al-Biruni • Kitab al-Hind
On Chronology, Astronomy and Related Subjects
CHAPTER 32
ON THE NOTIONS OF DURATION AND TIME IN GENERAL, AND ON THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND ITS DESTRUCTION
[i.319] ACCORDING to the relation of Muhammad Ibn Zakariyyā al-Rāzī, the most ancient philosophers of the Greeks thought that the following five things existed from all eternity: the Creator, the Universal Soul, the First Hylē (u(/lh, 'Matter in the abstract'), Space in the abstract, and Time in the abstract. On these things al-Rāzī has founded that theory of his, which is at the bottom of his whole philosophy. Further, he distinguishes between Time and Duration in so far as number applies to the former, not to the latter; for a thing that can be numbered is finite, while Duration is infinite. Similarly, philosophers have explained Time as Duration with a beginning and an end, and Eternity as Duration without beginning and end.
According to al-Rāzī, those five things are necessary postulates of the actually existing world. For that which the Senses perceive in it is the Hylē acquiring shape by means of combination. Besides, the Hylē occupies some place, and therefore we must admit the existence of Space. The changes apparent in the World of Sense compel us to assume the existence of Time, for some of them are earlier, others later, and the before and the afterwards, the earlier and the later, and the simultaneous can only be perceived by means of the [i.320] notion of Time, which is a necessary postulate of the existing world.
Further, there are living beings in the existing world. Therefore we must assume the existence of the Soul. Among these living beings there are intelligent ones, capable of carrying the arts to the highest perfection; and this compels us to assume the existence of a Creator, who is wise and intelligent, who establishes and arranges everything in the best possible manner, and inspires people with the force of Intelligence for the purpose of Liberation.
On the other hand, some sophists consider Eternity and Time as one and the same thing, and declare the Motion that serves to measure Time alone to be finite.
Another one declares Eternity to be the circular motion. No doubt this Motion is indissolubly connected with that being which moves by it, and which is of the most sublime Nature, since it lasts forever. Thereupon he rises in his argumentation from the moving being to its mover, and from the moving mover to the first mover who is motionless.
This kind of research is very subtle and obscure. But for this, the opinions would not differ to such an extent that some people declare that there is no Time at all, while others declare that Time is an independent substance. According to Alexander of Aphrodisias, Aristotle gives in his Physics Lecture (fusikh\ a)kro/asij) the following argumentation: "Everything moving is moved by a mover"; and Galen says on the same subject that he could not understand the notion of Time, much less prove it.
The theory of the Hindus on this subject is rather poor in thought and very little developed. Varahamihira says in the opening of his book Saṁhitā, when speaking of that which existed from all eternity:
It has been said in the ancient books that the first primaeval thing was Darkness, which is not identical [i.321] with the black color, but a kind of Non-Existence like the state of a sleeping person. Then God created this world for Brahman as a cupola for him. He made it to consist of two parts, a higher and a lower one, and placed the Sun and Moon in it.
Kapila declares:
God has always existed, and with him the world, with all its substances and bodies. He, however, is a Cause to the world, and rises by the subtlety of his Nature above the gross nature of the world.
Kumbhaka says:
The primaeval One is Mahābhūta ('Five Elements'). Some declare that the primaeval thing is Time, others Nature, and still others maintain that the director is Karman ('Action').
In the book Vishṇu-Dharma, Yajra speaks to Markaṇḍeya, "Explain Time to me," whereupon the latter answers, "Duration is Ātmapurusha" (i.e. 'Breath,' and Purusha, 'Lord of the Universe,' 'Soul'). Thereupon, he commenced explaining to him the divisions of Time and their dominants, just as we have propounded these things in detail in the proper chapters.
The Hindus have divided Duration into two periods, aperiod of motion, which has been determined as Time, and a period of rest, which can be determined only in an imaginary way according to the analogy of that which has first been determined, the period of motion. The Hindus hold the Eternity of the Creator to be determinable, not measurable, since it is infinite. We, however, cannot refrain from remarking that it is extremely difficult to imagine a thing that is determinable but not measurable, and that the whole idea is very far-fetched. We shall here communicate so much as will suffice for the reader of the opinions of the Hindus on this subject, as far as we know them.
The common notion of the Hindus regarding creation is a popular one, for, as we have already mentioned, they believe Matter to be eternal. Therefore, they do [i.322] not, by the word Creation, understand 'a formation something out of nothing.' They mean by Creation only the working with a piece of clay, working out various combinations and figures in it, and making such arrangements with it as will lead to certain ends and aims which are potentially in it. For this reason they attribute the Creation to angels and demons, nay, even to human beings, who create either because they carry out some legal obligation which afterwards proves beneficial for the Creation, or because they intend to allay their passions after having become envious and ambitious. So, for instance, they relate that Viśvāmitra, the ṛishi, created the buffaloes for this purpose, that mankind should enjoy all the good and useful things that they afford. All this reminds one of the words of Plato in the book Timaeus:
The theoi ('gods') who, according to an order of their Father, carried out the creation of Man, took an immortal Soul and made it the beginning; thereupon they fashioned like a turner a mortal Body upon it.
