mirrored file at http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== Ev Cochrane p1 Countless hymns in the Rig Veda allude to Indra's intimate relations with Surya, the ancient sun-god. Among the Vedic war-god s most celebrated feats are his role in conquering the Sun; delivering it from darkness; preparing a space within which it could rise; propping it up with a pillar; etc.1 The following hymn may be taken as typical: Ye found the Sun, ye found the light of heaven;Ye stayed the heaven with a supporting pillar. 2 It was on account of such traditions, no doubt, that many investigators have sought to understand Indra s mythus in terms of some sort of nature allegory.3 A recurring theme speaks of a violent confrontation of some sort between Indra and Surya. Several passages, for example, suggest that Indra s assault of the ancient sun-god produced an eclipse. Consider the following passage: For Surya in his own abode thou, Hero, formedst in fights even a Dasa's nature. 4 In his commentary upon this passage Griffith remarks: The second half of the stanza refers to an eclipse of the sun. Indra is said to have formed for Surya in his own abode, that is, in the eastern heaven, the nature of a Dasa, i.e., made him a slave or dark.5 Another hymn possibly alluding to some type of disturbance of the Sun is the following: Not even all the gathered gods conquered thee, Indra, in the war, When thou didst lengthen days by night. When for the sake of those oppressed, and Kutsa as he battled, Thou stolest away the Sun s car-wheel.6 This passage, if one accepts the plain meaning of the words, would appear to recount Indra s participation in a great theomachy of some sort, during which the Sun was obscured or prevented from appearing at its scheduled time. In addition to these hymns, Griffith cites a handful of others which appear to associate Indra with some sort of disturbance of the Sun. Included is the following passage, discussed briefly in our previous article: What time thou settest near the Sun thy body, thy form, Immortal One, is seen expanding. 7 How does all of this relate to our hypothesis that Indra represents the planet Mars?8 The fact of the matter is, as we have documented elsewhere, that the planet Mars was associated with eclipse-like phenomena by other ancient peoples as well.9 Ancient texts from Ugarit, for example, associate the god Reseph with a disturbance of the Sun.10 That Reseph is to be identified with the planet Mars makes this tradition of direct relevance to the present study. 11 Thus Ugaritic scribes identified Reseph with the Akkadian Nergal, the latter god being commonly identified with the red planet in ancient times.12 Modern scholars have likewise identified Reseph with Mars, although they have yet to appreciate the incongruity of Reseph/Mars involvement in an eclipse of the Sun. In conformance with this report from Ugarit, the planet Mars was also associated with disturbances of the Sun in some of the earliest astronomical texts. Astrological omens from ancient Babylon, for example, specifically mention Mars in association with eclipses of the Sun.13 Consider the following passage: If the Sun goes down (by a Darkness/Eclipse) and Mars stands in its place, there will be an Usurpator.14 As a result of such passages, Gossman concluded that Mars [was] the star of the Darkness/Eclipse. 15 Notice here that the placement of Nergal/Mars within the immediate vicinity of the Sun offers a remarkable parallel to the Vedic tradition of Indra setting near the Sun: What time thou settest near the Sun thy body, thy form, Immortal One, is seen expanding. And, if Mars association with disturbances of the Sun is surprising in these early astronomical texts, it is no more surprising than it is to find that Babylonian scribes expressly identified the Sun in these omen texts with the planet Saturn!16 These anomalous traditions of a disturbance of the Sun associated with the planet Mars demand an explanation. It is our contention, of course, that such traditions preserve an actual historical reminiscence albeit one that is typically couched in mythical language of a profound disturbance of the ancient sun-god (Saturn) occasioned by the behavior of the planet Mars. This event, associated with the tumultuous birth and youthful exploits of the Martian hero, contributed greatly to the planetary hero being cast in the role of a great sinner. For the hero s rambunctious behavior portended nothing less than the end of the world, the customary mythical interpretation of eclipses the world over: The end of cosmos is seen in an eclipse of the sun, when the very existence of the god of order is threatened and the world is abandoned to the powers of darkness. 17 The Wheel of Surya A fascinating episode alluded to in several passages of the Rig Veda tells of the primeval occasion during which Indra absconded with the wheel of the ancient sun-god and flung it across heaven as a quoit-like weapon: Empowered by thine own might, O Sage, thou stolest Surya's chariot wheel.18 The same event seems to be the subject of the following hymn: Waxed strong in might at dawn he tore the Sun's wheel off. Bright red, he steals away their speech.19 The word translated as wheel here is cakra cognate with English wheel and Greek kuklos.20 The same term, however, can also connote a discus or quoit employed as a weapon.21 Elsewhere in the Veda, for example, Indra hurls the cakra in order to scatter the Asura-demons.22 Of Surya's wheel Griffith observes: Indra is said to have taken the wheel of the chariot of the Sun and to have cast it like a quoit against the demon of drought.23 As is the case with most archetypal symbols, the imagery associated with Surya s wheel ultimately became attached to the wheels of more mundane vehicles: Just as in the above instances the authors of the hymns seem to have associated the image of the sun's wheel with the cakra as a mythical weapon of Indra, so do they appear to have connected in their imagination the latter with the wheel of the war-chariot.24 What could be signified by the image of Indra throwing or otherwise dislodging the wheel of the Sun is a long-standing problem.25 Equally difficult to decipher are other passages alluding to Indra s role in setting the wheel of the Sun in motion.26 Confronted with these recurring traditions, Vedic scholars offer vague allusions to some type of nature allegory, if they offer any opinion at all. The most common interpretation of these hymns would regard the tossing of the wheel as a figurative reference to the daily movement of the Sun across heaven. Such an interpretation, however, is hardly satisfactory, as it disregards entirely the identity of Indra and the nature of the cakra's function in ancient myth (i.e., its role in the dragon combat). If we are to