Divisions
59-497: Trikuta is a three-peaked mountain in Hindu mythology . It is one of the twenty mountains surrounding Maha Meru ( Mount Meru ) the home of Brahma . The height is said in the Bhagavata Purana to be 10,000 yojanas , and the three peaks are iron, silver and gold. The mountain is believed to be the second home of the divine goddess Vaishno Devi . She was created with the divine power of
118-571: A collection of palm leaf manuscripts in Odisha in 1957. The Atharvaveda is sometimes called the "Veda of magical formulas ", a description considered incorrect by other scholars. In contrast to the 'hieratic religion' of the other three Vedas, the Atharvaveda is said to represent a 'popular religion', incorporating not only formulas for magic , but also the daily rituals for initiation into learning ( upanayana ), marriage and funerals. Royal rituals and
177-448: A consistent, monolithic structure. The same myth typically appears in various versions, and can be represented differently across different regional and socio-religious traditions. Many of these legends evolve across these texts, where the character names change or the story is embellished with greater details. According to Suthren Hirst, these myths have been given a complex range of interpretations. While according to Doniger O'Flaherty,
236-485: A historical collection of beliefs and rituals addressing practical issues of daily life of the Vedic society, and it is not a liturgical Yajurveda-style collection. The Caraṇavyuha , a later era Sanskrit text, states that the Atharvaveda had nine shakhas , or schools: paippalāda , stauda , mauda , śaunakīya , jājala , jalada , brahmavada , devadarśa and cāraṇavaidyā . Of these, only
295-450: A household. Some hymns were not about magic spells and charms, but prayer qua prayer and philosophical speculations. The contents of the Atharvaveda contrasts with the other Vedas. The 19th century Indologist Weber summarized the contrast as follows, The spirit of the two collections [Rigveda, Atharvaveda] is indeed widely different. In the Rigveda there breathes a lively natural feeling,
354-424: A husband! As this comfortable cave, O Indra!, furnishing a safe abode hath become pleasing to all life, thus may this woman be a favourite of fortune, beloved, not at odds with her husband! Do thou ascend the full, inexhaustible ship of fortune; upon this bring, hither the suitor who shall be agreeable to thee! Bring hither by thy shouts, O lord of wealth, the suitor, bend his mind towards her; turn thou
413-468: A loved one or recovery from some illness. In these cases, the affected would be given substances such as a plant (leaf, seed, root) and an amulet . Some magic spells were for soldiers going to war with the goal of defeating the enemy, others for anxious lovers seeking to remove rivals or to attract the lover who is less than interested, some for success at a sporting event, in economic activity, for bounty of cattle and crops, or removal of petty pest bothering
472-456: A similar nature, likely of new compositions and was added later. The 143 hymns of the 20th book of Atharvaveda Samhita is almost entirely borrowed from the Rigveda. The hymns of Atharvaveda cover a motley of topics, across its twenty books. Roughly, the first seven books focus primarily on magical poems for all sorts of healing and sorcery, and Michael Witzel states these are reminiscent of Germanic and Hittite sorcery stanzas, and may likely be
531-416: A society's existence and world order: those narratives of a society's creation, the society's origins and foundations, their god(s), their original heroes, mankind's connection to the "divine", and their narratives of eschatology (what happens in the "after-life"). This is a very general outline of some of the basic sacred stories with those themes. In its broadest academic sense, the word myth simply means
590-487: A traditional story. However, many scholars restrict the term "myth" to sacred stories. Folklorists often go further, defining myths as "tales believed as true, usually sacred, set in the distant past or other worlds or parts of the world, and with extra-human, inhuman, or heroic characters". In classical Greek , muthos , from which the English word myth derives, meant "story, narrative." Hindu mythology does not often have
