manvantara, that king Prithu, the great grandson of Chakshusha Manu, leveled the earth, built cities and villages and developed agriculture, trade, pasture and cattle-breeding. This cycle ended after only eight more generations with the Great Flood
.

The Satya Yuga

The Great Flood at the end of Chakshusa

Mithila is established by his son Mithi,[8] also called Janaka
which later becomes the generic name for the kings of Videha.

The lunar line is established at about the same time, at

Vikramorvasiyam. While Ayus, the elder son of Pururavas ascends the throne after him, his younger brother, Amavasu founds another dynasty that reigned over a kingdom, centred around Kanyakubja (modern Kannauj).[10]

The lunar line again splits into two after the reign of Ayus, the eldest son of Pururavas.

Kashi (Varanasi). His descendants were called Kaseyas.[10]

Nahusa's son and successor

Puru from Sarmistha, the daughter of asura king Vrsaparva. Yayati installs Puru, the youngest. but the most dutiful son as his successor in the ancestral sovereignty in Pratisthana.[12] The elder sons obtain the outlying areas. From the sons of Yayati, descend the five famous royal lines of the Yadavas, the Turvasus, the Druhyus, the Anavas and the Pauravas, together called the Pancha Jana or the Five Tribes.[13]

Immediately after Yadu, the Yadava dynasty is bifurcated – the main line continued by Krosti and the independent line of

Mahismati
.

Soon thereafter, the Druhyu king Gandhara retires to the northwest (modern

The Haihaya king Krtavirya had the

In the solar line, Trayyaruna, a near contemporary of Gadhi and Krtavirya, ruled the kingdom of Ayodhya at this time. On the counsel of his priest

brahmins, he resolves to become a brahmarsi and relinquishes his throne.[20] When engaged in austerities, Visvamitra is befriended by Trisanku. He then champions Trisanku's cause, performs his royal consecration and on his death elevates him in his living body to heaven.[21]

The rivalry of Visvamitra and Vasistha continues even during the reign of

Sunahsepa (who is Visvamitra's grandnephew) as sacrificial victim in his stead. When about to be killed, Sunahsepa chants the varunamantra, taught to him by Visvamitra. Varuna appears, grants the boy his freedom and the king a cure from the disease. Visvamitra then adopts the boy as his chief son with the name Devarata.[22][23] A number of Visvamitra's sons, who protest against the status given to Devarata, are cursed by their angry father to become outcastes. They become the ancestors of Dasyu tribes, such as the Andhras, Mutibas, Pulindas, etc.[24][25] Visvamitra, subsequently, obtains the position of a brahmarsi.[26]

In the Haihaya line, Krtavirya was succeeded by his son Arjuna Kartavirya, who was a mighty king. After a long reign he has dissension with Jamadagni. As a result,

Parasurama, the son of Jamadagni by Renuka, the daughter of a minor Iksvaku king, kills Kartavirya Arjuna, whereupon Kartavirya's son's kill Jamadagni. In revenge, Parasurama resolves to slaughter the entire class of warriors (kshatriyas), and so far succeeds that only five survive to continue the great dynasties.[27]

After Kartavirya, the Haihayas divided into five collateral tribes – the Talajanghas, the Vitihotras, the Avantyas, Tudikeras and Jatas. They attack Ayodhya and drive king Bahu from the throne.

Sagara, and Sagara defeats all those enemies, regains his kingdom and destroys the Haihaya power for good.[28]

Sagara had sixty thousand sons who insult Kapila rsi and are, in turn, reduced to ashes by him. Therefore, Sagara is succeeded by his grandson Amsuman on the throne of Ayodhya.[30] With the reign of Sagara, the Satya Yuga comes to an end.

