The Purana Text of the Dynasties of the Kali Age c4.s5: Śiśunāgas
The Purāṇa Text of the Dynasties of the Kali Age c4.s5
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Śiśunāgas
c4.s5.1
Text—AMt 272, 6–13a; AVā 99, 314b–322a; Bḍ iii, 74, 127b–135a. Corresp. passages—CVṣ iv, 24, 3; GBh xii, 1, 5–8a.
c4.s5.2
The Vāyu and Brahmāṇḍa give the whole, and the Matsya all except lines 11, 12. The Viṣṇu and Bhāgavata name all the kings and state the duration of the dynasty. All copies of the Matsya erroneously introduce the first two Kāṇvāyana kings (see note 24) after l. 7; and the Vāyu and Brahmāṇḍa put l. 8 before ll. 6 and 7 contrary to all the other authorities.
c4.s5.3
The defects are these. CMt omits l. 1; ceMt ll. 13, 14; jMt ll. 6 (second half), 7 (first half); kMt ll. 2, 3, 10; lMt ll. 5, 6: a4Vā omits ll. 6–end; eVā ll. 8–10; fVā ll. 15, 16, 17 (first half); gVā ll. 7–14, 16, 17; hVā has only ll. 1–3: mBh omits Kṣemadharman to Udayin; nBh has only the verses stating the duration of the dynasty; and hpMt, ltBh have nothing.
c4.s5.4
All the authorities say there were 10 kings, and do not differ much in their names. The duration of the dynasty appears to have been 163 years, for the Mt reading in l. 16 can well mean ‘hundred, three, plus sixty’ (see Introdn. §§ 42 ff.), though it would mean ‘360’ if taken as literary Sanskrit; moreover ‘163’ is a probable figure while ‘360’ is an impossible one. The terms certainly admit of ambiguity, and an examination of the other versions shows how it developed.
c4.s5.5
The Bḍ and Bh reading ṣaṣṭy-uttara-śata-trayam (see note 46) can also mean 163, if it represents a Pkt original of (something like) saṭṭhy-uttara-satam tao, but means 360 if taken as correct Skt. The former interpretation seems preferable, because this expression is used with varṣāṇi in Bḍ and with samāḥ in Bh, and these combinations do not constitute correct Skt but would be good in Pkt: still an ambiguity does appear there. It seems to have affected the two other versions. The Vā reading (see note 46) taken as Pkt means ‘hundred, three, plus sixty-two’, but this is an impossible style of reckoning, and the only tenable construction is to read, it as correct Skt meaning 362. As this is an impossible figure, I would suggest that the dvi is a corruption of abda¹, that the initial a blended with or was elided after the word that represented varṣāṇi in the Pkt original², and that the remaining bda was mistaken for dvā (or dvi). If this suggestion be tenable, the Vā reading agreed with Mt and meant 163. The Vṣ following upon the ambiguity and mistake says explicitly ‘362 years’ in correct Skt.
c4.s5.6
¹ Compound consonants are sometimes inverted in the MSS, see note 43.
c4.s5.7
² Such elisions do take place in Pkt, and appear in Sanskrit, cf. p. 15, note 29; p. 17, note 91; Various local dynasties, note 48, infra; and to that cause are no doubt due the elisions in the middle of the following lines, AVā 88, 81, 115; 94, 21:—
c4.s5.8
apadhvaṁs-ēti bahuśo ’vadat krodha-samanvitaḥ.
devaiḥ sārdham mahātejā ’nugrahāt tasya dhīmataḥ.
rathī rājā ’py anucaro ’nyo ’gāc c-aiva-ānudrāyate.
c4.s5.9
Instances might be easily multiplied from the Purāṇas.
