Introduction (Vedic goddesses)

INTRODUCTION ; Vedic goddesses have been discussed in their various aspects by many scholars. Yet it seems that their infrastructure has not been studied in an attempt to bring out how the Vedic social reality had been reflected in the formation of the goddesses. The present thesis is an attempt at analysing the image, function and position and position of the Vedic goddesses. Their function and the evolution in their status are also discussed here. The different points of discussion may be enumerated woman's position in the pantheon reveals their position ✓ in society, the evolution of their position, in the pantheon also reflects their position in society, ritual and their connection with the goddesses signify to some extent the bearing of their function. Finally, the goddess-image became congealed and arrested at a stage at which society desired to see women.. E The first chapter deals with the special features and functions of the personifications of natural phenomena that is, it describes the different facets of the personality of the elements personified as goddesses like Usas, Usasanakta, Ratri, Rajani, Nakta, Kuhu, Raka, Sinivali, Anumati, Prthivi, Bhumi, Vasundhara, Mryttika, Mahi, the six goddesses related to Prthivi, Sri-Lakami, Aranyani, Apah, River-goddesses, Sarasvati as a river-goddess, during the period from the Samhitas to the Sutras. It also shows how the different goddesses change their colour

and personality according to varying social needs over the years during this period. 2 The secondChapter deals with the special features and functions of the abstract goddesses that is, the personifications of abstract concepts like Aditi, Diti, Sarasvati as a goddess of speech, Medhadevi, Ila-Bharati-Sarasvati, Vac, Sraddha, Akuti, Dhisana and Nirrti. It describes the different facets of the personality of these goddesses during the period from the Samhitas to the Sutras. In this chapter it is also shown how these goddesses underwent a change in their traits according to the changing social needs over so many years during this period. Chapters three and four deal with the different facets. of the personality of the miscellaneous minor goddesses like Surya, Indrani, wives of the gods, Gna, Prani, Rohini, Saranyu, Sarama, Damu, Durga, Uma Haimavati, Ambika, Gayatri, Vedamata, Mekhala, Urjahuti, Jostri, Iguh, Vaisvadevi, Subrahmani, the six goddesses (Urvin). Visucika, Prarthana, Marga-devi, Door-goddesses, Sasthi, Krttika, Puramdhi, Revati, Istva, Ari and Ahoratra, who came to be worshipped during the period from the Samhitas to the Sutras. The Vedic Aryans initially deified the natural elements and the various phenomena of nature like Usas, Usasanakta, Apah,

Ratri, river-goddesses, Sri-Laksmi, Raka, Sinivali, Kuhu, Anumati and Aranyani, because they were mainly dependent on their gifts and generally upon their mercy for their living, and for their all-round welfare and prosperity. 3 The Vedic Aryans looked upon Usas as the personification of Dawn. To them it was she who destroyed the darkness and brought them the first glimmer of day, and also inspired them to perform their own duties. She played a very important role in the lives of the people when they were mainly pastoral during the Rgvedic period, became with her advent they could take out their cattle for grazing on the pastures. The Rovedic Aryans vero primarily a pastoral people and naturally cows and bullocks were their most valued possession and, therefore, they beseeched her for granting them cattle. These constituted their chief form of wealth, and the only original daksina (sacrificial fee). They were aware of the dangers to which the grasing cattle were liable such as being lost, falling into pits, breaking limbs and being stolen. Therefore they prayed to Usas for making the pasture-lands free from any danger to their eattle. In those ill-lighted nights, fear of poachers and burglars was only too Therefore, at dawn the shepherd heaved a sigh of relief as they became free from the nocturnal threats for another day. real. Since ince the dawn protected them and their cattle from these threats, they deified her in the divinity called Usas. The Aryans first settled in the Punjab region which had many rivers flowing through it which explains the singer's praise

