{"id":855,"date":"2013-07-13T01:30:50","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=855"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:30:50","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:30:50","slug":"18-the-angirasa-rishis-vol-10-the-secret-of-the-veda-volume-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/10-the-secret-of-the-veda-volume-10\/18-the-angirasa-rishis-vol-10-the-secret-of-the-veda-volume-10","title":{"rendered":"-18_The Angirasa Rishis.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n
\n

C<\/font>HAPTER<\/font>
\nXVI <\/font><\/b> <\/p>\n

The Angirasa Rishis <\/font><\/b> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\nT<\/font>HE <\/font><\/b>name Angirasa occurs in the Veda in
\ntwo different forms, Angira and Angirasa, although the latter is
\nthe more common; we have also the patronymic Angirasa applied
\nmore than once to the god Brihaspati. In later times Angirasa,
\nlike Bhrigu and other seers, was regarded as one of the original
\nsages, progenitors of clans of Rishis who went by their names,
\nthe Angirasas, Atris, Bhargavas. In the Veda also there are these
\nfamilies of Rishis, the Atris, Bhrigus, Kanwas, etc. In one of the
\nhymns of the Atris the discovery of Agni, the sacred fire, is attributed to the
\nAngirasa Rishis (V.I 1.6), but in another to the
\nBhrigus (X.46.9).\u00b9 Frequently the seven original Angirasa Rishis
\nare described as the human fathers, pitaro manuṣ<\/span>yaḥ<\/span>.,<\/i> who discovered the Light, made
\nthe sun to shine and ascended to the heaven of the Truth. In some of the hymns
\nof the tenth Mandala
\nthey are associated as the Pitris or Manes with Yama, a deity
\nwho only comes into prominence in the later Suktas; they take
\ntheir seats with the gods on the barhis,<\/i> the sacred grass, and have
\ntheir share in the sacrifice. <\/p>\n

If this were all, the explanation of the part taken by the
\nAngirasa Rishis in the finding of the Cows, would be simple and
\nsuperficial enough; they would be the Ancestors, the founders
\nof the Vedic religion, partially deified by their descendants
\nand continually associated with the gods whether in the winning back of the
\nDawn and the Sun out of the long Arctic night
\nor in the conquest of the Light and the Truth. But this is not all,
\nthe Vedic myth has profounder aspects. In the first place, the
\nAngirasas are not merely the deified human fathers, they are also
\nbrought before us as heavenly seers, sons of the gods, sons of
\nheaven and heroes or powers of the Asura, the mighty Lord, <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00b9Very possibly the Angirasa Rishis are the
\nflame-powers of Agni and the Bhrigus the solar
\npowers of Surya.<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 152<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

divas putrāso asurasya vīrāḥ<\/span><\/i> (111,53.7), an expression which,
\ntheir
\nnumber being seven, reminds us strongly, though perhaps only
\nfortuitously, of the seven Angels of Ahura Mazda in the kindred
\nIranian mythology. Moreover there are passages in which they
\nseem to become purely symbolical, powers and sons of Agni the
\noriginal Angirasa, forces of the symbolic Light and Flame, and
\neven to coalesce into a single seven-mouthed Angirasa with his
\nnine and his ten rays of the Light, navagve angire daśagve
\nsaptāsye,<\/i> on and by whom the Dawn breaks out with all her joy and
\nopulence. And yet all these three presentations seem to be of the
\nsame Angirasas, their characteristics and their action being
\notherwise identical. <\/p>\n

Two entirely opposite explanations can be given of the
\ndouble character of these seers, divine and human. They may
\nhave been originally human sages deified by their descendants
\nand in the apotheosis given a divine parentage and a divine
\nfunction; or they may have been originally demi-gods, powers of
\nthe Light and Flame, who became humanised as the fathers of
\nthe race and the discoverers of its wisdom. Both of these pro-
\ncesses are recognisable in early mythology. In the Greek legend,
\nfor instance. Castor and Polydeuces and their sister Helen are
\nhuman beings, though children of Zeus, and only deified after
\ntheir death, but the probability is that originally all three were
\ngods, \u2014 Castor and Polydeuces, the twins, riders of the horse,
\nsaviours of sailors on the ocean being almost certainly identical
\nwith the Vedic Ashwins, the Horsemen, as their name signifies,
\nriders in the wonderful chariot, twins also, saviours of Bhujyu
\nfrom the ocean, terriers over the great waters, brothers of the
\nDawn, and Helen very possibly the Dawn their sister or even
\nidentical with Sarama, the hound of heaven, who is, like
\nDakshina, a power, almost a figure of the Dawn. But in either
\ncase there has been a farther development by which these gods or
\ndemi-gods have become invested with psychological functions,
\nperhaps by the same process which in the Greek religion converted Athene, the
\nDawn, into the goddess of knowledge and
\nApollo, the sun, into the divine singer and seer, lord of the prophetic and
\npoetic inspiration. <\/p>\n

