SAKSHI

Study Material for

Certificate Course in
Applied Veda Knowledge
for more information visit: http://www.veda.study/
 Vedic Knowledge

STUDY MATERIAL FoR

Certificate Course in
Applied Vedic Knowledge
(Six Months Course)
February2017 -August2017

SAKSHI

Sri Aurobindo Kapa.Ii Sastry Institute of Vedic Culture

Bengaluru
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Contents

Welcome/ 5
Orientation/ 7
Lecture 1 : (19.02.2017)
Introduction/ 13
1. The Vedic Books and their Branches / 17
2. Spiritual Interpretation of the Veda: an Introduction/ 22

Lecture 2 : (12.03.2017)
3. The Upanishads / 30
4. Tantra in Veda / 34

Lecture 3 : (26.03.2015)
5. Overview of Rig Veda / 40
6. Overview of Yajur Veda/ 44

Lecture 4: (9.04.2017)
7. Over view of Sama Veda / 54
8. Overview of Atharva Veda / 57

Lecture 5 : (23.04.2017)
9. Who are the Gods?/ 61
10. Some Other Deities/ 65

Lecture 6 : (14.05.2017)
11. Outer Yajna / 67
12. Elements of Inner Yajna / 7 4

Lecture 7 : (28.05.2017)
13. Agnihotra: A simple Yajna / 78
14. The Earth and the Environment/ 85

Lecture 8 : (11.06.2017)
15. Multiple Meanings of Verses: Replies to the Criticisms / 88
16. Some General Principles for Word-Meaning Assignment/ 92
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Lecture 9 : (25.06.2017)
17. Meanings of the Words in Rig Veda/ 95
1 8. The Continuity of the Hindu Civilization
from Vedic Times to the Present day / 103

Lecture 10: (9.07.2017)

19. Understanding Vedic Culture/ 106
20. Rishis of Veda and Upanishads
(matter will be provided later)

Lecture 11 : (23.07.2017)
21. Dating the Veda-s / 114
22. How to Study Veda-s / 117

Lecture 12 : (13.08.2017)
23. Comparison of the SAKSHI translation of mantras
with those of RTH Griffith & other Indologists/ 120
24. SayaI_la Acharya and the scope of his work/ 127
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Welcome

The Sages of the Veda-s had an integrated and pragmatic attitude

which combined the pursuit of spiritual upliftment with every day life &
work. Vedic knowledge has the power to harmonize and uplift our
individual existence as well as harmonize our relationships with mankind
and Nature. It can enable each individual to realize his/her full potential
while leading a happy and healthy life. At the center of this knowledge
is the idea of Vedic Yoga or Inner Yajna. In this Yajna, the aspirant
offers himself to the deities like Agni, Indra, Surya and others who are
the manifestations of the One Supreme. In return, these deities establish
their divine powers in the aspirant. This manifestation uplifts and
divinizes the entire physical, vital, mental and spiritual being of the
aspirant.
This is the essence of the teaching of the Vedic Samhita that was re
discovered a hundred years ago by the great mystic, yogI, poet and
philosopher Sri Aurobindo in his seminal work 'The Secret of the Veda'.
Following Sri Aurobindo's lead, Sri T.V.Kapali Sastry who was his
foremost disciple, a mystic and a great Sanskrit scholar, wrote a detailed
commentary in Sanskrit on the first one hundred twenty one suktas of the
Rigveda. Prof. R.L.Kashyap who is the founder and current Honorary
Director of SAKSHI continued and completed this monumental task by
single-handedly translating into English all the four Vedas in twenty-six
volumes. The work of these great spiritual savants and scholars forms
the basis of SAKSHI's work of disseminating Vedic knowledge.
Sri Aurobindo firmly believed that the re-discovery and
rejuvenation of India's spiritual knowledge and practice should be the
most important work of the Indian Renaissance. In the words of Sri
Aurobindo - 'The recovery of the old spiritual knowledge and
experience and all its splend our, depth and fullness is its first, most
essential work; the flowing of this spirituality into new forms of
philosophy, literature, art, science and critical knowledge is the
second; an original dealing with modern problems in the light of the
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Indian spirit and the endeavour to formulate a greater synthesis of a

spiritualized society is the third and the most difficult. Its success on
these three lines will be the measure of its help to the future of
humanity'
This new six-month course from SAK.SHI entitled 'Certificate
Course in Applied Vedic Knowledge' is the first of its kind in the
world. It is in line with our aim of opening up the teaching of the
Vedic Samhita and its application to life, to all people irrespective of
caste, religion or gender.

19.02.2017 Director
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Orientation

The aim of this course is not merely to teach the meaning of the Veda
mantras, although that is an integral part. We hope that the students
approach the study of the mantras with the intent of not only understanding
their sense but also of applying that knowledge in daily life i.e., mantra
sadhana. We now address couple of important questions namely, what
are the benefits of mantra-sadhana and what are the pre-requisites and
right conditions for it?

As has been noted in the Preface, by invoking the deities like Agni,
Indra etc. by means of mantras the human aspirant can manifest their
divine powers into himself/herself. This results in the upliftment and
divinization of the entire being of the aspirant. This is the creative power
of the mantras that can alter states of the different parts of our being
(body, life, mind and soul) in a deep way and heal or improve their
functioning. It has the power to manifest new or heightened faculties in
the chanter and even in others around him/her.

This can happen only if the inner doors are open to the influence of
the helpful Divine Energies and Powers. The following are some simple
guidelines to create favourable conditions in oneself to receive the Divine
influence

-: Shraddha or Faith is very important; perhaps the most crucial factor.

One must have faith in the Vedic Rihis, faith in the power of the
mantras and crucially, faith in one's own ability to do the sadhana
and derive the benefits.

-: Faith must of course be followed by effort in the form of chanting,

japa or dhyana on the mantras. Effort requires will-power without
which nothing is possible. In the Veda, Agni is the Lord of Will
power yoked with wisdom and hence the most immediate helper of
man. That is why in the Rig Veda there are over two thousand
mantras that invoke Agni. The Veda says in many places that 'this
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(Vedic) knowledge is not for those who sleep'. Repeated effort with
faith is the key to all sadhana.

-: Understand the bhava or the sense of the mantra. Our Vedic tradition
itself says that 'he who merely memorizes and recites the mantras
without knowing their meaning is just a load-carrier'.

-: Correct pronunciation while chanting audibly or doing japa or

dhyana is what matters most. Chanting with svara is optional.

-: Along with mantra-sadhana, one must also make a conscious

attempt to control one's thoughts, speech, actions, food-habits
etc., so that they may not cause an obstacle in one's sadhana.

Since the Veda mantras are always directed to a particular deity

or God, one may have some doubt about the mutual relationships
between the various Gods. Here, one should completely ignore the
Puranic stories about Gods quarrelling and fighting with each other.
The Veda does not have any of that. In the Vedas, the Gods always
work harmoniously. The invoking of a particular God is not in any
way disrespectful to another. No deity is lesser or greater than the
other. Each represents an outward aspect as well as an inner or
psychological power. For example, Agni is outwardly, the physical
fire or fire of digestion but at a deeper inner level he is the God of
Will & Wisdom. Still, Agni has in him in potentiality, the Infinite
Knowledge and Powers of the Supreme Being. It is the One Supreme
Being who becomes many Gods in a harmonious way to manifest
and maintain this Universe as a whole (the macrocosm) as well as
the individual being (microcosm). Thus the Gods, always working
harmoniously, are present outside the individual as well as inside
him/her. The individual must make an effort to manifest that divine

harmony that lies in potentiality within himself/herself.
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Note on Transliteration
We have mostly used the relatively common convention for
transliterating the Devanagari text into Roman script, avoiding some
of its obvious shortcomings. For instance the Samslqt '<{" is written in
it as 'ca' which most people pronounce as 'ka' as in 'cat' or 'car',
whereas '<{" should be pronounced as 'cha' as in chug or charcoal. '<{"
is assigned 'cha'. Similarly 1s 'sha', -q-- 1s 'ha'.

Devanagari Symbol
Examples
ch chug, church
Short Vowels
jyg,.ug,w
a C]!t, b]!t, rgn
tub, tiger
Never as English a
g_eeg_, g_og
i pit, sit, flt
math, thin
d mother, gather
Long vowels:
p
a cQp, mr, br, c r
b .Qin, .!2ar, .!2un
I need, see
m man, me, mist
u soon, moon
Other vowels: n _get, gose
y yes, yet

o m2re, s2re, tQe r red

a1 site, might, 4ght life, lid

V water, wood

comment below s ing, it

Consonants: h ship, sheet, dish

k kick, kite, cut sh comment below

g gut, gig, go h hut, hit

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Aspirated Consonants:
The first ten consonants above have their as pirated associates
given below indicated by adding a letter 'h '. These letters have to be
pronounced with more air i.e., exhaling.
kh gh chh __; jh th q; dh q; th qh

ph "li__; bh ng ( ) as in sing.
Special cases
jfi ( sf_ ) 1s as m (jiianam).

I). ( Uf_ ) is with the tongue in the upper palate.

sha ( ) is something between sa and ha.

ij occurring in is simplify denoted by 'jna' omitting the accent on

n.
r ('f\) is neither 'ra' nor 'ru' but something in between. However
we write 'gveda' as 'Rig Veda' because of its popular usage in
earlier books. Similarly rk is written as rik.
l_i (h with a dot below) indicates the samskrt visarga symbol:
pronounced with exhalation. For instance: qi: is kal;t, 'i:.f: is chal;t, ft:
is ril), j: is nul;t rtl: is nol;t. Nate that there is no letter following
1;t even though the ending sounds of ft: $ etc., are all different; the
different sounds are indicated by the vowel previous to the symbol
''
'ril' is pronounced as half 'm '.
s is a conjunction that indicates '3f'; Example:
-i:rr+
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Abbreviations
Ar.: AraI_lyaka
Brh. U: BrhadaraI,1yaka U.
Chh. U.: Chhandogya U.
HMF: Hymns to the Mystic Fire, by (SA)
KS: Sri Kapali Sastry, T.V. (1886-1953)
CW: Collected W arks
Ritualists: These persons, followers of the tenet of Purva
Mimamsa, believe that Rig Vedic hymns are meant
only for use in rituals and they have no other meaning.
, rik: A metrical mantra
RV: Rig Veda Samhita (the Shakala recension)
RV (4.6.10): Mantra 10 of Sukta 6 of MaI,1c;lala 4
S: SayaI,1a Acharya, (1315-1387 CE)
SA: Sri Aurobindo, (1872-1950 CE)
SB: Shatapatha BrahmaI_la
SAKS!: Sri Aurobindo Kapali Sastry Institute of Vedic Culture
SY: The Secret of the Veda, by (SA)
SYV: Shukla Yajur Veda
Sh vet. U: Shvetashvatara U.
TA: Taittiriya AraI,1yaka
Tai.U.: Taittiriya Upanihad
TS: Taittiriya Samhita
TS (4.6.5.3): Mantra 3, Anuvaka 5, Prapathaka 6, Kanc;la 4 of TS
U: Upanihad
UhI,lik (8/8/12): Uhl,lik metre with three pada-s with the numbers
of syllables in them as indicated, to a total of 28.
VS: Vajasaneyi Samhita of SYV
vs (15.7): Mantra 7 in adhyaya 15 of VS
A (b,c): The metre with name A, having 'c' pada-s, each
with 'b' syllables
Trihtup (11,4): Trihtup metre with 4 pada-s, each having 11
letters, a total of 44.
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How to refer to each Veda

Rig Veda

I I
RV ( 3 . 62 . 10 )
Mantra
Sukta
Manqala

Atharva Veda

II
(AV(4.30.1)

Mantra
Sukta
Kai:iqa

KYV (1 1-,-
Krishna YajurVeda
12 )
Mantra
Anuvaka
Prapathaka
Kai:iqa

Shukla YajurVeda
SYV (3.35)

II Mantra

Adhyaya
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Introduction
Veda in Sanskrit means knowledge in all forms. However, the
plural Vedas ordinarily refers to the ancient sacred books of the
Hindus which are dated not later than 3000 B.C. For most
intellectual Indians having some acquaintance with Hindu philosophy,
all the basic spiritual knowledge is contained in the books called
Upanishads which are considered an extension of the Vedas. The
questions that are posed and answered in this essay are:
What are the various books in the collection called Vedas in the
broad sense of the word?

Does this collection have a core?

If so, what is it?

What is the connection between this core and other ancient books
of know ledge like Upanishads?

What is the connection between this core and the ancient texts of
yoga and Tantra?
What is the relevance of these texts to modern spiritual seekers?

Does this core of the Vedas indicate new paths of spiritual

knowledge?
What does this core of the Vedas say on the ontological questions
of the one and many, man and Gods, this world and other
worlds?

Are there other modes of knowledge besides intellectual

knowledge, which is the type of knowledge made familiar to most
of us because of advances made by western science and
technology?

The above questions are of interest to senous students of

Indian culture whether they are Hindus or not. The primary reason
why one should read the core of the Vedas, the so-called Rig Veda
Samhita, is that it provides answers to most of the above questions.
However, a casual reader of the Rig Veda Samhita finds only hymns
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to vanous Devas or Gods and the answers to the vanous questions

raised above are not clear. The meaning of the hymns of Rig Veda
will be transparent only if we remember, while studying the texts,
the comments provided by Sri Aurobindo and Sri Kapali Sastry.
Both Sri Aurobindo and Sri Kapali Sastry suggest that Vedas
have at least two interpretations, the surface or the external
interpretation and the internal or esoteric or symbolic interpretation.
The external interpretation has been the basis for most of the
standard Sanskrit commentaries like that of the great medieval
scholar Sri Sayar:i.acharya or the English translations and
commentaries authored by western indologists and their Indian
followers. Obviously one cannot get the internal meaning of the
Vedas from these texts. The translations and commentaries on the
Vedas by Sri Aurobindo and Sri Kapali Sastry and their disciples
like Sri M.P. Pandit give us a map to understand the esoteric
meaning. Only by understanding the esoteric sense of the Vedas we
can get the ability to find in them the answers to the various
questions posed earlier.
Three objections are often raised about parallel interpretations
of the Vedas.
The first objection is that in most of the current languages of
today, one cannot envision several parallel interpretations even rn
small poems. Consequently, it 1s difficult to env1s1on parallel
interpretations in a composition of more than 10,000 stanzas.
Furthermore, can we env1s1on such parallel interpretations m
Sanskrit? The answer to this objection is simple. Sanskrit is not like
any other language, ancient or modern. Experts who have been
working in the area of knowledge representation and computational
linguistics have been amazed [ 1] at the precision in Sanskrit which
is not available in other languages. Several examples are available
m classical Sanskrit of stanzas having several different
interpretations. For instance, a stanza of 4 lines is given in [2]

[l] Rick Brig,gs, Knowledge Representation in Sanskrit and Artificial Intelligence, The Al
Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 32-39, Spring 1985.
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which can be interpreted as a hymn to Shiva, a hymn to Vih l).u and

as the decimal representation of the number pi (ratio of the
circumference of a circle to its diameter) using the standard code for
converting integers to the Sanskrit alphabet. Finally, it is not as if a
reader is asked to blindly believe in the esoteric interpretation of the
Veda. Sri Kapali Sastry has written a detailed commentary on every
verse of every hymn in the first eighth part of the Rig Veda (121
hymns) pointing out the esoteric interpretation and the limitations of
the external or surface interpretation of the Veda*. To illustrate the
limitations of the external interpretation, take the word Soma. Its
usual modern interpretation is that it is an intoxicating herb. Such an
interpretation of Soma is not consistent with the following mantra RV
(10. 85. 3), "when they crush the herb, one thinks that he has drank
the Soma; but no one ever tastes him whom the Brahmins know to
be Soma." There are many similar mantras in the ninth book of Rig
Veda. Obviously, Soma is not a herb, even though it can be
symbolized in rituals by a herb.
The second objection is why would the authors of the Vedas
hide their real meaning? The answer to this question 1s
straightforward. Nobody wants to hide the truth, but not all persons
have the same aptitude for understanding the text. As one chants the
hymns and meditates upon them, they gradually reveal their full
meaning. An entity is evaluated by individuals in the light of their
past experiences. This is best illustrated in one of the stories told by
the great teacher Sri Ramakrih l).a [3]. "A rich man gave a precious
diamond to his servant and asked him to have it appraised by
several different persons having different amounts of capital. The
servant went first to the seller of eggplants who said that the

(2] Swami Sri Bharatikrishi:ia Tirtha, Vedic Mathematics, edited by V.S. Agrawal, MLBD,
New Delhi, pp. 194-195, 362, 1965.

The translation of all these 121 hymns is available in Kashyap, R. L., Secrets of Rig
Veda, text, transliteration and notes for first 121 suktas of Rig Veda based on Kapali
Sastry's Sanskrit Commentary, SAK.SHI, 2003. along with introductory essays.

[3] Sri Ramakrishl)a, Tales and Parables, compiled and published by Sri Ramakrishl)a
Math, Madras.
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diamond was not worth more than nine seers (a weight measure of
about a pound) of eggplant. Next, the servant went to a cloth
merchant whose capital is substantially more than that of the
eggplant seller. He said that the diamond is a good thing and offered
to pay nine hundred rupees for it. Next, the servant went to a
diamond jeweler who offered one hundred thousand rupees for the
same diamond. One offers a price according to oneas capital. Take a
living incarnation of God. Some take him for an ordinary man, some
for a holy man, and only a handful recognize him as an incarnation."
The third objection to parallel interpretations of the Vedas is
that whereas they have been around for more than five thousand
years, why is it only Sri Aurobindo has recognized its esoteric
meaning? Even the famous commentator Sri Sayal).acharya does not
deny the spiritual meaning of Veda. Sri Sayal).acharya says that he
wrote the commentary to elucidate the meaning of the hymns when
they are used in rituals. Secondly, there do exist Sanskrit
commentaries which uphold the spiritual interpretation. The most
famous of these is due to the great teacher of dualist Vedanta, Sri
Madhwacharya, who predates Sri Sayal).acharya. Sri Madhwacharya
affirms that the Vedas have three parallel interpretations, namely
interpretation for use in a ritual, interpretation as hymns addressed
to the cosmic powers or Gods, and finally, interpretation as hymns
addressed to the Supreme One. The sixteenth century South Indian
saint Sri Raghawendra Swami, a spiritual descendent of Sri
Madhwacharya, wrote a detailed gloss on the first 40 Suktas of the
Rig Veda Samhita, pointing out all the three interpretations.

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1. The Vedic Books and their Branches

The core of the Vedas is the Samhita consisting of four
collections of hymns. There are three types of mantras, a rik which
a metrical verse used in recitation to invoke the Gods; Saman, a
metrical verse expressed in a musical form; and Yajus, a non
metrical composition in rhythmic prose. Correspondingly there are
four collections of hymns, namely
1. Rig Veda Samhita, consisting of riks.

2. Yajur Veda Samhita consisting of mainly yajus and some riks.

3. Sama Veda Samhita, consisting of saman.

4. Atharva Veda Samhita. Consisting of mainly riks.

In addition, the Yajur Veda Samhita has two versions labeled

Shukla (white) and Krihl).a (mixed). All these hymns are revelations
to various sages who rearranged them into metered hymns. The
arrangement of the four collections is traditionally attributed to the
sage Vyasa. Vyasa in Sanskrit means editor. There is considerable
overlap in the four Samhitas. Most of the Sama Veda Samhita and
more than one half of the Yajur Veda Samhita is a part of the Rig
Veda Samhita. Thus, the core of the Samhitas is the Rig Veda
Samhita. It has about one thousand hymns arranged into ten books
called manqalas. Each hymn has several mantras or verses and the
total number of verses is about ten thousand. Each hymn also has
the name of Rihi or Rihis to whom the contents were revealed and
the name of Devatas or Gods to whom the hymn is addressed. Sri
Aurobindo has stated that there is no chronological order in the
hymns, i.e., it is not correct to say that the tenth manqala or book
belongs to a period much later than the first manqala.
Veda - Through the ages
All the Vedas have been preserved by oral transmission. Even
after more than five thousand years, the text of the Veda chanted
today is almost identical to that chanted five thousand years ago.
There are several methods of chanting which taken together indicate
any error in recitation and would also help in locating the error. This
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method of information preservation 1s very reminiscent of the

modern methods of transmission of information employing error
detecting and error correcting codes. The oldest hand-written
manuscript of the Veda written on palm leaves is dated Circa 1200
CE. The first printed version of the Rig Veda Samhita, published in
1864, is due to the popular orientalist Max Muller. This publication
was made possible by a grant from the East India Company.
Reference [l] gives the details of the standard text of the Rig Veda
Samhita compiled from all the available manuscripts and it includes
the commentary by Sri Sayal).acharya.
In the Veda Samhita period, the dominant mode of knowledge
was intuition. The hymns record intuitive experiences of various
sages. Hence, there is some repetition. When a hymn is intoned, the
power or god invoked by that hymn reveals the necessary
experience. Here meaning and experience are identical. The mode of
intellectual knowledge developed later.

Branches of Veda
The creative age of the Samhita also came to an inevitable
end. Different aspects of the truths contained in the Samhita were re
expressed in different ways in different books such as Brahmal).as,
Upanihads and the Tantras. Immediately after the Samhita age, we
have the ritualistic age, when some of the truths and experiences in
the Samhita were expressed in the form of rituals. The idea is that if
the rituals are appropriately performed, the performer gets the
appropriate experience, the experience originally obtained by the
sage who formulated the hymn, just by invoking the hymn. The
Vedic books which describe the principles of rituals and their
associated activities like the altar construction, etc., are called
Brahmal).as. All the Vedas have Brahmal).as, texts associated with
them. For example, Rig Veda has the Aitereya Brahmal).a, the
Shukla Yajur Veda has Shatapatha Brahmal).a, the Krih l).a Yajur
Veda has Taittiriya Brahmal).a, the sama Veda has Tandya
Brahmal).a, Chhandogya Brahmal).a and Samavidhana Brahmal).a and
finally the Atharva Veda has the Gopatha Brahmal).a.

[l] The Rig Veda Samhita with Saya's Commentary. Vols. 1-V; Vaidika Samshodhana
Marn,ala, Pune, India.; Rig Veda Mantra Samhita (Complete text in Devanagari)
SAK.SHI, 2003.
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Performing a ritual is obviously much eas1er than developing

intuition. Thus, in the course of time, a doctrine which states that
rituals subsume the Samhitas and Vedas evolved. The proponents of
this doctrine are known as Mimamsakas. Clearly this doctrine is
denounced by Bhagavan Sri Krihl).a in Srimad Bhagavad Gita who
calls them as "veda-vada-rata". Still the power of the ritualist
school can be gathered from the fact that the fourteenth century
commentator Sri Sayal).acharya wrote a commentary on all the Vedas
to uphold the ritualist doctrine, even though he says in the
introduction that he does not deny the existence of other
interpretations of the Veda such as the spiritual. It is this
commentary with its elaborate word-to-word meanings and
illustrative stories from the Pural).as that has provided the basis of
commentaries on the Vedas by western indologists and their Indian
followers.

