Espejo Sideral

In this short article I take a close look at the image of the sacrifice (yajña) in the Ṛg Veda, in the hope of better understanding how it was conceived during the Vedic Era. Instead of focusing on the particulars of the material performance of yajña, I will be discussing the possible meanings and intentions behind the practice.

(i) First, I will present a general outline of Thomas Hopkin’s thesis, according to which the understanding of the Vedic sacrifice underwent a process of historical development. (ii) Then, I will summarize Antonio de Nicolás’ explanation of the image of the sacrifice in the Ṛg Veda as the Fundamental Myth of Vedic culture. (iii) Lastly, I will go over some hymn passages as rendered into English by de Nicolás.

Development of the conception of the Sacrifice in the Ṛg Veda according to Thomas Hopkins

According to Thomas Hopkins, the understanding of the practice and the aims of the sacrifice did not remain constant. Hopkins provides an interesting historical thesis that raises the question of the continuity or change in the conception of early Vedic sacrifice. In this section, I briefly present Hopkin’s explanation of this topic, up until the time when the Brāhmaṇam were composed.

For the sake of clarity, I mention two moments or models for understanding of the sacrifice, following Thomas Hopkins: (i) the sacrifice as rite of hospitality and celebration of the devas (deities); and (ii) the sacrifice as a source of power in itself (Hopkins, 16). I would then like to briefly discuss the notion of tapas, which may offer a point of contact with deNicolás’ explanation of the sacrifice.

Hopkin believes that at the most basic and probably according to the most ancient conception, the Indo–Iranian sacrifice was a rite of hospitality to various gods, according to the specific intentions of the worshipers. In simple terms, a special altar and a sacred fire provided the setting for a ritual in which the gods were invited as a festivity in their honor (Hopkins, 14).

This understanding of the sacrifice changed as the so-called Aryan tribes began their migration across northern India into the plains of the Ganges and Jumna rivers. In Hopkins’ opinion, it was in this geographical area, between the tenth and seventh centuries B.C., when major elaboration regarding the fire sacrifice took place (Hopkins, 17). Important changes in the Aryan world view occurred and the Fire Sacrifice gained a place of supreme importance in religious life, which in turn led to some early Aryan gods, such as Indra, to lose importance (Hopkins, 17).

The figure of Agni gained importance because it was considered to be not only the god of fire, but more importantly the sacrificial fire itself, the indispensable medium by which men were able to communicate with the gods (Hopkins, 17). Hopkins believes that this can be evinced in the simplest ritual symbolism of the two main altars: “food cooked on the fire of earth is conveyed to the fire in heaven, the sun” (Hopkins, 19). 

The earlier Vedic tendency to fuse the roles and powers of the multitude of gods in one continued in a very specific form: all things, all the gods, were unified in the sacrifice. In parallel, speech in the form of hymns and mantras, personalized in the figure of Bṛhaspati or Brahmaṇaspati “Lord of Prayer,” or as Vācaspati, “Lord of Speech” became a primary god alongside Agni (Hopkins, 19-20). As a result of these developments, the sacrifice had come to be understood as the creative source of all power (Hopkins, 22).

A complex web of associations and parallels arose, in which the idea of tapas had a key role. Hopkins sees in this the beginning of another new stage in the evolution of the Vedic world view. In Hopkin’ words: “Tapas, more general in its manifestation than fire and closer to the creative qualities of sound, served as a link between the two, between the physical and the mental aspects of the sacrifice, as it were” (Hopkins, 27). 

Tapas, understood as cosmic creative power, was connected to other manifestations or forms of heat, in nature, in ritual, and in the human being (Hopkins, 26). Tapas was not only the power that allowed Indra to accomplish his feats, but also a power that could be cultivated by human beings though fire sacrifice and fervor (Hopkins, 26). In this way, human beings were actually participating in cosmic creation and not merely performing a symbolic representation of these phenomena (Hopkins, 26).

The parallels and connections mentioned earlier expressed how power flowed between the various manifestations of tapas and reached a heightened state of harmony and collective efficacy (Hopkins, 26). But more importantly, the knowledge of these identities and associations allowed greater control of the creative act of the sacrifice and the universe itself (Hopkins, 28). This trend is particularly evident in the texts known as the Brāhmaṇas, where we can find a widespread use of etymologies, myths, and other elements that establish the identities and correspondences linking the microcosmic ritual with the macrocosm (Hopkins, 31). Since the focus of this paper is the Ṛg Veda, I won’t go any further regarding later developments in Mīmāṃsā.

