Purana Bulletin
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The “Purana Bulletin” is an academic journal published by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in India. The journal focuses on the study of Puranas, which are a genre of ancient Indian literature encompassing mythological stories, traditions, and philosophical teachings. The Puranas are an important part of Hindu scriptures in Sa...
The Relative Chronology of the Janapada Lists of the Puranas
The Relative Chronology of the Janapada Lists of the Puranas [puranantargatajanapadasuci namapeksika itihasa] / By Shri M. R. Singh; Lecturer in History Vanasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan / 262-276
[ nibandhesmin lekhakamahodayah pracinapuranasahityasya visaya-nama- pathasamyamadaya tadgatavisistabhugola varnanasthaitihasikadrstya bahusah mimamsam kurvanti | tadanusarena vividhapurananam varga vibhagam racanakalanirnayam tesamape- ksikam purvaparatvam ca sayuktikam sapramagam nirdharayanti | visesatah 'janapada ' varnana- madhikrtya puranani pancasu vargesu vibhajya tesam sampadanakalo'pi suvicaritah, tadyatha- - prathame matsyavarge matsyamarkandeya- vamana - vayu-brahmandapurananam kalah khistapurva dvitiya satabdirityakalitah | etesu 'maharastra ' 'huna ' 'kamarupa ', 'parasika ', saka, huna - ( satadruja - satadravo va ) namani samupalabhyante, nirdisanti ca sambhavitakalantaraparivartanam | yatha 'huna ' sabda 'urna ' sabdasya rupantara- miti pratiyate | vargadvitiyo brahmakurmavisnupurananam tasya kalah pancama satabdi | trtiyasca markandeyapuranagata 'kurma nivesa ' khandagatah, nirmana- samayasca caturthasasthasatabdimadhye nirdharitah | caturthah vargah garudavisnudharmottara- puranayoh sasthasatavdyarvakikaliko vartate | antime tu padmapurana mahabharata ( bhismaparva ) yoh kasmira balikadini namani bahusah antarbhavanti kalasca pancasatabdi | lekhakamamahodayairatra 'janapada ' varganadvara purvavaidikakalapeksaya paurani- kakale bhugolajnanasamvrddhirapi samketita'sti | samalocitam ca vidhivat suduradaksinabharatavarsasya suparicayadikamaitihasikam mahattvam paramapracinatvam ca gananam iti | ] The Indian literature, passing under the designation Purana (meaning old or ancient) has come down to us in a very extensive form. It consists of eighteen Puranas and more than a hundred Upa-Puranas. That this literature is a result of interpolations made from time to time, is declared by some of the Puranas. They state that in the beginning, there was only one Purana
July 1967] CHRONOLOGY OF JANAPADA LISTS OF PURANAS 263 which was produced by Brahma before the Vedas issued from his mouths1: puranam sarvasastranam prathamam brahmana smrtam | anantaram ca vaktrebhyo vedastasya vinihsrtah || puranamekamevasit tada kalpantare'nagha | trivargasadhanam punyam satakotipravistaram || The justification of this statement lies in the fact that the Puranas preserve in them many traditions which come down from very early times and even from the pre-Vedic days.2 "The Puranas are store-houses in which are collected the traditions of many bygone ages, stories and legends touching the sages that are interspersed throughout the Upanisads and Aranyakas are also amplified and embellished".3 201 dom Not only for this but also because of its references in the early Indian literature, the Purana literature can claim to go back to a great antiquity. It is said that Dvaipayana divided the single Veda into four and then with the tales (Akhyanas), anecdotes (Upakhyanas), songs (Gathas) and lore (Kalpajoktis), that had come down from the ages, he compiled the Purana :" akhyanaiscapyupakhyanairgathabhih kalpanoktibhih | puranasamhitam cakre puranartha - visaradah || The Purana Panchalaksana, viz. (1) creation (Sarga), (2) recreation (Pratisarga), (3) genealogy (Vamsa of Gods and sages), 1. Matasya, 53, 3-4; 3. 3-4; Vaju, 1. 60-1; Brahmanda, I, 1. 401; Padma, V. 1. 45-47; Siva, V. 1. 27-28; or Markandeya 45. 20-1. 2. Wilson, Visnu Purana (Punthi Pustak, Calcutta-4, 1961) Introduction, p. a. 3. Kurma Purana (Published by Royal Asiatic Society of Ben duction, p. XII. 4. See Pargiter, Ancient Indian Historical Traditions (Motilal Banarasidass, 1962) pp. 43-44; R. C Hazra, Studies in the Puranie Records on Hindu Rites and Customs (Published by the University of Dacca, Bulletin No. XX) p. 1-4; Purana, I No. 2, p. 218. 5. Visnu III, 6. 7 ff; Vayu, 60. 12 ff; Brahmanda II, 34, 12 ff. cf. Pargiter op. cit. pp. 50-51.
