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Vedic Mythology c7: V. Animals and Inanimate Objects

Vedic Mythology c7

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V. Animals and Inanimate Objects

§ 59. General Traits

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— Animals enter to a considerable extent into the mythological creations of the Veda. There are still numerous traces surviving from a more primitive age, when the line dividing men from animals was not definitely drawn (§ 65) and gods might be conceived as having animal forms also. The higher Vedic gods themselves being anthropomorphic in character, the supernatural beings of the Veda which have an animal form belong to a lower order, being semi-divine only or demoniac according as the animal is useful to man, as the cow, or injurious, as the serpent. Moreover, just as man has attached to him various animals which are serviceable to him, so the great anthropomorphic gods are naturally surrounded by a celestial animal world of a similar character. Lastly, actual animals are in the ritual connected with mythological conceptions of the gods. They are symbolical representatives intended only as an instrument for the time being to influence the gods they in some respect resemble. This fetishistic point of view is probably the faded remnant of a more primitive identification of gods with visible objects. The part which such animal fetishes play in Vedic times is, however, no longer great, since the representation of deities by animals conflicted with the higher conception prevailing of the gods as mighty men dwelling in heaven and coming invisibly to the sacrifice.

§ 60. The Horse. — A. Dadhikrā

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Besides the celestial horses which draw the cars of the gods, various individual divine steeds occur in Vedic mythology. One of the most notable of these is Dadhikrā, who is celebrated in four rather late² hymns of the RV. (4, 38—40; 7, 44). The name is mentioned there twelve times, interchanging with the extended form Dadhikrāvan, which is found ten times. The name hardly ever occurs in other Vedic texts. Dadhikrā is so characteristically a steed that the word is given in the Nighaṇṭuka (1, 14) as a synonym of horse. He is swift (4, 38²· ⁹. 39¹), being the first steed at the head of chariots (7, 44⁴) and a vanquisher of chariots (*rathatur*), who speeds like the wind (4, 38³). The people praise his swiftness and every Pūru praises him as he runs on a precipice as it were (ib. ⁹·³). He bounds along the curves of the paths (4, 40⁴). He is also conceived as winged. For he is called bird-like, his wing being compared with that of a bird and of a speeding eagle (4, 40²· ³). He is likened to a swooping eagle and even directly called an eagle (4, 38⁵· ²). In one passage (4, 40⁵) he is spoken of as the swan (*haṃsa*) dwelling in light, as well as the Vasu in the air, the priest at the altar, the guest in the house — all epithets appropriate to various forms of Agni.

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Dadhikrā is a hero, smites the Dasyus, and is victorious (4, 38¹⁻³· ⁷). His adversaries fear him as the thunder of heaven, when he fights against a thousand; he wins booty in combats and the tribes cry after him in contests (ib. ⁸· ⁵· ⁴). Making himself (*kṛṇvāna*) a garland, he tosses the dust and scatters it from his brows (ib. ⁶· ⁷). He belongs to all the tribes, pervades the five tribes with his power, as Sūrya the waters with his light, and observes the assemblies (ib. ²· ¹⁰· ⁴). Mitra-Varuṇa gave him, the victorious steed, like shining Agni, to the Pūrus (4, 39² cp. 38¹· ²); they gave us the horse Dadhikrā as a blessing for the mortal (ib. ⁵).

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The steed Dadhikrāvan is praised when Agni is kindled at the dawning of Uṣas (4, 39³). He is invoked with the Dawns (ib.¹. 40¹), who are prayed to turn to the sacrifice like Dadhikrāvan (7, 41⁶). He is regularly invoked with Uṣas, nearly as often with Agni, less frequently with the Aśvins and Sūrya, sometimes with other deities also (3, 20¹· ⁵; 7, 44¹⁻⁴; 10, 101¹); but Dadhikrā is invoked first (7, 44¹).

