[Advaita-l] veda purusha dhyaya - a small correction

[kman]

I have been meaning to ask this question/clarification about animal faced
gods and daemons in Hinduism. On the one hand we have Advaita based
on logic with examples of "Hare with horns" on the other hand our puranas
filled with animal headed gods etc.

Can the learned explain this?

Is this to state that God is in every being?

Or to highlight this character with the attributes of the animal?

Or to discourage animal cruelty and hunting?

May be something completely different.

Hari Om

Kris

On Thu, 3 Mar 2011, Venkata sriram P wrote:

> A slight correction here.? The head of the divine being IMO is donkey
> instead of bull and the left hand displays vyAkhyAna mudra and not
> abhaya mudra.? ? Here is the pramANa: ? rigvEdaH shvEtavarNasyAt
> dvibhujO rAsabhAnanH akShamAlAdhara saumyaH prItO vyAkhyApanOdyataH // ?
> ?

Hmmm.  In my notes I have:

R^igvedaH shvetavarNasyAt dvibhujO R^iShabhAnanaH |
akShamAlAyutaH saumyaH prItashchAbhayOdyataH ||

R^ishabha is bull and rasabha would be donkey.  It seems either you or I
have made a typo.  abhaya and vyakhya are harder to confuse so I don't
know what's going on there.  Is your source also chaturvargachintamani or
some other shastra?


As an aside, the six vedangas are iconically portrayed as six Goddesses.
Of particular note is shikShA who carries a daNda (stick or club.)  This
is to beat people who mispronounce the mantras!

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Kman