Appendix I The Riddle of the Vedas - Page 143

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132 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES

Brahma appeared the Saman verses and the metres. 5 and 6. From the northern mouth of the Vedas (Brahma) was manifested the entire Atharvana of the colour of black bees and collyrium, having a character at once terrible and not terrible, capable of neutralising the arts of enchanter pleasant, characterized by the qualities both of purity and darkness, and both beautiful and the contrary. The verses of the Rich are distinguished by the quality of passion ( rajas ), those of the Yajush by purity ( satva ) those of the Saman by darkness ( tamas ) , and those of the Atharvan by both darkness and purity.”

The Harivamsa supports both theories that of Brahma and Prajapati:

“For the emancipation of the world, Brahma, sunk in contemplation, issuing in a luminous form from the region of the moon, penetrated into the heart of Gayatri, entering between her eyes. From her there was then produced a quadruple being in the form of a Male, lustrous as Brahma, undefined, eternal, undecaying devoid of bodily senses or qualities, distinguished by the attribute of brilliancy, pure as the rays of the moon, radiant, and emboidied in letters. The god fashioned the Rigveda, with the Yajush from his eyes, the Sama-veda from the tip of his tongue, and the Atharvan from his head. These Vedas, as soon as they are born, find a body (kshetra). Hence they obtain their character of Vedas, because they find (vindanti) that abode. These Vedas then create the pre-existent eternal brahma (sacred science), a Male of celestial form, with their own mind-born qualities”.

It also accepts Prajapati as the origin. It says that when the Supreme being was intent on creating the Universe, Hiranyagarbha, or Prajapati, issued from his mouth, and was desired to divide himself—a process which he was in great doubt how he should effect; the Harivamsa proceeds:

“While he was thus reflecting, the sound ‘om’ issued from him, and resounded through the earth, air, and sky. While the god of gods was again and again repeating this, the essence of mind, the vashatkara proceeded from his heart. Next, the sacred and transcendent vyahritis, ( bhuh, bhuvah, svar ) , formed of the great smiriti, in the form of sound, were produced from earth, air, and sky. Then appeared the goddess, the most excellent of metres, with twenty-four syllables ( the gayatri ) . Reflecting on the divine text (beginning with) “tax”, the Lord formed the savitri. He then produced all the Vedas, the Rich. Saman, Atharvan, and Yajush, with their prayers and rites.”