Negotiating Efficiencies. Human Sacrifice, Karma and Ascetism in Jant's Tale of the Mahabharata by Philipp Maas

8/10/2019 Negotiating Efficiencies. Human Sacrifice, Karma and Ascetism in Jant's Tale of the Mahabharata by Philipp Maas

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Negotiating Efficiencies:Human Sacrifice, Karma and Asceticism in Jantus Tale of the

Mahhrata!

"hili## A$ Maas, %ni&ersit' of (ienna

To e #ulished in:

Marcus Schm)c*er and S&en Sellmer +eds$,

Fate, Freedom, and Prognostication in Indian Traditions$(ienna -.1/$

1. 0ecent research has shon that the religious histor' of late (edic and earl'

classical South Asia as dominated ' the intellectual interaction of to religious

com#le2es that in their earlier #hases of de&elo#ment had een largel' inde#endent

of each other$13ne of these com#le2es is the religion of (edic 4rahmanism that

de&elo#ed in the north estern #art of South Asia from around ca$ 1... 45E$ Thisreligion as #racticed ' the descendants of nomad tries that had entered the su6

continent in successi&e a&es of immigration ca$ 7.. 'ears efore, as ell as

among enculturated ethnicities$ (edic 4rahmanism as ased on the elief that the

orld e li&e in, as ell as the #ost6mortem fate of man, can e mani#ulated '

means of com#licated sacrificial rites$ The rituals had to e #erformed ' religious

s#ecialists, the 4rahman #riests, ho recited and sang the (edic h'mns com#osed

! The core of this article, i$e$ m' inter#retation of Jantus Tale as estalishing a hierarch' of

com#eting religious causalities, as for the first time #resented thirteen 'ears ago in a #a#er that 8

read at the -9$ eutscher 3rientalistentag in 4amerg on -9 March -..1$ The #resentation of more

elaorate &ersions of different as#ects of the #resent #a#er folloed at to consecuti&e or*sho#s

ith the title ;


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in (edic Sans*rit, on ehalf of the master of sacrifice$ 8t as elie&ed that the

master of sacrifice, i$e$ the sacrificer, and not the officiating #riest or #riests, ould

e2#erience the result of the ritual, i$e$ material ealth and success in attle, rich

#rogen', or a #leasant e2istence in hea&en after death$-

4rahmans em#lo'ed ascetic techniDues li*e

fasting, se2ual astinence and the enduring of heat in connection ithor as as

internaliFed forms of(edic sacrifices in order to gain #oer that the' used for

#ragmatic #ur#oses$ 8n due course, e&en #eo#le ho did not #ermanentl' #ractice

an ascetic lifest'le ere elie&ed to #artici#ate in the #oer accumulated ' (edic

ascetics, if the' &isited hermitages or other sanctuaries on tours of #ilgrimages$/

1.1.The second religious com#le2 in the earl' histor' of South Asia of hich e

*no com#rises the ramaa religions that originated in the region of Greater

Magadha at the time of the second uranisation of South Asia around 7.. 45E, of

hich Jainism and 4uddhism ha&e sur&i&ed to the #resent time$ These ramaa

religions are ased on orld &ies that are mar*edl' different from the orld &ie

of the (edic 4rahmanism$ A significant shared characteristic of the religions of

Greater Magadha is their common elief in *arma and reirth$ South Asian *arma

theories &ar' idel' in their forms and contents as ell as in the #ur#oses for

hich the' ere em#lo'ed$78n s#ite of this di&ersit', it is #ossile to state a loestcommon denominator of *arma theories in the earl' ramaa religions, hich

com#rises the folloing &ies:

a The con&iction that the orld is a c'cle of reirths, a eginningless stage for

successi&e irths of eings on earth, in hea&ens or in hells$

-$>$-$, #$ 17$>4ron*horst +-.11: B/6CB argues that the institution of the hermitage +rama as in&ented as an

ada#tation of the institution of shelters and monasteries of ascetics in the ramaa religion of

Greater Magadha$ 3n (edic asceticism see 4ron*horst -..B: 9.697$/ See Shee 1C9: >--6>-, es#eciall' >-7f$: ;3n the hole, one might designate the connection

eteen sramaand trtha $$$ as a *ind of magical feedac*6effect: tapasha##ens at an es#eciall'

suitale #lace, hich ecomes e&en more effecti&e ' means of the tapas that is #racticed$; M'

translationI the German original reads as follos: ;8m ganFen *nnte man den usammenhang

Fischen srama und trtha L als eine Art magischen 0)c**o##lungseffe*t eFeichnen: tapas

findet an einem hierf)r esonders geeigneten 3rt statt, der seinerseits iederum durch das

#ra*tiFierte tapasnoch ir*samer ird$=7See Halfass 1CC1: -C/6-CB and Halfass -...: -9$


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The elief that the realm of reirth and the Dualit' of e2#eriences during e&er'

e2istence are determined ' the Dualit' of actions +karmanhich in&ol&e the

free ill of the acting indi&idualin former li&es as ell as in the #resent

e2istence$ Good actions cause ell6eing in this and in future li&es, hereas ad

actions lead to #ain and suffering$

c The religious notion that ithin the c'cle of reirths suffering is ine&itale$

Therefore it is desirale and #ossile, at least for some human eings, to sto# +for

themsel&es the #rocess of further reirths and to gain final lieration$

1.1.1. Soon after their foundation, the religious communities of Jains and the

4uddhists managed to secure #atronage and economic su##ort from ro'al courts

and influential ton citiFens$This su##ort facilitated their s#read o&er large #arts

of South Asia and, in the case of 4uddhism, far e'ond$ 8n conseDuence of this

#atronage, ramaareligions ecame the dominant religions in South Asia for the

ne2t almost se&en hundred 'ears$

1.1.2.The hegemon' of ramaareligions in South Asia as first challenged in the

first centur' 5E ' foreign rulers in South Asia, some Sc'thian and Kua *ings,

ho allied themsel&es ith the rahmanical #riesthood of their *ingdoms in North

8ndia$ 8t a##ears that the #riesthood offered the ne rulers to assetsI first, a legi6

timation for their rule o&er a region that the folloers of (edic 4rahmanism

claimed to e their on natural territor', and second, control o&er #oerful ritualsthat ere designed to su##ort and #er#etuate the rule$

;An im#ortant instrument in the hands of the 4rahmins is their *noledge of

the (eda, a collection of te2ts that the &ast ma@orit' of the #o#ulation as not

e&en alloed to hear recited, much less stud'$ 8t is their often secret

*noledge that gi&es them the #oer to or* for the good of the *ingdom, its

ruler and its #o#ulation$ 8t also allos them to do the contrar', and this is an

im#ortant reason to humour them= +4ron*horst -.11: 7-$

The alliance of rulers ith the rahmanical tradition as tightened in the fourth

centur' 5E$ At this time the Gu#tas founded the second #an6South Asian em#ire,

estalished a strong #atronage for the 4rahmanical religion, and #romoted the

flourishing of hat ecame to e the classical Sans*ritic culture$

The 4rahmanical religion that as su##orted ' the Sc'thians, the Kuas and the

Gu#ta rulers as, hoe&er, not a sim#le continuation of the (edic religion, ut a

See, also for the folloing section, uin -..7$ 8t a##ears that the Jains in #articular ere initiall'su##orted ' la' folloers much more than ' ro'al courts$ See undas -..: >C1$


