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The Old-Javanese Agastya-Parva [ 'agastyaparva ' namako granthah ] By Dr. J. Gonda; van Hogendorpstraat 13, Utrecht (Netherlands) / 158-175

[ halendadesanivasina da0 'je0 gonda ' nama prasiddhavidusa javadese praptasya 'agastyaparva ' namnah pracinagranthasya visaye vimarso'tra javadvipe bharatiya samskrtisambadhino dvividhah pracina prastutah | granthah prapyante - mulasamssrtagranthanam javabhasantararupa granthah, pracinam bharatiya samskrtavanmayamanusrtya ca racita granthah | java-brahmanda- puranamiva kecid grantha mula samskrtagranthanamuddharanani pradaya tato'nantaram tesam javabhasantaram vyakhyanam ca ( va ) cakruh | 'agastyaparva ' nama javadesiyo granthah etameva paddhatimanusarati | tasya racanakalo'navagatah | asya granthasya srigondamahodayena sampadanam dacabhasantaram ca krtam ( 1933 - 36 i0 ) | asmin granthe guroragastyasya straputrena drdhasyuna saha pauranikah samvada varttante | atra bahuni samskrto- dvarananyapi santi yesam visayasamyam dharmasastragrantha-mahabharata- puranadibhih saha varttate, parantu ko pyekah samskrtagrantho'sya mulatvena nadyavadhi jnatam | atroddhrtanamanekesam samskrtaslokanam mulamapi nopalabhyate | yadyapyatra pauranikanyakhyanani vamsavarnanani ca puranesvivaiva varttante, parantvatra katicid dharmika visaya srasadharana api santi | asmin granthe drdhasyukrtan dvavimsatiprasnananusrtya dvavimsatiprasnananusrtya trayovimsatiradhyayah santi | pradyascatvaro'dhyayastu prastavikah, sesesu ca brahmarsivamsanam pradhanatah daksasya tasya samtatesca, varnanam varttate, yatrantara'ntara bahunyakhyanamisritani dharma-darsana-nitivisayakani pravacananyapi santi | kimetani pravacanani prakseparupani uta mularupani, kasca samskrtagrantho'sya mulamityadayah prasna prapyatropasthita bhavanti | ] Among the many ancient Javanese texts which are either translated from Sanskrit or deal with subjects borrowed from the Indian religious, juridical or traditional literature, and which therefore are of the highest importance for any student of Indian religion and literature, there are some which attract our special attention, or excite our interest because their Indian model or prototype has hitherto not been traced. Although it would be too much to hope that in the future we shall be able to detect

Jan. 1962] THE OLD JAVANESE AGASTYAPARVAN 159 the source or the author of any Old-Javanese passage written in Sanskrit, it may be recalled to mind that in the last decennium one of these vexing problems has been felicitously solved. We now know, by the joint efforts of the Indian scholar Manomohan Ghosh and the Dutch professor Dr. C. Hooy kaas, that the Hooykaas, author of the great and famous Old-Javanese Ramayana (卤 925 A. D.) has, in about the first 65% of his work, followed Bhatti's version of the epic subject matter, that is to say the well-known poem Bhattikavya. We now know also that the Javanese poet has, like his model, endeavoured also to make his work exemplary from the point of view of theoretical poetics by applying the rules of alamkarasastra. may It does not seem impossible that in the future more light be shed on the origin and the composition of other Javanese works which, while dealing with Indian subject-matter, either follow, like the Ramayana, Indian models and rules of composition, or consist, like the Brahmandapurana, largely of Sanskrit quotations followed by Javanese translations and (or) explanations. One of the texts belonging to the latter class--which may be given the general name of translational prose-is the so-called Agastyaparvan. This interesting Old-Javanese treatise, of unknown date and considerable length, was at the time edited and translated (into Dutch) by myself. Filling, in print, about 60 pages, it consists in the usual way, of a conversation between a guru, in casu the famous sage Agastya, and a disciple or interrogator, his son Drdhasyu. In this conversation the former does, of course, most of the talking. As to its contents and composition this book may, generally speaking, be called a work of the Purana variety. Although the Agastyaparvan, like for instance also the Javanese adaptation of the 1. See C. Hooykaas, in Madjalah untuk ilmu bahasa, ilmu bumi dan kibudajaan Indonesia 86 (Djakarta 1958). 2. See my article The Old Javanese Brahmandapurana in Purana, II (1960), p. 252. 3. Agastyaparva, by J. Gonda, 's-Gravenhage 1933-1936 published by the Institute voor de Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde, in the Bijdragen tot the Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde, vol. 90; 92; 94, and also separately in one volume.

