Looking at God Brahmanaspati as “Prajna (प्रज्ञा)” 

and
God Brihaspati as “Pratibha (प्रतिभा)” of the Rigvedic Poets
By VR Patil (email:[email protected])

Introduction: Present essay mainly talks about two Divine Characters, namely
Brahmanaspati and Brihaspati to which the generations of Rigvedic Poets exhibit strong
bonding to the extent that as if both Gods are their Family Deities since pre-Rigvedic time.

Brahmanaspati is the “lord of Brahman”. Sanskrit word ब्रह्मन्/ Brahman has its

root brmh, which means “inherently strong and supporting principle which sustains the
world”. But in the context of Rigvedic Yajna, it can also mean “personification of the
Divine power that incites the Priestly People to conduct Yajna ritual”.

Brihaspati is the deity closely associated with words and hence can be related to the
Prayer or Sacred Speech/Mantra recited at the time of Yajna. The word Brihaspati has its
root brah which means growth or vast or expanding.

Mandala-wise frequency of these two Deities is given below [1and 2].

Brahmanaspati: 1(9), 2(29), 5(1), 6(1), 7(4), 8(1), 9(1), 10(7) (total- 53 references)

Brihaspati: 1(15), 2(18), 3(5), 4(18), 5(5), 6(6), 7(10), 8(2), 9(3), 10(57) (total-139 ref.)

Above data show that the frequency of the use of word Brihaspati is more than twice
than the term Brahmanaspati. Particularly, the Poets of Mandala-10 (the Last Mandala of
Rigved) have gracefully remembered God Brihaspati on several occasions.

Prajna/प्रज्ञा means wise, prudent, intellectual, clever, knowing, understanding etc

[3].

Pratibha/प्रतिभा is an ability of a person of expressing or describing thoughts,

feelings or perceptions by the articulation of words or any other skill.

In the present essay, “thinking outside the box” an attempt has been made to throw
some light on the true feelings of the Rigvedic Poets about these two gods. Additionally, in
the current essay just to explain the things in a better way or for the ease of understanding, at
some places modern-day terms have been used.
I. Brahmanaspati:

In Ten Mandalas of Rigved, there are six hymns addressed to God Brahmanaspati
and those are Rv-1.18; Rv-1.40; Rv2.23 to 26. It means to say that like Agni, Indra, Adityas
He is not the first rated god of Rigved in but mainly created to play a supporting role.

The Composer of Mandala-2 in the very first hymn has briefly introduced most of the
Gods shaped during the pre-Rigvedic period by the ancient Rishis. In the verse-3 the Poet
has described Indra as Vrishabha means very powerful and aggressive like a bull, Vishnu
as widely moving god and Brahmanaspati as Brahma who finds wealth for the
worshippers. It is most likely that these three Gods were created by the old Rishis one after
another during the same period and hence are described to be friendly with each other as they
belonged to same batch. As per Rigved, Seven Adityas are the first generation Gods [1].

Rv-2.1,3: tvamaghna indro vṛṣabhaḥ satāmasi tvaṃ viṣṇururughāyo namasyaḥ |

tvaṃ brahmā rayivid brahmaṇaspate tvaṃ vidhartaḥsacase purandhyā ||

# Hero of Heroes, Agni! Thou art Indra, thou art Vishnu of the Mighty Stride, adorable:
Thou, Brahmanaspati, the Brahman finding wealth: thou, O Sustainer, with thy wisdom

In the above verse, the Poet has purposely used a special adjective Brahma/ब्रह्मा for
Brahmanaspati that may be considered as the “Vision-based creation through Brain
Incitation” or Wisdom-based God, then became the source of inspiration for the pre-
Rigvedic Rishis to expand the Vedic Philosophy in ancient time. It ultimately became the
inherent quality or disposition of the generations of the Priests for the composition of Praise
Songs for Yajna and in turn helped them to earn their livelihood as among the Aryas only
some selected persons who lived in the Saraswati Valley at that time were capable to
understand the principles and the reasons behind the various acts//laws of Mother Nature
(rta) including famous Yajna ritual that was basically derived from the wild fires.

Please remember that as per the verses Rv-8.89,5 and 6; God Indra was mainly
shaped to kill demon Vritra (real drought) who arrived in the world earlier and after
sometime Yajna ritual was formulated to please the Deities of imagination of the Rishis by
offering various sacrifices. Invocation of the Deities through the composition of the Songs of
Praise became the integral part of Yajna rite. It is most likely that Brahmanaspati was
fashioned ahead of Indra and hence He is treated as an ally of Indra (similar to God
Vishnu). Additionally, in some verses Brahmanaspati is linked to Yajna ceremony. Two
verses from Mandala-1 hymn Rv-1.18 implicitly communicate us about same thing [1].

Rv-1.18,7: yasmād ṛte na sidhyati yajño vipaścitaścana |

sa dhīnāṃ yoghaminvati ||

# He without whom no sacrifice, even of the wise man prospers;

He stirs up the series of thoughts.

Rv-1.18,8: ād ṛdhnoti haviṣkṛtiṃ prāñcaṃ kṛṇotyadhvaram |

hotrā deveṣu ghachati ||
# He makes the oblation prosper, he promotes the course of sacrifice
Our voice of praise goes to the Gods.

There are two basic components of Yajna ritual; 1-sacrifical fire, and 2-recitation of
chants. Proper use of Sonic Devices/Mantras at the time of Yajna creates highly charged
atmosphere with great devotional feeling. The Rigvedic Priests used to believe that when they
collectively sing the Poems of Praise in a loud voice in front of the sacred fire, the sound
waves (vibration energy) generated reach the Deities of their imaginations who live in the
different parts of the world who then arrive at the place of Yajna to enjoy the fist.

a. Why is God Brahmanaspati called as the “Father of the Gods?”:

The Poet in the verse Rv-2.26,3 has termed Brahmanaspati as the “devānāṃ yaḥ
pitaramāvivāsati / father of the Gods”, why?

Rv-2.26,3: sa ijjanena sa viśā sa janmanā sa putrairvājaṃ bharatedhanā nṛbhiḥ |

devānāṃ yaḥ pitaramāvivāsati śraddhāmanā haviṣā brahmaṇaspatim ||

# He with his folk, his house, his family, his sons, gains booty for himself, and, with the
heroes, wealth, believing
Who with oblation and a true heart serves Brahmanaspati the Father of the Gods.

Here the archaic Sanskrit word Śraddhāmanā/ श्र॒द्धाम॑ना means faith, belief and it is regularly
in use in many Indian languages.
 Additionally, the Last Mandala Poet in the hymn Rv-10.72 has talked about birth of
the Gods but the content of the hymn mostly covers the Creation of Eight (?) Adityas.
Surprisingly, in the verse-2 of the hymn the Poet has portrayed Brahmanaspati; as a smith
who too created primordial Gods (purvyam yugam) from the non-existence.

