Prajapati's relations with Brahman, Brhaspati and Brahma - DWC

In the Sarphitäs of the J!.gveda and the Atharvaveda 27 Brhaspati (Brahma­
I)aspati) is besought to give a long term of life, old age, a complete lifetime
of a hundred years: RV. 1,38,13; 10, 100,5; 10, 161,4; AVP. 15,6,1; 19,
28, 5; cf. also AVS. 3", 11, 4; 7, 33, 1; enable the person praying to live to
see the son of his son growin g up: ~V. 2, 25, 1; to give him sons: J!.V. 1, 190,
8; 2, 24,15; 7, 97, 4; 10, ~8, 12 (2,25,2; 5, 42, 8); offspring: ~V. 2) 23,
19; 2, 24,16; 4, 50, 6; AVS. 7, 33,1; 14, 1,54; AVP. 19,26,5; In AVS. 5,
25, 4 he is one of a number of deities (among them Dhätar) who are implored
to place the embryo (for Prajäpati, Dhätar and ot hers see J!.V. 10, 184, 1); he
is besought for or expected to give cattle: J!.V. 1, 190, 8; 2, 25, 2; 10, 68, 12;
AV$. 2, 26, 2; cf. 3,14,2; vigour (vayas, health, energy): J!.V. 2, 23,10;
AVS. 9, 4, 10 and brilliant energy and prestige (vareas) : AV&'. 2, 29 , 1 (cf.
19, 26, 4); AVP. 17, 23, 4; 19, 17 , 10 (cf. 15, 6, 1); wealth or property which
he is supposed to possess (RV. 1, 18, 2): RV. 2, 1, 3; 2, 25, 2; 4, 50, 6; 5,
42,7; 7, 97,10; 10, 141,2; AVS. 3, 20, 3;"7, 33,1; 19, 26, 5. He is supposed
to help his worshippers and to support or protect them: J!.V. 2, 23, 6; 7; 12;
6, 75,17; 7, 97, 4; 9; 10, 128, 7; 10, 164,4; 10, 182, 1; AVP. 9, 12, 10; 10,
16, 8; 16, 63, 9; 20, 9, 1; cf. also 19, 26, 5; to kill demons and to hurt enemies
(J!.V. 2 , 23, 3; 8; 10 etc. ). - In VS. 27, 8 Brhaspati and Savitar are besought
to restore a person to consciousness.
Occasionally, Brhaspati is one of the principal figures of an aetiological
(mythical) story of the well-known type which is so of ten found in passages
dealing with Prajäpati's primaeval creative activities 28 • Once Brhaspati
wished to become the purohita of the gods; he beheld the rite of 24
days - and obviously became the originator of a new ritual method -, took
it (i. e. the requisites) and sacrificed with it; then the gods had faith in
him, and he became their purohita (TS. 7, 4, 1, 1). - When Indra on ce
felt slack, he asked Agni and Brhaspati to $acrifice for him. They did so.
Agni furnished that rite with fiery energy (tejas) , Indra with the special
proficiency called indriya, Brhaspati with bráhman. Thereupon Indra became
thriving. If one desires to thrive (bhütikäma1) , one should perform
this sacrifice (MS. 2, 4, 6: 43, 12; cf. KS. 11, 1: 144,8 with brahmavarcasam
instead of bráhma). - Because Brhaspati collected what feH in drops
(udauk~ata) out of the he ad of GäyatrÏ, he became an ox (uk~an) and that
is why an ox is called uk~an (KS. 13,8: 190,7). In MS. 2, 5, 7: 56,8 the
liquid he had coHected became his daughter RohiI)Ï (RohiI)Ï Bärhaspatya).
Compare the story of Prajäpati who, conceiving apassion" for his own
daughter, J:)ecame a stag and approached her in the form of a deer; this
deer was RohiI)Ï (AiB. 3, 33 f . ).
In TS. 2, 4, 13 Brhaspati is one of the gods of the rite without being
mentioned in the story. Because the gods were afraid of the nobleman
(member of the military class, räjanya) on his birth, they fettered him
within the womb. If one desires of a nobleman, "may he be born without
fetters", one should offer for him the oblation for Indra, with whom he is
27 Repeated occurrences of the following places in the other samhitäs", brähmanas
and elsewhere can be omitted , just as -likewise for reasons of space - refè;­
ences to Prajäpati's activities in the RV. and AV . For these see Gonda, The
popul~r Prajäpati, p. 129 ff.; Prajäpaii's ri se to higher rank. As to Brhaspati's
funchons see also Macdonell, Vedic mythology, § 36; Bhattacharji, Theogony,
p.317ff.
28 See, e.g., also TS. 6, 4, 10, 1.
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