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Tidbits from Rig Veda

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While studying Rig Veda, I came across some interesting points which I would like to share with you. This feature will appear twice a week, leaving the other five days for you to comment and supplement. Let us first begin with the glorification of our தாய்க்குலம்.

This appears in Rig Veda 5.61. The author of the Suktam Syavasva Atreya praises Maruts in verses 1-4 and in 11 – 16. The other verses speak of his experience in obtaining grants from rich kings.

At first he went to one Taranta, who was not a believer in god and not known for munificence. The rishi praised the king in vain. But the latter’s young and affable wife decided to help the rishi. She threw her arms around her husband’s neck and prevailed on him to gift horses, cows and hundreds of sheep to the rishi. Not only that, she gave him two horses and showed him the way to Purumila, another king, from whom the rishi got a hundred head of cattle.

In this context, the rishi says that a woman is stronger and more powerful than men who are mostly atheistic and miserly. A woman knows the pains and wants of others and is pious. But men are calculative. They will give only in return for something received or in expectation of something bigger.
Have you come across the English word ‘weregild’? This is the compensation paid by an offender to the victim or his relative. The Sanskrit equivalent for weregild is ‘vairadeya’ वैरदेय. The rishi says that half of the men-folk would pay only ‘vairadeya’ and not gift to the poor.

Is that why Indian beggars seek alms from ladies, ‘அம்மா, தாயே, பிச்சை போடுங்க’ and not address the men-folk? How is it in other countries?
 
Hope this post is not tangential to the topic.

In Western culture they try to distinguish the genders by their brain chemistry.

The Female Brain is a 2006 book by the American neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine.

From the wikipedia The Female Brain (book) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The main thesis of the book is that women’s behavior is different from that of men due to hormonal differences. Brizendine says that the human female brain is affected by the following hormones:estrogen, progesterone, testosterone (oxytocin), neurotransmitters (dopamine , serotonin) , and that there are difference in the architecture of the brain (prefrontal cortex hypothalamus amygdala) that regulates such hormones and neurotransmitters."

To read an excerpt Excerpt from The Female Brain by Dr. Louann Brizendine - Oprah.com

To read a book review (New York Times)
The Female Brain - By Louann Brizendine - Books - Review - New York Times

End of that review:
"If Brizendine had chosen to describe more of these experiments, preferably in the text itself, she might have made a real contribution to our understanding of how scientists know that male and female brains are different, and how these differences manifest themselves in everyday life. As it is, we’re unable to judge the evidence for ourselves. After all, if we’re going to engage in debates about female scientists (and female presidents), we need all the objective ammunition we can get."
 
Boomer and older women give 89% more of their total income to charity than their male counterparts when education, income, race, number of children and other factors affecting giving are equal, according to the Women Give 2012 report from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
Women with more financial resources are even more generous than men with similar resources.
These women in the top 25% of “permanent” income — including salaries of $61,000 and higher and investments — give over 1.5 times more to charity than boomer and older men.
“We did find that women are more generous,” said Debra J. Mesch, institute director. “We’re not saying that women are better or men are worse, but that (charities) need to think about the differences in giving patterns and behavior of men and women.”…

So why are boomer and older women more willing to part with their money for good causes? Several factors are in play.
“It has to do with women being socialized to be the caregivers of their families and communities,” Mesch said.

Women vs. Men: Generosity

Many churches are missing opportunities to involve Christian women in philanthropy, with ministry leaders too often speaking "man to man"—despite the fact that women now control more than 51 percent of personal wealth nationally, according to a 2012 national survey.


While Christian women are far more generous than the average person, the report—"Directions in Women's Giving 2012"—shows that many donors feel that church and ministry leaders neglect the role women play in charitable giving, instead addressing only husbands. The report was commissioned by Women Doing Well, a Georgia-based national organization founded in 2010 to assist Christian women in stewardship.

Churches Should Recognize Value of Women's Generosity
 
Was there cow-sacrifce during Vedic period?

