|
Hymn 89: Gods Shower Knowledge and Welfare on All
Rişhi: Gotamaĥ Rāhūgaņaĥ
The mantrās of this sūkta are
widely quoted or paraphrased in Vedic books or later Hindu
scriptures. This sūkta shows the advanced state of the
Vedic society where knowledge from all sides was welcomed
(1.89.1). Here in (1.89.10) is the earliest conception of
Infinity, Aditi. We see here a happy balance between
spiritual
pursuits and the demands of
everyday life.
MANTRA (1.89.1): WELCOME FOR ALL
AUSPICIOUS KNOWLEDGE
May auspicious impulsions come to us from all sides
Which harm no one, are unimpeded and victorious over the forces
of division;
May the Gods be always for our increase, never moving away from
us,
But always guarding us day by day.
ā no bhadrāĥ kratavo yantu
., us, auspicious, impulsions, come,
vishvato adabdhāso aparītāsa udbhidaĥ;
from all sides, unafflicted, unimpeded, victorious over dividing
forces,
devā no yathā sadamid vŗdhe asann aprāyuvo
Gods, us, in this way, always, for our increase, be, never
moving away,
rakşhitāro dive dive.
protecting, day, day.
Details:
The qualities
mentioned here are common to all the Gods.
Note the adjectives such as
"victorious over divisive forces'. Any knowledge which does not
cause any division in the society is welcomed. Clearly the
society had the strength to face external influences, which were
divisive without resorting to artificial barriers like the
"iron curtain' of modern times.
Alternative translation of line 1:
May auspicious knowledge come to us from all sides.
kratavah:
the power of will
associated with
consciousness leading to the perfection in actions; translated
as impulsions for simplicity.
MANTRA (1.89.2): RIGHT THOUGHTS
May the auspicious and right thinking of the Gods be ours.
May their gifts to the righteous persons be also bestowed on us.
May we attain to the friendship with the Gods.
May the Gods extend our life-span.
devānām bhadrā sumatir ŗjūyatām
Gods, auspicious, right thinkings, righteous persons,
devānām rātir abhi no nivartatām;
of Gods, riches, in front, us, bestowed,
devānām sakhyam upa sedimā vayam
of Gods, friendship, ., attain we,
devā na āyuĥ pratirantu jīvase.
Gods, us, life-span, extend, for our life.
Details:
ŗjuyatām:
ŗju is straight; those who go on a straight and right
path or otherwise righteous persons.
upa + sedima:
attain.
life-span: see (1.89.9).
MANTRA (1.89.3): DAKSHA AND
ADITI
With the ancient word, we call them (all-Gods):
Bhaga, Mitra, Aditi, the unerring Dakşha,
Aryamān, Varuņa, Soma and Ashvins.
May felicitous Sarasvati grant us bliss.
tān pūrvayā nividā hūmahe vayam
them (all-Gods), ancient, speech, call, we,
bhagam mitram aditim dakşham asridham;
Bhaga, Mitra, Aditi, Dakşha, unerring,
aryamaņam varuņam somam ashvinā
Aryamān, Varuņa, Soma, Ashvins,
sarsavatī naĥ subhagā mayas karat.
Sarasvati, us, felicitous, happiness, do or grant.
Details:
dakşha:
Sri Aurobindo states
""the root dakşh means to
hurt, kill and also to be competent, able; adjective means
clever, skilful; noun means strength or mental ability. . ; must
have meant at one time discernment, judgement, discriminative
thought-power...'' S. translates it as strength.
Dakşha
and Aditi occur in the Veda together in many
places such as "Dakşha is born of Aditi, and Aditi
of Dakşha.'' (10.72.4) We should distinguish this
Dakşha from his
namesake in the purāņa.
nivid:
nivid is a synonym of speech; nivid also refers
to a subset of vedic hymns in the Veda Samhitās.
Aditi: See 1.89.10.