Here in this context we meet with a duration of Time that Muslim authors, following the example of the Hindus, call the Years of the World. People think that at their beginnings and endings Creation and Destruction take place as kinds of new formations. This, however, is not the belief of the people at large. According to them, this Duration is a Day of Brahman and a consecutive Night of Brahman; for Brahman is entrusted with creating. Further, the Coming into Existence is a motion in that which grows out of something different from itself, and the most apparent of the causes of this motion are the meteoric motors ('stars'). These, however, will never exercise regular influences on the world below them unless they move and change their shapes in every direction (their 'aspects'). Therefore the Coming into Existence is limited to the Day of Brahman, because in it only, as the [i.323] Hindus believe, the stars are moving and their spheres revolving according to their pre-established order, and in consequence the process of Coming into Existence is developed on the surface of the Earth without any interruption.
On the contrary, during the Night of Brahman, the spheres rest from their motions, and all the stars, as well as their apsides and nodes, stand still in one particular place.
In consequence all the affairs of the Earth are in one and the same unchanging condition, therefore the Coming into Existence has ceased, because he who makes things come into existence rests. So both the processes of acting and of being acted upon are suspended; the Elements rest from entering into new metamorphoses and combinations, as they rest now
...lacuna...
and they prepare themselves to belong to new beings, which will come into existence on the following Day of Brahman.
In this way Existence circulates during the Life of Brahman, a subject that we shall propound in its proper place.
According to these notions of the Hindus, Creation and Destruction only refer to the surface of the Earth, the author. By such a Creation, not one piece of clay comes into existence that did not exist before, and by such a Destruction not one piece of clay which exists ceases to exist. It is quite impossible that the Hindus should have the notion of a Creation as long as they believe that Matter existed from all eternity.
The Hindus represent to their common people the two Durations here mentioned-the Day of Brahman the Night of Brahman-as his waking and sleeping; and we do not disapprove of these terms, as they denote something which has a beginning and end. Further, the whole of the Life of Brahman, consisting of a suc [i.324]cession of motion and rest in the world during such a period, is considered as applying only to Existence, not to Non-Existence, since during it the piece of clay exists and, besides, also its shape. The Life of Brahman is only a day for that being above him, Purusha ('Lord of the Universe,' compare chapter 35). When he dies all compounds are dissolved during his Night, and in consequence of the annihilation of the compounds, that also is suspended which kept him (Brahman) within the Laws of Nature. This, then, is the Night (or 'Rest') of Purusha, and of all that is under his control (lit. 'and of his vehicles').
When common people describe these things, they make the Night of Brahman follow after the Night of Purusha; and as Purusha is the name for Man (or 'Soul'), they attribute to him sleeping and waking. They derive destruction from his snoring, in consequence of which all things that hang together break asunder, and everything standing is drowned in the sweat of his forehead. And more of the like they produce, things that the mind declines to accept and the ear refuses to hear.
Therefore the educated Hindus do not share these opinions (regarding the waking and sleeping of Brahman), for they know the real nature of sleep. They know that the Body, a compound of antipathetic humores, requires sleep for the purpose of resting, and for this purpose that all which Nature requires, after being wasted, should be duly replaced. So, in consequence of the constant dissolution, the Body requires food in order to replace that which had been lost by emaciation. Further, it requires cohabitation for the purpose of perpetuating the species by the Body, as without cohabitation the species would die out. Besides, the Body requires other things, evil but necessary, while simple substances can dispense with them, as also He can who is above them, like to whom there is nothing.
[i.325] Further, the Hindus maintain that the world will perish in consequence of the conjunction of the Twelve Suns, which appear one after the other in the different months, ruining the Earth by burning and calcining it, and by withering and drying up all moist substances. Further, the world perishes in consequence of the union of the Four Rains that now come down in the different seasons of the year; that which has been calcined attracts the water and is thereby dissolved. Lastly, the world perishes by the cessation of light and by the prevalence of Darkness and Non-Existence. By all this the world will be dissolved into atoms and be scattered.
The Matsya-Purāṇa says that the fire which burns the world has come out of the water; that until then it dwelt on Mount Mahisha in the Kusha-dvīpa, and was called by the name of this mountain.
The Vishṇu-Purāṇa says that:
Mahar-loka lies above the pole, and that the duration of the stay there is one kalpa. When the three worlds burn, the fire and smoke injure the inhabitants, and then they rise and emigrate to Jana-loka, the dwelling-place of the sons of Brahman, who preceded creation-Sanaka, Sananda, Sanandanāda (?), Asuras, Kapila, Voḍhu, and Pañcaśikha.
The context of these passages makes it clear that this destruction of the world takes place at the end of a kalpa, and hence is derived the theory of Abū-Maᴄshar that a deluge takes place at the conjunction of the planets, because, in fact, they stand in conjunction at the end of each Catur-yuga and at the beginning of each Kali-yuga. If this conjunction is not a complete one, the deluge, too, will evidently not attain the highest degree of its destructive power. The farther we advance in the investigation of these subjects, the more light will be shed on all ideas of this kind, and the better the reader will understand all words and terms occurring in this context.
