Mythology - Rig Veda

Aditi
Agni
Mitra-Varuna
Indra
Maruts and Parjanya
Vayu
Cosmic Encounters

The Rig Veda is the primary source of data concerning recent chaos in the solar system. Its great length, over a thousand stanzas, is in itself a testament to the long period of complex encounters comprising this cosmic chaos. The close encounters of proto-Venus and priori-Mars took place repeatedly for over 3000 years, half again longer than the time from Christ to the present. Another unique characteristic of the Rig Veda is that it preserves the ordering of the events described.

Aditi
The first deity mentioned, Aditi (proto-Venus), was born out of Daushospitar (Jupiter). This confirms Velikovsky’s hypothesis, deduced from the myths of other cultures, that the birth of proto-Venus out of Jupiter triggered a long period of cosmic chaos. Aditi was the first visible manifestation of proto-Venus resulting from an enormous impact on Jupiter.

Aditi is claimed to be the mother of some eight deities, called Adityas. These were not different planetary bodies. They were different names given to the various aspects of proto-Venus, which suited their appearance at a given time. The appearance of proto-Venus depended on its temperature (luminosity), whether in the day or night sky, and on its proximity to the Earth. For example, when it appeared in the sky with the Sun, it was called Surya, or ‘sun maiden.’ One verse in the Rig Veda verifies this use of multiple names for the same body:

What is but one, the wise call (by) manifolds (names).

Agni
The second major deity, also an Aditya, was the feared Agni. This was the Vedic name for the flaming proto-Venus (literally fire) when it approached the Earth. The Vedas describe the two tails of dark soot from proto-Venus, similar to those associated with comets except for their great length, in terms of three metaphors: two sticks rubbed together to make a fire; two branding irons in the fire; and as two hands held in prayer. The Veda then describes the scorching of the Earth during one of the two close passes of proto-Venus to the Earth:

But when, great god, thine awful anger glows,
And thou revealest thy destroying force,
All creatures flee before thy furious course,
As hosts are chased by overpowering foes.

Thou levellest all thou touchest; forests vast
Thou shear'st, like beards which barber's razor shaves.
Thy wind-driven flames roar loud as ocean waves,
And all thy track is black when thou hast past.

As a result of subsequent encounters with priori-Mars (Indra), proto-Venus’ orbit was reduced to the degree that it remained just inside that of the Earth. As it cooled and began to form a tenuous crust, proto-Venus took on yet another, less threatening, countenance, that of the noble Varuna. It is not as though the common identity of Agni and Varuna is without hints in the Rig Veda:

And now, as I am come before his presence, I take the face of Varuna for Agni's.

When God Agni struggles toward the rta he is said in a remarkable passage to become for the time being God Varuna...

The rta was the gravitational ‘locking up’ of the two large planets when at close quarters, which could actually be felt by the people because it disrupted the constant rotation of the Earth.

Mitra-Varuna
Varuna is often referred to using a pair of names, Mitra-Varuna. This has always been a mystery for interpreters of ancient myths:

In the hymns addressed to Mitra and Varuna together, almost the same terms are employed as when Varuna is addressed alone. Both are spoken of as righteous, and as promoters of religion. They are said to avenge sin and falsehood.

Actually this is intimate relationship is a clue to the true cosmic nature of the deities. To corroborate the idea that Mitra and Varuna constitute a unique pair in the scheme of the Vedas, note the following quotation:

But Varuna is a close partner in a partnership which is expressed in the dual number. It consists of himself and the god Mitra, who is, however, little more than a silent partner in the combination. Such partnerships are frequent in the Veda, but exceedingly rare in the Persian Avesta. Yet the Avesta, in a matter-of-fact manner, joins Ahura and Mithra in the same dual partnership as the Veda does Varuna and Mitra.

The literal translation of Mitra is 'compact,’ and of Varuna is 'envelop' or 'encompass'. Another clue lies in the statement:

Varuna, wearing golden mail, hath clad him in a shining robe.

In this quotation, lies the explanation for the special pairing of proto-Venus deity names. Mitra was a reference to the solid glowing body of proto-Venus, and Varuna, meaning referred to proto-Venus’ atmosphere or 'shining robe.' The new atmosphere was composed of hot gases, primarily sulfur, that were being vented from the interior, combined with carbon dioxide captured from priori-Mars during previous encounters. As Mitra-Varuna approached the Earth, both could be clearly seen.

Mitra became the guardian of the day, while Varuna's part was reduced to the guardianship of the night.

This confirms my hypothesis. The dully glowing body of proto-Venus could be seen even during the day, but the atmosphere of proto-Venus could only be seen during the night, because the daylight sky of the Earth was too bright during the day.

