Grades of Ṛṣis in the Matsya Purāṇa

A ṛṣi is a seer: someone who directly “sees” the mantras of the Vedas in a purified mind. Such a ṛṣi is called a mantra-draṣṭā (seer of mantras). Chapter 144 of the Matsya Mahā Purāṇa gives a detailed teaching on the five grades of ṛṣitva (the state of being a ṛṣi).

The chapter also explains the conditions under which mantras are revealed, and the qualities that make a person anarha (unfit) to receive or teach mantras. It then gives a full list of 92 mantra-draṣṭā ṛṣis, whose direct seeing of the Vedic mantras keeps the tradition alive from one manvantara (age of a Manu) to the next.

The Five Grades of Ṛṣitva

The Matsya Mahā Purāṇa names five grades or types of ṛṣitva. Each shows a different depth of seeing the mantra and a different power to pass it on:

  1. Lowest grade: one who sees only the surface, word-for-word meaning of a mantra without grasping its tattva-svarūpa (true nature). This person can recite and pass on the form of the mantra, but not its power.
  2. Second grade: one who understands the Vedic setting, the grammar and the ritual use of the mantra. This is a scholar of the outer side of the mantra.
  3. Third grade: one who sees the adhyātmika (inner, spiritual) side of the mantra, and understands which principle, deity or reality of the universe the mantra calls upon.
  4. Fourth grade: one who, through tapas (austerity), has reached a living, direct contact with the power of the mantra. The mantra-tejas (energy of the mantra) is real and active in this person’s awareness.
  5. Highest grade (ārta ṛṣitva): one who sees the full tattva-svarūpa of the mantra, its whole reality in all its layers at once. This is the true mantra-draṣṭā. The word ārta here means a deep inner longing for the divine, not sorrow in the ordinary sense. This longing opens the door through which the mantra is revealed.

The Inner State in Which Mantras Are Revealed

The chapter gives a striking teaching on the state of mind in which mantras are revealed to ṛṣis. Revelation does not come from thinking hard or from ritual practice alone. It needs a particular inner state, called ārtatā, which grows from five conditions:

  1. Dissatisfaction with the worldly conditions of one’s time, and a longing for something beyond them
  2. Fear arising from that same unsatisfying state of things
  3. Śoka (grief) at seeing people suffer
  4. Moha (bewilderment) about how to help them
  5. Longing, also called śoka in a devotional sense, to share the truth with those who suffer

When these five states arise together in a mind purified by tapas, the unmanifest reality of sound (avyakta vāk) becomes perceptible to the inner mind as a mantra. This ārtatā is what separates a true mantra-draṣṭā from a mere scholar.

Mantras can also be revealed in a yādṛcchika way, meaning given by grace and not produced by one’s own effort. This happens when the divine śakti (power) of the mantra itself, through its tāraka quality (its power to save and carry across), shows itself directly to a prepared mind.

Mantras and the Manvantaras

The Matsya Mahā Purāṇa makes an important point about mantras and the manvantaras. The exact forms of the Vedic mantras change from one manvantara to the next, though their underlying Ṛk, Yajus and Sāman natures remain. In each manvantara, ṛṣis of great tapas receive the mantras afresh through ārtatā and the tāraka experience. They are guided by their saṃskāras (deep impressions) from earlier manvantaras, but the mantras are shaped anew for the conditions of the present age.

This explains why the Saptarṣis (the seven great ṛṣis) change in each manvantara. The order of the universe needs new revealers of mantras in each age to keep the tradition living and fresh.

The 92 Mantra-Draṣṭā Ṛṣis

Chapter 144 gives a family record of 92 mantra-draṣṭā ṛṣis, who directly saw and revealed the main Vedic mantras. These 92 belong to the major Vedic gotras (family lines) and stand for the whole tradition of mantra-revelation from the start of the present manvantara. The list includes ṛṣis of the Bhṛgu, Aṅgirasa, Atri, Viśvāmitra, Kaśyapa, Vasiṣṭha and Agastya lines, among others.

Human Size in Each Yuga

The same chapter also records that the body size of human beings (height, span and weight) differs from yuga to yuga. It grows steadily smaller from the Kṛta Yuga down to the Kali Yuga. A person of the Kṛta Yuga was the tallest and broadest, and a person of the Kali Yuga is the smallest. This matches the general decline of dharma through the four yugas.

Sources

  • Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 144