The Religions of India: Handbooks on the History of Religions, Volume 1, Edited by Morris JastrowHopkins, Edward Washburn
Religion
The Religions of India: Handbooks on the History of Religions, Volume 1, Edited by Morris Jastrow
Hopkins, Edward Washburn
India -- Religion
In the Br[=a]hmanas different names are given to the chief god, but he
is most often called the Father-god (Praj[=a]pati, 'lord of
creatures,' or the Father, _pit[=a]_). His earlier Vedic type is
Brihaspati, the lord of strength, and, from another point of
view, the All-god.[10] The other gods fall into various groups, the
most significant being the triad of Fire, Wind, and Sun.[11] Not much
weight is to be laid on the theological speculations of the time as
indicative of primitive conceptions, although they may occasionally
hit true. For out of the number of inane fancies it is reasonable to
suppose that some might coincide with historic facts. Thus the
All-gods of the Rig Veda, by implication, are of later origin than the
other gods, and this, very likely, was the case; but it is a mere
guess on the part of the priest. The _Çatapatha_, III. 6. 1. 28,
speaks of the All-gods as gods that gained immortality on a certain
occasion, _i.e._, became immortal like other gods. So the [=A]dityas
go to heaven before the Angirasas (_[=A][=i]t. Br_. IV. 17), but this
has no such historical importance as some scholars are inclined to
think. The lesser gods are in part carefully grouped and numbered, in
a manner somewhat contradictory to what must have been the earlier
belief. Thus the 'three kinds of gods' are now Vasus, of earth,
Rudras, of air, and [=A]dityas, of sky, and the daily offerings are
divided between them; the morning offering belonging only to the
Vasus, the mid-day one only to (Indra and) the Rudras, the third to
the [=A]dityas with the Vasus and Rudras together.[12] Again, the
morning and mid-day pressing belong to the gods alone, and strict rule
is observed in distinguishing their portion from that of the Manes
(_Çat. Br_. IV. 4. 22). The difference of sex is quite ignored, so
that the 'universal Agni' is identified with (mother) earth; as is
also, once or twice, P[=u]shan (_ib._ III. 8. 5. 4; 2. 4. 19; II. 5.
4. 7). As the 'progenitor,' Agni facilitates connubial union, and is
called "the head god, the progenitor among gods, the lord of beings"
(_ib._ III. 4. 3. 4; III. 9. 1. 6). P[=u]shan is interpreted to mean
cattle, and Brihaspati is the priestly caste (_ib_. III. 9. 1. 10
ff.). The base of comparison is usually easy to find. 'The earth
nourishes,' and 'P[=u]shan nourishes,' hence Pushan is the earth; or
'the earth belongs to all' and Agni is called 'belonging to all'
(universal), hence the two are identified. The All-gods, merely on
account of their name, are now the All; Aditi is the 'unbounded' earth
(_ib_. III. 9. 1. 13; IV. 1. 1. 23; i. 1. 4. 5; III. 2. 3. 6). Agni
represents all the gods, and he is the dearest, the closest, and the
surest of all the gods (_ib_. I. 6. 2. 8 ff.). It is said that man on
earth fathers the fire (that is, protects it), and when he dies the
fire that he has made his son on earth becomes his father, causing him
to be reborn in heaven (_ib_. II. 3. 3. 3-5; VI. 1. 2. 26).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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