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FromDasarajfiato Kuru~etra

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 From Dasarajfta
· . to Kuruksetra
•
Making of a Historical Tradition

KAN.AD SINHA
I f

• I

' 1, J

,, j • ,.

OXFORD
\JNIVBRSITY PRESS

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 -OXFORD·
VNIVBRSITY PRBSS
...
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Published in India by
, , Oxford University Press •
! 2~W'lr~pace, ~n~ Floor, 1/22 ~.Jf
Ali ~pl!,d,~ew D~lhi ~ 10002, ~dia
C Oxford University Press 2021
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 Thepoet who couldturn thegrief of a birdintopoetry ...
The seerwhocouldmake an encyclopediaof human experience
out of afamily feud ...
The namelessbardswho kept millennium-oldstoriesalive...
And thosewhostill keepon tellingthe stories.. .

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 I"

,Contents
'I

Foreword ix
Romila Thapar J l .,: • r. : I•
Preface · , xvii
List of DiacriticalMarks'Used xxiii
List of Abbreviations XXV
I
I .
1.' The Mahabharataand the End of an Era I
1.1 Where the 'Past' Ends, Where the 'Future' Starts:
The Journey from Dasarajfia to Ku~etra I
1.2 Understanding an Itihiisa:A HistoriographicalSurvey 11
2. Bharatas, Purus, Kurus, and'the Vedas: A Poiitico-textual
, ,, I I ' '
History · 43
· 2.1 The ~gvedic Poets and Their World 43
2.2 Visviimitra'sPoetry 49
2.3 Thus SpakeVasiHha 52
2.4 Sudiisand the Ten Tribes:Reflectionson the Dasarajfia '
57
2.5 'The Kurus and the Later Vedas 63
2.6 From Saudiisasto SunaJ:isepa: Visviimitraand Vas~µia in
the Later VedicWorld 66
3. The Great Saga of the Bharatas 81
3.I Searching for a Lost History of 'Time': Layeringthe .
Mahabharata 81
3.2 Heroes, Forest, and the VedicDeities: Revisitingthe
Khai:,qavadahana Ill
3.3 Dice, Duel, and Dharma:ContextualizingYudh~r}lira's
Rajasuya 129
3.4 When the BhupatiSought the Gopati's
Wealth:Locating the
MahabharataEconomy 152
3.5 Cousins, Clans, and Kingdoms:Studyingthe
Kur~etra War 159
3.6 Constituting the 'Fifth Veda':The VoiceofVyiisa 179

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 viii CONTENTS

4. New Text, New Era, New Hero: Viisudeva Kfgia and

His Svadharma 237
4.1 Krsna or the Krsnas?: Questioning a Deified Hero 237
4.2 'Th~re Is No S~~g without Kanu': Sourcing Vasudeva ~I_la 244
4.3 'I Arn Born as Thy Friend': ~I_la the Cowherd 256
4.4 Vasudeva, Prativiisudeva, and the False Vasudeva:
Tracing the Rise of a Legend 276
4.5 From Butter Thief to Jewel Thief: ~I_la the V~t_1iDiplomat 302
4.6 Leader, Teacher, and Envoy: K~I_lain the 'Udyogaparvan' 311
4.7 Svadharma,Karman,and ~I_la: (Re)reading the
· BhagavadGita , 333
4.8 'Yatrayogesvarab krl1Jab
yatraparthabdhanurdharab':
~I_la at Kur~etra ~nd
.. Beyond . . 388 )
5. The Bhriratabeyond the Bhiirata War. ' 423
5.1 Saunaka and the Suta:Bhargavizing the Bharata 423
1
! 5.2 Visvamitra vetsus ¥asi~r}la:Reshaping a Vedic Legend 437
5.3 ~~~~;~i~11iflg,lje~o,ofteB~r~s; . . , 450
5.4 From the Lost Itihasaof tlie Bharatas to the Great
Epic ofBharata: An Epilogue •461
t' •. , (' -

Bibliography 475
Index 499

..
I •
,
' '

• I

'.
Ut I'

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 Foreword
• RomilaThapar

I have read KanadSinha'sbook FromDiisariijflato KuruJc-retra: Making

of a Historical,Tradition with considerableinterest as it presents·an ex-
tensionof our understanding'of the texts he uses as sources. His pro-
posedreconstructionof eventsis suggestiveof fresh ways of envisaging
Ithis segmentof the past. It is a significantdeparture from _moststudi~s
reconstructingthe history of the second and first millenrua BCE as his
focusiS'on the questionof how the sources reflect what we today refer
to as either history,historicalconsciousness,or historical tradition. His
purposeis not in provingwhetheror not 'the various persons described
and the eventsnarratedwerehistoricaland did actuallyexist and happen.
Thisis whatis oftenspokenof when the questionof the historicity of the
Mahiibhiirata,for instance,is raised:His is a far more probing question,
namely,how the MahiibHiirata reflectssocietyat given moments of his-
toricaltime. The issueis not whether the epic encapsulatesreliable his-
tory but rather whatit tellsus abouthow people in the past viewed what
theyregardedas their past. Weneed to take this viewseriously;although
not necessatilyas reliablehistorybut as how at a certain time a certain so-
cietyperceivedwhatit constructedas its past. An important distinction is
thereforemadebetweenhistoryas we'understand it today and historical
traditionsas theyhavebeen understood in earliertimes. The distinction
appliesto manyearlysocieties.
Theseviews(!fthe past, as found in the text, took many centuries to
evolve.Then,at a certainpoint, they were taken as given.This is normal
wi_th the manyreflectionsbroughtto bear on constructionsof the past. In
~1s the form and purpose of the compositionhad a role. The epic form
1scharacterizedas beingopen. A singlepoet or bard may originallyhave
composeda long narrativepoem, but often the related compositions of
othersar_estitchedinto it-what we now callinterpolations.It, therefore,
may ~egmas the articulationof a single author and is often attributea
to a smgleauthor, but in effect,with various additions, it becomes the

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 X FOREWORD

extendedstatement of a societyand generallyof the elite of that society.

In the process,the text is seen to be interpretingthe past and, whiledoing
so, keepingin viewthe perspectiveof the present. The text thereforebe-
comesa complicatedinterplayof the past and the present. This contrib-
utes to the making of a tradition. Theepic is seldomonly a contemporary
description.It is more often an attempt to capture what a societylikesto
recallabout its past, and this may be done at more than one point in time.
. Theinterpolationsare at least of two recognizablekinds. One explains
in further detail that part of the narrative or activitiesthat have perhaps
become unfamiliar to later generations.An exampleof this is the mar-
riage of Draupadi conforming to polyandry.It had to be explained,and
this is done in a varietyof }Vays. Or sometimesthe '4sctlssionsof the time
are 'reflectedin the narrative.For example,the subject that is being much
debat~dby scholars these days is that.of the scene where, after the con-
clusion'of the battle at Kur~etra, Bhi~ma,still lying on a bed of arrows,
is·trying to per~uade Yudh~piira to accept the validity of riija-dharma
(SiiJ:ltiparvan Mbh:,:xiI); Yudhi~piirais averseto taking up the kingship
after~e· termination of,thebattle,becausehe disapprovesof violenceand
kingshipii) va'rioµswaysinvolves-theuse of violenceby the king.
. Thiswas·not.aquestion that was central to the Vedasnor to the domi-
nant ~atriya ethos-~at peryaded heroic society,but it was nevertheless
centralto the thinking 6f the n~wsects-the Sramai;iasof various kinds-
~at werequestioningVedicBrahmanismand whom the briihma,µiswere
to refer.to as the,niistikas.1 The debate continued through the Mauryan
period as is evident from the eqicts of Afoka and into the post-Mauryan
period•as,,for,example, indicated,by the Hathigumpha inscription of
Kharavela,as well as·in ·other,sources.Since the Santiparvan was a later
addition to the Mahiibhiirataand is generallydated to the post-Mauryan
period; it is plausible that this debate is linked to what appears to have
been current debateson the subject of violenceand non-violence.
Apart,from the debate on ahi,risii,Kanad Sinha reminds us that the
conceptsof iinr§a,rsyaarid anukrosa,compassionand empathy,were also
discussed,both µi the putting together of the text and currently in its ana-
lyses.Theseideas are also not alien to Bud<Qiistthought. Discussionson
the need for compassionand'empathyoften subsequent to the debateson
the legitimacyof violenceseem to hover over the narrative even when not
being spoken about. Could it be argued that the recital of the narratives

