PDBS01

2021/Sing/PDBS/E/002 - Lee Ju-Lyn

meekfreak@gmail.com
The Buddhist Library, Singapore and University of Kelaniya
Post-graduate Diploma in Buddhist Studies
PDBS01 – The Indian Religious Background and the Emergence of Buddhism
Lee Ju-Lyn (meekfreak@gmail.com), 2021

Discuss the distinctive features of Vedic religion.

Introduction to Vedic Religion

There are various periods attributed to the advent and practising of the
Vedic religion. The Indo-Aryan Migration theory holds that the Vedic vision was
developed in Central Asia and brought to India between c. 2000 and 1500 BCE
and that the Vedas, poetical hymns initially transmitted via oral tradition, were
committed to writing during the Vedic Period between c. 1500 and c. 500 BCE.1
Other proposals suggest the Vedas are older than B.C. 2500, as old as B.C.
4000.2 The Vedas are organised into four main components, and the oldest of
these is Saṃhitā, which includes the Rig-veda, followed by the Brāhmaṇas,
Āranyakas, and finally the Upanishads.

The Vedas vary in content, but mainly relate to world and religious views;
most of the Vedas, are religious rituals manuals, such as hymns to be recited,
that may be instructive on the conducting of rituals, such as sacrifices. Thus,
the understanding of the Vedic religion is based on the Vedas. With the
authorship spanning such a long time, the contents evolved alongside, and
present varying points of view, that may sometimes be contradictory. This may
also be due to how the practitioners are not a homogenous group, amplified
by the hymns being initial oral transmission tradition which would have been

1
Mark, J. J. (2020, June 09). The Vedas. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from
https://www.worldhistory.org/The_Vedas/
2
Bryant, Edwin. The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture : The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate, Oxford
University Press, Incorporated, 2004. ProQuest Ebook Central,
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/singaporenatlib-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3051931. Created from
singaporenatlib-ebooks on 2021-06-22 08:05:52.

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difficult to standardise given the wide geographical distribution in the Indian

subcontinent.3

In other words, the Vedic religion has a non-homogenous and dynamic

nature. This paper illustrates this by presenting some of its distinctive features
and relevant discussions. It focuses on the interactivity between worshippers,
subjects of worship, and how interpretations may, in turn, affect its
development.

Modes and purposes of worship

The recipients of the Vedic worship were collectively referred to as

Asuras or Devas4, being deities or gods or demi-gods.5 They are otherworldly
beings with supernatural powers, which may be activated to affect the world,
including humans and their lives. The hymns typically offer praises as oblations
to the gods, and their recitations were accompanied by other performed
rituals. The rituals are a series of actions, often enacted or officiated by priests
or Brahmins, perhaps involving fire and the offering of varying sacrifices, such
as material offerings. It is believed that these sequences may unlock or activate
certain energies or consequences, such as the nourishing of gods, obtaining
their favours, overcoming adversity, resolving problems or washing away sins.6
If these are not exactly the worshippers’ desired outcomes, the rituals, and
especially the hymns, would further entreat the gods to grant the worshippers
desired gains or outcomes. The nature of these goals varies. They range from

3
“The Vedas”, World Civilisation. Retrieved June 23, 2021, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-
hccc-worldcivilization/chapter/the-vedas/.
4
Asuras are considered the gods of the primordial world, and the Devas are their younger brothers, which
formed a new group of gods, led by Indra who created the dual cosmos.
Kuiper, F. (1975). The Basic Concept of Vedic Religion. History of Religions, 15(2), 107-120. Retrieved June 22,
2021, from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.sg/stable/1061926 p 111-113
5
Hamilton, Sue. (2017). Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction. OUP Oxford, UK.
6
“Vedic Rituals and Sacrifices From Srauta Sastras”. Hinduwebsite.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021, from
https://www.hinduwebsite.com/rites.asp

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materialistic wealth to favourable weather, to the more abstract, such as the

favour from the gods itself. These are observable in a hymn, “To the Maruts”,
who are regarded as minor storm gods. It comprises poetic descriptive praise
of the gods, especially Maruts, and entreats at the end of sections, such as the
following:

“Will you then, O Maruts, grant unto us wealth, durable, rich in men,
defying all onslaughts? -- wealth a hundred and a thousand-fold, always
increasing?”

“May this praise, O Maruts … ask you with food for offspring for
ourselves! May we have an invigorating autumn, with quickening rain!”