100 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IV, No. 1 parvans of the Mahabharata, is interlarded with Sanskrit quotations, it is as yet impossible to say whether it was, like the Mahabharata, Brahmandapurana etc., modelled upon, or even meant to be an adapted version of a Sanskrit text. We are not even able to say whether it is a complete work or only part of a larger text. Although the contents of many passages can be, more or less easily, traced in Sanskrit works (dharma- sastras, Mahabharata, Puranas), no single Sanskrit work or part of a larger work has come to my knowledge which is in the main identical with the contents of this Javanese document. And although part of the Sanskrit quotations do not differ much from similar slokas in Indian books, there are exceptions, and the question may arise as to the source of these non-identified stanzas. Moreover, while part of the contents are well-known pauranic myths, tales, genealogies etc., which remind us of parallels in the Old-Javanese Brahmandapurana, other passages, especially those of a more theological character, are not always well represented in Sanskrit literature, however much they resemble, in purport and character, and often also in detail, similar episodes in many Indian works of the epic, sastric and pauranic varieties. In short, although there are other ancient Javanese texts which deal, at least in part, with the same subject-matter-e. g, the San hyan Kamahayanikan, the Koravasrama the Agastyaparvan does not fail to confront us with intriguing problems. The twenty-two questions put by young Drdhasyu suggest a convenient division in twenty-three chapters or paragraphs, not all of which are however strictly speaking completely relevant. After four introductory chapters, almost the entire book consists of a relation of the genealogy of the brahmarsis, especially of Daksa and his offspring. These genealogies, however, serve as a framework encompassing brief treatises of a didactic, theological or philosophical character-which however constitute the essential part of the subject-matter-, alternating with short 4. Edited by J. Kats, The Hague 1910. 5. Edited by J. L. Swellen grebel, Thesis Leiden 1936.

Jan. 1962] THE OLD JAVANESE AGASTYAPARVAN 161 stories or legends connected with one of the persons mentioned in the course of the author's expositions. The problem arises as to how the 'philosophical' passages were inserted in the genealogical and legendary framework; do the former constitute real insertions or was the text conceived as a whole ? It would be convenient to insert here a somewhat abridged English translation of the Dutch table of contents which I composed in my above publication (Bijdr. T.L.V. 92, p. 338-340; separate publication p. 94-95): Ch. I introduction, Agastya and his son hold a conversation. Ch. II: Drdhasyu wishes to receive some information about the origin of the world; his father gives an exposition of creation and pralaya, of earth, atmosphere, heaven and subterranean worlds and abodes, of the well-known Samkhya doctrine of the elements and their successive emanation. At the time of the Mahapralaya the Lord Sadasiva-the whole of the treatise is decidedly Sivaite in character is the only being in existence. It is He who, wishing to create the universe, causes the elements to come into existence. Ch. III deals in a similar way with the origin of the brahmarsis and the manus; Ch. IV with the manvantaras. In Ch. V the daughters of Daksa, their husbands and children are enumerated. Then the author proceeds to discuss, in Ch. VI, the causes and reasons for which beings go to heaven or hell; the results of a sinful life are demonstrated by means of an explication of special sins and demerits. The journey of the atman after death towards heaven or hell; the tortures of hell; reincarnation in accordance with one's merits or demerits in the previous earthly existence; the concepts of tapas, yajna and kirti (a general term for founding buildings, parks, fountains etc. for religious purposes or for gaining religious merit) etc. are the subjects of Ch. VII; they are illustrated by examples and followed by an expatiation on those daughters of Daksa's who had not yet been made mention of, viz., the thirteen who married Kasyapa. With reference to the eldest of them, Aditi, whose twelve children are enumerated, Drdhasyu asks (Ch. VIII) for what reason these children of Aditi were gods. The cause of 21