Instead, I would like to take this image of tapas as creative power, energy, heat, effort, and other associated images and symbols, which could serve as a segue to the following section, where I will present de Nicolás’ explanation of the sacrifice in the Ṛg Veda.

Antonio de Nicolás’: the sacrifice as the Fundamental Myth of the Ṛg Veda

According to de Nicolás, the Ṛg Veda has been frequently interpreted by relying on external sources and methods and is usually characterized as: (i) a book of rituals; (ii) a religio-cultural mythology which refers to gods; or (iii) an esoteric spiritual treatise (de Nicolás, 9). In contrast, de Nicolás believes that the criteria needed to understand the Ṛg Veda are fundamentally implied in the context and structure of the hymns,and require us to understand the theory of harmonics and mathematics associated to the intentionality of the Ṛg Vedic poets (de Nicolás, 11). 

With these tools, de Nicolás identifies four “Spaces of discourse” or ways of viewing the world, from which the Ṛg Veda gains meaning: (i) Non-existence (Asat), (ii) Existence (Sat); (iii) Sacrifice (Yajña); and (iv) Embodied (Ṛta) Vision (Dhīh) (de Nicolás, 9). The language of the sacrifice is the Fundamental Myth of the Ṛg Veda, regathering the other myth-images into itself (de Nicolás, 140). Beyond that, de Nicolás considers the sacrifice as the “Fundamental Myth” of Vedic civilization itself, understood as “a large controlling Image that gives philosophical meaning to the facts of ordinary life; that is, which has organizing value for experience” (de Nicolás, 148). This explains why it is impossible to talk about the image of the sacrifice without integrating it with the remaining three spaces of discourse. That being said, I will summarize the essential ideas. 

According to de Nicolás, asat is the ground of all possibility, and it is at the same time the attitude of “covering up” human possibilities by means of theoretical dogmatism (de Nicolás, 106-107). On the other hand, sat means what exists, not in a static condition but rather in dynamic form” (de Nicolás, 128). The third image, yajña, consists of a renunciation of the limits of specific perspectives, and embodies the eternal return to the originating power, which no single perspective can stop (de Nicolás, 137, 143). Lastly, the yajña gives birth to the Ṛta,which is the accumulation of “practices, customs, goals, and rules of survival for a community within which individuals are born and foreigners accepted” (de Nicolás, 162-163). 

The image and language of the sacrifice brings about a return from the plurality of exteriorized structured existence to the primordial indivisible source (de Nicolás, 140). This takes place in an instant (ṛtu) where the dispersed reality was reintegrated into an embodied-vision (Ṛta) (de Nicolás, 140-141). In the illumined instant of light (Dhīh) when all the concentrated powers converge in the Sacrifice, limitations are made visible (de Nicolás, 153), and it is from this place of Ṛta, the center of all creative action, that perspectives and new expressions can arise (de Nicolás, 158-159). The importance of knowledge of the deeper meaning of the sacrifice as a prerequisite for its effectiveness, mentioned by Hopkins, is also emphasized (de Nicolás, 150).

At its radical level, the sacrifice represents fundamental philosophical activity, as de Nicolás explains: “(…) For its innovation and continuity, the human body needs, not only to sing itself constantly through multiple perspectives, but it must also be aware that no perspective cuts the path of the song from going all the way of the circle to its radical, originating power” (de Nicolás, 143).

How could we connect the previous ideas to the image of tapas as creative power, to which we arrived at the end of the previous section? The idea of tapas, which came to embody the creative power available to humankind, could perhaps be found in the image of maghavan, an aspect of the power of Indra explained by de Nicolás as available to all men (de Nicolás, 143). In this sense, the cultivation of tapas through concentrated thought and intention in the context of yajña would be no different to the fundamental human activity of casting off dogmatic beliefs and freeing oneself from the stagnation that comes with limited perspectives, allowing man to truly own his life at the root level (Chapple, 12-13). These are the conditions for man to reinvent himself constantly and create his own world, acting under the premise that this is a never-ending process.

Now that I have covered the basic points of de Nicolás’ thesis, I would like to return to this idea of creative power found in the center of the sacrifice. In the following section, I plan to take this idea one step further and explore a few passages of the Ṛg Vedic hymns.

