Asya vāmasya Sūkta - Rig Veda 1.164 - Part.1

 

Asya vāmasya Sūkta  - Rig Veda 1.164 

Part.1

Ṛṣi :: dīrghatamas aucathya

The name Dirghatamas may not indicate the rishi, who for long remained blind.

Ṛṣi dīrghatamas aucathya himself stated in Rig Veda 1.164.5 "Pākaḥ pṛcchāmi manasā-avijānan..." - "Immature and ignorant in my mind, not knowing, I ask...". 

Thus, he was not physically blind, but may indicate that the rishi for long remained engrossed in ignorance and did not pursue the spirituality.

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This Sūkta  - Rig Veda 1.164 contains 52 Riks/verses.

I have reproduced the original Rik and provided English translation thereto of Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton. 

Thereafter, I have provided my interpretation.

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Rig Veda 1.164.1

अस्य वामस्य पलितस्य होतुस्तस्य भ्राता मध्यमो अस्त्यश्नः । तृतीयो भ्राता घृतपृष्ठो अस्यात्रापश्यं विश्पतिं सप्तपुत्रम् ॥
asya vāmasya palitasya hotus tasya bhrātā madhyamo asty aśnaḥ | tṛtīyo bhrātā ghṛtapṛṣṭho asyātrāpaśyaṃ viśpatiṃ saptaputram ||

English translation:

This treasured one, the gray Hotar—his middle brother is the ravenous one; his third brother is the one with ghee-smeared back. In him I saw the Ruler of the Universe with his seven sons.

My interpretation

The three brothers might be the manifestation of the formless BRAHMAN, into AGNI (Terrestrial Level (Earth)), INDRA/VAYU (Mid-space/Atmosphere/Antariksha) and Savitr/Surya (Heaven and beyond).

The seven sons might not be seven physical sons, but may indicate seven rishis (Rig Veda 7.76.4 & RV 7.76.5) - the guardians of the Rta (Cosmic Order), who have been helping spiritual seekers since long, in attaining SPIRITUAL BLISS

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Rig Veda 1.164.2

सप्त युञ्जन्ति रथमेकचक्रमेको अश्वो वहति सप्तनामा । त्रिनाभि चक्रमजरमनर्वं यत्रेमा विश्वा भुवनाधि तस्थुः ॥
sapta yuñjanti ratham ekacakram eko aśvo vahati saptanāmā | trinābhi cakram ajaram anarvaṃ yatremā viśvā bhuvanādhi tasthuḥ ||

English translation:

The seven harness the chariot with a single wheel [=the Sun]. A single horse with seven names draws it. Triple-naved [=with three seasons?] is the unaging, unassailable wheel, on which all these living beings rest.

My interpretation

One-Wheeled Chariot (रथमेकचक्रम् - Ratham-Eka-Chakram) may indicate the Ṛta (cosmic truth), based on which entire spiritual realm revolves, with the assistance of seven rishis (एको अश्वो वहति सप्तनामा), who have been helping spiritual aspirants since long.

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Rig Veda 1.164.3

इमं रथमधि ये सप्त तस्थुः सप्तचक्रं सप्त वहन्त्यश्वाः । सप्त स्वसारो अभि सं नवन्ते यत्र गवां निहिता सप्त नाम ॥
imaṃ ratham adhi ye sapta tasthuḥ saptacakraṃ sapta vahanty aśvāḥ | sapta svasāro abhi saṃ navante yatra gavāṃ nihitā sapta nāma ||

English translation:

As its seven horses, the seven [=the priests] who stand upon this chariot [=the sacrifice] draw the seven-wheeled (chariot). Seven sisters [=voices of the priests] together cry out (the words) in which the seven names of the cows [=poetic speech] are imprinted.

