teach no of th e vedas - Forgotten Books

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T ILE

TEACH NO OF THE VEDAS

WH A T LIGH T D OE S IT T H R OW

ON T H E

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF

RELIGION ?

MAU R I CE PH ILL I PS

LO N D O N M IS S IO N , M A D R A S

T h e rel igious inst inct shou ld be h onoured even in dark

and confused myster ies-S chellz

'

ng

LON D ON

Ci Ii IE IE IQ AL BI I) (l Cl

A N D N EW YOR K : 1 5 EA ST 1 6th STREET

1895

[A ll righ ts reserved!

PR E F A CE .

T H I S book i s i n t e nded t o an swer two que s t i o n s , viz

(I ) what i s t h e fu n dame n tal t eac h i ng of t h e V edas ?

and (2) what l igh t does t hat t eac h i ng t h row on t h e

origi n and deve lopment of R e l igi o n ?

T h ere i s n o book i n t h e E ngl i s h language gi v i nga popu la r , suc c i n c t , and yet an adequat e , accou n t o f

t h e t each i ng of t h e V edas,t h e o ldest r ecords of th e

Aryan n at i o n s . I t is h ope d , t h e r efore , t hat t h i s

wi l l supp ly a wan t long fe l t a l ike by m i ss i ona r i e s ,

m i n i s t e r s , and all i n t e r est e d i n t h e re l igi ou s h i s t o ryof our fe l low-subjec ts i n I ndia .

Wh e n I began my m i s s i ona ry ca r e e r among t h e

H indus , t h irty-t h r e e yea r s ago ,

I fe l t ke e n ly t hat ,i n order t o b e an effic i e n t worker, a kn ow l edge of t h e

re l igi ou s and specu lat i ve t h ough t of t h e peopl e was

ab so lu t e ly n ec essary . B u t t h ere was n o book ava i l

abl e t ha t c ou ld furn i s h me wi t h su ch kn ow l edge .

I had t o ga t h er i t l i t t l e by l i t t l e ; at fi r s t from t h e

works of l earn e d sp ec ia l i s ts , and aft erwards from

th e s tudy of t h e V e das , by t h e aid of pu ndi t s .

T he re su l t s are embod i e d i n t h i s vo lume .

T he s tudy of Compa rat i ve R e l igi o n , wh i c h has

bee n popu lar o n t h e Con t i n e n t fo r some yea r s , i s

iv PR EFACE .

n ow a t t rac t i ng a t t e n t i o n i n E ngland. I t is im

portan t , t h erefore , t o po i n t ou t t h e bea r i ng of Vedi c

t eac h i ng o n t h e profoundly i n t ere st i ng subje c t of t h e

Or igi n and D eve lopme n t of R e l igi o n i n ge n e ra l . I

have e ndeavou r ed t o do s o i n t h i s vo lume : bu t

s h ou l d my co n c lu s i o n s i n t hat r e sp e c t be d e emed

erron eou s by s ome , t h e va lu e of t h e book ,as an ex

pos i t i o n of Vedi c doc t r i n es,wi l l n ot be dim i n i s h ed

i n t h e l ea s t . And s h ou ld i t s t imu la t e o th ers , wh o

po s se s s l ea r n i ng and l e i su re,t o st udy t h e subjec t

more t h orough ly ,and expose wha t may be d e emed

u n t enabl e,n on e w i l l rejo i c e mo re t han mys e lf.

I mu s t cau t i o n t h e ge n era l reade r aga i n s t conclud

ing t ha t t h e doc tr i n e s of t h e V e da s , as s h own in t h i s

book , co n s t i tu t e wha t is kn own as H i ndu i sm ,or

t h e re l igi o n of I ndia t o-day . H i ndu i sm i s a m i x ture

of co r rup t V ed ic doc t r i n e s and pre-Aryan cu l ts .

Its au t h ori ta t i ve gu i d e s are t h e Mahabhara ta ,

t h e R amayana , t h e Pu ranas , t h e Law B ooks and t h e

Ph i losoph ica l T rea t i s e s . B ut , t o u nde r s tand i t s con

st itu ent e l eme n t s, a kn ow l edge of Ved i c doc t r i n e s

i s i n d i spe n sabl e . S h ou l d l ife and h ea l t h con t i nu e ,

I h ope , i n a sub s equ e n t vo lume , t o t r eat H i ndu i sm

on t h e same p lan as I have t r ea t e d Ve d i sm ,wh en

i t w i l l become appare n t t hat i t is far m ore i r ra t i o na l

and immora l t han t h e r e l igi o n of t h e A ryan s i n t h e

far off V e d i c age .

I h ave n o n ew t h eo ry ,e i t h er abou t t h e l i t e ra ture

PR EFACE .

of t h e V e das , or abou t t h e abo r igi na l h ome of t h e

A ryan s . H e n c e t h e fi r s t c hap t er i s l i t t l e mo re t han

a c omp i lat i o n , —ch iefly from t h e works of P r ofe s so r

Max M ii ller , wh ose O p i n i o n s I a ccep t i n p r e fe re n ce

t o t h o s e of ot h ers .

MA UR ICE PH I LL I PS .

28 Albe rt R oad , London , N

Ist N ov. , 1 894 .

CO N T EN T S .

CH A PT E R I .

T H E L ITERA TUR E OF T H E V EDA S .

PA GE

S anh itas ; or, the Co l lections of the Vedas

A uthors of the Vedas

A ge of the Vedas

Language of the Vedas

Vedas Oral ly T ransmittedGeneral Ch aracter of Vedic L iterature

CH A PT E R I I .

T H E TH EOLOGY OF T H E V ED A S .

(I) T he N umber o f th e Gods

(2) T he N ature of the Gods

(3) T he Origin of the Vedic Concept God

CH A PT E R III.

T H E COSMOLOGY OF T H E V ED A S .

Vedic Cosmology not one Connected N arrativeCreation th e Work of an Inte l ligent B e ingCreation out of N oth ingCreation from Pre-existing M atterCreation a Phenomenal Emanation from the D e ity

CONTENTS .

CH A PT E R IV .

T H E A N TH ROPOLOGY O F T H E V ED A S .

(I) T h e Origin and D ign ity of M an

(2) T h e Consc iousness of S in

(3 ) Personal Immortal ity

4 T h e Origin and Growth of Caste

CH A PT E R V .

T H E SOTER IOLOGY OF T H E V EDA S .

Prayer and Praise2 S acrifice

(3) T h e S acrificers

(4) T he Origin of S acrifice

(5) M editation and A scetic ism

(6) Retrospect and Conc lusionINDEX

CH A PT E R I .

T H E L IT E RAT U R E O F T H E V E D A S .

N on-Ch r ist ian B i b les are a ll deve lopments in th e wrongdire c t ion . Th ey a ll begin w i th some flash e s o f true l igh t andend in darkness .

— S IR M ON I ER W I LL IAM S .

I . T ize San/Mia'

s or 1726 Co/lerfz’

mzs of Vedas .

The H indu s d iv i de th e i r l i tera tu re into two c lasses :

(I ) S ru t i , wha t they have heard wi th the i r ea rs , or

Reve la t i on ; and (2 ) Smr i t i , wha t thei r fath ers tran s

m itted to them , or Trad i t ion . The former i nc l udes

the Veda s , and th e latte r a ll other books bas ed on

the au thori ty of the Vedas .

1 Th i s d i st i nct i on between

1 Smri’

t‘

i compreh ends all post-V edi c l i teratu re under fou rh eads : six V edangas , viz (I ) S iksh a , th e sc ience of

pronunc iat ion ; (2) Ch andas , me tre ; (3 ) V yakarana , grammar ;(4) N irukta , e xp lanat ion O f V edic words ; (5) jyo tisha ,

ast ronomy ; and (6) Ka lpa , ceremonia l

,inc luding S rau ta-Sutras ,

ru les for app lying th e Mantras and B rahmanas to V ed ic sac r ifices Grya

-Sutras , ru les re lat ing to domesti c righ ts SamayaChari ka-Sutras . ru les re lating to convent iona l u sages : th e lasttwo are ca l led Smarta-Sutras. T h e D arsanas

,systems of

ph i losophy . 3 ? T h e D harma-SuTras , law boo ks su c h as Manu ,

2 T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VED A S .

Reve la t i on and Trad i t i on was made after the ascendancy

of the B rahman s as a cas te , and pr i or to the sch i sm of

Buddha .

The word Veda is der i ved from t he San scr i t 711227 or

vz’

dfi , to know ,and i s the same word as appears i n

th e Greek si’

Sw,La t i n video , and the Engl ish 2017.

Th i s word i s u sed by the H i ndu s to denote fou r collec

t ion s O f sacred books,ca l l ed respect ive ly

,

the R i g-Veda,the Yaj u r-Veda

,th e Sama-Veda

,and the

A tharva—Veda of these the R ig iy eda i s by far the most

comp l e te and i n terest i ng .

“ Thi s,

”as Profes sor M ax

Mul l er says , “ i s the Veda par ex cellence, con ta i n i ng the

rea l theogony O f th e H i ndu s . I t i s d iv i ded (1) i n to ten

manda/as (books), conta i n i ng 10 17 metr ica l hymn s

arranged accord i ng to the i r au thors and th e

gods to whom they are addres sed ; and (2) i n to e igh t

as/zz‘a/eds (e ights) nea r ly equa l i n l ength , each of wh i ch i s

subd iv i ded i n to as many ad/zydyas (l ectu re s), and each Of

the se aga i n i n to abou t th i rty-th ree vargas (sect i on s),u sua l ly con ta i n i ng five verses .

The Yaju r-Veda con s i s t s pr i n c i pa l ly of prayers and

i nvocat i on s app l icab l e to th e con secra t ion Of the u ten s i l s

and ma ter ia l s of sacr ifi c ia l worsh i p . I t has abou t ha l f

the number of hymn s found i n the R i g-Veda,bu t i t s

con tent s are not en t i re ly taken from th e R i g , and i t

O ften comb i n es prose w i th poetry . I t i s d iv ided i n to two

Yajnava l kya,and oth ers , wh ich are supposed to h ave grown out

O f th e Smarta-Sutras. A. T h e It ihasas , viz . : th e two ep ic

poems, th e M ahabarata and Ramayana ; the e igh teen Pu ranas ,

or anc i ent legendary lore ; and th e T antras .

T H E L ITER ATUR E O F T H E VED A S . 3

parts : th e wh i te and the b lack the

former i s attr i bu ted to the sage Yaj nava l kya and the

lat te r to T it tiri .

The Sama-Veda,wh i ch i s on ly abou t ha l f the s i z e of

the Yaj u r , is a col l ect ion of separa te texts,taken a lmost

en t i re ly from th e R i g,to be chanted at part icu la r pa rt s of

the sacr ifi ce .

“ I n th e R i g-Veda we fi nd the ent i re hymn s .

I n the fi rst part of the Sama-Veda we find on ly i so lated

verses of those hymn s,d i s l oca ted from the i r natu ra l

connec t i on,though i n the second part the extrac ts are

connected and of grea ter l ength . H ence M ax Mul l e r

say s , “ These two Vedas , the Yaj u r-Veda and th e

Saima-Veda , were , in tru th , wha t they are ca l l ed i n

the Kau sh itaki-brahmana,th e a t tendants O f the R i g

Veda 2

The hymn s of the A tharva-V eda are near ly as nume rou s

as those of th e R i g ; bu t , wi th the except i on O f a few of

the later hymn s of the R i g , i t has l i t t l e i n common wi th

the other th ree Veda s,which are u sed for perform ing the

prescr i bed sac r ifi ce s ; whereas the A tharva teaches ch iefl y

how to appease , to b l e s s , to cu rse , and to rect i fy wha t has

been wrongly done i n the act of sacr ifice . A s ixth par t

O f i t s conten t s i s i n prose,and abou t one-s i xth of i t s

hymn s are fou nd i n the R i g . Its language and s ty l e

i nd i ca te a later age ,and i t is not men t i oned by many

1 Mu i r ’s S ans . T ex ts, pt . i i . , p . 203 .

2 H ist . A zze. S ans. L it., p . 457.

3 Professor Wh i tney remarks,

“ T he greater port ion of

th em (th e hymns) are p la inly sh own,both by th ei r language

and inte rna l ch arac ter,to be of much late r date than the

4 T H E TEACH ING O F T H E VED A S .

anc i en t wri ter s i n connect i on wi th the other three .

1 I t

was probab ly emp l oyed at fi rst i n the r i tua l of a d i fferen t

worsh i p .

Each Veda i s d iv i ded i n to Mant ra s and B rahmanas .

The Man tra s are a co l lec t ion of hymns i n wh i ch the

pra i s es of the god s are sung and th e i r b l ess i n gs i nvoked .

The B rahmanas are trea t i ses wri tten i n prose for the u se

of the B rahman s,and con tai n both the l i tu rg i ca l i n s t i tu tes ,

i n wh i ch the ceremon ia l app l i cat i on of the hymn s i s

pre scr i bed,and the A ranyakas and U pan ishad s , or th e

genera l contents of th e oth e r h istor ic V eda (th e R ig), and eventh an its tenth book

, wi th wh ich th ey yet stand nearly connec tedin impo rt and origin. T h e c ondi t ion of th e text a l so in th ose

passages found l i kewise in th e R ig, po ints as d ist inc tly to a

more recent pe riod as th at of th e i r co l lec tion (Mu i r’s S i ms.

T ex ts,-p t . i i . , p .

1 It is not ment ioned in th e n inth ve rse of th e Pu rush aSukta (R .

-V .,x . ,

ne i th er is i t ment ioned in th e fo l lowingpassages in th e Khandogya

-Upan i sh ad : Prajapat i brooded (ormedi tated upon) th e worlds ; and from th em

,so brooded

,h e

drew forth th e i r e ssenc es : F i re from th e earth,A i r from th e

atmosph ere , th e S un from th e sky. H e brooded on th ese th reede it ies , and from th em , so brooded

,h e drew forth th e i r

essences : R ig-texts from F i re

,Yajush -texts from Ai r , and Sama

texts from th e S un. H e brooded on th is tr ip le sc ience , and

from i t , so brooded, h e drew forth its essences : the partic leB li zZIi from th e R ig

-texts ; B huvah from th e Yaju sh-texts Swar

from the Sama-texts . Manu,i. , 23 , repeats th e account given

in th e Khandogya-Upan ish ad, om i tt ing th e fourth V eda (Mu i r’s

Sans. T ex ts, pt . i i . , p . It is,h oweve r

,ment ioned as a

V eda in anoth er passage of th e same Upa zzisli ad, and a lso inth e S atapa tha-B rahmana (M ax M ii ller

,H ist. A na. S ans . L it.

,

pp . 122 and

T H E L ITERATU R E OF T H E VED A S . 5

theo log ica l d i squ i s i t ion s,i n wh ich the sp i r i tua l asp i ra t i on s

gradua l ly deve loped i n th e m i n ds of the more d evou t of

the I nd ian sages,find express i on . I t i s ev iden t , there

fore,tha t the hymn s are the or i gi na l and the mos t essen

t ia l port i ons of th e Vedas tha t th e B rahmana s rose ou t

of th e hymn s,and a re subserv i en t to the i r emp l oymen t

for th e pu rpose of worsh i p ; wh i l e the U pan i shad s g ive

express i on to specu la t i ve i deas of a sp i r i tua l and myst i ca l

cha racter,wh ich

,though d i scern i b l e i n some of the

hymn s and i n th e o ld er B rahmana s , are much fu rthe r

d eve loped and sy stema t i s ed i n these late r trea t i s e s .

2 . T /1e A id /207 5 of t/ze Vedas .

I t has been th e preva len t be l i e f in I n d ia for cen tu r i es

tha t t he Vedas came not from man,bu t from God. And

though the H ymn s are a scr i bed to va r i ou s R i sh i s ,or sa i n ts , whose names th ey bea r , yet the H indu s

have ma i n ta i n ed for ages,and con t inu e to ma i n ta i n ,

tha t the R i sh i s were on ly “ Seers ,” who i n tu i t i ve ly

saw them,or veh ic l es th rough wh ich they were com

munica ted by d iv ine power . H ence many confl ic t i ng

theor ie s of i n sp i ra t i on have been p ropounded , and many

con trad ic tory scheme s for prov i ng the d iv i ne ori g in of

the Veda s have been se t forth . Accord ing to th e

S atapa tha-B rahmana

,and th e Khandogya

-U pan i shad ,Prajap a t i by brood ing over th e th ree e l emen ts , fi re

,a ir

and the sun, p rodu ced from th em re spect ive ly , the R i g

Yaj u r and Sama-Vedas . T he same ori gi n is a sc r i bed

to them by the lawgiver Manu,who doubt l ess bo rrowed

the i dea from the B rahmana s . H e says tha t B rahma,

6 T H E TEACH ING OF T H E V ED AS .

“ for the performance of sacr ifice , m i l ked ou t from

fi re,from a ir

,and from the sun

,the tr i p l e eterna l Veda

,

d i s t i ngu i shed as R i g,Yaju r

,and Sama I n th e Vi shnu

and Bhagavata-Pu rana s , we are to l d tha t the Vedas were

crea ted by the fou r—faced B rahma from h is severa l mou th s ;whi l e i n the Mahabhara ta th e i r or i g i n i s a scr i bed to the

goddess of wi sdom,Sara sva t i

,who i s denom i nated the

“mother of the Vedas The B rihad-aranyaka-U pan i shad

descr i be s them as th e brea th of B rahma ; and the H ar i

V amsa d ec lare s tha t they were produ ced from the Gaya tr i,

the hol i est verse i n th e Vedas . Accord i ng to the n i n th

verse of the Pu ru sha-Sukta of the R i g-Veda,the fi rst

th ree Veda s were der ived from th e myst ica l v ic t im

Pu ru sha . F rom tha t un iversa l sacr ifice were produced

the hymn s ca l l ed R i g,and Saman

,the metre s and th e

Yajush .

” And accord i ng to the A th arva-Veda both the

R i g and the Yaju sh sp rang from t ime . M ost of the

ph i lo sophers argu e w i th mu ch i ngenu i ty i n favou r of the

superh uman or igi n of th e Vedas ; wh i l e a few go so far

as to deny to them any or igi n , and st renuou s ly ma i n ta i n

tha t they have a lways exi sted .

These confl i ct i ng accou nts of the orig i n of the Veda s

c l ear ly show tha t th e be l i ef i n a Book-Reve la t i on i s deep ly

rooted in the re l ig iou s con sc i ou sness of the H i n du s .

S trange to say , however , th ere is bu t l i tt l e in the hymns

themse l ve s to warran t su ch a be l i ef. “ The R i sh i s,

”a s

an anc i en t H i n du au tho r remarks,

“ des i r i ng var iou s

obj ect s , ha stened to th e gods wi th metr i ca l prayers .

”

They represen t them selve s and the i r forefa thers for

they d i st i ngu ish between anc i en t and modern R i sh i s

T H E L ITE RAT UR E OF T H E VEDA S . 7

and between o l d and new hymns— as th e “makers,

” “fabr ica tors and “

genera tors of th e hymn s .

“ These you r

anc i en t exp l o i t s,O Asv ins

,our fa thers have dec lared Le t

u s who are strong i n bold men , vi a/sing a hymn for you ,O

bount i fu l gods ! u tter our offer i ng of pra i se .

” 1 Seek i ng

heaven,th e Ku sikas have made a hymn to thee

,O

I ndra ” 2 “ Thu s have we made a p rayer for I ndra,the

product ive , the v igorou s , as the B h rigu s made a car.

” 3

An acceptab l e and honorific hymn has been u t tered to

I ndra by B rihaduktha , maker of prayers .” “ Thu s

,O

hero,hath Gritsamada

, des i r i n g su ccou r, fas/zioned for thee

a hymn,as men make road s .

” 5 “ To th i s grea t hero,

v igorou s,energet ic

,th e adorab le , unshaken thunderer

,

I have wi th my mou th faér z’

ea/ed cop i ou s and p lea s i ng

prayers,wh i ch had never before ex isted .

” G “ Agn i,do

thou thr ive through th i s ou r p rayer , wh ich we ma/ee

accord i ng to ou r ab i l i ty , accord i ng to ou r knowl edge ; do

thou , therefore , l ead u s to opu l en ce , and endow u s with

r i ght u nderstand i ng, secu r i n g food .

” 7 Th is hymn,

A sv i n s , we have made for you ; we have faérz’

ea ted i t as

the B hrigu s con stru cted a car ; we have decora ted i t as

a br i de for her hu sband , cont i n u i ng th e seri es of our

pra i ses l i ke an unbroken l i n e of descen dan ts . I nd ra,

the w i se R ish i s , both anc i en t and modern,have genera /ed

prayers . Ayasya ,fr i end of a ll men

,cel ebra t i ng

1 R .-V . , i. , 1 17 , 2 5 . Ibid. ,

i i i ., 3 0 , 20 .

3 Ibid . , iv . ,

4 Ibid. , x. , 54 , 6 .

5 Ibid.,i i . , 1 9 , 8 .

6 Ibid ., v i . , 3 2 , 1 .

Ibid. ,i. , 3 1 , 1 8.

8 Ibid . , x. , 39 , 14 .

9 Ibid.

, v i i . , 2 , 29 .

8 T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VE D A S .

I ndra ,ha th genera ted the fou rth song of pra i se .

F rom the sacred ce remony I sead for t/z a prayer i s su i ng

from my m i n d .

” 2

B u t though the anc i en t R i sh i s know noth i ng of the

art ific ia l theor i e s of in sp i ra t i on wh ich have been ela

bora ted i n later t imes,

and though they genera l ly

represen t th emse lves or th e i r ance s tors as the au thors

of the hymn s,yet i t mu s t not be over looked that they were

not a l together u ncon sc i ou s of h igher i nfluences . Some

of them seem to have h ad a vagu e i dea tha t they

were in sp i red by the god s , and hence speak of the i r

prayers as“ divine u tterances ,

’ “ hymn s generated bythe gods ”

. One S peaks of h i s prayer a s“ god

3 Another says,

“ F rom no othergiven ”

(de-eada tta zi z).

bu t you (O I ndra and Agn i !) do I der ive i n te l l i gence”

;

and another,

“ O I n dra ! gladden me ; decree l i fe for me ;

s/za 7p ei z my [fi le/lef t , l i ke the edge of an i ron i n strumen t .

Wha tever I,longi ng for thee

,now u tter , do thou accept ;

give m e d iv i ne protec t ion .

4 Gotama pray s,Approach

and l isten to ou r prayers ,M aghavan ; s i nce thou ha s t

i n sp i red u s wi th tru e speech , thou art sol ic i ted wi th i t

A nd Vak , th e goddess of speech,says

,

“ By sac r ifi ce

they fo l l owed the pa th of Vak ; th ey found her res i d i ng

i n the R i sh i s ”.

6 I ndra and Varuna ,I have seen

th rough devot ion , tha t wh ich ye formerly gave to the

R ish i s , wisdom ,unders tand i ng of speech

,sacred lore

,

1 R .-V .

,x .

, 67, 1 . Ibid.

,v i i i . , 1 3 , 26.

3 Ibid .,i i i .

, 3 7 , 4 ; iv .

,1 1 , 3 .

4 Ibid .

,v i . , 47, 10 .

5 Ibid.

,i .,

1 . Ibid . , x .

, 71 , 3 .

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IO T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VE D A S .

Rome 1 when i nvok i ng the Mu ses to a ss i st them i n the

compos i t ion of the i r songs ; bu t i t was probab ly the germ

from wh i ch the presen t doc tr i ne of i n sp i ra t i on grew .

The au thors of the Vedas were from the Ksha t r iya or

k i ngly , as wel l a s from th e B rahman or pr i es t ly , c lass .

V isvam itra,one of the seven great R i sh i s

,

2and the au thor

of th e Gaya t r i ; jamadagn i , th e repu ted fa ther of the

A vata ra (i n ca rna t ion) Parasurama ; D evap i, Madhuch

Chan das,T rasadasyu , Mandhatar, S i b i

, V asumanas ,

Pratardana,and others

,were of the k i ngly c lass . A few

of the hymn s of the R ig-Veda are a scr i bed even to

fema l e s , rea l or imagi nary,as S raddha

,the daughter of

Kama ; and V ak ,the daughter of Ambh rina . V isvavara,

a daughter of A tr i,not on ly composed the twen ty-e ighth

hymn of the fifth Manda la of the R i g-Veda,bu t dis

charged the du t i es of a pr i est,worsh i pp i ng th e god s at

dawn with pra i ses and obla t i on s .

R ish i s and pr i ests marr i ed th e daughters of k i ngs ; su ch

1"

Emrer e V 171» p at , M ofio a ti

OMimrta dé p a r’

gxovo a t ,(

Yp eis yap dea i eo'

r e m ipeo r é r e 70 7 6 r e War/ T a ,

(

H p eis Oé KAe'

os OLOV (fr anc/aw dvde’

n idjuev

Te l l to me now,O ye M uses

,who dwe l l in O lymp ian mans ions

Ye wh o are goddesses present, and know ing a ll th ings wh ichbefa l l men

,

Th ings of wh i ch we may h ear rumours,but neve r ge t accurate

knowledge (Iliad, i i . ,“Musa m ih i causas memora , e tc . 1

Ac cord ing to W i lson’s V ishnu P arana

, p . 264 , th e seven

great R i sh is were— V asistha , Kasyapa , Atri , jamadagni, Gau tama

, V isvamitra and B haradvaja .

T H E L ITER ATUR E OF T H E VED A S . I I

as Chyavana who marri ed S ukanya, the daughter of

S aryata ; and Jamadagn i who marr i ed R enuka, the

dau gh ter of Renu . T h e grea t R i sh i Kaksh ivén marr i ed

the ten daughter s of Raja Svanaya , the son of

B havayavya ,wi th whom he had a large dowry which

he thu s ce l ebra tes : F rom wh ich generou s pri nce

sol ic i t i ng (my acceptance), I , Kaksh ivan ,u nhe s i ta t ingly

accepted one hu ndred necklets , one hundred v i gorou s

s teeds,and one thou san d bu l l s , whereby he has spread h is

imper i shab l e fame through heaven . Ten cha r i ots , drawn

by bay steed s and carry i ng my wives , s tood nea r me ,

given by Svanaya ; and s ixty thou sand cows fol l owed .

F orty bay horses , harnessed to the char i ot s , l ead the p ro

ces s i on i n fron t of one thou san d fo l l owers . ” 1 The hard

and fa s t l i ne s of ca s te were unknown i n those days,and

women occu p i ed a very much h igher pos i t i on than they

do at presen t .

The R i sh i s,l i ke th e anc i en t D ru i d s , were poets and

pr i e sts . They stood between the peop l e and the god s .

They appea sed the la tter wi th offer i ngs,and encou raged

the former wi th songs i n a ll confl i cts wi th the i r enem i es .

They were i n no s en se a scet ics , or Sanyas i s , l i v i ng a

pecu l iar ly holy l i fe in the j ungl e s,apart from wife

,

ch i l d ren , and the good th i ngs of th i s l i fe , as is now gener

a l ly supposed by H i ndu s . B u t they were men the bu rden

of whose songs was tempora l b l e ss i ngs -hea l th,l ong l i fe

,

offspr i ng , r i ch es , ca tt le , food , ra i n and v ic tory . One

R i sh i acknowledge s the sub s tan t ia l g i ft of one h undred

s teed s , and six ty thou sand herd s of pu re catt l e,made to

1 R .-V . ,

i. , 1 26, 2 , 3 , 4 .

1 2 T H E TEACH ING O F T H E VED A S .

h im by a Raja,and prays the infmortal de i ty tha t h is

wea l th may be permanen t . 1 Another pray s,B e wi l l i ng

to gran t u s abundan t food wi th ca tt l e , (to gran t u s)

protect i on , p rogeny and v i gou r . M ay that herd of sw i ft

horses wh ich fo rmerly shone among the peop le of

N ah u sha (be gran ted), I ndra , to us . I n th e same

stra i n Va tsa,th e son of Kanva

,addresses the A sv i n s

,

“ De l i gh ters of many , abou nd i ng i n wea l th , bestowers

of r i ches,A sv i ns , su sta i n ers of a ll , approve of th i s m i ne

adora t i on . Grant u s , A sv i n s , a ll r iches tha t may not

bri ng u s shame ; make u s the begetters of progeny i n

du e sea son ; subj ec t u s not to reproach . G i ve , Nasat

yas , food of many k i nds d r i pp i ng wi th bu tter to h im , the

R i sh i Va tsa,who has magn ified you both wi th hymns .

G i ve,A sv i n s

,i nv i gora t i ng food dri pp i ng wi th bu tte r to

h im who pra i se s you ,th e l ords of l i bera l i ty

,to obta i n

ha pp i ness , who de s i re s affluence . Co nfou nders of the

ma l i gnant, pa rtakers of many (obla t i on s), com e to th is

our adora t ion,render u s p rosperou s ,

O heroe s,give

these good th i ngs of ear th to our des i re s . ” 3 Another

R i sh i prays ,“ Gran t u s abundan t trea su res . Gran t

the opu l en ce wh i ch many crave,s tore of heroes , pro

geny,and h i gh renown . Agn i

,most you th fu l of the

gods,send evermore the gi ft of wea l th .

“ 1 And another

boastfu l ly says,Ea rn i ng two hundred cows and two cars

wi th mares,the gi ft of Sudas , grand son of D evavat , and

son of Pijavana ,I wa l k abou t as a pr i est does rou nd a

1 R .-V . , v i i i . , 4 , 1 9 , 20 . Ibid.

,v i i i . , 6, 23 , 24 .

3 Ibid., v i i i . , 8 , 1 2 , 1 7.

1 Ibid . , v i i i . , 24 , 27, 28 .

T H E L ITE RATU R E OF T H E VED A S . 1 3

hou se offer i ng pra i ses . The fou r robust , r ich ly capar i

soned , brown horses of Sudas , the son of Pijavana ,

stand i ng on th e earth,ca rry me ,

son to son , onwa rd

to renown i n perpetu i ty .

” 1 R i sh i S obhari exto l s the

l i bera l i ty of the Raja T ra sadasyu ,who had gi ven h im

fi fty br i des ; and Syava , the l ord of k ine , who had given

h im a presen t of s even ty-th ree cows .2 And R i sh i N odhas

prays ,“ Grant u s

,O Marut s

,du rab l e r ich es a t tended by

poster i ty,

and— mort i fy i ng to ou r en em i es — (r i ches)reckoned by hundreds and thou sands and ever increas

i ng . M ay they who have acqu i red wea l th by p i ou s

ac ts come h i ther,qu i ck ly

,i n the morn ing . I n R .

-V .

,

i v ., 3 2 ,

17 ,2 1 th e worsh i pper a sks I n dra to give h im a

thou sand , yoked horse s,a thou sand ja rs of soma

,hun dreds

of thou sands of cows acknowl edge s tha t h e h ad rece i ved

ten go l den j ars,and u rge s the god not to be spar i ng bu t

to bestow abundant ly i n con form i ty w i th h is cha racter

for l i bera l i ty .

The R i sh i s were on most fam i l iar terms wi th the god s,

and occa s iona l ly adm in i stered a gen t l e rebuke to them

for thei r appa ren t n i gga rd l i n ess to the i r votari es . One

say s , “ I f,I ndra , I were as thou art

,sol e l ord over

wea l th , then shou l d my eu l og i st be posse s sed of ca tt l e .

Lord of m i gh t,I wou l d g i ve to tha t i n te l l i gen t worsh i pper

that wh i ch I shou l d w i sh to give i f I were the posses sor

of catt l e And another says , “ I f,Agn i

,thou wert a

morta l and I an immorta l,I shou l d not abandon thee to

1 R .-V .

, v i i . , 18 , 22 , 23 . Ibid . ,v i i i . , 19 , 3 6 , 7 .

3 Ibid . , i . , 64 , 1 5.

I4 T H E TEA CH ING O F T H E VED A S .

ma l ed i ct i on or to wretchedness ; my worsh i pper shou l d

not be m i serab l e or d i stre ssed I f I were thou ,and

thou wert I , then thy wishes shou l d b e fu lfi l l ed .

” 1

I n the fifty-fifth hymn of th e seven th Manda la of th e

R i g-Veda,the holy sage V asish tha is represen ted as

hav i ng entered the house of Va runa by n i gh t , in order to

stea l gra in to appea se h is h unger after a fast of three

days,and

,when assa i l ed by the wa tch-dog , a s hav i ng

u ttered a prayer or i ncan ta t i on to make i t s l eep , and so

hav ing gi ven a d i rec t encou ragemen t to th eft . And

R i sh i Ajigarta , th e son of SUyavasa ,for one hundred

cows , sol d h i s son S unasepha to be sacr ificed .

M ax Mul l e r says,

“ In th e R i g-Veda we find hymn s

wh ich the B rahman s them se lves a l l ow to be the compos i

t ion s of the son of a s lave . Kavasha A ilfi sha is the

au thor of severa l hymn s i n the ten th book of the R i g

Veda ; yet th i s same Kavasha was expe l l ed from th e

sacr ifi ce as an impostor and as th e son of a s lave (dasya/z

p a tra ), and he was re-adm i tted on ly becau se the god s

had shown h im spec ia l favou r . Th i s is acknowl edged by

the B rahmanas of the A itarey ins and Kaush i takins , and

i n the Mahabhara ta a l so Kava sh a i s ca l l ed a N i shada ,o r

out-ca s te .

3 . T 7ze Age oy’

t/ze Vedas .

The age of the Vedas can on l y be approxima te ly

a scerta i n ed . The H i ndu s have no h istory and no

1 R .-V v i i i .

,1 9 , 2 5 ; v i i i . , 44 , 3 .

Max M u l ler’s H i st . A ne . Sans. L it. , pp . 58 , 9 .

T H E L ITERATUR E O F T H E VED A S . I S

au th en t ic chronology . L i fe to them has a lways been a

d ream ; an i l lu s i on .

“ The i r struggl es were struggles of

thought ; the i r past the probl em of c rea t ion the i r fu tu re

the prob l em of exi s tence . The pre sen t a l one , which i s

the rea l and l i v i n g solu t i on of the p rob l ems of th e past

and fu tu re , seem s never to have at tracted the i r thoughts

or to have ca l l ed ou t the i r energi es .

’

H en ce they have

no pol i t ica l h i s tory l i ke the Egyp t ian s , th e j ews , the

Baby lon ian s , A ssvrians , Pers ian s , Greeks , and Roman s ;

and no certa i n da te i n the wide range of the i r l i tera tu re ,

except what i s imported from Greek h istory . We lea rn

from Greek wri ters tha t i n the t ime of A l exander th e Great

and h is su ccessors there was a powerfu l k i ng of the

Prasii , S andracottu s or S androcyptu s by name , whose

capi ta l was Pa liboth ra ,on the conflu ence of the Ganges

,

and th e E rannaboas , or Sone , wh i ch is probab ly the same

as the modern Pa tna . H e con trac ted an a l l iance wi th

Se l eucu s N ica tor,

and M egasth enes v i s i ted h i s cou rt

severa l t imes i n th e capac i ty of an ambassador . Th i s

Sandracottu s of the Greeks i s i den t ified wi th the H i n du

ki ng Chandra ru_ta

,the u su rper of the throne of

the N andas,and the founder o f the Mau rya dyna s ty at

Patalipu tra . H e i s supposed to have re igned from B . C .

3 15 to 29 1 . H e was the grandfath er of. Asoka ,u nder

whose au thor i ty Buddh i sm became the S ta te re l ig i on of

I nd ia,i n the m i d d l e of the th i rd cen tu ry .

U nder the preced i ng dynas ty,that of the Nandas

,

B rahman i ca l t rad i t ion s p lace a number of d i s t i ngu i shed

scholars,whose trea t i s es on the Vedas are s t i l l extan t ;

such as, Saunaka ,

A svalayana , Katyayana , Pan i n i , and

1 6 T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VED A S .

others . Katyayana is the au thor of two A nnéranzanis ,

or genera l i n dexes— one to the R i g-Veda ,and the other to

the wh i te Yaju r-Veda . H e i s a l so the au thor of certa i n

work s ca l l ed S fi tras S fi tra mean s “ s tr i ng,

and

a ll works wr i tten i n th is s ty l e are noth i ng bu t s tr i ngs of

short sen tences conta i n i ng the essence of B rahman ica l

l ore expres sed i n the mos t conc ise form poss i b l e,and

thu s form i ng a grea t con trast to th e ted iou s pro l i xi ty of

th e B rahmanas . The Satra sty l e of compos i t i on was so

un iversa l ly preva l en t i n I nd ia at one t ime as to mark a

defin i te l i terary era , ca l l ed the S fi tra per i od ”. Accord

i ng to H i n du trad i t i on s Katyayana wa s con tempora ry

wi th K i ng Nanda and h i s su ccessor,YOgananda , a t

Patalipu tra , immed ia te ly before th e u su rpa t ion of Chan

dragupta . H e wa s preceded by A svalayana and h i s

teacher Saunaka,whose works he s tud i ed . H e a l so

corrected and comp l eted the gramma r of Pan i n i , M ax

M ii ller,i n h i s [f istory of A ncient Sanscrit L itera ture, says ,

I f we p lace Katyayana in the second ha l f of th e fou rth

centu ry B . C . ; A sva layana, the predeces sor of Katyayana ,abou t 3 50 ; and Saunaka , the teacher of A sva layana, abou t

400 ; and i f then , con s ider i ng the wr i ters of S fi tras anter i or

to Sau naka and poster i or to Katyayana , we exten d the

l im i ts of the S fi tra per iod of l i teratu re from 600 to 200

B . C . ,we are s t i l l ab l e to say tha t there i s no fact i n

h istory or l i teratu re tha t wou l d i n terfere wi th such an

a rrangemen t ” 1 A l l da tes,however

,previou s to Chan

dragupta are mere ly hypothet ica l .

1 H ist . A ne. S ans . L it., pp . 244 , 5 .


1 8 T H E TEA CH ING O F T H E VED A S .

sun,hav i ng los t one hand , rece ived a golden one .

Aga i n,in a beau t i fu l hymn of the R i g-Veda

,whose

refra i n is “ Who is th e God to whom we sha l l offer

ou r sacr ifi ce p (Kasnza idevaya navis/za the

au thors of the B rahmanas,unab l e to en ter i n to the

sp i r i t of th e hymn and the yearn i ng of the poet to , know

the tru e God,thought tha t the i n terroga t ive pronou n

or “ who ,mu st be th e God addres sed

,and tha t

wherever the i n terroga t i ve lea occu rs , i t is the same

as Prajapa t i , the “ l ord of crea tu res I n l ike manner

the name Indra,the j up i ter P luv iu s of I nd ia , i s fanci

fu l ly d e r ived from idanzdra,i t seei ng Then there

are an c i en t and modern hymns , hymn s of the fa thers,and hymn s of the son s . M ax Mul l e r ca l l s the former

C/z/zandas , and the la tter M antras , and a ss i gn s a per i od

of two hundred yea rs to each .

The age of the Ved ic wri t i ngs accord i ng to Mul l e r

from whose works mos t of th e pa rt icu la rs i n th i s sec t ion

have been taken— wi l l then be as fol l ows

Satra per iod from B . C . 200 to 600 .

B rahmana 600 to 800 .

Man tra 800 to 1 000 .

Chhandas 1 000 to 1 200 .

Profe ssors Wi l son,Whitn ey

,and M . Barth regard

M ii ller’

s l im i ts for the “ Mantra and “ Chhandas

per i od s as too narrow and D r . H aug , a h igh au thori ty,

cons i ders the Ved ic peri od to extend from B .C . 1 2 00 to

B .C . 2000,and the very oldest hymn s (Mul l e r

’

s Chhandas)

to have been composed B . C . 2400 .

T H E L ITERATUR E O F T H E VED A S . 1 9

4 . T /ze Langnage of t/ze Vedas.

The Veda s were compo sed i n th e San scr i t language ,

wh ich mean s the sacred or.

the pol l'

s/zed tongu e . San scr i t

i s c l osely connected in grammar and vocab u la ry wi th the

Greek , La t i n,Teu ton ic ,

Ce l t ic,S clavon ic , and Zend .

H ence a ll are grou ped together by compa ra t i ve ph i l o

logists u nder one c lass,ca l l ed th e “ A ryan

,or I ndo

Eu ropean These seven languages a re s i sters , ho l d i ng

the same re la t ion to one another as F rench , Span i sh , and

I ta l ian ; and they are re la ted to some pr im i t i ve l ost tongue ,

as th ese Romance languages a re to the La t i n . A com

par i son of the A ryan languages has p laced i t beyond a

doubt tha t the ancestors of th e Greek s , I ta l ian s , German s,

Ce l ts , S clavon ian s , Pers ian s , and H i n du s were a t one

t ime l iv i ng together as one fam i ly wi th i n th e same

prec i nc ts , sepa ra te from the ances tors of the S em i t ic and

Tu ran ian races ; tha t they em i gra ted at d i fferen t t imes

and i n d i fferen t d i rec t ion s — th e fi rs t five towards the

North-west , and the la s t two towa rd s the Sou th and the

Ea s t— from a reg ion i n cen tra l A s ia of wh i ch B actriana

was probab ly the cen tre ; tha t they were or i gi na l ly a

pastora l race ; and tha t they gradua l ly changed the i r

hab i t s as they sett l ed down i n Eu rope,Pers ia and

H i n du stan .

The term s for God , for father , mother , son , daughter ,brother

,s i s ter

,heart s and tea rs

,are i den tica l i n these

languages . Th i s cou l d not have been acc i den ta l,for

they were appe l la t iv es before they were proper names .

The name for God i s der ived from a root dyn ,to sh i ne

,


and mean s the sh i n i ng one ”

; the term for father i s from

pa ,to protect , and m eans the protec tor of h i s fam i ly ;

mother is from nza , to make or fa sh ion ; daughter i s

der ived from a root dad to m i l k,and mean s “ the l i t t l e

m i l kma i d of the fam i ly th e ori gi na l mean i ng of brother

i s “ he who ca rr i es or , “ he who a s s i s ts and of s i s ter ,“she who pl ease s , or “ con sol es B efore th e A ryan s

parted they h ad names for the fam i ly re la t ion sh i p s wh ich

are expressed i n Engl i sh by the add i t i on of in-law,

as

fath er-in-law ,mother-in-law ,

son-in-law ,daugh ter-in-law ,

brother-in-law ,and s i s ter-in-law ; thu s showing a grea t

advance i n c i v i l i sat ion . They h ad word s for hou se , door ,and windows

,wh ich show that they were not nomads

,

bu t l ived i n fixed abodes . The word for boat or sh i p is

the same i n a ll these languages ; bu t the words for mas t s,

sa i l s,yard s

,are d i fferen t thu s showing that the A ryan s

before the i r sepa ra t i on went on ly i n boa t s wi th oars on

the r ivers of the i r land,the Oxu s and Jaxartes

,and d id

not sa i l anywhere on the ocean . They had hatchet s ,plough s , and m i l l s for gr i nd i ng corn . They cu l t i va ted

bar l ey,and perhaps other cerea l s . They h ad names for

cook i ng and bak i n g ; and they made a d i s t i nc t ion between

raw fle sh and cooked m eat . The names for c l othes and

sewing are th e same among a ll th e Aryan na t i on s ; and

hence i t is ev iden t tha t they were acqua i n ted wi th the art

of weav i ng and sew ing . They were a lso acqua i n ted wi th

s i lver,gol d

,copper

,and t i n . They h ad the same names for

tree, ca tt l e , ox , horse, dog, sheep ,mou se ,wolf, serpen ts , etc .

Max Mul l e r says,

“ I t i s hard ly poss i b l e to l ook at the

ev i dence h i th erto col l ected wi thou t fee l i ng tha t these

T H E L ITERATUR E OF T H E VED A S . 2 1

word s are the fragmen t s of a rea l language once spoken

by a un i ted race at a t ime wh ich the h istor ian has t i l l

la te ly hard ly ven tu red to rea l i se . Yet we have i n our

hands the re l i cs of that d i stan t t ime ; we are u s i n g th e

same word s wh ich were u sed by the fa thers of th e A ryan

race,changed on ly by phone t ic i nflu ences ; nay, we are

as nea r to them i n thought and speech as the F rench and

I ta l ian s are to the anc i en t peop l e o f Rome . I f any more

proof was wan ted a s to the rea l i ty of tha t per i od wh ich

mu st have preceded the d i spers i on of the A ryan race,we

m i gh t appea l to the A ryan numera l s as i rrefragab l e

ev idence of tha t l ong-cont i nued i n te l l ectua l l i fe wh ich

charac ter i se s tha t per i od . H ere is a dec ima l system of

numera t i on,i n i tse l f one of th e most ma rve l l ou s ach i eve

ment s of the human m i n d,ba sed on an abstrac t concep

t i on of quan t i ty , regu lated by a sp i r i t of ph i l osoph i ca l

c la ss ificat ion,and yet conce ived

,ma tu red , and fi n i shed

before the soi l of Eu rope was t rodden by Greek,Roman

,

S lave,or Teu ton .

" 1

5 . T li e Vedas ora l/y transmitted .

When the fou r col l ec t ion s of the Vedas were a rranged

by the i r myth i ca l comp i l e r , when the

B rahmanas were composed,

and probab ly for th ree

hun dred or fou r hundred years afterwa rd s,wri t i n g

was u nknown i n I nd ia . F or had i t been known ,

i t is pretty certa i n tha t some men t i on of i t wou l d have

been made i n Ved i c l i te ra tu re . When read i ng the

1 Chipsfrom a German Workshop, vo l. i i . , pp. 50 , 5 1 .

2 2 T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VED A S .

O l d Testamen t we often meet with word s denot i ng

wr i t ing,read ing , pen and book . I n Exodu s we find

tha t Moses , hav i ng rece ived the ten commandmen ts,

wen t down from th e Mount,

and th e two tabl es

of tes t imony were in h is hand : the tab l es were wri tten

on both the i r s i d es : on the one S i de and on the other were

they wr i tten . And the tabl es were the work of God,

and the wr i t i ng was th e wri t i ng of God . Aga i n,

A nd he took th e book of the covenan t,and read i t i n

the au d i ence of the peop le ”.

2 The Psa lm i s t says,

“ Then sa i d I,Lo

,I come ; in the vo lume of the book i t

is wri tten of me” 3 My tongue i s the pen of a

l

ready

wri ter .” 4 And job exc la im s,

“ Oh tha t my words were

now wri t ten ! Oh that th ey were pr in ted i n a book !

tha t they were graven wi th an i ron pen and l ead i n

the rock for ever .” 5 Su ch words as th ese prove beyond

a dou bt tha t the proph ets of th e O l d Testament,and

th e na t i on s among whom they prophe s ied,were ac

qua inted wi th the art of wr i t i ng . We look i n va i n,

however,i n th e Vedas

,B rahmanas

,and even i n the

S fi tras , for word s denot i ng wri t i ng, read i ng, pen and

book . F or read i ng we have addy eti or ad7ziti, to go over or

to repea t ; for chapters , adlzyayas, l ectu res ; and for books

we have enaranas,or fam i l i e s i n whose memory books

were preserved and ora l ly transm i t ted . I t is ev i dent,

therefore,tha t a ll the l i teratu re of the Veda s was handed

down ora l ly , l i ke the H omeri c poems . Every B rahman

1 E x.

,xxx i i .

,1 5 , 16 .

2 Ibid. , xx iv . , 7 .

3 Ps .,x l . , 7.

‘1 Ibid . , x lv .

, 1 .

5 J ob , x ix . , 2 3 , 24 .

T H E L ITE RATU R E OF T H E VED A S . 23

had to l earn the Vedas by heart du r i ng the twe lve or

more year s of h is s tudent l i fe . The Gu ru , or teacher ,pronoun ced a group of word s , and the pu p i l s repea ted

them after h im . Cae sar says th e same of the D ru i ds .

And long after wri t i ng was i n troduced the B rahman s

were str ict ly forb i dd en to wr i te or read the Vedas . I n

the Mahabharata i t is wri tten ,

“ Those who se l l the

Vedas , and even those who wr i te them . those a l so who

defi l e them,they sha l l go to hel l ” .

Wri ti ng was probab ly known i n I nd ia before th e con

ques t of A l exander th e Great . We find i n the Lo lita

nistora ,a book conta i n i ng the l i fe of Buddha

,which was

t ran s la ted i n to Ch i nese , 76 A . D . , tha t the boy Buddha

knew how to wri te,and is even represe n ted a s teach ing

h i s Gu ru , V isvam itra ,the names of s ixty-fou r Sanscr i t

l etters,j u s t as j esu s i s represen ted i n the “ gospe l of th e

i nfan cy as exp la i n i ng to H is teacher the mean i ng of the

H ebrew a l phabet . We have , however , the more re l iab l e

te s t imony of i n scr i p t ion s that wr i t i ng .was known i n

I nd ia du r i ng the ear ly per i od of Buddh i sm . The inscript ion s of A soka (B . C . 250) on the rocks of Kapurdigiri

near Pe shawa r , Dhou l i in O r i s sa,Girnar i n Guj era t

,

and other p laces , are p roof pos i t i ve of th i s . They are

wri t ten in two d i fferen t cha racters , and ca l l themse lve s

lip i , a wri t i ng,

and D /zarni alzjfii , sacred wri t i ng . The

i n scr i pt ion s of Kapurdigiri are wri tten from r igh t to l eft ,and the l etter s are ev i den t ly of Sem i t i c or ig in

,mo st

c l ose ly connected wi th the A rama ic branch of th e ol d

Sem i t ic or Phoen i c ian a l phabet . The charac ters of the

other i n scr i p t i ons,though wr i t ten from l eft to r i gh t

,Show


t race s of hav i ng been once wri tten i n the con trary direc

t i on.Thi s

,and the imperfect system of mark i ng the

vowel s,poi n t to a Sem i t i c ori gi n ; bu t whether th e wri t i ng

was i n trodu ced from Phoen i c ia by Phoen i c ian traders , or

from an Arama i c character u sed i n Pers ia or Baby lon , i s

not yet sett l ed . D r . Bu rne l l , j udging from a docket

a ttached to one of the Baby lon ian tab l et s i n the B r i t i sh

Mu seum,conc luded that i t was i n trodu ced from th e

lat ter . 1 H owever , i t i s certa i n tha t th ere i s no trace of

the devel opmen t i n I nd ia of an or ig i na l i n dependen t

system of wri t i ng .

