Commentary on the Rig Veda

HYMN 13

We have commented upon the first hymn of Medhatithi, son of Kanva, to Agni. Now begins the second hymn (in gāyatri) again, his, of twelve Riks, named āpri hymns. The Anukramaņikā (Index) has it that there are twelve deities, expounded in each of the Riks. This Apri Sukta is recited amongst the hymns to Agni because it is only Agni who is lauded in his twelve component godheads. Prescribing the victim for the Agniștoma sacrifice, eleven principal sacrificial ceremonies are enjoined in that connection; there he pleases them with Apri hymns, so proclaims the Aitareya school. The sacrificial lauds are mentioned as āpri for the reason that they please the deities of the ceremonies. Thus the application is patent in the grosser view, so also the meaning of the mantras is easily found to be coherent. Only the subtler sense has to be discussed. How is Agni to be established in the sacrificer? Of what kind is the form of the sacrificer ? Of what kind is the activity of Agni? If the truth of these is firmly grasped, doubtless the secret of the Apri mantras will be clear without difficulty. The self, atman, who gleams within, using, enjoying and presiding over the triad of mind, life and body, that jiva is the sacrificer, the Purusha. When he turns his activities, because of maturity, to acquire the grace of the gods for the divine riches and the divine birth, the aspiration in his heart becomes acute. It flames up specially as a result of thought completely overpowered by devotion or force of askesis or both. When the aspiration of the jiva desirous of Godhead is there aflame, the Lord himself becomes the seer and revealer of all-Seer’, Kavi’; the kratu, will, he who does, he who causes to be done what is to be done, becomes manifest. That is why the mantra-vision Agni is kindled by Agni’. And after this Agni takes birth in the sacrificer, gradually he himself takes over all the burden of the sacrificer and effects the work. He is the summoner, the priest in the front, the Truth, the Truth-lawed, the master of the house; the purpose of all these adjectives would now be easily understood. Once born, he is to be nourished, kindled by our lauds, meditations and works. He alone has to be adored in our works. By all means he has to be pleased. When he is pleased, when he is at work, other godheads emanating from him manifest themselves and reach to the sacrificer their own wealths. They are the āpri deities who are expounded in this hymn. All of them are to be taken as the wealth of Agni himself. The derivation of the word āpri is said to be from the root priñ to please; in that case the meaning of praises is appropriate. The word can be derived as well from the root p? meaning protection, filling up; in that case, the Apri deities are those who fill, who complete the sacrificer. That is to say, these powers of Agni fill the sacrificer with themselves. In “May he fill us from all sides, he who knows” (2.6.8), Sayana’s comment is to be noted : thou who knowest well, fill our wants from all sides.

In this hymn are narrated the Apris, the Samidhas otherwise known as Idhma and others, certain particular powers and personalities that are useful implements for the full manifestation of Agni who has taken birth in the sacrificer, is growing and is undergoing certain special states. This is to be kept in mind. Everywhere in the Apri hymns all the main deities are lauded in order to be present in the sacrifice. They are invoked through the mouth of Agni. Hence the gods are Agni-faced, that is why Apri hymns are said to have Agni for their deity. Though all the gods are only forms of the supreme Godhead, yet it is to be noted that their functions and personalities are distinct. We shall show all this in the course of commenting on the Riks, as far as necessary.

This is the first Rik.

1. susamiddho na ā vaha devān agne havişmate, hotaḥ pāvaka yakși ca.
   su’samiddhaḥ naḥ ā vaha devān agne havişmate hotariti pāvaka yakși ca.

agne O Agni; susamiddhaḥ thou well-kindled, beautiful; naḥ to me (plural is used by change in number); havişmate to the sacrificer with the offerings; devān gods; āvaha bring; hotaḥ O summoner; pāvaka purifier; yakşi ca and sacrifice.

susamiddhaḥ: sam means well, qualifies the act of kindling, so samiddha prepositional compound. The word su denotes auspiciousness and on that karmadhāraya compound.

yakşi: sacrifice, imperative second person singular.