My interpretation

As Rig Veda did not specifically mention the 7 sisters, we can  consider them as Nirṛti, Bhāratī , Ila, Usha, Ratri, Indrani and Saraswati that were mentioned in the Rig Veda, if we consider all positive and negative forces a part of the BRAHMAN

This Rik allegorises the manifest cosmic order (Rtam).

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Rig Veda 1.164.4

को ददर्श प्रथमं जायमानमस्थन्वन्तं यदनस्था बिभर्ति । भूम्या असुरसृगात्मा क्व स्वित्को विद्वांसमुप गात्प्रष्टुमेतत् ॥
ko dadarśa prathamaṃ jāyamānam asthanvantaṃ yad anasthā bibharti | bhūmyā asur asṛg ātmā kva svit ko vidvāṃsam upa gāt praṣṭum etat ||

English translation:

Who has seen the first one [=the Sun/Agni] as he is being born, when his boneless (mother) [=the Waters?] carries the one having bones [=the one who is a living being]? Where is the life, blood, and breath of the earth? Who will approach the knowing one to ask this?

My interpretation

The Boneless (Anastha) may refer to the Unmanifested Reality (Brahman or Prakriti), as it has no physical attributes, limits, shape, or "bones". It is pure, invisible consciousness.

The Bony (Asthanvantam) represents the Manifested Cosmos (the material world, physical bodies, and objects). Just as bones give physical structure to a body, the material world is rigid, structured, and tangible.

The Paradox: The riddle asks how something completely devoid of physical matter (the boneless Spirit) can support, create, and hold up everything that is physical and heavy (the bony Universe).

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Rig Veda 1.164.5

पाकः पृच्छामि मनसाविजानन्देवानामेना निहिता पदानि । वत्से बष्कयेऽधि सप्त तन्तून्वि तत्निरे कवय ओतवा उ ॥
pākaḥ pṛcchāmi manasāvijānan devānām enā nihitā padāni | vatse baṣkaye 'dhi sapta tantūn vi tatnire kavaya otavā u ||

English translation:

Naive, not understanding, in my mind I ask about these imprinted tracks of the gods. Upon the full-grown calf [=the fire] the poets have stretched the seven warp-threads (of the sacrifice) in order to weave.

My interpretation

Vatse baṣkaye'dhi - may indicate the Yearning of an individual spiritual seeker, still at the basic level of spirituality, for the DIVINE ADITI.

The poets stretching 7 threads may indicate the seven rishis extending help to the spiritual seeker.

 

Rig Veda 1.164.6

अचिकित्वाञ्चिकितुषश्चिदत्र कवीन्पृच्छामि विद्मने न विद्वान् । वि यस्तस्तम्भ षळिमा रजांस्यजस्य रूपे किमपि स्विदेकम् ॥
acikitvāñ cikituṣaś cid atra kavīn pṛcchāmi vidmane na vidvān | vi yas tastambha ṣaḻ imā rajāṃsy ajasya rūpe kim api svid ekam ||

English translation:

Unperceptive, I ask also the perceptive seers/rishis about this in order to know, since I am unknowing: What also is the One in the form of the Unborn [=the Sun] that has propped apart these six realms (of heaven and earth)?

My interpretation

·       The Rishi now asks as to how a single, unmoving, and unmanifested source stabilizes the entire shifting, multi-layered material reality.

·       The "Unborn One" is Brahman or Pure Consciousness or the formless ENERGY that has propped apart these six realms.

·       Some say that the Six Regions (Ṣaḷ Rajāṃsi) as the four cardinal directions (North, South, East, West) plus the vertical axis of Zenith (above) and Nadir (below). Others say that they are Six Seasons (Ritu).

·       The six (6) regions/realms were also mentioned in

§  Rig Veda 2.13.10 - Indra (the awakened divine mind/willpower) stabilizing the six regions

§  Rig Veda 3.56.2 – The One, the unmoving - BRAHMAN, bears Six burdens

·       Yoga shastra says the human body consists of 7 chakras, starting from Muladhara to Sahasrara.

