down to us, being anxious to people the world, created Nárada addressed the sons of Daksha, for their destruction and his own: for the Muni Kaśyapa begot him as a son, who was the son of Brahmá, on the daughter of Daksha, through fear of the latter's imprecation. He was formerly the son of Parameshthin (Brahmá): and the excellent sage Kaśyapa next begot him, as if he were his father, on Asikní, the daughter of Vírana. Whilst he was engaged in beguiling the sons of the patriarch, Daksha, of resistless power, determined on his destruction. But he was solicited, by Brahmá, in the presence of the great sages; and it was agreed, between them, that Nárada, the son of Brahmá, should be born of a daughter of Daksha. Consequently, Daksha gave his daughter to Parameshthin; and, by her, was Nárada born.”_Now, several difficulties occur here. Asikni is the wife, not the daughter, of Daksha. But this may be a blunder of the compiler; for, in the parallel passage of the Váyu, no name occurs. In the next place, who is this daughter ? For, as we shall see, the progeny of all Daksha's daughters are fully detailed; and in no authority consulted is Nárada mentioned as the son of either of them, or as the son of Kaśyapa. Daksha, too, gives his daughter, not to Kaśyapa, but to Parameshthin or Brahmà. The commentator on the Hari Vamsa solves this by saying he gives दक्षस्य वै दुहितरि दक्षशापभयान्मुनिः । 1 sixty daughters of the daughter of Víraña;1 ten of whom he gave to Dharma, thirteen to Kasyapa, and her to Brahmá, for Kasyapa. The same bargain is noticed in the Vayu; but Nárada is also said, there, to be adopted by Kasyapa: fan: gwuâfa af: Again, however, it gives Daksha's imprecation in the same words as the Hari Vamsa; a passage, by the way, omitted in the Brahma: * नारद नाशमेहीति गर्भवासं वसेति च । 'Nárada, perish (in your present form); and take up your abode in the womb.' Whatever may be the original of this legend, it is, evidently, imperfectly given by the authorities here cited. The French translation of the passage in the Hari Vamsa† can scarcely be admitted as correct. Assuredly असिक्यामथ वैरण्यां भूयो देवर्षिसत्तमः । तं भूयो जनयामास पितेव मुनिपुङ्गवम् ॥ is not 'le Dévarchi Dakcha, époux d'Asiknî, fille de Virana, fut l'aïeul de cet illustre Mouni, ainsi régénéré.'; afdaan: is, more consistently, said, by the commentator, to mean Kasyapa. The Váyu Puráňa, in another part,—a description of the different orders of Rishis,-states that the Devarshis Parvata and Nárada were sons of Kasyapa: पर्वतो नारदश्चैव कश्यपस्यात्मजावुभौ । In the account of Kártavírya, in the Brahma Puráňa and Hari Vamsa, Nárada is introduced as a Gandharva, the son of Varidása; being the same, according to the commentator on the latter, as the Gandharva elsewhere called Upabarhana. The prior specification (p. 10) was fifty. The Mahábhárata, (Ádi Parvan, 113, aud, again, Moksha Dharma), has the same number. The Bhagavata, Kúrma, Padma, Linga, and Váyu Puránas state sixty. The former is, perhaps, the original; as the fullest and most consistent details relate to them and their posterity. * Harivamsa, 140. + Stanza 125. M. Langlois's Translation, Vol. I., p. 13. twenty-seven to Soma, four to Arishtanemi, two to Bahuputra, two to Angiras, and two to Kriśáśwa.* I will tell you their names. Arundhatí, Vasu, Yámí, † Lambá, Bhánu, Marutwatí, Sankalpá, Muhúrtá, Sádhyá, and Viśwá were the ten wives of Dharma,1 and bore him the following progeny. The sons of Viswá were 1 This is the usual list of Dharma's wives. The Bhagavata‡ substitutes Kakubh for Arundhati. The Padma Puráňa, Matsya Purána, and Hari Vamsa contain two different accounts of Daksha's descendants. The first agrees with our text: the second, which is supposed to occur in the Padma Kalpa, is somewhat varied, particularly as to the wives of Dharma, who are said to be five. The nomenclature varies, or: There is evident inaccuracy in all the copies; and the names may, in some instances, be erroneous. From the succeeding enumeration of their descendants, it appears that Káma was the son of Lakshmí; the