162 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IV, No. 1 their divinity, Agastya answers, was the very character of their mother, a statement leading him to a general discussion of the characters of gods and saptarsis. The genealogies of the children of Kasyapa and the other daughters of Daksa, which is the next subject, is followed by some digressions on Indra who after slaying Prahlada attempts to kill Diti's second child: he enters the body of the expectant mother, for which reason he is called Puramdara. Because of his brahmahatya-the idea is explained-he cannot return to his heavenly abode; the brahmahatya falls, as a thread, to the earth to be present, at night, in various fruits, milk, butter, and honey, and, by day, in women. The genealogies are continued. In Chapter IX the character of Diti is said to be the cause of the daitya nature of her issue, which is compared with men and gods in respect of their mastering of the sadvarga (kama, krcdha, lobha etc.). In a similar way the character of the gandharvas is explained from that of their mother Prabha (Ch. X), Vinata's character is discussed in connection with her son Garuda. Mention is also made of Kadru's offspring (Ch. XI), which consists of snakes, a fact the cause of which is again said to lie in their mother's character. The genealogy is continued. When the yaksas are mentioned, Agastya explains (Ch. XIII) why they are keepers of treasures. Thereupon the narrative passes on to the churning of the ocean, the sidvarga which are to be controlled by men and the origin of which lies in the antah karana (the wellknown concept of Samkhya philosophy). In Ch. XIV it is taught that the ahamkara should be destroyed or nullified by yoga. There follows an excursion on the so called trikaya paramartha, i. e. the well-known group of kayika, vacika and manasika activities or kaya, vak and citta. In a continuation of the genealogy (Ch. XV) the animals are, in a long passage, said to be the children of Pulaha. Some doctrines concerning reincarnation are added, with special reference to the question as to why a being may descend to lower and lower births. Agastya then proceeds (Ch. XVI) to explain the deliverance of those who have sunk low. After other genealogical observations

Jan. 1962] THE OLD JAVANESE AGASTYAPARVAN 163 he makes some remarks on the biological contributions of fathers and mothers to the constitution of their children in general and on the rules of conduct to be observed during the cohabitation. After some comment (Ch. XVII) on the family of Daksa's son-in-law Bhrgu, mention is made of Aurva and Parasu-Rama. The latter's intention was (Ch. XVIII) to reach the highest of the sixteen tattvas, viz. final emanci pation. In a next paragraph the yoga required to reach the various stages and grades is described, and also (Ch. XIX) the conditions to be fulfilled by those who want to become devatas, among which are in the first place the three vratas (the so-called akrodha, alobha, sokavarjita). If one is not able to live up to these principles there is, Ch. XX says, another way, viz. rendering homage to a pandita and being initiated by him. These observations are followed by a description of the qualities of persons who devote themselves to a religious and spiritual life, who want to be able and qualified gurus, etc. and by a passage on the diksa and related subjects. In Ch. XXI Agastya deals with the offspring of Angiras and Marici's daughter Surupa, in Ch. XXII with the other relatives of Pulastya who had also married Ila, a daughter of Trnabindu. In connection with the names of Raghu, Dilipa, and Ramabhadra in the ensuing genealogical account, Drdhasyu became asks how these kings behaved so that the world happy and prosperous (Ch. XXIII). The answer is: they, and each of the caturvarna, followed the dharma. Here the text ends without adding, for instance, the statement that father and son discontinue their conversation. As is well known many legends centre round the figure of the narrator Agastya, the sage and great champion of Aryan civilization in the South. Part of these legends appear in the epics and puranas to preserve the memory of a vast and important cultural movement, the Hinduization of Southern India. 6 A. K. Nilakanta Sastri, a History of South India, Oxford 1955, p. 64 ff.; the same, History of India, 12, Madras 1953, p. 170 f.; K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar, in R. C. Majumdar and A. D. Pusalkar, The History and Culture of the Indian people, II 2, Bombay 1953, p. 290 ff.