Thirugnansambandar in his hymn on Chidambaram, glorifies the Kshetram as the dwelling place of pasu-sacrificing Brahmins.

பறப்பைப் படுத்தெங்கும் பசுவேட் டெரியோம்புஞ்
சிறப்பர் வாழ்தில்லைச் சிற்றம் பலமேய
பிறப்பில் பெருமானைப் பின்றாழ் சடையானை மறப்பி லார்கண்டீர் மைய றீர்வாரே. 1-80-2

Commentators suggest that the word Pasu is to be understood in the sense of animal and not as cow.

Rig Veda 5.83.8 describes cow as aghnya अघ्न्या (not to be slaughtered). It gives room to assume that cow was considered sacred while other animals could have been sacrificed. RV 6.39.1 requests Indra to bestow upon the devotee food, chief of which is cow (गोअग्राः). One would like to think that it is a metonym for cow products such as milk, ghee etc. The commentator, Sayana does not mention that the word ‘goagra’ refers to milk etc. nor does he say that it is flesh. He is silent on this. Perhaps he knew that it meant cow’s flesh and did not want to be seen supporting it since in Sayana’s time the popular religious sentiment was against cow slaughter.
1.162 describes the slaughtering of goat and horse in the sacrifices. The tenth verse assigns the duty of cleaning the victim’s body of any bad odour or undigested grass to the Samitas शमितार: (immolators who form part of the sacrificers).

यत् ऊवध्यम् उदरस्य अप-वाति य: आमस्य क्रविष: गन्ध: अस्ति सु-कृता तत् शमितार: कृण्वन्तु उत मेधम् शृत-पाकम् पचन्तु 1,162.10

RV 5.85.1 describes Varuna as having spread out the earth just like a Samita spreads the skin of the animal after killing it. There are more than 8 references to the Samita throughout RV.
It may be concluded that the cow used to be sacrificed earlier. During Vedic times they would have understood the economic value of the cow and could have brought a ban on killing it. That justifies the nomenclature Aghnya. It is certain that goat and horse were sacrificed.
 
The RigVeda (ऋग् वेद) is the oldest religious book of Hinduism. It is commonly believed to be composed around 1500 B.C. It is the oldest extant text in an Indo-European family language. The language used is vedic Sanskrit, an earlier version of classical sanskrit.
It contains 1028 verses, divided in to 10 books (called mandalas). The format for citation is [R.V.Book.Hymn.Verse]. Here is the list of the number of hymns in each book.

