ARATT
Aratt
is mentioned in various references which I am putting here. The
exact location of Aratt is debatable but I am putting here all the
maps which I found.
Aratt
Images :
![](aratt.jpg)
![](aratt1.jpg)
![](lugalbanda-cave.jpeg)
![](aratt2.png)
![](aratt4.jpg)
Reference
1 :
Aratt:
The 'Mythical' Seven Gated City (3000 BC) :
"The
legendary, mythical 7-gated Sumerian city of Aratt, the original
homeland of the Sumerians .... appears to refer to Bactria at the
eastern end of the "Great Khorasan Road".... the source
of valuable gems and minerals, in particular lapis lazuli.....'Civilization'
may have traveled from East to West along the Sun’s path rather
than blossoming first in the land of the Two Rivers of Genesis...."
"About
four thousand years ago a collection of tribes known as the Aryans
swept into South and West Asia - by a series of wave-like migration….First
tribes were the Aryan tribe, which later were pushed down over the
Paropamisus [mountains] into Punjab. The Iranians split into two
sections, one section went West and founded settlements on the Tigris
and Euphrates valley - which later became strong Kingdoms. Of this
section, separated yet other tribes such as the Persians and the
Medes. The Persians spread over the elevated lands of the Persian
golf region. The Medes subdivided into smaller clans and occupied
The land between the Caspian Sea to the land of Persis. The other
section of the Iranians took the easterly direction. They also pushed
the Aryans before them to the mountains and settled on the banks
of the Oxus. They made Bactra {modern Balkh} their capital, and
seized the ancient shine of Bactra. Forming an aristocracy over
the local people they lived in isolation. They had a swift cavalry
which suddenly attacked the enemy from the slopes and quickly retired
to their strongholds…..The Aryans and the Iranians of Bactria,
had a lot in common. They spoke the same language, worshiped the
forces of nature, such as: Varuna, the shining Vault of Heaven;
Mithra, the friendly light of the sun; Vayu; the wind that pushes
aside the storms and clears the heaven…."
"An
even more striking feature of the Jiroft is the existence of a writing
system as far back as the third millennium BC, more precisely around
2800 BC, which is earlier than the oldest tablets left by Sumerian
civilization. The implications of those finds, taken together with
other discoveries about the Indus and Sarasvati river cultures,
spread out as far North as the Kashmir valley and modern day Afghanistan,
are that “Civilization” may have traveled from East
to West along the Sun’s path rather than blossoming first
in the land of the Two Rivers of Genesis….."
"Aratt
is a land that appears in Sumerian myths surrounding Enmerkar and
Lugalbanda, two early and possibly mythical kings of Uruk also mentioned
on the Sumerian king list. A "possible reflex" has been
suggested in Sanskrit Aratt or Aratt mentioned in the Mahabharat
and other texts.
![](khorasan-1.jpg)
Aratt
is described as follows in Sumerian literature :
• It is a fabulously wealthy place full of
gold, silver, lapis lazuli and other precious materials, as well
as the artisans to craft them.
• It is remote and difficult to reach.
• It is home to the goddess Inana, who transfers
her allegiance from Aratt to Uruk.
• It is conquered by Enmerkar of Uruk.
![](LapisMap.png)
Lapis
Lazuli....By the second half of the 4th millennium BCE, Badakshan
lapis lazuli (stone of blue) was being traded in countries as far
west as Sumer and Akkad (Mesopotamia), and the Nile Delta (Egypt)
.... The 2500m / 9,000ft high Sar-e Sang, Badakshan mines, now in
north-eastern Afghanistan, were the only known source of lapis lazuli
in the ancient world. The British Museum site that describes the
seal described below also states, "The Sar-i Sang mines in
the region of Badakhshan in north-east Afghanistan were probably
the source for all lapis lazuli used in the ancient Near East. From
here it was carried across Iran, where several lapis working sites
have been discovered, and on to Mesopotamia and Egypt."
"It
has indeed been proposed that Jiroft is Aratt, the seven-gated city,
the mythical land of origins of the Sumerians which they situated
past many mountains to the Orient. The only name of a king of Aratt
recorded in Sumerian literature, Ensukeshdanna or Ensukushsiranna,
bears some analogy to the Inshusinak who was the chief god of the
Elamites of Khuzestan, on the ancient site of Susa which later became
the meridional capital of the Achaemenid Kings of Kings as Cyrus
himself was originally the ruler of Anzan, part of old Elam. Some
six centuries before Cyrus became lord over Babylon, the Elamite
monarchs of Susa had plundered the city and taken away some of its
fabled landmarks, including the famous Stela (kudurru) of Hammurabi,
thereby laying claim to the succession of the Sumero-Chaldean paramount
kings."
"Sumerian
literature…..Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratt - The goddess
Inanna resides in Aratt, but Enmerkar of Uruk pleases her more than
does the lord of Aratt, who is not named in this epic. Enmerkar
wants Aratt to submit to Uruk, bring stones down from the mountain,
craft gold, silver and lapis lazuli, and send them, along with "kugmea"
ore to Uruk to build a temple. Inana bids him send a messenger to
Aratt, who ascends and descends the "Zubi" mountains,
and crosses Susa, Anshan, and "five, six, seven" mountains
before approaching Aratt. Aratt in turn wants grain in exchange.
However Inana transfers her allegiance to Uruk, and the grain gains
the favor of Aratt's people for Uruk, so the lord of Aratt challenges
Enmerkar to send a champion to fight his champion. Then the god
Ishkur makes Aratt's crops grow."
"One
of the most constant references found in Iranian royal lore alludes
to the seven climes of the world which are regions of both space
and time and over which the universal monarch rules. The Iranian
emperor is the “Lord of the Seven Regions” (keshwars)
and he dwells in the central one, in the heart of the universal
six-pointed star or Sun-shaped flower. For many centuries the central
region of that heptarchy was seen as being located in today’s
Iraq as the holy city of Babylon, with its major sanctuary of Baal
Marduk, the Esagil –for more than a millennium a fount of
sacred learning and initiation - regarded as the world’s navel
since the days of Nabuchednazzar II at least, was adopted as capital
by Cyrus and his successors."
"…Successive
Persian dynasties which could generally not maintain their hold
on Iraq tended to look to the province of Fars, the heartland of
the first kingdoms of their forbears, as the centre of their world
but they never seemed to be sure whether their remote ancestors
had come from the Caucasus (Azerbaijan) or from the East of the
Caspian Sea, beyond the Oxus and Iaxartes (Syr and Amu Darya). This
ambiguity about the geographic cradle of the Iranian people and
of the Zoroastrian religion has influenced national history"
![](khorasan.jpg)
The name Khorasan is a compound word Khur+san meaning Sun+land.
'-san' is an older form of '-shan' and '-stan'. Most authors take
this to mean land of the rising sun.
"Aratt was originally taken to be an epithet of the Sumerian
city Shuruppak related to its local name for the god Enlil; however
that is no longer seen to be the case. Although Aratt is known only
from myth, some Assyriologists and archaeologists have speculated
on possible locations where Aratt could have been, using criteria
from the myths :
• Land travelers must pass through Susa and
the mountainous Anshan region to reach it.
• It is a source of, or has access to valuable
gems and minerals, in particular lapis lazuli, that are crafted
on site.
• It is accessible to Uruk by watercourse,
yet remote from Uruk.
• It is close enough to march a 27th century
BC Sumerian army there.
Other speculations referred to the early gem trade route, the "Great
Khorasan Road" from Balkh to Mesopotamia, which ran through
northern Iran.
![](Ancient_Khorasan_highlighted.jpg)
Khorasan,
also written as Khurasan (Middle Persian: Khwarasan, Persian: ??????
???? or ?????? ???? .... is a historical region lying in the northeast
of Persia. "In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, the term
"Khurassan" frequently had a much wider denotation, covering
also parts of Central Asia and Afghanistan.
"Aratt was a city, city-state, or country with which Sumerians
had close trade and religious ties in the third millennium B.C.
Its location is not known......Aratt, apparently, was under the
special protection of the Sun god's daughter, Inanna, the goddess
of love and war. In "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratt",
the goddess and/or her statue were taken from Aratt to the Sumerian
city of Uruk by the ruler of Uruk, Enmerkar. Now believing himself
to have the goddess' protection, the Sumerian king challenged the
lord of Aratt.....The four myths outlined above portray Aratt as
a wealthy and militarily powerful state with which Sumer had relations
from very early times.
It
was located some distance from Sumer and protected by its forbidding
mountains, but it was not so distant as to prevent trade relations.
Aratt had building materials, precious stones, metals and craftsmen
skilled in their transformation. Aratt also had primacy with regard
to the religion of the mother goddess, Inanna, who resided in Aratt,
was the patron of that state, and was taken or lured south to Sumerian
cities. Uruk and Aratt also were in contest for military superiority—each
demanding the submission of the other. The method of transporting
the "stones of the mountain" from Aratt to Uruk and of
transporting grain from Uruk to Aratt seems consistent with such
trade historically between the Armenian highlands and areas to its
south, namely, by boat from Aratt south, and by pack animal from
Uruk north. If Aratt is indeed located in eastern Asia Minor, the
general implication of the Aratt cycle of myths is that Aratt played
a seminal role in the development of religion in Sumer, as well
as in the construction of its cult structures; and that trade and
diplomacy between the two states was of such importance that writing
was developed specifically for them."
Source
:
http://balkhandshambhala.
blogspot.com/2013/09/Aratta
-seven-gated-city.html
Reference
2 :
Aratt
is an ancient tribe and janapad mentioned in Mahabharat, Mahavansh,
Veds, Ashtadhyayi of Panini etc. This is a Prakrit form of the Sanskrit
Arashtra. Aratt is a land that appears in Vedas (B.S 2.13.14)
and Sumerian myths surrounding Enmerkar and Lugalband, two early
and possibly mythical kings of Uruk also mentioned on the Sumerian
king list. They fought Mahabharat War in Kaurava's side.
