Tuesday, February 14, 2017

इषे त्वा ऊर्जेत्वा ishe twaa oorje twaa...

A glorious life....

The dawn is just arriving.. 
The big red Orb of the most respected God of energy and hope, the Sun is just showing up.
Our forefather four to five thousand years ago had just woken up and started his daily routines.. 

He wants to offer respects to fire and kindle the fire for daily use.. 
He looks at the Palasa tree with dry twigs.. While collecting the twigs he is just telling them.. 
" I am collecting you for our material welfare.. to have large heaps of grain, and other things to sustain life.. 
I am collecting you to kindle the fire which would provide us energy.

Lovely cows, and calves, you get separated from one another so that the cows can go into open grounds and eat lush green grass
.. You get united again in our household when the calves drink your mother's milk to your hearts content..

May the great God Savita (the Sun) provide you with all you want because we cannot get own with our great endeavours in life unless you are doing and are providing your nectar for our purposes..

The first stanza of Yajurveda Samhita starts Like this.. 

इषे त्वा ऊर्जेत्वा वायवस्थ उपायवस्थ देवो वः सविता प्रार्पयतु श्रेष्ठतमाय कर्मणे॥
यजुर्वेदसंहिता॥
iṣe tvā ūrjetvā vāyavastha upāyavastha devo vaḥ savitā prārpayatu śreṣṭhatamāya karmaṇe||
yajurvedasaṁhitā||

इषे त्वा ऊर्जेत्वा for our food and for our energy ( it is implied that the prayer is addressed to the Palasa twigs, which the seeker collects for fire oblations)
वायव स्थ उपायव स्थ go to open places (vaayava ) and join back in the closed place ( in the household of the yajamana).. it is implied that the request is addressed to the cows and their calves.. the cows which are stationed in the backyards, have to go for grazing in the open air in the morning to come back in the evening.. the calves get separated from the mothers, to join them in the evening when they can have their hearts fill of mothers mill

श्रेष्ठतमाय कर्मणे for the great work and thorough procedure of various rites, (the products from the cow are a must )

देवो सविता the great Sun.. Savita 

वःप्रर्पयतु may He be pleased to make you capable of providing us with all our requirements..

I am sure everyone would have chanted this starting mantram of Yajurvedam ( both Krishna and Shukla)..
If we read the chant without keeping in mind the background, we would not be able to make head or tail of the mantra..
But great commentators have described the import very elegantly.. ( See commentaries of Sayana, Bhattabhaskara etc)

How simple life was then..

Just go around and collect twigs for fire offerings.. But when you collect the twigs you have to explain your purpose with great reverence to the mother tree.
The twigs when offered ceremonially on fire, bestow on us plentitude in essentials of life and at the same time provide us with energy..

The cows are sent to open pastors for grazing so that they would eat grass and provide us with milk and other products.. 

The calves cannot accompany the cows, because if the mother and the child are together, the latter would drink all the milk.. 
So the calf is restrained.. 
But then the man of Vedic times was not selfish..

He tells the mother and the calf that they can join together in his place where the calf will have sufficient milk to drink..

And the entire activity of that man in under the fond hope that he eternal Sun will brighten the lives of all around.. 

What a blissful prayer!
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Palasha.. the twigs are necessary for kindling ceremonial fire.. It is also called Chamata in kerala 
The botanical name of the tree with red flowers is Butea monosperma

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