2

I t i s wel l known tha t th e Phoen i c ian s had commerc ia l

i n tercou rse wi th I nd ia from th e ear l i e st t imes . Sol omon ’

s

sh i p s of Ta rsh i sh , manned by Phoen i c ian seamen,sa i l ed

to the sou th and west of I nd ia, and imported thence

peacocks , apes,and i vory , wh ich are ca l l ed i n H ebrew

tnlelzi—ini , leoplz ini , slzenlzaoo-ini , horn s of tee th .

3T oleei i s

the ol d Tam i l word for a peacock , and i s s t i l l u sed for a

peacock’s ta i l ; leap/z i s a word wi thou t etymo l ogy i n the

Sem i t ic languages,bu t is nea r ly i den t i ca l i n sound wi th

the San scr i t name for ape, leap i . The word i n th i s form

has been fou nd a l so in Egypt ian h ieroglyph i c s of the

seven teen th centu ry B . C . ; thu s showing,not on l y the

ea r ly occupa t i on of I nd ia by the A ryans, bu t thei r i n t i

mate commerc ia l i n tercou rse wi th the West l ong before

1 A cademy for J une 17, 1882 .

2 D r . B urne l l , E . S . I. Paleography ,chap . i. , and M ax M u l ler’s

S cience of Language, I st series, pp. 208, 9 .

3I K ings, x.

, 22 .



the commerc ia l i n tercou rs e of th e Phoen i c ian s,and the

pol i t i ca l i n tercou r se of th e Pers ian s , whose a l phabet i s

traceab l e to a S em i t ic orig i n , tha t the H i n du a l phabet

m i gh t have been i n troduced from the same sou rce .

The Greek wri ters,N earchus (B .C . 3 25) and Megas

thenes (B .C . both dec lare tha t the H i ndu s had no

laws and no books ; bu t the former says tha t they wrote

on a sort of cotton c l oth or paper , and the la tter tha t they

had m i l e s tones a t a d i s tance of ten s tad ia from on e

another,i n d i ca t ing the rest i ng-p laces and d i stances .

M ax Mul l er conc ludes,therefore

,tha t “wri t i ng was known

to the H i ndu s before A l exander’s conquest , bu t tha t th ey

had n ot then begun to u se i t for l i terary pu rposes— the

B rahmans not havi ng got over the i r prej ud ice aga i n s t

the u se of l et ter s as the med ium of preserv i ng and com

mun icat ing the i r sacred books”

. And D r . Bu rnel l says ,Wri t i n g was

,certa i n ly

,l i tt l e u sed i n I nd ia before B .C .

250

6 . l e Genera l C/zaracter of Vedic Litera ture.

The genera l s ty l e and cha racter of Ved i c l i teratu re

shou l d not be j udged from the qu ota t i on s and doctr i nes

wh ich appear i n th i s book . I t h as been my endeavou r to

c l ear away the ru bbi sh,and br i ng to l i ght th e prec i ou s

gems of tru th wh i ch lay embedded among much tha t is

pueri l e and unmean i ng . Though the Mantrap ort ions of

the Veda s con s i s t of hymn s or metr ica l verses,i t i s

pa i n fu l ly obv i ou s , to any one read i ng them ,e i ther in

the orig i na l or i n tran sla t i on s,that they have bu t very

l i t t l e poetry , u nderstand i ng by tha t word lofty concept ion s

T H E L ITERATUR E OF T H E VED A S . 27

and s tr ik i ng thoughts expre s sed i n cha s te , measu red

language . The hymn s abound i n ted iou s repet i t i on s

and puer i l e i deas , wh ich form a grea t contrast to th e ea sy

flow and e l eva ted concept i on s of the sacred poetry of the

H ebrews . Thei r on ly charm l i e s i n the sma l l rays of

l ight wh ich they th row on the mos t anci en t thoughts,

hab i ts,and confl ic t s of the H i n du A ryan s . The B rah

mana port i on s are more d i sappoi n t i ng s t i l l . I cannot

descr i be them better than i n the words of Profes sor Max

Mul l e r : “ The genera l charac ter of these works (B rah

manas) i s marked by sha l l ow and i n s ip i d grand i l oqu en ce ,by pri est ly conce i ts

,and an t i quar ian pedan try Aga i n

,

These works deserve to be stud i ed as th e phys i c ian

stud i es the twadd l e of i d i ots and the rav i ngs of madmen .

They wi l l d i sc l o se to a thoughtfu l eye the ru i ns of faded

grandeu r ; the memor i es of nob l e asp i rat ion s . B u t l et

u s on ly t ry to tran s la te thes e works i n to our own

language,and we sha l l fee l a s ton i shed tha t human lan

guage and human thought shou l d ever have been u sed

for such pu rp o ses .

” 1 Aga i n,he says respect i ng the

Upg nishadS— wh i ch u ndoubted ly form the bes t port i on s

of the B rahmanas,and wh ich i n h i s [fl ooert Lectures

he pronoun ced u nr iva l l ed,not on ly i n th e l i tera tu re

of I nd ia,bu t i n the l i te ra tu re of the wor l d

,

“ They ”

(the d i ffi cu l t i es of tran s lat i ng them)“con s i s t

i n the extraord i nary number of pa s sages wh ich seem

to u s u tte r ly mean ingl e s s and i rra t i ona l,or

,at a ll

even ts , so far-fe tched tha t we can hard ly be l i eve that the

1 H ist. A ne. Sans. L i t., p . 3 89 .


sam e au thors who can expres s the deepest thoughts on

rel ig ion and ph i l o sophy wi th c l earness , nay ,with a ki nd of

poet i ca l e l oquence,cou l d have u t tered i n th e same breath

su ch u tter ru bb i sh . Some of the sac r ific ia l tech n i ca l i t i es,

and the i r ph i losoph i ca l i n terpreta t i on s , with wh i ch the

U pan i shad s abou nd,may perhap s i n t im e as sume a

c l earer mean i ng,when we sha l l have more fu l ly mas tered

the i n tr i cac i e s of th e Ved ic ceremon ia l . B u t there w i l l

a lways rema i n i n th e U pan i shad s a va s t amount of

wha t we can on ly ca l l mean ingl e s s ja rgon,and for the

p resence of wh ich i n the se an c i en t m i n es of thought I , for

my own pa rt, fee l qu i te u nab l e to accou nt . ” 1

The Mantras,th e ol dest port i on s of Ved ic l i tera tu re

,

are by far th e most i n terest i ng and i n struc t i ve . The

B rahmanas and U pan i shad s,though la ter in t ime

,S how

con s i derab le d ec l i n e i n thought and s ty le . H ow can

th i s be accoun ted for on the theory of “ Evolut ion ” or

U pwa rd p rogress” 9

1 S acred B ooks of the E ast,vo l. xv . , p . 19 .

CH A PT E R I I .

T H E T H EOLOGY O F T H E V E D A S .

Al l men yea rn afte r th e gods .— H 0M E R .

T he world th rough its w isdom knew not God. PAUL .

S 1 : T li e N unzoer of t/ze Gods.

I n some H ymn s the number of the god s is g iven as

th i rty—th ree . Ye god s,who are e l even i n heaven

,

who are e l even on earth , and who are e l even dwel l i n g

wi th gl ory i n m id-air,may ye be p l eased wi th th i s

ou r sacrifice .

” 1 We have probab ly a rem i n i s cen ce

of th i s number in th e th i rty-th ree R a tus of the Z end

Avesta , an i n tere st i ng fact,i n d ica t i ng tha t before th e

separa t i on of the I nd ian s from th e I ran i an s , con s iderab l e

progres s had been made i n po lythe i s t ic not i on s . Whi le ,

however , u nder the i nfluence of Zoroa s ter , a s trong

react i on ea r ly set i n aga i n s t po lythei sm i n I ran,a new

impu l s e was given to i t by the gorgeou s scenery and

d ivers ified c l imate of I nd ia . H ence,i n th e R i g-Veda

,

we see the number of th e god s gradua l ly and a lmos t

impercept i b ly i n creas i ng . Agn i is invoked to br in g “ the

1 R .-V . , i . , 1 3 9 , 1 1 .

H aug’

s E ssay s on the Parsees, 3 rd edi t ion .

3 0 T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VEDA S .

th ree and th i r ty gods wi th thei r wives ” 1 The A sv i n s

are“assoc ia ted wi th a ll the thr i ce e l even god s

,wi th the

Waters,the Ma ru ts

,the B h rigus ,

and un i ted wi th the

Dawn and the S un ,dr i nk the Soma A nd “

a ll these

god s,th r i ce e l even in number

,are i n th e sec ret of Soma

”.

3

I n another hymn,th ree hu ndred

,th ree thou sand

,

th i rty and n i n e gods are sa i d to have “ worsh i pped

Agn i I n the A th arva-Veda the Gandharva s , or dem i

gods,a l on e amou nt to six thou sand three hundred and

th i rty-th ree ? The number of Ved i c gods,though large

,

s i nks i n to insign ificance when compa red wi th the tota l

number of H i ndu gods,wh ich the trad i t ions of the presen t

age give , viz ., taree lzundred and tlzirty

-taree millions

2 . T /ze N a ture of t/ze Gods .

The gods are S poken of i n the R i g-Veda as the “ former

and the la t ter,

” the “ ol d and the “ young ”. The “ for

mer are the gods of Poetry,and the “ la t ter the gods

of Ph i losophy . The ch ief charac ter i s t i c s of the “ former ”

are concrete or Phys ica l,and of the “ lat ter ab stra ct

or M etaphys ica l . We sha l l con s i der them u nder these

des i gnat i on s .

(1 ) P/zysica l Gods.

A l l the god s i n th i s c lass appea l , more or l ess , to the

sen ses,and hence are ca l l ed “ sem i-tangi b l e by Pro

fessor M ax Mu l l er i n h is [J uan Lectures.

1 R .-V .

,i., 45 , 2 ; i i i . , 6 , 9 .

2 Ibid. , v i i i . 3 5, 3 .

3 Ibid., ix . , 92 , 4 .

4 Ibid. , 9 , 9 .

5 A .-V .

,x i . ,

T H E THEOLOGY OF T H E VED A S . 3 1

The fi rs t of th ese i s the sky i n its va r i ou s a spect s and

u nder var i ou s names . The sky i s u ndoubted ly the ol dest

obj ect of worsh i p i n the Veda , and one of its oldes t names

as sac/z i s Dyau s ;1a name iden t ified wi th the Greek

Z ens,and the La t i n j u i n j upi te r . Dyau s is ca l l ed P i ta r

,

F a ther ; and the compound D yaushpitar is a lmost as

mu ch one word as j up iter or Z euspa ter . D yau sh p ita r,

H eaven-F ather , or B r igh t F a ther , rem i n d s us both of

mi-rep fut d’

w 6 e’

v r ois o i’

ipa vois," Our F a ther , who art i n

heaven ” 2and of na Os raw (barr ow,

“ th e F a ther O f

L i gh ts The Sky is a l so ca lled D yau sh p i ta jan i ta :

D yau sh , th e F a ther, the Creator ; and the m i gh ty D yn,

the maker of I nd ra .

5

Dyau s d i d not l ose i t s appel lat ive character i n th e

l i tera tu re of I n d ia as Zeu s d i d i n th e l i teratu re of Greece,

6

and hence d id not occupy the same pos i t i o n of pre

em i n ence among the god s of I n d ia as tha t wh ich Zeu s

occup ied among the gods of Greece . I n dra , h i s son ,became the Zeu s of I nd ia

,and Dyau s had to bow down

before h im , for h i s grea tn ess exceeded the heaven

(Dyaus).7

1 F rom S ansc ri t div or dy u , to sh ine,mean ing

“the brigh t

or“th e sh ining one

”

.

2 M att . , v i . , 9 .

3j ames , i. , 17.

4 R .-V . , iv 1 10 .

5 R .-V .

, iv .,

6 S ome traces of the origina l mean ing of Zeus are supposed

to be found in such words as Z n); 5a ,Zeu s ra ins ; Endia (eu

Z eus , A t o's), fa i r sky ; sub j ove frigido, unde r the co ld sky ; and

sub divo, unde r th e Open sky.

7 R .-V .

,i.,1 3 1 , 1 ; i. , 6 1 , 9 .


V ABH N A , th e Ou ranos1 of the Greeks and the Ahu ra

Maz da 2 of the Pers ians , i s another name for the Sky ,

1Ou ranos , says M ax M u l ler , in th e language of H es iod

is u sed as a name for th e sky ; h e is made or born th at ‘ h e

shou ld be a firm p lace for th e blessed gods’. It is sa id twic e

that U ranos covers eve ryth ing (v . , and that wh en h e bringsth e n igh t, h e stretch ed ou t everywh e re embrac ing th e earth .

Th is sounds a lmost as if th e Greek myth h ad st i l l preserved a

reco l lec t ion of th e etymo logi ca l powe r of U ranos . F or U ranosis th e S anscr i t Varuna ; and derived from a root var

,to cove r ;

V aruna be ing in th e V eda a lso a name of th e firmament . but

e spec ia l ly connec ted w i th th e n igh t and opposed to M i tra , th eday (Ch ips, vol. i i . , pp . 67,

T h e grounds for ident ifying Varuna and A hura-M az da

1 . Tra ces of h is origina l sky na tu re are C learly vi s ib le in th edesc rip t ion of th e bodi ly appearanc e of Ah u ra-M az da . M r. j .

D armesteter says,

“ T h e sove re ign god of Pe rs ia,notwith

stand ing th e Charac te r of profound abstrac t ion wh i ch h e h asac qu ired and wh i ch is refl ec ted in h is name A hura-M az da , th e

omn isc ient Lord ,’

can h imse lf be recogn ised as a god of th e

h eavens . T h e anc ient formu lae of th e l i tan ies sti l l S h ow that h eis lum inou s and corporea l . Th ey invoke th e c reator A huraM az da

,resp lendent , very great , very beau t ifu l , wh i te , lum inou s

seen from afa r ; th ey invoke th e ent i re body of A hura-M az da ,th e

body of Ahu ra wh ich is th e greate st of bodies ; th ey say thatth e sun is h is eye , and th at th e sky is th e garment embro ideredw i th stars

,w i th wh i ch h e arrays h imse l f. L i ke Varuna , l i ke

Zeus , th e l igh tn ing is in h is hands ,‘th e mo l ten brass wh ic h

h e causes to flow on th e two worlds ’

; l i ke th em h e is th e

fath e r of th e god of l igh tn ing.

”

2 . T h e term A sura , sp iri t , wh ich is etymo logi ca l ly th e

same as th e Zend A hura ,is often app l ied to Varuna , not , h ow

ever,exc lus ive ly.


3 4 T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VED A S

were prom i n en t . 1 We fi nd a l so tha t th is abstrac t sp i r i tua l

concept i on wa s so c l os e ly connec ted wi th a concrete

mater ia l concept i on tha t th e one cou l d not be separa ted

from th e other ; and hen ce both found expres s i on i n

Varuna . Varu na therefore represen ts both the ma ter ia l

heaven,and the god of heaven .

N ow,wh i l e i t is obv iou s tha t the o l dest nam es for the

H eaven-God among the ancestors of th e A ryan nat i on s

were Dyaus and Varuna,i t i s n ot so obv i ou s under

1 Ahu ra-M az da is represented by Zo roaste r, h is proph et ,as

“th e c reator o f th e earth ly and sp i r i tua l l ife , th e Lord of

th e wh o le un ive rse,in wh ose h ands are all th e c reatures . H e

is th e l igh t and source of l igh t ; h e is th e w i sdom and inte l lec th e is in possess ion of all good th ings, sp i r i tua l and worldly ,such as th e good m ind , immorta l i ty

,h ea l th

,th e best tru th ,

devot ion and pu r i ty, and abundance of every earth ly good .

Al l th ese gifts h e grants to th e p ious man,wh o is uprigh t In

th ough ts , words,and deeds . A s th e ru ler of th e wh o le uni

ve rse , h e not on ly rewards th e good , but h e is a pun ish er ofth e w ic ked at th e same t ime . A l l th at is c reated , good or ev i l ,fortune or m isfortune ,

is h is work ”

(D r. H aug’

s E ssays, p .

3 02 , 3 rd ed i t ion).“Arch i lochus s ings Zeus fath er, as th e god wh o ru les th e

h eavens, wh o watch es th e gu i l ty and unj u st ac t ions of men,

wh o adm in isters chast isement to monsters , th e god wh o

c reated h eaven and earth .

“ T h e old man of Asera knowsthat Zeus is th e fath er of gods and men ; that h is eye sees

and compreh ends all th ings and reach es all th at h e w ish e s .

”

N aus i kaa knows that Zeu s was me rc i fu l wh en sh e addressesth e sh ipwrecked U lysses Zeus h imse lf

,th e O lymp ian,

distributes happ iness to th e good and th e bad , to every one , as

h e p leases . A nd to th ee a lso he probably h as sent th is , and

you ough t by a ll means to bear i t .

T H E THEOLOGY O F T H E VED A S . 3 5

wh ich name the sky was fi rst worsh ipped —Dyau s or

Va runa ? The preva l ence of the root dyu i n the name for

God i n a ll the I ndo-Eu ropean languages , and e spec ia l ly

i n the compounds Dyaus/guitar , Z euspa ter , j upiter ,

1 seem s

to po i n t to th e former ; whereas the pr io r i ty gi ven to

Ou ranos i n the G reek mythol ogy— Zeu s be i ng the grand

son of Ou ranos- and the fac t tha t the I ran ian s , whi l e

c l i n gi ng to Va runa ,rej ected Dyau s , and st i gma t i sed a ll

gods (devas) der i ved from i t as demon s , seem to po i n t to

the la t te r . Can anyth i ng be u rged i n favou r of Varuna

wh ich may tu rn the sca l e There are th ree th ings : (1 )The mora l e l evat i on of cha racte r asc r i bed to h im i s far

more lofty and d iv i ne than tha t ascr ibed to any other

Ved i c god ;1

(2) The eth i ca l con sc i ou sness of s i n man i

fested i n the hymn s addressed to Varu na is far more

frequ en t and i n ten se than tha t wh ich i s foun d i n hymn s

addres sed to Dyaus and later gods ; (3 ) In proport i on a s

we come down th e stream of t im e from Varu na,we find

the mora l charac ter of th e god s deter i ora t i n g,and th e

eth i ca l con sc i ou sness of s i n growi ng weaker and weaker .

These facts seem to tu rn the sca l e i n favou r of Va ru na,

1 Gre e k Zeus and probab ly 96 0 9 , Lat in D ens,Ge rman Z io

Anglo-Saxon T in, L i thuan ian D ien as, W e lsh D a ze .

2 If we comb ine into one th e attr ibutes of sove re ign powe rand maj esty wh ich we find in th e oth e r gods , we sh al l haveth e god Varuna . In oth e r sec tions th e re l igion of th e V edais r itua l ist ic , and at t imes intense ly specu lat ive ; bu t w i thVaruna i t goes down to th e depth of th e consc ience

,and

rea l ises th e idea of ho l ine ss (M . B arth ’

s R eligions of Ind ia ,

pp . 16 , 17)

3 6 T H E TEA CH ING O F T H E VED A S .

and wa rrant the conc lu s ion tha t he was the ol dest b i stor i

cal god of the u n i ted I ndo-Eu ropean na t i on s .

The p r im i t i ve A ryan s , however , i n con sequ ence of the

col d c l imate in wh ich th ey lived ,

'

h ad l ooked w i th pro

found interest on th e br illiant aspect of th e sky as th e

most p l easan t and adorab le,and gave expre ss i on to i t in

Dyau s . D yauslzpitar , therefore , was a formu la fixed i n

the i r language before th e separa t i on of the Western

branches from the Eastern . The Greeks and Lat in s,

occu py i ng a cou ntry , the c l ima te of wh ich resemb l ed the

one they h ad l eft,c lu ng to tlzis aspect of the H eaven-God

,

and made Zeus—j up iter the i r su preme dei ty . The H indu

Aryans on th e other hand , l i v i ng i n th e hot su l try p la ins

of I nd ia,where the gl ow of heaven is oppress ive and de

struc t ive,wh i l e i ts s torms

, thunder and ra i n are refresh i ng

and fert i l i s i ng,fixed on tais aspect of the sky as the most

beneficen t and adorab l e ; and embod ied i t i n a new god,

I ndra ,a name su pposed to be der ived from a root sign i

fying to“ drop ”

. Dyau s , therefore , before he grew

strong and drama t i c enough to su persede Varuna i n

Ind ia,was supp lanted by I nd ra . B u t the I ran ians

,i n

consequence of some powerfu l s p i r i tua l i nfluence s wi th

wh i ch they came i n contact i n M ed ia,or thereabou t

,

1

c lung to th e abstract concept i on of Varuna and developed

i t i n to a persona l sp i r i tua l B e i ng , separate from na tu re ,wh ich they ca l l ed A snra , Zend A lzura ,

a l i v i ng sp i r i t ; an

ep i th et i n th e Veda denot i ng ch i efly the ab strac t concep

1 S ee D es Origines da Z oroastr isnze, par M . C . de H arlez,

extra i t du j ournal A sia tique, Paris , 1 879-80 .

T H E THEOLOGY O F T H E VED A S . 37

t i on of the H eaven-God . And the name Va runa,or V arana

,

rema i n ed wi th them ,a t fi rst a s expre ss i n g the materia l

heaven on ly,andafterwards representingamyth i ca l region ,

the sea t of a fight between a storm god and a s torm fiend .

The Veda s descr i be Va runa i n the most exa l ted

language . The sun is h is eye,the heaven is h is

ga rment,and th e resound i ng wi nd is h is brea th .

1 H e

stemmed a sunder th e wi de firmament,he l i fted on h igh

the br i gh t and gloriou s heaven,he s tretched ou t , apart ,

th e starry Sky and the ea rth ? H e open ed wi de pa th s

for the sun,and hol l owed ou t channe l s for the r ivers .

3

H e is k ing of a ll , and the “upho lder of order i n the

u n iverse wh ich he ha s made .

4 H is o rd inance s (vra tas),res t i ng on h imse l f a s a moun ta i n , are fixed and unassa il

ab l e . By the i r operat i on the moon wa l k s i n b r ightnes s

and the twink l i ng stars wh ich appea r a t n igh t van i sh

in the morn i n g . H e ha s unbounded contro l over th e

ca lam i t ies of mank i nd,and a thou sand rem ed i es to cu re

a ll d i sea se s . H e i s beau t i fu l i n form,u ndecay ing

,un

conquerab l e,

serene and immovab l e in the m i d s t of

tu rmoi l and tempest ;“ the god whom the scoffers do

not provoke,nor the tormentors of men ,

nor th e p l otte rs

of m isch i ef H e is fu l l o f holy s trength,wi thou t

dece i t,en l i ghten ing the foo l i sh

,and l ead i ng h is wor

sh ippers to wea l th and happ iness .

’

1 R .

-V . , i . , 1 1 5 , 1 i ., 2 5 , I3 ; v i i . , Ibid .

,v i i . , 86 , I .

Ibid i . , 24 , 8 ; n .

, 28, 4 .

4 [ bid i i ., 2 2 . 10 ; i. , 2 5 , 8 .

Ibid.

,i i .

, 28 , 8 .

6 1lu d ,i ., 2 5 ; i. , 24 , 9 ,

10 : A tharva-V,iv .

,1 6 .


H i gh up i n h i s empyrean rea lm ,dwe l l i n g i n a pa lace

wi th a th ou sand ga tes,su pported by a thou sand column s ,

he d i scerns th e tracks of th e b i rds tha t fly th rough the

a ir,and the S h ips tha t p l ough the m igh ty deep .

1 H e

knows the twel ve month s,and th e th i rteenth

,or i n ter

ca lary ”

; he is acqua i n ted wi th th e cou rse of th e wi nds ,

and wi th the bri gh t and : m i ghty d iv in i t i e s who res i de on

h igh ? To h im th e darkne ss sh i n eth as the l i gh t “ for

he sees wha t h as been,and what wi l l be done I f a

man stand s,or wa l k s

,or h i de s ; i f he goes to l i e down or

to get u p ; wha t two peop le s i t t i ng together wh i sper,

K ing Va ru na knows i t , he i s there a s th e th i rd . H e

wh o Shou l d fl ee far beyond th e sky, even he wou l d not

be r i d of Varuna the k i ng . H is sp i e s p roceed from

heaven toward s th i s wo r l d ; with thou sand eyes th ey

overlook th i s earth . K i n g Va runa sees wha t i s be

tween heaven and earth,and what is beyond . H e has

cou nted the twink l i n gs of the eyes of men . A s a p layer

throws the d ice,h e sett l es a ll th i ngs .

” 4

Varuna i s th e governor of th e m ora l wor l d— th e con

sc i ences of men . H e ha s given laws wh ich cannot be

broken wi th im pun i ty . H is fa ta l “ nooses stand spread

ou t to ca tch the man who te l l s a l i e bu t “ they pa ss by

h im who te l l s the tru th ”

.

5 H is wra th i s terr i b l e u pon

a ll who comm i t sin and disfigu re h is worsh ip wi th im

perfec t ion s .

‘1 N everthe l ess,he is merc i fu l to the o ffender .

1 R .-V .

,v i i .

, 88, 5 ; i i . , 4 1 , 5 ; i . , 2 5 , 7.

2 Ibid.,i., 2 5 , 8 , 9 .

Ibid . , i . , 2 5 , 1 1 .

4 A .-V . ,iv .

,1 6 .

5 Ibid.

,

6 R .-V .

, i . , 2 5 , 2 ; iv ., 5 .

T H E THEOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . 3 9

And hence man, t remb l i ng u nde r th e bu rden of s in

,dares

to approach Va runa and cry,

(1)“ Let me not yet

,O Va runa

,en ter i n to the hou se

of c lay ; have mercy ,A lm i gh ty

,have mercy I

(2)“ I f I go a l ong tremb l i ng

,l i ke a c l ou d d riven by

the wi nd,have mercy

,A lm i gh ty

,have mercy ” 1

(3)“ Through wan t of strength

,thou s trong and

br igh t god , have I gone wrong ; have mercy ,A lm igh ty

,

have mercy I

(4) Th i rst came upon the worsh ipper , though he stood

i n the m i dst of the wa ters ; have me rcy,A lm i gh ty

,have

mercy

(5)“Whenever we men

,O Va ru na

, comm i t an o ffence

before th e heaven ly host ; when ever we break the law

through thought l essnes s,pu n i sh u s not

,O God

,for tha t

offence‘1

H owever the name Va ru na may jar on our ears , there

can be no doub t tha t to the anc i en t A ryan s i t wa s the

mos t sub l ime expres s i on of the Suprem e B e ing , whose

persona l i ty was now fad i ng away from the i r m i n d , and

heaven,the p lace of H is abode , was addre s sed a s H im

se l f. Th i s was not from a deep sen se of con tr i t i on and

unworth i nes s to ca l l H im F a ther,l i ke th e p rod iga l son

when he cr i ed,

“ I have s inned aga i n s t heaven ,”

bu t i n

con sequ en ce of the s i n fu l tendency of man not to reta i n

1 A more l i tera l translat ion of th is verse is given by M u ir :

1 go a long, 0 thunde rer , qu ivering l ike an inflated sk in ‘ ”

etc .

2 R .-V .

,v i i .

,89 . M ax M u l l er’

s trans lat ion .


God i n h i s memory . The A rvan s were now i n tha t

men ta l and sp i r i tua l cond i t i on ,ap t ly descr i bed by Co l e

brook,

“ recogn i s i ng bu t one Sup reme De i ty , yet not

suffic i en t ly d i scr im i na t i ng the c rea tu re from the Crea tor ”

F a th er o f heaven i n the sense of “ God of heaven,

” or

F a th er of l i gh t i n the s en se of “ God i s l i gh t ,”

h ad

become haz y and u ncerta i n and th e a ttr ibu tes or ig ina l ly

a scr i bed to H im were con sequ en t ly tran sferred to H eaven ,

th e p lace of H is abode .

The phys i ca l,i n te l l ec tua l , and mora l a ttr i bu tes of the

De i ty n ever shone so fu llv br i ght ly , and l ov i ng ly i n any

Aryan god a s i n Va runa . A l l subsequ en t gods are bu t

dim reflec t i on s of h im —~ as he was bu t a dim reflec t i on of

the Supreme— reta in i n g i n the Ved i c Age h i s phys i ca l

and i n tel l ec tua l charac te r,bu t a l l owing h is mora l per

fections gradua l ly to grow dimmer and d immer,u n t i l

,

at last,th e mora l character of th e immorta l gods cou l d

not be d i s t i ngu i sh ed from tha t of morta l men .

M ax Mul l er says,

“ The more we go back , th e more

we -exam i n e the ear l i es t germ s of any re l i g i on , th e pu re r

I be l ieve we sha l l find th e concep t i on s of the De i ty

Th is i s as s tr ic t ly t ru e of the re l i g i on s of I n d ia as i t i s

of all other anc i en t re l i gion s . And th i s can hard ly be

accounted for , except on the suppos i t ion tha t man was

orig ina l ly endowed wi th d iv ine knowledge fa r more than

he appea r s to have possessed at the dawn of h i story . F or

h ad the Ved ic A ryan s emerged a t any t im e, by the i r own

exert i on , from a l ow or savage sta te,and gradua l ly r i sen

i n to the h igh concept i on of the Au thor of th e Un i verse,

wh ich fou nd expre ss i on in Varuna , we m i gh t reasonab ly



beyond th e c louds , and beyond the firmament . Ad i t i at

fi rs t wa s probab ly noth i ng more than an ep i thet of Dyau s,

th e sky (dyau/7 aditi/z)1 —more espec ia l ly of tha t pa rt of

the sky whence the dawn comes forth every morn i ng,

and hence the dawn i s ca l l ed “ the face of Ad i t i Myth

o logy , however , soon d i s sected the H eaven-God i n to seven

i nfe r i or de i t i es,correspon d i ng to the Ved i c seven reg ion s ,

or wor ld s,

3 to each of wh ich a god mu s t be a l l otted . Thi s

myth,the root of wh ich we see i n the sacrednes s a ttached

to the number seven,4 began to germ inate before the

I ran ian s and th e I nd ian s separa ted . I n I ran i t grew i n to

the seven Amesh a-S penta s,“ the u ndyi ng and wel l-doi ng

ones,

” with Ahu ra-Ma z da a t the i r head and i n I nd ia i n to

th e seven Ad i tyas,

“ the i nfin i te ones , wi th Varuna a t

the i r head . B u t its growth i n Ind ia d i d not s top here .

I t was n eces sary to c rea te a mother for the Ad i tya s , and

so th e ep i th e t Ad i t i was ra i s ed to the rank of a goddes s ;

and from bei ng the mother of th e bri ght Ad i tyas sh e

eas i ly gl i ded i n to the mother of a ll gods , the common

womb,or sub stratum of all ex istencies .

“ Ad i t i i s the

h eaven ; Ad i t i i s the sky ; Ad i t i is the mother , father ,son ; Ad i t i i s a ll the gods ; Ad i t i is the five c las ses of

men Ad i t i is whatever has been and wha tever sha l l be .

” 5

1 R .-V .

,v .

, 59 , 8 x .,63 , 3 .

'

Ibid .

,i. , 1 1 3 , 1 9 .

3 Ibid .

,ix .

,1 14 , 3 .

4 Ibid. ,v i .

, 74 , 1 ; x .,1 22 , 3 ; x. ,

Ibid .,i.,89 , 1 0 .

Zeus e’

o rw a idiyp , 2 6 139 36 yiy, Z n); 8,

o i/pavo'

s. Zeus“ Ta fzr a war/ T axd) 7 013e 8

’

frrrép‘

r epou (zzE schylu s , F ragment, A nd so th e

Egypt ian goddess N e i th says , “ I am th e th ings that havebeen ,

that are ,and that w i l l be

T H E THEOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . 43

The names of the seven Ad i tya s va ry . Accord ing to

R .

-V . ,i i .

,27, I ,

th ey are M i t ra,A ryaman

,Bhaga

,

1 Varuna,

Daksha,An sa ; these and Ad i t i make seven . I n another

passage? Agn i and Sav i ta r are sub st i tu ted for Daksha and

An sa ; and i n the T a itt irya-Aranyaka ,D hatar and I n dra

occu py the p lace s of Ad i t i and Daksha,and V ivasvat

,th e

sun,i s men t i oned as th e e ighth

,wh i ch

,i f i n tended for

JWara ttanda,was ca s t away , accord i ng to R .

-V . ,x . , 72 ,

8 .

N o doubt phy s ica l ly these d e i t i e s had someth ing to

do wi th sola r movemen t s . Probably they were person i

fica t ions of the va r i ou s appearances of Va runa,th e sky ,

cau sed by the d iu rna l and annua l movemen ts of the

sun . Th i s,a t any ra te , is th e exp lana t i on g iven of them

a t a later age ; for we read i n the S atapatha-B rahmana 3

that th e Ad i tya s repre sen t th e twe lve mon th s i n the yea r .

And as the Ad i tya s p/zysica lly are the d i verse man i fe sta

t i on s of Varuna,so they are morally th e reflec t i on of h is

character , and ,in un i on w i th h im

,hol d the same eth ica l

re la t ion sh i p to man as he hol d s persona l ly . They

see the good man .

’ “ They ha te fa l sehood , forgive

s i n s,pre serve from ev i l s p i r i ts , br i dge the pa th s to im

morta l i ty,and u pho l d th e h eavens for th e sake of th e

r ighteou s .

” 5

The names of th ese Ad i tya s,wi th the except i on of

Varuna,are rema rkab le as be i ng abs trac t names of dei t i es

drawn from certa i n re la t i on s of mora l and soc ia l l i fe .

The names of the other gods are ch i efly taken from some

1 S c lavon ic B oga .

‘

1 R .-V v i i . , 50 , 1 . x i . , 6 1 , 3 , 8 .

1 R .-V .

,i i .

, 27, 3 . Ibid .

,i i .

, 27, 4 , 14 .

44 T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VEDA S .

prom i n en t phys ica l fea tu re s , such as Dyaus, the“ br igh t

or from th e act i v i t i es of human l i fe,su ch as V isvakarman

,

the “ maker of a ll th i ngs B u t these name s are the

pu re concept i on s of the m ind,i n wh ich the nob l est re la

t i ons of human i n tercou rse are reflec ted . M i tra i s the

fr i end,

” A ryaman the “ bosom fr i end , Bhaga the

l i bera l,Daksha the “ powerfu l or the capab l e

,

”and

An sa the apport i oner or sympa th i ser No won der

then tha t the cry of th e weak, sorrowfu l , and d i stres sed

shou l d a scend to them “ M ay I be con sc i ou s,Ad i tyas

,

of th is you r protec t i on,the cau se of happ iness i n danger ;

A ryaman,M i tra

,and Varu na , may I th rough you r gu i d

ance escape the s i n s that are l i ke p i tfa l l s i n my pa th s

Carry u s , O V asu s , by you r b l e s sed protect ion , as i t

were in you r sh i p , acros s a ll dangers . To our off

spr i ng,to ou r race, and thu s to ou rse l ves , make l i fe

l onger to l i ve ! ye va l ian t Ad i tyas .

“ O M i t ra,A rya

man,Varu na

,and ye Winds

,grant u s an abode free from

sin,fu l l of men

,glori ou s wi th th ree bars .

” 3

I N D R A,the god of the wa tery a tmosphere , of thu nder

1 R .-V . , i i . , 27, 5 . Ibid .

,v i i i .

,1 8

,17, 1 8 .

3 Ibid .,v i i i .

,1 8

,1 8

,

‘ In th e c i rc le of ideas wh i ch found expre ss ion in Adi t i andD a ksha ,

we see a fa int reco l lec t ion o f th e great F i rst Cau se , ora c rav ing to know th e Inv i s ib le , wh o is beh ind a ll th ings and

far beyond h uman ken,whose a ttribu te s sh one forth in V aruna .

S o i t was in Gree c e . Th ough Zeus was ado red as th e S upreme

GOd — (i7rtiu7'wv rap t or— som eth ing more was wanted to sat i sfy

th e c rav ings o f th e sou l and h ence an A lm igh ty F ate (Mo ira)was imagined before wh ic h a ll gods, even Zeus , h ad to bow.

’

T H E TH EOLOGY O F T H E VED A S . 45

and of l i ghtn i ng , th e son of D yu and Pri th iv i,of Pu ru sha

or Prajapa t i , 1 hold s th e same re la t i ve po s i t i on i n th e

mythology of th e Vedas as Zeu s i n tha t of Greece . The

phys ica l mean ing of Dyau s was too tran s parent for th e

c rysta l l i sa t i on of myths,

and th e eth ica l cha rac te r o f

Varuna was too d i v ine for reten t i on i n the corrupt

memory of man . B u t I ndra fu rn i shed u n l im i ted scope

for the wi l d imagina t i on of anc i en t Bard s,st imu la ted by

the most gorgeou s scenery i n th e worl d , to pa i n t i n the

cho ices t co lou rs . H ence h e marks a pe r i od of decadence

i n the re l i g i ou s con sc i ou snes s of the Ved ic A ryan s . H is

a ttr i bu tes are ch iefly , bu t not exc lu s i ve ly , th ose of phys i

ca l superi or i ty ra ther than of sp i ri tua l e l eva t i on and

mora l grandeu r . H e has more to do wi th the a ffa i rs of

the externa l wor ld — wi th the tempora l n ecess i t i e s and

comfort s of man — than wi th the sp i r i tua l a sp i ra t ion s and

eterna l rea l i t i es wi th wh i ch Va runa i s so prom i n ent ly

concerned . I ndra is an omn i poten t man, whereas

Va ru na i s more l ike an omn i poten t God . With the

advent of I ndra the anc i en t pas tora l charac ter of the

A ryan s changed,and th e more sp i r i tua l e l emen ts of the

anc i en t c reed d i sappeared . The peop l e now a s sumed

the more act ive character of warr i ors and conqu erors ,and the i r re l i g i ou s con cept i on s became l e ss eth i ca l and

more sen suou s .

I n the i r e ffort s to find su i tab l e ep i thets to ce l ebra te th e

great ness of I ndra,the o l d R i sh i s exhau s t the language

of the Vedas . H e i s the Su preme God , th e a rch i tec t of

1 R .-V . , iv .

,17, 4 ,

17 x . , 90 , 1 3 ; Sa t. B r.,1 1 ,

46 T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VEDA S .

all th ings,su rpass i n g i n power a ll former genera t ion s of

god s and crea tu res,da r i ng i n sp i r i t

,der i v ing h i s power

from h imse l f ; th e c rea tor of the ear th,the sky ,

the sun,

moon and s ta rs ; the ru l er of a ll th ings movab l e and

immovab l e ; the l eader of god s ; th e l ord of the l ofty

S ky, th e l ord of the sacred assemb ly,the lord of the j oy

i n sp i r i ng Soma-j u ice , th e l ord of horse s , of cat t l e , and of

man s i on s . H e i s the p r imeva l , mos t resp lenden t d i v i n i ty ;

m i ghty,wise , true, holy , ever last ing, swift, j oyfu l , void of

fear,l ov ing glory

,ski l l ed in a ll sc i ence

,shepherd of

men , perform er of a hundred sacr ifices ; th e awfu l god ,

whose coun se l s not a ll the god s are ab l e to fru s tra te .

H e i s the cow tha t produce s th e wa ter of l i fe,the grea t

bu l l in the a ir , the be i ng tha t stop s the brea th of l i fe ,tha t dr i ves away d i sea se and a ll hu r tfu l and ma l ic i ou s

foes . H e i s omn i s c i en t and omn i p resen t . H e hears and

sees all th ings (vz'

svanz sr inoti pasya ti).1 “ H e is both

j u st and merc i fu l “ he pun i shes and pa rdon s . H e

hears prayer , and th rough fa i th i n h im the strong

acqu i re spoi l s i n the day of ba t t l e .

”2 H e su rpa sse s

heroes i n h is grea tness ; the ea rth and heaven suffice

not for h is gi rd l e . H e orders th e ea rth to be h i s

garmen t , and,god-l ike

,wears the heaven as i t were a

gaun t l et . 3 S t i l l,wi th a ll these h igh a tt r i bu tes

,he i s

rem i nded tha t he i s not se l f-exi sten t,bu t the son of a

mother . “ When thou,I ndra

,l i ke the dawn

,d idst fi l l

1 R .-V . , 8 , 67 , 5 . War/T a iddm A LOS‘ 6¢ t9a >vrds Ka i. writ/ T a vo rjo a s.

T h e eye of Zeu s wh i ch see s a ll and knows all .”

1’Ibid . , v i i . , 3 2 , I4 .

3 Ibid . ,i . , 1 73 , 6 , 7 .

T H E TH EOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 47

both the worl d s,a d iv i ne mother bore thee , th e m i gh ty

monarch of m i gh ty crea tu re s — a grac i ou s mother bore

thee .

” 1

H is persona l appearan ce rep resen ts the A ryan concep

t i on of a handsome man . H e i s large-bod i ed , wi th a

beau t i fu l coun tenance , prom i n en t nose , good l i ps , hand

some ch i n,flowmg ha i r , red beard , l ong a rms , la rge

hand s,and ten fingers poi n t i ng to happ i ness . H is

speech is a s smooth and capt i vat i ng as tha t of the

god of e loqu ence . R ich ly adorned wi th ornamen ts,

wea r ing a crown on h is head and gol den pen dants

i n h is ears,he ri des on horses

,and dri ves i n a

go l den char io t d rawn by two tawny steed s,snort i ng

,

ne igh ing,and i nv i nc i b l e , with go l den manes

,for he i s

both the “ fam ed char ioteer and the “ incomparab le

travel l er 2

The most prom inen t ep i thets app l i ed to h im are

wie l der o f the thunderbo l t ,” “ the s layer of Vritra

the s layer of the Da syu s,

and “ the dr i nker of

Smn a

A s the d i spen ser of ra i n , he i s the“ wie l der of th e

thunderbo l t,

and the “ s layer of V ritra V ritra,or Ah i

,

is the ra i n l e s s sky conce ived of as a demon,the enemy

of man, who has stol en the cows , or the c l ou d s , and shu t

1 R .-V . , x . , 1 3 4 ,

1 .

Ibid., i . , 52 , 8, 1 2 , I 3 ; i.

,i.,8 1 , 5 ; i. , 103 ,

2 ; i i , 1 2 , 1 ; i i i . , 3 2 , 7 ; iv . , 3 0 , 1 ; v i . , 30 , 4 ; v i i . , 3 2 , 16 , 2 2 ,

2 3 ; V l l l . , 2 1 , 1 3 ; v i i i . , 67, 5 ; v i i i . , 87, 2 ; x . , 968 ; x ., 23 , 4 ;

i i i . , 3 1 , e tc . ; and Sama-V eda passini .

48 T H E TEA CH ING O F T H E VEDA S .

them up i n dark caves n ea r the u t termost ends of the

sky,where they cannot d i s cha rge thei r u dders of fert i l

i s i ng m i l k u pon the pa rch ed and th i rsty earth . Then

the p iou s Worsh i pper imp l ores Indra to re l ease them ,

and s lay the demOn who h ad ca rr i ed them away There

upon I n dra ,gu i ded by h is fa i th fu l dog Sarama

, and

accompan i ed by the Ma ru ts , or s torm-gods,goes after

them ; and no sooner does he hear the i r lowing from afar

than th e ba tt l e beg i n s . The i ron thunderbo l t— the pro

du c t of T vash tri— is hu r l ed,the Ma ru ts roar

,the demon

is s la i n,and th e cows are re l eased to d i scha rge the i r

heavy udders in grea t d rops upon the ea rth . Then the

s i ngers “ bri ng thei r p ra i ses to hero ic I n dra ,as cows

come home to the m i l ker I n th i s respec t he i s

l i ke Pa rj anya,th e L i thuan ian Perkunas

,th e god of

thu nder and ra i n , the generator and nou r i sh er of

p lants and all l i v i ng crea tu re s .

1 A t other t imes he

i s th e br igh t god of day , whose steed is the sun,

and whose cows are th e fi rst rays of the dawn,

d i spel l i ng the da rkn ess of the n ight,and fi l l i ng the

worl d wi th l igh t and j oy ; and,th erefore

,he i s ca l l ed

the “ l i gh ter up of n ights , and the paren t of the

sun”

.

2

The Dasyu s were both the abor ig i na l i nhab i tants of

I nd ia,who res i s ted the A ryan s i n thei r progres s from the

’

I n dus to the Ganges,and the demon s of darknes s and

drough t , the enem i e s of the br i ght god s , such a s V ritra,

N amuch i,Sambara , Ah i , and others . I ndra was now

1 R .-V . ,

v . , 83 .

2 Ibid .,i., 7 , 3 i i i . , 3 4 , 4 .



who stru ck down V ritra , when he h i d th e wa ters , as a

tree i s s truck by l igh tn i ng— to h im who des i res th i s

Soma, offeg it ; for tha t I n dra des i re s to dr i nk it

'” 1

I dec lare the m i gh ty deed s of th i s m i gh ty one . A t

th e T rz'

leadru/ea fe st i va l,I nd ra drank of the Soma

,and i n

i ts exh i lara t i on he s l ew Ah i . H e propped up the va st

sky i n empty S pace ; he ha th fi l l ed the two worl d s and

th e a tmosphere ? H e ha th u phe l d th e earth and stretched

i t ou t . I nd ra has done a ll th ese th i ngs i n the exh ilara

t i on of the Soma .

” 3

Soma fina l ly wa s de ified , and all the d iv i n e a ttr i bu te s

as cr i bed to the other god s were a s cr i bed to h im . H e

became the c rea tor of a ll th i ngs,fa th er of th e god s , the

ra i n er of b l es s i ngs,and the sav i ou r of men from sin

,as

wel l as“ the embro i l er of a ll th i ngs i n h i s d ru nken

fro l i cs ”. The Sama-Veda says of th i s god,that he

subm i t s to morta l b i rth,and i s “ bru i sed and affl icted

tha t o ther s may be saved Th i s i s the rudes t type of

med ia t i on th rough sacr ifice,of strength th rough weak

ness,of l i fe through dea th .

4

1 R .-V . , i i . , 14 .

Compare J ob , xxv i . , 7 .

“ H e stre tch eth ou t th e north ove rth e empty p lac e , and h angeth th e earth upon noth ing.

”

3 Ibid . ,i i . xv .

,

4 S .-V . , prap . , 5 , 3 ; iv .

, prap ., 45 ; v . , prap . , 3 3 ; i i . , x . , 2 , 6 ; v i . , 4 .

Compare wh at is sa id of D ionysus , th e Grec ian S oma

057 09 96020 1 on éuder a t 966g yeycbs,

65

0 7'

s 7 0 177 01} T d‘

yadi

dudpa’

nrovs

H e , born a god, is pou red ou t in l ibat ions to gods , so thatth rough h im men rece ive good (Mu i r , S . T . , vo l . v . , p .

T H E THEOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 5 1

VIS H N U ,a name of the sun

,

1 from vis , to pervade , is

the/ faith fu l fr i end and compan ion of I ndra , both i n h i s

d r i nk i ng bou ts and i n h is confl ic ts wi th V ritra .

“ Yea ,

even when a ll the gods had forsaken h im,fa i th fu l V i shnu

came to h i s he l p .

” 2 Vayu ,the god of the gent le bree z e s

,

is a l so i n h is tra i n . H e dr ives a thou sand s teed s ; h i s

brea th chases away the demon s ; he comes i n the ear l i e s t

morn i ng,as the fi rs t b rea th o f a ir that st i rs i t se l f a t day

break,to j o i n I ndra i n d r i nk i ng the Soma ; and the

au roras weave for h im sh i n i ng ga rmen ts . B u t th e

Maru ts,or Rudras

,s torm-god s

,are pre-em i n en t ly the

con stan t a l l i es and compan i on s of I n dra . They are th e

son s of Rudra,th e god of th e roar i ng tempe s t

, and

Prisni They ri de on spotted s tags (the c l ou d s), wea r

Sh i n i n g a rmou r,and carry spears i n the i r hand s ; no one

knows whence they come nor wh i th er they go ; 3 the i r

vo i ce i s h ea rd a l oud , as th ey come ru sh i ng on , the ea rth

tremb le s and the mounta i n s shake before th em .

‘1 B u t

though they are exceed i ngly tumu l tuou s they are none

the l e s s beneficent . They d i spen se ra i n i n abundan ce

from th e udder of the i r mother,Prisn i

,and havi ng

acqu i red the knowledge of remed i es from th e i r fa the r,

Ru dra , they are ever ready to he l p the s ick and su ccou r

th e affl i cted .

The fo l l owi ng hymn to the Maru ts and I ndra i s from

Max Mul l er’s tran s lat i on of the R i g-Veda Sanh i ta,p . 1 63 .

1 R .-V . ,

i. , 22 , 17 ; i . , 1 54 .

‘1 Ibid v i . , 69 , 1 , 8 ; iv . , 18 , 1 1 .

3 Compare J ohn , l l l . , 8 .

4 Professor Wh i tney , Orienta l L inguistic S tudies.


H YM N TO T H E MA RUT S AND INDRA .

T H E PROLOGUE .

T kc sacrificer speaks

1 . With wha t sp l endou r are th e Ma ru t s a ll equa l ly

en dowed , they who are of the same age ,and dwel l

i n the same hou se ? With wha t thought s ? F rom

whence are they come Do these heroes s i n g forth

the i r (own) s trength becau se they wi sh for wea l th ?

Whose prayers have the you th s accepted ? Who

has tu rned the Maru t s to h i s own sacr ifi ce ? By

wha t s trong devot i on may we de l i ght them , they

who float th rough the air l i ke hawks

T H E D IA LOGUE .

T /26 M aru ts speak

3 . F rom whence,O I nd ra

,dost thou come a l one ,

thou who art m i gh ty ? O l ord of men ! wha t has

thu s happened to thee ? Thou greetest (u s) when

thou comest together w i th (u s) th e br igh t (Maru ts).

Te l l u s , th en , thou wi th thy bay horses , what thou

ha s t aga i n s t u s .

Indra speaks

4 . The sacred songs are m i n e , (m i n e are) th e prayers

sweet are th e l i ba t ion s ! My strength ri ses , mythunderbo l t is hu r l ed forth . . They ca l l for me

,the

prayers yearn for me . H ere are my horses , they

carry me towa rd s th em .