[i.326] Al-Irānshahrī records a tradition, as representing the belief of the Buddhists, which much resembles the silly tales just mentioned.
On the sides of Mount Meru there are Four Worlds, which are alternately civilized or desert. A world becomes desert when it is overpowered by the fire, in consequence of the rising of Seven Suns, one after the other, over it, when the water of the fountains dries up, and the burning fire becomes so strong as to penetrate into the world. A world becomes civilized when the fire leaves it and migrates to another world; after it has left, a strong wind rises in the world, drives the clouds, and makes them rain, so that the world becomes like an ocean. Out of its foam shells are produced, with which the souls are connected, and out of these human beings originate when the water has sunk into the ground. Some Buddhists think that a man comes by accident from the perishing world to the growing world. Since he feels unhappy on account of his being alone, out of his thought there arises a spouse, and from this couple generation commences.
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
A DESCRIPTION OF THE FOUR YUGAS, AND OF ALL THAT IS EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE AT THE END OF THE FOURTH YUGA
[i.378] THE ancient Greeks held regarding the Earth various opinions, of which we shall relate one for the sake of an example.
The disasters that from time to time befall the Earth, both from above and from below, differ in quality and quantity. Frequently it has experienced one so incommensurable in quality or in quantity, or in both together, that there was no remedy against it, and that no flight or caution was of any avail. The catastrophe comes on like a deluge or an earthquake, bringing destruction either by the breaking in of the surface, or by drowning with water which breaks forth, or by burning with hot stones and ashes that are thrown out, by thunderstorms, by landslips, and typhoons; further, by contagious and other diseases, by pestilence, and more of the like. Thereby a large region is stripped of its inhabitants; but when after a while, after the disaster and its consequences have passed away, the country begins to recover and to show new signs of life, then different people flock there together like wild animals, who formerly were dwelling in hiding-holes and on the tops of the mountains. They become civilized by assisting each other against common foes, wild beasts or men, and furthering each other in the hope for a life in safety and joy. Thus they increase [i.379] to great numbers; but then ambition, circling round them with the wings of wrath and envy, begins to disturb the serene bliss of their life.
Sometimes a nation of such a kind derives its pedigree from a person who first settled in the place or distinguished himself by something or other, so that he alone continues to live in the recollection of the succeeding generations, while all others beside him are forgotten. Plato mentions in the Laws that Zeus (i.e. Jupiter) is the forefather of the Greeks, and to Zeus is traced back the pedigree of Hippocrates, which is mentioned in the last chapters added at the end of the book. We must, however, observe that the pedigree contains only very few generations, not more than fourteen. It is the following: Hippokrates, Gnosidicus, Nebrus, Sostratus, Theodores, Kleomyttades, Krisamis, Dardanas, Sostratus, ARABIC (?), Hippolochus, Podaleirius, Machaon, Asclepius, Apollo, Zeus, Cronus (i.e. Saturn).
The Hindus have similar traditions regarding the Hindu Catur-yuga, for according to them, at the beginning of it (i.e. at the beginning of Kṛita-yuga), there was happiness and safety, fertility and abundance, health and force, ample knowledge and a great number of Brāhmaṇs. The good is complete in this age, like four-fourths of a whole, and life lasted 4000 years alike for all beings during this whole space of time.
Thereupon things began to decrease and to be mixed with opposite elements to such a degree, that at the beginning of Treta-yuga the good was thrice as much as the invading bad, and that bliss was three-quarters of the whole. There were a greater number of Kshatriyas than of Brāhmaṇs, and life had the same length as in the preceding age. So it is represented by the Vishṇu-Dharma , while analogy requires that it should be shorter by the same amount than bliss is smaller, i.e. by one-fourth. In this age, when offering to the fire, [i.380] they begin to kill animals and to tear off plants, practices which before were unknown.
Thus the evil increases until, at the beginning of Dvapara, evil and good exist in equal proportions, and likewise bliss and misfortune. The climates begin to differ, there is much killing going on, and the religions become different. Life becomes shorter, and lasts only 400 years, according to the Vishṇu-Dharma. At the beginning of Tishya (i.e. Kali-yuga), evil is thrice as much as the remaining good.
The Hindus have several well-known traditions of events that are said to have occurred in the Tretā- and Dvāpara-yuga. For example, the story of Rāma, who killed Ravaṇa; that of Paraśurāma the Brāhmaṇ, who killed every Kshatriya he laid hold upon, revenging on them the death of his father. They think that he lives in Heaven, that he has already twenty-one times appeared on Earth, and that he will again appear. Further, the story of the war of the children of Pāṇḍu with those of Kuru.
In the Kali-yuga evil increases, until at last it results in the destruction of all good. At that time the inhabitants of the Earth perish, and a new race rises out of those who are scattered through the mountains and hide themselves in caves, uniting for the purpose of worshipping and flying from the horrid, demonic human race. Therefore this age is called Kṛita-yuga, which means "Being ready for going away after having finished the work."
