| 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 :
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.
Aratt
is described as follows in Sumerian literature :
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"
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 :
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
:
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
:
Jat
clans :
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 :
In
Mahavansh :
In
Sumerian History :
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 :
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 :
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/
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.
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/
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
:
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).
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.
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).
In volume III of his translation, on p. 1235, Kashikar translates the relevant sentences of the text as follows-
This is again a straightforward translation of the passage in accordance with the rules of Sanskrit grammar.
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.).
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
"…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)."
...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 Blažek 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 Blažek, 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 Blažek 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).
Conclusion
:
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/
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/
Reference 5 :
Karna Parv / Mahabharat Book VIII Chapter 30 :
Mentions
the tribes who are not followers of Brahmanism
"'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 :
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Reference 6 :
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