The Gṛtsamadas of Book II of the Rigveda, The Organization of the Rigveda

 

The Gṛtsamadas of Book II of the Rigveda,

The Organization of the Rigveda

Shrikant G. Talageri

 

The Rigveda, as we saw in my earlier article "The Final Version of the chronological Gulf Between the Old Rigveda and the New Rigveda", consists of two distinct eras, the period of the Old Rigveda and the period of the New Rigveda, separated from each other by a chronological gulf during which huge changes took place in the vocabulary and culture of the text.

 

Within the Old Rigveda, again, there are two periods, represented by the Oldest Books (6,3,7) and the Middle Books (4,2) separated from each other by changes in vocabulary and culture.

The Middle Books represent an interregnum between the Oldest Books and the New Rigveda. But the two books of this period present us with a study in contrast.

Book 4 clearly forms a closer continuum with the Oldest Books, being basically a continuation or culmination of the grand historical period of expansion of the Bharata Pūru dynasty and sub-tribe:

 

1. The historical kings and people of the early Bharata dynasty are clearly the kings of this earlier epoch (6,3,7,4):

a) The eponymous ancestral Bharata is referred to in the first and oldest Book 6: in VI.16.4.

b) The next oldest ancestor, Devavāta, less mythical, also belongs to the period of Book 6. He is mentioned in all the four books, but never later:

VI. 27.7.

III. 23.2,3.

VII. 18.22.

IV. 15.4.

c) His son or close descendant, Sṛñjaya, also belonging to the period of Book 6, is mentioned in the first and last of the four books:

VI. 27.7;  47.25.

IV. 15.4.

He is also referred to by the epithet Vadhryaśva ("impotent") in VI.61.1, which refers to this impotent king begetting a son only by the blessings of the Sarasvati. In the last and latest book, this epithet is treated in one hymn as his name: X.69.1,2,4,5,9,10,11,12.

e) his son Divodāsa is the hero of Book 6, which, although it does not refer directly to his son Pratardana, refers to a son or descendant as Prātardanī in VI.26.8. [Later Book VII also refers to his further descendant Sudās as Pratṛda in VII.33.14].

 

2. The four books, even as they provide us with plenty of religious data, give us a step-by-step narration of the expansionist activities of the Bharatas from their homeland in Haryana right up to Afghanistan: 

a) The first book Book 6, is located entirely to the east of the Punjab, around the Sarasvati river in Haryana. It refers to the Sarasvati (VI.49.7; 50.12; 52.6; 61.1-7,10,11,13,14), and its tributaries the Hariyūpīyā and Yavyāvatī (VI.27.5 and 6 respectively), and to the Gaṅgā in the east (VI.45.31). This book records the first historical battle (the battle of Hariyūpīyā) in which Sṛñjaya (the father of Divodāsa) and the Anus were allies.

b) The second book, Book 3, in the much later time of Divodāsa's descendant Sudās, records the performance of a yajña (III.53) by Viśvāmitra (first priest of Sudās), after which the Bharatas under Sudās expand westwards and cross the first two (from the east) rivers of the Punjab, the Vipāṣ and the Śutudrī (III.33.1).

c) The third book, Book 7, soon afterwards, show Sudās and the Bharatas expanding further westwards, under the new priest Vasiṣṭha, and fighting the Dāśarājña battle (the battle of the ten kings) on the banks of the third (from the east) river of the Punjab, the Paruṣṇī (VII.18.8,9), their enemies being described as the people of the Asiknī (VII.5.3), the fourth (from the east) river of the Punjab.

d) Much later, in the fourth book, Book 4, Sahadeva and his son Somaka (the descendants of Sudās) take the battle as far west as Afghanistan, fighting the Vārṣāgira battle on the banks of the Sarayu (IV.30.18).

 

On the other hand, the fifth book, Book 2  clearly represents a later period when all the battle dust has settled down, and, while the Gṛtsamadas are still the priests of the Bharatas, they are engaged not in conflict-activities but in a consolidation of the Vedic religion. As, in the later Mahabharata, there is a Śāntī Parva period, after the war, a period of peace, relative harmony, religious and administrative organization, and reconciliation and synthesis with the former enemies, Book 2 of the Rigveda, in a sense, represents the same kind of interregnum period between the earlier tumultuous Era of Bharata Expansion, and the later period of the New Rigveda with its great cultural and technological developments. As I put it in my second book in 2000: "While the early part of the Middle Period of the Rigveda represents a continuation and culmination of the Indo-Iranian conflicts of the Early Period, the later part (Maṇḍala II and corresponding parts of the upa- maṇḍalas) is a period of peace in which the two people develop their religions and cultures in their respective areas [….] The later part of the Middle Period is thus a transitional period between the earlier period of Indo-Iranian conflicts, and the later period of general peace and religious development" (TALAGERI 2000:215).

 

The contrast between Book 4 and Book 2 cannot be better illustrated than by pointing out that Book 4 (with its westward thrust) is the only book of the Rigveda which does not refer even once to the Sarasvati, while Book 2 is the only book which does not refer to any other river except the Sarasvati.

Further, while the references to the Three Great Goddesses (tisro devī) of the Sarasvati area (Iḷā, Bhāratī, Sarasvatī) are found once in each of the ten āprī-sūktas of the ten families of composers of the Rigveda (in I.13.9; 142.9; 188.8;  II.3.8;  III.4.8;  V.5.8;  VII.2.8;  IX.5.8;  X.70.8; 110.8), the only place outside these ten āprī-sūktas where there is a reference to them is in II.35.5 (and, according to Jamison, also in II.5.5).

 

There are two aspects to the special or unique place of Book 2 in the Rigveda, which will involve a discussion of various other issues, in the following two sections:

I. The Pūru-Anu or Aṅgiras-Bhṛgu or Indo-Iranian saga.

II. The Formalization and Organization of Vedic Priesthood.

 

Section I. The Pūru-Anu or Aṅgiras-Bhṛgu or "Indo-Iranian" saga.

The three northwestern branches of the Aiḷa tribal conglomerations (the Druhyu, Anu and Pūru, who form the ancestral linguistic strands of the twelve recognized branches of Indo-European languages), as pointed out in my books and blogs, had three similar but originally mutually unfriendly classes of priests: (to give their Vedic names) the druh(yu), bhṛgu/atharvan and aṅgiras respectively.

The vestiges of the names of these three priestly classes are directly or indirectly found in many IE branches:

a) In Rigvedic druh(yu), Celtic drui(d), Avestan druj, Greek dryad, and various Indo-European words for "friend/enemy/hostility" and "troops".

b) In Rigvedic bhṛgu and atharvan, Avestan āθrauuan, Greek phleguai, Phrygian bryge/phryge, Germanic bragi, Celtic brigid, etc.

c) In Rigvedic aṅgiras, Avestan aṅgra, Greek angelos, etc.

 

That these were the three priestly classes is reiterated by the fact that the Aṅgiras based Rigveda and the Bhṛgu/Atharvan based Avesta treat the other two (of the three) as coincident enemies:

a) In VII.18.6 in the Rigveda, the composer refers to the priests of the two main enemy tribal divisions as bhṛgavo druhyava ("bhṛgus and druhyus", at the same time punning on the related meaning of the word "priest"="friend" by calling them each other's sakhā). In two other verses (VII.18.12 and 14), he refers to the tribal names anu druhyu and anavo druhyava respectively ("anus and druhyus"), and, in the first of the two, refers to the king of the coalition as kavaṣam vṛddham ("old kavaṣa", kaoša being a prominent Iranian name in the Avesta as well).

b) In the Avesta, in Vendidad 19, it is an angra and a druj who try to tempt Zaraθuštra away from the path of Ahura Mazda. The priests of the Iranians were the āθrauuans (atharvans or Bhṛgus), including Zaraθuštra himself.

 

And that the three groups of priests represented originally a common kind of priesthood is also clear: Shan M.M. Winn notes that "India, Rome, Ireland and Iran" are the "areas in which priesthoods are known to have been significant" (WINN 1995:102) and "Celts, Romans and Indo-Iranians shared a religious heritage dating to an early Indo-European period"  (WINN 1995:103). As he elaborates: "Long after the dispersion of Indo-Europeans, we find a priestly class in Britain in the west, in Italy to the South, and in India and Iran to the east.  Though these cultures are geographically distant from one another [...] they have striking similarities in priestly ritual, and even in religious terminology.  For example, taboos pertaining to the Roman flāmen (priest) closely correspond to the taboos observed by the Brahmans, the priests of India." (WINN 1995:102). Like the Indian priesthood, the curriculum of the "Celtic Druids [….] involved years of instruction and the memorization of innumerable verses, as the sacred tradition was an oral one" (WINN 1995:54).

 

Here we are not concerned with the druhyu priests, but with the two others so important in "Indo-Iranian" history, and particularly with the bhṛgus. In my second book in 2000 (TALAGERI 2000:164-180), I have given the full story of the aṅgiras-bhṛgu love-hate relationship and will give the most salient points here in :

STAGE 1: In the earliest (pre-Rigvedic) period, the bhṛgu (priests of the Anus or Proto-Iranians, who, of course at that time had nothing to do with Iran or Afghanistan and were still part and parcel of the northwestern Indian area) were the priests who initiated fire-worship among the Indo-European groups. In The Old Rigveda and for that matter even in Book 1, eleven of the twelve references to the bhṛgus by that name refer only to these ancient bhṛgus revering them for being the ones who introduced fire-worship (and, by implication, fire itself) to mankind:

I.58.6;  60.1;  127.7;  143.4.

II.4.2.

III.2.4;  5.10.

IV.7.1,4;  16.20.

VI.15.2.

The one single contemporary reference is in VII.18.6, which refers to the bhṛgu sub-tribe and priestly class among the Anus, in the coalition against Sudās in the dāśarājña battle, as enemies.

