Sri Sadhguro Pahimam Parama Dayalu Rakshamam

[Guest guest]

Dear Members

" Hindu Dharma " is a book published by Bharatiya Vidya

Bhavan which contains English translation of two volumes of the Tamil

Book " Deivatthin Kural " ; which is a collection of invaluable and

engrossing speeches of Sri Sri Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi

MahaSwamiji.

 

http://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part5/chap27.htm

 

The Four Vedas

 

" Anantah

vai Vedah " , the Vedas are unending. The seers have, however,

revealed to us only a small part of them but it is sufficient for

our welfare in this world and next. We are not going to create

many universes like Brahma that we should know all the Vedas. We

need to know only as many as are necessary to ensure our good in

this world.

 

In

each of the four Vedas there are different " pathas " and

" pathabhedas " or " pathantaras " . The same musical composition or raga is sung

in different " panis " . For instance, the same musical composition

or raga is expounded in different styles by, say,

Maha-Vaidyanatha Ayyar, Konerirajaouram Vaidyanatha Ayyar and Sarabha sastri.

Just

as in some panis there are more sangatis to a composition than in some others,

there are

more suktas in some pathas than in others. There may also be

differences in the order of the mantras.

 

Each

pathantra or each version is called a sakha or recension. The

various sakhas are branches of the Vedic tree, indeed a great

tree like the Adyar banyan [in Madras]. The branches big and

small belong to one or another of the four Vedas, Rg, Yajur,

Saman and Atharvan.

 

Modern

indologists are of the view that the Rgveda came first, that the

Yajurveda came later and so on. But, according to our sastras,

all Vedas are eternal. To state that one Veda belongs to a period

prior to, or later than, another is not correct since all the

Vedas are associated with the sacrifice that came to mankind with

creation itself. The same argument holds good in the matter of

fixing the dates of the divisions of any of the sakhas - the

Samhita, the Brahmana and Aranyaka. The Vedas belong to a realm

in which there is no scope for any research. If we believe that

they were discovered by seers who knew past, present and future

-- themselves, though, remaining in a state beyond time -- we

will realise that it is meaningless to attempt to fix their date.

 

 

In

the Rgveda itself the Yajurveda and the Samaveda are mentioned in

a number of passages. In Purusasuktha occuring in the Rgveda

(tenth mandala, 90th suktha) there is a reference to the other

Vedas. We learn from this, don't we, that one Veda does not

belong to a period prior to, or later than another?

 

I

stated that each recension consisted of the Samhita, the Brahmana

and the Aranyaka. When we speak of " Veda-adhyayana "

(the study or chanting of the Vedas) we normally have in mind the

Samhita part only. When we bring out a book consisting of the

Samhita alone of the Rgveda we still call it the

" Rgveda " . The Samhita is indeed the very basis of

asakha, its life-breath. The word means " systematised and

collected together " .

 

The

Rgveda Samhita as all in the form of poetry. What came to be

saled " sloka " in later times is the " rk " of

the Vedas. " Rk " means a

" stotra " , a hymn. The Rgveda Samhita is made up

entirely of hymns in praise of various deities. Each rk is a

mantra and a number of rks in praise of a deity constitute a

sukta.

 

The

Rgveda, that is its Samhita, has 10, 170 rks and 1, 028 suktas.

It is divided into ten mandalas or eight astakas. It

begins with a sukta to Agni and concludes with asukta to the same

deity. For this reason some believe that the Vedas must be

described as the scripture of fire worship, a view with which we

would be in agreement if Agni were believed to be the light of

the Atman (the light of knowledge of the Reality). The concluding

sukta of the Rgveda contains a hymn that should be regarded as

having a higher significance than the national anthem of any

country: it is a prayer for amity among all nations, a true

international anthem. " May mankind be of one mind, " it goes.

" May it have a common goal. May all hearts be united in

love. And with the mind and the goal being one may all of us live

in happiness. "

 

" Yajus "

is derived from the word " yaj " meaning " to

worship " . " Yajna " (as we have already noted) is

also from the same root. Just as " rk " means a hymn,

" yajus " means the worship associated with sacrifices.

The chief purpose of the Yajurveda is the practical application

of the Rgvedic hymns in the religious work called yajna or

sacrifice. The Yajurveda describes in prose the actual conduct of

the rites. If the Rgveda serves the purpose of adoring deities

verbally the Yajurveda serves the same purpose through rites.

