Eternal relevance of VedAs: GrahasthAsramam -- Vedic counsel

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear VaidhikAs and VedAbhimAnis:

 

VedAs have a lot of messages celebrating GrahasthAsram

and has poignant advices to the couple, who are about

to entering in to GrahasthAsramam.

 

July 2 is a VivAha muhUrtham day and

I thought it will be appropriate to share with you

a selected group of Manthrams on this general subject.

Some of these Manthrams are so universal in scope

that one comes across the same text of these manthram

in more than one Vedam . Only the svaram varies

with the different Vedams and Veda Saakhais.

 

Manthram 1: Yajur Vedam:VIII.45

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This is a prayer by the Grahasthan & his bride:

 

Vaachaspathi VisvakarmANamUthayE

manOjuvam vaajE adhyA huvEma I

sa nO visvAni havanAni jOshadhvisvasambhUravasE

saadhukarmA I

upAyaamagruheethOaseendhrAya thvA

visvakaramaNa yEsha tE yOneerindhrAya

thvA visvalarmaNE I

 

(Extended Meaning):

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The dampathis are invoking the Omniscient ,

Omnipotent , Omnipresent Lord here and request Him to

aid them in their struggle for existence to conduct a life

prescribed by SaasthrAs .The Lord of VedAs is being

addressed here. He is recognized as the conferrer of

all auspiciousnes and performer of noble deeds .

He is saluted as anatharyAmi Brahman and Sarva Saakshi.

The prayer is for Him to listen to their invocations

as the grantor of all bliss in this and the other world

(His Supreme abode).

 

The dampathis acknowledge that His conferral of

all auspicious boons is sheerly propelled by His

love for the chEthanams who observe His Saasthraic

injunctions.That SaasthrapANi showers all boons

as VaradarAjan .The Dampathis or the YajamAnan

appeals to the Lord for prosperity and success

to follow the way of life prescribed by Aasrama

dharmams.They express their gratefulnes to the Lord

for His blessings that lead to prosperity

and success in their prescribed endeavours.

 

Manthram 2: Yajur Vedam: VIII.43

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The Four PurushArTams are Dharma , ArTa, Kaama

and MokshA. In this context , the following address

by the husband to his dear wife is fascinating and

respectful:

 

" iDE rantE havyE kaamyE chandrE jyOtEdhithi sarasvathi

mahi visruthi I

yEthA tE agnyE nAmAni dhEvEbhyO maa sukrutham bhru tAth "

 

Extended Meaning:

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In one of the Rg Veda VivAha manthrams ,

the bride groom appeals to the bride to bless their

family with ten children and asks the bride to treat

him as her eleventh child during their old age .

 

In this poignant manthram (YV:VIII.34), the husband

requests his wife to teach him the good lesson of

acquiring her auspicious attributes(noble qualities).

He suggests what are the eleven qualities that

an ideal wife should possess and appeals

to her to teach him the ways to acquire those qualities.

Through this splendid manthram , the husband addresses

his wife with the following 11 names , which have

enormous Vedic significance and detailed discussion

of them will be outside the scope of this short posting :

 

1) Idaa --Praiseworthy one!

2) Ratnaa--splendorous and delightful

3) Havyaa--worshipful

4) Kaamyaa --lovable one!

5) Chandraa--pleasure giving like the cool rays of Moon

6) JyOthi--well known for good behaviour

7) Adhiti--inviolable one!

8) Saraswathi--full of knowledge

9) Mahi--adorable one!

10)Visruthi--knower of the VedAs

11)Aghanyaa--worthy of respect

 

Each of the names incorporate great Vedic tatthvams.

The bride is considered to incorporate all these

attributes.

 

(1) Idaa tatthvam is closely linked

to Yoga Tatthvams. Idaa-PingaLa-sushumnaa

go together as the triad of Tathtvams.

 

(2) Rathnams have their own unique splendours

and individual Ratnam has multiple facets

to bring out their unique lustre and brilliance.

 

3) Havyaa is a wonderful name for a wife

since it shows the worshipful regard that

the husband has or should have for his wife

as his SahadharmachAriNi.

 

4) JyOthi: There are five Rg veda Manthrams

associated with " JyOthi " that adiyEn has posted

in the lists. This is a powerful name to be linked

with a woman to suggest how she is like a radiant

lamp on the hill amidst surrounding avaidhihic

darkness.

 

5) Sarasvathi is always linked with ILA ,

BhArathi and Mahi as tatthvams. Sarasvathi is

the divine speech or the inspired word ;ILA

has been described as Truth-Vision or Dhrushti;

Bharati and Mahi stand in for the largeness of

the vision according to Aurobindho .

 

There are so many connotations for the other

names for the ideal woman invoked by the VedAs and

we will take them up on another occasion.

 

Manthram III: Yajur Vedam: VII.34

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So far we talked about the traits of an ideal

wife in the context of Veda Manthrams . This makes one

wonder whether there are auspicious attributes or kalais

to be assoicated with a Grahasthan . The above manthram

says that to lead a married life to the full ,

the householder should have the following 16 traits:

 

--aTA na indhra sOmapA giramupasruthim chara

upyAmagruheethOasindhraaya thvA shOdasina

yEsha tE yOnirindhindhrAya thvA shOdasinE

 

Oh BrahmachAri! Thou art now fully equipped with

the pre-requisites for married life (GruhasthAsramam).

" I order thee to lead a married life full of prosperity

and sixteen traits.This is thy home. I order thee to lead

a married life full of prsoperity and sixteen traits " .

 

What are these sixteen Kalaas or traits that one

comes across in the life of a Householder according to

this Veda manthram ?

 

Vedam identifies these kalAs as:

 

(1) PrANa(Breath, life force) (2) ShraddhA (Faith),

(3) Kham ( happiness), (4) Vaayu (activity) ,

(5) JyOthi ( Brilliance or spiritual radiance:

TapasA Jwalantha:), (6)Aapa ( water, Jala samruddhi)

(7)Prthuvee ( Steadiness and forbearance against

offenses committed by others), (8) Indhriya

( Indhriya Nigraham ), (9) Manas ( control of

chanchalam manam ), (10) Manthraa ( Understanding

of Bhagavath svaroopam through the sound )

11)IcchA ( ambition to engage in Bhagavath-

Bhaagavath-AchArya Kaimakryam) , (12) Anna ( food

for offerings to the Lord and guests and the family

as a part of the BhUtha Yaj~nams)(13) Veeryaa for

progeny (14) Tapas ( Penance and religious austerity),

(15)Loka ( Mankind , obligations to society)

and (16) Nam (anger or censure ; anger over

prAthikoolyams and censure of Vedha Baahya

Tathtvams).

 

All the dharmasaasthrAs deal elaborately on

number of these kalais and aasrama dharmams.

 

NamO Veda PurushAya,

RaamAnuja Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan