What do the Vedas Teach us
The Vedas speak of a variety of matters. So how are
we to accept the view that their most important teaching is the concept of
Self-realisation expounded in the Upanisads constituting the Vedanta? They
mention a number of sacrifices like agnihotra, somayaga, sattra and isti and
other rituals in addition. Why should it not be maintained that it is these
that form their chief purpose? What are the rites to be performed at a
marriage? Or at a funeral? How best is a kingdom (or any country) governed? How
must we conduct ourselves in an assembly? You will find answers to many such
questions in the Vedas. Which of these then is the main objective of our
scripture? The Vedas tell you about the conduct of sacrifices, ways of worship,
and methods of meditation. How is the body inspired by the Self? What happens
to it (the body) in the end? And how does the self imbue the body again? We
find an answer to such questions in these sacred texts. Also we learn from
methods to keep the body healthy, the rites to protect ourselves from enemy
attacks. What then is the goal of the Vedas? The Upanisads proclaim that all
the Vedas together point to a single Truth (Kathopanishad, 2. 15) What is that
Truth? "The Vedas speak in one voice of a Supreme Entity revealing itself
as the meaning of Omkara. " There was a judge called Sadasiva Ayyar. He
had a brother, Paramasiva Ayyar, who lived in Mysore. "The Vedas deal with
geology, "so wrote Paramasiva Ayyar. "In those early times, people in
India looked upon the sun and the moon with wonder, “some Westerners remark.
"it was an age when science had not made much advance. People then
regarded natural phenomena according to their different mental attitudes. Not
all are capable of turning their thoughts into song. But some have the talent
for the same. The songs sing by people in the form of mantras constitute the
Vedas. “Though the Upanisads declare that the Vedas speak of the One reality,
there is an impression that they speak of a variety of entities. There is a
well-known stanza on the Ramayana: Vedavedye pare pumsi jate Dasarathatmaje
Vedah Pracetasadasitssaksadramayanatmana "Vedavedye"=one who is to be
known by the Vedas. Who is he? "Pare pumsi"=the Supreme Being. The
Supreme being to be known by the Vedas descended to earth as Rama. When he was
born the son of Dasaratha, the Vedas took the form of Valmiki's child Ramayana.
According to this stanza, the goal of the Vedas is the Supreme Being or Omkara,
the One Truth. Just as the kathopanisad speaks of "sarve Vedah", the
lord says in the Gita:"Vedaisca sarvair ahameva vedyah"(I am indeed
to be known by the Vedas) Considering all this, we realise that, although the
Vedas deal with many matters, all of them together speak of one goal, the One
reality. But the question arises why they concern themselves with different
entities also when their purpose is only the One entity? It is through the
various entities, through knowledge of a multiplicity of subjects, that we may
know of this One Object. Yoga, meditation, austerities, sacrifices and other
rites, ceremonies like marriage, state affairs, social life, poetry: what is
the goal of all these? Itis the One Reality. And that is the goal of the Vedas
also. All objects and all entities other than this true Object are subject to
change. They are like stories remembered and later forgotten. (In our
ignorance) we do not percieve the One object behind the manifoldness of the
world. The Vedas take us to the One Reality through the multifarious objects
that we do know. To attain this One reality we need to discipline our mind in
various ways. Performing sacrifices, practising austerities, doing the duties
of one's own dharma, building gopurams, digging ponds for the public, involving
ourselves in social work, samskaras like marriage, all these go to purify our
consciousness and, finally to still the mind that is always agitated.
(cittavrtti-nirodha). The purpose of different works is to help us in our
efforts to attain the Brahman. "Ved"[from"vid"] means to
know. The Upanisads proclaim:" The Atman is that by knowing which all can
be known. “The goal of the Vedas is to shed light on this Atman. The rituals
enjoined on us in their first part and the jnana expounded in the second have
the same goal-knowing Iswara, the Brahman or the Atman. The beginning of the
beginning and the end of the end of our scripture have the same ultimate aim.
During the "mantrapuspa" ceremony at the time of welcoming a great
man this mantra is chanted:"Yo Veda dau svarah prokto Vedante ca
prathisthitah. “These words are proof of the words mentioned above. The mantra
means:" What is established in the beginning of the Vedas as well as their
end is the One Truth, the Reality of Isvara. “The works associated with the
beginning and the jnana associated with the end-there is no difference between
the goals of the two. For the rituals that are divided in a thousand different
ways and for the knowledge (jnana) that is but one, the subject is common. That
is the Vedas have a common subject. The senses are incapable of perceiving the
Self. They are aware only of outward objects and keep chasing them. This is
mentioned in the kathopanisad (4.1). When one's attention is diverted from the
object in hand we say "parakku parppadu"[in Tami] our object is the
Self. To be diverted from it and to look around-or look away-is to be
"paramukha"-it is the same as "parakku parppadu". It is
this idea that is expressed by the kathopanisad. But the mind does not easily
remain fixed on our goal. So it is only by performing outward functions that we
will gain the wisdom and maturity to turn our look inward. We will develop such
inner vision only by refusing to be dragged down by the mind and the senses,
and for this we must perform Vedic works. After learning about, or knowing all
other matters by inquiring into them and by making an assesment of them, we are
enabled to grasp that by knowing which we will know everything. That is the
reason why the Vedas deal with so many branches of learning, so many types of
worship, so many different works and so many arts and so many social duties. By
applying the body in various rites we lose consciousness of that very body. By
directing our thoughts to various branches of learning, by examining various
philosophical systems and by worshipping various deities the mind and the
intellect will in due course be dissolved. We are more conscious when we are
engaged in evil actions than otherwise. By thinking about evil matters the mind
becomes coarser. Instead, if we perform Vedic sacraments and worship and chant
Vedic mantras for the well-being of the world, the desires of the body and the
mind will wilt. Eventually, we will develop the maturity and the wisdom to gain
inner vision. In this way we will obtain release here itself
("ihaiva") Release from what? From samsara, from the cycle of birth
and death. When we realise that the body and the mind are not"we" and
when we become free from them-as mentioned in the Upanisads- we are liberated
from worldly existence. The purpose of the Vedas is achieving liberation in
this world itself. And that is their glory. Other religions promise a man
salvation after his departure for another world. But we cannot have any idea of
that type of deliverance. Those who have attained will not return to this world
to tell us about it. So we may have doubts about it or may not believe it at
all. But the Vedas hold out the ideals of liberation here itself if we renounce
all desire and keep meditating on the Self. Moksa then will be within our grasp
at once. There is no room for doubt in this. Other paths give temporary relief
like quinine administered to a person suffering from malaria. If malarial fever
is never to be contracted by the patient again the root cause of the disease
must be found and eradicated. The Vedic religion goes deep into the root of
life and cuts away that which separates it from the supreme being The freedom
realised in this manner is eternal and not "temporary relief"(from
the pains and sorrows of worldly existence) The karmakanda of the Vedas deals
with matters that give only such temporary relief. However, it must be realised
that a man racked by difficulties cannot at once be placed in a position where
he would all the time delighting in his Self. Through the “Temporary
relief" gained from performing Vedic rites, his consciousness is freed
from impurities and he becomes "qualified" for everlasting peace.
Sacrifices, vows, philanthropic work, and so on, do not take us to the final
goal but they are necessarily to reduce ourselves physically, to cleanse our
consciousness and make our mind one-pointed in our effort to reach our final
goal. A variety of subjects are spoken in detail in the Vedas but all of them
have the one purpose of leading us to the Vedantic enquiry into Truth and
jnana. The concluding portion of a work, speech, article etc, is usually the
most significant. If we want to find what so-and-so has said in a speech or in
an article, we do not have to read all of it. We glance through the first para
and, skipping through, come to the last. Here we get the message of the speech
or article. We are able to decide on the content of either by going through the
first and concluding passages. The first and last parts alike of the Vedas
speak of the Paramatman; so that can be said to be the "subject" of
the Vedas. The government enacts many laws. But, later in the course of their
enforcement, doubts arise with regard to their intention. Then another law is
enacted to settle its meaning:it is called the law of interpretation. In this
way Mimamsa has come into being as the law of interpretation for the Vedas
which constitute the eternal law of the Lord. I will speak to you in detail
about Mimamsa which is one of the fourteen branches of the Vedic lore. But one
aspect of it I should like to mention here itself. According to Mimamsa sastra,
there are six ways in which to determine the meaning of the Vedic pronouncement
or "vakhya". They are listed in this verse: Upakrama-upasamharau
abhyasao purvata phalam Arthavado pappati lingam tatparya-nirnaye
"Upakrama" and "upasamhara" together form the first method.
The other five are "abhyasa", "apurvata",
"phala", "arthavada" and "upapatti". These six
are employed to determine the meaning or intent not only of Vedic passages but
of, say, an article or discourse. "Upakrama" means the initial part
of work, treatise, and "upasamhara" the conclusion. If the first and
concluding parts of a work speak of the same idea, it is to be taken as its
subject. "Abhyasa" is repeating the same thing, the same idea, again
and again. If the same view or the idea is repeated in a work, it must be
understood as its theme. "Apurvata" denotes an idea not mentioned
before or mentioned for the first time. So a view or idea expressed afresh in
the course of work or discourse is to be taken as the purpose or message
intended. "Phala" is fruit, benefit, reward or result. If, in the
course of work or speech, it is said, “If you act in this manner you will gain
such and such a fruit or benefit", it means that the purpose of the work
or speech is to persuade you to act in the manner suggested so that you may
reap the fruit or "phala" held out. Suppose a number of points are
dealt with in a work or discourse. Now, based on them, a story is told and, in
the course of it, a particular matter receives special praise. This particular
point must be regarded as the purpose of the work or speech in question. The
method employed here is “arthavada ". If a viewpoint is sought to be
established with reasoning it must be treated as the subject of the work
concerned. Here you have “upapatti ". A gentleman told me his view of the
Vedas based on his reading of the first and last hymns: "The chief point
about the Vedas is fire worship (Agni upasana). In the upakrama there is
'Agnimile' and in the upasamhara also there is a hymn to Agni. Both the
beginning and the end being so, the purpose of the Vedas (their 'gist') is fire
worship". Agni is the light of the Atman, the light of the jnana. The
light of jnana is nothing but the spirit of the Self which is the knower, the
known and the knowledge: this is the ultimate message of the Vedas. However, to
understand the hymns in question in a literal sense and claim that the Vedas
mean fire worship is not correct. The greatness of our scripture consists in
the fact that it does not glorify one deity alone. The Vedas proclaim that the
Atman, the Self, must be worshipped, the Atman that denotes all the deities
(Brahadranyaka Upanishad), 4. 5. 6 : "Verily, O Maitreyi, it is the Self that
should be perceived, that should be seen, heard and reflected upon. It is the
Self that must be known. When the Self is known everything is known". This
truth that the Yagnavalkya teaches his wife Maitreyi is the goal of the Vedas.
What is the implication of the word "goal"? Now we are here at a
particular point. From this point, where we start, we have to go to another
point which is final. Such a meaning is suggested by the word"goal".
"Atah" is what is pointed to at a distance ("that") as the
goal. "Itah" is where we are now(here), the starting point. From
"here"we have to go "there" to reach the goal. But as a
matter of fact, is not "that", the goal, here itself (this)? Yes,
when we recognize that everything is the Brahman, we will realise that
"that" and "this” are the Brahman-in other words,
"that"and "this" are the same. What we now think to be
"this" becomes the true state denoted by "that". Like
"atah" the Vedas refer to the Paramatman as "TaT"which
means "that". At the conclusion of any rite or work it is customary
to say "Om TaT sat". It means, "That is the Truth". We add
the suffix "tvam" to some words:"purasatvam",
"mahatvam" and so on. Here "tvam" means the quality or
nature of a thing. The quality of "mahat" is "mahatvam".
The nature of "purusa" being a "purusa"is
"purusatvam". All right. What do we mean when we refer to the truth,
the Ultimate Truth, as "tattvam"? "Tattvam"means"
being TaT". When we speak of enquiry into tattva or instruction in tattva
it means enquiring into the nature of the Brahman (or rather Brahmanhood or
what is meant by the Brahman. ) If the Vedas proclaim the Paramatman as
"Tat", that is a distant entity, how does it help us? Actually, it is
not so. What is far away is also close by. The Vedas proclaim:"Durat dure
antike ca" Once the parents of a girl arranged her marriage to a boy who
happened to be a relative. But the girl said "I'll marry the greatest man
in the world. "She was stubborn in her decision and the parents in their
helpnessness said to her "Do what you like.” The girl thought that the
king was the greatest of men and that she would get married to him. One day, as
the king was being taken in a palanquin, an ascetic passed by. The king got
down and prostrated himself before the sanyasin and got into his palanquin
again. Witnessing the scene the girl thought to herself:"I was wrong all
these days in thinking that the king was the greatest of men. The ascetic seems
to be greater. I must marry him. "She then followed the holy man. . The
ascetic stopped on his way to worship an idol of Ganapati installed under a
pipal tree. The girl saw it and came to the conclusion:"This Ganapati is
superior to the sanyasin. I must marry him. “She gave up her chase of the
ascetic and sat by the idol of Ganapati. It was a lonely place and no devotee
came up to worship the god. After some days a dog came and relieved itself on
the idol. The girl now decided that the dog must be greater than Ganapati. She
went chasing the dog and as it trotted along, with the girl keeping pace with it,
a boy threw a stone at it and it wailed loudly in pain. a young man saw this
and reprimanded the boy for his cruelty. The girl now told herself "I had
thought that the boy was superior to the dog. But here comes a young man to
take him to task. So he must be the greatest of them all. "Eventually it
turned out that the young man was none other then the groom that her parents
had chosen for her. The girl in the story went in pursuit of one she thought
was far away but in the end it turned out that what she had sought was indeed
closeby. "You look for God thinking him to be far from you. So long as
your ignorant(that is without jnana)he is indeed far from you. Even if you look
for him all over the world you will not find him. He is in truth with you.
""Durat dure antike ca, "says the sruti (Farther than the
farthest, nearer than the nearest). When we look afar at the horizon it seems
to be the meeting point of the earth and the sky. Suppose there is a palm-tree
there. We imagine that if we go upto the tree we will arrive at the point where
the earth and the sky meet. But when we actually arrive at the spot where the
tree stands we see that the horizon has receded further. The further we keep
going the further the horizon too will recede from us. "We are here under
the palm tree but the horizon is still far away. We must also go further to
overtake it. "Is it ever possible to overtake the horizon? When we are at
a distance from the palm the horizon seems to be near it. But when we came to
it the horizon seemed to have moved away further. So where is the horizon?
Where you are that is, the horizon. You and the horizon are on the very same
spot. What we call "That" the lord who we think is far away, is by
your side. No, he is in you. "That thou art, "declare the Vedas- He
is you (or you are He). "That you are "or "That thou
art"(Tat Tvam Asi)is a Vedic mahavakya. The "Tvam" here does not
mean the quality or essential nature of any entity or object. The word has two
meanings:"essential nature"("beingness")is one meaning;
and" you "or "thou" is another. The Acarya has used
"Tvam" as a pun in a stanza in his saundaryalahari. It is a
combination of the two words "taat" and "tvam" that the
word "tattvam" has come into use. Any truth arrived at the conclusion
of an inquiry is "tattva"-thus it denotes the One Truth that is the
Paramatman. What we call "I", what we think to be "i", that
indeed is Isvara; or such awareness is Isvara. If you do not possess the light
within yiou to discern this truth you will not be able to even concieve of an
entity called Isvara, The consciousness of "I" is what we believe to
be the distant "That". "That and you are the same, child
"is the Ultimate message of the Vedas. What we call
"this"("idam") is not without a root or a source. Indeed
there is no object called "this" without a source. Without the seed
there is no tree. The cosmos with its mountains, oceans, with its sky and
earth, with its man and beast, and so on has its root. Anger, fear and love,
the senses, power and energy have their root, Whatever we call "this
" has a root. Whatever we see, hear and smell, what we remember, what we
feel to be hot or cold, what we experience-all these are covered by the
term"idam". Intellectual powers, scientific discoveries, the dicoveries
yet to come - all come under Idam and all of them have a root cause. There is
nothing called "idam" or "this"without a root. Everything
has a root or a seed. So the cosmos also must have a root cause; so too all
power, all energy contained in it. To realise this Truth examine a tamarind
seed germinating. When you split the seed open. you will see a miniature tree
in it. It has in it the potential to grow, to grow big. Such is the case with
all seeds. The mantras have "bijaksaras"(seed letters or rather seed
variables). Like a big tree (potentially) present in a tiny seed, these
syllables contain immmeasurable power. If the bijaksara is muttered a hundred
thousand times, with your mind one-pointed, you will have its power within your
grasp. Whatever power there is in the world, whatever intellectual brilliance
whatever skills and talents, all must be present in God in a rudimentary form.
The Vedas proclaim, as if with the beat of drums:"All this has not sprung
without a root cause, The power that is in the root or seed is the same as the
power thast pervedes the entire universe. Where is that seed or root? The Self
that keeps seeing all from within, what we call "idam" is the root.