264 puranam -- PURANA [Vol. IX., No. 2 (4) comsmic cycles (Manvantaras), and (5) accounts of royal dynasties (Vamsanucharit), says R. C. Hazra, have their roots in these elements. But in most of the extant Puranas, these characteristics are not easily deciferable and there are certain chapters in nearly all the Puranas which, however, cannot be placed under any of these Laksanas. For instance, these Laksanas cannot include the chapters on the Mahatmya of the Tirthas, on the Hindu rites and customs etc. On the other hand, on some topics, certain Puranas give word to word same account. In view of this fact the dates assigned to the different Puranas hardly solve real problem. For instance. the Vamana Purana is supposed to be a later Purana. Does it mean that its geographical account of Bharatavarsa, which is the same as that of the Vayu, Brahmanda, Matsya and Markandeya (57), deals with the geography of a later period ? Here one is bound to admit that its geographical account of Bharatavarsa BELONGS TO THE PERIOD WITH WHICH DEAL THE EARLY Puranas, containing the same account.. While it is true that some Puranas contain more early materials than certain others, it is at least equally significant that many of them contain texts and portions which could be considered separately for the purpose of relative chronology. Thus without seeking to deny the chronological differences of some Puranic compilations taken as whole, it would appear to be a necessary as well as a useful task to work out the relative chronology of certain texts which cover common areas and may be found with some variations in many Puranas. These texts need to be analysed separately in the first instance. It is only later on that we may essay the task of fullfledged Puranic chronology. Some work on this line has been done by Hazra and Pargiter, the former has considered the chapter on Hindu rites and and the latter on the genealogies. A similar conside- 6. R. C. Hazra, op. cit, p. 4. 7. Ibid. 8. Pargiter op. cit. and The Purana texts of Dynasties of the Kali age (The Chowkhamba Sanskrit series office, Varanasi, 1962) See also D. R. Mankad, Puranic chronology (Gujerat, 1951). A similar work has been done by Prof. G. C. Pande, though not on the Puranas. He has stratified the Buddhist Nikayas (studies in the Origins of Buddhism, University of Allahabad, 1957, Chs. I-VIII.
July 1967] CHRONOLOGY OF JANAPADA LISTS OF PURANAS 265 ration for other chapters may furnish ground of the utilisation of the Purana literature. In the following pages an attempt has been made to stratify the Purana texts on the account of Bharatavarsa. There are only eleven Puranas which have a Chapter on the geography of Bharata varsa. They are: (1) Vayu (I. 4. 5), (2) Brahmanda (I. 2. 16), (3) Matsya (113 or 114) (4) Markandeya (57 and 58), (5) Vamana (13), (6) Visnu (II. 3), (7) Kurma (I. 47), (8) Brahma (17), (9) Garuda (55), (10) Visnu-Dharmottara (I. 9), (11) Padma (Svargakhanda, 6). Among these the first four and the Markandeya (57) have followed one draft. Similarly the draft of the Visnu is the same which is found in the Kurma and Brahma. The drafts of the Garuda and Padma are different and are not found in any other Purana. The Padma's account is the same which is of the Mahabharata Bhisma Parvan (9) and the Garuda's account has been followed by the Visnu-Dharmottara which is regarded to be out of the canons of eighteen Mahapuranas. The account of the Markandeya (58) is incorporated in the Brhatsamhita and the Parasara Tantra.. Thus on the whole, we have five drafts, all dealing with