In the Veda it is possible that another tendency has been at <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 153<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

work, \u2014 the persistent and all-pervading habit of symbolism dominant in the
\nminds of these ancient Mystics. Everything, their
\nown names, the names of Kings and sacrificers, the ordinary
\ncircumstances of their lives were turned into symbols and covers
\nfor their secret meaning. Just as they used the ambiguity of the
\nword go,<\/i> which means both ray and cow, so as to make the concrete
\n<\/a>figure of the cow, the chief form of their pastoral wealth, a
\ncover for its hidden sense of the inner light which was the chief
\nelement in the spiritual wealth they coveted from the gods, so
\nalso they would use their own names, gotama<\/i> "most full of
\nlight", gaviṣ<\/span>t<\/span>̣<\/span>hira<\/i> "the steadfast in
\nlight" to hide a broad and
\ngeneral sense for their thought beneath what seemed a personal
\nclaim or desire. Thus too they used the experiences external and
\ninternal whether of themselves or of other Rishis. If there is any
\ntruth in the old legend of Shunahshepa bound as a victim on the
\naltar of sacrifice, it is yet quite certain, as we shall see, that in the
\nRig-veda the occurrence or the legend is used as a symbol of the
\nhuman soul bound by the triple cord of sin and released from it
\nby the divine power of Agni, Surya, Varuna. So also Rishis like
\nKutsa, Kanwa, Ushanas Kavya have become types and symbols
\nof certain spiritual experiences and victories and placed in that
\ncapacity side by side with the gods. It is not surprising, then, that
\nin this mystic symbolism the seven Angirasa Rishis should have
\nbecome divine powers and living forces of the spiritual life
\nwithout losing altogether their traditional or historic human
\ncharacter. We will leave, however, these conjectures and speculations aside and
\nexamine instead the part played by these three
\nelements or aspects of their personality in the figure of the cows
\nand the recovery of the Sun and the Dawn out of the darkness. <\/p>\n

We note first that the word Angiras is used in the Veda as an
\nepithet, often in connection with the image of the Dawn and the
\nCows. Secondly, it occurs as a name of Agni, while Indra is said
\nto become Angirasa and Brihaspati is called angiras<\/i> and āngirasa,<\/span><\/i>
\nobviously not as a mere decorative or mythological appellation but with a
\nspecial significance and an allusion to the psychological or other sense
\nattached to the word. Even the Ashwins are addressed collectively as Angirasa. It is therefore clear
\nthat the word Angirasa is used in the Veda not merely as a name <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 154<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

of a certain family of Rishis, but with a distinct meaning inherent
\nin the word. It is probable also that even when used as a name it
\nis still with a clear recognition of the inherent meaning of the
\nname; it is probable even that names in the Veda are generally,
\nif not always, used with a certain stress on their significance,
\nespecially the names of gods, sages and kings. The word Indra
\nis generally used as a name, yet we have such significant glimpses
\nof the Vedic method as the description of Usha indratamā
\nangirastamā,<\/i> "most-Indra", "most-Angirasa", and of
\nthe Panis as
\nanindrāḥ<\/span>,<\/i>
\n"not-Indra", expressions which evidently are meant to
\nconvey the possession or absence of the qualities, powers or
\nfunctionings represented by Indra and the Angirasa. We have
\nthen to see what may be this meaning and what light it sheds on
\nthe nature or functions of the Angirasa Rishis. <\/p>\n

