Note 11 — U

The Uppiliyans say that they are descended from a man who was created to provide salt for the table of their god, but lost the favour of the deity because his wife bartered the salt for some glass bangles. In his wrath he put his wife into the oven to kill her, but she escaped through a hole in the back. As evidence of the truth of the story, they point to the facts that their women wear no glass bangles, and that their ovens always have a hole in them. The caste further traces its descent from a mythical individual, named Sagara, to whom is ascribed the digging of the Bay of Bengal. His story is narrated in the Vishnu Purāna,11 and is briefly as follows. Sagara was son of Bāhu, who was overrun by the Haihayas and Tālajanghas, and consequently retired to the forest, where, near the hermitage of Muni Aurva, one of his queens conceived. A rival queen poisoned her, so as to prevent her from being delivered of the child. Meanwhile, Bāhu waxed old, and his pregnant wife prepared to ascend the funeral pyre with him. But the Muni forbade her, saying that she was going to be the mother of an universal emperor. She accordingly desisted from the desperate act, and a splendid boy was born, and the poison expelled along with him. The Muni, on this account, gave him the name of Sagara, meaning with poison. As he grew up, the boy came to know of the troubles of his father, and resolved to recover his kingdom. He put to death nearly the whole of the Haihayas, and made the others acknowledge his suzerainty. He had two wives, by one of whom he had a son named Asamanja, and by the other sixty thousand sons. He subsequently performed the asvamēdha or sacrifice of a horse, which was guarded by his sons. The animal was, however, carried off by some one into a chasm in the earth. Sagara commanded his sons to search for the steed, and they traced him by the impressions of the hoofs to the chasm, which he had entered. They proceeded to enlarge it, and dug downwards, each for a league. Coming to Pātālā, they saw the horse wandering freely about, and at no great distance from it was Kapila Rishi, sitting in meditation. Exclaiming “This is the villain who has maliciously interrupted our sacrifice, and stolen the horse, kill him, kill him,” they ran towards him with uplifted weapons. The Rishi raised his eyes, and for an instant looked upon them, and they became reduced to ashes by the sacred flame that darted from him. On learning of the death of his sons, Sagara sent Amsumat, the son of Asamanja, to secure the animal. He went by the deep path which his father and uncles had dug, and, arriving at the place where Kapila was, propitiated him with an obeisance. The Rishi gave him the horse, to be delivered to his father, and in conferring the boon which Amsumat prayed for, said that his grandson would bring down the divine Ganges, whose “waters shall wash the bones and ashes of thy grandfather’s sons,” and raise them to swarga. Sagara then completed his sacrifice, and, in affectionate memory of his sons, called the chasm which they had dug Sagara. This is still the name of the ocean, and especially of the Bay of Bengal at the mouth of the Ganges, which, in accordance with the boon of Kapila, was brought down to earth by Amsumat’s grandson Bhagiratha, from whom it received the name of Bhāgirathi, which it retains to this day. Such is the story of the origin of the caste, members of which often call it Sagara kula, or the family of Sagara. As his sons excavated the ocean, so they dig tanks, channels, wells, etc. In the Mysore Census Reports, the Upparas are said to be called “Uppara in the eastern, Uppaliga in the southern, and Mēlu (west) Sakkre in the western districts. [Some explain that they work in salt, which is more essential than sugar, and that Mēl Sakkare means superior sugar.] This caste is divided into the Telugu and Karnataka sub-divisions. The latter make earth-salt, while the former work as bricklayers and builders. The well-to-do section of the caste further undertake public works on contract, and some of them are good architects of ordinary Hindu houses, which do not call for much scientific precision. There are also agriculturists and labourers among them.” In the Madras Presidency, at the present day, some members of the caste are well and tank diggers, house-builders or bricklayers; others are agricultural labourers, or village servants. A few are earth-work contractors, or, as at Muthialpet near Conjeeveram, yarn dyers. Some are in the service of Government as police constables. The women are very hard-working, and help their husbands at their work. To this fact is said to be due the high rate at which the bride-price is fixed. The well-kept roads of the city of Madras are the work of a colony of Upparas, who have settled there. The following curious custom is recorded by the Rev. J. Cain in a note12 on the tank-diggers of the Godāvari district. “A disturbance in a little camp of tank-diggers confirmed a statement which I heard at Masulipatam as to the manner in which the tank-diggers divide their wages. They had been repairing the bank of a tank, and been paid for their work, and, in apportioning the shares of each labourer, a bitter dispute arose because one of the women had not received what she deemed her fair amount. On enquiry, it turned out that she was in an interesting condition, and therefore could claim not only her own, but also a share for the expected child. This had been overlooked, and, when she asserted her right to a double portion, those who had already received their money objected to part with any, although they acknowledged that the claim was fair and just.”