It is said that by the term susamiddha it is Agni of the name idhma that is hinted at. The flame of Agni who is slender in size when born, is increased by praise, meditation, work, application, etc. indicated by fuel. Here it is to be noted that the call to Agni is addressed to the fuel which is instrumental for the increase of Agni. The rest has been said before.

Tr. O Agni, well-kindled, bear the gods to me who has the offerings, summoner! purifier! and sacrifice.

This is the second Rik.

2. madhumantam tanūnapādyajñam deveșu naḥ kave, adyā kṛņuhi vitaye.
   madhu’mantam tanū’napāt yajñam deveșu naḥ kave adya kṛņuhi vitaye.

O Agni! tanūnapāt of this appellation-son of the body; kave seer, seer of all objects ; adya now; naḥ our; madhumantam full of sap, cnjoyable ; yajñam this libation, deveșu amidst the gods, near them; kṛņuhi make, lead; for what purpose, vitaye for their advent.

Give word of this sacrifice to the gods so that they may come. Here by the term tanūnapāt, son of the body, it is Agni himself that is spoken of. Agni who is manifest in our body with the characteristics spoken of earlier is tanūnapāt. Just as in words like ürjonapāt, son of force, apām napāt, son of waters, it is Agni born of the power that is meant, so also he is born of the body of the sacrificer, his son.

Tr. O son of the body! O Seer! lead now our delightful sacrifice among the gods for their advent.

This is the third Rik.

3. narāśamsamiha priyamasminyajña upa hvaye, madhujihvam haviṣkṛtam.
   narā samsam iha priyam asmin yajñe upa hvaye madhu’ jihvam haviḥ’ kṛtam.

narāśamsam Agni of this name; iha asmin yajñe in our sacriſice in progress here; upahvaye I call hither; of what kind ? priyam the pleasing, Agni creates the delight of the gods, is also the cause of delight of the sacrificer; madhujihvam of honied speech, the tongue denotes speech; haviskſtam who creates the offering. The tongue of this Agni is capable of relishing the deliciousness in the offering; even food offering gets ready by Agni alone, hence these two adjectives are appropriate in the gross external ritual. In the inner sense, however, the flame, sweet-tongued as it were, is capable of calling the gods, goes to the luminous path above, reaches the gods and draws them down; even the offering to be made over by the sacrificer, the means of calling the gods is effected by the seer-will Agni himself, the offering made possible by the effort of the sacrilicer is rendered fruitful by Lord Agni alone. Thus the two adjectives are apposite. By narāśamsa Agni alone is meant in the Rik. The derivation is one who is the lauder of the leading gods. By praise of the gods, Agni incites the sacrificer yearning after the Godhead.

Tr. Him, the beloved, I call hither to this sacrifice-he who creates the offerings, possessed of the honied tongue.

This is the fourth Rik.

4. agne sukhatame rathe devān iļita ā vaha, asi hotā manurhitaḥ.
   agne sukha’tame rathe devān iļitaḥ ā vaha asi hotā manuḥ’hitaḥ

agne O Agni; iļitaḥ some say that Agni who is named by the term it is one of the deities expounded in the Apri hymns, the deity called by the term iļita. Though the common meaning of this word is, lauded by us, still it means that desired by us, he is respectfully employed in this sacrifice, the divine work to be done. Hence it is to be taken, as before, the adored. Such one thou sukhatame in the happiest; rathe car of rapid movement; devān seating the gods; āvaha bring. The locative is used in the sense of the instrumental- by the happiest car, the means to bring them. To so bring the gods is the function of Agni. Hence he says hotā summoner; asi thou art, to call is thy law; and also manurhitaḥ established firmly by us by the mantra. man is knowledge, manuḥ that which is known. The substitute su is Vedic. It becomes ru. The derivation is “established by him who knows, the sacrificer".

It is also to be understood that Agni has been established for the conduct of the sacrifice by the Mantra, denoted by the word brahma, arising from speech in the heart. Even today the word manu is well-known in the sense of mantra in the Tantra Sastras. Here it is patent that the adored one is Agni himself.

Tr. O Agni! thou who art adored, bring here the gods in thy happiest car. Thou art the summoner established by the Mantra.