and worship of Apah which fertilized the land and provided grass and fodder for the cattle and plants and fruits for the people. Hence the reverence for and deification of this prime gift of nature. 4 The Rgvedic Aryans deified the rivers because they considered them to be the source of fertility and thus of life. They dwelt on their banks, and their cattle grazed on the grassy plots there. Therefore the rivers were regarded as the harbinger of prosperity. Quite naturally they would deify these rivers as sources of their prosperity. Later, that is, in the later Vedic age, as agriculturists too, the rivers were precious to them as supplying rich alluvial soil so suitable for farming. river lent itself quite naturally to deification. Thus the Both the corn-goddess Sri-Lakami and the earth-goddess Prthivi were connected with agricultural fertility and prosperity presumably because agriculture had made real progress during the Later Vedio age. The operation of tilling the soil meant (as now) the cutting of furrows in the field with the wooden ploughshare drawn by the bulls, the sowing of seeds in the furrows thus made, the cutting of the corn with the sickle, the laying of the bundles of corn on the threshing floor and finally sifting and winnowing. Irrigation was known, and helped cultivation. Agriculture was mainstay of the later Vedic Aryans. Their living and prosperity depended almost solely upon it. Therefore agriculture played a very

important part in their lives. Agricultural prosperity largely depended upon the fertility of the soil, which provided the people with their sustenance that is, food, and also produced grass and fodder for their cattle. They, therefore, invoked the divinities, Prthivi and Sri-Lakgmi for nourishing the soil that is, for the fertility of the soil, on which crops, plants and forests grew. The Vedic Aryans deified the forest in the divinity called Aranyani. The reason behind this deification can be easily understood when one remembers that the early habitation of the Aryans were surrounded by deep impenetrable forests all around, one can see how the poetic imagination was overawed by the dark, inscrutable mystery of those dense forests, especially at dusk when the forest remained enveloped in its own mysterious aura, away from human habitation. This sense of This sense of awe led to the apotheosis of the forest. It can be seen that the Vedic Aryans deified the inauspicious, the destructive and the negative in the divinity called Nirrti. Possibly the realization of human helplessness in the face of the unforeseen and unforseeable destructive forces in nature generated a sense of awe which led to reverence. reverence. People sought to appease and mollify this destructive power in nature, they did so primarily by deifying this power and secondarily by supplicating It. The Vedic Aryans deified speech, different aspects of the sacrifice and some abstract concepts in the divinities like Vac, 5 sl

6 Sarasvati (as a goddess of speech), Ida, Bharati, Dhigana, Akuti, sraddha, Aditi and Anumati. They looked upon Vac as a goddess of speech, and though Sarasvati was initially worshipped as a river- -goddess, later on she came to be identified with vac, the goddess of speech, and was generally revered as a goddess of learning. Akuti generally personified the abstract concept of yearning, intention, purpose, etc., but during the period of the later Samhitas and Brahmanas when sacrifice grew immensely in quantum as well as in importance, she came to signify specifically the urge behind the performance of the sacrificial ritual, and the verbal expression of this urge 1.e. the recitation of the mantra. Bharati was generally considered as the celestial aspect of Vac or speech as connected with the sun. Evidently she had association with the Bharata tribe of which she is an apotheosis. This tribe prospered early and prosperity was conceived as being a result of sacrifices. Therefore, Bharati came to be regarded as a manifestation of sacrificial speech. Although Ida represented many things like food, cattle, cow, earth, praise, speech and water, she was generally considered as a goddess of sacrifice because she came to personify every aspect of the sacrifice from oblations to the sacrificial altar. Anumati was regarded as the personification of divine permission or assent. The Vedic Aryans considered her as a goddess who granted the people permission to begin the sacrifice. In Dhisana, the Vedic Aryans witnessed the personification of a number of attributes and ideas for example, speech. She was sometimes identified with the vedi or the sacrificial altar, and . $

specially at the soma-sacrifice was also originally meant to be an implement used at the sacrifice, She was also regarded as a genius which inspires and stimulates all poetical creation and priestly action related to the sacrifice. Aditi was regarded as the personification of ideas of "freedom from bondage," "eternity", and was also looked upon the personi. fication of the boundlessness of heaven, earth, speech and the cow. Sraddha was looked upon as the personification of the concept of faith. These goddesses who personify speech and different aspects of the sacrifice became very important in the period of the later Samhitas and Brahmanas when sacrifice grew immensely in stature and significance. Vac came to play a very important part in the sacrifices performed by the people, because those sacrifices had to be conducted with mantras or sacrificial formulae which could be recited only with her help that is, the help of speech. Her role in sacrifice grew bigger during the period of the Brahmanas because at that time the sacrifices including the mantras accompanying them had become very complex and difficult. Also, as the Aryans spread among the indigenous populace who spoke a different language, the pure Indo-Aryan speech, the pre-eminent medium of the mantras came to be looked upon with greater awe and sublimity. This explains to some extent the added glorification of the goddesses signifying speech. The help of these goddesses vas sought by the people in deciphering those intricate sacrificial formulae.

