Dīrghatamas (Devanagari:दीर्घतमस)
was an ancient sage well-known for his philosophical verses in
the RgVeda. He was author of Suktas (hymns) 140 to 164 in the
first Mandala (section) of the RgVeda.
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Background
Dirghatamas was one of the Angirasa Rishis, the oldest of the
Rishi families, and regarded as brother to the Rishi Bharadvaja,
who is the seer of the sixth Mandala of the Rig Veda.
Dirghatamas is also the chief predecessor of the Gotama family
of Rishis that includes Kakshivan, Gotama, Nodhas and Vamadeva
(seer of the fourth Mandala of the Rig Veda), who along with
Dirghatamas account for almost 150 of the 1000 hymns of the Rig
Veda. His own verses occur frequently in many Vedic texts, a few
even in the Upanishads.
He was the reputed purohit or chief priest of King Bharata (Aitareya
Brahmana VIII.23), one of the earliest kings of the land, after
whom India was named as Bharata (the traditional name of the
country).
Birth
Bhishma tells the narrative of the birth of Dirghatamas in the
Mahabharata (book1, Adi Parva, CIV): "There was in olden days a
wise Rishi of the name of Utathya. He had a wife of the name
Mamata whom he dearly loved. One day Utathya's younger brother
Brihaspati, the priest of the celestials, endued with great
energy, approached Mamata. The latter, however, told her
husband's younger brother—that foremost of eloquent men—that she
had conceived from her connection with his elder brother and
that, therefore, he should not then seek for the consummation of
his wishes. She continued, 'O illustrious Brihaspati, the child
that I have conceived hath studied in his mother's womb the
Vedas with the six Angas, Semen tuum frustra perdi non potest.
How can then this womb of mine afford room for two children at a
time? Therefore, it behoveth thee not to seek for the
consummation of thy desire at such a time. Thus addressed by
her, Brihaspati, though possessed of great wisdom, succeeded not
in suppressing his desire. Quum auten jam cum illa coiturus
esset, the child in the womb then addressed him and said, 'O
father, cease from thy attempt. There is no space here for two.
O illustrious one, the room is small. I have occupied it first.
Semen tuum perdi non potest. It behoveth thee not to afflict
me.' But Brihaspati without listening to what that child in the
womb said, sought the embraces of Mamata possessing the most
beautiful pair of eyes. Ille tamen Muni qui in venture erat
punctum temporis quo humor vitalis jam emissum iret providens,
viam per quam semen intrare posset pedibus obstruxit. Semen ita
exhisum, excidit et in terram projectumest. And the illustrious
Brihaspati, beholding this, became indignant, and reproached
Utathya's child and cursed him, saying, 'Because thou hast
spoken to me in the way thou hast at a time of pleasure that is
sought after by all creatures,perpetual darkness shall overtake
thee.' And from this curse of the illustrious Brishaspati
Utathya's child who was equal unto Brihaspati in energy, was
born blind and came to be called Dirghatamas (enveloped in
perpetual darkness). And the wise Dirghatamas, possessed of a
knowledge of the Vedas, though born blind, succeeded yet by
virtue of his learning, in obtaining for a wife a young and
handsome Brahmana maiden of the name of Pradweshi. And having
married her, the illustrious Dirghatamas, for the expansion of
Utathya's race, begat upon her several children with Gautama as
their eldest.
Asya Vamasya Hymn
Dirghatamas is famous for his paradoxical apothegms[1]. His
mantras are enigmas: “He who knows the father below by what is
above, and he who knows the father who is above by what is below
is called the poet.”
The Asya Vamasya (RgVeda 1.164) is one of the sages most famous
poems. Early scholars (such as Deussen in his Philosophy of the
Upanisads) tried to say that the poems of Dirghatamas were of a
later nature because of there content, but this has no
linguistic support which has been argued by modern Sanskrit
scholars (such as Dr. C. Kunhan Raja in his translation of the
Asya Vamasya Hymn). The reason earlier western scholars believed
it was of a later origin is because of the monist views found
there. They believed that early Vedic religion was pantheistic
and a monist view of god evolved later in the Upanisads- but the
poems of Dirghtamas (1.164.46) which say "there is One Being (Ekam
Sat) which is called by many names" proves this idea incorrect.
Earliest Mention of the Zodiac
Some scholars have claimed that the Babylonians invented the
zodiac of 360 degrees around 700 BCE, perhaps even earlier. Many
claim that India received the knowledge of the zodiac from
Babylonia or even later from Greece. However, as old as the Rig
Veda, the oldest Vedic text, there are clear references to a
chakra or wheel of 360 spokes placed in the sky. The number 360
and its related numbers like 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 108, 432
and 720 occur commonly in Vedic symbolism. It is in the hymns of
the Rishi Dirghatamas (RV I.140 - 164) that we have the clearest
such references.
[edit] Famous Sayings
A number of famous sayings originate from the verses of
Dirghatamas.
Another one bites the dust The first time the phrase “bites the
dust” appears is in the Rgveda (1.158.4-5) where the poet
Dirgatama has a prayer to the divine doctors and says ‘may the
turning of the days not tire me, may the fires not burn me, may
I not bite the earth, may the waters not swallow me’. There are
disputes on what “bites the dirt” means in sayana’s commentary
in the 14th century- which means the phrase had gone out of
style in India at this time as most people began to be cremated
instead of buried. But we can see Dirgatama is using it as a
prayer from death- such as don’t let me die and be burned, or
die and be buried, or die and be thrown in the river. [Dust and
dirt are often used interchangeably in old translations]
That said, the meaning of bites the dust would be – to die and
be buried in the earth. It can also be used figuratively as
something that has failed (or is in a state where it is as if it
was dead and buried). Another one bites the dust is another one
dead and buried- or another one finished
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