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The etymological meaning, being uncertain³, cannot be said to throw any additional light on the original nature of Dadhikrā. The second part of the compound may be a by-form of the root *kṛ*, ‘to scatter’, and the word would then mean ‘scattering curdled milk’, in allusion to the dew or rime appearing at sunrise, according to Roth and Grassmann⁴, who both think that Dadhikrā represents in the form of a steed the circling ball of the sun. This view is supported by the fact that the deity with whom Dadhikrā is most closely connected is Uṣas, that the sun is often conceived as a steed or bird (p. 31) and that he is sometimes regarded as warlike (ib.). The statement that Dadhikrā was given by Mitra and Varuṇa might be connected with the notion of the sun being the eye of those deities. Bergaigne thinks that the name of Dadhikrā refers rather to lightning, but that he represents Agni in general, including his solar and lightning forms⁵. Ludwig⁶, Pischel⁷, v. Bradke⁸, and Oldenberg⁹, however, agree in the opinion that Dadhikrā was not a deity, but an actual horse, famous as a racer or charger, which received divine honours.

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It has already been remarked (p. 142) that Dadhyañc is allied to Dadhikrā in name, and possibly in nature, since he is spoken of as having a horse’s head.

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B. Tārkṣya. Nearly related to Dadhikrā is Tārkṣya, whose name is mentioned only twice in the RV. (1, 89⁶; 10, 178¹). One late hymn, consisting of three stanzas (10, 178), is devoted to his praise. He is there described as a god-impelled mighty steed (*vājin*), a vanquisher of chariots (cp. 6, 44⁴), swift, and speeding to battle. He is invoked as a gift of Indra. In the identical words applied to Dadhikrā (4, 38¹⁰), he is said to have pervaded the five tribes with his power, as Sūrya the waters with his light. That he was primarily conceived as a steed is shown (v. ²; 1, 89⁶) by his epithet *ariṣṭanemi*, ‘whose fellies are intact’ (which in VS. 15, 18 appears as an independent name beside Tārkṣya and Garuḍa). In the Naighaṇṭuka (1, 14) the word *tārkṣya* occurs as a synonym of ‘horse’. In one or two later Vedic texts Tārkṣya is, however, referred to as a bird; and in the Epic and subsequent literature, he is identical with the swift bird Garuḍa, the vehicle of Viṣṇu. It seems on the whole probable that Tārkṣya originally represented the sun in the form of a divine steed¹⁰. The word seems to be derived from Tṛkṣi, the name of a man, with the patronymic Trāsadasyava, once mentioned in the RV. (8, 22⁷). This derivation leads Foy¹¹ to believe that Tārkṣya was an actual race horse (like Dadhikrā), belonging to Tṛkṣi of the family of Trasadasyu.

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C. Paidva. Another mythical steed is that which the Aśvins are said to have brought to Pedu (1, 119¹⁰; 7, 71⁵) and which is therefore called Paidva (1, 116⁶; 9, 88⁴). The object of the gift was to replace an inferior horse, as may be inferred from the description of Pedu as *aghāśva*, ‘he who has a bad horse’ (1, 116⁶). This steed is several times spoken of as ‘white’, *śveta* (1, 116⁶, &c.). He is praiseworthy (1, 119¹⁰; 10, 39¹⁰; cp. 4, 38²) and is to be invoked (1, 116⁶) by men, like Bhaga (10, 39¹⁰). He is compared with Indra (1, 119¹⁰) and is called a ‘dragon-slayer’, *ahihan* (1, 117⁹. 118⁹ cp. 9, 88⁴), an epithet otherwise peculiar to Indra. He is a conqueror invincible in battles, seeking heaven (1, 119¹⁰). Here again the evidence, as far as it goes, appears to favour the interpretation of the steed of Pedu as symbolical of the sun¹².

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D. Etaśa. The word *etaśa*, which occurs a few times as an adjective meaning ‘swift’, more frequently signifies ‘steed’ in the RV. In the plural it designates the horses of the sun (7, 62²; 10, 37³. 49⁷). It occurs about a dozen times as a proper name in the singular, always connected with the sun, often with reference to the wheel of the sun. Savitṛ is the steed (*etaśa*) who measured out the terrestrial regions (5, 81³). The swift god Etaśa draws the bright form of the sun (7, 66¹⁴). Yoked to the pole, Etaśa moves the wheel of the sun (7, 63²); he brought the wheel of the sun (1, 121¹³; 5, 31¹¹). Indra urged on the steed (*etaśa*) of the sun (8, 1¹¹ cp. 9, 63⁸). Indra helped Etaśa contending in a race with Sūrya (1, 61¹⁵). It may be gathered from stray references to this mythical contest, that Etaśa being at first behind takes up the lost wheel of the sun and fixes it to the car of Sūrya; he has now gained the lead, and in the end Sūrya seems to concede to him the place of honour before his own car¹³. It appears to be impossible to suggest any satisfactory interpretation of this myth. It can, however, hardly be doubted that Etaśa represents the steed of the sun.