MANTRA (1.89.4): DIVINE
FELICITIES
May Vāyu waft for us the felicitous medicaments;
May mother Earth and father Heaven bring it;
May the felicitous stones preparing the Soma (or bliss) secure
it.
May the Ashvins hear (our call) with understanding.
tan no vāto mayobhu vātu bheşhajam
that us, Vāyu, felicitous, waft, medicament,
tan mātā pŗthivī tat pitā dyauĥ;
that, mother, Earth, that, father, Heaven,
tad grāvāņaĥ somasuto mayobhuvas tad
that, stones, preparing, Soma, felicitous,
ashvinā shŗņutam dhişhņyā yuvam.
Ashvins, hear, understanding, you.
Details:
The four steps in this
verse are related to the yoga occurring in the subtle body. The
God Vāyu generates the medicaments in the mid-world or world of
life-energies in our body. Then as already described in hymn 28
in Vol. 2, the Earth and Heaven act like a pair of stones to
crush the medicaments and release the bliss in them. This bliss
is distributed appropriately to all the parts of the body by
Ashvins, the divine physicians. Hence the call to Ashvins
to be yoked to understanding.
MANTRA (1.89.5): INCREASER OF
OUR KNOWLEDGE
The Lord, the protector of all things, mobile or stationary,
Who fills (all) with enlightened thought, him we call for
protection.
He, Pūshaņ, has been the increaser and guardian of our
knowledge.
May he, unobstructed, promote our welfare.
tam īshānam jagatas tasthuşhas patim
him, lord, mobile, stationary, protector,
dhiyamjinvan avase hūmahe vayam;
one fills with enlightened thought, protect, (we) call, we,
pūşhā no yathā vedasām asad vŗdhe
Pūshaņ, us, in this way, knowledge, becomes, for increasing,
rakşhitā pāyur adabdhaĥ svastaye.
guardian, promote, unobstructed, welfare.
Details:
The idea is that
the cultivation of enlightened thought dealing with the welfare
of all automatically gives us protection i.e. the circumstances
which confront us, beneficial or otherwise, are primarily caused
by our thoughts.
MANTRA (1.89.6): WELFARE OF ALL
May Indra of wide fame promote our welfare.
May Pūshaņ, all knower, make us prosper.
May Tārkşhya with non-injuring fellies promote our welfare.
May Brihaspati make us prosper.
svasti na indro vŗdhdashravāĥ
welfare, us, Indra of wide-fame,
svasti naĥ pūşhā vishvavedāĥ;
welfare, us, Pūshaņ, all-knower,
svasti nastārkşhyo arişhţanemiĥ
welfare, us, Tārkşhya, with uninjured fellies,
svasti no bŗhaspatir dadhātu.
welfare, us, Bŗhaspati, bestow.
Details:
This verse is also in
Nrisimhapūrva tapāni U. (1.1).
tārkşhya:
son of tŗkşha, also known as Garutman who is a vehicle
for bringing the red-coloured rays of the Dawn, Aruņa.
His motion is perfect. This fact is stated as ""the fellies of
the car are perfect or undamaged and do not cause injury to
anyone''.
MANTRA (1.89.7): PLACE OF INNER
YAJNA
The Maruts, sons of Prishņi, with deers of pure white spots.
Who are of happy gait, go frequently to the place of the inner
yajňa where knowledge is revealed.
They are the knowers, radiant as the Sun with Agni as their
tongue;
May all these Gods come here for our protection.
pŗşhadashvā marutaĥ pŗshnimātaraĥ
spotted steeds, Maruts, sons of Prişhņi,
shubhamyāvāno vidatheşhu jagmayaĥ;
of happy gait, in the place of the inner yajňa, go,
agnijihvā manavaĥ sūrachakşhaso
whose tongue is Agni, knowers, radiant as the Sun,
vishve no devā avas ā gamanniha.
all,us, Gods, protection, ., come, here.
