Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c21: Chapter XVI. Brahman Families and Chronological Table of Rishis

Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c21

Language
English

Contents

Chapter XVI. Brahman Families and Chronological Table of Rishis

c21.2

VAMŚAS, or so-called genealogies, of the chief brahman families are given in some of the Puranas,¹ and shorter notices or portions are found in others² and in the Mahābhārata.³ These all belong to the present Vaivasvata manvantara. Besides them somewhat similar genealogies assigned to the Svāyambhuva manvantara are mentioned in some Puranas,⁴ and are mainly mythical, though they introduce the names of some rishis well known in the present age. Professedly however they do not belong to the present age and may be put aside.

c21.3

¹ Bd iii, 1 and 8. Vā 65 and 70. Mat 195 to 202.

c21.4

² Bd ii, 32 and 33. Vā 59. Lg i, 63, 49-55, 68-92. Kūr i, 19. See p. 69.

c21.5

³ MBh i, 5 to 9.

c21.6

⁴ Bd ii, 11. Vā 10, 29 f.; 28; 31, 16-18. Viṣ i, 10, 2-14. Lg i, 5, 24-6, 38-49; 70, 270 f. Kūr i, 13. Mārk 52.

c21.7

These brahman genealogies present a remarkable contrast with those of the royal dynasties. It is the difference between a genuine genealogy and one subsequently compiled; between a genealogy that grew contemporaneously with the prolongation of the dynasty, and a genealogy that was pieced together by some compiler out of such materials as he could collect and understand in after times. The bulk of the royal genealogies consists of persons who are named nowhere else; and it would be impossible to construct them out of the notices of kings which occur elsewhere. The brahman vamśas are defective in all their features. They do not set out continuous descent except occasionally for a very few steps. They are often manifestly incomplete where they give such descents, because they may assign only a few steps to periods in which the royal genealogies place many kings, as will be seen in the pedigree from Śakti to Vyāsa among the Vasiṣṭhas. Where they do set out copious names, the names form merely a list without any genealogical connexion.

c21.8

There is little truly genealogical matter in these vaṃśas which cannot be found in various passages elsewhere. They mix up gods and mythological persons with real rishis, as will be seen.

c21.9

So far as tradition indicates, the ancient rishis kept practically no genealogies. Brahmanical books contain lists of the rishis through whom certain teaching was handed down (p. 4), but no lists of natural descents. Spiritual pedigrees exist, natural pedigrees are wanting. It was one of the duties of the sūtas (p. 15) to preserve the genealogies of rishis as well as of kings, and presumably they observed it as far as they were able, but the task must have been well-nigh impossible, inasmuch as the rishis generally dwelt in secluded hermitages, many of their descendants were of no note, their relations and families were not matters of public interest and report, and their gotras multiplied unmanageably. Rishi genealogies could never have been as copious as the dynastic genealogies; certainly, if they ever were so, they were not transmitted so sedulously, for they do not exist now.

c21.10

The brahman families claimed descent from mythical rishis, of whom there were eight, Bhr̥gu, Aṅgiras, Marīci (whose son was Kaśyapa), Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Pulastya, Pulaha and Kratu. They are called mind-born sons of Brahmā,¹ but fable devised another origin for them with fanciful etymologies of their names.² It appears in various places with variations, but the general explanation is this. Brahmā offered a sacrifice and Bhr̥gu came into existence from it, next Aṅgiras, and then the others, and Kavi is also named sometimes as the same as Bhr̥gu and sometimes as distinct. Śiva, who had the form of Varuṇa, took Bhr̥gu as his son, hence Bhr̥gu and the Bhārgavas were famed as Vāruṇa; Agni took Aṅgiras, hence Aṅgiras was known as Āgneya; and one account says Brahmā took Kavi, who was therefore known as Brāhma, but adds that Śiva as Varuṇa took him, so that Kavi was also Vāruṇa. The account says Bhr̥gu begot seven sons, Aṅgiras eight and Kavi eight; the sons named were not sons but descendants in various degrees.

