Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c31.65

c31.65

The next great stage in the composition of the hymns began with the above-mentioned development of brahmanism in connexion with sacrifice after Bharata’s time, culminating with the rishis, Nos. 49 &c. in the chronological list (p. 191). The bulk of the Rigvedic hymns date from after that period. His territory included the tract between the rivers Dṛṣadvatī and Sarasvatī, and he sacrificed on the latter,¹ which was a large river then. That region probably had some sanctity before, for on the Sarasvatī was Uśanas-Śukra’s tīrtha Kapālamocana,² and the river constituted the boundary between the Panjab and the Ganges-Jumna basin,³ whether it flowed into the Rājputana desert, or especially if the sea extended northwards into that desert then (p. 299). That region was held by Bharata’s successors till long afterwards, and the connexion with them and their development of brahmanism apparently made it become specially sacred.⁴ This is supported by the general statement (ignoring special māhātmyas) that the most sacred region in the Kṛta age was Naimiṣa forest, in the Tretā Puṣkara, in the Dvāpara Kurukṣetra, and in the Kali age the Ganges.⁵ Naimiṣa was on the R. Gomatī⁶ in the Ayodhyā kingdom, thus the site of earliest sanctity in India is placed among the Mānvas in the eastern region. So the brahmans whom Purūravas came into special conflict with were the rishis of Naimiṣa as mentioned above. The Dvāpara age began between Divodāsa’s and Sudās’s times (p. 177), Kuru reigned early in it (p. 148), from him the region of the Sarasvatī obtained the name Kurukṣetra, and so both became specially sacred in that age.¹ The region was called Brahmāvarta also,² though from what time is not clear.