Thoughts on Hindu Religion

2011-04-18T13:54:00.001+05:30

navagraha sūkta - śukra

The mantra for śukra comes next after that for aṅgāraka or mars.

indrāṇī and indra are supposed to be the adhidevata and pratyadhidevata for this planetary deity.

Some texts indicate "indramarutva" as the pratyadhidevata for śukra. If this is right, the mantra, "indramarutva iha pāhi somam..." which forms part of the mantra in praise of bṛhaspati (Jupiter) should have been included in this mantra. Once again, this indicates a job not well-done, I feel.

ॐ

ऋषि: - वसिष्ठः मैत्रावरुणिः । छन्दः - त्रिष्टुप् । दॆवता - अग्निः

ருஷி - வஸிஷ்ட: மைத்ராவருணி: | சந்தஸ் - த்ரிஷ்டுப் | தேவதா - அக்னி:

ṛṣi: - vasiṣṭhaḥ maitrāvaruṇiḥ | chandaḥ - triṣṭup | devatā - agniḥ

प्र वः शुक्राय भानवे भरध्वम् हव्यम् मतिं चाग्नये सुपूतम् ।
यॊ दैव्यानि मानुषा जनूँष्यन्तर्विश्वानि विद्मना जिगाति। ऋ. वॆ. ७. ४. १

ப்ரவ:சுக்ராய பானவே பரத்வம் |
ஹவ்யம் மதிம் சாக்நயே ஸுபூதம் |
யோ தைவ்யாநி மாநுஷா ஜநூம் ஷி |
அந்தர்விச்வானி வித்ம நா ஜிகாதி| ரு. வே. ௭. ௪. ௧

pravaśśukrāya bhānave bharadhvam |
havyam matiṃ cāgnaye supūtam |
yo daivyāni mānuṣā janūm̐ ṣi |
antarviśvāni vidma nā jigāti| ṛ. ve. 7. 4. 1

O ṛtviks! prepare pure havis and prayers to that bright and resplendent agni, who reaches verything in this world and in the heavens, knowing their inner essence, and carries the oblations (made into fire) by men to the gods.

Note:

This ṛk has no connection at all with the planet venus (śukra) except the coincidence that the word śukra appears in it. But the meaning of this word śukra in ṛgvedic times was bright, resplendent, etc., and it later morphed into śukḷa in sanskrit - probably after it came to be applied to the planet and its deity. It is actually addressed to agni, as per the traditional records themselves.

This is another proof to show that the concept of navagraha is a very late entrant into hindu religious lore and, the priesthood, unable to find any relevant hymn in the ṛgveda praying to the planetary deity venus, made a hotch-potch "sūkta" so as to convince the ignorant masses that everything is in the vedas.

ऋषिः - इन्द्रः । छन्दः - पङ्क्तिः । दॆवता - इन्द्रः ।

ருஷி - இந்த்ர | சந்தஸ் - பங்க்தி | தேவதா - இந்த்ர: |

ṛṣiḥ - indraḥ | chandaḥ - paṅktiḥ | devatā - indraḥ |

इन्द्राणीमासु नारिषु सुपत्नीमहमश्रवम् ।
नह्यस्या अपरंचन जरसा मरते पतिः । ऋ. वॆ. १०.८६.११

இந்த்ராணீம் ஆஸு நாரிஷு ஸுபத்நீமஹமச்ரவம் |
நஹ்யஸ்யா அபரம்சந ஜரஸா மரதே பதி: |
ரு. வே. ௰.௮௬.௧௧

indrāṇīm āsu nāriṣu supatnīmahamaśravam |
nahyasyā aparaṃcana jarasā marate patiḥ |
ṛ. ve. 10.86.11

This ṛk is part of what the vedic scholars call vṛṣākapi sūkta. In this verse indra admires (extols) indrāṇī . He says, "I have heard that indrāṇī is the most famous among auspicious women; indra is not affected by old age and decay, and he does not die. indra who is the husband of indrāṇī is (therefore) above the entire universe."

ऋषिः - मधुच्छन्दाः वैश्वामित्रः । छन्दः - गायत्री । देवता - इन्द्रः।

ருஷி: - மதுச்சந்தா: வைச்வாமித்ர: | சந்த: - காயத்ரீ| தேவதா - இந்த்ர:|

ṛṣiḥ - madhucchandāḥ vaiśvāmitraḥ | chandaḥ - gāyatrī | devatā - indraḥ|

इन्द्रं वॊ विश्वतस्परि हवामहे जनेभ्यः ।
अस्माकमस्तु केवलः ॥ ऋ. वे. १.७.१०

இந்த்ரம் வோ விச்வதஸ்பரி ஹவாமஹே ஜநேப்ய: |
அஸ்மாகமஸ்து கேவலஃ || ரு. வே. ௧.௭.௰

indraṃ vo viśvataspari havāmahe janebhyaḥ |
asmākamastu kevalaḥ || ṛ. ve. 1.7.10

I invite indra who is above this world, on behalf of all of us.
May he become the most bounteous towards us.

Three ṛks from tarpaṇa mantras for the prapitāmahas

2011-02-12T11:08:00.002+05:30

The three ṛks given below constitute the mantras for the (three) offerings (tarpaṇa) for the prapitāmaha or great grandfathers. These are continuous ṛks and form part of a sūkta in praise of viśvedevas.

"viśvedevas" is a special category among the ṛgvedic deities. Unlike agni, indra, rudra, viṣṇu etc., it is not possible to fix their identity or the exact import of that term. It will take a separate post and, may be, I shall attempt it in future sometime. For the present let us be satisfied with the fact that our scriptures state that the pitṛs can come - in forms invisible to human eyes, of course - only if they are accompanied by the three viśvedevas called purūrava, ārdraka and saṃjñaka.

In ṛgveda the word purūru means far and wide. purūravaḥ means crying much or loudly. There is also the famous king purūravas. Which of these is the inspiration for naming one of the viśvedevas in this way is not clear.

ārdraka means, wet, moist, born under the constellation of ārdrā, the name of a particular king in viṣṇupurāṇa, and, ginger in its undried state (according to āyurveda). May be that is the reason that raw ginger is considered an essential requirement for any śrāddha cooking!

"saṃjñaka" is a word which does not seem to have any meaning; the closest one can say is "one with a name", that is all.

That apart, the verses under consideration appear to me as some of the most appealing verses of the ṛgveda, and can very well be part of one's daily prayers; these can certainly be adopted as the motto by environmentalists, the green peace foundation, etc., as well.

ऋषिः - गॊतमः राहूगणः । छन्दः - गायत्री । देवता - विश्वॆदेवाः ।
मधु वाता ऋतायतॆ मधुक्षरन्ति सिन्धवः ।
माध्वीः नः सन्तु ओषधीः ॥ ऋ. वे. १.९०.६

ṛṣiḥ - gotamaḥ rāhūgaṇaḥ | chandaḥ - gāyatrī | devatā - viśvedevāḥ |

madhu vātā ṛtāyate madhukṣaranti sindhavaḥ |
mādhvīḥ naḥ santu oṣadhīḥ || ṛ. ve. 1.90.6

मधु = sweet, delicious, charming, delightful (in R.V., T.S.)
ऋताय = to wish for sacrifice (सायण), to wish for speech
ऋतय = to observe the sacred law, be regular or proper
वाता = the winds
क्षर् = to flow, to stream
माध्वीः = sweet (R.V.)
ऒषधीः = herbs, plants

May the winds flow sweet according to the sacred law and be regular; may the rivers flow with sweet waters; may the herbs and plants become sweet (tasteful, promoting health) to us.

ऋषिः - गॊतमः राहूगणः । छन्दः - गायत्री । देवता - विश्वॆदेवाः ।

मधु नक्तं उतॊषसो मधुमत् पार्थिवँरजः ।
मधु द्यौरस्तु नः पिता ॥ ऋ. वे. १.९०.७

ṛṣiḥ - gotamaḥ rāhūgaṇaḥ | chandaḥ - gāyatrī | devatā - viśvedevāḥ |
madhu naktaṃ utoṣaso madhumat pārthivam̐rajaḥ |
madhu dyaurastu naḥ pitā || ṛ. ve. 1.90.7

तर्पण मन्त्र book shows उषसि instead of उषसॊ as seen in the ऋग्वेद संहिता.

नक्तः = night/s
उत = and
उषस् = mornings
मधुमत् =sweet, honeyed, pleasant, agreeable
पार्थिव = earthly, terrestrial
रजः = dust, sand
द्यौ = sky
पित् = in ṛgveda this means juice, drink, nourishment, food, but the usage of pitā indicates that the reference is to pitṛ, father.

Make the night(s) sweet (providing good sleep) and the mornings sweet (bringing good days); may the dust of the earth (soil) be sweet (productive, rich); may the sky be sweet (favourable, by giving abundant rains - according to sāyaṇa) to us as father.

