Group 4Night

Hardy K.Jillian D.Katie L.Dan W.

Hannah M.

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InterpretationNight, one of the many works in the Rig Veda, tells about the daily and nightly cycles of Ratri, goddess of night. It starts out just as “the goddess Night” has pushed down out of her way. Night is endless and engulfs everything, showing her power and depth.

However, just as Dawn moved for Night, the passage reads “Darkness, too, will give way,” (Rig Veda, page 456). At the beginning of the story, Ratri is praised. Near the end, though, she is cast away as a negative force. This shows the continuity in the story, the never ending cycle of dawn and dusk, and coming full circle, as with karma, is a fundamental belief Hinduism is based on.

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Characteristics of Ratri• Ancient Vedic goddess; existed before Hindu Pantheon• Symbol of night time and darkness• Sister of Ushas (dawn goddess)• Both sisters often persued by Surya, Hindu god of the sun• Ratri’s parents – father: Dyaus mother: Prithivi• Also considered guardian of law, order of the universe, and the waves of time• Provides safety through hours of darkness• Deposits morning dew as a sign of hope • Believed powers: Superhuman strength, longevity, resistance to injury, and several powers

mystical in nature• Name literally translates to “Night time” in Kannada, a language of South India• Described as beautiful in appearance, but never fully depicted• Often associated with the bad things of the night (wolves, thieves, death), which is why some

View her as a negative goddess. Some view her as benign, others hostile• Sister Ushas often called her twin, but not confirmed

^ represent the balance and stability of the cosmos… yin and yang, light and darkness, etc.

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Use of Apostrophe

• Apostrophe- it is a figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent or dead person, a deity, or abstract quality, or something nonhuman as if it were present and capable of responding.

• The night is a goddess so she’s not going to respond to people

• She is also something nonhuman she takes the form of night which can't respond but is thought to respond. the people believe she can respond to them.

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Significance of Night in Hinduism

• People who practice Hinduism value the Vedas because they tell them of their religion. The Hindu people follow the words of the Vedas just as Catholics follow the Bible and the Jewish follow the writing of the Torah. They tell of the stories that have brought the Hindu religion to where it is today. The Vedas also guide the Hindu by telling them who and how to worship, as well as explaining their beliefs. They were written to the goddess of night, who is just one of the goddesses that the Hindu people worship.

That’s All

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