BPFE 101 Pre-Buddhist Indian Thought
Lecture 1
Vedic hymns & their philosophical import
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
Archaeologists discovered these two 4000-year-old cities, 400 miles apart, along the
banks of Indus River in Pakistan. These two cities were expertly constructed of an
advanced civilization comparable to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.
No record of these ancient people but archaeologists named the cities Mohenjo-Daro
(Hill of the dead) and Harappa. The buildings at that time were sturdy brick houses and
built up to three floors. Houses had bathrooms and connected by sewers. The elaborate
drainage system was centuries ahead of their time.
Remains were found included fine jewelry, stones from far away places. This showed the
Indus Valley civilization had valued of art and traded with other cultures. Nothing was
known about the disappearance of Indus Valley Civilization about 1700BC possibly
destroyed by a great flood or a devastating earthquake. Another possibility was the
people been defeated and destroyed from external invaders. Archaeologists are
continuing to find and dig new artifacts, which may learn more about this amazing
civilization in the past.
A History of Conquerors
The Indian diverse languages and cultures are result of many outside influences. The
Indian sub-continent has been continuously raided from the North even the natural
barriers provide by the Himalayas unable to stop this force. Dravidians were classified as
India’s first inhabitants. Archaeologists believe the Dravidians were immigrants from
East Africa in pre-historic times.
Aryan invaders from the North conquered the Dravidians about 1500BC. Aryans were
related to the Persians and Europeans. Their language, Sanskrit, is similar to the Greek
and Latin. Linguists classify Sanskrit as an “Indo-European language”. Most of India’s
languages are rooted in Sanskrit or Dravidian languages.
During the 19th century, some Europeans concluded that people who spoke IndoEuropean languages were responsible for most human progress. The Germanic people
were classified as the “purest Aryans” and were said to be superior to other races. Later
study proved these conclusions were false. Persians, Alexander the Great’s armies from
Greece and Huns from central Asia also invaded India in ancient times.
Around 800AD, Muslim invaders started to settle near the mouth of Indus River in
modern Pakistan. Muslim warriors began to conquer the Indians in the South by 1000AD.
The Indian’s slow elephants were no matches for the Muslim’s swift horses and relied on
warrior Kshatriya caste for war. Lower castes Indians started to change their faith to
Muslims, as all people are treated equal.
What are Vedas?
The Vedas are considered the earliest literary record of Indo-Aryan civilization, and the
most sacred books of India. They are the original scriptures of Hindu teachings, and
contain spiritual knowledge encompassing all aspects of our life. Vedic literature with its
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philosophical maxims has stood the test of time and is the highest religious authority for
all sections of Hindus in particular and for mankind in general.
“Veda” means wisdom, knowledge or vision, and it manifests the language of the gods in
human speech. The laws of the Vedas regulate the social, legal, domestic and religious
customs of the Hindus to the present day. All the obligatory duties of the Hindus at birth,
marriage, death etc. owe their allegiance to the Vedic ritual. They draw forth the thought
of successive generation of thinkers, and so contain within it the different strata of
thought.
Origin of the Vedas
The Vedas are probably the earliest documents of the human mind and is indeed difficult
to say when the earliest portions of the Vedas came into existence. As the ancient Hindus
seldom kept any historical record of their religious, literary and political realization, it is
difficult to determine the period of the Vedas with precision. Historians provide us many
guesses but none of them is free from ambiguity.
Who wrote the Vedas?
It is believed that humans did not compose the revered compositions of the Vedas, which
were handed down through generations by the word of mouth from time immemorial.
The general assumption is that the Vedic hymns were either taught by God to the sages or
that they were revealed themselves to the sages who were the seers or “mantradrasta” of
the hymns. The Vedas were mainly compiled by Vyasa Krishna Dwaipayana around the
time of Lord Krishna (c. 1500 BC)
Classification of the Vedas
The Vedas are four: The Rig-Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Atharva
Veda, the Rig Veda being the main. The four Vedas are collectively known as
“Chathurveda,” of which the first three Vedas viz., Rig Veda, Sama Veda and Yajur
Veda agree in form, language and content.
Structure of the Vedas
Each Veda consists of four parts – the Samhitas (hymns), the Brahmanas (rituals), the
Aranyakas (theologies) and the Upanishads (philosophies). The collection of mantras or
hymns is called the Samhita. The Brahmanas are ritualistic texts and include precepts and
religious duties. Each Veda has several Brahmanas attached to it. The Upanishads form
the concluding portions of the Veda and therefore called the “Vedanta” or the end of the
Veda and contains the essence of Vedic teachings. The Upanishads and the Aranyakas
are the concluding portions of the Brahmanas, which discuss philosophical problems. The
Aryanyakas (forest texts) intend to serve as objects of meditation for ascetics who live in
forests and deal with mysticism and symbolism.
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Hymns
1. Rig Veda
2. Sama Veda
3. Yajur Veda
4. Atharva Veda
The earliest civilized inhabitants if India worshipped a Mother Goddess and a horned
fertility god; they had sacred trees and animals, and ritual ablutions apparently played an
important part in their religious life.
When the Indo-Aryans entered India, they brought with them a religion in which the
principal concept of One God (Tawheed) was present. Yet, the Vedas are so eloquent in
praising the powers of nature that some people even interpret them to be gods e.g. Mitra,
Varuna, Indra, of the Indo-Iranian period. They also brought with them the cult of fire
and of Soma, besides knowledge of the art of composing religious poems in several
‘metres’ (Mantras). A comparison of the Rig Veda and the Avesta shows similarity in
style. The purpose of these ancient hymns was to propitiate the gods by praises
accompanying the offering of malted butter poured on the fire and of the juice of the
Soma plant placed on the sacrificial grass. Even the Vedic times till date, the knowledge
of the Vedas is supposed to be accessed only by the hereditary priesthood.
