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-
Verse 6.
Note 1. This verse has been discussed before, I, 168, 7, note. Benfey (Nachrichten der K. Ges. der Wiss. zu Gottingen, 1876, 28 Juni; comp. Vedica und Verwandtes, p- 141) translated it: ‘Heran...haben die Helden, die hehren, ihre Speere geschleudert ; ihnen, den Maruts, nach (erheben sich) traun gleichsam lachende Blitze, erhebt sich selbst des Himmels Glanz.’ Rzshvé# seems here, as in verse 13, to refer to the Maruts, as in IV, 19, 1, rishvam refers to Indra, though it can be used of weapons also, see VI, 18, 10. As to the instrumentalis comitativus in rukma{f and yudhd4, see Lanmaan, p. 335.
p. 315
Note 2. Benfey’s explanation of gdghghatih is ingenious, though it leaves some difficulties. The writing of ghgé in Devanagari may have been meant for ggh, as in akhkhalikritya, VII, 103, 3. But there remains the fact that gaksh occurs in the sense of laughing, I, 33, 7, and one does not see why it should have undergone a Prakritic change in our passage, and not there. It might be a mimetic word, to express,the sound of rattling and clattering ; cf. ga#iganabhavan, VITI, 43, 8.
Verse 8.
Note 1. As to the adjective in the masculine gender after sardhas, see I, 37, 1, note. The meaning of rtbhvas, bold, rabid, is doubtful; see Bergaigne, Rel. Véd. II, 408.
Verse 9.
Note 1. Sadya#a takes Parushwi as the name of one of the rivers of the Punjab, called the Iravati, and at present the Ravi. Parushzi might mean speckled, muddy, as a synonym of prisni. Roth has suggested that parushwi might here mean cloud. But what is the meaning of parushai in a similar passage, IV, 22, 2. ({ndrak) sriyé parushzim ushdmasak drnim ydsyAk pdrvani sakhydya vivyé? If it means that Indra clothed himself in speckled wool, that wool might be intended for what we call woolly or fleecy clouds. As the Maruts often perform the same acts as Indra, we might read in our verse utd sma té parusha#is firsz4hk, and pronounce uta sma té pdrushazia tirza, though Lanman, p. 395, objects to ias for fs in the acc. plur. See, however, hetiZ ddevi# in VIII, 61, 16. The instrumental singular is possible, but again unusual with vas, pdrushzy4 tira. Possibly the original meaning of parushi may have been forgotten, and if the name of the river Parushzi was generally known, it might easily have taken the place of parushz?, the cloud. For other explanations see Roth, Uber gewisse Kiirzungen, Wien, 1887; Bartholomae, in Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, XXIX, 583; Schmidt, Die Pluralbildungen der indogermanischen Neutra, 1889,
P- 307.
p. 316
Verse 10.
For other explanations see Roth, Uber gewisse Kiirzungen, Wien, 1887; Bartholomae, in Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, XXIX, 583; Schmidt, Die Pluralbildungen der indogermanischen Neutra, 1889,
P- 307.
p. 316
Verse 10.
Note 1 Vish/ard/ does not occur again, and Lanman is therefore quite justified in assigning to it the meaning of straw (p. 339). He paraphrases: ‘Let their customs carry them where they may, yet when I sacrifice, they wait quietly on the straw, i.e. the altar, for it.’ He reads in the Pada text vi-staré for vi-star4z. Vish¢arin, which occurs AV. IV, 34, 1, does not throw much light on the exact meaning of vish¢4ra in this place. If we retain vish¢4ra/, the nominative, we must assign to it the meaning of crowd, and refer it to the Maruts.
Verse 11.
Note 1. Pardvata is a turtle-dove (VS. XXIV, 25), and it is just possible that the Maruts might have been compared tothem. But paravata is used in VIII, 100, 6, as an epithet of vasu, wealth, and in VIII, 34, 18, we read of rAtis (not ratris), i.e. gifts of Paravata. The river Sarasvati is called paravataghni, killing P4ravata, VI, 61, 2, and in the Pazkav. Br. IX, 4, 11, we hear that Turasravas and the Paravatas offered their Somas together. I am therefore inclined to take P4rdvata, lit. distant people, extranei, strangers, as a name of an Aryan border clan with whom the Vedic Aryas were sometimes at war, sometimes at peace. In that case the frontier-river, the Sarasvati, might be called the destroyer or enemy of the Pardvatas. As their wealth and gifts have been mentioned, to compare the Maruts with the Péravatas may mean no more than that the Maruts also are rich and generous. Ludwig thinks of the Tapufra:, which seems more doubtful. For a different interpretation see Delbriick, Syntax, p. 531.
Verse 12.
Note 1. I take #Aandahstubh in the sense of stepping (according to) a measure, as explained in my Preface(1st ed.), p. cii, though I do not doubt that that meaning was afterwards forgotten, and replaced by the technical meaning of stubh, to shout. See Béhtlingk-Roth, s.v. stubh, andp. 317 stobhagrantha, SAma-veda, Bibl. Ind., II, p. 519. It can hardly be supposed that such artificial performances of Vedic hymns, as are preserved in the Sdma-veda, could have suggested the first names of the ancient metres.
Note 2. Kubhanyt can only be derived from bhan, to shout.
Note 3. The kirfzak are probably intended here for strolling minstrels who, when they approached the well of a village (here the cloud), might be taken either for friends or foes.
Note 4. Drés{ tvishé. Grassmann translates: ‘Wie Rauberbanden schienen sie geschart zum Andrang meinem Blick.’ Ludwig better: ‘Helfer waren sie, glanz zu sehn.’ We mist either read drisé tvishé, to see the light, or drisé tvishi, to be seen by light. See, however, P. G., Ved. Stud. p- 225.
Verse 13.
Drés{ tvishé. Grassmann translates: ‘Wie Rauberbanden schienen sie geschart zum Andrang meinem Blick.’ Ludwig better: ‘Helfer waren sie, glanz zu sehn.’ We mist either read drisé tvishé, to see the light, or drisé tvishi, to be seen by light. See, however, P. G., Ved. Stud. p- 225.
Verse 13.
Note 1. Vedhas, wise. The different possible meanings of this word have been discussed by Ludwig, Z.D.M.G. XL, p. 716; and by Bartholomae, in Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, XXVII, p. 361.
Verse 14.
Note 1. On dand, see Lanman, pp. 533, 335; P. G., Ved. Stud. p. 101, Note 2. Dhvishnavah dgas4 to be read - yu - vu -.
Verse 15.
This verse, as Roth says, is very obscure, and the translation is purely tentative. Grassmann derives vakshav4 from vah in the sense of an offering. It may more easily be derived from vaksh, i.e. what gives increase, and be taken as an instrumental. Pischel shows that in many passages vaksham4 in the plural has the meaning of yoni, also of the yoni on the altar. But even this meaning does not throw much light on our passage. The first pada may possibly be taken in an interrogative and conditional sense, or we may translate: ‘ Now, having perceived them, may he, as a refreshing draught goes to the gods, comep. 318 together with the Maruts for his reward.’ Whatever the verse may mean, eshdm devdn cannot mean the gods of the Maruts, or prove the existence of idols, as Bollensen (Z.D.M.G. XXII, 587) and even Muir (S.T.V, 454) imagined. The translation of Pischel, Ved. Stud. p. 101, siribhiz a#gibhi% mit ‘ Herren, die schmieren, d.h. ordentlich bezahlen,’ seems too exclusively German. Could aagin be an adjective, in the sense of possessed of afigis?