the geography of India and it goes without saying that each of these was compiled by different hands. The Janapadas, rivers and mountains referred to in these Puranas have to be placed all over Bharatavarsa. It evidently means that by the time of their compilation, the northerners had crossed the mountain Vindhyas and had penetrated into the southern Deccan right upto the tip of the southern Peninsula. Hence to suggest a date for the texts we have to know the time by which this exploration could have been done. This will be a lower limit. The Brhatsamhita, a work of the sixth century A. D., has a chapter on the Janapadas of India. Its list indicates that by this time the geographical knowledge had increased to satisfactory extent and it seems quite warranted to accept that the Janapada accounts of the Puranas in question belong to an earlier date. It is well known that the geographical knowledge of the early Vedic literature is confined to the regions, lying to the 9. Brhatsamhita (Ed. by Kern Bibliotheca India, 1865) ch. XIV. 7
266 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IX., No. 2 north of the Vindhyas. It is only in the later Vedic literature that we find the references to a few peoples who can be located to the south of this mountain. The references to Vidarbha 10 and Nisadha" found in the Brahmana literature have enabled Dr. H. C. Ray Chaudhuri to conclude that by this time, the Aryans had penetrated into central India and southern Deccan.12 But Pt. K. Chattopadhyay suggests otherwise. He says that the words, Vidarbha, Nisadha etc. should be understood not as names of places but of the tribes.13 The Aitareya Brahmana mentions the Andhras, Sabaras, Pulindas and Pundras as peoples The first three of these were living beyond the Aryandom.14 undoubtedly the peoples living to the south of the Vindhyas.16 However, there is no denying the fact that the extreme south was left unexplored by the Vedic Aryans. It is only in the fifth century B. C. that the exploration of the region lying upto the Godawari was completed. The Janapadas like Kamboja in the 10. Aitareya Brahmana, VIII. 34; Satapatha Brahmana XIV. 5. 5. 22. 11. Satapatha Brahmana II. 3. 2. 1. 12. Political History of India (Sixth Edition) P. 40. 13. Pt. K. Chattopadhyay in I. C. III. 14. Aitareya Brahmana, VIII. 18. 15. For the identification of the Andhras see, J. A. Vol. XLVII. p. 71; Ibid Vol. XLII. 1913 p. 281; G. Yazdani, The early History of Deccan Parts I-VI. (Oxford University Press London, 1960). p. 28; D. C. Ganguly, Eastern Chalukyas (Banaras, 1937) p. 1; D. C. Sircar Successors of the Satavahanas (University of Calcutta, 1939) p. 2; D. R. Bhandarkar, Asoka (Third Ed. 1955) p. 31. TULIS For the identification of the Sabaras see, Cunningham. Ancient Geography of India (New Edition) pp. 583, 586; H. C. Ray Chauduri op. 93-94 J. A. H. R. S., Vol. XII. pp. 57 ff. The Pulindas seem to have been a mountaineer tribe living in different parts of the Himalayas and the Vindhyas. The Puranas (Brahmanda II. 58; Markande,a 57.47; Matsya 113.48; Vamara 13. 47.50; Vayu I. 45. 125; Garuda, 55. 12; Visnu-Dharmottara I. 9. 4; Padmo Svarga, 6. 57; cf. Mbh. (Gitapress, XIII. 207-42) place the Pulindas in South India. cf. Mbh. II. 26. 10; II 31. 16. The Matsya Purana (113. 41) mentions the Pulindas in Udichya division and suggests a location for them on the banks of the river Hairanvati which flowed in the Himalayan region (Matsya 116. 1-20 cf. VisnuDharmottara I. 184. 1-20). The Mahabharata also Iocates the Pulindas in the Himalayan region (Mbh. III 140. 25).