Rv-10.72,2: brahmaṇaspatiretā saṃ karmāra ivādhamat |

devānāmpūrvye yughe.asataḥ sadajāyata ||

# These Brahmanaspati produced with blast and smelting, like a Smith,

Existence, in an earlier age of Gods, from Non-existence sprang.

Here Karmara- smith or artisan

But the fundamental question is; “when the Adityas are said to have born from
Goddess Aditi, then how it is possible?”

Only possibility is, the Priests believed that as the Adityas/Gods are identified by
different divine names and these sacred sounds are the creation of Brahmanaspati through
the act of deep thought process (Shabda-Brahman, the term present in Upanishad)).

Even though God Brahmanaspati was created a long after the Adityas (the first
generation Gods), but the ancestors of the Rigvedic Poets believed that sacred utterances
existed since the origin of Universe and hence they credited the verbal formulation of the
Ancient Gods to a newly added god Brahmanaspati (Shabda-Brahman phrase found in
Maitri Upanishad which means un-measurable and un-containable sound).

The justification for above statement can be traced to the verse Rv-2.23,1 wherein the

Poet has called Brahmanaspati as गणपति/Ganapati and कवि /Kavi. This aspect has been
discussed in detail in the subsequent section.

Following verse taken from another hymn addressed to Brahmanaspati would make
the things clear.

Rv-1.40,5: pra nūnaṃ brahmaṇaspatirmantraṃ vadatyukthyam |

yasminnindro varuṇo mitro aryamā devā okāṃsi cakrire ||

# Now Brahmanaspati speaks forth aloud the solemn hymn of praise,

Wherein Indra and Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, the Gods, have made their dwelling place.
 Above verse explains that Gods like Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman dwell in the
Mantra/ Praise Song composed by Brahmanaspati. In other words, Rigvedic Poets see
Brahmanaspati as the source of sacred sounds/chants that orally led to birth of Gods.

Another verse Rv-2.23,17 informs us that God Tvastar has given birth to
Brahmanaspati and purposely placed Him above the world. Hence He is termed as the
origin of every Sama mantra.

Rv-2.23,17: viśvebhyo hi tvā bhuvanebhyas pari tvaṣṭājanat sāmnaḥ sāmnaḥ kaviḥ |

sa ṛṇacid ṛṇayā brahmaṇas patirdruho hantā maha ṛtasya dhartari ||

As God Brahmanaspati is treated as the originator of all sacred utterances/chants

in which we find names of all gods, in this way He becomes the “Father of the Gods”.

b. Brahmanaspati as “Prajna (प्रज्ञा)” of the Rigvedic Poets:

As discussed earlier the Poet of the verse Rv-2.1,3 has specifically termed
Brahmanaspati as Brahma means brain inciter or thought provoker or imagination stirrer.

It is agreed by many, the ancestors of the Rigvedic Priests identified many natural
forces as the Divine Beings/Deities exist in nature since birth of the world mainly to run show
of the world. Similarly, some old Rishis would have given serious thought over the origin of
their own creativity or inventiveness as this inherent quality made them to claim that they
were different from the common people of that time. As a matter of fact, it is their thinking
skill that made them famous for production of many novel and useful ideas. It is quite
possible that during pre-Indra period, just for mental satisfaction some pre-Rigvedic Rishis
would have decided to ascribe their Natural Instincts /Inherent Qualities to a new God as a
Guide. Hence they mentally conceived an idea of God Brahmanaspati mostly as the
Guiding Principles. In other words, Ancient Great Thinkers credited their innate or inborn
intelligence/skills of perceiving nature (Brahman) to a newly fashioned God
Brahmanaspati.

Dictionary [3] meaning of the Sanskrit word Prajna (प्रज्ञा) is an intelligence,

wisdom, intuitive knowledge, design, device, mental attitude, outlook etc. But in entire
Rigvedic Texts, only one Poet has used a word derived from Prajna and that particular verse
belongs to the Last Mandala hymn dedicated to Maruts.
Rv-10.78,2: agnirna ye bhājasā rukmavakṣaso vātāso na svayujaḥsadyaūtayaḥ |
prajñātāro na jyeṣṭhāḥ sunītayaḥsuśarmāṇo na somā ṛtaṃ yate ||

In the above verse, prajñātāro / प्र॒ ज्ञा॒तारो॒ word stands for Guidance. The second line
of the said verse can be translated as “Maruts, like seniors/old (jeshtah) of the society think
ahead of time and provide guidance (prajñātāro) to well behaved persons (sunita) like Soma
juice directs/protects those who follow the law (rtam) or firmly believe in truth”.

Understanding the meaning of Rigvedic word “Kavi”:

Since presence of a single reference of the word Prajna in the Ten Mandalas of
Rigved does not provide clear intention of its use, hence it is essential to focus our attention
on the word “Kavi” as it is closely associated with God Brahmanaspati (verse Rv-2,23,1).

Dictionary [3] provides several meanings of the word kavi as given below.

कवि/Kavi: discernment, perceptiveness, insight, intrinsic or basic character, sapience,

disposition, sagaciousness etc.

Additionally, the word kavi is also taken as the Seer/Sageness- a mature venerable
person of sound judgement who has become wise through reflection and experience (the
property of being Sage).

Some Characteristic features of “Rigvedic Kavi” found in the Literature

1. The Inspired Thinker

2. The Divine Visionary
3. The Enlightened One
4. The Wise and Intelligent
5. Skilful and Sensible
6. Gifted Poet possessing insight

Keeping above information on the back of our mind, we are going to take a fresh look
at the verse Rv-2.23,1.

Rv-2.23,1: gaṇānāṃ tvā gaṇapatiṃ havāmahe kaviṃ kavīnāmupamaśravastamam |

jyeṣṭharājaṃ brahmaṇāṃ brahmaṇaspata ā naḥ ṣṛṇvannūtibhiḥ sīda sādanam ||
# We call thee, Lord and Leader of the heavenly hosts, the wise among the wise, the famousest of all,
The King supreme of prayers, O Brahmanaspati: hear us with help; sit down in place of sacrifice.
The above verse belongs to the hymn devoted to the Brahmanaspati in which the
Poet has called Him as the head/Ganapati of all Ganas.

A new question crops up, who are these Ganas?

As discussed earlier, the Poet has also denoted Brahmanaspati as the Father of the

Gods. Based on this information it can be said that here the word Gana (गण) stands only for
All Divine Beings or the Deities/ Deva Gana (दे व गण) that existed in the world and does not

include Manushya Gana (मनु ष्य गण) or Rakshasa Gana (राक्षस गण).

