Vedic Values: Dr. Hema K. Kshirsagar
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Radhika Subramanian IyerVedic Values: Dr. Hema K. Kshirsagar
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Radhika Subramanian IyerVEDIC VALUES
Dr. Hema K. Kshirsagar
Published by
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati.
2018
ii FOREWORD
VEDIC VALUES Indian culture is one of the richest and most diverse of
its kind in the world as it has stimulated the growth and
development of several philosophical systems and religious
Dr. Hema K. Kshirsagar thoughts. This culture has exercised considerable influence
over the spiritual life of the people all over the world.
The oldest literature available with us are the Vedas. It
T.T.D. Religious Publications Series No. 1288 was in the form of a lump before it's division. Bhagavan
©All Rights Reserved Vedavyasa has divided the lump of knowledge into four parts,
i.e., Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas. The division was
made with an intention as to make the Vedas to be understood
by the readers and be followed by the readers and common
First Edition - 2018 public to make their lives a fruitful one by following the
path of Dharma.
Vedic values written by Dr. Hema. K. Kshirsagar, is a
Copies : 4000 wonderer treatise which carries good information about the
values that are found in Vedas. The author has exemplified
many values in brief but they are really good to be read by
both elderly and children too.
Published by
Sri Anil Kumar Singhal, I.A.S., Hope this book will reach the coffee tables of all the
Executive Officer, readers. Let our Ancient Culture reach the new generation,
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, and make a pathway for their colourful future.
Tirupati.
D.T.P:
In the Service of Lord Venkateswara
Publications Division
T.T.D, Tirupati.
Printed at : Executive Officer,
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Press Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams,
Tirupati Tirupati.
CONTENTS
No. Title Page No.
1 Vedic Values 1
2 Value 6
3 Brahmanas 10
4 Correct Pronunciation and Memorisation 12
5 Truth 14
6 Guru and Disciple 17
7 The Death 19
8 Gurudakshina 23
9 Sacrifice 26
10 Dharma 29
11 Manusmriti 31
12 Women Education 33
13 Compassion towards all beings 36
14 Shevtaketu 38
15 Dignity of Labour 40
16 The Cow 42
17 Swearing by the Fire 44
18 Shodashopachara Puja 48
19 Obedience 49
vi
20 The Three Debts 51 My Word
21 Vedic sources of various customs 53 The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam has taken up
publication of books under 'Ancient Indian Culture
22 Donation 63
Series' for the benefit of the common reader. II feel
23 Sangyana Sukta 69 proud and happy that the Devasthanam has entrusted
24 Importance of Knowledge 70 to me the job of writing a book on Vedic Values'.
'Bhagavana Balaji' being our family deity, I accepted
25 Sham No Varunah 72 the invitation whole - heartedly. It is a golden
26 Idol Worship 73 opportunity for me to offer my 'Seva' in this form. It
is our common experience that all are not aware of the
27 Conclusion 74
treasure of our ancient literature like Vedas, Brahmanas,
28 Reference Books 75 Aranyakas, Upanishads, Puranas etc. This series is
aimed at acquainting the common readers with the rich
knowledge embeded in this literature. They will
* * * certainly feel proud of our heritage and culture. I hope
this book on Vedic Values' authored by me will satisfy
Devasthanam authorities and enlighten the readers as
well. It will help the readers to understand the basic
concept of Value' as richly illustrated in the ancient
Vedic literature. Many of the Vedic Values have been
accepted presently.
I am thankful to the Tirupati Devasthanam for
assigning this job to me. I am also thankful to Dr. P. G.
Lale, Dr. P. P. Apte, Dr. Bhagyalata Pataskar and Dr.
K. K. Kshirsagar for the help they rendered to me.
Suggestions and criticism are well-come.
Dr. Hema K. Kshirsagar
Vedic Values
Introduction
Vedas are the most ancient literature in the world.
The word ‘Veda’ comes from the root ‘ ’ which
means to know. Hence vedas are the treasure of
knowledge. Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and
Upanishads together are called ‘Vedas.’ They include
the thoughts like creation and evolution of the world,
various happenings in nature, human nature, physical
and spiritual life of man etc. Vedic literature is the first
jingling of the Veena in the hands of Goddess
Saraswati. It is the foundation of Indian culture. It
reveals the sublime life-style of Vedic rishis (seers).
Their all-inclusive () attitude is reflected in
the ‘’ when they say, ‘
’. It means ‘Let good (auspicious) thoughts come
towards us from all directions’. Their ‘’ helps
people to increase their confidence. Their ‘’
tells us as to how to make determination for good
tendencies () and good activities (). The
‘ ’ discards gambling and establishes the
importance of hard agricultural work (i.e. dignity of
farm labour). Thus this ancient literature guides people
towards happy life. Positive thinking, desire for victory
( ), joyful life - style, existence of God
everywhere, love for nature are some of the
characteristics of those people.
2 Vedic Values Vedic Values 3
In short we can say that vedas are a compendium largest number of hymns is dedicated (addressed) to
of knowledge. They are ancient most literature on this Agni. Indra, Agni, Marut, Varuna, Ushas, Ashwina etc.
earth. Nobody knows when, where and how they are the vedic deities, and hymns contain praise of
originated. They are divine and so they are called deities. It is believed that originally all the vedas were
‘’ one heap of knowledge. Maharshi Vyasa divided it
into four parts called 'Vedas'. Hence he is called
These Vedas have put forth (include) certain
Vedavyasa ().
guiding principles leading towards happiness and
prosperity. These principles in other words, are some The hymns in the vedas are not constructed by
'do'es and don't's'. Vedas have given wise advice in human beings. They are believed to be ‘’ They
the form of these principles. People should follow them were revealed to different Rishis, hence those Rishis
to make their life successful. These principles are called were called 'Seers'. The mandalas in the Rigveda are
Values. They were put into practice by the people ascribed to various seers. It means that the hymns in
during ancient time. Let us know about them in the that mandala were revealed to that particular Rishi. The
following pages. mandalas 2 to 8 (Two to eight) are ascribed to
Vishwamitra, Vamadeva, Atri, Bharadwaja, Vasishtha
Arrangement of Vedas etc. Hence they are called ‘Gotra - mandalas’ ().
There are four main Vedas. They are Rigveda, The hymns in the mandalas 2 to 7 (two to seven) are
Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda. Of these four addressed to different deities. The mandalas 2 to 7 are
Vedas, Rigveda is the oldest one, not only ‘oldest’ the essence of Rigveda. All the hymns in the 9th (ninth)
among the vedas; but it is the oldest of all the available mandala are addressed to only one deity, i.e. 'Soma'.
literature on this earth. It contains a mine of wisdom. The other name of 'Soma' is 'Pavamana', so the
mandala is also called as 'Pavamana Mandala'. The
Rigveda first and the tenth mandalas were added later on. The
The Rigveda consists of 10 (ten) parts. They are number of hymns in these two mandalas is the same
called mandalas. Each mandala consists of number of i.e. 191 (one hundred and ninety one). So these two
hymns (i.e., ); and each hymn consists of a group are supposed to be later as compared to the mandalas
of verses. These verses are called Riks. A Rik means 2 to 7.
a verse which is constructed according to vedic metres. - This veda is the second among the four vedas.
Different hymns are dedicated to different deities. The It is related to the rituals of sacrifice. It contains detailed
4 Vedic Values Vedic Values 5
discussion of sacrifices and their rituals. There are vedas explain the technology of the infinite cosmos;
different kinds of sacrifices, their special mantras, hence it is a pre-existing part of eternal divinity. So it
special rules, special order etc. is the collection is futile to fix the date of the Vedas, like trying to trace
of all these mantras, rules etc. There are two branches the date of the origin of the solar system.
of 1) and 2) Further there
are many branches which are divided into chapters
(. * * *
- Samaveda is the third veda. Sama means song
or praise. and samas are closely related. ,
and are directly related to sacrifice.
Sacrifice requires variety of activities. Of them, chanting
of is done by the priest belonging to .
- This is the last among the four vadas. is
the seer of this Veda, therefore its name is . It is
also called as as it contains suggestions for
defeating the enemy. There are nine branches of this
veda.
Mahabharata - Some scholars hold Mahabharata as
the fifth veda.
Ayurveda - Ayurveda is thought to be sub - veda;
other sub-vedas are: Dhanurved, Sthapatya veda and
Gandharva veda.
What is the theme of the Vedas?
The theme of the vedas is to explain to man the
working of the cosmos and how humanity should
shape its life to fit into the divine cosmic order. The
Vedic Values 7
Value and the concept of values was thought of as a means
to achieve the Purusharthas. So moral behaviour was
The word 'value' is derived from the Greek word
looked upon as a very important thing. Human efforts
'valere' which literary means 'good' and 'beautiful.' In
towards perfection was called 'morality'. The values
Mahabharata, the word 'dharma' is invariably used in
are contained in the Nigama (veda) and Agama.
the sense of 'value' or 'group of values' or 'morals.
