Convention and Beyond Convention:

A Study of Ascetic Images in the Harṣacarita

Gaurav Sharma

The early medieval period of Indian history was for a long time considered
as the age of decline and decay.1 The Gupta age (4th–5th century) was
labelled as the zenith of political and socio-cultural development and
its decline resulted in a period of gradual decadence and deterioration.
However, studies during the last half a century have provided an all-
together different picture of the early medieval period.2 The integrative
and processual approach also read the traditional sources with a new
perspective of continuity and change. According to this approach, instead
of decline, the early medieval period brings a complex syncretism and
newness to the early historic religious and cultural processes. Brahmanical
ideas and ideals were spreading. Regional cults, rituals, and practices were
coming to the fore. Different religious sects were getting divided into
various subsects. Tantra and occult practices were developing and different
sects were getting influenced by them. Thus, the early historic processes
did not only continue in the early medieval period but they also intensified
and blended with equally intensified regional ideas and practices.
The present paper is a textual exploration of ideas and ideals of
asceticism in the 7th-century text Harṣacarita of Bāṇabhatta, which cannot
be undertaken without taking this historical background into consideration.
The Harṣacarita is an ākhyāyikā (historical narrative) and one of the
earliest extant works of its kind. It contains the autobiography of the poet
and a biography of the early years of the Vardhana king Harṣa.
The Harṣacarita provides us with three different images of asceticism.
First of all, in chapter 1 the autobiography of Bāṇa commences with the
portrayal of Brahmā’s assembly in which the sages are involved in pedantic
discussions and chanting of the Vedas. However, the dreadful and ill-
tempered ascetic Durvāsas disrupts the whole serenity of the assembly by
cursing the goddess Sarasvatī, which leads to her fall on earth. Here Bāṇa
uses the prevalent epic-puranic theme of the curse and the idea of ascetic
might to give his autobiography a divine beginning. This story is also
important as an indicator of the frequency and continuity of older ideas of
asceticism.
Bāṇa’s Harṣacarita does not stop here as it also provides us the
reference to socio-cultural and temporal changes in ascetic practices. In
chapter 3 of the text, Bāṇa portrays Śaivatantric asceticism while discussing
the origin myth of the Puṣyabhūti dynasty. In chapter 5 also, Bāṇa provides 125

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a vivid picture of how people of the Vardhan capital city – Śthānvīśvara

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– performed different occult practices to save the life of their king

Prabhākaravardhana. Thus, we can see how Bāṇa combines two different
pictures of asceticism in his Harṣacarita. On the one hand, his themes are
derived from the conventional ideas and ideals of the ascetic world. On the
other hand, they are also inspired by contemporaneous realities, in which
occult practices and tantrism start to play a very prominent role.
Finally, the ākhyāyikā ends in chapter8 with the reunion of Vardhan
king Harṣa with his younger sister Rājyaśrī. She was married to the
Maukharī king Grahavarman but, unfortunately, her husband was killed
by the Mālava ruler. This made Rājyaśrī desolated and to save her life, she
had to run away from the kingdom. There the union of Harṣa and Rājyaśrī
happens in some distant forest of the Vindhyas in anāśrama3 of Buddhist
monk Divākaramitra. The vivid description of Divākaramitra’sāśrama
gives the impression of syncretism of different values and sects. Here, the
older poetic theme of the āśrama is blended with the new emerging identity
of different sects and subsects. This is the third image of asceticism which
we can tease out from the Harṣacarita of Bāṇa.
In what follows, this paper will try to elaborate on these different
ideas and ideals of asceticism. I will also delineate how throughout
the ages, the Vindhyas has been an important center of asceticism and
Bāṇa too portrays this aspect of the Vindhyas thorough his life-like
imageries and vivid portrayals. To understand this description and different
philosophical schools inhabiting the Vindhyas, ŚriŚankara’s commentary
on the Harṣacarita – the Saṁketa will be used as a helpful guide.

Bāṇa’s Autobiography and the Elements of Asceticism

In chapter 1, the Harṣacarita starts with Brahmā’s abode. He is sitting
on his full-blown lotus seat and conducting an assembly of knowledge
(vidyāgoṣṭhi). The sages are discussing the stories and riddles related to
brahma4. Eminent sages like Manu, Dakṣa, Cakṣuṣa and seven ṛṣis are
also present there. Some who are well-versed in singing praise (stuti), are
chanting hymns of the ṛik. Some are reciting yajus mantras of worship.
Some of them are singing sāman melodies of praise (praśaṁsā). And
others are explaining the mantras of sacrificial rituals.
Even though, Brahmā’s vidyāgoṣṭhi is heavenly, still, it is patterned on
the examples of contemporary learned assemblies. At the end of Chapter
1, Bāṇa mentions contemporary assemblies when he describes how after
the death of his father, he wandered in different lands and gradually visited
different royal families, houses of teachers (gurukula) and attended the
valuable discussions of assemblies (goṣṭhis). Goṣṭhis are mentioned in
Chapter 2 also when king Harṣa’s brother Kṛṣṇa sends a message for
Bāṇa and he wonders why he is asked to visit the Vardhana court (Cowell
126 and Thomas1897, p. 44). In such assemblies, quarrels over differences of

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opinions were quite normal, therefore, any quarrelsome and haughty sage

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can start a tussle in Brahmā’s assembly as well.
Bāṇa gives this task of disruption to one of the most dreadful ascetics,
Durvāsas. He is described as the son of Atri and brother of the moon
(Tārāpati), a great sage (mahātapasvin) and extremely angry (atiroṣa) in
nature. And out of his nature and differences of knowledge, a discord rises
between him and another ascetic named Mandapāla. Getting blinded by his
rage (krodhāndha), the ill-tempered sage Durvāsas disrupts a musical note
of the sāmagāyan.
Everyone notices the disruption, but the fear of Durvāsas’s temper
compels them to ignore it. Even Brahmā and other prominent sages do
not pay heed to this. However, the young Sarasvatī, the embodiment of
knowledge, could not resist herself from smiling at such a naïve mistake
of a prominent ascetic. This is the point where Bāṇa inserts the curse motif
to delineate the story of the origin of his prestigious lineage. Bāṇa vividly
portrays the image of the infuriated sage Durvāsas:
Seeing her (Sarasvatī) so smiling, ‘Wretch!’ cried the sage, vain in the conceit
of ill-got knowledge, ‘dost jeer at me?’ With these words, shaking his head so
that his matted locks (jatākalāpa), streaming from the broken fillet, seemed
by their outpouring yellowness to flood the heavens with an issuing fire of
passion; gathering a frown that darkened the chess-board of his forehead, like
the presence of the god of death, and recalled the crocodile embellishment
upon the faces of Yama’s wives; with a red eye offering, as it were, an oblation
of his blood to the goddess of pitilessness (amarṣa deva); imprisoning the
gleam of his teeth, as if it were voice flying in terror at the merciless biting
of his lip; altering the tie of the black antelope skin (krṣnājina) – a scroll of
cursing as it were – which was slipping from his shoulder; clasped in every
limb by gods, asuras, and sages, who, reflected in his drop of sweat, seemed
to have come for refuge in their alarm at the curse; with a hand whose fingers
shook with an angry tremor spurning his rosary (akṣamālā) as though it were
a string of syllables clinging with supplication to him; thus, having first rinsed
his mouth from his earthen pitcher (kāmaṇdala), he took the water of cursing5.

