THE RELIGION OF THE ATHARVA VEDA.
The hymns of the Rig Veda inextricably confused; the deities of an
earlier era confounded, and again merged together in a pantheism now
complete; the introduction of strange gods; recognition of a hell of
torture; instead of many divinities the One that represents all the
gods, and nature as well; incantations for evil purposes and charms
for a worthy purpose; formulae of malediction to be directed against
'those whom I hate and who hate me'; magical verses to obtain
children, to prolong life, to dispel 'evil magic,' to guard against
poison and other ills; the paralyzing extreme of ritualistic reverence
indicated by the exaltation to godhead of the 'remnant' of sacrifice;
hymns to snakes, to diseases, to sleep, time, and the stars; curses on
the 'priest-plaguer'--such, in general outline, is the impression
produced by a perusal of the Atharvan after that of the Rig Veda. How
much of this is new?
The Rig Veda is not lacking in incantations, in witchcraft practices,
in hymns to inanimate things, in indications of pantheism. But the
general impression is produced, both by the tone of such hymns as
these and by their place in the collection, that they are an addition
to the original work. On the other hand, in reading the Atharvan hymns
the collective impression is decidedly this, that what to the Rig is
adventitious is essential to the Atharvan.
It has often been pointed out, however, that not only the practices
involved, but the hymns themselves, in the Atharvan, may have existed
long before they were collected, and that, while the Atharvan
collection, as a whole, takes historical place after the Rig Veda,
there yet may be comprised in the former much which is as old as any
part of the latter work. It is also customary to assume that such
hymns as betoken a lower worship (incantations, magical formulae,
etc.) were omitted purposely from the Rig Veda to be collected in the
Atharvan. That which eventually can neither be proved nor disproved
is, perhaps, best left undiscussed, and it is vain to seek scientific
proof where only historic probabilities are obtainable. Yet, if a
closer approach to truth be attractive, even a greater probability
will be a gain, and it becomes worth while to consider the problem a
little with only this hope in view.
Those portions of the Rig Veda which seem to be Atharvan-like are, in
general, to be found in the later books (or places) of the collection.
But it would be presumptuous to conclude that a work, although almost
entirely given up to what in the Rig Veda appears to be late, should
itself be late in origin. By analogy, in a nature-religion such as was
that of India, the practice of demonology, witchcraft, etc., must have
been an early factor. But, while this is true, it is clearly
impossible to postulate therefrom that the hymns recording all this
array of cursing, deviltry, and witchcraft are themselves early. The
further forward one advances into the labyrinth of Hindu religions the
more superstitions, the more devils, demons, magic, witchcraft, and
uncanny things generally, does he find. Hence, while any one
superstitious practice may be antique, there is small probability for
assuming a contemporaneous origin of the hymns of the two collections.
The many verses cited, apparently pell-mell, from the Rig Veda, might,
it is true, revert to a version older than that in which they are
found in the Rig Veda, but there is nothing to show that they were not
taken from the Rig Veda, and re-dressed in a form that rendered them
in many cases more intelligible; so that often what is respectfully
spoken of as a 'better varied reading' of the Atharvan may be better,
as we have said in the introductory chapter, only in lucidity; and the
lucidity be due to tampering with a text old and unintelligible.
Classical examples abound in illustrations.
