Purana Bulletin
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The “Purana Bulletin� is an academic journal published by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in India. The journal focuses on the study of Puranas, which are a genre of ancient Indian literature encompassing mythological stories, traditions, and philosophical teachings. The Puranas are an important part of Hindu scriptures in Sa...
The Pasupata-Yoga
Pasupata-Yoga / Dr. V. S. Agrawala 233-245
sa eva [ puranesu mahesvarakhyanam saivapasupatanam bahukrtvo varnanam prapyate | pasupatanamiyam mahati parampara pracina vaidiki casit | yajuse satarudriya- dhyaye namahstotre 'pasunam pataye namah ' iti ya namauktirvihita sa rudrasvarupaya rudraparanamne 'mahodevaya ' agnaye eva | limgapurane pasu-pasa-pasupatitattvanam vyakhya vistaratah krta | tasmadakrsyasmin lekhe sa suvicarita | pasupatayogah jnanadhyanayogavratopavasadisadhanatatparaih tapascaranaparayanaih jivadharibhih pasutvanirakaranaya malavyapohanaya ksetrakhyasvasariravisodhanaya va katibhiscidabdaih sampuryate, tadeva pasupatam vratam | 'eko rudro na dvitiyaya tasthau ' ityevadvayakhyam svayambhupurusatattvamavyaktam limgamucyate | pranarupasyagneh prathamah sahasradha sahasratmika manasi srstirjayate ta evasamkhyata radrah | tadanu sivasyardhanaranarivapusah udayadarvak brahmana maithunyah praja agnisomatmika utpadyante | aksarasvarupah pranatmako'gnireva limgarcanena upasyate | ayam lekhah pasupatayogam kramasah vyakhyatumupakramate | ] The Pasupata Saivas were an ancient cult with widespread distribution. They have left an indelible stamp on the Puranas, classical Sanskrit literature and early Indian sculpture of the Kushana and Gupta periods. In the Mathura Museum an array of Siva-lingas and bas-reliefs of Saiva worship greets us right from the Kushana times. They offer a commentary on the Pasupata influences operative at Mathura, which became an important centre of this religion from about the first century A.D. The Chandul-Mandul Bagichi Inscription of Chandragupta II dated 381 A. D., edited by Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar, is a Pasupata document of great historical value found in North India, which records an account of the line of Pasupata teachers and of Sivalingas established by them, and on its front side depicts a figure of Lakulisa, the original founder of the Sect,
234 puranam - PURANA [Vol. I, No. 2 The existing Purana literature specialises in an extensive preservation of the Pasupata doctrines and their religious practices. They believed in Rudra-Siva as Pasupati and Mahesvara, and were therefore famous under several names, as RaudraSaiva, Pasupata, Mahesvara, etc. The main emphasis of this religion was on Yoga accepted as a rigorous discipline for the purification of body and mind. This was called Visodhana or Mala-Vyapohana, to be achieved by the practice of Ashtanga Yoga and a planned system of Vratas based mainly on upavasa or anasana, and svalpahara. This earned for them the epithet of Vratins, and also Mahavratins when the austere practice of denying food was extended over longer periods. Their metaphysical doctrine was directly derived from the Rudra-Siva tradition of the Vedas. For them Rudra-Siva was the same as Agni in its Ghora and Aghora aspects. The worship of Agni was a vital part of their sadhana, reflected in the external practices of Agni-tapana and Bhasma-dharana, both of which possessed an esoteric meaning, with reference to the purification of Prana or vital energy. They worshipped Siva in the form of Linga. Iconographically Linga images were two-foldEkamukhii referring to the conception of eko sdro na dvitiyaya tasthau or eka evagnirbahudha samiddhah, and Panchamukhi symbolising the pamcabrahma conception based on the Vedic kamapra panktayajna of paramesthi prajapati (Satapatha, XI. 1.6.1-40). Linga is the symbol of the priac energy of the Creator, the highest principle of cosmic creation, the same as the great immortal god Agni of the Rigveda (IV. 58.3 ) and of the Brahmanas, as explained in the formulas :- agnirvai sarva devatah (aitareya 2|3 ) sarvadevatyo'gnih (satapatha 6|1|3|10 ) yo vai rudrah so'gnih ( satapatha 5|2|4|13, 5|3|1|10, 6|1|3|20 ) esa rudrah yadagnih (taittiriya 1|1 /5/8- 9, 1|1|6|6 )
