Selections From the Rig Veda

7/25/2019 Selections From the Rig Veda

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UNIVERSITY

OF

PENNSYLVANIA

STUDIES ON SOUTH SI

General

Editor

Rosane Rocher

B(}(lrd ofEditors

AIjun Appadurai

Peter Gaeffke

Richard

D

Lambert

Ludo Rocher

Franklin C Southworth

Assistant Editor

David A Utt

Volume

2

Walter H. Maurer

Pinnacles

of

India s

Past:

Seleaums from the

Ji

veda

PINNACLES OF

INDIA'S PAST

SELECTIONS FROM THE

~ G V E D

Translated

and

Annotated

by

WALTERH.MAURER

Professor of Sanskrit

nivmity of

Hawaii at

Manoa

JO N

BENJAMI NS PUBLISHING COMPANY

AMSTERDAM PHILADELPHIA

1986


2/42

4

I

A Communication to th e Reader

I

When I first conceived this projectof translation, I

had

in mind only the

general readerwho had no familiarity or virtually no familiarity with the -g

veda. As I proceded, I felt hopeful that these translations, coupledwith their

> rather full exegesis, would prove appealing also to students of Sanskrit

who

had not

had

the time to enter upon a study of the Veda

or had

devoted

themselves so little to i t that they would not be averse to a fresh translation.

In selecting hymn s for translation I have had no easily defmable princi

ples beyond tha t

of

representing the chief deities

of

the ,-gveda adequately

and including also the majority ofthe speculative

and

cosmogonic hymns as

well as a fair portion

of

hymns that seem rarely to appear in anthologies, yet

are deserving ofattention. In this rather unprincipled procedure I have tried

to include all the well-kn own hymns, but obviously there

is

an inescapable

subjectivity about this, and I hope I wil l not be found guilty of too glaring

omissions from anyone's list of favorites.

The imperfections in this

work

must be man y and diverse,but I trust the

reader will be gentle in his disposition toward them, knowing that, even

were these imperfections to be expunged.. there are yet others undiscovered

by him, which, were they too known, wou ld reveal all

the

more acutely the

impossibility

of

achieving freedom from error

in

attempting to understand a

work that occupies so isolated a pinnacle in antiquity.

A Brief

Introduction

to

the

\tgveda

The ~ v e d a

is

the oldest of the books th at comprise the scriptures of

Hinduism. Whil e its age cannot be accurately determined.. it can be said

with

reasonable certainty that it must have existed

in

its present form at least as

early as 1000

B.C.

The composition of the e d a however, does

not

belong

to a single point

in

time,

but

must, by the nature of its contents and the

multiplicity ofits authorship, have extended over a very long period, perhaps

reaching back to the very beginning of the second mil lenniumB.C. Moreover,

some of the

hymnsofthe e

may have been composed noton

the

soilof

India, but

in

the lands to the west, where the Aryans, as the people

ofthe

veda called themselves, had lived for a long time before gravitating to their

final home in India.

The language

of

the '-gveda, properly designated VediC but loosely

Sanskrit in a broader sense, belongs to the very large group

of

languages

referred to by scholars as 'Indo-European', which embraces English and

most of the languages of Europe. The people who became the Vedic Aryans

once formed a part of these widely dispersed speakers of Indo-European

who, as nomads, had

no

fIXed home, but moved in different directions as

necessity or other cause impel led them unti l they eventually settled down,

relinquishing a migratory way

of

life.

Reflectiveof the int imate relationship between the Vedic language and

English

is

the word

Veda

itself, literally 'knowledge',

which

is genetically

related to English 'wit', originally 'understanding. good sense', which has

come down into modem English unchanged from Old Englishwit. This Old

English wit

and

veda are formed from an Indo-European root

wid

know,

which, in numerous modifications and amplifications, is found in almost

every Indo -European language.

The

name

,-gveda is a compound of veda 'knowledge' and rc hymn of

praise'

and

thus m eans 'Knowledge (consisting)

of

Hymns

of

Praise'. Also

designated Veda are three other collections, viz. the Yajurveda 'Knowledge

(consisting)

of

Sacrificial Formulae (yajus) , the 8amaveda Knowledge (con

sisting)

of

Chants

(sdman) ,

and the Atharvaveda Knowledge

of ie.

belonging

to the Atharvans,' the ancient priestly family

within

which it was presumably

handed down.

The substitution

of

the forms

r9 yajur.

sllma and

atharva

respectively

for fC

yajus.

silman

and

alharvan

Is due to grammatical rule.


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7

A Brief Introduction to

the

\tgveda

6

From these four sacred collections is derived an

immense

body of

literature,which grewup in a series ofsuccessive and fairly sharply defmable

strata. These layers

of

exegetical andamplificatory treatises, called BrahmaQas,

Aral.,lyakas and p a n ~ d s are, together with the four Vedas, collectively also

called the Veda. Thus, the term veda, somewhat confusingly, has both a

narrow

and

a

wide

application, being either restricted simply to

the

four

collections or extended to include these three layers

of

treatises founded

upon

each of them.

Formally speaking, the e consists of 1,028 hymns averaging about

eleven stanzas each, arranged, according to the form in which the ~ g v e d a

has been transmitted, in ten divisions or books, called

marz iaias

(literally

circles

or

perha ps cycles ),

of

unequal numbers of hymns. Mal.,ll,ialas II-VII

are the F amily Books, so-called because each is compo sed by members ofthe

same family of priestly poets within which it

was

handed down. These

mal.,l-

l,ialas appare ntly formed the or iginal kern el of

the e

when the

hynms

were first assembled into a single collection at some unknown time

in

antiquity. PrefIXed and suffIXed to this nucleus are Mal.,lQalas

1

VIII and

X,

each

of

which contains

hymns

of various authorship,

while

IX

is

in a class by

itself, being exclusively devoted to the deified Soma plant.

Most of

the hymns

are directed to individual gods of

the

Indo-Aryan

pantheon, but some are

of

a miscellaneous and less easily definable character,

while others contain the earliest notions

of

creation that have come down

from ancient times. Although some of the deities, as also many aspects of

Vedic thought and practice, wer e surely evolved and developed within the

ample fold of

Indian

culture, othe r deities and the general mythology con

nected

with

them were the

common

cultural heritage shared by the Indo

Aryans with their brethren in ancient Iran.The

g v e d a

then, far from being

an isolated pr oduct

of

remote antiquity, must be viewed

in

intimate relation

ship with the Avesta, the sacred book of the Zoroastrians, and very often the

one is found to cast a ray of light

on

the other.

The

~ g v e d i

Indian viewed the world

in which he

lived as Pervaded

with

life, divin e life: fire, water, wind, the e arth

and

sky, the sun,

dawn

and

light, the thunderstor m and so

on

-.all wer e conceived as gods, m:uch like

persons in physiognomy and behavior, but with vast, superhuman

and

incomprehensible powers. The material objects of everyday life were also

deified; thus, the paraphernalia of the warrior going into battle, the melted

butter (ghee) that

was

poured i nto the sacred fire, or the post to which the

sacrificial

animalwas

tied, were mad e into gods. A feature

which

the

g v e d a

shares

with

the A vesta is the personification of abstractions, as exemplified

by

the

class of deities called Adityas, chief

among

whom are the great gods

VarUJ,la and Mitra.

A Brief Introduction to the ~ g v e d a

There is a remark able tendency, to be seen in many ofthe hymns, forthe

worshipper to treat the particular godwhom he is venerating as all-p owerful

and supreme, as though were the on y god, for the

momentat

least, to the

exclusionofall others. Perhaps contributing to this tendency was the absence

of temples and images that are so characteristic of later Hinduism, which

permitted greater freedom

of

cOllception

of

a god s powers

and

comprehen

sivenessof his functions. This attitude in worship, often termed henothe ism.

lends a monotheisti c coloring to

the g v e d a

None of the gods to

whom

this

exclusive veneration

is

accorded, how ever,

is

ever permanently elevated to

the station of

th one

and only god.

In

fact, although various attempts are

made

in some of

the

later hymn s to postulate a single god who created and

sustains the world, it cannot be said that the ~ g v e d a ever finally and un

conditionall y arrives

at

monotheism.

In one

quite remarkable hymn

X.

129)

all the Gods are momentarily brushed aside as being subsequent to

the

creation of the world, and a neuter first principle called That One is pre

supposed as the source of all. Here, then, occurs the earliest expression of

monism, later to be developedand elaborated into

the

fundamental doctrine

of

intellectual Hinduism.

