Abstract
Abusch and West 2020 examines one compelling indicator of a Mesopotamian origin for the Indic Flood story: the Mahābhārata's misunderstanding of the ancient Near Eastern "seeds of creatures" idiom. The present article extends this discussion by demonstrating that the same misinterpretation played a role in all Sanskrit reflexes of the myth. Part One treats the post-Mahābhārata versions to show that despite the seemingly essential purpose of these "seeds" (bijām) in the perpetuation of life after the cataclysm, their role in the tale became progressively more unclear. Part Two addresses the longstanding assumption that the absence of the bijani in the oldest version of the Indic Flood (Satapatha Brahmana 1.8.1) may contradict the theory of Mesopotamian origin. In fact, the Satapatha does contain an indicator of the "seeds of creatures" misunderstanding. However, it expresses it by aligning the Flood with an earlier Indic myth involving the creation of life from retas (also synonymous for "seed/semen"). This hithertounrecognized continuity supports the consensus that the Indic tale derives from the ancient Near Eastern original.·