T H E TH EOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . 53

T ke M aruts speak

5 . Therefore , i n company wi th our s t rong fri end,

hav i ng adorned ou r bod ie s , we now harnes s our

fa l l ow deer wi th a ll ou r m i gh t for I nd ra,accord i n g

to thy cu s tom,thou hast been wi th u s .

Indra speaks

6 . Where,O Ma ru t s , was tha t cu s tom of you rs tha t

you shou l d j o in me who am a l on e i n the k i l l ing

of Ah i ? I i n deed am terr i b l e,strong

,powerfu l ; I

escape from the b l ows o f every enemy .

T li e jl/ aruts speak

7 . Thou hast ach i eved mu ch wi th u s as compan i on s .

With th e same va l ou r,O hero l et u s ach i eve then

many th i ngs,O thou mos t powerfu l , O I ndra wha t

eve r we,Ma ru t s

,wi sh wi th our hea rt .

Indra speaks

8 . I s l ew V ritra ,O Maru t s

,wi th (I n dra

’

s) m i gh t

hav i ng grown strong through my own v i gou r ;

I who hol d th e thunderbo l t i n my a rm s,I have

made these all-bri l l ian t wa te rs to flow free ly for

man .

T ke M aruts speak

9 . N oth i n g,O powerfu l l o rd

,i s strong before thee ;

no one i s known among the gods l i ke u n to thee .

N o on e wh o i s now born wi l l come n ea r , no one who

has been born . Do wha t has to be done,thou who

art grown so strong .

Indra speaks .

Io . A lm i gh ty power be m i n e a l one , wha tever I may

do,dar i ng i n my heart ; for I i n deed , O Maru t s , am


known as terr i b l e ; of a ll tha t I th rew down , I , I n dra ,

am th e l ord .

1 1 . O Ma ru ts , now you r p ra i s e h as p l eased me,th e

glori ou s hymn wh ich you have made for me , ye

men ! for me , for I nd ra ,for the powerfu l h ero , as

fr i end s for a fri end,for you r own sake and by you r

own effort s .

I 2 . Tru ly , there they are,sh i n i ng toward s me

,a s sum

i ng b lame l es s glory,assum i ng v igou r . O Ma ru t s

,

wherever I have l ooked for you , you have appeared

to me i n b r igh t sp l e ndou r appear to me a l so now .

T H E EP ILOGU E .

T li e sacr ifi cer speaks

1 3 . Who has magn ified you here, O Maru ts ? Come

h i th er,O fr i en ds

,towa rds you r fr i end s . Ye br i l l iant

Ma ru t s,cher i sh these prayers

,and be m i nd fu l o f

these my r i te s .

14 . The wisdom of Manya has brought u s to th i s ,

that h e shou l d he l p,as th e poet he l p s the performer

of a sacr ifice : br i ng (th em) h i ther qu i ck ly, Maru ts ,

on to the Sage these prayers the s i nger has rec i ted

for you .

15 . Thi s you r pra i se,O Maru t s

,th i s you r song comes

from Mandarya ,the son of Mana , the poet . Come

h i ther wi th ra i n ! M ay we find for ou rse l ve s off

spri n g,food

,and a camp wi th runn i ng wa ter . 1

1 R .-V . ,

i . , 165 .

T H E THEOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 55

I n verses 5 to 8 of th is d ia logu e we see traces of r iva l ry

between I ndra and th e Maru ts . They were not a lways

fr i end ly , and th e i r re spec t ive votar i es d i spu ted the i r re la

t i ve c la im s to adorat i on . Aga s tya seem s to have been

the mean s of reconc i l i ng them and of engraft i ng the

worsh i p of the Ma ru ts on that of I ndra .

1 The rema i n i ng

verses,therefore

,S how tha t a comp l ete reconc i l iat i on had

been effected between them .

The M aru ts are ca l l ed Visve-deva lz adru/za/z,all god s

,

devo i d of gu i l e ; 2 and are sa i d to have been ra i sed to the

sphere of th e immorta l s i n con sequen ce of thei r assoc ia

t i on wi th I ndra .

There are som e pas sages i n the Veda i n wh i ch grave

doub ts are expre s sed as to the ex i s tence of I ndra . Thu s

we read,

“ O ffe r p ra i se to I nd ra i f you des i re booty ;

t rue pra i se i f he tru l y ex i s t s ”

. One and another says,

There i s no Indra Who has seen h im Whom

sha l l we pra i s e

Then Indra an swers th rough the poet , “ H ere I am ,

O worsh i pper ; behol d me here “ I n m i gh t I over

come a ll c reatu re s .3 Aga i n , “ The terr ib l e on e of

whom they ask where he i s , and of whom th ey say that

he i s not,he take s away the r iche s of h i s enemy l ike the

s takes at a game . B e l i eve i n h im,ye men ,

for h e i s

i ndeed I ndra .

” 4

The whol e hymn,from wh ich the las t ve rse i s taken

appea rs to be a polem ica l as sert i on of the ex i stence and

1 R .-V . i . , 170 , 17 1 , 4 .

2 Ibid. , i. , 19 , 3 ,

3 Ibid. , V l l l . , 3 .

4 Ibid . , i i . , 1 2 , 5.


grea tn es s of I ndra aga i n st ga i n sayers . Some may regard

the doubts expressed respec t i ng the exi stence of I nd ra as

a neces sary stage i n the u pwa rd p rogres s of the human

m i nd ” th rough polythe i sm to monothe i sm ; Th i s doubt

l es s is t rue as a genera l law ,bu t i t can scarce ly be app l ied

to th i s case , for on tha t suppos i t ion shou l d we not expect

to see the ex i s tence of oth er god s dou bted ? No such

doubts , h owever, appear i n the R i g-Veda respec t i n g the

ex i s ten ce of other gods . The exp lana t ion therefore mu st

be sought i n th e fac t tha t I n dra was tr iumphant ly su per

sed i ng Varuna i n the cu l tu s ; and , con sequ en t ly , th e most

devou t R i sh i s, unab l e to l ook on pas s i ve ly when the nat i on

was tran sferr i ng its a l l egiance from the o l d to the new god,

endeavou red to stem th e torren t by ca st i ng doubts on h i s

ex i stence . They wou l d have h ad no obj ect ion to adm i t

I n dra to the i r pantheon as a god ; bu t the i r reverence for

Va runa ,h a l l owed by imm emor ia l t rad i t i on s

,was far too

s trong to perm i t them to regard h im as su preme . Who

cannot sympa th i se wi th them F or had not Varu na

been worsh i pped i n the ances tra l home before the fam i ly

broke up never to be reu n i ted aga i n ? H ad not the i r

forefa th ers offered sacr ifi ces to Varuna and su pp l icated

h im with hymn s,wh ich , i n accen ts of adora t ion , rem i n d

u s of th e Psa lm s of Dav i d ? With the p iou s , Varu na

wa s st i l l the god that wen t down to the depth of the

con sc i en ce , tha t sympa th i sed wi th the i r struggles after a

h i gher and hol i er l i fe , tha t best sa t i sfied the crav i ngs of

the i r sp i r i tua l natu re . And wi th such,Varuna rema i n ed

the supreme god for a l ong t ime , even a fter I n dra , by

a hard struggl e,had su perseded h im i n the pub l i c



a sc r i bed to the strong rubb i ng of th e oranis , or two dry

p i eces of wood , th e ord i nary mode of k i nd l i ng fi re among

a ll pr im i t ive na t i on s . H is b i rth is ce l eb ra ted i n the hymn s

i n th e most glowin g figu rat ive language as the greatest

wonder i n the u n iverse . The ten fingers of the k i n d l er are

ten v i rgi n s who bri ng h im to b i r th ; the two p i eces of wood

are h i s mothers , i n whose lap s he rap id ly grows , andwhom

he then devou rs as they l i e prostra t e on the earth .

1

Agn i i s a“ god among gods ” .

“ H is grea t n es s sur

pa s se s the va s t sky .

” No god i s beyond h i s m i gh t,th e

m igh ty one .

’7H e sees all th i ngs and knows a ll secret s

among morta l s ? H e i s th e l ord,th e wi se k i ng

,the

sage,the fa ther

,th e brother

,the son

,and th e fr i end of

men presen t with a ll,dwe l l i ng i n the i r hou se s

,gua rd i ng

them at n igh t from the demon s of da rkness . H e i s the

younges t of the gods,the i r mes sen ger 3 and invoker on

beha l f of men ,

“ go ing wi se ly be tween heaven and earth,

gods and men ,l i ke a fr i en d ly me s senger between two

ham l e t s H e carr i e s the sacr ifi ces to the god s , and

br i ngs the god s down to the sac r ifices . H e i s both ‘1

1 R .-V . ,

i . , 3 1 , 3 , 4 , 140 ,14 1 ; i i i . , 29 .

2 96 01 3 6’

r e min-c a io a ow.

T h e gods know all th ings”

(H omer).3 T h is ch aracter was a ssumed by Apo l lo in Gree c e .

“ H e

a lone of th e ac t ive gods is in ent i re and unvarying conform i tyw i th th e w i l l of Zeu s , and is h is me ssenger and agent for th e

most important pu rpose s”

(M r . G ladstone , in th e ContemporaryR eview for M arch ,

‘1 B rihaspat i , though somet ime s diffe ringfrom B rahmanaspat i ,is a l so ident ica l w i th h im (R .

-V . , i i . , a l so w i th Indra (R .-V . ,

i i . , 3 0 ,

T H E THEOLOGY OF T H E VE DA S . 59

B r i haspa t i , the Purhoh ita , or med ia t ing pr i es t , between

god and man ,and B rahmanaspa t i

,the l ord of prayer

becau se he not on ly h ea r s the prayers of the s uppl iant ,

bu t cau ses th e god s a l so to hea r them . H is golden

co lou r,br igh t face

,wh i te ha i r , green mou s tach io s , eyes

fixed on many region s , and voi ce l i ke the Maru t s,are

dwe l t u pon wi th spec ia l de l i gh t .1 With a crown of gl ory

on h i s h ead,he trave l s i n a br i l l ian t car drawn somet imes

by two red horses and somet imes by two b lack or ruddy .

H e i s compa red to a sta l l i on , and is ca l l ed a st rong bu l l,

a red hero,a poet wi th a br igh t tongu e

,the mou th of the

god s , th e produ cer of the three Vedas , th e orda i n er of

sacr ifice , the giver of wea l th , i n te l l i gence , and all happ i

nes s . H e i s a k i nd of anima mundi , a su bt l e pr i nc i p l e ,that pervade s a ll na tu re

,through wh ich p lan ts

,an ima l s

and men are capab l e of reprodu ct i on . H e is one of the

mo s t prom i n en t de i t i e s of the R i g-Veda , becau se he i s

the produ ct of sacerdota l i sm . The hymn s addres sed to

h im are more numerou s than those addre s sed to any

other de i ty except I ndra,and e igh t ou t of the ten Manda la s

of the R i g-Veda beg i n w i th hymn s to h im . Among h i s

frequen t appe l la t i on s are,

“ bel ong ing to a ll men ,

“ bearer of the offer i ng,

’ “all-pos ses s i ng , pu r ifier ,

and “ demon s layer ” ?

1 H e a l so assumes a terr ific form ,wh en

,w i th h is iron tusks

h e puts h is enem ie s in h is mouth and swa l lows th em (R .-V

x . ,

2 R .-V . , vi . , 49 , 2 ; i i . , 1 , 9 ; i. , 59 , 5 ; i . , v i i . , 3 ; i i . , 6 ,

7 ; I., 74 ; v1n . , 3 9 , 6 ; I. , 94 , 1 0 ; v i .

, 5 , 2 ; I., 19 ; “I. ,

29 , 6 ; v. ,1 2 , 6 ; v i . , 1 1 , 2 ; iv . ,

6,1 0 ; v. , 1 , 1 2 ; i. ,


I n Agn i we see un fo ld i ng them se l ve s th e germ s of the

two grea t i deas so na tu ra l to man— the former of wh ich

a s sumed su ch enormou s proport i ons i n la ter H i n du i sm— viz .

, I n carna t i on and M ed iat i on . Agn i was a Pu rho

h i ta,or H i gh Prie s t between God and man ,

who par

took of th e nature of both . H e was a god dwe l l i ng on

h igh among the immorta l s,and yet he condescended to

sit i n the humb l e hab i ta t i on of men . Agn i,be l oved by

many,pra i s ed by a ll

,i n whose immorta l fi re a ll men

cau se the offer i ng to b laz e , i s th i s morn i ng ou r gu es t .”

“ By word s and hymn s of pra i s e,u t tered wi th a ll my

m i gh t,do I pra i se th ee

,Agn i

,th e gu es t of my sacr ifice .

’

We approach the foe-dest royi ng,anc i ent incarna te Agn i ,

who shone forth most i l lu str i ous ly i n the form of S ru ta

vana,th e son of A rksha .

1 “ K i n d l ed Agn i,by th i s

adorat i on do thou recommend u s to M i t ra,Va runa ,

and

I n dra . Wha tever s i n we may have comm i tted , do thou

exp iate ; and may Aryaman,Ad i t i

,and M i t ra remove i t

from u s” ? O Agn i

,i n thy fr i en d sh i p I am at home .

” 3

SUR YA ,the sun , notwi th s tandi ng h i s i den t ifi ca t i on wi th

Agn i, was worsh i pped as a separa te persona l i ty , u nder

d i fferen t names correspond i ng to it s va r i ou s fu nc t i on s or

appearances , su ch as Sav i tr i , en l i vener ; Pashan , nou r

i sher ; M i t ra ,fr i end

,th e b r igh t sun of th e morn i ng or the

49 , 9 ; v i . , 1 3 , 1 ; v i i . , I , 2 ; iv . , 1 20 ; i i i . , 3 , 1 0 ; x., 5 1 , 3 .

Sama-V eda , i. , p rap . , i . , 9 ; i i i . , 95 , 1 , 5 , 5 , 7 , 6 , 8 , 8 , 2 ; p rap . ,

v i . , 4 , 3 ; p t . i i . , v i . , 7 ; v i i i . , 5 , 14 ; x i i . , 3 ; x iv . ,1 2 .

1 S .

-V . , prap . , i. , 9 , 5 ; 7 , 9 .

R .-V .

, iv . , v i i . , 93 , 7 .

3 Ibid . , v. , 44 ,1 5 .


day ; Vi sh nu ,the sun ,

as s tr i d i ng wi th th ree s teps acros s

th e sky ; A ryaman,Bhaga , Ad i tya ; and th e great attri

bu tes a scr i bed to the othe r gods are asc r i bed to h im a l so .

Accord i ng to Ya ska,a very an c i en t etymol ogi st

,there

are on ly th ree Ved ic god s , viz . Agn i,whose p lace is on

the earth ; I n dra or Vayu , whose p lace is i n the atmo

sphere ; and Sarya,whose p lace i s i n the sky . A l l the

other god s are re so lvab le i n to these,and these aga i n

i n to one . Th i s,however

,is a genera l i sat i on poster i or to

the Ved i c Age . S fi rya ,though the ch i ld of heaven and

earth,is a l so the i r creator

,and even “ the d i v i ne l eader

of the god s ” .

1 The dawn is both h is wife and h i s

daughter,

2and as sh e is a l so the daughter of th e sky ,

she m i gh t b e spoken of as h is s i s ter . I n dra . aga i n,

“

is

represented as havi ng given b i rth to the dawn and the

sun . And from another poi n t of v i ew,the dawn i s

represen ted as hav i ng gi ven b i r th to the sun .

3 S I'

Irya

travel s i n a gol den char i ot “a l ong h i s anc i en t up

ward and downwa rd pa th s,the pa th s wi thou t du s t ,

drawn by one,or seven

,ruddy s teed s (the seven days of

th e week), preceded by the dawn , destroy i ng darkn es s ,and penetrat i n g wi th h i s p ierc i n g glance the act i ve

worl d and the etherea l s ky .

S fIrya ,as th e eye of the a ll-embrac i ng Va ru na ,

appea rs

to have occu p i ed a very h igh p lace i n the anc i en t creed

of the A ryan s . F or th e I ran ian s not on ly worsh i p ped

h im as an emb lem of the Su preme,bu t i n th e o lder part s

1 R .-V . ,i . iv . ,

1 1 ; i. , 160 , 4 ; v i i i . , 90 , I I , 1 2 .

Ibid. ,v i i . , 75 , 5 , 78 , 3 ; iv . , 43 , 2 .

3 Ibid. ,v i i . ,


of the B rahmana s— to wh ich the Avesta i s re la ted i n

age and conten t s— h e i s often exa l ted above the othe r

dei t i es (prasavita devanani). We are to l d i n th e T a ittiriya

and T andiya B rahmana s tha t th e Devas (H i n du s) and

A su ra s (Pers ian s) d i s pu ted abou t Ad i tya (S un), and tha t

the Deva s won h im . H e i s s t i l l adored by the Pa rsees ,the descendan ts of th e Pers ian s

,as th e pu re s t symbol of

the Su preme , and by the B rahman ica l H i n du s as th e mos t

resp lenden t man i festat ion of H im who i s i nfin i te ly beyond

human ken . To h im th e Gaya t r i i s addres sed , and before

h im m i l l i on s of p i ou s H i n du s bow in adora t i on every

morn i ng . The fo l lowi ng tran s la t i on by Mon ier Wi l l iams

of v n i ., 50, i n the R i g-Veda , i s a beau t i fu l descrip

t ion of the sun :

B ehol d the rays of Dawn , l i ke hera l d s , l ead on h igh

The S un ,tha t men may see th e grea t a ll-knowi ng

The s tars s l i nk off l i ke th ieves , i n company wi th

N i ght,

B efore the a ll-see i ng eye whose beams revea l h i s

p re sence,

G l eam i ng l i ke br i l l ian t flames,to na t i on after na t ion .

With speed beyond the ken of morta l s , thou ,O S un ,

Dost ever trave l on con sp icuou s to a ll .

Thou dost c reate the l i gh t,and with i t dost i l lume

The Un iverse en t i re ; thou r i s es t i n the s igh t of a ll

the race of men,and a ll the host of heaven .

L i ght-g iv i ng Va ru na thy p i erc i n g glance can scan

I n qu i ck su cces s ion a ll th i s s t i rr i ng,act ive wor l d ,

And penetrateth too the broad etherea l s pace,

T H E TH EOLOGY OF T H E VE DA S . 63

M easu r i ng our days and n igh ts,and spy i ng ou t a ll

c rea tu res .

S fl rya , wi th flam i ng l ocks , c l ea r-s i ghted god of day,Thy seven ruddy mare s bea r on thy ru sh i ng car

With these thy se l f-yoked s teed s,seven daughter s of

thy char i ot .

Onward thou dost advance . To thy refu l gen t orb

B eyond th i s lower gl oom and upward s to the l igh t

Wou l d we a scend,O S un

,thou god among the

gods ? ’

I nvoca t i on s to the s ta rs and th e n igh t are not frequen t

i n the Veda s,and th e worsh i p of Chandramas

,the moon

,i s

n ot prom i n en t ; bu t U sha s , th e Dawn,

1and the A sv i ns

,

2

her precu rs i ve rays,

3 are obj ect s of grea t ce l ebra t i on . The

Asv i n s are ever young , handsome , and swi ft a s young

fa l con s . 4 Trave l l i n g i n a th ree-wheel ed triangu lar car,made

by the R lziokus, and drawn by a sses,th ey bestow r i ch

benefi t s on the i r worsh i ppers , and he l p them to overcome

the i r enem i es .5 They are ca l l ed B asras, destroyers , e i the r

of foes or d i seases ; for th ey are the sk i l fu l phys ic ian s of

god s as wel l as men,and as such are N asatyas , n ever

untru e, bu t a lways fa i th fu l . I n the Legends th ey are

represen ted as hav i ng effec ted su ch wonderfu l cu re s as to

1 Greek Lat in uro,We lsh wa zvr , German ost

,E ngl ish

east .

1 Greek axes , Lat in equus .

3 R .-V . , i. , 1 57 , 1 .

‘1 Ibid. , vi i . , 67, 8 ; v i . , 62 , 3 , 5 ; v. , 78 , 77, 3 .

5 Ibid . ,x. , 39, 1 2 i . , 47, 2 ; i. , 34 , 9 .


cau se the b l i n d to see,the lame to wa l k

,the o l d to become

young , and the d i s tre ssed happy .

1 I t i s supposed tha t

i n the myths of the A sv i n s two d i s t i nc t e l emen ts are

b l ended, viz .

, the cosm ica l and th e h i s tor ica l , the former

represen t i ng the my ste r iou sne ss of the phenomena of

l i ght,and the la tter the hea l i ng art of remote ant i qu i ty .

The fol l owi ng hymn to the Dawn i s con s i dered by

Max Mul l e r a fa i r specimen of the ori g i na l,s impl e poetry

of th e Veda .

“ I t has no referen ce to any sacr ifice , i t

conta i ns no techn ica l express i on s ; bu t i t i s the s impl e

u tterance i n metre of the feel i n gs of an ori enta l , who ha s

wat ched the approach of th e Dawn wi th m i ngl ed de l ight

and awe . I t a l so shows the treacherou sness of poet ica l

language ; how eas i ly i t l eads from devi the br ight,an

ep i thet of th e dawn,to devi , the goddess , the daughter

of the sky , Dyau s 2 (dukitra diva/z)She sh i nes before u s l i ke a you ng wi fe

,rous i ng every

l iv i ng be i ng to go to h i s work . The fi re had to be

ki nd l ed by men ; sh e brough t l i ght by s tr i k i ng down

darkn ess .

She ro se up , S pread i ng far and wide,and moving

towa rd s every one . She grew i n br i gh tness,wea r i ng her

br i l l iant ga rmen t . The mother of the cows (the morn i ng

c l oud s), the l eader of the days , she shone gol d-co lou red ,l ove ly to behol d .

She,the fortu na te

,she who bri ngs the eye of the god

,

who l ead s the wh i te and l ovely steed (of the sun), the

1 R .-V . ,

i . , 1 1 2 , 8 , 1 0 ; i. , 1 16 , 10 .

‘

1 H ist. A nc. S ans. L it. , p . 55 1 .



wh i ch by i t s cry revea l s to h im h i s fu tu re , as wel l as th e

numerou s c las ses of crea tu res wh i ch th reaten h i s ex i st

ence,rece i ve from h im th e worsh i p of e i ther honou r or

depreca t i on . The P i tr i s , sp i r i t s of d eparted ances tors,

th e Rh ibu s (Greek O rpheu s), th e de ified a rt i san s of the

gods Yama,the god of H ades

,and h i s two terr ific dogs

wh ich guard th e en trance to immorta l i ty ; the sacr ifi c ia l

v ict ims and u ten s i l s , bows , arrows , axes , and drum s , are

a ll invoked . I n short , whatever exc i ted the sen t imen ts

of pa i n or p l easu re , j oy or sadness , confidence or appre

h ension ,found a n iche i n the Ved ic Pan theon .

GOD D E S S E S do not occu py very prom i n ent pos i t i on s i n

the songs of the R i sh i s . Pr i th iv i,

1 the wi fe of Dyau s ,Ad i t i

,and U shas Sarasva t i and S i n dhu ,

wh ich are both

goddes ses and r i vers ; Ganga,S iniva li , and Raka, god

1 T h e earth, prith iv i (broad), is ca l led mata , moth e r ,— corre

sponding to th e Gree k D emeter ,— and H eaven and E arth are

addressed as th e parents of gods and men . At th e sacrific eI worsh ip w i th offe rings H eaven and E arth ,

th e promote rs of

righ teousne ss , th e great , th e wi se , th e ene rget i c , wh o , hav inggods for th e i r offspring,

th u s lav i sh,w i th th e gods , th e ch o ic est

b le ss ings in c onsequ enc e of our hymns. W i th my invocat ions I adore th e th ough t of th e beneficent F ath e r , and thatmigh ty inh erent powe r of th e M oth e r . T h e pro l ific parentsh ave made a ll c reatu re s , and th rough th e i r favou rs h ave con

fe rred w ide immorta l i ty on th e i r offspr ing (R .-V . , i . , 1 59 , 1 ,

T h e re semblance be tween th i s account of th e H eaven and

th e E arth and th at of H es iod is too str i k ing to pass unnot ic ed.

Accord ing to th e T /i eogony ,all gods , men , and an ima l s

sprang from th e un ion of th ese two and h enc e,in h is Works

and D ay s , th e E arth is cal led ‘

yij n dum u pfirnp , th e E arth , th e

mo th er of a ll th ings .


desses who pres i de at proc rea t i on and b i rth , are invoked .

V arunan i , I nd ran i , Agnayi , A svin i,

and R udras i , th e

w i ve s of th e grea t god s Va runa , Indra , Agn i , Asvins , and

of Ru dra respec t i ve ly , are on ly men t i oned . There are no

part icu la r funct i on s a s s i gned to them ,and th ey do not

occupy pos i t i on s at all corre spond i ng to the h i gh rank of

the i r hu sbands . I t shou l d be men t i on ed to the cred i t of

the Ved ic R i sh i s , tha t th ey pas s over w i th de l icate h i n ts

those myth s re lat i ng to th e amou rs and ma rr iages of the

gods,wh ich mu st have formed the bas i s of a grea t many

represen ta t i on s i n the H ymn s . I n th i s they con tra s t

favou rab ly wi th th e au thors of the B rahmana s,

and

espec ia l ly wi th those of the Ep ic Poems and Pu ranas , in

wh ich the amou rs of B rahma and Sa rasva t i,Vi shnu and

Laksm i,S i va and Parva t i are descr i bed i n the most

voluptuou s term s . Some port i on s of the H ymn s,how

ever,are not fi t for tran sla t i on .

(2) lVIetap /zysica l Gods .

A s the preced i ng c lass con ta i n s the “ former god s ,the gods of Poetry , so th i s c la ss con ta i n s the “ la tte r

,

"

the god s of Ph i l osophy . U n l ike the “ former,these do

not appea l to the sen ses ; there is noth i ng i n na tu re

corre spond i ng to them they are the pu re crea t ion of the

human m i nd,th e re su l t of ab stract i on and gen era l i sa t i on .

The human m i n d is swayed by two imper i ou s tenden

c ies,— the one impe l s i t to connec t effects wi th the i r

cau ses ; the other , to car ry up i t s knowledge i n to un i ty .

Both tenden c i es , i f not i den t ica l i n the i r or ig i n , co i nc i de i n

68 T H E TEACH ING O F T H E VEDA S .

th e i r resu l t ; for i n proport ion as we a s cend from cau se

to cau s e,the nearer we approach to ab so lu te u n i ty .

With regard to the second tenden cy,th e ten dency to

genera l i s e and u n i fy our knowledge,S i r Wi l l iam H am i l

ton says , Th i s ten den cy i s one of the most prom i nen t

charac ter i s t ic s of the human m i n d . I t , i n pa rt , or ig i nates

in the imbec i l i ty of ou r facu l t i e s . We are l o s t i n the

mu l t i tude of the obj ect s presen ted to our imagi nat i on ,and i t i s on ly by a s sort i ng them i n c las ses that we can

reduce the i nfin i ty of na tu re to the finitude of m i n d . The

con sc i ou s ego, the con sc i ou s se l f, by i t s na tu re one ,seem s a l so con stra i n ed to requ i re tha t u n i ty by wh i ch i t

is d i s t i ngu i shed , i n everyth i ng wh ich i t rece ive s , and i n

everyth i ng wh ich i t p rodu ces “ We are con

sc i ou s of a scen e presen ted to ou r sen ses on ly by un i t i n g

i t s pa rt s i n to a perce i ved whol e . Percept i on i s thu s a

un i fy i ng act . The imagi na t i on cannot represen t an

obj ec t w i thou t u n i t i n g , i n a s i ngl e comb i nat i on,th e

var iou s e l emen ts of wh i ch i t i s composed . Generalisa

t i on i s on ly the apprehen s ion of the one i n the many,

and language is l i tt l e e l se than a reg i stry of the fact i

t i ou s u n i t i e s of thought . The j u dgmen t cannot affi rm or

deny one not i on of another , except by u n i t i ng the two

i n one i n d i v i s i b l e act of compa r i son . Sy l l ogism i s

s imp ly the un i on of two judgment s‘

in a th i rd . Rea son ,

I n tel l ec t , vofig, i n fine,conca tena t i ng thoughts and obj ects

i n to system ; and ,tend i ng a lways from part icu lar fact s to

genera l laws , from genera l laws to u n iversa l pr i nc i p l es ,

is never sat i sfied i n i t s ascent t i l l i t comprehend (which ,however

,i t can never do) all laws i n a s i ngl e formu la ,


and con summa te a ll cond i t i ona l knowledge i n the u n i ty

of u ncond i t i ona l ex i sten ce . Nor is i t on ly i n sc i ence

tha t the m i n d des i dera te s the one . We seek i t equa l ly

i n works of art . H ence the m ind ,” says Anaxagora s

,

“ only knows when i t subdues i t s obj ects , when i t reduces

the many to the one ; and “ T h e end of Ph ilosoph x

says Pla to,i s the i n tu i t i on of u n i ty 1

I n obed ience to th i s imper i ou s tendency of the m i nd

to gene ra l i se i t s knowledge,the Ved i c A ryan s began at

a very ear ly peri od to ab stract and c lass i fy the gods .

They d iv i ded them i n to th ree c la sses of (a t fi rs t) equa l

n umber,and ass i gned to them th ree sepa ra te l oca l i t i e s

for the i r abode 2 They then j o i ned together the names

of two god s,shar i ng certa i n fun ct i on s i n common , and

formed a compound wi th a dua l term i na t i on,whi ch com

pou nd they i nvoked as a new de i ty , su ch a s D yavaprith ivi ,

M itravarunau,and Indravayfi . They a l so grou ped the

gods together u nder a common name , V isvadevas .

the a ll-god s,and addres sed prayers and pra i s es to th em

i n the i r co l l ect i ve capac i ty . Advanc i n g a s tep fu rther

i n the i r genera l i sat i on,they perce ived tha t many gods ,

havi ng spru ng from the same sou rce,had a grea t many

a ttr i bu te s and funct i on s i n common . They su spected,

therefore , tha t the i r essen ce , or wha t under l i e s them , i s

one and the same,though var i ous ly named .

“ They

ca l l h im (the sun) I nd ra ,M i tra

,Varu na

,Agn i ; then he

i s the wel l-winged heaven ly Garu tmat ; that wh ich i s

1 L ectures on Metaphy sics , pp . 67 , 8 , 9 .

R .-V . , i. , 1 3 9

-1 1 A .-V . , x . , 9 , 1 2 .

70 T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VE DA S .

one,the w i se ca l l i t many ways ; they ca l l i t Agn i ,

Yama,Matarisvan .

” 1 Aga i n,

“Wi se poets make the

beau t i fu l w i nged,though he is one

,man i fol d by words ” 2

The same sen t imen t i s found among the wi se men of

G reece . Kleanth es , i n a hymn to Zeu s,says , “ Mos t

gl or i ous among immorta l s,wi th many names

,A lm i gh ty

,

a lways ha i l to thee,Zeu s ”. And Maximu s T yriu s say s

,

M en make d i s t i ncti on s between the gods . They are

not aware tha t a ll the gods have one law ,one l i fe , the

same ways , not d i verse , not mu tua l ly hos t i l e ; all ru l e ;

a ll are of th e same age ; a ll p u rsu e our good ; a ll have

the same d ign i ty and au thor i ty ; a ll are immorta l ; one

th e i r na tu re, under many names ” 3 Seneca u t ter s the

same sen t imen t i n the word s,

“ Omn ia ej usdem D e i

n om i na,va r i e u tentis sua potesta te A l l name s of on e

and the same god,a s d iverse ly u s i ng h i s power .1

On e poet open ly dec lares tha t the R i sh i s d i d not know

God,and tha t a ll the i r songs are

“ i d l e ta l k ”

.

5 H e

who is ou r F a th er and Genera tor , who , as D i sposer,

knows all r i tes and worl d s,who i s th e one a s s i gner of

names to the god s,to h im have a ll other worl d s recou rse

as the sol u t i on and end of all qu es t i on s . ” 6 “ Tha t wh ich

is beyond the ear th and sky,beyond god s and sp i r i t s :

what ear l i es t embryo d i d the wa ter s hol d,i n wh i ch a ll

the god s were assemb l ed ? Ye know not H im who

produ ced th ese th i ngs . Someth i ng e l se i s wi th i n you

1 R .-V . ,

i .,164 , 46 . Ibid.

,x. ,

1 1 4 , 5 .

3 D iss . , xxx i x . , 5 .

1 Intel. Sy st. Uh . , v i i . , p . 2 3 9 .

5 R .

-V .,x. , 82 , 7.

6 Ibid. ,x. ,

82 , 3 .

T H E THEOLOGY OF T H E VE DAS . 71

(poly the i sm). The chan ters of hymn s go abou t enve loped

i n m i s t , and u n sa t i sfied wi th ‘ i d l e ta l k ’ ” 1 Another says,

Knowi ng noth i ng myse l f, I ask th e Seers here who

know , tha t I may l earn . H e who estab l i sh ed the s ix

worl d s i s tha t one wh i ch ex i sts i n th e form of the u nborn

B e i ng .

2

A hi gher fl i gh t of abs tract i on we fi nd i n S kamba ,the

su ppor ter ; V isvakarman, the maker of a ll th i ngs ; Praja

pa t i,the l ord of c rea tu re s . S kamba i s an expres s ion of

the abs trac t concept i on of the power wh ich su pports th e

wor l d and both V isvakarman and Prajapa t i were ep i thets

of the sun (Sarya)3 before th ey were ra i sed i n to indepen

d en t de i t i es . N e i ther of th ese , however , was des t i n ed to

rea l i se e i th er the h i ghest abst ract i on of Re l ig i on,or th e

h ighe st abs tract i on of Ph i l osophy .

A t las t an o l d sage fla shed forth a few thoughts

whether as a rem i n i scence or as the gues s of gen iu s

wh ich,by reflec t i on

,ought to have l ed to the recogn i t i on

of one Supreme B e i ng separa te from na tu re . Mu s i ng

on the begi n n i ng of all th i n gs , he goe s back to the

noth i ng wh i ch preceded the work s of crea t ion , and says ,There was then ne i th er nonent i ty (a sad) nor en t i ty

(sad) ; there was no a tmosphere nor sky above . Death

was not then,nor immorta l i ty ; th ere was no d i s t i nc t ion

of day or n ight . Tha t One ’

(tad ekam) breathed ca lm ly

se l f-supported there was noth i ng d i fferen t from , or above

I t . Des i re fi rs t rose i n I t,wh ich was the p r ima l germ

1 R .-V .

,x. , 82 , 5 , 6 , 7.

2 Ibid . , i . ,

3 Ibid . , x. , 170 , 4 ; iv . , 53 , 2 , 54 , 4 .


of m i nd,and wh ich sages , search i ng wi th the i r i n te l l ect,

have d i scerned i n th e i r hea rt to be th e bond wh ich

connects ent i ty wi th nonent i ty .

” 1

H ere the ex isten ce of on e se l f-ex i s ten t B e i ng i s bol d ly

a s serted . H e ex i s ted before crea t i on . H e exi sted,not

as a grea t pr i n c i p l e or an omn i presen t power,bu t as a

sen t i ent Be i ng , hav i ng a“ des i re ” or “wi l l by wh ich

“ des i re or wi l l ” “ en t i ty was produ ced from non

en t i ty,

” th e worl d from th e dark u n fa thomab l e abyss .

Thi s i s th e neares t approach to monothe i sm perhap s

i n the whol e Vedas ; — the h ighest goa l reached by the

Aryan m i n d . I t seem s s trange,from the pos i t i on of

those who try to accou n t for the concept i on of God on

na tu ra l ground s a l one,tha t

,posses s i ng su ch ideas , and

knowi ng the a tt r i bu tes of the I nfin i te (as ev i denced by

th e descr i pt i on of the phys ica l gods), the o l d bard s d id not

go fu rther , and gra sp the idea of God i n a ll its fu l ness .

B u t i t wa s not to be . I t s eems to be a lways th e fa te of

th e H i ndu th i nker,that h e no sooner abs trac ts the i dea

of God from na tu ra l phenomena ,than he loses s i gh t of

na tu re a l together, and merges all i n God ! H e carr i e s

h i s l ove of u n i ty i n to i t s h ighest fru i t i on , to the abso lu te

i dent i ty of the ego and the non-ego, m i n d and ma tter ,

subj ect and obj ect,the Crea tor and the crea t i on , God and

the u n iverse . H ence polythe i sm and i dea l pan thei sm

are two st ream s,whi ch

,from the ear l i es t t imes , have

run para l l e l i n I nd ia . A s i t was i n th e Ved ic age , so i t

i s now . Polythe i sm i s th e re l ig ion of the i gnorant

l R o' V o , X0 , 1 29 ,


74 T H E TEACH ING O F T H E VE D A S .

Who has seen the first-born , when he who has no

bone s form) bare h im who had bones Where was

the l i fe , th e b lood , the sou l (se l f) of the wor l d ? Who

went to ask th i s from any man tha t knew it ? ” 1 H ere

the sou l,the Atman

,of the worl d can on ly mean tha t

se l f-exi s tent,free , i n dependen t s p i r i t , wh ich , though the

R i sh is d i d not grasp i t , i s the l i fe of all l ives , and th e

mov i ng power of all th i ngs . I n th i s sen se the sun is

metaphori ca l ly sa i d to be “ the sou l of a ll tha t moves

and rest s ” 2and l i kewi s e is the wi nd (Vata)

“ the sou l

of all the god s and sou rce of the wor l d (a tma devanam

okuvanasya garoka).3

Thi s i dea of the Sou l,or Sel f

,of the worl d deve loped i n

the B rahmanas and U pan i shads un t i l i t ab sorbed a ll other

i deas and ex istencies ,— u nt i l i t was regarded as the on ly

rea l en t i ty .

“ I n th e begi n n i ng th i s (world) was Se l f

a l one ; th ere was noth i ng e l se wi nki ng . H e thought ,Let me crea te the wor l d s

,and he c rea ted the worl d s . ” 4

A s th e web issues from the sp i der ; as l i tt l e s parks

proceed from fi re ; so from the one Sou l p roceed a ll

brea th i ng an ima l s,

a ll wor l d s,

a ll th e god s,

and all

be i ngs .

5 “ B e i ng i n th i s wor l d , we may know the

world in l i ke manne r a sou l , that conta ineth i t ; and th i s isc a l led Zeu s , be ing th e cau se of l ife to all th ings th at l iveand , th erefore , Zeu s or J up i ter is sa id to re ign over all th ings

(Ph oenuh es, in Cudworth , Int. Sy s. , vol . i . ,

1 R .-V . , i. , 164 , 4 .

2 Ibid . , i . , 1 1 5 , 1 .

3 Ibid . ,x .

, 1 68 , 4 .

1 A itareya-aryanaka Upanishad, 4 ; i . , 1 , 2 .

5 B rihadaryanaka Up , i i . , 1 , 20 ; M undaka Up ,1 , 7.


Su preme Sp i r i t ; i f there be ignorance of H im then

compl ete dea th en sue s ; those who know H im become

immorta l . ” 1 “ Sou l i s the l ord and k ing of a ll ; a s th e

spoke s i n the nave , so a ll worl d s and sou l s are fas tened

i n the one Sou l . ” 2 ' “ When a person regard s h i s own

sou l as tru ly god,a s the l ord of wha t was and is to be ,

th en he does not wi sh to concea l h im se l f from tha t Sou l .”

“ That Sou l th e gods adore as the l i gh t of l i gh ts , and

a s th e immorta l . ” 3 “ A s flowing r ivers are re solved

i n to the sea ,l os i ng the i r name s and form s

,so the wi se

,

freed from name and form , pas s i n to the D i v i n e Sp i ri t ,which i s grea te r than the grea t . H e who knows tha t

Supreme Sp i r i t becomes sp i r i t .“ “ Tha t d iv i n e S e l f is

not to be gra sped by trad i t i on , nor by understand i ng ,

nor by a ll reve la t i on . H e whom the S e l f choose s , by

h im a l on e i s the S e l f to be grasped . Tha t Se l f

chooses h im as h i s own .

” 5 “ Sages,endowed wi th

med i ta t ion and i n tu i t i on,saw the power of the D i v i ne

Se l f,concea l ed by h i s own qua l i t i e s . ” 6 I n the B rihad

aryanaka U pan i shad 7 the sage Yajnava lkhya te l l s h i s

favou r i te wi fe Ma itreyi , who des i res to become immor

ta l,tha t immorta l i ty con s i sts in perce iv i ng the D iv i ne

Sp i r i t , Atma,the ab so lu te Se l f, as th e on ly exi s tence .

1 B r ihadary anaka Up , 4 , 14 , 4 . S vetasva tara Up , 5 , 6 .

B rihadary anaka Up ,i i . , 5 , 1 5 .

3 B rihadaryanaka , 4 , 4 , 1 5 , 6 .

4 M andaka Up , i i i . , 2 , 5 , 9 .

Katha . U i. , 2 , 23 . S vetasvata ra Up , i. , 3 .

i i . , 4 , 1 3 .


Whosoever looks for the B rahman c la ss e l sewhere

than in the Se l f, shou l d be abandoned by the B rahman

c lass . Whosoever l ooks for the Kshat r iya c lass e l sewhere

than i n the Se l f, shou l d be abandoned by the K shatriya

clas s . Whosoever l ooks for the worl ds e l sewhere than i n

the Se l f, shou l d be abandoned by the wor ld s . Whosoever

l ooks for th e D evas e l sewhere than i n the Sel f, Shou l d be

abandoned by the Devas . Whosoever l ooks for crea tu res

e l sewhere than in th e Se l f,shou ld be abandoned by the

c reatu res . Whosoever l ooks for everyth ing el sewhere

than in the Se l f,shou l d be abandoned by everyth i ng . Th i s

B rahman c la s s,th i s K sha tr iya c lass , these worl ds , these

D evas,these crea tu res

,th i s everyth i ng , a ll i s tha t Sel f.

”

A s all wa ters find the i r centre i n the sea,a ll touches

i n the sk i n,a ll tas tes i n the tongue , all sme l l s i n th e

nose,all col ou rs i n th e eye , all sounds i n th e ear

,all

percepts i n the m i n d,all knowledge i n the h eart , a ll

ac t i ons i n the hands , a ll movemen ts i n the feet , and a ll

th e Vedas i n s peech . A S a lump of sa l t , when

th rown i n to wa ter,becomes d i sso lved i n to water , and

cou l d not be taken ou t aga i n,bu t wherever we taste

th e water i t i s sa l t ; thu s ver i ly , O Ma itreyi , does th i s

great Be i ng , end le ss , u n l im i ted,con s i s t i ng of noth i ng

bu t knowledge,r i s e from ou t these e l emen ts , and van i sh

aga i n i n to them . When he h as departed , there i s no

more knowl edge,I say ,

O M aitreyi' Thu s spoke

Yajnavalkhya .

Then M aitreyi sa i d , H ere thou has t bewi l dered me,

s i r,when thou sayes t that

,hav i ng departed , th ere i s no

more knowledge ”.


B u t Yajnava lkhya rep l i ed ,“ O M a itrey

’

i,I have sa i d

noth i ng tha t is bewi l der i ng . Th i s i s enough , O beloved ,

for wi sdom .

F or when th ere i s , as i t were , d ua l i ty , th en one sees

the o ther , one sme l l s th e other , one hea rs the other , one

sa lu te s th e other,one perce ives the other , one knows th e

other ; bu t when the Se l f on ly is a ll th i s , h ow shou l d he

sme l l another,how shou l d h e s ee another , how shou l d

he hear another,how S hou l d h e sa lu te anoth e r , how

shou l d h e perce ive another,how shou l d h e know another

H ow shou l d he know h im by whom he knows a ll th i s

H ow,O be loved

,shou l d h e know (h im se l f) the knower ?

“ The a sp i rant mu st l earn the fa l s i ty of p lu ra l i ty , the

fi ct i t i ou s na tu re of dua l i ty i n experi ence , and the sol e

rea l i ty of the super-sen s i b l e and un i tary se l f. H e mu st

crush every sense,and su ppress every thought tha t h is

m i n d may become a m i rror to reflect the pu re,Charac

terless be i ng , though t and b l i ss .” 1

2 . BR A H M A . In the R i g-Veda B rahma, from a root

s i gn i fy i n g force , wi sh , or wi l l , mean s p rayer , or sacred

text,becau se a subt l e i nflu ence was supposed to aecom

pany the u tterance of a sacred form u la,su ffic i en t ly strong

to bend the god s ,and make the act of sac r ifi ce effec tua l ?

And B rahman i n the mascu l i n e mean s,

“ he of p rayer ,

the man who u t ter s prayers,the p r i est , and gradua l ly

1 Gough’s Ph ilosophy of the Upanishads , p . 1 3 8 .

R . V . ,i., 3 1 , 1 8 ; i . , 3 7 , 4 ; i. , 62 ,

1 3 ; i. , i i . , 18 , 7 ;

i i . , 2 3 , i i . , i i i .,

i i i . , iv . ,1 6 , 20-1 ; iv . ,

2 2 ,1 ; v i . , 69 , 7 ; v i i . , v i i i .

, 77 , 4 ; v i i i . , 78 , 3 ; x. , 1 3 , 1 ;

x . , x .

,x . ,

105 , 8 .

78 T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VEDAS .

the B rahman by profess i on .

1 Come , I n dra ,l e t u s make

prayers wh ich magn i fy thee .

” A new

prayer (orah /na nary/a) has been made for thee .

” 2

The prayer (ara/zma ) i s my protec t ing a rmou r .

Vak , the goddes s of speech,says : “ I myse l f make

known th i s , wh ich is agreeab l e both to god s and men .

H im whom I l ove I make terr i b l e,I make h im a

p r i est” 4(krakmanam). I nd ra i s a p r i es t

”

H e i t is whom they ca l l a R i sh i,a pr i est , a p iou s

sacrificer (riskim bra/imananz Agn i i n

R .-V .

,v i . , 1 6 , i s ca l l ed B rahmanaskave ,

wh ich i s ex

p la i n ed mantrasya saadayitar ,

“sou nder or art i cu lator of

prayer .” The pr i es t s (bra/zmanak) magn i fy Ind ra by

thei r pra i s e . B rahma i n the sen se of a god does not

appear i n the R i g , the o l des t Veda ; bu t i n th e A tharva ,

the mos t recen t,he is spoken of as a god “ who dwe l l s

i n th e h ighest p lace , whose mea su re i s th e ea rth , whose

bel ly i s the a tmosphere , whose head is th e sky, and who

i s worthy of a ll reverence ’

.

6 I n the B rahmanas he is

more fu l ly deve l oped,and is spoken of as the “ first

born , the “se l f—exi stent

,the

“c rea tor of heaven and

earth , and th e “ best of the god s

No wonder tha t the anci en t H i n du s,who were so

impres sed wi th myster i ou s powers everywhere , de ified

1 R .-V . ,

I . , 80 ,I ; n . , 2 , 5 ; x . , 85 , 3 ; n . , 3 9 , 1 ; vn .

, 42 , 1 ;

v i i i . , 8 1 , 30 ; i x ., 1 1 2 , 1 ; x . ,

v i i . , 103 , 1 .

Ibid. , v i i i . , iv . , 16 , 2 1 .

3 Ibid. , v i . , 75 , 1 9 .

‘1 Ibid . , x . , 1 25 , 5 .

5 Ibid . ,v i i i .

,1 6 , 7 ; x . ,

107 , 6 .

A .-V .

,x . , 7 , 1 7 , 24 , 3 2 .

7 S atapatha brahmana , v i i i . , 2 1 , 7, 3 .

T H E THEOLOGY O F T H E VED A S 79

the power of p raye r . They h ad a l ready de ified the

Soma j u i ce , i n con sequence of its st imu la t i ng effect,

enab l i n g men to do work beyond thei r na tu ra l strength .

And now tha t they had u nwavering fa i th i n the a lm i gh ty

power of prayer,“ to bend the most i n tractab l e of the

gods to gran t wha tever boon they asked,wha t was more

natu ra l than tha t they shou l d de i fy i t Wha t was more

na tu ra l than to conc l ude tha t th e power wh ich con trol l ed

the gods , and the channe l th rough wh ich all b l ess i ngs

flowed to them se l ve s , mu s t be above a ll other powers ,

mu s t i n fact be “ That One who is above and beyond

a ll exi s tences

Agn i wa s before ca l l ed B rahmanaspa t i,the “ Lord of

prayer,i n two sen ses : he was the hearer of prayer

as a god , and the presen ter of prayer to the gods as

med ia tor or H i gh Pri e st . I n the de ifica t ion of prayer,

B rahmanaspa t i d i sappeared . H is fu nc t i on as the hearer

of prayer was t ran sfe rred to prayer person ifi ed

and h is funct i on as a H i gh Pr i e s t or med ia tor wa s

t ran sferred to the B rahman s , the u tterers Of prayer .

Th i s was th e o ri g i n of bo th the god B rahma,wh ich

now ho l d s the fi rs t p lace i n the H i n du tr iad, and the

B rahman cas te , wh ich ha s ru l ed I nd ia with a rod of i ron

for twenty-s i x centu ri es at l ea s t ! Wha t an awfu l de

grada t i on of rel i g ion to subst i tu te the col d,u n feel i ng

,

metaphys ica l god , B rahma,for the br i gh t

,humane

sympa thet ic Agn i , the “ fa ther,brother

,and fr i end of

all and to exchange the haughty d i sda i n fu l B rahman,

wh o con s id ers h im se l f defi led by con tact wi th any one

be low h im se l f i n the soc ia l sca l e , for the H i gh Pri es t


who though god , condescended to be the guest of every

one,sm i l i ng on a ll wi thou t d i s t i n ct ion I

B rahma grew and became the supreme god of the

l ea rned . H e gradua l ly absorbed the i dea of Sou l,whether

i nd iv i dua l or un iversa l,and became i den t ica l w i th all

ex istencies . I n the A itareya Upan i shad i t i s sa i d , tha t

Or i g i na l ly th i s u n iverse was i n deed Sou l on ly,noth ing

e l se whatever ex i s ted ”

;1

and th en,i n an swer to the

qu es t i on — “ What i s th i s Sou l ? i t i s s tated,

“ Th i s

i s B rahma ; he i s I n dra ; he i s Prajapat i ; these gods

are he and so are the five p r imary e l emen ts .

