Sama

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 25 Jul 2011 11:30 and updated at 25 Jul 2011 11:30

VISHNU PURANA NOUN

vp.1.4 Parasara. The auspicious supporter of the world, being thus hymned by the earth, emitted a low murmuring sound, like the chanting of the Sama veda; and the mighty boar, whose eyes were like the lotus, and whose body, vast as the Nila mountain, was of the dark colour of the lotus leaves 6, uplifted upon his ample tusks the earth from the lowest regions. As he reared up his head, the waters shed from his brow purified the great sages, Sanandana and others, residing in the sphere of the saints. Through the indentations made by his hoofs, the waters rushed into the lower worlds with a thundering noise. Before his breath, the pious denizens of Janaloka were scattered, and the Munis sought for shelter amongst the bristles upon the scriptural body of the boar, trembling
vp.1.4 The Yogis. Triumph, lord of lords supreme; Kesava, sovereign of the earth, the wielder of the mace, the shell, the discus, and the sword: cause of production, destruction, and existence. Thou Art, oh god: there is no other supreme condition, but thou. Thou, lord, art the person of sacrifice: for thy feet are the Vedas; thy tusks are the stake to which the victim is bound; in thy teeth are the offerings; thy mouth is the altar; thy tongue is the fire; and the hairs of thy body are the sacrificial grass. Thine eyes, oh omnipotent, are day and night; thy head is the seat of all, the place of Brahma; thy mane is all the hymns of the Vedas; thy nostrils are all oblations: oh thou, whose snout is the ladle of oblation; whose deep voice is the chanting of the Sama veda; whose body is the hall of sacrifice; whose joints are the different ceremonies; and whose ears have the properties of both voluntary and obligatory rites 7: do thou, who art eternal, who art in size a mountain, be propitious. We acknowledge thee, who hast traversed the world, oh universal form, to be the beginning, the continuance, and the destruction of all things: thou art the supreme god. Have pity on us, oh lord of conscious and unconscious beings. The orb of the earth is seen seated on the tip of thy tusks, as if thou hadst been sporting amidst a lake where the lotus floats, and hadst borne away the leaves covered with soil. The space between heaven and earth is occupied by thy body, oh thou of unequalled
vp.1.5 From his eastern mouth Brahma then created the Gayatri metre, the Rig veda, the collection of hymns termed Trivrit, the Rathantara portion of the Sama veda, and the Agnishtoma sacrifice: from his southern mouth he created the Yajur veda, the Trishtubh metre, the collection of hymns called Panchadasa, the Vrihat Sama, and the portion of the Sama veda termed Uktha: from his western mouth he created the Sama veda, the Jayati metre, the collection of hymns termed Saptadasa, the portion of the Sama called Vairupa, and the Atiratra sacrifice: and from his northern mouth he created the Ekavinsa collection of hymns, the Atharva veda, the aptoryama rite, the Anushtubh metre, and the Vairaja portion of the Sama veda 21.
vp.1.8 eternal, imperishable; in like manner as he is all pervading, so also is she, oh best of Brahmans, omnipresent. Vishnu is meaning; she is speech. Hari is polity Naya(); she is prudence Niti(). Vishnu is understanding; she is intellect. He is righteousness; she is devotion. He is the creator; she is creation. sri is the earth; Hari the support of it. The deity is content; the eternal Lakshmi is resignation. He is desire; sri is wish. He is sacrifice; she is sacrificial donation Dakshina(). The goddess is the invocation which attends the oblation; Janarddana is the oblation. Lakshmi is the chamber where the females are present (at a religious ceremony); Madhusudana the apartment of the males of the family. Lakshmi is the altar; Hari the stake (to which the victim is bound). sri is the fuel; Hari the holy grass Kusa(). He is the personified Sama veda; the goddess, lotus throned, is the tone of its chanting. Lakshmi is the prayer of oblation Swaha(); Vasudeva, the lord of the world, is the sacrificial fire. Sauri Vishnu() is sankara (siva); and sri is the bride of siva Gauri(). Kesava, oh Maitreya, is the sun; and his radiance is the lotus seated goddess. Vishnu is the tribe of progenitors Pitrigana(); Padma. is their bride Swadha(), the eternal bestower of nutriment. sri is the heavens; Vishnu, who is one with all things, is wide extended space. The lord of sri is the moon; she is his unfading light. She is called the moving principle of the world; he, the wind which bloweth
vp.1.8 "Then the mighty and incomprehensible deity, being pleased, said to his bride, thus agitated; and speaking; Slender waisted queen of the gods, thou knowest not the purport of what thou sayest; but I know it, oh thou with large eyes, for the holy declare all things by meditation. By thy perplexity this day are all the gods, with Mahendra and all the three worlds, utterly confounded. In my sacrifice, those who worship me, repeat my praises, and chant the Rathantara song of the Sama veda; my priests worship me in the sacrifice of true wisdom, where no officiating Brahman is needed; and in this they offer me my portion. Devi spake; The lord is the root of all, and assuredly, in every assemblage of the female world, praises or hides himself at will. Mahadeva spake; Queen of the gods, I praise not myself: approach, and behold whom I shall create for the purpose of claiming my share of the rite.
