THE SECRET OF THE VEDA

 

SRI AUROBINDO

 

Contents

 

PRE CONTENT

PART ONE

I.

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION

 

XIII

DAWN AND THE TRUTH

II.

A RETROSPECT OF VEDIC     THEORY (1)

 

XIV

THE COW AND THE ANGIRASA LEGEND

iii.

— THE SCHOLARS (2)

 

XV

THE LOST SUN AND THE LOST COWS

III.

 MODERN THEORIES

 

XVI

THE ANGIRASA RISHIS

IV.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY

 

XVII

THE SEVEN-HEADED THOUGHT,    SWAR  ANDTHE DASHAGWAS

V

PHILOLOGICAL METHOD OF THE VEDA

 

XVIII

THE HUMAN FATHERS

VI

AGNI AND THE TRUTH

 

XIX

THE VICTORY OP THE FATHERS

VII

VARUNA-MITRA AND THE TRUTH

 

XX

THE HOUND OF HEAVEN

VIII

THE ASHWINS — INDRA — THE VISHWADEVAS

 

XXI

THE SONS OF DARKNESS

IX

SARASWATI AND HER CONSORTS

 

XXII

THE CONQUEST OVER THE DASYUS

X

THE IMAGE OF THE OCEANS AND THE RIVERS

 

XXIII

SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS

XI

THE SEVEN RIVERS

     

XII

THE HERDS OF THE DAWN

     

 

  PART TWO
SELECTED HYMNS

 

I

THE COLLOQUY OF INDRA AND AGASTYA : I. 170

 

VIII

VAYU, THE MASTER OF THE LIFE ENERGIES : IV. 48

II

INDRA, GIVER OF LIGHT : I. 4

 

IX

BRIHASPATI, POWER OF THE SOUL : IV. 50

III

INDRA AND THE THOUGHT-FORCES : L 171

 

X

THE ASHWINS, LORDS OF Buss: IV. 45 . . . 314

IV

AGNI, THE ILLUMINED WILL : I. 77

 

XI

THE RIBHUS, ARTISANS OF IMMORTALITY : 1.20 . 324

V

SURYA SAVITRI, CREATOR AND INCREASER: V. 81

 

XII

 VISHNU, THE ALL-PERVADING GODHEAD : 1.154 . 331

VI

THE DIVINE DAWN : III.

 

XIII

SOMA, LORD OF DELIGHT AND IMMORTALITY : IX. 83 339

VII

To BHAGA SAVITRI, THE ENJOYER: V. 82

 

 

 

   

PART THREE
HYMNS OF THE ATRIS

 

FOREWORD

 

HYMNS TO AGNI: V

 

Agni, the Divine Will-Force

 

The Fifteenth Hymn to Agni

The First Hymn to Agni

 

The Sixteenth Hymn to Agni

The Second Hymn to Agni

 

The Seventeenth Hymn to Agni

The Third Hymn to Agni

 

The Eighteenth Hymn to Agni

The Fourth Hymn to Agni

 

The Nineteenth Hymn to Agni

The Fifth Hymn to Agni

 

The Twentieth Hymn to Agni

The Sixth Hymn to Agni

 

The Twenty-First Hymn to Agni

The Seventh Hymn to Agni

 

The Twenty-Second Hymn to Agni

The Eighth Hymn to Agni

 

The Twenty-Third Hymn to Agni

The Ninth Hymn to Agni

 

The Twenty-Fourth Hymn to Agni

The Tenth Hymn to Agni

 

The Twenty-Fifth Hymn to Agni

The Eleventh Hymn to Agni

 

The Twenty-Sixth Hymn to Agni

The Twelfth Hymn to Agni

 

The Twenty-Seventh Hymn to Agni

The Thirteenth Hymn to Agni

 

The Twenty-Eighth Hymn to Agni

The Fourteenth Hymn to Agni

 

 

 

 

THE GUARDIANS OF THE LIGHT:

 

HYMNS TO THE LORDS OF LIGHT : V

Surya, Light and Seer

 