In the story of Śaunaka, which Venus received from Brahman, God speaks to him in the following words:
When the Kali-yuga comes, I send Buddhodana, the son of Śuddhodana the pious, to spread the good in the creation. But then the Muḥammira ('the red-wearing ones'), who derive their origin from him, will change everything that he has brought, and the dignity of the Brāhmaṇs will be gone to such a degree that a Śūdra, their servant, will be impudent towards them, and that [i.381] a Śūdra and Caṇḍāla will share with them the presents and offerings. Men will entirely be occupied with gathering wealth by crimes, with hoarding up, not refraining from committing horrid and sinful crimes. All this will result in a rebellion of the small ones against the great ones, of the children against their parents, of the servants against their masters. The castes will be in uproar against each other, the genealogies will become confused, the four castes will be abolished, and there will be many religions and sects. Many books will be composed, and the communities that formerly were united will on account of them be dissolved into single individuals. The temples will be destroyed and the schools will lie waste. Justice will be gone, and the kings will not know anything but oppression and spoliation, robbing and destroying, as if they wanted to devour the people, foolishly indulging in far-reaching hopes, and not considering how short life is in comparison with the sins (for which they have to atone). The more the mind of people is depraved, the more will pestilential diseases be prevalent. Lastly, people maintain that most of the astrological rules obtained in that age are void and false.
These ideas have been adopted by Mānī, for he says:
Know ye that the affairs of the world have been changed and altered; also priesthood has been changed since the sphaerae (sfai=rai, 'spheres') of heaven have been changed, and the priest can no longer acquire such a knowledge of the stars in the circle of a sphere as their fathers were able to acquire. They lead mankind astray by fraud. What they prophesy may by chance happen, but frequently it does not happen.
The description of these things in the Vishṇu-Dharma is much more copious than we have given it. People will be ignorant of what is reward and punishment; they will deny that the angels have absolute knowledge. Their lives will be of different length, and none [i.382] of them will know how long it is. The one will die as an embryo, the other as a baby or child. The pious will be torn away and will not have a long life, but he who does evil and denies religion will live longer. Śūdras will be kings, and will be like rapacious wolves, robbing the others of all that pleases them. The doings of the Brāhmaṇs will be of the same kind, but the majority will be Śūdras and brigands. The laws of the Brāhmaṇs will be abolished. People will point with their fingers at those who worry themselves with the practice of frugality and poverty as a curiosity, will despise them, and will wonder at a man worshipping Vishṇu; for all of them have become of the same (wicked) character. Therefore any wish will soon be granted, little merit receive great reward, and honor and dignity be obtained by little worship and service.
But finally, at the end of the yuga, when the evil will have reached its highest pitch, there will come forward Garga, the son of J-Ś-V (?) the Brahman (i.e. Kali) after whom this yuga is called, gifted with an irresistible force, and more skilled in the use of any weapon than any other. Then he draws his sword to make good all that has become bad; he cleans the surface of the Earth of the impurity of people and clears the Earth of them. He collects the pure and pious ones for the purpose of procreation. Then the Kṛita-yuga lies far behind them, and the Time and the World return to purity, and to absolute good and to bliss.
This is the nature of the yugas as they circle round through the Catur-yuga.
The book Caraka, as quoted by ᴄAli Ibn Zain of Ṭabaristan, says:
In primaeval times the Earth was always fertile and healthy, and the Mahābhūta ('Elements') were equally mixed. Men lived with each other in harmony and love, without any lust and ambition, hatred and envy, without anything that makes Soul and Body ill. But then came envy, and lust followed. [i.383] Driven by lust, they strove to hoard up, which was difficult to some, easy to others. All kinds of thoughts, labors, and cares followed, and resulted in war, deceit, and lying. The hearts of men were hardened, their natures were altered and became exposed to diseases, which seized hold of men and made them neglect the worship of God and the furtherance of science. Ignorance became deeply rooted, and the calamity became great. Then the pious met before their anchorite Kṛiśa (?) the son of Ātreya, and deliberated; whereupon the sage ascended the mountain and threw himself on the earth. Thereafter God taught him the science of medicine.
All this much resembles the traditions of the Greeks, which we have related (in another place). For Aratus says in his Phaenomena, and in his intimations referring to the seventh zodiacal sign:
Look under the feet of the Herdsman (al-ᴄAwwā) among the northern figures, and you see the Virgin coming with a blooming ear of grain in her hand (al-Simāk al-ᴐA ᴄzal). She belongs either to the Star-Race, which are said to be the forefathers of the ancient stars, or she was procreated by another race that we do not know. People say that in primaeval times she lived among mankind, but only among women, not visible to men, being called Justice. She used to unite the aged men and those who stood in the marketplaces and in the streets, and exhorted them with a loud voice to adhere to the truth. She presented mankind with innumerable wealth and bestowed rights upon them. At that time the Earth was called Golden. None of its inhabitants knew pernicious hypocrisy in deed or word, and there was no objectionable schism among them. They lived a quiet life, and did not yet navigate the sea in ships. The cows afforded the necessary sustenance.