Variants
:
• Aratt = Arattha (AS, p.68)
• Arittha (Mahavansh)
• Arattii/Arattioi (Periplus)
• Oreturi (Greek) = Arashtra / Arashtak (Sanskrit)
• Oraturae (Megasthenes) (Greek)
• Aratt (Sanskrit)
• Hairat (=Aratt) (by Alexander Cunningham)
Origin :
It is the name of one of The Mahabharat Tribes.
Jat
clans :
Aratt are listed in Jat Gotras.
Ratiwar - Dr Naval Viyogi quotes the opinion of N K Dutta according
to whom Aratt were round headed Iranians, and were known as Rattika
or Ratta, whose mention has been made in the inscription of Ashok.
This Rattika or Ratta is a variation of Iranian word 'Rathaesth'.
Hulus has equated Ratta with the Arattioi of Periplus and Aratt
of Punjab. There is evidence from Shankhapal jatak that there
was a naga king of Ratta or Aratt family who were Karaskaras.
History :
V. S. Agrawala writes that Panini mentions Pura (IV.2.122) ending
names of towns like Arishrapura (Pali: Arirrapura, a city in the
kingdom of Shivi in Vahik.
The
Harsha Charita of Bana/Chapter II mentions The Visit of Bana to
the King Harshavardhan....The doorkeeper, having come up and saluted
him, addressed him respectfully in a gentle voice, "Approach
and enter, his highness is willing to see you." Then Bana
entered, as he directed, saying, "I am indeed happy that he
thinks me worthy of this honour." He next beheld a stable filled
with the king's favourite horses from Vanayu, Aratt, Kamboj, Bharadvaj,
Sindh, and Persia.
Ram
Sarup Joon writes ...Bahik, Bahi, Bahin or Bahela: Bahik Jats is
found both among the Hindu and Sikhs. In Pakistan there are Muslim
Bahele Jats-, Bahiks are mentioned in Mahabharat also. According
to "Karn Parv", chapter of the Mahabharat) King Shalya
paid l/6th part of his income to the Bahiks. According to Nandlal
Dey, Bahik are a sub branch of the Madraks. Arat in district Sheikhupura
was their capital. Hashak, Karmabh Kalak and Karkar were their important
towns. In Daurala (District Meerut, U.P.) the Bahiyan Jats have
six villages.
Aratts
consider themselves the descendants of Buddh. In Greece they were
known as Oreturi means arashtak. These people came to India and
settled in desert of Rajasthan.
Megasthenes
has described them as the Oraturae - The inhabitants on the other
side of this mountain Capitalia, Whose king has only ten elephants,
though he has a very strong force of infantry.
Thakur
Deshraj writes that they were probably Jats and the Rathor Jat gotra
is its local variant.It is also likely that they are Rathi Jats.
There is a district in Alwar district called Rath. They had helped
Chandragupta Maurya against Alexander, due to which Alexander had
called them dacoits.
Aratt - A north-western tribe; part of the forces of Krtavarma (VII.165.69).
The Mahabharat Tribe - Aratt may be identified with Jat Gotra -
Rathor or Rathi Jats.
The
Mahabharat Tribe - Aratt may be identified with Jat Gotra - Aratt,
Artat.
H.
L. Kosare after Mahabharat informs that Aratts had their three branches
Takka, Vahik and Jartik. All the tree branches belong to Jats.
Periplus
(P. 183) has written about "Arattii. This is a Prakrit form
of the Sanskrit Arashtra, who were a people of the Punjab; in fact
the name Aratt is often synonymous with the Panjab in Hindu literature."
Susa
is one of the oldest-known settlements of the region and indeed
the world, possibly founded about 4200 BCE; although the first traces
of an inhabited village have been dated to ca. 7000 BCE. Evidence
of a painted-pottery civilization has been dated to ca. 5000 BCE.
In historic times, Susa was the primary capital of the Elamite Empire.
Its name in Elamite was written variously Šušan, Šušun,
etc. The city appears in the very earliest Sumerian records, eg.
in Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratt it is described as one of the
places obedient to Inanna, patron deity of Uruk.
Mention
by Panini :
V. S. Agrawala] writes that Panini mentions Pura (IV.2.122) ending
names of towns like Arishtapura (Pali: Arittapura, a city in the
kingdom of Shivi in Vahik.
In
Mahavansh :
Arittha finds mention in various chapters of Mahavansh. - Mahavans
/ Chapter 11, - minister, Mahavans / Chapter 18, - Mahavans / Chapter
20, - mountain, Mahavans / Chapter 10, Mahavansa / Chapter 21, -
prince, Mahavans / Chapter 19, - vihar, Mahavans/Chapter 33
In
Sumerian History :
Role in Sumerian literature: Aratt is described as follows in Sumerian
literature:...It is a fabulously wealthy place full of gold, silver,
lapis lazuli and other precious materials, as well as the artisans
to craft them.....It is remote and difficult to reach....It is home
to the goddess Inana, who transfers her allegiance from Aratt to
Uruk....It is conquered by Enmerkar of Uruk.
Mentions
in Sumerian literature :
Enmerkar
and the Lord of Aratt - The goddess Inanna resides in Aratt,
but Enmerkar of Uruk pleases her more than does the lord of Aratt,
who is not named in this epic. Enmerkar wants Aratt to submit to
Uruk, bring stones down from the mountain, craft gold, silver and
lapis lazuli, and send them, along with "kugmea" ore to
Uruk to build a temple. Inana bids him send a messenger to Aratt,
who ascends and descends the "Zubi" mountains, and crosses
Susa, Anshan, and "five, six, seven" mountains before
approaching Aratt. Aratt in turn wants grain in exchange. However
Inana transfers her allegiance to Uruk, and the grain gains the
favor of Aratt's people for Uruk, so the lord of Aratt challenges
Enmerkar to send a champion to fight his champion. Then the god
Ishkur makes Aratt's crops grow.
Enmerkar
and En-suhgir-ana - The lord of Aratt, who is here named
En-suhgir-ana (or Ensuhkeshdanna), challenges Enmerkar of Uruk to
submit to him over the affections of Inanna, but he is rebuffed
by Enmerkar. A sorcerer from the recently defeated Hamazi then arrives
in Aratt, and offers to make Uruk submit. The sorcerer travels to
Eresh where he bewitches Enmerkar's livestock, but a wise woman
outperforms his magic and casts him into the Euphrates; En-suhgir-ana
then admits the loss of Inanna, and submits his kingdom to Uruk.
Lugalbanda
in the Mountain Cave - is a tale of Lugalbanda, who will
become Enmerkar's successor. Enmerkar's army travels through mountainous
territory to wage war against rebellious Aratt. Lugalbanda falls
ill and is left in a cave, but he prays to the various gods, recovers,
and must find his way out of the mountains.
Lugalbanda
and the Anzud Bird - Lugalbanda befriends the Anzud bird,
and asks it to help him find his army again. When Enmerkar's army
is faced with setback, Lugalbanda volunteers to return to Uruk to
ask the goddess Inana's aid. He crosses through the mountains, into
the flat land, from the edge to the top of Anshan and then to Uruk,
where Inana helps him. She advises Enmerkar to carry off Aratt's
"worked metal and metalsmiths and worked stone and stonemasons"
and all the "moulds of Aratt will be his". Then the city
is described as having battlements made of green lapis lazuli and
bricks made of "tinstone dug out in the mountains where the
cypress grows".
Other
mentions in Sumerian literature : .... Praise Poem of Shulgi
(Shulgi Y).... "I filled it with treasures like those of holy
Aratt." Shulgi and Ninlil's barge .... "Aratt, full-laden
with treasures" ....
Proverbs
: "When the authorities are wise, and the poor are loyal, it
is the effect of the blessing of Aratt."
Unprovenanced
Proverbs : "When the authorities are wise, and the poor are
passed by, it is the effect of the blessing of Aratt."
Hymn
to Hendursanga (Hendursanga A) : "So that Aratt will be overwhelmed
(?), Lugalbanda stands by at your (Hendursanga's) behest."
Hymn
to Nisaba (Nisaba A) : "In Aratt he (Enki?) has placed E-zagin
(the lapis lazuli temple) at her (Nisaba's) disposal."
The
building of Ninngirsu's temple (Gudea cylinder) : "pure like
Kesh and Aratt"
Tigi
to Suen (Nanna I) : "the shrine of my heart which I (Nanna)
have founded in joy like Aratt"
Inana
and Ibeh : "the inaccessible mountain range Aratt"
Gilgamesh
and Huwawa (Version B) : "they know the way even to Aratt"
Temple
Hymns : Aratt is "respected"
The
Kesh Temple Hymn : Aratt is "important"
Lament
for Ur : Aratt is "weighty (counsel)"
Location
hypotheses :
Early 20th century scholars initially took Aratt to be an epithet
of the Sumerian city Shuruppak related to its local name for the
god Enlil; however that is no longer seen to be the case. Although
Aratt is known only from myth, some Assyriologists and archaeologists
have speculated on possible locations where Aratt could have been,
using criteria from the myths :
Land travelers must pass through Susa and the mountainous Anshan
region to reach it.
It
is a source of, or has access to valuable gems and minerals, in
particular lapis lazuli, that are crafted on site.
It
is accessible to Uruk by watercourse, yet remote from Uruk.
It
is close enough to march a 27th-century BC Sumerian army there.
In
1963, Samuel Noah Kramer thought that a "Mount Hurum"
in a Lugalbanda myth (which he titled "Lugalbanda on Mount
Hurrum" at the time) might have referred to the Hurrians, and
hence speculated Aratt to be near Lake Urmia. However, "Mount
Hurum", "hur-ru-um kur-ra-ka", in what is now called
Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave,] is today read "mountain cave",
and Kramer subsequently introduced the title "Lugalbanda, the
Wandering Hero" for this story.
Other
speculations referred to the early gem trade route, the "Great
Khorasan Road" from the Himalayan Mountains to Mesopotamia,
which ran through northern Iran. Anshan, which had not yet been
located then, was assumed to be in the central Zagros mountain range.