ऋषिः - गॊतमः राहूगणः । छन्दः - गायत्री । देवता - विश्वॆदेवाः ।

मधुमान्नो वनस्पतिः मधुमाँ अस्तु सूर्यः ।
माध्वीर्गावो भवन्तु नः ॥ ऋ. वे. १.९०.८

ṛṣiḥ - gotamaḥ rāhūgaṇaḥ | chandaḥ - gāyatrī | devatā - viśvedevāḥ |
madhumānno vanaspatiḥ madhumām̐ astu sūryaḥ |
mādhvīrgāvo bhavantu naḥ || ṛ. ve. 1.90.8

मधुमान् (मधुमत्) = containing, possessing, sweetness : pleasant : agreeable
वनस्पतिः = forest trees
अस्तु = let it be, be it so
माध्वीः = sweet
गावः (plural nominative of गो) = cows
भवन्तु = become
नः = to us

May the trees of the jungle be sweet (useful) to us; may the sun be sweet to us; may the cows become sweet to us.

2011-01-17T19:13:00.002+05:30

In the navagraha sūkta, after āditya comes aṅgāraka or mars, not candra. Hence we may now take up the mantra for aṅgāraka.

The adhidevatā and pratyadhi devatā for aṅgāraka are pṛthvī (the earth) and kṣetrapāla respectively.

kṣetrapāla is a concept of 'protector of the field', the field denoting any area, usually a village. Siva temples have an idol of kṣetrapāla who is depicted as an ugramūrti. There is a belief that "bindumādhava" is the kṣetrapatiḥ of kāśī. (This I remember to have read somewhere, but am not sure.) kṣetrapāla is believed to be an aspect of rudra (bhairava), agni or as an independent deity also.

The first mantra is:

ऋषिः - विरूप आङ्गिरसः ।छन्दः - गायत्री । दॆवता - अग्निः

अग्निर्मूर्धा दिवः ककुत्पतिः पृथिव्या अयम् ।
अपाँ रॆताँसि जिन्वति ॥ --ॠ. वॆ. ८. ४४.१६

ṛṣiḥ - virūpa āṅgirasaḥ |chandaḥ - gāyatrī | devatā - agniḥ

agnirmūrdhā divaḥ kakutpatiḥ pṛthivyā ayam |
apām̐ retām̐si jinvati || --ṝ. ve. 8. 44.16

This agni, who is the greatest of the devas, higher than dyuloka (sky) and ruler of both the dyuloka and the earth, satisfies the moving and unmoving elements (bhūtas).

Note : This is yet another instance of 'some' ṛk being utilised to fulfil the felt need to embellish rituals and prayers with vedic-sounding mantras, without much attention having been given to whether it has any meaning to the purpose for which it is utilised. This mantra (ṛk) has nothing to do with the planet (graha) Mars. agni and aṅgāraka have only the similarity that 'aṅgāra' means charcoal or heated charcoal, besides the probable root ag or ang from which both might have been derived.

Probably, once the texts of the ṛgveda and yajurveda were finalised and subsequently the priests went on inventing new sacrificial and other rites, and and elaborating the existing ones, it became necessary to make do with whatever was available in the already finalised ṛgveda text. So, selections were made if some similarity of words were found, or, sometimes even without regard to such minimum requirements.

ऋषिः - मॆधातिथि काण्व : छन्दः - गायत्री । दॆवता - पृथ्वी

स्यॊना पृथिवि भवानृक्षरा निवॆशनी ।
यछानश्शर्म सप्रथः ॥ --१. २२. १५

ṛṣiḥ - medhātithi kāṇva : chandaḥ - gāyatrī | devatā - pṛthvī

syonā pṛthivi bhavānṛkṣarā niveśanī |
yachānaśśarma saprathaḥ || --1. 22. 15

O bhūmīdevī ! be your wide-spreading, be free from thorns, providing us comfort and expansive shelter.
[The hymn is repeated at the ceremony termed mahānāmnī, at the time of touching the earth].

ऋषिः - वामदॆवः (गौतमः) । छन्दः - अनुष्टुप् । दॆवता - क्षॆत्रपतिः

क्षॆत्रस्य पतिना वयँ हितेनेव जयामसि ।
गामश्वम् पॊषयित्नुवा स नॊ मृडा(ळा)तीदृशॆ ॥ --4. 57. 01

ṛṣiḥ - vāmadevaḥ (gautamaḥ - one view) | chandaḥ - anuṣṭup | devatā - kṣetrapatiḥ

kṣetrasya patinā vayam̐ hiteneva jayāmasi |
gāmaśvam poṣayitnuvā sa no mṛḍā (ḷā) tīdṛśe || --4. 57. 01

Throug the help of kṣetrapatiḥ as our friend (favourably disposed towards us) we conquer the (agricultural) field for the welfare of all living beings. May he bestow upon us cattle, horses, nourishment and with such gifts may he make us happy.

Interesting slokas

2011-01-16T20:39:00.001+05:30

Interesting slokas

भॊ दारिद्र्य नमस्तुभ्यम् सिद्धॊऽहम् त्वत्प्रसादतः ।
पश्याम्यहम् जगत्सर्वम् न माम् पश्यति कश्चन ॥

bho dāridrya namastubhyam siddho:'ham tvatprasādataḥ |
paśyāmyaham jagatsarvam na mām paśyati kaścana ||

This is a satirical verse. The author (poet) thanks his poverty for bestowing 'siddhi' to him, because, though he can see every one, no one seems to notice him - thus, he has, in a way, become invisible, which is a siddhi !!

आशा नाम मनुष्याणाम् काचिदास्चर्यशृङ्खला ।
यया बद्धा प्रधावन्ति मुक्तास्तिष्ठन्ति पङ्गुवत् ॥

āśā nāma manuṣyāṇām kācidāscaryaśṛṅkhalā |
yayā baddhā pradhāvanti muktāstiṣṭhanti paṅguvat ||

In this śloka also, the poet wonders at the seemingly unbelievable scene of those who are bound (by the chain called "desire") running about frantically, while those who have not been so chained, sit calmly as if they are lame (and cannot move) !

navagraha sūkta - mantra for āditya (sun god)

2011-01-16T14:32:00.002+05:30

The navagraha sūkta is an important mantra recited daily by the devout people. Let us start with the first mantra - that for sūrya or āditya. Each of these navagraha mantras is purported to be about the graha or planetary deity (the first mantra) followed by one mantra each for its adhidevatā & pratyadhidevatā respectively. But here also, different sources define the adhidevatā & pratyadhidevatā differently and the mantras do not seem to give any definite picture. 'adhidevatā' means 'supreme or tutelary god or deity'; "pratyadhidevatā" is an adhidevatā who stays in front or near one, here the grahadevatā concerned.

ऋषिः - आंगिरसः हिरण्यस्तूपः । छन्दः - जगती । दॆवता - सविता
ṛṣiḥ - āṃgirasaḥ hiraṇyastūpaḥ | chandaḥ - jagatī | devatā - savitā

आसत्यॆन रजसा वर्तमानो निवॆशयन् अमृतं मर्त्यञ्च ।
हिरण्ययॆन सविता रथॆनाऽऽदॆवो याति भुवना विपश्यन् ॥ ऋ. वॆ. १. ३५. ०२

āsatyena rajasā vartamāno niveśayan amṛtaṃ martyañca |
hiraṇyayena savitā rathenā:':'devo yāti bhuvanā vipaśyan || ṛ. ve. 1. 35. 02

This mantra is found in this way in the taittirīya saṃhitā of ṛgveda but in all other places - samhitas and manuscripts - the word 'ākṛṣṇena’ is used instead of 'āsatyena’.

The initial ā gets linked to yāti in the second line, to make āyāti; that is a characteristic peculiar to samskṛtam !

The meaning of this verse, if we take the word "ākṛṣṇena" is that the sun with his appearance brightens the world which is dark (kṛṣṇa) before its arrival (sunrise). Hence, with the substitution by the word ākṛṣṇena with āsatyena, the meaning will become, "the real world" in the place of 'the dark world'. It is not posssible that in those days when the taittirīya saṃhitā was initially given shape to, there could have been loss of exact words because all the vikṛtis which were referred to in the introduction would have been memorized by many scholars. Hence this is most probably a conscious change made or the reverse may also be equally true, viz., from the original 'āsatyena’ in taittirīya saṃhitā in the earlier period, to 'ākṛṣṇena’ in the later śākhās like ’śākala’ which is the only one that is followed mostly now. ( Incidentally, kindly see the nuance here: whosoever (the ṛṣi of taittirīya saṃhitā) made this change firmly believed this world to be a true or real one. This seems to go contrary to ādiśaṃkara’s advaita. Of course, this is my observation.)

Now, for the meaning in full:

The savitṛ deva appears in the real world everyday, again and again, seated on his golden chariot, traveling through the sky and keeeping the devas and human beings in their respective places, and overseeing and illuminating all the worlds.

