Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c17.s2.30

c17.s2.30

(iii) In the light thrown by these two hymns we may consider the tale of Yama and Yamī, the parents of the human race (x 10). At the first glance it becomes probable that we have a variant of the tale of Adam and Eve, though it may not be easy to guess from what common source or by what channels the tale has reached us in such different forms. The Vedic myth has the advantage of logical consistency, for the temptation deals not with the apparently meaningless prohibition of eating from a particular tree, but with the real moral problem necessarily implied in the relationship of the first human pair, if they are conceived (and it cannot easily be otherwise), both as brother and sister and as husband and wife. The Hebrew version may however have in reality the same meaning as the Vedic: at any rate the phrase "the knowledge of good and evil" well represents the late Vedic conception of the marriage relation, and the shame which overcomes Adam and Eve after their sin, as well as the penalty inflicted on the latter, both point to the real nature of the sin itself. In the Rigveda however the position is plainly stated. Yamī is full of a longing to fulfil her destiny, and to become the mother of mankind. Yama on the other hand is overwhelmed by scruples: the laws of the gods permit no exceptions, and their eyes are open wide to mark offence. 'Nay, but the gods designed us for wedlock,' Yamī suggests. 'Who knows their secret intent, or will venture to be their spokesman?' replies her brother. 'Heaven and Earth were brother and sister, yet they became the parents of the gods: why not you and I then of mankind?' But Yama is still unconvinced, and bids his sister look elsewhere for a husband. This suggestion is under the circumstances irritating, and Yamī fairly loses her temper and speaks out her mind. So far as our poem reaches, Yama does not yield: yet it is obvious that in the original form of the tale he must have given way.