“O Maruts, may we have a strong son, who is lord among men, a ruler,
through whom we may cross the waters to dwell in safety, and then
obtain our own home for you. May Indra then, Varuna, Mitra, Agni, the
waters, the plants, the trees of the forest be pleased with us. Let us be in
the keeping, in the lap of the Maruts; protect us always with your
favours.”7

The chief requirement for man, especially as conveyed in the earlier

Vedas, is that he should have faith in the gods and pay them their honours due,
nor should he fail in so doing to remember his obligation towards the priest,
who alone can rightly perform the sacrifice for him and create the hymn of
praise.8 Some might deem the relationship between the gods and the
worshippers as transactional or business-like, based on the exchange of
worship with favours. This might be attributable to the prevalent materialistic
7
Wilson, Epiphanius., (Ed), (2009). Sacred Books of the East : Selections from the Vedic Hymns, Zend-Avesta,
Dhammapada, Upanishads, the Koran, and the Life of Buddha. Floating Press, The, 2009. ProQuest Ebook
Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/singaporenatlib-ebooks/detail.action?docID=441212.
8
Keith, Arthur Berriedale, (1925), The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads., Oxford University
Press, London, England. Vol 1. p. 249

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and commercial attitudes in today’s world, which has enhanced identification

with, and emphasis on, such an interpretation. That the emphasis of the Vedic
religion is on the faith of the worshippers, above any requirement to be moral,
good, or be conscious of sin, is contrary to contemporary ethics and morality.

Another interpretation could be that the relationship is more of

subjugation and devotional in which the worshippers’ submission of their ego
to the guardianship of greater powers. After all, it seems unlikely that the more
powerful beings be persuaded by the meagre materialistic value sacrifices of
mortals, but persuaded by the approximated faith and devotion instead. This is
supplemented by the view that the gods are good and true and generous to
their worshippers, and would give the blessings which they are asked to give.9

Nevertheless, in later Vedas, the desired outcomes of the worshippers

developed to become even more abstract. For instance, one significantly
expressed goal in the Brāhmaṇas is immortality. In the Upanishads, the desired
gains include being one who “does not desire”, becoming “one who is without
desire and freed from desire”, and who would be “release onto” or “going to
Brahman” after death.10 It has been proposed that this development is due to
the evolving requirements of the thinkers at the time, who become less
satisfied with the existential offerings of the earlier or other forms of the Vedic
religion, for example, in which worshippers desired materiality.11 In other
words, that the change in goals was brought about by the practitioners’ self-
awareness and criticality of their desires and the consequent effect on the
transactionality of the worshipper-deity-relationship, and that this could be
alleviated by the cessation of and freedom from desires.

9
Keith, Op cit. p 244
10
Source book, p. 87
11
Source book, p. 16-17.

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This underscores one manner in which the Vedic religion has a dynamic
and non-homogenous nature, that is that the goals of the religion might have
been shaped by the worshippers.

Polytheistic or Monotheistic: Henotheistic/Kathenotheistic

The development of the Vedic religion may be seen from the varying
polytheistic and monotheistic nature.12 Vedic Hymns, generally, convey a
pantheistic tone and address various gods. The gods do not reside in
independent or isolated realms, but are interrelated and associated with each
other. For example, Indra, the warrior god is described as being the king of god
in the Rig Veda, with 289 Vedic hymns written in his glory.13 He is accompanied
by the above-mentioned Maruts, who are storm deities wielding lightning and
thunderbolts as weapons. Another hymn, “To Rudra”, begins with “O father of
the Maruts”, describes a particularly prominent storm deity who leads the
Maruts.14 These convey a sense of hierarchy amongst the deities. Other
prominent deities include Varuna (guardian of the cosmic order), Agni (the
sacrificial fire), and Surya (the Sun).15

Other parts of the Vedic Hymns have monotheistic undertones. Hymns

independently proclaiming different gods as the supreme chief of other gods
or creators of the world. This might be relevant to how primarily, the hymns
are composed as direct addresses to the gods, and are offers of verbal
oblations or accompany other oblations rituals. That the hymns entail the
worshippers personally entreating the gods to bestow favours and the religion

12
RadhaKrishnan, Sarvepalli, & Moore, Charles A., (Ed) (1957). A Source book in Indian Philosophy, Princeton
University Press, USA, p. 5.
13
Nikesh. “6 Most Important Vedic Gods According to Rig Veda”, Vedic Feed. Retrieved June 23, 2021, from
https://vedicfeed.com/vedic-gods-according-to-rig-veda/
14
Bryant. Op Cit. p. 53-57.
15
“The Rigveda”, Britannica. Retrieved June 23, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism/The-
Rigveda

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emphasized on faith and devotion to the gods, would give rise to the
prevalence of independent hymns offering the highest praises to the
respective addressees. Moreover, the gods are not conceived as having true
omniscience and are unable to be present at every offering at the same time. 16
This allowed the worshippers to be competitive and cater to different gods at
different times.