The

gods

of the

e

were righteous

gods

whose behavior was govemed

by a universal cosmic and moral law called the

~ t a

which

was

under the

care of VaruQ.a,

the

personification of Truth, who was,

of

course, subject

himse lf to its adherence . On nearly every page of the

g v e d a one

may read

that this or that god was an adherentof the t a . Malevolence, afflictions and

catastrophes were attributed to demons, so that

if

a drought plagued

the

land,

it

was not

because the god Indra wa s angryor giving way to some mo mentary

whim but rather because the serpent-demon Vrtra was withholding the

waters until he would be conquered by Indra in battle.

t s really quite impossible to translate

t a .

as there is no single English

word that covers the man ifold and complex conceptions embraced by this

term. t corresponds etymologically to Asa of the Avesta, which is often

rendered Truth , a

meaning that

probably

may

be regarded as adequate most

of

the time because of its juxtaposition

with

its. diametric opposite, Dru]

Falsehood, Deceit. Wh ile Truth may frequently suffice as a translati on for

Vedic

~ t a

there are

many

instances where Truth is too narrow

in

scope

and

its connotations too closely link ed with moral values. In such cases, Cosmic

Order or Cosmic Law come nearer to conveying the meaning

of

t a . l

In

the

translations that follow. the word ltta

is

sometimes retained. at

other

times it is

rendered

by

Cosmic

Order or

Cosmic Law .


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9

A Brief Introduction to the g v e d a

8

The hymns

of

the g v e d are for the most part requests, usually directed

to a single

god

less frequently to a pair

or

'a combination of gods, for the

physical comforts of life

and

freedom from distress

of

various kinds:

an

abundance

of

heroic sons, cows

and

wealth

in

general, good fortune, well

being, food, strength, a long life, protection from enemies, thieves and wild

animals, delivery from hardships, freedom from illness; occasionally also

insight a nd eloquence. Sometimes there is no specifically stated request. but a

god s heroic

and

wondrous feats are eulogized

on

the tacit assumption,

we

may suppose, that

he

will be thereby impelled

to

confer general well-being

upon the worshipper.

The religion

of

the

~ e d a

was a fire-cult,

and

fire was therefore the

focal point

of

the sacrifice, without which it could not take place. Other

essentials were the melted butter

and

the juice

of

the Soma

plant

The

sacrifice

was

a meal to

which

the gods were

invited

such as that given by a

host to his guests. The gods are asked to come

and

sit

down on

a layer

of

special grass strewn

out

for them, Agni, god

of

fire and intermediary between

men and gods, is invoked to fetch the god

Qr

gods to the place

of

sacrifice.

Although a sacrifice is nowhere described

in

the e d a a general idea

ofit

may be ga ined from scattered references. There were four sorts

of

priests

with fairly specific functions. Thus, the

hot{

recited the

hymn of

praise to the

god to

whom

worship was to be accorded.

t

cannot be said whether

in

all

cases

he

was also the composer

of

the hymn, but t he hymns were composed

in

priestly families,

and

very likely the hot{S were

drawn

from those families.

The

manual

aspects

of

the sacrifice were performed by

the, adhvaryu and

the

chanting

of

certain verses was the function

of

the

udgl1t{.

Finally, a priest

designated the

brahman

served as a kind

of

overseer

of

the whole sacrificial

process,

and

for this reason was expected to have a thorough know edge

of

all

these operations or, to put it

in

anot her way, he had to be versed

in

the hymns

of

the

g v e d

recited by the

hafT

the chants

of

the Samaveda intoned by the

udgiltr and the formulae

or mantras

of

the Yajurveda. muttered by the

adhvaryu

as

he

performed this or tha t sacrificial

act

Melted butter was poured in to the sacrificial fire at a specific point

in

the

proceedings

and

to the accompaniment

of

certain

mantras.

The stalks

of

the

Soma plant were pressed between stones

and

the extract purified through a

filterofsheep s wool, whence t trickled loudly into troughs below. The Soma

was imbibed by the priests after it was mixed

with

water, milk

or

ghee.

These sacrifices were performed

on

behalf

of

a prince, king

or

anyone

who could afford them. t is ceft: .in that the sacrifices varied greatly

in

complexity, especially in the later period and obviously the more elaborate

and

complex they were, the more costly the gifts to the priests

who

were

A Brief Introduction to the ~ g v e d a

responsible for performing them. The

fee

paid to the priest, calledadakPfl/l,

is

the subject

of an

entire

~ v e d i c hymn (X. 107)

.

A e d i c

hymn

was an act oftruth. Since from start to finish it contained

only statements

of

absolute truth concerning the

god to whom

it was addressed

it was felt to be a miraculous power

which

could not fail to achieve its

purpose.)

t

was, moreover, a sort

of

bargain between the worshipper

and

the

god

who was

praised, and like any contract

had

to be honored.

In

this

way

also the hymn to the frogs (VII.103)

and

the so-called Gamblers Lament

(X.34)

are surely to be explained.

The e d a like the ot her Vedic collectiOns, was passed

on

orally from

generation to generation

within

priestly families, a process

which

has con

tinued among a diminishing nilmber

of

families to the present day. The

duration

of

this oral transmission and its absolute fidelity are a truly incredible

phenomenon

with

no close parallel elsewhere. At a very early time, as the

spoken language came to diverge more

and

more from the somewhat stylized

and

archaic language

of

the hymns, attempts were made

to

analyze

and

to

understand

them

by specially contrived types

of

recitation as well as by

treatises dealing

with

phonetics, grammar, prosody

and

etymology. A remark

able consequence

of

this was t he rise

and

growth

of

a number

of

separate

branches

of

learning

in which

the Vedic Aryans achieved unsurpassed

eminence, chief among

which

was grammar.

Apart from sporadic and fragmentary bits

of

information,

the

West

knew

little

or

nothing about the

e

or any

ofthe

Vedas until the

end

of

the eighteenth century. Practically speaking, Vedic scholarship began

with

the appearance of the essay On the Vedas or

Sacred Writings ofthe

Hindus

in 1805

by the British scholar Henry Thomas Colebrooke. Since then

and

especially

after the publication

of

Max MulIers editio princeps

of

the

g v e d a

(1849-74)

along

with

the Sanskrit commentary

of a y ~ 4

which for the first time

made the comple te text easily available

to

scholars, serious interest

in h e ~ -

veda has grown prodigiously, Its problems have exerted a fascination

on

a

whole galaxy

of

scholars

of

West

and

East. all

of

whom

have contributed

in

one way or another to the elucidation

of

this precious heritage

of

mankind

for it no longer belongs to India alone.

The

power

of

truth

has always been a potent force

in

Indian thought; so, if its application

in modem

times by

Gandhi and

note the motto

on the

great seal of India. extracted from

the

MUQ.Qaka

U p a n i ~ d

(III. 1.6):

satyam

tvoj y te Truth alone

is

victorious .

sayaJ,la

was

a minister

in

the court

of ukka

king ofVijayanagara

in

South India.

during

the latter halfofthe fourteenth century A.D.He wrote a commentary

on

every hymn of he 9-

veda. (except the eleven so-caned VaJakhilya hymns , VlII.4959), probably in collaboration

with other Vedic paQ.4its, as

he

did also on other works of Vedic llterature.
http:///reader/full/ceft:!.inhttp:///reader/full/ceft:!.in


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Selected ymns

gni

Next to Indra the most frequently invoked of all gods in the

v e d a

is

Agoi. But as the god

of

fire and

fundamental

principle

of

the Vedic sacrifice,

Agni was by farthe

most

important

of

the gods, exceeding even Indr a. Every

sacrifice, from the simples t domestic rite to the most elaborateand complex,

centered around the fire, the Vedic religion having

been

a fIre-cult, as

was

its

sister religion, Zoroastrianism, though the two were developed along very

different lines. No sacrifice

in

either

was

possible

without

fire,

although

iIi

Zoroastrianism therewas nogod of fire and, strangely enough, the cognate of

the name Agni does not exist in the Aves.ta, althougha vestige of it has been

found in

one or two

proper names.