It should not be construed that every verse and hymn of a

Brahmal).a text is geared to the ritual [2][3]. In some parts of
Brahmal).as there are discussions about the ultimate Reality which are
intellectual or philosophical in the modern sense of the word. Often
the latter parts of some of the Brahmal).as, called Aral).yakas, contain a
mixture of ritualistic doctrine and intellectual discussion. Two well
known Aral).yakas are the Aitereya Aranyaka associated with Rig
Veda and the Taittiriya Aral).yaka associated with Krihl).a Yajur Veda.
Finally we have the vedic texts called Upanihads.
Upanihads contain spiritual experiences couched in the language of
the intellect and hence these can be easily understood by those with
an intellectual bent of mind. Because of the prestige associated with
the name Upanihad, many relatively new works dealing with
spiritual topics are also called as Upanihads. But, according to Sri

[2] Sri Kap:Hi Sastry: The Collected Works, Vol. 1 [Vedas, Upanihads, Tantras and Gita)
and Vol.4, 5, 6 (The Sanskrit Commentary on the Rig Veda Suktas 1-121) Dipti
Publications, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry 605002, lndia.; 'Unveiling the Light
in the Veda', a complitation of Kapali Sastry work on Veda in English and Sri Satguru
Publication, Delhi, 2001.
[3] Swami Sharvananda, The Vedas and Their Religious Teachings, in The Cultural
Heritage of India, Vol. 1, ibid.
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ShaI_lkaracharya, the important Upanihads are those which are part

of a Samhita or a Brahmar:ia. The Isha Upanihad is in the Shukla
Yajur Veda Samhita. Kena Upanihad is in the Tandya or Jaimini
Brahmar:ia of Sama Veda, Katha Upanihad in Khatak Brahmar:ia,
whose complete text is not available. Chhandogya, Aitereya,
Taittiriya Upanihad s are from Arar:iyakas bearing the corresponding
names, Shvethaswathara Upanihad is from the Taittiriya Brahmar:ia.
Brihad Arar:iyaka Upanihad is from the Shatapatha Brahmar:ia and
finally the Prahna, Mur:idaka and Mar:idukya Upanihads are from
Atharva Veda. These eleven Upanihads are often referred to as the
major Upanihads as shown in the table below. They have been
commented upon by Sri Shankarachar)'.a,
VEDA BOOKS {16 types)
Mantra
Brahmar:ia Upanishad
Samhita

Rig Veda (RV)

RV shakala aitereya aitereya aitereya
mantra brahmai:ia arar:i yaka upanihad
samhita kaushitaki kaushitaki kaushitaki
Shukla YajurVeda (svv)
vajasaneyi m. shatapatha ishavasya
mantra s. brahmar:ia
vajasaneyi k. brhadarar:iyaka
m: miidhyandina, k: kiil)va

Krishna Yajur Veda (KYV)

KYV taittiriya taittiriya taittiriya taittiriya
Samhita brahmar:ia arar:iyaka upanishad
maitrayaniya maitrayaniya mahanarayar:ia
shvetashvatara
kathaka katha
Sama Veda (SV)
SV jaiminiya talavakara kena
- -
rar:iayan1ya chhandogya chhandogya
kautuma brahmana upanihad
Atharva Veda (AV)
AV shaunaka mun<;iaka
mantra s. gopatha
man<;iukya
pippalada prashr:ia
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During an age which is much later than that of the

Upanihads, there was an attempt to popularize the occult truths
behind the Veda in the form of myths and legends. These books are
the Pural).as, associated with the name Vyasa. Anyone familiar with
the popularization of truths of physical and biological sciences is well
acquainted with the perils associated with the final product. The
subtle truths of the Veda are often twisted beyond all recognition in
the Pural).as. Unless a serious attempt is made to understand the
symbols behind the myths, very warped and mistaken notions are
obtained about Rihis, Gods and spiritual life. This topic is treated at
some length in the next section.

The prestige associated with the word Veda is so great that

texts dealing with specialized topics like health and medicine,
sculpture, mathematics, etc., are called as Vedangas or limbs of
Vedas. The text dealing with health is thus called the Ayurveda,
another dealing with the altar construction is Shulba Sutras, etc. The
Vedangas are particularly important in delineating the intellectual
condition of the people of the Vedic times. A careful reading of these
texts should dispel the myth that Vedic Indians spent their life
performing rituals to attain heaven and that they had no interest in
worldly things. The truth is that the Vedic Indians believed in a
balanced development of all the faculties in man at physical, vital,
mental and spiritual levels. They had a vision of several planes of
existence, each plane having its own complexity and this world
inhabited by us as only a small part of the entire scheme. They
envisioned the mountain of knowledge consisting of various peaks,
each peak corresponding to a different branch of knowledge. Spiritual
life was envisioned as an eternal journey going from one peak to
another RV (1.10.2).

VMKC : Chapter 2
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2. Spiritual Interpretation of the Veda: an

Introduction
Prof. S. K. Ramachandra Rao
Kapali Sastry himself has succinctly given expression to this
framework in the Sanskrit Bhumikii to his Siddhaii.jana [1947, Dipti
Publications, Pondicherry; Collected works of T.V. Kapali Sastry,
Vol.4, 1983]. This framework acquires significance on the ground
that the Veda has a secret meaning, which alone is of ultimate and
real value. In contradistinction to this, there is the external meaning,
the apparent one, cons1strng of word-meanings which are
conventional and transactional in nature. The latter is meant for the
common folk, to help them in their religious aspirations, while the
former is deliberately intended to guide the advanced aspirants. The
Veda employs this double-language method, because there are two
distinct approaches prevalent among human beings: one that relies
on the senses, employs reason, and holds the intellect in high regard;
and the other that depends on revelation and inspiration, and
employs intuition and insight. The two approaches may be
designated 'practical' and 'spiritual'.
Sayal).a's interpretation of the Rig Veda Samhita illustrates the
'practical' approach, while Sri Aurobindo, and Kapali Sastry after
him, represent the 'spiritual' or 'mystical' line of interpretation. It is
unfortunate that the decadent culture in the country during the middle
ages held on to the 'practical' approach, to the detriment of the
other. As a result, the Veda was looked upon as a source-book for
ritualism, as a sanction for intellectualism and as a justification for
crude materialism. The Munamsaka-s had already encouraged this
outlook, and their preference for the Brahmal).a books (ritualistic
tracts, appendages to the Samhita by the priests) prevailed in the
middle ages, and has continued till our own day. The Samhita, by a
curious reversal of values, became secondary to the Brahmal).a-s,
like the proverbial tail wagging the dog. Sayal).a was an
uncompromising votary of the Munamsaka ritualism, and his
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approach to Rig Veda Samhita in his famous Bhahya is only through

the Brahmal.).a ideology. He did not accord an independent status to
the Samhita, but viewed it only as an appendage to the Brahmal.).a
tracts.
It is remarkable that he (Sayal.).a) chose at all to write a
commentary on Rig Veda Samhita, for no Mimamsaka had ever
thought of writing a gloss, interpretation or annotation to the Samhita.
The Mimamsaka-s paid lip-service to the greatness, glory and
antiquity of the Veda, but had completely ignored its import. They
were more concerned with 'dharma' than with 'mantrartha' (meaning
of mantra-s), for they regarded 'dharma' itself as the 'vedartha' (the
meaning of the Veda). The words were all that was important for
them in a mantra from the Samhita collection, because the mantra-s
had to be recited as part of the rituals. The meaning of the mantra
was of no interest or importance to them. Indeed, the great
Mimamsaka, Jaimini, argued that the mantra-s that were not
prescribed or employed in the sacrifices were irrelevant and
redundant 1 . In the decadent tradition, therefore, there was no need
for a (Bhafhya) commentary on the Samhita. Nevertheless, Sayal.).a
did write one, and unwittingly turned the attention of traditionalists
to the meaning of the mantra-s, although ritualism was for him, as
for others around him, the main focus.
It is again unfortunate that the Western Indologists took an
interest in Vedic studies precisely at a time when the decadent
culture held the ground. What they were exposed to was the
ritualistic interpretation of Rig Veda Samhita by Sayal.).a. For them,
Sayal.).a was the traditional authority, although Sayal.).a lived only in
the fourteenth century AD. and there were other and more
trustworthy commentators earlier. Max Muller, who published the
Rig Veda Samhita for the first time in human history, published it
along with Sayal.).a's commentary, thus providing it a high academic

1 cf__ 11
amnayasya kriyarthatvat anarthakyam atadarthanam.
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acceptance value. Modern Vedic students and scholars, Western as

well as Indian, have been brought up in the tradition of regarding the
Rig Veda Samhita only in the light of Sayar:i.a's Bhahya.
The first great person that raised his voice against this injustice,
impropriety and outrage to the true spirit of the Vedic lore was Sri
Aurobindo. He discovered that the Veda had a hidden meaning, not
by a scholarly study of Vedic mantra-s, but by an inner vision; it
was only later that his studies confirmed his direct perception. He
was himself a sage, a rihi, and he had therefore the equipment in
common with the sages who visualized the mantra-s. Vedic hymns
are not products of superior scholarly exercises, or of clever
constructions of thought, diction and speech. They had wondrous
powers within, which freely opened up and blossomed into charming
poetic articulations. They were inspired by a profound encounter
with reality as such. The hymns therefore are in the nature of
mantra-perceptions (mantra-drfhfayal)).
According to this discovery, the central aim of the Vedic hymns
1s to help the seekers of truth (satya), immortality (amrta) and light
ljyoti). The truth that the Veda reveals is in effective contrast to the
truth of this phenomenal world which is a 'mixed one' (truth hidden
in a mass of false presentations), and which can be grasped by our
senses and mind; it is most profound and transcendental. The
immortality of the real revealed by the Veda is distinguished by
being beyond space and time and being beyond dualities. And the
light that one finds in the Veda is beyond the Light that is signified
by human intelligence. All the hymns in the Vedic corpus must be
interpreted in accordance with this search; the hymns become
meaningful only in the context of this search.
The supreme reality is described in the Veda as the beyond
(param), the truth (satyam), the right (rtam) and the vast (brhat). It
is beyond the three realms of phenomenal existence, symbolized by
the vyahrtis: bhul) (earth), bhuval) (midregion) and suval) (sky), and
represented by the three luminous deities -Agni, Indra and Surya.
The three realms together constitute the lower half of reality
(aparardha). Beyond this is the upper half (parardha), where Surya
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(the Savitr of whom the Surya of the three realms is but an image)
reigns supreme and shines brilliantly. This is the only reality (ekam
sat) that the Veda recognizes. All the deities and gods that the
hymns refer to as having different names, forms and functions are
but so many aspects of this one Surya, the supreme reality, the vast
sky (brhad-dyaul)}, the (mahal)), the beyond (paral)), the luminous
(svar). The Veda shows the mystic path to reach this highest state. 1
It is well-known that the Vedic hymns are replete with symbolic
language. They are altogether unlike the poetical compositions that we
are familiar with; they tend to veil their speech. The seers who were
responsible for these hymns were essentially mystics, having had the
direct contact with the sole reality of all existence. The Veda is
regarded in tradition as the treasury containing the secrets discovered
by these knowers of mystic knowledge. Kapali Sastry defines Veda as
the deliberately coded communications of profound mystic wisdom. 2
It is also recognized that the Vedic mantra-s are especially
potent in their verbal forms as well as in their meaning, nuances,
and effective for securing welfare here as well as hereafter; and this
is due to the fact that their origin is ascribed to the direct encounter
with the ultimate reality (pradurbhava-prabhavat mantranam virya
vattvam). The words came out without effort from the seer, almost
spontaneously; and the words concealed as well as revealed. The
incorporation of two meanings in each mantra (the exoteric and the
esoteric, the external and the internal) was by no means deliberate
or calculated, but perfectly natural in the context of spiritual
experience and its communication. The external sense is only a sign,
1
:11
anvehtavyo brhaddivaJ:i pantha [Siddhafljana]
2
(4-l..-!3_6?_!01i) 41.,Hifoli:{j
ffi :1

4TIPH1-1i 4TI'41'1i
3k-mi'1i 3ki411'-I II
tesham (mantradrafh,ttil)tim) gahanatattvavidam gu<jhabhtifhaya
gopitanam gopyanam kosha rgvedal).
tefhtim rksuktanam samudayameva rksamhitam achakfhmahe.
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a symbol (sanketa), and is intended to discern the real but internal

import. This holds good also for rituals. The external rituals are only
symbolic of the internal transformations that must take place.
In fact the external world is only a symbol of the internal world
that is more real. The gods of the three realms (adhyaf)(Ja) represent
only the powers within the individual (adhi-pif)(ja). Tradition speaks
of the three realms (earth, midregion and sky) as representing the
three faculties: anna (gross waking state), prfif)a (powers, forces,
energy) and manas (mind, knowledge), respectively. They are
presided over by the gods Agni, Vayu and Surya. Beyond the three
realms indicated by the three vyahrti-s, bhul), bhuval) and suval) is
the great expanse without limits (mahal), brhad-dyaul)}, the domain
of Surya (distinguished from the physical Sun, laukika-surya}.
It may be recalled that there is a long-standing tradition, ignored
however by SayaI_la, of seeing in the Rig Vedic passages a triad of
meanings. 3
Yaska accepts the ritualistic sense (adhiyajii.a}, the meaning relating
to the deities (adhidaiva) and the esoteric meaning (adhyatma). Later
thought spoke of 'adhibhautika' (the gross, external meaning, referring
to the physical world and common transactions), 'adhidaivika' (in
which adhiyajii.a is included) and 'adhyatma '. With reference to the
Vedic passages, tradition also distinguishes between the conventional
meanings of words used (ruqha), which are superficial but symbolic
(relating to adhibhautika, adhiyajii.a and adhidaiva levels) and the
meanings which are etymologically valid and significant (yaugika),
which are the real and intended meanings (relating to the adhyatma
level). It was Ananda 11rtha (Madhva Acharya) who, in his Rig
Bhahya resuscitated this tradition that was being side-lined by the
votaries of ritualism, and attempted to explain the Vedic mantra-s
primarily at the adhyatma level. Raghavendra Tirtha's Mantrartha
maii.jari followed this lead, and provided guidelines for Kapali Sastry's
comprehensive reconstruction of the real import of the Vedic corpus.

trayol;t arthal;t sarvavedehu

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Kapali Sastry was inspired by the discovery of Sri Aurobindo, and his
Siddharijana is true to the traditional line of interpretation and is a
brilliant attempt to focus attention on the hidden meaning of the
revelations of the ancient seers. I have gathered together the principal
propositions from his introduction, known as Bhumika to his
commentary on Rig Veda, and have prepared this garland of aphorisms
which help in understanding the hidden import of the Veda. I have
called it Veda-gu<jha.rtha-bodha-sutraI)i, taking the clue from his own
expression. The aphorisms included here are in his own words; only
the selection and arrangement is mine. This, I hope, would illustrate
the general framework of Vedic interpretation accepted by Yaska,
Shaunaka, Katyayana, Durgacharya, Ananda Y--rrtha, Bhaskara,
Raghavendra Y--rrtha and, in recent years, by Sri Aurobindo and after
him by Kapali Sastry.

The Secret of the Veda in Aphorisms

[Veda guarthabodha sutra1_1i]
[These aphorisms have been prepared by Shastra-Chuqamal).i, Veda
Kamala Prof. S.K. Ramachandra Rao based on the bhumika of the
Rig Vedic commentary Siddhafljana of Sri T.V. Kapali Sastry using
TVK's own words. S.K.R. hopes that these aphorisms illustrate the
general framework of Vedic Interpretation accepted by Yaska,
Shaunaka, Katyayana, Ananda Y--rrtha, Raghavendra Swami and in
recent years, by Sri Aurobindo.]
l. The Veda is eternal, because it made its appearance from the
highest space without limits, known as parama-vyoma or brhad
dyaul), beyond the three realms of existence (bhul), bhuval) and
suval)).
2. The Veda 1s primarily intended to aid spiritual study,
contemplation and spiritual practices.
3. The Veda that is most ancient is but one; it is called Rig Veda,
a collection of riks (mantra-s).
4. For the sake of performing rituals, the mantra-s of Yajur Veda
and the Brahmal).a-texts were prepared at a later period.
5. The mantra-s of the Rig Veda were direct perceptions of the seers.
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6. The seers who perceived the mantra-s dwell, before their birth
and after their passing away, in the highest space (from which
the Veda made its appearance).
7. The seers, abiding in a state of high austerity, encountered directly
the mantra-s (known by the name brahma), according to Yaska.
8. The Veda is not concerned with dharma (rules of good life) and
Karma (rituals) only; there is in the Veda a hidden teaching
which is spiritual in nature, pertaining to the Self.
9. This essential import of the mantra-s was concealed by a secret
(or coded) language; the seers hid the secret within the mantra.
10. The inner import is that it takes the form of symbols and abides
in the mantra-s.
11. The seers employed the symbols for the sake of preserving the
real meaning of the Veda.
12. It is proper therefore that one must understand the significance of
the symbols in order to determine the true import of the Veda.
13. The secrets indicated by the symbols pertain to the internal or
esoteric mysteries ( ni.(1ya).
14. One must attempt to comprehend the purport of the mantra-s
only in accordance with the inner meanings.
15. An understanding of the system of symbolism (sanketa) is the
gateway to get at the secret of the Veda.
16. In all Veda there is but one system of symbolism.
17. For all the seers of the mantra-s, there is but one goal
( ekameva), one hidden teaching and one tradition of symbolism.
18. The hidden teaching is this: The supreme and solitary divinity is
Surya, the Supreme Person.
19. Surya abides bearing several names and assuming several deity
forms.
20. The real is but one, ( ekal) para) but bearing a multiplicity of
names and forms.
21. The origin of all deities is but one, the nature of all deities is
also one, and the goal of all of them is one too.
22. The differences among the deities are in accordance with their
functions and their personalities.
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23. The deities can be apprehended by one's inner perception.

24. The nature of the deities, however, are capable of being
perceived by the eye that is opened by the divine or inner vision.
25. All the deities begin to function only at the level of the supreme
reality (viz., the highest space, brhat-dyaul), from which the Veda
makes its appearance, and in which the seers dwell); and their
actions have a tendency to ascend.
26. The Veda presents the picture of the deities with their own
names, qualities and actions, but who are all in reality so many
aspects of the one great self, known by the name Surya.
27. The sacrificial ritual is also symbolic; the supreme purport of the
Vedic sacrifice is but inner worship.
28. Whoever is the wise person, equipped with v1s1on and learning,
who becomes competent enough to realise the hidden teaching of
the mantra, it is for him that the Veda reveals itself.
29. For him, the symbols of their own accord would reveal the secret
import.
30. One must therefore make efforts to understand aright the true
meaning of the mantra-s.
[Professor S.K. Ramachandra Rao (04.09.1925 - 02.02.2006) who has
been awarded several honours such as Veda KBmala, Vidyalankar,
Shastra-chuc;Jama.pi, Vedanta-nidhi etc., is an eminent traditional scholar
having studied Veda and Vedanta in the traditional method under several
orthodox pundits in Mysore. He is also well-versed in modern learning
having been the Professor of psychology at National Institute of Mental
Health and Neurosciences, the Head of the Department of Indian Culture
in the Callison College Study Centre of the University of Pacific (USA)
and Senior Associate of NIAS, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He
has translated a commentary in Pali on a Buddhist classic. He has
authored over fifty monographs including Art and Architecture in Indian
Temples (three volumes), Agama Kasha (twelve volumes), Pratima Kasha
(six volumes). His latest project is the Rig Veda Darshana which intends
to bring into focus the traditional approach to Rig Veda based on the
early authorities like Yaska, Brhaddevata and some relatively unknown
commentaries, like those of Madhwacharya and Raghavendra Swamy.
Seventeen volumes of this series have been published. He is also a
musicologist, a sculptor and painter and has held several one man
shows.]

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3. The Upanishads

It is customary to find in many books on Indian philosophy the

statement that the rishis of the Upanihads opposed the Veda-s on
the grounds of ritualism and developed alternate intellectual theories
detailed in the Upanihads. There are several inconsistencies in this
statement. First of all, Upanishads are not philosophic texts involving
metaphysical speculations. These texts describe a variety of spiritual
experiences of various sages called as darshana. There are no
speculations in these texts. Secondly, the sages of the Upanihads
did not reject the Veda Samhitas as such; they only claim that they
have either discovered new truths fully compatible with the Samhitas
or they are amplifications and generalizations of some of the seed
ideas in the Rig Veda. To substantiate their viewpoints, they often
quote some mantras of the Rig Veda. One of the great contributions
of Sri Kapali Sastry is to delineate the precise connection between
the Rig Veda and the Upanihads.

The Upanihads, besides delineating var10us spiritual

experiences, also give a few hints on sadhana, i.e., paths of spiritual
realization. These methods of sadhana are called vidyas. The
Upanihad does not give much detail about the vidyas because such
details cannot be conveyed in print. Typically, a teacher transmits
these truths to the students, often in silence. There are more than a
dozen vidyas mentioned in the Upanihads. Sri Kapali Sastry's book,
'Light on the Upanishads' is the only one, as far as the author is
aware, to discuss these vidyas in some detail. Madhu Vidya of the
Brhadaral).yaka Upanihad and the Vaishwanara Vidya of the
Chhandogya Upanihad are taken up here to relate their connection
to appropriate passages in the Rig Veda Samhita.

The madhu vidya or the doctrine of mystic honey is found in the

5th chapter of the second book of the Brhadaral).yaka Upanihad
which is itself a part of the Shatapatha Brahmal).a. Often this
Upanihad is quoted by some monists to demonstrate that this world
to be an "utter illusion" and that it is irrelevant to the attainment of
the highest spiritual experience called as nirgul).a brahman. Such
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passages upholding the "lofty illusionism" are found in the Maitreyi

Brahmar:i.a of the same Upanihad which precedes the madhu vidya
chapter. It provides the required corrective and teaches us that the
"diversity in creation is the manifestation of a secret delight, that all
things, however heterogeneous and warring they may appear, are
held together by a secret harmony effected in them by the hidden
creative self delight of the Supreme who is the effulgent self,
Immortal." The Upanihad states "This earth is honey for all beings
and all beings are honey for this earth - and he who is in this earth
the effulgent, immortal puruha and he who is within one's being, in
the body, the effulgent, immortal puruha are indeed the same - He
who is this Self, this Immortal, this brahman, this All." It gives
fourteen illustrations to reinforce the above statement. It further adds
that "this Self does not merely represent the basic principle of
madhu, the Bliss that abides in the heart of things but he is the
Master of all things and beings and holds together all beings, all
Gods, all worlds, all selves and all lives." Next the Upanihad
quotes three verses of the Rig Veda Samhita (1.116,12; 1.117.22,
6.47.18) stating that the doctrine of mystic Honey given here is not
new, but was already revealed to the sages of the Rig Veda,
specifically Dadhyan Atharvan by Ashvins, the twin powers.

The next example is from the Vaishvanara Vidya of the

Chhandogya Upanihad and its connection to the Vaishvanara agni
mentioned in numerous hymns of the Rig Veda. Even though all
sadhanas of the Upanihads lead to the attainment of brahmic
realization, their starting points, their approaches, and the results
experienced on the way to realization may differ. Sadhanas may
differ from one another in their emphasis on different aspects of
brahman. The Vaishvanara Vidya mentioned in the 5th book of
Chhandogya begins with the question "what do you worship as the
atman" posed by the teacher, the king Ashwapaty Kaikeya to eager
students who approached him for the elucidation of the supreme
realization. The teacher shows the limitations of various answers
and teaches them about the Universal person, Vaishvanara, who is
adored as "In all worlds, in all beings, in all selves, he eats the
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food." The teacher exhorts the students in the art of living in accord
with the truths of Vaishvanara, the universal person. He enjoins
them "not to eat the food and live as if the vaishvanara atman were
something separate, but to live - and eat for living - with the
knowledge of Him as the One Fire who lives aglow in all creatures."
Such a person lives also for other souls, for other beings around, for
the rest of the whole universe. His living is a source of joy and
power to all living beings at all levels.He radiates wisdom and life
giving strength. The food he takes is an offering to the Universal
Fire. This is the real meaning of the Fire ritual. The vaishvanara
vidya directly draws its inspiration from the numerous hymns on the
Vaishwanara Agni in the Rig Veda. Sri Kapali Sastr/ gives a
detailed discussion on this topic.We will content ourselves by giving
references to some of the relevant hymns: Rig Veda, 10.8 8; 1.59;
1.9 8.1; 3.3.2; 3.3.4; 3. 26.7.

Veda Quotations in Upanihads

There are numerous mantra-s of RV quoted verbatim in the
Upanihads. There are many key phrases in the Upanihads which
have their corresponding ones in RV. A systematic study of the Veda
and Upanihads has not been done. We give here just a few
examples. The oft-quoted passage of Shvetashvatara Upanihad
(2.5), 'Hear ye, children of immortality', occurs originally in Rig
Veda (10.1 3.1). The same Upanihad in (2.2) quotes RV (5.81.1).
The famous hamsa mantra of Katha Upanihad (2.2.2), "The swan
that settles in the purity...born of truth, itself the truth, the vast ",
occurs originally in RV (4.40.5). The famous mantra of the two
birds signifying the individual soul and supreme soul found in
Mul.).qaka Upanihad (3.1.1) is originally from RV (1.164.20). It is
hardly a coincidence since the word suparl)a translated as bird
occurs in more than 2 5 verses of RV bearing always the symbol of
soul. Some commentators often misinterpret the phrase, 'two birds'
in RV (1.164.20) as husband and wife.