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⁷ PVS. 1, 124; cp. Hillebrandt, Vedainterpretation 17—18.

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⁸ ZDMG. 42, 447—9. 462—3.

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¹¹ KZ. 34, 366—7.

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¹³ BRV. 2, 330 — 3; ORV. 169 f.; cp. PVS. 1, 42; GVS. 2, 161 ff.

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E. The Horse symbolical of Sun and Fire. That the horse is symbolical of the sun, is indicated by a passage of the RV. in which Dawn is said to lead a white steed (7, 77³), and is suggested by another (1, 163²) in which the sacrificial steed is said to have been fashioned by the gods out of the sun¹⁴. In a particular form of the Soma ritual, the horse also appears to be symbolical of the sun¹⁵.

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² E. V. Arnold, KZ. 34, 303.

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³ Cp. Wackernagel, Altind. Gr. p. 15.

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¹⁴ Cp. AB. 6, 35 &c.; KHF. 52; Weber, IS. 13, 247, n. 3; Die Nakṣatra 2, 270.

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¹⁵ ORV. 81.

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Agni, the swift and agile god, is often, as has been shown (p. 89), spoken of as a steed. In the ritual the horse is symbolical of Agni. A horse is stationed so as to look at the place where fire is produced by friction. When the fire is borne towards the east, it is deposited in the track of the horse which goes in front¹⁶. In the ceremony of piling the fire-altar, the horse is addressed with the verse: 'In heaven is thy highest birth, in air thy navel, on earth thy home' (VS. 11, 12). Such a rite is explained in the ŚB. as bringing Agni together with himself¹⁷. The same Brāhmaṇa speaks of lightning as a horse descended from the waters or the clouds (ŚB. 5, 1, 4⁵; 7, 5, 2¹⁸).

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¹ Cp. Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology 1, 283 ff.

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⁴ Roth, PW.; GW. s. v.; cp. HRI. 55, note 5.

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⁵ BRV. 2, 456—7; cp. Macdonell, JRAS. 25, 471; MM., SBE. 46, 282.

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⁶ LRV. 4, 79.

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⁹ ORV. 71; SBE. 46, 282.

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¹⁰ PW.; BRV. 2, 498; Hirzel, Gleichnisse und Metaphern im RV. (1890) 27. 62—3; Griffith, Transl. of SV. 69, note 1.

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¹² Cp. BRV. 2, 51—2.

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¹⁶ ORV. 77.

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¹⁷ ORV. 80.

§ 61. A. The Bull

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— Indra is in the RV. constantly designated a bull, a term applied much less frequently to Agni, and occasionally to other gods, such as Dyaus (p. 22). In the AV. (9, 4⁹) a bull is addressed as Indra, and in the ŚB. (2, 5, 3¹⁸) the bull is stated to be Indra's form¹. In the Avesta the bull appears as one of the incarnations of Verethraghna, the Avestan Indra². In one of the sacrifices of the Vedic ritual, a bull also represents the god Rudra³. A bull plays a part in the obscure and much discussed myth of Mudgala and Mudgalānī (RV. 10, 102)⁴.

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B. The Cow. — Owing to its great utility on earth, the cow naturally enters largely into the conceptions of Vedic mythology. The beams of Dawn are personified as cows⁵, which draw her car (p. 47). The rain-cloud is personified as a cow, the mother of a (lightning) calf (pp. 10. 12). This cloud-cow is individualized as Pṛśni⁶, the mother of the Maruts (VS. 2, 16), her milk (6, 48²²) and udder being several times referred to (cp. p. 125). The bountiful clouds are doubtless the prototypes of the many-coloured cows which yield all desires (*kāmadughā*) in the heaven of the Blest (AV. 4, 34⁸) and which are the forerunners of the Cow of Plenty (*kāmaduh*) so often mentioned in post-Vedic poetry⁷. Iḍā, the personification of the offering of milk and butter, has a tendency to be regarded as a cow (p. 124). Aditi also is sometimes spoken of as a cow (p. 122). The gods are sometimes called cow-born, *gojātāḥ*. The most frequent application of the cow is, however, in the myth of the kine released from the rock by Indra (pp. 59. 61).