According to veda (Nigama), 'salvation' is the ultimate
That which is good and beautiful will be 'true' also.
aim of human life. Education () helps to attain
Thus truth, beauty and good are the three main
salvation. Hence it was described as ‘’
components of any value or dharma or sheela. In
and means (salvation). This was the
philosophic term this trio is mentioned as
individual aim, and welfare of people at large (
Sachhidananda (i.e. sat, chit and ananda) a popular
) was the social aim.
attribute used for God, Brahman and Atman.
Importance of Education
The term value is very difficult to define
satisfactorily. But it can be described in terms of Importance of education was realised in India from
behaviour and virtues. Hence we can say that 'values very early times and utmost emphasis was laid upon
are those qualities or characteristics which men should ‘acquisition of knowledge’ and it was considered to
inculcate to make their individual as well as social life be the third eye of man. A man without (spiritual)
sublime.' These values or qualities are the indicators knowledge was considered as 'unwise', because
of good behaviour. People who follow these, cause to knowledge was believed to be the means to attain
make the society stable. They help to develop healthy 'salvation' which was the ultimate aim of life. It was
relations among the human beings so we can say that believed that ‘ ’or in other words ‘
values are the virtues and moral principles that guide It means that 'only that knowledge is
and shape human behaviour. real knowledge which leads to salvation'. This love of
learning in India had a very early origin and a lasting
Vedic Values and powerful influence.
Vedic values are the values that are put forth by (.)
the vedas (i.e. Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and
Upanishads) and were practised during ancient times. Aim of education
Many of them are practised even today. The four Preparing useful and refined members of the
Purusharthas () were the highest object of life society, inculcating in them various moral, social,
8 Vedic Values Vedic Values 9
cultural and spiritual values like piety, righteousness, is essential for happy life. So control over bad
formation of character, development of personality, tendencies was a value. Sacrifice, devotion to God,
civic sense, social duties was the aim of Education. charity, sweet tongue, non - violence, truth, self-control
Acquisition and preservation of knowledge and later are all helpful to good tendencies. All the values help
on transmission of knowledge was very important. to build, develop balanced personalities and such
Character formation was of utmost importance. Simple balanced personalities contribute to build a stable
living and high thinking was their aim. society.
Knowledge was considered to be the third eye of
man, because he could learn much more through
knowledge than through his direct experience. In India * * *
love for learning originated too early and it had a lasting
and powerful effect on the people. Hence there is an
uninterrupted flow of teaching and learning.
All-round development of students was the aim
of education and the teacher was held in high esteem
as he was the maker of an ideal social order.
Moral concepts (in the Upanishads)
Knowledge of Brahman, the ultimate principle was
the highest object of human life (i.e. ). The
concept of values was thought of as a means to achieve
the highest object. So moral behaviour was looked
upon as a very important thing. Human efforts towards
perfection were called morality. All beings in this world
were thought to be on par.
Human mind consists of two types of tendencies-
1) God-like tendencies, and 2) demon-like tendencies.
There is a constant struggle between these two types
of tendencies. Victory over bad (demon-like) tendencies
Vedic Values 11
Brahmanas - Brihadaranyaka upanishad is related to Yajurveda
- Chandogya upanishad related to Samaveda
Brahmanas are that portion of the Vedic literature
- Aitareya upanishad is related to Rigveda
which states rules for the employment of the hymns at
the various sacrifices, their origin and detailed Some upanishads are officially included in
explanation with lengthy illustrations in the shape of Brahmanas. Some are not directly included but are
legends or stories. Brahmanas are prose in form. related to respective veda as per their composer seer.
Different activities in performing a sacrifice, along with Some are in prose form while some are in verse form.
the accompanied mantras and steps of worshiping are There are total 14 upanishads which are very important.
explained in Brahmanas. They came into existence after Out of these 14, ten are labelled as : They
the samhitas. Different Brahmanas are related to are the main ancient upanishads. They are-
different vedas e.g. Aitareya Brahman is related to
1)2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)
Rigveda, Shatapatha Brahmana is related to Yajurveda,
Jaiminiya Brahman is related to Samaveda. 8) 9) and 10)
Aranyakas some of them are translated into German too.
Some discuss active worldly life while some others
Aranyakas are the last portions attached to
advise for turning back upon worldly life. i.e. they advise
Brahmanas. They contain the basic (fundamental)
renunciation of worldly life.
principles and their hidden meaning. They also discuss
the concept of spiritual philosophy. The ultimate
principle is found in each and very being.
Upanishads
* * *
Upanishads are the philosophic treatises. They
explain the values of fundamental principles of sacrifice
and their hidden meaning. The supreme principle is
found in each living being in the form of a small
portion. The old upanishads explaining the value of
philosophy are called as i.e. the last portion (end
part) of . Like Brahmanas and Aranyakas the
upanishads too are related to paraticular vedas e.g.
Vedic Values 13
Correct Pronunciation and Memorisation understand the meaning and he could interpret the
portion. Thus they had to rely on memory as writing
Correct pronunciation was not yet invented. Our ancestors have done this
Correct pronunciation and memorisation was of work so sincerely that the vedic literature is preserved
utmost importance during that period because it was in its original form and is handed over to us without
the only means of teaching and learning. So also the loss of a single letter. They thought this work as
memorisation was the only means of preservation and their pious duty towards Gods. So it was a very
transmission of knowledge because art of writing was important value for them.
not yet known. Education was imparted through oral There is a story regarding the effect of wrong
tradition. The teacher (Guru or Acharya). taught his pronunciation. Indra and Vritra were enemies. Vritra
disciples orally and the disciples heard whatever the was a demon. s father ( ) once wanted to
teacher taught, repeated the same over and over again perform a sacrifice. For that purpose he kept in
and stored it in their memory. For this purpose they some secret place. When Indra came to know this, he
had developed certain methods (tricks) like repeating searched out and drank it. When came to
the portion twice, thrice etc. These methods were called know this he was very angry and he threw the remaining
as , , . vedas were preserved in this in the fire and said, ‘Let be created out of
way, hence they are called shruti . this’. His purpose was to say, ‘The destroyer of Indra’.
Memorisation was of two types. But because of wrong pronunciation i.e. wrong accent
the meaning of changed and it meant ‘one whom
1) Memorisation with understanding Indra will destroy’. emerged from that sacrificial
2) Memorisation without understanding i.e. fire and ultimately Indra killed So he is called as
mechanical memorisation. ().
Of these two types, the first one that is So a slightest mistake in pronunciation could cause
memorisation with understanding was considered to a great calamity. Our forefathers did not commit any
be better, no doubt, but the other type that is mechanical such mistakes and preserved the whole ancient
memorisation also was equally important. Though literature very carefully.
without understanding the meaning, they could
reproduce correctly all the words in their proper order
and with correct pronunciation. Then the listener could * * *
Vedic Values 15
Truth 'If I have not thought of any other person other
than Rama, O mother Earth, please give me shelter in
Truth is the ultimate principle. That which cannot your belly'. Her words were true, so the Earth broke
be refuted in the past, present or future is called 'Truth'. up and Seeta went inside the Earth. This was the power
Speaking the truth is a virtue. ' ' means Gods of truth.
speak the truth. But on the earth there is a constant
fight between the 'truth' And the 'falsehood.' Ultimately There is another example of Lord Krishna who
used his power of truth and rejuvinated Parikshita. i.e.
the truth wins. So 'Truth' is a value.
made him alive again.