The Treta Yuga

Ganges to earth to expiate the sins of the sons of Sagara.[31] Rtuparna is the next prominent king in the dynasty made famous by his association with Nala, the king of Nisadas. Nala married Damayanti, the daughter of Bhima, the Yadava king of Vidarbha. The delightful story of their marriage and the unhappy sequel of his subsequent temporary loss of his kingdom and destitution through gambling, is in the Mahabharata told to Yudhishthira suffering in similar circumstances.[32]

After a long eclipse (corresponding to the ascendency of the solar dynasty under Mandhata), the Paurava line is revived by

Hastinapura, after himself.[34]

Soon after Hastin, the Bharata dynasty is divided into four separate lines – the most well-known being the main Paurava line and the Pancala line. The Pancala king

Gautama. She was deceived by Indra and expelled into the forest by her husband on account of her infidelity.[36]

The solar line once again ascends under the benevolent kingship of

Laksmana to the forest. In the forest, Sita is abducted by Ravana
, the king of raksasas and imprisoned in Lanka, his capital. Rama forms an alliance with the monkeys and the bears of the forest and lays a siege of Lanka. Ravana is ultimately defeated and slain by Rama. He then returns to Ayodhya with his wife Sita and ascends the throne.

With Rama's disappearance, the Treta Yuga comes to a close and the Dvapara Yuga commences. After Rama the solar dynasty goes into permanent decline.

The Dvapara Yuga

The Yadava line is once again split into two separate lines after the reign of Bhima, the son of Satvat by his sons

Vasudeva Anakadundubhi, the father of Krishna
was a Vrsni.

The Pancala Bharata dynasty under its king Srnjaya now rises to prominence. His son Cyavana-Pijavana was a great warrior and the latter's son, Sudas, annexed several kingdoms. A confederacy of the kings of the Pauravas, the Yadavas, the Sivis, the Druhyus, the Matsyas, the Turvasus and others, is formed against Sudas, who defeats them in a great battle near the river Parusni. This is called the Battle of the Ten Kings.[38] The bulk of hymns (Book II-IX) represents only 5 to 6 generations of kings (and of contemporary poets) of this dynasty.[39]

The Paurava line continues through Ajamidha, the son of Hasti. In his line, king

Kuru
and his descendants were called Kauravas. The line continues through Kuru's second son Jahnu.

Mathura. Krishna along with the Andhakas and Vrsnis migrate to the West coast and build a new capital Dvaravati (Dvaraka) in Saurastra. Krishna then abducts Rukmini, the princess of Vidarbha, defeating her brother and marries her.[41]
In later life, Krishna becomes the friend of the Pandavas.

The next famous king in the Kaurava line is Pratipa. His son,

Santanu supersedes his elder brother Devapi to the throne, whereupon no rain falls for twelve years. Devapi then acts as a Hotr (chief priest) and performs sacrifice for his brother and obtains rain.[42]

Santanu's grandsons were

Dhrtarastra and Pandu. The former being blind, the latter ascends the throne. Dhrtarastra has many sons of whom Duryodhana is the eldest; and Pandu has five sons, Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva
. The sons of Dhrtarastra belonging to the elder branch were called Kauravas and Pandu's sons, the Pandavas. The question of succession to the throne results in a feud between the two families culminating in the appalling slaughter in the Bharata War. All the old kshatriya dynasties of India, it is said, took part in the great battle, fighting on one side or the other. In the battle, which lasts for eighteen days, the ruses of Krishna enable the hard pressed Pandavas to win. The Mahabharata narrates the story of this feud in detail.

Subsequently, the Yadavas are themselves engulfed in civil war, and Krishna withdraws to the life of an ascetic in the forest. Here he is accidentally shot and killed by a hunter.

Pariksita, the grandson of Arjuna on the throne of Hastinapura and retire to the forest. The Dvapara Yuga
closes with the departure of Krishna.

The Kali Yuga

Janamejaya, who was a minor then, later hears his father's death from his ministers, and resolves on revenge. He organizes a rite (sarpasatra) to destroy all snakes. The snakes enter the sacrificial fire by the power of the rite.[45] Astika, (a half snake from his mother's side) who was begotten to save them,[46] enters the rite and wins a boon of his choice by singing the praises of Janamejaya. He demands the proceedings be halted. Janamejaya cannot refuse and concludes the rite.[47] It is during this rite that Vaisampayana, a disciple of Vyasa narrates the Mahabharata to Janamejaya.[48]

Nicaksu, sixth in line from Pariksita, transfers his capital from Hastinapura to

Vinavasavadatta
, respectively.

