Description of Goddesses Ida, Bharati and Sarasvati

Ida 66 1 IDA, BHARATI AND SARASVATI 182 The libations of clarified butter and the offerings of cakes and cooked food constitute perhaps the most important items in the Vedic har is-sacrifices. The personification of such items is met with in the Vedic literature, in the conception of Ida, a lordly (bhagvati) (Satapatha-brahmana 1.8.19), celestial (devi) - (Rigveda 2.38, 7.44.2; 10.70.8) and opulent (Vasumati) (Vajasaney-samhita 28.18), divinity who is conspicuously connected with food and nourishment. 221 K The female divinity is also called Ila, Ida or Iva. Ila is identified with the oblation of curds and milk i (KB 3.7, 5.7), and again with the cow (Atharva-veda 3.10.6; Taittiriya-samhita 1.7.1.2; 2.1; Maitrayani-samhita 3.7.6, etc.) Prabhudesai, 'Devikosa, 4,17'. She is also said to be the Adisakti (and Sinivati is one of her forms) - Devikosa I, 76. She is also identified with the name of a territory - (Rajagrama sastri Bhagvat, "Brahmana va brahmani dharma kimva veda va vaidika dharma", p. 15). Regarding Iya, Zimmer says, ' Irrawaddy, we know is the name of the principal river and life-artery of Burma; also, it is the alternate name of a great river in the Punjab, the Ravi. Ira means water, any potable ✓ bluid, milk, refreshment, the liquid contained in the cosmic Milky ocean. Iravati then would be 'she, who is possessed of fluid (ira)'. According to Zimmer, this 'she would be the river itself; for rivers and waters are feminine, material, fostering divinities and water is a female element. A S.K. Laf, op. cit., p. 31. X

1 183 According to Sayana, Ida has various interpretations nouns viz : the Goddess Earth, the embodiment of fire, the goddess of sacrificial injunctive, speech and the goddess of earthly speech. It may be summarised that Ida (cf. Devikosa) originally represented the sustaining power, inherent in food. The nouns ila and cand candra being used in both genders, make it difficult to fix up their genders. Similarly the two Amorite divinities : El-Elohim and Ilaha, change their genders. Similar is the case of Ila, the popular goddess of the Puranic Ila and Soma dynasties. In the Apri-suktas (hymns), Ilah is the devata of the third stanza of a particular Aprisukta. It is remarked that the third verse is addressed to the Ilas, the heavenly gifts or Ilila, and Agni is implored to bring them. (cf. Max Miller, H SL, `p. 464). with a detailed study of the Apri deities, it becomes clear that the view of Martin Haug viz, 'they are certain divine beings, who dounot receive a share in the principal part of the sacrifice' (Aitareya-brahmana Introduction PP XVI-XXII) cannot stand at all. Again an attempt has been made to establish that Ilas can in no sense be considered as divinities at all, as in their place, only adjestival forms from the root id have been used, with Agni as the clearly intended divinity (cf. K.R. Potdar, "Apr hymns in the "2 Rgveda XII.PALOC, 11, P 216). 2 J.R. Joshim "Some minor divinities in Vedic Mythology and Ritual," Deccan College, Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, pp. 50 & 51. r

ii 184 In connection with Sayana's interpretation of Ida, it $ may be said that evidently at a distance of over two millennia Sayana feels quite outside the mythological milieu which produced this goddess; hence the several alternative conjectures regarding her identity in his commentary. In the context of the noun ila being used in both genders, one is reminded of the later Mahabha, rata-myth in which Buddha's son Ila changes sex. Ira-Ida is food (according to the Rigveda, XVII : 13, Ida is Atharva-veda 7.6.4, etc.) and is identical with Ila-Aditi, who is the source of food. Ida represents two kinds of food : (1) the offerings of cooked food, libations of clarified butter to the gods, and, (11) food for men that is; food for the gods and for men. the sacrificial food. The offerings rich, in clarified butter are made to the gods with Ida. The cooked offering is called Ida and in Rgveda the poet craves for sufficient food and S libations (Ida). Iga is compared with the belly where all food is put? 16 Some of the terracotta figurines of the Indian Mother Goddess hold in their hands plates, in which something like food articles seem to be depicted. 3 KB 3.7, 5.7. 4 Atharva-veda 3.10.11. S Taittiriya-samhita 1.7.11. 6 Rigveda 10.36.5. " Satapatha-brahmana III.2.6.8. 8 S.K. Diksit, op. cit., p. 48.