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 ofconflictreplete with violence h POR!!woRn I
, w ere such x
lutionsto problems, are intended t0 l conflictsdo nOt
ead t ki PrOVide s
tenceand eventuallyto discarding th b . 0 a nd of purgar10 .o-
. 7 e eltefth . . n of V10-
solut1ons. at Violentconn·ic1scan be
1he Mahabharatain some way b
. f s can e seen fl
from the societyo the Rg Vedato th as re ectingtheIran ·1·
· at of the 1 1 s110n
allyalso the post-Vedic as is reflect d . a er Vedasand occas·
e m the muJr I ion-
accretionsto the story.The transition fi ip e narrativesthat are
rom onekind Of
wasnot a simplelinear movement I JI Societyto another
· na suchchan ·
wascarried forward and in what for . d gesonehasto askwhat
man whatwasd· d
,beliefthat everything was present in th h _iscareddespitethe
e c angedsocietyTh' ·
in our own times when we insist that 'trad· . , · IS 1sreflected
' ttions ar · ·OI
centuriesago,and have survivedint ct d e age d, werecreated
a an unchangedto th d
forgettingthat traditions are more fir tJ . e present ay,
equen y mvented ·· 1
contemporaryproblems posed by social d uJ al precisey to meet
. . bl h an c tur change,and there-
foremevtta y ave to change according]vB t th h .
• · db · · • ,. u ec angehastobelegit-
im1ze y g1vmg1tan ancient ancestry., , , ,
A fundamental change'in politicalformsis presentin the c~nflict.de-
scribedin the epic, which is, as KanadSinhapointsout, the·conflictbe-
tweenthe legitimacy of lineage essential . to.clan
. societyan.dthegrau
d al
changeto a focus on primogeniture that becomesa requirementin mon-
archy.One could add to this the explicit·hierarchyof statuscentralto
caste.I have elsewhere referred to it as the gradualmutationfromclan-
basedor lineage-based societies to kingdomsrepresentingthe coming
intoexistenceof states. It representsfoundationalmutationsin the struc-
tureof societies.A few recent studiessuggestthat this is nowa subjectof
interestto historians. ,1
Changeof.course is not limited to what evolveswithina singlecul-
ture.It is affectedboth by those that are dissenterswithinthe cultureas
wellas those who live in the vicinitybut have'distinctivdydifferentpat-
ternsof living.These latter are recognizablythe 'Other'.Thoserecorded
asthe Other in the Vedic sourcesare the'aiisas.Evenwherethe diisawas
thesubordinate,there wasneverthelessan interfacebetweenthecultures,
and some of the differencesthat creep int~·eliteculturalitemsare taken
fromthe culture of the Other. Thereis the exampleof the dasyab-putrab-
brahmanathe brahmanawhowas the son ofa diisi,suchasKav~aAil~a,
and yet ~~s inducted ~to the brahmat;avart;a.Inevitablythe question

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 xii FOREWORD

that comes to mind is that such instances would have resulted in, to some
1 extent, the interface of cWtures. What ,were the likely changes that this
might have brought about in either of ~e two societies? .
Epic literature of earlier times frequently focuses on conflict between
the important clans in a region, and this encapsulates much of their pat-
tern ofliving-that is, their culture. In the Mafa.abharata, the Kurus and
the Pandavas battle for land rights in the Doab. The actual area that each
comes.'t~ control· is.not extensive but with the listing of allied and hos-
tile clans on each side, whether actually present or not, the strife in the
epic t*es bn a 1biggerdimension thari what might have been involved
in "realisticterms.::rhis is another characteristic of ~e epic form: a small
conflict can,easily,be enlarged into a far bigger confrontation with par-
ticipants from eveny,part of the known geography. How this geography
is expanded is of inuch hist~rical1interest. A dramatic illustration is pro-
vided in the Qdysseyof Homer, where a large part of the Mediterranean is
inqu'cted into the narrative.· . , , . , ·,
The other way of extending the geography is to send the protagonists
into exile for,a period. The location of the exile need not be too distant
but preferably should have the potential of being culturally alien so as
to,introduce expanded geographies and multiple cultures.'This gives
scope tc:rthe •imagination of the bard to invent diverse societies with
aliicense to colour realism•with·fantasy where needed. The ostensible
purpose of this is to entertain the audience, but it can also be used as
expressing a commen,t on·the society of the protagonists. Exile to the
forest in both the Indian epics is to a'place where the pattern ofliving,
the culture, is different from that ofrthe protagonists. The latter may
be sympathetic to this pattern or may treat it as antithetical. If it is the
former, the people of the forest become allies, but if it is the latter, 'they
have to be subdued, , , , . 1, .:· • ,

Arjuna's experiences as he travels and his marriages to various women

were to some degree a comlneritary on the culture bf the Pandavas as was
Bhima's marriage to Hi4imba. The voyage home of.Ulysse~ from ~roy to
I~aca was-~matter of a few weeks, but the poet extends it to a few years
with the ship constantly being taken off course by wind and wave. The
c~ltures they me~t with in these travels are diverse and extraordinarily
different from ·their own:· Distant places have always been an excuse to
let the imagination run,· Exile extends the context and implies that the

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 nrratlngof epic events is not to b POREwoan ...
11 • f e restricted I ll:111
lo presentvignettes o situations th • t alsoall
. at ma t: owsthe b dJ
the,nainnarrative. Y ot,1erwisem . ar poet
ere1y divertfr
1heentry of ~l)a of the y rsni 1 . om
. 'fi . .. c an t.ntoth
calleda s1gm cant accretion. It ha b . e storywaswh .
s een sug st at mightb
inallyhave been one of the central fi ge ed thathe ma .e
• , . b gtlreswhenth Ynot orig-
posed.Bythe tune It ecame a much knownand e storywasfirst com-
to havebeen tak en up by 'the Bharg quotedepic it a
. th . . avaswho fou d . ' PPears
into the epic e Vat~l)avacult of Vasud n it possibleto weave
. 'd th eva.Manyqu f
evencons1 ers e possibility of thi h . es 10nsariseif one
. s appenmg.Wh .
it necessaryto grve authority and publi 'ty Yat this pointwas
Ct to the cult of Krs ?
toricalcontext would have been that of th . .1:ia.Thehis-
st
sukthankar'sdating of the Mahabharat heP~ -Mauryanperiodgiven
. a as avmgbeencom dd
the period from 400 BCE to 400 CE Thi .. pose uring
' . s was a time whenthe S .
religionswere tiding high with the patr f ramal)Jc
, onageo an emperorand b
quentroyalty as'.well,·and.that·of wealthy · h , su se-
. mere ants.Asokasedictssu -
gesttensionbetween the·brahmanasand the r. d g
. . · ::.rama7Jas,an othersources
indicatea conflict.
Theepic genre, because it is open to interpolations,canSU Ort more
. ' t' t • • • ' \L pp
.than o~e narra Ive even ~ ,Itscurrent CriticalEdition.Thereis the orig-
inal epic of the dash of.clans and the ultimatevictoryof the Pal).<)avas.
Builtinto this,isrthe n?ITativeof Vaig1avismthroughdivinizing~i:ia
andgivinghim a mote central ro1e.'Thisis in part reinforcedbythesome-
whatdifferent trajectory of what have been calledthe narrativesections
and the didactic sections,:wheresome·ofthe lattei:seemto be add-ons.
Thishas been discussed by many scholarsof tlie epics,amongthemV.S.
Sukthankar,and R.N. Dandel<ar.However,the differentiationcannotbe
madein a literal manner where all the early sectionsare taken as nar-
rativeand all the later sections as didactic,or alternativelyall the narra-
tivesare taken as early and the discussionsas didacticand thereforelate.
KanadSinha'sstudy takes care not to automaticallyassignthemas early
orlatewithout considering other features.Thisinvolvesa carefulanalysis
ofboth the'text and its context. ' .
Thecore of the narrative revolvesaround whatprobablywereto begin
Withhanded-down narratives claiming to be memoriesof the cl'.111 s~-
. , b what confusingsince it
cieties.The use of the term ltribe' can e some .
t ,resentat that time.Some
canincludeaspects of a society that were no P