Introducing sage Durvāsas to liven up events and hasten the pace of

the story is an old literary theme. In the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa,
he shows up at different critical junctures and is frequently associated with
boons and curses. Kālidāsa in his Abhijῆānaśākuntala uses this theme
in Act 4 and introduces the arrival of sage Durvāsas. There he curses
Śakuntalā for her absent-mindedness and this gives the story an all-together
different direction.
However, Bāṇa reproaches the sage Durvāsas for his behavior.
From epic stories to the Abhijῆānaśākuntalā, this sage is either feared or
mollified by supplications, but in the Harṣacarita, Durvāsas is condemned
by Sāvitrī for his arrogance. She calls him a committer of sin (pāpa), prey 127

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to anger (krodhopahata), ill-natured (durātman), devoid of knowledge/

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ignorant (ajῆa), devoid of true wisdom or self (anātmajῆa), unworthy of

being a brāhmaṇa (brahmabandhu), pretended muni (muni kheṭa), outcaste
(apasada) and despised (nirākṛta). Bāṇa personifies the Vedas as learned
sages who also show their resentment towards Durvās as behaviour. They
leave their bamboo cane seats (vetrāsana) and because of agitation and
sudden movement, the weight of their matted hair (jaṭābhāra) spreads in all
direction. Their upper bodies are covered in bark garments (cīracīvara) and
they are wearing the skin of black antelope (kṛṣṇājina) as their loincloth. In
their hands, the Vedas are holding chowries (cāmara) and kuśa grass. Thus,
the Vedas, whose knowledge is being discussed in Brahmā’s assembly and
are presiding over the assembly, also dislike Durvāsas’s attempts to disrupt
the sāmangāyan and curse Sarasvatī.
However, blinded by his passion (roṣaveśavivaśa) Durvāsas does not
stop and curses Sarasvatī to fall into the world of mortals (mrityuloka).
Unlike the Abhijῆānaśākuntala of Kālidāsa, here in the Harṣacarita,
Durvāsas is not portrayed as one who modifies the curse or suggests when
it will end. Brahmā himself mediates and tells Sarasvatī that the curse
will end when she will see the face of hers on, and till then Sāvitrī will
accompany her.
However, before that Brahmā elaborates what ascetics and asceticism
mean and how Durvāsas has become depraved and deviated from that path:
Brāhmaṇa, the path thou hast followed is not frequented by the good. Its
final goal is death. The dust raised by the steeds of passion in their unbridled
onrush is wont to cloud the vision of such as be not masters of the senses.
How limited indeed the scope of the eyes! For tis by the purified intellect that
the perfected behold all the things good and evil. Nature rejects this union of
piety and wrath as of water and fire. How dost thou, leaving the light, sink in
darkness! For the root of all asceticism is patience. Skilled in discerning the
faults of others, thy angry mind, like an eye inflamed, perceives not the frailty
of its own passion. How can censoriousness consort with commerce of great
penances? Blind verily is that seeing man who is over-wrathful. Clouded with
passion, the mind distinguishes not what should and what should not be done.
First of all the wisdom of the angry man is darkened; then his frowning brow.
The flush of passion assaults first the senses, last the eyes. In the beginning the
store of merit dissolves away; then the oozing sweat. The flash of dishonour
flickers; then comes the trembling of the lip. How ruinous to the world was the
growth of thy matted locks and bark dress, shoots and bark as it were of the
poison tree! Like the pearl necklace this graceless impulse of thy mind is out
of harmony, surely, with thy sage’s dress. With heart void of resignation idly
like an actor dost thou wear the counterfeited semblance of ascetic. Nought
free from taint can I detect in thee. Even to this hour thy levity floats but on the
surface of the sea of knowledge. (Cowell and Thomas 1897, p. 8–9)
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It is a long remark which condemns Durvāsas and reckons the ability

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to differentiate good from bad and identifies mastery over the senses
(prasṛtendri), purified intellect (kṛtabuddhi), endurance (kṣamā), restraint
(nigraha), and depth of knowledge (jῆānaodanvata) as the true signs of
asceticism. Wearing the attire of an ascetic is considered secondary to be
referred to as sage.
Sarasvatīdescends into the Vindhya forests and settles down near the
western bank of the river Śoṇa. She consecrates a Śivaliṅga there and
performs paῆcabrahmastuti and sings druvāgīti (song/hymn of Druva)
while offering eight flowers to the eight forms of Śiva i.e. prithivī, vāyu,
jala, ākāśa, agni, sūrya, candra and yajmānmayī. She lives the life of
abstinence and control and passes her days by having the water of the Śoṇa,
and roots and fruits gathered with very little effort. There Sarasvatī meets
Dadhīca, an ornament of the Bhārgava lineage and son of sage Cyavana6.
Through their union a son was born, who frees her from the curse. Sarasvatī
ascends to the Brahma loka again. But before her departure, she blesses
her son Sārasvata with the knowledge of all the Vedas, śāstras and their
mysteries (rahasya).
Afflicted by Sarasvatī’s departure, Dadhīca goes forth into the forest
to practice austerity (tapas). However, before that, he appoints Akṣamālā,
wife of a brāhmaṇa brother and the mother of a child named Vatsa, as
the foster mother of Sārasvata. When still young, Sārasvata also takes
up ascetic attributes like a staff made of palāśa wood (aṣāḍha), black
antelope skin (kṛṣṇājina), rosary (akṣavalī), bark garments (valkala), girdle
(mekhalā) and matted hair (jaṭā) and goes forth to join his father Dadhīca.
He delivers all of his knowledge to Vatsa, in whose lineage the great sage
Vātsyāyana, and finally Bāṇa, took birth.
This story of Bāṇa’s lineage is based on the myths and captures the
epic-puranic ideas. The story reflects the traditional images of asceticism.
Durvāsas’s wrath is modelled on literary precedents and is also influenced
by Kālidāsa’s usage of the curse motif. Bāṇa brilliantly captures the
ascetic’s frenzied anger as well as the efficacy of ascetic might. However,
through the long discourse of Brahmā, Bāṇa criticises Durvāsas’s attitude
and temper. He vividly portrays the attire and personality of an ideal ascetic
and also sets the boundaries for what an ascetic should not do.