1
Kapah Sastry, "Light on the Upanishads", (Pub) SAKSHI, 2006.
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The famous utterance of Upanihad that Brahman cannot be

attained by duality or force is in RV (5.1 2.2). The idea that
Brahman cannot be attained by mere action or efforts is in RV
(1.6 2.7), 'Brahman cannot be approached by thought', is in RV
(1.170.1) (quoted in p. 5 1, Chapter 8) or Kena Upanihad (1.3).
The famous ecstatic utterance of the Rihi Vamadeva in RV
(4.2 6.1) declaring that, "I am Surya, I am Manu ..." is repeated in
Brhadarar:i.yaka Upanihad (1.4.10). The Aitareya U. (2.1.5)
specilically mentions the mantra of the Rihi Vamadeva in RV
(4.27.1) and the name of rihi also.The concept of the mystic heart
centre hrda which occurs more than thirty times in RV is also found
in several Upanihads.The triplet 'The heart, the mind and intellect'
(hrda manasa manlfha) found in Katha Upanihad (2.3.9 or 6.9),
Shvetashvatara Upanihad (4.17) etc., is originally in RV ( 1.6 1.2).
We may note that the Isha Upanishad verse (18) is also in the
Brhadarar:i.yaka Upanihad (5.1 5.1) and the Maitri Upanihad (6.3 5).
The same verse is in Rig Veda (1.18 9.1).
In Rig Veda, the deity Indra is the Lord of Divine Mind. This
power of Indra is also mentioned in Tai. U. ( 1.4), "may Indra
2
increase intellect in me for my strengthening".
For more details, see the SAKSHI book, 'Essentials of
Upanishads' by R.L. Kashyap.
Conclusions:
The sages of the Upanishad had great respect for the Rig Veda.
Many mantra-s of RV appear verbatim m several major
Upanishads. The chapter explains that both Veda-s and Upanishads
are different approaches to spirituality, and for realising it in our life .

VMKC Chapter 1 2

2
sa me indro medhaya sprl)otu, Tai. U. (1.4)
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4. Tantra m Veda

In the spiritual history of India, the development of a line of

spiritual discipline called Tantra is very important. These Tantra
shastra-s are usually dated in the first millennium CE. Traditionally
it is the scripture of the common man, open to all persons, without
any restrictions of caste or scholarship. Many students of Indian
culture believe that it is appropriate to call the religion of the
modern Hindus as Tantric rather than pura.l).ic. Tantra in Sanskrit has
many meanings. As Sri Kapali Sastry points out, the relevant
meaning of the word Tantra is "to act". Thus ritual - ritual is an act
- is a characteristic common to all the Tantrik disciplines. The
connection between the Veda and Tantra will be discussed here.
It is not uncommon to find in some books on the history of India a
statement that Tantra Shastra developed as a rebellion against the
Veda-s since the latter was theoretically accessible only to members
of the two higher castes. The latter statement is not even loosely true
since Chhandogya Upanihad indicates with anecdotes that the Veda-s
were taught to any student with sincere aspiration regardless of caste.
Even otherwise, Tantra shastra holds the Veda-s in high regard and
quotations from the Rig Veda are used in Tantra shastra to support its
approach. While the Upanihads represent an attempt at recovering the
jfiana or knowledge portions of the Veda-s, the Brahma.l).as represent
an attempt at reinforcing the ritual aspect of the Veda-s, the Tantra
shastra represents an attempt at preserving and expanding the esoteric
or the occult part of the Veda. A quotation from Sri Aurobindo is very
appropriate: "The mental images of the Vedic Gods in the mantras of
Rig Veda (were replaced) by mental forms of the two great deities,
Vih.l).u and Shiva, and their shakti-s and by corresponding physical
images which are made the basis both for external worship and for the
mantras of inward adoration and meditation, while the psychic and
spiritual experience which the inner sense of the Vedic hymns
expresses finally disappeared into the psycho-spiritual experience of
the pura.l).ic and Tantrik religion and yoga."
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First let us consider the Gods in the Tantra and the Gods in the
Veda-s. There is almost a one-to-one correspondence between the
Gods in the two scriptures, not only in the outward description of
their powers, but also in their spiritual import. In the Tantra, as in
the Veda-s, we find the recognition of one Supreme Deity as the
highest along with the simultaneous adoration of a number of other
deities. The Tantrik Gods, like the Vedic Gods, have a twofold
aspect: in their external aspects they are the powers of physical
nature like rain, wind, etc. But, in their more important esoteric
aspects, they represent psychological and psychic movements. For
example, Agni of the Veda continues in the Tantra as Kumara, the
child of the lord Shiva. In Veda, Agni is in the forefront of Gods,
their guide and messenger. In the Tantra, Kumara is the commander
in-chief of the Gods and is looked up for his immense store of
knowledge and wisdom by the seers of later times. The role of Indra
in the Veda is taken over in Tantra by Rudra who brooks no
obstacle. The Sun, the highest God of the Veda, is addressed in the
Tantra as Vihl).u, a name used in the Veda itself. The role of the
Aditi of the Veda is represented by the Supreme shakti, called as
Uma, Gowri, etc. It is true that there are new Gods in the Tantra,
but the prominent Gods of the Veda-s retain their supremacy under
different names and forms.
The Tantra, like the Veda, places a high emphasis on the mantra.
A mantra is not a mere letter or collection of letters with some
meaning. "It is the sound-body of a Power charged with the intense
vibrations of the spiritual personality of the creator or seer of the
mantra. When a mantra is uttered under proper conditions, it is not
the feeble voice of the reciter that goes forth to evoke the response
of the Gods to whom it is addressed, but the flame of tapasya
(askesis) and realization that is lying coiled up in the body of that
utterance. The Tantra, following the Veda, has formulated some
seed-letters, bljiikhara, which the seeker uses as the mantra. These
bljakharas have been endowed with a perennial store of power by
the Tantrik seers and it needs only the direct contact of the Guru to
set them awake in the disciple".
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Sri Kapali Sastry illustrates the connection between the Veda and
Tantra by considering a particular Tantra called as 'Prapancha Sara
Tantra', made up of three rik verses, addressed to Durga, Shiva and
Vihr:iu. The first verse is ( 1. 99.1) addressed to Agni. The second
verse is the (7.59.12) addressed to Rudra, the Trayambaka, father
of the three worlds. In the Tantra it is addressed to the deity Rudra
as Mrityunjaya, the conqueror of Death. The third verse is the
famous Gayatri mantra in (3.62.10). In the Veda it is addressed to
Savitr, the effulgent one, and in the Tantra it is addressed to Vihr:iu,
the image of all knowledge and power.
It is interesting to note that the group of the three verses, also
called as Shatakshara Gayatri, is recited even today in the daily
ritual for purifying the conch and the water. The symbolism is
obvious: the primeval sound comes from its source, symbolized by
the conch, naturally of its own accord when the impurities in the
instrument are removed by invoking the Gods or psychological
powers.
An important topic rn the Tantra-s is entitled, 'The Ten great
cosmic powers' ( dash a maha vidya-s ), each governing a fundamental
function in the cosmos.
"Dhumavati presides over the non-being asat. When creation
starts, Kali is Time and Bhuvaneshvari is space. The flaming Word
Supreme turned towards manifestation is Bhairavi; the perceiving
Word is Tara; the expressed Word is Matangi. The primordial
luminous desire (Kameshvari) is Sundari, while the delightful Beauty
is Kamala. Chinnamasta combines Light and Sound in her thunder
clap; Bagalamukhi stifles the free flow of things. Thus the Tantra
portrays the ten facets of the ultimate Reality.
These deities are invoked using both the single syllabled tantrik
mantra-s and also the mantra-s from Rig Veda.
The great savant and poet, Vasihtha Gar:iapati Muni recovered the
relevant Rig Vedic mantra-s submerged in tradition. They are given
below. We give below only the mantra identifiers. For text, translation
and explanation, see the book, 'The Ten Great Cosmic Powers' by
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(late) S. Shankaranarayan, (Pub) Samata Books, 1972, 2002.

Kali : RV (10.127.2); RV (5.86) (Khila)
Tara : RV (1.164.41); RV (8.94.1)
Sundari : RV (1.164.29);
Bhuvaneshvari : RV (1.89.10)
Tripura Bhairavi : RV (1.99.1)
Chinnamasta : RV (10.86.10)
Dhumavati : RV (1.38.6)
Bagalamukhi : RV (10.120.1)
Matangi : RV (1.3.12)
Kamalatmika : RV (3.62.10)
There is a close connection between the Upanishad Vidya-s
mentioned in our Upanishad chapter, and the ten great Mahavidya-s.
For details see the book by Shankaranarayan.
In the Tantra, there are two main divisions known as Dakshil}a
and Vama. The worship of the ten devi-s such as Sundari is a part
of the Dakshil}a.
The roots of the Vama path (popularly but mistakenly called as
Left hand path) can be seen in several verses of the book
Shatapatha Brahmar:ia. In the Vedic outer yajna, participation of both
a man and his consort is necessary, but the role of consort is not
major. In the Vama marga, both the male (purusha) and the female
Pra.lqti are equally important; "without Prakrti, Purusha cannot
manifest the powers; but without Purusha, Pra.lqti cannot exist".
This is noted in the Shatapatha Brahmana
"Being about to ascend (to the higher realms, the Purusha
addresses his consort, saying)
Come, let us ascend the sky!
And she answers, Ascend we...
1
Without her, he remains unmanifested ".
"As they ascend, the man exclaims, 'we have become the
1 2
' Kenneth Demarest, 'The Winged Power', . 362, chap. 23 of the book,
'Consciousness and Reality', (ed) C. Muses and A.M. Young, (Pub.)
Avon, 1974;
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2
children of the Divine' (amrtasya putra).
'Ascend' means to ascend to the higher realms of consciousness.
'amrtasya putra' appears in RV (10.13.1), SYV (11.4), etc.
KYTS (4.1.1.11) states "You are the woman (nari), the divine
thunder cloud (abhri ). You bring Agni who completes and fulfills us
(purishyam)."

A common question 1s: 'Is there no mention of the Kundalini

Shakti in the Veda'?

My answer is that the word 'Kundalini' does not appear in the

Rig Veda. However the rise of the Kundalini Shakti in man can be
inferred from several verses in RV, as a consequence of Indra-Vrtra
battle. Recall that Vrtra is also called as a snake Ahi. The
description of Ahi given in RV (4.19.3) in p. 58 is very relevant.
Ahi is said to be sleeping.

(1.32.1) states, 'ahan ahim'. The usual translation is, 'he (Indra)
killed Ahi'. However as the eminent savant Sri Varada Rangapriya
Swami states (as mentioned in Chapter 37 ), han has also the
meaning of 'movement' (gati), in addition to 'to kill'.

The phrase 'ahan ahim' means that he (Indra) made the (static)
snake to move. The same mantra states that the waters (energies)
were released. In other mantras, there is the mention of seven
currents of energies being released. Thus Indra made Ahi or
Kundalini Shakti to move up and interact with the seven Chakras
releasing the seven energy currents. However RV does not have any
reference to the descent of the immortal power from the centre
above the head after the rise of Kundalini.

Indra is regarded as the power of yoga. This interpretation was

suggested by David Frawley 1 without giving the mantra-reference. I
accept it is a conjecture.

See also 'Sri Aurobindo and Tantra' and 'Essence of Tantra' by

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Kashyap (2005), both published by SAKSHI. The book by M.P.

Pandit entitled, 'Gems from the Tantra-s is very valuable. It is
included as a part of the Volume 4 of 'The Selected works of M.P.
Pandit' with the title 'Traditions'. 'Gems from the Veda' and 'Gems
from the Gita' are also in this book (Volume 4) and they are
illuminating.

[The book 'Rig Vidhana', translated by M. Balakrishna Reddy, IFS

gives a list of about 200 mantra-s with their identifiers indicating the
health and other benefits obtained by their recitation.]

Conclusions:
It is a mistake to regard the Tantra Shastra as a rebellion against
the Veda-s. Tantra offered an approach to the divine realization,
based on some ideas in Veda which were not widely circulated.

Like the Upanishads, the study of Tantra is a complement to the

study of Veda.

VMKC Chapter 14

1
'Gods, Sages and Kings', p. 217.
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5. Overview of Rig Veda

In ancient times, all the Veda mantras constituted a single

collection. It had an inherent non-linear structure with every mantra
connected to many others. The connection was achieved by sonic
assonance. For instance, all the mantras with a key word like aayahHi
(come) fall into a group.
The rihi would recite the group of mantras that was required for
the occasion.
In course of time, a linear structure was imposed on the mantras.
All the rik mantras were collected together according to some criteria
and divided into 10 Mal).qalas, each with several suktas. This is the
Rig Veda Samhita. Thus a linear order has been forced. Similarly
those mantras dealing with work were collected and the collection
became the Yajur Veda. Note that Yajur Veda has both Yajus and
Rik mantras.
Similarly all the rik mantras which were to be chanted in the
elaborate manner were grouped into the book called the Sama Veda.
The mantras dealing with topics such as health, philosophy, education
became a part of Atharva Veda Samhita.
The Rig Veda has 10, 552 mantras. They are grouped into 1028
suktas or hymns, each having roughly ten mantras. The suktas are
further grouped into ten Mal).qalas. However the size of these
Mal).qalas are uneven. Mal).qala 2 has 43 suktas while Mal).qala 1 or
Mal).qala 10 have 191 suktas.
The 10 Mal).qalas can be broadly divided into 2 groups. In group 1
are the 6 mal).qalas, two through seven. The remaining 4 mal).qalas,
one eight, nine and ten, form the second group.
Every mal).qala in the first group is associated with one primary
rihi. All the mantras of that mal).qala were revealed to that rihi or
his successors or disciples.
The primary rihi associated with each of the 6 mal).qalas are:
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Mar:i<Jala 2: Rihi Grtsamada

3: Rihi Vishvamitra

4: Rihi Vamadeva

5: Rihi Atri

6: Rihi Bharadvaja

7: Rihi Vasihtha

For each mar:i<Jala in the second group, there are several rihis,
more than a hundred. The special character of the ninth mar:i<Jala is
that all mantras are devoted to the deity Soma, who symbolises the
Delight of existence.
We give below a table giving the number of s uktas and mantras in
each mar:i<Jala:
Mar:i<Jala Sukta-s Mantra-s

1 191 2006
2 43 429
3 62 617
4 58 589
5 87 727
6 75 765
7 104 841
8 103 1716
9 114 1108
10 191 1754
1028 10552
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The mantras deal with all aspects of wisdom, such as different

cosmic powers and the ways of manifesting these powers in our
everyday life, difficulties faced by a spiritual seeker and the ways of
overcoming them, the paths of devotion, knowledge, etc. Even though
RV is not a book on mathematics or science, it has a wealth of
information on arithmetic, astronomy, Ayurveda, chariot-making etc.
Some persons associate the word wisdom only with the knowledge of
the transcendental state of the Supreme, completely separated from
the life on earth. Obviously, Rig Vedic seers do not have such a
narrow view of wisdom.
Every sukta or hymn of RV has several mantras or verses and
a header having three items namely:

(a) Rihi (or Rihis) to whom the sukta was revealed

(b) The metres of the various mantras

(c) The cosmic powers or Gods or devas or devis with whom the
rihi communes using these mantras.

We will first give briefdefinitions or descriptions ofsome ofthe terms

introduced above such as mantra, metre, Rihi, Gods or cosmic powers
or devatas.
Some Misconceptions on the 4 Vedas
Note that Rig Veda has only the rik mantras. But it does not have all
the rik mantras in the Veda, i.e., there are rik mantras in other Veda
Samhitas which are not in Rig Veda.
Yajur Veda (both Shukla and Krihr:i.a) have both Yajus mantras (prose)
and rik mantras. For example, one recension of Yajur Veda known as
Taittirlya Samhita has a total of4773 mantras of which 3248 are yajus
and the remaining 1525 are riks. Among these riks, 862 are in the Rig
Veda Samhita. The remaining 663 riks are not in Rig Veda.
The text of all the mantras of Sama Veda are in Rig Veda, though
they are chanted more elaborately than the riks.
Atharva Veda has mostly riks, with a small number ofyajus mantras.
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We give below the number of mantras in one recension of each of the

4 Vedas to give an idea of the total number of Veda mantras.
Rig Veda (Shakalya) 10552

KrihI_la Yajur Veda (Taittirlya) 4773

Shukla Yajur Veda (Vajasaneyi) 3998

Sama Veda 1875

Atharva Veda 5038

Total 26226

Note that all these mantras are not distinct. The total number given
above includes repetitions. If we exclude all the repetitions, the total
number may be around 20,000. Note that there are other recensions of

each Veda not considered above.

Source Essentials of Rig Veda

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6. Overview of Yajur Veda

The focus of this essay is the Yajur Veda which has several
recensions (shakha). One group of recensions constitute the
Krihr:ia Yajur Veda (KYV), the remaining recensions constitute
the Shukla Yajur Veda (SYV).
Some other recensions of the Krihr:i a Yajur Veda Samhita are
Maitrayar:i1 Samhita, Kapihthala Samhita and Kathaka Samhita.
The Shukla Yajur Veda Samhita has two well-known recensions
namely Vajasaneyi Madhyandina and Vajasaneyi Kar:iva. Any two
recensions have many verses in common; they differ in the order
of presentaions; some verses in one recension may be absent in
another.
The name indicates its deeper meaning. Tittiri indicates the
forces which overcome ignorance, (see Chap. 17). Vajasaneyi
means the conquering (sana) of the opulence or plenitude ( vaja).
Kapihthala means that whose source is in the Spiritual Sun.
Maitrayar:ii is the vehicle ( ayani) for attaining harmony and
friendship.
We will focus here on all the mantras in the two recensions,
Taittirlya Samhita of the Krihr:ia Yajur Veda (indicated as TS)
and the Vajasaneyi Madhyandina Samhita of the Shukla Yajur
Veda (indicated as VS). Our attention is on the mantras. We want
to understand the commonality of these two recensions, usually
considered to be quite different.
The mantras contain the supra-physical and supra-mental
experiences of the sage when he/she was in a superconscient
state. They deal with the inner yajfia or internal yajfia occurring
in our subtle bodies. These mantras repeatedly mention the idea
of devotion and surrender (nama) to the deities. There are
several mantras which adore the deities in the vibhuti yoga style
of Bhagavad Ona. Most importantly, these mantras bring into
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focus the psychological powers associated with the vanous

deities, i.e., Agni is the power of will, Indra is the power of
divine mind and perfect works, SarasvatI is the power of
inspiration etc. By appropriate recitation of the relevant mantras
and other related practices, everyone can develop these powers
within oneself. These powers grow within us like a tree. The
most important aspect of a (outer) Vedic rite like Agnihtoma is
the chant of the mantras.

In all the four Veda Samhitas there are three types of mantras
namely, rik or rk, yajus and saman. A rik mantra is a verse of
illumination which is in one of the various metres such as
GayatrI, Anuhtup, Trihtuph. The metre is determined by the
number of syllables ending with a vowel. A mantra in GayatrI
metre should have 24 such syllables. A Yajus mantra is a short
rhythmic phrase such as, 'namal) shivaya '. A saman is a mantra
sung in a prescribed mode. Usually the text of a saman mantra is
same as that of a rk mantra.

A popular misconception is that Yajur Veda has only yaJus

mantras. There are numerous rk mantras in the Yajur Veda.
Usually at least a third of the mantras in any recension are rks.

vs Text: It has 40 adhyayas. Each adhyaya is divided into

several kal)(jikas or verses. A kal)(jika can be either a single
rk mantra, i.e., mantra in a metre; or it could be made up of
several yajus mantras, i.e., mantras of rhythmic prose. For
instance, the kal)(jika 41 of adhyaya 16, vs (16.41) has 6 short
yajus mantras including the famous mantra, 'namal) shivaya '. The
total number of kal).Qikas or verses is 1975. The total number of
mantras is 39 ss, including both r k mantras and yajus mantras,
according to Pandit Satavalekar.
The last adhyaya vs (40) is the famous Ishavasya U. It is a
profound Upanihad integrating the ideas of work, knowledge,
enjoyment etc., as described in Chap. 24. Ritualists think it is
separate from the other 39 adhyayas. Some of the key ideas
mentioned there are in other adhyayas also.
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TS Text:
TS is divided into 7 Kal).c;las or Books. Each Book is further
divided into several Prapathakas or Prashna, ranging in number
from five to seven. Each Prapathaka is divided into several
anuvakas or sub-sections. The anuvaka is the basic unit of text.
Each anuvaka is a single line of text having 30 to 200 words
without any punctuation. The total number of anuvaka in TS is
651. The total number of words is about a hundred and ten
thousand. See section in p. 145.
Based on the contents, each anuvaka falls into one of two
distinct categories called as mantra-anuvaka which contains
several distinct mantras and Brahmal).a-anuvaka which is a long
prose passage (not a mantra) which is a product of human
intellect. There are 295 mantra-anuvakas, 302 Brahmal).a-anuvaka
and 55 anuvakas having both mantra and brahmal).a (prose)
passages. Total number of mantras is 4776. See table in p. 145.
The contents of the Mantra-anuvaka and that of the
Brahmal).a-anuvaka are drastically different. Hence, they have to
be treated separately.
For comparing TS and vs, we have to study the 4773 mantras
of TS together with the 3988 mantras of vs. In spite of the
similarity of the two numbers, all the mantras in TS are not in vs
and vice versa. They share more than 2000 mantras. See chapter
2 for details.
Specifically TS contains a total of roughly 4773 mantras of
which 1525 are rik mantras. Thus in TS, two thirds of mantras are
yajus and one third are rks. Moreover of the 1525 rk mantras, 862
can be traced to the existing edition of the Rig Veda Samhita.
The reference for the concordance is in p. 145. Thus about 700 rk
mantras in TS are not in the current RV text. This fact clearly
raises many questions about the popular belief that all rik
mantras in TS are borrowed from Rig Veda.
The presence of a large number of rk mantras m TS has
several consequences. It does not lend support to the claims of
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narrow traditionalists who say, 'we belong to the Rig Veda

branch, hence we should not recite the Yajur Veda' or vice versa.
One may think that the presence of the numerous rk mantras
in TS is a special feature of the TS recension. It is not the case.
For instance take another shakha, the Maitrayal).Iya Samhita of
Krihl).a Yajur Veda. It has 2144 mantras of which 1701 are rk
mantras.
Key ideas in Yajur Veda (TS or VS)
To be benefited by this book, one must accept the following
fundamental thoughts of the seers of the Veda, the rihis: (1) the
all-pervading spirit and the Supreme Person, (2) the yajfia and the
human journey and (3) understanding the deeper meaning of
mantras. A few words of explanation are given on each of the 3
topics.
The All-pervading Spirit and the Supreme Person
Several suktas, both in YV and RV, declare the existence of the
spirit which is nameless and beyond form and which permeates
and empowers every aspect of existence, both animate and
inanimate. The spirit is there in stone also, otherwise all the
atoms constituting the stone would fly away. But the seers take
care to point out that it is not something abs tract like space. One
cannot touch or feel space. Every time we feel the joy in gently
touching and smelling a flower, watching the sunrise or feeling the
gentle breeze in the woods wafting a variety of smell and sounds,
we are in touch with this spirit. This spirit has a core called as the
Supreme Person described in the hymns such as vs (31), RV (10.90)
or TA (3.12). The various cosmic forces or beings such as Agni,
Indra, SarasvatI etc., are all aspects (or limbs as it were) of the
Supreme Person. Just as the limbs of a human being have no
existence without a living person, similarly these different and
distinct powers have no place without considering themselves as
part of the One. These powers like Agni are not mere natural
forces. An aspect of Agni is the flame. But this flame symbolises
the psychological power associated with Agni namely the power of
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will. Agni can be called the God-will. Similarly, Indra is the God
Mind; Saras vatl is the Power of Inspiration, not merely of learning.
We should not confuse the gods of the Veda like Agni, Indra etc.,
with their namesakes in Pural).a. Several mantras of YV or RV
declare that the Gods act harmoniously and their aim is to help the
human beings in their journey towards all-round perfection.
Yajfia and the Human Journey
The special feature of the Veda 1s that there is no simplistic
idea of the Supreme God or Creator who acts like an all-powerful
and unreasonable king. Human beings are not mere supplicants.
Veda speaks of all the activities of human beings as collaborative
activities between the human beings and the cosmic beings.
By reciting appropriate mantras and following certain
practices, it is possible for a human being to develop the power
of will or the powers of mind. Once the collaboration is
established, Agnias power grows in a person just like a plant.
Similarly Indraas power, i.e., the powers of mind like clarity,
discrimination and force manifest and grow in a person.
The entire YV may be said to deal in one-way or another with
yajfia. Yajfia is the collaboration between the Cosmic powers,
also called Gods, and humans. The Gods want to divinise the
humans and elevate them to higher and higher levels of
perfection provided humans aspire for perfection; human should
express his thanks to the cosmic powers and express his
adoration. Basically this yajfia is a series of actions occurring in
our subtle body specifying our ascent to the higher planes of
consciousness and the corresponding levels of perfection. We call
it inner yajfia. Yajur Veda mantras, both rk and yajus, are
chanted and used in carrying out this inner yajfia. There is no
human priest involved. The Cosmic power that helps us in these
actions is called adh varyu, one who travels 'ra' in the path
'adh va '. Further details of inner yajfia is in Chapters 10 a: 16.
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However, the performance of the inner yaJna was limited to a

