In thy friendship, Indra, these Maruts tore asunder the cloud.
Note 2, I have translated vi/i by stronghold, though it is only an adjective, meaning firm. Dr. Oscar Meyer, in his able essay Quaestiones Homericae, specimen prius, Bonnae, 1867, has tried to show that this vi/i is the original form of “IAtos, and he has brought some further evidence to show that the siege and conquest of Troy, as I pointed out in my Lectures on the Science of Language, vol. ii, p. 470, was originally described in language borrowed from the siege and conquest of the dark night by the powers of light, or from the destruction of the cloud by the weapons of Indra. It ought to be considered, however, that vidi in the Veda has not dwindled down as yet to a mere name, and that therefore it may have originally retained its purely appellative power in Greek as well as in Sanskrit, and from meaning a stronghold in general, have come to mean the stronghold of Troy. .
Note 3. The bright cows are here the cows of the morning, the dawns, or the days themselves, which are represented as rescued at the end of each night by the power of Indra, or similar solar gods. Indra’s companions in that daily rescue are here the Maruts, the storms, the same companions who act even a more prominent part in the battle of Indra against the dark clouds. These two battles are often mixed up together, so that possibly usriya# may have been meant for clouds.
Verse 6.
WILSON: The reciters of praises praise the mighty (troop of Maruts), who are celebrated, and conscious of the power of bestowing wealth in like manner as they (glorify) the counsellor (Indra).
BENFEY: Nach ihrer Einsicht verherrlichend besingen Sanger den Schitzeherrn, den beriihmten, gewaltigen.
p. 45
Lupwic: Als fromme heran zum liede haben die singer ihn, der trefliches findet, beriihmten gesungen.
Note 1. The reasons why I take gfra# as a masculine in the sense of singer or praiser, may be seen in a note to I, 37, 10.
Note 2. yétha matim, lit. according to their mind, according to their heart’s desire. Cf. II, 24, 13.
Verse 7.
WILSON: May you be seen, Maruts, accompanied by the undaunted (Indra); both rejoicing, and of equal splendour.
BENFEY: So lass mit Indra denn vereint, dem furchtlosen, erblicken dich, beide erfreu’nd und glanzesgleich.
LuDWIG: Mit Indra zusammen wirst du gesehn zusammengehend mit dem furchtlosen, mild ihr zwei, von gleichem glanze.
BENFEY: So lass mit Indra denn vereint, dem furchtlosen, erblicken dich, beide erfreu’nd und glanzesgleich.
LuDWIG: Mit Indra zusammen wirst du gesehn zusammengehend mit dem furchtlosen, mild ihr zwei, von gleichem glanze.
Note 1. The sudden transition from the plural to the singular is strange, but the host of the Maruts is frequently spoken of in the singular, and nothing else can here be intended. It may be true, as Professor Benfey suggests, that the verses here put together stood originally in a different order, or that they were taken from different sources. Yet though the Sama-veda would seem to sanction a small alteration in the order of the verses, the alteration of verses 7, 4, 5, as following each other, would not help us much. The Atharva-veda sanctions no change in the order of these verses.
The transition to the dual at the end of the verse is likewise abrupt, not more so, however, than we are prepared for in the Veda. The suggestion of the Nirukta (IV, 12) that these duals might be taken as instrumentals of the singular, is of no real value.
Note 2. Drékshase, a very valuable form, well explained by drisyetha, a second person singular conjunctive of the First Aorist Atmanepada, the termination ‘sase’ corresponding to Greek on, as the conjunctive takes the personal terminations of the present in both languages. Similarp. 46 forms, viz. prikshase, X, 22, 7, mamsase, X, 27,10; Ath. Veda VII, 20, 2-6, and possibly vivakshase, X, 21, 1-8, 24, 1-3, 25, 1-11, will have to be considered hereafter. (Nirukta, ed. Roth, p. 30, Notes.) As Ludwig has pointed out, the Taxdya-brahmana XII, 2, 6, 7, reads dvzkshuse, and explains it by ime loka dadvzsire. Sayama, however, explains drvisidhatoA karmazi madhyamaikavasane vyatyayena sepratyaye drzkshusa iti rdpam. See Delbriick, Syntaktische Forschungen, I, p.111. The story of Indra’s being forsaken by all the gods in his battle against Vritra, but being helped by the Maruts, is often mentioned ; see RV. VIII, 96, 7; SV. I, 4, 1, 4,2; Ait. Br. IIT, 20.
Verse 8.
WILSON: This rite is performed in adoration of the powerful Indra, along with the irreproachable, heavenwardtending, and amiable bands (of the Maruts). -
BENFEY: Durch Indra’s liebe Schaaren, die untadligen, himmelstiirmenden, strahlet das Opfer michtiglich.
Lupwic: Mit den tadellosen, morgens erscheinenden singt der kampfer sighaft, mit des Indra zu liebenden scharen.
-
BENFEY: Durch Indra’s liebe Schaaren, die untadligen, himmelstiirmenden, strahlet das Opfer michtiglich.
Lupwic: Mit den tadellosen, morgens erscheinenden singt der kampfer sighaft, mit des Indra zu liebenden scharen.
Note 1. Arkati, which I have here translated by he cries aloud, means literally, he celebrates. I do not know of any passage where arkati, when used, as here, without an object, means to shine, as Professor Benfey translates it. The real difficulty, however, lies in makha, which Sayama explains by sacrifice, and which I have ventured to translate by priest or sacrificer. Makha, as an adjective, means, as far as we can judge, strong or vigorous, and is applied to various deities, such as Pfshan I, 138, 1, Savitz VI, 71, 1, Soma XI, 20, 7, Indra ITI, 34, 2, the Maruts I, 64,11; VI, 66,9. By itself, makha is never used as the name of any deity, and it cannot therefore, as Professor Roth proposes, be used in our passage as a name of Indra, or be referred to Indra as a significant adjective. In I, 119, 3, makha is applied to men or warriors, but it does not follow that makha by itself means warriors, though it may be connectedp. 47 with the Greek paxos in cvppayos. See Curtius, Grundziige, Pp. 293 ; Grassmann, in Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. xvi, p. 164.
There are two passages where makha refers to an enemy of the gods, IX, 101, 13; X, 171, 2.
Among the remaining passages there is one where makha is used in parallelism with vahni, X, 11, 6. vivakti vdhniZ, su-apasydte makhad. HereI propose to translate, The poet speaks out, the priest works well. The same meaning seems applicable likewise to the phrase makhdsya davane, to the offering of the priest, though I should prefer to translate ‘to share in the sacrifice.’
I, 134, 1. & y4hi davane, vayo (iti), makhasya davane.
Come, Vayu, to the offering, to the offering of the priest.
Professor Roth proposes to render makha in these passages by ‘ attestation of joy, celebration, praise,’ and he takes d4vane as a dative of davan,a nomen actionis, meaning, the giving. There are some passages where one feels inclined to admit a noun davana, and to take davane as a locative sing.