Whatever l ive s,or wa l k s , or fl i es , or wha t i s immovab l e ,

all that i s the eye of i n te l l i gence . I n te l l i gen ce i s

B rahma the grea t one .

” 2 A l l th e un i verse i s B rahma ;

from h im i t spr i ngs , i n to h im i t i s d i s so lved ; i n h im i t

brea thes — so med i tate thou wi th a ca lm m i nd .

” 3 “ As,

from b laz i ng fi re,spa rk s , be i ng l i ke u nto fi re , fly forth

a thou sandfold,thu s are var i ou s be ings brought forth

from the Imper i shab l e , and retu rn h i ther “ Lord

of the U n iver se,gl ory to Thee ; Thou art the Se l f of all

Thou art the maker of a ll , th e enj oyer of a ll ; Thou art

l i fe , and the l o rd of a ll p l easu re and j oy .

” 5 H ere Sel f

both d iv i n e and human,as wel l as a ll ex istencies , are

ga th ered up i n B rahma . M ax M iiller says , “ I t was an

epoch i n the h i story of the human m i n d when the iden

t i ty of th e mascu l i n e Sel f and th e neu tra l B rahma was

1 A itareya Up. i i . , 4 , 1 , 1 .

2 Ibid. ,i i . , 6 , 5 , 6 .

3 Khand . Up. , In . ,14 , 1 , 2 .

‘1 M undak. Up. , i i . , 1 , 1 .

5 M a itr . B r . Up. , 5 , 1 .



ev i den ce tha t B rahma i s the last d iv i n e concept i on of

the Veda s ; and i t is a noteworthy fac t tha t wi th the

d i sappearance of th e concept i on of God as a person

a l i ty,the eth ica l con sc i ou sness of s i n a l so d isappeared .

F or, apart from a persona l God , there can be no S in

as th e tran sgress i on of an obj ect i ve law . Mu ch less

can there be when a man i s rega rded as on ly the fic

t it iou s appearance of one infin i te charac ter l es s en t i ty ,

ca l l ed B rahma,wh ich i s “ ne i th er effect nor cau se ,

ne i ther pa s t nor fu tu re ; whi ch i s wi thou t sou nd,with

ou t tou ch,wi thou t form

,wi thou t d ecay

,withou t smel l

,

withou t begi n n i ng,wi thou t end ”

‘ 1 wh i ch i s “ wi thou t

brea th , w i thou t mind , pu re , h igher than the h i ghes t ,Imper i shab l e ”

.

2 “ I t i s not woman , i t is not man,

nor i s i t n eu ter ; wha tever body i t takes , with tha t i t i s

j o i ned .

” 3

We may su i tab ly c l o se th i s s ect i on in the word s of

D r . Chr i s t l i eb , “ I f the thoughts of the o l d H i n du s d i d

somet imes r i se from the contemp la t ion of var i ou s d e ified

na tu ra l phenomena to that of one pr ima l cau se of a ll

th i ngs , th is cau se was rega rded not as the one God ,

bu t as an impersona l undefined ex i s tence,of wh ich a ll

tha t cou l d be sa i d was,that is not wha t i t i s ; wi th wh i ch ,

therefore,every persona l commu n ion i n prayer wou l d be

imposs i bl e ” .

4 Th i s qu i t e agrees wi th the B rihadaryanaka

1Katha . Up.

,i ., 3 , 1 5 .

2 M undaka Up. , i i . , 1 , 2 .

3 S vetasvatara Up.

,v . 1 0 .

1 Modern D oubt and Christian B elief.


U pan i shad wh ich says tha t the teach i ng of B rahma i s

N o,N o 1

3 . T he Or igin of the Vedic Concep t God .

To a superfic ia l ob server,the Ved ic gods appea r noth i ng

more than natu ra l phenomena person ified and worsh i pped .

O r,i n the langu age of Professo r M ax Mu l l er , “ They are

masks wi thou t an ac tor,th e c rea t i on s o f man

,not h is

crea tor,they are nom i na

,not n um ina , names wi thou t

be i ngs,not be ings wi thou t names ” . Com pa ra t i ve Ph i l

o l ogy has d i sc l osed the i r or i g i na l phys ica l import , and

the myth s of ages,which h ad c lustered a rou nd them

,

have been sca ttered l ike darkness before the dawn . Let

H i ndu s ponder th i s,and they wi l l be conv i nced tha t

the re l ig i on of the i r ance stors in the far-off Ved ic age

has not been a l together i napt ly denom i na ted “ Phy

S iolatry

And yet , we S hou l d b e do ing i nj u st ice to tha t re l i g i on

by represent ing i t as noth i n g more than Phys io la try

No re l i gi on has ever exi sted wi thou t recogn i s i ng the

supersen suou s or superna tu ra l . Even the l owest fet i sh

worsh i ppers do not worsh i p a common s tone or a com

mon p i ece of bone,bu t s tones and bone s wh ich are

su pposed to pos sess some i nv i s i b l e,su perhuman power .

And so th e Ved ic re l ig i on was not a ll na tu re,bu t na tu re

and the superna tu ra l blended so myster i ou s ly tha t th e

1 B rih . A r . , i i i . ,


one cou l d not be d i st i ngu i shed from the other. 1 Were

i t a ll na tu re , there wou l d be no room for person ificat i on,

s i nce person ifica t i on is th e a s cr i p t i on of human l i fe and

a ct i v i t i es to obj ect s not natu ra l ly possess i n g th em . The

Ved ic A ryan s , by person i fy i ng and worsh i pp i ng the

obj ects of na tu re , Show tha t they were con sc i ou s of

depende nce u pon , and re la t i on sh i p to , someth ing h i gher

than na tu re . Person ificat ion imp l i e s the knowl edge of

a person , and the person ifi ca t i on of a na tu ra l obj ec t

as an obj ect of worsh ip imp l i es the pos sess i on of the

con cept , more or l ess c l ea r,of wha t we denom i na te God.

The qu es t ion s then ar i s e— Wha t i s th e natu re of th i s

concep t H ow wa s i t formed Wha t was the genes i s

of the i dea of God ? D i d man or ig i na l ly evo lve i t ou t

of h i s i gnorance of the u nknown cau ses of the order and

eccen tr ic i t i e s of na tu ra l phenomena,wh ich st ru ck h im

with wonder and awe ? or from fri gh tfu l dream s , the

resu l t of over-ea t i ng or i s i t th e na tu ra l and i n ev i tab l e

p rodu c t of th e human m i n d when i n con tac t wi th the

externa l worl d E x nihilo nih ilfi t, or , as the H i n du ph i lo

so ph ers pu t i t , N avastuno vastu sidditi ? The cau se mu s t be

adequa te to produ ce the effect . U n l es s man, therefore,

were en dowed wi th the power or facu l ty to conce i ve and

to adore some i nv i s i b l e su perhuman Be i ng, he cou l d no

more evolve the i dea of such a B e i ng from gross ignor

ance,ru de fea rs , or fr ightfu l d ream s , than the dog or the

1 “ T h e se rude bards h ave not ana lysed th e i r consc iousne ssth e mate ria l and th e sp i r i tua l are st i l l b lended togeth e r inth e i r concept ions (J ohnson

’

s A sia tic R eligions).

T H E THEOLOGY OF T H E VEDAS . 85

monkey . What we wan t to know is the or igin of the

facu l ty or th e tendency wh ich i rres i s t i b ly l ead s man to

recogn i se and worsh ip some obj ec t as God . Thi s ten

deney,pre sen t everywhere

,l i ke a weft ru nn i n g th rough

the warp of human h i s tory,expres se s an eterna l fac t ,

viz . , tha t man is constituted a religious being. Thi s t en

deney i s as i n sepa rab l e from h i s natu re a s th e tendency

to express h i s thoughts i n a rt icu la te s peech . H en ce he

grows i n to re l i g i on a s na tu ra l ly and u ncon sc i ou s ly as

he grows i n to manhood . H e no sooner wake s to the

con sc i ou snes s tha t he is a be i ng sepa rat e from na tu re ,than he fee l s h is dependen ce u pon

,and mora l re lat ion

sh ip to , some B e i ng above na tu re,whose sm i l e s are h i s

j oy , whose frown s are h i s woe . Th i s i s the fi r s t sen se

of the Godhead,th e sensus numinis ; “

a sen se sub l ime of

someth i ng far more deep ly i n terfu sed a sense , not th e

resu l t of reason i ng or genera l i sa t i on,bu t an immed ia te

percepti on,as rea l and i rres i st i b l e as tha t of the ego .

I n perce iv i n g the I nfin i te,we ne i th er count , nor

measu re , nor compare,nor name . We know not wha t

i t i s , bu t we know tha t i t i s , and we know i t becau se

we actua l ly fee l i t , and are brough t i n con tac t w i th i t .

I f i t seems too bol d to say tha t man ac tua l l y sees the

i nv i s i b l e , l e t u s say tha t h e su ffers from the i nv i s i b l e ,and th i s i nv i s i b l e is onlv a s pec ia l name for th e I n

fin ite .

” 1 And a s man is con sc i ou s of the ego before

knowi ng what man is,so he i s con sc i ous of the super

na tu ra l before knowing wha t God i s . Th i s is necessa r i ly

1 M ax M u l ler ’s H ibbert Lectures , p . 3 8 .


a very vagu e and i ncomp lete i dea of the Godhead , so

vagu e as to e lu de defin i t i on,and so i ncomp l ete a s not

even to be named .

1 H erodotu s te l l s u s tha t the Pelas

gian s for a l ong t ime offered prayers and sacr ifices to

the god s w i thou t hav ing names for any one of them ;

and ,accord ing to Ta c i tu s

,the anc i en t Germans wor

sh ipped God as“ that s ecret th i ng known on ly by

reverence and we have seen tha t som e of th e Ved ic

bards expres s the i r con sc i ou s ness of H im by the phra se

The One ” or “ Tha t One '

. A venerab l e o l d B rah

I W i th th e fi rst deve lopment of c onsc iou sness , th e re grows

up , as a part of i t, th e innate fee l ing th at our l ife , natu ra l andsp ir i tua l , is not in ou r power to su sta in or pro long ; th at th ereis One above u s on wh om we are dependent , wh ose ex i stencewe learn

,and wh o se pre sence we rea l i se

,by th e su re inst inct

of prayer . Aga in ,

“ \V e are compe l led by th e c onst i tut iono f our m ind to be l ieve in th e e x i stenc e of an Abso lu te and In

fin i te B e ing,—a be l ief wh ich appears forced upon u s as th e

comp lement of our consc iou sness of th e re lat ive and th e fini te ”

(M anse l’

s B anzpton L ectures , pp . 8 1,

A nd S ir W i l l iamH am i l ton , th ough ma inta in ing th at

“th e abso lute is conce ived

mere ly by a negat ive o f conc e ivabi l i ty ,”

remark s th at,

“ by a

wonde rfu l reve lat ion we are th u s in th e very consc iou sne ss of

our inabi l i ty to conc e ive augh t above th e re lat ive and fin i te,

insp i red w i th a be l ief in th e ex i stenc e of someth ing uncon

dit ioned, beyond th e sph ere of a ll compreh ension A nd

H erbe rt S penc er says , “ B e s ides th at defin i te consc iou snessof wh ich Logic formu late s th e laws

,th ere is a l so an indefinite

c onsc iou sne ss wh ich cannot be formu lated. B e s ides c omp leteth ough ts, and be s ide s th e th ough ts wh ich , th ough incomp lete ,admi t of comp let ion ,

th e re are th ough ts wh ich i t is impossib leto c omp lete , and yet wh ich are st i l l rea l , in th e sense th atth ey are norma l affec t ions of th e m ind (F irst P rinciples, p .

T H E THEO LOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 87

man to l d u s on ce , with fee l i ngs of deep concern , “ I

am very glad that you have come to my v i l lage to-day ,

for you wi l l te l l me abou t tha t ‘ Great One ’ whom all

shou l d worsh i p . I am grea t ly perp l exed abou t H im .

I know tha t H e i s , bu t I d o not know who H e i s,or

where to find H im .

” Then poi n t i ng to th e sun,he sa i d ,

I have been l ook i ng for H im there , bu t cannot find

H im ; and i n th i s i do l,

” po in t i ng to the image of Vi shnu

in th e temp le,

“ bu t H e i s not there . I have searched

for H im i n th i s book —ho l d i n g up the V i sh nu Pu rana“ bu t cannot find H im .

” An d so the anc i en t A ryan s ,

not knowing H im of whose exi s tence they were certa i n,

tr i ed to find H im everywhere in the phenomena of na tu re .

They person ifi ed these ; for an obj ec t of worsh i p mu st be

a person capabl e of knowi ng,of fee l i ng

,and of exerc i s i ng

i nflu ence , to whom they cou l d pray and offer sacrifice .

1

I t is on ly by conce iv i ng H im as a con sc i ou s B ei ng

tha t we can stand i n any re l ig i ou s re la t i on to H im ;

t hat we can form such a repre sen ta t i on of H im a s is

demanded by ou r sp i r i tua l wan t s , i n su ffic i en t though i t

be to sa t i sfy ou r i n te l l ectua l cu r i os i ty .

” 2

B u t though the Ved ic A ryan s were ignoran t of God as

a defin i te B e i ng,separa te from na tu ra l phenomena ,

they

1 Vene rat ion or grat i tude towards any be ing imp l ie s be l iefin th e consc iou s act ion of th at be ing, imp l ie s asc ript ion o f a

prompt ing mot ive of a h igh k ind , and deeds re su l t ing from i t

grati tude cannot be enterta ined towa rds someth ing wh ich is

unconsc iou s (H e rbert Spence r , N ineteenth Century , for ju ly,1 884 )

Manse l’

s B ampton Lectures, pp. 57, 58.

88 T H E TEACH ING O F T H E VE DAS .

possessed a remarkab ly accu ra te knowl edge of the ac t i on s

and a ttr i bu tes wh ich pre-em i n ent ly belong to H im . They

ascr i bed to the person ified e l ements of na tu re th e fun c

t i on s of Crea tor , Preserver , and Ru l er ; and the a ttr i bu te s

of I nfin i ty , Omn i potence , Omn isc i ence , Immorta l i ty ,R i ghteou s nes s , H o l i n es s , and M ercy . Thi s knowl edge

i s far more defin i te and exten s i ve than tha t gi ven i n

the sensus numinis . H ow d i d they acqu i re i t ? An

an swer to th i s qu est i on wi l l make c l ea r both the va l i d i ty

of ou r defin i t i on of the “ fi rst sen se of the Godhead

and th e mean s by wh ich i t was deve l oped,so as to

embrace the l ead i ng charac ter i s t ic s of the De i ty . There

are on ly th ree an swers conceivab l e,viz (1 ) They

acqu i red i t by Intu i t i on, (2) by Experi ence , or (3 ) by

Reve la t i on .

1 . D i d th ey acqu i re It by I n tu i t i on We have a l ready

sta ted wha t knowledge of God we conce i ve man capab l e

of acqu i r ing by i n tu i t i on ; viz .,a vagu e and i ndefin i te

i dea of the su pernatu ra l in the na tu ra l , of some Bei n g

above on whom he depend s,

and to whom he owes

homage . B u t who tha t B e i n g i s , and what H is attri

bu tes are , he h as no mean s of knowing .

1 I f th i s be

correc t , i t fo l l ows tha t the an c i e n t A ryans d id not acqu i re

1 T h e re l igiou s sent iment,as Manse! says , “wh ich impe ls

men to be l ieve in and worsh ip a S upreme B e ing, is an ev idenceof H is ex i stenc e , bu t not an exh ib it ion of H is ch arac te r ” . A nd

aga in ,

“ T h e conv ic t ion th at an Infin i te B e ing ex i sts seems

forc ed upon u s by th e man ife st incomp letene ss of our fin i teknow ledge , but we h ave no rat iona l means wh ateve r of determin ing what is the natu re of that B e ing

”.



A l l these gods are a l i ke Su preme, Crea tors , Preser

vers , Omn i poten t , Omn i sc i en t , B eneficent , Immor ta l .

Among you ,O gods , there i s none tha t i s sma l l

,none

tha t is young ; for a ll are grea t i n deed ” 1 H eaven and

Earth are sa i d to be the pa ren t s of th e gods , not on ly of

the i n fer i or on e s , bu t of the grea t god s , I n dra ,Agn i

, and

Sarya ; and each of these aga in is sa i d to be the Crea tor

of H eaven and Ea rth,as wel l as of a ll th ings v i s i b l e and

i nv i s i b l e . I n dra i s grea te r th an all ; Agn i compre

hend s a ll the god s a s th e c i rcum feren ce of a whee l does

i t s s pokes .

2 S i'

Irya i s the concen tra t i on of a ll power i n

one , the wonderfu l h os t of rays ;” “ the eye of M i t ra ,

sou l of a ll tha t moves or re sts

Va runa i s the l ord of a ll,of H eaven and Earth ; and yet

was nu rsed in th e lap of Ad i t i . Soma“ generates a ll

the god s , and u phol d s th e worl d s H e is the maker

of H eaven and Ear th,of Agn i

,of S I

'

Irya ,of I ndra ,

and

Varuna,Agn i

of “ V isvakarman i s w i s e and pervad i ng ,

C rea tor , D i s poser , F a ther , h ighest obj ect of v i s i on” 5

The Dawn is the “ moth er o f th e gods,eye of all the

earth,l i gh t of th e sacrifice

”.

6 Ad i t i is not on ly the

mother of all the gods,bu t i s i den t i ca l w i th a ll tha t

exi s t s ; and yet Ad i t i i s both the mother and the

daughter of Daksha . Dak sha wa s born of Ad i t i , and

Ad i t i from Daksha . F or Ad i t i was born , O Daksha ,

sh e who is thy daugh ter ; after her the gods were born ,

1 R .-V . ,

v i i i . , 3 0, 12 Ibid. , v. , 1 3 , 6 .

3 Ibid .,i.,1 1 5 , 1 .

4 Ibid . ,ix .

, 96, 5 , 6 .

5 Ibid.

,x . , 82 , 1 , 3 .

6 Ibid.

,1 1 3 , 19 .

T H E TH EOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . 9 1

the b les sed who sha re immorta l i ty .

” 1 Then these god s

are mu tua l ly i n terchangeab le . Thou,Agn i , a rt Ind ra ,

art Vi shnu ,becamest M i t ra when k i nd l ed ; i n th ee , the

son of s trength,are a ll the god s .

” 2 I n dra says,

“ I was

Manu,I am th e sun ,

I am the w i se R i sh i Kaksh ivan”

.

3

I t m i gh t be obj ected tha t the co sm ica l func t i on s of th ese

gods are su ffic i en t to a ccou n t for the s im i la r i ty of the i r

descr i p t i on , and the i n terchangeab l en ess of the i r names .

True ; bu t tha t on ly proves tha t the Ved ic Aryan s were

ignoran t of the tru e God ,though they po s ses sed a know

ledge more or l es s c l ea r of H is a t t r i bu te s and func t i on s

I t m i gh t be affi rmed tha t th e persona l i ty of God was

ori g i na l ly apprehended by the sou l , bu t tha t i n cou rse of

t ime i t gradua l ly faded away so as to l eave noth i ng

beh i nd bu t H is a ttr i bu te s . B u t (a) th i s is i ncons i sten t

wi th the su ppos i t i on that man possesse s a power tran s

cending that of the sensus numinis , by m ean s of wh i ch he

d i rect ly perce ives God . F or as l ong as man i s con sc i ou s ,he mu st be con sc i ou s of tha t power ; and i f tha t power

once su pp l i ed h im wi th the knowledge of God and H is

a ttr i bu tes , there i s no reason to conc lude that i t wi l l not

a lways do so . (b) H ad th e Ved ic A ryan s acqu i red the i r

knowledge of the d i v i n e a ttr i bu tes and fu nct i on s by intu i

t i on,and a s sum i ng that that i n tu i t i on imp l i e s a knowl edge

of the d iv i n e Person,and tha t th e men ta l and sp i r i tua l

n ecess i t i e s of man are s im i lar th roughou t th e wor l d , i t

is na tu ra l to suppose tha t all other na t i on s wou l d have

1 R .-V .

,x. , 72 , 4 , 5 . Ibid .

,i i .

,1, 3 ; v .

, 3 , 1 .

3 Ibid .

,iv .

, 26, 1 .

92 T H E TEACH ING O F T H E VE DA S .

acqu i red d iv i n e knowledge i n the same way . There is

no fac t , however , better known to the s tuden t s of anc i en t

Rel i g i on s and Mythol ogi es than tha t no i nd iv i dua l s

mu ch l es s na t i on s— when l eft to th emse l ve s , have ever

acqu i red anyth i ng l i ke a c l ea r and certa i n concept i on of

a Supreme Persona l B e i ng d i st i nct from natu re .

“ Even

P la to d i d not make h is way up to the i dea of a d iv i n e ,

se l f-con sc i ou s,Persona l B e i ng

,nor even d i s t i nct ly pro

pounded the qu est ion of the persona l i ty of God. I t i s

tfue tha t Ar i s tot l e ma in ta i n ed more defi n i te ly than P la to

tha t the De i ty m u st be a persona l B e i ng . B u t even for

h im, i t was not an ab so lu te

,free

,c reat ive power , bu t

one l im i ted by pr imord ia l matter ; not the worl d’

s Creator ,bu t on ly one who gave shape to the rude ma ter ia l s , and

so not tru ly absolu te .

” 1

2 . I f the Ved ic Aryan s d i d not acqu i re the i r knowledge

of the d iv i n e func t ion s and a t tr i bu tes i n tu i t i ve ly , d i d they

acqu i re i t em p i r ica l ly ? We acqu i re knowledge by expe

rience , by what we feel , hea r and see . A l l knowledge i s

e i ther produced or occa s i oned by sen se and rea son . And

from one poi n t of v iew there i s noth i ng i n the i n te l l ect

except wha t has pas sed th rough these two avenues . B u t

sen se and rea son , we are to ld , are fin i te,and dea l on ly

wi th fi n i te th i ngs ; and hence whatever t ran scend s these

l im i ts is unknown and u nknowab l e . And as the i dea of

God tran scend s the app reh en s ion of sen se and the com

prehen s ion of rea son , i t i s p ronou nced a mere ha l luc i na

t i on , and th e grand a t t r i bu tes a sc r i bed to H im are sa i d

1 D r. Ch rist lieb’

s M odern D oubt and Chr istian B elief, p . 78 .


T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VEDA S .

impres s i on s .

1 The conclu s ion s of exper i ence are wider

than its da ta . H ence there appea rs to be no a pri ori

reason why th e Ved ic Aryans shou l d not have acqu i red

the i r knowl edge of the d iv i n e a tt r i bu te s and func t ion s by

the impres s i on s of sen se and th e reflect ions of reason

the m i n d i n contac t w i th th e externa l‘

wor l d .

We have seen a l ready how they appa rently acqu i red the

concept of the I nfin i te by con temp lat i ng the bou nd l ess

nes s of the F i rmamen t , from wh ich the dawn and the

sun flashed forth every morn i n g,to wh ich th ey gave

express ion i n Ad i t i .

The regu lar i ty wi th wh ich the heaven ly bod ies move,

the su cces s i on of day and n i gh t, and the per i od ica l re

cu rrence of the sea son s,with i n the sphere of Varu na

,

the H eaven —God ,m i gh t have suggested the i dea tha t he

i s the Ru l er of all th i ngs v is i b l e and i nv i s ib l e,whose

laws , vra tas, are fixed and u nas sa i lab l e .

2

The permanence of the F i rmamen t as con tra sted wi ththe V i s i b l e movemen ts of the sun ,

moon,and sta rs

,the

1 H obbe s ca l l s th e idea of th e Infin i te an absu rd speech ,

becau se we h ave no conc ept ion of anyth ing w e c a l l infinite(L evia than ,

i ., Wh at H e rbert S pence r says of th e

Abso lute is an answer to H obbe s , subst i tut ing th e “ In

fin i te ”for th e “ Abso lu te “ T o say th at we cannot know

th e ‘ Infin i te ’

is by imp l icat ion to affirm th at th e re is an

Infin i te . In th e very den ia l of our power to learn wha t th eInfin i te is , th ere l i e s h idden th e assumpt ion tha t it is, and th e

mak ing of th i s assumpt ion prove s th at th e Infin i te h as been

pre sent to th e m ind, not as noth ing, bu t as some th ing (F irst

P r inciples, p .

2R .-V .

,i i .

,27, 10 ; Y o

, 85 ) 3 ; V ii-a 87a 6 ; 54) 1 8°


c l ouds,and s torm s , and the changes and bu st l e of th i s

noi sy worl d,m i gh t have orig i na ted th e i dea of U ndecay i ng

(agara), Immorta l (amar ta), or E terna l .1

Aga i n , when contemp la t i ng th e H eaven-God, en throned

h igh above the earth,wi th the sun ,

moon,and s tars , as

eyes penetra t i ng th e darkne ss,and seei n g all that takes

p lace in th e worl d bel ow,wha t is more natu ra l than

tha t they shou l d ca l l h im A sura Visvadevas, the A l l

knowing Sp i r i t,or the Omn i sc i en t 2

Moreover,perce iv i ng tha t l i gh t and form ,

col ou r and

beau ty,emerge every morn i ng

,ou t of a gloom i n wh i ch

a ll obj ec ts seem confounded , the Ved i c A ryans m i gh t

su ppose that i n l i ke manner the br i gh tnes s , order and

beau ty of the wor l d,had spru ng from da rkness

,i n wh ich

the el emen ts of all th i ngs h ad ex i sted i n i nd i s t i ngu i shab l e

chaos .

3 And s i nce i t i s the sun tha t d i sperse s th e dark

ness of the n i gh t, and gives back to man the H eaven

and th e Earth every morn i ng,i t is ea sy to understand

how they m i gh t have conc luded tha t the sun brought

them forth from the ori g i na l chaos, and hence tha t h e is

the i r Crea tor .1

Aga i n , th e brigh t l i ght of th e sun ca l l s men from the i r

s lumber every morn i ng , and with i t s wa rm glow en l i ven s

the worl d , and cau ses the earth to bri ng forth her fru i t s

and so i t i s conce i vab l e tha t the i dea of Preserver o r

En l ivener orig i nated .

5

'

1R .-V .

, v i . , 70 , 1 , 2 . Ibid .

,v i i i .

, 42 , 1 ; v i i . , 60, 3 , 6 ; i. , 50 , 2 , 73Ibid.

,x.

,1 29 .

‘1 Ibid.

,i. , 1 1 5 , 1 ; x.

,170 , 4 .

5 Ibid.

,i.,1 1 5, 1 ; vi i . , 63 , 2 , 4 .


Las t ly , by app ly i ng super la t i ve ep i thets to th e sun,i t

wou l d become suprem e , god among gods, and th e

d iv i n e l eader of a ll the god s and so the concept i on of

Omn i potence m i gh t have been formed .

1

N ow i t i s con ce i vab l e that i n th i s way the fun ct i on s

of Crea tor,Pre server , and Ru l er , and the a ttr i bu tes of

I nfin i ty,Omn i poten ce

,Omn i sc i ence and E tern i ty m i ght

have been emp irica lly acqu i red . And as i t i s na tu ra l to

su ppose tha t a ll the excel lent qua l i t i es of wh ich man i s

con sci ou s a s ex i s t ing i n h imse l f,mu st necessar i ly exi s t i n

the same manner, bu t i n an i nfin i te ly h i gher degree

,i n

the obj ec t of h i s worsh ip , we may conce ive tha t thu s the

mora l a t tr i bu te s of H ol i n es s,J u s t i ce , M ercy , Love and

Goodness a scr i bed to God m igh t have been acqu i red .

When we say tha t i t is conce ivab l e tha t the Ved ic

Aryan s acqu i red the i r knowledge of the d iv i n e a ttr i bu tes

and func t i on s emp irica lly ,we mu s t remember that i t i s con

ceivable by us who a l ready posses s a knowledge of them

and hence bri ng tha t knowl edge to the contemp lat i on of

na tu ra l phenomena . I t was very d i fferent w i th the Ved ic

A ryan s,for th ey

,ex hypothesi, h ad no su ch an teceden t

knowl edge . A l l tha t they possessed was the con sc i ous

nes s of the su perna tu ra l i n the na tu ra l , wh ich they cou l d

n e i ther define,nor separa te from the na tu ra l , and wh ich ,

con sequen t ly ,th ey worsh i pped together wi th the na tura l

as a person . The qu es t ion then a r i ses— I s i t probab le

tha t they , s tart i ng wi th that con sc i ou sness only , e labor

a ted the i r knowledge of the d iv i n e a ttr i bu tes and funct i ons

1 R .-V .

,i., 50 , 10 ; v i i i . , 90 , 1 2 . S ee Profe ssor M ax M il ller

’

s

H ibbert Lectures.



exaggera ted expres s i on s u ttered i n the ecsta t i c fervou r of

prayer and pra i se— poet i ca l exuberance— for i n that case

i t is not p robab l e that su ch express i on s wou l d have been

ca lm ly co l l ected,and preserved i n su ch large numbers ,

withou t bet ray i ng the con sc i ou snes s of the i r contrad ictory

charac ter i n some note or commen t ” . N e i ther does

i t appea r poss i b l e to refer the i n cons i stency to d i fferen t

epoch s or d i vers i t i e s of worsh i p ; for i t i s u ndoubted ly the

d i st i ngu i sh i ng fea tu re of th e whol e Ved ic theology , wh ich

has been str i k i ng ly expres sed by Professor M ax Mul l er

in the fo l lowi ng word s,

“ Each god’

i s to the m i n d of

the su pp l iant as good as all the god s . H e i s fe l t at th e

t ime as Suprem e and Ab so lu te,i n sp i te of th e neces sary

l im i ta t i on s,wh ich to ou r m i n d a p lu ra l i ty of god s mu st

en ta i l on every s i ngl e god .

(b) I s the posses s i on of the power of abst rac t i on and

genera l i sa t i on,imp l i ed i n the emp i r ica l acqu i s i t i on of the

knowledge of the d iv i n e a ttr i bu te s and func t i on s,con

s i sten t w i th the h istor ical fact tha t th ey never gra sped the

i dea of God as a person sepa ra te from na ture, to whom

a l one these a tt r i bu te s belong ? We have seen that i n

obed i en ce to the imper i ou s tenden cy of the human m i n d,

wh ich leads i t to l ogica l un i ty,the o l d D evas the ol d

gods of natu re,were d i sca rded

,and on ly On e wi thou t

a second affirmed (eka eva advitiyami). We have seen

a l so tha t th e “ One of the U pan ishad s— the Atman or

B rahma— i s noth i ng more than the i ndefin i te ab strac t i on

of B e i ng i n genera l,wi thou t any d i st i ngu i sh ing charac

terist ics to con st i tu te a De i ty .

“ F or how shou l d morta l

man be w i ser than the J nana-Kand,wh ich te l l s u s how


B rahma is bod i l e s s and act iveless, passiveless , ca lm ,

un

qua l ified , unchanged , pu re l i fe , pure thought , pu re J oy” 1

B rahma is i r res i st i b l e,impa l pab l e

,wi thou t k i nd red ,

wi thou t col ou r , has ne i ther eyes nor ears , ne i ther hand s

nor feet,imper i shab le , man i fes ted i n i nfin i te va r i ety

,

pre sen t eve rywhere , se l f-lum i n ou s withou t and wi th i n

wi thou t or ig i n,wi thou t v i ta l b rea th or th i nk i ng facu l ty

Th i s is not th e un i ty of a l i v i ng be i ng, wh ich under l i es th e

u n i ty of Re l i g i on,bu t the un i ty of thought , wh ich con st i

tu tes the un i ty of Ph i l osophy . The u n i ty of the former

i s Monothe i sm,the u n i ty of the la tte r i s Mon i sm . The

h ighe s t ab stract i on of Re l igi on i s a Persona l God,in

v i s i b l e,yet fe l t ; d i s t i nc t from natu re , yet immanen t i n i t

the Crea tor and Su s ta i ner of all th i ngs,and yet pos ses s i ng

qua l i t i e s wh ich appea l to th e tenderest and nob l e st su s

cept ib ilit ies of the human hea rt . The h ighest ab strac t ion

of Ph i l osophy is a grea t e ssence,an i nfin i te and eterna l

en ergy,from wh ich a ll th ings proceed

,an impersona l

,

neu ter B rahma, the tota l i ty of all ex i s tence . Th i s B rahma

i s not the abstrac t of any on e grou p of thoughts , i deas , or

concept i on s ; i t is the ab stract of a ll though ts,i deas

,or

concept i on s . I t i s ana l ogou s to the word ex istence " i n

Western Ph i l osophy . F or tha t wh ich is common to a ll

thoughts , i deas or concept i on s , and cannot be got r i d of

is wha t we pred i cate by the word“ ex i stence D i s soc iated

,

as th i s becomes,from each of it s modes ,

by th e perpetua l

change of those modes , i t rema i n s an i n defin i te con

1 S ir E dw in Arno ld’s L igh t of A sia .

Mundaka Upanishad , i. , 6 ; i i . , 2 , 3 .


sc iou sness of someth i ng con stan t under a ll modes ; of

be i ng apart from i ts appearances—“ the permanen t e l emen t

i n na tu re of j . S . M i l l . The sages of the U pan i shads

grasped the i dea of exi s tence— of someth i ng con stan t

u nder a ll mode s— which th ey ca l l ed B rahma . B u t they

went fu rther . They den i ed the rea l i ty of all mode s ,regard i ng the world as phenomena l on ly

,and all th i ngs

there i n as fic t i t i ou s emana t i on s from B rahma,l i ke m i rage

from the rays of the sun .

“ A l l l i v i ng th i ngs are on ly

the One S e l f fic t it iously l im i ted to th i s o r that fi ct i t i ou s

m i n d or body,and retu rn i n to the Sel f as soon as the

fic t i t i ou s l im i ta t i on d i sappea rs . ” 1

One cannot i n s i s t too strongly on the d i s t i nc t ion be

tween the h igh est ab strac t i on of Ph i l o sophy and th e

h ighes t ab s trac t i on of Re l ig ion for many em i nen t wr i ters,

by fa i l i n g to apprec ia te th i s d i st i nc t ion , have fa l l en i n to

the error of i den t i fy i ng the Mon i sm of the U pan i shad s

wi th the Monothe i sm of the B i b l e ! H ence thev have

a l together fa i l ed to apprehend the h ighest resu l t of

re l ig iou s and specu lat ive th ough t i n I nd ia du r i ng the

Ved ic age .

B u t l est i t be though t tha t we are exaggera t i ng th i s

d i s t i n ct i on , to th e d isparagemen t of th e sages of the

Veda s,l e t u s quote the fo l lowing m i gh ty word s from

M r . Gough’s P hilosophy of the Upanishads ,2 a most master ly

book on the h ighes t specu la t i on s of the Ved ic Aryan s .

I f we are to use the language of Eu ropean Ph i losophy,

1 Gough’s Philosophy of the Upanishads , p . 104 .

Pp . 4 1 , 42 .


IO Z T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VEDA S .

H ow far such a concept i on of the Su preme B e i ng i s from

the B i b l ica l concept ion ofGod,I n eed not ind i ca te . [ wi sh

to po i n t ou t,however , that , i n so far a s the Ved i c Aryan s

gave up th e i dea of God a s a l iv i n g,energ i s ing

,sympa

th ising P erson ,th ey lost ground from a re l i g i ou s po i n t of

v i ew . F or, as Man se l says , “ Persona l i ty wi th a ll i t s

l im i ta t i on s , though far from exh i b i t i ng the abso lu te natu re

of God a s H e is,i s yet tru er

,grander

,more e l eva t i ng ,

more re l i gi ou s,than th ose barren ,

vagu e , mean i ngl ess

abstract ion s,i n wh ich men babb le abou t noth i ng u nder

th e name of the I nfin i te . Persona l con sc i ou s ex i sten ce ,

l im i ted though i t b e,i s yet the nobl est of a ll exi s tence

of wh ich man can dream ; for i t i s tha t by wh ich all

exi s tence i s revea l ed to h im ; i t i s grander than the

grandest obj ect wh ich man can know for It Is that

wh ich knows,not tha t wh ich i s known .

(c) Is the suppos i t i on tha t the Ved ic A ryan s e labora ted

the d iv i n e a ttr i bu te s and fun c t ion s from the impres s ion s

of sen se and th e reflect i on s of reason cons i stent wi th the

h istor ica l order of thought fou nd i n th e Vedas M an,i n

th e m en ta l , a s wel l as i n th e phys ica l,world

,has to

p roceed s lowly , and conquer everyth ing gradua l ly,by the

“swea t of h i s brow ”

. I f the Ved ic A ryans,there fore

,

thought ou t the d iv ine a ttr i bu te s and funct ions ,i t is

rea sonab l e to suppo se tha t they d id so gradu a l ly ; and we

m i gh t expect to see one concep t fo l l owing another,and

each con cep t i n th e p rocess of evolu t i on , and con sequen t ly

th e fu l ly developed concep t s at the end . The reverse ,

1B ampton L ectures, p . 57.


however,is the order of thought revea l ed i n the Vedas .

There we fi nd the concept s of the d iv i ne a t tr i bu te s and

funct i on s fu l ly deve loped i n the Man tra s,or oldest por

t ion s of th e Veda s ; wherea s i n the U pan i shads , th e latest

port i on s , they are d i s s i pa ted,one afte r th e other , t i l l

noth i ng i s l eft bu t IVirguna B rahma ,-B rahma

, wi thou t

qua l i t i e s,pred ica tes

,or determ i nat i on s

,— a someth i ng to

be d efin ed by No,N o A t the begi nn i n g we find

H eaven-F a th er ; and at th e end a character l es s Ab strae

t i on

We have seen a l ready tha t th e l oft i est concep t i on of

God,i n conj unct i on w i th the most i n tense eth ica l con

sc iou sness of s i n , fou nd expres s i on i n Varuna , the o l des t

god of the A ryan s ; and that,du r i ng the l ong i n terva l

b etween Varu na and B rahma,that concept ion was

gradua l ly corrupted , unt i l in B rahma i t was l o s t,and

with i t th e eth i ca l con sc i ou sness of S in became wel l

n igh,i f n ot a l together

,ext i n ct . We have no reason to

be l i eve tha t tha t corru pt i on began wi th the Ved ic age ;

bu t , on the contra ry,the re are many i nd icat ion s tha t i t

h ad begu n at a mu ch ear l i er per iod . Both Varuna and

Dyau s , th e most anc i en t gods of the u nd iv i ded A ryan s ,

appear in the o l dest port ion s of th e Veda s a s fu l ly

deve loped mythol ogica l per-son s . Varuna i s assoc iated

wi th the Ad i tya s,and Dyau s is wedded to Pr i th iv i .

N ow,i f Mythology be

,as Professor M ax Mul l er say s ,

a d i sea se of language wh ich presu pposes a hea l thy frame ,

i t is obviou s tha t a l ong t im e was necessarv to confound

the “ god of heaven wi th the ma ter ia l heaven , and to

tran sform th e la tter i n to th e mythol ogi ca l forms wh ich

‘


find expres s i on in Va ru na and Dyau s . I t i s ev i dent,

then , (1 )That the h igher up to th e sou rce of th e Ved ic

re l i gi on we pu sh ou r i n qu i r i es th e pu rer and s imp l er we

find the concept ion of God ; and (2 ) Tha t i n proport i on

as we come down the s tream of t ime the more corru pt

and comp lex we find i t . We conc lude , th erefore , tha t

the Ved i c A ryan s d i d not acqu i re the i r knowledge of the

d iv i n e attr ibu tes and funct i on s emp ir ica lly ,for i n that

case we shou l d find at the end what we now find at the

beginn i ng . H ence we mu s t seek for a theory wh ich wi l l

accou nt a l ike for the acqu i s i t ion of tha t knowledge,

the God-l i ke concept ion of Va ru na,and for tha t gradua l

depravat ion wh ich cu lm i nated i n B rahma .

3 . A nd wha t theory wi l l cover these fact s as wel l as

th e doctr i n e of a “ Prim i t i ve Reve la t i on 1 I f we adm i t,

1 T h e o ldest re cord of man in Genes i s repre sents h im a s

created in th e image of God ,and h o lding inte rcou rse w i th h is

Creator as a son w i th h is fath e r . A nd th e tradi t ions of a ll

nat ions test ify to a go lden age in th e far-off past , wh en men

l ived happ i ly in converse w i th God . M ax MUIler says,

“ It is

a c onstant saying amongAfri can t r ibes , th at‘ former ly H eaven

was nearer to men th an i t is now ; th at th e h igh e st God , th e

Creator , H imse lf, gave formerly le ssons of w i sdom to human

be ings ; bu t that afte rwards H e w i thdrew from th em ,and

dwe l ls now far from th em in H eaven ’

. T h e H indus say th e

same (R .-V .

,i . , 1 79 , 2 ; v i i . , 76 , and th ey , a s we l l as th e

Gree k s , appea l to th e i r ance sto rs, wh o h ad l ived in c lose rc ommun i ty w i th th e gods , a s th e i r au th or i ty on wh at th eybe l ieve abou t th e gods (H ibbert L ectures, p . A nd th e

D u ke of Argyl l says , th at “ E verywh ere in th e imaginat ionand tradi t ion of mank ind th ere is p re served th e memory and

th e be l ief in a pa st bette r than th e p resent . It is not easy to


1 06 T H E TEACH I NG OF T H E VEDA S .

had been bestowed upon them,and d i s sec ted the I nfin i te

One i n to many fin i te one s,giv i ng a cha racter i s t ic to each .

1

O r , i n the words o f Scr i p tu re,

“ They changed the tru th

of God i n to a l i e,and worsh ipped and served th e c rea tu re

more than the Crea tor,who i s b l essed for ever ” 2

Th i s be i ng the case,we mu s t be l i eve that

,when app ly

i ng the d iv i ne a tt r i bu tes to the person ified el emen ts and

forces of na tu re,the Ved ic Aryan s were u s ing language

1 “ If we negle ct a garden p lant , th en a natu ra l princ ip le of

dete riorat ion come s in,and Ch anges i t into a worse p lant .

A nd i f we negle c t a bird,by th e same impe riou s law i t w i l l

be gradua l ly ch anged into an ugl i e r b i rd. Or if we neglec ta lmost any of th e domest ic an ima l s, th ey w i l l rap idly revertto w i ld and worth less forms aga in .

“M an is no excep t ion to th is law. If a man neglec t h imse lf fora few years

,h e wi l l change into a worse man and a lower man .

If i t is h is body th at h e neglec ts, h e w i l l dete riorate into a w i ldand best ia l savage— l i ke th e dehuman i sed men wh o are dis

covered somet ime s upon desert is lands . If i t is h is m ind, i t w i l ldegene rate into imbec i l i ty and madness . If h e negle c t h is consc ienc e ,

it w i l l run off into law le ssne ss and v i ce . Or,last ly

,i f i t

is h is sou l , i t must inev i tably atrophy, drop off in ru in and decay

(Prof. D rummond , N a tura l L aw in the Spir itua l World , p .

U nder th e operat ion of th is law,i t is possib le for th ose wh o

h ave been bl essed w i th O ld Testament R eve lat ion to become so

degraded as to lose a ll know ledge of God. M r . A. S . Anand,th e

agent of th e N at iona l B ib le S oc iety of S cot land for N orth Ch ina ,met th e descendants of some J ews in H onan

,wh o cou ld not

give h im th e fa inte st idea of wh at th ey be l i eved ”.

“Th ey seemto h ave ent ire ly given up th e i r o ld worsh ip , h ave lost a ll knowledge of th e God of Israe l

,and h ave noth ing bu t th e memory of

what th ey onc e were to di st ingu ish th em .

”T h e ir forefath ers

entered Ch ina du ring th e H an D ynasty,B .C . 200 to A . D . 2 20 .

R omans,I., 25 .

T H E THEOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . I O7

the fu l l mean i ng of wh ich they d id not understand . Th i s

is sel f-ev iden t ; for had they u nders tood its fu l l mean ing,

they wou l d have been consc i ous of the contrad ic t i on in

vo lved i n a sc ri bi ng infin i te a ttr i bu tes to more than one

be i ng . The language is an echo of a pu rer worsh i p i n

the pr imeva l home . I t is app l ica b l e to the tru e God

a l one . I t has no mean i ng when app l i ed to any one , or

any th i ng e l se . I t is the language of monothe i sm ,and

monothe i sm wa s the “pr im i t ive re l i g ion

Professor H . H . Wi l son says , “ There can be no

dou b t that the fundamen ta l doc tr i n e of the Veda s i s

monothe i sm 2 A nd Professor Max Mul l e r , i n h i s IIistory

of A ncient Sanscr it L itera ture, says , “ There i s a mono

the i sm tha t precedes the po lythe i sm of the Veda .

The idea of God,though never en t i re ly l ost , had been

c l ouded over by error . The names given to God h ad

been changed to gods,and the i r rea l mean ing had faded

away from the memory of man . M . Ado l phe P ic tet , i n

the second volume of h i s great work, Les Or igines Indo

E uropéennes , gives i t a s h i s Op i n i o n , tha t the re l i g i on of

the und iv ided A ryan s was “a monothe i sm more or l ess

vaguely defined ”. And both Pic te t and Mu l l er ma i n ta i n

tha t t race s of the pr im i t i ve monothe ism are v i s i b l e i n the

1 T o say th at pr im i t ive man was too low down in th e sca le o f

evo lut ion to rec e ive re l igiou s conc ept ions , su ch a s th e doc trineo f a “

pr im i t ive reve lat ion imp l ie s , is no va l id obj ec t ion aga instth e th eo ry. F or man must h ave a lways posse ssed th e ch iefc h aracte rist i c wh ich dist ingu ish e s h im from a ll oth e r c reature s ,v iz .

,mind

, t h e power o f th ink ing,o r , as Loc ke says

,of h av ing

genera l ideas .

E ssay s, vo l. i i . , p . 5 1 .


Vedas tha t t he remembrance of a God, one and i nfin i te ,breaks th rough the m i st of an i do la trou s phra seol ogy

l i ke the b lu e sky tha t i s h i d den by a pass i ng c l oud ”.

Baron Bun sen,i n h i s God in IIistory ,

says,

“ The so

ca l l ed Na tu re-myth o l ogy i s not the or i g i na l e l emen t i n

re l igi on , as many now-a-days seem once more d i sposed

to a s sume,who th i nk they can d i spen se wi th all ph i lo

soph ica l cu l tu re . Re l i g i on can no more than Language

have been the produc t of a m i sunders tand i ng . I t is a

con trad ic t i on to a ll the laws of though t to imagi ne tha t

the necessa ry u n iversa l expres s i on of the re l igi ou s con

sciousness can be a mere men ta l fa l lacy . H ow cou l d

both Re l i gi on and Language be u n iversa l , and deve l op

them se lves organ ica l ly , i f they were not based u pon

rea son ? Mythology has spru ng up gradua l ly ou t of a

poet ic,ch i l d l i ke

,yet deep ly s i gn ificant p layi ng of the

m i n d wi th metaphors . B u t a fterward s u sage,l egend

,

myst i ca l teach i ng,have crys ta l l i sed wha t was at fi rst

n o th i ng more than a s im i l e,wh i l e i ts rea l e s s ence comes

to be no longer unders tood or is on ly seen u nder a

myst ica l or d i s torted aspect .

I s i t not ph i l osoph ica l ly t ru e that poly the i sm presup

poses monothei sm ? “ I s i t t rue,

as many seem to

suppose, tha t polythe i sm is o lde r than monothe i sm Is

i t no t l i ke ly tha t the s imp l e be l i ef is ol der than the more

comp l ex Can th e concept many p recede the concep t

one ? Is not p lu ra l i ty the aggrega te of u n i ts ? Wha t

i s the developmen t of thought as seen in ch i l d ren ? Is

i t not from one to two,from the s i ngu lar to the p lu ra l ,

from the s imp le to e comp l ex,from un i ty to d ivers i ty ,


I I O T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VEDA S .

of gods,a ll a s s i gn to them th e h ighest p lace And

aga i n,

“ The anc i en ts a ss i gn ed to the god s heaven and

th e space above,becau se i t was a l one eterna l

I n th e Theo logy of the Veda s , we have a record of

regress ra ther than of p rogress , of deter i ora t i on ra ther

than of im provemen t , i n the concept i on of God. And

th i s i s j u s t wha t m i gh t be expected when du e weight

is gi ven to th e “ F a l l,

and the con sequ en t tendency to

rebel aga inst God,wh ich entered human natu re . Thi s

fac t of sin i s over l ooked by many who wri te on the

O r igi n and Growth of Re l i gi on , and th e con sequence

is tha t th ey presen t u s wi th a car icatu re and not wi th

th e rea l portra i t . N o one can portray the O r i g i n and

Deve l opmen t of Re l ig i on wi thout g iv i ng due p rom inence

to the “ F a l l,th e effects of wh i ch are strewn l ike

wi thered l eaves everywhere . Thi s fact a l one can account

sa t i s factor i ly for th e deprava t i on of the concept God i n

a ll known Re l ig i on s . I t is sca rce ly necessary to po i n t

ou t to th e readers of the O l d Testament h ow pers i stent ly

the J ews ma ter ia l i sed the sp i r i tua l concept i on of God ,

commun ica ted to them by Abraham , Moses , and the

Prophets . That F et i sh ism ,the l owest sub-stage in M .

Com te’s fi rst law of rel i g i ou s Evolu t ion , i s not a p r ima ry,

bu t a corrupted , fo rm of a pu rer fa i th , has been amp ly

proved by Profes sor M ax Mul l er i n h i s IIibber t Lectures.

And “a ll th e great re l ig i on s of the worl d wh ich can be

t raced to the teach ing or i nfluence of i nd i vi dua l men

have stead i ly dec l ined from the teach i ng of the i r fou nders.