In the second part of the same line, the Poet has termed Brahmanaspati as kaviṃ

kavīnāma/ कविं कवीनाम means Sage-Poet among the Sage-Poets. This interpretation is based
on the reference of Brahmanaspati as the Real Composer of the Mantras (Rv-1.40,5).

Here the term Sage-Poet/Kavi (human being) stands for the divine visionary who
expresses his thoughts through sacred sounds/chants.

Note: Griffith [1] has translated the phrase कविं कवीनाम as the wise among the wise.

Rv-2.23,1 is the verse that connects All Gods to the Poets through Brahmanaspati.

Some selected verses highlighting Brahmanaspati as Kavi are as under.

Rv-2.23,17: viśvebhyo hi tvā bhuvanebhyas pari tvaṣṭājanat sāmnaḥ sāmnaḥ kaviḥ |

sa ṛṇacid ṛṇayā brahmaṇas patirdruho hantā maha ṛtasya dhartari ||

# For Tvastar, he who knows each sacred song, brought thee to life, preeminent o'er all the things that is.
Guilt-scourger, guilt-avenger is Brahmanaspati , who slays the spoiler and upholds the mighty Law.

Samna: relating to sAmana; a metrical hymn or praise song.

Kavi: gifted with insight, source of inspired thoughts that leads to creation of a chant/mantra

RiNa/rna/ऋ॑ण: debt or loan

Interpretation: For the purpose of creation of these thoughts/chants/mantras, mythical god
Tvastar has given birth to you, Brahmanaspati. As we owe this special quality to you, we
acknowledge your debts but appeal to you to free each one of us from your debts as well.
You are the god who kills the double dealers/foes (who do not follow the set rules of the
composition) and upholds the ancient laws (rta/truth).

In other word, the Poet believes that God Brahmanaspati is the originator of the
thoughts that are presented by the Singers through composed Suktas/hymns.

Rv-2.23,19: brahmaṇaspate tvamasya yantā sūktasya bodhi tanayaṃ ca jinva |

viśvaṃ tad bhadraṃ yadavanti devā bṛhad vadema ... ||

# O Brahmanaspati, be thou controller of this our hymn and prosper thou our children.
All that the Gods regard with love is blessed. Loud may we speak, with heroes, in assembly

Bodhi: wise, enlightened intellect, wakener

Yanta: Check or control

Jinva: help, promote, incite, impel, cause to move quickly, actively, lively

Vidatha: knowledge, assembly, direction, disposition, sage, rule scholar, order, instructor

Interpretation: Brahmanaspati you are the bestower and the controller of our
wisdom/intellect who incite new thoughts in our mind to compose a fresh hymn/Sukta. Due
to your blessings, our children would also continue same activity in future. Now in a
company of the good heroes (su-virah), using your gifted power, we shall collectively and
loudly praise all the Gods with love.

Here the Poet sees Brahmanaspati as the granter and the regulator of knowledge.

Note: Content-wise verses Rv-2.23,19 and Rv-2.24,16 are identical.

From the above discussion it can be said that Brahmanaspati is very close to the
hearts of Rigvedic Composers as He regularly plants new ideas in the mind of the
Rigvedic Poet.

More Information on the word “Prajna (प्रज्ञा)” from Other Sources

 In Mahāyāna school of Buddhism, there is a phrase known as Prajñāpāramitā (in
DevNagari script: प्रज्ञापारमिता).It means "the Perfection of (Transcendent) Wisdom".
Prajñāpāramitā refers to a perfected way of seeing the nature of reality. The
word Prajñāpāramitā is the combination of Sanskrit words Prajna (wisdom) and Pāramitā
(perfection) (Source of Information: Wikipedia).

In Aitareya Upanishad (3.3.7) there is a phrase, prajnānam brahma/ प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म. It

means “Wisdom or Knowledge is Brahman”.

In Yoga-shastra there is a concept of Divya-drishti (दिव्य दृष्टि) which means “Divine

sight" or "Divine perception”. It is said that Divya-drishti is a very special form of spiritual
enlightenment through which Yogis get connected with the Universe.

From the above discussion, in the light of Rigvedic Poets, the term “Prajna” does not
mean an ordinary wisdom but spiritual enlightenment or experience of understanding
and realizing Nature. Presence of archaic Sanskrit word “Kavi” in the Rigvedic hymns does
manifest “Divine Visionary Person who can use both insight and foresight to compose
Mantras”. Additionally, on some special occasions he is also designated as Rishi (inspired
thinker). Vipra (learned or knower), Suri (inciter), Tasta (fashioner or crafter).

In the verse Rv-10.72,2 the Composer has identified Brahmanaspati as Karmara

means Smith who has vocally shaped earlier Gods. It means to say that the authority of
verbal creation through a deep thought process (Brahman) lies with Brahmanaspati.

Likewise, the Poets of the verses Rv-5.2,11 and Rv-5.29,15 claim that their act of

composing praise songs/hymns (Rv-5.2,11 - stomaṃ tuvijāta vipro rathaṃ na dhīraḥ svapā

and Rv-5.29,15 - brahma kriyamāṇ ...... rathaṃ na dhīraḥ svapā) is very similar to skilful
artist (svapas) making Ratha/wagan/car.

Based on above, it can be concluded that Rigvedic Poets believed that basic nature of
work or the role of God Brahmanaspati and the Rigvedic Kavis/Composers are the one and
the same as both use Divine Perception/insight/intuition/discernment regularly.

II Brihaspati:
 In entire Rigved, there are seven hymns addressed to God Brihaspati and they are:
Rv-1.190; Rv-4.50; Rv-6.73; Rv-7.97; Rv-10.67; Rv-10,68; Rv-10.182.

a. Some important characteristic features of Brihaspati described by the Poets:

Wise Brihaspati identified as the “father of all prayer”: Rv-2.23,2

Rv-2.23,2: devāścit te asurya pracetaso bṛhaspate yajñiyaṃ bhāghamānaśuḥ |

usrā iva sūryo jyotiṣā maho viśveṣāmijjanitā brahmaṇāmasi ||

# Brhaspati, God immortal! verily the Gods have gained from thee, the wise, a share in holy rites.
As with great light the Sun brings forth the rays of morn, so thou alone art Father of all sacred prayer.

Peace-loving God liked by many: Rv-4.50,8

Rv-4.50,8: In his own house he dwells in peace and comfort: to him forever holy food flows richly.
To him the people with free will pay homage-the King with whom the Brahman hath precedence.

Brihaspati as wealth giver to the invokers: Rv-5.42,7

Rv-5.42,7: Praise him the Chief who gives the boon of riches, Brhaspati distributor of treasures,
Who, blessing most the man who sings and praises, comes with abundant wealth to his invoker.

Special features of Brihaspati mentioned in the Hymn Rv-7.97

 Verse-2: Like father, Brihaspati helps all the worshippers from distance.
 Verse-5: Imparter of the Voice/Song to the Singer and hence worthy of Sacrifice.

