Sandness, A. - ON ṚTÁ AND BRÁHMAN: VISIONS OF EXISTENCE IN THE ṚG-VEDA

8/13/2019 Sandness, A. - ON T AND BRHMAN: VISIONS OF EXISTENCE IN THE G-VEDA

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handarkar Oriental Research Institute

ON T AND BRHMAN: VISIONS OF EXISTENCE IN THE G-VEDAAuthor(s): A. SandnessSource: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 88 (2007), pp. 61-80Published by: Bhandarkar Oriental Research InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41692085.Accessed: 21/01/2014 09:14

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62 AnnalsBORI LXXXVIII 2007 )1. 179.2b and,moredirectly, n the two occasions wherert is used in thegenitiveplural. n 1.165.13c-d,for xample,the Marutsarewitnesses othemanifestationsfrtcomposed bythepoet mnmni itrapivtyanta sbhtanved ma rtnm)?

Yet the Vedic poetsdo nottypically nderstand t as being plural ncharacter. he pluraloftheterm s found nonlythirteenfthefivehundredseventy, r in only2%, oftheRgvedic occurrences f rt. Rt is perceivedas singular n nature.Three hundredforty-seven,r 61%, of theRgvedicoccasionsofrt arelinguisticallyingular; ntheremaining wo hundred enoccurrences, t is thefirstmember f a compoundterm.Neither s rt typicallyperceived as something hatcan be directlynamed. n the twocases where the term ppears n thenominative ingular,itdoes so only norder hattmaybe identified ith omethinglse In 8 60 5for xample,Agni s identifieds Poet,Protectornd rt ncarnate;n9.62.30,Sma is addressedas Pvamna,rt ncarnate nd Poet, rt s thusnot tselfsubjectofan action n itssingular orm; ecause it s not n itssingular ormsubjectofa verb, t s notperceivedbythepoetas acting ndependentlynthemanifestworld.Typicallyrtoccurs n thegenitive.Onehundred inety-seven,r57% ,of ts occurrencesnthesingular, nd 35% of ts totaloccurrences, reinthegenitivesingular.When rt appears as firstmemberof a compound,thiscompound s generally genitive atpurusa. akingthesecases into ccount,rt has a genitive ense on morethan70% of its occurrences.Rt thus endstobeperceived ythepoets s a unique nd unnameable entityas somethingwhichmustbe qualifiedratherhan dentifiednd describedonly nterms fthatwhichrelatesto it.This difficultyfnamingor identifying t is experiencedby thosewho translate Rgvedic literature.4Exhaustive studies have examineddetailsoftheterm.Renou,for xample,most ften hose totranslate he erm

3 1.165.13d.f. .23.4c; .70.1d; .97.37a.4 See, orxample,ergaigne,aReligiondiqueaprseshymnesuRig-Veda.Paris:Honorehampion1883), 963], 11:210-271ho urnishesnexhaustiveomparativeanalysisf heerm.ee lsoApte, Rtan he gveda , nnalsf he handakarrientalResearchnstituteXIII 1942): 5-60 ndRenou,tudesdiquest aninennesParis:E. deBoccard),X (1961):119, II (1957) 50,73as subjectf xpressionsased n(Continuednthenext age)

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A. Sandness OnRt nd BrhmanVisionsfExistencentheRg-Veda 63by Order 5incontrast oLderswhopreferredTruth .6ForThieme twasthe formation ither fanembryo r ofa poem.7Renourecognised hatrtmight ombine uchqualities o as to communicatehe deaof 'lo potiqueor poetic 'law' . 8

A synchronisticnderstandingf rthasalso elsewherebeen affirmed.Elizarenkova, forexample, enumeratesdefinitions f the termgiven byGrassmann,ncluding, mong thers,divineorder , eternal ruth ,justice ,sanctity , a pious deed , sacrifice 9 and suggests.... it seems most probable that all the separate meaningsarereally ontext-boundariants f a singlesyncreticnvariantmeaningwhich nthisparticularase couldbeconventionalizedas cosmic law . On the speculative level it can manifestitself s eternaltruth , uton the ritual evel as sacrifice .Similarly, the various adjectival meanings of the word -appropriate; good, sacred; truthful,ious - could berather asily reduced to a singleinvariant: conforming o thelaw of rt'. 10