When you stand before a mirror you see your image in it. If you keep four mirrors
in a row you will see a thousand images of yourself. There is one source for
all these images. The one who sees these thousand images is the same as one who
is their source. The one who is within the millions of creatures and sees all
"this" is the Isvara. That which sees is the root of all that is
seen. That root is knowledge and it is the source of all the cosmos. Where do
you find this knowledge? It is in you. The infinite, transcendent knowledge is
present partly in you-the whole is present in you as a part. Here is a small
bulb. There you have a bigger bulb. That light is blue, this is green. There
are lamps of many sizes and shapes. But their power is the same-electricity,
electricity which is everywhere. It keeps the fan whirling, keeps the lamps
burning. The power is the same and it is infinite. When it passes through a
wire it becomes finite. When lightning strikes in flashes, when water cascades,
the power is manifested. In the same way you must make the supreme Truth within
manifest itself in a flash. All Vedic rites, all worship, all works, meditation
of the mahakavyas, Vedanta-the purpose of all these is to make the truth unfold
itself to you-in you-in a flash. Even the family and social life that are dealt
with in the Vedas, the royal duties mentioned in them, or poetry, therapeutics
or geology or any other sastra are steps leading towards the realisation of the
Self. At first the union of "Tat" and "tvam"(That and you)
would be experienced for a few moments like a flash of lightning. The
Kenopanisad (4. 4) refers to the state of knowing the Brahman experimentally as
a flash of lightning happening in the twinkling of an eye. But with repeated
practice, with intense concentration, you will be able to immerse yourself in
such experience. It is like the electricity produced when a stream remains
cascading. This is moksa, liberation, when you are yet in this world, when you
are still in possession of your body. And, when you give up the body, you will
become eternal Truth yourself. This is called "videhamukthi"(literally
bodiless liberation). The difference between jivanmukthi and videhamukthi is
only with reference to an outside observer; for the jnanin the two are
identical. The goal of the Vedas is inward realisation of the Brahman here and
now. We learn about happenings in the world from the newspapers. The news
gathered by reporters stationed in different countries, at different centres,
also through news agencies. It is recieved through letters, telegrams or
teleprinter messages. There are things that cannot be known by such means,
things that are not comprehended by the ordinary human mind. Should we not have
a special newspaper to keep us informed about them? The Vedas constitute such a
paper. They tell us all about things that cannot be known to ordinary news-gatherers
and also about things occuring in aplace where there is neither telegraphy nor
any teleprinter. It is through the medium of this newspaper that the sages who
possess trans-sensual powers keep us informed about matters that are beyond
this world and beyond the comprehension of the average man. There are, however,
certain portions in the Vedas that are to be discarded. "To be
discarded" is not to be taken to mean to be rejected outright as wrong.
There cannot be anything wrong about any part of the Vedas. Even to think so is
sacrilegious. There are matters in these texts that are prelimnary to an
important subject or that lend support to it. According to the arrangement made
by our forefathers the important part is to be retained and the other prelimnary
or supporting portion is to be excluded. Certain things are necessary at a
certain stage of our development. But these are to be excluded as we go step by
step to a higher stage. There are then passages that are of atmost importance
and have the force of law. These are to be accepted in full, Things that are to
be discarded belong to the category of "arthavada" and
“anuvada". The Vedas contain stories told to impress on us the importance
of a concept, stories that raise ideas to a higher level. The injunctions with
which these stories are associated must be acepted in full but the stories
themselves may be discarded as "arthavada", that is they need not be
brought into obsevance. What is "anuvada"? Before speaking about a
new rule or a new concept, the Vedas tell us about things that we already know.
They go on repeating this without coming to the new rule or concept that is
things known to us in practical life and not having the authority of Vedic
pronouncements. This is "anuvada". Anuvada and artavada are not of
importance and are not meant to convey the ultimate purpose or message of the
Vedas. What we do not know otherwise through any other authority and what the
Vedas speak of is "vidhi". And that is the chief "vada",
the true tattva, the true intent of the Vedas. To explain further. What is
mentioned in the Vedas but can be known by other (mundane) means is not
incontrovertible Vedic authority. The purpose of the Vedas is to make known
what is not known. They speak about things we know and do not know, but their
chief purpose is the latter- what they state about what we do not know. It is
out of compassion that they speak about what is known to us as a prelude to
telling us what we do not know. But if telling us they deal with things that we
do not know? If the Vedas deal at length with the things that we are ignorant
about, would it not be ridiculous to discard them and retain only what we know
already? Indeed such an act would be sacrilegious. The question, however,
arises: why should things known to us have been dealt with at length? The Vedas
could have been silent about them. Well, what is that we know, what is that we
do not know? There are two views about all mundane objects, worldly phenomena.
Do all the objects that we percieve constitute one entity or are they all
disparate? Opinion is divided on this. Based on our physical perceptions we
regard all objects to be separate from one another. It is only on such a basis
that our funtions are carried out properly in the workday world. Water is one
hting and oil is another. To light a lamp we need oil [to feed the wick]. We
cannot use water for the same. But if the lamp flares up and objects near by
catch fire we will have to put it out with water. With oil the fire will only
spread. We have thus to note how one object is different from another and to
learn how best each is to be used. To view each object as being distinct from
another is part of "Dvaita", dualism. Many of the rituals in the
Vedas, many of the ways of worship found in them, are based on the dualistic
view. As Advaitins (followers of the non-dualistic doctrine) we need not raise
any objections on this score. We must, however, find out whether or not the
Vedas go beyond dualism. If they do not, we have to conclude that their message
is Dvaita. But what is the truth actually found expressed in them? The
non-dualist truth is proclaimed in a number of hymns and in most of the
Upanisads, but this is not in keeping with our outward experience. The ultimate
Vedic view is that all objects are indeed not separate from one another but are
the outward manifestation of the same Self. Our religious and philosophical
works have two parts -purvapaksa and siddhanta. In the purvapaksas or initial
section of a work, the point of view to be refuted [the view opposed to that of
the author of the work] is dealt with. If we read only this part we are likely
to form an impression opposite to what the work intends to convey. To refute an
opinion other than one's own, one has naturally to state it. This is the purpose
of the purvapaksa. In the siddhanta section there is refutation of the systems
opposed to one's own before the latter is sought to be established. scholars
abroad are full of praise for the fact that in our darsanas or philosophical
works the views of systems opposed to those expressed in the darsanas are not
concealed or ignored but that their criticisms and objections are sought to be
answered. From what is said before, does it mean that non-dualism is
incorporated in the purvapaksa of the Vedas so as to be refuted in the latter
part? No, it is not so. The jnanakanda in which the Upanisads lay emphasise on
nondualism is the concluding part of the Vedas. The karmakanda which speaks of
dualism precedes it. So if the Vedas first speak about the dualism that we know
and later about the non-dualism that we do not know, it means that the
non-dualistic teaching is the supreme purpose of the Vedas. I will tell you why
the dualism in te purvapaksa in the Vedas is not rebutted. The works and
worship performed with a dualistic outlook are not a hindrance for us to
advance on the path of non-dualistic experience. On the contrary, they are a
means to make precisely such progress. So the works and worship are not to be
taken as constituting a point of view opposed to the main message of the Vedas
and to be refuted in the second part. First the flower, then the fruit.
Similiarly, we have to afvance to non-dualism from dualism. The flower is not
opposed to the fruit, is it? Do we despise the flower because the fruit represents
its highest [natural development]? From the non-dualistic standpoint there is
no need to counter other systems, viewed on their own proper levels. It is only
when these levels are exceeded that the need arises to counter them. That is
how our Acarya and other exponents of non-dualism countenanced other systems.
By the grace of Isvara scientific advancement so far has done no injury to
things Atmic and indeed modern science takes us increassingly close to Advaita
whose truth hitherto could not be known by anything other than the Vedas. In
the early centuries of science it wasd thought that all objects in the world
were different entities, seperate from one another. Then scientists came to the
conclusion that the basis of all matter was constituted by the different
elements, that all the countless objects in the world resulted from these
elements combining together in various ways. Subsequently when atomic science
developed it was realised that all the elements had the same source, the same
energy. Those who meditate on the Self and know the truth realise that this
power, this Atman, is made up of knowledge, awareness. And it is knowledge
(jnana) that enfolds not only inert objects but also the individual self to
form the non-dualistic whole. Whether it is one energy or one caitanya, the One
Object that both vijnanins (scientists) and jnanins (knowers) speak of is not
visible to us. We see only its countless disguises as different objects, that
is we see the One Object dualistically [or pluralistically]. You need not seek
the support of the Vedas for this, for what is obvious. Why do you need the
testimony of the Vedas for what our eyes and intellect recognize? If they speak
of a truth that we are not aware of but which we can realise from what we know,
and if this truth is proclaimed to be their final conclusion, we must accept it
as their ultimate message. This message is the doctrine, the truth, that the
individual self is inseperably (non-dualistically) dissolved in the Paramatman
to become the Paramatman.
Essence of Upanishadic Teachings
What is the essence of the Upanisadic teaching? How
do we realise the ideal state mentioned in the Upanisads [the oneing of the
individual self and the Overself]? The phenomenal universe, in the view of
modern science, is embraced by the concepts of time and space [It exists in the
time-space frame]. The Upanisads declare that only by being freed from time and
space factors can we grasp the ultimate truth that is at the source of the
cosmos. I told you about the horizon - where we are right there the horizon is.
Recognition of this truth takes us beyond space. In this way we must also try
to transcend time. Is it possible? To give us the confidence that it is, an
example could be cited from everyday life. To spend the time we lap up
newspaper reports of the fight going on in a distant country like, say, the
Congo [now called Zaire]. If a dispute or trouble erupts nearer home, in a
country like Pakistan (or at home in Kasmir), we forget the Congo and turn to
Pakistan or Kasmir. The newspapers themselves push reports of the Congo trouble
to some corner and highlight developments in Pakistan or Kasmir. But when a
quarrel breaks out even nearer, say, a quarrel over Tiruttani between the
Tamils and the Telugus, Pakistan and Kasmir are forgotten and the boundary
quarrel claims all our interest, Now, when we come to know of a street brawl in
our neighbourhood, we throw aside the newspaper to go out and see for ourselves
what the trouble is all about. Again, when we are watching the street fight, a
friend or relative comes and tells us that a war is going on in our own home
between the wife and the mother. What do we do then? We forget the street brawl
and rush home at once. On an international level the Congo dispute is perhaps
of great importance. But we pass from that to quarrels of decreasing
importance. Our interest in each, however is in inverse proportion to its real
importance. Why? The Congo is far away in space. We are more concerned about
what happens nearer us than about distant occurences. It is all like coming to
the horizon, the spot where we are. Now let us turn our gaze inward. If we
become aware of the battle going on within us, the battle fought by the senses,
all other quarrels will become distant affairs like the Congo dispute. Let us
try to resolve this inner conflict and try to remain tranquil. In this
tranquility all will be banished including place, space, and so on. When we are
asleep we are not aware of either knowledge or space, but the jnana (in the state
of enlightenment of the inner truth) we will experience knowledge without any
consciousness of space. The time factor is similar. How inconsolably we wept
when our father died ten years ago. How is it that we do not feel the same
intensity of grief when we think of his death today? On the day a dear one
passes we weep so much, but not so much on the following day. Why is it so?
Last year we earned a promotion, or won a prize in a lottery. We jumped for joy
then, did'nt we? Why is it that we don't feel the same thrill of joy when we
think about it today? Just as nearness in space is a factor in determining how
we are affected by an event, so too is nearness in time. Evev when we are
turned outward and remain conscious of time and space, they lose their impact
without any special effort on our part. So the confidence arises that we can be
totally freed from these two factors of time and space if we turn inward. When
we are asleep we are oblivious of time and space without any effort on our
part. But we do not then have the awareness of being free from them. We must go
to the state spoken of by Tayumanavar, the state in which we sleep without
sleeping and are full of jnana and are immersed in the bliss of freedom from
time and space. Then nothing will affect us, not even a quarrel right in our
prescence, in our home. Even when we recieve a stab wound we will not be
affected by it - it would be like a happening in a remote land like Congo. When
someone very dear to us dies in our prescence - husband, wife or child - it
would be an occurence remote in time, like our father's passing ten years ago.
Let us, for the time-being, forget arguments about non-dualism and dualism. Let
us think about our real need. What is it? Peace. Tranquility. We are affected
by good and bad things alike. We cry, we laugh. Both sorrow and joy have their
impact on us. Even excessive laughter causes pain in the stomach, enervates us.
When we are tickled we react angrily. "Stop it!" we cry. Even when we
dance for joy we are fatigued. We like to remain calm without being affected by
anything, without giving way to any type of emotion. Such is our need. Not
dualism or non-dualism. Let us consider what we must do for this goal. One
point will become clear if we think about how the impact produced by a
happening or an emotion is wiped away. "When news about the Congo war
broke how we became engrossed in newspaper reports of the dispute. How did we
lose interest in it later? Why does it not have any impact on us now? " If
we think on these lines we will realise that the impact of any event - or
whatever - is progressively reduced as it is pushed further in space. If we
also consider why we are not as much affected now by our father's death as we
were ten years ago when he died, we will realise that with receding time we are
less and less affected by past events. So if we are to remain detached we must
learn to think that what happens close by is happening in a remote place like
the Congo. Similarly, we must also learn to think that all the happy and unhappy
incidents of the moment occured ten years ago. We must assiduously train
ourselves to take such an attitude. No joy or sorrow is everlasting. They are
all relative [that is they do not have their own integral or independent force
but rely on other factors]. So without being part of anything or else dependent
on anything, we must remain in the absolute state of being ourselves. Then
alone will be free from all influences and experience eternal peace. This is
how Einstein's Theory of Relativity is applied to the science of the Self
(Atmavidya). The essence of Upanisadic message is the burning desire to be from
time and space. It would be in proportion to the extent to which we burn within
in our endeavour to be free from the spatio-temporal factor that we will be
rewarded with the grace of Isvara and be led towards the fulfilment of the
great ideal. There is no need to go to the mountains or to the forest for
instruction. Space and time teach us how to remain unaffected by events. All
that we need to do is to pray to the Lord and make an effort to develop the
will and capacity to put happenings of the moment back in time and distant in
space The first of the ten [major] Upanisads. Isavasya, says:"It is in
motion and yet it is still. It is afar and yet near. It is indeed within. . . .
. ". This statement refers to space and time and creates the urge in us to
be freed from both. The next mantra asks us to see time and space and all
creatures in our Self itself. Then there will be no cause for hatred, delusion
or sorow, that is nothing will affect us. Another mantra of the same Upanisad
declares that the Self is all - pervading, going beyond space, and distributing
things through the endless years according to their natures. On the whole, the
Upanisads speak of the same basic truth of space and time that modern science
teaches. But there is this difference. For science this truth is a mere
postulate. For the Upanisads it is a truth to be realised within as an
experience. This is a conclusion of the Upanisads which themselves are the
concluding part of the Vedas.
Vedic Sakhas
When the Vedas are said to have no end, how can one
talk of there being an "end to the Vedas (Vedanta)"? The mesage of
the Vedas, the truths proclaimed by them, the teachings with respect to
self-realisation occur in the concluding part (Upanisads) of each of the Vedas,
that is Vedanta. Why should the Vedas, which are infinite have been divided
into so many sakhas or recensions? A man must be imparted all that is necessary
to purify his mind and prepare him for Self-realisation. For this purpose he
needs hymns, mantras, employed in the performance of sacrifices and other
works; he has to examine the principles behind the sacrifices; and, finally, he
has to inquire into the Paramatman adopting the meditative practice called
nididhyasana so as to make the Ultimate Truth an inner experience. It is not
necessary for him to learn all the countless Vedas; in any case it would be an
impossible task. You remember the story I told you of the great sage Bharadvaja
who could go only three steps up the Vedic mountain. What a man needs to learn
to refine himself, become free from all impurities and finally mingle in the
Supreme Being- the text confirming to such needs is separated from the unending
Vedas to make a sakha. A Vedic recension includes all the works relating to a
Brahmin's life from birth to death. A Brahmin must memorise the mantras of the
Samhita, perform sacrifices according to the Brahmanas to the chanting of the
mantras, and later cross the bridge constituted by the Aranyaka, the bridge
that connects the outward with the inward, that is study intensely the
Upanisads that are concerned exclusively with the inward. In this way he
finally becomes liberated, with the inward and the outward becoming one. For
the wise and the mature a single mantra is enough to free them from worldly
existence. But to become pure an ordinary man needs to perform many works and
conduct worship in many ways. He has to do japa and meditation. Each sakha
contains mantras, rituals and instruction in the science of the Self to enable
him to find release. (See Chapter 38 of this part entitled "Sakhas now
studied".)
Brahmins and Non Brahmins
What about non- Brahmins? Is it not necessary for
them too to become pure within? Even if they do not have to perform Vedic
rituals or chant mantras, they too have to become cleansed inwardly by doing
their alloted work. Whatever his caste or jati, if a man performs his
hereditary work in a spirit of dedication to Isvara he will become liberated.
This is stated clearly in the Gita:"Svakaramana tam abhyarcya siddhim
vindati manavah. " One man has the job of waging wars, another that of
trading and rearing cattle, a third has manual work to do. What work does the
Brahmin do for soceity? Is not the grace of the Supreme-Being important even in
worldly life? The Brahmin's vocation is doing such works as would enable all
jatis earn this grace. The devas or celestials are like the officials of the
Paramatman. It is the duty of the Brahmin to make all creatures of the world
dear to them. The work he performs, the mantras he chants are intended to do
good to all jatis. Since he has to do with forces that are extra-mundane, he
has to follow a religious discipline of rites and vows more strictly than what
others have to follow so as to impart potency to the mantras. If it were
realised that he has to perform rituals and observe vows for the sake of other
communities also, people would not harbour the wrong notion that he has been
assigned some special [priveleged] job. Apart from this, the Brahmin has to
learn the arts and sastras that pertain to worldly life, the traits and
vocations of all other castes and instruct them in such work as is theirs by
heredity. His calling is that of the teacher and he must not do other jobs. His
is a vocation entailing great responsibility and is more important than the job
of affording bodily protection to people, or of trade or labour. For the
Brahmin's duty is to preserve the arts and crafts and other skills by which
other communities maintain themselves to nurture their minds and impart them
knowledge. If the man discharging such a responsibility is not mentally mature,
his work will not yield the desired results. If he himself is not noble of mind
he will not be able to raise others to a high level. At the same time, he has a
handicap which he does not share with others. If he believes that he is
superior to others because he does intellectual work, he will only be a
hindrance to himself. That is why the Brahmin has to be rendered pure. Since
there are reasons for him to feel superior to others, there must be the
assurance that he does not suffer from the least trace of egoism and arrogance.
That is why he is tempered by means of the forty samskaras and his impurities
wrung out. If the mantras are to be efficacious, the one who chants them must
be disciplined and must observe a variety of vows. There is, for instance, the
mantra to cure a person stung by a scorpion. The man who chants it must observe
certain strict rules. If he is lax in the matter, the mantra will have no
effect- this is what the mantrikas themselves say. There are rules for the
recitation of each mantra, a time when it is to be chanted and when it is not
to be. If the rules are violated it will have no effect. It is said that the
mantras are more efficacious when recited during eclipses. A Vedic sakha
contains all the rites needed to be performed by a Brahmin to become pure
within.