They were handed down in different families by memory, not by writing, which could
hardly have been introduced into India before about 700BC
Rig Veda
The hymns of the Rig-Veda are considered to be the oldest and most important of the
Vedas, having been composed between 1500BC and the time of the great Bharata war
about 900BC. More than a thousand hymns are organized into ten mandalas or circles of
which the second through the seventh are the oldest and the tenth are the most recent. The
hymns are the work of many authors or seers called ‘rishis’. There are seven primary
seers identified: Atri, Kanwa, etc
The Hindu tradition is that even the Vedas where gradually reduced from much more
extensive and ancient divine revelations but were perverted in the recent Dark Age of
Kaliyuga. As the only writings from this ancient period of India, they are considered the
best source of knowledge they have; but the ethical doctrines seems to have improved
from the ancient hymns to the mystical Upanishads. Essentially the Rig Veda is
dominated by hymns praising the Aryan gods for giving them victories and wealth
plundered from the local Dasas through warfare. The Aryans apparently used their
advances in the weaponry and skill in fighting to conquer the agricultural and tribal
peoples of the fading Harappan culture.
Numerous hymns refer to the use of horses and chariots with spokes, which must have
given their warriors a tremendous advantage. Spears, bows, arrows and iron weapons are
also mentioned. As a nomadic and pastoral culture glorifying war, they established a new
social structure of patriarch families dominated by warriors and, eventually with the
power of the Vedas themselves, by priests also.
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The chief objects of worships were the devas, which were connected with brightness and
radiance. The early gods of the Aryans, like those of the Greeks, were chiefly connected
with the sky and were predominantly made. A few goddesses occur in the Rig Veda; for
instance “Prthvi”, a vague and rarely mentioned personification of the earth, “Aditi”, a
mysterious and tenuous figure, the great mother of the gods, etc
For the Aryan warrior the greatest god was Indra, who fulfilled the dual function of wargod and weather god. Indra symbolized the head of Aryan host and destroyed the
fortresses of the Dasas; this god too slew the evil dragon Vrtra, who held back the waters
and thus brought the rain to the parched land. Many other gods too were mentioned in
this Veda.
Sama Veda
The Sama Veda contains the melodies or music for the chants used from the Rig Veda for
sacrifices; almost all of its written verses are traceable to the Rig Veda, mostly the eighth
and ninth books and most to Indra, Agni or Soma.
These are considered the origin of Indian music and probably stimulated great artistry to
make sacrifices worthwhile to their patrons who supported the priests. The Sama Veda
helped to train the musicians and functional as a hymnal for the religious rites. Another
important thing to observe at this place is the significance of music and dance in this
religion. The Brahmin families still consider the traditional music and traditional dance as
the basic qualifications for any girl to be chosen as a suitable match for their sons. Even
their deities like Shiva are supposed to be very good dancers. The specific dance of Shiva
is called as Shiva Tandav.
Yajur Veda
Though also following many of the hymns of the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda deviates
more from the original text in its collection of the ritual formulas for the priests to use in
the sacrifices, which is what ‘yaja’ means. If explains how to construct the altars for new
and full moon sacrifices and other ceremonies. The Yajur Veda has two collections or
‘samhitas’ called white and black, the latter being more obscure in its meanings.
By this time (10th century BC and after) the Aryan conquest has proceeded from the
northwest and Punjab to cover Northern India, especially the Ganges Valley. The caste
system was in place, and as the warriors settled down to ruling over an agricultural
society, the role of the priests and their ceremonies gained influence and justified the
Aryan ways to the native workers, who labored for the farmers, merchants, craftsmen,
who in turn were governed by their kings and priests. Land and wealth were accumulated
in the hands of a few ruling families, and with food scarce the indigenous people were
enslaved or had to sell their labor cheap to the ruling classes.
By instituting more elaborate sacrifices for their wealthy patrons, the priests could grow
both in numbers and wealth as well. The famous horse sacrifice was not celebrated often
but was used by a king to show his lordship over potential adversaries, who were invited
to acknowledge this over lordship in the ritual. The parts of the horse symbolize different
aspects of the universe so that tremendous power is invoked.
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The complicated and obscure rituals were presided over by the priests, the 3 symbols of
the lotus leaf, the frog (for rain), the golden man (for the sun) representing the Aryan
dominance over the land and waters of India and the natural powers that sustain
agriculture.
Atharva Veda
The latest and the fourth Veda is in a different category. For a long time many referred to
only three Vedas, by which complete ceremonies could be conducted with ‘Rig hotr’
reciting, the ‘Sama udgatri’ singing and the ‘Yajur adhvaryu’ performing the ritual.
Even later the “Atharvan’ Brahmin’s part was often performed unaccompanied by the
other three priests. Also much of it draws from the customs and beliefs of the pre-Aryan
or pre-Vedic India. The Atharva Veda is much longer than the Sama and Yajur and only
about a sixth of it is from Rig-Veda.
The Atharva Veda is primarily magical spells and incantations. The line between prayer
and magic and between white and black magic is usually drawn by ethical considerations.
The ‘bheshajani’ are for healing and cures using herbs to treat fever, leprosy, jaundice
dropsy and other diseases. The Aryans looked down on doctors and medicine, probably
because the natives were more skill in these than they were. Other more positive spells
were for successful childbirth, romance, fecundity, virility, etc.
BPFE101
Compiled by Rasika Lau 2 Nov 2012
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