THE DAWN (1)

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The Dawn (Ushas)FromRig Veda

• Presented by Joby John
• II MA English
• No.2o5
• at St.Thomas College, Pala
• on March --, 2014

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Table of Contents

• The Dawn (Scientific Explanation)
• The Relevance Of Dawn In Mythology And Religion
  And Art
• Sacred Scriptures
• Rig Veda and Ushas
• The Dawn ( Hymn)
• Reference

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DAWN

• Dawn Is The Beginning Of Morning Twilight
• From An Old English Verb Dagian "To Become Day
• Recognized By The Presence Of Weak Sunlight
• During dawn (and dusk) it is usually possible to
  see approximately in which direction the Sun
  lies, though it is below the horizon.

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Types Of Dawn

• Astronomical
• Dawn

Civil Dawn

• Nautical
• Dawn

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Mythology And Religion

• Many Indo-European mythologies have a dawn
  goddess

Roman Aurora
Indian Ushas
Greek Eos
SlavicZornitsa and possibly a Germanic
Austron- (whence the term Easter).
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• These gods are found to be somewhat parallel
  toother Indo-Aryan cultures,such as Iran and
  Greece

Hercules (Herakles) fighting the Lernaean Hydra
Krishna (Harekrsna) fighting the Kaliya Serpent
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Shiva, holding the Trident, resting on a leopard
skin with a Cobra perched beside him, his abode
is Mount Kailas, Himalayas
Dionysus (Dionysos) holding a Trident
Dionysus (Dionysos) encircled with a snake, with
leopard by his side, with the moon in the
background, his abode is Mount Olympus
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Indra
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Varuna
Rama Varuna
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Agni
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Vishnu
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Did the Vedic Aryans travel as far as Easter
Island?
The Easter Islands located in the Pacific Ocean,
were situated far away from any civilization.
The craftsmanship of these islands corresponds
to the one of the ancient Incas. The sign
script of the Easter Islands almost equals the
ancient scripts of Indus Valley.
Easter Island symbols Indus Saraswati symbols
Were the Ancient Vedic civilisation of Indus
Saraswati valley Trans-Oceanic seafarers?
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Rituals Based On The Dawn

1. Divine Office said at the first hour of daylight.
2. In Islam, dawn (Arabic fajr) is the time of the
   first prayer of the day, and the beginning of the
   daily fast during Ramadan.

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Dawn In The World Of Art
L'Aurore By William-Adolphe Bouguereau
L'aurore, Nort SeaMer du Nord By Guillaume
Vogels
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Literature

• Homer "rosy-fingered Dawn" in The Iliad
• and The Odyssey
• An aubade (Occitan Alba, German
• Tagelied)
• Aurora Musis amica by Barthold Nihus

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www.allpoetry.com

• DAWN TO DAWN
• When of only sleeping people
• the world comprises /
• Then early in the morning the
• sun
• by satans angel

• FROM DAWN TO DAWN
• From dawn to dawn your face is my sun, / which
  rises in my day bringing it light and joy
• by penman

• DAWN TO DAWN
• Im moving on / now finaly i feel a part of me is
  free
• by silent crys

• FROM DAWN TO DAWN
• I bend o'er the wheel at my sewing / I'm spent
  and I'm hungry for rest
• by Morris Rosenfeld

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Sacred Scriptures are Divided into Two

• SHRUTI
• (Divided in to four groups)

SMRUTIS (These are deliberations In Specific
periods)

• Itihas
• Vedangas
• Darshanas
• Upavedas
• Agamas
• Puranas
• Panths
• Dharm Shastras

• Braahmana
• Aaranyaka
• Mantra
• Upanishad

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SHRUTI
Vedas are referred to as the Sruti
that which heard or that of divine
origin

• Represents established
• knowledge, its final
• authority
• is accepted by all
• Hindus as
• eternal and revealed
• scripture

The earliest portion of the Vedas consists of
four metrical hymns, known as the Samhitas
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VEDAS

• VEDAS

EACH VEDA HAS FOUR PARTS

• Hymnal portio(mantras)
• Ritual portion (brahmanas)
• Forest teachings (aranyakas)
• Philosophical portion (upanishads)

• Rig Veda
• Yajur Veda
• Sama Veda
• Atharva Veda

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VEDIC AGE

The foundations for Hinduism were established!
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The Vedas

• 1200 BCE-600 BCE.
• written in SANSKRIT.
• Hindu core of beliefs
• hymns and poems.
• religious prayers.
• magical spells.
• lists of the gods and goddesses.