The story of Satyakama Jabala confirms this. He
This Truth was a very important value in the life of
was a young boy who wanted to learn. So he
people during vedic period, so we find the expressions
approached a Guru for his learning. Initiation i.e. thread like ‘’ or ‘’. This is the eternal advice to
ceremony () was an essential condition before the mankind.
starting education in those days. So Guru asked the
boy about his father and his family. Satyakama replied Sarama - Pani Conversation (Rig. 10.108)
as was told by his mother. He told that his mother was This is one of the famous conversation hymns
a wanton woman () and hence she herself did () in Rigveda. There is a story in this hymn.
not know the name of his father. But as his mother's Panis were the enemies of Gods. Gods needed
name was 'Jabala', his name was 'Jabala' (). Guru milk at the time of i.e. When they drank Soma.
was convinced about the truthfulness of the boy and They had many cows. Once the Panis stole away those
felt that the boy must be brahmin, and accepted him cows and kept them hidden in a fort beyond the river
as his disciple. Rasa. Gods deputed a female dog named Sarama to
It was believed that 'Truth' is the reflection of trace the cows. Crossing rivers she reached the city
Brahma and man gets rid of 'Death' because of 'Truth.' of Panis where she received a warm welcome. She
advised Panis to return the cows. But the Panis didn't
Hence it is said ‘’ i.e. Ultimately the 'Truth
accept it. They tried to offer her bribe. She did not
wins'. It is our motto even today.
accept it. So they tried to threaten her but she was not
Truth has got its own power. It was at times tested afraid as she was confident about the strength of Indra.
also. When Rama asked Seeta to prove her purity, she Sarama was firm. She was true to herself and loyal to
prayed to the Earth Goddess in the following words, Gods. This was a value. Stealing and bribing were
16 Vedic Values 17
bad qualities. Later on, Gods defeated the Panis and Guru and Disciple
brought their cows back. Even animals kept their words The disciple continued the tradition of his teacher.
and did not fall prey to bribe. It shows how important So he was the successor of the teacher. Therefore he
were the values in those days! was treated as own son by the teacher. The disciple
also respected his teacher and was obedient. Teacher
was the ideal of his disciples, hence he had to be perfect
This is an exception to the rule - 'Speak truth'
in his knowledge and teaching. His daily routine and
The meaning of this exception is as follows.
behaviour also needed to be ideal because his disciples
means means tried to follow him in every respect. The teacher was
means there is no fault in speaking if somebody's called which means ‘The one who is worthy to
life is depending on that. ‘’ means ‘If’, ‘’ be imitated by the disciples.’
means ‘Life’ and means "depending on that'. Self-restrain, deep knowledge, love for the
If it is a question of life or death, then take shelter of disciples, self-study and pure character were the main
(lie). you will not be blamed. qualities of a teacher. He was called Guru as his was a
Once a hunter was chasing a cow. The cow was prestigious and honourable position in the society. So
running very fast to save her life. Soon she went out also he was called . This word is derived from
of sight. The hunter came running and saw a Rishi the root () which means 'learning by
sitting under a tree with closed eyes. The hunter asked sitting near the teacher. All these names meaning a
the Rishi as to where (in which direction) did the cow teacher throws light on the personality, behaviour, social
go? Now it was a question of cow’s life. So the Rishi position of the teacher and the process of education
pointed to the opposite direction, and thus saved the too.
cow. In spite of the lie he spoke, he was not at fault The students also needed to have certain qualities.
according the shastra. This also was a value. They had inquisitiveness, faith in teacher, respect of
teacher, perseverance, self-study, co-operation,
politeness, sweet tongue, hard work, obedience etc.
* * * Ekalavya is a dazzling example of ideal disciple. He
was the son of a Kirata King. He had heard of the
fame of Dronacharya and wanted to learn archery from
him. But Dronacharya refused to accept him as his
18 Vedic Values
disciple. There is a story as to how Eklavya learnt The Death
archery and became an expert in that field.
People in ancient times believed that Sun, Moon,
Dronacharya was the teacher of Kauravas and Fire, Wind, Morning are all deities and they are
Pandavas who were the princes from a royal family. immortal. Nectar is a drink which makes man immortal,
Arjuna, one of the Pandavas, was his favorite disciple. but it is available in heaven only, so it is easily available
Ekalavya did not belong to a high family so he was for Gods. Hence Gods are immortal. Men wanted to
rejected. Being sad, he returned to his place, made a become immortal so they wished to get the Nectar.
clay model of Dronacharya, worshipped the clay model For that purpose they needed to please Gods. And
and started learning archery infront of the model. Days people tried to please Gods. And people tried to please
passed by and he became an expert in archery. Gods by performing sacrifices and offering Gods
One day Guru Dronacharya along with his disciples certain things through sacrifice. This was a value.
came in that forest. They had a dog which walked Death for some sublime purpose was a value. so
ahead of all. The dog saw Ekalavya and started barking those who sacrificed their life for the sake of country
at him. Ekalavya could not concentrate so he turned or society were not afraid of death. Philosophically,
to the dog and shot arrows in the open mouth of the human body is meant for fulfilling duties. So
dog till his barking stopped. The dog returned to performing duties without fail for the whole of life was
Dronacharya with mouthful of arrows and yet there considered to be a kind of value.
was not a single drop of blood. Dronacharya was Human body is formed by the five great elements
surprised to see it. When searched they found Ekalavya i.e. Earth, water, luster, wind and sky (, , ,
practising archery. When enquired he admitted that he and ). After death, the respective parts of
had shot arrows. When asked about his teacher, he the human body merge into the five elements. This
pointed at the clay model of Dronacharya. This skill was the belief in those days and it is in present time
and mastery in archery was achieved on the basis of too.
his devotion to his teacher. So faith in Guru was very
Death is also called as (i .e. permanent
valuable. Faith in preceptor was the first and foremost sleep). or because man never wakes up again.
condition for obtaining knowledge in general and It is also called as permanent rest (). Man faces
spiritual knowledge in particular. innumerable hardships and tensions during his whole
life and gets tired too much. The death gives him rest
permanently.
* * *
20 Vedic Values Vedic Values 21
The Death about death and he got satisfied his curiosity through
Separation of body and life is called death. It is an conversation with Yama.
inevitable stage in the life of each and every living The story of Nachiketa is found in the
creature. It is a kind of full-stop to our life. Nobody Kathopanishad. He was the son of , who
can avoid it (). performed a sacrifice named ‘’ and donated all
his wealth with a desire to obtain the fruit of sacrifice.
There are two types of death :-
He donated to the priests, the cows that were aged,
1) (untimely or premature death) unable to yield milk and unable to produce calves.
2) (Timely death i.e. death that occurs at proper Thus the cows given as dakshina were useless. So
time. Nachiketa thought that his father would not get the
Of these two the (i.e. the premature death) proper fruit of the sacrifice. He wanted to do something
for his father. so he asked his father, to whom would
occurs due to disease, accident, poison, war, murder
he be given to. Father did not pay attention to his
etc. It can be avoided by medicine, precaution, special
question. Nachiketa repeated the question thrice. Then
care etc. Even worship of Lord Shiva who is also
father got angry and said, ‘I am giving you to yama,
called as can help to avoid death. (i.e.
the God of death.’ So Nachiketa went to Yama. But
timely death) is the natural death. It is due to diminishing Yama was not there at that time. so he waited there for
power of limbs and life in old age. It is the last stage three nights without taking any food. Yama granted
of all living beings. him three boons on his return. By the first boon
People in ancient times believed that life is natural Nachiketa asked ‘Let my father recognize me when I
and death is unnatural, fearful but wonderful. They return home. By the second boon he asked for the
could not imagine as to what happens after death. They sacred fire useful to obtain heaven. Yama granted both
could not think beyond life and the present state. Hence the boons.
they were afraid of death. So they hated death and By the third boon, Nachiketa asked about existence
wished for long life. They saluted Yama, the God of after death and yama explained to him in detail the
death and prayed him for immortality. They believed whole philosophy behind it and told that 'body is
that he had control over death. Nobody new the secret perishable but Atma is non-perishable'. This is a vedic
of death. Nachiketa a young brahmin lad was curious value. This story is known as ‘’. Yama
22 Vedic Values
further told that and are two things before man. Gurudakshina
He who selects gets entangled in the cycle of birth ‘Guru’ means a teacher or a spiritual preceptor.
and death. He who selects understands oneness ‘Dakshina’ means fees or some offerings given to
of and and achieves salvation. Guru. In vedic times there were no schools as we have
today. Students used to go to teacher's ashrama and
live with him as a family member. The relation between
* * * the teacher and the taught was like that of a father and
a son. He used to participate in the daily routine duties
in the ashrama. Father and son relationship between
the teacher and the taught was a value in those days.
The student lived with his teacher for years together
till his learning was complete. At the end before leaving
for home, the student gave something to the teacher
as a token of gratitude according to teacher's wish
and student's capacity. It was called 'Gurudakshina'.
Actually teacher did not expect anything in return of
his teaching. But the student felt that he should give
something to the teacher as a token of his gratitude.
Lord Krishna received education from Sandipani.
As he was a divine figure, he could complete his
education within a short period. After completion of
education, he asked as to what Gurudakshina he should
give. Sandipani told him to bring back his lost son.
The son was kidnapped, at the time of bathing in the
ocean by a demon named shankha. Krishna killed the
demon and returned.the son to the teacher. He was
very happy and showered lots of blessings on Lord
Krishna.
