Vedic deities Naasatya, Dadhikraa, Vishvadevaa, Rudra, and the sense of smell.

Vedic deities Naasatya, Dadhikraa, Vishvadevaa, Rudra, and the sense of smell.

 Introduction

This article describes the significance of the Vedic deities Naasatya, Ashvin, Rudra, Dadhikraa,  Vishvadevataa, and the mysteries of the olfactory sense and nose or naasaa.

 References are taken from Rik Veda , Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Prashnopanishad.

 The Sanskrit words which can be found in the itrans version in the Sanskrit English Lexicon by Sir. Monier Williams, are written in italics. This lexicon is freely available for reading on the Internet.              (  https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2020/web/webtc/indexcaller.php ; https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2020/web/webtc2/index.php )

 The meanings and significances stated below are done, to the best of my abilities, following the teaching of the great seer Shri. BijoyKrishna Chattopaadhyaaya (1875-1945) and his principal disciple Shri. Tridibnath Bandyopaadhyaaya (1923-1994)  ----Debkumar Lahiri (debkumar.lahiri@gmail.com)

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 Index

1. Some words related to ashva/ horse, respirations, inflations, regulation.
2. Naasa/nose, naasatya, and ashvin (the divine twins who are the horsemen and doctors)
3. vaak and praaNa
4. naasatya and aakaasha(sky)
5. naasatya, directions, and nose as snout, the significance of scent
6. naasatya and the significance of the word gandha (smell)
7. A hymn on naasatya/ dasra and seats of the gods, rudra.
8. The divine serpent dadhikraa
9. vishvadevaa
10. vishvadevaa and nivid in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

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1.     Some words related to ashva/ horse, respirations, inflations, regulation.

The general meaning of ashva is a horse. The followings are the significance of the word ashva and a few related words.

ashva= a  + shva; a = origin,  aatman or the eternal soul; shva= regulation or time; so, ashva means praaNa or the eternal soul flowing as praaNa or running across the universe. This is felt as time (shva) and regulations (shaasana), respirations (shvasana), and inflation (shvi). The universe is inflating, growing, expanding, the horse is speeding away.  So, praaNa is called brahma which means ‘one who is growing.  brahma is from the root word bRiMhaNa meaning ‘to grow’.

Thus in Upanishads, praaNa has been mentioned as ashva, and also the sensory organs (indriya) have also been addressed as ashva. Sensory organs are the channels through which praaNa is flowing (or they are the courses of praaNa). The sensory organs have also been described as haya (horse) pulling the body or the chariot. This body is the chariot, the one who is residing in the body is the rider, the sensory organs are pulling it. This is how we are moving on the chariot of ‘time’.

 The word utkramaNa has been used in the Upanishads to describe the movement of praaNa, when praaNa leaves our bodies and carries us to other destinations. Like a horse can uproot a post to which it is tied and can run away carrying the rider on it, so praaNa uproots us from our bodies, and we with our sensing faculties leave the body with praaNa. This aspect of praaNa has been mentioned as udaana.  One always moves to a destination by this divine horse called ashva or praaNa.

 

2.      naasa/nose, naasatya, and ashvin (the divine twins who are the horsemen and doctors).

dadhikraa---the divine horse/serpent.

 

(i)               praaNa and vaayu (air)

 Any motion or generation of time is happening from praaNa. As Universal Consciousness becomes active, duality is created. Consciousness becomes praaNa to create the duality.  In praaNa oneness and duality coexists. It is for this reason in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, praaNa is said to have the number ‘one and half’. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.9.7 &3.9.8—Third Chapter, Third Brahmin, Eighth & Ninth verse.)

This aspect of praaNa is called vaayu or air. We perceive vaayu as ‘life’ as well as sparsha or ‘touch’.

praaNa as air or vaayu has kept the entire universe connected by a conscious universal network. Every entity is connected to every other entity by vaayu. vaayu is from the root word vay. vay means ‘to go’ or ‘to flow’. There is another connected word vaya which means ‘weaver’. As praaNa moves, as vaayu flows, vaayu also weaves the universal network across the expanding universe. This spread or flow of vaayu has kept the entire universe connected. This spread has kept everything connected and coordinated. By this spread inside our body, our limbs remain taut as long as we live. When praaNa leaves the body, we leave with praaNa and our muscles become relaxed at the time of death (known as ‘primary flaccidity’).