c21.11

¹ e. g. Vā 65, 68–9; but differently, 99–104. The number of the mind-born sons varies. Brahmā the Pitāmaha created them, so they were called paitāmaharsis, Mat 171, 28.

c21.12

² Vā 65, 21, 35–48. Bd iii, 1, 20, 35–47. Mat 195, 5–11. MBh xiii, 85, 4121–5, 4145–54, 4163. Br̥hadd v, 97–101, quoted by Vedārth as introduction to Rigv v. Alluded to, Vā 1, 128; 30, 76: Bd ii, 13, 83–4. Cf. MBh i, 5, 869–70; 66, 2605.

c21.13

Of the eight rishi progenitors, however, the last three, Pulastya, Pulaha and Kratu, produced no true brahman families, as will be explained,¹ and only from the five others did genuine brahman families claim descent. But it was known that these five families were not all of equal antiquity, because it is said, ‘Four original families (*mūla-gotra*) came into existence, Aṅgiras, Kaśyapa, Vasiṣṭha and Bhṛgu; through action (*karmataḥ*) other families were produced’²—omitting Atri. Tradition supports the later origin of the Ātreyas, and indicates that the Kāśyapas also began later (see chapter XX), so that the only families whose existence is carried back in tradition to the earliest antiquity are the Bhārgavas and Vasiṣṭhas, and perhaps the Aṅgirasas. Still the general allegation came to be that the ancestors of all the families were the mythical primaeval rishis. In the following chapters all these families will be discussed, so far as they purport to have an historical connexion; and here the ground may be cleared by noticing briefly the mythological allegations about certain primaeval rishis in these families. It is said that Pulastya’s offspring were Rākṣasas, Vānaras, Kinnaras and Yakṣas;³ that Pulaha’s offspring were Kimpuruṣas, Piśācas, goblins, lions, tigers and other animals;⁴ and that Kratu had no wife or child, and remained celibate, according to most accounts,⁵ but according to other accounts the Vālakhilyas were his offspring.⁶

c21.14

¹ Seven *ṛṣi-gaṇas* are named after them all except Kratu, Vā 65, 49-50; Bḍ iii, 49-51.

c21.15

² MBh xii, 298, 10877-8; a brahmanical admission.

c21.16

³ MBh i, 66, 2751. Rākṣasas, Rām iii, 32, 23.

c21.17

⁴ MBh i, 66, 2572. Vā 69, 204 f., 325 f.; 70, 64-5; 73, 25, 44. Bḍ iii, 8, 70-2. Kūr i, 19, 15-16. Lg i, 63, 66-7 (for *Pulastyasya* read *Pulahasya*).

c21.18

⁵ Vā 70, 66. Bḍ iii, 8, 72-3. Lg i, 63, 68. Kūr i, 19, 16.

c21.19

⁶ Pad vi, 218, 64. MBh i, 66, 2573 (where *Pataṅga-sahacāriṇaḥ* = *Vālakhilyāḥ*). Mārk 52, 24-5. Ag 20, 14.

c21.20

The most noticeable allegations are made regarding ‘Bṛhaspati’ son of ‘Aṅgiras’. It seems from an examination of the statements that three primary Bṛhaspatis must be distinguished. First, the Bṛhaspati who had a wife Tārā; Soma seduced her and had a son Budha by her.⁷ Here Bṛhaspati means the planet,⁸ and this story appears to be an astronomical myth about Jupiter, the Moon, Mercury, &c. Secondly, the Bṛhaspati who is called the priest or guru or ācārya of the gods in their war with the asuras (Daityas and Dānavas), whose powerful priest was the Bhārgava Uśanas-Śukra.¹ Both these rishis are assigned a chronological position in that that war is placed in Yayāti’s reign and Yayāti married Śukra’s daughter Devayānī (p. 86).² Thirdly, the historical rishi Bṛhaspati who has been discussed above (chapter XIII). It may be added, fourthly, that the descendants of this last are often undistinguished from him as ‘Bṛhaspatis’.