However, when Anshan was identified as Tall-i Malyan in 1973, it
was found to be 600 km south-east of Uruk, far removed from any
northerly routes or watercourses from Uruk, and posing the logistical
improbability of getting a 27th-century BC Sumerian army through
550 km of Elamite territory to wage war with Aratt. Nevertheless,
there have been speculations referring to eastern Iran as well.
Dr. Yousef Majidzadeh believes the Jiroft Civilization could be
Aratt.
By
1973, archaeologists were noting that there was no archaeological
record of Aratt's existence outside of myth, and in 1978 Hansman
cautions against over-speculation.
Writers
in other fields have continued to hypothesize Aratt locations. A
"possible reflex" has been suggested in Sanskrit Araff
a mentioned in the Mahabharat and other texts;
Alternatively,
the name is compared with the toponym Ararat or Urartu.
In
Mahabharat :
Aratt Mahabharat (VII.165.69), (VIII.30.36), (VIII.30.40), (VIII.30.43),
(VIII.30.47), (VIII.30.58), (VIII.30.74).
Karna Parva/Mahabharat Book VIII Chapter 30 mentions about Aratt
at various places. They have been obnoxiously painted as fallen
and degenerated as depicted in the great epic to denounce the ancestors
of the present Jats for adopting Buddhism and for not submitting
to the yoke of Brahmanism which after its revival sought to impose
on them in ancient period. A clever play has been made to conceal
the truth, which cannot be easily understood by common man. For
the general reader we quote the parts of Karn Parv where Aratts
have been mentioned first in English and then in Sanskrit:
Where
forests of Pilus stand, and those five rivers flow, viz., the Satadru,
the Vipas, the Iravati, the Candrabhag, and the Vitas and which
have the Sindhu for their sixth, there in those regions removed
from the Himavat, are the countries called by the name of the Aratts.
Those regions are without virtue and religion. No one should go
thither. (VIII.30.36)
The
Aratt-Vahikas that are steeped in ignorance, should be avoided.
(VIII.30.40)
There
where the five rivers flow just after issuing from the mountains,
there among the Aratt-Vahikas, no respectable person should dwell
even for two days. (VIII.30.43)
The
regions are called by the name of Aratts. The people residing there
are called the Vahikas. (VIII.30.47)
The
Prasthals, the Madras, the Gandhars, the Aratts, those called Khasas,
the Vasatis, the Sindhus and the Sauviras are almost as blamable
in their practices. (VIII.30.74)
Source
:
https://www.jatland.com/
home/Aratta
Reference
3 :
Puran
and Itihas (epic history) :
Aratt
- A place in ancient India. After Dron was killed in the great war,
Kritvarma ran away with the warriors of Aratt. (Mahabharat, Dron
Parv, Chapter 193, Verse 13).
Source
: JatLand : List of Mahabharat people and places.
Aratt is a name mentioned in the Mahabharat (cf. VII.165.69, VIII.30.36,
VIII.30.40, VIII.30.43, VIII.30.47, VIII.30.58, VIII.30.74) and
represents one of the many proper names used for people and places.
Note: The Mahabharat (mentioning Aratt) is a Sanskrit epic poem
consisting of 100,000 slokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000
years old.
India
history and geogprahy :
Aratt
is the name of a country included within Dakshinpath which was situated
to the south of the Vindhyas according to the Yadavaprakasa. Dakshinpath
is a place-name ending is path mentioned in the Gupta inscriptions.
The Gupta empire (r. 3rd-century CE), founded by Sri Gupta, covered
much of ancient India and embraced the Dharmic religions such as
Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
Source
:
https://www.wisdomlib.org/
definition/aratta
Reference
4 :
Location
of Aratt and polemics of Witzel distorting Baudhayan srautasutra
:
I
think Aratt lies to west of river Indus and is known for horse breeding.
Mahabharat talks about horses from Aratt used in wars. Aratt was
also known for irreligious and matriarchal culture. A place with
a combination of all these -breeding of war-horses, matriarchy and
unchaste women - to be the location of Aratt which was ruled by
Sindhu kings in Mahabharat times. I am even tempted to connect it
to Susa. I am giving below the Mahabharat sources.
Mbh.6.86.4544
Disregarding
those arrows, the impetuous Vrikodar, with heart filled with rage,
slew in that battle all the steeds, born in Aratt, of the king of
the Sindhus.
Mbh.6.91.4754
And
smiling the while, several warriors on thy side, with a large number
of steeds consisting of the best of the Kamboj breed as also of
those born in the country of the Rivers, and of those belonging
to Aratt and Mahi and Sindhu, and of those of Vanayu also that were
white in hue, and lastly those of hilly countries, surrounded the
Pandav army.
Mbh.7.23.1157
Mighty
steeds of gigantic size, of the Aratt breed, bore the mighty-armed
Vrihant of red eyes mounted on his golden car, that prince, viz,
who, rejecting the opinions of all the Bharats, hath singly, from
his reverence for Yudhishthir.
Mbh.7.191.10590
Kritavarman,
O king, also fled away, borne by his swift steeds, and surrounded
by the remnant of his Bhoj, Kaling, Aratt, and Valhik troops.
Mbh.8.45.2428
In
former days a chaste woman was abducted by robbers hailing from
Aratt.
From Karna Parva
http://ancientvoice.wikidot.com/
src-mbh-08:section-45
MB
8-45
Karna
continued, Thou shouldst know all this, O Shalya. I shall however,
again speak unto thee.
Listen
with close attention to what I say. Once on a time a brahman came
to our house as a guest. Observing our practices he became highly
gratified and said unto us, I dwelt for a long time on a peak of
the Himavat quite alone. Since then I have seen diverse countries
following diverse religions. Never, however, have I seen all the
people of a country act unrighteously. All the races I have met
will admit that to be true religion which has been declared by persons
conversant with the Vedas. Travelling through various countries
following various religions, I at last, O king, came among the Vahiks.
There I heard that one at first becomes a brahman and then he becomes
a kshatriya. Indeed, a Vahik would, after that, become a Vaishya,
and then a Shudra, and then a barber. Having become a barber, he
would then again become a brahman.
Returning
to the status of a brahman, he would again become a slave. One person
in a family becomes a brahman: all the others, falling off from
virtue, act as they like. The Gandhars, the Madraks, and the Vahiks
of little understanding are even such. Having travelled through
the whole world I heard of these practices, destructive of virtue,
of these sinful irregularities amongst the Vahiks' Thou shouldst
know all this, O Shalya. I shall, however, again speak to thee about
those ugly words that another said unto me regarding the Vahiks.
In former days a chaste woman was abducted by robbers hailing
from Aratt. Sinfully was she violated by them, upon which she cursed
them, saying, Since ye have sinfully violated a helpless girl who
am not without a husband, therefore, the women of your families
shall all become unchaste. Ye lowest of men, never shall ye escape
from the consequences of this dreadful sin' It is for this, O Shalya,
that the sisters' sons of the Aratts, and not their own sons, become
their heirs.
Aratt
as Meluhha speech area -- re-visiting Baudhayan srautasutra evidence
:
Witzel's mistranslation or over-interpretation of Baudhayan srautasutra
:
![](trade.jpg)
In a remarkable monograph, Vishal Agarwal, concludes that there
is no Vedic evidence for an Aryan immigration into India. I will
cite excerpts from this work of Vishal Agarwal.
I
will not digress on the arguments advanced to refute an Aryan Invasion
Theory which was noted by an eminent linguist MB Emeneau as 'the
linguistic doctrine' establishing the incursion of Indo-European
in India. I will restrict the scope of this monograph to identifying
and locating Aratt in Meluhha, in the context of my thesis on Meluhha
-- a visible language.
In
1989, Witzel commented [Witzel, Michael. 'Tracing the Vedic Dialects'.
In Dialectes dans les literatures indo-aryennes; Publications de
l'Institute de Civilization Indienne, Serie in-8, Fascicule 55,
ed. by C. Caillat, Diffusion de Boccard: Paris (1989)]:
"In
the case of ancient N. India, we do not know anything about the
immigration of various tribes and clans, except for a few elusive
remarks in the RV (= Rigved), SB (= Shatapath Brahman) or BSS (
= Baudhayan srautasutra).
This text retains at 18.44 :397.9 sqq. the most pregnant memory,
perhaps, of an immigration of the Indo-Aryans into Northern India
and of their split into two groups: pran Ayuh pravavraj. Tasyaite
Kuru-Pancalah Kasi-Videh ity. Etad Ayavam pravrajam. Pratyan amavasus.
Tasyaite Gandharvarayas Parsavo 'ratta ity. Etad Amavasavam.
"Ayu went eastwards. His (people) are the Kuru-Panchal and
the Kasi Videha. This is the Ayava migration. (His other people)
stayed at home in the West. His people are the Gandhari, Parsu and
Aratt. This is the Amavasava (group)...the text makes a differentiation
between the peoples of the Panjab and the territories West of it
on one hand, and the "properly Vedic" tribes of Madhyadesh
and the adjacent country East of it."
Koenraad
Elst took issue with the translation made by Witzel, of the Baudhayan
srautasutra passage (pages 164-165 of K. Elst, 1999. Update the
Aryan Invasion Debate. Aditya Prakashan: New Delhi):
Amavasu is the subject of the second statement, but Witzel spirits
the subject away, leaving the statement subject-less, and turns
it into a verb, "amâ vasu", "stayed at home".
In fact, the meaning of the sentence is really quite straightforward,
and doesn't require supposing a lot of unexpressed subjects: "Ayu
went east, his is the Yamuna-Ganga region", while "Amavasu
went west, his is Afghanistan, Parshu and West Panjab".
