Book Title: World of Philosophy
Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan
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Mahe ca na tvām adrivaḥ parā śulkāya deya Na sahasraya nayutaya vajrivo na śataya satāmagha. (RV, 8/1/5)
i.e.,
O God! I would not sell Thee for the highest price
Not for a thousand, nor for ten thousand,
O Mighty one, nor for an infinite amount,
O Lord of Countless wealth!
It is also noteworthy here that it is not only the devotees who seek the divine, the divine himself seeks them and urges upon them to sing his own eulogies:
Arcata prarcata priyamedhāso arcata
Arcantu putraka uta puram na dhṛṣṇvarcata.
Ava svarāti gar gar o godha part sanisvaṇat Pingā pari caniskadad indraya brahmodyatam. (RV, 8/69/8-9)
i.e., Sing you all and sing
O priyamedhas! sing your songs
Let children, too, sing
Sing to him, who is a refuge like mighty fortress
Let the gargara (violin) sound
Let the godha (lute) send its resounding voice
Let the string send its tunes around
To God is our hymn unpraised.
What follows from the above description is that the Vedic prayers are a fine expression of bhakti- intensive as well as extensive. To quote,
"It is interesting to find that in the Veda itself there are prayers of the typically bhakti type, containing sentiments and ideas associated with the cult. The very kirtana form of prayer with its mass appeal appears in the Veda."14
e.g.
Trätäram Indram avitāram Indram have have suhavam suram Indram Hvyaāmi śakraD puruhūtam Indram svasti no maghvā dhātvindraḥ. (RV, 6/47/7)
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