164 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IV, No. 1 Agastya was also worshipped in Further India and Indonesia." His role as a saint and as the promoter of Hinduization and preacher of Sivaism in the island of Java is well attested by epigraphy, sculpture and literature. Mention may, for instance, be made of the Dinaya inscription (A. D. 760) recording how the ruler of East Java, who was a great devotee of the saint, made a fine abode for him, installing his image of black stone in the place of the wooden image set up by his ancestors. The Agastyaparvan however does not shed much light on the Javanese Agastya-worship, although it stands a fair chance of having enjoyed special popularity because of the prevalence of that worship in the archipelago. under The role played by the sage in the treatise consideration is, although unknown from other Indonesian texts, not uncommon in India. There are in India many works or episodes in which Agastya appears as the author, narrator or interrogator. Already in the Rgveda, no less than 27 hymns (1, 165-171) are attributed to him. The Mahabharata informs us of his marriage with Lopamudra and the birth of his son Drdhasyu. In the Ramayana the sage explains to Rama the origin of the raksasas, adding a long genealogical account of their families (Ram. 7, 4 ff.). The cantos 1-36 of the VII book of the Ramayana, being not intrinsically related to the main theme of the epic, essentially are a concatenation of 'ancient history' and genealogies, and as such are of a 'pauranic' character. As to its form and composition this section is an 'Agastya parvan', because it is Agastya who after having, at 7. Nilakanta Sastri, South Indian Influences in the Far East, Bombay 1949, p. 59; 128 f.; 1'0; R. C. Majumdar, in Majumdar Pusalkar, o c., IV, p. 418. ff. 8. R. Ng. Poerbatjaraka, Agastya in den Archipel, Thesis Leiden 1926; Nilakanta Sastri, Agastya, in Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde, utgegeven door het Bataviaasch Genootschap voor Kunsten en Wetenschappen 1936, p. 471 ff. 9. See A Holtzmann, Der heilige Agastya nach den Erzahlungen des Mahabharata, in Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft 34 (1889), p. 589 ff.

Jan. 1962] 165 the head of a delegation of rsis, approached Rama, gives him the information wanted. In the same Uttarakanda Agastya be is also the narrator of sargas 77-82 which may again regarded as 'pauranic': Danda, a descendant of Manu, interfered with a daughter of his purohita Usanas who therefore cursed him so that he and his country were reduced to ashes. Did the original author of the Old-Javanese document was he under consideration draw on these passages or inspired by them to write a larger work on genealogies? THE OLD JAVANESE AGASTYAPARVAN In the Puranas there are also some episodes in which the sage appears as the narrator or as a studious listener. The beginning of the Patalakhanda of the Padmapurana bears a striking resemblance to the introductory passage of the Uttarakanda. Another circumstantial account ascribed to Agastya occurs in the Varahapurana, 51 ff.: here the sage relates, inter alia, the story of king Pasupala, adding some instruction of Visnu worship (vratas etc.), a legend dealing with Narada, an account of the conduct of the varnas in the different yugas, on agamyagamana and some stories in connection with the narrator himself. There is a considerable difference in content between this episode and the Javanese book; yet, There the former could be considered an 'Agastyaparvan'. is further a work that, passing under the name of Devipurana, is a semitantric purana, glorifying the power of the great goddess and professing to be revealed by Agastya to Nrpavahana; it is related to the rsis by the muni Vasistha. An Agastya-smrti lays down the rules for the acts and religious rites which a brahman should perform from the early morning until late into the evening. Agastya-sutras expounding the bhakti of the Devi-Bhagavata and bearing resemblance to the Narada and Sandilya-sutras were at the time (1897) studied in volume III of the Sanskrit Journal of Madras". The Arabic author Alberuni made mention of "the book Agastyamata, 10. A triennial Catalogue of mss., Madras 1918/4-1915/6, 1309, no. 994 h. 11. J. N. Farquhar, An Outline of the Religious Literature of India, Oxford 1920, p. 262 and 359.

