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Hymn 7:
Breaking the hill and removing the cover
Rişhi:
Madhuchchhandas Vaishvāmitraĥ
This hymn,
among other things, brings out the symbolic character of Indra's
horses and Indra's breaking the hill of the adversaries.
The deep meaning of the last mantra is diluted in the
translations of both S and the moderns.
MANTRA
(1.7.1): THREE TYPES OF MANTRAS
Indra
glorified by the singers with the bŗhat sāma mantrās,
By the singers
of the rik mantrās with the riks and
By the singers
of the remaining verses (yajus).
indramit
gāthino bŗhat
Indra himself,
Sāma singers, vast (Sāma),
indram
arkebhiĥ arkiņaĥ;
Indra, by
rik mantrās, singers of riks,
indram
vāņīĥ anūşhata.
Indra, (rest
of) verses, have chanted.
Details:
This is the
first mention in the rik Samhita of the three types of
chanters, namely Hotŗ, Advaryu and Udgatŗ and of the
three types of mantrās, namely rik, Yajus and
Sāman. riks, the verses from Rig Veda Samhita, are
mantrās in metrical forms. When the rik mantra is set to
music and chanted, it is Sāman. The rest of the mantrās
are Yajus. But all the mantrās are classified under four
collections or Samhitās, Rig Veda Samhita, Yajur Veda Samhita,
Sāma Veda Samhita and Atharva Veda Samhita. There is substantial
overlap among these four collections. Most of the mantrās in the
Sāma Veda Samhita are in the Rig Veda Samhita.
In the esoteric
interpretation, rik is the word which brings
illumination, Yajus is the esoteric or inner word which
guides the sacrificial act, and Sāman is the word which
gives ecstasies. See also (1.5.8).
MANTRA
(1.7.2): YOKED BY THE WORD
Indra comes
along with his steeds
Which are
yoked by the word,
He, Indra, the
harmoniser, the golden, and the thunderer.
indra it
haryoĥ sachā
Indra, verily,
horses, along with,
sammishla ā vachoyujā;
harmoniser,
comes, yoked by the word,
indro
vajrī hiraņyayaĥ.
Indra, holder
of vajra or thunderer, golden.
Details:
vajra:
a divine weapon of Indra made of the potent Word and Light.
Thunderbolt is a symbol of this divine weapon. Vajra is
not a physical weapon with which Indra fights the enemies, as
repeatedly mentioned by several indologists for over a century.
Vajra is derived from vraj meaning to go. In
1.121.12 the seer-poet says, "vajra, which Uşhanas,
son of Kāvya, gave you (Indra)'. Uşhanas is one of
the pre-eminent seer poets of RV, mentioned in the Bhagavad
Gīta as supreme among seer-poets. It is hard to imagine a
great poet fashioning a material weapon. Uşhanas can only
fashion an occult weapon with his potent Words. 6.39.2
explicitly states that Indra fights the Paņis (demons)
with words, paņin vachobhiĥabhi yodad Indra.
Several more references can be given to confirm the occult
character of vajra.
vajrī:
holder of vajra, an epithet for Indra. It is can
be translated also as the thunderer, with the understanding that
the thunder is the potent Word which breaks obstacles.
haryaĥ:
steeds; see (1.5.4). The horses clearly are not the four-footed
animals in view of the phrase "yoked by the word'.
sammishlaĥ:
He whose mixture, mishlaĥ, is good. Indra integrates all
things properly.
MANTRA
(1.7.3): INDRA BURSTS THE HILL AND RAISES THE SUN
For the
eternal vision (of the truth - light), Indra
Raised the sun
in heaven;
By the rays he
burst the hill of ignorance.
indro
dīrghāya chakşhasa
Indra,
far-reaching, vision,
ā sūryam
rohayat divi;
., sun,
raised, in the heavens,
vi
gobhiĥ adrim airayat.
., by his
rays, hill of ignorance, burst.
Details:
This is the
first reference in the RV to the great deed of Indra in
destroying the forces of ignorance. It is clear in the mantra
that the word go stands only for Rays of Knowledge or
spiritual Light and not for cows. With cows one cannot burst a
hill.
adrim
ordinarily means hill. It is difficult to see how one can burst
a hill, a structure of hard matter, by using the animal cow.
Hence the translators assign arbitrary meanings to words to get
the meaning they like to get. Griffith mistranslates gobhiĥ,
which is in instrumental case, by the phrase, "for getting the
cows' and states Indra burst the hill for getting the cows.
