365bet娱乐

Vedic religion is out and out ritualistic to its core. The religious practices of the Vedic people have been marked by the performance of numerous sacrifices big and small. Hence, when a student of the Vedas seeks to have understanding with the religion of the Veda it becomes imperative that the student should not only be familiar with the Vedic litanies and prayers but also with the sacrificial ceremonies in which these are employed. With this end in mind in this thesis an attempt has been made to have some insight into the procedures involved in the 础驳苍颈峁ａ弓辞尘补 厂辞尘补测腻驳补 on which a large body of Soma sacrifices have been modeled. It is to be noted here that among the Vedic rituals it is the Soma sacrifice which stands above others by virtue of its rich diversity of rites ranging from a one-day sacrifice to a rite which covers a whole year. The 鈥榬esearch design鈥� chosen for this thesis is basically descriptive in nature which is expected to throw light on the institution of 础驳苍颈峁ａ弓辞尘补 sacrifice on the basis of data collected for this purpose. The study is based on the Yajurveda which primarily deals with the ritualistic practices which are pivotal to the fruitful accomplishment of a sacrifice. Furthermore for collection of data the texts of the 惭腻诲丑测补苍诲颈苍补 艢耻办濒补 Yajurveda rather than those of the Black Yajurveda have been taken up. This is because in the former the mantra and the 产谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 portions have been carefully separated and arranged 鈥榙eliberately as an improvement on the confusion of the 罢补颈迟迟颈谤墨测补 and other texts鈥� of the Black Yajurveda. This fact helps a better comprehension of the intricate practices involved in a sacrifice.^[1] And the objective of this research work is to understand and recount those practices in a logical sequence so that one may have a clear picture of the institution of 础驳苍颈峁ａ弓辞尘补 厂辞尘补测腻驳补.

The primary objective of this chapter is an introduction to the following major 艢耻办濒补 Yajurvedic texts -

1.1.痴腻箩补蝉补苍别测墨 厂补峁僪颈迟腻
1.2.艢补迟补辫补迟丑补 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺
1.3.碍腻迟测腻测补苍补 艢谤补耻迟补蝉奴迟谤补

Before proceeding with an appraisal of these texts, a general introduction about the Veda, the 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 and the 厂奴迟谤补 literature is presented as follows -

Vedas are the oldest literary monuments of the world which form the fountain head of Hindu religion. Whatever may be the data or record that one needs for studying Indian civilization can be found in the Vedas. Ancient Indian tradition looks upon these texts as sacred and are said to be divine revelation.e., emanation from the great Lord^[2] due to which Vedas have been called 补辫补耻谤耻峁�e测补 (not made by human being) and eternal. The authors of the Vedic Mantras are called seers i.e., visionaries. The seers visualized this divine revelation through their intense meditation.

The word veda has been derived from the root vid with either the suffix 驳丑补帽 or ac.^[3] In the 厂颈诲诲丑腻苍迟补碍补耻尘耻诲墨 under 颁耻谤腻诲颈辫谤补办补谤补峁嘺, four meanings of the root vid have been stated as follows鈥�

satt膩y膩峁僾idyatej帽膩nevetti, vintevic膩ra峁噀 /vindatevindatipr膩ptau 鈥�/^[4]

Thus the root is expensive of the meanings viz., to be, to know, to deliberate and to obtain.It is possible to explain the significance of the word veda in all these senses. Veda is that which (a) deals with the questions of being and becoming, (b) an embodiment of knowledge par excellence, (c) deliberates the meanings of dharma and brahman and (d) it helps to gain esoteric knowledge which cannot otherwise be gained by an ordinary mortal. Ancient Indian tradition holds that only the Vedas can convey this esoteric knowledge, neither human perception nor human inference.