get to the bottom of these peculiar traditions we must start at the beginning and ask what it was that the ancients had in mind when they spoke of the wheel of the Sun? The Wheel of the Sun in Ancient Pictographs Throughout the ancient world there can be found prehistoric pictographs which, in the opinion of leading scholars, depict the ancient sun-god. Figure one provides a typical example of these pictographs. The resemblance of the image to a wheel is striking and has not escaped the notice of scholars.27 In a further elaboration of the imagery, the solar wheel may be set atop a pillar-like appendage (see figure two). And yet, if we are to take this image as an objective representation of the Sun, what are we to make of the strange spoke-like forms emanating from its hub, typically four or eight in number? The simplest answer, of course, would be to assume that the terrestrial symbol (the wheel) has influenced the artistic rendering of the celestial object (the Sun). This explanation, however, would appear to be ruled out by the fact that many of these pictographs predate the appearance of wheels. Whatever their explanation, it seems clear that if we are to discover the original significance of Surya s wheel these pictographs offer a promising lead. Given the fact that such pictographs are difficult to reconcile with the appearance of the current Sun, the possibility presents itself that some other celestial phenomenon served as their point of reference. Indeed, upon analysis of these prehistoric images we arrived at the conclusion that their subject the ancient sun-god was actually the planet Saturn.28 The spoke-like body set upon the face of the sun-god we identified with the planet Venus, the latter body being depicted as an eight-pointed star throughout the ancient world (see figure three).29 Such findings, needless to say, raise serious questions about the recent history of the solar system, but suffice it to say here that it is our opinion that such history can be reconstructed in great detail upon analysis of these ancient pictographs. During the period in question, as we have outlined at length on other occasions, the planet Venus, from the vantage point of the Earth, appeared to be positioned squarely in the center of Saturn. In accordance with this perception, Venus was envisaged as the great god's eye, indeed, as the great god's wheel-like eye.30 (The word Cyclops, as a name for the one-eyed monster or god, stems from the aforementioned root kuklos, signifying wheel- like.) Thus it is that the early images of the planet Venus from around the world frequently depict the planet upon the face of the Sun (Shamash), in striking contradiction to reality!31 In addition to Saturn and Venus, the planet Mars also played a prominent role in ancient iconography. One of the most common images finds Mars located immediately within the center of the Venusian orb, a clear indication, it would appear, that during one period of its orbit Mars was sufficiently distant from the Earth as to appear to enter into the larger Venus. This celestial scenario, reconstructed by Talbott and myself upon analysis of ancient mythology, would appear to be represented in figure four, a pictograph which can be found upon all inhabited continents.32 Granted that this interpretation of ancient iconography has some merit, how might it be reflected in the cult of the Vedic war-god? If indeed Venus was envisaged as a wheel-like eye of the ancient sun-god, the planet Mars, according to the same mythical logic, would appear as the pupil of the Venusian eye. It is in this sense, perhaps, that we are to understand Indra s epithet Kumaraka, signifying pupil of the eye as well as youth.33 This tradition finds a close parallel in Egyptian myth, where the god Shu is said to sit in the middle of the eye of his father Ra, the ancient sun-god.34 And yet the Eye of Ra, according to leading scholars, is to be identified with the planet Venus!35 And if Venus was envisaged as the wheel-like eye of the ancient sun-god, it is obvious that the red planet might easily be viewed as a miniature being of some sort, riding the larger wheel-like orb. Thus it may be significant that an exclusive epithet of Indra throughout the Rig Veda is rathastha, car- rider, the root rath being the same as that in the German rad, wheel.36 The Norse Thor, similarly, was famous for his wagon.37 So too was the Slavic Perkunas, an acknowledged parallel to Indra and Thor.38 The only chariot fit for the Celtic boy-hero Cuchulainn was known as Iubar.39 The latter word, however, appears as a name for the planet Venus in Latin and medieval sources alike.40 A similar situation, perhaps, is to be found in ancient Akkadian tradition, where the great war-god Nergal is invoked together with his wagon, the latter called margidda su.41 In Babylonian astrologolical lore, however, the planet Venus was called margidda, wagon, or van.42 Although during its phase as the pupil of the eye Mars appeared in relative close proximity to Venus, it periodically descended along the polar axis, assuming a position ominously close to the planet Earth. It was during this latter phase that Mars presented the appearance of a giant upholding heaven, or of an immense polar column spanning the skies. It is to this latter phase, apparently, that traditions identifying Indra as a giant figure upholding heaven properly relate.43 Here again it is the Egyptian Shu who offers the closest parallel to the Indian war-god, the former god likewise being depicted upholding the divine realm of Ra.44 Now it so happens that the World Pillar plays a very specific role in the symbolism associated with the wheel of Surya. Thus numerous scholars have documented that the axle of the wheel is to be identified with the World Pillar or Cosmic Axis (the terms axle and axis are cognate).45 Inasmuch as Indra is identified with the World Pillar in Vedic and post-Vedic sources alike, the question arises as to his possible association with the axle? Here the Vedic sources leave little room for doubt upon the matter. Indra himself is directly associated with the axle of the wheel: Thou movest Bold One, the axle of the car. Satakratu [Indra], thou stirrest the axle with thy strength.46 Of this hymn Griffith writes that, the lines in this and the following stanza referring to the axle and the chariot or wain are somewhat obscure and have been variously interpreted.47 While the foregoing passage was a source of befuddlement to Griffith, the association follows directly from our thesis, whereby Indra is identified with the planet Mars, the latter planet being intimately associated with ancient conceptions of the Cosmic Axis/World Pillar. Granted that we are on the right track in our analysis of Surya s wheel, how then are we to understand the