Wilson following S translates adrim as cloud and
gobhiĥas waters and states that Indra charged the clouds
with the waters. To connect the whole paragraph, S says "after
the rain, the Sun became clear'. In Griffith's translation there
is no connection between the two lines. The pattern should be
evident. These translators are taking complete liberty in their
work to make sure that the Vedic verses have no deep meaning.
The third line
means "Indra destroys the forces of ignorance using the Rays of
spiritual Light.'
This task is
appropriate for Indra since all the epithets in the Veda for him
imply that he is the Lord of the Divine Mind, i.e. the possessor
and controller of all the mental aspects in their purity unmixed
with other turbidities. This destruction of ignorance is
especially relevant to the individual i.e., the power of Indra,
established in the subtle body of rişhi with the aid of
spiritual practices, destroys the structure of ignorance and
falsehood inside the subtle body of the rişhi.
Now there is a
natural connection between the first and second lines of the
translation (1.7.3). Sun, Sūrya, in the RV is at the peak
of the hierarchy of Vedic Gods. There is a Supreme Sun, within
each one of us, within the microcosm. When the ignorance is
destroyed, the Sun inside becomes visible and illumines all the
aspects of our inner life. Thus, the Sun is raised so that all
the aspects inside can have the vision of Sun and can be
influenced by the Sun.
In all
cultures, adri, hill represents something having no
flexibility, no subtlety, something very difficult to change. It
is the natural symbol for representing the result of the forces
of ignorance, both at the individual level as well as the cosmic
level. Recall the meaning of a Ray of spiritual Light or
experience for the word go. Each different spiritual
experience is a different and distinct go, a ray of the
Spiritual Light.
There is a
verse (1.51.4) very similar in meaning to (1.7.3), with the word
adri replaced by Vŗtra, the demon who covers
knowledge by ignorance. This should confirm our assignment of
the meaning of ignorance to adri. In (1.7.3) there is the
bursting of hill. In (1.51.4) there is the killing of Vŗtra,
the demon embodying the force of ignorance and inconscience.
"O Indra, only
when you have slain Vŗtra, the coverer, with your
luminous strength,
You raised the
Sun in heaven for vision (1.54.1)'.
"The hill
parvata was within the insides, jaţhareşhu, of
Vŗtra (1.54.10)’.
Note that the
hill is within the titan Vŗtra, indicating that it is not
physical. Only the force of ignorance is trapping the flow of
the dynamical energies in human beings.
In the search
by Indra there are many references for bursting the hill,
adri, or parvata.
ā + rohayat:
raised.
vi +
airayat:
burst.
MANTRA
(1.7.4): INDRA'S PROTECTION
O Indra,
unassailable, protect us in the opulences (gained by us),
Even in the thousand fold treasures,
With your
unassailable protections.
indra
vājeşhu naĥava
Indra, in the
opulences, us, protect,
sahasra
pradhaneşhu cha;
thousand,
treasures, and,
ugra
ugrābhiĥūtibhiĥ.
unassailable, by the unassailable, protections.
Details:
pradhaneşhu:
excellent treasures. These are the spiritual felicities like
knowledge, vision, power, etc.
ava:
protect. The protection requested is from the Paņis and
others who are the enemies of the seers and the Gods. These
enemies steal the spiritual treasures.
MANTRA
(1.7.5): CALL TO INDRA
We call Indra
for the great wealth,
And also call
Indra for the little wealth,
Who joins us
along with his vajra when the Vŗtras arrive.
indram vayam mahādhana
Indra, we, for
the great wealth,
indram
arbhe havāmahe;
Indra, little
(wealth), we call,
yujam
vŗtreşhu vajriņam
who joins us,
for (battling) Vŗtras, along with vajra.
Details:
The wealth, dhana, is both psychological as well as
physical. See (1.1.3) and (1.4.8) for more details.
havāmahe:
call, take refuge in every way.
Vŗtra:
adversaries: derived from the root vŗ to tear, to
envelop. They are not the physical clouds or members of another
tribe, but supraphysical beings, Vedic demons, opposed to both
the humans and the Gods. Recall notes in (1.4.8).
MANTRA
(1.7.6): REMOVE THE COVER ON OUR CONSCIOUSNESS
O showerer,
remove the cloudy movements of mind and life seen in front;
O simultaneous
donor (of power and knowledge), reveal yourself
To us, O
uncoverable one.
sa no
vŗşhan amum charum
you, for us,
showerer, seen in front, cloudy movement,
satrādāvan apāvŗdhi;
donor of many
qualities, disclose or reveal,
asmabhyam apratişhkutaĥ.
for us,
uncoverable.