The word is akin to the name Agni; for it is derived from a
\nroot ang<\/i> which is only a nasalised form of ag,<\/i> the root of Agni.
\nThese roots seem to convey intrinsically the sense of pre-eminent
\nor forceful state, feeling, movement, action, light,\u00b9 and it is this
\nlast sense of a brilliant or burning light that gives us agni,<\/i> fire,
\nangati,<\/i> fire, angāra,<\/i> a burning coal and angiras,<\/i>
\nwhich must have
\nmeant flaming, glowing. Both in the Veda and the tradition of the
\nBrahmanas the Angirasas are in their origin closely connected
\nwith Agni. In the Brahmanas it is said that Agni is the fire and
\nthe Angirasas the burning coals, angārāḥ<\/span>;<\/i> but in the Veda itself
\nthe indication seems rather to be that they are the flames or
\nlustres of Agni. In X.62, a hymn to the Angirasa Rishis, it is said
\nof them that they are sons of Agni and have been born about
\nhim in different forms all about heaven, and in the next clause it
\nis added, speaking of them collectively in the singular, navagvo
\nnu daśagvo angirastamaḥ<\/span>
\nsacā deveṣ<\/span>u
\nmamhate,<\/i> nine-rayed, ten-rayed, most angiras,<\/i> this Angirasa clan
\nbecomes together full of
\nplenty with or in the gods; aided by Indra they set free the pen of
\ncows and horses, they give to the sacrificer the mystic eight-eared
\nkine and thereby create in the gods śravas,<\/i> the divine hearing or
\ninspiration of the Truth. It is fairly evident that the Angirasa <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\u00b9For state we have <\/span>agra<\/span><\/i>, <\/span><\/i>first,<\/span> top and Greek agan,<\/i>
\nexcessively; for feeling, Greek agape,
\n<\/i>love, and possibly Sanskrit anganā,<\/i> a woman; for movement and action
\nseveral words in
\nSanskrit and in Greek and Latin.<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 155<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

Rishis are here the radiant lustres of the divine Agni which are
\nborn in heaven, therefore of the divine Flame and not of any
\nphysical fire; they become equipped with the nine rays of the
\nLight and the ten, become most angiras,<\/i> that is to say most full
\nof the blazing radiance of Agni, the divine flame, and are there-
\nfore able to release the imprisoned Light and Force and create
\nthe supramental knowledge. <\/p>\n

Even if this interpretation of the symbolism is not accepted,
\nyet that there is a symbolism must be admitted. These Angirasas are not human
\nsacrificers, but sons of Agni born in heaven,
\nalthough their action is precisely that of the human Angirasas,
\nthe fathers, pitaro manuṣ<\/span>yāḥ<\/span>;<\/i> they are born with
\ndifferent forms,
\nvirūpaṣ<\/span>aḥ<\/span>,<\/i> and all this can only
\nmean that they are various forms
\nof the power of Agni. The question is of what Agni, the sacrificial flame, the
\nelement of fire generally or that other sacred
\nflame which is described as "the priest with the seer-will" or
\n"who does the work of the seer, the true, the rich in varied light
\nof inspiration," agnir hotā kavikratuḥ<\/span> satyaś citraśravastamaḥ<\/span> <\/i>(1.1.5)? If it is the element of fire, then the blazing lustre they
\nrepresent must be that of the Sun, the fire of Agni radiating out as
\nthe solar rays and in association with Indra the sky creating the
\nDawn. There can be no other physical interpretation consistent
\nwith the details and circumstances of the Angirasa myth. But
\nthis explanation does not at all account for the farther description of the
\nAngirasa Rishis as seers, as singers of the hymn,
\npowers of Brihaspati as well as of the Sun and Dawn. <\/p>\n

There is another passage of the Veda (VI.6.3-5) in which
\nthe identity of these divine Angirasas with the flaming lustres of
\nAgni is clearly and unmistakably revealed. "Wide everywhere, O pure-shining Agni, range driven by the wind thy pure shining
\nlustres (bhāmāsaḥ<\/span>);<\/i> forcefully overpowering the heavenly Nine-rayed ones (divyā navagvāḥ<\/span>)<\/i> enjoy the woods\u00b9 (vanā vananti,
\n<\/i>significantly conveying the covert sense, ‘enjoying the objects of
\nenjoyment’) breaking them up violently. O thou of the pure light,
\nthey bright and pure assail2 (or overcome) all the earth, they are
\nthy horses galloping in all directions. Then thy roaming shines <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00b9<\/font>The logs of the sacrificial fire, according
\nto Sayana. <\/span> <\/p>\n

\u00b2<\/font>Shave the hair of the earth, according to Sayana.<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 156<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

widely vast directing their journey to the higher level of the
\nVarious-coloured (the cow, Prishni, mother of the Maruts). Then
\ndoubly (in earth and heaven ?) thy tongue leaps forward like the
\nlightning loosed of the Bull that wars for the cows." Sayana tries
\nto avoid the obvious identification of the Rishis with the flames
\nby giving navagva<\/i> the sense of "new-born rays", but obviously
\ndivyā navagvāḥ<\/span> <\/span><\/i>here and the sons of Agni
\n(in X.62) born in
\nheaven who are navagva<\/i> are the same and cannot possibly be
\ndifferent; and the identification is confirmed, if any confirmation
\nwere needed, by the statement that in this ranging of Agni constituted by the
\naction of the Navagwas his tongue takes the appearance of the thunderbolt of
\nIndra, the Bull who wars for the
\ncows, loosed from his hand and leaping forward, undoubtedly
\nto assail the powers of darkness in the hill of heaven; for the
\nmarch of Agni and the Navagwas is here described as ascending
\nthe hill (sānu pṛ<\/span>ś<\/span>neḥ<\/span>)<\/i> after ranging over the
\nearth. <\/p>\n