(Continuedrom . 28)subjectf xpressionsased nthe ermt, eealsoGonda,oka:WorldndHeavenin heVedaAmsterdam:.V.Noord-Hollandscheitgeversaatschappij1966), 42;Gonda, heVisionf heVedic oetsTheHague:Mouton Co.,1963), 8,97,125f.;Gonda, heDual Deities ntheReligion ftheVeda Amsterdam:orth-HollandPublishingompany,974), 48, 61 175, 76, 83, 86, 90, 98, 06f.,29;Gonda,Rice ndBarley fferingsn heVedaLeiden: .J. rill, 987), 5;Gonda, rajpatVsRise oHigher ankLeiden: J.Brill, 986), 1 96;Gonda,ome bservationsn heRelationsetweenGods nd Powers intheVeda, Propos f he hrase nuh.SahasahTheHague:Mouton Co.,1957), 7,93;Gonda, edic iteratureSamhitsandBrhmanas)Wiesbaden:ttoHarrassowitz,975), 2,99;Gonda, he unctionsand ignificancefGoldn heVedaLeiden: .J. rill, 991), 39;Gonda, pithetsnthe gVeda, isputationesheno-TrajectinaeTheHague:Mouton Co.,1959), 04.On Sma s the tonguefrt , eeGonda heVisionf heVedic oetsTheHague:Mouton Co.,1963), 4.5 Cf.Renou,Lespouvoirse aparoleans eRgveda ,tudesdiquest ninennes,I (1955):21-22 ndRenou,Lespouvoirse laparole ans eshymnesdiques ,nLouisRenou, 'Inde ondamentale,tudes 'indianismeuniestprsentesarCh.MalamoudParis: ermanncollectionSavoir ), 978], 4-57.6 Cf. ders,03-642.7 Thieme,Brhman,eitschrifter eutschenorgenlndischenesellschaft02NeueFolge 7),1952: 1-129.8 Renou,Lespouvoirse a parole ans eRgveda ,1.9 Elizarenkova,anguagend tyle f heVedic sisNewYork: tate niversityfNewYorkPress, 995), 9-30. eeGrassmann,rterbuchumRig-VedaLeipzig: .A.Brockhaus,873), 82-283.10 Elizarenkova,anguagendStyle f heVedic sis, 9-30; eealso 17.



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64 Annals BORI LXXXVIII 2007The poets speak of rt as an eternalprinciple that underlies allexistence.11 his is, for xample,themeaning n9.110.4b.Gonda describesthismeaning s followsRt,thefundamental rder, aw, Truth,which sthebasis- or at the basis - of all diversity,whichmanifests tself n allnormal and regularphenomenaof nature, n our physicalandpsychical faculties, moral obligations, social and ritualinstitutions,s conceived of as one,homogenous, ndivisible.12Rt s both ne andmanySilburnnherworknstant tCause describesin visual terms spectsof thepoets' perception f rt as the agencementexact or thesingle precise alignment fmanycosmicparts.Rta the harmonized osmos which is well-done sukrta),where thedaysandnights re well-constructedsumeka), s theoppostite fanrta,thenon-aligned osmos whereonlydissolution nd chaos (nirrti) eign. n thisprimordial on-alignment,heyetundividedworldsform, ccording o some

texts, heprimordialndrogyne.13here was thusneitherpace,nortime,normovement hen, s thepathway f rtawas blocked.14 he son oftheworlds,thepoetof space, had notyet separated hetwo worldsby measuring hem;he had notyet hen atheredhem acktogetherndorganized hem' samrac-R.V.1.160.4).This son,which s thesun,props up theskyand is themostfrequentlyinvokedwitness othis lignment,o thisproper lacementwhoseperfectionis thewonderof the rsi ... 15This proppingup does notonlyconsist of the ifting p a mass or itsincrease R.V. II. 11); it is also, and especially,thecirculatinghat erves n

1 Cf. ouis, enou,Lespouvoirse aparole ans eRgveda ,2and, orxample,g-Veda9.''0Ab.12 Gonda, heDual DeitiesntheReligionf heVeda206.Gonda pposeshis ssentialcosmicnityo he ualityhichhe eda resentss characteristics themanifestorld.He adds: Thephenomenalorld, hichsbased n t, ependentn t, eterminedndregulatedyt, s, n he therand,argelyiewedsbeingharacterizedy ualityday:night;xpiration:nspiration;an'swo rms,he aturalnd hertificial,nventivenessand droitness,he rahmanicalrderndnobilitytc.) .13 Silburn,nstanttCausereferso1.160.3.14 Silburnirectshe eaderoSatapatha-Brhmana.4.1.22-23.15 ThereferenceitedsRg-Veda .13.5.



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A.Sandness On Rt ndBrhman VisionsfExistencentheRg-Veda 65themanner f thepropof thesunwhich,by circling hesky,holds up theluminous rchas itgoes alongitscelestialpathwhileconferringn all beingsduration ... 16

No other dea has as much as rta incited uch a luxury fmetaphorswhich are all imagesofcontinuity:treamdhr) ofrta,yokeor harnessofrta pathofrta,net prasiti) ofrta,web ofrta,wheel ofrta,etc. 17Rt as sustenanceof our cosmos and henceof our existence s stableand fixed Rt,notnaturally erceived s subjectofa verb,never ppearsasthesubjectof a verbof movement.Yet it is both characterised y and thatwhich characterises ontinuity. his continuityncludes that ontinuityarexcellence,thecontinuityf life made possible by the exact alignment, ragencementexact , of time.The abstract idea of time (kla) was not known to theRg-VedaTime, like space, was not homogenous for the poet. For him, life

depended on the alignmentof days and nightsfilled with a vital energy.As this* ital force (yus) was susceptible to being prolonged day afterday thewordyuscametosignifyheduration f ife.18nthis egard, ilburncitesBenvenisteThe two neuter words yu and yus name the vitalforce s an individual R.V. 1 89.9) or universal yur visvyuh,R.V. X.89.8) principle ... The story f yu ... teachesus thatthis concept develops from a human and quasi-physicalrepresentation:heforcewhich animatesthebeing and givesit life, a force both unique and double, transient andpermanent, xhausting tself and being reborn n the courseof the generations,abolishing itselfin its own renewal andforeversubsisting by its finitudealways renewed. The lifeforce implies incessant re-creation of the principle whichnourishes t .... 1916 Silburnontinuesnd efershe eaderoAtharva-Veda3.118;10.8.4; 0.7.1 and 2;Rg-Veda.55.7.17 Silburn,nstanttCause:Le Discontinuans a Pense hilosophiquee VindeParis:Librairiehilosophique.Vrin, 955), 2-13.18 Renou, tudes diquestpninennes,I (1956):102; ilburn,.19 BenvenisteExpressionsndo-Europennee 'ternit ,05. nd 11,ited y ilburn,.



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66 AnnalsBORI, LXXXVIII 2007Life sdependent nthe ontinuityfrt t s a continuityharacterisedbybothstabilitynd movement. n thisway, t is like a riverwhich s fixedin thestability f itsphysicalalignmentndyetalso in theconstancy f itsmotion.For Gonda:... the deaunderlyinghe xpressionrtasya hr] seemsrather o be that fthebreaking hroughfa stream f thegreatand fundamentalpower called rta-, of a sudden influx ofsacredness, fanextraordinarynsightnto hereality eyond hephenomenaofthis world.20The constancyn themovement f theanimating ssenceperceived sthe tream frtmanifestsnthe ontinuityftheuninteruptedlow foblationmaterials.Malamoud observesthatThe sacrificewithout ap,the worldwithout ault, his stherta,the precise alignment : hecorrect erformanceftheritualwork s at once theimage and cause of the harmoniousalternation fdays andnights, fthe succession of theseasons,oftherain that alls attherightmoment, f theorderedmeetingofeater nd eaten.21 ystem fsystems fpieces oined: cosmicorder,ritualefficacy, ruth s perfect, uch are the principalcomponents f the notion f rta.22 o it s that ta,thesupremeprinciplen Vedic ideology, s defined s the bsence of ack: theword is derived fromthe same root as the adverb aram,sufficiently . 3Sufficiency,ndabundance, s assured n the Vedic cosmosbymeansofthe rticulatend exactprecision fthe nactementf sacrificial itualwhichis itself n alignmentwith,a microcosmicrepresentationf, and hence a

20 Gonda, heVisionf heVedic oets173.21 Malamoud ere itesAitareya-Aranyaka.1.2.22 Malamoudites enou,Lespouvoirse aparoleans eshymnesdiques ,nRenou,L'Indeondamentaletudes'indianismeuniest rsentesarCh.Malamoud.Paris:HermanncollectionSavoir ), 1978], 5 andLders,03-642 otedbove.23 Malamoud,Labriqueerce ,uireemonde:ite t enseansVindencienneParis:ditionse adcouverte,989),3.SeealsoMalamoud,Lesdieux 'ontasd'ombre ,Cuiree monde: ite tpense ans 'inde ncienneParis: ditionse adcouverte,1989), 43,note .



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A. Sandness OnRt nd Brhman VisionsfExistencentheRg-Veda 67physical onduit f theuninterruptedlowof the ife-givingtream f rt ntothe manifestworld of humans.24

The gods receive and personify lements of thesacrifice ncludingsacrificial fferingmaterials. he godsthemselves lso thereforexistwithinthisflow ofexistenceThegods who do nothave fixed esidencearealso withouta corporal nvelope.Theyare, nfact, ontainedn their hman,their mostdeardhman ... Thegodis situated n the nstitutionswhichhe institutes. is power,hisnature, isplace,hisessence,his structureso manytranslations re possible for[theworddhman 5]):oneneedsearchnofurtherhan nhislaw,that s tosay,the manner n which he manifests osmic order rt). 26The Vedic poets use pictoral mages in orderto communicatetheirvision of the animatingessence which surrounds,underlies,permeatesand manifests tself n our world of humans and thatof the sacrifice and

24 This dea s furtherevelopedyMalamoudnhis irstppendixo he rticleCuire emonde Cuireemonde: ite tpense ans 'inde ncienneParis: ditions e ladcouverte,989), 6-67] sfollows:Besides he xplicitymbolismf he acrificialgesturefeedinghe ods,ssistinghemn heirightgainstheAsuras nd he aksas,placinghemn such s state nd oobligeds toaccordothe acrificerhe oodshedesires),heresalsoa moremmediateymbolismhichsmore ifficultoperceive:the omingsndgoing,he ookingnd he arving,he ilteringnd he ressings,hepiling-upnd he djustments,he ivisionsnd he eunifications,ll these lementalgestureshich onstitutehe acrificere, ndependentfthe articulartranslationgiven y he exts,he erymagefrta, his ta hatheyignifybove ll andby hisfavour,his tawhichs the xact rticulationf ll the artsf he niverse.25 HereMalamoudites enou,tudes diquestpninennesX 1961):11 note andrefershereader oRenou,Les elementsdiques ans e vocabulaireuSanskritclassique ,ournalsiatique31,no.2 (1939):363ff. ndGonda, heMeaningf heSanskritermhmanAmsterdam:oord-HollandscheitgeversaatschappijVerh.Kon.Ned.Wet. etterkundeXXIII,no.2), 1967].26 Briquestmots , uire e monde: ite tpense ansVindencienneParis: ditionsde adcouverte,989), 70-271.Malamoudontinuesonotein271,note 9)that:Wordslsohave heirmost ear hman'o it s for he itualxclamationasat, orexample:y tselft ignifiesothing.t muste perfectednddelimitedygivingtasemanticield hich ill e ts hman;odothis,tmust eplaced etweenwowordswhosemeanings strength'ndpower',ndwhich re hemselvesthe womost earbodies' fvasat. nthisubject, alamoudefersoAitarya-Brhmana.8 ndGonda,TheMeaningf he anskriterm hmanAmsterdam:oord-HollandscheitgeversMaatschappijVerh. on.Ned.Wet. etterkundeXXIII,no.2, 1967), 8.