 

The concept or historical memory of the bhṛgus being the initiators of fire worship, and being in several senses the originators or possessors of high knowledge, is found throughout the Indo-European world:

a) The Old Rigveda reveres the pre-Rigvedic bhṛgus for their contributions, even when the contemporary bhṛgus are priests of the Anu enemies.

b) In the Avesta, the fire-ceremony priests are the āθrauuan (as are the atharvans in the New Rigveda and Redacted Hymns).

c) The Greeks referred to fire-worshipping priests as phleguai.

d) In Celtic mythology, one of the three Great Goddesses was Brigid (another of the three being Anu!), and while all the Goddesses in general were associated with fertility cults, “Brigit, however, had additional functions as a tutelary deity of learning, culture and skills” (LAROUSSE 1959:239). Most significantly, Brigit is primarily associated with the maintenance of eternal fires, like the eternal fires of the Iranian priests (and the eternal fire referred to in the Rigveda III.23), and this was the central feature of her main temple at Kildare in Ireland, where eternal flames were maintained by priestesses.

e) In Germanic mythology, the Norse god of poetry and wisdom is Bragi, and although he is not directly associated with fire rituals, a suggested etymology of his name, often rejected simply because he is not known to be associated with fire or fire rituals, is from the word braga, “to shine”: i.e. his name is cognate to the name bhṛgu.    

 

There is one particular  (already mythical) ancient sage, among the bhṛgus, who finds reverent mention in the Old Rigveda. This is Uśanā Kāvya or Kavi Uśanas. He is praised in:

VI. 20.11.

IV. 16.2;  26.1.

As I pointed out in my recent article on Kavi Cāyamāna, Uśanā Kāvya is an ancient pre-Rigvedic bhṛgu sage highly revered throughout the Rigveda and other Vedic and post-Vedic texts, and also in the Avesta, where he is called Kauui Usan and is lauded in the Bahrām Yašt (Yt.14.39) and Ābān Yašt (Yt.5.45).

He is found in later Indian mythological renderings of the Deva-Asura conflict as the head-priest of the asuras (also called Uśanas Śukra or Śukrācārya), while the head-priest of the devas is Bṛhaspati Āṅgiras. The tradition of bhṛgus being the originators or possessors of high knowledge is reiterated in the puranic and epic stories, where Uśanas Śukra is the sole knower of a special and powerful mantra or technique (the sañjīvanī mantra) which enables him to bring the dead back to life, and the devas, and their priests the aṅgiras, have to indulge in trickery with the help of Kaca (son of Bṛhaspati) to obtain that knowledge.

STAGE 2: In the Middle Period of the Rigveda, two major developments take place:

1. One group of bhṛgu priests, led by Jamadagni and Parśurāma, or their descendants, breaks away from the others and from the Anus (Proto-Iranians), and becomes affiliated to the Pūrus (Vedic Indo-Aryans).

2. One group of aṅgiras priests called the gṛtsamadas, descendants of Śunahotra Bhāradvāja (composer of VI.33-34), perhaps somewhat for the same purpose as Kaca in the later epic-puranic stories, gets itself adopted into the family of a bhṛgu sage, a descendant of Śunaka Bhārgava. They are the composers of Book 2 of the Rigveda, whose  identity is put as "gṛtsamada śunahotra āṅgiras paścāt śunaka bhārgava".

[Incidentally, is it just a coincidence that the word datta- "given, adopted" is found in the Rigveda only from Book 2 (the book of the "adopted" priests who were "given" special priestly knowledge by the family which adopted them)? the word in all its forms is found as follows:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 33.2;  38.11.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

III. 53.15.

V. 29.2;  54.13.

I. 32.3;  34.6;  116.13;  117.7,8,24;  118.9;  126.3;  139.7;  145.3;  163.1.

VIII. 26.12;  45.42;  47.6;  59.6;  92.18.

IX. 96.1.

X. 16.2;  31.11;  51.8;  84.7;  85.33;  97.19,21;  107.1].

While the bhṛgu priests who become affiliated to the Pūrus, do not yet have full-fledged recognition in the corpus of the Rigveda (which they get only at the time of the New Rigveda), these aṅgiras-turned-bhṛgu priests, the gṛtsamadas, have a Book to themselves and a separate āpṛī-sūkta as "kevala-bhṛgu" (i.e. "only bhṛgu", indicating that they are not actually descendants of "bhṛgu" through a line of descent but only adopted into that family) and become the most important family of composers in the Middle Period, and set the course for the organization, systemization and consolidation of the Vedic priestly religious system in a period of comparative peace and within the confines of the core area around the Sarasvati river, as we will see in section 2.

[To clarify: the āprī-sūkta in the Rigveda identifies a group as a separate "family", and there are ten āprī-sūktas indicating that there are ten "families":

1.   I.13:  kaṇva (kevala- āṅgiras).
2.   I.142:  aṅgiras.
3.   I.188:  agastya.
4.   II.3:  gṛtsamada (kevala-bhṛgu)
5.   III.4:  viśvāmitra.
6.   V.5:  atri.
7.   VII.2:  vasiṣṭha.
8.   IX.5:  kaśyapa.
9.   X.70:  bharata.
10. X.110:  bhṛgu]

However, they are present in the Rigveda because of their aṅgiras pedigree and their affiliation to the Bharata Pūrus, and not their present aṅgiras-turned-bhṛgu status, and make this abundantly clear: they identify themselves only as śaunahotras (II.18.6;  41.14,17) and never as śaunakas.  They refer frequently to aṅgirases (II.11.20;  15.8;  17.1;  20.5;  23.18) but, as in the other Old Books, bhṛgus are referred to only once (II.4.2) as the initiators of fire-worship. They refer only to their actual ancestral aṅgiras, Bṛhaspati (who is deified in four whole hymns, II.23-26) and never to the ancestral bhṛgu, Uśanā. Also for the first time in the Old Rigveda, hymns are attributed to a bhṛgu composer, Somāhuti Bhārgava (II.4-7), who finds it expedient to make clear his (new) affiliation with the Bharata Pūrus: (in II.7.1,5, where he identifies Agni as a Bharata or as belonging to the Bharatas).

 

STAGE 3: In this stage, there is a turnaround in the fortunes and importance of the bhṛgu family which joined up with the Pūrus and Vedic culture.

In the Old Rigveda (as well as in Books 1 and 5), as we saw, all the references to bhṛgus were to the ancient pre-Rigvedic bhṛgus who initiated fire-worship, except for the one contemporary reference in VII.18.8 which refers to the contemporary bhṛgus of the period as enemies.

In that same Old Rigveda, the aṅgiras priests are undoubtedly the high priests of the Rigveda. They are referred to in glowing terms and are clearly the heroes and protagonist ṛṣis of these Old Books (as well as of Books 1 and 5).

The aṅgiras, throughout the Rigveda, in both the Old Rigveda as well as the New Rigveda, are mentioned in many different contexts. Compare the following references in the Old Rigveda (as well as in Books 1 and 5) to the aṅgiras, with the references (already described above) to the bhṛgu in the Old Rigveda  (and in Books 1 and 5):

a. Even the Gods are referred to as aṅgiras: Agni (I.1.6;  31.1,2,17;  74.5;  75.2;  127.2;   IV.3.15;  9.7;   V.8.4;  10.7;  11.6;  21.1;   VI.2.10;  11.3;  16.11), Indra (I.100.4;  130.3), the Aśvins (I.112.8) and Uṣas (VII.75.1;  79.3).

b. The ancient aṅgiras as a class are deified as a semi-divine race participating in Indra's celestial activities (I.62.1-3,5;  83.4;   II.11.20;  15.8;  17.1;  20.5;  23.18; IV.3.11;  16.8;  V.45.7,8;   VI.17.6;  65.5). As already pointed out, Bṛhaspati is deified in four whole hymns, II.23-26.

In a corollary to this, special classes of semi-divine aṅgiras, called navagvas and daśagvas, are also described as sharing in Indra's battles. (see Griffith's footnote to I.33.6). They are referred to in 8 hymns and verses (I.33.6;  62.4;   II.34.12;   III.39.5;   IV.51.4;   V.29.12;  45.7;   VI.6.3).

Likewise, the ṛbhus, a group of three pre-Rigvedic aṅgiras sages, three brothers named Ṛbhu, Vāja and Vibhvan, are also deified.  They are collectively known as ṛbhus, but, rarely, also as Vājas.  They are the deities of eleven whole hymns (I.20,  110-111,  161;   III.60;   IV.33-37;   VII.48). They are, in addition, lauded or invoked in 30 other verses distributed throughout the Rigveda.

c. The aṅgiras are invoked as a class of Gods themselves, in the company of other classes of Gods like the Adityas, Maruts and Vasus (III.53.7;   VII.44.4) or as representatives of priesthood as a whole (VII.42.1).

d. The eponymous aṅgiras (I.45.3;  78.3;  139.9;   III.31.7,19;   IV.40.1;   VI.49.11;  73.1) or the aṅgiras as a whole (I.51.3;  132.4;  139.7;   VII.52.3) are referred to as the recipients of the special favors of the Gods.

e. And finally, many verses, by composers belonging to the aṅgiras family, refer to themselves by the name (I.71.2;  107.2;  121.1,3;   IV.2.15;   VI.18.5;  35.5).