Passages from six hymns

I suggest that the chanting of these hymns might be understood (at least in part) as a discipline of body and mind in an effort to come face to face with what Rudolph Otto would call the mysterium fascinosum of human existence and its relationship to the Divine and the ineffable.

One might also suggest, following de Nicolás, that the ineffable shines through especially when we don’t cling to narrow identifications of ourselves. In this way, the image of yajña comes alive: one sacrifices these limited perspectives to the fire of the ineffable, in the hope of gaining a deeper understanding of what is. This practice may be understood as an experiential contemplative-philosophical research. This is the image that comes to my mind when I read the Hymn to Wisdom:

“1. When men Brhaspati, by name-giving

Brought forth the first sounds of Vāc,

That which was excellent in them, which was pure,

Secrets hidden deep, through love was brought to light.

(…)

3. They followed the path of Vāc through sacrifice,

Which they discovered hidden within the seers,

They drew her out, distributing her in every place,

Vāc, which Seven Singers, her tones and harmonies sing” 

(Hymn to Wisdom, Ṛg Veda, 10.71, de Nicolás, 222).

Embodied existence is such a powerful and captivating experience that one must take care to avoid over-identifying with experiences of suffering that inevitably arise. It is not about rejecting the world, but finding place of silence or stillness that serves as a sort of touchstone for keeping reality in perspective. Faith in the process and faith in experience helps regain intimacy with experience. Such an association could be suggested in the Hymn to Faith:

“1. By Faith is Agni kindled,

By Faith is the Sacrifice offered.

Full of joy, we sing to Faith.

(…)

4. Protected by Vāyu, men and gods increase

In Faith by Sacrificing.

Men gain Faith through the desires of the heart,

And become rich through Faith.” 

(Hymn to Faith, Ṛg Veda, 10.151.1,4, de Nicolás, 222).

The following hymn to Agni provides an opportunity to return to de Nicolás’ thesis and discuss the problem of continuity and discontinuity in Vedic tradition:

“5. He called the seven red sisters in heat (fire of sacrifice),

To be seen with the sweet of their drink (Soma);

Born long ago, he stood in mid-air,

And looking for cover, he found Pūṣan’s robe (the sun).

6. The singers fashioned seven paths,

He was given only one.

He stands in the highest spot,

A pillar, strong in the middle of the ways that part.” 

(Hymn to Agni, Ṛg Veda, 10.5, de Nicolás, 222). 

Rejecting esoteric interpretations based on later texts and doctrines, de Nicolás explains this verse as follows “The Sacrifice (Yajña), as itself or in the form of Agni -which is the same, is described in 10.5.6 as being stationed at the “parting of the ways, panthām visarge;” that is, between the two opposite forces of action or inaction” (de Nicolás, 148). In his opinion, the number seven refers to the tones of the musical scale, an explanation that definitely makes sense when we look at the musical basis on which de Nicolás supports his explanation of the Ṛg Veda (de Nicolás, 151).

A reader might wonder if the idea of antar yajña or the internal sacrifice was indeed the original meaning of sacrifice in the Ṛg Veda. This idea is clearly found in the Upanishads, where the sacrifice is explicitly presented as a practice that takes place inside the body and mind of the practitioner (very clearly expressed in the Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad 2.5), as opposed to an actual sacrificial fire as it was practiced by Brahmanical orthodoxy. One might wonder whether this reflected a radical shift in Indian spiritual thought or merely a process of progressive revelation of a deeper meaning, making the symbolism and metaphoric language of the earlier Vedic texts more explicit. 

Not infrequently does one read categorical claims in books about Vedānta about a linear development of the Vedic tradition tracing back to the dawn of times. A skeptic reader will surely think reality must be more complex and more “imperfect” (perhaps more “human”, in a sense); and a teacher or practitioner of yoga might find the thesis of the continuity in the Vedic tradition to be a tempting alternative. Allusions to a sort of perennial philosophy that runs through the history of South Asian spiritual thought can be deeply satisfying to someone who sympathizes with these teachings or considers them sacred. 

Were the equivalences between ritual, cosmic and man mentioned in the Brāhmaṇam and the Upaniṣad what the Vedic seers had in mind when they composed the hymns of the Ṛg Veda? In bringing all of these concepts to the task of interpretation are we “reading into the text” using concepts that are alien to it? There is no clear-cut answer. 