vp.1.12 derived, and all oblations, and curds, and ghee, and animals of either class (domestic or wild). From thee the Rig Veda, the Sama, the metres of the Vedas, and the Yajur Veda are born. Horses, and cows having teeth in one jaw only 5, proceed from thee; and from thee come goats, sheep, deer. Brahmans sprang from thy mouth; warriors from thy arms; Vaisyas from thy thighs; and sudras from thy feet. From thine eyes come the sun; from thine ears, the wind; and from thy mind, the moon: the vital airs from thy central vein; and fire from thy mouth: the sky from thy navel; and heaven from thy head: the regions from thine ears; the earth from thy feet. All this world was derived from thee. As the wide spreading Nyagrodha (Indian fig) tree is compressed in a small seed 6, so, at the time of dissolution, the whole universe is comprehended in thee as its germ. As the Nyagrodha germinates from the seed, and becomes first a shoot, and then rises into loftiness, so the created world proceeds from thee, and expands into magnitude. As the bark and leaves of the Plantain tree are to be seen in its stem, so thou art the stem of the universe, and all things are visible in thee. The faculties of the intellect, that are the cause of pleasure and of pain, abide in thee as one with all existence; but the sources of pleasure and of pain, singly or blended, do not exist in thee, who art exempt from all qualities 7. Salutation to thee, the subtile rudiment, which, being single, becomes
vp.1.17 Then the Brahmans who were the sons of Bhargava, illustrious priests, and reciters of the Sama Veda, said to the king of the Daityas, Sire", restrain your wrath against your own son. How should anger succeed in finding a place in heavenly mansions? As for this lad, we will be his instructors, and teach him obediently to labour for the destruction of your foes. Youth is the season, king, of many errors; and you should not therefore be relentlessly offended with a child. If he will not listen to us, and abandon the cause of Hari, we will adopt infallible measures to work his death." The king of the Daityas, thus solicited by the
vp.1.18 THE Danavas, observing the conduct of Prahlada, reported it to the king, lest they should incur his displeasure. He sent for his cooks, and said to them, "My vile and unprincipled son is now teaching others his impious doctrines: be quick, and put an end to him. Let deadly poison be mixed up with all his viands, without his knowledge. Hesitate not, but destroy the wretch without delay." Accordingly they did so, and administered poison to the virtuous Prahlada, as his father had commanded them. Prahlada, repeating the name of the imperishable, ate and digested the food in which the deadly poison had been infused, and suffered no harm from it, either in body or mind, for it had been rendered innocuous by the name of the eternal. Beholding the strong poison digested, those who had prepared the food were filled with dismay, and hastened to the king, and fell down before him, and said, King" of the Daityas, the fearful poison given by us to your son has been digested by him along with his food, as if it were innocent. Hiranyakasipu, on hearing this, exclaimed, "Hasten, hasten, ministrant priests of the Daitya race! instantly perform the rites that will effect his destruction!" Then the priests went to Prahlada, and, having repeated the hymns of the Sama Veda, said to him, as he respectfully hearkened, "Thou hast been born, prince, in the family of Brahma, celebrated in the three worlds, the son of Hiranyakasipu, the king of the Daityas; why shouldest thou acknowledge dependance
vp.1.22 of sages, of saints, of truth: whose form is all worlds; first born before all the first born; the supporter of all beings, himself self sustained: who exists in manifold forms, as gods, men, and animals; and is thence the sovereign lord of all, eternal: whose shape is all visible things; who is without shape or form: who is celebrated in the Vedanta as the Rich, Yajush, Sama, and Atharva Vedas, inspired history, and sacred science. The Vedas, and their divisions; the institutes of Manu and other lawgivers; traditional scriptures, and religious manuals 10; poems, and all that is said or sung; are the body of the mighty Vishnu, assuming the form of sound. All kinds of substances, with or without shape, here or elsewhere, are the body of Vishnu. I am Hari. All that I behold is Janarddana; cause and effect are from none other than him. The man who knows these truths shall never again experience the afflictions of worldly existence.
