Nirukta (Sanskrit). An anga or limb, a division of the Vedas; a glossarial comment.

(See also: Nirukta , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Nirukta (Sanskrit) [from nir forth, out + the verbal root vac to speak, utter]

Uttered, pronounced, expressed, defined; as a noun, the etymological interpretation of a word, also the name of such works, especially of a commentary on the Nighantus (a Vedic glossary) by Yaska, the oldest commentary on the Vedas presently known.

(See also: Nirukta , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Nirukta Vedanga: (Sanskrit) "Etymology Veda-limb."

Auxiliary Vedic texts which discuss the origin and development of words; among the four linguistic skills taught for mastery of the Vedas and the rites of yajna. Nirukta relies upon ancient lexicons, nighantu, as well as detailed hymn indices, anukramani. Five nighantus existed at the time of Yaska (320 bce), whose treatise is regarded a standard work on Vedic etymology.

See: Vedanga.

(See also: Nirukta Vedanga , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

etymology: The science of the origin of words and their development. The history of a word.

See: Nirukta Vedanga, Sanskrit.

(See also: Etymology , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Aswins (Sanskrit), or Aswinau, dual ; or again, Aswini-Kumarau, are the most mysterious and occult deities of all; who have "puzzled the oldest commentators". Literally, they are the "Horsemen", the "divine charioteers", as they ride in a golden car drawn by horses or birds or animals, and "are possessed of many forms".

They are two Vedic deities, the twin sons of the sun and the sky, which becomes the nymph Aswini. In mythological symbolism they are "the bright harbingers of Ushas, the dawn", who are "ever young and handsome, bright, agile, swift as falcons", who "prepare the way for the brilliant dawn to those who have patiently awaited through the night".

They are also called time "physicians of Swarga" (or Devachan), inasmuch as they heal every pain and suffering, and cure all diseases. Astronomically, they are asterisms. They were enthusiastically worshipped, as their epithets show. They are the "Ocean-born" (i.e., space born) or Abdhijau, "crowned with lotuses" or Pushhara-srajam, etc., etc.

Yaska, the commentator in the Nirukta, thinks that "the Aswins represent the transition from darkness to light " - cosmically, and we may add, metaphysically, also. But Muir and Goldstücker are inclined to see in them ancient "horsemen of great renown", because, forsooth, of the legend "that the gods refused the Aswins admittance to a sacrifice on the ground that they had been on too familiar terms with men". Just so, because as explained by the same Yaska "they are identified with heaven and earth", only for quite a different reason.

Truly they are like the Ribhus, "originally renowned mortals (but also non-renowned occasionally) who in the course of time are translated into the companionship of gods"; and they show a negative character, "the result of the- alliance of light with darkness", simply because these twins are, in the esoteric philosophy, the Kumara-Egos, the reincarnating "Principles" in this Manvantara.

(See also: Aswins , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Sushumna susumna (Sanskrit) Astronomically, the highest of the seven principal rays or Logoi of the sun, the others being Harikesa, Visvakarman, Visvatryarchas, Sannaddha, Sarvavasu, and Svaraj. These rays "are all mystical, and each has its distinct application in a distinct state of consciousness, for occult purposes.

The Sushumna, which, as said in the Nirukta (II, 6), is only to light up the moon, is the ray nevertheless cherished by the initiated Yogis. The totality of the Seven Rays spread through the Solar system constitute, so to say, the physical Upadhi (basis) of the Ether of Science; in which Upadhi, light, heat, electricity, etc., etc., -- the forces of orthodox science -- correlate to produce their terrestrial effects. As psychic and spiritual effects, they emanate from, and have their origin in, the supra-soar Upadhi, in the ether of the Occultist -- or Akasa" (SD 1:515n).

(See also: Sushumna , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Nighantu, Nighantuka (Sanskrit) [from the verbal root ghat, ghant to collect, bring together]

A glossary; particularly in the plural, the Vedic glossary explained by Yaska in his nirukta or glossarial commentary.

(See also: Nighantu, Nighantuka , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Vayu (Sanskrit) Air; one of the five cosmic elements. Personified, the god and sovereign of the air and the king of the gandharvas. Agni, Vayu, and Surya formed the primeval Vedic Trimurti: " 'Agni (fire) whose place is on earth; Vayu (air, or one of the forms of Indra), whose place is in the air; and Surya (the sun) whose place is in the air' [celestial spaces]. (Nirukta.)

In esoteric interpretation, these three cosmic principles, correspond with the three human principles, Kama, Kama-Manas and Manas, the sun of the intellect" (TG 361). These three deities in this connection are three manifestations of cosmic fohat, guided and directed by cosmic mahat.

In later mythology Vayu is the father of Hanuman, the monkey-king who aids Rama in the Ramayana. The allegory of Hanuman becoming the son of Vayu by Anjuna (an ape-like monster) refers to the first glimmering of mind coming into the highest apes through the miscegenation of unevolved late third root-race and early fourth root-race humans with certain simians, themselves the descendants of a previous and parallel origin during an earlier time of the third root-race.