May we be in the favour of the god Savitar, and in the best award of his treasure.
In II, 11, 1, and IJ, 11, 12, the locative would likewise be preferable; but there is a decided majority of passages in which davane occurs and where it is to be taken as a dative*, nor is there any other instance in the Veda of a nomen actionis being formed by vana. It is better, therefore, in VI, 71, 2, to refer sréshtke to sAvimani, and to make allowance in the other passages for the idiomatic use of such phrases as d4vdne vdsindm or raya dAvdne, whether from da or from do. See De Infinitivi forma et usu, by E. Wilhelm, 1873, p.17.
It is better, therefore, in VI, 71, 2, to refer sréshtke to sAvimani, and to make allowance in the other passages for the idiomatic use of such phrases as d4vdne vdsindm or raya dAvdne, whether from da or from do. See De Infinitivi forma et usu, by E. Wilhelm, 1873, p.17.
The termination vane explains, as has been shown by Professor Benfey, Greek infinitives such as dodvat, i. e. doevat or S0Fevar= Sanskrit da-vane. The termination mane in d&é-mane, for the purpose of giving, explains, as the same scholar has proved, the ancient infinitives in Greek, such as 3d-yevat. It may be added that the regular infinitives in Greek, ending in evat, as Aedown-évat, are likewise matched by Vedic forms such as IX, 61, 30. dhérv-ane, or VI, 61, 13. vibhv-dne, and turv-4ne (Delbriick in K. Z. XVIII, p. 82 ; Bopp, Accent, §§ 106, 113,117). It is hardly right to say that vibhvane in VI, 61, 13, should be taken as an instrumental, for it does not refer to the chariot, but to Sarasvati. In the termination ev, which stands for en, like ecs for eo, we have, on the contrary, not a dative, but a locative of an abstract noun in an, both cases, as we see from their juxta-position in VI, 71, 2, being equally applicable to express the relation which we are accustomed to call infinitive. See RV. I, 134, 5. ugraé% ishazanta bhurvdai, apim ishanta bhurvazi.
Note 2. Abhidyu I now translate by hastening, and derive it from div, divyati, in its original meaning of to throw forth, to break forth, to shine. As from this root we have didyi, weapon, what is thrown, pl. didyavak, and possibly didyut, the weapon, particularly Indra’s weapon or thunderbolt, abhfdyu might mean breaking forth, rushing forth towards us, something like prakri/ina%, another name of the Maruts. How abhidyu could mean conquérant, maitre du jour, as M. Bergaigne maintains, I do not see. Abhidyitin, I, 33,11; 190, 4, does not differ much from anudyfn, i.e. it is used vipsAyam.
Verses 9, 10.
WILSON: Therefore circumambient (troop of Maruts), come hither, whether from the region of the sky, or from the solar sphere; for, in this rite, (the priest) fully recites your praises.
BENFEY: Von hier, oder vom Himmel komm ob dem Ether, Umkreisender! zu dir streben die Lieder all.
p. 49
LUDWIG: Von hieher, o Parigman, kom, oder von des himels glanzfirmamente her; zu disem streben unsere lieder auf.
WILSON: We invoke Indra,—whether he come from this earthly region, or from the heaven above, or from the vast firmament,—that he may give (us) wealth.
BENFEY: Von hier, oder vom Himmel ob der Erde begehren Spende wir, oder, Indra! aus weiter Luft.
LupDwWIG: Von hier zu empfangen verlangen wir, oder vom himel, oder vom irdischen raume her, oder aus dem grossen luftkreis den Indra.
BENFEY: Von hier, oder vom Himmel ob der Erde begehren Spende wir, oder, Indra! aus weiter Luft.
LupDwWIG: Von hier zu empfangen verlangen wir, oder vom himel, oder vom irdischen raume her, oder aus dem grossen luftkreis den Indra.
Note 1. Although the names for earth, sky, and heaven vary in different parts of the Veda, yet the expression divas rokandm occurs so frequently that we can hardly take it in this place in a sense different from its ordinary meaning. Professor Benfey thinks that rokand may here mean ether, and he translates ‘come from heaven above the ether;’ and in the next verse, ‘come from heaven above the earth. At first, every reader would feel inclined to take the two phrases, diva4# vA rokan&t ddhi, and divas va pfarthivat ddhi, as parallel; yet I believe they are not quite so.
The following passages will show that the two words rokandam divah belong together, and that they signify the light of heaven, or the bright place of heaven.
VII, 98, 3. agakkhahk rokanam diva.
Thou (Indra) wentest to the light of heaven. I, 155, 3.
III, 6, 8. urai va yé antarikshe—divaz v4 yé rokané,
In the wide sky, or in the light of heaven.
VIII, 82, 4. upamé rokané divak,
In the highest light of heaven.
IX, 86, 27. tritiye prishzhké adhi rokané divas.
On the third ridge, in the light of heaven. See also I, 105, 5; VIII, 69, 3. ;
The very phrase which we find in our verse, only with /it instead of v4, occurs again, I, 49, 1; VIII, 8, 7; and the same sense must probably be assigned to VIII, 1, 18, ddha gmah adha va divas brihatad rokanat ddhi.
[32] E
p. 590
Either from the earth, or from the light of the great heaven, increase, O Indra!
Rofana also occurs in the plural :
I, 146, 1 .visva diva rokané.
All the bright regions of heaven.
Sayama : ‘ All the bright palaces of the gods.’ See III, 12, 9.
The same word rofand, and in the same sense, is sometimes joined with sfirya and nféka.
Thus, I, 14, 9. siryasya rokanat visvan devan—héta ihd vakshati.
May the Hotar bring the Visve Devas hither from the light of the sun, or from the bright realm of the sun.
III, 22, 3. y&s rokané pardstat sdryasya.
The waters which are above, in the bright realm of the sun, and those which are below.
I, 19, 6. yé nfkasya ddhi rokané, divi devasah dsate.
They who in the light of the firmament, in heaven, are enthroned as gods.
Here divi, in heaven, seems to be the same as the light of the firmament, nf@kasya rofané.
Thus rofand occurs also frequently by itself, when it clearly has the meaning of heaven.
It is said of the dawn, I, 49, 4; of the sun, I, 50, 4; and of Indra, III, 44, 4.
visvam & bhati ro#andm, he lights up the whole sky.
Thus rofand occurs also frequently by itself, when it clearly has the meaning of heaven.
It is said of the dawn, I, 49, 4; of the sun, I, 50, 4; and of Indra, III, 44, 4.
visvam & bhati ro#andm, he lights up the whole sky.