Therefore, the Composers feel that Brihaspati shall be praised with good words. Following
verses would make this aspect much clear.

Rv-4.50,1: Him who with might hath propped earth’s ends, who sitteth in threefold seat, Brhaspati, with
thunder,
Him of the pleasant tongue have ancient sages, deep-thinking, holy singers, set before them.

Rv-1.190,1: Glorify thou Brhaspati, the scatheless, who must be praised with hymns, sweet-tongued and
mighty,
To whom as leader of the song, resplendent, worthy of lauds, both Gods and mortals listen.

b. Brihaspati portrayed as the “son of Angirasa”:

 The Poets of the following verses have described Brihaspati as the son of Angirasa.

Rv-4.40,1: Let us recite the praise of Dadhikravan: may all the Mornings move me to exertion;
Praise of the Lord of Waters, Dawn, and Agni, Brhaspati Son of Angirasa, and Surya.

Rv-6.73,1: Served with oblations, first-born, mountain-render, Angirasa's son, Brhaspati, the Holy,
With twice-firm path, dwelling in light, our Father, roars loudly, as a bull, to Earth and Heaven.

Rv-10.14,3: Mitali prospers there with Kavyas, Yama with Angirasa’ sons, Brhaspati with
Rkvans:
Exalters of the Gods, by Gods exalted, some joy in praise and some in our oblation .

Rv-10.47,6: To Saptagu the sage, the holy-minded, to him, Brhaspati, the song approaches,
Angirasa’s Son who must be met with homage: vouchsafe us mighty and I explendent riches

Rv-10.68,2: The Son of Angirases, meeting the cattle, as Bhaga, brought in Aryaman among us.
As Friend of men he decks the wife and husband: as for the race, Brhaspati, nerve our coursers.

From the above, it can be said that divine character Brihaspati would have been
inducted into the Vedic Philosophy at the time of Yajna formulation. As per the verses Rv-
8.89,5 and 6, the sequence of the three critical pre-Rigvedic events is: 1. Vritra; 2. Indra,
and 3.Yajna. Hence when the proper Yajna procedure was being established or evolved
during the pre-Rigvedic period, at that time the composition of praise-songs also began.
Please note that in the verse Rv-2,23,2; Brihaspati has been designated as the “Father of all
Prayers”.

It seems that in the beginning, ancient Rishi Angirasa would have conceived God
Brihaspati specifically to get inspiration for the composition of new Poems of Praise at the
time of freshly formed Yajna ritual. Then all the Rigvedic Priests started believing that when
they pray to the God then He divinely blesses all the Poets and worshippers to achieve the
objectives in their life. In this way, for Rigvedic Priests, Brihaspati became the God to look
for an initial poetic impulse to compose a new song/sukta.

c. Brihaspati as “Pratibha (प्रतिभा)” of the Rigvedic Poets:

 Dictionary [3] gives meaning of the Sanskrit word “Pratibha” as- thought, creativity,
shining, imagination, presence of mind, genius, ingenuity, light, intelligence, splendour etc.

Now take a serious look at the verse given below.

Rv-10.71,1: When-men, Brhaspati, giving names to objects, sent out Vak’s first and earliest utterances,
All that was excellent and spotless, treasured within them, was disclosed through their affection

Interpretation: The Poet of the verse Rv-10.71,1 tells us that a long ago when the
knowledgeable Persons (Rishis?) of ancient time identified and named various objects
present in the world, that time itself normal Vak/Speech made its appearance. But by
including name of God Brihaspati in the verse, the Poet looks beyond simple Vak or Speech
used by the common people and credits the hidden and secret treasure/messages present in
the composed Praise Songs to God Brihaspati and hints at the true meanings of the spoken
words (language) of the Sage-Poets are known only to the selected people/Priests who lived
in the Indian Sub-continent at that time.

It means to say that the language used by the Rigvedic Poets is different from the
language spoken by the common people lived in the Rigvedic territory. Hence an ordinary
person cannot understand the Poems of Praise as they are composed in the Poetic Language
which is different from the spoken language (literal language) of everyday life.

Literal language (also applicable to speech/Vak of Vedic time) is the language that
conveys exact and direct meaning of the words, whereas, Poetic Language takes a kind of
roundabout path to its meaning, in many cases communicates indirectly and hence harder to
understand than the former. Therefore, intention of any Poet cannot be understood from the
exact meanings of the texts (words) used in Poetic or Figurative Language but one has to
take into account the contexts as well.

Here we shall take a serious look at the four verses selected from the hymn Rv-10.98.

Four verses from the Hymn Rv-10.98 referring to God Brihaspati [1]

1. Come, be thou Mitra, Varuna, or Pusan, come, O Brhaspati, to mine oblation:

With Maruts, Vasus, or Adityas, make thou Parjanya pour for Santanu his rain-drops.

2: The God, intelligent, the speedy envoy whom thou hast sent hath come to me, Devapi;
 Address thyself to me and turn thee hither within thy lips will I put brilliant language.

3: Within my mouth, Brhaspati, deposit speech lucid, vigorous, and free from weakness.
Thereby to win for Santanu the rain-fall. The meath-rich drop from heaven hath passed

within it.

7: When as chief priest for Santanu, Devapi, chosen for Hotar's duty, prayed beseeching,
Graciously pleased Brhaspati vouchsafed him a voice that reached the Gods and won the
waters.

Above verses belong to the hymn Rv-10.98 specifically composed as a part of Yajna
rite to get the rain for the king Shamtanu. As per the content of the hymn, character Devapi

is hotraṃ ṛṣi / the invoker/ the main Priest of Yajna being perform for Shamtanu to obtain

rain/ vṛṣṭi. In the verse-1, the Composer (Sage-Poet Devapi?) requests God Brihaspati to act
as a mediator or reconciler between the Men and the Gods, then on behalf of Shamtanu he
appeals to God to direct Parjanya (or relevant God) to send rain for the people.

The verse Rv-10.98,2 has been composed in such a way as if Brihaspati is having a
dialogue with Devapi, the Priest. In the first line, Brihaspati tells Devapi that Deva-doot or a
messenger (Agni of Yajna) who is knowledgeable (cikitvān) has come to him, means the
God has received the exact message from the right character (Agni). Then Brihaspati
instructs Devapi to turn his face towards the former so that Brihaspati would transfer the

luminous heavenly speech/ dyumatīṃ-vācamāsan/ दयम

ु तीं वाचमासन to Devapi’s mouth.

Through the verse Rv-10.98,3 the Poet informs us that as an ongoing dialogue,
Devapi now eagerly tells God Brihaspati to place a vigorous, faultless heavenly shining
song/speech/ dyumatīṃ-vācamāsan in the former’s mouth so that collaboratively (both God
and Devapi) they would get immediate success in bringing rain for king Shampanu.

