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VEDIC MYTHOLOGY VEDIC MYTHOLOGY Abhinav Prasad ABHIJEET PUBLICATIONS New Delhi-110002 ABHIJEET PUBLICATIONS 4658-A, 1st Floor, Ambika Bhawan 21 Ansari Road, Daryaganj New Delhi-110002 Phone: 011-23259444, 65698474 E-Mail: [email protected] VEDIC MYTHOLOGY First Published 2012 © Author ISBN: 978-93-81136-84-3 [All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted or used in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, photo copying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except for a brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.] PRINTED AT INDIA Published by J.K. Singh for Abhijeet Publications, New Delhi110002, Laser Typeset by Piyush Computers, New Delhi and Printed at Asian Offset, Delhi. PREFACE The Vedas are the main scriptural texts of Hinduism, also known as the Sanatana Dharma, and are a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. The Vedas, regarded as Aaruti (“that which is heard”), form part of an oral tradition in the form of an ancient teacher-disciple tradition. As per Hindu tradition the Vedas were ‘revealed’ to the Rishis referred to in the texts, not composed or written by them. Even though many historians have tried to affix dates to the Vedas there is as yet no common consensus as there is for the scriptures of other religions. The Vedas are arguably the oldest surviving scriptures in the world. The Vedanta and Mimamsa schools of Hindu philosophy assert that the Vedas are apaurusheya (“unauthored”), that is, they have neither human nor divine origin, and are eternal in naturo. As per Hindu tradition, the sage Vedavyasa divided the Vedas into Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda and Atharva-Veda at the beginning of the Kali Yuga. The element of nature-worship is a marked feature in most of the hymns, with are invocations of different deities. The value of the great collection as presenting the earliest record of the mythology of an Indo-European people is apparent. Several of the gods go back to the time of Indo-Iranian unity, e.g. Yama (the Avestan Yima), Soma (haoma), Mitra (the later Persian Mithra). Some of the divinities, especially the higher ones, still exhibit the attributes which enable us to trace their origin to the personification of natural phenomena. Thus Indra personified thunder, Agni fire, Varuna the sea, Surya the sun, Ushas the dawn, the Maruts the storm, and others were of a somewhat similar character. Indra was the favourite god of the Vedic Aryans; almost one fourth of all the hymns in the Rig- Veda are addressed to him and they are among the best in the collection. Next to Indra stands Agni. Many hymns are in honour of Soma. Other gods invoked are the two Ashins, somewhat resembling the Diocsuri of ancient Greece, the terrible Rudra, Parjanya the rain-god, Vayu the wind-god, Surya the sun-god, Pushan the protector of roads and stray kine. Prayers are also addressed to groups of divinities like the Adityas and the Vishve Devas (all the gods). Only a few hymns sing the praise of Vishnu and of Shiva in his earlier form as Rudra, though these two deities became later the chief gods of the Hindu pantheon. Goddesses play a small part, only Ushas, the goddess of dawn, has some twenty hymns in her honour; these poems are of exceptional literary merit. —Author Contents Preface 1. Vedic Mythology: An Overview 1 2. Recent Indian Views of Modern Writers 13 3. Analysis of Vedic Mythology 45 4. Essence of the Rig Veda, Yajurveda, Samveda and Atharvaveda 57 5. Composers of the Rigveda 168 6. Geography of the Rigveda 183 7. Development of the Vedic Mytholgy 245 Bibliography 251 Index 254 VEDIC MYTHOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW The Sanskrit word veda means “know ledge” , more particularly “sacred book” . In its widest sense the term designates not only the sacred texts, but also the voluminous theological and philosophical literature attached thereto, the Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads, and Sutras. But usually the term veda applies only to the four collections (Samhitas) of hymns and prayers composed for different ritualistic purposes: the Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Veda, and Atharva-Veda. Of these only the first three were originally regarded as canonical; the fourth attained to this position after a long struggle. Though differences exist in the language of the four Vedas, still there is such agreement on cardinal points as against later Sanskrit that the term Vedic, which is in common use for the oldest form of the language of India, is amply justified. The Vedas are the main scriptural texts of Hinduism, also known as the Sanatana Dharma, and are a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. The Vedas, regarded as Aaruti (“that which is heard”), form part of an oral tradition in the form of an ancient teacherdisciple tradition. As per Hindu tradition the Vedas were ‘revealed’ to the Rishis referred to in the texts, not composed or written