Sri Aurobindo connects the recurring images of the modes of swift movement such as horse, Suparņa, the hawk (shyena), the swan (hamsa) etc., in the following passage:

“Our life is a horse that neighing and galloping bears us onward and upward; its forces are swift-hoofed steeds; the liberated powers of the mind are wide-winging birds; the mental being or this soul is the upsoaring swan or the Falcon (shyena) that breaks out from a hundred iron walls and wrests from the jealous guardians of felicity the wine of Soma. Every shining godward Thought that arises from the secret abysses of the heart is a priest and a creator and chants a divine hymn of luminous realization and puissant fulfilment. We seek for the shining gold of truth.'' (SA)

“It is the symbol of soul liberated and upsoaring, at other times of energies so liberated and upsoaring, winging upwards towards the heights of our being, winging widely with a free flight, no longer involved in the ordinary limited movement or labouring gallop of the Life-energy, Horse.'' (SA)

(4.7.13) declares that:

“These are the unaging wings of you, the winged,

The golden-winged bird, mighty, capable of carrying everyone,

You are the consciousness (chit), born of the ocean, power of delight (indu) and discernment (dakşha),

You are lodged in the seat of highest consciousness and you return.''

The second half of (4.1.10), (verses 14,15), introduces the well-known symbolism of yajňa itself as a golden winged bird (suparņa), whose soul, wings etc., are all specific types of Sāma mantrās and metres. Recall that yajamāna the sacrificer is himself, the yajňa. Yajňa is asked to travel to the world of light (suvaĥ) and alight there.

“You are the wide-winging bird, garutman; your head is the Trivŗt (Stoma), your eye is the Gāyatra, your soul is stoma, your body is the Vāmadeva Sāman, your wings are the Bŗhat and the Rathantara, your tail is the works done as yajňa and those to be avoided as opposed to the idea of yajňa (yajňa ayajňiyam); your limbs are the metres, your hooves are the masters of knowledge (dişhņiya), your name is the yajus mantrās. You are the wide-winging bird, garutman; you go to the heaven, fly to the world of light (suvaĥ).''

Suparņa figures prominently in several Rig Vedic mantrās. We give quotes both from RV and TS explaining the nature of Suparņa.

“Suparņa alone pervades the one ocean of existence and comprehends creation; with ripe mind, I see him within. He addresses the Mother and She answers him.'' RV (10.114.4). See also other verses of (10.114).

“The higher regions are lighted up by the happy winged ray of the Sun (suparņa), profound of sight, powerful and leading (our life) with the felicities of Light''. (RV (1.35.7), (first half)).

“That Sarasvan we call for growth the bird (vayasam) divine, beautiful of wings which is the vast (bŗhantam) womb of the waters, which is mighty among the growths of earth (oşhadhī), giving satisfaction by its showers all round, this Sarasvant we call for protection (or growth).'' (3.1.11.14), RV (1.164.52).

“The dark-coloured steeds, beautiful of wings, clad in the dew, spring up to the heaven; they return here having established their abodes; then the earth is exalted with clarity.'' (3.1.11.19)

“Your flaming rays (Suparņa) gather strength with their speed, the dark showerer (Indra) thunders; as the work progresses, the streams of light (consciousness), like water currents, come down drop by drop as though smiling; the clouds roar and the rain comes down.'' TS (3.1.11.21), RV (1.79.2.)

“Seated in it is the shining-winged one (Suparņa), honey-making, nested, assigning honey to the deities. On its brink sit seven tawny ones, milking by the self-law the stream of immortality.'' (4.2.9.22)

“You are the winged bird, (you) be seated on the earth; be seated on the ridge of the earth.'' (4.6.5.8)

“Agni, I yoke with glory, with clarity, the bird divine with beautiful wings vast in strength; with that may we fly to the cool place (vişhtapa) of the source or Sun (bradhnasya), ascending the world of light above the highest heaven.'' TS (4.7.13.1)

TS (4.1.10.14), (4.1.10.15) and RV (1.164.46) identify suparņa with garutmān, which is translated by Yāska as "the Great Soul' (mahān-ātma). This identification of suparņa and garutman is the origin of the numerous myths about Garuda, the vehicle of Vişhņu in the Purāņa.

In the Purāņa there is the popular anecdote of the bird Suparņa bringing the Soma from the heaven. The root of this anecdote is in several mantrās from RV and TS which we will outline briefly here. This anecdote has several variants in the Vedic texts themselves.

RV 10.144, whose ŗşhi is Suparņa Tārkşhya, has three mantrās, verses 3, 4 and 5, dealing with bringing the Soma from the space beyond. Verse 4 addresses Suparņa as the son of falcon (shyena) and he brings to Indra the Soma from the space beyond our worlds (parāvataĥ). Verse 5 gives more details given below.

RV (10.144.5): “To you Indra, shyena (Suparņa) has brought with his claws (or feet), the Soma which is beautiful (chāru), and unassailable, with the colour of dawn. The Soma (andhasa) is the builder (mānam) which prolongs strength (vaya) and life (āyu) which awakens the affinity (bhanduta); Indra attained great consciousness and light (mahas)'', (verse 6).

A brāhmaņa passage in TS (6.1.6) relates briefly the famous anecdote of Kadru and Suparņi. “In a dispute Suparņi was defeated. Kadru told Suparņi, ‘in the third heaven from here is Soma; fetch it and buy your release','' Kadru is this earth, Suparņi is yonder Heaven, the descendents of Suparņi are the metres. Suparņi told her children, the metres, “to fetch the Soma and buy her release'', “For this do parents raise children''. The metres Jagati and Trişĥtub tried, but were unsuccessful; only Gāyatri was successful. Because Gāyatri brought down the Soma, it held the forefront in the sacrifice and it is the glorious of the metres.

Aitereya Br. 3.2.5 has a different version: Both the gods and ŗşhīs prayed for Soma to be their king in the dyu-heaven; they requested the metres (chhandāmsi) to fetch the king Soma from the world beyond svar. To do this task the metres assumed the form of the bird Suparņa and began flying to the world beyond. Among the metres only the metre Gāyatri succeeded to bring the Soma as in the TS version of the anecdote. So TS (6.1.6-3,4) describes the Gāyatri as the most brilliant among the metres (tejasvinitama) even though it is the least in length (kanishţha).

See also RV 10.114 for the relation of Suparņa to metres.

RV mantrās related to Suparņa quoted in TS:

1.35.7, 1.79.2, 1.105.1, 1.105.11, 1.164.20-22, 1.164.46,47, 1.164.52, 2.42.2,  4.26.4, 4.43.3, 6.75.11, 8.100.8, 9.48.3, 9.71.9, 9.85.11, 9.86.1, 9.86.24, 9.98.33, 10.28.10, 10.30.2, 10.55.6, 10.73.11, 10.88.19, 10.94.5, 10.114.3-5, 10.123.6, 10.144.4, 10.149.3.

Back to Top