Early Vedas and the Fire
Sacrifice
1.
The Aryans: arya
means “noble” or “honorable”
a.
Indo-European
speaking > Vedic Sanskrit > Classical Sanskrit
a.
Nomadic, superior
war technology (metallurgy, chariots, horses)
2.
Two theories
a.
The Aryan
migration thesis: incursions and dominance
b.
The cultural
transformation thesis: Aryan culture as a development of
3.
Vedic religion:
polytheistic;
a.
Visionary
dimension -- rishi and soma; unmediated vision of the divine
b.
Sacrificial
dimension -- priestly, sacrificial cult centered on fire god Agni;
i.
Humans and gods
partners in maintaining ongoing creative processes of the world
4.
Vedic Texts
a.
Shruti and Smrti:
heard and remembered
b.
From oral
traditions to text
i.
System of
double-checking – texts learned twice (recitation with sandhi, without sandhi)
c.
Ritual function:
mantra (verses used in liturgy) and brahmana (ritual exegesis)
d.
Two uses of the
word “veda”: whole body of revealed
texts; earliest layers of vedic literature (samhita). Veda = cognate of English “wisdom” or “wit”
i.
Rigveda: hymns of
praise (ric). 1028 hymns, ten divisions
or books. Composed in Sanskrit, early as
1200 BCE.
ii.
Samaveda:
collections of songs (samans) based on Rigveda with instruction on recitation
iii.
Yajur Veda (white
and black): incantations (yajuses) and verse recited during ceremony, declaring
purpose and meaning of each act
iv.
Atharvaveda
(Atharvans, medical practitioners): hymns and incantations for spells and magic
formulas
e.
Branches
(sakhas): samhitas to exegesis to speculation
f.
Dating: Rig
1200BCE - Upanishads 600-300 BCE
5.
Vedic Mythology
and Theology
a.
Many supernatural
beings – some more important than others; some related to natural phenomena,
others not:
i.
Devas: Rg Veda:
various hymns of praise, few narrative accounts. Born from Prajapati (Sat B. lord
of creatures)
ii.
Asuras (demons,
anti-gods): sacrificial offerings to themselves; devas to each other, accept
ritual offerings and in return offer help or just stay away
iii.
Cf. Rakshasas:
trashy, people-eating demons on earth
b.
Agni: pervades
world as heat, identified with sacred cow, the sun, dawn, fire hidden in the
stomach. Particularly the sacrificial fire.
Transports dead to realm of yama; transports and purifies all offerings
to realm of the gods.
c.
Soma: link
between human and divine, brings ecstasy and understanding of the divine
realms. Identified with Agni and with
the moon, which contains ambrosia of immortality (amrita)
d.
Indra: empowered
by soma, destroys obstacles with thunderbolt. Destruction of snake Vritra –
cosmic chaos, guardian of waters
e.
Triloka: Netherworld, earth; heaven (Early: Heaven,
atmosphere, earth)
6.
Vedic Ritual
a.
Sacrifice and
sharing of sacrificial meal with each other and with devas (supernatural beings
of many types)
i.
Sacrifice – homa,
yajna. Not just immolation of animals;
any offering into the sacrificial fire, notably milk, ghi, curds, grains, soma,
animals. Offering transported through
the fire to devas
b.
Two kinds of
ritual: srauta (public rites) and grhya (domestic and life cycle rites)
c.
Soma and soma
sacrifice
i.
Elaborate
preparation; mountainside or deserts of
7.
Growing
importance of priest and ritual, lessening importance of gods. Acts and worship of the sacrifice have hidden
ties with cosmic realities the priest,
by manipulating these token, can bring about desired effects in the outer
world. Priest knows secret correspondences between symbols in
ritual and cosmic powers to which they refer
a.
Fire = moon,
power over the fire gives one power over the moon. Moon marks off life of patron; priest extends
life of patron
b.
Words themselves
have an awesome effect on the outer world
TERMS
1.
Aryan
2.
samhitas
(all four)
3.
rishi
4.
agni
5.
devas
6.
asuras
7.
rakshasa
8.
soma
9.
varuna
10.
Indra
11.
Shruti
12.
Veda