649-541: A warm love for nature; while in the Atharva there prevails, on the contrary, only an anxious dread of her evil spirits and their magical powers. In the Rigveda we find the people in a state of free activity and independence; in the Atharva we see it bound in the fetters of the hierarchy and superstition. Jan Gonda cautions that it would be incorrect to label Atharvaveda Samhita as mere compilation of magical formulas, witchcraft and sorcery. While such verses are indeed present in
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#1732855127396708-411: Is a genre of folklore or theology consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths . For folklorists, historians, philosophers or theologians this is very different from the use of "myth" simply indicating that something is not true. Instead, the truth value of a myth is not a defining criterion. Hindu myths can be found in
767-453: Is cognate to Avestan āθrauuan "priest" and possibly related to Tocharian *athr , "superior force". The Atharvaveda is also occasionally referred to as Bhrgvangirasah and Brahmaveda , after Bhrigu and Brahma , respectively. The Atharvaveda is dated by Flood at ca. 900 BCE, while Michael Witzel gives a dating at, or slightly after, c. 1200/1000 BCE. The ancient Indian tradition initially recognized only three Vedas. The Rigveda,
826-406: Is earth and sky held? is there space beyond the sky? what are seasons and where do they go? does Skambha (literally "cosmic pillar", synonym for Brahman ) penetrate everything or just somethings? does Skambha know the future? is Skambha the basis of Law, Devotion and Belief? who or what is Skambha ?" The wonderful structure of Man (...) How many gods and which were they, who gathered
885-466: Is one of oldest surviving record of the evolutionary practices in religious medicine and reveals the "earliest forms of folk healing of Indo-European antiquity". ' The Atharvaveda Samhita contains hymns many of which were charms, magic spells and incantations meant to be pronounced by the person who seeks some benefit, or more often by a sorcerer who would say it on his or her behalf. The most frequent goal of these hymns, charms, and spells were long life of
944-567: Is sometimes called the "Veda of magical formulas ", an epithet declared to be incorrect by many scholars. The Samhita layer of the text likely represents a developing 2nd millennium BCE tradition of magico-religious rites to address superstitious anxiety, spells to remove maladies believed to be caused by demons, and herbs- and nature-derived potions as medicine. Many books of the Atharvaveda Samhita are dedicated to rituals without magic and to theosophy. The text, states Kenneth Zysk ,
1003-401: Is the "knowledge storehouse of atharvāṇas , the procedures for everyday life". The text is the fourth Veda , and is a late addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism . The language of the Atharvaveda is different from Rigvedic Sanskrit, preserving pre-Vedic Indo-European archaisms . It is a collection of 730 hymns with about 6,000 mantras, divided into 20 books. About a sixth of
1062-500: The Sāmaveda . There is no absolute dating of any Vedic text including the Atharvaveda. The dating for Atharvaveda is derived from the new metals and items mentioned therein; it, for example, mentions iron (as krsna ayas , literally "black metal"), and such mentions have led Michael Witzel to the estimate that the Atharvaveda hymns were compiled in the early Indian Iron Age , at, or slightly after, c. 1200/1000 BCE. corresponding to
1121-723: The Bhagavad Gîta and the Harivamsa . According to Williams, the mythology of the Puranas can be broken into three periods (300–500; 500–1000; 1000–1800), or the whole period may simply be referred to as the Hindu Middle Ages. This age saw the composition of the major Puranic texts of the faith, along with the rise of sectarianism, with followers amassing around the cults of Vishnu , Shiva , or Devi . The three denominations within this period help locate in time historical developments within
1180-596: The Dravidian folk religion even after the decline of its parent civilisation around 1800 BCE. A major factor in the development of Hinduism was the Vedic religion. The Indo-Aryan migration brought their distinct beliefs to the Indian subcontinent, where the Vedas were composed around 1500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans Vedic pantheon of deities included the chief god Indra , the sun deity Surya , Ushas , as well as Agni . This period saw