by them. Even though many historians have tried to affix dates to the Vedas there is as yet no common consensus as there is for the scriptures of other religions. The Vedas are arguably the oldest surviving scriptures in the world. The Vedanta and Mimamsa schools of Hindu philosophy assert that the Vedas are apaurusheya (“unauthored”), that is, they have 2 Vedic Mythology neither human nor divine origin, and are eternal in nature. As per Hindu tradition, the sage Vedavyasa divided the Vedas into Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda and Atharva-Veda at the beginning of the Kali Yuga. THE RIG-VEDA Rig-Veda were published by Max Muller, “Rig-Veda-Samhita with the Commentary of Sayancharya” (6 vols., London, 184974; 2nd ed., 4 vols., 1890-95); “The Hymns of the Rig-Veda in the Samhita and Pada Texts” (2nd ed., 2 vols., London, 1877); Aufrecht, “Samhita Text”, in Roman characters (2nd ed., Bonn, 1877); selections in Lanman’s “Sanskrit Reader” (Boston, 1884); Bothlingk, “Sanskrit-Chrestomathie” (3rd ed., Leipzig, 1897); Windisch, “Zwolf Hymnen des Rig-Veda” , with Sayana’s commentary (Leipzig, 1883). Translations were made into: English verse by Griffith (2 vols., Benares, 1896-97); selections in prose by Max Muller in “Sacred Books of the East”, XXXII (Oxford, 1891); continued by O ldenburg, ibidem, XLVI (1897); Germ an verse by Grassmann (2 vols., Leipzig, 1876-77); German prose by Ludwig (6 vols., Prague, 1876-88). On the Rig-Veda in general see: Kaegi, “The Rig-Veda”, tr. Arrowsmith (Boston, 1886); Odenberg, “R ig-V eda” , books I-Vi in “G ottinger G esellschaft der Wissenschaften”, new series, XI (Berlin, 1909). The Rig-Veda (‘Veda of verses” ; from ric, or before sonants rig, “laudatory stanza”) is the oldest and most important of these collections. In its present form it contains 1028 hymns (including eleven supplementary ones in the eighth book), arranged in ten mandalas (cycles), or books, which vary in extent, only the first and tenth being approximately equal. The poems themselves are of different authorship and date from widely different periods. The actual date of these ancient scriptures is a nebulous topic. Yet, the description of an extremely cold climate leads some to believe that the Vedas are close to 20,000 years old, but there are some modern scholars who think that the number is exaggerated and should be about 5000. No matter what the age, it is the belief by many these texts were and are the oldest in the world. They express philosophies, realities and truths Vedic Mythology: An Ovei'view 3 about life. The texts themselves show that the collection is the result of the work of generations of poets, extending over many centuries. Books II to VII inclusive are each the work of a single poet, or ri'-shi (seer), and his descendants; hence they are aptly called “family books”. Book III is attributed to the family of Vishvamitra, IV to that of Vamadeva, V to that of Vasishtha. The hymns in books I and X are all composed by different families. The ninth consists exclusively of hymns addressed to Soma, the deified plant, the juice of which was used for the Soma sacrifice. Books II to VII are the oldest, and book X the most recent, in point of origin hi joe Hymns to the same deity are usually grouped together. Thus, approximately 500 hymns are addressed to two gods alone: Indra, the god of lightning and storms, and Agni, the god of fire. The term god is actually false, the “gods” (devas) being only highly elevated prophets, angels, or phenomenons. The Vedas clearly state that there is only one God, the same as Jews, Muslims, Christians belief alike. One Vedic missionary is the Arya Samaj, its churches are located all over the world, especially in India, the USA, and can teach those who search the Vedas. The element of nature-worship is a marked feature in most of the hymns, with are invocations of different deities. The value of the great collection as presenting the earliest record of the mythology of an Indo-European people is apparent. Several of the gods go back to the time of Indo-Iranian unity, e.g. Yama (the Avestan Yima), Soma (haoma), Mitra (the later Persian Mithra). Some of the divinities, especially the higher ones, still exhibit the attributes which enable us to trace their origin to the personification of natural phenomena. Thus Indra personified thunder, Agni fire, Varuna the sea, Surya the sun, Ushas the dawn, the Maruts the storm, and others were of a somewhat similar character. Indra was the favourite god of the Vedic Aryans; almost one fourth of all the hymns in the RigVeda are addressed to him and they are among the best in the collection. Next to Indra stands Agni. Many hymns are in honour of Soma. Other gods invoked are the two Ashins, somewhat resembling the Diocsuri of ancient Greece, the terrible Rudra, Parjanya the rain-god, Vayu the wind-god, Surya the Vedic Mythology Publisher : Abhijeet Publications ISBN : 9789381136843 Author : Abhinav Prasad Type the URL : http://www.kopykitab.com/product/9127 Get this eBook