c21.21

⁷ Vā 90, 28-43. Bḍ iii, 65, 29-44. Br 9, 19-32. Hv 25, 1340-55. Mat 23, 29 to 24, 7. Pad v, 12, 33-58. Viṣ iv, 6, 7-19. Bhāg ix, 14, 4-14. Cf. MBh v, 108, 3972.

c21.22

⁸ Heavenly bodies were named after rishis, as is clearly shown by Vasiṣṭha, the name of a real rishi and also of the star ζ in the Great Bear.

c21.23

¹ MBh i, 76, 3185 f.: vii, 63, 2295: xii, 29, 990. Mat 25, 6 f.; 249, 4 f. Cf. MBh ix, 37, 2102: Pad vi, 8, 44-6, 50; 146, 6-10; &c.

c21.24

² Bṛhaspati is introduced in the fable about Nahuṣa, MBh v, 10, 360 f.; 14, 480. It seems to me from some consideration of the devâsura wars, that the stories of the conflicts between the devas and asuras are based, partly, on religious struggles in the earliest times: cf. p. 68.

c21.25

The third Bṛhaspati was an Āṅgirasa, the first of course was not, and it is not clear whether the second was such or not. But they are constantly confused, especially in the later stories, as regards both their functions and the epithet ‘Āṅgiras’.³ So the first, the planet,⁴ is called in the story of Tārā and in some Puranas the guru of the gods⁵ and an Āṅgiras.⁶ The first and second are further confused and identified in astronomical accounts, and so the planet is styled the ācārya of the gods and also Āṅgiras,⁷ where Āṅgiras seems to be borrowed, if not from the second, yet certainly from the third Bṛhaspati; for it seems probable that the second was not an Āṅgiras in the sense of Āṅgiras as a gotra, but may have got that appellation through confusion with the third, since no Āṅgirasas appear definitely until far later in Karandhama’s reign (chapter XIII). Further, attributes of the second are erroneously applied to the third, as where the latter is called the priest of the gods.¹

c21.26

³ Vide Sörensen’s Index as regards the MBh.

c21.27

⁴ The epithet bṛhattejas is often applied to ‘Bṛhaspati’. Apparently it properly belonged to the planet (Mat 128, 48: Vā 53, 81: Bḍ ii, 24, 89: Lg i, 61, 18), and was afterwards transferred to the other Bṛhaspatis in the confusion; e.g. to the third Bṛhaspati (MBh i, 104, 4180), to ‘Bṛhaspati’ father of Saṃyu (Vā 71, 48-9).

c21.28

⁵ Mat 23, 30. Pad v, 12, 34. Viṣ iv, 6, 7. Bhāg ix, 14, 5. Cf. Hv 25, 1342.

c21.29

⁶ See seventh note above, except Mat and Pad.

c21.30

⁷ Vā 53, 81, 107. Bḍ ii, 24, 89, 132. Mat 128, 48. Lg i, 61, 18. Cf. MBh i, 66, 2606.

c21.31

¹ MBh i, 104, 4180 : xiv, 5, 108 to 6, 125.

c21.32

Among the Bhārgavas Bhṛgu and Kavi are purely mythical, but as regards Uśanas-Śukra, who is called their son, it must be noted that Uśanas and Śukra were names of the planet Venus also, and the two must be distinguished. The rishi always appears as the great priest of the Daityas and Dānavas (chapter XVII) and as the antagonist of the second Bṛhaspati with the same chronological position. But he and the planet were confused and identified,² and so the latter is styled in astronomical accounts Bhārgava, the ‘sacrificing priest of the asuras’ and ‘divine’.³ Further, since the first and second Bṛhaspatis were confused, the antagonism led to this rishi’s being foisted as Bṛhaspati’s adversary into the story of Tārā in late Puranas.⁴

c21.33

² MBh i, 66, 2606-7; and genealogy, next chapter.