1

That the

worship

of fire in some form

existed

among the

Indo-European peoples

can

hardly be doubted, as attested

in

part

by

the

worship ofHestia in Greece

and

Vesta in Rome. Perhaps there is

no phenomenon of nature

that

is more conducive to worship and personal

ization by early man than fire in its many manifestations. But n owhere

among the Indo-European peoples was the worship

of

fIre so elaborate dand

emphasized as among the Aryans and their descendants, the lrano-Aryans

and the Indo-Aryans.

In the ll.gveda Agni is a very comp lex deity, ashe is conceived under so

many

diverse forms, partly terrestrial and partly celestial, and some of these

manifestations are

more

developed and playa greater role than others.

Of

particular importance is

his

presence in the Waters, not so much because of

his emanation from them in the form of lightning during a thunderstorm,

but because it is through this

means that he

enters all

plant

life, penetrates the

earth and all things, and, in a curiously indirect way, comes to man as

terrestrial fire,

whether

for the sacrffice or any ordinary purpose.

t

is by

rubbing together the

wood

of certain trees,

all

of

which.

after

all,

gain the

Thus.

Da5tAyni.

Le dilIta wolShlpped +

f {ni

fire, hence. literally

he

by whom fire is

wOlShipped ; possibly also Ag-nupar-nu, an Akkadian ranscription ofAgnifarnah he

W

hohas

fonune through fire: For further details v

M.

Mayrhofer, Iranisches Pmonmililmmbuch Wlen.

Verlag der Osterreichischen Akadem ie der

l s s e ~ h a f t e n

1979). 1.36 no. 104.

Agni

nourishment

for

their

growth from water,

that

fire is obtained, so that

t was

believed that Agni entered the wood

in

his embodiment as water. But he is

also

inherent

in rocks

and

stones, as is evident from the sparks that

can

be

produced by striking them together. The sun itself is yet another of Agni s

many

forms.

though

usually treated as a separate god. Agni s

intimate

con

nection

with the

Waters led to

his

identification

with

Apa:rh Napat,

the old

water-spirit

of

the Aryans, in which form he is said to shine without fuel

in

the

Waters.

One of Agni s princ ipal roles is to serve as messenger betwee nmen and

gods, in which capacity

he

eithe r conveys the essenceof the sacrificial

meal

to

the

gods

Or

brings the gods themselves to

the

sacrificial feast,

where

they sit

down together

on

the sacred grass that has been spreadout for them. As the

sacrificial fIre, Agni

knpws

all there is to

know

about

the

sacrifice, and it is

hardly surprising that,

due

to this perfect knowledge,

he

is regarded as a

supreme priest, the divine counterpartof the earthly priest. But his know ledge

is

not

by

any

means limited to the sacrificeand priestly matters: he is said

to

be the all-knower, and his wisdo m is often alluded to. He is not unnaturally,

a dispeller of darkness and disease, a destroyer

of

malignant demons. He is

frequently associated

with

Indra, especially

in

these exploits against demons,

and in many hymns conjointly worshipped with Indra. But in spite

of

their

intimate

association and even the traits they share in common, Indra and

Agni are of markedly different character: Indra, on

the one hand,

is the

mighty warri or god,the unrelenting vanquisher not onlyof demons, but also

of all the enemies of

the

Indo-Aryans and

hence

their staunchest protector;

Agni, on

the other hand,

is

the

arch-priest. intermediary between men and

gods, th e great and omniscient sage. and, as the focal point of all sacrifices

and provider

of

warmth and light in the home, closest kinsman to man

among the gods.

The

name Agni

is Indo-European . as proved by the presenceof obvious

cognates in Latin ignis Uthuanian ugms and Old Churc h Slavicognl although

the variation in the initial vowel affords a problem not yet satisfactorily

resolved

2

Agni. under the form Aknis. a ppears as a fire-god also in Hittite,

but the

word

is believed not to have

been

inherited from Indo-European, but

borrowed into Hittite, probably from

the

nearby

Mitanni

people.

l

For some discussion of the vocalism v. J. Loicq, Minutiae Ladnae in fAntiquiltcmssiqut31

(1962), p. 131 and notes 3 and 4 for many blbliogmphlc references.

For funher on this

v

H. Otten and M. Mayrhofer, Der Gott Akni In den hethitischen

Texten und seine indo-arische Herkunft in Orimtalische

Littrarurztiluna

60 (1965). pp. 545

552.


6/42

13

elected Hymns

2

1.1

Agni

1.

Agni I call on, who

is

placed at the fore, the divine ministrant of the

sacrifice, the invoker,

who

bestows the most gifts.

2.

Agni is worthy of being called

on

by former seers

and

present: may he

bring hither the gods!

3. Through Agni may he obtain wealth, prosperity, every day, splendid

and abounding

in

heroic sons!

4.

0 Agni, the sacrifice and work

of

the saCl:ifke, which you encircle

on

every side - that alone goes unto the gods.

5.

May Agni, the invoker who has the powers

of

a sage, true and most

brilliant

in

glory, come hither, a god with the

gods!

6.

Whatsoever favor you would

s t o ~

upon your worshipper, Agni, that

favor of yours surely

is

unfailing, 0 AIigiras.

7. You w approach every day, 0 Agni, you who gleam in the darkness,

with devotion

and

bearing hdmage;

8.

. you

who

are sovereign

of

the sacrifices, guardian

ofthe

Order, brightly

shining, growing

in

your

own

abode.

9.

Be

accessible unto us, 0 Agni, as a father unto his son! Accompany us

for our well-being

Agni,

I.l

Notes

I.

Although this isthe first hymn

of

the as it

has

come

down

to us, it is not

necessarily to be regarded as

the firstin

order

of

composition. But

t has

been

kept first among these selectiOns as setting the tone

of

the whole, its very first

word

being Agni,

on whom

the sacrifice depends. In

much

the

same way

do

the Iliad

and

Odyssey commence

with

the signatory words

I11lVlv

('the

wrath of

Achilles) and dv6pa ('the

man ,

i.e Odysseus, the hero of the epic) and the

Aeneid with rm virumque anns and the man (the

two

principal

themes

of

the work).

who is

placed

at the

fore'; Several layers

of meaning

are involved here: as

the

honored guestat the sacrifice, to which he is requested to bring

along

the gods,

Agni

is accorded the place

of

honor, at

the

fore',

i.e.

right in front, at

the

head.

Virtually, then, in this sense it is eqUivalent to hono red guest'.

Since at the

fore'

may mean in

the East', the direction always

in

front

of

the officiating priest,

the

one who

is placed at the fore'

means

also 'the sacrificial fire

on the

eastern

altar'.

It

is also the regular

tenn

for the domestic priesr,

the

spiritual adviser

of

the king, from

the

precedence

ofrank that

exalted position enjoyed. By

another

figurative facet is suggested simply 'given

fIrSt rank

without specification,

or

contrarily

with

specification:

put atthe

head

of

some undertaking',

in

particular

serving as intennediary between

men and gods, i.e

'one

whohas

been appointed

as messenger:

'divine ministrant of the sacrifice':

Without

Agni,.

of

course, there

could

be

no

sacrifice, as fire

was the

central feature of the Vedic sacrifice.

What

is more,

Agni, as

hasjust

been said. is the intennediary

or

go-between

between

men

and

gods, who transmits the message ofthe sacrifice and its essence to the gods from

men. He is, then, the divine ministrant

of the

sacrifice'

in

the fullest sense, the

counterpart of the earthly priest among the gods. But in the Vedic sacrifice,

especially

in

the g reat sacrifices, there were

many

priests, each

with

particular

functions; Agni here, as elsewhere, is especially identified with the priest

known

as the

invoker:

whose task it

was

to recite the

hymn (which

might,

in

some cases at least, have been his own composition) to the god to whom the

sacrifice was directed. This identification

may

have been facilitated by the

sounds associated

with

fire. particularly on e

that

has

just

been freshly kindled.

In

any

case, no suc h

fanded

similarity

was

needed to assign the invok ership

Agni.

3.

'he'; the institutor

of the

sacrifice, almost certainly the king

or

prince,

on

whose

behalf

it is perfonned

'abounding

in

heroic sons': The constant request that

is

made

in

the Vedic

hymns

is for sons, brave sons. who will distinguish themselves

and

their

families.


