________________
ences themselves in their contexts which point towards the notion of a "vital soul"; because the "vital soul" is inter alia and most manifestly responsible for breathing, it could have been conceived as a subtle wind-like entity, regardless of any supporting etymology, and equated with "breath" in later works of the Vedic period. This understanding of asu as originally a "vital soul" has been propounded foremost by Arbman who at the same time assumes that this notion was merged with the notion of a "free soul" in the course of the development of a unitary concept of "soul" during the Vedic period. Indeed, some passages suggest that the term ass (also) refers to the "free soul" or "psyche-soul" because of the close connection with personal individuality. Although he rejects a dualism of "vital soul" and "psyche-soul," "even if it resulted in monism," H.W. Bodewitz also argues that ass was conceived to function as a "free soul" according to some of these passages," whereas relating to other passages he states, following Schlerath, that the term ass refers unspecifically to "life," or "some sort of body-soul.""
To illustrate the ambiguity and hopefully provide some clarification, I would like to take a look especially at some important passages involving as in the Atharvaveda. This work, which may postdate the collection of hymns in the Rgveda by a few hundred years, is a collection of hymns, invocations and prayers addressed to various gods and godlike powers in this world, of conjurations and supplications, maledictions and benedictions, healing "spells" and formulae of
35 Cf. below, p. 144-145.
36 Cf. Bodewitz 1991: 34-36 and 45.
37 Cf. Bodewitz 1991: 40-45.
38 Cf. also Lommel's and Renou's translation of the word ass in the compound asstyp in RV 10.14.12, already addressed above, p. 126 (Lommel 1955: 107; Renou 1956: 60, contrary to Renou 1942: 76, cf. n. 103 below); cf. also O'Flaherty 1981: 44 and Maurer 1986: 250. Oberlies (1998: 505) has "Lebenskraft" (cf. also n. 39 below). On asutyp cf. further n. 90 below.
39 Cf. Bodewitz 1991: 43 and 45-46; I must admit that I could not detect a clear statement of Bodewitz's own position on as in Bodewitz 1991. It may be that he assumes various concepts connected with the term, e.g., ass as "life," "vital soul" and "free soul," which existed simultaneously in separate cultural milieus (cf. Bodewitz 1991: 40) or in different historical periods; however, in view of his rejection of the concept of a multitude of "souls" it is equally possible that he considers these concepts to have jointly formed some original synthetical notion, which should be distinguished from the consideration of a development of these concepts (especially of ass as "vital soul" and "free soul") towards a unitary concept of a "soul" (cf. Bodewitz 1991: 42). Oberlies' brief exposition on (Rg)Vedic concepts of the "soul" which relies inter alia on Bodewitz 1991, especially as regards the interpretation of the term ass, suggests that he understood Bodewitz in the sense of the latter position (cf. Oberlies 1998: 504-505, notably 505: "Diese Lebenskraft [scil. as] bildet also das Kontinuum zwischen diesseitigem und jenseitigem Leben und zeigt somit deutlich Charakteristika einer "Freiseele")," even though - contrary to Bodewitz (cf. especially 1991: 3336) and following Arbman - he confirms the concept of a plural number of "souls" (Oberlies, loc. cit.).
130
atonement, and prominently displays a magical character based on patterns of analogical thinking. Especially the latter contents the conjurations, supplications, and so on-reflect this magical component of ancient South Asian culture and in this way preserve a precious amount of archaic popular beliefs and attitudes, even though transmitted in the form given to the collection by priestly authors, editors and compilers. ass is mentioned, e.g., in a prayer concerned with the healing of a person (purusa) who has fallen sick or with the rescue of such a person in the face of death:
(1) "This person should remain here with his/her ass, in the share of the sun, in the open space of That which is without death."41
The word purusa, literally: "man," is also used in a gender-neutral sense for a human being and therefore can safely be translated here as "person," relating obviously to the individual complex bundle of changing physical and psychical components which nevertheless remains identifiable through time and by means of a name. This person's association with ass is instrumental for his/her dwelling here in this world, conceived as an open, free space filled with light where human life becomes possible and can flourish. "That which is without death" thus does not refer to personal immortality here, but rather to the specific early Vedic notion of immortality as the full living out on this earth of the human life-span (ayus) of one hundred years.2 The juxtaposition of life ("here," "the share of the sun," "the open space of That which is without death") and death ("there," "darkness," "the closed space where there is death")" implied in this passage suggests a function of asu as "vital soul" or "body-soul": if the ass is not "here" any longer, i.e., the body is abandoned by the "vital soul," the person (purusa) will also not be "here" any longer, i.e., his/her body will be without life and consciousness and will decay." On the other hand, the close connection (expressed as a possessive relation) to the person could also indicate that here functions of a "psyche-soul" or "free soul," which I would also like to call "individuating soul"
40 For a rather outdated, but complete translation of the collection (published posthumously) cf. Whitney 1905, reprinted together with the text edited by Roth-Whitney in Whitney
1987.
Cf. AV 8.1.1; cf. also Oldenberg 1916: 528. Corresponding to Oldenberg's understanding of ass as the "vital soul" Arbman (1927b: 351) translates the word as here as "Leben (shauch)." On the other hand, he assumes that the "free soul" (psyche) is addressed here as the sick person him/herself (cf. Arbman 1927a: 55 and 84). These at first sight contradictory-statements may reflect his understanding of the term ass as referring in the course of its development ultimately to a unitary concept of "soul" (cf. below, pp. 144145), as documented in this and similar passages.
42 Cf. Bodewitz 1996: 30 (with references to secondary literature).
43 All these counter-positive implications would refer to the general "other world" or realm of the dead in Vedic belief; cf. below p. 156.
* Cf. also Arbman 1927a: 15.
131
