Ishwa helper Reged: 03/03/02 Posts: 553

Re: An American discovers the Vedas [Re: Vishal_Agarwal] #16492 - 05/20/02 10:28 AM Edit Reply Quote

Excellent explanation, Vishal. I'll provide some additional remarks: This whole first Rch�-Mantra of Madhucchandas Vaishv�mitra is around a systematic sacrificial meaning of the Manifested World: Agni Agni can be called Brahman. As Agni the Light he is both Nirguna and Saguna. The Beauty of light is that we see its outer Shining first, but it's inner Absolutess should be contemplated upon (Through the G�yatrii Rch�-Mantra of Brahmarshi Vishv�mitra, where Agni is called Savitr). He can be known through the manifested Saguna nature in his epitheta/appelations: Purohitam, Yajnasya Devam, Rtvijam, Hot�ram, Ratnadh�tamam. Iile Every word is chosen in the ritual context, even the verb 'iile' which comes from the nominal root iida and from an older lost izda : ij da = given by sacrifice. (This word we encounter also in the name Iid�/Iil�, the mother of Pur�ravas, the first king of the Soma Dynasty). Purohitam This word comes from puras hitam = placed in front. The verbal root dh� looses its 'dh' and becomes hitam instead of dhitam (but retains its nature in the grammatical word 'taddhitam" or in Sandhi). Agni is placed in front, meaning the Foremost or First. (M�la stage, maybe with the number two: Purusha-Prakrti still as Unity) Yajnasya Devam Yajna or sacrifice is in the genitive and Agni is here the Deva. The Deva is the Mahat stage and the yajna denotes the further manifestational stages). This finds parallel in the Purusha S�kta: The One Purusha Sacrifices Himself into Many Purushas. Agni is Sacrificial/Sacrificed Shining One. (maybe the number is three, because three give creation: The three sacrificial fires in the Vedic Yajna!) Rtvijam This word comes from rtu ij = sacrificing at regular times. Rtu has the same base as Rtam or Order. Rtu is the Cyclical Order. And the word ij has the same base as yaj. Agni is the Sacrificer with Regularity. (manybe the number is here four, for four seasons indicating that four corners give the expanding Time base for a universe) Hot�ram Agni is the Hotr. This word may come from hu = praise, as in Puruhuta or Many-Praised (The word Huta may be etymologically akin to the later word Khud� in Farsi or God in Germanic languages). There's also a verbal root h� meaning giving oblation. It is putting the fluid Ghrtam in the Kunda. Agni is the Praised One or the Giver of Oblations. (Maybe the number is 5, indicating that the moulding process has started to form the physical world through the 5 tanm�tras) Ratnadh�-tamam The tama suffix denotes a superlative. The word ratna means the riches of the earth (minerals) and dh� is again giver in this position. Agni is the Supreme Giver of Riches. (maybe the number is 6, giving a sense of completion of manifestations. The seventh would be Agni himself) Why is this particular sequence? I believe that this gives us a second indication: The last word Ratnadh�tamam denotes the P�rthiva element (solid), the Hot�ram denotes the S�lila element (fluid), the Rtvijam denotes the Taijasa element (igneous-transformal), the Devam denotes the V�yavya element (gaseous) and the Purohitam denotes the Aakashiiya element (plasmatic). So in a sense this is a creational hymn with all the philosophical elements of the later Br�hmana-Upanishad and Ved�nta. This very first Rch�-mantra is summarizing or introducing the Vedic Thought. Note: Sacrifice in Vedic Thought uses the ritual technical terms to explain all kinds of phenomenon (cosmological, existential, creational, etc). Vishal is right that indologists of the older school were trapped in their evolutionary way of thinking and put the Vedic Thought in very literally primitive ritualistic contexts. Edited by Ishwa on 05/20/02 07:50 AM (server time).