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RATRI One hymn in the Rigveda and five in the Atharvaveda exclusively celebrate Ratri. The starlit night captured the imagination of the Vedic poets who personified her as a female deity! She is beseeched to grant an abundance of wealth and all-round prosperity to her devotees? She fills the offering of her worshippers with all choice things, and she is also approached to assign them wealth in the form of heroes She gives food to her devotees and grants them happiness. She is invoked to please her devotees, and is requested to be very favourable towards them to make her worshippers invincible, so that with her grace they attain the favour of the gods? She brings dawn to her devotees, and is approached for refuge for 7 the cattle, horses and relatives of her worshippers 10 She finds 2 Rigveda 10.127, Atharva-veda 3.10; 19.47, 48, 49, 50, Satapatha-brahmana 4.2.5.14; 6.3.3. Atharva-veda III : 10:3, VII : 10:7, VII : 793 & 4. XIX 1 4913, Chandogya-brahmana II : 2:15, Rigveda II : 31:5, Atharva-veda XIX >> S 016, XIX : 49:3, 5 & 8. Rigveda V : 516, Atharva-veda VII: 8011, XIX # 49:2. 3 Atharva-veda VII : 79:1 & 3, XIX # 5016. 4 5 Chandogya-brahmana II : 5:13. 6 Rigveda X : 127:4, Atharva-veda XIX: 49:2 & 3. 7 Atharva-veda III # 1012, VII : 8014, II ;5:15. 8 Chandogya-brahmana II : 2:15. 9 Atharva-veda III # 1017. 10 Atharva-veda XIX: 47:9, SmvB I : 518, Rigveda VI 14913, X # 137$6. 52

53 a place for her devotees in the world of Brahman for the sake of feeeing them from the cycle of birth and rebirth 11 with her favour. her worshippers settle down comfortably in their houses as birds 12 do in their nests. This clearly points out her capacity of giving rest and peace to her tired followers. 13 She protects her worshippers, and through her grace, they 14 are not affected by thieves or any malicious persons. She is beseeched to make the snake blind and headless, and grinds up the two jaws of the wolf. She protects her worshippers everywhere, and from whatever wild creature that exists on earth 16 17 18 She protects the property of her devotees, and she is entreated to protect their cows and other cattle too. She delivers her worshippers from their sins 19 From the above statements, it may be understood that the Vedic Aryans faced the threat of burglars and poachers who made themselves active at night. Therefore they beseeched her to protect their material property and their cattle from the hands of the thieves and poachers respectively. They were also sacred of 11 Siv A III, 815. 12 Rigveda X : 12714, Atharva-veda XIX : 47:2 & 8. 13 Atharva-veda XIX : 47:5, XIX: 48 ; 3 & 4. ca 14 Rigveda X : 12716, Atharva-veda XIX 1 47:7 & 8, XIX : 50:1. : 1 15 Rigveda X ; 127:6, Atharva-veda XIX : 4718, XIX : 50:1. 2299509 16 17 Atharva-veda XIX # 48; 3 & 4. Atharva-veda XIX: 4816. 18 Taittiriya-brahmana I # 2:4:10. 19 Atharva-veda XIX : 5017,

54 of snakes and wolves who prowled about in the night. They entreated her to keep them 1.e. the devotee safe from those wild animals. She fills up completely the extensive atmosphere or sky with her own brilliance, and she covers the creepers, trees, etc. 20 21 with her radiance. She purifies her sister Usas with the light 31 ing A and she spreads herself all over the sky bring bright darkness all around?2 She has imbibed the powerful splendour of the lion, stag, tiger, leopard, etc., and was the first to shine out; she shines out in many forms. 23 24 She is a maker of the water of sacrifice, and is worshipped 25 with oblations by her followers: The SVB 3.8 describes a rite where Retri is worshipped for the emancipation of a man from the cycle of birth and rebirth. The entire rite is represented in a dialogue form between the worshipper and the night. 26 The hymns which celebrate Ratri have been employed in the magical rites intended for freeing oneself from the bad effects of the ill-omens and for warding off calamities and evil portents for example, the entire hymn Rigveda X.127, which is known as the 20 Rigveda X Rigveda X : 12712. 21 Rigveda X : 127:3. 22 Atharva-veda XIX | 4711, Rigveda II : 3814, 2 & 8 23 Atharva-veda XIX # 4914. 24 Rigveda V # 516. 25 Atharva-veda VIII: 79:3. 26 Rigveda X.127, et.