July 1967] CHRONOLOGY OF JANAPADA LISTS OF PURANAS 267 north, Sauvira in the west, Asmaka in the south, Kalinga in the south-east and Suramas in the east, all being mentioned in the the Astadhyayi mark the extreme points of our geographical knowledge in this period.18 The geographical names occurring in the early Buddhist literature do not suggest any change in this geographical horizon. The list of the sixteen Mahajanapadas as given in the Anguttara Nikaya" and the Jain Bhagavati Sutra, 18 perhaps mark the extreme points of our geographical knowledge atleast upto the beginning of the third century B. C. By the close of the fourth century B. C. we find some further development. Magasthenes, who visited India in this period refers to the country of the Pandyas, situated in the northern-most part of Peninsular India.19 The references to the Pandyas, Cholas and Keralas are also met within the epics 20, but their dates have not yet been decided in all their details. The Arthasastra of Kautilya refers to a kind of pearl called Pandyakavata which was produced in the Pandya country.21 Reference to this name is also found in the Ramayana which has Kavatam Pandyanam instead of Pandyakavata." tato hemamayam divyam muktamanivibhusitam | yuktam kavatam pandyanam gata draksyatha vanarah || It has been suggested that Kavata referred to here is Kavatapura, the capital city of the Pandyas, identified with Korkai of the Tamil literature.2 The first datable reference to 23 16. V. S. Agrawal, India as known to Panini (Lucknow University, 1954) p. 34. 17. Anguetara Nikaya (P. T. C.) I. 213; IV. 252, 256, 260. 18. J. C. Jain, Life in Ancient India as depicted in the Jain Canons (Bombay, 1947) pi 251. 19. J. W. MC. Crindle, Ancient India as described by Megasth Arrian (Revised Second Edition, R. C. Majnmdar 1960) p. 163. 20. Ramayana Kist. 41. 12-19; Mbh. VI. 9. 44; VI. 50. 51; VII. 11. 17; VIII. 12. 15; Mbh. II. 31. 16-17; 31. 71. etc. 21. Arthasastra (English translation by R. Shamasastry, Mysore, Sixth Ed.) pp. 75-76. 22. Ramayana Kisk. 41. 18-19. 23. I. C., I. p. 249.
268 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IX., No. 2 the country of the Keralas and the Cholas is found in the inscriptions of Asoka, who, according to the accepted chronology reigned from C. 273 B. C. to 236 B. C.24 This may be taken to be the earliest date for the compilation of the Janapada lists of the Puranas. In order to consider the fulfledged chronology we should consider the antiquity of a few more names which are mentioned in the Puranas, but not in other early literature or epigraphs. These names are Maharastra, Kamarupa, Parasika, Saka and Huna. Maharastra :-The earliest reference to Maharastra is found in the Manimekalai, a work of the 4th century A. D.25 This name is not mentioned in either of the epics. However if the account of the third Buddhist council is to be believed, one may suggest that Maharastra was a known country during the times of Asoka. 26 According to the Jain tradition, Maharastra was known during the time of Sampai (Samprati) son of Asoka. 27 Some scholars have suggested that the Rastriyas of the Asoka's inscriptions were a people of Maharastra. 28 passage of the Brahmavaivarta Purana suggests that the Rastriyas and the Maharastras were two different peoples.29 But a Parasikas-They are mentioned in the Raghuvamsa,30 Maha. bharata Bhisma Parvan,31 Mudra-Raksasa 32 (a work of the fifth century A. D.) and Gaudavaho (a work of the eighth century A. D.) 33 Kamarupa-It is mentioned in the Raghuvansa of Kalidasa.34 24. C. I. I., I pp. 25, 28, 70, 83. 25. Siddha Bharati, Pt. II p. 285. 26. Mahavamsa. XII. 5. 37 27. J. C. Jain, op. cit., p. 266. 28. R. G. Bhandarkar, Early History of the Dekkan, (Susil Gupta, Calcutta, 1957) p. 20; G. S. Saradesai. New History of the Marathas (1957) Vol. I p. 17. 29. Brahmavaivarta Purana Ganapati khanda, 35. 12-13. 30. Raghuvamsa IV 31. Mbh, VI. 10. 51. 32. Mudra-Raksasa I, V. No. 20. 33. D. C. Sircar, Studies in the Geography of Anct. and Mediaeval India (Motilal Banarasidass) p. 38. 34. Raghuvamsa, IV. 83-84.
