Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1In most passages, no doubt, bhyzmi means quick, fresh, and is opposed to radhra, IV, 32,2; VII, 56,20. In I, 31, 16, as applied to Agni, it may mean quick. But in our passage that meaning is impossible, and I prefer the traditional NOTES. II, 34, 2. 299 meaning of cloud to that of storm-wind, adopted by Benfey and Roth. The expression ‘to blow a storm-wind’ is not usual, while dham is used in the sense of blowing away clouds and darkness. The cows would then be the waters in the clouds. It is possible, however, that Sdyaza’s explanation, according to which bhvzmi is a musical instrument, may rest on some traditional authority. In this case it would correspond to dhamantaé vazdm, in I, 85, 107. Verse 2. Note 1. On khadin, see I, 166, 9, note 2 On rukmavakshas, I, 64, 4, note 1. Golden-breasted is meant for armed with golden chest-plates. The meaning seems to be that the Maruts with their brilliant khadis appear like the heavens with their brilliant stars. The Maruts are not themselves lightning and rain, but they are seen in them, as Agni is not the fire, but present in the fire, or the god of fire. Thus we read, RV. III, 26, 6. agné# bhdmam marutéam dgak, ‘The splendour of Agni, the strength of the Maruts,’ i.e. the lightning. It must be admitted, however, that a conjecture, proposed by Bollensen (Z.D.M.G. XLI, p. 501), would improve the verse. He proposes to read rishtayak instead of vrishfayak. We should then have to translate, ‘ Their spears shone like lightnings from the clouds.’ These rish¢is or spears are mentioned by the side of khadi and rukma in RV. V, 54, 11, and the compound vishdividyutak is applied to the Maruts in I, 168, 5 and V, 52, 13. The difficulty which remains is abhr{yak. Note 2. On dy4vo na strzbhiZ, see note to I, 87, 1. Note 3. The second line is full of difficulties. No doubt the Maruts are represented as the sons of Rudra (V, 60, 5; VI, 66, 3), and as the sons of Prisni, fem., being called Prfsni-matarak. Their birth is sometimes spoken of as unknown (VII, 56, 2), but hardly as mysterious. Who knows their birth, hardly means more than ‘the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh.’ Prisni as a feminine is the speckled sky, and the cloud may have been conceived 300 VEDIC HYMNS. as the udder at the same time that Pvésni was conceived as a cow (I, 160, 3). Nothing seems therefore more natural than that we should translate, ‘When Rudra had begotten you in the bright lap of Présni.’ The bright lap, sukram fidha4, is an idiomatic expression (VI, 66, 1; IV, 3,10), and I see no reason why we should with Roth, K.Z. X XVI, 49, change the sukré of the padap4¢a into sukrad and refer it to vvésha.
2X XVI, 49, change the sukré of the padap4¢a into sukrad and refer it to vvésha. The real difficulty lies in 4gani. Can it mean he begot, as Bergaigne (Religion Védique, III, 35) interprets it? Wherever agani occurs it means he was born, and I doubt whether it can mean anything else. It is easy to suggest aganit, for though the third person of the aorist never occurs in the RV., the other persons, such as aganishéa, ganish/hah, are there. But, as the verse now stands, we must translate,‘ When Rudra was born for you, he the strong one in the bright udder of Prisni.’ Could Rudra be here conceived as the son, he who in other passages is represented as the husband of Présni? There is another passage which may yield the same sense, VI, 66, 3. vidé hi maté mahad maht sf, s& {t prf/snizh subhvé garbham 4 adhat, ‘for she, the great, is known as the mother of the great, that very Prisni conceived the germ (the Maruts) for the strong one.’ Verse 3. Note 1. Ukshante is explained by washing, cleaning the horses, before they start for a new race. See V, 59, I. ukshante dsvan, followed by tdrushante 4 r4gaz; IX, 109, 10. asvak na niktds vagi dhdndya; Satap. Br. XI, 5, 5, 13. Pischel (Ved. Stud. I, 189) supposes that it always refers to the washing after a race. Note 2. Naddsya karnaik is very difficult. Sdyana’s explanation, meghasya madhyapradesaik, ‘through the hollows of the cloud,’ presupposes that nada by itself can in the RV. be used in the sense of cloud, and that karza, ear, may have the meaning of a hole or a passage. To take, as BR. propose, karva in the sense of karma, eared, with long ears, would not help us much. Grassmann’s NOTES. II, 34, 3- 301 translation, ‘mit der Wolke schnellen Fittigen,’ is based on a conjectural reading, nadasya parxaik. Ludwig's translation, ‘mit des fluszes wellen den raschen eilen sie,’ is ingenious, but too bold, for karza never means waves, nor nada river in the Rig-veda. The Vedarthayatna gives: ‘they rush with steeds that make the roar,’ taking karnaik for kartribhiZ, which again is simply impossible. The best explanation is that suggested by Pischel, Ved. Stud., p. 189. He takes nada for reed, and points out that whips were made of reeds. The karza would be the sharp point of the reed, most useful for a whip. I cannot, however, follow him in taking 4subhiz in the sense of accelerating. I think it refers to asva in the preceding pada.