c21.34

³ Vā 53, 80, 106; Bḍ ii, 24, 89, 131; and Lg i, 61, 17 (all deva). But Mat 128, 47, 63 (Daitya).

c21.35

⁴ Viṣ iv, 6, 8, 10. Bhāg ix, 14, 6.

c21.36

The mythical rishi Atri was made one with the mythical Atri, who is called a primaeval prajāpati⁵ and father of Soma,⁶ the moon. Then he is confused with the Atri who was the father (or progenitor) of Datta and Durvāsas (who will be noticed in chapter XIX), and so Soma is made the brother of those two rishis.⁷ Prabhākara, the earliest Ātreya mentioned, is connected in a fable with the sun,⁸ and the fable has no doubt been evolved out of his name and Svastyātreya the name of his descendants, and is explained as referring to an eclipse of the sun.⁹

c21.37

⁵ Hv 5, 292. MBh xiii, 65, 3289.

c21.38

⁶ Vā 90, 1-11, 46-7. Bḍ iii, 65, 1-11. Mat 198, 1. Hv 25, 1311. Br 9, 1.

c21.39

⁷ Br 144, 2-4. Pad vi, 218, 60-1. Mārk 17, 5-10; 52, 21-2. Kūr i, 13, 7-8. Ag 20, 12. Genealogy in chap. XX.

c21.40

⁸ Genealogy in chap. XX. Vedārth, introduction to Rigv v. MBh xiii, 156, 7292-7302.

c21.41

⁹ Bṛhadd v, 12. MBh i, 123, 4807 and Hv 261, 14148 say Atri was stirred up when the sun was destroyed. Śatapatha Brāhm v, 3, 2, 2.

c21.42

Kaśyapa son of Marīci is alleged to be the progenitor of the Kāśyapa brahmans, but there is no mention of any rishi called Kaśyapa until Rāma Jāmadagnya’s time, as will be shown in chapter XX, and Marīci’s son Kaśyapa is made a prajāpati,¹⁰ or is identified with the Kaśyapa who in accounts of the creation is made the progenitor of all beings, and is called the father of the gods and asuras.¹ Thus the first account given that professes to be a vaṃśa of the Kāśyapas² diverges off into the creation. It declares that in this lineage the world had its origin, thus: Marīci begot a son, the prajāpati Ariṣṭanemi, who afterwards became Kaśyapa³ and married Dakṣa’s daughters, whence came the origin of all beings. It is also said Nārada was Brahmā’s son, because of Dakṣa’s curse, became the son of Kaśyapa or of Kaśyapa’s son :⁴ and further that Kaśyapa begot Nārada, Parvata and Arundhatī, whom Nārada gave as wife to ‘Vasiṣṭha’. ⁵ It is all myth.

c21.43

¹⁰ Kūr i, 19, 16. Pad v, 37, 77 : vi, 218, 59-60. Mat 6, 1 f.

c21.44

¹ MBh i, 65, 2519; 66, 2598 : xiii, 12, 556–7.

c21.45

² Bd iii, 1, 113 f. Vā 65, 109 f., which seems corrupt. Cf. Kūr i, 20, 1–4.

c21.46

³ MBh xii, 208, 7574 says that Marīci begot Kaśvapa, who was known by both the names Kaśyapa and Ariṣṭanemi. MBh iii, 184, 12660, 12665 call an ‘Ariṣṭanemi’ Tārkṣya.

c21.47

⁴ Vā 65, 135–42. Bd iii, 2, 12–18.

c21.48

⁵ Vā 70, 79–80. Bd iii, 8, 86–7. Lg i, 63, 78–80. Kūr i, 19, 20.