July 1967] CHRONOLOGY OF JANAPADA LISTS OF PURANAS 269 87 Most of the scholars believe that the poet lived in the fifth century A. D.,35 while some have suggested earlier 36 or later dates. Kalidasa mentions the Hunas on the banks of the Vanksu or the Oxus.38 It is generally believed that the Hunas had not reached the oxus before 400 A.D.39 The names 'Kamarupa' and 'Parasikas' found in the Raghuvamsa are not found as such in Indian Literature or Inscriptions before the 4th century A. D.40 although Achaemenids and Parthians had ruled over parts of north-west and the region from Persia to Assam was known. These facts create some doubt about the theories which place Kalidasa earlier than the 4th century A. D. The first datable reference to Kamarupa is found in the Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudragupta, who ruled from 321 A. D. to 375 A. D.41 Sakas-The people known as Sakas in Indian literature 12 35. A. B. Keith, A History of Sanskrit Literature (Oxford University Press, 1956), p. 82; R. G. Bhandarkar, J. B. O. R. S., Vol. XX. p. 399; Vincent A. Smith, Early History of India (Fourth Edition, Oxford, 1924) p. 321 Bhagawat Saran Upadhyaya, India in Kalidasa (Kitabistan Allahabad, 1947) Appendix A. 36. Rao Bahadur C. V. Vaidya, (A. B. OR. I., 1920 pp. 63-68) and Pt. K. Chattopadhyaya (The date of Kalidasa) place the poet in the first century B. C. Vaidya's arguments have been sought to be answered by K. G. Sankar (A. B. O. R. I., 1920 pp, 189 ff). The views of Pt. Chattopadhyaya have been considered by Prof. V. V. Mirashi (Kalidasa, Hindi Edition, pp. 14 ff) and Sri Bhagawat Saran Upadhyaya (Op. eit. Appendix A.) 37. M. M. Hara Prasad Shastri (J. B. O. R. S., 1916 pp. 31 ff) and D. R. Bhandarkar (A. B. O. R. I., 1927 Vol. VIII. pp. 200-4) make Kalidasa a contemporary of Yasodharman. This view has been controverted by A. B. Keith (J. R. A. S., 1909 pp. 433 ff) and B, C. Majumdar (J. R. S. S., 1909 pp. 731 ff, J. B. O. R. S., 1916, pp 389 ff). 38. Raghuvamsa, IV. 67-68. 39. See infra under Hunas. 40. See infra under Hunas and Parasikas. 41. C. I. I., III 1. 42. The earliest Indian reference to the Sakas is found in the Mahabhasya of Patanjali (India in the time of Patanjali, pp. 59-60), a work of the second century B. C. where it is stated that they and the Yavanas were Anirovasita Sudra. In the Manusmrti (x. 44) these two peoples along with the Pardas and the Pahlavas are regarded as degraded
270 puranam - PURANA 43 [Vol. IX., No. 2 are the Sakas of Persian inscriptions.4 They were the Skuthoi of the Greek writers and Ashkuzai of the Assyrians.4 The Persian inscriptions, says Prof. Bagchi, locate the Sakas near Gandhara and therefore make it clear that the Sakas were living near the frontiers of India before the Greeks had come to that region," 45 Saka kings were ruling in Taxila in the first century B. C.46 Hunas The people of this name of Indian literature 47 were a branch of the High-nu, a nomadic tribe of central Asia. 18 They were known to the Chinese as Yetha, to the classical writers as Ksatriyas. Similarly, in the Mahabharata (XII. 65. 13-15; XIII. 33. 21), the Sakas, Yavanas, Kiratas, Gandharas, Chinas, Sabaras, Barbaras, Tusaras, Kankas and Pahlavas are said to be Dasyus and Visayavasins. In a number of the epic verses the Sakas have been associated with the Yavanas, Pahlavas, Daradas, Harahunas, Kambojas. Tusaras and other tribes of the north west (Mbh. I. 174. 36-38; II 32. 12-16; 51. 23; 52. 16; III 51. 24-25; VI. 20-13; 57. 7; 75-21; VII. 7. 17-18; 93. 92; 119. 15; 121,13; VIII, 8. 18; 56. 115; 73. 19; 88. 17; IX. 1. 37 etc.). In the Ramayana (Kisk 43. 12) Sugriva figures as directing the monkeys to go to the lands of the Kambojas, Yavanas, Sakas and Varadas (Paradas?). 43. D. C. Sircar Select Inscriptions bearing on Indian History and civilization (Calcutta University 1942) Vol. I. pp. 6-7. 44. P. C. Bagchi, India and Central Asia (National Council of Education; Bengal. Calcutta, 1955) p. 1. 45. Ibid. p. 121. 46. Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya, Early History of North India (Calcutta, 1958) p. 57. The Age of imperial Unity. p. 127. 47. The Mahabharata locates the Hunas along with the Chinas to the north of Aryavarta (Mbh. XII. 32.5 of Ibid. VI. 9.66). At another place also it associates them with the Chinas (Mbh. I. 174-38). It also refers to the Harahunas (Mbh. III. 51.25)) who were probably a branch of the Hunas. In the Raghuvamsa (IV. 67-68) Raghu figures as defeating the Hunas on the banks of the Vanksu or the Oxus. D. C. Sircar, op. cit, p. 315 n 1; A New History of Indian people, Vol. VI. p. 177 ff; R. S. Tripathi, History of Ancient India (Motilal Banarasidasa, 1960) p. 279. S. Chattopadhyaya (op. cit, p. 191) says that the Hupas who figure in Indian History were Ephthalites and not a branch of the Hing-nu tribe. The suggestion does not appear to be very convincing for the Indian name Huna can 'only be derived from Hing-nu or any such other name and not from Ephthalites, Hythal or Yetha,
