Atharvaveda ancillary literature (Study)
by B. R. Modak | 1959 | 179,855 words
The essay studies the ancillary literature of the Atharva-Veda with special reference to the Parisistas. It does so by understanding the socio-cultural and philosophical aspects of ancient Indian life. The Atharvaveda addresses encompasses all practical aspects of life from health and prosperity to rituals and sorcery. This thesis systematically ex...
Part 5.2.2 - Omens related to Meteors
[Full title: Atmospheric Omens (2) Meteors]
Meteors are the nebular bodies in space which drop down when they come within the gravitational field of the earth. When they fall down, there is great friction with the air and they flash out bright light. They hardly ever reach the earth as they are turned to powder due to friction in the atmosphere. These meteors are traditionally believed to represent the souls of the meritorious ancestors who were strong and pure, who possessed forebearance, and who were engaged in the observance of vows. When the stock of their 57. Cf. Brhatsamhita by Varahamihira 31.1-4. Atharvaveda-Parisistas 70°.32.8 states that if the evening is seen to possess five colours, it portends danger to the king.
592 merit is over, they fall down, and their falling down foretells the future. 58 That part of astrology which deals with the appearance, colour, lustre, glossiness, size, form, strength etc. of the meteors is often highly praised. It is embodied in Parisista 58 b. The meteors are divided into five types - Tara, Dhisnya, Ulka, Vidyut and Asani. Each succeeding type is Tara is a meteor with white stronger than the preceding one. colour and pale body, and which appears like the filament of a lotus or a line of smoke. Dhisnya is that variety of meteors which have no tail or have a very short and thin tail. Ulka is a meteor which appears like a sharp pike with broad end and which grows when falling down. Vidyut is a kind of meteors which fall down with irritating thunder that destroys the composure of mind (sattva), which are surrounded with flames, which are horrible to look at and which fall upon beings and forests. Asani meteors come down with a deafening harsh noise, are like a broad disk, appear as if they are going to break the earth, and fall upon men, deer, elephants, 58. The falling of meteors is referred to in Ram. Vedic Index 53.14, 57.35, 65.48, 51, 95.47; MBh I.30.33, 35; II.102.32; III.156.3; IV.46.9; V.143.11, 156.29-30; Vedic Index 3.35, 19.39, 99.28-29, 112.9; VII.7.38,39, 88.7, 193.18; VIII.31.5; IX.22.22-23, 57.9, 59.49; XIV.77.17; XVI.1.3; Matsya Purana 172.16; 240.8; Bhagavata Purana III.17.4; Harivamsa I.42.15; II.23.30, 112.4, 116.61-63. Saura Purana 60.15; Hargacarita pp. 207, 225.
593 horses, trees, rocks, paths and houses. 59 The meteors are masculine by nature, but they appear in different forms. Some of them are like lean ladies with bright hair, emitting fire, illuminating the sky as it were with the golden, yellow, white, smoky or tawny armour, and being accompanied by a vast shattering cloud. Some other meteors appear like the joints of a bamboo, some like the Indra-banner, some like a rainbow, some like a circle, and some like a parasol. Some meteors fall like a disc, some stand like a staff, some run forth like a serpent (in a zigzag manner), some move as if like peacocks with the plumage spread out, some come to the earth with the tails raised, and some rush like a gola shedding lustre (cf. Brhatsamhita by Varahamihira 33. 9-11). Some meteors fall upon the earth with or without sound, being followed by the dancing (forms of) corpses, cats and boars. Some other meteors move (slowly), as if they are tied by a string or are being carried by the wind. Some fall down, while others move in the sky. Some meteors come down to the earth, surrounded by a group of other ulkas. Meteors appear in various forms, such as those of a 59. Cf. Brhatsamhita by Varahamihira 33.1-8. The MBh mentions various kinds of meteors: those with thundering sounds and vibrating motions (VII.7.38); those which make the earth shake (V.143.11); those with harsh sounds (VII.88.7) and thundering roars (III.156.3). Cf. MBh IX.57.9: mahasvana sanidhitastumula lomaharsanah | petustathorala satasah spheाtayantyo namastalam ||
594 boar, a corpse, a lion, a tiger, a cat, an elephant or a serpent. These meteors are most inauspicious and forebode danger. Those, which look like spear, pattisa, sakti, reti, club, sword and battle-axe or like a shower or a tree, are despicable. Those, on the other hand, which look like lotus, conch, Moon, diamond, snake or fish, are auspicious. So too are those which look like a sri-vrksa (Bilva or Asvattha tree), Svastika, whirl-pool, swan or an elephant. If the meteor falls on the top of the Indra-pillar, it indicates danger to the king; and if it falls upon a temple, it indicates danger to the king and the nation. If the meteor falls on the city-gate, the city will be upset; and if it falls upon the cross-bar (of the gate), the people will be destroyed. If sacrificial altars are struck by meteors, it indicates calamity to the Brahmanas; if the trees in a caitya are struck, the virtuous people are in danger; if the meteor falls at the door, the life-period will be reduced; and if it falls in the house, it predicts danger to the occupant of the house. If it falls in the cow-pen, it betokens danger to the cowherds; if in the threshing floor, to the peasants; and if in the (royal) houses, to the king. If a meteor appears to 60 strike a constellation, it prognosticates fear to the objects under the sway of that constellation (Cf. Brhatsamhita by Varahamihira 15), and if it 60. Atharvaveda, Saunakiya recension XIX.9.9 mentions a meteor striking against a constellation: naksatram ulka 'bhiphatam sam astu nah. cf. Atharvaveda, Saunakiya recension V.17.4.
595 strikes against the planets of the quarters, it presages danger to the ascetics in the respective countries. The meteor, which falls downwards, kills the king; the one, which goes up, kills the Brahmanas; that, which falls obliquely, kills the queen; and the one, which moves up obliquely, kills the merchants. The meteor, which is like the joints of a bamboo, affects the nation; the one, which is like the Indra-banner, affects the king; the one, which appears like a rainbow, affects the elephants; and the one which appears like a disc, affects the city. If the meteor is like a wheel, it affects the ministers; and if like a parasol, it affects the Purohita. If the meteor appears as having a peacock's tail, it dries up the waters; and if it disappears in the sky, it drinks up the clouds. If it moves about like a gola shedding out sparks, it indicates danger to the nation; and if it falls surrounded by other meteors, these latter cause danger to the king and the nation. The meteor, which is followed on the track by forms like corpse or boar and which looks like a funeral fire or a serpent, causes ruin to the people. When a meteor is crooked, broken or distorted, and possesses a musical sound, it indicates danger to the king and the nation. The meteor, which is accompanied by a sound, or which moves against the direction of the wind at twilight, or which is seen in the centre of the sky, or which moves about here and there, is terrible. The white meteor strikes with its head, the red with
596 its middle, the yellow with its sides, and the dark with its tail. The white meteor affects the gods and kings; the red, the Ksatriyas; the yellow, the Vaisyas; and the dark, the Sudras. When Asani meteors are not seen while actually falling, only their effect being seen on the earth; there is no fear. If a Vidyut falls with a Tara against the direction of the wind, it is not auspicious; otherwise, it is. 61 Taras and Dhisnyas bring about slight effect after a long time; but if they fall often, they do lead to evil. A king should go away from the place where the meteors fall in great number and where other portents occur. When omens are seen and especially when meteors fall, one should perform the Maha-santi, 62 whereby one escapes from the evils and attains success.