June topic: mAyA in the Vedas: ASHWINS......

[Guest guest]

Our most beloved kenji writes...

 

"They are his (Indra's) creative conscious powers through which he

has set in motion the countless life powers which we behold. These

life forces are imaged as his thousand horses, a failry

common image for life-forces. The Sanskrit word for

the four-footed animals, ashva, is derived from the

word `ash' which denotes strength. Indra's steeds are

not the animals needed for his transportation, but are

his life powers, and ratha, the chariot, indicates

movement."

 

MAY I PLEASE share with you all this which i read while cruising on

the web?

 

 

Ashwin in Sanskrit is one who possesses a horse, Ashwa. The Ashwins,

or Ashwina in the dual case, are the twin horseman invoked in many

hymns in the Rig Veda. About fifty hymns belong exclusively to the

Ashwins who are mentioned commonly in many others as well. After the

main Vedic deities - Indra, Agni, Surya, and Soma - the Ashwins are

the most commonly invoked of all the Gods.

 

There is a famous Vedic story about the Ashwins, hinted at in the

Rig Veda but common in the Brahmanas, that reveals their character

and the nature of Ashvini Nakshatra. The Ashwins possessed all

secret knowledge but one, the knowledge of immortality, literally

the doctrine of honey (Madhu Vidya), which is sometimes identified

with the knowledge of Soma. Naturally the Ashvins were willing to do

anything to get it. This knowledge was possessed by the Vedic Rishi

Dadhyak, son of the great Rishi Atharva, from whom the Atharva Veda

was named. However Dadhyak was under a curse from the great God

Indra, the king of the Gods, that he could not teach this knowledge

or Indra would cut his head off. Dadhyak told the Ashvins that he

could not teach this knowledge for fear of Indra.

 

The Ashwins, who possessed all magic powers, then devised a trick.

They told Dadhyak that they would give him the head of a horse.

Through the horse's head he could teach them the Madhu Vidya. Then

when Indra came and cut off his head, now that of a horse, they

would give him back his original human head. This is what happened

and the Ashwins received their knowledge from Dadhyak.

 

((SNIP))

 

The Ashvins are the miracle workers among the Vedic Gods. They heal

the sick, raise the dead, save the oppressed, rescue the stranded,

and so on. They are youths with special powers of all types, the

miraculous twins. Their exploits are found in many places in the Rig

Veda but especially in several hymns of Kakshivan (I.116-120) and

one of Kutsa (I.112)

 

In one of their exploits the Ashvins rescue Bhujyu who was thrown

overboard in the ocean. They raise him from the waters and carry him

away on an aerial ship.

 

For three nights and three days with your fast winged creatures,

Ashvins you carried Bhujyu to the further shore of the wet ocean

with three vehicles, with a hundred feet, and six horses (trbhi

rathiah satapadbhih salasvaih Rig Veda I.116.4).

 

As horsemen the character of the Ashvins depends also upon the Vedic

symbolism of the horse, Ashva. Ashva is a Vedic word for horse and

indicates speed. Ashva, as Sri Aurobindo notes, is a symbol for

force. It is often identified with Prana, sometimes with the force

of Tapas or spiritual practice, or with the motor organs

(karmendriyas). The Ashvins are also deities of Prana. Horse as an

animal is symbolic for the Sun (Atharva Veda XIX.53.1), which is

pulled in a chariot by seven horses. Both the Sun and Prana

represent and measure time (Kala). Time outwardly is marked by the

Sun and inwardly by the movement of Prana or the breath as noted in

the Matriyani Upanishad VI.1 (this important Upanishad also mentions

navamshas VI.14, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu VII.5, and the shifting of

the pole star I.7). In the Rig Veda the sacrificial horse is

fashioned out of the Sun (RV I.163.2). It has thirty four joints

(RV. I.162.18), which can be identified with the seven planets and

twenty seven Nakshatras.

 

The horse sacrifice or Ashvamedha is one of the most important Vedic

rituals, particularly for the Kshatriya or the warrior class. The

horse, symbol for the Sun, is let free to roam for a year. The

king's army follows the horse and claims whatever lands the horse

enters as under the domain of the king. After this time the horse is

sacrificed in the honor of the king. Great kings or emperors would

let their horse roam free from the eastern to the western sea (the

Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea). Ashvini Nakshatra has the image

of a horse's head and therefore reflects the horse sacrifice or

Ashvamedha that marks the year.

