Initial Fireball: Metaphoric Description
Early Evolutes
The term Aditi introduced earlier stands for the aggregate of the three classes of fundamental particles. Vedic language refers to the Creator God metaphorically as the father. Aditi becomes his consort or mother. Now, aapah, the first active principle introduced into the creation process, becomes a son or daughter of the divine pair, the Creator God and Aditi.
As narrated in the Vedas, the next stage of cosmogony is termed Apaam Napaat. Naptr and Napaat stand for grandson. This is the mixture of hydrogen and helium nuclei. As per Science, it occurs in the ratio of 74:26. The term used in Science is cosmic matter. So, all the terms father, mother, son/daughter and grandson are metaphorical descriptions. A true interpretation of the creation process is impossible without properly understanding the metaphors encoded in Vedic literature.
Tvaṣṭaa duhitre vahatuṃ kṛṇotiitiidaṃ viśvam bhuvanaṃ sam eti | yamasya maataa paryuhyamaanaa maho jaayaa vivasvato nanaśa ||
R. Ved 10/17/1
The above verse suggests the vajra to be composed of eight fundamental particles. The same can be found described in the scientific theory of cosmology as a plasma composed of eight-fold particles being formed after the Big Bang. Tvasta is the eight-fold substance of which the vajra is composed, and Tvssta also represents the Creator God who composed the vajra. Aditi {jaayaa(Prakriti or Nature)} is the mother cause, the cause of all natural laws.
Apaaguuhann amṛtaam martyebhyaḥ kṛtvii savarṇaam adadur vivasvate |
R. Veda 10/17/2
utaaśvinaav abharad yat tad aasiid ajahaad u dvaa mithunaa saraṇyuuḥ ||
This hymn talks about the union of the first formed subtle particles to form the super nebula or the huge mass of fireball. The fast-moving subtle particle mass moved forward in two pairs, matter-energy and particle-antiparticle, to drag creation further on. Thus, this hymn details a complete picture of the creation of finished products ab initio, in the form of the Universe, involving up-to-date scientific stages in its cosmogonical theory.
Coded Vedic Narrative: Googlies that need to be interpreted correctly
Many of the Rig Vedic hymns detailing the early evolutes in manifesting the Cosmos/Universe, when taken literally in their overt meaning, lead to meaningless comic interpretation. But, when interpreted by understanding the implied meaning behind the metaphorical descriptions, it brings to light the scientific depth of Vedic cosmology.
We know that the Creator God and the manifesting Nature (Prakriti) are denoted as father and mother. The son or daughter arising from them, expressed metaphorically, is called Aapah, and the grandchild as Apaam Napaat. It is so comically fallacious to interpret them literally. All these are the products of the initial fireball. In this regard, the inception of the initial mass of the fireball was cited in the hymn 3/31/3 (see part 8).
The hymns preceding this also cover this subject matter, as cited below.
śaasad vahnir duhitur naptyaṃ gaad vidvaam̐ ṛtasya diidhitiṃ saparyan |
R. Ved 3/31/1
pitaa yatra duhituḥ sekam ṛñjan saṃ śagmyena manasaa dadhanve ||
The inherent covert meaning is that the Creator God and Nature (Purush and Prakriti) are co-eternal and exist in their unmanifest nascent state. This would suggest 1. that the Creator God does not create Nature and 2. Nature’s properties are also permanent and eternal. It would also mean that the nascent unmanifest Nature will follow all natural laws when it changes into the manifest form. Further, the creation of the Universes will be as per the inherent properties of Nature.
However, Nature cannot manifest the Universe by itself and needs the guiding force of the governing power (Creator God) at every stage of the formation of universes. It is like a process being executed by an encoded program controlled at every stage by an operator. Apparently, Nature ascends from one state to the next higher state by its own inherent properties but under the directional guidance of the Creator God.
Let us see what the next hymn says.
na jaamaye taanvo riktham aaraik chakaara garbhaṃ sanitur nidhaanam |
R. Veda 3/31/2
yadii maataro janayanta vahnim anyaḥ kartaa sukṛtor anya ṛndhan ||
Metaphorically it states that the firstborn daughter to the Prakriti, the mother cause sustained the womb of that beneficiary.
