Shraddha Chauhan and Fatah Singh
17E/257, Nandanvana, Chaupaasani, Jodhpur, India 342008
email vipink@mail.nplindia.ernet.in
The word Hari has been used in Vedas for soma( Rigveda 9.2.6,9.3.3,59 etc.). The word seems to be derived from the root Hree, to fetch. There are general expressions of two Haree of Indra, who are the carriers of his chariot. These carriers or horses are quoted as a doublet by the word Haree iti ( At other places, like Nighantu 1.15, Haree have been stated to be carriers of chariot of Indra, Haritaah of Sun and Rohitah of Agni ). In Brahmanic literature, these haris have been equated with the lower and higher aspects of human individuality( Shadvimsha Brahman 1.1), the duals of Rik and Saama( Shatapath Brahmana 7.9.4.2), Heaven and Earth( Taittiriya Samhita 7.9.4.2), Day and Night( Jaiminiya Brahman 2.79) or with full and new moons( Taittiriya Samhita 2.5.6.2-3). At other places in Rigveda, there is also mention of more than 2 haris of Indra( Harayah). Indra has been said to be associated with hundreds and thousands of haris( Jaiminiya Upnishad Brahmana 1.14.3.5). The integrated form of these horses is Hari in singular form, while the upward and downward motion of the totality of Harayah has been considered as Haree iti in duality. Such type of description of multiplicity in integrity is also available here and there in the mantras of Sukta or prayer of Hari( Rigveda 10.96).
There are many words in the mantras of Hari Sukta which have been formulated on the basis of word Hari. One such word is Harya which is symbolic of motion and luster according to the meaning of wordroots( Dhatu patha 1.344). This prayer also contains many other words derived from this root, like Haryata, Haryatam, Haryatah, Haryate, Haryatau. This Harya root may be considered to mean a desire to be able to be of use to Hari. Thus, when soma is called Haryatam madam, this may mean that love or desire which is able to attain that element of happiness which is called Hari.
Vipin Kumar and Radha Gupta
J-178, HIG Colony, Indore –
452011(India)
Email : ravikant60@hotmail.com
Puranas assign much importance to Hari and it has been said that the worship of Hari is more important than that of Vishnu. The monkeys which helped Lord Rama in reuniting with Sita are also called haris. Their leader Sugriva , who has been called a hari, has got special importance. The word meaning of Su-griva is – having a good neck. In vedic literature, griva symbolizes the inner voice(gree root means Vijnana). In Somayaga, some rituals are performed for few days before starting the yagna. These are called Pravargya and Upasada. Pravargya symbolizes attaining a state of high energy, in scientific terms, attaining a state of lower entropy. It has been said in Brahmanic literature that some firm base is required to establish this state of lower entropy, just like our head is established on neck. This base has been called Upasada in yagna. It is assumed that by Upasada ritual, which is done silently, demons are forced to leave the yagna place or vedi. This ritual can give us an idea what can be the actual purpose of haris. As has been said in vedic part of this article, the function of haris is to fetch energy from the main stream to support the self(Swadhaa). The story of Sugriva indicates that Rama has to establish friendship with Sugriva. Let the higher and lower selves be in friendship with each other. Not only that, yogi Hari in Bhaagavata purana teaches to establish 4 traits with lower self – love, friendship, compassion and neglect. This requires further explanation in future. A bigger exclamation is that vedic scholars have not yet been able to support why Harayah word has been classified under synonyms for man in vedic nighantu. But Valmiki Ramayana classifies haris under vaa-nara, one who can be a man or not a man. In classical Sanskrit, even lion, fish, tortoise etc. have
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RITA
OR APPARENT TRUTH
Vipin Kumar & Radha Gupta
J-178, HIG Colony, Indore – 452011(India)
Rita and ritam words have
been used in Rigveda quite often.According to the information given by Dr.
G.N.Bhat in his book ‘Vedic Nighantu’, the word ritam and its forms(including
compounds) occurs in Rigveda in 572 places. Sayana interprets the word ritam as
water(because the word has been classified under synonyms for water ). The word
ritasya yonih occurs in Rigveda at 8 places and has been interpreted as birth
place of water. In two hundred places the word is used in the sense of truth,
including those which are used as adjectives (because the word is listed
in satyanamani). In some places it is
used in the sense of yajna/sacrifice. Moreover, Nighantu classifies the word
ritam under synonyms for wealth also and nowhere has been assigned this sense
in his interpretations by Sayana. Ritah word occurs under synonyms for pada or
stages. The authority of vedic words Yaska says in his book Nirukta that the
word ritam is a synonym of water, because it pervades everything. This just
indicates what confusion prevailed even at earlier times about the actual
meaning of words rita and ritam.
At present
also, there is confusion about what is rita and what is satya/truth. There are
some references in vedic texts which differentiate between non-truth/anrita,
half- truth/rita, and truth/satyam. These have been given the shape of a tree
whose root is anrita, stem or unripe fruits
are rita and ripe fruits are
satya. This simile is well known in astrological literature and it’s meaning
has been clarified by the websites attributed to an old astrologer Steiner.
According to him, the unripe and ripe fruits pertain to different stages of
consciousness. Different planets take the consciousness to a particular level.
Jupiter or Brihaspati takes to the highest level. The root has perhaps been
attributed to Saturn. So, on one side, ritam is connected to the root or
anrita, which can be called those forces which sustain our basic structure. On
the other side, rita is connected to truth. It seems that rita word may be the
origin of word rhythm in English language.
The present
study collects specific references to rita and its compound forms in puraanic
and vedic literature and comments on these to the extent possible.
G.N.Bhat
Vedic Nighantu
(Mangalore University, Konaje
- 574199, ) price 125/-
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puranic contexts, click