Rig Veda ? oldest work.
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The Caste System

WHO IS
Brahmins

1. The mouth?
2. The arms?
3. The legs?
4. The feet?

Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
Shudras
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RIG VEDA
Written between 1500-900 BCE

• About 1000 hymns or mantras.
• Appear to be poems (personified natural forces)
• For example,
• Indra is the god of thunder and rain.
• Agni is the god of fire.
• Usha is the godess of dawn.

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• Dominated by hymns praising the Aryan gods for
  giving them victorious and wealth plundered from
  the local Dasas through warfare
• Hymns refer to the use of horses and chariots
  with spikes, spears, bows, arrows, and iron
  weapons

• 1028 (arranged in 10 mandalas or circles)
• hymns to the gods,
• shows optimism and
• enjoyment of the world,
• stresses humility to the gods

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• Gods and men had
• specific functions (vrata)to perform in
  accordance with this cosmic order

• After death individuals who had fulfilled their
  obligations under cosmic order went to a heavenly
  realm presided over by Yama, the first mortal

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Two mythological dogs guarded the righteous on
the path to the region, but the sinful were
fettered out, and unprotected, fell prey to
various demons. Cultic practices developed an
elaborate ritual based on a fire sacrifice,
personified as the god Agni, the crackling of the
sacrificial fire was viewed as the voice of
Agni The soma juice, personified by the god
Soma, was used Importance was given to the
chanting of hymns and invocations by the human
priesthood
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• Later the sacrifice was viewed cosmologically and
  the
• correct performance of the sacrifice possessed a
• magical potency which could coerce even the gods
• (a) This magical power in the prayers
  developed into spells called brahman
• (b) He who recited them was prayer-er or
  brahman, or one related to prayer
  (brahmana)
• (c) This principle would be used in the
  Upanishads as the ultimate principle

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Yajur Veda
(10th century BCE)

• Sacred liturgy written in prose, sacrificial
  formulas. Caste system was in place and role of
  priests and their ceremonies gained influence and
  justified the Aryan ways to native workers

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• Yajur Veda has 2 collections called White and
  Blackthe latter being more obscure in its
  meaning
• By instituting more elaborate sacrifices for
  their wealthy patrons, the priests could grow
  both in numbers and wealth.

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• The horse sacrifice was one of the most
  famousnot done very oftenthe parts of the horse
  symbolized different aspects of the universe
• The soma sacrifice was the most important and
  could last up to 12 years.

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• The priests placed themselves at the top of the
  caste system. After the Atharva Veda was
  accepted, each sacrifice required at least 4
  priests, one on each side of the fire using the
  Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas, plus their
  assistants.

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Sama Vedas

• Collections of chants sung by priests at
  sacrifice. These are considered to be the origin
  of Indian music The Sama Vedas helped to train
  the musicians and functioned as a hymnal for the
  religious rites

• The animal sacrifices did not use the Sama
  chants.

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Atharva Veda

• Magical formulas, spells, incantations, the most
  recent of the works
• The bheshajani spells are for healing and cures
  using herbs to treat fever, leprosy, jaundice,
  and other diseases.