Nevertheless, although an antiquity equal to that of the whole Rig
Veda can by no means be claimed for the Atharvan collection (which, at
least in its tone, belongs to the Brahmanic period), yet is the mass
represented by the latter, if not contemporaneous, at any rate so
venerable, that it safely may be assigned to a period as old as that
in which were composed the later hymns of the Rik itself. But in
distinction from the hymns themselves the weird religion they
represent is doubtless as old, if not older, than that of the Rig
Veda. For, while the Rig Vedic _soma-_cult is Indo-Iranian, the
original Atharvan (fire) cult is even more primitive, and the basis of
the work, from this point of view, may have preceded the composition
of Rik hymns. This Atharvan religion--if it may be called so--is,
therefore, of exceeding importance. It opens wide the door which the
Rik puts ajar, and shows a world of religious and mystical ideas which
without it could scarcely have been suspected. Here magic eclipses
Soma and reigns supreme. The wizard is greater than the gods; his
herbs and amulets are sovereign remedies. Religion is seen on its
lowest side. It is true that there is 'bad magic' and 'good magic'
(the existence of the former is substantiated by the maledictions
against it), but what has been received into the collection is
apparently the best. To heal the sick and procure desirable things is
the object of most of the charms and incantations--but some of the
desirable things are disease and death of one's foes. On the higher
side of religion, from a metaphysical point of view, the Atharvan is
pantheistic. It knows also the importance of the 'breaths,'[1] the
vital forces; it puts side by side the different gods and says that
each 'is lord.' It does not lack philosophical speculation which,
although most of it is puerile, sometimes raises questions of wider
scope, as when the sage inquires who made the body with its wonderful
parts--implying, but not stating the argument, from design, in its
oldest form.[2]
Of magical verses there are many, but the content is seldom more than
"do thou, O plant, preserve from harm," etc. Harmless enough, if
somewhat weak, are also many other hymns calculated to procure
blessings:
Blessings blow to us the wind,
Blessings glow to us the sun,
Blessings be to us the day,
Blest to us the night appear,
Blest to us the dawn shall shine,
is a fair specimen of this innocuous sort of verse.[3] Another example
may be seen in this hymn to a king: "Firm is the sky; firm is the
earth; firm, all creation; firm, these hills; firm the king of the
people (shall be)," etc.[4] In another hymn there is an incantation to
release from possible ill coming from a foe and from inherited ill or
sin.[5] A free spirit of doubt and atheism, already foreshadowed in
the Rig Veda, is implied in the prayer that the god will be merciful
to the cattle of that man "whose creed is 'Gods exist.'"[6]
Serpent-worship is not only known, but prevalent.[7] The old gods
still hold, as always, their nominal places, albeit the system is
pantheistic, so that Varuna is god of waters; and Mitra with Varuna,
gods of rain.[8] As a starting-point of philosophy the dictum of the
Rig Veda is repeated: 'Desire is the seed of mind,' and 'love, _i.e._,
desire, was born first.' Here Aditi is defined anew as the one in
whose lap is the wide atmosphere-- she is parent and child, gods and
men, all in all--'may she extend to us a triple shelter.' As an
example of curse against curse may be compared II. 7:
The sin-hated, god-born plant, that frees from the curse as
waters (wash out) the spot, has washed away all curses, the
curse of my rival and of my sister; (that) which the Brahman
in anger cursed, all this lies under my feet ... With this
plant protect this (wife), protect my child, protect our
property ... May the curse return to the curser ... We smite
even the ribs of the foe with the evil (_mantra_) eye.
A love-charm in the same book (II. 30) will remind the classical
student of Theocritus' second idyl: 'As the wind twirls around grass
upon the ground, so I twirl thy mind about, that thou mayst become
loving, that thou mayst not depart from me,' etc. In the following
verses the Horsemen gods are invoked to unite the lovers.
Characteristic among bucolic passages is the cow-song in II. 26, the
whole intent of which is to ensure a safe return to the cows on their
wanderings: 'Hither may they come, the cattle that have wandered far
away,' etc.
The view that there are different conditions of Manes is clearly
taught in XVIII. 2. 48-49, where it is said that there are three
heavens, in the highest of which reside the Manes; while a distinction
is made at the same time between 'fathers' and 'grandfathers,' the
fathers' fathers, 'who have entered air, who inhabit earth and
heaven.' Here appears nascent the doctrine of 'elevating the Fathers,'
which is expressly taught in the next era. The performance of rites in
honor of the Manes causes them to ascend from a low state to a higher
one. In fact, if the offerings are not given at all, the spirits do
not go to heaven. In general the older generations of Manes go up
highest and are happiest. The personal offering is only to the
immediate fathers.
If, as was shown in the introductory chapter, the Atharvan represents
a geographical advance on the part of the Vedic Aryans, this fact
cannot be ignored in estimating the primitiveness of the collection.
