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{{Short description|Watchdogs of the underworld in Hindu mythology}} |
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'''Sharvara''' ('''Dog of Yama''') is an ancient Hindu mythical dog belonging to [[Yama]]. It is one of the two dogs that guard the netherworld. Sharvara is identified with the constellation [[Canis Major]], the other dog with [[Canis Minor]], together they guard the gates of the netherworld, known as [[Pitru Paksha|pitriloka]] or vaivasvataloka, which is the domain of Yama.<ref>{{Cite book|last=[[ Bal Gangadhar Tilak|Tilak]]|first=[[Bal Gangadhar Tilak|Bal Gangadhar]]|title=[[The Orion (Book)| The Orion, or, Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas]]|year=1893|publisher=Mrs. Radhabai Atmaram Sagoon|location=Pune|page=42}}</ref> |
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'''Sharvara''' ({{Lang-sa|शार्वर|translit=Śārvara}}), also rendered '''Shabala''' ({{Lang-sa|शबल|translit=Śabala}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalal |first=Roshen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UCEoAwAAQBAJ&dq=yama+dogs+underworld&pg=PT343 |title=The Vedas: An Introduction to Hinduism's Sacred Texts |date=2014-04-15 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-81-8475-763-7 |pages=343 |language=en}}</ref> and '''Shyama''' ({{Lang-sa|श्याम|translit=Śyāma}}) are two [[Hindu mythology|Hindu mythological]] watchdogs belonging to [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Benjamin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_J2RDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT330 |title=Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism. In Two Volumes. Volume I A-L |date=2019-04-09 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-62421-6 |pages=330 |language=en}}</ref> |
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Sharvara is identified with the constellation [[Canis Major]], and Shyama with [[Canis Minor]]; together they guard the gates of the [[Naraka (Hinduism)|underworld]], the domain of Yama.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tilak|first=Bal Gangadhar|author-link=Bal Gangadhar Tilak|title=[[The Orion (Book)|The Orion, or, Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas]]|year=1893|publisher=Mrs. Radhabai Atmaram Sagoon|location=Pune|page=42}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Byghan |first=Yowann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoPWDwAAQBAJ&dq=yama+four-eyed+dogs+underworld&pg=PA21 |title=Sacred and Mythological Animals: A Worldwide Taxonomy |date=2020-03-12 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-3887-4 |pages=21 |language=bn}}</ref> |
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==Etymology== |
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| ⚫ | Shavara can also be compared to Odin's wolves in Norse mythology.<ref>Geri and Freki, "Greedy" and "Voracious" {{Cite book| |
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The word ''sharvara'' means variegated or spotted.<ref>{{harvnb|Tilak|1893|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3S3CBNUD4ggC&pg=PA108 108]}}</ref> In older Sanskrit, शर्वर is written as कर्वर (karvara).<ref>[[Monier Williams Dictionary]]</ref> Shyama is translated as black or dark-coloured.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Monier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqlRAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1023 |title=A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to Greek, Latin, Gothic, German, Anglo-Saxon, and other cognate Indo-European Languages By Monier Williams |date=1872 |publisher=At the Clarendon Press Sold by Macmillan |pages=1023 |language=en}}</ref> |
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==Mythology == |
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| ⚫ | [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak|Tilak]] dates the Vedic antiquity using the assertion that the Milky Way (path of the dead) used to be guarded by Sharvara and a new year started upon the crossing of Milky Way by the sun. Using internal evidence he dated the timeframe of Vedic antiquity ( |
