Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic/Chapter 6
CHAPTER VI.
SUN OR LIGHT DEITIES.
I. Surya.
Surya and Savitri are two names by which the Sun is commonly addressed in the Vedic hymns. Sometimes one name is used exclusively, sometimes they are used interchangeably, and sometimes they are used as though they represented quite distinct objects. It is supposed that Savitri refers to the sun when invisible; whilst Surya refers to him when he is visible to the worshippers. This at any rate gives some reason for the two names being employed, though it may not explain the case satisfactorily in every instance.
Although the hymns in which Surya is addressed are not very numerous, his worship was most common in the olden time, and has continued to the present hour. It is to him that the Gayatri, the most sacred text of the Vedas, is addressed at his rising by every devout Brahman. Simple in its phraseology, this short verse is supposed to exert magical powers. It is as follows:—
"Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine Vivifier;
May he enlighten (or stimulate) our understandings."*[1]
As a specimen of the language employed in some of the later writings in reference to this verse, read the following few lines from the “Skanda Purāna" :“Nothing in the Vedas is superior to the Gayatri. No invocation is equal to the Gayatri, as no city is equal to Kasi (Benares). The Gayatri is the mother of the Vedas, and of Brāhmans. By repeating it a man is saved. By the power of the Gayatri the Kshetriya
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SURYA.
(Warrior caste) Vishvamitra became a Brāhmarsi (Brāhman Saint), and even obtained such power as to be able to create a new world. What is there indèed that cannot be effected by the Gayatri ? For the Gayatri is Vishnu, Brahmā, and Siva, and the three Vedas."[2] With promise of such blessings, it is not to be wondered at that the worship of Surya should continue.
The following translation[3] of hymns from the Rig-Veda gives a fair specimen of the language used in addresses to Surya:—
"Behold the rays of Dawn, like heralds, lead on high
The Sun, that men may see the great all-knowing god.
The stars slink off like thieves, in company with Night,
Before the all-seeing eye, whose beams reveal his presence,
Gleaming like brilliant flames, to nation after nation.
With speed, beyond the ken of mortals, thou, O Sun!
Dost ever travel on, conspicuous to all.
Thou dost create the light, and with it dost illume
The universe entire; thou risest in the sight
Of all the race of men, and all the host of heaven.
Light-giving Varuna! thy piercing glance dost scan,
In quick succession, all this stirring, active world,
And penetrateth too the broad ethereal space.
Measuring our days and nights, and spying out all creatures.
Surya with naming locks, clear-sighted god of day,
Thy seven ruddy mares bear on thy rushing car.
With these, thy self-yoked steeds, seven daughters of thy chariot
Onward thou dost advance. To thy refulgent orb
Beyond this lower gloom, and upward to the light
Would we ascend, O Sun! thou god among the gods."
Surya, as we. have already noticed, is regarded as a son of Aditi; at other times he is said to be a son of Dyaus. Ushas (the Dawn) is called his wife, though in another passage he is said to be produced by the Dawn. Some texts state that he is the Vivifier of all things; whilst others state that he was formed and made to shine by Indra, Soma, Agni, and others.
From the character ascribed to Savitri in some hymns, it seems more natural to regard him as the sun shining in his strength, and Surya as the sun when rising and setting. Savitri is golden-eyed,[4] golden-handed, golden-tongued. He rides in a chariot drawn by radiant, white-footed steeds. He illuminates the earth; his golden arms stretched out to bless, infusing energy into all creatures, reach to the utmost ends of heaven. He is leader and king in heaven; the other gods follow him, and he it is who gives them immortality. He is prayed to for deliverance from sin, and to conduct the souls of the departed to the abode of the righteous.
In the Puranic Age, Surya sustains quite a different character. He is there called the son of Kasyapa and Aditi. He is described as a dark-red man, with three eyes and four arms: in two hands are water-lilies; with one he is bestowing a blessing, with the other he is encouraging his worshippers. He sits upon a red lotus, and rays of glory issue from his body. In addition to the daily worship that is offered him by Brahmans in the repetition of the Gayatri, he is worshipped once a year by the Hindus of all castes, generally on the first Sunday in the month of Magh; and in seasons of sickness it is no uncommon thing for the low-caste Hindus to employ a Brahman to repeat verses in his honour, in the hope that thus propitiated he will effect their recovery.