• The abhichara spells were negative or bewitching
  spells and were used to cause diseases or harm to
  enemies
• Marriage ceremonies would be included (Atharva
  Veda 142-71

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Commentaries on the Vedas include

1. Braahmana

2. Aaranyaka
3. Upanishad
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(a)Brahmamanas (Between 900 700 BCE)

• Written in prose as sacerdotal commentaries on
  the four Vedas to guide the practices of the
  sacrifices and give explanations for the often
  mythical and fanciful customs
  
• They serve as a transition from the Vedas to the
  Aranyakas and the more mystical Upanishads
  They also contain
  stories meant to explain or rationalize their
  religious practices
• The power of the WORD is increasing as the
  sacrifices were glorified and given power over
  the Vedic gods

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• Japa, or the practice of chanting a mantram like
  Aum (OM) practiced ascetically with the
  sacrifices were believed to produce all ones
  desires
• Prajapti becomes more powerful and is said to
  have given birth to the gods and the demonshe
  would be the first to sacrifice and was also
  considered to be the sacrifice itself
• He practiced tapas to create by the heat of his
  own efforts
• Prajapati would later be replaced by Brahman
• A belief in repeated lives through reincarnation
  is indicated in several passages
  

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(b) Aranyakas (600 BCE)

• Forest texts, sages of the forest, collections of
  hidden truths elucidated
• They were tacked on to the end of the Brahmanas
  only 3 are extant and share the names of the
  Brahmanas they follow
• Texts were transitions between the Brahmanas and
  the Upanishadsthey discuss rites and magic
  contents but also early speculations which would
  later flower in the Upanishads
• Emphasis is placed on knowledge human
  immortality identified with the soul (atman)

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(c) Upanishads

• Which were reactions against sacrificial system,
  very philosophical, stresses ultimate cosmic
  principle as Brahman
• The term literally means those who sit
  nearimplies a seeker listening closely to the
  secret doctrines of a spiritual teacher.
• There are over 200, but only 15 are mentioned by
  the philosopher Shankara (788-820) CE. They are
  considered Vedicthe rest were written later and
  are related to the Puranic worship of Shiva,
  Shakti, and Vishnu

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• The oldest and longest are the Brihad-Aranyaka
  and the Chandogya (7th century BCE)
• The Brihad-Aranyaka has 3 Aranyaka chapters
  followed by six Upanishad chapters

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USHAS

• Ushas (???? u?as), Sanskrit for "dawn", is a
  Vedic deity, and consequently a Hindu deity as
  well.
• Sanskrit u?as is an s-stem from PIE h2ausos
  cognate to Greek Eos and Latin Aurora.
• Goddess In The Rig Veda
• She Is Often Spoken Of In The Plural, "The
  Dawns."
• warding off evil spirits of the night
• often identified with the reddish cows, and both
  are released by Indra from the Vala cave at the
  beginning of time.
• beautifully adorned young woman riding in a
  golden chariot on her path across the sky

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USHAS
Twenty of the 1028 hymns of the Rig Veda
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Ushas is the divine daughter ( a divó duhitâ ) of
Dyaus Pita "Sky Father."
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• She brings not only light, but hope, happiness,
  riches, and all the good things
• She is a goddess of light and beauty, whom the
  Rishis of old time invoked for their protection
  and help

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• Sri Aurobindo in his Secret of the Veda,
  described Ushas as "the medium of the awakening,
  the activity and the growth of the other gods
  she is the first condition of the Vedic
  realisation. By her increasing illumination the
  whole nature of man is clarified through her
  mankind arrives at the Truth, through her he
  enjoys Truth's beatitude."

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Vedic Sacrifices
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Characteristics of Vedic Ritual

• No fixed place of
• No evidence for icons or images
• Central focus Fire
• Principle and central act - offering of edible or
  drinkable substances into the fire

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• The rituals range from the simplest (Agnihorta
  or Fire offering to the twice daily offerings
  of milk and other products into the fire
• The Vedas show a ritualistic cult involving the
  sacrificial use of fire and an exhilarating drink
  called soma, as well as the rudiments of a social
  order

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Participants of the Ritual

• The Ahitagni who actually causes the ritual to be
  performedknown as the yajamana or sacrificer
• He relies on a collection of priests who fall
  into four main groups

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• The priests of the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, and
  the Yajur Veda are responsible for the three
  types of sacral utterance that together form the
  verbal sector of Vedic ritual

• The chief priest represent the Rig Vedas is
  called the Hortar, in the Sama theUdgatar, that
  of the Yajur is the Adhvaryu