We also read of three ro#anas, where, though it is difficult to say what is really meant, we must translate, the three skies. The cosmography of the Veda is, as I said before, somewhat vague and varying. There is, of course, the natural division of the world into heaven and earth (dyu and bhi), and the threefold division into earth, sky, and heaven, where sky is meant for the region intermediate between heaven and earth (przthivi, antdriksha, dyu). There is also a fourfold division, for instance,
VIII, 97, 5. yat va asi rokané divak samudrdsya ddhi vishépi, yat parthive sddane vritrahan-tama, yat antdrikshe @ gahi.
p. 51
Whether thou, O greatest killer of Vrétra, art in the light of heaven, or in the basin of the sea, or in the place of the earth, or in the sky, come hither!
V, 52, 7. yé vavridhanta parthivasz yé urad antdrikshe &, vrigane va nadinam sadha-sthe v4 maha divad.
The Maruts who grew, being on the earth, those who are in the wide sky, or in the realm of the rivers, or in the abode of the great heaven.
But very soon these three or more regions are each spoken of as threefold. Thus,
Mitra and Varuna, you support the three lights, and the three heavens, and the three skies.
Here there seems some confusion, which SA&yana’s commentary makes even worse confounded. What can rokan& mean as distinct from dy and ragas? The fourth verse of the same hymn throws no light on the subject, and I should feel inclined to take divyd-p&rthivasya as one word, though even then the cosmic division here adopted is by no means clear. However, there is a still more complicated division alluded to in IV, 53, 5:
Here we have the sky thrice, three welkins, three lights, three heavens, three earths.
A careful consideration of all these passages will show, I think, that in our passage we must take divaé va rokanat adhi in its usual sense, and that we cannot separate the two words.
In the next verse, on the contrary, it seems equally clear that diva% and p&rthivat must be separated. At all events there is no passage in the Rig-veda where pfrthiva is joined as an adjective with dyi. P&rthiva as an adjective is frequently joined with ragas, never with dyu. See I, 81,
E 2
p. 52
53 90,7; VIII, 88, 5; IX, 72, 8: in the plural, I, 154, 1; V, 81, 3; VI, 31, 23 49, 3
Péarthivani also occurs by itself, when it refers to the earth, as opposed to the sky and heaven.
P&rthiva as an adjective is frequently joined with ragas, never with dyu. See I, 81,
E 2
p. 52
53 90,7; VIII, 88, 5; IX, 72, 8: in the plural, I, 154, 1; V, 81, 3; VI, 31, 23 49, 3
Péarthivani also occurs by itself, when it refers to the earth, as opposed to the sky and heaven.
X, 32, 2. viindra yAsi divyani rokana vi parthivani ragasé.
Indra thou goest in the sky between the heavenly lights and the earthly.
The Maruts who stretched out all the earthly lights, and the lights of heaven.
VI, 61, 11. 4-paprishi p&rthivani uri r4ga’ antdriksham.
Sarasvati filling the earthly places, the wide welkin, the sky. This is a doubtful passage.
Lastly, parthivani by itself seems to signify earth, sky, and heaven, if those are the three regions which Vishzu measured with his three steps; or east, the zenith, and west, if these were intended as the three steps of that deity. For we read:
I, 155, 4. yas parthivani tri-bhiz {t vigdma-bhiz urd kramishfa.
He (Vishzu) who strode wide with his three strides across the regions of the earth.
These two concluding verses might also be taken as containing the actual invocation of the sacrificer, which is mentioned in verse 8. In that case the full stop at the end of verse 8 should be removed.
MANDALA I, HYMN 19. §3
MANDALA I, HYMN 19. ASH7AKA I, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 86-87.
To AGNI (THE GOD oF FIRE) AND THE MarutTs (THE STORM-GODS).
1. Thou art called forth to this fair sacrifice for a draught of milk!; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!
2. No god indeed, no mortal, is beyond the might! of thee, the mighty one; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!
3. They who know of the great sky', the Visve -Devas* without guile*; with those Maruts come hither, O Agni! ,
4. The strong ones who sing their song}, unconquerable by force; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!
5. They who are brilliant, of terrible designs, powerful, and devourers of foes; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!
6. They who in heaven are enthroned as gods, in the light of the firmament!; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!
7. They who toss the clouds! across the surging sea*; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!
8. They who shoot with their darts (lightnings) across the sea with might; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!
9. I pour out to thee for the early draught? the sweet (juice) of Soma; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!
p. 54
NOTES.
This hymn is ascribed to MedhAtithi, of the family of Kava. Verse I=SV. I, 16.
Verse 1.
WILSON : Earnestly art thou invoked to this perfect rite, to drink the Soma juice; come, Agni, with the Maruts.
BENFEY: Zu diesem schénen Opfer wirst du gerufen, zum Trank der Milch!—Mit diesen Marut’s, Agni! komm!
LuDwIiG: Her zu diesem schénen opfer, gerufen wirst zum milchtrank du, mit den Marut, Agni, kom.
BENFEY: Zu diesem schénen Opfer wirst du gerufen, zum Trank der Milch!—Mit diesen Marut’s, Agni! komm!
LuDwIiG: Her zu diesem schénen opfer, gerufen wirst zum milchtrank du, mit den Marut, Agni, kom.
Note 1. Gopitha is explained by Y4ska and Sayama as drinking of Soma. I have kept to the literal signification of the word, a draught of milk. In the last verse of our hymn the libation offered to Agni and the Maruts is said to consist of Soma, but Soma was commonly mixed with milk. The other meaning assigned to gopitha, protection, would give the sense: ‘Thou art called for the sake of protection.’ But pitha has clearly the sense of drinking in soma-pitha, RV. I, 51, 7, and may therefore be taken in the same sense in gopitha.
Verse 2.
WILSON: No god nor man has power over a rite (dedicated) to thee, who art mighty: come, Agni, with the Maruts.
BENFEY: Denn nicht ein Gott, kein Sterblicher ragt iiber dein, des Grossen, Macht—Mit diesen Marut’s, Agni! komm!
Lupwic: Es iiberragt kein gott, kein sterblicher die einsicht dein des grossen, mit den Marut, Agni, kom.
Note 1. The Sanskrit kratu expresses power both of body and mind. Paraf governs the accusative.
Verse 3. WILSON: Who all are divine, and devoid of malignity,
p. 55
and who know (how to cause the descent) of great waters : come, Agni, with the Maruts. BENFEY: Die guten Gotter, welche all bestehen in dem weiten Raum—Mit diesen Marut’s, Agni! komm! LupDwiGc: Die wissen um den grossen raum, alle gétter truges bar, mit den Marut, Agni, kom.