 

The difference between the references to the bhṛgu and the references to the aṅgiras is that the references to the aṅgiras are uniform throughout the Rigveda, while the references to the bhṛgu in the Old Rigveda (and even in Books 1 and 5) and the references to them in the latest Books (Books 8-10) of the New Rigveda show two different patterns: in the latest Books of the New Rigveda, the bhṛgu are now part of the Vedic priesthood, and the references to them are now analogous to the references to the aṅgiras:

The bhṛgu are referred to in ten hymns (12 verses) in Books 8-10:

a. In some references, the bhṛgu and the aṅgiras are specifically classed together (VIII.6.18;  43.14; as well as in X.14.6 below).

b. The ancient bhṛgu are deified as a semi-divine race participating in the celestial activities of the Gods (VIII.3.16;   IX.101.13).

c. The bhṛgu are specifically referred to as Gods (X.92.10) and named alongwith other classes of Gods such as the Maruts (VIII.35.3;   X.122.5).

d. The eponymous bhṛgu (VIII.3.9) is referred to as a recipient of the special favours of the Gods.

e. There are also, of course, the references which refer to the introduction of the fire ritual by the bhṛgu (X.39.14;  46.2,9; as well as X.122.5 above); and in one reference, a bhṛgu composer refers to his ancestors (X.14.6).

 

STAGE 4: Here I am only going to quote wholesale from my book "The Rigveda - A Historical Analysis" (TALAGERI 2000:174-179)

The bhṛgus, outside the Vedic pale for most of the period of the Rigveda, were accepted into the Vedic mainstream only towards the end of the Rigvedic period.

However, in the post-Rigvedic period, there is a sudden miraculous transformation in their status and position.

The bhṛgus were clearly a very enterprising and dynamic family (if their ancient role in the introduction of fundamental rituals is a pointer), and, once they were accepted into the Vedic mainstream, they rapidly became an integral part of this mainstream.  In fact, before long they took charge of the whole Vedic tradition, and became the most important of all the families of Vedic ṛṣis.

The extent of their domination is almost incredible, and it starts with a near monopoly over the Vedic Samhita literature itself: the only recession of the Rigveda that is extant today is a bhṛgu recession (śākala); one (and the more important one) of the two extant recensions of the Atharvaveda is a bhṛgu recension (śaunaka); one (and the most important one) of the three extant recensions of the Sāmaveda is a bhṛgu recension (jaiminīya); and one (and the most important one among the four Kṛṣṇa or Black recensions) of the six extant recensions of the Yajurveda is a bhṛgu recension (taittirīya).

The bhṛgus are the only family to have extant recessions of all the four Vedas (next come the vasiṣṭhas with extant recessions of two; other families have either one extant recession or none).

Not only is the only extant recession of the Rigveda a bhṛgu recession, but nearly every single primary text on the Rigveda, and on its subsidiary aspects, is by a bhṛgu.

a. The Padapāṭha (śākalya).
b. The Anukramaṇīs or Indices (śaunaka).
c. The Bṛhaddevatā or Compendium of Vedic Myths (śaunaka).
d. The Ṛgvidhāna (śaunaka).
e. The Aṣṭādhyāyī or Compendium of Grammar (pāṇinī).
f. The Nirukta or Compendium of Etymology (yāska).

Later on in time, the founder of the one system (among the six systems of Hindu philosophy), the Pūrva Mīmāṁsā, which lays stress on Vedic ritual, is also a bhṛgu (jaimini).

The dominance of the bhṛgus continues in the Epic-Puranic period: the author of the Rāmāyaṇa is a bhṛgu (vālmīki). The author of the Mahābhārata, vyāsa, is not a bhṛgu (he is a vasiṣṭha), but his primary disciple vaiśampāyana, to whom vyāsa recounts the entire epic, and who is then said to have related it at Janamejaya's sacrifice, whence it was recorded for posterity, is a bhṛgu. Moreover, as Sukhtankar has conclusively proved ("The Bhṛgus and the Bhārata, Annals of the Bhandarkar Research Institute, Pune, XVIII, p.1-76), the bhṛgus were responsible for the final development and shaping of the Mahābhārata as we know it today.

In the Puranas, the only ṛṣi to be accorded the highest dignity that Hindu mythology can give any person — the status of being recognised as an avatāra of Viṣṇu — is a bhṛgu (Parśu-rāma, son of Jamadagni).

The bhṛgus are accorded the primary position in all traditional lists of pravaras and gotras; and in the Bhagavadgītā, Krishna proclaims: "Among the Great Rṣis, I am bhṛgu; and among words I am the sacred syllable OM". (Bhagavadgītā, X.25).

In fact, down the ages, it is persons from bhṛgu gotras who appear to have given shape to the most distinctive and prominent positions of Hindu thought on all aspects of life: Kāma, Artha, Dharma and Mokṣa; from Vātsyāyana to Kauṭilya to Ādi Śankarācārya.

 

To sum up:

The bhṛgus clearly occupy a very peculiar position in Indian tradition and history.

An American scholar, Robert P. Goldman, in a detailed study of the history of the bhṛgus as it appears from the myths in the Mahābhārata, makes some significant observations. According to him:

The mythology clearly "sets the bhṛgus apart from the other brahmanical clans[…] The myths [….] unequivocally mark the Bhṛgus as a group set apart from their fellow brahmans" (GOLDMAN 1977:4).

The characteristic feature which sets the bhṛgus apart is "open hostility to the gods themselves [….] One of the greatest of the Bhṛgus is everywhere said to have served as the priest and chaplain of the asuras, the demon enemies of heaven and of order (dharma)" (GOLDMAN 1977:5).

After analyzing various myths involving the most prominent bhṛgu ṛṣis, Goldman again reiterates his point that "hostility emerges as the more characteristic phenomenon, and the one that most clearly sets the group apart from the other famous sages and priestly families of Indian myth [….] the motifs of hostility, violence and curses between gods and sages [….] are virtually definitive of the Bhārgava cycle" (GOLDMAN 1977:114-5).

And "the association of the sage Śukra with the asuras is one of the strangest peculiarities of the Bhārgava corpus" (GOLDMAN 1977:120).

At the same time, the traditions record certain ambiguous moments in this hostility where it appears that "the Bhārgava seems unable to decide between the asuras and their foes on any consistent basis" (GOLDMAN 1977:127)..

There is, for example, "a myth that is anomalous [….] at the request of Siva, Rāma, although he was unskilled at arms, undertakes to do battle against the asuras [….] He does so, and, having slain all the asuras, he receives the divine weapons that he wishes" (GOLDMAN 1977:122-3). Here, it must be noted, Rāma (Parśu-rāma) is actually "said to associate with the gods, and, especially, to fight their battles with the asuras" (GOLDMAN 1977:123).

And even in "the long and complex saga of Śukra and the asuras, Śukra is twice said to have abandoned the, demons to their fate, and even to have cursed them [….] the first time he appears to have been motivated simply by a desire to join the gods and assist at their sacrifice" (GOLDMAN 1977:126).

 

Goldman, therefore, arrives at two conclusions:

1. "The identification of Śukra as the purohita and protector of the asuras may shed some light on some of the most basic problems of early Indian and even early Indo-Iranian religion. If, as has been suggested on the basis of the Iranian evidence, the asuras were the divinities of Aryans for whom, perhaps, the devas were demons, then Śukra and perhaps the Bhārgavas were originally their priests" (GOLDMAN 1977:146).

2. "The repeated theme of Śukra and his disciples' [….] ultimate disillusionment with the demons and their going over to the side of the gods may also be viewed as suggestive of a process of absorption of this branch of the Bhṛgus into the ranks of the orthodox brahmins" (GOLDMAN 1977:146).

Goldman's conclusions fully agree with our analysis of the position of the bhṛgus in the Rigveda: in short, the traditional Indian myths about the bhṛgus, as recorded in the Epics and Puranas, conjure up a historical picture which tallies closely with the historical picture which emerges from any logical analysis of the information in the hymns of the Rigveda.

What is particularly worthy of note is that these myths, and these hymns, have been faithfully preserved for posterity by a priesthood dominated by none other than the bhṛgus themselves — i.e. the bhṛgus of the post-Rigvedic era!

And it is clear that these later bhṛgus, even as they faithfully recorded and maintained hymns and myths which showed their ancestors in a peculiar or questionable light, were puzzled about the whole situation. As Goldman puts it: "That one of the greatest Bhārgava sages should regularly champion the asuras, the forces of chaos and evil — in short, of adharma — against the divine personifications of dharma is perplexing and has no non-Bhārgava parallel in the literature. The origin of the relationship was evidently puzzling to the epic redactors themselves, for the question is raised at least twice in the Mahābhārata. In neither case is the answer given wholly satisfactory" (GOLDMAN 1977:125).

 

We have one advantage over the redactors of the Mahābhārata — we have the evidence of the Avesta before us:

1. The Avesta clearly represents the opposite side in the conflict:

a. In the Avesta, the Asuras (Ahura) are the Gods, and Devas (Daēva) are the demons.

b. Here also the bhṛgus or atharvans (āthravans) are associated with the Asuras (Ahura), and the aṅgiras (angra) with the Devas (Daēva).

2. The Avesta also shows the movement of a group from among the āthravans towards the side of the Deva-worshippers: there are two groups of āthravan priests in the Avesta, the kavis and the spitamas, and it is clear that the kavis had moved over to the enemies: the kavis as a priestly class are regularly condemned throughout the Avesta, right from the Gāthās of Zarathuštra onwards, and it is clear that they are regarded as a race of priests who have joined the ranks of the enemies even before the period of Zarathuštra himself.

The name kavi has two more connotations in the Avesta:

a) The pre-Avestan (and pre-Rigvedic) Kauui Usan (Kavi Uśanā or Uśanā Kāvya of the Vedic texts) is lauded in the Bahrām Yašt (Yt.14.39) and Ābān Yašt (Yt.5.45).

b) Also, a dynasty (the most important dynasty in Avestan and Zoroastrian history) of kings, the Kauuiiān dynasty, is twice lauded in the Avesta, in the Farvardīn Yašt (Yt.13.121) and the Zamyād Yašt (Yt.19.71). The kings of this dynasty, named in these Yašts, include Kauuii Kavāta (Kaikobād of later times) and Kauui Usadhan (Kaikaus of later times, who is regularly confused, in later traditions, with the above Kauui Usan).