Geographical advance, acquaintance with other flora and fauna than
those of the Rig Veda, means--although the argument of silence must
not be exaggerated--a temporal advance also. And not less significant
are the points of view to which one is led in the useful little work
of Scherman on the philosophical hymns of the Atharvan. Scherman
wishes to show the connection between the Upanishads and Vedas. But
the bearing of his collection is toward a closer union of the two
bodies of works, and especially of the Atharvan, not to the greater
gain in age of the Upanishads so much as to the depreciation in
venerableness of the former. If the Atharvan has much more in common
with the Br[=a]hmanas and Upanishads than has the Rig Veda, it is
because the Atharvan stands, in many respects, midway in time between
the era of Vedic hymnology and the thought of the philosophical
period. The terminology is that of the Br[=a]hmanas, rather than that
of the Rig Veda. The latter knows the great person; the Atharvan, and
the former know the original great person, _i.e._., the _tausa movens_
under the _causa efficiens_, etc. In the Atharvan appears first the
worship of Time, Love, 'Support' (Skambha), and the 'highest _brahma_.
The cult of the holy cow is fully recognized (XII. 4 and 5). The late
ritualistic terms, as well as linguistic evidence, confirm the fact
indicated by the geographical advance. The country is known from
western Balkh to eastern Beh[=a]r, the latter familiarly.[9] In a
word, one may conclude that on its higher side the Atharvan is later
than the Rig Veda, while on its lower side of demonology one may
recognize the religion of the lower classes as compared with that of
the two upper classes--for the latter the Rig Veda, for the
superstitious people at large the Atharvan, a collection
of which the origin agrees with its application. For, if it at first
was devoted to the unholy side of fire-cult, and if the fire-cult is
older than the _soma_-cult, then this is the cult that one would
expect to see most affected by the conservative vulgar, who in India
hold fast to what the cultured have long dropped as superstition, or,
at least, pretended to drop; though the house-ritual keeps some magic
in its fire-cult.
In that case, it may be asked, why not begin the history of Hindu
religion with the Atharvan, rather than with the Rig Veda? Because the
Atharvan, as a whole, in its language, social conditions, geography,
'remnant' worship, etc., shows that this literary collection is
posterior to the Rik collection. As to individual hymns, especially
those imbued with the tone of fetishism and witchcraft, any one of
them, either in its present or original form, may outrank the whole
Rik in antiquity, as do its superstitions the religion of the Rik--if
it is right to make a distinction between superstition and religion,
meaning by the former a lower, and by the latter a more elevated form
of belief in the supernatural.
The difference between the Rik-worshipper and Atharvan-worshipper is
somewhat like that which existed at a later age between the
philosophical Çivaite and Durg[=a]ite. The former revered Çiva, but
did not deny the power of a host of lesser mights, whom he was ashamed
to worship too much; the latter granted the all-god-head of Çiva, but
paid attention almost exclusively to some demoniac divinity.
Superstition, perhaps, always precedes theology; but as surely does
superstition outlive any one form of its protean rival. And the simple
reason is that a theology is the real belief of few, and varies with
their changing intellectual point of view; while superstition is the
belief unacknowledged of the few and acknowledged of the many, nor
does it materially change from age to age. The rites employed among
the clam-diggers on the New York coast, the witch-charms they use, the
incantations, cutting of flesh, fire-oblations, meaningless formulae,
united with sacrosanct expressions of the church, are all on a par
with the religion of the lower classes as depicted in Theocritus and
the Atharvan. If these mummeries and this hocus-pocus were collected
into a volume, and set out with elegant extracts from the Bible, there
would be a nineteenth century Atharva Veda. What are the necessary
equipment of a Long Island witch? First, "a good hot fire," and then
formulae such as this:[10]
"If a man is attacked by wicked people and how to banish
them:
"Bedgoblin and all ye evil spirits, I, N.N., forbid you my
bedstead, my couch; I, N.N., forbid you in the name of God
my house and home; I forbid you in the name of the Holy
Trinity my blood and flesh, my body and soul; I forbid you
all the nail-holes in my house and home, till you have
travelled over every hill, waded through every water, have
counted all the leaves of every tree, and counted all the
stars in the sky, until the day arrives when the mother of
God shall bare her second son."
If this formula be repeated three times, with the baptismal name of
the person, it will succeed!
"To make one's self invisible:
"Obtain the ear of a black cat, boil it in the milk of a
black cow, wear it on the thumb, and no one will see you."
This is the Atharvan, or fire-and witch-craft of to-day--not differing
much from the ancient. It is the unchanging foundation of the many
lofty buildings of faith that are erected, removed, and rebuilt upon
it--the belief in the supernatural at its lowest, a belief which, in
its higher stages, is always level with the general intellect of those
that abide in it.
