For helping the reader to become aware of the treasures in TS this brief list of topics has been prepared along with a brief essay on each topic and the references to the relevant anuvākās of TS for more information. The index to Part III gives all the relevant mantrās on each topic. The 72 topics are divided into six categories namely -- Topics of Common Interest, Deities, Mantrās, Psychology and Philosophy, Symbolism and finally the Study of Some Important Words in TS. The list of topics in each group is given below.

Topics of Common Interest

C1. ŗşhīs: ŗşhīs are not ordinary human beings or even intellectuals. They have attained great heights in their spiritual pursuits. The following mantra in RV (10.130.7) (also in SYV (34.49)) represents the work of the seven sages very well:

“contemplating and chanting together, doing their work with appropriate rhythms (saha chhandasa) the seven sages love one another; they have attained divinity; following the paths of the ancient sages they progress continuously like a charioteer with the reins in his hands''.

The quarrels between the ŗşhīs are mentioned only in the Purāņa and not in the Veda.

TS (4.3.2) mentions the five ŗşhīs namely Vasişhţha, Bharadvāja, Vishvāmitra, Jamadagni and Vishvakarma; RV (10.137) mentions seven ŗşhīs: Bharadvāja, Kashyapa, Gotama, Atri, Vishvāmitra and Vasişhţha. During Sandhya worship, one repeats the names of seven ŗşhīs. The list varies from gotra to gotra. One version is: Atri, Bhŗgu, Kutsa, Vasişhţha, Gotama, Kashyapa, Angirasa. (4.3.3) mentions five ŗşhīs Sanaga, Sanātana, Ahabūna, Pratna, Suparņa. The Vishvakarma Brāhmins who build temples and sculpt the forms of deities trace their lineage to these five ŗşhīs.

C2. Yugās: The five yugās are mentioned by name in (4.3.3). Of these, names of two of them are not well known.

C3. Nakşhatrās: The names of 27 asterisms are mentioned in (4.4.10) along with their deities.

C4. Twelve Months and six Seasons: Six seasons and twelve months are in (4.4.11).

C5. Wealth and castes: (4.3.3) mentions five types of wealth. The first three are the wealth associated with brahma, that associated with kşhatra, that associated with vaishya. It associates Vaishyās with the rainy season, during which the agriculturists are busy creating wealth. Then it has two different types of wealth. Puşhţi (nourishment) and Varchas. Note that (4.3.10) mentions in connection with creation that, “Shūdra and Arya were created''. Note the order of creation. Commentator S modifies it and says "it is Vaishya and Shūdra'.
 TS (5.7.6) states; "Give brilliance (rucham) to Brāhmaņa, brilliance to princes, brilliance to Vaishyās and Shūdrās'. There is no question of Shūdra being regarded as inferior. The rigid caste system came into existence several thousands years later. The complimentary nature of the brahma-power and kşhatra-power is in 5.1.10 and 5.2.4. See also (5.4.1) and (5.4.7).

C6. five: TS (4.3.3) emphasizes the qualities in cosmos characterised by the number five. There are five ŗşhīs, five yugās, five (main) mantrās, five seasons etc., which are represented in table (4.3.3); similarly TS (4.3.11.5) declares, “the creator manifested the (world) by five deities, then he produced the sisters of usha, the dawn, five by five''. Recall that Taittirīya Upanishad characterises the five states of consciousness, "anna (matter), prāna (life-force), mana (mind), mahas (supramental light) and Ānanda (bliss)'.

See also the topic P7, “Seven''.

C7. Animal sacrifice: It is recognised by most persons that animal sacrifice symbolises the ending of the base instincts and cravings in our lives. We accept that the practice of killing animals as a part of the worship was prevalent according to some schools of Tantra.

The main question for us is, "Do the mantrās of the four Veda Samhitās support the killing of animals as part of the yajňa-rite?'. If one reads uncritically the commentary of Sāyaņa or the translation of the Taittirīya Samhitā by Keith, one gets the impression that animal sacrifice is a prominent aspect of the Taittirīya Samhitā.

One of the popular yajňas is the Soma Yāga discussed in the Prapāţhakās TS (1.2 - 1.4). In volume 1 of this series, we have shown by discussing all mantrās of TS (1.2)  - TS (1.4) that Sāyaņa conveys the possibility of animal sacrifice by arbitrarily assigning ritualistic meanings to words which naturally do not have those meanings.