Though the then location of "Parshu" (Persia?) is hard
to decide, it is definitely a western country, along with the two
others named, western from the viewpoint of a people settled near
the Saraswati river in what is now Haryana. Far from attesting an
eastward movement into India, this text actually speaks of a westward
movement towards Central Asia, coupled with a symmetrical eastward
movement from India's demographic centre around the Saraswati basin
towards the Ganga basin..."The fact that a world-class specialist
has to content himself with a late text like the BSS, and that he
has to twist its meaning this much in order to get an invasionist
story out of it, suggests that harvesting invasionist information
in the oldest literature is very difficult indeed. Witzel claims
(op.cit., p.320) that: "Taking a look at the data relating
to the immigration of Indo-Aryans into South Asia, one is struck
by a number of vague reminiscences of foreign localities and tribes
in the Rgveda, in spite [of] repeated assertions to the contrary
in the secondary literature." But after this promising start,
he fails to quote even a single one of those "vague reminiscences"."
Dr.
S. Kalyanaraman, referred the matter to Dr. George Cardona- an international
authority in Sanskrit grammar, and author of numerous definitive
publications on Panini's grammar.Cardona clearly rejected Witzel's
translation, and upheld the objections of Elst on the basis of rules
of Sanskrit grammar. He stated (Message no. 3 (dated April 11, 2000)
in the public archives of the Sarasvati Discussion list. The website
of the discussion list was sarasvati.listbot.com. The list is now
defunct and messages are no longer available. In the original message,
the word aayu was spelt incorrectly advertently as 'saayu'. This
error was pointed out by Dr. Cardona himself, and has therefore
been incorporated in the citation in the present article.):
"The
passage (from Baudha_yana S'rautasu_tra), part of a version of the
Pururavas and Urva'sii legend concerns two children that Urva'sii
bore and which were to attain their full life span, in contrast
with the previous ones she had put away. On p. 397, line 8, the
text says: saayu.m caamaavasu.m ca janayaa.m cakaara 'she bore Saayu
and Amaavasu.' Clearly, the following text concerns these two sons,
and not one of them along with some vague people. Grammatical points
also speak against Witzel's interpretation.
First, if amaavasus is taken as amaa 'at home' followed by a form
of vas, this causes problems: the imperfect third plural of vas
(present vasati vasata.h vasanti etc.) would be avasan; the third
plural aorist would be avaatsu.h. I have not had the chance to check
Witzel's article again directly, so I cannot say what he says about
a purported verb form (a)vasu.h. It is possible, however, that Elst
has misunderstood Witzel and that the latter did not mean vasu as
a verb form per se. Instead, he may have taken amaa-vasu.h as the
nominative singular of a compound amaavasu -meaning literally 'stay-at-home',
with -vas-u- being a derivative in -u- from -vas. In this case,
there is still what Elst points out: an abrupt elliptic syntax that
is a mismatch with the earlier mention of Amaavasu along with Aayu.
Further, tasya can only be genitive singular and, in accordance
with usual Vedic (and later) syntax, should have as antecedent the
closest earlier nominal: if we take the text as referring to Amaavasu,
all is in order: tasya (sc. Amaavaso.h). Finally, the taddhitaanta
derivates aayava and aamaavasava then are correctly parallels to
the terms aayu and amaavasu. In sum, everything fits grammatically
and thematically if we straightforwardly view the text as concerning
the wanderings of two sons of Urva'sii and the people associated
with them. There is certainly no good way of having this refer to
a people that remained in the west."
The
noted archaeologist B. B. Lal (Lal, B. B. 1998. India 1947-1997,
New Light on the Indus Civilization. Aryan Books International:
New Delhi) has also stated out that Witzel's translation is untenable
and is a willful distortion of Vedic texts to prove the non-proven
Aryan migration theory (AMT). Lal's criticism is along the same
lines as that of Elst.
Willem
Caland's Dutch translation: It is he who first published the Baudhayan
srautasutra from manuscripts.(In three volumes, from 1903-13, by
Bibliotheca Indica (Calcutta). In an obscure study15 of the Urvashi
legend in Dutch, he focuses on the version found in Baudhayan srautasutra
18.44-45 and translates the relevant sentences of text as (Caland,
Willem. 1903. "Eene Nieuwe Versie van de Urvasi-Mythe".
In Album-Kern, Opstellen Geschreven Ter Eere van Dr. H. Kern. E.
J. Brill: Leiden, pp. 57-60).
"Naar het Oosten ging Ayus; van hem komen de Kuru's, Pancala's,
Kasi's en Videha's. Dit zijn de volken, die ten gevolge van het
voortgaan van Ayus ontstonden. Naar het Westen ging Amavasu; van
hem komen de Gandhari's. de Sparsu's en de Aratt. Dit zijn de volken,
die ten gevolge van Amavasu's voortgaan ontstonden."
Translated into English (by Koenraad Elst.), this reads
:
"To the East went Ayus; from him descend the Kurus, Pancalas,
Kasis and Videhas. These are the peoples which originated as a consequence
of Ayus's going forth. To the West went Amavasu; from him descend
the Gandharis, the Sparsus and the Aratts.
The text, as reconstituted by Caland (and also accepted by Kashikar
– see below) reads 'Sparsus', which apparently stands for
the peoples who are known as 'Parshus' elsewhere in the Vedic literature,
and are often identified as the ancestors of Persians (or even of
Pashtuns).
Clearly, Caland interpreted the passage to mean that from a central
region, the Aratts, Gandharis and Parsus migrated west, while the
Kasi-Videhas and Kuru-Pancalas migrated east. Combined with
the testimony of the Satapath Brahman (see below), the implication
of this version in the Baudhayan srautasutra, narrated in the context
of the Agnyadheya rite is that that the two outward migrations took
place from the central region watered by the Sarasvati. (Kashikar,
Chintamani Ganesh. 2003. Baudhayan srautasutra (Ed., with an English
translation). 3 vols. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass/IGNCA).
In
volume III of his translation, on p. 1235, Kashikar translates the
relevant sentences of the text as follows-
"Ayu moved towards the east. Kuru-Pancala and Kasi-Videha were
his regions. This is the realm of Ayu. Amavasu proceeded towards
the west. The Gandharis, Sparsus and Aratts were his regions. This
is the realm of Amavasu."
This
is again a straightforward translation of the passage in accordance
with the rules of Sanskrit grammar.
Toshifumi Goto's German Translation :
In
his recent study [Tushifumi Goto. 'Pururavas und Urvasi" aus
dem neuntdecktem Vadhula-Anvakhyana (Ed. Y. Ikari)'. pp. 79-110
in Tichy, Eva and Hintze, Almut (eds.). Anusantatyai; J. H. Roll:
Germany (2000)] of the parallel passages dealing with the Agnyadheya
rite, Goto translates the Sutra passage in the following words (p.
101 sqq.).
""Nach Osten wanderte Ayu [von dort] fort. Ihm gehdie
genannt werden: "kurus and panchals, kazis and videhs."{87}
Sie sind die von Ayu stammende Fortfuehrung. {88} Nach Westen gewandt
[wanderte] amavasu [fort]. Ihm gehoeren diese: "gandharis,
parzus, {88} Aratts". Sie sind die von am Avasu stammende [Fortfuehrung].
{90} {87}iti kann hier kaum die die Aufzaehlung abschliessende Partikel
(Faelle bei OERTEL Synt. of cases, 1926, 11) sein. In den beiden
Komposita koennte der Type ajava'h' [die Gattung von] Ziegen und
Schafen' vorliegen: pluralisches Dvandva fuer die Klassifikation,
vgl. GOTO Compositiones Indigermanicae, Gs. Schindler (1999) 134
n. 26. {88} Gemeint ist hier wohl die Erbschaft seiner Kolonisation
("Fortwanderung"); mit
bekannter Attraktion des Subj.-Pronomens in Genus und Numerus an
das Pr
{89} Mit WITZEL, Fs. Eggermont (1987) 202 n. 99, Persica 9 (1980)
120 n.126 als gandharayas parsavo statt -ya sparsavo aufgefasst,
wofuer dann allerdings im rezenten BaudhSrSu die Schreibung gandharayah
parsavo zu erwarten wals -SP- ausgesprochen wurde (wie z.B. in der
MS, vgl. AiG I 342) und noch kein H (fÔr das erste s) eingefuehrt
wurde. -yaspa- entging einer (interpretatorischen) {90} Dahinter
steckt wohl die Vorstellung von Ayu' als normales Adjektiv 'lebendig,
beweglich' und entsprechend, wie KRICK 214 interpretiert, von amavasu-:
"nach Westen [zog] A. (bzw.: er blieb im Westen in der Heimat,
wie sein Name 'einer, der Gueter daheim hat' sagt."
Loosely translated23 into English, this reads -
"From there, Ayu wandered Eastwards. To him belong (the
groups called) 'Kurus and Panchalas, Kashis and Videhas' (note 87).
They are the branches/leading away (note 88) originating from Ayu.
From there, Amavasu turned westwards (wandered forth). To him belong
(the groups called) 'Gandharis, Parsus (note 89) Aratts'. They are
the branches/leading away originating from Amavasu. (note 90)."
{90}: It appears that the notion of 'Ayu' as an normal adjectival
sense 'living', 'agile' underlies this name. Correspondingly, Krick
214 interprets Amavasu as – "Westwards [travelled] A.
(or: he stayed back in the west in his home, because his name says
–'one who has his goods at home')".
A
very strong piece of evidence for deciding the correct translation
of Baudhayan srautasutra 18.44 is the passage that occurs right
after it, i.e., Baudhayan srautasutra 18.45...From this text, it
is clear that Urvashi, Pururava and their two sons were present
in Kurukshetra in their very lifetimes. There is no evidence that
they traveled all the way from Afghanistan to Haryana (where Kurukshetra
is located), nor is there any evidence that she took her sons from
Kurukshetra to Afghanistan after disposing off the pitcher. The
passage rather only to indicate that the family lived in the vicinity
of Kurukshetra region. Therefore, the possibility that Amavasu,
one of the two sons of Pururava and Urvashi lived in Afghanistan
from where Ayu, the other son, migrated to India is totally negated
by this passage. Rather, BSS 18.45 would imply that the descendants
of Amavasu, i.e., Aratts, Parsus and Gandharis migrated westwards
from the Kurushetra region. (It may be pointed out that in Taittiriya
Aranyaka 5.1.1, the Kurukshetra region is said to be bounded by
Turghna (=Srughna or the modern village of Sugh in the Sirhind district
of Punjab) in the north, by Khandava in the south (corresponding
roughly to Delhi and Mewat regions), Maru (= desert, noting that
the Thar has advanced eastward into Haryana only in recent centuries)
in the west, and 'Parin' (?) in the east. This roughly corresponds
to the modern state of Haryana in India).