Hence, it is not the  āthravans as a whole who are the protagonist priests of the Avesta, it is only the Spitama branch of the  āthravans.  Hence, also, the name of the Good Spirit in the Avesta, opposed to the Bad Spirit Angra Mainyu (a name clearly derived from the name of the aṅgiras), is Spenta Mainyu (a name clearly derived from the name of the Spitamas).

 

Section II. The Formalization and Organization of Vedic Priesthood.

The earliest seeds of the Vedic religion and of all PIE religions (nature-worship and particularly fire-worship), as we already saw, were earlier sown by the pre-Rigvedic bhṛgus in pre-Rigvedic times. In the period of the New Rigveda, the enterprising bhṛgus , after they became a part of the Vedic priestly system, first introduced and organized the other most well-known aspect of Vedic religion (the Soma cult) along with the kaśyapas. And, still later, they (i.e. the bhṛgus) organized most of the religious customs and rituals and concepts associated with funerary rites (mainly noticed in Book 10).

The aṅgiras, though the most important and dominant family in the Rigveda, played a very minor role, if any, in actually introducing or organizing any aspect of Vedic religion. In this matter, four other families which appear only in the New Rigveda (the agastyas of distant origin, the bharatas of royal origin, and the atris and kaṇvas, both of cosmopolitan origin) also played a similar minor role in the organization of Vedic religion.

The evidence in the Rigveda shows that the particular type of religion and priestly system, and the organizational structure, of the Rigveda were formalized and organized mainly by three families: in the Oldest Period (Books 6, 3, 7), the earliest seeds of this organization were laid by the viśvāmitras (of Book 3) and vasiṣṭhas (of Book 7), and in the Middle Period (Books 4, 2) it was completed or carried out by the gṛtsamadas (Book 2). In fact, as the Rigvedic data elaborated in this section will show, the pioneering role of the gṛtsamadas, in the different aspects of Vedic ritual and religion as we know it, is breathtakingly phenomenal in its sweep.

It is no coincidence that the only three āprī-sūktas (family identity hymns) in the Old Rigveda are those of the viśvāmitras (III. 4), vasiṣṭhas (VII. 2), and gṛtsamadas (II. 3).

 

The religious system in the time of the pre-Sudās Book 6, in the region of the Sarasvati river in Haryana, was a simple one, but it developed under the activities of these three families, and particularly the gṛtsamadas of Book 2. We will examine this under the following heads:

A. The Basic Unit-names of the Rigveda.

B. The God of Vedic Priesthood.

C. The Extension of Priestly Services to the Common Householder.

D. The Most Sacred Verse in the Rigveda.

E. The Vedic Priestly Categories.

F. A Transition From Chanting to Singing?

G. The Funeral Rites and Rituals.

H. Medicine and Healing.

I. Wedding Rituals and Astronomy/Astrology.

J. Birth Related Rituals.

K. The Pristine Position of Book 6.

A. The Basic Unit-names of the Rigveda:

The Rigveda is divided into 10 Books called maṇḍalas (or sometimes into 8 near-equal divisions called aṣṭakas) which consist of 1028 hymns called sūktas, which consist of 10552 verses called mantras.

The words maṇḍala (and aṣṭaka) are missing in the whole of the Rigveda, and the words sūkta and mantra are missing in the two Oldest Books 6 and 3, as well as in Book 4. The two words seem to have been coined by the vasiṣṭhas and taken forward by the gṛtsamadas, and are found as follows:

sūkta:

OLD RIGVEDA:

VII. 29.3;  58.6;  65.1;  68.9.

II. 6.2;  18.3;  23.19;  24.16.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VI. 52.17.

VII. 66.12.

V. 45.4;  49.2,5;  82.7.

I. 36.1;  42.10;  70.5;  93.1;  171.1.

VIII. 44.2.

IX. 9.8;  90.6;  91.5.

X. 61.26;  65.14;  88.7,8.

mantra:

OLD RIGVEDA:

VII. 7.6;  76.4.

II. 35.2.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VI. 50.14.

III. 53.8.

VII. 32.13.

I. 20.4;  31.13;  40.5,6;  67.4,5;  74.1;  147.4;  152.2;  164.10.

IX. 112.4;  114.2.

X. 14.4;  50.4,6;  88.4;  95.1;  106.11;  134.7;  191.3.

 

But the gṛtsamadas went further: they coined a special new word, ṛc (ṛk/ ṛg), for the verses of the Rigveda (perhaps to distinguish them from the verses composed by others like the Proto-Iranians, who also called their verses manθra?). This became such an important word that the entire text was given the name Ṛg-veda "(book of) knowledge of (the sacred) verses". It is found as follows:

ṛc (ṛk/ ṛg):

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 3.7;  35.12.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VI. 16.47.

VII. 66.11.

IV. 50.5.

V. 6.5;  27.4;  44.14,15;  64.1,4.

I. 36.11;  164.39.

VIII. 27.1,5.

IX. 73.5.

X. 71.11;  85.11;  90.9;  91.12;  105.8;  114.6;  165.5.

 

B. The God of Vedic Priesthood:

Bṛhaspati, the semi-mythical ancestral ṛṣi of the bharadvāja-aṅgiras family of the Oldest Book 6, was already highly revered and respected in the two Oldest Books 6 and 3. The vasiṣṭhas of Book 7 added another dimension by giving him a new epithet brahmaṇas-pati ("lord of prayer/piety/holiness", from the word brahman). Again, the gṛtsamadas took this forward and made it into a regular alternative name of bṛhaspati, converting him into a full-fledged God of Priesthood. The word is found as follows:

brahmaṇas-pati:

OLD RIGVEDA:

VII. 41.2;  44.1;  97.3,9.

II. 1.3;  23.1,5,9,11,17,19;  24.2,4,5,8,9,11,13-16;  25.1-5;  26.2-4.  

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VI. 75.17.

V. 46.3.

I. 18.1,3-5;  38.13;  40.1,3,5.

VIII. 27.1.

IX. 83.1.

X. 53.9;  65.1;  67.7;  72.2;  155.2;  164.4;  173.3;  174.1.

 

C. The Extension of Priestly Services to the Common Man:

In the earlier period of Bharata Pūru Expansionism, (Books 6,3,7,4), the priestly families were mainly associated with kings and royal personages and their activities. The gṛtsamadas changed this and associated the priestly activities and the fire-sacrifice with the common householder (gṛhapati) as indicated by the phrase "brahmā cāsi gṛhapatiśca" where Agni is addressed as being both the priest and the householder. This phrase is found twice in the Rigveda:

brahmā cāsi gṛhapatiśca:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 1.2.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

X. 91.10.

 

More importantly, a new word for the priest was coined from the word brahman, which became historically the most common name for a priest, which led to the proliferation of the priestly profession, and which later (in a hymn in Book X) became the name for one of the four professional divisions of society (the varṇas, though, till long after the Vedic period, not yet hereditary divisions): the word brāhmaṇa, which is found in the Rigveda as follows:

brāhmaṇa:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 36.5.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VI. 75.10.

VII. 103.1,7,8.

I. 15.5;  164.45.

VIII. 58.1.

X. 16.6;  71.8,9;  88.19;  90.12;  97.22;  109.4.

 

And another word for the householder couple, dampati, who participated in the fire sacrifice:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 39.2.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

V. 3.2;  22.4.

I. 127.8.

VIII. 31.5;  69.16;  84.7.

X. 10.5;  68.2;  85.32;  95.12;  162.4.

Later, in X.85 above, in verse 26 (along with the word dampati in verse 32), we find the only use in the Rigveda of the word gṛhapatnī, reiterating the fact that the housewife was an equal partner in the sacrifice with the gṛhapati.

At the same time,  we also have a new word, only in the New Rigveda and Redacted Hymns, for the domestic sacrificial fire, gārhapatya, found in VI.15.19;  I.15.5 (along with the word brāhmaṇa) and X. 85.28.36.

 

D. The Most Sacred Verse in the Rigveda:

The most important, considered the most sacred, and undoubtedly the most well-known and popular, verse in the Rigveda is III.62: "tat-savitur vareṇ(i)ya, bhargo devasya dhīmahi, dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt", known, on the basis of its meter, simply as the gāyatrī mantra. It is important also because in later times it is the mantra which has to be repeatedly recited daily by a priest, after he has undergone his upanayanam (thread ceremony), every time he performs the sandhyā-vandanam ritual.

The verse is in a Redacted Hymn by the viśvāmitras, and not in the Old Rigveda, and many of the words in the verse are New Words, found only in the New Rigveda and Redacted Hymns:

tat-savitur (III. 62.10;  V. 82.1).

bhargas (III. 62.10;  I.141.1;  X.61.14).

pracodayaḥ (III.27.5;  62.10;  VIII. 12.3;  X. 110.7).

But two of the words are found in the Old Rigveda, one of them first used by the viśvāmitras followed by the gṛtsamadas, and the other first used only by the gṛtsamadas:

vareṇyaḥ:

OLD RIGVEDA:

III. 2.4;  12.1;  40.5.

II. 39.2.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VI. 16.33.

III. 27.10;  34.8;  62.6,10.  

V. 8.2;  13.4;  22.3;  25.3;  35.3;  39.2.

I. 9.5;  26.2,3,7;  58.6;  79.8;  159.5;  175.2.

VIII. 1.19;  15.7;  27.1,12;  43.12;  61.15;  102.18.

IX. 61.19;  65.29.

X. 35.7;  113.2;  122.5.

dhīmahi:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 11.12.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

III. 30.19;  62.10.     

VII. 15.7;  66.9.

V. 21.1;  82.1,6.

I. 17.6;  44.11;  127.5;  131.2;  141.10.

VIII. 7.18;  22.18;  103.5.

X. 3.4;  35.4;  36.5,7;  66.2;  87.2.

 

E. The Vedic Priestly Categories:

As we saw, the gṛtsamadas coined the most important word for "priest", brāhmaṇa, although words (like vipra, purohita) more or less meaning "priest" were already found right from the Oldest Book 6.

