7-sages

Source: TW

Thread on origin and evolution of 7 Rishis. Credit to the linked tweet that spurred a discussion in a private group where certain questions were raised.

  1. What’s the origin of the concept of 7 Rishis?
  2. How did it evolve over time?
  3. Who were the 7 Rishis?
  4. Is there a canonical set of 7 Rishis? If so, why the names keep changing across texts?

These are interesting questions and Rigveda should be the last place one would typically look. Even the term saptarishi is sparse in RV (1 or 2), but that’s where I wanted to start.

Given that the reference itself is sparse, obviously the members of the 7 would be absent. I wanted to do a sanity test. “Do not assume who or what is a Rishi but empirically look at RV data and see what shakes out”. And some interesting observations did shake out.

Upfront disclaimer- typing these on a phone with small touchscreen keyboard. No fancy IAST or Nagari keyboards. I’d be copy pasting from notes. So spelling of Sanskrit words will be inconsistent.

Lemma 1: Rishis are connected with praising and singing to devas

  • a) Agni gives comfort/security like a Rishi who praises, (like a barley that’s ripe etc) - dā̱dhāra̱ kṣema̱m … yavo̱ na pa̱kvo … ṛṣi̱rna stubhvā̍… (RV 1.66.2)
  • b) Here to Rishi’s praise and sacrifice of men (The horses of Indra have brought him) - (RV 1.84.2)
  • c) Agni gives comfort/security like a Rishi who praises, (like a barley that’s ripe etc) - dā̱dhāra̱ kṣema̱m … yavo̱ na pa̱kvo … ṛṣi̱rna stubhvā̍… (RV 1.66.2)

Lemma 2: Rishis were primordial beings.

  • a) RV 10.90.7 tena devā ayajanta sādhyā ṛṣayaśca ye Devas, Sadhyas and Rishis performed the primordial sacrifice - Purusha sukta
  • b) May indra with the Rishis know me - indro̍ vidyāt sa̱ha ṛṣi̍bhiḥ (RV 1.23.24)

Lemma 3: Certain devas are addressed as Rishis. IMO this is similar to how some devas are part of pitars (fathers) class of beings.

  • a) You agni was the first Angiras, Rishi - tvama̍gne pratha̱mo aṅgi̍rā̱ ṛṣi̍rde̱vo… (RV 1.31.1)
  • b) Maruts have praised you; Indra, you are their sapient Rishi (5.29.1)

Lemma 4: There were ancient Rishis and modern ones.

  • a) Agni was praised by Rishis of the yore and modern ones: a̱gniḥ pūrve̍bhi̱rṛṣi̍bhi̱rīḍyo̱ nūta̍nairu̱ta (RV 1.1.2)
  • B) Indra is sung by modern Rishis loudly - RV 4.20.4

Lemma 5: Individuals are named and called as Rishis.

  • A)I am Kakshivan Rishi, the vipra - RV 4.26.1 (Indra’s boast)
  • B)You, the vritra-slayer, fort-breaker Agni, has the Rishi dadhyanc, Atharvan’s son has lighted - 6.16.14
  • C) Fallen in a pit, Rishi Kutsa called the Lord of might and power, Vritra-slayer, Indra - indra̱ṁ kutso̍ vṛtra̱haṇa̱ṁ śacī̱pati̍ṁ kā̱ṭe nibā̍ḻha̱ ṛṣi̍rahvadū̱taye̍ (RV 1.106.6)
  • D) Ashvins save Rishi Atri from a pit; save Rishi Rebha from sunk in water - RV (1.117.3; 1.117.4)
  • E) Agastya, the mighty Rishi had his favor (desire for children) fulfilled by the devas (RV 1.179.6)

Lemma 6) self-reference during an ongoing yajña

  • A) Make the Rishi a winner of 1000 gifts - kṛ̱dhī sa̍hasra̱sām ṛṣi̍m (RV 1.10.11)
  • B) Here to Rishi’s praise and sacrifice of men (The horses of Indra have brought him) - (RV 1.84.2)
  • C) May we, along with the Rishis obtain 1000s - RV 1.189.8

Short break for few observations:

  • So, the Rishis were singers and praisers of God’s, especially in the context of yajña.
  • They were aware of ancient Rishis and see themselves as modern descendants. Some are so ancient to the point of being mythical.

Lemma 7: Rishi and Vipra are treated synonymously. But see below. Rishi, Vipra, Muni, Kavi, Brahman are terms that cluster together semantically. In RV Rishi/Vipra appear synonymous or at least qualify the same thing.