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68 AnnalsBORI LXXXVIII 2007of thegods. In their mages,the vitalforcewhich enters ur worldthroughthe vehicle of the streamof rt moves into the createdcosmos, with itsstructure nd its form,from heprimordialnon-alignment epresentedntheir ongs by theWaters.

Thus Agni is thenew-born f theWaters,bornin his birthplace tthe breast of rt (1.65.4b). Agni rests in the birthplaceof rt and theWaters ome togetheroAgni. 27The Waters re theplace wherert s bornand where rtgives birth:Agnimoves in thiscontext s charioteer rivingthewill ofra 28Called theeye and guardianofrt Agni activateshimselfforrt as theson oftheWatersandthemessenger ormen.29 he gods haveAgni as tonguesitting t theplace of rt where thewatersgave birth o thesacrifice.30The godsmanifest hevitalessence communicatednthe tream tbymeans ofnourishing ood which s the stuff foffering. gni is born n thebirthplacefrtwhich s thebirthplaceffood.31Milk-cows riseupfrom t

with heir reasts wollenwithmilk.32 he waveofsmaflows ike theriversfrom hebirthplace f rt33and food flows from ma. Soma, full of life,allows to be milked fromhimself larifiedbutter nd milkaccordingto theimmortal rinciple;34he is thenavel ofrt?5Sma, inparticular,manifests t in the form f creative peech,thatfood whichnourishes hepoetsandwhich, nturn, eedsthegodsas offering.Sma is thetongueofrt He purifies imself n theform fhoney36CalledPoet and animator f thecapacityfor hought,ma is thenew-born f rt?1

27 3.1.11c. f. .32.4c.28 4.10.2d. f.10.8.3d.29 10.8.5a.30 10.65.7b.31 5.21.4d.32 1.73.6a-b.33 9.64.11c.34 See9.2.35 y./4.4D.36 9.73.2a. ee also . 2 30 ndKenou,tudes diquest aninenneslil 19l):94whocites n this egard.62.30; .56.1; .66.24; .107.15.37 9.68.5b.



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A. Sandness OnRt nd Brhman VisionsfExistencentheRg-Veda 69Hymnsgo to Sma lowing like cows goingto theirmaster; ows go to thebirthplace frt whereSoma is re-born.38even milk-cows cclaim thePoetSma who streams othebirthplacefrt.39 owingcows born frt andeasyto milkgo to sma who is rich nhoney.40KingSma, who sees the ight fthe un,contains hespeechof rt and is thefather fhymns.41oma sets nmotion he vision of rt42He receiveshisvitalstrengthrom hetriple owsin theplace of thesongwherehe cleanses himselfwith ntuitions f rt.43

The eternal t s thusportrayedn thepicture-languagefthepoetsasprimordialWaters.When set nmotion, tstreams ut nto hecreatedworld.The streamof rt manifestsn the well-ordered nd harmonisedworldbymeans of thegods and in the stream f those ife-giving fferingubstancesincluding peech.The purifyingWaters nciteritual peech by providing heyokeofrt 44the eternalrt,whichcontains variety ffood,flows ikeariver withhymns.45t is this streamof rt,theanimatingfoundation ndfountainfexistence, hat hepoetof 7.95.6 releasesbyopeningrt' doubledoors.***

In the verseimmediately ollowing .95.6, that s 7.96.1. Hymns7.95and 7.96 are partof a series of eight hymns 7.90-98) dedicated to doubledivinities. n the case of 7.95 and 7.96, the double deities in questionareSrasvati nd Srasvant.The versewhichmakes he onjunction etween hesetwo hymns,which are paired togetherand conjoined as are the deitiesthemselves,s 7.96.1. In thisverse,thehymn s described s brht nd thusas particularly owerful.Brhtqualifiesvcas in7.96.1a. MonierWilliams46defines brht as high, tall, great, strong, oud, solid, vast or abundant.38 9.72.6d.39 9.86.25d. ee also9.77.1c, .73.1bnd9.107.4c.40 9.77.1c.41 9.76.4b.42 9.102.1 =9 .102.8c.43 9.111.2c.44 10.30.11c.45 4.23.8b.46 Monier-Williams,anskrit-EnglishictionarytymologicallyndPhilologicallyArranged ith pecial ReferenceoCognatendo-EuropeananguagesDelhi:Munshiramanoharlalublishers,1899) 1994], 35.