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⁵ Cp. Gruppe, op. cit. 1, 77. —

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⁶ Cp. Roth, Nir. Erl. 145; PW. s. v. —

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⁷ KHF. 188. —

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The terrestrial cow herself has already acquired a certain sanctity in the RV., being addressed as Aditi and a goddess, while the poet impresses on his hearers that she should not be killed (8, 90¹⁵. ¹⁶ cp. VS. 4, 19. 20). The inviolability of the cow is further indicated by her designation *aghnyā*, ‘not to be slain’, which occurs sixteen times in the RV. (the corresponding masculine form *aghnya* being found only three times). In the AV. the worship of the cow as a sacred animal is fully recognised (AV. 12, 4. 5)⁸. In the ŚB. (3, 1, 2²¹) he who eats beef is said to be born again (on earth) as a man of evil fame; though beef is allowed to be cooked for guests (ŚB. 3, 4, 1²)⁹.

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¹ Cp. MS. 1, 10¹⁶; TB. 1, 6, 7⁴; Āp. ŚS. 8, 11¹⁹. —

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² ORV. 76, note 2. —

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³ ORV. 82. —

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⁴ Last treated of by V. Henry (with reference to his predecessors) in JA. 1895 (6), 516—48. —

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⁸ HRI. 156; cp. Bloomfield, SBE. 42, 656. —

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⁹ WVB. 1894, p. 36; HRI. 189; cp. Winternitz, Hochzeitsrituell 33. ¹ ORV. 72; SBE. 46, 62; Bloomfield, SBE. 42, 625. 664, who thinks Aja ekapād is undoubtedly the Sun, with reference to TB. 3, 1, 2⁸ ('Aja ekapād has risen in the east', &c.), a passage which, however, is not cogent for the Rigvedic conception. — ² ORV. 78. — ³ WVB. 1894, p. 26, n. 2. — ⁴ Cp. Hopkins, The Dog in the RV., AJP. 1894, 154—5; Bloomfield, SBE. 42, 500. — ⁵ Cp. Whitney, Sanskrit Grammar², 1216. — ⁶ Op. cit. 1166 b; Wackernagel, Altind. Gr. § 52 a.; KRV. n. 149; ZDMG. 13, 493—9; 14, 583. — ⁷ Cp. KHF. 177—8; Entwicklungsstufen 136; IS. 1, 272, note; Hopkins, JAOS. 17, 67. — ⁸ Macdonell, JRAS. 27, 178—89. — ⁹ Cp. IS. 13, 250. — ¹⁰ Cp. SPH. 81. — ¹¹ Cp. IS. 1, 187. — ¹² Macdonell, JRAS. 27, 166—7. — ¹³ ORV. 70; Bloomfield, JAOS. 17, 173—9. — ¹⁴ ASL. 494—5; cp. OST. 5, 436. — ¹⁵ BRV. 1, 292 &c.; cp. HRI. 100—1.

§ 62. The Goat &c.

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— In the RV. the goat is specially connected with Pūṣan as drawing his car (p. 35). It also appears there as a divine being in the form of Aja ekapād, the one-footed Goat (§ 27)¹. In the the later Vedic literature the goat is several times connected or identified with Agni².

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The ass appears in Vedic mythology mainly as drawing the car of the Aśvins (p. 50)³.

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The dog⁴ is found in the RV. mythologically in the form of the two brindled hounds of Yama, called Sārameya (p. 173). This name indicates that they were regarded as descendants⁵ of Saramā⁶ (p. 63), the messenger of Indra. There is nothing in the RV. directly showing that Saramā was there conceived as a bitch, though in the later Vedic literature she is regarded as such and by Yāska (Nir. 11, 25) is described as the ‘bitch of the gods’ (*devaśunī*).

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The boar occurs in the RV. as a figurative designation of Rudra, the Maruts, and Vṛtra⁷. In the TS. and TB. this animal appears in a cosmogonic character as the form assumed by the Creator Prajāpati when he raised the earth out of the waters. A later development of it is the boar incarnation of Viṣṇu⁸.