c4.s5.10
Hatvā¹ teṣāṃ yaśaḥ kṛtsnaṃ Śiśunāgo² bhaviṣyati Vārāṇasyāṃ sutaṃ sthāpya³ Vārāṇasyāṃ sutas tasya⁴ śrayiṣyati⁵ Girivrajaṃ sa yāsyati⁶ Girivrajaṃ⁷ Śiśunāgaś ca⁸ varṣāṇi catvāriṃśad bhaviṣyati Kākavarṇaḥ⁹ sutas tasya¹⁰ ṣaṭ-triṃśat¹¹ prāpsyate mahīm¹² ṣaṭ-triṃśac caiva¹³ varṣāṇi tatas tu viṃśati¹⁴ rājā Kṣemadharmā¹⁵ bhaviṣyati Kṣemadharmā¹⁶ bhaviṣyati catvāriṃśat¹⁷ samā rājyaṃ¹⁸ Kṣatraujāḥ¹⁹ prāpsyate tataḥ²⁰ aṣṭā-viṃśati²¹ varṣāṇi²² Vimbiṣāro²³ bhaviṣyati²⁴ Ajātaśatrur²⁵ bhavitā pañca²⁶-viṃśat samā nṛpaḥ pañca²⁷-viṃśat²⁸ samā rājā Darśakas²⁹ tu bhaviṣyati
c4.s5.11
¹ In a³Vā hṛtvā; kVā hate; cMt kṛtvā. ² So mMt, Bd. Vṣ, Bh agree: nMt Śiśunāgo here. Mt, Vā genly Śiśunāko; bMt Śigru°; eMt Suśruvāko here; kVā Śiśuko; kVṣ Śiśunāma. ³ So Mt: jMt °sthāpyo; df Mt tu saṃsthāpya. ⁴ So Vā and Bd. ⁵ So Mt genly; so bMt ante, see p. 18, but śramyāsyati here: cenMt vrajiṣyati; dfjgm Mt adhyāsyati, jMt 'dhiṣṭhās°; lMt †aryameti. ⁶ So a²a³a⁴dVā, 3 MSS of CVā; bfgjlm Vā so y°: hVā yo y°; kVā [so yosya] yo y°. Bd samy°: a¹Vā, 3 MSS of CVā samprāpsyati. ⁷ In klVā °vratam. ⁸ So Bd. Vā Śiśunākasya for °nākaś ca, as in f Mt. Mt genly Śiśunākas tu; egMt Śiśru° (g, ca); bMt Śigru°. ⁹ So Mt, Bd. Vṣ, Bh agree; lMt Kākev°: kMt and fBh Kākakarnaḥ; mMt Kāṣṇivarmaḥ. Vā Śakavarṇaḥ; f Vā Śavarṇa. ¹⁰ Vṣ, Bh corroborate. ¹¹ So Vā, bcdfgjMt, Bd: eMt ṣaḍ-triṃśat, which suggests ṣaḍ-viṃśat, as in Mt genly: nMt ṣaḍ-giṃśat (= ṣaḍ-viṃśat). ¹² So Mt, eVā (which has only these two words). Vā, Bd ca bhaviṣyati. ¹³ So Mt genly (jMt °c=aṃ): bceMt °śati ca (b omits ca); nMt ṣadiṃśati (= ṣaṭ-triṃśati) ca. ¹⁴ So Vā and Bd. ¹⁵ So Mt genly. CMt °dhomā; nMt °dhanvā; dMt Śyemadharmā, where ṣ is dialectic variation in writing of kh which = kṣ: bMt †Lemacarmā. ¹⁶ So eVā, Bd. Vṣ, Bh agree. Vā genly °varmā; bVā °vama; Vā °vam: dehlpsBh °dharmā, and yet say the next king was Kṣetradharma-ja; similarly f Bh Kṣemadhanvā and dharma-ja. Vṣ adds tat-putraḥ; Bh tasya sutaḥ. ¹⁷ So Vā, ceknMt, Bd. Mt genly caturviṃśat, dMt °śati. ¹⁸ So Vā, bMt. Bd rāṣṭram; cMt rājā. Mt genly so 'pi. ¹⁹ So Vā genly, Bd. Vṣ genly agrees; bdfglVā °trojāḥ: eVā Kṣetrojā, mVā °jaḥ, kVā °yaḥ. Bh Kṣetrajña; kBh °trata; qBh Kṣetra. Mt mostly Kṣemajit; gMt °mavit; fMt °māmvit; dMt °mābiḥ; kMt °mārvi; ceMt °mārciḥ; nMt Hemajit. Bh adds Kṣemadharma-ja; Vṣ implies it. ²⁰ So Vā, Bd. Mt mahīm; nMt mahī. ²¹ So Mt. Vā °śat (bVā °śe). Bd aṣṭatriṃśat. ²² So Mt. Vā, Bd samā rājā, eVā °nṛpaḥ. ²³ There is great variation in this name: aVṣ Vinvisāra; jVṣ Vimis°. Vṣ genly Vidmis°. Bd, Bh, hlVṣ Vidhis°. Vā, kVṣ Vivis°; bVṣ Surindus°; mMt Viduśāno: jMt Vindumāno, bfglMt °duseno: dMt Bindunāśo. Mt genly Vindhyaseno, nMt Vidh°: kMt Kṣemadharmā. Vṣ adds tat-putro. ²⁴ After this line Mt inserts the two lines about Kāṇyāyana and Bhūmimitra of the Kāṇyāyana dynasty (see infra), and repeats them in their proper place there. It is a clear error of misplacement. ²⁵ So all: nMt Ajātāś°; kVā Ajaś°. Bh adds sutas tasya. ²⁶ So Vā, Bd. Mt genly sapta; cegnMt saptā; blMt aṣṭā. ²⁷ So Vā, Bd. Mt catur.
c4.s5.12
Udayī ³⁰ bhavitā tasmāt ³¹ trayas-triṁśat samā nṛpaḥ sa vai pura-varaṁ rājā pṛthivyāṁ Kusum-āhvayam ³² Gaṅgayā dakṣiṇe kūle ³³ caturthe 'bde ³⁴ kariṣyati catvāriṁśat ³⁵ samā ³⁶ bhāvyo rājā ³⁷ vai Nandivardhanaḥ ³⁸ catvāriṁśat trayaś ³⁹ caiva Mahānandī ⁴⁰ bhaviṣyati ity ete bhavitāro ⁴¹ vai ⁴² Śaiśunāgā. nṛpā daśa ⁴³ śatāni ⁴⁴ trīṇi varṣāṇi ⁴⁵ ṣaṣṭi-varṣ-ādhikāni tu ⁴⁶ Śiśunāgā ⁴⁷ bhaviṣyanti ⁴⁸ rājānaḥ kṣatra-bandhavaḥ ⁴⁹.
c4.s5.13
²⁸ Bd, a¹Vā triṁśat.
c4.s5.14
²⁹ Mt genly Vamśukas; eMt Vamś°; cMt Vas°; nMt Vis°; jMt Vaśyagas; kMt Śakaś caiva (omitting tu). Vā Darśakas. Bd, Vṣ, Bh Darbhaka; fBh Dambh°. Darśaka seems the most central form.
c4.s5.15
³⁰ There is great variation in this name. Mt genly Udāsī; nMt Udātir; lMt Udam-bhī; dfMt Udāmbhī, gMt °bhīr; bMt Udībhir. Ca²Vā Udāyī; a¹a³Vā, Bd Udayī, bVā °yaṁ: kVā Tradayā (an easy misreading); jMt Tedāmnī; mVā Uda. Vṣ genly Udayāśva, acfgjkVṣ °yana, lVṣ °ya: bVṣ Anaya (or Dan°); hVṣ Oraya. Bh Ajaya or Ājaya, (but see note ³⁸). Udayī seems the best form.
c4.s5.16
³¹ In a¹-³Vā yasmāt; bMt tasyās; jMt bhūpās.
c4.s5.17
³² This line and the next only in Vā, Bd.
c4.s5.18
³³ In a¹bVā kone; kVā ko[ra]ṇe.
c4.s5.19
³⁴ So Vā. Bd 'hni: eVā caturatpram (for catur-abdaṁ?).
c4.s5.20
³⁵ So Mt, a¹hVā, Bd. Vā genly drā-catvāriṁśat, with a syll. too much (drā cancelled in dvā): eVā dvi-c°.
c4.s5.21
³⁶ In eVā satir.