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 xiv FOREWORD

historiansthereforepreferto use the term 'clan society'either prior to the

beginningsof kingshipand castesocietyor contemporarywith the initial
evolvingof both. ·· ·
One of the more interestingaspectsof the Vedicand epic texts are the
referencesto the·processesof migration and settlement.These31resome-
timesmajor episodesand the descriptionscan be quite dramatic.The de-
scriptionof the burning of the Khar:i~ava-vana in the Mahabharatacould
not havebeen capturedin a more drapiatic fashion.·It is virtually a battle
againstnature with #le burning of the forest and. the dying of the ani-
mals'in the flames.So severewas the devastation th~t those animals that
werenorma~ythe prey of the predator~werenow together,both predator
and its prey,jointlyseeking refugefrom the fire. Burning.the forest was
the tedinique of clear~grland and operiing up a new area to settlement
and cultivation.Toe settlers were groups of migrants looking for places
to settle.So;the Khandava-vana
. .. . .
had to be burnt
' , to clear
'
the location for
censtructing the town of.Indraptastha.·Aparttfromthe town/ the rest of
the clearingwould have been cultivate4,leaving•theedge of the forest as
pasturage.
• TheSat~patha.BrahmaiJatmentions a migration from the Doab to the
middle ~anga plain led by achiefcalledVideghaMafhava.He too, on ar-
rivalin the region,ofwhat came to be calledVideha,began the process of
settlem~ntby fitst ~urning,the foresrand clearing the marshes. It is said
that he carried Agni in his mouth, a highlysymbolicstatement as it could
refer to the·worshipofiAgni or else, as some·ha":esuggested, to the lan-
guage6f the migrating arjas comingfrom.the Doab. ,
;:,Kanad.Sinha'sstudy dtaws-not,only on,his!careful reading of ·the
Mahabharata-and related texts but also on liis extensive reading of much
that has been written ·on th~ Mahabharataas well as on epic as a genre
in other early cultures and histories.;Hisreading covers both early writ-
ings on ·the subject and 1also more recent works. Such extensive reading
has now become essential as it opens up so,m.my new avenues·of re-
search.•.Therehave been wide-ranging works on various_aspects of the
Mahabharataand these have taken the study of the text way beyond what
it was in the past century. That ,scholars should be familiar with these
studiesis essentialto further the understanding of the epic. ·
Kana4_Sinha'sstudy is impressiveboth because of his reading of the
texts and because of the kinds of questions he asks and the answers he

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 -----111111
FOREWORD XV

·des that help to illumine the text. His questionsare challengingand

ProVl
h and his answers to these beckon us towards new perspectivesof
fres '. i·ngthe texts. And that is what is required at the cuttingedgeof
eiarn1n
research.
NewDelhi
September2020

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 Preface
1
I 'This book has developed out of my PhD thesis · Therefiore, 1•t cannot begm
without the acknowledgement that it would not be anywhere without the
care and guidance of iny-supervisor Prof. Kunal Chakrabarti, who had
.

been a pillar of support and my·go-to person over the past decade. He
was the first person to listen to the initial draft of my PhD proposal, and,
till the submi~sion, his suggestions and guidance have been invaluable
in shaping up this thesis as well as several aspects of my life. I am ex-
tremely grateful to Prof. Kumkum Roy for guiding me in preparing my
historiography, and sections of this book grew out of two seminar papers
I had done with her. At every stage of my research, I have benefitted from
the feedback and comments of Prof. Ranabir Chakravarti regarding aca-
demics,literature, and beyond. I am thankful to Prof. Vijaya Ramaswamy
for introducing me to the idea of reading devotion as dissent and for her
thoughtful insights about shaping up my research proposal; I mourn her
untimely demise before this book materialized. Dr. Supriya Varma had
kindly guided me through the reports of the excavations at Hastinapur
and Atranjikhera. Many of my teachers at the Centre for Historical
Studies, including Profs R. Mahalakshmi, Aditya Mukherjee, Janaki Nair,
Neeladri Bhattacharya, Raj at Datta, Najaf Haider, Indivar Kamtekar, and
Heeraman Tiwari, have been ready to help always, and I have gained a lot
from their valuable comments in the formal setting of seminars and con-
ferences as well as in informal discussions. Prof. Romila Thapar, whose
writings had oriented me towards the methodological approach adopted
in this thesis, has always been kind enough to offer her comments and
lead me towards new research questions; she most graciously agreed to
write the foreword for this book. As she is introducing the book, any fur-
ther attempt o,n my part to introduce it will be redundant.
t would have been an
The preface, therefore, could end here, b u t th a .
c . hD th · turned into a book 1s
un,rur and incomplete story. After all, a P esis .
· b t also about the culm1-
not only about the work done over a few years, u al
. tful ,·ourney where sever
nation of a long journey. It has been an even

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 xviii PREFACE

helping hands have been invaluable in channelizing it to the course it has

taken, and the acknowledgement cannot but be a humble opportunity to
express my gratitude to all of them. The list is long and must start with
my parents, Mr. Asanta Sinha and Mrs. Nupur Datta Sinha, who have not
only allowed me complete freedom about every choice in my academics
and life,and have remained extremely supportive in everything I choose
to do, but also were the first people to introduce me to the contents of
the Indian epics through stories, children's books, and my mother's
daily recital of the Gita.Thanks to listening to my,mother teaching her
students Bengali ,classics, ,for example, .Michael,,~·fadhusudan 1Dutt's
Meghanadavadhdkabya9r' Ral>indranath ,Tagore's .Kartµik.untisa,fivada
and GandharirAbedan, I first. came to realize how the epics were not
about singular monolithi~ narratives but could be read and reFreated in
multiple ways. My.grandmother, Mrs. Pratiniarani Datta, had been the
earliest recipient of my first childish engagement with my favourite texts
and remained a keen listener until she passed away. I have been fortunate
to enjoy all the privileges the youngest member of a generation enjoys in
an Indian jbint·family, and niy work has always b'een received with ap-
preciation, encouragement, and enthusiasm by my family members, both
paternal and mate_rnal,•including the ones with a background in history
and the ohes pursuing completely different professions.' It is unfortunate
that some of the niost enthusiastic enquirers of my research, particularly
my cousin Atanu Sinha, have left us before they could see its culmination.
In the final days of finishing the thesis and in the long process of turning it
into a book, my wife Debasree Sarkar's patient support and active efforts
have been a great help. , ,,
,It is difficult to decide when my serious engagement with the topic of
my,research started. Perhaps it was the day in my childhood when the
ricksnaw.:puller named Samar Sinha, who ,would satisfy every asthma-
induced whim of mine, took'me to the' local bookshop. The owner of
the shop, :fyfohammad •Mosharaf Hossain; had always been generous in
handing civer to me any bookthat caught my faricy, and from him I had
received the volumes of Krttibasa's Bengali Riima)'alJaand Kasiriim Das's
Bengali Mahabharata,,whicn introduced me to the world of epic gran-
deur, even tho'ugh in the vernacular ..Toe curiosity generated then blos-
somed into genuine interest in the conducive atmosphere of my school,
Ramakrishna Mission , Vivekananda Vidyaniandir, •Maida, where my ·

