destroyest by thy might city after city: with thy foe-prostrating
associate, (the thunderbolt,) thou, Indra, didst slay afar off the
deceiver named Namu_k_i.
8. Thou hast slain Karanga and Par_n_aya with thy bright gleaming
spear, in the cause of Atithigva: unaided, thou didst demolish the
hundred cities of Vang_r_ida, when besieged by _R_i_g_i_s_van.
9. Thou, renowned Indra, overthrewest by thy not-to-be-overtaken
chariot-wheel, the twenty kings of men, who had come against
Su_s_ravas, unaided, and their sixty thousand and ninety and nine
followers.
10. Thou, Indra, hast preserved Su_s_ravas by thy succour,
Turvaya_n_a, by thy assistance: thou hast made Kutsa, Atithigva, and
Ayu subject to the mighty though youthful Su_s_ravas.
11. Protected by the gods, we remain, Indra, at the close of the
sacrifice, thy most fortunate friends: we praise thee, as enjoying
through thee excellent offspring, and a long and prosperous life.]
[Footnote 19: Favete linguis.]
[Footnote 20: Cf. Rv. I. 112, 25, 'dyubhir aktubhi_h_,' by day and by
night; also Rv. III. 31, 16. M. M., 'Todtenbestattung,' p. v.]
[Footnote 21: Professor Benfey reads durayanta_h_, but all MSS. that I
know, without exception, read darayanta_h_.]
The next hymn is one of many addressed to Agni as the god of fire, not
only the fire as a powerful element, but likewise the fire of the
hearth and the altar, the guardian of the house, the minister of the
sacrifice, the messenger between gods and men:
[Footnote 22: See Spiegel, 'Eran,' p. 269, on Khai Khosru =
Su_s_ravas.]
HYMN TO AGNI (Rv. II. 6).
1. Agni, accept this log which I offer to thee, accept this
my service; listen well to these my songs.
2. With this log, O Agni, may we worship thee, thou son of
strength, conqueror of horses! and with this hymn, thou
high-born!
3. May we thy servants serve thee with songs, O granter of
riches, thou who lovest songs and delightest in riches.
4. Thou lord of wealth and giver of wealth, be thou wise and
powerful; drive away from us the enemies!
5. He gives us rain from heaven, he gives us inviolable
strength, he gives us food a thousandfold.
6. Youngest of the gods, their messenger, their invoker,
most deserving of worship, come, at our praise, to him who
worships thee and longs for thy help.
7. For thou, O sage, goest wisely between these two
creations (heaven and earth, gods and men), like a friendly
messenger between two hamlets.
8. Thou art wise, and thou hast been pleased; perform thou,
intelligent Agni, the sacrifice without interruption, sit
down on this sacred grass!
The following hymn, partly laudatory, partly deprecatory, is addressed
to the Maruts or Rudras, the Storm-gods:
HYMN TO THE MARUTS (Rv. I. 39).[23]
1. When you thus from afar cast forward your measure, like a
blast of fire, through whose wisdom is it, through whose
design? To whom do you go, to whom, ye shakers (of the
earth)?
2. May your weapons be firm to attack, strong also to
withstand! May yours be the more glorious strength, not that
of the deceitful mortal!
3. When you overthrow what is firm, O ye men, and whirl
about what is heavy, ye pass through the trees of the earth,
through the clefts of the rocks.
4. No real foe of yours is known in heaven, nor in earth, ye
devourers of enemies! May strength be yours, together with
your race, O Rudras, to defy even now.
5. They make the rocks to tremble, they tear asunder the
kings of the forest. Come on, Maruts, like madmen, ye gods,
with your whole tribe.
6. You have harnessed the spotted deer to your chariots, a
red deer draws as leader. Even the earth listened at your
approach, and men were frightened.
7. O Rudras, we quickly desire your help for our race. Come
now to us with help, as of yore, thus for the sake of the
frightened Ka_n_va.
8. Whatever fiend, roused by you or roused by mortals,
attacks us, tear him from us by your power, by your
strength, by your aid.
9. For you, worshipful and wise, have wholly protected
Ka_n_va. Come to us, Maruts, with your whole help, as
quickly as lightnings come after the rain.
10. Bounteous givers, ye possess whole strength, whole
power, ye shakers (of the earth). Send, O Maruts, against
the proud enemy of the poets, an enemy, like an arrow.
