Vedic
ritual has a long history in South Asia which starts more than three thousand
years ago, and which in a sense continues to the present day.
The oldest Vedic text, the Rgveda (1500 - 1000 before common era), consists of
hymns which were recited in Vedic rituals. Detailed descriptions of Vedic
rituals we find only much later in the Srauta-Sutras (from ca. 2nd
century before common era).
Rituals that were already important in the Rgvedic period are concerned with
Agni (Fire), Soma (a sacred drink), and a pot which is heated, and from which
next a hot drink (Gharma) is offered to the god Indra and to the two Asvins. The
Gharma-offering developed in the late-Rgvedic period into a ritual that was in
large outline similar to the Pravargya as described in the Yajurvedic texts and
discussed in the Srauta-Sutras.1 (top)
The Jyotistoma: the ritual of
the "Laud of Light"
In
a group of Vedic rituals that are called Jyotistoma or "Laud of
Light"-rituals Agni and Soma are of central importance. The Jyotistoma is
a Soma-offering, in which also a Pravargya may be inserted.2
The Jyotistoma is the simplest ritual unit in which the three first Vedas play
are fully present:
These
three Vedas play this role on account of the participation of priests that have
studied a specific Veda:
In
total there are 16 priests (sometimes there is a 17th, the Sadasya
who is mainly a witness): together they perform the sacrifice on behalf of the
sacrificer and his wife; the latter have invited the priests and promised them
a sacrificial fee, daksina.
In
the course of the five or six days of the sacrifice, the sacrificer and his
wife should undergo an important transformation. On the first day the Diksa or
"consecration" takes place. The sacrificer is shaved, and from that
moment on he restricts his food. Moreover, he will keep his hands from that
moment on as much as possible in the form of a fist: the ancient exegetes explain
that this indicates his embryonic status.
The sacrificer and his wife, immediately after the consecration.
Only
after the concluding bath, the Avabhrtha, from which he and his wife emerge as
if "reborn", is he allowed to fully open his hands. The restrictions
in food and behaviour that the wife has to adopt are less severe. (top)
The sacrificer and his wife, during the concluding bath.
Finding
or making, transporting and maintaining fire was of great importance in the
life of the semi-nomadic, Vedic man. The first hymn of the Rgveda is devoted to
Agni, the divine fire. The fire is central in most Vedic rituals, among them
the simple twice-daily Agnihotra.
The
sacrificer normally has already been initiated into the Agnihotra, and performs
this day by day, until, on the first day of the Jyotistoma, after his morning
Agnihotra, he formally invites the priests to perform the sacrifice for him. After
this he makes the burning fire of his daily Agnihotra "ascend" into
the wooden fire board and fire stick (the Aranis) from which once the Agnihotra
fire was "churned". This takes place in his house.
The
sacrificer then takes these Aranis, and together with his wife and the sixteen
priests he proceeds from his house to the place where they plan the sacrifice. While
they walk they recite, among other things, the first hymn of the Rgveda.
When
they arrive at the sacrificial area the first fire of the Jyotistoma sacrifice
is prepared by pressing and rubbing the fire board and fire stick against each
other.
Videostream: Making fire (Broadband) / (Modem)
The
sacrificial area is designed according to detailed ancient directions.
Map used by the priests to lay out the sacrificial area (Barsi 2001).
Simplified plan of the sacrificial area.
Legenda
Garh. = Garhapatya or Domestic Fire
Ahav. = Ahavaniya or Offering Fire
Daksin. = Daksinagni or Southern Fire
R. = Rajasandi, the King's Throne for the Soma stalks
S. = Samrad-asandi, the Emperor's Throne for the Pravargya vessels
m. = methi and mayukhas, the peg and pins for the cow, the calf, the she-goat
and the lamb
kh. = khara or mound
Utt.v. = Uttaravedi
n. = nabhi
--
Initially, the ritual
acts are performed in the Pracinavamsa or "hut with top beam that is
directed eastward". On the day immediately preceding the pressing day
(minimally the fourth day) the centre of ritual action shifts to the Mahavedi,
or large offering space, that has been measured out with much precision. The
fire is then brought in a solemn procession from the offering altar in the
Pracinavamsa to the Uttaravedi, the altar in the east of the Mahavedi.
