Sexual Life in Ancient India: A Study in the Comparative History of Indian Culture v2.c21.85

v2.c21.85

P. 547, n., (II). I have already in my Daçakumāracaritam, pp. 4-5, given it as my opinion that in an earlier version, which can be inferred from the MBh., the love which is kindled by the royal maiden Çāntā in the wholly innocent and truthful youth, brings down the longed-for moisture. A new, and not only surprising but also convincing light is thrown on the matter by the newer treatment of the Rishyaçṛinga legend by Schroeder (Mysterium u. Mimus im Rigveda, p. 292 ff.; Wurzeln d. Sage vom hl. Gral, 76 ff.; Reden u. Aufsätze, 410, 413). All these writings, I am sorry to say, I did not read till I was going through the proofs of the last sheets. Schroeder sees here a " generation rite "—the sexual union of the two in itself brings about rain. This undoubtedly exposes the root of the matter. Quite rightly the Buddhistic versions make the rain to fall so soon as the youthful penitent has carried out the copulation. Other, more polished versions have probably put love in the place of the procreative magic: the MBh. seems to show traces of this. Here also the absolute purity of body and soul is necessary for the miracle, and it is, indeed, several times given in the MBh. as the very reason (cp. besides iii, 110.24, espec. 110.47-48, also i, 2.168).