A History of Sanskrit Literature Part 12

The following five books, on the contrary, are arranged according to uniformity of subject-matter. Book XIV. contains the stanzas relating to the wedding rite, which consist largely of mantras from the tenth book of the Rigveda. Book XV. is a glorification of the Supreme Being under the name of Vratya, while XVI. and XVII. contain certain conjurations. The whole of XV. and nearly the whole of XVI., moreover, are composed in prose of the type found in the Brahmanas. Both XVI. and XVII. are very short, the former containing nine hymns occupying four printed pages, the latter consisting of only a single hymn, which extends to little more than two pages. Book XVIII. deals with burial and the Manes. Like XIV., it derives most of its stanzas from the tenth book of the Rigveda. Both these books are, therefore, not specifically Atharvan in character.

The last two books are manifestly late additions. Book XIX. consists of a mixture of supplementary pieces, part of the text of which is rather corrupt. Book XX., with a slight exception, contains only complete hymns addressed to Indra, which are borrowed directly and without any variation from the Rigveda. The fact that its readings are identical with those of the Rigveda would alone suffice to show that it is of later date than the original books, the readings of which show considerable divergences from those of the older Veda. There is, however, more convincing proof of the lateness of this book. Its matter relates to the Soma ritual, and is entirely foreign to the spirit of the Atharva-veda. It was undoubtedly added to establish the claim of the Atharva to the position of a fourth Veda, by bringing it into connection with the recognised sacrificial ceremonial of the three old Vedas. This book, again, as well as the nineteenth, is not noticed in the Praticakhya of the Atharva-veda. Both of them must, therefore, have been added after that work was composed. Excepting two prose pieces (48 and 49) the only original part of Book XX. is the so-called kuntapa hymns (127-136). These are allied to the danastutis of the Rigveda, those panegyrics of liberal kings or sacrificers which were the forerunners of epic narratives in praise of warlike princes and heroes.

The existence of the Atharva, as a collection of some kind, when the last books of the catapatha Brahmana (xi., xiii., xiv.), the Taittiriya Brahmana, and the Chhandogya Upanishad were composed, is proved by the references to it in those works. In Patanjali's Mahabhashya the Atharva had already attained to such an a.s.sured position that it is even cited at the head of the Vedas, and occasionally as their only representative.

The oldest name of this Veda is Atharvangirasah, a designation occurring in the text of the Atharva-veda, and found at the beginning of its MSS. themselves. This word is a compound formed of the names of two ancient families of priests, the Atharvans and Angirases. In the opinion of Professor Bloomfield the former term is here synonymous with "holy charms," as referring to auspicious practices, while the latter is an equivalent of "witchcraft charms." The term atharvan and its derivatives, though representing only its benevolent side, would thus have come to designate the fourth Veda as a whole. In its plural form (atharvanah) the word in this sense is found several times in the Brahmanas, but in the singular it seems first to occur in an Upanishad. The adjective atharvana, first found as a neuter plural with the sense of "Atharvan hymns" in the Atharva-veda itself (Book XIX.), is common from that time onwards. The name atharva-veda first appears in Sutras about as early as rigveda and similar designations of the other Samhitas. There are besides two other names of the Atharva-veda, the use of which is practically limited to the ritual texts of this Veda. In one of these, Bhrigu-angirasah, the name of another ancient family of fire-priests, the Bhrigus, takes the place of that of the Angirases. The other, brahma-veda, has outside the Atharvan literature only been found once, and that in a Grihya Sutra of the Rigveda.

A considerable time elapsed before the Atharva-veda, owing to the general character of its contents, attained to the rank of a canonical book. There is no evidence that even at the latest period of the Rigveda the charms const.i.tuting the Atharva-veda were formally recognised as a separate literary category. For the Purusha hymn, while mentioning the three sacrificial Vedas by the names of Rik, Saman, and Yajus, makes no reference to the spells of the Atharva-veda. Yet the Rigveda, though it is mainly concerned with praises of the G.o.ds in connection with the sacrifice, contains hymns showing that sorcery was bound up with domestic practices from the earliest times in India. The only reference to the spells of the Atharva-veda as a cla.s.s in the Yajurvedas is found in the Taittiriya Samhita, where they are alluded to under the name of angirasah by the side of Rik, Saman, and Yajus, which it elsewhere mentions alone. Yet the formulas of the Yajur-veda are often pervaded by the spirit of the Atharva-veda, and are sometimes Atharvan even in their wording. In fact, the difference between the Rigveda and Yajurveda on the one hand, and the Atharva on the other, as regards sorcery, lies solely in the degree of its applicability and prominence.

