Dama Carita

The Dama Carita is the account of Dama, son of Narishyanta and grandson of Marutta. Dama studied under the asura teachers Vṛshaparvan and Dundubhi, won Sumanā at her svayaṃvara (the ceremony where a princess chooses her husband), and killed the warrior Vapushmān, who had killed his father Narishyanta. He then offered his father a tarpaṇa (an offering for the dead) of blood.

Dama’s education

Narishyanta sent his son Dama to study under Vṛshaparvan and Dundubhi. These asura teachers were known for their mastery of the sixty-four arts and sciences. Dama became a warrior of great skill.

The Sumanā svayaṃvara

Dama took part in the svayaṃvara of Princess Sumanā. The kings gathered there argued about the nature of vivāha (marriage). The question was whether a svayaṃvara is a Gāndharva vivāha, a marriage of choice, or a Rākshasa vivāha, a marriage won by a warrior. Dama won Sumanā by his valour, and the assembled kings accepted that the svayaṃvara was lawful.

Narishyanta’s death and Indrasenā’s satī

The warrior Vapushmān killed King Narishyanta, Dama’s father, in battle. Narishyanta’s queen Indrasenā did not want to live after her husband. She performed satī on his funeral pyre.

Dama’s revenge and the blood-tarpaṇa

Dama was full of grief and bound by duty. He hunted down Vapushmān and killed him in battle. Then he did something extraordinary. He collected the blood of the slain Vapushmān and offered it to his dead father as tarpaṇa. This is called rakta-tarpaṇa, blood-tarpaṇa. Dama declared that the blood of his father’s killer was the fittest offering he could make, in place of the usual water and sesame. The Purāṇa presents this as an act of great love for a father, an unusual one.

Sources

• Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 130–133 (Dama’s education, Chapters 130–131; the Sumanā svayaṃvara, Chapter 131; Narishyanta’s death and Indrasenā’s satī, Chapter 132; the blood-tarpaṇa, Chapter 133)