In the "Vishnu Purana"[5] we find the following account of Surya. He married Sangna, the daughter of Visvakarma; who, after bearing him three children, was so oppressed with his brightness and glory that she was compelled to leave him. Before her departure, she arranged with Chhaya (Shadow) to take her place. For years Surya did not notice the change of wife. But one day, in a fit of anger, Chhaya pronounced a curse upon Yama (Death), a child of Sangna's, which immediately took effect. As Surya knew that no mother's curse could destroy her offspring, he looked into the matter and discovered that this wife had forsaken him, leaving this other woman in her place. Through the power of meditation, Surya found Sangna in a forest in the form of a mare ; and, in order that he might again enjoy her society, he changed himself into a horse. After a few years, growing tired of this arrangement, they returned in proper form to their own dwelling. But in order that his presence might be bearable to his wife, his father-in-law Visvakarma, who was the architect of the gods, ground the Sun upon a stone, and by this means reduced his brightness by one-eighth. The part thus ground from Surya was not wasted. From it were produced the wonder-working discus of Vishnu, the trident of Siva, the lance of Kartikeya (the god of war), and the weapons of Kuvera (the god of riches).
The "Bhavishya Purana" says: "Because there is none greater than he (i.e., Surya), nor has been, nor will be, therefore he is celebrated as the supreme soul in all the Vedas." Again, "That which is the sun, and thus called light or effulgent power, is adorable, and must be worshipped by those who dread successive births and deaths, and who eagerly desire beatitude." In the "Brahma Purana"[6] is a passage in which the sun is alluded to under twelve names, with epithets peculiar to each, as though they were twelve distinct sun-deities:—
"The first form of the sun is Indra, the lord of the gods, and the destroyer of their enemies; the second, Dhata, the creator of all things; the third, Parjanya, residing in the clouds, and showering rain on the earth from its beams; the fourth, Twasta, who dwells in all corporeal forms; the fifth, Pushan, who gives nutriment to all beings; the sixth, Aryama, who brings sacrifices to a successful conclusion; the seventh derives his name from almsgiving, and delights mendicants with gifts; the eighth is called Vivasvan, who ensures digestion; the ninth, Vishnu, who constantly manifests himself for the destruction of the enemies of the gods; the tenth, Ansuman, who preserves the vital organs in a sound state; the eleventh, Varuna, who, residing in the waters, vivifies the universe; and the twelfth, Mitra, who dwells in the orb of the moon, for the benefit of the three worlds. These are the twelve splendours of the sun, the supreme spirit, who through them pervades the universe, and irradiates the inmost souls of men."
Surya is said to have Aruna (Rosy), the Dawn, the son of Kasyapa and Kadru, as his charioteer.
According to the Ramayana, Sugriva, the king of the monkey host which assisted Rama in his great expedition to regain possession of Sita, his wife, was a son of Surya by a monkey. According to the Mahabharata, the hero Kama also was the son of this deity; and when he was in the form of a horse, he became father of the Asvins, and communicated the white Yajur-Veda.
When speaking of the planets, Surya will be noticed again under the name of Ravi.
Among the many names and epithets by which this deity is known, the following are the most common:—
Dinakara, "The Maker of the day."
Bhaskara, "The Creator of light." Vivaswat, "The Radiant one."
Mihira, "He who waters the earth;" i.e., he draws up the moisture from the seas so that the clouds are formed.
Grahapati, "The Lord of the stars."
Karmasakshi, "The witness of (men's) works."
Martanda, "A descendant of Mritanda."
2. Pushan.
Pushan is the name of a sun-god to whom some hymns are exclusively addressed, and whose praise at other times is sung in connection with that of Indra and other gods. In these hymns his character is not very clearly defined. He is said* to behold the entire universe; is addressed as the guide of travellers, and the protector of cattle. He is called upon to protect his servants in battle, and to defend them as of old. He is invoked in the marriage ceremonial, and asked to take the bride's hand, to lead her away, and to bless her in her conjugal relations. He is said also to con- duct the spirits of the departed from this world to the next. In one text he is called "the nourisher, " as Vishnu in later times was called "the preserver." By far the greater number of prayers addressed to him seem to regard him as the guide and protector of travellers, both along the ordinary journeys of life and in the longer journey to the other world; and as he is supposed to be constantly travelling about, he is said to know the road by which they have to go.
