DDK HistoryF.p65 - CSIR

5.5] BHRGU MYTHS 127
Just why he had to be sent so far away is not clear, nor how the Kurus
survived till the age of the Buddha. Pariksit becomes famous in brahmin
tradition for his sacrifices and his generosity to sacrificial priests.
“Listen ye to the high praise of the king who rules over all people, the god who is
above mortals, of VaisVanara Pariksit *Parik$it has secured for us a secure dwelling,
when he, the most excellent one, went to his seat.’ (Thus) the husband in Kuru-land,
when he founds his household, converses with his wife. ‘What may I bring to thee,
curds, stirred drink, or liquor ?’ (Thus) the wife asks her husband in the kingdom of
king Parifcsit. Like light the ripe barley runs over beyond the mouth (of the vessels).
The people thrive merrily in the kingdom of king Parikrit.” (4X.20.127.7-10).
The reference to Kuru-land makes it certain that we have here a
human king raised to the height of the divine fire, not fire
worshipped under a human name. The coronation of Pariksit
traditionally began the dark ages in 3101 B. c., which cannot represent any
event outside the Indus valley, while the Indus culture must have been
completely forgotten long before the Mbh. was composed or Kuru-land
founded. The question “ What became of the descendants of Pariksit
? “ remains a riddle of the Upanisads.
Part of the difference between the various traditions is due, as pointed
out, to their having been the special property of various clans. The
Mbh. has been rewritten by the Bhrgus, 8 as so much of the vedic
exegesis and Buddhist scripture by the Kasyapas. The Mbh. diaskeuasts
were not content with adding new episodes, or incidents to old ones, but
inserted a great deal of new doctrine. The whole of the huge
Santiparvan of the Mbh. is doctrinal teaching from the mouth of the
dominant figure in the older stratum of the epic, Bhlsma, son of the rivergoddess
Ganges. Another great religious addition is the famous Bhagavadgita,
which takes the Samkhya, Upanisadic, and Buddhist philosophies
twisted together to a new end; faith in a personal god which absolve
severything, even killing brothers in war. The personal god is Krsna,
just being recognized at the time of the Mbh. recension as Visnu-Narayana
incarnate ; the other incarnations were not yet acknowledged. The actual
hero Rrsna who supposedly dictated the Gita, and a feebler sequel the
Anutgita, had naturally to lose any historical features he may have had.