Feb., 1960] THE PASUPATA YOGA rudro'gnih sarvesamu haisa devanamatma yadagnih tvamagne rudro asuro maho divah 235 ( tamdya 12|4|24 ) (satapatha 7|4|1|25 ) ( rgveda 2|1|6 ) In the Vedic yajnavidya, Agni in its concrete form is the same as pasuh-- agnirvai pasunamiste ( sa0 taete sarve pasavo yadagnih ( sa0 4|3|4|11 ) 6|2|1|12 ) agnisa yatpasavah ( sa 0 6|2|1|12 ) pasuresa yadagnih ( sa0 6|4|1|2 ) 1/15 ) agnirhi devanam pasuh ( aitareya te deva abruvan pasurva'agnih (sa0 6|3|1|22 ) ( hamsaraja, vaidika kosa ) This ancient doctrine of Pasu was much elaborated in the Pasupata philosophy and lifted to a metaphysical plane: rudrah pasupatiscaiva pasupasavimocakah | yah pasustatpasutvanca vratenanena samtyajet || ( limga0 1|72|43 ) The Devas, Asuras and Manushyas, or the entire creation is Pasu : tasmadvai pasavah sarve devasuranarah prabho (ib. I. 72. 42). It is essential to purify the animal or demoniacal nature inherent in all beings by dedicating one's self to the Divine Lord Pasupati, and subjecting it to a course of Sadhana. Divine Life is not haphazard or riotous living, but a cor planned living in accordance with the cosmic laws. The founders of the Pasupata system were inspired with the ideal of the highest purity of life and self-realisation through Yoga. The Puranas serve as veritable documents of this once powerful and inspiring faith, whose adherents together with the Bhagavatas established themselves on ancient Vedic foundations and built new edifices of thought and practical religion full of vitality which attracted even the best minds like Kalidasa and Banna. The Linga Purana is a sublime Pasupata text, specific and clear and singularly free from those 16
236 puranam -- PURANA [Vol. I, No. 2 unedifying phases which later on marred the history of the faith. This Purana* has preserved the early tenets of the * The present version of the Linga Purana (Jivanand edn.) is divided into two portions, gaf of 108 adhyayas and 3 of 55 adhyayas:- gramthaikadasasahasra m puranam laingamuttamam | astottarasatadhyayamadimamsamatah param || 36 || (uttarardha a0 55 ) satcatvarimsadadhyayam dharmakamarthamoksadam | It appears that this division was arbitrarily imposed on the original unitary text by later redactors who were the Pasupatas themselves . In the third, stage the Vaishnavas added chs. 1-8 at the beginning of the 3, in which Narayana is glorified in a dialogue between Ambarisha aud Narada. Without The Uttarardha this accretion the Uttarardha is left with about 46 chs. also describes the sodasadana ( chs. 28-44 ) which was based on the sodasamahadana of the Matsya Purana (chs. 274-289) The original Linga Purana of 108 chs. seems to have been a compact text of the Kushana age when the Pasupatas were in full glory. The of chs. 9-27 was a supplement by the Pasupata teachers of the Gupta age. The chapters much inferior in spirit and literary skill floated into that text. Chs. 1-8 of the Uttarardha are lamentably inane and constitute a later Vaishnava grafting. Only the Kausika story in ch. 1, is of value. Tearing the veil of motifs in this story, we may identify Kausika with Kusika, the great founder-teacher of the Lakulisa sect (I, 24. 131). [The References to Linga Purana as I and II denote its cf and 3 and the next two figures the adhyaya and sloka respectively.] Kusasthala seems to be Ujjayini (See Kusasthali in Dey's Geographical Dictionary, p. 111), where Malava-Malavi are said to have supported Kausika and his disciples. It appears that Kusika whom Pasupata history regards to have been a brilliant organiser moved from Kayavarohana to Ujjayini, and thence the faith spread through Dhundhumuka, or Rajasthan area. Dhundhu was the presiding spirit of the Marudhanva region (according to Aranyaka-parvan) who had been converted to the Vaishnava faith by king Kuvalasva. This implies that the Pasupatas first became entrenched in Ujjayini and then spread towards the Vaishnava centre of Sankarshana and Vasudeva in Nagari or ancient Madhyamika near Chittor where an inscription records the building of the Narayana-Vataka monument. The Pasupata teachers then moved northwards - adaya sarvavittanca tataste jagmustaram | disamasadya kalena kaladharmena yojitah || (II, 1. 