55 Ratrisukta (Khila 4.2.14) is employed by Aitareya-aranyaka 3.2.4 in a ceremony counteracting the bad effects of a dream. effects of a dream. Kausika 58.20 employs 路 Atharva-veda 8.2.20 in the Annaprasana ceremony where Ratri is invoked to protect the child from the niggards (arayebhyah) and the demons 1 (jagatsubhyah). sky. 28 27 She is the wife of the year, and the daughter of the 29 She is mother of the worshippers. In her dwell the well- -doers, and in her come together all the gods and the sadhyas with .30 鈾�Indra as chief? 66 Ratri has been regarded as having a very close connection with the sun. When the sun contracts his rays in the middle of men's work, Ratri spreads her garment (Rigveda I.115.4). It is said in the Rigveda IV.13.4, that the rays of the sun render apart the black nightly mantle (asitam vaama) and sink the darkness of the night as one sinks a huge piece of leather into water Indra (sun-god, Rigveda VI. 47.21) drives day by day the black-coloured (kranih) Ratri. The sun (Rohita) is regarded as a fair fair child of a black : 32.6). Ratzi envelops the sun like an embryo (Satapatha-brahmana II : 3.1.3) from which the sun frees himself as a snake frees itself from its mother who travels along the sky (Atharva-veda of a black slough (Satapatha-brahmana II.3.1.6). The sun (Rohita) is said to have been born of Ratri and Ratri to have been born of the sun (Atharva-veda XIII.7.2). The night and the day are both treasured in one place; between the two, the one that is, the day is manifest (arin) - Rigveda III.55.15 27 Atharva-veda III.10.2. 28 Atharva-veda XIX : 47:5, Taittiriya-brahmana I: 2:4110. #31 29 Atharva-veda XIX 48:2. 30 Atharva-veda VII. 79.2. 31 S.K. Lal, "Female Divinities in Hindu Mythology and Ritual,' University of Poona, Pune, 1980, p. 124.

56 32 The colour of Ratri is black due to its darkness. She is silvery, shining 3³ and is extremely beautiful, 4 even ravishing 33 like a decorated bowl, she shows her worshippers wonderful forms and has put on the stars of heaven. 35 36 She is praised by her devotees, and they turn her face 37 towards them with the recitation of praises. She is beseechad 38 to enjoy the song of praise of her vitorious worshippers. She is immortal 39 fortunate 40 victorious 41 desirable, 42 43 44 welcome, well-born, famous, great," and she assumes pleasant She is called ghrtaci (ghee-dripping). 46 She is present during the night, and is called egneyl because of the abundant presence of fire in the night. She is 49 48 situated in the middle of the sky, and her darkness is oppressed by the radiance of the planets, stars, etc. this means that her attribute of darkness is hindered by the light radiated from the planets, stars, etc. 32 Rigveda III : 55:11 & 15, She is exhorted to become sealous 51 and 47 Atharva-veda XIX: 67 # 2 & 8. TO I * 1:5:7, Rigveda X : 127: 2 & 3, Atharva-veda XIX 1 48 1 2 & 4. 1 Rigveda III: $5:15, Maitrayani-samhita III : 12:28, Taittiriya-brahmana III # 31913. 3B : Atharva-veda XIX # 49:8, XIX : 47:2 & 8, Rigveda VI # 4913. 33 34 35 36 Taittiriya-brahmana I 1 214110, Rigveda V 1 516, Atharva-veda XIX: 4814. 37 6328208e:www Rigveda X : 12718. Rigveda X 12718. 39 Rigveda X 8 12712. 40 Atharva-veda VII.79.1. 41 Atharva-veda VII : 80:1. Atharva-veda (XIX 49: 3 & 5. * 43 Rigveda II : 31:5, V : 516. 44 Atharva-veda III.10.4, XIX: 47:1. 49 Rigveda III : 55:15. Atharva-veda XIX: 49:7. 50 Rigveda X.127.2. 46 Atharva-veda XIX: 4810. 51 Rigveda X.127.6, Atharva-veda XIX. 4912 & 4. 47 Chandogya-brahmana II 5413. 鈥� 48 Taittiriya-brahmana I: 2:17, I # 1112.

57 53. her followers go near her. 53 The cattle, for example,cows, buffaloes, etc. are brought near her. She, together with Usas is an impeller 54 of the animate world. her devotees with milk. Ratri is sometimes conceived of as a cow. She sustains 58 The gods rejoice to meet her, and she 56 goes up to them like a milch-cow. The above two statements bear out her quality of a cow. r Et In the Brahmanical literature, Ratri seems to have undergone a significant development. The characteristic feature of Ratri such as the power annihilating the dangerous creatures for example wolves and snakes and destroying the demons gave rise to the belief that the inimical forces and demons prevail during the night and as such the Night came to be signified as evil. The night is the darkness of death (Aitareya-brahmana 4.5, etc.). The demons and the Raksasas gather during the night. When the gods were passing upwards to the heaven, the Amuras enveloped them with darkness. 575211.55.1. The Vedic Aryans looked upon Ratri mainly as a goddess of 757 protection, since at night they were particularly helpless against robbers, fierce animals and marauders. Hence they turned to Night herself for protection. They approached her for taking care of their property and cattle. They also beseeched her for protecting 52 Rigveda X 1 127:8. 53 Taittiriya-brahmana I # 2:4:10. 94 Rigveda II : 31:5. 55 Atharva-veda VII 1 79:3. 56 Atharva-veda III : 1012. 35 57 S.K. Lal, op. cit., p. 127.

58 their cattle and property from wild animals and thieves. with her grace, her devotees themselves were not harmed by wild creatures or thieves or malevolent men for example, sorcerers, ect. They also worshipped her for an abundance of all the good things in life for example, wealth, etc. She was also prayed to by her devotees for making them invincible. She was especially important during the period of the Samhitas because at that time the people were mainly a pastoral lot. Cattle was their main-st stay, and the only means of livelihood and sustenance. Therefore they implored her for protecting their cattle which formed their main asset from wild animals and poachers.