c21.49

Besides the foregoing brahman families other brahman families and gotras arose, which claimed no primaeval antiquity. They were of three classes. First, the Viśvāmitras, who were descended from Viśvāmitra, king of Kānyakubja, who became a brahman and established an independent family. Secondly, sub-families founded by kṣatriya princes, some of which became brahmans forthwith, such as the Kāṇvas and Vītahavyas (chapters XIX and XVII), while others became first kṣatriyan brahmans, as will be explained in chapter XXIII, were incorporated into pure brahmanic families and then became entirely brahmans. These two classes took their rise at definite chronological stages. The third class comprised brahman families, such as the Agastyas (chapter XXII), which appeared, but the origin of which is uncertain.

c21.50

In considering notices of rishis, it is very necessary to remember the cautions explained in chapter XII. It will be convenient here to give a table showing the chronological position of the ancient rishis, as they are ascertained in the preceding and following chapters, and it is arranged according to the scale in the table of royal genealogies in chapter XII, that is, the numbers correspond in both tables, and the two read together show what kings and rishis were contemporaries. This table will elucidate the discussions in the following chapters. The Matsya (195 to 202) gives copious lists of rishis and gotras in the brahman families, and it will be found that gotras of the same name sometimes existed in two families.¹ This renders it at times hardly certain to which family a rishi mentioned by his gotra name should be assigned, yet generally one gotra was far more distinguished than the other, so that it is reasonable to place such a rishi in the family in which the gotra was distinguished. Where a rishi is mentioned only by his gotra name without any personal name, the former is placed within inverted commas; and where a rishi can be assigned only tentatively to a particular position, his name is marked thus (?). Rishis and teachers after the Bhārata battle are dealt with in chapter XXVII.

c21.51

¹ Thus, *Paulastya* besides being a family was also a Bhārgava gotra (*Mat* 195, 30). *Kutsa* was both Āṅgirasa and Bhārgava (*id.* 195, 22; 196, 37). There were *Kāṇvas* among the Vasiṣṭhas, as well as *Kāṇvāyanas* (*Kāṇvas*) among the Āṅgirasas (*id.* 196, 21; 200, 9).

Chronological Table of Rishis

c21.s1.1

| | BHĀRGAVAS | ĀṄGIRASAS | VASIṢṬHAS | OTHER FAMILIES |
| 1 | ... | ... | ‘Vasiṣṭha’ | ... |
| 2 | Cyavana | ... | ‘Vasiṣṭha’ | ... |
| 3 | ... | ... | ‘Vasiṣṭha’ | ... |
| 4 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 5 | Uśanas-Śukra | (Bṛha ati) | ... | ... |
| 6 | Śaṇḍa and Marka. Apnavāna | ... | ... | ... |
| 7-17 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 18 | ... | ... | ... | Prabhākara-Ātreya |
| 19-29 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 30 | Ūrva | ... | Varuṇa | ... |
| 31 | Ṛcika-Aurva | ... | Āpava-Vāruṇi | Datta-Ātreya. Durvāsas-Ātreya (?) |
| 32 | Jamadagni, Ajīgarta | ... | Devarāj | (Viśvaratha-) Viśvāmitra |
| 33 | ... | ... | ... | Madhucchandas, Ṛṣabha, Reṇu, Aṣṭaka, Kati (or Kata ?) and Gālava, Viśvāmitras |
| 34 | { Rāma, Śunaḥśepa } | ... | ... | Śunaḥśepa-Devarāta-Viśvāmitra |
| 35 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 36 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 37 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 38 | ... | Atharvan | ... | ... |
| 39 | ... | Uśija | ... | ‘Kaśyapa’ |
| 40 | Agni-Aurva, Vītahavya | Ucathya, Bṛhaspati, Saṃvarta | Atharvanidhi I-Āpava | ... |
| 41 | ... | Dīrghatamas, Bharadvāja, Śaradvant I | ... | ... |
| 42 | ... | ... | ... | ‘Viśvāmitra’ (Śakuntalā’s father), Kaṇva-Kāśyapa, Agastya (and Lopāmudrā) |
| 43 | ... | Kakṣīvant I | ... | ... |
| 44 | ... | Śaṃyu | ... | ... |
| 45 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 46 | ... | Vidathin-Bharadvāja (adopted by Bharata) | ... | ... |
| 47 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 48 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 49 | ... | Garga, Nara | ... | ... |
| 50 | ... | Uruksaya, Saṅkṛti | ... | ... |
| 51 | ... | Ṛjiśvan (?) | ... | ... |
| 52 | ... | Kapi | ... | ... |
| 53 | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 54 | ... | ‘Bharadvāja’ (with Ajamīḍha) | Śreṣṭhabhāj | ... |