34-33). The identification of Kausika with Kusikacharya becomes quite probable when we remember that the Purvardha makes explicit mention of Lakuli born at Kayavarohana and to his four disciples named kusika, garga, mitra , and kaurusyah- - bhavisyami tada brahman lakuli nama namatah || 129 ||
Feb., 1960] THE PASUPATA YOGA 237 Pasupatas, when they were saturated with the background of Vedic thought which was incorporated freely into this system, as also in that of the Bhagavatas (cf. Kalidasa, sruterivartham smrtiranvagacchat, raghu0 2|2 ). At the outset the idea is further clarified in terms of the triguna conception :- tamasa kalarudrakhyam rajasa kanakandanam | sattvena sarvagam visnum nirgunatve mahesvaram || ( I. 1. 22 ) Tamas is Kala - Rudra, Rajas is Brahma, Sattva is Vishnu, and that who is beyond the gunas is Mahesvara. This belief that Mahesvara transcends the triple qualities is frequently repeated and led to the name I being applied to the Pasupatas, kayavatara ityenam siddhaksetranca vai tada | bhavisyati suvikhyatam suvikhyatam yavadbhumirdharisyati || 130 || tatrapi mama te putra bhavisyanti tapasvinah | kusikaracaiva gargamsca mitrah kaurusya yogatmano mahatmano brahmana prapya mahesvaram yogam eva ca || 131 || vedaparagah | vimala hyurdhvaretasah || 132 || ete pasupatah siddhah bhasmoddhulitavigrahah || 133 || lingarcanarata nityam vahyabhyantaratah sthitah || 135 || (I. 24) Kusika was a historical person since it is mentioned in the above Mathura Inscription of the time of Chandragupta II (380-81 A.D.) that the two Saiva pontifs Uditacharya and Kapilacharya were tenth in descent from him. What the author of the Kushana period has said in very reverential terms has been put in slighting terms in the Linga Purana to paint him as a dovotee of Hari. The Purvardha opens not with the usual namaskrtya, a sure bhagavata stamp, but with namo sdraya pradhanapurusesaya sargasthityantakarine || ( I. 1. 1. ), a invocatory verse haraye haraye brahmane paramatmane | statement of Trideva Eynthesis, repeated in I. 1. 18. However, the motif of Narada, who appears as one of the interlocutors in the Pancharatra recensions of a great many Puranic works and discourses, is introduced, who after paying reverential homage to Siva in several tirthas, comes to Naimisha and joins the audience assembled to hear Suta's discourse.
238 Linga : puranam - PURANA [Vol. I, No. 2 It was an obligation on the author to define his idea of alimgo limgamulantu avyaktam limgamucyate | alingah siva ityukto limgam saivamiti smrtam || 1 || pradhanam prakrtisceti yadahulimgamuttamam | 2 vigraho jagatam limgamalimgadabhavat svayam ||| 4 || ( I. 3 ) The Unmanifest Principle is e and the manifest Universe (Pradhana) is limga ; Prakriti is limga and siva is alimga, - such was the basic metaphysical position of the Mahesvara or Pasupata school. prakrti is the consort or sakti of siva and purusa or siva himself is limgah- prakrtistasya patni ca puruso limgamucyate | (I. 75. 9) As explained in the Mbh. the is the object of senses and the avyakta is called limgah indriyaih srjyate yad yat tat tad vyaktamiti smrtam | avyaktamiti vijneyam limgagrahyamatindriyam || (aranyakaparva, 202 . �) It is the power of alimga which transforms its limga manifestation into 7, 8, or 11 different forms, which was an obvious reference to the Seven Pranas, or Eight Murtis of Siva (called the Eight Names of Kumara in the Brahmanas and the Puranas), or the Eleven Rudras: saptadha castadha caiva tathaikadasadha punah | limganyalimgasya tatha mayaya vitatani ca || (I, 3, 5) Whatever be the varying number of Tattvas ( srstyarambhaka padartha s) in earlier literature, the Puranas synthesize them into three categories which they designate as tridevah- 1 tebhyah pradhanadevanam trayamasicchivatmakam |
