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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 234 of 1027

Mandala 2: HYMN XLIII. Kapiñjala.

1.HERE on the right sing forth chanters of hymns of praise, even the winged birds that in due season speak. He, like: a Sāma-chanter utters both the notes, skilled in the mode of Tṛṣṭup and of Gāyatrī.

2.Thou like the chanter-priest chantest the Sāma, Bird; thou singest at libations like a Brahman’s son. Even as a vigorous horse when he comes near the mare, announce to us good fortune, Bird, on every side, proclaim in all directions happy luck, O Bird.

3.When singing here, O Bird. announce good luck to us, and when thou sittest still think on us with kind thoughts.

Asked of Guide

Why does the hymn address the bird as a chanter and ask it to announce good fortune?

The hymn treats the bird as a ritual performer because birds are imagined as participants in the sacrificial song: ‘‘like a Sāma-chanter utters both the notes,’’ so the bird’s song becomes part of the priestly chanting tradition and the liturgical soundscape. The poet asks the bird to ‘‘announce to us good fortune’’ and ‘‘proclaim in all directions happy luck’’ to extend the sacrificial blessing outward, making the bird a messenger who spreads auspiciousness.

This use of an animal as a ritual chanter echoes other Vedic hymns that personify natural agents as collaborators in yajña practice, for example in Rig Veda Mandala 1 where rivers or dawn sing the ritual. The request that the bird ‘‘think on us with kind thoughts’’ frames the relationship as reciprocal: the creature’s presence and song reciprocate the worshippers’ offerings by carrying blessing back to them.

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