In Magadha, the descendants of Brhadratha and Jarasandha retain the throne till they are replaced by the Sisunaga dynasty, which among others include the famous kings

Maurya Dynasty
.

According to the Mahabharata, the Kali Yuga will close with the coming of Kalki, at which point the Satya Yuga will recommence.[51]

Conclusion

This lengthy history of kings and sages is rounded off by the bards with a hint of cynicism regarding the ephemeral nature of fame:[52]

The valiant Prthu traversed the universe, every where triumphant over his foes; yet he was blown away, like the light down of the Simal tree, before the blast of time. He who was Kartavirya subdued innumerable enemies, and conquered the seven zones of the earth; but now he is only the topic of a theme, a subject for affirmation and contradiction. Fie upon the empire of the sons of Raghu, who triumphed over Dasanana (Ravana), and extended their sway to the ends of the earth; for was it not consumed in an instant by the frown of the destroyer? Mandhatr, the emperor of the universe, is embodied only in a legend; and what pious man who hears it will ever be so unwise as to cherish the desire of possession in his soul? Bhagiratha, Sagara, Kakutstha, Dasanana, Rama, Lakshmana, Yudhishthira, and others, have been. Is it so? Have they ever really existed? Where are they now? we know not! The powerful kings who now are, or who will be, as I have related them to you, or any others who are unspecified, are all subject to the same fate, and the present and the future will perish and be forgotten, like their predecessors. Aware of this truth, a wise man will never be influenced by the principle of individual appropriation; and regarding them as only transient and temporal possessions, he will not consider children and posterity, lands and property, or whatever else is personal, to be his own.

Jain tradition

Sixty-three Salaka Purusas
Tirthankara
Chakravartin
Baladeva/Vasudeva/Prati-Vasudeva
Rsabha (Adi)
Bharata
Ajita
Sagara
Sambhava
Abhinandana
Sumati
Padmaprabha
Suparsva
Candraprabha
Suvidhi/Puspadanta
Sitala
Vijaya/Triprstha/Asvagriva
Sreyamsa
Acala/Dviprstha/Taraka
Vasupujya Dharma/Svayambhu/Madhu
Vimala
Suprabha/Purusottama/Madhusudana
Ananta
Dharma
Maghavan Sudarsana/Purusasimha/Madhukrida
Sanatkumara
Santi
Santi
Kunthu
Kunthu
Ara
Ara
Nandisena/Pundarika/Nisumbha
Subhauma
Nandimitra/Datta/Bali
Malli
Rama (Padma)/Laksmana/Ravana
Munisuvrata Padma
Nami
Harisena
Jayasena
Nemi
Balabhadra/Krsna/Jarasandha
Brahmadatta
Parsva
Mahavira

The Jainas have their own version of traditional history, brought into line with their legends of the 24 Jinas who from time to time have refounded their religion on earth.

Sagara
, and Brahmadeva or Brahmadatta who is familiar also to the Buddhists, but the others are not familiar elsewhere. Three of them, including Santi, became Jinas also. The Jaina traditions seem to draw in part on ancient sources independent of those of the brahmanas, as do the Buddhists also, and are not merely corruptions of Brahmanical traditions. It is noticeable that their legends are much more schematic and regular than the others.

Buddhist tradition

The Buddhists preserve another different version of the traditional history. According to them, in the beginning of the cosmic cycle mankind lived on an immaterial plane where there was no need of food and clothing and no private property, family, government or laws. Then gradually the process of cosmic decay sets in and mankind becomes earthbound and feel the need of food and shelter. As men lose their primeval glory distinctions of class (varna) arise and they enter into agreements with one another, accepting the institutions of private property and the family. With this theft, murder, adultery and other crime begin. So, the people meet together and decide to appoint one man among them to maintain order in return for a share of the produce of their fields and herds. This, then, was the first king called

(the last three known to the Brahmanical and Jain Traditions).

