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

1, 26 and into whom they enter 11, 5, 3, 11 76 ) for the creatures, Brhas-­
pati for Prajäpati" the author of TS. 3, 4, 1, lobserves that the sacrifice
of him whose offering is too large is unsuccessful 77 and that the one who
recites this mantra makes good this imperfection with the aid of Brhaspati
and Prajäpati. The author seems to suggest that no less a deity than the
divine representative of priesthood Brhaspati - see, e. g., VS. 2, 1:2
"Brhaspati, the brahm~n (of the gods, comm.)" - should be entrusted with
the duty of offering to Prajäpati. The stanza occurs also (with two variants)
in KS. 13, 11: 193,9 and 13,12: 195,5, where it is followed by the
explanation "Brhaspati is Bráhman; he offers it (the victim) which is
brilliant (belongs to the sp here of light, jyoti~mat) with (by means of~
Bráhman to Prajäpati who is brilliant". (See also BS. 14, 14: 177, 14; ÄpS.
9, 18, 16).
In JB. 2, 25 both gods are completelyon equal footing and fulfil the
same duty, or rather complementary furictions, as the supports of the
forelegs of Äditya's throne, when this god is consecrated (mahävrata ritual).
As the often coupled sämans rathantara and brhat function as the
forelegs and Soma and Varut;la - whose rules of functional conduct (vratäni)
are in RV. 1, 91, 3; 9, 88, 8 said to be identical and who in 9, 73, 3;
9, 77, 5; 9, 95, 4 are even identified - form the supports of the hind legs,
the conclusion seems legitimate that the two -pati gods are obviously also
regarded as somewhat more closely related 78 • (Notice the syntactic construction
prajäpatis ca brhaspatis ca 79. )
Elsewhere the gods are represented as each other's equals and co-operating
or accomplishing the same ritual purpose : "the sacrifice of the man
whose offering is too large is unsuccessful, but with (the aid of) Brhaspati
and Prajäpati he makes good his unsuccessful effort in sacrificing"
(TS. 3, 4,1,1).
Not infrequently, both gods are given similar titles. Whereas Prajäpati
is called the lord of beings (bhütänam ... pati1;t, SB. ?, 1, 3, 7), Brhaspati
is given the title of samräj "universal ruler" (AVS. 4, 1, 5; KS. 10,
13: 141, 16; cf. 14, 2: 202, 11; 14, 8: 207,22; MS. 3, 4, 3: 47,9; VS. 9,
30; TS. 1, 7, 10, 3; 2,3,14,6; 5,6,3,3; JB. 2,130; SB. 5, 2, 2, 14) or
of adhipati "regent, sovereign" (cf. 17, 4: 248, 13 brhaspater ädhipatyam;
21,1: 37, 10; MS. 2, 8, 5: 110, 1; 2,8,6: 110, 7; 213,21: 167, 11; VS.
14,25; SB. 14, 1, 3, 23). In KS. 10, 12: 141,10 Indra, Varuna and Brhaspati
are called "herdsmen of the (inhabited) world" and besoiIght to ~ake
76 Notice that Prajäpati is believed to have become the air and Väyu (SB. 11, 1, 6,
17; cf. 7, 1, 2, 5) and that the latter is said to be one half of the former (6, 2,
2, 11).
77 See J. Gonda, The redundant and the deficient in Vedic ritual, Vishveshvaranand
Indol. Journal 21 (1983), p. 1 ff.
78 However, whereas in AVS. 9, 7, 1 (AVP. 16, 139, 1) Prajäpati and (the) Parame!?thin
("the One who abides in the highest (place)", see J. Gonda, Parame!?­
thin, in JAOS 105 (1985), p. 439 ff.) form a pair and are as such described to
constitute the two horns of the bullock whic,h is being extolled, Brhaspati is
not co-ordinated with the former god in A VS. 9, 7, 5, where the falcon is said
to be the animal's breast and Brhaspati the hump on its shoulders (kakud),
which anyhow is a characteristic part of the bullock's body; likewise in AVP.
16, 139, 8 af ter Mahädeva who is said to be the two shoulders of this animal.
79 See J. Gonda, The use of the particle ca, Väk 5 (1957), p. 1 ff., esp. p. 9 ff.
(= Selected Studies, Leiden 1975, p. 320 ff. , esp. p. 328 ff. ).
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