66 185 A parallel of Ida as food may be found in the Greek 9 word Ippa which means food: Ila is endowed with water 10 and is beseeched to sprinkle her 11 worshippers with it! one remembers that ira, water is one of the alternative cognates of her name. Taittiriya-samhita 1.7.2.5 says that Ida is rain (Vrstirva ida). The connection of Ida with rain is extended 12' further to her connectionwwith the plants. Her association with water is again noticeable in Reveda (Rigveda V.41.19), where she is. praised along with the Ganga and other rivers. 13 She lives on the earth. The identification of Ida with the earth has been made obvious in the Rigveda III.55.13. wherein it is said that Ida streams with the waters of Rta - in this Re too, her association with water may be noted. She holds the form of oblation 14: She is said to possess the signs of oblations and her hands and feet are smeared with 15 clarified butter! The way she had enjoyed the oblations at the sacrifice of Manu, in the same manner she is beseeched to enjoy the oblations at the sacrifice of her worshippers 16 She is invoked to come to the sacrifice like a human being 17 She is invoked along 18 with the Vasus, and is implored to come near and sit down at the extended sacrifice of her worshippers." She is approached to make 9 Max Miller, Bibliography of words and the Home of Aryans. London, 1888, p. 192. 10 Rigveda III : 56:5. 11 Rigveda X # 3615. 12 Vajasaney-samhita 15:7. 13 Rigveda I : 14219. 14 Rigveda VII 44 : 2. Rigveda VII # 1618; Atharva-veda VII : 27.1. II : 35:5, X : 70:8; Atharva-veda VII : 27:1. 15 16 17 18 Vajasaney-samhita XXIX: 8. 19 0389 Rigveda X : 110:8; Atharva-veda V: 12.8. . Rigveda X : 70:8; Taittiriya-brahmana III : 36:47 Atharva-veda V: 12:8; Taittiriya-samhita IV: 1:8;V: 1:11.

186 20 the sacrificial rites fruitful, and she is capable of throwing 21 light on the knowledge of the sacrifice? 22 altar. She is sometimes identified with the vedi or the sacrificial A reference may be noted in this connection : 'Since the materials of the sacrifice namely cooked offerings, cakes, clarified butter, etc. which are conjointly represented by Ida, are offered on the sacrificial altar (vedi), Ida is further identified with the vedi. The identification would also seem to be a natural corollary of her association with food and rain'. 23 25 The mantras intended as eulogies and prayers to the gods 24 are also known as Ida. She is the middle-placed speech. and she possesses speech in the form of praise." Jaiminiya-brahmana 2.16 plainly says that Vec is a form of Ida. Ida summons the gods to the sacrifice? In Rigveda 1.186.1, Savitr is prayed to come to the sacrifice through the praises (idabhih). 26 She is often identified with the cow. Being sent forth by the gods, she is the one who yields milk in the house of the sacrificer; she is a goddess of the cows, and is 27 endowed with milch-cows." presumably because milk and milk- -products constitute the bulk of the vegetarian oblations. 20 Atharva-veda 7.28.1; Ppp 20.12.6, Khila 3.11.1. 21 Taittiriya-brahmana I : 1:14. 22 Taittiriya-samhita I.2.5.1, 3.5.11.1, etc. 23 S.K. Lal, op. cit., p. 35. 24 Rigveda V : 41:19; X : 36:5. 25 Rigveda III : 715. 26 Taittiriya-samhita 3.3.2.1. 27 Rigveda VIII # 3114.

