12 year’s Famine in Puranic Literature and its Dating

12 year’s Famine in Puranic Literature and its Dating

In Puranic literature there are several and repeated references to the famous 12 years famine that once occurred in India / Bharat Varsha in ancient times (sometime prior to 2 millennium BC). I have come across following eight narrations and I have calculated the exact dates of this 12 years famine occurrence (2183--2171 BC). Consequently following incidents can be easily co-related historically in this time frame.  

1. There is reference of famine of 12 years at a stretch when Gautam was meditating at Triyambak parvat situated by the shore of river Godavari. All the holy persons, munis, rishis etc flocked to the Ashram of Gautam and asked for food for survival[1]. etc. Gautum rishi fed all rishis and saved them.

2. The astrologers and astronomers of king warned Dasarath of the impending calamity for the coming 12 yrs, as a result of Saturn invading Rohini Nakshtra in Taurus. “The whole earth will become devoid of people”. Indra had given a Kaamag Vimana to king Dashrath. King alighted on that Vimana invaded Saturn with his mighty bow and sharp arrow. Saturn being impressed by the courage of king, asked him how the king could cross his path, which no god or demon even think of. King told Saturn about the apprehension of the wise men, that due to masking of Rohini by Saturn, Indra will become incapacitated to produce rain, earth will not produce eatables, and people will die. There will be no oblations and sacrifices. There will be an ultimate doom. Saturn agreed that it is his nature that everything is reduced to nothingness by his mere angry glance. Saturn impressed by the dare act of Dashrath on behalf of people, gave a boon as blessing, that who-so-ever applies oil on his body on Saturdays, the day of Saturn, will not be pained by the angry glance of Saturn for full one week. And who-so-ever offers till, oil and iron as daan, will be saved from the evils of Saturn for full one year, and who-so-ever worships Saturn also will be saved from the evils of Saturn for two and half years period of Sadsatti[2]. This incident occurred in April, 2183 BC. It means following 12 years after this date famine did take place (2183--2171 BC).

3. There is also a reference of the similar famine of 12 yrs in the period of Shantanu, the father of Bhisma. Shantanu was the son of king Rishishen. Shantanu acquired throne in the place of his elder brother Devapi as Devapi declined to accept throne willfully in favor of his younger brother. Devapi suffered from some unusual skin disease though he was very talented in every sphere of knowledge becoming of a good king. Once there was a famine of 12 years in Shantanu’s kingdom. The priests and sages concluded that may be the famine was due to Shantanu’s act of injustice against his brother Devapi. There was a king named Shivi from Ushinar who conducted yagya for Agni for next continuous 12 yrs so that Agni devata is pleased[3].

4. There is again a story about king Janak ploughing the fields when a famine of 12 years and there was no rain for this long period. During this deed of his Sita appeared whom he brought up as his daughter.

Sitamarhi is a district in Bihar situated on the bank of river Lakhandei (trib. of Bagmati) approx. 50 km from Darbhanga. In Valimiki Ramayan, it is written that Janak found a girl child while plowing field and he named her Sita. The god gifted Sita brought an end to the year long drought and famine in Mithila[4].

5. There is another reference to this 12 years famine in Ayodhya. There was a king in that janpad with the name Saalankayan. There was large number of deaths of human beings as well as animals. Vashisth guided him to consult rishi Markandey. King worshiped river Narmada and Shiva and then there was a rain and normalcy returned in his kingdom[5].

6. A similar narrative is found in the epic of Mahabharata entitled “Viswamitra Swapaka Samvad”. The tale is that, once a terrible famine occurred on the earth. Viswamitra, out of hunger sent all his disciples to search for food. They did not find food. Later on they saw a dog was lying dead on the roadside. They brought the dead body of the dog and being ordered by the sage, they all skinned it and cooked food. Viswamitra, taking the cooked dogflesh, was about to offer it to the God like Indra, Surya, Vishnu and others. All the Gods requested the sage not to offer the food to make them profane, instead Indra assured rain on the earth and thus Viswamitra brought rain from Indra.

“Once Indra, the rain deity of heaven, being annoyed with the people for he was not worshipped, Promised not to pour rain on the earth for twelve years, which resulted in a terrible famine in the said region. The cattle started dying due to shortage of water and grass. Even people started dying of starvation.”
Meanwhile, an old cultivator of a village called in all his sons to his presence and said that they have spent their time in playing and merry-making. He continued that he has become old like the ripen leaves of a dry tree. Now or then he might pass away. So he wanted his sons to learn the technique of cultivation. Ordered by their father the sons took bullocks and ploughed the field. But the soil was too hard for the share to penetrate. So the old man took all his sons into a river basin and in its sand he started ploughing. The whole atmosphere was filled with an illusion of cultivating the filed in rainy season.

