"Chapter I. Prehistoric times"
"Chapter II. Ice Age"
"Chapter III. Arctic regions"
"Chapter IV. Night of the Gods"
"Chapter V. Vedic Dawns"
"Chapter VI. Long day and long night"
"Chapter VII. Months and seasons"
"Chapter VIII. The path of the cows"
Promotional video:
"Chapter IX. Vedic myths about captive waters"
"Chapter IX. Vedic myths about captive waters. 1. Legend of Indra and Vritra"
"Chapter IX. Vedic myths about captive waters. 2. Four victories of Indra in the fight against Vala"
In "Shatapatha Brahman" (XI, 1, 6, 1), in "Aytareya Upanishad" (I, 1) and in Manu (I, 8, 10) - everywhere it is reported that the world was created from water vapor. Therefore, there can be no doubt that the idea of heavenly waters was well known to the ancestors of the Vedic bards in those early days, and since the heavenly waters were recognized as the material from which the universe was created, it is possible that the Vedic bards saw in these lines that modern scientists began to be called "ether", or "nebulous mass of matter" that fills the entire space of the universe. For our purpose, it is enough to know that the heavenly waters - "divyah apah", or water vapor - "purisham" are mentioned in the Rig Veda and that the Vedic bards considered the space above, below and around them to be filled with these heavenly vapors, which are said to be " contemporaries "of the world (X, 30, 10).
However, G. Wallace, in his Cosmology in the Rig Veda, wrote that the Vedic bards did not know the lower regions of the earth (areas under the earth) and that everything described in the Vedas as referring to the atmosphere, including the daytime and nighttime movement of the sun, should be placed only within the sky, that is, over the head of these bards. It seems that this view was also adopted by A. MacDonell (in his "Vedic mythology"), and if so, then should we place all the waters in the upper sky? I do not think Wallace correctly interpreted the passages quoted by Professor G. Zimmer in support of his theory regarding the space ("rajas") that exists underground, and therefore we cannot accept Wallace's conclusions, which were clearly based on a bias borrowed from, most likely from the discussion about Homer.
Professor Zimmer refers to three passages (VI, 9, 1; VII, 80, 1; V, 81, 4), arguing that "rajas" outside the earth was known to the Vedic people. The first of these passages is the famous stanza on the light and dark day, which says: “A light day and a dark day, both surround the two rajas in well-known ways.” Here these "two rajas" are clearly the upper and lower celestial hemispheres, but Wallace asks us to compare this verse with the stanza (I, 185, 1), where it says about day and night that "they revolve like two wheels," which means that they circle from east to west, and when one rises, the other sets, and the author adds: "We do not have to assume that the movement of each of them continues underground."
I cannot understand how such a conclusion can be drawn from these passages. In stanza (vi, 9, 1) cited by Zimmer, "two rajas" or atmospheres are mentioned, and of light and dark days it is said that they both circle along these two "rajas" or regions. But if we agree with Wallace that everyone's movement begins in the east and ends in the west, without going underground, then this whole movement refers to only one "rajas" and does not apply to two. Therefore, Zimmer's interpretation is not only more probable, but also the only one that explains the meaning of the word "rajasi", that is, used in a dual number precisely because it refers to two "rajas".
The next passage (VII, 80, 1) is also misunderstood by them. These lines describe the dawn circling around two spaces ("rajasi"), which are mutually borderline, and explain everything: here the dawn always appears above the horizon, and two "rajas" that it bypasses and which border one another meet on the line of this horizon. Thus, they can be only the upper and lower celestial hemispheres. But Wallace wants us to make sure that both "Rajasis" are above the ground, aligning along the east-west path and narrowing the space, these "Rajasis" meet on the horizon, like arches arched above our heads. The artificial nature of this interpretation is self-evident. I see no reason why we should prefer it to Zimmer's simple and natural explanation, unless we suddenly come to the conclusion,that the indication of the space under the ground should not and cannot be mentioned in the Rig Veda.
The third stanza, which Zimmer points to (V, 81, 4), says: "O Savitr, you walk around the night on both sides." But here Wallace proposes to translate the words “partyase” - “you walk around” as “you surround, you conclude,” and it is not clear why a certain phrase should be replaced by another. This again indicates that Wallace's conclusions are based on a distortion of the stanza, which Zimmer translates in a simpler and more natural way: Zimmer's gaze is closer to the natural meaning of the text.
But if another expressive passage is needed for the final proof that the Vedic bards knew the area (space) underground, let us refer to the hymn (VII, 104, 11), where the bard prays for the destruction of enemies, saying: “Let him (the enemy) will fall into three lands. " The area under the three lands is emphatically mentioned here, and since the enemy is sent there in the form of a curse, it must be an area of torment and pain, like hell. And in the hymn (X, 152, 4) we read: "He who harms us, let him be sent to the lower darkness." In the meaning of these words, it is clear that the underworld was perceived as a world of darkness. And in the hymn (III, 53, 21) we see the words “let him, who hates us, fail”, and in the hymn (II, 12, 4) we read about the family of that Dasyu whom Indra killed, the wish that all of them “were sent to the unknown lower world. " All these lines directly indicatethat the area under the earth was known as a fact to the Vedic bards, that they considered it to be filled with darkness, and that Indra fought with Vritra there.