The Atharva-veda itself only once mentions its own literary type directly (as atharvangirasah) and once indirectly (as bheshaja or "auspicious spells"), by the side of the other three Vedas, while the latter in a considerable number of pa.s.sages are referred to alone. This shows that as yet there was no feeling of antagonism between the adherents of this Veda and those of the older ones.

Turning to the Brahmanas, we find that those of the Rigveda do not mention the Atharva-veda at all, while the Taittiriya Brahmana (like the Taittiriya Aranyaka) refers to it twice. In the catapatha Brahmana it appears more frequently, occupying a more defined position, though not that of a Veda. This work very often mentions the three old Vedas alone, either explicitly as Rik, Saman, Yajus, or as trayi vidya, "the threefold knowledge." In several pa.s.sages they are also mentioned along with other literary types, such as itihasa (story), purana (ancient legend), gatha (song), sutra, and upanishad. In these enumerations the Atharva-veda regularly occupies the fourth place, coming immediately after the three Vedas, while the rest follow in varying order. The Upanishads in general treat the Atharva-veda in the same way; the Upanishads of the Atharva itself, however, sometimes tacitly add its name after the three Vedas, even without mentioning other literary types. With regard to the crauta or sacrificial Sutras, we find no reference to the Atharva in those of Katyayana (White Yajurveda) or Latyayana (Samaveda), and only one each in those of cankhayana and Acvalayana (Rigveda).

In all this sacrificial literature there is no evidence of repugnance to the Atharva, or of exclusiveness towards it on the part of followers of the other Vedas. Such an att.i.tude could indeed hardly be expected. For though the sphere of the Vedic sacrificial ritual was different from that of regular magical rites, it is impossible to draw a distinct line of demarcation between sacrifice and sorcery in the Vedic religion, of which witchcraft is, in fact, an essential element. The adherents of the three sacrificial Vedas would thus naturally recognise a work which was a repository of witchcraft. Thus the catapatha Brahmana, though characterising yatu or sorcery as devilish--doubtless because it may be dangerous to those who practise it--places yatuvidah or sorcerers by the side of bahvrichas or men skilled in Rigvedic verses. Just as the Rigveda contains very few hymns directly connected with the practice of sorcery, so the Atharva originally included only matters incidental and subsidiary to the sacrificial ritual. Thus it contains a series of formulas (vi. 47-48) which have no meaning except in connection with the three daily pressings (savana) of soma. We also find in it hymns (e. g. vi. 114) which evidently consist of formulas of expiation for faults committed at the sacrifice. We must therefore conclude that the followers of the Atharva to some extent knew and practised the sacrificial ceremonial before the conclusion of the present redaction of their hymns. The relation of the Atharva to the crauta rites was, however, originally so slight, that it became necessary, in order to establish a direct connection with it, to add the twentieth book, which was compiled from the Rigveda for the purposes of the sacrificial ceremonial.

The conspicuous way in which crauta works ignore the Atharva is therefore due to its being almost entirely unconnected with the subject-matter of the sacrifice, not to any p.r.o.nounced disapproval or refusal to recognise its value in its own sphere. With the Grihya or Domestic Sutras, which contain many elements of sorcery practice (vidhana), we should expect the Atharva to betray a closer connection. This is, indeed, to some extent the case; for many verses quoted in these Sutras are identical with or variants of those contained in the Atharva, even though the Domestic, like the Sacrificial, Sutras endeavoured to borrow their verses as far as possible from the particular Veda to which they were attached. Otherwise, however, their references to the Atharva betray no greater regard for it than those in the Sacrificial Sutras do. Such references to the fourth Veda are here, it is true, more frequent and formulaic; but this appears to mean nothing more than that the Grihya Sutras belong to a later date.