tradition of Indra s casting it across the heavens? It is our opinion that this episode refers to a spectacular series of events during which Venus became dislodged from its pivotal position along the axis, after which it appeared to fall from heaven, assuming a comet-like appearance prior to resuming a stable orbit.48 Support for this conclusion can be found upon examination of the many bizarre traditions surrounding the various weapons of warrior-heroes throughout the ancient world. A review of the evidence leads to the following conclusion: In whatever form the planet Venus was envisaged by the ancients, whether as goddess, star, wheel, eye, thunderbolt, dragon, torch, heart-soul, etc., in that form was it said to have been hurled from heaven. We begin with a brief analysis of Indra s heaven-hurled missile, the vajra. It is our opinion that a satisfactory explanation of this weapon would go a long way towards clarifying the original nature of the Vedic war-god. This exercise, moreover, will offer further support for our interpretation of Surya's wheel. The VAJRA As is well-known, Indra s usual weapon of choice was the vajra. Countless passages in the Rig Veda have reference to its awesome power. With its aid Indra subdued the dragon: Thou, Maghavan, rentest with thy bolt the Dragon who lay against the water floods of heaven.49 A similar passage is the following: Loud roared the mighty Hero's bolt of thunder, when he, the Friend of man, burnt up the monster.50 Like the wheel of Surya, Indra s weapon early on became identified with many a terrestrial wheel. Indeed such symbolism played a prominent role in early Indian ritual. Here Sparreboom observes: The chariot was used during Indra s vrtrahatya (cf. RV VI.18.9), his killing Vrtra by means of his vajra. In the explanatory system of the brahmanas, the term vajra is popular in any identification which is made for explaining an act of aggression, but it seems to be particularly suitable for identification with the chariot. In the Vajapeya, at the moment when the chariot is taken from its stand before the ritual chariot race, the chariot is addressed with the following verse (TX I.7.7.b): You are the Vrtra-killing vajra of Indra; with you may he slay Vrtra. 51 In addition to the wheel, Indra s vajra is identified with various other weapons, including a club, rock, and thunderbolt.52 Of the latter weapon O Rahilly observed: The general idea concerning the lightning stroke or thunderbolt was that it was a surpassingly powerful missile or other weapon. Thus it was variously regarded as a (fiery) spear, a sword, an arrow, a stone, a hammer, or an iron bar or club.53 It is in the form of the thunderbolt that scholars have typically envisaged Indra's vajra, comparing it to the thunderbolt of Zeus, Thor's hammer, and Thraetona's gurz among others.54 Thus Gonda can state with regard to Indra's weapon: It is a matter of common knowledge that the vajra the weapon which in the mythological sphere of the Veda represents the lightening stroke is almost exclusively appropriate to Indra.55 It is easy to demonstrate, however, that Indra's vajra has little to do with the meteorological phenomenon currently designated by the names lightning or thunder, the opinions of the experts notwithstanding. One of the first scholars to sound this warning, interestingly enough, was Hertha von Dechend. 56 If not by reference to commonplace thunder or lightning, how then are we to understand the vajra? If we turn to the Vedic evidence on the matter, the nature of Indra s weapon will become apparent. There the vajra is described as an object cast across the heavens. Consider, for example, the following hymn: Thou hurlest forth from heaven the iron missile.57 One could hardly ask for a more specific statement, nor for a more positive affirmation of Indra s original celestial nature. As this passage indicates, Indra s vajra is generally depicted as being metallic in nature. Elsewhere, however, it is said to be composed of stone. Here Gonda observes: Although Indra's weapon is usually explicitly designated by the term vajra, and vajra is generally described as metallic (ayasa), it is incidentally spoken of as a rock (parvata) or Ôstone of, or: from, the heavens (divo asmanam).58 Although Gonda glosses over the incongruity of a thunderbolt being described as a stone-like object hurled from heaven, other commentators have acknowledged the seeming contradictory nature of the Vedic imagery. Stutley, for example, remarked: The vajra, usually rendered by nineteenth-century translators as "thunderbolt" , i.e., lightning, is described in the RV. (X. 27, 21) as "whirling down from the misty realm of the sun (Surya)". Whilst this is a poetically adequate description of a transient electrical discharge breaking up the rain-clouds or "misty realm", it conflicts with the general description of the vajra as a very hard, sharp weapon.59 As Gonda points out, the word vajra is frequently paired with the epithet adrivant, literally "possessing stones (rocks) or a stone (rock)."60 Here scholars have traditionally assumed that this was an allusion to Indra s hurling rocks, as with a sling.61 Whether we regard Indra's sky-thrown missile as being composed of iron or stone, it is obvious that by vajra no ordinary "lightning-stroke" is meant, as the fall of stones does not ordinarily accompany the latter phenomenon. How then are we to interpret Indra's heaven-hurled "stone"? If we approach the matter from the standpoint of comparative mythology, we find that other peoples likewise described the "thunderbolt" as a stone thrown from heaven. In his landmark study of the thunderweapon in comparative religion, Blinkenberg summarized the ancient conception of lightning as follows: "The lightning, then, is produced by a stone which shoots down from heaven to earth."62 Meteors, in accordance with this belief, were identified with thunderstones throughout the ancient world.63 If the original reference for Indra s weapon was to a meteor-like object, both designations of the vajra "rock and metallic rock" would be equally appropriate, many meteorites being composed of iron.64 Other traditions associated with the thunderbolt confirm this interpretation. The most obvious parallel to Indra's vajra is provided by Thor's hammer. It too originally connoted a stone (or mountain).65 Thor s hammer, moreover, like the weapons of Indra and Heracles, is expressly called a club.66 And, as was the case with Indra's vajra, there is also an explicit celestial reference for Thor's weapon: Thus it is said that when Thor cast forth his hammer meteors were launched across the sky.67 Consider also the fiery weapon wielded by Huitzilopochtli, an Aztec war-god who offers a New World analogue to the Indian Indra. Like Indra, Huitzilopochtli fought a great