________________
SAPTA DEVALOKĀŅ
M. A. MEHENDALE
Lüders in his Varuna I p. 57 ff. points out that in the Rgurda we often read about the three heavens, the three midregions and the three earths. He then observes (p. 64 f.) that in the late Vedic period the 'seven worlds of gods' (sapta devalokaḥ) take the place of the 'three heavens' of the early Vedic period. In this regard he refers to a passage in the Kaus. Br.20. I which reads as : tad deväh samaruhya sarväl lokan anu pariplavante devalokam pitslokam jivalokam imam apodakam agnilokam sladhamanam vāyulokam aparajitam indralokam adhidivam varunalokam pradivar mflyulokam rocanaṁ brahmano lokaṁ näkań saptamana lokānām. He translates it as : "After mounting this (i.e. the wheel of the gods), the gods move around all the worlds: the world of the gods, the world of the fathers, this world of the living beings, Apodaka, the world of Agni, Rtadhaman, the world of Váyu, Aparajita, the world of Indra, Adhidiv, the world of Varuņa, Pradio, the world of Mștyu, Rocana, the world of Brahman, Nāka, the seventh of the worlds."
Lüders rightly observes that in the above cnumeration two different lists of the worlds have been put together. The first comprises the world of the gods, the world of the fathers, and the world of the living beings; the second list gives the seven worlds of the gods beginning with Agniloka and ending with Naka. It is, however, not clear why Luders considers Apodaka, Rtadhāman Aparajita Adhidiv, Pradiv and Rocana as the names of the worlds of Agni, Vayu, Indra, Varuna, Mộtyu, and Brahman respectively.
1. v. 1. upodatam. 2. v. 1. sattamam. Keith in his translation of the Kau. Br. accepts this reading
and translates it as the most real'. He says that thc reading saptamam is "clearly wrong. But Lüders considers saptamam as the 'only correct reading, He also rejects Keith's translation of saltamam. In the opinion of Lüders sattoma can at the most mean the best' (Varuna I. 65. B a 1). The reading sallanam is accepted in the Kauş. Rr. edited by E. R. Sreekrishna Sarma (Wiesbaden, 1968).
Madhu Vidyā/103
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