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ne form of 4rahmanism that had de&elo#ed o&er se&eral hundred 'ears in

constant contact and conflict ith the ramaareligions of Jainism, 4uddhism and

others$ 8t is this religion that as much later called Hinduism$ The de&elo#ment

from (edic 4rahmanism to Hinduism is Duite ell documented in inscri#tional and

literar' sources, of hich the late (edic literature, the Sans*rit e#ics, the harma

literature and a hole range of other normati&e and scientific literatures figure

#rominentl'$

2.Among these sources, it is difficult to o&erestimate the im#ortance of the Mah6

hrata, the great Sans*rit e#ic consisting of ca$ B7$... stanFas in its criticall'

edited &ersion that narrates the stor' of the struggle eteen to antagonistic

grou#s of cousinsthe "Oa&as and the Kaura&asfor *ingshi# o&er the realm of

Kuru$ This or* stands out not onl' for its com#rehensi&eness,But also ecause

the time s#an in hich it as com#iled and com#osed ' anon'mous authors +in anoral form that as later #ut into riting agrees roughl' ith the time during hich

the historical de&elo#ments s*etched so far too* #lace$ The oldest strata of the

Mahhrata ma' go ac* to the time of ca$ /.. 45, hich is a##ro2imatel' the

time in hich the ramaa religions of Jainism and 4uddhism ere founded,9

hereas the final redaction of the great e#ic ma' ha&e ta*en #lace at the time of the

Gu#ta d'nast' around ca$ /.. 5E$C 8t is therefore a priori #roale that the

Mahhrata reflects the intellectual ri&alr' eteen (edic 4rahmanism and the

ramaareligions to a considerale e2tent$ Moreo&er, the or* as de&elo#ed ande2#anded into its final form ' means of a long and thorough re&ision and redaction

from a 4rahmanical #ers#ecti&e$1. Therefore, the Mahhrata contains a large

amount of #ro#aganda for the efficienc' of 4rahmanical rituals that as designed

to create acce#tance for these rituals among the audience of the Mahhrata,

B


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hich ill ha&e consisted in #art of the arrior noilit' ith hich the 4rahmans

ere eager to all'$

2.1.The literar' material that is contained in the Mahhrata is heterogeneous in

nature$ 8nterlaced in the main #lot e find, for e2am#le, #arts of the e#ic that

elong to to different literar' genres, namel' to the so6called didactic #arts and tothe narrati&e #arts$ The didactic #arts, hich are generall' ta*en to elong to a Duite

late te2tual stratum of the Mahhrata, contain e2tensi&e monologues that are

intended to instruct the audience on religious, #hiloso#hical and other learned

to#ics, hereas the narrati&e #arts consist of legends and other narrati&es that ere

introduced in the main #lot in order to entertain, to *ee# the arc of sus#ense, or for

other literar' reasons$ Hoe&er, at least in the case of narrati&es dealing ith

ascetics and asceticism, education, instruction or #ro#aganda are additional

im#ortant moti&es for the introduction of narrati&es into the main #lot$;E&er' narrati&e is silentl' committed to a certain intention, hich is the

reason for its eing told$ $$$ RThe narrati&e #arts of the e#ic $$$ are $$$ in a

certain sense definitel' didactic, ecause the' ser&e in an o#en or hidden

fashion the #ur#ose of instruction$ 8n this a', e&er' ascetic narrati&e

contains a #unchline, a moral that it #ro#agates= +Shee 1C9: 2$11

8n the folloing #arts of the #resent #a#er, 8 shall anal'se one of these ascetic

narrati&es, ;Jantus Tale= +i$e$ the JantU#*h'na of M4h >$1-Bf$, and argue thatthe message of this narrati&e is to negotiate the efficienc' of causalities that

determine #ost6mortem fates$ 8n m' &ie, Jantus Tale, li*e, for e2am#le, the stor'

of the 5ontrar' Mongoose discussed ' Hegart' +-.1-: B61>, ;allos for the

staging of a religious deate ' narrati&e means$1-= 8nter#reted in this a', Jantus

Tale turns into a &ital itness for the #rocess of the integration of im#ortant as#ects

of ramaa religions into 4rahmanism, hich e&entuall' leads to the

transformation of (edic 4rahmanism into classical Hinduism$

3. Jantus Tale is one of nine narrati&es that occur in the third oo* of theMahhrata, the Vra'a*a#ar&an, or more #recisel' in the TQrtha'tra#ar&an ;the

tour of the sacred sites +>$9.617>, hich is our earliest te2tual e&idence for the

11 ;Hinter @eder Geschichte steht unausges#rochen eine estimmte Asicht, derentegen sie

erFWhlt ird$ $$$ Rie erFWhlenden "artien des E#os $$$ sind $$$ in einem geissen Sinne durchaus

dida*tisch, denn in offener oder &erstec*ter


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#ractice of #ilgrimage$1>= This section of the Mahhrata narrates the e&ents

during a @ourne' to sacred sites that four of the "Oa&a rothers undertoo* ith

their common ife rau#adQ under the guidance and #rotection of the hea&enl'

seer omaPa$ The #ilgrimage ha##ened after the "Oa&a rothers had failed to

assert their rule o&er the *ingdom of Kuru and had to go into e2ile$ Ar@una tra&elled

to hea&en in order to secure a decisi&e ad&antage for the "da&as in their future

fight against their enemies ' otaining hea&enl' ea#ons from his father 8ndra$ 8n

the meantime, his four rothers and their ife &isited sacred #laces all o&er the

South Asian su6continent in order to rituall' em#oer themsel&es$1/ The

destination of their @ourne' as mount X&eta, located in the Himla'a, here the

fi&e "Oa&a6rothers reunited$

uring their tra&el, omaPa narrated to YudhiZhira the foundational m'ths that are

connected ith the sacred #laces the' &isit$ These m'ths ser&e different #ur#oses$Thomas 3erlies +1CC7: 1-1 em#hasises the meaning of the narrati&es for the

de&elo#ment of the main #lot$ According to him, the stories that omaPa narrates to

YudhiZhira are meant to comfort the *ing in his unha##' situation of ha&ing lost

his *ingdom ' dealing ith *ings that had to co#e ith similarl' miserale

situations as YudhiZhira$ An additional role of the m'ths ithin the main #lot is to

e2#lain the foundation of the res#ecti&e sanctuaries ' narrating the mar&ellous,

magic or heroic acts that e2traordinar' #ersonalities e2ecuted in a remote antiDuit'$

Moreo&er, since the tra&el #art' #artici#ates in the religious merit and magical#oer that the heroes of old had accumulated, the stories e2#lain ho and h' the

#ilgrimage leads to the em#oerment of the four "Oa&a rothers and their

common ife$

3.1.Toards the end of their @ourne', the "Oa&as reached the ri&er Yamun$178n

connection ith great sacrifices that had ta*en #alace at the an*s of this ri&er,

omaPa mentioned the to *ings Mndht[ and Soma*a$ He then told the

foundation m'ths of the sanctuar' of the first of these *ings$ 8n this narrati&e

+Mahhrata >$1-, *ing Yu&anP&a, after ha&ing accidentl' drun* a #otion thatas meant to im#regnate his ife, ecame #regnant himself and miraculousl' ga&e

irth to a son$ This son, *ing Mndht[, had a full command of (edic *noledge,

conDuered the hole orld and literaril' co&ered it ith 4rahmanical fire altars$

1>4roc*ington 1CC9: >.$1/3n #ilgrimages in the Mahhrata see 3erlies 1CC7 and 4igger 1CCC: 7167>$ 3n the meaning of

the #ilgrimage as a ritual em#oerment of YudhiZhira, see 3erlies 1CC7: 1-.$


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This narrati&e is intended to #ro#agate the incredile su#ernatural #oer of

4rahmanical rituals and the enefit that *ings ma' accrue from a close alliance ith

4rahman #riests$

3.1.1.8mmediatel' afterards, Jantus Tale follos$ The narrati&e is #art of the in6

&entor' of stories of the TQrtha'tra#ar&an from an earl' stage of the ritten trans6mission of the Mahhrata onards, #ossil' as earl' as the first centur' 45E$

The com#arati&el' earl' time of the com#osition of Jantus Tale can e estalished

from the fact that the narrati&e is transmitted in all the manuscri#ts that ere used

for the critical edition of this #art of the Mahhrata ith onl' minor te2tual

differences$ Moreo&er, Jantus Tale is listed in the to di&ergent tales of contents

that are #art of the first oo* of the Mahhrata and a##ear in M4h 1$-$1116

1$-$1-- and 1$-$1-9!, res#ecti&el'$1The a##earance of Jantus Tale in the older of

these list shos that the narrati&e elongs to an earl' stoc* of #ilgrimage narrati&esin the Mahhrata$ That the narrati&e in its transmitted &ersion is a stor' all of a