Verse 16,
Note 1. If sikvas is not to be derived from sak (see Hiibschmann, Vocalsystem, pp. 64, 186), we should have to derive nis, night, from a root altogether different from that which yields nakt, ndkta, &c. But how does sfkvas come to mean, according to Ludwig, both bunch of flowers, and flaming? Does he connect it with sikha? Surely, if siksh may stand for sisak-s, why not sik-vas for *sisakvas? ‘Bright’ leaves it doubtful whether it means clever or flaming.
Verse 17.
Note 1. The seven, seven heroes need not be the Maruts, but some liberal patrons who rewarded SyAvAsva. See Bergaigne, Rel. Véd. II, 371.
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MANDALA V, HYMN 53. ASHT7AKA IV, ADHYAYA 38, VARGA 11-18.
To THE Maruts (THE STORM-GODS).
1. Who knows their birth ? or who was of yore in the favour of the Maruts, when they harnessed the spotted deer}?
2. Who has heard them when they had mounted their chariots, how they went forth? For the sake of what liberal giver (Sudas) did they run, and their comrades followed !, (as) streams of rain (filled) with food ?
3. They themselves said to me when day by day! they came to the feast with their birds*?: they (the Maruts) are manly youths and blameless; seeing them, praise them thus ;
3. They themselves said to me when day by day! they came to the feast with their birds*?: they (the Maruts) are manly youths and blameless; seeing them, praise them thus ;
4. They who shine by themselves in their ornaments?, their daggers, their garlands, their golden chains, their rings, going? on their chariots and on dry land.
5. O Maruts, givers of quickening rain, I am made to rejoice, following after your chariots, as after days? going with rain.
6. The bucket which the bounteous heroes shook down from heaven for their worshipper, that cloud they send! along heaven and earth, and showers follow on the dry land.
7. The rivers having pierced? the air with a rush of water, went forth like milk-cows; when your spotted deer roll about ? like horses that have hasted to the resting-place on their road.
8. Come hither, O Maruts, from heaven, from the sky, even from near!; do not go far away!
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g. Let not the Ras&, the Anitabha, the Kubh4, the Krumu, let not the Sindhu delay you! Let not the marshy Sarayu prevent you! May your favour be with us alone!
10. The showers come forth after the host of your chariots, after the terrible Marut-host of the everyouthful heroes },
11, Let us then follow with our praises and our prayers each host of yours, each troop, each company’.
12. To what well-born generous worshipper have the Maruts gone to-day on that march,
13. On which you bring to kith and kin the neverfailing seed of corn? Give us that for which we ask you, wealth and everlasting happiness!
14. Let us safely pass through our revilers, leaving behind the unspeakable and the enemies, Let us be with you when in the morning? you shower down health, wealth 2, water, and medicine, O Maruts!
15. That mortal, O men, O Maruts, whom you protect, may well be always beloved by the gods, and rich in valiant offspring. May we be such !
16, Praise the liberal Maruts, and may they delight on the path of this man here who praises“ them, like cows in fodder. When they go, call after them as for old friénds, praise them who love you, with your song !
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NOTES.
Ascribed to SyAvasva Atreya. Metre, 1, 5, 10, 11, 15 Kakubh; 2 Brzhatt; 3 Anushtubh; 4 Pura-ushzih ; 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 16 Satobrzhati; 8, 12 Gayatri. No verse of this hymn occurs in SV., VS., AV. ; the sixth verse is found in TS. II, 4, 8, 1; MS. II, 4,7; Kaskaka XI, 9.
Verse 1.
Note 1. Kilasi, as fem. of kil4sa, does not occur again. It seems to have meant spotted or marked with pocks, and would be intended for the pr¢shatis. Does Kailasa come from the same source ?
Verse 2.
; the sixth verse is found in TS. II, 4, 8, 1; MS. II, 4,7; Kaskaka XI, 9.
Verse 1.
Note 1. Kilasi, as fem. of kil4sa, does not occur again. It seems to have meant spotted or marked with pocks, and would be intended for the pr¢shatis. Does Kailasa come from the same source ?
Verse 2.
Note 1. Kdsmai sasru/ is much the same as kdsmai adyd sugataya ... pra yayus, in verse 12. We must then begin a new sentence, dnu Apdyad, their comrades after, namely sasruk. Thus we read in verse 10 tam vak sdrdham... anu prd yanti vrish‘dya, where the streams of rain are represented as the followers of the Maruts. We might also translate in our sentence: For what liberal giver did their comrades, the streams of rain with food follow after (the Maruts).
Verse 3.
Note 1 Upa dyubhiz occurs again VIII, 40, 8, and seems to mean from day to day.
Note 2. The birds of the Maruts, probably of the same character as the birds of the Asvins.
Verse 4.
Note 1. I translate azigi by ornament in general, not by paint or ointment, though that may have been its original meaning.
Note 2. On sraya, see Paz. III, 3,24. Dhdnvasu may possibly have been intended as governell by svdbhanavah, and not by srayd4#; see, however, VIII, 33, 6. smasrushu sritah.
[32] ¥
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Verse 5.
Note 1. On dydva#, nom. plur., and rdth4n, acc. plur., compare Bergaigne, Mélanges Renier, p. 88. The text is doubtful, and may be a corruption of vrishfih dydvak yatth iva.
Verse 6.
Note L The Taittiriyas, TS. II, 4, 8, 1, read pargdnyas ;
the Maitreyas, pra pargdnyak svigat4m and yantu.
Verse 7.
Note 1. Tatvidand, as trzd occurs in the Veda in the Parasmaipada only, may be intended for a passive, bored, dug out, tapped. One would, however, expect in that case an instrumental, marudbhiz, by whom they were brought forth.
Note 2. The words vi ydd vartanta eny4% have received various explanations. Wilson translates : ‘When the rivers rush in various directions.’ SAaya#a admits also another meaning : ‘When the rivers grow.’ Ludwig translates : ‘Sich verteilend gehn die schimmernden auszeinander.’ Grassmann, very boldly: ‘Wie Hengste traufelnd, wenn vom Wege heimgekehrt, sie zu den bunten Stuten gehn,’ Vi-vrit seems, however, to have a very special meaning, namely, rolling on the ground, and this the spotted deer are here said to have done, like horses at the end of their journey. We read of the sacrificial horse, Sat. Br. XIII, 5, 1, 16. sa yady ava v4 gighred vi vA varteta, samriddho me yagza iti ha vidy&t; cf. XI, 2, 5,3. In the TS. VII, 1, 19, 3, the commentator explains vivartanam by nirgatya bhdmau vilusthanam, the rolling on the ground. The same meaning is applicable to MahAparinibbana Sutta, p. 66 (Childers), where the Bhikkhus are said to roll on the ground when they hear of Buddha’s death; also to Mahabh. III, 11953 (of a wild boar). The meaning therefore in our passage seems to be, when the deer roll on the ground, as horses are wont to do at the end of a journey.
66 (Childers), where the Bhikkhus are said to roll on the ground when they hear of Buddha’s death; also to Mahabh. III, 11953 (of a wild boar). The meaning therefore in our passage seems to be, when the deer roll on the ground, as horses are wont to do at the end of a journey.