(See also: Vayu , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Trimurti (Sanskrit). Lit., "three faces", or "triple form" - the Trinity.

In the modern Pantheon these three persons are Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. But this is an after thought, as in the Vedas neither Brahma nor Shiva is known, and the Vedic trinity consists of Agni, Vayu and Surya; or as the Nirukta explains it, the terrestrial fire, the atmospheric (or aërial) and the heavenly fire, since Agni is the god of fire, Vayu of the air, and Surya is the sun. As the Padma Purana has it: "In the beginning, the great Vishnu, desirous of creating the whole world, became threefold: creator, preserver, destroyer.

In order to produce this world, the Supreme Spirit emanated from the right side of his body, himself, as Brahma then, in order to preserve the universe, he produced from the left side of his body Vishnu; and in order to destroy the world he produced from the middle of his body the eternal Shiva. Some worship Brahma, some Vishnu, others Shiva; but Vishnu, one yet threefold, creates, preserves, and destroys, therefore let the pious make no difference between the three."

The fact is, that all the three "persons" of the Trimurti are simply the three qualificative gunas or attributes of the universe of differentiated Spirit-Matter, self-formative, self-preserving and self-destroying, for purposes of regeneration and perfectibility. This is the correct meaning; and it is shown in Brahma being made the personified embodiment of Rajoguna, the attribute or quality of activity, of desire for procreation, that desire owing to which the universe and everything in it is called into being.

Vishnu is the embodied Sattvaguna, that property of preservation arising from quietude and restful enjoyment, which characterizes the intermediate period between the full growth and the beginning of decay; while Shiva, being embodied Tamoguna - which is the attribute of stagnancy and final decay - becomes of course the destroyer. This is as highly philosophical under its mask of anthropomorphism, as it is unphilosophical and absurd to hold to and enforce on the world the dead letter of the original conception.

(See also: Trimurti , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Vayu (Sanskrit). Air: the god and sovereign of the air; one of the five states of matter, namely the gaseous; one of the five elements, called, as wind, Vata. The Vishnu Purana makes Vayu King of the Gandharvas.

He is the father of Hanuman, in the Ramayana. The trinity of the mystic gods in Kosmos closely related to each other, are " Agni (fire) whose place is on earth; Vayu (air, or one of the forms of Indra), whose place is in the air ; and Surya (the sun) whose place is in the air (Nirukta.) In esoteric interpretation, these three cosmic principles, correspond with the three human principles, Kama, Kama-Manas and Manas, the sun of the intellect.

(See also: Vayu , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Sadhya (Sanskrit) [from the verbal root sadh to finish, complete, subdue, master]

To be fulfilled, completed, attained; to be mastered, won, subdued. As a plural noun, a class of the gana-devatas (divine beings), specifically the jnana-devas (gods of wisdom).

In the Satapatha-Brahmana of the Rig-Veda their world is said to be above the sphere of the gods, while Yaska (Nirukta 12:41) gives their locality as in Bhuvarloka. In The Laws of Manu (3:195), the sadhyas are represented as the offspring of the pitris called soma-sads who are offspring of Viraj; hence they are children of the lunar ancestors (pitris), evolved after the gods and possessing natures more fully unfolded; while in the Puranas they are the sons of Sadhya (a daughter of Daksha) and Dharma -- hence called sadhyas -- given variously as 12 or 17 in number.

These various manners of describing the ancestry of the sadhyas originated in different ways of envisioning their origin. In later mythology they are superseded by the siddhas, the difference between sadhyas and siddhas being in many respects slight. Their mythological names are given as Manas, Mantri, Prana, Nara, Pana, Vinirbhaya, Naya, Dansa, Narayana, Vrisha, and Trabhu. Two of the names are two of the theosophic seven human principles -- manas and prana; while Nara and Narayan, are other aspects of man, human or cosmic. Blavatsky terms the sadhyas divine sacrificers, "the most occult of all" the classes of the dhyanis (SD 2:605) -- the reference being to the manasaputras, those intellectual beings who sacrificed themselves in order to quicken the fires of human intelligence during the third root-race. "The names of the deities of a certain mystic class change with every Manvantara" (SD 2:90); thus they are called ajitas, tushitas, satyas, haris, vaikuntas, adityas, and rudras. The key to the various names given to these higher beings lies in the composite nature of each one of them. In every manvantara and in each minor cycle of a manvantara, every being unfolds another aspect of itself, just as mankind unfolds new but latent powers and senses in each age. Special names were often given to each of the sevenfold, tenfold, or twelvefold aspects of these high beings.