This is the fifth Rik.

5. stṛnita barhirānuşagghſtaprstham mani șiņaḥ, yatrāmộtasya cakşaņam.
   stṛnita barhiḥ ānuşak ghșta’pıştham mani şiņaḥ yatra amſtasya caksanam.

manīṣinaḥ O wise comrades; barhiḥ the sacred grass (in the inner context the sacred grass indicates the seat of the gods) ; strnita spread out, cover the upper portion of the altar, make ready the happy seat on the inner altar. Elsewhere too it is said in 5.5.4-soft like blanket of wool - to indicate that the grass on the altar may become a happy seat for the gods. What kind of holy grass ? ānuşak fastened all round in an orderly manner, tied to each other and compact; ghſtaprşțham with surface luminous (word ghșta indicating brightness) of the seat denoted by the holy grass ; yatra where on the seat; amặtasya of the God eternal, without death, of Agni who abides as the seat on the arrival of the gods; cakşaņam there is vision. That is the inner seat on the altar becomes the station of the vision of immortality.

Tr. Wise comrades ! spread you the holy seat orderly and close-knit, luminous of surface, here is the vision of immortality.

This is the sixth Rik.

6. vi srayantāmstāvsdho dvāro devirasascataḥ, adyā nūnam ca yaşțave.
   vi frayantām staʼvşdhaḥ dvāraḥ deviḥ asaşcataḥ adya nūnam ca yaştave.

It is well known in the Veda that the Sacrifice goes upward. We hear elsewhere also, in the Apri Hymns, the prayer ‘make the sacrifice upward.’ By that is meant the upward movement of the sacriſicer himself. The doors get open for the upward going. They are closed to the man who docs not sacriſice. That is why the sacriſicer prays to the divine Powers for the opening of the doors of the upward journey.

deviḥ the luminous; dvāraḥ doors of the movement of Sacriſice; viśrayantām may they get open; doors of what kind ? stavşdhaḥ increasers of the Truth; asascataḥ, sascati means the sticking action, not stuck together in the frame, that is easy to open; for what purpose ? adya now; nūnam ca without fail; yaştave for the sacrifice.

Tr. May the Divine Doors, increasers of Truth, not stuck up, open now without fail for the sacrifice. Thus ends the twenty-fourth group in the first Chapter of the first Eighth.

This is the seventh Rik.

7. naktoșāsā supeśasāsmin yajña upa hvaye, idam no barhirāsade.
   naktoșāsā su’peśasā asmin yajñe upa hvaye idam naḥ barhiḥ ā’sade.

The words nakta and uśas denote night and dawn. The term Night indicates our normal consciousness and the Day denoted by uśas indicates the divine consciousness. All that is manifest in the Day is in the womb of the Night. All that is manifest in the Divine Consciousness is there in the womb of the human consciousness. In this sacrifice I call both the states of consciousness occurring alternately—this is the meaning of the Mantra.

naktoșāsā Night and Day (ākāra is Vedic ; dual of accusative); asmin yajñe in this sacriſice ; upahvaye I call; of what kind ? supeśasā beautiful of form, to be discerned separately, givers of the auspicious; why? naḥ by us spread out, prepared; idam this ; barhiḥ seat; āsade to arrive at.

Abstract compound of sid with prefix ā, for āsat i.e., āsade.

The intelligent would see how such kind of mantra perception bascs lines from the Upanishads like “He who knows That as both in one, the Knowledge and the Ignorance’.

Tr. I call in this sacrifice Night and Day, beautiful of form, to arrive to our Seal.

This is the eighth Rik.

8. tā sujihvā upa hvaye hotārā daivyā kavi, yajñam no yakşatāmimam.
   tā su’jihvau upa hvaye hotārā daivyā kavi iti yajñam naḥ yakşatām imam.

tā they two (ākāra Vedic); sujihvau of auspicious speech; the tongue indicates the speech that calls; daivyā divine, related to god; hotārā sacrificers, invokers, hence special personalities of Agni; kavi who see beyond the senses; upahvaye I call; naḥ our; imam this; yajñam sacrifice ; yakşatām let them conduct. Imperative first person dual-Vedic.

