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Re: Animal slaughter in the RigVeda
dchakrav@netserv.unmc.edu (Dhruba Chakravarti) wrote:
>
>Investigating further, I came across a bunch of references in the RigVeda
>that talk about animal slaughter, at least they appear to be. I strongly
>believe that unless the symbolism used in the Vedas are kept in mind, the
>verses do not give straight, even uniform meaning. However, I read that
>scholars refer to several verses to support the animal eating practices.
>I am not able to judge either the verses or the merits of the translations,
>but here are some of these references:
>
>Bull (vrisha) meat eating (1, 164.43, 10.86.13, 14), buffalo meat eating
>(5.29.8) , goat meat eating (1.162.3) etc. appear to be part of socially
>accepted practices in the straight meaning of these verses.
>
Dear friends:
I am very much saddenned by this post of Dhruba, which is misleading
especially to people who are not well versed in sanskrit and who have
no access to the originals but must rely on translations.
Rigveda has 1028 suktas, with some thing like 100000 riks or verses. Of
all these, the "scholars" that Dhruba referred to have come up with half
a dozen verses to support meat eating practices. In each case, it can be
demonstrated that it is a misrepresentation, meaning taken out of
context,and not supported by logic, grammar or etymology.
In other works such as puranas and ithihasas, interpolations have been
made. Such interpolations could not be made to the Vedas, thanks to the
strict tradition of oral recitations. So, the "scholars" resorted to
distorting the meaning. Even this they could do only in half a dozen
cases out of 100000! Dhruba writes:
>I would like to draw your special attention to one particular verse that
>will illustrate the difficulty I referred to, but luckily, we have Sri
>Aurobindo helping us out here:
>
>asya shreshThA subhagasya samdug devasya chitratamA marteshu.
>shuchi ghritam na taptamadhyAnyAyAH spArhA devasya manhaneva dhenoH. 4.1.16
>
>The literal meaning of this verse is:
>
>Most glorious is the vision of this Godhead, most richly bright in
>mortals: as if the pure and warm butter of the milch-cow that can not be
>slain, her desirable gift is the vision of the Godhead. (Hymns to the
>mystic fire - Sri Aurobindo). Sri Aurobindo explains what this reference
>to the cow really means:
>
>"Here the connection between Fire and Ray-cow and Aditi comes out: so
>also the psychological nature of the clarified butter and its connection
>with the vision of the Sun.
>
>Who is this cow that "can not be slain" if not the cow aditi - the
>Infinite Mother - the supreme Divine consciousness creative of the
>cosmos, of the gods and the demons, of men and of all that is?"
>
>This passage may perhaps be difficult to follow if you are not familiar
>with Sri Aurobindo's style of writing, and his use of words. This is a
>very important verse politically, since it supposedly is the one RigVedic
>verse that suggests cows are not to be killed by men. It is obviously a
>misrepresentation.
>
The misrepresentation is by Dhruba, he gives the wrong reference,(it
should be R.V. 4.1.6) and misspells a crucial word. Dhruba has "dh"
instead of "gh" in the fourth word of the second line of the verse quoted
by him, which makes a world of difference in the meaning. I give him the
benefit of doubt,however, that it is just typos. It is easy to type
4.1.16 instead of 4.1.6 and "dh" and "gh" look rather similar in the
nagari script.
Here is the "padavibhaga", breakdown in to words, given by Sayanacharya,
the most revered authority (14th century) on vedas, and the simple
meanings from a dictionary:
asya=of this; shreshThA= most eminent; subhagasya= of bestower of good
things; saMdr^k=the sight; devasya= of the deity (agni, here);
chitratamA= the most picturesque; martyeshu= among mortals; shuchi= pure;
ghr^tam= ghee; taptam= heated; agnyAyAH=of the not killable( of the
cow);spArhA= likeable; devasya= of the deity(refers to a person in the
second part); maMhanA iva= as the gift in the maMhati rite; dhenoH= of
the cow;
According to Sayana,the first part of the verse is a praise of Agni deva,
and the second part is a "drishTanta" i.e.,illustration by way of
example. The simple meaning is:
The most picturesque sight of the deva, Agni, the most eminent bestower
of good things, is most likeable among mortals, just as the gift of a
cow, performed according to the "maMhati dana" ritual,is likeable for a
person desirous of warm milk and ghee.
There is a deeper meaning for every word has two meanings, one applicable
to Agni and the other to the Cow. for example, "shreshTha" means most
eminent in the case of Agni, but means milk in the case of the cow.
"shuchi" means pure in the case of the cow, but means one with effulgence
when referred to Agni.So Sri Aurobindo sees a more mystical meaning, not
in conflict with the Vedic tenets. Please note the word "aghnyA",
referring to the cow, not killable. I do not see anything "political" in
this verse as alleged by Dhruba.
In the vedas, if the cow is "aghnyA", the bull is also "aghnya", the
pulling form of the same word. The other references that Dhruva quotes
can also be explained just as easily. However, as I am making a study
of the sukta 1.164,in connection with astronomy, I will write about these
in due course.
with best regards,- Narahari Achar
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