The Hindus (123 page)

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Authors: Wendy Doniger

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CHAPTER 5 : HUMANS, ANIMALS, AND GODS IN THE RIG VEDA
1
Thapar,
Early India
, 109. All translations are from Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Rig Veda
and
Hindu Myths
, unless otherwise noted.
2
Keay,
India
, 24.
3
Mitter,
Indian Art
, 9.
4
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Other Peoples’ Myths
, chapter 3.
5
Aitareya Aranyaka
5.5.3, cited by Staal, “The Concept of Scripture,” 122-23.
6
For a discussion of the oral transmission of the
Rig Veda
, see Louis Renou,
The Destiny of the Veda in India
, 25-26 and 84.
7
For a fuller discussion of the relationship between
shruti
and
smriti
, see Brian K. Smith, “Exorcising the Transcendent: Strategies for Defining Hinduism and Religion” and “The Unity of Ritual: The Place of the Domestic Sacrifice in Vedic Ritualism.”
8
Müller,
The Rig Veda
, ix.
9
Taittiriya Samhita
7.5.25.2.
10
West,
Indo-European Poetry
, 161.
11
Thapar
, Early India
, 113.
12
Romila Thapar’s phrase, after George Michell’s “portable temple.”
13
Jamison,
Sacrificed Wife
, 9.
14
Heesterman,
The Broken World
.
15
William Buck’s apt phrases, in his translation of the
Mahabharata
, 9.
16
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Siva
, 96.
17
Chandogya Upanishad
8.7-12.
18
West,
Indo-European Poetry
, 246.
19
Ibid.
20
Jamison,
Ravenous Hyenas
, 258-59.
21
RV 10.148.5; 10.94.14; 8.9.10 ; cf. 1.112.13; 10.123.1-5, 5.52.16 1.84.10-11; 8.6.19, 2.34.2, 5.60.5, 34-36 ; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Origins of Evil
, 322.
22
Mahabharata
12.59.99-128;
Atharva Veda
8.10.22-29; etc. Doniger O’Flaherty,
Origins of Evil
, 321-48.
23
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Women;
West,
Indo-European Poetry
, 417.
24
Thapar
, Early India,
115.
25
Gommans, “The Rise of the Indo-Afghan Empire,” 71.
26
Ibid., 69.
27
Thapar
, Early India,
114.
28
Shatapatha Brahmana
14.1.1.18-24; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Hindu Myths,
56-59.
29
Schmidt, “The Origin of Ahimsa.”
30
West,
Indo-European Poetry
, 469
31
Ibid., 467.
32
Ibid., 490.
33
Thapar
, Early India,
116.
34
Parpola, “The Coming of the Aryans to Iran and India.”
35
Thapar
, Early India,
112.
36
Ibid., 122.
37
Ambatta Sutta
of the
Sutta Nikaya
.
38
Lincoln,
Myth, Cosmos and Society
.
39
West,
Indo-European Poetry
, 100.
40
Flood,
Introduction
, 79.
41
Witzel, “Early Sanskritization.”
42
Such as the
vratyastoma
;
Atharva Veda
15; Nath,
Puranas and Acculturation
, 41.
43
Scheuer, “Rudra-Siva et la destruction du sacrifice.”
44
Doniger O’Flaherty, “The Post-Vedic History of the Soma Plant.”
45
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office appeal no. 2005-1337, application no. 10/227,006.
46
Wasson,
Soma
; Flood,
Introduction
, 41.
47
As R. Gordon Wasson called it.
48
Shatapatha Brahmana
5.5.4.10 ; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Origins of Evil
, 153.
49
Jamison,
Sacrificed Wife
, 256.
50
Ghosha as the author of 10.40, Apala as the author of 8.91; Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Rig Veda
, 246-46, 256.
51
Jamison,
Sacrificed Wife
.
52
Ibid., 92.
53
For sibling incest, see Yami’s unsuccessful attempt to seduce her brother Yama in
Rig Veda
10.10.
54
West,
Indo-European Poetry
, 500, citing J. P. Mallory, in a section labeled “Suttee.”
55
Ibid., citing
Atharva Veda
18.3.1.
56
Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Rig Veda
, 245-63.
57
RV 10.135, 10.51, 10.124, 4.26-7, 10.108, 10.28, etc.
58
Yami, the twin sister of Yama, in 10.10; Lopamudra, the wife of Agastya, in 1.179.
59
Pururavas, the husband of Urvashi, in 10.95; Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Rig Veda
, 245.
60
Yami is rejected by Yama, Lopamudra by Agastya, Pururavas by Urvashi.
61
Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Rig Veda
, 312. For the porcupine, see
Atharva Veda
6.13, Shaunaka recension, Bloomfield ed.
62
Doniger,
Splitting the Difference
.
63
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Women
.
64
RV 10.9, 7.49, 10.146, 10.71, 10.125; Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Rig Veda
, 61-63, 179-182, 199-200, 231-32, 242-45.