Note 1. The sky or welkin (r4gas) is the proper abode of the Maruts, and ‘they who know of’ means simply ‘they who dwell’ in the great sky. The Vedic poets distinguish commonly between the three worlds, the earth, préthivi, f., or parthiva, n.; the sky, r4gas; and the heaven, dyi: see I, 6, 9, note 1. The phrase maha# ragasaAé occurs I, 6, 10; 168, 6, &c. Sayava takes rdgas for water or rain: see on this my article in Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. xii, p. 28. In some passages ragas means ‘ darkness,’ and might be identified with the Greek "EpeBos ; Ath. Veda VIII, 2,1. pardyAmi tv4 ragasa ut tv4 mrityér apiparam, ‘I bring thee out of darkness, out of death I brought thee.’ The identification of ragas with épeBos (Leo Meyer, in Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. vi, p. 19) must however remain doubtful, until stronger evidence has been brought forward in support of a Greek 8 representing a Sanskrit g, even in the middle of a word. See my article in Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. xv, p. 215; Curtius, Grundziige (fifth edition), p. 480.
Note 2, The appellation Visve devah, all gods together, or, more properly, host-gods, is often applied to the Maruts ; cf. I, 23, 8; 10. Benfey connects this line with the preceding verse, considering Visve devi, it seems, inappropriate as an epithet of the Maruts.
480.
Note 2, The appellation Visve devah, all gods together, or, more properly, host-gods, is often applied to the Maruts ; cf. I, 23, 8; 10. Benfey connects this line with the preceding verse, considering Visve devi, it seems, inappropriate as an epithet of the Maruts.
Note 8. On adruh, without guile or deceit, without hatred, see Kuhn’s excellent article, Zeitschrift fiir die Vergleichende Sprachforschung, vol. i, pp. 179,193. Adruh is applied to the Maruts again in VIII, 46, 4, though in connection with other gods. It is applied to the Visve Devas, RV. I, 3, 9; IX, 102, 5: the Adityas, RV. VIII, 19, 34; 67, 13: the Rudras, RV. IX, 73, 7: to Heaven and Earth, RV. II, 41, a1; III, 56, 1; IV, 56,2; VII, 66, 18: to Mitra and Varuaa, RV. V, 68, 4: to Agni, RV. VI, 15, 7; VIII, 44, 10. The form adhrik occurs in the sixth Mazdala only.
p. 56
Verse 4.
WILSON: Who are fierce, and send down rain, and are unsurpassed in strength: come, Agni, with the Maruts. BENFEY: Die schrecklich-unbesiegbaren, die machtiglich Licht angefacht—Mit diesen Marut’s, Agni! komm! LupwIG: Die singen, die gewaltigen, ihr lied unangegriffen durch (ihre) kraft, mit den Marut, Agni, kom. Note 1. Sdyaza explains arka by water. Hence Wilson : ‘Who are fierce and send down rain.’ But arka has only received this meaning of water in the artificial system of interpretation first started by the authors of the Brahmazas, who had lost all knowledge of the natural sense of the ancient hymns. The passages in which arka is explained as water in the Brahmazas are quoted by SAayaza, but they require no refutation. On the singing of the Maruts, see note to I, 38,15; also Bergaigne, Journ. As. 1884, p. 194. The perfect in the Veda, like the perfect in Homer, has frequently to be rendered in English by the present.
Verse 5.
WILSON: Who are brilliant, of terrific forms, who are possessors of great wealth, and are devourers of the malevolent: come, Agni, with the Maruts.
BENFEY: Die glanzend-grau’ngestaltigen, hochherrschend feindvernichtenden — Mit diesen Marut’s, Agni! komm!
LupDwIG: Die glanzvollen, von schrecklicher gestalt, von grosser herschaft, feindverzerer, mit den Marut, Agni, kom.
Verse 6.
WILson: Who are divinities abiding in the radiant heaven above the sun: come, Agni, with the Maruts.
BENFEY: Die Géotter die im Himmel sind ob dem Lichtkreis des Géttersitz’s—Mit diesen Marut’s, Agni! komm!
LupwWIG: Die ob der himmelswoélbung glanz, am himel die gétter sitzen, mit den Marut, Agni, kom.
Note 1, Naka must be translated by firmament, as therep. 57 is no other word in English besides heaven, and that is wanted to render dyu. Like the Jewish firmament, the Indian naka, too, is adorned with stars; cf. I, 68, ro. pipésa nfkam strfbhizZ. Dyu, heaven, is supposed to be above the r4gas, sky or welkin. Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. xii, p. 28.
Sdyaza: ‘In the radiant heaven above the sun.’ See note 1 to I, 6,9; p. 49.
Verse 7.
Like the Jewish firmament, the Indian naka, too, is adorned with stars; cf. I, 68, ro. pipésa nfkam strfbhizZ. Dyu, heaven, is supposed to be above the r4gas, sky or welkin. Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. xii, p. 28.
Sdyaza: ‘In the radiant heaven above the sun.’ See note 1 to I, 6,9; p. 49.
Verse 7.
WILson: Who scatter the clouds, and agitate the sea (with waves): come, Agni, with the Maruts.
BENFEY: Welche iiber das wogende Meer hinjagen die Wolkenschaar—Mit diesen Marut’s, Agni! komm!
LuDwWIG: Die die berge wiegend hindurch durchs wogenmeer bewegen, mit den Marut, Agni, kom.
Note 1, That pdrvata (mountain) is used in the sense of cloud, without any further explanation, is clear from many passages ;
I, 57,6. tvam tam indra pdrvatam mah&m urim vagrena vagrin parva-sah kakartitha.
Thou, Indra, hast cut this great broad cloud to pieces with thy lightning. Cf. I, 85, 10.
We actually find two similes mixed up together, such as V, 32, 2. fidha# pdrvatasya, the udder of the cloud. All we can do is to translate parvata by mountain, but always to remember that mountain means cloud. In the Edda, too, the rocks, said to have been fashioned out of Ymir’s bones, are supposed to be intended for clouds. In Old Norse klakkr means. both cloud and rock; nay, the English word cloud itself has been identified with the Anglo-Saxon clad, rock. See Justi, Orient und Occident, vol. ii, p. 62. See Grimm, Deutsche Grammatik, I°, 398, 424; also Kuhn, Weisse Frau, p. 12.
Note 2. Whether the surging sea is to be taken for the sea or for the air, depends on the view which we take of the earliest cosmography of the Vedic Rishis. Sdyana explains: ‘They who make the clouds to go, and stir the
p. 58
12.
