Do we really have 33 corers God in Our Hindu Religion ..!
’33 Crore Gods’ is a completely misinterpreted fact due to wrong translation of Vedic Sanskrit by certain foreign 'scholars'.
The term ‘trayastrimsati koti’ mentioned in Atharva Veda, Yajur Veda, and Satapatha-brahmana, is rightly translated as 33 Gods.
The term koti in Sanskrit has two meaning, one is ‘type’ and the other is Crore.
So, somewhere in translation, they missed the basic fact that Sanatana Dharma/Hinduism has 33 Supreme Gods and not 33 Crore Gods.
According to Vedas there are 33 Gods/Devas. These Gods are separated in the following pattern : 12 + 11 + 8 + 2.
12 is the number of Adityas, 11 are the number of Rudras, 8 is the number of Vasus, 1 is Prajapati, the Master of Gods, and 1 is the Supreme Ruler who is very powerful.
Names of all 33 Vedic deities:
12 Adityas (personified deities) correspond to the 12 Solar months and represent different attributes of social life. The Vedic sages especially venerated the Adityas and Vedas are full of hymns dedicated to Indra, Agni, Surya, Varun and the like. These are:
1. Indra/Shakra (eldest and the undoubted leader of other Adityas)
2. Ansh (due share),
3. Aryaman (nobility),
4. Bhaag (due inheritance),
5. Dhatri (ritual skill),
6. Tvashtar (skill in crafting),
7. Mitra (friendship),
8. Pushan/Ravi (prosperity),
9. Savitra/Parjanya (power of word),
10. Surya/Vivasvan (social law),
11. Varun (fate),
12. Vaman (cosmic law).
8 Vasus are attendant deities of Indra and comprise of eight elemental gods that represent the different aspects of Nature. They are:
1. Anil (Wind),
2. Apas (Water),
3. Antariksh/Dyaus (Space),
4. Dhara (Earth),
5. Dhruv (Pole Star),
6. Anal (Fire),
7. Prabhas (Dawn),
8. Soma (Moon).
11 Rudras:
· 5 abstractions – Ānanda (bliss), Vijñāna (knowledge), Manas (thought), Prāṇa (breath/ life), Vāc (speech),
· 5 names of Śiva – Īśāna (ruler), Tatpuruṣa (that person), Aghora (not terrible), Vāmadeva (pleasant god), Sadyojāta (born at once)
· 1 - Ātmā (spiritual self)
In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the 11 Rudras are represented by ten vital energies (rudra-prana) in the body and the eleventh one being the Ātman (the soul):
katame rudrA iti |
dasheme purushhe prANA
AtmaikAdashas
te yadA.asmAchchharIrAnmartyAdutkrAmanty
atha rodayanti
tadyadrodayanti
tasmAdrudrA iti || 4 ||
‘Which are the Rudras ?’ ‘The ten organs in the human body, with the prana as the tenth and the atma as the eleventh. When they depart from this mortal body, they make (one’s relatives) weep. Because they then make them weep, therefore they are called Rudras.’
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad III-ix-4: ‘
Sources:- Rig Veda, Atharva Veda, Yajur Veda, and Part 9 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad where Sage Yajnavalkya is questioned by Sage Sakalya.
Even though the Vedic texts point out towards a naturalistic pantheistic or even polytheistic philosophy - if we go slightly deeper, we can identify the following core values of Sanatana Dharma/Hindu faith:
- There is a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both immanent & transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.
- No one path/religion teaches the ONLY way to salvation above all others, but that ALL genuine paths are facets of God's Light, deserving respect and understanding.
- Karma is the law of cause & effect by which each individual creates his/her own destiny by thoughts, words & actions.
- The Soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha (liberation) from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny.
- ALL life forms are sacred, to be loved & revered, so you have to follow Ahimsa - non-injury.
- Divinity exists in unseen worlds and temple worship, rituals, sacraments & personal devotions can help in connecting with God. Thus God can be worshiped in many forms - as Krishna, Ganesha, Kaali, Durga, Shiva, Surya, Agni or any other form/name.
As the RigVeda Richa (1/164/46) proclaims:
God is called Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, Divya, Suparna, Garutmaan, Yama and Maatarishvaa etc. but God is one, wise call him by many names. Therefore, in the end of the number of names of the same God do not really matter.