Sakhas now studied
People in the distant past had remarkable abilities
and possessed great yogic and intellectual power. So theym could gain mastery
of many Vedic recensions. As for the great sages it wsas a matter of the Vedas
revealing themselves to them in a flash. Others with their unusual abilities
were able to master not only the Vedas but other branches of learning. The
Vedas in their infinitude being like the expanse of an endless ocean, no one
has been able to master all of them. Even so in the remote past there were
individuals conversant with a large number of sakhas. In later times men began
to lose their divine yogic power. At the beginning of the age of Kali it became
very weak indeed. The life-span of man began to get shorter and his health and
intelligence declined. It is all the sport of the Paramatman. Why should there
have been a dimunition in human power and human intelligence? It is dificult to
answer the question. Would it not be natural to expect an increase, generation
after generation, in the number of people learning the Vedas, performing
sacrifices and conducting Atmic inquiry? Why is it not so? Again it is a
question that is hard to answer. The Paramatman conducts the cosmic drama
playing in strange and ever new ways. Although scientists like Darwin speak of
evolution, in the matter of Atmic strength, intellectual enlightenment,
character and yogic power, we seem to have be en going further and further down
on the scale. Since the Krta-Yuga there has been a decline in the powers of
man. In that age a man lived so long as his skeleton lasted. Even if his blood
dried up and his flesh was destroyed he survived until his bones collapsed.
People in the Krta age had much power of knowledge. They were called
"asti-gata-pranas". In the Treta age people were
"mamsa-gata-pranas", that is they lived so long as their flesh lasted
and did not perish even when their blood dried up. They had a special capacity
for performing sacrifices. In the Dvapara age people were
"rudhira-gata-pranas" and lived until such time as their blood dried
up. They were known especially for the puja they performed. We of the Kali age
are "anna-gata-pranas" and life will remain in our body so long as
the food [nourishment] lasts. We have little capacity to meditate, perform
rituals and puja. But we are capable of chanting the names of the Lord - Krsna,
Rama, and so on. It is true that by muttering the names of the Lord we will be
liberated. Even so we must not allow the Vedas to become extinct. They were
bequeathed to us from the time of creation. Must we allow them to be lost? When
Sri Krsna departed from this world, grim darkness enveloped the world. There is
“darkness" in his name itself (" Krsna" means dark). He was also
born in darkness, in the dungeon of a prison at midnight. But he was the
radiance of knowledge for all the world, the light of compassion. When he
departed much injury was done to jnana, and darkness descended into the world.
Kali, who is the evil incarnate, acceded to authority. All this is the sport of
Paratman, the sport that is inscrutable. Sri Krsna came as a burst of light.
Then, urged by his compassion, he decided that the world must not go to waste.
He thought that it could be saved by administering an antidote against the
venom of Kali. This antidate was the Vedas. It would be enough if precautions
were taken to make sure that the “Kali Man" did not devour them-the world
would be saved. In the darkness surrounding everything they would serve the
purpose of a lamp lighting the path of mankind. In the age of Kali they would
not shine with the same effulgence as in the previous ages. But the Lord
resolved that they must burn with at least the minimum of lustre to be of
benefit to mankind and this he ensured through Vedavyasa who was partially his
incarnation. The sage who was to carry out Bhagvan Krsna's resolve was not then
called Veda Vyasa. His name too was Krsna and, since he was born on an island,
he had the appellation “Dvaipayana" ( Islander). Badarayana is another
name of his. Krsna Dvaipayana knew all the 1, 180 sakhas ( recensions) of the
Vedas revealed to the world by various sages. They were mingled together in one
great stream. Being remarkably gifted, our ancestors could memorise all of
them. For the benefit of weaker people like us, Vyasa divided them into four
Vedas and subdivided each into sakhas. It was like damming a river and taking
the water through various canals. Vyasa accomplished the task of dividing the
Vedas easily because he was a great yogin with vision and because he had the
power gained from austerities. The Rgvedic sakhas contain hymns to invoke the
various deities; the Yajurvedic sakhas deal with the conduct of sacrifices; l
the Samaveda sakhas contain songs to please the deities; and the Atharvaveda
sakhas, besides dealing with sacrifices, contain mantras recited to avert
calamities and to destroy enemies. The Samaveda had the largest number of
recensions, 1, 000. In the Rgveda there were 21; in the Yajus 109(Sukla- Yajur
Veda 15, and Krsna Yajur Veda 94); and in the Atharvaveda 50. While, according
to one scholar, the Visnu Purana mentions the number of sakhas to be 1, 180,
another version is that there were 1, 133 recensions- the Rgveda 21, the
Yajurveda 101, the Samaveda 1, 000 and the Atharvaveda 11. Considering that
people in the age of Kali would be inferior to their forefathers, Krsna
Dvaipayana thought that it should be sufficient for them to learn one sakha of
any one of the four Vedas. It was the Lord that put this idea into his head.
Vyasa assigned the Rgveda sakhas to Paila, the Yajurveda sakhas to
Vaisampayana, the Samaveda sakhas to Jaimini and the Atharvanaveda sakhas to
Sumantu. ] Krsna Dvaipayana came to be called "Vedavyasa" for having
divided the Vedas into four and then having subdivided them into 1, 180
recensions. "Vyasa" literally means an "essay" or a
"composition". Classifying objects is also known as
"vyasa". According to Krsna Dvaipayana's arrangement, though it is
obligatory for a person [that is a Brahmin] to learn only one recension, it
does not mean that there is a bar on learning more. The intention is that at least
one sadha must be studied. Even after Vyasa's time, there have been examples of
panditas mastering more than one sakha from the four Vedas. (Vyasa divided the
Vedas some 5, 000 years ago. This has been established to some extent
historically. Instead of accepting this date arrived at according to our
sastras, modern historians maintain that the date of the Mahabarata must be
1500 B. C. But of late, opinion is veering round to the view that the epic
dates back to 5, 000 years ago. I said that there was no bar on anyone learning
more than one sakha. Even today we find North Indians with appellations like
"Caturvedi", "Trivedi" and "Dvivedi". We had a
"Trivedi", who was governor of one of our states. "Duve"
and "Dave" are derived from "Dvivedi". One descended from a
family well versed in the four Vedas is called a "Caturvedin". In
Bengal he is called a "Catterji". Those who have mastered three Vedas
are "Trivedins". Today it is rare to see a man who has learned even
one Veda, but the fact that members of some families still call themselves
"Trivedins" or "Caturvedins" show that in the past there
must have been individuals who knew more than one Veda. Jnanasambandhar calls
himself "Nanmarai Jnanasambandhar". Since he was suckled by Amba
herself it must have been easy for him to master the four Vedas. During these
5, 000 years and more since Vedavyasa divided the Vedas, many sakhas have been
lost. Out of the 1, 180 we are in the unfortunate position of having only six
or seven. Of the 21 sakhas of the Rgveda there is only one extant- it is called
the Sakala Sakha, or the Aitareya Sakha, since the Aitareya Upanishad occurs in
it. Of the 15 recencions of the Sukla- Yajurveda only two are extant, the Kanva
Sakha having a large following in Maharashtra and the Madhyandina Sakha in
North India. Of the 94 sakhas of the Krsna- Yajurveda, the Taittiriya has a
large following, particularly in the South. We have lost 997 of the 1, 000
sakhas of the Samaveda. In Tamil Nadu those who follow the Kauthuma Sakha are
more in number than those who follow the Talavakara Sakha, while in Maharastra
there is a small following for Ranayaniya. Once it was feared that out of the
50 recensions of the Atharvaveda none was extant. But on inquiry it was
discovered that there was a Brahmin in Sinor, Gujarat, who was conversant with
the Saunaka Sakha of this Veda. We sent students from here (Tamil Nadu) to
learn the same from him. The Aitareya Brahmana and the Kausitaki Brahmana (also
called Sankhayana Brahmana) of the Rgveda are still available to us. The
Aitareya Upanisad and the Kausitaki Upanisad, which are part of the Aranyakas
belonging to these, are still extant. Of the Sukla- Yajurveda we have the
Satapatha Brahmana. This is common- with minor differences- to both the
Madhyandina and Kanva Sakhas. It is a voluminous work which serves as an
explanation for all the Vedas. Only one Aranyaka is extant from this Veda and
it constitutes the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad. I have already mentioned that the
Isavasya Upanisad belongs to the Samhita part of the Veda. Of the Krsna-
Yajurveda the Taittiriya Brahmana alone is extant. Among the Aranyakas of this
Veda we have the Taittitiya; the Taittiriya Upanisad and the Mahanarayana
Upanisad are part of it. The latter contains a number of mantras commonly used.
The Maitrayani Aranyaka and the Upanisad of the same name also belong to the
Krsna- Yajurveda. As mentioned before, of the Katha Sakha only the Upanisad(
Kathopanisad) is available, not the Samhita, Brahmana and Aranyaka. (Similarly,
the Svetasvatoaropanisad of the Krsna-Yajurveda is still extant, but no other
part of the relevant sakha.) Nine hundred ninety- seven sakhas of the Samaveda
are lost and of its Brahmanas only some seven or eight have survived- Tandya,
Arseya, Devatadhyaya, Samhitopanishad, Vamsa, (Sadvimsa, Chandogya, Jaiminiya).
The Talavakara Aranyaka of this Veda is also called the Talavakara Brahmana.
The Kenopanishad comes at the end of it: so it is also known as the Talavakara
Upanisad. The Chandogya Brahmana has the Chandogya Upanisad. To repeat what I
mentioned earlier, we still have three important Upanisads from the
Atharvaveda- Prasna, Mundaka and Mandukya. (The Nrsimha Tapini Upanisad also
belongs to this Veda.) The only Brahmana of this Veda to have survived is
Gopatha. We should be guilty of a grave offence if the seven or eight sakhas of
the 1, 180 that still survive become extinct because of our neglect: there will
be no expiation for the same. In the South, which is called
"Dravidadesa", Vedic learning is still kept alive by the Namputiris
in Kerala. And it was well maintained in Andhra Prades until recently. A great
encouragement to this was the annual Navrathri festival at Vijayavada every
year when examinations for Vedic students and an assembly of Vedic scholars
were held. Those who took part in the assembly were given cash awards as well
as certificates. Brahmacarins and pandits came from all over the country to
take part in the examination and the assembly respectively. The certificate was
highly valued. A scholar returning home with the certificate was honoured by
householders all along the way. There was a custom in Andhra Prades to set
aside a tidy sum to be presented to Vedic scholars at weddings. Vedic learning
flourished in that state because of such incentives. A Brahmin ought not to run
after money; if he does he ceases to be a Brahmin. However, we have to consider
the fact that today any occupation or profession other than that of the Vedic
scholar is lucrative. One learned in the Vedas cannot make ends meet. Such being
the case it becomes incumbent on us to devise a system by which the Vedic
scholar too can live without any care. It is because the minimum needs of Vedic
students and scholars were met in the Telugu country that scriptural learning
flourished there. We are making efforts to promote Vedic learning all over
India and in particular in Tamil Nadu- and a scheme has been drawn up to raise
funds for pathasalsas( Vedic schools). In Tamil Nadu there was patronage for
Vedic learning until the reign of Hindu rulers like the Nayakas. Later it
received encouragement from the princely states. A Brahmin who has mastered an
entire Veda sakha is called a "srotriya", from "Sruti"
meaning the Vedas. It was customary for Tamil rajas to donate land to such
Brahmins and sometimes an entire village was given away, it being exempt from
taxes. This is described as "iraiyili" in old inscriptions.
"Brahmadesam" is the name given to lands made over to Brahmins as
gifts. In the royal edicts the word used is "Brahmadeyam".
"Caturvedimangalam" was the name given to a village donated by
royalty to Brahmins proficient in all four Vedas. Those who spent all thier
time in learning and teaching the scriptures had no other source of income. So
they were exempt from kisti. This exemption was in force even during the rule
of the Nawabs, the East India Company and its successor British government.
Even though the British did nothing to promote Vedic studies, they exempted
srotriya villages from taxes. However, the Brahmins during the time sold their
lands, converting them into certificates, and abandoned the villages of their
forefathers to settle in towns. This also meant something most unfortunate,
severing their connection with the long Vedic tradition. Our country has an
ages- old tradition- and it is a glorious tradition- that has no parallel in
any generation, worked not only for their own Atmic uplift but for the well-
being of the entire society. And this they have done to the exclusion of being
involved in worldly affairs. Later, however, they (Brahmins) failed to
recognise the unique importance of such a tradition and broke away from it to
take to the Western way of life. A situation soon arose in which others also
forgot the importance of having a class of people devoting themselves solely to
the Atmic quest.
Duty of Brahmins
If any purpose has been served by listening to me
all the while, it is up to you [Brahmins] to take whatever steps you think fit
to promote Vedic learning. Every day you must perform “Brahmayajna" which
is one of the five great sacrifices ( mahayajnas). The term "Brahma"
in “Brahmayajna" means the Vedas. The power of the mantras must be
preserved in us as an eternal reality. It must burn bright like a lamp that is
never extinguished. For this reason it is that we perform Brahmayajna. We must
offer oblations to the presiding rsi or seer of our Vedic recension. Failing
that, the least we can do is perform the Gayatri- japa every day. Gayatri is
the essence of the Vedas, their substance. To qualify to chant it, you must be
initiated into it by a Guru. The Gayatri you thus learn must be mentally
repeated at least a thousand times every day. Again, the least you can do -and
you must do it- is to chant the mantra atleast ten times morning, noon and
dusk. The sun god is the presiding deity of Gayatri. Sunday, the day of the
sun, is a universal holiday. On this day you must get up at 4 in the morning
and, after your ablutions, recite the Gayatri a thousand times. This will
ensure your well-being as well as of all mankind. All Brahmins must learn to
chant the Purusasukta, the Srisukta, Sri Rudram, etc. I am speaking
particularly to office going Brahmins here. Since they will find it difficult
to devote themselves fully to Vedic learning they must try to acquire at least
a minimum of scriptural knowledge. But it should be creditable if they
accomplish something-in the present case learning the Vedas- in the face of
difficulties. If you start learning the scripture now you will be able to
complete your study in a few years. But you need faith and devotion. The Vedas
are a vidya that has come down to us through the millennia. If you study them
with determination you are bound to succeed. Haven’t you seen 50 and 60 year
old people engaged in research in the hope of gaining a Ph. D. or some other
degree? If you have the will you will have the way to accomplish anything
however difficult. There are examples of individuals who at 40 had been totally
in the dark about the Vedas but who later learned to chant them with ardour. As
a matter of fact there are such men among the office- bearers of our Veda
Raksana Nidhi Trust. So what are needed are faith as well as resoluteness.
Leave aside the question of Brahmins who are in jobs and are middleaged or
older. Whether or not they themselves can chant the Vedas or want to learn to
chant them, they must see to it that their sons at least receive instruction in
the scriptures. Perhaps the children cannot be sent for a full-time course in
the Vedas, but the parents could at least ensure that, after they perform the
upanayana of their sons at the age of eight years, the boys are taught the
Vedas for one hour every evening for a period of eight years. A Vedic tutor may
be engaged on a cooperative basis for all children of a locality or village.
This should be of help to the children of poor Brahmins. Above all, efforts
must be made to ensure that the existing Vedic schools that are in bad shape
are not forced to close down. These institutions must be reinvigorated and more
and more students encouraged to join them. To accomplish this task both
teachers and taught must be adequately helped with money. Let me repeat that
Brahmins ought not to be afforded more than the minimum cash or creature
comforts. But we see today that there are many lucrative jobs to tempt them. So
there is the danger of their not being fully involved in their svadharma (own
duty) of learning and teaching the Vedas if they are not kept above their want.
We must provide them with certain facilities so that we are not faced with the
unfortunate situation in which such Brahmins become more and more scarce. There
are new comforts, new avenues of pleasure, not known in the past. It is
unrealistic to expect a few Brahmins alone to deny themselves all these and
adhere to their svadharma. If we adopt such an attitude the Vedic dharma will
suffer. So when some Brahmins are engaged exclusively in their dharma it is
obligatory on our part to help them with money and material. Though they must
not be afforded any luxuries, we must provide them with enough comforts so that
they are not enticed into other jobs. We have drawn up a number of schemes
bearing this in mind.
Veda Bashya
The sound of the Vedas must be kept alive. For this
purpose, it would be enough if Brahmins memorised the mantras and chanted them
every day. The power of the sound, the power of the mantras vocalised, is
sufficient to bring good to mankind. I said, you will remember, that chanting
the Vedas with faith, even though without knowing their meaning, is
“viryavattaram". The statement, however, does not fully reflect my view. A
student will have to spend many years to memorise the Vedas and study their
meaning. It is not easy to keep him confined to the Vedic school for such a
long time. I must explain here why I said that " it is not necessary to
know the meaning of the Vedas and their sound is all we need". To insist
that a student should chant the Vedas only if he knows the meaning of the
mantras is expecting too much of him. It might also mean that nobody would come
forward even to memorise the hymns. In that case how will their sound be kept
alive? That is why I said, half seriously and half sportingly, that “the
meaning is not necessary, the sound would be sufficient. . . . ". There
must indeed be a large number of people who can chant the Vedas and keep their
sound alive. In addition, there must be a system by which some of them at least
will be taught their meaning. That is how we have come to be seriously involved
in teaching the Veda-bhasya (commentary on the Vedas). It is because the Vedas
are profound in their import that a number of great men have commented upon
them. Their efforts must not go in vain. We perform a number of rites in our
home: marriage, sraddha, upakarma, and so on, and during these functions we
chant Vedic mantras as instructed by the priest. By the grace of Isvara we have
not reached the unfortunate state of totally discarding such rites. However,
there is a declining trend, a weakening of Vedic practices. One important
reason for this is that we do not know the meaning of the mantras chanted.