Afterwards, when the Golden Race had expired and the Silver Race come on, Virgo mixed with them, but [i.384] without being happy, and concealed herself in the mountains, having no longer intercourse with the women as formerly. Then she went to the large towns, warned their inhabitants, scolded them for their evil doings, and blamed them for ruining the race that the Golden Fathers had left behind. She foretold them that there would come a race still worse than they, and that wars, bloodshed, and other great disasters would follow.
After having finished, she disappeared into the mountains until the Silver Race expired and a Bronze Race came up. People invented the sword, the doer of evil; they tasted of the meat of cows, the first who did it. By all this their neighborhood became odious to Justice, and she flew away to the sphere.
The commentator of the book of Aratus says:
This Virgin is the daughter of Zeus. She spoke to the people on the public places and streets, and at that time they were obedient to their rulers, not knowing the bad or discord. Without any altercation or envy they lived from agriculture, and did not travel on sea for the sake of commerce nor for the lust of plunder. Their nature was as pure as gold.
But when they gave up these manners and no longer adhered to truth, Justice no longer had intercourse with them but, dwelling in the mountains, she observed them. When, however, she came to their meetings, though unwillingly, she threatened them, for they listened in silence to her words, and therefore she no longer appeared to those who called her, as she had formerly done.
When, then, after the Silver Race, the Bronze Race came up, when wars followed each other and the evil spread in the world, she started off, for she wanted on no account to stay with them, and hated them, and went towards the Sphere.
There are many traditions regarding this Justice. [i.385] According to some, she is Demeter, because she has the ear of grain; according to others, she is Tychē ('Fate' or 'Fortune').
This is what Aratus says.
The following occurs in the third book of the Laws of Plato:
The Athenian said: "There have been deluges, diseases, disasters on Earth, from which none has been saved but herdsmen and mountaineers, as the remnants of a race not practiced in deceit and in the love of power.
The Knossian said: "At the beginning men loved each other sincerely, feeling lonely in the desert of the world, and because the world had sufficient room for all of them, and did not compel them to any exertion. There was no poverty among them, no possession, no contract. There was no greed among them, and neither silver nor gold. There were no rich people among them and no poor. If we found any of their books, they would afford us numerous proofs for all this."
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
CHAPTER 46
CHAPTER 47
ON VĀSUDEVA AND THE WARS OF THE BHĀRATA[i.400] THE life of the world depends upon sowing and procreating. Both processes increase in the course of time, and this increase is unlimited, while the world is limited.
When a class of plants or animals does not increase any more in its structure, and its peculiar kind is established as a species of its own, when each individual of it does not simply come into existence once and perish, but besides procreates a being like itself or several together, and not only once but several times, then this will as a single species of plants or animals occupy the Earth and spread itself and its kind over as much territory as it can find.
The agriculturist selects his grain, letting grow as much as he requires, and tearing out the remainder. The forester leaves those branches that he perceives to be excellent, while he cuts away all others. The bees kill those of their kind who only eat, but do not work in their beehive.
Nature proceeds in a similar way; however, it does not distinguish, for its action is under all circumstances one and the same. It allows the leaves and fruit of the trees to perish, thus preventing them from realizing that result which they are intended to produce in the economy of Nature. It removes them so as to make room for others.
If thus the Earth is ruined, or is near to be ruined, [i.401] by having too many inhabitants, its ruler-for it has a ruler, and his all-embracing care is apparent in every single particle of it-sends it a messenger for the purpose of reducing the too great number and of cutting away all that is evil.
A messenger of this kind is, according to the belief of the Hindus, Vāsudēva, who was sent the last time in human shape (being called Vāsudēva).
It was a time when the giants were numerous on Earth and the Earth was full of their oppression; it tottered, being hardly able to bear the whole number of them, and it trembled from the vehemence of their treading. Then there was born a child in the city of Mathurā to Vāsudēva by the sister of Kaṁsa, at that time ruler of the town. They were a Jatt family, cattle-owners, low Śūdra people. Kaṁsa had learned, by a voice which he heard at the wedding of his sister, that he would perish at the hands of her child; therefore he appointed people who were to bring him every child of hers as soon as she gave birth to it, and he killed all her children, both male and female. Finally, she gave birth to Balabhadra, and Yaśodā, the wife of the herdsman Nanda, took the child to herself, and managed to keep it concealed from the spies of Kaṁsa. Thereupon she became pregnant an eighth time, and gave birth to Vāsudēva in a rainy night of the eighth day of the black half of the month Bhādrapada, while the Moon was ascending in the station Rohiṇī. As the guards had fallen into deep sleep and neglected the watch, the father stole the child and brought it to Nandakula ('the stable of the cows of Nanda'), the husband of Yaśodā, near Mathurā, but separated from this place by the river Yamunā. Vāsudēva exchanged the child for a daughter of Nanda, which happened to be born at the moment when Vāsudēva arrived with the boy. He brought this female child to the guards instead of his son. Kaṁsa, the [i.402] ruler, wanted to kill the child, but she flew up into the air and disappeared.