1239-662: The Mundaka Upanishad , the Mandukya Upanishad and the Prashna Upanishad . The Veda may be named, states Monier Williams , after the mythical priest named Atharvan who was first to develop prayers to fire, offer Soma, and who composed "formulas and spells intended to counteract diseases and calamities". The name Atharvaveda, states Laurie Patton, is for the text being "Veda of the Atharvāṇas". The oldest name of
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#17328551273961298-777: The Vedas , the itihasa (the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana , ) the Puranas , and mythological stories specific to a particular ethnolinguistic group like the Tamil Periya Puranam and Divya Prabandham , and the Mangal Kavya of Bengal. Hindu myths are also found in widely translated popular texts such as the fables of the Panchatantra and the Hitopadesha , as well as in Southeast Asian texts. Myth
1357-630: The Vedas , the itihasa ( Ramayana and Mahabharata ), and the major Puranas . Other sources include the Bengali literature, such as Mangal-Kāvya , and the Tamil literature , such as Divya Prabandham , Tirumurai and the Five Great Epics . These narratives play a crucial role in the Hindu tradition and are considered real and significant within their cultural and spiritual context, offering profound insights into
1416-494: The Atharvaveda are prayers and incantations wishing a child or loved one to get over some sickness and become healthy again, along with comforting the family members. The Vedic era assumption was that diseases are caused by evil spirits, external beings or demonic forces who enter the body of a victim to cause sickness. Hymn 5.21 of the Paippalāda edition of the text, for example, states, Heaven our father, and Earth our mother, Agni
1475-556: The Atharvaveda texts adapt verses from the Rigveda , and except for Books 15 and 16, the text is mainly in verse deploying a diversity of Vedic meters. Two different recensions of the text – the Paippalāda and the Śaunakīya – have survived into modern times. Reliable manuscripts of the Paippalada edition were believed to have been lost, but a well-preserved version was discovered among
1534-491: The Indus Valley Civilisation. In the contemporary era, the mythologies of the dominant traditions of Vaishnavism , Shaivism , and Shaktism prevail. Several myths were found or invented to make tribals or former "outcastes" Hindus and bring them within the cultural whole of a reconstructed Hindu mythological community. Academic studies of mythology often define mythology as deeply valued stories that explain
1593-532: The Mundaka Upanishad is referred to as one of the Mantra Upanishads. The Mundaka Upanishad contains three Mundakams (parts), each with two sections. The first Mundakam, states Roer, defines the sciences of "Higher Knowledge" and "Lower Knowledge", and then asserts that the acts of oblations and pious gifts are foolish and do nothing to reduce unhappiness in the current life or the next - rather, it
1652-449: The Samhita layer, a significant portion of the Samhita text are hymns for domestic rituals without magic or spells, and some are theosophical speculations such as "all Vedic gods are One". Additionally, the non-Samhita layers of Atharvaveda text include a Brahmana and several influential Upanishads. The Atharvaveda includes mantras and verses for treating a variety of ailments. For example,
1711-502: The Shaunakiya recension, and the more recently discovered manuscripts of Paippalāda recension have survived. The Paippalāda edition is more ancient. The two recensions differ in how they are organized, as well as content. For example, the Book 10 of Paippalada recension is more detailed and observed carefully not doing a single mistake, more developed and more conspicuous in describing monism ,
1770-475: The Tantric period from 900 to 1600 CE, the mythology of Tantra and Shaktism revived and enriched blood sacrifice and the pursuit of pleasure as central themes. Tantra’s stories differed radically in meaning from those of epic mythology, which favored devotion, asceticism, and duty. There was either a revival or emphasis that was placed on the shakti or the cosmic energy of goddesses, a concept that had emerged during
1829-433: The attention of every agreeable suitor towards her! The Atharvaveda Samhita, as with the other Vedas, includes some hymns such as 4.1, 5.6, 10.7, 13.4, 17.1, 19.53-54, with metaphysical questions on the nature of existence, man, heaven and hell, good and evil. Hymn 10.7 of Atharvaveda, for example, asks questions such as "what is the source of cosmic order? what and where is planted this notion of faith, holy duty, truth? how