Educated people nowadays have no true involvement in rites in which they have
to repeat the mantras after the priest without knowing the meaning. We cannot
expect to convince people that the chanting of the mantras (even without
knowing their meaning) is beneficial. The hymns for each function are different
and also different in significance. If we appreciate this fact, we will realise
that there is a scientific basis for them. Besides, they have an emotional
appeal which willl be evident only when we know their meaning. So to know the
meaning of the mantras is to have greater involvement in the functions in which
they are chanted. That is the reason why the mouthing of syllables
purposelessly has come to be [irreverently] likened to the chanting of “sraddha
mantras". The meaning of the mantras (including those chanted at sraddhas)
must be understood by the priest as well as by the performer of the rites; we
must evolve a scheme for theis purpose. First the priest himself must know the
meaning of the mantras and the significance of the rituals at which he
officiates. Today the majority of priests are ignorant of the meaning of what
they chant. If a karta or a yajamana (the man on whose behalf a rite is
conducted) asks his priest, “What does this mean? ", the latter is unable
to give an answer. How would you then expect the karta to have faith in the
rites? I believe that many middle-aged people today are keen to know the
meaning of the mantras. I also think that if they tend to lose faith in rituals
it is because they have to repeat parrot-like the hymns chanted by the priest.
So we are making efforts to ensure that those who officiate at rituals (the
upadhyayas) accquire proficiency in Veda-bhasya to enable them to explain the
meaning of the mantras. According to the Nirukta (one of the six Angas of the
Vedas) a Brahmin comes under a curse by chanting the Vedas without knowing
their meaning. A number of great men have written commentaries on the Vedas so
as to inspire faith in the sacraments. Sri Madhvacarya has written a commentary
for the first 40 suktas of the first kanda of the Rg Veda. Skandasvamin has
also written a bhasya on the Rg Veda. To BhattaBhaskara we owe a commentary on
the Krasna-Yajur Veda, and to Mahidhara on that of the Sukla-Yajur Veda. In
recent times, Dayananda Saraswati and Aravinda Ghose as well as his disciple
Kapali Sastri have written expository treatises on the Vedas. Though there are
so many commentaries, the one by Sri Sayanacarya is particularly famous: many
scholars, including Western Indologists, treat it as authoritative. There are
five Vedas if you reckon the Yajur Veda to be two with its Sukla and Krsna
divisions. Sayana has written commentaries on all the five. Expository
treatises on the Vedas had been written before him but he was the first to
write a bhasya for all the Vedas. Though Sayanacarya's commentary had been
studied for centuries, a stage came recently when we feared that it would cease
to hold any interest for students. Those who learned to chant the Vedas,
without knowing their meaning, became priests while those who studied poetry
and other subjects did not learn even to chant the mantras. So much so interest
in the study of the Vedabhasya declined. It was at this time that the
Sastyabdapurti Trust was formed with a view to maintain the study of the
Veda-bhasya. When the Trust started to conduct examinations, the Veda-bhasya
meant no more than the printed text of the Vedic commentary kept in bookshops.
The publishers were then worried that not many copies would be sold. After the
creation of the Trust we gave students not only scholarships but also copies of
the Veda-bhasya. Our worry now was whether there would be enough copies in
stock for fresh students. It is with the grace of Parasakti, the Supreme
Goddess that we have succeeded in reviving the study of the Veda-bhasya. And so
long as we have her grace there will be students ready to learn the subject and
there will also be enough copies of the text. On the eve of a wedding, upanayana
or simanta ceremony, we must consult a Vedic scholar who knows the Veda-bhasya
to explain the meaning of the mantras employed in these rituals. On the day of
the function itself the time at our disposal would be short. If we grasp the
meaning and significance of the mantras beforehand we will have a more
rewarding involvement in the function. Nowadays, we do not have a month's time
in which to prepare for a wedding. The problem facing the bride's people is
which group is to play the band, who is to give the dance recital, how the
marriage procession is to be conducted. . . We attach the least importance to
that which is the very soul of the marriage sacrament, I mean the Vedic mantras
chanted at that time. Those who recite these mantras, the Vedic panditas, are
also treated as the least important to a marriage celebration. There are
perhaps a few who have faith in the mantras and for their benefit and
enlightenment at least some Brahmins must be instructed in the Vedabhasya. We
print invitation cards for wedding and upanayana ceremonies and distribute them
among a large number of friends and relatives - in fact we invite an entire
town or village to the function. And we spend thousands. But we do not pay any
attention to the ritual itself, to its significance. This is not right. If we
know the meaning of the mantras chanted at a function, we stand to gain more
benefits from it. We go through rites because we do not have the courage to
give them up. Similarly, we must come to realise that it is wrong to perform a
rite without knowing the meaning of the mantras chanted; we must therefore take
the help of a pandita in this matter. As mentioned before, going through works
with a knowledge of the significance and meaning of the mantras is more
beneficial. We must have faith in the Upanishadic saying" Yadeva vidyaya
karoti tadeva viryavattaram bhavati". At an upanayana, it is the
brahmacarin (as the karta) who chants the mantras; similarly it is the groom
alone who intones them at a marriage. What do you expect of all invitees to do
at such functions? Do they come only for the luncheon or dinner, or to keep
chatting, to see the dance recital or to listens to the nagasvaram music? Is
their part only to make themselves happy in this manner? No. The Vedic mantras
deserve our highest respect. When they are being intoned we must honour them by
listening to them intently. The mantras create well- being for all. If the
invitees and others at a function listen to them and are able to follow their
meaning they will earn merit even though they do not have the role of the karta
in it. Take the case of the asvamedha (horse sacrifice). Only a king who has
subdued all other rulers, that is a maharaja or a sarvabhauma, is qualified to
perform it. So only a monarch during a particular period in history, a monarch
whose sway extends all over the world, is entitled to conduct this sacrifice.
The asvamedha brings more benefits than any other rite. Now the question
arises: In any generation only one individual is perhaps capable of earning so
much merit (by performing the horse sacrifice). Why are the Vedas so partial
that they have made it impossible for the vast majority of people (who cannot
perform the sacrifice themselves) to earn such merit? Is it true that only a
ruler, who has immense strength and enormous resources at his command, is
capable of benefiting from such a sacrifice? If people of good conduct and
character are denied the same merit as a powerful emperor can earn, does it not
amount to deceiving them? How can the Vedas be so partial to one man? In truth
no partiality can be ascribed to the Vedas. A Vedic rite is admittedly
beneficial to the man who performs it. But, at the same time, it does good to
all the world. If I light a lamp in the darkness here does it not bring light
to all the people present and not to me alone? It may be that the performer of
a Vedic work receives more special benefits than others. But the sastras shows
the way by which these others may also reap the same fruits as the karta- in
fact the Vedas themselves mention it. If ordinary people cannot conduct a horse
sacrifice they may get to know how it is performed. They may pay attention to
the hymns chanted during the sacrifice and also try to follow their meaning. In
this way they derive the full benefits of the sacrifice performed by an
imperial ruler. This fact is referred to in the section dealing with horse
sacrifices in the Vedas. In the same way, whether it is a marriage or a
funeral, the merit will be earned in full if we closely follow the rite and
listen to the mantras with due knowledge of their meaning.
My Duty
My duty is to impress upon you again and again that
it is your responsiblity to keep the Vedic tradition alive. Whether or not you
listen to me, whether or not I am capable of making you do what I want you to
do, so long as there is strength in me, I will keep telling you tirelessly:
"This is your work. This is your dharma. “It is for the sake of the Vedas
that the Acarya established this Matha. So, no matter how I keep deceiving you
in other ways, as one bearing his name I should be guilty of a serious offence
if I failed to carry out with all sincerity at least the responsibility placed
on my shoulders of protecting the Vedic dharma. That is why I keep speaking
again and again, and again, not minding the tedium, about the need to sustain
this dharma. It has not been all talk. A number of concrete schemes have been
and are being implemented in pursuance of our ideal. I have come here to beg of
you for your help. If you think I am not begging for your help, take it that I
am issuing you a command to serve the cause of the Vedas. However it be, the
work I have undertaken must be done. Vedam odiya Vediyarkkor mazhai Niti mannar
neriyinarkkor mazhai Madar karpudai mangaiyarkkor mazhai Madam munru mazhai
enappeyyume According to this well known Tamil poem, the earth will become cool
and the crops will grow in plenty only if it rains thrice a month. It rains
once for the Brahmin who chants the Vedas in the right manner; it rains once for
the king who rules justly; and again it rains once for the woman who ramains
true and constant to her husband. It is not in my hands to make sure that the
rulers rule justly, strictly adhering to dharma. Sannyasins like me have
nothing to do with the government. But I believe that, as the head of a Matha
with the duty of protecting dharma, I have a responsibility with regard to the
other two matters. How does a religious head see to it that a woman adheres to
her dharma, remains true to her husband? The trends seen today are contrary tc
stridharma (code of conduct for women). I have the title of "guru"
and so it is my duty to warn womanhood against things that are likely to
undermine their dharma. When child marriages were prevalent there was little
opportunity for women to go astray. If a girl is already married before she
attains puberty she will develop strong attachment for her husband. If she is
not married at this age she is likely to feel mentally disturbed. But our hands
are tied because of the Sarda Act. But, if I have not entirely washed my hand
of the subject, it is because of the hope that public opinion could be created
against the Sarda Act and the government compelled to respect it. After all, so
many other laws have been changed in response to public opinion or otherwise.
Unfortunately, the attitude of parents and of women in general has become
perverse. Instead of trying to conduct the marriage of their daughters in time,
parents send them to co-educational colleges and later to work along with men.
When I see all this I inwardly shed tears of blood: I am losing my confidence
in my ability to arrest this trend. If Brahmins keep chanting the Vedas, the
rulers will rule justly and women will remain steady in their wifely dharma. It
is in this hopw that all my efforts are turned to maintaining the Vedic dharma.
You must make a gift of your sons for this purpose, also of your money.
Well-to-do people must help children of the poor with cash so that they may be
encoruaged to learn the Vedas. We need money to pay the teachers, to buy books,
to administer the Vedic schools. We have drawn up a modest scheme to raise
funds. You pay one rupee a month and in return you will receive (by post),
apart from the belssings of the Veda Mata(Mother Vedas), the prasadas of Sri
Candramaulisvara after the puja performed to him at the Kanci Matha. If you
send your donation mentioning your naksatra [the asterism under which you are
born] the prasada will be sent to you every month of the day on which the
asterism falls. Nowadays, we receive "chain letters" invoking the
name of Sri Venkatacalpati (of Tirupati) and with the threat added, "if
you don't send copies of this letter to such and such number of people, you
shall turn blind or shall be crippled.” Out of fear many people make copies of
the letter to be sent to various addressees. I too sometimes wonder whether we
could do something similar to promote the Vedic dharma! I do not ask you much-
just one rupee a month. Don't you pay the government taxes, whether or not you
like to do so? Take this - the one rupee- as a levy imposed by me. It is a tax
you pay to run my government, my sarkar which is no bigger than a mustard seed.
You deny yourself a bit of your pleasure for this, your outing to beach or your
visit to the cinema. You will thus carry out a fraction of your duty and my
duty will have been fulfilled.
Greatness of the Vedas
The glory of the Vedas knows no bounds and it is manifested in the
affairs of the world in a manner that defies comparison. Of all the sacred
places on earth Kasi comes foremost. When we speak in praise of other hallowed
centres, we say that they are equal to Kasi in holiness. From this we know the
importance of that city. In the south there is a pilgrim centre which has come
to be called "Daksina Kasi (Southern Kasi). There is an Uttara Kasi
(Northern Kasi) in the Himalaya. Vrddhacalm in Tamil Nadu is also known as
"Vrddha Kasi". In Tirunelveli district (of Tamil Nadu) there is a
town called " Tenkasi" (this also means " Southern Kasi").
When we speak in praise of a sacred place it is customary to describe it as
being "equal to Kasi". But Kumbhakonam is considered greater than
Kasi (" in greatness it weighs one grain more than Kasi"). Here is a
stanza that speaks of the high place accorded to Kumbhakonam.
Anyaksetre krtam
papam punyaksetre vinasyati Punyaksetre krtam papam Varanasyam vinasyati
Varanasyam krtam papam Kumbhakone vinasyati Kumbhakone krtam papam Kumbhakone
vinasyati
"The
sin committed in any (ordinary) place is washed away in a sacred place. That
committed in any sacred place is washed away in Varanasi (that is Kasi). The
sin committed in Varanasi is wiped away in Kumbhakonam. And the sin earned in
Kumbhakonam, well it is destroyed only in Kumbhakonam. " The glory of Kasi
is that all other sacred places are likened to it. Even when a place is said to
be superior to Kasi the implication is that Kasi is uniquely great. It has
acquired a distinction by being made an object of comparison. A great man has
composed a poem on Kasi. " ksetranam uttamanam api yad upamaya ka pi loke
prasastih, " so it begins. It means: Hindu Dharma 337 "By being
likened to it even highly esteemed places become famous- that is Kasi.”
Similarly, when you speak highly of scared tirthas you liken them to the Ganga
or say that they are more holy than that river. We must conclude from the
foregoing that Kasi comes first among the sacred places and that the Ganga is
the holiest of the tirthas. It is in this way that, when any work is to be
extolled, it is said tob e “equal to the Vedas". The Ramayana is a very
famous poetic work. There are many versions of it. Take any language in India:
the story of Rama will be seen to be a theme in drama, poetry, music, etc, in
its literature. The greatness of the Ramayana is such that it is exalted to the
position of a Veda. "Vedah Pracetasadasitsaksadramayanatmana. " The
Veda itself was born as Ramayana to Valmiki, the son of Pracetas. The
Mahabharatha too is celebrated as a Veda: in fact it is called the fifth Veda ("pancamo
Vedah"). Vaisnavas glorify the Tiruvaymozhi as a Veda. It is the work of
Nammazhvar, who is also called Sathakopan and Maran. They say: "Maran
Sathakopan composed the Tamil Veda.” The famous Tamil work on ethics, the
Tirukkural, is also called the "Tamil Veda.” During the time of the author
of the Kural, Tiruvalluvar, there was the "Kadai Samgam" in Madurai.
In that city there was a seat received as a gift from Sundaresvara. Only the
worthy could sit on it. The unworthy would be pushed aside. Was such a ting possible?
We cannot believe it; but we do believe that when a coin is inserted in a
machine we get a ticket. [Here the Paramaguru tells the story of Tiruvalluvar
and his Kural and how the poets of his time came to regard Tamil as great as
Sanskrit since it had now come into possession of a work like Kural which, they
said, was equal to the Vedas. This story occurs in Chapter 5, Part Two, and
“The Vedas in their Original Form.”] Saivas [in Tamil Nadu] regard the
Tiruvacakam as the Tamil Veda. To the Christians in India the Bible is the
"Satya - Veda. " Thus we see that the Vedas have a special place of
honour. The Vedic river is ageless and it traverses the length and breadth of
our land as the very life-blood of our culture. This river should not be
allowed to dry up. There is no greater responsibility for a Hindu than that of
keeping the Vedas a live and vibrant tradition. The sound of the Vedas must
pervade everywhere, must fill all space. The truths enshrined in them must be
spread far and wide and the rituals enjoined on us by them must be made to
flourish. Sufficient it would be if the Vedic dharma remains vigorous and is
maintained atleast in our land. If a man's heart is stout he will survive even
if all other parts of his body are afflicted. In the same way, if the Vedas
flourish in this land all nations will prosper and live in peace and happiness.
This is the prayer of the Vedic dharma.
"Lookah
samastah sukhnio bhavantu.”
Shiksha
Sadanga, Nose Of Veda Purusha, Youga And Speech, Pronunciation, Scripts, A Language That Has All
Phonemes,
Languages And Scripts Indian
And Foreign, Aksaramala, Importance Of Enunciation And
Intonation, Versions With Slight
Differences, Aksaramala, Importance Of Enunciation And
Intonation, Versions With Slight Differences, Vedic Vocalisation And The
Regional, Impact Of Siksa Sastra, Names Of Months, Other Notable Aspects Of Siksa
Sadanga: Introductory Discourse The Six Limbs of
the Vedas
Among the basic texts of Hinduism, the six Angas or
limbs of the Vedas are next in importance to the Vedas themselves. The
Vedapurusa has six limbs or parts- mouth, nose, eye, ear, hand, foot. These are
called "Sadanga". The Tamil term "cadangu" denoting any
ceremony is derived from this word. The Tamil Tevaram refers to Sadanga in this
line, "Vedamo(du) aru angam ayinan. " In the past all moral and
religious edicts were inscribed on the stone walls of temples. In a sense the
temple in ancient and medieval times was the "subregistrar's office"
that "registered" all [acts of, contribution to] dharma. In the
princely state of Travancore there used to be an official called “Tirumantira
olai". In the old days all kings in Tamil Nadu had such an official. He
was like the present-day private secretary. His duty was to write down the
ruler's orders or communication and the royal message would be sent to the
people concerned. In those days the raja had to be informed about all private
charities. In fact they required the royal asent and were instituted on royal
orders. These were written down by the olai with these concluding words, “to be
inscribed on stone and copper.” The royal command was passed on to the place
which received the charity. The authorities there had all this inscribed on the
walls of the local temple. Most of the stone inscriptions to be found in
temples are of this nature. Inscriptions were also made on copper- plates. If more
than one plate was needed, the plates were pierced and held together with a
ring. The local council or assembly had to accept these inscriptions. The
copperplates were kept underground in the temple premises in a place called
"ksema". The life of a land, its destiny, was entrusted in the hands
of the lord and it was natural that the temple was considered the standing
monument to its life. It had something of the function of the registrar's
office, the epigraphy department, and so on. Let me now come to subject of the
local assembly. Every village had a Brahmin sabha or assembly. Its membership
was open to those who knew the Vedas and the Mantra-Brahmana. People guilty of
certain offences and their relatives were debarred from membership. The names
of candidates wanting to be members were written on pieces of palm-leaf and a
child would be asked to pick one from the lot. The one whose name was inscribed
on it was adopted as a member. Details of such elections to the local assembly
are mentioned in theUttaramerur Inscriptions. There were a number of divisions
of the sabha to look after different subjects like irrigation, taxation, etc.
All charities, whether in the form of land or money, had to be made through the
sabha. So too cattle offered to the temple or the lamps to be lighted there.
