Birds and heroes

In the earlier post, I had written briefly about Garuda whose heroic feat earned him his place as Vishnu's vahana. Garuda, unlike Gayatri, is a male bird and he fetches Amrita for his mother while Gayatri gets Soma for the gods. The two myths use similar motifs but may have been developed for completely different purposes.

For one the Garuda myth is much longer and far more layered than the one about meters. Garuda's unusual birth is described in detail as is his journey to get the Amrita. He has to get it to free his mother, ensnared by her sister and her snake children. Gayatri has to get Soma because the gods want it, the myth does not offer a deeper rationale for the quest.

The other difference is that Garuda has to cross several barriers and fight the guards of Amrita to be able to get a jar for his mother. The meters, on the other hand, manage the exchange more amicably. Gayatri, in fact, (the myth does not say how) gets the nectar without giving up anything at all.

The Garuda myth also reflects the traditional rivalry between the snake kingdom and the kingdom of birds. The Gayatri-Soma myth does not directly touch upon any rivalries but, it is possible that the three meters or the tribes speaking these meters were in competition with each other.

So what were the myths developed for? It would be foolish to attempt a single definitive answer but it is possible that the myths were developed around the same time but by different people. Also the original Garuda myth, in all probability, has been embellished over the ages to serve different purposes. For instance, the bit about Garuda becoming a vahana for Vishnu may well be a later addition. It is possible that there existed a tribe of Garuda worshippers who were assimilated into the Vedic fold at a later stage.

The Garuda myth also goes into great detail about the birth of the hero, the call for adventure and the difficulties and the final quest. This shows that the myth has been developed over a long period of time, giving it a linear and somewhat logical narrative structure.

The Gayatri-Soma myth is not as detailed and since it deals with an abstract concept is not as easily grasped. It also seems to be created for the express purpose of establishing the supremacy of one meter or the tribe speaking in that meter over the rest. In that sense it is not a true hero myth but, in Malinowskian terms, a charter myth which is created with the sole purpose of explaining a social event or function or human behaviour.

The myth of meters

The story goes that the gods wanted Soma, the favoured drink of Indra. The gods lived on earth at the time and they knew that it would take a lot of persuasion and skill to prise Indra’s drink away from him. They approached the meters (the rhythmic beat of poetry or song or speech in the present context), conceptualised as female birds in the ancient texts.
Interestingly, in a myth from the Mahabharata (Astika Parva), another bird, Garuda has to get the drink of immortality (amrita) from Indra to free his mother; the idea that Amrita or Soma lies in the heavens, is out of reach of the ordinary mortal and even god; and has to be procured by one who can fly higher than the other creatures of the universe is thus an established one in Indian myths.
The first meter to fly out on the quest was Jagati. She had fourteen syllables in each of her four feet and was considered the most able among all meters. However she could not get Soma. Her journey was not entirely wasted though as she brought back sacrificial beasts and the method of consecration for the sacrifice in exchange for two syllables. So she now had twelve syllables in each of her four feet.
The next to fly out on the quest was Trishtubh with thirteen syllables in each of her four feet. However Trishtubh too came back without the Soma. She brought back penance (tapas) and sacrificial gifts (dakshina) but lost two of her syllables, retaining only eleven.
Finally it was the turn of Gayatri. She had just three feet with four syllables in each and was believed to be the weakest of all meters. But, she put all doubts to rest when she not only got Soma for the gods but also brought back the two syllables each that Jagati and Triṣhṭubh had bartered in exchange for their gifts. In this way she doubles the number of syllables in each foot.
At one level, the myth represents a heroic quest for an elusive drink. But it stands apart from other hero’s quest myths on the following counts: the hero is female and a bird and in the end, the hero brings home the drink.
How do we interpret this? Myths carry many meanings and it usually depends on the way it is told, the time it belongs to and the cultural context that it is set in. One way to look at this myth would be that meters marked the way we spoke in ancient times. In fact this is the way that many tribes, who have remained isolated from the mainstream civilisations, speak even today. I watched a recent programme on National Geographic (I think) where an old tribesman conveyed a great deal through mono syllabic sounds. It is therefore possible that the three meters that embark on the heroic quest for the drink of immortality represent three tribes that spoke in those meters. And ultimately the tribe that spoke in the Gayatri meter was successful in its quest.
What is the significance of Jagati and Trishtubh returning without Soma? It could be that these tribes were smaller or were giving way to the newer and younger Gayatri speaking tribe. Interestingly none of the meters come out unscathed in this journey. Gayatri does not survive in her original form. She doubles the syllables on each of her three feet from four to eight. The other meters too change, symbolising perhaps, the give and take that marked the early way of life in the region.
It would be fascinating to check out if there are similar myths in other civilisations. And if so, what are the similarities and differences?
(Image from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images)