 

The

Yajurveda is different from the other Vedas in that it may be

said to be divided into two Vedas which are considerably

different from one another: the Sukla-Yajurveda and the

Krsna-Yajurveda. " Sukla " means white, while

" Krsna " means black. The Samhita of the Sukls-Yajurveda

is also called " Vajasaneyi Samhita " .

" Vajasaneyi " is one of the names of the sun god. It was

the sun god who taught this Samhita to the sage Yajnavalkya.

 

There

is a long story about this, but let me tell it briefly. Before

the time of Yajnavalkya, the Yajurveda was an undivided

scripture. Yajnavalkya learned it from Vaisampayana. Later some

misunderstanding arose between the two and the guru bade his

student to throw up what he had taught him. Yajnavalkya did so

and went to the sun god for refuge. The latter taught him a new

Vedas, an addition to the scripture that is endless. That is how

we came to have Vajasaneyi or Sukla-Yajurveda. The other

Yajurveda already taught by Vaisampayana acquired the apellation

of " Krsna " , so " Krsna-Yajurveda "

 

In

the Krsna-Yajurveda, the Samhita and the abrahmanas do not form

entirely different parts. The Brahmanas are appended here and

there to the mantras of the Samhita.

 

The

glory of the Rgveda is that it is replete with hymns to all

deities. Scholars are of the opinion, besides, it contains

teachings for our life. The wedding rites are based on tht part

of this Veda which pertains to the marriage of the daughter of

the sun god. There are also passages of a dramatic character like

the dialogue between Pururavas and Urvasi. In later times

Kalidasa based one of his dramatic works on this [the

Vikramorvasiyam]. The hymn to Usas, the goddess of dawn, and

similiar mantras are considered to be of high poetic beauty by

men of aesthetic discernment.

 

Since

the Rgveda is placed first among the four Vedas it must naturally

have an exalted position. It is the matrix of the works (karma)

of the Yajurveda and the songs of the Samaveda.

 

The

importance of the Yajurveda is that it systematises the

karmayoga, the path of works. The Tattitiriya Samhita of the

Krsna-Yajurveda deals with sacrifices like darsa-purnamasa,

somayaga, vajapeya, rajasuya, asvamedha. Besides it

has a number of hymnic mantras of a high order not found in the

Rgveda. For example, the popular Sri Rudra mantras are from the

Yajurveda. The Rgveda does contain five suktas known as

" Pancarudra " , but when we mention Sri Rudra we at once

think of the mantras to this deity in the Yajurveda. That is why

a supreme Saiva like Appayya Diksita laments that he was not born

a Yajurvedin - he was a Samavedin.

 

Among

the followers of the four Vedas, Yajurvedins predominate. The

majority in the North(Brahmins) belong to the Sukla-Yajurveda

while most people in the South belong to Krsna-Yajurveda. The day

on which Yajurvedins perform their upakarma is declared a holiday. There is no

such holiday for upakarma of Rgvedins and Samavedins. This is

because Yajurvedins are in a majority. The Purusasukta of the

Rgveda occurs with some changes in the Yajurveda. Today it is

generally understood to be a Yajurvedic hymn.

 

For

non-dualists, the Yajurveda has a special importance. A doctrine

and its exposition consist of three parts: the sutra, the bhasya

and the vartika. The sutra states the doctrine in a

apophthegmatic form; the bhasya is a commentary on it; and the

vartika is an elucidation of the commentary. To non-dualists the

term " vartikakara " at once brings to mind

Surasvaracharya. What is the commentary or bhasya for which he

wrote his vartika? Sankara's bhasya on the Upanishads are to be

regarded as sutras. He wwrote, in addition, a bhasya for the

Brahmasutra also. His disciple Suresvara wrote a vartika on his

master's commentaries. In this work he chose only two of the ten

Upanishads for which Sankara had written his commentary - the

Taittiriya Upanishad and the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad. These two

are from the Krsna and Sukla- Yajurvedas respectively, which

means both are from the Yajurveda. Nother distinction of the

Yajurveda is that of the ten Upanishads

( " Dasopanishad " ) the first and the last are from it -

the Isavasyopanishadnand the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad.

 

" Sama "

denotes that which brings equipoise or tranquillity to the mind.

There are four well-known ways of dealing with an opponent or

rival: sama, dana, bheda and danda. The first method is that of

conciliation, making an enemy a friend through affection. THe

Samaveda enables us to befriend the divine forces, even the

Paramatman. How do we make a person happy? By praising him. If

the panegyricis set to music and sung he would be doubly pleased.

