Vedas and Upanishads - Dr. Sheela Daga - Topics of Vedas

Page 7 of 10: Topics of Vedas

Topics of Vedas

Rigveda

The name Rigveda came from the root – ‘Rich’ or ‘Rik’ plus ‘Veda’. Richa means mantra. Joining these two words creates the word Rigveda. Rigveda is composed in verse. Because the verses have rhythm, they are called mantras. Except for the Yajurveda, the other three Vedas are in verse only. Richa also means to praise, a hymn. According to the meaning, the glories and prayers of the natural elements fire, air, water, Earth, Sun, etc., have been sung in the Rigveda. Many other deities have also been praised – Indra, Vishnu, Varuna, Rudra, Usha, Parjanya, Shraddha, and Soma. The gods are divided into three groups – those who live on Earth, Dyu and Antariksha. Among the deities of Earth, most mantras are dedicated to Agni, the god of fire. After Agni, Indra, a deity of Antariksha, has the most Suktas. The Sun is prominent among the Dyu deities. Praises have been sung to the Sun God with many names like Savita, Pusha, Mitra, Bhaga, etc.

From the description of Indra, it can be concluded that these are the descriptions of the Sun itself. Ushakal, dawn is described in 20 Suktas as Usha Devi from Dyuloka. These descriptions are lovely. The famous Western Vedic scholar Macdonell said, “Usha Devi is the most captivating fantasy of the Vedic period, and no more fascinating character is found in any world literature.” Yogi Arvind has also called Usha the “Innovative door to the brilliance of human consciousness”. Although the gods have been praised, prayed to and worshipped by many names, in many mantras of the Vedas, all have been considered powers of a single divine force. The Rigved mantra, 'Ekam Sad Vipra: Bahudha Vaddanti' (R 1.164.47) exclaims that Vipra (poet) calls the same supreme power with many names.

As the literature reflects society, it can be assumed that Vedic literature cannot be untouched by society.

In the Rigveda, there is much profound philosophical thinking in Nasadiya and other Suktas. The efforts for achieving the ultimate human potential can be seen in Dana – gift, Shraddha – faith, Gyana – knowledge, Vak – voice and other Suktas. Samvada – discussion, Akhyan – drama and other Suktas, are found to be the base of Classical Sanskrit literature. For example, there are Yama Yami Sukta, Pururava Urvashi Sukta, Sarma Sukta, The Dialogue of Rivers etc. Some Suktas are also on social subjects like Aksha Sukta, which is composed in condemnation of gambling addiction. Surya Sukta is about marriage. Similarly, through the prayers offered in the mantras, not only the relationship between the king and subjects, husband and wife, father and son, brother and sister and similar have been highlighted, but also the issue of friendship between man and woman. The mantras of Usha Devi also describe the woman’s best personality and social status.

The rishi of the 29th Sukta Veda of the tenth Mandala, raised and answered the following questions: How did this creation take place? When did it start? Who is its creator, and what is the nature of the creator? Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, in his vast book ‘Gita Rahasya’, called this Rigveda Sukta the best thinking of humanity. This Sukta also establishes the uniqueness of eternal power. Influenced by its theme, many foreign scholars have interpreted this verse.

Some scholars consider the tenth Mandala of the Rig Veda to be composed later. For this, these scholars also provide some evidence:

1. Language experts believe that the use of the letter L instead of R has increased as Sanskrit developed. For example, ‘salila’ replaced ‘sarira’ in the word used for water. This difference can be seen in the tenth Mandala.

2. In the first Mandala of the Rigveda, aa (long A) has been used in dual forms of Nominative, such as in Punarye Chakrah Pitaraa Yuvaanaa-4.33.2. This situation changed in the tenth Mandala, and ‘au’ has become used as in Classical Sanskrit, such as in Putraah Pitarau Avrnit Pusha - R.V. 10.85.14. Here both the mantras use the words Pitaraa and Pitarau for parents.

But even in terms of language, one cannot put all the Suktas of the tenth Mandala in the later period. These new usages appear only in the language of some Suktas, while the language of the rest of the Suktas is the same. The words Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra have been used in one mantra of Purusha Sukta of this Mandala. At the same time, these three words, Brahmin, Vaishya, and Shudra, have not been used anywhere else in the whole Rigveda. From these examples, one can infer that some mantras may have been added later in the tenth Mandala.

Yajurveda

The Yajurveda has a compilation of mantras used in yagyas. The first ten chapters have mantras associated with many types of yagyas, such as Darshapournamas, Agnishtom, Chaturmasya, Somayaga, Vajapeya, Ekaha, Rajasuya etc. In these mantras, prayers for the welfare of humans have been made to the gods Indra, Agni, Vayu and others. Chapters 11 to 18 describe the construction of the sacrificial altar for the sacrificial homage. In the 31st chapter, there is Purusha Sukta but with six mantras more than in the Rigveda. The Shivasankalpa Sukta, which gives an excellent introduction to human psychology, is part of the 34th chapter of this Veda. The final 40th chapter is called Isha or Ishavasya Upanishad. This Upanishad is considered the first and essential Upanishad. Famous educationalist Dr Sampurnanand, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Governor of Rajasthan, said that the Gita is the interpretation of its first two mantras. Gandhiji has kept its first mantra at par with all ancient Indian literature.

Samaveda

The way of singing mantras is described in the Samaveda. The meaning of Sama is a metrical hymn or song. Different chant types have different names. There is also a difference in the number of songs. The highest number is four, and their names are Vaye, Aranya, Uha, and Uhya. Somewhere these are the songs from the villages and songs from the forest. Indian musicology is based on these compositions.

Atharvaveda