  1. 191 Hymns
  2. 43 Hymns
  3. 62 Hymns
  4. 58 Hymns
  5. 87 Hymns
  6. 75 Hymns
  7. 104 Hymns
  8. 103 Hymns
  9. 114 Hymns
  10. 191 Hymns
The RigVeda is the most ancient religious text of Hinduism. It is generally believed to have been compiled into its present form not later than 1300 B.C. It is generally thought that these verses were brought in by the Indo-Aryans, who came to India in ancient times. They shared a common origin with the Iraniyan-Aryans, worshipping the same gods such as Mitra, Varuna, Indra. They also had the cult of fire worship and Soma (an intoxicating drink) and composed the verses in various different metres. There is a striking similarity between the language of the Rig Veda and the Zoarastrian holy bible, the Zend Avesta.
The language of the Rig Veda is very poetic, and is known as Vedic sanskrit, which differs quite a bit from the classical sanskrit of later times. It contains verses addressed to various deities, who are personification of the forces of nature. Many reasearchers believe that the verses in the Rig Veda were composed over a period of time, by various clans of seers. Each seer family had a favorite metre in which they compsed their hymns, although some metres were used by many different clans. It is believed that sometime around 600 B.C. collected these verses as a Samhita text. The compilers applied the rules of sandhi (a process by which two words are combined together by contracting vowels or turning them into semi-vowels) and fixed the text in its current form. The body of hymns was still transmitted by reciting, for there is no evidence that they preserved written records. Once the compilation was done, an ingenious device was used to preserve it as collected. Indexes called the Anukramanis were also prepared, which enumerate the number of stanzas contained in each hymn, the metre in which it is composed, the addressed deity formed a neat device for preventing distortions to the original text. This is the reason the main body of the work has been preserved so well over such a long period.
The RigVeda consists of 1017 hymns. The total is a little over 10,000 stanzas. The hymns vary quite a bit in their length. The entire material is commonly separated into 10 Mandalas or books. Each book consists of many Suktas (hymns). This is the preferred method when quoting from the Rig Veda. Books 2 through 7 contain hymns that were, according to tradition, "revealed" to seers of the same family, and the evidence for this view is that the name of the family occurs many times in the hymns. (a typical example will be to say. "....and this was seen by Angirasa"). It is generally believed that Books 1,8 and 10 are collections of hymns composed by different families. Book 9 has been composed by taking all the verses that were originally addressed to Soma, (to be chanted while the Soma juice was "clarifying") and putting them in a single book. Possibly this division was made so that these verses could be chanted in the ritual purification of the Soma juice. It is also believed that Book 10 was a later addition, as the hymns in this book refer to the ideas presented in the previous books. Linguistic analysis also supports this theory.
The Gods that appear in the Rig Veda are personifications of the powers of nature. The hymns mostly invoke the protection of the Gods for various activities, such as protection from harm in war, protection from drought, boon for increased wealth (mostly cattle wealth). It can be seen that the Gods are being asked to come down and drink the Soma juice and accept the sacrificial offering (Havis) that is poured into the fire. Clarified butter was one of the common offerings. Agni (fire) holds a special place in sacrifices, as he is the link between man and the Gods. He is referred to as the Yajaman (master) of the sacrifice, who laps up the sacrificial offering with his many mouths (flames) and carries the oblations up to the god with smoke.
Indra is the chief deity in the Rig Veda. He is the Lord of thunder, of rainfall and of war. His blessings were invoked both for victory in war, as well as to dispel drought. He was frequently mentioned as being the Mightiest of the immortals, and his great power is frequently dwelled upon. The thunderbolt is his favorite weapon, and he is said to have battled and killed many demons.
Generally, the Gods in the Rig Veda can be seperated into their spheres of influence, namely, heaven, air and earth. The heaven is the dominion of Dyaus (the sky), Varuna, (the waters), Mitra (protector of oaths), Surya (the sun), Pusan and the Ashwini twins. The Goddesses associated with heaven are Usas (dawn) and Ratri (night). The Gods of the air are Indra, ApamNapat, Rudra (this name is later applied to Shiva in the Puranas), the Maruts, Vayu, Parjanya and the ocean. The deities of the eart are Prithivi (earth), Agni (fire) and Soma. There are also minor Gods, who don't even have a single hymn addressing them entirely. Trita (lightning form of fire) and Matarisvan (he is said to have brought fire to mankind, so he is the Indian Prometheus) have only snippets of hymns addressed to them. Some rivers such as the Indus, Bias, Sutlej are also addressed as female deities by their ancient name. There are frequent references to the river Saraswati (different from Saraswati, the consort of Brahma in the Puranas). The river Sarasvati is believed to have dried up afer the Vedic period.
There are also Gods who are associated with abstract concepts. One of the ideas mooted is that their names were originally the appellations of other Gods, but became independent Gods in their own right with the passage of time. Dhatr is a deity, whose name originally belonged to Indra, but is later said to be an independant God who created the sun, the moon and the earth. A God named Tvastr, is also mentioned, who is the artisan of the Gods. He is a precursor of Vishwakarma of the later texts. This association is clearly seen for both Tvastr and Vishwakarma are said to have a daughter named Saranyu. The Rig Vedic Saranyu is the wife of Vivasvant (possibly the Sun) and is the mother of the primaeval twins Yama and Yami. The Saranyu who is the daughter of Vishwakarma is married to Surya, the sun. In the Rig Veda, the sun God is Savitr, who is associated with Surya.
Another important derived God is Prajapati (literally, lord of men), which was an appellation applied to various Gods, but became a separate God himself. The religion in the Rig Veda is mostly pantheistic, although one particular hymn [R.V.10.121] introduces the refrain,
is kasmai devaya havisha vidhema?
which literally means, "Which God should we worship with oblations?". From the surrounding context it is clear that the answer is Prajapati.
One of the most important deities in the Rig Veda is Aditi. Her name literally means freedom, or "to unbind". She is referred to as the mother of a group of Gods who are referred to as Adhithyas. In the Puranas she is the wife of sage Kashyapa and the mother of the Devas, who are known as Adhithyas. There is also a natural grouping of Gods in the Rig Veda, with certain gods being associated with these groups. For instance, the Adhithyas are said to be Mitra, Aryaman, Bhaga, Varuna, Daksha, Amsa, Surya and Martanda. The other group is the Maruts who attend on Indra. There are also Vasus, whose number is not mentioned in the Rig Veda (but the Mahabharata gives their number as eight).
The Apsaras (celestial nymphs) are mentioned, and Urvashi is explicitly referred to by name. The Gandharvas are also mentioned, but are associated with guarding the nectar and with water. Various categories of demons are mentioned, and they are usually referred to as Rakshasas. The demons are rarely called Asuras in the Rig Veda, and this name is frequently applied to the Gods, specifically to Varuna. The Danavas, who are the sons of Danu are mentioned. The most often referred Danava is Vritra, who is visualized as a drought demon, who locked up all the clouds in a mountain. Indra freed the clouds by slaying Vritra. Other demons mentioned in the Rig Veda are Vala, Arbuda and Visvarapa and Svarbhanu. There is also a frequent reference to a class of demons who are called Dasas (or dark coloured). This fact has been used to support the Aryan invasion theory. (The assumption is that the original inhabitants of India were dark skinned, who were defeated by the fair-skinned, invading Aryans).