In the first two sections of this article, I presented two visions that I found helpful in trying to understand this issue. In Hopkins work I found a useful framework based on the premise of progressive development and reinterpretation of ritual practices. On the other hand, de Nicolás provides a basic but powerful idea that might serve as a radical ground on which successive understandings and interpretations of the text could find footing. In trying to make sense of these apparently opposing views, an idea from the work of Raimundo Panikkar might be stimulating.

According to Panikkar, even though the conception of sacrifice seems to have changed over time, the basic idea of creative action found in the hymns of the Ṛg Veda remained (Panikkar 347). To better understand this statement, we must reflect on the characteristics of the language of the hymns, something that Panikkar expresses very aptly: “The Vedic Revelation opens up reality not by means of concepts or, generally, by the telling of myths, but by means of symbols. (…) A concept relates to logical intelligibility and is expressed in the different notes that or attributes that define a word. A symbol, when expressed in words, stands for all that the word reveals over and above the conceptual intelligibility, though the latter is not necessarily excluded” (Panikkar 349). This nature of symbolic language explains why symbols allows for significantly wider range of interpretations. In Panikkar’s opinion, we must follow a different approach to the hymns, in which “Philosophy and Poetry, Speculation and Art, Theory and Praxis, are yet unseparated” (Panikkar 349).

There is certainly much deep symbolism in early Vedic hymns that we still do not understand enough. Couched in this dense symbolism are possibly allusions to the microcosm, an aspect more clearly reflected in the later Upaniṣad. There remains much work to be done regarding the hermeneutics of these ancient texts, particularly the symbolic and metaphorical language that abound in them. The question of continuity and change in the Vedic tradition might not be as important as the reality of how the Ṛg Veda serves as the common ground of much of South Asian spiritual and philosophical thought. 

In this light one might be able to better understand the divinized elements of the fire sacrifice: Agni, Bṛhaspati and Soma. In Hopkin’s words: “(…) Man can and does build fires, press out the juice of Soma plants, and recite ritual prayers. These elements may be seen as gods, but their importance depends on man’s use of them.” (Hopkins, 13-14). Millennia of practice of the sacrificial ritual continually gave birth to different interpretations. perhaps even integrating non–Aryan elements (Hopkins, 16).

In any case, the key idea of de Nicolás’ explanation is a valuable reminder of not limiting ineself to one single interpretation, and allowing the sacrifice to fulfill its real purpose of returning to the original infinite space form which creation arises, to the “end of a journey where no one is there to ask the traveler from where he came or where he goes; yet the journey goes on” (de Nicolás, 153). This is the image that the the Asya Vāmasya Hymn evokes in this reader:

“34. I ask you: What is the ultimate point of the Earth?

I ask you: What is the central point of the Universe?

I ask you: What is the semen of the Cosmic Horse?

I ask you: What is the ultimate dwelling of Language?

35. This Altar is the limit of the Earth.

This Sacrifice is the navel of the Universe.

This Soma is the semen of the Cosmic Horse.

This Brāhman (singer) is the center of Language.” 

(Ṛg Veda, 1.164.34-35, deNicolás, 204).

In conclusion, the image of yajña is pregnant with meaning, images and other symbols: creation, tapas, prāna, breath, effort, sacrifice, heat, desire, correspondences between the macrocosm and microcosm, mind, desire, power, speech-word-wisdom, food, offering, primal sacrifice, birth, dismemberment, unity. In my view, however, they all find their center in the act of “collapsing the binary”, to use Christopher Chapple’s expression. The following two passages could be read as referring to this “Eternal return”:

“Darkness was concealed by darkness there,

And all this was indiscriminate chaos;

That ONE which had been covered by the void

Through the heat of desire (tapas) was manifested.” 

(The Hymn of Creation, Ṛg Veda, 10.129.3, deNicolás, 222).

“With the Sacrifice the gods sacrificed the Sacrifice. 

This was the first Norm.

That power (thus generated) reaches the top of heaven,

Where the ancient sādhyāh, the gods, are.” 

(Ṛg Veda, 1.164.50, deNicolás, 205).

  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chapple, Christopher Key. Karma and Creativity. SUNY Press, 1986.

De Nicolás, Antonio T. Meditations through the Ṛg Veda. Authors Choice Press, 2003. 

Hopkins, Thomas J. The Hindu Religious Tradition. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1971.

Pannikar, Raimundo. The Vedic experience: Mantramañjarī. University of California Press, 1977.