24 Vedic Values Vedic Values 25
There is one more story on Gurudakshina. A and offer it to your Guru as his Gurudakshina." "I will
student named Kautsa completed his education with take only 14 millions and not a single coin more", said
his Guru Varatantu. He asked his teacher Kautsa. None of the two were ready to keep the excess
whatGurudakshina should he give. Guru refused to wealth for themselves. This supports the value of the
accept anything as he knew that Kautsa was very poor olden times.
and could not afford to give Gurudakshina. But Kautsa
insisted over and over again. So Varatantu got angry
and demanded so many millions of gold coins as many * * *
vidyas he had learnt from Guru. Kautsa had learnt
fourteen vidyas, hence he needed to give fourteen
million gold coins. Where and how could he get this
much amount? In those days great kings used to
support the learned brahmins as they thought it to be
their duty to support education. Kautsa had heard that
king Raghu was well known for his generosity. So he
went to Raghu, where he was well received . But he
was worshipped with earthen utensils, because Raghu
had recently performed a sacrifice named and
donated all his wealth. Kautsa lost all his hopes. So
when Raghu asked him the purpose of coming, Kautsa
hesitated but when Raghu insisted, he told the purpose.
Not fulfilling the wish of the Atithi was discreditable,
because was a value believed by all. Raghu
requested Kautsa to wait for a day and he decided to
attack Kubera the treasurer of Gods to obtain gold
coins for Kautsa. Kubera was afraid and he showered
gold coins in the hermitage of Raghu at night. Next
morning he called Kautsa and said, "Take all this wealth
Vedic Values 27
Sacrifice The Heaven ()
Performing a sacrifice to please the unseen powers People in Vedic times had invented certain
in nature, was a value of life in Vedic times. 'Sacrifice' concepts, to make people behave in a good way and
is praised and honoured right from the ancient vedic keep them away from bad things. Heaven and Hell
literature upto the present Indian literature. So it is were two such concepts which motivated common
essential to know the concept, the importance and the people towards good activities and restrained from
history of sacrifice etc. the bad. Heaven was a place full of all comforts and
The word (sacrifice) is derived from the root happiness. Gods live in heaven. They drink nectar so
which means to worship God, to connect people they are immortal. There is i.e. wish-yielding
together and donate something to the younger tree in the heaven. It gives you anything you wish for.
generation. Hence honour, organisation and donation There is a cow called Kamadhenu. She also fulfils all
are the three principles on which the ritual is based. your desires. There is a very beautiful garden called
A sense of social responsibility is the concept ‘Nandanavana’ in the heaven. The meritorious people
underlying the so it is a very high type of activity. on the earth go to heaven after death, and enjoy life in
the heaven.
Ancient Idea of
On the contrary there is the concept of Hell which
Human life was dependant on the natural powers.
is meant for various punishments for the sinful people
People believed that there is some super-natural power
who go there after death. Naturally people are attracted
in nature which brings about good or bad things into
towards Heaven and so try to collect merit by doing
human life. To please that supernatural power, the
good things and avoiding bad things.
concept of first came into existence. The powers
in nature were their deities and people offered To obtain heaven there is one more means and
something to them to please them. This was the origin that is sacrifice.
of . The scripture says, It
Agni was believed to be the mouth of the deities. means that one who is desirous of securing space in
Offerings were put into fire and the fire carried them the Heaven should perform the special sacrifice
to the respective deities. So performing sacrifice was by name. So different sacrifices were recommended
a Value in ancient times. for different purposes. This was a value.
28 Vedic Values
Dharma
This is the name of a sacrifice to be performed by ‘’ i.e. we will live (and enjoy life) for
one who is desirous to get own son (Legitimate son). a hundred years was the ambition of people in ancient
means son, means desire and means times. So they had thought of a life span of one hundred
sacrifice. Thus sacrifice was a means to please Gods years. These hundred years were divided into four parts
and gain some boon to fulfill one's own desire. which were called Ashramas :
Dasharatha was a famous King in the dynasty of
1) 2) 3) 4) .
. He had three queens named and
Each ashrama had its specific duties. They were called
but he had no son. He was very anxious to get a son.
So he performed the sacrifice and he got as . The word ‘’ was originally related to
four sons and . Thus fulfilling which meant the duties of a person according to his
desires by means of sacrifice was a value in those Ashrama or duties accepted by a person himself. The
days. same meaning is suggested by the words i.e.
duties of King, i.e. duties of a son etc.
Actually duties and rights are the two sides of
* * * the same coin. Performing duties was a value in olden
times. When duties are best performed, the rights come
to you on their own. At present all are conscious about
rights but not eager to perform duties. The word
Dharma was defined as ‘’ which means
that which preserves (sustains) society is called . In
other words it is described as ‘ ’, i.e.,
the Dharma protects the subjects, it supports the
people.
In simple words we can say that it refers to moral
rules, specific duties or accepted duties of a person.
30 Vedic Values
When all the people follow these rules the society Manusmriti
becomes stable and people become happy. Behaviour
Manusmriti is the standard book on code of
of good people was the foundation of Dharma. conduct next to vedas. It is the main support of
behaviour and daily routine ().
* * *
Veda, smriti, own good behaviour and good behaviour
to our near and dear are the four definitions of dharma
which is one of the four main objectives of human life
(i.e. dharma, artha, kama and Moksha). These are
related to the four stages of life (i.e., ,
and ).
Manu further says that all the people on this earth
should learn their way of good behaviour from those
who are born prior to them i.e. their forefathers.
According to Manu breaking a promise, not
returning the debt, theft, demanding back the donation
once given, not giving payment for work done, robbery
are all bad things. Those engaged in these things should
be punished. Thus they are values.
Vasishtha was a Vedic seer who has the VII th
Mandal of Rigveda to his credit. There are 104 suktas
in that mandal.
are the treatises which give standard decision
regarding human behaviour. is good behaviour
32 Vedic Values
which is to be inculcated and is bad behaviour Women Education
which is to be avoided.
In ancient time, women were allowed to take
These treatises contain the duties and rights of all education. But there were no separate educational
the four Ashramas (i.e. , , and ). institutions specially for women. They were educated
contains discussion about hospitability at home in the beginning and for higher learning they
( ), defilement caused by birth or death approached some well known teacher.
, duties of a student, donation, sacrifice, There are references in Vedas which tell us that
learning, pleasing God and avail desired things and women were expert in Medicine, in Ashwavidya etc.
crimes like drinking wine, killing a cow and deviation Apala, Ghosha, Vishvavara were the seers of Mantras.
from the right path etc. Punishments were prescribed Learned women were of two types:-
for the crimes. All these were values.
1) - These were the women who did not
accept They continued and .
2) - This was the second type of women
* * * who after completing learning accepted married life
and .
This is the proof that Women Education was
available in Vedic time. Not only this but men and
women had equal status from social, economical and
religious point of view. also has said ‘
’ It means that son and daughter are equal.
Education of Women
Man and woman were believed to be indivisible
parts of the cycle of this world and had the position
which the heart has in the human body. If the speed of
the heart-beats Increases or decreases, the body
becomes unstable and uneasy. Similarly anyone of
34 Vedic Values Vedic Values 35
these two (i.e. man and woman) starts galloping continue his studies with the son of the teacher or the
or becomes too slow, the society becomes imbalanced. wife of the teacher.This implies that the wife also was
and were . They could argue equally capable of teaching the student. His words are
with the sages in the meetings of learned people. The as follows
society gave them due respect. was present in the
court of King Janaka at the time of a sacrifice. A debate
assembly for philosophical discussions was arranged Unless was well educated, how could she
there. In that assembly asked some questions to teach the students? This shows that women education
the great sage . He could not answer her last was existing during that period.
question about the ultimate reality. Thus she was a
scholar. Arundhati the wife of Vasistha was famous as a
scholarly woman. Manu says that if a woman is not
- She also was a scholar. She was the daughter educated before marriage it was her husband's
of King Mitra who was a friend of King Janaka. Famous responsibility to educate her.
scholar was her maternal aunt. she loved very
much. She brought up and educated her. In the
philosophical debate assembly saw the sage
, who defeated many scholars. fell in love * * *
with him and married him. But she was never interested
in worldly enjoyment. She was interested in the
knowledge of . explained it to her and she
was satisfied.
Thus women education was a value in those days.