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In the later Saṃhitās the tortoise is raised to a semi-divine position as ‘lord of waters’ (VS. 13, 31)⁹, or, as Kaśyapa, often appears beside or identical with Prajāpati in the AV., where he receives the epithet *svayambhū*, ‘self-existent’ (AV. 19, 53¹⁰)¹⁰. In the AB. (8, 21¹⁰) the earth is said to have been promised to Kaśyapa by Viśvakarman. In the ŚB. Prajāpati is described as changing himself into a tortoise (7, 4, 3⁵), in which form he produced all creatures (7, 5, 1¹)¹¹. This assumed form of the creator became in post-Vedic mythology the tortoise incarnation of Viṣṇu¹². In the TS. (2, 6, 3³) the sacrificial cake (*puroḍāśa*) is said to become a tortoise.

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A monkey appears in a late hymn of the RV. (10, 86) as Indra’s favourite, who is expelled for his mischievousness by Indrāṇī, but is finally restored to favour (§ 22, p. 64).

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Frogs awakened by the rains are in RV. 7, 103 the objects of a panegyric as bestowing cows and long life, and seem to be conceived as possessing magical powers¹³. This hymn has, however, been interpreted by Max Müller¹⁴ as a satire on Brahmans. Bergaigne interprets the frogs as meteorological phenomena¹⁵.

§ 63. The Bird

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Birds figure largely in Vedic mythology. Soma is often compared with or called a bird¹ (p. 106). Agni in particular is frequently likened to or directly designated a bird², once being spoken of as the eagle of the sky (p. 89)³. The sun is also sometimes conceived as a bird (p. 31)⁴, twice under the name of *garutmat*⁵. The fact that Viṣṇu's vehicle in post-Vedic mythology is Garuḍa, the chief of the birds, is probably based on the same notion (cp. p. 39). The main application of the bird in the Veda is as the eagle which carries off the Soma for Indra and which appears to represent lightning⁶. In the Kāṭhaka it is Indra himself who in the form of an eagle captures the Soma or *amṛta*. Similarly in the Avesta, Verethraghna assumes the form of Vāraghna, the swiftest of birds, and in Germanic mythology, the god Odhin transforming himself into an eagle, flies with the mead to the realm of the gods (p. 114)⁷.

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¹ Cp. Benfey, SV. glossary, s. v. *śyena*. — ² Bloomfield, FaR. 152. — ³ KHF. 29. — ⁴ v. Bradke, ZDMG. 40, 356. — ⁵ GW.; HRI. 45. — ⁶ BRI. 11. — ⁷ ORV. 75. — ⁸ Cp. ZDMG. 31, 352 ff.; Bloomfield, SBE. 42, 474. — ⁹ ORV. 76.

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Ominous birds as well as beasts are occasionally connected with certain gods by whom they are supposed to be sent. Thus in the RV. the owl and the pigeon are spoken of as messengers of Yama (§ 77)⁸. In the Sūtras the owl is 'the messenger of evil spirits'; while the beast of prey besmeared with blood and the carrion vulture are called messengers of Yama⁹. In the RV. a bird of omen is once invoked to give auspicious signs (2, 42⁴³).

§ 64. Noxious Animals

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These generally appear as demons or show demoniac traits. Demons are sometimes in the RV. referred to with the generic term *mṛga*, 'wild beast' (1, 80⁷; 5, 29⁴. 32³). One demon who is mentioned three times (2, 11¹⁸; 8, 32²⁶. 66²) is called Aurṇavābha, 'Spider-brood'; another referred to only once (2, 14⁴) is named Uraṇa, 'Ram'.

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The most common animal form applied in this way is the serpent¹ (*ahi* = Av. *azhi*)². This is generally only another designation of the demon Vṛtra, who probably received his name (cp. § 68) as a formidable enemy of mankind enveloping his prey like a serpent in his coils³. The Vṛtra-slayer Indra, who is also called the serpent-slayer, is said to have slain the serpent (8, 82² cp. 4, 17¹); the identity of Ahi and Vṛtra is clear where the terms interchange (1, 32¹· ²· ⁷⁻¹⁴); and by the 'first-born of the serpents' (ib.³· ⁴) no other can be meant than 'Vṛtra, the most Vṛtra' (ib.⁵). In several passages, too, the words are in apposition and may be translated 'the serpent Vṛtra'⁴. When Ahi is mentioned alone, the results of Indra's victory over him are the same as in the case of Vṛtra, the god causing the waters to flow, delivering the seven streams, or winning the cows⁵. The waters are also described as encompassed by the serpent, the action being expressed by the root *vṛ* (2, 19²) among others. They are similarly said to be swallowed (*√gras*) by the serpent (4, 17¹; 10, 111⁹). Ahi is armed with lightning thunder and hail (1, 32¹³). He is bright, for the Maruts are called *ahi-bhānavah*, 'shining like Ahi' (1, 172¹); and the term *ahi* is applied to Agni, who is described as a 'raging serpent, like the rushing wind' (1, 79¹)¹⁵. Soma is once besought to deliver an enemy to Ahi (7, 104⁹). The plural of the word is occasionally used to express a race of demons (9, 88⁴; 10, 139⁶), of whom *the* Ahi is the first-born (1, 32³· ⁴).

