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The Puranas on the Audumbaras [puranesu audumbarah] / By Prof. Kalyan Kumar Das Gupta, Lecturer in Ancient Indian History and Culture, Calcutta University, Calcutta / 186-190

[ audumbarajateravasthanam bharatavarsasya pascimottarapradese srasit yatastatraiva audumbararajnam mudrah prapyante | asya jaterullekho vayu brahmandadipuranesu varttate | iyam jativisvamitra vamsiyeti puranebhyah pratiyate | asmin laghunibandhe udumbara ('sraudumbara ' va ) jativisayako vicarah krtah | ] The Puranas throw welcome light on a number of tribes of Northern India, among which mention may be made of the Udumbaras or the Audumbaras. The tribe is credited to have issued coins, both in silver and copper, specimens of which have been found at Pathankot in the Gurudaspur district and Irippal in the district of Kangra in North Punjab. On the basis of the provenances of their coins, Allan has located them in the area formed by "the valley of the Beas or perhaps the wider region between the upper Sutlej and the Ravi". 1 The Audumbaras find mention in a number of ancient Indian literary texts which include some Puranas such as the Markandeya, the Vayu, and the Brahmanda. The MarkandeyaPurana locates the Audumbaras in the middle portion of Kurma or tortoise, to which the shape of India likens. This location, however, is in difference with that of the tribe as furnished by their coins as well as some literary texts, Barring this particular Purana, the Vayu and the Brahmanda Puranas do render us some 1. For Pathankot finds see Archaeological Survey Reports, Vol. XIV, p. 115-17 for Irippal finds see Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Numismatic Supplement, 1914, p. 247 f. 2. Catalogue of Coins in the British Museum, Ancient India, p. lxxxvii. 2a. For referenees to the Audumbaras in ancient Indian literary texts see the present writer's article entitled 'The Antiquity of the Audumbaras' in the Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Delhi, 1961. 3. 58. 10; Pargiter's edition p. 83. The verse runs thus: Kapingalah Kurur vahyas-tathaiv Odumbara Janah Gajahvayas-cha Kurmmaya jalamadhyanivasinah||

Jan., 1965] THE PURANAS ON THE AUDUMBARAS 187 help with regard to the origin of the tribe. The Vayu-Purana refers to them in the following manner : Kachchhapah Puranas-chaiva Visvamitrasutas-tu vai | tesam gotrani vahudha Kausikanam mahatmanam [197 Parthiva Devaratas-cha Yajnavalkyah Samarshanah | Udumbara Udumlanas-Taraka Yajamunchatah ||98 The English rendering of the above extract is as follows: 'Kachchhapa and Purana are issues of Visvamitra. Of great-souled persons, belonging to Kusika, several gotras are traceable, such as Parthiva, Devarata, Yajnavalkya, Samarshana, Udumbara, Udumlana, Taraka and Yajamunchata. The evidences furnished by the Brahmanda-Purana regarding the tribe are identical with those of the Vayu-Purana and thus these two Puranas assign the Audumbaras to the Kusika or Kausika gotra and so to the family of the celebrated sage named Visvamitra. It is interesting to note here that the Harivamsa also describes the Audumbaras as belonging to the family of Visvamitra. The tradition of Visvamitra being the son of Kusika may be traced to the Rigveda' as well. In this way, the Puranas echo the well-known association of Visvamitra with Kusika on the one hand and the less known connection between Visvamitra and the Audumbaras on the other. Now, among the coins of the Audumbaras we come across 4. 91, 97-98; Anandasrama edition. 5. I 1I, 66, 70; Venkateswara edition. In the Brahmanda-Purana some varients of the names occur, e.g., Samarshana appears as Samarpana or Vartabhya occure instead of Udumlana etc. 6. Sloka 1466; Asiatic Society Edition, descendants of 7. Rigveda, III, 33, 5. The Visvamitras, i.e., the Visvamitra, are also designated as the Kusikas in different passages of the Rigveda (iii, 26, 1, 3; 29, 15; 30, 20; 42, 9; 53, 9, 10). The evidence of Yaska's Nisukta may also be cited. Yaska describes the father of Visvamitra as Kusika and further calls him as a king (ii, 25; cf. Kusikasya sunuh Kusiko raja babhuva).

