Ludwig admits this, but both he and Grassmann translate the verse.
GRASSMANN: Durch stetes Opfer mocht ich euch gewinnen recht, Gebet, das zu euch Gottern drengt, empfangt ihr gern.
Lupwic: Bei jedem opfer ist zusammen mit euch der siegreich thitige, in jedem lied hat der fromme an euch gedacht.
Ludwig proposes to read Adidhiye or devayad 4 didhiye, but even then the construction remains difficult.
Note 1. Yag#a-yag#d, an adverbial expression, much the same as yag#e yagte (I, 136, 1); it occurs once more in VI, 48, 1.
Note 2. Tuturva#i# does occur here only, but is formed like gugurvazi, I, 142, 8, and susukvani, VIII, 23, 5. Possibly tuturvaziZ might stand for the host of the Maruts in the singular, ‘you hasten together to every sacrifice.’ As to dadhidhve, used in a similar sense, see IV, 34, 3; 37, 1-
As a conjecture, though no more, I propose to read evayah u.
Eva, in the sense of going, quick, is used of the horses of the Maruts, I, 166, 4. More frequently it has the sense of going, moving, than of manner (mos), and as an adverb eva and evam mean in this way (K. Z. II, 235). From this is derived evay4Z, in the sense of quickly moving, an epithet applied to Vish#u, I, 156, 1, and to the Maruts, V, 41,16: kathd d4sema ndmas4 su-d4ndn eva-yé maritak akkha-ukthaihk, How shall we worship with praise and invocations the liberal quick-moving Maruts? I read, with Roth, eva-y4 ; otherwise we should have to take evay4 asp. 282 an adverbial instrumental, like Asay& from 4s4; see Grassmann, s.v. asaya.
In one hymn (V, 87) Evay4-marut, as one word, has become an invocation, reminding us of je PotBe, or Evoe Bacche, and similar forms. Possibly ja may be viatica, though the vowels do not correspond regularly (see yayi, I, 87, 2, note 1).
From eva we have also eva-y4van (fem. evaydvari, VI, 48, 12), which Benfey proposed to divide into evay4-van, quick, again an epithet of Vishzu and the Maruts. If then we read evaya u, without the accent on the last syllable, we should have a proper invocation of the Maruts, ‘ You, quick Maruts, accept prayer after prayer.’
Verse 2.
Note 1. fsham svar are joined again in VII, 66, 9. saha isham svak #a dhimahi. It seems to mean food and light, or water and light, water being considered as invigorating and supporting. Abhigayanta governs the accusative.
Note 2. The meaning of spring was first assigned to vavra by Grassmann.
Note 3. Though I cannot find gévah and ukshamah again, used in apposition to each other, I have little doubt that Grassmann is right in taking both as one word, like raipos Bods in Greek.
Verse 3.
Note 2. The meaning of spring was first assigned to vavra by Grassmann.
Note 3. Though I cannot find gévah and ukshamah again, used in apposition to each other, I have little doubt that Grassmann is right in taking both as one word, like raipos Bods in Greek.
Verse 3.
Note 1. The first line of this verse is extremely difficult. GRASSMANN translates : Den Somasiaften gleichen sie, den kraftigen, Die eingeschliirft sich regen, nimmer wirkungslos. LupwiG: Die wie Soma, das gepresst aus saftvollen stengel, aufgenommen ins innere freundlich weilen. It may be that the Maruts are likened to Somas, because they refresh and strengthen. So we read VIII, 48, 9: tvdm hi nak tanvak Soma gop4s gatre-gatre ni-sasattha. For thou, O Soma, has sat down as a guardian in every member of our body. It is possible, therefore, though I shall say no more, that the poet wished to say that the Maruts, bringing rain and
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cooling the air, are like Somas in their refreshing and invigorating power, when stirring the hearts of men. In X, 78, 2, the Maruts are once more compared with Somas, su-sarmazah na sémahk ritam yaté. Should there be a dative hidden in 4sate?
Rambhizi I now take with SAyaza in the sense of a wife clinging to the shoulders of her husband, though what is meant is the spear, or some other weapon, slung over the shoulders; see I, 167, 3.
Verse 5.
Note 1. Hanvd4-iva gihvaya gives no sense, if we take hanv4 as an instrum. sing. Hanu is generally used in the dual, in the Rig-veda always, meaning the two jaws or the two lips. Thus Ait. Br. VII, 11. hand sagihve; AV. X, 2,7. hanvor hi gihvim adadhaé&, he placed the tongue in the jaws. I should therefore prefer to read hand iva, which would improve the metre also, or take hanvé for a dual, as Sayaza does,
One might also translate, ‘Who amongst you, O Maruts, moves by himself, as the jaws by the tongue,’ but the simile would not be so perfect. The meaning is the same as in the preceding verse, viz. that the Maruts are self-born, self-determined, and that they move along without horses and chariots. In X, 78, 2, the Maruts are called svayug, like the winds.
Note 2. I feel doubtful about dhanvaéyut, and feel inclined towards SAyama’s explanation, who takes dhanvan for antariksha. It would then correspond to parvata-syut, dhruva-fyut, &c.
Note 8. Purupraisha may also be, You who have the command of many.
Note 4. As to ahanya/ na étasah, see V, I, 4. svetdh vagi gayate d4gre 4hnam.
Verse 6.
Vithura translated before, I, 87, 3, by broken, means also breakable or brittle. Saya#a explains it by grass, which may be true, though I see no authority for it. Grassmann translates it by leaves. It is derived from vyath.
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Verse 7.
svetdh vagi gayate d4gre 4hnam.
Verse 6.
Vithura translated before, I, 87, 3, by broken, means also breakable or brittle. Saya#a explains it by grass, which may be true, though I see no authority for it. Grassmann translates it by leaves. It is derived from vyath.
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Verse 7.
Sati and rati are used on purpose, the former meaning the acquisition or conquest of good things, the latter the giving away of them. The onslaught of the Maruts is first described as violent and crushing ; their liberality in giving away what they have conquered, chiefly rain, is represented as delightful, like the gifts of a liberal worshipper. Then follows prithugrdyi asuryéva gd#gati. Here asuryA reminds us of the asurya in the preceding hymn, where it occurred as an epithet of Rodasi, the lightning. Przthugtayi, wide-spreading, seems to apply best to the rain, that is, the rati, though it might also apply to the lightning. However, the rati is the storm with rain and lightning, and I therefore propose to read gagghatt for gafgati. Garg is a root which occurs here only, and gaggh too is a root which is unknown to most students of Sanskrit. Benfey*, to whom we owe so much, was the first to point out that gaggh, which Yaska explains by to make a noise and applies to murmuring waters, is a popular form-of gaksh, to laugh, a reduplicated form of has. He shows that ksh is changed into kA in akkhd for aksh4, and into gh and ggh, in Pali and Prakrit, e.g. g#4 for ksh4. The original form gaksh, to laugh, occurs I, 33, 7. tvam etén rudatahk gakshatak ka ayodhayaf, thou foughtest them, the crying and the laughing. ,
That the lightning is often represented as laughing we see from the very next verse, dva smayanta vidyutas, the lightnings laughed down; and the very fact that this idea occurs in the next verse confirms me in the view that it was in the poet’s mind in the preceding one. See also I, 23, 12. haskérat vidyutas pari atak gaté&s avantu nak maritak mri- /ayantu nak.
