[INDOLOGY] Is Vr̥tra a brahmin?

Sat Nov 18 04:28:22 UTC 2023

In Srimad Bhagavata Purana , in the 6th Skandha ,

https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_purana/bhagpur-06.html

in the seventh Adhyaya upto the 13th Adhyaya ,

there is another version of the Indra Vritra story.

It is considered to be one of the 'key elements' of Bhagavata Purana.

On Fri, Nov 17, 2023 at 11:30 PM Tieken, H.J.H. (Herman) via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

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

Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.

Senior Director, IndicA
BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
BoS Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University, Ramtek, Maharashtra
BoS Veda Vijnana Gurukula, Bengaluru.
Member, Advisory Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, Bengaluru
BoS Rashtram School of Public Leadership
Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Studies in Public Leadership
Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies,
FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education,
Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
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