The Purana Text of the Dynasties of the Kali Age c4.s6: Early Contemporary Dynasties

The Purāṇa Text of the Dynasties of the Kali Age c4.s6

Language: English

Early Contemporary Dynasties

c4.s6.1

*Text*—AMt 272, 13b–17 ; AVā 99, 322b–325 ; Bd iii, 74, 135b–138.

The Matsya, Vāyu, and Brahmāṇḍa give the whole of this passage, except that the latter two have not got l. 8 and remove l. 2 to l. 8 : *j*Mt omits ll. 1, 5, 6 ; *a*²Vā ll. 2, 6, 7 ; *m*Vā ll. 6–8 (first half) ; *aud* *h*Mt and *a*⁴Vā have nothing. Here *e*Vā gives ll. 1, 3, 4, 6 only, but long afterwards, out of place, namely after the first line about Viśvasphaṇi, inserts ll. 6, 7, 5, and 2 in modified form.

c4.s6.4

*Etaiḥ sārdham* means contemporary with the Bāradrathas and their successors, the Pradyotas and Śiśunāgas, for none of these are mentioned here, but the Aikṣvākus and the Kurus (who are probably the Pauravas) are included, whose dynasties have been fully set out *ante*. The next king Mahāpadma Nanda is called ‘destroyer of all the kṣatriyas’, and ‘monarch of the whole earth which was under his sole sway’—which terms imply that he overthrew all the kingdoms mentioned in this list, so that all subsequent dynasties except the Kāṇvāyanas were śūdras (see *Nandas*, ll. 2–6). This list of contemporary dynasties means therefore all the old kṣatriya dynasties, which reigned from the time of the great battle till they and the Śiśunāgas in Magadha were swept away by the Nandas, whose dynasty follows this list.

c4.s6.5

Etaiḥ¹ sārdham bhaviṣyanti yāvat²-kālaṁ³ nṛpāḥ pare⁴ tulya-kālaṁ bhaviṣyanti sarve hy ete⁵ mahīkṣitaḥ Aikṣvākavaś catur-viṁśat⁶ Pañcālāḥ⁷ sapta⁸-viṁśatiḥ Kāśeyās⁹ tu catur-viṁśad¹⁰ aṣṭā-viṁśatir¹¹ Haihayāḥ¹²

c4.s6.6

¹ See above, note ⁴⁹: *k*Vā *ete*. ² So Vā, Bd. Mt *yāvat*; *b*Mt *yāna* (with marg. note *yāvat*). ³ So Vā, Bd, *fy*Mt : *d*Mt *kāli*; Mt genly *Kali*; *e*Mt *kila*; *b*Mt *eka* (with marg. note *Kali*). ⁴ *C*a *te* in *g*Vā. For this half line *kl*Vā have *rājānaḥ kṣatra-bāndhavāḥ* (see above, note ⁴⁹), and *k*Vā then adds as in the text. ⁵ So Mt. Vā, Bd *sarva eva*. ⁶ So *bfgy*Vā, Bd. Vā genly *Aikṣākavāś* (*d*Vā *°vaś*); *e*Vā *Ikṣvākavaś*. Mt genly *catur-viṁśat* (*ce*Mt *°viṁśas*, *bj*Mt *°viṁśa*) tath=Aikṣvākāḥ; *bcdfgy*Mt *°Ekṣvākāḥ*; *j*Mt *°mah-Ekṣvākāḥ*; and so *n*Mt *crp*. This number does not agree with the Aikṣvāku list, see p. 9. ⁷ So *bcdfyjn*Mt, *a¹⁻³bdfym*Vā, Bd : other Mt and Vā *Pāñc°*. ⁸ So Mt. Vā, Bd *pañca* (perhaps by influence of *Pañcālāḥ*). ⁹ So Mt genly : *cek*Mt *Kāśeyās*; *l*Mt, *e*Vā *Kāśayās*; *b*Mt *Kāśasās*; *dj*Mt *Kāleyās*. Vā genly, Bd *Kālakās*. See Appendix II, § ii.

c4.s6.7

Śiśru°. Vā, *k*Mt *Śaiśu*°; *c*Mt *Śauśu*°; *b*Mt *Śiśunākād*. ⁴⁸ So Mt, Vā. Bd *daś=aiv=aite*. ⁴⁹ So Mt, Bd; *f* Vā *°vāḥ*. Vā, *dl*Mt *°bāndhavāḥ*; *f* Mt *vandhanāḥ*; *b*Mt *°vīcavaḥ* with marg. note *°bandhavaḥ*. *C*Vā confuses this with the first line of the following dynasties, reading— Śaiśunākā bhaviṣyanti Tāvat-kālaṁ nṛpāḥ pare rājānaḥ kṣatra-bāndhavāḥ etaiḥ sārdham bhaviṣyati : and so *j*Mt which has the first line only, reading *yāvat-k°*. Hence perhaps the words *rājānaḥ kṣatra-bāndhavāḥ* should be read with the following list.

c4.s6.8

Kaliṅgās ¹³ c=aiva dvā-triṁśad ¹⁴ Aśmakāḥ pañca-viṁśatiḥ ¹⁵ Kuravaś c=āpi ṣaṭ-triṁśad ¹⁶ aṣṭā-viṁśati ¹⁷ Maithilāḥ Śūrasenās ¹⁸ trayo-viṁśad ¹⁹ Vītihotrās ²⁰ ca viṁśatiḥ ²¹ ete sarve bhaviṣyanti eka-kālam ²² mahīkṣitaḥ.

c4.s6.9

¹³ So Mt genly, Vā: fyMt Kāl°; lMt Kalindaś; eMt Kaliṅśaś. Bḍ †Ekaliṅgās.

c4.s6.10

¹⁴ So Mt genly. Vā reads this half line dvā-triṁśad vai Kaliṅgās tu; Bd drā-triṁśad Eka°. But cenMt °dvā-viṁśa-d; lMt °catvāriṁśat (with a syll. extra); bMt °catvārid: eVā reads this line— Aśmakāḥ pañca-viṁśac ca ṣaḍ-viṁśac ca Kaliṅgakāḥ.

c4.s6.11

¹⁵ So Mt; bMt Asmākāḥ. Vā, Bḍ pañca-viṁśat tath=Aśakāḥ, prob. Pkt for tath=Aśmakāḥ: mVā crp: for eVā see note ¹⁴.

c4.s6.12

¹⁶ So Mt, Vā genly, Bḍ; nMt ṣaḍ-iṁśad (=ṣaṭ-triṁśad); kVā merely triṁśad. CbVā, bMt ṣaḍ-viṁśad: eVā pañcāśad here, but afterwards (see p. 23) indefinitely ūnaviṁśat tathā c=abhūd. These numbers do not agree with the Paurava list, see p. 4.