Of course, it can be assumed that the expression "under the three lands" simply means "below the surface of the earth." In this case, there was no need to talk about all three lands, but since “under all three lands” the Vedic poets place a certain area, it can only be the lower world. In a number of stanzas, further evidence is given - these are descriptions and mentions of what is "above (above) the three lands" - "tisrah pritkhivih upari". This formulation is also found in the Rig Veda; in the hymn (I, 34, 8) we are told: "The Ashvins, moving over the three lands, guard the highest vault of heaven day and night", and in the same hymn above it says that the Ashvins flew from afar in their chariot. The words "miracle nakam" are found more than once in the Rig Veda and mean the top, the highest point of the firmament. So, in the hymn (IV, 13, 5) about the sun it is said that it protects the vault of heaven. As for the triple composition of the earth, it is mentioned in the Rig Veda repeatedly (I, 102, 8; IV, 53, 5; VII, 87, 5), and not only in it, but also in the Avesta (Yasht, XIII, 3; Yasna, XI, 7).
In the hymn (IV, 53, 5) this triple composition expands, encompassing such concepts as the universe, space, light and sky - "antariksha, rajas, rochana, dyu". This is how the concept of "three lands" should be seen growing: the formula "three lands" refers to one and the same land, considered as triple. And since the Ashvins are described as protecting the firmament, moving over the "three lands", it is clear that, being a contrast to the sky, the lower world, which lies under the three lands, like the sky above them, was defined, and not as three layers of the earth itself. Meeting both of these definitions in the Rig Veda, there is no longer any doubt that the hypothesis of the Vedic bards who allegedly do not know anything about the lower world is wrong.
It seems that Wallace assumed that since "rajas" is considered three-layered like the earth, and since the highest "rajas" is referred to as the place of waters, there is no place in the Vedic "rajas" for an area underground: after all, one of the three "rajas" is taken for earth, the second is beyond the sky, and the third is the highest "rajas", the place of waters. But this is unacceptable, because the Rig Veda mentions six "rajas" (I, 164, 6). We can thus assume that three of them were above the ground and three below it, and this presumably resolves the difficulty pointed out by Wallace. In some hymns, the three "rajas" can be perceived as earthly - one of them may be above the ground, and the last - below it (X, 82, 4). The hymn (I, 35, 2) describes how the god Savitr moves through the dark "rajas", and in the next verse we are told that he comes from a distant region,that is, "distant" and "dark" are synonyms here. And the sun (Savitr) rises after passing through the dark "rajas".
The description of the morning sunrise from the ocean (I, 163, 1; VII, 55, 7) indicates that it is opposite to the ocean into which the sun sets (X, 114, 4), and it is truly an ocean below the earth. In the hymn (I, 117, 5) the sun "sleeps in the hands of nothingness" and "dwells in darkness." And in the hymn (I, 164, 32, 33) it wanders in the depths of heaven and earth, and then passes to non-existence ("nir-riti"), which is defined by Professor Max Müller as "exodus to the west." But again, in the hymn (X, 114, 2) three non-existence are mentioned, clearly correlated with the three lands and three heavens, and elsewhere in the Rig Veda (X, 161, 2) the embrace of non-being is likened to death. Thus, it is said (X, 95, 14) that Pururavas went to a distant region and calmed down in the arms of nir-riti, while the Maruts are described as rising into the sky from the bottomless nir-riti (VII, 58, 1).
All these passages, considered together, show that nirriti, or the area of death and disappearance, began in the west, and the sun, plunging into darkness as it passed the far area, was always reborn in the east, emerging from the embrace of nirriti. All this movement of it is outlined not only in the upper sky, but also on the side opposite to the firmament, along which it passes before plunging into nirriti. In other words, nir-riti runs underground from west to east, and since the area under the three lands is expressively described in the Rig Veda, the three nir-riti should be perceived as three areas under the earth, corresponding to the triple division of earth or sky. Therefore, it must be admitted that Zimmer is right in asserting that the sun moves through the "rajas" underground during the night and the Vedic poets had an idea of this lower "rajas".
