Re: Aryan invasion theory and race

I wrote;

> In certain passages of the Mbh king Bhagadatta is said to be
> ruling "in the west" (not in Assam, which is in the northeast!).
>
> From Ganguli's translation of the Mbh:
>
> http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m02/m02014.htm
> "He also that beareth on his head that gem which is known as the
> most wonderful on earth, that king of the Yavanas, who hath
> chastised Muru and Naraka, whose power is unlimited, and who ruleth
> the west like another Varuna, who is called Bhagadatta, and who is
> the old friend of thy father..."
>
> From Buitenen's translation of the Mbh:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/mr67en
> "The king who wears on his head the divine stone that is known as
> the amulet of creation, who punished the two Greek kings Mura and
> Naraka and rules in the West like Varuna with limitless power --
> he, Bhagadatta, old friend of your father's, great king Bharata..."

Shivraj replied:

> No. Please check the primary sources. In most passages Bhagadatta
> is mentioned as ruling the east (purvasagaravasine in udyog parva
> 4.11) or the ruler of northern forests (Stree Parva 23.10). Same is
> true for his capital city, Pragjyotishpur which is described as in
> the north (Sabha Parva) or the east (Markandeya Purana). So in 2.14
> word west is just a scribal error.

LOL! A "scribal error"? You're a phenomenon, Sivraj.

This is the concerned verse taken directly from the "primary source" (Mbh 2.13.13):

http://www.hindunet.org/mahabharata/txt/02.txt
"aparyanta balo rAjA pratIchyA.n varuNo yathA .. 13..\\"

It means exactly what Ganguli and Buitenen write in their respective tranlations, namely, that Bhagadatta ruled in the west (Skt. praticya 'being or living in the west; the west, western country'), with limitless power, like another Varuna, WHO IN HINDU COSMOLOGY IS THE REGENT (LOKAPALA) OF THE WESTERN DIRECTION. This cannot be a "scribal error", thick-headed man!

Therefore, this "king of the Yavanas", Bhagadatta, ruled simultaneously in the west, in the north, and in the east; as I wrote in an earlier message, *how* powerful must he have been? :^)

Shivraj continues:

> Bhagdatta was a Yavana and he *was not* a Greek. He lived in the
> Himalayas in the eastrern side of India at a place called
> Pragjyotishpur which is modern Assam.

Are you aware of the fact that the identification of Pragjyotisha with the present state of Assam is disputed so far as its mention in the Indian epics is concerned? No doubt, Pragjyotisha was identified with Kamarupa (Assam) in the Puranas; yet, in the Ramayana the city of Pragjyotishapura, capital of Bhagadatta's father Naraka, is stated to be situated "on the Varaha mountain in the sea," while in the Mahabharata itself king Bhagadatta is called Purvasagaravasin (dwelling by the Eastern Sea'). Do you think that Assam lies in the sea?

FB