Verse 8. Note 1. Amf&t corresponds here to prithivi in other places. Originally it may have meant from the home.
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Verse 9.
This verse has often been discussed on account of the names of the rivers which it contains. Sydvdsva had mentioned the Yamun4 in 52, 17, and some interpreters have been inclined to give to parush#i in 52, 9 a geographical meaning, taking it for the river Ravi, instead of translating it by cloud. The geographical names are certainly interesting, but they have been discussed so often _ that I need not dwell on them here. (See M. M., India, p- 163.)
The Rasé, known to the Zoroastrians as the RazhA, was originally the name of a real river, but when the Aryas moved away from it into the Punjab, it assumed a mythical character, and became a kind of Okeanos, surrounding the extreme limits of the world. ,
Anitabh4 seems to be the name of a new river or part of a river. It can hardly be taken as an epithet of Rasé, as Ludwig suggests. Anitabh4, whose splendour has not departed (Ludwig), or, amitabha, of endless splendour, would hardly be Vedic formations. (Chips, I, p. 157; Hibbert Lect., p. 207; India, pp. 166, 173, notes.)
Kubha is the Kw@qv or Kays of the Greeks, the Kabul river. The Krumu I take to be the Kurrum. (India, p. 177, note.)
The Sindhu is the Indus, though it is difficult to say which part of it, while the Sarayu has been supposed to be the Sarayd, the affluent of the Ganga, but may also be a more general name for some more northern river in the Punjab. (See Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, pp. 17 f., 45; Muir, S. T. II, p. xxv, note.)
Verse 10.
Note 1. Navyasinam has been a puzzle to all interpreters. Sdyava seems to me to give the right interpretation, namely, nitananadm. As from a#gasé, instr. sing., straightway, afigasina was formed, straightforward ; from navyasd, instr. sing., anew, ndvyasina seems to have been formed in the sense of new. Navyasindm might then be a somewhat
Y2
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irregular gen. plur., referring to gazam m4rutam, the Maruthost of the young men; see V, 58, 1. Lanman (p. 515) takes it for a gen. plur. fem., but in that case it could not refer to rathandm. Zimmer translates endlos, Bergaigne (II, 400) thinks of new or rejuvenescent mothers.
Verse 11. Note 1. See III, 26, 6.
Verse 14.
Note 1. Usrf, in the morning. Lanman (p. 427) proposes to read ushari, but the metre would be better preserved by reading vrishévi as trisyllabic. The difficulty is the construction of the gerund vrishévi, which refers to the Maruts, and sydma saha, which refers to the sacrificers.
Note 2. On sam yd/, see I, 165, 4, note 2.
Lanman (p. 427) proposes to read ushari, but the metre would be better preserved by reading vrishévi as trisyllabic. The difficulty is the construction of the gerund vrishévi, which refers to the Maruts, and sydma saha, which refers to the sacrificers.
Note 2. On sam yd/, see I, 165, 4, note 2.
The metrical structure of this hymn is interesting. If we represent the foot of eight syllables by a, that of twelve by b, we find the following succession :
r{ 73b8 u{ 33348
2aaba 4baa 5aaa 8aaa mm} 6 baba v{ 9 baba 4 baba 12aaa v{roaba vi 0 baba {15 abe 1raba 14 baba vil 16 baba
We find that I contains the question, II the answer, III description of rain, IV prayer and invitation, V praise of the companions, VI prayer, VII conclusion. Comp. Oldenberg’s Prolegomena, p. 106 seq. ;
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MAMDALA V, HYMN 654, ASH7AKA IV, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 14-16.
To THE Maruts (THE SToRM-Gops).
1. You have fashioned! this speech for the brilliant Marut-host which shakes the mountains : celebrate then the great manhood in honour of that host who praises the warm milk (of the sacrifice), and sacrifices on the height of heaven *, whose glory is brilliant.
2. O Maruts, your powerful men (came) forth searching for water, invigorating, harnessing their horses, swarming around. When they aim with the lightning, Trita shouts, and the waters murmur, running around on their course.
3. These Maruts are men brilliant with lightning, they shoot with thunderbolts, they blaze with the wind, they shake the mountains, and suddenly, when wishing to give water?, they whirl the hail; they have thundering strength, they are robust, they are ever-powerful,
4. When you drive forth! the nights, O Rudras, the days, O powerful men, the sky, the mists, ye shakers, the plains, like ships, and the strongholds, O Maruts, you suffer nowhere.
5. That strength of yours, O Maruts, that greatness extended far as the sun extends its daily course, when you, like your deer on their march, went down to the (western) mountain with untouched splendour'.
6. Your host, O Maruts, shone forth when, O sages, you strip, like a caterpillar, the waving tree’.
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Conduct then, O friends, our service * to a good end, as the eye conducts the man in walking.
7. That man, O Maruts, is not overpowered, he is not killed, he does not fail, he does not shake, he does not drop, his goods do not perish, nor his protections, if you lead him rightly, whether he be a seer or a king.
8. The men with their steeds, like conquerors of clans, like Aryaman (Mitra and Varuma)}, the Maruts, carrying waterskins’, fill the well; when the strong ones roar, they moisten the earth with the juice of sweetness *, — g. When the Maruts come forth this earth bows, the heaven bows, the paths in the sky bow, and the cloud-mountains with their quickening rain.
When the Maruts come forth this earth bows, the heaven bows, the paths in the sky bow, and the cloud-mountains with their quickening rain.
10. When you rejoice at sunrise, O Maruts, toiling together’, men of Svar (sun-light), men of Dyu (heaven), your horses never tire in running, and you quickly reach the end of your journey.
11. On your shoulders are the spears, on your feet rings, on your chests golden chains, O Maruts, on your chariot gems ; fiery lightnings in your fists, and golden headbands tied round your heads?.
12. O Maruts, you shake the red apple? from the firmament, whose splendour no enemy ? can touch ; the hamlets bowed when the Maruts blazed, and the pious people (the Maruts) intoned their far-reaching shout.
13. O wise Maruts, let us carry off! the wealth of food which you have bestowed on us; give us?, O Maruts, such thousandfold wealth as never fails, like the star Tishya * from heaven !
14. O Maruts, you protect our wealth of excellent men, and the seer, clever in song; you give to
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Bharata (the warrior)! a strong horse *, you make the king to be obeyed °.
15. O you who are quickly ready to help, I implore you for wealth whereby we may overshadow all men, like the sky. O Maruts, be pleased with this word of mine, and let us speed by its speed over a hundred winters !
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NOTES.
The same poet, Sy4v4sva Atreya. Metre, 1-1 3, 15 Gagati; 14 Trishfubh. None of the verses of this hymn occurs in SV., VS., AV., TS., TB., MS.
Verse 1.
Note 1. Anaga, explained as a 2nd pers. plur. perf., referring to the same people who are addressed by arkata. It may be also the first person of the imperative; see Benfey, Uber die Entstehung der mit r anlautenden Personalendungen, p. 5, note.
