Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c8.51

c8.51

As regards traditional history there is generally little evidence to show whether particular stories about kings were in the original compilation, yet the character of certain tales suggests that they were there, such as (1) the natural and simple accounts of kings Satyavrata-Triśaṅku⁷ and Sagara⁸ narrated in the Ayodhyā genealogy, and (2) the frequent narration of and allusions to other tales in a historical setting, such as the legend of Purūravas and his queen Urvaśī,⁹ and that of the rishi Cyavana and his princess-wife Sukanyā.¹⁰ For instance, Purūravas and Urvaśī were according to tradition the progenitors of the great Aila race; hence their legend must have existed in the earliest times, and it is noteworthy that Sāyaṇa mentions it as a typical purāṇa.¹¹ It is found in the present Puranas. Obviously their legend must have existed through all the intervening ages, because, when oral tradition is the only means of perpetuation, things once forgotten are lost for ever. The fact that Purūravas and Urvaśī are mentioned in a hymn of the Rigveda (x, 95) would not account for the legend that exists, because other persons who are far more prominent in the Veda are unknown to general tradition, as for instance, Vadhryaśva, Divodāsa and Sudās (p. 7). It is true that stories were fabricated in later times about ancient kings and rishis, but such stories betray their character in various ways that will be noticed in chapter V, and stand on a different footing. That hymn by itself is obscure, but was intelligible to those who knew the legend,¹ and therefore implies the existence of the legend when it was composed.²