The following is a specimen of the hymns addressed to Pushan in the Rig-Veda:—"Conduct us, Pushan, over our road; remove distress, son of the deliverer; go on before us. Smite away from before us the destructive and injurious wolf which seeks after us. Drive
- Muir, O. S. T., v. 171, ff. away from our path the waylayer, the thief and the robber. Tread with thy foot upon the burning weapons of that deceitful wretch, whoever he be. O
wonder-working and wise Pushan, we desire that help of thine wherewith thou didst favour our fathers! O god, who bringest all blessings, and art distinguished by the golden spear, make wealth easy of acquisition! Convey us past our opponents; make our paths easy to travel; gain strength for us here. Lead us over a country of rich pastures; let no new trouble (beset our) path. Bestow, satiate, grant, stimulate us; fill our belly. We do not reproach Pushan, we praise him with hymns; and we seek riches from the wonder-working god."[7] "May we, O Pushan! meet with a wise man who will straightway direct us and say, 'It is this.' May Pushan follow our kine; may he protect our horses ; may he give us food. . . . Come hither, glowing god, the deliverer, may we meet."[8]
In the Puranas Pushan occupies a far less exalted position. It seems almost like a burlesque to see him, who in the Vedas is reverently approached as the giver of good to his worshippers, described as being obliged to feed upon gruel, because his teeth have been knocked out of his mouth. The earliest form of the legend describing this event is found in the Taittiriya Sanhita. Rudra, the name by which Siva was then known, not being invited to a great sacrifice that Daksha, his father-in-law, was celebrating, in his anger shot an arrow which pierced the sacrificial victim. Pushan ate his share, and in doing so broke his teeth. In describing Daksha,[9] an account of this sacrifice will be given. In the "Vishnu Purana" Pushan appears as one of the Adityas. {{c|3. Mitra and Varuna
These deities are most frequently named together in the hymns ; Varuna is often addressed alone, but Mitra very seldom. The idea of the older commentators was that Mitra represented and ruled over the day, whilst Varuna was ruler of the night. “Varuna is sometimes visible to the gaze of his worshippers ;
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{{c|VARUNA.
hę dwells in a house having a thousand doors, so that he is ever accessible to men. He is said to have good eyesight, for he knows what goes on in the hearts of men. He is king of gods and men ; is mighty and terPage:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/63 Professor Roth says of this hymn: "There is no hymn in the whole Vedic literature which expresses the divine omniscience in such forcible terms;" and it would not be easy to find in any literature many passages to surpass it in this respect.
In other hymns we learn that the affairs of men are under his control; he is asked to prolong life, to punish transgressors; and a hope is held out that the righteous shall see him reigning in the spirit world in conjunction with Yama, the ruler of that region. Varuna, in fact, has attributes and functions ascribed to him in the Vedas, of a higher moral character than any other of the gods, and therefore men call upon him for pardon and purity. "Release us," they say, "from the sins of our fathers, and from those which we have committed in our own persons." And again, "Be gracious, O mighty god, be gracious. I have sinned through want of power; be gracious."
In the hymns addressed to Mitra and Varuna together, almost the same terms are employed as when Varuna is addressed alone. Both are spoken of as righteous, and as the promoters of religion. They are said to avenge sin and falsehood.
In the Vedic literature, though Varuna is not regarded chiefly as the god of the ocean, as he is in the later writings, but rather, as the above hymns show, as one of the gods of light, yet there are passages which describe him as being connected with the waters of the atmosphere and on the earth, which afford some foundation for the later conceptions of his kingdom. Thus, for instance, we read: "May the waters which are celestial, and those which flow ; those for which channels are dug, and those which are self-produced; Page:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/65 him with dropsy. For six years the boy wandered, in the forest; at length, happening to meet with a poor Brahman with his three sons, the prince proposed to purchase one of them to offer to the god as a substitute for himself. The father could not give up his firstborn, the mother would not yield her youngest; the middle one was therefore taken. The prince then returned home, taking with him the Brahman's son. At first the king was delighted at the prospect of being able to keep his promise to the deity; but a difficulty now arose as to who would slay the boy. After some time, on the consideration of a large present being made to him, the boy's father consented to do this. The boy was bound, the father ready to strike, when the boy asked permission to recite some texts in praise of the gods. Of course this was granted ; and as a result the deities thus lauded were so pleased with the boy's piety, that they interceded with Varuna to spare him. Varuna granted their request, suffered the boy to live, and Harischandra recovered from his sickness.
In the Puranas, as mentioned before, Varuna is described as the god of the ocean. After a great conflict between the powers of heaven and earth, when order was again restored, the "Vishnu Purana" records the position assigned to the various deities. In that account Varuna is said to rule over the waters. In the same Purana we read that an old Brahman named Richika was most anxious to obtain in marriage a daughter of King Gadhi, who was really an incarnation of Indra. Gadhi refused to give his daughter to Richika except on one condition: that he would present him with a thousand fleet horses, each having one white ear. Horses of this colour were special favourites of Indra; hence those sacrificed to him usually had this peculiarity. The Brahman is said to have propitiated Varuna, the god of the ocean, who gave him the thousand steeds, by means of which he was able to obtain the princess in marriage.