In the only other passage where ga%g occurs, VIII, 43, 8, arkisha ga#ganabhavan, applied to Agni, admits of the same correction, gaggian4bhavan, and of the same translation, ‘laughing with splendour.’
Benfey’s objection to the spelling of gagkgh with two a Gott. Nachr., 1876, No. 13, s. 324.
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aspirates is just with regard to pronunciation, but this would hardly justify our changing the style of our MSS., which, in this and in other cases, write the two aspirates, though intending them for non-aspirate and aspirate.
Verse 9.
Note 1. Prisni, the mother of the Maruts, who are often called Pr/sni-mAtaraz, gé-mAtara#, and sindhu-matarah.
Note 2. As to svadha in the sense of food, see before, I, 6, 4, note 2, and X, 157, 5.
Note 3. Abhva is more than dark clouds, it is the dark gathering of clouds before a storm, ein Unwetter, or, if conceived as a masculine, as in I, 39, 8, ein Ungethiim. Such words are simply untranslatable.
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Note 3. Abhva is more than dark clouds, it is the dark gathering of clouds before a storm, ein Unwetter, or, if conceived as a masculine, as in I, 39, 8, ein Ungethiim. Such words are simply untranslatable.
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ASHT7AKA I, ADHYAYA 4, VARGA 8-9.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN INDRA AND HIS WoORSHIPPER, AGASTYA.
1. Indra: There is no such thing to-day, nor will it be so to-morrow. Who knows what strange thing? this is? We must consult the thought of another, for even what we once knew seems to vanish,
2. Agastya: Why dost thou wish to kill us, O Indra? the Maruts are thy brothers; fare kindly with them, and do not strike? us in battle.
3. The Maruts: O brother Agastya, why, being a friend, dost thou despise us? We know quite well what thy mind was. Dost thou not wish to give to us?
4. Agastya: Let them prepare the altar, let them light the fire in front! Here we two will spread? for thee the sacrifice, to be seen? by the immortal.
5. Agastya: Thou rulest, O lord of treasures ; thou, lord of friends, art the most generous. Indra, speak again with the Maruts, and then consume our offerings at the right season.
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NOTES.
Although this hymn is not directly addressed to the Maruts, yet as it refers to the before-mentioned rivalry between the Maruts and Indra, and as the author is supposed to be the same, namely Agastya, I give its translation here.
None of its verses occurs in SV., VS., TS., AV.
The Anukramazika ascribes verses 1, 3, 4 to Indra, 2 and 5to Agastya; Ludwig assigns verses 1 and 3 to the Maruts, 2, 4, and 5 to Agastya; Grassmann gives verse I to Indra, 2 and 3 to the Maruts, and 4 and 5 to Agastya.
The hymn admits of several explanations. There was a sacrifice in which Indra and the Maruts were invoked together, and it is quite possible that our hymn may owe its origin to this. But it is possible also that the sacrifice may be the embodiment of the same ideas which were originally expressed in this and similar hymns, namely, that Indra, however powerful by himself, could not dispense with the assistance of the storm-gods. I prefer to take the latter view, but I do not consider the former so untenable as I did formerly. The idea that a great god like Indra did not like to be praised together with others is an old idea, and we find traces of it in the hymns themselves, e. g. II, 33, 4. m4 duAstuti, m4 sdhati.
It is quite possible, therefore, that our hymn contains the libretto of a little ceremonial drama in which different choruses of priests are introduced as preparing a sacrifice for the Maruts and for Indra, and as trying to appease the great Indra, who is supposed to feel slighted. Possibly Indra and the Maruts too may have been actually represented by some actors, so that here, as elsewhere, the first seeds of the drama would be found in sacrificial performances.
Possibly Indra and the Maruts too may have been actually represented by some actors, so that here, as elsewhere, the first seeds of the drama would be found in sacrificial performances.
I propose, though this can only be hypothetical, to take the first verse as a vehement complaint of Indra, when asked to share the sacrifice with the Maruts. In the secondp. 288 verse Agastya is introduced as trying to pacify Indra. The third verse is most likely an appeal of the Maruts to remind Indra that the sacrifice was originally intended for them. Verses 4 and 5 belong to Agastya, who, though frightened into obedience to Indra, still implores him to make his peace with the Maruts.
Verse 1.
Note 1. In the first verse Indra expresses his surprise in disconnected sentences, saying that such a thing has never happened before. I do not take ddbhuta (nie da gewesen) in the sense of future, because that is already contained in svas. The second line expresses that Indra does not remember such a thing, and must ask some one else, whether he remembers anything like it. We ought to take abhisamkarénya as one word, and probably in the sense of to be approached or to be accepted. Abhisamérin, however, means also changeable,
Verse 2.
Note 1. VadhiZ is the augmentless indicative, not subjunctive ; see, however, Delbriick, Synt. Forsch. I, pp. 21,
115. Verse 4.
Note 1. Ketana refers to yagv#a as in VIII, 13, 8. It means that which attracts the attention of the gods (IV, 7, 2), and might be translated by beacon.
Note 2, The dual tanavavahai is strange. It may refer, as Grassmann supposes, to Agastya and his wife, Lopamudra, but even that is very unusual. See Oldenberg, K. Z. XXXIX, 62. Professor Oldenberg (K. Z. XXXIX, 60 seq.) takes this and the next hymn as parts of the same Akhy4na hymn, and as intimately connected with the Marutvatiya SAastra of the midday Savana, in the Soma sacrifice.
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MANDALA I, HYMN 171. ASHZ7AKA II, ADHYAYA 4, VARGA 11.
To tHE Maruts (THE STORM-GoDs).
1. I come to you with this adoration, with a hymn I implore the favour! of the quick (Maruts). O Maruts, you have rejoiced? in it clearly %, put down then all anger and unharness your horses !
2. This reverent praise of yours, O Maruts, fashioned in the heart, has been offered by the mind!, O gods! Come to it, pleased in your mind, for you give increase to (our) worship *.
3. May the Maruts when they have been praised be gracious to us, and likewise Maghavat (Indra), the best giver of happiness, when he has been praised. May our trees (our lances)! through our valour stand always erect, O Maruts!
4. I am afraid of this powerful one, and trembling in fear of Indra. For you the offerings were prepared,—we have now put them away, forgive us !
May our trees (our lances)! through our valour stand always erect, O Maruts!
4. I am afraid of this powerful one, and trembling in fear of Indra. For you the offerings were prepared,—we have now put them away, forgive us !
5. Thou through whom the Manas? see the mornings, whenever the eternal dawns flash forth with power?, O Indra, O strong hero, grant thou glory to us with the Maruts, terrible with the terrible ones, strong and a giver of victory.
6. O Indra, protect thou these bravest of men? (the Maruts), let thy anger be turned away? from the Maruts, for thou hast become? victorious together with those brilliant heroes. May we have an invigorating autumn, with quickening rain!
[32] U
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NOTES.