(ii)            Nose, naasaa,naasatya,naaka and praaNaayaama

 vaayu is flowing both internally and externally; when we refer to the internal flow, then vaayu is named as aayu.  The common meaning of aayu is ‘life span’.

 Where (in Consciousness) both internal and external circulation of praaNa are happening together, that place is called naaka and also naasaa. Both these words naaka and naasaa mean ‘nose’ in Sanskrit. naaka also means ‘heaven’.

 naasaa or the nose is that aspect of the Consciousness (or it is the seat of the faculty) that allows one to flow or drift or move to anywhere internally (within the body) or externally. To know the unrestrained, unimpeded, spontaneous flow of praaNa, there is a well known Vedic practice called praaNaayaama -----praaNa + aayaama (spread).

 

(iii)          naasatya, and ashvin.

 

The incessant flow of praaNa / vaayu internally and externally are the activities of two personalities of praaNa called ‘ashvin’.  ashvin is a common name for both personalities and they are the celebrated twin brothers of Vedas, who are also the divine horsemen and divine doctors. They are called ashvin (derived from the root word ashva meaning ‘praaNa’) because they are the divine personification of praaNa. They are also called naasatya. They are called naasatya as they are realized in ‘naasaa’. satya means ‘truth’ or ‘reality’. naasatya means ‘who are realized in naasaa or who are located in ‘naasaa’ or nose.

 

(iv)           naas, nasal sound, the divine twin horsemen & the doctors

naas means ‘to sound’. It is the sound of the air or praaNa moving in and out of us. It is the nasal sound. It is the sound from the horses of the twins--- the two divine horsemen who are the ‘twin brothers’ and the children of the sun (praaNa), who are flowing in and out of us and controlling the clocks or the pulses of all the creatures who are created from praaNa. As all our feelings are associated with a word or a sound, so also the sound of Consciousness is coming out of the flow of praaNa or from the divine steeds or the divine horsemen (naasatya).

(It may be noted that the horses do make sounds through the nose, they also snort to convey specific emotions.)

The sound from the nose means, the nasal sound, or the sound of praaNa as praaNa flows. Every feeling has an expression of word or sound. Like a mighty river makes the sound, so praaNa is whining while flowing in circulation.

These divine horsemen are also famous as ‘divine doctors’, who can cure any ailment by regulating the motion of praaNa, by bridling the horses. They ‘know the pulse of every work we do or pulse of every moment we live, and ‘they can manipulate the pulses to cure the ailments’.

 The word naas means ‘to sound’ or more appropriately, ‘to sound from nose’. This word naas is made of two components as below:

naas = na + as. na means ‘state of negativity, where no dimension exists’. Thus na means the sky or firmament. The sky is also called voyama or aakaasha, and is the source of all sounds. As the Universal Consciousness creates duality, the Consciousness becomes praaNa. The sky or the firmament is the expressive gesture of praaNa. It is the eye or the expression of praaNa spread all over. In Rik Veda, this is described as ‘divIva chakShuraatatam’ ( eye, like the divinity, spread all over). This is the supreme state (pada) of viShNu. viShNu is praaNa personified and who supports the creation by guiding the deities or the divinity. This sky is both inside and outside. The inner and external skies are the same.

 3. vaak and praaNa

vaak is the consort of praaNa. Both vaak and praaNa are the two aspects of Universal Consciousness. As Consciousness becomes many from One, vaak becomes the various expressions, and in each such expression, Consciousness is captured as praaNa. vaak is the root of all words and the processed or formed words are called vakya. Any sound is vaak. Here is a quote from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1.5.3,  First Chapter, Fifth Brahmin, Third Verse.) :

 “yaH kashcha (whatever) shabdo (sound)

  vaageva (indeed is vaak) saa (she/it)

  eShaa (by her/by vaak) hi (certainly)  antam (its end/ origin) aayattaa (is achived)

  eShaa (by her/by vaak) hi (certainly) na (not)”

Whatever may be the sound, she(it) is vaak.

By vaak certainly, its (the sound’s) end (mystery /origin) is achieved (known)

By vaak certainly, it is not achieved (the knowing is baffled).