[Footnote 23: Professor Wilson translates as follows:
1. When, Maruts, who make (all things) tremble, you direct
your awful (vigour) downwards from afar, as light (descends
from heaven), by whose worship, by whose praise (are you
attracted)? To what (place of sacrifice), to whom, indeed,
do you repair?
2. Strong be your weapons for driving away (your) foes, firm
in resisting them: yours be the strength that merits praise,
not (the strength) of a treacherous mortal.
3. Directing Maruts, when you demolish what is stable, when
you scatter what is ponderous, then you make your way
through the forest (trees) of earth and the defiles of the
mountains.
4. Destroyers of foes, no adversary of yours is known above
the heavens, nor (is any) upon earth: may your collective
strength be quickly exerted, sons of Rudra, to humble (your
enemies).
5. They make the mountains tremble, they drive apart the
forest trees. Go, divine Maruts, whither you will, with all
your progeny, like those intoxicated.
6. You have harnessed the spotted deer to your chariot; the
red deer yoked between them, (aids to) drag the car: the
firmament listens for your coming, and men are alarmed.
7. Rudras, we have recourse to your assistance for the sake
of our progeny: come quickly to the timid Ka_n_va, as you
formerly came, for our protection.
8. Should any adversary, instigated by you, or by man,
assail us, withhold from him food and strength and your
assistance.
9. Pra_k_etasas, who are to be unreservedly worshipped,
uphold (the sacrificer) Ka_n_va: come to us, Maruts, with
undivided protective assistances, as the lightnings (bring)
the rain.
10. Bounteous givers, you enjoy unimpaired vigour: shakers
(of the earth), you possess undiminished strength: Maruts,
let loose your anger, like an arrow, upon the wrathful enemy
of the Rishis.
]
The following is a simple prayer addressed to the Dawn:
HYMN TO USHAS (Rv. VII. 77).
1. She shines upon us, like a young wife, rousing every
living being to go to his work. When the fire had to be
kindled by men, she made the light by striking down
darkness.
2. She rose up, spreading far and wide, and moving
everywhere. She grew in brightness, wearing her brilliant
garment. The mother of the cows, (the mornings) the leader
of the days, she shone gold-coloured, lovely to behold.
3. She, the fortunate, who brings the eye of the gods, who
leads the white and lovely steed (of the sun), the Dawn was
seen revealed by her rays, with brilliant treasures,
following every one.
4. Thou who art a blessing where thou art near, drive far
away the unfriendly; make the pasture wide, give us safety!
Scatter the enemy, bring riches! Raise up wealth to the
worshipper, thou mighty Dawn.
5. Shine for us with thy best rays, thou bright Dawn, thou
who lengthenest our life, thou the love of all, who givest
us food, who givest us wealth in cows, horses, and chariots.
6. Thou, daughter of the sky, thou high-born Dawn, whom the
Vasish_t_has magnify with songs, give us riches high and
wide: all ye gods, protect us always with your blessings.
I must confine myself to shorter extracts, in order to be able to show
to you that all the principal elements of real religion are present in
the Veda. I remind you again that the Veda contains a great deal of
what is childish and foolish, though very little of what is bad and
objectionable. Some of its poets ascribe to the gods sentiments and
passions unworthy of the deity, such as anger, revenge, delight in
material sacrifices; they likewise represent human nature on a low
level of selfishness and worldliness. Many hymns are utterly unmeaning
and insipid, and we must search patiently before we meet, here and
there, with sentiments that come from the depth of the soul, and with
prayers in which we could join ourselves. Yet there are such
passages, and they are the really important passages, as marking the
highest points to which the religious life of the ancient poets of
India had reached; and it is to these that I shall now call your
attention.
First of all, the religion of the Veda knows of no idols. The worship
of idols in India is a secondary formation, a later degradation of the
more primitive worship of ideal gods.
The gods of the Veda are conceived as immortal: passages in which the
birth of certain gods is mentioned have a physical meaning: they refer
to the birth of the day, the rising of the sun, the return of the
year.
The gods are supposed to dwell in heaven, though several of them, as,
for instance, Agni, the god of fire, are represented as living among
men, or as approaching the sacrifice, and listening to the praises of
their worshippers.
Heaven and earth are believed to have been made or to have been
established by certain gods. Elaborate theories of creation, which
abound in the later works, the Brahma_n_as, are not to be found in the
hymns. What we find are such passages as:
'Agni held the earth, he stablished the heaven by truthful words' (Rv.
I. 67, 3).
'Varu_n_a stemmed asunder the wide firmaments; he lifted on high the
bright and glorious heaven; he stretched out apart the starry sky and
the earth' (Rv. VII. 86, 1).