·       The Six Regions (Ṣaḷ Rajāṃsi) - as mentioned in Rig Veda 1.164.6 and reiterated in Rig Veda 2.13.10 and Rig Veda 3.56.2, can be inferred as Six chakras, with the unmoving DIVINITY at the top at Sahasrara chakra!

·       The Cosmic Pillar (Stambha): The statement of rishi in this Rig Veda 1.164.6 that, "Who is the Unborn One who propped up (tastambha) these six regions?", it is describing the Sushumna Nadi—the central spinal channel.

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Source; Wikipedia

Image	Name	Sanskrit	Location	Description
	Sahasrāra	सहस्रार "Thousand-petaled"	Crown	Highest spiritual centre, pure consciousness, containing neither object nor subject.
	Ajñā	आज्ञा "Command"	Between eyebrows	Guru chakra, or third-eye chakra, the subtle center of energy
	Viśuddhi	विशुद्ध "Purest"	Throat	Associated with the element of space (akasha).
	Anāhata	अनाहत (अन्-आहत) "Unstruck"	Heart	Within it is a yantra of two intersecting triangles, forming a hexagram, symbolising a union of the male and female, and the element of air (vayu).
	Maṇipura	मणिपुर (मणि-पुर) "Jewel city"	Navel	This chakra is represented as a downward pointing triangle representing fire in the middle of a lotus with ten petals.
	Svādhiṣthāna	स्वाधिष्ठान (स्व-आधिष्ठान) "Self-standing"	Root of sexual organs	Svadhisthana is represented with a lotus within which is a crescent moon symbolizing the water element
	Mulādhāra	मूलाधार (मूल-आधार) "Root"	Base of spine	Dormant Kundalini is often said to be resting here, wrapped three and a half, or seven or twelve times.

 

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Rig Veda 1.164.7

इह ब्रवीतु य ईमङ्ग वेदास्य वामस्य निहितं पदं वेः । शीर्ष्णः क्षीरं दुह्रते गावो अस्य वव्रिं वसाना उदकं पदापुः ॥

iha bravītu ya īm aṅga vedāsya vāmasya nihitam padaṃ veḥ | śīrṣṇaḥ kṣīraṃ duhrate gāvo asya vavriṃ vasānā udakam padāpuḥ ||

English translation:

Let him speak here, who knows the imprinted track of this treasured bird [=the Sun]. The cows [=rain clouds] yield milk [=rain] from his head [=the Sun]. Clothing themselves in a cloak, they have drunk water with the foot [=the Sun’s rays].

My interpretation  

•  In the Vedas, the Bird (Vayah or Suparna) represents the BRAHMAN. 
•  Rishi Dirghatamas was asking "Who among you is awakened enough to see the trackless path of the bird/Divine (Vāmasya Veḥ)?"
•  Normally, cows are milked from their udders at the bottom of their bodies. However, the Rishi states that these cosmic cows are milking the bird directly from its head (Śīrṣṇáḥ Kṣīráṃ).
• In Yoga Shastra, Sahasrara Chakra is said to be situated at crown of the head and the place to where the Kundalini Shakti, starting from Muladhara Chakra, reaches in the spiritual practices and अमृत - amṛta, the DIVINE nectar will be generated there. And, अमृतत्व - amṛtatva will be attained by that person.
• Rishi Dirghatamas stated this in esoteric sense - cows are milking the bird directly from its head (Śīrṣṇáḥ Kṣīráṃ)
• Clothed in a garment of mist/illusion (vavriṃ vasānā) and drinking water with feet – (udakam padāpuḥ) should be understood esoterically.
• We have to remember that an animal will not drink water by taking water in a container, but drinks by kneeling down
• It may indicate an individual engulfed in illusion, will behave like an animal living only for Āhāra-Nidrā-Bhaya-Maithuna (eating, drinking, mating and sleeping). Thus, cannot drink water like a human or the one, who overcame his illusions, so that one can drink अमृत - amṛta, flowing from head.