The second mantra is-
ऋषिः - काण्वॊ मॆधातिथिः । छन्दः - गायत्री । दॆवता - अग्निः
ṛṣiḥ - kāṇvo medhātithiḥ | chandaḥ - gāyatrī | devatā - agniḥ

अग्निं दूतम् वृणीमहे होतारम् विश्ववेदसम् ।
अस्य यज्ञस्य सुक्रतुम् ॥ --१-१२-०१

agniṃ dūtam vṛṇīmahe hotāram viśvavedasam |
asya yajñasya sukratum || -- 1. 12. 01

agni is considered to be the messenger (dūta) for the devas - and śukra for the asuras - according to the mantra portion of the taittirīya brāhmaṇa - and here the ṛṣiḥ is calling agni - the messenger to the devas as also a mighty lord with sovereignty, supremacy, power, sway, etc. (aiśvaraya), possessor of all wealth and accomplisher of the yajña.

The third mantra is-

यॆषामीशे पशुपतिः पशूनां चतुष्पदां उत च द्विपदाम् ।
निष्क्रीतॊऽयम् यज्ञियम् भागमॆतु रायस्पोषा यजमानस्य सन्तु ॥तैत्तिरिय संहिता (यजुर्वॆद) ३.१.४.४

yeṣāmīśe paśupatiḥ paśūnāṃ catuṣpad ā ṃ uta ca dvipadām |
niṣkrīto:'yam yajñiyam bhāgametu rāyaspoṣā yajamānasya santu ||taittiriya saṃhitā (yajurveda) 3.1.4.4

This mantra appears in atharva veda also as 2. 34. 01 with some changes as under:

य ईशॆ पशुपतिः पशूनां चतुष्पदां उत च द्विपदाम् ।
निष्क्रीतः स यज्ञियं भागमॆतु रायस्पॊषा यजमानं सचन्ताम् ॥

ya īśe paśupatiḥ paśūnāṃ catuṣpadāṃ uta ca dvipadām |
niṣkrītaḥ sa yajñiyaṃ bhāgametu rāyaspoṣā yajamānaṃ sacantām ||

Here, in the atharva veda the details of ṛṣiḥ - chandaḥ - devatā for this mantra are as under (In yajurveda I am not able to find these details):

ऋषिः - अथर्वा । छन्द: - त्रिष्टुप् । दॆवता - पशुपतिः
ṛṣiḥ - atharvā | chanda: - triṣṭup | devatā - paśupatiḥ

The meanings of the two versions are essentially the same despite the small differences in words.

What cattle the lord of cattle ruleth [1],

Both the four-footed and the two-footed.

May he, bought off, go to his sacrificial share;

May abundances of wealth be attached to the sacrificer.'

This forms part of the mantras to be chanted during animal sacrifice as part of the soma sacrifice. It is not clear how this becomes relevant in a prayer to āditya.

sarasvatī sūkta

2011-01-15T18:52:00.004+05:30

The following 3 riks form "sarasvatī sūkta". Some people add one more rik to this, which also I am giving at the end.

ऋषि - मधुच्छन्दा वैश्वामित्रः। छन्द: - गायत्री । दॆवता - सरस्वती

ṛṣi - madhucchandā vaiśvāmitraḥ| chanda: - gāyatrī | devatā - sarasvatī

पावका नस्सरस्वती
वाजेभिर् वाजिनीवती
यज्ञम् वष्टु धियावसुः --१. ०३. १०

pāvakā nassarasvatī
vājebhir vājinīvatī
yajñam vaṣṭu dhiyāvasuḥ --1. 03. 10

May sarasvatī, who purifies, who is bestower of food (havis of the sacrifices), and who also causes the wealth arising out of karma (duty, work), come to our sacrifice with the food to be given to the worshippers.

चोदयित्री सूनृतानाम्
चेतन्ती सुमतीनाम्
यज्ञम् दधे सरस्वती --१. ०३. ११

codayitrī sūnṛtānām
cetantī sumatīnām
yajñam dadhe sarasvatī --1. 03. 11

May sarasvatī who impels people to speak truth, and induces the good people to follow the right path, protect our sacrifices (yajnas).

महो अर्‌णस्सरस्वती
प्र चेतयति केतुना
धियो विश्वा वि राजति --१. ०३. १२

maho ar–ṇassarasvatī
pra cetayati ketunā
dhiyo viśvā vi rājati --1. 03. 12

sarasvatī who in her form of the flowing river gives us plenty of water. She illuminates the intellect of those who perform good deeds (yajnas).

In respect of the above sUktas, sAyaNAcArya says that sarasvatī has two forms, the 'vigraha' and the river; the first and the second riks describe her as vigraha, while the third refers to her nadī form.

The fourth rik which is seen included in 'sarasvatī sūktam' is given below:

ऋषि - भरद्वाजः बार्हस्पत्यः । छन्दः - गायत्री । दॆवता - सरस्वती

ṛṣi - bharadvājaḥ bārhaspatyaḥ | chandaḥ - gāyatrī | devatā - sarasvatī

प्रणो देवी सरस्वती
वाजेभिर्वाजिनीवती
धीनामवित्र्यवतु --६. ६१. ०४

praṇo devī sarasvatī
vājebhirvājinīvatī
dhīnāmavitryavatu --6. 61. 04

May sarasvatī, who is bounteous, giver of plentiful food and guardian of those who meditate on (worship) her, protect (satisfy) us.

The 14 ṛks in this sūkta (6.61) are about sarasvatī. There are about 50 references to sarasvatī in the ṛgveda, it is stated. (http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Vedic_Sarasvati_River).

These references to the (river) sarasvatī are of crucial importance in the debate on Aryan invasion (immigration) theory. Those who support that the vedic Aryans originated in the sub-continent itself, rely on the nadī sūkta (R.V.10.75) viz.,

ऋषि: - सिन्धुक्षित् प्रैयमॆधः । छन्दः - जगती । दॆवता - नद्यः

ṛṣi: - sindhukṣit praiyamedhaḥ | chandaḥ - jagatī | devatā - nadyaḥ

इमम् मे गंगे यमुने सरस्वति
शुतुद्रिस्तोमँ सचता परुष्ण्या
असिक्न्या मरुद्वृधे वितस्त
यार्जीकीये शृणुह्या सुषोमया --१०. ७५. ०५

imam me gaṃge yamune sarasvati
śutudristomam̐ sacatā paruṣṇyā
asiknyā marudvṛdhe vitasta
yārjīkīye śṛṇuhyā suṣomayā --10. 75. 05

Since the rivers are cited from the easternmost (gangA) westwards, those who support the "autochthonous aryan" hypothesis, state that this is ample proof of the aryans having started from the east, near Ganga and going westwards. Those opposed to this view say that this nadī sūkta appears in book X which is one of the late compilations as compared to the "family books" which was mentioned in the introduction, and hence it has to be inferred that the ṛgvedic people did not initially know about Ganga but came to know about it only in later stages, etc. (Of, course these are only part of the argument for and against the ṛgvedic people coming from the NW of India.)

kṛṣṇa in Jainism

2011-01-14T21:17:00.003+05:30

kṛṣṇa in Jainism

kṛṣṇa appears in Jain spiritual lore also. The Jains also have purāṇas just as hindus have. Their rāmāyaṇa is called by them as pauma cariya and kṛṣṇa, baladeva appear in harivamśapurāṇa (not the harivamśa of the hindus). Jains have a class of “śalākā puruṣas”; śalākā in Sanskrit means a piece of bamboo worn by mendicants, with their names marked in the piece, as a kind of credential, and so we may liken the śalākā to the modern id tag. The proper meaning in the Jain context would be heroic or great men. According to the beliefs of Jains there are 63 śalākā puruṣas in each epoch (similar to the ‘yuga’ concept of the hindus) as under:

24 Tirthankaras
12 Chakravartis
9 Vasudevas (Narayans)
9 Prati Vasudevas (Prati Narayans)
9 Baladevas (Balabhadras)
===============================
63 Total

neminātha, the twenty second tīrthaṃkara is the cousin of kṛṣṇa, as per Jain scriptures. There are five royal lineages (kṣatriya vaṃśas) according to Jain purāṇas, viz., puru, kuru, nātha, rudra and hari, while hindus have two prominent vaṃśas - sūrya and candra, while agni vaṃśa is a lesser known third. Both neminātha and kṛṣṇa belonged to the hari vaṃśa. Samudravijaya, father of neminātha (ariṣṭanemi) was the brother of vasudeva, father of kṛṣṇa, sons of the brothers andhakavṛṣṇi (also mentioned as analakavṛṣṇi) and bhojavṛṣṇi, thus making them second cousins. The name ariṣṭanemi (ariṣṭanemā) is also found in quite a few places in Hindu purāṇas, besides the yajurveda, though people may not be familiar.

neminātha was a renunciate and kṛṣṇa regarded him as his superior. According to Jain scriptures, it is stated that kṛṣṇa invariably went and met neminātha whenever the latter visited kṛṣṇa’s country but neminātha, being a renunciate, never did visit his brother.

There is one section of opinion that ghora āṅgirasa mentioned in chāndogya upaniṣad is none other than neminātha (ariṣṭanemi).

This conclusion is based on the fact that the vidyā imparted by ghora āṅgirasa to kṛṣṇa emphasized austerity, charity, uprightness, non-violence and truthful utterances (तपॊ दानमार्जवमहिगँसा सत्यवचनमिति ता अस्य दक्षिणा), which are essentially Jain tenets themselves.