Note 2. Whether the surging sea is to be taken for the sea or for the air, depends on the view which we take of the earliest cosmography of the Vedic Rishis. Sdyana explains: ‘They who make the clouds to go, and stir thep. 58 watery sea. Wilson remarks that the influence of the winds upon the sea, alluded to in this and the following verse, indicates more familiarity with the ocean than we should have expected from the traditional inland position of the early Hindus, and it has therefore been supposed by others that, even in passages like our own, samudra was meant for the sky, the waters above the firmament. But although there are passages in the Rig-veda where samudra must be taken to mean the welkin (RV. I, 95, 3. samudra ékam divi ékam ap-su), this word shows in by far the larger number of passages the clear meaning of ocean. There is one famous passage, VII, 95, 2, which proves that the Vedic poets, who were supposed to have known the upper courses only of the rivers of the Penjab, had followed the greatest and most sacred of their rivers, the Sarasvati, as far as the Indian ocean. It is well known that, as early as the composition of the laws of the M4anavas, and possibly as early as the composition of the Sdtras on which these metrical laws are based, the river Sarasvatt had changed its course, and that the place where that river disappeared under ground was called Vinasana®*, the loss. This Vinasana forms, according to the laws of the MAnavas, the western frontier of Madhyadesa, the eastern frontier being formed by the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna. Madhyadesa is a section of AryAvarta, the abode of the Aryas in the widest sense. AryAvarta shares with Madhyadesa the same frontiers in the north and the south, viz. the Himalaya and Vindhya mountains, but it extends beyond Madhyadesa to the west and east as far as the western and eastern seas. A section of Madhyadesa, again, is the country described as that of the Brahmarshis, which comprises only Kurukshetra, the countries of the Matsyas, Pafifalas (Kanyakubga, according to Kulldka), and Sdrasenas (Mathur, according to Kullaka). The most sacred spot of all, however, is that section of the Brahmatshi country which lies between the rivers Drishadvati and Sarasvati, and which in the laws of
® Mentioned in Laty. Srauta Sfitras, X, 15, 1; Pattkavimsa Brahm. XXV, 10, 1; see Hist. A. S.L., p. 12.
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The most sacred spot of all, however, is that section of the Brahmatshi country which lies between the rivers Drishadvati and Sarasvati, and which in the laws of
® Mentioned in Laty. Srauta Sfitras, X, 15, 1; Pattkavimsa Brahm. XXV, 10, 1; see Hist. A. S.L., p. 12.
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the Manavas is called Brahmavarta. In the Sdtras which supplied the material to the authors of the metrical lawbooks, the Vinasana is mentioned for the first time in the Baudh4yana Satras, I, 2, 9, ‘ AryAvarta lies to the east of the region where (the Sarasvati) disappears, to the west of the Black-forest, to the north of the Parip4tra (mountains), to the south of the Himalaya.’ The name of the Sarasvatiis not mentioned, but no other river can be understood. What is curious, however, is, that in the Vasish¢#a S(tras where the same frontiers of AryAvarta are given (I, 8), the MSS. read originally prag Adarsat, i.e. east of the Adarsa mountains, which was afterwards changed into prag adarsanat, and interpreted ‘east of the invisibility, or of the disappearance of the Sarasvati.’ Vasisht#a quotes another authority, a Gath4 of the BhAllavins, which says : ‘In the west the boundary river,’ i.e. sindhur vidharamt. This sindhur vidharani is another name of the old Sarasvatti, and in Baudhayana I, 2,12, the same verse is quoted, though the reading of vidharami varies with vikarani and visarazi. See Bihler, l.c. Madhyadesa is mentioned in one of the Parisishfas (MS. 510, Wilson) as a kind of model country, but it is there described as lying east of Dasarna®, west of Kampilya®, north of P4riydtra’, and south of the Himavat, or again, in a more general way, as the Dudb of the Ganga and YamunA4,
It is ‘very curious that while in the later Sanskrit lite-
& See Wilson’s Vishvu-pur4na, ed. Hall, pp. 154, 155, 159, 160.
b See Wilson’s Vishau-pur4aa, ed. Hall, p. 161.
¢ L.c., pp. 123, 127. Instead of P&riy4tra, other MSS. read Paripatra ; see Bithler, Vasish¢ha I, 8.
a Prag dasar#at pratyak kampilyad udak p4riy4trad, dakshizena himavata#. Gang4yamunayor antaram eke madhyadesam ity 4kakshate. Medhftithi says that Madhyadesa, the middle country, was hot called so because it was in the middle of the earth, but because it was neither too high nor too low. Albiruny, too, remarks that Madhyadesa was between the sea and the northern mountains, between the hot and the cold countries, equally distant from the eastern and western frontiers. See Reinaud, Mémoire sur )’Inde, p- 46.
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rature the disappearance of the Sarasvati in the desert is a fact familiar to every writer, no mention of it should occur during the whole of the Vedic period, and it is still more curious that in one of the hymns of the Rig-veda we should have a distinct statement that the Sarasvatt fell into the sea:
1. ‘With her fertilising stream this Sarasvatt comes forth— (she is to us) a stronghold, an iron gate. Moving along as on a chariot, this river surpasses in greatness all other waters. 2. Alone among all rivers Sarasvati listened, she who goes pure from the mountains as far as the sea. She who knows of the manifold wealth of the world, has poured out to man her fat milk.’
Here we see samudré used clearly in the sense of sea, the Indian sea, and we have at the same time a new indication of the distance which separates the Vedic age from that of the later Sanskrit literature. Though it may not be possible to determine by geological evidence the time of the changes which modified the southern area of the Penjab and caused the Sarasvati to disappear in the desert, still the fact remains that the loss of the Sarasvatt is later than the Vedic age, and that at that time the waters of the Sarasvati reached the sea. Professor Wilson had observed long ago in reference to the rivers of that part of India, that there have been, no doubt, considerable changes here, both in the nomenclature and in the courses of the rivers, and this remark has been fully confirmed by later observations. I believe it can be proved that in the Vedic age the Sarasvati was a river as large as the Sutlej, that it was the last of the rivers of the Penjab, and therefore the iron gate, or the real frontier against the rest of India. At present the Sarasvatt is so small a river that the epithets applied to the Sarasvati in the Veda have become quite inapplicable to it. The Vedic Rishis, though acquainted with numerous rivers, includingp. 61 the Indus and Ganges, call the Sarasvati the mother of rivers (VII, 36, 6. sdrasvati saptdtht s{ndhu-mata), the strongest of rivers (VI, 61, 13. apdsdm apd/-tam4), and in our passage, VII, 95, 2, we have, as far as I can judge, conclusive evidence that the old Sarasvati reached in its course the Indian sea, either by itself, or united with the Indus *.
But this passage, though important as showing the application of samudrd, i.e. confluvies, to the Indian sea, and proving the acquaintance of the Vedic Rishis with the southern coast of India, is by no means the only one in which samudrd must be translated by sea. Thus we read, VII, 49, 2:
yah apah divy&h utd vA sravanti khanitrim4z utd va yak svayam-géh, samudrd-arthah yah sikayahk pavak&h tik dpak devid ih4 m&m avantu.
The waters which are from heaven, or those which flow after being dug, or those which spring up by themselves, the bright, pure waters that tend to the sea, may those divine waters protect me here!
I, 71, 7. agnim visv4k abhi prfksha# sakante samudram na sravatahk saptd yahvis.
The waters which are from heaven, or those which flow after being dug, or those which spring up by themselves, the bright, pure waters that tend to the sea, may those divine waters protect me here!
I, 71, 7. agnim visv4k abhi prfksha# sakante samudram na sravatahk saptd yahvis.
All kinds of food go to Agni, as the seven rivers go to the sea.