Note 2. Possibly the second line of this verse may refer to ceremonial technicalities. Gharma means heat and summer, but also the sacrificial vessel (formus) in which the milk is heated, and the warm milk itself. Yagvan can only mean sacrificing, and divak prishtha is the back of heaven, the highest roof of heaven; see triprisht#a. Thus we read, I, 115, 3. haritak ... divak 4 prishthdm asthud. See also I, 164,10; 166, 5; III, 2,12; IX, 36,6; 66,5; 69, 5; 83, 2; 86, 27. It would seem therefore as ‘if the Maruts themselves were here represented as performing sacrificial acts in the highest heaven, praising the milk, that is, the rain, which they pour down from heaven to earth. Possibly the text is corrupt. If yagyu could have the same meaning as prayagyu, I should like to conjecture, divah 4 prishtham yagyave. In IX, 61, 12. indraya yagyave seems to mean ‘to the chasing Indra.’ See also Ayagi (erjagend), obtaining. Might we conjecture diva 4 prikshaydvane? Prikshay4ma occurs as a name; see also II, 34, 3-
Verse 3.
Note 1. Abda, wish to give water, is very doubtful. Both abda and abdi, in abdimat, mean cloud. The text seems corrupt.
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Verse 4,
Might we conjecture diva 4 prikshaydvane? Prikshay4ma occurs as a name; see also II, 34, 3-
Verse 3.
Note 1. Abda, wish to give water, is very doubtful. Both abda and abdi, in abdimat, mean cloud. The text seems corrupt.
p. 329
Verse 4,
Note 1. The meaning of vyag is doubtful. It may simply mean to make visible.
Verse 5.
Note 1. The last words danasvad4m yat nf dyAtana girfm are difficult. Sayama has an explanation ready, viz. when you throw down the cloud or the mountain which gives no water or which does not give up the horses carried off by the Pazis. Grassmann too is ready with an explanation : ‘Als ihr unnahbar glainzend, Hirschen gleich, den Berg auf eurer Fahrt durchranntet, den kein Ross erreicht.’ Ludwig : ‘Als ihr nider gehn machtet den nicht vergangliches gebenden (d. i. die waszer; oder: die rosse verweigernden ?) berg.’
Giri may be the cloud, and nothing could be more appropriate than that the Maruts should come down upon the cloud or go over it, in order to make it give up the rain. But asvada means ‘giving horses,’ and though rainclouds may be compared to horses, it does not follow that asva by itself could mean rain. Asvada is used of the dawn, I, 113, 18, possibly as giving horses, that is, wealth, but possibly also, as bringing the horses to the morning sun. These horses start with the dawn or the sun in the morning, and they rest in the evening. The legend that Agni hid himself in an Asvattha tree (Sdyana, RV. I, 65, 1) may owe its origin to asvattha, i.e. horse-stable, having been a name of the West (K. Z. I, 467); cf. tishthadgu, at sunset. In X, 8, 3, the Dawns are called dasvabudhnad, which may mean that they had their resting-place among the horses. The Maruts, more particularly, are said to dwell in the Asvattha tree, when Indra called them to his help against’ Vritra; cf. Sat. Brahm. IV, 3, 3, 6; Par. Grthy. II, 15,4. Possibly therefore, though I say no more, possibly the Dawn or the East might have been called asvada, the West anasvad4, and in that case it might be said that the Maruts are of unsullied splendour, when theyp. 330 go down to the western mountain. M. Bergaigne explains, ‘La montagne qui ne donne pas, qui retient le cheval, le cheval mythique, soleil ou éclair.. My own impression, however, is that anasvadam is an old mistake, though I cannot accept Ludwig’s conjecture a-nasva-dam. Why not dnu svadhdm, or anasva-y4f, moving without horses? cf. V, 42, 10.
Verse 6.
Note 1. This is, no doubt, a bold simile, but a very true one. In one night caterpillars will eat off the whole foliage of a tree, and in the same way a violent storm in the autumn will strip every leaf. Arzas4m as an adjective, with the accent on the last syllable, does not occur again, but it can hardly mean anything but waving. If it will stand for the sea, we might translate, ‘When you clear the waving sea (or air), as the caterpillar a tree.’
Arzas4m as an adjective, with the accent on the last syllable, does not occur again, but it can hardly mean anything but waving. If it will stand for the sea, we might translate, ‘When you clear the waving sea (or air), as the caterpillar a tree.’
Note 2. Ardmati seems here to mean service or obedience, not a person who is willing to serve.
Verse 8.
Note 1. To translate aryamdzah by friends is unsatisfactory. Bergaigne takes it for Aryaman, Mitra, and Varuaa, the three Aryamans, as we say the two Mitras, and points out that these three gods do send rain, in I, 79, 3; VII, 40, 4.
Note 2. It ought to be kavandhinak as much as kavandha, V, 85, 3.
Note 8. Madhva# dndhas4; Grassmann, ‘ mit des Honigs Seim.’
Verse 10.
Note 1 Sabharas is evidently a recognised epithet of the Maruts, see VS. XVII, 81 and 84, but its meaning is doubtful. We have visv4bharasam, IV, 1, 19, as an epithet of Agni, which does not help us much. If bharas means burden, sabharas may mean those who work together, companions, friends.
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Verse 11.
‘Note 1. See Muir, S. T. V, p. 149. On siprak &c., see II, 34, 3, note.
Verse 12.
Note 1. The red apple to be shaken from the firmament can only be the lightning. Vi-dhd is construed with two accusatives, as in IIT, 45, 4; V, 57, 3. Gaedicke, Accusativ, p. 266.
Note 2. Aryd# cannot be a vocative, on account of the accent, nor a nominative on account of the context. There remains nothing but to take it as a genitive, and connect it with agrzbhita, though such a construction has few parallels, except perhaps in such sentences as havyak karshanindm, VI, 22, 1, &c. Possibly it may be intended as an epithet of the Maruts. Bergaigne (Journ. As. 1884, p- 190), ‘au profit du pauvre.’ Geldner (Ved. Stud. I, p. 148) proposes a very bold translation: ‘The sacrificial nets are being contracted, when the Maruts rush on. The priests (ritayu) roar their (as catching-net) extended shouting. The sense is said to be that when the Maruts appear, all priests try to catch them by shouting. See, however, Oldenberg in Gott. Gel. Anzeigen, 1890, p. 414.
Verse 18.
Note 1. For rathy4h, see II, 24, 15. raya syama rathyas vayasvatahk ; VI, 48, 9.
Note 2. Raranta, 2nd pers. plur. imp. intens, but Pada has raranta. Why not rarata?
Note 8. Yuékfati has been compared by Kuhn (K. Z. III, 328) with dvone; but see Brugmann, Grundriss, I, pp. 110, 118.
Note 4. Tishya must be the name of a star, hardly, as Sayana suggests, of the sun. It ought to be a star which does not set. See Weber, Uber alte iranische Sternnamen, p- 14. Ludwig quotes from TS. II, 2, 10, 1 seq., an identification of Tishya with Rudra.
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Verse 14.
Note 1. Grassmann marks this verse as late, Ludwig defends it. We must know what is meant by late before we decide. Bharata may mean simply a warrior, or a Bharata ; see Ludwig, III, 175-176; Oldenberg, Buddha (1st edition), p. 413.
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Verse 14.
Note 1. Grassmann marks this verse as late, Ludwig defends it. We must know what is meant by late before we decide. Bharata may mean simply a warrior, or a Bharata ; see Ludwig, III, 175-176; Oldenberg, Buddha (1st edition), p. 413.