 4. naasatya and aakaasha(sky)

 This void perceived outside, called the sky, is the seat of ‘all words or expressions’. Thus, sky or vyoman / aakaasha is called shavda tattva and shavda or sound is corresponding tanmaatra (the way tattva is present in every individual). The inner sky or sky inside us is the same as the external sky. Sky or hollow is not inane. It is full of Consciousness. Thus, naas is the sound of Consciousness or praaNa in circulation, coming out of the ‘sky’ to create and sustain the universe. naasatya are the twins, the inward and outward circulation of praaNa. In our body, physically, in dimensional perspective, this sky is the hollow inside our mouth and connected to the ears, nose, throat, and heart.

5.naasatya, directions, and nose as snout, the significance of scent.

 Every activity in us, every moment we spend in Consciousness is associated with a ‘swing’ or a ‘to and fro motion’. Whenever Consciousness acts, two primary directions are first created--- ‘in’ and ‘out’; the flow of Consciousness happens in both directions. These two are the basic directions or tendencies of praaNa; internally or externally, praaNa flows in infinite directions or dik. These, dik or the directions are the propensities of praaNa. Each of us is held in particular directions of praaNa and as these directions are changing, we are evolving.

Thus, in Upanishad, it is said that “ anantaa hi disho” ---- the directions indeed are countless (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 4.1.5, Fourth Chapter, First Brahmin, Fifth Verse.)

 Thus, each entity, each of us, is held in a particular dik or direction of praaNa. praaNa as vaayu or air has kept us connected to the source or origin. From the Universal immutable soul or Universal Oneness (akShara aatman), praaNa is created and from praaNa everything else is created.

This air or direction is like a ‘snout’ or ‘nose'. The lord ganesha is conspicuous for his trunk and so also an elephant.  Thus the word ‘naas’ also means ‘stem’.

The nose is the faculty by which we sense the scent. By the nose, we smell ‘praaNa’  captured in every entity. You may recall that we have mentioned above that in every entity, Consciousness is captured as ‘praaNa’ and Consciousness as vaak creates the ‘expression’ or the ‘particularities’ of the entity created.

Thus, when an animal smells, it picks up the scent of its offspring or some other animal and detects the creature or the way ‘praaNa’ is captured in that creature-form. In Sanskrit, the word praaNa is also is used as the word for ‘smell’. Smelling the scent from the head of a young acquaintance was a popular tradition in ancient India. Still, it can be seen in the habits of Indians. It is called ‘ shrio (head) -aaghraaNa (smelling).  (http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_culture.html).

 6. naasatya and the significance of the word gandha (smell)

 naasatya = na +as+ atya;

na = state of negativity or the firmament/sky; na also means a ‘state of joy’, i.e. the joy of ‘negativity’, that nobody else is there but only ‘Oneness’.

as = to exist;                                                                                                        

atya = ati (moving or passing beyond) + a; the general meaning of the word ‘atya’  is a ‘steed’.  Thus, praaNa as naasatya is moving swiftly in circulation, holding us and taking us beyond mortality.

 The regulation and circulation of praaNa or air through our naasa or nose has kept us ‘stable’. We are breathing and living. This ‘stability’ out of ‘motion’ is called gandha or the smell /fragrance.

gandha (olfactory sense /smell) = ‘gam (to go) + dha (holding)’.  

Thus gandha is the act of ‘holding’ while ‘moving’. Thus, the earth is holding us and moving around herself and the sun, and this has created the life and shelter of ours. The sun is holding all the planets, all of us, and in motion.  So these are the activities of Consciousness as naasatya.

 As gandha (olfaction) gives us stability, and we are held within the body by gandha, by praaNa, by the regulation of pulses by the twin divine doctors, so the earth, where we have got stability, has been identified with gandha. Earth or kShiti is considered as tattva, and smell or gandha is considered as tanmaatra (the way the earth is in us in a subtle state). It should be understood that there is an intimate relation between the circulation of air through our nose (or circulation of praaNa), olfactory sense, and our stability in the body as well as on the earth.

7. A hymn on naasatya /dasra, seats of the gods and rudra.

 naasatya are addressed as dasra in Rik Veda. The alphabet ‘da’ means praaNa. da means, who is holding;  da is the root of the root verb ‘dadh’ meaning to ‘hold’. Thus, ‘dasra’ means who is holding us, as well as moving. 

 dasra---- da +sra; da = holding; sra = flowing.

dasra--- da + sRi + a;  da = dadh = to hold; sRi---to move, to glide, to move aside (saraNa)----to move with changing directions (refraction/ pratisaraNa).

