चित्रं॑ देवा॑नाम् • उ॑दगाद॑नीकम्। च॑क्षुर्मित्र॑स्य • व॑रुणस्य अग्नेः॑। आ॑प्रा द्या॑वा • पृथिवी॑ अन्त॑रिक्षम्। सू॑र्य आत्मा॑ • ज॑गतस्तस्थु॑षश्च॥ —ऋग्वेद॑ 1.115.1, अथर्ववेद॑ 13.2.35, तैत्तिरीयसं॑हिता 1.4.43.1, etc. . (This is the metrically restored version. The सं॑हिता has a deficient syllable with व॑रुणस्याग्नेः॑.) . Translation: "The bright face of the Gods has risen, the eye of मित्र॑, व॑रुण, and अग्नि॑. He has filled Heaven, Earth, and the space between. The Sun is the soul of that which moves and that which stands still." . Word-by-word: चित्र॑म् < चित्र॑ "bright", देवा॑नाम् < देव॑ "God", उ॑द् अगात् < उ॑द् गा "rise", अ॑नीकम् < अ॑नीक "face", च॑क्षुस् "eye", मित्र॑स्य < मित्र॑, व॑रुणस्य < व॑रुण, अग्ने॑स् < अग्नि॑, आ॑ अप्रास् < आ॑ प्रा "fill", द्या॑वा < दि॑व् "Heaven", पृथिवी॑ "Earth", अन्त॑रिक्षम् < अन्त॑रिक्ष "middle space", सू॑र्यस् < सू॑र्य "Sun", आत्मा॑ < आत्म॑न् "soul", ज॑गतस् < ज॑गत् < गम् "move", तस्थु॑षस् < तस्थिव॑त् < स्था "stand", च "and". . Meter: त्रिष्टु॑भ् . Author: कु॑त्स आङ्गिरस॑ . Context: This verse is used as a minor part of a large variety of rituals tangentially connected to सू॑र्य and often scheduled in the morning; given its content, its original purpose must have been a rite that took place at dawn, once the Sun indeed has "risen".

यः॑ सत्राहा॑ वि॑चर्षणिः। इ॑न्द्रं तं॑ हूमहे वय॑म्। स॑हस्रमुष्क • तु॑विनृम्ण स॑त्पते। भ॑वा सम॑त्सु नो वृधे॑॥ —ऋग्वेद॑ 6.46.3 सामवेद॑ 1.3.6.4 has स॑हस्रमन्यो for स॑हस्रमुष्क but is otherwise identical. . Translation: "The limitless one Who fully destroys, That इ॑न्द्र we invoke. O true lord, having a thousand testicles and great manhood, be (there) to strengthen us in battles!" . Word-by-word: य॑स् < य॑ "who", सत्रा < सत्रा॑ "fully", हा॑ < हन् "destroy", वि॑चर्षणिस् < वि॑चर्षणि "limitless", इ॑न्द्रम् < इ॑न्द्र, त॑म् < स॑ "He", हूमहे < हू "invoke", वय॑म् "we", स॑हस्र < सह॑स्र "thousand", मुष्क < मुष्क॑ "testicle", तु॑वि < तुवि॑ "great", नृम्ण < नृम्ण॑ "manhood", स॑त् < स॑न् "true" < अस्, पते < प॑ति "lord", भ॑वा < भू "be", सम॑त्सु < सम॑द् "battle", नस् < वय॑म् "we", वृधे॑ < वृध् "strengthen". . Meter: बृहती॑ (like an अनुष्टु॑भ् but with a 12-syllable ज॑गती-style third line) . Author: शंयु॑ बार्हसपत्य॑ . Ritual context: This verse is used in a couple rituals mentioned in the शाङ्खायनश्रौतसू॑त्र. 11.13.31 mentions the use of the verse during the विषुव॑त् (the middle day of a सत्त्र॑, a type of sóma-sacrifice). शाङ्खायनश्रौतसू॑त्र 18.8.8 and सायण mention the use of the verse during the महाव्रत॑ new-year ritual. .

