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International Journal of Sanskrit Research
2024, Vol. 10, Issue 3, Part E
The narrative of Devāpi and Śantanu: One narrative, many roles
Radhika Deepak Deshpande
The tradition of narratives i.e. Ākhyāna and Upākhyānas has been playing a vital role in the history of interpretation of Vedas. Ever since the attempts of Vedic interpretations were made, such as Brāhmaṇas, Nirukta and Bṛhaddevatā, the narratives descended for generations were held to be an authority while interpreting obscure hymns of the Vedas. The narrative of Sudās Paijavana and Viśvāmitra, Saramā and Paṇi, Trita and many more examples are there in the tradition that helped interpret some of the hymns from Ṛgveda.
One such narrative is attributed to the two descendants of Kuru dynasty: Devāpi and Śantanu. The first occurrence of these two princes is met with in the Ṛgveda and the rendering of this story continues through the Ākhyānas in Nirukta, Mahābhārata and Purāṇas. With the course of time, not only did the narrative undergo many changes but also it played remarkable role in interpreting the text with reference to which these narratives were presented.
Although Western scholars namely Max Mueller, Winternitz and Sieg have worked extensively on this narrative as an independent one, this chapter is an attempt towards finding the roles played by this narrative in order to make meaningful the plots depending upon it.
Why the narrative of Devāpi and Śantanu? – As mentioned earlier, there are many narratives occurring in the Ṛgveda then why is this particular narrative important? An important factor for opting for this narrative is that, Yāska has given detailed account of this narrative in Nirukta. The characters in this story, being the Kuru-descendants, hold important place in the great Epic of Mahābhārata as well.
Pages : 297-301 | 60 Views | 25 Downloads
How to cite this article:
Radhika Deepak Deshpande. The narrative of Devāpi and Śantanu: One narrative, many roles. Int J Sanskrit Res 2024;10(3):297-301. DOI: 10.22271/23947519.2024.v10.i3e.2404
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