battle at the dawn of time only shortly after his birth. His success in this struggle saved the world and represented a focal point in Aztec mythical history. Brundage summarizes the Aztec ritual commemorating these events as follows: Upon the Runner's [Huitzilopochtli s] return the xiuhcoatl, the turquoise dragon made up as a great fire-breathing mask followed by an undulating paper tail, was brought down the temple steps to represent the weapon Huitzilopochtli hurled upon the Southerners from the top of the world mountain. At the foot of the pyramid had been placed a sacrificial bowl containing bits of paper taken from the victims to be, each piece representing a particular captive or slave. As the dragon reached the foot of the pyramid it was set on fire and flung down upon the bowl of papers they were all consumed, just as in the myth Huitzilopochtli hurled his thunderbolt down to reduce his enemy to ashes.68 The representation of Huitzilopochtli s weapon as a fiery dragon with an undulating tail must conjur up the image of a fire-spewing meteor or comet. Nor can it help but remind us of the archaic conception of lightning as a dragon-like projectile cast by the ancient storm-god, attested in the Old World as well as the New.69 Huitzilopocthli s ophidian weapon might be compared with that of the Tamil war-god Murukan, whose resemblance to Indra is commonly acknowledged by scholars of ancient Indian lore.70 In the Tamil myth of Creation, Murukan throws his fiery spear known as the vel against the demon Cur, thereby delivering the sun from its prison of darkness. The word vel, however, originally designated a serpent or dragon.71 It is our contention, of course, that the ultimate basis for these particular traditions of a heaven-hurled weapon traces to the fiery flight of a comet- like Venus, flung across the heavens at the dawn of time.72 This much was revealed in our essay on Athena, where we had occasion to remark upon the intimate relationship, amounting to an identification, between the warrior- goddess and the heaven-hurled thunderbolt of Zeus.73 In the Iliad, it will be remembered, Athena was described as a comet-like body (aster).74 The latter term, significantly, is cognate with asterope, one of several terms employed by Homer of Zeus' heaven-hurled bolt.75 Other Greek writers, however, preserve the tradition that lightning originated from the eye of the god: "The jealous eye of God hurls the lightning down."76 A close parallel to the Eye of Zeus can be found in Hindu tradition, whereby lightning is said to emanate from the eye of Shiva, the latter expressly associated with the great mother goddess. And, as was the case with regards to Zeus' eye, Shiva's eye is said to have been thrown (pel), calling to mind both the Greek palladia and thunderbolts, both alike regarded as palta: "things hurled or cast down" from heaven.77 The thunderbolt-hurling eyes of Zeus and Shiva call to mind the fiery Eye of Ra, sent forth from heaven as a dragon-like body to wage war on the sun-god's enemies. Consider the following passage from Destruction of Mankind: Let go forth thine Eye, let it destroy for thee those who blaspheme with wickedness, not an eye can precede it in resistance when it goeth down in the form of Hathor. Went forth then this goddess, she slew mankind on the mountain.78 What is implicit in the Greek sources is here made explicit: The identification of the warring eye with the warrior-goddess. Numerous passages in the Pyramid Texts allude to this primeval event, recalled as an occasion of great terror and tumult: "I am the fiery Eye of Horus, who went forth terrible, Lady of slaughter, I am indeed she who shoots."79 And as we have documented at great length elsewhere, the Eye of Ra is described in terms otherwise consistent with a comet-like phenomenon: "I raised up the hair from the Sacred Eye at the time of its wrath."80 As was the case with the Greek Athena, the Egyptian eye-goddess was identified with a star: As Hathor, the Queen of Heaven, the Eye of Ra is to be identified with the planet Venus.81 An intriguing parallel to the warring Eye of Ra is offered by Murukan s serpentine-formed spear the vel. Thus scholars have noted that Murukan s fiery spear is analogous to Shiva s eye, the latter being directly associated with the mother goddess.82 If in fact the Eye of Shiva represents a Indian analogue to the Eye of Ra, one would expect a relationship between the vel and the planet Venus, hitherto unrecognized. Support for this hypothesis, perhaps, stems from the apparent relationship between the words vel and Velli, the latter being the name of a leading Tamil goddess, frequently linked to Murukan. The name Velli, however, is elsewhere applied to the planet Venus.83 Indeed, with regard to the etymology of the words vel and Velli, it appears likely that here there has been an alteration of the consonant n to l. That these two consonants are frequently substituted for each other is well-known. Witness the following example of this phenomenon within the Tamil language itself, where Tamil ven, "to desire, love," has been modified to vel, "to desire, love."84 That these words are cognate with Latin Venus itself related to the Indo-European root ven, desire, love is obvious. Other cultures have also preserved memory that the war-god's fiery weapon was identifiable with the great mother goddess. A case in point is Apollo's weapon the hekatebolos. According to Homer, the hurling of Apollo's missiles produced a blight upon the Greek host, and they were elsewhere compared to meteors falling from the sky. Regarding this mysterious weapon classical scholars have had little constructive to say. Burkert, for example, acknowledges that the nature of the god s weapon remains unknown: "The puzzle is that the names hekatebolos and hekatos cannot be divorced from the name of the goddess Hecate."85 The goddess Hekate, however, as we have documented, is to be identified with the planet Venus.86 Thus, in addition to sharing numerous mythical features in common with other goddesses, themselves identified with the planet Venus (Inanna, Ishtar, Aphrodite, etc.), Hekate shares the epithet Phosphorus with Venus.87 We are thus in a position to resolve the puzzle posed by Burkert: There is no need to divorce the name of Apollo s fiery bolide from that of the goddess Hekate as the weapon and goddess are one and the same, identifiable with the planet Venus. Here it is possible that Norse tradition has preserved a curious reminiscence of the same motive. Thus we have seen that the Norse made a flaming wheel the symbol of Thor's thunderbolt. Elsewhere, however, Thor is said to have cast the toe (or eye) of a giant to heaven, whereupon it became the planet Venus.88 If the flaming, wheel-like thunderbolt of Thor was originally