Feb., 1960] THE PASUPATA YOGA ekasmat trisvabhudvisvamekena pariraksitam ||6|| ekenaiva hrtam visvam vyaptam tvevam sivena tu || 7|| (I. 3) 239 also What Manu mentions as bijapradah pita, is called here - 'alimgi bhagavan biji sa eva paramesvarah ' ( I. 3. 8). siva is purusa and prakrti is saivi, called aja, as in the Upanishads :- tamajam lohitam suklam krsnamekam bahupranam || 13|| ana janitri jagatam sajena samadhisthita || 14|| ( 1. 3) This produces for the sake of creation the Primordial Principle of mahat (I. 3. 15). Then follows the scheme of Sankhya cosmogony which both the Saivas and the Bhagavatas accepted in toto with their particular retouching. Along with this the scheme of Vedic cosmogony described by Manu in terms of the hiranyanda (Golden Egg), the same as the Vedic hiranyagarbham, was also admitted in both the Pasupata and Pancharatra systems. Out of the Egg is born Brahma (jalabubuvattasmadavatirnah pitamahah, I. 3. 28); he is identical with and fat when functioning in the cosmos : sa eva bhagavan rudro visnurvisvagatah prabhuh | (I. 3. 29) The cosmos is a single Egg, but within it each Pranic centre is itself an egg : kotikotiyutanyatra candani kathitani tu ( I. 3. 33 ) The egg is thus a pulsating unit of life with its throbbing nucleus called Brahma, from the root to grow, since it represents the principle of growth which inheres in each egg ( tasyatma kamalasanah, I.3.33 ; cf. Manu, tasminjajne svayam brahma sarvalokapitamahah ) Within the Egg is an epitome of the world ( tasminnandai tvime loka anta- visvamidam jagat, I. 3.29). The inner world of the Egg reflects the enveloping macrocosm outside it. Both comprise seven Principles, viz. The Five Elements, Ahamkara (the principle of Individuation) and Mahat (of Universalisation ) ( I. 3.30-32). These seven enveloping shells are the ( saptandavarana, I. 3-33). In each centre the
240 puranam - PURANA : [Vol. I, No. 2 activating Triad is Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, the same as the Triple Gunas, which derive their energy from the Transcendent Principle who is God Mahesvara or Sadasiva (I. 3.34-38). Then follows a Puranic summary of the ahoratravada, the Vedic doctrine of Time ( kalavada ) which dominated the whole field of Vedic cosmogony (cf. the Kalasuktas in the Atharva and the list of kalah svabhavo niyatiryadrccha in the Svetasvatara Up. where kala heads the list). Creation is ahah and dissolution is ratri, but both are only relative ( aupacarika, I. 4. 2) for the Absolute is beyond both. · The Kalpa is equal to sahasrayuga, the period of a thousand aeons, equal to 14 Manus. Vedic manu-vidya is the Puranic manvantara vidya Both the Saiva and Bhagavata schools not only subscribed to the ancient sublime doctrine of but also endowed it with amplied versions (cf. I, 4 and 54). In contemporary Persia also the sect of the Zarvanites believed in the doctrine of Boundless Time (Zarvano-i-akanarak) according to which the Creator Ahurmazda produced Light and brought forth a number of persons all of light (The Zaravanite System, Indo-Iranian Studies in Honour of Sanjana, p. 72). This corresponds to Surya and his sons the Manus of the Indian version. The notion of Infinite Time is artistically woven in the following verses : . kotikotisahasrani kalpanam munisattamah || 49 || gatani tavacchesani aharnisyani vai punah || 50 || gunanam caiva vaisamye viprah srstiriti smrta || 52 || samye layo gunanantu tayorheturmahesvarah | lilaya devadevena sargastvidrgvidhah krtah || 53 || asamkhyatasca samksepat pradhanadanvadhisthitat | asamkhyatasca kalpakhya hyasamkhyatah pitamahah || 54 || harayascapyasamkhyatastveka eva mahesvarah || 55 || ( I. 4. ) The Vedic doctrine of aditi and daksa ( Rv. X, 72 ) is adapted in the Puranas as the story of Daksha Prajapati and his Yajna. Daksha had many daughters, the eldest Sati being wedded
