Hinduism in Rigveda – A Study of Verses dedicated to Visnu
Rahul A. Shastri
This essay is provoked by the following considerations.
We were taught in school history that Rigveda dealt with
hymns on Nature, and that Vishnu, Siva and Brahma emerged later in Hindu
religion. But almost all Hindu texts and even contemporary pundits refer to the
Rigveda as the source for Hindu religion. We can throw light on this
contradiction only by looking at Rigveda itself.
The only widely circulated English translation of Rigveda is
due to Griffith. Reading it, we found that it did not make sense. Since the
Vedas were written by great sages, they
could not have devoted all their efforts only to write poems in praise of
several deities. Moreover, the link between Rigveda and later Hindu thought and
religion is almost completely absent in the said translation. For instance, Sri
Visnu is supposed to be a peripheral figure in Griffith, and this is accepted by modern historians. Griffith’s
translation makes no mention of moksha, rebirth, paths to realisation, inner
knowledge, etc. which are the basic concerns of Hindus, and would suggest that Rigveda
is extraneous to Hindusim. As opposed to this, the present essay pursues
the idea that Rigveda is integral to Hinduism.
There are several ambiguities about the religion in Rigveda.
Do the puranas originate or reflect in Rigveda? What about the Geeta? What of
the different paths to realisation that are sought after by later Hindus? Is
realisation a goal in Rigveda? Are Hindu
deities distinct from or a later reformulation of Rigvedic deities? Some even suggest that
Lords Visnu and Siva are later reformulations, and not Aryan gods.
All these questions congeal into the question of the place
of Lord Vishnu in Rigveda. In later Hinduism, especially Vaisnavism, He
occupies the supreme position, an epitome of sattva. What is Rigveda’s position
on this? The Lord in Geeta sets out different paths to realisation, among other
things. Is this associated with Sri Visnu in Rigveda, or was it developed only
in Geeta and Puranas?
Some hold that “With the advent of the golden age of the
puranas in the Gupta period, the transformation of Vishnu into a supreme
Godhead was complete. The virtues and glory of the Vedic Indra and Surya were
transferred to puranic Vishnu. At the same time, the Indra was demoted to a
demigod, stripped of his power and glory. ...In this
process, Vishnu, in place of Indra, became the lord of the universe. The
attributes and titles that once applied to Indra were now employed to describe
Vishnu.”[1]
The question is further complicated by the widely available English
translation of Rigveda due to Griffith. Commentators basing on this translation
even state: “In the Rig-Veda Vishnu is described as living and wandering on the
mountains. … “ This makes us sceptical of Griffith’s translation and take a
close look at the original Sanskrit version. We look at all sooktas dedicated
to Visnu, or Indra visnu and a few other verses, a total of about 45-50 verses
out over 90 verses that mention Visnu.
In the verses of Rigveda
referring to Visnu, Griffith’s translation mentions some attributes of Visnu.
Visnu is referred to as taking three steps (1.022.17-18, 1.154.1-3, 1.155.4;
etc.). These three steps somehow
established his high decrees: “Visnu, the Guardian, he whom none deceiveth,
made three steps; thenceforth Establishing his high decrees.” This is as close
as the verse gets to Vaman avatara.
There is also reference to Visnu holding the highest position
“The princes evermore behold that loftiest place where Visnu is, Laid as it
were an eye in heaven. “(1.022.20. ). Visnu’s
role as the upholder of the three worlds is also mentioned: “Who verily alone upholds the threefold, the
earth, the heaven, and all living creatures.” (1.154.4). Also that He surpasses
all in the limit of his grandeur: “None who is born or being born, God Visnu,
hath reached the utmost limit of thy grandeur. The vast high vault of heaven
hast thou supported, and fixed earth's eastern pinnacle securely” (7.99.2).
These apart, the other references made to Visnu in Griffith
are totally unfamiliar to the Hindu
mind. Griffith’s translations refer to Visnu as striding over the earth, over
seven regions of earth (1.022.16, 1.022.17). He is extolled as a dread wild
beast and mountain abiding “For this his mighty deed is Visnu lauded, like some
wild beast, dread, prowling, mountain-roaming” (1.154.2); a wide striding bull, in whose mansion there
are many cattle “Fain would we go unto your dwelling-places where there are
many-horned and nimble oxen,” (1.154.6); with manly power (1.155.4); whose
ordinances maintain seven germs (1.164.36); and drinker of soma: “This your
deed, Indra−Visnu, must be lauded: widely ye strode in the wild joy of Soma “(
6.69.5).