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 PREFACE xix
teachers, especiallymy headmaster Swam.S
th I umanasananda,providedall
e support necessaryfor nurturing myloveforhum ·t· .
1cr· . . .an11esmgeneraland
Sans it texts m ~articul~r:I_amparticularlygratefulto Mr. Maheshwar
Bhattacharyafor mculcatmgmus a spirit of rationaland criticalth "nlcin
.. al.. I g
and ongm ~ntmg and t0Dr.1RadhagobindaGhoshfor.guidingmyfirst
ende~vours to understand the Sanskrit language.Thus, my amateurish
ideas about ~istorical research were forming,and my friends-Supratim
Nandy;TapasShil,SagnikSaha,TamoghnaMajumdar,PriyabrataHalder,
PriyaJt?Ghosh, Sandipan Chakraborty,ShreyaSarkar,and manyothers-
had to be patient listeners. , ,
lt was at the PresidencyCollege,Calcutta,that Dr.KaushikRoybluntly
pointed out to us,•in the very first ·class,the differencebetween ama-
teurish historical interest in certain texts and criticalhistoricalstudy of
particular sources.,,Afew days later, Pro£ Rajat Kanta Rayhad taken us
around the collegeto remind us of a legacy,of commitmentto truth and
rational thinking, that the 'Deroziancommunity'stood for.Teacherslike
them, as well as the ones Iike,ProfsSubhashRanjanChakraborty,Uttara
Chakraborty,JayashreeMukherjee,and SugataNandy,were the reasons
why,alongsidelearning the businesstrick of predictingand memorizing
the answers of the set of questions.the;CalcuttaUniversitywas likelyto
ask, we developed a keen interest in trying to grasp and understandthe
'historian's craft'.During my collegedays,it becamemy·habitto talk to
'Subhashbabu'andl'Uttara ma'am'beforetakingany major academic.de-
cisionand to share with them everypieceof writingI couldcomeup with.
Therefore,it is heartbreaking,for me that Uttara ma'amhas been taken
awayfrom us before this book could comeout. . · ,·
But when was Presidencyonlyabout its teachers?Growingtip around
the tradition of tlie,balance of the 'three Ps: parashona(study),prem
(romance): and politics: received·from,our seniors, we hardly realized
when the aspirations of historical researchpervaded our minds at both
the conscious and the unconscious levels to such a degree that even
the chitchats and jokes shared with friends such as Sanmitra Ghosh,
DipanjanMazumdar,and Apurba Chatterjeebecamefull of allusionsand
references to our budding research interestsand historicalperceptions.
Followingone such casual conversation;TorsaChakrabortyi_ntrodu_ced
me to Pro£ Nrisinha Prasad Bhaduri,:whohas not only contributedrm-
mensely in popularizing epic studies to the Bengalireadership but has

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 XX PREFACE

also helped me immensely in engaging with the epics. I had shared

the first rudimentary ideas about what this book discusses with Elora
Tribedyand JayatiHalder,both of whom helped me with their ideas,and
the former has continuously supplemented my textual interest with rel-
evant information from the field of archaeology,especially the findings
from he; first-hand field experience'atAhichchhatra. •
, As l,llYjourney moved to the JawaharlalNehru University (]NU), not
just an educational institution but ,an identity one gradually adopts and
can hardly get out of, I became part of afraternity not limited to my very
own Centre for Historical Studies. I fondly remember how Prof. S.K.
Sbpory,the former vice·chancellor,would bring to my notice·any new re-
search on my fieldof interest he would·comeacross. Prof. Santosh Kumar
Shukla; of the Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies; was my pathfinder
in the wilderness ofrVedicSanskrit. Profs•Robert P. Goldman and Sally
J. Sutherland Goldman, of the University of Berkeley,California, have
been kind enough'.to providethorough critical comments and suggestions
about any piece of writing I had shared with them. I am'thankful to Profs
Simon·Brodbeck, _BrianBlack;1 and John Brockington and Dr. Vishwa
Adll.irifor liberallysupplyingme with their writings whenever I faced any
difficultyin accessingthem.,! am grateful to Profs Suchandra Ghosh and
Uma Chakravarli, my PhD examiners, for their detailed reviews and in-
siglitfulcomments which helped me reshape the book. As bits and pieces
ofrmy research s_tartedt~ be presented in various seminars and confer-
ences, !•graduallyben~fittedfrom exchange of ideas with many brilliant
minds, including•Profs.Michael Witzel, B.D. Chattopadhyaya, Patrick
Olivelle,Upinder Singh, and Daniel Bell.
. •Ihave be!}efittedno less from being with ll!Ystudents than from being
with my teachers. I must thank all my students from Miranda House, St.
Stephen'sCollege,•Presidency University,•Udaynarayanp\JrMadhabilata
Mahavidyalaya,and the Sanskrit Collegeand University for b_eingthe best
company of my life sd far.My former colleagues Dr. Bharati Jagannathan
(of Miranda House) and Dr. Naina Dayal (of St. Stephen's College) have
been consistent 'in advising, guiding, and scolding me to keep both my
teaching and' research on track. Dr. Valson Thampu (former principal,
St. Stephen'sCollege), Dr. Arabinda Ghosh (principal, Udaynarayanpur
II Madhabilata Mahavidyalaya), and Prof. Paula Banerjee (former vice
!

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 PREPACE XXi

chancellor, the Sanskrit College and University) ha b'

. . . ve een tremendously
supportive m helpmg me balance my teaching and research.
Just like the Mahabharata,is not just about the Bharata War but
a
also about panoramic view of everything that it considers signifi-
cant about dharma,artha,kama, or mok~a,a thesis coming out ofJNU
cannot be about the routine exercises of academic research alone. It is
equally a product of the night-long debates, discussions, and adven-
tures, nocturnal walks around the Ring·Ro~d. heated discussions over
cups of coffee at Ganga,Dhaba.'or 24x7-with•Arcliisman Chaudhuri
and Biswadev·Banerjee, Byapti Sur and Anwesha Saha, Titas De Sarkar
and Shounak Ghosh, Siddhartha Mukherjee and Deepro Chakraborty,
Pintu Parui and Amartya Pal, Virendra Singh Charan and Vipin
Krishna, Mahashweta Chakraborty and Shatavisha Mustafi, friends
from the discipline and beyond. Suvajit Halder and Dev Kumar Jhanjh
provided tremendous logistical, intellectual, and emotional support in
' ,.r. ' . ,• r J I 1 • 1 • 1,..•..! '11 1, ,, • ;
times of need. Friends like Ritadhi 'Chakfavarti and Saronik Basu en-
' I 'f '~ 'l ' , ' '
sured that resources in the foreign lioiaries· were never inaccessible.
Last but not the least, I must thank Ashis Kumar Das for his constant
supply of photocopies and printouts that made research at JNU seem ·
so easy. This book comes out at a time when the teachers and students
' ofJNU are facing one onslaught after another while standing strong as
a bastion against fanaticism, unreason, and authoritarianism. It being
the space that inevitably inculcates in one the spirits of tolerance and
free thinking expressed in every academic production coming out of
the campus, this -book would have been incomplete without a full.
throated thanksgiving to JNU.
This book is the culmination of a long eventful journey, a journey
blessed with the help and cooperation of numerous brilliant minds and
excellent souls, some of whom I have mentioned and many more I might
have missed out. The final round of help came from the staff of the Oxford
University Press-including Nandini Ganguli, Nadita Krishnamurthy,
Emma Collison, and Rajakumari Ganessin-who did a marvellous job
amidst a pandemic to keep this book project going. The overwhelming
task of preparing an index was possible only because of the tireless help
from Debasree, and prompt support from Suvajit,Anuja Saha, Shubhranil
Ghosh, Debankita Das, and Sreetama Sau. The journey had its ups and

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 1 Macedonia
CHEZIB Gen. ʾAin Kezbeh 14 The name
xxxviii. 5 (?)* appears to
linger in that of
ʾAin Kezbeh.
Possibly Beit
Nettîf near it.
(Mem. III. 36;
Sh. XVII.)—
Conder.

