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A Rakshasa, and friend of Dur-yodhana, who disguised himself as a Brahman and reproached Yudhi- sh^hira for his crimes, when he entered Hastina-pura in triumph after the great battle. The Brahmans discovered the imposture and reduced Charvaka to ashes with the fire of their eyes. 2. A sceptical philosopher who advocated materialistic doctrines. He probably lived before the composition of the Ramayawa, and is perhaps identical with the Charvaka of the ]\Iaha-bharata, His followers are called by his name. CHATUR-YARVA. The four castes. See Yarwa. CHEDI. Name of a people and of their country, the modern Chandail and Boglekhand. The capital was /Sukti-mati, and among the kings of this country were Dama-ghosha and ^S'isu-pala. CHEKI TANA. A son of Dhrishi^a-ketu, Raja of the Ivekayas, and an ally of the Pawiiavas. CHERA. A kingdom in the south of the peninsula, which was absorbed by its rival the Chola kingdom. CHHANDAS, CHHANDO. Metre. One of the Yedangas. The oldest known work on the subject is " the ChhandaA-^astra, ascribed to Pingala, which may be as old as the second century B.C." It is published in the Bibl'wtheca Indica. The subject is one to which great attention has been given by the Hindus from the earliest times. 72 CHHANDOGA—CHITRA-KUTA. CHHANDOGA. A priest or chanter of the Sama-veda. CHHANDOGYA. Xame of a Upanishad of the Sama- veda. {See Upanishad.) It has been printed by Dr. Eoer, and it has been translated into English by Rajendra Lai, and pub- lished in the Bihlioilieca Indica. There is also another printed edition of the text. The Chhandogya Upanishad consists of eight out of ten chapters of the Clihandogya Brahnia?ia ; the first two chapters are yet wanting. This work is particularly dis- tinguished by its rich store of legends regarding the gradual development of Brahmanical theology. CHHAYA. 'Shade.' A handmaid of the sun. Sanjna, wife of the sun, being unable to bear the fervour of her lord, jDut her handmaid Chliaya in her place. The sun, believing Chhaya to be his wife, had three children by her : Sani, the planet Saturn ; the Manu Savar?^i ; and a daughter, the Tapati river. As mother of Saturn, Chhaya is known as ^S'ani-prasii. The partiality which she showed for these children provoked Yama, the son of Sanjna, and he lifted his foot to kick her. She cursed him to have his leg affected with sores and worms. This made it clear that she was not Sanjna and mother of Yama, so the sun went in search of Sanjna and brought her back. According to one PuraTia, Chhaya was a daughter of Yiswakarma, and sister of Sanjna, the wife of the sun. CHINTA-MAA'L 'The wish-gem.' A jewel which is sup- posed to have the power of granting all desires. The jjhilo- sopher's stone. It is said to have belonged to Brahma, who is himself called by this name. It is also called Divya-ratna. CHIRA-JIVIK ' Long-lived.' Gods or deified mortals, who live for long periods. CIIITRA-GUPTA. A scribe in the abodes of tlie dead, who records the virtues and vices of men. The recorder of Yama. CHITRA-KUrA. 'Bright-peak.' The seat of Yrdmlki's her- mitage, in which Rama and Sita both found refuge at diffe- rent times. It is the modern Chitrakote, on the river Pisuni, about fifty miles south-east of Banda in Bundelkhand. It is a very holy place, and abounds with temples and shrines, to which thousands annually resort. " The whole neighbourhood is Rama's country. Every headland has some legend, every cavern is con- nected with his name." — Cast in "Calcutta Review." CHITRA-LEKHA—CHYAVANA. 73 CHITRA-LEKHA. A picture. Name of a nymph wlio was skilled in painting and in the magic art. She was the friend and confidante of tJslia. See tJsha. CHITRANGADA. The elder son of King ^antanu, and brother of Bhishma. He was arrogant and proud, and was killed in early life in a conflict with a Gandharva of the same name. CHITRAXGADA. Daughter of King Chritra-vaha?za of ]Ma7ii-pura, wife of Arjuna and mother of Babhru-vahana. CHITRA-RATHA. 