This can be seen in the following line from the hymn to Marut, “O well-
born Maruts!—your bounty extends far, as the sway of Aditi. Not even Indra in
his scorn can injure that bounty, on whatever man you have bestowed it for his
good deeds.”17 In praising Marut, this line invokes comparison and
competitiveness between the gods, by suggesting that the Marut’s possession,
and thus implying their power, lie beyond the limits of Indra, who is in other
hymns lauded as the leader of the Maruts and all the other Gods.

On the other hand, there are also hymns addressing and praising all gods
at once which seems to circumvent the issue of competitiveness, by covering
all grounds and avoiding possible offence. Other hymns convey the conception
of a “Supreme Being”, or an “Unknown God”. This God is described as the “lord
of all that is” “as soon as (he was) born”, who “established the earth and this
heaven”. He is also described as being “he who alone is God above all gods”
and “revered by all the bright gods”.18 This transition to monotheism
progresses onto the Upanishads, which conveyed a philosophical monism of
the doctrine of the impersonal, unknowable one.19 This again demonstrates
that the Vedic religion continually developed across time by worshippers who
were not homogeneous. Suggested reasons for this is that the monotheism or

16
Keith. Op Cit. p. 251.
17
Wilson. Op Cit. p. 13.
18
Wilson. Op Cit. p.6-10
19
Radhakrishnan. Op Cit. p. 16-27.

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philosophical monism is a simplification by the later thinkers for easier

transmission and the direction of energies to other metaphysical ponderings,
such as the aforementioned “release”, which began to rise in prominence.
More recent interpretations offer that the Vedic religion is henotheistic,
referring to the exalting of a particular god as exclusively the highest within the
framework of a particular hymn or ritual, or Kathenotheistic, which means
belief in one god at a time.20 The theistical nature of the Vedic religion is
demonstrably dynamic and non-homogeneous, and consequent of the
worshippers’ and practitioners development.

Conclusion

While Vedic religion is usually discussed as ancient practices that had

been prevalent for a long time in the past, it is arguably still in practice now, in
some forms, such as Hinduism, which still refers to the Vedas, and even Yoga
(as forms of internal rituals)21. Thus, it is important not to understand Vedic
religion too generally as a static or set system of world views and practises,
since it is diversely practised at any one time. Its non-homogenous and
dynamic nature might be its most distinctive feature of all.

(1689 words)

20
“Polytheism”, Britannica. Retrieved June 23, 2021, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/polytheism#ref420550
21
Hinduwebsite.com, op cit. “Vedic Indian practiced various rituals or sacrifices, which were known as Yajnas
(Yagnas). Other names given to them are homa, havana, and yaaga or yagya. The last two are corrupted forms
(vikrti) of Yajna. The other two minor variations of yajna arise from the nature of offerings and the scale of
functions. Etymologically, the word Yoga may have its origin in "Yajna" or "Yagya" since the essential purpose
of Yajna in internal rituals (antaryajna), using pranagni or the fire of breath is the same as that of Yoga, which
is the union between God and Soul.”

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Bibliography
“The Rigveda”, Britannica. Retrieved June 23, 2021, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism/The-Rigveda.

“The Vedas”, World Civilisation. Retrieved June 23, 2021, from

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldcivilization/chapter/the-
vedas .

“Vedic Rituals and Sacrifices From Srauta Sastras”. Hinduwebsite.com.

Retrieved June 23, 2021, from https://www.hinduwebsite.com/rites.asp.

Bryant, Edwin. The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture : The Indo-Aryan
Migration Debate., Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2004. ProQuest
Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/singaporenatlib-
ebooks/detail.action?docID=3051931. Created from singaporenatlib-ebooks on
2021-06-22 08:05:52.

Hamilton, Sue. (2017). Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction. OUP

Oxford, UK.

Keith, Arthur Berriedale, (1925), The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and
Upanishads., Oxford University Press, London, England. Vol 1. p. 249

Kuiper, F. (1975). “The Basic Concept of Vedic Religion”. History of Religions,

15(2), 107-120. Retrieved June 22, 2021, from
http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.sg/stable/1061926.

Mark, J. J. (2020, June 09). The Vedas. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved
June 22, 2021, from https://www.worldhistory.org/The_Vedas/.

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Nikesh. “6 Most Important Vedic Gods According to Rig Veda”, Vedic Feed.
Retrieved June 23, 2021, from https://vedicfeed.com/vedic-gods-according-to-
rig-veda/

“Polytheism”, Britannica. Retrieved June 23, 2021, from

https://www.britannica.com/topic/polytheism#ref420550.

Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli, & Moore, Charles A., (Ed), (1957). A Source book in
Indian Philosophy, Princeton University Press, USA.

Wilson, Epiphanius., (Ed), (2009). Sacred Books of the East : Selections from the
Vedic Hymns, Zend-Avesta, Dhammapada, Upanishads, the Koran, and the Life
of Buddha. Floating Press, The, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/singaporenatlib-
ebooks/detail.action?docID=441212.

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