The First Hymn to Mitra-Varuna

The Divine Dawn

 

The Second Hymn to Mitra-Varuna

Pushan the Increaser

 

The Third Hymn to Mitra-Varuna

Savitri the Creator

 

The Fourth Hymn to Mitra-Varuna

The Four Kings

 

The Fifth Hymn to Mitra-Varuna

Varuna

 

The Sixth Hymn to Mitra-Varuna

Mitra

 

The Seventh Hymn to Mitra-Varuna

Aryaman

 

The Eighth Hymn to Mitra-Varuna

Bhaga

 

The Ninth Hymn to Mitra-Varuna

 

 

The Tenth Hymn to Mitra-Varuna

 

 

The Eleventh Hymn to Mitra-Varuna

     

PART FOUR

 

OTHER HYMNS

 

HYMN IN PRAISE OF INDRA : I. 5

 

A HYMN TO SAVITRI: V. 81 

HYMN TO INDRA: 1.7-11

 

HYMN TO VARUNA (two versions): V. 85

HYMN TO INDRA: VIII. 54 

 

A VEDIC HYMN: VII. 60

HYMN TO INDRA : X. 54

 

THE GOD OF THE MYSTIC WINE : IX. 42,75

A VEDIC HYMN: 1.3

 

A HYMN OF THE THOUGHT-GODS : V. 52-58

FROM A VEDIC HYMN: 1.15

 

INTERPRETATION OF THE VEDA

HYMN TO BRAHMANASPATI: 1.18

 

INTERPRETATION OF THE VEDA

HYMNS TO THE DAWN : V. 79,80

 

THE ORIGINS OF ARYAN SPEECH

 

 

Bibliographic note

 

All references are to the Rig-veda unless otherwise stated.

A HYMN TO SAVITRI

 

V. 81

 

    [The Rishi hymns the Sun-God as the source of divine know- ledge and the creator of the inner worlds. To him, the Seer, the seekers of light yoke their mind and thoughts; he, the one knower of all forms of knowledge, is the one supreme ordainer of the sacrifice. He assumes all forms as the robes of his being and his creative sight and creates the supreme good and happiness for the two forms of life in the worlds. He manifests the heavenly world, shining in the path of the dawn of divine know- ledge; in that path the other godheads follow him and it is his greatness of light that they make the goal of all their energies. He has measured out for us our earthly worlds by his power and greatness: but it is in the three worlds of light that he attains to his real greatness of manifestation in the rays of the divine sun; then he encompasses the night of our darkness with his being and his light and becomes Mitra who by his laws produces the luminous harmony of our higher and lower worlds. Of all our creation he is the one author, and by his forward marches he is its increaser until the whole world of our becoming grows full of his illumination.]

 

  1. The illumined yoke their mind and they yoke their thoughts to the illumined godhead, to the vast, to the luminous in consciousness; the one knower of all manifestation of knowledge, he alone orders the things of the sacrifice. Great is the praise of Savitri, the creating godhead.

  1. All forms are robes the Seer puts on that he may create the

Page – 529


good and bliss for the double and the quadruple¹ creature. Savitri describes by his light our heavenly world; supreme is he and desirable, wide is the light of his shining in the march of the Dawn.

  1. And in that march all the other gods in their might follow after the greatness of this godhead. This is that bright god Savitri who by his power and greatness has measured out our earthly worlds of light.

  1. But also thou goest, O Savitri, to the three shining worlds of heaven and thou art made manifest by the rays of the Sun, and thou encirclest on both sides the Night, and thou becomest Mitra, O god, with his settled laws of Truth.

  1. And thou alone hast power for the creation and thou becomest the Increaser. O god, by thy marchings in thy path, and thou illuminest all this world of the becoming. Shyawashwa, O Savitri, has found the affirmation of thy godhead.

¹Literally, two-footed and four-footed, but pad also means the step, the principle on which the soul founds itself. The esoteric meaning is four-principled, those who dwell in the fourfold principle of the lower world, and two-principled, those who dwell in the double principle of the divine and the human.

Page – 530