[INDOLOGY] Is Vr̥tra a brahmin?

[Tieken, H.J.H. (Herman)]

Dear List members,

In MBh 12, 273 Indra kills Vr̥tra. From the latter's body a demoness Brahmahatyā emerges which clinges to Indra. Hopkins, Epic Mythology, p. 129 writes: "As Vr̥tra is of Brahmanic family, his slaughter is regarded as 'priest murder'". On p. 131 he writes that this is Indra's second Brahman-cide, as earlier he had killed Triśiras, another son of Tvaṣṭr̥ (traiśīrṣā brahmahatyā). So I assume that Vr̥tra's brahminhood goes back to his father Tvaṣṭr̥. I have no idea, however, where to look for information on Tvaṣṭr̥'s and Vr̥tra's brahminhood, other than the brahmahatyā passages mentioned above.

Wist kind regards,
Herman

Herman Tieken
Stationsweg 58
2515 BP Den Haag
The Netherlands
00 31 (0)70 2208127
website: hermantieken.com<http://hermantieken.com/>

The Aśoka Inscriptions: Analysing a corpus, New Delhi: Primus Books, 2023.
https://primusbooks.com/ancient/the-asoka-inscriptions-analysing-a-corpus-by-herman-tieken/


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