The same thing is true for the Ashvamedha Yajňa also. In the entire Rig Veda, only two sūktās RV (1.162) and RV (163) deal with the praise of the steed or life energy. All these mantrās are reproduced in TS (4.6.7) - TS (4.6.9). We request the reader to read the translations of these mantrās and also the essay, "Ashvamedha' in Part I. We have established that the mantrās of Rig Veda or Taittirīya Samhitā do not endorse the ritual killing of the horse. The belief in non-violence among the ŗşhīs is also clear from the fact that they regard even the digging of the earth as cruel, (TS (5.1.5)).

C8. Wish-yielding cow: This cow is famous in the Purāņa. The earliest reference is in TS (5.7.2) and (4.4.11.11.

C9. The wrath of Rudra: The Vedās proclaim the gods to be loving and considerate to all human beings. Hence the epithet ‘wrath' to Rudra who is regarded as one of the important deities appears inconsistent with the phrase ‘all-loving'. A deeper look gives a deeper Truth of Veda. Rudra-Shiva is the force of evolution. He applies pressure on humans for their persistent progress. But many human beings under the control of the six inner foes (lust, anger, greed, delusion, arrogance, jealousy) actively oppose Shiva's goals of allround progress. These persons, unconsciously, become allied with the forces of falsehond under some euphemism such as, ‘preserving the tradition'; some of them are steeped in laziness. The wrath of Rudra is his reaction to such actions. Note that "wrath' is associated with Vishņu also as in RV (1.154.2), “he is like a terrible lion''. The seeker realises his mistake and prays for Rudra's grace as mentioned in TS (3.4.11.8) (RV (1.114.8)) and others. Also the first line of RV (1.114.8) has the phrase, "mā nastoke' which is incorrectly rendered as, "harm not our children'. The correct translation is "may no harm touch our children'. The harm comes from our carelessness and the hostile forces and not from Rudra or other gods. It is silly to believe that Rudra harms children for the mistakes of their parents.

The popular idea that "the Gods punish persons who make mistakes in the performance of rites' has no basis in the Veda. Mistakes occur in the performance of rites because of carelessness and the ignorance of the deeper ideas behind the rite. Such persons exhibit the same qualities of carelessness and ignorance in their other activities; the resulting untoward results cannot be ascribed to the God. Hence a common prayer in the Veda is "make us become more and more aware of ourselves and of our actions'.

Deities

D1. Agni: He is the most important, the most universal of the Vedic Gods. (More than a fourth of the mantrās in TS are addressed to Agni). In the physical world, he is the general devourer and enjoyer. He is also the purifier.

He is equally the will in Prāņa, the dynamic Life-energy. Our passions and absence emotions are the smoke of Agni's burning.

If he is the Will in our nervous being and purifies it by action, he is also the Will in the mind and clarifies it by aspiration when he enters the intellect, he is drawing near to his divine birth place and home. He leads the thoughts towards effective power, he leads the active energies towards Light. (SA)

TS (3.5.11) quotes the 3 RV mantrās stating that the sage Dadhyang Atharvan churned out Agni from the lotus in the head.

TS (4.1.9.1) details the psychological powers of Agni. (4.1.4) declares metres as garments of Agni.

The ŗk mantrās in TS addressed to agni are listed in the last anuvāka of all the 7 Prapāţhakās and other Anuvākās. See also the introduction to (4.1.7) on the Sāmidheni mantrās. (4.2.3.13) clearly states that "gods kindle Agni'. Clearly Agni is not merely the physical fire. See the index for the titles of all the Agni mantrās.

 D2. Sarasvati: She is the goddess of inspiration. (4.1.11) has two of her well-known mantrās RV (1.3.11), RV (6.49.7). The mantra RV (6.61.4) is in (1.8.22) in volume 1. See the index for Part (iii).

D3. Vişhņu: See the introduction to TS (4.5) for the nature of Vişhņu and his relation to Brahma and Rudra-Shiva. Vişhņu mantrās are in (4.2.9), (1.3.6), (1.2.13) and other places.

D4. Rudra-Shiva: See (4.5). (4.5.10) contains verses from RV (1.114).

D5. Savitŗ: See the introduction to (4.1.1) and also (4.1.10.12).

D6. Yama: He is mentioned as the controller in several mantrās in TS. He is not identified as the god of death in Veda. Also see (4.6.7.2), (4.6.7.3), RV (1.163.33) “God Yama gave men the Horse'', "you are Yama'. In (5.2.3) Yama is regarded as the overlord of earth. See also 3.3.8. Note that Ashvins are said to have removed death from the place of yagňa in TS (5.1.8).