#iece and not the result of redactorial e2#ansions can e concluded from the

anal'sis of the narrati&e that ill e #resented elo$ The stor' consists of four

clearl' distinguishale #arts that are closel' related to each other and each of hich

is indis#ensale for communicating the message of the narrati&e$ 4efore going into

details of inter#retation, hoe&er, 8 ould li*e to summariFe this narrati&e, hich is

une2#ectedl' satirical in its initial e#isode$

3.1.2. The &irtuous +dharmika *ing Soma*a as married to one6hundred a##ro6#riate +sad i&es$1BAlthough he tried hard to eget sons, he onl' managed to

father a single one after a long time hen he as alread' far ad&anced in age$ His

1 ?ith regard to the in&entor' and seDuence of stories of the TQrtha'tra#ar&an, the tale of

contents that is #resented as the main te2t in the critical edition of the Mahhrata in M4h 1$-$1116

1$-$1-- differs to some e2tent from the list #resented in the critical a##aratus of this edition as M4h

1$-$1-9!$ The list in M4h 1$-$1-9! agrees, hoe&er, ith the actual seDuence of narrati&es of the

TQrtha'tra#ar&an$ A##arentl', the tale of contents in the criticall' edited te2t re#resents and earlier

redactorial stage of the te2tual de&elo#ment of the Mahhrata than the seDuence of stories in thethird oo* of the M4h according to criticall' edited &ersion$ The difference eteen the tales of

contents in the criticall' edited &ersion from the actual seDuence of narrati&es in the TQrtha'6

tra#ar&an +and from the tale of contents in in M4h 1$-$1-9! concerns the stories of Mndht[

+M4h >$1$161-$/> and Ya&a*rQta +M4h >$1>7$16>$1>C$-/, hich ere added into the

Mahhrata as stories numer fi&e and nine, hereas the stor' of Xii +>$1>1$16>$1>1$>- a##ears

to ha&e een trans#osed from the second to the se&enth #osition of the stories$1B 8t ma' e #ossile that the author of the JantU#*h'na used ;Soma*a= as the name of the

#rotagonist of this narrati&e in order to e&o*e the #restigious memor' of Soma*a Shade&'a, ho is

mentioned as a #rince in \g (eda /$17$C and in Aitare'a 4rhmaa B$>/$ Moreo&er, Soma*a as a

*ing is mentioned at different #laces in the Mahhrata$ He a##ears as a ruler of the "a]cla

countr' ho #erformed im#ressi&e sacrifices$ See Srensen 1C./61C-/: /af$


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i&es #am#ered the child, hose name as Jantu +hich means ;li&ing eing,

#erson= and ;#ermanentl' turned their ac* to the #leasures of lo&e$19= 3ne da',

an ant stung Jantu on his uttoc* so that the o' started to cr'$ 8n des#air, his one

hundred mothers @oined in$ Their terrile clamour distured *ing Soma*a in #er6

forming his go&ernmental usiness so that he had to lea&e the council$ Soma*a

entered the omens Duarters and comforted his son himself$1C 4ac* at or*,

Soma*a com#lained to his court cha#lain aout the miserale situation of eing the

father of a single ea* o'$ 5ould there not e a remed' that ould gain him one

hundred sons^ The #riest suggested sacrificing Jantu in a ritual that he offered to

carr' out himself$ He ould *ill Jantu and urn his fat on a sacrificial fire$ Then the

smell of his urning omentum should im#regnate the *ings i&es ho ould then

gi&e irth to one hundred glorious +rmant-.and &er' manl' +sumahvra-1sons$

Moreo&er, Jantu ould e orn again ith a golden mar* at his left side$ The *ing

agreed to this suggestion$ Against the resistance of the mothers, the #riest *illed andutchered Jantu according to #rescri#tions +vidhi, urned his omentum in the

sacrificial fire so that the mothers inhaled the smo*e, ecame #regnant, and ga&e

irth to one hundred sons$ Jantu as orn first and from his #re&ious motheras

#redictedith a golden mar* on his left side$ Since he #ossessed all &irtues, he

ecame e&en dearer to his ninet'6nine ste#mothers than their on sons$ After a

short time, the sacrificial #riest #assed aa', and soon afterards *ing Soma*a

died too$ 3n arri&ing in the afterorld, Soma*a sa his #riest suffering in a terrile

hell$ The #er#le2ed *ing stood u# for his former #riest and com#lained$ The godharma +or Yama,-- the @udge of the dead, informed him that the torment of the

#riest resulted from the #riests *illing of Jantu in the sacrifice$ Soma*a disagreed

ith this &erdict$ He demanded the release of his #riest and #unishment in hell for

himself instead$ harma +or Yama, hoe&er, refused$ 4ecause the *ing had li&ed a

&irtuous life, the god a##ointed to him a sta' in hea&en as his ell deser&ed #ost6

mortem fate$->Soma*a, hoe&er, insisted on e2#eriencing the same destin' as his

#riest$ harma +or Yama finall' offered to @udge the cases in such a a' that *ing

and #riest had to share the same #ost6mortem fate$ 8nitiall' the' ere to sta' in hell

19;mtara ... satata p!hata ktv kma"hogn$$$= M4h >$1-B$7$1C The author of the stor' indicates that this situation is com#letel' ina##ro#riate for a *ing '

designating the *ing ho comforts his son and his i&es as ;the tamer of his enemies= +aridama

in M4h 1-B$1.d$-.M4h >$1-B$1Cc$-1M4h >$1-B$-.c$-- The southern recension of the Mahhrata has ;Yama= as the name of the god$ 3n Yama in

different #eriods of South Asian religious histor' see Shnen6Thieme -..C$->M' translation of the Sans*rit term gatiith ;#ost6mortem fate= is ado#ted from ?eFler +1CBC:

7>, n$ -7, ho translates gatiinto German as ;Nachtodschic*sal$=


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and then the' ere alloed to #arta*e of hea&en$ Soma*a agreed, and after ha&ing

ser&ed their sentence in hell, the #riest and *ing rose @ointl' to a hea&en$

This is the end of the foundation m'th of Soma*as hermitage, and the narrati&e

returns to the frame #lot$ The "Oa&as had reached the &icinit' of Soma*as

hermitage +rama, and omaPa e2#lained that a man ho sta'ed there #atientl'for si2 nights ould gain a good #ost6mortem fate$ Jantus Tale ends ith omaPa

suggesting to the "Oa&as that the' sta' for e2actl' this time in Soma*as

hermitage$

3.2.?ith the e2ce#tion of the first stanFa of Jantus Tale, hich contains Yudhi6

Zhiras Duestion concerning Soma*as hermitage and as such #ro&ides the occasion

for the narrati&e to e told, the hole stor' is designed as a monologue deli&ered '

omaPa, in hich to le&els of narration can e discerned$ 3n the first le&el,

omaPa, the omniscient narrator, re#orts the e&ents that constitute the narrati&e$ 8t

a##ears that omaPas e2#ositions corres#ond strictl' ith the &oice of the author

of the narrati&e$ The second le&el of narration consists of dialogues of the

characters of the narration, hich sustain the #lot$ Here, the statements of the

characters ma' de&iate from the &oice of the author or e&en contradict it, hene&er

this ma' su##ort the de&elo#ment of the stor' line$

The narrati&e structure of Jantus Tale results from this &ertical com#osition in to

different le&els and the horiFontal arrangement of the narrati&e into four #arts thatfollo in seDuence one after the other$ 8n the first #art, the o#ening of the frame

stor', YudhiZhira enDuires aout *ing Soma*a and there' #ro&ides the o##or6

tunit' for omaPa to narrate the main #lot$ The second #art, hich ma' e desi6

gnated as the ;E#isode in This ?orld,= deals ith the #rolems that *ing Soma*a

has ith his i&es and ith his son$ These are sol&ed ' means of the successful

#erformance of the sacrifice$ The third #art, the ;"ost6mortem E#isode,= deals ith

the e&ents that ta*e #lace after the death of Soma*a and his #riest$ 8t narrates the

retriution in hell for the human sacrifice and the inter&ention of Soma*a on ehalfof his #riest ith the god harma +or Yama, hich leads to the &oluntar' sta' of