166 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IV. No. 1 composed by Agastya, treating of the subject that in all investigations we must use the apperception of the senses as well as the tradition"12 13 As is well known, there are many texts which profess to belong to, or to form part of, one of the puranas. One of these is an Agastyasamhita in which the sage and his brother Sutiksna hold a conversation (sutiksnagastyasamvada); according to its colophon, it belongs to the Brahmandapurana and contains at least thirty-five chapters. Such a text has however not been incorporated into that purana, as it is known to us from printed editions And many 'Agastyasamhitas' are, in a similar way, said to form part of the conglomerate of traditions known as Skandapurana. These writings deal, in a general way, with religious subjects, such as prayascittas, Santi, mudralaksanas, worship, dharma, religious traditions etc. The Old-Javanese work stands therefore a fair chance of being an adaptation of a Sanskrit text of this category, the original of which has hitherto remained obscure. In any case the Javanese treatise is, as to its spirit and contents, pauranic, this term to be taken in its wider sense. It does not only contain cosmology, ancient history, legends and genealogies, but also episodes of a philosophical and theological nature. At the same time it reminds us of that category of religious works which is known as agamas, a technical term which even occurs in the text itselfp. 382 (54); 389 (61); 391 (63)-expressing the sense of "traditional doctrine." Although this large body of literature is closely related to the tantras, the evidence pointing to mutual borrowing and percolation of ideas, it would be incorrect to consider the Javanese Agastyaparvan a tantristic document or even to assume that it may shed light on the origin and provenance of tantristic tenets and rites in the island of Java. 12. Alberuni, India, ed. Sachau (1887), p. 64; English translation by Sachau (1910), I, p. 132. 13. See A descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Mss., Madras XVI, p. 6297, no. 8682. 14. With Dr. Th, G. Th. Pigeaud, De Tantu Panggelaran, Thesis Leiden 1924, p. 325.

Jan. 1962] THE OLD JAVANESE AGASTYAPARVAN 167 As already observed, the Javanese work is Sivaitic in character. It is Siva who, as Sadasiva, creates the universe and his name is repeatedly mentioned. The term Sivabhakti occurs in a Sanskrit stanza, the name Sivaditya is well known to the author. The god is however neither the author nor the narrator, a function ascribed to him by the authors of the tantras. No mention is made of the worship of Devi. In relating the creation of the world the prakrti is not identified with Siva's Sakti. The pancatattva, yantras, mudras, nyasas and the doctrine of mantras are left undiscussed. In describing the varnasramas no mention is made of the samanyas. Such female divinities and personifications as Rati, Aditi, Pusti, Tusti, Svadha are not represented, as they are in the tantras, as partial incarnations of the Female Principle. If we follow the definition proposed by Sir John Woodroffe": "where there is mantra, yantra, nyasa, diksa, guru and the like, there is Tantra Shastra", the text cannot be described as written under the influence of Tantrism. Only some passages may be said to tend towards Tantrism. For instance, whereas most of the tantristic topics are absent, the high position of the spiritual teacher, the dikesa and the discussion of some rites point at least in that direction. The paragraphs devoted, in Chapter XX, to the guru and his functions are indeed of some interest because they clearly show the power and influence of the spiritual guide and The importance of his position. He represents Sadasiva qualities required to be a good guru are discussed at some length. One of his privileges is the initiation of the adepts (the diksa), that is to say the admission into the religious community, the ordination by which the adepts are brought into immediate contact with the divinity. As a whole and in general however, the text represents, from the point of view of dogmatics, that mixture of Samkhya and Vedanta ideas which is characteristic of many Indian works of the pauranic variety; from the point of view of ethics it is, in the main, in agreement with the doctrines 15. Sir John Woodroffe, Shakti and Shakta 3, London 1929, p. 56.

168 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IV, No. 1 of Manu-whose name is mentioned-and the Bhagavadgita ; it gives evidence of acquaintance with a fully developed yoga system on the basis of the general Hinduistic, and in particular Sivaite, conceptions. It seems however possible to determine the religious and literary position of the Old-Javanese work somewhat more precisely. Although the many (about 155) Sanskrit quotations which it contains are, generally speaking, not identical with stanzas occurring in Vayu-Brahmanda version of the pauranic themes, the text itself not rarely reminds us of these two works. This is not strange because the Brahmandapurana was at least in part translated into Javanese. There is a considerable number of passages in which proper names, the sequence of the facts related and other details, while being different from the corresponding passages in tbe other sources, are in agreement with the Brahmanda-Vayu texts. For instance, p. 349, 14 six of the twelve sadhyas are mentioned by name; these names look very much like those in Bmd. 2, 3, 17; Va. 66, 16; they do not however occur in other puranas. Moreover, the colophon points in this direction, because it says that the Agastyaparvan is a piturun of the Brahmanda-purana. This Javanese word ("incarnation, descendant") is no doubt intended to inform us that the text goes back to that purana, or is an adaptation of subjectmatter contained in it. The question however remains as to which Agastyapaivan- the Javanese work or an Indian prototype and which Brahmandapurana are meant, for in a minority of cases the Agastyaparvan, while joining other puranas varies from the Brahmanda text. In a few cases the closest resemblance is to the Old-Javanese Brahmandapurana. Let us now turn to a discussion of some other points of importance. Whereas, to begin with, the patriarch Daksa and his spouse Prasuti had, according to the Old-Javanese Brahmandapurana, 24 daughters, 13 of whom were married to Dharma and 11 to 11 other men, the Agastyaparvan gives them 51 daughters, 13 of whom became Prajapati's wives and 12 the ladies of