Feb., 1960] THE PASUPATA YOGA 241 to Sankara, but not reconciled to him ( I. 5). This refers to agni-soma vidya ; siva is abhi and sati is soma, both repelling each other but later on in the ardhanari-naravapu, parvati becomes the one-half of him. Siva is agni and parvati is soma and the Ardhanarisvara form is the symbol of the eternal Yajna in the agnisomatmaka universe :- ahamagnirmahatejah somascaisa mahambika | ahamagnisca somasca prakrtya purusah svayam || (Linga., I. 34. 7) The Saiva tradition specialises in the symbolism of the Vedic Agni-vidya and the Vaishnava in that of the Soma-vidya which were amplified in a rich concrete symbolism in the Puranas. Rudra is said to be Agni and Karttikeya as Siva's son is Agni's son, whose birth is a favourite theme in the Puranas. A kindred topic was that of Agni- vamsa describing the 49 forms of Agni, of which the Sacrificial Three Fires ( yajnagnitreta ) are pavamana pavaka- suci belonging to prthivi antariksa- dyauh (I. 6. 1-3). These Fires are all forms of one Rudra (rudratmaka ; cf. agnivai radrah in the Brahmanas). Like one Agni there is the Que Transcendent Rudra, whose emanations are the numberless Rudras (I. 6. 11-16), all of similar blue-red hue (nila-lohita, vss. 11, 13); Siva as Fire is nilalohita ( vs. 25), the one source of the dualism of light and heat, i.e. the jyoti of surya and agni ; or amrta-mrtyu, etc. * * Ch. 1. 7. opens with an account of vyasavatara and yogacaryavatara, the latter of course being the pasupata s, whose foundation members comprised 4 Teachers (I. 7.9) : kusikascaiva gargasca mitrah kauhrasya eva ca | sisyastvete mahatmanah sarvavartesu yoginam || 51 || vimala brahmabhuyistha ete jnanayogaparayanah | pasupata siddha bhasmoddhulitavigrahah || 52 || sisyah prasisyasca tesam sataso'tha sahasrasah | prapya pasupatam yogam radralokaya samsthitah || 53 || It is a faithful picture of the Pasupata Siddha order.
242 puranam - PURANA [Vol.I, No. 2 The conception of cg formed a significant theme of these tenets: devadayah pisacantah pasavah parikirtitah | tesam patitvat sarveso bhavah pasupatih smrtah || ( 1.7.54) tena pranito rudrena pasunam patina dvijah | yogah pasupato jneyah paravaravibhutaye || (I. 7. 54-55) It presents almost a literal translation of the Vedic doctrine pasunamiste ( sa0 4|3|4|11 ) of pasuvidya- agnirvai agnisa yatpasavah ( sa0 6|2|1|12 ) pasuresa yadagnih (sa0 6 |4|1|2; 7|2|4|30 ; 7|3|2|17 ) te deva abruvanpasurva agnih ( sa0 6|3|1|22 ) deva yad yajnam tanvana abadhnanpurusam pasum (Rv. X. 9-15) All manifest life takes the form of a Pasu: tasmadahuh pranah pasavah | sa (prajapatih ) pranebhya evadhipasun niramimita | pranah pasavah ( sa0 7|5|26 ) ( taittiriya 3|2|819 ) Each centre of individual material manifestation is a cand a yajna with the dual constituents of Agni and Soma : katamo yajna iti pasava iti pasavo hi yajnah (sa0 11|6|39 ) ( sa0 3 | 1|4|9 ; 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 ) (prajapatih ) tesu (pasusu ) etam (agni ) apasyattasmadvevaite pasavah ( sa0 6|2|1|4 ) siva as pasupati is sarvadevamaya (I. 65.162 ) and yajnapati ( I. 62. 169). The animal forms are Pasus by the simple logic of their being concrete or visible forms of Agni or energy: Wherever there is Agni, there is Yajna, and Yajna builds the pasavya citi in the form of the body. The ancient agni-pasu-vidya became the Pasupata Yoga of the Puranas. Yajna consists of vrata (agne vratapate vratam carisyami ) and diksa (vratena diksamapnoti ) ; the pasupata yoga is also a planned session of vrata and diksa extending over