There are other places in the Rig Veda that fully confirm this view. Corresponding to the definition of "rajasi", that is, "two rajas", the dual number is used in another case, namely, "ubhau ardhau" - "two halves", which in relation to the sky means "two celestial hemispheres." The form "ardhau" is also found in the hymn (II, 27, 15), where these two halves are asked to be merciful to the sacrificers. Again, Wallace is wrong in translating ubhau ardhau as heaven and earth. This mistake is corrected by the very verses of the Rig Veda, where we see the words "pair ardhe" ("in the far half") and "upare ardhe" ("in the near half") of heaven, which means that it is heaven (and not heaven and earth) was perceived as consisting of two halves (I, 164, 12). And a few Lines below in this hymn we read,that a cow with her calf (dawn with the sun) appeared under the higher and above the lower space, that is, between heaven and earth, and the question is asked: "To which half (" ardham ") did she go?" that the word "ardham" is not heaven or earth, but a completely different definition. The two halves are also mentioned in the Atharva Veda (X, 8, 7, 13) as a question: "Prajapati created everything from one half (" ardham "), what sign can tell us about the other half?" Here this "other half" cannot mean the earth (and G. Griffith explains this as referring to the night sun). Another expression is used to designate the upper and lower worlds - "samudrau" - "two oceans" (X, 136, 5). These two oceans are described as lying on this ("apara") and on the other ("pair") sides (VII, 6, 7), and the distant ("paravati") ocean is mentioned in the hymn (VIII, 12, 17).that is, between heaven and earth, and the question is asked: “To which half (“ardham”) did she go?” that the word “ardham” is not heaven or earth, but a completely different definition. The two halves are also mentioned in the Atharva Veda (X, 8, 7, 13) as a question: "Prajapati created everything from one half (" ardham "), what sign can tell us about the other half?" Here this "other half" cannot mean the earth (and G. Griffith explains this as referring to the night sun). Another expression is used to designate the upper and lower worlds - "samudrau" - "two oceans" (X, 136, 5). These two oceans are described as lying on this ("apara") and on the other ("pair") sides (VII, 6, 7), and the distant ("paravati") ocean is mentioned in the hymn (VIII, 12, 17).that is, between heaven and earth, and the question is asked: “To which half (“ardham”) did she go?” that the word “ardham” is not heaven or earth, but a completely different definition. The two halves are also mentioned in the Atharva Veda (X, 8, 7, 13) as a question: "Prajapati created everything from one half (" ardham "), what sign can tell us about the other half?" Here this "other half" cannot mean the earth (and G. Griffith explains this as referring to the night sun). Another expression is used to designate the upper and lower worlds - "samudrau" - "two oceans" (X, 136, 5). These two oceans are described as lying on this ("apara") and on the other ("pair") sides (VII, 6, 7), and the distant ("paravati") ocean is mentioned in the hymn (VIII, 12, 17).that the word "ardham" is not heaven or earth, but a completely different definition. The two halves are also mentioned in the Atharva Veda (X, 8, 7, 13) as a question: "Prajapati created everything from one half (" ardham "), what sign can tell us about the other half?" Here this "other half" cannot mean the earth (and G. Griffith explains this as referring to the night sun). Another expression is used to designate the upper and lower worlds - "samudrau" - "two oceans" (X, 136, 5). These two oceans are described as lying on this ("apara") and on the other ("pair") sides (VII, 6, 7), and the distant ("paravati") ocean is mentioned in the hymn (VIII, 12, 17).that the word "ardham" is not heaven or earth, but a completely different definition. The two halves are also mentioned in the Atharva Veda (X, 8, 7, 13) as a question: "Prajapati created everything from one half (" ardham "), what sign can tell us about the other half?" Here this "other half" cannot mean the earth (and G. Griffith explains this as referring to the night sun). Another expression is used to designate the upper and lower worlds - "samudrau" - "two oceans" (X, 136, 5). These two oceans are described as lying on this ("apara") and on the other ("pair") sides (VII, 6, 7), and the distant ("paravati") ocean is mentioned in the hymn (VIII, 12, 17).what sign can tell us about the other half? " Here this "other half" cannot mean the earth (and G. Griffith explains this as referring to the night sun). Another expression is used to designate the upper and lower worlds - "samudrau" - "two oceans" (X, 136, 5). These two oceans are described as lying on this ("apara") and on the other ("pair") sides (VII, 6, 7), and the distant ("paravati") ocean is mentioned in the hymn (VIII, 12, 17).what sign can tell us about the other half? " Here this "other half" cannot mean the earth (and G. Griffith explains this as referring to the night sun). Another expression is used to designate the upper and lower worlds - "samudrau" - "two oceans" (X, 136, 5). These two oceans are described as lying on this ("apara") and on the other ("pair") sides (VII, 6, 7), and the distant ("paravati") ocean is mentioned in the hymn (VIII, 12, 17).
I have already quoted the stanzas above, which speaks of the bright ocean - "Arns" (V, 45, 10) and the ocean, permeated with darkness - "Arnava" (II, 23, 18). The same images are conveyed by the words "parastat" and "avastat", which define the distant and near sides. So, in the hymn (VIII, 8, 14) the "paravat" area appears as the opposite of the "barn" - the sky above, and in the hymn (III, 55, 6) the sun is described as sleeping in the "paravat" ("distant") area. It was stated above that the sun is described as coming from the "paravat" region and that this Savitra passes through the dark region before ascending to the sky. Two words - "paravat" and "arvavat", used in different places, denote the same areas, and therefore the definition given in the dual number is applied to them - "rajasi", "ardhau" or "samudrau", and when you need to point to the upper and lower hemispheres,use the word "abhayatah". Thus, in the hymn (III, 53, 5) we read: “O Maghavan! Oh brother Indra! Go away and come again - you are desired in both places”(“abhayatra”). Above, the verses have already been indicated, where it is said that Savitr (the sun) walks on two sides of the night.
Considering these three passages, we can in no way argue that the Vedic bards did not know about the lower heavenly hemisphere, as Wallace and a number of other scientists suggest. And my hypothesis should not be called problematic in advance, since I showed that these bards were sufficiently familiar with astronomy to be able to calculate the periods of movement of the sun and moon, at least at the level that was necessary for life practice. And those people who could do this cannot be considered so illiterate to believe that the sky is nailed to the earth along the celestial horizon and that the sun is not visible at night because it disappears somewhere in the higher regions of heaven.