D7. Nirŗti: In the Veda she is the Goddess or power of adversity or power of bad-luck. Nirŗti literally means the hidden (ni) truth (ŗta), i.e., effects hidden from our physical eyes. Hence she is treated with respect or homage, see (4.2.5.7), (4.2.5.10), (4.2.5.11).

D8. Aditi: She is the goddess of infinity. "May Aditi blissful with luminous speech (svarvāchī), with the speech from the silence in the head (anāhata shīrsĥaņi) accept and take delight in the soma', (TS (3.2.5.7)).

 “I proclaim the birth of the Word, Aditi by name, who has entered and pervaded all this world” (TS (1.7.7.4);).

Diti and Aditi are the rival wives in the Purāņa. But the symbolism of their rivalry is brought out in TS (5.5.4.9) (RV (4.2.11)). Diti signifies the finite and the multiplicity. Aditi signifies the infinite and knowledge or oneness. Both Diti and Aditi are needed for our spiritual progress. The verse declares, "lavish on us the finite (diti) and guard for us the infinite  (aditi)'.

See also (4.2.9.1,2), (4.4.9.1) to (4.4.9.3), (1.5.3.1), (1.5.11.18, 20), (5.5.4) and others given in index.

D9. Vāsţoşhpati: Popularly he is the Vāstu-Purūşha. He is the protector of both the journey and the house; see TS (3.4.10) and others.

D10. Uşha: Successive dawns and their functions are in (4.3.11). Note the two births of Uşha.

D11. Goddesses: There is an impression that goddesses play a minor role in the Veda. The impression is created by the count of the mantrās dedicated to the Gods and Goddesses.

Veda subscribes to the Puruşha-Prakŗti dualism. Each God like Agni in the Veda has his own executive power like Agnayi, who is rarely mentioned even though her role is important. In the TS there are several mantrās in many places dedicated to the role of Goddesses. Some examples are (4.1.6.8) -- (4.1.6.12), (4.1.9.8), (4.1.9.14), (4.1.9.15). There are many mantrās for the major goddess such as Sarasvati, Uşha, Aditi.

Krittika Goddesses: (4.4.5.2)

Aditi: (4.4.12.12-14), (4.6.8), RV (6.75.12), (3.2.5); (See also D8)

Anumati: (4.4.12.17-18), (4.7.15.15-16)

Anumati, Rāka, Kuhu: (3.3.11)

Sinīvalī, Anumati, Rāka, Kuhu: (3.4.9)

Spouse of Brahmaņaspati: (3.5.5)

D12. Nīla Sūkta or Vişhņu Patni: It consists of the two verses (4.4.12.12,13).

D13. Soma: He is the deity of the delight of existence, also he is the lord of all the woods Vanaspati, Vana meaning both wood and delight. See RV (1.91) and the mantra RV (9.96.6) in (3.4.11), RV (9.96.11) in (2.6.12).

Suparņa, the divine bird, is said to bring down the divine Soma, represented as the nectar of immortality, from the heaven svar. See the latter half of the essay entitled Suparņa in Part I of this book.

TS (3.2.8) declares, "Soma is generated for the entire world'. Soma is regarded as the king of the knowers of the word (brahma).

D14. Indra: In the Veda, Indra is the Lord of the divine mind. Many mantrās from the Rig Veda are reproduced here. TS (3.5.2) states that among the seers only Vasişhţha could see Indra. Hence the sage Vasişhţha is widely respected. TS (3.3.7) declares yajňa as the sacrificial body of Indra. TS (4.4.8) deals with Indra-tanu, the aspects of yajňa made by the power of Indra. They are called as Indra-tanu bricks by ritualists. TS (4.4.8) describes these aspects in some detail.

D15. Number of Gods: In the Veda the gods do the yajňa. (3.3.8) states that the seer, hearer and reciter of the hymns in the yajňa are Gods. The Gods are different powers of the One. Viewed from different points of view, we get different numbers. TS (4.4.12) mentions ten Gods and Goddesses namely: Agni, Indra, Vishvedevās (All-Gods), Mitrā-Varuņa, Bŗhaspati, Savitŗ, Aditi, Vaishvānara, Anumati and Ka or Prajāpati. TS (4.7.15) has a similar list. The number 33 appears in several places of TS and also in Brh.U. The number is quoted as 21 in TS (5.1.10) detailed as twelve months, five seasons, the three worlds and the Sun.

D16. Prajāpati: He is the originator of all beings. He is hymned in RV (10.121) (TS (4.1.8)) where he is called as kah, the god to whom all offerings are given. TS (3.2.4) regards him as the yajňa. TS (3.4.3) and (3.5.9) declares that all deities are Prajāpati. He is regarded also as the life-energy or horse in (5.1.7) (Ashvamedha yajňa). Even though he creates various animals, all his creatures are said to move away from him according to TS (5.7.10) and other verses.