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The serpent, however, also appears as a divine being in the form of Ahi budhnya (§ 26), who seems to represent the beneficent side of the character of Ahi Vṛtra.

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In the later Saṃhitās the serpents (*sarpāḥ*) are found as a class of semi-divine beings beside the Gandharvas and others. They are spoken of as being in earth, air, and heaven (VS. 13, 6; cp. TB. 3, 1, 1⁷). They are often mentioned in the AV.¹⁶, one hymn of which (11, 9) is sometimes interpreted as an invocation of certain serpent divinities⁷. In the Sūtras offerings to the serpents of earth, air, and heaven (AGS. 2, 1⁹; PGS. 2, 14⁹) are prescribed; serpents are satiated along with gods, plants, demons, &c. (ŚGS. 4, 9³. 15⁴; AGS. 3, 4¹), and blood is poured out for them (AGS. 4, 8²⁷). In this worship the serpent, owing to its hurtfulness, is naturally regarded as having a demoniac nature, which has to be propitiated. In a similar sense offerings are sometimes made to ants (KS. 116).

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¹ Cp. BENFEY, GGA. 1847, p. 1484; GUBERNATIS, Zoological Mythology 2, 392—7; WINTERNITZ, Der Sarpabali, Vienna 1888. — ² SP.AP. 257. — ³ Cp. SP.AP. 261. — ⁴ BRV. 2, 204. — ⁵ GRIFFITH, RV. Transl. 1, 133, note 1; MACDONELL, JRAS. 25, 429. — ⁶ WEBER, Jyotiṣa 94; PW. s. v. *sarpa*. — ⁷ Cp. BLOOMFIELD, SBE. 42, 631—4.

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§ 65. Survival of prehistoric notions. — The primitive conception that man does not differ essentially from beast, has left a few traces in the form of a belief in beings of the werewolf order. These are represented by the man-tigers (VS. 30, 8; ŚB. 13, 2, 4²)¹¹ and by the Nāgas, human beings in appearance but in reality serpents, which are first mentioned under this name in the Sūtras² (AGS. 3, 4¹). It does not seem likely that the later serpent worship had any connexion with the myth of the Vṛtra serpent, but its development was probably due rather to the influence of the aborigines. For on the one hand there is no trace of it in the RV., and on the other it has been found prevailing very widely among the non-Aryan Indians. The Aryans doubtless found the cult extensively diffused among the natives when they spread over India, the land of serpents³.

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¹ Cp. the Man-lion incarnation of Viṣṇu. — ² Cp. WINTERNITZ, Sarpabali 43. — ³ ORV. 69, note 2. — ⁴ PW. s. v.; IS. 3, 457. 459. — ⁵ Also mentioned in Manu 2, 19. — ⁶ Superlative of *go*. — ⁷ See PW. sub vocibus. — ⁸ ORV. 85—6; Bloomfield, JAOS. 15, 178, note. — ⁹ PAOS. 1894, p. cliv.

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Similarly, there are possibly in the RV. some survivals of totemism or the belief in the descent of the human race or of individual tribes or families from animals or plants. Kaśyapa, 'Tortoise', the name of a seer (9, 114²) and of a priestly family (AB. 7, 27), is also frequently found in the AV. and the later Vedic literature⁴ as that of a cosmogonic power nearly related to or identified with the Creator Prajāpati. In a passage of the ŚB. (7, 5, 1⁵) Prajāpati appears in the form of a tortoise (*kūrma*). Here it is remarked that, as *kūrma* is identical with *kaśyapa*, 'therefore men say: all beings are the children of the tortoise (*kaśyapa*)'. The RV. (7, 18⁶· ¹⁹) mentions as tribal names the Matsyas (Fishes)⁵, the Ajas (Goats), and the Śigrus (Horse-radishes). As names of Vedic priestly families also occur the Gotamas⁶ (Oxen), the Vatsas (Calves), the Śunakas (Dogs), the Kauśikas (Owls), and Māṇḍukeyas⁷ (Frog-sons). The father of Saṃvaraṇa (a name occurring in RV. 5, 53¹⁰), from whom the kings of the Kurus claimed descent, is in the Epic called Ṛkṣa (Bear)⁸. HOPKINS, however, expresses a doubt whether the names of animals ever point to totemism in the RV.⁹