Asceticism and Tantra

The second image of asceticism in Bāṇa’s Harṣacrita is influenced by
contemporary tantra practices. He dedicates Chapter 3 of his work to the
story of the origin of the Puṣyabhūti dynasty. One day a Śaiva ascetic and
his disciples arrive and settle outside the city of Sthānvīśvara. The name of
the ascetic is Bhairavācārya – a combination of his devotion towards the
fierce form of lord Śiva i.e. Bhairava and his designation as a preceptor
(ācārya). Bāṇa describes him as the incarnation of the destroyer of Dakṣa’s 129

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sacrifice (sākṣātadakṣamakhamathana). This is again an allusion to his

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association with the fierce form of Śiva. He has arrived from the south
(dākṣiṇātya) and is famous for his grasp of various branches of knowledge
(bahuvidhavidyā).
Scholars have identified two regional strongholds of Śaivismin early
medieval India, one in Kashmir and the other in South India. Sadhu
Santideva in volume 3 of the Encyclopedia of Tantra describes how the
South Indian Śaivas were associated with the corpus called Śaivasiddhānta.
He attests that Śaivasiddhānta has tantric influence and had flourished in the
later part of the early medieval period (Santidev 1999, p. 337). The tantric
Śaiva tradition does not recognise the authority of the Vedas and emphasises
the guidance and authority of preceptors. Therefore, Bhairavācārya’s role
as ācārya and being proficient in various branches of knowledge might be
an allusion to his authority as a preceptor in the Śaivasiddhānta scriptures.
Bhairavācārya was staying in an old temple of the mothers (mātragṛha),
near the bank of Sarasvatī river in a vātikā of bela trees. He sends one of
his disciples to meet Puṣyabhūti to announce his arrival. The description of
the disciple is quite revealing. He is described as wearing an ochre drape
(kāṣāyayogapaṭṭa) on his shoulder which he has tied to his chest. In one
hand, he is holding a pole (yogabhāraka) on which he has tied his different
belongings. He is carrying an alms bowl made of a skull (bhikṣākapāla)7.
His slippers (pādukā), collection of manuscripts (pustikāḥpūlaka), loincloth
(kaupin) and one sieve of bamboo are also tied to it. In his other hand, he
is holding a cane seat (vetrāsana). This is a very detailed description of an
ascetic’s limited possessions. The distinguishing mark of having a kapāla
as his alms bowl reveals that Bhairavācārya and his disciples are adherents
of the Kāpālika order of the Śaiva tradition.
Next day Puṣyabhutī visits Bhairavācārya in the bilva grove. After
finishing the morning bath, eight flower offerings (aṣṭapuṣpikā)8 and
sacrificial rituals (anuṣṭhitāgni), Bhairvācārya is now sitting amidst
his disciples. He is sitting on a tiger-skin (vyāghracarmaṇa) stretched
on the cow-dung (gomaya) smeared floor with boundaries marked by
ashes (bhasmarekhā). He is covered in a black blanket (kṛṣnakambala)
as if practicing living in the darkness of hell. He is casting his lustrous
glow (vidutkapilenātmatejas) upon his disciples as if using red arsenic
(manaḥśilā) by selling human flesh (mahāmāṁsa). He has tied rūdrākṣa
and shells (śaṁkhagutikā) in his top knot. The mark of ashes on his forehead
seems as if his white skull is coming out by regularly burning guggulu on
it. Bāṇa tells us that Bhairavācārya’s lip hangs low as his tongue is weighed
down by the whole śaivasaṁhitā – again a reference to his proficiency in
the Śaiva canon of the time. He is wearing sphātika earrings and a bracelet
in hand, adorned with a piece of shell (śaṁkhakhaṇḍa). In that bracelet,
he has tied some herbs and written syllables of spells and formulae. In his
130 right hand, he is moving a rosary of rudrākṣa like a constantly moving

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water wheel (naghtiyantra). His loincloth is made of pure white silken