Soma*a in hell$


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reDuest, alread' has a certain e2#ectation of the content of the m'th that he ants to

e told$-/

;?hich &igour +vr#a did *ing Soma*a, the est of donors, #ossess^ 8 ant to

hear the truth aout his actions +karman and aout his #oer +pra"hva$=

kathavr#a sa r$"h%t somako dadat vara-7

_ karm# as#a pra"hvaca rotum icchmi tattvata__ +M4h >$1-B$1$

8n this stanFa, YudhiZhira enDuires aout the &igour and the #oer of the *ing, as

ell as aout his actions$ Manliness and #oer are &er' fitting attriutes for a *ing$

Hoe&er, in the #resent conte2t of a #ilgrimage to sacred #laces, these terms ma'

also e inter#reted as #ointing to religious #ractices$ 3n the one hand, ;&igour=

+vr#a and ;#oer= +pra"hva e&o*e the association of ascetic #ractices +tapas,

ecause these ords refer to the aim of ascetic #ractice #ar e2cellence in the

Mahhrata$-The ord ;action= +karma, on the other hand, ma' either refer to acertain &ersion of the la of *armic retriution, or to a ritual action +karman in the

conte2t of a (edic sacrifice$ As e shall see elo, all these conce#tions #ro&ide

the *e' for understanding the message of Jantus Tale, i$e$, estalishing a hierarch'

of com#eting causalities that determine #ost6mortem fates$ Hoe&er, initiall', i$e$

in the first #art of the ;E#isode in This ?orld,= the e2#ectation of the audience that

the *e' terms mentioned in the introductor' stanFa ill figure #rominentl' remains

unfulfilled$

3.3.1.At the eginning of this e#isode, *ing Soma*a is #ortra'ed neither as a might'

*ing nor as an ascetic, nor as #erforming e2traordinar' +ritual acts$ He is rather a

trouled man$ ?e learn that although Soma*a is married to one hundred i&es, he

cannot manage to father a single son for a long time$ 8n this a', a central aim in

the life of a (edic householder remains unfulfilled$ ?hen his son Jantu is finall'

orn, the situation remains tense$ His i&es turn their ac* on the #leasures of lo&e

-/See, for e2am#le M4h >$C/$-f$, here YudhiZhira, in reDuesting omaPa to narrate the stor' of

Agast'a, re&eals that he alread' *nos that Agast'a *ills of a demon, (ta#i ' name, ho#ossessed e2traordinar' #oer$-7 8nstead of the e#ithet dadat vara ;est of gi&ers,= hich is transmitted ' a numer of

northern mansucri#ts as ell as in the Southern 0ecension of the M4h, the criticall' edited te2t

readsvadat vara;o est of narrators,= hich refers as a 'name to omaPa$ The former reading,

hich is used also in M4h >$1-9$1>, is a the more difficult reading, and #referale for stemmatic

reasons$-See Hac*er 1CB9: >/>: ;3ut of this fer&our the human eing #rocesses a #oer that e2ceeds the

normal, hich ma' e designated ith the ord pra"hva$= M' translationI the German original

reads as follos: ;Aus dieser Glut Rte$as heraus hat der Mensch dann eine $$$ )er das Normale

hinausgehende Macht, elche mit dem ?ort pra"hva eFeichnet erden *ann$= See also Shee

1C9: -11, -19f$ and ---$


11/28

11

and, moreo&er, fail to educate their son in manliness, a##arentl' ' caring for him

too much$-BThe situation escalates hen the *ing has to lea&e the ro'al asseml',

i$e$ he has to neglect his duties as a *ing, in order to comfort his cr'ing son and

i&es$ This situation leads the *ing to ish for a hundred sons$

The *ing @ustifies his ish ' means of his orr' aout his on future and that ofhis i&es, hich de#end on the #ermanentl' threatened life of his son$-9Hoe&er,

since an ant sting in the uttoc*s of the o' is hardl' an a##ro#riate cause for

Soma*as reflections on the &ulnerailit' of human life in general, it is much more

the *ings acute stress that #ro&ides the ac*dro# for his reDuest$

8n the further course of the ;E#isode in This ?orld,= a ritual action +karman, i$e$

the second religious conce#tion to hich YudhiZhira alludes in his introductor'

stanFa, figures more #rominentl'$ Hoe&er, in contradistinction to the e2#ectations

of the audience, namel' to learn something aout an e2em#lar' ritual that might

@ustif' the foundation of a sanctuar', the e#isode descries an ethicall' o@ection6

ale rite$ ?hen the *ing as*s his #riest for a a' to otain a hundred sons, Soma*a

e2#licitl' mentions the #ossiilit' of #erforming an act that is difficult to #erform

+dukara,-Cand in the course of the folloing dialogue ith his #riest, he e&en is

illing to acce#t a misdeed +akr#a$>.

An additional indication that the sacrifice of Jantu is ethicall' o@ectionale can e

found in omaPas descri#tion of the #re#aration for the sacrifice$ There e readthat the #riest #ulls Jantu ' his left hand toards himself, hereas the cr'ing

-BThat Jantu is of feele character is indicated in the descri#tion of the ant it, hich ma*es him cr'

so hea&il' that his mothers @oin in +M4h >$1-B$$ 8n a arrior milieu, hich ma' e the intended

audience of this narrati&e, an ant ite ill not ha&e een considered a @ustification for a h'sterical

reaction$ This a##ears also to ha&e een the im#ression of the un*non redactor of the

JantU#*h'ana in the S*anda "ura, ho changed the moti&e of an ant ite into that of a scor#ion

ite, and, accordingl', into a much se&erer in@ur'$ 3n the JantU#*h'ana in the S*anda "ura, see

4ed*ar 1C9$-9;8n this orld, it is a miser' to ha&e onl' a single son$ 8t ould e etter to ha&e no son at all$

Since all eings are #ermanentl' ill, ha&ing a single son is a #ermanent orr'$ The 'outh, o est of

ticeorn, is com#letel' gone for me and m' i&es$ Their li&es and mine e2clusi&el' de#end on this

single sonn' +putraka$= dhig astv ihaikaputratvam aputratava vara "havet _ nit#turatvd

"h%tn oka evaikaputrat L va#a ca samatta me sa"hr#as#a dvi$ottama _ s pr

sam#att mama ctraikaputrake_ +M4h >$1-B$1-$17$-C ;$$$ ma' it e a great or a small, or ma' it e&en e a difficult act_ritual$= mahat &aghun vpi

karma dukarea v__ +M4h >$1-B$1cd$>. ;?hether the tas* ' hich 8 ill otain a hundred sons is good or ad, ta*e it to e alread'

e2ecuted$ 0e&erend, #lease relate it to me$= kr#a v #adi vkr#a #ena putraata "havet _

ktam eva hi tad viddhi "hagavn pra"ravtu me__ +M4h >$1-B$19$


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1-

mothers, ho are tr'ing to #re&ent the sacrifice, drag at his right hand$ 8n this

descri#tion, the right hand of the son a##arentl' s'molises the right a' of

conduct, hereas the left hand, hich is under control of the #riest, re#resents the

rong a'$

The ritual itself is not descried in an' detail$ ?e onl' learn that the sacrificial#riest ;cut him +i$e$, Jantu as #rescried and offered his fat$>1= This rief statement,

hich alludes to a sacrificial #rescri#tion +vidhi for the cutting of the od' of the