More frequently, however, the poets confess their ignorance of the
beginning of all things, and one of them exclaims:
'Who has seen the first-born? Where was the life, the blood, the soul
of the world? Who went to ask this from any that knew it? (Rv. I. 164,
4).[24]
Or again, Rv. X. 81, 4: 'What was the forest, what was the tree out of
which they shaped heaven and earth? Wise men, ask this indeed in your
mind, on what he stood when he held the worlds?'
I now come to a more important subject. We find in the Veda, what few
would have expected to find there, the two ideas, so contradictory to
the human understanding, and yet so easily reconciled in every human
heart: God has established the eternal laws of right and wrong, he
punishes sin and rewards virtue, and yet the same God is willing to
forgive; just, yet merciful; a judge, and yet a father. Consider, for
instance, the following lines, Rv. I. 41, 4: 'His path is easy and
without thorns, who does what is right.'
And again, Rv. I. 41, 9: 'Let man fear Him who holds the four (dice),
before he throws them down (i. e. God who holds the destinies of men
in his hand); let no man delight in evil words!'
And then consider the following hymns, and imagine the feelings which
alone could have prompted them:
HYMN TO VARU_N_A (Rv. VII. 89).
1. Let me not yet, O Varu_n_a, enter into the house of clay;
have mercy, almighty, have mercy!
2. If I go along trembling, like a cloud driven by the wind;
have mercy, almighty, have mercy!
3. Through want of strength, thou strong and bright god,
have I gone wrong; have mercy, almighty, have mercy!
4. Thirst came upon the worshipper, though he stood in the
midst of the waters; have mercy, almighty, have mercy!
5. Whenever we men, O Varu_n_a, commit an offence before the
heavenly host, whenever we break the law through
thoughtlessness; have mercy, almighty, have mercy!
[Footnote 24: 'History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature,' p. 20 note.]
And again, Rv. VII. 86:
1. Wise and mighty are the works of him who stemmed asunder
the wide firmaments (heaven and earth). He lifted on high
the bright and glorious heaven; he stretched out apart the
starry sky and the earth.
2. Do I say this to my own self? How can I get unto
Varu_n_a? Will he accept my offering without displeasure?
When shall I, with a quiet mind, see him propitiated?
3. I ask, O Varu_n_a, wishing to know this my sin. I go to
ask the wise. The sages all tell me the same: Varu_n_a it is
who is angry with thee.
4. Was it an old sin, O Varu_n_a, that thou wishest to
destroy thy friend, who always praises thee? Tell me, thou
unconquerable lord, and I will quickly turn to thee with
praise, freed from sin.
5. Absolve us from the sins of our fathers, and from those
which we committed with our own bodies. Release Vasish_t_ha,
O king, like a thief who has feasted on stolen oxen; release
him like a calf from the rope.
6. It was not our own doing, O Varu_n_a, it was necessity
(or temptation), an intoxicating draught, passion, dice,
thoughtlessness. The old is there to mislead the young; even
sleep brings unrighteousness.
7. Let me without sin give satisfaction to the angry god,
like a slave to the bounteous lord. The lord god enlightened
the foolish; he, the wisest, leads his worshipper to wealth.
8. O lord Varu_n_a, may this song go well to thy heart! May
we prosper in keeping and acquiring! Protect us, O gods,
always with your blessings!
The consciousness of sin is a prominent feature in the religion of the
Veda, so is likewise the belief that the gods are able to take away
from man the heavy burden of his sins. And when we read such passages
as 'Varu_n_a is merciful even to him who has committed sin' (Rv. VII.
87, 7), we should surely not allow the strange name of Varu_n_a to jar
on our ears, but should remember that it is but one of the many names
which men invented in their helplessness to express their ideas of the
Deity, however partial and imperfect.
The next hymn, which is taken from the Atharva-veda (IV. 16), will
show how near the language of the ancient poets of India may approach
to the language of the Bible:[25]
1. The great lord of these worlds sees as if he were near.
If a man thinks he is walking by stealth, the gods know it
all.
2. If a man stands or walks or hides, if he goes to lie down
or to get up, what two people sitting together whisper, king
Varu_n_a knows it, he is there as the third.
3. This earth, too, belongs to Varu_n_a, the king, and this
wide sky with its ends far apart. The two seas (the sky and
the ocean) are Varu_n_a's loins; he is also contained in
this small drop of water.