nothing but the planet Venus the latter envisaged as the wheel-like eye of the ancient sun- god such traditions can be seen as variations upon a single theme. The VAJRA in Ancient Iconography If we have established that Indra's vajra was originally a comet-like object cast across the heavens, the question arises as to its appearance and/or location prior to its celebrated flight. Here the vajra's role in Indian iconography provides valuable insights, not only to its celestial identity, but to its original form as well. Although the form of the vajra is mutable, it is frequently portrayed as a three-pronged object (see figure five), a tradition which finds support in the Rig Veda, where the weapon is called trikakubh, "three-pointed".89 The vajra's triune nature finds numerous parallels in the weaponry of other warrior - heroes. Heracles club, for example, was described as "trinodis" by Ovid.90 The arrow(s) of the Greek strongman, similarly, are likewise said to be "tri- barbed".91 While the significance of the warrior-hero s three-pronged weapon might be explored in many directions, we ll limit ourselves here to the observation that the vajra's form offers a close parallel to that accorded the thunderbolt throughout the ancient world. Witness, for example, the images in figure six, taken from Jacobsthal's classic study.92 The antiquity of this imagery is not to be denied, examples appearing among the earliest iconography stemming from the ancient near East. Here van Buren observes: In early times the triple lightning was usually rendered by three undulating lines rising from a straight main line or handle; thus it might easily be mistaken for a trident. In later times the triple lightning was delineated lik e the thunderbolt of classical art, for it was grasped in the middle, and divided into three wavy forks at each end.93 The similarity between ancient images of the thunderbolt and Poseidon s trident has been remarked upon by other scholars as well.94 Coomaraswamy, for example, found a similar relationship between Indra's "thunderbolt" and the trident in Hindu iconography. Thus it is that the vajra is commonly found in conjunction with a pillar, the vajra forming the apex or terminus of the latter. If the pillar is viewed as a pole or shaft, the whole image offers a close resemblance to the trident. As to the origins of this sacred iconography, Coomaraswamy suggested that it traces to ancient conceptions associated with the World Pillar and Solar wheel: In our representations the trisula forms the termination of a stem or trunk which we have been able to identify with the pillar (skambha) that supports- apart Heaven and Earth, and with the axle-tree (aksa) of the Solar chariot, i. e. with the axis of the Universe. Recalling now the kenning aksa-ja=vajra ["axle-born"], it is not implausible to assume that our trisula may also be thought of as a "single vajra".95 If indeed the iconography surrounding the vajra and trident traces to ancient conceptions associated with the World Pillar, how are we to understand the celestial basis of this imagery?96 This question is directly related to another: How is it possible to explain the triune-nature of the thunderbolt in ancient art? If we are to be consistent, of course, the planet Venus must have been involved in the origin of this imagery. Did the comet-like Venus display three tails as it fell from the sky? Or was some other celestial phenomenon responsible for this recurring theme? If we take as our point of reference the polar configuration associated with Saturn a solution to this vexing problem is possible.97 As Talbott has documented, the pillar associated with the ancient sun-god was frequently given a fork-like shape, as in figure seven.98 Variously envisaged as the horns of a celestial bull, the ship of heaven, or the upraised arms of the warrior-hero, the crescentine-shape at the apex of the World Pillar was formed, apparently, as the lowermost portion of Saturn was illuminated by the reflected light of the Sun. As the reader will recognize, all that is necessary in order to arrive at the shape of a trident is to add a third, central spike to the crescent. According to the thesis presented here, it was the planet Venus, set immediately within the horns of the crescent associated with Saturn, that presented the appearance of a central spike of the celestial trident. The familiar image of a star (Venus) set within a crescent warrants mention here, if only in passing, as a probable reminiscence of this celestial scenario.99 While it would be impossible here to offer conclusive proof for a thesis of such radical scope, a few observations are in order to set the stage for future investigations. It can be shown, for example, that the central spike of the trident in addition to being associated with the vajra was variously interpreted as the primordial hill, sacred earth, lotus, etc., all sacred symbols associated with the planet Venus. The Primordial Hill We have seen that the vajra was associated with the epithet parvata, signifying "stone, or mountain".100 The same word, however, elsewhere signifies the primordial hill which congealed within the waters of chaos at the dawn of Creation. As Kuiper has documented, the ancient conception of the primordial hill plays a prominent role in Indian cosmology, where it is intimately associated with the World Pillar: While in later times this axis was identified with Mount Meru, the cosmic mountain of the Rigveda does not yet bear that name (presumably of foreign origin), as this text is less concerned with primitive geography and much more with mythical cosmology, in which the primordial hill, as the sacred image of the earth, is generally denoted as giri, parvata, adri, etc.101 It would seem to follow, given the original significance of the word parvata, that Indra s weapon was nothing but the primordial hill or sacred earth which congealed at the dawn of time. The same conclusion, bizarre as it must seem at first sight, is supported by the fact that other words for the primordial hill, giri and adri, likewise appear as epithets for Indra s heaven hurled missile: adrivat and girikantaka.102 The sacred earth, in turn, was personified as the mother goddess, hence the apparent relationship between the words parvata and Parvati, the latter being one of the goddess many names. That the planet Venus was universally regarded as an earth-goddess, or as the "earth-star", we have documented elsewhere.103 The planet Mars, in turn, was known as the "earth-born" in India as elsewhere.104 In Indian tradition, as throughout the ancient world in general, the sacred earth was compared to a lotus.105 Given our hypothesis that the central spike of the celestial trident was formed by the planet Venus, the latter being alternately identified