few persons such as the seers or rihis and their disciples. All
persons do not either have the deep interest or expected inner
concentration. Moreover, the sages realised that the Veda may
fade from the memory of the people if enough persons did not
take interest in the Veda. Hence, the sages recognised the need
to develop new methods for making the Veda accessible to all
persons, men and women regardless of status. Hence the
outward yajfia made up of a series of outward rites of varying
complexity started. Later the word yajfia meant the outward rite
only. Yajfia became a joyous community festival. All persons
heard the melodious chants of the priests and witnessed the
outward rites involving the offering of ghee and various articles
into the fire in the sacred altar accompanied with the mantra
chants. People at large felt that the participation in these yajfia
conferred on them material well-being in the form of wealth,
children, long-life free of sickness. See the chapter 11 and the
appendix 1.
Understanding the Deeper Meaning of Mantra
Usually the Taittirlya Samhita (TS) is regarded as a book of
rituals and almost devoid of any wisdom. The main reason is that
persons do not read the text of the mantras carefully to
understand their meaning; most traditionalists depend exclusively
on the commentators (bafhyakara) who have superimposed the
ritualist meanings on the mantras. We have to understand that
the Sanskrit of Vedas is quite different from the Sanskrit of the
medieval periods like those of Kalidasa. Every verse has two or
more meanings, one is the surface meaning; and the second is the
deeper meaning. The rihis implied the deeper meaning. Aitareya
U. (l.3.14) and Brhadara.l).yaka U. (4.2.2) clearly state, "The wise
person (or persons of illumination) prefer the indirect meaning;
they are averse to the surface meaning" (parokfhapriyal) deval)
pratyakfhat dvifhal)).
The sages of Veda wanted only the senous students to have
access to the secret knowledge. Ordinary persons are quite happy
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with the surface meanings. This two-fold meaning of each verse

was possible because the words of Vedic Sanskrit have the two
fold meaning. For instance, ashva has the ordinary meaning of
the four-legged animal horse. But it has the deeper meaning of
the life-energy or the energy which permeates the universe. The
outward meaning acts as a symbol for the inner meaning. This
can be seen in the last anuvaka of TS which is almost identical to
the first Section of the Brhadaral).yaka Upanihad which begins
with the imagery of the horse as a symbol of entire
manifestation. "The dawn is the head of the sacrificial horse
(ufha va ashvasya medhyasya shiral;i)".

The famous hymns to the ashva in Rig Veda (1.162) and (l.163)
which are also in TS (4) are interpreted as dealing with the
animal horse, and the words are mistranslated to convey the
meaning of the killing of a horse. There is no word for killing of
the horse. This topic is discussed in chapter 14, 16 and appendix
3.
Similarly 'aja' has the meaning of goat as well as the unborn
or life-soul. Whenever the word 'aja' appears, the ritualist render
it as goat and state that it is meant for killing even though there
1s no such words in the text.

The word 'go' or 'gau' is routinely translated as cow; gofh,ti is

rendered as cow-stall. Even in the Indian languages like
Kannada, Tamil, meaning of gofh,ti is 'religious discussion'. If we
pay careful attention to every utterance of the 'go' or 'gau' in RV
or YV, the appropriate meaning is, 'a ray of knowledge'. ' gofh,ti'
is the aaplace of discussion of knowledgeaa.
Yajur Veda and Rites
One reads in many introductory books on Indian scriptures or
culture stating that, "Yajur Veda gives the details of the
performance of the yajfia rites such as Agnihtoma, Agnichayana
etc". This statement is completely false. However the recitation
of the Veda mantras from all the three Samhitas (Rig Veda,
Yajur Veda and Sama Veda) is the most important aspect of a
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Vedic ritual or yajria. Many persons assume, without any

justification, that the Vedic yajria is similar to the popular rites
performed today such as the GayatrI homa, Rudra homa etc.
Again this statement is false. It is not widely known that
complexity of Vedic yajria is mind-boggling. The ritual may
stretch over several days and may involve the chanting of several
thousand mantras. A Vedic ritual can be roughly into two parts
namely (i) the acts of ritual (ii) the chanting of the mantra. The
ritual act may be the consecration of the yajamana, the
construction of the fire-altar with numerous bricks and pebbles,
the preparation of the offerings such as Soma juice and finally the
offering of ghee, Soma etc., into the fire in the altar. At each
ritual act, one or more mantras have to be chanted. More
information is given in the appendix 1. The order of recitation of
the mantras in the rite is not the order in the books such as TS or
vs. The proper sequencing of the mantra chant is of importance.
Veda mantras do not give any details about the performance of
the ritual acts. These mantras are chanted to empower the rituals.
For the details, one has to read Shrauta sutra books attached to
each Veda such as Baudhayana Shrauta Sutras, Apastamba Shrauta
Sutras etc., attached to each Veda. Even the information in these
books is not sufficient; every family conducting these complex
yajrias have been doing so since centuries; so they have access to
the manuals of practice handed down from father to son.
Summing up the Yajur Veda mantras are chanted in the rites,
but Yajur Veda has no details for performing the rites.
Animal Sacrifice and Mantras: The mantras do not mention
the killing of the animals. Even according to the persons who are
knowledgeable in the rituals, the killing of the animal is not done
in the same enclosure as the main altar. No mantras are chanted
during the killing of animals. When the meat-eating habit became
popular, animals were killed utilising the occasion of the rite.
Oral Preservation o f the Veda and the Pride in oneas Shakha:
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In the course of the history of humankind ranging over several

millennia, vast temples and cathedrals have been built and
destroyed; precious information written down in manuscripts and
preserved in libraries were destroyed in one stroke like the
library in Alexandria in Egypt. Even though India suffered
numerous invasions causing extensive destruction, the Vedas
have been preserved because certain families passed on the
chants orally from generation to generation. One can only wonder
how the Vedas were preserved by oral methods with so few
errors. To aid this preservation, each family adopted one shakha
and its members poured all their energies in preserving them.
Naturally each family thought that their 'shakha' was the best.
Without this justifiable pride, the shakhas or recensions may not
have survived. Hence the slogan, 'each person has to chant only
his (her) shakha '. Moreover two shakhas of the same Veda like
Yajur Veda have many verses in common which differ may be in
one or two words or word-order. Clearly memorising both of
them together was bound to create problems because the version
of a mantra of one shakha may creep into another shakha. Hence
one can easily understand the mandatory custom that one should
stick to the shakha of one's own family and not study another
shakha.
Clearly this reasoning has no place in a culture where the
manuscripts of shakhas are available. If one has a doubt about a
mantra one can always refer to the relevant manuscripts. Still
there is the human tendency to glorify what is ours and denigrate
what is not ours. For instance, consider the famous medieval
commentator Saya.l).a who belonged to the Taittirlya Shakha (TS)
of the Krih.l).a Yajur Veda. He, in his Ka.l).va Samhita Bhashya
(upakramal)ika), compares Yajur Veda to the canvas or the wall
whereas the other two Vedas, Rig Veda and Sama Veda, are like
paintings mounted on the canvas or well.

But the Taittirlya Samhita to which Saya.l).a belongs states in

TS (6.5.10), "whatever of the sacrifice is accompanied by a saman
or yaJus 1s loose; whatever is done with a rk (mantra) is firm".
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Some Auxiliary Information:

Of all the shakhas of the four Vedas, Taittirlya Samhita of
Krihl).a Yajur Veda has the greatest number of adherents in the
provinces of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh
and the border regions in Maharashtra.

Some persons believe that Taittiriya Samhita is very ancient;

and the custom of the separate book for mantras and those for
the Brahmal).a passages came about later. Note again we are not
dealing with the date of the mantra revelation, but the date of
compilation into different books like Rig Veda Samhita. Sri
Aurobindo states that the available Rig Veda Samhita was
completed at the end of the highly creative period of the Vedic
civilisation; RVS contains the revealed mantras in currency which
came into existence much earlier. Also note that TS has many rik
mantras not in the current recension of Rig Veda Samhita.

The Taittiriya Samhita is associated with the sage Tittiri, a

disciple (or a disciple of a disciple) of the great sage
Vaishampayana. The padapa_tha of TS is associated with the sage
Atreya. The vs is associated with the sage Yajfiavalkya who
figures prominently in the Brhadaral).yaka U. More information is
in the chapter 3 entitled, 'Rihis'. The first printed version of the
VS-madhyandina shakha was published by Albrecht Weber in
1852. The first printed version of Taittiriya Samhita is due to the
same person and it is dated, 1871-72. Later Pandit Sripada
Satavalekar published them with an extensive introduction.

Shrauta Sutras give the details of the performance of the rites

whereas the Brahmal).a books like the Shatapatha Brahmal).a give
the interpretation of yajfia. For instance, 'yajfia is Vih l). u',
'yajamana is the power'. See chapter 10 and the appendix 2 for
these and other references.

VMKC Chapter 10
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7. Over view of Sama Veda

A umque feature of the Sama Veda Samhita (SY) is that every

mantra in it has a unique number mentioned usually to the left of the
text. The number runs from one to 187 5.
The text of the 187 5 mantras of Sama Veda (yoni) mantras 1s m
2 chapters, namely, Pilrva Archika and Uttara Archika; they have
different structures.
Piirva Archika: All the mantras are grouped into several dashati.
Each dashati has about 10 mantras, sometimes more than 10, some
times less than 10. The dashati plays the role of a silkta in RV. The
complete text of the first dashati is given in chapter 21.
Each dashati has a header giving the names of rihis to whom the
mantras were revealed, the metres of the mantras and the deity (or
deities) praised in the dashati. The deities are discussed in Part III.
The metres in SY are same as those in RV; for the relevant
information, see the SAKS! book, aEssentials of Rig Vedaa. The
meanings of some of the mantras are in Part III.
At the end of the dashati, there is a line which gives 3 numbers
and an akfhara. The three numbers are namely the number of
svaritas, the number of udatta and number of dhari-symbols in the
entire dashati. We discuss the meaning of these 4 items in chapter 19.
Several dashatls are grouped into a Kai;c;la. The details of various
Kai;c;las are:
das/Jatj ad/Jyaya Number of
mantra
numbers
mantras numbers
Agneya Kai;c;la 12 1 114 1-114
Aindra Kai;c;la 26 2,3,4 352 115-466
Pavamana Kai;c;la 11 5 119 467-585
Arai;ya Kai;c;la 5 6 55 586-640
Mahanamni Archika 1 10 641-650
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Total: 650
U ttara Archika
The structure here is different. It is divided into 9 Prapathakas;
each Prapathaka is divided into 2 or 3 parts known as ardha. In
total, there are 22 ardhal_l.
One ardha of one Prapathaka is the basic unit. It has a header
giving the names of Rihis, the metre and the deity.

The peculiarity here is that the mantras in each ardha are

grouped into triplets (trcha) or doublets or chatasra (with 4 mantras),
pancha (with 5 riks) etc. Each such subgroup is called a sukta. The
text of all the mantras in a sukta here, trcha etc are same as some
certain consecutive mantras in a Rig Veda Sukta. The subject matter
of each sukta in SY is well defined.
For the 22 ardhas, we give below the number of suktas and the
total number of mantras in them.

[Notation: Ardha (2.1) means the first ardha in Prapathaka 2.

Ardha (8.3) means the ardha 3 in Prapathaka 8.]
Prap. mantras suktas doublet triplet quart
others
& ardha
1.1 62 23 7 16
1.2 62 22 4 18
2.1 55 19 3 15 1
2.2 56 19 3 15 1 (5)
3.1 69 22 3 17 2 (6)*
3.2 76 23 2 18 2 2 (7)*
4.1 83 24 1 18 1 2 (10),2 (1)
4.2 59 14 1 11 2 (12)
5.1 80 20 2 12 2 3 (9),1 (15)
5.2 94 23 2 14 1 (10),1(8),
5 (6)
6.1 32 11 2 8 1
6.2 56 10 5 14 1
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6.3 54 18 2 11 1 1 (6), 1
(5),
2 (1)
7.1 46 16 2 12 1 (5), 1 (1)
7.2 38 14 4 10
7.3 44 21 8 6 1 6 (1)
8.1 40 14 2 12 1 (6)
8.2 54 19 6 12 1 (6)
8.3 54 18 2 14 2
9.1 51 18 3 15
9.2 33 13 1 7 1 (6), 4 (1)
9.3 27 9 9
Totals
Ardha 22 1225 400 66 287 9 38**
"2(6) means 2 suktas with 6 riks each
** Details of 38 suktas: 13 (1), 4 (5), 10 (6), 2 (7), 1 (8), 3
(9), 3 (10), 2 (12).
400 = 66 + 287 + 9 + 38

Source : Essentials of Sama Veda
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8. Overview of Atharva Veda

SAK.SHI has published a book, 'Essentials of Atharva Veda'

giving the important ideas in AV. Below are the summaries of some
of its chapters.

Chapter 3: There 1s a continuity of the Hindu thought from the

ancient Vedic times upto the present day. So much so that many of
the epigrams or subhahita-s found in all Indian languages, not just
Sanskrit, can be traced to the Atharva Veda Samhita. Some of them
are in this chapter entitled Subhashita-s. Readers pressed for time
should at least read this chapter.

Chapter 4 deals with the broad area of education in Vedic times.

The subtitles of its three sections indicate their contents.
Initiation or dikha : an example
Need for the study of Vedic education
The eight principles behind Vedic education
Chapter 5 is titled, 'Healing and Healthy Longevity'. Atharva
Veda has over 200 suktas on this topic. It is the earliest book of
healing in India which is the source of Ayurveda and other healing
methods currently in use. They stress the wholeness of man. The
titles of the topics covered are:
Structure of the man and the Oneness
The Lotuses or chakra-s and the soul
The physical structure of man
Pral)a (Life-energy), retas and medhas
Trees and Herbs
Methods of healing involving all the senses
Healthy life span
Chapter 6 deals with the topic of 'Peace, Bliss and Abundance'.
Note that many popular Peace (shanti) mantra-s of the Upanishads
are originally found here. Note that the popular view is that by
amassing abundant material goods, we get happiness. Atharva Veda
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family. Note that the human marriage 1s a symbol of the divine

marriage of Soma, the god of delight and Surya, the god of knowledge.
Usually delight and knowledge are considered as antagonistic. The
idea is that they should be harmonized in everyday life.

Chapter 13 tells how to have a happy home. Home is not made

by material means only. There are also details about the advanced
techniques of house construction.

Chapter 14: Professions and Castes: Various professions are

mentioned in this chapter. The persons belonging to the group
'shudra' are mentioned as having access to the study of Veda.

Chapter 15: Food, Ray-Cows and Horse-Symbolism: It discusses

both the animal cow and the symbols associated with the words gau,
V!fhabha etc. Again the word for food, odana is highly symbolic. We
also show that it is absurd to state that the eating of beef was
practiced in Vedic age.
Chapter 16: Rain: We discuss the beauty of the hymns
associated with rain; the possibility of having rain by chanting
mantra-s by spiritual persons is also mentioned.

Chapter 17: It discusses the theory of numbers. Note that the

Vedic sages were very conversant with the decimal system with
positive integers and very large numbers such as one hundred
thousand crore. Here is also the earliest definition of the
mathematical infinity, i.e., 'if we take infinity out of infinity, still
infinity remains', AV (10.8.29).
Chapter 18: It discusses briefly some of the philosophical hymns
including the famous Purusha sukta.

Chapter 19: It is an Ode to the Earth, the only one in the entire
ancient literature of the world, not just India. Even other Hindu
sacred books do not have a hymn of earth of such a stature. It begins
with the idea that earth is not a mere physical structure, but an
organism described briefly earlier. It gives numerous insights on
earth. It speaks of people speaking different languages and following
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several different dharma-s.

Appendix 1: It rebuts some popular misconceptions such as

'Atharva Veda is less sacred than others' or 'Veda-s are only three,
not four'. For instance, B.K. Ghosh (1965) states "Atharva Veda is
utterly different from the other three Veda-s .. It remained essentially
what it was from the start - a prayer book of the simple folk haunted
by ghosts and exploited by Brahmins ". This sentence occurs in the
well known book, 'Vedic age'whose main patron was K.M. Munshi,
the founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Suryakant Bali in his book
'Historical and Critical Studies in Atharva Veda' (1981) describes rn
detail how Atharva Veda is viewed negatively without any basis.

Also it rebuts the irresponsible comment that Atharva Veda deals

with the so-called sorcery or black magic, ( abhichara). This word
occurs exactly in 4 verses out of six thousand.

Conclusions:
Atharva Veda gives an excellent picture of the ideals of the
Vedic society and the means to attain them. The nineteen chapters
mentioned above offer clues to the wealth in it.

VMKC Chapter 11
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9. Who are the Gods?

A deep understanding of spirituality, interpreted in a broad sense,

is not possible without a good understanding of the nature and role of
Gods ( d evah) mentioned in the Rig Veda. Before proceeding further,
it is important to distinguish between the capitalized word God and
Gods in the plural. God refers to the supreme principle which is the
substratum of all existence. On the other hand, "Gods" refers to
different aspects, powers and personalities of the supreme God. To
avoid confusion, it may be better to replace the word God by another
word like the Divine. Even the word Brahman is a source of
confusion since it refers to the Supreme One in some contexts and
also to a God representing a creative aspect of the Supreme One. It
is important to remember, especially in the Veda-s, that when a
reference is made to the Supreme One, there is no attempt at
denying the different manifestations or aspects of the One. Both the
One and the Manifestations are real.
Seven Planes of Existence
The Vedic sages believed that the manifestation is like a many
tiered hill which can be adequately described by seven planes of
existence. The seven planes of existence are the lower triple worlds,
namely the world of matter, the world of life or vital and the world
of mind; the higher triple worlds are the world of existence, world of
knowledge, and the world of bliss; and finally the world linking the
lower three to the upper three, namely the world named supermind
or mahas or vijfiana. Vijfiana is often mistranslated as intellect. The
power presiding over each plane is a deva or God. Thus, each god is
a distinct power and personality of the Supreme. It is worthwhile
reiterating that these worlds are not the physical worlds which can
be reached by physical means. These worlds are in reality different
states of consciousness. A human being who is conscious of matter
only is at that time living in the world of matter. When his
consciousness is dwelling on desires, feelings, emotions, etc., then
he is living in the vital world. When he is immersed in thought, then
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he is in the mental plane or world. The God Agni presides over the
world of matter, the God Vayu presides over the vital world, (or the
world of pral).a); the God Indra over the mental world. Most human
beings are conscious of only the three lower levels of existence.
Cosmic mind
The meanings of the Gods are not exhausted by their descriptions
as rulers of different planes. Let us take the God Agni, who in the
physical sense stands for the principle of fire. But even in the first
hymn of Rig Veda the God Agni is described as a herald, a priest
and as one who leads all other Gods towards the worshipper.
Western academics have been wont to dismiss these epithets as
typical exaggerations conferred on an anthropomorphic conception of
the God Agni. The classical commentator Sri Sayal).acharya explains
these epithets in terms of pural).ic stories which are often
contradictory. Sri Aurobindo and Sri Kapali Sastry explain that the
God Agni in the esoteric sense stands for the principle of aspiration
in man to exceed his present state. Progress is not possible without
aspiration. Hence, only if Agni is active, can he bring in the other
Gods or powers, i.e., the other powers can manifest in man. Thus, in
the beginning of Rig Veda Samhita the sages describe spiritual
progress as a journey from one peak of the multi-tiered hill to
another. This conception is considered as very modern, but it is a
paraphrase of verse RV (1.10.2) of the Rig Veda Samhita.
Many Vedic scholars make the mistake of measuring the degree
of importance of a God by the number of hymns addressed to a
particular God. Such an approach is fallacious. Many hymns are
addressed to Agni because aspiration is the most important element
in spiritual practice. One should distinguish between a path and the
goal. The goal is the attainment of the consciousness of the Supreme
in all its manifestations. The Rig Veda itself says that the God
Vihl).u is in the highest tier or plane and self-realized sages have
their consciousness enveloped in him "like a ray connected to
heaven," (1.22.20). Yet the number of hymns dedicated to Vihl).u
in the Rig Veda is very few, less than half a dozen.
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Gods are not personifications

As Sri Aurobindo says, gods are not personifications of qualities
or powers, but incarnations or emanations of conscious forces with
whom we can enter into concrete touch; they can help man and show
him the way to a divine consciousness and immortal life.

The esoteric interpretation recognizes m Rig Veda an

unknowable, Timeless and Unnameable, behind and above all things;
it is not sizable by the studious pursuit of mind [for example, see
RV (1.170.1) in chapter 8]. Impersonally it is That, the One
Existence (ekam sat, 1.164.46; tat ekam 10.129.2). To our intuition
it reveals itself out of the secrecy, as the gods or deva-s.

The gods ( devab) represent universal powers descended from the

truth-consciousness (rta-chit) (4.3.4) which build up the harmony of
1
the worlds; they build in man his progressive perfection. The Vedic
deities such as Agni, Indra, Soma etc., are names, powers,
personalities of the universal godhead and each of them represent
some essential puissance of the Divine Being. They recognize, in the
soul of man, their brother and ally; they desire to help and increase
him by themselves increasing in him so as to possess his world with
their light, strength and beauty. All the Gods work harmoniously with
one another. Each God manifests his/her powers in different ways in
the different planes. Agni is at the physical level a fire, it is the
universal energy of creation and combustion at the cosmic level, at the
spiritual level it is the force of Divine Will and Aspiration. The God
Indra is at the physical level the natural force which smashes the
clouds causing rain; at the psychological level he is the lord of the
23
divine mind controlling all the senses indriyas. '

The rishis view themselves as the subtle children of the devas,

as mentioned in at least 18 verses of Rig Veda.
Soma, at the physical level, is the creeper which 1s crushed to
release the juice offered to the fire in the altar. However, at the
psychological level, it is the delight of existence, specifically, the
delight in work. In the mantra-s, the word Soma is almost always
accompanied by the word suta, 'to press or to release'. Just as the
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Soma juice is released only after the effort of crushing the creeper, the
delight of existence Soma is released only when the work is performed
with the total involvement of both body, pral.).a and mind. RV (9.96.3)
states that only when the Soma, the delight released by our work,
flows in us, the manifestation of the deities Indra, Agni, Vishl.).u and
the associated thoughts within us is possible. Taittiriya Upani'.,had
states that it is the cosmic delight ananda which upholds all the
entities in the cosmos.
Naturally a large number of mantra-s are dedicated to these three
deities. 2000 mantra-s to Agni, 2500 to Indra and 1900 to Soma.
They together account for 6400 mantra-s out of the total of 10,552.
In the Veda-s Aditi is the mother of all the Gods. Sri Aurobindo
illustrates the connection between the reality and myth regarding
Aditi. " ...originally (she is) the pure consciousness of the infinite
existent One and self-luminous; she is the Light that is Mother of all
things. As the Infinite she gives birth to Daksha, the discriminating
and distributing Thought of the divine Mind, and is herself born to
Daksha as the cosmic infinite, the mystic Cow whose udders feed all
the worlds. In the cosmos Aditi is the undivided infinite unity of
things, free from duality, advaya and has Diti the separative
dualizing consciousness for the obverse side of her cosmic creation
her sister and rival wife in the later myth."
Similarly Vajra, Indra's weapon is the lightning-thunderbolt, but at
the psychological level, it is the force of the potent word, mantra, as
4

the Rig Veda itself states in several places.