The Anukramazi assigns verses 1 and 2 to the Maruts, the rest to Indra Marutvat. The poet is again Agastya. The whole hymn corresponds to the situation as described in the preceding hymns, and leads on to a kind of compromise between the Maruts, who seem really the favourite gods of the poet, and Indra, an irresistible and supreme deity whose claims cannot be disregarded.
None of the verses of this hymn occurs in SV., VS., TS., AV.
Verse 1.
Note 1. Sumati here means clearly favour, as in I, 73, 6, 7; while in I, 166, 6 it means equally clearly prayer.
Note 2. Ludwig takes rard#ata as referring to sikténa and ndmas&. The accent of rar4#ata is irregular, and likewise the retaining of the final long 4 in the Pada text. Otherwise the form is perfectly regular, namely the 2 p. plural of the reduplicated aorist, or the so-called aorist of the causative*. PAxini (VII, 4, 2, 3) gives a number of verbs which form that aorist as vu uv —,and not as u— vu, eg. asasdsat, not asisasat; ababddhat, ayaydkat, &c. Someverbs may take. both forms, e.g. abibhragat and ababhragat. This option applies to all KazyAdi verbs, and one of these is raz, which therefore at the time of Katyayana was supposed to have formed its reduplicated aorist both as ararazat and as ariravat. Without the augment we expect riravata or raravata. The question is why the final a should have been lengthened not only in the Samhit4, that would be explicable, but in the Pada text also. The conjunctive of the perfect would be rardvzata. See also Delbriick, Verbum, p- 111.
Note 3. Vedydbhis, which Ludwig translates here by um dessentwillen, was ihr erfaren sollt, I have translated by clearly, though tentatively only.
® See Sanskrit Grammar, § 372, note.
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Verse 2.
Note 1. The same idea is expressed in X, 47, 7. hridisprésahk manasa vakyamanak. Note 2. Ndmasak vridhdsak is intended to convey the idea that the Maruts increase or bless those who worship them.
Verse 3. Note 1. The second line has given rise to various interpretations. GRASSMANN:
Uns mégen aufrecht stehn wie schéne Baume Nach unsrem Wunsch, O Maruts, alle Tage.
LuDwiGc: Hoch mégen sein unsere ‘kaimpfenden lanzen, alle tage, O Marut, sigesstreben.
Verse 3. Note 1. The second line has given rise to various interpretations. GRASSMANN:
Uns mégen aufrecht stehn wie schéne Baume Nach unsrem Wunsch, O Maruts, alle Tage.
LuDwiGc: Hoch mégen sein unsere ‘kaimpfenden lanzen, alle tage, O Marut, sigesstreben.
As komyé never occurs again, it must for the present be left unexplained.
There was another difficult passage, I, 88, 3. medh& vana na krinavante drdhvA, which I translated,‘ May the Maruts stir up our minds as they stir up the forests.’ I pointed out there that Ordhva means not only upright, but straight and strong (I, 172, 3; II, 30, 3), and I conjectured that the erect trees might have been used as a symbol of strength and triumph. Vana, however, may have been used poetically for anything made of wood, just as cow is used for leather or anything made of leather. In that case vana might be meant for the wooden walls of houses, or even for lances (like 3ovpara from 8épv=Sk. daru), and the adjective would probably have to determine the true meaning. If connected with komala it might have the same meaning as edfeords.
Prof. Oldenberg suggests that vanani may be meant for the wooden vessels containing the Soma.
Verse 5.
Note 1. The MAnas are the people of MAnya, see I, 165, 15, note I, and there is no necessity for taking mana, with Grassmann, as a general name for poet (Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. xvi, p. 174).
U2
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Note 2. It is doubtful to which word savasa belongs. I take it to be used adverbially with vyushZishu.
Verse 6.
Note 1. We might also translate, ‘protect men from the stronger one,’ as we read I, 129, 4. patam #a sdhyasak yuvam sa rabhyasah na; and still more clearly in IV, 55,1. sahiyasad varuza mitra martat. But I doubt whether nvfn by itself would be used in the sense of our men, while narak is a common name of the Maruts, whether as divak narah, I, 64, 4, or as ndrak by themselves, I, 64, 10; 166, 13, &c.
Note 2. On the meaning of avayé in dvay4tahe/4d, see Introduction, p. xx?
Note 8. On dadhanaZ, see VIII, 97, 13, &c.
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MANDALA I, HYMN 172. ASHTAKA II, ADHYAYA 4, VARGA 12.
To THE Maruts (THE STORM-GODS).
1. May your march be brilliant, brilliant through your protection, O Maruts, you bounteous givers, shining like snakes !
2. May that straightforward shaft of yours, O Maruts, bounteous givers, be far from us, and far the stone which you hurl!
3. Spare, O bounteous givers, the people of Trznaskanda, lift us up that we may live!
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NOTES.
The hymn is ascribed to Agastya, the metre is Gayatri. None of its verses occurs in SV.,VS., TS., AV.
Verse 1.
Prof. Oldenberg conjectures Aitra dt{Z, and possibly mahibhanavad for ahibhanavak. See for y4mak fitrah ati V, 52, 2. té ydman panti; also VI, 48, 9.
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MANDALA II, HYMN 34. ASHTAKA II, ADHYAYA 7, VARGA 19-21.
To THE Maruts (THE STORM-GoDS).
Verse 1.
Prof. Oldenberg conjectures Aitra dt{Z, and possibly mahibhanavad for ahibhanavak. See for y4mak fitrah ati V, 52, 2. té ydman panti; also VI, 48, 9.
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MANDALA II, HYMN 34. ASHTAKA II, ADHYAYA 7, VARGA 19-21.
To THE Maruts (THE STORM-GoDS).
1. The Maruts charged with rain', endowed with fierce force, terrible like wild beasts’, blazing® in their strength‘, brilliant like fires, and impetuous‘, have uncovered the (rain-giving) cows by blowing away the cloud®.
2. The (Maruts) with their rings! appeared like the heavens with their stars’, they shone wide like streams from clouds as soon as Rudra, the strong man, was born for you, O golden-breasted Maruts, in the bright lap of Przsni®.
3. They wash! their horses like racers in the courses, they hasten with the points of the reed? on their quick steeds. O golden-jawed* Maruts, violently shaking (your jaws), you go quick‘ with your spotted deer’, being friends of one mind.
4. Those Maruts have grown to feed! all these beings, or, it may be, (they have come) hither for the sake of a friend, they who always bring quickening rain. They have spotted horses, their bounties cannot be taken away, they are like headlong charioteers on their ways*.
5. O Maruts, wielding your brilliant spears, come hither on smooth! roads with your fiery? cows (clouds) whose udders are swelling; (come hither), being of one mind, like swans toward their nests, to enjoy the sweet offering.
6. O one-minded Maruts, come to our prayers, come to our libations like (Indra) praised by men’!
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Fulfil (our prayer) like the udder of a barren cow?, and make the prayer glorious by booty to the singer.
7. Grant us this strong horse for our chariot, a draught! that rouses our prayers, from day to day, food to the singers, and to the poet in our homesteads? luck’, wisdom, inviolable and_ invincible strength.
