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The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c6.s5.t3: The Epics

The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c6.s5.t3

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The Epics

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The south of India down to the Pāṇḍyan realm is also recognized in the geographical cantos of the Kiṣkindhyākāṇḍa of the Rāmāyaṇa. Even the Ayodhyākāṇḍa has a reference to Vaijayantapura in the southern region in the direction of Daṇḍaka.¹ The city in question certainly recalls the ancient metropolis of Vaijayantī or Banavāsī in North Kanara. The geographical information obtainable from the Araṇyakāṇḍa or Forest Book of the same epic is somewhat different. The whole region from the Pampā, or the Tuṅgabhadrā, to the Mandākinī and Chitrakūṭa in central India was infested by rākṣasas or cannibalistic demons who played havoc with peaceful hermits. With the exception of exiled princes there is no reference to representatives of any civilized state in the neighbourhood to whom the victims could appeal for protection. The territory is referred to as Daṇḍaka or Daṇḍakāraṇya (Daṇḍaka Forest). According to Pargiter Daṇḍaka appears to have been a general name which comprised all the forests from Bundelkhand down to the river Kṛṣṇā. Northwards it must have stretched well up to the Jumna. In the forest at Chitrakūṭa the attention of the heroine was drawn to the trees scored by the tusks of elephants. ‘This natural touch, unless we put it aside as a mere fancy of the poet, must refer to wild elephants, and shows that Chitrakūṭa could not have been far from their dense native forests.’ We have already seen that writers of a later age connect the Daṇḍakāraṇya with Bastar in the east and the upper reaches of the Godāvarī in the west. Different parts of the great forest were known under separate names—Madhukavana in the extreme north contiguous to the wooded region round Chitrakūṭa in central India; and following this Pippalivana near the cottage of Agastya’s brother; Pañchavaṭī ‘abounding in beasts of prey and other animals’ (nānāvyālamṛgākulā)

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¹ ii, 9, 12, Dilāmārthāya Kaikeyī dakṣiṇāṃ Daṇḍakān prati Vaijayantamiti khyātaṃ puraṃ yatra Timidhvajaḥ.

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near the Godāvarī; Janasthāna, the headquarters of Rākshasa chieftains, is in the neighbourhood; Krauñchāraṇya is to the south of Janasthāna; and Mātaṅgavana on the Pampā (Tuṅgabhadrā) is in the vicinity of Mount Rishyamūka.

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The poet of the Rāmāyaṇa is aware of the existence of many rivers and lakes in the Daṇḍaka region and its environs, but the only streams that find specific mention in the epic proper are the Mandākinī, the Godāvarī, and the Pampā. The comparatively late geographical cantos of the Kishkindhyākāṇḍa refer to the Kṛishṇaveṇī (Kṛishṇā) along with the Narmadā, the Godāvarī, the Kāverī, and the Tāmraparṇī (in the Tinnevelly district).

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The Mahābhārata has detailed notices of the Deccan in the Digvijaya (conquest of the quarters), Tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage), and Jambukhaṇḍa (divisions of Greater India) sections. The country is also mentioned in numerous episodes like those of Nala and Rukmi. A Kaliṅga princess appears as the queen of Duryodhana, king of the Kurus. A prince of Vidarbha named Rukmi is not allowed to take part in the battle of Kurukshetra, but his people figure in the ‘Battle Books’ as do other tribes like the Kaliṅgas, Mekalas, Traipuras, and clans coming under the general designation of Dākshiṇātyas.

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Vast areas in the interior were still covered with dense woods. Dwellers of the primeval forests stretching from the Narmadā to the Waingaṅgā are probably noticed as Āṭavikas and Kāntārakas in the Digvijaya section of the Sabhāparva. In the same cantos and in certain passages of the Tīrtha-Yātrā section mention is made of Purushādas (man-eaters) and Kālamukhas who are described as cannibals (nara-rākshasa-yoṇayaḥ). More civilized communities were found on the fringe of the forest tracts and along the coasts. In the watershed (prabheda) between the river Son and the Narmadā lived the Vamsa-gulmas or Vatsagulmas who are associated in later ages with the valley of the Peṅgaṅgā. On the east coast stretched the lands of the Kaliṅgas and the Andhras. On the west coast (Aparānta) mention is made of the country and holy spot of Śūrpāraka associated with the legend of Rāma Jāmadagnya (Paraśurāma). It is interesting to note that the Mahendra Range, not far from the eastern coastline, is also connected with the same Warrior-sage. In the interior of the table-land the city of Sañjayantī (Sañjān?), the ‘heretical’ Karahāṭaka or Karhāḍ, Kollagiri, and Banavāsi (in north Kanara) are conspicuous. Aśmaka, Goparāṣṭra (in Nāsik), Kauṅkaṇa (between the ghāṭs and the sea), Karṇāṭaka and Kuntala (in the Kanarese country), and Mahishaka (possibly Mysore) are met with in comparatively late passages in the Ādiparva and the Jambukhaṇḍa of the Bhīshmaparva.

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The Deccan in the age of the extant Mahābhārata was no longer beyond the pale of Brāhmanical civilization as it seems to have been in the days of the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa and the Bodhāyana Dharmasūtra. The land between the Son and the Narmadā was holy, and the people of the Kuru country recognized the sanctity of the Godāvarī, the point where it split up into seven branches (sapta-Godāvara), and the places where many of its confluents united their streams (Veṇā saṅgama, Varāda saṅgama). The Bhīmā (Bhīmarathī) was also holy as well as the Kṛṣṇā, particularly at the Devahrada (divine pool)¹ and at Śrīśaila (Śrīparvata). Among other holy spots were Rāmatīrtha at Śūrpāraka and Gokarṇa (in north Kanara). Many of the sacred sites were associated with three heroes famous in legend, namely, Rāma Dāśarathi who lent sanctity to the Godāvarī, Rāma Jāmadagnya who sanctified the Mahendra mountain and Śūrpāraka (Sopārā, north of Bombay), and Agastya, the traditional explorer of the southern region and the destroyer of the demons who seem to personify Vātāpi (Bādāmi) and Ilvala (Ayyāvoḷe or Aihoḷe).

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¹ Mbh., iii, 85, 37—Tato Devahrade ramye Kṛṣṇa-veṇā jalodbhave.

Cites (7)