VMKC : Chapter 7

1
Indra increases our new life and creates rihis, the thousandfold
enjoyers. navyam ayuh prasutira krdhi sahasrasam r;,him (1.10.11).
2
Hymns nourish (psara) the gods, (1.41.7)
We sharpen Maghavan, (1.102.10)
4
0 Indra, Uhai;i.a, son of Kavya, gave you the gladdening (mandinam)
Vrtra-killing (vrtrahanam) Vajra, (1.121.12)
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12. Some Other Deities

Vayu: Wind; He is the Lord of all the Life-energies, Prar:i.a

which represent the passions, feelings, emotions and
abilities.

Ashvins: The Lords of Bliss and Divine Physicians who render

the human body free of disease so that it can accept the
divine Prar:i.a, the life-energy.

Mitra: The Lord of Love and Harmony.

Varu1_1a: The Master of Infinities who cannot tolerate narrow

thinking or actions. Only he can cut the three bonds
which restrict the three aspects of every human being
physical, vital and mental.
Sarasvati: The Goddess of inspiration.

Indra: The Lord of the Divine Mind and thoughts.

Sarama: The Goddess of intuition.

Surya: The Supreme Deity of Light and Force.

Aditi: Goddess of Infinity.

Some other names are m the list below. They are too many to be
listed completely.

Mantra Occurrence Sets of Gods

In the list below, Agni ( 1500) means that the word agni along with
its variants occurs in 1500 verses. All the words in the same line
refer to a single deity.
agni (1500), jataveda (100), vaishvanara (64)
aditi (150)
ashvins (300), nasatya (80)
adityal) (130), bhanaval;l (60)
indu, indaval;l (275), soma (380), pavamana (150)
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indra (1500), shatakratu (60), vJtraJ::i (99), vrha.l).am (153),

maghavan (265),
deva (1814), dyumat (160), devi/devI (150), daivya (100),
prthivI (290), rodasI (200),
puha.l). (110),
brhaspati (100),
vayu (125), matarishva (25)
sarasvatI (70),
mahI (440)
savitr (160), suryaJ::i (360)
bhagaJ::i (130),
mitra (400),
varu.l).a (350),
rudra (160),
marutaJ::i (440)
ketu (66): The power of intuition; flag; Its symbolism is revealed
by aketu occuring in (1.6.3), that which has no ketu or
intuition.

The number of verses m which these names of deva-s occur 1s

10851.
There are also cosmic forces, known as dasyu-s, opposed to the
work of deva-s. Some of their names and their occurence sets are
given in chapter 9.

Conclusions:

The Vedic deities such as Agni, Indra, Soma etc. are names,
powers, personalities of the universal Supreme Being, known widely
as The One. They work harmoniously to lift the human kind to the
higher levels of consciousness.

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11. Outer Yajna

A good understanding of the ritual practices or action known as

outer (bahya) yajna is important in appreciating the subtleties of
inner yajna. We should not look down on the outer yajna ritual as
something inferior. In the vedic times, the rishi, endowed with
wisdom was also the leader instructing his associates in the
performance of the outer yajna. As such, he is called as purohita, an
epithet used for Agni in (1.1.1) which means 'one placed in front'.
Only later did this word mean 'One who officiate at rituals'. Sri
Kapali Sastry states that a well-performed outer yajna will yield the
expected results as expected by the participants. Some may want
physical prosperity and happiness; some others may want more
progress in their inner development.
The outer yajna basically involves the following steps
1) Fire altar
2) The priests
3) The offerings
4) The goal of the yajna
Mantra chanting is on integral part which has already been
described earlier.

1) Fire altar (vedi): The fire altar is called vedi, something

connected with Veda or wisdom-knowledge. One of the questions
posed in Rig Veda (1.164.34), is 'What are the limits of the Earth?'
The answer is vedi. What does it mean? All the participants in the
Veda yajna, not merely the yajamana go near the vedi and pray for
the welfare of many persons who are known to each one of them.
This list is our limit of the people on earth, whatever may be the
global population. Rig Veda has such several eye-catching phrases.

The wood-sticks offered to agni are called samit. 'samiddhi'

'well-kindled' is an epithet for Agni. The samit symbolises the parts
of our body which are ready to catch the fire of love and aspiration.
Physically the fire sticks come from trees such as Udumbara which
have their own significance.
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2) The priests: There are four primary priests m the vedic ritual
known by the names hota (invoker); adhvaryu (the leader on the
path); udgata (the singer of sama chants), and brahma, the silent
person who oversees the whole operation. More details follow.

hota recites the rik-mantra. Literally it means 'One who invokes'

or 'One who calls', from the root 'hu' to call. Symbolically Agni
himself is the invoker. Note that the satisfaction of the various
desires expressed by the persons there involves the help of a large
number of cosmic powers or deva-s all of whose names very few
mortals can remember. So the hota (invoker) summons all this
devah; actually it is Agni who calls all the deva-s. Note that all the
deva-s are invoked through Agni as mentioned later in the discussion
on Apri hymns. Thus the hota is not a mere human priest, but the
divine priest Agni in the form of Agni. Clearly the person who does
the work as hota must have a lot of tapas to attain this state. Only
that person who understands that the deva-s can be invoked or
summoned only by Agni can be a hota. Agni is sung as the
messenger of the gods. He receives the offerings given to the fire
and conveys them to the various devah. The responses of the deva
s is felt both by the invoker, priest and all the relevant persons who
made their prayers for well-being.

Adhvaryu Priest: Adhvara Means Journey

The second is the adhvaryu, taking his stand on the yajur veda.
He sees to the performance of the yajna by means of the yajus,
leads the other ritviks in accordance with the manual of yajna and it
is on him, the active and chief functionary, that the entire
performance of sacrifice rests. He too is a God, matarishvan-vayu,
who as the life-breath of the world makes all activities possible. The
inner significance is easy to follow. It bears on the deity of all of our
vital or praI,1ic energy, Life-God, Vayu, the adhvaryu, who executes
in the inner sacrifice all actions favourable to the activity of the
Gods. Though the word adhvara has come to mean yajna, yet in the
veda it is described as a journey or pilgrimage based on the meaning
of its component parts, adhvanam rati, giver of the path. And the
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diligent adh varyu is he who desires or takes to such an adh vara,

journey. Among all the Gods in the form of ritviks, it is he who
carries out all the actions in the journey signified by the term
adhvara.

U dgata Priest
The udgata delights the Gods by chanting the saman mantra-s,
mantra-s from the sama veda samhita. In the inner sense, he is God
Aditya who reverberates with his chant of music, the lofty song,
udgita pleasing to all the Gods. He averts the many dangers, harms
and lapses from the yajamana, makes him self-restored and leads
him on to Immortality, Truth, ananda.

Brahma Priest
The last is brahma. He is the witness of the entire sacrificial
ceremony, gives his sanction for the commencement of the ritual,
gives the word of assent, OM (0 yes) at the appropriate moment and
place, moves not from his seat; always silent, he guards the yajna to
its very end, against every sin of omission or commission, of
deficiency or excess of mantra and action in the ritual. Such in brief
is the function of the ritvik brahma. The inner sense is obvious; He
is the God of the mantra-s and in the veda the mantra is known as
brahma. Hence brahma-9aspati is the deity presiding over the mantra.
The causal material of all metrical mantra is pra-9ava, known by the
syllable OM, the word of assent. That manifests the original Word,
which is the source of all mantra. So it is brahma-9aspati the deity
who presides over the mantra-s of all Deities which depend upon the
aforesaid pra-9ava: It is this deity that sanctions in supreme silence
the inner yajna of the yajamana by a single syllable, at the
beginning, at the end, all throughout. This deity, known as GaI_lapati
in RV itself, is identified in the pura-9a with the elephant-faced God,
the trunk of the elephant representing the word Om. He is said to
remove all the obstacles in the path.
Symbolism of Offerings: juhoti, means 'to call' as well as 'to eat'.
Some of the offerings are the fire sticks, clarified butter (ghrta), ajya,
anna (cooked food), grains and the juice of the Soma creeper in
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Soma Yaga.

The offerings are made with the words 'na mama', it does not
belong to me; it belongs to the deva. Take for example the grains.
They grow by the cosmic powers of rain, earth, Sun, wind, waters,
etc. Our contribution in the growth of plant may be additives like
water, manure, providing shade, etc. The offering 1s also
accompanied by the chant svaha, which means offered with utmost
reverence (su + aha).

ghrta, ghee (clarified butter) is a produce of cow which in Sanskrit

of Veda is go. go in Veda also stands for knowledge. All the
products of cow such as ghee, butter, milk symbolise various types
of knowledge. Symbol ghr in ghrta, indicates Light. So ghee
symbolises the offering of light or the grace bestowed by the deity on
us. Light means wisdom associated with strength. Taittiriya
Upanishad indicates that anna, the cooked food indicates a force
which is eaten (or accepted) by man and living beings; but also
indicates that 'Eater is eaten'. Recall that eighty percent of the
human body is made up of helpful bacteria which carry out the
details of the tasks such as digestion and the handling of the
associated residues, the tasks of respiration, purification tasks, etc.
Here is an example of cooperation. The bacteria eat the food and do
the relevant tasks which help humans, i.e., the bacteria is eating the
eater.

Results of the yajna. A casual reading of the Veda suggests that

the performers of yajna obtained the cows (go) and horses (ash va).
But go in the Vedas is not the four legged animal, but a ray of
knowledge, Ashva is not a physical horse, but strength. Thus the
performer of yajna receives the gifts of knowledge and strength from
the gods.
One of the key ideas of Veda is that for everything a person
gives from his mortal possessions, the yajna will give him an
appropriate portion of immortality. Thus a human being develops
more and more the divine nature in him. At the end of yajna, one is
said to offer everything he has, the so called complete self-giving.
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yajamana himself is the altar (yupa) where the offerings are

placed. Yupa (Aiteraya Brahmana (2.6.3).
Recall that a human being has many births, rn each birth he
makes some progress. The goal is all-around perfection also called
as divinization.
We have mentioned that yaJna 1s also a battle waged by the
forces of Light against the forces of falsehood and darkness.
For example, Taittiriya Samhita ( 1. 6.7.4) states "Yajna 1s a
thunderbolt (vajra); the enemy of man is hunger and desire
(kshudram). When a person fasts and does not eat, he directly kills
the enemy, the desire with the thunderbolt". Thus Taittiriya Samhita
of Krishna Yajurveda which is the main book for the ritualists
supports the symbolism of yajna as a battle; the vajra, the
thunderbolt is not a physical weapon, nor merely lightning, but a
power of Divine Light and Sound which destroys the enemy of yajna
such as desire which is opposed to yajna. Note that Veda, like
Bhagavad Gita does not regard all desires as evil. Krishna in BG
says that he is the desire not opposed to dharma ( dharmo
aviruddheshu kamosmi ); deva-s satisfy the desires not opposed to
dharma.
Similarly Vrtra in the Veda represents the demon of ignorance
and falsehood. TS (2.5.4.5) states that the yajamana who completed
the yajna has slain Vrtra (at least partially).
Benefits of Outer Yajna
A common question posed by the moderns is whether the outer
yajna yields the benefits mentioned in the Brahmai:ia books. We
have to recognize that the final result of any action is really the
outcome of a variety of forces with various intensities. One can cite
specific instances like the result in a written or oral examination,
result of a plan for doubling the sales, recovery from an illness or
surgery etc. In each case a variety of forces are involved. For
instance, in the case of healing, the faith and the physical condition
of the patient, the psychological and technical competence of the
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physician, the physical facilities and medicines etc., release their

own forces which combine in an unknown way to yield the final
result.
This applies to yajna also. The result of the yajna is the result of
the play of forces introduced by the performer yajamana, the priests,
the power of the mantra-s and the power of the rite involving various
steps, and finally the faith of the persons who are witnessing the
rite. Even then the successful performance of a rite yields only one
type of force, even though it may be potent; no yajna even if done
correctly can cure a person if he/she persists in the mode of life
which lead to the disease. In the same way, Vijayanagar empire in
which Sayal.).a was a minister did not achieve much success in battles
during the latter part of its duration, inspite of the performance of
rites which supposedly guarantee victory.
There are several books in English, Kannada, Sanskrit and other
languages which recount the instances of healing and other helpful
actions performed by spiritually advanced persons i.e., persons who
have done tapas by means of blessings alone or by the use of
mantra-s. Bhavabhuti, the famous playwright and Bhartrhari, the
famous grammarian have written extensively on the power of the
potent word mantra. Interested persons can refer to the essay
entitled, 'The Yak of the Veda and the throb of the tantra' by Sri
Kapali Sastry [CWKS, Vol. 1]. The biography of the famous poet,
freedom-fighter and spiritual personality, Vasihtha Gal.).apati Muni
who lived in the twentieth century gives many instances of the help
rendered to both individuals and communities placed in difficult
circumstances by using mantra-s from Rig Veda.
Consider for example the releasing of rain. It is accepted in the
Hindu tradition that yajna causes rain; see for instance Bhagavad
Gita (3.14). KYTS Kal.).rja 2 has several brahmal)a passages dealing
- 1
with the release of rain. The book by Raviprakash Arya recounts
the experiments in releasing the rain and also stopping the rain by
performance of yajna under specific circumstances; the revered H.H.
Kanchi Swami explains why the performance of Varul.).a japa does
2
not yield the desired result of rain in the neighbourhood. The book
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details a simple version of a rite agnihotra to purify the environment

used in parts of USA. The purification was also achieved in areas of
Eastern Europe which were intensely contaminated by the Chernobyl
nuclear disaster. In other words faith and sincerity of the persons
chanting the mantra and performing the rite are more important than
the mechanically "correct" performance of the yajna, i.e., the rite
and chant should be done in a meditative mood. But the books
detailing the rites like the Brahmal).a books or shrauta sutra books
never mention the necessity of faith and sincerity.
Summing up, the mantra chant and yajna can be effective if the
following five steps are observed scrupulously:

i) correct chanting: committing errors in chanting implies that the

chanter is not serious about his goals or the efficacy of mantra;
ii) meaning of mantra, i.e., not only the meanings of the words in
the mantra, but the meaning of overall appropriateness of the
mantra for the occasion;
iii) faith in the mantra and in the directions given by the teacher;
iv) sincerity or transparency, i.e., you feel that you are talking to
the cosmic power;
v) broad mindedness: the performer should pray that all should

benefit from the yajna.

Y agna Chapter 5
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12. Elements of Inner Yajna

The goal of the inner yajna is perfection of all our faculties, those
of the physical body, those connected with our life energy such as
passions, emotions, attitudes, ideals, etc, and those connected with
the mental domain such as intelligence, analytical ability, intuition,
discrimination between Truth and Falsehood, etc. "The object of the
sacrifice is to win the higher or divine being, possess with it and
make the lower or human existence subject to its law and truth" (Sri
Aurobindo). The idea of all-sided perfection is described in TS
(4.7.1 - 4.7.10), "may mind, speech, soul become perfect by
yajna".
"The yajna 1s the givrng by man of what he possesses in his
being to the higher or divine nature and its fruit is the further
enrichment of his manhood by the lavish bounty of the gods". (SA)
Yajna is a collaborative effort between the Gods, the cosmic
powers and human being. Each God is associated with a particular
psychological faculty, Agni with the power of Divine Will, Indra with
the Divine Mind and actions, Soma with Delight, Uha with the
initial Dawn of spiritual ideas, etc. More details are in Chapter 4.
Gods are eager to extend their help to aspiring human beings. If
we invoke a particular deity with faith through an appropriate mantra
fully knowing its deeper meaning then that deity is sure to respond
to the call. If the aspirant's body is able to bear the power, the deity
will plant a seed of his power and this seed will grow continuously.
Sometimes the aspirant feels no effect. For instance, a student who
has no mental aptitude will not feel any effect if he recites with faith
the famous gayatrI mantra invoking intelligence from Savitr. In this
case the body of the aspirant, physical or mental, is not able to bear
the power that Savitr wants to bestow, and hence Savitr will keep
quiet.
An inner yajna can increase the capacity of the body to accept the
powerful powers given by the deities. The Taittiriya Samhita has
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several inner yajna-s like darshapurl) amasau, agnifh_toma etc., which

are in the first Kal).Qa. Once one of these yajna-s is done, the body
can bear the power which the deity can pour down. These inner
yajnas involve the use of the Rik mantra-s, Yajus mantra-s or Sama
mantra-s.

Another type of yajna is the harmonization of all the faculties.

We will give some details of each of these two types of Yajna-s
from the Taittiriya Samhita.

In the inner yajna, all the actions are done in the subtle body of
the yajamana, i.e., the yajamana is not the outward-acting human
being, but the soul. There is no need for any external or material
offerings like ghee mentioned earlier. Recall the brahmal).a passage,
"yajno vai vifhl) ufi ", i.e., yajna is Vih l).u, or, yajna pervades
everything. Also yajna is done by yajna,

"yajnena yajnam ayajanta ", [TS 3.5.11. 21]

The subtle body of the yajamana has the fire-altar vedi along
with the fire. Yajamana himself is also the pashu.

Aitareya Brahmal).a ( 11.11) emphasizes that yajna 1s essentially

a mental act; all the chants and physical acts that are involved must
really be transformed into thoughts and resolves, for all speech and
action are founded on thought. "manasa vai yajnas tayate manasa
kriyate "; tayate mana means to extend the range of mind
( vistaryate) according to S.
TS itself gives details about how the inner yajna should be
conducted. The different prapa_thaka-s of TS give various ways of
performing the inner yajna.
For instance consider the simple yajna described in TS ( 1.1); an
excellent preview of this yajna is in pages 50-53 at the beginning of
the first Prapathaka. There is no need to repeat it here. In the same
place we give the connection between the outward rite and the inner
yaJna.
We will give here another example of the inner yajna from the
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4th Kar:i.qa, described in TS ( 4.1 ).

Harmonization of all faculties: (TS 4.1)

(agnichayana with bird-shaped altar (shyenachit))
First of all we should become conscious of each and every part of
our body, their functions and the relationship of each part to others.
For example, become aware of the outer eye which sees, the
associated inner organ of the eye which records the image seen and
the part of the mind which interprets the meaning of the image and
files it accordingly, and if necessary it activates the other parts of
mind like the manas to take specific action. Then we firm up the
operations by invoking the control of pral)a, pral)aya.ma, whose outer
forms are the breathing exercises. Then the collectivity of the body,
subtle and gross, is a vehicle of knowledge vedi, which later became
known as the fire-altar.

The cosmic power symbolized by the fire carries the collectivity

or ensemble to the world of Light, suvar or svar, offers each part to
the appropriate God who perfects it. Agni returns with the perfected
ensemble. This is the journey of yajna mentioned in hundreds of Rig
Vedic verses. adhvara is the journey or pilgrim journey. svar is not
really outside of us. It is within, it is the sahasradala, the thousand
petalled centre of the tantrics. Of course one such attempt will not
give us the complete perfection. We need several more.
Yajna is imaged as a bird and its journey is beautifully described
m TS (4.1.10.14): "You are a bird of golden wings (suparl)a)
capable of going up (ut) (to the higher realms) and modeling it
(mana). Your head is threefold (trivrtta) (worlds of matter, life and
mind); your eyes are gayatra (all the hymns which have the power
of saving). Your wings are the brhat and rathantara Sama hymns;
your soul is the stoma (Rik mantra-s); your organs are the rhythms
or metres (chhandas); your name is Yajus; Sama hymns of
Vamadeva are your body; your tail is the works done as yajna and
those which are not yajna, i.e., those to be avoided (yajnayajniyam),
your hooves are the masters of knowledge (dhi;,hl)iya). You, the
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suparl)a and garutman, go to heaven ( divab) and return (pat a) from

the world of Light (svar)."

Popular Practices
Systematic recitation of Veda mantra-s along with the
understanding their deeper meaning, doing extensive japa of a Veda
mantra such as GayatrI mantra or GaI_lapati mantra, repetition of a
mantra such as GayatrI with simultaneous harmonization with breath
are all simple inner yajna procedures which can be practiced by all.

Mahanarayana Upanishad (anuvaka 80) states that, "in the inner

yajna, the yajamana is the antaryamin (inner controller), shraddha
(faith) is the wife (patni ). Yak is the hotr priest, praI,1a is the udgatr,
eye (chakfhu) is the adhvaryu, mind is the brahma and ear is the
agnidhr." Inner yoga is also referred to as dhi-yoga in RV ( 1.18.7),
RV (1.1.7), RV (3.62.12) according to Brahmarshi Daivarata.

VMKC : Chapter 6
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13. Agnihotra: A simple Yajna

This is a simple yajna which takes about twenty minutes at a

minimum.
hotra means both, calling and offering; Agnihotra means an
auspicious or blissful way of calling the cosmic power Agni to our
presence and giving him the offerings.
Agni is kindled in a special copper pot called Agnihotra pot. It is
m the form of a pyramid, with a broad square at the top and a
narrow square at the bottom. Usually it is about one feet square at
the top and about nine inches height. We are all aware of the huge
stone buildings in Egypt known as pyramids. pyr means fire and mid
means middle.

The ingradients needed are a few dry cakes made of cow-dung,

dry twigs of certain trees, the melted butter or ghee, a few rice
grains. The cowdung cakes can be dipped in a suitable vegetable oil
if needed.
The practice is done usually twice in a day, both in the morning
just around sunrise, and in the evening just around sunset.
The Atharva Veda (19.53.3;4) mantra-s indicate the benefit:
"Agni, the lord of our bodies, evening after evening grants us
right mindedness morning after morning. "1
1sayam sayam grhapatir no agnih
pratah pratah saumanasasyadata
This is recited in the evening so that we can have a restful
evening and sleep till the next morning.
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The next mantra with similar meanings is recited in the morning

to grant us right mindedness till the evening.
2 pratah pratah grhapatir no agnih
sayam sayam pratah saumanasasya data

The practice begins with the performing person sitting facing east,
having the agnihotra pot in his front. His (her) kith and kin can sit
around the pot.
The first step is placing the dry cowdung cakes and a few twigs in
the pot and lighting a fire with the usual matches. The fire 1s
welcomed with the following mantra which is the first mantra m
Sama Veda, also RV (6.16.10) and also in TS (2.5.7.3).

(1), otll4 (2), Ff irat mffi"

(3)

"Come, 0 Agni, for the advent (1). Voiced by the word, come for
the gift of the offering (2). Sit on the grass of the altar, 0 the Priest
of our invocation (3)."
The entire first sukta of nme mantras of the Rig Veda, first
Mandala may be chanted. The first mantra is the adoration of Agni
to come here to our subtle bodies:
"Agni I adore, placed in front ( 1),
the God of yajna, rtvik or one who has the ecstasy of Truth (2).
He, the summoning priest (3),
activates (in human beings) the dormant ecstasies excellently (4). "1

The second mantra requests Agni to bring all the gods to our
subtle bodies. It specifically mentions both ancient rishis and the
new ones (yet to come)

Agni, adored by the ancient seers ( 1),

is adored by the new sages too (2).
He brings the Gods here (3).2
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2
: : (1), : (2), (3)
The last mantra requests Agni to be like a father to us and lead
us, inspite of any mistakes we made

"As a father onto his son ( 1),

be of easy access to us, 0 Agni (2).
Cling to us so that we can maintain our happy state ( 3)." 3
3
';f: 1(1 ::rr:::r.:',-
I
... (1), !-I 111 (2), ';f: f<-it<:14 (3)
"> I I
,::/,

While uttering these mantras, the rice grains dipped in ghee and
the twigs dipped in ghee may be offered to the fire.