Tr. I call the two Invokers, of auspicious speech, divine, seers; may they conduct our sacrifice.

This is the ninth Rik.

9. iļā sarasvati mahi tisro devirmayobhuvaḥ, barhiḥ sidantvasridhaḥ.
   iļā sarasvati mahi tisraḥ deviḥ mayaḥ’bhuvaḥ barhiḥ sidantu asridhaḥ.

As the three goddesses are heard of elsewhere too in the Apri hymns, as the association of these three is known and as Bharati is celebrated as one of them, Mahi here is undoubtedly Bharati. iļā she of this name ; sarasvati of this appellation ; mahi the great, Bharati; tisraḥ deviḥ three goddesses, divine Powers, Personalities ; barhiḥ the seat made ready; sidantu may they arrive at; of what kind are they? mayobhuvaḥ maya is the term for happiness; generators – bhuvaḥ, implied causal-of that happiness; again of what kind ? asridhaḥ unharmed, unassailed or undrying (the root sridha has both meanings-drying up and harm).

It is to be noted that briefly put, Ila is the divine power of Revelation.¹³

Tr. May Ila, Sarasvati, Mahi, the three Goddesses of delight come to the seat, unharmed.

This is the tenth Rik.

10. iha tvaşțāramagriyam visvarūpamupa hvaye, asmākamastu kevalaḥ.
    iha tvaştāram agriyam visva’rūpam upa hvaye asmākam astu kevalaḥ.

iha here in the sacrifice; tvaştāram god of this name who fashions all forms; upahvaye I call; of what kind ? agriyam the highest ; the Lord who is all the God in himself the fashioner; hence the call is for manifesting new and ever new divine forms in the sacrificer; višvarūpam he whose are all the forms of the universe ; not only does he fashion well all forms but he himself is the material for all the forms; asmā kam kevalaḥ the sole object of our adoration; astu may he be.

The tvaṣtā here who is the sole to us’ looks like the surūpakṛtnu Indra lauded by Madhucchandas. Commentators say he is a special personality of Agni himself; yet - though the supreme Godhead is one, – since the gods assume separate individualisings this god of the heavenly region, deriving from Indra, affecting the work of Indra, identified with him, is the lord of all-especially as the word kevala, absolute, is used.

Tr. I call here Tvashtr, the excellent, the All-Form. May he be absolute to us.

This is the eleventh Rik.

11. ava sȚjā vanaspate deva devebhyo haviḥ, pra da lurastu cetanam.
    ava spja vanaspate deva devebhyaḥ haviḥ pradā tuḥ astu cetanam.

vanaspate O Soma; deva god thou art, hence devebhyaḥ for Indra and other gods; haviḥ our sapful oſſering; avasſja do thou make over ; pradātuḥ so also for the sacriſicer who gives the oblationessence of all experience-purified, fit to be accepted by the divinity; cetanam astu may there be knowledge. Soma’s lordship of the herbs, his being full of sap and so full of bliss, is well known.

The meaning is following the root sense citi samjñāne, samjñāna is direct contactual knowledge. The sense is that may we fully touch and have the knowledge of the divinity and its place of dwelling.

Tr. God Soma, present our oblation to the gods; may the giver have the knowledge.

This is the twelfth Rik.

12. svāhā yajñam kļņotanendrāya yajvano gļhe, tatra devān upa hvaye.
    svāhā yajñam kļņotana indrāya yajvanaḥ gļhe tatra devān upa hvaye.

The Rishi speaks to his colleagues. O sacrificers, indrāya for Indra; yajñam sacrifice; svāhā well offered; kļņotana make; denoting the giving of oblation, the word svāhā denotes good offering which is pleasing to the gods; where? yajvano gṛhe in the house of the sacrificer i.e., in his embodiment of mind, life and body; tatra in the aforesaid house; devān the gods to be sacrificed to; upahvaye I call.

Tr. Make the sacrifice well oblationed to Indra in the home of the sacrificer. Thither I call the gods.

Thus ends the twenty-fifth group in the first Chapter of the first Eighth.