In the cosmic sense the sadhyas signify the names collectively of the twelve great gods, the first twelve cosmic hierarchs emanating from Brahma, out of which flow not only the twelve cosmic planes, but the hierarchies inherent in these twelve planes. Their importance lies in the fact that they are the earliest emanations in serial order from the formative and productive Brahma-prakriti, and therefore are really the origin of all beings and things in the cosmos arranged from the beginning in the duodenary hierarchical scheme. Plato had the same thought when he spoke of Divinity forming the universe according to the number twelve. They are reminiscent of the Latin dii consentes, taken over from the ancient mystical Etruscans who stated that these twelve "agreeing or consenting divinities" form the council of Jupiter, the Latin Brahma. The twelve dii consentes consisted of six feminine and six masculine divinities, and the Etruscan theology stated that they govern not only the world, but time also, coming into existence periodically at the commencement of a world period, and passing into rest or pralaya when the world period ended -- only to reappear at the end of the succeeding world period.

Seneca in his Quaestiones Naturalis (2:41) states that there is a more sublime Council of Divinities, superior even to Jupiter and the twelve dii consentes, whose combined will and intelligence govern even the deliberations of Jupiter and the twelve great consenting gods.

See also SATYAS

(See also: Sadhya , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Aurnavabha (Sanskrit) A grammarian mentioned in Yaska's Nirukta; also a demon in the Rig-Veda.

(See also: Aurnavabha , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Vedanga:

Vedanga: Veda-limb. Six branches of post-Vedic studies revered as auxiliary to the Vedas. Four Vedangas govern correct chanting of the Vedas: 1. Shiksha (phonetics), 2. Çhandas (meter), 3. Nirukta (etymology), 4. Vyakarana (grammar). The two other Vedangas are 5. Jyotisha Vedanga (astronomy-astrology) and 6. Kalpa Vedanga (procedural canon) which includes the Shrauta and Shulba Shastras (ritual codes), Dharma Shastras (social law) and Grihya Shastras (domestic codes).

(See also: Vedanga , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Vedanga: (Sanskrit) "Veda-limb." Six branches of post- Vedic studies revered as auxiliary to the Vedas.

Four Vedangas govern correct chanting of the Vedas:

1)    Shiksha (phonetics),

2)    ‚handas (meter),

3)    Nirukta (etymology),

4)    Vyakarana (grammar). The two other Vedangas are

5)    )Jyotisha Vedanga (astronomy-astrology) and

6)    Kalpa Vedanga (procedural canon) which includes the Shrauta and Shulba Shastras (ritual codes), Dharma Shastras (social law) and Grihya Shastras (domestic codes).

See: Kalpa Vedanga, Vedas, and individual entries for named texts.

(See also: Vedanga , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Asvins, Asvinau (Sanskrit) The two horsemen; two Vedic divinities which in some respects parallel the Greek Dioscuri, Pollux and Castor. Harbingers of Ushas (the dawn), they are represented as twin horsemen, appearing in the sky in a golden chariot drawn by horses or birds.

One myth gives their origin as children of the sun by a nymph, Asvini, who concealed herself in the form of a mare; another myth makes Asvini their wife. Since they precede the sun's rising they are called the parents of the sun's form, Pushan. They are also the parents of Nakula and Sahadeva, Arjuna's brothers by Madri. Many Vedic hymns are addressed to them; their attributes pertain to youth and beauty, to speed, and to duality.

They bring treasures to mankind, averting misfortune and sickness, for they are the two physicians of heaven (svar-vaidyau). Yaska, the earliest known commentator on the Vedas, in his Nirukta writes that the Asvinau represent the transition from darkness to light and are identified with heaven and earth.

Blavatsky says that "these twins are, in the esoteric philosophy, the Kumara-Egos, the reincarnating 'Principles' in this Manvantara" (TG 41). That the Greek Dioscuri were respectively the son of Zeus and the son of a mortal, is a direct reference to the dual character of the kumaric mind or the higher manas, an immortal quality in human beings in its higher aspect, the lower aspect being connected with the mortal part of the human constitution.

(See also: Asvins, Asvinau , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

The Vedangas: There are six Angas or explanatory limbs, to the Vedas: the Siksha and Vyakarana of Panini, the Chhandas of Pingalacharya, the Nirukta of Yaska, the Jyotisha of Garga, and the Kalpas (Srauta, Grihya, Dharma and Sulba) belonging to the authorship of various Rishis.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Vedangas: The Vedangas in the Hindu Scriptures

Vasthu in The Vedas

Each Veda has a subsidiary: ayurveda (knowledge of life) for rgveda, dhanurveda (knowledge of tools and weapon) for yajurveda, gandharvaveda (knowledge of arts) for samaveda and sthapatyaveda (architecture) for atharvaveda. In addition, puranas, nyayasastras, mimamsas and dharma sastras (smrtis) are also considered as upangas. Sthapatyaveda which is the subsidiary of atharvaveda is the subject of this discussion. Because it is the subsidiary of Veda, its authority is clear and undisputed.

Read more here: » Vastu Shastra: Vasthu in The Vedas