There were also special categories of priests (like hotar and adhvaryu), associated with specific Vedic rituals, found from the period of the Oldest Book 6. As Haug puts it, "The two most ancient offices were those of the Hotar and the adhvaryu" (HAUG 1863:13).

However, many new special categories of priests came into being after that Oldest Period, and almost all of them are found mentioned in Book 2.

Firstly, there is a very important priest, the ṛtvij (mentioned in the very first verse of the Rigveda), found in the Old Rigveda only in Books 3 and 2:

ṛtvij:

OLD RIGVEDA:

III. 10.2.

II. 5.7.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:  

V. 22.2;  26.7.

I. 1.1;  44.11;  45.7;  60.3.

VIII. 38.1;  44.6;  58.1.

IX. 114.3.

X. 2.1;  7.5;  21.7;  70.7;  114.9.

 

There is another important priest, the potar, found in the Old Rigveda only in Books 4 and 2:

potar:

OLD RIGVEDA:

IV. 10.2.

II. 5.7.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS: 

VII. 16.5.

I. 15.2;  76.4;  94.6.

X. 2.2;  91.10.

 

And three important priests (the praśāstar, the agnīdh, and the neṣṭar) are found in the Old Rigveda only in Book 2:

1. praśāstar:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 1.2;  5.4;  36.6.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

I. 94.6.

X. 91.10.

2. agnīdh:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 1.2;  36.4.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

I. 162.5 (as agnimīndh).

X. 41.3;  91.10.

[The hymn and verse, I. 162.5, which refers to agnimīndh, also refers to two new categories, the śaṁstar and grāvagrābha].

3. neṣṭar:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 1.2;  37.3,4.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

I. 15.3,9.

X. 14.8;  91.10.

And finally, there is a very important category of priest found mentioned only once in the Rigveda by this name, the udgātar, or "Singer". He is mentioned in II.43.2. This is a Redacted Hymn, but since the word is not found anywhere else in the Rigveda, it has to be classified as a word coined by the gṛtsamadas. Two words with the same meaning if not of the same liturgical status are found, also only once each, in the New Rigveda in Book 1: gāthina, in I.7.1, and gāyatriṇa, in I.10.1.

 

In the matter of Soma, as already pointed out in my books and blogs, the plant or plant product was a distant and rare substance from the earliest days of the Rigveda, introduced to the Vedic Indo-Aryans (Pūrus) by the Iranians (Anus) to their west and their priests the bhṛgus, and was imported from the distant north and northwest with great difficulty. Somewhat like the Europeans seeking a route to India for its spices, the Rigveda records that one of the objectives of the attempts by Sudās to conquer his way to the northwest was to access the Soma territories: as Griffith tells us in his footnotes to III.33.5, "according to the Scholiasts, Yāska and Sāyaṇa, the meaning of me vyacase somyāya is 'to my speech importing the Soma', that is, the object of my address is that I may cross over and gather the Soma-plant". Later, it was in the Middle Books period that his descendant Sahadeva took the battle all the way to the extreme northwest and Afghanistan. Hence, Soma was a newly accessible product only in the Middle Books period, and all the elaborate Soma rites and rituals were established in the period of the New Rigveda by, mainly, the bhṛgus and kaśyapas of that period (both of northern and northwestern origin). So it is not surprising that Book 2 has little to do with the establishment of those elaborate rites and rituals.

Nevertheless, we have the following significant indicators, of the beginnings of the entry of Soma as a major factor, in the Middle Books 4 and 2:

1. The only person in the Rigveda with the element soma in his name is Somaka (son of Sahadeva) in IV.15.9, and the only composer with the element soma in his name is Somāhuti (II.4-7).

2. According to the Avesta, the first three persons to offer oblations of Haoma (Soma) were Vīuuaŋ^vhaṇt, Āθβiia and (his son) Θrita in that order. The Vedic texts also place these persons as the earliest offerers of Soma oblation.  See where these three names  are found in the Rigveda:

1. Vívasvat: [Note the accent].

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

I. 44.1.

VIII. 6.39;  52.1.

IX. 113.8.

X. 14.1,5;  17.1,2;  58.1;  60.1;  164.2.

2. Āptya:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

V. 41.9.

VIII. 12.16;  17.13-15,17.

X. 8.8;  120.6.

3. Trita:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 11.19,20;  31.6;  34.10,14.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

V. 9.5;  41.4,10;  54.2;  86.1.

I. 105.9,17;  163.2,3;  187.1.

VIII. 7.24;  12.16;  41.6;  47.13-16;  52.1.

IX. 32.2;  34.4;  37.4;  38.2;  86.20;  95.4;  102.2,3.

X. 8.7,8;  46.3,6;  48.2;  64.3;  99.6;  115.4.

Thus, the only references to any of these earliest Soma offerers of oblation, in the Old Rigveda, are in Book 2.

 

In the matter of priestly names, the priests specially associated with fire-worship, the atharvans, also appear only in the New Rigveda:

atharvan:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VI. 15.17;  16.13,14;  47.24.

I. 80.16;  83.5;  112.10.

VIII. 9.7.

X. 14.6;  21.5;  48.2;  87.12;  92.10;  120.9.

 

Finally, note the distribution of some other important words referring to some priestly category, found only in the New Rigveda and Redacted Hymns:

subrahmā:  VII.16.2;  X.47.3;  62.4 (subrahmaṇya).

brahmacārin:  X.109.5.

hotrāvid:  V.8.3;  X.15.9.

arkiṇa:  I.7.1;  10.1;  38.15.

yajñanī:  I. 15.12.

 

F. A Transition From Chanting to Singing?:

An extremely important part of Vedic ritual is the singing, rather than only the chanting, of Vedic verses. We have already seen the priest associated with the singing of the sacred songs is the udgātar/gāthina/gāyatriṇa: here we see that the only occurrence of these words outside the New Rigveda, even if only in the Redacted Hymns, is in II.43.1 (which contains the only reference in the Rigveda to the very important udgātar). So it is clear that the system of singing Vedic verses started with the Middle Period of the Rigveda, and specifically with the gṛtsamadas of Book 2.

Important words for "sacred song" in the Rigveda come from the root √gā/gai, and include gātha/gāthā  and gāyatra, and separately we have the important word sāman. The three words for "sacred song", and the ritual formulaic word gāyata (the cue for the singer) are found as follows:

 

1. gātha/gāthā:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

V. 44.5.

I. 43.4;  167.6;  190.1.

VIII. 2.38;  32.1;  71.14;  92.2;  98.9.

IX. 11.4;  99.4.

X. 85.6.

 

2. gāyatra:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

II. 43.1.

I. 12.1;  21.2;  27.4;  38.14;  79.7;  120.6;  164.23-25;  188.11.

VIII. 1.7,8;  2.14;  16.9;  38.10.

IX. 60.1.

X. 71.11.

 

3. sāman:

OLD RIGVEDA:

IV. 5.3.

II. 23.16,17.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

III. 30.9.

VII. 33.14.

II. 43.1,2 [with udgātar in verse 1]

V. 22.1;  44.14,15;  54.14.

I. 62.2;  107.2;  147.1;  164.24;  173.1.

VIII. 2.9,10;  4.17;  6.47;  16.9;  81.5;  89.7;  95.7;  98.1. 

IX. 96.22;  111.2.

X. 36.5;  59.2;  78.5;  85.11;  90.9;  93.8;  99.2;  107.6;  114.1,6;  130.2;  135.4.

 

4. gāyata:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VI. 45.4.

VII.31.1;  102.1.

V. 68.1.

I. 4.10;  5.1,4;  21.2;  37.1,4.

VIII. 15.1;  32.13,17,21;  45.21;  89.1;  92.1;  98.1;  101.5;  103.8.

IX. 11.1;  13.2;  60.1;  65.7;  86.44;  97.4;  104.1;  105.1.    

 

To these may be added three very important words in Vedic singing and melodic chanting: the word chándas (meter, metrical hymn), the entire root √stubh (giving words connected with Vedic singing, such as the names of some meters and names for the rhythmic or metrical pause or emphasized phrases in chanting), and the word ṛcīṣama (the God for whom the song is sung). The words and the root (including all words formed from the root) are found, after one reference in the Middle Book 4, only in the New Rigveda and Redacted Hymns as follows:

1. chándas:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

V. 52.12.

VIII. 52.1.

IX. 113.6.

X. 14.16;  85.3;  90.9;  114.5,6,9;  130.3.

2. √stubh:

OLD RIGVEDA:

IV. 3.12.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

III. 51.3.

IV. 50.5

II. 43.1.

V. 29.6;  52.12;  54.1;  75.4.

I. 62.4;  66.4;  88.6;  112.20;  164.23,24;  166.11;  190.7.

VIII. 7.1;  54.1;  69.1.

IX. 62.24;  68.8;  86.17;  97.35.

X. 66.6;  78.4;  124.9;  130.4;  181.1.

[While the above references include those to the anuṣṭubh and triṣṭubh meters, the three other meters referred to in the Rigveda, the gāyatrī, pankti and śakvarī are also found only in the New Rigveda: I.40.3;  X.14.16;  40.3;  117.9;  130.4]  

3. ṛcīṣama:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VI. 46.3.