CHIDON, The 1 Chron. Not identified — = Nachon, 2

Threshing-Floor xiii. 9 Sam. vi. 6.
Somewhere
between
Kirjath-jearim
and Jerusalem.

CHILMAD Ezek. Kalwâdha — Near Baghdad.

xxvii. 23 Named with
‘Sheba’ and
‘Asshur.’

CHINNERETH Deut. iii. Not identified — A fortified city of

(R.V. 17; Josh. Naphtali. The
CHINNE­‐ xix. 35; Talmud (Tal. Jer.
ROTH, Josh. xi. xi. 2 Megillah, 70a)
2; 1 Kings xv. renders the
20) name by Ginizer
= Gennesareth.
See the next.
CHINNERETH, Num. Sea of Galilee 6 Sea of Galilee or
Sea of xxxiv. Bahr Tubarîya.
11; Deut. By Josephus
iii. 17; and Maccabees.
Josh. xii. Gennesar, which
3; xiii. 27 see.
CHISLOTH- Josh. xix. Same as — See Chesulloth.
TABOR 12 Chesulloth (Mem. I. 365;
Sh. VI.)

CHITTIM Num. xxiv. Cyprus — A Japhetic people

24; Isa. or place, remote
xxiii. 1, from Palestine,
12; Jer. separated
ii. 10; therefrom by
Ezek. sea. In Macc. i.
xxvii. 6; 1, Chettims; 1
Dan. xi. Macc. viii. 5,
30 Citims; Gen. x.
4, 1 Chron. i. 7,
Kittim. In Old
Testament no
doubt Cyprus is
intended; but in
Apocrypha,
perhaps
Macedonia. See
Cyprus (Grove’s
Bible Atlas).
CHOBA, or Judith iv. el Mekhubby 10 The present ruin,
CHOBAI 4; xv. 4, (?)* ‘el Mekhubby,’ 9
5 miles south-east
of Jenîn. (Mem.
II. 231; Sh.
XII.)—Conder.

CHORASHAN 1 Sam. Not identified — Probably =

(R.V. xxx. 30 Ashan of
CORASHAN) Simeon, Josh.
(R.V. xix. 4.
BORASHAN,
margin)
CHOZEBA 1 Chron. Kh. Kûeizîba 14 Possibly the
(R.V. COZEBA) iv. 22 (?)* present ruin
Kûeizîba, 2½
miles north-east
of Hŭlhûl.
(Mem. III. 313;
Sh. XXI.)—
Conder.

CHUN 1 Chron. Not identified — See Berothah.

(R.V. CUN) xviii. 8

CHUSI Judith vii. Kûzah (?)* 10 The present

18 village, near the
brook Mochmur,
6 miles south of
Shechem.
(Mem. II. 286;
Sh. XIV.)—
Conder.

CINNEROTH 1 Kings El Ghuweir — Probably the

(R.V. xv. 20 district called
CHINNE­‐ later the ‘land
ROTH) of Genesareth.’
Identical with
Chinnereth,
which see.

CIRAMA 1 Esdr. v. Not identified —

20

CNIDUS 1 Macc. On Cape Krio — A city of great

xv. 23; importance, at
Acts one time
xxvii. 7 situated on a
promontory
called Cape
Crio, at the
 extreme south-
west of the
peninsula of
Asia Minor.
(Smith’s Bible
Dictionary.)
CILICIA Judith i. 7, In Asia Minor.
12; ii.
21, 25; 1
Macc. xi.
14; 2
Macc. iv.
36

COELESYRIA 1 Esd. ii. el Bukâʾa 3 A name given by

and 17, 24, the Greeks to
CELOSYRIA 27; iv. the great valley
48; vi. between
29; vii. Libanus and
1; viii. Anti-Libanus.
67; 1 Also applied to
Macc. x. the district east
69; 2 of Anti-Libanus,
Macc. iii. including the
5, 8; iv. Damascus
4; viii. 8; country.
x. 11; (Smith’s Bible
Ant. i. Dictionary.)
11, 5;
xiii. 13, 2

COLA Judith xv. Kh. Kâʾaûn 10 A place named

4 (?)* with Chobai
(Judg. xv. 4).
Perhaps Kh.
Kâʾaûn in the
Jordan Valley.
(Mem. II. 238;
 Sh. XII.)—
Conder.

COS 1 Macc. Stanchio — Now called

xv. 23 Stanchio or
Stanko, an
island in the
Grecian
Archipelago. For
a good account
of the island,
see Clarke’s
Travels, vol. ii.,
pp. 196–213,
and 321–333.

CRETE 1 Macc. x. The island of

67 Crete.

CUSH Gen. x. 6, See Ethiopia.

8; 1
Chron. i.
8–10;
Isa. xi.
11

CYAMON Judith vii. Tell Keimûn 10 ‘Lying in the plain

3 over Esdraelom.’
Eusebius and
Jerome identify
it with Camon in
Upper Galilee,
the burial-place
of Jair; see
Camon. Now
generally
believed to be
represented by
Tell Keimûn
 (Jokneam), on
the edge of the
plain of
Esdraelon, near
the south-east
corner of
Carmel.

CYPRUS 1 Macc. Cyprus — The well-known

xv. 23; 2 island off the
Macc. x. coast of Syria.
13; xii. 2 In the Old
Testament
called Chittim
and Kittim.
(Grove’s Bible
Index.) See
Chittim.

CYRENE 1 Macc. el Krenna — A city of Africa,

xv. 23 between
Carthage and
Egypt.

DABBASHETH Josh. xix. Kh. Dabsheh* 6 A town on the

(R.V. 11 boundary of
DABBE­‐ Zebulon, next to
SHETH) Jokneam. Now
the ruin
Dabsheh, south
of Teirshiha.
(Sh. III.)—
Conder.

DABERATH or Josh. xix. Debûrieh 6 The present

DABAREH 12; xxi. village Debûrieh
(R.V. 28; 1 under Tabor.
DABERATH)
 Chr. vi. (Mem. I. 365,
72 366; Sh. VI.)

DAMASCUS Gen. xiv. Dimeshk esh 3 The ancient city

15; xv. Shâm now called
2; 2 Dimeshk esh
Sam. viii. Shâm.
5, 6,
etc., etc.;
1 Macc.
xi. 62;
xii. 32

DAN (Leshem or Gen. xiv. Tell el Kâdy 6 Laish, Judg. xviii.