Jan. 1962] THE OLD JAVANESE AGASTYAPARVAN 169 Daksa's brothers; on the others the text is silent. Daksa however had according to the Agastyaparvan, also another wife, Asiktiki-i. e. Asikni, Virana's daughter, who gave him 10 daughters who married Dharma, and 27 daughters who became the wives of the Moon. Elsewhere the same work states that Daksa had another 13 daughters who married Kasyapa; their mother (perhaps Prasuti ?) is left unmentioned. The version of the Brahmandapurana has the support of a number of Indian puranas, although the number of Daksa's daughters and their husbands varied greatly. In the main, however, there are two versions of the paragraphs dealing with Daksa's family; according to the one he had 50 or 60 (mother: Asikni), according to the other 24 daughters (mother: Prasuti). Curiously enough, both versions are often found in the same purana (Padma, Visnu, Kurma, Linga, Brahmanda, Vayu), but then Daksa's marriage with Prasuti is said to have taken place in Svayambhuva-manvantara, his wedding with Asikni, in another existence, in caksusamanvantara. In the Agastyaparvan, however, no mention is made of two different manvantaras, and the number 51 is strange, although the names of the 13 wives of Prajapati are in harmony with those of Daksa's daughters, who according to the Indian texts and the Old-Javanese Brahmandapurana married Dharma. The conclusion must be that in the Agastyaparvan, two traditions seem to have been fused without any attempt at accounting for Daksa's two marriages. May we infer from this that the version it presents is younger than that of those puranas which assume the rebirth of Daksa in a later manvantara? And may we arrive at strength of the assumption that the number 51 is a detail of a version of the story in which the 10 daughters who married Dharma, the 27 who married the Moon, and the 14 wives of Kasyapa were added up, a younger version making these 51 girls the daughters of Prasuti and marrying them off otherwise? the same conclusion on the A closely connected passage is that dealing with the naksatras, i. e. the 27 spouses of Soma. In enumerating them the Agastyaparvan resembles the version of the Sanskrit 22

30 170 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IV. No. 1 Brahmanda and Vayupuranas more closely than other texts. Unlike the Naksatrakalpa (Atharvaparisista I), 1, 1 ff. etc. the Javanese work mentions 27. not 28, naksatras and begins with Asvini, not with the Krttika A comparison between the relevant data contained in the Agastyaparvan on the one hand and the Javarese and Balinese astrological calendars 16 on the other shows that the former, it is true, mentions also the Javanese names of the constellations, but agrees only in one single case with the latter in respect of their identification with the Sanskrit This point is of some interest because in the opinion of some scholars the Javanese had adopted the Sanskrit names to indicate constellations for which they had already, a more or less systematical nomenclature of their own; after that their astrological calendar did not, however,--according to the same Inscholars include or refer to the Indian naksatra names. terestingly enough, the Agastyaparvan actually gives, in part of the cases, such an identification of Indonesian terms and naksatra names: "As to the constellations called in popular speech the head of the pig Damalun, that is Pusya". In other cases such an identification fails to turn up, but the author while mentioning the Sanskrit names of the naksatras attempts, by describing their outward form to make clear which constellation is meant "if you see a constellation like a vehicle it is Rohini". The conclusion seems to be that for the latter category there were no Indonesian names 17). Turning now to some other details it may be observed that the contents of Chapters VI and VII-an account of the miserable consequences of sinful behaviour-is generally speaking in perfect harmony with a considerable number of Indian parallels 18. The narrative is amplified by many examples of 16. See A Maass, Sternkunde und Sterndeuter ei im malaiischen Archipe [Astronomy and astrology in Indonesia, in German], in Tijdschrift T. L V. 64 (1924), p. 163 ff. 17. For particulars I refer to my above publication, Bijdr. T. L. V. 92, p. 361 (sep, publ. p. 120). 18. For a comparison between the data contained in the Agastya parvan and in other Old-Javanese sources the reader may be referred to my article