Hence freedom and opportunity for higher learning
was available for women. Besides this, they believed
that deities love to reside in the place where women
are respected. ( , )
Manu says if somebody's teacher passes away
before his learning is complete, the student should
Vedic Values 37
Compassion towards all beings - () grew and became a youth. When he came to know
means compassion towards all living beings about father's commitment he was not ready to be
on the earth. Everybody in this world wishes to get sacrificed and so he searched for a youth for his
substitute. Luckily he got one. His name was
happiness. But while fulfilling this desire he may cause
(shunahshepa). When the sage Vishwamitra came to
distress to others. This he should not do. All should
know of this, he condemned the costom. He felt pity
have good feelings, kind behaviour, sympathy towards
for and rescued him. For that purpose he
others. Distress can be of two types 1) physical 2)
adopted as his own son. This was the beginning
mental.
of 'adoption.' So pleasing deities by means of sacrifice
Any harm to body is physical distress and any was a value in those days. At present it is not accepted.
harm to mind is mental distress. Not giving sorrow to is a Vedic advice. According
others, not creating trouble for others is one aspect of to Vishvamitra, good behaviour or good activities are
compassion. The other aspect is helping others who those which are praised by the experts of scripture
are in distress. This is a value. (). They are called Uli and bad behaviour or bad
Keeping birds or animals in cages is troubling them activities are those which are condemned by the experts
Throwing stones to animals is troubling them. We of scripture. They are called . The word did not
should not do this. On the contrary if we see some mean religion. So compassion for all beings was and
one in some calamity, we should help them. There is a is a value.
story about such an incidence in the veda. In other words how to behave is and how not
to behave is . Society at large behaved properly
There was a king named Harishchandra. He had due to fear of punishment by the unknown, unseen
no issue. He longed to have a son. So he prayed to divine power. They also had a belief that man gets
God Varuna and committed to sacrifice the same child merit by doing good activities and man gets sin by
to Varuna. This shows that the custom of offering a doing bad activities. Meritorious man goes to heaven
human being as an oblation to God in the sacrifice after death where gets lots of comforts and sinful man
was in practice in those days. Of course it was a very goes to hail where he is torchered for sins committed
bad custom. A child was born to the king. After some during life time.
days Varuna came to the king and demanded his son.
The father was very sad, and not ready to part with
the son, he postponed sacrificing his son. The child
* * *
Vedic Values 39
Shvetaketu - He also stated certain rules for the society.
According to him men and women both should have
was an ancient philosopher born in the family the same test regarding character i.e., both should have
of Aruna and Uddalaka. Hence he was also called as spotless character. It was a value.
Aruneya and Ouddalaki. He is respectfully referred to
Husband and wife both must be loyal to each-
in Upanishads and Mahabharat many a times. He was
insincere in his childhood, so he started education late other. established the marriage institution in the
but completed it within 12 years. As a result he became society. He was the founder of marriage system.
very proud and insulted his own father. But father
explained to him how he was wrong and then gave
advice about knowledge of self. This advice is famous * * *
by the great preposition ‘’. Father told him that
we must love knowledge and not wealth. This is a
value, so also to be proud is a bad thing and to insult
elderly persons also is a bad thing. Hence however
learned we are we must be polite and we must respect
elder persons. We must remember ‘’
i.e. ‘Learning shines by politeness.’
Pravahana Jaivali was the King of Panchala. He
once called a meeting of learned people. Shvetaketu
() and his father participated in that meeting.
There they could not answer a question of Pravahana.
They accepted their ignorance and became disciples
of Pravahana for further studies. Thus accepting one's
own ignorance and trying to remove it was a value.
Shvetaketu was a great thinker having social
consciousness. He suggested many social reforms.
He stated that Brahmin should not drink wine, and
should avoid contacts with other's wife.
Vedic Values 41
Dignity of Labour
God helps those who help themselves. This is a means dice. means 'do not' means
saying in English. It tells us that if people want to do not play with dice. means agriculture.
achieve something, to gain something, they themselves means plough the earth and do agriculture. Gambling
is a bad habit. It is a vice so do not play with dice.
must work hard. If they simply sit in one place and
Instead plough the earth sow the seeds, grow crops
pray to God, God will not come to do their work. But and be an agriculturist.
if they try hard, God will certainly help, or by suggesting
something which would be helpful for their work. There In Rigveda, there is a hymn named
is a parallel saying in the Veda. It says, ‘ means means gambling with dice. This game
’ Here means tired by hardwork, was regarded as a bad habit right from the Vedic
means friendship, means except. So, the complete period. In also were defeated and had to
meaning is 'Gods do not make friends with people face a series of calamities and ultimately a war broke
except the tired and hardworking people'. It means between the and which led to complete
that Gods do not help the lazy people. Importance of destruction.
hard work, dignity of labour is explained by this saying In the , bad effects of gambling are
so dignity of labour is a value. described. The seer of this hymn was very intelligent
but unfortunate. Once a man gets caught in the trap of
a vice, it is very difficult to get rid of the same. He has
For this hard work we need strength. To gain narrated his bad experiences in this hymn and he is
strength we need health. To maintain health we need advising people to be away from gambling. They
exercises, which keeps us fit. This is means should not be attracted towards easy money in
strength, power, might or vigour and means gambling. Instead they should do agriculture and earn
worship, adoration, respect. So we must worship money by hard work. Thus this is a value.
strength. If we are i.e., devoid of strength we
will be unable to do work, so we must always
remember that healthy body is a means of fulfilling all * * *
responsibilities.
42 Vedic Values 43
The Cow as a rule. Here means or duty as in the words
The cow was called ‘’ The word means (duty of a son), (duty of a king) etc. There
who was not to be killed. So a cow was not to be is one more quotation expressing the same meaning.
killed. This was a common rule. It was a value. It is It means that
The cow was believed to be a holy animal. The (veda), (Law) and (good behaviour) are
cow and her milk are included in the religious activity. the base of conduct.
Her importance is accepted right from the Vedic times. (a chariot)
She is praised in the Vedas. She is called (i.e.,
nymph in the heaven) in some metaphor. She is There are references to chariots in the vedas. A
chariot, its wheels, horses, reins etc., are described in
important and essential for a sacrifice as her milk,
curds, butter and ghee are essential for a sacrifice. detail. The spokes were called and the metal ring
The cow was regarded as wealth and he who owned around the wheel was called ‘’ (Ref. ).
many cows was a wealthy (rich) person. Cows were This shows that the technology of wheel and vehicle
regarded as a medium of exchange instead of coins was known in ancient time. It was a value.
(money). Cows were offered to priests as dakshina at
the time of a sacrifice. Vedic people prayed to deities
saying, 'May our cow-wealth () increase.' Milk of * * *
a cow is a nourisher. Panis () were expert cow-
kidnappers. So cow-rearing was a difficult job. Aryans
also had found out certain tricks to identify their cows.
Because of their utility, killing them was prohibited and
the cow was called . This was a value. In later
days she was given the status of a deity.
means the whole veda means all the
four Vedas are the origin (source) of human coduct.
Whatever was told in the Vedas were followed by men
Vedic Values 45
Swearing by the Fire other, established home together, brought up children
together and lived happily together. Thus fire had a
Fire plays a very important role inVedic tradition.
very important place (significant place) in the life of
Fire is known as grihapati i.e. the head of the house.
people in Vedic period. So also ‘ ’ was
Fire is light and warmth to the household. He believed by the people in marriage as well as in daily
cooks food which provides strength and nourishment life.
to the members of the family. Thus fire becomes the
Seven steps around sacred fire help to join two
nucleus and the source of life and energy to the
hearts and two bodies. So leads to oneness of
household, hence he is called Grihapati.
husband and wife.
Fire is the embodiment of the sun on the earth and
Marriage system
supplies the necessary energy to human industry and
vehicles. There is one conversation hymn in Rigveda in
The Vedic culture gives prime importance to the which there is a story of and . They were twin
Fire by placing him in the first place in all worships. brother and sister. As they grew young, a desire for
() Fire is important because it represents marriage developed in the mind of , the sister. So
life, warmth and anergy. No life, no movement is she talked to her brother about it and requested
possible without fire. Another function of fire is him to marry her. did not like the idea so he did not
purification by burning impurities. accept it. On the contrary he convinced her that
marriages of real brother and sister was not a good
Fire is the embodiment of divine light and energy, practice and will not be accepted by the society. There
so he is the witness of every important occasion from are references in Vedas that marriage system was well
birth to death. People take some oath in front of the established during Vedic period.
fire which is taken as a binding for the whole of life.
There is a story about how marriage system
Marriage originated. It tells us that the sky and the earth were
Vedic marriages took place in front of the sacred together in the beginning. Later on they started going
fire. Vedic mantras were recited by the priests at that away from each other. They did not like this separation.
time. The couple took certain oaths in front of the fire, So they said to each other, "Let us marry and live
which were to be followed through out their life. They together". This shows that marriage institution had
were faithful to each other, they co-operated with each come into existence at the time of Vedas. There are
46 Vedic Values Vedic Values 47
references of ideal couples Shiva-Parvati, Vishnu- son. But when her condition was broken she left the
Laxmi, Vasistha-Arundhati etc. Certain oaths were taken king and returned to the heaven. Their love was real
at the time of marriage in front of Fire, and they were love and so they married each other irrespective of
followed throughout life. There was a ritual called their status (i.e., human being and divine nymph). She
i.e. seven steps. was true to her words. So to keep one's words, to
stick to one's promise was a value.
Husband and wife were to walk together for seven
steps. It was called ‘’. It means that if you
walk seven steps with anybody you become friends.
Husband and wife used to become friends for the * * *
whole life. Unless and until is complete, marriage
is not legal.