 Thus dasra means praaNa, who is carrying us all the time while holding us in the passage that is taking us to the destination of eternal, blissful, and conscious existence.

 Here is a hymn from Rik Veda on naasatya:

dasraa yuvaakavaH sutaa naasatyaa vRiktabarhiShaH

aa yaataM rudravartanI    (Rik Veda, 1.3.3 --- 1^st Mandal, 3^rd Anuvaak, 3^rd Sukta)

 dasraa---who is moving while holding us

 yuvaakavaH------yuvaa (brought by both of you) + kavaH (kava)----whatever is going to be (kava) is being brought by you (yuvaa)

 (kava is the root of the word kavya and kaavya. kaavya generally means ‘a literary work’, poem, words of a seer. kavya is the offerings to the divine fathers (pitRigaNa), like havya is the oblation to agni and deities.

In Indian languages like Bangla (also Bengali) and Hindi, the word kav is used to express ‘when’ as an ‘interrogation’ or ‘question’ (like when it has rained).

In the domain of the fathers or the divine fathers, the creation remains as ‘seeds’ or ‘kavya’. When a seed gets into the ‘mother’, it gets the specific features and is created as an individual or as a specific entity. Then kavya becomes kaavya or a ‘literature’ or ‘a literary work’. We and every entity remain as seeds or ‘future’ in the divine mind or in the divine fathers. As long as we remain there, it is ‘when’----when the seed will bloom?)

 sutaa—brought forth

 yuvaakavaH sutaa -----all that will bloom in the future are being brought forth by both of you

 naasatya--- oh! naasatya

 vRiktabarhiShaH----vRikta + barhiShaH----barhis / barhi or seats going to be covered or occupied.

 The word vRikta is from the root word vRi. vRi means ‘to cover’, ‘to veil’, ‘to embrace’.

 The word barhiShaH is derived from the word barhi or barhis. kusha or kusha grass (sacred grass) is also called barhis and is used to make the seats for the gods or deities invoked during Vedic rituals. These are small mats of sacred grass.

 Both the words kusha and barhi/barhis, imply ‘the formation and manifestation’ that has originated from the Universal Consciousness and has come into an eternal existence, or an entity. This entity then becomes a seat of the Universal Consciousness.

 The word kusha has its origin in the word ‘kosha’. kosha means ‘a sheath’. Universal Consciousness is the ‘sheath’ from where everything has been drawn and brought into existence.

The significance of the word kosha is ‘ka + u + sha’.

 ‘ka + u’ means ‘who’. sha maens ‘shaya’ or ‘lying’.

 So, kosha implies ‘ka + u + sha’ or ‘who is lying inside’ or ‘who is inside the sheath’.

 Similarly, the word barhi or barhis signifies what has become bahis or bahiH or ‘external’. Thus this external universe is the ‘seat’ of the Universal Consciousness. There are that many seats, as many are the entities in the universe. Each is a seat made of the sacred grass called kusha or barhis/barhi i.e. each seat is an external surface of a form of Universal Consciousness. Each such seat is specific and that ‘specification’ belongs to the ‘specific personality/personalities’ of the ‘Universal Consciousness’. These personalities are called ‘gods’ or deities’ and collectively known as vishvadevaa in the Vedas.

 naasatyaa ----- naasatyaa

 aa yaataM------- come here

 rudravartanI ---- rudra + vartani

 rudravartanI-----rudra + vartani (circuits or circuitous routes); rudra = ru/ rU (vision or manifestation of senses) + dra / drashtRi (observer);

rudra are those deities or the personalities of the Universal Consciousness, by whom we accomplish our living in the realized universe.  In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, mind (aatman) five sensory organs/faculties, and five functional organs/faculties are mentioned as rudra. They are a group of deities and are eleven (ekaadasha) in number.

The word rudra also means the deities who are making us rud or cry. Cry means the ‘sound’ or the expression of feelings that rudra are bringing in us. The shine of the Consciousness or rudra which is manifesting in us as our hearing, vision, taste, etc. is called raudra, which also means ‘sunshine’.

