On the Meaning of RV X.136: Comets?

B. N. Narahari Achar

Introduction
S#kta RV X. 136 is an intriguing s#kta. It consists of seven =ks in anu&{up
cha<das and each of the =ks has one of the seven sons of V@tara^ana as its =&i. The
deities associated with the s#kta are the Ke^ins, the long haired ones. Several translations
of the s#kta are available in English [1-5]. In translating the s#kta, Griffith [1] takes the
word Ke^in to mean “probably a long haired ascetic.” He refers to a note originally
quoted by Muir [2], and attributed to Von Roth [3], which expresses the view that by
following a life of sanctity, muni, the silent ascetic, can attain the fellowship of the
deities of air, the v@yus, the rudras, and the apsarasas and the gandharvas. Panikkar[4]
also accepts the reference to an ascetic, ‘clothed with the wind’ as it were (v@tara^an@*).
Bose[5] goes one step further and says that Ke^in refers to the man with long hair, and
muni, the Brahmac@rin who having finished his education does not enter the next
g=hast@&rama, but dedicates himself to the pursuit of spiritual knowledge and has
acquired occult powers. It would appear that there is general agreement among the
scholars that this s#kta is really about the celebration of the supreme powers of the muni,
who grows long hair, not cutting it, because he is engrossed in cutting his thoughts.
The explanation offered in the Nirukta [6] is somewhat different. There is no
doubt that ke^$n means one with long hair, but Nirukta explains ke^@ ra^maya*, by hair,
rays are meant. It further explains, k@^an@rdv@, prak@^an@rdv@: endowed with rays on
account of shining. B=haddevat@ (II. 65) [7] also offers a similar explanation. prak@^am
kira%ai kurvestenainam ke^inam vidu* | He causes brightness by means of rays, so he is
known as Kesin. S@ya%a is even more specific. Regarding the deities of the s#kta, he
says, s#kta> agnis#ryadevat@tmaka>. The deities are Agni, Vayu and Surya, for ke^a
sth@n$y@ra^maya* | tadvanta* ke^ina* agnirv@yu* s#rya&ca | ete traya* stutyante |
Wearers of long hair are Agni, Vayu and Surya. These three are the ones praised here.
Griffith does note that Ke^ina* may refer to Agni, Vayu and Surya, but does not
pursue this idea further. He prefers the point of view put forth by Roth, praising the
ascetic. Other scholars also appear to follow the same line. The purpose of this note is to
provide an alternate explanation of the s#kta, based on the traditional explanations of
Nirukta and B=haddevata, taking the clue from where the Nirukta left off.
II Who is the Ke^in?
Nirukta clearly says ke^@ ra^maya*: That means by long hair rays are meant, for
k@^an@rdv@ prak@^an@rdv@ on account of shining. That means Ke^in refers to that entity
which has long hair and shines. What object has this characteristic? It is a Comet! It does
not refer to Agni, Surya or Vayu, or to the longhaired ascetic. It refers to a Comet. It may
be noted that the word Comet itself is derived from the Greek word for hair. This entire
s#kta is about Comets. The =ks become more understandable from the point of view of
Comets and what might have appeared to be a little stretch to understand with reference
to a long haired ascetic, now yields to a smooth rendering. The following section gives a
translation of the =ks from this new point of view. The available translations have been
consulted and for each mantra, the translation which appears to fit best in the context of
Comets is given below
III. S#kta RV X. 136 and its Translation
Ke^yagni> ke^$ vi&a> ke^$ bibharti rodas$ |
Ke^$ vi^va> svard=^e ke^$dam jyotirucyate || 1 ||
“Kesin bears fire, Kesin bears water, and the Kesin fills heaven and earth.
Kesin is the entire sky to look upon. Kesin is called the light.”
[ Translation based on Bose and Muir]
Clearly this mantra describes the appearance of a Comet. Kesin is the comet with a tail.
The comet shines with a fiery and watery appearance and its tail stretches across the sky
Munayo v@tara^an@* pi^a<g@ vasate mal@ |
v@tasy@nu dhr@jim y@nti yaddev@so avik&ata || 2 ||
“The munis who are wind-clad, wear brown and soiled garments.
They follow the course of the wind. They go where the gods have gone before.”
