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The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c17.s9: § 9. The Waters

The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c17.s9

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§ 9. The Waters

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Four hymns of the Rigveda and many verses praise the waters as goddesses,⁴ but they have little personality and the element is nearly always plainly to be recognized. Their anthropomorphic form is the Apsaras, who will be treated below. They are mothers, or young wives: they flow in channels to the sea, but they are also celestial: they abide in the seat of the gods and of Mitra and Varuṇa: Varuṇa moves in the midst of them, looking down on the good and base deeds of men. In them Agni dwells and they are his mothers. They cleanse and purify the worshipper, even from moral sins such as lying, cursing, and violence.⁵ They bestow long life and wealth and immortality.

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⁴ For their Indo-European character, cf. Carnoy, *Les Indo-Européens*, pp. 197–201.

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⁵ RV. i. 23. 22; x. 9. 8.

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The waters are also associated with honey: their waves are rich in honey, their milk is mixed with honey, and from tasting it Indra grows strong. For Soma they come with ghee, milk, and honey, and Soma takes them as his brides.

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In the Naighaṇṭuka the waters are reckoned as terrestrial only, but in some of these cases at any rate it is clear that the celestial waters are meant; and that like all deities the waters are thought of as having a home in the heaven, even when also present on earth. The connexion with honey is of interest: it confirms the view that the essential conception is that the waters in their refreshing drink are the honey as they also are the Soma: thus the myth of the descent of Soma is no more than the tale of the descent to earth of the refreshing rain when the storm breaks forth.

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With the growth of the ritual the distinction is made and developed between the various sources of the waters; thus standing water becomes unfit for use since it is Varuṇa's and Varuṇa would seize the sacrifice; in the Rājasūya, the consecration of the king, seventeen different kinds of water are used to confer each some special power on the king at the consecration:¹ the horse sacrifice sees also a similar use of the different powers of the waters to which under many aspects offerings are made. The purifying and protecting power of the waters is seen further in the domestic ritual, in which water is placed near a woman in child-bed.²

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¹ Weber, *Rājasūya*, pp. 33, 34; TS. i. 8. 11. 1; KÇS. xv. 4. 22 ff. Cf. RV. vii. 49. 2; TB. iii. 1. 2. 3; ii. 7. 15. 3 ff.

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² HGS. ii. 4. 5.

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With the waters are connected not only gods like Agni, but various plants³ and animals, of whom the most prominent are the snakes, the ants, and the frogs. The connexion with the water of the snakes appears to be a case of theriomorphism, as seen in the deity Ahi Budhnya, and in the snake form of Agni as well as in the case of the demon Vṛtra. The ants⁴ are evidently brought into connexion with water, because of their ability to find for themselves water in apparently dry places as the Brāhmaṇa legends show, and the frogs⁵ are invoked to send water, because of their close connexion with the waters in which they move and have their being. The ritual emphasizes this connexion by the use of a frog in rites where cooling is needed, and several plants are employed in the same way. The most important of the terrestrial waters are the streams and these will be treated in the next chapter. Among the minor figures who have some connexion with water must be included the Gandharvas and Apsarases.

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³ Karīra, Kharjūra, Vetasa, Avakā, Maṇḍūkaparnī, Dūrvā, Darbha (TA. v. 10. 6), &c.

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⁴ TB. i. 1. 3. 4; TA. v. 1. 4; 2. 9. Cf. E. H. Meyer, *Gandharven-Kentauren*, pp. 156 f.

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⁵ RV. vii. 103; MS. iii. 14. 2; cf. the modern frog worship in October, IA. xxii. 293.

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