Book I : Bala Kanda - The Youthful Majesties
14. Ashvamedha commenced as preamble to putrakameshti ritual
ततः प्रीतेषु विधिवत् द्विजेषु द्विज वत्सलः || १-१४-५५
प्रणामम् अकरोत् तेषाम् हर्ष व्याकुलित इन्द्रियः |
प्रणामम् अकरोत् तेषाम् हर्ष व्याकुलित इन्द्रियः |
55b, 56a. tataH = then; dwija vatsalaH = Brahmans, patron of Dasharatha; dwijeSu priiteSu satsu = Brahmans, while happy, they are becoming;harSa vyaakula indriyaH = with happiness [coming on,] fluttering, senses; teSaam vidhivat praNaamam akarot = to them, dutifully, veneration, he made.
While those Brahmans are becoming happy then that king and the patron of Brahmans venerated them dutifully with his senses fluttering with happiness. [1-14-55b, 56a]
तस्य आशिषोऽथ विविधा ब्राह्मणैः समुदाहृताः || १-१४-५६
उदारस्य नृवीरस्य धरण्याम् पतितस्य च |
उदारस्य नृवीरस्य धरण्याम् पतितस्य च |
56b, 57a. atha = then; udaarasya nR^i viirasya = benevolent, king, valiant one; dharaNyaam patitasya = on ground, who is prostrating; tasya = for him; braahmaNaiH vividhaa aashiSaH sam udiiritaaH = by Brahmans, various, blessings, are chanted.
Then that benevolent and valiant King Dasharatha prostrated on ground venerating the Brahmans, and the Brahmans too chanted various blessing hymns on that prostrating king. [1-14-56b, 57a]
The blessings are also Vedic hymns and particular parts of Vedic hymns are chanted for particular occasion called aashiirwachana hymns. To date this practice is continued where a Brahmin priest is commissioned to perform even a domestic ritual. In effect, it shall be construed that these are not the blessings of the Brahmin priests who are chanting, but it is the blessing of Veda itself.
ततः प्रीत मना रजाअ प्राप्य यज्ञम् अनुत्तमम् || १-१४-५७
पाप अपहम् स्वर् नयनम् दुस्तरम् पार्थिवर्षभैः |
पाप अपहम् स्वर् नयनम् दुस्तरम् पार्थिवर्षभैः |
57b, 58a. tataH raajaa = then, king; paapa apaham swar nayanam = sin, removing, to heaven, leading; parthiva rSabhaiH dustaram = by kings, best ones, impossible to undertake; anuttamam yaj~nam = excellent, ritual; praapya = having achieved; priita manaa = gladdened, at heart, [abhavat = he became.]
Then that king is gladdened at heart for the successful achievement of the completion of that excellent ritual that removes sin and that leads to heaven as well, and that which cannot be undertaken by many of the best kings. [1-14-57b, 58a]
ततोऽब्रवीत् ऋश्य्शृंगम् राजा दशरथः तदा || १-१४-५८
कुलस्य वर्धनम् त्वम् तु कर्तुम् अर्हसि सुव्रत |
कुलस्य वर्धनम् त्वम् तु कर्तुम् अर्हसि सुव्रत |
58b, 59a. tataH = thereafter; raajaa dasharatha = king, Dasharatha; tadaa = then; R^iSyasR^ingam abraviit = to Rishyasringa, said; su vrata = oh, one with best vows; tvam tu = you, alone; kulasya vardhanam = dynasty's, expansion [oriented ritual]; kartum arhasi = to perform, it is apt of you.
Thereafter king Dasharatha said to sage Rishyasringa thus, "oh, sage with best vows, you alone are eligible to perform the ritual for the expansion of my dynasty." [1-14-58b, 59a]
तथेति च स राजानम् उवाच द्विजसत्तमः |
भविष्यन्ति सुता राजन् चत्वारः ते कुलोद्वहाः || १-१४-५९
भविष्यन्ति सुता राजन् चत्वारः ते कुलोद्वहाः || १-१४-५९
59b, c. dwija sattamaH = Brahmin, the best; tathaa iti = like that only; raajaanam uvaacha = to king, said; raajan = oh, king; te kula udvahaH = your, dynasty, to ennoble; chatvaaraH sutaa bhaviSyanti = four, sons, there will be.
