The Hymn of Mudgala Bharmyasva (X.102) – A Fresh Approach

Summary

Baffling and fragmentary, the Rigvedic hymn X.102 dedicated to Mudgala Bharmyaśva has long puzzled scholars. The article by T. G. Mainkar attempts to offer a fresh interpretation, moving away from earlier readings by Griffith, Bloomfield, Geldner, Pischel, Velankar and Dange, which the author regards as unsatisfactoryfile:///home/oai/share/520754-98-211.pdf#:~:text=THE%20HYMN%20OF%20MUDGALA%20BHARMYA,Hymn%20with%20a%20view%20to. The hymn’s narrative appears to centre on a dramatic incident rather than a domestic ritual. Previous scholarship debated the identities of the figures Mudgala and Mudgalani—some interpreted them as a Brahmin couple or the wife of a sage, while others proposed that they are ordinary villagersfile:///home/oai/share/520754-98-211.pdf#:~:text=centres%20round%20an%20incident%20in,with%20this%20hymn%20and%20he. Mainkar marshals evidence from Purānic literature to argue that Mudgala Bharmyaśva was actually a king belonging to the Tṛtsu clan; the Vana Parva and other texts depict him as a monarch honoured by gods and sagesfile:///home/oai/share/520754-98-211.pdf#:~:text=is%20however%20evidence%20to%20show,72%29.%20It. This perspective reframes the hymn as royal rather than rustic. The core of Mainkar’s analysis is that the hymn recounts a battle rather than a chariot race or harvest rite. Close examination of the verses reveals military imagery: warriors, chariots, horses and the spoils of war. The hymn describes a hero who drives forward with force, accompanied by swift horses and supported by deities; the ‘parpāka’ and ‘pākṣa’ refer to weapons or war-tactics rather than cooking pots. The article notes that the central scene is a conflict in which the hero repels enemies and distributes booty among his supportersfile:///home/oai/share/520754-98-211.pdf#:~:text=a%20weak%20friend,to%20be%20the%20central%20event. The supposed wife ‘Mudgalani’ is reinterpreted as part of the hero’s retinue or even as a poetic personification of his chariot. Mainkar also dismisses the idea that the hymn depicts a footrace; he contends that the references to speed and arrival reflect the rush of battle. Beyond reinterpreting individual verses, the article places the hymn within the larger socio-political milieu of the early Vedic period. The Tṛtsu and Pāṇi tribes often fought over cattle and territory; hymns praising Indra and royal patrons were composed to celebrate victories. By identifying Mudgala Bharmyaśva as a Tṛtsu king, the hymn becomes part of this cycle of heroic songs. The concluding section explains that the hero’s actions are consecrated through sacrifice: after the battle he offers the spoils to the gods, ensuring cosmic order. The article underscores that understanding the hymn through the lens of warfare clarifies many previously obscure details and aligns it with comparable war songs in the Rigveda.