Laish) 14; Deut. 7, 14, 27, 29;
xxxiv. 1; Isa. x. 30;
Josh. xix. Leshem, Josh.
47; Judg. xix. 47.
xviii.; 1 Josephus (viii.
Sam. iii. Ant. 8, 4) places
20; 2 it near the
Sam. iii. springs of
10; xvii. Lesser Jordan.
11; xxiv. The name
2, 15; 1 lingers in that of
Kings iv. the stream
25; xii. called Leddân—
29, 30; and the site of
xv. 20; 2 the city may be
Kings x. found at Tell el
29; 1 Kâdy. (Mem. I.
Chr. xxi. 96; Sh. II.)
2; 2 Chr.
xvi. 4;
xxx. 5;
Jer. iv.
15; viii.
16; Ezek.
 xxvii. 19;
Am. viii.
14

DAN, Tribe of Gen. xxx. — ‘And the border

6; xxxv. of their
25; xlvi. inheritance was
23; xlix. Zorah and
16, 17; Eshtaol; and Ir-
Exod. i. shemesh; and
4; xxxi. Shaalabbin, and
6; xxxv. Ajalon, and
34; Ithlah; and
xxxviii. Elon, and
23; Lev. Timnah, and
xxiv. 11; Ekron; and
Num. i. Eltekeh, and
12, 38, Gibbethon, and
39; ii. Baalath, and
25, 31; Jehud, and
vii. 66; x. Beneberak, and
25; xiii. Gath-rimmon;
12; xxvi. and Mejarkon,
42; and Rakkon,
xxxiv. with the border
22; Deut. over against
xxvii. 13; Joppa’ (Josh.
xxxiii. xix. 40, 47).
22; Josh. ‘Included all
xix. 40, that part of the
47, 48; valley which
xxi. 5, respects the
23; Judg. sunsetting, and
i. 34; v. were bounded
17; xiii. by Azotus Dora;
25; xviii. as also they had
1–30; 1 all Jamnia and
Chr. ii. 2; Gath, from
 xii. 35; Ekron to that
xxvii. 22; mountain where
2 Chr. ii. the tribe of
14; Ezek. Judah begins’
xlviii. 1, (v. Ant. i. 22).
2, 32

DAN-JAAN 2 Sam. Kh. Dâniân 6 Now the ruin

xxiv. 6 Dânîan, 4 miles
north of Achzib.
Between Tyre
and Akka.
(Mem. I. 152,
Sh. III.)

DANNAH Josh. xv. Idhna* 14 Probably the

49 present village
Idhna, west of
Hebron 8 miles.
There is a Kh.
Dahneh, 4½
miles south of
Beit Jibrin.
(Mem. III. 330;
Sh. XXI.)—
Conder.

DAPHNE 2 Macc. iv. Beit el Maa — A famous

33 sanctuary of
Apollo, with a
grove. A place
now called Beit
el Maa, on the
Orontes, 5 miles
south-west of
Antioch.

DATHEMA or 1 Macc. v. Remtheh (?) 7 Perhaps Dâmeh

DAMETHA 9 in the Lejjah.
 See Conder’s
Handbook to
the Bible, p.
295.

DAVID, City of 2 Sam. vi.

12, 16; 1
Kings ii.
10; iii. 1;
viii. 1; ix.
24; xi.
27, 43;
xiv. 31;
xv. 8, 24;
xxii. 50;
2 Kings
viii. 24;
ix. 28;
xii. 21;
xiv. 20;
xv. 7, 38;
xvi. 20; 1
Chr. xi.
5, 7; xiii.
13; xv. 1,
29; 2
Chr. v. 2;
viii. 11;
ix. 31;
xii. 16;
xiv. 1;
xvi. 14;
xxi. 1,
20; xxiv.
16, 25;
xxvii. 9;
xxxii. 5,
30;
 xxxiii.
14; Neh.
iii. 16;
xii. 37;
Isa. xxii.
9; 1
Macc. i.
33; ii.
31; vii.
32; xiv.
36

DEBIR (1) Josh. x. edh 14 Also called

38, 39; Dhâherîyeh* Kirjath-sannah
xi. 21; (Josh. xv. 49);
xii. 13; Kirjath-sepher
xv. 15, (Josh. xv. 15;
49; xxi. Jud. i. 11, 12).
15; Judg. Now the village
i. 11; 1 ‘edh
Chr. vi. Dhâherîyeh,’
58 south-west of
Hebron. (Mem.
III. 402; Sh.
XXV.)—Conder.

DEBIR (2) Josh. xv. 7 Thoghret ed 14 A place on the

Debr (?) border of Judah
and Benjamin,
named next to
‘Adummim.’ The
name ‘Thoghret
ed Debr’ (the
pass of the
rear) occurs
half-a-mile
south-west of
‘Talʾat ed
 Dumm.’ (Mem.
III.; Sh. XVIII.)

DEBIR (3) Josh. xiii. Not identified 7 One of the

(R.V. margin 26 border towns of
LIDEBIR) Gad, named
next to
‘Mahanaim.’
Possibly Ibdir,
6½ miles to the
east of Zaphon,
and south of
‘The Yarmûk,’
and apparently
identical with
Lo-debar, which
see.

DEDAN Jer. xxv. Not identified —

23; xlix.
8; Ezek.
xxv. 13;
Isa. xxi.
13

DELUS 1 Macc. Delos — One of the

xv. 23 smallest of the
Cyclades in the
Ægean Sea.

DESSAU 2 Macc. Not identified — Adassa has been

xiv. 16 suggested
(Ewald).

DIBLATH Ezek. vi. Dibl (??)* 6 Probably Riblah,

(R.V. DIBLAH) 14 north of
Baalbek. See
Dictionary of
Bible. Or the
 present village
‘Dibl’ in
Naphtali. (Mem.
I. 21; Sh. IV.)—
Conder.

DIBON (1) Num. xxi. Dhîbân 15 Also called ‘Dibon

30; xxxii. Gad.’ Now the
3, 34; heaps of ruins
xxxiii. north of the
45, 46; river Arnon,
Josh. xiii. called ‘Dhîbân.’
9, 17; (Irby and
Isa. xv. Mangles, 142;
2; Jer. Burckhardt, Syr.,
xlviii. 18, 372.)
22

DIBON (2) Neh. xi. — Thought to be

25 identical with
Dimonah.

DIBON-GAD Num. Dhîbân — See Dibon (1).

xxxiii.
45, 46

DILEAN Josh. xv. Not identified — One of the cities

(R.V. DILAN) 38 of Judah in the
low country.
Mentioned with
Migdal-gad,
Lachish, Eglon,
etc. Beit Tîma,
north-west of
the latter, has
been proposed.

DIMNAH Josh. xxi. Rummâneh 6 A city in the tribe

35 (?) of Zebulon.
 Thought to be
Rimmon (1).
Compare 1
Chron. vi. 77.

DIMON, Waters Isa. xv. 9 Umm Deineh 15 Streams east of

of (?)* the Salt Sea.
Possibly ‘Umm
Deineh,’ near
‘Wâdy Themed.’
See Conder’s
Heth and Moab.
DIMONAH Josh. xv. — ‘Towards the
22 coast of Edom,
southwards.’

DINHABAH Gen. Not identified — City of Bela, King

xxxvi. of Edom.
32; 1
Chron. i.
43

DIZAHAB Deut. i. 1 Dahab (??) — Identified by

(R.V. DI- Robinson (i.
ZAHAB) 147, ii. 187)
with Dahab, a
promontory on
the western
shore of the
Gulf of Akabah.

DOCUS 1 Macc. Near ʾAin Dûk 14 A fort

xvi. 15 somewhere
near Jericho—
the name is
recoverable in
‘ʾAin Dûk.’
 (Mem. III. 173;
Sh. XVIII.)

DOPHKAH Num. Not identified — One of the

xxxiii. camping
12, 13 stations of the
Israelites,
between
Rephidim and
the Sea.

DOR (DORA 1 Josh. xi. Tantûra 9 Jerome places it

Macc. xv. 11, 2; xii. 9 miles (the
13, 25) 23; xvii. exact distance
11; Judg. is 8 miles) from
i. 27; 1 Cæsarea, on
Kings iv. the road to
11; 1 Ptolemais. The
Chr. vii. ruins of a city
29 here exist near
the modern
village Tantûra.
(Mem. II. 7; Sh.
VII.)

