As you can see in the Anukramani I provided in my answer here, the sage who heard most of the hymns in the Fourth Mandala of the Rig Veda was the sage Vamadeva, a descendant of the sage Gautama. Two of the hymns of this Mandala deal mainly with Garuda's theft of the Soma/Amrita (nectar of immortality) from Devaloka. But as I discuss in this question, the beginnings of these two hymns are considered by the Upanishads to be of profound philosophical significance. Here is how Rig Veda Book 4 Hymn 26 begins:
- I was aforetime Manu, I was Sūrya: I am the sage Kakṣīvān, holy singer. Kutsa the son of Ārjuni I master. I am the sapient Uśanā behold me.
- I have bestowed the earth upon the Ārya, and rain upon the man who brings oblation. I guided forth the loudly-roaring waters, and the Gods moved according to my pleasure.
- In the wild joy of Soma I demolished Śambara's forts, ninety-and-nine, together; And, utterly, the hundredth habitation, when helping Divodāsa Atithigva.
And here is what the Brihadaranyaka Upanishads says about it:
Verily in the beginning this was Brahman, that Brahman knew (its) Self only, saying, 'I am Brahman.' From it all this sprang. Thus, whatever Deva was awakened (so as to know Brahman), he indeed became that (Brahman); and the same with Rishis and men. The Rishi Vâmadeva saw and understood it, singing, 'I was Manu (moon), I was the sun.' Therefore now also he who thus knows that he is Brahman, becomes all this, and even the Devas cannot prevent it, for he himself is their Self.
Similarly here is how Rig Veda Book 4 Hymn 27 begins:
I. As I lay within the womb, considered all generations of these Gods in order. A hundred iron fortresses confined me but forth I flew with rapid speed a Falcon. 2. Not at his own free pleasure did he bear me: he conquered with his strength and manly courage. Straightway the Bold One left the fiends behind him and passed the winds as he grew yet more mighty.
And here is what the Aitareya Upanishads says about it:
And this has been declared by a Rishi (Rv. IV, 27, 1): 'While dwelling in the womb, I discovered all the births of these Devas. A hundred iron strongholds kept me, but I escaped quickly down like a falcon.' Vâmadeva, lying in the womb, has thus declared this.** And having this knowledge he stepped forth, after this dissolution of the body, and having obtained all his desires in that heavenly world, became immortal, yea, he became immortal.
But my question is, are these two hymns of Vamadeva ever used in Vedic Yagnas?
The reason I ask is that as I discuss in this question, the Isha Upanishad occurs in the Samhitas of the Vedas, but Adi Shankaracharya claims that it is never recited during Vedic Yagnas because it deals with Jnana. So I wanted to examine whether two other Vedic hymns that are considered to be about Jnana are also excluded from Yagnas.
So does anyone know if Rig Veda Book 4 Hymns 26 and 27 are ever mentioned in the Brahmanas or Aranyakas of the Vedas? It would help if I could find whether these two hymns also occur in other Vedas, that way I could look in the Brahmanas and Aranyakas of those other Vedas. Does anyone have an index of what hymns of the Rig Veda occur in other Vedas?