65
West,
Indo-European Poetry
, 139.
66
Flood,
Introduction
, 179; West,
Indo-European Poetry
, 139.
67
Bolon,
Forms of the Goddess Lajja Gauri in Indian Art
, figure 52; Kramrisch, “An Image of Aditi-Uttanapad,” 259-70.
68
RV 10.72.1-5; O’Flaherty,
The Rig Veda
, 30, 37- 40 ; Sayana on, citing Yaska’s
Nirukta
11.23.
69
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Textual Sources
, 28-29.
70
Dorson, “The Eclipse of Solar Mythology.”
71
Staal,
Agni
.
72
Lincoln, “The Indo-European Cattle-Raiding Myth,” 18.
73
Thapar
, Early India,
130.
74
Ibid.
75
Jurewicz, “Prajapati, the Fire and the
pancagnividya
,” 188; Gombrich, “Thought on Karma.”
 
 
CHAPTER 6: SACRIFICE IN THE BRAHMANAS
1
The date is sometimes said to be 3102 BCE or 1400 BCE. West,
Indo-European Poetry
, 13; Brockington,
The Sanskrit Epics
.
2
Jaiminiya Brahmana
2.182-83; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 40-42.
3
Aitareya Brahmana
3.21.
4
Shatapatha Brahmana
1.1.1.6: idam aham ya evaasmi so ‘smi.
5
Sayana’s commentary on the
Rig Veda
1.121.
6
Erdosy,
The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia
.
7
Bhandarkar,
Ancient History of Índia
, 153-54, citing Kautilya and the
Lalita Vistara.
8
Stein,
A History of India
, 51.
9
Flood,
An Introduction
, 53
10
Mitter,
Indian Art
, 13; Thapar,
Early India
, 109.
11
Thapar,
Early India
, 112
12
Ibid., 89-90.
13
Flood,
An Introduction
, 33; Keay,
India
, 41.
14
Flood,
An Introduction
, 80-81.
15
Witzel, “The Development of the Vedic Canon,” 313, 321, 333.
16
Thapar,
Early India
, 130.
17
Maitrayani Samhita
4.8.1;
Kathaka Samhita
30.1.
18
Aitareya Brahmana
2.19 (8.1);
Kaushitaki Brahmana
12.3.
19
Manu 7.130-31.
20
Shatapatha Brahmana
13.2.9.6-9; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Textual Sources
, 17-18.
21
Thapar,
Early India
, 129.
22
Heesterman,
The Inner Conflict of Tradition
.
23
Jaiminiya Brahmana
3.94-96; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 81-84.
24
Dumézil,
The Destiny of the Warrior
.
25
Brihaddevata;
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 83; Sieg
, Sagenstoffe,
26
RV 10.119-2-3, 9, 11-12.
27
Katha Upanishad
3.3-6.
28
Jaiminiya Brahmana
3.94-96; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 81-84.
29
Jamison,
Sacrificed Wife
.
30
Thapar,
Early India
, 122.
31
Shatapatha Brahmana
13.3.8.1-6; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Textual Sources
, 18-19.
32
Shatapatha Brahmana
13.2.9.9 and 13.5.2.10; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 17-18. The mantra is from RV 4.39, a prayer to a racehorse named Dadhikravan.
33
Debroy,
Sarama and Her Children.
34
Taittiriya Brahmana
3.8.4.2; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Textual Sources
, 14-17.
35
Jamison,
Sacrificed Wife
, 78, 99, citing
Maitrayani Samhita
2.1.19-23 and 3.12.1.
36
White, “Dogs Die,” 283-303.
37
Jaiminiya Brahmana
2.440-42; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 97-98.
38
Kathaka Samhita
29.1;
Maitrayani Samhita
3.10.6;
Aitareya Brahmana
2.22.10.
39
Jaiminiya Brahmana
1.161-2; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 101-02.
40
Kaushitaki Brahmana
23.4.
41
Jaiminiya Brahmana
1.161-3, Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 101-02.
42
Jaiminiya Brahmana
1.42-44, Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 32-34.
43
Kaushitaki Brahmana
11.3; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 39.
44
Shatapatha Brahmana
12.9.1.1; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 40.
45
Nandy,
Exiled at Home,
47 and 63; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 36-37.
46
Thapar,
Early India
, 115.
47
Shatapatha Brahmana
11.7.1.3; cf. 12.8.3.12.
48
D. N. Jha,
The Myth of the Holy Cow,
30-36; Keith,
Religion and Philosophy
, 324-26; Heesterman,
The Broken World
, 194, 283, n. 32; Renou,
Vedic India,
109.
49
D.N. Jha,
The Myth of the Holy Cow
, 47;
Taittiriya Samhita
5.6.11-20.
50
Cf.
Ashvalayana Grihya-sutra
1.24, 31-33, for the ritual of killing a cow on the arrival of a guest.