Source : Google
 
Who is the king of Devas? Everybody will answer ‘Indra’. But according to Rig Veda, Varuna is the king of Devas. Sometimes Mitra too is mentioned jointly with Varuna as kings. It is only very rarely that Indra gets that credit. Such instances can be counted on one’s hand.

Why is Varuna called the king? He made an excellent road for the sun to travel along. 1.136.2
He dug a road for Surya. He created the waves of the rivers going to the sea. He divided the days and nights following dharma. 7,87.1

It is Varuna who establishes and looks after dharma with watchful eyes. He punishes people who violate dharma. 1,152.1

Everybody must have heard this mantra.
ध्रुवं ते राजा वरूणो ध्रुवं देवो बृहस्पतिः।
ध्रुवं त इन्द्रश्चागा्निश्च राज्यं धारयतां ध्रुवम्।

This mantra also mentions Varuna as Raja and not Indra.
In later days, that is, in Puranic times Varuna was relegated to the background and his regal status was occupied by Indra and the former had to be content with the position of the god of waters, which is not mentioned in RV.
 
The Vedic Rishis were not only great devotees, they were also great poets. Their poetry is enjoyable with its many beauties of metaphors.

In Sanskrit they divide the metaphor into two kinds- Sabda alankara and Artha alankara. First we will see some of the Sabda Alankaras of RV.

One of the Sabda Alankaras is alliteration, called in Sanskrit ‘Prasa’.
Those who know Devanagari can enjoy the alliteration in the following verses. There are many such in RV.

स चित्र चित्रं चितयन्तमस्मे चित्रक्षत्र चित्रतमम् वयोधाम् |

चन्द्रं रयिं पुरु-वीरं बृहन्तं चन्द्र चन्द्राभिर्गृणते युवस्व || 6,6.7

त्रातारमिन्द्रमवितारमिन्द्रम् हवेहवे सुहवं शूरमिन्द्रम् |

ह्वयामि शक्रं पुरुहूतमिन्द्रं स्वस्ति नो मघवा धात्विन्द्र:|| 6,47.11
 
This goodly frame, the earth is wonderful. Its most excellent canopy, the air and the brave overhanging firmament, the majestical roof fretted with golden fire everything is wonderful. The world with its varieties of flora and fauna and the people infinite in faculty and admirable in action presents us a complex web. We are able only to wonder at it. Have we understood it fully?