c21.s1.2

| | Bhārgavas | Āṅgirasas | Vasiṣṭhas | Other Families |
| 55 | ... ... | Kaṇva | ... ... | ... ... |
| 56 | ... ... | Medhātithi-Kaṇva | ... ... | ... ... |
| 57 | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... |
| 58 | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... |
| 59 | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... |
| 60 | ... ... | ... ... | Atharvanidhi II | Śāṇḍilya-Kāśyapa |
| 61 | ... ... | Maudgalya | ... ... | ... ... |
| 62 | (Vadhryaśva) | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... |
| 63 | (Divodāsa) | Pāyu, Śaradvant II, Sobhari-Kāṇva | ... ... | Vibhāṇḍaka-Kāśyapa, Arcanānas-Atreya |
| 64 | (Mitrayu), Parucchepa-Daivodāsi | ... ... | ‘Vasiṣṭha’ (with Daśaratha) | Rṣyaśṛṅga-Kāśyapa, Rebha-Kāśyapa, Śyāvāśva-Atreya |
| 65 | Maitreya, Pratardana-Daivodāsi, Pracetas | Kaksīvant II-Pajriya | ... ... | Andhīgu-Atreya |
| 66 | Anānata-Pārucchepi, Vālmiki | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... |
| 67 | Sumitra-Vādhryaśva | ... ... | ‘Vasiṣṭha’ (with Sudās) | ... ... |
| 68 | ... ... | ... ... | Śakti, Śatayātu | ‘Viśvāmitra’ (with Sudās), Nidhruva-Kāśyapa |
| 69 | ... ... | Vāmadeva | Parāśara-Śāktya, Suvarcas | ... ... |
| 70 | ... ... | Bṛhaduktha | ... ... | ... ... |
| 71 | Devāpi-Śaunaka | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... |
| 72 | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... |
| 73 | Indrota-Śaunaka | ... ... | ... ... | Vaibhāṇḍaki-Kāśyapa |
| 74 | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... |
| 75- | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... |
| 85 | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... |
| 86 | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... | ‘Jaigīṣavya’ |
| 87 | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... | Śaṅkha and Likhita, Kaṇḍarīka, Bābhravya-Pāñcāla |
| 88 | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... | ... ... |
| 89 | ... ... | ... ... | (Sagara) | ... ... |
| 90 | ... ... | ... ... | Parāśara-Sāgara | ... ... |
| 91 | ... ... | ‘Bharadvāja’ | ‘Jātūkarṇya’ | Asita-Kāśyapa, Viṣvaksena (-Jātūkarṇya?) |
| 92 | ... ... | ... ... | Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana-Vyāsa | Agniveśa? |
| 93 | ... ... | Kṛpa, Droṇa | Śuka | Asita-Devala, Dhaumya and Yāja, all Kāśyapas |
| 94 | Vaiśampāyana | Aśvatthāman, Paila | Bhūriśravas, &c. | Lomaśa, ‘Jaimini’, Sumantu |

Linked texts (16)