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70 AnnalsBORI LXXXVIII 2007 )Boehtlingk ndRoth,Stchoupak,Nitti,Renou andCapller,MacDonell andGeldner cceptthisdefinition f brhtwhich s founded n theplace ofbrhtin a family f wordsof ndo-European riginwhosegeneralmeaning s highandon worksof ndian exicographers.47onda48 ndRenou,however,havefrequentlytudied he djectivebrhtRenou, ikeGonda, identifies hetermas anecho,as a reducedform ftheVedic nounbrahman 9a word which s,Renou observes,one of themost studiedterms f the Vedic lexicon.50

In post-Rgvedic iterature,hewordbrhman nt.)names theabsoluteandeternal rinciplewhich, ccording oVedic thinkers,nderlies, nimates,penetratesnd sustains he createdworlds.51 rhmanthuscomes to signifyinmiddle and late Vedic literature foundational rinciple at once non-manifest nd manifest, t once one and manywhich is comparable to themeaning scribed totheRgvedicrt. While the stream frt s definedbyacontinuitywhich contains the seed of movement r thepotentialfor ife,brhman s that eed andpotential or ifenon-manifestnd also manifestnthe reated,multi-fold orld:brhman s thus oth bject ndsubject, nimatorand animated.

Therearetwohundred ixty-twoccurrences ftheword brhman ntheRgVeda Typicallybrhman s inthe accusativecase. In 21% of its total

47 Gonda Notes nbrhmanUtrecht:.L.Beyers, 950), 1-32]describeshis ndoEuropean amilywhich ncludes arjr high )armnien,he middle-Irishri( mountain ) nd the Hittite arkus high ). Cf. Mayrhofer,urzgefasstesetymologischesrterbuches AltindischenHeidelberg:arlWinter niversit-tsverlag),I 1963): 45 ndMinard,roisnigmesur es entheminsParis: esBellesLettres,Annales e 'UniversiteLyon , 949),: 51 145).48 Cf.Gonda, otes n brhmanUtrecht:.L.Beyers, 950), 1-39.49 Renou,tudes diquestpninennes(1955): 2note , I (1956): 5,111(1957):4.Cf.VIII 1961):103.50 Renou,Sur a notion ebrhmanin LouisRenou, Inde ondamentale,tudesd'indianismeeunies tprsentesarCh.MalamoudParis:HermanncollectionSavoir ), 78]83 Cf.Renou ithilburn,UnhymneuniesnLouisRenouL'Indefondamentale,tudes 'indianismeeuniestprsentesarCh.Malamoud.Paris:HermanncollectionSavoir ), 978], 8-65.51 On heubjectf rahmans the oundationf hemanifestorldsee lsoGondaNotesonbrhman,3-48who ites aittiriya-Samhit5.4.3; aittiriya-Brhmana.8.9.6-7;AtharvaVeda .319;10.7 nd 0.8atapatharhmana.1 1 8 nd 0.2.4.6; itareya-Brhmana.11.1 nd .19.3; acavimsa-Brahmana3.3.2; rhad-ranyakaUpanisad.3.8.



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A.Sandness OnRt nd BrhmanVisionsfExistencentheRg-Veda 1 1occurrences, brhman is both accusative and plural; brhman is alsocharacterizedythe ccusative ingular orm.n8 5%ofoccurrences,rahmanis in the nstrumentalingular.Morerarely, he wordappears nthesingularandpluralofthenominative ase. The conception fbrhman ntheRg-Vedais thereforerimarilys object,yetalso as instrumentnd subject,of actionin themanifest reatedworld.52This action s thegivingand receivingofspeechused in offeringo thegods.53

IntheRg-Veda,brhman an mean hymn or poeticformula . 4Forthepoet,thepoeticformulae alled brhman ontain specificpower.Theyare powerful because theyare enigmatic: Renou calls them riddles ,devinettes. 55They conceal and contain an elementwhich s mysterious.This mystery ymbolizesforthepoetthehiddenpotential ife-giving owercontainedwithin he ilence56 ftheprimordial on-alignmentftheundivided,uncreatedworldwhich ssymbolically epresentedytheWaters.Just s Agni(fire) s hidden nhismothers heplants,57just as Soma (plantand uice) ishidden nhismothers heWaters,58hatwhich s hidden 59s, for hepoet,a seed withpotential o manifest.

Withintheirmystery,he brhmancontain and conceal thehidden,primordial,ife-giving owerwhich treamsnthe tream frtandmanifests52 As wehave bserved,heinguisticase ypicalf tsthe enitiveingular.n ontrast,while rhmanppearsntheRg-Vedanthe enitivease onforty-one,r16%,ofoccasions,t s used neach f heseases spartf he xpressionrhmanasati, rLord fbrhman,nreferenceothe od onamed.53 See 1 152.7 ,forxample: ...may ur rhmanriumphn he oetic ompetitions ;10.80.7a:ForAgnihertisansave ashionedhis rhman.. ;7.616d: ...mayhesebrhman,nce ompleted,epleasingoyou.. 10.66. d: ...enlivenheserhmanbeing ecited... ; 1 162.17d: ... makellthingsell gain or ou ymeans f hebrhman54 Cf.Renou,Sur a notion ebrhman,83 ff55 Renou,Sur a notion ebrhman,91ff. efinesrhmans the nergyhich sesspeechnorder ocommunicate,ymeans fthe nigma,henexpressible ;e citesJaiminya-Upanisad-Brhmana.40.3 nd .18.3.56 RegardingrhmansMystery,eeRenou,Sur a notionebrhman,87.Regardingthe elationetweenrhmannd ilence,eeRenou,Sur anotion ebrhman,90ff.ncluding13andRenou,La valeur u Silence ans eCulteVdique ,6-80.57 4.7.6;3.55.4; .11.6.58 9.70.2; .68.5; .39.6.59 Onthe elationf he hidden nd henvisible,on-manifestorld,eeBergaigneI:76ff.