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cloth (pāṇḍurpavitrakṣaumāvṛkaupīna) and he always keeps with him a
bamboo staff (viśakhikādaṇḍa) with an iron hook (aṁkuśa) on its end.
Bāṇa generously gives Bhairvācārya diverse titles. He calls him as the
one who has observed chastity since childhood (kumārabrahmacārina),
extreme ascetic (mahātapasvin), supremely intelligent (mahāmanasvin).
Bhairvācārya is also referred to as the one who has abandoned anger
(kṛśakrodha) but is full of consideration (akṛśānurodha). He is the abode of
dharma (dhāmadharmasya), sacred place of reality/truth (tirthatathyasya),
storehouse of prosperity (kośakuśalasya), city of purity (pattanapūtatāyāḥ),
mansion of good character (śālāśīlasya), field of forbearance
(kṣetrakṣamāyāḥ), rice field of courtesies/graciousness (śāleyamśālīnatāyāḥ),
place of firmness (sthānamsthiteḥ), foundation of fortitude (ādāramdṛteḥ),
mine of compassion (ākaramkaruṇāyāḥ), house/temple of curiosity/
happiness (niketanamkautukasya), pleasure garden of delight/beauty
(ārāmamrāmaṇīyakasya), palace of serenity/purity (prāsādamprasādasya),
dwelling of admiration/dignity (āgāramgauravasya), collection/abundance
of benevolence (samājasaujanyasya), origin of kindness/affection
(saṁbhavamsadbhāvasya) and end of kali (kālamkaleḥ). In this magnificent
way Puṣyabhūti finds Bhairvācārya sitting there as the embodiment of
ŚivaVirūpākṣa.
It is one of the most vivid, lengthy and positive descriptions of a
Kāpālika ascetic in Sanskrit literary works. David N. Lorenzen also
calls it a ‘sympathetic portrait of a Śaiva acetic’ (Lorenzen 1972, p. 20).
Two other contemporary Sanskrit texts, Bhavabhūti’s Mālatimādhava
and Pallava king Mahendravarman’s Mattavilāsaprahasana also contain
descriptions of Kāpālika ascetics. However, in the Mālatīmādhava,
both Kapālakundala and Aghorghanta are portrayed as negative figures.
The Mattavilāsaprahasana – a farce, portrays the Kāpālika ascetic in a
satirical manner (Lorenzen 1972, p. 23). Therefore, positive and elaborate
descriptions of Kāpālika ascetics in the Harṣacarita is are a very striking
feature of the text. It is also an important source to understand the lifestyle,
attire, rituals, and practices of Kāpālika ascetics in early medieval times.
At least two distinguished tantric practices can be identified in Bāṇa’s
Harṣacarita. The first is the selling of human flesh (mahāmāṁsa), which
is ultimately used to propitiate different forms of Śiva or Śakti. Secondly,
the regularly burning guggulu9 on the forehead. Both these practices
are attached to attaining desirable spiritual, material and worldly goals.
Bāṇa portrays how people resort to such practices to get immediate
results. In Chapter 5 of the Harṣacarita, the people of Sthāṇvīśvara try
to appease gods, goddesses, and demons with such practices when king
Prabhākarvardhana lies on his deathbed:
There young nobles were burning themselves with lamps to propitiate the
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mothers (mātṛamandala). In one place a Draviḍa was ready to solicit the vetāla
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with offering of a skull (muṇḍa). In another an Āndhra man was holding up his
arms to conciliate Caṇḍī. Elsewhere distressed young servants were pacifying
Mahākāla by holding melting gum (guggulu) on their heads. In another place
a group of relatives was intent on an oblation of their own flesh (ātmamāṁsa),
which they severed with keen knives. Elsewhere again young courtiers were
openly resorting to the sale of human flesh (mahāmāṁsa) (Cowell and Thomas
1897, p. 135).

Act 5 of the Mālatīmādhava of Bhavabhūti also portrays Mādhava as

wandering in a cemetery to sell his flesh to the Kāpālika as he wished to
get united with Mālatī (Kale 1967, p. 42). It seems that people adopted to
such practices as shortcuts to attain desirable worldly goals and this might
be one of the reasons for the growing prominence of tantrism in the early
medieval period.
In one of their meetings, Bhairavācārya’s disciple gifts the great sword
Aṭṭahāsa to Puṣyabhūti. It was received by Pātālasvāmin, another disciple
of Bhairvācārya, from a Brahmarākṣasa. It was a bounteous favour and
in his next meeting, Bhairavācārya finally states his motives behind his
frequent visits to Puṣyabhūtiand the generous gift of the sword Aṭṭahāsa.
He tells the king:
Listen: by a crore of muttered prayers (japakoṭi) I, in garland, clothes, and
unguents all of black (kṛṣṇastragambarānulepa) as enjoined in the Kalpa,
performed in the great cemetery (mahāśmaśāna) the exordium of the potent
rite called Mahākālahṛdaya. Its completion ends with laying of a goblin
(vetālasādhanāvasānā siddhi). Without companions this is unattainable. You
are capable of achieving this. Should you undertake the task, there will be
three other assistants: one the friend of my boyhood, Ṭīṭibha, the mendicant
who visits your majesty; the second Pātālasvāmin; the third a Drāviḍa disciple
of mine, Karṇatāla by name. if you approve, let this arm of yours, long as a
sky elephant’s trunk, take Aṭṭahāsa and for one night become the bolt of one
quarter of the heaven. (Cowell and Thomas 1897, p. 90)

This is an invitation for an occult practice named the mahākālahṛdaya,

which requires a japa of crore prayers before commencing the final ritual in
a cemetery. David N. Lorenzen comments that there is no other reference to
this rite elsewhere in Sanskrit literature (Lorenzen 1972, p. 22). However,
Sadhu Santideva identifies such siddhis in tantric scriptures. For instance,
mantrasiddhi (success in mantras) and vāksiddhis (success in speech) are
performed to attain desirable results. Mantras are repeated lakh, five lakh,
and – as in the case of the Harṣacarita – one crore times, to get effective
results. Santideva (1999, pp. 23–24) further refers to mantra practices like
kavaca, hṛdaya, astra, and rakṣā. The mahakālahṛdaya of the Harṣacarita
seems like a hṛdaya mantra rite to propitiate Mahākāla Śiva. The final act
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of this ritual includes success over the vetāla (vetālasādhanā) and Bāṇa

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alludes that after its completion Bhairvācārya will attain the semi-divine
status of Vidyādhara.
Puṣyabhūti gives his approval to be part of the final ritual of
mahākālahṛdaya. Bhairavācārya instructs him to come to the cemetery
on the fourteenth night of the dark fortnight (asitapakṣacaturdaśī),
holding his sword in his hand. After being consecrated in Śaiva method
(Śaivenavidhinādikṣītaḥ), on the prescribed day he goes forth alone
holding the Aṭṭahāsa sword in hand. Bāṇa portrays a mysterious and
dreadful environment which could be sensed as the sun’s rays hang low
like the tongue of vetāla (vetālajivhā) addicted to the blood offering
(rūdhirabalilampata). The shadows of the trees were growing as if they
were demonic women (yātudhānī). The night starts to spread as the
hell-dwelling (pātālatalavāsin) demons (dānava) emerge to interrupt the
rites. The stars start to cluster in the sky as if to witness the fierce ritual
(raudrakarma).
Puṣyabhūti reaches the appointed spot and meets his other three
companions – Tiṭibha, Karṇatāla, and Pātālasvāmin. They all were well-
adorned according to the rite and were carrying weapons like Puṣyabhūti.
Then Bāṇa describes one of the most horrifying ritual practices we come
across in Sanskrit kāvya literature:
In the centre of a great circle (mahatamaṇḍala) of ashes (bhasma) white as
lotus pollen Bhairavācārya could be seen, a form all aglow with light, like
the autumn sun enveloped in a broad halo or Mandara in the whirlpool of the
churned Ocean of Milk. Seated on the breast of a corpse which lay supine
(uttānaśava) anointed with red sandal (raktacandanānulepa) and arrayed in
garlands (raktastraja), clothes and ornaments all of red (raktāmbarābharaṇa),
himself with a black turban (kṛṣṇauṣṇīṣa), black unguents (kṛṣṇaaṁgarāga),
black amulet (kṛṣṇapratisara), and black garments (kṛṣṇavāsasa), he had
begun a fire rite (agnikārya) in the corpse’s mouth (mukhakuhara), where a
flame was burning. (Cowell and Thomas 1897, p. 92)