with the sacred earth and primeval lotus, it is significant to find that ancient images of the trident likewise take on the appearance of a lotus-like flower (see figure eight). Here Blinkenberg remarks: "The conventionalization of the trident as a lotus bloom is quite analogous to the change, on Greek soil, of the Assyrian thunderweapon to two flowers pointing in opposite directions."106 What is true for the trident is also true of the thunderbolt. Thus, a curious feature of thunderbolt-art, one frequently remarked upon by scholars, is that the thunderbolt often takes on the appearance of a flower. Blinkenberg, for example, spoke of the constant confusion between the thunderbolt as lotus and as a solid weapon of metal.107 A similar situation can be found in Indian iconography, where Indra s wheel is given a lotus-like form. Here Wijesekera observes: "Hindu iconography shows several examples of cakra-s some with spokes as in the chariot-wheels and others with spokes shaped like the petals of the lotus."108 The intriguing symbolism surrounding the celestial lotus might be explored in many directions. Suffice it to say here that the equation lotus=sacred earth= mother goddess=Venus will be confirmed again and again throughout the ancient world. Is it any wonder, then, that the warrior-hero, according to the same mythical logic, is known as the "lotus-born"?109 Here a famous episode from the career of Indra warrants mention. In the aftermath of his murder of Visvarupa it is said that the war-god was so tormented by his guilt (the murder was considered a brahmanicide) that he ran away, ultimately assuming a minute form and hiding in the stalk of a lotus flower. This bizarre tradition finds a ready explanation if, and we are tempted to add, only if, it is understood that the stalk was the World Pillar and the lotus the planet Venus, Mars' movement up the pillar towards Venus necessarily resulting in its shrinking in size.110 Kavya Usanas In the Rig Veda, as is well-known, the vajra is generally said to have been fashioned by Tvashtri, the divine smith and sometimes father of Indra. Elsewhere, however, there can be found glimpses of another tradition, one which identifies the maker of the vajra as Kavya Usanas.111 Indeed, several hymns credit this figure with providing Indra with his "power".112 Who then is this mysterious figure? According to the Mahabharata, Kavya Usanas was a formidable magician, capable of all sorts of fantastic feats. In one such feat he is said to have balanced himself on the tip of Shiva's trident.113 Later, it is related, Kavya Usanas flew to heaven and became the planet Venus (Sukra).114 That the legend surrounding Kavya Usanas transfiguration into the planet Venus is late and encumbered with all sorts of elaborations upon the original myth may be easily granted. It remains significant nonetheless, given the magician's explicit identification with the planet Venus, to find him brought into intimate relation with Indra's vajra and the tip of Shiva's trident, the very associations we would expect given our analysis of the vajra in Indian iconography. Athena Tritogenia One of the earliest attested epithets of Athena is Tritogeneia, signifying "Triton-born".115 Various explanations of the name have been proposed by ancient and modern writers alike, none wholly satisfactory. Some would trace it to a lake Triton,116 others to a mountain peak by a river of that name, and others to a play upon the word three.117 The conclusion seems inescapable that already by the time of Homer and Hesiod the Greeks had forgotten the original significance of this epithet. Given our analysis of the traditions associated with the trident in ancient art and symbolism we may be in a position to offer a solution to this age-old puzzle. Athena was called Tritogeneia, "triton-born", for the simple reason that as the planet Venus, Athena was indissolubly connected with the celestial "trident", the central peak of which was, in fact, formed by that planet- goddess. Inasmuch as the Trident/World Pillar formed a three-peaked mount in heaven or a celestial river spanning the three worlds, the various ancient etymologies of the name can be seen as variations upon a common theme, the celestial archetype of which had long since been forgotten. Heracles and the Cup of Helios Our analysis of the myth of Indra's stealing the wheel of the ancient sun-god has led us to the conclusion that the original inspiration for the myth was the appearance of the planet Mars against the backdrop of Venus during its ascent to heaven. It can be shown that this celestial scenario gave rise to a host of mythical interpretations, only a very few of which have been touched upon in this essay. As a final indication of the wide-ranging ramifications of our finding we'd like to call attention to an intriguing parallel in the career of Heracles. As was the case with the Vedic Indra, a recurring theme in the Greek traditions surrounding Heracles pits the Greek strongman in some form of adversarial relationship with Helios, the ancient sun-god.118 One such tradition, a favorite of the vase-painters, makes Heracles steal the goblet of the sun-god and use it as a vessel to sail across the ocean (see figure nine). 119 Unfortunately, only a few tantalizing scraps of the original myth have come down to us. According to Pherekydes, by way of Athenaeus, the hero s ride was a rocky one, Heracles being buffeted about mercilessly by the waves. There is also mention of the hero s being heated to the point of danger during his eventful ride, ostensibly by the rays of the Sun.120 One final motive is of the utmost significance here: It is said that Helios cup had the appearance of a lotus-like flower (water-lily).121 As the Greek homologue of the Vedic Indra, Heracles is to be identified with the planet Mars.122 Given this identification, the conclusion seems probable that Helios' goblet is analogous to the wheel of Surya and thus identifiable with the planet Venus.123 Conclusion Having devoted the better part of the past decade to an analysis of ancient myth, where, in the sacred traditions associated with Indra, Heracles, and Thor it is possible to reconstruct in great detail the recent history of the planet Mars, it is with a profound sense of irony that I greet news of the apparent failure of the recent NASA probe aimed towards the red planet, ostensibly to learn more about the early history of that planet. In the wake of these events, coming at a cost of several billion dollars to the American taxpayer, is it too much to ask that modern astronomy acquaint itself with the knowledge to be had in ancient myth? For it is within the sacred traditions associated with the aforementioned warrior-heroes that compelling, eye-witness testimony can be found of the great flood which inundated Mars; of the convulsions which ravaged the red planet as it moved perilously close to Venus and Earth; of the great rift running across its face; of the tumultuous events resulting in the theft of the Martian atmosphere; of spectacular volcanism and much else. The testimony of the ancient texts is both clear and abundant. Most importantly, perhaps, it is free. In the meantime, however, Carl Sagan and his colleagues at NASA continue to assure one and all that the geological forces responsible for shaping the physiognomy of Mars are to be sought for billions of years in the distant, and one is tempted to say, the largely fictional, past. 1 I:51:4 All hymns are from R. Griffith, The Hymns of the Rig Veda (Delhi, 1973). 