In TS (5.6.10) he is said to arrange the fire in the bird-shaped altar using the seasons and persons of five groups. TS (3.3.5) states Prajāpati created the past and future with the aid of the Virāj (metre). (3.3.7) states Prajāpati created the gods, asurās and the sacrifice. (5.6.1.1) mentions the birth of Kashyapa Prajāpati from the Primeval Waters.

Mantrās

M1. Gāyatri: The famous mantra, revealed to ŗşhi Vishvāmitra, RV (3.62.10), is in TS (4.1.11.7); it is also in (1.5.6) (Volume 1).

M2. Bhūr Bhuvaĥ Suvaĥ: This famous mantra appears in (5.5.5.9). This phrase preceded by Om is used along with the Gāyatri mantra. Its meaning is explained in Tai. U. (1-5). The three represent the three planes of matter, life-energy and mind; Tai.U. adds the fourth Vyāhŗti namely "mahas' or "vijňāna' or super-mind. This quartet is given four different interpretations: (i) this world, midworld, other world, ādityā (ii) Agni, Vāyu, Sun (āditya), Chandrama, (iii) ŗk, sāma, yajus, brahma, (iv) prāņa, apāna, vyāna, annam. For explanation of (iv), see prāņa.

M3. Sandhya Mantrās: Some ŗk mantrās RV (3.59.1,2,4,6) used in Sandhya worship are in (3.4.11). They are addressed to the God Mitra  and God Varuņa. The famous mantra to God Savitŗ in RV (1.35.2) (ā kŗşhņena rajasā...) is in (3.4.11).

M4. Waters or Divine Energies: Discussed in (4.1.5) or (5.6.1) which have the famous RV mantrās RV (10.9.1) - RV (10.9.3). (1.7.7) and (1.4.45) have the famous water-mantrās from RV (1.23).
 Also references to the ocean above (super conscient) and the ocean below (inconscient) appear in (4.2.4.6), RV (3.22.3). See also the index.

M5. Blessing mantra: "shatamānam.....' is mentioned in TS (4.4.9) along with the clarification of hundred syllables "shatākşhara' in it.

M6. Hamsa mantra (perfection): This famous verse in TS (4.2.1), RV (4.40.5) is also in Kaţha U. (5.2). hamsa is derived from ahamsaĥ so that the individual (aham) and the Supreme One (saĥ) are one, i.e., the supreme reality simultaneously pervades everything in this universe. vasu is  sutra-ātman connecting the individual to the Supreme One (Shankara). For BB hamsa has  the 3 meanings of soul, sun and chariot. For ritualists atithi is the Soma juice which is stored in the pot (duroņa). All the words having the ritualist connotations like vedi (altar), hotŗ (invoker) have their correspondences in our subtle body.

M7: Svāhā: su + ā + hā: auspicious, complete, offering (hānam). I offer completely; nothing is mine (na mama).

M8. Medha mantrās: Medha is that which bears dhī; intelligence. See TS (3.3.1).

Psychology and Philosophy

P1. The One and the Many: Veda has a harmonious conception of the One and the Many. It mentions the concept of the One which encompasses everything, [RV (1.164.46) (ekam sat), RV (10.114.5) (ekam santam)]. However all the diverse things in this universe have come out of this One; they are different aspects of this One. In both the verses quoted above, the One is linked  with Suparņa, the dynamic aspect of creation.

The different Gods are all aspects of the One. They are as real as the One. It is the gods who perform the yajňa, it is the gods who do all the work as indicated in mantra TS (1.1.6) "ashvinau bahubhyom' and others.

Several mantrās such as (3.5.5) mention the identification with all beings.

P2. Concept of Supreme or That Beyond manifestation: TS (3.3.6) mentions that which is Supreme (para), the supremacy of the Supreme (paratvam), that which is beyond the range of outward activities or rites. This anuvāka mentions, "how to attain that which cannot be won by yajňa'. See also (4.6.2.5), (RV (10.82.7)), which declares: “you shall not find him (Vishvakarman) who created this world. Another principle shall be between you and him; enveloped in the mist of ignorance and with useless talk the singers recite mantrās for satisfying desires.''

P3. Concept of Truth in movement (ŗtam): The distinction between satyam (Truth in being) and ŗtam (Truth in movement or Right action) is important. ŗtam is Right action. See (3.3.5) and (4.1.4.10).