Details:
This mantra is
echoed in £sha Upanishad (15). The Upanishad uses
apāvŗņu instead of apāvŗdhi, used here in line 2. The
prayer is “remove the cloudy movements caused by our mind and
emotions and make us see you, who are ever present in our
front''.
charum:
literally means cloud. In the esoteric sense, it stands for the
constantly active movements of mind and life which cover the
inner Light like a cloud covering the Sun.
satrādāvan:
satra,
together, dāvan, donor; simultaneous donor of power,
knowledge, etc.
MANTRA
(1.7.7): NO ADEQUATE PRAISE FOR INDRA
At each
impulsion, superb lauds arise in me
For Indra, the
thunderer;
Still I can
find no adequate praise for him.
tuňjetuňje ya uttare
at each
impulsion, ., superb,
stomā
indrasya vajriņaĥ;
lauds, of
Indra, one with vajra:
na
vindhe asya suşhţutim
no, find, his,
adequate praise.
Details:
The purport is
that every time the impulsion seizes me, I laud superbly. Still
these praises are not adequate to describe Indra. The
mantra is the seed for similar ideas abundant in later
devotional literature. For instance, "O Devī, how can we
describe your form which cannot be grasped by the mind’ (Mārkāndeya
Purāņa, Devī Mahātmya, 4.6).
tuňje:
force of impulsion or inspiration received by the rişhi.
According to S, it has other meanings of sacrifice, food,
strength, speed, etc.,
MANTRA
(1.7.8): INDRA, THE IMPELLER
Just as the
bull of charming stride excites the herd,
He impels the
strivers with his potent power,
Indra, the
lord uncoverable.
vrşhā
yūtheva vamsagaĥ
Indra, like
herds, one with charming stride,
kŗşhţīr
iyarti ojasā;
strives,
impels, with power,
īshāno
apratişhkutaĥ.
the lord,
uncoverable or eternally visible.
Details:
vŗşhā:
Indra, showerer of both worldly and spiritual gifts. Ritualists
and others interpret it as the showerer of rain, the rain - God.
MANTRA
(1.7.9): THE LORD OF FIVE WORLDS
The sole lord
of the strivers
Rules over the
varied wealth;
He is the king
of all the five worlds.
ya ekaĥ
charşhaņīnām
he, the one,
strivers,
vasūnām
irajyati;
varied wealth,
rules over,
indraĥ
pancha kşhitīnām.
Indra, five,
of dwellings.
Details:
The wealth is
of many types, physical, emotional, intellectual, psychological
etc. Indra rules over all the types of wealth and gives them to
his devotees.
Specifically,
the five worlds could be the three earths, the midregion,
antarikşha, and heaven, dyaus [Sri Aurobindo, HMF,
p.24]. S translates it as five peoples, with the fifth being the
outcastes, nişhādās. This is doubtful to say the least.
The commentator Yāska gives several meanings for this word. This
topic about the supposed reference to the outcastes has been
extensively discussed by the great poet Vāsişhţa Gaņapati Muni,
the first disciple of the sage Sri Ramaņa, in his Sanskrit
essays. For details refer to (CWKS, Vol. 1., P.47).
charşhaņīnām:
strivers, not
limited to human only.
kşhiti:
means a dwelling or a world. There are five planes like earth
arranged one on the top of another as described in the
Taittirīya Upanishad, with our earth at the bottom as the
foundation.
MANTRA
(1.7.10): OUR EXCLUSIVE OBJECT OF WORSHIP
Indra,
standing above all,
Is called by
seekers;
May he be the exclusive object of our worship.
indram
vo vishvataĥ pari
Indra, for
you, above all, standing above,
havāmahe
janebhyaĥ;
call, from
men,
asmākam
astu kevalaĥ.
our, may he
be, exclusive object of worship.
Details:
This mantra is
addressed by the rişhi to his fellow aspirants. Wilson
following S translates the third line as, “May he be exclusively
our own''. Griffith translates this phrase as “Ours and none
others, may he be.'' These translations are typical of the
attempt to portray the rişhis as narrow and petty
persons.
The seer prays
that Indra may be the exclusive object of his worship and that
nothing (no other thought) may come between him and his worship.
The seer wants to have a unique relationship with the Lord among
all his other relationships. Mantrās like this are the seeds of
the mode of adoration which later became Bhakti yoga, the
yoga of devotion. Note the close connection between the second
foot of this mantra and the second foot of (1.4.3), "Do not show
beyond us.'
kevalaĥ:
uncommon, adorable, exclusive object of worship.
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