Note 2. Arvantam vagam, a horse, his strength. See Bergaigne, Rel. Véd. II, 405; Pischel, Ved. Stud. p. 46.
Note 8. Could srushfimat here mean obedient?
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MANDALA V, HYMN 55. ASHT7AKA IV, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 17-18.
To tHE Maruts (THE STORM-GoDs).
1. The chasing! Maruts with gleaming spears, the golden-breasted, have gained great strength, they move along on quick well-broken horses ;— when they went in triumph, the chariots followed.
2. You have yourselves, you know, acquired power ; you shine bright and wide, you great ones. They have even measured the sky with their strength ;—when they went in triumph, the chariots followed.
3. The strong heroes, born together, and nourished together, have further grown to real beauty. They shine brilliantly like the rays of the sun ;— when they went in triumph, the chariots followed.
4. Your greatness, O Maruts, is to be honoured, it is to be yearned for like the sight of the sun. Place us also in immortality ;—when they went in triumph, the chariots followed.
5. O Maruts, you raise’ the rain from the sea, and rain it down, O yeomen?! Your milch-cows, O destroyers*, are never destroyed ;—when they went in triumph, the chariots followed.
6. When you have joined the deer as horses! to the shafts, and have clothed yourselves in golden garments, then, O Maruts, you scatter all enemies ;— when they went in triumph, the chariots followed.
7. Not mountains, not rivers have kept you back, wherever you see, O Maruts, there you go. Youp. 334 go even round heaven and earth ;—when they went in triumph, the chariots followed.
8. Be it old, O Maruts, or be it new, be it spoken, O Vasus, or be it recited, you take cognisance of it all;—when they went in triumph, the chariots followed.
g. Have mercy on us, O Maruts, do not strike us, extend to us your manifold protection. Do remember the praise, the friendship ;—when they went in triumph, the chariots followed.
10. Lead us, O Maruts, towards greater wealth, and out of tribulations, when you have been praised. O worshipful Maruts, accept our offering, and let us be lords of treasures !
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NOTES.
The same poet, Syavasva Atreya. Metre, 1-9 Gagatt; 10 Trishtubh. None of the verses occurs in SV., VS., AV. Verse 5 is found in TS. II, 4, 8, 2; MS. II, 4, 7. The refrain probably means that when the Maruts march in triumph, the chariots of their army, or the chariots of other gods, follow. The latter view is taken by Sayana, TS. II, 4, 8, 2.
Verse 1.
None of the verses occurs in SV., VS., AV. Verse 5 is found in TS. II, 4, 8, 2; MS. II, 4, 7. The refrain probably means that when the Maruts march in triumph, the chariots of their army, or the chariots of other gods, follow. The latter view is taken by Sayana, TS. II, 4, 8, 2.
Verse 1.
Note 1 Prdyagyu, generally explained by rushing forward, but in that sense hardly to be derived from yag, to sacrifice, may stand for an old Vedic form prayakshyu, changed into prayagyu by priests who had forgotten the root yaksh, and thought of nothing but sacrifices. This root yaksh has been identified by Grassmann with OHG. jag6n (venari, persequi), originally to rush after, to hunt, to try to injure or kill (cf. mviganydvah, X, 40, 4). This would explain most derivations from yaksh, not excepting the later Yakshas, and would yield an excellent sense for prayakshyu, as an epithet of the Maruts. See note to VII, 56,16. Pischel, Ved. Stud. I, p. 98, is satisfied with deriving prayagyu and prishtkaprayag from the root yag, to sacrifice, and translates it by sacrificing, but in the sense of causing sacrifices to be offered.
Verse 5.
Note 1. The verb irayatha is transitive ; see Gaedicke, Accusativ, p. 54, and compare AV. IV, 27, 4. apds samudrdd divam ud vahanti.
Note 2. I have translated purishizak by yeomen, in the sense of cultivators of the land. I have followed Roth, who shows that purisha means soil, and that purishin is used for an occupier of the soil, a landlord. See K. Z. XXVI, p. 65.
Note 3. Dasra, powerful, a common epithet of the Asvins, seems here, when joined with dasyanti, to retain somethingp. 336 of its etymological meaning, which comes out clearly in das, to attack, unless it is derived from dams.
Verse 6. Note 1. I prefer to translate here ‘the deer as horses,’ not
‘the speckled horses.’ See, however, II, 34, 4, and Pischel, Ved. Stud. p. 226.
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MANDALA V, HYMN 56. ASH7AKA IV, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 19-20.
To THE Maruts (THE STORM-GODS).
1. O Agni, on to the strong host (of the Maruts), bedecked with golden chains and ornaments. Today I call the folk of the Maruts down from the light of heaven.
2. As thou (Agni) thinkest in thine heart, to the same object my wishes have gone. Strengthen thou these Maruts, terrible to behold, who have come nearest to thy invocations.
3. Like a bountiful lady’, the earth comes towards us, Staggering, yet rejoicing ; for your onslaught, O Maruts, is vigorous, like a bear, and fearful, like a wild bull.
4. They who by their strength disperse wildly? like bulls, impatient of the yoke, they by their marches make the heavenly stone, the rocky mountain (cloud)? to shake.
5. Arise, for now I call with my hymns! the troop of these Maruts, grown strong together, the manifold, the incomparable, as if calling a drove of bulls.
like bulls, impatient of the yoke, they by their marches make the heavenly stone, the rocky mountain (cloud)? to shake.
5. Arise, for now I call with my hymns! the troop of these Maruts, grown strong together, the manifold, the incomparable, as if calling a drove of bulls.
6. Harness the red mares to the chariot, harness the ruddy horses to the chariots, harness the two bays, ready to drive in the yoke, most vehement to drive in the yoke.
7. And this red stallion too, loudly neighing, has been placed here, beautiful to behold; may it not cause you delay on your marches, O Maruts; spur him forth on your chariots.
[32] Zz
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8. We call towards us the glorious chariot of the Maruts, whereon there stands also Rodasi’, carrying delightful gifts, among the Maruts.
9. I call hither this your host, brilliant on chariots, terrible and glorious; among which she, the wellborn and fortunate, the bounteous lady, is also magnified among the Maruts.
NOTES. Vv, 56, 8. 339
NOTES.
The same poet and deity, though Agni is invoked in the first, possibly in the second verse also. Metre, 1,2, 4-6, 8, 9 Brthatt; 3, 7 Satobrzhati. None of the verses occurs in SV., VS., AV., TS., MS.
Verse 1,
Note 1. Here again some interpreters of the Veda take avgi in the sense of paint, war-paint. It may be so, but the more general meaning of colours or ornament seems, as yet, safer. Verse 3.
Note 1. The earth is frequently represented as trembling under the fury of the Maruts. Here she is first called mi/Aushmati, a curious compound which, in our verse, may possibly have a more special meaning. As the earth is not only struck down by the storm, but at the same time covered with water and fertilised, she is represented as struck down and staggering, but likewise as rejoicing, ossibly, as drunk. P y Verse 4.
Note 1. Vr/tha means pell-mell, confusedly, wildly; see also Geldner, Ved. Stud. p. 115.