Mind activates and de-activates our sensory and functional organs. (Mind is the soul of the organs---Geeta, Chapter 10, Verse 22). When the immutable soul is active, we call active Consciousness as praaNa; and when praaNa is determined (sankalpa) to create himself as a different entity, then Consciousness becomes mind, activating the organs. Physicality is created from the mind.

 In our every action, we are active both internally and externally. We express ourselves and we feel whatever we express. This makes a circular, circuitous motion or vartani. These are rudra vartani and also known as

rudraakSha---rudra + akSha (orbit).

 In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Soul and the ten forms of praaNa have been described as eleven Rudra. (Brihadaranyaka,3.9.4, Third Chapter, Ninth Brahmin/Part, Fourth Verse.)

As stated above and earlier, as the Soul becomes active, praaNa is created.

The followings are the ten forms of praaNa, in each of us. These ten make five pairs. Each member of a pair corresponds to the other pair. It is mentioned in Prashnopanishad and elsewhere in Upanishads. The correspondence of each member in a pair with the other also constitutes rudra vartani.

 First pair:  chakShu---eye/vision and praaNa.  These two are the features of the first aspect of praaNa also called praaNa.

 Second pair:  shrota---ears/hearing and vyaana. These two are the features of the second aspect of praaNa called vyaana.

Third pair:  vaak--- faculty of expression or speech and apaana. These two are the features of the third aspect of praaNa called apaana. This includes the sense of taste and smells, flavours too.

 Fourth pair: mana ----mind----faculty of measurement (maana) and samaana. These two are the features of the fourth aspect of praaNa called samaana. Mind has no measurement or dimension but the measurable or the physical universe is realized in the aspect of Consciousness called the mind. As this is a ‘common’ feature among all perceptions, it is called sammana or ‘the same’.  samaana = sama ----same + ana----praaNa.

 Fifth pair: tvak/tvach----touch and udaana. These two are the features of the fifth aspect of praaNa called udaana.

 So, the immutable soul in Oneness as well as active as praaNa, and the above ten forms of the Consciousness make eleven rudras. Members in each pair narrated as above, correspond to each other and the flow of Consciousness from one another makes the circuitous route or rudra vartani.

 Similar to the actions of praaNa and the Soul in every individual, or in micro, the correspondence and circuitous motion of praaNa is also happening in divinity. Corresponding to five groups in every individual, there are five groups in divinity which are:

(i)              aaditya (the sun) and dyu (divinity)

(ii)            chandramaa (the moon) and dik (directions)

(iii)          agni (the fire) and pRithivI (the earth)

(iv)           parjanya (the rain god) and vidyut (lightning)

(v)             vaayu (air/the god of air) and aakaasha (the sky).

(We have described these correspondences in detail as described in Prashnopanishad, in a previous publication available in the link: https://upanishadsinenglish.blogspot.com/2020/12/agnihotra-oblation-to-agni-lord-of-fire.html ).

 So, we restate the hymn once more with consolidated meanings derived from above:

dasraa yuvaakavaH sutaa naasatyaa vRiktabarhiShaH

aa yaataM rudravartanI    (Rik Veda, 1.3.3 --- 1^st Mandal, 3^rd Anuvaak, 3^rd Sukta)

 You are moving while holding us!

All that will bloom in the future are being brought forth by both of you.

Naasatyaa, (barhis)seats to be occupied (are laid).

Come here through the routes of rudra.

 Thus, rudravartanI, or the circuitous routes of rudra are constructed involving our sensory and functional organs and connecting internal and external worlds. In our every action, we are moving to and fro or in a cyclic manner. We work, we perform, we exhibit ourselves or express ourselves externally; at the same time, we feel or perceive what we do and such an act is our motion toward internal. Thus we are going through myriads of cyclic routes, as well as linearly moving forward or progressing by the regulation of praaNa or along with praaNa. We can see this in the motion of time, which consists of periods or cycles as well as progression.

 8. The divine serpent dadhikraa

 Thus,  like a mother holding her child, praaNa is holding us and moving forward.  Consciousness or praaNa is progressing with us toward eternity as well as cycling. This is like a motion in a spiral, and also has been described as the motion of dadhikraa in the Veda.

 dadhikraa means, dadhi (dadh + i) + kraa (kraamati/kramati).

dadh = to hold; kraa (kraamati/kramati)---moving.

dadhikraa = who is moving while holding us to him / her; Universal Consciousness or praaNa, holds everyone by hRidaya (heart).