According
to Witzel, Hertha Krick and Asko Parpola, BSS 18.44 designates the
homeland of Gandharis, Parsus and Aratts as 'here' ('ama' in 'amavasu').
Prima facie, this suggestion is illogical, because the territory
inhabited by these three groups of people is a vast swathe of land
comprising a major portion of modern-day NWFP/Baluchistan provinces
of Pakistan, and much of Afghanistan. To denote such a vast territory
by 'here', while contrasting it with supposed migrations of Kurus
and other Indian peoples from 'here' to 'there' (= northern India)
is somewhat of a stretch. Baudhayan (or whoever wrote BSS 18.44)
was definitely a resident of northern India, and for him, Afghanistan
and northwestern Pakistan would be 'there', and not 'here' or 'home'.
The
Location of 'Aratt' of Baudhayan Kalpasutra :
In
an online paper, Witzel tries to minimize the important he placed
earlier on BSS 18.44 as the only important direct evidence for an
Indo-Aryan immigration. He also argues (Michael Witzel. 2001. 'Autochthonous
Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts."
In Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies, vol. 7, issue 3. See footnote
45 on page 16 at online paper available at
http://users.primushost.com/~india/
ejvs/ejvs0703/ejvs0703article.pdf)
"…However,
the passage plays, in the usual Brahman style, with these names
and their Nirukt-like interpretations and etymologies. They are
based (apart from Ayu: ayus 'full life span'), on the names of the
two sons of Pururavas, Amavasi: ama vas 'to dwell at home', as opposed
to Ayu: ay/i 'to go', contrasting the 'stay home' peoples in the
west (Amavasyavah: Gandhara, Parsu, Aratt) with those (Ayavah: Kuru-Pancala,
Kasi-Videh) who went/ went forth (ay/i + pra vraj) eastwards, as
the text clearly says. A note of caution may be added: The missing
verb in the collocation pratyan Amavasus allows, of course, suppletion
of pravavraj. If one follows that line of argument, one group (the
Ayavah) 'went east', the other one (the Amavasyavah) 'went west',
both from an unknown central area, to the west of the Kuru lands.
The Kuruksetra area is excluded as the Kurus went eastwards (i.e.,
toward it!), apparent from somewhere in the Punjab, (e.g., from
the Parusni, the place of the Ten Kings' Battle, RV 7.10)…..The
passage in question is just one point in the whole scheme of immigration
and acculturation… The Gandhari clearly are located in E.
Afghanistan/N. Palistan, the Parsu in Afghanistan and the Aratt
seem to represent the Arachosians (cf. Witzel 1980); note the Mesopot.
Aratt, the land of Lapis Lazuli (cf. Possehl 1996b, Steinkeller
1998)."
We may easily dismiss Witzel's attempt to impose his Nirukt like
etymologies in this Sutra passage for the simple reasons that they
are opposed to the rules of Sanskrit grammar (as elaborated by George
Cardona cited by me above), and because the parallel passages from
Baudhayan srautasutra 18.55, Sathapathabrahma?a XI.1.5 and Vadhula
Anvakhyana 1.1.1-2 clearly pre-suppose the Kurukshetra region as
the scene of action involving Pururava and Uruvasi. Witzel refers
to his publication 'Witzel (1980)' as proof that Aratts were 'Arachosians'
(= residents of Helmand valley in S W Afghanistan), but when that
publication was checked (See footnote 3 in Witzel, Michael. 1980,
'Early Eastern Iran and the Atharvaveda', in Persica, vol. IX, pp.
86-128.), it was found to place the Aratts in the Badakhshan area
in extreme N E Afghanistan!
...Witzel's
interpretations are valid only if Aratt can be removed from W. Panjab
(which is where the entire length and breadth of Indian literature
places it) and transplanted in Arachosia (S W Afghanistan), as Witzel
has done above, without any proof ( A Czech scholar Václav
Blaek relies on the mistranslation of the passage in Witzel
[Witzel, Michael. 'Rgvedic History: Poets, Chieftains and Politics'.
in The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia ed. by Erdosy, George Walter
de Gruyter, Berlin: 1995: 320-321] to reinforce his conclusion that
the Aratts were localized in the Helmand basin. See Blaek,
Václav. 2002. 'Elamo-Arica'. In The Journal of Indo-European
Studies, Vol. XXX, Nos. 3-4 (Fall/Winter 2002): pp. 215-242 (see
page 216). Interestingly, in the 'Acknowledgements' section on page
235 of the paper, the Blaek says – "I wish to thank
Michael Witzel for providing an opportunity to present the first
version of this paper at the conference held at the Department of
Indic Languages at Harvard University in May 2002….").
This alone would leave W. Punjab as a 'central area' from which
some people move east and some move west. However, we may reject
this possibility because as a natural corollary, it would imply
that W Punjab itself did not receive any progeny of Pururavas and
Uruvasi, even though regions to the east and west of it did so.
Secondly,
and more important, the other occurrences of the word 'Aratt' in
the Vedic texts indicate that these people were residents of W.
Punjab (north of Multan, just as in the historical period) and not
of Helmand valley as proposed by Witzel and others. (The word 'Aratt'
is conspicuous by its absence in Vedic literature proper, i.e.,
in the Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and in the older Upanishads.
The oldest text where it occurs for the first time is Baudhayan
srautasutra. In all later Sanskritic literature, the word denotes
western and central Punjab. 'Aratt' is also mentioned as a source
of Lapis Lazuli in a Mesopotamian text. Since this mineral was obtained
from extreme northern regions of Afghanistan, as well as from regions
just north of Quetta, some scholars have often assumed that it denoted
the Helmand valley. See for instance – Hansman, J. F.
1978. 'The Question of Aratt'. In The Journal of Near Eastern Studies,
vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 331-336 However, even if this identification
in Mesopotanian texts is correct, we need not assume that the Aratt
in Baudhayan Kalpasutra also meant the same region because the Mespotamian
text and this Kalpasutra are separated from each other by great
distance and time. In my opinion, it is more appropriate to interpret
this Kalpasutra using data from successor Hindu traditions, rather
than data from distant Mesopotamian traditions! ) The Baudhayan
srautasutra is a not stand-alone text of its particular Sakha of
Krshna Yajurveda. It is in fact a (major) part of a larger text
– the Baudhayan Kalpasutra. The various parts of the Kalpasutra
are the srautasutra, the Hautrasutra, Grhyasutra, Sulbasutra and
the Dharmasutra. Hindu tradition attributes all the portions of
the Sutra to the same person, viz. Muni Baudhayan.
To
modern scholarship however, the Kalpasutraappears to be a stratified
text. (A major portion of the Kalpasutra is attributed to Baudhayan
himself, the Dvaidhasutra is said to be an addition by his direct
disciples (or near immediate disciples), portions ofGrhyasutra are
attributed to him with the Grhyaparisesha being a late addition.
The Dharmasutra is considered a very late addition. Patrick Olivelle
[2000. Dharmasutras, annotated text and translation. New Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidass, p. 10] assigns a date of 150 B.C.E. to Baudhayan
dharmasutra, a date which is ridiculously recent in my opinion.)
It is not relevant here to discuss the merits of these various views
related to the authorship of Baudhayan Kalpasutra here. Even if
the entire Kalpasutra is not from the same author, the later parts
nevertheless reflect the understanding of the older tradition by
the later-day Baudhayaniyas.
Even
if we assume that 'Brahman-like' portion BSS 18.44 is an older part
of the text, it is worthwhile investigating what the words Aratt,
Parshu and Gandhar mean in other portions of the Kalpasutra text.
Parsu does not appear to occur elsewhere in Baudhayan Kalpasutra.
Aratt and Gandhar however are found mentioned in BSS 18.13 and in
Baudhayan Dharmasutra (= BDS).
Let us consider BDS (I have used the edition by Umesh Chandra Pandey.
1971. Baudhayan Dharmasutra (with Govindswami's commentary, and
a gloss by Chinnaswami Shastri). Chaukhamba Sanskrit Series: Varanasi)
First Sutra 1.1.2.10 defines Aryavarta as the land west of Kalakavan
(roughly modern Allahabad), east of 'adarsan' (the spot where Sarasvati
disappears in the desert), south of Himalayas and north of the Vindhyas.
An alternate definition of Aryavart in sutra 1.1.2.11 restricts
Aryavart to the Ganga-Yamuna doab. The text then enumerates the
following peoples who are of 'mixed' origins, and therefore whose
traditions are not worthy of emulation by the residents of Aryavart
–
"Avanti (-Ujjain), Anga (= area around modern Bhagalpur in
Bihar), Magadh, Surashtra (= modern Kathiawar), Upavrt, Sindhu (=
modern Sindh), Sauvira (= modern Bahawalpur, and Pakistani Panjab
south of Multan) are (i.e., the residents of these regions are)
of mixed origin." Baudhayan Dharmasutra 1.1.2.14 "Aratt,
Karaskara (=Narmada valley?), Pundra (=northern Bengal), Sauvira,
Vanga (= southern Bengal), Kalinga – whosoever visits these
areas should perform Punastoma or Sarvaprshthi sacrifices as an
expiation." Baudhayan Dharmasutra 1.1.12.15.