As the wind moves, as the forest moves, as the sea moves (or the sky).
In hymn X, 58, the same expression occurs which we have in our hymn, and samudram armavam there as here admits but of one explanation, the surging sea.
Samudra in many passages of the Rig-veda has to be taken as an adjective, in the sense of watery or flowing:
Thy golden ships, O Pashan, which move within the watery sky.
® See ‘India, what can it teach us?’ pp. 170,171.
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VII, 70, 2. yas vam samudrfén sarftak pfparti.
He who carries you across the watery rivers.
I, 161, 14. at-bhiz yati varuzak samudrath.
Varuna moves in the flowing waters.
In both these passages samudrd, as an adjective, does not conform to the gender of the noun. See Bollensen, Orient und Occident, vol. ii, p. 467.
II, 16, 3. nd samudra{fZ parvataiz indra te rd4thak (nd pari-bhvé).
Thy chariot, O Indra, is not to be overcome by the watery clouds.
Verse 8.
WILSON: Who spread (through the firmament), along with the rays (of the sun), and, with their strength, agitate the ocean: come, Agni, with the Maruts.
BENFEY: Die mit Blitzen schleuderen machtig iiber das Meer hinaus—Mit diesen Marut’s, Agni! komm!
LupwIG: Die mit stralen ihre richtung nemen mit gewalt durchs mer, mit den Marut, Agni, kom.
Verse 9.
WILSON : I pour out the sweet Soma juice for thy drinking, (as) of old: come, Agni, with the Maruts.
BENFEY: Ich giesse zu dem ersten Trank fiir dich des Soma Honig aus—Mit diesen Marut’s, Agni! komm!
Lupwic: Ich giesze dir'zum ersten trunk madhu mit dem soma zu; mit den Marut, Agni, kom.
Note 1. Parvapiti, the early draught, implies at the same time the priority of the god to whom it is given.
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MANDALA I, HYMN 37. ASH7AKA I, ADHYAYA 3, VARGA 12-14.
To THE MarutTs (THE STORM-GoDsS).
1. Sing forth, O Kazvas, to the sportive host of your Maruts, brilliant on their chariots, and unscathed 1,—
2. They who were born together, self-luminous, with the spotted deer (the clouds) ', the spears, the daggers, the glittering ornaments *.
3. I hear their! whips, almost close by, when they crack them in their hands ; they gain splendour? on their way *.
4. Sing forth the god-given prayer to the wild? host of your Maruts, endowed with terrible vigour ? and strength.
5. Celebrate the bull among the cows (the storm among the clouds) ', for it is the sportive host of the Maruts; he grew as he tasted the rain *.
on their way *.
4. Sing forth the god-given prayer to the wild? host of your Maruts, endowed with terrible vigour ? and strength.
5. Celebrate the bull among the cows (the storm among the clouds) ', for it is the sportive host of the Maruts; he grew as he tasted the rain *.
6. Who, O ye men, is the strongest among you here, ye shakers of heaven and earth, when you shake them like the hem of a garment! ?
7. At your approach the son of man holds himself down ; the gnarled cloud! fled at your fierce anger.
8. They at whose racings! the earth, like a hoary king, trembles for fear on their ways,
9. Their birth is strong indeed: there is strength to come forth from their mother, nay, there is vigour twice enough for it?.
10. And these sons, the singers}, stretched out the fences in their racings?; the cows had to walk knee-deep.
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11. They cause this long and broad unceasing rain? to fall on their ways.
12, O Maruts, with such strength as yours, you have caused men to tremble!, you have caused the mountains to tremble.
13. As the Maruts pass? along, they talk together on the way: does any one hear them?
14. Come fast on your quick steeds! there are worshippers! for you among the Kazvas: may you well rejoice among them.
15. Truly there is enough for your rejoicing. We always are their servants, that we may live even the whole of life.
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NOTES.
This hymn is ascribed to Kasva, the son of Ghora.
Verse 1=TS. IV, 3, 13, 6. Verse 3=SV. I, 135. Verse 10=SV. I, 221.
Verse 1,
WILSON: Celebrate, Kazvas, the aggregate strength of the Maruts, sportive, without horses, but shining in their car.
BENFEY : Kazviden, auf! begriisst mit Sang, die muntre Heerschaar der Marut’s, die rasch’ste, wagenglanzende.
Lupwic: Eurer spilenden schar, der Marutschar, der unangreifbaren, die auf wagen glanzt, der singt, o Kazvas, zu.
Note 1. Wilson translates anarvizam by without horses, though the commentator distinctly explains the word by without an enemy. A Brdhmama passage explains: bhratrivyo va arv4, ity srutyantarat. See TS. IV, 3, 13, 6. Wilson considers it doubtful whether 4rvan can ever mean enemy. The fact is, that in the Rig-veda an-arvan never means without horses, but always without hurt or free from enemies; and the commentator is perfectly right, as far as the sense is concerned, in rendering the word by without an enemy, or unopposed (apraty-rita). An-arvdn is not formed from 4Arvat, horse, racer, but from drvan; and this is derived from the same root which yields drus, n. a wound, riti (see I, 64, 15, note), &c. The accusative of anarvat, without a horse, would be anarvantam, not anarvazam.
The root ar, in the sense of hurting, is distantly connected with the root mar: see Lectures on the Science of Language, Second Series, p. 323. It exists in the Greek dAAvmi, corresponding to Sanskrit rizomi, i.e. arzomi, I hurt, likewise
[32] F
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The root ar, in the sense of hurting, is distantly connected with the root mar: see Lectures on the Science of Language, Second Series, p. 323. It exists in the Greek dAAvmi, corresponding to Sanskrit rizomi, i.e. arzomi, I hurt, likewise
[32] Fp. 66 in otA#, wound, which cannot be derived from 87 ; in otAos, ovAtos, hurtful, and ddods, destructive: see Curtius, Grundziige der Griechischen Etymologie (fiinfte Ausgabe), p. 372. In the Veda ar has the sense of offending or injuring, particularly if preceded by upa.
If we have offended, or whatever fault we have committed, by bidding, blaming, or forbidding, while waking or while sleeping, may Agni remove all wicked misdeeds far from us.
Hence upérd, injury, VII, 86, 6. Asti gyéyan kdntyasak upa-aré, the older man is there to injure, to offend, to mislead, the young: (History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, second edition, p. 541.) Roth translates upa4rd by Verfehlung, missing. Ari, enemy, too, is best derived from this root, and not from r4, to give, with the negative particle, as if meaning originally, as Sayama supposes, a man who does not give. In drarivan, gen. drarushat, hostile, Rosen recognised many years ago a participle of a really reduplicated perfect of ar, and he likewise traced ardru, enemy, back to the same root: see his note to I, 18, 3.
From this root ar, to hurt, drvan, hurting, as well as arus, wound, are derived in the same manner as both dhanvan and dhanus, bow, are formed from dhan; yagvan and ydgus from yag, parvan and parus from par. See Kuhn, Zeitschrift, vol. ii, p. 233.