Videostream: Proceeding with Agni (Broadband) / (Modem)
The
pressing of the Soma, the offering of the Soma beverage to the gods by putting
it into the fire of the Uttaravedi, and the consuming of the remaining Soma
beverage: this all takes place on the Mahavedi, on the pressing day. On the
Mahavedi special grass has been spread which should serve as seat for the gods
and for the priests. Two sheds have been built on the Mahavedi, one mainly for
the chants and recitations, the other for the pressing of the Soma. After the
concluding bath the grass and the sheds on the Mahavedi are burnt with the fire
of the Uttaravedi.
Videostream: Final burning of the sacred grass (Broadband) / (Modem)
Next,
the fire of the three altars in the remaining old offering hut, the Pracinavamsa,
is made to ascend again into the Aranis (fire board and stick) of the
sacrificer, and the sacrifice and his wife return home. Here fire is made from
the Aranis. From then on, the sacrificer and his wife continue with their daily
Agnihotra, evening and morning. (top)
Soma
is the name of a mysterious plant from which a drink is pressed that is said to
have a certain effect on the mind. The plant and drink are themselves worshiped
as gods. Since the end of the nineteenth century, the identity of the
Soma-plant is subject of discussion of the Vedists and Indologists. Several
places in the Vedic texts suggest that Soma makes wakefulness, alertness and
euphoria increase. The poetical utterances in which the Soma is praised are
full of metaphores and hyperboles. If these are taken as the expression of
direct perceptions one should conclude that the perception of those who consume
Soma has been considerably "altered", and that Soma would thus be a
halucinogenic plant. The expressions, however, are rather stereotypical; the
Soma-juice that is trickling from the sieve is time and again compared with
rain falling from heaven, the bucket in which it is collected is referred to as
the ocean, etc.
One
may argue that the poets of the Soma-hymns are generally following a tradition
rather than giving expression to direct halucinatory experiences. The
complicated recitations, songs and ritual actions in which the priests and the
sacrificer consuming the Soma are engaged make it unlikely that it would be a
strong halucinogenic in the form and quantities it was consumed by the
participants. That the Soma was a strong halucinogenic was the theory presented
by R.G. Wasson a few decades ago (1968). He argued that the fly agaric, Amanita
Muscaria, was the most likely candidate for the Soma-plant. J. Brough and
F.B.J. Kuiper, among others, have shown that Wasson's theory does not go well
with the information provided by the ancient texts. It has also been suggested
that the Soma would be an alcoholic beverage. The problem with this theory is
that the procedures in the Soma-sacrifice (e.g. the Jyotistoma) does not
provide a suitable occasion for the process of fermentation that an alcoholic
drink would require. Moreover, the Vedic texts prescribe the consumption of
alcohol for someone who has drunk too much Soma. One would hence expect that
the two have opposite effects. Other proposals for Soma are Sarcostemma Brevistigma
en Peganum Harmala. An old candidate, the Ephedra (defended e.g. by K.F.
Geldner, author of the most used scientific translation of the Rgvedic), that
does not have a strong halucinatory but a stimulating effect, has recently
received new support from scholars such as H. Falk and C.G. Kashikar.
Other scholars, for instance T. Oberlies and F. Staal, have now again argued
that the Soma must have had a clearly halucinogenic effect, even when they
admit that the concrete proposal of the fly agaric is problematic.
What
is often insufficiently taken into account is that the participants in a Soma
sacrifice subject themselves to certain restrictions. Ritual prescriptions say
explicitly that the sacrificer should fast until he has become lean before he
can start the Soma-sacrifice. As is well known, even fasting by itself can lead
to halucinations. In addition, the performance of the Soma-sacrifice invariably
implies extreme early rising at least on the pressing day, and occasionally a
continuation through the night (the Atiratra Soma sacrifice, referred to in the
Rgveda). The search for a substance which has a strong halucinogenic effect on
modern people whose physiology is accustomed to full meals with lots of coffee
etc. may hence be mistaken. There are a few exceptional places in the Rgveda (the
Laba-sukta in the 10th book) where halucination-like experiences are linked
with Soma, but these would also go well with a stimulant having at the most
facilitating properties for incidental halucinogenic experiences. At any rate,
the Ephedra generally suits the Vedic data as sketched above as well as the
data of ancient Iran (where Haoma is pressed in a way which is parallel to the
way of pressing Soma).
