vena sUkta

THE VENA SŪKTA IN THE ATHARVAVEDA The first sūkta in the second kanda of the Atharvaveda (AV) has, according to the Anukramani, Veda for its rst and brahman atman for its devatā WAITNEY characterises the hymn as mysticł, while WEBER2 and, following him, GRIFFITHS mention glorification of the prime cause of all things’ as its theme in spite of the fact that the Kaufika Sūtra (37 3) and the commen tary on the AV prescribe this hymn, wholly or in part, for addressing various articles out of whose behaviour afterward signs of success or the contrary, and the like oracular responses, are to be drawn, its essential philosophical character becomes quite evident even on a cursory reading Indeed, this sukta-parti cularly its first stanzas which it is proposed to discuss here at some length – is very important from the point of view of the development of Indian philosophical thought This whole sukta appears with many variants as a part of the Mahanarayana Upa. misad (2 3-7 = Taitt Ar X 1 4, VS 32 8-12) Various views have been put forth about Vena The commentary on the passage in the Tartt Ar says veno nāma 1 Atharvaoeda Translat on and Moles (HOS 7), 37 f WHUTNEY speaks of a bit of labored obscurity in connection with this hymn He further adds that kandas 4 and 5 of the AV also begin with saktas which are rendered deli berately obscure 2 Ind Stud 13, 129 ff 3 The Hymns of the Atharva Veda Vol 1, 41 ff 4 The Va land-Sutra prescribes the third stanza of thu hymn in the Upa casatha rite of the Agn cagana 5 The stanza reads venas tat pafyat paramar guha yad yatra osoath bhavaly ckarzpam dath prfnir aduha jayamanal sparrido obhyandsala dh II 6 Mahindrayapa Upanisad 23, which corresponds with AV I I I. Teads Denas tal pasyan o frd bhutanani o doon yatra noanh bhavaty skandam yasmin dari sari ca o cau ‘kam sa olak prolaf ca nbhu prajasu // Accordiog to Bhattabhāskara, thus tzaza contains a description of rupaprapanca 134 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY gandhariaha AV II. 1 2 also suggests the identity of Vena with Gandharva This identity seems to be further confirmed by RV X 123, which has many points in common with AV II.1? In RVI 83 5, on the other hand, Surya is referred to as Vena Vena is elsewhere characterised as sūryasya subuh and is accord ingly identified with the rainbow. The commentary on AV II I I explains Vena as Aditya or as parjanyātmā madhyamasthāno devaho Nārāyana, in his Dipikä on the Mahānārājana-Upanisad, seems to derive the word vena from the root ve (to weave) and accordingly paraphrases it as venah visvasūtrakrt 10 It is not relevant for our purpose to examine these interpretations of the word vena in detail It may only be pointed out that in the present context it would be appropriate to understand the word in its derivative sense WEBER rightly refers, in this connection, to the Zend root vaên (to see ) 11 Vena, therefore, means “seer’ 12 Significantly enough, Vena is traditionally mentioned as the rs113 of AV III It is pertinent to note that, in the first stanza of the sūkia, the word vena is actually connected with the Verbal form passat The object of paśyat is tar This tat is qualified by two relativo clauses, namely, ja parantam guha and zatra viśiam 6a CF AV II 12 ob pra lad voc d amplasya tiduan gandharto diama paramath guhajat 7 Attcation is, for instance, drawn to the common expressions occurring in the two bytas such as prsnih, samanath yonim, abhyanaṣala bah It is suggested that the playsıcal characteristics of Vena Candharva disappear, more OT Icus, in all, & AL X 123 1 9 ROTit and GRASSVANY Identify Vena mentioned in the Sankhdyana Brahmone WhartabiliAskara desire) a 10 Bhattabhāskara also interprets the word etymologically He connects it with the root trn ( to desire) and explains Vena as the Lord who willed the creation of the universo Bhattabhåskara explains Sandharpa as go dharogaft 11, that w as neda imalajaa Accord ng to hitn, Gandharva is the divine principic in which expressions remain as mystic sound meletala biharta yang permologically Pouple in mu 12 Czune (110S 33 ) translates tona in RV I 83 5 as spy’ Thc word 11 explained in tic rullo as a synonym of medhacun (3 19 3 ) or of te (19 5) It is also explained as sarralokakantah (10 38 1 ) 13 ct flur darlandTHE VENA-SŪKTA IN THE ATHARYAVEDA 135 ekarūpam bhavati. Tai denotes the entity which is the highest one (paramam), and which is hidded or secret or esoteric (guhā), that is to say, which is beyond the comprehension of ordinary men.14 In other words, tat stands for the ultimate philosophical reality.15 Only a “seer” (Vena) can have a true knowledge of it; indeed, Vena does not only “koow” it in an indirect manner, but he “sees” it, that is to say, he has a direct intuitive perception or realisation of this ultimate reality.18 The use of the words, vena and paśyat, is thus very significant from the point of view of the real objective of Indian philosophy which is not merely indirect knowledge but direct experience or realisation. Now this ultimate reality, which is the same thing as the prime cause