Indra curiously came down to the riverbank in the disguise of a Brahman. He saw the old man ploughing in the river sand with his sons. He asked the old man as to why he was ploughing the river basin like an insane. The old man replied that he knew it was futile to plough there. But one should not forget his occupation. Everyone should make his descendants learn his parental occupation.
Hearing it Indra returned leaving the old cultivator and thought that the old man had opened his eyes.

One should train his sons about parental occupation; otherwise after him they would be nowhere. So Indra ordered his four sons (four clouds according to folk belief) to learn how to pour rain on the earth. Needless to say the barren earth overflowed with rainwater. Indra now realised how the old cultivator extracted rain from him by deception.”

In the Gond story the old man is the counterpart of sage Viswamitra. The trickery played with Indra by the old man has more propriety than the means adopted by sage Viswamitra. In the folktale the old man had solved his problem in a positive way whereas in the Viswamitra Swapaka Samvad, sage Viswamitra had adopted a negative approach in solving the problem. 

When the scare of famine ended after twelve years, vishvamitra established Satyavrata on the throne of Ayodhya and conducted Vedic rituals for him[6].   

The Vishnu Purana describes another legend of Satyavrata. Satyavrata was a Chandala and when there was famine in the country then he assisted Vishwamitra`s family. Satyavrata supported Vishwamitra`s family by hanging deer`s flesh on a tree on the bank of the Ganges, so that they might obtain food without the deprivation of receiving it from a Chandala. Thus for this charity Vishwamitra raised Satyavrata to heaven and he became immortal. 

A different story of Satyavrata is related in Harivansa. When Satyavrata was a prince he attempted to carry off the wife of a citizen. Satyavrata`s father punished him by depriving him out of the home. Vasishtha, the family priest tried to soften the father`s decision but failed. The period of Satyavrata`s exile was a time of famine, and Satyavrata greatly helped the wife and family of Vishwamitra, who were in deep suffering while the sage was far away from the family. 

Satyavrata completed his twelve year`s of exile and penance. One day he was hungry and having no flesh to eat, he killed Vasishtha`s extraordinary cow, the Kamadhenu. Satyavrata ate the cow himself, and gave some of the portions to the sons of Vishwamitra. In wrath Vasishtha gave him the name Trisanku, for being guilty of three great sins. 

Vishwamitra was grateful by the aid which Satyavrata had rendered to his family at the time of famine and he made Satyavrata the King in his father`s kingdom. Vishwamitra then in spite of the opposition of the gods and of Vasishtha exalted the king Satyavrata alive to heaven.

Another variation (version) goes like this : there was a king named Trayaruna. His son was Satyavrata. Satyavrata was exceedingly strong. But such was his desire for riches, that he committed many sins. His father Trayaruna therefore decided to banish him. Trayaruna’s chief priest was Vashishtha and the sage also supported the king’s decision. 

“Go away,” Trayaruna told his son. “I do not wish to have a son who is like you.”

“What will I do and where will I live?” asked Satyavrata.

“Go and live with the chandalas (outcasts),” his father replied. 

Satyabrata went and started to live with the outcasts. In due course. Trayaruna retired to the forest and there was no king to rule over the kingdom. In the absence of a king, anarchy prevailed. For twelve long years it did not rain and there was a terrible drought. Famine raged. 

At the time, the sage Vishvamitra had gone away to the shores of the great ocean to meditate. The sage’s wife found it difficult to make both ends meet. There was no food to be had. She had no option but to sell off one of her sons in exchange for a hundred head of cattle. With this wealth she proposed to feed herself and her remaining sons. The person to whom the son was sold, tied a rope around the son’s neck and proceeded to drag him away from the market-place. The son thus came to acquire the name of Galava. 

Satyavrata discovered what was happening. He rescued Galava and he also made arrangements to ensure that Vishvamitra’s wife and sons did not suffer in the sage’s absence. The entire family was looked after by Satyavrata. Satyavrata killed deer and other wild animals in the forest. He brought the meat to Galava’s family. He also tended to his father who had retired to the forest. 

One one particular day, there was no game to be had. The sage Vashishtha possessed a cow. Satyavrata was not at all enamoured of Vashishtha. The sage had, after all, recommended that Trayaruna banish his son. Satyavrata therefore stole Vashishtha’s cow and slew it. He ate the meat himself and also fed part of it to Vishvamitra’s family. 