Videostream: Soma-pressing (Broadband) / (Modem)
The
identification of the Soma-plant is an important challenge, and the scholarly
discussion on it will no doubt continue.3 If convincing evidence is found for a final identification of
the Soma-plant, this would be a significant contribution to the
contextualisation of Vedic culture.
However,
from the point of view of the Soma-sacrifice or the Jyotistoma it is clear that
the actual Soma-plant receded into the background. As early as in the ancient
Brahmana-texts alternatives are mentioned for the Soma in case the real Soma is
not found. Brahmins in present day India are usually unable to point out a real
Soma plant. In Soma-sacrifices in Maharashtra till the present day Brahmins use
a plant to which they refer as Putika in Sanskrit, and which is called Ran Sher
in Marathi (this was pointed out to me by Dr. C.G. Kashikar, Pune; cf. further
P.V. Kane's History of Dharmasastra vol. 2 part 2 p. 1203). The plant nowadays
referred to as Putika is probably identifiable as Sarcostemma brevistigma.
Putika, substitute for Soma.
The
present day Soma sacrifice has thus become like a wedding which just continues
even when no-one knows who is the bride or where she has gone. From early on,
it was held that the "true" soma is not the plant that is pressed but
something more abstract. An important "ingredient" in the preparation
of Soma are the recitations and chants, and these are very much present in the
Soma-sacrifice as prescribed and as performed in attestable cases. Also the
name of many specific Soma rituals suggests that the attention has shifted from
the offering substance, the Soma, to the chants: this name is often connected
with the character of the chants that occur in it. The name Jyotistoma, for
instance, is explained in the Jaiminiya Brahmana by pointing out that the last
chant at the third pressing is devoted to Agni (fire), and Agni is light or
Jyotis. The name Jyotistoma is here equivalent to Agnistoma, which is the basic
form of a group of rituals that will be called Jyotistoma in the broad sense of
the term. The Sodasi is so called because there are sixteen (sodasa)
recitations and chants, instead of twelve as in the Agnistoma.
Apparently,
the Soma as god has started to play a gradually more independent role, apart
from the material basis in the form of the pressed juice. In the hymns he
appears as a god that provides a clear mind, that finds the light and a way out
of distress, dispells diseases, gives fame, happiness and richess. See for
instance the first hymn of the ninth book of
the Rgveda.
The tradition of the Samaveda, which is so important in the Soma-sacrifice, contains texts such as the Samavidhana Brahmana which ascribe positive effects directly to the chants. Here one finds a confirmation of the reduced importance of the "material" Soma which was already clear from the fact that certain knowledge of the identity of the Soma has been lost. The important role that the Samaveda plays in the Soma-sacrifice may also be related to the fact that music has a more immediate effect than the recitations with often rather complex poetical utterances that can be understood in detail only after one is quite familiar with it. The Samavedic chants, called Samans, are full of rithmic melodies, paterns of repetition with variations etc.
As such, they
could be compared with Fuges of Bach in the European music world. In a Saman
the textual starting point is a verse from the Rgveda; some of its syllables
are lengthened or otherwise modified, and extra syllables are also inserted. In
this respect the Samaveda can be compared with Gregorian chant, where a line
from a Psalm (in a Latin version) is the starting point for elaborate chants
created by the lengthening and insertion of syllables. (top)
The
most important object in the Pravargya is a pot of clay filled with clarified
butter ("ghee") and heated on the fire. When freshly milked cow's and
goat's milk are added to the boiling ghee, an impressive pillar of fire arises.
Accompanying songs and recitations
associate the heated pot with, among other
things, light and the sun. In the next stage hot milk and yoghurt (dadhi) are
offered into the offering fire from the pot. Finally, the participants
(sacrificer and priests) consume what is left after the offerings. The
Pravargya ritual is full of symbols which suggest intimate relations between
the cosmos, the ritual and man. A number of verses recited in the classical
Pravargya derive from the so-called Riddle Hymn of the Rgveda. A close study of
this hymn has shown that the hymn may be subdivided into parts which are
applicable to specific episodes in the classical Pravargya ritual. When the
hymn is placed against this ritual background it turns out that convincing
interpretations are possible for a large number of riddles in this ancient
hymn. The relation between the classical Pravargya and the Riddle Hymn point to
an "initiatory" character of the Pravargya, which also expresses
itself in various other.htmlects of the Pravargya.4
The
Pravargya is never performed on its own, but always in the context of the
Soma-sacrifice, for instance in the form of the Jyotistoma. Here it is
performed on the introductory days (minimally three) before the actual pressing
of the Soma. It is performed in the morning and in the afternoon. Each
performance starts with an elaborate "beginning
peace invocation"
Audio: Concluding
peace invocation.
