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Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c25: Chapter XX. The Ātreyas

Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c25

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Chapter XX. The Ātreyas

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The mythical rishi Atri has been noticed above (chapter XVI), and the name is also loosely applied to various Ātreyas, as will be noticed. The genealogy of the Ātreyas is given in Brahmāṇḍa iii, 8, 73-86, Vāyu 70, 67-78 and Liṅga i, 63, 68-78; and also partially in connexion with the Paurava dynasty in Brahma 13, 5-14 and Harivaṃśa 31, 1658, 1661-8. All these passages are closely alike and collated suggest the original text. The Matsya (197) gives a list of Ātreya rishis and gotras. The genealogy is very brief in its range,² confuses Prabhākara with the primaeval mythical Atri in making him father of Soma, and explains the names Prabhākara and Svastyātreya by a brahmanical fable evidently fabricated out of them. So far as it is genealogical it agrees with tradition elsewhere.

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² Kūr i, 19, 18-19 shortens and confuses the account.

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Prabhākara, who is called Atri or Ātreya,³ is the earliest of this family to whom an historical position is given, namely, that he married the ten daughters of Bhadrāśva or Raudrāśva and Ghṛtācī. Bhadrāśva, as he is called in two Puranas,⁴ or Raudrāśva, as he is generally called,⁵ was an early Paurava king; the Vāyu, Matsya and Bhāgavata name his queen as Ghṛtācī;⁶ and the Vāyu, Brahma and Harivaṃśa add, their ten daughters married the Ātreya Prabhākara. Prabhākara’s position is therefore defined. The genealogy says he had ten sons, called the Svastyātreyas,¹ and from him the best Ātreya gotras were descended. Chief among his Svastyātreya descendants (not sons) were two famous rishis Datta and Durvāsas.²

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³ So also Vā 99, 127. See chap. XVI.

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⁴ Mat 49, 4. Ag 277, 3.

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⁵ MBh i, 94, 3698. Vā 99, 123-7. Viṣ iv, 19, 1. Gar i, 140, 2. Bhāg ix, 20, 3. Br 13, 4. Hv 31, 1658.

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⁶ Generally confused with the apsaras, see p. 135.

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¹ A Svastyātreya, Bṛhadd iii, 56; Hv 168, 9571. One is the reputed author of Rigv v, 50 and 51. A Svasti, Bṛhadd i, 128; &c.

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² Mārk 17, 6–16 mythologizes their birth and characters.

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Datta Ātreya, or Dattātreya as he is generally called,³ is always connected in tradition with the great Haihaya king Arjuna Kārtavīrya, who propitiated him and was favoured by him.⁴ He was therefore, from this position, a descendant (not son) of Prabhākara. In late or brahmanical stories however he is wrongly introduced at other times.⁵ He is said to have been placid, beneficent and unblemished,⁶ and is regarded as the fourth incarnation of Viṣṇu;⁷ yet he is sometimes described as addicted to sensual pleasures and spirituous liquor.⁸ It is said he had a son Nimi, who was the first to institute the śrāddha.⁹

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³ e. g. Br 213, 106, 110. Mārk 17, 7. MBh xiii, 153, 7224.

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⁴ MBh iii, 115, 11036 : xii, 49, 1750–1 : xiii, 152, 7189; 153, 7224; 157, 7351. Vā 94, 10–11. Bḍ iii, 69, 10–11. Br 13, 161. Hv 33, 1852–3; 42, 2309. Mārk 18 and 19. Mat 43, 15. Pad v, 12, 118. Viṣ iv, 11, 3. Bhāg ix, 15, 17; 23, 24. Ag 274, 5.

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⁵ e. g. earlier with the Aila king Ayu, Pad ii, 103, 101–135. Later with Alarka, Mārk 16, 12; 37, 26; &c.: Br 180, 31–2: Gar i, 218.

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⁶ Genealogy, line 22. Mārk 17, 6, 13, 18.

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⁷ Vā 98, 89. Bḍ iii, 73, 88. Mārk 17, 7. Genealogy. Br 213, 106–13. Hv 42, 2305–12.

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⁸ Mārk 17, 20–5; 18, 23, 28–31. Pad ii, 103, 106–9, 114.

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⁹ MBh xiii, 91, 4328–46. But xiv, 92, 2887 attributes it to Jamadagni. Both lived about the same time.

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Durvāsas Ātreya is called Datta’s brother,¹⁰ but his position is not definite, because he is not certainly connected with any king, and he appears often in tales, introduced at all stages of traditional history, especially in brahmanical stories.¹¹ He is nearly always presented as a very irascible and furious rishi,¹² and his character is well taken off in a story about Kṛṣṇa.¹ Curses imprecated by him serve at times to explain pitiable misfortunes and hardly-merited sufferings.² He is called an incarnation of Śiva.³ No gotras appear to have claimed descent from him.