Anarvan, then, is the same as dnarus, Sat. P. Brahmana III, 1, 3, 7; and from meaning originally without a wound or without one who can wound, it takes the more general sense of uninjured, invulnerable, perfect, strong, (cf. integer, intact, and entire.) This meaning is applicable to I, 94, 2; 136, 5; II, 6, 5; V, 49, 4; VII, 20, 3; 97, 53 X, 61, 13; 65, 3. In I, 116, 16, anarvan seems to be used as an adverb; in I, 51, 12, as applied to sloka, it may have the more general meaning of irresistible, powerful.
There are two passages in which the nom. sing. arv4n, and one in which the acc. sing. 4rvazam, occur, apparently
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In I, 116, 16, anarvan seems to be used as an adverb; in I, 51, 12, as applied to sloka, it may have the more general meaning of irresistible, powerful.
There are two passages in which the nom. sing. arv4n, and one in which the acc. sing. 4rvazam, occur, apparentlyp. 67 meaning horse. But in I, 163, 13, and IX, 97, 25, arvan stands in the Pada text only, the Samhita has 4rvi dkkha and 4rv4 iva. In X, 46, 5, the text hiri-smasrum na a4rvazam dhana-arkam is too doubtful to allow of any safe induction, particularly as the SA4ma-veda gives a totally different reading. I do not think, therefore, that arvat, horse, admits in the nom. and acc. sing. of any forms but arva and 4rvantam*. P4zini (VI, 4, 127) allows the forms arvan and arvamam, but in anarvan only, which, as we saw, has nothing in common with arvat, horse. Benfey: ‘die rascheste (keinen Renner habend, uneinholbar),’ the quickest (having no racer, hence not to be reached). M. Bergaigne (Journ. As. 1884, p. 188) tries to defend anarvan in the sense of anasva, without considering the grammatical objections. In VI, 66, 7 (not I, 6, 7) anasvah does not refer to yamad.
The masculine anarvénam after the neuter sdrdhas is curious; sdrdhas means might, but it is here used to express a might or an aggregate of strong men or gods, and the nom. plur. yé, who, in the next verse, shows the same transition of thought, not only from the singular to the plural, but also from the neuter to the masculine, which must be admitted in anarvizam®. It would be possible, if necessary, to explain away the irregularity of anarvanzam by admitting a rapid transition from the Maruts to Indra, the eldest among the Maruts (cf. I, 23, 8. indra-gyeshthak marut-gavz4h), and it would be easier still to alter sardhas into sfrdham, as an accusative singular of the masculine noun sardha, which has the same meaning as the neuter s4rdhas. There is one passage, V, 56, 9, which would seem to give ample countenance to such a conjecture:
tam va# sardham rathe-sibham—4 huve.
I call hither this your host, brilliant on chariots.
Again, II, 30, 11, we read:
tam vak s4rdham mérutam—gir4 upa bruve.
I call with my voice on this your host of Maruts.
8 See Bugge, K. Z. XIX, p. 403. b Bollensen (Z. D. M. G. XXII, 603) calls it a vulgar Donatus ; see, however, Lanman, Noun-Inflection, pp. 330, 526. F 2
Your prowess is brilliant, your minds furious ; the shout of the daring host is like one possessed.
We have likewise the dative s4rdh4ya, the instrumental sardhena, and the acc. plur. sardh4n; and in most cases, except in two or three where sardha seems to be used as an adjective, meaning strong, these words are applied to the host of the Maruts.
But the other word sardhas is equally well authenticated, and we find of it, not only the nominative, accusative, and vocative sing. sérdhas, but likewise the nom. plur. sardhamsi.
The nominative singular occurs in our very hymn:
I, 37, 5. kri/dm yat s4rdhak mérutam.
Which is the sportive host of the Maruts.
I, 127, 6. sdk hi sardhad nd marutam tuvi-svanik..
For he (Agni) is strong-voiced like the host of the Maruts.
IV, 6, 10. tuvi-svandsak marutam na sdrdhah.
Thy flames (Agni) are strong-voiced like the host of the Maruts.
V, 46, 5. utd tydt nak marutam sdrdhak & gamat.
May also that host of the Maruts come to us.
II, 1, 5. tv4m naram sardhak asi puru-vdsuh.
Thou (Agni), full of riches, art the host of the men.
This host of men seems to me intended again for the Maruts, although it is true that in thus identifying Agni with different gods, the poet repeats himself in the next verse :
II, 1, 6. tvam sArdhak mérutam.
Thou art the host of the Maruts.
If this repetition seems offensive, the first narém sardhas might be taken for some other company of gods. Thus we find:
Agni, Indra, Varuna, Mitra, gods, host of the Maruts, come forth, and Vishnu!
We see how throughout all these passages those in which sardha and sdrdhas are applied to the Maruts, or to some other company of gods, preponderate most decidedly. Yet passages occur in the Rig-veda where both sdrdha and sdrdhas are applied to other hosts or companies. Thus V, 53, 10, sérdha refers to chariots, while in I, 133, 3, sardhas is applied to evil spirits.
Yet passages occur in the Rig-veda where both sdrdha and sdrdhas are applied to other hosts or companies. Thus V, 53, 10, sérdha refers to chariots, while in I, 133, 3, sardhas is applied to evil spirits.
If the passages hitherto examined were all that occur in the Rig-veda, we might still feel startled at the construction of our verse, where sdrdhas is not only followed by masculine adjectives in the singular, but, in the next verse, by a pronoun in the plural. But if we take the last irregularity first, we find the same construction, viz. sdrdhas followed by yé, in ITI, 32, 4:
indrasya s4rdhak maritak yé &san.
The host of Indra, that was the Maruts.
As to the change of genders, we find adjectives in the masculine after s4rdhas, in
V, 52, 8. sardhat mfrutam ut samsa satyd-savasam 7/bhvasam.
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Celebrate the host of the Maruts, the truly vigorous, the brilliant.
Here, too, the poet afterwards continues in the plural, though as he uses the demonstrative, and not, as in our passage, the relative pronoun, we cannot quote this in support of the irregularity which has here to be explained. Anyhow the construction of our verse, though bold and unusual, is not so unusual as to force us to adopt conjectural remedies. In V, 58, 2, we find yé after gavdz. On the Umbrian Cerfo Martio, as possibly the same as sardha-s maruta-s, see Grassman, Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. xvi, p. 190. The Zend saredha, kind, species, is the same word.
Verse 2,
WILson: Who, borne by spotted deer, were born selfradiant, with weapons, war-cries, and decorations.
BENFEY: Die mit Hirschen und Speeren gleich mit Donnern und mit Blitzen auch—selbststrahlende—geboren sind.
LupDwiG: Die mit vilfarbigen speeren, mit der schwerter glanze, sichtbar wurden mit eignem leuchten.