Whether we now stu dy wha t is he l d by the d i sc ip l es of

Buddha ,of Con fuc iu s , or of Zoroaster , i t is the same

T H E TH EOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . I I I

resu l t . Whenever we can arr i ve a t the or i g i na l teach ing

of the known founders of re l ig i ou s systems,we find tha t

teach i ng u n i form ly h igher , more sp i r i tua l , than the teach

i ng now . The same law has a ffected Chr i st ian i ty,wi th

th i s d i fference on ly , tha t a l one of a ll th e h i stor i ca l re

ligions o f the worl d,i t has h i therto shown an unm istak

ab l e power of perenn ia l rev iva l and reform . B ut we

know that th e proces s of corru pt i on had begun i t s work

even i n the l i fet ime of the Apost l e s ; and every Chu rch

in Chr i stendom wi l l adm i t the genera l fact , a l though each

of them wi l l gi ve a d i fferen t exp lana t ion of i t . Mahomed

an ism , wh ich is th e las t and la test of a ll the h i stor ica l

re l ig i ons of the worl d,shows a st i l l more remarkab l e

phenomenon . The corru pt ion i n th i s case began not on ly

i n the l i fet ime bu t i n the l i fe of the prophet and founder

of tha t re l i g ion . Mahomed wa s h im se l f h is own most

corrupt d i sc i p l e . In the ear l i est days of h i s m i ss i on he

was best as a man and grea test as a teacher . H is l i fe

was pu rer and h i s doctri n es more sp i r i tua l when h i s vo ice

was a so l i tary vo ice c ry i ng in th e wi l dernes s , than when

i t was j o i n ed i n choru s by th e vo ice s of many m i l l i on s .

I n h i s ca se th e progres s of deve lopmen t i n a wrong

d i rec t i on was s i n gu la r ly d i st i n ct , and very rap id .

The h i story of re l i gi ou s thought ev erywhere shows tha t

the tendency of man ,when l eft to h im se l f, i s to degrade

the concept ion of God ,and to s i n k i n to po lythe i sm . There

i s no ev i dence whatever of a polythe i s t ic peop l e,when l eft

to them se l ves,work i ng the i r way up to a m onothe i s t i c

re l igi on .

1 T h e D u ke o f A rgyl l , in th e Contempora ry R eview for

CH A PT E R I I I .

T H E COSMOLOGY O F T H E VE DAS .

In th e beginning God c reated th e h eaven and th e earth .

GEN E S I S .

8 1 . Vedic Cosmology not one Connected N arra tive.

The cosmology of the Veda s i s not on e connected

narra t i ve,l i ke tha t of the B i b l e , bu t many narra t ives

,

or h ints, given by d i fferen t poet s at d ifferen t t imes,ex

tend i ng over a per i od of many cen tu r i e s . The R i sh i s,

i n a t tempt i ng to con stru ct a cosmo logy,or i n reproduc i n g

the a lmost forgo tten trad i t ion s of th e c rea t i on handed

down from th e ances tra l h ome,n ecessa r i ly gave the i r

own concept i on s,more or l ess colou red , accord i ng to

the i r i nd iv i dua l i d i osyn cra s i e s and the ex igency of poet ic

language , wh i ch , accord i ng to H i n du not i on s , con s i st s not

so mu ch i n tru th as i n rasa,flavou r or sen sa t i on . I t i s

too mu ch,therefore , to expect harmony between the

va r i ous narra t ive s , or even a lways between a ll the sta te

men ts of any one poet in the same narrat i ve . A l l tha t

we can do is to ana ly se th e d i fferen t accou n ts , and poi n t

ou t the fu ndamen ta l concept i on s wh ich underl i e them ,

om i t t i ng what appears e i ther too ob scu re for exp lana t i on ,or too pueri l e for remark .


T H E TEA CH ING O F T H E vED A s.

th e most ac t i ve of the ac t i ve gods,produced th e heaven

and th e ea rth,wh ich are beneficent to all.

” 1 “ Agn i

u phel d th e broad ea rth , he su pported the sky wi th tru e

hymn s .

2 “ I n the begi nn i ng B rahma was the sou rce

of a ll th i ngs . H e c rea ted th e gods and p laced th em i n

th i s world,i n the a tmosphere , and i n the sky .

” 3 R o

h i ta estab l i sh ed heaven and ea rth , by h im th e sky was

supported,by h im the heaven .

” 4

Whi l e all Ved ic cosmologi es agree i n ascr i b ing the

produ c t i on of the un iverse to an omn i potent i n te l l i gen t

bei ng,th ey d i ffer as to th e mode in wh ich he produced i t .

Some represen t i t as th e resu l t of h i s power wi thou t

pre-ex i s t i ng ma tter or c rea t i on , £5 06K din-ow; others , a s

th e resu l t of h is power ac t i ng on eterna l ly pre-ex ist ing

ma tter or c rea t ion, e

’

K and others represen t i t

as a phenomena l emanat i on from the de i ty,71706080 9 .

3 . Crea tion ou t of N othing.

The 1 29th hymn of the tenth book of the R i g-Veda i s

the most st r ik i ng i l lu s tra t ion of th i s . (1 ) There was

th en ne i ther nonen t i ty nor en t i ty ; th ere was no a tmo

sphere nor sky above . Wha t enve loped (all) Where ,

i n t he recep tac l e o f wha t (was i t conta i n ed) ?5 Was i t

wa ter , th e deep abyss ? (2) D eath wa s not th en,nor

immorta l i ty ; there was no d i st inct i on of day or n i ght .

1 R .-V . ,

i . , 160 , 4 .

2Ibid . , i . , 67 , 3 .

3 S a t. B r .

,x i .

, 2 , 3 , 1 .

‘1 A .-V . ,

x i i i ., 7 .

5 “ What covered in , and wh ere and wh at gave sh e l ter ?

(GR I FF ITH).

T H E COSMOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . I I S

Tha t One brea thed ca lm ly by i t se l f ; 1 there was noth i ng

d i fferent from I t (tha t one), or beyond I t . (3) Da rkness

there was ; orig i na l ly enve loped i n darkness , th i s uni

verse was u nd i s t i ngu i shab l e wa ter ; ~ the empty (mass)which was con cea l ed by a hu sk (or by noth i ngnes s)was

produced,S i n gl e

,by the power of au s ter i ty (or fervou r).

(4) D es i re fi rs t a rose i n I t,which was the pr ima l germ

of m i n d . Th i s th e wi se , seek ing in the i r heart , have

d i scovered by the i n te l l ec t to be the bond between non

ent i ty and en t i ty . (5 ) The rav wh i ch shot across these

th i ngs- was i t above or was i t be l ow ? The r e were

produ c t ive energ ie s and m i gh ty powers ; na tu re (svadha)benea th

,and energy (praya ti) above . (6) Who knows ,

who here can dec lare , whence has sprung , whence th i s

c rea t i on ? The gods are sub sequ en t to i t s forma t i on ;

who then knows from wha t i t a rose ? (7) F rom wha t

sou rce th i s creat i on arose,and whether (any one) created

i t or not H e who i n the h i gh est heaven is i t s ru l er , he

ver i ly knows , or (even) he does not know .

Thi s hymn carr i es u s back to a t ime l on g before the fi rs t

ver se i n Gen es i s,when there was ne i ther “ nonen t i ty

(asad , Ta p r) b'

v) nor en t i ty (sad , 7 6 by F rom th e in

abi l i ty of the human m i n d to conce i ve a sta te tha t wa s

1 B reath ed wi thout afflat ion , s ingle w i th (svadha) h er whois su sta ined w i th in h im ”

(COLE B R OOKE).B reath ed ca lm ly , se lf-supported (MU I R)B reath ed breath le ss by itse lf ” (M A x M UL LE R).B reath ed ca lmly , se lf-conta ined (M . WILL IAM S).

Th e re was a t ime in wh ich all was darkness and water

(B aby lonian T radition of the Creation).

1 1 6 T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VEDA S .

ne i th er noth i ng nor someth i ng,

1 the A tharva 1 V eda i den

t ifies th i s remote nonen t i ty wi th S kamba , a person i

ficat ion of the d i v i n e power wh ich su pports the un i verse ;and the Khandogya Upan i shad doub ts that th ere ever

was a peri od wi thou t ent i ty ? The Vedan t i sts exp la i n

sad as th e Su preme B ei ng man i fes t i ng h imself by c rea t i on

and asad a s mere form s or i l lu s i o n s by wh ich he dece i ves

the sen se s . Wha t th en doe s the poet mean by the phrase,

“ There was then ne i th er nonent i ty nor en t i ty ” Does

he mean to say that th ere wa s n e i ther abso lu te ly ? So

ev i den t ly thought th e sages of the A tharva-Veda ,and

the Khandogya U pan i shad . B u t th i s is a m i s take ; for

he postu la tes the ex i stence of “ tha t One brea th i ng

brea th l es s by I tsel f,

i .e. ,the uncond i t ioned ex i s t i n g

a l one by h i s own i nheren t power,wi thou t th e acc i d en ts

of t ime and space,wh ich are th e cond i t ion s of our l i fe .

3

Does he mean tha t therei

wa s ne i th er rela tively ? Th i s ,doubt l e s s

,is h i s mean i ng ; and i n th i s sen se the phra se

We are utterly unable to rea l ise in though t th e poss ib i l i tyof th e comp lement of ex istence be ing e i th e r inc reased or dim inish ed . W e are unable

,on th e one h and , to conc e ive noth ing

becom ing someth ing, or , on th e oth er,some th ing becoming

noth ing (S ir W . H am i l ton’

s L ectures on M etaphy sics , vol. i i . ,P 3 77)

Mu i r ’s S ans . T ex ts , vol . iv .

, p . 20 , 2nd ed.

3 S o i t is exp la ined in th e S at . B r . ,x . , 5 , 3 , 1 ,

“ In th e beginn ing th i s un ive rse was, as i t we re

,and was not , as i t we re .

Th en i t was on ly th at m ind . Wh erefore i t h as been dec laredby th e R i sh i

,

‘ th ere was th en ne i th er nonent i ty nor ent ity ,’

for th e m ind was, as i t we re, ne i th er ent i ty nor nonent i ty .


1 18 T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VEDA S .

water of the th i rd an ac t ion i den t i ca l w i th th e c rea t i ve

act of Gen es i s , i . , 1,wh ich produ ced “ the heaven and

the earth ” i n a chaot ic s ta te . The cau se of th i s acti on

was the determ i na t ion of the Infin i te w i l l . “ D es i re

a rose i n I t,wh ich was the pr ima l germ of m i n d ; i .e. ,

wh ich to u s i s the fi rst man i festat i on of con sc i ou s m i n d .

Th i s the wi se,seek i ng i n thei r heart , have d i scern ed

by the intel l ec t to be the bond between non en t i ty and

en t i ty ; i .e.

,the w i l l of God was the cau se of the

exi sten t spri ng i ng from the non-exi sten t . Th i s i s on ly

another form of the H ebrew expres s i on,

“ And God sa i d ,Let there be and there wa s The same i dea is

expressed i n th e A itareya A ranyaka ,

“ H e th ough t , I

wi l l c rea te world s,thu s he c rea ted these var i ou s worl ds ,

wa ter,l i gh t

,m orta l be i ngs , and th e wa ters ’

. And i n

the A itareya B rahmana ,Prajapa t i was

,i n th e beg in

n i ng,bu t one . H e u ttered the N ivid (a sacr ific ia l for

mu la), and a ll th ings were created . Aga i n , “ The word

is the Crea tor of th e Un i ver s e,the powerfu l one ; for by

the word is a ll th i s made (vaca hidam sarvam kr itam).1

H ow wonderfu l ly th i s language agrees wi th the declara

t i on of the Psa lm i st ,“ By the word of the Lord were

the heavens made ; and a ll th e host of them by the

brea th of H is mou th ”. H e S pake , and i t was d one ;

H e commanded, and they were c rea ted .

” 2 The same

i dea is a l so found among th e I ran ian s and the sem i

c iv i l i sed races of Western Austra l ia . I n the sac red books

of the former,i t is sa i d tha t Ahu ra-Maz da created the

1 S . P . B r . , v i i i . , 1 , 2 , 9 . Ps .

,xxx i i i . , 6, 9 ; c x lvi i i . , 5 .

T H E COSMOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . I I 9

worl d by mean s of the Ya tha-ah z'

i-va iryo'

prayer ; and the

Roman Ca tho l i c m i s s i onar i e s ascerta i n ed tha t th e la tte r

bel ieve i n an omn i poten t Be i ng , who crea ted the heaven

and the earth by brea th i ng,whose name is Motogon .

To c reate the earth , he sa i d ,“ Ear th

,come forth An d

he brea thed,and the ea rth was created . So wi th the

sun,moon , and a ll th i ngs .

” 1

The water and the da rknes s of th i s hymn correspond

to the lhoku vabohu ,

“ wi thou t form and vo id,of Gen es i s

,

and to the chaos of the Greek s . “ Th i s u n iverse was

und i s t i ngu ishab l e wa ter enve loped i n darknes s .

’ I t was

an“ empty or “

shape les s ma s s,

concea l ed by the“ deep abys s

,l ike gra i n i n the hu sk

,bu t brought forth

a s a beau t i fu l worl d by “ the power of au s ter i ty,

” or“ con temp la t ion

,

”as Co lebrooke tran s la tes i t ; i .e.

,by the

m i gh ty wi l l of Tha t One who des ign ed i t . F or “ there

were produc t i ve energ i es and m i gh ty powers svadha ,

na tu re,beneath

,and prayati , energy , above . Yes

,there

was svadha , or chaos , benea th , and there was the m i gh ty“ energy of th e Sp i r i t of God mov i ng on the face of

th e wa ters above,br i nging order from confu s i on

,cosmos

from chaos,and breath i ng forth l igh t and l i fe everywhere ?

1 Max Mul ler ’s H ibbert L ectures, pp . 16 , 17.

2 In th e T a ittiry a Sanhita,v i .

, 4 8 ,we read

,

“Th is worldh ad ne i th er day nor n igh t , bu t was (in th at respec t) undist in

gu ish ed T h e gods sa id to M i t ra and Varuna ,

“ Make a

separat ion . M i tra produced th e day, and V aruna th e

n igh t”

(Mu ir’

s S . T ., vo l. v .

, p . and in th e A itarey a

A ranyaka we read,“ S e lf brooded '

over the wate r ”. F romth e water thu s brooded on

,ma tte r (murti)was born.

I Z O T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VE DA S .

M ax Mul l er and Mon i er Wi l l iam s see i n svadha , be

neath,and p raya ti , above , the fi rs t dim ou t l i ne of the

i dea tha t the Creator wi l l ed to produce the un iverse

through the agency and co-opera t i on of a fema l e pr i n

c iple , an i dea wh ich afterwa rd s acqu i red more S hape in

the su pposed marr iage of heaven and earth . I t i s more

p robab le tha t th i s i dea or ig i na ted i n a misunderstanding of

th i s hymn,or of the trad i t i on on wh i ch i t i s ba sed .

The poet c l oses h i s su b l ime narrat i ve of the c rea t i on

i n an unexpec ted ly sad and d i sappo i n t i ng tone . After

the graph ic desc r i p t i on he has given of the or i gi n of th e

u n iverse,he fin i shes by i n t ima t i ng tha t h e does not

know after all “ from wha t sou rce th i s crea t i on arose,

and whether any one c reated i t or not A l l he can

affi rm with confidence i s,that H e who is i n the h i ghest

heaven is i t s ru l e r,he veri ly knows

,or (even) he doe s

not know Another poet , i n the same me lancholy

st ra i n of i gnorance and uncerta i n ty , a sks , “ Wha t was

the forest,wha t wa s the tree , from wh ich they fa sh ioned

the heaven and the earth ? I n qu i r e men ta l ly,ye sages

,

wha t that was on wh ich he took h i s s tand when estab

lish ing th e wor l d s .1 An d S im i la r ly another poet ,

Which of these two (heaven and earth)was the fi rst ,

and wh ich the las t ? H ow have they been produ ced ?

dec la re,sage s , who knows th i s ?

” 2 Wha t a sad com

men t th i s is on th e words of th e Apost l e Pau l , “ The

worl d by wi sdom knew not God Re l i gi ous tru th s

1 R .-V . ,

x . , 8 1 , 4 . Ibid . , i. , 1 85 , 1 .

3 1 Cor. , i. , 2 1 .



I command the devou t a ttent i on of all nob l e sou l s,

O f a ll th e h igh and the l ow of the race of H eimda l l

I te l l the do i ngs of the A l l F ather ,I n the most anc i en t sagas wh i ch come to my m i n d .

There was an age i n wh ich Ym i r l i ved ,When was no sea , nor shore , nor sa l t wave s ;N o earth be low

,nor heaven above ;

N o yawn ing abys s and no gra s sy land .

Ti l l th e son s of Bors l i fted the dome of heaven,

And c rea ted th e vast M i dgard (earth) below ;When the sun of the sou th rose above the mou nta i n s

,

And green gras se s made the grou nd verdant .”

4 . Crea tionfrom P re ex isting M a tter .

(1 ) H iranyagarbh a arose i n the begi n n i ng ; he was

the one born lord of th i ngs exi s t ing . H e estab l i shed the

earth and th i s sky : to wha t god S ha l l we offer our

ob lat i on ? (2) H e who gives breath , who gives strength ,

whose command a ll (even) the gods reverence , whose

shadow i s immorta l i ty,whose S hadow i s dea th : to what

god sha l l we offer ou r ob la t i on (3)Who by h i s m i gh t

became the sol e k i ng of th e breath i n g and winki ng

wor l d,who i s the l ord of th i s two-footed and fou r-footed

(crea t ion) : to wha t god sha l l we offer ou r oblat i on ?

(4 ) Whose grea tn ess the se snowy mou nta i n s , and the

sea wi th th e ra sa (r i ver) dec la re , of whom these snowy

region s,of whom they are th e a rm s : to wha t god sha l l

we offer ou r ob la t i on ? (5) By whom the sky is fiery

and the ea rth fixed,by whom the firmament and the

heaven were estab l i sh ed , who i n th e a tmosphere i s the

T H E COSMOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . 1 23

measu rer of aer ia l space : to what god sha l l we offer

ou r ob la t i on (6) To whom heaven and earth,su sta i ned

by h i s succour , l ooked up , t remb l i ng i n m i n d ; over

whom the sun sh i nes : t o wha t god sha l l we offer ou r

ob lat i on ? (7) When the grea t wa ters pervaded the

u n iverse , con ta i n i n g an embryo and genera t i ng Agn i,

th ence arose th e one sp i r i t (asu) of the gods : to what

god sha l l we offer ou r ob la t i on ? (8) H e who th rough

h i s greatnes s behe l d th e wa ter s wh ich conta i n ed power,and genera ted sacr ifice

,who was the one god above

gods : to what god sha l l we o ffer our ob lat i on ? (9)May he not i nj u re u s

,he who i s the genera tor of th e

ea rth , who , ru l i n g by fixed ord i nances,produ ced th e

heaven s,who formed the grea t and br i l l iant waters : to

wha t god sha l l we offer ou r ob la t i on ? (I o) Prajapat i ,no other than thou is l ord over a ll these crea ted th i ngs ;may we obta i n tha t th rough des i re of wh ich we have

i nvoked thee ; may we become mas ters of r iches .

1

M ax Mul l e r says , res pec t i n g th i s hymn , tha t “ the

i dea of one god is expressed wi th su ch power and de

c ision,tha t i t w i l l make u s hes i ta te before we deny to

th e A ryan na t i on s an i n st i n ct i ve monothe i sm'

and

Mon i er Wi l l iam s remarks,tha t “ i t fu rn i shes a good

a rgument for those who ma i n ta i n tha t the pu rer fa i th of

th e H i n du s i s p roper ly monoth e i s t ic“ The whol e of th i s hymn is found repeated i n the

V aja saneyi-Sanh i ta of the Yaj u r-Veda ,and most of th e

1 R .-V . , x .

, 1 2 1 .

H ist. A nc. Sans. L it. , p . 568 ; Indian IVisdonz, p . 23 .


verses recu r i n'

the A tharva-Veda .

” 1 The la s t verse i s

rej ected by mos t cr i t i cs as be i ng the produ ct i on of a la ter

age .

Accord i ng to th i s hymn,the c rea tor , H iranyagarbha ,

arose i n th e begi n n i ng from th e great wa ters wh ich

pervaded the un i vers e,th e “

u nd i st i ngu i shab l e wa ter

of R .-V . ,

x .

,1 29 , 3 , or chaos and so became “ the one

born lord of th i ngs ex i s t ing The i dea is tha t the

pr imeva l wa ters genera ted a go l den embryo,

and that

from th i s “ embryo ” th e c rea tor was born,or took bod i ly

form,i n order to tran sform chaos i n to cosmos ; and

hen ce he is d enom i na ted H iranyagarbha, the“ gol den

embryo,

” wh ich a l so may be tran s lated ,“ th e gol den or

the b r i gh t ch i l d A nd hen ce i t i s sa i d i n th e A tharva

Veda,

“ In th e begi n n i ng,the wa ters produ c i ng a ch i l d

,

brough t forth an em bryo,wh ich

,as i t was com i n g into

l i fe, was enve l oped i n a gol den cover i ng ” ?

F rom th i s i t appea rs (I ) tha t when H iranyagarbha

was born th e un iverse was in a chaot ic sta te , pervaded

wi th wa ter ; (2) tha t h e rose from an embryo genera ted

by the wa ter when the earth was “ voi d and withou t

form ”

; and (3 ) tha t he made the worl d in to i t s present

form from th e ex i s t i n g S hape l es s chaos .“ F or he who

is god above a ll god s e stab l i sh ed the ea rth and the sky ;

he “ formed the br i l l iant wa ters and “ the snowy moun

ta i n s and hence all creat i on un i te in “ dec lar i ng h i s

grea tn ess

1 M u i r ’s Sans. T ex ts , vol. iv . , p . 1 5 .

2 Ibid . ,vol . iv. , p . 16 , mt edi t i on .



beyond the sky, beyond th i s earth , beyond god s and

sp i r i t s ; wha t ear l i est embryo d i d th e wa ters con ta i n , i n

wh ich all th e gods were behe l d The wa te rs con ta i n ed

that ea rl i est embryo i n wh ich a ll th e godswere co l l ected .

One receptac l e re sted u pon the navel of the u nborn,

wherei n a ll the wor l d s stood .

“ Ye know not h im who

produ ced a ll th i ngs . Wha t the ear l i e s t embryo con

ta ined,i n wh ich a ll the god s were col l ected (i na smu ch as

i t conta i ned the i r crea tor , “ the sol e l i fe of th e br igh t

gods ”

)wa s tha t wh ich is beyond the Sky , beyond th i s

earth,beyond god s and S p i r i ts ”— h e who “ produ ced

these th i ngs,

and not he who was produced by them .

H ere , aga i n , the exi stence of the Au thor of the U n iverse

is repre sen ted as sepa ra te from,and i n dependen t of, the

or ig i na l chaos . The same i dea underl i es R .

-V .

,x . , 72 , 6 ,

7 ,“ When

,gods

,ye moved

,agi ta ted u pon those water s ,

then a v i o l en t du st i ssu ed from you ,as from dancers .

When , god s , ye , l i ke strenuou s men,rep l en i shed the

wor l d s,then ye drew forth the sun wh ich was h i dden i n

the (aeria l ocean .

” And a l so the T a it tirya Aranyaka ,

i.,2 3 , 1 , Thi s was wa ter . Prajapa t i was produ ced on a

l otu s l eaf. With i n h i s m i nd des i re a rose,

‘ Let me

7)crea te’

. B es i des,Va runa

,I ndra

,and others

,are re

p resen ted as estab l ish i ng and support i n g the heaven s

above , fix ing and d i rec t i ng the sun i n the Sky ,and

sett i n g l im i ts to the ea rth ; thu s a s sum i n g tha t the

obj ec ts them se lves , i n some shape,were pre-exi s ten t .

I t shou l d b e observed , however , tha t there i s a l egend

i n the S atapath a B rahmana,

1 i n wh ich the pr imeva l wa ters

1.

I.

,1,

T H E COSMOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . 1 27

are represen ted a s generat i ng an egg , and the egg br i ngi ng

forth Prajapat i,th e c rea tor of the worl d . I n the beg i n

n ing,th i s u n ivers e was wa ters

,noth i ng bu t wa ter . The

wa ters de s i red ,‘ how can we produ ce ? ’ So say i ng

,th ey

to i l ed,th ey performed au ster i ty . Whi l e th ey were per

form i n g au ster i ty,a gol den egg came i n to exi sten ce .

F rom i t , i n a yea r,a man (p urusha) came i n to ex i s tence ,

who was Prajapat i . H e d i v id ed th i s g’

olden egg . There

was then no rest i ng-p lace for h im . H e therefore floa ted

abou t for the space of a yea r,occu py i ng th i s go l den egg .

I n a yea r he des i red to speak . H e u ttered bhuh ,wh ich

became th i s earth ; bhvah ,which became th i s firmament ;

and svoah ,wh ich became tha t Sky .

” 1

In th i s accou nt,probab ly

,th e au thor of th e primeva l

water s i s over l ooked ra ther than den i ed . F or certa i n i t

i s tha t th i s ma ter ia l i s t ic doctri n e was never popu la r i n

I nd ia . H i n du s of th e Ved ic age be l i eved e i ther i n

crea t i on from noth i ng by the exert i on of d iv i ne power ,or i n crea t i on from chaos afte r the b i rth of the Crea tor

from the “ gol den embryo , or i n c rea t i on as a phe

nomenal emanat i on ; and post-Ved i c cosmol ogies com

b i n e the two fi rs t , wi th the except i on of the Vedan ta ,

wh ich adopts th e la s t .

There i s another l egend i n the Satapatha B rahmana

contrad ic t i ng th i s , i n wh i ch the gods are sa i d to have

made Prajapa t i,tha t h e genera ted th e wa ters ; and

des i r i ng to be reproduced from them,tha t he en tered

the wa ters,when an egg arose .

“ H e pondered on i t .

1 M u i r’s Sans . T ex ts,vo l. iv .

, p . 2 2 .


H e sa i d , ‘ Let there be , l e t there be !’ Aga i n : ‘ Let

th ere be !’

and all th i ngs appeared .

Accord i ng to Manu,th e H arivamsa

,and the Pu rana s

,

th e de i ty was prior to chao s ; he created the pr imeva l

wa ters by a thought , and depos i ted a seed i n them,

wh ich became a go l den egg , resp lenden t as th e sun,in

wh ich he h im se l f was born as B rahma,the progen i tor of

all wor l d s . (5)“ Th i s u n iverse was enve loped i n

da rknes s,unperce ived

,u nd i st ingu i shab le

,u nd i scern i b l e ,

u nknowab l e , as i t were en t i re ly sunk i n s l eep . (6) Then

the i rre s i st i b l e se l f-ex i s ten t l ord,u nd i scerned

,cau s ing

th i s un i vers e w i th the five e l emen ts and a ll other th ings

to become d i scern i b l e, wa s man i fe sted d i spe l l i ng the

gl oom . (7) H e who is beyond the cogn i sance of the

senses,sub t l e

, u nd i scern i b l e , eterna l , who i s th e es sence

of a ll be i ngs,and i nconce ivab l e

,h im se l f shone forth .

(8) H e,des i r i ng to produ ce var i ou s crea tu res from h i s

own body,fi rs t w i th a thought crea ted the wa te rs

,and

depos i ted i n th em a seed . (9) Th i s (seed) became a

gol den egg,resp l en den t as th e sun ,

i n wh ich he h im se l f

was born as B rahma, the progen i tor of a ll the worl ds .

1

1 Ku lluka ,an o ld commentato r , th us annotates on verse

n ine ,

“ Th at seed became a go lden egg, e tc . T h at seed , byth e w i l l of th e de i ty, became a go lden egg. Go lden ,

i.e . , as i twe re , go lden ,

from th e qua l i ty of pu ri ty attach ing to i t , and

not re a l ly go lden ; for s ince th e au th or p roc eeds to de scr ibeth e format i on of th e earth from one of th e h a lves of its sh e l l ,and we know by oc u lar proof th at th e earth is not go lden ,

we

see th at a mere figure of Speech is h e re emp loyed . In

th at egg H iranyagarbh a was p roduc ed, i .e . , entering into th e

S OUl— Wt l‘ l was invested in a subtle body —of that pe rson by


1 3 0 T H E TEA CH ING O F T H E VEDA S .

of the god s men t ioned i n them ,such as H iranyagarbha ,

V isvakarman,and Prajapat i . The pr im i t i ve narra t i ve

was e i ther grea t ly obscu red i n th e memory of, or part ly

rej ected by,the p ropounders of th i s theory . Tha t God

produ ced the chao ti c flu i d before H e formed the worl d,

was e i ther forgotten or rej ected , on the ground that i t

was contrary to experi ence to produce someth i ng ou t of

noth i ng . H ence chaos i s represen ted as exi st i ng to

gether w i th , and i n dependen t ly of, the Crea tor ; and the

Creator a s assum i n g d i scern i b l e fo rm i n a“ gol den

embryo in order to fash ion the un iverse . Accord i ng

to th i s theory , H e i s n oth i ng more than the arch i tect or

the maker of th e worl d from pre-exi s t i ng matter . Th i s

wa s a l so the Zend idea of creat i on , and hence th e phrase“ crea ted by Maz da

,i s Maz da-dha ta

,e stab l i sh ed or

arranged by Maz da . An d the firmament ,” th e “ in

fin i te t ime ,”and th e air wh i ch works on h igh

,are ca l l ed

se l f-crea ted

The i dea tha t th e Creator rose from a gol den embryo ,or a “ gol den egg

, p robab ly ori gi na ted i n a dim reco l

l ec t i on of the pr im i t i ve account tha t th e “ Sp i r i t of God

moved on the face of the wa ters ” .

1 F or the H ebrew

verb , recaph , t rans la ted “ moved,

”

mean s to “ flu tter,

” to

hover ,”

and to “ brood ”as of a bi rd over i t s nest .

A s an eagl e st i rreth up her nest , flu ttereth over her

young,

”etc ? The word tran s lated flut tereth here i s

th e same as tha t t ran s lated “ moved i n Gen es i s , i. , 2 .

I f,therefore

,the p rim i t i ve account was

,tha t God

,in

1 Genes i s I 2 .

2 D eu t . , xxx i i . , 1 1 .

T H E COSMOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . 1 3 1

fash ion i ng the world,

“ flu ttered or “ brooded over

chao s,l i ke a b i rd over i t s nest

,wha t was more natu ra l

than that,i n th e cou rs e of t ime

,th e s im i l e i n vo l ved i n

the act i on shou l d have been forgotten,and God actua l ly

made to r i se from the “ gol den embryo,or to be b orn

from th e gol den egg , genera ted by the wa ters

And as the Teu ton ic Aryan s carr i ed away to the north

of Eu rope the pr im i t i ve be l i e f respect i ng the crea t i on o f

the worl d,so the Greek A ryan s carr i ed away to the sou th

the more recent , or e labora ted there a S im i lar th eory .

Pla to says,

“ that a ll wi se men , wi th th e except i on of

Pa rmen i des , thought tha t a ll th i ngs proceeded from

wa ter,and that genera t i on wa s a sort of flowi ng mot i on

A r i stophanes g ives the part i cu lars a s fol lows'

F i rst all was chao s ; one confused h eapD arkness enwrapped th e disagre e ing de ep ;In a m ixed c rowd th e jumbl ing e lements we re ,N or earth , nor a ir

,nor h eaven did appear ;

Ti l l in th is h orrid vast abyss of th ings ,T eem ing n igh t , spreading o

’

er h er co ld blac k w ings ,La id th e fi rst egg ; wh ence afte r t ime

’

s due cou rse ,

Issued forth love (th e world’

s pro l ific sou rc e),G l i sten ing w i th go lden w ings ; wh ich flutte r ing o

’

er

D ark chaos, gendered a ll th e nume rou s sto re

O f an ima ls and gods

1 X cios 77V Ka i avg, é’

peBo’

s T e uéAa u Trpc'

b'

r ou Ka i p rapos ebpbs .

I‘

gf d’

, obd’

dim,068

1

obpaubc by e’

pe’

Bovs‘ O,

i n cin eipixn KriMrms

T im-c l. n pé r to r ou bum/enta il 1111

15 f) p eh aurim'

ep os o’

Io'

u.

’

E § ou n ep t t eAAonéI/ a i s‘

c'

bpa t s gfika o r eu"

Epws 6 n odewris .

ET iABwV 11637 01! n r epbyow xpvo a iu eic s duep chxem Oivo ts

067 0 9 86’

xde i n r epdeun p tyeis I/vxicp, Karap r apov ebpbu,’

E ue<ir r evo e ye’

vo g hp e’

r epov, Ka i 7rp63'

r ov 6

’

s qbc'

bs,3 3

d r epou 8 013K or yevos tida l/an on, 7rpw'

Epcos o vuep tfev a’

naura .

T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VEDA S .

H ere n ight and chaos are represen ted as the fi rs t

su bs tances exi st i ng a l on e . They la i d an egg,whence

l ove was produced , — th e “ des i re of R .

-V . , x .

,1 2 9 , 4 ,

and th e “ go lden ch i l d ” of R .-V .

,x 1 2 1 , 1 , and the

Sp i r i t of God” of Gen es i s , i. , 2 ,

—wh ich,flu tter i ng o ’er

da rk chaos,gendered heaven , earth , an ima l s

,and gods .

I t shou l d be s tated tha t H i n du Pund i ts do not be l i eve

tha t th e Vedas con ta i n two or more theor i e s of the

c rea t i on of the wor l d . They ma i n ta i n tha t there i s on ly

one theory , v i ewed from d ifferen t s tandpoi n ts . H ence

th ey exp la i n nonent i ty as a sta te i n wh i ch name and

form (nama and rupa) were not developed , and not an

ab so lu te nu l l i ty l i ke that i nd i ca ted'

in the phrase,

hare’s horn s and H iranyagarbha , born from the “golden

embryo,th ey represen t as the ab stract neu ter B rahma

,

as sum i ng persona l i ty i n th e form of the ma l e B rahma,

i n order to tran sform what was ne i ther nonen t i ty nor“ en t i ty i n to the v i s i b l e u n iverse , hav i ng names and

forms , su ch as ea rth , sky , and water . Th i s , however, i s a

specu lat i on of a later age , when the s imp l e m ean i ng of

the hymn s h ad been forgotten , and the H i n du m i n d

had become profou nd ly affected wi th ph i l osophy .

5 . Crea tion a Phenomenal E mana tionfrom the D eity .

When the sages of the Upan i shad s h ad a tta i n ed the

h ighe st ph i l osoph ica l u n i ty , when they had merged a ll

th e e l ementa l gods , and all exi stences,mater ia l , men ta l ,

and sp i r i tua l , i n one grea t ent i ty , Atnza ,B rahma

,P rana ,

P urusha,or S a t , th ere was no room for a rea l obj ec t ive

crea t ion,such as the two we have a l ready cons i dered .


1 3 4 T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VE DA S .

earth ; he i s i n deed the i n ner S e l f of a ll th i ngs .” 1 A s

all spokes are con ta i n ed i n the nave and i n the fe l l oes of

a wheel,a ll be ings and all se l fs are con ta i ned i n tha t

Se l f.” 2

Profe ssor M ax Mul l er , i n h is I n t roduc t ion to vol . i . of

the Sacred B ooks of the E ast , say s , tha t “ Atman was

l ooked u pon at the same t ime as th e sta rt i ng-po i n t of a ll

phenomena l ex i ste nce , the root of th e worl d , the on ly

th i ng tha t cou l d tru ly be sa i d to be,to be rea l and true .

A S the roo t of all tha t ex i st s,the Atman was i d en t ified

wi th th e B rahman,wh ich in San scr i t i s both mascu l i n e

and neu te r,and wi th the S a t , wh ich i s neu ter on ly , -that

wh ich is,or Sa ty

,the true

,the rea l . I t a l one exi s ts i n

the begi n n i ng , and for ever ; i t has no second . Wha t

ever e l se i s sa i d to ex i s t,deri ves its rea l be i ng from the

Sat . H ow th e one S at becom es many,how wha t we

ca l l c rea t i on,which they ca l l emanat ion con

stant ly proceeds and retu rn s to i t , h as been exp la i n ed i n

va r i ou s more or le ss fanc i fu l ways by an c i en t prophets

and poets . B u t wha t they a ll agree i n is th i s , tha t‘ th e whol e creat i on , a ll p lan ts , a ll an ima l s , a ll men ,

are

du e to th e one S at , are u phe ld by i t,and wi l l retu rn

to i t

Th i s theory of crea t i on is the l og ica l ou tcome of

Mon i sm or Panthe i sm . And a s Mon i sm or Panthe ism

is far i n fer io r,from a re l i g iou s po in t of v i ew , to the idea

of persona l gods , however imperfect , so we may remark

1 M undaka Up. , i i . 1 , 4 .

B rihadaryanaka Up. , i i . , 5 , 1 5 .

T H E COSMOLOGY O F T H E VE DA S . 1 3 5

tha t th i s theory of crea t ion is equa l ly i n fer i or to e i th er

of the two older ones wh ich appear i n the R i g-Veda .

The i den t i ty of cau se and e ffect,of subject and obj ec t ,

whi ch appea r s i n the U pan i shads, was made th e funda

men ta l doctr i ne of the Vedanta or non-dua l ph i l osophy ,a ph i losophy the most widely accepted in India at th e

presen t day .

CH A PT E R IV .

T H E A N T H ROPOLOGY O F T H E VE DAS .

Th ere is sure ly a p iec e of div ini ty in u s ; someth ing th atwas before th e e lements

, and owe s no h omage unto th e sun .

”

S IR T HOM AS B ROWN E .

T h e proper study o f mank ind is man .

— POPE .

1 . T he Origin and D ignity of M an .

The Ved ic A ryans were con sc i ou s of a d iv i n e or ig i n .

They fel t tha t they were i n t ima te ly connec ted wi th a

fa ther above, wh i l e they acknowledged tha t th ey S prang

from the earth benea th . Dyaush p itah , pr ith ivi mata ,

D yaush ,H eaven

,i s th e fa ther

,and Pr i th i v i , the broad

earth,is th e mother . “ H ea r u s , I nd ra ,

l i ke a fa ther,

” 1

for “ we have no other fri end bu t thee , 110 oth er happ i

ness,no other fa th er ” 2 Aga i n

,

“ We are th i n e , Magha

van,sa t i s fy th e des i re s of these thy worsh i ppers

M an everywhere is con sc i ou s of a h igher , as wel l as of

a l ower,or ig i n of a genes i s from heaven , as wel l as from

earth . P lato says , Ka i i! y?) abr oiis ufimp ovo a auhxe, dAA’

6 debs H Aa T TwV . And the earth as th e mother brought

1 R .-V . , i . , 104 , 9 . Ibid. , v i i i . , 2 1 , 14 ; v i i . , 2 1 , 9 .

3 Ibid . , i . , 57, 5 ; iv . , 17, 1 8 .


1 3 8 T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VE DA S .

wh ich appears i n the San scr i t manas,the Greek navos,

th e Lat i n mens, and the E ngl i sh mind and man . What

to h im),‘ Pre se rve me ; I S ha l l save th ee ’

. (Manu inqu i red),‘ F rom wh at w i l t th ou save me (T h e fish rep l ied),

‘ A floodsha l l sweep away a ll th ese c reatu res ; from i t w i l l I re scue

th ee ’

. (M anu asked),‘ H ow (Sha l l) thy pre servat ion (be

T h e fish sa id, ‘ S o long as we are sma l l,we

are in great peri l , for fish devour fish ; th ou sha l t pre serve me

fi rst in a jar. Wh en I grow too large for th e jar , th en thoush a l t dig a trench ,

and p rese rve me in th at . Wh en I growtoo large for th e trench ,

th en th ou sh a l t c arry me away to th e

Ocean . I sh a l l th en be beyond th e reach of danger .’

S tra igh tway h e became a large fi sh , and sa id, ‘ N ow in such and su ch

a year th e flood wi l l c ome ; th ou sh a l t th erefore construc t ash ip , and resort to me ; th ou sh a l t embark in th e sh ip wh enth e flood ri ses

,and I sha l l de l ive r th ee from i t ’. H av ing thu s

preserved th e fish,M anu carr ied h im away to th e sea . T h en

in th e same year wh i ch th e fish h ad enj o ined , h e const ruc teda sh ip ,

and reso rted to i t . Wh en th e flood rose,Manu

embarked in th e sh ip . T h e fish swam towards h im . H e

fastened th e cable of th e sh ip to th e fish ’s h orn . B y th i s

means h e passed ove r th e north e rn mounta in. T h e fish sa id,‘ I h ave de l ivered th ee : fasten th e sh ip to a tree . B ut le stthe water sh ou ld cut th ee off wh i lst th ou art on th e mounta in ,

as much as th e wate r subs ides,so much th ou sh a l t descend

after i t . ’ H e ac cordingly desc ended as mu ch as th e wate rsubs ided . Wh erefore a lso th is , viz .

,

‘ Manu’

s descent ’ is (th ename) of th e north ern mounta in . N ow th e flood h ad sweptaway a ll th ese c reatures ; so M anu a lone was left h e re .

D es i rous of offspr ing, h e l ived worsh ipp ing and to i l ing in

arduous re ligious r i tes . Among th ese h e a lso sac r ificed wi thth e paka offer ing. H e cast c lar ified butter , th ic kened m i lk ,wh ey and cu rds , as an oblat ion into th e wate rs . Th ence in a

year a woman was produced.

”

T h e name of th e woman thus produced was Ida .

“ F rom

T H E A NTH ROPOLOGY OF T H E VE DA S . 1 3 9

h igher name cou l d they have given to man than th e

Th inker ” ? And in the ca se of the Aryan na t i on s ,

wh a t name cou l d have been more prophet i ca l ly signifi

can t ? F or have they not been pre-em i n ent ly th e grea t

Th inkers a s wel l as th e grea t ac tors i n every age?

H ave they not far ou t s tr ipped a ll other races i n c i v i l i sa

t ion , i n ph i l osophy , i n a rts,and i n sc i ence ? A re they

not to day the ru l e rs of th e wor l d,and i s i t presumptuou s

to affi rm tha t they are des t i n ed,u nder Prov i dence , to

b i nd all nat i on s together i n the go l den bonds of c i v i l i sa

t i on, commerce , and re l i g i on

_

2 . T he Consciousness of S in .

Professor Weber says,

“ The re l i g iou s no t ion of s in

is want i ng a l together,and subm i ss i ve gra t i tu de to the

god s i s a s yet qu i te fore ign to the Ind ian i n the Ved ic

age”

.

1 M ax Mul l e r , on the other hand , say s , “ The

con sc i ou sness of sin i s a prom i n en t featu re i n th e re l i g i on

of the Veda so i s,l i kewi se

,the be l ief tha t the god s are

Mann and Ida ,we are express ly to ld , th e rac e , known as that

of M anu,i .e. , th e race of men

,was de scended .

”

M anu , according to th e above legend, was th e progen i tor of a ll post-di luv ianmen .

T h e Legend of th e D e luge in th e M ahabharata resemblesth e above w i th some important addi t ions . It state s thate igh t persons were saved from th e wa ters ; th at S eeds of a ll

l iv ing th ings were pre se rved ; and gives th e durat ion of th e

flood as“ for many years It a lso po ints to th e h igh est

peak of “ H imavat (H ima laya) a s th e p lace wh e re th e S h ipwas t ied

,and for wh ich i t was ca l led N aubandha .

1 H ist. of Ind . L it ., p . 3 8 .

1 40 T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VE DA S .

ab l e to take away from man the heavy bu rden of h i s

s in And the au th or of the Sacred P oetry of E a rly

R eligions remarks,Of that mora l conv ic t i on

,that mora l

en thu s iasm for goodnes s and j u s t ice , tha t mora l ha tred

o f wrong and ev i l,tha t z ea l for r i gh teou snes s

,that

angu i sh of pen i tence,which h a s e l s ewhere ma rked re

ligiou s poetry , there is s i ngu lar ly l i tt l e trace”

In th e

Ved i c hymn s . The fi rs t of th ese statemen t s i s far too

sweep i n g , th e second is exaggera ted as to th e word“ prom i n en t

, and the th i rd is upon the whol e correc t .

The fact i s , tha t when the A ryan s appea r fi rs t before

u s i n the “ Land of the five r ivers,the i r con sc i ou sness

of sin had become more obtu se than i t was form er ly ; and

hence the bu rden of the i r songs was not,

“ Lord , gran t

u s forg i venes s of s i n s , bu t ,“ gran t us food , progeny ,

wea l th,and v ic tory The fo l l owi ng hymn , addres sed

to I ndra,who was then the i r su preme de i ty , i s a fa i r

spec imen of the sp i r i t pe rvad i ng three-fou rth s of the

Ved i c hymn s

I .

“ Vorac i ou s dr i nker of the Soma j u ice , a l though we

be u nworthy , do thou ,I nd ra

,of bound l es s wea l th en ri ch

u s wi th thou sand s of exce l l en t cows and horses .

2 .

“ Thy benevo lence,handsome and m i gh ty

,l o rd of

food , endu re s for ever . Therefore, I ndra ,of bound l e ss

wea l th enr i ch u s wi th thou sands of excel l en t cows and

horses .

3 . Cast a s l eep (the two fema l e messengers of Yama) ;

l ook i n g at each other,l et them s l eep

,never waki ng .

1 Ch ipsfrom a German Workshop, vo l. i. , p. 4 1 .


1 42 T H E TEACH ING O F T H E VEDA S .

thought . ” 1 “ The d iv i n e Sav i tr i t rave l s by an upward

and by a downward path ; he comes from a d i s tance,

remov i ng a ll sin .

” 2 I f we have s i nn ed aga i n s t the man

who loves u s,have ever wronged a brother

,fr i end or

comrade,th e ne ighbou r ever wi th us ,

or a stranger,O

Va runa ,remove from u s the trespass . I f we

,as

gamesters,chea t a t p lay , have cheated , done wrong

u nwi l l i ngly or s inned of pu rpose , cast a ll these s i n s away

l i ke l oosened fetters,and

,Varuna , l et u s be th i ne own

be loved .

” 3 “ Let th ose renown s and those pra ises of

th ine be proved tru e by thy showing mercy on u s , 0

I n dra . S lay u s not for one sin,nor for two

,nor for

three,nor for many , 0 hero .

1 Protect u s , Soma,from

ca lumny ; p reserve u s from S in p l eased wi th our serv i ce ,be our fr i end . Pro long our exi stence ,

A sv in s ; wipe

away ou r s i n s des troy our foes ; be ever ou r a s soc iates .

” 6

M ay ou r s ins be removed or repen ted of ” is the bu rden

of a whole hymn .

7

The A ryan s’

i n fant i l e not i on of s i n i s forc i b ly expres sed

i n the term s wh ich they u sed to denote i t . Those term s

are papa ,

8 from root pat , to“ fa l l , to “ fa l l down

aghas, Gr. ayos, enas and amcha t , from roots s ign i fyi ngi )fi rs t to “ go

,and then to go ast ray

,

“ m iss the ma rk”

IVirr iti , another word for sin,wh ich was a fterward s per

son ified as a power of evi l or destru ct ion , is der ived from

1 R .-V . , iv . , Ibid . ,

i . , 3 5 , 3 ; 1 1 5 , 6 .

3 Ibid .,v .

,85 , 7, 8 .

4 Ibid .,v i i i .

, 45 , 3 3 , 4 .

Ibid .,i ., 9 1 , 1 5 .

6 Ibid .,i . , 1 57 , 4 .

7 Ibid . , i . , 97 .

3 Gr. 7r6‘

r , Lt . pec , We lsh pech , H eb . pasha .

T H E A NTHRO POLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 143

th e same root wh ich y ie l d s r ita i n th e sen se of r i ght ;

and nir-r ita mean s not r i ght,or a devia t ion from the

r i ght pa th . S i n,therefore

,accord i ng to the ear l i e st con

cept ion of the A ryan m i nd , i s a fa l l from a h igher to a

l ower mora l sta te,a dev iat i on from the pa th of du ty , a

m i ss i ng of the ma rk of mora l exce l l ence on ce set before

the menta l v i s i on . The same i dea s are conveyed i n the

Tam i l (Tu ran ian) words T appu ,Tappia

’

am ,and Ka l tam,

S in,fau l t .

Words are foss i l i sed though ts ; and the i r test imony

respec t i ng the ear l i est concept i on s of the human m i n d

is as va luab l e as the te st imony of the rocks re spect i ng

the stru ctu re of an ima l s wh ich have long become ext i n ct .

Wha t a marve l l ou s confi rma t ion of the F a l l of man,

men t ion ed in th e th i rd chap ter of Gen es i s , we have i n

th e word s used for “S in in the Sem i t ic ,

A ryan, and

Tu ran ian languages

I f man,i n d iv i dua l ly and soc ia l ly

,as Evolu t i on i sts te l l

u s,be noth ing more than the produ ct of na tu ra l forces

,

which pu sh h im i rres i st i b ly forward , l i ke a m i gh ty hu rr i

cane,toward s h i gher and more comp l ex forms of l i fe

,

how d id the con sc iousnes s of sin,as a fa i lu re or a fa l l ,

i nvo lv i ng ca lam i ty,or i gi nate ? I f he be the mere ou t

come of i n terna l and externa l forces— of organ i sm and

env i ronmen t— h e may at certa i n stages of h is progres s

be defect i ve,bu t he cannot be a s i nner i n the sen se tha t

he has “ m i s sed the mark of mora l exce l l en ce set before

h im .

“ I t may requ i re thou sand s of years to e l evate

h im to a more comp l ete ex i stence ; bu t he has not fa l l en

from any i d ea!he m i gh t have reached . H e i s on ly,at any


poi n t,wha t the sum tota l of na tu ra l factors wh i ch en ter

i n to h i s be i ng have made h im .

‘

The two concep t i on s of

s i n and of deve lopmen t,i n th i s na tu ra l i s t ic sen se

,cannot

co-exi s t 1 We mu s t,therefore

,e i ther accept the test i

mony of con sc i ou snes s tha t man i s a s i n n er,and rej ect

th e theory of evo lu t ion,wh ich does not recogn i s e tha t

fact ; or accept the theory of evo lu t ion , and rej ect th e

te s t imony of consc i ou sness as fa l se .

B u t s i n i s more exp l ic i t ly represented i n the Vedas as a

voluntary tran sgres s i on of d iv i ne laws .

“ H owever we

break thy laws from day to day , men as we are,0 god

Varuna,do not d e l i ver u s u n to dea th ; nor to the b low of

the fu r i ou s ; nor to the wra th of th e sp i tefu l .” 2 Whenever

we,men , 0 Varuna, comm i t an offence before the heaven ly

host,whenever we break the law th rough thought l es sness

,

pun i sh u s not , 0 God , for that offence .