 

This horse is also the head of the enlightened seer, represented by

the rishi Dadhyak. The head is the seat of the seven Pranas - the

two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and mouth - which are also called

the seven suns because they are the basis of our sensory perception.

The sacrifice of the horse is also the transcending of body

consciousness, the sacrifice of Prana, our life-energy, to the

Divine.

 

Yet Vedic rituals were not only external but internal, in which the

horse is Prana. The year is the movement of Prana up and down the

spine, with the upward movement marked by the northern course of the

sun (Devayana or Uttarayana) and the downward movement by the

southern course of the Sun (Pitrayana or Dakshinayana). The

liberated horse is the liberated Prana. The sacrificed horse is the

sacrificed Prana, which liberates it from the outer world into the

inner world of pure consciousness.

 

In the Rig Veda the Ashvins are the first deities on the Path of

Light (Devayana), as the Rishi Agastya notes, and the Rishi Vasishta

also has the same verse in his hymns.

 

We have crossed the limit of darkness and placed our adoration to

the Ashvins. May they come by the paths of the Devayana. RV I.184.6

and RV VII.73.1

 

to read the complete text ...

 

http://www.vedanet.com/Ashvini.htm - 18k - Cached

 

thank you kenji ! looking forward to more of 'maya' and her Magick

in the rig vedas ...

 

right now, i am still enjoying the 'magic' kingdom of my grandsons!

[Guest guest]

--- adi_shakthi16 <adi_shakthi16 wrote:

>Yet Vedic rituals were not only external but

>internal, in which the

>horse is Prana.

 

 

Namaste Adi-ji,

And how are we to understand that?

With mind and heart harnessed to the chariot maybe if

we are to be guided by the Rbhus.

We need to find the 'ropeness of the rope' to

establish a pure ritual ground and the artistry of the

rishis to 'chisel the mantras' there.

 

Intellect alone strands us in the 'arena' of

interpretation without understanding; understanding

comes through direct experience only (in due time. See

Professsor VK's quote below.) .

 

In that 'arena' our competing horses may excite us

with their artistry but after the victor has been

garlanded another race begins.

 

Depending on the context of the story the horse has

different levels of meanings. It is the ultimate

magnificent power 9prAna) but once that power has

unlawfully been snatched by the 'stickiness' of the

ahaMkAra then it becomes personal, that is a mask

imposed (persona). Remember YAska?

 

As has been said previously in this topic, we are

traditionally advised to study the Vedas through the

stories and the histories, puranas and itihasas, for

as Professor Krishnamurty posted on Shata-shloki 8,

referring to Shrimad Bhagavatam XI 3 44:

 

'The Vedas always tell you only indirectly, they hide

their real intent. It is like getting things done by

children. The Vedas prescribe actions/rituals for you

so that in due time you may be relieved of all

actions.'

> There is a famous Vedic story about the Ashwins,

> hinted at in the

> Rig Veda but common in the Brahmanas, that reveals

> their character

> and the nature of Ashvini Nakshatra.

 

A bit more on 'direct experience'.

Some years ago I was given a battered photostat of

part of the Jyotish Vedanga, it had the transliterated

Sanskrit and an English translation. One part

resonated with me as it detailed the practice of

giving the child a Nakshatra name.

I have quoted it many times since and the gist of it

is:

'When you give the nakshatra name remember that when

the 'true Sun' shines they are na-kshatra

(no-power).'

 

The gods, shining in the celestial sky of that 'inner

space', lose the power that has been attributed to

them, (through division, bilma, for the purposes of

explanation ), when the true Sun shines through direct

experience.

That is not to say that the sweetness of the asvin is

not to be sought but the true source acknowledged:

Kena Up. 5

'That which is not uttered by speech that by which

speech is revealed, know that alone to be Brahman, and

not what people worship as an object (idam)

(tadeva brahma tvaM viddhi nedaM yadidamupAsate)

 

Many thanks for the link which is yet another valuable

contribution,

 

Thank you again

 

 

Ken Knight

 

=====

‘From this Supreme Self are all these, indeed, breathed forth.’