The verse Rv-10.98,7 intimates us that finally Devapi, the Hotar Priest of Shamtanu
wins waters/rain due to blessings received from Brihaspati in the form of glowing speech/
bṛhaspatirvācamasmā (a collection of pieces of spoken words/language) that he used in his
recently composed Song of Praise, reached the Gods and pleased them as well.

The most striking observation on the hymn Rv-10.98 is, Rigvedic Poets believed that
among the several Gods, it is God Brihaspati who actually imparts word power/vocabulary
to them and hence they look at him as the source of inspiration for composing a fresh Poem
of Praise with new content. Presence of the words like vācamāsan in the verse-2 and 3; as
well as vācamasmā in the verse-7 connecting to Brihaspati manifests the same.

Now it is necessary to know more about the structure of the poems/metres (various
types of word-formats) used by the Rigvedic Poets while composing the Praise-songs. One
such reference indicating a few names of metres with the total numbers of metres used in
making various Rigvedic hymns is found in the hymn Rv-1.164.

Rv-1.164,24: गायत्रेण प्रति मिमीते अर्क मर्के ण साम त्रैष्टु भे न वाकम् ।

वाकेन वाकं द्विपदा चतु ष्पदाक्षरे ण मिमते सप्त वाणीः ॥

gāyatréṇa práti mimīte arkám arkéṇa sā́ ma traíṣṭubhena vākám

vākéna vākáṃ dvipádā cátuṣpadā akṣáreṇa mimate saptá vā́ ṇīḥ

# With Gayatri he measures out the praise-song, Sama with praise-song, triplet with the Tristup.
The triplet with the two or four-foot measure, and with the syllable they form seven metres.

Interpretation: There are total seven metres or voices/ saptá vā́ ṇīḥ comprising of different
numbers of syllable/Akshara and out of which Gayatri, Tristubh are the most commonly used
to compose the praise-songs. The composed verse may contain two or four feet/pada

Even though some Poets in the composed hymns have used phrases like “Sapta
Vanih” (for Sapta Vanih see verses Rv-3.1,6; Rv-3.7,1; Rv-8.59,3 and “Sapta
Dhitayah/seven thoughts” refer to verse Rv-9.15,8) but the Composer of the hymn Rv-
1.164 in the verse-24 has used saptá vā́ ṇīḥ term for Seven Types of Songs or Seven
Rigvedic Metres quoting proper examples like Gayatri and Tristubh metres in it. In other
words, although these metres were in use since inception of Rigved but the Last but One
Mandala verse Rv-1.164,24 (not verse from any of the Five Early Mandalas) explicitly
tells us about the number of the Rigvedic Chandas/Meters or Metres.

In the two consecutive verses of the hymn Rv-10.130, the Poet has conveyed names
of the seven metres used since inception of Rigved. The composed hymn actually tells us the
basics of the creation and use of the different types of Praise Songs since old time. Hence the
hymn should be titled as “The history of Creation of different types of Poems of Praise”.

Rv-10.130,4: agnergāyatryabhavat sayughvoṣṇihayā savitā saṃ babhūva |

anuṣṭubhā soma ukthairmahasvān bṛhaspaterbṛhatī vācamāvat ||
Rv-10.130,5: virāṇ mitrāvaruṇayorabhiśrīrindrasya triṣṭub ihabhāgho ahnaḥ |
viśvān devāñ jaghatyā viveśa tenacākḷipra ṛṣayo manuṣyāḥ ||

Metrical information found in the Hymn Rv-10.130 is given below.

Verse-4: Gayatri, Usniha, Anustubha, Brihati
Verse-5: Viraj, Tristubha, Jagati

But the Poet has linked these seven metres to seven types of the Gods, and they are:

1. Gayatri-Agni;

2. Usniha-Savitar;

3. Anustubha-Soma;

3. Brihati-Brihaspati;

4. Viraj-Mitra+Varuna;

6. Tristubha-Indra;

7. Jagati-All Gods/Visvedeva

Through the verse Rv-10.130,6 the Poet has brought out the fact that during the

ancient period, these metres were created by the Men like Rishis (ṛṣayo manuṣyā) when
Yajna ritual was being shaped. In the verse-7, the Composer has revealed that the Praise-
Songs and the Chandas/metres (saha-stomāḥ saha-chandasa) came into existence along
with Yajna rite due to Seven God like Rishis who were authorised to finalize the ritual
procedure. Now we shall take a fresh look at the verse Rv-10.130,1 given below [1].

Rv-10.130,1: The sacrifice drawn out with threads on every side, stretched by a hundred sacred
ministers and one,
This do these Fathers weave who hitherward are come: they sit beside the warp and
cry, Weave forth, weave back.
Above verse cryptically tells us about the shaping up of Early Yajna rite. As per the
verse-1, the Ancestors/Fathers/ Rishis have woven the things forth and back as if they were
arranging or weaving threads to form a warp or cloth. It practically means, when one Rishi
comes up with a new idea/proposal, others suggest some correction or modification to it.
Then the earlier Rishi goes back to basics, modifies the same which is approved by all. It
implies that the ancient Rishis amicably sorted out their differences by holding “Constructive
Debate and Discussion” among them. Same approach holds true for Chandas or Metres too.

In other words, the Poet of hymn Rv-10.130 has briefly narrated the true story behind
the development of Seven Metres used for the composition of Poems of Praise. He also
made it clear that these Metres were formed amid fashioning of proper Yajna procedure.
Please note that the designing of metres was a collective work of many Rishis who were
also involved in shaping up of Yajna and hence it is not credited to a single Rishi.

It also manifests that during the pre-Rigvedic time, in Vedic Philosophy, earlier to
formulation of Yajna, there was no practice of composition of lengthy songs of praise.

Note: There are about 30 references of the word Gayatri and its variants in Ten Mandalas of
Rigved. Except one reference noticed in the verse Rv-2.43,1, all other references are present
in the Five Late Mandalas. In the hymn Rv-2.43 addressed to Kapinajala bird, alongside
word Gayatri, other terms related to the structural feature of Poems such as Tristubha and
Sama are also present.

Special References that link figure “Seven” to God Brihaspati

Some Composers in the hymns dedicated to Brihaspati have deliberately tried to

connect figure “seven” to God Brihaspati. Some such examples are mentioned below.