Pururava and Urvashi
There are certain conversation hymns (i.e., )
in Rigveda. According to some, these hymns are the
seeds of later poetry and drama. There are in all 20
such hymns. Of them three are more important. They
are as follows -
1) Pururava - urvashi samvada
2) Yama - Yami samvada
3) Sarama - Pani samvada
Pururava - Urvashi samvada - This sukta narrates
the story of king Pururava and Urvashi. He was a human
king and she was a nymph in the heaven. This is the
first love story in the world. Both of them fell in love
with each other. The king wanted to marry Urvashi.
She gave consent on some condition. The king agreed.
Their marriage took place. Later she gave birth to a
Shodashopachara Puja Obedience
Puja means worship. whenever we worship Lord Obedience was a very important value in Vedic
Ganesh or Lord Tirupati we offer 16 types of services times. Younger generation was to obey whatever was
to him. So it is called means sixteen told by the elderly people. There is a story which
(16) and upachara means services. We invite God, offer explains this value.
him a seat, then offer water to wash his feet and hands, There was a sage. His name was (Dhaumya).
then we offer water for bathing, then offer clothing He had three disciples. Their names were Aaruni,
etc. This concept of sixteen services has its origin in Upamanyu and Baida. Dhaumya wanted to test them.
the It is a famous hymn in the Rigveda. It He called Aaruni first and said to him, "O dear! the
contains 16 verses ( ). This hymn explains how the bund of the field is broken due to heavy rains. So go
whole universe was created from the limbs of that there and do the needful to repair the bund."Aaruni
went to the field and repaired the bund with stones
Purusha. The is the present day relevance of
and clay but it did not sustain. He tried thrice but was
the hymn in the Veda. This is a value.
not successful. Ultimately he himself lay as a bund to
obstruct the water. His teacher waited for 2-3 days
but Aaruni did not return. Worried as he was, he went
* * * to the field to see what had happened. He called out
loudly and received a weak response, "sir, I am here,
lying as a bund to stop water. Bund construction was
impossible, Sir!" The teacher was pleased with his
obedience and taught him all the knowledge.
Upamanyu was the second disciple whom the
teacher tested. He asked Upamanyu to guard the cows.
After 2-3 days the teacher asked him, "Dear Upamanyu,
how do you feed yourself? you look fat." He answered,
" Sir, I beg alms for that." The teacher said, "You
should not eat alms without giving to me." So he gave
alms to the teacher. The teacher did not give him
50 Vedic Values
anything to eat. Still he was fat because he begged The Three Debts
alms second time. The teacher objected. So he used
to drink milk. The teacher objected again. Still he was The concept of debts is called ‘ ’ in sanskrit.
fat because he used to drink the foam falling when means 'three debts" or 'a group of three debts.'
calves were drinking milk. The teacher objected that This is a basic concept in Indian sociology. In ancient
too. So he could not get anything to eat. So he ate the time, it is found in It is as follows -
leaves of the tree. As a result he lost his sight and ‘ ’, ‘it means a man is
while wandering here and there he fell into a well. The born with three debts.’ These three debts are -
cows returned home in the evening but he did not. 1) 2) 3)
The teacher went in search of him and found him fallen
- God supplies all the means of living. It is his
into the well. The teacher invited to cure his
favour to us. We should be grateful to him for that.
eye-sight. They cured his eye sight. The teacher was We can express our gratitude by worshiping God, by
pleased with his obedience and faith.
performing religious rites like sacrifice etc. So our
The third disciple also proved his obedience by forefathers said ‘’ The debt to God is repaid
pulling his plough as a bull. Thus the teacher was by
pleased with all the three disciple for their obedience.
It was a very important value.
- means teacher. In olden times the
sages preserved knowledge and arts and transmitted
them from generation to generation. Our culture
developed through the preservation and collection of
* * * all the vedas, arts and knowledge. This is their favour
to the mankind. So we must be grateful to the sages
who are our first teachers (). To express our
gratitude we must study hard during (
can be repaid by and
- This is the third We owe this to our
forefathers who have continued the human race by
giving birth to the next generations. Right from times
unknown our forefathers have protected self and the
52 Vedic Values
society by facing calamities. So they are called Vedic sources of various customs
i.e., forefathers. The term includes father, mother Ramayana is the first great epic in the world. The
and all other forefathers. To show our gratitude towards sage Valmiki has composed it. There is a story behind
them all, we should accept and should it, how the sage got inspiration. As a daily routine, one
contribute towards continuation of race by giving birth day the sage got up early in the morning and walked to
to the next generation. the river Tamasa () for bathing. On his way he
This concept of three debts help to bind together saw a hunter who shot an arrow towards a couple of
the previous generations and the new generations. It birds sitting on a tree, loving each other. One of the
binds the society also together. Hence feeling of birds was shot down. The sage was pained at heart
gratitude, dutifulness and the concept of three debts and from within him a curse came out in the form of a
are the Vedic values. verse -
* * * O hunter! Let you never get any prestige in the
society, as you have killed a bird from amongst
the loving couple. Thus his grief () birst out in the
form of a verse, and this was the beginning of the
great epic Ramayana.
This incident took place early in the morning when
Valmiki was going to the river Tamasa for bathing. It
was his daily routine. This was the daily routine of all
during Vedic time. What was the detailed routine? why
was it so? what were its advantages? Let us see ahead.
Vedic Routine
They used to get up quite early in the morning at
4.30 a.m. and then went to a river for bathing. If no
river was available then bathing was performed at home
54 Vedic Values Vedic Values 55
with cold water followed by washing the clothes. Then the people in it was ready to welcome who so ever
they practised Suryanamaskara or other exercises for came there.
physical fitness. (i.e., quite early in the morning). After Aukshana
their ecercise it was time for recitation and swadhyaya.
This kept their knowledge fresh and they could add It is a special Indian custom practised at the time
new knowledge too. All the focus was on recitation of welcoming a beloved person or at the time of biding
and memory. After swadhyaya, they took their farewell to a loving person. While practising this
breakfast which consisted of fresh cow-milk without custom, a silver dish with two holy ghee lamps
sugar, boiled vegetables and cereals, fruits etc. and (accompanied with blessing) and taken with Kumkuma
proceeded for daily work, took lunch at mid-day and and akshata (rice) and waved round the face of the
supper at 7 to 8 p.m. About 9 or 9.30 was their time of loved one three times. It is a symbol of warm welcome
retiring to bed. There was no bed tea, or bed coffee, as well as warm farewell. This activity has a magic
no smoking, no drinking no bad habits. They started effect of the loving thoughts of the dear- ones and the
their day with pious prayers and ended their day with holy lights create a protective and guiding halo around
prayers again. This had cumulative psychological effect the person concerned for his or her safety, prosperity
and they could go to sleep with calm mind. This routine and happiness.
kept them fit and alert physically as well as mentally. shree
Cleanliness
Indians use to write (shree) at the top of a letter.
Cleanliness was a very important Value. Home This signifies many things. It signifies well-being
where the human body lives and body () where and prosperity at the writer's end. It signifies
the soul () resides should be cleaned and washed truthfulness and honesty of the writer. Its absence
every morning before daybreak. Similarly the courtyard suggests something inauspicious incident at the writer's
in front of the house was swept, water was sprinkled end.
and Rangavali was sketched at the entrance of the
houses. It was a symbol of cleanliness. It was and is Touching the feet
practised as a pious duty. Similarly the house-holder Touching the feet of a deity, Guru, parents or elders
wore on his forehead a holy dot or sandal paste or by fingertips or placing one's head on the feet was a
holy ash () which indicated his personal cleanliness. symbol of showing respect to the deity or elders. What
It was the marking of purity and the house along with is the principle behind this act? It is believed that the
56 Vedic Values Vedic Values 57
head of the Guru is a dynamo or powerhouse of divine Suvasini
knowledge. Similarly the head of loving, protective Suvasini is a Vadic term signifying a happily
parents and other elders is a similar repository of married woman, a devoted wife, an affectionate and
benevolent blessings and protective affection. While cheerful hostess, mother of several well - tended and
hands and feet are like the wires charged with that bright children. Suvasini is the representative of mother
energy. This benevolent energy is transmitted through Goddess . Even today the term suvasini is in use
the touch, and the juniors get charged with the benign for such a married woman.
energy emanating from both hands and feet of the elder
or the superior. Whenever juniors touch the feet of Atonement
elders, the elders put their hand on the head of the 'To err is human and to forgive is divine.' This
juniors to give them blessings. Thus through the touch proverb tells us that human beings are liable to commit
of feet and hand the good wishes are transferred to mistakes. 'No one is perfect. Now if a man commits
the younger people. some mistaken or does some thing wrong to others,
Dust of holy Feet he must feel sorry for that. He must beg apology for
the mistake and should not commit it again. Saying
It is customary among the Indians to say, 'please sorry is a kind of atonement. It can also be self
shed the dust of your holy feet in our house.' This is a punishment for some mistake. There are different kinds
modest way of inviting a revered personality. It is a of punishments () depending on the graveness
Vedic phraseology. The scientific principle behind such of mistake. These atonements are meant for keeping
an invitation is that when a person visits any house, man away from mistakes.
some particles of dust carried by his feet are left there.