of the universe, is described as that in which the universe becomes of one form. Here we find the later Upanisadic doctrine in its germinal form. In the Upanisads, the first cause is said to be one, uniform, and subtle, but its effect in the form of the universe to be many, manifold, and gross.12 Essentially, the universe is but a fiction of names and forms,18 it is not different from the ultimate reality. What transitorily appears as visa ( many, manifold, gross ) is, before it issues forth from the one cause (at the so-called creation), and also becomes, after it is absorbed into the one cause (at the so-called dissolution), ekarūpa (one, uniform, subtle ),19 The paraman guha, wbich Vena “sees” thus clearly reminds us of the Upaniṣadic brahman or sat. The doctrine set forth in the first half of AV II. 1. 1 is seen to have been further elaborated in the Upaniṣads. 14. The clausetat paremat guhi pat may be variously explained as yat paramai yac ca) guhy, tal (as accepted above), or as yat guha, lat paramam (that highest entity which is hidden), or as guna ja paramari, tat (that cntity which is the highest among the secret ones). In the ultimate analysis, however, the sense is the same in all these interprctauons. 15. Onc may recall, in this connection, the lat of the Upaniyadic tat fram asi. 16. It is said that Indian philosophy is often referred to as darsana for this very reason. 17. Cf. Ch. Up. 6.2. 1-4;6.8. 7. 18. Cf. Ch. Up. 6.1, 14; 6. 3. 2. 19. C. Taittiriya Up. 3. 1. 136 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY If in the second quarter of AV II. 1. 1 we find the Upaniṣadıc doctrine of sat (or brahman) and jagat in its germinal form, in the third quarter we find the classical Sãókhya doctrine of prakril in its germinal form. Prśni is here said to have produced (aduhat), on the one hand, idam, and on the other jāyamanah The word prsni usually means “spotted one,” " one of variegated colour,“30 The Sankhya praksli, which represents the state of equipoise of the three gunas – sattva, rajas, and tamas-, is often described as being of three colours - white, red, and black respectively corresponding with the three gunas. One may recall, in this context, the she-goat (ajā), of the Svetāśvatara-Upanisad, which is red-white-black.21 This she-goat also is suggestive of the Sānkhya prakrt1.22 While, in AV II. 1. 1c, the concept of the Sānkhya prakrti is visualised in the form of a cow (?) of varlega. ted colour, in the Upanisad, it is visualised in the form of a red white-black she-goat. Peśni (= mūlaprakrti) produced idan, that is, the material world, on the one hand, and jāyamānāḥ of generations of the human race, on the other. It will be seen that, according to this interpretation, aduhar is understood to mean " yielded by way of milk”,“produced.” Just as a cow (prśni) yields or produces milk, so too prśni (mülaprakrti) yields or produces idam and jāyamānāh. WEBER23 seems to understand duh in the sense of sto milk” and not of “to yield milk.”** According to him, Prśni is the " milker" and not the “yielder of milk.” He so construes the quarter that it means that Prśoi milked out jāyamnānäh from idam (Prśni correspondiog to the 20. Like the word vena, the word prsni also is interpreted variously aj " the cloud regarded as the mother of the Maruts,” or as “the common name of sky and sun,” or as “the principle of abundance symbolised by water.” 21. Seet or as " the Prince of the Marutes interpreted , 22. It may be noted that ad also means “the unborn onc” and the Sankhya pralli 13 avikylt (that is to say, it 19 not the effect of anything ). 23. Op. cf, 130. 24. Duh has both these senses. Cf. to mdk: dudoha guth sa yanad (Raghu. I. 26); to yield mulk : kuman dugdhe Diprakarsaty alakṣmim (URG 5, 31). THE VENA-SŪKTA IN THE ATHARVAVEDA 137 milker, idam to cow, and jāyamānal to the milk). Further, according to WEBER, idam stands for tat paramani gultā in the first half of the stanza. GRIFFITH follows WEBER. It would, however, be strange if one and the same entity was referred to as lat in the first half of the stanza and as idam in the second, without any special reason. Similarly, if, as suggested above, tat implied the one ultimate cause (the Upanisadic brahman), it would not be convincing to posit by its side any other entity of equal status like Pęśni which was supposed to have extracted the beings (jājamānah) out of that tal. Further, when the word prsni clearly denoted a cow, it would not be appropriate if it was made to mean a “milker,” Attention may also be incidentally drawn to the impropriety of a peuter word idam being made to suggest something which is milked from rather than something which is milked out. This whole incongruity has arisen on account of the attempt made by WEBER and others to combine the two halves of this stanza syntactically as well as ideologically. As a matter of fact, two distinct doctrines have been adumbrated in this stanza – tho Upanisadic doctrine of brahman in the second pāda and the classical Sankhya doctrine of prakrtı in the third pāda. The word idam in the third