The members of the sabha had to give their written consent for all this. This
is how we have come to know the names of some of them. We also learn the titles
conferred on some Brahmins like "Sadanganiratan" and
"Sadangavi", the latter being an eroded form of
"Sadangavid" "Sad+anga +vid" = one who knows the six angas
or limbs of Vedic learning. From these old inscriptions we come to know that
there were many such Brahmins even in small Villages, Brahmins proficient in
the "Sadanga". That is why Vedic rites themselves came to be called
"cadangu" in Tamil Nadu. The Brahmin who gave away his daughter in
marriage to Sundaramurtisvami was called "Cadangavi Sivacariyar.” The six
Angas are Siksa (Phonetics); Vyakarana (grammar); Nirukta (lexicon, etymology);
Kalpa (manual of rituals); Chandas (prosody); Jyotisa (astronomy-astrology). A
Brahmin must be acquainted with all. That he must be well- versed in the Vedas
goes without saying. He must first learn to chant them and proficiency in the
six Angas will later help him to gain insights into their meaning. Siksa is the
nose of the vedapurusa, Vyakarana his mouth, Kalpa his hand, Nirukta his ear,
Chandas his foot and Jyotisa his eye. The reason for each sastra being
identified with a part of the body will become clear as we deal with the Angas
individually.
Nose of the Vedapurusha
Siksa comes first among the six limbs of the Vedas,
the nose of the Vedapurusa. The function of the nose here is not to be taken
only as that of perceiving smells. It has also the function of breathing; in
fact it is one of the organs of breathing. Siksa serves as the life-breath of
the Vedic mantras. Where is the life of a Vedic mantra centred? Each syllable
of a hymn is to be enunciated strictly according to its measure. Clarity of
pronunciation is what is intended. Apart from this, each syllable is raised,
lowered or pronounced evenly -- udatta, anudatta, savarita. If attention is
paid to these points, there will be tonal purity. A mantra yields the desired
fruit if each syllable is vocalised with clarity and tonal accuracy. The
phonetic and tonal exactitude of a mantra is even more important that its
meaning. In other words, even though the meaning is not understood, if the
tonal form takes shape correctly, the mantra will bring the intended benefit.
So the life-breath of the Vedas, which are a collection of mantras, is their
sound [the "sound form”]. There is a mantra to cure scorpion sting. Its
meaning is not revealed. Its potency is in its sound. Certain sounds have
certain powers associated with them. It is sometimes asked: Why should the
sraddha mantras be in Sanskrit? May they not be in English or Tamil? Those who
raise these questions do not realise that it is the sound that matters here,
not the language as such. If the teeth of a sorcerer were knocked off, his
witchcraft [magic] would have no effect. Why? Because the man would not be able
to recite this spell properly. Enunciation of the mantras is most important to
the Vedas. What do we do about it? Siksa is the science that deals with the
character of Vedic syllables it determines their true nature. The science of
the sounds of human speech is called phonetics and it is more important to the
Vedic language that to any other tongue. The reason is that even if there is a
slight change in how you vocalise a syllable the efficacy of the mantra will be
affected. [The result sometimes will be contrary to what is intended]. It is
because of the importance of Vedic phonetics that Siksa has been placed first among
the six Angas. It is dealt with in the Taittiriya Upanishad. Its
"Siksavalli" begins like this: "Let us now explain the Siksa
sastra ". The name of the sastra occurs here as well as in many other
Vedic texts with a long "i" ("Siksa"). Sankara observes in
his commentary: "Dairghyam Chandasam": it means that the usually
short "i" occurs as long [in the Vedas]. (Such examples are to be
found in Tamil poetry also. ) I told you that the Vedic language is not called
Sanskrit but Chandas. "Chandasam", from "chandas", denotes
here a Vedic usage.
Yoga and Speech
When you play the harmonium, the nagasvaram or the
flute, the sound is produced by the air discharged in various measures through
different outlets. Our throat has a similar system to produce sound. It is not
that the throat alone is involved in this process. How do we speak and sing?
Speaking or singing is an exercise that has its source below the navel in the
"muladhara" or "root-base' of the spinal column. From this point
the breath is brought up in various measures as we speak or sing. The human
instrument made by the Lord is far superior to the harmonium, the nagasvaram or
the flute. These latter can produce only mere sounds and cannot articulate the
syllables a, ka, ca, etc. Man alone possesses this faculty. Animals can produce
one or two types of sound but do not have the ability to articulate. We may
gauge the importance of articulate speech form the fact that the Lord has
bestowed this faculty only on man. Such a wonderful gift of Isvara must not be
squandered or abused in idle gossip or useless talk. We must use it to grasp
the divine powers and endeavour to create the well-being of mankind thereby.
And we must also try to raise our own Self with it. All these lofty purposes
can be served with the Vedic mantras that the sages have gathered from space
for our benefit. If you recognise this fact you will realise why there should
be a sastra called Siksa specially for the purpose of guiding us in the
enunciation of Vedic mantras. This science as developed by our forefathers
arouses the wonder of linguistic scientists even today. It teaches us how the
syllables are to be produced accurately and describes in the minutest detail
how the passage of the breath coming from the pit of the stomach is to be controlled.
Further, it tells us on which parts of the body the breath must impinge and how
it must be discharged from the mouth. In a sense, air going into our body in
different ways is a manifestation of the yogic science: it is because of the
vibrations caused in our nadis as a result of the passage of our breath that
our emotions and powers take shape. There is a saying, "What is in the
macrocosm is present in the microcosm. " As mentioned before, the
vibrations within us produce vibrations outside also and these are the cause of
worldly activities. That is why those who have mastered the mantras have the
same powers as those who have achieved yogic perfection controlling their
breath. The one is mantrayoga, the other is Rajayoga. Siksa explains how each syllable
of a mantra is to be produced by the human voice, what its tone should be like.
It lays down the duration or matra for each syllable. In determining the matra
the short and long syllables (the "hrsva" and "dirgha") are
taken into account. Siksa also describes how words that are joined together
(according to the rules of "sandhi" ) are to be enunciated without
breaking them. All such matters as help in the correct chanting of the mantras
are included in this sastra. Siksa explains in very fine detail how the sounds
of the various syllables are to produced. A sound like "ka" is to be
created from between the neck and the throat; another like "na" is
nasal. To produce the sound of 'ta" the tongue should come into contact
with particular teeth -this is mentioned in this sastra; so too how the tongue
should touch the upper palate for a sound like "na". Phonemes like
"ma" arise from completely closing the lips together and those like
"va" (labia-dental) are produced using both the lips and the teeth.
It is all scientific and at the same time part of mantrayoga and sabdayoga.
Root Language Sanskrit
In speaking about the Vedas I stated that the sound
of a word was more important that its meaning. That reminds me. In the Vedic
language called "Chandas" and in Sanskrit which is based on it, there
are words the very sound of which denotes their meaning. Take the word
"danta". You know that it means a tooth. We have to use our teeth to
produce the sound of the word "danta" - the tongue has to make an
impact on the teeth. You will note this phenomenon when you ask a toothless
person to say "danta". He will not he able to vocalise the word
clearly. From such small observations comparative philology can discover an
important fact: which word has come first in what language. Sanskrit, Greek,
Latin, German, French, etc, have been jointly referred to as belonging to the
Indo-European group and derived from one mother language. Western philologists
do not accept Sanskrit as the original language, the mother of all Indo-European
tongues. But words like "danta" point to the fact that Sanskrit is
the root language. Consider the English word "dental". There is so
much similarity between "dant" and "dent". In languages
like French and Latin also the word for tooth is akin to "dent",
though it is "da-kara" and not the "da-kara" of Sanskrit.
"Why shouldn’t you derive the Sanskrit word 'danta' from 'dental'? "
it might be asked. But you must consider the fact that to say "danta"
you have to make use of your teeth. Not so to say "dental". You get
the sound "dental" as a result of the tip of your tongue touching
your upper palate. It is only in Sanskrit that the sound of the word itself
signifies its meaning. So that must be the root form of the word. Hence languages
like English, French, Latin, etc, must have been derived from Sanskrit. By
interchanging the letters of some words you get other words which are related
in meaning to the original. What is the nature of the animal called lion, the
quality you associate with it most? It is violence. "Himsa" is
violence and the word turns into "simha" to denote the lion. Kasyapa
was the first among the sages. Celestials, noncelestials, human beings, all may
be traced back to him. He knew the truth or, rather, saw the Truth. Jnana is
also called "drsya". Kasyapa is thus a seer, "Pasyaka":
"Pasyaka became Kasyapa". In Tamil one who sees, the seer, is
"parppan". It is in this sense, as men who know the Truth or Reality
that Brahmins in the Tamil land came to be called "Parppans". But now
the word is used in a pejorative sense.
Pronunciation
Siksa deals with "uccarna", "svara",
"matra", "bala", "sama" and "santana".
The sound of each mantra is determined with the utmost accuracy. How different
sounds have their source in different parts of the body and how they are
vocalised, all such details which are of scientific and practical importance
are dealt with in this Anga. If it says, "Join your lips in this way and
such and such a sound will be produced as you speak", you may verify it
for yourself in practice and find it to be true. Here I am reminded of an
interesting fact. The lips come into use in "pa", "ma",
"va". They are not used in "ka", "nga",
"ca", "na", "ta", "na", "ta",
and "na". A poet has composed a Ramayana which can be read without
using your lips. It is called "Nirosthya- Ramayana".
"Ostha" means "lip". "Austraka", the word for
camel, is derived from it and the Tamil word "ottagai" has the same
origin. "Nir-osthya" means without lips. Nirosthya- Ramayana was
perhaps composed by its author to demonstrate his linguistic ingenuity. But
another reason occurs to me. The poet must have been very much concerned about
ritual purity and felt that the story of Sri Ramancandra must be read without
bringing the lips together. There is a beautiful verse in Paniniya Siksa (its
author, as the name itself suggests, is Panini) which tells us how careful we
must be in pronouncing Vedic syllables.
Vyaghri yatha
haret putran Damstrabhyam na ca pidayet Bhitapatanadhedabhyam Tadvad varnan
prayojayet
"The
Vedic syllables must be pronounced with clarity. The character of their sound
should not be distorted a bit. But no force must be used in vocalising the
syllables. There should be no damage done - no erosion of the sound - and no
violence should be suggested in the pronunciation. How does a tigress carry its
cubs? Tigresses and cats carry their young ones by holding them firmly with
their teeth, yet in doing so they do not cause any hurt to the little ones. The
Vedic hymns must be chanted in the same way, the syllables enunciated gently
and yet distinctly. Panini, the author of the above stanza, has written the
most important work on grammar, a subject which comes next (after Siksa) among
the Vedangas. Apart from him many others written on Siksa. There are thirty
works in this category. Panini's and Yajnavalkya's are particularly important.
Each Veda has attached to it a "Pratisakhya" which examines Vedic
sounds. There are also ancient commentaries on them and these too are included
in Siksa.
Scripts
The evolution of the script of any language must be
based on symbols or signs denoting various "units" of its speech
(phonemes). Most of the European languages including English are written in the
Roman script. There is a script called Brahmi and the Asokan edicts are in it.
In fact it is from Brahmi that the scripts of most Indian languages have
evolved and these include not only the Devanagari script in which Sanskrit is
written but also the Tamil and Grantha scripts. The Brahmi lipi or script has
two branches. Of the two, the Pallava Grantha script was prevalent in the South
and it is from it that scripts of most of the Dravidian languages evolved. The
Telugu script has a unique feature. While in all other scripts the letters are
written in a clockwise fashion, in Telugu there are letters written in an
anticlockwise fashion, that is the loops are shaped leftward. Parasakti, the
Supreme Goddess, is to the left of Isvara and there is leftist worship
associated with her (“vama-marga"). For this reason it is believed that
some of the letters of the Sricakra should be written in Telugu. The Andhra
language itself is said to have a Saiva character. In most parts of India, the
child is first taught to write the "Astaksari", [prayer to Vishu] but
in Andhra Pradesh it is the "Siva Pancaksara". There are places
sacred to Siva in three corners of this state: Kalahasti in the south,
Srisailam in the west and Kotalingaksetram in the north. It is because this
land is within the area marked by these lingas that it is called "Telungu-desa"
(from "Trilinga"). Appayya Diksita has composed a stanza in which he
expresses his regret that he was not born in Andhra. Andhratvam
Andhrabhasacapyandhradesa svajanmabhuh Tatrapi Yajusi Sakha na 'lpasya tapasah
phalam Appayya Diksita was a Samadevin by birth. "Of the Vedas I am the
Samaveda, "so says Bhagavan in the Gita. But Diksita, a great devotee of
Siva, regrets that he was not born in Andhra, and that too as a Yajurvedin, and
states that the reason for this was his failure to perform austerities in
sufficient measure. The Yajurveda, it will be remembered, contains the
Siva-Pancaksara mantra. Let me revert to the question of script. As I said
before, almost all the scripts in India today have evolved from Brahmi. But it
is hard to make out elements of the original Brahmi in them. So anything that
we find difficult to understand or make out is referred to as
"Brahmi-lipi". Later this came into usage as "Brahma-lipi",
the Creator's "writing" on our forehead [our destiny]. Now anything
we find difficult to understand or cannot make out is called
"Brahma-lipi". Another old script is "Kharosthi".
"Kharaostham" means the lips of a donkey - these resemble bellows.
The loops protrude in the script. Persian is written in Kharosthi. Brahmi was
our common script just as Roman is today for most European languages. Now
Devanagari [with variations] is the common script for most Northern languages.
We do not realise that each letter or syllable represents a particular sound or
phoneme. There are two different letters in Tamil to represent "na".
Why should there be two to represent the same sound, we wonder, thinking it to
be unique to that language. But there is a subtle difference between the two
"na"s. In Telugu there is only one "na". So is the case
with other languages. There are two types of "r" common to Tamil and
Telugu. But the two types differ in the two languages. In Tamil, two 'r's
together of one of these two types form a consonant with a special sound value
(kurram, marrum, sorannai). In Telugu it is different. The Tamil word for horse
is "kudirai"; in Telugu it is "kurram" - the two r's are
pronounced fully. In Tamil there is no such phoneme. There are some other
unique phonemes in Telugu. In some words "ja" is pronounced as
"za". Andhras pronounce "sala" as "tsala". The
Devanagari and Grantha alphabets have 50 letters. In Telugu there are 52
(including the additional letters in the "ja" and "ca"
groups. The Telugu-speaking people sometimes interchange "tha" and
"dha". I am told you find this in some of the compositions of
Tyagaraja himself. When we transliterate passages from one language into
another we must keep these peculiarities in mind. In English also for the same
labial there are two letters, "v" and "w". A professor told
me that there is a difference between the two. The English "v" should
be pronounced with the lower lip folded and the upper row of teeth coming into
contact with it. When "w" is pronounced the lips do not come into
contact with the teeth but are turned round. Words like "Sarasvati"
and "Isvara" must be written with a "v" (not as
"Saraswati" and "Iswara"). Sanskrit, more than any other
language, exemplifies the principle of phonetic spelling. In English the
spelling is erratic and confusing. I remember reading a newspaper heading
recently: "Legislature wound up. " Absentmindedly I read the word
"wound" in the sense of a hurt or injury. Of course it was actually
used as the past participle of "wind". Now the word "wind"
can also mean a breeze but then it is pronounced differently. So it is all
confusing. Is the word "put" pronounced in the same way as
"cut" or "but"? In "walk" and "chalk",
the "l" is silent. Seemingly, such is not the case with Tamil which
contains many words from other languages like Sanskrit. In other Indian languages
for each series of consonants there are four different letters in place of the
one in Tamil. For instance, the same "ka" is used for "kan"
(Tamil for eye) and the Sanskrit "mukha" (in Tamil it is written as
"mukham") while "Ganga" is written as "kanga" and
"ghatam" (pot in Sanskrit) is written as "katam". In Tamil
the word for mace (the weapon wielded by Bhima) and for story are written alike
as "katai", instead of as "gadai" and "kathai".
In Tamil, unlike in other Indian languages, "ka" serves the purpose
of "kha", "ga", and "gha". "ta" serves
for "da" also. Words that have almost opposite meanings are spelt
identically: "Dosam" and "tosam" meaning blemish and
happiness respectively are written identically. Letters from the Grantha script
are added in Tamil for proper pronunciation _ "sa", "ha",
"ja", "ksa", etc. In the past these letters were not used
in Tamil poetry following the tradition of poetic usage. But now some authors
do not use these Grantha characters even in prose. Since they find it difficult
to get rid of Sanskrit words from the Tamil vocabulary, the next best thing
they can do perhaps is to rid the language of the letters representing the
phonemes of Sanskrit which have no equivalents in the Tamil alphabet. This
causes confusion. If an author writes "catakam" in the strict Tamil
manner it can read also as "sad(h)akam" or "jatakam". From
the very beginning Tamil has not had all the consonants. But why should
characters added to meet this deficiency be dropped? Does it mean
"victory" for Tamil and "defeat" for Sanskrit? Why should
there be a fight over languages? There is no need to nurse any bitterness
against languages that we think are not our own. The Tamil script is adequate
to write words that are strictly Tamil. The difficulty is when it comes to its
adopting words from other languages with sounds representing "kha",
"ga", "gha", etc. In Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and so on,
there are letters for the entire "kavarga", "ca-varga", "ta-varga",
"ta-varga", and "pa-varga". In English, as we have already
seen, we cannot pronounce the words according to their spelling. It is not so
in Tamil. But in that language too the script is not entirely selfsufficient.
You may not agree. But I will tell you what I learned from my own experience. A
Northerner learned the Tamil alphabet sufficiently well, that is he learned to
read the individual letters of the alphabet. But he had no one to help him in
pronouncing the words properly. He wanted to learn Tamil because he was keen to
read the Tevaram and the Tiruvacakam in the original. After learning the
alphabet he tried to read the Tevaram from a book. Though he had no knowledge
of the language he thought he could earn merit by reading the hymns of the
great saints even without understanding their meaning. Then, one day, he came
to me and announced: "I am going to recite the "Tevaram".” I
felt happy and asked him to go ahead. His recitation caused me amusement. The
passage he had was a famous one - what Appar had sung at Tiruvaiyaru of his
experience of seeing everything in the form of Umamahesvara [that is the entire
cosmos revealed as Siva ] and the song was "Madar piraikkanniyanai. . .