28 She is a producer of cows and other animals, and she is a 29 goddess looking like a cow. The other instances of her identification with the cow are found herein: The cow also in her turn has been addressed as Ida -31 30 A few references may be noted in connection with her identification with the cow and her role in sacrifice : 187 66 In the Ayuskemesti rite, the adhvaryu asks the yajamana to look at the ajys (clarified butter) which is regarded as having been stored in the cows by Ida (Taittiriya-samhita 23.10.2). The Agnihotra cow is also addressed as Ida (Satapatha-brahmana 11.5.3.5). In the Agnihotra rite, while the secrificer goes to the cow for milking, he addresses her as Ida (Vajasaney-samhita 3.27; Satapatha-brahmana 2.3.4.34). In the soma-sacrifice, the footsteps of the soma-purchasing cow are called the footsteps of Ida (Vajasaney-samhita 4.22, Satapatha-brahmana 33.14). Similarly in the Pravargya rite, the cow is addressed as Ida (Vajasaney-samhita 38.2; Maitrayani-samhita 4.9.7, Satapatha-brahmana 14.2.17). The identification of Ida with offerings, libations and cow and cattle finds its culmination in the Idopahvana ceremony in the Darsapurnama- 732 sesti. 66. Ide The connection of Ida with fertility is seen in her identification with Aditi, through the cow, in the context of the prescription of the Agnihotra-prayers. It has been suggested that Ida of Norse Mythology associated with the twelve aesin may well be compared 28 Rigveda III : 7:11. 29 UN az Rigveda III : 7:11, III # 23:4, V $ 41:19. 30 Atharva-veda 3.10.6; PER 1.105.2, Taittiriya-samhita 1.7.1.2,2.1; Maitrayani-samhita 3.7.6; 4.2.2, 3.5, Taittiriya-brahmana 3.7.4.16. 31 Taittiriya-samhita 6.1.8.2. 32 S.K. Lal, op.cit.. pp. 32-33.

188 with Aditi, the mother of twelve Adityas. Ida's identification with the cow, represents her connection with progeny (cf. Denikosa). In Sanskrit literature, Alla and Akka are said to be the forms of Amlia. la According to Panini, allam, amlia and akka are derivations of the a-karanta nouns. The author of the Derikosa attempts at the identification of Ila with Alga, who is according to him Amlia, the Mother!). le In this connection, it may be observed that in the Srauta-sutras, Ida is often equated with a cow having a calf (srautakosa 382, 275, 378). 733 It can be said that Ida's connection with fertility establishes her as a mother goddess. Ida is also identified with cattle in general 34 The TMB 7.1 enjoins that one who wishes to obtain cattle should perform the nidhana (concluding portion of a saman sung in chorus). Conversely, if a person desires that his opponent be devoid of cattle, he .35' should invoke Ida. Taittiriya-brahmana 3.3.8.2 identifies Ida with cattle, and cattle with men; therefore this Brahmana says that Ida represents the entire creation. the ៨០ន She is the mother of the herd of cows or the daughter of Manu or maker of a group of Maruts She is the daughter of Manu. 36 37 38 39 and the daughter of Daksa. She is related to all the gods. 33 J.R. Joshi, op. cit., p. 53. 34 Taittiriya-samhita 1.7.1.1, etc.; Maitrayani-samhita 1.10.75, etc. 35 Taittiriya-samhita 1.7.1.3. : 36 Rigveda RV V : 41:19. 37 73 Satapatha-brahmana I : 6.3.1. 38 Rigveda III : 27 % 10. 39 Atharva-veda VII : 2711.

