Medieval History

By far the most important medieval source of information about the PaippalAda SaMhitA’s history is JonarAja’s HAjataraGgiNI. In some manuscripts, the text includes a story that describes how the PS was imported, or rather re-imported, into the Kashmir Valley from KarNAtaka by the teacher YuddhabhaTTa during the reign of Zain-ul-‘AbidIn (r. 1419/20-1470). The relevant text is 1267-1274 from Bombay MS (S₆):

tripaJcAGgamite varTavHnde yAte kaleH kila |

atharvakauzalAd droNo raNaM kurubalair vyadhAt_\ ||

kurubhir nihate droNe tad AtharvA nirAzrayaH |

zaraNIkHtavAn vedaH karNASAn paSucetanAn_\||

zAstreTv atharvavedasya mAhAtmyaM paripazyatAm_\ |

kAzmIrikANAM tatprAptyai ciram AsIn manorathaH ||

kAle ’tha vipule yAte sUhabhaTTabhayAkulaH |

yuddhabhaTTAbhidho mAnI dezAntaram agAd guNI ||

yajuSaH paThanAt prItaiH karNATaiH so ’tha pAThitaH |

sarahasyam atharvANam nijAM pratyAgato bhuvam_\ ||

zrI jainollAbhadenasya guNino guNarAgiNaH |

upadIkHtya taM vedaM parAM tuSTim ajIjanat_\ ||

dattasva kIyavastrAnnaH zIryabhaTTo ÿtha dharmavit_\ |

tenaivAtharvavedaM taM dvijaputrAn apAThayat_\ ||

sA dharmiSThA tu zAlA ÿsya zIryabhaTTasya dhImataH |

karNATAnAm api param agamat spHhaNIyatAm_\ ||

Indeed, when 35 years of the Kali (yuga) passed, because of his skill with the Atharvaveda, DroNa diffused the battle with the forces of the Kurus ||

When DroNa was struck down by the Kurus, then the Atharva (Veda) was without support. The Veda made the KarNata-s its protector, who have sharp minds||

Seeing the greatness of the Atharvaveda among the sacred books, among the Kashmiris for a long time, there was a wish to obtain it ||

When a long time had passed, filled with fear of SUhabhaTTa, (a man) named YuddhabhaTTa, the wise and virtuous, went to another country ||

Then, it (the Atharvaveda) was recited by the KarNatas-s who were delighted because of his

(YuddhabhaTTa) recitation of the Yajus. He returned the Atharvaveda together with the secret doctrine to his own country ||

Having offered this Veda first, as the best, to zrI Zain-ul-‘AbidIn who has good qualities and delights in

good qualities, he delighted him highly||

Then zIryabhaTTa, who has knowledge of dharma, having granted his own clothes and food, caused the

Atharvaveda to be taught to the sons of the twice-born by that one (YuddhabhTTa)||

The religious hall of the wise zIryabhaTTa later became the envy of even the KarNataka-s||

Srikanth Kaul, the editor of the RAjataraGgiNI, has identified this portion of text as an insertion. These lines were inserted in manuscripts D, B and S₆ after line 945.[1] Kaul notes that this passage is found on a separate leaf that has been inserted between verses 945 and 946 in D, B, and S₆. To quote Kaul:

There are indications, which enable us to fix the year when the redactor fabricated the longer recession. The insertion 6* refers to the Tsak dynasty. Since JonarAja died in 1459 (§55) and the tribe of the Tsaks captured the throne of Kashmir in 1561 AD, so he is not expected to report prophetically that the scions of the LaGkAra Cakka (Tsak) will rule Kashmir. Further it will be mentioned in a later context (§34) that the longer recession of JonarAja’s work formed a part of the HAjataraGginI-manuscript which was presented to Akbar when he visited Kashmir for the first time in 1588 AD. These indications reasonably enable us to conclude that the longer recession was fabricated between the years 1561 and 1588 AD as there is no evidence to prove its existence before the occupation of Kashmir by Akbar. Therefore, it is evident that the longer recession was fabricated in 1588 AD for presenting it to Akbar, who had it translated into Persian.[2]

The insertion seems to have been strategically placed within the narrative regarding the building activities of Zain-ul-‘AbidI.[3] Along with other insertions found in the above-mentioned manuscripts, this story praises the glory of Zain-ul-‘AbidIn’s reign. Other passages speak of his tolerance towards Hinduism as well as his efforts to import arts and crafts into Kashmir. The text particularly praises the efforts to re-introduce BrahmaNic literature that was lost under the persecutions by SUhabhaa during 1389-1419.

The interpolations were created and inserted in the manuscripts at the time when the historical works of Kashmir were translated into Persian for Akbar (b. 1542-1605) after his visit to Kashmir in 1588. Following the brutal oppression under the Cak Dynasty, a return to a more tolerant Muslim regime under the Mughals, and Akbar in particular, must have surely stimulated memories of the ‘golden age’ under Zain-ul-‘AbidIn. This must have led Brahmins translating these works into Persian to include accounts that portrayed Muslim rulers as more tolerant and friendly than the previous dynasty in order to gain favor from the new ruling dynasty. According to Kaul, the translator made this perfectly plain by “attributing the patronage of Vedic studies by ˜Irya Bhaa to Zain-ul-‘AbidIn (PT., MS. p. 64a), the interpreters aim at exerting influence upon the contemporary Mughal rulers.”[4]

The historical context of the insertion is clarified by the historical facts mentioned at the end of the insertion:

B 1277 yasminn Adama khan-Akhye jyeSTe putre ÿpi bhUpatiH |

aprasanno vidagdhatahInaiH sambhAvitaz ciraM |

B 1278 hAjya khAn-Adi putrebhyo vizoTAd vihitAdaraH |

vibhAsitaH sa rAjJA ÿpi tilako madhunA yathA[5]

According to zrIvara, the author of the Jaina-HAjataraGgiNI, JonarAja died in saMvat [45] 35 or 1459 AD. At this time, Zain-ul-‘¸bidIn was at the height of his glory. JonarAja mentions the birth of his sons Adam Khan, Haji Khan, Jasrath Khan, and Bahram Khan. With this information, the context of the story can be dated to a possible terminus ad quem of 1459.

Based on the historical information provided by the HAjataraGgiNI, the re-introduction of the PS must have taken place during Zain-ul-‘¸bidIn’s reign (1420-1489). Then the predecessor of the Tübingen birch-bark manuscript can be dated with fair certainty to the earliest days of Zain-ul-‘¸bidIn’s reign. This hypothesis fits nicely with the date calculated from the colophon of the Tübingen birch-bark manuscript: Friday, December 15, 1419, and the evidence gathered from the manuscript that shows traces of having been transcribed from a much older, Early NAgarI original. See below Chap. IIID-H.