“He got the very first word wrong. Instead of "madar" he said
"matar". It sounded so strange to me. Then he said "malaiyan
makalotu" for "malaiyan mahalodu" laying stress on the
"k" and the "t". For "padi" he said
"pati". I was on the verge of laughter. His recitation went on in
this fashion. He said "pukuvar" instead of "puhuvar". I
heard him silently because I thought a Northerner learning a Tamil song
deserved to be encouraged. But soon I found that I could no longer suffer his
erratic reading. So I told him in a friendly manner that his pronunciation was
faulty. To this he said: "What can I do? It is all in the book. “What he
said was right and it showed that in Tamil too the words are not always written
according to how they are pronounced. Letters that come in the middle of a word
are not pronounced as they are written. We write "makalotu" but say
"mahalodu"; we write "atarkaka" but say
"adarkaha". "Ka" becomes "ha" in the middle and
end of the word. "Ta" in the beginning of a word remains
"ta" but in the middle becomes "da". For instance, "tantai"
(father) is pronounced as "tandai" and "Katavul" (God) and
"itam" (place) pronounced as "Kadavul" and
"idam". Such matters are dealt with in detail in Tamil grammar books.
Like Sanskrit, Tamil too has excellent works on grammar -for example, the
Tolkappiyam and Nannul. They deal with the morphology of words and their
vocalisation. For instance there are such rules: After such and such a syllable
"sa" becomes "ca", "ka" becomes "ha".
Generally speaking, if "ka" is the initial letter of a word in Tamil
it retains its sound of "ka". In the same way if the initial letter
of a word is "ta" it retains its true sound, but in the middle or end
of a word it sounds "da". "Pa" is "pa" if it is
the initial letter of a word but sounds "ba" in the middle of a word.
(In Tamil we do not see "pa" occurring as an independent letter in
the middle or end of a word. "Anpu"(love), "ampu"(arrow),
"inpam"(pleasure) -"pa" in these words is joined with other
letters. Words like "japa" (muttering the names of the Lord or any
mantra); "sapam" (curse), "kapam" ("kapham",
phlegm), "supam" ("subham", auspicious) have letters
belonging to the "pa-varga" independently in the middle of the words
but they are from the Sanskrit. There is something interesting about
"ca". While in Tamil "ka", "ta", "pa".
etc, retain their true sound when they are the initial letters of words,
"ca" as the initial letter is voiced as "sa".
"Catti" (cooking vessel) and "civappu" (red) are pronounced
as "satti" and "sivappu". But when the letters come
together as "cca", they are not pronounced as "ssa"- for
example, "accam" (fear), "paccai"(green). "Col"
(to speak) is pronounced as "sol", but "peryarccol" and
"vinaiccol" are not pronounced as "peyerssol" and
"vinaissol". But in Malayalam which is derived from Tamil "ca"
in the beginning of a word is pronounced as "ca": "civappu"
is "civappu". But at other times when the "cca" comes in
the middle of a word the word in pronounced as "ssa", not
"cca", e. g, place names like "Kavisseri",
"Nellisseri", while Tamils pronounce the same as "Kavicceri"
and "Nellicceri". In words like "accan" (father) and
"Ezhuttaccan", however, there is no change. The genius of the Tamil
language is to be known from its works on grammar- how a word is changed and
where. However, the pronunciation is not in strict consonance with the
spelling. It is only in Sanskrit that the pronunciation is fully phonetic but
for two exceptions. One is when there is a visarga before "pa".
Visarga more or less has the same sound as "ha" - not a full
"ha", though. In Tamil Nadu it is pronounced fully as "ha"
and Northerners who slur over it are made fun of. But their pronunciation is
correct according to the rules of Siksa. With the visarga occurring before it,
"pa" becomes "fa". The second exception:
"Subrahmanya", "Brahma", "vahni"(fire) are
pronounced as "Subramhanya", "Bramha" and "vanhi".
But all words with "ha" coming as a conjunct consonant are not like
this as, for example, "jahvara"(deep, inaccessible),
"jihva"(tongue), "guhya"(secret), and "Prahlada"
[son of the demon Hiranyakasipu and a great devotee of Visnu].
Languages and Scripts Indian
and Foreign
A special feature of our language is that each
syllable of every word is pronounced distinctly. Take the English word
"world". The sound of the first syllable has no clear form; it is
neither "we" nor "wo". Then the letter "r" is
slurred over. There are many such indistinct words in foreign tongues. They
come under the category of "avyakta-sabda" (indistinct sounds). In
our country all languages are "spasta"(clear and distinct). In the
languages of many other countries there is no accord between spelling and
pronunciation. For the sound of "ka" there are three letters in
English "k", "c" and "q". Such is not the case
with our languages. The "f" sound in English is represented in three
different ways as illustrated in the words "fairy",
"philosophy", "rough". When you say "c" as a
letter of the English alphabet, it sounds like a "sa-kara" letter,
but many words with the initial letter "c" have the
"ka-kara" sound. The "sa-kara" sound occurs only in a few
words like "cell", "celluloid", "cinema". The
spelling is totally unrelated to the pronunciation as in "station"
and "nation". The Roman alphabet has only 26 letters and is easy to
learn. The alphabets of our languages have more letters and are comparatively
difficult to learn. But, once you have learned them, our languages are easier
to read and write than their European counterparts. Take English, for instance.
Even a person who has passed his M. A. has often to consult the dictionary for
spelling and pronunciation. But among Indian languages themselves Sanskrit is
the best in the matter of spelling and pronunciation. By saying this I do not
mean that the languages of other countries are inferior to ours. At the same
time, so far as our own country is concerned, I do not wish to downgrade other
tongues in comparison with Sanskrit. I merely mentioned some facts to underline
the point that Sanskrit fully represents the Supreme Being manifested as the
Sabda-brahman. If we develop the attitude that all languages are our common
heritage, we will not run down other people's tongues. We often forget the fact
that the purpose of language, any language, is communication, exchange of
ideas. It is our failure to recognise this basic fact that is the cause of
fanatical attachment to our mother tongue and hatred of other languages. We are
often asked to be broad-minded and to develop an international outlook, but in
the matter of language we remain narrowminded. I feel sad when I think of it.
Aksamala
"Rudraksa" means the eye of Rudra or
Siva. "Rudraksa-mala" is a "garland" (rosary) made up of
such "eyes". "Aksa" means eye. In Tamil the rudraksa is
called "tirukkanmani"[the sacred pupil of the eye] What is the
meaning of "aksamala" or "sphatika-aksamala"? Here the word
"aksa" is not taken to mean the eye but the letters of the alphabet
from "a" to "ksa". In the Sanskrit alphabet "a"
comes first and "ksa" comes last. To learn the "A" to
"Z" of a subject means to have a thorough grasp of it. To convey the
same idea in Sanskrit we say "a-karadi ksakarantam". There are 50
letters from "a" to "ksa". So an aksamala consists of 50
beads. There is of course a 51st bead which is bigger than the rest and it is
called "Meru". The sun, the legend goes, does not go beyond the Meru
mountain during his daily journey. When we make one round thus, muttering the
name of the Lord or a mantra, first clockwise up to the Meru and then
anticlockwise up to the Meru again, we will have told the beads a hundred
times.
Importance of Enunciation and
Intonation
You must not go wrong either in the enunciation or intonation of a
mantra. If you do, not only will you not gain the expected benefits from it,
the result might well be contrary to what is intended. So the mantras must be
chanted with the utmost care. There is a story told in the Taittiriya Samhita
(2.4.12) to underline this. Tvasta wanted to take revenge on Indra for some
reason and conducted a sacrifice to beget a son who would slay Indra. When he
chanted his mantra, "Indrasatrur varddhasva ", he went wrong in the
intonation. He should have voiced "Indra" without raising or lowering
the syllables in it and he should have raised the syllables "tru" and
"rddha"(that is the two syllables are "udata"). Had he done
so the mantra would have meant, "May Tvasta's son grow to be the slayer of
Indra". He raised the "dra" in Indra, intoned "satru"
as a falling svara and lowered the "rddha" in "varddhasva".
So the mantra meant now: "May Indra grow to be the killer of this son (of mine)".
The words of the mantra were not changed but, because of the erratic
intonation, the result produced was the opposite of what was desired. The
father himself thus became the cause of his son's death at the hands of Indra.
The gist of this story is contained in this verse which cautions us against erroneous
intonation.
Mantrohinah
svarato varnato va Mithya prayukto na tamarthamaha Sa vagvajro yajamanam
hinasti Yathendrasatruh svarato' paradhat
What
was the weapon with which Tvasta’s son was killed? Not Indra's thunderbolt but
the father's wrongly chanted mantra.
Versions with Slight Differences
I have spoken about the importance of maintaining
the purity of Vedic syllables. All over India, from the Himalaya to Ramesvaram
and all through the ages, the Vedas have been taught entirely in the oral
tradition, without the aid of any printed books and without one part of the
country being in touch with another. And yet 99 percent of the texts followed
everywhere is the same to the letter. So it means that there is a difference of
one per cent, is there not? Yes, there is, among the recensions in the
different regions. Is it proper to have such slight differences? After claming
that the consequences would be unfortunate even if one syllable of a mantra
goes wrong, how are we to accept that the same mantra in the different
recensions or in the different regions differ by one percent? If the original
Vedas in their true form are one, will not the departure by even one percent
mean undesirable consequences? There is an answer to this question. You will
come to harm if the medicine you take is different from what you physician has
ordered. Similarly, if you chant a mantra with its syllables changed, you will
suffer an adverse consequence. The rule that the medicine prescribed must not
be changed applies to the patient, not to the doctor. The patient cannot, on
his own, change the medicine that his doctor has prescribed. But the doctor
can, cannot he? There is more than one medicine available to treat a particular
ailment. So there is nothing wrong if the doctor substitutes one medicine for
another. While treating two patients suffering from the same illness the doctor
may, while prescribing essentially the same medicine for both, make small
changes in the ingredients according to their different natures. It is in the same
manner that the sages have introduced slight changes in the different Vedic
recensions, but these are not such as to produce any adverse effort: indeed,
even with the changes, the mantra yields the expected benefits. As a matter of
fact, the sages have introduced the changes for the benefit of people who are
entitled to learn the particular recensions. The rules with regard to these are
clearly stated in the Pratisakhyas. The syllables of the mantras in the
different recensions do not vary to any considerable degree. Nor are they
unrelated to one another. On the whole they sound similar. Even when the
letters vary there is a kinship to be seen between them.
Vedic Vocalisation and the Regional
Languages If we relate certain characteristics of
the different languages of India to how Vedic chanting differs syllabically
from region to region, we will discover the important fact that the genius of
each of these tongues and the differences between them are based on how the
Vedas are chanted in these regions. I make here certain observations based on
my own philological researches. The letters da, ra, la and zha are phonetically
close to one another. Ask a child to say "rail" or "Rama",
in all likelihood it will say "dail", "Dama". The reason is
"da" is phonetically close to "ra". Quite a few people say
"Sivalatri" for "Sivaratri". And some say
"tulippora" for "tulippola" (Tamil for "just a
little"). Here "la" and "ra" sound similar. I spoke
about how "ra" and "da" change. So "la" can
change to "da". "La" is very close to "la".
Usually what we pronounce as "lalita", "nalina", and
"sitala" will be found in Sanskrit books as "lalita",
"nalina" and "sitala". There is no need to say how "la"
and "zha" are close friends. Madurai is indeed the city of Tamil but
here people say "valapalam" (plantain) for "vazhapazham".
That is they use "la" for "zha", a letter we believe to be
unique to the Tamil (or Tamizh) language. Here I should like to mention an idea
likely to sound new to you. What is considered unique to Tamil, "zha"
[retroflex affirmative], is present in the Vedas also. Jaimini is one of the
Samaveda sakhas: it is also called the Talavakara Sakha. The "da" or
"la" of other Vedas or sakhas sounds like "zha' in the
Talavakara Sakha. Those who have properly learned this recension say
"zha" for "da" or "la". Perhaps it is not a
full"zha" sound but something approximating to it, or something in
which the "zha" sound is latent. The "zha-kara" occurs even
in the Rgveda in some places. Usually "da" and "la" are
interchanged and where there is "da-kara" in the Yajurveda it is
"la-kara" in the Rgveda. The very first mantra in the Vedas is
Agnimide". "Agnimide" is according to the Yajurveda which has
the largest following. In the Rgveda the same word occurs as
"Agnimile". The "le" here is to be pronounced almost as
"zhe". In the famous Sri Rudra hymn of the Yajurveda occurs the word
"Midustamaya". The same word is found in the Rgveda also and the
"du" ini the "midu" sound like "zhu" instead of
sounding like "lu" - that is the "zha-kara" is latent in
how the syllable is vocalised. Generally speaking, the "la" in the
Rgveda is "da" in the Yajurveda and "zha" in the Talavakara
Samaveda. Now let us take up the regions where each of the Vedas has a large
following and consider the social features of the language spoken in each such
region. The view is propagated that the Vedas belong to the Aryans, that the
Dravidians have nothing to do with them. Let us take three of the four
Dravidian states for consideration, that is the regions where Tamil, Telegu and
Kannada are spoken. The "zha-kara" is special to Tamil,
"da" to Telugu and "la" to Kannada. Where "zha"
occurs in Tamil, it is "da" in Telugu and "la" in Kannada.
Take the Sanskrit word "pravala" (coral). It is "pavazham"
in Tamil, "pakadalu" in Telegu and "havala" in Kannada.
"Pavazham" is derived from "pravala", so too
"pakadalu" in Telegu, in which language the original Sanskrit word
has changed more than in Tamil: the "va" of "pravala" has
become "ka" but it is according to the genius of that language. How
has the word changed in Kannada? In Tamil and Telegu the change from the
Sanskrit "pra" to "pa" is but small. But in Kannada the
"pra" becomes "ha" and that of course is according to the
genius of that language. The "pa" in the other languages becomes
"ha" in Kannada. Thus "Pampa" becomes "Hampa" and
then "Hampi" (you must have heard of the ruins of Hampi). The Tamil
"pal" for milk is "halu" in Kannada and the Tamil "puhazh"
(fame) is "hogalu" in Kannada. In the same manner "pravala"
becomes "havala" in Kannada. It was not my purpose to speak about the
"pa-ha" relationship. All I wanted to point out was how the
"la" of Sanskrit is the "zha" of Tamil and the
"da" of Telugu. In Kannada, however, there is no change. The
"la" remains "la". You see this difference not only with
respect to words of Sanskrit origin but also with respect to those belonging to
the Dravidian group. The word "puhazh"(or pugazh) cited earlier is an
example in this connection- it is not a Sanskrit word. (From our present state
of investigations we know this: our people belong to one family. They are not
racially divided into Aryans and Dravidians but are divided into those speaking
languages related to Sanskrit on the one hand and those speaking Dravidian tongues
on the other. Further research is likely to reveal that even this linguistic
difference is not real and that both Sanskrit and Dravidian languages are from
the same parent stock. Some linguists are known to be examining the possible
bounds that unite Sanskrit and Tamil. If we go back to very early times, we may
discover that the two languages are of the same stock. But during the thousands
of years subsequent to that period, the Dravidian languages must have evolved
separately. It is in this sense that I speak of the "Dravidian"
languages as being distinct from Sanskrit. ) I wondered whether there was any
special reason why the "zha" of Tamil should be the "da" of
Telugu and the "la" of Kannada. I came to the conclusion that the
differences were related to how the Vedas are chanted in the regions where
these languages are spoken. The predominant Veda in the western region [of
Peninsular India], including Maharastra and Karnataka, is the Rgveda. In the
region from Nasik to Kanyakumari, the Rgveda has the widest following. Kannada
is one of the languages spoken here and "la" has a unique place in
it. And this "la", special to Kannada, which is considered a
Dravidian regional language, is Vedic in origin. If we go to that part of the
eastern seashore and the hinterland that form Andhra Pradesh, we find that 98
out of 100 people (Brahmins) here are Yajurvedins. The remaining two percent
are Rgvedins. There are practically no Samavedins in Andhra Pradesh. Since
Yajurvedins are the predominant group the Rgvedic "la" is
"da" here, so also the "la" of other languages. In Tamil
Nadu also Yajurvedins are in a majority though not to the same extent as in
Andhra Pradesh. Here 80 percent are Yajurvedins, 15 percent Samavedins and 5
percent Rgvedins. In ancient times, however, the Samavedins formed quite a
large group- there is evidence for such a belief. It is likely that there were
Brahmins belonging to all the 1,000 recensions of the Samaveda in the Tamil
land. Isvara is extolled in the Tevaram as "Ayiram-sakhai-udaiyan" (one
with a thousand Vedic recensions). Among the Samavedins those belonging to the
Kauthuma Sakha form the majority. But in the old days the followers of the
Jaiminiya or Talavakara Sakha were quite large in number. Cozhiyar are people
of the Cola land. Even today they are all Samavedins and they follow the
Talavakara Sakhathe Cozhiyar residing in Tirunelveli (which is identified as a
Pandya territory) still belong to this recension. Originally the Samaveda had a
great following not only in the land of the Colas but also in the land of the
Pandyas. "Cozhiyar" may be understood as Brahmins belonging to the
Tamil land from very ancient times. They are indeed the Brahmin
"Adivasis" of that region. I will tell you how. Among Tamil Smarta Brahmins
there is a sect called "Vadamas"(Vadamar). They must have come to the
Tamil land from the North, especially from the Narmada valley. Their very name
suggests that they are from the North. Cozhiyar must have been inhabitants of
Tamil Nadu from the earliest times. From what I have said about
"Vadamar" I should not be taken to mean that I believe that all
Brahmins in the South came from the North as is suggested by some people today.