In this line was born a king called Karnika who had two sons

Gautama and Bharadvaja. Bharadvaja ascends the throne after his father's death, but dies without any issue. On the other hand, two children are born from eggs, which were formed from coagulated blood and semen of Gautama and hatched by the sun. From one of the eggs comes the famous Iksvaku (Pali ‘Okkaka’), who succeeds Bharadvaja and founds the solar dynasty.[54]

The four sons and four daughters of Iksvaku are exiled to the foothills of the Himalayas due to the machinations of their stepmother. They intermarry amongst themselves to maintain the purity of their blood and later establish the towns of Kapilavastu and Koli. Their descendants were called

Buddha
is born in this dynasty.

Influence on classical Indian poetry

The rules of classical Indian poetics prescribe that the themes of the

and Sriharsa's Naisadhiyacarita from the Mahabharata.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Itihasa is not fantasy". Devdutt. 3 June 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  2. ISSN 0971-751X
    . Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  3. ^ Pargiter, F. E. (Frederick Eden) (1922). Ancient Indian historical tradition. Cornell University Library. London : Oxford University Press, H. Milford.
  4. S2CID 165668247
    .
  5. ^ Satapatha Brahmana, I.8.1
  6. ^ Mahabharata, III.185
  7. ^ Bhagavata Purana, VIII.24
  8. ^ Visnu Purana, IV.5
  9. ^ Visnu Purana, IV.6
  10. ^ a b c Visnu Purana, IV.7
  11. ^ Mahabharata, V.9-18
  12. ^ Mahabharata, I.76-93
  13. ^ Visnu Purana, IV.10
  14. ^ Mahabharata, III.126
  15. ^ Visnu Purana, IV.2
  16. ^ a b Visnu Purana, IV.18
  17. ^ Mahabharata, I.178
  18. ^ Mahabharata, III.115
  19. ^ Vayu Purana, 88.78-116
  20. ^ Ramayana, I.51-56
  21. ^ Ramayana, I.57-60
  22. ^ Aitareya Brahmana, VII.15-18
  23. ^ Ramayana, I.61-62
  24. ^ Mahabharata, XIII.3
  25. ^ Aitareya Brahmana, VII.18
  26. ^ Ramayana, I.65
  27. ^ Mahabharata, III.115-117
  28. ^ a b Visnu Purana, IV.3
  29. ^ Mahabharata, XIII.30
  30. ^ Ramayana, I.38-41
  31. ^ Ramayana, I.42-44
  32. ^ Mahabharata, III.50-78
  33. ^ Mahabharata, I.62-69
  34. ^ Vishnu Purana, IV.19
  35. ^ Rigveda, I.112.14; I.116.18
  36. ^ Ramayana, I.48
  37. ^ Raghuvaṃśa of Kālidāsa - Edited with extracts & Notes etc by Narayan Ram Acharya Kavyatirtha, Chaukhambha Publishers, Varanasi, 2nd ed (2002)
  38. ^ Rigveda, VII.18;VII.83
  39. ^ Witzel, Michael. The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu. Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts. Harvard Oriental Series (1997)
  40. ^ Mahabharata, I.173-175
  41. ^ Visnu Purana, V
  42. ^ Brihaddevata, vii,155-7, viii.1-9
  43. ^ Mahabharata, XIX
  44. ^ Mahabharata, I.40-43
  45. ^ Mahabharata, I.49-53
  46. ^ Mahabharata, I.13-39
  47. ^ Mahabharata, I.54-58
  48. ^ Mahabharata, I.60
  49. ^ Visnu Purana, IV.21
  50. ^ Visnu Purana, IV.23-24
  51. ^ Vyasa, Krishna-Dwaipayana. "SECTION CLXXXIX". The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa. Translated by Mohan Ganguli, Kisari. pp. 390–391. And when those terrible times will be over, the creation will begin anew. … the Krita age will begin again. … And commissioned by Time, a Brahmana of the name of Kalki will take his birth. And he will glorify Vishnu and possess great energy, great intelligence, and great prowess. … And he will restore order and peace in this world crowded with creatures and contradictory in its course. … And he will be the Destroyer of all, and will inaugurate a new Yuga.
  52. ^ Visnu Purana, IV.24
  53. ^ Collins, Steve. Aggañña sutta. Sahitya Akademi, 2001.
  54. ^ Mahavastu, I.
  55. ^ Rhys Davids, T.W. Ambattha Sutta, The Sacred Books of the Buddhists Vol II, 1899.
  56. ^ Dandin, Kavyadarsha, I.15
  57. ^ Visvanatha Kaviraja, Sahityadarpana, VI.318
  58. ^ Bharata, Natyasastra, XVIII.10