Verse Rv-4.50,4 from the Hymn devoted to Brihaspati

Rv-4.50,4: bṛhaspatiḥ prathamaṃ jāyamāno maho jyotiṣaḥ parame vyoman |

saptāsyas tuvijāto raveṇa vi saptaraśmir adhamat tamāṃsi ||

# Brhaspati, when first he had his being from mighty splendour in supremest heaven,
Strong, with his sevenfold mouth, with noise of thunder, with his seven rays, blew and
dispersed the darkness.
Here Brihaspati is said to have seven mouths and seven reins to take proper control
over the situation (Yajna?). Seven Mouths (of Priests) probably stands for seven metres.
 Verse Rv-10.67,1 from the Hymn dedicated to Brihaspati

Rv-10.67,1: imāṃ dhiyaṃ saptaśīrṣṇīṃ pitā na ṛtaprajātāṃ bṛhatīmavindat |

turīyaṃ svijjanayad viśvajanyo.ayāsya ukthamindrāya śaṃsan ||

# This holy hymn, sublime and seven-headed, sprung from eternal Law, our sire discovered.
Ayasya, friend of all men, hath engendered the fourth hymn as he sang his laud to Indra.

Here dhiyaṃ saptaśīrṣṇīṃ or seven headed thoughts, can be taken as seven tongues
speaking seven metres (one tongue in each mouth/head), as good as Sapta-Vani.

But the most remarkable observation on the hymn Rv-10.130 is the presence of the
term Brihaspati linking to Brihati metre in the verse Rv-10.130,4 (बर्हस्पते र्ब्र्हती वाचमावत).
Please note that there is no mention of Brahmanaspati in complete hymn Rv-10.130. The
content of the hymn makes us to realize that a long back the Rishis /the ancestors of Rigvedic
Priests had discussed and introduced the principle of metrical compositions of the Poems
(Chanda-baddha) for Yajna purpose and the same was followed by the generations of the
Rigvedic Poets. Even though the verse Rv-10.130,4 connects God Brihaspati with only one
type of meter (Brihati) but symbolically, all seven important meters of Rigved may be
taken as the seven tongues (Sapt Vanih) of Brihaspati.

Ideally speaking, seven major metres of Rigved can be called as the "seven
mouths/seven voices/seven tongues of God Brihaspati".

Note: Presence of arkaih word in the verse Rv-6.73,3 denotes composed Praise Songs or
Mantras create flash of light that is used by Brihaspati to destroy enemies of the world.

Additionally, various Rigvedic Poets have used different types of Poetic Devices such

as Simile, Metaphor, Hyperbole, Alliteration etc in the composed Poems. Although there
is no direct reference about the application of these tools in the texts, but based on the content
of the verse Rv-10.98,3 it can be said the Rigvedic Poets considered Brihaspati as the right
deity to place demands for these features to have powerful impact of their Poems.

Sum and substance of above discussion is, the Poets look at Brihaspati to bless
them with proper “Pratibha” that includes a new and impressive Vocabulary, selection of
suitable Metre and other Poetic Devices for crafting very effective Praise-Songs.
 Here “Pratibha (प्रतिभा)” means “Expressive Poetic Skills”.

Note: Although no Rigvedic Poet has used the word “Pratibha” in any of the composed

poem, but structurally similar word pratimā/ प्रतिमा is present in the verse Rv-10.130,3.

Now we shall take a re-look at the verse Rv-10.97,15 given below [1].

Rv-10.97,15: Let fruitful Plants, and fruitless, those that blossom, and the blossomless,
Urged onward by Brhaspati, release us from our pain and grief;

Two possible interpretations of the said verse are as follows.

Interpretation-1: Some plants bear fruits and other go fruitless. Also some plants blossom
and other do not. Similarly, Brihaspati, do not expect from us composition of the new songs
on the regular basis and for some time please relieve us from that burden.

Interpretation-2: Many plants/trees produce seasonal fruits and flowers. Some trees do not
bear both things at all. Likewise, Brihaspati we cannot compose fresh songs routinely as we
need a break to recuperate from the pressure of composition. Please give us some rest period
to regain our mental strength.

Above interpretations convey that the Composer of afore-mentioned verse considers

God Brihaspati - the driving force or mentor or motivator behind the composition of Praise
Songs since old time. The Poets of the ancient era too believed that the God is the final
authority on the work being done by them (composition of the Songs of Praise on the
occasion of Yajna ritual). Therefore, the Poet of the above mentioned verse appeals to God
Brihaspati to permit him to take needed break from that activity.

III. Harmonizing the roles of Brahmanaspati and Brihaspati:

 Here the term harmonizing means focusing on those areas of the documents wherein
Brahmanaspati and Brihaspati are projected to share some common interests and also their
responsibilities are found to be overlapping, inter-fusing and complementary to each other.

It is strange but fact that Rigvedic Gods Brahmanapati and Brihaspati are seen
together in Mandala-2 (the Earliest Mandala) hymns Rv-2.23 and Rv-2.24 that are
originally addressed to Brahmanaspati. In the hymn Rv-2.23 Brihaspati, name of the God
appears 13 times and in the hymn Rv-2.24; it is noticed twice (verse-1 and 10).

Similarly, Brahmanaspati word appears in some hymns dedicated to Brihaspati. In

the hymn Rv-7,97 that is devoted to Brihaspati, the term is observed in the verses- 3 and 9.
Additionally, it is also present in the verse Rv-10.67,7 (hymn is dedicated to Brihaspati).

Before we proceed further we shall take a recap on some important features of both
Gods highlighted by the Rigvedic Poets in some hymns. Table-1 gives information collected
from the texts on some key points of both Gods.

Table-1

Feature of Brahmanaspati Brihaspati

the God (Reference Verse Number) (Reference Verse Number)
Story of God Tvastar shaped the God Ancient Rishi Angirasa fashioned the
origin of the and placed him above the world God during shaping up of Yajna rite.
God (Rv-2.23,17) (Rv-4.40,1; Rv-6.73,1; Rv-10.14,3;
Rv-10.47,6; Rv-10.68,2)
Special Father of the Gods Father of sacred Prayers
Designation/ (Rv-2.26,3) (Rv-2.23,2)
Title
Role in Promoter of Yajna Facilitator of Praise Song composition
Yajna (Rv-1.18,7 and 8) through proper vocabulary and metre
selection (Rv-10.97,3; Rv-10.130,4)
Basic Kavi or Divine Visionary, the Imparter of Poetic skills and the Real
Quality Brain Inciter, Idea Planter. Motivator to achieve the Goal.
Based on the Table-1, it can be said that the ancestors of the Rigvedic Priests created
God Brahmanaspati much before the establishment of Yajna rite in the Vedic Philosophy
most probably alongside God Indra, whereas they formed Brihaspati during the
development phase of Yajna ritual. To understand basic functions of both Gods, please see
the example given below.
Three persons from three different backgrounds visit Kashmir state of India together
as the tourists. When they first time see Pahalgam Valley (see picture given below), each
one of them gave distinct reaction.

Photograph-1; Picturesque Landscape of Pahalgam Valley, Kashmir (India)

Reactions of three persons are as follows.