Matthew 7: . "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits." . . A false prophet is someone who misguides, someone who cheats, someone who betrays the sheep of the lord and lead them astray from holiness. A great example of a false prophet is the infamous "Muhammad", a self centred, greedy man who butchers the word of god and calls his followers heretics. There is no holy validity to the Qur'an and Muhammad as a prophet. His lies infiltrate like germs and infect souls like parasites. He proclaims himself to be "The Last true prophet". He is no protector of the innocent. . No true Christian however will insult Allah. Allah is simply the Arabic word for YHWH or The Father and insulting his holiness is insulting the lord. Due to this, Muslims are Pseudo-divine in nature. They worship God yes but they follow an equivalent of the Anti-Christ and call the purest of God's followers "kaffirs". A Christian should not hesitate to cut down an arrogant Muhammadan for it is cleansing for your own faith. Do not consider them human for they have followed a slanderer.

नि॑ अक्रतू॑न् • ग्रथि॑नो मृध्र॑वाचः। पणीँ॑रश्रद्धाँ॑ • अवृधाँ॑ अयज्ञा॑न्। प्र॑प्र ता॑न्द॑स्यूँर् • अग्नि॑र्विवाय। पू॑र्वश्चकार • अ॑पराँ अ॑यज्यून्॥ —ऋग्वेद॑ 7.6.3 . (This is the metrically restored version. The सं॑हिता has three deficient syllables with न्य᳚क्रतू॑न् and चकारा॑पराँ; the deficient syllable in the third line points to अग्नि॑र् being trisyllabic here, अगनि॑र्, just as इ॑न्द्र must sometimes be read trisyllabically as इ॑न्दर. But it could also simply be one of the rare lines with a deficient syllable in the original poetry.) . Translation: "Down with the mindless, the crooked, the blasphemers, the miserly, the infidels, who do not strengthen (the Gods) with sacrifice! On and on अग्नि॑ chased those द॑स्युs. The eastern one turned the non-sacrificers westwards." . Word-by-word: नि॑ "down", अ- < अ॑- "not", क्रतू॑न् < क्र॑तु "will", ग्रथि॑नस् < ग्रथि॑न् "crooked", मृध्र॑ "insult", वाचस् < वा॑च् "speech", पणी॑न् < पणि॑ "miserly", अ- < अ॑- "not", श्रथ् < श्र॑थ् "faith", धा॑न् < ध॑ < धा "put", अ- < अ॑- "not", वृधा॑न् < वृध॑ "strengthener", अ- < अ॑- "not", यज्ञा॑न् < यज्ञ॑ "sacrifice", प्र॑प्र < प्र॑ "forth", ता॑न् < स॑ "he", द॑स्यून् < द॑स्यु, अग्नि॑स् < अग्नि॑, विवाय < वी "chase", पू॑र्वस् < पू॑र्व "first"/"east", चकार < कृ "make", अ॑परान् < अ॑पर "last"/"west", अ॑- "not", यज्यून् < य॑ज्यु "sacrificing". . Ritual context: According to शाङ्खायनश्रौतसू॑त्र 10.5.24, this hymn of the ऋग्वेद॑ is recited on the fourth day of the द्वादशाह॑, a twelve-day sóma-sacrifice. This hymn comprises the आग्निमारुत॑ शस्त्र॑ (praise to अग्नि॑ and the मरु॑त्s) for that day. . Interpretation: Since yesterday was the American holiday of Thanksgiving, I decided to discuss a verse describing those faithless ones who refuse to be grateful to the Gods Who created them. . The first part of the verse is fairly straightforward, describing the enemy द॑स्यु tribesmen with several adjectives related to their lack of will (क्र॑तु), honesty, piousness, and sacrifice. Contrary to Hindu revisionist views, we were not originally tolerant of blasphemers and infidels, who are treated with utmost contempt in the वे॑द.

