Sunrise on the Ganga River, Rishidwar, India
Sunrise on the Ganga River, Rishidwar, India
Song of creation: first words recorded
The gramophone (aka record player) was invented by Thomas Alva Edison in the United States in the 19th century. For the first recording, and to demonstrate the new machine, Edison asked Professor Max Muller, an eminent scholar of Sanskrit in England, to speak in front of an audience.
After recording Muller’s voice on a disk in the morning, Edison played it back to the audience on the gramophone in the afternoon. The audience was thrilled to hear the voice of Max Muller coming from the instrument. After several rounds of applause and congratulations to Thomas Edison, Muller came to the stage and addressed the audience and said, “You heard my original voice in the morning. Then you heard the same voice coming out from this instrument in the afternoon. Do you understand what I said in the morning or what you heard in the afternoon?”
The audience fell silent because they could not understand the language in which Muller had spoken. Muller explained it was Sanskrit and the words he recorded was the first sloka of the Rig Veda: agni meele purohitam. The Rig Veda is comprised of hymns, or songs, of creation.
Max Muller explained his choice to the audience. He said, “Vedas are the oldest text of the human race and agni meele purohitam is the first verse of Rig Veda. In the most primordial time, when the people did not know how even to cover their bodies and lived by hunting and housed in caves, Indians had attained high civilization and they gave the world universal philosophies in the form of the Vedas.”
When agni meele purohitam was replayed the entire audience stood up in silence as a mark of respect for the ancient Indian Sages.
Thanks to Krista for sending me this tale.
Mariellen Ward is a freelance travel writer whose personal style is informed by a background in journalism, a dedication to yoga and a passion for sharing the beauty of India’s culture and wisdom with the world. She has traveled for about a year altogether in India and publishes an India travel blog, Breathedreamgo.com. Mariellen also writes for magazines and newspapers.