189 A reference may be noted in relation to her connection with progeny 1 The life-sustaining Ida is connected with progeny. The Satapatha-brahmana 1.6.3.38, in the context of the discussion regarding the daughter of Manu says s * Ida-daughter of Manu' . one who, knowing this, performs the rite of Ida, acquires the progeny of Manu himself. #40 Ida's connection with progeny again establishes her as a mother-goddess. 41 She grants happiness to her devotees, and gives them 42 sons, etc. She looks after the well-being of the people. 43 She gives direction to her worshippers about their duties 44 45 and she leads them to heaven. '46 She can kill the enemies of her worshippers very quickly," and she guards their houses. She is beseeched to protect the 48 47. life of Subandhu She is without any rival, and she is also devoid of destruction. 49 50 52 53 She is courageous, wealthy, praiseworthy and ubiquitous. 55 54 56 She is great, plous and lustrous. 40 J.R. Joshi, op. cit., p. 51. 41 Rigveda I : 13:9. 42 Rigveda VIII # 3184. 43 Atharva-veda XVIII 1 4:30. 44 Rigveda 1 # 142:9. 45 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 327:16. 46 $ Rigveda I : 4014. 47 # Taittiriya-brahmana II : 2.644. 48 Rigveda X 5919. # 49 Rigveda I : 1319, 1:40:4. 50 Rigveda I : 4014. 51 Taittiriya-brahmana II 3:6:1, II : 216:4. 52 Rigveda III 7:5, Taittiriya-samhita IV # 188. 53 Rigveda II # 398. * $4 Rigveda III : 7:11, III: 75, 15 IV : 118. # 55 Rigveda III : 56:5. 56 TE II : 37:16, Rigveda III # 7:S. A 715.

I 190 In the Grhya rituals, Ida as such does not play any role. Her place has been taken over by the mother of a child or the wife of a person. In Kathaka-grihya-sutra 28.5, Ida occurs. In the Grhya sutras, the house-holder, while entering the newly-built house is enjoined to utter a formula (Katha Upanisad 27.3 ; trant ahamsanivisami / ... iravanto ha samadah Vahatah grhan m m ... one may note the high rank of Ira expressed in the Brhad aranyaka Upanisad which mentions her along with Mitravarunau) in which the house is said to be full of Ira. Ira refers to food only. ma Ida was looked upon by the Vedic Aryans as a goddess who represented gminy things viz. sacrificial food, cattle, cow, praises etc. She therefore had a multi-faceted personality. But basically she is associated with the tangible material part of the oblation and its sources. The oblation is food, hence Ila's association with it easily turns her into a Mother Goddess who dispenses food. She bestowed boons for example, happiness, progeny etc. on the people and also granted them protection. But her most important role was that which she played in the sacrifice performed by the people. Sacrifice came to play a very important role in the society especially during the period of the later Samhitas and Brahmanas. At this time, the treasuries of the tribal chiefs were overflowing from a thriving agricultural economy, and therefore the priests began to improvise new rites and to elaborate and extend the old ones. At this time, small autonomous kingdoms possibly came to be ruled by chieftains whose

191 territorial ambitions and desire for political security was capitalised by the priests. The newer sacrifices, elaborate and expensive like the Vajapeya, Rajasuya and Asvamedha, centred around the prosperity and military success of the chieftains, or kings and the nobility. The Goddess Ida was generally considered as a goddess of sacrifice because she came to personify every aspect of the sacrifice from oblations to the sacrificial altar. On account of her association with fertility she was regarded as a mother goddess, too. People approached her for progeny especially sons for fighting ware 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 Brahmanas. Since she combined so many attributes in herself, she was held in one Brahmana to be a representative of the entire creation. From all the above-mentioned material on Ida, it may be concluded that she was a goddess of no mean significance among the Vedic Aryans. Pharati 57 Bharati is the goddess of speech, and she is that kind 58 of speech which present in every field She is referred to 59 as the personification of speech. According to Sayana (common Rigveda 1.188.8), Bharati belongs to the dyuloka (the highest heaven), 57 Rigveda III : 4:8. 58 Rigveda II : 3 # 8. 59 Rigveda I : 142 : 9.