$1 8 In the period of the Brahmanas, sacrifice grew immensely The people thought that through the in importance in society. performance of various sacrifices they could attain material prosperity, happiness and also the fulfilment of all their desires. At that time many autonomous principalities had sprung up with their own overlords and military chiefs. They also turned to sacrifice for their success in wars and also material prosperity. The priests, therefore, capitalised on all these aspirations of the various echelons of society. They devised many kinds of sacrifices for meeting the specific needs of the people. Trade and agricultural prosperity brought wealth into the hands of the people. Therefore they could afford the fabulous fees and also meet the numerous demands of the brahmanical priests who cashed in on the opportunity provided to them by the people's belief in sacrifice. It is also perceptible that the people aspired for something above their everyday needs too that is, proximity to the High and mighty God or creator of the universe, Prajapati or Brahman. They believed that sacrifice was the vehicle which could bring them into close contact with him. They also thought that the sacrifice could take them to heaven, which is the place of the gods. This may be noted in Taittiriya-brahmana III : 3:815, wherein it is said that by offering the oblation to Aditi, the devotee attains heaven. It may be noticed that by the time of the Brahmanas, people had become aware of the conception of heaven and hell. The exorbitant fees and the many demands of the brahmanical priests alienated a section of the phople, especially the ordinary

9 run of men who could not afford the expenses involved in the performance of a sacrifice from the brahmanical religion or the religion of sacrifice. They started losing faith in the sacrificial religion and, therefore, started turning to other forms of religion or worship. It may be that to counter this waning of faith in the sacrifice a new personified faith in the divinity called graddha, and a new personified permission or assent to begin the sacrifice in the divinity called Anumati were introduced. Sacrifices became very important in the period of the later Samhitas and Brahmanas. It may be that in order to justify their performance of the sacrifice, the mythopoeic mind beseeched the goddesses to grant fruits of good deeds to the devotee who offered them oblation that is, performed sacrifices in their honour. This background of sacrifice reasonably explains the importance of Vac or speech during the period of the later Samhitas and Brahmanas. fac It was with the help of fee that the powerful and sacred mantra (or sacrificial formula) was formulated and recited by the officiating priest. The mantra was regarded as powerful since through the proper recitation of the mantra at the sacrifice, the people could hope to attain the fulfilment of their desires. The mantra was an integral part of the sacrifice which had come to play a very important part in the lives of the people, especially during the period of the Brahmanas. The sucess of sacrifice depended upon the proper recitation of the mantra accompanying it.

10 The mantra was considered as sacred because it was through the proper recitation of the mantra at the sacrifice that the Again, it was through people could come into close contact with the gods especially with the Almighty God i.e. Prajapati or Brahman. the proper recitation of the mantra at the sacrifice that the people could attain heaven. Most of these goddesses were prayed for progeny. The Vedic Aryans approached the goddesses for progeny especially sons for fighting wars against the hostile tribes and the indigenous population, and also for lending a hand in agriculture which had become settled and organised in the period of the later Samhitas and early Brahmanas. With the introduction of the iron ploughshare in that period agriculture expanded and flourished bringing a lot of wealth into the hands of the people. The men, therefore, needed children especially boys for lending them a helping hand in the various agricultural operations. They also approached the goddesses for good land on which they could carry out the agricultural pursuits. The Vedic Aryans also invoked the goddesses for granting them heroic and courageous sons for waging the almost incessant wars against the inimical tribes and natives, that is, the Austric and Dravidian population. They beseeched the goddesses for granting them more cattle and also supplicated them to take care of them and remove diseases among them. Cattle formed their mainstay when the Vedic Aryans were mainly pastoral in the early Vedic age. Cattle composed of cows and bullocks constituted their chief form of wealth