The abundant use of red and black and the clear contrast of red for
the corpse and black for Bhairavācārya is symbolic in nature. It may
represent the specific procedure of the ritual mahākālahṛdaya. However, it
may also be a general dress-code for such tantric rituals. There are many
tantric texts which describe śavasadhana (using of corpse as ritual aid) as
a part of different rituals. Santideva (1999, p. 50) refers to a Śākta text, the
Kaulāvalī which describes the following rite:
The devotee should go to a cemetery or some other lonely spot after the
first watch of the night, and secure a corpse. The dead body should be of a
young handsome warrior, killed (not by the devotee) in battle. He should
wash the corpse, offer worship to it, and to Durgā and repeat the mantra Om
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Durge Durgerakṣṇisvāhā. If the devotee is not scared by terrible sights that

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he may see, he secures mantrasiddhi after a long procedure. It is stated that

mantrasiddhi is possible by śavasādhanā even in a single night.

The rite described above is dedicated to Durgā, however, such

Śavasādhanās can be seen in Śaivas also. It is believed that it multiplies
the ritual effect of mantras. Bhairavācārya had completed a japa of crore
mantras and now was seeking to secure the status of a vidyādhara, by
the completion of Śavasādhnā. Bhairavācārya was also aware that such
a rite can be hindered by terrible sights; that is why he has suggested his
companions be equipped with weapons and especially asks Puṣyabhūti to
carry the Aṭṭahāsa sword with him.
Pātālasvāmin sits in Indra’s direction i.e. east; Karṇatāla sits in the
direction of Kubera i.e. north; and the mendicant Ṭiṭibha in the west, the
direction of the god of water Prācetasa. Puṣyabhūti secures the southern
spot for himself. Then they all settle there like the warden of each
direction (dikpāla) and Bhairavācārya sits inside the cage of their arms. He
begins the rite and the demons start to wail. As the ritual progresses a big
chasm (vivara) opens up in the earth and from that, a figure appears who
challenges and mocks Bhairavācārya:
Ho, my would be paramour of Vidyādharīs, he sneeringly shouted in tones
awful as the echo of Narasiṁha’s roar, whence this conceit of knowledge or
blind reliance on your helpers, that without making an oblation to me you
aspire – fool that you are – to success? What madness is this? Has no mention
come to your ears after all this time of me, the NāgaŚrīkaṇṭha, after whom this
region, whereof I am lord, is named? Against my will what power have the
very planets to move in the heavens? What a miserable unkingly king is this,
who accepts favours from such Śaiva outcaste as you? (Cowell and Thomas
1897, p. 94).

This is quite a revealing remark and to some extent suggests why

Puṣyabhūti agreed to be a part of the Kāpālika ritual. The demon who
emerges out of the earth, asserts his identity as the NāgaŚrīkaṇṭha, after
whose name the whole country got its name Śrīkaṇṭha. He seems like an
authority in the region, whose consent was required to perform such occult
practices. Śrīkaṇṭha even mocks the valour and kingliness of Puṣyabhūti
who has to resort to such practices and favours from a Śaiva outcaste.
It seems more likely that Bāṇa’s portrayal of Puṣyabhūti as an already-
established king comes out of his affiliation with the Vardhan court.
However, in reality, the NāgaŚrikaṇṭha might have been an early authority.
Puṣyabhūti figures like a petty warrior/official in Nāga reign and to attain
some immediate benefits he was participating in a secret tantric ritual. This
proposition is further strengthened by D. Devahuti’s political analysis. She
comments:
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The date and identity of the progenitor of the Vardhana dynasty is not easy to

Gaurav Sharma
establish. Certain references by Bāṇa, however, lead us to believe that Pushpa-
bhūti was probably a contemporary of the early Imperial Guptas. The Nāgas,
whose coins have been found at Mathurā, held sway over the Śūrasena region
in the early decades of the fourth century. The region of Śri-kanṭḥa, which lay
in the neighbourhood of Nāga domains, is said to have got its name from Nāga,
Śrī-kanṭḥa, who, according to Bāṇa, was defeated by Pushpa-bhūti in a duel.
This may be a garbled collection of a war between the founder of Vardhana
line and a Nāga king of Mathurā, when the former made a bid for power over
Nāga territory. (Devahuti 1983, p. 67).

Bāṇa inserts Kāpālika asceticism and ritual practices and fantastic

elements in this faint memory of a power struggle. Puṣyabhūti defeats
NāgaṢrikaṇṭḥa with his bare hands and this exhibition of valour and
prowess pleases the goddess of fortune Ṣrī-Lakṣmī. She emerges out of the
Aṭṭhāsa sword to bless Puṣyabhūtias the founder of an illustrious dynasty in
which a cakravartin king Harṣa would take birth. This is an origin myth of
the Puṣyabhūti dynasty patterned on contemporary praśastis. Incorporating
Kāpālika asceticism, a duel with a demonic figure and blessings of the
goddess of fortune are an attempt to showcase the valour, virtuousness and
grandeur of the progenitor of the Vardhana dynasty.
It is hard to comment on how much historicity this story contains.
However, Bhairavācārya seems like a historic and contemporaneous
ascetic figure to Puṣyabhūti. Even associating the founder of the dynasty
with tantric practice and the details with which Bāṇa describes the whole
ritual gives it a very realistic touch. We cannot ascertain whether these
details have some kind of historicity or not. However, what we can
comment with certainty is that the vividness with which Kāpālika ascetics,
their attire, belongings, lifestyle, ritual and practices are portrayed gives us
a window into the images and ideals of Śaiva asceticism. It also gives us
the opportunity to understand how emerging local dynasties were resorting
to tantra, occult practices, and different cults as these practices promised
immediate results and worldly attainments.