2 VI:72:1-2. 3 A. Macdonell, Vedic Mythology (New York, 1974), pp. 54-66. 4 V:33:4 5 Griffith, op. cit., p. 252. It is with reference to such traditions, perhaps, that we are to understand the epithet asita, dark, black applied to Surya/Saturn in Hindu tradition. See M. Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (Oxford, 1872), p. 105. Significantly, the Babylonians likewise knew Saturn as the Black Star, mul MI. See the discussion in A. Scherer, Gestirnnamen bei den indogermanischen Volkern (Heidelberg, 1953), pp. 84-85. 6 IV:30:3-4. 7 IV:16:14 8 E. Cochrane, Indra, AEON II:4 (1991), pp. 49-76. 9 See the discussion in Cochrane, Heracles and the Planet Mars, AEON I:4 (1988), pp. 90-92, for further examples. 10 Gordon, No. 143. J. Sawyer & F. Stephenson, Literary and Astronomical Evidence for a Total Eclipse of the Sun Observed in Ancient Ugarit on 3 May 1375 B.C., BSOAS 33 (1970), p. 468-471. Sawyer & Stephenson translate this text as follows: The Sun went down (in the day-time) with Mars in attendance. p. 474. 11 J. Sawyer & F. Stephenson, op. cit., p. 468. 12 On the identification of Reseph and Nergal see M. Dahood, Ancient Semitic Deities in Syria and Palestine, in Le Antiche Divinita Semitiche, ed. by S. Moscati (Rome, 1958), p. 84. 13 Significantly, Wilson made the same claim for early Maya records. Wilson s claim has recently found support in the work of V. Bricker & H. Bricker, The Mars Table in the Dresden Codex, in Research and Reflections in Archaeology and History: Essays in Honor of Doris Stone (1986). There the authors conclude: It is clear that the authors of the table intended it to deal in some fashion with the relationship between Martian events and eclipses. p. 77. 14 P. Gossman, Planetarium Babylonicum (Rome, 1950), p. 82. On Nergal s tendency to rise to the place of the setting sun, see E. von Weiher, Der babylonische Gott Nergal (Berlin, 1971), p. 35. 15 Gossman, op. cit., p. 132. 16 M. Jastrow, Sun and Saturn, Revue d Assyriologie et d Archaeologie Orientale 7 (1909), p. 165. 17 A. Wensinck, The Semitic New Year and the Origin of Eschatology, Acta Orientala (1923), p. 188. 18 I:175:4 See also II:11:20, VI:31:2-3, IV:16:12 and IV:30:4 19 I:130:9 20 J. Puhvel, Comparative Mythology (Baltimore, 1987), p. 36. 21 See here the valuable discussion of O. Wijesekera, Discoid Weapons in Ancient India, The Adyar Library Bulletin 25 (1961), pp. 250-267. 22 VIII:85:9 23 Griffith, op. cit., p. 120. 24 Wijesekera, op. cit., p. 257. See also the comments of M. Sparreboom in Chariots of the Veda (Leiden, 1985), pp. 13-27. 25 See the discussion in Wijesekera, op. cit., pp. 256-257. 26 4:16:12 27 E. Anati, Camonica Valley (New York, 1961), p. 163. 28 E. Cochrane, Suns and Planets in Neolithic Art, AEON III:2 (1993), pp. 51- 63. 29 Ibid., pp. 57-58. 30 E. Cochrane, The Birth of Athena, AEON II:3 (1990), pp. 25-26. Alternatively, Venus could be viewed as the hub of the wheel centered upon Saturn. 31 E. Cochrane, op. cit., pp. 55-63. 32 This glyph is taken from R. Heizer & C. Clewlow, Prehistoric Rock Art of California Vol. 2 (Ramona, 1973), figure 74. 33 RV 8:69:15 See the discussion in D. Talbott, Mother Goddess and Warrior- Hero, AEON I:5 (1988), pp. 41-54. See also the discussion in A. Coomaraswamy, Loathly Bride, in Coomaraswamy: Selected Papers, ed. by R. Lipsey (Princeton, 1977), p. 356. Elsewhere the warrior-hero appears as the pupil in the arts of war on the sacred isle of a Venusian goddess. 34 Papyrus Harris 58. See the discussion in H. Bonnet, Reallexikon der agyptischen Religionsgeschichte (Berlin, 1952), p. 686. 35 R. Anthes, Mythology in Ancient Egypt, in S. Kramer ed., Mythologies of the Ancient World (Garden City, 1961), pp. 89-90. See also E. Cochrane, The Birth of Athena, AEON II:3 (1990), pp. 18-26. 36 Williams, op. cit., p. 831. 37 J. Grimm, Teutonic Mythology Vol. I (Gloucester, 1976), pp. 166-167. 38 M. Gimbutas, Perkunas/Perun: The Thunder God of the Balts and the Slavs, Indo-European Studies I:4 (1973), p. 466. 39 A. Nutt, Cuchulainn: The Irish Achilles (London, 1900), p. 9. 40 J. Sammer, An Ancient Latin Name for Venus, KRONOS VI:2 (Winter 1981), p. 61. 41 E. Weiher, op. cit., p. 38. 42 F. Weidner, Fixsterne, Reallexikon der Assyriologie III (Berlin, 1957- 1971), p. 81. 43 See the discussion in E. Cochrane, Indra, AEON II:4 (1991), pp. 53-54 and 61-64. 44 Both Heracles and Thor were likewise represented upholding heaven. 45 M. Sparreboom, op. cit., p. 25. 46 I:30:14 47 Griffith, op. cit., p. 18. 48 See the discussion in E. Cochrane, The Birth of Athena, AEON II:3 (1990), pp. 5-28. 49 IV:17:7 50 II:11:9-10. 51 Sparreboom, op. cit., pp. 16-17. 52 In hymn I:32, for example, the vajra is called a whizzing club . 53 T. O'Rahilly, Early Irish History and Mythology (Dublin, 1971), p. 60. 54 G. Dumezil, Gods of the Northmen (Berkeley, 1973), p. 66. To these we would add the gai Bulga of Irish tradition, with which Cuchulainn slew Ferdia and the demons of darkness known as Fomors. See A. Nutt, op. cit., pp. 19. 55 J. Gonda, Epithets in the RigVeda (S-Gravenhage, 1959), p. 54. 56 H. von Dechend, Bemerkungen zum Donnerkeil, Prismata, ed. by Y Maeyama & E. Saltzer, (Wiesbaden, 1977), p. 95. It must be said, however, that Dechend s analysis of the thunderbolt traditions is not particularly helpful. She would identify Indra with the planet Jupiter and the thunderbolt with Soma. 57 I:121:9 58 Gonda, op. cit., p. 63. 59 M. and J. Stutley, A Dictionary of Hinduism (London, 1977), p. 320. 60 Gonda, op. cit., p. 60. 61 Gonda, op. cit., p. 61. 62 C. Blinkenberg, The Thunderweapon in Religion and Folklore (Cambridge, 1911), p. 32. 63 Ibid., p. 13. For a similar opinion see the extensive researches of G. A. Wainright: In religion the meteorite and the thunderbolt are the same thing. Letopolis, J. of Egyptian Archaeology 18 (1932), p. 161. 64 Nor is it entirely without relevance to the issue at hand that meteorites originating from Mars have been found on Earth. 65 Grimm, op. cit., p. 173. 66 Grimm, op. cit., p. 180. 67 J. O'Neill, The Night of the Gods Vol. II (London, 1993), pp. 684-685. 