11 and the only original sacrificial fee or daksina. They prayed for horses too because they fought the wars against their enemies on horse-driven chariots. They prayed for cows and often conceived their goddesses as cows, because cows formed the main sacrificial fee and also provided them with milk-products like clarified butter which formed the chief form of offering or oblation to the divinities. The cows were of great importance because they were also the monetary units in the primitive barter economy of this people. The Vedic Aryans required more cattle to drag their heavy ploughs. According to various texts for example, the Atharvaveda, Vajasaney] Samhita, Maitrayani Samhita, Kathaka Samhita and the Taittiriya Brahmana, six, twelve and even twenty-four oxen were used to drag the plough which must have been large and heavy. They, therefore, prayed for more cattle because they were invaluable to them in agriculture, which was their mainstay and source of livelihood. The Vedic Aryans prayed to the goddesses for food, protection, happiness, shelter, wealth, prosperity and longevity. They regarded the goddesses as wish-fulfilling divinities, who were capable of granting them all their desires and aspirations. These goddesses play a very important part in the fertility rites, especially for the female devotee. Aditi is invoked in the Simantonnayana ceremony for the pregnant woman. They were often beseeched to grant conception to the female devotee. is often prayed to for successful conception. Kausika 35.5 enjoins an elaborate ceremony to be performed for the sake of successful Sinivali

12 conception, wherein the entire garbhadhana sukta Atharva-veda 5.25 ia employed and Sinivall is invoked. These goddesses are often depicted as mothers of gods, people,kings and covs. All these attributes and the fertility aspect i.e. the capacity of bestowing progeny established these female divinities as mother-goddesses. The over-all image is one of the capable, strong bounteous mother and house-wife who managed the household when the men of the gamily were generally engaged in outdoor pursuits like tilling and cattle-tending. This is how they saw their women and this image was transferred on to the mythopoeic level. A female fertility figure in high relief with upraised arms and outstretched legs was found at Bhita, and a similar figure was found also at Kosam, both near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. The Ehita figure is entirely nude except for a girdle of circlets around the waist and bangles on the hands and feet. Also, in place of a head, it has a lotus flower with petals falling over the shoulders. The archaeological context shows that the figure must be assigned to the Kusana period, and Marshall tentatively suggested identification with Prthivi, the Earth-goddess. A small terracotta figure in the form of a toad, cast from a double mould, the underside of which double mould, the underside of which displays a similar squatting goddess of early 2nd century A.D. was found at Mathura. The Dravidian influence is perceptible in the conception of these female divinities as mother-goddesses. This was possible due to the miscegenation of the Vedic Aryans with the local population that is, the Dravidians. The native Dravidian population brought

13 An with them their own beliefs and concepts which exercised considerable influence on the development of mythology of the Vedic Aryans. oblong terracotta sealing depicting a nude female figure upside down with legs apart and a plant issuing from her womb, was found at Harappa. This seal, known as the 'Sakambhari-seal' suggests the cult of the Earth or Mother goddess in the Indus civilisation. figure This is comparable with the female fertility found at Ehita. L Mother-goddess figurines of the archaic type with exaggerated buttocks, heads, noses, arms and breasts have been found at Bilwali in Central India or at Nevasa in Maharashtra. Mother-goddess figurines have been found widespread in Mathura, Ahichhatra, Shita, Kosambi, Kolhapur and Nasik. The image of the mother-goddess of of the 13th century B.C. was found inside a shrine at Iman Gaon in This is the earliest pre-Brahmanical image of the Maharashtra. mother-goddess. Strabo quoting Megasthenes mentions mother-goddess worship in the 3rd century B.C. Around the same time Ganga was deified and worshipped. A jar in the form of a nude female figure of the 2nd century B.C. has been found at Narada Toll. This also suggests the image of the mother goddess. V In the Kaimur region of Central India, on upper Paleolithic monument locally known as shrine of Kalika Mai has been found. Another pre-historic monument of Keraiki Devi shrine has been found. It can, therefore, be concluded that the worship of goddesses goes back many years even beyond the advent of the Aryans.