192 and she is connected with the sun, representing speech in the highest heaven. 60 She is endowed with water, and is said to be misty or 61 foggy. She stays in the sky, and is beseeched to touch the 62 sky along with the Adityas: 63 64 She is pious, pure y and radiant. She is great, and is 66 sung in praise of by her devotees. She is said to possess many 67 bodies of parts. She is invoked to come quickly to the sacrifice of her 68 worshippers She goes to satisfy the goods with oblation and 69 is beseeched to love the worship of her devotees along with the 70 • she 71 Adityas, performs the sacrifice, and is supplicated to sit on the. 72 73 strew. She supports the soma-juice, and she stays together with her immortal and radiant sacrificers! 74 She is the wife of Bharata or Aditya, and she is approached to come along with the relatives of Sharata to the sacrifice of 76 the worshipper. 77 She is beseeched to protect the life of Subandhu, and also to protect her devotees with her magnanimous speech which is 60 Rigveda III ; 56:5. 73 Rigveda II : 35 ; 5. 61 Rigveda I : 142 : 9, Taittiriya-brahmana II : 2 : 684. 74 Rigveda I : 142 : 9. 62 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 316:1. 75 Rigveda V : 518, I : 142:9. 63 Rigveda III : 56 #5. 76 Rigveda III : 4 # 8. 64 Rigveda I : 14219. 65 Taittiriya-brahmana II: 2:6:4. 77 Rigveda X : 59 : 9. 66 Taittiriya-samhita IV : 118. 67 Taittiriya-brahmana II # 2:6:4. 68 Taittiriya-brahmana II 386:4, Atharva-veda V : 12:8, VE XXXX : 33. 69 Taittiriya-brahmana III: 3:6:1. Vajasaney-samhita XXIX & 8. Taittiriya-samhita Val:11. : 70 71 Rigveda I : 14219. 72 Taittiriya-samhita IV : 18. *

.78. 193 like the rich milk-yielding cow here it may be noted that the magnanimity of her speech is being compared to that of a cow-yielding profuse milk. The Vedic Aryans looked upon Bharati in the same manner as they looked upon any other goddess. She possessed the attri❤ butes of granting protection, etc. to her devotees. She played some role in the sacrifice performed by the people too. generally considered as the celestial aspect of Vac or speech as connected with the sun. She was Therefore she is sometimes referred to as the goddess of speech, and also the personification of speech in general. Evidently she has associations 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. Ida, Sharati and Sarasvati Sarasvati, along with Ida and Sharati, forms the triad of the divinity in the Aprisuktas viz. Rigveda I.13; 142, 188, etc. They are beseeched to grant glories fame to the devotee?9 They, along with Maruts, Viraj and the metres have been prayed to give men milch-cow, bull, vigour and longevity. 80 78 Rigveda III # 62:3. 79 83 Rigveda I : 188.8. 80 Vajasaney-samhita XXI # 19, KS XXXXVIII : 10, etc..

194 81 They have laid a store of energy and power in Indra's 82 navel and they have heightened Lord Indra's strength, They 83 are asked to press the soma for Indra, and are also invoked to 84 84 give him wealth. They are the guardians of Indra, and they take 86 delight like wedded dames in Indra. They are held to be the 87 consorts of Indra. Devotees pray to them for protection for themselves and their children; they are approached to see that they, that is, the worshippers are not separated from or deserted by their 68 progeny. They are beseeched to preserve the sacred thread of their 89 worshippers unbroken, and they are also prayed to perpetuate their 90 sacred deeds. They sustain the three elements and bodies for 91 the sake of the action of water. 81 Vajasaney-samhita XXI : 54; Taittiriya-brahmana II 1 611414. 82 Vajasaney-samhita XX : 58, XXI : 37, XXVIII: 8, 18 & 41, Maitrayani-samhita III: 11: 3. 83 Vajasaney-samhita 20.63, Maitrayani-samhita III # 11:3, Taittiriya-brahmana II : 2:6:3, etc. 84 MB III.11.3, Vajasaney-samhita XX : 58. 85 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 21613, 4, 5 & 6. 86 Vajasaney-samhita XX : 43, XXVIII : 8. 87 Vajasaney-samhita XXVIII # 8. 88 Atharva-veda V : 387. 89 Vajasaney-samhita XX 1 43, Maitrayani-samhita III # 11.1, etc. Rigveda XX : 43. 90 Rigveda 91 Taittiriya-brahmana II 2:614.