In the sphere, too, of law (dharma), as dealing with popular usage and custom, the practices of the Atharva maintained a certain place; for the indispensable sciences of medicine and astrology were distinctively Atharvan, and the king's domestic chaplain (purohita), believed capable of rendering great services in the injury and overthrow of enemies by sorcery, seems usually to have been an Atharvan priest. At the same time it is only natural that we should first meet with censures of the practices of the Atharva in the legal literature, because such practices were thought to enable one man to harm another. The verdict of the law treatises on the whole is, that as incantations of various kinds are injurious, the Atharva-veda is inferior and its practices impure. This inferiority is directly expressed in the Dharma Sutra of Apastamba; and the later legal treatise (smriti) of Vishnu cla.s.ses the reciter of a deadly incantation from the Atharva among the seven kinds of a.s.sa.s.sins. Physicians and astrologers are p.r.o.nounced impure; practices with roots are prohibited; sorceries and imprecations are punished with severe penances. In certain cases, however, the Atharva-veda is stated to be useful. Thus the Lawbook of Manu recommends it as the natural weapon of the Brahman against his enemies.

In the Mahabharata we find the importance and the canonical character of the Atharva fully recognised. The four Vedas are often mentioned, the G.o.ds Brahma and Vishnu being in several pa.s.sages described as having created them. The Atharva is here often also referred to alone, and spoken of with approbation. Its practices are well known and seldom criticised adversely, magic and sorcery being, as a rule, regarded as good.

Finally, the Puranas not only regularly speak of the fourfold Veda, but a.s.sign to the Atharva the advanced position claimed for it by its own ritual literature. Thus the Vishnu Purana connects the Atharva with the fourth priest (the brahman) of the sacrificial ritual.

Nevertheless a certain prejudice has prevailed against the Atharva from the time of the Dharma Sutras. This appears from the fact that, even at the present day, according to Burnell, the most influential Brahmans of Southern India still refuse to accept the authority of the fourth Veda, and deny its genuineness. A similar conclusion may be drawn from occasional statements in cla.s.sical texts, and especially from the efforts of the later Atharvan writings themselves to vindicate the character of their Veda. These ritual texts not only never enumerate the Vedas without including the Atharva, but even sometimes place it at the head of the four Vedas. Under a sense of the exclusion of their Veda from the sphere of the sacrificial ritual, they lay claim to the fourth priest (the brahman), who in the Vedic religion was not attached to any of the three Vedas, but being required to have a knowledge of all three and of their sacrificial application, acted as superintendent or director of the sacrificial ceremonial. Ingeniously availing themselves of the fact that he was unconnected with any of the three Vedas, they put forward the claim of the fourth Veda as the special sphere of the fourth priest. That priest, moreover, was the most important as possessing a universal knowledge of religious lore (brahma), the comprehensive esoteric understanding of the nature of the G.o.ds and of the mystery of the sacrifice. Hence the Gopatha Brahmana exalts the Atharva as the highest religious lore (brahma), and calls it the Brahmaveda. The claim to the latter designation was doubtless helped by the word brahma often occurring in the Atharva-veda itself with the sense of "charm," and by the fact that the Veda contains a larger amount of theosophic matter (brahmavidya) than any other Samhita. The texts belonging to the other Vedas never suggest that the Atharva is the sphere of the fourth priest, some Brahmana pa.s.sages expressly declaring that any one equipped with the requisite knowledge maybe a brahman. The ritual texts of the Atharva further energetically urged that the Purohita, or domestic chaplain, should be a follower of the Atharva-veda. They appear to have finally succeeded in their claim to this office, doubtless because kings attached great value to a special knowledge of witchcraft.

The geographical data contained in the Atharva are but few, and furnish no certain evidence as to the region in which its hymns were composed. One hymn of its older portion (v. 22) makes mention of the Gandharis, Mujavats, Mahavrishas, and Balhikas (in the north-west), and the Magadhas and Angas (in the east); but they are referred to in such a way that no safe conclusions can be drawn as to the country in which the composer of the hymn in question lived.

The Atharva also contains a few astronomical data, the lunar mansions being enumerated in the nineteenth book. The names here given deviate considerably from those mentioned in the Taittiriya Samhita, appearing mostly in a later form. The pa.s.sage in which this list is found is, however, a late addition.