July 1967] CHRONOLOGY OF JANAPADA LISTS OF PURANAS 271 Ephthalites or white Hunas and to the Persians as Hythal.49 In the fifth century A. D. they appear in the country of the Oxus.50 From this region they carried their conquests down to Gandhara and beyond the Indus in the south, and as far as Khotan and Karashahr in the east.1 In A. D. 424, they crossed the Oxus, and, according to the Persian chroniclers the news of their inroads caused a widespread panic.62 This time Behram Gur was on the throne of Persia. He defeated them and to complete his victory, he followed up the enemy across the Oxus, defeated them again and compelled them to sue for peace.53 Now onwards the Hunas made repeated attempts to capture Persia and to enter India. The Bhitari inscription of Skanda Gupta indicates that during his time (445 A. D. to 467 A. D.) they made an unsuccessful bid to have an empire within India. In the beginning of the fifth century A. D., they were settled on the Indian border as we learn from the account of Orosius.55 Before 520 A. D., they had captured the province of Gandhara as we learn from the account of the Chinese pilgrim Sung-yun.66 On the basis of the discussion, made above, we may now consider the chronology of the Janapada lists of the Puranas :I. The Janapada list of the Matsya, Markandeya, Vamana, Vayu and Brahmanda-These Puranas, as stated earlier follow one draft which seems to have originally been compiled in the Matsya Purana which does not mention the Maharastras, Hunas, 49. P. C. Bagchi, op. cit, p. 136; S. K. Aiyangar, Ancient India and South Indian History and Culture, Poona Oriental Series, No. 74, Vol. I, p. 68; S. Chattopadhyaya op. cit, pp. 181-182; Brigadier General Sir Percy Syke, A history of Persia, Vol. I. (London. 1958) p. 433. 50. J.J. Modi, Early History of the Hunas and their inroads in India and Parsia, pp. 566-€7. 51. Stein, Ancient Khotan, ch. III p. 58. 52. Sir Percy Syke, op. cit, p. 433. 53. Ibid. p. 434. 54. C. I. I., III, p. 52. 55. P.C. Bagehi, op. cit, p. 137; S. Chattopadhyaya, op. cit., p. 192. 56. S. Beal, Budchist Records of the Western World. (new Edition, Calcutta, 1957) IV. p. 67,
272 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IX., No. 2 Kamarupa, Parasikas or any other name which may indicate that the draft was compiled after the second century B. C. It mentions the Sakas 67 who, as we have seen, were living near Gandhara prior to the time when Greeks came in India, Patanjali's Mahabhasya mentions the Sakas in such a way as if they were mixed in Indian society in the second century B. C.58 R. D. Banarjee has remarked, "Saka infiltration into the extreme north-western borders of India some considerable time before the beginning of the Christian era is exteremely likely-perhaps oven when the Bactrian Greeks were ruling in these regions".59 Moreover, there is an edition of the Matsya Purana which even does not mention the Sakas.60 The other Puranas which mention the Sakas are Vayu and Brahmanda. 1 A comparision of the readings of these Puranas with that of the Markandeya and Vamana indicates that the placement of the Sakas is a result of interpolation and the original reading was Satadujas or Satadrujas or Satadravas: Vayu 45.116 61 Brahmanda Markandeya Matsya Vamana Sakahradas" Sakadrihala I.2.16.48 57.37 ff 113.41 ff 13.39 ff Sakas, Hunas Satadujas Sakas, Bhadras Sakadru Satadrahyas vas These names seem to suggest that there should be only one name and the reading Sakas-Hunas may be taken to be a mistake. There is a long gap of time between the end of the Saka sovereignty and the advent of the Hunas and the mention of both the people in a single appellation cannot be accounted for on the historical ground. It is probable that the original reading was Satadrujas or Satadravas and a 57. Matsya 113.41 58. Sapra N. 42. 5.D Comprehensive History of India, Vol. I. p. 189. 60. Anandasram Ed. ch. 113, 61. Vayu, I. 45.116; Brahmanda I. 2.16.48. 62. Bangavasi office Calcutta and Srivenkateshwar Press Editions. 63. Alberuni's India, First Indian Reprint, S. Chand & Co. 1964, pp. 290-300. 64. Bangavasi office Calcutta ed. 65. Srivenkateshwar Press Ed,