P4. Existence and Nonexistence: (sat, asat) The concept is discussed under the heading Creation. Also interesting is the mantra "brahma jajnānam...' (4.2.8.4), (5.2.7.1,2). See also P2 and (3.5.8).

P5. Madhu Vidya or the Doctrine of Delight: (4.2.9) reproduces the famous RV verses (1.90.6)-(1.90.8) detailing the doctrine of honey or delight which has been developed in the Brh.U. TS (3.1.8), RV (10.17.11) mentions about the power of a drop of bliss, which wanders in the third plane. (5.1.4) and (5.6.6) mention the anecdote of Dadhyan Atharvan and the doctrine of delight.

P6. Churning of the lotus in the head: (3.5.11) quotes RV (6.16.13) declaring “The sage Atharvan churned Agni from the Lotus of the head of every chanting sage.'' TS quotes several mantrās from the same sūkta (6.16) of ŗşhi Bharadvāja.

P7. Seven: RV refers in many places to the seven planes or states of consciousness. They are the three lower planes of matter, life, mind (bhur, bhuvah, svar), the corresponding three upper planes of sat-chit-ānanda [or jana (delight, ananda), tapa (consciousness-force, chit) and satya (existence or sat)] and the link world, mahas or vijňana which links the three triples.

TS (1.5.3.8), addressed to Agni, states “seven are your fuels, seven are your tongues; seven seers, seven dear abodes (or planes), seven invokers, sevenfold worship (yajňa) is offered to you; you fill the seven primal sources with Light''. A similar verse is in TS (5.4.7). TS (5.1.7) speaks of seven Prānas. See (4.6.2.2); some references are: sapta vani RV (1.164, 24); sapta tantra, RV (1.164.5); sapta ŗşhi RV (10.137). See also (4.6.5.14) and the topic C6 “five'' in this section 12.

P8. Healing thoughts and plants: see (4.2.6).

P9. Subhashitās or Maxims: Many of them are in TS. Some are: ‘Do not afraid, you will not die.' (4.1.9.8); ‘harsh speech' (3.4.8); ‘one hates, one loves' (4.2.3.14); ‘what is to be is greater than what has been' (5.1.9).

P10. Subtle body development: It is acknowledged that the subtle body need to be developed for deeper control of the body and the development of our higher and inner faculties. The entire Kāņda 4, particularly (4.1) through (4.4), offer many hints.

P11. Ascent and descent: These acts have several meanings in the Veda; ascent (ārohaņa) means a call or a prayer to the divine; descent (avarohaņa) means the response of the divine to the call. Their meaning in the breathing and control of prāņa is hinted elsewhere. See (4.6.3.14).

P12. Prāņa, Apāna and others: It is the life-energy mentioned in several mantrās of TS. Its full name is Prāņa-Vāyu because it is a form of the cosmic force Vāyu. This prāņavāyu has five primary aspects or functions by the name of Prāņa, Apāna, Samāna, Udāna, Vyāna -- the so called five prāņās. TS mentions often the three of them Prāņa, Apāna and Vyāna. Note that when we take the air in by breathing, we are taking both the physical air and the subtle prāņa.

Prāņa: It is the in-breath;  it is the agency by which air enters the body; when we breathe in, the diaphragm (vapa), mentioned in numerous places in TS (see W7), falls down into the fire in the stomach, jaţharāgni, creating a vacuum and the air rushes in.

Apāna: It is the out-breath. It is the energy needed for the physical acts like lifting and the expulsion of wastes.

Samāna: It is the equaliser; samāna makes the movements of prāņa and apāna complimentary.

Vyāna: It is the distributing breath; it distributes the prāņa energy throughout the body regulating the flow of nutrients etc.

Udāna: It is the up-breath located near the throat and face enabling swallowing, speech and the maintenance of strength of all muscles.

See (3.5.10), (4.6.1.8), (4.6.9.13), (4.6.3.6), (4.6.3.7), the Ashvamedha mantrās in (4.6.7), (4.6.8), (4.6.9) and (5.2.12), (5.3.2), (5.3.7), (5.2.5) and (5.4.5).

P13. Svadha or self-Law: It is the self-ordering power of nature. Every entity in nature, be it human, god, animal organization etc., carries within it the subtle law which governs its evolution. Veda has no need for the concept of extra-cosmic God who governs everything as distinct from Himself. The self-law or svadha governs the evolution from inside the entity. See TS (4.2.3), RV (1.147.2) and other mantrās. TS ((4.2.3), RV (1.147.2) and other mantrās.