According to Jain belief, ṛṣabhadeva and twenty one other tīrthaṃkaras were born in the ikṣvāku dynasty. The twentieth tīrthaṃkara, munisuvrata, was born in the harivaṃśa dynasty. King vasu was also from harivaṃśa or yādava clan. After a long time there was another great king śauri who was the founder of the famous śauripur town. śauri had two sons andhakavṛṣṇi and bhojavṛṣṇi. andhakavṛṣṇi had ten sons, the eldest was samudravijaya and the youngest vasudeva.

The great soul which was prince śaṃkha in the previous birth descended from the aparājita dimension of gods into the womb of queen śivadevi, wife of king samudravijaya of śauripur (near modern mathurā). The fourteen great dreams of the queen indicated that this being was to become a tīrthaṃkara. On the fifth day of the bright half of the month of śrāvaṇ queen śivadevi gave birth to a son. As per the convention 56 goddesses of the different directions arrived and performed celebrations after the post-birth cleaning.

As the queen had seen in her dreams a disc with ariṣṭa gems, the new-born will be called ariṣṭanemi.

vasudeva, the younger brother of king samudravijaya had two wives. His senior queen rohiṇi had a son named balarāma (padma) and junior queen devaki had a son named śrīkṛṣṇa (kānhā, in prākṛt) . balarāma and śrīkṛṣṇa were the ninth baladeva and vāsudeva.

There were a number of small kingdoms in those days and there were lots of conspiracies among these rulers. kaṃsa and jarāsandha, two cruel kings, were the worst of these. jarāsandha was the prativāsudeva in that cycle. The yādavas desiring peace, and as per astrological advice, went away from śauripur (mathurā) to the far away western coast. śrīkṛṣṇa built the beautiful town named dvāraka there near the raivataka (modern Girnar) mountain. Its architecture was very grand, fortification extremely strong and all these made the city beautiful like heaven and unconquerable. (Here we see some similarity to the ghaṭajātaka narration. Mahābhārata, sabhāparva also gives a similar description about dvāraka. Hence it may be correct to assume that there was at one time a very beautiful and well-defended city on the western coast of India and at least its memory remained in the minds of all these writers, of the Jain harivaṃśa purāṇa, the Buddhist ghaṭajātaka as well as the mahābhārata.)

Among the 9 sets of baladevas and vāsudevas, the most well-known are balarāma and śrīkṛṣṇa. The Jain version of the mahābhārata tells the story of the kauravas and pāṇḍavas and the descendants of śrīkṛṣṇa and balarāma are also described. The kauravas and pāṇḍavas are converted to the Jain religion. Finally the pāṇḍavas also become ascetics and like nemi, or ariṣṭanemi, attain Nirvana. The main battle according to the Jain version is not between pāṇḍavas and kauravas, as related in the Hindu mahābhārata. It is kṛṣṇa’s fight with jarāsandha which is central in the Jain account, and in this pāṇḍavas side with jarāsandha, kṛṣṇa’s enemy.

The Jain story of kṛṣṇa describes his life in a way very similar to the bhāgavatpurāṇa of Hindus – including incidents like cattle-grazing, kāḷiṃgamardana, rukmiṇī haraṇa, satyabhāmāpariṇaya, govardhanoddhāraṇa, kaṃsavadha, etc. (Uttarapurana by Srimad Gunabadhracharya). The character of kṛṣṇa is present in two other Jain canonical works - antakṛddaśaḥ and jñātadharma kathā.

ariṣṭanemi (neminātha), balarāma and kṛṣṇa underwent the religious ceremonies together, according to Jain scriptures. Samudravijaya, neminātha’s father, preached the ancient hymn to his son and neminātha narrated it (the gītā) to kṛṣṇa in the ardhamāgadhī language which was later delivered by śrīkṛṣṇa in the battle field.

Krishna - some thoughts

2011-01-01T21:12:00.005+05:30

Krishna - some thoughts

Krishna is well-known to the Hindus. As Jagannath in Puri, Balaji of Tirupati, Krishna in Guruvayur and Udipi, Vithoba in Pandharpur, Ranchhodji in Dwaraka, Srinathji in Rajasthan, besides innumerable small and big temples all over India, Krishna is worshipped in his diverse forms. However, an impartial enquiry, bereft of religious considerations, into the historicity of Krishna and the development of that personality, whether real or mythical, as the one of the most favourite divinities in Hindu religion, will be an interesting and informative task. A section of indology scholars opines that Krishna might at best have been actually a living hero of the people sometime in the remote past, who, in the course of time, came to be deified by his followers and by favourable turns of circumstances, gradually became the central divinity of the bhagavata cult.

While the word, or name " Krishna" appears in rigveda¹ itself, the reference is not to the Krishna known to us in the Mahabharata. The rishi of VIII. 74 of the rigveda is stated, by the anukramani, as one Angirasa Krishna. The third rik² in that hymn gives the name also.The next reference of Krishna, son of devaki, is found in the chhandogya³ upanishad, in which he is the pupil of sage Ghora Angirasa. Krishna here is an ordinary student undergoing his studentship under the tutor Ghora of the Angirasa gotra. There is no mention about his being a king or his being endowed with superhuman powers as Srimad bhagavata depicts him even in his infancy.

The kausitaki brahmana⁴ also contains a reference to Krishna who is a brahmanacchamseen ('reciting after the brahmana or the brahman’, a priest who assists the brahman or chief priest at a soma sacrifice). Then comes Panini’s ashtadhyayiand the Mahabharata. There is some difference of opinion as to which one of these is earlier. Since ⁵ashtadhyayi 6.2.38 refers to Mahabharata, it may be taken to precede Panini. ⁶ ashtadhyayi 4.3.98 reference is made to Vasudeva and Arjuna.

Ghata Jataka of the Buddhist lore gives a version of Vasudeva⁷, which is very close to the Srimad bhagavata story in regard to the birth of Krishna and killing of kamsa. The account of Krishna’s life in the Jaina text is different from the Hindu version but it gives similar episodes in respect of some of the facets of Krishna well-known to the Hindus. This will be given in the next post.

harivamşa, Srīmad bhãgavata and mahãbhãrata cover, within them the full story of Krishna; other purãn̥ãs like the brahmavaivarta give the story of rãdhã and her love for Krishna as also their dalliance and related incidents. Of these three, mahãbhãrata can be considered as the oldest as it depicts Krishna as a king and astute advisor to the pãn̥davãs. It does not mention his birth or details connected with that or about his childhood and boyhood.

In the mahãbhãrata, kṛṣṇa makes his appearance as an onlooker in the palace of drupada, on the occasion of draupadīswayamvara (wedding of draupadī)⁸. From then onwards he is decisively involved till the end, of himself as also his yādava clan in the mausalaparvan (book 16).

_______________________________________________

¹अवद्रप्सो अम्शुमतीमतिष्ठदीयानः कॄष्णो दशभिस्सहस्रैः ।

आवत्तमिन्द्रश्शच्याधमन्तमपस्नॆहितीर्‌नृनणा अधत्त ॥ RV . VIII. 85.13

द्रप्समपश्यम् विषुणॆ चरन्तमुपह्वरेनद्यॊ अम्शुमत्याः ।

नभोनकृश्णावतस्थिताम्समिवोवृषणो युध्यताजौ ॥ RV. VIII. 85.14

These riks are interpreted as referring to Indra’s killing an asura by name Krishna or as referring to ‘drapsam Krishnam’ – the black drop. In either case the reference in these earliest texts of the Hindu religion is definitely not to any Krishna of the type known in the mahabharata.

² The rik goes as under:-अयम् वा कृष्णो अश्विना हवते वाजिनीवसु । मध्वस्सोमस्य पीतये ॥ VIII. 74.3

³तद्धैतद्घोर आङ्गिरसः कृष्णाय दॆवकीपुत्रायोक्त्वोवाचापिपास एव स बभूव सो/न्तवेलायामेतत्त्रयम्

प्रतिपद्येताक्षितमस्यच्युतमसि प्राणसँशितमसीति तत्रैते द्वे ऋचौ भवतः _Ch.Up. III. 17

Ghora Angirasa expounded this well-known doctrine to Devaki’s son Krishna and said, ‘Such a knower should, at the time of death, repeat this triad – "Thou art the imperishable, Thou art unchangeable, Thou art the subtle essence of Prana". (On hearing the above) he became thirstless. There are these two rik stanzas in regard to this.

Sankara’s commentary explains that by ‘thirst’ what is meant here is ‘thirst for any other knowledge’ (स चैतद्दर्शनम् श्रुत्वापिपास एवान्याभ्यो विद्याभ्यो बभूव).

⁴कृष्णो ह एतद् आङ्गिरसो ब्राह्मणाछम्सीयायै तृतीय सवनम् ददर्श ।

kr̥shn̥ö ha ētad ãngirasö brāhman̥ācchamsīyāyai tr̥ tīya savanam dadarśa / - KB_30.6.23:

⁵महान् व्रीह्यपराह्णगृष्टीष्वासजाबालभारभारतहैलिहिलरौरवप्रवृद्धेषु । 6.2.38

⁶वासुदेवार्जुनाभ्याम् वुन् | 4.3.98

⁷A summary is given in Appendix-01.