The Vindhyas through the Ages and the Āśrama of Dīvakaramitra

Chapter 8 of the Harṣacarita is set in the Vindhya forests. It is political
rivalry and family tragedy which bring king Harṣa to the Vindhyas, in
search of his younger sister Rājyasrī. Bāṇa in both of his works – the
Harṣacarita and the Kādambarī – gives the Vindhyas a very central role
and portrays it like a nucleus of the āśramas and asceticism. King Harṣa
meets a young man named Nirghāta in the Vindhyas. He is introduced as
the son of the Śabara general Bhūkampa’s sister. He is one who knows of
every direction and incident in the Vindhya forests; however, he denies any
sighting of a royal woman in the forest. He suggests that not very far away
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a Pārāśarin mendicant named Divākaramitra dwells with his disciples – he

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might have some idea if any royal woman had arrived in the Vindhyas.
Monk Divākaramitra was the childhood friend of Harṣa’s brother-
in-law Grahavarman. He had been the follower of the Maitrāyaṇīśākhā
and was learned in all the Vedas. At a very young age, he had become
an excellent teacher (brahmaṇaṣreṣṭha). However, gradually he became
inclined towards Buddhist doctrine (saugatamata). He adhered to the
Buddhist mendicancy and the ochre robe (kāṣāya). V.S. Agrawal (1969,
p. 223) comments that the followers of Bhikṣu-sūtra of the Parāśara were
named as Pārāśarin and the first reference to these mendicants occurs in
Pāṇini 4.3.110. The Bhikṣu-sutra is also identified with the Vedāntasutras
of Vyāsa. Thus, in the early period, the Pārāśarins were connected with the
study of Vedas. However, in the early medieval period, there was one – if
not the same – branch of Pārāśarin Bhikṣus who were associated with
Buddhism and repudiated the knowledge of the Vedas.
Nirghāta takes Harṣa to the āśrama of Divākaramitra. Bāṇa describes
the forest and surroundings of the āśrama in detail, which Harṣa and his
companions notice while walking through the forest. The ascetics have
hung their water-pot (kamaṇḍala) on the firm branches of trees, and in
latāmaṇḍap as the empty begging bowls made of skulls (bhikṣākapāla)
are looped in strings. In the nearest huts, there are caitya form pink colour
stamps (pātalamudrā). An area has been coloured by the polluted water of
the washed bark clothes (cīvarāmbara) of ascetics. And this whole area is
surrounded by trees like the Vedas with their unlimited branches (śākhā).
This is a very syncretic description where one can identify at least three
different – if not opposing – symbols like begging bowls made of the skull,
stamps in caitya form, and the Vedas and their different branches. They
represent Kāpālika Śaiva ascetics, followers of Buddhism, and adherents of
the Vedas respectively. Usually, these different sects and ascetic practices
are considered as antagonistic to each other. However, in the Vindhyas,
they seem to co-exist.
This picture gets more evident and vivid as king Harṣa moves closer to
the abode of Divākaramitra. He notices different ascetics, who have arrived
from different countries, sitting there. Some of them are sitting on rock slabs
and others are sitting among the creepers. Some are hiding behind thickets
of the woods and others are sitting on the roots of trees. Bāṇa specifically
identifies those ascetics with their sectarian and religious affiliations. There
were arhats, who can be identified with Jaina munis10 who have abandoned
their desires and passions (vītarāgaarhata). There were Maskarīs who are
identified by Bāṇa as the Kāpālikas in Chapter 3. Those who wear a white
robe (śvetapaṭa) – a clear allusion to the mendicants of Śvetāmbara Jain
order – were also present there. There were Pāṇḍurī Bhikṣu whom Agrawal
identifies as Ājīvikas. If this identification is correct, then this must be one
136 of the latest references to Ājīvikas in Sanskrit literature (Olivelle 2012, p.

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332). If not extinct, then by the time of the Harṣacarita, they must have

Gaurav Sharma
must have been reduced to a very few. In that case, we can say that the
Harṣacarita’s reference to Ājīvikas in the Vindhyas holds a very special
position in the history of a lost sect.
In that wood, there were Bhāgavatas (a sect of Vaiṣṇavism that
worshipped Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa) and Varṇins. It is hard to identify the Varṇins;
however, Agrawal opines that they are Naiṣṭhika Brahmacārins. Bāṇa also
refers to mendicants who adhered to the severe practice of pulling out their
hair (keśaluῆcana). This is a reference to Jaina monks who afflict such pain
by removing their hair (Olivelle 2012, p. 332). Regarding Jaina’s treatment
of the hair, Olivelle opines that ‘it can be seen as a symbolic and ritual
uprooting of sexual drives and attachments.’ (Olivelle 2012, p. 332).
In the Vindhyas, there were Kāpilas, Jaina and Lokāyatikas i.e.
ascetics of different schools of thoughts like Sāṁkhya, the Jaina and
materialistic philosophy of Cārvāka respectively. This list of philosophical
schools inhabiting the Vindhyas does not stop here. Bāṇa further mentions
that there were also groups like Kāṇāda, followers of Aupaniṣadic
philosophy, Aiśvarakāraṇikas, Kārandhamīns, Dharmaśātrins, Paurāṇikas,
Sāptatantavas, Śābdikas, and Pāῆcarātrikas. ṢriŚankara’s commentary on
the Harṣacarita helps us to understand these schools, especially those
which are hard to identify. For instance, Aupaniṣadic philosophy refers
to Vedānatika school. Similarly, the Aiśvarakāranikas are associated with
Naiyāyika school, Kārandhamīns were people who were experts in the
science of metal/elements and chemicals, and the Śābdikas are experts
in grammatical rules and philosophy. Bāṇa identifies Paῆcarātrikasas
an independent sect. By the early medieval period, Paῆcarātrikas had
considerable tantric influence; however, originally it revolved around
Vāsudeva, Lakṣmī, Saṁkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha.
Bāṇa’s description is a very rare portrayal of sectarian and doctrinal
plurality, where the different schools of thought, philosophies and ascetic
trends coexist and inhabit together. Two questions emerge out of this
description. First, what brings these supposedly antagonistic and separate
ideological and religious schools together? And second, is this a historical
portrayal of the Vindhyas as a nucleus of asceticism and religiosity, or is it
just another poetically excellent picture created by the poet?
The answer to the first question lies in Chapter 8 of the Harṣacarita.
Bāṇa mentions that these different religious, ascetic and sectarian groups
are studying and listening to their tenets and theories (siddhānta) with great
assiduity. They are meticulously pondering over theories while repeating
(pratyuccara) them several times. In this process of listening and repeating
they are also raising questions and doubts (saṁśaya). This contemplation
leads them to resolve and fix (niścaya) their propositions. They also
propound new theories and further elaborate (vyutpatti) the earlier ideas
while discussing them diligently. The process involves contestation, 137

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contradiction, and debates (vivāda). Finally, they explain (vyācakṣa) their