Clearly, all these regions lie outside the Aryavart where Vedic
orthopraxy prevailed. What needs to be noted here is that all these
'impure' regions lie on the periphery of Aryavart. Distant regions
such as Gedrosia, Arachosia (Helmand valley), Kashmir, Kabul Valley
etc., are so far that they are not even mentioned. Again, Baudhayan
srautasutra 18.13 also mentions that whosoever visits Sauvira, Aratt,
Kaling, Karaskar and Gandhar, should perform ritual expiations.
In both these cases from the Baudhayan Kalpasutra, the word 'Aratt'
denotes a region or peoples who live on the periphery of Aryavart,
or close to Aryavarta but outside it. Witzel's interpretation
(Witzel 1995: 320-321) of Baudhayan srautasutra 18.44 however requires
Aratts to be in the Helmand valley in Arachosia (south-west Afghanistan),
from where they then migrated into South Asia. Much of ancient Sanskrit
and Vedic literature considers the people and region of central
and western Punjab as impure and outsiders. But equating Aratt with
Arachosia would mean that there is no region or people corresponding
to central and western Punjab that is considered polluting in the
Baudhayan Kalpasutra.
Conclusion
:
Rather than insisting on seeing evidence for 'movement' or 'migration'
in the word 'Ayu', and correspondingly 'remaining in their home'
in the word Amavasu, it is perhaps less tortuous to interpret this
passage figuratively in a different manner that is more consistent
with the Indian tradition. Indian tradition holds that the Kuru-Panchals,
and later Kashi-Videhas followed Vedic orthoproxy (i.e., they performed
fire sacrifices to the Devs) and therefore were 'alive', whereas
the progeny of Amavasu did not sacrifice to the Devs and hoarded
their wealth in their homes.
Whatever be the interpretation, there is no convincing way to uphold
Witzel's mistranslation or over-interpretation of Baudhayan srautasutra
18.44. One must be extremely wary of using at least the Vedic versions
of this legend to construct real history of human migrations, otherwise
we would have to deduce an emigration from India in the direction
of Central Asia. There is absolutely no need to read modern and
colonial Aryan invasion and migration theories into ancient ritual
texts.
Therefore, we may conclude there still exists no Vedic evidence
for an Aryan immigration into India.
Aratt
: locus and identification
The
detailed background provided in the previous paragraphs, on the
importance of the Baudhayan srautasutra text is central to the identification
of Aratt (transliterated more precisely as Aratt.
Let
me summarise the key evidences provided in the ancient text of Baudhayan
srautasutra :
The
text makes a differentiation between the peoples of the Panjab and
the territories West of it on one hand, and the "properly Vedic"
tribes of Madhyadesa and the adjacent country East of it.
Moving
to the east are Kuru, Panala, Kasi and Videha, together called the
Ayava group.
Moving
to the west are Gandhari, Parsu and Aratt people together called
the Amavasa group. The region occupied by the goup is a vast swathe
of land comprising a major portion of modern-day W. Punjab, North-west
Frontier Province/Baluchistan provinces and much of Afghanistan.
Aratt were residents of W. Punjab (north of Multan). Baudhayan
srautasutra 18.33 and Baudhayan Dharmasutra refer to Ara??a and
Gandhar.
Baudhayan
Dharmasutra 1.1.2.14 clubs together many regions with people of
'mixed origins' such as: "Avanti (Ujjain), Ang (region around
modern Bhagalpur, Bihar), Magadh, Surashtra (modern Kathiawar),
Upavrt, Sindhu (modern Sindh), Sauvir (modern Bahawalpur and Pakistani
Punjab south of Multan). Extending the regions with people of
'mixed origins', the list extends in Baudhayan Dharmasutra 1.1.2.15
to: Aratt, Karaskar (Narmada valley), Pundra (northern Bengal),
Sauvira, Vang (southern Bengal), Kaling (Orissa)" -- visit
to which regions, requires performance of punastoma or sarvaprshthi
as expiation.
All
these regions listed in the two lists of Baudhayan Dharmasutra 1.1.2.14
and 1.1.2.15 , as 'mixed persons' and including Aratt (which may
be a region around Santal Paraganas, Bastar and eastern Uttar Pradesh)
can be explained as Meluhha (mleccha) area, since Meluhha (mleccha)
are characterised by their use of apa-sabdas while performing yajña-s.
I
entirely agree with Vishal Agarwal's explanation which notes that
these as 'impure' regions lie on the periphery of Aryavart (Ganga-Yamuna
doab) where Vedic orthopraxy prevailed". If one (from Aryavart,
governed by the sacred Vedic tradition) visits these 'impure' regions
detailed prescribed procedures require (punastoma or sarvaprshthi)
yajña-s to be performed as expiation. I submit that these
regions are the Meluhha (mleccha) speech areas. The prescribed expiation
procedures are also outlined in Baudhayan srautasutra 18.31 which
lists 'impure regions' as: Sauvir, Aratt, Kaling, Karaskar and Gandhar.
Visiting these 'impure regions' required performance of prescribed
expiation procedured.
Thus,
it is clear that in --Baudhayan srautasutra 18.13 and Baudhayan
Dharmasutra 1.1.12.15, both constituent parts of Baudhayan Kalpasutra
-- Aratt is identified as a region on the periphery of Aryavart
(Ganga-Yamuna doab) but close to it. Such a region was peopled by
Meluhha (mleccha) speakers who can be distinguished from Arya vacas,
speech of residents of Aryavart. With such a distinction, it is
possible to postulate Meluhha (mleccha) as proto-Indo-Aryan or precursor
versions ofPrak?ts or desi. Such Mleccha vacas of 'impure regions'
detailed in both the texts identified the Meluhha region and Meluhha
artisans/traders had their sea-faring merchandise and donkey caravans
along the Tin road of the bronze age extending from Meluhha into
the Fertile Crescent. See: bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2014/01/proto-indian-meluhha-precursor-of.html
Proto-Indian Meluhha, a precursor of Prakrts and desya
Reference to acquisition of lapis lazuli in a Mesopotamian text
has to be explained. Lapis lazuli was obtained from northern regions
of Afghanistan and also from regions just north of Quetta. While
the regions might have lapis lazuli mines, the stones might have
been routed through Aratt (Meluhha speakers and Meluhha merchants),
the same way as tin and tin-bronzes were routed along the tin road
which extended from Meluhha across the Persian Gulf into Sumer/Elam/Mesopotamia.
The role of Mleccha speakers during the bronze age in an
extended contact area is elaborated in the following monographs
:
The
identification of Aratt as a region outside of Aryavart, but within
the framework of Indus-Sarasvati Civilization core region of a sacred
Vedic Sarasvati river basin, is consistent with the archaeological
sites associated with the bronze age extending from Sohri-Sokhta
to Rakhigarhi, from Shahdad to Dholavira, Lothal and Daimabad with
most of about 2000 (or 80% of 2600) archaeological sites of the
civilization located on the Sarasvati River Basin. The civilization
sustained the bronze age initiatives in trade with the use of Meluhha
hieroglyphs to communicate catalogs of metalware and stoneware.
Just
as Paul Thieme and Satyaswarup Mishra had traced proto-Indo-aryan
words through Mesopotamia-Anatolia-Mitanni using Mitanni treaties,
Koenraad Elst presents the following possibilities in the context
of the ongoing search for urheimat of IE speakers :
"Their
(Mitanni treaties) language was mature Indo-Aryan, not proto-Indo-Iranian.
Satya Swarup Misra argues that the Mitannic languages already showed
early Middle-Indo-Aryan traits, e.g. the assimilation of dissimilar
plosives (sapta > satta), and the break-up of consonant clusters
by interpolation of vowels (anaptyxis, Indra > Indara). This
would imply that Middle-Indo-Aryan had developed a full millennium
earlier than hitherto assumed, which in turn has implications for
the chronology of the extant literature written in Middle-Indo-Aryan.
In the centuries before the Mitanni texts, there was a Kassite dynasty
in Mesopotamia, from the 18th to the 16th century BC. Linguistically
assimilated, they preserved some purely Vedic names: Shuriash, Maruttash,
Inda-Bugash, i.e. Surya, Marut, Indra-Bhaga (Bhaga meaning effectively
'god', cfr. Bhag-wAn, Slavic Bog). The Kassite and Mitanni peoples
were definitely considered as foreign invaders. They are latecomers
in the history of the IE dispersal, appearing at a time when, leaving
India out of the argument, at least the area from Iran to France
was already IE. They have little bearing on the Urheimat question,
but they have all the more relevance for mapping the history of
the Indo-Iranian group.
Probably
the Kassite and Mitannic tribes were part of the same migration,
with the latter settling in a peripheral area and thereby retaining
their identity a few centuries longer than the Kassites in the metropolitan
area of Babylon. According to Babylonian sources, the Kassites came
from the swampy area in what is now southern Iraq: unlike the Iranians,
who migrated from India through Afghanistan, the Kassites must have
come by sea from Sindh to southern Mesopotamia. While the Iranians
migrated slowly, taking generations to take control gradually of
the fertile areas to the south of the Aral Lake and of the Caspian
Sea, the Kassites seem to have been a warrior group moving directly
from India to Mesopotamia to carry out a planned invasion which
immediately gave them control of the delta area, a bridgehead for
further conquests of the Babylonian heartland. They were a conquering
aristocracy, and having to marry native women, they lost their language
within a few generations, just like the Vikings after their conquest
of Normandy. If the earlier Kassite and the later Mitanni people
were indeed part of the same migration, their sudden appearance
falls neatly into place if we connect them with the migration wave
caused by the dessiccation of the Saraswati area in ca. 2000 BCE.
Indian-Mesopotamian connections relevant to the Urheimat question
have to be sought in a much earlier period. Whether the country
Aratt of the Sumerian sources is really to be identified with a
part of the Harappan area, is uncertain; the Sumerian legend Enmerkar
and the Lord of Aratt (late 3rd millennium BCE) mentions that Aratt
was the source of silver, gold and lapis lazuli, in exchange for
grain which was transported not by ship but over land by donkeys;
this would rather point to the mining centres in mountainous Afghanistan,
arguably Harappan colonies but not the Harappan area itself. However,
if this Ara??a is the same as the Indian Aratt (in West Panjab)
after all, it has far-reaching implications.