Note 2. Asm svaryik seems to mean the thunderbolt like vagrad# svaryi# in I, 32,2; 61,6. See also V, 30, 8. In that case we should have to translate, ‘they let the heavenly bolt fall down on the rocky mountain.’ But kyAvayati is never used for the hurling of the thunderbolt, nor is it construed with two accusatives. It always means to shake what is firm, and we have therefore to translate, ‘they shake the heavenly stone (the sky), the rocky mountain (the cloud).’ Parvata and giri often occur together, as in I, 37, 7; VIII, 64, 5.
Verse 5. Note 1. Stémaiz may possibly refer to samukshiténam.
Verse 8. Note 1. On Rodasi, see before, I, 167, 3. Z2
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MANDALA V, HYMN 57. ASHTAKA IV, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 21-22.
To THE Maruts (THE STORM-GoDsS).
1. O Rudras, joined by Indra, friends on golden chariots, come hither for our welfare! This prayer from us is acceptable to you like the springs of heaven to a thirsty soul longing for water.
MANDALA V, HYMN 57. ASHTAKA IV, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 21-22.
To THE Maruts (THE STORM-GoDsS).
1. O Rudras, joined by Indra, friends on golden chariots, come hither for our welfare! This prayer from us is acceptable to you like the springs of heaven to a thirsty soul longing for water.
2. O you sons of Pvzsni, you are armed with daggers and spears, you are wise, carrying good bows and arrows and quivers, possessed of good horses and chariots. With your good weapons, O Maruts, you go to triumph!
3. You shake? the sky and the mountains (clouds) for wealth to the liberal giver; the forests bend down out of your way from fear*. O sons of Pvzsni, you rouse the earth when you, O terrible ones, have harnessed the spotted deer for triumph !
4. The Maruts, blazing with the wind, clothed in rain, are as like one another as twins, and well adorned. They have tawny horses, and red horses, they are faultless, endowed with exceeding vigour ; they are in greatness wide as the heaven.
5. Rich in rain-drops, well adorned, bounteous, terrible to behold, of inexhaustible wealth, noble by birth, golden-breasted, these singers of the sky? have obtained their immortal name*.
6. Spears are on your two shoulders, in your arms are placed strength, power, and might. Manly thoughts dwell in your heads, on your chariots are weapons, and every beauty has been laid on your bodies.
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7. O Maruts, you have given us wealth of cows, horses, chariots, and heroes, golden wealth! O men of Rudra, bestow on us great praise, and may I enjoy your divine protection !
8. Hark, O heroes, O Maruts! Be gracious to us! You who are of great bounty, immortal, righteous, truly listening to us, poets, young, dwelling on mighty mountains ', and grown mighty.
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NOTES.
The same poet and deity, Metre, 1-6 Gagati; 7, 8 Trishtubh. None of its verses occurs in SV., VS., AV., TS.; verse 6 in MS. IV, 11, 4.
Verse 3.
Note 1. Dhf is construed with two accusatives, see RV. III, 45, 4; otherwise vdsu might be connected with dasishe. The third pada is almost literally repeated soon after, V, 60, 2; see note 1 to I, 37, 7.
Note 2. Ydmanak bhiy4 may be from fear of your approach.
Verse 5.
Note 1. In divd# ark&% even Bergaigne allows that arkad may mean singer, not song.
Note 2. Nama, name, is here as elsewhere what is meant by the name, therefore immortal being or immortality.
Verse 8.
Note 1. Br¢hadgiraya# cannot well mean with a powerful voice. The Maruts are called girisht/a, VIII, 94, 12, dwelling on mountains, and like brzhaddiva, brzhadgiri seems to have been intended for dwelling on high mountains.
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MANDALA V, HYMN 58. ASHTAKA IV, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 23.
To THE Maruts (THE STORM-GoDs).
1. I praise? now the powerful company of these ever-young Maruts, who drive violently along with quick horses; aye, the sovereigns are lords of Amrita (the immortal).
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MANDALA V, HYMN 58. ASHTAKA IV, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 23.
To THE Maruts (THE STORM-GoDs).
1. I praise? now the powerful company of these ever-young Maruts, who drive violently along with quick horses; aye, the sovereigns are lords of Amrita (the immortal).
2. The terrible company, the powerful, adorned with quoits on their hands, given to roaring, potent, dispensing treasures, they who are beneficent, infinite in greatness, praise, O poet, these men of great wealth !
3. May your water-carriers come here to-day, all the Maruts who stir up the rain. That fire which has been lighted for you, O Maruts, accept it, O young singers !
4. O worshipful Maruts, you create for man an active king, fashioned by Vibhvan'; from you comes the man who can fight with his fist, and is quick with his arm, from you the man with good horses and valiant heroes.
5. Like the spokes of a wheel, no one is last, like the days they are born on and on, not deficient in might. The very high sons of Przsni are full of fury, the Maruts cling firmly to their own will’.
6. When you have come forth with your speckled deer as horses! on strong-fellied chariots, O Maruts, the waters gush, the forests go asunder? ;—let Dyu (Sky) roar down, the bull of the Dawn.
7. At their approach, even the earth opened wide,p. 344 and they placed (sowed) their own! strength (the rain), as a husband the germ. Indeed they have harnessed the winds as horses to the yoke, and the men of Rudra have changed their sweat into rain.
8. Hark, O heroes, O Maruts! Be gracious to us! You who are of great bounty, immortal, righteous, truly listening to us, poets, young, dwelling on mighty mountains, and grown mighty.
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NOTES.
The same poet and deity. Metre, Trishtubh. None of the verses occurs in SV., VS., AV., TS. Verses 3 and 5 are found in TB. II, 5, 5,3; II, 8, 5,7; MS. IV, 11, 2; IV, 4, 18.
Verse 1.
p. 345
NOTES.
The same poet and deity. Metre, Trishtubh. None of the verses occurs in SV., VS., AV., TS. Verses 3 and 5 are found in TB. II, 5, 5,3; II, 8, 5,7; MS. IV, 11, 2; IV, 4, 18.
Verse 1.
Note 1. On stushéd, see M.M., Selected Essays, I, p. 162; Wilhelm, De infinitivi forma et usu, p. 10; Bartholomae, in Bezzenberger’s Beitrige, XV, p. 219. I take stushé as I pers. sing. Aor. Atm. (not, as Avery, of the Present) in many places where it has been taken as an infinitive. For instance, IT, 31, 5; VI, 49,1; 51,3 (with voke); 62, 1 (with huve); VIII, 5, 43 7, 32; 74, 1; 84, 1 (here the second pada must begin with stushé). It may be an indicative or a subjunctive. As to stushe, without an accent, its character cannot be doubtful; see I, 122, 8; 159,13; V, 33, 6; VI, 21,2; 48,14; VIII, 21,9; 23,2; 23,7 (grime) In II, 20, 4, tam u stushe indram tam grimishe, grzmishe is an aorist with vikarawa, like punishé, I praise that Indra, I laud him. In I, 46, 1, stushé may be the infinitive, but not necessarily. It is an infinitive in I, 122, 7. stushé sa vim varuza mitra ratiZ, your gift, Varuza and Mitra, is to be praised. Likewise in VIII, 4, 17 (see BR. s.v. sAman); 24,1; 63, 3, though in several of these passages it must remain doubtful whether stushé should be taken as an absolute infinitive, or as a finite verb. In VIII, 65, 5, {ndra grinishé u stushé, means, ‘Indra, I laud and praise,’ as in II, 20, 4.