Traditionalists mention two sets of mantras given below, one for

the morning and another for the evening.

Morning mantras
suryaya svaha, suryaya idam na mama
"I make this offering to Surya. This is not mine."

Next mantra
prajapataye svaha, prajapataye idam na mama
"I offer this offering to Prajapati. This is not mine."

All the participants can also make offering at the same time
repeating the mantra-s.
Evening mantra
agnaye svaha, agnaye idam na mama
"I offer this wholeheartedly (svaha) to Agni."

This offering does not belong to me (na mama). (It belongs to the
deva-s ).

If we like, we can use all these mantras together both in morn

and evening, especially if we are unable to do the evening worship.

Next mantra
prajapataye svaha, prajapataye idam na mama
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I offer this wholeheartedly to the creator Prajapati. It does not

belong me.
Optional mantra-s
The following mantra-s are also suggested. These mantra-s are
addressed to the three vyahriti-s along with their deva-s.
a) bhuh svaha, agnaye idam na mama
b) bhuvah svaha, vayave idam na mama
c) sval_l svaha, suryaya idam na mama
d) bhu rbhuval;i-sval), svaha idam na mama
bhu l;i represents the mother earth; svah, the heaven above;
bhuvah represents the intermediate space controlled by Vayu, the
deva of wind.

The concluding mantra-s

a) satyam sharal}am gachchhami
b) satyadharmam sharal}am gachchhami
c) satyadharma sangham sharal}am gachchhami

Meaning
a) I take complete refuge in the truth
b) I take complete refuge in the dharma which is supported by truth
c) I take complete refuge in the congregation or community
which is supported by truth and Dharma.

Alternate concluding mantra

1
(1), n;r_ frtf;r (2),
lfJ_N" 01'{_ (3), FNlr (4)
0 God Agni, lead us by the good path to felicity (1),
knowing all things that are manifested (2);
remove from us the devious attraction of sin (3);
1
to you we offer complete speech of submission (4).

Benefits of Agnihotra
18.29: May life become perfect by yajna (1),
may pral}a become perfect by yajna (2),
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may eyes become perfect by yajna (3 ),

may ears become perfect by yajna (4),
may mind become perfect by yajna (6),
may speech become perfect by yajna (5),
may the soul become perfect by yajna (7),
may mantra become perfect by yajna (8 ),

may the light (reaching us) become perfect by yajna (9 ),

may (our path) to svar (Sun-world) become perfect (10),
may the heights (prf_tha) become perfect ( 11),
may yajna become perfect by yajna (12).
By Stoma, Yajus, Rik and Saman mantra-s, by the Brhat and
Rathantara (13),
we come to the gods of the Sun-world (svar) (14).
We become immortal, we become the children of Prajapati, svaha
29
(15). [SYV, (18.29)]

.........:...,.,.;....+
29
lf_:
''
'1 (1), _!'-'II., (2), .._ x'. (3),
(4), (5 ), ii;rr efidl'{ (6),
.,.,.;....+ .,.,.;....+ .._
., !7l, ., !8l, I@ -1 x'. !9l,
I

1 (10), (11), efidl'i_ (12),

ill:ffllfo3Jro4J,
.ftlr:(15)

it df<l-1_! af.;fl yat te agne tejal) tenaham

tejasvI bhuyasam (14)

it '3l" ol"ifd-1_! f4l yat te agne varchal) tenaham

varchasvI bhuyasam (15)

it fd-1_!x'. yat te agne hara]) tenaham

harasvI bhuyasam (16).
With the brilliance that is yours, 0 Agni, may I become brilliant(14);
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with the radiance that is yours, 0 Agni, may I become radiant(l5);

with the splendour that is yours, 0 Agni, may I become
resplendent (16).

Additional references
For persons interested in a more elaborate form of Agnihotra, we
suggest the booklet, Havana mantra-s. In its 70 pages, it mentions
24 types of havans. Basically it is based on the Sanskrit work of the
famous sage Swami Dayananda Sarasvati entitled 'Agnihotra Vidhi'.
This book has also an English translation published by Sarvadeshik
Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, New Delhi.

Agnihotra and Homa Farming

Substantial evidence indicates that the performance of Agnihotra
for several hours in a day can help in reducing environmental
pollution. For instance, the improvement was noticed in several
countries of Eastern Europe which were polluted by the massive
nuclear reactor failure in Soviet Union.
Agnihotra has also helped in increasing the yields agriculture
without any use of chemical fertilisers, germicide etc. This is called
Homa Farming.
The procedure, which has roots rn ancient times, was
popularised in recent times by Vasanth Paranjpe. For a very
interesting brief view see the essay: "Why Homa Farming" pp. 123-
124, in the book 'The organic Farming Source book', written and
edited by Claude Alvares, p. 402; 1996, 2010 pub: Other India
Press, Goa. This book has seen five reprints, latest in 2010.

Organic Farming is the name given to a set of distinct farming

practices, along with the common aim of avoiding chemical
fertilisers, germicide, herbicide and other killing agents, cooperating
with the earth in getting our foodstuff without harming Earth. Homa
Farming, based on Agnihotra belongs to the Organic Farming family.

Paranjpe writes, 'when Homa is done in a garden or under a

tree, the effect of the smoke first goes to the leaves. The smoke acts
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as a catalyst for the generation of chlorophyll in terms of chemical

reaction'. The essay of 5000 words is very interesting. The person
who started this movement in India in recent times is Madhavjee
Potdar in 1956. He published a small booklet of 26 pages in 1999.
His disciple Vasanth Paranjpe was entrusted with the task of
spreading the knowledge in India and abroad. The work of Paranjpe
in Europe is given a positive reference in the book "Secrets of the
Soil" by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, pp. 228 (2008),
available from OIB (Other India Books)
Another related reference is the following book: Author: M.S.
Alias Baburao Parkhe. Title: Agnihotra (The Vedic solution for
present day problems) pp. 140. Pub: Vaidika Samshodhana
Mandala, Pune, 37; 1982.

I will give here an excerpt from the homa-farming practice by

Tejasvi and Asha Naik, who obtained the prestigious "Aspee L.M.
Patel farmer of the year award in 2010".

Tejasvi Naik states, "though not a farmer by birth, my journey

as a sericulturist farmer started in 1996 with a 2 acre farm. After
the failure of the chemical fertiliser methods, we decided to adopt
the Homa-farming after getting training. Within three months, a
variety of birds moved in. The gerbera plants were free of white fly
attack. We could thus easily manage both pest and disease. Our
mulberry production was 30 percent above state's average and 20
percent over that of a good sericulturist". For detail see www.homa
farming.com

Yagna Chapter 12
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14. The Earth and the Environment

The destruction and degradation of the environment has become

the greatest problem of our century.
According to the agronomist, Claude Bourguignon, "Eight
thousand years of traditional agriculture have destroyed (or
desertified) two billion hectares of land; a quarter of this (500
million hectares) have been destroyed in the last 50 years."
(Regenerating the soil, 2011)

However Hindus have practiced sustainable agriculture since six

or seven thousand years; (See chapter twenty one for Indus Sarasvati
Civilization), "The desertification happening in India in the last 50
years is seen in Haryana and Punjab, thanks to the so called 'Green
Revolution'."
Many concerned persons say that we have to treat Earth with
love and friendship. Whatever may be the slogans, the change should
begin by recognizing that we human beings do not own the earth, it
belongs also to the animals, birds and bacteria which are killed on a
massive scale in the modern Industrial Agriculture originating in the
West.
Hindu-s were the first of the human kind who preached and
practiced that Earth is a living deity who takes care of all of us. The
trees and the plants are the most generous of its citizens.

Atharva Veda has a hymn of 63 mantra-s viewing earth, not

merely as a lump of matter but as a living organism or being,
endowed with several divine powers. The first verse declares that
the earth is supported by divine powers such as Truth (satya), Truth
in-movement or Right order (rtam), vastness without limits ( brhat),
powers of askesis and concentration (tapas), initiation and insight
( dlkfha) etc. Earth can be a happy abode for all persons only if they
open themselves to these divine powers and lead a life in
consonance with them.
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The sukta has valuable insights into topics such as, (i) the
presence of the psychological forces of darkness and the need to
battle them, (ii) the presence of people speaking different languages,
(iii) persons with different religions (nana dharma-9am), (iv) need for
discussion in the assembly, (v) the importance of cities, (vi) the
emigration to distinct corners of the world and the associated
immigration hinted in (12.1.57), (vii) importance of travelling abroad
etc., (viii) several good sayings or Subhahita.
Note also that the supreme spirit is invoked in all aspects of life
on earth. The so called 'worldly life' and the so called 'spiritual life'
are not placed in separate compartments.

Heart in the Heaven: 12.1.8

At first Earth was in the water of the ocean (1), sages sought it having
wondrous powers (2). With its heart in Supreme Heaven (3),
the earth is wrapped in Truth, and is immortal (4). May she give us
the flaming energy and strength (5), in the form of an exalted
kingdom (6).

Your Centre: 12.1.12

0 Earth, set me (3), in between your centre and your navel ( 1),
amidst vitalising forces that emanate from your body (2).
Purify us from all sides ( 4).
Earth is my mother, her son am I (5).
May Parjanya, my father, fill us with plenty (6).
Secret Treasure: 12.1.44
May Earth that bears treasures in secret at many places (1),
give me her riches, gems and gold (2).
May the bounteous Goddess, full of things with rasa (4),
uphold in us the riches (3,5), having the mind at ease (6).
Earth praised everywhere: 12.1.56
In villages, in the forest, and in the assemblies on the earth (1),
in congregations and in councils (2),
we shall speak of thee in lovely terms (3).
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Different languages and religions: 12.1.45

Earth has people who speak in several languages ( vivachasam) and
those who have several religions ( dhrama).

Purifier : 12.1.29: I call to Earth the great purifier.

Fire in Stone: 12.1.19

There lies the fire within the earth, and in plants (1),
and waters carry it (2).
The fire is in stone. There is a fire deep within men (3),
a fire in the Ray-cows, and a fire in horses (life-energy) (4).

[Speech is intimately connected with Agni. Since Agni is in stone,

can we produce high quality music from stone? The answer is yes.
The best example is the musical pillars of stone in the temple at
Hampi, the seat of the Vijayanagar empire. For details, see pg. 49-
51, of the 'Essentials of Atharva Veda' (SAKSHI), chapter 7]
The complete translation of all the 63 verses of this hymn along
with the text and notes is in chapter 19 of our book, "The Essentials
of Atharva Veda", (SAKSHI publication).

VMKC Chapter 18
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15. Multiple Meanings of Verses:

Replies to the Criticisms
In the first chapter entitled, 'Introduction' we mentioned that
many verses of Rig Veda have at least two different or parallel
interpretations, the so called surface meaning, and the esoteric view
which gives the deep wisdom in these verses. Three objections have
been raised against this view. Here are our replies. Some of the
objections have been made by eminent persons whose names are
given in other books.
The first objection 1s that in most of the current languages of
today, one cannot envision several parallel interpretations even rn
small poems. Consequently, it 1s difficult to env1s1on parallel
interpretations in a composition of more than 10,000 stanzas.
Furthermore, can we env1s10n such parallel interpretations rn
Samskrit? The answer to this objection is simple. Samskrit is not
like any other language, ancient or modern. Experts who have been
working in the area of knowledge representation and computational
1
linguistics have been amazed at the precision in Samskrit which is
not available in other languages. In classical Samskrit stanzas having
several different interpretations are available. For instance, a stanza
of 4 lines is given in the Chapter 32 which can be interpreted as a
hymn to Shiva, a hymn to Vihi:iu and as the decimal representation
of the number pi (ratio of the circumference of a circle to its
diameter) using the standard code for converting integers to the
Samskrit alphabet (For details, see Chapter 32).
Finally, it is not as if a reader is asked to blindly believe in the
esoteric interpretation of the Veda. Sri Kapali Sastry has written a
detailed commentary on every verse of every hymn in the first
eighth part of the Rig Veda (121 hymns) mentioned in chapter 1
pointing out the esoteric interpretation and the limitations of the
external or surface interpretation of the Veda. This information is
1
Rick Briggs (1985), Knowledge Representation in Sanskrit and Artificial
Intelligence, The AI Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 32-39.
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available m English in the books of Kapali Sastry (1988, 2015),

Kashyap (2012).
Now we will give specific examples using only phrases of verses.
Verse (1.7.3)
gobhil) adrim mrayat
go : cow, water (SayaI_la), ray of knowledge
adri : cloud, force of ignorance
mrayat : destroy
Translation 1: (Indra) destroys the forces of ignorance with the
knowledge.
Translation 2: (Indra) charged the clouds with water [SayaI_la].
Translation 3: (Indra) smashed the hill for getting the cows
[Griffith].
Translation 1 is the esoteric interpretation. It is difficult to
understand the translation 3. Supposedly the cows are hidden in the
caves by robbers. By smashing the hill, even the cows are destroyed
along with the hill. Translation 2 is acceptable but where is the
wisdom in it?
Verses (1.53.4)
nirundhano amatim gobhir ash vina ;
nirundhano : dispel
amatim : ignorance, poverty [SayaI_la].
gobhir : Light, cows
ash vina : Life-energy, horses
Translation 1: Dispel our ignorance using the Light and Life
energies.
Translation 2: Dispel our poverty by (giving us) cows and horses
(SayaI_la)
SayaI_la does not tell us how he assigns the meaning poverty for
amati.

More examples are in the Chapter 33.

The second objection is why would the authors of the Veda-s
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hide their real meaning? The answer to this question 1s

straightforward. Nobody wants to hide the truth, but not all persons
have the same aptitude for understanding the text. As one chants the
hymns and meditates upon them, they gradually grasp their full
meaning. An entity is evaluated by individuals in the light of their
past experiences. This is best illustrated in one of the stories told by
1
the great teacher Sri Ramakrihi:ia . "A rich man gave a precious
diamond to his servant and asked him to have it appraised by
several different persons having different amounts of capital. The
servant went first to the seller of eggplants who said that the
diamond was not worth more than nine seers (a weight measure of
about a pound) of eggplant. Next, the servant went to a cloth
merchant whose capital is substantially more than that of the
eggplant seller. He said that the diamond is a good thing and offered
to pay nine hundred rupees for it. Next, the servant went to a
diamond jeweler who offered one hundred thousand rupees for the
same diamond. One offers a price conditioned by one's monetary
capital. Take a living incarnation of God. Some take him for an
ordinary man, some for a holy man, and only a handful recognize
him as an incarnation."
The third objection to parallel interpretations of the Veda-s is
that whereas they have been around for more than five thousand
years, why is it only Sri Aurobindo has recognized its esoteric
meaning? Even the famous commentator Sri Sayai:iacharya does not
deny the spiritual meaning of Veda. Secondly, there do exist
Samskrit commentaries which uphold the spiritual interpretation. The
most famous of these is due to the great teacher of dualist Vedanta,
Sri Madhwacharya, who predates Sri Sayai:iacharya. Sri
Madhwacharya affirms that the Veda-s have three parallel
interpretations, namely interpretation for use rn a ritual,
interpretation as hymns addressed to the cosmic powers or Gods,
aod fioa)]y, io1erpre1a1iao as bymns addressed to the Supreme One.
1
Sri Ramakrishi:ia (1972), 'Tales and Parables', compiled and published
by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras (Chennai).
'Mantrartha Manjari'.
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The sixteenth century South Indian saint Sri Raghavendra Swami, a

spiritual descendent of Sri Madhwacharya, wrote a detailed gloss on
the first 40 Suktas of the Rig Veda Samhita, pointing out all the
three interpretations:

The two distinct views of the Veda, namely the surface view and
the deep or esoteric view arise from the fact that many of the
frequently occurring words in the verses of Rig Veda have
simultaneously a surface meaning and a deep meaning. This is
described in Chapters 5 and 6.

VMKC : Chapter 4
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16. Some General Principles for

Word-Meaning Assignment

Note that according to the Hindu tradition, Rig Veda is our most
ancient treasure. The books such as Purai:ias are dated several
millennia after the Rig Veda. Thus to explain the mantra-s of Rig
Veda based on the myths and legends in the Purai:ia is unwise.
Again Rig Veda is not a small book, it has more than ten thousand
mantra-s. All the four Veda-s together have about 23,000 verses.
Thus only Veda can tell us about the Veda, i.e., for any clarification
we need about a word or a concept in a mantra, we need only to
look at the occurrences of that word or the concept in various places
in the Veda. Of course, one must have intimacy with all the mantra
s.
To fix the meaning of a word, we have to study all the
mantra-s in which the word occurs. This is the basic principle
referred to as P 1, in our approach to the meaning assignment.
Pl. Veda can be understood only with the help of Veda.
Our next principle is P2.
P2. The test of validity of the assigned meaning of a certain word is
that all mantra-s having this word should have coherent meanings.
P2 is a consequence of our belief that the Rihis, the poets of
these mantra-s were highly sophisticated and wise, dedicated to the
goal of all-round perfection. They were engaged in the practice of
tapas, over a long time. It is unlikely that such poets would give us
poems involving any confusion. Of course, persons who have no
background in understanding the spiritual experiences may declare
that 'these poems are vague or confusing'.
Recall that every mantra is made up of two lines. If the meanings
of these 2 lines are completely unrelated, then the assignment of
meanings to some of the words in them is presumably wrong. Some
examples of this type have been indicated in the Chapter 33.
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P3. The statements made by the Rig Veda Samhita itself regarding
the meanings of words and the secrecy in it should not be
overlooked or ignored.
For instance, RV (10.85.3) states, 'what wise persons regard as
Soma cannot be eaten or drunk', i.e., Soma is not a mere herb.
Again (10.85.2) adds, 'The Sun is strong by Soma, the earth is vast
by Soma, ... " The whole of Mar:i<Jala 9 with about 1 100 mantra-s
gives numerous epithets to Soma clearly indicating its non-physical
nature. Inspite of all this evidence, it is hard to explain why
translators like Griffith render it only as a herb.
P4: Most of the words in the Veda have only one general meaning.
Different occurrences of this word have only minor variants of this
basic meaning.
PS. A small number of words, especially names of certain animals
and some inanimate objects, may require more than one basic
meaning.In such cases, one should clearly understand the contexts
in which the different meanings are valid; then one should clarify the
contexts in which each meaning is valid.
For example the English word, 'force' has at least 3 meanings in
three different contexts:
Physics: 'The force was not sufficient to drive the nail into the wall.'
Battle: 'The force was not sufficient to relieve the garrison'.
Psychological pressure: 'She could not force her views on the
committee'.
P6: Consider the compound words which are functionally related to
each other. Their meanings should also be related.
To illustrate, consider the word ghrta, which occurs about 1 10
times in RV. Its common meaning is ghee or clarified butter. The
use of this meaning does not make any sense in many places. Hence
Sayar:ia gives a variety of meanings for the same word including,
"water", "shining or luminous" etc., presumably to have some local
consistency. Even the assigned meaning often does not make any
sense. In (1.13.5), we have ghrta P!fh,tham meaning dripping or
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coated with ghee. However, the context is 'seats'. The phrase, 'seats
dripping with ghee' does not make any sense. In (1.14.6) the same
phrase occurs in the context of steeds. Again ghee 'dripping from the
horses' is incoherent. In (1.85.3), (1.87.2) ghrta itself is translated
as heavenly waters. For all the words with 'ghrta' as a prefix, ghrta
1
can only be light; see the 'ghrta' discussion in Kashyap (2006) ,
chap. 9.
P7. Sometimes the ordinary meanings of the words suggest their
more abstract esoteric meanings.
Example: Consider adri, hill. Its hardness and immobility suggests
the alternate meaning 'the psychological force of inertia'. With its
many peaks and plateaus, it also suggests 'existence'.
The mantra (1.7.3) states: "with the rays (knowledge), Indra
smashed the hill (adrim)".
Take the word Ashva whose ordinary meaning is horse. Horse
itself suggests something having excessive life-energy. The Ashva is
a key word; its word-family with its repetitions has about 200
members.
1
Many more principles of translation are in Kashyap (2006) and
2

Kashyap (2012)

VMKC : Chapter 5

1
R.L. Kashyap (2006), 'Semantics of Rig Veda' SAKSHI.
R.L. Kashyap (2012), 'RV Samhita, Mandala 10' Appendix 3, pp. 546-
550.
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17. Meanings of the Words m Rig Veda

Ideally, to understand the meanings of a word in a mantra, we

have to study all the mantra-s in which this word occurs. Obviously
we cannot focus on all the words. Recall that the number of distinct
words in all the mantra-s is about 32,000 according to the book,
Indices (2003). (See References). (In this count, Vibhakti variants
like agnina, etc. are regarded as distinct). The total number of words
occurring in all mantra-s occurring in RV is about one lakh ten
thousand (1,10,704 according to Satvalekar). Dividing this number
by 32,000 yields about 3.6; i.e, a Vedic word occurs in 3 to 4
verses.

However averages are misleading. There are about only 600

words of the Vedic lexicon which occur in about 80 percent of the
verses in Rig Veda. We call them as key words. We particularly
focus on about 330 words given in our book, 'Semantics of Rig
Veda', Kashyap (2006).

We consider two groups of words.

Group A: Words dealing with human beings, their psychological

attributes, artefacts and environment.
Group B: Names of devah.

In group A, we consider a total of 295 words. All these occur in

36,026 verses. Thus on the average, each word occurs in about 122
verses of RV.
Do not be surprised that the number 36,026 is greater than the
total number of verses in RV. If a word among the 295 occurs in 5
mantras, that verse is counted five times.

Similarly the 35 names of devas such as Agni, Indra etc. occur m

10851 verses. Thus, on an average each name occurs in 310
verses.

Thus we regard these 330 (295+35) words as important or key

words.
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The next few pages will give the reasons for the discovery of this
set of key words.

Definitions:
A root word is one from which all its vibhakti or case variants
and number variants arise.
Occ-set (Occurrence-set): Occ-set of a word x is the set of all
the identiliers of the mantra-s in which x occurs. Occ-sets are
obtained from the information in the book, 'Indices' (2003). This
book gives the triplet identilier (Mal).Qala #, silkta #, mantra #) for
all words in RV.

Occ-set of agnif hu (a case variant of Agni): [ 1.108.4, 5.6.6,

7.1.22]; i.e, it has 3 members.
Extended occ-set of a root-word: It is the union of the occ-sets of
all its Vibhakti and number variants and the occ-set of all compound
words of which x is a member

Important Fact
The root-words, by and large, fall into 2 distinct classes.
i) Extended occ-set of such a word is small, typically much less
than twenty.
ii) Extended occ-set of such a word is relatively large, typically
more than 100, 200, or even 1500.
There are very few words which do not fall under these two
groups.

The number (#) of words with size of extended occ-set more than
500: 80 words.

Number of words with extended

occ-set more than 50 : 600 words

Extended occ-set of the important word ghrta : 755

Typically ext. occ-set of names of devah such as Agni, Indra are
very large.
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Ext. occ-set of Agni : 1500; (excluding related words like

Jataveda, Vaishvanara, etc.)

Ext. occ-set of Indra : 1500, (excluding Shatakratu)

Example 1: The word gau and its extended occ-set.

We list the Vibhakti variants of gau and the size of the associated
occ-set as a number in parenthesis.

gavam (52), gave (13), gah (110), gam (45), gavah (120), goh
(55), gobhih (75), goshu (100), gauh (25). These 9 numbers total to
595.
This word gau is also a part of many compound words such as
go-agrah, go-an;asah, go-if hah, go-if h,ti. The occ-sets of these words
total 160. Summing 595 with 160 gives 755, the size of the
extended occ-set.

To understand the deep meaning of gau, we have to study all

these 755 verses. Simple acceptance of the meaning of gau as the
four legged animal cow based on the opinion of (self-serving)
indologists like Griffith does not indicate any high intelligence.
In many Indian languages there are many compound words
involving gau such as:

gopura, go fh_thi, gopa, gotra, goda, godha, govit, gotama, all

having no connection to cow.
gof h_thi is a place of discussion of spiritual topics.
goda : giver of knowledge
godha : supporter of knowledge
gopura : the arch of a temple (indicated by go)
gotra indicates rishi-lineage
govit indicates one who has knowledge
gotama : one who is excellent in knowledge, a name of
RV rishi, one among the seven rishis (saptarf hi ).
To translate all these words assuming that go as cow is foolish.
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More Details on the 330 words and their occ-sets

These are 295 words of Group A and 35 words of Group B.