8. When the gold-breasted Maruts harness the horses to their chariots, bounteous! in wealth, then it is as if a cow in the folds poured out? to her calf copious food, to every man who has offered libations.
g. Whatever mortal enemy may have placed us among wolves}, shield us from hurt, ye Vasus! Turn the wheels with burning heat*® against him, and strike down the weapon of the impious fiend, O Rudras!
10. Your march, O Maruts, appears brilliant, whether even friends have milked the udder of Prisni, or whether, O sons of Rudra, you mean to blame him who praises you, and to weaken those who are weakening Trita, O unbeguiled heroes’.
11. We invoke you, the great Maruts, the constant wanderers, at the offering of the rapid Vishzu? ; holding ladles (full of libations) and prayerful we ask the golden-coloured and exalted Maruts for glorious wealth.
12. The Dasagvas (Maruts?)? carried on? the sacrifice first; may they rouse us at the break of dawn. Like the dawn, they uncover the dark nights with the red (rays), the strong ones, with their brilliant light, as with a sea of milk. ‘
12. The Dasagvas (Maruts?)? carried on? the sacrifice first; may they rouse us at the break of dawn. Like the dawn, they uncover the dark nights with the red (rays), the strong ones, with their brilliant light, as with a sea of milk. ‘
13. With the (morning) clouds, as if with glittering red ornaments!, these Maruts have grown great in the sacred places?, Streaming down with rushp. 297ing splendour’, they have assumed their bright and brilliant colour.
14. Approaching! them for their great protection to help us, we invoke them with this worship, they whom Trita may bring near, like the five Hotrz priests for victory’, descending on their chariot to help.
15. May that grace of yours by which you help the wretched? across all anguish, and by which you deliver the worshipper from the reviler, come hither, O Maruts; may your favour approach us like a cow (going to her calf) !
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NOTES.
Hymn ascribed to Gritsamada. Metre, 1-14 Gagati, 15 Trishtubh, according to the paribhasha in the Sarvanukramazi 12,13. See also Ludwig, III, p. 59; Bergaigne, Recherches sur l'histoire de la liturgie védique, 1889, pp. 66 seq.; Oldenberg, Prolegomena, p. 144. None of its verses occurs in SV., VS., AV. The first verse is found in TB. II, 5, 5, 4, with three various readings, viz. tavishébhir tirmibhiz instead of tavishibhir ar#{na#, bhrimim instead of bhv/mim, and r{pa instead of apa.
Verse 1.
Note 1. Dharadvaré#, a word of doubtful import, possibly meaning wishing for rain, or the suitors of the streams of rain. The Maruts are sometimes represented as varas or suitors; cf. V, 60, 4.
Note 2. Cf. II, 33, 11.
Note 3. Bergaigne, II, 381, translates aréinak by chantres, singers, deriving it, as it would seem, from arka which, as he maintains (Journ. Asiat. 1884, IV, pp. 194 seq.), means always song in the RV. (Rel. Véd. I, 279). This, however, is not the case, as has been well shown by Pischel, Ved. Stud. I, pp. 23 seq. Besides, unless we change arkinah into arkizak, we must connect it with ari, light. Thus we read VIII, 41, 8, arkina pada.
Note 4. Tavishébhir Orm{bhi#, the reading of the Taittirlyas, is explained by Sdyava by balavadbhir gamanaizZ. It may have been taken from RV. VI, 61, 2.
Note 5. On vigishin, see I, 64, 125; I, 87, 1.
Note 6. Bhrimi seems to me a name of the cloud, driven about by the wind. The Taittiriyas read bhrimim, and Sayama explains it by megham dhamantas Aalayantaz. In most passages, no doubt, bhyzmi means quick, fresh, and is opposed to radhra, IV, 32,2; VII, 56,20. In I, 31, 16, as applied to Agni, it may mean quick. But in our passage that meaning is impossible, and I prefer the traditional
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In most passages, no doubt, bhyzmi means quick, fresh, and is opposed to radhra, IV, 32,2; VII, 56,20. In I, 31, 16, as applied to Agni, it may mean quick. But in our passage that meaning is impossible, and I prefer the traditionalp. 299 meaning of cloud to that of storm-wind, adopted by Benfey and Roth. The expression ‘to blow a storm-wind’ is not usual, while dham is used in the sense of blowing away clouds and darkness. The cows would then be the waters in the clouds. It is possible, however, that Sdyaza’s explanation, according to which bhvzmi is a musical instrument, may rest on some traditional authority. In this case it would correspond to dhamantaé vazdm, in I, 85, 107.
Verse 2.
Note 1. On khadin, see I, 166, 9, note 2 On rukmavakshas, I, 64, 4, note 1. Golden-breasted is meant for armed with golden chest-plates. The meaning seems to be that the Maruts with their brilliant khadis appear like the heavens with their brilliant stars. The Maruts are not themselves lightning and rain, but they are seen in them, as Agni is not the fire, but present in the fire, or the god of fire. Thus we read, RV. III, 26, 6. agné# bhdmam marutéam dgak, ‘The splendour of Agni, the strength of the Maruts,’ i.e. the lightning. It must be admitted, however, that a conjecture, proposed by Bollensen (Z.D.M.G. XLI, p. 501), would improve the verse. He proposes to read rishtayak instead of vrishfayak. We should then have to translate, ‘ Their spears shone like lightnings from the clouds.’ These rish¢is or spears are mentioned by the side of khadi and rukma in RV. V, 54, 11, and the compound vishdividyutak is applied to the Maruts in I, 168, 5 and V, 52, 13. The difficulty which remains is abhr{yak.
Note 2. On dy4vo na strzbhiZ, see note to I, 87, 1.
Note 3. The second line is full of difficulties. No doubt the Maruts are represented as the sons of Rudra (V, 60, 5; VI, 66, 3), and as the sons of Prisni, fem., being called Prfsni-matarak. Their birth is sometimes spoken of as unknown (VII, 56, 2), but hardly as mysterious. Who knows their birth, hardly means more than ‘the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh.’ Prisni as a feminine is the speckled sky, and the cloud may have been conceivedp. 300 as the udder at the same time that Pvésni was conceived as a cow (I, 160, 3). Nothing seems therefore more natural than that we should translate, ‘When Rudra had begotten you in the bright lap of Présni.’ The bright lap, sukram fidha4, is an idiomatic expression (VI, 66, 1; IV, 3,10), and I see no reason why we should with Roth, K.Z. X XVI, 49, change the sukré of the padap4¢a into sukrad and refer it to vvésha.
X XVI, 49, change the sukré of the padap4¢a into sukrad and refer it to vvésha.
The real difficulty lies in 4gani. Can it mean he begot, as Bergaigne (Religion Védique, III, 35) interprets it? Wherever agani occurs it means he was born, and I doubt whether it can mean anything else. It is easy to suggest aganit, for though the third person of the aorist never occurs in the RV., the other persons, such as aganishéa, ganish/hah, are there. But, as the verse now stands, we must translate,‘ When Rudra was born for you, he the strong one in the bright udder of Prisni.’ Could Rudra be here conceived as the son, he who in other passages is represented as the husband of Présni? There is another passage which may yield the same sense, VI, 66, 3. vidé hi maté mahad maht sf, s& {t prf/snizh subhvé garbham 4 adhat, ‘for she, the great, is known as the mother of the great, that very Prisni conceived the germ (the Maruts) for the strong one.’