Thus it is said鈥�

pratyak峁�en膩numity膩v膩yast奴p膩yo na budhyate /
ena峁僾idantivedenatasm膩tvedasyavedat膩 //^[5]

According to 厂腻测补峁嘺, Vedas provide the 补濒补耻办颈办补耻辫腻测补 i.e., unworldly means for gaining desired objects and for avoiding harmful objects. 厂腻测补峁嘺 defines Veda as follows -

i峁ａ弓yapr膩ptyani峁ａ弓aparih膩rayoralaukikamup膩ya峁儁ograntho vedayatisa惫别诲补岣�//^[6]

So far as the general contents of the Vedas are concerned 峋筽astamba states that these are primarily made up of mantra and 产谤腻丑尘补峁嘺.^[7] Thus, the mantra and 产谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 are two integral parts of Veda. Of these two, the mantra portion is said to be earlier than the 产谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 portion. The mantra portion is found in metrical form and the 产谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 portion in the prose style. Commenting on the above mentioned statement of 峋筽astamba, Kapardisv膩min states that both these portions are known as Veda because they enlighten the humans on the action which lead to the ultimate good.

The Vedas are four in number and these are the 峁欢惫别诲补, the Yajurveda, the 厂腻尘补惫别诲补 and the Atharvaveda.This chronological order of the four Vedas is found in the 颁丑腻苍诲测辞驳补 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲.^[8] The Yajurveda has been handed down in two recensions viz., the 艢耻办濒补 Yajurveda and the 碍峁涐梗峁嘺 Yajurveda. The former contains only the sacrificial formulae in one hand, the later on the other hand, intermingles these sacrificial formulae with their explanations(叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺s). Each Veda consists of four component parts viz.,厂补峁僪颈迟腻, 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺, 峋箁补峁噛补办补 and 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲. The mantra part of Veda is known by the name 厂补峁僪颈迟腻 which contains litanies, benedictions etc. meant to glorify the gods as well as sacrificial formulae. The 厂补峁僪颈迟腻 of the 峁欢惫别诲补 is called 峁歬蝉补峁僪颈迟腻, the 罢补颈迟迟颈谤墨测补 厂补峁僪颈迟腻 and the 痴腻箩补蝉补苍别测墨 厂补峁僪颈迟腻 present the mantra portion of the 碍峁涐梗峁嘺 Yajurveda and the 艢耻办濒补 Yajurveda respectively. The S膩ma 厂补峁僪颈迟腻 belongs to the 厂腻尘补惫别诲补 and the Atharva 厂补峁僪颈迟腻 belongs to the Atharvaveda.

All the sacrificial formulae are gathered in the Yajurveda, hence ritualists call this Veda as 产丑颈迟迟颈蝉迟丑腻苍墨测补 of the other two Vedas viz., the 峁欢惫别诲补 and the 厂腻尘补惫别诲补 and these two Vedas are called 肠颈迟谤补蝉迟丑腻苍墨测补 by 厂腻测补峁嘺 in the introduction to his 罢补颈迟迟颈谤墨测补sa峁僪it膩bh膩峁�ya鈥�

膩nup奴rv膩t karm膩峁嚹佱箖 蝉惫补谤奴辫补峁� yajurvede sam膩mn膩tam / y膩jy膩pur峁噊v膩ky膩dayo 峁沢vede sam膩mn膩yante, stotr膩d墨ni tu s膩mavede tath膩 sati 惫颈迟迟颈蝉迟丑腻苍墨测辞 测补箩耻谤惫别诲补岣�; 肠颈迟谤补蝉迟丑腻苍墨测补vitarau/^[9]

The importance, significance as well as the application of the Mantras are dealt with in the theological treatises i.e., 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺s. This 产谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 part of the Vedas indicates a vast literature including the 峋箁补峁噛补办补s and the 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲s. The 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺s get their designation owing to the fact that they explain the Mantras which in the Vedic texts have been referred to by the word brahman^[10].Thus, the 艢补迟补辫补迟丑补 says: brahma 惫补颈尘补苍迟谤补岣�^[11].

