[INDOLOGY] varṣadhara - eunuch

Mon Oct 27 15:33:25 UTC 2025

Just a brief comment: The translation of 'varṣadhara' as an umbrella term
for 'eunuch' clearly originates with Indian lexicographers, who equate it
with 'klīvo' = 'varṣadharaḥ' = 'ṣaṇḍhaḥ' (e.g. Halāyudha [ed. Aufrecht]
2.275a). However, in modern target languages of translation from Sanskrit,
'eunuch' is generally not defined in any detail.

Kṣīrasvāmin defines varṣadhara as 'unable to procreate' (prajanāsāmarthya,
10.164 [ed. Liebich]). There are a number of causes that can lead to this.
It is not necessarily always associated with impotence. Perhaps, however,
terms such as klība, vādhri, ṣaṇḍ(h)a, paṇḍaka, etc., were actually indeed
associated with various forms of male infertility. For the Buddhist
characterisation of ṣaṇḍas and paṇḍakas, Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośabhāṣya
provides insight (cf. 4.43 and 4.55).

Either way, Atharvaveda (Ś) 6.138.1–3 ≈≈ (P) 1.68.1–5 [ed. Kim] is
remarkable because it explains how to make a man incapable of reproducing,
by smashing his testicles with two stones (Ś 6.138.2cd/P 1.68.3cd). This
renders him a klība or vadhri (Ś 6.138.2cd/P 1.68.3cd), a 'juiceless'
(a-rasa) individual (Ś 6.138.3c/P1.68.4c). This 'juicelessness' is
conceptually similar to varṣa-dhara, as it merely signifies an inability to
ejaculate fertile semen without necessarily implying a restriction in
erectile function.

An interesting description of eunuch activity in Aurangzeb's harem that
seems to fit precisely with this image of infertile yet potent 'eunuchs' is
provided by F. Bernier in 'Travels in the Mogul Empire, A.D. 1656–1668'
(ed. E. Constable). Westminster 1891, pp. 131–133). The fact that this was
an Indo-Islamic harem is no counterargument in this context, as the Indian
harem system dates back to pre-Christian times and was firmly anchored in
the cultural history of the Indian nobility. The production of offspring
that did not come from the ruler himself had to be prevented at all costs.

Kind regards, WS

Am Mo., 27. Okt. 2025 um 10:26 Uhr schrieb Shirley, Dr. Bruno Marshall via
INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>:

> Dear Heiner,
>
>
> I am skeptical about all translations of "eunuch." The term itself comes
> from the Byzantine court, in which men were intentionally castrated to
> serve as guards for the women's quarters; because of the clear parallel to
> Chinese 宦官, the term has been applied to them, fairly accurately. But
> Shaun Tougher, who has very literally written the book on Byzantine
> eunuchs, cautions us about over-application to other contexts, which can
> very often conflate different kinds of (or understandings of) sexual and
> gender difference. As Shane Gannon shows, in his excellent "Exclusion as
> Language and the Language of Exclusion," colonial-period translators in
> India applied the label "eunuch" to a rather wide range of terms both
> contemporary and historical, very few of which ever indicated "men
> intentionally castrated to guard the women's quarters." Gannon's examples
> do not specifically include *varṣadhara*, but I think he does
> convincingly show that these terms did not indicate a single
> social/gendered/sexual identity, and that to conflate them risks distortion.
>
>
> We could read *varṣadhara* as "one who holds or retains semen," implying
> impotence (congenital or manufactured). Apte's dictionary, which Dr.
> Paturi has helpfully copied below for context, gives us only the *Arthaśāstra
> *as a witness for *varṣadhara *as "eunuch." Working very quickly off of
> the GRETIL version, we have:
>
>
> 1.20.21: "Octogenarian men or quinquagenarian women, who look like
> mothers and fathers, and *senior varṣadhara retainers* (*abhyāgārika*s),
> should find out [who] in the inner chamber is pure/upright or
> impure/dishonest (*śauca*/*aśauca*), and should make them firm in loyalty
> to the master" (*aśītikāḥ puruṣāḥ pañcāśatkāḥ striyo vā
> mātā.pitṛ.vyañjanāḥ sthavira.varṣadhara.abhyāgārikāś ca^avarodhānāṃ
> śauca.āśaucaṃ vidyuḥ, sthāpayeyuś ca svāmi.hite*).
>
> 1.21.1: "Rising after sleeping, [the king] should be surrounded by groups
> of female archers; in the second courtyard, by armoured and beturbaned *varṣadhara
> retainers*..." (*śayanād utthitaḥ strī.gaṇair dhanvibhiḥ parigṛhyate,
> dvitīyasyāṃ kakṣyāyāṃ kañcuka.uṣṇīṣibhir varṣa.dhara.abhyāgārikaiḥ,
> tṛtīyasyāṃ kubja.vāmana.kirātaiḥ, caturthyāṃ mantribhiḥ sambandhibhir
> dauvārikaiś ca prāsa.pāṇibhiḥ*).
>
>
> So the *varṣadhara *is very clearly involved someone involved in the
> women's quarters, and even with the king's personal protection. But I can't
> see an explicit suggestion here that they were intentionally castrated for
> this task. That they were trusted with the king's protection alongside
> female archers suggests a commonality there; neither women nor
> *varṣadhara*s could claim the throne, and so would be less likely to
> assassinate for personal gain? That they were trusted alongside very old
> men suggests that neither group were considered a sexual threat, and so
> perhaps the *varṣadhara *was "made" to be as impotent. Against this, Sweet
> and Zwilling assert that castration "was regarded with disapproval and at
> times legally forbidden in Indian tradition prior to Muslim rule," but
> offer us no citations or further references.
>
>
> There are likely other references elsewhere, with more helpful
> explanations of both the term and the identity. But in their absence I am
> not confident that we could identify a clear visual representation of a *varṣadhara
> *specifically, without conflating them with the other terms often
> translated "eunuch" (i.e. *paṇḍaka*s, *klība*s...). There are some
> descriptions of these latter terms in e.g. medical texts, I believe, but I
> am not familiar with references to them as guardians of royal women's
> quarters (I would be delighted to be corrected, out of my own interests!),
> and they are more often presented as congenital (and
> unfortunate) conditions.
>
>
> On a personal note, I would be very interested in learning more about the