7/42

selected Hymns

0

ndra

By any measure Indra is certainly-the most important deity in the

veda. Approximately a quarter

of

the entire collection of 1,028 hymns is

dedicated to his praise. Yet it would perhaps be wrong to say that

he

is the

principal god of the g v e d i c pantheon, since without question Agni, as the

very basis of the sacrifice, must be said to fill that role. Not only is Indra the

most frequently celebrated

of

all the gods, but he is also the most popular and

may practically be styled the nat ional god

of

the Indo-Aryans. Although it

cannotbe denied that some of the finest outpourings of Vedic poetical genius

have gone into the composition

of

hymns to other gods, as, for example,

those to

VaruJ;la

and

U ~ a s

nevertheless, the hymns to Ind ra can hardly be

matched for the strength of their fervid devotion. the broad scope and sweep

of their adoration and the intimacy between god and worshipper which they

reflect, wh ile yet lacking s omewhat in the floridity

and

fmesse

of

style

of

the

best hymns of the ~ g v e d a

As

a conqueror ofan endless array

of

demons and malig nant creatures,

Indra is a 3leat

and

popular hero, a protector

of

men and

gods alike

and

most

worthyof the worship that s accorded to him. The defeatand armihilation of

certain

of

these demons is absolutely essential to the survival of all life,

indeed to the origin of the cosmos in its present form. Principal of these

demons, manyof

whom

bear names,

is

Vrtra, certainly the best known ofall

demons in the ~ g v e d a His destruction, which is mentioned innumerable

times

and

graphically described,

is

undoubtedly the greatest of all the great

deeds performed by Indra. Vrtra, whose name etymologically means the

'Encloser: is portrayed as a mighty serpent, who encloses in his immense

belly not only the Waters that give and sustain all life, but also the basic

elements

of

the cosmos, the sun, moon, heaven, earth, etc. He

is,

then, not

an

actively destructive demon who ravages the countrySide, like Grendel or the

dragon in eowulj but an embodimentof passivity an d negativity, the anti

thesis

of

creativity. For with his destruction In dra is able to bring the world

into being. Another demon whose defeat Indra brought about is Vala,

who

captured the cows

and

hid them

in

a great cave,

which

seems to have been

Vala himself

or at

least under his control.

In

post-Vedic times, it may be

worth noting. when Indra's pre-eminence began to recede as other gods

came to the fore, a fading memory of his mightiest deeds, the slaying ofVala

and Vrtra, persisted in the c ommon epithet 'Slayerof Val a

and

Vrtra: often

found in the epics in lieu of his name. In his incessant contests with these

forces of darkness and malignancy Indra

is

oftentimes aided by other gods,

among

whom

ought especially to be mentioned the Maruts

and

Agni.

Indra

41

In addition to being an invincible slayer of demons, Indra is a great

warrior

and

champion Indo-Aryans in their frequent battles with the

aboriginal peoples, called DlI.sas or Dasyus. is Indra above all whose aid

is

sought in battle against the m andother hostile forces. A super, swashbUCkling

hero-god, whose imm ense powers

put him

in a class by himself,

he is

almost

beyond the orderof things, within the world. yet exceeding

it,

able todo what

he wishes, especially when fortified wi th the vast quantities of

SOma,

which

he is wont to imbibe before his engagements with his foes and in the

addiction to which he surpasses all the other gods. His fondness for this

exhilarating drink is alluded to in almost every hymn in which Indra

is

celebrated and constitutes one of his characteristic traits. One has the im

pression that, were it not for his ample imbibition

of

Soma, he

would

not be

capable of the greatest of the

~ l o i t s

attributed to him. In one remarkable

hymn (X.119), a monolog in which he is supposed by tradition to be the

speaker (and the author ), Ind ra enumerates the effects the Soma has induced

in him

in a crescendo of sweeping assertions, each followed

by

a refrain in

which

he

asks whether

he

has not

drunk

the Soma.

Apart from his creative and martial functions and yet partially con

nected with them is Indra's role as god

of

thunde r and rain. He is the god

of

the thunderstormpar

excellence the

doudsof the monsoon sky are envisioned

as great fortresses in

the

possession

of

demons, from whom they hav e to be

wrested. so that the water they contain may be released for man. These

strongholds are constantly assailed by Indra, armed w ith his special weapon,

the v jr or thunderlJolt, usually said to have been fashioned for him by his

father

T v a ~ J r

wherewith he shatters them with awesome streaks of light

ning. t

is

with the thunderbolt tha t Indra slew Vrtra, and perhaps his most

typical epithet is 'wielder of the thunderlJolt' or some other synonymous

expression.

That Indra was

not

a creation of the Indo-Aryans is apparent from the

occurrence

of

his name in the Avesta, Where, however, he is represen ted as a

demon. quite devoid

of

any

of

the characteristics which h e possesses

in

the

veda. He is also one

of

the lndic

gods mentioned

in

the treaty between the

Hittites.and the Mitan ni presefVed

in

the day tablets

of

the 14th centuryB.C.

found in Asia Minor. is an unsolved question, however,

whether

Indra was

known to

the

Indo-Europeans prior to their dissemination or whether he

is

of later origin.

Very

many

attempts have been made to affiliate the

name

Indra with

words in other Indo-European languages. but no really satisfactory

or

con

vincing equation has yet been

put

forth. Though it is by no

means

free from

objections, the possibility that

tt

is related to the Greek civi}p (genitiveciv8pOc;

man and

therefore cognate also to the Sabinian proper

name

Nero (the


8/42

43

42

Selected Hymns

Roman Emperor) and Oscan n rum of the men,' is not entirely to be ruledout

The etymological sense would then be 'The Man, The Manly One:

1.32

Indra

I.

Now I shall proclaim the heroic feats

of

Indra, which the holder of the

thunderbolt penormed first: he slew the serpent. bored after the waters,

split open the flanks of the mountains.

2. He

slew the serpent reclining on the mountain.

Tvam

fashioned for

him the resounding thunderbolt Running like lowing cows, the waters

went quickly down to the sea.

3. Desiring manly strength, he chose the Soma: he drank of the extract in

three;. brown vessels. Maghavan took his missile, the thunderbolt, slew

him, the first-bom of serpents.

4.

When, Indra, you slew the first-bom of serpents

and

then reduced to

naught the wiles

of

the wily, causing to be

bom

the sun, the heaven and

the dawn, since then you have found no enemy at all.

5. With the thunderbolt, his great weawn, Indra slew Vrtra, the arch

Vrtra, the shoulderless: like a tree-trunk split asunder with an axe, the

serpent lay flat on the ground.

6. For infatuated, like one who has not fought before, he challenged the

great hero, distresserof the mighty, the onrusher. He did not survive the

impact of his weapons: faceless from the clash, he whose enemy was

Indra was completelY crushed.

7.

Footless, handless, he fought Indra. He struck his thunderbolt upon his

back. An ox wishing to

be

a match for the

bull

Vrtra lay scattered here

and there in many a place.

8.

Man's waters, having risen,

went

over

him

lying that way, like a

broken reed: Vrtra lay at

the

foot of the waters which

he

had en

compassed through his

might

Indra,1.32

9.

She whose son was Vrtra had lost her strength: Indra bore down upon

her his weapon. Above was the mother, below the son: Danu lay like

a,

cow with her calf.

10. His body was deposited amids t the cloudbanks that stood not still, with

no place t settle down: overVrtra's loins the waters flowed hitherand

thither. He whose enemy was Indra lay upon long darkness.

11.

The waters whose master was a D!sa, whose guardian was the serpent,

had been penned up, as were the cows by Pa:Q.i. Having slain Vrtra,

Indra opened up the Orifice.

of

the waters which had been closed.

12. You

became a horse's hair, Indra,

when he

struck his fangs against you

you the one and only godl You won the cows, you won the Soma,

hero

I

You let go the seven streams to flow.

13.

For

him

neither the lightning northe thunde r availed, nor the mist and

the hail whi ch he bestrewed. When both Indra and the serpent fought

each other, Maghavan won out also for future days.

14. Whom d id you see as the serpent's avenger, Indra, t hat fear entered

your heart after you slew

him

and you crossed ninety-nine streams, as a

frightened eagle the aerial spaces?

15.