In one of the passages "Aytareya Brahmana" (III, 44), describing how the sun, having reached the end of the day, turns around (around itself) and creates night where it was day, and another time - day, etc. This is very vague, since it does not prove that there was confidence in the return of the sun during the night through some area somewhere in the higher sky, as Wallace explained. The original uses the words "avastat" and "parastat", and this last word was correctly translated by Dr. M. Haug as "on the other side." And a number of others, including D. Muir, believe that it means "higher", thus expanding the assumption that the sun returns at night through the uppermost regions of the sky. But seeing the expressive stanzas in which the areas above and below all three lands are unmistakably determined, we cannot agree with the hypothesis,based on one dubiously translated word. This hypothesis is based either on a preconceived notion of primitive man, or on the desire to introduce the development of Homer's cosmography into the Vedas.
The knowledge of the Vedic bards concerning the lower world could not, of course, be equal to the knowledge of modern astronomers, and therefore we can find in the Rig Veda such questions (I, 35, 7): “Where is Surya now (after sunset) and what heavenly region is illuminated are its rays now? But we see enough accurate evidence to prove that the Vedic people knew about the existence of the area below the earth, and even if some of their instructions were not accurate enough, this does not diminish the value of their evidence.
If we give up the idea that the lower world was not known to the Vedic people, the movement and nature of the heavenly waters will immediately become clear. The ancient Aryans, like the ancient Jews, believed that the fine matter filling the entire space of the universe was nothing more than water vapor, and that the continuous circulation of these vapors from the upper to the lower and, conversely, from the lower to the upper circle of the celestial hemisphere, was cause of the movement of the sun, moon and other celestial bodies. This is the real key to understanding many Vedic myths, and until we understand this, we will not be able to understand a number of expressions of the Vedic poets.
These waters have sometimes been described as rivers and streams moving in the sky and eventually entering the mouth of Varuna or the lower ocean (VII, 49, 2; VIII, 69, 12). The lower world was something like the house of these waters, called eternal or eternal ("vahvatih") (IX, 113, 8), and this was the kingdom of Varuna or Yama, as well as the hidden refuge of Vritra. This movement of the waters is clearly expressed in the Scriptures of the Parsis: in "Wendidad" (XXI, 4-5 / 15, 23 /) the waters are described as follows: "The sea of Vurukashi, the reservoir of waters, rise up, go up the air road and go to earth in them; go down to earth and go up the airway. Get up and spin, go! You, whose rise and rise Ahura Mazda paved the airway. Up! Get up and go! You, swift-riding sun, over Hara Berezite and pour light over the world, and you can rebel there if you hide (hide?) In Garoputi, created by the gods,the waterway opened by them."
In this address to the airy waters, of which the sea of Vurukashi serves as a container, it is said that they should begin to go into the sky from here and that they return for purification here before the second ascent. Professor J. Darmstäter, in an article on this passage, says: "They believed that water and light flowed from the same source and the same womb." He quotes words from Bundah-khisha (XX, 4): "Just as light enters through Elburz (Khara Berezaite, the mountain surrounding the earth) and exits through Elburz, water also comes through Elburz and leaves through Elburz."
In the Rig Veda, the waters are described as following the path of the gods (VII, 47, 3), similar to almost the same path of the waters in the Avesta, where they follow the path created by Mazda, or the path created by the gods. Like the waters of the Avesta, the waters of the Rig Veda also strive towards the goal - towards the ocean and, passing through the airways, invariably flow into the mouth of Varuna. But the Avesta gives us the key to establishing the connection between water and light in unambiguous terms, since, as noted by Professor J. Darmstäter, she clearly says that both these natures have a common source, and in the first of the above passages, the swift sun is asked to follow “the path waters above in the heavens. " In "Aban-yasht" (V, 3), the Ardvi Sura Anahita river powerfully runs down from the height of Khukairya to the Vurukashi sea. Likewise, the Sarasvati River in the Rig Veda is prayed to descend from a high mountain in the sky for the sake of sacrifices (V, 43, 11). These are two airy riversbut it is said about them that, having descended to earth, they fill all earthly rivers. And by earthly rivers are meant all things that have a liquid nature - sap of plants, blood, etc., which indicates that they come from the higher air waters through clouds and rains. And then the Scripture of the Parsis informs that between the earth and the region of endless light ("parame vyoman" in the Rig Veda) there are three intermediate regions: the stellar region, where the seeds of water and plants are stored, the lunar and solar highest (Yast, XII, 29-32). Therefore, when the Rig Veda speaks of the highest Rajas as the place of residence of the waters, this should not be taken as what Wallace claims, that is, that the world of the lower waters does not exist, since it is they that rise and move through the highest region of heaven and generate earthly waters. giving rain and clouds.they fill all earthly rivers. And by earthly rivers are meant all things that have a liquid nature - plant sap, blood, etc., which indicates that they come from higher air waters through clouds and rains. And then the Scripture of the Parsis informs that between the earth and the region of endless light ("parame vyoman" in the Rig Veda) there are three intermediate regions: the stellar region, where the seeds of water and plants are stored, the lunar and solar highest (Yasht, XII, 29-32). Therefore, when the Rig Veda speaks of the highest Rajas as the place of residence of the waters, this should not be taken as what Wallace claims, that is, that the world of the lower waters does not exist, since it is they that rise and move through the upper region of heaven and generate earthly waters. giving rain and clouds.they fill all earthly rivers. And by earthly rivers are meant all things that have a liquid nature - plant