The Eastern Orientation
These particles are charged with holy man's blessings
and divine energy which ward off evil influences. means facing the East. Life in Vedic
period began with a prayer to the rising sun and the
Preambulation
sun - rises in the East. So we face the east for praying
Preambulation means going round a holy object, the sun. Our physical functions, our working day, our
person or idol (deity) clockwise. It gives strength, period of rest (i.e., night) are all dictated by the sun.
sanctity, purity and inspiration of the divine object to so the east has got a special place in our life. The East
the devotee. Even today we follow this custom by and the rising sun are symbols of prosperity. Hence
going round the deity whenever we visit a temple. Eastern orientation has a special value in our culture,.
58 Vedic Values Vedic Values 59
We try to build our houses facing the East. Whenever bad behaviour. (i.e., and ). Good behaviour
we start any good work or do any good activity we was praised and bad behaviour was blamed. They
start it facing the East. We worship God in our house. uttered sanskrit prayers, sounded .bells and waved holy
That God too is kept facing the East. So Eastern lamps. There is a scientific principle behind all this.
orientation is a special character of Indian culture. The sound and the light are the two of the great
The symbols used in Vedic culture - The Lotus elements which can cause the greatest and fastest
electromagnetic ripples, thereby reverberating a
Lotus was carved on the walls in ancient times. It distressed soul's anguished cry throughout the cosmos.
was a pet Vedic symbol which puts forth an ideal of The whole divine campus shaken out of its response,
rising and standing above the mud, and slush of automatically swings into action according to the divine
mundane life, radiating cool, soft fragrance, beauty,
law enunciated by Lord Krishna.
attraction and contentment all around. Consequently a
great persons limbs or limbs of God are invariably The clay icons were prepared much later. They
referred to as lotus-face (, lotus-eyes (, were worshipped and later on immersed in lakes or
lotus hands ( and lotus feet ). The rivers. This tradition is found in our Ganesh worship
limbs of a small baby are delicate, beautiful, full of at present.
life, soft so they also are called as lotus. There is a Warding off the Evil
famous verse in this context. It is as follows :
It is believed among the Hindus that the envious
glance of even an ardent admirer, not to talk of ill-
wishers, is regarded as causing trouble. It is found in
This is the description of baby Krishna. It’s Vedic practices too at times. Therefore it is not
meaning is as follows - uncommon to see a devilish mark displayed on a newly
constructed building or a worn-out shoe dangling. For
He holds foot-lotus by hand-lotus and puts it in
his mouth-lotus. I remember such Krishna who is lying the same reason a tiny black spot (speck) (looking
on the leaf of the Ashwattha tree. like a mole) is delicately put on the face of an attractive
child (baby) or a woman to deflect any chance of evil
Idol worship glance. At times when such precaution was not taken
There was no idol worship during Vedic period. or despite such precaution the child or woman seemed
Those people recognised only good behaviour and ill at ease, the elderly lady of the vedic household used
60 Vedic Values Vedic Values 61
mustard and salt remedy. It sounds superstitious but contribute to the good of the society. Shiva means
it works. good. So the principles which cause towards good of
Ultimate Values the individuals as well as society are the social values.
Honesty justice, self-control, freedom, helping each
There are a number of values which shape human
other etc., make men good members of the society.
behaviour, which guide human behaviour, and develop
And such good members are like lubricants which
healthy relationship among human beings and bind the
make the working of the society quite smooth. Hence
society together and make it stable. Of these values
such members are essential in each and every society.
some are changeable according to time and place and
generations. But there are certain values which never Spiritual values ( ) - These values are
change. They are perennial, permanent, constant. They helpful for individual progress, development and
are called Ultimate values. They are satya, shiva and upliftment. Spirit means the ultimate principle of this
sundara (i.e. , , and ) (i.e., Truth, Good and world. It is called as . Knowledge about the supreme
Beauty) spirit is spiritual knowledge. Trying for this spiritual
knowledge is called the spiritual value. It is also called
In other words they are called as moral, social and as metaphysical knowledge. It is discussed in the
aesthetic values. In addition to these philosophers put Upanishads. A person interested in this type of
knowledge takes delight incontemplation of the
forth one more value put farward is the “spiritual value”.
supreme spirit. This is called spiritual value.
Aesthetic Values () - are the values in the realm
These values are like guiding star. They shape
of beauty. The values that give us pleasure and
human behaviour and uplift human personality. So they
happiness.
have a special place in the life of an individual, society
Moral values () - are the values that help us to and nation. They are the foundation of any culture.
develop our character. They are the virtues which every These values inculcate basic human qualities,
individual must try to imbibe. They make man's develop right attitude towards self, society,
personality transparent and attractive. environment, country and religion. It also develops
Social Values ( ) - are the values or liberal attitude, towards religion, language, caste and
principles of behaviour in the society. Each individual sex, proper use of leisure, increase social efficiency
is a member of the society. As a member he has certain and adjustment. The product of all these is the ideal
rights as well as certain responsibilities or duties that member of the society.
62 Vedic Values
Good character Donation
Good character was a very important value in those There are different kinds of people in the society.
days. character means good behaviour. It consists of Some are good, some are bad, some are rich, some
various qualities e.g. holy thoughts, respect for elders, are poor, some are healthy, some are suffering from
sympathy, friendship, gratitude, dutifulness, sweet diseases, some people have capacity to help others
tongue and moral behaviour, respect for women, loyalty but some are in need of help from others. Some are
etc. In later times character is described as ‘ 'have's' and some are 'have-not's. All good things are
not steady. Conditions change. 'Have's can become
’, ‘’, ‘If character is lost everything 'have-not's and the vice versa too. Everybody should
is lost.’ A characterless man never had any value in the remember this and offer help for the needy. One way
society. Nobody gave him any respect. People looked of offering help is to give donation. Donation can be
down upon such a person. Thus character was a very of different types, like donation of money, food,
important value in ancient time. clothes, food grains, physical help, medicine etc. One
can create goodwill through such activities. Good will
binds people together. One good turn deserves another.
* * * Donor's hand is always up. In nature also we find that
the clouds who give water have high position in the
sky and the ocean who stores water is below on the
earth. His position is low. So one must try to give
whatever one can. Giving i.e., donation is a value. It
brings respect to the donor.
In addition to the concept of three debts, there is
one more debt and it is social debt.
What is meant by ?
There is a story in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
which gives some moral advice. Gods, Men and Asuras
were the children of the creator. They completed their
learning for 12 years with Prajapati. At the end of
learning period they requested Prajapati for some
64 Vedic Values Vedic Values 65
advice. He gave them the letter, . All of them eager to welcome her. She is a symbol of beauty and
interpreted the letter in their own way. beauty is a value.
Gods interpreted as i.e. self control or Vedic seers
control over senses because they had not conquered
We have seen that different seers have contributed
their senses.
towards the Vedic Samhitas. Let us know about them
Men interpreted as i.e. donation, because in short.
being greedy they lacked in giving donations. 1)
Asuras were cruel by nature. They did not show One of the seers of hymns in Rigveda He was
sympathy or kindness to others. So they felt that father born in the race of . He was a great sage. Two
must have advised them for kindness. Hence they hymns in the ninth mandala of Rigveda and one hymn
interpreted ' as i.e. kindness, compassion. in the tenth mandala of Rigveda are assigned to him.
All the three became aware of their faults and He gave Vishwamitra one vidya called 'Sasarpari' and
decided to compensate, remove the faults by self compensated his defeat by shakti the son of Vasistha.
improvement. Thus self-improvement was a value. It
He has praised Pavamana soma in the ninth
is striving for perfection.
mandala and he has praised Agni in the tenth mandala.
(Early morning) He has called the creator of sky and Earth as . He
In ancient times people worshipped nature. The has stated that the offerings to gods given in agni should
sun, moon, rivers, trees, earth etc. were their deities be accompanied with the word swaha ().
because nature supplied everything necessary for their was very short tempered. Renuka was his
life. Early morning too was one of their deities. wife. Parashurama was his son. was one of the
appears in the East when the day breaks, the sky is
famous Saptarishis .
dazzling with light. is called the daughter of the
2) Gowtham
sky. She is very beautiful and rich too. She gives
inspiration to all. The whole world starts working at One of the seven famous sages ( ) . He
her arrival. Birds fly in the sky and go in search of belonged to the Angirasa family. He learnt Brahmavidya
food. Animals go out for grazing. People salute her from Sanatkumara. He also learnt how to meditate
auspicious light. People describe her beauty. She Hansa and Paramhansa from sanatkumara. Ahalya the
creates joy and happiness in the world. People are daughter ( ) of Brahmadeva was his wife.