We have evidently here a symbolism of the Flame and the
\nLight, the divine flames devouring the earth and then becoming
\nthe lightning of heaven and the lustre of the solar Powers; for
\nAgni in the Veda is the light of the sun and the lightning as well
\nas the flame found in the waters and shining on the earth. The
\nAngirasa Rishis being powers of Agni share this manifold function. The divine
\nflame kindled by the sacrifice supplies also to
\nIndra the material of the lightning, the weapon, the heavenly
\nstone, svarya aśmā,<\/i> by which he destroys the powers of
\ndarkness
\nand wins the cows, the solar illuminations. <\/p>\n

Agni, the father of the Angirasas, is not only the fount and
\norigin of these divine flames, he is also described in the Veda as
\nhimself the first, that is to say, the supreme and original Angirasa, prathamo
\nangirāḥ<\/span>.<\/i>
\nWhat do the Vedic poets wish us to
\nunderstand by this description? We can best understand by a
\nglance at some of the passages in which this epithet is applied to
\nthe bright and flaming deity. In the first place it is twice associated with
\nanother fixed epithet of Agni, the Son of Force or of
\nEnergy, sahasaḥ<\/span>
\nsūnuḥ<\/span>,
\nūrjo napāt.<\/i> Thus in VIII.60.2, he is ad-
\ndressed "0 Angirasa, Son of Force", sahasah sūno angiraḥ<\/span>,<\/i> and in VIII. 84.4, "O Agni Angirasa, Son of Energy", agne angira
\nūrjo napāt.<\/i> And in V. 11.6, it is said "Thee, O Agni, the
\nAngirasas <\/p>\n

\n

\nPage \u2013 157<\/font><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

found established in the secret place (guhā hitani)<\/i> lying in
\nwood
\nand wood (vanevane)<\/i>"<\/span>
\nor, if we accept the indication of a covert
\nsense we have already noted in the phrase vanā vananti,<\/i> "in
\neach
\nobject of enjoyment. So art thou born by being pressed (mathyamānaḥ<\/span>)<\/i> a mighty force; thee
\nthey call the Son of Force, O
\nAngirasa, sa jāyase mathyamānaḥ<\/span> saho mahat tvām āhuḥ<\/span> sahasas
\nputram angiraḥ<\/span>.<\/i>
\nIt is hardly doubtful, then, that this idea of
\nforce is an essential element in the Vedic conception of the Angirasa and it
\nis, as we have seen, part of the meaning of the word.
\nForce in status, action, movement, light, feeling is the inherent
\nquality of the roots ag<\/i> and ang<\/i> from which we have agni<\/i>
\nand
\nangirah.<\/i> Force but also, in these words. Light. Agni, the sacred
\nflame, is the burning force of Light; the Angirasas also are burning powers of
\nthe Light. <\/p>\n

But of what light? physical or figurative? We must not
\nimagine that the Vedic poets were crude and savage intellects
\nincapable of the obvious figure, common to all languages, which
\nmakes the physical light a figure of the mental and spiritual, of
\nknowledge, of an inner illumination. The Veda speaks expressly
\nof "luminous sages", dyumato viprān<\/i> and the word sūri,<\/i>
\na seer,
\nis associated with Surya, the sun, by etymology and must originally have meant
\nluminous. In 1.31.1, it is said of this god of the Flame, "Thou, O Agni, wast the first Angirasa, the seer and auspicious
\nfriend, a god, of the gods; in the law of thy working the
\nMaruts with their shining spears were born, seers who do the
\nwork by the knowledge." Clearly, then, in the conception of
\nAgni Angirasa there are two ideas, knowledge and action; the
\nluminous Agni and the luminous Maruts are by their light seers
\nof the knowledge, ṛ<\/span>ṣ<\/span>i, kavi;<\/i> and by the light
\nof knowledge the
\nforceful Maruts do the work because they are born or manifested
\nin the characteristic working (vrata)<\/i> of Agni. For Agni himself
\nhas been described to us as having the seer-will, kavikratuh,<\/i> the
\nforce of action which works according to the inspired or supra-
\nmental knowledge (śravas),<\/i> for it is that knowledge and not
\nintellectuality which is meant by the word kavi.<\/i> What then is this
\ngreat force, Agni Angirasa, saho mahat,<\/i> but the flaming force of
\nthe divine consciousness with its two twin qualities of Light
\nand Power working in perfect harmony, \u2014 even as the Maruts <\/p>\n