sap, blood, etc., which indicates that they come from higher air waters through clouds and rains. And then the Scripture of the Parsis informs that between the earth and the region of endless light ("parame vyoman" in the Rig Veda) there are three intermediate regions: the stellar region, where the seeds of water and plants are stored, the lunar and solar highest (Yasht, XII, 29-32). Therefore, when the Rig Veda speaks of the highest Rajas as the place of residence of the waters, this should not be taken as what Wallace claims, that is, that the world of the lower waters does not exist, since it is they that rise and move through the upper region of heaven and generate earthly waters. giving rain and clouds.blood, etc., which indicates that they come from the higher air waters by means of clouds and rains. And then the Scripture of the Parsis informs that between the earth and the region of endless light (“parame vyoman” in the Rig Veda) there are three intermediate regions: the stellar region, where the seeds of water and plants are stored, the lunar and solar highest (Yasht, XII, 29-32). Therefore, when the Rig Veda speaks of the highest Rajas as the place of residence of the waters, this should not be taken as what Wallace claims, that is, that the world of the lower waters does not exist, since it is they that rise and move through the highest region of heaven and generate earthly waters. giving rain and clouds.blood, etc., which indicates that they come from the higher air waters by means of clouds and rains. And then the Scripture of the Parsis informs that between the earth and the region of endless light (“parame vyoman” in the Rig Veda) there are three intermediate regions: the stellar region, where the seeds of water and plants are stored, the lunar and solar highest (Yasht, XII, 29-32). Therefore, when the Rig Veda speaks of the highest Rajas as the place of residence of the waters, this should not be taken as what Wallace claims, that is, that the world of the lower waters does not exist, since it is they that rise and move through the highest region of heaven and generate earthly waters. giving rain and clouds.that between the earth and the region of endless light ("parame vyoman" in the Rig Veda) there are three intermediate regions: the stellar region, where the seeds of water and plants are stored, the lunar and solar highest (Yasht, XII, 29-32). Therefore, when the Rig Veda speaks of the highest Rajas as the place of residence of the waters, this should not be taken as what Wallace claims, that is, that the world of the lower waters does not exist, since it is they that rise and move through the highest region of heaven and generate earthly waters. giving rain and clouds.that between the earth and the region of endless light ("parame vyoman" in the Rig Veda) there are three intermediate regions: the stellar region, where the seeds of water and plants are stored, the lunar and solar highest (Yasht, XII, 29-32). Therefore, when the Rig Veda speaks of the highest Rajas as the place of residence of the waters, this should not be taken as what Wallace claims, that is, that the world of the lower waters does not exist, since it is they that rise and move through the highest region of heaven and generate earthly waters. giving rain and clouds.since it is they that rise and move through the highest region of heaven and generate earthly waters, giving rain and clouds.since it is they that rise and move through the highest region of heaven and generate earthly waters, giving rain and clouds.
So, Ardvi Sura Anahita is described as flowing through the starry world (Yasht, VII, 47), and she should be revered as sacrifices so that her waters could not all drain into the region of the sun, thereby causing a drought on the earth (Yasht, V, 85, 90) … In the Rig Veda, like this, Saraswati is described as filling the earth's currents and the entire area of the earth, as well as a vast area of the atmosphere (VI, 61, 11). And she, too, is begged to be spilled in rivers along with all the waters.
But the most striking similarity between Ardvi Sura Anahita and Saraswati is expressed in the fact that Saraswati is described as the murderer of Vritra in the Rig Veda (VI, 61, 7) - "vritra-ghni". The first is said in "Aban-yasht" that she (V, 33, 34) thanked Thraetaon (heir to the valiant clan Athviev) for a rich sacrifice by giving him the strength to defeat Ahi Dahaku, a monster with three mouths, three heads and six eyes. This is an exact repetition of one of the stories in the Rig Veda, where (X, 8, 8) Trita Aptya, who knew the weapons of the ancestors and was encouraged by Indra, killed the three-headed son of Tvashtri in battle and freed the cows. Here a connection is clearly established between the waters represented by Ardvi Sura Anahita or Saraswati and the fact that Vritra was killed.
Many Vedologists have tried to find a likeness of the Saraswati in one of the Punjab rivers bearing the same name, but this was not convincing to everyone, since the latter is an insignificant river. The above data indicate that Saraswati and Ardvi Sura Anahita are air currents rising from the lower reservoir of water, they flow through the sky and fall back into the lower ocean. Some of these great waters fall on the earth in the form of rain, and with it in the form of seeds of plants growing on the earth. And this is the result of obligatory sacrifices to the rivers. The Vendidad describes (V, 19/56 /) a tree that contains all these seeds. It grows in the middle of the sea of Vurukashi, and the air waters remove these seeds from it, carry it to the sky, and from there send it to the earth with rains. This idea is also found in the Rig Veda (I, 23, 20), in the story aboutas a donor narrates what Soma told him about the remedies (herbs) stored in the waters. Thus, we see in this a complete story about the cosmic circulation of air waters and about the appearance of earthly waters and plants generated by them. The lower world, or the lower celestial hemisphere, is the “home” of all waters. It is expressively said that it is surrounded from all sides by the mountain range of the Khara Berezaite waters. When the path is opened for air waters, they rise up, pass through the upper hemisphere and again descend into the Vurukashi Sea, or into the lower ocean, generating during this movement a rain fertilizing the earth, scattering the seeds of all plants on earth. However, it is necessary to honor the heavenly waters and offer sacrifices to them for the sake of their favorable attitude, for it may also happen that they turn into the region of the sun and deprive us of rain moisture.