66 Vedic Values Vedic Values 67
Shatananda was his son. He underwent penance for a hymns in this mandala are assigned to Atri and others
long time. He advised yama as to how to discharge to his decendants. Atri was a great mathematician. He
Pitruruna . Once there was a famine for twelve has described solar eclipse in the 40th hymn in the 5th
years and Gautama saved sages by giving food to mandala. He was expert in the activities related to
them. sacrifice. According to him "Evening- time" was
3) Kashyapa prohibited for sacrifice. He was popular among gods.
He was a Vedic seer. He had his contribution 6) Vasishtha
towards Vedic Samhita. He was a priest in the sacrifice He was one of the Vedic seers. He was the son of
of Parashurama and was given the whole earth as
Gods Mitra-Varuna. His name was given to him with
Dakshina He is the 17th sage among the 24
sages of Gayatrimantra. Kashyapa family was wide- reference to his high divine qualities (virtues). He is
spread. It was a famous family. the seer of the 7th mandala of Rigveda. The 104 hymns
in this mandala are assigned to him alone. His hymns
4) Agastya throw light on History and Geography.
He was a Vedic seer. He created obstruction in You protect us all the time, this was his constant
the growth of Vindhya mountain. was not his demand. Two rivers Parushni and Yamuna are referred
original name but was an attribute given to him for a to in his hymns. He underwent penance near river Vi
great work done by him. He became famous by this pasha. The hymns of Vasishtha are mainly addressed
name only. He was the son of Mitra - Varuna and real to Indra, Varuna, Usha, Agni and Vishvedeva. They
brother of Vasishtha. Lopamudra, the princess of are specially famous from poetic point of view. Their
Vidarbha, was his wife. The hymn no. 179 in the first
language and similes in them are very appealing. The
mandala of Rigveda is assigned to Agastya. He was
the oldest among all sages. Three great victories are cult of Bhakti has its seeds in the Vasishtha's hymns
recorded on his name: 1) Vindhya-Vijaya 2) Samudra- addressed to indra and Agni.
vijaya and 3) Indra-vijaya. He was the disciple of god 7)Viswamitra
shiva, the preceptor of vedic knowledge, and sage of
divine power.
too was a Vedic seer. The third mandala
of Rigveda is assigned to Vishvamitra. As regards
5) Atri greatness, he is equal to Vasishtha and Bharadwaja.
He was one of the seven Vedic seers. The 5th His biography (life story) is wonderful. He underwent
mandala of Rigveda is known as Atri-mandala. 13 hard penance for years together, he wanted to send
68 Vedic Values
Trishanku to heaven along with his body. He freed Sangyana Sukta
Shunahshep tied to the Yupa as an oblation and
Just like requested for God's favour in the
accepted (adopted) him as his son. Originally he was
form of Pasayadan, at the end of , similarly this
a kshatriya but on the merit of his penance he became
a brahmin and people started calling him . hymn is a kind of Pasayadana at the end of Rigveda
samhita. This is the last hymn in Rigveda. It expresses
was the leader of Kushika people. Sudasa good wishes for all. May there be joy everywhere. All
was the king of Bharatas. Vasishtha was the priest of should be bound together by a common thought. Let
Sudasa. Sudasa wanted help of kushika people so he your behaviour and your minds be one. Let your hearts
removed Vasishtha and made Viswamitra his priest. be full with common emotion. Let your aim be one
So there was enemity between Vasishtha and and the same and may you all achieve it with helping
Viswamitra. Once Shakti the son of Vasishtha defeated one another. Sit together, discuss things and then take
Viswamitra in debate at a sacrifice. So Viswamitra learnt decision. Try to understand one another which creates
Sasarpari Vidya from Jamadagni and defeated shakti. unity among you all. This unity will solve all your
Thus he was a powerful sage. Viswamitra protested problems and lead you towards progress. This hymn
against the human oblation in the sacrifice and stopped
suggests that all the world should be one.
that tradition.
* * * * * *
Vedic Values 71
Importance of Knowledge places, so he was named as Ashtavakra. Once he went
to the court of king Janaka who was a great philosopher.
Normally old people () are respected for their There were a number of scholars in his court. When
experience and knowledge. But the word is used the scholars looked at Ashtavakra, they began to laugh
in two senses. 1) i.e. old on account of at his deformed body. King Janaka pacified them and
chronological age. 2) i.e. old on account of told them that the boy wanted to debate with them.
knowledge irrespective of chronological age. In The scholars were surprised. Ashtavakra explained to
sanskrit there is a saying which tells us. them that though the body is curved, the soul within it
is not curved. Though a river is curved, the water
It means that because his hair is grey he does not flowing in the current is not curved. He won over them
in the debate. King Janaka was much impressed by
become i.e., . On the contrary
his knowledge, scholarship, intelligence and the quality
of self control. He touched the feet of Ashtavakra and
He who inspite of being young is well educated, is said, "O revered one, please accept me as your disciple
called i.e., (old regarding knowledge) by and remove my ignorance by your advice. Please guide
Gods. this picture may be cited as an me." Ashtavakra was pleased and explained him the
example of ‘’ Below the panchayatana knowledge of various kinds and the principle of Atman
picture, a verse is cited. It is as follows: too. So it is said that chronological age is not taken
into account in - case of those who have well studied
about Darma. This is the example of the famous
expression.
It means that a miracle is seen under the banyan
tree. A young man is the teacher there and disciples
are all aged. The teacher is silent and the disciples
have understood every thing.
* * *
was a young philosopher. He was only
twelve (12) years old. But he had achieved mastery
over all the shastras. His body was curved in eight (8)
Sham No Varunah Idol worship
Varuna is a vedic deity. Hymns assigned to varuna There are two main streams of Hindu Religion.
are less in number than hymns assigned (addressed) One is i.e., believing in the authority of Vedas.
to Indra. This does not mean that Varuna is less The second authenticity is i.e. believing in
important. In Rigveda, Varuna's moral qualities are the authority of i.e. sacred knowledge.
more emphasised than his appearance. He sits in the The culture was called , because the
high heaven and observes all the good and bad 'sacrifice' was at the centre of life. There is no reference
activities of men. He knows everthing (). The seers to Idol worship in the Vedas. The sacrifice centred
had deep reverence for his strength. He is the deity of
culture was customary for thousands of years. At the
water. So he controls all the water sources on the earth
end of Lord Krishna brought in this
like rivers, oceans etc. His rules and regulations are
culture in which 'idol worship' was at the centre. This
strict and constant. Even gods could not break them.
culture was divided into two sub - divisions called
‘ ’ was his universal law. is the motto of
as 1) (Vaikhanasa) and 2) Pancharatra.
Indian Navy because is the ultmate controller of The Vaikhanasas developed the special preformance
water. The meaning of this motto is 'Let the God Varuna of idol worship within the inside of a temple. They
be our protector and well-Wisher'. This is a kind of used the Vedic mantras in this worship. At present the
prayer for the safety of all related to Navy. There was worship of God Tirupati takes place according to
a strong belief that if we pray to God, he protects us, Vaikhanasa Agama. But no animal oblation is offered,
helps us. So this was a value. though they continue etc. So it is only i.e.
worship according to the mantras in the Vedas. But
Goddess Padmavati at the Trichanura city is
* * * worshipped according to Pancharatra Agama. In that
worship both Veda-mantras and tantra are used. It is
described as ‘ ’ So Particular
way of worship is a value and it is continued even at
present.
* * *
Conclusion Reference Books
So far we have seen the meaning of the word Veda, 1
and general information about Vedas. We have 2
discussed the term value and its relation to vedas on
one hand and to human life on the other hand. The 3Veda and Indian Culture - Kireet Joshi.
values played a very important role in the life of men 4
and their society. There are many sotries in the Vedas 5 Educational Ideals and Institutions in Mahabharata
which explain and establish different values. Some of - N. L. Gupta
them are time-dependent () while some are 62004 - 2006
place-dependent. But there are certain permanent values 7
which do not change in relation to place or time. They
are called ultimate values or eternal values. These values 8
make human relations strong and blind the society
together. They contribute towards progress of the 9
society and happiness of human life. So we must try 1010
to understand the values and behave accordingly. They
develop good thoughts in your mind. We have a rich 11world vedic Heritage - P. N. Oak.
heritage of values evolved through thousands of years
together. We should respect it, preserve it and transmit
it to the future generations. Those who have a divine * * *
past can have a bright future. We must be proud of
our cultural heritage.
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