The Vratya is closely connected with the Udgatr Priest and is its origin. Most of it is contained in scriptures that belong to the Sama Veda. The rituals are dark, interesting and ancient. We can trace the origin of the Vratya back to the late Stone Age. We date the late Stone Age, also Upper Palaeolithic Period, from around 50 000 to 12 000 b. C. In the rituals of Vratya, we can see very clear shamanistic origins, which we also find in the Hymns of the Vedas. The chanting of Samans is inseparable from the Vratya. The Vratya is a personification of the God Rudra, whom we can also trace back with certainty to the late, if not the early Stone Age. The Mahavrata ritual is the ritual of Vratya, which we can find in rich facets in the scriptures. Therefore, we dedicate ourselves to the Mahavrata ritual in particular. May this study contribute to further research and a better understanding of Vedic history.
The Mahavrata ritual is a very much exciting ancient Vedic Ritual, which leads us far back into the Vedic History. We discussed it in a short way in our publications on the Vedic Traditions, but this ritual is so much ancient and specific that it is worthy to study it in a far deeper way. We find the Mahavrata Ritual described in the Atharvaveda, the Latyayana Srautasutra, Katha Aranyaka, Aitareya Aranyaka and many other texts. This ritual leads us back into the time, when we find pre- Vedic rituals beside the Vedic Rituals. Sayana in his commentary on the Aitareya Aranyaka defines this ritual as a folk version of the Agnistoma. We find elements of the Agnistoma, but we find as an essential part of the Mahavrata Ritual the building of the fire altar, whose completion marks the end of the Mahavrata Ritual. We find elements like the holy marriage, the offering of a human and many other parts included in the Ritual. Even we do not find this Ritual described directly in the Rig Veda, we find the way and how one can become a Vrata described in the Grhasutrani. We find hymns in the Rig Veda, which are for our understanding of the Mahavrata Ritual of the greatest importance. They are the Rig Veda Hymns 10. 136 and 7. 88, which we know as the Kesin Hymn and the Journey to heaven of Vasistha. We need to understand the function of the sacrificial grass and we need of course the meaning and symbolic of the Vrata and the ritual itself. The Mahavrata Ritual keeps the Great Litany, which is one of the gems in Vedic Poetry. The used Hymns during the Mahavrata Ritual we find given in texts like the Aitareya Aranyaka, which are for our understanding of the greatest importance. We need to understand, how the God Rudra got his name and how he is related to the Mahavrata, where the Vratya is taken to be Rudra. The God Rudra is in later traditions taken to be a form of the God Siva, but from view if history Rudra is not Siva. Siva is as old as Rudra, we find him already in the Sumerian Temple Hymns, even there his name is not Siva, but we find the Sumerian God An in the way, how we find Siva described in the later Agama and Tantric tradition. The idol and temple centred worship is the religion of Sumer and of the Agama Traditions, were we find Siva also called "An" in classical Tamil texts. We will not discuss here the connection of the Agama Tradition with the Vedic form of worship, but we are of the opinion, these forms of worship have the same age and we find in the Brahmana literature and the Mahabharata both describes as existing next to each other. Historical background The early civilization in the Indus - Sarasvati Valley, also known as the Harappa culture, was an urban and highly developed culture. The people of the Harappa culture built residences for their ruler, the common people and for the workers of various regions. They built fortified towns, granaries, factories, stores of ware for trade and docks for ships. They were mainly based on agrarian culture and we find a highly developed community of farming. We find all the required works in connection with farming, the trade of goods and of metal work. The high standard of their culture is shown in the trade of goods in the Middle East, Bahrain, Oman, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Iran and Syria. We find beads produced from the Indus Valley in graves from royal families in the kingdom of Uruk, Elam and many other places.
Andreas Leitz: Born 1989 in Muenster, Germany. Study of Music and Science of Music The Hague, Philosophy and Indology In Tuebingen Heidelberg. Chennal, Puduchery, Kolkata. Languages: Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Hindi, Prakrit, Akkadian, Sumerian. My former teachers: Prof Heinrich v. Stiethencron (Tuebingen), Prof. Vijayavenugopal (Chennai), Prof. S. Sarkar (Tuebingen).
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