[Aw1HhC0m]

27 Similes in One Vedic Hymn!

By London Swaminathan



Rig Veda, the oldest religious book in the world, has beautiful poetry in it. The Vedas are records of man’s earliest thoughts on God and philosophical matters. When the Vedic seers wanted to convey their thoughts they used lot of similes as well. Vedas can be interpreted symbolically, metaphorically and literally. Hindus believe that the RISHIS (seers) have heard it (SRUTI) and not composed it. Westerners think 400+ poets composed it. Whatever may be the interpretation, nobody can deny the poetic content in it.


Vedas are dated 1500 BC by Max Muller. Hindus believe it they are eternal-timeless. Whatever the date may be, no one can deny that they were the earliest records. The wonder of wonders is that it was not written, but passed by word of mouth from one generation to another. No book in the word has this credit. It was not a single poem or hymn. It was huge-1028 hymns, 10,552 rcs or couplets, 4,32,00 syllables. Veda Patasalas (Vedic schools) in South India teach the Vedas the same way as it was done on the banks of Saraswati, Sindhu and Ganges thousands of years ago. It is a literary marvel- greater than the Seven Wonders of the World.


Hindus called the Vedas- Word of God. Veda means knowledge. God revealed this knowledge for the greatest good of mankind. Otherwise who will sing,

“May all be happy and rid of diseases
May all have a happy and harmonious life
May nobody ever be afflicted with suffering”

When people in other parts of the earth were killing each other or the animals for food and fighting for their survival, Hindu seers were praying for the welfare of the humanity. But they were not arrogant. They also said,
“Let noble thoughts come to us from all directions”.


Kalidasa, the classical Sanskrit poet, used more similes than any other poet in the world (Please read my post AMAZING STATISTICS ABOUT KALIDASA). But the root of his similes lies in the Vedas. If a society has to understand complicated similes they must be highly educated. If a poet has to use so many similes in a single hymn, he must be a great poet. A lot of later day poets do it only when they sing about a woman. Men become poetical when they see beautiful women! But here one poet by name Grtsadama sings about the Vedic Twins Asvini Devas. It is a spontaneous outburst of his thoughts. It is gushing out like water from a natural spring or an artesian well. I have given below Griffith’s translation of RV. II-39



गरावाणेव तदिदथं जरेथे गर्ध्रेव वर्क्षं निधिमन्तमछ |
बरह्माणेव विदथ उक्थशासा दूतेव हव्या जन्या पुरुत्रा ||
परातर्यावाणा रथ्येव वीराजेव यमा वरमा सचेथे |
मेने इव तन्वा शुम्भमाने दम्पतीव करतुविदा जनेषु ||
शर्ङगेव नः परथमा गन्तमर्वाक छफाविव जर्भुराणातरोभिः |
चक्रवाकेव परति वस्तोरुस्रार्वाञ्चा यातं रथ्येव शक्रा ||
नावेव नः पारयतं युगेव नभ्येव न उपधीव परधीव |
शवानेव नो अरिषण्या तनूनां खर्गलेव विस्रसः पातमस्मान ||
वातेवाजुर्या नद्येव रीतिरक्षी इव चक्षुषा यातमर्वाक |
हस्ताविव तन्वे शम्भविष्ठा पादेव नो नयतं वस्यो अछ ||
ओष्ठाविव मध्वास्ने वदन्ता सतनाविव पिप्यतं जीवसेनः |
नासेव नस्तन्वो रक्षितारा कर्णाविव सुश्रुता भूतमस्मे ||
हस्तेव शक्तिमभि सन्ददी नः कषामेव नः समजतं रजांसि |
इमा गिरो अश्विना युष्मयन्तीः कष्णोत्रेणेव सवधितिं सं शिशीतम ||
एतानि वामश्विना वर्धनानि बरह्म सतोमं गर्त्समदासो अक्रन |
तानि नरा जुजुषाणोप यातं बर्हद ... || (RV 2-39)



ghrāvāṇeva tadidathaṃ jarethe ghṛdhreva vṛkṣaṃ nidhimantamacha |
brahmāṇeva vidatha ukthaśāsā dūteva havyā janyā purutrā ||
prātaryāvāṇā rathyeva vīrājeva yamā varamā sacethe |
mene iva tanvā śumbhamāne dampatīva kratuvidā janeṣu ||
śṛṅgheva naḥ prathamā ghantamarvāk chaphāviva jarbhurāṇātarobhiḥ |
cakravākeva prati vastorusrārvāñcā yātaṃ rathyeva śakrā ||
nāveva naḥ pārayataṃ yugheva nabhyeva na upadhīva pradhīva |
śvāneva no ariṣaṇyā tanūnāṃ khṛghaleva visrasaḥ pātamasmān ||
vātevājuryā nadyeva rītirakṣī iva cakṣuṣā yātamarvāk |
hastāviva tanve śambhaviṣṭhā pādeva no nayataṃ vasyo acha ||
oṣṭhāviva madhvāsne vadantā stanāviva pipyataṃ jīvasenaḥ |
nāseva nastanvo rakṣitārā karṇāviva suśrutā bhūtamasme ||
hasteva śaktimabhi sandadī naḥ kṣāmeva naḥ samajataṃ rajāṃsi |
imā ghiro aśvinā yuṣmayantīḥ kṣṇotreṇeva svadhitiṃ saṃ śiśītam ||
etāni vāmaśvinā vardhanāni brahma stomaṃ ghṛtsamadāso akran |
tāni narā jujuṣāṇopa yātaṃ bṛhad ... || (RV 2-39)



Rig Veda Hymn xxxix (RV 2-39)-Asvins

1.Sing like the two press-stones for this same purpose; come like two misers to the tree of treasure;
Like two laud-singing Brahmans in the assembly, like the folk envoys called in many places.
2. Moving at morning like two car borne heroes, like to a pair of goats ye come electing;
Like two fair dames embellishing their bodies, like a wise married pair among the people.
3. Like to a pair of horns come first to usward, like to a pair of hoofs with rapid motion;
Come like two Cakavas in the grey of morning, come like two chariot wheels at dawn, ye Mighty;
4.bear us across the rivers like two vessels, save as ye were yokes, naves, spokes and fellies.
Be like two dogs that injure not our bodies; preserve us, like two crutches, that we fall not.
5. Like two winds ageing not, two confluent rivers, come with quick vision like two eyes before us.
Come like two hands most helpful to the body, and guide us like two feet to what is precious.
6. even as two lips that with the mouth speak honey, even as two breasts that nourish our existence,
Like two nostrils that protect our being, be to us as our ears that hear distinctly.
7. like two hands give ye us increasing vigour; like heaven and earth constrain the airy regions
Asvins, these hymns that struggle to approach you, sharpen ye like an axe upon a whetstone.
8. These prayers of ours exalting you, O Asvins, have the Grtsamadas, for a laud, made ready.
Welcome them, O ye Heroes, and come hither. Loud may we speak with brave men, in assembly.


When we read it, we have to remember that Homer started to write the first book in Greek (Illiad) nearly 700 years after this. Tamils started to write their first book (Tolkappiyam) 1500 years after this. Moses said his ten commandments only 500 years after this. Unlike the primitive similes in the Gilgamesh we see high quality here in the Vedas.
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