\n

\nPage \u2013 158<\/font><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\n are described, kavayo vidmanā apasaḥ<\/span>,<\/i> seers working by the
\nknowledge? We have had reason to conclude that Usha is the
\ndivine Dawn and not merely the physical, that her cows, or rays
\nof the Dawn and the Sun are the illuminations of the dawning
\ndivine consciousness and that therefore the Sun is the Illuminer
\nin the sense of the Lord of Knowledge and that Swar, the solar
\nworld beyond heaven and earth, is the world of the divine Truth
\nand Bliss, in a word, that Light in the Veda is the symbol of knowledge, of the illumination of the divine Truth. We now begin to
\nhave reason for concluding that the Flame, which is only another
\naspect of Light, is the Vedic symbol for the Force of the divine
\nconsciousness, of the supramental Truth. <\/p>\n

In another passage, VI. 11.3, we have mention of the "seer
\nmost illumined of the Angirasas", vepiṣ<\/span>ṭ<\/span>ho angirasam vipraḥ<\/span>, <\/i>where the reference is not at all clear. Sayana, ignoring the
\ncollocation vepiṣ<\/span>ṭ<\/span>ho vipraḥ<\/span><\/i> which at once fixes the
\nsense of vepiṣ<\/span>ṭ<\/span>ha<\/i> as equivalent to most vipra,<\/i>
\nmost a seer, most illumined,
\nsupposes that Bharadwaja, the traditional Rishi of the hymn, is
\nhere praising himself as the "greatest praiser" of the gods; but
\nthis is a doubtful suggestion. Here it is Agni who is the hotā,<\/i> the
\npriest; it is he who is sacrificing to the gods, to his own embodiment, tanvam
\ntava svām<\/i> (VI. 11.2), to the Maruts, Mitra, Varuna,
\nHeaven and Earth. "For in thee", says the hymn, "the thought
\neven though full of riches desires still the gods, the (divine)
\nbirths, for the singer of the hymn that he may sacrifice to them,
\nwhen the sage, the most luminous of the Angirasas, utters the
\nrhythm of sweetness in the sacrifice." It would almost seem that
\nAgni himself is the sage, the most luminous of the Angirasas.
\nOn the other hand, the description seems to be more appropriate
\nto Brihaspati. <\/p>\n

For Brihaspati is also an Angirasa and one who becomes
\nthe Angirasa. He is, as we have seen, closely associated with the
\nAngiras Rishis in the winning of the luminous cattle and he is so
\nassociated as Brahmanaspati, as the Master of the sacred or
\ninspired word (brahman);<\/i> for by his cry Vala is split to pieces
\nand the cows answer lowing with desire to his call. As powers of
\nAgni these Rishis are like him kavikratu;<\/i> they possess the divine
\nLight, they act by it with the divine force; they are not only <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 159<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

Rishis, but heroes of the Vedic war, divas putrāso asurasya
\nvīrāḥ<\/span> <\/i>(111,53.7) sons of heaven, heroes of the Mighty Lord, they are,
\nas described in VI.75.9, "The Fathers who dwell in the sweetness (the
\nworld of bliss), who establish the wide birth, moving
\nin the difficult places, possessed of force, profound,\u00b9 with their
\nbright host and their strength of arrows, invincible, heroes in
\ntheir being, wide overcomers of the banded foes": but also,
\nthey are, as the next verse describes them, brāhmaṇ<\/span>āsaḥ<\/span> pitaraḥ<\/span> <\/span>somyāsaḥ<\/span>,<\/i>
\nthat is, they have the divine word and the inspired
\nknowledge it carries with it.\u00b2 This divine word is the satya
\nmantra,<\/i> it is the thought by whose truth the Angirasas bring the
\nDawn to birth and make the lost Sun to rise in the heavens. This
\nword is also called the arka,<\/i> a vocable which means both hymn
\nand light and is sometimes used of the sun. It is therefore the
\nword of illumination, the word which expresses the truth of which
\nthe Sun is the lord, and its emergence from the secret seat of the
\nTruth is associated with the outpouring by the Sun of its herded
\nradiances; so we read in VII.36.1, "Let the Word come forward
\nfrom the seat of the Truth; the Sun has released wide by its rays
\nthe cows", pra brahmaitu sadanād ṛ<\/span>tasya, vi raśmibhih sasṛ<\/span>je
\nsūryo gāḥ<\/span>.<\/i>
\nIt has to be won possession of like the Sun
\nitself and the gods have to give their aid for that possession
\n(arkasya sātau)<\/i> as well as for the possession of the Sun (sūryasya
\nsātau)<\/i> and of Swar (svarṣā<\/span>tau).<\/i> <\/p>\n