I. 61.1.

VIII. 32.26;  62.6;  68.6;  90.1;  92.9.

X. 22.2.

 

Another root word √kṛ=kir "to praise, make famous" (the root for later Sanskrit words like kīrtana), is found as follows:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 28.1.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

V. 10.4.

I. 60.3;  103.4;  116.6;  186.3.

VIII. 26.19;  45.33.

X. 54.1.  

As we saw earlier, I.162.5 alone refers to the śaṁstar ("the Praiser"), whose function in Vedic ritual is to sing the praises of the Gods. The ritual word śaṁsata is also found only in the New Rigveda: VIII.1.1;  32.17;  X.37.1. The word śaṁs gives five other important words, associated with this function in Vedic ritual, which are  restricted in distribution: in the Old Rigveda, two of the words are found in Book 7 and one word in Book 4, but all five are found in  Book 2:  praśaṁsa, narāśaṁsa, duḥśaṁsa, suśaṁsa and uruśaṁsa. They are found as follows:

1. praśaṁsa:

OLD RIGVEDA:

IV. 2.8.

II. 2.3,11.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VIII. 19.8,9;  74.2.

2. narāśaṁsa:

OLD RIGVEDA:

VII. 2.2.

II. 3.2;  38.10.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

III. 29.11.

V. 5.2.

I. 13.3;  18.9;  106.4;  142.3.

X. 70.2;  92.11;  182.2.

[In the Old Rigveda, outside the two āprī-sūktas, the word is found only in II.38.10].

3. duḥśaṁsa:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 23.10.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VII. 94.7

II. 41.8.

I. 23.9;  94.9.

VIII. 18.14.

X. 25.7.

4. suśaṁsa:

OLD RIGVEDA:

VII. 35.6

II. 23.10.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VI. 52.6.

VII. 16.6.

I. 44.6.

5. uruśaṁsa:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 27.9;  28.3;  38.11.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

III. 62.17.

I. 24.11;  31.14;  38.3.

VIII. 48.4.

All this, and more, point to the fact that the priestly class of the udgātar, which  was introduced by the gṛtsamadas, set off a major transition from mere chanting to singing in Rigvedic ritual while organizing and categorizing the chanting.

 

G. The Funeral Rites and Rituals:

The funeral rites and rituals were initiated mainly by the bhṛgus in the latest part of the Rigveda, in Book X. Since I, at least, have not been able to discern any special word in the Rigveda for priests connected solely or mainly with funeral rites, it will be useful to take a closer look at the words specially connected with funeral rites. And this again shows the earliest connections with the gṛtsamadas. While the gṛtsamadas were a distinct family (kevala-bhṛgu), distinct from both the ancestral aṅgiras and the adopted bhṛgu families in the period of the Old Rigveda, as shown by the distinct āpṛī-sūktas and the pointedly different acceptability status of the contemporary bhṛgus and kevala-bhṛgus in that period, the two families seem to have practically merged together in the post-Rigvedic period and maybe even in the latest period of the New Rigveda, e.g. Book 10. The gotra-pravara lists of later times do not show the bhṛgus and kevala-bhṛgus (or for that matter, the aṅgiras and kevala-aṅgiras, i.e. kaṇva, as distinct families, and the bharata family also is split up between the bhṛgu and aṅgiras lists).

Book 10 starts with a collection of 9 hymns, in which 1-7 are ascribed to Trita Āptya, and 8-9 to Triśiras Tvāṣṭra. But, as Jamison points out: "Although the poets' names were generated from the mythological material, and do not reflect 'real' poets, it is clear from their narrative connection that the hymns belong together (Oldenberg 1888:232-35)" (JAMISON-BRERETON 2014:1367), and again "it is fairly clear that these nine hymns belong together"(JAMISON-BRERETON 2014:1376).

Also: "The next ten hymns (X.10-19) form a Yama cycle" (JAMISON-BRERETON 2014:1380) and, most importantly, "The last six hymns in this cycle (X.14-19) are collectively known as funeral hymns" (JAMISON-BRERETON 2014:1381).

However, all these nineteen hymns together form a block of bhṛgu hymns with a direct or indirect connection to funeral rites and rituals. The only occurrence, for example, of the word pitṛyāṇa (the path leading to the ancestors) is in hymn 2:  X.2.7.

The first nine hymns (1-9) are by a group of composers called the tritas, and the next 10 (10-19) are by a group of composers called the yāmāyanas: in II.11.19, Trita is claimed as part of their circle by the gṛtsamada composer of the hymn, and in fact, as pointed out earlier, he enters the Rigveda for the first time in Book 2. And yāmyāyaṇa is a bhṛgu gotra.

 

The word most closely associated with the funeral hymns is Yama, the name of the first king of the Avesta and of the king of the Realm of the Dead in later Hindu tradition. Here is its distribution in the Rigveda:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VII. 33.9,12.

I. 35.6;  38.5;  83.5;  116.2;  163.2,3;  164.46.

X. 10.7,9,13;  12.6;  13.4;  14.1-5,7-16;  15.8;  17.1;  18.13;  21.5;  51.3;  52.3;  58.1;  60.10;  64.3;  92.11;  97.16;  114.10;  123.6;  135.1,7;  154.4,5;  165.4.

[A word on the occurrence of the word yama in the Redacted Hymn VII.33: this hymn is one of the three dāśarājña hymns (VII.18,33,83). Here, though the redactions were done in the period of the New Rigveda,  Yama is still not a Ruler of the Land of Departed Souls, which he becomes towards the end of the Rigveda. He is merely the ancestral king of the Anu enemies (the Yima Vīuuaŋ^vhaṇt of the later Avesta). And his name and the name of the defeated spitama (bhṛgu) priests of the Proto-Iranians are used in a symbolic sense, by the victorious vasiṣṭha priests in the battle. Just as a victorious king symbolically dons the cape or crown, or ascends the throne, of the defeated king to symbolize his victory, the vasiṣṭhas symbolically take on the title (śvityañc in VII.33.1;  83.8) and wear the vestments (yamena tatam paridhi, "garments spread out by Yama" in VII.33.9,12) of the defeated kings and priests]. 

 

The oblation to the ancestors is known as kavyá, and the word is found only in the New Rigveda.

kavyá:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

I. 96.2.

IX. 91.2.

X. 14.3;  15.9.

 

However, the specifically gṛtsamada origin of the funeral rites is shown by the fact that the vessels used in the rituals are uniquely gṛtsamada vessels (three vessels together called trikadruka) referred to thrice by them in the Old Rigveda, although later they are also referred to thrice by aṅgiras composers in the New Rigveda:

trikadruka:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 11.17;  15.1;  22.1.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:  

I. 32.3.

VIII. 13.18;  92.21.

X. 14.16.

[A short note here on the translations of Jamison-Brereton. Although I have pointed out, in a previous article, their blatant mistranslation of the word arati as "spoked wheel" by lazily and incorrectly deriving it from the word ara (spoke), in general their translations are very much worthy of consideration and show some deep insights. However, we again see a repeat of their lazy and incorrect derivations when they translate the above kavya as "poetic" from the word kavi (poet). And, in the case of the word trikadruka, they follow Geldner in simply carrying the word as it is instead of providing a translation, and even go further in suggesting, in brackets and with a question-mark, a connection with the Maruts. However all traditional interpretations, the dictionaries of Monier-Williams and Cappeller, and the translations of Griffith and Grassmann, and to some extent Wilson, give the correct meaning of this word].

 

In the late Book 10, general words used by a composer, whether old words or new words, do not necessarily show family affiliation, but in this case, a general word used in the funeral hymns, though not used first or only by the gṛtsamadas in the Old Rigveda, again seems to point to them: the word suvidatra (gracious, benevolent). The word was first used once by a vasiṣṭha, but then it was so popular with the gṛtsamadas that it was used by them in three different hymns in Book 2, and later it is also found in three of the six funeral hymns by the yāmāyanas, and also in a fourth hymn (X.154) by another yāmāyana composer:

suvidatra:

OLD RIGVEDA:

VII. 91.6.

II. 1.8;  9.6;  24.10.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

X. 14.10;  15.3;  16.11,12;  154.4.

The opposite word durvidatra (there is no independent word vidatra) is a very late New Word, found only thrice in the latest Book 10, in X. 35.4; 36.2;  63.12, in hymns composed by two composers of unknown family affiliation, named Luśa Dhānāka and Gaya Plāta. It is perfectly likely that they are also bhṛgus. The hymns preceding these hymns certainly have composers with equally unknown family affiliations, but  with markedly Iranian-type, names found in the Avesta: Kavaṣa (X.30-34), Avestan Kaoša, and Nābhānediṣṭha (X.61-62), Avestan Nabānazdišta.

 

In addition, note the following four words found only in Book 2 in the Old Rigveda, and found also in the funeral hymns (X.14-19):

1. śvāna:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 39.4.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

I. 161.13.

IX. 101.1,13.

X. 14.10,11.

[The concept of śvāna, the dog, as a protector, rakṣitāra, is found only in II.39 and X.14 above. The ś v ā na referred to here are the Sārameyas, the two dogs, sons of Saramā, who are supposed to guard the path to the land of the ancestors and to guide or protect the deceased person undertaking the journey along this path. They also first appear, or at least Saramā first appears, in the Middle Books in Book 4:

OLD RIGVEDA:

IV. 16.18.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:].

III. 31.6.

VII. 55.2,3.

V. 45.7,8.

I. 62.3;  72.8.

X. 14.10;  108.1,3,5,7,8.]

 

2. apabhartā:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 33.7.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

X. 14.2.

 

3. sarpis:

 OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 7.6.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

V. 6.9; 7.9; 21.2.

I. 127.1.

VIII. 29.9;  74.2.

IX. 67.32.

X. 18.7;  27.18;  69.2.

 

4. arapā:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 33.6.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

VIII. 18.9.

X. 15.4;  37.11;  137.5.

 

[The next two words are not found in the Old Rigveda, but, like some other words already discussed (udgātar, gāyatra √stubh), are found in the last group of Redacted Hymns in Book 2, and in the funeral hymns].

5. āsīnaḥ:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

III. 31.12.

II. 43.3.

VIII. 100.5.

IX. 78.3.

X. 15.7;  27.13;  129.1.

6. sthūṇa:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

II.41.5.