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Sharvara and Shyama are described to be two ferocious, four-eyed dogs that guard the entrance to the palace of Yama. The dead are required to get past these dogs in order to be rendered judgement by their master.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stookey |first=Lorena Laura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WL_eONflrKgC&pg=PA203 |title=Thematic Guide to World Mythology |date=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-31505-3 |pages=203 |language=en}}</ref> They are referred to as ''Mithūdṛśā'', meaning that they are not both capable of sight at the same time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhattacharji |first=Sukumari |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lDc9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA70 |title=the indian theogony |publisher=CUP Archive |pages=70 |language=en}}</ref> |
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The dogs are first described in the Yamasukta section of the [[Rigveda]]. Named as the children of [[Sarama|Sharama]], departed souls are asked to venture beyond the two spotted four-eyed dogs in order to join their [[pitrs]]. They are also mentioned in a prayer to Yama, in which the dead are requested to be entrusted to their protection, and are extolled as the guardians of the road.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Srivastava |first=Vinod Chandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FvjZVwYVmNcC&pg=PA296 |title=History of Agriculture in India, Up to C. 1200 A.D. |date=2008 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-8069-521-6 |pages=296 |language=en}}</ref> |
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The [[Atharvaveda]] describes the dogs as the messengers of Yama, designated with the role of seeking out individuals who are to die.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mallory |first1=J. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC&pg=PA265 |title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture |last2=Adams |first2=Douglas Q. |date=1997 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-884964-98-5 |pages=265 |language=en}}</ref> |
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=== Comparisons === |
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| ⚫ | Sharvara can be compared with the Greek [[Cerberus]], the mythological dog of the Greeks with similar characteristics. However, there is no description of Cerberus having a companion, and he is usually depicted with three heads.<ref>[[Apollodorus of Athens|Apolodorus]] and others indicate that he had three heads, but [[Hesiod]] with poetical hyperbole gives him fifty. {{Cite book|last=Elton |first=Charles Abraham|year=1812|title=Hesiod, translated from the Greek into English verse, with a Preliminary Dissertation on the Writings, Life, and Æra of Hesiod|publisher=Lackington, Allen and Company|location=London|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hAMyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA267 267]}}</ref> Scholars have concluded that the three heads were a Greek addition to the underlying Indo-Aryan myth.<ref>{{harvnb|Elton|1812|page=267}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author=Bryant, Jacob|year=1809|title=A new system: or, An analysis of antient mythology|edition=3rd|publisher=J. Walker|volume=2|pages=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89065067670&seq=132 118–119] |url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015010301169}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Shavara and Shyama can also be compared to [[Odin]]'s wolves [[Geri and Freki]] in [[Norse mythology]].<ref>Geri and Freki, "Greedy" and "Voracious" {{Cite book|last=Bloomfield |first=Maurice|year=1905|title=Cerberus, the Dog of Hades: The History of an Idea|publisher=Open Court Publishing|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=W79ZAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA26 26–27]}}</ref> Odin (the all-father) just like Yama (the progenitor of all humans) sits on a chair guarded by two dogs.<ref>{{harvnb|Bloomfield|1905|page=[https://archive.org/details/cerberusdoghade01bloogoog/page/n39 27]}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak|Tilak]] dates the [[Vedic]] antiquity using the assertion that the Milky Way (path of the dead) used to be guarded by Sharvara and a new year started upon the crossing of Milky Way by the sun. Using internal evidence he dated the timeframe of Vedic antiquity ([[Taittiriya Shakha|Taittriya Samhita]]) to the time when at the vernal equinox the sun rose in the [[Asterism (astronomy)|asterism]] of Orion (Mrigashiras).<ref>{{harvnb|Tilak|1893|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3S3CBNUD4ggC&pg=PA41 41–60]}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Dogs in Hinduism]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Dogs in religion]] |
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[[Category:Mythological dogs]] |
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[[Category:Mythological canines]] |