As a matter of fact, in the very word "Vadamar" there is proof that all
Brahmins did not come from the North. If all Brahmins in Tamil Nadu or in the
rest of the South had their original home in the North, why should one sect
have been singled out for the name of "Vadamar"? The rest of the
Brahmins must have belonged to the Tamil land form the very beginning Cozhiyar
are among these first Brahmins. There is one proof to show that
"Vadamar" originally belonged to the Narmada valley. Only they, among
the Brahmins [in the South], recite the following verse in the sandhyavandana;
it is a prayer for protection from snakes. Narmadayai namah pratah Narmadayai
namo nisi Namostu Narmade tubhyam pahi mam visa-sarpatah Among the Cozhiyar
there was a great man called Somasimara Nayanar who was one of the 63
Nayanmars. Somasi is not an eatable, but means a "somayajin", one who
has performed the soma sacrifice. Sri Ramanujacarya's father had also performed
the same sacrifice and he was called "Kesava Somayajin". The Samaveda
has an important place in the soma sacrifice. If there were a large number of
Cozhiyar Brahmins in the very early times in Tamil Nadu, it means that the
Talavakra Sakha of the Samaveda must have had a large following then. I have
spoken about the Cola and Pandya kingdoms but not of the Pallava and Chera
lands. In the dim past there was no Pallava kingdom. The "Muvendar"
are the Cheras, colas and Pandyas. The region where the Pallava kingdom arose
later was then part of the cola territory. So the early Brahmins who had come
form the North, the Vadamar, settled in the northern part of Tamil Nadu that is
the Pallava territory. Subsequently they came to be called "Auttara
Vadamar". There are Samavedins among the "Vadamar" also, but
they do not belong to the Talavakara Sakha but to the Kauthama Sakha. The
"Vadamar" came to the Tamil land long after the Tamil language had
developed into its classical stage. So their Vedic chanting is not germane to
out subject. The same could be said about the Pallavas after the Sangam
literature came to flourish. Let us now turn to the Chera land. Malayalam is
spoken in Kerala. If I did not touch upon this language when I dealt with
Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, it was because of the fact that it appeared much
later than the other three. Until about a thousand years ago, Kerala was part
of the Tamil land and its language too was Tamil. Malayalam evolved from Tamil.
If the Tamil "zha" is "da" in Telegu and "la" in
Kannada, it remains "zha" in Malayalam. Tamils say "puzhai"
for a river. Malayalis say "puzha". If the former say
"Alappuzhai" and "Amblappuzhai"[both names of places in
Kerala], the latter say "Alappuzha" and "Amblappuzha".
Leaving aside the question of the Malayalam language, let us turn to the
subject of the Vedic tradition of Kerala. The Malayala Brahmins called
Namputris have a long tradition of learning the Vedas in the sastric manner.
There are among them Trivedins(those well-versed in the Rgveda, Yajurveda and
Samaveda, and among the last-mentioned a number of people following the
Talavakara Sakha). The Pancanmana family is one such and it has behind it a fine
Vedic tradition. They belong to the Talavakara Sakha. Today those who follow
the Kauthama Sakha are in a majority among the Samavedins in Tamil Nadu but in
Kerala the Samavedins belong to the Talavakara Sakha. From generation to
generation, the Namputiris have been chanting the Talavakra Sakha. They
pronounce the "da" or "la" of other sakhas as
"zha"- which means they follow the same practice as in Tamil Nadu.
Both the palm-leaf and printed versions of the Talavakara Sakha, in Tamil Nadu
as well as in Kerala, have "zha" in the relevant places. Thus we see
that from early times the Talavakara Sakha of the Samaveda has had a following
in the Tamil land larger than in any other part of the country. And with this
recension has come the "zha" which is a phoneme not found elsewhere.
Naccinarkkiniyar is among the commentators of the Tamil Samgam works. In his
commentary on the Tolkappiyam (famous Tamil grammatical treatise), he mentions
"four Vedas": "Taittiriyam, Paudikam, Talavakaram and Samam".
He mistakes recensions for fullfledged Vedas. However, we note from his list
that the Talavakara Sakha had the place of a full-fledged Veda in Tamil Nadu.
"Taittiriyam" is a recension of the Krsna_Yajurveda. The Kausitaki
Brahmana of the Sankhayana Sakha of the Rgveda is called "Pausa".
What Naccinarkkiniyar calls "Paudiyam" is referred to by the Azhvars
as "Pauzhiyam"- here again you see the relationship between
"zha:" and "da". All told the phonemes unique to the languages
spoken in the different regions have evolved on the basis of the differences in
pronunciation in the various Vedic recensions. So far I have confined myself to
the languages of the Dravidian region. Now I will speak on the same theme with
reference to the other parts of India and to other countries of the world. It
is customary in the North to use "ja" for "ya" and
"ba" for "va"- both in literary and colloquial usage. The
use of "ba" for "va" is noticeable particularly in Bengal
and "ja" for "ya" in Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab, etc. In
Bengal they follow the dictum, "vabayorabhedam" -there is no
difference between "va" and 'ba". In Tamil too"Bhisma"
is sometimes referred to as "Vittumar" and "Bhima" as
"Vima". In Bengali, all "va's" are vocalised as
"ba's". Indeed "Bengal" itself is from "Vanga".
Bengalis say "Bangabasi" for "Vangavasi"(a resident of
Bengali). Once they realised that changing all"va's" universally into
"ba's" was not right and called a parisad [a meeting of scholars] to
consider the question- it was called the "Vanga Parisad". According
to one of its decisions all "bakara" in Bengali books to be printed
thenceforth was to be changed to "va-kara". They strictly carried out
the decision. But in doing so they also changed what should naturally be
"ba" into "va"- for instance, "bandhu" into
"vandhu", "Bangabandhu" into "Vangavandhu". As
observed earlier, in other regions of the North too "ba" is used for
"va". For example, the name "Bihar" itself is from
"Vihar". (Once there were many Buddhist viharas, temples or
monasteries, in this region) The name "Rasbihari" is from
"Rasavihari". How would you explain this practice? Such usage is laid
down in the Pratisakhya of the Vedic recension followed in these parts. People
there applied the rule of the Pratisakhya to their ordinary writing and speech
also. It also follows that the rules laid down by the Vedic sastras have been
faithfully followed in this region. Yajurvedins, it will be remembered, from
the majority in the country taken as a whole. The Krsna-Yajurveda is followed
in the South and the Sukla-Yajurveda in the North. There is a sakha of the
latter called "Madhyandina" and it has a large following in the
North. In its Pratisakhya it is said that "ja" may be used in place
of 'ya", and "ka' in place of 'sa". we say in the South
"yat Purusena havisa"(from Purusasukta); the Northern version of the
same is "jat Purusena havika". We are amused by such chanting and we
even feel angry that the Vedas are being distorted. At the same time we feel
proud that we in the south maintain the purity of the Vedic sound. However, the
"ja" and 'ka" in the Northern intonation have the sanction of
the Siksa sastra. It is only phonemes that are close to one another that are
interchanged. There are examples in Tamil also to show that "ja" and "
ya" are closely related. "Java(the "Javaka" island) is
referred to in Tamil works as "Yavaka". Generally, if 'ja" comes
as the initial letter of a word it is spelt as 'sa" in Tamil, but if it
comes in the middle it becomes "ya'- "Aja(n)" and
"Pankaja(m)" become "Ayan and Pangayam". "Sa" is
a form of sa. If "sa" and 'ka" are interchangeable so too, it
seems, "sa" and "ka". In keeping with this, what is
"kai" (hand) in Tamil is "sey" in Telugu. "Doing"
(performing some work) is the function of the hand (in Tamil
"seyvadu"). So better than the Tamil "kai" is the Telegu
"sey" which denotes the function of the hand. In Sanskrit the word
"kara" has the meaning of "to do" as well as the hand -
"Samkara"("Sankara") one who does good; "karomi"
is "I do". One wonders whether in Tamil too "sey" was
originally used to denote the hand and then "kai" came to be used.
Now "sey" is a verb in that language. The "sa"(or
"sa"), it is likely, changed to "ka" and then
"kai". One more point: "sa" and "ksa" are related
sounds. So for "ksa" to become "ka" is natural
"Aksam" -"akkam"; "daksinam" -
"dakkanam"; "ksanam" _"kanam". Such examples
could be multiplied. We have seen that "ba" becomes "va" in
Tamil while in the Northern languages it is the other way round. Similarly,
"ja" becomes "ya" and 'sa" becomes "ka" in
Tamil while in the Northern languages "ya" and "sa" become
"ja" and "ka" respectively. That is according to the Vedic
recension followed there and the rules of the Siksa relating to it. That is the
reason why Northerners chant "jat" Purusena havika" for
"yat Purusena havisa". This change is to be seen in so many other
words in the North: "Jamuna" for Yamuna"; "jogi" for
yogi(n); "jug-jug" for yuga-yuga; "jaatra for "yatra".
"Sa" is changes to ka" and so "rsi" becomes
"riki". As we have seen, "ksa" and "sa" are
related. Even in the South we hear people saying "Lasimi for
"Laksmi"- they even write like that. In the North "ka" is
used for "ksa"- for instance "Khir" for "ksira".
The same applies to Tamil usage also-"Ilakkumi" for
"Laksmi". Let us now turn to other countries, first to the land which
saw the birth of Christianity, to the Semitic countries like Palestine and
Israel. The Old Testament is basic to the Quran also. Some characters are
common to Christianity and Islam, but in Arabic they are pronounced
differently. Joseph becomes "Yusuf" and Jehovah becomes
"Yehivah". There are differences among the Christian nations too. In
some languages you see "ja-kara" to be prominent. "Jesu"
and "Yesu", the name of the very founder of Christianity, is spelt
differently. "Ja-kara" is a characteristic of Greek also. We could
trace the root of all this to the Vedas. Jehivah or Yehovah is the same as the
Vedic deity Yahvan. "Dyau- Pitar"(Dyava_Prithivi) becomes Jupiter.
Sanskrit words lose their initial letter when borrowed by other languages. So
Dyau_Pitar becomes "Yau- Pitar" and then Jupiter. What were
originally Yahvan and Dyau-pitar changed to Jehovah and Jupiter with the
addition of the "ja-kara". In the beginning the Vedic religion was
practised everywhere. It is likely that the Madhyandina Sakha was followed in
Greece and its neighbourhood.
Impact of Siksa Sastra
In the foregoing we noticed that certain Vedic
syllables had a special association with certain regions and that these were
absorbed in the languages spoken there. We also learned from this that the
Vedas flourished in all countries. There was never a period in Tamil Nadu, the
land we know intimately when Vedic dharma was not practised there. The name
"Tamizh" itself has the "zha" characteristic of the
Talavakara Sakha of the Samaveda. Am I right in making such a claim? Or is it
all the other way around? Suppose the argument goes like this: it is the
"zha" characteristic of Tamil and the "ja" characteristic
of Northern tongues that are seen as the distinguishing phonemes in the Vedic
texts prevalent in Tamil Nadu and the North respectively. In other words what
was already present in the regional languages came to be absorbed in the Vedic
sakhas prevalent in the areas concerned. Did I put the whole thing topsy-turvy
when I made the statement that the Vedic "zha", "ja" and
"ba" became characteristic for the Tamils, Northerners and the
Bengalis respectively, that these were reflected in the speech of each of these
linguistic groups? That the rules of the Siksa sastra had their impact on the
regional languages is the correct view. The rules of the Pratisakhya do not
apply to one area alone but to all those parts where the Vedic recension
concerned is followed. If there is a Brahmin chanting the Talavakara in
Kamarupa (Assam) or Kasmir, he will use "zha" where others use
"da" or "la" in the mantras. A Brahmin who chants hymns
from the Krsna- Yajurveda has to use "da" instead of "zha"
or "la" whether he belongs to Gujarat or Maharastra or any other
place in India. In the same way, it is not only the Kannadiga, any Rgvedin
anywhere will use "la" where others use "da" or
"zha" in chanting the mantras. The Pratisakhya determines the sound
of Vedic mantras not for a particular area alone but for the whole country. In
course of time the local language takes on the characteristics of the sakha
where it is practised. The name of the month "Margasirsi" is derived
from the fact that generally the full moon falls on the day to which is
conjoined the asterism of Mrgasirsa during that month. Margasirsi is Margazhi
in Tamil. "Si" changed to "di" and "di": to
"zhi". It is according to the genius of that language that
"sa" becomes "da". "Purusa" is called
"purudan" in Tamil and "Nahusa" is "Nag(h)udan"
in Tamil poetry. Kambar calls Vibhisana "Vidanan". But, if Margasirsi
changed to "Margasirdi" and then the "sir" in the middle
dropped, should not the word have the final form of "Margadi"? How do
you explain the presence of the "zhakara"? In other words, how does
the name of the month finally take the name "Margazhi"? The
"zha-kara" must be attributed to the Talavakara Sakha that was
predominant in Tamil Nadu. People belonging to this recension use
"zha" and Krsna-Yajurvedins use "da", don't they? This
habit they still retain unconsciously. The Telugu Vaisnavas sing the Tamil
Divyaprabandham during worship in the temples. In Tirupati the Tamil Tiruppavai
is sung before the Lord. It starts with the words
"Margazhi-t-tingal". "Zhi" is difficult for Telugus to
vocalise. How is it that they do not say "Margali" or
"Margali" then? They say "Margadi-t-tingal", that is with
the "da-kara" instead of the "zhakara". When they chant
hymns from the Samaveda that is prevalent in Tamil Nadu they unconsciously use
the “da-kara" for the "zha-kara". "Da is in the blood of
the Yajurvedins, so they say "Margadi" instead of
"Margazhi".
Names of Month
From our inquiry into the derivation of the Tamil
margazhi from Margasirsi, you must have formed an idea of how the genius of one
language differs from that of another. You may note this from how the original
Sanskrit names of other months have changed in Tamil. Usually, as observed
before, the name of a month is derived from the asterism under which the full
moon falls in that month. Citra-purnima is a sacred day. The Tamil Cittirai
does not represent much of a change from the Sanskrit "Citra".
Vaishaka is connected with the asterism Visakha; it is "Vaikasi" in
Tamil. Just as Madurai becomes Marudai, so the Sanskrit, Vaishaki has changed
to "Vaikasi" in Tamil. (In Bengal the month is called
"Baisakhi", )Visakha is the asterism under which Nammazhvar was born.
Now Vaisakha purnima is celebrated as Buddha purnima. The month Anusi is
associated with the asterism of "Anusa"[Anuradha]. The full moon
usually falls under this asterism during this month. In Tamil the month is
called "Ani"- the "sa-kara" of the original has dropped.
There are two "Asadhas"- Purvasadha and Uttarasadha (Earlier Asadha
and later Asadha). Purvasadha is called "Puradam" in Tamil; in the
Tamil name the "rva" of the original is eroded and the "sa"
has dropped. Similarly, Uttarasadha is "Utradam "in Tamil. The
Sanskrit "Asadhi" is the Tamil month of "Adi". Sravana
means that which is associated with the asterism Sravana. In the Tamil "Onam"
the "sra" of the original has dropped and "vana" has become
"onam". Since it is the asterism sacred to Mahavisnu the honorific
"Tiru" [equivalent of Sri] is prefixed to its name --thus we have
"Tiruvonam". (Ardra is the asterism sacred to Siva. It is called
“Adirai" in Tamil and with the prefixing of "Tiru" it becomes
"Tiruvadirai". It is not customary to add “Tiru" to the Tamil
names of other asterisms. In the South, there is a festival of lights in the
month of "Karttigai" --the original Sanskrit name is Krttika. During
this time alone is “Tiru" added to "Karttigai". But to the
asterisms sacred to Hari and Hara-- Visnu and Siva-- "Tiru" is added.
Here is proof of the fact that it is part of the religious culture of Tamils not
to maintain any distinction between these two gods). To come back to Sravana.
The full moon in this month generally falls under the asterism of Sravana. In
the Tamil name of "Avani", the “sra" of the original has
dropped. For this linguistic phenomenon of letters dropping off in Tamil there
is the example of "Izham" for Simhala [the island nation known as Sri
Langa]. "Sa" and "sa" become "a" in Tamil. If
"sahasra" is "sasiram" in Kannada, it is "ayiram"
in Tamil. "Ayiram" reminds me of other numbers. The Tamil numbers
onru, irandu, mundru (one, two, three) seem to have no connection with the
Sanskrit eka, dvi, tri. But ancu and ettu (five and eight) seem to be related
to the Sanskrit panca and asta. The English "two" and
"three" are related to the Sanskrit dvi and tri. Sexta, hepta, octo,
nano, deca -- these are obviously connected with the Sanskrit sasta, sapta,
asta, nava and dasa. But the very first number "one" seems totally
unrelated to the Sanskrit "eka". But, strangely enough, it appears to
have some connection with the Tamil "onru". The Telugu equivalent is
made up of the "o" of the Tamil "onru" and the
"ka" of the Sanskrit "eka" -- "okati". If we
consider all this, just as we are one racially, in the matter of language for
Sanskrit and Dravidian tongues. In Simhala the "sa" and
"ha" of "Simha" have dropped off and the word has become
"Ilam" and the "la" has changed to "zha" to
become "Izham". Like Asadha, Prosthapada has also a Purva and an
Uttara. Purva- Prosthapada is “Purattadi" in Tamil: "asta"
changing to "atta" is already known to us. Uttara-Prosthapada is
"Utrattadi" in Tamil. The full moon falls under this asterism or the
one near it in the Tamil month Purattasi which name is derived somehow from
Prosthapadi. We call Asvayuja Asvini or "Asvati". The full moon
conjoined with the asterism Asvayuja makes the month Asvayuji which in Tamil is
"Aippasi". The "Karttika" of Sanskrit (adjective of
Krttika) has not changed much in its Tamil equivalent of Karttigai. The
"Tirukkarttigai" festival of lights usually falls on a full moon. I
stated with how Margasirsi changes to "Margazhi". The full moon of
that month is celebrated as Tiruvadirai, the day sacred to Siva.
"Pusya" is the Tamil "Pusam". (We in Tamil Nadu have got so
used to "Pusam" that we have made the asterism "Punarvasu"
into "Punarpusam". Of course there is no Sanskrit equivalent like
"Punarpusya") "Pausya" means what is associated with Pusya.