Verse 3.
Note 1. Ukshante is explained by washing, cleaning the horses, before they start for a new race. See V, 59, I. ukshante dsvan, followed by tdrushante 4 r4gaz; IX, 109, 10. asvak na niktds vagi dhdndya; Satap. Br. XI, 5, 5, 13. Pischel (Ved. Stud. I, 189) supposes that it always refers to the washing after a race.
Note 2. Naddsya karnaik is very difficult. Sdyana’s explanation, meghasya madhyapradesaik, ‘through the hollows of the cloud,’ presupposes that nada by itself can in the RV. be used in the sense of cloud, and that karza, ear, may have the meaning of a hole or a passage. To take, as BR. propose, karva in the sense of karma, eared, with long ears, would not help us much. Grassmann’sp. 301 translation, ‘mit der Wolke schnellen Fittigen,’ is based on a conjectural reading, nadasya parxaik. Ludwig's translation, ‘mit des fluszes wellen den raschen eilen sie,’ is ingenious, but too bold, for karza never means waves, nor nada river in the Rig-veda. The Vedarthayatna gives: ‘they rush with steeds that make the roar,’ taking karnaik for kartribhiZ, which again is simply impossible. The best explanation is that suggested by Pischel, Ved. Stud., p. 189. He takes nada for reed, and points out that whips were made of reeds. The karza would be the sharp point of the reed, most useful for a whip. I cannot, however, follow him in taking 4subhiz in the sense of accelerating. I think it refers to asva in the preceding pada.
Stud., p. 189. He takes nada for reed, and points out that whips were made of reeds. The karza would be the sharp point of the reed, most useful for a whip. I cannot, however, follow him in taking 4subhiz in the sense of accelerating. I think it refers to asva in the preceding pada.
Note 8. Hiramyasipra#. Sipra, in the dual sipre, is intended for the jaws, the upper and lower jaws, as in RV. I, 101, 10. vi syasva s{pre, open the jaws. See Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 249, note. RV. III, 32, 1; V, 36, 2, sipre and hand; VIII, 76,10; X, 96, 9. sfpre harizit davidhvatah ; X, 105, 5. siprabhydm siprizivan. In the plural, however, siprak, V, 54, 11 (siprad sirshasu vitata# hirazyayih), VIII, 9,25, is intended for something worn on the head, made of gold or gold threads. As we speak of the ears of a cap, that is, lappets which protect the ears, or of the checks of a machine, so in this case the jaws seem to have been intended for what protects the jaws, and not necessarily for the real jaw-bones of an animal, used as an helmet, and afterwards imitated in any kind of metal. As to siprin it may mean helmeted or possessed of jaws. To be possessed of jaws is no peculiar distinction, yet in several of the passages where siprin occurs, there is a clear reference to eating and drinking; see VI, 44, 14; VIII, 2, 28; 17,4; 32,24; 33,73 92,4; see also s{pravdn in VI, 17,2. It is possible therefore that like susipra, siprin also was used in the sense of possessed of jaw-bones, i.e. of strong jaw-bones. Even such epithets as hirazya-sipra, hari-sipra, hiri-sipra may mean possessed of golden, possibly of strong jaws. (M.M., Biographies of Words, p. 263, note.) Roth takes harisipra as yellow-jawed, hirisipra as goldencheeked, or with golden helmet, hirazyasipra, with goldenp. 302 helmet. A decision between golden-jawed or golden-helmeted is difficult, yet golden-jawed is applicable in all cases.
In our passage we must be guided by davidhvatas, which together with s{pra occurs again X, 96, 9. spre vdgaya harizi davidhvata%, shaking the golden jaws, and it seems best to translate: O ye golden-jawed Maruts, shaking (your jaws), you go to feed.
Note 4. If we retain the accent in prikshdm, we shall have to take it as an adverb, from priksha, quick, vigorous, like the German snél. This view is supported by Pischel, Ved. Stud. I, 96. If, however, we could change the accent into préksham, we might defend Sayaza’s interpretation. We should have to take pr¢ksham as the accusative of przksh, corresponding to the dative pvzkshé in the next verse. Priksh is used together with subh, ish, drg (VI, 62, 4), and as we have subham yé, we might take pr¢#ksham y4 in the sense of going for food, in search of food. But it is better to take pyzksham as an adverb. In the next verse prikshé is really a kind of infinitive, governing bhivana.
Priksh is used together with subh, ish, drg (VI, 62, 4), and as we have subham yé, we might take pr¢#ksham y4 in the sense of going for food, in search of food. But it is better to take pyzksham as an adverb. In the next verse prikshé is really a kind of infinitive, governing bhivana.
Note 5. Tradition explains the Przshatis as spotted deer, but przshadasva, as an epithet of the Maruts, need not mean having Prishatis for their horses, but having spotted horses. See Bergaigne, Rel. Ved. II, p. 378, note.
Verse 4.
Note 1. Ludwig translates: Zu narung haben sie alle dise wesen gebracht; Grassmann: Zur Labung netzten alle diese Wesen sie. Ludwig suggests Aitraya for mitraya; Oldenberg, far better, mitraydva/, looking for friends, like mitrayivaz, in I, 173, 10.
Note 2. On vaydna, see Pischel in Vedische Studien, p. 301. But why does Pischel translate rigipyd by bulls, referring to VI, 67, 11?
Verse 5.
Note 1. AdhvasmdbhiZ seems to mean unimpeded or smooth. Cf. IX, 91, 3.
Note 2. The meaning of indhanvabhié is very doubtful.
p. 303
Verse 6.
Note 1. Narém na sdmsah, the original form of Narasamsah, I take here as a proper name, Mannerlob (like Frauenlob, the poet) referring to Indra. Bergaigne, I, p- 305, doubts whether Narasamsa can be a proper name in our passage, but on p. 308 he calls it an appellation of Indra.
Note 2. Asvim iva, gives a sense, but one quite inappropriate to the Veda. It would mean, ‘fill the cow in her udder like a mare.’ I therefore propose to read asvim iva (asuam iva), from asd, a cow that is barren, or a cow that has not yet calved. Thus we read, I, 112, 3. yébhiz dhenim asvam pinvatha, ‘with the same help with which you nourish a barren cow.’ Cf. I, 116, 22. staryim pipyathu% gdm, ‘ you have filled the barren cow.’ If asvim iva dhentm is a simile, we want an object to which it refers, and this we find in dhfyam. Thus we read, V, 71, 2; VII, 94, 2; IX, 19, 2, pipyatam dhfyad, to fulfil prayers. I know, of course, that such changes in the sacred text will for the present seem most objectionable to my friends in India, but I doubt not that the time will come when they will see that such emendations are inevitable. I see that in the appendix to the Petersburg Dictionary, s.v. asi, the same conjecture has been suggested.
.
Verse 7.