&ictim as ell as to the fator more s#ecificall', to the greater omentum as the #art

of the sacrificial &ictim that is actuall' urned in the sacrificial fireallos for the

conclusion that the author of this #assage anted his audience to concei&e the

human sacrifice as eing in accordance ith the #rescri#tions of the (edic ritual

literature,>-hich contains, indeed, a numer of references to human sacrifice$>>

The te2t #assage that is #resumal' most freDuentl' studied in connection ith

human sacrifices in (edic literature is the legend of Xuna`Pe#a, the oldest &ersion

of hich occurs in the Aitare'a 4rhmaa +>>$-6$>/ 8n this narrati&e, *ing

HariPcandra, ho has a hundred i&es ut no son, otains a male child as a fa&our

from the god (arua on condition that he ill later sacrifice him to the god$

Hoe&er, HariPcandras son 0ohita esca#es$ The god therefore afflicts the *ing

ith a disease$ ?hen 0ohita learns aout this hile he is in e2ile, he decides to

relie&e is father and u's Xuna`Pe#a, the son of a #oor 4rahmin, as a sustitute for

himself$ (arua acce#ts the sustitute, and the sacrifice of Xuna`Pe#a is #re#ared$Hoe&er, efore the rite is actuall' e2ecuted, Xuna`Pe#a #raises &arious (edic

gods, and in conseDuence of this is rescued and 0ohitas father is ne&ertheless

cured$

This narrati&e shos that the e2ecution of a human sacrifice as concei&ale in the

middle (edic time, i$e$ at ca$ 9.. 45E$ Hoe&er, it is less clear hether human

sacrifices at this time ere in realit' #erformed in (edic 4rahmanism or hether

human sacrifices ere regarded as theoretical e2tra#olations of the theor' of animalsacrifices$>78n the #resent conte2t, hoe&er, this Duestion is not of much concern$

>1vias#a caina vidhin vapm as#a $uhva sa__ +M4h >$1-9$/cd$>- This is also the inter#retation of NQla*aZha, the 1Bth centur' commentator of the M4h, ho

glosses the ord $antun ith pau"h%tena$ /61/9$>>See ?eer 19/$>/


13/28

1>

Here it is much more im#ortant to notice that e&en for the author of the oldest

&ersion of the Xuna`Pe#a legend a human sacrifice as ethicall' o@ectionale$ This

ma' not onl' e concluded from the fact that the (edic gods release Xuna`Pe#as

onds in order to s#are him from eing sacrificed, ut also from the end of the

narrati&e, in hich Xuna`Pe#as father A@Qgarta Sau'a&asi, ho had first sold his

son for a hundred cos and then agreed to #erform the inding and the slaughter of

Xuna`Pe#a for a #a'ment of additional to hundred, regrets his ethicall' ad +ppa

action$>

The Xuna`Pe#a legend shares ith Jantus Tale not onl' the moti&e of a human

sacrifice, hich is de#icted as ethicall' o@ectionale in oth narrati&es, ut also the

moti&e of a *ing ho remains childless for a long time, although he is married to

one hundred i&es$ 8t is therefore concei&ale that the ;E#isode in This ?orld= of

Jantus Tale as actuall' designed to allude to the Xuna`Pe#a legend in a satiricalmanner$

8n an' case, the ;E#isode in This ?orld= does not fulfil the e2#ectations that the

introductor' stanFa has raised$ The e#isode deals neither ith e2em#lar' actions

nor ith the ascetic #oers of *ing Soma*a$ 3n the contrar', *ing Soma*a is

de#icted as a (edic householder, hose #rinci#al aims in life remain largel'

unfulfilled$ He has no son for a long time, and hen he finall' gets one, his hundred

i&es den' him se2ual #leasures$ Moreo&er, their e2cessi&e care for the single child

in the end e&en *ee#s him from #erforming his duties as a *ing$ 8n order to changethis situation for the etter, he ta*es recourse to an ethicall' ad ritual action$

Therefore, the e&ents narrated in this e#isode do not @ustif' the foundation of a

sanctuar' in honour of Soma*a$ Accordingl', if the narrati&e has a moral, it has to

e found in the ;"ost6mortem E#isode$=

3.3.2.The ;"ost6mortem E#isode= of Jantus Tale is located at an unnamed #lace in

the ne2t orld$ Soma*a is ale to #ercei&e from this location his #riest suffering in

a hell and he can tal* to him as ell to the god harma +or Yama, the @udge of thedead in the ne2t orld$ Although the information #ro&ided ' the narrati&e is not

&er' com#rehensi&e, one ma' sus#ect that the dialogue of Soma*a and harma +or

Yama ta*es #lace in the court +sa"h of Yama, hich M4h -$9$1 descries in

te2ts, the actual #ractice of lood' offerings had alread' egun to diminish$= >$7 +97>$-$


14/28

1/

more detail$>B There the god e2ecutes, in analog' to the orldl' @urisdiction in

hich the la is administered ' *ings,>9 the cogniFance o&er the dead$ 8t is this

function of a *ing to hich his e#ithet dharmar$arefers$>C

?hen Soma*a enters the entrance area to the ne2t orld, he realiFes that his #riest

is eing roasted on fire in a terrile hell$/.As*ed ' the *ing h' he has to suffer inhell, the #riest re#lies:

;3 *ing, 'ou sacrificed through me$/1 This is the result of that action +or

ritual$= tva ma# #$ito r$as tas#eda karmaa pha&a __ +M4h

>$1-9$11cd$

The te2t does not elaorate on the s#ecific grounds for the &erdict of the #riest$ 8t

onl' states that the #riest has to suffer in hell, ecause he ser&ed the *ing as a

sacrificial #riest, a##arentl' in the sacrifice of Jantu$ 4ut h' did harma considerthis an e&il act^ 8n #rinci#le, to #ossile ansers that are not mutuall' e2clusi&e

ma' e considered$ The #riest ma' ha&e &iolated the general #rohiition of *illing a

human eing,/-or he ma' ha&e ecome guilt' of #erforming a #rohiited ritual, i$e$

an act of lac* magic$/>

B8n M4h -$9$9 Soma*a is listed at the fifth #osition ithin a list of 1.9 ro'al seers ho attend u#on

the god Yama$>9The e#ithet dharmar$athat Soma*a +M4h >$1-9$17a as ell as omaPa +M4h >$1-9$1- use to

refer to the god, #oints to this function of a *ing$>CSoma*a as ell as omaPa use this e#ithet in M4h >$1-9$17a and M4h >$1-9$1-, res#ecti&el'$/.atha ta narake ghore pac#amna dadara sa_ +M4h >$1-9$1. a$/1The causati&e of the Sans*rit6root #a$means ;to assist an'one of a #riest at a sacrifice= from the

middle (edic times onards$ See "?, &ol$ , #$ Ca, s$&$#a$$/-That *illing of li&ing eings leads to a #unishment in hell is, for e2am#le, stated in the folloing

#assage: ;Killing is a &er' e&il act that as authoritati&el' declared to lead to hell, this is certain$=

ppa eva vadha prokto narak#eti nica#a+M4h 1-$-9$B cd$/>The MhX #rohiits ;sorcer' +a"hicra and root itchcraft +m%&akarman= in 11$/ +tr$ 3li&elle

-..7: -19, see also 3li&elles note on the unclear meaning of the designation ;root itchcraft= on #$

