The Secret Of The Veda Aurobindo - HolyBooks.com

The Seven-Headed Thought, Swar and the Dashagwas 183
battle, safety in the journey by land and water which was so
difficult and dangerous in those times of poor means of communication
and loosely organised inter-tribal existence. All the
principal features of that outward life which they saw around
them the mystic poets took and turned into significant images of
the inner life. The life of man is represented as a sacrifice to the
gods, a journey sometimes figured as a crossing of dangerous
waters, sometimes as an ascent from level to level of the hill
of being, and, thirdly, as a battle against hostile nations. But
these three images are not kept separate. The sacrifice is also a
journey; indeed the sacrifice itself is described as travelling, as
journeying to a divine goal; and the journey and the sacrifice are
both continually spoken of as a battle against the dark powers.
The legend of the Angirases takes up and combines all these
three essential features of the Vedic imagery. The Angirases are
pilgrims of the light. The phrase naks.antah. or abhinaks.antah.
is constantly used to describe their characteristic action. They
are those who travel towards the goal and attain to the highest,
abhinaks.anto abhi ye tam āna´sur nidhi ˙m paramam, “theywho
travel to and attain that supreme treasure” (II.24.6). Their action
is invoked for carrying forward the life of man farther towards
its goal, sahasrasāve pra tiranta āyuh. (III.53.7). But this journey,
if principally of the nature of a quest, the quest of the hidden
light, becomes also by the opposition of the powers of darkness
an expedition and a battle. The Angirases are heroes and fighters
of that battle, gos.u yodhāh. , “fighters for the cows or rays”.
Indra marches with them saran. yubhih. , as travellers on the path,
sakhibhih. , comrades, r.kvabhih. and kavibhih. , seers and singers
of the sacred chant, but also satvabhih. , fighters in the battle.
They are frequently spoken of by the appellation nr. or vīra,
as when Indra is said to win the luminous herds asmākebhih.
nr.bhih. , “by our men”. Strengthened by them he conquers in
the journey and reaches the goal, naks.ad-dābha ˙m taturim.This
journey or march proceeds along the path discovered by Sarama,
the hound of heaven, the path of the Truth, r.tasya panthāh. ,the
great path, mahas pathah. , which leads to the realms of the Truth.
It is also the sacrificial journey; for its stages correspond to the