However, the famous Rikpavitra mantra clarifies that a Rishi is a kind of Vipra. brahmā devānām padavīhkavīnām ṛṣir viprāņām… Of the devas, brahmA - of the kavis, leader - of the Vipras, Rishi, of the beasts, mahiSha, of the raptors, falcon… (Soma ascends singing) (RV 9.96.6) Some Rishi/Vipra examples below:

  • a) RV 9.92.2 - sīdanhoteva sadane camūṣūpemagmann ṛṣayaḥ sapta viprāḥ The Rishis, 7 vipras came to him (Soma) when he is seated in the bowls as hotA.
  • B) RV 8.79.1 - ṛṣir vipraḥ kāvyena - To praise, libations and hymns - (may the vrithra smiter meet)
  • C) To Agni the vipra, best of Rishis (are the ghee-releasing drops) - RV 3.21.3 D) Further the Rishi, the sAma-vipra (O Maruts) - RV 5.54.14
  • E) RV 1.162.7 - anvenaM viprA R^iShayo madanti In him (the vAjin/horse) the Rishis, Vipras delight
  • F) RV 8.3.14 kadu stuvanta ṛtayanta devata ṛṣiḥ ko vipra ohate
    When shall they observe the law and praise you (Indra) amidst the devas? Who counts as Rishi and Vipra?

Lemma 8/observation: If Rishi is a vipra, sapta rishi is a synonym of sapta vipra.

This is where things get interesting. RV does have some interesting things to say about them.

  • A) With navagvas and 7 vipras, indra smashed the mountain - RV 1.62.4
  • B) The seven vipras drove the dawns towards Indra with their mind (RV 3.31.5)
  • C) The 7 vipras with 5 adhvaryus guard the bird’s beloved fixed station (RV 3.7.7)
  • D) May we, the 7 vipras through Dawn, the mother, men to be ordainers. May we angirasas be divine children, break the wealth containing mountain (RV 4.2.15)
  • E) When the son of durgaha was captive, our fathers were these 7 Rishis (RV 4.42.8)

Indra-varuna slay vritra, release waters.

Observations and notes: when 7 vipras are referenced they are accompanied by navagvas and angirases. They occur in the context of solar regeneration myth - smashing of mountain and releasing the hidden dawn and waters.

Angirases, navagvas, dashagvas, Bhrgus and atharvans are so remote already by the time of RV. They’ve already become mythical. Saptavipras were in this set and participated in the same solar regeneration myth. They’re called as “our fathers” along with angirases and navagvas in a mantra very reminiscent of the tarpana/shraddha mantra - angiraso nah pitarah navgvāh bhŕgavah somyāsah… The same mantra is used by any modern brahmana - may he be an ātreya or kauśika or agasti or kāņva. The primordial atharvans and angirases - the fire priests were also instituted the pitŕ- worship rituals - hence they’re still “our fathers” in modern darśaśrāddha.

Getting back to the original questions:

  1. What is the origin of the 7 Rishis?
    Ans: It is from Rigveda’s saptavipra via Rishi-Vipra equivalence.

  2. How did it evolve over time?

Though the general meaning of Rishi/Vipra as singer and lauder of Gods was well known, the specific set saptavipras were angirasa/navagva adjacent and extremely remote and perhaps even going back to common Indo-Iranian period (separate topic). They were also “our fathers”. At this stage they’re definitely not a set of unrelated mantra composers but angirases or their allies.

Note that dadhyanc is sometimes a bhrgu, sometimes an angirasa and sometimes an Atharvan in the brAhmaNas (point about these allied clans get mixed up in later texts).

Now RV mandala 10 is chronologically later. RV 10.130 is a sukta that’s worthy of a deeper study. It tells how due to the knowledge of mantras, meters and various ritual details “Our fathers who were men were raised to tye status of Rishis - seven Godlike Rishis”.

There’s another mantra in 10th Mandala where the 7 divine Rishis were most likely an allusion to the big dipper. So at this stage, we have the concept of “our fathers becoming divine Rishis”. And during the shrauta formalization in kuru-panchala realms, the RV corpus became common property of brahmana clans.

Stage is now set to identify the 7 fathers who became divine due to yajña knowledge and got a spot in the big dipper. It reaches the climax when Atharvaveda (paippalada) names the 7 Rishis starting with Vishvamitra and ending with Kashyapa (no agastya).

But we need to take a detour to yajur-samhitas first.

  1. Is there a canonical set of 7 Rishis?
    IMO no as original saptavipras were lost in the mists of time. IMO the list of 7 in AV-P can be taken as canonical as this is the chronologically earliest reference to actual names.

  2. Why the names kept changing? This requires an even longer answer.