What matters is that Truth/God is one - it can be called by various names by various people.
The term ‘trayastrimsati koti’ mentioned in Atharva Veda, Yajur Veda, and Satapatha-brahmana, is rightly translated as 33 Gods.
The term koti in Sanskrit has two meaning, one is ‘type’ and the other is Crore.
So, somewhere in translation, they missed the basic fact that Sanatana Dharma/Hinduism has 33 Supreme Gods and not 33 Crore Gods.
According to Vedas there are 33 Gods/Devas. These Gods are separated in the following pattern : 12 + 11 + 8 + 2.
12 is the number of Adityas, 11 are the number of Rudras, 8 is the number of Vasus, 1 is Prajapati, the Master of Gods, and 1 is the Supreme Ruler who is very powerful.
Names of all 33 Vedic deities:
12 Adityas (personified deities) correspond to the 12 Solar months and represent different attributes of social life. The Vedic sages especially venerated the Adityas and Vedas are full of hymns dedicated to Indra, Agni, Surya, Varun and the like. These are:
1. Indra/Shakra (eldest and the undoubted leader of other Adityas)
2. Ansh (due share),
3. Aryaman (nobility),
4. Bhaag (due inheritance),
5. Dhatri (ritual skill),
6. Tvashtar (skill in crafting),
7. Mitra (friendship),
8. Pushan/Ravi (prosperity),
9. Savitra/Parjanya (power of word),
10. Surya/Vivasvan (social law),
11. Varun (fate),
12. Vaman (cosmic law).
8 Vasus are attendant deities of Indra and comprise of eight elemental gods that represent the different aspects of Nature. They are:
1. Anil (Wind),
2. Apas (Water),
3. Antariksh/Dyaus (Space),
4. Dhara (Earth),
5. Dhruv (Pole Star),
6. Anal (Fire),
7. Prabhas (Dawn),
8. Soma (Moon).
11 Rudras:
· 5 abstractions – Ānanda (bliss), Vijñāna (knowledge), Manas (thought), Prāṇa (breath/ life), Vāc (speech),
· 5 names of Śiva – Īśāna (ruler), Tatpuruṣa (that person), Aghora (not terrible), Vāmadeva (pleasant god), Sadyojāta (born at once)
· 1 - Ātmā (spiritual self)
In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the 11 Rudras are represented by ten vital energies (rudra-prana) in the body and the eleventh one being the Ātman (the soul):
katame rudrA iti |
dasheme purushhe prANA
AtmaikAdashas
te yadA.asmAchchharIrAnmartyAdutkrAmanty
atha rodayanti
tadyadrodayanti
tasmAdrudrA iti || 4 ||
‘Which are the Rudras ?’ ‘The ten organs in the human body, with the prana as the tenth and the atma as the eleventh. When they depart from this mortal body, they make (one’s relatives) weep. Because they then make them weep, therefore they are called Rudras.’
- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad III-ix-4: ‘
Sources:- Rig Veda, Atharva Veda, Yajur Veda, and Part 9 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad where Sage Yajnavalkya is questioned by Sage Sakalya.
Even though the Vedic texts point out towards a naturalistic pantheistic or even polytheistic philosophy - if we go slightly deeper, we can identify the following core values of Sanatana Dharma/Hindu faith:
- There is a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both immanent & transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.
- No one path/religion teaches the ONLY way to salvation above all others, but that ALL genuine paths are facets of God's Light, deserving respect and understanding.
- Karma is the law of cause & effect by which each individual creates his/her own destiny by thoughts, words & actions.
- The Soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha (liberation) from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny.
- ALL life forms are sacred, to be loved & revered, so you have to follow Ahimsa - non-injury.
- Divinity exists in unseen worlds and temple worship, rituals, sacraments & personal devotions can help in connecting with God. Thus God can be worshiped in many forms - as Krishna, Ganesha, Kaali, Durga, Shiva, Surya, Agni or any other form/name.
As the RigVeda Richa (1/164/46) proclaims:
God is called Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, Divya, Suparna, Garutmaan, Yama and Maatarishvaa etc. but God is one, wise call him by many names. Therefore, in the end of the number of names of the same God do not really matter.
What matters is that Truth/God is one - it can be called by various names by various people.
Comments
Post a Comment