P14. Perfection: TS declares all-sided perfection as the goal of yajňa. It does not limit itself to generalities. It details all the qualities in which the perfection has to be attained. TS (4.7.10) declares:

“may life become perfect by yajňa; may life-energy prāņa, and its operations become perfect by yajňa; may eyes become perfect by yajňa; may ears become perfect by yajňa; may mind become perfect by yajňa; may speech become perfect by yajňa; may the soul become perfect by yajňa; may yajňa become perfect by yajňa.''

Next, the anuvākās TS (4.7.1)-(4.7.9) detail all the qualities that have to be developed and to attain perfection in every one of them. First is the physical body with its limbs, bones, joints, perfect movement, control of decay, subtle bodies. Next, the sustenance of the body, habitation, freedom from illness etc. nourishment for all, appreciating the powers in various types of grains and edibles, appreciating the beauty of nature in sand, stone, clay, roots, herbs, flowers, minerals are mentioned in TS (4.7.1).

Then it gives a long list of qualities, mental and psychological, to be developed for achieving all-sided perfection: Origination, effort, inclination, thought, will-power, speech, fame, renown, revelation, light, world of light, consciousness, learning, mind, discernment, strength, might, force, happiness, pre-eminence, righteous wrath, strength, impetuosity or spontaneity, victorious power, greatness, breadth, wideness, growth, growing, truth, faith, wealth, power, flaming energy, play, delight, what is born, what is to be born, good words, good deeds, that which is to be known, past, future, auspicious paths and goals in life, affluence, agreement, agreeing, right thinking. In TS (4.7.2) - TS (4.7.5) are mentioned many other qualities or powers which we have to develop for attaining perfection.

Symbolism

S1. Bow-arrow: Clearly bow and arrow mentioned in (4.6.6) are symbolic as in the Upanishads. The entire RV (6.75) in TS (4.6.6) deals with symbolic weapons. Bow (dhanu) provides the aim of action, arrow (shara) is movement.

Symbolism of bow-arrow as given by Upanishads.

S2. Plough-furrow-well: Using this symbolism, (4.2.5) discuss the role of effort in everyday life. It utilises the verses in RV (10.101) mentioning the well (avata), plough (sīra), and furrow (sīta). Clearly the plough is a symbol representing effort and avata symbolises the store of energy obtained by effort. The plough or furrow is not physical since verse (4.2.5.20) states, “the seers yoke the plough''. Plough symbolises the instrument and the associated effort for preparing the body and mind to receive new energies. Yoke (yūpa) has the usual meaning of being "yoked to the divine forces'. See the six verses (4.2.5.13) - (4.2.5.18). See also (4.7.3).

S3. Oblation (havya): It signifies always action (karma) and each action of mind or body is regarded as a giving of our plenty into the cosmic being and cosmic intention.

S4. Dūrva: Dūrva is the sacred grass, it symbolises the goddess earth. The famous mantrās (4.2.9.3)-(4.2.9.6) are used in rituals even today.

S5. Dhūpa: It is vibratory movement to ward off the hostiles. It is offered in different metres or chhandas; For instance the dhūpa-power associated with Rudrās is invoked with Trişhţub metre. It is incense for the ritualists.

“May the Vasus offer the incense (dhūpa) to you with the Gāyatri metre like the Angiras seers''.

S6. Graha: These are the receptacles of Soma; for the ritualists they are cups. When the Soma is released, it has to be shared among all Gods. Each cup has the name of deity associated with it like Marut, Indra etc.

S7. Four states and two (dvipada and Chatushpada): Two-stationed: persons thinking only of the place here and hereafter, or those who are only conscious of mind and matter.

Four-stationed: persons who have developed the four planes or sheaths of consciousness, the physical, vital or prāņa, the mental and the supramental svar; ritualists translate dvipada as two-footed (humans) and chatushpada as four-footed (animals). See also (4.5.10.3).

S8. Gandharvās and Apsarasās: In TS (3.4.7), this pair has the function of the Puruşha-Prakŗti pair appearing in the later Sānkhya philosophy. Apsarasa are protrayed as separate shakthis for each god in (4.4.3) without mentioning Gandharva.

Often Gandharva and Apsarasa are paired as in (3.4.7). For instance, “the divine bird Suparņa is the Gandharva; his Apsarasās are the metres'', (3.4.7.4); “Prajāpati, the mind is the Gandharva; his Apsarasās are the ŗk and sāma mantrās called the carrier of the word''. (3.4.7.5).

Gandharva is also mentioned in (4.6.7.2) as connected with the primeval Horse.

Gandharva is one who bears or upholds (dhar) the knowledge (ga). The Gandharvās and Apsarasās of the Veda have nothing to do with the musicians and the dancers of the Indra's court described in Purāņās.