The Vedic Rishi pleads, with humility, his inability to understand the complexities of the world and seeks to be taught by Agni as a son would by his father since Agni alone knows everything without seeing anything. See his words.

I know not either warp or woof, I know not the web they weave. Whose son shall here speak, what should be spoken, without assistance from his father? The immortal world's Protector, moving up and down, seeing with no aid from others- he alone can understand both the warp and woof and speak properly. R.V. 6.9.2,3.
 
Compare how Appar’s below quoted verses resemble the meaning of this RV verse.

वि मे कर्णो पतयतो वि चक्षुर्वीदम् ज्योतिर्हृदय आहितं यत्।
वि मे मनश्चरति दूर आधीः किं स्विद्वक्ष्यामि किमु नू मनिष्ये ।। RV 6,9.6

May my ears be turned to hear him, my eyes to see him, the light placed in the heart. My mind, which is like a receptacle, wanders far. What shall I say of him? How shall I comprehend him?

கண்காள் காண்மின்களோ - கடல் நஞ்சுண்ட கண்டன்றன்னை
எண்டோ ள் வீசிநின் றாடும் பிரான்றன்னைக் கண்காள் காண்மின்களோ. 4.9.2

செவிகாள் கேண்மின்களோ – சிவன் எம்மிறை செம்பவள
எரிபோல் மேனிப்பி ரான்றிறம் எப்போதுஞ் செவிகள் கேண்மின்களோ. 4.9.3

வாயே வாழ்த்துகண்டாய் – மத யானை யுரிபோர்த்துப்
பேய்வாழ் காட்டகத் தாடும் பிரான்றன்னை வாயே வாழ்த்துகண்டாய். 4.9.5

நெஞ்சே நீநினையாய் - நிமிர் புன்சடை நின்மலனை
மஞ்சா டும்மலை மங்கை மணாளனை நெஞ்சே நீநினையாய். 4.9.6

தேடிக் கண்டுகொண்டேன் – திரு மாலொடு நான்முகனுந்
தேடித் தேடொணாத் தேவனை என்னுளே தேடிக் கண்டுகொண்டேன். 4.9.12
 
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Who is the king of Devas? Everybody will answer ‘Indra’. But according to Rig Veda, Varuna is the king of Devas. Sometimes Mitra too is mentioned jointly with Varuna as kings. It is only very rarely that Indra gets that credit. Such instances can be counted on one’s hand.

Why is Varuna called the king? He made an excellent road for the sun to travel along. 1.136.2
He dug a road for Surya. He created the waves of the rivers going to the sea. He divided the days and nights following dharma. 7,87.1

It is Varuna who establishes and looks after dharma with watchful eyes. He punishes people who violate dharma. 1,152.1

Everybody must have heard this mantra.
ध्रुवं ते राजा वरूणो ध्रुवं देवो बृहस्पतिः।
ध्रुवं त इन्द्रश्चागा्निश्च राज्यं धारयतां ध्रुवम्।

This mantra also mentions Varuna as Raja and not Indra.
In later days, that is, in Puranic times Varuna was relegated to the background and his regal status was occupied by Indra and the former had to be content with the position of the god of waters, which is not mentioned in RV.

May be thats why we have puja for Theertha Raja before every ritual, usually punyahavachannam precedes every homam
 
While studying Rig Veda. I had an opportunity to know the depth of the meaning of two Sanskrit words. I share it with you.

शक् means ‘to be able to’. शक्नोति = ‘He is able to do’. Its desiderative form is शिक्षते. It means, ‘He learns’. It denotes that if one desires to become able, he should learn. It is wonderful to see the effect and importance of education, so nicely expressed.