Curd is also called dadhi as it is ‘thickened milk, condensed or held together.

Because praaNa moves while holding us to his heart, this motion can also be regarded as ‘crawling/creeping’ or ‘moving on the heart’. Crawl or creep is sRip in Sanskrit. One who crawls or creeps (sRip) is called sasarparI in Veda and in this sense (moving on heart), the word sasarparI has been used in Veda.

 The spiraling motion of praaNa, taking us over all the difficulties of the world, taking us beyond ‘death’, has been mentioned in the hymns to dadhikraa. Below is quoted a hymn from Rik Veda:

 aashuM dadhikraaM tam u nu ShTavaama divas pRithivyaa uta charkiraama

uchChantIr maam uShsaH sUdayantv ati vishvaani duritaani parShan. (Rik Veda 4.4.1, Fourth Mandal, Fourth Anuvaak, First Verse.)

 Word to word meaning 

aashuM---reaching us / moving (toward us)

dadhikraaM----dadhikraa

tam u na ShTvaama---- we are going to laud you

divas pRithivyaa---in the divinity and in the earth

uta charkiraama --- also (you are) spiraling and moving; ‘charkiraama’ is from the root verb chakri meaning ‘ moving cyclically and linearly’. chakra means a ‘wheel’, ‘cycle’, ‘circular flight’ etc.

uchChantIr ---- (leading up; leading toward divinity; ‘uchChantIr’ is from the root word uchChaas meaning ud (above) + svaas (to govern/ regulate/guide)

maam uShsaH ----- me by uShaa; uShaa---- goddess of dawn----the first phase of the manifestation of eternal praaNa

sUdayantv—rising elegantly (su + udayana---su –elegant; udayana—rise)

ati --- beyond / over

vishvaani -----of the world

duritaani ----- difficulties

parShan ---  take me beyond; parShan is from the root verv pRi (to recuse, to surpass)

dadhikraa! You are reaching us.

We are going to laud you.

Also,(you are) moving as well as whirling in heaven and the earth.

You, as uShaa, are elevating me; (you) rise elegantly!

Take us beyond all the difficulties of the world. (Rik Veda, 4.4.1, Fourth Mandal, Fourth Anuvaak, First Verse.)

9. vishvadevaa

 Referring to the narration on barhi /barhis and the seat of the gods, here is a hymn on vishvadevaa--- the deities of the universe.

 vishve devaasa aa gata

shriNutaa ma imaM havaM.

edaM barhini ShIdata.  (Rik Veda, Verse 2.41.13)                                                                                                                                          

 Word to word meaning:

vishve devaasa ----deities of the universe ( vishvadevaa )

aa (hither) gata (come) -----come heither

shriNutaa (hear/enjoy)  ma (mine)

imam (this)  havaM (hymn / oblation),

edaM (this/ on this) barhi (barhis---seat made of sacred grass----on the seat that is barhis or external---on the seat which is this invitation to you—on the seat that is made of this event and its participants.)

niShIdata ---sit.)

 ye, visvadevaa! Come hither.

Hear/enjoy this hymn/ offering of mine.

Sit on this barhi!

 Whatever we know or feel, it has a divine aspect or an aspect that is beyond mortality (satya), and conscious (j~naana), and unending (ananta) . We are also so, and we know this when we learn to see ourselves beyond mortality or the earthly existence. These divine aspects are deities or devaa (feminine—devI). So these are the deities of the universe or vishvadevaa ----vishva (universe) + devaa (deity).

 Thus whatever we feel or perceive or know, it is a ‘deity’, a personality of the Universal Consciousness. We, now are experiencing a part of this personality, as we are mortal or being dominated by the regulation of the Consciousness called ‘mortality’. All these personalities including ourselves are created from Oneness.

 Consciousness means, ‘one who is knowing, feeling’. The word veda is from the root word vid meaning ‘to know’. Each deity, each personality of Universal Consciousness, or each deva is a personality of Consciousness or form of ‘knowing’ or ‘knowledge. Thus each deva is a personification of veda.

Any specific knowledge, say, the knowledge of the Universal Consciousness called ‘tree’ had manifested, is manifesting, and will manifest as all the trees in any time and space. This is how are the vishvadeva, each representing an aspect, a knowledge, or a personality of Consciousness.