>/.$//;8 ant to enter this hell$ 0elease m' sacrificial #riest 4ecause this highl' &irtuous man is roasted

on hell fire on m' account$= aham atra pravekmi muc#at mama #$aka _ matkte hi

mah"hga pac#ate narakgnin__ +M4h >$1-9$1- c6f$$


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17

E&en if this &ague formulation does not allo for a conclusion of ho e2actl' the

*ing &ies his on in&ol&ement in the case, it ecomes clear that Soma*a does not

ant to ta*e the sentence of his #riest out of #it' or s'm#ath'$ He demands to e

#unished instead of his #riest, ecause he thin*s that the god harma +or Yama

made a mista*e hen he condemned the #riest$ 8n the &ie of the *ing, the &erdict

against his #riest is sim#l' rong$ 4ut h' does he thin* so^ ?h' does Soma*a

thin* that he is liale to the retriution of the sacrifice, hereas his #riest is

innocent^

3ne could tr' to anser these Duestions ' arguing that Soma*a regards himself,

and not the #riest, as guilt', ecause he had ordered the sacrifice$ This line of

argument a##ears, hoe&er, not to a##ear e the one that the anon'mous author of

this narrati&e mainl' had in mind$ 8 ould rather suggest that Soma*a disa##ro&es

of the gods &erdict against the #riest ecause he #resu##oses a certain efficienc' ofsacrificial rituals in the ne2t orld$ 4efore going into detail, 8 ould li*e to riefl'

recall the fundamental conce#t of agenc' on hich (edic rautarituals, i$e$ rituals

hich in&ol&e the agenc' of sacrificial #riests, are ased$ Hillerandt descries this

conce#tion as follos:

;The result of a sacrifice, its pha&a, accrues to the sacrificer$ Hoe&er, the

&oluntar' or in&oluntar' mista*es of the #riests are also im#osed on him=

+Hillerandt 19CB: C9$/7

Hillerandt does not state hether he ta*es ;&oluntar' or in&oluntar' mista*es= to

im#l' technical or ethical shortcomings, and it remains eDuall' o#en from the cited

#assage hether the ;result of the sacrifice= refers to the destin' of the sacrificer in

this orld or in the ne2t$ Hoe&er, the Duestion concerning the e2ecution of a ritual

in this orld and its efficienc' in the ne2t as alread' discussed in the earliest

literature of MQmbs, namel' in MQmbssUtras >$B$196-.$ The conce#tion that

the e2ecution of certain rituals 'ields the sacrificer a #ost6mortem fate in hea&en is

acce#ted as the common o#inion$/

ifferent &ies are, hoe&er, discussed ithregard to the Duestion of hich actions the sacrificer has to #erform himself in

order to otain the desired result$ The conclusion of this #assage states that the

sacrificer is not reDuired to +or e&en ma' not #erform an' other action than to

/7;ie


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1

secure for himself the ;ser&ice of his #riests= +utsarga$/B 8n his commentar' on

MQmbssUtra >$B$-., Xaara e2#resses this Duite in the folloing ords:

;RThe sacrificer, ' means of securing the ser&ice of the #riests himself,

ma*es the hole sacrifice eing #erformed ' himself$= utsarga tu sva#a

kurvat sarvam sva#a ktam "havati+Xaarah'a >C$-> adMS >$B$-.$

Although the technical term utsarga is not used in Jantus Tale, it is ne&ertheless

clear that the conce#tion of securing the ser&ice of a #riest #la's a role in the

narrati&e$ 8n order to #roduce a result for himself, Soma*a instructs his #riest to

#erform the ritual$ $1-9$1>a$

/B;R


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1B

8n the #assage cited ao&e, the god harma re&eals that he regards Soma*a as free

of an' *armic rele&ant res#onsiilit' for the *illing of Jantu$ According to him, it is

the #riest ho deser&es #unishment, ecause heand not the *ingcommitted the

crime of *illing and urning Jantu in the ritual$ The di&ine &erdict is not the result

of an aritrar' @udgement of the god harma, ut a reflection of the #rinci#le of

reci#rocit' of act and #unishment, hich is also hat determines the #ost6mortem

fate of humans in JaminQ'a 4rhmaa 1$/-6//$/9 The di&ine &erdict it ased,

hoe&er, on a rather straightforard conce#tion of *armic agenc' that onl' ta*es

the concrete e2ecution of an action as @uridicall' &alid$

This conce#tion of *armic agenc' has #arallels in Sans*rit literature that are

historicall' not too far remo&ed from the time of the com#osition of Jantus Tale$

The "uras and the dharma literature contain com#rehensi&e lists in hich mis6

deeds are allotted in a schematic fashion to undesirale #ost6mortem fates$/C

8n theconte2ts of these allocations, the conce#t of human agenc' refers e2clusi&el' to the

concrete e2ecution of actions$ Similar to this, ut historicall' earlier, is the earl'

Jain conce#tion of human agenc', hich also ta*es e2clusi&el' the concrete

e2ecution of an action, and not the intentions of the agent, as decisi&e for the *armic

&alue of action$7.8t therefore a##ears that a conce#tion of agenc' that is similar to

that of the god harma in the #assage under consideration ma' indeed ha&e een

the asis of an earl' and sim#le *arma theor' in South Asia$

3n the ac*dro# of the o&ious analog' eteen such a *arma theor' and theorldl' @urisdiction, it is e&en concei&ale that the author of Jantus Tale ma' ha&e

com#osed this m'th as an im#licit #rotest against a too sim#le *arma theor' as ell

as a #rotest against an o&erl'6narro definition of @uridical res#onsiilit'$

8rres#ecti&e of the Duestion as to hich authorial intentions e2actl' ma' ha&e lead

to the com#osition of Jantus Tale, e ma' notice a clash in the dis#utation of

Soma*a and harma eteen to contradictor' &ies concerning the #ost mortem

/9See Halfass -...: /$/CThe "reta*al#a of the GaruOa6"urna schematicall' allots undesirale re6irths on earth to e&il6

doers$ See Aegg 1C-1: 9-ff$ +cited in Halfass -...: -1Cf$$ The same or* refers, hoe&er, also

to the conce#tion that the fruits of e&il action ri#en in hells$ See "K >$/ as translated in Aegg

1C-1: B-$ These to different conce#tions of *armic retriution are integrated into a single com#re6

hensi&e conce#t in MhX 1-$7/69-, hich states that grie&ous sins +mahptaka cause a reirth on

earth after a sentence in hell had to e ser&ed$7.See Johnson 1CC7: -.6--$


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19

fate of humans$71 Soma*a holds the o#inion that good or ad sacrificial actions

decide the fate of humans in the ne2t orld$ This &ie coores#onds to that of (edic

4rahmanism$ 8n contradistinction to this, harma or Yama maintains a *arma

theor', according to hich the ethical &alue of actions in general decides fate of

humans after death$ As mentioned ao&e +n$ /C, this teaching, a *ind of retriution

automatism, is similar to the *arma theories of earl' Jainism and of the

4rahmanical #uric and @uridical literature$

8n the course of the dis#utation, Soma*a modifies his initial #osition and suggests a

different solution of the #rolem$

;Soma*a said: 8 do not desire the orlds of merit ithout m' (eda6teacher$

3nl' together ith him, o King harma, 8 ant to li&e in the orld of gods or

in hell, ecause 8 am the same as he is ith regard to this +ritual action$

?hether its result is good or ad, it has to e the same for oth of us$=

somaka uvca: ;pu#n na kma#e &okn te (ha "rahmavdinam_ icchm#

aham anenaiva saha vastu sur&a#e __ 1/ __ narake v dharmar$a karma)

s#a samo h# aham _ pu#pu#apha&a deva samam astv ava#or idam* __

17 __ +M4h >$1-9$1/617$

Soma*as argument differs on the one hand from his initial &ie, according to

hich sacrificial acts decide the #ost6mortem fate of the sacrificer$ 8n &ie of the

factual &alidit' of a *arma theor' as the asis of di&ine @urisdiction, the (edicritualistic conce#t of human agenc' turned out to e unfounded$ Soma*a has to

realiFe that it is the la of *arma that determines the fate after death$ 3n the other

hand, Soma*as modified #osition on hat ould e a @ust &erdict differs also

mar*edl' from the di&ine conce#t of action that as &oiced ' harma, according

to hich the e2clusi&e *armic res#onsiilit' falls on the e2ecutor of an action$ ?ith

regard to its ording as ell as ith regard to its content, Soma*as argument is

similar to a @uridical #rinci#le that is formulated in the V#astama harmasUtra:

