Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s21.405

v1.c3.s21.405

Pari-kṣit appears in the Atharvaveda¹ as a king in whose realm, that of the Kurus, prosperity and peace abound. The verses in which he is celebrated are later² called Pārikṣityaḥ, and the Brāhmaṇas explain that Agni is pari-kṣit because he dwells among men. Hence Roth³ and Bloomfield⁴ regard Parikṣit in the Atharvaveda not as a human king at all. This may be correct, but it is not certain. Both Zimmer⁵ and Oldenberg⁶ recognize Parikṣit as a real king, a view supported by the fact that in the later Vedic literature King Janamejaya bears the patronymic Pārikṣita. If this be so, Parikṣit belonged to the later period, since the Atharvan passage in which his name occurs is certainly late, and none of the other Saṃhitās know Parikṣit at all. The Epic⁷ makes him grandfather of Pratiśravas and great-grandfather of Pratīpa, and Zimmer,⁵ probably with justice, compares the Prātisutvana and Pratīpa found in another late Atharvan passage.⁸ But Devāpi and Śantanu cannot be brought into connexion with Pratīpa.⁹