188 puranam- PURANA [Vol. VII., No. 1 Made an interesting variety represented by two specimens only. of silver and round in shape, each of these two coins bears a bearded male figure on the obverse with a legend which refers to Vispvamitra, i. e. Visvamitra. Neither this figure nor the legend concerned is found on any other type of coins. It is presumable, therefore, that Visvamitra was intimately related to the Audumbaras; he was, so to say, the 'national sage' of the tribe. But is there any other evidence to show the relation between the celebrated sage and the tribe which is attested by the coins in question? Allan failing to notice any connection between the two concluded that "Visvamitra's connection with the Audumbaras is otherwise unknown." 10 It is again a Puranic text that comes to our help to explain the occurrence of this particular sage on the coins of the Audumbaras. The Kalika-Purana gives us an evidence with regard to the connection between the sage and the tribe which has hitherto escaped the attention of scholars. The evidence is furnished by a story about the birth of Visvamitra to be found in the said Purana.11 The story runs thus: 'On hearing that his son had been married, the wise Bhrigu went to the hermitage of his son Richika to see his son and daughter-in-law. The two the bride and the bridegroom worshipped Bhrigu and stood before him with folded hands. When Bhrigu wanted to give his daughter-in-law some boon, Satyavati prayed a son for her who would be well-versed in the observance of penances and the Vedas and a son for her mother who would be endowed with incomparable valour and prowess. 8. One specimen found by Cunningham is in the British Museum for which see Allan's Catalogue, p. 124, pl. XIV, 14; the other specimen is in the Lahore Museum for which see R. B. Whithead's Catelogue of Coins in the Punjab Museum, Vol. I, p. 167, pl. XVI, No. 137. 9. See K. P. Jayaswal's Hindu Polity (Bangalore, 1955), p. 154. 10. Op. cit, p. lxxxiv. 11. Kalika-Purana, Vangavasi edition, Chapter 82; Venkateswara Chapter 85.

Jan., 1965] THE PURANAS ON THE AUDUMBARAS 189 Bhrigu thereupon granted the boon and became absorbed in meditation. Then he exhaled with care and from his breath issued two charus which he gave them to Satyavati and said that the reddened charu was to be taken by her mother after embracing the bo-tree (Asvattha) and the white charu by herself after embracing a fig-tree (Udumbara). With these words the sage went away to his destination. But Salyavati and her mother mistakenly did the opposite things; in other words, Satyavati embraced the asvattha tree and partook of the reddened charu, while her mother ate the white charu. The sage Bhrigu, who was endowed with divine vision, came to learn about this contrariety. He arrived there and said to his daughter-in-law that she whould have a son who would be endowed with Kshatriya-like behaviour and her mother's son will be Kshatriya with Brahmanical behaviour. Satyavati then requested Bhrigu to let her grandson to be endowed with those qualities. Granting her prayer, Bhrigu went away. Thereafter the daughter of Gadhi gave birth to a valorous son named Jamadagni in proper time and her mother to Visvamitra to whom penance was wealth. Jamadagni studied the four Vedas within a very short time and the great soul also acquired skill in the science of archery by himself. Visvamitra also became an adept in the Vedas and in all sciences of archery within a short time. Ultimately he became a brahmana by dint of his penance. Now, the most important point to note in this story is that the mother of Visvamitra, in order to have a child, embraced an audumbara (fig tree). Though the story contains a lot of miraculous and unbelievable things, the association of Visvamitra's birth with the audumbara tree is useful in explaining the occurrence of his name and figure on coins of the Audumbaras, the name of the tribe evidently being derived from the udumbara

190 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VII., No. 1 or audumbara tree and the tree in that case was presumably worshipped by the tribe as a totem.12 Thus the connection between the sage and the tribe gleaned from the Vayu and the Brahmanda-Puranas is confirmed not only by a particular variety of the coins of the Audumbaras but also by the Kalika-Purana which is believed to have been composed between seventh and tenth centuries A.D. Together, all these Puranas, therefore. are found to have thrown valuable light on the origin of the Audumbara. -KALYAN KUMAR DAS GUPTA 12. It may be noted that on the reverse of the Visvamitra type of coins a tree in an enclosure occurs, the enclosure perhaps indicates the sacred character of the tree. The tree may be identified with the udumbara and thus can be associated with the sage Visvamitra, but the tree-motif is so common on ancient Indian coins that no definite conclusion can be drawn with regard to the identification of the tree with the udumbara tree. 13. For a discussion of the date of the Kalika-Purana see Dr. R. C. Hazra's Studies in the Upapuranas, Vol. II, Calcutta, 1963 p. 240f.