Vāsudēva grew up under the care of his fostermother Yaśodā without her knowing that he had been exchanged for her daughter, but Kaṁsa got some inkling of the matter. Now he tried to get the child into his power by cunning plans, but all of them turned out against him. Lastly, Kaṁsa demanded from his parents that they should send him (Vāsudēva) to wrestle in his (Kaṁsa's) presence. Now Vāsudēva began to behave overbearingly towards everybody. On the road he had already roused the wrath of his aunt by hurting a serpent that had been appointed to watch over the lotus flowers of a pond, for he had drawn a cord through its nostrils like a bridle. Further, he had killed his fuller, because the latter had refused to lend him clothes for the wrestling. He had robbed the girl who accompanied him of the sandalwood with which she was ordered to anoint the wrestlers. Lastly, he had killed the rutting elephant which was provided for the purpose of killing him before the door of Kaṁsa. All this heightened the wrath of Kaṁsa to such a degree, that his bile burst, and he died on the spot. Then Vāsudēva, his sister's son, ruled in his stead.
Vāsudēva has a special name in each month. His followers begin the months with Mārgaśīrsha, and each month they begin with the eleventh day, because on this day Vāsudēva appeared.
The following table contains the names of Vāsudēva in the months:
[i.403]
|
Months |
Names of Vāsudēva |
|
Mārgaśīrsha |
Keśava |
|
Pausha |
Nārāyaṇa |
|
Māgha |
Mādhava |
|
Phālguna |
Grovinda |
|
Caitra |
Vishṇu |
|
Vaiśākha |
Madhusūdana |
|
Jyaishṭha |
Trivikrama |
|
Āshāḍha |
Vāmana |
|
Śrāvaṇa |
Śrīdhara |
|
Bhādrapada |
Hṛishīkeśa |
|
Āśvayuja |
Padmanābhi |
|
Kārttika |
Dāmodara |
Now the brother-in-law of the deceased Kaṁsa became angry, went rapidly to Mathurā, took possession of the realm of Vāsudēva, and banished him to the Ocean. Then there appeared near the coast a golden castle called Barodā, and Vāsudēva made it his residence.
The children of Kaurava (i.e. Dhṛitarāshṭra) had the charge of their cousins (the children of Pāṇḍu). Dhṛitarāshṭra received them and played dice with them, the last stake being their whole property. They lost more and more, until he laid upon them the obligation of expatriation for more than ten years, and of concealment in the remotest part of the country, where nobody knew them. If they did not keep this engagement they would be bound to return into banishment for a like number of years. This engagement was carried out, but finally came the time of their coming forward for battle. Now each party began to assemble their whole number and to sue for allies, until at last nearly innumerable hosts had gathered in the plain of Tāneshar. There were eighteen akshauhiṇī ('hosts,' each consisting of ca.500,000 troops). Each party tried to gain Vāsudēva as ally, whereupon he offered either himself or his brother Balabhadra together with an army. But the children of Pāṇḍu preferred him. They were five men-Yudhishṭhira, their leader, Arjuna, the bravest of them, Saha-dēva, Bhīmasena, and Nakula. They had seven akshauhiṇī, while their enemies were [i.404] much stronger. But for the cunning devices of Yāsu-dēva and his teaching them whereby they might gain victory, they would have been in a less favorable situation than their enemies. But now they conquered; all those hosts were destroyed, and none remained except the five brothers. Thereafter Vāsudēva returned to his residence and died, together with his family, who were called Yādava. Also the five brothers died before the year had reached its end, at the end of those wars.
Vāsudēva had concerted with Arjuna the arrangement that they would consider the quivering of the left arm or left eye as a mysterious intimation that there was something happening to him; At that time there lived a pious ṛishi called Durvāsas. Now the brothers and relations of Vāsudēva were a rather malicious, inconsiderate set of people. One of them hid under his coat a new frying-pan, went to the anchorite, and asked him what would be the result of his pregnancy, jeering at the pious man. The latter said, "In thy belly there is something which will be the cause of thy death and that of thy whole clan." When Vāsudēva heard this he became sorry, because he knew that these words would be fulfilled. He gave orders that the pan should be filed away and be thrown into the water. This was done. There was only a small part of it left, which the artisan who had done the filing considered as insignificant. Therefore he threw it, as it was, into the water. A fish devoured it; the fish was caught, and the fisherman found it in its belly. He thought it would be a good tip for his arrow.
When the predestined time came, Vāsudēva rested on the coast under the shadow of a tree, one of his feet being crossed over the other; the fisherman took him for a gazelle, shot at him, and hit his right foot. This wound became the cause of the death of Vāsudēva. At the same time the left side of Arjuna began to quiver, [i.405] and then his arm. Now his brother Saha -dēva gave orders that he should never any more embrace anybody, that he might not be bereft of his strength (?). Arjuna went to Vāsudēva, but could not embrace him on account of the state in which he was. Vāsudēva ordered his bow to be brought, and handed it over to Arjuna, who tried his strength at it. Vāsudēva ordered him to burn his body and the bodies of his relations when they had died, and to bring away his wives from the castle, and then he died.
