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37
Mitra (Mitravana), where, by fasting, penance, and prayer, he
acquired the favour of Sürya, and was cleansed of his leprosy.'
It seems to me reasonable enough to suppose that the fabricator
who first stated that Mayūra was cured of leprosy by the power
of the Sun had in mind this legend of Samba. It cannot, of
course, be proved that he did, but the suggestion is worthy of
consideration.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
What was the leprosy of Mayūra? Another interesting point
for speculation and discussion is the nature of the disease from
which Mayūra is said to have suffered. Was it genuine leprosy,
or might it possibly have been some form of skin trouble that
would be benefited by exposure to the rays of the Sun? Bloch
hazards the suggestion¹ that by the word Aein (white leprosy).
used by Herodotus in the passage quoted above (p. 35), is meant
the modern leukoderma, a disease that even today in India is
confused by ignorant people with leprosy. He even goes so far
as to say that albinos might be regarded as suffering from Aen.
It has also been suggested to me that Mayura's 'lepra-spots'
were perhaps nothing more than the eruption of some venereal
disease, and, as such, comparable and similar to the 'thousand
eyes' of Indra. And it is interesting to note, in this connection,
that the 'thousand eyes,' which were originally bhaga,' were-like
the leprosy of Sãmba, according to the account supplied from
the Samba-Purāṇa³-imposed as punishment for illicit amours.
The real reason for the composition of the Suryaśataka.
The real reason for the composition of the Süryaśataka is prob-
ably to be connected with the presumed fact that the cult of the
Sun was popular or fashionable in the days of Harsa. We
1 Bloch, as cited in the note preceding, p. 733, footnote 2.
See the discussion of Indra's 'thousand eyes', given below (p. 217),
under Saryaśataka, stanza 94, note 4.
See above, p. 36, note 3.
+ Some scholars believe that sun-worship was introduced into north-
western India from Persia; cf. the article The Sect of Sauras and the
Northern Sun-Worship, p. 154, in the latest addition to Bühler's Grundriss,
the volume by R. G. Bhandarkar, entitled Vaisnavism, Saivism, Strassburg,
1913; see also Bloch's article cited above, p. 36, note 1.
Mitra (Mitravana), where, by fasting, penance, and prayer, he
acquired the favour of Sürya, and was cleansed of his leprosy.'
It seems to me reasonable enough to suppose that the fabricator
who first stated that Mayūra was cured of leprosy by the power
of the Sun had in mind this legend of Samba. It cannot, of
course, be proved that he did, but the suggestion is worthy of
consideration.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
What was the leprosy of Mayūra? Another interesting point
for speculation and discussion is the nature of the disease from
which Mayūra is said to have suffered. Was it genuine leprosy,
or might it possibly have been some form of skin trouble that
would be benefited by exposure to the rays of the Sun? Bloch
hazards the suggestion¹ that by the word Aein (white leprosy).
used by Herodotus in the passage quoted above (p. 35), is meant
the modern leukoderma, a disease that even today in India is
confused by ignorant people with leprosy. He even goes so far
as to say that albinos might be regarded as suffering from Aen.
It has also been suggested to me that Mayura's 'lepra-spots'
were perhaps nothing more than the eruption of some venereal
disease, and, as such, comparable and similar to the 'thousand
eyes' of Indra. And it is interesting to note, in this connection,
that the 'thousand eyes,' which were originally bhaga,' were-like
the leprosy of Sãmba, according to the account supplied from
the Samba-Purāṇa³-imposed as punishment for illicit amours.
The real reason for the composition of the Suryaśataka.
The real reason for the composition of the Süryaśataka is prob-
ably to be connected with the presumed fact that the cult of the
Sun was popular or fashionable in the days of Harsa. We
1 Bloch, as cited in the note preceding, p. 733, footnote 2.
See the discussion of Indra's 'thousand eyes', given below (p. 217),
under Saryaśataka, stanza 94, note 4.
See above, p. 36, note 3.
+ Some scholars believe that sun-worship was introduced into north-
western India from Persia; cf. the article The Sect of Sauras and the
Northern Sun-Worship, p. 154, in the latest addition to Bühler's Grundriss,
the volume by R. G. Bhandarkar, entitled Vaisnavism, Saivism, Strassburg,
1913; see also Bloch's article cited above, p. 36, note 1.