S9. Cords of Bondage of Varuņa: “Ignorance, this matrix of sin, has in its substantial effect the appearance of a triple cord of limited mind, inefficient life, obscure physical animality, the three ropes with which the ŗşhi Shunaĥshepaĥ in the parable was bound as a victim to the sacrificial post. The whole result is a struggling or inert poverty of being; it is the meagerness of a mortal undelight and the insufficiency of a being that collapses at every moment towards death. When Varuņa, the Mighty, comes and sunders this threefold restraint, we are freed towards riches and immortality. Uplifted, the real man arises to his true kingship in the undivided being. The upper cord flies upward releasing the wings of the Soul into superconscient heights; the middle cord parts both ways and all ways, the constrained life breaking out into a happy breadth of existence; the lower cord collapses downward taking with it the alloy of our physical being to disappear and be dissolved in the stuff of the inconscient. This liberation is the purport of the parable of Shunaĥshepaĥ and his two great hymns to Varuņa''. (SA)

S10. Gold (hiraņya): The common meaning of hiraņya is gold; to get the deeper meaning, note hi stands for hita, placed or hidden and raņya means delight in many RV verses. Hence hiraņya is that in which the delight is hidden. Hence gold has the symbolic colour of the light of the Sun; it is the concrete image of higher Light, the gold of the Truth.

hiraņya varņa, a common epithet for the Goddess Shri, means one with the hue of gold or delight; hiraņya bāhu is one whose strength symbolised by his arms is luminous.
hiraņmayī: one who is full of delight; one in whom delight (ran) resides (hi) in plenty (mayī). (hi: abiding)
ranyate: RV (5.18.1); ranayanta: RV (4.7.7)
harī : Resplendent, RV (7.10.1), RV (3.3.5); hariņi has a similar meaning applied to the goddess shri.

S11. Aja (unborn or goat): The word aja occurs in RV and TS in many mantrās. It has two distinct meanings namely the ‘unborn, the condition of existence before any manifestation' or ‘the animal goat'. Ritualists prefer to render aja as goat everywhere to emphasize the ritual killing of goat and horse. The translation of ‘aja' as ‘goat' makes sense only in a few places, whereas the translation of ‘aja' as "unborn' is valid everywhere. For instance take RV (10.82.6) or TS (4.6.2.7): “The waters first bore this primeval germ where all the Gods contemplated together; on the navel of the unborn (aja), the ONE (ekam) is set''. Clearly ‘aja' as goat makes no sense here. Similarly TS (4.2.10.10) states, “From the source (or womb) of the unborn (aja) was Agni born''. The same verse states, “aja beheld agni being born''.

aja is imaged as the divine mother who establishes the connection between the gods and the supreme Being. Similarly the Ashvamedha mantra RV (1.162.2) or TS (4.6.8.2) states that the unborn soul aja leads the imperfect life-force or life-soul with universal form (vishvarūpa) in our body to the heaven so that it can be energised by the nourisher Pushan and Indra. There is no need to state that the goat is killed and the killed goat leads the slaughtered horse to heaven as ritualists like S. or Keith state in their commentaries. See also (3.4.2.8).

S12. Ukha: It literally means the other space (u: other, kha: space). Here it is the subtle space for Agni within us. For ritualists, ukha or okha is the pan for carrying   the physical fire. (4.2.9.1) states that “ukha is the concentrated light of the lights''. See also (5.2.9).

S13. Swayam-matŗņņa (life-energy) bricks: Their meaning is ‘self-perforating bricks' for the ritualist. (5.2.8) explicitly states that swayam-matŗņņa allows the prāna to pass through. Recall mātari is the midworld, home of life-energy. Thus these are connected with life-energies. (5.2.8) states that swayam-matŗņņa reveals the world of heaven. This epithet is valid only for life-energies. See also (5.3.2).

Word-Study

W1. Purīşham, purīşhyāsa, purīşhiņam: BB translates word purīşham in TS (1.2.12) as ‘puraņam prīņanām va tvam', i.e., ‘you who fills us with pleasing things'. Clearly this epithet is appropriate to Agni. Shatapatha Br. (6.4.2.1) defines it as that which fulfills, ‘prapūrtikaram'. This sense is valid in many places such as TS (3.2.8.6) ’prajapashavaĥ purīşham'.

Sri Aurobindo translates it as waters in TS (4.2.4.8) and renders purīşhyāsa as ‘dwelling in waters' which is again valid for Agni. In RV (1.163.1), TS (4.2.8.2), purīşhat means coming from waters.