Sádhyas, of Sádhyá; the Viswadevas, of Viswa; the Maruts, § of Marutwatí; and the Vasus, of Deví, who may be either the Saraswati, or Sávitrí, of the previous enumeration. * According to the Bhagavata-puráňa, VI., 6, 2, these sixty daughters were bestowed away as follows: Dharma had ten; Prajapati, twelve; Indu, twenty-seven; Bhúta, Angiras, and Kŕiśśśwa, two each; and Tárksha, the rest, namely, five. By Prajapati and Tárksha are meant Kasyapa, who, thus, had seventeen. Indu is the same as Soma. Several MSS. have Jámi; one has Jámi. VI., 6, 4. § Read "Marut wats". See my first note in the next page. the Viswadevas;1 and the Sádhyas,2 those of Sádhya. The Marutwats were the children of Marutwatí; the Vasus, of Vasu; the Bhánus (or suns), of Bhánu; and the deities presiding over moments,† of Muhúrtá. Ghosha was the son of Lambá (an arc of the heavens); Nágavíthí (the milky-way), the daughter The Viswadevas are a class of gods to whom sacrifices should be offered daily. Manu, III., 121.§ They are named in some of the Puránas, as the Váyu and Matsya: the former specifying ten; the latter, twelve. 2 The Sádhyas, according to the Váyu, are the personified rites and prayers of the Vedas, born of the metres, and partakers of the sacrifices: साध्या नाम महाभागा छन्दजा यज्ञभागिनः । The same work names twelve, which are, all, names of sacrifices and formulæ; as: Darśa, Paurnamása, Brihadaśwa, Rathantara, &c. The Matsya Puráňa, Padma Purána, and Hari Vamsa have a different set of seventeen appellations, apparently of arbitrary selection, as Bhava, Prabhava, Íśa, Aruni, &c.¶ * Professor Wilson had "Maruts or winds". The Marutwats, "attended by the winds", are the Indras. The mother of the Maruts was Diti. See Chapter XXI. ad finem. Called, in the original, Muhúrtajas. The Bhagavata-puráňa, VI., 6, 9, calls them Mauhúrtikas. † ? The larger commentary observes: नागवीथी । अश्विन्यादिनक्षत्रचयात्मक स्वर्गाध्वविशेषाभिमानिनी देवता तु शब्दाद्गजवीथ्यादीनामष्टानां संग्रहः । § सायं त्वन्नस्य सिद्धस्य पत्न्यमन्त्रं बलिं हरेत् । वैश्वदेवं हि नामैतत्सायं प्रातर्विधीयते ॥ The Márkandeya-purána, I., 7, 62, speaks of only five. "It would seem that, in Sáyana's day, the purport of the designation Sadhya had become uncertain. They are named amongst the minor divinities, in the Amara-kosa; and from Bharatamalla we learn that they were twelve in number, but no other peculiarity is specified." Professor Wilson's Translation of the Rig-veda, Vol. II., p. 144, note, of Yámi* (night). The divisions of the earth were born of Arundhatí; and Sankalpa (pious purpose), the soul of all, was the son of Sankalpá. The deities called Vasus, because, preceded by fire, they abound in splendour and might,'-are, severally, named Ápa, Dhruva, Soma, Dhara† (fire‡), Anila (wind), Anala (fire), Pratyúsha (day-break), and Prabhása (light). The four sons of Ápa were Vaitańdya, Śrama (weariness), Śránta (fatigue), and Dhur§ (burthen). Kála (time), the cherisher of the world, was the son of Dhruva. The son of Soma was Varchas (light), who was the father of Varchaswin (radiance). Dhara had, by his wife Manohará (loveliness), Dravina, Hutahavyavaha, Śiśira, Prána, and Ramana. The two sons of Anila (wind), by his wife Sivá, were Manojava (swift as thought) and Avijnátagati (untraceable motion). The son of Agni (fire), Kumára, was born in a clump of Šara reeds: his sons were Śákha, Viśákha, Naigameya, and Prishthaja. The offspring of the Krittikás was named Kárttikeya. The son of Pratyúsha was the Rishi named Devala, who had two philosophic and 1 Or, according to the Padma Purána, because they are always present in light, or luminous irradiation: * ज्योतिषायां तु ये देवा व्यापकाः सर्वतो दिशम् । Here this word occurs with the last syllable short; as in the Bhágavata-puráňa, VI., 6, 4 and 6. For "Dhava" in the former edition,- -a typographical error. + § Nowhere do I find this reading, but Dhuni, Bhuri, Dhwani, and Dhuri. Varana and Ravana are variants. ¶ Professor Wilson has since defined them as "the personified solar rays." Translation of the Rig-veda, Vol. II, p. 122, note. |