Jan. 1962] THE OLD-JAVANESE AGASTYAPARVAN 171 special cases in which diseases and physical defects arose from the sins committed in a former life. The description of the tortures to which the sinners are subjected in the nether world, the sojourn in heaven of the well-conducted who are distinguished for asceticism, sacrifices and what is called kirti, i.e. dharmakriya (cf. Manu 12, 31), the digression on the five mahayajnas and other particulars are completely Indian. In order to characterize the style and composition of the work a passage may be quoted and, as far as the Javanese is concerned, translated here. The stanza which after emendation-almost all Sanskrit passages have been handed down in a more or less corrupted form-reads as follows (p. 351 or 23): sarirajaih karmadosair yati sthavaratam narah racikaih paksimrgatam manasair antyajatitam (Manu 12, 9; cf. also Yajnavalkya 3, 134-136) is in the usual way paraphrased and explained: "that is to say if there is a human being whose behaviour is in all respects wrong, who gives pain to the people who see him, without however resorting to malicious speech and sinful thoughts-who however does not know how to behave decently-, when such a human being dies, he will become a plant, a tree. The man however who uses bad language, who does not know how to express himself properly, who does not know how to behave decently, when such a human being dies, he will become a plant, a tree. The man, however, who uses bad language, who does not know how to express himself properly, who does not know how to behave decently, qualities which, however, are not accompanied by a wicked state of mind, but whenever he speaks, he offends the ears of those who listen to him-when such a man dies, he will be reborn as a forest-animal or a bird. The man who is without a good mind, whose state of mind is exclusively and uninterruptedly engrossed with envy, anger, and avarice, whose heart is a barbarian base (?), when such a man dies, he will be (mleccha). His condition will be worse than that of those who Karman and Retributive Justice in Ancient Java', which is to appear in the Volume in honour of Dr. R.C. Majumdar, Caloutta.

172 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IV, No. 1 are reborn as trees, because it is difficult for those who are called barbarians to obtain emancipation. The trees, however, and the animals, it is their destination (?) to be emancipated. Thus that which is done with the body, with words and with the mind constitutes the lowest, middle and highest categories". The next sloka runs as follows: dharmaslam loke drastum necchati katarah | pretyabhutya vacaksuh syad maharauravasambhavah (for blindness as a result of sins in a preceding existence see e. g. Manu 11, 52; Visnusmrti 45, 20 etc.). I have not succeeded in tracing the source of this sloka, which in all probability was followed by a pendant which though omitted in the Javanese text as this is known to us, has been paraphrased as follows: "but who rejoices in seeing (people) liking fisticuffs, people thumping and kicking, people who cudgel and injure other people, the character of such a man produces the effect of being reborn as a blind man, because the Lord has created the eyes for the purpose of seeing virtuous and correct behaviour". The genealogies which are the subject of the framework of Chapters XV-XVII are, in the main, in agreement with the Brahmanda-Vayu version. Here also there are some striking differences in detail, among other things a moralizing passage in connection with the story of Jatayu which does not occur in the parallel texts. Jatayu, it is told, has become a god because he has done many services to his fellow-men. Therefore the great mass of the people should follow his example and exert themselves to the utmost, conferring benefits upon others, so that they may be purified and their behaviour justified. A wise man does not want to be favoured by the rich, because the recompense does not fall to him. Those who accept gifts without scruples are avaricious, they will be reborn as women and become the wives of the rich who were their benefactors. Attention may also be drawn to Chapter XVIII containing, inter alia, a description of the muktapada, in which the names and terminology of different religious schools and