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ideas to other sects and groups present in the vicinity. This process from
listening to a settled theory to its repetition, raising doubts, resolving and
fixing those doubts, elaborating and giving new directions, debating and
explaining it to others, is a systematic method of knowledge production
and pedagogy.
This leads us to the second question of whether the Vindhyas was one
of the centres of asceticism, religiosity, and philosophy in the 7th century.
In Chapter 5 of the Harṣacarita, Bāṇa refers to a similar list of ascetics and
religious groups who share the grief of Harṣa after the death of his father
Prabhākaravardhana. In this list, the Vindhyas is mentioned as the abode
of ascetics and specifically of ascetics who wear white robes11. Though
more of an imaginative and mythological reference, in Chapter 1 of the
Harṣacarita, Sarasvatī descends in the Vindhyas and sage Cyavana and his
āśrama were also situated there.
Bāṇa continues his fondness for the Vindhyas and its ascetic
surroundings in his Kādambarī (Vidyālaṅkār 1971, pp. 123–161). In the
Kādambarī, he relates the Vindhyas with the epic story of the Rāmāyaṇa
and reflects how every corner of the Vindhyas is filled with the presence
of Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā. It is called Daṇḍakāraṇya12 and the āśrama
of Jābāli and his son Hārīta is situated there. Bāṇa describes them as
the mahātapasvin and sanatkumāra respectively. However, unlike the
plurality and diversity of Divākaramitra’s āśrama, the āśrama of Jābāli is
peculiarly Brahmanical. Ascetics there are involved in sacrificial practices
and collecting samidhā, kuśa and Kusumafor the rituals. The Kādamabri’s
description of Jābāli’s āśrama is imaginative and ideas and ideals of
asceticism are inspired by epic-purāṇic themes and kāvya conventions.
However, it certainly leads us to the inference that the Vindhyas might have
been an abode of asceticism in Bāṇa’s time. This inference can be further
corroborated if we look at other textual references to the Vindhyas.
Aśvaghoṣa in his Buddhacarita13 (1st–2nd Century CE) describes
Sarvārthasiddha’s (Buddha before his enlightenment) quest for true
knowledge and the ultimate path for the cessation of life and death. First
of all, Sarvārthasiddha reaches a Brahmanical āśrama in Himālayas. There
he observes ascetic practices and austerities for a few days and realises
that this is not the path that can lead to mokṣa. From there he leaves for
the Vindhyas. In the Vindhya forest, he visits the abode of sage Arāḍa of
the Kālāma lineage, who was the teacher of Sāṁkhya doctrine of Kapila.
What is interesting is that in a later period, there seems to have
existed a historical figure named Vindhyavāsin (300–400 C.E). He was
also a Sāṁkhya teacher who debated with Buddhamitra, the teacher of
Vasubandhu (Larson and Bhattacharya 1987, p. 141). There was a very
close connection between Sāṁkhya and the Vindhyas, and if we extend
138 the argument a bit, between the Vindhyas and various religious and

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philosophical schools. For instance, in theVindhyas, Sarvārthasiddha meets

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another ascetic named Udraka, who had perceived the fault of cognition and
non-cognition and attained a stage beyond nothingness. This philosophical
understanding also does not quench Sarvārthasiddha’s search and he
finally creates his way to attain nirvāṇa. This story of Sarvārthasiddha’s
visits to different āśrama is crafted to present him as standing above his
contemporaries. However, what is interesting for us is the portrayal of the
Vindhyas as one of the centers of asceticism in Aṣvaghoṣa’s time – if not
in the time of the Buddha.
The Vindhyas seems like a centre where different ascetic traditions
mingled and flourished together. The Buddhacarita alludes to this and
Bāṇa’s description in the Harṣacarita makes this more evident. We can
trace the importance of the Vindhyas to its first detailed reference in the
Rāmāyaṇa. The Araṇyakāṇda of the Rāmāyaṇais set in Daṇḍakāraṇaya and
first thing Rāma witnesses while entering the forest is the cluster of āśramas
(tāpasāśramamaṇḍala). Most importantly, the Rāmāyaṇa associates the
Vindhyas with the abode of Agastya (Dutta2002, pp. 1–36), who appears
in different epic-puranic stories and holds the status of a prominent sage.
Thus, these multiple textual references capture the plurality and syncretism
of the different ascetic and religious strands in the Vindhyas. Be it
Brahmanical sages like Cyavana, Jābālī and Agastya, Sāṃkhya teachers
like Arāḍa Kalāma and Vindhyavāsin, adherents of the different ascetic and
sectarian practices and the Buddha himself in the Buddhacarita, they all are
associated with the Vindhyas in one or another way.
Now, if we turn again towards the Harṣacarita’s description of
Divākaramitra’s āśrama, then it makes more sense, as it captures the
cultural continuity of the Vindhyas as the nucleus of asceticism over many
centuries. Further, it reflects change and intensification of the processes
and activities. Even the term āśrama, which has been used exclusively for
Brahmanical abodes in the earlier literature, is used throughout Chapter
8 in the Harṣacarita for the abode of a Buddhist monk. This may reflect
Bāṇa’s deliberate attempt to call a Buddhist abode not a monastery but
an āśrama. This is another instance of the proximity of different ascetic
trends and religious sects, which results in loosening of the exclusivity of
terminology and an increase in borrowing and sharing of ideas.
Finally, in Chapter 8 of the Harṣacarita, king Harṣa sees Divākaramitra
flanked by the lion cubs as if the Buddha himself were sitting on a
lion throne. Divākaramitra is described with varied epithets as the
goal of meditation (dhyānasyadhyeya), learnt by the knowledge itself
(jῆānsyajῆeya), birth of japa (janmajapasya), circumference of rules and
laws (neminiyamasya), essence of austerity (tattvamtapasaḥ), embodiment
of purity (śariraśaucasya), repository of prosperity (kośakuśalasya),
chamber of trust (veśmaviśvāsasya), dwelling of good conduct
(sadvṛttamsadvṛtttāyāḥ) and omniscient (sarvajῆa). 139

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It can be observed that Bāṇa does not lose his zeal while praising
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different ascetics, no matter a Brāhmaṇa, Kāpālika or a Buddhist monk.