शुनं॑ हुवेम • मघ॑वानमि॑न्द्रम्। अस्मि॑न्भ॑रे • नृ॑तमं वा॑जसातौ। शृण्व॑न्तमुग्र॑म् • ऊत॑ये सम॑त्सु। घ्न॑न्तं वृत्रा॑णि • संजि॑तं ध॑नानाम्॥ —ऋग्वेद॑ 3.30.22, 3.31.22, 3.32.17, 3.34.11, 3.35.11, 3.36.11, 3.38.10, 3.39.9, 3.43.8, 3.48.5, 3.49.5, 3.50.5, 10.89.18, 10.104.11; अथर्ववेद॑ 20.11.11; etc. . Translation: "For prosperity and for help in battles we shall invoke generous इ॑न्द्र, manliest in this battle for gaining booty, hearing (us), fearsome, slaying the enemies, conqueror of treasures." . Word-by-word: शुन॑म् < शुन॑ "prosperity", हुवेम < हू "invoke", मघ॑वानम् < मघ॑वन् "generous", इ॑न्द्रम् < इ॑न्द्र, अस्मि॑न् < अय॑म् "this", भ॑रे < भ॑र "battle", नृ॑ "man", -तमम् < -तम "most", वा॑ज "booty", सातौ < साति॑ "gain", शृण्व॑न्तम् < शृण्व॑न् < श्रु "hear", उग्र॑म् < उग्र॑ "fearsome", ऊत॑ये < ऊति॑ "help", सम॑त्सु < सम॑द् "battle", घ्न॑न्तम् < घ्न॑न् < हन् "slay", वृत्रा॑णि < वृत्र॑ "enemy", संजि॑तम् < संजि॑त् < स॑म् जि "conquer", ध॑नानाम् < ध॑न "treasure". . Meter: त्रिष्टु॑भ् . Context: As you can see from the large number of citations above, this verse is often repeated verbatim at the end of ऋग्वेद॑ hymns dedicated to इ॑न्द्र (predominantly in the hymns of वैश्वा॑मित्र in म॑ण्डल/Book 3), and is not otherwise particularly connected to the rest of a hymn in which it appears. In ritual this verse is usually recited as part of one of these hymns rather than alone, but शाङ्खायनश्रौतसू॑त्र 3.18.16 mentions that this verse specifically is recited during the शुनासी॑र्य, a sacrifice to शु॑ना, सी॑र, and इ॑न्द्र performed every four months. . Interpretation: इ॑न्द्र is to be invoked for शुन॑—translated "prosperity" but especially with connotations of growth or expansionary conquest since it comes from the root शू "increase"—and for help in battle, given His function as war-God. He is described as the manliest of all beings (नृ॑तम), the embodiment of bullish masculinity—see this coming Saturday's verse for more on this. The hope is that this invocation will be heard by Him and that He will be present in coming battles, providing support to the side that sacrificed to Him most faithfully. . वृत्र॑ is the name of the primordial serpent killed by इ॑न्द्र, but when used in the plural like in this verse, it's also a common noun meaning "enemy": may we be to our enemies as इ॑न्द्र was to वृत्र॑.

JOSHUA 6 יהושע 6 . וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בַּיֹּ֣ום הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י וַיַּשְׁכִּ֙מוּ֙ כַּעֲלֹ֣ות הַשַּׁ֔חַר וַיָּסֹ֧בּוּ אֶת־הָעִ֛יר כַּמִּשְׁפָּ֥ט הַזֶּ֖ה שֶׁ֣בַע פְּעָמִ֑ים רַ֚ק בַּיֹּ֣ום הַה֔וּא סָבְב֥וּ אֶת־הָעִ֖יר שֶׁ֥בַע פְּעָמִֽים׃ Then on the seventh day they rose early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same manner seven times; only on that day they marched around the city seven times. . וַיְהִי֙ בַּפַּ֣עַם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔ית תָּקְע֥וּ הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים בַּשֹּׁופָרֹ֑ות וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹושֻׁ֤עַ אֶל־הָעָם֙ הָרִ֔יעוּ כִּֽי־נָתַ֧ן יְהוָ֛ה לָכֶ֖ם אֶת־הָעִֽיר׃ At the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city. . וְהָיְתָ֨ה הָעִ֥יר חֵ֛רֶם הִ֥יא וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֖הּ לַֽיהוָ֑ה רַק֩ רָחָ֨ב הַזֹּונָ֜ה תִּֽחְיֶ֗ה הִ֚יא וְכָל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִתָּ֣הּ בַּבַּ֔יִת כִּ֣י הֶחְבְּאַ֔תָה אֶת־הַמַּלְאָכִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁלָֽחְנוּ׃ "The city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the LORD; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. . וְרַק־אַתֶּם֙ שִׁמְר֣וּ מִן־הַחֵ֔רֶם פֶּֽן־תַּחֲרִ֖ימוּ וּלְקַחְתֶּ֣ם מִן־הַחֵ֑רֶם וְשַׂמְתֶּ֞ם אֶת־מַחֲנֵ֤ה יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לְחֵ֔רֶם וַעֲכַרְתֶּ֖ם אֹותֹֽו׃ "But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban, so that you do not covet them and take some of the things under the ban, and make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it. . וְכֹ֣ל ׀ כֶּ֣סֶף וְזָהָ֗ב וּכְלֵ֤י נְחֹ֙שֶׁת֙ וּבַרְזֶ֔ל קֹ֥דֶשׁ ה֖וּא לַֽיהוָ֑ה אֹוצַ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה יָבֹֽוא׃

