Having expended the greater part of life in course of which I bellowed svaha countless number of times in hundreds of 'ahutis' to Agni and yet not to know the answer, feels a bit foolish. Worse still is the guilt-feel it engenders of not having kept faith with my own Faith in the sheer belief that a passage to Indralok on Mount Meru could be booked in the currency of one's good deeds entered in the diary of Chitragupta deva, notwithstanding blips like 'svaha' ignorance. Not that I am a devout Hindu ,but at least the common magic words.....?
But while a learned mind is disciplined , the idle one is prone to drifting into speculative nothingness. And a whetted curiosity keeps the idle mind unsettled till the curiosity is sated. One says Laxmi is 'chanchal' but the mind is even more . It had to look up 'svaha'
Svaha is 'sva'-self and 'aha'- spoken, meaning self spoken. So the
connect of the word to mantras extending invitation to gods to partake of the oblations made to Agni ,for that is what the mantra recital is all about, isn't at once obvious.
connect of the word to mantras extending invitation to gods to partake of the oblations made to Agni ,for that is what the mantra recital is all about, isn't at once obvious.
The Satapatha Brahmana says Prajapati in his act of creating the universe first made Agni. Now Agni,a food eater,found nothing to eat,so turned to Prajapati himself. Terrified, Prajapati then rubbed his hands and milk flowed. But the milk was contaminated with hairs uprooted from the palms by rubbing( that explains why palms have no hairs) hence unfit for oblation. So he rubbed again, this time pure milk issued and the self within counselled -'offer it'. Prajapati filled with joy exclaimed 'svaha', the self has spoken, while offering the milk to Agni. So following him, Hindu mortals intone Svaha at any oblation to Agni.
In the Mahabharata Svaha is said to be the wife of Agni. It relates the myth of Agni deva getting besotted with the beautiful wives of Sapatrishis, the seven mind-sons of Brahma. When the wives rebuffed his overtures Agni had to flee to the forests. Meanwhile, Svaha smarting under an unrequited love for Agni decided to manipulate this infatuation for the seven wives to her advantage. She ,by turns, assumed the form of the wives of rishis and consummated Agni's sexual desires. A pleased Agni not only betrothed her but also gave the boon that no offerings to him would reach the gods unless accompanied by utterance of her name.
Bhagwat Purana has yet another origination of the word. Brahma created the universe replete with gods and living beings. But gods felt aggrieved; there was food for all living beings ,none for them. So Brahma ordained that all offerings made in the sacrificial fire would be food for gods. Yet the offerings did not reach the gods for
Agni was without energy. Brahma then supplicated Prakruti, the primordial energy, and from it arose Svaha, the goddess of fire energy. Brahma then conjoined Svaha with Agni and decreed,that henceforth offerings in the sacrificial fire complete with utterance of her name would go straight to the gods.
Agni was without energy. Brahma then supplicated Prakruti, the primordial energy, and from it arose Svaha, the goddess of fire energy. Brahma then conjoined Svaha with Agni and decreed,that henceforth offerings in the sacrificial fire complete with utterance of her name would go straight to the gods.
There are other myths too connected with the word. In fact in some texts the word itself is corrupted to Swaha, even Su_aha meaning good vani or well said. Myths and magical words are integral signposts of any religio-ethnic identity. The few like me who lack its awareness arent apostate by any means. But a bit rootless ? maybe !