Feb. 1960] THE PASUPATA YOGA 243 the period of whole life (naisthika ), or 12 years, or 6 years, or 3 years, or 12 months or even 12 days. 1 Seemingly new, this was an old conception of Pasu fully accepted in the Vedic ritual. There were only five medhya or yajniya Pasus, viz. purusa, asva, gau, avi, aja (Satapatha, 6. 2. 1. 2.); of these, purusa is the foremost animal, he is the primeval victim fastened to the sacrificial stake: deva yad yajnam tanvana abadhnan purusam pasum | (Rv. X. 90. 15) Prajapati himself undergoes the dismemberment of his body for purposes of creation and that is the theme of the Purusha Sukta. The symbolism of the Five Pasus may be explained as follows :- (Man) - Mind, Consciousness ( manah or prajna or atma ) 1. purusa 2. asva (Horse ) - Prana, Energy 3. gau (Cow) - Five Elements 4. avi ( prana or asu ) ( pamcabhuta, collectively called vak ) (Sheep) - Symbol of Agni 5. aja (Goat ) - Symbol of Soma asrku or blood or the 'Burning Water of Life' This symbolism has other explanations also, since, the Pasus correspond to the Five Elements ( pamcabhuta ) which externalise the Unmanifest Principle and are therefore real ca:, i. e. manifest creatures in flesh and blood, material and earth-bound. As Pt. Madhusudan Ojha has explained : bhusprsthe utpanna durvausadhivanaspatipranisariradyah pasavah | ta ime pasavo'gnih | ( adhidaivikadhyaya, p. 38). tenagnina pasubhiryajnah sampadyate | yecapyanye carisyanti vratam pasupatam mama || 39 || moksyanti te na sandehah pasutvatsurasattamah | naistikam dvadasabdam va tadartham varsakatrayam || 40 || susrusam karayedyastu sa pasutvadvimucyate || 41 || ( I. 72 ) vidyate || 49 || vratam pasupatam proktam bhavena paramesthina | vratenanena bhutesa pasutvam naiva atha dvadasavarsam va masadvadasakam tu va | dinadvadasakam vapi krtva tadvratamuttamam || 50 || mucyante pasavah sarve pasupasairbhavasya tu || 11 || ( T. 80 ) 17
244 puranam - PURANA [Vol. I, No. 2 This was a subject elaborated under Vedic far faar, comprising 10 constituent parts, viz. f, and 8 forms of fc (also called in the Vedic ritual, and c in the Puranas and the Pasupata system) and the last pasukani agni (same as the pasavya fafa) i. e. the animal physical body composed of the Five Elements, which is elaborated in the of the ritual, or the building of the Fire-Altar in five layers (viz. z citi or vedi citi symbolising the human body). The principal object of this ancient symbolism is the physical body comprising Life, Mind and Matter, or as stated in the Rigveda : bhumya asuh asrg atma (I. 164.:4) 'the blood of earth, the life, the spirit.' (Griffith). These three becoming manifest in the body or in each cell constitute Life or pranavan pasu prana is the Inner Light whose beams oscillate between the two poles: antascarati rocanasya pranadapanati | vyakhyanmahiso divam || (Rv. X. 189. 2) Light is effulgent in the sky and on the earth: He is the Supreme Bull-the Fire, Sun or Prana. The Pasupatas borrowing these archaic symbols turned them to new advantage and devised a fresh terminology, e. g. Pancha-Brahma, and Ashta-Murti, both of which are explained at length in the Linga Purana. Their view-point is as broad as the old one: the Angels, Titans and Men are all Pasus. Rudra Pasupati is the Lord of Pasus. He is the Divine Power to unloosen the bonds of the Pasus. A Pasu can get rid of his bonds by means of the Pasupata Vow." This is a restatement 1. tasmadvai pasavah sarve devasuranarah prabhoh | rudrah pasupatiscaiva pasupasavimocakah | yah pasustat pasutvanca vratenanena samtyajet || (Linga Purana, 2. 42. 43).
Feb., 1960] THE PASUPATA YOGA 245 of the Vedic idea of the three-fold bonds of Varuna with which each Sunahsepa is tied to the stake. The higher bond (3) enchains the Mind ( manas ), the middle one ( madhyamapasa ) the Prana, and the lower one ( adhama pasa ) the Body : uduttamam varunapasamasmadavadhamam vi madhyamam srathaya | atha vayamaditya vrate tavanagaso aditaye syama || (Rv. I. 24, 15) Here also the appeal is to Aditya, viz. Rudra1, whose is invoked for emancipation from the bonds of sin (). (To be continued) 1. Rudra is termed nilagriva and gliding, in Yajus, XVI. 17 (asau yo'va- sarpati nilagrivo vilohitah ), which Griffith rightly interprets as the Sun or aditya who like Rudra is, i. e. of blue and red rays.