§ 66. Deified Terrestrial Objects

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A. Besides the phenomena and forces of nature, mostly aerial and celestial, and the earth itself (§ 34), various natural features of the earth's surface, as well as artificial objects, are treated as deities in the RV. It is the worship of inanimate things chiefly regarded as useful to man¹. It is not pantheistic, since each object is regarded as a separate divinity², but is rather fetishistic in its character.

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Rivers personified as goddesses have already been dealt with (§ 33).

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Mountains (*parvata*) are often in the RV. conceived as divinely animate, being invoked as deities nearly twenty times in the plural and four times in the singular. In this capacity they never appear alone, but only with other natural objects such as waters, rivers, plants, trees, heaven and earth (7, 34²³, &c.), or with gods like Savitṛ, Indra, and others (6, 49¹⁴, &c.). They are invoked as manly, firmly fixed, rejoicing in plenty (3, 54²⁰). Parvata is even three times lauded with Indra in the dual compound *Indrāparvatā* (1, 122³. 132⁶). The pair are spoken of as driving in a great car and are besought to come to the offering (3, 53¹). Here Parvata seems to be a mountain god, conceived anthropomorphically as a companion of Indra.

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Plants (*oṣadhi*) are also personified as divine. The whole of a long hymn of the RV. (10, 97)³ is devoted to their praise, mainly with reference to their healing powers⁴. They are called mothers and goddesses (v. 4), and Soma, to whom trees are subject, is described as their king. In another text a herb to be used medicinally is spoken of as a 'goddess born on the goddess earth' (AV. 6, 136¹). An animal sacrifice is even offered to plants in order to remove their obstruction to the attainment of offspring (TS. 2, 1, 5³).

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Large trees, called *vanaspati*, 'lord of the forest', are a few times addressed as deities either in the plural (7, 34²³; 10, 64⁸) or the singular (1, 90⁸; Vāl. 6⁴), chiefly along with Waters and Mountains. Later texts refer to the adoration paid to large trees passed in marriage processions⁵ (cp. p. 134).

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The forest as a whole appears as a deity under the name of Araṇyānī, the jungle goddess, who is invoked in RV. 10, 146. Here she is called the mother of beasts, abounding in food without tillage; and the various uncanny sounds heard in her dark solitudes are weirdly described. The plant, tree, and forest deities, however, play a very insignificant part not only in the RV., but even in the AV. and in the ritual of the lesser domestic sacrifices; while in the Buddhist literature they seem to have been more closely connected with human life than any other lower deities⁶.

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B. Implements. Another group of inanimate objects susceptible of personification and worship is formed by various implements of sacrifice. The deification of these is by Barth⁷ called by the rather misleading name of ritualistic pantheism⁸. The most important of these objects is the sacrificial post, which under the name of *vanaspati* and *svaru* is deified and invoked in RV. 3, 8. The tree is here described as well-lopped with the axe, as anointed and adorned by priests; and the posts set up by priests are gods, and as gods go to the gods (vv. ⁶. ⁹). In the tenth or eleventh verses of the Āprī hymns¹⁰, the post is described as thrice anointed with ghee and being set up beside the fire is invoked to let the offering go to the gods. In other verses of the same hymns the sacrificial grass (*barhis*) is twice (2, 3⁴; 10, 70⁴) addressed as a god, and more frequently the doors leading to the place of sacrifice, as goddesses (*devīr dvāraḥ*).

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The pressing stones (*grāvan*, also *adri*) are deified in three hymns (10, 76. 94. 175). They are spoken of as immortal, unaging, and more mighty even than heaven¹¹. When pressing they are like steeds or bulls and the sound of their voice reaches to heaven. They are invoked to drive away demons and destruction, and to bestow wealth and offspring. In two verses of the RV. (1, 285. 6) the mortar and pestle are invoked to resound aloud and to press Soma for Indra.