We all know the word शुश्रूषा. It means obedient service. It comes from the root श्रु ‘to hear’. शृणोति = ‘He hears’, ‘He learns’. Its desiderative form is शुश्रूषते. It means ‘serve the elders’ (like the teacher). It denotes that if one desires to learn he should do obedient service to the Guru.

(desiderative form is peculiar to Sanskrit. It adds 'to desire to' with the main verb. For example पतति means ‘he flies’. पिपतिषति means ‘he wishes to fly’)
 
The Aryan immigration theory states that the people of the vedas (Aryans) were opposed by local aborigines during their immigration and there were many battles between the two groups. The immigrants called the other group as Dasyus. The western historians identified them with Dravidas.

The word Dravida is not at all found in the Vedas.

Secondly, RV says that the people of the Vedic times had two kinds of enemies- relatives and non-relatives (जामी, अजामी). These two kinds were frequently mentioned such as in 4.4.5, 6.19.8, 6.19.13, 6.25.3, 6.44.17. Both the relatives and non relatives were called satrus and dasyus, meaning enemies. They were also called vrtras, another word of the same meaning.

This flies in the face of the theory that there were two mutually fighting groups, exclusive to each other.
 
Continuing the previous post.

RV 6.33.3, 6.60.6 and 7.83.1 speak of Arya enemies and Dasa enemies. This also leads us to infer that there were enemies within their same fold, and there were enemies of the other groups also.

Now let us go to the next point.

We are performing Ashtottara Sata Archana and Sahasranama Archanas. Sometime even Laksharchana and Koti Archanas are performed. Have these got Vedic sanction?

The mantras of RV are nothing but the praise of the various gods and these seem very much like an archana. Though it is not said explicitly in the mantras that gods are strengthened by praises , in his commentary on RV 6.20.2, Sayana says that a god praised with hymns grows stronger. The more you praise it, the stronger it becomes and it showers us more boons. स्तोत्रैः स्तूयमाना देवता बलवती।
 


Hindu Scriptures

Table of Vedas and their branches


VedasRig VedaKrishna Yajur VedaSukla Yajur VedaSamavedaAtharva Veda
No.of original
Recensions
2185171019
Available Recensions or ShakasShakalaTaitireeya
Mitrayani
Katha
Kapisthala
Swetaswetara
Kanva,
Madyandina
(Vajasanya)
Kauthuma,
Ranaayaneeya,
Jaimineeya
Pippalada
Saunaka
BrahmanasAitaraya, Kaushitiki (or Shankhyayana)Taittireeya (Samhita)
Taitireeya
SathapathaPanchavimsa,
Shadvimsa,
Samavidhana,
Aarsheya,
Mantra,
Devatadhyaya,
Vamsa,
Jaimineeya
Gopatha
AranyakasAitaraya,
Sankhyayana
TaitttireeyaBrahad-
aranyaka
--
UpanishadsAitaraya,
Kaushitiki,
Bhashkala
Aitaraya,
Mahanarayana,
Mitrayani,
Katakha,
Swetaswetara
Isavasya,
Brihadaranyaka
Chandogya,
Kena
Prasna,
Mundaka,
Mandukya
Shrouta SutrasAswalayana,
Shankhyayana
Apasthamba,
Baudhayana,
Hiranyakesi,
Bharadwaja,
Vaikhanasa,
Vadhoola,
Manava,
Varaha
Katyayana
(Paaraskara)
Khadira,
Latyayana,
Drahyayana,
Jaimineeya
Vikhanasa
Grihya SutrasAshwalayana,
Shankyayana
Manava,
Apasthamba,
Baudhayana,
Hiranyakesi,
Vaikhanasa,
Katha
Kaatyayana
(Paaraskara)
Kadira,
Gobhila,
Gautama,
Jaimineeya
Kaushika
Dharma SutrasVasishthaApasthamba
Baudhayana
Hiranyakesi
-----Gautama----
UpavedaAyurvedaDhanurvedaDhanurvedaGandharvavedaArtha-Sastra
 
Avvaiyar offers to Vinayaka milk, honey, jaggery syrup and pulses and in return asks of Him, the three branches of Sangam Tamil- a kind of barter, as it were.

