A new approach to the Vedas : an essay in translation and exegesis

THREE VEDIC HYMNS

Brahma, Visnu, Siva, etc. To these will correspond, of course, alternative essential or personal names of Wisdom (vac), such as Prakrti, Maya, Urvasi, Sarasvati, Sri-Laksmi, Durga, etc. It is just these bahudevatd, the daivasya dhaman = devah of Rg Veda, VII, 58, i, visve yajatvah of Rg Veda, I, 65, the “ birds-of-a-feather ”’ or “‘ fellow-nestlings’”’ (nilayah) of Rg Veda, X, 92, 6, the sarva daivatya of Brhadaranyaka Up., 1, 2, 7, who are the ViSve Devah, “Several Angels,’ or “ Angelic Host” in a special sense, who are so constantly lauded in the Vedas, e.g., Rg Veda, X, 82, 5, and Atharva Veda, X, 7, 38: also the same as the unspecified “ Angels ’’ when these are mentioned as already present “in the beginning,” or as co-operating in the “ first sacrifice,” as in Rg Veda, X, go and 129, as well as X, 72, where “ born ”’ (anvajayanta) must be taken in connection with susamrabdha, and with respect to such terms as ehajdiatva and ttarvetarajanmana cited above, to mean “ connascent ” rather than eventfully born. So far as our text is concerned then, the Angels mentioned are to be regarded as those of one, viz., the premier or supercelestial order, that of the Aditya-mandala: an order everlasting with respect to time, as recognized in the Pancavimsa Brahmana, V1, 9, 15 {., where the Angels are spoken of as a “ first emanation ”’ (prathamam asygram) and “enduring utterance” (sthita vydhrtih) and contrasted in this respect with the coming into existence of rational beings (manusyah, “men,” “ mortals ’’) whose utterance is “from day to day.” We say “ order” rather than hierarchy advisedly, because the arrangement (dha, samhita) of the Persons represents a natural or logical, not a hierarchical order ; there is no precedence Neteraas

The mention of Yatis, here rendered “‘ Disponents ” according to the root meaning, is of special interest : their co-presence with the Several Angels antecedent to local motion is implied. These “ ascetics” are evidently