3Stud., p. 189. He takes nada for reed, and points out that whips were made of reeds. The karza would be the sharp point of the reed, most useful for a whip. I cannot, however, follow him in taking 4subhiz in the sense of accelerating. I think it refers to asva in the preceding pada. Note 8. Hiramyasipra#. Sipra, in the dual sipre, is intended for the jaws, the upper and lower jaws, as in RV. I, 101, 10. vi syasva s{pre, open the jaws. See Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 249, note. RV. III, 32, 1; V, 36, 2, sipre and hand; VIII, 76,10; X, 96, 9. sfpre harizit davidhvatah ; X, 105, 5. siprabhydm siprizivan. In the plural, however, siprak, V, 54, 11 (siprad sirshasu vitata# hirazyayih), VIII, 9,25, is intended for something worn on the head, made of gold or gold threads. As we speak of the ears of a cap, that is, lappets which protect the ears, or of the checks of a machine, so in this case the jaws seem to have been intended for what protects the jaws, and not necessarily for the real jaw-bones of an animal, used as an helmet, and afterwards imitated in any kind of metal. As to siprin it may mean helmeted or possessed of jaws. To be possessed of jaws is no peculiar distinction, yet in several of the passages where siprin occurs, there is a clear reference to eating and drinking; see VI, 44, 14; VIII, 2, 28; 17,4; 32,24; 33,73 92,4; see also s{pravdn in VI, 17,2. It is possible therefore that like susipra, siprin also was used in the sense of possessed of jaw-bones, i.e. of strong jaw-bones. Even such epithets as hirazya-sipra, hari-sipra, hiri-sipra may mean possessed of golden, possibly of strong jaws. (M.M., Biographies of Words, p. 263, note.) Roth takes harisipra as yellow-jawed, hirisipra as goldencheeked, or with golden helmet, hirazyasipra, with golden 302 VEDIC HYMNS. helmet. A decision between golden-jawed or golden-helmeted is difficult, yet golden-jawed is applicable in all cases. In our passage we must be guided by davidhvatas, which together with s{pra occurs again X, 96, 9. spre vdgaya harizi davidhvata%, shaking the golden jaws, and it seems best to translate: O ye golden-jawed Maruts, shaking (your jaws), you go to feed. Note 4. If we retain the accent in prikshdm, we shall have to take it as an adverb, from priksha, quick, vigorous, like the German snél. This view is supported by Pischel, Ved. Stud. I, 96. If, however, we could change the accent into préksham, we might defend Sayaza’s interpretation. We should have to take pr¢ksham as the accusative of przksh, corresponding to the dative pvzkshé in the next verse. Priksh is used together with subh, ish, drg (VI, 62, 4), and as we have subham yé, we might take pr¢#ksham y4 in the sense of going for food, in search of food. But it is better to take pyzksham as an adverb. In the next verse prikshé is really a kind of infinitive, governing bhivana.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1In most passages, no doubt, bhyzmi means quick, fresh, and is opposed to radhra, IV, 32,2; VII, 56,20. In I, 31, 16, as applied to Agni, it may mean quick. But in our passage that meaning is impossible, and I prefer the traditional NOTES. II, 34, 2. 