It is impossible to penetrate into the deep meaning of the legend of Vritra without first imagining the true nature of the heavenly waters and the significance of their movement in the understanding of all this by the ancestors of the Indo-Iranian peoples. As J. Darmstäter noted, they believed that heavenly waters and light arise from the same source and move along the same path. This airy water set in motion the celestial bodies, like the flow of rivers moves boats. And if the waters stop flowing like that, the consequences will be very serious - the sun, moon and stars will stop rising, and the world will be covered with darkness. One can easily imagine what trouble Vritra's stopping the movement of this stream will lead to. In his hidden refuge at the bottom of rajas, that is, in the lower hemisphere, Vritra locks these waters in order to stop their flow upward through the mountains, and Indra's victory over him meant,that the waters were released from the claws of Vritra and could flow upward again. Once liberated, the waters naturally brought with them the dawn, the sun and cows, that is, days or morning rays, and the victory was therefore described as "bestowing the four natures."
Now we can understand the role of mountains in the legend. It was Mount Elburz, or Hara Berezaite, and since Vritra, stretching over the mountains, closed with his body all their through passages through which the sun moved and the waters flowed, Indra had to open them by killing Vritra. So, in "Bundakhish" (V, 5) it is mentioned about 180 exits to the east and about 180 to the west through Elburz, and the sun comes out and sets through them every day. All advances of the moon, constellations and planets are also associated with these passages.
The same idea is reflected in later Sanskrit literature, when the sun rising in the east from behind the mountains and its setting behind the mountains in the west is sung. We are talking about the same mountains separating the upper and lower celestial hemispheres or light and dark oceans, when it is described how either Indra found Shambara (II, 12, 11), or the rock of Vala, where the cows were locked by this demon (IV, 3, 11; I, 71, 2) and hacked by the Angiras.
Such an explanation of the essence of the legend of Vritra may seem strange to many scientists, but it should be remembered that both the sunrise and the appearance of the dawn are associated with the flow of water - this is not a figment of the imagination. And if the Vedic literature does not express this in an absolutely unambiguous form, then the Scripture of the Parsis completely removes all doubts. So, in "Khurshed-yashta" (VI, 2, 3) we read: "When the sun rises, the earth is purified and flowing waters are purified … If the sun had not risen, then the Daevas would have destroyed everything that is in the seven karsvaras." The descriptions in "Farvardin-yasht" are even more expressive. This yasht is dedicated to the praise of the Fravashi, which correspond to the concept of Pitri in the Rig Veda. These souls of ancient ancestors are often described in the Rig Veda as participating along with the gods in the process of creating cosmic phenomena. So, about the "Pitri" it is said that they decorated the sky with stars,they gave darkness to nights, and light to day (X, 68, 11), or they found hidden light and gave them dawn (VII, 76, 4; X, 107, 1).
In the legends of the Parsis, we see the same, or similar feats, attributed to Fravash. It is said about them (Yasht, XIII, 53, 54) that they "showed beautiful paths to the waters, which had previously been motionless for a long time, without a current," and after that they began to flow "along the path created by Mazda, along the path made by the gods, along the water road assigned to him. " Immediately after this (Yasht, XIII, 57) they also "showed the way to the stars, the moon, the sun and endless light, which until then had long remained motionless in one place due to the suppression of the Daevas and the violence of the Daevas." Here we see a clear correlation between the flow of water and the movement of the sun. These were the Fravashi who caused the beginning of the movement of the waters and the sun, which, as it is said, "were motionless in the same place." Professor J. Darmstäter believes that it was winter that stopped their movement,he quotes and discusses a passage from the Wendidad (V, 10, 12; VIII, 4-10). Fravashi are described (Yasht, XIII, 78) as "destroying the criminal intentions of the enemy of Angra Mainyu (a variant of Vritra in the Avesta), who wished that the waters would stop and the plants would not grow." In "Yasna" (LXV - at Spiegel: LXIV - 6) the Fravashi, who "lifted up streams of water from the nearest", are called to come to the donor, and further in the text about the waters they are asked to "stay in their places in peace until they offer Zaota”(a variant of the Sanskrit name of the priest Khotar). This clearly indicates that this sacrifice must be offered by the summoning priest in order to secure release to the current of waters. There are other references to flowing waters (Yasht, X, 61) in the legends of the Parsis, but the above are enough to prove our point of view. Fravashi are described (Yasht, XIII, 78) as "destroying the criminal intentions of the enemy of Angra Mainyu (a variant of Vritra in the Avesta), who wished that the waters would stop and the plants would not grow." In "Yasna" (LXV - at Spiegel: LXIV - 6) the Fravashi, who "lifted up streams of water from the nearest", are called to come to the donor, and further in the text about the waters they are asked to "stay in their places at rest until they offer Zaota”(a variant of the Sanskrit name of the priest Khotar). This clearly indicates that this sacrifice must be offered by the summoning priest in order to secure release to the current of waters. There are other references to flowing waters (Yasht, X, 61) in the legends of the Parsis, but the above are enough to prove our point of view. Fravashi are described (Yasht, XIII, 78) as "destroying the criminal intentions of the enemy of Angra Mainyu (a variant of Vritra in the Avesta), who wished that the waters would stop and the plants would not grow." In "Yasna" (LXV - at Spiegel: LXIV - 6) the Fravashi, who "lifted up streams of water from the nearest", are called to come to the donor, and further in the text about the waters they are asked to "stay in their places at rest until they offer Zaota”(a variant of the Sanskrit name of the priest Khotar). This clearly indicates that this sacrifice must be offered by the summoning priest in order to secure release to the current of waters. There are other references to flowing waters (Yasht, X, 61) in the legends of the Parsis, but the above are enough to prove our point of view.so that the waters stop and the plants don't grow. " In "Yasna" (LXV - at Spiegel: LXIV - 6) the Fravashi, who "lifted up streams of water from the nearest", are called to come to the donor, and further in the text about the waters they are asked to "stay in their places in peace until they offer Zaota”(a variant of the Sanskrit name of the priest Khotar). This clearly indicates that this sacrifice must be offered by the summoning