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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00053 Feb 2004

 
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"vEdAnAm sAma vEdOsmi"
- krishNa vAsudEva, Bhagavad-Gita X.22

The jaiminIya upanishad brAhmaNa (JUB) of jaiminIya shAkhA of sAma 
veda talks about a particular type of sAman called asharIra sAman (or 
bodyless sAman). Basically, a sAma-gAnam has a rig mantra as its 
base. To this extraneous phrases and syllables (called stobhas) are 
added to build the sAma gAnam. These stobhas are as the seven 
sAmavEdic svarams. They are apparently meaningless but they are 
praises of parabrahman. Only parabrahman can understand the true 
meaning.

Apart from this class of stobha-reinforced sAmans, there is a 
different class, called anrcham-sAmans - one without rik mantras and 
composed entirely of stobhas. As the rik mantra can be considered as 
the 'body' of the gAna, the second class can also be called as 'body-
less' or asharIra. This sAman is supposed to be of very high 
spiritual and supernatural potency and was taught only to a very few 
sAdhakas initiated into the secret doctrine and it was heavily 
guarded. There is a legend in JUB regarding this.

The Kuru King uccaishravas kaupayeya and his nephew and pAnchala king 
kEshin dArbhya were close friends (Another member of the dARbhya 
clan, rathaprOta dAlbhya/dArbhya performed the agni surabhimati rite, 
as I mentioned in an earlier post). Uccaishravas died and kEshin 
dArbhya was very dejected. kEshin dArbhya went hunting in woods (to 
forget the loss of his friend) and while chasing a deer he saw 
uccaishravas between himself and the deer. Overjoyed, he tried to hug 
him, but it was like hugging smoke or air. 

Uccaishravas tells him that he appeared to comfort him as well as to 
tell about the asharIra sAman, with which one can reach the world of 
gods after shaking off the mortal frame. This is the same sAman by 
which patanga prAjApatya (son of prajapati), many rishis and devAs 
reached 'amaratvam'. 

So, kEshin dArbhya starts looking for an udgAta well-versed in this 
asharIra sAman and didn't find any in the kuru-pAnchAla dEsha 
(apparently this region was a great center for vedic learning). He 
stumbles onto an strange and enigmatic person living in an enclosure 
in a cremation ground and this person identifies himself as a 
sAmavedin by the name of prAtrda bhalla. This sAmavedin is 
knowledgeable in the asharIra sAman and agrees to be his udgAta in 
kEshin dArbhya's dvAdashA: sacrifice with meters transposed. (There 
is also a mention of brahmins of kuru-pAnchAla becoming jealous and 
envious of this person, exclaiming that they are from a noble descent 
and tradition and how can this new person be an udgAta). (It is 
interesting to note that traditionally it is the tAntrics who live in 
cremation ground and are versed in occult matter.)

Regards,
Kasturi





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