Details:
Maruts are the
children of Prişhņi. See the hymns on Maruts for details.
MANTRA (1.89.8): AUSPICIOUS
HEARINGS AND SEEINGS
O Gods, may we hear (only) what is auspicious;
O Worshipful ones, may we behold with our eyes (only) what is
auspicious;
Praising you with bodies having firm limbs
May we enjoy the God-given span of life.
bhadram karņebhiĥ shŗņuyāma devā
auspicious, ear, hear, O Gods,
bhadram pashyem ākşhabhir yajatrāĥ;
auspicious, see, eyes, worshipful names,
sthirair angaihs tuşhţuvāmsas sastanūbhihr vyashema
firm, limbs, praising you, bodies, enjoy,
devahitam yad āyuĥ.
god-given, that, life-span.
Details:
This verse is the first
or invocatory verse in both
the Prashņa U. and Māndukya
U. It is also found in Nrishimhapūrvatāpani U. (1.1) and the
Mukti U.(1). Also in Sāma Veda Samhita 1224, Vājasaneyi Samhita,
(25.21), Taittirīya Araņyaka (1.1.1), Aitereya Araņyaka (1.1).
Verses similar to this are in many
later Hindu scriptures. For instance, "vānī guņānukathane
shravaņam kathāyām...'' Srimad Bhāgavatam, Book X.
MANTRA (1.89.9): LIFE-SPAN
May we be in your proximity for a hundred years, O Gods.
Before the decay or oldage strikes our bodies and
Before our sons become fathers,
Interrupt not the span of our life-journey in the middle.
shatamin nu sharado anti devā
hundred years, certainly, years, near, Gods,
yatrā naşh chakrā jarasam tanūnām;
where, us, (you) do or cause, old-age or decay, bodies,
putrāso yatra pitaro bhavanti
sons, where, fathers, become,
mā no madhyā rīrişhat āyur gantoĥ.
not, in the middle, interrupt, life-span, journey.
Details:
This verse occurs in Vājasaneyi Samhita (25.22), Bŗhad Devata (3.122) and other
books.
Even though
shata means a hundred, the life-span need not be regarded as
exactly equal to one hundred years. Commenting on this verse,
the taittireya āraņayaka declares "whatever life-span or
limit we impose on ourselves, that indeed becomes the limit.''
"yavatīĥ samā eshyan manyeta tāvadeva mānam syāt''
(quoted by Kapāli Sāstry).
MANTRA 1.89.10): ADITI, THE
INFINITE
Aditi is Heaven, Aditi is the Mid-world;
Aditi is the Mother (Earth), Aditi is the Father and Son;
She is (the collectivity) of all the Gods; she is the five
peoples;
Aditi is all that is born and what is yet to be born.
aditir dyaur aditir antarikşham
Aditi, Heaven, Aditi, mid-world,
aditir mātā sa pitā sa putraĥ;
Aditi, mother, she, father, she, son,
vishve devā aditiĥ pancha janā
all, Gods, Aditi, five, peoples,
aditir jātam aditir janitvam.
Aditi, all that is born, Aditi, all that is to be born.
Details:
Aditi represents the
earliest conception of infinity, specially related to the idea
of infinite existence including space, manifestations, time etc.
This infinite existence is referred as the principle of Aditi,
adititvam, in Bŗhad Araņyaka U. (1.2.5)
This verse is also found in Atharva
Veda (7.6.1), Vājasaneya Samhita (25.23) and other books.
putraĥ:
sons, all the beings born of the parents, Heaven and Earth.
panchjanā:
five peoples. They are the beings of the five planes namely
matter anna, vital or emotional prāņa, mental
mana, supramental vijnāna or mahas and bliss
ānanda. Sāyaņa declares that is refers to the four castes
brāhmaņa,
kşhatriya, vaishya, shūdra
and the forest tribals nishāda. It is a mere guess.
Rig Veda itself does not clarify the names of the five peoples. |
