Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s11.834

v1.c3.s11.834

2. Keśin Dārbhya¹ or Dālbhya² (‘descendant of Darbha’) is a somewhat enigmatic figure. According to the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa³ and the Jaiminīya Upaniṣad Brāhmaṇa⁴ he was a king, sister’s son of Uccaiḥśravas, according to the latter authority. His people were the Pañcālas, of whom the Keśins must therefore have been a branch, and who are said to have been threefold (tryanīka).⁵ A story is told of his having a ritual dispute with Śaṇḍika in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā⁶; this appears in another form in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa.³ He was a contemporary of a fellow sage, Keśin Sātyakāmi, according to the Maitrāyaṇī⁷ and Taittirīya⁸ Saṃhitās. The Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa⁹ attributes to him a Sāman or chant, and the Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa¹⁰ tells how he was taught by a golden bird.