Sāyaņa in Rig Veda usually renders these words as udaka or waters; in TS (4.2) he translates it as pānsu dust.

It should be noted that the meaning of purīşha in classical Sanskrit is mala, amedhya (urine). See for instance Manu Smriti (5.123). In TS (5.2.3), Keith translates purīşha as dust, assuming that it is an appropriate epithet for Agni.

Purīşha has also the meaning of "filler' or the bonding material which fills the gap between the five layers of bricks, which is part of the fire-altar.

W2. Shamitāra: We consider all the related words sham, shamitārah, shamituh and shami, sharma. Sham has the basic meaning of peace or calmness in all the veda mantrās. S renders shamita occurring in RV 1.162.9 or TS (4.6.6.9) and renders shamitāra occurring in TS (4.6.4.10) as slaughter of the horse. But S renders shamita occurring in RV (10.110.10) as God of fire. The meaning given by S for this word in RV (3.4.10) is ‘one who polishes or improves'. See also the note in the translation of TS (4.6.6.9). Shamitāra in TS (4.6.6.10) is rendered by us as ‘skilled worker' following Sri Aurobindo who translates shamita in RV (10.110.10) as ‘achiever of works'. In TS (4.6.6.9) shamitāra has the meaning of life-force which is viewed as a skilled worker.

Summing shamita, shamitāra refer to a skilled worker or one who does the work calmly. Translating it as, ‘killing' is far fetched.

W3. shamyoh: It is a key word in Veda. sham is usually rendered as well-being or calmness when not engaged in external activity. yoh indicates the peace, even when  one is involved in activity, i.e. the activity is enveloped by a quietude. See also RV (3.17.3) and TS (3.2.11).

W4. go or gau: In most verses of the Veda, it refers to a ray of knowledge. Hence it is translated as Ray-Cow. In some places only it is the animal cow. All the words related to go in the Veda or in common usage are not related to the animal cow. For instance goshţi is the place where recitation or discussion takes place. It is not a cow-pen. gochara is ‘becoming aware'; it is not ‘cow moving'.

W5. Pashu: Its usual meaning is animal or cow. But from its root pash it means one who sees, a sage or seer. We use this meaning in many mantra passages (not Brāhmaņa). We also render it as Ray-Cow in all places.

W6. ghŗta: Ordinary meaning is ghee. However this meaning rarely fits in many mantrās. The root ghŗ has the meaning of shining. Since ghŗta is considered as a product of cow which symbolises rays of knowledge, ghee represents the mental clarities.

In the Veda, ghŗta is used in connection with thought and mind; the root ghŗ conveys rich and warm brightness. In fixing the meaning of ghŗta, we have to note that this word and words like ghŗtāchī with ghŗta as the prefix occur about 200 times in Rig Veda Samhitā. Related words like ghŗņa, ghŗņi occurs about 12 times. That this word ghŗta is not physical is apparent from the fact that it is used in connection with the mind such as dhi, manīşha, all connected with thought. The usual translation of ghŗta as clarified butter is inappropriate in most places. However since butter is the yield of go which symbolises Ray of Light, the phrase ‘clarified butter' suggests the correct meaning of ‘the shining yield of the cow of Light'. We translate it as mental clarities everywhere. Note that the phrase ghŗtasya dhāraĥ appearing in RV 4.58.5, 4.58.7, 4.58.10 can only mean ‘streams of clarity', not ‘streams of ghee'. ghŗtāchim dhīyam can only mean, ‘richly bright understanding.' (Adapted from Sri Aurobindo's writings)

W7. Vapā: Vapā is the diaphragm in the human body which plays a key role in the breathing process. ‘Dropping the vapā into fire' indicates ‘the dropping the vapā into the stomach-fire (jaţhara) during the in-breath'. See (4.2.7.2), (3.1.4.14), (3.1.5), and the topic P12, prāņa.

W8. Prajā: It is offspring for the ritualists. Its deeper meaning is, “birth of a new state of consciousness''. When the ŗşhi pray for "praja”, he is not praying for children, but for the birth of new powers of consciousness in him.

W9. bhasma: For ritualists, it is the ash; BB translates it as lustres.

W10. girishanta, nīlagrīva: These are epithets associated with Shiva-Rudra. See the notes in TS (4.5.1.3) and (4.5.1.9).

W11. rākşhasa: It is translated as demons. They are the psychological foes like miserliness, selfishness, anger, greed etc., which deter our overall progress both spiritually and materially.

W12. amāvāsya: New moon, dark night; (ama: forceful, vasya: covered), i.e., the light is completely covered.

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