Upabrmhana and Rgveda Interpretation

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

Page 50

The Hymn of Agastya ard Lopan udra (1. 179)
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To judge by the hymns of Maitrāvaruni Agastya to be seen in the First Mandala, he seems to have passed through interesting struggles both, psychologically and socially. His songs to the Maruts indicate that he was an ardent admirer of these Storm Gods and it is from them that he turned to Indra. In one of his hymns (1.170) we have conciliation between Indra and the Maruts brought about by Agastya. The Maruts blame Agastya for not having supported their cause and Agastya plainly admits that he was afraid of Indra. One can well imagine a situation when the two cults, the Cult of Indra and the Cult of the Maruts were different, even antagonistic and that the two were later amalgamated. That Indra denies a share to the Maruts is a significant pointer in this direction. The poet Agastya reveals his anxiety for Indra's accepting his invitation to attend his sacrifice and to accept the offerings made. Efforts have been made to study the probable sequence of the Songs to the Maruts and to Indra by the sage Agastya for these songs reveal bis mental leanings and psychological development. There are two more hymns (1.189 and 1.192) that refer to two incidents in the life of Agastya. Of this two hymns the first (1.189) appears to have been composed at the time of a pestilence for this hymn contains clear prayers requesting all the diseases being placed in distant lands. In the other hymn (1.125) the poet is suffering from poison and is praying for relief. There are clear references to the bad effects of poison and prayers for being saved from the fatal effects of the same. Many of the yks and also portions from the hymns of Agastya are difficult and unintelligible. Ludwig, Max Muller, Grassman, Geldner and Thieme have made efforts to interpret these hymns and explain them in a satisfactory manner. The hymn that is proposed to be discussed here, (1.179) being a dialogue between Agastya and his wife Lopamudrā belongs to this class of difficult hymns,
Almost everyone who has made an effort to understand this hymn have come across some sort of obscurity here or there. To Oldenberg, the hymn is an 'akhyāna' of which the prose portions which formed both the connecting and explanatory links have been lost, a view which it seems difficult to be accepted. Hillebrandt and Schroeder are of the view that we have here a 'culture drama'. Particularly wrong is the suggestion that Lopāmudrā is an old courtezan, 'eine alternde Hetare,' since the word patnih' occurs not once but twice in the hymn itself (2.3). Thieme appears to regard the hymn as giving us the legend-magic in the manner of the Viśvāmitra-nadi-samvāda (II1.33) or the Saramā-paņi-samvāda (X.108). The reference to Soma indicates the magical character of the hymn and in this respect the hymn is seen to possess almost a parallel construction. The "Sarama-pani' hymn is a spell for the recovery of the lost or stolen cows while the 'Viśvāmitra-nadi' hymn is a spell for the protection of the bulls from the rivers in spate and similarly this Agastya-Lopāmudrā hymn is a