1. A Common Man: “Wow. What beautiful scenery is?”

2. A Painter/Artist: Starts replicating the scene on a canvas using brush and paints
3. A Poet: Begins to compose a poem on the view.

It means to say that depending on inherent qualities, each person tries to do justice to
the beautiful natural scenery in his/her own style.

Now if we tell two poets to pen a separate poem on the said scenery, the content of
their poems would not be identical or even the poetic form used would be different though
the view is the same. This is because each poet would follow his/her natural talent to capture
the view in words; use his distinct poetic skills to write a poem.
Above exercise has been done to bring out the fact that any present-day Poet would
go by his/her instinct and compose a poem as per his/.her style/choice on a given subject. It
seems that just to avoid very wide variations in the Poetic styles, the ancient or pre-
Rigvedic Rishis standardized the things in the form of “Seven Major Metres”. And the
Rigvedic Poets generally ascribe this standardization to God Brihaspati (Sapta Vanih).

In other words, the Old Rishis devised a set of rules or guidelines for the composition
of the Praise Songs so that the future generation Poets would apply proper and acceptable
poetic forms while composing new Poems that would lead to similar, powerful but consistent
quality poems and also agree with the rules (in case of doubt, please refer to hymn Rv-10.130
that briefly narrates the story of the genesis of metrical compositions occurred during the
development phase of Yajna ritual. In a way, it can be termed as the Standardization).

Note: Excavations carried out at the different locations of Indus Valley Civilization revealed
use of “standard weights and measures” by the Bronze Age people who lived there.

After discussing about the types of Songs composed by the Rigvedic Poets, now it is
time to focus our attention on the basic tasks assigned to God Brahmanaspati and God
Brihaspati by the ancient Rishis. It would help us in bringing the activities of both Gods to
some kind of agreements.

Now we shall go back to the Photograph-1 which shows natural beauty of Pahalgam
valley. Just imagine a Poet has been asked to cover the scenery in the form of a poem. It
means, when a real picture already exists, then the Poet needs to use his/ her imagination to
convert the same into wordy picture, for that he/she needs to choose and arrange the words in
a proper manner so that the description would faithfully represent original scene. This
example would be used to explain the roles of Brahmanaspati and Brihaspati.

For the time being, we assume that a Rigvedic Poet decides to compose a song on
God Agni. Since Brahmanaspati is defined as the brain Inciter/Brahma or the divine
visionary/Kavi, then it would be more appropriate to attribute “getting an idea for the
composition of hymn dedicated to Agni” to God Brahmanaspati. Here Brahmanaspati is
believed to be the thought provoker, or stimulator who makes the Poet feel full of new
ideas and enthusiasm.
Once an idea of composition of a new Poem gets nucleated into the mind of a Poet
(due to Brahmanaspati), translation of the said idea into an actual Song is done by God
Brihaspati. This includes selection of metre, use of suitable vocabulary, coining of new
words if necessary (see verse Rv-10.98,3), and arranging them in a proper order using
literally devices to present the Idea in a meaningful way. It means, God Brihaspati
practically puts the Poet into action to create correct wordy picture of the idea conceived
by God Brahmanaspati.

Brahmanaspati: Nucleation or seeding of an Idea

Brihaspati: Growth or expansion or conversion of an Idea into a Praise Song
Or in modern-day terms, same thing can be explained as below;
Brahmanaspati: “Vision” provider (through “Prajna /प्रज्ञा”)
Brihaspati: “Mission” accomplisher (through “Pratibha /प्रतिभा”)

Now take an intense look at the verse Rv-8.96,15 given below.

Rv-8.96,15: And then the Drop in Amsumati's bosom, splendid with light, assumed its proper body;
And Indra, with Brhaspati to aid him, conquered the godless tribes that came against him.
The composer of the hymn Rv-8.96 cryptically described that when number of
opponents of God Indra increased many-fold, then Brihaspati aided Indra to defeat the
Godless people (means the rebels/poets who strongly opposed Indra). In other words, to win
the oral war/verbal fight against the real men, the Rigvedic Priests looked at Brihaspati, as
mythical God Indra despite possessing Vajra was ineffective in tackling the actual Problem.

Summing up the discussion on the topic of “Harmonizing the roles of

Brahmanaspati and Brihaspati”; from the content of the verses pertaining to God
Brahmanaspati it can be said that his main role is to introduce an idea in the minds of the
Priests for conduction of Yajna in the name of a particular Deity, whereas God
Brihaspati’s important function is to instigate the Poets to glorify the Deity already
selected for a particular Yajna using a suitable metre, the best word power/vocabulary and
the proper Poetic devices.
In short, Brahmanaspati characterizes the Inspired Thinking/Divine Perception of
a Poet and Brihaspati represents the Poetic or Communication Skills of a Poet.
IV. Probable Origin of “Pani” and “Vala” Myths of Rigved :
 Rigvedic Poets in the composed verses of some hymns of the documents have lauded
the heroic acts of the Deities of their imaginations for rescuing cows or cattle of Angirasas
by destroying or killing enemies like Pani and Vala. Some of them are listed below.

1. Indra kills Pani and releases the cows of Angirasa.

2. Indra slaughters Vala and gets back the cows.
3. Brahmanaspati cleaves Vala’s cave and drives away the cattle.
4. Brihaspati split Vala’s mountain and collects the cows for Angirasas.
5. Brihaspati locates cows hidden by Panis and defeats them using strong words.

There are many enemies of the Rigvedic People that included some factual and some
fictional characters. Surprisingly, references of the stories of wrong-doings of Pani and Vala
are not restricted to a single Mandala but found in both classes of the Mandalas i.e., the Early
(Early Mandala-2, 3, 4, 6, and 7) and the Late Mandalas (Late Mandala-5, 8, 9, 1, and
10).Therefore, it is necessary to know possible reason behind inclusion of these stories.

Description given in many verses of the Five Early Mandalas of Rigved indirectly
reflects that river Saraswati was rain-fed channel located in the eastern part of Rigvedic
Country and got dried up during the regime of King Nahusa (who ruled the entire Rigvedic
Territory) most likely due to scanty rainfall. The most prominent myth of Rigved “Indra
kills dragons like Vritra and Ahi, then releases water in the seven rivers” is based on the
factual condition of river Saraswati. Once it is agreed that there was water scarcity in the
region adjoining river Saraswati, then the tales of “Pani” and “Vala” need to be studied
from that angle.