Indra
Indra was the primary Mars deity in the Rig Veda. The evolution of priori-Mars orbit as a result of encounters with proto-Venus brought it from its ancient interior orbit, similar to that of Venus today, into an orbit that intersected that of the Earth. In this orbit it was alternately captured in, and 14 or 15 years later released from a geosynchronous orbit around the Earth. This was repeated an amazing 99 or 100 times. When captured, it remained stationary over the Transhimalayas as the result of a temporary adjustment of the spin axis of the lithosphere to Hudson Bay.

In Vedic myth, Indra’s primary fame stemmed from his ‘releasing the waters,’ which he accomplished by doing battle with a race of mountain dragons, called vritra (the confiners,) which were the great glaciers in the high valleys of the Himalayas. To accomplish this feat Indra had several mythical accomplices; maruts, parjanya and vayu.

Maruts and Parjanya
The Maruts comprise a multitude of gods. In the Vedas they are the constant companions of Indra. They are intimately associated with parjanya, the god of the thunderbolt. The following quote summarizes the Maruts in the Rig Veda:

They are youthful warriors, but they are also geniuses of the thunderstorm. For whereas the interpretation of Indra as god of the storm is frequently forced, the close connection of the Maruts with thunder and lightning, wind and rain, cannot be denied...They hold the lightning in their hands and the lightning is their spear. Their golden wheeled chariots gleam in the lightning as they rush forth like boisterous winds...They love to deck themselves with golden ornaments ... They are always present at the slaying of Vritra and they egg great Indra on with their songs.

This translation (transculturation) was written millennia after the ‘dance encounters’ ceased. Not having experienced true thunderbolts, the translator uses the terms 'thunderstorm' and 'lightning' because they comprised his experience, but he had no idea of the awesome power of 'thunderbolts’ The following descriptions of the Maruts are direct translations from the Rig Veda:

...that brilliant and mighty band of leading lights...whose arms are decorated with bracelets (quoits) ... given to roaring, potent, dispensing treasures...infinite in greatness.
This wide-extended Earth is for the Maruts; the spacious heaven is for the spreading winds; the paths of the firmament are provided for their course.

In the V/A scenario priori-Mars was greatly disturbed by the enormous gravitational field of the Earth when the two planets approached one another, and many enormous volcanic vents were opened on the surface of priori-Mars, which continued to blaze for the entire duration of the encounter. At times of alignments of priori-Mars with the Sun and Moon (solar and lunar eclipses and near eclipses) the interior of priori-Mars convulsed and hot rocks as large as 20 km were ejected from volcanic vents into space. Some of these glided gracefully and beautifully toward the Earth. They are described as appearing similar to sparks shooting from logs in a fireplace. When they struck the upper atmosphere they ionized the air around the site, which appeared as a ring or bracelet. As they continued downward at high speeds some created an ionized path which shorted out the ionosphere to the Earth. An enormous discharge then occurred. This was a thunderbolt. This explains the close association of the maruts and parjanya,.which was the thunderbolt itself. Thunderbolts were so powerful that some caused entire mountain ranges to disappear while another rises up ‘instantaneously.’ Such great power would have been necessary to actually break up large glaciers into millions of pieces.

Vayu
The deity Vayu is described as follows in the Rig Veda:

Vayu is described as being most handsome in form; one who moves noisily in a shining car drawn by a pair of red or purple horses...
(I celebrate) the glory of Vata's (another name for Vayu) chariot; his noise comes rending and resounding. Touching the sky, he moves onward, making all things ruddy; and he comes propelling the dust of the Earth. The gusts of air rush after him, and congregate upon him as women in an assembly. Sitting along with them on the same car, the god (Indra), who is king of this universe is borne along. Hasting forward...he never rests...His sounds have been heard, but his form is not (seen).

Vayu was the 'wind' which traversed space from priori-Mars (Indra) to the Earth across a temporary 'atmospheric bridge' that formed between the two planets at times of the internal convulsions. We suggest six reasons for this interpretation.

1. It is connected to the idea of the passage of Soma between the planets;
2. The two worlds generated it;
3. It could be seen moving across space from priori-Mars to the Earth, with Indra in the background;
4. When it reached the top of the Earth's atmosphere it 'touched' the sky;
5. It carried sounds which could not have propagated across empty space;
6. It carried red dust and rain from the red planet to the Earth, making everything 'ruddy.’

Additional clues are given by Vayu's epithets:

Other names by which this deity is known are the following: - Anila, breath; Marut, air that is necessary to life; Sparsana, he who touches; Gandhavaha, he who carries odors.

The innumerable planet-wide atmospheric exchanges over a three thousand year period, carried the bulk of the atmosphere and water from priori-Mars to the Earth, leaving it the dry dessicated planet it is today. The same exchanges brought all manner of diseases from priori-Mars more than two thousand years ago. These have long since been incorporated into our immune systems, just as the vast oceans from priori-Mars have become part of our bodies. This alleviates the concern for disease contamination between Mars and Earth in future space missions.