The Angirasa, therefore, is not only an Agni-power, he is
\nalso a Brihaspati-power. Brihaspati is called more than once
\nthe Āngirasa, as in VI.73.1, yo adribhit prathamajā ṛ<\/span>tāva bṛ<\/span>haspatir āngiraso haviṣ<\/span>mān,<\/i>
\n"Brihaspati, breaker of the hill (the cave
\nof the Panis), the first-born who has the Truth, the Āngirasa, he
\nof the oblation". And in X.47.6, we have a still more significant
\ndescription of Brihaspati as the Āngirasa: pra saptagum
\nṛ<\/span>tadhītim
\nsumedhām bṛ<\/span>haspatim
\nmatir acchā jigāti, ya āngiraso
\nnamasā upasadyaḥ<\/span>.<\/i>
\n"The thought goes towards Brihaspati the <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00b9<\/font>Cf. the description in X.62.5 of the Angirasas as sons of Agni, different in form, but all
\nprofound in knowledge, gambhīravepasah<\/i><\/span>̣<\/span>.<\/span><\/i> <\/p>\n

\u00b2<\/font>This seems to be the sense of the word
\nBrahman in the Veda. It certainly does not
\nmean Brahmanas by caste or priests by profession; the Fathers here are warriors
\nas well as
\nsages. The four castes are only mentioned in the Rig-veda once, in that
\nprofound but late com-
\nposition, the Purushasukta.<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 160<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

seven-rayed, the truth-thinking, the perfect intelligence, who is
\nthe Āngirasa, to be approached with obeisance." In 11.23.18
\nalso, Brihaspati is addressed as Angirasa in connection with the
\nrelease of the cows and the release of the waters: "For the glory
\nof thee the hill parted asunder when thou didst release upward
\nthe pen of the cows; with Indra for ally thou didst force out, O
\nBrihaspati, the flood of the waters which was environed by the
\ndarkness." We may note in passing how closely the release of the
\nwaters, which is the subject of the Vritra legend, is associated with
\nthe release of the cows which is the subject of the legend of the
\nAngirasa Rishis and the Panis and that both Vritra and the Panis
\nare powers of the darkness. The cows are the light of the Truth,
\nthe true illumining sun, satyam tat.. .sūryam;<\/i> the waters released
\nfrom the environing darkness of Vritra are called sometimes
\nthe streams of the Truth, ṛ<\/span>tasya dhārāḥ<\/span><\/i> and sometimes svarvatir
\nāpaḥ<\/span>,<\/i>
\nthe waters of Swar, the luminous solar world. <\/p>\n

We see then that the Angirasa is in the first place a power of
\nAgni the seer-will; he is the seer who works by the light, by the
\nknowledge; he is a flame of the puissance of Agni, the great force
\nthat is born into the world to be the priest of the sacrifice and
\nthe leader of the journey, the puissance which the gods are said
\nby Vamadeva (I V.I.I) to establish here as the Immortal in mortals, the energy
\nthat does the great work (arati).<\/i> In the second
\nplace, he is a power or at least has the power of Brihaspati, the
\ntruth-thinking and seven-rayed, whose seven rays of the light hold
\nthat truth which he thinks (ṛ<\/span>tadhītini)<\/i> and whose seven mouths
\nrepeat the word that expresses the truth, the god of whom it is
\nsaid (IV.50.4,5), "Brihaspati coming first to birth out of the great
\nLight in the highest heaven, born in many forms, seven-mouthed,
\nseven-rayed (saptāsyaḥ<\/span> saptaraśmiḥ<\/span>),<\/i> by his cry dispelled the
\ndarkness; he by his host with the Rik and the Stubh (the hymn
\nof illumination and the rhythm that affirms the gods) broke Vala
\nby his cry." It cannot be doubted that by this host or troop
\nof Brihaspati (suṣ<\/span>ṭ<\/span>ubhā ṛ<\/span>kvatā gaṇ<\/span>ena)<\/i> are meant the
\nAngirasa
\nRishis who by the true mantra help in the great victory. <\/p>\n