Note 1. Here again I have taken great liberties. Ap4nam is explained by Sayama as a participle for Apnuvantam. This participle, though quite correct (see Lindner, Altindische Nominalbildung, p. 54), does not occur again in the RV., nor does it yield a proper meaning. It could only mean, ‘give us a horse to the chariot, an obtaining prayer, rousing the attention (of the gods) day by day.’ Apdna may mean a drinking or carousing, and I do not see why we should not take it in that sense. Sacrifices in ancient times were often festivals; VII, 22, 3. im& brahma sadham4de gushasva, ‘ accept these prayers at our feast.’ If we suppose that 4p4na refers to the drinking of Soma, then
Sacrifices in ancient times were often festivals; VII, 22, 3. im& brahma sadham4de gushasva, ‘ accept these prayers at our feast.’ If we suppose that 4p4na refers to the drinking of Soma, thenp. 304 nothing is more appropriate than to call the drinking kitayat, exciting, brdhma, a hymn. Anyhow I can discover no better meaning in this line. Grassmann, who knows that itayati means to excite, yet translates: ‘Gebt Gebet, das durchdringt, euch erinnernd Tag fiir Tag.’ Ludwig: ‘Das erfolgreiche brahma, das erinnernde tag fiir tag.’ Possibly we should have to change the accent from Ap4nd to 4pdna. Apand in IX, 10, 5 is equally obscure.
Note 2. On vrigana, see I, 165, 15%. For fuller discussions of the various meanings of vrigana, see Geldner, Ved. Stud. I, 139; Oldenberg, Géttinger gel. Anzeigen, 1890, pp. 410 seq.; Ph. Colinet, Les principes de l’exégése védique d’aprés MM. Pischel et Geldner, p. 28; Ludwig, Uber Methode bei Interpretation des Rigveda, 1890, pp. 27 seq.
Note 3. Sanf means acquiring, success, luck, gain, and is often placed in juxtaposition with medh4, wisdom. If they are thus placed side by side, san{ looks almost like an adjective, meaning efficient. RV. 1,18, 6. sanifm medh&m aydsisham, ‘I had asked for efficient, true, real wisdom, or, ‘I had asked for success and wisdom.’ In such passages, however, as V, 27, 4. dadat ri#4 sanim yaté dddat medhém ritayaté, it is clear that sanf was considered as independent and different from medhd (rikayaté = ritayaté).
Verse 8.
Note 1. On sud&navad, see note to I, 64, 6. It must often be left open whether sud4nu was understood as bounteous, or as having good rain or good Soma.
Note 3. Pinvate, lit. to make swell or abound.
Verse 9.
Note 1. Vrikat&ti is an old locative of vrzkatat, wolfhood. To place us in wolfhood means to treat us as wolves, or as vogelfrei. Others take it to mean treating us as a wolf would treat us.
Note 2. Tapusha fakriy4. According to Lanman (p. 571) tapushad might be taken as an acc. dual fem. I know,p. 305 however, of no strictly analogous cases, and prefer to take tdpusha as an instrumental, this being its usual employment.
Verse 10.
Note 2. Tapusha fakriy4. According to Lanman (p. 571) tapushad might be taken as an acc. dual fem. I know,p. 305 however, of no strictly analogous cases, and prefer to take tdpusha as an instrumental, this being its usual employment.
Verse 10.
Note 1. The second line is obscure. Neither Grassmann nor Ludwig nor Sayaza can extract any intelligible meaning from it. I have translated it, but I am far from satisfied. There may be an antithesis between the friends (the Maruts themselves, see V, 53, 2), milking the udder of Présni, and the Maruts coming to blame their friends for not offering them sacrifices, or for offering them sacrifices in common with Indra. In the first case when they, as friends, milk the cloud, their approach is brilliant and auspicious. In the second case, when they come to blame those who ought to celebrate them, or those who are actually hostile to them by causing the ruin or decay of a friend of the Maruts, such as Trita, their approach is likewise brilliant, but not auspicious. Trita is a friend of the Maruts whom they assist in battle, and it is possible that this legend may be alluded to here. Sometimes Trita seems also connected with the third libation which was offered at sunset, just as Vishnu represented the second libation which was offered at noon*, Thus we read, VIII, 12, 16. yat s6mam indra vishvavi yat va gha trité Aptyé ydt va marutsu mdndase, ‘whether you, Indra, enjoy the Soma near Vishzu, or near Trita Aptya, or among the Maruts.’ Sakapiai, as quoted by Yaska (Nir. XII, 19), explains the three steps of Vishnu as earth, sky, and heaven; Aurnavabha distinguishes Sam4rohaza, Vishzupada, and Gayasiras. But all this does not help us to disentangle our verse. It should be added that Bergaigne makes Tritdm to be governed by duhu& (Rel. Véd. II, 327). We should then have to translate, ‘or whether they milk Trita in order to blame the singer, to make them old who make
® Odinn is styled Thridi, by the side of Har and Tafnhar (the high and the even high) as the Third High. At other times he is Tveggi (secundus), Grimm’s Teutonic Mythology, vol. i, p. 162.
[32] xp. 306 others old, or who themselves become old.’ This, however, does not help us much. Professor Oldenberg conjectures that possibly guratdém might be changed to gurdtéam, and that the dual of the verb might refer to Rudra and Présni; or we might read gurdat4 for gurata, if it refers to Rudriyas. Navam4nasya might also be used in the sense of making. a noise (see I, 29,5), and possibly navamanasya nidé might have been intended for shouting and laughing to scorn. But all this leaves the true meaning of the verse as unfathomable as ever.
Verse 11.
Navam4nasya might also be used in the sense of making. a noise (see I, 29,5), and possibly navamanasya nidé might have been intended for shouting and laughing to scorn. But all this leaves the true meaning of the verse as unfathomable as ever.
Verse 11.
Note 1. Vishzor eshasya prabhrithé is obscure. At the offering of the rapid Vishzu is supposed to mean, when the rapid Vishzu offers Soma. The same phrase occurs again, VII, 40, 5. In VIII, 20, 3, we can translate, ‘we know the strength of the Maruts, and of the hasting Vishau, the bounteous gods.’ In VII, 39, 5, the reading is vishzum esham. Bergaigne (II, 419) is inclined to take vishzu esha as Soma. We should then translate, ‘at the offering of Soma.’
Verse 12.
Note 1. The Dasagvas are mentioned as an old priestly family, like the Angiras, and they seem also, like the Angiras, to have their prototypes or their ancestors among the divine hosts. Could they here be identified with the Maruts? They are said to have been the first to carry on the sacrifice, and they are asked to rouse men at the break of the day. Now the same may be said of the Maruts. They are often connected with the dawn, probably because the storms break forth with greater vigour in the morning, or, it may be, because the chasing away of the darkness of the night recalls the struggle between the darkness of the thunderstorm and the brightness of the sun. The matutinal character of the Maruts appears, for instance, in V, 53, 14 (usr{ bheshagdm), and their father Dyaus is likewise called vvishabha usrfyah, V, 58,6. In the second line frmute, though in the singular, refers also to the Maruts in the plural; see Bergaigne, Mélanges Renier,
NOTES. Il, 34, 13. 307
Paris, 1886, p. 80. There still remain two difficult words, maha and gé-armasd. The former (see Lanman, p. 501) may be taken as an adjective referring to the Dasagvas or Maruts, unless we take it as an adverb, quickly, like makshu. If we could change it into mahd, it would form an appropriate adjective to gyotish4, as in IV, 50,4. On g6-armasé all that can be said is that it mostly occurs where something is uncovered or revealed, so I, 112, 18; X, 38, 2.