प्रजा॑पतिर् • ज॑यानि॑न्द्राय वृ॑ष्णे। प्रा॑यच्छदुग्रः॑ • पृतना॑जियेषु। त॑स्मै वि॑शः • स॑मनमन्त स॑र्वाः। स॑ उग्रः॑ स॑ हि॑ • ह॑वियो बभू॑व॥ —तैत्तिरीयसं॑हिता 3.4.4.1.2 . (This is the metrically restored version. The सं॑हिता has two deficient syllables with पृतना॑ज्येषु and ह॑व्यो. मैत्रायणसं॑हिता 1.4.14.31 is similar to the first two lines but in prose: प्रजा॑पतिः प्रा॑यच्छज्ज॑यानि॑न्द्राय वृ॑ष्ण उग्रः॑ पृ॑तनासु जिष्णुः॑। And the second half is similar to मैत्रायणसं॑हिता 2.10.2.14: त॑स्मै वि॑शः • स॑मनमन्त दै॑वीः। अय॑मुग्रो॑ • विहवि॑यो य॑था॑सत्॥) . Translation: "प्रजा॑पति granted victories to bullish इ॑न्द्र, (so that He would become) fearsome in the rush of battles. To Him all the people bowed down, for He became fearsome, worthy of oblation." . Word-by-word: प्रजा॑पतिस् < प्रजा॑पति, ज॑यान् < ज॑य "victory", इ॑न्द्राय < इ॑न्द्र, वृ॑ष्णे < वृ॑षन् "bullish", प्र॑ अयच्छत् < प्र॑ यम् "grant", उग्र॑स् < उग्र॑ "fearsome", पृतना < पृ॑तना "battle", अ॑जियेषु < अ॑ज्य "rush", त॑स्मै < स॑ "He", वि॑शस् < वि॑श् "people", स॑म् अनमन्त < स॑म् नम् "bow down", स॑र्वास् < स॑र्व "all", स॑स् < स॑ "He", उग्र॑स् < उग्र॑ "fearsome", स॑स् < स॑ "He", हि॑ "because", ह॑वियस् > ह॑व्य "worthy of oblation", बभू॑व < भू "become". . छ॑न्दस्/Meter: त्रिष्टु॑भ् . Context: This प्रपाठक/chapter of the तैत्तिरीयसं॑हिता describes the "occasional offerings" separate from regularly scheduled rituals like the अग्निहोत्र॑ or दर्शपूर्णमास॑, with this section describing an offering called the ज॑य ("victory"), meant to be performed by someone engaged in a conflict. According to आपस्तम्बश्रौतसू॑त्र 5.24.3, this verse is to be recited with the thirteenth ज॑य oblation. . Interpretation: This verse came up in a recent discussion I had on the "supremacy" of certain Gods in the Vedic religion. Certainly some Gods are more powerful or "important" than others (and certainly वि॑ष्णु and रुद्र॑, though far from minor, are not the most powerful the way They are in later Hinduism). But while इ॑न्द्र is the most important God of the Vedic pantheon and the one king (एकरा॑ज्) of all the Gods, the concept of a single "supreme" God is not really coherent with Vedic metaphysics.