 10. vishvadevaa and nivid in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

 As explained above, all the senses, all the feelings in which we are living is a manifestation of veda or ‘the knowing by Consciousness’.

 Whatever we know, sense or feel, it is j~aana (Knowledge/Consciuosness). There are two components in j~aana, (i) j~na and (ii) ana. ana is praaNa or Consciousness in the active form. From praaNa, all senses and feelings are being generated. j~na is the inactive, immutable aspect of Consciousness also called aatman who is the immutable soul in every individual and the soul of the universe. All senses, all activities end in Oneness in j~na.

j~na is also called nija or nijabodha. bodha means ‘sense’. There is no word in English corresponding to nija; a nearby word is ‘self’ nija is the assertionless immutable soul and all assertions or the expression of self are happening with nija in the background and as the origin of all assertions and associated senses. Etymologically nija means, nirantaraM (all the time) jayate (generating)---the one who is generating oneself into many all the time’. The word ni also implies nija.

Thus when the great sage yaaj~navalkya said that there are as many deities as in nivid, he meant, there are that many deities as many are known (vid) in the ‘self’ or ni/ nija. He mentioned them as visvadevaa. So, this is nivid from where yaaj~navalka quoted the number of deities.

 Here is the quote from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (3.9.1, Third Chapter, Ninth Brahmin, First Verse):

atha hainaṃ vidagdhaH shaakalyaH papraccha, kati devaa yaaj~navalkyeti; sa ha etayaa eva nividaa pratipede, yaavanto vaishvadevasya nividyucyante—trayashcha trI cha shataa, trayashcha trI cha sahasreti.

 Word to word meaning

atha -now;

ha—indeed;

enam—this;

vidagdhaH ---- highly motivated

shaakalyaH --- shaakalya (name of a sage);

papraccha---asked;

kati –how many

devaa ---deities

yaaj~navalkya–yaj~navalyka? how many deities are there?

(iti---end of the statement.)

sa ha ----he indeed

etayaa -- by this

eva---- way

nividaa---- in nivid

pratipede---established/ascertained (the number)

yaavanto---- as far as / as many as

vaishvadevasya----about vishvadevaa

nividy---- in nivid

ucyante---pronounced

trayashcha trI cha shataa--- three hundred and three

trayashcha trI cha sahasreti----- three hundred and three

 Now indeed, this highly motivated shaakalya asked: “yaj~navalyka, how many deities are there?

He (yaj~navalyka) indeed by this way established/ascertained (the number) (from) nivid.

 (yaj~navalyka replied)

“ As far as / as many as, vishvadevaa pronounced in nivid.

  Three hundred and three

  Three thousand and three.”

 It may be noticed that the sage yaj~navalyka, replied in two stages:

(i)              as many as, vishvadevaa pronounced in nivid

(ii)            three hundred and three and three thousand and three.

 So, the first statement of the reply indicates as many as or as far as in nivid, i.e.as many as or as far as experienced in the Universal Soul or Universal Consciousness, and which of course is infinite.

But as the infinite deities of the universe or vishvadevaa are created from the Oneness of the Universal Consciousness, so this infinite converges to one.

(i)              So, the next part of the reply starts with numbers that can be counted, i.e. three hundred and three and three thousand and three.

 

(ii)            In fact, in the subsequent replies to Shaklya (shaakalya), yaj~navalyka finally counted the number of deities to ‘one’.

(iii)          If you go through these particular sections of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Brihadaranyaka 3.9.1 to 3.9.9), you will notice that the other numbers were quoted discretely as an answer to separate questions of shaakalya. shaakalya agreed with every number that yaj~navalyka answered for the number of deities and after every correct answer, shaakalya again asked ‘kati eva devaa’, ‘how many are the gods’, till he got the final answer as ‘one’ from yaj~navalyka. Here is the sequence in which numbers stated by yaj~navalyka converge to one:

 

(a) Three hundred and three and three thousand and three. (It may be noted that these two figures were quoted by sage yaj~navalyka jointly and not discretely or one after another.

(b) Thirtythree

( c) Six

(d) Three

(e) Two

(f) One and half

(h) One (ana / praaNa)

 As this article will become too lengthy, we will not discuss the meaning and significance of the above numbers here. We will present the same in a separate article on the number of deities.