[INDOLOGY] Is Vr̥tra a brahmin?

Fri Nov 17 18:00:29 UTC 2023

Many thanks to Péter Száler, Vitus Angermeier and Hans Henrich Hock for the information on Vr̥tra as a brahmin. I will read MBh 12, 270 ff again; terms like aiśvarya (aiśvaryaṃ tapasā prāptaṃ bhraṣṭam tacca svakarmabhiḥ) and jaya (mayā jayalabdena purā taptaṃ mahattapaḥ, cp ajeyaḥ sarvabhūtānām āsaṃ nityam apetabhīḥ), found there, seem to mean something else than what I thought.
Herman

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

________________________________
Van: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> namens Hock, Hans Henrich via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
Verzonden: vrijdag 17 november 2023 18:13
Aan: Vitus Angermeier <vitus.angermeier at univie.ac.at>
CC: indology at list.indology.info <indology at list.indology.info>
Onderwerp: Re: [INDOLOGY] Is Vr̥tra a brahmin?

You might want to look at ŚB 1.6.3.8, TS 2.4.12.1, and other Vedic-Prose passages, where V.rtra is portrayed as son of the god Tva.s.t.r and Indra is accused of brahmin-slaying

All the best

Hans Henrich

On Nov 17, 2023, at 08:12, Vitus Angermeier via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

There is another, longer version of this story in MBh 5.9–13, where Śalya tells the same story to Yudhiṣṭhira. There, a treaty between Indra and Vṛtra determines that, if Indra should kill Vṛtra, he will suffer the consequences of brahminicide. Furthermore, it is interesting that Indra suffers the consequences only after his second brahminicide: Before killing Triśiras he is warned by a woodcutter about the consequences. Clearly both decscendents of Tvaṣṭṛ are seen as brahmins because Tvaṣṭṛ is a brahminic Asura.

I do not know about any older evidence for Vṛtra being a brahmin. This detail was very likely included to show Indra's inferiority to brahmins and that even the king of the gods had to bear the consequences of brahminicide.

It is also noteworthy that Tvaṣṭr, Triśiras, and even Vṛtra are portrayed as righteous beings following dharma and achieving special powers by meditation, while Indra is a rogue all the time scheming to destroy his rivals.

Regarding Triśiras's indo-european relatives cf. Dumezil, Georges. The Destiny of the Warrior. Translated by Alf Hiltebeitel. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970.

Best wishes,
Vitus

On 17.11.23 12:53, Tieken, H.J.H. (Herman) via INDOLOGY wrote:

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

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The Aśoka Inscriptions: Analysing a corpus, New Delhi: Primus Books, 2023.
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