Note 2. On yagf#am vah, to carry on the sacrifice like - a wagon, see Bergaigne, Rel. Véd. II, 259-260. See also RV. VIII, 26, 15; 58,1, and yag#a-vahas.
Verse 18.
On g6-armasé all that can be said is that it mostly occurs where something is uncovered or revealed, so I, 112, 18; X, 38, 2.
Note 2. On yagf#am vah, to carry on the sacrifice like - a wagon, see Bergaigne, Rel. Véd. II, 259-260. See also RV. VIII, 26, 15; 58,1, and yag#a-vahas.
Verse 18.
Note 1. In interpreting this obscure verse we must begin with what is clear. The aruz&s afigdyah are the wellknown ornaments of the Maruts, mentioned I, 37, 2, note; I, 64, 4, note, &c. The Maruts shine in these ornaments or paints, I, 85, 3; 87,1; V, 56,1; X,78,7. Though we do not know their special character, we know that, like the daggers, spears, and bracelets of the Maruts, they were supposed to contribute to their beautiful appearance. Again, we know that when the Maruts are said to grow (vavridhuz), that means that they grow in strength, in spirits, and in splendour, or, in a physical sense, that the storms increase, that the thunder roars, and the lightnings flash, see V, 55,33 59, 5- Now if it is said that the Rudras grew with kshovzis, as if with bright red ornaments, we must have in these kshozis the physical prototype of what are metaphorically called their glittering ornaments. And here we can only think either of the bright morning clouds (referring to ush&% nd ramth arunafk dpa draute in the preceding verse), or lightnings. These bright clouds of heaven are sometimes conceived as the mothers (III, 9, 2. apa matrfh), and more especially the mothers of the Maruts, who are in consequence called S{ndhu-matarah, X, 78, 6,a name elsewhere given to Soma, IX, 61, 7, and to the Asvins, I, 46, 2. It is said of a well-known hero, Pur(ravas (originally a solar hero), that as soon as he was born the women (gn4) were there, and immediately after-
X 2
p. 308
wards that the rivers increased or cherished him, X, 95, 7- In other passages too these celestial rivers or waters or clouds are represented as women, whether mothers or wives (X, 124, 7). A number of names are given to these beings, when introduced as the companions of the Apsaras Urvasi, and it is said of them that they came along like a%gayahk aruzayah, like bright red ornaments, X, 95,6. It seems clear therefore that the aruz4s afigdyahk of the Maruts have to be explained by the bright red clouds of the morning, or in more mythological language, by the Apsaras, who are said to be like aruzayahk afgdyak. Hence, whatever its etymology may have been, kshow{bhiZ in our passage must refer to the clouds of heaven, and the verse can only be translated, ‘the Rudras grew with the clouds as with their red ornaments,’ that is, the clouds were their red ornaments, and as the clouds grew in splendour, the Maruts grew with their splendid ornaments.
Professor Geldner arrived at a similar conclusion. In Bezzenberger’s Beitrage, XI, p. 327, and more recently in Ved. Stud., p. 277, he assigned to kshowi the meaning of woman, which is quite possible, and would make it a synonym of the celestial gnés. But he translates, ‘the Maruts excite themselves with red colours as with women.’ These are hardly Vedic thoughts, and the position of nd would remain anomalous. Nor should we gain much if we read te kshozayak aruxebhié na a”gibhik, ‘these Rudras were delighted like wives by bright ornaments.’ The bright ornaments have once for all a settled meaning, they are peculiar to the Maruts, and cannot in a Marut hymn be taken in any other sense.
Then comes the question, how is the meaning assigned to kshovi, namely cloud, or, as personified, Apsaras, applicable to other passages? In X, 95, 9, it seems most appropriate: ‘So long as the mortal (Purfravas), longing for the immortal (Apsaras), does not come near with strength to those kshovis, i.e. those Apsaras, or morning clouds, they beautified their bodies like ducks’ (an excellent image, if one watches ducks cleaning themselves in the water), ‘like sporting horses biting each other. Geldnerp. 309 translates this verse somewhat differently, Ved. Stud. I, p. 276.
Having disposed of these two passages where kshoi occurs in the plural, we have next to consider those where it stands in the dual. Here kshozi always means heaven and earth, like rodasi, dyA4vaprithivi, &c.
VIII, 7, 22. sim u tyé mahatiZ apds sim kshoni sdm u siryam...parvasd# dadhuk. They, the Maruts, set the great waters (the sky), heaven and earth and the sun piecemeal (or, they put them together piece by piece).
VIII, 52, 10. sm indrak réyahk brihattz# adhQnuta sdm kshowi sdm u sfiryam. Indra shook the great treasures, heaven and earth, and the sun.
VIII, 99, 6. d4nu te sishmam turdyantam iyatué kshomt sisum nd matara. Heaven and earth followed thy rapid strength, like mother-cows their calf.
II, 16, 3. nd kshowfbhy4m paribhvé te indriyam. Thy strength is not to be compassed by heaven and earth.
VIII, 99, 6. d4nu te sishmam turdyantam iyatué kshomt sisum nd matara. Heaven and earth followed thy rapid strength, like mother-cows their calf.
II, 16, 3. nd kshowfbhy4m paribhvé te indriyam. Thy strength is not to be compassed by heaven and earth.
If after this we look at the passage translated by Professor Geldner, I, 180, 5. apa# kshoxt sakate mahina vam, we see at once that apa’ and kshont cannot be separated, and that we must translate, your M4hin4 reaches heaven and earth and the sky. Mahinda, according to Professor Geldner, means the magnificent woman, namely Sfry4, but it is possible that it may have been meant for ‘mahima, your greatness reaches heaven and earth and the sky. Apdas, which Professor Geldner translates ‘from the water,’ is the acc. plural, meaning the waters between heaven and earth, or the sky. It occurs again in connection with heaven and earth, the sun, heaven, and generally without any copula. Thus, VIII, 7, 22. apd, kshoni, stiryam, i.e. the waters (the sky), heaven and earth, the sun. I, 36, 8. réddasi apah, heaven and earth and the waters; cf. V, 31, 6. Likewise I, 52, 12. apd& svahk paribhif eshi 4 divam; V, 14, 4. avindat g4h apak svak; VI, 47, 14. apdk gh; cf. VI, 60, 2. VII, 44, 1. dy4vaprithivi apad svat, cf. X, 36,1; IX, 90, 4; 91, 6. ,
There remain five passages where kshomid occurs, and where Professor Geldner’s conjecture that it means womenp. 310 holds good. In I, 54,1, it may mean real women, or the women of the clouds. In I, 57, 4; 173, 7; VIII, 3, 10; 13, 17; also in X, 22, 9, women seems the most plausible translation.