⁸ halāyudhastatra ca keśavaś ca; vṛṣṇaṣṇyandhakāś caiva yathā pradhānāḥ
prekṣāṃ sma cakrur yadupuṃgavās te; sthitāś ca kṛṣṇasya mate babhūvuḥ

_M. Bh. 1.178.8

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Appendix-01

http://threeroyalwarriors.tripod.com/id11.html

Ghata Jataka No. 454 (translation by Prof. E.B. Cowell from the Pali Text Society, copyright expired) Slight modifications made by me.

The Buddhist story of Krishna

Once upon a time, a king named mahākaṃsa reigned in uttarāpatha, in the kamsa district, in the city of asitāñjanā. He had two sons, kamsa and upakamsa, and one daughter named devagabbhā. On her birthday the brahmins who foretold the future said of her: “A son born of this girl will one day destroy the country and the lineage of kamsa.” The king was too fond of the girl to put her to death; but leaving her brothers to settle it, lived his days out, and then died. When he died, kamsa became king, and upakamsa was viceroy. They thought that there would be an outcry were they to put their sister to death, so resolved to give her in marriage to none, but to keep her husbandless, and watch; and they built a single round-tower, for her to live in.

devagabbhā had a servant-woman named nandagopā, and the woman’s husband, andhakaveṇu, was the servant who kept watch on the princess. A king named mahāsāgara reigned in Upper mathurā, and he had two sons, sāgara and upasāgara. On mahāsāgara’s death, sāgara became king and upasāgara was viceroy. upasāgara was upakamsa’s friend and trained by the same teacher. Once when upasāgara had a clandestine love affair with one woman in his brother’s harem, and was detected, he escaped to upakamsa in the kamsa kingdom. upakamsa introduced him to king kamsa, and the king bestowed great honor to him.

upasāgara while waiting upon the king observed the tower where dwelt devagabbhā and on coming to know of her fate, fell in love with the girl. devagabbhā also saw him once as he went with upakamsa to wait upon the king. She asked who that was and being told by nandagopā that it was upasāgara, son of the great king mahāsāgara, she too fell in love with him. upasāgara gave a present to nandagopā, the servant-woman, and requested her to arrange a meeting for him with devagabbhā. nandagopā agreed and told the princess about it. devagabbhā being already in love with him, agreed at once. One night nandagopā arranged a secret rendez-vous, and brought upasāgara up into the tower; and there he stayed with devagabbhā. Due to such secret meetings devagabbhā conceived. In course of time her pregnancy became public, and the brothers kaṃsa and upakaṃsa questioned nandagopā. She made them promise her pardon, and then told the truth. The kamsa brothers thought, that they could not put their sister to death, and that if she bears a daughter, it could be spared but if it was a son, they would kill it. So they gave devagabbhā in marriage to upasāgara.

devagabbhā delivered a daughter. The brothers named the child añjanā and also allotted the village govaddhamāna. upasāgara and devagabbhā lived in the village of govaddhamāna.

devagabbhā concived again, and that very day nandagopā also conceived. Both of them delivered on the same day, devagabbhā a son and nandagopā a daughter. Since devagabbhā was afraid that her son might be put to death by her brothers, she sent her child secretly to nandagopā, and received nandagopā’s daughter in return. They told the brothers of the birth of a daughter. The kamsa brothers allowed the daughter to be brought up. In the same way devagabbhā bore ten sons, and nandagopā ten daughters. The sons lived with nandagopā and the daughters with devagabbhā, and the secret was known only to devagabbhā, nandagopā, andhakaveṇu and upasāgara.

The sons of devagabbhā were named vāsudeva, baladeva, caṇḍadeva, sūryadeva, aggideva (agnideva), varuṇadeva, ajjuna (arjuna), pajjuna (parjanya?), ghaṭapaṇḍita, and aṃkura, respectively. They grew up as the sons of andhakaveṇu the watcher, and were called the Ten Slave-Brothers.

The brothers grew to become big, very strong, fierce and ferocious, and then they went about plundering, even daring to plunder a present being conveyed to the king. The people complained to the king about the atrocities of the Ten Brothers. The king summoned andhakaveṇu, and rebuked him for permitting his sons to plunder. When the complaint was made three or four times, the king threatened him. andhakaveṇu, now being in fear of his life, craved a boon of safety from the king, and told the entire secret, that how these were not his sons, but of upasāgara and devagabbhā. The king was alarmed and consulted his courtiers as to how these ten fellows could be cought. The courtiers advised the king that since they were wrestlers, a wrestling match should be held in the city, and as soon as they entered the wrestling ring, they could be cought and put to death. So they sent for two wrestlers, cāṇūra muṭṭika, and caused a proclamation to be made throughout the city by beat of drum, that on the seventh day there would be a wrestling match.

cāṇūra muṭṭika went down into the ring, and strutted about, jumping, shouting and clapping their hands. The Ten Slave Brothers also came. On their way they plundered the washer men’s street, and clad themselves in robes of bright colors, and stealing perfume from the perfumers’ shops, and bouquets of flowers from the florists, with their bodies all anointed, garlands upon their heads, earrings in their ears, they strutted into the ring, jumping, shouting, clapping their hands.

As cāṇūra was walking about and clapping his hands baladeva seeing him, thought, “I won’t touch you fellow with my hand!” so catching up a thick strap from the elephant stable, jumping and shouting he threw it round cāṇūra’s belly, and joining the two ends together, brought them tight, then lifting him up, swung him round over his head, and dashing him on the ground rolled him outside the arena. And cāṇūra was dead, the king sent for muṭṭika. baladeva smote him, and crushed his eyes; and as muṭṭika cried out ---“I’m no wrestler! I’m no wrestler!” baladeva tied his hands together, saying,”wrestler or no wrestler, it is all the same to me,” and dashing him down on the ground, killed him and threw him also outside the arena.

muṭṭika in his death-throes, uttered a prayer -“May I become a goblin, and devour him!” And he became a goblin, in a forest called by the name of kālmaṭṭiyā. The king ordered the ten brothers to be taken away but just then vāsudeva threw a wheel, which lopped off the heads of the two brothers (i.e. kamsa and upakamsa). The terrified crowd, fell at the feet of vāsudeva, and prayed to him to be their protector.

Thus the Ten brothers, having slain their two uncles, assumed the sovereignty of the city of asitāñjanā, and brought their parents there.

They now set out, intending to conquer all of jambūdvīpa. In a while they arrived at the city of ayojjhā (ayodhyā), the seat of king kālasena. They encircled it and destroyed the jungle around it, breached the wall and took the king prisoner, and took the sovereignty of the place into their hands. From ayojjhā they proceeded to dvāravatī (dvārakā) which

had the sea on one side and mountains on the other. It was believed that the place was haunted by goblin. A goblin would be stationed on the watch, who on seeing his enemies, would take the shape of an ass would bray. At once, by magic of the goblin, the whole city would rise in the air, fly and deposit itself on an island in the midst of the sea. When the foe was gone, the city would come back and settle in its own place again. This time, as usual, no sooner the ass saw those Ten Brothers coming, than he took the shape of an ass and brayed. Up rose the city in the air, and settled upon the island. Since the brothers could not see any city and turned back and then back came the city to its own place again. They returned to attack – again the ass did as before. They could not conquer the city of dvāravatī (dvārakā).

So they visited kanhādīpāyana (kṛṣṇadvaipāyana in pāli), told him about their failure and asked his advice. He said that in a certain ditch an ass would be found and that that the ass would bray on seeing an enemy, and immediately the city rose in the air. They should clasp hold of his feet (i.e. beseech him), and that is the way to accomplish their end. When they held the feet of the ass and prayed to it not to bray, the ass replied that it could not but bray, but if four of them brought large iron posts into the grounds at the four city gates and fasten them with strong iron chain to four great iron hooks fixed on to the city walls, the city will not rise. When they did the way the ass suggested, they were able to enter the city. They then killed the king and conquered dvāravatī (dvārakā).

Thus they conquered all of jambūdvīpa, and in “three and sixty thousand” cities they slew by the wheel all the kings, and lived at dvāravatī (dvārakā), dividing the kingdom into ten shares. But they had forgotten their sister, the añjanā. So they thought of dividing their kingdom into eleven shares. aṃkura , the youngest of the brothers asked that his share might be given to their sister and that he would take to business on condition that his taxes would be remitted. They consented, and gave his share to his sister; and with her the nine of them dwelt in dvāravatī (dvārakā), while aṃkura embarked on trade.

In course of time, they were all begat sons and daughters; and after a long time had gone by, their parents died. At that period, they say that man’s life was twenty thousand years.

