SrI UpakAra Sangraham

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srI:

SrI upakAra sangraham – 29

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adikAram – 1

poorva upakAra paramparai

(The Foremost Series of Favours)

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SECTION – 5 (2)

(27 Favours of the Lord leading to the means for

MOKSHAM)

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SwAmi Desikan, while listing out the favours

conferred by the Lord on the jIvA, whom He made to

take a re-birth of sAtvika nature, mentions the second

favour He does.

 

" (2) adiyilE vedangaLai pravarttippittatuvum; "

 

The Lord manifested the VedA-s. When did He do it?

Not today or recently. But, " adiyilE " -- at the root

itself.

 

After the praLaya, when the Lord started the creation,

the very first thing He did was to create Brahma, who

appeared on the Lord's navel lotus, was made

responsible for creating various types of lives.

Brahma, however, had no idea of how to go about. To

help him, the Lord, SrIman nArAyaNa, brought about the

VedA-s to guide him, and the newly created jIvA-s.

VedA-s are actually sound waves, called shruti,

beginning with " pranavam " or " OnkAram " .

 

The VedA-a were countless and it was left to the Lord

Himself, to incarnate as Krishna DvaipAyana VyAsa, in

order to arrange them in an order, editing them into

four groups:- Rg, yajus, sAma and atharvaNa. He taught

them to His four disciple-sages:-

 

Rg-vEdA to Paila; yajur-vEdA to VaishampAyana;

sAma-vEdA to Jaimini and the atharva-vEdA to Sumantu.

 

 

The VedA-s were not composed by any one, not even by

the Lord, and that is why they are referred to as

a-paurusheya, not of human origin. They were directly

revealed by the Supreme Being, Brahman.

 

VedA means knowledge - derived from the root 'vidh' -

'to know'.

They are called shruti, i.e., 'heard', as they were

taught by the oral method -- mouth to mouth.

They are anAdi -- without a beginning; or are of

unknown beginning. All the obligatory duties, at

birth, marriage, death etc., are performed according

to the Vedic ritual.

 

This huge literature is classified as:- SamhitA or

collection of Mantra-s, BrAhmaNa, AraNyaka and the

Upanishad, the end of the VedA-s.

 

SamhitA-s are part of the four Veda-s. Rg. Samhita was

the earliest. The sAma-VedA consists of stanzas taken

mostly from rg-VedA and were meant to be sung to

certain melodies or chants. The yajur-VedA deals with

various religious sacrifices. The Atharva-Veda

Samhita, also known as BrahmavEda since it is assigned

to brahmA-priest. It has some special features. Major

part is concerned with various sciences: Diseases and

their cure; rites for prolonging life; rites for

fulfilling one's desires; building construction; trade

and commerce; statecraft; penances and propitiatory

rites; and black magic..

 

The BrAhmaNa-s are composed in prose, and explain the

sacred significance of the different rituals.

 

The AraNyaka-s are forest treatises, revealed to sages

when they retired to the forest. These mostly deal

with meditations based on symbolical interpretations

of the liturgical rites.

 

The Upanishad-s are philosophical treatises dealing

with the ultimate goals of life.

 

Traditionally SamhitA is indicated by the word " VedA " .

 

As the manifestation of the VedA-s had the purpose to

guide the people who were created by Brahma, SwAmi

Desikan gives them the second highest priority among

the favours conferred by the Lord. The VedA-s are just

like a bright lamp without which the mankind can not

proceed further in darkness of samsAra.

 

(To continue)

dAsan

Anbil S.SrInivAsan

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