V. 45.2;  62.6,7,8.

I. 59.1.

VIII. 17.14.

X. 18.13.

Even otherwise, of course, the six funeral hymns (X.14-19) are replete with New Words:  caturakṣa, pareyu, gachasva, sādhunā, barhiṣya, somapītha, suvarcas, prehi, saṁgamanam, mātalī , atharvan, hitvāya, ahas, śabala, sārameya, asutṛp, gāyatrī, triṣṭubh, loka, udumbala, abhayaṁkara, vikramaṇam, pratikāma, hotrāvid, kadrū, dadhātana, kṛtvī, vettha, √klp, agadam, śvāpada, viśvād, sarpa, sam, √aṅkh, net, dadhŕṣ, pīvas, ripra, itara, kravya, dūrvā , √śya=śīt, maṇḍūka, kṛtvī, vívasvat, svastidā, āśā, √skand, bāhu-, māmaka, āpyāyamāna, saraṇyū, drāgh, mṛkṣa, anupūrvam, āñjana, janitva, dhanus, dádāna, ūrṇamradā, sica, sūpāyana, logam, āvartana, parāyaṇa, niyānam, udānaṭ.

 

H. Medicine and Healing:

Another important feature of the latest period of the Rigveda is the development of medicine, both as a science as well as a kind of magical process, which is a central feature of Book 10 and of the later Atharvaveda. Many hymns in Book 10 and the Atharvaveda deal with herbs and medicines, and with magical spells as cures and curses (two alternate names for the Atharvaveda are the Atharvāṅgiras or the Bhṛgvāṅgiras, emphasizing its special bhṛgu nature).

As Jamison points out: "especially in Book X there are hymns that address a variety of religious interests [….] There are funeral (X.14-16) and wedding (X.85) hymns. There are hymns against cowives, (X.145), against rivals (X.166), against witchcraft (X.155), against miscarriage (X.162) and against disease (X.161,163). There are hymns for the safety of cattle (X.169), for conception (X.183) and for successful birth (X.184). In short, the Rigveda already attests rites that address domestic and individual issues principally associated with the Atharvaveda" ((JAMISON-BRERETON 2014:6-7).

The God of Healing in the Rigveda is Rudra (Dhanvantarī of later times is unknown to the Rigveda). While the word oṣadhi is found throughout the Rigveda, as the oldest word for herbal medicines, the two important words which spring up later having to do with the special art or science of herbal treatment are bhiṣaj ("healing, physician") and bheṣaja ("cure"), found also in the Iranian Avesta as baēšata. The only three hymns to Rudra in the whole of the Rigveda are VII.46 and II.33 in the Old Rigveda (which are also the only two hymns in the Old Rigveda which mention the words bhiṣaj or bheṣaja), and I.114 in the New Rigveda, The two words are found in the Rigveda as follows:

bhiṣaj:

OLD RIGVEDA:

II. 33.4.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS: 

VI. 50.7.

I. 24.9;  116.16;  157.6.

VIII. 9.6;  18.8;  22.10;  79.2;  86.1.

IX. 112.1,3.

X. 39.3,5;  97.6.

bheṣaja:

OLD RIGVEDA:

VII. 46.3.

II. 33.2,4,7,12,13.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

V. 42.11; 53.14.

I. 23,19,20,21;  34.6;  43.4;  89.4;  114.5;  157.6.

VIII. 9.15;  20.23,25;  29.5;  72.17.

X. 9.5,6,7;  59.9;  60.12;  100.10;  137.3,4,6;  175.2;  186.1.

Clearly, here again, the vasisṭhas of Book 7 first conceived of Rudra as a full-fledged God of Healing and composed a hymn (of 4 verses) to him (VII.46) which first mentions the word bheṣaja (once). But it was the gṛtsamadas of Book 2 who played a crucial role in developing the concept and establishing the earliest stages of medicine and healing: hymn II.33 has 15 verses to Rudra, and mentions the word bheṣaja five times and the word bhiṣaj for the first time.

 

The most prominent ailment mentioned in the Rigveda is yakṣma (a kind of wasting illness, but the word may represent diseases in general) which is mentioned only in the New Rigveda:

yakṣma:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

I. 122.9.

IX. 49.1.

X. 85.31;  97.11-13;  137.4;  161.1;  163.1-6.

 

I. Wedding Rituals and Astronomy/Astrology:

One very important aspect of life in every religion, which calls for specific and particular rituals, is the ceremony of the Wedding and the binding of the Male and Female in a joint Union. It is considered one of the most auspicious moments in life.

In the Rigveda, we have one long hymn which deals with wedding rituals: X.85. And the very important word associated in this hymn with the auspiciousness of the event is maṅgala. By itself, the word clearly only means "omen", good or bad, and so every occurrence of the word in the Rigveda, except one, has the prefix su- "good" before it to emphasize the good aspect, and the only exception also negatively refers to the good aspect: adurmaṅgalī, "without bad-omen", in X. 85.43 (in the Wedding Hymn, which also has the word sumaṅgala earlier in verse 33).

In all later periods, the auspiciousness or ominous nature of the word maṅgala has to do mainly with weddings and married life. In Maharashtra, for example, special wedding halls are called maṅgal kāryālay, the special wedding chant sung by the gathering in the ceremony is called the maṅgal-āṣṭaka, and the final pronunciation of the presiding priest which declares the bride and bridegroom to be wedded is "śubha maṅgala sāvadhān".

The word maṅgala is a New Word, found in the Rigveda as follows:

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

II. 42.1,2,3.

I. 113.12.

IX. 80.3.

X. 85.33,43;  102.11.

Clearly, the word is a gṛtsamada word, occurring earliest of all in all the three verses of the short hymn II.42 which prays for protection from inauspicious omens. The hymn is therefore probably an early precursor to the wedding rituals found in X.85, and the composer of X.85 is very likely a gṛtsamada, since the family affiliation of the composer is not specified and the hymn is simply attributed to Sūryā Sāvitrī the symbolic daughter of the Sun who is the bride in the hymn.

The word (like many words coined or first used by the aṅgiras-turned-bhṛgu gṛtsamadas in their Book) is later also used (once each) by aṅgiras composers in three other hymns.

A word on why so many important ritual words first appear in the Redacted Hymns of Book 2: Book 2 of the gṛtsamadas was the last Book of the Old Rigveda, and the following period saw the organization of the text, first of the Old Rigveda (Books 6, 3, 7, 4, 2),  and then of the combined Family Books (with the addition of Book 5) in the early New Period. Hymns kept aside as appendices to these Books, and which continued to be Redacted with New Words and even new meters, were inserted within the respective Books at the time of the addition (in chronological order) of Books 1, 8, 9 and last of all 10. As the development and organization of the text, rituals and religion was mainly undertaken by the gṛtsamadas, many of the earliest seeds and signs of all the new developments are found in their Old as well as Redacted Hymns.

 

Another significant word meaning "omen" is found in the Middle Period, in Book 4, with related words, again, in the last group of Redacted Hymns in Book 2: the word śakuna / śakuni / śakunta / śakunti (all meaning "omen", in the form of a bird), and in a funeral hymn:

śakuna / śakuni / śakunta / śakunti:

OLD RIGVEDA:

IV. 26.6.

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

II. 42.1,3;  43.1,2,3.

I. 191.11.

IX. 85.11,23;  107.20;  112.2.

X. 16.6;  68.7;  106.3;  123.6;  165.2. 

 

Yet another word meaning "good omen), subhadra, is found only in the New Rigveda, in VIII.1.34;  X.10.14. The word bhadra by itself is found many times in the Rigveda, including in the following verses in II.41-43 and X.1-19:

bhadra (in II.41-43 and X.1-19):

NEW RIGVEDA AND REDACTED HYMNS:

II. 41.11;  42.2,3;  43.2,3.

X. 3.3;  11.3;  14.6,12;  18.3.

 

But the story of the word maṅgala does not end here: this gṛtsamada word in later times acquires an important corollary astronomical meaning: it is a name for the planet Mars. But how does this connect back with the Rigvedic origins or with the gṛtsamadas?

Firstly, the word continues to retain its connections with omens and weddings/ marriage. It also acquires new misogynistic astrological meanings among superstitious people: the presence of the planet on the birth chart of a man is considered auspicious and indicative of a good future, but its appearance on the birth chart of a woman is considered inauspicious, and a portent of great harm to, and even early death of, the husband of the woman. These later superstitions and astrological portents are not found in the Rigveda, but the fact that the word indicates an omen and affects marriages is the link to the Rigvedic word.

In the Rigveda, the word does not have an astrological significance, but there is an indirect astronomical connection which connects the Rigveda, and the gṛtsamadas, to the later astronomical identification of maṅgala as a name for the planet Mars. The Latin word Mars (with the Greek Ares), it must be remembered, is linguistically cognate to the Rigvedic word Marut, and linguistically (in a different sense) and mythologically related to Rudra (the father of the Maruts, according to the Rigveda: the details of this close Mars-Ares-Rudra-Maruts connection have been given in my first book TALAGERI 1993:392-396).

But is the word Rudra in any way connected to astronomy in the Rigveda? The answer is yes: in X.64.8, the composer in one verse lists three heavenly bodies: kṛśānum astṛn tiṣyam sadhastha ā rudram rudreṣu rudriyam havāmahe, translated by Jamison as: "(we call upon for help) Kṛśānu, Tiṣya (the Dog Star) and Rudra the Rudrian among the Rudras". Clearly, like Kṛśānu and Tiṣya, Rudra in this hymn is regarded as a heavenly body, very likely a planet and specifically the planet Mars (since Rudra is always identified with the red color like the planet Mars). In later times, the planet came to be called maṅgala. What is significant is that the composer of this hymn is Gaya Plāta who, as we already saw earlier, is probably a gṛtsamada, since he uses the word -vidatra. The only other reference to Tiṣya in the Rigveda is in V.54.13, a hymn to the Maruts. Kṛśānu is elsewhere first referred to in the Middle Period in IV.27.3 and later in I.112.21.

 

[Just for the record, and without going too deeply into the matter, there is a third sense in which the word maṅgala figures in post-Vedic times: it is particularly associated with Gaṇeśa, who is called maṅgala-mūrtī, and is the remover of obstacles (vighna-hartā) like Indra and Rudra in the Rigveda. But perhaps while Indra is mainly responsible for removing obstacles like demons who obstruct the rain, or human enemies, Rudra is more associated with removing inauspicious obstacles and diseases and ailments. Gaṇeśa is the son of Śiva, who is the post-Vedic Rudra, and is called Gaṇapati as the head or chief of the troops of Śiva. It may be just a coincidence that the word gaṇapati is first used (in its two occurrences in the Rigveda) by the gṛtsamadas, though as an epithet for Bṛhaspati/Brahmaṇaspati in II.23.1]         

 

J. Birth Related Rituals:

A naturally important stage in life which calls for special religious rituals is the birth of a child. While it is not clear if there are hymns indicating post-birth ceremonies or rituals in the Rigveda, three hymns in Book 10 seem to indicate pre-birth ceremonies or rituals: X. 162, 183, 184, hymns praying, respectively for the conception of a (male) child, for the prevention of miscarriage, and for the successful birth of the child.

The most significant indicator of the gṛtsamada connection here is that hymn X.184, a short hymn of three verses, specially addresses the Goddesses Sarasvati and Sinīvālī for the protection and successful birth of the child. The importance of the river and Goddess Sarasvati to the gṛtsamadas (who do not speak of any other river in Book 2, and call her ambitame nadītame devitame "the best of mothers, the best of rivers, the best of Goddesses" in II.41.16) can be overlooked, but not the fact that outside this hymn, the Goddess Sinīvālī is known only to one other hymn in the Rigveda, i.e. to II.32.6,7,8, and is very much a Goddess of the gṛtsamadas.    

 

 K. The Pristine Position of Book 6:

In conclusion, Book 2 represents, as stated at the very beginning of this article, a Sarasvati centered period of peaceful development of the early aspects of Rigvedic priestly and ritual organization in almost every respect, sandwiched between the tumultuous period of expansionist Bharata Pūru activity in the first four Books (6, 3, 7, 4) and the later more cosmopolitan period of the New Rigveda (Books 5, 1, 8, 9, 10). The gṛtsamadas seems to have been the family which organized the first collection of the Old Rigveda (6, 3, 7, 4, 2). And then, later, in the New Period, they must have overseen the first collection of the Family Books (6, 3, 7, 4, 2, 5), when the Redacted Hymns in their final form were inducted (out of order) within each Family Book; and at the same time also the six  Sampāta  Hymns (III.30-31, 34, 36, 38, 48) which, as per the Aitareya Brahmana (VI.18), were added (in the correct order) to the viśvāmitra collection following a dispute with the vāmadevas  (of Book 4). Later, their merger with the other bhṛgus led to the increasing importance of the combined bhṛgu family in post-Rigvedic and post-Vedic times.

But another point that arises from all this is about Book 6, which represents the earliest stage of the Old Rigveda as Book 2 represents its latest: Book 6, the Oldest Book in the Rigveda, shows itself to be so old as to be in many ways distinct and isolated from the whole rest of the Rigveda: the book is of course part of the Rigveda, but it goes back long before the developments in  the rest of the Rigvedic period. The next two books, Books 3 and 7 both, in their earliest core period, belong to the period of the Bharata Pūru king Sudās, but Book 6 goes far back into the past, and spans a large period beyond the period of Sudās' father Pijavana, his ancestor Pratardana, his father or ancestor Divodāsa, his father Sṛñjaya (nicknamed Vadhryaśva or "impotent" until, by the grace of the river Sarasvati in answer to his prayers, he begot Divodāsa), his ancestor Devavāta, and perhaps many earlier generations, going back to the ancestral semi-mythical figure of Bharata (who is mentioned only once as a person, in VI.16.4). It may even be that the eponymous sage Bharadvāja was the priest of this ancestral Bharata, and may have acquired his name as a title Bharad-vāja "the treasure of the Bharatas".

Therefore if many important and even crucial or vital Rigvedic words, rampant later, are absent in Book 6, whose period covers such a long span of time, it has to be taken seriously as an important factor in analyzing the provenance and chronology of those words and the earlier antiquity of Book 6, and cannot be dismissed with homilies such as "absence of proof is not proof of absence". If that homily is to be taken seriously, the data must be completely ignored in analyzing the Rigveda and each interpreter should be free to give his own interpretations of everything: free to date the Rigveda thousands or lakhs of years ago, free to place the compositions of the hymns in South India or in Assam (or in China or on the moon if he so feels), etc., and to have his interpretations treated as fully valid.

 

In Section II of this article, we see a list of important words, central to the Vedic religion and priesthood, which are completely missing in the Old Hymns in Book 6. They are not all necessarily New Words, since some of them are found in the Old Hymns of the other Old Books (3, 7, 4, 2), but not one of them is found in the Old Hymns of Book 6.

Even New Words can have seeped into the Redacted Hymns, but even here, only the following very crucial words (from among so many equally crucial words listed above) managed to enter into the Redacted Hymns in Book 6: sūkta, mantra, ṛc, brāhmaṇa, brahmaṇaspati, gārhapatya, atharvan, suśaṁsa, sahaskṛta, ṛcīṣama, vareṇyaḥ and gāyata, all of which are found only once each (except the word atharvan for fire-priests, which appears thrice) in the Redacted Hymns in Book 6.  The other equally crucial words do not appear even once even in the Redacted Hymns in Book 6.

 

The religious and liturgical vocabulary of the Rigveda (as pointed out in my earlier article on the chronological gulf between the Old Rigveda and the New Rigveda) represents the oldest phase of the Vedic religion and liturgy. The Yajurveda  and the Atharvaveda bring in masses of new and very important words, many of them totally absent in the whole of the Rigveda: one simple example that will illustrate this is the most sacred syllable in Hinduism (including Vedic Hinduism): the word Om (Aum): it first appears only in the Yajurveda. The subsequent Brahmana, Upanishad and Sutra texts bring in many important new words. And we are still talking only about the Vedic language and not about later Classical Sanskrit which brought in a literal avalanche of new words familiar to all people acquainted with the later Sanskrit language. 

Only a person studying Vedic and Sanskrit vocabulary will understand the great transformations taking place in Vedic/Sanskrit vocabulary with the addition of masses of new words in every era. Blinkered armchair bigots or traditionalists will balk at the idea of "old" and "new" words and a changing language, but it is a hard fact. Those acquainted with the rich vocabulary of Classical Sanskrit would be amazed at the total absence, in chronologically different stages of the Vedic literature, of what would be thought to be very basic, typical and common Sanskrit words.

In these circumstances, the isolated position of Book 6 even within the ambits of Rigvedic vocabulary points to its very great antiquity.

 

In the previous article on "The Chronological Gulf Between the Old Rigveda and the New Rigveda", I have given a very long list of New Words which appear only in the New Rigveda and the Redacted Hymns. In the last section of the same above article, I have given a long list of Middle Words which start out from Books 4 and 2, but are, like the New Words, completely absent in (the Old Hymns of) the three Oldest Books (Books 6, 3, 7) of the Old Rigveda. Many of the words in both lists are completely absent in the Redacted Hymns of Book 6 as well, including words very important in the religious and liturgical sense.

But Book 6 goes even beyond that, and there are many crucial words which first appear in Books 3 or 7 which are missing in the Old Hymns of Book 6, and many of them even in the Redacted Hymns of Book 6. I will not give lists of the words here; that would be a distraction from the subject of the present article and must wait to be the subject of a future one. But, for a few representative examples, Rigvedic ritual exclamations like svāḥā and vaṣaṭ and words like muhūrta, are unknown even to the Redacted Hymns of Book 6, though found even in the Old Hymns of Books 3 and/or 7.

Add up all the different words from all the above categories which are missing in Book 6, and compare the religious picture it conjures up with the picture of the total Vedic religion as we know it, and it becomes clear that Book 6 represents a very pristine and ancient period which even repeated redactions failed to camouflage.

 

[Footnote: Incidentally, all this reminded me of the shenanigans of Steve Farmer (a close crony of Michael Witzel), a person who has probably never even touched a copy of the Rigveda (original or translated) in his life. In the course of the intense email-turned-internet debate between Witzel and myself in 2000-2001, following the publication of my second book "The Rigveda - A historical Analysis" in 2000, this goon claimed (while ridiculing my claim that Book 6 was the Oldest Book of the Rigveda) that he went through the entire text of the Rigveda and could not find any difference between Book 6 and Book 5!

I mention this just to illustrate the kind of superficial "scholarship" and super-illiterate western academic goonery we have to face in the course of discussing our history or, indeed, discussing any India- or Hindu-related topic. There are legions of biased western academicians, and armies of their committed brown-skinned worshippers, whose intellectual level is of this calibre].

 

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GOLDMAN 1977: Gods, Priests and Warriors: The Bhṛgus of the Mahābhārata. Goldman, Robert P. Columbia University Press, New York, 1977.

GRASSMANN 1877: Rig-Veda. (German translation) Grassmann, Hermann. F.A. Brockhaus, Leipzig, 1877.

GRIFFITH 1889: The Hymns of the Rig-Veda. (tr.) Griffith, Ralph T.H. Munshiram Manoharlal, rep. 1987, Varanasi.

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WINN 1995: Heaven, Heroes and Happiness: The Indo-European Roots of Western Ideology. Winn, Shan M.M. University Press of America, Lanham-New York-London, 1995.