Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c16.27

c16.27

Sameness of name was well known among kings and princes, for it is expressly declared that there were a hundred Prativindhyas, Nāgas, Haihayas, Dhṛtarāṣṭras, Brahmadattas, Paulas, Śvetas, Kāśis and Kuśas, eighty Janamejayas, a thousand Śaśabindus and two hundred Bhīṣmas and Bhīmas:² also that there were two Nalas, one king of Ayodhyā and the other the hero of the ‘Story of Nala’. ³ So there were two famous Arjunas, Kārtavīrya and Pāṇḍava, and a third in Rigveda i, 222, 5. The genealogical lists in chapter XII show that other names were not uncommon, such as Divodāsa, Sṛñjaya and Sahadeva; and the number of duplicates is very large. Further, it is expressly stated that in the main Paurava line were two Ṛkṣas, two Parikṣits, three Bhīmasenas and two Janamejayas;⁴ and all these appear in that genealogy, if we include Bhīmasena Pāṇḍava. Similarly brahmans had the same names, thus there were two Śaktis, four brahman Rāmas, Jāmadagnya and three others,¹ three named Suśravas,¹ two Śukas (pp. 64-5), &c. Also kings and brahmans often had the same names.² There were two royal Rāmas, one the famous king of Ayodhyā and the other Balarāma, besides four brahman Rāmas mentioned above: four Kṛṣṇas at least, the king, Dvaipāyana-Vyāsa, Devakīputra and Hārita: five Babhrus, a son of the Yādava Lomapāda, a king in the Druhyu line, the Yādava Devāvṛdha's son, and two brahmans: and three Cyavanas, the Bhārgava rishi and two kings, one of N. Pañcāla and the other a descendant of Kuru.