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Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy

The mysteries of the fifth Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam have long puzzled students of Vedic cosmography and astronomy. Confronted with a description of the universe that seems much at variance with the information provided by our senses and standard astronomical calculations, foreign observers and even Indian commentators from the middle ages up to the present have concluded that the Bhagavatam’s account elaborated in other Puranas must be mythological. On the other hand the same persons have been much impressed with vedic astronomical treatises the jyotisasastras which provide remarkably accurate measurements of the solar system.

Hindu Spirituality (Vol. 2): Postclassical and Modern

The term hindu is referred to the religious life of the people of India, and Spirituality understood as wisdom about the way back into the ground of pluralism of religious forms. These two volumes are strucrtured along the division between the classical and the postclassical. Twenty seven scholars from around the world shed light on the spiritual beauty of Hinduisms poetry art and temples, festivals and music, as well as the contributions of modern pioneers such as Swami Vivekananda Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi and others.

About the Author(s)

K.R. Sundararajan

The Pravargya Brahmana of the Taittiriya Aranyaka: An Ancient Commentary on the Pravargya Ritual

A historical commentary on the Pravargya ceremony can be found in Prapathaka 5, which is part of the Taittiriya Aranyaka in the Andhra recension. This commentary, known as the Pravargya Brahmana, is presented here in a translation that also includes annotations. An investigation of the Pravargya ritual is included in the Introduction. This ceremony is referred to as “One of the few rites that have been specifically alluded to in the Rgveda (typically under the term “Gharma”).” The abstract and spiritual character of what is most likely the primary purpose of the ritual – the participants should acquire the lustre of the sun – the straightforward means by which it can be performed, and the manner in which the main implement, the pot which is heated to a red-hot temperature, is worshipped, give it a special place among the vast assortment of Vedic rites. In addition to the translation, the original Sanskrit text of the Pravargya Brahmana of the Taittiriyas has also been provided here. The present work was prepared under the direction of Professor Dr. H.W. Bodewitz (Utrecht), and it is an expansion of an essay that the author wrote as part of the author’s partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of “doctorandus” at the University of Utrecht, 1987. This work was prepared under the guidance of Professor Dr. H.W. Bodewitz (Utrecht).

Author

Jan E.M. Houben