Aratt
is Prakrit for A-rASTra, 'without kingdom'. The point here is
not its meaning, but its almost Middle-Indo-Aryan shape. Like sapta
becoming satta in the Mitannic text, it suggest that this stage
of Indo-Aryan is much older than hitherto assumed, viz. earlier
than 2000 BCE."
This
brilliant linguistic analysis points to the word Aratt itself as
a Proto-Indo-Aryan gloss with the semantics 'without kingdom' treating
the word as a Mleccha (Meluhha) or Proto-Prakrt tadbhava from a-rastra
(Arya vacas or Sanskrit of the Aryavart, Ganga-Yamuna doab).
Since
there are significant indicators in the Baudhayan kalpasutra texts
pointing to the locus of Aratt in West Punjab, the implications
detailed by Koenraad Elst deserve to be taken note of and the identification
of Aratt in the extended region attempted by scholars like DT Potts
and Steinkeller may have to be re-visited.
http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/
2013/07/location-of-marhashi-and-
cheetah-from.html
In
this note, I have argued that Marhashi and Meluhha are the same.
Potts
and Steinkeller argue that Aratt was Marhashi.
Potts
also discusses: J. F. Hansman, 1978 The Question of Aratt, JNES
37, 331-336 (who locates Aratt at Shahr-i-Sokhta) :
In
my view, the evaluation of JF Hansman is close to the mark of identifying
Aratt as a region close to Shahr-i-Sokhta consistent with his earlier
article in Iran 10 (1972): 118, n.97. Shahr-i-Sokhta is loated near
the western border of Afghanistan. In his 1978 paper, Hansman refers
to Majidzadeh suggesting the possibility of locating Aratt in Kerman
province, a district which ies to the west of Iranian Sistan. Majidzadeh
locates Aratt between the present city of Kerman and the town of
Shahdad. Elsewhere, the Shahdad standard has been explained as a
set of Meluhha hieroglyphs. It is possible that Meluhha speakers
were settled in Shahdad.
In
the light of the textual evidence from ancient Indian texts discussed
in this monograph, the suggestions and critical comments made by
JF Hansman have to be taken into account. He suggests that a system
of direct trade existed between Aratt and the Sumerian states of
southern Mesopotamia. It is certainly not far-fetched to postulate
donkey caravans moving from Meluhha into these Sumerian states.
If Aratt was in W. Punjab as the Indian texts seem to indicate,
the trade from Aratt could have been part of the trade with Meluhha
using sea-faring means and using caravans on the Tin Road as mentioned
in cuneiform texts.
There
are lots of arguments about Aratt. One comment says (2011) about
a hypothesis of Afghanistan as Aratt : "it has been universally
agreed in recent years that the most famous Old World lapis lazuli
mines, those on the upper reaches of the Kokcha river, a tributary
of the Oxus (Amu Darya), in the Badakhshan district of Modern Afghanistan,
described by Marco Polo (Yule 1929; i. 157), were the primary source
for the ancient Near East and Egypt. Evidence for exploitation of
these mines in the third millenium BC has been strengthened by the
discovery of raw lapis lazuli and evidence of bead manufacture of
Shortughai on the river Oxus (Francfort and Pottier 1978; Francfort
1987) in a settlement where the material culture is described as
largely 'Harappan'".
I
find it amazing that these views of Elst are NOT taken into account
by scholars who discuss the location and identification of Aratt.
The Wikpedia polemics (URL given above) make a mention of this inexplicable
approach in the search for truth.
As
the conclusive identification of Aratt can await further detail
re-evaluations of many conjectures made, I submit that the Indian
texts referred to in this note should also be taken into account
within the context of use of Meluhha hieroglyphs on many metalware
and stoneware trade transactions and I posit the hypothesis that
Aratt referred to a region in the present-day Western Punjab where
Meluhha speakers were artisans/traders working in stoneware and
metalware, with particular reference to tin trade along Tin Road
and spread of lost-wax casting technologies exemplified by the Dancing
Girl statue of Mohenjo-daro which finds an echo on a potsherd from
Bhirrana on the banks of River Sarasvati. As the secular desiccation
of River Sarasvati progressed with recurrent tectonic events resulting
in river migrations depriving Sarasvati River from glacial sources,
there could have been movements of Meluhha speaker artisans, say,
from Dholavira to Bhirran and eastwards upto Rakhigarhi.
A
simple conclusion is that Aratt was in Indus-Sarasvati civilization
area referred to in the overall context of cuneiform text references
as Meluhha and that Aratt artisans/traders were Meluhha (mleccha)
speakers.
Source
:
http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.com/
2014/01/location-of-aratta-and-
polemics-of.html
Reference
5 :
Karna
Parv / Mahabharat Book VIII Chapter 30 :
Mentions
the tribes who are not followers of Brahmanism
Section 44
"'Shalya
said, "These, O Karna, are ravings that thou utterest regarding
the foe. As regards myself without a 1,000 Karnas I am able to vanquish
the foe in battle.'"
"Sanjay
continued, 'Unto the ruler of Madras, of harsh features, who was
saying such disagreeable things unto Karna, the latter once more
said words that were twice bitter.
"'Karna
said, "Listen with devoted attention to this, O ruler of the
Madras, that was heard by me while it was recited in the presence
of Dhritrashtra. In Dhritrashtra's abode the brahmans used to narrate
the accounts of diverse delightful regions and many kings of ancient
times. A foremost one among brahmans, venerable in years while reciting
old histories, said these words, blaming the Vahiks and Madraks,
(VIII.30.9) 'One should always avoid the Vahiks, those impure people
that are out of the pale of virtue, and that live away from the
Himavat and the Ganga River and Sarasvati and Yamuna and Kurukshetra
and the Sindhu and its five tributary rivers. I remember from the
days of my youth that a slaughter-ground for kine and a space for
storing intoxicating spirits always distinguish the entrances of
the abodes of the (Vahik) kings. On some very secret mission I had
to live among the Vahiks. In consequence of such residence the conduct
of these people is well known to me. There is a town of the name
of Sakal, a river of the name of Apag, and a clan of the Vahiks
known by the name of the Jarttiks. (VIII.30.14) The practices of
these people are very censurable. They drink the liquor called Gaud,
and eat fried barley with it. They also eat beef with garlic. They
also eat cakes of flour mixed with meat, and boiled rice that is
bought from others. Of righteous practices they have none.
Their
women, intoxicated with drink and divested of robes, laugh and dance
outside the walls of the houses in cities, without garlands and
unguents, singing while drunk obscene songs of diverse kinds that
are as musical as the bray of the ass or the bleat of the camel.
In intercourse they are absolutely without any restraint, and in
all other matters they act as they like. Maddened with drink, they
call upon one another, using many endearing epithets. Addressing
many drunken exclamations to their husbands and lords, the fallen
women among the Vahiks, without observing restrictions even on sacred
days, give themselves up to dancing. One of those wicked Vahiks,--one
that is, that lived amongst those arrogant women,--who happened
to live for some days in Kurujangal, burst out with cheerless heart,
saying, "Alas,
that (Vahik) maiden of large proportions, dressed in thin blankets,
is thinking of me,--her Vahik lover--that is now passing his days
in Kurujangal, (VIII.30.19) at the hour of her going to bed."
Crossing the Sutlej and the delightful Iravati, and arriving at
my own country, when shall I cast my eyes upon those beautiful women
with thick frontal bones, with blazing circlets of red arsenic on
their foreheads, with streaks of jet black collyrium on their eyes,
and their beautiful forms attired in blankets and skins and themselves
uttering shrill cries! When shall I be happy, in the company of
those intoxicated ladies amid the music of drums and kettle-drums
and conchs sweet as the cries of asses and camels and mules! When
shall I be amongst those ladies eating cakes of flour and meat and
balls of pounded barley mixed with skimmed milk, in the forests,
having many pleasant paths of Sami and Pilu and Karira! (VIII.30.24)
When shall I, amid my own countrymen, mustering in strength on the
high-roads, fall upon passengers, and snatching their robes and
attires beat them repeatedly! What man is there that would willingly
dwell, even for a moment amongst the Vahiks that are so fallen and
wicked, and so depraved in their practises?' Even thus did that
brahman describe the Vahiks of base behaviour, a sixth of whose
merits and demerits is thine, O Shalya. Having said this, that pious
brahman began once more to say what I am about to repeat respecting
the wicked Vahiks. Listen to what I say, 'In the large and populous
town of Sakal, a Rakshash woman used to sing on every fourteenth
day of the dark fortnight, in accompaniment with a drum, "When
shall I next sing the songs of the Vahiks in this Sakal town, having
gorged myself with beef and drunk the Gaud liquor? When shall I
again, decked in ornaments, and with those maidens and ladies of
large proportions, gorge upon a large number of sheep and large
quantities of pork and beef and the meat of fowls and asses and
camels? They who do not eat sheep live in vain!"' Even thus,
O Shalya, the young and old, among the inhabitants of Sakal, intoxicated
with spirits, sing and cry. How can virtue be met with among such
a people? Thou shouldst know this.
I must, however, speak again to thee about what another brahman
had said unto us in the Kuru court, 'There where forests of Pilus
stand, and those five rivers flow, viz., the Satadru, the Vipas,
the Iravati, the Chandrabhag, and the Vitast and which have the
Sindhu for their sixth, there in those regions removed from the
Himavat, are the countries called by the name of the Aratts. Those
regions are without virtue and religion. No one should go thither.