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¹⁰ Both sons of Atri, Br 117, 2: Ag 20, 12. See chap. XVI.

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¹¹ e. g. with the ancient Ambarīṣa (pp. 39 f.), Bhāg ix, 4, 35 f. With an ancient king Śvetaki, MBh i, 223, 8098, 8132–41. With Rāma Dāśarathi, Pad vi, 271, 44. With Bhīṣma, MBh xiii, 26, 1763. With Kuntī, MBh i, 67, 2768; 111, 4385. With the Pāṇḍavas, MBh iii, 85, 8265. With Kṛṣṇa, Hv 298 to 303. In myth, Ag 3, 1–2.

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¹² Mārk 17, 9–16. Viṣ i 9, 4, 6. MBh iii, 259, 15415 f.

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¹ MBh xiii, 159, 7414 f.

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² As in the play of Śakuntalā, Act iv, introduction.

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³ MBh i, 223, 8132. Mārk 17, 9–11. Viṣ i, 9, 2.

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The genealogy says that among gotras descended from Datta four were widely renowned, named after their founders, Śyāvāśva, Mudgala (or Pratvasa), Balāraka (or Vāgbhūtaka or Vavalgu) and Gaviṣṭhira. The Matsya mentions as gotra names, Śyāvāśva and Gaviṣṭhira (197, 5, 7, 8), but not the second and third. I have found nothing to elucidate Mudgala. Six Ātreyas were hymn-makers,⁴ Atri, Arcanānas, Śyāvāśva, Gaviṣṭhira, Balgūtaka (or Avihotra, or Karṇaka), and Pūrvātithi. The fifth is plainly the same as the third gotra, but it is difficult to fix the correct name.

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⁴ Vā 59, 104; Bḍ ii, 32, 113–14; Mat 145, 107–9; collated.

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Arcanānas was an Ātreya and Śyāvāśva was his son. Both are mentioned in the Rigveda. Many hymns are attributed to Śyāvāśva⁵ and one to his son Andhīgu.⁶ Arcanānas and Śyāvāśva sacrificed for king Rathavīti Dārbhya, and Śyāvāśva married his daughter. Contemporaries then were Taranta and Purumiḍha, both of whom are said to have been sons of Vidadaśva.⁷ In two of those hymns Śyāvāśva mentions Trasadasyu,⁸ who would be the Trasadasyu mentioned in other hymns and whose position has been fixed above (p. 163). This fixes the position of Arcanānas and Śyāvāśva as soon after his time.

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⁵ Rigv v, 52 to 61, 81, 82: viii, 35 to 38 and ix, 32 simply to Śyāvāśva.

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⁶ Id. ix, 101.

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⁷ Rigv v, 61 and Vedārth thereon. Bṛhadd v, 50–81. Vedic Index i, 36: ii, 400. SBE xxxii, 359.

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⁸ Rigv viii, 36, 7; 37, 7.

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Other Ātreyas are mentioned, such as the ‘Atri’ (one or several), who received wealth from Tryaruṇa, Trasadasyu and Aśvamedha, and also from king Rauśama,⁹ and whose position (but not name or names) is fixed accordingly (p. 163): also a Babhru, who was priest to Ṛṇaṃcaya.¹⁰

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⁹ Bṛhadd v, 13, 31.

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¹⁰ Id. v, 13, 33–4.

The Kāśyapas

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The accounts of the mythical Kāśyapas have been noticed in chapter XVI. Two so-called vamśas of the Kāśyapas are found, one of which is wholly mythical and has been noticed there. The other deals with historical members of the Kāśyapa brahman family and is given by four Puranas.¹ Their versions are based on a common original, and are closely alike, but the Kūrma has introduced some variations, which do not however materially alter the purport. The Vāyu, Brahmāṇḍa and Liṅga collated suggest the original reading. The Matsya (199) gives a long list of rishis and gotras.

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¹ Vā 70, 24–9. Bḍ iii, 8, 28–33. Lg i, 63, 49–55. Kūr i, 19, 1–7.

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The genealogy says that Kāśyapa had two sons Vatsāra and Asita. Vatsāra begot Nidhruva and Raibhya. Nidhruva married Sumedhas, daughter of Cyavana and Sukanyā, and was the progenitor of the Kuṇḍapāyins. Raibhya was progenitor of the Raibhyas. Asita married Ekaparṇā and their son was Devala, best of the Śāṇḍilyas.² But this genealogy is hopelessly wrong, as will appear from a chronological survey of Kāśyapa rishis who are mentioned.