vp.2.11 But this triple energy of Vishnu is not limited to the sun alone, for Brahma, Purusha Vishnu(), and Rudra are also made up of the same triform essence. In creation it is Brahma, consisting of the Rig veda in preservation it is Vishnu, composed of the Yajur veda; and in destruction Rudra, formed of the Sama veda, the utterance of which is consequently inauspicious 2.
vp.2.13 if he had returned from the thicket, and I felt his budding antlers rubbing against my arm. These tufts of sacred grass, of which the heads have been nibbled by his new teeth, look like pious lads chanting the Sama veda 4." Thus the Muni meditated whenever the deer was long absent from him; and contemplated him with a countenance animated with pleasure as he stood by his side. His abstraction was interrupted, the spirit of the king being engrossed by the fawn, even though he had abandoned family, wealth, and dominion. The firmness of the prince s mind became unsteady, and wandered with the wanderings of the young deer. In the course of time the king became subject to its influence. He died, watched by the deer, with tears in its eyes, like a son mourning for his father; and he himself, as he expired, cast his eyes upon the animal, and thought of nothing else, being wholly occupied with one idea.
vp.2.14 considered best, as well as those which are the great ends (or truths) of life. To him who, by the worship of the gods, seeks for wealth, prosperity, children, or dominion, each of these is respectively best. Best is the rite or sacrifice, that is rewarded with heavenly pleasures. Best is that which yields the best recompense, although it be not solicited. Self contemplation, ever practised by devout ascetics, is to them the best. But best of all is the identification of soul with the supreme spirit. Hundreds and thousands of conditions may be called the best; but these are not the great and true ends of life. Hear what those are. Wealth cannot be the true end of life, for it may be relinquished through virtue, and its characteristic property is expenditure for the gratification of desire. If a son were final truth, that would be equally applicable to a different source; for the son that is to one the great end of life, becomes the father of another. Final or supreme truth, therefore, would not exist in this world, as in all these cases those objects which are so denominated are the effects of causes, and consequently are not finite. If the acquisition of sovereignty were designated by the character of being the great end of all, then finite ends would sometimes be, and sometimes cease to be. If you suppose that the objects to be effected by sacrificial rites, performed according to the rules of the Rik, Yajur, and Sama Vedas, be the great end of life, attend to what I have
vp.3.4 There was but one Yajur veda; but dividing this into four parts, Vyasa instituted the sacrificial rite that is administered by four kinds of priests: in which it was the duty of the Adhwaryu to recite the prayers Yajush() (or direct the ceremony); of the Hotri, to repeat the hymns Richas(); of the Udgatri, to chaunt other hymns Sama(); and of the Brahman, to pronounce the formul called Atharva. Then the Muni, having collected together the hymns called Richas, compiled the Rigveda; with the prayers and directions termed Yajushas he formed the Yajur veda; with those called Sama, Sama veda; and with the Atharvas he composed the rules of all the ceremonies suited to kings, and the function of the Brahman agreeably to practice 5.
vp.3.5 Yajnawalkya, who was perfect in ascetic practices, addressed himself strenuously to the sun, being anxious to recover possession of the texts of the Yajush. Glory" to the sun," he exclaimed, "the gate of liberation, the fountain of bright radiance, the triple source of splendour, as the Rig, the Yajur, and the Sama Vedas. Glory to him, who, as fire and the moon, is one with the cause of the universe: to the sun, that is charged with radiant heat, and with the Sushumna ray (by which the moon is fed with light): to him who is one with the notion of time, and all its divisions of hours, minutes, and seconds: to him who is to be
vp.3.6 Divisions of the Sama veda: of the Atharva veda. Four Pauranik Sanhitas. Names of the eighteen Puranas. Branches of knowledge. Classes of Rishis.
vp.3.6 YOU shall now hear, Maitreya, how Jaimini, the pupil of Vyasa, divided the branches of the Sama veda. The son of Jaimini was Sumantu, and his son was Sukarman, who both studied the same Sanhita under Jaimini 1. The latter composed the Sahasra Sanhita (or compilation of a thousand hymns, &c.), which he taught to two disciples, Hiranyanabha, also named Kausalya (or of Kosala), and Paushyinji 2. Fifteen disciples of the latter were the authors of as many Sanhitas: they were called the northern chaunters of the Saman. As many more, also the disciples of Hiranyanabha, were termed the eastern chaunters of the Saman, founding an equal number of schools. Lokakshi, Kuthumi, Kushidi, and Langali were the pupils of Paushyinji; and by them and their disciples many other branches were formed. Whilst another scholar of Hiranyanabha, named Kriti, taught twenty four Sanhitas to as many pupils; and by them, again, was the Sama veda divided into numerous branches 3.