At that time one son of the great king vāsudeva. The king, half dead with grief, neglected everything, and lay lamenting, and clutching the frame of his bed. Then ghaṭapaṇḍita thought to himself, “Except me, no one else will be able to soothe my brother’s grief; I will find some means of soothing his grief for him.” So assuming the appearance of madness, he paced through the whole city, gazing up at the sky, and crying out, “Give me a hare! Give me a hare!” All the city was excited: “ghaṭapaṇḍita has gone mad!” they said. Just then a courtier named rohiṇeyya, went to the king vāsudeva, and reported the matter. Vāsudeva immediately went to ghaṭapaṇḍita and assured him that whatever type of hare (made of gold, jewels, silver, brass, shell or coral) he desired and not to go about raving for a lost hare. ghaṭapaṇḍita replied that what he wanted was the hare on the moon. Vāsudeva advised his brother that he would die but would not be able to achieve his wish. Thereupon, ghaṭapaṇḍita asked vāsudeva that his grieving for his lost son is worse because whereas the hare on the moon is at least visible, the dead son has been lost from wight as well.

Vāsudeva thus becomes wise and realizes that grieving over the dead is not a solution to anything and he thanks ghaṭapaṇḍita for his enlightening him.

And lastly vāsudeva praises his brother:

Thus do the merciful, and thus they who are wise indeed:

They free from pain, as Ghata here his eldest brother freed.”

In this manner was VAsudeva consoled by Prince Ghata.

After the lapse of a long time, during which they ruled their kingdom, the sons of the Ten Brothers thought: “They say that kanhādīpāyana possesses divine insight. Let us put him to a test.” So they procured a young lad, and dressed him up as a woman, and by binding a pillow about his belly, made it appear as though he were with child. Then they brought him into kanhādīpāyana’s presence, and asked him, “When, Sir, will this woman deliver?” The ascetic perceived that the time had come for the destruction of the ten royal brothers; then, looking to see what the term of his own life should be, he perceived that he must die that very day. Then he said, “Young sirs, what is this man to you?” “Answer us,” they replied persistently. He answered, “This man on the seventh day from now will bring forth a knot of acacia wood. With that he will destroy the line of vāsudeva, even though you should take the piece of wood and burn it, and cast the ashes into the river.” “Ah, false ascetic!” said they, “a man can never bring forth a child!” and they did the rope and string business, and killed him at once. The kings sent for the young men, and asked them why they had killed the ascetic. When they heard all, they were frightened. They set a guard upon the man; and when on the seventh day he voided from his belly a knot of acacia wood, they burnt it, and cast the ashes into the river. The ashes floated down the river, and stuck on one side by a postern gate; from thence sprung an eraka plant.

One day, the kings proposed that they should go for water-sport. They happened to come to the same postern gate; and they caused a great pavilion to be made, and in that gorgeous pavilion they ate and drank. Then in sport they began to catch hold of hand and foot, and dividing into two parts, they became quarrelsome. At last one of them, finding nothing better for a club, picked a leaf from the eraka plant, which even as he plucked it became a club of acacia wood in his hand. With this he beat many people. Then the others plucked also, and the things as they took them became clubs, and with them they cudgeled one another until they were killed. As these were destroying each other, four only – Vasudeva, Baladeva, the lady Anjana their sister and the chaplain—mounted a chariot and fled away; the rest perished, every one.

Now these four, fleeing away in the chariot, came to the forest of kālmaṭṭiyā. There muṭṭika the wrestler had been born, having become a goblin according to his prayer on death bed. When he perceived the coming of baladeva, he created a village in that spot with his goblin magic; and taking the semblance of a wrestler, he went jumping about, and shouting, “who’s for a fight?” snapping his fingers the while. baladeva, as soon as he saw him, said to vāsudeva, “Brother, I’ll try a fall with this fellow.” vāsudeva tried his best to prevent him; but down he got from the chariot, and went up to him, snapping his fingers. The other just seized him in the hollow of his hand, and gobbled him up like a radish-bulb. vāsudeva, perceiving that baladeva was dead, went on all night long with his sister and the chaplain, and at sunrise arrived at a frontier village of his kingdom. He lay down in the shelter of a bush, and sent his sister and the chaplain into the village, with orders to cook some food and bring it to him. A huntsman(his name was jarā, or Old Age) noticed the bush shaking. “A pig, sure enough,” thought he; he threw a spear, and pierced his feet. “Who has wounded me?” cried out vāsudeva. The huntsman, finding that he had wounded a man, set off running in terror. The king, recovering his wits, got up, and called the huntsman—“Uncle, come here, don’t be afraid!” When he came – “Who are you?” asked vāsudeva. “My name is jarā, my lord.” “Ah,” thought the king, “whom Old Age wounds will die, so the ancients used to say. Without doubt I must die today.” Then he said, “Fear not, Uncle; come, bind up my wound.” The mouth of the wound bound up, the King let him go. Great pains came upon him; he could not eat the food that the others brought. Then addressing himself to the others, “vāsudeva said: “This day I am to die. You are delicate creatures, and will never be able to learn anything else for a living; so learn this science from me.” So saying, he taught them a science, and let them go; and then died immediately.

Thus excepting the añjanā, everyone perished, it is said.

"ekam sadviprā bahudhā vadanti"

2010-12-28T11:55:00.003+05:30

One of the ṛks which has been made popular by the part message contained in it viz., "ekam sadviprā bahudhā vadanti", or, What exists is one (it is one in reality) but the knowers speak (of it) in various ways, which is also interpreted to mean "the reality is one...".

This forms part of the ṛk 1.164.46. The sūkta (1.164) itself is a very famous one going by the name "asyavāmīya sūkta" since it starts with the words, " asya vāmasya palitasya hotuḥ". The ṛṣi for this long sūkta of 52 ṛks is held to be "dīrghatamas ", meaning 'very deep, or very prolonged darkness'. This name itself has some mystery about it, it appears. Commentaries have been written separately on this single sūkta and most experts in ṛgveda are of the opinion that the ṛks in this sūkta have deeper, encrypted meanings of different levels, than the apparent ones.

Now, for the particular ṛk no.46. Since a part of this ṛk has attained very great fame, I give below the two previous ṛks also, in order that we may get some idea of the immediate context in which it occurs:-

ऋषिः - दीर्घतमाः औचथ्य: । छन्दः - जगती । दॆवता - अग्निसूर्यवायवः (४४); वाक् (४५); सम्वत्सर-कालचक्रम् (४६)

ṛṣiḥ - dīrghatamāḥ aucathya: | chandaḥ - jagatī | devatā - agnisūryavāyavaḥ (44); vāk (45); samvatsara-kālacakram (46)

त्रयः कॆशिन ऋतुथाविचक्षते

संवत्सरे वपत एक एषाम्

विश्वम् एको अभिचष्टे शचीभिर्

ध्राजिर् एकस्य ददृशे न रूपम् --१. १४६. ४४

trayaḥ keśina ṛtuthāvicakṣate

saṃvathsare vapata eka eṣām

viśvam eko abhicaṣṭe śacībhir

dhrājir ekasya dadṛśe na rūpam --1. 164. 44

Note :

This ṛk refers to three kinds of forces; sāyaṇa refers to them as agni, āditya and vāyu. From their descriptions given in the ṛk, these names look appropriate, but let us note that the ṛṣi himself has not ascribed any specific names to them.

“Three long-haired ones appear periodically during the year. One (of them) shaves this world, another graciously looks upon and strengthens, while the third is not visible but for its flow and course.”

The above is the most literal meaning of this ṛk. sāyaṇa infers the reference to the “three long-haired ones” to agni (which burns up a lot and thus can be said to "shave" the earth), āditya (who gives light and creates growth due to rains) while the third, viz., vāyu, is not visible but can only be inferred from its gliding and sweeping course. This description may fit agni whose flames may be looked upon as its hair, and āditya whose rays are usually compared to hair. But how vāyu is called ‘keśin’ is unclear, obviously when it is said to be 'invisible' (dadṛśe na rūpam). Apparently, this is illogical.

चत्वारि वाक् परिमिता पदानि

तानि विदुर् ब्राह्मणा यॆ मनीषिणः

गुहा त्रीणि निहिता नेंगयंति

तुरीयम् वाचो मनुष्या वदंति --१. १६४. ४५

catvāri vāk parimitā padāni

tāni vidur brāhmaṇā ye manīṣiṇaḥ

guhā trīṇi nihitā neṃgayaṃti

turīyam vāco manuṣyā vadaṃti --1. 164. 45

"vāk" here can be taken to mean 'words' or ‘speech’. This ṛk says that there are four kinds of words/speech, of which three are secret and hence not open. Human beings speak the fourth type of vāk.

sāyaṇa himself says that human beings, both the knowledgeable and the ignorant, (अज्ञास्तज्ञाश्च) speak the fourth category of words. He goes on to say that "about which are the four kinds of vāk, many people describe according to their opinion". vedavādins say that the praṇava (aum) and the three vyāhṛtis- bhūḥ bhuvaḥ suvaḥ - constitute the four categories. Some others go by grammatical categories like nāma, ākhyāta, etc. Yet others link it to the tonal differences like those pronounced with loud voice, low voice, etc. yājñika, kalpa, brāhmaṇa and day-to-day speech is what some others define as the four classes. The language of animals, flute, and deer (पशुषु, तूणवॆषु, मृगॆषु) as well as humans, hold the ātmavādins. Those who adopt the mātṛkā system opine that the four classes of vāk are parā , paśyanti, madhyamā and vaikharī .

