Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s4.18

c9.s4.18

The unreliability of the Epic and the Purāṇic tradition in this respect is proved by the evidence of the Vedic texts. We learn from the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*² that Indrota Daivāpa or Daivāpi Śaunaka was a contemporary of Janamejaya. His pupil was Dṛiti Aindrota or Aindroti according to the *Jaiminīya Upanishad* and *Vaṁśa Brāhmaṇas*. Dṛiti's pupil was Pulusha Prāchīnayogya.³ The latter taught Paulushi Satyayajña. We learn from the *Chhāndogya Upanishad*⁴ that Paulushi Satyayajña was a contemporary of Buḍila Āśvatarāśvi and of Uddālaka Āruṇi, two prominent figures of Janaka's court.⁵ Satyayajña was, therefore, certainly a contemporary of Janaka of Videha. He was an elder contemporary because his pupil Somaśushma Sātyayajñi Prāchīnayogya is mentioned in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*⁶ as having met Janaka. As Sātyayajñi certainly flourished long after Indrota Daivāpi Śaunaka, his contemporary Janaka must be considerably later than Janamejaya, the contemporary of Indrota.