Indra

is

king of

what

moves and

what

has gone to rest. and of the tamed

and

the homed -

he who

has the thunderbolt in his arm. He indeed

rules as king of the peoples:

as

a felly the spokes, he encompasses

them.
http:///reader/full/Indra,1.32http:///reader/full/Indra,1.32


9/42

44

45

elected Hymns

Notes

l. he slew the serpent': The serpent which Indra slew is V{tra. who is not

mentioned by name until stanza 5. The slaying of this archdem on is the featof

Indra most often mentioned among his exploits. VJtra.

in

accordance

with

his

name, which etymologically means 'Encloser: is a demon who withholds

from man the

water

necessary for his survival and. apart from his representat ion

as a serpent. is envisioned as a cloud with all the accoutrements of thunder,

lightning, mist

and

hail (stanza 13). These two images are often inextricably

blended together and, by a further extension

of

the metaphor, the 'cloud

is

called a mountain , upon which V{tra is said to recline (st anza 2), as though the

two were separate, so

that

he is depicted under a

number

of different forms,

which are often, as in this hymn, simultaneously mentioned.

'bored after the waters': as th ough with a spear or similar instrument. the waters

being contained within V{tra's body.

'the

fl nks of

the mountains': Here the cloud. one

of

the two primary metaphors

by which V{tra is depicted. is itself presented under a metaphor, a mountain,

into whos e sides Indra thrusts. his spear.

2.

T v a ~ n

fashioned for

him.the

resounding thunderbolt':

T v a ~ t r

is the skilled

workman or artificer of the gods, in

which

aspect he may be likened to the

Greek Hephaestus

or

Roman Vulcan. His

name

literally Signifies 'Fashioner:

'Rupning like lowingcows etc,: The appropriateness

of

the simile is somewha t

inapparent. because not all the elements are expressed. as is so often the case

in

the

~ g v e d a

Fully stated would read: 'Just as cows, their enclosure having

been opened. go lowing to their pasture (or water-hole), so did t he waters, the

cloud-mountain ha ving been split open, go down

with

a roar to the sea:

3. 'Desiring manly strength, he chose the Soma': In order to stimulate and

strengthen him in his contests against various demons, particularly against V{tra.

Indra is said to imbibe vast quantities of Soma; in X.119, a monologue in which

he is the speaker, Indra describes the effects the drinking

of

Soma has on

him.

he drank

of

the extract

in

three brown vessels": The interpretation of the Vedic

word here rendered in three brown vessels' is uncertain, several quite different

views having been advanced. As to the quantity

of

Soma Indra

drank

prior to

his violent confrontations, it is often said that he drank 'three lakes' of Soma!

Indra is regularly styled Maghav an abounding in gifts, liberaf

in

the g v e d a

although it s not exclUSivelyhisepithet, being applied to othergods also as well

as to the institutor

of

the sacrifice for his liberality in the dispensation ofgifts to

the Brahmans. In the later langUage Maghavan is only another name for

Indra. '

Indra,1.32

4.

'reduced to naught the wiles

of

the wily': The demons

of

the

g v e d a

regularly

resort to deception

and

trickery in their battles with the gods,

who,

quite the

contrary, depe nd

on

the power inhering

in

truth. It is perhapsworth noting that

in the religion of Zoroaster the demonic forces are collectively temied the

tie:

'causing to be born the sun, the heaven and the dawn':

In

consequence

of

his

slaying

of

V{tra, Indra brought forth not only the waters,

but

also the sun,

heaven and the dawn, so that he appears to be not merely a slayer of demons,

but a creator-god. a view which derives some substantiation from

the

reiteration

of

these particular creative accomplishments as well as others elsewhere i n the

~ e d a

He is actually called the 'All-Maker'

or

'Creator' in VIII.98.2.

t

may,

then, be possible that Indra was, at some remote time, a central figure

in

a

creation myth,

which

later, however, became overlaid

with other

matter that

came to be more emphasized i n various retellings, the old creation al aspects

remaining only as a shadowy reminiscence ofan independent myth. On IndIa

as a creator-god

v W.

Norman Brown, 'The Creation Myth of the Veda' in

Journal

the merican Oriental

Society

62 (1942), pp.

85-98.

5.

'Indra slew VJtra. the arch-V{tra': t must be remembered that etymologically

VJtra means Encloser'or 'Cov.erer: a meaning certainly always in

the

mind of

the

Vedic poets

when

they composed hymns dealing

with the

VJtra myth;

what is here rendered by 'arch-V{tra' is really the comparative degree of'VJtra.'

the suggestion of which is 'one who is more of an encloser [than any other

similar creature):

'shoulderless': so because VJtra is thought of as a serpent similarly with foot

less' and 'handless' in stanza 7.

6.

The first halfof this stanza gives the cause of VJtra's downfall portrayed in the

foregoing lines.

'faceless from the clash': that is, V{tra's face was disfigured in

the

ensuing

battle.

7.

It should be noted in this narrative

of

the battle between Indra and VJtra, that

the in dividual details are no t presented sequentially. Thus,

we

have already

been told in 6

that

Vrtra

was

completely crushed,

but

here, as

though

the contest

were still

in

progress, that Indrastruck his t hunderbolt upon VJtra's back.

It

is a

characteristic feature of the

that

the details ofa myth are rarely givenin

their sequence: each stanza presents some facet. whate ver may be its temporal

or causal relation to what precedes or follows, and it devolves upon the hearer

to put the pieces together and.

where

necessary, fill in the gaps from his

knowledge of the myth. t must not be supposed. of course, that

in

this mode of

telling a myth the Vedic poets were being consciously haphazard in their

presentation and chary

of

detail. They knew that their hearers were perfectly


10/42

46

7

elected Hymns

familiar

with

all

the

myths as part and paICel

of

their heritage. So theirpoems

needed only

to

refer succinctly to this or

that

to be understood.

He struck his thunderbolt upon his back ; The usual method of killing a

serpent is to break its back.

An ox the bull : The contrast is important, V{tra being depicted as

emasculated

an d so wanting in

all

the

characteristics

of

a male, as

embodiedin

Indra.

S.

.

Man s

waters, having risen. went over him :

that

is, the waterswhich properly

belonged to

mankind, but

had been withheld from him.

lying

that

way : said with a note of disdain.

at

the

footofthe

waters ; a

somewhat

bold expression,

but

really no more so

than our at the

foot

of

the tree

or at the

foot of the mountaiIL

9.

The narrative now momentarily shifts to Dmu, the

mother

of Vrtra, who,

curiously enough, excepting here, is hardly mentioned in the ~ g v e d a .

Above

was

the mother, below the son ;

~ n u

lay above

her

son in order to

protect

him

from

the

further onslaught of Indra s weapons.

10. lay

upon

long darkness : was immersed in or engulfed by eternal darkness.

11.

The waters

whose

master was a DlIsa : The D ~ s a s were the aboriginal in

habitants

of

India,

whom the

Aryans found living there

when they

arrived.

They are described as dark-skinned , noseless (bywhich is probably meant flat

nosed ),

and of

contempt ible speech. The

term

DlIsa is often used as a sy nony m

of the enemies of the Aryans, and it is applied also

to

individual

demons

that

were slain

by

Indra,

e.g..

Namuci, Sambara, Pipru and, as here, to Vrtra. The

Dl!.sas were often captured in battles

that

took place between

them and the

Aryans and were

then made

into slaves. In

the

later language DlIsa became a

common noun

for a slave

or

a servant

and is

found as the final

member of

personal

names

in the

sense

of

servant

of

so-and-so ;

e.g., K M i ~ s a ,

the

name

of the famous dramatist, which

means

servant

of

(the goddess) IaU:

The waters had been

penned

up, as were

the

cows by PlqIi ; The Patlis,

who in

origin were possibly a sortof robber folk,

are

depicted

in the as

a

group

of

demons who steal cows

and pen them up

in their remote retreats v.

the narrative

hymn

of

a r a m ~ and

the

PaJ;lis,

X.IOS). Here. as occasionally

elsewhere in the ~ g v e d a , Patli is

use

in the singular apparently as a repre

sentative

of

the

whole

class,

just as we

say: The

Hun was

defeated

12. You became a horse s hair : presumab ly to

be taken

literally,Le. transformed

himself into

a horse s

hair

by

his

skill

in

magic. so

that

Vrtra

would fmd it

almost impossible to attack him, even

if he

could see

him In

the later mythology

Indra,1.32

Indra s skill in magic comes

much

to

the

fore,

and

indeed the term n d r a j ~ l a

net

of Indra: first occurring in

the

Atharvaveda. becomes the general

word

for

magic in

Sanskrit

You won the cows, you won the Soma : Perhaps by cows here are meant

figuratively the waters, which in 2 are said to have run like lowing cows: i.e.

from

withinthe

bellyofVrtra

where theyhad been penned

up. More difficult to

explain is

the

acquisition

of

Soma

here, unless it too,

may

be

figuratively used

for the waters.

the

seven streams : perhaps

with

reference to the five riversof

the

Panjabalong

with

the

Indus and

another river v.

the

hymn to the rivers, X.75), but very

likely

the

expression.

which

Occurs elsewhere in the

e d a ,

is not meant

to

be

so specific, but is Simply a desi gnation for

the

riversofthe Panjab,

the

number

seven being a favorite

with

the poets

of the ~ g v e d a

13. Por him ;

that

is, forVrtra,

who

being a cloud-demon

hadall

these

weapons at

his disposal.