Gibson’s Quranic Geographies makes a powerful case for Petra from archaeology history, and literature--one worth taking on, point by point: Tradition asserts that the Quran was compiled not long after Muhammad’s death, during the caliphate of Uthman. But the earliest Quranic manuscripts date from the ninth century, two hundred years after Muhammad. This long gap in the written record raises questions about the accuracy of the information transmitted across those generations, especially where we find inconsistent, contradictory, or implausible details. For example: While tradition venerates Mecca as the Prophet's birthplace and the site of the Kaaba, the Quran cites Mecca by name only once. Could this be a later interpolation? How is Muhammad's home city described in the Quran? We read that Muhammad dwells in a rich walled city, a trade hub and ancient pre-Islamic pilgrimage site. Fertile soil and regular rain support trees and agriculture. Caves in the nearby mountains face toward the city. And tradition holds that the city lay a day's ride from Jerusalem--where Muhammad ascended to heaven. Petra fits this description much more closely than Mecca. In Muhammad’s time, Petra was a walled city, the Arab world’s premier pilgrimage site, and one of its three main trading centers. Petra’s ruins contain temples to the very pre-Islamic deities described in the Quran. Seventh century Petra lay in a fertile valley that received regular rainfall and supported agriculture. The cliffs around Petra contain numerous caves facing down into the city--like the one in which Muhammad heard the angel's command to “Recite!” Like the city described in the Quran (but unlike today’s Mecca), Petra is a day's ride from Jerusalem. By contrast, there is no record of Mecca before the ninth century--two hundred years after Muhammad. And while Petra and Medina appear on ancient trading maps, Mecca does not. Petra and Medina a contain substantial archaeological material dating to Muhammad’s time and earlier. But Mecca does not. Mecca stands in a much more arid corner of the Arabian peninsula. Paleobotanists find no evidence of trees or agriculture in the vicinity of Mecca. Mecca is of course many days away from Jerusalem by horse or camel. In short, this desert outpost doesn't really match the Quranic description of the Prophet's home--more than that, it's not clear that any substantial city existed in this location during his lifetime. But perhaps Gibson’s most intriguing line of evidence comes from the orientation of qiblas in early mosques, which he argues were built pointing worshipers’ devotions toward Petra, not Mecca. Comparing the orientations of every known mosque built during Islam's first century, he finds that these structures consistently orient worshipers not toward Mecca, nor toward Jerusalem (see next paragraph), but toward Petra. All lines drawn from these early qibla walls seem to converge on Petra. A key Quranic passage changes Islam's original direction of prayer from a unnamed holy place to a “Masjid al Haram.” Tradition holds that the original direction of prayer was toward Jerusalem, holy city of Jews and Christians. However, the site is not specified. And the earliest extant Qurans--from the ninth century--do not even contain this verse, suggesting that it is a later addition. So Gibson questions the identification of Jerusalem as the original direction of prayer: Petra had been sacred to the Arabs for centuries. The valley walls are covered with the graffiti of Arab pilgrims to pre-Islamic shrines. If Petra was indeed where Muhammad received his mission, its sacred character would have then transcended these roots. Jerusalem, he argues, only later took on special significance to Arabs. These lines of evidence point instead toward Petra as the unnamed original direction of prayer.

अग्निः॑ प्रा॑श्नातु प्रथमः॑। स॑ हि॑ वे॑द य॑था हविः॑। अ॑रिष्टमस्मा॑कं कृण्व॑न्। ब्राह्मणो॑ ब्राह्मणे॑भियः॥ —आपस्तम्बमन्त्रप्रश्न॑ 2.10.7 . (This is the metrically restored version. The सं॑हिता has a deficient syllable with ब्राह्मणे॑भ्यः. The first two lines are also तैत्तिरीयब्रा॑ह्मण 2.4.8.7.3–4 and काठसं॑हिता 13.15.10, but the latter are unique to this text.) . Translation: "Let अग्नि॑ consume the oblation first—because He knows thus—making us safe from injury, the ब्राह्मण॑ for ब्राह्मण॑s." . Word-by-word: अग्नि॑स् < अग्नि॑, प्र॑ अश्नातु < प्र॑ अश् "consume", प्रथम॑स् < प्रथम॑ "first", स॑स् < स॑ "He", हि॑ "because", वे॑द < विद् "know", य॑था "thus", हवि॑स् "oblation", अ॑- "not", रिष्टम् < रिष्ट॑ < रिष् "injury", अस्मा॑कम् < वय॑म् "we", कृण्व॑न् < कृ "make", ब्राह्मण॑स् < ब्राह्मण॑, ब्राह्मणे॑भियस् < ब्राह्मण॑. . Meter: अनुष्टु॑भ् . Context: According to आपस्तम्बगृह्यसू॑त्र 5.13.16, this verse is to be recited by a host while sacrificing the belly of a cow into the fire in honor of a guest. Contrary to modern Hindu nationalist narratives, bulls and cows were certainly killed and eaten in Vedic times; but contrary to liberal narratives, they were only killed in special circumstances rather than regularly like other animals, and otherwise were called अ॑घ्न्य "not to kill". According to आपस्तम्ब, for example: एतावद्गोरालम्भनमतिथिः पितरो विवाहश्च। "Thus (the occasions for) the sacrifice of a cow are a guest, the Fathers, and a marriage."

I’m an atheist.