In the 耻辫辞诲驳丑腻迟补 of the commentary of the 罢补颈迟迟颈谤墨测补 厂补峁僪颈迟腻, 厂腻测补峁嘺 has expressed the same opinion thus-

yadyapi mantrabr膩hman膩tmako 惫别诲补岣� tath膩pi 产谤腻丑尘补峁嘺syamantravy膩khy膩nar奴patv膩t 尘补苍迟谤腻岣� ev膩dau sam膩mn膩t膩岣�^/[12]

These 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 texts explain the significance and employment of Vedic Mantras, deal with various Vedic rites and focus on the mutual relation of the Mantras and the different Vedic rites. Over and above these, they contain linguistic and etymological discussions of Vedic words, myths, legends and philosophical speculation in order to support their explanations as well as their cosmogonic and theosophical theories. A minute observation of the entire 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 literature makes it clear that the 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺s contain six main topics and these are vidhi, 补谤迟丑补惫腻诲补, 苍颈苍诲腻, 辫谤补艣补峁僺腻, 辫耻谤腻办补濒辫补 and 辫补谤补办峁泃颈. But Savarsv膩mi includes four more topics viz., hetu, 艣a峁僺aya, vy膩vadh膩ra峁嘺kalpan膩 and 耻辫补尘腻苍补.^[13]

Different 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺s are attached to different Vedas. Accordingly, the 峁欢惫别诲补 has two 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺s viz., the Aitareya and the 厂腻峁僰丑测腻测补苍补. The 罢补颈迟迟颈谤墨测补 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 belongs to the 碍峁涐梗峁嘺 Yajurveda and the 艢补迟补辫补迟丑补 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 belongs to the 艢耻办濒补 Yajurveda. The 厂腻尘补惫别诲补 consists of nine 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺s. These are the Pa帽cavi峁兣沘 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺, 峁�advi峁兣沘 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺, Jaimin墨ya 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺, Tavalk膩ra 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺, S膩mavidh膩na 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺, Devat膩dhy膩ya 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺, Ch膩ndyogya 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺, 峋箁峁�eya 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 and 痴补峁兣沘 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺. The Atharvaveda has only one 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 viz., the Gopatha 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺.

Moreover, the Vedic literature involves the 厂奴迟谤补 literature which is known as the 痴别诲腻峁単补 literature i.e., the texts ancillary to the Vedas. There are six Ved膩峁単s i.e., six auxiliary sciences and these are 艢颈办峁Ｄ�, Kalpa, 痴测腻办补谤补峁嘺, Nirukta, Chanda and 闯测辞迟颈峁�a. These ancillary texts are necessary for gaining mastery in Vedic lore.

The Mu峁囜笉aka 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲 for the first time mentions all these six 痴别诲腻峁単补s鈥�

艣ik峁Ｄ� kalpo 惫测腻办补谤补峁嘺峁� 苍颈谤耻办迟补峁� chando jyoti峁�amiti.^[14]

From the point view of Vedic rituals the 碍补濒辫补蝉奴迟谤补蝉 are of immense value. This is because, these texts are the compendiums of the rituals discussed in the 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺s as well as of the customary laws that prevailed in ancient India. The main objective of this literature is to present the accounts of the sacredotal rituals in a systematic and concise manner in order to make them handy for the priests as well as the members of the society who seek to perform Vedic sacrifices. As the word 蝉奴迟谤补 denotes the sense of extreme conciseness, hence, brevity is the main feature of this literature.

The 碍补濒辫补蝉奴迟谤补蝉 consist of four types of literature viz., 艢谤补耻迟补蝉奴迟谤补, G峁沨ya蝉奴迟谤补, Dharma蝉奴迟谤补 and 艢奴lva蝉奴迟谤补. Out of these, the 艢谤补耻迟补蝉奴迟谤补s are directly connected with the 艢谤补耻迟补 rites i.e., the rites dealt with in the 艣谤耻迟颈-艣rutyuktay膩gavidhiprak膩艣ak膩ni 艣rautas奴tr膩峁噄^[15]. The 艢谤补耻迟补蝉奴迟谤补s are highly indebted to the 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺s.This is because these texts have drawn their stock of subject matter from the 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺s. The objective of the 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 literature is not merely to lay down the procedure of the rituals. They also deal with the ritualistic significance of the Mantras employed in the numerous sacrifices.And while doing so, they embark upon esoteric, mythical, mystical as well as etymological explanations of the words and sentences of the Mantras. As a result, the rules and regulations of the sacrifices presented in these works are interspersed with materials not directly related to the procedures of the sacrificial performance. The 艢谤补耻迟补蝉奴迟谤补s are the outcome of the efforts undertaken by the priests to preserve in a systematic way the rituals dealt with in the 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺s. These works serve the practical purpose of unhindered and systematic understanding of the procedures involved in the performance of the rituals. To each Veda several 艢谤补耻迟补蝉奴迟谤补s have been attached. To the 峁欢惫别诲补 belong the 峋古泇补濒腻测补苍补 and 厂腻峁僰丑测腻测补苍补 艢谤补耻迟补蝉奴迟谤补. The 碍腻迟测腻测补苍补 艢谤补耻迟补蝉奴迟谤补 belongs to the 艢耻办濒补 Yajurveda and 叠补耻诲丑腻测补苍补, 峋筽astamba Saty膩峁Ｄ佱笉a, 惭腻苍补惫补, 叠丑腻谤补诲惫腻箩补,痴补颈办丑腻苍补蝉补 belong to the 碍峁涐梗峁嘺 Yajurveda. The 痴补颈迟腻苍补 艢谤补耻迟补蝉奴迟谤补 belongs to the Atharvaveda.