The language of the Atharva is, from a grammatical point of view, decidedly later than that of the Rigveda, but earlier than that of the Brahmanas. In vocabulary it is chiefly remarkable for the large number of popular words which it contains, and which from lack of opportunity do not appear elsewhere.

It seems probable that the hymns of the Atharva, though some of them must be very old, were not edited till after the Brahmanas of the Rigveda were composed.

On examining the contents of the Atharva-veda more in detail, we find that the hostile charms it contains are directed largely against various diseases or the demons which are supposed to cause them. There are spells to cure fever (takman), leprosy, jaundice, dropsy, scrofula, cough, ophthalmia, baldness, lack of vital power; fractures and wounds; the bite of snakes or injurious insects, and poison in general; mania and other ailments. These charms are accompanied by the employment of appropriate herbs. Hence the Atharva is the oldest literary monument of Indian medicine.

The following is a specimen of a charm against cough (vi. 105):--

Just as the soul with soul-desires Swift to a distance flies away, So even thou, O cough, fly forth Along the soul's quick-darting course.

Just as the arrow, sharpened well, Swift to a distance flies away, So even thou, O cough, fly forth Along the broad expanse of earth.

Just as the sun-G.o.d's shooting rays Swift to a distance fly away, So even thou, O cough, fly forth Along the ocean's surging flood.

Here is a spell for the cure of leprosy by means of a dark-coloured plant:--

Born in the night art thou, O herb, Dark-coloured, sable, black of hue: Rich-tinted, tinge this leprosy, And stain away its spots of grey! (i. 23, 1).

A large number of imprecations are directed against demons, sorcerers, and enemies. The following two stanzas deal with the latter two cla.s.ses respectively:--

Bend round and pa.s.s us by, O curse, Even as a burning fire a lake.

Here strike him down that curses us, As heaven's lightning smites the tree (vi. 37, 2).

As, rising in the east, the sun The stars' bright l.u.s.tre takes away, So both of women and of men, My foes, the strength I take away (vii. 13, 1).

A considerable group of spells consists of imprecations directed against the oppressors of Brahmans and those who withhold from them their rightful rewards. The following is one of the threats held out against such evil-doers:--

Water with which they bathe the dead, And that with which they wet his beard, The G.o.ds a.s.signed thee as thy share, Oppressor of the Brahman priest (v. 19, 14).

Another group of charms is concerned with women, being intended to secure their love with the aid of various potent herbs. Some of them are of a hostile character, being meant to injure rivals. The following two stanzas belong to the former cla.s.s:--

As round this heaven and earth the sun Goes day by day, encircling them, So do I go around thy mind, That, woman, thou shalt love me well, And shalt not turn away from me (vi. 8, 3).

'Tis winged with longing, barbed with love, Its shaft is formed of fixed desire: With this his arrow levelled well Shall Kama pierce thee to the heart (iii. 25, 2).

Among the auspicious charms of the Atharva there are many prayers for long life and health, for exemption from disease and death:--

If life in him declines or has departed, If on the very brink of death he totters, I s.n.a.t.c.h him from the lap of Dissolution, I free him flow to live a hundred autumns (iii. 11, 2).

Rise up from hence, O man, and straightway casting Death's fetters from thy feet, depart not downward; From life upon this earth be not yet sundered, Nor from the sight of Agni and the sunlight (viii. 1, 4).

Another cla.s.s of hymns includes prayers for protection from dangers and calamities, or for prosperity in the house or field, in cattle, trade, and even gambling. Here are two spells meant to secure luck at play:--

As at all times the lightning stroke Smites irresistibly the tree: So gamesters with the dice would I Beat irresistibly to-day (vii. 5, 1).

O dice, give play that profit brings, Like cows that yield abundant milk: Attach me to a streak of gain, As with a string the bow is bound (vii. 5, 9).

A certain number of hymns contain charms to secure harmony, to allay anger, strife, and discord, or to procure ascendency in the a.s.sembly. The following one is intended for the latter purpose:--

O a.s.sembly, we know thy name, "Frolic" [9] truly by name thou art: May all who meet and sit in thee Be in their speech at one with me (vii. 12, 2).

A few hymns consist of formulas for the expiation of sins, such as offering imperfect sacrifices and marrying before an elder brother, or contain charms for removing the defilement caused by ominous birds, and for banis.h.i.+ng evil dreams.