” 3 May we be

s i n l es s before Varuna,who i s graci ou s even to h im who

has comm i t ted s i n,and may we fo l l ow the laws of Ad i t i .

” 4

S i n was fe l t to be a grea t ca lam i ty,wh ich i s ev iden t

from th e figu re s o f speech u sed to represen t i t . I t i s a

bond or a “rope

” from wh i ch the s i n ner prays to be

re l ea sed .

“ D e l iver u s from s i n as from a rope ; l et u s

obta i n thv path of r i gh teou sness . ” “M ay the th read not

be torn wh i l e I am weav i ng my prayers ; may th e form

of my p i ou s works not decay before i t s season . V ar

una,take all fear away from me ; be k i n d to me , 0 j u st

k i ng ! Take away my sin l i ke a rope from a ca l f ; far

1 Princ ipa l T u l loch , T he Christian D octrine of S in‘1 R .

-V .

,i. , 2 5 , 2 .

3 Ibid . ,v i i . , 89 , 5 .

4 Ibid .,vn . , 87, 7 .


146 T H E TEACH ING OF -T H E VEDA S .

Rudra , waft u s i n Safety over the ocean of sin,repe l a ll

th e assau l ts of the u ngod ly.

” 1

Man, hav i ng a na tu ra l t enden cy to s i n

,is a prey to

temptat i on s . “ I t was not o ur own doi ng 0 Varu na :

i t was neces s i ty (or temp ta t i on), an i n toxica t ing drau ght

po i son , d ice , th ought l es sn ess . The ol d is there to mis

l ead the young ; even s l eep br i n gs u nr i gh teou snes s .“ Le t not on e s i n a fter another

,d i fficu l t to be conqu ered

,

overcome u s ; may i t depa rt a l together with lust . ” 3

“ M ay tha t b laz i ng weapon of you rs , Ma ru ts,be far

from u s,a l though throu gh human infirm it ies we offer

” 4 “Wha tever (offence)we have comm i t tedyou offence .

by wan t of though t aga i n st th e d i v i n e race , by feeb l eness

of u nderstand i ng,by v io l ence

,after the manner of m en

and e i ther aga i n s t gods o r men,do thou ,

O Sav i tr i,

make u s s i n l ess . ” 5

Thi s tenden cy i s not on ly t ran sm i tted by the law tha t

l i ke produ ces l i ke,bu t the s i n s of the fa ther s are in a

myster iou s way impu ted to the i r offspr i n g .

“ Ab so l ve

u s from the s i n s of our fa thers , and from those wh ich

we have comm i t ted with our own bod i es .

” 6 “ Let u s

not su ffer,M i tra and Va ru na

,for offence s comm i tted by

another ; le t u s not,V a su s

,do any act by wh ich you

may be offended .

” 7 “ M ay Agn i free me from the sin

wh ich my mother or fa ther comm i tt ed when I was i n th e

womb .

” 8 I f thou l i e s t there i n con sequ ence of any

I R .

-V . ,i i . , 3 3 , 3 . Ibid . , v i i . , 86, 6 .

3

3 8 , 6 .

1 Ibid .,v i i .

,

5 Ibid . , iv ., 54 , 3 .

‘1 Ibid.

,v i i . , 86 , 5 .

7 Ibid .,v i i . ,

3 T a ittiriya B r . ,In . , 7 , 1 2 , 3 . Mu i r , vo l . v .

, p . 66 .

T H E A NTH R OPOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . 1 47

s i n comm i t ted by thy moth er , or thy fa ther , wi th myvo ice I dec lare thy re l eas e and del i ve ran ce from them

a ll.” 1

The effec t of s i n i s to separa te man from God . Do

I say th i s to my own se l f ? H ow can I get un to Varuna

Wi l l he accept my offer i ng wi thou t d i sp l ea su re When

sha l l I w i th a qu i e t m i n d see h im prop i t ia ted I a sk , 0

Varu na,wi sh i ng to know th i s my s i n— I go to ask the

wi se . The sages te l l me the same,

— Varu na is he who

is angry wi th me . Was i t an ol d s i n,0 Va runa

,that

thou w ish est to de stroy thy fr i end who a lways pra i s es

th ee ? Tel l me,thou un conquerab l e l ord

,and I w i l l

qu ickly tu rn to thee wi th pra i s e , freed from Aga in,

Vas i shta exc la ims,

“ Where are those'

friendsh ips of u s

two ? We seek the harmony wh i ch we enj oyed of o ld .

I have gon e,O se l f-susta i n i ng Va runa

,to thy va s t and

spac i ou s hou se wi th a thou sand ga tes . H e who was thy

fr i end , i n t ima te,th i n e own

,and be l oved , has comm i t ted

offences aga i n s t th ee . Let u s not who are gu i l ty reapth e fru i t s of ou r s i n . Do thou

,O wi se god

,gran t protec

t i on to h im who pra i ses thee .

” 3

A s i t i s d i fficu l t for u s,wi th ou r Ch r i s t ian con sc i en ce

,

to u nders tand the prec i se mean ing wh ich th e anci en t

A ryan s a t tached to the word “s in

,l et u s i n qu i re , (1)

Wha t ac t s were n ot , and (2)What acts were,co n s i dered

s i n fu l by them . Th i s a l one wi l l preserve us from the

error of e i ther over-e st imat i ng , or u nder-va lu i ng the i r

mora l sen se .

1 A .-V . , v . , 30 , 4 . M u i r . R .

-V . ,v i i .

,86 , 2 , 3 , 4 .

3 Ibid . ,v i i .

,88 , 5 , 6 .


I . Wha t acts were not con s i dered s i n fu l by the Ved ic

Aryan s .

A r i s tot le says , “ A s men rega rd th e form s,so a lso

they con s i der the l ives,of

'

the god s to be S im i la r to th ei r

own ”. Whatever ac ts , th erefore , a na t i on a ttr i bu tes

wi th approba t i on to it s gods,we may reasonab ly con

c lude,are h i gh ly esteemed by i tse l f. Throughou t th e

Ved i c hymn s,th e i n ebr i ety p rodu ced by quaffing the

Soma-j u ice is ce l ebra ted wi th u n feigned sa t i sfact i on . A l l

the god s are con stan t ly i nv i ted to dr ink of the “ immorta l

st imu lan t (amartyam madam), wh ich i nvigora tes them ,

and i nc reases the i r s trength beyon d a ll pra i se .

“ I n dra

has drunk ; Agn i has drunk . A l l the gods have become

exh i lara ted .

” 1 “ I n dra d ri nk s l i ke a th i rs ty s tag,or a

bu l l roam i ng i n wa terl es s was te .

” 2 And a ll th e effect s

produ ced on man by “strong dr ink are a scr i bed to h im .

I t i s s ta ted i n the A itareya B rahmana tha t,

“ The gods

get d runk,as i t were

,at the m id-day l i ba t i on , and are

con sequ en t ly at the th i rd l i bat ion i n a s ta te of comp l ete

drunken nes s ” ? The Sautramanii wa s a ceremony ap

poi n ted to exp ia te th e evi l e ffects of too free i n du l gence

i n the Soma-j u i ce .

Wine (S ura)was a l so i n u se ; for we read , “ I p lace

the po i son i n the sun,l i k e a wine sk i n or l ea thern bott le

,

i n the house of a vendor of wi n e .

” 4 Wine-b i bbers are

ment i oned i n R .-V .

,v i i i . , 2 1 , 14 .

“ The A sv i n s gave a

hu ndred j ars of wi ne to Kaksh ivan . The Soma

1 R .

2 Ibid . , v i i i ., 66 , 4 .

v i .,1 1 .

4 R .-V .

,i. , 19 1 , 10 .

5 Ibid .,i . , 1 16 , 7.


1 50 T H E TEA CH I NG O F T H E VEDA S .

wh ich a l lude wi th approba t ion to the pos ses s i on of more

than one wife , Powerfu l I n dra , the i r m i n d s adhere to

thee,as a ffec t i ona te w ives to a l ov i ng hu sband In

dra took to h im a ll the c i t i e s as one common hu sband

h is wive s .” “ Thou dwel l est w i th thy glor i es l i ke a

” 3Raja wi th h is wive s. Even po lyandry is h i n ted at i n

the fact tha t th e two Asvi n s h ad one wi fe i n common,

4

and R odasi was the common wife of th e Maru t s ."

The S atapa th a B rahmana,i x . ,

1, 4, 6, d i st i n ct ly avows

the p r i nc i p l e of po lygamy , and expla i n s i t s or ig i n . H e

sacr ifices to the man fi rs t,then to the women . H e

exa l ts th e man i n con sequ ence of h i s v i gou r . H e sac r i

hees to th e man as to one ,and to th e women as to

many .

“ H ence a l so one man h as many wives .

The re-ma rr iage of widows was not con s i dered a c r ime

i n the Ved ic age ,a s i t is now ; and the crue l custom of ch i l d

marr iage ; and th e horr i d r i te of Su tt ee , or widow-bu rn i ng,

1 R .-V . ,

i . , 62 , 1 1 . Ibid . ,v i i . , 3 Ibid .

,v i i . , 1 8 , 2 .

4 Ibid .,i . , 1 19 , 5 .

5 Ibid .

,i . , 1 67, 5 .

6 Mu ir , vo l. v . , p . 458 .

Th e re can be l i tt le doubt th at po lygamy , as we find i tamong th e ea r ly races in th e i r t rans i t ion from th e pastora l toth e agricu l tura l l ife , was c u stomary in India . We read in

H erodotus (v . , 5) th at , amongst th e Th rac ians , i t was u sua l ,afte r th e death of a man , to find out wh o h ad been th e mostbe loved of h is w ives , and to sacr ific e h er upon h is tomb .

M e la (i i . , 2) gives th e same as th e cu stom of th e Getae . H e

rodotus (iv .

, 71) asserts a S im i lar fact of th e S cyth ians,and

Pausan ias (iv . , 2)of th e G re e ks ; wh i le our Teuton ic Mytho logyis fu l l of instances of th e same fee l ing

”

(M . Mul ler’s H ist .A nc . S ans . L it .

, p .

T H E A NTH ROPOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 1 5 1

were then u nknow n .

1 We read i n A .

-V .,x .

, 5 , 27 ,8 ,

When a woman has had one hu sband before,and gets

another,i f th ey presen t the ay

’

a p anchandana offer i ng ,they sha l l n ot be separa ted . A second hu sband dwe l l s

i n the same worl d wi th h i s re-wedded wi fe,i f he offers

the aj a panchandana . And i n the A .

-V ., v . , 8 , 9 , i t i s

s ta ted that , when a woman ha s had two former h u s

bands,not B rahman s , i f a pr i est take her hand (i .e

marry her), i t i s he a l on e who is her hu sband . I t i s a

B rahman on ly tha t is a hu sband , and not a Rajanya or a

Va i sya .

I t appea rs ,from th e fo l l ow i ng verse

,addressed to the

A sv i n s,that i t wa s not an uncommon th i ng for a widow

to ma rry her deceased hu sband’s brother , “ Where are

you by n i gh t , Asvi n s , and where by day? Where do

you a l i gh t Where have you dwe l t Who d raws you

to h i s hou se,as a widow does her b rother-in-law to the

couch,or as a woman does a man The same cus tom

was i n vogu e in the t ime of Manu ,for i t is enacted in

h i s code tha t , “ The dam se l,i n deed

,whose hu sband

sha l l d i e a fter troth verba l ly p l i ghted , bu t before consum

1 “ Th ere is no text to countenanc e laws wh i ch a l low th e

marr iage of c h i ldren and proh i bit th e re-marriage of c h i ldw idows

,and th e unh a l lowed ri te o f bu rn ing th e w idow w i th

th e corpse of her h u sband is both aga inst th e sp iri t and th ele tter of th e V eda ”

(Ch ips from a German I’Vorkshop,vo l . i . ,

p . 3 1 3 )

R .-V . , x . , 402 . Compare D eute ronomy , xxv . , 5 ; Genes is

,

xxxv i i i .


mat i on , h is brother sha l l take i n marr iage accord i ng to

th i s ru l e ” 1

The Ved i c A ryan s cons i dered i t ne i ther a sin nor a

d isgrace for adu l t fema l e s to rema i n at home unmarr i ed,

or for those growing old to marry . We read,

“ A s a

v i rtuou s ma i d en growi ng o ld i n th e same dwel l i ng wi th

her paren ts (c la im s from them her su pport), so came I

to thee for wea l th And the A sv i n s are h igh ly pra i sed

for hav i ng cu red Gosha,th e daughter of Kaksh ivan

,and

g iven her a hu sband when advanced i n years .

3 There

are i nd ica t i on s even tha t women exerc i sed the l i berty of

choos i n g the i r own hu sbands i n those days .

4

The p lu nder i ng and des tru ct i on of the non-A ryan races

was a theme of grea t rej o i c ing . I ndra and Soma , bu rn ,destroy the Rakshasas ; ann ih i late the fool s ; s lay and

ca s t them i n to da rkness,so tha t none of them may ever

thence retu rn . I ndra con sumed the Raksha sa s with

h i s bo l t as fi re a dry fores t ; 6 yea ,

“ he s l ew wi th h i s

bo l t a thou sand,ten thou sand

,a hundred m i l l i on s of the

Dasyu s Destroy every one tha t rev i l e s u s ; s lay

every one tha t does u s i nj u ry ; may all a l i en s per i sh ,”is

th e constan t ly recu rr i ng prayer ?

We fi nd no trace here of the ancien t brotherhood of

1 M anu , i x . , 69 . A nd Gautama (xv i i i . , 4 1) says ,“ A woman

wh ose h usband is dead,and wh o des ires offspr ing, may bare

a son t o h er broth e r-in-law3 R .

-V .,i i . , 3 Ibid . , i. , 1 17 , 7 .

4 Ibid .,x .

, 27 , 1 1 , 12 .

5 Ibid. , v i i . , 104 , 1 , 3 .

Ibid . , vi . , 1 8 , 10 .

7 A .-V . v i i i .

,8 , 7 ; R .

-V . , i i . , 14 , 6 , 7 .

3 R .-V . , x . , 1 02 , 3 ; iv . ,

vu i . , 3 9 ; v i . , 60 , 6 .


1 54 T H E T EACH IN G OF T H E VEDA S .

to “ dr ive away from ou r pa th th e waylayer,the th i ef

,

the robber and I n dra i s en treated not to take advan

tage of u s l i ke a dea l e r ” 1

I l l i bera l i ty toward s one’s own k i th and k i n wa s severe ly

condemned , wh i l e l i bera l i ty was h igh ly pra i sed . H e who

keep s h i s food to h im se l f has sin to h imse l f a l so .

” “ The

wise man make s the gi v i ng of gi fts h is brea s tp la te .

”

The car of bou nty ro l l s on ea sy whee l s .

” The hou se

of the l i bera l man is l i ke a poo l where l o tu ses grow .

The property of the l i bera l man never decays,wh i l e

the i l l i bera l fi nd s no comforter . The givers of g i fts

ab i de a l oft i n th e sky ; the bestowers of horse s l i ve wi th

the sun ; the givers of gol d a t ta i n immorta l i ty ; th e be

stowers of ra imen t pro long the i r l i ves .” 2

Sorcery and wi tchcraft,seduct i on and adu l te ry

,were

denou nced .

Non-performance of re l ig i ou s r i tes ; the rev i l i ng of the

sou l-i n sp i r i ng Soma-ju ice ; d i sobed i en ce to paren t s ; and

wan t of peace and concord i n the fam i ly , were con s i dered

wrong . The fo l lowi ng bened i ct i on from the A tharva

Veda has l ost none of its force and beau ty for domest ic

happ i ne s s by the lap se of th ree thou sand yea rs ,“ I

impart to you concord wi th u n i ty of hea rts and freedom

from ha t red ; de l igh t one i n the other a s a cow i n the

b i rth of a ca l f. May th e son be obed ien t to h is fa ther ,

and of one m i n d wi th h is mother . May the w i fe , a t

l R .-V . ,

i., 42 , 3 ; i . , 3 3 , 3 .

’

Ibid .,x . ,

107 .

Ibid. , v i i . , 104 , 8 , 25 , 5 ; i. , 1 67, 4 ; i i . , 29 , 1 ; x . , 3 4 , 3 ; v i i . ,

T H E A NTHR OPOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 1 55

peace wi th her hu sband , speak to h im hon i ed words .

Let not brothe r ha te brother , n or s i s te r s i s ter ; concord

ant and un i ted i n w i l l , s peak to one another wi th k i nd

word s . ” 1

I t is now ev i den t that the Ved i c A ryan s regarded s in ,

not on ly as a F a l l , bu t a l s o as th e voluntary t ran s

gression of d iv i n e laws en ta i l i n g pu n i shmen t . They

recogn i sed the rea l i ty of both a d i v i ne and a human wi l l .

The gods,of the i r own free wi l l , gave the laws , and men ,

of the i r own free wi l l,broke them . The i r con sc i ou sness

of s in,the refore

,conta i n s (1 ) a knowl edge of d iv i n e laws ,

and (2 ) the volun tary tran sgres s i on of them .

B u t whence th i s knowledge of d iv i n e laws P What is

th e or ig i n of th e i dea of Law a s the mora l standard o f

r igh t and wrong ? M ax Mul l e r,i n h i s f f z

’

béer f Lecmres,

say s , tha t th e i dea of phys i ca l law ,denot i n g the uni

form i ty of na tu ra l phenomena,or ig inated i n the percep

t ion of the “ recu rr i ng retu r n Of day and n igh t,th e

week ly changes of the wan ing and i nc rea s i n g moon,th e

succes s i on of the sea son s,and th e rhythm i c dances of

the star s wh i ch un i form i ty fou nd expre s s i on i n the word

rz

'

z‘

a , r i gh t path or law , and tha t from th i s mm,th e

mora l law , th e r igh t path for man to wa l k i n , was

dedu ced or i n ferred . There seem s to be noth i ng i n the

Vedas to su pport th i s v i ew . The word r im,though

u sed ch iefly to denote ou twa rd cosm i ca l order,is a l so

u sed to denote i nward mora l o rder , and hence the

qu est i on whether the one order i s a dedu ct i on or an

1 R .-V . , v i . , 52 , 2 ; A .

-V . , i i i . , 3 0 .


i n feren ce from the other mu st be sett l ed on grou nd s

other than ph i l o logica l .

N ow,grant i ng tha t s en suou s impres s i on s of the uni

form i ty of natu ra l phenomena d i d p rodu ce the i dea of

phy s i ca l law , in the sen se of the r ight pa th i n wh ich the

heaven ly bod i es shou l d move , how cou l d tha t or i gi na te

the i dea of a r i ght path in a mora l sen se,i n wh ich man

shou l d go P I f i t be affirmed tha t the concept of ou tward

cosm ica l order d i d not produ ce i nwa rd mora l o rder as

su ch,bu t the percept i on of i t ; th en , we ask

,how can

i nwa rd mora l order exi st apart from th e percept i on of

i t ? Is not percep t i on the cond i t i on and ev i dence of its

ex i stence ? Aga in,i f i t be affi rmed that the concept of

o u twa rd cosm i ca l order awakened the la tent sen se of

i nwa rd mora l order,then i t is ev i den t tha t the sense

,or

i dea, was th ere a l ready ; and hence tha t i t was not

der ived from th e mm,the concept of ou twa rd cosm ica l

o rder , wh ich , ex fiypof/zesz’

, was deduced from sen suou s

impress i on s . B efo re man cou l d app ly the w ord mm to

the un i form i ty of natu ra l ph enomena ,he mu st have

known th e mm,the r i gh t pa th ,

and its oppos i te . H e

mu s t have been con sc i ou s of a law wi th i n , or a standard

by wh ich he cou l d j u dge wha t is r i gh t and what is

wrong . The very terms rzg/zz and wrong imp ly th e

possess i on of su ch a s tandard . The mora l law i s in

gra i n ed in the natu re of man,wri t ten

,as the Apost l e

Pau l says,on the hea rt ; 1 and hence fragmen ts of i t are

foun d among a ll nat i on s ; bu t among none more fu l ly than

1 R om .,i i . , 1 5.



wherever man i s fou nd . I t i s the g l ory of Chr i s t ian i ty

that i t h as sa t i sfied that i n s t i n ct by au thori ta t i ve ly ra t i ~

fying th e bel i ef i n immorta l i ty and p lac i n g i t b eyond a

doubt

The i n t ima t ion s of a be l i e f i n l i fe after dea th are not

so numerou s and d i s t inc t i n th e fi rst e ight books of the

R ig-Veda as i n the las t two . They are , however , sufi

‘i

c iently numerou s and d i st i nc t to i n d ica te that su ch a

bel i e f was a prom i n ent fea tu r e i n the re l i g i ou s creed of

the anc i en t A ryan s . A l l the gods are bel i eved to be

immor ta l,and capab l e of conferr i ng immorta l i ty u pon

the i r worsh ippers . Agn i i s sa i d to ren der morta l s im

morta l .1 The same power is a scr i bed to Soma .

2 The

Maru t s are besought to make the i r worsh i ppers immor

ta l ;3

and M i t ra and Va runa are a sked to grant ra i n

wea l th , and immorta l i ty .

4

The fo l l owi ng hymn,addres sed to Soma

,i n the n i n th

book of th e R i g-Veda,con ta i n s a v iv i d d esc r i pt i on of l i fe

after death , expres sed i n beau t i fu l language wi th ch i l d l i ke

confidence :

Where i s eterna l l i ght,i n th e worl d where the sun i s

p laced , i n tha t immorta l , imper i shab l e worl d , p lace me,

O Soma l ”

Where K i ng V aivasvata re i gn s , where th e secret

p lace of heaven i s,where the m i gh ty wa ters are , there

make me immorta l“ W here l i fe i s free i n the th i rd heaven of heaven s ,

IR .-V .

,i. , 3 1 , 7. Ibid .

,i., 9 1 , 1 .

3 Ibid. , v .,

4 Ibid . ,v .

,63 , 2 .

T H E A NT H R OPOLOGY OF T H E V E D As. 1 59

where the worl d s are rad ian t , there make me im

'7)morta l“ Where there i s happ i nes s and de l igh t

,where j oy and

p l easu re res i de,where the de s i re s of our de s i re are

a tta ined,there make me immorta l '” 1

The Ved i c Aryan s rega rded immorta l i ty a s a spec i e s

of apotheos is or de ifica t ion . Those who were made im

morta l became de i t i e s them se l ves,and were i nvoked for

th e same b l ess i n gs as the e l der d e i t i e s be stowed . The

R i bhu s,the th ree son s of S udhanvan

,th e dexterou s

humb l e-m i n ded a rt i san s of the god s, con s tru cted “ the

gl or iou s three-whee l ed car of the Asv i n s “ re stored

the i r aged and i nfi rm pa re nts to you th ”

; and “ d iv i ded

i n to fou r th e n ew sacr ific ia l lad l e wh i ch the d iv i n e

T vash tri had made,for wh ich exh i b i t i on of sk i l l they

obta i ned d iv i n i ty , and “ proceeded on the road of immor

ta l i ty to the a s semb lage of the gods whence th ey are

i nvoked : “ Ye who th rough you r sk i l l have become

god s,and l i ke fa lcon s are sea ted i n th e sky , do ye ,

ch i ld ren of strength,give u s r i ches ; ye , O son s of S ud

hanvan , have become immorta l” 2

The Ved i c doctr i n e of a fu tu re l i fe i s c l ose ly connected

1 R .-V . , ix .

, 1 1 3 . Professor R oth says respec t ing th i s hymn,

If i t were necessary , we m igh t h e re find th e most powe rfu lweapons aga inst th e v i ew wh ich has been late ly rev ived and

proc la imed as new, that Pers ia was th e on ly bi rth p lac e of th e

idea of immorta l i ty ; and that even th e nat ions of E urope hadderived i t from that quarte r ; as if th e re l igiou s sp i r i t of eve ry

gifted race was not able to a rrive at i t by it s own strength”

.

Ibid .

,i i i . , 60, 2

‘

iv . , 3 5 , 8 .


wi th,and seem s t o have grown up a round , the memory

of the Pi t r i s,or ancestra l fa th ers of fam i l i e s . Though

they h ad depa rted from th i s wor l d,they had not ceased

to l i ve . They a ll occu py d i fferent stages of b l es sedness

i n the ce l es t ia l spheres .

l They have a ll “ obta ined r iches

among the and as“com pan i on s of the gods

,

they are a ll i nvoked,l ike the Roman Ca tho l ic Sa i n ts

,

to be prop i t i ou s to , and to i n tercede for , the i r de

scendants here on earth .

8 I nvoked to these favou r i te

ob la t i on s p laced on the grass , may the F ath ers,the

offerers of Soma,come ; may they hea r us ; may they

i n tercede for u s,and preserv e u s . Do u s no i nju ry

,O

F a thers,on accoun t of any offence wh ich we , after th e

manner of men ,may comm i t aga i n st you . Bestow

wea l th on the morta l who worsh i ps you F a thers,bestow

th i s wea l th u pon you r sons , and now gran t them su sten

ance .

4 Thu s the anc i en t A ryan fa i th i n the cont i nu ed

l i fe of the F a thers , who“ had departed fi rs t

,

”was so

strong as to p lace the doc tr i ne of immorta l i ty beyond a

dou bt . Dea th had not ann ih i lated them ,and hence need

not ann ih i late the i r son s ; and therefore th ey pray to be

added to the peopl e of etern i ty,

” who dwel l i n Va ru na ’s

wor l d of perfect and undying l igh t . Th i s fa i th has never

l o s t i ts ho l d on the H i n du m i n d . I t man i fests i tse l f now

i n the S raddha ceremony,or offer i ng to h is F a ther’s

sp i r i t,wh ich is the mos t so l emn du ty devo lv i ng on every

H i n du son .

1 R .-V .

,x.

,1 5, Ibid .

,i ., 9 1 , I .

3 Ibid .,v i . , 75 , 10 ; v i i . , 3 5 , 1 2 .

4 Ibid. ,x . , 15 , 1 , 2 .



whol e l egen d i n to one of the myth s of the Dawn,

—Yama,

th e day ,and Yam i

,the n ight . Th i s exp lana t i on

,

’ how

ever , seems too na rrow and exc lu s ive , as i t l eaves no

room for th e exerc i s e of thought and imagi na t ion u pon

the or i gi n , cond i t ion,and des t i ny of the human race .

Su re ly the t ragic el ements of human l i fe,b i rth

,and

dea th , must have tou ched the anc i en t A ryan s as pro

foundly as the r i s i ng and sett i ng of the sun .

The l egend of Yama and Yam i wa s the common

inher i tance o f the H i n du and I ran ian A ryan s before

the i r separa t ion ; and hence we may rea sonab ly i n fer

tha t i t was one of the o r i gi na l trad i t i on s of the p r imeva l

home . The H indu Yama,th e son of V ivasvat , i s the

I ran ian Y ima ,the son of V ivanghat . The H i n du Yama

i s “ the fi r s t man tha t d i ed,th e fi rst tha t departed to

the ce l e st ia l wor ld , and sp i ed ou t the road for many

Consequen t ly he is “ th e a s sembl er of men , th e ki ng

of the departed , who fi rs t found for u s the way to a

home beyond the grave,wh ich sha l l n ot be taken from

u s1

The I ran ian Y ima i s the k i ng and founder of a go l den

age , the mos t glor iou s of men ,du r i ng whose re ign

ne i ther s icknes s , nor age , nor dea th ; ne i ther co l d nor

hea t ; ne i ther hatred nor s tr i fe ex i s ted . B ut after con

t inu ing for some t ime to d i ffu se happ in ess and immor

ta l i ty , he was d i s tu rbed by the powers of darkness ,and so was compe l l ed to wi th draw

,together wi th h is

R .-V .

,x.

,14 .

T H E ANTHRO POLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 1 63

a ttenda n ts,to a more con trac ted s phere 1 The d i fference

between these two legend s i s th i s : th e H i n du Yama is

the k i ng of the b le ssed af ter the i r depa rtu re to the

ce le st ia l worl d ; whereas the I ran ian Y ima i s th e k i ng

of the b l essed in l/zz'

s world,wh o have con t i nu ed to l i ve

wi th h im from th e golden age . Th i s l egend , i n its

origi na l form,probab ly conta i n ed these two vers i ons .

F or the trad i t i on of the fi rs t man tha t d i ed,

” th e one

so l e morta l,mu st necessa r i ly i nc lu de the trad i t ion o f

th e fi rs t man tha t l ived . The I ran ian s emphas i sed the

latte r and the H i n du s th e former . Th i s is eas i ly ex

p la i n ed . The I ran ian s , tormen ted wi th the mora l antago

n isms of good and ev i l , whi ch th ey fel t so keen ly , c lu ng

to the trad i t i on of a golden pas t when these d i d not

1 S im i larly,H esiod in h is ”f orks and D ay s desc r ibes th e

go lden age”

“Wh en gods a l i ke and morta ls rose to birth ,

A go lden rac e , th’ immorta ls formed on earth

Of many-languaged men : th ey l ived of o ld,

Wh en Kronos re ign’

d in h eaven— an age of go ld.

L i ke gods th ey l ived w i th ca lm untroubled m ind ,

F ree from th e to i l and angu ish of our k ind .

N or sad dec rep i t age app roach ing nigh ,Th e ir l imbs unnerved w i th fra i l infi rm i ty ;S t rangers to i l l , thy nature ’

s banque ts proved ,

R ich in earth ’

s fru i ts,and of th e best be loved

Th ey sank to earth as op iate s lumbe r sto leS oft o’

er th e sense , and wh e lm’

d th e w i l l ing sou l .Th e irs was each good : th e gra in exuberant so i lPour

’

d th e fu l l h arve st , uncompe ll’

d by to i l .T h e v i rtuous many dwe l t in common blest

,

A nd all unenvying sh ared what all in peace possessed .

T H E TEACH ING O F T H E VEDA S .

exi s t . B u t the H i n du s , l e s s mora l , more imagi nat i ve,

en tangl ed i n the co i l s of natu re worsh i p , s i gh i ng for

re l i ef,c l ung to the trad i t i on of the fi rs t man tha t d i ed ,

who had opened a way fo r them to the k i ngdom of

l i gh t,whe re a ll the i r sorrows sha l l cea se .

I n Yama,th e Ved i c doctr i ne of a fu tu re sta te finds its

h igh est expre s s i on . The F a thers are not l o st s i gh t of ;but he be i ng the F a th er of th e F athers

,the fi rs t Manu

,

or man , is exa l ted above them ,and rega rded as the i r

supreme ru l er . H e dwel l s i n ce l e st ia l l i gh t i n th e

i nnermost cen tre of heaven .

1 H e grants to the d eparted

both “an abode d ist i ngu i shed by days , and wa ters and

l i gh ts,

and “a l ong l i fe among the gods ” .

2 H e is

a s soc iated wi th th e d iv i n e Varuna ,worsh i pped as a god

,

and “ feasts accord in g to h is des i re on the ob lat i on s ” 3

H e shares h i s grat ificat ions wi th the eager V asish tas ,our anc i en t ancestors

,who presen ted the Soma l i ba t i on .

“

Yama and the F a th er s dwe l l toge ther i n eterna l b l i s s

and the most profound yearn i ng of the i r ch i l d ren was t o

j o i n them when th is l i fe had become ext i nc t . H ence

when the body was be i ng con sumed on the fu nera l pyre,

the fol l owi ng verses were addres sed to the sou l,Depa rt

thou,depart by the anc i ent pa th s to the p lace wh i ther

our ear ly fa thers have departed . There sha l t thou see

th e two k i ngs Yama,and th e god Va runa

,exu l t i ng i n

i ndependen t power . M eet the F athers , meet wi th Yama ,

meet with the recompen se of the sacr ifi ces wh i ch thou has t

1 R .-V . , i x. , 1 1 3 , 7, 8 .

“3 Ibid.

,x. , 9 , 1 1 .

3 Ibid .

,x .

,x .

,1 5 , 8 .

4 Ibid . , x . ,1 5, 8 .



th e earth,the wa ters , or th e p lants , accord i ng to the i r

severa l affin i t ie s . “ A s for h i s u nborn part,do thou

(Agn i) ki nd le i t wi th thy hea t ; l e t thy flame and thy

lu stre k i nd l e i t,wi th those form s of th i ne

,wh ich are

ausp ic i ou s , convey i t to th e worl d of the r ighteou s 1

The sp i r i t thu s i nvested w i th a lu s tre l i ke tha t of the

gods , soars to rea lms of eterna l l i fe , where i t rece i ves its

anci en t body i n a comp l ete and glor ified form wi thou t

a l imb m i s s i ng .

2 The be l i ef i n th e immorta l i ty of the

sou l,

” says B urnou f,

“ not naked and i nac t ive , bu t l i v i ng

and c l othed wi th a glor i ous body,wa s never i n terru pted

for a momen t ; i t is now i n I n d ia wha t i t was i n those

an c i en t t imes , and even rest s on a s im i lar metaphys ica l

ba s is .

The Ved i c concep t i on of the p l ea su res of heaven is

sen sua l ra th er than sp i r i tua l , M ahomedan ra ther than

Chr i s t ian . The gods themse l ves are not regarded as

possess i n g pu re ly sp i r i tua l na tu res , bu t as subj ec t to the

i n fluence of va r i ou s sensua l a ppet i tes . They de l igh t con

t inua lly i n quaffing th e Soma,and i n th e exh i la ra t ion i t

produ ces ; Yama is repre sen ted as ca rou s i ng wi th the

gods under a t ree ; 4 the Ad i tya s as ea t i ng honey ; 5 and

the F a thers as i n du l g i ng i n fes t i v i ty or revel ry wi th

Yama .

“ I n dra i s sa i d to have a handsome wi fe , and . to

enj oy p l easu re i n h is hou se .

7 The Gandharva s a ssum e

the form o f hand some men,i n o rder to seduce earth ly

1 R .-V . ,

x . ,16 . A .

-V .,1 8 , 2 1 , 24 , 2 5 .

3 La Veda, p . 1 86 .

1 R .-V . ,

x ., 13 5 , 1 .

5 A .-V xv i i i . , 4 , 3 1 .

6 R .-V .

,x . , 14 ,

1 1 .

7 Ibid . ,6 .

T H E A NTH R OPOLOGY oF T H E VEDA S . 1 67

fema l es , though they have the i r own ce l est ia l w ives,

th e A sparases .

1 I f, then , th e p l ea sures of the gods are

regarded as ca rna l and sen sua l,i t is too much to expec t

the anc i en t R i sh i s to imagi n e the p l ea su re s of d eparted

men to be anyth i ng d i fferen t . I t i s d i fficu l t to u nder

s tand , therefore , how Professor Roth cou l d have wr i tten ,What sha l l be the emp loymen t of th e b l e s t

,i n Wha t

sphere sha l l the i r act iv i ty expend i tse l f ? to th i s ques t i on

anc i en t H i n du wi sdom sought n o an swer I t i s d i s t i nct ly

s ta ted i n A .

-V .,i v . , 3 4 , tha t “ i n the ce l est ia l region the

fa i th fu l are prom i sed ponds fi l l ed wi th c lar ifi ed bu tte r

honey,wine

,m i lk , and cu rd s , as wel l as abundance of

sexua l e nj oymen t

Ved ic fu tu r i ty had its heaven,bu t th e i n t ima t i on s tha t

i t had i t s he l l are l e ss numerou s and d i s t i nc t . There

are passages,however

,wh ich show tha t the anc i en t

A ryan s bel i eved i n a p lace of pun i shmen t for th e wi cked .

O therwi se we can scarce ly exp la i n such passages a s

those i n wh ich Yama is rega rded as an Obj ec t of terror .

H e i s sa i d to have two i n sa t iab le dogs , wi th fou r eyes

and wide nos tr i l s,wh ich guard th e road to h i s abode ,

and wh i ch the dead are adv i s ed to hu rry past wi th a ll

poss i b l e speed .

2 These dogs wander among men as h i s

messengers,doubt l ess to summon them to the presence

of the i r master,who i n R .

-V .,x . ,

1 65 , 4 ,is i den t ified

wi th zzzn’

éyu ,dea th , and de scr i bed a s send ing a b i rd , the

h era l d of doom . D el iveran ce a l so i s sough t from th e

bond s of Yama,a s wel l as from those of Va runa .

3

1 A .

-V .,iv . , 3 7 , 1 1 . R .

-V . ,x.

,14 ,

10,1 2 .

3 Ibid .,x .

, 97, 16 .

1 68 T H E TEACH ING O F T H E VE DA S .

I t may be obj ected tha t these pa s sages wh ich repre sen t

Yama a s an obj ec t of terror , do n ot prove a fu tu re he l l,

bu t on ly the i n st i nc t ive fea r o f man to d i e . B u t we have

more pos i t i ve ev i dence . M en t i on is made of a p i t (karta),i n to wh ich the ha ted and i rre l i g i ou s are hu rl ed 1

and in to

wh ich I nd ra casts those who offer n o sacr ifices .

“ Th i s

deep abyss has been produced for those who,be ing s i n

ners,fa l se , un tru e , go abou t l i ke women wi thou t brothers ,

l i ke wi cked fema l es hosti l e to th e i r hu sbands . 3 One poet

prays tha t th e Ad i tya s may preserve h im from the de

s troyi ng wol f,and from fa l l i n g i n to the p i t .4 And I ndra

is imp l ored to ann i h i la te th e m i gh t of ma l i gnan t hosts,

and hu r l them i n to the va s t and v i l e p i t . ” 5

The doc tr i n e of a fu tu re sta te of rewa rds and pun ish

men ts i s more d i st i nc t ly tau ght i n the B rahmana s than

i n the Man tra por t i on of the Veda s . Profe s sor Weber

says,

“ I n th e B rahmana s,immorta l i ty

,or at l ea s t l on

gevity ,i s prom i s ed to those who ri gh t ly u nders tand and

prac t i se the r i tes of sacr ifice ; wh i l e those who are

defic i en t i n th i s respec t , depart before the i r na tu ra l t ime

of l i fe to the next worl d,where they are weighed i n a

ba lance ,and receive good or ev i l

,accord i ng to thei r

deed s . The more sac r ifices any one has offered , the

more etherea l i s th e body he obta i n s ; or , as the B rah

mana s exp re s s i t , th e more rare ly does he need to eat .

I n other passages aga i n,i t is prom i sed a s th e h ighest

rewa rd tha t the p i ou s man sha l l be born in th e next

1 R .-V .

,ix . , 73 , 8 .

2 Ibid . , i. , 1 2 1 , 1 3 . ” bid” iv ., 5 , 5 .

‘1 Ibid .,i i .

,29 , 6 .

5 Ibid .,i. , 1 3 3 , 3 .


170 T H E TE ACH ING O F T H E VE DA S .

persona l be ing , a s ta te wh ich may be rea l i sed i n end l ess ly

d i verse forms of be i ng,from tha t of the i n sect to tha t

of the god , bu t a ll of equa l i n stab i l i ty , and su bj ect to

re lapse . I t is im poss i b l e to fix the per i od at wh ich th i s

ol d be l i ef found i n the new metaphys ica l i deas the

med ium favou rab le to i t s expan s ion . B u t i t is certa i n

tha t from the end of the s ixth cen tury,before ou r era

,

when Sakyamun i was med i tat i ng h i s work of sa l vat i on ,

the doctr i ne , su ch as i t appea rs i n the U pan i shads , was

a lmost comp l e te,and appea rs deep ly rooted i n the popu

lar con sc i ence . Withou t th i s point d’

appni the spread of

B uddh i sm wou l d hard ly be i n te l l i g i b l e .

The degrad in g effect of th i s doctr i ne on the H i n du

m i n d i s graph ica l ly d escr i bed by D r . Wi l son i n h i s India

T /zree T /zozzsana’Years Age ,

“ The bri ngi ng of the bru tes

up to the l eve l of man h as brought down man to th e

l eve l of the bru tes . I t has dr iven man ent i re ly from the

apprehen s ion of h is r i ght pos i t i on i n the sca l e of crea t i on .

I t ha s confu sed,compou nded and confounded h im , to h is

grea t d i shonou r,with beasts

,and b i rd s

,and rept i l e s , and

fi shes ; wi th the lowes t i nverteb ra ted an ima l s,and even

wi th vegetab l e organ i sm of every spec i e s and var i e ty .

I am now an i n tel l i gen t man ,bu t soon I may be a

cha t ter i ng monkey ; I am now a tender-hearted woman ,

bu t ere long I may be a raven ing wol f ; I am now a

s tu d iou s boy , bu t next yea r I may be a stu p i d bu ffa l o ;I am now a p layfu l g i r l , bu t a fter my next b i rth I may

be a sk ipp i ng goa t . Tha t qu eru l ou s c row may be my

own deceased fa ther , tha t hungry ca t my own departed

mother,tha t raging bear my qu ondam brother , and tha t

T H E ANTH ROPOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . I7I

c rawl i ng serpen t my la te s i ster . Th i s is the l eg i t ima te

language of metemp sychos i s . Wha t a degrada t i on of

the sub l ime doctr i ne of the anc i en t R i sh i s ! And wha t

a comp lete refu ta t i on of the d i ctum of certa in ph i lo

sophers , tha t the doctr i n e of a fu tu re state has been

gradua l ly evo lved from dream s ! The h igher up we

trace the H i n du A ryan doctr i ne of a fu tu re l i fe , th e more

perfect and sub l ime we find i t ; the l ower down we fo l low

i t , the more degraded and i rra t iona l i t appears .

4 . T ize Origin and Growl/z of Caste.

The word “caste is der ived from the Portugue se

word “casta

,race ; and i s u sed by Eu ropean s to re

present the San sc r i t word s va rna ,co l ou r , and j a/i , t r i be

or c lass . And the three word s easte, narna , ja tz’

,are u sed

to denote the var i ou s c lasses i n to wh ich the H i ndu com

mun i ty is d i v i ded by ha rd and fast l i ne s . wh ich abso lu te ly

bar every en trance from a l ower to a h igher soc ia l grade .

I t i s not mere ly a soc ia l i n s t i tu t i on,defin i ng th e va r i ou s

grades of soc i e ty l i ke rank among other na t ion s , bu t a

re l i g i ou s i n s t i tu t i on,a rad ica l d i fference between man

and man, crea ted by th e D e i ty

,th e preserva t ion of

wh ich i s the most sac red du ty devo lv i n g u pon every

H i n du .

The ru l e s of ca s te are a lmos t i n numerab l e : bu t they

are a ll connec ted more or l e ss wi th (1 ) food and its

prepara t i on, (2) in ter-ma rr iage

,and (3 ) profes s i ona l pu r

su i t s . These fea tu res,however

,were not deve loped i n

1 72 T H E TEA CH ING O F T H E VE DA S .

the ear l i e s t pa rt of th e Ved ic age .

1 “ There i s no

au thor i ty wha tever i n the hymn s of the Veda for th e

comp l i ca ted sys tem of ca s te ; no au thor i ty for the offen

s ive pr iv i l eges c la imed by the B rahman s ; no au thor i ty

for the degraded pos i t i on of the Sudra s . There i s no

law to proh ib i t the d i fferen t c las ses of the peop le from

l iv i ng together,from eat i ng and dr i nk i ng together ; no

law to p roh ib i t the marr iage of peop l e be long ing to

d i fferen t castes ; no law to b rand the offspr i ng of su ch

marr iages wi th an i n del i b l e st i gma .

” 2 R i sh i s and Pr ies ts,

a s we have seen before,

3 were from the Ksha tr iya,as wel l

as from the B rahman,caste ; su ch a s V isvamitra ,

the

au thor of th e Gaya tr i , and jamadagni , the repu ted fa th er

of Parasu rama, th e great champ ion of the Brahman s .

And B rahman R i sh i s ma rr i ed the dau ghters of K shatr iyas,

or ki ngs . I t i s ev iden t,therefore

,tha t Pr i ests and

R i sh i s.

d i d not con st i tu te a ca s te i n those days , i n

the modern sen se of the term . I n deed,the S atapatha

B rahmana d i st i nct ly s ta tes tha t a ll men a fter the de luge

sprang from M ann and Ida ; and the R i g-Veda ,i n i t s

accou nt of the fi r s t c rea ted pa i r,Yama and Yam i , im

p l i e s the common or ig i n of a ll na t i on s i n the begin n i ng .

1 At th at t ime th e re we re th ree featu res of caste not a s yetdeve loped : 1 st , restr ic t ion of trade or oc cupat ion ; 2nd , object ions to eating w i th peop le o th er th an caste men ; 3 rd , objec

t ions to inte r-marriage (A Lec ture de l ive red by Pundi tS ivanath S astr i , M .A . ,

in M adras,N ov . 1 9 ,

2 M ax Mul le r , Chips from a German Workshop, vol . i i . , pp .

3 1 1 , 2 .

3 S ee p . 10 ,ante.



even to Man u,d i d not make h im impu re u nder the

c i rcum s tan ces .

1

B u t though modern caste was unknown i n the Ved ic

age , the fou r soc ia l ranks , pr ies ts , wa rr iors , hu sbandmen

and serfs , were recogn i sed before the co l l ect i on of the

R i g-Veda was com p l eted . I n the goth hymn of the roth

book of the R i g-Veda, ca l l ed th e Pu rusha Sukta ,

the fou r

ranks are m en t i oned by the i r techn ica l name s .

“ When

they form ed (or offered up) Pu ru sha (primeva l M a le), i n to

how many parts d id they d i v ide h im ? What was h i s

mou th ? What were h is a rm s ? Wha t were ca l l ed h i s

th igh s and feet ? The B rahman was h is mou th ; the

Rajanya (ki ng)was made h i s arm s ; the Va i sya became

h is th ighs ; th e Sudra was born from h i s feet . Thi s

h i gh ly figu rat i ve hymn proves no more as to the or i g i n

of the fou r castes than i t does as to the ori g i n of the

moon , sun,and wind

,wh ich i t represen ts as hav ing

been produced respec t i ve ly from th e m i nd , the eye ,and the breath of Pu ru sha . I t is in tere st i ng on ly as

showi ng tha t the fou r soc ia l ranks were techn i ca l ly

known in those days . Aga i n , in an address to the

A sv i n s,th e poet says

,

“ F avou r the prayer

favou r the serv ice , k i l l the Rakshasa s , dr ive away the

ev i l favou r th e power (hha tra) and favour the

man ly st rength favou r the cow (o’hena , the repre

sentat ive of property) and favou r the peop l e or hou se2

The exa l ted pos i t i on of the pri esthood , as a profes s i on ,

1 Manu,IO

,106 .

2 R .-V . , v i i i . , 16-1 8.

T H E A NTH ROPOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 175

was a l so acknowledged and the Pri e s t had a lreadv com

menced to a rrogate to h imse l f that supreme power over

a ll othe r c las ses of th e commun i ty wh ich u l t ima te ly

cu lm ina ted i n h is de ifica t ion . Tha t k i ng before whom

ma rches the Pri es t,

1 h e a l one dwe l l s we l l-estab l i shed i n

h is own hou se,to h im the ea rth y ie l ds at a ll t ime s

,to

h im th e peop le bow by th em se l ves .

” The k i ng who

gives wea l th to the Pr i est,tha t imp lo res h is protec

t i on , he wi l l conquer unopposed the treasu res , whether

o f h i s e nem i es or h is fri end s ; h im the god s wi l l p ro

tect .

” 2 H e met,however , wi th determ i n ed res i stance

and r i d icu l e at fi rst,wh i ch i s ev i den t from the fol

lowi ng impreca t i on s,

“ Whosoever,O Ma ru t s , wean s

h imse l f above u s, or sco ffs at the p rayer (bra/mm)

wh ich we have made,may hot p lagues come u pon h im

,

may the sky bu rn up that ha ter o f B rahman s (bra/inla

dais/z)D i d they not ca l l th ee , Soma

, the Gua rd ian of the

B rahman ? d i d they not say tha t thou d id st s h i e l d u s

aga i n s t cu rses ? Why dost thou l ook on when we are

scoffed at ? H u rl aga i n st th e ha ter of the B rahman the

fiery spea r . 3

Accord i ng to Manu,B rahma cau sed the B rahman

,the

Ksha tr iya , th e Va i sya ,and the Sud ra

,to proceed from

h i s mou th,h i s arm

,h is th igh

,and h i s foot ; and some of

these,by inter

-marr iage,and others by negl ect of B rahman i

ca l r i t es , produ ced th e other cas te s . And th i s i s the

1 In th e o rigina l B rahman. R .-V . ,iv . , 50 , 7 , 8 .

3 Ibid .,v i . , 5 1 , 2 , 3 .


preva i l i ng doct r i ne i n I nd ia at the present day .

1 Apart,

however,from th e fact that B rahma

, prayer , was not

d eve l oped i n to a god when the fou r soc ia l d ist i nc t i o n s

of rank were fi rst recogn i sed in th e R i g-Veda,many of

Manu ’

s degraded cas tes are known to be the pre-A ryan

abor ig i na l i nhab i tants of I nd ia ,su ch a s th e D rav idas of

the sou th ; wh i l e others der ive thei r names from cou n

tr i es and profes s i on s , su ch as V a ideh as from V ideha ;

and Venas , mu s i c ian s , from Vena ,lyre . Bes i des

,there

i s no ev i dence tha t Manu ’

s cas te system ever extended

to th e sou th of I n d ia . The A ryan s d id not conquer th e

sou th by force of a rms , as th ey d i d the north , bu t by the

more honou rab l e force of superi or knowl edge and h i gher

c i v i l i sa t i on . They were u nab le , therefore, e i th er to

impose the i r language u pon the abor ig i na l i nhab i tan ts ,

1 T h e fo l low ing is a conc ise statement of th e doctr ine fromth e Jat imala,

“ In th e fi rst c reat ion by B rahma, B rahmans

proc eeded , w i th th e V eda,from th e mouth of B rahma. F rom

h is a rms Ksh atr iyas sprung : so from h is th igh s Va isyas : fromh is foot S udras we re produced ; all w i th th e i r fema le s . T h e

lord of creat ion,v iew ing th em,

sa id ,

‘What sh a l l be you roccupat ion ?

’ Th ey rep l ied.