: 195 They receive the sacrificial offerings, that is, the 2 oblations of their devotees, and should enjoy the milk and the 93 clarified butter: They are invoked to enjoy themselves with the oblations offered to them as they enjoyed the offerings at Manu's 94 sacrifice. They created the gladdening oblation whose hilarity 99 resembles that of the soma-juice, and they should drink the 96 some-juice. They are prayed to come to the sacrifice of their 97 worshippers. The prieste implore the three goddesses to make be themselves comfortable on the Marhis i.e, the sacred grass which 98 made has been pleasant for them by the devotee. They are supplicated They A 99 to place the rite of the devotees among the immortals. 101 100 are connected with sacrifice and they are said to thrive by it! They belong to the eighth prayaja,and they are invoked to attend 102 the soma (pevamana) sacrifice. 103 They are lustrous and are bedecked with gold 104, beautiful and they adorn themselves with clothes 105 They are 92 Vajasaney-samhita XXVIII : 8. 105 Rigveda IX : 588, Taittiriya-brahmana II : 2 6 : 3. 5 & 6. 93 Vajasaney-samhita XXI : 37, XXVIII : 8. IS 2.6.78, Taittiriya-brahmana II.2.6.3,4, 5 & 6. 94 Rigveda X : 110: 8, Atharva-veda V : 1218, etc. : 97 Rigveda I : 1429, X 1108, Atharva-veda V : 12 : 8, etc. 95 Taittiriya-brahmana II.26 $ 4. 96 Taittiriya-brahmana II # 2, 6.5, Vajasaney-samhita XXI # 37, XXVIII ; 8. 98 Atharva-veda V : 27 : 9, Taittiriya-samhita IV : 1; 8: 2, Atharva-veda V 12, 8, 10 Rigveda X : 1108, II: 38, VII # 28, I : 13 : 9, I : 142: 9, III : 4 : 8. 99 Vajasaney-samhita XXIX > 8. XX : Rigveda I : 142 : 9, No xx : 43, XXVIII 8, Taittiriya-brahmana II : 21613,4, 5 & 6. Taittiriya-brahmana II : 286:3. 100 101 102 Rigveda IX : 518. 8, 103 Vajasaney-samhita X 1 43, XX VIII: B, Rigveda XX: 43, Taittiriya-brahmana II # 3 : 6 : 4. 104 Vajasaney-samhita XXVIII : 31, Taittiriya-brahmana II : 2: 6 S.& 6. 6#