பாலும் தெளிதேனும் பாகும் பருப்பும் இவை
நாலும் கலந்துனக்கு நான் தருவேன்- கோலம் செய்
துங்கக் கரி முகத்துத் தூமணியே நீ எனக்குச்
சங்கத் தமிழ் மூன்றும் தா.

A similar barter is seen in RV 6.39.1. The Rishi offers to Indra sweet Soma and in return requests Indra to give him food and milk.

मन्द्रस्य कवे: दिव्यस्य वह्ने: विप्र-मन्मन: वचनस्य मध्व: |
अप न: तस्य सचनस्य देव इष: युवस्व गृणते गोअग्रा: ||
 
We pray to God for wealth. What for? To eat more, to live in a bigger house, to wear richer dresses etc. –all for our own pleasure.

Look at this mantra of RV. The rishi asks Indra for food (wealth) so that it may be given to the devotees.

नु गृणान: गृणते प्रत्न राजन्निष: पिन्व वसु-देयाय पूर्वीः ।
अप ओषधीरविषा वनानि गा अर्वतो नृन् ऋचसे रिरीहि ।। 6,39.5

Now, praised, O Ancient King! fill thou the singer with plenteous food that he may deal forth treasures. Give waters, herbs that have no poison, forests, and kine, and steeds, and men, to him who lauds thee.
 
Everyone knows that life is a mixed bag of joys and sorrows. No one enjoys pleasures continuously nor does he/she suffer sorrows continuously. Good fortune and misfortune alternate. While explaining this, RV 6.47.15 gives a beautiful simile.

When we walk, the back-foot goes forward making the other back-foot. They alternate but they keep progressing. Thus Indra keeps changing our fortunes.

“With power, as when one moves his feet alternate, he makes the last precede, the foremost follow.”
It brings to our mind the famous Thirukkural -

இடுக்கண் வருங்கால் நகுக அதனை
அடுத்தூர்வது அஃதொப்பதில்.
 
RV 6.51.8 speaks of the significance of namaskaram (translated as homage/ reverence in English). It is very powerful. It holds the earth and heaven together. It controls Devas. It expiates sins.

नम: इत् उग्रम् नम: आ विवासे नम: दाधार पृथिवीम् उत द्याम् |
नम: देवेभ्य: नम: ईशे एषाम् कृतम् चित् एन: नमसा आ विवासे ||

Mighty is homage: I adopt and use it. Homage has held in place the earth and heaven.
Homage to Gods! Homage commands and rules them. I banish even committed sins by homage.
 
In RV usually a suktam is devoted to a particular god such as Agni, Indra, Maruts etc.. In some suktams two or more deities are praised. The gods praised in RV suktam 6.75 are the various things used in the war. Yes, the chariot, horses, reins, bow, arrow, armour etc. are the given of gods. Let us see two mantras of this suktam.

In stanza 6 the reins are spoken of. The horses draw the chariot. The charioteer guides them to wherever he likes. One admires the reins since they control the horses. But the mantra says that it is the mind behind which the reins go. The real controller is the mind. Thus the importance of mind in any activity is brought out.

Stanza 19 says that prayer is the best armour that protects one against the attack of enemies. This mantra is found in Sama Veda also but with some modifications. There, besides prayer, happiness is also said to be one’s best armour.
 
Western Vedic scholars have wantonly misinterpreted the Vedas to suit their theory of Aryan immigration. Here is an example.

RV 7.5.3 is in praise of Agni. When Agni arrives at a place, darkness is removed. This is common knowledge. This has been told in so many ways using many kinds of metaphors. The above mentioned verse tells that the dark-coloured people ran helter skelter, leaving their belongings on seeing Agni. The dark coloured people are no one else than the darkness. It disappears so fast that the poet compares it to a man retreating hastily on seeing a powerful enemy. Westerners take it literlly and see a conflict between white coloured Aryas and the dark coloured Dasyus.