pāda need not be connected syntactically with the word fat in the first pāda; actually it implies something which is quite different from what is implied by tat. In the present context, idam (this) may be best interpreted as “this that we sce round about us,” that is to say, the world, particularly the material world. The sarnıkrstatva (nearness) suggested by this demostaatérve Mamun and the zeder yerden und voila siguificant here. The word jāyamānā(fem. acc. pl.) obviously stands for the generations of human beings that are being born. It is not quite necessary either to add here any substantive like prajäh or to connect jayamánál with vrah in the fourth pada. The word jāyanânâh may itself be understood in the sense of prajūl. Now the idea that Pțśni produced this material world on the one hand and the human beings on the other may be 18 138 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY compared with the process of creation according to the Sankhya This latter can be represented in the following forms. prakrti nahat (intellect) panica tanmārrāni (five subtle primary elements) ahamkāra (individuality) pañca mahābinutanı panca pañca manas (five gross elements )" jñanendrijas karmendrijas (mind) (five sense. (five organs organs ) of action )* The aspect of creation indicated by five tanmätras and the five malabhūras derived from those fannātras clearly corresponds with the material world (idan of AV II 1 1c), while the aspect of creation indicated by alamkāra, the five mñanendrijas, the five karmendriyas, and manas corresponds with the generations of human beings ayamānáh of AV II 1 1c) 80 It is suggested that we might so emend the text of the third pāda as to read jayamana (fem nom sing ) for jāyamanah 25 Sankhya Kaniku 3 malaprak tır avikylı mahadadyah prakrliorkyta) ah sapta/ fodasakas ca vrtáro na prakılır na viktih puruṣah // The tabulated form given above follows the interpretation of Vijnana Bhiku According to Vacaspatı, ahankara evolyed from mahai and from ahamikor there evolved the five tanmatras on the onc hand and the ten senses and mind on the other (CE S N DASGUPTA, A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol 1, Pp 225 26 ) Vynana Bhikṣu s interpretation 15 more rational 26 sabda, sparfa rupa rasa, and gandha 27 akasa, vayu, tejas ap, and prihuvi 28 srotra tvak, caksuh, rasand and ghrana 29 vak, pani, pada payu, and upastha 30 The significance of the occurrence of the stage of mahal between prakrtı on the one hand and the two aspects of creation on the other is casily understandable THE VENA-SUKTA IN THE ATHARVAVEDA 139 (Tem. acc. pl.) and then connect this jāyamānā with the sub stantive prsnih.si It is further suggested that the clause might then be made to mean that Prśni, who was born (of fat or brahnian), on her part, produced idam (jagat). In other words, Peśni is to be understood as the creative power32 (or mājā) of tat-a kind of Demiurge who operates on behalf of iar which by its very nature is not prone to any action. Pęśni is accordingly supposed to play the role of Isvara. Such an inter pretation may fit in with the Vedāntic theory of creation, but we would hesitate to accept it in the present context. And this, for the following reasons. Firstly, the emendation of jāyamānāḥ into jāyamāna is quite unwarranted. Secondly, the word jāyamānā literally means “ being born", and this meaning will not suit the suggested interpretation. For, Prśni cannot be thought of as “having produced” (aduhat) something while she herself is * being born." On the other hand, jāyanānal in the sense of “those that are being bora” would suggest the continuous process of the birth of generations of human beings. It may also be added that, from the strict Vedāntic point of view, īśvara or mājā is not " born” of the brahman. It is, therefore, more reasonable to vaderstand jāyamanah in the sense of prajah and as the second object of aduhat,33 The fourth pâda of this stanza refers to the fact that hosts of beings, who discovered light for the first time (that is to say, who were afforded the opportunity of being born ), shouted in joy at this great wonder of creation.31 AV II, 1, 1 may thus be regarded as reflecting two currents of philosophical thought which must have been in vogue in its 31. WHITNEY, Op. cit. 32. According to GRIFTITII ( Op ), Prsai bere appears, like the cow Audhumbla of the Scandinavian mythology, to represent the creative power of Naturc. 33. To the third pada, ca has to be taken as being understood, connecting the two objects of adulat, namely, idam and jajananch. 34. Not at Vena’s realisation of the highest reality (as nuggested by some), 140 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY time. One of these is seen to have been further developed in the Upanisads and the other in classical Sānkbya. It is a patent fact that the so-called philosophical suktas of the AV do not set forth any one consistent and connected doctrine. Rather, they usually embody stray and mutually unconnected philosophical coocepts. [First published Aftrashi Felicitation Volume, 1965, 24-30.)