Word-groups in group A: Root-Words connected with human

beings, their psychological attributes, artefacts and environment.
The root-words in group A have been divided into 10 groups
(Al) through (AlO). In all, there are 295 words. Note that we have
given only some representative words in each topic.

The names of the ten groups (Al)-(Al0) are listed below:

The name of each group is preceded by two numbers. The first
number is the total number of words in this subgroup. The second
number is the total of the number of verses in which these words
occur, i.e., the size of their extended occ-set.

Al: Mental operations and consciousness related words

(# words 74) (# verses 9469)
A2: Mantra related words (18, 2349)
A3: Yajfia related words (27, 3784)
A4: Happiness, bliss and bhakti related words (24, 4198)
A5: Secrecy Words (5, 141)
A6: Groups of human beings and their vocations (61, 9507)
A7: Animal names (13, 2472)
AS: Words about inanimate aspects (25, 2888)
A9: The various cosmic worlds (24, 1416)
Al0: Words associated with Perfection (24, 53)

For instance, for the subgroup Al, the two numbers are 74 and
9469, i.e., if we total the number of verses in which each of these
74 words occur, the result is 9469. The details are given later.
Number of verses where all the 295 words in (Al) - (Al0):
occur 36026

Do not be surprised to see this number which is greater than the

number of verses in RV. Note that if five words among 295 occur in
a verse, then that verse is counted for five times.
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The average size of the extended occ-set of these 295 words 1s

obtained by dividing 36026 by 295 giving 122.12.
Details of the subgroup Al
Al: Mental Operations and Consciousness related words, (74)
For each word, we will give in parenthesis the number of mantra
s in which this word and its vibhakti variants occur (i.e., the sum of
the total number of mantra-s in its occurrence set and the occurence
sets of the case variants of the word). There are 74 key-words here
occurring in 9469 verses.
Word Meaning
amrtal;i (500), immortality; (500 indicates the number of RV
mantra-s in which the word 'amrtal;i' occurs.)
rtam (440), Truth in movement
rfhi (90), one with the sight of a Veda mantra
ekal) (150), one
kavi (250), seer
ketu ( 100), intuition
kratul) ( 100), will with wisdom
ghrtam ( 130), clarity or light
chakfhase (30), inner sight
chikita, chiki + (115), becoming conscious
chitta (22), knowledge
Jyoti}) (170), light
tamal) (120), inertia, darkness (both physical and psychological)
tapas (50), askesis
tat (360), that, supreme
tman (80), soul
dakfham (90), skill in works, discernment, understanding
devayul), one who wishes to go to the luminous worlds or gods
dhimahi (27), to hold in thought, meditate
dhiral;i ( 56), wise thinker
dhitil}. (70), thinkings, musings
dhishnyal) (12), masters of knowledge
dhiyal;i (310), thoughts
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dhiyamdha (5), upholding the thought

padam (130), psychological steps, planes
paravate (76), from supreme beyond
paral) (262), beyond
prachetal) (52), one who is conscious, conscious thinker
praketa (10), conscious perception
pa.ram (25), the shore beyond
brhat (303), vast, name of plane
bhuma (30), vast
ma.ya (100), deceptive knowledge
maha (280), mighty, great
manifhti (65), thinking, understanding
manal) (230), thinkings
manasal) (230), mind
manufha (108), men (endowed with mind)
mati (140), mental thought
medha (70), understanding
veda (80), (verb) to know
vedhal) (80), ordainer, creator
vepal) (10), illumination of wisdom
vevidana (5), unifying the knowledge having discovered it
vichetal) (16), one who has a developed or seeing consciousness
vidatha (110), things of knowledge and their discovery
vidhatha (33), worshipper
vidvan (90), one knowing
vipashchit (28), one illumined in consciousness
vipra (250), illumined seer
vishva (1200), vishva+ (200), universal
vyoman (23), (Supreme) ether
vrata (130), law of workings
sunrta (50), auspicious speech
suri, sural) (180), seer
samanal) (66), equality, common, person of equal status
sanat (19), eternal
sanaye (18), gain, growth
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satya (180), truth

shachibhil) (86), energies
sham (110), peace
sharma (85), one with peace
shaval) (225), luminous might
shrava (220), divine hearing
sumana (110), right minded
sumati (100), happy thought
svar, svar+ (250), the fourth world
svadha (70), self-law, law of one's own nature
advayantam (7), who created no duality
antal)vidvan, the knower within (1.72.7)
ajflataketu, not known to the light of intuition (5.3.11)
amati (9), unconsciousness (4.11.6)
abodhi (13), becomes aware
anyavratasya (3), one who has a law alien
(to one's own nature), (5.20.2)
adhimantham, churning out, (agni, the will) (3.29.1)

A single mantra, Atharva Veda (6.41.1), has eight words

connected with mental operations such as manas, chetase, akutaye,
chittaye, mati, shruti, chakfhuse and dhiya.

This list of words always surprises persons who assume that Rig
Veda is full of rites. The great scholar Sayana in his eagerness to
associate each mantra with some rite gives completely arbitrary
meanings, especially the meaning 'food' to many words. Why
translate dhi as food when the standard meaning of thought or
intellect is valid?
Among these 74 words, we have included many words such as
dhimahi whose ext. ace-set is small because of their importance.
Still among these 74 words dealing with mental operation, there are
only nineteen words with size of ext. ace-set less than 50. All of the
other words have ext. ace-set of size greater than 100 or near
hundred (such as 90).
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Among the other 9 groups, only the group AS dealing with

secrecy has 5 words whose occ-sets total 141. Clearly 'secrecy'
words are very few. There is no problem in fixing their meaning.

Group B: Names of deval_l

There are 35 words occuring in 10851 verses.
The average is : 310

The names are given in p. 41 and p. 42 of chapter 7.

For more details see the book, 'Semantics of Rig Veda' chapter 3,
chapter 5 and chap. 26.

Sri Aurobindo on his own method:

"By a careful and minute study of its word-families it is possible to
a great extent to restore the past history of individual words.

"It is possible to account for the meanings actually possessed by

them, to show how they were worked out through the various stages
of language-development, to establish the mutual relation of different
significances and to explain how they come to be attached to the
same word in spite of the wide difference and sometime even the
direct contrariety of their sense-values. It is possible also to restore
lost senses of words on a sure and scientific basis and to justify
them by an appeal to the observed laws of association which
governed the development of the old Aryan tongues, to the secret
evidence of the word itself and to the corroborative evidence of its
immediate kindred".

Conclusions:
We have shown that the deep meanings of the Rig Veda verses
can be understood by studying deeply only about 400-500 words,
the so called key-words. The 300 words of Group A occur in about
30,000 verses (see explanation in p. 26)
There are 35 words of Group B occuring in 10851 verses.

VMKC : Chapter 6
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18. The Continuity of the Hindu Civilization

from Vedic Times to the Present day

Many western academics and their Indian followers cannot accept

the continuity of Hindu civilization. They claim that modern
Hinduism is based mainly on the Tantra and Purai:ia during the last
one thousand years. For them, a religion has one book, one prophet,
and one fixed dogma. A civilization like Hinduism without any single
founder, with its multiple gods, multiple sacred books, persons
performing practices in many different ways is beyond their
imagination rooted as they are in their fixed mindset. They do not
pay attention to the meaning for the word, 'World' in Sanskrit. The
corresponding word is 'jagat' which means 'continuously changing'.
Nothing in this world is fixed. Everything changes.
The Hindus understood this idea even from the Vedic times and
allowed for healthy and innovative new ideas to come in. We have
discussed this topic earlier. The western indologists use the word to
describe the Hinduism today as 'Neo-Hinduism'. Is Christianity
practiced today same as the one appearing in the words of Christ?
Even the date of birth of Jesus is a subject of great debate. The
Christians do not like the word 'Neo-Christianity' to describe their
current religion.
However these indologists declare that modern ideas like rebirth,
worship of icons are not in the Veda-s. Can we answer them?
Yes. The rebirth idea is very much in the Vedic books.
Rebirth
Many Indologists claim that the concept of rebirth is not in the
Veda-s; it appears only in later Hinduism. This statement is false.
There are several mantra-s in the Veda affirming the idea of rebirth.
We give here one such instance. Note that the concept of rebirth
given here is more meaningful than the concept given in Purai:ias and
the one in the popular minds.
"O Agni, you give us a ship both as a chariot and a home ( 1 ),
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traveling with the eternal progress of motion that shall carry (2), our
strong spirits and our spirits of fullness (maghona) (3), across the
1
births and to the peace (4)." RV (1.140.12)

Note that the ship is both a home and a mode of traveling, i.e., it
1s the human body, which partakes of much motion spanning over
several births. Note that line 4 specifically mentions the births
Uanan). Note the phrase, 'Our spirits of fullness'. Life was never
regarded as merely going from one birth to another. In each birth,
one completes a stage of perfection, maghona.

Some other mantras referring to rebirth are RV (10.59.6),

(10.59.7), (10.18.5) and others. Note that rebirth mentioned in RV
is not transmigration. It is metempsychosis. The soul prepares a
body to enter it. It is not a case of simple transfer of the soul from
one box to another.
Vigraha (icon) worship
Taittiriya Aranyaka belonging to the Krishna Yajur Veda
specifically mentions the use of icons or vigrahas in the worship on
the fire-altar.
"On the top of the altar are spread lotus leaves; on it is placed
the golden purusha (i.e., a golden icon (or vigraha) in the Shape of
2
Purusha)" TA (1.25.1)

The symbolism is discussed rn Tai. Aranyaka (1.25.2).

'The lotus leaf is the askesis (tapasya); The truth satya 1s gold;
the golden purusha is the immortality ( amrtaf

TA (1.7.3) mentions the icon or Purusha while addressing the

Supreme Sun (Kashyapa).

1
rathaya navam uta no grhaya (1 ), nityaritram padvatim rasi agne (2),
asmakam vlram uta no maghona (3), janan cha ya parayal_i sharma ya cha
(4).
2
pushkaraparnam rukmam purusham iti upadadhati
3
tapo vai pushkaraparnam, satyah rukmah, amrtam purusha
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'O Kashyapa, m this beautiful icon of yours all the seven suns
are established'.
Clearly the vigraha (or icon) here may not be as big as those in
modern Indian temples. At the end of the Vedic period, some sages
felt that a vigraha would be of use in worshipful practices in a home
of an individual. There is no need to arrange for the elaborate yajna
with its fire-altar, priests etc. In the Vigraha-s with an
antropomorphic form, all the different aspects or limbs (such as arm,
leg) have their own symbolism.

As times changed, the sages changed their mode of worship. The

internal yajna of vedic times became the inner puja of modern times,
i.e, where the aspirant symbolically invokes the deity within one's
own heart, without using external things like sandle paste, flowers
etc.
People of Bharat
RV (3.53.12) specifically mentions,
'The mantra ( brahma) of Vishvamitra protects the people of
1
Bharat'.
RV (6.16.19), RV (6.16.45) and RV (3.23.2) mention the word
bharatal), the people of the land Bharat.
Such quotations are also in later books like Vishi:iu Purai:iam
which describe Bharat as bounded by the mountain at the top and
the oceans on the three sides.

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1
vishvamitrasya rakfhati brahmedam bharatam janam
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19. Understanding Vedic Culture

This question 1s frequently posed to us smce the words 'Vedic

Culture' is a part of the name of our organization or Institute. The
word culture has so many connotations such as, 'the corporate
culture', 'the culture of materialism', 'scientific culture'.
Our starting point is the definition of culture given by Edgar
Schein in connection with Japan.
"Culture is the pattern of basic assumptions that a given group
has invented, discovered or developed in learning to cope with its
problems of external adaptation and internal integration."
"This knowledge is to be taught to new members as the correct
way to perceive, think and feel to handle the problems that arise".
In the Bharatiya context, the word for culture is Samslaiti, that
which is well-done and perfect (samyak Jajtj ). Its antecedent is
Prakriti, the nature or raw material. One systematically learns from
nature both the outward nature and the nature within us, how to
relate to other living beings and non living things and to our own
inner propensities and also to the external foes so as to be beneficial
for all, both humans and other beings. The usual example is the
development of a golden ornament starting from the golden ore. After
systematic purification and forming process, the result is the
ornament.
For us, Bharatiyas, the starting point of our culture is the four
Veda Samhita-s. It is a finished product without any successive
stages. The training period must be something much prior to it. Sri
Aurobindo observed in the Secret of Veda that, "our actual Veda
Samhita represents the close of a period, not its commencement, not
even some of its successive stages' (quoted in p. 56, 'India, The
Mother', Mira Aditi Center, 2002, (Second ed.)).
Thus the Vedic culture represents the culture of the Bharatiya-s
m the Veda Samhita period. It provides the foundation for all the
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subsequent achievements of the later period involving several

millinea.

To illustrate the transition from pralaiti to Samskriti, consider the

field of education.
When the rudiments of education began, may be fifty thousand
years ago, some persons had discovered that they could transfer
their knowledge of practices regarding the way of life, the crafts and
vocations to the children. The idea was that the children were like
empty buckets and the elders had to pour the knowledge. But it was
easily discovered that some children learned more quickly than
others; some went beyond their teachers. Then it was slowly
discovered that something can be taught to another person, only if
the listener has its seeds within himself/herself. The outside teacher
is only an instrument for the knowledge inside to manifest. The
culmination is the ideal of perfect student, brahmacharin in the
Atharva Veda, Book eleven, sukta 5, (11.5).

In the same way, even persons 50,000 years ago knew

something about healing. Some secrets of the healing process are
revealed in the four Veda books, especially Atharva Veda.
How do we get an insight to the Vedic Culture? The four books in
the Essentials series, one for each Veda and the several compact
books are excellent guides. These guides have quotes of a thousand
mantra-s with text and explanation. See also chap. 34.

Still some highlights need to be mentioned because these ideas

are not mentioned elsewhere.
1. Welcoming the knowledge from all quarters:
The Veda-s do not declare that they are the supreme authority.
The Vedic seers understood that the knowledge is vast. RV (1.89.1)
specifically asks all persons including the sages of those times to
welcome the knowledge coming from all sides, as long as the new
knowledge does not cause major divisions and conflicts in the
society.
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2. Unity and multiplicity

Take any subject such as education or healing arts. Each subject
has a high common goal indicated by the word ekam. ekam is not
the numerical one. The well known Veda mantra RV (1.146.46)
'ekam sat, vipra bahudha vadanti '. It is often mistranslated as
stating, 'all religions are equal'. The mantra has two parts. The first
part states, 'ekam sat'. sat is existence, all the infinite number of
entities in our worlds is existence. ekam sat means each entity has
infinite strands which are in harmony ( ekam). ekam indicates the
harmony of the many things, even though we humans may not be
able to see it.
The next phrase states that the sages (vipra) speak of it
differently. Each person knows only something about one form
among the many. For instance in healing arts we have allopathy,
homeopathy, acupuncture, reiki, pranic healing etc. The mantra does
not announce that all these methods are 'equal'. It does not declare
that all these methods lead to the goal of perfect health. One method
is best for one particular person at a particular time. Again the verse
does not say anything like, 'Universal healing arts'.
Each method is based on a specific set of assumptions. These
basic assumptions of the different methods are in conflict with each
other. Allopathy views human as a machine, there is no room for
Pral.).a. For Ayurveda, Pral.).a is crucial. ekam sat means that there
are persons who can understand the harmony and can direct a sick
person to a method appropriate to him/her at that time. For more
clarification on the idea of unity, note that ekam is not the numerical
one. It is the unity of the infinite strands in it which act
harmoniously. For details see chapter 8.
(3) The spirit of questioning was encouraged in Vedic times. No
one was punished for asking questions or disagreeing with accepted
thoughts. In Rig Veda (8.100.3), a rishi, Nema declares, 'Indra is
not; who has seen Indra'. The rishi, Dirghatama who knows more
than most persons states, 'Like one who does not know, one who is
not conscious, I ask the seers about the Unborn one' (RV 1.164.6).
The rishi Murdhanvan declares that he is asking questions not in a
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spirit of disputation, RV (10.88.18).

(4) The hymn to Earth in the Kanda 12 of Atharva Veda is the

earliest statement on the environment and its relation to man. Even
then the Vedic people lived harmoniously with nature. As mentioned
in chap. 18, this aspect is the hallmark of a civilization, not just the
material artifacts like tall buildings or weapons of war.
(5) Respect for all including women. Among the 400 seers or
poets of Rig Veda, there are about 30 women. Among the books of
all the primary religions, Veda-s are the only books where women
are assigned the status of seers or givers of wisdom. Everyone is
called upon to show respect to all persons including the so called
'shudra' AV (19.62.1), (19.32.8), SYV (26.2). Veda-s were
accessible to all men and women regardless of age, caste and status.
(6) Most persons even in India think of the Veda as dealing with
otherworldly things. But its idea on taxation are relevant even today
as mentioned by Nicholas Kazanas (2010).1' 2

(7) Creativity: The Period of 4000 BCE to 100 BCE, was

incredible in its creativity. You take any subject, there was a treatise
on it. The Panini grammar is still unsurpassed in its attention to
details and in its overall view of language. Mathematics, Prosody,
the knowledge of trees, healing, Ayurveda, beauty of buildings,
caring for horses and cattle, the music, dance, the famous 64 arts
etc. are only some of the topics on which books have been
published. What is the secret behind this vast creativity? There is
nothing like this in any other civilization. The creativity released by
the study of the Veda-s and its chanting is the source of all this
creativity. Even today the creativity of Hindu-s who have kept in
touch with our ancient Vedic culture is by and large greater than the
creativity of others. Even a complete newcomer to India like the
Nobelist writer Naipaul once posed the question, 'what is the reason
that the grandparents of some very well known scientists are all
priests ar those knaw)edge>tble in ancient knowledge'. See the
1. Nicholas Kazanas, 'lndo-Aryan Origins and other Vedic issues', Aditya Prakashan,
2009.
2. Economic Principles in the Vedic Traditions; 2010.
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Chapter 34 having the comments of Sri Aurobindo on this topic.

Note that being in touch with ancient culture does not mean that one
should frequently visit temples or perform rituals. A detailed reading of
the biography of the famous mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, or the
scientist K.S. Krishnan (collaborator with Nobelist C.V. Raman) will
testify. They had a deep inward contact with our culture.
(8) The extensive creativity mentioned above is possible because a
variety of creative powers are hidden within our body. The Rig Veda
mantra-s suggest how these hidden powers within us relating to intuition,
inspiration, memory, connections between the cosmos and the individual
human being can be released. This knowledge is very much valid today.
Vedic seers suggest how you can develop your intuition, instead of
saying, without any basis, that it depends on your genes.
9. Life as a Unique Journey
According to the sages of the Veda, everyone should regard his or
her life as a journey from one peak of perfection to another peak.
They have indicated that help is always available for those who
embark on such exciting journeys. We shall quote here one mantra
RV (1.10.2), i.e., the mantra 2 in the sukta 10 of the Manqala One
of Rig Veda. Because of its meter, mantra naturally is divisible into
3 or 4 parts whose meanings are relatively self-contained. This
particular mantra has four parts whose translation is displayed
below. The corresponding Sanskrit text in Devanagari is in italics.
"When the worshipper climbs from peak to peak ( 1 ), he (she)
realizes the progress that is yet to be achieved (2). Then (the
cosmic-power) Indra awakens in the seeker the purpose of the
journey (3), and manifests with his troop to aid (the devotee in his
journey) (4)." RV (1.10.2)
(The original Sanskrit text 1s: yat sano sanum aruhat (1), bhuri
aspa$hta kartvam (2), tat indro artham chetati (3), yuthena
vru$hir ejati (4).
This verse or mantra 1s straightforward in its meaning and
symbolism is not used. The phrase, 'climbing from peak to peak'
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indicates the life-journey of an individual attaining one level of

perfection after another.

The second line indicates a deep psychological insight that only a

person who starts on a journey can understand what is yet to be done.
The third phrase makes an important statement that the person
making the journey is not alone or helpless. The cosmic force (or the
god) by the name Indra himself awakens in him/her the purpose of
his journey and indicates within him or her the next peak to be
pursued. The God Indra literally comes in a subtle manner and gives
the help, as indicated in line 4.

This verse is not unique in Rig Veda. There are many others in
RV which deal with the life-journey and ascent. Some persons may
have read statements made by so called competent translators that
Rig Veda is ritualistic and it is devoid of reference to higher mental
operations. Such persons must notice the use of the word "awakens"
(chetati) here. The Rig Veda has at least 36 different words dealing
with mental or over-mental operations, mentioned in our book,
'Semantics of Rig Veda'. Note it is absurd to regard all these words
as synonyms. Sri Aurobindo in his writings makes explicit the
difference between them. For instance, the two words vichetas and
prachetas mean respectively 'one wide in consciousness' and 'one
who has the perceptive knowledge'.
Secondly one may wonder whether the climbing refers only to
meditative activities or to the activities of everyday life, involving
the life-energy (pra.Qa) and the mind. It should be borne in mind that
the Veda does not indulge in a rigid separation of the realm of
activities into 'worldly' and 'spiritual'. Its aim is that all activities,
including those of daily transaction, must be made spiritual. In
support we quote this verse or mantra RV (5.7.5).

"When in his service (veshane) (1), men cast down their sweat
(as an offering) on the paths (2), they ascend to a self born (self
joyous, svajenyam) ground (3), as if to wide levels (4)."
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In other words, the ascent to the peaks is possible by the physical

and mental activities, i.e., casting the sweat.

10. Web as the relation between all beings on earth and the
cosmic powers: We have mentioned that there is no supergod in the
Veda controlling everything. The entire structure of cosmos including
the deva-s, humans, animals and other living beings, inanimate
things are all connected by a web, which connects each node with all
the other nodes. We are not rigidly controlled by deva-s; hence we
should treat our fellow beings, animals and plants with courtesy.
Each human being is assigned a node. Each deva like Agni is
assigned a node. So also Indra, Mitra, goddesses Aditi, Sarasvati
having their own nodes. So each human being can contact a deva
like Agni directly without a need for an intermediary like a prophet
or a Son of God. The entire web is powered by the consciousness
chit. Each individual can establish his relation to a deva such as that
of a friend, father etc. A copy of the whole web is within a human
being empowering his self-power or self nature known as svadha.
Each person can put forth his aspiration. The idea of web is
expressly mentioned in Rig Veda (9.73.9) as rtasaya tantu, i.e. the
web associated with rtam, the truth in movement. (10.57.2) speaks
of the tantu of yajna.

The whole system 1s completely decentralised and works by

means of networking. The deva-s ensure that the networking is
harmonious. Of course the demonic forces have their own modes of
working. There is no hard barriers like worldly things and spiritual
things. The modern technical gadgets with their awesome power are
part of the node assigned to the 'matter' ( anna). Similarly life force
(prti.(Ja) has its own node. Long distance speech or sight via a gadget
is regarded as an interaction between the two nodes of humans
assisted by the node of matter. It indicates the possibility of direct
long distance communication without gadgets, but using the prti.(Ja
power. This fact has been verified in the lives of many saints even
in the twentieth century who could see the persons across the globe
to satisfy the concerns of their devotees. The saints can
communicate their spiritual powers whereas gadgets can only
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transmit physical voice or scene. The effectiveness of the method of

long distance healing such as Reiki or Pranic healing indicates the
rich possibilities that can happen in the near future. The long
distance healing can occur across continents. Sincere practitioners in
India have cured patients in USA

Conclusions:
Vedic culture is a vast subject. Our focus here is only on its ten
aspects.