;1$ The instigator, the one ho agrees, and the actor #arta*e of actions that

ha&e as their fruit a #ost6mortem fate in hea&en or in hell$ -$ To the share of

him, ho is mostl' in&ol&ed, the fruit falls in a distincti&e a'$= pra#o$it

mant karteti svarganarakapha&eu karmasu "hgina 1 #o "h%#a ra"hate

tasmin pha&aviea - +V#astama harmasUtra -$11$-C$16-$

713n similarl' conflicting &ies in 8ndian #hiloso#h', see Halfass 1CC1: -C16>/7 +ith a s#ecial

em#hasis on MQmbs$ Houen 1CCC deals com#rehensi&el' ith the ethical #rolem of ritual

*illing in South Asian #re6modern intellectual histor'$


19/28

1C

This #assage from the V#astama harmasUtra and Soma*as argument ith

harma include the conce#ts of com#licit' and shared res#onsiilities eteen

se&eral indi&iduals$ 8n the conte2t of Jantus Tale, this elaorate &ersion of the la

of *armic retriution is #resented as a s'nthesis of the (edic ritualistic conce#tion

of agenc' and the conce#tion of agenc' that #ro&ides the asis of a sim#le *arma

theor'$

8n order to estalish this im#ro&ed conce#tion of human agenc', Soma*a is illing

to gi&e u# his on ell6eing in hea&en and to sta' together ith his #riest in hell$

This ma*es harma finall' change his mind$ He re#lies as follos:

;King, if 'ou ish it to e this a', e2#erience the fruit together ith him and

for the same time$ Thereafter, 'ou ill gain a good #ost6mortem fate together

ith him$=#ad# evam psita r$an "hu'kvs#a sahita pha&am_ tuak&a

sahnena pact prp#asi sadgatim__ +M4h >$1-9$1$

The god offers Soma*a the o##ortunit' of changing the la of *arma for his #riest,

if the *ing is illing to suffer @ointl' ith his #riest in hell$ Soma*a acce#ts this

offer, and in the end, *ing and #riest @ointl' reach a hea&en$

;And again, he ho lo&ed his teacher, gained together ith his 4rahmin

teacher his on eautiful orlds, hich he had conDuered ' his action$=

puna ca &e"he &okn svn karma nir$it+ u"hn _

saha tenaive vipreaguru gurupri#aL __ +M4h >$1-9$1B c6e$

8t is onl' in this final stanFa of the e#isode in the ne2t orld that the initial

e2#ectations, hich YudhiZhiras Duestion in the introductor' stanFa had raised,

are actuall' fulfilled$ Here, the audience is informed aout an e2traordinar' act

+karman of *ing Soma*a, namel' his &oluntar' sta' in hell$ Moreo&er, this

e2em#lar' act #ro&ides him ith the ascetic #oer not onl' to change the #ost

mortem fate of his #riest, ut to im#ro&e +i$e$ to render more @ust the la of *armic

retriution ' introducing the conce#tion of com#licit'$7-

8f one is illing to acce#t this inter#retation of Jantus Tale, it is #ossile to

understand the message of this m'th as an attem#t to estalish a hierarch' of

com#eting causalities for #ost6mortem fates$ Sacrifice, according to this outline, is a

#oerful tool to mani#ulate the fate of the sacrificer in this orld$ 8t is, hoe&er,

7-Strictl' s#ea*ing the narrati&e does not allo to anser the Duestion of hether Soma*a achie&es

a general modification of *armic retriution, or hether harma a##ro&es of an e2ce#tion$ 8 ould,

hoe&er, #refer an inter#retation along the lines of the first mentioned alternati&e, ecause

Soma*as im#ro&ement of *armic retriution ould constitute the more im#ressi&e achie&ement$


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ineffecti&e in the ne2t orld$ After death, it is the la of *arma that determines the

fate of eings$ There is, hoe&er, a means to o&ercome, or at least to modif', the

la of *armic retriution, namel' ascetic #ractices, i$e$ the &oluntaril' enduring of

#ain$7>

3.3.3. The #ossiilit' of influencing the #ost6mortem fate ' means of asceticismalso #la's an im#ortant role in the continuation of the frame stor', in hich the

"Oa&as reach Soma*as rama$ omaPa introduces this #lace as follos$

;8n front of us a##ears Soma*as meritorious hermitage$ A man, ho sta's

there for si2 nights #atientl', gains a good #ost6mortem fate$ ?e shall sta'

there for si2 nights free from fe&er and restrained$ 3 KurUd&aha, e #re6

#ared= ea tas#rama pu#o #a eo (gre vir$ate_ kta u#tra artra

prpnoti sugati nara __ etasminn api r$endra vats#mo vigata$var _

artra ni#attmana sa$$"hva kur%dvaha__ +M4h >$1-9$1961C$

Although this #assage does not contain much detailed information aout ho the

"Oa&as are going to s#end their time in Soma*as hermitage +rama, it is still

com#rehensi&e enough to allo for some conclusions$ .7f$77Shee: 1C9: >>7f$, translated from the German original$7Si2 nights is also the duration of an ascetic #ractice in M4h >$1/$1$7BSee Shee 1C9: >/1$79See ?eFler 1CBC: 7$


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-1

4.8f one is illing to &ie Soma*as &oluntar' sta' in hell as the archet'#e of the

sta' of ascetics in Soma*as rama, it is #ossile to infer the a' in hich an earl'

audience of Jantus Tale ma' ha&e imagined the method and the aim of asceticism

that as #racticed in the hermitage$ 8t a##ears that ascetics in Soma*as rama

ere &ieed as e2#osing themsel&es &oluntaril' to heat much in the same a' as

Soma*a endured &oluntaril' the #ain of hellfire$7C Also, the aim of Soma*as

asceticism ma' ha&e een ta*en to e largel' identical ith that of ascetics in the

*ings hermitage$ Just as Soma*a had gained the #oer to change the harmas

&erdict of the #riest that as ased on the la of *arma, so ascetics in Soma*as

hermitage ere elie&ed to otain the #oer to change their on *arma$ Their

ascetic #ractice as meant to #ro&ide a secure a' to hea&en, irres#ecti&e of the

*armic &alue of their former or future acts$ According to this &ie, asceticismand

this ma' e ta*en as the message of Jantus Taleis the most #oerful causal

factor ith regard to the #ost6mortem fate of humans$ 8t e&en e2ceeds the #oer ofthe la of *armic retriution, hich for all eings, e2ce#t ascetics, determines their

fate after death$ 8n contradistinction to this, ritual actions, i$e$ (edic sacrifices,

hich are elie&ed to e omni#otent in this orld, are of no a&ail for the destin' of

humans in the ne2t orld$

4.1. This hierarch' of com#eting causalities of the #ost6mortem fate of humans

reflects de&elo#ments in the intellectual and religious histor' of South Asia that

ere #resumal' caused in the centuries around the eginning of the common era' the conflict eteen the orld &ie of (edic 4rahmanism and ramaa

religions as #resented ao&e$ As is ell6*non, the elief in the efficienc' of (edic

rituals to secure for the sacrificer a #ermanentl' lissful #ost6mortem fate egan to

e challenged in the late (edic #eriod e&en ithin 4rahmanical circles$ This

critiDue of the efficac' of (edic sacrificial rituals recei&ed its most #ointed

formulation #erha#s in the late (edic MuOa*a %#aniad, for hich 8 ould

suggest a dating around the first centur' 5E$. 8n stanFa 1$-$1., hich in its

7C;"ain is an essential constituent of the ascetic struggleI in this regard, #ain resulting from heatingand dr'ing occu#ies also in e#ic te2ts the foreground$= M' translation$ The German original reads as

follos: ;er SchmerF ist esentlicher 4estandteil des as*etischen Sich6Am)henI daei steht der

aus ErhitFung und Ausdrrung resultierende SchmerF auch in e#ischen Te2ten im (ordergrund;