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72 AnnalsBORI, LXXXVIII 2007inthepoeticformulae f thepoet's song. Because they ontain t once bothsilence and sound,both the nonmanifest nd manifest, rhmanmove andform hebridgebetweenthenon-differentiatedrimordialworld ofMysteryand themulti-form,ropped-up reatedworldsThe human riests r brhmanwho contain theseformulae, re described as the ivingcords or bndhu,60which ink humans to the divinemystery; rhmanconnect.

Renou observesthat, nlike similar erms, rhman s a gift rom hegodsto thepoet.61 hesepoeticformulae, owever, lso enliven rgive powerto thegods Theword svery requentlyfor xample objectoftheverbVRDH,to strengthenr togrow,wherethesubject s a god such as Indra.62 here sthus nexchangeofpowerbymeans of brhmanwhich s cyclical: brhmanis an animating r strengtheningower moving continuously romgods tohumansto gods manifestn thepoeticformulae. 3Infact, rhman ervades nd connects heworldswithinwhich tmovesby beingboth one andmany.This is illustrated bove bytheuse ofthe termin theRg-Veda. Vkyapadiya1.4 tellsus directlyThis One [Brhman which ontains he eed ofall thingsand whichpresents tself nmultipleforms: hatof thesubjectwho experiences, hat f theobject experienced, nd that f theexperience tself .. 64

60 Inmakinghis emark,enou Sur a notionebrhman,92]citesAtharva-eda10.7.24: ...hewho nowshe ods,hemselvesonnaisseursf he rahman,ecomesabrhman.See alsoRenou,Sur a notionebrhman,88note Regardingrhmanas the ridgeo mmortality,eeGonda,oka:WorldndHeavenn heVeda, 47whocitesMundaka-panisad 2 1 2 2; 2 nd 3 2 6 nd See lsoRenou Lespouvoirsde a parole ans eshymnesdiques ,4-57 ndRenou,Lespouvoirse a paroledans eRg-Veda, 16-17.61 Renou,Sur a notionebrhman,85.62 Brhmans derivedromverbal ootwith nanaloguemeaning:RH-,meaningtogrow ,todevelop ,to xtend nd to xpand s,forxample,he xpansionf hespiritrsoul Mayrhofer,urzgefasstestymologischesrterbuches Altindischen(Heidelberg:arlWinterniversitatsverlag),I (1963):454].The ubstantiveerivedfrom RDH-,rdhanar growth ,ppearsdenticaln ts ense othe tymologicalmeaningfbrhmann uch ersess 1.52.7, .12.14, .23.5, .22.7, .1.3, .51.4,nd10.49.1wherehe peechs dentifiedsthemeansywhichndraxpandsimselfrgrows.63 SeeRenou,Sur a notionebrhmaninRenou,0.64 Based nBiardeausVkyapadiyarahmakndavec avrttieHarivrsabha,ranslation,introductionndnotesyM BiardeauPublicationse 'InstituteCivilisationndienne,SrieN-8, ascicule4 Paris: ditions. deBoccard,964): 1.



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A.Sandness On Rt nd Brhman VisionsfExistencentheRg-Veda 73In theritualmanuals,brhman s identified ith acrifice ndagainasobject and subject,bothmanyand one. Gonda65citesSatapatha-Brhmana7.3.1.42 : ... thatAgni (fire-altar)s Prajpatiand Prajpati is thewholeBrhman.Now that andis (put)in theplace of) the ostpartoftheBrhman;and thatpartof it whichhas not been lostis thisfire-altar hich s nowbeingbuilt:thuswhenhe scatterssand he restores ohimthatostpart ftheBrhman.That sandwhich)he scatters sunnumbered,nlimited; orwho knowshowgreatsthat ostpart ftheBrhman?Andverily ewho knowingthis, catters nd,restores hewhole,complete Prajpati.66Brhman s dentified ith peech the ne ndivisibleyllable


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74 AnnalsBORI LXXXVIII 2007strengtheningood.72Brhmannourish,maketogrowandvivify.n 1 52.7,we are told: For as waves fill piece ofwater, o thebrhmanwhichcauseyoutoincrease,fillyou,O Indra In 1.80.1 we hear: ... for .. thebrhmanhas in the intoxicationproducedby sma made a means of increasingorstrengthening. 73n 2.12.14 thepoet ings othegods: ...whom hebrhmanwhom ma,whom hisgift trengthens. hepoeticformulae alled brhmanthushave theeffect f stimulatingranimating hegods: brhman ontainsthepowerto inebriaten a way comparableto sma 74