Here is another example.

This is the translation by Griffith of RV 7.21.5

No evil spirits have impelled us, Indra, nor fiends, O Mightiest God, with their devices. Let our true God subdue the hostile rabble: let not the lewd approach our holy worship.

The word ‘lewd’ is used for the Sanskrit word ‘Sisnadeva’. ‘Sisna’ means the genital. One whose mind is preoccupied with sex is called ‘Sisnadeva’.

Wilson’s translation of Sayana’s commentary is in effect the same. He takes ‘Sisnadeva’ to mean unchaste. See his translation.

Indra, let not the Rakshasas do us harm. Let not the evil spirits do harm to our progeny. Let the sovereign lord Indara exert himeself in restraining disorderly beings, so that the unchaste may not disturb our rite.

After faithfully giving the version of Sayana, Wilson in the footnote gives a venomous twist. He says that the word ‘Sisnadeva’ may have the sense of those who hold Linga for deity. From this interpretation started the thory that the Aryans disliked the Dravidians who worshipped Linga.
 
The one thing that strikes us while reading Rig Veda is the frequent occurrence of the word ‘give us riches’. One would like to think, in the words of Vivekananda, that this is a religion of begging. On further observation, we come to know that the Rishis ask for riches not for themselves but for the devout worshipers who give away all their wealth to others. Only the donors deserve to be blessed by God.

7.16.10 is a prayer to Agni.
“They who bestow as bounty plenteous wealth of steeds, moved by desire of great renown-
Do thou with saving help preserve them from distress, Most Youthful! with a hundred forts.”


In 7.32.8 The worshiper is called upon to prepare Soma juice and dressed meats for Indra. The Rishi adds that the god bestows happiness on the giver.
 
Rig Vedic prayers are always in the first person plural. The rishi asks for riches- cows, horses, food, progeny not for himself alone but for the group of which he is a member. It is mostly ‘Give us riches’ and such instances where ‘Give me riches’ occurs are very few. Their circle of love was not limited to self and family.

Compare this with Yajur Veda. Here also many prayers are in plural. Such mantras are borrowed from Rig Veda. Look at Chamakam, which is Yajur Veda’s own. Here the word मे (to me) occurs 310 times. “And food to me, and a good mind to me, and purity to me, and delight to me ……. Thus goes on the prayer”. All for ‘me’ alone. It ends with the predicate, ‘may be bestowed through yagna’. Though it speaks of the efficacy of yagna in conferring many benefits on the worshipper, the prayer speaks in singular which shows that the worshippers have begun to think of themselves only when they pray to god.

Formerly Brahmins prayed for the entire community. The Kshatriyas protected the entire community. Traders and farmers worked for the community. Community living was at its best in those days. (Even as late as 19[SUP]th[/SUP] century, traces of such co-operation were visible. The village was a self-sustaining unit. The washerman washed the clothes of all for free.The potter made earthen vessels for the entire village. The barber, the carpenter, weaver and other tradesmen worked for the entire village. They were given share of the farm produces. There was no use of money nor the concept of price.)

During the Yajur Vedic period, prayers became individualised. When Buddhism arose, it preached that those who do not pray will not get any benefit. Everyone would have to strive for his/her own salvation. This made the Brahmin community redundant.
 
For any vehicle, both a moving force and a directing mechanism are necessary. For example, the accelerator and the steering in a car; the oar and the rudder in a boat. In our lives too we require two such forces. An energy for carrying out our works and a moral code to decide the route in which our energies are to be directed.

The divine pair Mitra and Varuna are said to perform this two-fold task. RV 7.36.2 says that Mitra animates us and Varuna decides the way for us. Mitra is a form of sun and Varuna is the god of moral codes.
 
As long as we are poor, we pray to god to give us money. Once we get money, we pray to god to protect our money. RV 7.38.6 speaks of different needs of different kinds of devotees. It says, “The strong prays for protection and the weak prays for riches.”
 
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