14.

Whom

did you see as the serpent s avenger: etc.: Doubtless a rhetorical question.

equival ent to a negative

statement

You

saw no

one

as

the

serpent s

avenger:

so

as to bring fear to your heartand cause you to crossthe ninety-ninestreams like

a frightened eagle

the

aerial spaces

(which

is, after alL an

unimaginable

thing).

ninety-nine : used merely foran indefinite number.

15. s a felly

the

spokes,

he

encompasses them :

that

is,

he

keeps everything

under

his rule and perfectly

in

line. t

would be

hard to fmd a more

apt

simile.


11/42

Selected Hymns

74

4.

the

most bull-like': Various gods

il l

the are called 'bulls' to denote

the

possession ofexcessive virility, and Indra,

beingthe

most mascu line, is especial

ly often so called. This

common

epithet is here elevated to

the

superlative

degree.

At

1.32.7,

which

describes the great contest between

the demon

VJtra

and Indra,

the

virility of

the

latter, who is tenned a bull: is contrasted with

the

total absence

of

virility

on

the

part

of his assailant,

who

is referred to as

an

ox.

'led forth

the

mighty waters flowing':

with

reference to

the

battle

between

Indra and VItta, just mentioned,which

tenninated in

India 's complete victory

over the demon,

whose

vast belly

he

pierced, thus bringing forth

the

waters

and

other elements of

the

cosmos; for the details v 1.32 where, however, l ~ n

is not mentioned, his involvement

in the

contest certainly beingan accretionof

the

later mythology designed to place

P l ~ n on the same

level as

India,

the

greatest of the Indo-Aryan gods.

'We

draw

up PIl$an' etc.;

The

sense

of

this simile seems to be that,

just

as a

6.

charioteer draws

his

reins

in

(or up!) to brin g his horses to a stop

or

slow

them

down, so

the

worshipper here is causing

India

and PIl$an to pause in their

course across the sky long

enough

to confer blessings

upon

him.

Soma

75

Soma

The deified Soma plant occupies a central position

in

the religion

of

the

~ g v e d a . He

is

mentioned about 1000 times,and

no

fewer than 120 hymns are

devoted to his worship. After Indra

and

Agni there are more hymns to Soma

than

to

any

other deity

in

the

~ g v e d a .

The entire

ninth

book consists

of

hymns to Soma.

Worship

of

the Soma plant and the juice extracted from

it

was not

peculiar to the Aryans in India: Soma ,unde r the cognate

name

Haoma, was

worshipped also in ancient

r ~ m

by the Zoroastrians,

and

the Haoma cult

shared

many

traits ill' common

with

that depicted

in

the g v e d a as ma y be

seen from the Avesta.

t is

possible, though perhaps not provable, that the

imbibing

of the juice of the Soma plant harkens back to the period of Indo

European unity.

Though Soma sacrifices continued to be performed for centuries after

the arrival

of

the Aryans

in

India

and

are still performed sporadically,

in

the

course of time the extract was no longer prepared from the same plant as in

the period. Apparently the cultivation ofit was confined to mounta in

ous areas, a certain Mt. MOjavat being specifically mentioned,

and

never

widespread. As the Aryans advanced from the northwest into the plains

of

northern. India,

it

became more

and

more difficult to procure Soma, and, as

substitutes were more frequently employed.. the original plant was forgotten.'

Numerous attempts have been

madem

the past hundred or more years

to determine the identity

of

the original Soma plant. Recently

it

has been

identified by the mycologist,R Gordon Wasson, with the mushroom

Amanita

muscaria L. popularly called the fly-agaric: Much may be said

in

favor

of

this

identification: the fact that,

in

spite

of

other mi nute descriptive allusions

in

the

g v e d a .

nothing

is

ever said about the plant' s leaves, branches, blossoms,

roots, or its fruit

or

seed; the reddish br own color

of

the extracted juice; some

of

the epithets

and

fanciful imagery that are applied in great profusion to

Soma; the effects it is alleged to produce

on

those

who

partake

of

its essence,

which suggest some sort

of

hallucinatory drug. Nevertheless, though these

and

yet other particulars do seem to fit a mushroom rather

than any of

the

other plants th at have been advanced as candidates, not all scholars are fully

convinced by the identification

of

Soma

with

the fly-agaric. Clearly the

matter needs to be studied further

in

spite of the attractiveness

of

the

evidence.

A hint at the growing scarcity

of

the Soma plant may be reflected at \tV X.8S.): 'H aving

drunk,

he

thinks it is Soma. because

they

press a plant: what

the

priests

know

as Soma, no one

enjoys'.


12/42

77

Selected Hymns

76

The hymns addressedto Soma are couched in metaphors

and

similesof

highly imaginative character,

and

probably

no

flights

of

fancy have ever

soared higher than those of the poets ofthe ninth book ofthe

g v e d a

Amid

this elaborate and fanciful imagery. there

is

a constant shift from one bold

figure to another and a peculiar combination of the literal and figurative, an

interplay

which

is capable

of

leading to great obscurity

of

expression

and

what

oftentimes appears to be nothing but a confused jumble

of

unrelated

ideas. The occurrence ofwords ofuncertainmeaningand especially ofwords

which are found but once in the g v e d a contributes a full share of additional

obscurity to these difficult passages.

Soma was regarded as the drink of immortality, which it could confer

upon both godsandhumanbeings. was imbibed with relish by allthe gods

as well as the Fathers, though some, such as Indra, are mentioned

with

particular frequency for thei r fondness

of

Soma.

It

was alleged to deliver

men

from sickness and languor

and

to have other beneficent effects.

Soma

VIII.48

I. I. of good understanding, have partaken of the sweet potion, the well

minded, the best finder of bliss,

which

all t he gods

and

mortals, calling

it 'honey', seek.

2. When you have proceeded within, you shall become Aditi, the appeaser

of

divine wrath. Enjoying the. companionship of Indra, 0 I ndu, as

an

obedient

span

of horses the wagon-pole, may you promote us to wealt h

hereafter.

3. We have

drunk

the Soma. We have become immortal. We have gone to

the

light.

We

have found

the

gods.

What

shall hostility do to us now?

What, 0 immortal, shall the malice of mortal do?

4.

Be comfort to our heart,

when

imbibed, 0 Indu, very kind, Soma, as a

father to his son. Thoughtful as a friend to a friend, do you,

of

praise far

and wide, extend ou r life, Soma, that we may livel

5.

These splendid, freedom-giving drops,

which

I have drunk, have girt

me

together

in

the joints, as straps a chariot. May these drops protect

me

from the slipping

of my

foot

and

may they keep

me

from sicknessl

Soma, VIlI.48

6. Make me to flame like a kindled

fire!

Make us to see clearly, make us

richer! For then, in my intoxication with you,

0

Soma, I ll think:

As

a

rich man, move forward unt o prosperity!'

7. With eager heart we would partake of your extract, as of one's fathers

wealth. 0 Soma, 0 king! prolong our lives, as does the sun the days of

spring!

8. 0

Soma,

0

king! be gracious unto us for our well-being! We are devo ted

to you: of his be sure! Ill will is arising

and

anger,0 Indu: do not give us

away

to our foe,

according to your pleasure!

9.

For, as protectorofour body, Soma, you have settled down in every limb

as man 's observer.

When we

infringe upon your ordinances, be gracious

unto us as a good friend,

0

god, for our betterment!

10.

With a tenderhearted friend

would

I associate that,

when

imbibed,

would not harm me,

0

Indra, possessor of bay horses. This very Soma

which

has been depositedin us, for that I go to Indra

in

order to prolong

my

life.

II. Away have stayed those languors and diseases: they trembled, favoring

the

darkness, they were afraid. Wide-stimulating Soma has risen up

within us: we

have come to

where

life

is

prolonged

12.