Jan. 1962] THE OLD JAVANESE AGASTYAPARVAN 173 communities are enumerated in succession (p. 385; 57): the text makes mention of the Yogita paksa (?) who call the abode of the emancipated yogadiparamaneratmya; of the adherents of the Bhairavamarga who give it the name of anantaparamananda; of the Saivas Pasupatas and the adepts of the Siddhanta doctrine according to whom it is the yogadiparamaguhya; and the Vaisnavas who call it niskala paramasanya¹. This paragraph reminds us of a passage in the Buddhist Javanese text San hyan Kamahayanikan, b 44 ff.20 Another chapter is devoted to the obligations of the social classes and stations in life (XXIII), a favourite subject of smrtis and puranas. The passage dealing with permissible and forbidden marriages between members of the four classes is however of a striking brevity and succinctness: one should marry a person of one's own class, a man may however also As is well known choose a girl from the next lower class. savarna-was, e. g. by Baudhayana (1, 8, 16, 6), defined as "the son of a couple belonging to the same varna or class, or of a father who belonged to the next higher class to that of the mother". There are also some paragraphs which cannot go back to Indian sources and must therefore be of Javanese origin. To these passages belong, for instance, a reference to acertain Udug basur (Ch. VIII; p. 353 or 35): the daitya Gavesthi or Kalanemi is said to have been the grandfather of Udug Basur who in olden times destroyed the island of Java. As this figure reminds us of Budug basu or Udubasu, a legendary dog which according to traditions handed down in the Western provinces of the island of Java-wished to destroy the rice which had recently been given to men, there can be no doubt that here a Javanese mythological or legendary figure has been incorporated into the Indian genealogy. It may be 19. See also R. Goris, Bijdrage tot de kennis der Oud-Javaansche en Balineesche Theologie, Thesis Leiden 1926, p. 101 ff. 20. See J. S. Speyer, in Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft 67, p. 352.

174 puranam - PURANA [Vol. IV, No. 1 observed that Kalanemi's behaviour (see Visnupur. 5, 12 ff.) bears resemblance to the story of Budug basu, because he also infested the residences of men. In Chapter XXII Agastya refers to Visrava(s), the son of Pulastya and Ila. Ila was the daughter of king Trnabindu, who is said to have been Agastya's pupil and to have devoted himself to asceticism in the island of Java. Observing that Trnavindu (as he writes the name) now is among the saptarsis the author adds that he was one of those siddhayogisvaras who lived in that island, the others being Harideva and Anaka), who was the ascetic of the Dihyan (Dieng) plateau in Java and Markandeya, who lived, likewise as an ascetic, on the mountain Damalun. Trnabindu-who is, e. g. also in the Mahabharata called a muni (3, 263, 5 etc)-is a figure of frequent occurrence in Javanese art and literature. Harideva may in all probability be identified with Haricandana who was worshipped at the same place², viz. the Dieng. Markandeya was (as Karmandeya !) according to the Javanese work Tantu Panggelaran, p. 89 a devaguru on the Kailasa and, as the successor of the gods, the first human devaguru of the first Javanese mandala (asrama or hermitage) Sukuyajna; the same text (p. 126 f.) informs us that Agasti (sic) was his successor. It is difficult to say whether these passages go back to the scholar who translated and adapted the Agastyaparvan and who may, anyhow, be considered the author of the Javanese text, or to an 'editor' or copyist. Some words may finally be added on the date of the Agastya-Parvan. As is usually the case with ancient Javanese treatises of this category, no reliable data are available. Anyhow, it must be much older than the Koravasrama which seems to have been compiled in the 15th cent. A. D., because that 21. See e. g. F. D. K. Bosch, Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde 57, p. 434 ff.; Bigeaud, o. c., p. 285 f.; Boerbatjaraka, o.c., p. 41; 55; 92 ff. 22. See e.g. H. J. Krom, Hindoe-Javaansche Geschiedenis 2, 's-Gravenhage 1931, p. 183; 193 (with references).

Jan. 1962] THE OLD-JAVANESE AGASTYAPARVAN 175 book in a curious passage mentions the work under consideration, as well as the Uttarakhanda, among the books of the Mahabharata: this can only mean that the author regarded it as a classic and as contemporaneous with the epic 'parvans.' The Agastyaparvan may also be older than the recension C of the San hyan Kamahayanikan which to all appearance is a younger hinduistic adaptation of this originally buddhist work, because the author (or a redactor ?) of this recension-which, however, is of uncertain date, though much older than the Koravasrama-borrowed some lines from the former treatise. Judging from the style, the grammatical forms and the vocabulary of the text, it can hardly be considered much younger than the adaptation of the books of the Mahabharata which may roughly speaking date from about 1000 A. D.