‘We are not our own masters,

O God,command u s wh at to undertake ’

. V iewing and com

par ing th e i r labou rs , h e made th e fi rst tr ibe superior ove r th ere st . A s th e fi rst h ad great inc l inat ion for th e d iv ine pra ises

(B rahma-veda), th e refo re h e was B rahman . T h e protectorfrom i l l (Kshay ate) was Kshatr iya . H im wh ose profess ion

(Vesa) cons ists in comme rc e , wh ich promotes th e suc cess of

wars,for th e protect ion of h imse lf and mank ind , and in hu s

bandry,and attendanc e on catt le

,h e ca l led Va isy a . T h e oth e r

sh ou ld vo luntar i ly serve th e th ree tr ibes , and th erefore become

a Sudra : h e sh ou ld humble h imse lf at th e i r fee t .


178 T H E T E A c H IN G OF T H E vED As.

h im A ryavarta ,th e abode of the Aryans , extend i ng from

the western to the eastern sea ,and bou nded on th e north

and sou th by the H imalaya and Vindhya m ounta i n s . 1

The A ryan s were then i n a s trange country , i nhab i ted

by a st range,u ncou th peop l e , wh o d i ffered grea t ly from

them se l ves i n colou r , language , re l i g ion , and cu stom s .

These . i n con sequ ence of the oppos i t ion wh ich they

offered to the advance of the con qu erors , are desc ri bed

by them i n th e most od i ou s terms,as dasyas, enem i e s ;

ddsa ,s laves ; ra

'

hs/zasas barba r ian s ; hranyad ,raw flesh

ea te rs ; anr i/a , devoi d of re l igiou s r i tes ; aorahnza , pr i es t

l ess ; anagnz'

tra,n ot keep i ng the sacred fi re ; mad ;

and nzearaa’

enas, worsh i ppers of mad gods . They are

even accu sed of eat i ng human flesh ! Thu s we read ,

The ydtna’hanas who gloa t on the b l oody flesh of

men or horses,and stea l th e m i l k of th e cow , O Agn i ,

cu t off the i r heads wi th thy fiery sword 2 There is no

rea son,however

,to be l i eve tha t th is descr ip t i on of the

aborigi nes by the i r conque r i n g enem i es i s correct ; for

we find that th e grea t B rahman R i sh i , Va s i sh ta , when i n

feud wi th the Raj a R i sh i , V isvam it ra ,i s ca l l ed not on ly

an en emy , bu t a“

ydtnd/zdna or demon . B es i de s,we

l earn tha t these peop l e h ad fort ified c i t i es , fought wi th

weapon s,posses sed much wea l th , were governed by k i ngs .

3

A s m i gh t be expec ted,they opposed the i nvaders of

the i r coun try and the p lunderers of the i r wea l th wi th all

1 M anu ,i i .

, 2 1 , 2 .

2 R .-V . ,

x . , 87 , 2 .

3 Ibid . ,i.,103 , 3 ; x .

,102 , 3 ; v i i i . , 24 , 27 ; i. , 5 1 , 5 ; i i i . , 1 2 ,

6 ; I. , 58, 8 , 9 ; vn .

,104 , 2 .

T H E ANTHR OPOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 1 79

the means a t th e ir d isposa l . B u t th e grea te r phys ica l

s trength and super i or sk i l l of th e A ryan s preva i l ed , and

they h ad to subm i t to a fore ign yoke . H ere , t hen , was the

fi rs t d i st i n cti on of caste , a d i s t i nc t i on both ethn ica l and

pol i t ica l— th e d i s t i nc t ion between fore igners and na t i ves ,between th e conqu erors and th e

'

conqu ered. Th i s d i s

t i nct ion was he ightened by the d i fference of co lou r

exi s t i ng between the two races ; th e former be i ng“ wh i te and the la t ter “ b lack ,

” 1a d i fference st i l l

v i s i b l e between the A ryan s and the non-A ryan s . And

hen ce oarna , colou r , the term u sed by the A ryan s to

mark off the d i fference between them se lves and the

abor igi na l i n hab i tants , came afterward s to be th e genera l

des i gnat ion of a ll d i s t i n ct i ons i n H i n du soc i e ty .

The abor igi na l i n hab i tan ts , who subm i t ted peaceab ly

to A ryan ru l e,were denom i na ted Su dra s

,serfs— in contra

d i st i nc t i on to the A ryans,nob l es The word Sud ra

i s not of San sc ri t ori g i n , and hence mu st have been

imported i n to the A ryan speech from some of the non

A ryan languages . I n th e Vi sh nu Pu rana we find tha t

Sudras and A o/ziras are i n va r iab ly men t i on ed together,

as i f con te rm i n ou s . 2 t ira ,accord i ng to Pto l emy

,

i s a d i s tr ic t above Patta lene on th e I ndu s . The Sudra s ,

therefore , were a peop l e who l i ved i n the same v ic i n i ty

on the banks of the same r i ver,and we re probab ly the

H adro/aoi men t ion ed by M egasth enes , who sen t aux i l ia

r i e s to the Pers ian s before the t ime of A l exander th e

1 R .-V . ,

i. , 100 , 18 ; i i . , 20 , 7 ; i i i . , i i . , 20 , 7.

W i lson’

s V . P .,vo l . ii . , pp . 184 , 5 .


Grea t . These , i t is natu ra l to su ppose,were the fi rst

peop l e conqu ered by the A ryan s a fter c ross i n g the I ndu s

and as they gradua l ly conqu ered othe r peopl e,on the i r

march from west to east,they extended th i s des i gna t i on

to them ,as a s i gn both of conqu est and of d i fferen ce of

b lood . A t fi rst the se Sudra s mu st have been of grea t

ass i s tance to the A ryan s and i n recogn i t i on of th i s,they

were not unwi l l i ng to adm i t them to thei r sac r ifices,a s

appears from the fo l lowi ng pas sage from th e S atapa tha

B rahmana , respect i ng the ca l l of th e sacrificers , I f th e

sacrificer be a B rahman , i t i s sa i d ehi , come ; i f he i s a

Va i sya , then i t i s agah i , come h i ther ; when a Raj a

bandhu , i t i s adrava , run h i th er ; wi th a Su dra,i t is

adrana ,run h i th er ” B u t when the A ryan s had ex

tended the i r conqu e sts and con soli da ted the i r power ,the o l d ant i pa thy between the “ whi te compl ex ion ”

and

the “ dark ski n rev ived,and th e Su dras were re l ega ted

to tha t hum i l ia t i ng pos i t i on i n wh ich we find them i n

Manu ’s t ime,when i t was enac ted , “ Let h im (a B rah

man) not give adv ice to a Su dra,nor wha t rema i n s from

h is tab l e ; nor c lar ified bu tte r of wh ich a pa rt has been

offered ; nor l et h im give s p i r i tua l cou n sel to su ch a man ;

nor i nform h im of the l ega l exp ia t i on for h i s sin . Su re ly

he who dec lares th e law to a serv i l e man, and he who

i n struc ts h im i n the mode of exp ia t ing s i n , s i nk s wi th

tha t very man i n to the he l l nam ed A sanznr ita .

” 1

A large number of the abo r i gi na l inhab i tants refu sed

to subm i t to th e Aryan s and fled , l i ke the Wel sh before

1 Manu,iv . , 80 , 8 1 .


1 82 T H E TEACH ING OP T H E V E D A s.

of governmen t . They t i l l the ground and supp ly th e neces

saries of l i fe ; and though the i r ca l l i ng i s humb l er than

tha t of the so ld i er,i t i s equa l ly importan t and neces sary .

Theywere Va isyas, or hou seholders , and one of the des igna

t ion s of the k i ng was Vispa ti,1 the l ord of the Vis. The

neces s i t i e s of soc ia l l i fe compel l ed th e Va i syas to d iv ide

themse lves i n to var i ous profes s i ons and hand ic ra fts .

Carpen ters and sm i th s were necessa ry to make agri

cu l tu ra l imp lemen ts ; mason s to bu i l d hou se s ; weavers

to weave c loth j ewel l ers to make ornamen ts ; merchan ts

to buy and se l l ; and phys ic ian s to a t tend the s i ck . Thu s

gradua l ly rose a ll the d iv i s i on s of the profes s i ona l and

art i san clas ses ; and -as each c la ss not on ly became a

sort of gu i l d to gua rd its own i n teres ts aga i n st every

other c la s s , bu t brought up i t s ch i l d ren i n the same

ca l l i n g,su ch ca l l i ng by degrees became exc lu s ive , and

i t s fol l owers a ca s te .

Con tempo raneou s ly wi th these c las se s , and at fi rs t im

percept i b ly , there grew up another cla s s , the B rahman i ca l

or Pr ie s t ly,dest i ned to a s sume the most awfu l prerogat ives

,

and to exerc i se the most tyrann ica l powers w i th i n th e reach

of man . A t the dawn of h i story , acces s to the god s by

prayer and sacr ifice was the undou bted pr iv i l ege of every

A ryan wi thou t d i st i n ct i on . The fa ther was probably the

fi rs t or foreman,who con du cted the worsh i p

of the fam i ly,and a fter th i s mode l Agni wa s con s t i tu ted

the P a r/zo/zita of the god s . The poet , however , occu p i ed

a pos i t i on so exa l ted from th e ear l i e s t t imes , as to cau se

1 L i thuanian W ié z pat is .

T H E A NTH R OPOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S .

even k i ngs to covet the h igh honou r of bei ng R ajar is/zis,or roya l bard s . N o wonder

,for he i n sp i red the nat i on

wi th odes i n honou r of th e god s ; he prayed for v ic tory

i n the day of ba tt l e,for ra i n i n the t ime of drought

,and

for a ll b l e ss i ngs to the fr i end s of I nd ra ! H is prayer

was apparen t ly an swered . A v ic tory wa s won,or a great

d rough t was removed by abundance of refresh i ng showers .

Then came the war song and th e hymn of pra i s e,D i d

not I nd ra preserve Sudas i n the ba tt l e of th e ten k ings

through you r prayer,O V a sish tas

” 1 “ Thi s prayer of

V isvam itra,of one who h as pra i sed heaven

,and ea rth

,

and I n d ra , preserve s the peop l e of the Bha ra ta s ” 2

The R i sh i D evap i , son of R ish t ishena ,perform i ng the

sacr ifice,and sk i l l ed i n ce l eb ra t i n g the god s

,has l et l oose

the showers of ra i n from th e u pper to the lower ocean .

The wa ters were shu t up by the gods i n the u pper ocean

when l et loose by D evapi , th ey were d i scharged on the

p la i ns .

3 The poet was na tu ra l ly e la ted , and soon began

to be l i eve that there mu s t be some connec t i on between

h i s u tterances and the b les s ings obta i ned . H is ch i l dren

were brought up in th e same profes s ion and in the same

bel i ef. I f not all poets them se lves , they cou l d trea su re

i n the i r memor i es the songs of the i r s i re s— the songs

that had accomp l i shed so much— and repea t them as

c i rcum stan ces requ i red . Occa s i ona l ly orig ina l poets arose ,then n ew songs were added to the l i tera tu re of th e

nat i on ; and a s th i s p rocess con t inued from age to age ,

i t re su l ted i n the p rodu ct i on of a l i tera tu re so enormou s

1 R .-V . ,

v i i . , 3 3 , 3 .

‘

1 Ibid. , i i i . , 53 , 1 2 .

3Ibid. ,

x . , 98 , 5, 6 .

1 84 T H E TEA CH ING OP T H E VEDA S .

as , i n th e absen ce of wr i t ing , to make i t absolu te ly neces

sary for a c la s s of men to devote them se lves en t i re ly to

i t s p reserva t i on and tran sm i ss i on . Add to th i s,tha t

,i n

th e cou r se of t ime , th e language of the Veda ceased to

be u n ders tood by the mu l t i tu de . The old San scr i t of

the A ryan s , hav i ng d ecayed and given b i rth to new

d ia l ects , lay bu r i ed in the hymn s . F rom tha t epoch

San scr i t became a sacred language , and the Veda a

sacred text , wh ich cou l d on ly be taught,

as wel l as

preserved,by a c las s of men set apa rt for the pu rpose .

Thu s or ig i na ted the R i sh i s or Seers,H ebrew roinz , a

C lass of men ha l f prophets and ha l f p r i est s , whose

funct i on i t was to teach,i n sp i re , and l ead th e peop l e .

I t i s not d i fficu l t to u nderstand how such men were

soon reverenced as the best and wi ses t,as th ose who

l i ved neare st to , and on the most fam i l iar terms wi th,

the gods . A p rayer , therefore , u ttered i n beha l f of

any one , or a sacr ifice performed by one of these

R i sh i s , mu st neces sar i ly be deemed more efficac i ou s than

i f u tte red or performed by the head of the fam i ly,or

by the i nd iv idua l h imse l f ; 1 and so the R i sh i gradua l ly

deve loped i n to a Purhoh ita and as power genera l ly grav i

ta te s to th e wisest,espec ia l ly in the ea r l i e s t stages of

soc i e ty,he was endowed wi th supreme powe r

,both pol i t ica l

and sp i r i tua l . Every ki ng m u s t have a Pu rhoh ita as h is

fr i end , cou n se l l or , and m in i s ter . F or “ breath does not

1 T h e fo l low ing sh ow th at th e R ish i and th e Priest or B rahman were ident ica l a t a very early age : R .

-V . , i. , 8 1 ; i . , 164 ,

3 5 ; i i , v .

, 40 , 8 ; i i . , 20 , 4 ; v i . , 2 1 , 8 ; i i . , x . , 95 ,

5 ; vn ., 28 , 2 ; v i i . , 70 , 5 ; i. , 1 77 , 5 .



have l ea rn t the Veda and repea t i t , th ey are human god s

(nzanns/zya/z dew li). And th i s sac r ifice i s twofol d ; ob la

t i on s for the gods,gi ft s for th e human god s , th e B rahman s

,

who have learn t the Veda and repea t i t . With ob la t i on s

he appeases the gods,wi th g i fts the human gods , the

B rahman s , who have l earn t the Veda and repea t i t . Both

god s , when th ey are p l eased, p lace h im i n b l i s s .

” 1

I t is ev iden t then (I ) Tha t there wa s no ca s te proper ly

so ca l l ed i n the Man tra,or o l dest per i od of the Veda ;

and (2) Tha t the fou r soc ia l d i s t i n ct i on s,wh ich subse

quen t ly deve loped i n to ca s te , were noth i ng more in that

ear ly age than fou r soc ia l ranks , wh ich orig ina ted i n th e

neces s i t i e s of soc ia l,pol i t ica l

,and re l i gi ou s l i fe .

I ndeed,the doctr i n e that or ig i na l ly there was bu t one

cas te , i s not a l together forgotten i n th e popu la r l egend s

of the caste-r i dden post-Ved ic age . I n the V ishnu Pu

rana , we read , I n the Krita ,or golden age , there were

no Cas tes , orders , var i et i es of cond i t i on , or m ixtu re of

ca s te s and i n the Bhagava ta Pu rana , that“ There

was former ly on ly on e Veda ,th e sacred monosy l lab l e

Om, the es sence of all speech ; on ly on e god , Narayana ,

on e Agn i (fi re), and one ca ste B hrigu ,i n the Ma

habharata ,says

,There i s no d i fferen ce of cas te s th i s

wor l d,hav i ng been at fi rst c rea ted by B rahma en t i re ly

B rahman ic , became afterward s sepa ra ted i n to ca ste s i n

con sequence of work s . Those B rahman s (l i t . twice-born

men)who were fond of sen sua l p l ea su re s , fiery,i rasc i b le

,

prone to v io l ence , who had forsaken the i r du ty , and were

1 Chipsfrom a German Workshop, vo l. i i . , p . 3 3 7.

T H E A NTH R OPO LOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 1 87

red-l imbed fe l l i n to th e cond i t ion of Ksha t r iya s . Those

B rahman s who der ived thei r l i ve l i hood from k i ne,who

were ye l l ow,who subs i s ted by agricu l tu re , and who

neglected to prac t i se the i r du t i e s , en tered i n to .th e sta te

of Va i sya s . Those B rahman s who were add ic ted to

m i sch i ef,fa l sehood , who were covetou s , who l ived by a ll

k i nd s of work,who were b lack and h ad fa l l en from

pu r i ty , sank i n to th e cond i t i on of Sudras . B e i ng sepa

rated from each other by these works,th e B rahman s

became d iv i ded i n to d i fferen t ca s tes .

CH A PT E R V

T H E SOT E R IOLOGY OF T H E VE DAS .

F ec ist i nos propte r te , e t inqu ietum e st cor nostrumdonec requ ie scat in t e .

— A UGU ST I N E .

T H E term “ Soter io l ogy is u sed i n th i s chapter to

denote a ll the mean s emp loyed by the Ved i c A ryan s to

p l ease the gods and to obta i n happ in es s,both i n th i s

worl d,and i n the wor l d to come .

I . P rayer and P ra ise.

A s far back as we can t race the l i fe of man,we find

the r iver of prayer and pra i s e flowing as na tu ra l ly as i t

is flowing now . We cannot fi nd its begi n n i ng becau se

we cannot find th e beg inn i ng of th e sou l . ” 1 I t is no

exaggera t i on to s ta te tha t no na t i on appea rs at th e dawn

of h i story so fu l l of p rayer and pra ise as th e H i n du

A ryan s . The ir sacred hymn s are ca l l ed Sahtas, Lau da

t i on s and “sacr ifices of the hea rt sweeter than bu tter

and honey to I n dra Yea ,

“ th ey are even ‘

as oxen ,

bu l l s and cow s to Agn i 3 “ The lov i ng pra ises of h is

1 J ohnson’

s Orienta l R eligions, vo l. i. , p . 90 .

R .-V . , v i i i . , 24 , 20 .

3 Ibid .,v i . ,



gods wou l d accept them , for wi thou t fa i th (sradd/za)offer i ngs and p rayers are va i n .

1

Prayer and pra i se are th e spontaneou s expre s s i on of

the fee l i ngs of dependence u pon , and mora l re la t i on sh i p

to, God. The fee l i ng of dependen ce upon some one ,

h i gher and grea te r than h imse l f, na tu ra l ly l ead s man to

pray for the he lp wh ich he needs , and to render thanks

giv i ngs and pra i s e for i t when rece ived . An d the feel i n g

of mora l re la t i on sh i p to God,i n vo lv i n g as i t does th e

con sc i ou sness of sin,na tu ra l ly l eads h im to cry for

pardon and reconc i l ia t i on .

Sacr ifice (Ya/no) is the sou l of Veda . I t i s o l der than

the hymn s , for th ey were composed for i ts ce l ebra t ion .

“ Vi shnu and I ndra made the spac i ou s worl d for the sake

of sacrifice .

” 2 And the “ Lord of crea tu res i n i t ia ted

sacr ifice i n th e begi nn i ng as the mean s by wh ich he

crea ted the un iverse ! The fi rs t act performed by Man u

on h i s descen t from the ark,after the de luge

,was to offer

sacr ifice .

“ Sac rifice i s the axl e of th e worl d’s whee l and

th e fecu nda t ing power of all th i ngs .

” 3 I t i s e terna l and

un iversa l,offered by gods a s wel l as by men .

4

We observe,h owever

,tha t th e sacr ifi ces of th e ear l i es t

Ved ic r i tua l were very mu ch s imp l e r than tho se of the

later ceremon ia l . With the r i se and growth of the

pr i es thood,sac r ifice was deve loped to su ch an exten t as

1 R .-V . , x. , 1 5 1 ; i i . , 26 , 3 Ibid. , v i i . , 99 , 4 .

3 Ibid. ,i. , 164 , 34 , 5.

4 Ibid ., 82 , 90 ,

1 30 .

T H E S OTER IOLOGY OF T H E VE DA S . 1 9 1

to be con s i dered,not on ly the ch i ef mean s of prop i t ia tmg

and p l eas i n g the de i t i es , bu t the sou rce of gods , men,and

the u n iverse ! By sacr ifice the god s crea ted all th i ngs . 1

By sacrifice they became immorta l .2 By sac r ifice the

anc i en t F a thers,the fi rs t sacrificers, de l ivered the worl d

from chaos,gave b i rth to the sun ,

ki nd led th e s tars,and

became equa l to the greate st of the god s .

3 And by

sacr ifice the i r ch i ld ren are exa l ted to the same s phere of

immorta l i ty and b l es sednes s . “ Thou dost not per i sh,

O sacrificer ! nor thou who offere st l i ba t i on s,nor thou

,

O god ly man !” 4 I nd ra chooses for h i s i n t ima te

fri en d the man who presen ts offer i ngs,bu t des i re s no

fr i endsh i p wi th h im who offers no l iba t i on s .

5 Those

who offer part icu la r sacr ifices “ become Agn i , Va runa ,or

I ndra ,and a tta i n to u n ion and to th e same spheres wi th

these god s re spect i ve ly “ S i n contam i na tes not , diffi

cu lt ies assa i l not ; ne i ther does d i s tress a t any t ime affl ic t

the morta l,to whose sac r ifice I ndra and Va ru na re pa i r .” 7

When th e sac r ific ia li

vict im was cons igned to the fi re,the fol l owi ng formu la was add ressed to i t

,

“ Thou art

th e annu lmen t of s i ns comm i t ted by th e god s . Thou art

the annu lmen t of s i n s comm i tted by the F ath e rs . Thou

art the annu lmen t of s i ns comm i tted by men . Thou art

th e annu lmen t of s i n s comm i t ted by ou rse lves . What

ever s i n s we have comm i t ted by day or by n igh t , thou

art the annu lmen t thereof. Wha tever s i n s we have

1 R .-V .

,x .

, 90 . Sat. B r.,x. , 43 , 1 , 8 .

3 R .-V . , x.

, 88 ; x.,1 3 5 , 1 54 .

4 Ibid. , v i i i . , 3 1 , 16 .

Ibid. ,x.

, 42 , 4 .

6 S a t . B r .,i i .

,6, 4 , 8 . R .

-V v i i .,82 , 7 .

1 92 T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VEDAS .

comm i t ted s l eep i ng or wakin g,thou art the annu lment

thereof. Wha tever s i n s we have comm i t ted knowi ng or

u nknowing,thou art the annu lmen t thereof. Thou art

the annu lmen t of s i n .

1

The most anc i en t d iv i s i on of sac rifice appea rs to have

been in to three c la sses : (1 ) H am'

s, H avir-yaj na ,[ sh ti ,

mea t offer i ngs (2) P asa , P asabana’ha ,

an ima l offer i ngs

and (3 ) Soma , Sannzva adhoara , soma offer ings . We

read i n the Panchav im sa B rahmana : H aniryaj nair , na z

a’

ena imam lakani aohyaj ayanz , anta ri/es/zanz pasamaa’

ah i/Z ,

sanza ir i .e.

,by mea t offer ings the god ly on es

conquered th i s world , by an ima l offer i ngs the m i dd le

region s,by soma O ffer i ngs tha t worl d , or th e h ighest

region s . To th is a fou rth c la s s , Paha -yaj na ,or l i tt l e

sacr ifices , ca l l ed a l so domes t ic offer i ngs (gryaharnza),be i ng pa rt ly mea t and part ly an ima l , was added . Manu

i s sa i d to have sacr ificed wi th a Pa/ea .

2 In Gau tama’

s

c lassificat ion ,

3 P dha-yajna is made the fi rst ch i ef d ivi s i on,

and P asnoand/za i s i n c lu ded i n H aviryaj na . These three

c la sses have seven subd i v i s i on s i n each .

PAKAYA J N A S‘1 were ch i efly offer i ngs of cakes

,soup s

,

gra i n s,fru i t s

,bu t ter

,m i lk

,and hon ey .

°1 Tandya B r. S at. B r. ,i.,8 , 1

, 7 .

3 v i i i 1 8, 20 .

‘1 T h ey conta in ,—A shtaka

,or sac r ifi c es on th e e igh th day

of th e four dark ha lves of th e w inter month s,from Oc tober

N ovembe r to J anuary-F ebruary ; Parvana, sac rifice s on th e

new and fu l l moon ; S riidha , funera l oblat ions ; S rc‘

ivani,A gra

hay ani , Sa itr i, and A svayagi , th e days of fu l l moon , from ju lyAugust , from N ovember-D ecember , from March-Apr i l , and

from S eptembe r-Oc tober . Under th i s h ead natura l ly fa l l th e



R .-V . ,

v i .,I7, 1 1

,Pu shan and Vi sh nu are i nvoked to

dre ss a hu ndred bu ffa l oe s (satanznza/zisharn) to I ndra ; and

i n another p lace the R i sh i Gritsamada exc la im s,

“ Agn i,

descendan t of Bhara ta , thou art en ti re ly ou rs , when

sacr ificed to wi th p regnan t k i n e,wi th barren cows

(raw ) or bu l l s I n the A tharva-Veda ,x i .

,

2, 9 ,we read , Th i ne , O Bhava ,

are th ese five v ict ims,

d iv i ded as cows , horses , men,goat s , and sheep

” The

same sacr ific ia l v ic t im s are men t i oned i n the A i t . B r. ,

book i i .2

S OM AYAjN A s3 derived the i r name from the i n toxi cat i ng

j u ice of the Soma p lant , wh i ch formed the i r ch i ef sub

stance . They were , however , accompan i ed wi th meat

and an ima l o ffer i ngs ; and so corresponded to the mea t

and dr i nk offer i ngs of the jews . Soznayaj nas las t i n g one

day were ca l l ed E /ea/zas , and th ose last i ng more than

one day A hinas . When they las ted more than twe lve

days they were Sa l i ras, or sess i on s . There were Sattras

which lasted severa l month s , a whol e yea r,and even

severa l yea rs ; i n theory th ere were some that la s ted a

thou sand years . B u t,whether short or l ong , the Soma

ceremon i es requ i red e laborate prepara t i on,and en ta i l ed

mu ch expense . N otwi th stand ing , th ey seem to have

1 R .-V .

,i i .

, 7 , 5 .

2 H aug ,vol. i. , 8 .

3 Th ese , conta in ing A gnishtoma ,A ty agnishtoma , Ukthya , S hod

asin, Vajapeya ,

A tiratra,and Aptoryama , are a ll different forms

of th e Somayajna ; varying in th e number of v ict ims sacrificed,but ch i efly in th e numbe r of stomas , or pra ises offered to th ede i t ie s .

T H E S OTER IOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . 1 95

been very frequen t at one t ime ; a thou sand,and even

ten thou sands, are spoken of i n th e Veda .

1

Though Gau tama’s c la ss ificat i on of the Ved ic sacr ifi ces

i s th e s imp l es t and commonest , i t fa i l s , equa l ly wi th a ll

other c las s ifica t i on s,to gi ve an adequa te i dea of the i r

number and comp lex i ty : e.g .,bes i des the seven u sua l ly

men t i oned a s con st i tu t i n g th e S enzayaj nas, there are

others far more cost ly , and las t i n g many days , su ch as

the R aj asaya ,the con secra t i on of a un i versa l k i n g

,the

the sacr ifice of a horse , th e P arns/zanzia’ha

th e sacr ifice of a man,and th e Sarname

'

a’

ha,the “

a ll

sacr ifice I ndeed,i t i s ca l cu la ted

,tha t i f all the va r i e

t i es spec ified in the texts were reckoned up , they wou l d

amou n t to more than a thou san d

The three c las se s of sac r ifices are ca l l ed the th r ice

seven myst ic r i tes compri s ed i n Agn i , becau se wi thou t

Agn i (fi re) th ey cou l d not be cel ebrated .

2 F or th e per

formance of the fi rs t , one S raa z‘a fi re , the Gar/zapa tva ;

was suffic i en t,bu t for th e la s t two

,th ree S ranta fi res

,

the Gar/zapatya , A hananiya ,and D ahsh ina ,

were neces

sa ry . The las t two S raa ta fi res were k i nd l ed from the

fi rst . These th ree fi res are a l luded to in R .-V . , i i . , 3 6 , 4 ,

B r i ng the god s h i ther,sage

,and offer sacr ifice : at the

th ree a l tars sea t thee wi l l ingly,O pr i es t

Th e h igh ant i qu i ty of the Soma cu l tu s is a ttes ted by

the references to i t in th e I ran ian Zend-Aves ta . The

hao/na of the Zend-Avesta is e tymo logi ca l ly the same as

the Soni a of the Veda . Both are from the root sn,

1 R .-V . , i. , 3 0, 2 ; i i i . , Ibid . , 72 , 6 ; i . , 2 ; iv .

,12 . 1 .

1 96 T H E TEA CH ING OP T H E VEDA S .

Zen d ha ,wh ich s i gn ifies “ to beget , and “ to drop

,or

“ to pres s ou t j u i ce thu s show ing that Soma-sacrifice

was preva l en t before the sepa ra t i on of the H i n du A ryan s

from the i r breth ren,th e I ran ian s . I t s eem s , however ,

to have rece ived a new impu l se on the I nd ian terr i tory,

as the hymn s of the Veda , e spec ia l ly those of the n i n th

book of the R i g , exh i b i t i t in a remarkab l e sta te of

developm en t . There Soma is addressed as a god i n the

h ighest stra i n s of venerat i on ; a ll d i v i ne powers be long

to h im,a ll b l e s s i n gs are h i s to bestow .

“ We have dru nk

the Soma,we have become immorta l , we have en tered

into l i ght,we have known the god s . Wha t can an

enemy now do to u s, or wha t can the ma l ice of an}

morta l e ffect , 0 thou immorta l god” 1

I n common wi th the Scyth ian s ,2 the A snaméa’

ha , or

horse-sacrifice, was a very anc i en t r i te among the H i n du

A ryan s,hymn s 1 62 and 1 63 of the fi rst Manda la of

the R i g-Veda be i ng u sed at its ce l ebra t i on . I t was

regarded as th e ch i ef of an ima l sac r ifices ; and,i n later

t imes,i t s efficacy was so exaggerated

,tha t a hundred

horse-sacrifices were supposed to en t i t l e the sacrificer to

d i sp lace even I ndra from h is th rone i n heaven

Accord i ng to R .

-V .

,i 1 62

,the sacr ifice of a horse was

preceded by tha t of a goa t to Pu shan .

“When th ey (the

Pri ests) l ead before th e horse , wh ich i s decked with pu re

gol d ornamen ts,the Offer i ng fi rm ly gra sped , the spotted

goa t,b l ea ts wh i le wa l k i n g onwa rd ; i t goe s the path

bel oved by I ndra and Pu shan . Th i s goat,des t i ned for

1 R .-V . , v i i i . , 48 , 3 . H e rod . , iv . , 7 1 .



of thy l imbs wh ich I have sea sonab ly prepared,I sac r i

fice i n the fi re a s bu l l s O ffered to the gods . M ay no

greedy and u n ski l fu l immolator,m i ss i ng wi th th e sword

,

throw thy mangl ed l imbs together . I ndeed,thou d iest

not thu s , thou su ffere st not ; thou goes t to the god s on

ea sy pa th s .

When th e horse was t i ed to th e sacr ific ia l post,the

bystanders prayed tha t the ha l ter and hee l ropes of the

nob l e an ima l , th e head ropes ,the gi rth s and any other

requ i s i te,th e gra s s tha t was pu t i n to h is mou th , wha t

ever the fl i e s may have ea ten of h i s raw flesh,wha tever

wa s smea red on the bru sh or the axe , or th e hand s o r

na i ls of th e immola tor ; the p lace of going forth , of

tarry i ng , of ro l l i n g on the grou nd the wa te r tha t he h ad

drunk,the gra s s tha t he had ea ten

,m i gh t a ll be w i th

h im among the god s . Then the roast ing and cook i ng

of h is flesh are m i nu te ly descr i bed ; and every b i t of

h im,ev en to the sma l l est tha t m ight have fa l l en from

th e sp i t,mu s t be given to th e longi ng gods . And the

whol e ceremony ends wi th the pet i t i on ,“ M ay th i s

horse give u s ca tt l e and horses, men,progeny

,and all

su sta in i ng wea l th . M ay i t keep u s from s in ; may th e

horse of th i s sac r ifice give u s strength .

Though human sacr ifices were known du r ing th e M an

t ras,or o l de st hymn s of th e Veda

,th e ev i dence is too scan ty

for u s to conclude that they were common . The n inet i eth

hymn of th e tenth Manda la of th e R .

-V . i n wh ich P a r

ns/za ,th e p r imeva l ma l e

,is descr i bed as cu t to p i eces

and offered as a sacr ifice by the god s , shows tha t the i dea

of offer i n g a man,F ar asha , wa s fam i l iar to the an ci en t

T H E soT E R IOLOGY OF T H E VED A S . 199

Aryan s . I t i s true that P a ras/2a ,i n th e hymn

,i s an

imagi na ry be i ng ; bu t the descr ip t i on of h i s immola t i on

i s so rea l and m i nu te,as to j u s t i fy the conc lus i on tha t

i t was taken from th e wel l-known manner i n wh ich

human be i ngs were sac r ificed .

“ The god s immola ted

h im on the sacr ific ia l gra s s they bound h im,doubtl e s s

,

to the pos t (y apa ) seven p i eces of wood were la i d for

h im roun d the fi re,

and “ th r i ce seven p i eces of fue l

were emp l oyed The same i dea u nder l i es the immola

t ion of Prajapa t i,who offered h im se l f a sacr ifice for th e

devas or god s and of V isvakarman,who offered h imse lf a

sacr ifice to h im se l f. I n R .

-V .

,v i i .

,19, 4 ,

we read,

“ Thou

(I n dra) has t d e stroyed , a l o ng wi th the Maru ts,numerou s

enem i es a t th e sacr ifi ce to the gods ; , thou ha s t pu t to

s l eep wi th thy thunderbol t the D asyus, Chanzar i , and

D hnni,on beha l f of D ab/ziti There seem s to be an

a l lu s i on here to the prac t i ce of sacr ifi c i ng the enem i e s

of the A ryan s to the god s ; l i ke th e th ree hundred c i t i

z en s of Peru sia,whom Augu stu s sac r ificed i n one day to

h i s de ified u n c l e (D ino j nlio) or th e Grec ian naviga tors ,whom the barbar ian s of Tau r i s offered to Ar tem i s when

ever cas t upon the i r sea-shore s .

S unasepha , the son of Ajigarta ,i s th e au thor of the

twen ty-fou rth and s i x fo l l owi ng hymn s i n th e fi rst

Manda la of th e R i g—Veda . Pra i s i ng Va runa i n th e

twenty-fou rth hymn,he prays

,

“ I imp l ore thee for tha t

(l i fe)1 wh ich the i n st i tu tor of th e sac r ifi ce so l i c i ts with

1 T h e text h as on ly,

“ I ask th at th e S ch o l iast supp l ie sl i fe , taday ns. T h e addi t ion m igh t be d ispu ted, but its pro


ob la t i ons,Varuna

,undisdainfu l

,bestow a thought upon

u s ; mu ch lau ded,take not away our l i fe . Th i s (thy

pra i s e) they repeat to me by n ight and by day ; th i s

knowledge speaks to my heart . M ay he whom the

fettered S unasepha has i nvoked, may th e rega l Varuna

set u s free . S unasepha , se i z ed and bound to the

three-footed tree,h as invoked th e son of Ad i t i . M ay

the rega l Va runa,wise and i rres i s t i b l e

,l i bera te h im ;

may he l et loose h i s bonds H ere S unasepha re

presen ts h im sel f as se i z ed and bound to the three

footed tree,

” wh ich is sa i d to be the sacr ific ia l post,a

sort of tr i pod . H e p rays tha t Va runa may set h im

free,

”and “ tha t h i s l i fe may not be taken away ”

There i s reference to the same c i rcum stance i n R .

-V,

v . ,2, 7 ,

“ O Agn i,thou hast re l eased the bou nd Suna

sepha from the pa l e, for he had prayed thu s take from

u s,too

,th ese ropes

,O sagac i ou s H ota r , after thou hast

sett l ed here ” . Looki ng a t these passages a l one,perhap s

we are not j u st ified i n conc lu d i ng tha t S unasepha was

bou nd as a v i ct im to be sac r ificed . H is “ bond s and

ropes ” may be taken i n a figu ra t ive sen se,denot i ng

the fette rs of s i n,espec ia l ly as we have seen before tha t

s i n is often compared to a“ bond

,or a

“ rope,i n the

Veda ; and,indeed

,i t i s so compared i n the la s t verse

of th is very hymn . We are not,however

,l eft i n un

certa i n ty . The A itaréya B rahmana of the R .

-V . supp l i e s

fu l l par t icu la rs of the c i rcum s tances referred to i n the

priety is confi rmed by th e conc luding expre ss ion ,ma na ay ah

pra ni osheh , do not ta ke away ou r l ife (Prof. W i lson’

s R ig

V eda ,vo l . i. , p .



" I’

rave l Roh i ta t rave l led fou r years more,com ing

home at the end of each yea r,and sen t back aga i n by

I ndra i n the form of a B rahman . Du r i n g th e s ixth year

of h i s soj ou rn,he met a sta rv i ng R i sh i

,Ajigarta , the son

of S uyavasa , who h ad th ree son s , the second of whom

was S unasepha . Roh i ta sa i d to h im,

R i sh i,I g ive

you a hundred cows , I ran som myse l f w ith one of these

thy son s The fa ther,poi n t i ng to the e l des t

,sa i d ,

Not h im Nor h im,

sa i d the mother,embrac i n g

the you nges t . And the paren ts barga i n ed to g ive Suna

seph a , th e m i dd l e son . Roh i ta gave a hu ndred cows to

Ajigarta , took S unaseph a ,and went from the forest to the

v i l lage . Address i ng h is fa ther,he sa i d

,F ather

,Dea th l

I ran som myse l f by h im The fa ther wen t to Va ru na

and sa i d,

“ I sha l l sac r ifice th i s man to you'

Va runa

sa i d,

“ Yes,for a B rahman is bette r than a Kshatr iya

,

and commanded h im to perform a R ajasfiya sacr ifice .

H arichandra took S unasepha to be the v i ct im for the daywhen the Soma was offered to the god s .

V isamitra was h is H otr i pr i e s t , J amadagn i h is A ct/z

oaryn pri est, V asish th a the B rahman,Ayasya the Udga z

‘

r z

pr i est . When S unasepha had been prepared , they

found nobody to b i n d h im to th e sacr ifi c ia l post . A nd

Ajigarta ,the son of S uyavasa sa i d

,G i ve me another

hu ndred,and I sha l l b i n d h im They gave h im anoth er

hu ndred,and he bound h im . When he h ad been pre

pa red and bound,when th e Apr i hymn had been su ng ,

and he h ad been l ed rou nd the fi re , they found nobody

to k i l l h im . And Ajigarta ,the son of S uyavasa ,

sa i d ,“ G i ve me another hundred

,and I sha l l k i l l h im ”

. They

T H E S OTER IOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . 203

gave h im another hundred,and he came whett ing h is

sword . Then S unasepha though t ,“ They W l ll rea l ly

k i l l me ,as i f I were not a man

”. Dea th I sha l l p ray

to the god s . H e went wi th a hymn to Prajapa t i (Lord

of crea tu res), th e fi rs t of th e gods . Prajapa t i sa i d to

h im,

“ Agn i (fi re) is the n earest of god s , go to h im

H e went wi th a hymn to Agn i,and Agn i sa i d to h im

Sav i tr i (th e p rogen i tor) ru l es a ll crea tu re s ,go to h im

H e went wi th a hymn to Sav i tr i,and Sav i t r i sa i d to

h im “ Thou art bound for Va ru na,the k i ng

,go to

h im H e went wi th a hymn to Varuna,the k i ng

, and

Va runa sa i d to h im ,

“ Agn i i s th e mou th Of the gods,

the k i n des t god ; pra i se h im , and we sha l l set thee free ”

Thu s he pra i sed Agn i,and Agn i said

/

to h im,

“ Pra i s e

the Vi sve D evah . and we sha l l se t thee free Thu s he

p ra i sed the Vi sve D evah,and they sa i d to h im

,I nd ra

is the greates t,m i ght i est

,s trongest

,and fr i end l i es t of

the god s ; p ra i se h im ,and we sha l l se t thee free Th u s

he pra i sed Indra,and I n dra wa s p l eased and sa i d to

h im,

“ Pra i se th e Asv i n s,and we sha l l set th ee free ” .

Thu s he pra i sed th e A sv i n s , and they sa i d to h im

Pra i se U sha s (dawn), and we sha l l set thee free

Thu s h e pra i sed U shas wi th three verses . Whi l e each

verse was u ttered ,h i s fette rs were l oosed

,and H a r i

chandra grew better ; and when th e la s t verse wa s sa i d ,a ll h is fe tters were loosed , and H arich andra wa s wel l

aga i n .

The A itaréya B rahmana goe s on to sta te tha t the

pr i ests a sked S unasepha to perform the sacr ifice of th e

day ,wh ich he d id ; and when the sacr ifice had been


performed , S unasepha sat down on the lap of V isva

m i tra . Ajigarta then sa i d , R i sh i,give me back my son

V isvam itra sa i d , No ; for the gods have given h im to

me S unasepha became D evarata (Theodotu s), th e

son of V isvam itra ; and th e members of the fam i l i es of

Kap i la and B abh ru became h i s re la t i on s . Ajigarta sa i d ,Come thou , O son

,we

,both I and thy mother

,ca l l

thee away . Thou art by b i rth an A ngirasa ,th e son of

Ajigarta , cel ebra ted as a poet . 0 R i sh i,go not away

from the l i n e of thy grandfa th er ; come back to me .

S unasepha rep l i ed ,“ They have seen thee w ith a kn i fe

i n thy hand,a th i ng tha t men have never fou nd even

amongst Sudras ; thou has t taken the hu ndred cows for

me,O A ngiras l

”Ajigarta sa i d , My ol d son ,

i t gr i eves

me for the wrong tha t I have done thee ; I th row i t away ;may these hu ndred cows bel ong to thee S unasepha

rep l i ed,

“Who once comm i t s a s i n , wi l l comm i t a l so

another s i n ; thou wi l t not absta i n from the ways of

Sudra s ; wha t thou ha st comm i tted cannot be redressed

V isvam itra th en sa i d , “ D readfu l stood the son of S uyavasa when he wen t to k i l l w i th h i s kn i fe . B e not h is

son ; come and be my son . S unasepha sa i d ,“ Tel l u s

thyse l f,0 Son of a K i n g , thu s as thou art known to u s

,

how I,who am an A ngirasa ,

sha l l become thy son ”.

V isvamitra re p l i ed ,“ Thou sha l t be the e ldest of my

son s,thy offspr i n g sha l l be the fi rs t

,thou sha l t rece ive

the her i tage wh ich the god s have gi ven me , thus I

addres s thee ”. S unasepha rep l i ed ,

“ M ay the leader

of the Bhara ta s say so i n the presence of h is agree i ng

sons,for fri end sh ip

’s and happ i ne ss’ sake

,that I sha l l



pr i nce cou l d make the offer of buy ing the i r ch i l d ren,bu t

where the fa ther offered h im se l f to b i nd and k i l l the son,

whom he had sol d for a hu nd red cows . Th i s was a case

so s ta rt l i ng to the la ter B rahman s,tha t th e au th or of the

Laws of M ann was ob l iged to a l lu de to i t,i n order to

defend the d i gn i ty Of h i s ca ste . Manu says tha t hunger

is an excu se for many th i ngs,and tha t Ajigarta , a l though

he wen t to k i l l h is own son, was not gu i l ty of a c r ime ,

becau se he d i d so to appea se h is hu nger . N ow the

au thor of the A itaréya B rahmana certa in ly does not

adopt th i s v i ew , for Ajigarta is there severe ly abused for

h i s c rue l ty ; so mu ch so , that h i s son ,whom he has sol d ,

con s i ders h im se l f a t l i berty to l eave the fam i ly of h is

parents , and to accept the offer made by V isvam itra of

be i ng adopted i n to h is fam i ly . So revo l t i ng,i n deed

, is

the descr i pt ion gi ven of Ajigarta’

s behav iou r i n the B rah

mana,tha t we shou l d ra th er recogn i se i n h im a spec imen

of the un-A ryan popu la t i on of I n d ia . Such a su ppos i

t i on,however

,wou l d be i n con trad ict i on wi th severa l of

th e most essen t ia l po i nt s of the l egend,part icu la r ly i n

wha t regard s the adopt i on of S unaseph a by V isvam itra .

V isvam itra , though arr i ved at the d i gn i ty of a B rahman,

c l ear ly con s i ders the adopt i on of S unasepha D evarata ,

of the famou s B rahman ic fam i ly of the A ngirasas , as an

advantage for h imsel f,and for h is descendan ts ; and the

D evara tas are indeed men t i oned as a famou s branch of

the V isvam itras . S unaseph a is made h is e l de st son ,

and the l eader of h is brothers ,ev id en t ly as the defender

and voucher of thei r B rahmanhood,whi ch mu st have

been then of very recent date,becau se V isvam itra h im

T H E S OTER IOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 207

se l f is st i l l addressed by S una sepha as R aj a pa tra and

B hara ta 1

Max Mul l e r doubts the exi stence of human sacr ifices

du ring the Chhandas or o l dest Ved ic per i od , bu t sees no

reason to dou bt i ts prev iou s ex i s ten ce .

2 Con s i der i ng ,however

,tha t the fu l l est and c l earest a ccoun t of th i s

prac t ice i s found i n th e B rahmanas,and that du r ing the

B rahmana per i od sacerdota l i sm reached i ts z en i th,i t i s

natu ra l to suppose tha t the p ract i ce became more com

mon after the Chhandas per i od . I t is repeat ed ly sta ted

i n the B rahmanas,sarnanz

,sarr'anz pa ras/zanzea

’ha sa roa

syap t ra i sarnasyaoa rna’cl/zya i .

“ A l l,a ll is the human sacr i

fice for the Obta i n i ng of a ll , for th e ga i n i n g of all.” By

mean s of i t the sacrificer obta i n s a ll .” 3 Pu ru sha Narayana

su rpa ssed a ll th ings,and became a ll th i n gs by sacr ifi c i n g

wi th the Puru shamedha . N o wonder then,tha t i t i s sa i d

,

P aras/co hi pra i/za /na pasananz. M an is,indeed

,the fi rst

of the sac r ific ia l v ict ims .

” 4 I ndeed,so rea l was th e prac

t ice that even the name of the man who ce l ebrated th e r i te

fo r the la s t t ime h as been preserved . Accord i ng to th e

1 In th e Kath a Upan i sh ad, a fath er is int rodu ced as offer inga S arvamedh a , or

“A l l-sacrifice ,

”wh en a ll th at a man

posse ssed is supposed to be given up . H e,h oweve r

, neg

lec ted to offer h is son,and

,strange to say , th e son taunted

h im for not h av ing fu lfi l led h is vow . Th e reupon th e fath er .

th ough exc eedingly angry , and aga inst h is w i l l,offered up

h is son .

2 H ist. S ans. L it. , pp . 4 19 , 20 .

3 S . B r .,x i i i .

, 6 , 1 , 6, 1, 12 .

4 S . P . B r .

,v i i 2 ,

1,18 .


Sa tapatha B rahmana , Cyaparna Sayakayana was the last

who con secra ted th e erec t i on of the a l ta r by th e immo

la t ion of a human v i ct im .

1

When S unasepha , bound to the sacr ific ia l post , saw

h i s fa ther com i ng and whett i ng h i s kn i fe to str ike h im ,

he exc la imed,They wi l l rea l ly k i l l me

,as i f I were not

( 7)a man Th i s seems to i nd i ca te,tha t the cu s tom of offer

i ng men ,or at any ra te B rahman s

, was fa l l i ng to desu etude

at the t ime . Accord i ng to the S atapatha B rahmana , xi i i . ,6,6,1,there was a typ i ca l Puru shamedha , i n wh ich

ceremony one hu ndred and e igh ty-five human v i ct im s of

var iou s tr i be s,cha racters and profes s i on s

,were bound

to e l even y apas or post s , and after th e Pu ru sha S ukta had

been u ttered over them,and the sacred fi re had been carr i ed

rou nd them,th ey were l i bera ted u nhu rt

,and ob lat ion s of

bu tte r offered on th e sacr ifi c ia l fi re i n the i r s tead . Perhap s

th i s cu stom was begi nn i n g to preva i l i n th e t ime of Suna

sepha ,and hence h i s exc lama t i on

,They wi l l rea l ly

k i l l me ,as i f I were not a man 1 Th i s rece i ves cor

robora t i on from the ch ronol ogi ca l order of A ryan sacr i

fices , as gi ven i n the fo l l owi ng passage of the A itaréya

B rahmana,

“ The god s k i l l ed a man for thei r v i ct im .

B u t from h im thu s k i l l ed,th e part wh i ch was fi t for a

sacr ifice went ou t and entered a horse . Thence the

horse became an an ima l fi t for be i ng sacr ificed . The

gods then k i l l ed th e horse , bu t the part fi t for be i ng

sacr ificed wen t ou t of i t and en tered an ox . The gods

then k i l l ed th e ox , bu t the part fi t for be i ng sac r i fi ced

1 B arth ’

s R eligions of India , p . 58 .


210 T H E TEACH IN G OF T H E VE DAS .

a dora t i on addressed to the gods exa l t th ee .

” 1 “ M ay

th e l i bera l man ever be prosperou s , who prop i t iate s

th ee w i th con stan t ob la t i on s and pra i s es ; may a ll the

days i n h i s arduou s l i fe b e p rospe rou s , and may th i s

h i s sacr ifice be produc t i ve of reward .

” 2

A l l other na t i on s sac r ifi ced for the same pu rpose .

H erodotu s says tha t th e Egypt ians be l i eved tha t th e

pu b l ic or pr iva te ca lam i t i es,whi ch m i gh t be impend i ng ,

were a rres ted by be i ng “ tu rned u pon the head ” of the

vic t im sacrificed .

3 The Ke l ts con s i dered tha t the favou r

of the gods cou l d not be secu red un l es s th e l i fe of one

man were offered up for tha t of another. The sacr ifice of

Innocen t ch i l dren or pu re v i rgin s was h i gh ly es teemed

by the Greeks,as th e be st mean s of avert i ng ca lam i ty at

home,and of carry i ng i t abroad among enem i es . F eb

ruary is deri ved from an O ld Roman word, F earna , wh ich

was a genera l term for sacr ifices and ceremon i es per

formed at th e c l o se of the year . F ebrua ry was th e last

mon th i n th e anci en t Roman year,i n wh ich i t was

hel d an essen t ia l pa rt of fi l ia l du ty to make a tonemen t

on beha l f of ou r paren ts , by a sacr ifice of the grea tes t

va lu e Profes sor H . H . Wil son says tha t the not ion of

prop i t ia t i n g some d i v in i ty by offer i ng to h im what was

most prec i ou s to the sacrificer, was wide ly d i ffu sed

1 R .-V .

, iv . , 3 , 1 5.