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1888-421: The balasa, cough, udraja, terrible are your missiles, O fever, avoid us with them. Several hymns in the Atharvaveda such as hymn 8.7, just like the Rigveda's hymn 10.97, is a praise of medicinal herbs and plants, suggesting that speculations about the medical and health value of plants and herbs was an emerging field of knowledge in ancient India. The Atharvavedic hymn states (abridged), The tawny colored, and
1947-524: The beliefs and values of Hinduism. According to Joseph Campbell , the Indus Valley (2600–1900 BCE) may have left traces in the beliefs and traditions of Hinduism. Artefacts have revealed motifs that are also employed and revered by Hindus today, such as primary male deities worshipped by a ruling elite, mother goddesses, nature spirits, snake worship, as well as the reverence of other theriomorphic (animal-shaped) beings. These themes would be maintained by
2006-407: The book with the shortest hymns as Book 1, and then in an increasing order (a few manuscripts do the opposite). Most of the hymns are poetic and set to different meters, but about a sixth of the book is prose. Most of the hymns of Atharvaveda are unique to it, except for the one sixth of its hymns that it borrows from the Rigveda , primarily from its 10th mandala. The 19th book was a supplement of
2065-526: The breast, the neck bones of man? how many disposed the two teats? who the two collar bones? how many gathered the shoulder bones? how many the ribs? Who brought together his two arms, saying, "he must perform heroism?" (...) Which was the god who produced his brain, his forehead, his hindhead? (...) Whence now in man come mishap, ruin, perdition, misery? accomplishment, success, non-failure? whence thought? What one god set sacrifice in man here? who set in him truth? who untruth? whence death? whence
2124-833: The central message and moral values remain the same. They have been modified by various philosophical schools over time, and are taken to have deeper, often symbolic, meaning. Pantheism Vaishnavism (Vishnu-centric) Shaivism (Shiva-centric) Shaktism (Goddess-centric) Henotheism and Polytheism Dravidian folk religion ' (Indigenous Dravidian faith) Hinduism shares mythemes with Buddhism , Jainism , and Sikhism . Atharvaveda Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The Atharvaveda or Atharva Veda ( Sanskrit : अथर्ववेद , IAST : Atharvaveda , from अथर्वन् , "priest" and वेद , "knowledge") or Atharvana Veda ( Sanskrit : अथर्वणवेद , IAST : Atharvaṇaveda )
2183-620: The composition of commentaries referred to as the Brahmanas . According to Williams, from 900 to 600 BCE, the protests of the populace against sacrifices made towards the Vedic gods and rebellions against the Brahmin class led to the embrace of reform by the latter and the composition of the fourth Veda and the Vedanta texts. About half of the Upanishads were mystical and unitive, speaking of experiencing
2242-419: The concept of "oneness of Brahman , all life forms and the world". The Atharvaveda Samhita originally was organized into 18 books ( Kāṇḍas ), and the last two were added later. These books are arranged neither by subject nor by authors (as is the case with the other Vedas), but by the length of the hymns. Each book generally has hymns of about a similar number of verses, and the surviving manuscripts label
2301-469: The divine as the one (ekam), while the other half promoted devotion to one or more deities. New gods and goddesses were celebrated, and devotional practices began to be introduced. Elements such as those emerging from Buddhism and Jainism made their "heteroprax" contributions to later Hindu mythology, such as temples, indoor shrines, and rituals modeled after service to a divine king. Renunciate traditions contributed elements that questioned sacrifices and
2360-493: The duties of the court priests are also included in the Atharvaveda. The Atharvaveda was likely compiled as a Veda contemporaneously with Samaveda and Yajurveda , or about 1200 BCE – 1000 BCE. Along with the Samhita layer of text, the Atharvaveda includes a Brahmana text, and a final layer of the text that covers philosophical speculations. The latter layer of Atharvaveda text includes three primary Upanishads, influential to various schools of Hindu philosophy . These include