The latest book of the Atharvan is especially for the warrior-caste,
but the mass of it is for the folk at large. It was long before it was
recognized as a legitimate Veda. It never stands, in the older period
of Brahmanism, on a par with the S[=a]man and Rik. In the epic period
good and bad magic are carefully differentiated, and even to-day the
Atharvan is repudiated by southern Br[=a]hmans. But there is no doubt
that _sub rosa_, the silliest practices inculcated and formulated in
the Atharvan were the stronghold of a certain class of priests, or
that such priests were feared and employed by the laity, openly by the
low classes, secretly by the intelligent.
In respect of the name the magical cult was referred, historically
with justice, to the fire-priests, Atharvan and Angiras, though little
application to fire, other than in _soma_-worship, is apparent. Yet
was this undoubtedly the source of the cult (the fire-cult is still
distinctly associated with the Atharva Veda in the epic), and the name
is due neither to accident nor to a desire to invoke the names of
great seers, as will Weber.[11] The other name of Brahmaveda may have
connection with the 'false science of Brihaspati,' alluded to in a
Upanishad.[12] This seer is not over-orthodox, and later he is the
patron of the unorthodox C[=a]rv[=a]kas. It was seen above that the
god Brihaspati is also a novelty not altogether relished by the Vedic
Aryans.
From an Aryan point of view how much weight is to be placed on
comparisons of the formulae in the Atharvan of India with those of
other Aryan nations? Kuhn has compared[13] an old German magic formula
of healing with one in the Atharvan, and because each says 'limb to
limb' he thinks that they are of the same origin, particularly since
the formula is found in Russian. The comparison is interesting, but it
is far from convincing. Such formulae spring up independently all over
the earth.
Finally, it is to be observed that in this Veda first occurs the
implication of the story of the flood (xix. 39. 8), and the saving of
Father Manu, who, however, is known by this title in the Rik. The
supposition that the story of the flood is derived from Babylon,
seems, therefore, to be an unnecessary (although a permissible)
hypothesis, as the tale is old enough in India to warrant a belief in
its indigenous origin.[14]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: XV. 15.]
[Footnote 2: X. 2.]
[Footnote 3: VII. 69. Compare RV. VII. 35, and the epic
(below).]
[Footnote 4: X. 173.]
[Footnote 5: V. 30.]
[Footnote 6: XI. 2. 28.]
[Footnote 7: XI. 9; VIII. 6 and 7, with tree-worship.]
[Footnote 8: V. 24. 4-5. On 'the one god' compare X. 8. 28;
XIII. 4. 15. Indra as S[=u]rya, in VII. 11; cf. xiii. 4;
XVII. 1. 24. Pantheism in X. 7. 14. 25. Of charms, compare
ii. 9, to restore life; III. 6, a curse against 'whom I
hate'; III. 23, to obtain offspring. On the stars and night,
see hymn at XIX. 8 and 47. In V. 13, a guard against poison;
_ib._ a hymn to a drum; _ib._ 31, a charm to dispel evil
magic; VI. 133, magic to produce long life; V. 23, against
worms, etc., etc. Aditi, VII. 6. 1-4 (partly Rik).]
[Footnote 9: Compare Muir, OST. II. 447 ff.]
[Footnote 10: This old charm is still used among the
clam-diggers of Canarsie, N.Y.]
[Footnote 11: _Ind. Lit_^2 p. 164.]
[Footnote 12: _M[=a]it. Up._. vii. 9. He is 'the gods'
Brahm[=a]' (Rik.)]
[Footnote 13: _Indische und germanische Segenssprüche_; KZ.
xiii. 49.]
[Footnote 14: One long hymn, xii. 1, of the Atharvan is to
earth and fire (19-20). In the Rik, _átharvan_ is
fire-priest and bringer of fire from heaven; while once the
word may mean fire itself (viii. 9, 7). The name Brahmaveda
is perhaps best referred to _brahma_ as fire (whence
'fervor,' 'prayer,' and again 'energy,' 'force'). In
distinction from the great _soma_-sacrifices, the fire-cult
always remains the chief thing in the domestic ritual. The
present Atharvan formulae have for the most part no visible
application to fire, but the name still shows the original
connection.]
* * * * *