The Arctic Home in the Vedas c13.s2: Vishnu's Three Strides
The Arctic Home in the Vedas c13.s2
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Vishnu's Three Strides
c13.s2.1.1
There are a few more Vedic legends which indicate or suggest the Arctic conditions of climate or calendar, and I propose to briefly examine them in this chapter. One of these legends relates to Viṣhṇu and his three long strides, which are distinctly mentioned in several places in the Rig-Veda (I, 22, 17-18; I, 154, 2). Yâska (Nir. XII, 19) quotes the opinion of two older writers regarding the character of these three steps. One of these, *viz.*, Shâkapûṇi, holds that the three steps must be placed on the earth, in the atmosphere, and in the sky; while Aurnavâbha thinks that the three steps must be located, one on the hill where the sun rises (*samârohaṇa*), another on the meridian sky (*Viṣhṇu-pada*), and the third on the hill of setting (*gaya-shiras*). Prof. Max Muller thinks that this three-fold stepping of Viṣhṇu is emblematic of the rising, the culminating and the setting of the sun; and Muir quotes a passage from the Râmâyaṇa (IV, 40, 64), which mentions udaya-parvata, or the mountain of sun-rise, and says that on the top of it is the peak Saumanasa, the place where Viṣṇu’s first step was planted. We are then told that his second step was placed on the summit of Meru; and that “when the sun had circled round Jambudvîpa by the north, he is mostly visible on that lofty peak.” It seems, therefore, that according to the Râmâyaṇa the third step of Viṣṇu was round Jambudvîpa, and was planted after sunset, whatever that may mean.
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In the Purâṇic literature, Viṣṇu’s three steps appear as the three steps of Vâmana, the fifth incarnation of Viṣṇu. Bali, the powerful enemy of the gods, was celebrating a sacrifice, when, assuming the form of a dwarf, Viṣṇu approached him, and begged for three paces of ground. No sooner the request was granted than Viṣṇu assumed a miraculous form and occupied the whole earth by the first step and the atmosphere and everything above it with the second. Bali, who was the lord of the universe before, was surprised at the metamorphosis of the dwarf; but had to make good his own word by offering his head for the third step of Vâmana. The offer was accepted and Bali was pressed down under the third step into the nether world, and the empire of the earth and heavens above was again restored to Indra from whom it had been snatched away by Bali. Amongst these various interpretations one thing stands out very clear, viz., that Viṣṇu represents the sun in one form or another. But Vedic scholars are not agreed as to whether Viṣṇu’s strides represent the daily or the yearly course of the sun. We must, therefore, carefully examine the Vedic passages relating to Viṣṇu, and see if any indication is found therein to decide which of these two views is more probable or correct. Now in I, 155, 6, Viṣṇu is described as setting in motion, like a revolving wheel, his ninty steeds with their four names, evidently referring to 360 days, divided into four groups or seasons of 90 days each.
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This is good evidence to hold that the yearly course of the sun must be taken as the basis of the exploits of Viṣṇu. The Ṛig-Veda further tells us that Viṣṇu was the intimate friend of Indra (yujyaḥ sakhâ, I, 22, 19), and that he assisted Indra in his fight with Vṛitra. Thus in IV, 18, 11, we are told that "Indra about to kill Vṛitra said 'O friend Viṣṇu! stride vastly,' (also cf. VIII, 12, 27)"; and in I, 156, 4, Viṣṇu is said to have opened the cows' stable with the assistance of his friend, while both Indra and Viṣṇu are described as having together vanquished Shambara, conquered the host of Varchins and produced the sun, dawn and the fire in VII, 99, 4 and 5. It is evident from these passages that Viṣṇu was the associate of Indra in his fight with Vṛitra (cf. VIII, 63, 9); and if so, one of the three steps must be placed in regions where this fight was fought, that is, in the nether world. We can now understand why, in I, 155, 5, it is said that two of the three steps of Viṣṇu are visible to man, but the third is beyond the reach of birds or mortals (also cf. VII, 99, 1). When the third step of Viṣṇu is located in the nether world, it can well be said to be invisible, or beyond the reach of mortals. We have seen that the abode of Vṛitra is said to be hidden and filled with darkness and waters. If Viṣṇu helped Indra in his fight with Vṛitra, his third step must be taken to correspond with the home of Vṛitra;
c13.s2.1.4
in other words, Viṣṇu's strides represent the annual course of the sun divided into three parts. During two of these the sun was above the horizon, and hence two of Viṣṇu's three strides were said to be visible. But when in the third or the last part of the year the sun went below the horizon producing continuous darkness, Viṣṇu's third step was said to be invisible. It was then that he helped Indra to demolish Vṛitra and bring back the dawn, the sun and the sacrifice. It has been shown in the last chapter that Indra’s fight with Shambara commenced on the fortieth day of Sharad or in the eighth month after the beginning of the year with Vasanta. These eight months of sunshine and four of darkness may very well be represented by two visible and one invisible step of Vishnu, and the Purânic story of Vishnu’s sleeping for four months in the year further supports the same view. It may also be noticed that Vishnu is said to sleep on his serpent bed in the midst of the ocean; and the ocean and the serpent here alluded to are evidently the waters (āpaḥ) and Ahi or Vritra mentioned in the Vritra legend. It is said that the sleep of Vishnu represents the rainy season of four months; but this is a later misrepresentation of the kind we have noticed in the last chapter in regard to waters.