One that s many, manythatare one, non-manifest nd manifest,streaming yclically hroughhe osmosandnourishings oblation ndfood,brahman hares ualitieswith t.Brhmandistinguishestself rom t ntheRg-Vedabybeingtheobjectand subjectofverbsand so bothpresent nd inmotion n the manifestworldsofgods, sacrifice nd humans.Brhman s animatornd animated.The animating owerofbrhmanis expressed n thepictoral anguageofthepoetas light, s fire, nd as the

sun which props up the sky and cycles through he cosmos allowing thestreamof ra to flow. The Vedic poets see brhman expressed as light,being transported y firefromthe womb of rt. In Rg-Veda 6.16.35-36,itis said:72 Malamoudbserveshat he odshave taste or hemysterioushichheyxpressnlanguage:he ods,t eems,ike iddles.eeMalamoud,Briquestmots , uireemonde: itet ense ansVindencienneParis: ditionse adcouverte,989), 54.73 As itedyGonda,heVisionf heVedic oetsTheHague:Mouton Co.,1963), 21.

See also:Gonda, he unctionsnd ignificancefGoldn heVedaLeiden: J. rill.1991),117; Gonda,Vedic iteratureSamhitsndBrhmanas)Wiesbaden:ttoHarrassowitz,975),0;Gonda,sn ndSarasvatAmsterdamcademy.msterdam:North-Hollandublishingompany,985), 4;andElizarenkova,anguagendStyleof heVedic sis, 7.74 Regardinghatwe know fthe ma lantsnd tspossible hysiologicalffectsnhumansnd ods,eeElizarenkova,Theproblemf oma n heightf anguagendstylef he gveda ,angue tylet tructureanse mondendien:entenaireeLouisRenou: ctesduColloquenternationalParis, 5-27anvier 996),17-20. ee alsoMalamoud,Le Soma t acontrepartie:emarquesur esstupfiantst esspiritueuxdans es rites e lindeancienne ,minite la Parole:tudesur 'IndeAncienne(Paris: lbin ichel2005), 05-223ndWasson,oma: ivine ushroomfmmortality(NewYork:Harcourt,race& World,nc.,1968).Cf.Parpla,TheproblemftheAryansnd he oma: extual-linguisticnd rchaeologicalvidence nThe ndo- ryansofAncientouth sia:Language, aterial ulturendEthnicityGeorge rdosy,d.(Berlin, ewYork:WaltereGruyter,995), 53-381.



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A. Sandness OnRt nd Brhman VisionsfExistencentheRg-Veda 75In thewomb ofhismother,himselfbeing)the Father ftheFather, hining rom far n the nexhaustiblespace), seatedin thewombofrt. (35)(Agni) bringus the brhmanrich n offspringor whichgives thecapacitytoprocreate), Jt edas who (reigns)fromafar ver hepopulations0 Agni thebrhmanwhich lluminatesthesky. 36)75

The relationshipwhich heVedicpoets dentifyetweenbrhman, hispowerto animate,and the fire or light,becomes explicit n middle Vedicliterature. enou remarks hat certain Vedic authorshave not hesitated ohear brhman as 'fire' and cites several passages on this subject. InVjasaneyi-Samhit 3.48, itis said that:The brhman s light omparable othe un;the ky s thelake comparabletothe ocean. Indra s more vast than heearth,and the Cow is beyondmeasure.76In Satapatha-Brhmana 2.1.4.10 we learn the identification ofbrhman with fireand, at the same time,the identification f brhmanand Speech :Here now they ay, If the fire s not setup with itherrg-verse, r a sman, or a yjus, wherewith hen t is set up?'Verily, hat fire) s of the brahman: with he brhman t s setup.The brhman s speech:of that peech t s. The brhman sthetruth, nd the truth onsists in those same (three)mysticutterances: ence his fire) s established ymeansofthe ruth.77Further,rht,understood,s we have said above,as beingan echo orrepresentationfbrhman,s identified ith he un,that s with elestialfire,

75 Cited yGonda, ice ndBarley fferingsntheVedaLeiden: J. rill, 987), 95.In this egard,onda ontinuesociteRg-Veda0.4.7: brhmanthe acred ymns,stanzas ndformulae)ndnmasreverentialalutation)nd his ulogywill lwaysfortifyhee .. .76 Cited yRenou,Sur a notion ebrhman98.See alsoBrhad-ranyaka-Upanisd2.12;Atharva-Veda.1.1.Regardingonceptionf he lassicalhilosophicalrahmanasuniversalight,nd lightf ights eeGonda, heVisionf heVedic oets271.77 1.Eggeling,lrans.atapatha-BrhmnaccordingotheText ftheMdhyandina.(Oxfordniversityress, 882; elhi:Motilal anarsidass,963), art,Vol.XII:296.