Vashishtha was furious to learn this. He cursed Satyavrata. “You have committed three sins (shanku),” he said. “You have stolen that which belonged to others. That is your first sin. You have caused unhappiness to your father. That is your second sin. And you have stolen and killed my cow. That is your third sin. Since you have committed three (tri) sins. I curse you that henceforth you will be known as Trishanku.” 

After the twelve years of drought were over, Vishvamitra returned from his wanderings and was delighted to learn that Trishanku had taken care of his family in his absence. Despite Vashishtha’s opposition, Vishvamitra arranged for Trishanku’s coronation. As a sage, Vishvamitra had acquired great powers. He used these powers to send Trishanku to heaven in his mortal body. This was such a wonderful act that everyone marvelled at it. 

7. Over the years along the Saraswati, the Saraswats established the concept of Kuladevatas or family gods, and began worshipping them.

They accepted the Great Sage Saraswat Muni (son of Rishi Dadichi), living on the banks of Saraswati as their Guru. There were about 60,000 (Shatsahasara) Brahmins who were his disciples. When a severe famine which lasted for about 12 years hit the region and the crops were not enough to feed everyone, the survival of the Saraswats was at stake. When they could find no apparent solution to their vexing problem, at the advice of their Guru who was pragmatic, they started to feed on fish from the Saraswati river for survival. Thus they became the only fish-eating Brahmins ever known. This settlement was in the land between the saraswati and Drishadvati rivers.

In times of yore, Brahmins were known as Saraswats. They worshipped Saraswati, the Goddess of learning. Their erudition was called Saraswata. They always chose for their habitat, the fertile banks of the river Saraswati; and the land of their homes was known as Saraswata Desha. River Saraswati has the reputation of having meandered, not less than five times and the Saraswat Brahmins, followed her until she decided to go underground. This is the reason Saraswats are assigned to several places of origin, all true. 

Manusmriti and the Puranas, make reverent references to Saraswats as Vipra, a term of distinction for a Brahmin, who practises what he preaches. Before he left for the Himalayas for Tappo Siddhi or spiritual attainments, the great - sage Dadhichi, blessed his pregnant wife Saraswati with a son, her namesake who would rise to be a world teacher. 

“Tavaiva namna pratitaha putraste loka bhavanah

Saraswata  iti  khyato  bhavishyati  maha  tapaha”. 

The prophecy came true, when in good time, Saraswata Muni, initiated into vedic lore, sixty thousand Saraswats, who had left their hearths and homes in a famine and come back after twelve years, when prosperity returned. 

Saraswats were sticklers for chaste diction and correct articulation of Sanskrit, but at home, they spoke a vernacular bereft of Sanskrit's ornate flourishes and tongue-twisting sandhis. Words, sometimes-entire phrases, were reduced, in a set pattern, to a single word, subtle and crisp and thus built up a sturdy and elegant speech, which they called Brahmani. 

The flow of the saraswati was in the middle of the Bharatvarsha, comprising present day Haryana, Punjab, Present west & south Pakistan, Rajasthsn, Uttarpradesh & Gujrat. Tragically, the disappearance of the life-giving river led mass migrations in all directions: along the courses of the Ganges and the Yamuna in the east, to Kashmir and Punjab in the north, towards Rajasthan in the west in and, eventually, to Goa, Karnataka and other places in the south. This gave rise to various smaller denominations such as the Gowda Saraswats, Chitrapur Saraswats, Rajapur Saraswats, Kutch Saraswats, Punjabi Saraswat etc., who gradually lost contact with the roots.

8. Mandhata, born of the left abdominal cavity of king Yuvnashav in Ikshvaku lineage, was brought up by Indra himself. He forced Indra, his foster father, to pour rain over his region, after famine broke for 12 yrs[7].

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[1] Narad Puran, Uttarbhaag.

[2] Defeat of Saturn by King Dashratha. Nagar Khand, Purvardh, Sakand Puran, ank 279, Gita Press, Gorakhpur.

[3] Vedkath Ank, Pt Shri Lalbihari ji Mishr in article “Sashantantra Praja Ke Hitt Ke Liye”, Gita Press, Gorakhpur. Sakand Puran.

[4] Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2137373

[5] Sakand Puran, Aavantyakhand—Rewa Khand, ‘Maheshwar tirth ki mahima, Raj Saalankayan ka Yajya’.

[6] Harivamsham, Harivamsha Parva. Ttrishankucharitam--legend of trishanku.

[7]  Sakand Puran, Aavantyakhand—Rewa Khand, ‘Mandhata ka charitra’.