Modern performances of Vedic rituals 5
In
the 19th century it was Martin Haug who succeeded in getting
Brahmins in Pune to perform a Soma-sacrifice which he could observe from near by.
He was also allowed to photograph sacrificial utensils and take them to Europe.
These experiences were of great importance to Haug in order to get a better
insight in the subject matter of the Aitareya Brahmana, the Vedic text which he
was editing and translating. Also other scholars in his time were happy to make
use of the collection and the photographs made by Haug when they studied Vedic
ritual; W. Caland and V. Henry, for instance, added a table of photographs of
Haug's collection to their study of the Agnistoma.
The
first large performance which can rightly be called "modern" is the
Agnicayana organized by F. Staal in Kerala, India, 1975. The tradition of Vedic
rituals had become quite weak, and without the encouragements and support of
Staal the ritual would probably not have been performed. In this performance it
was necessary to take into account with all kinds of new circumstances not
referred to in the traditional rules of the ritual. The ritual was to be
filmed, and extensive sound recordings were to be made. The media payed much
attention to the sacrifice, and there were strong protests against the killing
of sacrificial animals; at the last moment it was decided to use vegetarian
substitutes for these. The successful performance by Staal stimulated also
traditional Brahmins to engage again in the organisation of large Srauta
rituals.
Since
the 1980's two persons have been very active in the organisation of larger
Vedic rituals, Mr. Selukar Maharaj and Mr. Nana Kale. Both have succeeded in
going through the Gavam-Ayana in 1999-2000: this is a sacrificial session
(Sattra) lasting for a year in which Soma is pressed and offered. The
Jyotistoma/Agnistoma and the Pravargya are recurring elements in this complex
ritual.
The
film The Vedic Pravargya Ritual: Performances in Delhi, December 11-12, 1996,
shows the Pravargya as performed in an eleven-day Soma-sacrifice, that is, a
Soma-sacrifice in which there is not one pressing day as in the basic type the
Jyotistoma. For the Pravargya the larger number of pressing days makes no
difference. (top)
In preparation: Vedic schools
in South Asia: a few observations and a bibliography
The
Vedas survive in South Asia in multi-branched Vedic schools which have become
very rare in the last few centuries. The history of these Vedic schools
constitute an important part of the cultural history of South Asia. An
important overview of knowledge available till then was published by Louis
Renou in 1947, Les écoles védiques et la formation du Veda; since that time
much new research has been done. On this place a bibliography will be made
available of major research done on the Vedic schools since Louis Renou's
publication. Of interest in this connection is also an essay by Willem Caland
in which he gives an overview of the gradual discovery and increased study of
the Veda by Western scholars up to the 19th century. As for the
study of the Veda in modern times: by way of illustration we show a recent
group of students studying the beginning of the Rgveda in the Veda Vijnan
Ashram in Barsi. (top)
Videostream: Studying the first hymn of the Rgveda (Broadband) / (Modem)
Notes
1. See for instance my article "On the earliest attestable forms
of the Pravargya ritual: Rg-Vedic references to the Gharma-Pravargya,
especially in the Atri family book (book 5)", Indo-Iranian Journal 43
(2000):1-25. (back)
2. Jyotistoma may be understood as "Laud of the Light", from
Jyotis = light + Stoma = laud or praise; the term has been used differently in
different texts and periods. See for instance the introduction to Caland and
Henry's description of the Agnistoma (1906-07). (back)
3. Recent issues in the Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies
(http://www1.shore.net/~india/ejvs/) and an upcoming issue containing a report
of the CNWS-Seminar on Soma/Haoma (July 3-4, 1999) and some additional papers
deal with the Soma problem. (back)
4. See for instance my article "Pragmatics of a Vedic Hymn",
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 120.4. (back)
5. Here we are interested in the larger Srauta rituals; smaller Srauta
rituals have a relatively solid continuity in some areas such as Maharashtra
and Andhra Pradesh; there is also considerable interest in Vedic Grhya rituals
(among them important rites of passage) which have a tenacious and more
flexible tradition than the "solemn" Srauta rituals. (back)
(top)