July 1967] CHRONOLOGY OF JANAPADA LISTS OF PURANAS 273 little carelessness of the copyists changed the letter 'ta' into 'ka', thereby the name became unexplainable to the Pauranikas. Accordingly the author of the Brahmanda Purana changed it into Saka-Hunas, sometimes after the 4th century A.D. The fact that corruptions lead from less known towards well known when applied in restoring this name furnishes us with the same result. But this conclusion has to be checked by another name i.e. Maharastra. This name finds mention in the Vayu, Brahmanda, Markandeya and Vamana. At the same place the Matsya Purana reads Navarastra.67 Here one can not support the reading of the Matsya against the unanimous reading of the four Puranas. Though the actual reference to Maharastra is not found before the fourth century A. D., yet there is every possibility that Maharastra was a known country during the time of Asoka, not only because that the Buddhist and Jain traditions suggest this but also because that the inscriptions of Asoka refer to the countries lying to the south of Maharastra. Thus it seems fairly warranted to hold that the original draft of these Puranas belongs to the secoud century B.C. It was revised for the first time in the fifth century A.D. when the Hunas were included in the list. The Vayu and Brahmanda mention the Hunas in the Parvatasrayin division." At the same place the other Puranas and one edition of the Brahmanda read Urnas.69 The Urnas are also mentioned in the Astadhyayz 70, and it is just probable that the original reading was Urna which became Huna after the fourth century A. D, The Brahmanda mentions the Hunas also in Udichya division.'1 II. The version of the Brahma, Kurma and Visnu PuranasThese Puranas give a very short list and hardly mention more than 25 names. These Puranas, without any hint of inter- 66. Vayu I, 45.125; Brahmanda I, 2, 16.57; Markandeya, 57.46, Vamana 13.48. 67. Matsya, 113.47. 68. Vayu, 45.135 ff.; Brahmanda (Bangavasi office Calcutta Ed.) I, 2.16.67ff. 69. Brahmanda (Venkateshwar Press Ed.) I, 2. 16. 67 ff., Markandeya 57. 56 ff; Matsya 113. 55 ff; Vamana 13. 57 ff. 70. V. S. Agrawal, op. cit, p. 69-70, 71. Brahmanda I, 2. 16. 48. 8
274 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IX., No. 2 Hence polation mention the Hunas, Parasikas and Kamarupa.72 it is quite evident that their account belongs to the fifth century A. D., for as we have seen these names were unknown before this period. III. Kurma-Nivesa section of the Markandeya Purana. In this section Bharatavarsa is supposed to be shaped like a tortoise. One such composition is included in the Atharvaparisista another in the Parasara Tantra and a third in the Brhatasamhita. The Kurma-Vibhaga, says H. C. Raychaudhuri, cannot in all probability be assigned to a date earlier than the fourth century A. D. This inference follows from the reference to Kamarupa in the Atharva parisista, to Vardhamana and to Maharastra in the Markandeya Purana which are unknown to literature or inscription of an earlier date.75 The references to Konkana, Karnata and Huna found in the Markandeya Purana also support this conclusion.76 IV. The version of the Garuda and Visnu-Dharmottara. Like the Markandeya (58) and the Brhatsamhita (XIV), these Puranas mention the Janapadas in nine divisions, viz., Madhyadesa, Purva-desa, Purva-Daksina, Daksina-Patha, Daksina-Paschima, Paschima, Uttara-Paschima, Udichi and Purva-Uttara." Like the Markandeya and the Brhatsamhita, these Puranas locate the Ambasthas, Dravidas, Kambojas, Strimukhas and the Anarttas in the South-west;18 the Kalingas, Vangas, Pundras, Angas, Vidarbhas and the Vindhyavasins in the south-east; 79 the 72. Visnu, II. 3, 15-17; Brahma, 17, 15-18; Kurma, I. 47. 41-44. 73. Markandeya, 58. 1. H. C. Raychaudhuri, Studies in Indian Antiquities, (Second Edition, 1958), p. 48. 75. Ibid. p. 49. 76. Markandeya, 58. 21-23, 45. 77. Garuda, 55. 10. 18; Visnu-Dharmottara, I. 9. 2-10. 78. Garuda, 55. 14; Visnu-Dharmottara, I. 9. 6; Markandeya, 58. 30-32; Brhatsamhita, XIV. 17-19. 79. Garuda, 55. 12; Visnu-Dharmottara, I. 9. 4; Markandeya, 58, 16-18; Brhatsamhita, XIV. 8-10.