2 Ibid.,iv . , 4 , 7.

3 One of th e c u rses put on it s h ead was th is :If any ev i l is th reaten ingT o th e sac rificer

, or to a ll E gypt ,May i t be pu t on th i s h ead

”

.

T H E S OTER IOLOGY OF T H E VEDA S . 2 1 1

th roughou t th e worl d i n o l d t imes ,a s was a l so the

prac t ice of the i n d iv i dua l p ledging h imse l f to ac t by a

sol emn prom i se or vow . We m i gh t i n fer ,” he p roceed s,

“ tha t the pract ice was not u nknown to th e pa t r iarcha l

era,from the condu c t of Abraham when commanded to

offer up h i s son ; for a l though he wou l d not under anyc i rcumstances have hes i ta ted to obey the d iv i n e com

mand , yet he m igh t , con s i sten t ly wi th h is obedi ence,

have expres sed some su rpr i se a t the i nj unc t i on , had the

pu rport of i t been whol ly u n fam i l ia r . A t a later da te,

i n the J ewi sh h i story,we have a s im i la r sort of sa cr ifice

,

u nder a sol emn prev iou s engagemen t in the vow of

J eph tha ; and i t is worthy of remark,tha t one of the

cau ses ass igned by the Greek wri te rs to the deten t i on

of th e fleet a t Au l i s , and consequ en t sacr ifice of I ph i gen ia ,

was Agamemnon’

s v i o la t i on of the vow wh ich he had

made to offer to D iana the mos t l ove ly th ing wh ich

the yea r i n wh ich h is daughter was born shou l d produce .

I ph igen ia was tha t th i ng , and th e sacr ifice was i n s i sted

on i n sa t i sfact i on of that vow . T h e offer ing of ch i l d ren

to Mo loch , subsequ ent ly borrowed by th e j ews from

the i r i do la trou s n e ighbou rs,origina ted probab ly i n a

s im i la r fee l i n g,wh ich , i t is ev i den t , exerc i sed a very

exten s i ve i nfluence over the na t i on s of West As ia i n

remote an t i qu i ty ; and ,as appear s from the story of

S unasepha ,was not confined to tha t qua rte r , bu t h ad

reached the oppos i te l im i ts of As ia a t a per iod a t least

p r ior by ten or twe lve cen tu r i e s to the Chr i st ian era .

1

1 E ssay s on the R eligions of the H indus, pp . 266 , 267 .

2 1 2 T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VEDA S .

There wa s no temp l e or sacred p lace set apart for the

performance of sac r ifice s i n the remote Ved ic age . They

were performed e i ther on th e domest ic hea rth , wh ich was

u sed for ord i na ry hou sehol d pu rposes , or in an enc l osu re

connected wi th the hou se , or in a spec ia l p lace se l ected

for the pu rpose ; the d imen s i on and s i tua t i on of wh ich

changed accord i ng to th e na tu re and requ i remen ts of the

ceremon i es . Su ch a p lace was con secra ted for theob

servance of a pa rt icu lar r i te,and

,when the observance

of tha t r i te wa s at an end,i t ceased to be a sacred p lace .

I f u sed aga i n for th e same pu rpose , i t requ i red to be

consecra ted anew .

A l l Ved ic sacr ifices were e i th er perpetua l (niiya) or

occas i ona l (anitya). Perpetua l sacr ifice s were compu l

sory,i .e.

,mu s t be offered at s ta ted t imes

,or on the

occu rrence of certa i n even t s ; occas i ona l sacr ifices were

vo lunta ry, i .e. ,

m i gh t be performed,accord i ng to the wi l l

of the sacrificer,i n fu lfi lmen t of some vow

,or for th e

grat ifica t i on of some wi sh .

In th e R i g-Veda , we read tha t p rayers and l i bat i on s

were offered three t imes a day ; name ly ,morn i ng

,m id

day ,and noon .

1

S’

3 . T he S acrzfi cers .

O r ig i na l ly th e fa th er of a fam i ly wa s the pr i es t who

offered sacr ifice for h is own hou sehold,and hence was ,

and st i l l i s , ca l l ed Yaj anzana ,wh ich m ean s

,l i tera l ly

,th e

1 R .-V . , i i i . , 28 .



accord i ng to the ru l e s . The whol e number was on ly

wan ted for Soma sac r ifices . F or the Agn ihotra ,one

p r i e s t , an Adhvaryu , wa s su ffic i en t ; for th e D arsapurna

masa ,fou r pr i ests ; for the Chaturmasya ,

five ; for the

Pa subandh a,s ix ; and for th e A gn ish toma

,s ixteen . At

S at tra s ,wh ich was exc lu s i ve ly a pr i e st ’s sacr ifi ce

,th e

Yajamana h im se l f, i f a good B rahman,became one of

the R itvijs .

The du ty of the H otr z’

s (ca l l er s)was to rec i te loud ly and

d i st inct ly certa in hymn s of the R i g-Veda ,i n pra ise of

the de i t i es to whom any part icu lar act of the sacrificer

wa s addre ssed . Thei r du t i e s are m inu te ly recorded i n

the B rahmana s of th e B ahnr ic/zas , su ch as the Kau sh itaki,

and A itaréya B rahmanas . The Udga tr is (s ingers) sang

the hymn s wh ich form the col l ect i on of the Sama-Veda .

Thei r du t i es are p rescr i bed i n the B rahmanas of the

Khandogas . The A dhvaryus (person s of the ceremon i es)u ttered th e Mantras of the Yaj u r-Veda i n a l ow voice .

B es i des,to th em was ent ru s ted all th e hard manua l

labou r o f th e sac r ifice . They had to m ea su re th e

sacr ific ia l ground (yaj naahnnzi ), to bu i l d the a l tar (nedi),to prepare the sac r ific ia l imp l emen ts

,to fetch wood and

water,to l ight the fi re

,to br ing and immolate the

an ima l s,press the Soma

,and th row the obla t i on s i n to

th e fi re . They formed,a s i t wou l d seem , the l owest

c la s s of pri ests , and the i r acqu i remen t s were more of a

prac t ica l than of an i n te l l ec tua l cha rac ter . Some of the

offices wh ich wou l d na tu ra l ly fa l l to the l ot of the

A dhvaryu s were con s i dered so degrad i ng tha t other

person s bes i de s the pri ests were frequent ly emp l oyer! i n


them . The S am itri , for i n stance ,who h ad to s lay the

an ima l , was not a pr ie s t , he need not even be a B rahman,

and th e same app l i e s to the V a ikartas , th e bu tchers , and

the so-ca l l ed Charmasadhvaryu s (the ass i stan ts of the

A dhvaryu s). The number of hymn s and i nvoca t ions

wh i ch they had to u se a t th e sacr ifices was sma l l e r than

tha t of th e other p r i ests . These , however , they h ad to

l earn by heart . The B rahman was th e genera l con tro l l er

of th e sacr ific ia l performance . I n a s i tt i n g postu re he

had to watch ca refu l ly the three other c la s ses of pr i est s ,and to correc t any m i s take they m i gh t comm i t . H e was

therefore su pposed to know the whol e ceremon ia l , as wel l

as all the hymn s emp l oyed by the H otr i , Adhva ryu ,and

Udgatri . I t wa s on ly a t Somas tha t h e had to take an

act i ve pa rt , and th en i t was cu s tomary to el ec t another

super in tenden t , ca l l ed Sadasya ,cha i rman .

” 1

The fou r ch i ef p r i ests,and some of the i r ass i s tants, are

men t i oned in the R i g-Veda . I n Man da la i i . , I,2, Agn i

i s ca l l ed the H otr i,Adhvaryu

,and B rahman .

2 Aga i n , i n

R .-V .

,i ., 1 0

,1,we read

,

“ The s i ngers s i ng thee,sa ta

kra tu ,

2 the rec i ters of the R ichas p ra i s e thee , who art

worthy of pra i se,th e B rahman s ra i se thee a l oft , l i ke a

bamboo pol e”

. H ere th e s i ngers are not ca l l ed by the i r

techn ica l name of Udga tris, bu t Gaya trins , l i tera l ly those

who empl oy the Gayat r i -metre ; and the rec i ters are no t

1 M . M . , S ans. L it . , p . 47 1 .

S ee a l so R .-V . , i i i . , 3 5 , 10 ; x . ,

A name of Indra , mean ing h e to whom h undreds o f v ic t ims

are o ffered at a sac r ifi c e .

2 16 T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VE DA S .

des igna ted by the i r techn ica l name of H otri,bu t Ark i n s .

Thi s shows , however , tha t the Udgatri and H otr i pr i es t s

ex i s ted as funct i ona r i e s a t that ear ly t ime . M en t i on is

a lso made of “ R ich and Saman verses,

” 1and of “ the

hymn s ca l l ed the R i ch and Saman,the metres and the

Yaju sh thu s showing c l ear ly tha t the d iv i s ion of the

sacr ifice between the H otr i, Udgatri , Adhvaryu ,

and

B rahman , was fu l ly e stab l i sh ed before the comp l et i on of

the Sanh i ta,or co l l ec t i on s of the R i g-Vedas .

Every pr i est mu s t be whol e i n body,and b lame l e s s i n

l i fe . H e mu st be anyanyanga ,not hav i ng too few l imbs ;

anatirihtanga , not hav i ng too many l imbs ; doesa z‘

a,re

gu larly shaped ; anatihr is/zna , not be i ng too o l d ; and

ana tisneta , not be i ng too young . H e mu s t above a ll be

saa’

hncarana,a man who leads a proper l i fe .

3

The pri es t s , however , were con sc i ou s of many s i n s

and imperfect i on s i n them se lve s ; and hence , l i ke the

Lev i t ica l p r i es t s of o l d , h ad to offer prayers and sacr i

fices for the rem i ss i on of the same . Th i s th ey d i d

ch i efly at S at tras ,when a body of seventeen or twenty

fou r of them met together a t the ceremony,sacr ificed

for one another,and then so l emn ly con secra ted each

other afresh to the sacred serv ice of the gods .

I t appea rs tha t i n very ear ly t imes,th e A ryan sacr i

ficers i n I n d ia wore a cord (nzehala'

, rasana) at the

sacr ifices . Th i s th ey d id i n th ree ways ,correspond ing

1 R .-V . , x . , 7 1 , 1 1 ; v i i i . , 7 1 , 5 . Ibid. , x . , 90 , 9 .

3 Compare th e qua l ificat ions nec essary for th e L ev i t i ca l

pr iesth ood (Lev i t i cu s, xx i . , 1 7,


2 1 8 T H E TEA CH ING O F T H E VEDA S .

therefore , to su ppose tha t prayers and pra i s es are a lone

the resu l t of the fee l i ng of dependence u pon God , and

sacr ifices a lone the resu l t of th e fee l i n g of mora l re

lat ionsh ip to H im . Both are the resu l t of the same

fee l i ngs d i fferen t ly expres sed . H en ce a ll prayers are

not pra i ses,and a ll sac r ifi ces are not thank-offer i ngs .

Some prayers are ea rn est pet i t i on s , imp l or i ng the A l

m i ghty to bes tow tha t wh ich is needed,and to avert

tha t wh ich is dreaded ; and some sacr ifices are i n tended

whol ly to a tone for sin,and to tu rn th e frown s of the

Supreme i n to sm i l es . Prayers are the offeri ngs of the

l i ps,and sac r ifices the offer ings of posses s ion s bu t both

proceed from th e sam e heart wi th the same i n ten t i on .

I n a s ta te of s i n l e s s pu r i ty , we may imagi ne that man

wou l d worsh ip h i s Crea tor by pra ises on ly , the over

flowings of a sou l i n p erfec t ha rmony wi th i tse l f and

all existenc ies, v i s i b l e and i nv i s i b l e . B u t the en trance of

s i n i n to the sou l was the en trance of d i scord , of m i sery ,of es trangemen t from God. The con sc i ou sness of s i n ,

and of the l oss cau sed by i t , wou l d na tu ra l ly impe l man

to do someth i ng to exp iate s i n , and so to repa i r the ru i n

wh ich i t had e ffected . And wha t cou l d he do , but

re l i n qu i sh,and devou t ly present to God

,what he h imsel f

mos t cher ished and va lu ed ? Wha t cou l d he do , bu t

perform those ac ts of k indnes s wh ich among men are

ca l cu la ted to ma i n ta i n fr i end ly fee l i ngs when present ,

and to re s tore such fee l i ngs when absent Ac tua ted by

these mo t i ves , th e Ved ic A ryan s offered to the i r gods/

the food,— con s i st i ng of vegetab l e and an ima l , — and the

dr i nk,— cons i st i n g of m i l k and the sou l-insp ir i ng soma

T H E SOTER IOLOGY O F T H E VEDA S . 2 1 9

j u ice , —wh ich they loved so wel l th emse l ves . N O wonder,

then,tha t so many hymn s conta i n i n voca t ions to the

gods to descen d from the i r e therea l man s i on s above to

s i t i n a fr i end ly manner w i th the i r votar i e s on the green

grass of the earth,and to partake of th e cho ice v iand s

prepared for them I t appear s from the hymn s addressed

to Va ru na,that vegetab l e food predom i na ted among the

A ryan s i n the ear l i est age , as i t p robab ly d i d among th e

H ebrews,rem in i scence of wh ich was preserved i n the

J ewi sh shew-bread , wh i ch was con stan t ly kep t on the

a l tar before J ehovah .

1 B u t when the A ryan s developed

i n to m i gh ty conquerors , de l i ght ing i n war, with I nd ra as

the i r ch iefde ity ,b l oody sac r ifice s as sumed suprem e impor

tance . And human sacrifices— wh i ch or ig i na ted e i ther i n

gra tefu l fee l i ngs towards the gods,for v ic tor i es ga ined

over enem i e s,and th e con sequ en t de s i re to offer the

capt ives to them,a s an expres s i on of those fee l i ngs , or

i n the des i re to give up to the god s on e’

s deares t posses

s i on,one’s own ki th and k i n , wh ich is th e l og ica l con

c lusion of a ll other sacrifices— appea red abou t th e same

t ime . Th i s i s obv i ou s from the few traces of human

sacr ifices found i n the Mantra s,or o l des t port ion s of the

Veda s,and the h igh va lu e a t tached to such sacr ifices i n

the B rahmanas,or la ter port i on s . There i s no need , there

fore,to suppose

,as some do , tha t human sacr ifice s are

remnants of cann i ba l i sm . Su ch a su ppos i t ion assumes

that all na t i on s have once been cann iba l s,i na smuch

as a ll nat i on s have been gu i l ty of offer i ng human sacr i

1 E xodu s ,xxv . , 30 ; Lev . , xx iv . , 5 .

220 T H E TEA CH ING OF T H E VE DA S .

fices ; an a s sumpt i on wh ich der ive s no su pport wha tever

e i ther from the ear l i es t record s of the A ryan,or of the

Sem i t i c na t i on s .

B u t though sacr ifi ce of possess i on s i s the most na tu ra l

and s i gn ifi cant express i on of man’s con sc iou s ness of s i n,

and of h i s strong des i re to avert the pun i shmen t du e to i t,by prop i t ia t i ng the god s and though we grant that su ch

an act is th e spon taneou s ou tcome of the fe l t sp i r i tua l

n ecess i t i e s of human natu re ; yet , the true mean i ng of

the act cou l d no more be d i s covered by human reason,

una i ded by reve lat i on,than cou l d the B e i ng h imse l f to

Whom su ch homage i s due .

The Ved i c not i on was tha t , by the act of sacr ifice

a lone, th e god s cou l d be pac ifi ed and the i r favou r

secured . And th i s i s the preva l e n t not i on among all

heath en nat i on s . H en ce the sacrificer was i dent ified

wi th the sacr ifice,and h is sin was su pposed to pas s

d i rec t ly to the v ict im .

“ The sacrificer is h im se l f the

v i c t im . I t takes the very sacrificer h imse l f to heaven ” 1

The an ima l i s man by a l l egory . The sacrificer i s

the an ima l ” (yaj amanah paste/z).“ The an ima l is u l ti

mate ly th e sacrificer h im se l f. ” The sacrificer is i n deed

the sacr ifi ce 2 (vaj anzano oa i yajna/z). The sacrificer

ki l l s,on the day prev i ou s to th e Soma fe st i va l

,an an ima l

d evoted to Agn i-soma,thu s rEdeem ing h im se l f from

the ob l i gat i on of be i ng h im se l f sacr ificed . H e then

br i ngs h is Soma sac r ifice , after hav i ng thu s redeemed

1 T a it . B r . ,i i i . , 3 .

S at . B r . ,x i .

, 3 ; T a it . B r . ,i i . , 2 , 8 , 2 ; A it . B r . , i . , 28.



of sacr ifi ce bei ng p leas i ng to the gods was too deep ly

rooted i n human na tu re to be erad i cated by ph i lo soph i ca l

s pecu la t i on s , e i ther i n the Eas t or i n the West . Even

Bu ddh i sm , though i t abol i shed sac r ifices , fa i l ed to de stroy

the doctrine, wh ich found expres s i on for a t ime i n a scet i

cism and mortificat ion of the fle sh ; and afterwards , i n

I n d ia,i t reasserted i t se l f by revert i ng to i t s or i gi na l tvpe .

H ere , then , i s an apparen t oppos i t i on between the d ic ta tes

of rea son and the d ic ta te s of two imper ious impu l s e s of

human natu re re s pec t i ng the doc tr i ne of sac r ifice . I s

there no way of reconc i l i ng them

I t i s imposs i b l e to reconc i l e them on the a s sumpt i on

tha t , when man began to sacr ifice,he was too low i n the

sca l e of evo lu t i on to reason , and hence tha t h e acted

more l i ke an an ima l from i n s t i ncts and impu l s es than

from h i gher data . F or whether man descended from

some “arborea l an ima l wi th pom ted ears ,

or was

crea ted i n the image of God , we mu s t bel i eve , that

a t th e po i n t when h e man i fested rel i gi ou s facu l t i e s,he

mu s t have been a man in the fu l l sen se of tha t term“a th i nker

,posse s s i ng the same powers and tendenc i es

as he pos sesses at presen t ; otherwi se we have no data

from which to rea son abou t wha t h e was e i ther capab l e

of,or l i ke ly to do . I n deed

,the ev i dence of Language i s

dec i s i ve on th i s poin t ; and i t is the on ly ev i dence worth

l i sten i ng to concern ing pre-h i s tor ic t imes . Every language

is a monument to the fac t,tha t man had been pre-em i n ent ly

endowed wi th the powers of ob serva t i on and e labora t ion

when tha t language was formed ; and,a s re l i g i on i s un

known wi thou t language,we may l eg i t ima t e ly conclude

T H E S OTER IOLOGY OF T H E VE DA S . 2 2 3

tha t he pos ses sed such powers when he expre ssed the

re l igi ou s tendency of h is na tu re i n prayer and sacr ifice .

N e i ther w i l l the wel l-known a rgumen t , tha t b loody

sac r ifices na tu ra l ly or i g i na ted i n the i dea of God, as

a terr i b ly ma l evol en t Be i ng a lways th i rst i n g for b lood,

remove the d i fficu l ty . F or th ere is noth i ng p la i n er than

tha t th e h igher up we trace the s tream of Ved i c re l ig i ou s

thought,the more we are impre ssed w i th the fact

,tha t

the predom i nan t cha racter i s t ic of the gods was benefi

cence , and not ma l evo l ence .

What exp lana t i on,then

,can be g iven of the fac t tha t

wh i l e the Ved ic not i on of sacr ifice s is repugnan t to

Reason and Revelat i on , sacr ifices were em i n en t ly pOpu

lar, and had the i r roo t deep down i n th e na tu re of man

The exp lana t i on i s fou nd i n the true mean i ng of sacr i

fices ; and for the true mean i ng , we are dependen t u pon

Reve lat i on . Sac r ifices ,a s the re su l t of two powerfu l

fee l i ngs o f human na tu re,exp re s s an ete rna l fact , viz . ,

tha t s in mu st be a toned for,or pu n i shmen t be i nfl i cted .

Th i s is i n harmony wi th reason . B u t the not ion tha t

the sacr ifice of pos ses s ion s,however va luab l e

, can a tone

for s i n and aver t pun i shmen t , is contra ry to reason . Th i s

paradox i s so lved i n the B i b l e ; for we read that sacr ifices

were con st i tu ted by God , soon after th e entrance of s i n

i n to the sou l of man,as

“a shadow of good th i ngs to

come,

as svmbols of the sacr ifi ce of J esu s,

“ the Lamb

of God, and of the doc t r i n e i nc luded i n tha t fu tu re

act . H ence sacr ifi ces were i n tended to rem i n d man of

sin and the pu n i shmen t of sp i r i tua l d eath due to i t,and

to portray before h im the sac r ifice of the Sav iou r,wh ich


a l one wa s su ffic i en t to a ton e for s i n,and to sa t i s fy the

sp i r i tua l c rav i ngs wh ich i n st i nct ive ly and i rres i s t i b ly fou nd

expres s i on i n th e sacr ifice of possess ion s . Thi s i s th e

true mean i ng of sac r ifi ce ; and , v i ewed i n th i s l i gh t , the

appa ren t oppos i t ion between the test imony of rea son and

th e powerfu l fee l i ngs wh ich produced sacr ifice,van i shes

,

and i t s or ig i n appears both human and divine. I t is the

ou tcome of two or ig i na l fee l i ngs of human na tu re,— the

fee l i ngs of dependence u pon, and of mora l re la t i on sh i p

to , God ; and i t wa s sanct i oned and emp loyed by God,

as a type of the mean s by wh ich , s i n can be removed

and man reconc i l ed to h i s Crea tor . B u t the typ ica l

m ean i ng was gradua l ly obscu red,

and u l t ima te ly lost

among all nat i on s and the erroneou s not ion tha t sacr i

fices a lone can paci fy the D e i ty,and restore fr i end ly

fee l i ngs between H im and H is worsh i ppers, was sub

s t i tu ted . Wherea s th e true i dea is,that on ly su ch sac r i

fices as were offered,wi th the con sc i ou snes s of the i r

typ i ca l mean i ng,cou l d be we l l p l ea s i ng to God. H ence

we read,tha t the d i fferen ce between th e sac r ifices of

Ca i n and Abe l— the fi rst sacr ific es on record— lay in the

d i spos i t i on of the brothers . Abe l offered a fu l l er sacr i

fice than Ca i n,becau se he “ offered i t by fa ith

,and

rece ived the d iv i ne approba t i on .

1 N ow , fa i th imp l i e s a

D i v i n e commu n ica t i on,for fa i th cometh by hear i ng , and

hear i ng by the word of God”

.

2 Abe l , th erefore , offered

a more exce l l en t sacr ifice than h i s brother, becau se he

offered i t i n obed i en ce to the D i v i ne command ; or , i n

1 Gen .

,iv . , 3 , 7 ; H eb .

,x i .

, 4 . R om . ,x . , 17 .



Teu ton ic branch of the Aryan fam i ly . I n one of the o l d

R ane songs,Od i n

,th e ch i ef De i ty of the Teu ton s

,i s

represen ted as hangi ng,du r i ng n i n e l ong n ights , i n the

wind-rocked tree,wi th a s pear

,wounded , offer ing h im

se l f to h im se l f ” .

I wot that I h ung on th e w ind-roc kedN ine long n igh ts ;W i th a spear , wounded ,

A nd to Odin offered

Myse l f to myse lfOn th at tre e of wh ich none knows

F rom wh at root i t sp rings .

5 . M editation and A sceticisnz .

I n proport i on as Mon i sm,or Panthe i sm

,rose

,th e con

sciou sness of sin waned . When a ll exi s tences,inc lud ing

man,were rega rded a s the phenomena l man i fe s ta t i on of

th e Atman— th e on ly exi stence— there was no more p lace

for sin,as the tran sgres s i on of an obj ec t i ve law

,than

there wa s for an obj ec tive crea t i on . Ev i l and m i sery ,however

,were fact s too pa l pab l e to be i gnored ; and so

an a t tempt was made to accoun t for them,on the su ppo

sit ion tha t th ey are the resu l t of i gnorance on the part

of man,wh ich l eads to th e be l i e f tha t he i s someth i ng

d i fferen t from the un ive rsa l S ou l . The cau se of evi l and

m isery i s,therefore

,the m i staken not i on tha t man i s an

i n d iv i dua l,an ego, sepa rate from the grea t Se l f ; and

freedom from both i s obta i n ed by tha t knowledge wh ich

enab l e s h im to i den t i fy h is own se l f wi th the h i ghest

Se l f. And tha t knowledge can be acqu i red on ly by

T H E S OTER IOLOGY OF T H E VE DA S . 2 27

Penance and Med i ta t i on . Sacr ifices and good works are

not whol ly ignored on the con trary,they are encou raged

a s the mean s of a t ta i n ing the b l i ss of heaven for a t ime,

wh ich ,accord i ng to the Upan i shad s , is very d i fferen t

from un i on wi th B rahma . I n some Upan i shads th ese

are i ncu lca ted a s nece s sary p re l im i nar i e s to a l i fe of

penance and med i ta t ion in th e fores t . A man,we are to l d

,

mu s t pass th rough th e two stages of a s tudent of th e

Vedas,and of a marr i ed hou sehol de r

,before he can ret i re

to the forest ; whence he mu s t pa ss to the fou rth or la st

s tage,v iz .

,tha t of the S ann iyasi or a scet ic . L i tt l e stre ss

,

however,i s la i d in th e Upan i shads on sacr ifi ce and good

works ; penance and med i ta t i on are the m ost exce l l en t way .

Saunaka,the grea t hou seho ld er

,approached A ngiras

respect fu l ly,and asked

,S i r

,wha t i s tha t through wh ich

,

i f i t is known , everyth ing e l se becom es known

H e sa i d to h im,Two ki nd s of knowl edge mu s t be

known,

-th i s i s wha t a ll who know B rahma te l l u s,

the h igher and the l ower knowl edge .

The lower knowl edge i s the R i g-Veda,Yaj u r-Veda

,

Sama-Veda,A tharva-Veda , S iksha (phonet ics), Ka lpa

(ceremon ia l ), Vyakarana (gramma r), N irukta (etymology),Khanda s (metre), Jyot ish a (astronomy). B u t the h i gher

knowl edge is tha t by wh ich the Indes tru c t i b l e (B rahma)i s apprehended

,tha t wh i ch cannot be seen nor se i z ed ,

wh ich has no fam i ly and no ca s te , no eyes n or ears , no

hand s nor feet,the e terna l

,th e omn i pre sen t (a ll-pervad ing),

i nfi n i tes ima l,which the wi se regard a s the sou rce of a ll

be i ngs .” 11 M undaka Up. ,

i. , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 .


F ra i l , we are to l d i n another Upan i shad . are those

boa ts,the sacr ifices , i n wh ich the lower ceremon ia l or

th e l ower knowl edge exi s t s . F ools who pra i se th i s as th e

h i ghest good are su bj ec t aga i n and aga i n to o l d age and

dea th .

Con s i der i ng sacr ifice and good works as th e be st ,

the se foo l s know no h igher good , and hav ing enj oyed

the i r rewa rd on the h e i gh t of heaven , ga i n ed b y good

works,they enter aga in th i s worl d or a l ower one .

’

Every H i ndu is sa i d to be born a debtor to th e gods,

to the r i sh i s,to the fa thers

,and to men . H e . fu lfi l s th e

fi rst by sac r ifice s , the second by stu dy i ng the Veda s,th e

th i rd by hav i ng offsp r i ng , and th e fou r th by ho sp i ta l i ty

and k i ndness .

1 The man who fu lfi l s these , du t i es i s free

from b lame he i s a performer of good works accord i n g

to the “ l ower knowledge ,’

and wi l l “ enj oy h i s reward

on the he igh t of heaven bu t he wi l l be subj ec t to be

born aga i n .

“ Those,

on the other hand,‘fwho pract i se

penance and fa i th i n the forest , t ranqu i l , wi se , and l i v i n g

on a lm s , depa r t free from pas s i on , th rough the su n ,to

whe re tha t immorta l person dwel l s , whose natu re i s im

p er i shab l e” 2

H e who h as perce ived tha t wh i ch is wi thou t sound,

W i thou t touch,withou t form , withou t decay , wi thou t

taste,eterna l

,wi thou t sme ll

, ,withou t begi nn i ng

,withou t

end ,beyond the grea t and u nchangeab l e

,is freed from

the jaws of death .

” 3 “ As wa ter does not c l i ng to a

1 S at. B r. , i . , 7, 2 ,1, 5 . 1 1 .

3 Ka tha . Up., 1 , 3 ; Va ll i . 1 5 .


2 3 0 T H E TEACH ING OF T H E VEDA S .

The Soter i o l ogy of the U pan i s had s i s far more i l logica l

and pu eri l e than that of the Man tra s and B rahmana s .

F or i f man be on ly a phenomena l crea tu re of phenomena l

c i rcumstances over wh i ch he has no contro l , he cannot

be he l d a ccou ntab l e for h i s ac t i on s . H e i s a s much the

c reatu re of organ i sm and envi ronment as th e bea st of

the fie l d . And i f he be on ly a phenomena l man i fes ta t i on

of the U n iversa l Sou l,wh ich is both the ma ter ia l and

effici en t cau se of all th i ngs , th ere can be no room for

e i ther good or ev i l , wh ich imp ly the exerc i se of free-wi l l .

N oth i ng,therefore , tha t he may do can have the l eas t

i nfluence on h i s cha racter and dest i ny ; and hen ce , l og i

ca l ly,no p lan of sa l va t i on is e i ther n ecessa ry or pos s i b l e .

H uman na tu re , however , i s s t ronger than l og i c ; and ,

hence,th e i n extr i cab l e con fu s i on i n wh ich the ph i lo

sophers of the U pan i s had s have i nvol ved themse l ves .

6. R etrospect and Conclusion .

We have now pa ssed i n revi ew the L i te ra tu re , the

Theology,the Cosmol ogy , th e An th ropol ogy , and th e

Soter i o logy of the Veda s . We have fol l owed the s tream

by G ibbon :“Wh en th ou art a lone in thy ce l l , shu t thy door

and seat thyse lf in a corne r ; ra ise thy m ind above a ll th ings

va in and trans i tory ; rec l ine thy h eart and ch in on thy brea st ;turn thy eyes and thy th ough ts towards th e m iddle of thy

be l ly, th e region of th e nave l , and search th e p lac e of th e

h eart , th e seat of th e sou l . At fi rst all w i l l be dark and

c omfort less ; but if you pe rseve re day and n igh t , you w i l l fe e lan effable joy ; and no soone r h as th e sou l discove red th e

p lace of th e h eart , th an i t is enc i rc led in a myst ica l eth e rea ll igh t .


of A ryan re l i g i ou s and specu la t i ve thought , i n a ll i t s

ram ifica t i on s,th rough the Mantra , B rahmana

,and Upan

i shad stages of i ts d escen t . We have con s idered th e

H i n du A ryan s’ concept i on of God, th e i r s pecu la t i on s on

the c reat i on of the worl d , and the i r not i on of the or i g in ,

natu re,and dest i ny of man

,i n each of those s tages . We

have pu shed our i n qu i r i e s as far back i n t ime as th e

record s wou l d perm i t ; and we have found tha t the re

ligiou s and specu la t i ve thought of the peop l e wa s far

pu rer,s imp l e r, and more rat i ona l at th e fa rthest poi n t

we reached , than at the nea re s t or la te s t i n th e Ved ic

age . The conclu s i on,th erefore

,i s i n ev i tab l e

,viz . : T ha t

the development of religious though t in India has heen uni

formly downward, and not upward— deteriora tion

,and not

evolu tion .

We have a l so seen tha t the poi n t reached by u s was

not the po i n t whence the deter i o ra t i on began ; and tha t

i n proport i on a s we go back i n t ime,the number of th e

gods grows l ess , and th e eth i ca l con sc i ou sn es s of s i n

grows stronger . H ence the probab i l i ty i s tha t , i f we

cou l d go back far enough i n t ime,so as to reach th e

poi n t whence the deter i ora t i o n began , we shou ld find a

monotheistic religion , pure and simp le.

We have seen,fu rther , tha t the knowl edge of the d iv i n e

att r i bu tes pos sessed by the Ved i c A ryan s was ne i ther

th e produ ct of I n tu i t i on nor Exper i en ce,bu t a su rv iva l

,

or a rem i n i scence . We are j u st ified , th erefore , i n con

c lud i ng (un t i l the contra ry i s proved), tha t the.

h igher and

purer conceptions of the Vedic A ryans were the results of a

P r imitive D ivine R evela tion .

2 3 2 T H E TEACH ING O F T H E VEDA S .

The theory of a Pr im i t i ve D i v i n e Reve la t i on a l one is

capab l e of exp la i n i n g all th e re l i gi ou s i deas of the Vedas ,such as an obj ec t of worsh i p

,s i n , mercy , sacr ifi ce , a

fu tu re sta te . These i dea s are a ll fore ign to Na tu re .

S un,moon , ea rth ,

mou n ta i ns,and r ivers

,have noth i ng

to do wi th wor sh ip , wi th forg iv i ng sin,and wi th pre

servi ng men from gu i l t . B u t they are qu i te at home i n

th e theory of a pr imeva l revela t ion . We mu s t be l i eve

that the most probab l e theory is tha t wh i ch exp la in s a ll

the fac ts . The theory of N a tu ra l Evolu t i on cannot exp la i n

a ll th e facts . B u t the theory of a Pr im i t i ve D i v i n e Reve

lat i on , wha tever ha rd words may be sa i d abou t i t as be i ng

u n sc i en t ific ,does exp la i n a ll th e fa cts . I t te l ls u s tha t

the pre sen ce of su ch i deas i n the Veda s a s God , con

fession of sin ,pet i t ion s for m ercy , sacr ifice , and a l i fe after

dea th,are re l ic s of a van i sh ing Reve la t i on

,he l d mech an i

ca l l y , withou t any comprehen s i on of the i r mean ing .

Gran t i n g tha t th i s . i s on ly a theory , th e oppos i te V i ew

is no more . B ETWE E N THE SE TWO TH EOR IE S , THE R E IS ,

HOWE V E R ,TH IS D IF F E R ENCE . T H E ON E IS IN HA R M ONY

WITH T H E TE ACH ING O F A V E NE R A B L E OLD B OOK ,A GA INST

WH ICH N O WE APON FOR M E D H A S YET PR E V A ILE D ; T H E

OTHE R IS IN OPPOS ITION T O IT .


I N D E X .

A D H V A R YU S,see sacrificers .

A diti , goddessE tymo logy of, 4 1 , 4 2 .

M yth of, in India and Iran , 4 2 .

T o ta l ity o f all ex i stences , 4 2 .

A dityas , lum inous gods , th e sons

of Aditi , 4 1 , 42 .

T h e ir number and names,

43 , 44T he ir ph ysica l import and

moral character, 43 .

A gara , see S acrifice .

A gnayi , see Goddesses .

Agn i , God o f F ire ;E tymo logy of

, 57 .

Origin of, 57 , 58 .

A ttribu tes and functions Of,

58-60 .

A gnidhra ,see S acrificers .

A gn ih otra ,A gn ish stoma ,

Agn iyadh eya ,

A grayani, A grayane sh ti

,A havanya , sec S acr ifice .

A h inas , see S acrifice .

A hura-M az da , ch ief god of t h e

Z oroastrians , 3 2 .

Identified w ith Varuna , 3 2 ,

3 3 1

A itareya B rahmana ,A itaréya U p

anish ad , see Veda .

A lexander the Great , 1 5 , 23 .

Amesh a spentas, 3 3 , 4 2 .

A naxagoras, 69 .

A nitya , see S acrifice .

A nsa , see A di tyas .

A po l lo , 58 .

A psarases , w ives of th e Gandh arvas, demigods,

A ptoryama , see Sacrifice .

A ramaic , 24 .

A ratu s, 1 3 7 .

A rch i lochus, 3 4 .

A rgyll , D uke of, 104 , 1 1 0,1 1 1 .

A ristoph anes, 1 3 1 .

A ristotle , 9 2 ,109 , 148 .

A rk ins , 2 1 6 .

A rno ld , S ir E dw in , 99 .

A ryaman , see A dityas .

A ryanakas , see Veda .

A ryans,1 78 , 179 .

A scetic ism , 226-23 0 .

A shhavaka , see S acrificers .

A sh taka,A t iratra , A tyagn ish toma ,

see S acrifice .

A soka ,1 5 .

A svalayana ,1 5 , 1 6 .

A svamedha , 196-19 8 .

A svins , mean ing and functions of,63 , 64 .

A tharva-Veda , see Veda .

A tman , its origin and h istory , 7377

A ugustine , 1 88 .

B A B YLON , (ian), 25 , 13 7 .

Barth,M . A .

,1 8 , 3 5 , 1 69 ,

170 ,

20 8 .

Bh aga , see A dityas .

B hagavata Purana , sec Purana .

B rahma , a god

Its e tymo logy , 77 , 78 .

Its deve lopment into a god ,

788 0 .

Its cu lm ination , 80-82 .

B rahman , see Caste .

Brahmana,sec Veda .

B rahmanach au sin ,2 1 3 .

2 3 6 IN DEX .

B rahmanaspat i ,Lord of Prayer, 59 .

B rih adaryanaka Upan ish ad , see

Veda .

Brihaspati , same as B rahmaspat i ,

58-59B rown

, S ir T .,1 3 6 .

B uddh ism , 23 .

B unsen , B aron , 108 .

B urne l l , D r. A . C ., 24 , 25 , 26 .

B urnou f. E . , 1 66 .

CE S A R , 23 , 209 .

Caste , etymo logy and significationof th e word

,1 7 1 .

Origin and deve lopment of

caste,17 1 .

(1) A ccording to the PurushaS ukta ,

1 74 .

(2 ) A ccording to Manu ,175 ,

1 76 .

(3 ) Real origin ,177 .

B rahmans , 1 82-1 86 .

Ksh atriyas , 1 8 1 .

Vaisyas , 1 8 1-182 .

S udras. 179 1 8 1 .

A ll men original ly one caste ,

Chaldea, (n), 2 5 .

Ch andas , metre .

Ch andragupta ,1 5 , 1 6 .

Ch andramas,th e moon .

Ch armasadhvaryus , 2 1 5 .

Ch aturmasya ,sce S acrifice .

Ch rist l ieb , D r . , 82 , 92 .

Ci cero , 1 6 1 .

Co lebrook , H . T ., 9 , 40 ,

1 1 5 .

Confuc iu s , 1 10 .

Creation , ascribed to some inte lligent be ing,

1 1 3 , 1 1 4 .

Creation from noth ing,1 14

1 2 2 .

Creation from pre-existing

0

matter, 1 2 2-3 1 3 2 .

Creation a ph enomenal em

anation,1 3 2

-1 3 5 .

Cudworth,D r . R .

,inte l lectual

system of th e un iverse , 70 , 73 ,

74Cyaparna Sayakayana ,

208 .

E DDA ,1 2 1

,1 22 .

Egypt -ians), 24 , 4 2 , 2 10 .

E kah as , see S acrifice .

Emanation , see Creation .

E xperience , see God .

F A IRB A IRN , D r . A . M .,1 65 .

Faith , 55 , 1 90 .

Fal l , 142 ,1 55 .

Fath ers , see P itris .

F etich ism ,1 1 0 .

DA KS HA , see A dityas .

Darius , 25 .

D armeste ter, M . J . , 3 2 .

D arsanas , 2 .

D arsapfi rnamasa, sec S acrifice .

Dasa , S lave .

Dasyus , 48 , 49 .

De luge ,1 3 7

-1 3 9 .

Demeter. 66 .

Devi,64 .

D harmalipi , 23 .

D h arma S fi tras , 1 .

D hatar,scc A d ityas .

Dhou l i,23 .

D iana , 2 1 1 .

D ionysu s, 50 .

D iv, 3 1 .

D rav idas, 176 , 177 .

Dru ids , 1 1, 23 .

Drummond ,Prof. , 1 06 .

Dual de ities , 69 .

Dyaus , 3 1 .

D yau Spitar, 3 1 , 3 5 , 3 6 , 109 .

Dyn , 3 1 .

GA NDHA RV A S , 3 0 .

Ganga, r iver and a goddess, 66 .

Garh apatya , see S acrifice .

Gautama , 192 , 195 .

Gayatri , 9 .

G ibbon ,E .

, 23 0 .

Girnar , 23 .

G ladstone , Righ t H on. W . E ., 58 .

God ,United A ryans’ concept of,

3 3 ) 3 4 .

Vedic A ryans’ concept o f, 40 ,

72 , 74 ,80 , 8 1 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 88 .


2 3 8

Manes , see P itris .

Mandala , see Veda .

Mantra , see Veda .

M anavadharmasatra ,1 .

Manse l,Dean

,86 , 87 , 88 ,

1 02 .

M anu ,1 28 , 1 29 , 1 3 7

-1 3 9 .

M arat tanda,a name o f th e sun ,

43 .

M aru ts , storm god s, 5 1 .

M aurya ,1 5 .

Med itat ion,2 26 , 2 29 .

M egasth enes , 1 5 , 26 , 179 .

Metaphysica l gods, see Gods .

M etempsych osis , 169-17 1 .

M itra,M ith ra, 4 1 .

M o lloch , 2 1 1 .

Mon ism, 73 , 99 , 1 00 ,

1 3 4 , 2 26 .

Monogamy , 149 .

Mono the ism , 99 ,1 00

,108 , 23 1 .

M o togon ,1 1 9 .

M u ir,D r. J . , S anscrit tex ts , quoted ,

3 7 4 ) 3 9 ) 50 3 97 9 1 1 5 7 1 1 6 , 1 24 , 1 27 )

Mul ler,Prof. M ax , quoted, 2 , 3 , 4 ,

1 4 ,1 5 , 1 6 , 1 8 , 26

,27 , 28 ,

3 0 1 3 2 1 3 9 , 40 , 5 1 , 64 1 73 1 80 1 83 ,

M ungh eir , 2 5 .

N A KSH I-I-R U S T R A M,25 .

N anda ,1 2

,1 6 .

N arayana ,1 29 .

N asatyas , see A sv ins .

N earchu s, 26 .

N esh tri , see S ac rificers .

N i t ri t i , 1 4 2 ,143 .

N irfidh apasubandh a , see S acrifi ce .

N itya ,see S acrifice .

N ivita ,2 17 .

Ou R A N os, 3 2 , 3 3 .

O xus , 20 .

PA KA YA J N A ,19 2

-3 .

Paliboth ra ,1 5 .

Pan in i , 15 .

IN DEX .

RAJ A ,k ing.

Rajanya ,see Caste .

R ajasunya ,see S acrifice .

Raksh asas , demons, and aboriginalinh ab itants .

Ramayana ,2 .

Ratus , 29 .

Re l igion , h igh est abstraction o f,

Reve lation ,1 , 6 , 1 7 , 86 , 88 , 104 ,

1 06 , 1 2 1,2 2 1 , 2 23 ,

23 1 , 23 2 .

Panth e ism , 72 , 73 , 1 3 4 , 2 26 .

Parasurama , 10 .

Pariah s , 177.

Parjanya , 48 .

Parmen ides , 13 1 .

Pasu-Pasubhanda , see S acrifice .

Pat ilapu tra ,1 6 .

Pat talene , 179 .

Pau l , 29 , 1 20,1 56 .

Pe lasgians , 86 .

Perkunas, 48 .

Persian (ans), 24 ,25 , 26 , 109 .

Ph i losophy , h igh est abst ru c t ion

Of, 73 7 99 , 1 00)103 '

Ph oenic ia (ns), 2 3 , 24 , 26 .

Ph ysiolatry , 83 .

P ictet , M . de,107.

P itris, 66 .

P lato ,69 , 9 2 ,

1 3 1 , 1 6 1 .

Po l yandry , 150 .

Po lyth e ism , 72 , 1 08 .

Potr i , see S acrificers .

Pra ise ,1 88 , 189 .

Prajapati , Lord of Creature s .

Prasto tri , see S acrific ers .

Prat ih artri , see S acrifice .

Prat iprasthatri , see S acrificers .

Prayer,1 28

,1 89 .

Prisn i , 5 1 .

Pr ith iv i , earth goddess , 66 .

Puranas , 2 .

Puroh ita ,fam i l y priest .

Puru sh a , man, God .

Purush amedh a,h uman-sacrifice ,

198-208 .

Pushan ,God of roads .

IN DEX .

Rh ibhus , th e de ifi ed artisans o f

the gods , 66 .

R ig,sec Veda .

R ish is , bards and pr iests ; authorsof th e hymns,

R i ta ,law , the origin o f th e con

cep t , 1 55-1 57 .

Roth ,Prof. von ,

1 59 , 1 67 .

Rudra , 5 1 .

Rudrasi , sce Goddesses .

SACR IF ICEIts greatness , 190-1 .

C lassification of,1 92 .

D ifferent k inds of, 1 92-209 .

Origin o f, 2 17-2 26 .

Purport of, 209-2 1 1 .

S acrificers , origin of, 2 1 2-2 1 3 .

D ivided into four c lasses, viz .,

A dhvaryus, H o tris,Udgatris,

B rahmans , 2 1 3 .

W ork a l lotted to each c lass ,2 14

-2 1 5 .

Must be blame less, 2 16 .

Purification o f,2 16 .

S acred thread of,2 1 6-2 17 .

Sama Veda ,sce Veda .

S amayach arika Satras, 1 .

S anh itas , 1 , 2 , 3 .

S anyasi , 2 27 .

S arama, 48 .

S arasvati , see Goddesses .

S arvamedh a , sec S acrifice .

S at (ya), 1 3 4 .

S atapath a Brahmana , see Veda .

S at tras , 104 .

S au tramani,148 .

S ayce , Prof. A . H . , 25 .

S avitri , th e sun , see A dityas .

S eers , see Rish is.

S eneca , 65 , 7o ,S ensus numin is, 85 , 88

,89 ,

9 1 .

S h advimsa B rahmana , sce Veda .

S iksha , 1 .

S in , acknow ledged , 1 3 9-1 42 .

Fundamenta l idea of, 142-143 ,1 55 .

T A C IT U S , 86 .

T ait t irya B rahmana,see Veda .

T andya B rahmana , see Veda .

T antras , 2 .

T h at,that one , 7 1 , 8 1 .

T heo logy of th e Veda , 29-1 1 5 .

T u l loch ,Princ ipal , 144 .

T vash tar, divine A rt iz an .

T yrius Max imus , 70 .

U D GA T R I,see S acrificers .

Ukthya , see S acrifice .

Upan ish ad ,see Veda .

Upavita , 2 17 .

U sh as,th e dawn , _

64 , 65 .

V A IKA R T A S , see S acrificers .

Vaisya , sec Caste .

V ajapeya ,see S acrifice .

V ak, 78 .

23 9

S in , Represented as transgressionsof divine laws , 144

-5 .

A bond, or rope , 145 .

A burden ,145 .

A sea , or a flood , 45 .

Imputed ,146 .

Its e ffects, 147 .

A cts not considered sinfu l ,148

-1 53 .

A cts considered sinfu l , 1 531 55 .

S inivali , sec Goddesses .

S kamba , 7 1 .

Smarta Sutras, 1 .

Smriti,1 .

S oma,see H aoma .

S oteriology , 1 88 .

Spencer , H erbert,87 , 89 , 9 3 , 94 .

Sp iri t , see A tman .

S rau ta S I‘

Itras, 1 .

S ru t i , 1 .

S udra , sec Caste .

S unasepha , 199 , 2 1 1 .

S i‘

i rya ,the sun ,

S fi tra ,1 6 , 1 8 .

Svetasvatara Upan ish ad,Veda .

240 I ND EX .

V alakhylya , 9 .

Varana , 3 7 .

Varna ,1 7 1

-172 .

V arunani , see Goddesses .

Varuna ,

E tymo logy and ph ysicalmean ing of, 3 2 , 3 3 .

A ttributes of, 3 7-4 1 , 43 .

A reflection of th e true God,

O ldest h istorical god of th e

undivided A ryans, 3 4

-3 6 .

Moral grandeur of, 3 8 , 40 , 45 .

T he degradation and sup

pression of, 40

-4 1 , 56 , 57 .

Vayu , 58 .

Veda , etymo logy of, 2 .

Denotes four col lections ,S anh itas

,cal led R ig

-Veda ,

Sama-Veda , Yajur-Veda ,and

A th arva-Veda,2, 3 .

E ach Veda divided in M antraand B rahmana ,

B rahmanas contain A ryanakas and Upan ish ads , 4 .

A uth ors of,

1 1,1 2 , 14 .

Inspiration of, 6 4 0 .

A ge of, 1 4-1 8 .

oral ly transm itted , 2 1-26 .

General ch aracter of, 26-28 .

V edadanta,1 3 5 .

Vedangas, 1 .

V ishnu , 5 1 .

V isvadevah , all gods.

V isvakarman , a name for

Creator.

V riad-A ryanaka,sec Veda .

V ritra , 47 .

V yakarana ,1,227 .

Z END AVE STA , 3 3 , 3 6 .

Z eu s pater , 3 1 , 3 5 .

Z io , 3 5 .

Z oroaster,109 ,

1 1 0 .

AB ERDEEN UN IV E RS IT Y PRE S S .

the

W A LL IS , H . W . , quoted ,1 57 .

Weber,Prof. , quoted , 25 , 1 3 9 ,

Wh itney,Prof. D . W .

, quoted , 3 ,5 1 .

W i l l iams, Prof. S ir M .

,quoted ,

1,

62 ,1 1 5 , 1 23 .

W i lson ,Prof . H . H . ,

quoted ,1 0 ,

W i lson ,R ev . D r .

,quoted

,170 .

Writing,wh en and wh ence intro

duced to India , 23-25 .

YA J AMAN A ,2 1 2 .

Yajna ,see S acrifice .

Yajur-Veda , see Veda .

Yama,1 6 1-1 65 .

Yam i , 1 6 1-162 .

Y ima , 162-1 63 .

Yogananda ,1 6 .


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