Pusya is also known as Taisya. The Tamil name of the month "Tai" is
the result of the second syllable of "Taisya" dropping off. The month
"Magha" is named after the asterism Magha --in Tamil it is
"Masi". The "si" ending is reminiscent of
"Vaikasi", "Purattasi" and "Aippasi". There are
two asterisms called Purva-Phalguna and Uttara-Phalguna. In the corresponding
Tamil names the important part of the Sanskrit original, "Phalguna",
has dropped off. So "Purva-Phalguna" is mere "Puram" in
Tamil and "Uttara-Phalguna" is mere "Utram". But the month
in which the full moon falls under the asterism of Uttara-Phalguna is
"Panguni" for Tamils. It is a festive day in many parts of the south.
We celebrate it as Panguni-Utram Tiruk-kalyanam. From an examination of the
Tamil names of the months we form an idea of how the phonemes of Sanskrit
change in Tamil.
Vyakarana
Mouth Of Veda Purursha, Grammer And Shiva, Works On Grammer, Sanskrit And Tamil Grammar, Sanskrit The Universal
Language, Linguistic Studies And
Religion
Mouth of Vedapurusha
Vyakarana or grammar is the "mukha" of
the Vedapurusa, his mouth. The Tamil word for grammar is "illakanam".
Grammar deals with the "laksanas" of a language.
"Laksmana(n)" is "llukkumanan" in Tamil. In the same way, "laksana(m)"
becomes "illakanam" in that language. There are a number of works on
Sanskrit grammar. The most widely used and important is the one by the great
sage Panini. There is a gloss - a vartika- on his "Vyakarna-sutra" by
Vararuci. Patanjali has written a bhasya or commentary on Panini's sutras.
These three are the chief works on Sanskrit grammar. There is a difference
between grammar and other sastras. In the case of other subjects the original
sutras constituting them are esteemed more than their bhasyas. But, in the case
of grammar, or Vyakarana, the Vartika is more valued than the sutras and still
more valued is the bhasya. According to one reckoning, there are six sastras.
Vyakarana is one of them. Four of the sastras are particularly important: apart
from Vyakarana, Tarka (logic), Mimamsa and Vedanta. Vyakarna is also one of the
vedic sadanga (six limbs of the vedas). "Sucant sutram ", so it is
said. (The sutra is just an indication of something, a truth or a principle.)
Every sastra has a bhasya and each such bhasya is known by a particular name. The
vyakarana bhasya (of Patanjali) alone is called "Mahabhasya",
"the great commentary ".
Grammar and Shiva
Siva temples have a mandapa (pavilion or hall)
called “vyakaranadanamandapa". In Tamil it has come to be called
“vakkanikkum mandapam". There are such halls in many temples in the Chola
territory of Tamilnadu. One such is in Tiruvorriyur near Madras. Why should
there be a mandapa for grammar in Siva temples? What is Siva's connection with
language? Is not Siva in his form of Daksinamurti all silence? Nrttavasane
Nataraja-rajo nanada dhakkam navapancavaram Uddhartukamah
Sankadisiddhanetadvimarse Sivasutrajalam I will speak briefly about this
stanza. The silent Siva remains still [as Daksinamurti]. But the same Siva [in
another form of his] keeps dancing all the time and it was from his dance that
the science of language was born. Nataraja is the name of the dancing
Paramesvara. "Nata" is a member of a troupe which also consists of
the "vita" and "gayaka". The nata dances. Nataraja is the
king of all dancers-- he who cannot be excelled as a dancer-- and he is also
called Mahanata [the great dancer]. The Amarakosa, the Sanskrit lexicon, has
these two words: “Mahakalo mahanatah". In Tamil they say “Ambala-
kkuttaduvan". We find from royal inscriptions that in the old days
Brahmins too had such Tamil names- “Ambala-k-kuttaduvan Bhattan", for
instance. There used to be a publishing establishment in Bombay called the
NirnayaSagara Press. It once brought out old poetical works in Sanskrit under
the general name, “Kavyamala Series ". There were some books in this
series with the name “Pracinalekhamala”. Reproduced in one of them is the text
of a copper-plate inscription belonging to the Vengi kingdom. Vengi is situated
between the Godavari and the Krsna. The Cola rulers of the Telugu country and
the Colas of Tanjavur were related by marriage. Rajaraja Cola (Narendra)
reigned in Tanjavur; it was he who built the Brhadisvara temple. Kulottunga
Cola who belonged to the family of the grandson of a king of Vengi ruled as a
member of the Cola dynasty of Tanjavur. Once he visited the Cola kingdom and on
his return took some 500 Brahmins with him to promote Vedic learning in Vengi.
The "Dravidalu" of Andhra Pradesh are the descendants of these
Brahmins. The names of all these Brahmins and their gotras are mentioned in the
copper-plate inscription together with the subjects in which they were
proficient and duties they had to perform. The landed property allotted to each
is referred to, so also the names of the donors and of the recipients. The
Brahmins from Tamil Nadu had to teach the Vedas and sastras. That is why gifts
of lands were made to them. “Rupavatara-vaktuk eko bhagah": these words
are from the inscription. It means “one share to the Brahmin who is proficient
in the Rupavatara.” Rupavatara is a work on grammar. In Ennayiram, near
Tindivanam (Tamil Nadu), there was a school with 340 students. Of them 40
studied Rupavatara, says an inscription of Rajendra Cola I. In Tribhuvanam,
Pondicerri (Pondicherry), also there was a Vedic school supported by
Rajadhiraja (A. D. 1018-1050) where the Rupavatara was taught. We also learn
from an inscription of Vira-Rajendra Devam dated A. D 1067, that this
grammatical work was taught at a school in Tiru, ulldal, near Kanchi. Siddhanta-Kaumudi
is a very popular treatise on grammar. It is a commentary on Panini's sutras by
Bhattoji Diksita who was a disciple of Appayya Diksita. The latter was born in
Adayappalam and was the author of 104 works, many of them on Saiva themes. His
Kuvalayananda, a work on poetics, is also famous. Ardha-matra-Iaghavena
putrotsavam manyante vaiyakaranah This speaks of the great joy experienced by
grammarians: if they gain as much as half a matra it is a cause for jubilation
like the birth of a son to a man who has been long childless. The sutras are
very brief and very precise. The Siddhanta- Kaumudi is also famous for its
brevity and exactitude; there is no circumlocution in it, no beating about the
bush. May be the sutras themselves are wordy but not Bhattoji Diksita's
commentary on the same. Written some 400 years ago, it is very popular even
today and is the first book of grammar prescribed for students. (Bhattoji
Diksita also wrote the Tattavakaustubha and dedicated it to his guru, Appayya
Diksita. In this he seeks to establish that there is no Truth other than the
Brahman and that, to claim that there is, is not in keeping with the teachings
of the Upanisads. Bidden by his guru, he also wrote an attack on Madhvacarya's
philosophy of dualism. The work, Madhvamatavidhvamsanam, is a cause of dispute
among philosophers but Bhattoji Diksita's commentary on grammar is acceptable
to all systems. ) Before Siddhanta-Kaumudi, Rupavataram was the grammar work
famous among students. "Rupam" here means the "complete form of
sound"; "avataram" is descent, but in the present context
"history". Rupavataram was published by Rangacari, of Presidency
College, Madras. That gifts of land were made to scholars who taught
Rupavataram [the reference here is to the Vengi inscription], shows the
importance attached to sanskrit grammar in those times. The Vengi inscription
dates back to 850 years ago. As mentioned earlier, the names of Brahmins who
received gifts are given in it. Many of them had the title
"Sadangavid" (learned in the six Vedic Angas). Some had Tamil names
-- "Ambala-k-kuttaduvan Bhattan", "Tiruvarangamudayan
Bhattan", etc. Of the foregoing two names the first is associated with the
Cidambaram temple which is Saiva and the second with the Srirangam temple which
is Vaisnava. Both Brahmins were Smartas, even the one with the Vaisnava name.
There has been as much devotion to Siva as there has been to Visnu at all
times. In the North and in Kerala, even today, Smartas perform puja in all
temples. The man called "Tiruvarangamudayan Bhattan" is not to be
taken as a Vaisnava from his name. The Sanskrit equivalent of the name is
Rangasvamin. "Udayan" means "svamin", "svam"
denoting possession. The Tamil name of Nataraja is "Tiruvambala Kuttaduvan".
I wanted to speak about Nataraja and his connection with grammar. Let us go
back to the stanza with the first word, Nrttavasane” “Nataraja performs an
aweinspiring dance. It seems to bring together all the dance that all of us
have to perform, the rhythms of all our lives. The head of the Nataraja idol
has something that seems spread over it, something falling down on both sides.
What is it? It is the god's mass of matted locks. I am reminded of the snapshot
photographs taken nowadays. A snapshot is a rapid photograph that captures an object
in one of its fleeting moments. It is not a study that is static but one
suggestive of motion. Nataraja dances fast, but momentarily seems to stop
dancing. His matted locks give the impression of fanning out over the two sides
of his face. The sculptor of those times seems to have taken a mental snapshot
of that moment to create the image of Nataraja. Nataraja has a drum in one
hand, called the dhakka or damaruka. The tala of this drum (the time kept by
it) is in keeping with the "footwork" of the dancing god, the
movement of his feet. The beat of his drum is referred to in the words,
"nanada dhakkam". There are chiefly three types of musical
instruments. Those made of skin like the dhakka, the tavil (drum accompaniment
to nagasvaram music), the kanjira (a kind of hand drum), the mrdanga; stringed
instruments like the vina, the violin; wind instruments like nagasvaram, the
flute. The final beat of the drum is called cappu. Similarly at the end of
Nataraja's dance (" nrttavasane ") the damaruka produced the cappu
sound. When Nataraja dances, Sanaka and his brother sages, Patanjali
Vyaghrapada and so on stand round him. They are great ascetics, so they are
able to see the dance. Nataraja's dance can be seen only by those who have the
inner vision of jnana. The Lord himself bestowed on Arjuna the divine eye with
which the pandava could see his cosmic form. Vyasa imparted the same power to
Sanjaya so that he could describe this wondrous form to Dhrtarastra. Only they
(Arjuna and Sanjaya) could see Krsna's universal form. Others on the
battlefield of Kuruksetra could not. Because of the great efforts made by them,
the celestials, the sages and yogins obtained the divine eye to see the dance
of Nataraja. In the Gita such sight is called "divya-caksus" (divine
eye). Sanaka and others saw the dance with their real eyes. Visnu played the
drum called the maddala, while Brahma kept time. At the close of the dance, the
concluding beats (cappu) produced fourteen sounds. It is these fourteen that
are referred to in the stanza ("Nrttavasane", etc) as
"navapancavaram"; "nava" is nine and "panca" is
five, so fourteen in all. "Nanada dhakkam navapancavaram. " If the
number of sounds produced by Nataraja's dhakka is fourteen, the branches of
Vedic learning are also the same number (caturdasavidya). If the foundation of
Hindu dharma is made up of these fourteen vidyas, Nataraja'a cappu produced
fourteen sounds which, according to the verse, were meant for the [Atmic]
uplift of Sanaka and others. You must have seen in the sculptural
representations of Daksinamurti in temples four aged figures by his side. They
are the Sanaka sages. It is not Saiva works like the Tevaram and the
Tiruvacakam alone that mention how instruction was given to the four but also
the Vaisnava songs of the Azhvars. The fourteen sounds produced by Nataraja's
drum are the means by which the reality of Siva is to be known and experienced
within us in all its plenitude. Nandikesvara has commented upon the fourteen
sounds in his Sivabhaktisutra. Among those present at Nataraja's dance was
Panini. His story is told in the Brhatkatha which was written by Gunadhya in
the Prakrt called Paisaci. Ksemendra produced a summary of it in Sanskrit and,
based on it, Somadeva Bhatta wrote the Katha-sarat-sagara. It is the source of
some of the stories of The Arabian Nights, Pancatantra and Aesop's Fables.
Perunkathai is a Tamil version, the title being Tamil for Brhatkatha. The story
of Panini is told in the Katha-sarit-sagara. In Pataliputra (modern Patna), in
Magadha, there were two men called Varsopadhyaya and Upavarsopadhyaya - the
second was the younger of the two. Upakosala was Upavarsopadhyaya's daughter.
Panini and Vararuci were Varsopadhyaya's students. Panini made little progress
in his lessons. So his teacher asked him to go to the Himalaya and practise
austerities. The student did so and through the grace of Isvara received the
power to witness the tandava dance of Nataraja. With this divine gift of the
Lord, Panini indeed saw the tandava and heard the fourteen sounds at its
conclusion. For him these sounds meant the fourteen cardinal sutras of grammar
and on them he based his Astadhyayi. As its very name suggests, this work,
which is the source book of Sanskrit grammar, has eight chapters. The fourteen
sounds are recited at the upakarma ceremony. Since they emanated from the drum
of Mahesvara(Nataraja), they are called "Mahesvarasutras". Human
beings can produce only inarticulate sounds on the musical instruments played
by them. The hand of Paramesvara is verily the Nadabrahman and Sabdabrahaman
incarnate, so his cappu on the damaruka at the conclusion of his tandava
sounded as a series(garland) of fourteen letters: 1. a i un; 2. rlk; 3. e on;
4. ai auc; 5. hayavarat; 6. lan; 7. nama nana nam; 8. jha bha n; 9. gha da dha
s; 10. ja ba ga da da s; 11. kha pha cha tha tha catatav; 12. kapay; 13. sa sa
sar; 14. hal-iti Mahesvarani sutrani. When you listen to these sutras at the
upakarma ceremony, you are amused. You repeat them after the priest without
knowing what they are all about. They are the concluding strokes Siva made on
his drum as he stopped dancing, stopped whirling round and round. We say, don't
we, that the anklets sound "jal-jal", that the damaru sounds
"timu-timu", that the tavil sounds "dhumdhum"? These are not
of course the sounds actually produced by the respective drums. Even so the
words give us some idea of the beats. We don't say "pi-pi" to
describe the sound of a drum or "dhum-dhum" to describe the sound of
the pipe. The sound produced by plucking the strings of the instruments like
the veena is usually described as "toyn-toyng". From this it follows
that, thought the musical instruments do not produce articulate sounds, they
create the impression of producing the phonemes of human speech. If this be so
in the case of instruments played by humans, why should not the drum beaten by
Nataraja during his pancakrtya dance produce articulate sounds? How did Panini
make use of the fourteen sounds? He created an index from the sutras to
vocalise the letters or syllables together. According to the arrangement made
by him, the first letter or syllable of a sutra voiced with the last letter or
syllable of another sutra will indicate the letters or syllables in between.
For example, the first syllable of "hayavarat", "ha", and
the last letter of "hal", "l", together make
"hal". This embraces all the consonants in between. Similarly, the
first letter of the first sutra, "a", and the last letter of the
fourth sutra together form "ac"-this includes all the vowels. The
first letter of the first sutra and the last letter of the fourteenth sutra
together form "al" - it includes all letters. "Halantasya"
is one of the sutras of Astadhyayi. "Al" itself has come to mean
writing. "A-kara" is the first letter in all languages. In Urdu it is
alif; in Greek it is alpha. Both are to be derived from "al". So too
"alphabet" in English. Here is another fact to support the view that,
once upon a time, the Vedic religion was prevalent all over the world. We know
thus that the prime source of grammar is constituted by the Mahesvara-sutras
emanating from the drum of Nataraja. Since Paramesvara was the cause of the
sabda-sastras (all sciences relating to sound, speech),
"grammar-pavilions" have been built in Siva temples, but not in Visnu
shrines. By the side of Nataraja are Patanjali and Vyaghrapada. I had been to a
temple near Sirkazhi (in Tamil Nadu). There, beside Nataraja, were Patanjali
and Vyaghrapada. Beneath their images were inscribed their names. Patanjali's
name was seen here as "Padamcolli" - the error must be attributed to
the ignorance of the man who had inscribed the names. I was however happy that
ironically enough, this name benefited the sage and that even ignorance was the
cause of something appropriate. "Padam" has the meaning of grammar
[as in] "padavakya pramana". Here "pada" means grammar. So
"Padamcolli" [the second half of the name in Tamil] means one who
"says" grammar. When I saw this inscription I was reminded of another
thing. We speak of "gunaksara-nyaya". "Guna" here means an
insect like the white ants which eats into wood and palm-leaves. Sometimes in
this process letters are formed accidentally. If something meaningful results
from an act committed unconsciously or unwittingly it is said to be according
to the "gunaksara-nyaya". This term is thus applicable to Patanjali
being written as "Padamcolli" Some years ago I happened to see the
Sahitya-Ratnakara. The author of this poetical work is Yajnanarayana Diksita
who composed it 400 hundred years ago during the reign of Raghunatha Nayaka of
Tanjavur. Diksita was a great devotee of Siva and in one of his hymns there is
a reference to grammar. Adau pani-ninadato' ksara-samamnayopadesena yah
Sabdanamanusasananyakalayat sastrena sutratmana Bhasyam tasya ca padahamsakaravaih
praudhasayam tam gurum Sabdarthapratipatti-hetumanisam Candravatamsam bhaje -
Sahitya-Ratnakara, 11. 124 "Aksara-samamnayam" in this stanza means
grammar, a grouping together of letters. Isvara's breath constitutes the Vedas.
The wind produced by his hand [as he beats the drum] is
"Aksara-Veda", the Mahesvara-sutras. It is called
"sabdanusasanam". "Pani-ninadatah" means "produced
sounds with your hands" or "the sounds came by to Panini". Thus
the words have two meanings. The idea is that Panini created his grammar with
the sounds produced by Isvara with his hand. The stanza goes on to say:
"With the movement of your hand the sutras of grammar were created and
with the movement of your feet its commentary has been produced.” Patanjali,
author of the Mahabhasya, was an incarnation of the primordial serpent Adisesa.
Adisesa is now the anklet of Parameshvara. It is in keeping with this that the
poet says that Siva created the bhasya with the movement of his feet. He
concludes by remarking that sound and meaning originate in Siva. In this way,
Siva is the prime source of grammar. That is why there are mandapas in his
temples where vyakarana is to be taught.
Om
Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My humble Thankfulness to
H H Sri Chandrasekharendra Mahaswami ji, Hinduism online dot com Swamijis, and
Philosophers com for the collection)
(The Blog is reverently for all the seekers of truth,
lovers of wisdom and to share the Hindu Dharma with others on the spiritual path and also this
is purely a non-commercial)
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