Rudra Mahāvīra: Vrātya Elements in the Vedic Pravargya-Complex

The article looks at the Vedic pravargya ritual and associated mythology in light of recent studies on the ancient Indian vrātyas, consecrated warriors who were thought to impersonate the deities Rudra, Indra, the Maruts, and the Aśvins (also known as Rudras). It is argued that vrātya elements in pravargya include Rudra as Mahāvīra (a heroic character, also an epithet of the vessel containing the offering), the sattra (collective ritual) setting of the paradigm myth, the motif of the unstrung bow, the minimal presence of females in pravargya, and divinisation of man as a goal of the ritual. The superhuman status attributed to the Mahāvīra is comparable with that of Atharvavedic characters like the vrātya and the brahmacārin (celibate student); the affinity between these figures may be derived from a common ascetic ideology, the roots of which some are to be sought in the warrior society.