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[[Category:Cerberus]] |
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[[Category:Mythological duos]] |
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Latest revision as of 13:45, 10 April 2024
Sharvara (Sanskrit: शार्वर, romanized: Śārvara), also rendered Shabala (Sanskrit: शबल, romanized: Śabala)[1] and Shyama (Sanskrit: श्याम, romanized: Śyāma) are two Hindu mythological watchdogs belonging to Yama.[2]
Sharvara is identified with the constellation Canis Major, and Shyama with Canis Minor; together they guard the gates of the underworld, the domain of Yama.[3][4]
Etymology
[edit]The word sharvara means variegated or spotted.[5] In older Sanskrit, शर्वर is written as कर्वर (karvara).[6] Shyama is translated as black or dark-coloured.[7]
Mythology
[edit]Sharvara and Shyama are described to be two ferocious, four-eyed dogs that guard the entrance to the palace of Yama. The dead are required to get past these dogs in order to be rendered judgement by their master.[8] They are referred to as Mithūdṛśā, meaning that they are not both capable of sight at the same time.[9]
The dogs are first described in the Yamasukta section of the Rigveda. Named as the children of Sharama, departed souls are asked to venture beyond the two spotted four-eyed dogs in order to join their pitrs. They are also mentioned in a prayer to Yama, in which the dead are requested to be entrusted to their protection, and are extolled as the guardians of the road.[10]
The Atharvaveda describes the dogs as the messengers of Yama, designated with the role of seeking out individuals who are to die.[11]
Comparisons
[edit]Sharvara can be compared with the Greek Cerberus, the mythological dog of the Greeks with similar characteristics. However, there is no description of Cerberus having a companion, and he is usually depicted with three heads.[12] Scholars have concluded that the three heads were a Greek addition to the underlying Indo-Aryan myth.[13][14]
Shavara and Shyama can also be compared to Odin's wolves Geri and Freki in Norse mythology.[15] Odin (the all-father) just like Yama (the progenitor of all humans) sits on a chair guarded by two dogs.[16]
Tilak dates the Vedic antiquity using the assertion that the Milky Way (path of the dead) used to be guarded by Sharvara and a new year started upon the crossing of Milky Way by the sun. Using internal evidence he dated the timeframe of Vedic antiquity (Taittriya Samhita) to the time when at the vernal equinox the sun rose in the asterism of Orion (Mrigashiras).[17]
References
[edit]- ^ Dalal, Roshen (2014-04-15). The Vedas: An Introduction to Hinduism's Sacred Texts. Penguin UK. p. 343. ISBN 978-81-8475-763-7.
- ^ Walker, Benjamin (2019-04-09). Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism. In Two Volumes. Volume I A-L. Routledge. p. 330. ISBN 978-0-429-62421-6.
- ^ Tilak, Bal Gangadhar (1893). The Orion, or, Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas. Pune: Mrs. Radhabai Atmaram Sagoon. p. 42.
- ^ Byghan, Yowann (2020-03-12). Sacred and Mythological Animals: A Worldwide Taxonomy (in Bengali). McFarland. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-4766-3887-4.
- ^ Tilak 1893, p. 108
- ^ Monier Williams Dictionary
- ^ Williams, Monier (1872). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to Greek, Latin, Gothic, German, Anglo-Saxon, and other cognate Indo-European Languages By Monier Williams. At the Clarendon Press Sold by Macmillan. p. 1023.
- ^ Stookey, Lorena Laura (2004). Thematic Guide to World Mythology. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-313-31505-3.
- ^ Bhattacharji, Sukumari. the indian theogony. CUP Archive. p. 70.
- ^ Srivastava, Vinod Chandra (2008). History of Agriculture in India, Up to C. 1200 A.D. Concept Publishing Company. p. 296. ISBN 978-81-8069-521-6.
- ^ Mallory, J. P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 265. ISBN 978-1-884964-98-5.
- ^ Apolodorus and others indicate that he had three heads, but Hesiod with poetical hyperbole gives him fifty. Elton, Charles Abraham (1812). Hesiod, translated from the Greek into English verse, with a Preliminary Dissertation on the Writings, Life, and Æra of Hesiod. London: Lackington, Allen and Company. p. 267.
- ^ Elton 1812, p. 267
- ^ Bryant, Jacob (1809). A new system: or, An analysis of antient mythology. Vol. 2 (3rd ed.). J. Walker. pp. 118–119.
- ^ Geri and Freki, "Greedy" and "Voracious" Bloomfield, Maurice (1905). Cerberus, the Dog of Hades: The History of an Idea. Open Court Publishing. pp. 26–27.
- ^ Bloomfield 1905, p. 27
- ^ Tilak 1893, pp. 41–60