[INDOLOGY] mythologies of the pearl

Thu Apr 25 13:24:02 UTC 2024

I wrote the following on RISA-list 2019-02-01 (Bala-Rāma & pearls): S.A. Dange in his Encyclopaedia of Puranic beliefs and practices, vol. II (New Delhi 1987), s.v. Gems p. 622 notes the following: “The pearls that are produced from the shell are said to be due to the fact that the teeth of the demon Bala fell into the shells. These pearls are said to be of eight types - or they have eight sources: - Simhala (Saiṃhalika) (Ceylon), the other world (pāralaukika), Surāṣṭra (saurāṣṭrika), the river Tāmraparṇī (tāmraparṇa), pāraśava, Kubera (kauberika), Pāṇḍya, Hāṭaka, and Hemaka (Garuḍa P. 69.23.”  Under Demons, p. 393f. in the same volume, Dange records the following from the preceding chapter of the Garuḍa-Purāṇa I,68,1-4: “the demon Bala was fierce, yet he was duped by the gods. He performed a sacrifice, at which the gods were invited. The gods asked a boon from him, which he granted. They asked him to part with his beasthood (Ib. 2, paśutāṃ yācitaḥ sa surair makhe). The moment he parted with his beasthood, he was killed by the gods at the same sacrifice. But the act of truth and the sacrifice of Bala did not go in vain. The limbs of his body became the sources of gems (Ib. 4, kāyasyāvayavāḥ sarve ratba-bījatvam ā yayuḥ).” Dange continues: “The Padma P. (Bhūmikhaṇḍa 22.10-40) mentions Bala as the son of Diti, killed by Indra as the former was performing the evening-sandhyā (propitiation of the sun by holy mantras) on the shore of the sea. A somewhat similar account appears at another place (Ib. Uttarakhaṇḍa 6).”  I find it quite significant that the deity connected with the origin of the pearls in this Purāṇic myth is Bala — it does agree with Cicero’s information that Heracles - who according to Megasthenes found the pearls - was called in India Belus, i.e. Bala. 
- See more on this topic in my book “The Roots of Hinduism” (OUP 2015) pp. 152-154. 
With best wishes, Asko

> On 25. Apr 2024, at 16.11, Paolo E. Rosati via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> 
> Hi James,
> 
> It is difficult to say... I was reading parts of Eliade's books that discuss mystic alchemy. I suppose, as Egene Ciurtin pointed out to me, he found it in Vedic material. 
> 
> Best,
> Paolo
> 
> 
> Il giorno gio 25 apr 2024 alle ore 14:56 Reich, James David <jreich at pace.edu <mailto:jreich at pace.edu>> ha scritto:
>> Dear Paola,
>> 
>> Various versions of the myths concerning the origins of pearl are found in the texts translated by Louis Finot in Les Lapidaires Indiens. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.291975/mode/2up
>> 
>> There are various types of pearls described in these texts, some of them seemingly mythical or hypothetical—oyster pearls are only one type. The myths about oyster pearls usually have something to do with rainwater dropping into oysters but no lightning, as far as I'm aware. I do vaguely recall one text describing how to obtain pearls from nāgas, or check if a pearl is truly from a nāga, and as I recall that process does have something to do with lightning. But I don't think lightning is present in the formation of the pearl. Perhaps Eliade confused these stories?
>> 
>> Best,
>> James Reich
>> From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info <mailto:indology-bounces at list.indology.info>> on behalf of Paolo E. Rosati via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>>
>> Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2024 5:45 AM
>> To: Indology <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>>
>> Subject: [INDOLOGY] mythologies of the pearl
>>  
>> Dear all,
>> 
>> while I was reading Eliade's Images and Symbols, my attention was struck by his vague reference to an "oriental mythology", which affirms that the pearl was born from the penetration of a lightning inside a shell/oyster. 
>> 
>> I think he got this information from Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft (entry: "Margaritai"), but I am not sure at all.
>> 
>> Can someone indicate a more specific reference to this myth? or to other myths related to the pearl?
>> 
>> With my best wishes,
>> Paolo
>> 
>> -- 
>> Paolo E. Rosati
>> PhD in Asian and African Studies
>> https://uniroma1.academia.edu/paolo <https://uniroma1.academia.edu/PaoloRosati/>erosati/ <https://uniroma1.academia.edu/PaoloRosati/>
>> paoloe.rosati at gmail.com <mailto:paoloe.rosati at gmail.com>
>> Mobile/Whatsapp: (+39) 338 73 83 472
>> Skype: paoloe.rosati
> 
> 
> -- 
> Paolo E. Rosati
> PhD in Asian and African Studies
> https://uniroma1.academia.edu/paolo <https://uniroma1.academia.edu/PaoloRosati/>erosati/ <https://uniroma1.academia.edu/PaoloRosati/>
> paoloe.rosati at gmail.com <mailto:paoloe.rosati at gmail.com>
> Mobile/Whatsapp: (+39) 338 73 83 472
> Skype: paoloe.rosati
> 
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