[INDOLOGY] amrita

[Lubomir Ondracka]

Dear Artur,

one of the early and clear example of the struggle for amṛta between devas and asuras is Kāṭhakasaṃhitā 37.14, translated by Wendy Doniger in her Hindu Myths (Penguin 1975, p. 281 + see parallel passages and relevant secondary literature on pp. 280-281).

Demon Ṣuṣṇa holds amṛta in his mouth so he can restore dead asuras back to life by breathing at them, while devas killed by asuras remain dead. Indra managed to steal amṛta from Ṣuṣṇa's mouth. The text really uses the word amṛta (not soma): devāś ca asurāś ca saṃyattā āsann asureṣu tarhy amṛtam āsīc chuṣṇe dānave...

Best,
Lubomír


On Fri, 8 Jan 2016 09:37:24 +0100
Christophe Vielle <christophe.vielle at uclouvain.be> wrote:

> Dear Arthur,
> did you look at :
> • Jarl Charpentier, Die Suparṇasage. Untersuchungen zur altindischen Literatur- und Sagengeschichte, Uppsala: Α. Β. Akademiska Bokhandeln - Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1922, in-8°, 399 pp.
> on the legend of Suparṇa stealing the soma/amṛta according to the Suparṇādhyāya etc.
> Cf. review by P.E. Dumont: http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rbph_0035-0818_1923_num_2_4_6264_t1_0713_0000_1
> Maybe also something to find on the "ambrosia cycle" in :
> • Georges Dumézil, Le Festin d'immortalité. Étude de mythologie comparée indo-européenne, Paris, Annales du Musée Guimet, Bibliothèque d'études 34.
> Best wishes,
> Christophe
> 
> Le 7 janv. 2016 à 20:52, Artur Karp <karp at uw.edu.pl> a écrit :
> 
> > My heartfelt thanks to Lubomir, Dipak and George for their comments and suggestions.
> > 
> > However,  there is a however: I am especially interested in any pre-Mahabharatic (if I may say so) mentions of amrita as an object of contention, strife - something that is, independently of its supposed material form (liquid, metal, plant), fought for, stolen, divided, distributed, shared.
> > 
> > Thanks, once more,
> > 
> > Artur Karp
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> –––––––––––––––––––
> Christophe Vielle
> Louvain-la-Neuve
>