The inherent meaning is that when the Universe is created, the entire set of fundamental particles is not invested in the Universe (given in inheritance to the son, who is supposed to be the beneficiary). Its womb is said to be sustained by the particles before its birth. The daughter, who is the active part (Aapah or Maayaa), who participates in making the Universe, keeps sufficient matter (particles) in reserve.
Such allegorical (symbolic) statements can also be found in other texts regarding forming the initial fireball that shapes the cosmos and Universes. Let us have a look at some of those.
Gopatha Brahmana mentions the inception of the initial fireball indirectly as ‘paroksa priyaah iva hi devaah’, which means the devas or intellectuals like indirect narration.
It continues as
Parajaapatih vedaan avaacha agniin aa dadhiiya iti
The God says to Vedas, I may fix the fires.
Further,
taan vaak abhyuvaacha asvah vai sambhaaraanaam iti
The God says to Vedas, only the horse can can sustain the fire.
Earlier, we had seen asva used in the context of a first-formed energy particle, and here, the horse is used to indicate a great capacity to sustain the initial powerful fire.
More appropriately, agni asva, the initial fire horse, is being discussed here.
About the origin of this agni asva, the Brahmana says further,
tom ghoraat kruuraat salikaat sarasah ut aa ninyuh
The fire horse was raised from the extremely hot, dangerously hot (ghoraat kruraat), fluidy mix of fundamental particles. We have already seen that aapah, salilam and maayaa stand for the active state of the primordial matter. Interpretations and explanations should follow the letter and spirit of vedic symbolic expressions. This initial fireball can be equated with the high temperature of 100 million trillion trillion kelvins or 180 million trillion trillion degrees Fahrenheit associated with the Big Bang theory of Science.
Further allegorical recitation says
tasya ha snaatasya abhi uksitasya asvasya sarvebhyah romasamarebhyah angaaraah aa asiiryganta
In essence, it conveys that the horse turned into a fire globe. The Creator God established this fireball with a vow to create the Cosmos.
Vedic States of Creation comparable to post-Big Bang States
From the initial fire horse and the fireball, an ocean of floating sub-atomic particles in a fluidy state manifested from the immanifest latent primordial matter. There are verses in Gopitha Brahman regarding the states of fluidy energy and matter that manifested, much needed for the creation of the Cosmos. Two important states in this context are referred to as Atharva and Agnirasah.
Let us look at some of the verses in this context.
Atharvanibhih cha angirasobhih cha aatanaih matrnaambhih vaastospatyaih saantyudakamchakaarat iti
The inherent meaning is that the matter and energy engulfed in the fireball were changed into a fluidy state, equally hot but were pregnant with the Creator God’s design for Cosmic creation. The initial fluidy states manifested as Atharva and Agnirasah, along with others. They are the initial states of matter. Atharvan itself means the very first produced fundamental matter. The verses in the Brahmana text are clear that Agnirasah is a physical state of matter along with Atharva. Since the first formed fundamental matter particles and energy in the form of radiation were like an ocean floating around, it is referred to as a fluidy state. The Vedic description of early states of matter such as Atharva, Angirasah and Bhrgu are comparable to the states like the Guts era, Quark era, Soup era, Hadron era, Plasma state etc. of Big Bang cosmogony.
A note on Asva
Those who have taken the literal meaning of Asva as a horse has made illogical interpretation of Vedic hymns. The term Asva appearing at different places in the Vedic texts has different contextual meanings as per the coded language of Vedas. In the previous sections, we saw that Asva stands for a fundamental particle. In the present context, it stands for energy power (Shakti). Fire energy, referred to herein, stands for radiation. Above, we have seen that the Brahmana hymns allegorically mention the inception of a horse which, after manifesting, turned into a fireball. Asva, meaning horse, as appearing in the Vedic narrations either as horse fire or as a particle, has a relation to its galloping speed. The initial fireball and the first formed particles move at high speeds and hence are likened to a horse. The horse is chosen as a symbol of energy and movement.