1 196 They are unrivalled' ivalled 106. 107 and ancient: They are goddesses of prayer and devotion, and they are glorified with song. 109 They personify the three worlds. worlds ! 108 This triad of a divinity (i.e, Ila, Sharati and Sarasvati) is often identified with the three forms of speech. A few references may be noted in this context : 106 106 it As a Rgvedic goddess, Sarasvati forms a triad of goddesses; the other members being Ila and Bharati. These goddesses stand for the three forms of speech for examples madhyama, Vaikhar and Pasyanti, which ultimately represent the three stages in a man as well as the three regions to which they belong. I A These three goddesses appear to represent the three kinds of speech (Vac). In the Rgveda, the mention of these three goddesses does not specify which goddess represents which kind of speech. To ascertain it, one must resort to the commentary of Sayana. Sayana mentions Ila, Bharati (Mahi) and Sarasvati as the three varieties of speech. He takes Sharati as 'dyusthana Vac' (cf. his commentary on Rigveda 1.142.9), and accepts her as 'rasmirupa'- (Rigveda II : 1:11, I : 188:8). He holds Sarasvati to be 'madhyamika Vac' (Rigveda I : 142.9). He accepts Sarasvati 'stanitadirupa (i.e, dhvanirupa), whose abode is the firmament. He explains her further as: 'Saran Vag Udakam va tadvati antariksa devata tadral' ( Rigveda 1.188.8). Vajasaney-samhita XX : 43. XXVIII : 8, XXVII : 19. XXVIII : 18 & 31, Taittiriya-brahmana II : 2 16:3, 4, 5&6. 107 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 2 ; 6: 5 & 6. 108 Vajasaney-samhita XXVII : 19, XXVIII: 18 & 31, Taittiriya-brahmana II : 2:6:3, 4, 5 & 6. 109 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 216:4.

197 As the sound (stanite ordhvani) is communicated by the air, Sarasvati becomes vayurupa or the controller of Vayu (Rigveda II : 1 ; 11). She is repeatedly spoken of as the 'madhyamika Vac' elsewhere too. (Rigveda I.142.9). Ila is the speech on the earth (Rigveda I.142.9). Thus, the three goddesses for example, Ila, Bharati and Sarasvati are the presiding deities of speech of the three regions - heaven (dyuh), mid-region (i.e, firmament) and earth Prthivi) respectively (Rigveda I.149.9) Ila, Sarasvati and Charati are identical with agni (Rigveda I.13.9), the symbol of tejas (brilliance = intelligence). Agni, on the earth, represents the sun, which is called Aditya in the heaven. Sharati has close association with Aditya in the heaven (Rigveda I.142.9). Eharati has close association with Aditya as well as with the Maruts (Rigveda L 142.9). She is thus a mid-regional deity, while Sarasvati as the 'madhyamika Vac' is also a mid-regional deity. It suggests that marati and Sarasvati are closely associated. It also suggests that Ila, Sharati and Sarasvati have close relationship with Agni, and Agni is their male form. Ila, Bharati and Sarasvati are the representative deities of Bhuh, Zhuvah and svah, thus terrestrial, atmospheric and celestial speeches (cf. Suryakanta, "Jaras, soma and sura". ABORI Vol. XXXVIII, 1958, pp. 127-128). Ile, Sharati and Sarasvati also come under a different seto of names. There are three varieties of speech called 'pasyanti'. 'madhyamika' and O*Vaikhari' among which 'pasyanti' stands for Sharati; 'madhyama' for Sarasvati, and 'vaikhari' for Ila (cf. Sayana's common Rigveda 1.64.45). The same nadatmika (dhvanirupa) Vac is known as para, pasyanti, madhyama and Vaikhari. When having basic origin that very vac is 'para' when subtle (suksma) and residing

198 in the heart, it is 'pasyanti' perceived only by the Yogins; when it is intelligible and manifest, it is 'madhyama' having arisen in the heart (medhya); and when it comes out through the vocal organs like palate and lips, etc. it is known as 'Vaikhari' (Sayana's to common on I.164.45). These four kinds of Vao represent the four stages in the manifestation of Vac in a men. One view explains the association of Ila, Sarasvati and Bharati with three different regions. According to it, Ila is expressly Ira, which means in the Vedas any potable fluid, a draught (esp. of milk), refreshment, comfort, enjoyment (Monier Williams, Sanskrit. English Dictionary, Oxford, 1872, p. 141) etc. Ila as speech (Vao) would thus be the terrestrial knowledge, which provides us with food, drink and comfort, the necessities of human life, which assista us in earning a livelihood. Sarasvati, the mid-regional speech represents the knowledge of the ritual, which wins the heavens and its bliss for human beings. Pharati is the knowledge of heavenly speech, which brings us nirvana (suryakanta, p. 128)110 They are sometimes conceived of as a cow for example in Taittiriya-brahmana II.2.6.3, 5 & 6, they are said to yield much milk. It may thus be concluded that these three goddesses were mainly considered by the people as divinities who played a major role in the sacrifice performed by them. They also played a major part in the Indra's life. the They were his consorts, and they granted him power, strength and vitality. They fulfilled the desires of the 110 M.I. Khan, "Triad of the Rigveda Goddesses" Indian Museum Bulletin, Vol. VII, No. 2, 1972, pp. 53-55. 3