2419-485: The early Kuru Kingdom . The priests who practised the Atharvaveda were considered to be the lowest tier of Brahmins , in comparison to the priests who practised the Rigveda, Samaveda, or Yajurveda [considered by whom?]. A stigma held by some against Atharvaveda priests is documented in Odisha well into the modern day. The Atharvaveda is a collection of 20 books, with a total of 730 hymns of about 6,000 stanzas. The text is, state Patrick Olivelle and other scholars,
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2478-401: The fourth Veda, and make references to only three Vedas. Olson states that the ultimate acceptance of Atharvaveda as the fourth Veda probably came in the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BCE. However, notes Max Muller , the hymns of Atharvaveda existed by the time Chandogya Upanishad was completed (~700 BCE), but were then referred to as "hymns of Atharvangirasah". Frits Staal states that
2537-588: The heavenly spirit Around us rise no din of frequent slaughter, nor Indra's arrow fly, for day is present! The Atharvaveda includes Gopatha Brahmana text, that goes with Atharva Samhita . The Atharvaveda has three primary Upanishads embedded within it. The Mundaka Upanishad , embedded inside the Atharvaveda, is a poetic-style Upanishad with 64 verses, written in the form of mantras . However, these mantras are not used in rituals; rather they are used for teaching and meditation on spiritual knowledge. In ancient and medieval era Indian literature and commentaries,
2596-443: The immortal? The Atharvaveda, like other Vedic texts, states William Norman Brown , goes beyond the duality of heaven and hell, and speculates on the idea of Skambha or Brahman as the all pervasive monism. Good and evil, Sat and Asat (truth and untruth) are conceptualized differently in these hymns of Atharvaveda, and the Vedic thought, wherein these are not dualistic explanation of nature of creation, universe or man, rather
2655-518: The killing of animals, and promoted asceticism and vegetarianism. All of these themes would be incorporated by the Brahmin classes into the later Hindu synthesis , which developed in response to the sramanic movements between ca. 500–300 BCE and 500 CE, and also found their way into Hindu mythology. The era from 400 BCE to 400 CE was the period of the compilation of India’s great epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana . These were central manifestations of
2714-541: The men-watcher, let them send the ten days’ fever far away from us. O fever, these snowy mountains with Soma on their back have made the wind, the messenger, the healer for us, Disappear from here to the Maratas. Neither the women desire you, nor the men whosoever, Neither a small one, nor a grown-up weeps here from desire of fever. Do not harm our grown-up men, do not harm our grown-up women, Do not harm our boys, do not harm our girls. You who simultaneously discharge
2773-430: The mother Goddesses Tridevi to end evil; hence, the mountain is called Trikuta. Another Trikuta is located near the city of Katra, Jammu and Kashmir . Trikuta, the triple peak, is where the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi can be found. Hindu mythology Traditional Hindu mythology is the body of myths attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion , found in Hindu texts such as
2832-464: The newly developing Hindu synthesis, contributing to a specific Hindu mythology, emphasising divine action on earth in Vishnu 's incarnations and other divine manifestations. The lore of the devas and the asuras expanded. Epic mythology foreshadowed the rich polytheism of the next two periods. The Mahabharata contained two appendices that were extremely important sources for later mythological development,
2891-659: The oldest section. Books 8 to 12 are speculations of a variety of topics, while Books 13 to 18 tend to be about life cycle rites of passage rituals. The Srautasutra texts Vaitāna Sūtra and the Kauśika Sūtra are attached to the Atharvaveda Shaunaka edition, as are a supplement of Atharvan Prayascitthas , two Pratishakhyas , and a collection of Parisisthas . For the Paippalada edition of Atharvaveda, corresponding texts were Agastya and Paithinasi Sutras but these are lost or yet to be discovered. The Atharvaveda