He has a wider understanding and a neutral outlook about religiosity and
different ascetic trends. Although a Brāhmaṇa, Bāṇa does not hesitate to
condemn Durvāsas for his bad temper and dreadful behavior and does not
express any contempt towards the Kāpālika’s terrible ritual practices. He is
well-versed equally in the duties and ideas of a Brahmanical ascetic as he
is aware of contemporary occult practices of Tantricism.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that as anākhyāyikā, the Harṣacarita fulfills its
task of blending historical events and incidents with poetic imagination. At
least three different pictures of asceticism can be teased out from the text.
The first of these images is associated with Brahmanical asceticism – based
on epic-purāṇic themes and ideas. In Chapter 3, Bāṇa portrays Kāpālika
ascetics, their lifestyles, attires, belongings and occult practices in detail.
Finally, Chapter 8 is dedicated to a cultural amalgamation of older and
newly emerging ascetic and religious ideas.
On the one hand, this delineation shows how older themes about
ascetic life were continued in literature and the conventional images
were reiterated. However, it also points to an attempt to move beyond
conventional ideas and present complicated contemporaneous realities.
It is hard to conclude how much historicity these different portrayals
convey; however, Bāṇa’s impersonal and non-subjective approach towards
asceticism is unique in the Sanskrit literature. Thus, we can say that the
study of the Harṣacarita helps us to understand that the Sanskrit kāvya
– though hardly acknowledged –captures changes in historical and social
processes. The ideas and ideals of a society are also not static. They are
bound to change and the themes of asceticism are no exception to the rule.

Notes
1 Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya (1997, p. 7) tries to summarise this understanding and
enlists features with which early historic and early medieval periods have long
been associated. R.S. Sharma and a particular group of historians have considered
the early historic as the age of great kingdoms with elaborate bureaucracies and
centralised states. It was an age of urbanisation and long-distance trade with
monetisation and developed crafts and skills. At the level of society and culture, the
varṇa system was the driving force and the caste system was not developed. The
coming of ‘early medieval’ was represented as the opposite of what all these early
historical trends stood for. It was labelled as an age of political decentralisation,
with the proliferation of castes, and emergence of feudal ideology and practices at
the social and cultural level.
2 For detailed study and understanding of early medieval period in Indian history
see Singh (2011); Chattopadhyaya (1997); Sahu (2013); Kulke and Rothermund
(2016).
3 The word āśrama has two different contextual meanings. On the one hand, it
140

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represents the dwelling place of ascetics and sages. It is the sacred ground where

Gaurav Sharma
ascetics incessantly perform different rituals and practices to attain heaven,
ascetic might, prowess and in some cases salvation. Such āśramas sometimes
are portrayed as the anti-thesis of society. On the other hand, the term āśrama
can also be defined as different mode of life i.e. brahmacarya, gṛhastha,
vānaprastha, and sanyāsa from which a twice born (dvija) is expected to choose
(as depicted in dharmasūtras) or pass through in successive manner (as described
in dharmaśāstric tradition from the Manusmṛti onwards). Both the meanings of the
term āśrama emerge out of the Sanskrit root śrama which means toil. Thus, the
word āśrama refers to a place or the stage of life in which a person asserts himself
in specific manner. As far as this article is concerned, throughout the article the
term āśrama is referred to as a dwelling place of ascetics. For details see Olivelle
(1993).
4 Most likely, the term brahma stands here for the Vedas and this vidyāgoṣṭhi of
learned sages is also about grasping the knowledge of the Vedas.
5 Throughout the text, I will be using the translation of Cowell and Thomas (1897).
However, wherever necessary I have added more appropriate words to make the
meaning clearer (Cowell and Thomas 1897, p. 6).
6 Bāṇa describes the sage Cyavana as the one who is equally famous on earth (bhū),
in the atmosphere or sky (bhuva) and in heaven (svar). His unvanquished might
restrained the pillar-like arms of Indra. His lotus feet walk on a roughish bed made
from crown stones of gods and demons (surāsurmukutamaṇi). He has burned to
ashes Puloman by his innate fire (nijateja). (Cowell and Thomas 1897, pp. 20–21.)
7 David N. Lorenzen (1972, pp. 78–79) summarises the Puranic story about the
significance of the human skull for the Kāpālikas. It is symbolically associated
with Śiva, who severed the fifth head of Brahmā and got afflicted by the sin
of murdering a Brāhmaṇa. Subsequently, he was redeemed by adhering to the
mahāvratas and finally visiting a tīrtha named Avimukta, but it becomes the basis
of one of the most noted ascetic practices of the Kāpālikas. Though they do not
kill any Brāmaṇa, they perform penances and practices which are adhered to after
killing a Brāhmaṇa. This is supposed to multiply the effects of the austerities as
they are following them without committing any sin of that severity. Kāpālikas
imitate the fierce form of Śiva and carry a human skull as their distinct symbol.
8 In chapter one Sarasvatī is also portrayed as offering eight flowers to the eight
forms of Śiva i.e. prithivī, vāyu, jala, ākāśa, agni, sūrya, candra and yajmānmayī.
9 Guggulu is a gum resin that comes from the mukul myrrh tree or Commiphora
mukul. In India, traditionally it has been used in Ayurvedic medicines and rituals.
The frequent reference to guggulu in the Harṣacarita shows that it had great
importance in Kāpālika rituals also.
10 Agrawal (1969) clearly identifies this as a reference to Digambara Jainas.
However, arhat is a wider term and was used by Śvetāmbara Jains and even by
Buddhists as well.
11 This reference to the white-robed ascetics is not easily intelligible. Bāṇa
mentions that ‘some people who bathe in sprinkling water from the trunks of
white elephants (vanakarin) and lay on the couches of leaves (pallavaśayana)’.
However, Jagannatha Paṭhaka in his Hindi translation and Vasudeva S. Agrawalin
his analysis of the Harṣacarita, decode the double entendre and describe that these
are ascetics with white robes. Agrawal goes further and sees this as a reference to
Pāṇḍuri Bhikṣus i.e. Ājīvikas. In chapter 8 also, he relates one reference with the
Pāṇḍuris of the Vindhyas (Agrawal 1969, p. 133; Paṭhaka, p. 302).
12 Daṇḍakāraṇya was named after Daṇḍa, the son of king Ikṣvāku. He was cursed
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 Social Scientist

because of raping sage Śukra’s daughter Arā, and his country was converted into
Vol. 48 / Nos. 3–6 / March–June 2020

a forest – Daṇḍakāraṇya. Mani (1975), p. 200.

13 For a detailed analysis, see Olivelle (2009).

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Gaurav Sharma is a research scholar, Department of History, University

of Delhi, Delhi.

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