people, and were identified with the three forms of speech belonging to the three regions. They were therefore quite important goddesses among the Vedic Aryans. 199 They appear in a period when the power and significance of the spoken word, mantra, in the sacrifice was being pondered upon by the hymnalists. What is this word ? Where does it originate? What does it accomplish 7 How does it become potent ? The attributes ascribed to them and the boons they E grant give us some inkling of the poets' conjecture regarding their essence and function. jian

VAC 200 3 Vac is invoked to give wealth to her devotees, and she 2 is also approached for the grant of cattle and food to them. She is beseeched to give gifts to her worshippers, and along with the gods she brings to the rite of the devotee the fire-fold gift. She grants the fruits of good deeds to the worshipper, and with her grace they become famous, and happy? She is invoked to establish the devotee in the place where her voice is the most sweetⓇ 8 5 She is approached to place the worshipper in the world of good deeds. She inspires the devotee to become various things, 9 10 for example, a priest, seer, etc., and she stretches the bow for Rudra to help him slay the hater of Brahman or Prajapati 11 12 She is invoked to brighten the oblations of the devotee ? 2 She is beseeched to unite herself with the body of the unblemished oblation. 13 She is invoked to enjoy the oblations offered by her 14 worshippers. 15 She is invoked to arrive at the sacrifice of the devotee. 16 She makes the sacrifice extensive, and she spreads herself over the N H 2 3 Vajasaney-samhita IX : 29, Atharva-veda IV : 30, Satapatha-brahmana V: 14 : 3 : 20. Satapatha-brahmana V : 14 : 3 : 20, Taittiriya-brahmana I : 4: 10. Satapatha-brahmana III: 5:2:11, V : 14:3, II 3:8:12, Atharva-veda IV: 30:3. dou dou dou 4 Vajasaney-samhita XXXIII : 89. 5 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 28:5. 6 Satapatha-brahmana V : 14 : 3 : 20. 11' Atharva-veda IV : ) 3015. 12 7 Taittiriya-brahmana III: 3:1:2. Maitrayani-samhita IV 19:37. 8 PvB I: 3.1, VI : 716. 13 Satapatha-brahmana II : 318:13. 14 9 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 2:8:5. Taittiriya-brahmana II : 21815, I 121512 & 3, II : 3:7:5 & 7. 10 Atharva-veda IV : 3013. 15 Taittiriya-brahmana II : 2 : 8:5, I: 2:4:10. 16 Maitrayani-samhita I : 11 # 38.

201 sacrifices namely Agnistoma, Uktha, etc. She created the pre-eminent place for sacrifice; she also created a particular kind of sacrifice, and a type of sacrificial brick. 19 18 She fulfils her task of conveying the sacrifice to the gods. She compensates 20 for whatever has not been successful in the sacrifice; She is 21 the first producer of the sacrifice. and is regarded as the 22 source of the knowledge of sacrifice too. She is said to be 23: 24 the path of the sacrifice, and is considered to be the first to understand the matters of sacrifice. She knows the specification of the Gayatri, etc. metres, pious rites and stanzas used in a 25 sacrifice. 26