4. He who should flee far beyond the sky, even he would not
be rid of Varu_n_a, the king. His spies proceed from heaven
towards this world; with thousand eyes they overlook this
earth.
5. King Varu_n_a sees all this, what is between heaven and
earth, and what is beyond. He has counted the twinklings of
the eyes of men. As a player throws the dice, he settles all
things.
6. May all thy fatal nooses, which stand spread out seven by
seven and threefold, catch the man who tells a lie, may they
pass by him who tells the truth.
[Footnote 25: This hymn was first pointed out by Professor Roth in a
dissertation on the Atharva-veda (Tuebingen, 1856), and it has since
been translated and annotated by Dr. Muir, in his article on the
'Vedic Theogony and Cosmogony,' p. 31.]
Another idea which we find in the Veda is that of faith: not only in
the sense of trust in the gods, in their power, their protection,
their kindness, but in that of belief in their existence. The Latin
word credo, I believe, is the same as the Sanskrit _s_raddha, and this
_s_raddha occurs in the Veda:
Rv. I. 102, 2. 'Sun and moon go on in regular succession, that we may
see, Indra, and believe.'
Rv. I. 104, 6. 'Destroy not our future offspring, O Indra, for we have
believed in thy great power.'
Rv. I. 55, 5. 'When Indra hurls again and again his thunderbolt, then
they believe in the brilliant god.'[26]
[Footnote 26: During violent thunderstorms the natives of New Holland
are so afraid of War-ru-gu-ra, the evil spirit, that they seek shelter
even in caves haunted by Ingnas, subordinate demons, which at other
times they would enter on no account. There, in silent terror, they
prostrate themselves with their faces to the ground, waiting until the
spirit, having expended his fury, shall retire to Uta (hell) without
having discovered their hiding-place.--'Transactions of Ethnological
Society,' vol. iii. p. 229. Oldfield, 'The Aborigines of Australia.']
A similar sentiment, namely, that men only believe in the gods when
they see their signs and wonders in the sky, is expressed by another
poet (Rv. VIII. 21, 14):
'Thou, Indra, never findest a rich man to be thy friend;
wine-swillers despise thee. But when thou thunderest, when
thou gatherest (the clouds), then thou art called, like a
father.'
And with this belief in god, there is also coupled that doubt, that
true scepticism, if we may so call it, which is meant to give to faith
its real strength. We find passages even in these early hymns where
the poet asks himself, whether there is really such a god as Indra,--a
question immediately succeeded by an answer, as if given to the poet
by Indra himself. Thus we read Rv. VIII. 89, 3:
'If you wish for strength, offer to Indra a hymn of praise:
a true hymn, if Indra truly exist; for some one says, Indra
does not exist! Who has seen him? Whom shall we praise?'
Then Indra answers through the poet:
'Here I am, O worshipper, behold me here! in might I surpass
all things.'
Similar visions occur elsewhere, where the poet, after inviting a god
to a sacrifice, or imploring his pardon for his offences, suddenly
exclaims that he has seen the god, and that he feels that his prayer
is granted. For instance:
HYMN TO VARU_N_A (Rv. I. 25).
1. However we break thy laws from day to day, men as we are,
O god, Varu_n_a,
2. Do not deliver us unto death, nor to the blow of the
furious; nor to the wrath of the spiteful!
3. To propitiate thee, O Varu_n_a, we unbend thy mind with
songs, as the charioteer a weary steed.
4. Away from me they flee dispirited, intent only on gaining
wealth; as birds to their nests.
5. When shall we bring hither the man, who is victory to the
warriors; when shall we bring Varu_n_a, the wide-seeing, to
be propitiated?
[6. This they (Mitra and Varu_n_a) take in common; gracious,
they never fail the faithful giver.]
7. He who knows the place of the birds that fly through the
sky, who on the waters knows the ships;--
8. He, the upholder of order, who knows the twelve months
with the offspring of each, and knows the month that is
engendered afterwards;--
9. He who knows the track of the wind, of the wide, the
bright, the mighty; and knows those who reside on high;--
10. He, the upholder of order, Varu_n_a, sits down among his
people; he, the wise, sits there to govern.
11. From thence perceiving all wondrous things, he sees what
has been and what will be done.
12. May he, the wise Aditya, make our paths straight all our
days; may he prolong our lives!
13. Varu_n_a, wearing golden mail, has put on his shining
cloak; the spies sat down around him.
14. The god whom the scoffers do not provoke, nor the
tormentors of men, nor the plotters of mischief;--
15. He, who gives to men glory, and not half glory, who
gives it even to our own selves;--
16. Yearning for him, the far-seeing, my thoughts move
onwards, as kine move to their pastures.