51
Apastamba Dharmasutra
1.17.30 31.
52
Thapar,
Early India
, 90.
53
Shatapatha Brahmama
3.1.2.21.
54
Thapar,
Early India
, 115.
55
See the introduction, by Wendy Doniger and Brian K. Smith, to
The Laws of Manu
. See also the conflict between sacrifice and nonviolence in Doniger O’Flaherty,
Other Peoples’ Myths
, chapter 4.
56
Atharva Veda
11.2.9 and 3.10.6, with Sayana’s commentary.
57
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Other Peoples’ Myths
, chapter 4.
58
Shatapatha Brahmana
13.6.1-2;
Vajasaneyi Samhita
30.1-22;
Taittiriya Brahmana
3.4.1.1 ff.
59
Sharma,
The Excavations at Kausambi
, 87ff.; Schlinghoff, “Menschenopfer in Kausambi.”
60
Sauve, “The Divine Victim”; Willibald Kirfel, “Der Asvamedha und der Purusamedha.”
61
Flood,
Introduction
, 41; Heesterman,
The Broken World
, 10.
62
Lincoln,
Myth, Cosmos, and Society
, 183 n.
63
For men as the sacrificial beasts of the gods, see Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Origins of Evil
, 169-73.
64
Shatapatha Brahmana
11.7.1.3;
Taittiriya Brahmana
3.9.17.4-5.
65
See the discussion of human sacrifice in Parpola, “The Pre-Vedic Indian Background,” 49-53; Weber, “Purusamedakandha” and “Ueber Menschenopfer”; Wilson, “On the Sacrifice of Human Beings”; Mitra, “On Human Sacrifices.”
66
Shatapatha Brahmana
1.2.3.6-7;
Aitareya Brahmana
2.8; Levi,
La doctrine,
136-37.
67
Eggeling,
Shatapatha Brahmana
, I, 49.
68
Aitareya Brahmana
7.13-18; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Textual Sources,
20-25.
69
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
1.4.10;
Shatapatha Brahmana
14.4.2.21-22; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Origins of Evil
, 91.
70
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Origins of Evil
, 171-73.
71
Shatapatha Brahmana
13.2.8.1-4.
72
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Textual Sources
14-19.
73
Taittiriya Samhita
7.4.19; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Women
, 154-61;
Textual Sources
, 15-19.
74
Shatapatha Brahmana
1.9.9.
75
Grottanelli, “Yoked Horses.”
76
Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Rig Veda
, 257-263; Jamison,
Sacrificed Wife
, 77-88, further developed this connection between the horse sacrifice and RV 10.86, and showed that the monkey is a mock horse and the poem a mock horse sacrifice.
77
Shatapatha Brahmana
13.2.9.6-9; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Textual Sources
, 17-18.
78
Jaiminiya Brahmana
3.199-200; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 75-76.
79
Doniger,
Splitting the Difference
.
80
Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Rig Veda
, 253-56.
81
Shatapatha Brahmana
11.5.1.1-17; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Women
, 180-81.
82
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Women
, 180-81.
83
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Textual Sources
, 12-13.
84
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Origins of Evil
, 216-19.
85
Shatapatha Brahmana
10.2.6.190.
86
Ibid, 11.1.6.6; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Origins of Evil
, 217;
Textual Sources
, 29-30.
87
Shatapatha Brahmana
10.4.4.1-3. Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Origins of Evil
, 217.
88
Shatapatha Brahmana
11.1.6.6; Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Origins of Evil,
217.
89
Tull,
The Vedic Origins of Karma
.
90
Shatapatha Brahmana
10.4.4.1-3; Doniger O’Flaherty,
The Origins of Evil
, 217.
91
Tull,
The Vedic Origins of Karma
.
92
Taittiriya Brahmana
3.11.8.1-6.
93
Katha Upanishad
1-2, 6.18.
94
Tale Type 369, 465C, 466, 812.
95
Thompson,
Motif Index
A 1715.
96
Jamison,
Ravenous Hyenas
.
97
Julius Eggeling, cited in Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 4-5.
98
Aitareya Brahmana, Maitrayani Samhita, Kathaka Samhita;
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 12.
99
Doniger O’Flaherty, “The Post-Vedic History.”
100
Wasson,
Soma.
101
Jaiminiya Brahmana
2.369-70; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Origins of Evil
, 140.
102
Shatapatha Brahmana
5.5.4.10; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Origins of Evil
, 153.
103
Taittiriya Samhita
2.5.1.
104
Tale Type 3.2.8.9-12;
Taittiriya Samhita
4.1.9;
Atharva Veda
6.113.
105
Shatapatha Brahmana
1.2.3.2-4.
106
Jaiminiya Brahmana
1.97-98; Doniger O’Flaherty,
Tales of Sex and Violence
, 51-52. Cf.
Chandogya Upanishad
1.2.1-6.
107
Doniger O’Flaherty,
Origins of Evil
.

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