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When the exploits of Indra were transferred from the last season of the year, viz., Hemanta, to Varshâ or the rainy season, the period during which Vishnu lay dormant, must have been naturally misunderstood in the same way and identified with the rainy season. But originally Vishnu’s sleep and his third step must have been identical; and as the third step is said to be invisible, we cannot suppose that it was planted in the rainy season, which is visible enough. The long darkness of the winter night in the Arctic region can alone adequately represent the third step of Vishnu or the period of his sleep; and the legend about the Phrygian god, who, according to Plutarch, was believed to sleep during winter and resume his activity during summer, has been interpreted by Prof. Rhys in the same way. The Irish couvade of the Ultonian heroes also points out to the same conclusion.¹
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¹ See Rhys’ Hibbert Lectures, p. 632. The passage is quoted in full in Chap. XII, infra.
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But apart from the sleep of Vishnu which is Purânic, we have a Vedic legend which has the same meaning. In the Rig-Veda (VII, 100, 6), Vishnu is represented as having a bad name, viz., shipivishṭa. Thus the poet says, “O Vishnu!
c13.s2.4.1
what was there to be blamed in thee when thou declaredest ‘I am *shipivishṭa*?’” Yâska records (Nir. V, 7-9) an old tradition that according to Aupamanyava, Vishṇu has two names *Shipivishṭa* and *Vishṇu*, of which the former has a bad sense (*kutsitârthîyam*); and then quotes the aforesaid verse which he explains in two ways. The first of these two interpretations accords with that of Aupamanyava; and *shipivishṭa* is there explained by Yâska to mean *shepaḥ iva nirveshṭitaḥ*, or “enveloped like the private parts,” or “with rays obscured” (*apratipanna-rashmiḥ*). Yâska, however, suggests an alternative interpretation and observes that *shipivishṭa* may be taken as a laudatory appellation, meaning “one whose rays (*shipayaḥ*) are displayed (*âvishṭâḥ*).” It is inferred by some scholars from this passage that the meaning of the word *shipivishṭa* had already become uncertain in the days of Yâska; but I do not think it probable, for even in later literature *shipivishṭa* is an opprobrious appellation meaning either “one whose hair has fallen off,” or “one who is afflicted with an incurable skin disease.” The exact nature of the affliction may be uncertain; but there can be no doubt that *shipivishṭa* has a bad meaning even in later Sanskrit literature. But in days when the origin of this phrase, as applied to Vishṇu, was forgotten, theologians and scholars naturally tried to divest the phrase of its opprobrious import by proposing alternative meanings;
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and Yâska was probably the first Nairukta to formulate a good meaning for *shipivishṭa* by suggesting that *shipi* may be taken to mean “rays.” That is why the passage from the Mahâbhârata (Shânti-Parvan, Chap. 342, vv. 69-71), quoted by Muir, tells us that Yâska was the first to apply the epithet to Vishṇu; and it is unreasonable to infer from it, as Muir has done, that the writer of the Mahâbhârata “was not a particularly good Vedic scholar.” In the Taittirîya Saṃhitâ, we are told that Vishṇu was worshipped as *Shipivishṭa* (II, 2, 12, 4 and 5), and that *shipi* means cattle or *pashavaḥ* (II, 5, 5, 2; Tâṇ. Br. XVIII, 6, 26). *Shipivishṭa* is thus explained as a laudatory appellation by taking *shipi* equal to ‘cattle,’ ‘sacrifice’ or ‘rays.’ But these etymological devices have failed to invest the word with a good sense in Sanskrit literature; and this fact by itself is sufficient to show that the word *shipivishṭa* originally was, and has always been, a term of reproach indicating some bodily affliction, though the nature of it was not exactly known. The theological scholars, it is true, have tried to explain the word in a different sense; but this is due to their unwillingness to give opprobrious names to their gods, rather than to any uncertainty about the real meaning of the word. It was thus that the word *shipivishṭa*, which is originally a bad name (*kutsitârthîyam*) according to Aupamanyava, was converted into a mysterious (*guhya*) name for the deity.