DOTHAIM Judith iv. Tell Dôthân 10 = Dôthân, which

6; vii. 3, see.
18; viii. 3

DOTHAN Gen. Tell Dôthân 10 The present ruins

xxxvii. and well, ‘Tell
17; 2 Dôthân,’ north
Kings vi. of Samaria.
13 (Mem. II. 215;
Sh. XI. See also
Vol. I. p. 368,
under ‘Khan
Jubb Yûsef.’)
DRAGON’S Neh. ii. 13 Not identified — In the
WELL neighbourhood
of Jerusalem.

DUMAH Josh. xv. ed Dômeh 14 The present ruin,

52 Dômeh, 10
miles south-
west of Hebron.
(Mem. III. 313;
Sh. XXI.)

DURA, The Plain Dan. iii. 1 Dûair (?) — The mound and
of vicinity of Dûair,
south-east of
Babylon.—M.
Oppert.

EBAL, Mount Deut. xi. Jebel 10 Now called Jebel

29; xxvii. Eslâmîyeh Eslamîyeh, and
4, 13; Jebel et Tôr Jebel et Tôr.
Josh. viii. (Mem. II. 186;
30, 33 Sh. XI.) Ebal,
Gerizim, Olivet,
and Tabor are
all named Tôr
or ‘summit.’

EBEN-EZER 1 Sam. iv. Deir Abân 14 Jerome places

1; v. 1; (?)* near ‘Beth-
vii. 12; 6 shemesh,’
Ant. ii. 2 probably
intending the
site of the
present village,
Deir Abân, east
of ʾAin Shems.
See Shen.
(Mem. III. 24;
 Sh. XVII.)—
Conder.

EBRONAH Num. Not identified — One of the

(R.V. xxxiii. 34 camping
ABRONAH) stations of the
Israelites.

ECBATANA Ezra vi. 2; Takht-i- — There were two

Esdr. vi. Suleiman places of this
23; Jud. and name. One the
i. 1, 2, Hamadan capital of
14; Tob. Northern Media,
iii. 7; vi. now called
5; vii. 1; Takht-i-
xiv. 12, Suleiman. The
14; 2 southern one
Macc. ix. the metropolis
3 of the province
of Media Magna
(2 Macc. ix. 3),
now Hamadan
in Persia.—
Smith’s Bible
Dictionary.
ED, Altar of Josh. xxii. Not identified — Somewhere east
34 of Jordan.

EDAR, Tower of Gen. xxxv. Not identified 14 Jerome places it

(R.V. EDER, 21 1,000 paces
Tower of) from
Bethlehem.
(Mem. III. 28;
Sh. XVII.)

EDER Josh. xv. Not identified — One of the

21 uttermost cities
of Judah,
 towards the
coast of Edom.
Kh. el ʾAdâr, 5
miles south of
Gaza, has been
suggested
(Henderson’s
Handbook); but
the situation is
too far west
apparently.

EDOM, Gen. xxv. The district east

IDUMEA, The 30; xxxii. of the Wâdy
Land of Mt. Seir 3; xxxvi. ʾArabah. See
1, 8, 9– Mount Seir.
43; Ex.
xv. 15;
Num. xx.
14; xxi.
4; xxiv.
18; Jos.
xv. 1;
Judg. v.
4; xi. 17,
18; 1
Sam. xiv.
47; 2
Sam. viii.
14; 1
Kings ix.
26; 2
Kings iii.
8, 20;
viii. 20;
xix. 7; 2
Chr. viii.
17; xxi.
 8; xxv.
19; Ps.
lxxxiii. 6;
cviii. 9;
Isa. xi.
14;
xxxiv. 5;
lxiii. 1;
Jer. ix.
26; xxv.
21; xxvii.
3; xl. 11;
xlix. 7,
17; Lam.
iv. 21;
Ezek.
xxv. 12;
xxxii. 29;
xxxv. 15;
xxxvi. 5;
Dan. xi.
41; Joel
iii. 19;
Am. i. 6;
ii. 1; ix.
12;
Obad. i.
8; Mal. i.
4; etc.

EDREI Num. xxi. Ed Deraʾah 7 South-east of el

33; Deut. Mezeirib.
i. 4; iii.
1, 10;
Josh. xii.
4; xiii.
12, 31
EDREI (2) Josh. xix. Yʾater (?)* 6 Probably the
37 present village
Yʾater, 11 miles
south-east of
Tyre. Allotted to
Naphtali. (Mem.
I. 205; Sh. IV.)
—Conder.

EGLAIM Isa. xv. 8 Not identified — Thought to be

identical with
En-eglaim,
which see.

EGLON Josh. x. 3, Kh. ʾAjlân 13 The present

5, 23, mound and
34, 36, ruins, ʾAjlân, 16
37; xii. miles north-east
12; xv. of Gaza. (Mem.
39 III. 278; Sh.
XX.)

EGYPT Very
frequentl
y
mentione
d

EKREBEL Judith vii. ʾAkrabeh 10 The present

18 village
ʾAkrabeh,
south-east of
Nablus. (Mem.
II. 389; Sh. XV.)
—Conder’s
Handbook to
the Bible, 290.
EKRON Josh. xiii. ʾAkir 13 Now the village
(ACCARON, 1 3; xv. 11, ʾAkir, in
Macc. x. 89) 45, 46; Philistia, 6 miles
xix. 43; west of Gezer.
Judg. i. The Accaron of
18; 1 the Crusaders.
Sam. v. (Mem. II. 408;
10; vi. Sh. XVI.)
16; vii.
14; xvii.
52; 2
Kings i.
1, 2–16;
Jer. xxv.
20; Am.
i. 8;
Zeph. ii.
4; Zech.
ix. 5, 7

ELAH, Valley of 1 Sam. Wâdy es Sŭnt 14 The scene of the

(R.V. ELAH, xvii. 2, conflict and
Vale of, ‘or 19; xxi. 9 death of
Terebinth’) Goliath. Now
called Wâdy es
Sŭnt, which
passes Shocoh
and Gath
immediately on
the north.
(Mem. III.; Sh.
XVII.)

ELAM Gen. xiv. The Susiana and

1, 9; Isa. Persia of the
xi. 11; Greeks.—
xxi. 2; Grove’s Bible
Jer. xxv. Index.
 25; xlix.
34–39;
Ezek.
xxxii. 24;
Dan. viii.
2

ELATH, or Deut. ii. Close to — ‘Beside Ezion-

ELOTH 8; 1 ʾAkabah geber, on the
Kings ix. Ailah shore of the
26; 2 Red Sea, in the
Kings xiv. land of Edom.’
22; xvi. The present
6; 2 Chr. town ʾAkabah,
viii. 17; or Ailah, at the
xxvi. 2 head of the Gulf
of ʾAkabah.

ELEALEH Num. el ʾAl 15 The present ruin

xxxii. 3– ‘el ʾAl,’ near
37; Isa. Heshbon.
xv. 4;
xvi. 9;
Jer. xlviii.
34

ELEASA 1 Macc. Kh. Ilʾasa* 14 Now the ruins

ix. 5 Ilʾasa, between
the Upper and
Nether Beth-
horon. (Mem.
III. 36; Sh.
XVII.)—Conder.

ELEPH Josh. xviii. Lifta (?)* 14 One of the towns

28 allotted to
Benjamin. The
present village
Lifta (Conder),
 2 miles west of
Jerusalem.

ELEUTHERUS, 1 Macc. Nahr el Kebîr — The modern

The River xi. 7; xii. ‘Nahr el Kebîr,’
30 north of Tripolis.