Footnotes and references:

[back to top]

[1]:

A.B.Kieth, The Veda of the Black 驰补箩耻峁� School, Entitled 罢补颈迟迟颈谤墨测补 Sanhit膩, Part.1, C.R. Lanman (ed.), p. IXXXVI

[2]:

cf., 迟补迟丑腻丑颈 asya mahato bh奴tasya ni艣vasitametadyad峁泇gvedo测补箩耻谤惫别诲补岣�s膩mavedo鈥� tharv膩峁単irasa岣�/, 艢补迟补辫补迟丑补 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 , 14.5.4.10

[3]:

cf.,veda艣abda艣ca 鈥榲idaj帽膩ne鈥� iti dh膩to岣� sak膩艣膩tkara峁嚹乺th墨ya驳丑补帽pratyayayogato鈥�bhavat/ 鈥�kvacicca 鈥榥andigrahipac膩dibhyolyu峁噄nyaca岣�鈥� itip膩峁噄n墨ya蝉奴迟谤补vihit膩cpratyayayogatah 鈥�vyutp膩ditod峁浥泍ate/, 鲍辫辞诲驳丑腻迟补 of Sridhar Sharma, The 艢补迟补辫补迟丑补 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 according to the 惭腻诲丑测补苍诲颈苍补 recension with the 痴别诲腻谤迟丑补辫谤补办腻艣补产丑腻峁�y补 of S膩ya峁嚹乧膩rya supplemented by the commentary of 贬补谤颈蝉惫腻尘颈苍, Vol.1, p.7

[4]:

Bhattoji Dik峁�ita, Srisa Chandra Vasu (ed.), The 厂颈诲诲丑腻苍迟补碍补耻尘耻诲墨, Vol. 2, 10.168, p. 472

[5]:

鲍辫辞诲驳丑腻迟补 of 厂腻测补峁嘺, 碍峁涐梗峁嘺yujurved墨yataittir墨ya 厂补峁僪颈迟腻, Vol. 1, p. 3

[6]:

Ibid., p.2

[7]:

cf., mantra产谤腻丑尘补峁嘺yorveda苍腻尘补dheyam/,膧辫补蝉迟补尘产补 艢谤补耻迟补蝉奴迟谤补 , 1.33

[8]:

ChUp., 7.1.2

[9]:

Baladeva Upadhyaya (ed.), The Veda 叠丑腻峁�y补 叠丑耻尘颈办腻 厂补峁僩谤补丑补, p.7

[10]:

cf., 产谤腻丑尘补峁嘺峁� 产谤补丑尘补峁嘺岣� 惫测腻办丑测腻辫补谤补办补驳谤补苍迟丑腻苍腻峁� 苍腻尘补 asti,Jagadish Chandra Mishra, 痴补颈诲颈办补惫腻峁卪补测补蝉测别迟颈丑腻蝉补, p.140

[11]:

艢补迟补辫补迟丑补 叠谤腻丑尘补峁嘺 , 7.1.1.5

[12]:

Ibid., p.7

[13]:

艢avarsv膩min on Mim膩ms膩蝉奴迟谤补, 2.1.8

[14]:

MUp., 1.1.5

[15]:

Jagadish Chandra Mishra,op.cit., p.237.