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¹¹ HVM. 1, 151.

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The AV. ascribes divine power of the highest order to Ucchiṣṭa, the ‘remnant’ of the sacrifice (AV. 11, 7)¹² as well as to different sacrificial ladles¹³.

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¹² OST. 5, 396; SPH. 87—8.

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¹³ OST. 5, 398.

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Agricultural implements named Śuna and Sīrā, probably the ploughshare and the plough, are invoked in a few verses of the RV. (4, 575—8), and a cake is assigned to them at the sacrifice in the ritual (ŚB. 2, 6, 35).

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Weapons, finally, are sometimes deified. The whole of RV. 6, 75 is devoted to the praise of various implements of war, armour, bow, quiver, and arrows. The arrow is adored as divine and is besought to grant protection and to attack the foe (vv. 11. 15. 16). The drum (*dundubhi*) is invoked to drive away dangers, foes, and demons (vv. 29—31); and a whole hymn of the AV. (5, 20) celebrates its praises¹⁴.

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¹⁴ ROTH, FaB. 99.

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C. Symbols. Material objects are occasionally mentioned in the later Vedic literature as symbols representing deities. Something of this kind (possibly an image) must be meant even in a passage of the RV., in which the poet asks, ‘Who will buy this my Indra for ten cows? When he has slain his foes he may give him back to me’ (4, 2410; cp. 8, 15). References to idols¹⁵ begin to appear in the later additions to the Brāhmaṇas and in the Sūtras¹⁶.

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¹⁵ The allusion to idols of Agni, seen in RV. 1, 1454. 5 by BOLLENSEN (ZDMG. 47, 586), is inconclusive.

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¹⁶ WEBER, Omina und Portenta 337. 367 f.; IS. 5, 149; KRV. note 79 a; HRI. 251.

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The wheel is in various ritual performances employed as a symbol of the sun, as representing both its shape and its motion. It is thus used in the Vājapeya sacrifice¹⁷, in the ceremony of laying the sacrificial fire, and at the solstitial festival¹⁸. In post-Vedic mythology, moreover, one of the weapons of Viṣṇu is a wheel (*cakra*)¹⁹.

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¹⁷ WEBER, Vājapeya 20. 34 f.

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¹⁸ ORV. 88, note 4.

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¹⁹ V. BRADKE, ZDMG. 40, 356.

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Gold or a firebrand was employed as a symbol of the sun, when drawing water after sunset (ŚB. 3, 9, 29); gold served the same purpose when the sacrificial fire was made up after sunset instead of before (ŚB. 12, 4, 46); and in piling the fire-altar, a disc of gold was placed on it to represent the sun (ŚB. 7, 4, 110)²⁰.

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²⁰ ORV. 255—61. 87—92.

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A symbol must have been used, as at a later period, in the phallic worship which was known in the earliest Vedic period, as is shown by the occurrence in two passages of the word *śiśnádevāḥ*, ‘those who have a phallus for their deity’. Such worship was, however, repugnant to the religious ideas of the RV.; for Indra is besought not to let the *śiśnadevāḥ* approach the sacrifice (7, 215), and he is said to have slain the *śiśnadevāḥ*, when he won the treasure of the hundred-gated fort (10, 993). In the post-Vedic period the phallus or *liṅga* became symbolical of Śiva's generative power and its worship is widely diffused in India even at the present day²¹.

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¹ HRI. 166.

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² HRI. 135.

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³ Cp. ROTH, ZDMG. 25, 645—8.

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⁴ Cp. DARMESTETER, Haurvatāt et Ameretāt 74—6.

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⁵ ORV. 252; tree-worship also appears in the Sūtras, where a newly married couple are said to bring offerings to the *udumbara* and to invoke its blessing: WINTERNITZ, Hochzeitsrituell 101—2.

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⁶ ORV. 259—61.

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⁷ BRI. 37, note.

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⁸ HRI. 135.

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⁹ Cp. OLDENBERG, SBE. 46, 12. 253—5.

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¹⁰ Cp. ROTH, Nir. xxxvi, Erl. 117—8. 121—4; ASL. 463—6; WEBER, IS. 10, 89—95; GRV. 1, 6; KRV. n. 126; OLDENBERG, SBE. 46, 9—10.

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²¹ V. SCHROEDER WZKM. 9, 237; HRI. 150.

Linked texts (13)