(This article was
first published in the Sep 2016 issue of 'The Call Beyond', monthly
magazine of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, New Delhi.)
“The image of the Cow is the most
important of all the Vedic symbols.”[1]
- Sri Aurobindo, The Secret of the
Veda
In the Rig Veda, there is
often the mention of lost cows, lying concealed in a dark mountain cavern,
which have to be recovered by the gods, primarily Indra. It may seem odd that the
Rishis who are known for highest spiritual accomplishments be so obsessed with
this one legend that they mention it repeatedly, invoking now this deity, now
that deity, for the mere recovery of their lost cattle. However, on closer
examination of the Veda, one understands that it is not the rescue of any
earthly herd of cows that the Rishis demanded, rather the resurgence of an
illumined consciousness out of the dark depths of ignorance.
The thing is, cows are
symbols of Light in the Veda. While this inner meaning is tightly veiled by the
Veda under its elaborate scheme of symbols, it becomes evident in some hymns
where the garb of symbols is momentarily lifted. Many of these hymns refer to
the Sun and Dawn and go or cow is mentioned in their close association:
saṃ te gāvas tama ā vartayanti jyotir
yachanti - R.V. VII.79.2
“Thy cows (rays) remove the darkness and
extend the Light”[2]
Sun or Surya represents the
Truth in the Veda and Dawn or Usha, the medium for its realization. Thus, their
rays, the cows, don’t represent just any light, but the Light of the
Truth-consciousness.
The legend of the lost
cows is also closely associated to another legend in the Veda – the legend of
the lost Sun. In fact, the two legends are often spoken of together, in one
hymn, in one sentence even:
yebhiḥ sūryamuṣasaṃ mandasāno avāsayo
apa darlhāni dardrata
mahāmadriṃ pari gā indra santaṃ
nutthā acyutaṃ sadasasa pari savāta
“Thou (Indra) didst make the Sun and
the Dawn to shine, breaking the firm places; thou didst move from its
foundation the great hill that enveloped the Cows”[3]
– R.V. 6.17.5
ajanayata sūryaṃ vidada gā aktunāhnāṃ
vayunāni sādhata
“He (Indra) brought to its birth the
Sun, found the Cows, effecting out of the Night the manifestations of the
days.”[4]
– R.V. 2.19.3
This understanding especially
helps demystify the meaning behind the Vedic Rishis constantly praying for such
material prosperity as cows, horses, chariots, gold, food, sons etc.
“For them these
material objects were symbols of the immaterial; the cows were the radiances or
illuminations of a divine Dawn, the horses and chariots were symbols of force
and movement, gold was light, the shining wealth of a divine Sun—the true
light; both the wealth acquired by the sacrifice and the sacrifice itself in
all their details symbolised man’s effort and his means towards a greater end, the
acquisition of immortality.”[5]
Sri Aurobindo tells us to
not read words like these in isolation rather see the Veda as one whole. The
Veda itself will reveal their inner meaning in many hymns, and when we find
that inner meaning, we must not hesitate to apply it to all other instances of
the word. Only then will we be able to understand what the Rishis have
conveyed.
Sri Aurobindo concludes:
“By this inevitable conclusion the
corner-stone of Vedic interpretation is securely founded far above the gross materialism
of a barbarous worship and the Veda reveals itself as a symbolic scripture… the
cult of a higher and inner Light, of the true Sun, satyaṃ sūryaṃ, that dwells
concealed in the darkness of our ignorance… in the infinite rock of this
material existence.”[6]
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