Shout, thunder, reach the clouds; these waters of thine shall be level with the mountain-tops... Undefined, wholly water, the shore shall be: the frog-female shall croak all the night. (The winds) shall milk the cloud (cow) whose trail drips with milk, the wild beast shall come seeking firm land.
The Suparṇākhyāna, also known as the Suparṇādhyāya (meaning "Chapter of the Bird"), is a short epic poem or cycle of ballads in Sanskrit about the divine bird Garuda, believed to date from the late Vedic period.[3][4][5][6] Considered to be among the "earliest traces of epic poetry in India," the text only survives "in very bad condition,"[3] and remains "little studied."[7]
Relief depicting a portable Garuda pillar, one of the oldest images of Garuda, Bharhut, 100 BCE.[2]
The subject of the poem is "the legend of Kadrū, the snake-mother, and Vinatā, the bird-mother, and enmity between Garuda and the snakes."[3] It relates the birth of Garuda and his elder brother Aruṇa; Kadru and Vinata's wager about the color of the tail of the divine white horse Uchchaihshravas; Garuda's efforts to obtain freedom for himself and his mother; and his theft of the divine soma from Indra, whose thunderbolt is unable to stop Garuda, but merely causes him to drop a feather.[5] It was the basis for the later, expanded version of the story, which appears in the Āstīka Parva, within the Ādi Parva of the Mahābhārata.[3][5]
The Suparṇākhyāna's date of composition is uncertain; its unnamed author attempted to imitate the style of the Rigveda,[3] but scholars agree that it is a significantly later composition, possibly from the time of the early Upanishads.[5] On metrical grounds, it has been placed closest to the Katha Upanishad.[3] A date of c. 500 BCE has been proposed, but is unproven, and is not agreed upon by all scholars.[4]
^Maurice Bloomfield (1896), "On the 'Frog-hymn,' Rig-Veda vii.103, together with some remarks on the composition of the Vedic hymns", in Journal of the American Oriental Society, Volume 17, pp. 173–179
^ abcdefMoriz Winternitz (1996). A History of Indian Literature, Volume 1. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 291–292. ISBN978-81-208-0264-3.
^ abMaurice Winternitz (1985). History of Indian Literature, Volume 3. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 180. ISBN978-81-208-0056-4.
^ abcdJean Philippe Vogel (1995). Indian Serpent-lore: Or, The Nāgas in Hindu Legend and Art. Asian Educational Services. pp. 53–54. ISBN978-81-206-1071-2.
^Barnett, L. D. “Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, vol. 2, no. 4, 1923, pp. 807–810.
^Jamison, Stephanie; Witzel, Michael (1992). "Vedic Hinduism" (PDF). Harvard University. p. 14.
December 15, 2023
suparṇākhyāna, shout, thunder, reach, clouds, these, waters, thine, shall, level, with, mountain, tops, undefined, wholly, water, shore, shall, frog, female, shall, croak, night, winds, shall, milk, cloud, whose, trail, drips, with, milk, wild, beast, shall, c. Shout thunder reach the clouds these waters of thine shall be level with the mountain tops Undefined wholly water the shore shall be the frog female shall croak all the night The winds shall milk the cloud cow whose trail drips with milk the wild beast shall come seeking firm land Suparṇakhyana ix 3 conjuring of a storm 1 The Suparṇakhyana also known as the Suparṇadhyaya meaning Chapter of the Bird is a short epic poem or cycle of ballads in Sanskrit about the divine bird Garuda believed to date from the late Vedic period 3 4 5 6 Considered to be among the earliest traces of epic poetry in India the text only survives in very bad condition 3 and remains little studied 7 Relief depicting a portable Garuda pillar one of the oldest images of Garuda Bharhut 100 BCE 2 The subject of the poem is the legend of Kadru the snake mother and Vinata the bird mother and enmity between Garuda and the snakes 3 It relates the birth of Garuda and his elder brother Aruṇa Kadru and Vinata s wager about the color of the tail of the divine white horse Uchchaihshravas Garuda s efforts to obtain freedom for himself and his mother and his theft of the divine soma from Indra whose thunderbolt is unable to stop Garuda but merely causes him to drop a feather 5 It was the basis for the later expanded version of the story which appears in the Astika Parva within the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata 3 5 The Suparṇakhyana s date of composition is uncertain its unnamed author attempted to imitate the style of the Rigveda 3 but scholars agree that it is a significantly later composition possibly from the time of the early Upanishads 5 On metrical grounds it has been placed closest to the Katha Upanishad 3 A date of c 500 BCE has been proposed but is unproven and is not agreed upon by all scholars 4 See also editIndian epic poetry Vedic mythology NagaReferences edit Maurice Bloomfield 1896 On the Frog hymn Rig Veda vii 103 together with some remarks on the composition of the Vedic hymns in Journal of the American Oriental Society Volume 17 pp 173 179 Gupta The Roots of Indian Art 1980 p 29 a b c d e f Moriz Winternitz 1996 A History of Indian Literature Volume 1 Motilal Banarsidass pp 291 292 ISBN 978 81 208 0264 3 a b Maurice Winternitz 1985 History of Indian Literature Volume 3 Motilal Banarsidass p 180 ISBN 978 81 208 0056 4 a b c d Jean Philippe Vogel 1995 Indian Serpent lore Or The Nagas in Hindu Legend and Art Asian Educational Services pp 53 54 ISBN 978 81 206 1071 2 Barnett L D Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies University of London Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies University of London vol 2 no 4 1923 pp 807 810 Jamison Stephanie Witzel Michael 1992 Vedic Hinduism PDF Harvard University p 14 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Suparṇakhyana amp oldid 1167793168, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