> early relief you are studying.
>
>
> With best wishes,
>
> Bruno
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of
> Nagaraj Paturi via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
> *Sent:* 26 October 2025 12:54:05
> *To:* Rolf Heinrich Koch
> *Cc:* indology
> *Subject:* Re: [INDOLOGY] varṣadhara - eunuch
>
> https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/apte_query.py?page=1398
>
> वर्षः varṣam, वर्षम् varṣam [वृष् भावे घञ् कर्तरि अच् वा] 1 Raining,
> rain, a shower of rain; तपाम्यहमहं वर्षं निगृह्णाभ्युत्सृजामि च Bg.9.19;
> विद्युत्स्तनितवर्षेषु Ms.4.103; Me.37. -2 Sprinkling, effusion, throwing
> down, a shower of anything; सुरभि सुरविमुक्तं पुष्पवर्षं पपात R.12.102;
> so शरवर्षः, शिलावर्षः, लाजवर्षः &c. -3 Seminal effusion. -4 A year
> (usually only *n.*); इयन्ति वर्षाणि तया सहोग्रमभ्यस्यतीव व्रतमासिधारम्
>  R.13.67; न ववर्ष वर्षाणि द्वादश दशशताक्षः Dk.; वर्षभोग्येण शापेन Me.1. -5 A
> division of the world, a continent; (nine such divisions are usually
> enumerated:-- 1 कुरु; 2 हिरण्मय; 3 रम्यक; 4 इलावृत; 5 हरि; 6 केतुमाला; 7
> भद्राश्व; 8 किंनर; and 9 भारत); यस्मिन् नव वर्षाणि Bhāg.5.16.6. एतदूढगुरुभारभारतं
> वर्षमद्य मम वर्तते वशे Śi.14.5. -6 India (= भारतवर्ष). -7 A cloud (only
> *m.* according to Hemachandra). -8 A day; अप्राप्तयौवनं बालं
> पञ्चवर्षसहस्रकम् Rām.7.73.5. (com. वर्षशब्दोऽत्र दिनपरः). -9 A place of
> residence; वर्षमस्य गिरेर्मध्ये रामेण श्रीमता कृतम् Mb.3. 130.12. -Comp. -
> अंशः, -अंशकः, -अङ्गः a month. -अम्बु *n.* rain-water. -अयुतम् ten
> thousand years. -अर्चिस् *m.* the planet Mars. -अवसानम् the autumn or
> Śarat season. -आघोषः a frog. -आमदः a peacock. -उपलः 1 hail stone -2 a
> kind of sweetmeat ball; घनैरमीषां परिवेषकैर्जनैरवर्षि वर्षोपलगोलकावली
>  N.16.100. -करः a cloud. (-री) a cricket. -कालः the rainy season. -केतुः a
> red-flowering Punar-navā. -कोशः, -षः 1 a month. -2 an astrologer. -गणः (pl.)
> a long series of years; बहून् वर्षगणान् घोरान् Ms.12.54. -गिरिः, -पर्वतः 'a
> Varṣa mountain', *i. e.* one of the mountain-ranges supposed to separate
> the different divisions of the world from one another; (they are seven:-- हिमवान्
> हेमकूटश्च निषधो मेरुरेव च । चैत्रः कर्णी च शृङ्गी च सप्तैते वर्षपर्वताः).
> -घ्न *a.* protecting from rain. -ज *a.* (वर्षेज also) 1 produced in the
> rainy season. -2 one year old. -त्रम् an umbrella; छायां ते दिनकरभाः
> प्रबाधमानं वर्षत्रं भरत करोतु मूर्ध्नि शीताम् Rām.2.107.18. -धरः 1 a
> cloud. -2 a eunuch, an attendant on the women's apartments; (वर्षधर्ष in
> the same sense). See वर्षवर. -3 the ruler of a Varṣa;
> वर्षधराभिवादिताभिवन्दितचरणः Bhāg.5.3.16; also वर्षप-पति. -4 a mountain
> bounding a Varṣa. -पदम् a calender. -पाकिन् *m.* the hog-plum. -पूगः a
> series or collection of years. -प्रतिबन्धः a drought. -प्रवेगः a heavy
> shower of rain; वर्षप्रवेगा विपुलाः पतन्ति Rām.4.28.45. -प्रियः the
> Chātaka bird. -रात्रः the rainy season; वर्षरात्रे स्थितो रामः Rām.4.30.1.
>  -वरः a eunuch, an attendant on the women's apartments; वर्षवराभ्यागारिकैः Kau.
> A.1.21; ये स्वल्पसत्त्वाः प्रथममात्मीयाः स्त्रीस्वभाविनः । जात्या न
> दुष्टाः कार्येषु ते वै वर्षवराः स्मृताः ॥ Ak.; M.4.4/5; Rām.2.65.7;
> Mb.9.62.5. -वृद्धिः *f.* birth-day. -शतम् a century, one hundred years. -
> सहस्रम् a thousand years.
>
> On Sun, Oct 26, 2025 at 4:14 PM Rolf Heinrich Koch via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
>> Dear listmembers,
>>
>> in the context of the female apartments antaḥpura we come across the
>> word varṣadhara.
>>
>> 1. Where the meaning "eunuch" is evident?
>>
>> 2. For the interpretation of an early relief I look for any details of
>> the eunuch's appearance.
>>
>> Anyone can help?
>>
>> Heiner
>>
>> --
>> Dr. R. H. Koch - Germany/Sri Lanka www.rolfheinrichkoch.wordpress.com/www.ummaggajataka.wordpress.com
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
>
> --
> Nagaraj Paturi
> Hyderabad, Telangana-500044
>
>
>
>
>
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