Note 2. Xétasya sddandni is almost impossible to translate. It may be the places in heaven where the Maruts are supposed to be, or the places where sacrifices are offered to them.
Note 3. Atyena p4gas4 has been explained in different ways. Sfyaza renders it by always moving power; Grassmann by ‘ mit schnell erregtem Schimmer ;’ Ludwig, ‘mit eilender kraft, though he is no longer satisfied with this meaning, and suggests ‘net for catching. Roth has touched several times on this word. In the Allgemeine Monatsschrift of 1851, p. 87, he suggested for pdgas the meaning of ‘impression of a foot or of a carriage, perhaps also reflection.’ In his Notes on the Nirukta, p. 78 seq., he is very hard on the Indian commentators who explain the word by strength, but who never go conscientiously through all the passages in which a word occurs. He then still maintained that the word ought to be translated by track.
It seems, however, that the most appropriate meaning in the passages in which p4gas occurs is splendour, though of course a stream of light may be conceived as a bright train or path. In some the meaning of light seems quite inevitable, for instance, III, 15, 1. vi p&gas& przthuna sdsukanahk. Agni, shining with broad light.
VIII, 46, 25.4... yah{ makhdya p&ase. Come hither, Vayu, for strong light.
In some the meaning of light seems quite inevitable, for instance, III, 15, 1. vi p&gas& przthuna sdsukanahk. Agni, shining with broad light.
VIII, 46, 25.4... yah{ makhdya p&ase. Come hither, Vayu, for strong light.
III, 14,1. (agniz) prithivydm pdgak asret. Agni assumed (or spread) splendour on earth.
VII, 10, 1. usha# na gardhk prithi p&gak asret. (Agni,) like the lover of the dawn, assumed (or spread) wide splendour.
III, 61, 5. drdhvam madhudhé divi p&gak asret. The dawn assumed rising splendour in the sky.
VII, 3, 4. vi ydsya te prithivydm p&gak dsret. Thou (Agni) whose splendour spread on earth.
p. 311
IX, 68, 3. abhivragan akshitam p4gak 4 dade. (Soma) approaching assumed imperishable splendour. This splendour of Soma is also mentioned in IX, 109, 21, and the expression that he shakes his splendour (v7/tha kar) occurs IX, 76,1; 88,5. (Cf. Geldner, Ved. Stud. I, p. 117.)
In VI, 21, 7. abhf tvA pfgak rakshdsaf vi tasthe, it would, no doubt, seem preferable to translate, ‘the power of the Rakshas came upon thee,’ but the ugram p4gaé, the fierce light, is not out of place either, while in most of the passages which we have examined, the meaning of power would be entirely out of place.
In I, 121, 11, heaven and earth seem to be called p4gasi, the two splendours. Pischel, Ved. Stud. p. 87, translates atyena p&gasa by ‘durch das stattliche Ross,’ namely the Soma, but p&gas seems to be something that belongs to Soma, not Soma himself.
Verse 14. Note 1. Grassmann suggests iyandé instead of iyanak. Note 2. Abhishéaye, for superiority or victory, rather than for assistance. Abhishd, with accent on the last syllable, means conqueror or victorious; see RV. I, 9, 1; III, 34, 4; X, 100, 12; 104, 10.
Verse 15.
Note 1. On radhra and its various applications, see Pischel, Ved. Stud. I, p. 124.
p. 312
MANDALA V, HYMN 82. ASHTAKA IV, ADHYAYA 3, VARGA 8-10.
To THE Maruts (THE: STORM-GoDs).
1. O SyAvAsva, sing boldly with! the Maruts, the singers who, worthy themselves of sacrifice, rejoice in their guileless glory? according to their nature.
2. They are indeed boldly the friends of strong
- power; they on their march protect all who by themselves are full of daring '.
3. Like rushing bulls, these Maruts spring over! the dark cows (the clouds)?, and then we perceive the might of the Maruts in heaven and on earth.
4. Let us boldly offer praise and sacrifice to your Maruts, to all them who protect the generation of men, who protect the mortal from injury.
5. They who are worthy, bounteous, men of perfect strength, to those heavenly Maruts who are worthy of sacrifice, praise the sacrifice !
6. The tall men’, coming near with their bright chains, and their weapon, have hurled forth their spears. Behind these Maruts there came by itself the splendour of heaven, like laughing lightnings*,
7. Those who have grown up on earth, or in the wide sky, or in the realm of the rivers, or in the abode of the great heaven,
Behind these Maruts there came by itself the splendour of heaven, like laughing lightnings*,
7. Those who have grown up on earth, or in the wide sky, or in the realm of the rivers, or in the abode of the great heaven,
8. Praise that host of the Maruts, endowed with true strength and boldness, whether those rushing heroes have by themselves harnessed (their horses) for triumph, g. Or whether these brilliant Maruts have in the (speckled) cloud clothed themselves in wool’, orp. 313 whether by their strength they cut the mountain asunder with the tire of their chariot ;
10. Call them comers, or goers, or enterers, or followers, under all these names, they watch on the straw! for my sacrifice.
11, The men (the Maruts) watch, and their steeds watch. Then, so brilliant are their forms to be seen, that people say, Look at the strangers" !
12. In measured steps! and wildly shouting? the gleemen® have danced toward the well (the cloud). They who appeared one by one like thieves, were helpers to me to see the light‘.
13. Worship, therefore, O seer, that host of Maruts, and keep and delight them with your voice, they who are themselves wise! poets, tall heroes armed with lightning-spears.
14. Approach, O seer, the host of Maruts, as a woman approaches a friend, for a gift’; and you, Maruts, bold in your strength?, hasten hither, even from heaven, when you have been praised by our hymns.
15. If he, after perceiving them, has approached them as gods with an offering, then may he for a gift remain united with the brilliant (Maruts), who by their ornaments are glorious on their march.
16. They, the wise! Maruts, the lords, who, when there was inquiry for their kindred, told me of the cow, they told me of Przsni as their mother, and of the strong Rudra as their father.
17. The seven and seven heroes! gave me each a hundred. On the Yamuna I clear off glorious wealth in cows, I clear wealth in horses.
p. 314
NOTES.
This hymn is ascribed to Sydvasva Atreya. Metre, Anushtubh, 1-5, 7-15; Pankti, 6, 16, and 17. Sdyana seems to take verse 16 as an Anush/¢ubh, which of course is a mistake. No verse of this hymn occurs in SV., VS., TS., TB. MS., AV.
Verse 1.
Note 1 One expects the dative or accusative after arka. The instrumental leaves us no choice but to translate, ‘Sing with the Maruts, who are themselves famous as singers.’ Cf. I, 6, 8; V, 60, 8.
Note 2. On srdva4 mddanti, see Gaedicke, Accusativ, P- 75-
Verse 2. Note L Dhrishadvinas may also refer to the Maruts.
Verse 3.
Note 1. One expects ddhi instead of ati, see Gaedicke, Accusativ, p. 95 seq.
Note 2. See note to I, 37, 5; also, Bartholomae in Bezzenberger’s Beitrige, XV, 211. The’ whole verse has been discussed by Benfey, Vedica und Verwandtes, p. 152 seq-