That best Brahman Rishyasringa saying yes to the proposal, said this to king Dasharatha, "oh, king, there will be four sons to you that ennoble your dynasty. [1-14-59b, c]
स तस्य वाक्यम् मधुरम् निशंय
प्रणंय तस्मै प्रयतो नृपेन्द्र |
जगाम हर्षम् परमम् महात्मा
तम् ऋष्यश्ऱ्^ङ्गम् पुनरपि उवाच || १-१४-६०
प्रणंय तस्मै प्रयतो नृपेन्द्र |
जगाम हर्षम् परमम् महात्मा
तम् ऋष्यश्ऱ्^ङ्गम् पुनरपि उवाच || १-१४-६०
60. tasya vaakyam madhuram nishamya = he [the king,] his [Sage's,] words, sweet ones, on hearing; saH nR^ip indra = he, that king, of kings;jagaama harSam paramam mahaatmaa = went into, gladness, very much, great-souled; praNamya tasmai prayataH = venerating, to him, again; tam R^iSyashR^i~Ngam punaH api uvaacha = to him, to Rishyasringa, again said.
On hearing the sweet words of Sage Rishyasringa, he that king of kings Dasharatha went into a state of ecstasy and venerating that great soul, Rishyasringa, again said this to him. [1-14-60]
yajna - the Vedic Ritual
Vedic yajna-s are the rituals of many kinds. Mainly there are 21 types of these yajna-s, 1] sapta paaka yajna-s are 7; 2] sapta havir yajna-s are 7; 3] sapta soma yajna-s are 7. Apart from these rituals, there are rituals for the overall development of society at large, called abhyudayaka yajna-s and under them categorised are: 1]ashvanmedha, 2] raajasuuya, 3] paunDariika, 4] bR^ihaspati sava, and some more are there. These grand scale rituals require a great patronage and support, not only of money but also of a variety of paraphernalia that go into the ritual. Hence only kings and emperors of yester years could conduct them.
The yaaga shaala The Hall of Vedic ritual will be erected with platforms containing areas 1] yuupa stambha-s wooden posts to which the animals are tied. There will be 21 such posts, staked in the Vedic ritual hall, along with a half post staked near at the main altar; 2] uttara vedi, posterior platform; 3] dasha pada, platform for scholars; 4] havirdhaana, place for oblatory paraphernalia; 5] sadas, place for assemblages; 6] agnihotra shaala, place of sacrificial fire; 7] vedi, main Altar of Fire; 8] patnii shaala, place for the wife / wives of the performer and other females. The main activity of the ritual is around the vedi, the 7th item as above, where a garuDa vedi, an Eagle shaped Alter of Fire will be constructed with bricks, where the brick laying and paving itself is a ritual, called iSTikaa chayana . Into this yajna vedi, Altar of Fire, all the oblations are poured.
The Hindu temples will be built in accordance with the layout of yajna shaala, since the daily puuja, at home or in a temple, is a micro-yajna, equable to Vedic Ritual itself. The layout of the temple is comparable to the above layout of yajna shaala .
1] dhavaja sthambha, flag post; 2] bali griha, sacrificial house; 3] bali piiTtha sacrificial platform, where usually the fruits, coconuts, prasada, food items etc., are presented to the deity firstly, before the devotee partakes them, as a kind of sacrifice; 4] havirdhana, preparatory places for havis, the food for sacrifice, usually in north-east or south-west corners; 5] mandapa open hall, where Vedic recitations are chanted; 6] garbha griha, sanctum sanctorum, in this there are two places one is, 7] pratishtha, the place where the picturesque idol is installed, and the other, 8] shakti sthaana, where the power of the installed deity will be installed, in the form of an yantra, a geometrical layout or other form. [For more information, please turn to The cultural Heritage of India, Vol IV, Religion.]