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76 AnnalsBORI, LXXXVIII 2007and so called an aquatic birdor hams (m.). Just s thepoetsview AgniandSma as a childof thewaterswho drinks hemilkof thesehis mothersApmNpt), so also do thepoetssee Agni n his celestialform,heSun,as a water-bird hams) who drinkswaterfrom he celestial ocean or sky.We hear theidentification f the hams withthe sun inRg-Veda 4.40.5, forexample :The bird hams) sittingn the lear sky) theV su sittingin the ntermediate-space,he Hotarsittingt thealtar, he hostsittingn thehouse,thegod sittingn thewide-expanse, itting

accordingto (rt, sittingn thefirmament,orn n thewaters,bornin thecows, born of Order (rt), born of themountain,(it is) Order rt) itself. 8In Vjasaneyi-Samhit19.74 we hear: the hams thatresidesin theshining sky) drankup sma from he watersby means of a metrical ext(chndas) .79 nSaunaka-AtharvaVeda-Samhit 0.8.19,80we learnthat hehams shines n theskybymeans of stya (truth) nd looks herebymeansof brhman. n Katha-Upanisad 5.2 we learn that the Sun, called hams

representshe upreme nergywhich s also the tman, heUniversalOrder(rtam)and ... brhat .. which Gonda suggests) .. standsforbrahman. 81***

Brhman s theanimating, ourishingndlife-giving owercontainedwithin he stream frt. It is the seed ofmovement, isually representedsthe un,whichbothprops part ndgathers ogetherhe egments fthe reatedworld. t s the hildofthewaters, ontainedwithinndbornof theundividedprimordial xistence.The word brhman has oftenbeen perceivedas one refering o anabstract onceptof theprinciple f existenceknown to philosophers f theUpanisads and topost Upanisadicthinkersutunknown o theRg-Veda.TheRgvedicbrhman,meaning hymn or poeticformula , as notprevious othisworkbeenunderstoodn terms fthe ife-givingrinciple s such. t was

78 Based n he ranslationyRenou;eethe elatedote; tudes diquestpninennesXV 1966):166. ee alsoAitareya-Brhmana.20.5.79 AspresentedyGonda, heFunctionsndSignificancefGold ntheVeda, 85.80 Thisverse s foundnthe aippalda-Atharva-eda-Samhit8.24.7.81 AspresentednGonda, heFunctionsndSignificancefGold ntheVeda, 87.



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A. Sandness OnRt nd Brahman Visions fExistencentheRg-Veda 79Lders, Heinrich.Varuna Gttingen, andenhoeck& Ruprecht, Varunaund die Wasser 1951, II Varunaund das Rtay1959.Malamoud, Ch. Cuire le monde: riteetpense dans Vinde ncienne Paris,ditionsde la dcouverte,1989 (textes l'appui).Malamoud, Ch. Le Soma et sa contrepartieremarques ur es stupfiantset les spiritueux ans les ritesde l'Inde ancienne ,Fminitde laParole: tudes sur 'IndeAncienneParis,AlbinMichel,2005, 205-223.Minard,A. Trois nigmes ur les centchemins, . Paris,Les Belles Lettres,Annales de l'Universite de Lyon , II. Paris, E de Boccard,Publicationsde l'Institut e civilisation ndienne,1949.Monier-WilliamsSir Monier. anskrit-Englishictionary tymologicallyndPhilologicallyArrangedwith pecial Reference o Cognate Indo-European Languages{ 1899), Delhi, Munshiram ManoharlalPublishers,1994.Parpla,Asko. The problem ftheAryans nd theSoma: Textual-linguisticand archaeological evidence , The Indo-Aryans ofAncientSouthAsia Language, Material Cultureand Ethnicityd par GeorgeErdosy,Berlin,New York,Walterde Gruyter, 995, 353-381.Renou, Louis. Les lments vdiques dans le vocabulaire du sanskritclassique , JournalAsiatique231 (1939), 231-404.Renou,Louis. tudes vdiquesetpaninennes, EVP) 17 Vol., Paris,E. deBoccard,I: 1955,11: 1956; III: 1957; IV: 1958; V: 1959; VI: 1960;VII: 1960;VIII: 1961;IX: 1961;X: 1962;XI: 1963;XII: 1964;XIII:1964; XIV: 1965;XV: 1966;XVI: 1967;XVII: 1969. (Publications

de l'Institut e civilisation ndienne, rie n-8,resp.fase. 10, 12,14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 30).Renou,Louis. Les pouvoirsde la paroledans eshymnes diques. in LouisRenou, L'Inde fondamentale Etudes d'indianisme runies etprsentes ar Ch.Malamoud.Paris:Hermanncollection Savoir ),1978.44-57.Renou, Louis. Sur la notion de brhman in Louis Renou, L'Indefondamentaleytudes d'indianisme runies et prsentes parCh. Malamoud , Paris, Hermann (collection Savoir ), 1978.83-116.

Ruegg, David Seyfort. Contributions l'Histoire de la PhilosophieLinguistique ndienne Paris,E. de Boccard, 1959.



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80 AnnalsBORI, LXXXyiII 2007Sandness,Adla. La voix de la rivirede l'tre: tudes sur la mythologiede rasvati en Inde ancienne, Doctoral Thesis, Paris, colePratiquedes Hautes tudes,2004.Silburn, ilian. Instant t Cause: Le Discontinudans la Pense Philosophiquede l'Inde, Paris,LibrairiePhilosophique,J.Vrin,1955.Wasson,R.G. Soma: DivineMushroom f mmortality,ew York , Harcourt,Brace & World, nc., 1968.

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Sandness, A. - ON ṚTÁ AND BRÁHMAN: VISIONS OF EXISTENCE IN THE ṚG-VEDA