(VIII.30.36) The gods, the pitris, and the brahmans, never accept
gifts from those that are fallen, or those that are begotten by
Shudras on the girls of other castes, or the Vahiks who never perform
sacrifices and are exceedingly irreligious.' That learned brahman
had also said in the Kuru court, 'The Vahiks, without any feelings
of revulsion, eat of wooden vessels having deep stomachs and earthen
plates and vessels that have been licked by dogs and that are stained
with pounded barley and other corn. The Vahiks drink the milk of
sheep and camels and asses and eat curds and other preparations
from those different kinds of milk. Those degraded people number
many bastards among them. There is no food and no milk that they
do not take. The Aratt-Vahiks that are steeped in ignorance,
should be avoided.' (VIII.30.40) Thou shouldst know this, O Shalya.
I must, however, again speak to thee about what another brahman
had said unto me in the Kuru court, 'How can one go to heaven, having
drunk milk in the town called Yugandhar, and resided in the place
called Acyutasthal, and bathed in the spot called Bhutilaya? There
where the five rivers flow just after issuing from the mountains,
there among the Aratt-Vahiks, no respectable person should dwell
even for two days. There are two Pishachas named Vahi and Hika in
the river Vipasha.
The
Vahiks are the offspring of those two Pishachas. (VIII.30.44) They
are not creatures created by the Creator. Being of such low origin,
how can they be conversant with the duties ordained in the scriptures?
The Karasakars, the Mahishaks, the Kalings, the Karkotaks, the
Atavis, the Viraks, and other peoples of no religion, one should
always avoid.' (VIII.30.45) Even thus did a Rakshash woman of gigantic
hips speak unto a brahman who on a certain occasion went to that
country for bathing in a sacred water and passed a single night
there. The regions are called by the name of Aratts. The people
residing there are called the Vahiks. (VIII.30.47) The lowest of
brahmans also are residing there from very remote times. They are
without the Ved and without knowledge, without sacrifice and without
the power to assist at other's sacrifices. They are all fallen and
many amongst them have been begotten by Shudras upon other peoples'
girls. The gods never accept any gifts from them. The Prasthalas,
the Madras, the Gandharas, the Aratts, those called Khasas, the
Vasatis, the Sindhus and the Sauvirs are almost as blamable in their
practices.'" (VIII.30.74)
Section 45
"'Karna continued, "Thou shouldst know all this, O Shalya.
I shall however, again speak unto thee. Listen with close attention
to what I say. Once on a time a brahman came to our house as a guest.
(VIII.30.49) Observing our practices he became highly gratified
and said unto us, 'I dwelt for a long time on a peak of the Himavat
quite alone. Since then I have seen diverse countries following
diverse religions. Never, however, have I seen all the people of
a country act unrighteously. All the races I have met will admit
that to be true religion which has been declared by persons conversant
with the Veds.
Travelling
through various countries following various religions, I at last,
O king, came among the Vahiks. (VIII.30.52) There I heard that one
at first becomes a brahman and then he becomes a kshatriya. Indeed,
a Vahik would, after that, become a Vaishya, and then a Shudra,
and then a barber (VIII.30.53). Having become a barber, he would
then again become a brahman. Returning to the status of a brahman,
he would again become a slave. One person in a family becomes a
brahman: all the others, falling off from virtue, act as they like.
The Gandhars, the Madraks, and the Vahiks of little understanding
are even such. (VIII.30.55) Having travelled through the whole world
I heard of these practices, destructive of virtue, of these sinful
irregularities amongst the Vahiks.' Thou shouldst know all this,
O Shalya. I shall, however, again speak to thee about those ugly
words that another said unto me regarding the Vahiks. (VIII.30.57)
In
former days a chaste woman was abducted by robbers (hailing) from
Aratt. Sinfully was she violated by them, upon which she cursed
them, saying, 'Since ye have sinfully violated a helpless girl who
am not without a husband, therefore, the women of your families
shall all become unchaste. Ye lowest of men, never shall ye escape
from the consequences of this dreadful sin.' It is for this, O Shalya,
that the sisters' sons of the Aratts, and not their own sons, become
their heirs. The Kauravs with the Panchals, the Salwas, the
Matsyas, the Naimishs, the Koshals, the Kasapaundras, the Kalings,
the Magadhs, (VIII.30.60) and the Chedis who are all highly blessed,
know what the eternal religion is. (VIII.30.61) The wicked even
of these various countries know what religion is. The Vahiks, however,
live without righteousness. Beginning with the Matsyas, the residents
of the Kuru and the Panchal countries, the Naimishs as well and
the other respectable peoples, (VIII.30.62) the pious among all
races are conversant with the eternal truths of religion. This cannot
be said of the Madraks and the crooked-hearted race that resides
in the country of the five rivers. Knowing all these things, O king,
hold thy tongue, O Shalya, like one deprived of utterance, in all
matters connected with religion and virtue. Thou art the protector
and king of that people, and, therefore, the partaker of sixth part
of their merits and demerits. Or perhaps, thou art the partaker
of a sixth part of their demerits only, for thou never protectest
them.
A
king that protects is a sharer in the merits of his subjects. Thou
art not a sharer in their merits. In days of yore, when the eternal
religion was reverenced in all countries, the Grandsire, observing
the practices of the country of the five rivers, cried fie on them.
When even in the krit age, Brahman had censured the practices of
those fallen people of evil deeds who were begotten by Shudras on
others' wives, what would you now say to men in the world? Even
thus did the Grandsire condemn the practices of the country of the
five waters. When all people were observant of the duties of their
respective orders, the Grandsire had to find fault with these men.
Thou shouldst know all this, O Shalya. I shall, however, again speak
to thee. A Rakshash of the name of Kalmashapad, while plunging in
a tank, said, 'Eleemosynation is a kshatriya's dirt, while the non-observance
of vows is a brahman's dirt. The Vahiks are the dirt of the Earth,
and the Madra women are the dirt of the whole female sex. While
sinking in the stream, a king rescued the Rakshash. Asked by the
former, the latter gave this answer. I will recite it to you. Listen
to me. 'The malechs are the dirt of mankind: the oilmen are the
dirt of the Malechs; eunuchs are the dirt of oilmen; they who avail
of the priestly ministrations of Kshatriyas, in their sacrifices,
are the dirt of eunuchs. The sin of those again that have the last-named
persons for their priests, of also of the Madraks, shall be thine
if thou do not abandon me.' Even this was declared by the Rakshash
to be the formula that should be used for curing a person possessed
by a Rakshash or one killed by the energy of a poison. The words
that follow are all very true.
The
Panchals observe the duties enjoined in the Veds; the Kauravs observe
truth; the Matsyas and the Sursens perform sacrifices, the Easterners
follow the practices of the Shudras; the Southerners are fallen;
the Vahiks are thieves; the Saurashtras are bastards. (VIII.30.73)
They
that are defiled by ingratitude, theft, drunkenness, adultery with
the wives of their preceptors, harshness of speech, slaughter of
kine, lustful wanderings during the night out of home, and the wearing
of other people's ornaments,--what sin is there that they do not
incur? Fie on the Aratts and the people of the country of the five
rivers! Commencing with the Panchals, the Kauravs, the Naimishs,
the Matsyas,--all these,--know what religion is. (VIII.30.75)
The
old men among the Northerners, the Angs, the Magadhs, (without themselves
knowing what virtue is) follow the practices of the pious. Many
gods, headed by Agni, dwell in the East. The pitris dwell in the
South that is presided over by Yam of righteous deeds. The West
is protected by the mighty Varun who overlooks the other gods there.
The north is protected by the divine Som along with the brahmans.
So Rakshasas and Pishacas protect the Himavat, the best of mountains.
The Guhyakas, O great king, protect the mountains of Gandhamadan.
Without doubt, Vishnu, otherwise, called Janardan, protects all
creatures. (For all that the Vahiks have no especial protectors
among the gods). The Magadhs are comprehenders of signs; the
Koshals comprehend from what they see; the Kurus and the Panchals
comprehend from a half-uttered speech; the Salwas cannot comprehend
till the whole speech is uttered. The Mountaineers, like the Sivis,
are very stupid. The Yavans, O king, are omniscient; the Surs are
particularly so. The malechs are wedded to the creations of their
own fancy. Other peoples cannot understand. The Vahiks resent
beneficial counsels; as regards the Madraks there are none amongst
those (mentioned above.) (VIII.30.81) Thou, O Shalya, art so. Thou
shouldst not reply to me. The Madraks are regarded on Earth as
the dirt of every nation. So the Madra woman is called the dirt
of the whole female sex. They that have for their practices the
drinking of spirits, the violation of the beds of their preceptors,
the destruction of the embryo by procuring miscarriage, and the
robbing of other people's wealth, there is no sin that they have
not. Fie on the Aratts and the people of the country of the five
rivers. Knowing this, be silent. Do not seek to oppose me. Do
not let me slay Keshav and Arjun, having slain thee first.'"
"'Shalya
said, "The abandonment of the afflicted and the sale of wives
and children are, O Karna, prevalent amongst the Angs whose king
thou art. Recollecting those faults of thine that Bhishma recited
on the occasion of the tale of Raths and Atiraths, drive away thy
wrath. Do not be angry. brahmans may be found everywhere; Kshatriyas
may be found everywhere; so also Vaishyas and Shudras, O Karna,
women of chastity and excellent vows may also be found everywhere.
Everywhere men take delight in jesting with men and wounding one
another. Lustful men also may be found everywhere. Everyone on every
occasion can command skill in speaking of the faults of others.
No one, however, knows his own faults, or knowing them, feels shame.
Everywhere are kings devoted to their respective religions, and
employed in chastising the wicked. Everywhere may be found virtuous
men. It cannot be, O Karna, that all the people of a country are
sinful. There are men in many countries that surpass the very gods
by their behaviour.'"
"Sanjay
continued, 'Then king Duryodhan stopped Karna and Shalya (from going
on with their wordy warfare), addressing the son of Radha as a friend,
and beseeching Shalya with joined hands, Karna, O sire, was quieted
by thy son and forbore saying anything more. Shalya also then faced
the enemy. Then Radha's son, smiling, once more urged Shalya, saying,
"Proceed."'"
Source
:
https://www.jatland.com/
home/Karna_Parva/Mahabharat_
Book_VIII_Chapter_30
Reference
6 :
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