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21. Dating the Veda-s

What do we mean by the date of Veda-s? Brh. Upanishad (4.5.11)

states that 'Veda-s are the breath of the Brahman (mahato bhuta)'. All
the Veda mantra-s are situated in the highest plane parame vyoman
(See RV (1.164.39), quoted in p. 14). The human rishis by their
power of askesis (tapas) had access to these mantra-s, some of which
were revealed to their inner sight. We can speak of the date or period
when these human rishis first chanted these mantra-s.
Let us begin with the date of Mahabharata war as 3000 BCE.
This date is based on extensive astronomical evidence involving
several astronomic events. The relevant references are the several
papers of Prof. Narahari Achar and others, and the forthcoming book
of Achar. The info given below is from the book by David Frawley
(2009).
1) Geneology of kings: Mahabharata gives the genealogy of kings upto
Dharmaputra (the eldest of Panc;!ava). It lists the number of
generations. We can work backwards. It gives 99 generations to the
Puranic king/. If we give 25 years per generation, we get 2475 years.
Therefore the date of the Puranic kings is 3000+2475 = 5475 BCE. If
we give only 20 years per generation, we get ( 3000+ 1980) = 49 80
BCE.
Thus the Vedic period must be at least earlier to 5000 BC.
See the Table-2 below for more clarification.
Table-2
Gene- At 25 at 20
rations yrs king yrs king
No. King (BCE) (BCE) Event
l. K ishna
r
3000 3000 Mahabharata,
2. Rama to Krishna 54 1350 1080
3. Rama 4350 4080
4. Bhagiratha to Rama 20 500 400
5. Bhagiratha 4850 4480 Change in Ganga's course
6. Bhagiratha to Puranic Kings 25 625 500
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7. First of the Puranic Kings 5475 4980

2) Lineage of Teachers: Briliad Aranyak.a-Upanishad gives a lineage

of 60 teachers beginning with the Upanishad and ending with
Mahabharata.
Mahabharata date 3000 BCE
Number of teachers 60

At 30 years per generation, we get the Upanishad age as 3000 +

1800 = 4800 BCE. At 35 years per generation, we get Upanishad
age as 5100 BCE. Clearly Rishis enjoyed great longevity than the
kings. Since Upanishad date is 1000 years after Rig Veda, the age
of Rig Veda is about 6000 BCE or earlier.
3) The mention of a shift of vernal equinox from Mrigashiras to
Rohini is mentioned in Aitereya Brahmal).a, dating the text at 3500
BCE. Thus Veda would be around 4000 BCE.
4) The Sarasvati river is prominently mentioned m Rig Veda in
about 60 mantras ( or verses). It later dried up because its tributaries
like Yamuna took a U-turn due to tectonic effects and ceased to
supply Sarasvati.
a) 10000-3000 BCE: Ocean-going Savasvati. Starting with the
ending of the ice-age, Sarasvati became the perennial river suitable
for agriculture and other civic projects.
b) 3000-1900 BC: Declining Sarasvati. It declines because its
tributaries such as Yamuna changed their course by a U-turn. Thus it
dried up. People left that place.
c) 1900-1000 BC: Post-Sarasvati era: This is an era when the
persons who depended on the Sarasvati shifted to the eastern regions
such as Ayodhya, Gaya, and also Westward countries.

+
David Frawley, 'The Rig Veda and the History of India', Aditya
Prakashana, 2001. See also, "The Rig Veda: A Historical Analysis", by
S.G. Talageri (2000), Aditya Prakashan; and Talageri (1993), (Pub.)
Voice of India.
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+
Frawley offers the following dateline for the vanous books:
4500-3500 BC; Rig Veda, early Atharva Veda, early Brahmanas
such as Aitereya.
3500-2500: BrahmaI_las, early Mahabharata.
2500-1900: Late Atharva Veda, Yajur Veda, later Brahmanas
(Shatapatha), early Puranas.
1400 BCE: Vedanga Jyotisha; Later BrahmaI_las.
Note that Rig Veda was revealed over a long time as indicated in
Chapter 40, ranging may be over many thousand years. In this brief
essay, we have indicated three dates ranging from 6000 BCE or
earlier to 4500-3500 BC. There are other views on dating also.
However all of them do not support the fatwa date of 1500 BCE
given by Max Muller without any evidence, and supported by many
academics even today.

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22. How to Study Veda-s

Here I will focus on questions posed by several persons. The

main question is: How can I benefit from Veda? The answer is:
You have to study the Veda, systematically understanding the
message of Veda, and the deeper meanings of some mantras and
also learning to chant.

Many persons are attracted to Veda by hearing t he Vedic

chants, but limiting oneself to chanting only can lead only to
limited benefits.
Let us first focus on the message of the Veda and the meaning
of mantras; we consider chanting later. One can begin with the
series of 4 'Essentials books', namely Essentials of Rig Veda,
Essentials of Yajur Veda, Essentials of Sama Veda and Essentials
of Atharva Veda. We can also study the compact books,
'Manifestation of Bliss', 'Yajna', and 'Why Read Rig Veda'. Of
course, reading line by line of all of them is not crucial. One can
judiciously focus on topics of interest.

Then one can go to the compact books describing functions of

the cosmic powers or deva-s such as Agni, Indra, Soma etc. It is
good to begin with, "Secrets of Effective Work: Agni's Guidance".
Note that each of these books contains the text of about one
hundred verses along with translation and explanation.

Then one can go to the books, which give the complete

translations of one Mandala of Rig Veda or one Kanda of Krishna
Yajur Veda. For a deeper look at the concept of Divinizing Life, or
attaining all-sided perfection, see the beginning essay in 'Rig Veda
Samhita: Mandala 5'.

Some have queried us, 'Is there no anthology of Veda mantras

taken from all the Rig Veda Manc;la1as?' The answer is yes; Sama
Veda is really an anthology. In the book published by us entitled
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"Sama Veda: Purva Archika (First half)", there is an anthology of

about 100 mantras compiled from all Rig Veda Manqalas dedicated
to Agni. Similarly it has about 100 mantras compiled from all
Manqalas dedicated to Soma.

Veda as Celebration of Life

An Anthology from all the four Veda-s prepared by Raimundo
Panikkar is very interesting. The book title is 'The Vedic
Experience: (An Anthology of the Veda-s for Modern Man and
Contemporary Celebration)', (only translation) MLBD, New Delhi,
1977. It regards Veda as 'Celebration of Life'.
Each book on each Mandala of RV published by us has not
only an overview of that Mandala, but also overview of the entire
Rig Veda from different points of view. Even a casual look at the
subject index will reveal the long list of epithets addressed to each
god such as Agni.

Our translations of the four Veda-s now number into at least

ten thousand pages. The same topic is discussed in different places
in the Veda. If the reader has any question in understanding any
lines in our book, he/she can send us a letter or email. We will
help the reader by mentioning the pages in our books where he
can find more information on the topic of his/her interest. Our
offer here pertains only to the material in our books. We do not
like to comment on the opinions of other authors or their books.

If any systematic study has to be successful, the person should

follow a schedule, week after week. One can plan to study for at
least half an hour everyday or an hour on alternate days. The
study can be done in the morning or early evening or late evening.

A common question is, 'How do I get initiated (get diksha) to

begin the study?' As Upanishads make it clear (see the section on
"anecdotes" in our book, 'Essentials of Upanishad'), the initiation
ritual was basically meant for the young students, say aged less
than 12, who are not used to abstract thinking. Answers to the
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grownup seekers were given without any initiation. The initiation

ceremony involving the dry fuel sticks was meant to teach the
youngsters, "just as the dry fuel catches fire quickly, you should
get fired up and enthused about your study".

As Sanatkumara tells Dhrutarashtra in Mahabharata, the key

element rn learning is enthusiasm (utsaha). We should be
passionate in learning the Veda and using the knowledge in it to
improve ourselves. Taking a bath or not is not important. But it is
important to begin with a mental prayer to the divinity inside for
success in learning and for helping all seekers who are engaged in
the process of learning.

Our (2008) book 'Rig Veda Samhita: Mandala 2' has an

appendix entitled, 'Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)' having
answers to several questions. Our book, 'Krishna Yajur Veda
Taittiriya Samhita' Vol. 1, revised in 2005 has another list of
FAQ.

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23. Comparison of the SAKSID translation of mantras

with those of RTH Griffith & other lndologists

A certain well-wisher has stated, "I like the esoteric

interpretation in the SAK.SHI books by Kashyap (2003). However, I
have read the English translations of Rig Veda by Griffith, Wilson
and others. Griffith (G) mentions in so many places that the Vedic
mantra-s are often pompous or stupid or meaningless. Could you
clarify the reasons for the existence of such widely divergent views
on the same mantra-s?" The answer to this question is contained in
the book, 'The Semantics of Rig Veda' (SRV).

According to G, Rig Veda consists only of prayers to the

imaginary Nature powers for the grant of the cattle wealth; these
mantra-s have no wisdom inherent in them.

To begin with, the different translations can be compared using the

following four criteria:

1) Assignments of the meanings to the Sanskrt words,

2) The recognition of the powers of gods and their nature, by

focussing on all the epithets to the gods which constitute about
two-thirds of the RV book,
3) Recognition of the symbolism behind the words, myths and rites,
4) Recognition of the metaphysical, yogic and psychological insights
in the mantra-s.

In the translation of G, the items (2) to (4) are completely

ignored. The method of meaning assignment is not indicated.

To assist the readers who may not have read the SAK.SHI books
of translation, the book gives the text of 13 mantra-s with their
translations according to the esoteric or psychological viewpoint and
also G's translations discussed in our book, 'Semantics of Rig Veda'.
The reader can compare the two or more translations of the same
mantra using the above mentioned four criteria.
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The mantra-s discussed in SRV are:

(2.12.1) (1.3.10) (1.3.11) (1.3.12)

(2.3.2) (1.4.3) (1.6.3) (5.62.1)
(1.10.2) (1.158.6) (6.16.13) (9.63.5)
(1.17 0.1)

Griffith's translation was first published in 1889. He was not the

first translator of Rig Veda. That distinction goes to Prof. Wilson
whose first volume of translation was published in 1850. Wilson, by
and large, follows the Sans.lqt commentary of the great commentator
Sayar:i.a Acharya (14th century CE). Griffith quotes from several
translators.
In this Chapter, we treat only the first five mantra-s in the above
list.

Example 1: RV (2.12.1), Indra

"The god who, as soon as born, is the first among those that have
the mind (1),
he surrounded the gods with effective will-force (kratu) (2);
By his impulsion, both the Earth and Heaven tremble with fear ( 3),
he is the repository of all manly powers; that is the God Indra, 0
2
men (4).
[It is no ordinary Rain-God that the seer invokes. This God is
prathamo manasvan "The first among those who have the Mind",
i.e., He is not a creation of this material world posterior to its
evolution. He does not develop Mind as a faculty later on. He had
all the mental powers by birth. It is this Indra who surrounded the
gods (other gods) with the effective will-force (.kratu). The Divine
Mind typified by Indra endows the other Universal Gods with their
effective will-power. This Indra-shakti brings into operation many
forces that disturb the settled equilibrium and inert repose of all

2
yojata prathamo manasvan (1 ), devo devan kratuna paryabho.hat (2),
yasya shuhmat rodasI abhyasetam (3), nrmr:i.asya mahna sajanasa indral)
(4). (2.12.1)
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things earthlyand even of all things heavenly. Ordinarily, Heaven

is the symbol of the vital and mental world inhabitated by long
standing joys and lasting beauty. But these idealistic, aesthetic,
moral and intellectual heavens also tremor when Indra, the lord of
the Divine Mind, sweeps new creative and dynamic currents into the
heaven of the mind. This God, Indra, is the mighty one (mahna) with
all virile, heroic (nrm.(]asya) power. (M.P. Pandit)]

Griffith:
"He who, just born, chief god of lofty spirit by power and might
became the Gods' protector; before whose breath through greatness
of his valour, the two worlds trembled; he, 0 men, is Indra".
In his translation, kratu: protector; shufhma: breath;
3
Macdonnei :

"The chief wise god who as soon as born surpassed the god in
power; before whose vehemence the two worlds trembled by reason
of the greatness of his valour; He, 0 men, is Indra."
manasvan: wise; paryabhDfhat: surpassed,
Comparison:
(i) 'manas' has the fixed meaning of 'mind' throughout Veda. Here G
renders it as 'lofty spirit' and Macdonnel (M) as 'wise'. See the
chapter 6 for distinctions among the various meanings associated
with mental operations such as manas, medha etc. See SRV for
details.
(ii) 'prathamo manasvan': the two words together mean 'the first
among those having mind'. There is no other meaning.
(iii) 'paryabhDfhat' has the fixed meaning of 'surrounding'. Here G
translates it as 'protection', M as 'surpassing'. There is no basis for
their meaning assignments.

Example 2: RV (1.3.10, 11, 12): Sarasvati (3 mantra-s)

We have chosen these 3 mantra-s because they have 8 words

3
'A Vedic Reader for students', OUP, 1917
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dealing with mind or consc10usness.

1.3.10: Full of Plenitude

SarasvatI purifies us (1);
she is full of plenitude of the life-powers ( vajebhil;i) (2);
may she desire (to attend and energize) our sacrifice, she who 1s
4
rich in understanding (3).
[SarasvatI purifies us by getting rid of all falsehood in us. SarasvatI
is the Power of Truth which we call inspiration. "Truth comes to us
as a light, a voice, compelling a change of thought, imposing a new
discernment of ourselves and all around us." (SA)
vajinivatI: one with plenitude, i.e., with plenty of all different things.
vaja is a key word in Veda.]

1.3.11: Makes Us Conscious

She impels happy truths ( 1 ),
she awakens in us (making us conscious of) happy thoughts (2);
5
SarasvatI upholds the sacrifice (3).
[She awakens our consciousness to right thinkings or right states of
mind.]

1.3.12: Flood of Inspiration

SarasvatI, the great flood (ar.Qa) (of inspiration) (1),
makes (us) conscious by right perceptions (ketuna) (2);
6
she illumines widely the whole understanding (3).
[These are hardly attributes of a physical river. SarasvatI brings into
active consciousness in the human being the great flood or great
movement, the truth-consciousness itself. All thoughts (dhiyal;i) are
illumined by the impulsions and awakening (ketu) brought in by
SarasvatI who brings in the great flood of inspiration. prachetayafr
4
pavaka nal) sarasvatI (1), vajebhi}:i vajinivatI (2), yajiiam vahtu
dhiyavasu]:i (3).
5
chodayitrI sunrtanam (1 ), chetantI sumatinam (2), yajiiam dadhe sarasvatI
(3).
6
maho arr:i.al;l sarasvatI (1), prachetayati ketuna (2), dhiyo vishva vi rajati (3 ).
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makes (us) conscious;]

Griffith:
10. Wealthy in spoil, enriched with hymns, may bright SarasvatI
desire, with eager love, our sacrifice.
11. Inciter of all pleasant songs, inspirer of all gracious thought,
SarasvatI accept our rite.
12. SarasvatI, the mighty flood, she with the light illuminates,
She brightens every pious thought.
Comparison: To understand the nature of SarasvatI, one has to study
all the 72 RV mantra-s in which SarasvatI is mentioned. This has
7
been done in the book 'Sarasvati'. There are 3 entire hymns (6.61),
(7.95) and (7.96) dedicated to her.
Among them, only a small number of mantra-s are amenable for
interpreting SarasvatI as a river. But all the mantra-s make excellent
sense, if SarasvatI is viewed as the Goddess of inspiration.
Indologists want to force the meaning of a physical river on these
mantra-s.
Note that there are 8 words in these 3 mantra-s connected with
mind or consciousness namely: dhiyavasul;i: rich in substance ( vasu)
by the thought (dhiya); chodayitrL impeller; sunrtanam: happy truths
(rtanam); chetantI : awakener in consciousness; sumatlnam: right
mentalisings; prachetayati: awakens in consciousness; ketuna: by the
perception; dhiyal;i: thoughts.
Sri Aurobindo assigns a fixed meaning to each of the above
words, based on the method described in chapter 6 and detailed in
SRV.
Griffith calls 'sunrtanam' as pleasant song;
sumatI: gracious thought; ketuna: light; pracheta: illumined; dhiyal;i:
pious thought;
G does not distinguish 'matI' from 'dhiyal;i '. 'matI' is mentalising,

7
'Sarasvati', pub. SAK.SHI, 2005, p.60
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1.e., connected with mind, 'dhiyal;i' is thought or intellect.

2. pavaka: In the entire Veda, it has a fixed meaning of purifying. G
translates it as 'bright'; in other places, he translates it differently.
3. vajebhil) vajinlvatl: vaja is a key word. It occurs about 10 times in
the first 5 suktas of the rihi Madhuchhanda. The least consideration
we can give to an author is to assume that he/she assigns the same
meaning to the same word in nearby verses.
Clearly in Sanslqt 'vajinivatI' is one who possesses 'vaja'.
According to G, 'vajinivatI' is wealthy; vajebhil) is, 'spoil (or booty)
in a war'. (SA) translates everywhere vaja as plenitude.
Example 3: Agni (2.3.2) Second half
[This example is given to show that the usual translation of ghrta as
ghee, is unacceptable in any meaningful translation.]
"Let him (Agni) flood ( undan) the offering (havyam) with a mind
(manasti) that diffuses (prufh) the light (ghrta) (3);
8
and manifest the gods on the head of the sacrifice (4).

Griffith:
Steeping the gift with oil diffusing purpose (3),
bedew the gods at chiefest time of worship (4).
[The translation makes no sense. What can be the meaning of the
phrase, 'oil diffusing purpose'? This phrase is his translation of
'ghrta prufhti manasa'. For more on ghrta, see chap 9 of SRV.]
Example 4: RV (1.4.3): Indra
"Then may we know a little of your innermost right-thinkings ( 1);
9
Show not beyond us, come to us (2). "
[ vidyama: may we know. The human aspirant can never know all
the thinkings of the God Indra. She/he is praying for Indra to reveal
at least a small portion of his thoughts. Note 'antama' means

8
ghrtapruha manasa havyam undan (3), murdhan yajfiasya samanaktu
devan (4)
9
atha te antamanam vidyama sumatinam (1), ma no ati khya agahi (2)
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'within'.
ma no ati khya: reveal thyself only as far as our vision permits. If
you should show yourself beyond our limited capacity, we will not
be able to see; do not show things beyond us, do not transcend us.
The meaning of three words 'ati ma khya': 'overreaching', 'not',
'show',
sumati : In Veda, mati means thinking, including its emotional
aspects. sumati is thought endowed with Light accompanied by
gladness and kindness in the soul. Indra not merely dazzles us with
his Light, but is also fashions right thought-formations in us.]
Translation of S: "We recognise thee in the midst of the right
minded, who are nearest to thee. Do not show yourself to others,
come to us alone".
"The translation of S is not only grammatically inappropriate, but
gives a low opinion of the Vedic Seer, which is unwarranted" (KS).
'antama' means 'within', not physically nearest.
Griffith:
"So may we be acquainted with thine innermost benevolence:
neglect us not, come hitherward."
Note here G has missed the deeper meaning. For G, sumati is
'benevolence'. We have to distinguish the various words connected
with thought.
G has really ignored the word 'khya '. Text has no word for

'neglect' in his translation.

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24. Sayai;ia Acharya and the scope of his work

Sayal).a Acharya (1315-1387 CE) was the only person to write

(or edit) a commentary on all the five Veda mantra Samhita books
and also the relevant Brahmal).a books. He is the only one to write a
commentary on the entire Rig Veda Mantra Samhita. All lovers of
Veda must be grateful to him for these works and the luminous
introductions to these works. A brief look at his life and the times in
which he lived will be very useful for us to appreciate the range of
his efforts.

A study of his life and his times gives ample clues towards
understanding the scope of his work or the boundaries set by Sayal).a
for his work. Recall that he studied in the monastery associated with
the great Vedanta teacher Shankara, under his guru Swami
Vidyaral).ya, who was its head at that time. Naturally he completely
accepted the teachings of Shankara in toto, assigning the Veda
mantra-s to karmakal)(ja. Only the Upanihads were regarded as the
repository of wisdom. It is the common idea prevailing even today in
many so-called places of learning, ma_thas, in India.

Recall that Sayal).a was not a fulltime Pandit. He was a capable

Prime Minister of the vast empire of Karnataka with its capital in
Vijayanagar and also participated in battles. He with Hukka and
others was instrumental in bringing together many small kingdoms to
form a single kingdom, known as the Karnataka empire, so as to
withstand the Islamic onslaughts. The Karnataka empire was
restored so as to bring resurgence of all aspects of Indian culture.
Sayal).a, being its prime minister and one of its founders, could not
afford to be partial to any group. In India, all ideas are traced to
Veda in the minds of ordinary people. Specifically it was felt:

(i) Veda had the knowledge of rituals whose performance gives

prosperity.
(ii) The basis of Pural).as with all their anecdotes was Veda.
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(iii) The grammarian scholars of the empire felt that every word
m the Veda can be traced to its roots as suggested by the great
Par:i.ini.

(iv) Most of the Hindus went to temples where elaborate worship

was performed to the deities Vihr:i.u, Shiva etc. These people
wanted to know the connection of the mantra-s of Veda to these
deities.

(v) The ordinary people used several Veda mantra-s in their

sandhya worship; they wanted to know their meaning and their
context.

(vi) Among Hindus, the natural phenomena such as rainfall or

dawn are associated with the divine powers. Persons wanted to
know what Veda has to say on the natural phenomena.
Thus, Sayar:i.a, assisted by numerous pandits, prepared this
magnificent commentary to satisfy the aspirations of a variety of
Hindus. Sayar:i.a in his commentary on RV ( 1.164) states that he is
aware of the spiritual interpretation of some mantra-s. However he
feels that the discussion of the spiritual interpretation is outside the
scope of his book.

For more info, see, Rig Veda Samhita, Mandala 10, pg. 551-554,

SAK.SHI.

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REFERENCES

1. Essentials of Rig Veda R. L. Kashyap

2. Essentials of Yajur Veda R. L. Kashyap
3. Essentials of Sama Veda R. L. Kashyap
4. Essentials of Atharva Veda R. L. Kashyap
5. Rig Veda Samhita R. L. Kashyap
(Set of 12 Volumes)
6. Yajur Veda Samhita R. L. Kashyap
(Set of 4 Volumes)
7. Yajur Veda Samhita Mantra-s
(All the Mantra-s of 7 Kanda-s with Transliteration and Translation)

8. Sama Veda: Purva Archika R. L. Kashyap

(Text, Translation & Notes)
9. Sama Veda: Uttara Archika R. L. Kashyap
(Text, Translation & Notes)
10. Atharva Veda R. L. Kashyap
(Set of 6 Volumes)
11. Shukla Yajur Veda Samhita R. L. Kashyap
(Set of 2 Volumes)
12. The Light of Veda
- A practical approach T. V. Kapali Sastry
13. A New Light on the Veda T. V. Kapali Sastry
14. Semantics of Rig Veda R. L. Kashyap
15. Essentials of Upanishads R. L. Kashyap
16. Agni in Rig Veda R. L. Kashyap
300 Mantras with spiritual meaning
17. Indra - Lord of Divine Mind R. L. Kashyap
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18. Soma - The Delight of Existence R. L. Kashyap

(Mantras from R ig Veda)
19. Ga1_1apati-Brahma1_1aspati & Kumara R. L. Kashyap
20. Surya: Inner Light R. L. Kashyap
(Mantras from R ig Veda)
21. Sarasvati - Goddess of Inspiration R. L. Kashyap
22. Secrets of Effective Work R. L. Kashyap
23. Rudra Mantra-s R. L. Kashyap
(Namaka , Chamaka) (Also available m audio CD)
24. Shanti Mantra-s R. L. Kashyap
From Upanishads and Veda
Text & Meaning (Also available in audio CD)
25. Veda Mantra-s and Siikta-s R. L. Kashyap
widely used in worship
26. How to Manifest Bliss R. L. Kashyap
27. Purusha Siikta: S. K. Ramachandra Rao
Mantra-s with Meaning (Text, Translation & Commentary)
28. Hymns on Creation Heaven & Ancient FathersR. L. Kashyap
29. Rbhu-s R. L. Kashyap
30. Health and Healing Mantra-s R. L. Kashyap
31. Veda Knowledge in the Modern Context R. L. Kashyap
32. Vedic Secrets in compact form R. L. Kashyap
33. Yajna R. L. Kashyap
34. Further Lights on the Veda T. V. Kapali Sastry
35. Rishi-s R. L. Kashyap