14 The social position of women is sometimes reflected in In the Reveda, Aditi is the personality of the goddesses. regarded as the mother of the gods. But in the Brahmanas especially in the Satapatha Brahmana, she is considered more as the wife and the beloved of the gods than their mother though de in 3B III ; 5:1:4, she is regarded as the great mother. This may again be related to the social condition of women at that time. It is noticeable that from the period of the Brahmanas, the social subjugation of women had become unambiguously apparent in the texts. They were not allowed to attend the assemblies, and were saigned to look after mainly their household. They They were regarded dependent on men The men participated in the flourishing trade and agriculture of that period. Therefore the people prayed for male progeny for lending a hand in trede and agriculture. This social demotion of women and their relegation to the background is reflected in the conception of Aditi as the wife and beloved of the gods that is, more or less dependent on the gods. She is no more the independent entity that is, the mother of the gods as she was in the Revada. It can, therefore, be said that women were not independent entities, and had to attain social respectability by becoming someone's wife. It is interesting to remember the Greek word 'potnia' which means a goddess, or queen or an honoured woman, apmistress. The word appears to be a cognate of Sanskrit potni and both seem to go back to Indo-European times when the concept of 'a woman honoured

15 above others' was elevated to comprehend a goddess. synonym for the goddess was demoted to include specially honoured mortal women. The term 'devapatnyah' is a blanket term covering all the goddesses. Apparently it is a comparatively late introduction when the gods' wives were slowly coming to their own but were still such vague generalities and so indistinctly personified that they are nameless as individuals and appear as a collective concept. The Brahmanas are a historical watershed 1 before them, the concept is vague and abstracts after them -- actually starting from them - goddesses are individualized and acquire proper names and personalities. But until they appear as individuals they are indistinct and even then they are primarily wives of male gods. Clearly, this reflects a specific historical phase in society which signifies the derecognition of the spinster as a social unit, when marriage became compulsory. Therefore the subjugation of women • by men was an established fact when they were recognised not as independent agents like Usas (of she goes in front of the Sun and also the other gods - Rigveda V 1 8012, VII # 8012), but only as gods' wives. This association persists till the end 1 goddesses could be powerful and significant, but they were known by their husband's names (like Indrani, the wife of Indra, Varunani, varuna's wife, Bharati, marata's or Aditya's wife), a clear reflection of women's status in society. During the period from the Aranyakas to the Sutras, we see the arrival of a host of new goddesses for example Arttike, Gayatri,

16 ☑ Durga, Vedamata, Sasthi and Astaka. This may be due to the infusion of new beliefs, divinities, cultic practices, myths, legends, anecdotes, modes of worship, and of various other cultural elements into the country. This was possible through the resumption of overseas trade after a long time. Invasions by foreigners, for example, the Kusanas brought many new beliefs, ideas, myths, etc. into the country. Some of these myths, legends, practices, divinities, etc. were absorbed into the mythology of the country, and this in its turn gave rise to many new goddesses. The tendency of imbibing foreign influence in the field of Indian art was most pronounced in the days of the Kusanas. Testimony to such influences is provided principally by Kusana coins. Scholars like Codrington and H.D. Sankalia believed that the classical Baubo that is, the personified yoni or Baubo type may have been imported into India. Two examples of the baubo type of female figures may be cited sum 1) A terracotta female figure seated in the Baubo pose was found at Ter in Maharashtra. It is entirely nude, and Sankalia assigns it to the 1st-2nd century A.D. 2) A stone relief figure of 100 300 A.D., was found from excavations at Nevasa. The carved female nude appears as a highly abbreviated Baubo type. These figures signify the stress on the fertility aspect of women during that period. They also bear out that at that time women were generally looked upon as symbols of fertility.