priest in order to secure release to the current of waters. There are other references to flowing waters (Yasht, X, 61) in the legends of the Parsis, but the above are enough to prove our point of view.so that the waters stop and the plants don't grow. " In "Yasna" (LXV - at Spiegel: LXIV - 6) the Fravashi, who "lifted up streams of water from the nearest", are called to come to the donor, and further in the text about the waters they are asked to "stay in their places at rest until they offer Zaota”(a variant of the Sanskrit name of the priest Khotar). This clearly indicates that this sacrifice must be offered by the summoning priest in order to secure release to the current of waters. There are other references to flowing waters (Yasht, X, 61) in the legends of the Parsis, but the above are enough to prove our point of view.until Zaota proposes”(a variant of the Sanskrit name of the priest Khotar). This clearly indicates that this sacrifice must be offered by the summoning priest in order to secure release to the current of waters. There are other references to flowing waters (Yasht, X, 61) in the legends of the Parsis, but the above are enough to prove our point of view.until Zaota proposes”(a variant of the Sanskrit name of the priest Khotar). This clearly indicates that this sacrifice must be offered by the summoning priest in order to secure release to the current of waters. There are other references to flowing waters (Yasht, X, 61) in the legends of the Parsis, but the above are enough to prove our point of view.
The main difficulty in the rational explanation of the legend of Vritra lies in the proof of the connection between the flow of waters and the appearance of dawn, and the passages from Farvardin-yasht quoted above enable us to justifiably prove this connection.
There are two passages in the Wendidad, indicating the period during which these air waters stopped flowing. They need to be cited here as they throw light on the circulation of air water.
It was said above that, according to the considerations of Professor J. Darmstäter, these waters stopped for the winter. But the clarification of the issue is clearly contained in the Farguards V and VIII of "Wendidad", where Ahura Mazda announces how to deal with the body of a person who died in winter, until it will be possible to do everything that is required by the rules of the end of the season. So, in the fargard (V, 10/34 /) Ahura Mazda was asked: "If the summer has passed and winter has come, what should the admirers of Mazda do?" To this Ahura Mazda replies: “In every house, in every village a hole must be dug, large enough so as not to damage the skull, feet or hands of a person … and they must leave a soulless body there for two or three nights, for a month or until birds begin to fly, plants grow and water spreads, and the wind dries up the moisture on the ground,then let them carry and lay the body with their eyes to the sun. " I have already referred to this passage above, but at that time the theory concerning air waters had not yet been explained, and the discussion of the passage was postponed. Now we can clearly see what phrases like "spreading water" and "growing plants" mean. These are the same phrases as in "Farvardin-yasht", and there they are associated with the movement of the sun and moon, which began after a long motionless stay in one place. In other words, the waters and sun stopped moving during the winter. Admirers of Mazda are not allowed to move the corpse before the water spills and the sun moves, even if they had to carry out this ban for two or three nights and even a month. Mazda's admirers believed that the corpse was cleansed by the light of the sun, and therefore it was impossible to bury it until the end of the night.but then the theory concerning air waters had not yet been explained, and discussion of the passage was postponed. Now we can clearly see what phrases like "spreading water" and "growing plants" mean. These are the same phrases as in "Farvardin-yasht", and there they are associated with the movement of the sun and moon, which began after a long motionless stay in one place. In other words, the waters and sun stopped moving during the winter. Admirers of Mazda are not allowed to move the corpse before the water spills and the sun moves, even if they had to carry out this ban for two or three nights and even a month. Mazda's admirers believed that the corpse was cleansed by the light of the sun, and therefore it was impossible to bury it until the end of the night.but then the theory concerning air waters had not yet been explained, and discussion of the passage was postponed. Now we can clearly see what phrases like "spreading water" and "growing plants" mean. These are the same phrases as in "Farvardin-yasht", and there they are associated with the movement of the sun and moon, which began after a long motionless stay in one place. In other words, the waters and sun stopped moving during the winter. Admirers of Mazda are not allowed to move the corpse before the water spills and the sun moves, even if they had to carry out this ban for two or three nights and even a month. Mazda's admirers believed that the corpse was cleansed by the light of the sun, and therefore it was impossible to bury it until the end of the night.what phrases like "spreading water" and "growing plants" mean. These are the same phrases as in "Farvardin-yasht", and there they are associated with the movement of the sun and moon, which began after a long motionless stay in one place. In other words, the waters and sun stopped moving during the winter. Admirers of Mazda are not allowed to move the corpse before the water spills and the sun moves, even if they had to carry out this ban for two or three nights and even a month. Mazda's admirers believed that the corpse was cleansed by the light of the sun, and therefore it was impossible to bury it until the end of the night.what phrases like "spreading water" and "growing plants" mean. These are the same phrases as in "Farvardin-yasht", and there they are associated with the movement of the sun and moon, which began after a long motionless stay in one place. In other words, the waters and sun stopped moving during the winter. Admirers of Mazda are not allowed to move the corpse before the water spills and the sun moves, even if they had to carry out this ban for two or three nights and even a month. Mazda's admirers believed that the corpse was cleansed by the light of the sun, and therefore it was impossible to bury it until the end of the night. Admirers of Mazda are not allowed to move the corpse before the water spills and the sun moves, even if they had to carry out this ban for two or three nights and even a month. Mazda's admirers believed that the corpse was cleansed by the light of the sun, and therefore it was impossible to bury it until the end of the night. Admirers of Mazda are not allowed to move the corpse before the water spills and the sun moves, even if they had to carry out this ban for two or three nights and even a month. Mazda's admirers believed that the corpse was cleansed by the light of the sun, and therefore it was impossible to bury it until the end of the night.