68 B. Brundage, The Fifth Sun (Austin, 1979), p. 148. 69 For the thunderbolt as serpent in the New World see A. Demarest, Viracocha: The Nature and Antiquity of the Andean High God (Cambridge, 1981), p. 52. Compare also the boomarang-like dragon wielded by the Egyptian Horus. See E. Budge, The Gods of the Egytpians (New York, 1969), p. 255. 70 That Murukan is to be identified with the planet Mars speaks many factors, not the least of which is the god s persistent connection with the color red. F. Clothey, The Many Faces of Murukan (New York, 1978), pp. 144-145, offered the following observation: The association of Murukan and Mars appears to rest on at least two factors: the fact that both are red, and the fact that both are associated with military prowess. See also E. Cochrane, The Spring of Ares, KRONOS XI:3 (Summer 1986), p. 17. We intend to return to this intriguing god in a future essay. 71 V. Ivanov and V. Toporov, A Comparative Study of the Group of Baltic Mythological Terms From the Root *vel-, Baltistica 9:1 (1973), p. 15. 72 Note the emphasis upon the word particular, as Mars itself was also viewed as a heaven-hurled weapon by many ancient peoples. As we hope to show in a future article, if the flight of Venus served as the prototype for the hurling of lightning or the thunderbolt, Mars was the thunder itself. Note also that the bands which ultimately came to congeal around the polar configuration likewise came to partake of this symbolism. It is thus, perhaps, that we are to understand the ancient tradition of seven lightnings. 73 E. Cochrane, The Birth of Athena, AEON II:3 (1990), pp. 5-28. 74 Iliad 4:75 75 Iliad 10:154; 21:198. 76 Agamemnon 466. See the discussion in E. Cochrane, The Birth of Athena, AEON II:3 (1990), pp. 25-28. See also the extensive discussion in A. Cook, Zeus (New York, 1965), pp. 161-165. 77 J. Harrison, Epilegomena to the Study of Greek Religion and Themis (New York, 1966), pp. 87-88. 78 E. Budge, The Gods of the Egyptians Vol. I (New York, 1969), p. 392. 79 R. Faulkner, The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts (Warminster, 1973), Spell 316. 80 Ibid., p. 260. 81 R. Anthes, Mythology in Ancient Egypt, in S. Kramer ed., Mythologies of the Ancient World (Garden City, 1961), pp. 89-90. See also E. Cochrane, The Birth of Athena, AEON II:3 (1990), pp. 18-26. 82 D. Handelman, Myths of Murugan: Asymmetry and Hierarchy in a South Indian Puranic Cosmology, History of Religions 27:2 (1987), p. 145. 83 F. Clothey, op. cit., p. 145. 84 Ibid., p. 383. 85 W. Burkert, Greek Religion (Cambridge, 1985), p. 406. 86 E. Cochrane, Venus in Ancient Myth and Language, AEON I:3 (1988), pp. 103- 104. 87 L. Farnell, The Cults of the Greek States Vol. 2 (New Rochelle, 1977), p. 516. See also H. Liddell & R. Scott, Greek-English Lexikon (New York, 1897), p. 1705. 88 Grimm, op. cit., pp. 375 and 723; see also H. R. Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (Middlesex, 1964), p. 41; and G. Dumezil, Gods of the Northmen (Berkeley, 1973), p. 143. 89 I:121:4 90 Fasti I:575 91 Iliad 5:393. 92 P. Jacobsthal, Der Blitz in der orientalischen und griechischen Kunst (Berlin, 1906). 93 E. van Buren, Symbols of the Gods (Rome, 1945), p. 68. 94 See Blinkenberg, op. cit., p. 55, who remarked as follows upon the identification of the trident as a thunderbolt: The evidence adduced above strongly supports this explanation of Poseidon s weapon, and from what has been already said its origin can be no longer doubtful: It is an adaptation of the Hittite and Babylonian thunderweapon. 95 A. Coomaraswamy, Elements of Buddhist Iconography (New Delhi, 1972), p. 14. 96 In what follows I owe a great deal to extensive discussions with Dave Talbott, who has promised to write in detail of the celestial circumstances behind the trident-symbolism. 97 Talbott and I will be developing this argument in future articles. In what follows my views have been greatly influenced by private communications with Talbott. 98 D. Talbott, Mother Goddess and Warrior-Hero, AEON I:5 (1988), p. 54. 99 For examples of the Venus-star set within the horns of a crescent see F. Steinmetzer, Die babylonischen Kudurru (Grenzstein) als Urkundenform (Paderborn, 1922), p. 181, and figure 138 of A. Jeremias, Handbuch der altorientalischen Geistekultur (Leipzig, 1913), p. 241. 100 Williams, op. cit., p. 555. 101 F. Kuiper, The Bliss of Asa, Indo-Iranian Journal 8 (1964), p. 108. 102 Williams, op. cit., pp. 19, 289. 103 E. Cochrane & D. Talbott, When Venus was a Comet, KRONOS XII:1 (Winter 1987), pp. 18-20. 104 R. Vaidya, Astronomical Light on Vedic Culture (Bombay, 1964), p. 97. 105 A. Coomaraswamy, Elements of Buddhist Iconography (New Delhi, 1972), pp. 20-22. 106 Blinkenberg, op. cit, p. 54. 107 Blinkenberg, op. cit., p. 44. 108 Wijesekera, op. cit., p. 253. 109 The Egyptian war-god Horus offers the best known example of this motive. 110 On the identification of the lotus-stalk with the World Pillar see A. Coomaraswamy, The Nature of Buddhist Art, in Coomaraswamy: Selected Papers, ed. by R. Lipsey (Princeton, 1977), op. cit., p. 171. 111 I:121:12 See also 5:34:2 112 1.51.10 and 5.34.2. 113 Mbh. 12.278.7-32. This episode finds an intriguing parallel in Celtic tradition whereby Dordmair, the patroness of Cuchulainn in the arts of war, leaps upon the point of a spear: And she was a long time resting thus on the point of the spear. See W. Stokes, The Training of Cuchulainn, Revue Celtique 29 (1908), p. 113. 114 S. Kramrisch, The Presence of Siva (Princeton, 1981), p. 135. On the identification of Usanas and Venus see also A. Scherer, op. cit., p. 86. 115 Iliad 4:515; 8:39; 22:183; Odyssey 3:378; Hesiod Theogony 886, 895, 924. 116 Herodotus 4:180 117 See the discussion in K. Kerenyi, The Gods of the Greeks (London, 1979), pp. 119-120. See also the various explanations given in Liddell & Scott, op. cit., p. 1580. 118 For an extensive discussion of this theme see E. Cochrane, Heracles and the Planet Mars, AEON I:4 (1988), pp. 90-97. 119 Stesichorus PMG 185:1; Pisander Ath. 469d. See also the discussion in K. Galinsky, The Heracles Theme (Oxford, 1972), pp. 20-25. 120 The image of the warrior-hero bobbing about in a cauldron-like vessel, suffering as if being put to fire, finds a close analogue in the immolations of Jason and Melikertes. See E. Cochrane, The Death of Heracles, AEON II:5 (1991), pp. 61-63. 121 R. Graves, The Greek Myths Vol. II (New York, 1960), p. 133. 122 E. Cochrane, Heracles and the Planet Mars, AEON I:4 (1988), pp. 89-105. 123 In a future essay it will be shown that Heracles goblet finds another close parallel in the kettle associated with Thor in Norse sources. See Grimm, op. cit., p. 187. Indian symbolism, significantly, speaks of the power of Sukra s cup, Sukra being identified with the planet Venus.