Query on Rig Veda Sloka/Yajur Veda
BVKS Sanga
| Subject: | Query on Rig Veda Sloka/Yajur Veda |
|---|---|
| Date: | Sat, 18 Dec 2021 15:16:17 +0530 |
| From: | Srinivasan Narayanan |
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
My humble obeisances to all the devotees.
One person has objected to my following passage and has quoted from Rig Veda which is given below:
My passage: Demigods are like departmental heads or managers in a company employed by the owner of the company to do various functions. For example, Indra is in-charge of rains, Varuna of oceans and so on. Even each and every part of our body is under the control of specific demigods. Since the demigods are taking care of our daily needs, we have to be thankful to them. Since Vishnu is the Head of all demigods, if we please Vishnu/Krishna all the demigods are also pleased and continue to take care of our needs. It's very difficult and not necessary also to please each demigod separately.
His reply: In Vedas, particularly Rig Veda, Indra is argued to be a superior God than Vishnu or Shiva. Indra suddenly cannot become demigod, a term which does not exist in Sanskrit literature.
Mantra from Rig Veda says:
"trataram indram avitaram indram have have suhavam suram
indram hvayami sakram puruhutam indram svasti no maghava
dhatvindrah"
Translation: Indra the protector, Indra the saviour, Indra the
best invited among invited ones; I call Him, strong, the
frequently called Indra. May welfare be gifted us, by Indra
Maghavan.
The central portion of Yajur Veda is all about Rudra, that is Shiva and the chapters are very strongly describing Rudra as the Mahadeva. Who is Mahadeva what is the implication of this on other concepts like Vishnu or Naranyana is well articulated in Upanishads. It is very incorrect to say "Indra is one of the 33 crores of devas, including Shiva and Brahma, and that they are created by and under the control of Krishna/Vishnu. 33 crore devatas are all equal with someone called Mahadeva who is the deva of devas or devatas. This is the meaning given in Sanskrit literature. You can verify.
He has given the following link in which there are some discussion threads which glorify Indra: https://www.socialgrep.com/search?query=%2Fr%2Fvedism
My query: The person does not want to accept any quote from smrti like Bhagavad Gita or Srimad Bhagavatam as Sruti is superior.
Why Indra is mentioned as the Supreme in Rig Veda? Can Veda be wrong? Even if the person could be a Mayavadi, the sloka is unambiguous. Can we say that the sloka has been misinterpreted? What is the evidence?
BVKS Sanga
| Subject: | Re: Query on Rig Veda Sloka/Yajur Veda |
|---|---|
| Date: | Tue, 21 Dec 2021 14:05:44 +0530 |
| From: | Sridhara Srinivasa das |
candramā
manaso jātaś-cakṣoḥ sūryo ajāyata |
mukhādindraścāghniśca prāṇād vāyur-ajāyata ||13||
The Moon was born from (His) mind, from (His) eyes the Sun was born. From (His) mouth Indra and Agni (were) born, from (His) breath Wind was born. (13)
hrīś-ca te lakṣmīś-ca patnyau, ahorātre pārśve, nakṣatraṇi rüpam |
aśvinau vyāttam, iṣtaṃ maniṣāṇa, amuṃ maniṣāṇa,sarvaṃ maniṣāṇa ||22||
In the above concluding verse it is clearly stated Who that Purusa is..
Husband of Lakshmi (SrI and other two are referred to HrI).
So entire Purusa suktam is from Shukla Yajur Veda.
In the Narayana Suktam of Krishna Yajur Vedaas well it is clearly stated Narayana is supreme, and that Brahma, Siva, Indra and others have source in Him.
tasyāḥ
śikhāyā madhye paramātmā vyavasthitaḥ |
sa brahmā, sa śivaḥ, sa hariḥ, sendraḥ, so’kṣaraḥ paramaḥ
svarāṭ ||12||
In the middle of that flame, the supreme self dwells. This (self) is Brahma (the creator), Siva (the destroyer), Hari (the protector), Indra (the ruler), the imperishable, the absolute, the autonomous being. (12)
ṛtagṃ
satyaṃ paraṃ brahma puruṣaṃ kṛṣṇapiṅgalam |
ūrdhvaretaṃ virūpākṣaṃ viśvarūpāya vai namo namaḥ ||
Prostrations again and again to that Absolute Brahman, Who is the Truth, the Cosmic Order, the Puruṣa of blue-decked yellow (shining) hue, ever-celibate, multi-eyed (omniscient), all-pervasive.
nārāyaṇÄ- ya vidmahe, vāsudevāya dhīmahi, tanno viṣṇuḥ pracodayāt |
Apart from this the famous verse from rg veda
tad vishNO: paramam padam sadA pasyanti sooraya: |
divIva cakshurAtatam ||
--Rg Vedam: I.22.20
MEANING:
“The wise and true seekers realize the Lord through meditation within their own self;
they see Him vividly as the eye ranges over the sky”.
tad viprAsO vipanyavO jAgruvAgum sasamindhatE
vishNOr yat paramam padam
--Rg Vedam : I.22.21
MEANING:
By transcendental meditation and pious acts, the vigilant seeker of truth realizes the
all-pervading God within the innermost cavity, the supreme abode of the Lord.
So in that verse where it was cited that everything is Indram should be understood in context with the verse from Narayana suktam cited herein above (tasyāḥ śikhāyā madhye paramātmā vyavasthitaḥ |sa brahmā, sa śivaḥ, sa hariḥ, sendraḥ, so’kṣaraḥ paramaḥ svarāṭ ||12|).
Ofcourse impersonalists and mayavadis try to interpret everything in a convoluted way.
Your humble servant
Sridhara Srinivasa dasa