Is there One God worshipped with many forms and names or are there many ?

[Omkara]

I have been wanting to raise these objections for some time but have not had the time to do it-

Rig Veda 7.40.5: Rudra gets his strength by propitiating Vishnu

Which word do you translate as 'gained' or 'obtained' ?

vidé hi- Knowing this
rudró - Rudra Deva
rudríyam mahitváM - Rudra-strength or Rudra glory

There is no word meaning 'gained' or 'obtained' in the sentence.

gItA 11.15 Arjuna says he saw Brahma and Shiva within the vishvarUpa along with all other devas

Since Shaivism does not accept the Bhagavad Gita, this should not matter to me, but as a matter of academic interest, this interpretation seems to be wrong.

11.15 Pashyaami devaamstava deva dehe Sarvaamstathaa bhootavisheshasanghaan Brahmaanameesham kamalaasanastha- Mrisheemshcha sarvaanuragaamshcha divyaan

Note that eesham occurs between kamalaasanastha and brahmaanam.Kamalaasanastha obviously means seated on a lotus.Thus eesham must be taken as meaning 'Lord' or 'Ruler' and is an adjective applied to Brahma.

[philosoraptor]

A brilliant exposition! No doubt,the devas are different from Brahman, and this is clearly brought out in shruti.Very well done!

But I have been wanting to raise these objectio s for some time but have not had the time to do it-



Which word do you translate as 'gained' or 'obtained' ?

vidé hi- Knowing this
rudró - Rudra Deva
rudríyam mahitváM - Rudra-strength or Rudra glory

There is no word meaning 'gained' or 'obtained' in the sentence.

This is actually Griffith's translation, and the "obtained" part appears to be implied. That being said, I have questioned it some since having posted it months ago, but I never got around to resolving my doubt about it since.

Since Shaivism does not accept the Bhagavad Gita, this should not matter to me, but as a matter of academic interest, this interpretation seems to be wrong.

11.15 Pashyaami devaamstava deva dehe Sarvaamstathaa bhootavisheshasanghaan Brahmaanameesham kamalaasanastha- Mrisheemshcha sarvaanuragaamshcha divyaan

Note that eesham occurs between kamalaasanastha and brahmaanam.Kamalaasanastha obviously means seated on a lotus.Thus eesham must be taken as meaning 'Lord' or 'Ruler' and is an adjective applied to Brahma.

The order wouldn't be that conclusive in a Sanskrit shloka. Isha could theoretically be adjectival in this construction, but could just as easily be a substantive as part of a dvandva compound. Almost every translation I have seen to date interprets it to mean Shiva in this context.

[Omkara]

deleted

[Omkara]

One verse that is often quoted to justify the oneness of various devas is RV 1.164.46 Ekam sat...

This verse simply means that all vedic names refer primarily to Brahman and secondarily to the devas. Ekam Sat means Brahman as we can see from Chandogya Upanishad.

[Omkara]

Proof-

RV 10.82.3 Father who made us, he who, as Disposer, knoweth all races and all things existing Even he alone, who bears the names of all the gods,him other beings seek for information.

Here Brahman (here called Vishwakarma) is said to bear the names of all deities, and thus the Vedas glorify Brahman alone under various names, and not the devas who also bear those names.