Verse 4.
Note 1. Vibhva-tashé4 is generally explained as made by a master, or by Vibhvan, one of the Rzbhus. This may be so, though it seems a bold expression (see Bergaigne, II, 410-411). But may it not be a mere synonym of sutash¢a, and intended for vibhvane tash#a? see Selected Essays, I, p. 143.
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Verse 5.
Note 1. See Taitt. Br. II, 8, 5,7. As to mimikshu, see note to I, 165, 1.
Verse 6.
Note 1. On préshatibhiz asvaih, see II, 34, 4; V, 55, 6. Bergaigne’s note (II, p. 378) does not settle the question whether the horses of the Maruts were speckled, or whether they had speckled deer for their horses.
Note 2. On rimaté vanani, see V, 57, 3.
Note 3. Dyaus, the father of the Maruts, the oldest and highest god of heaven, the strong bull, or, it may be, the man of the dawn. See v. Bradke, Dyaus Asura, p. 63; Bergaigne, I, p. 316.
Verse 7.
Note 1. Roth conjectures svam for svam, taking it as a locative of sf, genetrix. This is not without difficulties, nor is it necessary. That we find in the Rig-veda no other locative in 4m after monosyllabic stems in ( is perhaps no serious objection. But the text as it stands can be translated, ‘as a husband the germ, they have placed (sown) their own strength.’ Savas is the same as vr/shnyam and vrishni savah in VIII, 3, 8; 10. Dhut is used like dha in retodha.
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MANDALA V, HYMN 59. ASH7AKA IV, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 24.
To THE Maruts (THE SToRM-cops).
Dhut is used like dha in retodha.
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MANDALA V, HYMN 59. ASH7AKA IV, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 24.
To THE Maruts (THE SToRM-cops).
1, They truly’ tried to make you grant them welfare. Do thou sing? praises to Heaven (Dyu), I offer sacrifice (rzta) to the Earth. The Maruts wash their horses and race to the air, they soften their splendour by waving mists.
2. The earth trembles with fear from their onset. She sways like a full ship, that goes rolling’. The heroes who appear on their marches, visible from afar, strive together within the great (sacrificial) assembly *,
3. Your horn is exalted for glory}, as the horns of cows; your eye is like the sun’, when the mist is scattered. Like strong racers, you are beautiful, O heroes, you think of glory, like manly youths *.
4. Who could reach, O Maruts, the great wise thoughts, who the great manly deeds of you, great ones? You shake the earth like a speck of dust, when you are carried forth for granting welfare.
5. These kinsmen! (the Maruts) are like red horses, like heroes eager for battle, and they have rushed forward to fight. They are like well-grown manly youths, and the men have grown strong, with streams of rain they dim the eye of the sun.
6. At their outbreak there is none among them who is the eldest, or the youngest, or the middle: they have grown by their own might, these sons of Przsni, noble by birth, the boys of Dyaus; come hither to us!
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7. Those who like birds flew with strength in rows! from the ridge of the mighty heaven to its ends, their horses shook the springs? of the mountain (cloud) so that people on both sides * knew it.
8. May! Dyaus Aditi (the unbounded)? roar for our feast, may the dew-lighted Dawns come striving together; these, the Maruts, O poet, (the sons) of Rudra, have shaken the heavenly bucket (cloud), when they had been praised.
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NOTES.
The same poet and deity. Metre, 1-7 Gagatt; 8 Trishtubh. None of the verses occurs in SV., VS., AV., TB., TS., MS. .
Verse 1.
p. 349
NOTES.
The same poet and deity. Metre, 1-7 Gagatt; 8 Trishtubh. None of the verses occurs in SV., VS., AV., TB., TS., MS. .
Verse 1.
“Note 1. If we accept the text as it stands, we have to translate, ‘The spy called out to you to grant welfare.’ The spy is then either Agni (Bergaigne, II, p. 378) or the priest. See also VIII, 61,15; X, 35, 8. But there are many objections to this. Pra-krand is not used in that sense, and we should expect pra krAnt suvitaya. Pra-kar, when it is construed with a dative, means generally to prepare some one for something, to cause some one to do athing. Thus, I, 186, 10. pré asvinau Avase krizudhvam, get the Asvins to protect. VI, 21, 9. pra dtaye vdruzam mitram {ndram maritak krishva d4vase nak adyd, make Varuna, Mitra, and Indra to protect, make the Maruts to protect us to-day. X, 64, 7. pra vak vayim—stémaiz krimudhvam sakhydya pishdzam, make Vayu by your praises to be your friend. I, 112, 8. pra andhdm srozdm kakshase étave krithd#, whereby you make the blind and lame to see and to walk. The poet therefore seems to have said in our verse also, ‘They (my men or priests) made you or wished you to give them welfare.’ What spat can mean in such a sentence, is difficult to say. Till we know better, we must simply accept it as a particle of asseveration, like baz.
Note 2. Aréa may also be the first person.
Verse 2.
Note 1. With regard to vydthir yati, cf. I, 117, 15. samudram avyathir gaganvdn, and VIII, 45, 19. vyathir gaganvdmsah ; Bergaigne, Journ. As. 1884, p. 490.
Note 2. Mahé vidathe must be taken as a locative sing. It occurs again X, 96,1. We have similar forms in mahé rane, IX, 66,13, &c. The locative is governed by anta,
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samudram avyathir gaganvdn, and VIII, 45, 19. vyathir gaganvdmsah ; Bergaigne, Journ. As. 1884, p. 490.
Note 2. Mahé vidathe must be taken as a locative sing. It occurs again X, 96,1. We have similar forms in mahé rane, IX, 66,13, &c. The locative is governed by anta,
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as in II, 27, 8. viddthe antaz eshdm. The etymology and the meaning of vidatha have been often discussed, for the last time by M. Regnaud, Revue de histoire des religions, 1890. Prof. Roth, as M. Regnaud states, explains it by conseil, avis, réunion ot l’on délibére, assemblée, troupe, armée. Grassmann takes it generally for réunion, rencontre, combat. Geldner derives it from vid, in the sense of art, science. Ludwig derives it likewise from vid, but in the sense of Bekanntschaft, then Gesellschaft, and lastly as synonymous with yagéa, sacrifice, assemblage. M. Regnaud differs from all his predecessors, and derives vidatha from vidh, to sacrifice. He maintains that *vidhatha would become vidatha, like adhak from dah or dhagh, and phaliga for parigha. I know nothing about the etymology of phaliga, but if it stands for parigha, the second aspirate has lost its aspiration and thrown it on the initial. In adhak, the final has lost its aspiration, and thus allowed its appearance in the initial. But in vidatha, if it stood for vidhatha, there would be no phonetic excuse whatever for changing dh into d, at least in Sanskrit. It is possible that in Sanskrit such a form as vidhatha might have been avoided, but there is no phonetic law to prevent the formation of such a word as vidhatha, like ukatha, yagatha, &c. We say vidhatha in the 2 pers. plur., as we say bodhatha. No Sanskrit grammarian could derive vidatha from vidh. If therefore vidatha signifies sacrifice, this is not because it is derived from vidh, to sacrifice. Vidatha may have been the name of a sacred act, as veda is of sacred knowledge. But the fact remains that it is best translated by assembly, particularly an assembly for sacrificial purposes.