This passage from the Vendidad quoted above clearly indicates that winter was once associated with long darkness lasting two and three nights and even a month, and that during this time neither water flowed nor plants grew. It was during such a winter that difficulties arose with the removal of the bodies of the deceased, and the believers asked Ahura Mazda what to do. Such a question would be meaningless if, in the ancient area of Mazdaism, the sun would shine every day from morning to evening all winter, as in the tropical zone, and carrying out the corpses into the morning sun would not present difficulties. It would be complete absurdity to keep an unclean dead body in the house for two or three nights and even a month, that is, until the end of winter. There is not a word about darkness in the above passage, but you can easily understand from the instructions,that the body should eventually be taken out of the house and placed in a specially prepared place ("dakhma") with eyes facing the sun, which clearly shows that the funeral ceremony was impossible while the corpse was still in the house. But on the other hand, in the fargard (VIII, 4/11 /), where this plot is again discussed, it clearly speaks of darkness. Ahura Mazda is asked: "If a dog or a person dies in the house of an admirer of Mazda when it is raining, or snowing, or a strong wind, or darkness has come, and when herds of cattle and people do not see their way, what should the admirers of Mazda do?" To this Ahura Mazda gives the same answer as in Fargard V. The believer is ordered (VIII, 9/21 /) to dig a grave in the house, and in it “let the dead body lie for two nights, three nights or a month, until the birds begin to fly, plants grow, water spreads,and the wind will not dry up the moisture on the earth. " Here, in this question posed to Ahura Mazda, darkness is clearly mentioned along with snow and wind, and in Farvardin Yasht we saw that the spreading of water and the movement of the sun occur simultaneously. The passage from Tir-Yasht says that the time appointed for the appearance of Tishtrya after he defeated Apaosha in the water is measured as one, two, fifty and one hundred nights.
All these passages, taken together, lead to one inevitable conclusion - it was in winter, when the waters stopped flowing, the sun stopped moving, and this period of stagnation lasted from one to a hundred nights. It was a period of long darkness, when the sun did not appear over the horizon, and if a person died on these days, then his body should be kept in the house until the waters began to flow and the sun at the same time appeared on the horizon. I have already indicated above that the Indian belief in the unfavorableness of the fact of death during the Dakshinayana period must be traced back to this ancient practice of not allowing a dead body to be taken out of the house during the long Arctic night.
The word "kata" - a grave in the scriptures of the Parsis, is found in one of the hymns of the Rig Veda (I, 106, 6), which tells how the sage Kutsa, lying in the "kata" hole, begs for help Indra, the murderer of Vritra. I believe that here we see at least an indirect indication of the practice of keeping a dead body in the "kata" pit until Vritra is killed and until the freedom of water and sun is obtained. We see, however, that here we are talking only about the circulation of heavenly waters, and from the quoted passage from the Avesta it is clear that atmospheric moisture stops moving for several days, or rather nights, and that the sun also stops moving during this entire period. and freezes motionless in the water region until the fravashi, who helped the gods in the struggle for water and in the battle with the forces of darkness, awaken the water and the sun to move,directing them to the usual path along the upper celestial hemisphere.
Now we can understand why it is said about Indra that with his power he moved the streams upwards - "udanca" (II, 15, 6) and how he, having killed Vritra, gave the rivers freedom to move (I, 32, 12), and how he destroyed all obstacles to the radiance of the heavenly bodies and made the waters free (I, 80, 5). There are other passages in the Rig Veda that speak of the simultaneous liberation of waters and the appearance of the sun and dawn. All these lines of hymns become understandable only when they are explained from the standpoint of a theory that speaks of the cosmic circulation of atmospheric waters through the upper and lower celestial hemispheres. But since this theory was insufficiently understood and poorly studied in this connection, Vedologists, both before and in our time, did not have success in interpreting the legend of Vritra, not finding a rational and thoughtful way to this and, which is very important,not seeing the phenomenon of the simultaneity of the four results of Indra's victory over Vritra - those that are revealed in the essence of the hymns.
Continuation: "Chapter IX. Vedic myths about captive waters. 4. Cosmic circulation of atmospheric waters in myths"