+Shee 1C9: 1C/$.5ohen +-..9 de&otes her monogra#h stud' to sol&ing the #rolem of the relati&e chronolog' of

the so6called older %#aniads$ As far as 8 can see, she refrains, hoe&er, from @udging the asolute

dates of the or*s$ Salomon dras attention to the fact that the language of the M% differs

consideral' ;from the normal standards of late (edic _ earl' classical Sans*rit= +Salomon 1C91:

1.., hereas the M% shares a numer of features ith e#ic and 4uddhist +H'rid Sans*rit$ This

leads Salomon to ado#t the designation ;(ernacular Sans*rit= for the language of the M%$ Salomon

stresses correctl' that this linguistic #eculiarit' neither @ustifies the assum#tion the the M% is later


22/28


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->

author of Jantus Tale as influenced ' ideas that ere #rominent ithin this

religious milieu$

The *arma theor' #ro#agated in Jantus Tale differs consideral', hoe&er, from

the earl' *arma theories of the ramaa religions, hich #resu##ose a *armic

retriution that or*s, as it ere, automaticall' and im#ersonall', i$e$ ithout eingunder control of an' deit'$ According to the earl' theories of *arma in the ramaa

religions, as e can reconstruct them from Jaina and 4uddhist sources, the gods

ere not concei&ed as ha&ing *armic retriution under their command, ut as eing

su@ect to its efficac'$ The occurrence of the s#ecific *arma theor' of Jantus Tale

ithin the Mahhrata, according to hich the god of the netherorld Yama or

harma rules the la of *arma, a##ears therefore to e the result of the hesitant

acce#tance of the ne religious doctrines of *arma ithin the intellectual milieu of

late (edic 4rahmanism$

3ne as#ect of earl' Hindu *arma theories that ma' ha&e facilitated the transfer of

this religious elief from the ramaamilieu into earl' Hinduism consists in the

limitations that the sco#e of *armic retriution underent during its #rocess of

assimilation$ ?hereas in earl' Jainism as ell as in earl' 4uddhism the Dualit' of

the life of all li&ing eings as elie&ed to e largel' determined ' the la of

*arma, the *arma theories of the late (edic and earl' classical #eriod of South

Asian religious histor', as the' can e reconstructed from the Sans*rit e#ic

literature, com#rise a considerale sco#e for alternati&es and modif'ing causes$ Moreo&er, a hole range of em#oering

acti&ities such as (edic rituals, ascetic #ractices, #ilgrimages, and last ut not least

the listening to recitations of the Mahhrata,/are elie&ed to interfere ith, and

modif', the destin' and #ost6mortem fate of humans$

>3n time as the decisi&e factor for the fate of men see SchefteloitF 1C-C$/See Hegart' -.1-: 796/$


24/28

-/

iterature and Are&iations

a "rimar' Sources

Aegg 1C-1 Emil Aegg +Transl$, -er Pretaka&pa des aruapura. /ine-arste&&ung des hinduistischen Totenku&tes und 0enseitsg&au"ens$

Aus dem Sans*rit )ersetFt und er*lWrt$ 4erlin: de Gru'ter,

1C-1$

Aitare'a 4rhmaa KsninthaPstri VgPe +ed$, 1itare#a"rhmaam$ 2rmat)

3#acar#a)viracita"h#asametam$ +hga 1$ adh''as 16/7$

-$ ed$ "une 1C>. +4nandramasasktagranthva&i>-$

V#astama harma6

sUtra

V#astamadharmasUtra: George 4)hler +ed$, 4pastam"#adhar)

mas%tra. 1phorisms on the 3acred 5a6 o7 8indus, "# 1pastam"a./d. 6ith /9tracts 7rom the :ommentar#. "art 1 containing the

te2t, ith crit$ notes, an inde2 of the stras, and the &arious

readings of the Hira'a*esi6harmastra$ 4oma': Go&ern6

ment 5entral 4oo* e#t: 19C-$

M4h Mahhrata: The ;ah"hrata$ Canaparvan$ ?ith

4harata 4haadee#a ' NQla*aZha$ "oona: 5hitrashala "ress,

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"K "reta*al#a of the GaruOa#ura$ See Aegg 1C-1$

Secondar' iterature

4ed*ar 1C9 ($M$ 4ed*ar, ;The Stor' of Soma*a in the Mahhrata +>$1-B6

1-9 and its Metamor#hosis in the S*nda Mah#ur +>$1617,= Pura1.,1 +1C9, 1B6-$


25/28

-7

4iardeau 1C9- Madeleine 4iardeau, ;The Sal&ation of the King in the Mah6

hrata$= 8n: Trilo*i N$ Madan +ed$, >a# o7 &i7eD @ing, 8ouse)

ho&der, Aenouncer. /ssa#s in 8onour o7 5ouis -umont$ "aris:

Ed$ de la Maison des Sciences de lHomme Ret al$, 1C9-, #$ B76

CB$

4igger 1CCC Andreas 4igger, Ba&arma im ;ah"hrata$ 3eine -arste&&ung

im Aahmen des Te9tes und seiner /nt6ick&ung$ ?iesaden:

HarrassoitF, 1CCC +BeitrEge ur Indo&ogie>.$

4roc*ington 1CC9 John 4roc*ington, The 3anskrit /pics$ eiden, 4oston: 4rill,

1CC9 +8and"ook o7 Grienta& 3tudies. 3ection T6o, India1-$

4ron*horst -..B Johannes 4ron*horst,reater ;agadha$ Studies in the 5ulture

of Earl' 8ndia$ eiden, 4oston: 4rill, -..B +8and"ook o7 Grien)

ta& 3tudies. 3ection T6o, India1C$

4ron*horst -.11 8d$, Buddhism in the 3hado6 o7 Brahmanism$ eiden, 4oston:4rill, -.11 +8and"ook o7 Grienta& 3tudies$ 3ection T6o, 3outh

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5ohen -..9 Signe M$ 5ohen, Te9t and 1uthorit# in the G&der ?paniads$

eiden etc$: 4rill, -..9 +4rills 8ndological irar' >.$

!ha*' 1CCB Madhusudan A$ ha*', ;Arhat "rP&a and haraendra Ne2us$

An 8ntroductor' Estimation,= in: Madhusudan A$ ha*' +ed$,

1rhat Prva and -haraendra He9us$ Ahmedaad: alhai

al#athai 8nstitute of 8ndolog' Ret a&. and elhi: Motilal4anarsidass, 1CCB +4$ $ Series 11, ##$ 161/$

undas -..- "aul undas, The 0ains$ -$ ed$ ondon, Ne Yor*: 0outledge,

-..- +irar' of 0eligious 4eliefs and "ractices$

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3li&elle -.., ##$ >9>6/1/$

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M)nchen: Hugenduel, -...$

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-

3outh 1sia. Past and Present in the 3anskrit ;ah"hrata$

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logie und Altertums*unde >,-$

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na&iation o7 Cio&ence in 3outh 1sian :u&tura& 8istor#$ eiden

etc$: 4rill, 1CCC +4rills 8ndological irar' 1, ##$ 1.7619>$

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@undakunda$ elhi: Motilal 4anrasidass, 1CC7 +ala Sundar al

Jain 0esearch Series C$uin -..7 Timoth uin, ;The Transmission, "atronage, and "restige of

4rahmanical "iet' from the Maur'as to the Gu#tas,= in:


27/28

-B

3li&elle -.. 8d$ +ed$,Bet6een the /mpires$ 3ociet# in India KLL B:/ to MLL

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Shee 1C9 Moni*a Shee, ta#as undta#as&in in den erEh&enden Partien des;ah"hrata$ 0eine*: r$ 8nge ?eFler (erlag, 1C9 +Studien

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Sans*rit )ers$ und hrsg$


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as*ese*ritischen ErFWhlung aus dem Mahhrata$ 4eitrWge Fur

Er*enntnis der indischen Kultur6 und 0eligionsgeschichte 88,;

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Documents

Negotiating Efficiencies. Human Sacrifice, Karma and Ascetism in Jant's Tale of the Mahabharata by Philipp Maas