Verse 3.
Note 1. On sriydse, see I, 87, 6.
Note 2. I see no necessity for changing sfrya/ into stra, see Bergaigne, Mélanges Renier, p. 94. He would translate, ‘they are like the eye of the sun.’
Note 8. Maryas may be bridegrooms, as in V, 60, 4
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(vara iva), but there is nothing to indicate that meaning here. The difficulty is to find a word to express sriydse. It means to shine, but at the same time to excel. Possibly it may have even a more definite meaning, such as to shine in battle, or to triumph.
\ Verse 5. Note 1. As to sabandhu, see VIII, 20, 21.
Verse 7.
Note 1. On sréziz, see Gaedicke, p. 164; Bergaigne, Mél. Renier, p. 94.
Note 2. The meaning of nabhant, spring, is doubtful.
Note 3. Ubhaye refers to many on both sides, and cannot be taken for ubhe, heaven and earth. It may mean all, particularly when there are two sides only, as in a battle.
Verse 8.
On sréziz, see Gaedicke, p. 164; Bergaigne, Mél. Renier, p. 94.
Note 2. The meaning of nabhant, spring, is doubtful.
Note 3. Ubhaye refers to many on both sides, and cannot be taken for ubhe, heaven and earth. It may mean all, particularly when there are two sides only, as in a battle.
Verse 8.
Note 1. Ludwig seems to have seen the true meaning of this verse, namely that, though, Dyaus may roar for the feast, and though the Dawns may strive to come near, the Maruts alone deserve the sacrifice, because they opened the chest of rain.
Note 2. On Dyaus Aditi, see note to I, 166, 12, p. 261, where the translation has to be corrected.
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MANDALA V, HYMN 60. ASHTAKA IV, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 25.
To AGNI AND THE MarutTs.
1. I implore? Agni, the gracious, with salutations, may he sit down here, and gather what we have made*, I offer® (him sacrifice) as with racing chariots; may I, turning to the right, accomplish this hymn to the Maruts.
2. Those who approached on their glorious deer, on their easy chariots, the Rudras, the Maruts,— through fear of you, ye terrible ones, the forests even bend down, the earth shakes, and also the mountain (cloud).
3. At your shouting, even the mountain (cloud), grown large, fears, and ‘the ridge of heaven trembles. When you play together, O Maruts, armed with spears, you run together like waters.
4. Like rich suitors the Maruts have themselves! adorned their bodies with golden ornaments; more glorious for glory ?, and powerful on their chariots, they have brought together splendours on their bodies.
5. As brothers, no one being the eldest or the youngest, they have grown up together to happiness. Young is their clever father Rudra, flowing with plenty is Przsni (their mother), always kind to the Maruts.
6. O happy Maruts, whether you are in the highest, or in the middle, or in the lowest heaven, from thence, O Rudras, or thou also, O Agni, take notice of this libation which we offer.
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7. When Agni, and you, wealthy Maruts, drive ~ down from the higher heaven over the ridges, give then, if pleased, you roarers, O destroyers of enemies', wealth to the sacrificer who prepares (Soma-juice).
8. Agni, be pleased to drink Soma with the brilliant Maruts, the singers, approaching in companies?, with the men (Ayus*), who brighten and enliven everything; do this, O Vaisvanara (Agni), thou who art always endowed with splendour.
[32] Aa
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NOTES.
This hymn, by the same poet, is supposed to be addressed either to the Maruts alone, or to the Maruts and Agni. The same might have been said of hymn 56 and others which are used for the Agnim4ruta Sastra. See Bergaigne, Recherches sur l’histoire de la liturgie védique, p. 38. Metre, 1-6 Trishtubh ; 7, 8 Gagatt. No verse of this hymn occurs in SV., VS., AV., TS., TB., except verse 1 in AV. VII, 50, 3; TB. II, 7,12, 4; MS. IV, 14, 11; verse 3 in TS. ITI, 1, 11,5; MS. IV, 12, 5; verse 6 in TB. II, 7, 12, 4.
Verse 1.
38. Metre, 1-6 Trishtubh ; 7, 8 Gagatt. No verse of this hymn occurs in SV., VS., AV., TS., TB., except verse 1 in AV. VII, 50, 3; TB. II, 7,12, 4; MS. IV, 14, 11; verse 3 in TS. ITI, 1, 11,5; MS. IV, 12, 5; verse 6 in TB. II, 7, 12, 4.
Verse 1.
' The AV. reads sv4vasum, prasaktdé, pradakshizdm, all of them inferior readings. The TB. agrees with RV., except that it seems to read prasaptd/ (prakarshena sam4gatat).
Note 1. That i/ or id has originally the meaning of imploring, asking, begging, we see from such passages as RV. III, 48, 3. upasthaya m4taram dnnam aiéfa, ‘he, having approached his mother, asked for food,’ unless we prefer to construe fd with two accusatives, ‘he, having approached, asked his mother for food.” The same verb is also construed with the accusative of the god implored, the dative of the object, and the instrumental of the means by which he isimplored. See RV. VIII, 71, 14. agnim f/ishva avase gdthabhiZ, implore Agni with songs for his protection. Whether the root id is distantly connected with either ish, to desire (Brugmann, I, 591), or with ard, to stir, or with ar, to go, is a question which admits of many, or of no answer.
Note 2. Viki kvitam seems to have the settled meaning of gathering in what one has made at play, or in battle ; see X, 42,9; 43,5; IX, 97, 58; X,102,2. The same meaning is applicable here, though we may also translate, ‘Take notice of our kvzta or our karma, i.e. the sacrifice.’ A similar thought is expressed in verse 6. Sayaza explains viganatu and vifinuyat.
Note 8. Perhaps pra bhare means, ‘I am carried forth,’ as in V, 59, 4, where it is applied to the Maruts. -
NOTES. v, 60, 8. 355.
Verse 4.
Note 1. See note 2 to I, 6, 4. Instead of svadhabhiz we have svaydm in VII, 56, 11.
Note 2. Sriyé sréy4msak is difficult to translate ; cf. II, 33, 3. srésh¢hak sriyd asi. Ludwig translates, zu herlichkeit die herlichen.
Verse 7.
Note 1. On risadas, see Aufrecht, Bezzenb. Beitr. XIV, Pp. 32.
Verse 8.
Note 1. On gazasri, see BR. s.v.; Lanman, 372; Benfey, Vedica und Verwandtes, p. 108; Pischel, Ved. Stud. I, 53 seq. Ludwig translates scharenherlich, but what does that mean ? ‘ Shining in their companies’ is a possible meaning, but the analogy of abhisrf and adhvarasri points in another direction.
Note 2. On the Ayus as a proper name, see Bergaigne, Rel. Véd. I, 62; II, 323.
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p. 356
MANDALA V, HYMN 61. ASHTAKA IV, ADHYAYA 38, VARGA 26-29.
To THE Maruts (THE STORM-Gops).
1. Who are you, O men, the very best, who have approached one by one, from the furthest distance ??
2. Where are your horses, where the bridles ? How could you, how did you come ?—the seat on the back, the rein in the nostrils ?
3. Their goad is on the croup?, the heroes stretched their legs apart®. ..
4. Move along, heroes, young men, the sons of an excellent mother’, so that you may warm yourselves at our fire ’,