Varuna is represented in pictures as a white man sitting upon a fabulous marine monster called a makara. This animal has the head and front legs of an antelope, and the body and tail of a fish. In his right hand he carries a noose. He is occasionally worshipped in seasons of drought, and by fishermen as they cast their nets, but now-a-days no images of him are made.
The following legend is found in the "Padma Purana."[10] On one occasion Ravana, the demon king of the island, was travelling home to Ceylon, carrying with him a stone linga, the emblem of Siva. He was desirous of setting up the worship of the great god there, and was taking the image from the Himalayas for this purpose. But the gods, fearing he would grow too powerful through his devotion to Siva, wished to frustrate his purpose. Siva, in giving the stone, made Ravana promise that wherever it first touched the ground, after leaving Siva's abode, it should remain. Aware of this fact, the gods tried to induce him to let it rest on the earth before he reached Ceylon. At last it was agreed that Varuna should enter Ravana 's bod}*, so that, in attempting to free himself, he might be compelled to loose his hold of the linga. Accordingly Varuna entered Ravana, and caused him such intense pain that he could scarcely bear it. When thus suffering, Indra, in the form of an old Brahman, passed by, and offered to take hold of the stone. No sooner did Ravana entrust it to him, than he let it fall to the ground. It is said that it sank into the earth, the top of it being visible at Vaidyanath in Birbhum to this day. The river Khursu is said to have taken its rise from Varuna when he left Ravana at this place; and, as a result, the Hindus will not drink of its waters.
Although Varuna is described in the Vedas as a holy being, according to the teaching of the Puranas, his heaven is a place of sensual delights. He sits with his queen Varuni on a throne of diamonds; Samudra (the sea) , Ganga (the Ganges) , and the gods and goddesses of different rivers, lakes, springs, etc., form his court. And stories are told of conduct the very opposite to what would be expected in one who once was addressed in such language as is found in the Vedic hymns. He is said, conjointly with Surya, to have been enamoured of Urvasi, a nymph of Indra's heaven, by whom they had a son named Agastya, one of the most eminent of Hindu ascetics.
Varuna is also known as Prachetas, the wise; Jalapati, the lord of water; Yadapati, the lord of aquatic animals; Amburaja, the king of waters; Pasi, the noose-carrier.
4. The Asvins.
From the hymns addressed to these deities it is not at all easy to know who or what they are. Yaska, the commentator of the Vedas, deriving the name from a root meaning "to fill," says they are called Asvins because they pervade everything, the one with light, the other with moisture. Another commentator says they are called Asvins because they ride upon horses. Some say that by them heaven and earth are indicated; SUN OR LIGHT DEITIES— THE ASVINS. 45
others that they are day and night ; others, again, that they are the sun and moon. Professor Roth says, They hold a perfectly distinct position in the entire body of the Vedic deities of light. They are the earliest bringers of light in the morning sky, who hasten on in the clouds before the Dawn and prepare the way for her. ' '* In some hymns they are said to be sons of the sun {vide Surya); in others are called children of the sky; in others again as the offspring of the ocean. They seem to represent the transition from night to morning — night when it is passing into day.
The Asvins are said to have had Surya, the daughter of Savitri, as their common wife. She chose them, as her life was lonely. Her father had intended her to marry Soma; but, as the gods were anxious to obtain so beautiful a bride, it was agreed that they should run a race, Surya being the prize of the winner. The Asvins were successful, and she ascended their chariot. f In another passage Soma is said to have been her hus- band ; the Asvins being friends of the bridgeroom. The Asvins are regarded as the physicians of the gods and are declared to be able to restore to health the blind, the sick, the lame, and the emaciated amongst mortals.. They are the special guardians of the slow and backward;, the devoted friends of elderly women who are unmarried. They are said to preside over love and marriage, and are implored to bring together hearts that love. %
A number of legends are found illustrating the power of the Asvins in healing the sick and assisting those in trouble, from which we learn that they could restore youth and vigour to the aged and decrepit ; they re?'
- Muir, O. S. T., v. 235.
t Muir, O. S. T.. v. 236. % Ibid., v. 234. Page:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/70 Page:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/71 Page:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/72 Page:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/73 Page:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/74 Page:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/75 Page:Hindu Mythology, Vedic and Purānic.djvu/76