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³⁷ Rājā wanting in eVā.
c4.s5.23
³⁸ So all: kVā Raṇḍ°; nMt Nandivardanaḥ. Bh gives him the patronymic Ajeya; qBh Ājñeya: see note ³⁹.
c4.s5.24
³⁹ CVā trayaṁ (which AVā adopts); jMt bhayaṁ; nMt tatas.
c4.s5.25
⁴⁰ So Mt, Vā genly. Vṣ agrees: Bh °dīḥ; ljMt, kVā °dā; nMt Mahāmnandi; fVā Mahīnandī. Bd Sahānandir. Bh adds sutas tataḥ.
c4.s5.26
⁴¹ In eVā saṅkhyayā bhavitārā.
c4.s5.27
⁴² In a¹-Mt 'tra.
c4.s5.28
⁴³ So Vā, except that it gives the name as Śaiśunākā; mVā Śaiśu°; gVā Śaiśukāś ca: see note ⁴⁷. The correct number of kings is ten, as Vā, Bd, Vṣ, Bh say (see notes ⁴⁶ and ⁴⁸). Mt is confused. Its original reading was probably daśa vai Śiśunāka-jāḥ, but, since the first two Kāṇvāyana kings were erroneously inserted (see note ²⁴), the number of names in it became 12, and attempts were made to reconcile the discrepancy: hence CGVcdfymMt boldly read daśa dvau (fg, bdau) Śiśunāka-jāḥ, eMt daśadvā Śiśru°, kMt [daśa] dvādaśa Śiśu°; jMt crp [vai] daśa dve Śiśvanekatāḥ: other copies evade inconsistency by an indefinite statement, thus a¹-⁴blnMt vaṁśe vai (n, 'smin) Śiśunākataḥ (j, °jāḥ; b, Śigrunākataḥ); and eVā, which often agrees with Mt, Śiśunāg-ādayo nṛpāḥ. For Bd, Vṣ, Bh, see note ⁴⁶.
c4.s5.29
⁴⁴ In bVā etāni.
c4.s5.30
⁴⁵ In eVā varṣāṇāḥ (for °ṇāṁ). Mt genly pūrṇāni; dMt pūrbāṇi: fMt omits this word.
c4.s5.31
⁴⁶ So Mt; cenMt ca for tu: bMt ṣaṣṭir vā adhikāni ca; jMt ṣaṣṭi varṣāṇi kāni ca. Vā genly dri-ṣaṣṭy-abhyadhikāni tu; a¹-³bdmVā dvā°; lVā dvā-ṣaṣṭy-abh°; eVā dvi-ṣaṣṭyaś c'ādhik°. Bd condenses this and the preceding line into one— bhaviṣyanti ca varṣāṇi ṣaṣṭy-uttara-śatatrayam. Bh agrees, condensing the same two lines and the next into two lines— Śiśunāgā * daś-aiv-aite ṣaṣṭy-uttara-śatatrayam† samā bhokṣyanti pṛthivīṁ, Kuru-śreṣṭha, Kalau nṛpāḥ; where * adrsBh Śais°; † hBh trayaḥ. Vṣ agrees with Vā— ity ete Śaiśunāgā¹ daśa bhūmi-pālās trīṇi varṣa-śatāni dvi-ṣaṣṭy-adhikāni bhaviṣyanti; where ¹ CVṣ Śaus°; ¹ kVṣ crp °trīṇi varṣa-sahasrāni śatāni dve. See discussion, p. 20.
c4.s5.32
⁴⁷ So Bd, eVā. Mt genly Śiśunākā; eMt