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The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c20.s4: § 4. Subjective Deities

The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c20.s4

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§ 4. Subjective Deities

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The clearest example of what may be called physical or subjective deities in the Rigveda is Manyu, ‘wrath’, who is invoked in two hymns.¹ He is described as self-existent, irresistible. He slays Vṛtra, bestows wealth, grants victory like Indra, and is accompanied by the Maruts: doubtless the conception is deduced from that of the wrath of Indra as a destructive force. Tapas, mentioned along with him, denotes ardour: the conception plays a part of the utmost importance in Vedic cosmogony, as a refined form of physical heat, but it is hardly directly deified. The Rigveda² also deifies Çraddhā, ‘faith,’ through which the fire of sacrifice is kindled, ghee offered, and wealth obtained, and which is invoked at morning, midday, and night. The Brāhmaṇas³ make her out to be the daughter of the sun, or of Prajāpati. The conception clearly means belief in the existence and the generosity of the gods in its first appearance: its decay in the process of the religion will be dealt with later.

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¹ x. 83, 84. So in the Sūtras Balis are offered, KhGS. i. 5. 31; GGS. i. 4. 10; ApDS. i. 9. 26. 13.

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² x. 151; Oldenberg, *ZDMG.* l. 450 ff.; Bloomfield, *Rel. of Veda*, pp. 186 ff.

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³ TB. ii. 3. 10. 1; ÇB. xii. 7. 3. 11.

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In the Atharvaveda⁴ is found the conception of Kāma, ‘desire’ or ‘love’. He is described as the first to be born, and he has arrows⁵ which pierce all hearts. He is not, however, as far as appears from the scanty notices we have of him a god primarily of human love, though that side of his character may have existed from the first or have been soon attributed to him. In his cosmic aspect, which is in accordance with the theosophic tone of the Atharvaveda the one in which he is described in it, he is probably derived from the mention of Kāma in one of the most important cosmogonic hymns of the Rigveda⁶ as the first seed of mind, regarded also as cosmic. It is not until the later literature in the last strata of the epic that we meet with the Indian Cupid with his arrows, who is described as the disturber of the hearts of men whom he vexes with the pangs of love.⁷

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⁴ ix. 2; xix. 52. For Balis in the Sūtras, see KhGS. i. 5. 31; GGS. i. 4. 10; other offerings, ApDS. i. 9. 26. 13; PGS. iii. 12. 9; GDS. xxv. 4; BDS. ii. 1. 34; iv. 2. 10.

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⁵ AV. iii. 25. 1. Eros in Boeotia is a probable parallel; Farnell, *Greece and Babylon*, p. 181.

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⁶ RV. x. 129. 4.

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⁷ Hopkins, *Rel. of India*, p. 416, n. 3.

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