The Legend of “Pani/ पणी”

Dictionary [3] meaning of the word Pani/पणी is Niggard or Miser, possibly refers to
the outsiders who were involved in trade activities. Since the Composers of Rigved have
portrayed Panis as the entities who withhold cows of the Rishis (mainly Angirasa), then
taking into account the factual state of river Saraswati, it can be assumed that during the pre-
Rigvedic period, due to paucity of water around the river Saraswati, the ancient Rishis
handed over some of their cows to Panis (the people who used to do cattle trading business in
the Rigvedic Territory) with the intention to look after or to graze the cattle in other areas
where fodder is readily available. This is because, to buy or sell the cattle, Panis used to
move from one place to other. After several years, when Panis did not return the cows to the
Rishis, then since inception of Rigved, several Poets of different era made it a point to
incorporate the past experience of their ancestors as a part of their compositions as if ‘Indra
first locates the cows of Angirasa with the help of dog Sarama, kills the Panis to rescues the
cattle from the custody of the latter”. Same thing has been repeated for Brahmanaspati and
Brihaspati too as in the texts both are treated as the close friends of Indra.

Please note that Rv-10.108 is the hymn of the Last Mandala of Rigved wherein the
story of a loyal dog Sarama finding Panis in the Extreme North-west Corner of Rigvedic
Territory who were absconding since a long time with the cattle of the Rishis and then
Brihaspati showers strong verbal abuses/scolds like the deadly arrows at the Panis. Presence
of river Rasa twice in the hymn makes us to say that the location of this particular mythical
event has to be the North-west Corner of Rigvedic Country. In this hymn, the Poet has
depicted Brihaspati playing the role of Indra as the rescuer but uses sharp word power and
not the Vajra/thunderbolt to subdue the Panis.

The Case of “Vala/वल”

The evil character “Vala” is generally believed to be the enclosure / the blocker of
Cows in the form of Stone Cave that was split by Indra after consuming Soma juice. If
“Cow” is considered as an animal, then Vala can be a crocodile living in a pond that attacks
animal “Cow” who wants to drink water from pond. If “Cow” is taken as the flowing water,
then Vala becomes a barrier like a dam constructed on a river. As per the content of the
hymns Rv-10.67 and 68 that are addresses to Brihaspati, the god plays the role of Indra and
rescues the cows of Angirasa. In the verse Rv-2,24,3 Brahmanaspati splits Vala’s cave
using Song. Here the fundamental question is, “why did the Poets of both classes of the
Ten Mandalas of Rigved keep repeating the adverse or negative stories of Pani and Vala?”

Before we look for the answer to the afore-stated question, we need to know more
about Bhujyu’s tale that is found in Mandala-1, 4, 6, 7 and 10. As per the verse Rv-6,62,6
Bhujyu is the son of Tugra who was left to his fate by his father in the middle of a sea (Rv-
1.116,3 and 4) but Asvins rescued him by taking timely action. With some variation the story
of Asvins helping Bhujyu gets echoed in some Mandalas of the documents. Please remember
that the character Bhujyu is not portrayed as the villain by the Rigvedic Singers. When it is
known that Asvins are the deities of the imagination of the ancient Rishis, then it can be
assumed that Bhujyu is the name of a person who lived during pre-Rigvedic time and was
abandoned by his father (or friends) in middle of the sea due to some undefined reason.

In other words, “Bhujyu was left alone in the sea to face rough weather”, a part of the
narration may be true but “Asvins brought him back on the land safely” is definitely a myth.

Similarly, from the examples of Pani and Vala it can be said that the incidences
reported by the Rigvedic Composers about the cows of the ancient Rishis purposely stolen
or hidden by the villains Pani and Vala are due to water shortage. Through these tales the
Poets have shared the “real struggle for water” experienced by their ancestors but purposely
added mythical features like Indra, Brahmanaspati and Brihaspati identify/locate the real
trouble-makers Pani and Vala and then act accordingly to resolve the issue of their Cows.

V. Final Comments:

After careful examination of the Rigvedic Verses related to God Brahmanaspati and
God Brihaspati, following inferences are drawn.

1. Brahmanaspati and Brihaspati are the Gods specifically designed for the needs of
Priestly community, very similar to the modern-day phrase “made to order”.

2. Brahmanaspati is created by Tvastar much earlier along with Indra and Vishnu.
Whereas, Brihaspati is fashioned by Old Angirasa during the development process
of Yajna rite. The Earliest Angirasa created Brihaspati as the “household God” of
the Poets to derive mental strength for composing creative Songs of Praise.
3. Brahmanaspati is the God who provides Divine Impulse or Prajna that drives the
Priests to organize Yajna and guides them to decide the Deity on whom the poem of
praise to be composed and/or sung on that occasion. His role as Kavi and Purohit
gives feeling of “revelation or word of God or Divine Visionary” and Heavenly
Priest who intentionally arrives at the site of Yajna to promote the ritual.

Brahmanaspati ---Lord of Divine Thoughts/Wisdom

4. Brihaspati is the God who provokes the Sage-Poets to apply Poetic skills or
Pratibha to craft the Hymns or Suktas using suitable metre, proper words and poetic
devices so as to glorify the Deity selected beforehand for the invocation during
Yajna ceremony (Afflatus or Divine Inspiration).

Brihaspati---Lord of Divine Speech/Suktas/Prayers

5. In strict sense, Brahmanaspati and Brihaspati are the two distinct aspects of one
God (similar to one body having two heads).

6. In the present context, Brihaspati may be seen as “add-on feature” to earlier created
God Brahmanaspati. Hence on some occasions, their roles can be interchanged but
it is preferable to view their actions independently (although interconnected).

7. Seven Metres/छन्दः used for framing the Suktas/hymns of Rigved are as old as
Yajna, the ritual devised by the pre-Rigvedic Rishis after the birth of Indra.

8. Progress of Yajna rite is monitored through the Speech/Spoken Words.

9. It seems that there is some element of truth in the stories related to adverse characters
like Pani and Vala. But the acts of Gods like Indra, Brahmanaspati and Brihaspati
releasing or rescuing the Cows of Angirasas are pure myths (half-truths?).

VI. References:

1. “Rig Veda”(Bilingual), Translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith (1896) in PDF

(indicated by symbol-# in present essay).

2. “Rig Veda” ( Griffith Translation)-Table of Content, Alphabetical frequency etc.

from the Intratext Digital Library available on www.Intratext .com

 3. Monier-Williams Dictionary.

4. Images and General Information are sourced from the books and Public Domain.

“My Heart beats for Rigvedic Poets”

Appendix “A”

Defining Poetic Sensibility

Madeleine Fuchs Holzer on Teaching Poetry (taken from the site- poets.org)

“The process of writing poetry begins with a struggle to describe what is

not easily captured in words, but is put down in words that create associations
in the mind and emotions of the reader. It requires a keen multisensory
experience of the surrounding world; an ability to ask questions of, and see
patterns in, that world; an ability to make both logical and intuitive
connections; a facility and passion for finding just the right word or phrase to
express what, at first, might seem inexpressible; and the use of imagination to
connect all in unexpected ways. Language, along with its sounds, rhythms,
associations, and appearance on the page, are the tools poets have to explore
phenomena and situations that they find compelling”.