July 1967] CHRONOLOGY OF JANAPADA LISTS OF PURANAS 275 Karnatas in the south,80 the Vrsadarbhas, Padmas, Magandhas, Suhmas, Kasayas and Kosalas in the east ; and the Abhisaras, 82 These facts Kasmiras, Trigarthas and Kulutas in the north-east.8 indicate that the Janapada account of the Garuda and the VisnnDharmottara is either a summarised form of the account of the Brhatsamhita and the Markandeya or that the account of the latter texts is borrowed from the former texts and it was made comprehensive by adding more names. But as the account of the Markandeya and the Brhatsamhita is according to the astrological plan of dividing India into nine parts it may be suggested that the borrowers were the Garuda and the Visnu-Dharmottara. V. The account of the Padma and the Mahabharata 83 Bhisma Parvan-Since both the lists are practically one and the same, one cannot say whether the list was originally compiled in the Mahabharata or the Padma Purana.88 However, the list in its present form has the bearings of its being revised at least two times. This inference follows from the double references to Vidarbhas,84 Videhas, Angas,86 Kasmiras, 87 Bahlikas,88 Sakas9 85 etc. The account of both the texts cannot be dated earlier than the 4th century A. D. This inference is brought out clearly from the mention of the Hunas along with the Parasikas in the list.90 Now we may conclude that: (1) The original draft of the texts of the Matsya group was compiled in the 2nd century B. C.; 80. Garuda, 55, 13; Visnu-Dharmottara, I. 9, 5; Brhatsamhita, XIV. 11-16; Markandeya, 58. 20-28. 81. Garuda, 55. 11; Visnu-Dharmottara, I. 9. 3; Brhatsamhita, XIV. 5-7; Markandeya, 58. 11-14. 82. Garuda, 55. 18; Visnu-Dharmottara, I. 9. 10; Markandeya, 58. 48-52; Brhatsamhita, XIV. 29-31. 83. Padma, Svargakhanda, 6. Mbh., VI. 9. 84. Padma, Svargakhanda, 6.38 & 59; Mbh. VI. 9.43 & 64. 85. Ibid. 6.40 and 52; Mbh, VI, 9.45 and 57. 86. Ibid. 6.41 & 45; Mbh. VI. 9.46 & 50. 87. Ibid, 6.48 & 62. Mbh. VI. 9.53 & 67. 88. Ibid. 6.42 & 49; Mbh. VI, 9.47 & 54. 89. Ibid. 6.40 & 46; Mbh. VI. 9.45 & 51. 90. Ibid. 6.61; Mbh. VI. 9.66.
276 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IX., No. 2 (2) The version of the Visnu, Kurma and Brahma was compiled ind 5th century A. D.; (3) The Kurma-Nivesa section of the Markandeya belongs to 400 A. D. to 600 A. D.; (4) The account of the Garuda and Visnu-Dharmottara was borrowed from that of the Markandeya and the Brhatsamhita sometimes after the 6th century A. D. (5) T'he text of the Padma and the Mahabharata was compiled in the fifth century A, D.