All this is unfamiliar stuff. While the Supreme Purusha is
imbued with manliness, popular Hinduism does not associate Him with a bull, a
wild beast, dread, roaming mountains.
Nor do we think of His mansion as with many cattle, or associate drinking with
the Lord. There are references in Griffith to battles fought, all
unfamiliar. In fact , the bulk of
Griffith’s translation of the 50 odd verses make no sense to the Hindu mind at
all, except for the fact that they seem laudatory of the Lord.
There is another puzzle. These are the finest minds of
Hinduism, sages Medhathiti Kaanva, Dirghatama Auchitya[2],
Bharadwaja Brahaspatya, Vasishta Maitravaruni addressing Lord Visnu, who
occupies the highest position (paramam padam, even in Griffith’s translation);
and all they seem to be asking for is wealth: cattle and kine, meath : honey
(madhwa) or soma. Many of the verses in
Griffith’s translation laud drinking soma repeatedly, and urge Indra and Visnu
to partake: “Drink of this meath, O Indra, thou, and Visnu; drink ye your fill
of Soma, Wonder−Workers.” (6.69.7). There is no mention of moksha, realisation,
beatitude, emancipation etc. which are the centrepieces of holiness in
Hinduism.
Can these be the finest minds that Hinduism reveres? Will
and Ariel Durant say that the Hindu mind worships holiness, like the Greeks did
wisdom, the Italians art, and the Americans enterprise.[3]
Another view holds that the Hindu child was a philosopher. [4]
There is not much of holiness in Griffith, nor even philosophy. Modern thinkers
basing themselves on Griffith’s translations would have us believe that
holiness and philosophy dropped into Hinduism from some vacuum, and attenuate
the link between Rigveda and later Hinduism.[5]
The Hindu mind would reject this, holding the continuity of Upanishads, Geeta,
Puranas with Rigveda as sacred and integral to Hinduism.
Clearly there is something amiss with Griffith’s
translation. In order to investigate deeper, we look at about 50 of the verses
that refer to Vishnu, including all the suktas devoted to Visnu and Indra
Visnu, armed with the dictionaries of Sanskrit due to Monier Williams,
Macdonells, and Apte, now available on the net. As we are not sanskrit
scholars, the resulting translations would have many a defect. Nevertheless
they are more satisfying to the Hindu mind than Griffith. They can be
corrected, even abrogated by sanskrit scholars, but the direction of
improvement must be to buttress the essential continuity of Hinduism, which is
the sanathana dharma. The object of this exercise is not accuracy of individual
detail, but to bring out the overall integrity of Rigveda with Hinduism.
It is my belief that the roots of Hinduism go far back even
beyond Rigveda. This is borne out by the cryptic references to Hindu concepts
in Rigveda. The comments are terse and cryptic, as though the facts they
referred to were already well known. The Rigveda gives great importance to
Indra, dedicating more than one fourth of thousand hymns to him. This may be
because he was a hero both on the material and spiritual plane, turning pious,
doing yoga, systematising and popularising it. It appears that many of the five
peoples entered in Yoga and succeeded in meditation riding as it were on his
backbone. Some evidence for this is available from our findings.
I am putting up my translations on the blog. This essay will be covered as extensions beginning with VS (Visnu sooktas).
We now outline the main findings of our translation in two
parts. In the first part, we show the
concern with final emancipation in Rigveda. We also show the presence of the
concept of trinity, and deal specifically with the relation between Siva and
Visnu. The second part is devoted to the identification of different Hindu
concepts in the different sooktas. In an attached file, we give in a tabular
form, the translations of Griffith, our free translation, original sanskrit
verse, and our translation with word meanings, so that the reader may easily
compare the two interpretations and reach his own conclusions.
[1]
Rig Veda-origin of our popular gods in Rig Veda ; sreenivasarao s / Blog / 6 yrs ago /
[2] Who has the maximum number of
sooktas and verses devoted to Lord Visnu in Rigveda.
[3] Will and Ariel Durant, The Story of
Civilisation, Vol 2, The Life of Greece.
[4]
There is a view that the
genius of a nation is revealed in its childhood, and that the Hindu child was a
philosopher.
[5] Sri Aurobindo also refers to this
problem in his Secret of the Vedas, and attempts a psychical interpretation of
the Vedas.
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