[Translation based on Muir and Bose]
Again this refers to the loosely attached tails of the Comets by describing the Comets as
wind clad. Scholars have generally translated ‘muni’ as the silent ascetic. However, the
other meaning of muni, alluded to by S@ya%a, as one driven by pressure or impulse is
more appropriate here and in the next mantra. The appearance of the tail is brownish and
dirty and the path is across the sky, where the gods have gone before.
unm@dit@* mauneyenav@t@n @ tasthim@ vayam |
^ar$red asm@kam y#yam mart@so abhi pa^yatha || 3 ||
“Transported by impulses (=munis), we have pursued the winds with ecstasy.
Only those bodies of ours are what you mortals ever see.”
[Translation based on Muir and Bose]
antarik&e%a patati vi^v@r#p@ avac@ka^at |
munirdevasya devasya sauk=ty@ya sakh@ hita* || 4 ||
“The muni flies through the mid air exhibiting varied forms.
He is the friend and associate of every god in doing good.”
[Translation based on Bose]
Here, S@ya%a’s explanation for avac@ka^at = svatejas@ dar^ayan exhibiting by its own
radiance appears to be better suited.
v@tasy@^vo v@yo*sakh@ atho deve&ito muni* |
ubhau samudr@v@ k&eti ya^ca p#rva ut@para* || 5 ||
“The muni, impelled by the gods, the steed of the wind, the friend of vayu, finds his
home in both the oceans, eastern and western.”
[Translation based on Muir, Griffith and Bose]
S@ya%a explains a^va* = vy@pta*, v@yureva tasy@h@ra* iti, vayu is his food.
apsaras@m gandhrv@%@m m=g@%@m cara%e caran |
ke^$ ketasya vidv@n tsakh@ sv@durmadintama* || 6 ||
“Treading the path of apsarasas, the gandharvas, and the deer, the Kesin is aware of our
wish and a sweet most delightful friend.”
[Translation based on Bose]
v@yur asmai up@manthat pina&{i sma kunannam@ |
ke^$ vi&asya p@tre%a yad rudre%@pibat saha || 7 ||
“Agitated by the wind, the Kesin pounds on things hard to bend and breaks them down
by means of the vessel of water (visha) which he drank with Rudra.”
[Translation based on Muir]
 Mantras 3-7 describe the paths of comets as seen by humans, together with some
associated effects. The only bodies of the Comets visible are those which appear to be
excited as if driven by wind. The word muni (= impulse driven ) can also be taken to
mean a Comet. Though a Comet is generally considered to be a bad omen, it is not
always so. Thus we have in mantra 4, that it is ‘friend and associate of every god doing
good’. One can compare this with the statement of Varahamihira [8] regarding comets in
B=hatsa>hita (XI.8), “subhik&a saukhy@va* ketu*.” ‘the comet brings an abundance of
food crops and happiness.’
The next couple of mantras describe the various paths of comets. The comets can be
found in any part of the sky. They might appear to be touching the horizon, so they are
described as finding home in both eastern and western oceans. Their paths can lie among
stars, so they follow the paths of apsaras and gandharvas. The use of m=g@%@m is
suggestive. It would refer to the constellation of m=ga^iras. For the last mantra S@ya%a
explains: s#ryama%dale ghan$bh#tam tadudakam v@yur upamamanth@ti, it breaks
down the solidified water into vapor form in the sky. It is tempting to offer that the tail of
the Comet itself arises because of the radiation pressure from the Sun. It must be admitted
that the reference to Rudra’s drinking (poison?) is not clear.
IV. Conclusions
It is suggested that this s#kta may be best interpreted as referring to Comets. The
graphic description in terms of loosely bound and flowing hair stretching across the sky
for the smoky fiery nature of the tail, and in terms of the path of the gandharv@s and
apsarasa s all make sense. The fact that Comets are also indicators of good things to
come also finds support. This s#kta would be among the earliest references to Comets in
Vedic literature.
References
[1] Griffith, Ralph, The Hymns of the Rgveda, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi
(1973), p 636.
[2] Muir, J, Original Sanskrit Texts, Oriental Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi,
(1976), Part IV, p 318.
[3] Von Roth, quoted in Muir, ibid.
[4] Panikkar, R, Mantra Manjari
[5] Bose, Avinash C., Hymns from the Vedas, Asia Publishing House, New York,
(1965), p 156.
[6] Lakshman Sarup, The Nighantu and The Nirukta, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers,
Delhi, (1984) p 214
[7] Mitra, Rajendralala, Brihad-Devata: An Index to the gods of Rigveda, Saunaka,
Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta (1893).
[8] Bhat, M. Ramakrishna ,Varahamihira’s Brihat Samhita, Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers, Delhi (1995), Part I, p. 125