17 of women In this period the position was gradually deteriorating, n and they ceased to enjoy an honourable position in society. In the Upanisadio period, the avoidance of the company or association of women was advocated by the law-givers of the society. In the period of the Sutras, the woman almost had no part to play in the sacrificial ritual. She did not even have the right to utter the mantra. During the performance of the rituals she was merely present as her husband's deputy or assistant. She only played some role in the domestic ritual when she was to have a child, and 1 that too specifically for a male child. male child. This insignificant position of women in the sacrificial ritual is reflected also in the personality of the goddesses. The goddesses are prominent in particular sacrificial rituals, especially those meant for fertilityl Simantonnayana and not in the collective major sacrifices like Asvamodha, Rajasuya and Vajapeya. In this attitude also was reflected the low position of women. Severe punishments ware enjoined for those women who went astray or committed adultery. But, on the other hand, similar punishments were not laid down for men. Homen were looked upon as dependent on men Baudhayama-dharma-sutra II.23.44) Gautama-dharma-sutra XVIII:1), and were also regarded as property (Vasistha-dharma-sutra XVI.18). It may be that in order to compensate for the degraded position of women in society, they were exalted and deified in mythology. This and also the racial and socio-cultural amalgamation of the Aryans with the indigenous population led to introduction of a number of new goddesses. 183; 102 JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY 31 LIBRARY

htt 18 . In the period of the Brahmanas, the complexity of the sacrificial ritual, and the high fees demanded by the priests somewhat alienated the masses from the sacrificial religion. At the time of the later Brahmanas, inside the country, large- -scale farming made possible through the introduction of the iron ploughshare, produced a steady surplus; wealth from metals and from maritime and inland trade augmented the agricultural wealth. All this wealth found its way to the coffers of the rich few. Rapid class stratification took place and caste divisions became increasingly rigid, both were conducive to the exploitation of the indigent, the sudras and slaves. Living standdards reached the high-water mark of conspicuous consumption and ostentatious luxury for the privileged few who began to blatantly flaunt this as a status symbol: Simultaneously there was growing impovarishment of the majority of the population. with the gulf between the rich and poor steadily widening life for th for the masses becomes an evil, thus paving the way for the next stage of life and literature where it is regarded as an evil. We hear of philosophical symposia held in royal courts, of forest-dwelling ascetic teachers and roving mendicants preaching new values or adjudicating in liturgical or metaphysical disputes, of priests arguing about ritual details and the final solution is frequently reinforced through myths which border on the pseudo-metaphysical. Therefore in the Upanisadic period, a change in the attitude of the people towards life is noticeable. The attitude of the mas masses is one of apathy, and it can be seen that life in general came to be r

19 regarded as evil. The people became aware of the ideas of rebirth and karman or action. They came to know that there is not only on life but a chain of lives and each life is supposed to be the result of one's action in the previous life. Thus karman came to be looked upon as something not very desirable, rather as something to be avoided. As sacrifice formed a part of karman, it too came to be considered as not a very good thing and, therefore, to be avoided. This change in attitude of the people gave rise to such abstract goddesses as Gayatri, Medhadevi and Vedamatr. In the period of the sutras, we see a resurgence of the religion of the Atharvaveda among the masses. Of course, in a sense it had always been there as the Little Tradition, for which the shaman, or wizard, acting as the priest, performed exorcisms, chanted spells, muttered charms and conducted magic rites for the one thousand and one ills that daily beset one's life in the family and society. In the later Vedic age which first appears in the last compositional stage of the Boveda (and which continues through the Yajurveda, Atharvaveda and Brahmanas to the Aranyakas and Upanisada) there actually were two religions in: Aryandom ❤r the Great Tradition of the collective sacrificial religion for which the Samhitas and Brahmanas as also the later Skautasutras are the scriptures, and the shamanistic Little Tradition for domestic ills for which the Grhyasutras were composed. This latter must have derived its component elements from the Indus Valley and other non-Aryan indigenous people beliefs and practices,

20 h and presumably also from the non-Vedic Aryan Kordes which, i historians tell us - had entered this country a few centuries earlier with a different set of myths and rituals the two traditions existed parallelly and symbiotically, each covering a distinct and exclusive area of life. The resurgence of the religion of the Little Tradition among the masses gave rise to such goddesses as Sasthi in the period of the sutras. Another reason behind the increase in the number of goddesses may be the effect of Tantra, which seems to have bain dormant in the religious substratum of the indigenous people. In the Tantras women held a very exalted position, and, therefore, there came goddesses of great importance like Tara mentioned in them. These Tantras may have had some effect on the development of religion and mythology in this period. The exaltation of the persons and the accentuated glofification of some of their function/ and their unbounded capacity for granting boons to the devotee seems to have derived to some extent from the Tantric concept of the goddess, t bu