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But this transition of meaning is confined only to the theological literature, and did not pass over into the non-theological works, for the obvious reason that in ordinary language the bad meaning of the word was sufficiently familiar to the people. There can, therefore, be little doubt that, in VII, 100, 5 and 6, *shipivishṭa* is used in a bad sense as stated by Aupamanyava. These verses have been translated by Muir as follows:— “I, a devoted worshipper, who know the sacred rites, today celebrate this thy name *shipivishṭa*; I, who am weak, laud thee who art strong and dwellest beyond this lower world (*kshayantam asya rajasah parâke*). What, Vishṇu, hast thou to blame, that thou declaredst, ‘I am *shipivishṭa*’? Do not conceal from us this form (*varpas*), since thou didst assume another shape in the battle.” The phrase “dwelling in the lower world” (*rajasah parâke*), or “beyond this world,” furnishes us with a clue to the real meaning of the passage. It was in the nether world that Vishṇu bore this bad name. And what was the bad name after all? *Shipivishṭa*, or “enveloped like *shepa*,” meaning that his rays were obscured, or that he was temporarily concealed in a dark cover.
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The poet, therefore, asks Viṣṇu not to be ashamed of the epithet, because, says he, the form indicated by the bad name is only temporarily assumed, as a dark armour, for the purpose of fighting with the Asuras, and as it was no longer needed, Viṣṇu is invoked to reveal his true form (varpas) to the worshipper. That is the real meaning of the verses quoted above, and in spite of the attempt of Yāska and other scholars to convert the bad name of Viṣṇu into a good one by the help of etymological speculations, it is plain that shipiviṣṭa was a bad name, and that it signified the dark outer appearance of Viṣṇu in his fight with the demons in the nether world. If the sun is called bṛhach-chhepas when moving in regions above the horizon, he can be very well described as shipiviṣṭa or “enveloped like shepa,” when moving in the nether world; and there is hardly anything therein of which the deity or his worshippers should be ashamed of. Later Purāṇic tradition represents Viṣṇu as sleeping during this period; but whether we take it as sleep or disease it means one and the same thing. It is the story of Viṣṇu going down to the nether world, dark or diseased, to plant his third step on the head of the Asuras, or in a dark armour to help Indra in his struggle for waters and light, a struggle, which, we have seen, lasted for a long time and resulted in the flowing of waters, the recovery of the dawn and the coming out of the sun in a bright armour after a long and continuous darkness.
c13.s2.5
A comparison with the abodes of other Vedic deities, who are said to traverse the whole universe like Viṣṇu confirms the same view. One of these deities is Savitṛi, who in V, 81, 3, is described as measuring the world (rajāṃsi); and in I, 35, 6, we are told “There are three heavens (dyāvaḥ) of Savitṛi, two of them are near and the third, bearing the brave, is in the world of Yama.” This means that two of Savitṛi’s three abodes are in the upper heaven and one in the nether world or the kingdom of Yama. The second deity that traverses or measures the universe is Agni (VI, 7, 7). He has three stations, one in samudra or ocean, one in heaven (divi) and one in the waters or apsu (I, 95, 3). His light is spoken of as three-fold (III, 26, 7), he has three heads (I, 146, 1) and three seats, powers or tongues (III, 20, 2; VIII, 39, 8). Now although these three stations do not seem to be always conceived alike, yet one of them at any rate can be clearly identified with the third step of Viṣṇu; for in X, 1, 3, we are told that the third station of Agni is known only to Viṣṇu, while in V, 3, 3, Agni, with the upama (last or highest) step of Viṣṇu, is said to guard the sacred cows. This description agrees well with I, 154, 5 and 6, where swift moving cows and a spring of honey are said to exist in the place where the highest step of Viṣṇu is planted. It has been shown above that Agni sometimes represents the sun in the Rig-Veda, and that his hiding in the waters and coming out of them as apâm napât or the child of waters is only a different version of the sun sinking below the horizon for a long time and then emerging out of the nether ocean at the end of the long Arctic night. Viṣṇu is also the same sun under a different name, and the third step of Viṣṇu and the third or the hidden abode of Agni can, therefore, be easily recognised as identical in character. The third deity that traverses the universe is the Ashvins to whom the epithet parijman or ‘going round’ is applied several times in the Rig-Veda (I, 46, 14; I, 117, 6). The Ashvins are said to have three stations (VIII, 8, 23), and their chariot, which is said to go over both the worlds alike (I, 30, 18), has three wheels one of which is represented as deposited in a cave or a secret place, like the third step of Viṣṇu, which is beyond the ken of mortals (cf. X, 85, 14-16). This coincidence between the third stations of the three different world-traversing gods cannot be treated as accidental; and if so, the combined effect of all the passages stated above will be clearly seen to point out to the conclusion that the third or the hidden place, dwelling or abode in each case must be sought for in the nether world, the world of the Pitṛis, of Yama, of waters and darkness.
Linked texts (1)
- Ṛgvedasaṃhitā — Sanskrit