2950-497: The pale, the variegated and the red, the dusky tinted, and the black – all Plants we summon hitherward. I speak to Healing Herbs spreading, and bushy, to creepers, and to those whose sheath is single, I call for thee the fibrous, and the reed like, and branching plants, dear to Vishwa Devas, powerful, giving life to men. The conquering strength, the power and might, which ye, victorious plants possess, Therewith deliver this man here from this consumption, O ye Plants: so I prepare
3009-456: The positive auspicious side came to be celebrated and the name Atharva Veda became widespread. The latter name Angiras which is linked to Agni and priests in the Vedas, states George Brown, may also be related to Indo-European Angirôs found in an Aramaic text from Nippur. Michael Witzel states the etymology of Atharvan is Proto Indo-Iranian *atharwan "[ancient] priest, sorcerer", and it
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#17328551273963068-500: The remedy. The contents of the Atharvaveda have been studied to glean information about the social and cultural mores in the Vedic era of India. A number of verses relate to spells for gaining a husband, or a wife, or the love of a woman, or to prevent any rivals from winning over one's "love interest". May O Agni!, a suitor after our own heart come to us, may he come to this maiden with fortune! May she be agreeable to suitors, charming at festivals, promptly obtain happiness through
3127-559: The sectarian communities, the rise and decline of Tantrism and its influence on mainstream mythology, the tendencies in Puranic mythologising of subordinating Vedic gods and past heroes to ever-increasing moral weaknesses, going on to be identified as a period of exuberant polytheism. However, this was also accompanied with the belief in monotheism, the idea that all paths lead to the Ultimate Reality, Brahman . According to Williams, during
3186-610: The text may be a compilation of poetry and knowledge that developed in two different regions of ancient India, the Kuru region in northern India and the Pancalas region of eastern India. The former was home to Paippalāda, whose name was derived from the sacred fig tree named Pippala (Sanskrit: पिप्पल). This school's compositions were in the Rigvedic style. The Pancalas region contributions came from composer-priests Angirasas and Bhargavas, whose style
3245-462: The text transcends these and the duality therein. Order is established out of chaos, truth is established out of untruth, by a process and universal principles that transcend good and evil. Some hymns are prayer qua prayer, desiring harmony and peace. For example, Give us agreement with our own; with strangers give us unity Do ye, O Asvins, in this place join us in sympathy and love. May we agree in mind, agree in purpose; let us not fight against
3304-439: The text, according to its own verse 10.7.20, was Atharvangirasah , a compound of " Atharvan " and " Angiras ", both Vedic scholars. Each scholar called the text after itself, such as Saunakiya Samhita , meaning the "compiled text of Saunakiya". The "Atharvan" and "Angiras" names, states Maurice Bloomfield, imply different things, with the former considered auspicious while the latter implying hostile sorcery practices. Over time,
3363-482: The verse 3.12.9.1 of Taittiriya Brahmana, the verse 5.32-33 of Aitareya Brahmana and other Vedic era texts mention only three Vedas. The acceptance of the Atharvanas hymns and traditional folk practices was slow, and it was accepted as another Veda much later than the first three, by both orthodox and heterodox traditions of Indian philosophies. The early Buddhist Nikaya texts, for example, do not recognize Atharvaveda as
3422-538: The verses in hymn 4.15 of the recently discovered Paippalada version of the Atharvaveda, discuss how to deal with an open fracture, and how to wrap the wound with Rohini plant ( Ficus infectoria , native to India): Let marrow be put together with marrow, and joint together with joint, together what of the flesh fallen apart, together sinew and together your bone. Let marrow come together with marrow, let bone grow over together with bone. We put together your sinew with sinew, let skin grow with skin. Numerous hymns of
3481-522: Was unlike the metric Rigvedic composition, and their content included forms of medical sorcery. The Atharvaveda editions now known are a combination of their compositions. The core text of the Atharvaveda falls within the classical Mantra period of Vedic Sanskrit , during the 2nd millennium BC - younger than the Rigveda , and roughly contemporary with the Yajurveda mantras, the Rigvedic Khilani , and
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