Primary Sources (Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit and Tamil)

  • Vyasa, Mahabharata. See translation at www.sacred-texts.com
  • Valmiki, Ramayana. See translation at www.sacred-texts.com
  • Rigveda
  • Atharvaveda
  • Satapatha Brahmana
  • Puranas
  • Manu Smriti
  • Tripitaka
  • Mahavastu
  • Lalitavistara
  • Bhagavati Sutra
  • Hemacandra, Trisastisalakapurusacaritra
  • Kalidasa
    • Abhijnanasakuntalam
    • Raghuvamsa
    • Vikramorvasiyam
  • Bhasa
    • Svapnavasavadatta
    • Pratijnayaugandharayana
    • Balacarita
    • Karnabhara
    • Dutavakya
    • Urubhanga
    • Madhyamavyayoga
    • Pancaratra
    • Dutaghatotkacha
    • Pratimanataka
    • Abhishekanataka
  • Sarvasena, Harivijaya
  • Panini, Jambavativijaya
  • Ksemendra, Sasivamsa
  • Mentha, Hayagiva vadha
  • Bhavabhuti
    • Mahaviracarita
    • Uttararamacarita
  • Bhattanarayana, Venisamhara
  • Jayadeva,
    Gitagovinda
  • Venkatanatha Vedanta Desika, Yadavabhyudaya
  • Murari, Anargha Raghava
  • Pratapa Rudra Deva, Yayati Caritra
  • Rajasekhara, Pracanda Pandava
  • Damodar Misra, Hanumananataka
  • Asvaghosa
    • Buddhacarita
    • Saudarananda
  • Vimala Suri, Pauma cariya
  • Pravarasena, Setubandha
  • Silacharya, Caupanna mahapurisa cariya
  • Jinasena, Harivamsa purana

Further reading

  • Pargiter, F.E.
    • Ancient Indian Historical Tradition. Delhi. 1972.
    • The Purana Text of the Dynasties of the Kali Age. Oxford. 1913.
  • Winternitz, M. History of Indian Literature. Vol. I-II. Delhi. 1987.
  • Rapson, E.J. The Cambridge History of India. Vol. I Cambridge. 1922.
  • Warder, A.K. Indian Kavya Literature, Vol. I-VII. Delhi. 2004.
  • Smith, R. Morton Dates and dynasties in earliest India: translation and justification of a critical text of the Purana dynasties, Shastri, J. L. (ed.). Delhi. Motilal Banarasidass. 1973.
  • Smith, Mary Carroll The core of India's great Epic. Harvard University. 1972.
  • Thapar, Romila
    • "Puranic Lineages and archaeological cultures" in Ancient Indian Social History: some interpretations. New Delhi. Orient Longmans. 1978.
    • "Origin Myths and the early Indian historical tradition" in Ancient Indian Social History: some interpretations. New Delhi. Orient Longmans. 1978.
    • "Genealogy as a source of social history" in Ancient Indian Social History: some interpretations. New Delhi. Orient Longmans. 1978.