'Having a fine car.' The king of the Gandharvas. There are many others known by this name. CHITRA-SEI^A. i. One of the hundred sons of Dhrita- rash/ra. 2. A chief of the Yakshas. CHITRA-YAJJSTA. A modern drama in five acts upon the legend of Daksha. It is the work of a Paw^^it named Yaidya- natha Yachaspati. CHOLA. A country and kingdom of the south of India about Tanjore. The country was called Chola-ma?if?ala, whence comes the name CoromandeL CHYAYANA, CHYAYAJSTA. A sage, son of the i^zshi BhWgu, and author of some hymns. In the i?ig-veda it is said that when " Chyavana had grown old and had been forsaken, the Aswins divested him of his decrepit body, prolonged his life, and restored him to youth, making him acceptable to his wife, and the husband of maidens." This story is thus amj)lified in the /S'atapatha Brah- ma?ia : — The sage Chyavana assumed a shrivelled form and lay as if abandoned. The sons of yS^aryata, a descendant of Manu, found this body, and pelted it with clods. Chyavana was greatly incensed, and to appease him /Skryata yoked his chariot, and taking with him his daughter Su-kanya, pre- sented her to Chyavana. The Aswins endeavoured to seduce her, but she remained faithful to her shrivelled husband, and under his direction she taunted them with being incomplete and imperfect, and consented to tell them in what respect they were deficient, if they would make her husband young again. They directed that he should bathe in a certain pond, and having done so, he came forth 'with the age that he desired. She then informed them that they were imperfect because they were excluded from a sacrifice the other gods were performing. 74 CHYA VAN A. They departed and succeeded in getting admitted to join the other gods. According to the ^laha-bharata, Chyavana besought Indra to allow the Aswins to partake of the libations of soma. Indra repHed that the other gods might do as they pleased, but he would not consent. Chyavana then commenced a sacrifice to the Aswins ; the other gods were subdued, but Indra, in a rage, rushed with a mountain in one hand and his thunderbolt in another to crush Chyavana. The sage having sprinkled him with water and stopped him, " created a fearful open-mouthed monster called Mada, having teeth and grinders of portentous length, and jaws one of which enclosed the earth, the other the sky; and the gods, including Indra, are said to have been at the root of his tongue like fishes in the mouth of a sea monster." In this predicament " Indra granted the demand of Chyavana, who was thus the cause of the Aswins becoming drinkers of the soma," In another part of the Maha-bharata he is represented as exacting many menial offices from King Kusika and his wife, but he afterwards rewarded them by " creating a magical golden palace," and predicted the birth of " a grandson of great beauty and heroism (Parasu-rama)." The ]\Iaha-bharata, interpreting his name as signifying *the fallen,' accounts for it by a legend which represents his mother, Puloma, wife of Bh?*;*gu, as having been carried off by the demon Puloman. She was pregnant, and in her fright the child fell from her womb. The demon was softened, and let the mother depart with her infant. The version of the story as told in the Maha-bharata and Purawas is that Chyavana was so absorbed in penance on the banks of the Narmada that white ants constructed their nests round his body and left only his eyes visible. Su-kanya, daughter of King ^Saryata, seeing two bright eyes in what seemed to be an anthill, poked them with a stick. The sage visited the offence on fcyata, and was appeased only by the promise of the king to give him Su-kanya in marriage. Subsequently the Aswins, coming to his hermitage, compassionated her union with so old and ugly a husband as Chyavana, and tried to induce her to take one of them in his place. When their persuasions failed, they told her they were the physicians of the gods, and would CHYAVANA—DADHYANCH. 75 restore her hiistand to youth and beauty, when she could make lier choice between him and one of them. Accordingly the three bathed in a pond and came forth of like celestial beauty. Each one asked her to be his bride, and she recognised and chose her own husband. Chyavana, in gratitude, compelled Indra to admit the Aswins to a participation of the soma ceremonial. Indra at first objected, because the Aswins wandered about among men as physicians and changed their forms at will.