• The representatives of the Atharva Veda is
  theBrahman who oversees the whole operation

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• A third set of presentatives is invisible (except
  for Somaand Agni) and are a selection of thegods

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Types of Sacrifices

• Haviryajnasdetermined by the rhythm of the
  year and movements of the sun and moon
• Agnihortatwice daily offering of the fire
• DarsapaurNamasathe new and full moon
  sacrifice involves offering every two weeks

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• CaturmasyaniFour monthly or seasonal sacrifices
• AgrayaNafirst fruits offered at harvest
• Pasubandhaanimal sacrifice
• Asvamedhahorse sacrifice where a horse is
  slaughtered

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THE DAWNStanza I

• Like a youthful maiden, Dawn shines brightly
  forth,
• práty u adarsi ayati
• Stirring to motion every living creature. uchánti
  duhita divá?
• Devine fire was kindled for the use of men
• ápo máhi vyayati cák?ase támo
• Dawn created light, diving away the dark. jyóti?
  kr??oti sunári

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Stanza II

• Sending out her beams, she rose up facing all,
• úd usríya? sr?jate suriya? sácam?
• In brilliant robes, resplendent, radiating-
• udyán nák?atram arcivát
• Golden-coloured and glorious to behold,
• távéd u?o viú?i suriyasya ca
• Mother of plenty, mistress of the days she shone.
• sám bhakténa gamemahi

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Stanza III
Blessed, bearing the sun, the eye of the gods,
práti tva duhitar diva Leading her white
horse, magnificent to see, ú?o jira abhutsmahi
Dawn reveals herself, arrayed in beams of
light, ya váhasi purú sparhá? vananvati And
with boundless glory she transforms the world.
rátna? ná dasú?e máya?
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Stanza IV

• O fair one, banish the enemy with light! uchánti
  ya kr??ó?i ma?hána mahi
• And prepare for us broad pastures free from fear!
  
• prakhyaí devi súvar dr?sé
• Ward off hatred, bring us your priceless
  treasure!
• tásyas te ratnabhaja imahe vayá?
• O bountiful, shower blessings on the singer!
• syama matúr ná sunáva?

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Stanza V

• Illumine us with your glorious splendor,
• tác citrá? radha a bhara
• O divine Dawn! Enrich and lengthen our lives,
• ú?o yád dirghasrúttamam
• O Goddess full of grace! Grant us fulfillment
• yát te divo duhitar martabhójana?
• And cows, horses, and chariots in abundance!
• tád rasva bhunájamahai

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Stanza VI

• O daughter of heaven, Dawn of noble birth,
• sráva? suríbhyo amr?ta? vasutvaná?
• Whom the men of glory celebrate in hymns,
• vajam? asmábhya? gómata?
• Establish in us wealth sublime and mighty!
• codayitri maghóna? sunr?tavati
• O gods, protect us always with your blessings!
• u?a uchad ápa srídha?

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Grammar

• There are a number of stems in -as, accented on
  the first syllable and of neuter gender, most of
  which are abstract nouns.
• Eg. sáhas 'might', á?has 'trouble', ávas 'help',
  páyas 'plenty', vácas 'speech
• Sanskrit has a remarkable facility for
  elaborating new words out of existing ones, like
  building blocks.

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REFERENCES Notes Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965), The
Practical Sanskrit Dictionary (4th ed.), New
Delhi Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0567-4,
p. 304. F.B.J. Kuiper. (1968). Ancient Indian
Cosmogony. Bombay 1983. H.P.Schmidt, Brhaspati
und Indra, Wiesbaden 1968. Aurobindo (1995),
Secret of the Veda, Twin Lakes Lotus Press,
ISBN 0-914955-19-5, p. 283. Sources Dhallapiccola,
Anna (2002), Dictionary of Hindu Lore and
Legend, New York Thames Hudson,
ISBN 0-500-51088-1 Kinsley, David (1987), Hindu
Goddesses Vision of the Divine Feminine in the
Hindu Religious Traditions, New Delhi Motilal
Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0379-5 www.powershow.com
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