Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c27.s1.10

c27.s1.10

Kumbhayoni may have been a real name, for queer names were not uncommon, as witness Tṛṇabindu, Śunaḥśepa and many others, and it can be matched with Urjayoni, the name of a son of Viśvāmitra.⁸ If so, it would naturally have led to the allegation that he was born in a jar, just as Vasiṣṭha’s name Kuṇḍina did (*ante*); but it seems more likely to have been coined out of the fable, thus—‘Vasiṣṭha’ and ‘Agastya’ were both Maitrāvaruṇa, interpreted as ‘son of Mitra and Varuṇa’. ‘Vasiṣṭha’ was Kuṇḍina, interpreted to mean ‘connected with a jar’, therefore Agastya must also have been their son born at the same time and in the same way, and so was Kumbha-yoni. This is illustrated by Droṇa, whose name gave rise to a precisely similar explanation,¹ whence he also is styled Kumbhayoni² and Kumbhasambhava.³ Hence the name would seem to have been devised out of the fable, and it may be noted that ‘Vasiṣṭha’ is never called Kumbhayoni, because he had the name Kuṇḍina; and the fable was also utilized to explain Mānya, the patronymic of an Agastya.