vp.3.15 Aurva proceeded. "Hear next, oh prince, what description of Brahman should be fed at ancestral ceremonies. he should be one studied in various triplets of the Rich and Yajur Vedas 1; one who is acquainted with the six supplementary sciences of the Vedas 2; one who understands the Vedas; one who practises the duties they enjoin 3; one who exercises penance; a chanter of the principal Sama veda 4, an officiating priest, a sister s son, a daughter s son, a son in law, a father in law, a maternal uncle, an ascetic, a Brahman who maintains the five fires, a pupil, a kinsman; one who reverences his parents. A man should first employ the Brahmans first specified in the principal obsequial
vp.3.17 Parasara. The Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas constitute the triple covering of the several castes, and the sinner who throws this off is said to be naked (or apostate). The three Vedas are the raiment of all the orders of men, and when that is discarded they are left bare 1. On this subject hear what I heard my grandfather, the pious Vasishtha, relate to the magnanimous Bhishma:
vp.4.1 Before the evolution of the mundane egg, existed Brahma, who was Hiranyagarbha, the form of that supreme Brahma which consists of Vishnu as identical with the Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas; the primeval, uncreated cause of all worlds. From the right thumb of Brahma was born the patriarch Daksha 3; his daughter was Aditi, who was the mother of the sun. The Manu Vaivaswata was the son of the celestial luminary; and his sons were Ikshwaku, Nriga, Dhrishta, saryati, Narishyanta, Pransu, Nabhaga, Nedishta, Karusha, and Prishadhra 4.
vp.4.19 The son of Dwimidha 37 was Yavinara; his son was Dhritimat 38; his son was Satyadhriti; his son was Dridhanemi; his son was Suparswa 39; his son was Sumati; his son was Sannatimat; his son was Krita, to whom Hiranyanabha taught the philosophy of the Yoga, and he compiled twenty four Sanhitas (or compendia) for the use of the eastern Brahmans, who study the Sama veda 40. The son of Krita was Ugrayudha, by whose prowess the Nipa race of Kshatriyas was destroyed 41; his son was Kshemya; his son was Suvira; his son was Nripanjaya 42; his son was Bahuratha. These were all called Pauravas.
vp.6.1 The observance of caste, order, and institutes will not prevail in the Kali age, nor will that of the ceremonial enjoined by the Sama, Rik, and Yajur Vedas. Marriages in this age will not be conformable to the ritual, nor will the rules that connect the spiritual preceptor and his disciple be in force. The laws that regulate the conduct of husband and wife will be disregarded, and oblations to the gods with fire no longer be offered. In whatever family he may be born, a powerful and rich man will be held entitled to espouse maidens of every tribe. A regenerate man will be initiated in any way whatever, and such acts of penance as may be performed will be unattended by any results 4. Every text will be scripture that people choose to think so 5: all gods will be gods to them that worship them; and all orders of life will be common alike to all persons. In the Kali age, fasting, austerity, liberality, practised according to the pleasure of those by whom they are observed, will constitute righteousness. Pride of wealth will be inspired by very insignificant possessions. Pride of beauty will be prompted by (no other personal charm than fine) hair. Gold, jewels, diamonds, clothes, will all have perished, and then hair will be the only ornament with which women can decorate themselves. Wives will desert their husbands, when they lose their property; and they only who are wealthy will be considered by women as their lords. He who gives away much money will be the master of men;
vp.6.4 Works, as enjoined by the Vedas, are of two kinds, active Pravritta() and quiescent Nivritta(); by both of which the universal person is worshipped by mankind. He, the lord of sacrifice, the male of sacrifice, the most excellent male, is worshipped by men in the active mode by rites enjoined in the Rik, Yajur, and Sama Vedas. The soul of wisdom, the person of wisdom, Vishnu, the giver of emancipation, is worshipped by sages in the quiescent form, through meditative devotion. The exhaustless Vishnu is whatever thing that is designated by long, short, or prolated syllables, or that which is without a name. He is that which is discrete, and that which is indiscrete: he is exhaustless spirit, supreme spirit, universal spirit, Hari, the wearer of universal forms. Nature, whether discrete or indiscrete, is absorbed into him, and (detached) spirit also merges into the all diffusive and unobstructed spirit.

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