In addition to the rocks and rain descending from priori-Mars, the melting of the glaciers was facilitated by changes within the Earth, the very nature of which imply each encounter be of considerable duration. Continuous earthquakes rocked the entire area, producing innumerable cracks in the rocks. At the same time the reduced gravitational force due to the tidal force of the nearby priori-Mars, caused the melting of subsurface rock. This was subsequently drawn up through the cracks and caused significant heating of the mountain region. Indeed, the entire area of Tibet is underlain by a layer of melted rock to this day. The other processes were the result of the Earth-priori-Mars pair passing through alignments with the Sun and Moon - i.e. at the times of solar and lunar eclipses.

Cosmic Encounters
The Vedas also describe the fact that Indra would suddenly leave his earthly home over the Mt. Kailas in the Transhimilayas, only to return at a later date. This occurred upon the close approach of proto-Venus, which occurred every fifteen years. This is evidenced by many passages in which conflicts between Varuna and Indra are described. Some of these are stated directly in the Rig Veda, and are recognized by many scholars. Others are identified for the first time herein. The reason why these have not been recognized is the old habit of the rishis of giving different names to one and the same physical body. Based on many myths, we maintain that there could have been one and only one causative agent in the mythical 'birth' of Indra (Mars), and that is proto-Venus. The following quote shows that the rishis (the priests responsible for the maintenance and writing of the vedas) understood this:

Two periods, of different complexions, revolve for their own purposes, and each in succession severally nourishes a son; in one Hari is the receiver of oblations, in the other, the brilliant Agni is beheld.

Here the rishi explains that there were just two heavenly bodies circulating at the same time, Agni (Venus) and Hari (Mars), and that each had its characteristic period of revolution. The conflict of Varuna and Indra is described in the following passages from the Rig Veda:

Signs of this conflict are already apparent in the Rig-Veda. Between the two great gods, Indra and Varuna, there is cooperation at first, but cooperation soon turns to rivalry, and rivalry to discomfiture of the Asura king. In R.V. 7.82-85 the two gods work together, but their functions are contrasted...In another hymn (R.V.4-42), however, the rivalry between the (two) comes to the surface: Varuna addresses Indra and asserts his absolute sovereignty:

'I Varuna, am king,' he says, ‘To me was the dignity of asura first assigned...I Varuna, am Indra [too]. I, knowing the two wide, deep firmly established areas of space in all their grandeur, [knowing] all creatures as their fashioner, I have set in motion both the worlds and maintain them. I made the dripping waters swell forth; in the seat of the law did I establish the heavens. By virtue of the law is the son of Aditi (Varuna) possessed of the law, and threefold has he extended the Earth’.

Proto-Venus had indeed set the worlds in motion, that is, created chaos, when it burst into the inner solar system. It also maintained the pattern of chaotic planetary motion, for some three thousand years, by influencing the interactions between priori-Mars and the Earth.

Older translations use the term 'demons' for asura, because they were seen to be in conflict with the suras, or gods. This was based on the Sanskrit convention of negation by prefixing an 'a.’ In other words asuras were 'not gods,’ and therefore were demons. This term, which Varuna proudly applies to himself, is currently thought to be derived from the word asu which means 'breath' or 'spirit.’ We claim that in the Rig Veda this word is used to describe bodies with 'atmospheres,’ which is closely related to 'breath.’ In other words, an asura was a body that had visible gaseous envelope or a tail associated with it.

Varuna (proto-Venus) staked his claim to sovereignty on law (rta, the counterpart of the later dharma) whereas Indra proudly admits that he depended only on naked force, he says:

It is I whom heroes (narah), rivaling each other in riding their goodly horses, invoke when they are surrounded in battle. I, Indra, the widely generous, stir up the battle. I, Indra, raise up the dust. I whose might is overwhelming. All this have I done; no power of the gods can restrain me, for I am invincible. Once the Soma and the hymns have made me drunk, then are both immeasurable worlds struck with terror.

Varuna’s power came from his greater rta, the invisible power to influence other planets at a distance. We interpret the mysterious rta as the tidal (gravitational) force of a celestial body, which is directly proportional to its mass. Due to its considerably greater mass, proto-Venus impressed the Vedic people with its ability to change the rotation axis of the lithosphere and cause earthquakes even when considerably more distant than priori-Mars. The red planet had to swoop down much closer to the Earth to have the same effect as proto-Venus.

As can be seen from the small sampling given here, the Vedas are primarily descriptive in nature, like the television news. It was not until the later Hindu period, when the period of chaos was over or nearly so, that the events and deities became anthropomorphized and organized into stories in which multiple priori-Mars gods interacted and had more abstract functions. But the reportorial nature of the Vedas ensures that the knowledge is in the purest form and that it records the observations in time ordered form.