ELIM Exod. xv. Not identified — The second

27; xvi. camping station
1; Num. of the Israelites
xxxiii. 9, after crossing
10 the Red Sea,
and noted for
12 springs and
70 palm-trees.
Thought to be
‘Wâdy
Ghŭrŭndul,’ on
the route from
Suez to Jebel
Mŭsa.

ELKOSH Nah. i. 1 Not identified — The birth-place

of Nahum the
prophet.
Probably
somewhere in
Galilee.

ELLASAR Gen. xiv. 1 Senkereh — Now Senkereh,

on the left bank
of the
Euphrates.

ELON Josh. xix. Not identified 10 Probably the

43 Perhaps present village
same as ‘Beit Ello,’ a
Elon-beth- town on the
hanan border of Dan,
 8 miles north-
west of Bethel
(Conder).
(Mem. II. 293;
Sh. XIV.)

ELON-BETH- 1 Kings iv. Beit ʾAnân 14 The present

HANAN 9 (?)* village Beit
ʾAnân
(Conder), 8½
miles from
Jerusalem, on
the ancient road
leading to
Gimzo. (Mem.
III. 16; Sh.
XVII.)

ELTEKEH Josh. xix. Beit Lîkia (?)* 14 One of the cities

(R.V. ELTEKE 44; xxi. in the border of
Josh. xxi. 23) 23 Dan. Probably
the present Beit
Lîkia, 2 miles
south of Beth-
horon the
Nether. (Mem.
III. 16; Sh.
XVII.)—T.
Drake.

ELTEKON Josh. xv. Not identified — One of the towns

59 of Judah,
named next to
Beth-anoth.

ELTOLAD Josh. xv. Not identified — One of the cities

30; xix. in the south of
4; 1 Chr. Judah,
iv. 29 transferred to
 Simeon = Tolad,
1 Chr. iv. 29.

EMMAUS, 1 Macc. ʾAmwâs 14 The present

Nicopolis iii. 40, village ʾAmwâs,
57; iv. 3; 15 miles from
ix. 50; 2 Jerusalem, near
Wars xx. the modern
20, 4; 3, road to Jaffa,
iii. 5; J. mentioned by
Ant. xiii. Josephus, 16
1, 3 Ant. x. 7, 9, etc.
(Mem. II. 63;
Sh. XVII.)

ENAM Josh. xv. Kh. Wâdy 14 Possibly the

34 ʾAlîn (?)* present ruin
ʾAlîn, near
Beth-shemesh.
—Conder.

ENDOR Josh. xvii. Endôr 10 Now the modern

11; 1 village Endôr, 6
Sam. miles to the
xxviii. 7; east of
Ps. Nazareth.
lxxxiii. 10 (Mem. II. 84;
Sh. IX.)

EN-EGLAIM Ezek. xlvii. Not identified — Eusebius places

10 a town of this
name 8 miles to
the south of ‘Ar
Moab’; this
would probably
mean ‘Kerak.’
ʾAin Hajlah, the
ancient Beth
Hoglah, has
 been suggested
by Tristram. See
Eglaim.

ENGADDI Ecclus. ʾAin Jîdy — See En-gedi.

xxiv. 14

EN-GANNIM Josh. xv. Kh. Umm Jîna 14 A city in the low

(1) 34 country of
Judah, named
between
Zanoah and
Tappuah. Now
the ruin Umm
Jîna, west of
Beth-shemesh.
(Mem. III. 42;
Sh. XVII.)—
Clermont-
Ganneau.

EN-GANNIM Josh. xix. Jenîn 10 Now the modern

(2) 21; xxi. town Jenîn, on
29 the extreme
south corner of
Esdraelon. On
or near the
border of
Issachar. (Mem.
II. 44; Sh. VIII.)

EN-GEDI Josh. xv. ʾAin Jîdy 14 Original name

62; 1 Hazazon-tamar.
Sam. The well-known
xxiii. 29; spring and ruins
xxiv. 1; 2 of ʾAin Jîdy, on
Chr. xx. the west shore
2; Cant. of the Dead
i. 14;
 Ezek. Sea. (Mem. III.
xlvii. 10 384; Sh. XXII.)

EN-HADDAH Josh. xix. Kefr Adân* 10 On the border of

21 Issachar, and
named next to
‘En-gannim.’
Probably the
present village
Kefr Adân, 3
miles to the
west of Jenîn.—
Conder. (Mem.
II. 45; Sh. VIII.)

EN-HAKKORE Judg. xv. Not identified — The scene of one

19 of Samson’s
exploits.

EN-HAZOR Josh. xix. Kh. Hazîreh 6 One of the

37 fenced cities of
Naphtali. Now
the heap of
ruins Hazîreh,
on the Naphtali
side of the
boundary by
Wâdy el ʾAyûn.
(Mem. I. 204;
Sh. IV.)

EN-MISHPAT Gen. xiv. 7 Also called

Kadesh. See
Kadesh-barnea.

EN-RIMMON Josh. xv. Kh. Umm er 13 The Ain and

32; xix. Rŭmâmîn Rimmon
7; Neh. mentioned
xi. 29; 1 together in
 Chr. iv. Josh. xv. 32;
32; Zech. xix. 7; 1 Chr. iv.
xiv. 10 32, are
supposed by
some to be one
place (?) and
identical with
the En-rimmon
of Neh. xi. 29.
The proposed
site is that of
Kh. Umm er
Rŭmâmîn.
(Mem. III. 32;
Sh. XXIV.)

EN-ROGEL Josh. xv. ʾAin Umm ed 14 A landmark on

7; xviii. Dêraj the boundary
16; 1 between Judah
Kings i. and Benjamin.
9; 2 The traditional
Sam. place is ‘Bîr
xvii. 17 Eyûb’ (a spring
well), but the
arguments in
favour of ‘ʾAin
Umm ed Deraj’
(spring of the
mother of
steps), known
to Christians as
the ‘Virgin’s
Fountain,’ are
stronger and
more generally
accepted.—
(Conder’s
Handbook to
 the Bible, p.
334.) See
Jerusalem vol.,
p. 94.

EN-SHEMESH Josh. xv. ʾAin Haud 14 A landmark on

7; xviii. the boundary
17 between Judah
and Benjamin,
apparently ‘ʾAin
Haud,’ east of
Bethany (the
well of the
Apostles—called
the Apostles’
fountain by
Christians).
(Mem. III. 42;
Sh. XVII.)

EN-TAPPUAH Josh. xvii. Yasûf (?)* 10 The spring near

7 Yasûf, at the
head of the
branches of
Wâdy Kânah,
south of
Shechem
(Samaritan
Chronicle).
(Conder’s
Handbook to
the Bible, p.
263.)

EPHES- 1 Sam. Not identified — Or Pas-dammim,

DAMMIM xvii. 1; 1 ‘the boundary
Chr. xi. of blood,’ the
13 place where the
Philistines
 encamped
before the
conflict between
David and
Goliath took
place. Between
Socoh and
Azekah.

EPHRAIM, 2 Sam. Taiyibeh (?) 10 Named with

EPHRAIN, or xiii. 23; 2 Bethel and
EPHRON Chron. Jeshanah.
xiii. 19; Apparently
John xi. Ophrah of
54 Benjamin,
which see.

EPHRAIM, Gate 2 Kings One of the gates

of xiv. 13; 2 of the city of
Chr. xxv. Jerusalem,
23; Neh. probably on the
viii. 16; north-west.
xii. 39

EPHRAIM, Josh. xvii. The hill country

Mount 15; xix. of Ephraim,
(R.V. 50; xx. extending from
EPHRAIM, Hill 7; xxi. Bethel and
Country of) 21; xxiv. Ramah on the
30, 33; south, to the
Judg. ii. Great Plain on
9; iii. 27; the north.
iv. 5; vii.
24; x. 1;
xvii. 1, 8;
xviii. 2,
13; xix.
1, 16,
18; 1