Out of the filings or bits of iron that had fallen off when the pan was filed, a bardī bush had grown. To this there came the Yādavas, who tied together some bundles of its twigs to sit upon. While they were drinking there arose a quarrel between them; they beat each other with the bardī bundles, and killed each other. All this happened near the mouth of the river Sarsatī, where it flows into the sea, near the situation of Somanāth.
Arjuna had done all he had been ordered by Vāsudēva. When he brought away the women, they were suddenly attacked by robbers. When, now, Arjuna was no longer able to bend his bow, he felt that his strength was going. He whirled the bow in a circle above his head, and all who stood under the bow were saved, while the others were seized by the robbers. Now Arjuna and his brothers saw that life was no more of any use to them, therefore they emigrated to the north and entered the mountains, the snow of which never melts. The cold killed them one after the other, until at last only Yudhishṭhira remained. He obtained the distinction of being admitted to paradise, but before that he was to pass through Hell in consequence of the sole lie that he had spoken in his life, at the request of his brothers and of Vāsudēva. These were the words that he had spoken within hearing of the Brāhmaṇ Droṇa: "Aśvatthāman, the elephant, has died." He [i.406] had made a pause between "Aśvatthāman" and "the elephant," by which he had led Droṇa to believe that he meant his son. Yudhishṭhira spoke to the angels: "If this must be, may my intercession be accepted on behalf of the people in Hell; may they be freed from it." After this desire of his had been granted, he went into paradise.
CHAPTER 48
CHAPTER 49
CHAPTER 50
CHAPTER 51
CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER 53
CHAPTER 54
CHAPTER 55
CHAPTER 56
CHAPTER 57
CHAPTER 58
HOW EBB AND FLOW FOLLOW EACH OTHER IN THE OCEAN
[ii.101] WITH regard to the cause why the water of the Ocean always remains as it is, we quote the following passage from the Matsya-Purāṇa:
At the beginning there were sixteen mountains, which had wings and could fly and rise up into the air. However, the rays of Indra, the Ruler, burned their wings, so that they fell down, deprived of them, somewhere about the Ocean, four of them in each point of the compass-in the east, Ṛishabha, Balāhaka, Cakra, Maināka; in the north, Candra, Kaṅka, Droṇa, Suhma; in the west, Vakra, Vadhra, Nārada, Parvata; in the south, Jīmūta, Draviṇa, Maināka; Mahāśaila (?). Between the third and the fourth of the eastern mountains there is the Fire, Saṁvartaka, which drinks the water of the Ocean. But for this the Ocean would fill up, since the rivers perpetually flow to it.
This Fire was the fire of one of their kings, called Aurva. He had inherited the realm from his father, who was killed while he was still an embryo. When he was born and grew up, and heard the history of his father, he became angry against the angels, and drew his sword to kill them, since they had neglected the guardianship of the world, notwithstanding mankind's worshipping them and notwithstanding their being in close contact with the world. Thereupon the angels humiliated themselves before him and tried to con[ii.102]ciliate him, so that he ceased from his wrath. Then he spoke to them: "But what am I to do with the Fire of my Wrath?" and they advised him to throw it into the Ocean. It is this Fire which absorbs the waters of the Ocean. Others say: "The water of the streams does not increase the Ocean, because Indra, the ruler, takes up the Ocean in the shape of the cloud, and sends it down as rains."
Again the Matsya-Purāṇa says:
The black part in the Moon, which is called Śaśalaksha ('Hare's Figure'), is the image of the figures of the above-mentioned sixteen mountains reflected by the light of the Moon on her body.
The Vishṇu-Dharma says:
The Moon is called Śaśalaksha, for the globe of her body is watery, reflecting the figure of the Earth as a mirror reflects. On the Earth there are mountains and trees of different shapes, which are reflected in the Moon as a 'Hare's Figure.' It is also called Mṛigalāñcana ('Gazelle's Figure') for certain people compare the black part on the Moon's face to the figure of a gazelle.
The lunar stations they declare to be the daughters of Prajāpati, to whom the Moon is married. He was especially attached to Rohiṇī, and preferred her to the others. Now her sisters, urged by jealousy, complained of him to their father Prajāpati. The latter strove to keep peace among them, and admonished him, but without any success. Then he cursed the Moon (Lunus), in consequence of which his face became leprous. Now the Moon repented of his doing, and came penitent to Prajāpati, who spoke to him: "My word is One, and cannot be cancelled; however, I shall cover thy shame for the half of each month." Thereupon the Moon spoke to Prajāpati: "But how shall the trace of the sin of the past be wiped off from me?" Prajāpati answered: "By erecting the shape of the liṅga of Mahādēva as an object of thy worship." This he did. The liṅga he [ii.103] raised was the Stone of Somanāth, for soma means 'Moon' and nātha means 'master,' so that the whole word means 'Master of the Moon.'
The image was destroyed by the Prince Maḥmūd (may God be merciful to him!) in A.H. 416 (ZZZ). He ordered the upper part to be broken and the remainder to be transported to his residence, Ghaznīn, with all its coverings and trappings of gold, jewels, and embroidered garments. Part of it has been thrown into the hippodrome of the town, together with the Cakrasvāmin, an idol of bronze that had been brought from Tāneshar. Another part of the idol from Somanāth lies before the door of the mosque of Ghaznīn, on which people rub their feet to clean them from dirt and wet.