That drop, 0 Fathers, which,

when drunk in our

hearts, enters us

mortals,. itself

immortal

to that Soma we would offer worship

with

an

oblation. In his mercy, in his good graces may

we be!

13.

Joining together

with

our Fathers, 0 Soma, you have extended unto

heaven and

earth: to you as

such we

would offer worship

with an

oblation. May

we

be possessors

of

riches!

14.

As

Our

protectors, 0 gods, speak for

us!

Let not sleep overpower us nor

idle chatterl Ever friends ofSoma, endowedwithgoodly heroes as sons,

we would celebrate a sacrifice.

15.

You are the giver of strength to us on all sides, 0 Soma. You are the

finder

of

the heavenly light: enter us as man's observerl You, 0 Indu, in

conjunction with your aids protect us behi nd as also

in

front!


13/42

79

Selected Hymns

8

Notes

1.

well-minded:

the effect being made an epithet

of

the

cause; if. Shakespeare s

all

the

drowsy syrups

of the

world (Othello

III.3.HI),

insane

roo(

(Macbeth

1.3.84), sweet oblivious antidote ibid. V.l.43).

best finder

of

bliss :

The word

translated bliss is etymologically

more akin

to

room, free scope

and

perhaps migHt be adduced as lending support to

the

identification of

Soma

with the hallucinogenic

mushroom Amanita

muscaria

In

the g v e d a

Soma is often called by the word

madhu,

usually loosely translated

honey: as here. Butmadhu reallymeans something sweet, and it was probably

applied by the IndoEuropean peoples.

in

various cognate forms,

to

a

number

of diverse foods

and

beverages. honey being only

one

of them.

2.

Aditi. a goddess frequently mentioned

in the

g v e d a to

whom,

however,

no

entire hymn is ascribed, is apparently in origin

the

personification of an

abstraction. as

the

name means literally boundlessness:

ie

freedom. Her

identification is accordingly on a very broad scale, includin g

the

sky

and

air.

earth, allthat has been and will be. She is often inv oked to release

the

worship

per from

sin or

guilt.

and the

reference to Aditi

in

stanza 2 is

in

connection

with

her ability to fulfill

that

function,

Soma is very frequently called Indu: a word whos e precise

meaning

is some

what doubtfuL

though

it probably

means

drop or juice:

It

is

commonly

employed in addressing Soma, almost like a name, and when so used, it is kept

in the English translation.

In

this stanza it is juxtaposed with the name Indra:

partly for its alliterative effect.

The translation of

the

last part of this stanza is uncertain because the original

contains a

word of doubtful meaning which occurs but once in the g v e d a f

the

rendition given her e is correct.

the

sense is

that

Soma should enjoy the

dose

companionship of

Indra

as the two horses that

pull

the

wagon

enjoy the

wagon-pole. and Soma

with I n d r ~

should bring

wealth and

prosperity to the

worshipper.

Indra in

his exploits against the

demons

is dependent on great

draughts

of

Soma

if.

1.32),

and the

close

associationoflndra and

Soma is

reflected

in two hymns

where they are

a d d r e ~ s e d

conjointly as a pair.

4.

The translation when imbibed

here

and in IO is preferred to when

drunk:

which. though formally correct; might lead to a misunderstanding.

5.

May these drops protect

me

from

the

slipping of

my

foot: SayaJ;la takes

the

word rendered

by foo(

in the sense.of (religious) perfo rmance and interprets:

protect

me

from slipshod performance: the idea thus being

that the

imbibing

of

Sorna prevents this.

Soma, VIII,48

7.

The

opening

words could be equally correctly translated

We

would partake of

you

(who have

been) pressed

with

an eager heart.

the days

of

spring : perha ps

the

dayS

ofsummer:or even the shiningdays: the

Vedic word, though

much

discussed, being

of

uncertain meaning.

10.

The tenderhearted friend is,

of

course, Soma. the reference being

somewhat

confused

by

the SUdden apostro phe

to

Indra.

possessorofbay horses :

Indra

is so-called because

he

travels

in

a chariotdrawn

by bay horses.

for

that

I go to Indra in order to prolong

my

life : The

meaning

appears

to

be

I

go to

Indra, ask Indra. to extend

my

life

in

order

that

I may

be

able to

continue enjoying

Soma:

II.

Soma is viewed as capable of keeping away all sortsof disease

and

darkness.

we have

come

to where life is prolonged : These same words form the final

verse

of

stanza 6 0 f ~ V 1 l 1 3

a h y m n t o U ~ , g o d d e s s o f t h e d a w n : R . l s e u p T h e

living spirit has come

unto

us. The darkness has gone away. The light

is coming

hither. She ie., U ~ s ) has p ~ n e d

the

path for the sun to go. We

have come

to

where

life is

prolonged

In

the

hymn this verse seems to be

another

wayof

saying

We have come

to

another

day in

our

lives

with

the return

of the dawn.

But in this Sorna

hymn

these words are used with a slightly different twist:

from drinlting

the

Sorna,

which has no w

pervaded

and

quicken ed us,

we have

come to a

point

where our life is prolonged,

we

have come to a

renewal

of

our life.

1213. The Fathers,. who live

in

the highe.st step of

~ I 1 u .

are extremely

fond

of

drinking Soma and are addressed here to witness

the

worship

that

is being

accorded to Sorna.
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14/42

85

Selected Hymns

84

Soma

X.40

1. Flowing clear, he has marched against all adversaries, the active one.

They adorn the sage with eulogies.

2.

To his place

the

reddish one has risen. May the bull go to

Indra

after the

pressing On a firm seat he sits.

3. Now bestow upon us great wealth, Indu For us, 0 Soma, from every

where make it flow hith er thousandfold

4.

All riches, 0 Soma Pavamana. bring hither, Indul May you get thousand

fold nourishment

5. Flowing clear, bring hither to us wealth: for the one

who

praises a host

of

heroes; make the si ngers songs increasel

6.

Flowing clear, Indu. bring hithe r wealth, 0 Soma.

that

has double

strength, worthy

of

praise by us, 0 bull, Indul

otes

I. 'Flowing clear' for Vedicpunl2na. which likepavam.mav. note on IX.3.2) is

said of the

SOma

juice as it flows through the woolen filter Into the trough

below. The 'sage' refers to the SOma. whom the officiating priests 'adorn with

eulogies.'

2. The 'place' to which SOma has risen is probably the trough. which is also

figuratively looked upon as the 'heaven.' SOma

is

termed 'reddish' from the

color

of

the juice

and

a

'bulr

by a fanciful extension

of

the sound .the juice

produces as it trickles through the woolen filter. Soma

is

here entreated to go

to

Indra, who is particularly fond of drinking SOma juice. In the fmal sentence

Soma is viewed as having already arrived

in

his heavenly abode beside Indra.

as though the entreaty were Instantly fulfilled.

3. On the word 'Indu' v note on VIII.48.2.

4. 'Soma Pavamana' here retained as in the translation

IX.3.

6. 'weal th that has double strength,' probably. as Saya(la says, as coming

from both heaven

and

earth.

Soma, IX.74

IX.74

Soma

1.

Like a new-bom child he cries out in the wood.

when

he, the reddish

stallion. desires to reach the heaven. He mingles

with

the seed of

heaven, increased with milk. To him,

our

far-extending protection. we

go

with

good

will

2.

The stalk, pillar

of

the sky, well-extended prop

of the

earth, which,

filling up the trough, moves round everywhere -may he worship these

two great worlds according to the ritual He, the sage, maint ains them

both together as nourishment

3.

Great is the feast

of

Soma. well-made and sweet. Wide

is

the domain of

Aditi for

him who

goes to the ttta.

who

is master of the rain from here,

the reddish bull. the leader of the waters. who bestows help from here.

worthy

of

praise.

4. From the l iving cloud ghee and milk are milked. The navel

of

the ttta.

the nectar,

is

produced. All together they

of

goodly gifts gratify him: the

men, fructifiers, urinate him made ready.

5.

The stalk uniting with the wave has cried aloud. t swells for

man

the

god-inviting skin. t deposits its seed in the lap

of

Aditi, whereby we

shall produce children

and

descendants.

6. May they pour down on the thousand-str eamed one unceasing May

they abound in offspring in the third regionl The four openings are

concealed beneath the heaven: dripping with ghee they convey the

immorta l offering.

7.

