The Brahmans' Vedic Gods

The term "Vedic" is sometimes used in Bhaktapur to separate the "ordinary" gods and religious practices from the dangerous gods and their associated worship, which are then sometimes called "Tantric." In this usage "Vedic gods" are for the most part the Puranic^[*] gods of later Hinduism. However, there are many ancient truly Vedic gods, who are invoked in the litanies, mantras, and practices of some ceremonies of the Rajopadhyaya Brahmans for their own internal thar and family uses, and for aspects of ceremonies performed for their clients. As Michael Witzel writes in an article entitled "On the History and the Present State of Vedic Tradition in Nepal," "the Vedic religion, which preceded both Buddhism and medieval Hinduism, had already in Licchavi time largely been superseded by Puranic^[*] and Tantric elements, yet this oldest form of Aryan worship and learning has come down to the present age" (1976, 17). Witzel traces the history of Vedic practices and texts in Nepal, and (for our present purposes) notes the continuing performance of some ancient rituals such as the Agnihotra through the centuries. He also reports the persistence into the present of an annual Vedic Soma sacrifice. Bhaktapur Brahmans still learn and chant the Yajurveda , although (as Witzel notes) the knowledge of the other Vedas is dying out and there has been a diminution in Vedic studies among the Brahmans in recent generations.

The persistence of these rituals and their associated gods is of considerable historical interest, but from the point of view of Bhaktapur's city religion, these Vedic gods are the internal gods of the Brahmans and a canonical reference in some phases of Brahman conducted worship for others. These Vedic gods are the gods that add special supernatural effectiveness to the Brahmans' practices. Many other thars also have special, internal divinities of diverse origin, who are of importance to the life of the city insofar as they guarantee the effectiveness of the thar 's output into the city system, although for these other thars they have later historical origins. Thus, for city religion the true Vedic gods have become the internally validating thar deities of the Brahmans as one cell in Bhaktapur's complex religious system.