Note 1. The spotted deer (préshati) are the recognised animals of the Maruts, and were originally, as it would seem, intended for the rain-clouds. Sdyasa is perfectly aware of the original meaning of prfshat?, as clouds. The legendary school, he says, takes them for deer with white spots, the etymological school for many-coloured lines of clouds: (RV. BH. I, 64, 8.) This passage shows that although prfshati, as Roth observes, may mean a spotted cow or a spotted horse,—the Maruts, in fact, are called sometimes prishat-asv4#, having piebald horses, or, having prvishats for their horses, VII, 40, 3,—yet the later tradition in India had distinctly declared in favour of spotted deer. The Vedic poets, however, admitted both ideas, and they speak in the same hymn, nay, in the same verse, of the fallow deer and of the horses of the Maruts. Thus V, 58, 1, the Maruts are called Ast-asv4/, possessed of quick horses; and in V, 58, 6, we read yat pra dy4sishéa préshatibhiZ dsvais—rathebhiX, where the gender of présha-
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Thus V, 58, 1, the Maruts are called Ast-asv4/, possessed of quick horses; and in V, 58, 6, we read yat pra dy4sishéa préshatibhiZ dsvais—rathebhiX, where the gender of préshap. 71tibhiZ would hardly allow us to join it with dsvaik, but where we must translate: When you come with the deer, the horses, the chariots, or with your deer, as horses. Ludwig joins prishattbhiZ with rishzibhif, and again in I, 64, 8; see note 1 to I, 87, 4.
Note 2. The spears and daggers of the Maruts are meant for the thunderbolts, and the glittering ornaments for the lightning. SAyanza takes vist in this passage for war-cries on the authority of the Nirukta, where vast is given among the names of the voice. From other passages, however, it becomes clear that vast is a weapon of the Maruts; and Sayaaa, too, explains it sometimes in that sense: cf. V, 53, 4; 57, 2. Thus I, 88, 3, the vasis are spoken of as being on the bodies of the Maruts. In V, 53, 4, the Maruts are said to shine in their ornaments and their vasis. Here Sayaza, too, translates vdst rightly by weapon; and in his remarks on I, 88, 3,-he says that vast was a weapon commonly called ara, which is a shoemaker’s awl. See Dhammapada, ver. 401. This reminds one of framea, which at one time was supposed to be connected with the German pfrieme. See, however, Grimm (Deutsche Grammatik, vol. i, p. 128) and Leo Meyer (Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. vi, p. 424). In VIII, 29, 3, the god Tvashéar is said to carry an iron v&stin his hand. Grassman (Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. xvi, p. 163) translates vast byaxe. That agi is to be taken in the sense of ornament, and not in the sense of ointment, is shown by passages like VIII, 29, 1, where a golden ornament is mentioned, afg{ ankte hiranyd4yam. S4kdm, together, is used with reference to the birth of the Maruts; see I, 64, 4. It should not be connected with vasibhiA.
Verse 3.
WILSON: I hear the cracking of the whips in their hands, wonderfully inspiring (courage) in the fight.
BENFEY: Schier hier erschallt der Peitsche Knail, wenn sie in ihrer Hand erklingt ; leuchtend fahr'n sie im Sturm herab.
Lupwic: Als ware es hier, so hért man es, wenn die geisslen in ihren handen knallen; wunderbar strecken sie auf ihrer fart sich nieder.
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Note 1. Esham should be pronounced as a creticus; also in verses 9, 13,15. This is a very common vyGha. On the whips as lightning, see Grimm, Donner, p. 27.
Note 2. I should have taken &itram as an adverb, like Benfey, if ni rzig were not usually construed with an accusative. Rig in the 3rd pers. plur. pres. Atm. is treated like a verb of the Ad-class. The SV. seems to read yamam, and the commentator explains it by ratham.
Note 8. The locative yaman is frequently used of the . path on which the gods move and approach the sacrifice ; hence, it sometimes means, as in our passage, in the sky. Ya&mam in BR., s. v. arg, is wrong.
The SV. seems to read yamam, and the commentator explains it by ratham.
Note 8. The locative yaman is frequently used of the . path on which the gods move and approach the sacrifice ; hence, it sometimes means, as in our passage, in the sky. Ya&mam in BR., s. v. arg, is wrong.
We might also translate: ‘ Here, close by, I hear what the whips in their hands say; they drive forth the beautiful (chariot) on the road.’ See SV. I, 2, 1, 5, 1, comm.
Verse 4.
WILson: Address the god-given prayer to those who are your strength, the destroyers of foes, the powerful, possessed of brilliant reputation.
BENFEY: Singt eurer Schaar, der wiihlenden, der strahlenreichen, kraftigen ein gotterfiilletes Gebet !
Lupwic: Eurer kiinen schar, von blendender herlichkeit, der kraftvollen, soll ein von den géttern eingegebenes brahma gesungen werden.
Note 1. Benfey translates ghvéshvi by burrowing, and refers it to the thunderbolt that uproots the earth. He points out that ghvshvi means also, for the same reason, the boar, as proved by Kuhn (Die Herabkunft des Feuers, S. 202). Ghrishdi is evidently a common name for boar, the Norse griss, and the god of the wind, Grimnir or Grimr, is conceived as a boar, shaking the cornfield, in such phrases as ‘Der Eber geht ins Korn’ (Gentha, l.c. p. 14). I prefer, however, in this place the general sense assigned to the adjective ghyéshu and ghv¢shvi, exuberant, brisk, wild. See Kuhn in Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. xi, p. 385. Wilson, after Sayaza, translates destroyers of foes. On the representation of the clouds as boars, see Nir. V, 4.
Note 2. Tveshd-dyumna is difficult to render. Bothp. 73 tveshd and dyumnd are derived from roots that mean to shine, to be bright, to glow. Derivatives from tvish express the idea of fieriness, fierceness, and fury. In IV, 17, 2, tvish is used correlatively, with manyu, wrath. Derivatives from dyu convey the idea of brightness and briskness. Both qualities are frequently applied to the Maruts.
Verse 5.
WILSON : Praise the sportive and resistless might of the Maruts, who were born amongst kine, and whose strength has been nourished by (the enjoyment of) the milk.
BENFEY: Preist hoch die muntre Marutschaar die unbesiegbar in den Kih’n, im Schlund des Safts wuchs sie heran.
LupDwWIG: Preise wie unter kiihen den stier, (so) der Marut spilende schar, beim: verschlingen des saftes ist sie grosz geworden.
Note 1. This translation is merely conjectural. I suppose that the wind driving the clouds before him, is here compared to a bull among cows, cf. V, 52, 3:
té syandrasaf nd ukshdzak ati skandanti sdrvartz.
They, the Maruts, like rushing bulls, mount on the dark cows.
The last sentence states that the wind grows even stronger after it has tasted the rain (I, 85, 2. té ukshit&sak mahiménam 4sata).