The next epitome of yajna, is human body. It is said that deho devalayaH proktaH ‘human body itself is a temple...’ The above places of Ritual Hall or a Temple are located on body as this: 1] sthuupi [kalasha], the top most golden pot of flagpoist of temple; 2] mahaa nashi the right nostril and kshudra nasi, left nostril; 3]shikhara, temple tower; 4] ghaTa, neck like structure; 5] prastaaram, shoulder like structure of temple; 6] paada, trunk of temple; 7] adhiSTaana, elevation; 8] upa piiTha, secondary seating. This is compared with human body as: Item 1] to human pate with hair-locks; 2] eye - on right and nose on left [for humans have one-eyed vision of God, where God is Omniscient; 3] face; 4] neck; 5] shoulders; 6] arms; 7] leg and thigh; 8] foot.
‘A temple is not a home of god but it is the form of god... the temple layout is the extended form of the rhythm of the innerspace of humans, called dahara aakaasha similar to cosmos of the universe...' [cf. What is a temple? What is its significance? Ganapathi Sthapati, Vaastu Vedic Research Foundation, Chennai, India.] Thus human body itself is identified with the temple, and the temple in turn with Vedic yajna shaala , and therefore it is said to keep the body clean and mind pure... which again is a Vedic import.
The grand scale yajna-s as described in these epics like Ramayana and Maha Bharata are non-existent. But in recent times, such types of yajna-s were conducted on two occasions, once in 1975 and again in 1990. Here are some excerpts from The Indian Express, daily newspaper, published during May 1990: ‘Prof. Frits Staal, with financial assistance from several American funding agencies including the Smithsonian Institute and the Rockefeller Foundation, organized the agni chayana ritual in 1975. In spite of innumerable hurdles, Staal succeeded in persuading the elderly nambudri-s [scholarly priests of Vedic lore] to put together a team of ritualists old and young, give them through training, hold rehearsals for several months and finally put up performance for filming and documentation. Staal followed this up with the publication of his book called Agni ...'
Readers who are interested to know more about yajna, the Vedic ritual, may please look for the works of Prof. Frits Staal, Indologist, at whose instance such rituals were conducted in Southern India. The two-volume book of Prof. Frits Staal: AGNI: The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altar, running over some two thousand pages. Another book is The Mantra, which is an attempt to analyse the Vedic Hymns, published by State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246, also now available with Indian Book Centre, Delhi
According to Staal, a Vedic ritual is very different from a health cure, a psychoanalyst session, an anthropological meeting or a religious service. Staal maintains that a Vedic ritual follows its own principles and leads a life of its own. He points out that a Vedic ritual requires very detailed and specific knowledge. He estimates that the extent of specialised knowledge needed to put the sacrificial altar together ritually is on a par with the extent of technical knowledge required to build an aeroplane. ‘The bird shaped altar is in fact a kind of aeroplane…’ says Stall ‘only it takes off in a different way…’ Scientific evaluations were also made on the changes occurred on physical and metaphysical levels on the individuals who performed the ritual, by experts from Canada and in association with Prague Institute of Czechoslovakia. Kirlion photography was also undertook by Mrs. Rose Mary Steel from London to record aura or the Electro-magnetic radiation around the human organism and hundreds of pictures of not only the performers but also of the visiting people and of their finger tips are recorded.
Usually at the end of any Vedic ritual the Hall of Ritual, a thatched shed, will be put to fire. This called puurNa aahuti, complete oblation into fire. And then a rain occurs. It used to rain every time when the ritual is totally offered as an oblation into fire at the conclusion of such a ritual. ‘The association between the yajna and rain is indelible. Did it rain on [the day of puurNa aahuti ] i.e., May 9, 1990? It did...’ The Illustrated Weekly of India, May 27, 1990.
इति वाल्मीकि रामायणे आदिकाव्ये बाल काण्डे चतुर्दशः सर्गः ||
Thus, this is the end of 14th chapter in Bala Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana, the First Epic poem of India.
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