17. Let us speak together again, because my honey has been
brought: that thou mayst eat what thou likest, like a
friend.
18. Did I see the god who is to be seen by all, did I see
the chariot above the earth? He must have accepted my
prayers.
19. O hear this my calling, Varu_n_a, be gracious now;
longing for help, I have called upon thee.
20. Thou, O wise god, art lord of all, of heaven and earth:
listen on thy way.
21. That I may live, take from me the upper rope, loose the
middle, and remove the lowest!
In conclusion, let me tell you that there is in the Veda no trace of
metempsychosis or that transmigration of souls from human to animal
bodies which is generally supposed to be a distinguishing feature of
Indian religion. Instead of this, we find what is really the sine qua
non of all real religion, a belief in immortality, and in personal
immortality. Without a belief in personal immortality, religion surely
is like an arch resting on one pillar, like a bridge ending in an
abyss. We cannot wonder at the great difficulties felt and expressed
by bishop Warburton and other eminent divines, with regard to the
supposed total absence of the doctrine of immortality or personal
immortality in the Old Testament; and it is equally startling that the
Sadducees who sat in the same council with the high-priest, openly
denied the resurrection.[27] However, though not expressly asserted
anywhere, a belief in personal immortality is taken for granted in
several passages of the Old Testament, and we can hardly think of
Abraham or Moses as without a belief in life and immortality. But
while this difficulty, so keenly felt with regard to the Jewish
religion, ought to make us careful in the judgments which we form of
other religions, and teach us the wisdom of charitable interpretation,
it is all the more important to mark that in the Veda passages occur
where immortality of the soul, personal immortality and personal
responsibility after death, are clearly proclaimed. Thus we read:
[Footnote 27: Acts xxii. 30, xxiii. 6.]
'He who gives alms goes to the highest place in heaven; he
goes to the gods' (Rv. I. 125, 56).
Another poet, after rebuking those who are rich and do not
communicate, says:
'The kind mortal is greater than the great in heaven!'
Even the idea, so frequent in the later literature of the Brahmans,
that immortality is secured by a son, seems implied, unless our
translation deceives us, in one passage of the Veda (VII. 56, 24):
'Asme (iti) vira_h_ maruta_h_ sushmi astu _g_ananam ya_h_ asura_h_ vi
dharta, apa_h_ yena su-kshitaye tarema, adha svam oka_h_ abhi vah
syama.' 'O Maruts, may there be to us a strong son, who is a living
ruler of men: through whom we may cross the waters on our way to the
happy abode; then may we come to your own house!'
One poet prays that he may see again his father and mother after death
(Rv. I. 24, 1); and the fathers (Pit_r_is) are invoked almost like
gods, oblations are offered to them, and they are believed to enjoy,
in company with the gods, a life of never ending felicity (Rv. X. 15,
16).
We find this prayer addressed to Soma (Rv. IX. 113, 7):
'Where there is eternal light, in the world where the sun is
placed, in that immortal imperishable world place me, O
Soma!'
'Where king Vaivasvata reigns, where the secret place of
heaven is, where these mighty waters are, there make me
immortal!
'Where life is free, in the third heaven of heavens, where
the worlds are radiant, there make me immortal!'
'Where wishes and desires are, where the place of the bright
sun is, where there is freedom and delight, there make me
immortal!
'Where there is happiness and delight, where joy and
pleasure reside, where the desires of our desire are
attained, there make me immortal!'[28]
Whether the old Rishis believed likewise in a place of punishment for
the wicked, is more doubtful, though vague allusions to it occur in
the Rig-veda, and more distinct descriptions are found in the
Atharva-veda. In one verse it is said that the dead is rewarded for
his good deeds, that he leaves or casts off all evil, and glorified
takes his body (Rv. X. 14, 8).[29] The dogs of Yama, the king of the
departed, present some terrible aspects, and Yama is asked to protect
the departed from them (Rv. X. 14, 11). Again, a pit (karta) is
mentioned into which the lawless are said to be hurled down (Rv. IX.
73, 8), and into which Indra casts those who offer no sacrifices (Rv.
I. 121, 13). One poet prays that the Adityas may preserve him from the
destroying wolf, and from falling into the pit (Rv. II. 29, 6). In one
passage we read that 'those who break the commandments of Varu_n_a and
who speak lies are born for that deep place' (Rv. IV. 5, 5).[30]