त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥
tryambakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhim puṣṭivardhanam | urvārukam iva bandhanān
mṛtyor mukṣīya māmṛtāt ||
Available English translation:
We
worship the Tryambaka, the fragrant, increaser of
prosperity. Like
a cucumber from its stem, may I be Liberated from Death (Attachment to
Perishable Things), so that I am not separated from the perception of Immortality
(Immortal Essence pervading everywhere).
--
·
In his Commentary Sāyaṇa stated that Tryambaka means the father, ambuka of
the three deities, Brahma, Viṣhṇu and Rudra;
also identified with mahatva (Ṛgvidhāna).
(https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/rig-veda-english-translation/d/doc835080.html).
·
Many commentators interpreted the word
Tryambaka (त्र्यम्बक) as three-eyed god Shiva.
----
My
understanding is as follows:
Details of the Richa:
Ṛṣi (sage/seer): vasiṣṭhaḥ [vasiṣṭha];
Devatā (deity/subject-matter): rudraḥ ;
Chandas (meter): anuṣṭup ;
1) Sāyaṇa stated that
Tryambaka means the father - ambuka of
the three deities, Brahma, Viṣhṇu and Rudra.
However, we have to remember that when
the Rig Veda was composed there was a concept of TRINITY, ie., AGNI,
INDRA and SURYA in the spheres of EARTH, MID SPACE and HEAVEN but not the concept of trinity of Gods,
ie., Brahma, Viṣhṇu and Rudra,.
Vishnu, Indra, Agni, Rudra, etc, are epithets
to indicate ONE and only one BRAHMAN.
2) Tryambaka
(a) "अम्बा - ambA " means mother,
but not eye. The words “नेत्र – netra, लोचन – locana, चक्षु – cakSu, नयन – nayana,” etc, indicate 'eye'. So ambaka - अम्बक means of mother
and त्र्यम्बकं - tryambakaṃ may indicates having three mothers, but not a person with
three eyes.
b) Hence, त्र्यम्बकं - tryambakaṃ can
be understood as the presiding Devatā (deity) rudra having three mothers,
but it goes against BRAHMAN concept of Rig Veda. Rig Veda 2.1, which praised agni as BRAHMAN, also praised Indra/Vishnu/Aditi/ Rudra, etc, as
BRAHMAN.
c) We have to remember that BRAHMAN is the
formless and nameless power, which CAME INTO EXISTENCE FIRST and governs everything in the
UNIVERSE. And, thus the BRAHMAN cannot have a MOTHER.
So the
question of Rudra having 3 mothers does not arise.
d) It seems to me that the rishi vasiṣṭha, might
have composed this Richa addressing Rudra in an esoteric sense only. The symbolism of त्र्यम्बकं - tryambakaṃ, having three mothers, may
indicate a spiritual
practitioner in general, seeking the DIVINE connection/blessings/guidance of three
female energies that exist in every human being.
e) Now,
a question arises as to who those three mothers are!
f) In the Rig-Veda, Saraswati, Ila and Bharati
were praised together as the three female energies - tisro devīḥ (तिस्रो देवीः).
RigVeda 2.3.8
सरस्वती साधयन्ती धियं न इळा देवी भारती विश्वतूर्तिः । तिस्रो देवीः स्वधया बर्हिरेदमच्छिद्रं पान्तु शरणं निषद्य ॥
sarasvatī sādhayantī dhiyaṃ na iḻā devī bhāratī viśvatūrtiḥ |
tisro devīḥ
svadhayā barhir edam acchidram pāntu śaraṇaṃ niṣadya ||
English translation:
Sarasvatī,
who sends our poetic thought to its target, divine Iḍā, Bhāratī outstripping all
let the three
goddesses, having sat down on this ritual grass here, with their own power
protect (its?) unbroken shelter.
--
The Rig Veda
2.41.16 praises Saraswati is the best of all mothers/female divine powers -
अम्बितमे नदीतमे देवितमे सरस्वति । ambitame
nadītame devitame sarasvati
Here
also अम्बा – ambA was used to indicate
a mother - ambitame
(अम्बितमे).
g) We should also remember that the blessings
of Saraswati, Ila and Bharati, are the blessings/grace of Aditi, their combined
and transcendental female power of the BRAHMAN itself.
3) It seems
incorrect to take sugandhim pushthi vardhanam (सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्) to mean "the fragrant, increaser of prosperity
". It does not synchronise with the
meaning in the next line - Like a cucumber from its stem, may I be Liberated from Death, so that I
am not separated from the perception of Immortality.
I could not
fathom as to how the fragrance emanated by rudra (सुगन्धिं) and increasing of
prosperity (पुष्टिवर्धनम्) will ensure
liberation ONE from DEATH.
---
The word gandha
(गन्ध) is the key word here
and the rishi vasiṣṭha
might have used it with a different meaning.
Another
meaning of gandha (गन्ध) is
"relationship". sugandhim (सुगन्धिं) means "good
relationship".
If we take the
meaning of sugandhim pushthi vardhanam (सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम्) as "to have a good relationship and to strengthen it",
then it will fit into the richa.
4) Now, if we read
the richa in question in this background, we can understand that it was
composed from a spiritual seeker perspective only, but not from the perspective
of rudra, the BRAHMAN.
Meaning of the richa in question
We
worship (rudra) to establish a good relationship with the three female energies
- Saraswati, Ila and
Bharati - tisro
devīḥ (existing in us) - and to strengthen that relationship. Thus,
like a cucumber from its stem, may I be Liberated from Death (Attachment to
Perishable Things), so that I am not separated from the perception of Immortality
(Immortal Essence pervading everywhere).
--
Another issue
that need to be kept in mind is that in Rig-veda 3.29.3, agni, the brahman, is
also described as the "son of Ila ", ( इळायास्पुत्र) - …..अरुषस्तूपो रुशदस्य पाज इळायास्पुत्रो वयुनेऽजनिष्ट...).
Therefore, it
seems to me that addressing rudra as the
son of three mothers
or agni as the "son
of Ila", should be
understood only from the perspective of a spiritual seeker.
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