इन्द्रम् मित्रम् वरुणम् अग्निम् आहु-

रथो दिव्यस्ससुपर्णो गरुत्मान्

एकम् सद् विप्रा बहुधा वद

न्त्यग्निम् यमम् मातरिश्वानमाहुः --१. १६४. ४६

indram mitram varuṇam agnim āhu-

ratho divyassasuparṇo garutmān

ekam sad viprā bahudhā vada

ntyagnim yamam mātariśvānamāhuḥ --1. 164. 46

This is the ṛk with which this post was begun. It means:

That winged divine (bird) is one but those who are adepts about the devatās and their nature, call it by different names such as indra, mitra, varuṇa, agni, yama, mātariśvan, etc.

sāyaṇa says the winged divine bird here refers to āditya. And the wise ones who have knowledge of dEvatas, attribute to this one and only āditya, various names like mitra (because he saves one from death and is the deity of day(pramītermaraṇāttrātaram aharabhimāninam etannāmakam devam), varuṇa because he removes sins and is the deity of night (pāpasya nivārakam rātryabhimāninam devam), agni because he holds court (अग्निम् अङ्गनादि गुणविशिष्टम् एतन्नामकम्), yama because he controls (the life?), mātariśvan because he breathes in the form of vāyu.

There is indication of the identity of the variously named devatās as the one āditya. Perhaps this ṛk reflects the time when sun worship was very much in vogue (as was the case in ancient Egypt).

However sāyaṇa himself admits this ṛk having been interpreted to suit the needs of advaita, in these words:

सूर्यस्य ब्रह्मणॊऽनन्यत्वेन सर्वात्म्ययुक्तम् भवति । अत्र ये के चिदग्निः सर्वा देवता इत्यादि श्रुतितोऽयम् एव अग्निरुत्तरे अपि ज्योतिषी इति मत्वा अग्नेरेव सर्वात्म्यप्रतिपादिकॊऽयम् मन्त्र इति वदंति ।

sūryasya brahmaṇo:'nanyatvena sarvātmyayuktam bhavati | atra ye ke cidagniḥ sarvā devatā ityādi śrutito:'yam eva agniruttare api jyotiṣī iti matvā agnereva sarvātmyapratipādiko:'yam mantra iti vadaṃti |

Because sūrya, being identical to brahman, becomes connected to all ātmas. Thus whichever 'agni' is stated to be the same as all devatās by this śruti, later on also, considering it as the luminous (one), it is said that only agni is meant as the representative of all devatās in this mantra.

(This is my translation. So if knowledgeable readers find any errors or inconsistencies, kindly point out so that I can carry out necessary corrections.)

Thus, it is by a derived meaning that the "ekam sad viprā bahudhā vadanti" which originally aimed at proclaiming the unity of various deities, came to be used to prove the unity of the brahman and the ātman. It appears to me that in the ṛgvEda, the word ' ātman' is not used to denote the same thing (jeevātma, which transmigrates, experiences the results of its karma and is held identical to the absolute brahman) as the upanishads do, and subsequently in the vedānta; it means the essential principle of life which, on the physical body becoming lifeless, migrates to other worlds like pitṛloka, and is not seen as identical with the hiraṇyagarbha, the primordial egg, or with the trimūrtis.

Interpretation of vedas

2010-12-27T14:01:00.002+05:30

Interpretation of vedas

It may be useful and necessary to learn something about ‘vedic interpretation’. (In the following, the reference is mainly to ṛgveda even though the plural form is used; in regard to interpreting the other vedas also there are difficulties to more or less the same extent.)

Learned people who specialize in studying and interpretation of the vedas, opine that it is a task beset with many difficulties. Even yāska, the author of nirukta, refers to differing interpretations of words and passages in the vedas. This goes to show that right from such ancient times, eliciting the correct meaning which was intended to be conveyed by the composers of the veda, had become a difficult job. yāska also criticizes people who learn the vedas merely by rote without any understanding of their meaning. Thus, while on the one hand we, today, can take credit for the efforts of the Brahmins for preserving the vedas with even their intonations intact for millennia, through the system of oral transmission, on the other, we have to accept gross failure on the part of brahmins because this ‘intact transmission’ was mostly through the creation of ‘memorizing robots’ and hardly any emphasis or effort was put into passing on the correct interpretation of the vedas. It is relevant to note, in this connection, that even today we give more importance to “pārāyaṇa” (reading) than to “adhyayana” (learning), be it veda, bhāgavata, rāmāyaṇa, or anything else. Mostly the ‘learning’ efforts today are also confined to cultivating the ability to read aloud uninterrupted, from the book.

yāska’s nirukta is the oldest available ‘guide’ to understand the meaning of veda, though he mentions an earlier grammarian Śākaṭāyana; the work of this Śākaṭāyana is lost to us. The nirukta lists hundreds of words as those with obscure meaning. Hence even as early as yāska’s time, the continuity in transmission of the correct meaning of the vedas had been lost, it would appear.

ṛgveda VII.103, which is known as the "maṇḍūka sūktam" (frog hymn) makes an interesting, satirical observation between the croaking of frogs with the advent of the rainy season, and the brāhmaṇas; it says that "When one of these repeats the other's language, as he who learns the lesson of the teacher...". We may infer from this that even during the period of composing of this hymn, the situation regarding teaching/learning of the veda had already degenerated into one of learning by rote the mere repetition of the words and the sounds.

In this context it may be relevant to note the probable antiquity in my view (not accepted by the scholarly world):

In any discussion of the hoary past of the vedic people or avestans, we should also take into account the excavations at Nemrut Dag, Goebekli tepe, Nevali Cori, etc., in Turkey and the find of a statue of a (priest's) head with a śikhā, in the remains from those excavations. This shows, in my opinion, that some culture or civilization very similar to the brahmanic one, flourished in Anatolia even much before (c.7500 BCE) the generally assumed date of the vedas viz., 2000 BCE. Also, it is interesting to note that, as per experts, the Nevali Cori people seem to have deliberately covered their complex with soil, perhaps to preserve it for posterity! It was not destroyed or abandoned as in IVC.

It looks to me, therefore, that the seeds of the vedic tradition must have begun in very early periods around Anatolia regions and spread to the Mitanni and Hittite kingdoms, as evidenced by the Kikkuli documents on horse training. From there it could have spread eastwards to the present day Iran/Afghanistan where, most probably, one set of people started giving more attention to image or totem worship while the orthodox group probably stuck to their old fire worship steadfastly. This became a point of conflict and the totem-worshippers spread further east to the Punjab, may be by osmosis and not by invasion as was held by the ninteenth century indologists. One reason for our ancestors holding the view that the vedas are "anādi" and "apauruṣeya" might be the fact that they had only some hazy ideas about the dim past of their culture but were not able to have any clear picture about those times or areas, IMO. So, just as children's stories start with the phrase, "Once long ago, in a certain country...", they said this was beginningless (we don't know when it started) and not man-made (we don't know who composed these and when or how these were composed).

This totem worship hypothesis can be found in the book, "The Hymns of Atharvan Zarathustra" by Shri Jatindra Mohan Chatterji, M.A. and published by the Parsi Zoroastrian Association, Calcutta, 1967.”

In ṛgveda itself there is evidence for idol worship, though indirect. In RV 4. 24. 10 the bard asks who will purchse his (the bard's) "indra" in exchange for ten cows and adds that as soon as the purchaser is able to destroy his enemies (with the help of the said "indra") it should be returned to the bard himself. This can only be a reference to an idol or aome such item which was considered to represent "indra".

From ancient times, people have been trying to interpret the vedas according to their point of view, thus creating different branches/systems/schools of vedic interpretation:

1. yājñika – This school gives the ritualistic interpretation,
2. aitihāsika – Gives the traditional or historical implications.
3. nairukta – The etymological aspects are the main focus of this school.
4. parivrājaka – The mystic interpretation of Vedas.
5. vaiyākaraṇa – Grammatical aspects.
6. naidāna – Juridical aspects.

yāska refers to one kautsa whose opinions, as gleaned from yāska’s work, seems to have been that the vedas contain no meaning at all and are, therefore, worthless. From this, one can see that the doubt about the importance or even relevance of the vedas is as old as the vedas themselves, perhaps! It is also quite likely, though there is no evidence to prove it, that such doubts, which must have been held by a limited few in the beginning, came to be expressed by increasing numbers, from which the ājīvikā sect arose - a sect of naked, wandering ascetics, who decried the vedas and rituals – founded by makkhali gosala, who was a rival to both mahāvīra and buddha in their lifetime. (gosala is also mentioned as one of the teachers of buddha.) The lokāyata of cārvāka might owe its origin to such earlier opinions.