The liṅga is an image of the penis of Mahādēva. I have heard the following story regarding it:
A ṛishi, on seeing Mahādēva with his wife, became suspicious of him, and cursed him that he should lose his penis. At once his penis dropped, and was as if wiped off. But afterwards the ṛishi was in a position to establish the signs of his innocence and to confirm them by the necessary proofs. The suspicion which had: "Verily, I shall recompense thee by making the image of the limb which thou hast lost the object of worship for men, who thereby will find the road to God, and come near him."
Varāhamihira says about the construction of the liṅga:
After having chosen a faultless stone for it, take it as long as the image is intended to be. Divide it into three parts. The lowest part of it is quadrangular, as if it were a cube or quadrangular column. The middle part is octagonal, its surface being divided by four pilasters. The upper third is round, rounded off so as to resemble the glans of a penis.
In erecting the figure, place the quadrangular third within the Earth, and for the octagonal third [ii.104] make a cover, which is called piṇḍa, quadrangular from without, but so as to fit also on the quadrangular third in the Earth. The octagonal form of the inner side is to fit on to the middle third, which projects out of the Earth. The round third alone remains without cover.
Brihatsaṁhitā 57.53-54
Further he says:
If you make the round part too small or too thin, it will hurt the country and bring about evil among the inhabitants of the regions who have constructed it. If it does not go deep enough down into the Earth, or if it projects too little out of the Earth, this causes people to fall ill. When it is in the course of construction, and is struck by a peg, the ruler and his family will perish. If on the transport it is hit, and the blow leaves a trace on it, the artist will perish, and destruction and diseases will spread in that country.
Brihatsaṁhitā 57.55
In the southwest of the Sindh country this idol is frequently met with in the houses destined for the worship of the Hindus, but Somanāth was the most famous of these places. Every day they brought there a jug of Ganges water and a basket of flowers from Kaśmīr. They believed that the liṅga of Somanāth would cure persons of every inveterate illness and heal every desperate and incurable disease.
The reason why in particular Somanāth has become so famous is that it was a harbor for seafaring people, and a station for those who went to and fro between Sufāla in the country of the Zanj ('Blacks,' i.e. the Zanzibar Coast) and China.
Now as regards ebb and flow in the Indian Ocean, of which the former is called bharṇa (?), the latter vuhara (?), we state that, according to the notions of the common Hindus, there is a Fire called Vaḍavānala in the Ocean, a fire which is always blazing. The flow is caused by the fire's drawing breath and its being blown up by the wind, and the ebb is caused by the fire's exhaling [ii.105] the breath and the cessation of its being blown up by the wind.
Mānī has come to a belief like this, after he had heard from the Hindus that there is a demon in the sea whose drawing breath and exhaling breath causes the flow and the ebb.
The educated Hindus determine the daily phases of the tides by the rising and setting of the Moon, the monthly phases by the increase and waning of the Moon; but the physical cause of both phenomena is not understood by them.
It is flow and ebb to which Somanāth owes its name ('Master of the Moon'); for the stone (or liṅga) of Somanāth was originally erected on the coast, a little less than three miles west of the mouth of the river Sarsutī, east of the Golden Fortress, Bārōi, which had appeared as a dwelling-place for Vāsudēva, not far from the place where he and his family were killed, and where they were burned. Each time when the Moon rises and sets, the water of the Ocean rises in the flood so as to cover the place in question. When, then, the Moon reaches the meridian of noon and midnight, the water recedes in the ebb, and the place becomes again visible. Thus the Moon was perpetually occupied in serving the idol and bathing it. Therefore the place was considered as sacred to the Moon. The fortress that contained the idol and its treasures was not ancient, but was built only about a hundred years ago.
The Vishṇu-Purāṇa says: "The greatest height of the water of the flow is 1500 digits." This statement seems rather exaggerated; for if the waves and the mean height of the Ocean rose to between sixty to seventy yards, the shores and the bays would be more overflown than has ever been witnessed. Still this is not entirely improbable, as it is not in itself impossible on account of some Law of Nature.
The fact that the just-mentioned fortress is said to [ii.106] have appeared out of the Ocean is not astonishing for that particular part of the Ocean; for the Dībajāt Islands (Maledives and Laccadives) originate in a similar manner, rising out of the Ocean as sand-dunes. They increase, and rise, and extend themselves, and remain in this condition for a certain time. Then they become decrepit as if from old age; the single parts become dissolved, no longer keep together, and disappear in the water as if melting away. The inhabitants of the islands quit that one which apparently dies away, and migrate to a young and fresh one that is about to rise above the Ocean. They take their coconut palms along with them, colonize the new island, and dwell on it.
That the fortress in question is called golden may only be a conventional epithet. Possibly, however, this object is to be taken literally, for the islands of the Zābaj are called Gold Island (Suvarṇa-dvīpa), because you obtain much gold as deposit if you wash only a little of the earth of that country.
CHAPTER 59
CHAPTER 60
CHAPTER 61
CHAPTER 62
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