 

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Rig Veda 1.164.8

माता पितरमृत आ बभाज धीत्यग्रे मनसा सं हि जग्मे । सा बीभत्सुर्गर्भरसा निविद्धा नमस्वन्त इदुपवाकमीयुः ॥
mātā pitaram ṛta ā babhāja dhīty agre manasā saṃ hi jagme | sā bībhatsur garbharasā nividdhā namasvanta id upavākam īyuḥ ||

English translation:

The mother [=Dawn] gave her father [=the Sun/Heaven] a share in the truth, for in the beginning, through her insight, she united (with him) by her mind. Recoiling, she whose essence was her child [=Agni/the Sun] was pierced (by her father). Just those offering their reverence went to the (morning) invocation.

My interpretation

• The Varāha (referred to as the "Boar of Heaven") mentioned in Rig Veda 1.114.5 is an entity of unmatched, raw strength. 
• When an individual is acting with animalistic (Paśu) tendencies, one’s mind will become dry and hardened and will not act positively to the seeds sown.
• The Brahman/The Father has to enter into a mind violently (bībhatsur) and tears through the animalistic thickets of lust, anger, greed, and lethargy. The ego experiences this spiritual crisis as terrifying or destructive, but it is actually a supreme act of grace.
• Once the ground of the mind has been aggressively upturned and exposed to the light, it becomes fertile.
• The BRAHMAN will then sow DIVINE (garbha-rasā nividdhā) and higher spiritual logic, intuition, and divine aspiration directly into the newly ploughed consciousness.
• After the radical transformation takes place, the old animal habits are replaced by a state of constant prayer, sacred utterance, and profound reverence (Namasvanta) towards BRAHMAN, the cosmic Weaver.

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Rig Veda 1.164.9

युक्ता मातासीद्धुरि दक्षिणाया अतिष्ठद्गर्भो वृजनीष्वन्तः । अमीमेद्वत्सो अनु गामपश्यद्विश्वरूप्यं त्रिषु योजनेषु ॥
yuktā mātāsīd dhuri dakṣiṇāyā atiṣṭhad garbho vṛjanīṣv antaḥ | amīmed vatso anu gām apaśyad viśvarūpyaṃ triṣu yojaneṣu ||

English translation:

The mother was harnessed to the yoke-pole of the sacrificial reward; her child stood up amid the penned cows. The calf [=Agni] bellowed and looked toward the cow of every colour [=Dawn], three wagon-treks (in the distance).

My interpretation  

• The second line in the Rik - amīmed vatso anu gām apaśyad Viśvarūpaṃ triṣu yojaneṣu- should be corelated with Rig Veda 1.24.2, WHEREIN the rishi śunaśepa ājīgarti states that once AGNI hands over to ADITI, ONE can witness ONE’s father and mother together, indicating experiencing of ARTHANAARISWARA TATVA or DIVINE BLISS (viśvarūpam)
• atiṣṭhad garbho vṛjanīṣv antaḥ indicates that "the spiritual seeker still engaged in practices/embryo remained steady amidst deceptive clouds."
• dakṣiṇā indicates the discerning power or intuition of the spiritual aspirant, in deciding what is right and not. 
• Thus, the phrase Yuktā mātā āsīd dhuri dakṣiṇāyāḥ) may indicate that "ADITI, The DIVINE Mother yokes ONE to the pole of the discerning power or intuition, so that ONE will not get deviated by downward pulling desires
• The calf "lows" or cries out (amīmed vatso), not in pain or hunger anymore, but in the ecstatic vibration of Samadhi. 
• anu gām apaśyad – The calf or spiritual aspirant follows ADITI and looks around and sees the entire three-tiered universe (triṣu yojaneṣu) as a single, pulsing dance (viśvarūpam) of the Divine Parents.

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.......... to be continued in Part.2