Many of the mantras of the Rgveda are intoned with a cadence in

the Samaveda; thus we have Samagana. While the rks are chanted

with the tonal differences of udatta, anudatta and svarita, the

samans are intoned musically according to certain rules. Our

music, based on the seven notes (saptasvara), has its origin in

Samaveda. All deities are pleased with Samagana. We become

recipients of their grace not only through the offerings made in

the sacrificial fire but through the intoning of the samans by

the udgata. Samagana is particularly important to soma

sacrifices in which the essence of the soma plant is offered as

oblation.

 

Though

the samans are indeed Rgvedic mantras, they are specially capable

of pleasing the deities and creating Atmic uplift because they

are intoned musically. This is what gives distinction to the

Samaveda. Sri Krsna Paramatman says in the Gita : " Vedanam

Samavedosmi " (Of Vedas Iam

samaveda). The Lord is everything,

including good as well as bad. Even so, as he speaks to Arjuna

about the things in which his divine quality specially shines

forth, he mentions the Samaveda among them. In the

Lalitha-Sahasranama (The One Thousand Names of the Goddess

Lalitha), Amba has the name of " Samagana-priya (one who

delights in Samagana); she is not called " Rgveda-priya "

or " Yajurveda-priya " . Syamasastri refers to

the Goddess Minaksi as " Samagana-vinodhini " in one of

his compositions. In the Siva-astottaram [ " Siva

astottara-satam, the 108 names of Siva], Siva is worshipped

thus: " Samapriyaya namah " The Tevaram extols Siva as one

who keeps chanting the Chandoga-Saman (Chandoga-Saman odum

vayan). Appayya Dikshita has sought to establish that Isvara or

Siva, Amba and Visnu are " Ratna-trayi " (the Three Gems)

occupying the highest plane. And all three have a special

relationship with Samaveda.

 

" Atharvan "

means a purohita, a priest. There was a sage with this name. That

which was revealed by the seer Athrvan is the Atharvaveda. It

contains mantras with which one wards off misfortunes and

disasters and brings about the destruction of one's enemies. The

Atharvaveda is a mixture of prose and poetry. The mantras of

other Vedas also serve the same purpose as those of the

Atharvaveda. But what is special about the latter is that it has

references to deities not mentioned in the others and has mantras

addressed to fierce spirits. What has come to be known as

" mantrikam " (magical rites) has its source in this

Veda.

 

But

it is to be noted that the Atharvaveda also contains mantras that

speak of lofty truths. It has the Prithvi-sukta, the hymn to

earth, which glorifies this planet with all its creatures.

 

The

Atharvaveda is noteworthy for the fact that the brahma, the

supervisor of sacrifices, is its representative. The Atharvaveda,

that is its Samhita, is rarely chanted in the North and is not

heard at all in the South. But we must remember that of the ten

important Upanishads three belong to this Veda - Prasna, Mundaka

and Mandukya. It is believed that those who seek liberation need

nothing to realise their goal other than Madukya Upanishad.

 

We

learn from stone inscriptions that the Atharvaveda had a

following until some centuries ago. Information about Vedic

schools is provided by such inscriptions found near Perani, not

far from Tindivanam, at Ennayiram and a place near Walajabad, in the

neighbourhood of Kancipuram. Even during

the reign of the later Colas the Atharvaveda was learned in the

Tamil country.

 

There

are eighteen divisions among the Brahmins of Orissa. One of them

is made up of " Atharvanikas " , that is Atharvavedins.

Evev today Atharvavedins are to be met, though their number is

small, in parts of Gujarat like Saurashtra and in Kosala( in U. P).

 

Gayatri

is the mantra of mantras and it is believed to be the essence of

the three Vedas - which means that the Atharvaveda is excluded

here. According to one view, before he starts learning the

Atharvaveda, a brahmacharin must go through a second upanayana

ceremony. Generaly, the Gayatri imparted to a child at

Brahmopadesa ceremony is called " Tripada- Gayatri " - it

is so called because it has three padas or three feet. Each foot

encompasses the essential spirit of one Veda, The Atharvaveda has

a seperate Gayatri and if people belonging to other Vedas want to

learn this Veda they have to go through a second upanayana to

receive instruction in it. For the followers of the first three

Vedas, however there is only one Gayatri and those belonging to

any one of them can learn the other two Vedas without another

upanayana.

 

(See chapters 36 and 38 of this part for more on sakhas or

recensions of the Vedas).

JAYA JAYA SANKARA HARA HARA SANKARA

 

Thwameva Maathaa Cha Pithaa Thwameva Thwameva Bhandhuscha Sakhaa Thwameva

Thwameva Vidhyaa Dhravinam Thwameva Thwameva Sarvam Mama Dheva Dheva.