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² The last line of the genealogy seems unintelligible.

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Vatsāra (or Vatsara, as it appears sometimes) is not mentioned in the *Vedic Index*.³ Kāśyapa, he, Naidhruva, Raibhya, Asita and Devala were the six Kāśyapa brahmavādins,⁴ and he is one of the seven rishis now said to be stationed in the sky.⁵ His alleged son Nidhruva’s wife cannot have been the daughter of Cyavana and Sukanyā, for they belonged to the very earliest age, and the reading *Sukanyāyām* should probably be *tu kanyā yā*, meaning that his wife was daughter of a Cyavana, who may have been the king of N. Pañcāla, as will appear in the next paragraph. A Naidhruvi is once mentioned in Vedic literature, and a Kuṇḍapāyin also.⁶ A Nidhruvi is the reputed author of Rigveda ix, 63. Raibhya⁷ (or Rebhya), the name of the other son assigned to Vatsāra, is a patronymic, and should no doubt be Rebha; and if so, he may be the Rebha Kāśyapa who is the reputed author of Rigveda viii, 97,¹ and perhaps also the Rebha who is called a rishi ² and mentioned several times in the hymns.³ Nothing can be fixed about his time, except that he was prior to Kakṣīvant Pajriya, who mentions him.⁴ This synchronism shows that the Cyavana mentioned above cannot be the primaeval rishi and is more probably the N. Pañcāla king (p. 148). The other persons named in the genealogy will be noticed in turn.

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³ Can he be Avatsāra of Rigv v, 44, 10? An Avatsāra was son of Prasravaṇa, Aitar Brāhm ii, 3, 24.

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⁴ Vā 59, 103. Bḍ ii, 32, 112–13. Mat 145, 106–7. This suggests his identification with Avatsāra.

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⁵ Vā 64, 28. Bḍ ii, 38, 29.

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⁶ *Vedic Index*, s. v.

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⁷ He must be distinguished from a Raibhya among the Viśvāmitras (chap. XXI). A Raibhya and his son Kukṣi, MBh xii, 350, 13588–9.

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¹ Hymns ix, 99 and 100 are attributed to his two sons. ² Rigv i, 117, 4. ³ Vedic Index ii, 226. ⁴ Rigv i, 116, 7, 24; 117, 4, 6. ⁵ MBh i, 70, 2870, 2874, 2893-4; 73, 2975. The play of Śakuntalā, verses 18, 26, &c. ⁶ MBh i, 73, 2972; 74, 3105-6, 3117-18: xiv, 3, 50. Also the play. Bhāg ix, 20, 8-22. Śatapatha Brāhm xiii, 5, 4, 13. ⁷ MBh i, 74, 3122. ⁸ MBh vii, 68, 2387: xii, 29, 942. ⁹ Named in the Mat list, 199, 18. But a Śāṇḍili is named among the Vasiṣṭhas also, Mat 200, 5. ¹⁰ Vā 73, 41-2. Bd iii, 10, 90-1. Hv 18, 991-3. ¹¹ MBh xiii, 137, 6266.

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The earliest time at which a Kāśyapa is mentioned is that of Rāma Jāmadagnya, who, according to brahmanic fable, offered a great sacrifice with Kāśyapa as his upādhyāya (p. 200).

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The next Kāśyapa is Kaṇva Kāśyapa, in whose hermitage Śakuntalā dwelt.⁵ She married the Paurava king Duṣyanta and was mother of the famous king Bharata.⁶ ‘Kaṇva’ is said to have been the chief priest at Bharata’s sacrifices,⁷ and Bharata gave him gifts;⁸ and he is no doubt this Kaṇva (or perhaps his son). The Kāṇva family had not come into existence then as shown in the last chapter.

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The next Kāśyapa was the progenitor of the Śāṇḍilyas.⁹ His position is not known, but they existed in the time of Dilīpa II Khaṭvāṅga, king of Ayodhyā, because an old verse says that a Śāṇḍilya sacrificed for him;¹⁰ and they would be even earlier, if the statement is reliable, that Bhūmanyu, probably the Paurava king, gave food to a Śāṇḍilya.¹¹ These allusions show that the genealogy is wrong if it means, as it seems to mean, that the Śāṇḍilyas sprang from Asita or Devala, who were far later.

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The next Kāśyapa was Vibhāṇḍaka, who had his hermitage on the R. Kauśikī (the modern Kosi in N. Bihar). His son was the rishi Ṛsyaśṛṅga, whom Lomapāda, king of Aṅga, in whose territory they lived, inveigled to his capital to bring rain after a long drought, and to whom he gave his daughter Śāntā in marriage.¹ Ṛsyaśṛṅga was afterwards invited to the court of Daśaratha, king of Ayodhyā, and performed a sacrifice that the king might have a son.² A descendant Vaibhāṇḍaki, whose name was apparently Pūrṇabhadra, is connected with Lomapāda’s fourth successor Haryaṅga.³

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¹ MBh iii, 110, 9989 to 113, 10093 : xii, 234, 8609 : xiii, 137, 6269. Rām i, 9 and 10. Cf. Viṣ iv, 18, 3. It is said Lomapāda had a son through Ṛsyaśṛṅga’s favour, Vā 99, 104; Mat 48, 95-6; Br 13, 41; Hv 31, 1697-8.

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² Rām i, 11, 19 f. But not so in MBh iii, 273, 15877-9.

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³ Hv 31, 1700-1. Br 13, 44. Mat 48, 98-9 (Vibhāṇḍaka).

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Next would probably come Nidhruva and Rebha as noticed above.

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The next famous Kāśyapa was the rishi Asita.⁴ His wife was Ekaparṇā (p. 69), and their son was Devala.⁵ This portion is given in the genealogy. Devala is often called Asita Devala,⁶ and sometimes even simply Asita;⁷ hence it is not always clear which is meant, and he must be distinguished from other Devalas.⁸ The genealogy says that Devala, and therefore Asita presumably, were Śāṇḍilyas, thus indicating that it is imperfect, and that they must have had an ancestor Śaṇḍila, who lived much earlier, as pointed out above. Asita is made contemporary with Bhīṣma, for he had asked for Satyavatī in marriage;⁹ Devala with the Pāṇḍavas,¹⁰ and Devala’s younger brother (cousin?) Dhaumya became their purohita.¹ Both Asita and Devala were celebrated brahma-vādins, as mentioned above;² and other statements are made about them in brahmanical accounts.³

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⁴ Mat 199, 19. Lg i, 63, 51. Bṛhadd ii, 157. Probably MBh xii, 47, 1594. Anukram and Vedārth on Rigv ix, 5 and 24. Asita Dhānva of the asuras (Vedic Index i, 399) would be different. There were several Asitas, see Sörensen.

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⁵ Lg i, 63, 53-4. MBh xii, 1, 4 : xiii, 139, 6298 : &c. So implied in MBh ix, 51 and perhaps ii, 52, 1917. But one brahmanical book inverts the relation and calls Asita Daivala wrongly, Vedic Index i, 380.

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⁶ MBh ii, 4, 105 ; 11, 441 ; 12, 510 ; 58, 2038 : &c.

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⁷ MBh xii, 229, 8431-6 ; 276, 9874-7.

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⁸ A son of Viśvāmitra, Hv 27, 1462 ; Br 10, 60. The father of Brahmadatta’s queen Sannati, Mat 20, 26 ; Hv 24, 1274-8, 1297-8 : but Hv 23, 1261-2 identifies him with Asita Devala wrongly. A son of Pratyūṣa (mythical ?), MBh i, 66, 2590 ; Vā 66, 26 ; Bḍ iii, 3, 27 ; Br 3, 41 ; Hv 3, 159 ; &c.

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⁹ MBh i, 100, 4045. With Yudhiṣṭhira, ii, 76, 2574.

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¹⁰ MBh ii, 53, 1917 : iii, 85, 8263 : xii, 1, 3-5.

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¹ MBh i, 183, 6914, 6918-19; &c.: xv, 23, 632. P. C. Roy’s translation of xiv, 64, 1903 makes Agniveśya his (Yudhiṣṭhira’s) priest, and says Agniveśya was another name of Dhaumya: but purohita and Agniveśya are distinct, and the rendering should be ‘his priest’ (i.e. Dhaumya) ‘and Agniveśya’.

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² Rigv ix, 5 to 24 are ascribed to one or other of them.

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³ e. g. Asita declared pṛthivī-gīta ślokas to Dharmadhvajin Janaka, Viṣ iv, 54. Devala in Pad vi, 197, 27 f.

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Various other Kāśyapas are mentioned, such as Yāja, who became king Drupada’s sacrifice;⁴ but they are generally indefinite or unimportant.

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⁴ MBh i, 167, 6362 f. : ii, 78, 2662.

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The genealogy says there were three groups among the Kāśyapas, the Śāṇḍilyas, Naidhruvas and Raibhyas.

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