He assumes a white color

when he

wishes to attain the heaven. Soma,

the bountiful lord, knows the world. Due toour devotion

and

effort he

grants us his favor swiftly. May he burst heaven's cask aboundi ng in

water.

8. Therefore, to the white trough, anointed

with

milk, he has come.

having attained it,. a horse to its goal in a race-course. Serving the gods

with

devotion, they send cows unto KaQivat

of

a hundred winters.
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15/42

Selected Hymns

6

9.

Your essence, 0 Soma, when you are mingled with water, runs off-to

the strainerof sheep's wool, 0 Pavamana. Being cleansed by the sages,

o most exhilarating one,

e

pleasant-tasting for Indra to drink.. 0

Pavamana

Notes

1.

By 'wood' is

meant

the wooden trough Into

which

the Soma juice is strained

and

where it s mixed withwaterand

milk

The seed ofheaven' is the rain and,

by extension, the water with

which

the Soma juice is mixed. t is said to be

'increased with milk' because of the admixture with milk in the wooden

trough.

2.

If the identification of Soma with the mushroom

Amanita

muscaria L, the so

called 'fly-agaric: is correct, it is easy to see how, in the highly figurative

laDguage

of

the \tgveda. epithets like pillar

of

the sky: 'well-extended prop

of

the earth' woul d be applied to

it

But these highly poetic projections are mixed,

as here,

with

allusions to various aspects of the process involved

in

preparing

the Soma, so that there is in all the Soma hymns a constant interplay

of

the

fIgUrative

and

the literal. often developed in a mos t perplexing and elusive

fashion. Here the Somajuice, referred to metaphorica lly by its stalk.which is in

tu m extended into the bold figure

of the

pillar of the sky: is said to move round

everywhere: i e we may presume in the confines of the trough.

3. By Aditi is here probably meant merely the heaven..with which. among many

other things, she is identified; for further detalls

v

note on ltV VIII.4B.2.

In this stanza Soma is identifiedwith the

rain..

whosedomain is his because he

adheres to the ltta. the Cosmic Law. and with which, i n the form of water, he

intermingles

and

flows

in

the troJJgh. viewed by mythological transfer as the

heaven. Incorporated into this identification

with

the rain is the metaphor

of

Soma as a 'reddis h bull.' which is supposedly founded upon the color of the

Soma juice and the sound it emits while entering the trough from the woolen

strainer.

4. Evidently here we are to picture the officiating priests as holdi ng the vessels of

Soma juice over the trough where, after paSsing through t he woolen straineror

filter, it is to be mixed with milk or water. The cloud,' then,

is

the vessel or pot

held by the priest, from which pours forth the rain in the form of Soma. Or

perhaps the 'living cloud' is rather to be taken as the Soma plant

Soma, IX.74

87

Like the 'pillar of the sky' in 2, here the exp ression' navel of the ltta' or more

freely 'navel

of

the Truth: may, ifwe accept the identification oftheSoma plant

with th e mushroom, have originally been suggested by the mushroom's physical

appearance, but this need not have be en the case, as it could simply have been a

natural extension of a commonplace expression like 'navel of the earth' or

'navel

of

the world,' far more fanciful extensions being a ubiquitous featureof

the ltgveda.

By 'nectar' is, of course, meant the Soma. It might have been rendered more

literally by 'ambrosia.' as being t he drink of the gods.

'they

of

goodly gifts: elsewhere

in

the ltgveda used

of

the Maruts, the storm

gods,

as bringers

of

rain.. is here applied to the priests. who are in a way

identified with the Maruts, and as they pour down the Soma juice from their

vessels into th e trough below, they are said (like the Maruts) to urinate it The

Vedic word translated by 'fructifiers' has occasioned endless discussion among

scholars. Probably it

means

literally 'causing to swell. causing to be exuberant'

and hence, by extension.. 'fructifying.' That the men or priests should be called

'fructifying' or'fructifiers' seems to be a wayofsaying that hey are impregnating

or infusing the Soma with milk and water.

5. As

in 2, 'stalk' means the Somajuice

and

the wave'

with

which It unites is the

water that is added.

'has cried aloud', as cries out' In 1, refers to the trickling soun d made by thejuice

as It enters the trough. upon which are based some of the most extravagant

metaphors.

The skin: Le the woolen filter, through which the juice passes into the trough

and which presumably becomes swollen or thickened as the juice spreads over

It and percolates through it is possible. alternatively, that the skin' mightbea

figurative expression for the trough, which is made to 'swell' with the influxof

the Soma juice.

By the 'lap

of

Aditi' may be meant the trough itself, viewed as the heaven

(Adlti),

on which v

above in the note under 3.

The 'seed' which the Soma deposits is probably its 'essence: which comes to

earth as rain.. whence all vegetation and life itself.

6.

One of the most difficult and obscure stanzas in the hymn, partly due to the

brevity of expression and the number of ways some of the words may be

construed and partly also because one of the key words, that translated by

'openings,: occurs only

in

this

passage, for which reason its meaning is uncertain

Another difficulty

is

the pronoun they'

in

May they pour down etc. His

assumed

in

this nterpretation that the they' looks ahead to the four openings :

The stanza seems to continue th e figure of the Soma as the fructifying rain

of


16/42

selected Hymns

8

heaven (the third region?), the four openings' possibly being the fourprincipal

directions

whence

flow

the

rains. The directions are said to e dripping with

ghee,

that

is with water. .

7. The

white color

it assumes is due t the

milk

with

which

the Soma juice is

mixed; v also

the

next stanza. There is

no word

for'heaven' in

the

original, but

it

is supplied here from stanza

I,

where

the

phraseology is not so condensed.

8.

The

white

trough: primarily the trough into

which

the juice has trickled from

the filter, as

shown

by the amplification anointed

with

milk (literally

with

cows'!),

but

figuratively also

the

heaven,' the

attainment

ofwhidJ. alluded to

in

7 as a desire. is here said to e fulfilled. By a simple metaphor the Soma,

having reached its goal (the trough heaven) is called a horse that has reached

its goal

in

a race-course.

t is supposed

that

the piousones referred to are

the

patronsof the sacrifice.who

are offering cows to Kak$lvat, the

author

of

the hymn,

as dalqil it

9.

The mingling with water mentioned here

must

refer to an admixtureof water

prior to

that

in the trough.. perhap s during the pressing of

the

plant

'Being cleansed'

might

refer either to

the

filtering

of

the juice, a process

which

was

supposed

to

remOve its impurities,

or

to the addition of

water and

milk.

Indra

is

constantly described as consuming great quantities of Soma

in

his

exploits with various demons.

VaruQa 89

V a r u ~ a

VaruQa is

without

question one of the most importantgods in

the

veda. though. as with the great Indra. he recedes

into

the background

in

the

post-Vedic period. as

other

notions

come

to

the

fore

to

displace him from his

high and lofty rank. VaruQa

was the

guardian and protector of Truth, which

was

viewed by the Vedic

Indian

as

the

principal force

in

the universe, the

very focal

point

of Vedic religion, whereby every aspect

not only

of the

material world. but also

of

the inner world

of

the individual was regulated

There could

be

no opposition to its ceaseless operation, and without it all

would

be chaos

and

confusion. In this comprehensive sense Truth or as

it

is called in

the

e d a

was

viewed virtually as a magical power, entrusted

into the hands of VaruQa, who. like

an

immensely powerful earthly king.

was

ever watchful

that

his ordinances

should be

obeyed, to which end he

dispatched spies everywhere among the people to investigate and report the

minutest deviation from the strict

adherence

to his law. As the greatest

power. Truth was, in the fmal analysis. the cause of all existence.

the

seat of

which was in

the celestial waters

in the

highest heaven.

the navel of

the

world -a fount

of etemallight, of

which the sun is but the merest reflection.

As

Truth or was concealed within the celestial waters. the waters were

conceived as VaruQa's element,

in

which

he

moved

or

abided, and since all

the waters on earth, whether in the form of streams or seas, or the rain

of

the

monsoon, were thought ultimately to derive from the celestial waters, VaruQa

was everywhere present in them.

even

in the smallest drop. Whenever,

therefore,

an

oath was

taken, which by its nature involves reliance upon

truth, a vessel of water. symbolical

of

VaruQa's presence,

was there

as an

intrinsic part of

the

ceremony. VaruQa's intimateconnection with the water

in later times became his dominant feature.

as the

function of Truth came

gradually

to be

Documents

Selections From the Rig Veda