Indra is also described as becoming an Angirasa
\nor as becoming possessed of the Angirasa quality. "May he become
\nmost Angirasa with the Angirasas, being the Bull with bulls (the <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 161<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

bull is the male power or Purusha, nṛ<\/span>,<\/i> with regard to the Rays
\nand the Waters who are the cows, gāvaḥ<\/span>, dhenavaḥ<\/span>),<\/i> the Friend
\nwith friends, the possessor of the Rik with those who have the
\nRik (ṛ<\/span>gmibhir
\nṛ<\/span>gmī),<\/i>
\nwith those who make the journey (gātubhiḥ<\/span>, <\/i>the souls that advance on the path towards the Vast and True)
\nthe greatest; may Indra become associated with the Maruts
\n(marutvān)<\/i> for our thriving." The epithets here (1.100.4) are
\nall
\nthe proper epithets of the Angirasa Rishis and Indra is supposed
\nto take upon himself the qualities or relations that constitute
\nAngirasahood. So in III.31.7, "Most illumined in knowledge
\n(vipratamaḥ<\/span>,<\/i>
\nanswering to the vepiṣ<\/span>ṭ̣<\/span>ho angirasām
\nvipraḥ<\/span><\/i> of
\nVI. 11.3), becoming a friend (sakhīyan,<\/i> the Angirasas are friends
\nor comrades in the great battle) he went (agacchat,<\/i> upon the path,
\ncf. gātubhiḥ<\/span>,<\/i>
\ndiscovered by Sarama); the hill sped forth its pregnant contents (garbham)<\/i>
\nfor the doer of the good work; strong
\nin manhood with the young (maryo yuvabhiḥ<\/span>,<\/i> the youth also
\ngiving the idea of unaging, undecaying force) he sought fullness
\nof riches and won possession (sasāna makhasyan);<\/i> so at once,
\nchanting the hymn (arcan),<\/i> he became an Angirasa." This Indra
\nwho assumes all the qualities of the Angirasa is, we must re-
\nmember, the Lord of Swar, the wide world of the Sun or the
\nTruth, and descends to us with his two shining horses, harī,
\n<\/i>which are called in one passage sūryasya ketū,<\/i> the sun’s
\ntwo
\npowers of perception or of vision in knowledge, in order to war
\nwith the sons of darkness and aid the great journey. If we have
\nbeen right in all that we have concluded with regard to the esoteric sense of
\nthe Veda, Indra must be the Power (Indra,<\/i> the
\nPuissant,\u00b9 the powerful lord) of the divine Mind born in man
\nand there increasing by the Word and the Soma to his full
\ndivinity. This growth continues by the winning and growth of the
\nLight, till Indra reveals himself fully as the lord of all the luminous herds
\nwhich he sees by the "eye of the sun", the divine
\nMind master of all the illuminations of knowledge. <\/p>\n

Indra, in becoming the Angirasa, becomes marutvān,<\/i> possessed of
\nor companioned by the Maruts, and these Maruts,
\nluminous and violent gods of the storm and the lightning, uniting
\nin themselves the vehement power of Vayu, the Wind, the <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\u00b9<\/font>But also perhaps "shining", cf. indu,<\/i>
\nthe moon; ina,<\/i> glorious, the sun; indh, to<\/i> kindle.<\/span>
\n <\/i><\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 162<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

Breath, the Lord of Life and the force of Agni, the Seer-Will,
\nare therefore seers who do the work by the knowledge, kavayo
\nvidmanā-apasaḥ<\/span>,<\/i>
\nas well as battling forces who by the power of
\nthe heavenly Breath and the heavenly lightning overthrow the
\nestablished things, the artificial obstructions, kṛ<\/span>trimāṇ<\/span>i rodhāmsi, <\/i>in which the sons of Darkness have entrenched themselves, and
\naid Indra to overcome Vritra and the Dasyus. They seem to be
\nin the esoteric Veda the Life-Powers that support by their
\nnervous or vital energies the action of the thought in the attempt
\nof the mortal consciousness to grow or expand itself into the
\nimmortality of the Truth and Bliss. In any case, they also are
\ndescribed in VI.49.11, as acting with the qualities of the Angirasa
\n(angirasvat),<\/i> "0 young and seers and powers of the sacrifice,
\nMaruts, come uttering the word to the high place (or desirable
\nplane of earth or the hill, adhi sānu pṛś<\/span>neḥ<\/span>,<\/i> VI. 6.4, which is probably the
\nsense of varasyām),<\/i> powers increasing, rightly moving
\n(on the path, gātu)<\/i> like the Angirasa,\u00b9 give joy even to that which
\nis not illumined (acitram,<\/i> that which has not received the varied
\nlight of the dawn, the night of our ordinary darkness)". We see
\nthere the same characteristics of the Angirasa action, the eternal
\nyouth and force of Agni (agne yaviṣ<\/span>ṭ<\/span>ha),<\/i>
\nthe possession and
\nutterance of the Word, the seerhood, the doing of the work of
\nsacrifice, the right movement on the great path which leads, as
\nwe shall see, to the world of the Truth, to the vast and luminous
\nbliss. The Maruts are even said to be (X.78.5) as it were "Angirasas with
\ntheir Sama hymns, they who take all forms", viśvarūpā
\nangiraso na sāmabhiḥ<\/span>.<\/i>\n<\/p>\n

