Gandharvas in the Epics and in the Veda: cognates and relatives in Sanskrit and beyond

Kulikov, Leonid [UCL]

Gandharva is one of the enigmatic creatures in the Ancient Indian mythological pantheon. There is a considerable difference between the Vedic Gandharva(s) and post-Vedic gandharvas. In the earliest Vedic period, particularly in the R̥gveda, this is still one single (demi-)god, with some intricate connections with the asuras, but occupying his/their own special position within the pantheon. In late Vedic and, especially, post-Vedic tradition we observe some drastic developments in this character. Altogether, gandharvas as depicted in the Epics and Purāṇas may appear much less harmful and dangerous creatures as compared to their Vedic pendants. Yet, even in spite of several crucial changes, there are several archaic features of the post-Vedic (epic) gandharvas, that may even be archaic relics of the common Indo-Iranian mythology. In particular, according to post-Vedic (epic) texts, there are at least two main subclasses of gandharvas, naras and kinnaras (kimpuruṣas). On the one hand, this fact may betray a particular genetic relationship between gandharvas and naras (humans), thus suggesting the origin of humankind from this class of demi-gods. On the other hand, this may point to a peculiar position of the naras within the Ancient Indian mythological pantheon, pointing to their semi-divine original status. This, eventually, provides valuable evidence for reconstruction of Indo-Iranian ideas about anthropogenesis. Furthermore, the androgynous character of a particular variety of gandharvas, the kinnaras, may be a trace of a very archaic feature of the common ancestor of the humankind, presumably going back to the Proto-Indo-European myths about the origin of the world (cf. the Norse myth about the origin of the world from the primeval hermaphroditic being Ymir). The present paper focuses on gleaning such scattered features from the Epics and Purāṇas, paying special attention to the characteristics of gandharvas (usually considered as lacking Indo-European etymology, yet, perhaps secondarily connected with the Greek κένταυρος, as going back to the same non-Indo-European Wanderwort) and their possible origins from non-Indo-European sources.