Upabrmhana and Rgveda Interpretation

Author(s): T G Manikar
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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The Upabṛmhana and the Rgveda Interpretation
ahuḥ uşasamiti anye'. Sāyaṇācārya also keeps this way of interpretation in his mind while commenting on these verses (X.61.5-9), for almost uniformly he is seen rendering words like 'yuvati,duhitṛ' by 'divam or uşasam'. It would be worth while to arrive at the interpretations of such half formed and illexpressed myths especially when they are likely to shed some light on the ethics and morals of a given society.
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I may refer here to yet another case in support of my present view about the help offered by the Itihasa and the Purana for a proper understanding of the Rgvedic myths by providing the missing links. The Rgveda at several places (U.11.19;X.8.8;X.99.6) speaks of the destruction of a threeheaded dragon by name Viśvarupa and who was the son of Tvaṣṭra, since he is called Visvarupa Tvaştra. According to the Rgveda, Viśvarupa had imprisoned the cows belonging to Trita who was an ally and a protege of Indra. Viśvarupa, also called Triśiras, obviously because of his three-heads, it appears was a sworn enemy of Trita, who according to Sayaṇācārya was a rși, a sage. Griffith regards the reference in (II.11.19)
'sanema ye ta ütibhiḥ taranto visvaḥ spṛdha aryeṇa dasyun |
asmabhyam tat tväṣṭram visvarüpam arandhayaḥ sakhyasya tritaya ||' as very obscure observing 'it is difficult to make anything intelligible of this stanza'. At another place (X.8.8) it is said
'trisirṣāṇam saptaraśmim jaghanvān tväṣṭrasya cinniḥ sasṛje trito gall At yet another place (X.99.6), this very exploit is spoken of and we are informed that Viśvarupa had six eyes, 'salakṣam trisirṣāṇam damanyat'. Bergaigne (La Religion Vedique II 329-330) and Muir (O.S. Texts V.229-23) have tried to throw light on this legend. The Satapatha Brahmana (1.2.3.2; 1.6.3.2-5) and the Tandya Brahmana (17.5.1) also narrate this story and add a few details. According to the Satapatha Brāhmaṇa, Viśvarupa was drinking wine with one of his mouths, Soma with another and Anna with the third. Indra treating him as his enemy cut off his heads. In these Vedic accounts there is no reason given accounting for this enemity between Indra and Tvaṣṭra Viśvarupa. The only reason that one can think of is the Vedic account that Viśvarupa had wrongly confined the cows of Trita who was the friend of Indra and it is for this wrong to a friend of his, that made Indra kill him. The Śrimadbhagavata Purana (6.6.44-55;6.9.1-7) narrates this very story of Viśvarupa Tvāṣṭra. The Purāņa informs us that Viśvarūpa was the son of Tvastra who had married Racana, a Daitya lady:
'tvaştuḥ dailyänujā bharya racanā nāma kanyaka | sanniveśaḥ tayoh jojñe viśvarupasca viryavan ||'. The Purana confirms the Satapatha Brahmaṇa account in which we informed that Viśvarupa has three heads, 'trini siramsi' and that these mouths were the somapitha, surāpītha and annāda'. But of greater interest is the
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