All this action and movement are made possible by the
\ncoming of Usha, the Dawn. Usha also is described as angirastamā<\/i> and
\nin addition as indratamā.<\/i> The power of Agni, the
\nAngirasa power, manifests itself also in the lightning of Indra
\nand in the rays of the Dawn. Two passages may be cited which
\nthrow light on this aspect of the Angirasa force. The first is
\nVII.79.2,3. "The Dawns make their rays to shine out in the <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00b9<\/font>It is to be noted that Sayana here hazards
\nthe idea that Angirasa means the moving
\nrays (from ang<\/i> to move) or the Angirasa Rishis. If the great scholar had
\nbeen able to pursue
\nwith greater courage his ideas to their logical conclusion, he would have
\nanticipated the
\nmodem theory in its most essential points.<\/span> <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 163<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

extremities of heaven, they labour like men who are set to a work.
\nThy rays set fleeing the darkness, they extend the Light as if the
\nsun were extending its two arms. Usha has become (or, come into
\nbeing) most full of Indra power (indratamā),<\/i> opulent in riches and
\nhas given birth to the inspirations of knowledge for our happy
\ngoing (or for good and bliss), the goddess, daughter of Heaven,
\nmost full of Angirasahood (angirastamā),<\/i> orders her riches for
\nthe doer of good works." The riches in which Usha is opulent
\ncannot be anything else than the riches of the Light and the
\nPower of the Truth; full of Indra power, the power of the divine
\nillumined mind, she gives the inspirations of that mind (śravāmsi)
\n<\/i>which lead us towards the Bliss, and by the flaming radiant
\nAngirasa-power in her she bestows and arranges her treasures
\nfor those who do aright the great work and thus move rightly
\non the path, itthā nakṣ<\/span>anto angirasvat<\/i> (VI.49.11). <\/p>\n

The second passage is in VII.75, "Dawn, heaven-born, has
\nopened up (the veil of darkness) by the Truth and she comes
\nmaking manifest the vastness (mahimānam),<\/i> she has drawn away
\nthe veil of harms and of darkness (druhas tamaḥ<\/span>)<\/i> and all that
\nis unloved; most full of Angirasahood she manifests the paths
\n(of the great journey). Today, O Dawn, awake for us for the
\njourney to the vast bliss (mahe suvitayā),<\/i> extend (thy riches) for
\na vast state of enjoyment, confirm in us a wealth of varied brightness (citram)<\/i>
\nfull of inspired knowledge (śravasyum),<\/i> in us mortals, O human and
\ndivine. These are the lustres of the visible
\nDawn which have come varied-bright (citrāḥ<\/span>)<\/i> and immortal; bringing to birth the divine workings they diffuse themselves,
\nfilling those of the mid-region", janayanto daivyāni vratāni,
\nāpṛ<\/span>ṇ<\/span>anto antarikṣā<\/span> vyasthuḥ<\/span><\/i> (Riks 1-3). Again we
\nhave the
\nAngirasa power associated with the journey, the revelation of
\nits paths by the removal of the darkness and the bringing of the
\nradiances of the Dawn; the Panis represent the harms (druhaḥ<\/span>, <\/i>hurts or those who hurt) done to man by the evil powers, the; darkness is their cave; the journey is that which leads to the
\ndivine happiness and the state of immortal bliss by means of our
\ngrowing wealth of light and power and knowledge; the immortal
\nlustres of the Dawn which give birth in man to the heavenly workings and fill
\nwith them the workings of the mid-regions between <\/p>\n

\n

\nPage \u2013 164<\/font><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

earth and heaven, that is to say, the functioning of those vital
\nplanes governed by Vayu which link our physical and pure mental
\nbeing, may well be the Angirasa powers. For they too gain and
\nmaintain the truth by maintaining unhurt the divine workings
\n(amardhanto daivyā vratāni).<\/i> This is indeed their function, to
\nbring the divine Dawn into mortal nature so that the visible
\ngoddess pouring out her riches may be there, at once divine and
\nhuman, devi marteṣ<\/span>u
\nmānuṣ<\/span>i,<\/i>
\nthe goddess human in mortals. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\nPage \u2013 165<\/font><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHAPTER XVI The Angirasa Rishis   THE name Angirasa occurs in the Veda in two different forms, Angira and Angirasa, although the latter is the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-10-the-secret-of-the-veda-volume-10","wpcat-17-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}