In addition to the dimensions given above, there are also vedic verses which are like riddles. A good example is the undernoted one:

चत्वारि शृङ्गात्रयो अस्यपादा
द्वेशीर्षे सप्तहस्तासो अस्य
त्रिधा बद्धो वृषभोरोरवीति
महो देवो मर्त्यँ आविवॆश--ऋग्वेद ४. ५८. ०३

catvāri śṛṅgātrayo asyapādā
dveśīrṣe saptahastāso asya
tridhā baddho vṛṣabhororavīti
maho devo martyam̐ āviveśa --ṛgveda 4. 58. 03

The ritualistic meaning of this verse, following sāyaṇa’s commentary is as follows:

agni, the great power pervading yajña, who has the four Vedas as heads, three legs in the form of the three ‘savanas’ (libations in yajñas in the morning, noon and evening), two heads, viz., the havis (food) & prāvargya (a ceremony introductory to the soma sacrifice - at which fresh milk is poured into a heated vessel called mahāvīra or gharma, or into boiling ghee – or the large earthenware pot used in the prāvargya ceremony), the seven chandases beginning with gāyatrī, and who is ‘bound’ thrice, by mantras, brāhmaṇas and kalpas, has entered into the humans.

(This interpretation suffers from a serious logical error, IMO, because the ṝṣi could not have visualized the division of the entire vedic corpus into four distinct vedas.)

Other schools (of vedic interpretation) have also made their own deductions but the verse still remains a riddle!

2010-12-26T14:19:00.001+05:30

modes of recital of vedas (pāṭha:):

There are two main modes for veda - nirbhuja and pratṝṇa - nirbhuja (or samhitā pāṭha) means without arms; it is reciting the entire veda without any break, from start to end. pratṝṇa means pada pATha, each pada or word is pronounced clearly and separately.

eg., अग्निम् ईळे, पुरोहितम्, यज्ञस्य, देवम्, ऋत्विजम्....and so on.
(agnim īḷe, purohitam, yajñasya, devam, ṛtvijam....)
The ending 'm' is not pronounced as m but halfway between ma & mu.

By combining the above two modes, a third mode called "krama" or 'kramasamhita' has been created. It will be like:
अग्निम् ईळे, ईळे पुरोहितम्, पुरोहितमिति पुरः हितम्
agnim īḷe, īḷe purohitam, purohitamiti puraḥ hitam

vikṛtis:
(विकृति - विकृतयः - plural) :

The samhita is the natural form - prakṛti - of the veda. From this 8 main vikṛtis have been created. These vikṛtis (or deformations) help to prevent mistakes. The eight vikṛtis are:-

1. जटा - jaṭā
2. माला - mālā
3. शिखा - śikhā
4. लॆखा, रॆखा - lekhā, rekhā
5. ध्वज - dhvaja
6. दण्ड - daṇḍa
7. रथ - ratha
8. घन - ghana

The words of the ṛk or sometimes even a whole sūkta are committed to memory in different orders. For example if the words are 1,2,3,4,5,6, the arrangements for pañcasandhi ghanapāṭha (पञ्चसन्धि घनपाठ) will be:

1-2, 2-2, 2-1, 1-1, 1-2

1-2, 2-1, 1-2, 3; 3 –2-1, 1-2-3

2-3, 3-3, 3-2, 2-2, 2-3,

2-3, 3-2, 2-3- 4. 4-3-2, 2-3-4

3-4, 4-4, 4-3, 3-3, 3-4

3-4, 4-3 , 3-4 –5 , 5- 4-3, 3-4-5

4-5, 5-5, 5-4, 4 –4, 4-5

4-5, 5-4, 4-5 –6 ; 6-5-4, 4-5-6

This is the most difficult of all the vikṛtis. And one who has mastered this pāṭha for the veda is called ghanapāṭhi.

This apparently extra-ordinary obsession with the permutations & combinations in word-rendering reveals the analytical or scientific genius of our ancients which they put to use in ensuring the transmission of the vedas without any mistake in its word structure as well as intonation, to the future generations. An instance was the yajurveda mantra which goes as "natasya pratimā asti..." giving two derivations viz., na tasya pratimā asti... (His idol is not there.) or, "natasya pratimā asti..." (The idol of the one who bowed down is not there.) Both sides argued in favour of their interpretation till the arbitrator asked for the ghanapāṭha whence it became clear that the right rendering was "na + tasya" and not 'natasya'.

Note:
1. The mention of 'na tasya' brings to mind the way most people recite the verse containing these words in śivakavacam - phalaśruti, which goes as follows:

yaḥ sadā dhārayenmartyaḥ śaivam kavacam uttamam |
na tasya jāyate kāpi bhayam śambhoranugrahāt ||

Most people blissfully pronounce it as one word "natasya" because of ignorance. If there was some insight the two words would be pronounced with a very brief pause like 'na tasya'.

2. Despite all the precautions (described above), taken by our ancients, the horrible "satī" came to be practised, reportedly, on the basis of changing one word "agre" to "agne" in RV 10-18-08. It was probably done deliberately.

2010-12-25T13:25:00.003+05:30

ṛgveda :

ṛgveda (RV) as commonly spoken of today refers to the "śākala śākhā" (शाकल शाखा) or śākala branch. In olden times there were five branches of RV viz., śākala, bāṣkala, āśvalāyana, sāṃkhyāyana (kauṣītaki) and māṇḍūkyāyana. There were no material differences between them except arrangement of riks and sūktas and some riks being omitted in one or the other branch. Most probably these differences could have arisen due to human inabilities during the millennia of oral transmission of the veda/s, and for reasons not known, the system of oral transmission in four out of the five branches disappeared almost completely; only the śākala śākhā is currently known well and has been taken as the vulgate text. We have been able to get an enormous amount of knowledge, analysis, criticism etc., based on this version, and to a less limited extent, from comparison of the five different branches.

RV - the śākala version - has 10 maṇḍalas (books) and 1017 sūktas which together contain 10472 ṛks (verses); there is also another method of looking at RV as divided into 8 aṣṭakas, 64 adhyāyas, 85 anuvākas in which the 1017 sūktas are divided. There are 1,93,816 words in the RV.

Note : There is some difference in the total number of sūktas and ṛks given by between various authorities. It is because some portions known as 'vālakhilyas or bālakhilyas ’, a collection of 11 (according to some only 6 or 8) hymns of the ṛgveda (commonly inserted after VIII - 48, but numbered separately as a supplement by some editors .

Of the ten maṇḍalas or books of RV, books 2 to 7 are called "Family Books" by scholars because the sūktas in each of these maṇḍalas are ascribed to rishis of one particular lineage, as shown below:

maṇḍala-2 gṛtsamada
maṇḍala-3 viśvāmitra
maṇḍala-4 vāmadeva
maṇḍala-5 atri
maṇḍala-6 bhāradvāja
maṇḍala-7 vasiṣṭha

Book 1 is older than Books 8, 9 and 10. These books were not composed by a distinct family of ṛṣis each, but by different individual ṛṣis. Books 1 and 8 are almost like Family Books as a majority of the hymns are composed by the family of kāṇvās and many hymns are found in both the Books. Book 9 is different from the rest and all the hymns therein are addressed to Soma (while not a single hymn is addressed to Soma in the Family Books) and by groups of ṛṣis. Book 10 is a collection of various earlier and later hymns.It appears to be of a later origin and of a supplementary character. The Books 1 and 10 are the longest Books together accounting for about 40 percent of the bulk of the Rig Veda.

Among the Namboodiris of Kerala, they used to have a system of "mudras" or signs to indicate the word endings in RV and an expert will be able to recite the rik if someone simply indicates the mudras for two or three such consecutive mudras. This used to be one method of creating expertise in the RV.

vedavyāsa is held to be the one who codified the vedas into four. In mahābhārata, śāntiparva, 359, there is a mention of another earlier Acharya by name "apāntarataman", son of vāgṛṣi, who was an epitome of virtues and a "trikālajñāni" - one who knew the past, present and the future. This apāntarataman, it is told, spread the eternal veda everywhere, and he taught it even to svāyambhuva manu. He was also known as "prācīnagarbhan".

Poetical metres or chandas in RV:

The more common poetical metres are listed below according to the number of letters (aksharas) required for each:

gāyatrī - 24
uṣṇik - 28
anuṣṭup (anuṣṭup) - 32
bṛhatī - 36
paṅkti - 40
triṣṭup- 44
jagata - 48

There are other metres equiring less than 24 akṣaras or more than 48 akṣaras. According to scholars the shortest and longest metres in vedas (all the four of them) are 'mā' chandas - 4 akṣaras and 'utkṛti' chandas - 104 akṣaras.

An important point of much interest is that the very famous "gāyatrī mantra" is not in gāyatrī chandas; it is one akshara short (only 23 aksharas) and is therefore called "nicṛd gāyatrī". (This is why in the nyāsa for gāyatrī japa we say "sāvitryā r̆śirviśvāmitraḥ, nicr̆d gāyatrī cḥandaḥ, savitā devatāḥ; the mantra is actually "sāvitri").

If two letters are short from gāyatrī metre , then the metre is known 'virāj gāyatrī'.