299 meaning of cloud to that of storm-wind, adopted by Benfey and Roth. The expression ‘to blow a storm-wind’ is not usual, while dham is used in the sense of blowing away clouds and darkness. The cows would then be the waters in the clouds. It is possible, however, that Sdyaza’s explanation, according to which bhvzmi is a musical instrument, may rest on some traditional authority. In this case it would correspond to dhamantaé vazdm, in I, 85, 107. Verse 2. Note 1. On khadin, see I, 166, 9, note 2 On rukmavakshas, I, 64, 4, note 1. Golden-breasted is meant for armed with golden chest-plates. The meaning seems to be that the Maruts with their brilliant khadis appear like the heavens with their brilliant stars. The Maruts are not themselves lightning and rain, but they are seen in them, as Agni is not the fire, but present in the fire, or the god of fire. Thus we read, RV. III, 26, 6. agné# bhdmam marutéam dgak, ‘The splendour of Agni, the strength of the Maruts,’ i.e. the lightning. It must be admitted, however, that a conjecture, proposed by Bollensen (Z.D.M.G. XLI, p. 501), would improve the verse. He proposes to read rishtayak instead of vrishfayak. We should then have to translate, ‘ Their spears shone like lightnings from the clouds.’ These rish¢is or spears are mentioned by the side of khadi and rukma in RV. V, 54, 11, and the compound vishdividyutak is applied to the Maruts in I, 168, 5 and V, 52, 13. The difficulty which remains is abhr{yak. Note 2. On dy4vo na strzbhiZ, see note to I, 87, 1. Note 3. The second line is full of difficulties. No doubt the Maruts are represented as the sons of Rudra (V, 60, 5; VI, 66, 3), and as the sons of Prisni, fem., being called Prfsni-matarak. Their birth is sometimes spoken of as unknown (VII, 56, 2), but hardly as mysterious. Who knows their birth, hardly means more than ‘the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh.’ Prisni as a feminine is the speckled sky, and the cloud may have been conceived 300 VEDIC HYMNS. as the udder at the same time that Pvésni was conceived as a cow (I, 160, 3). Nothing seems therefore more natural than that we should translate, ‘When Rudra had begotten you in the bright lap of Présni.’ The bright lap, sukram fidha4, is an idiomatic expression (VI, 66, 1; IV, 3,10), and I see no reason why we should with Roth, K.Z. X XVI, 49, change the sukré of the padap4¢a into sukrad and refer it to vvésha.
2X XVI, 49, change the sukré of the padap4¢a into sukrad and refer it to vvésha. The real difficulty lies in 4gani. Can it mean he begot, as Bergaigne (Religion Védique, III, 35) interprets it? Wherever agani occurs it means he was born, and I doubt whether it can mean anything else. It is easy to suggest aganit, for though the third person of the aorist never occurs in the RV., the other persons, such as aganishéa, ganish/hah, are there. But, as the verse now stands, we must translate,‘ When Rudra was born for you, he the strong one in the bright udder of Prisni.’ Could Rudra be here conceived as the son, he who in other passages is represented as the husband of Présni? There is another passage which may yield the same sense, VI, 66, 3. vidé hi maté mahad maht sf, s& {t prf/snizh subhvé garbham 4 adhat, ‘for she, the great, is known as the mother of the great, that very Prisni conceived the germ (the Maruts) for the strong one.’ Verse 3. Note 1. Ukshante is explained by washing, cleaning the horses, before they start for a new race. See V, 59, I. ukshante dsvan, followed by tdrushante 4 r4gaz; IX, 109, 10. asvak na niktds vagi dhdndya; Satap. Br. XI, 5, 5, 13. Pischel (Ved. Stud. I, 189) supposes that it always refers to the washing after a race. Note 2. Naddsya karnaik is very difficult. Sdyana’s explanation, meghasya madhyapradesaik, ‘through the hollows of the cloud,’ presupposes that nada by itself can in the RV. be used in the sense of cloud, and that karza, ear, may have the meaning of a hole or a passage. To take, as BR. propose, karva in the sense of karma, eared, with long ears, would not help us much. Grassmann’s NOTES. II, 34, 3- 301 translation, ‘mit der Wolke schnellen Fittigen,’ is based on a conjectural reading, nadasya parxaik. Ludwig's translation, ‘mit des fluszes wellen den raschen eilen sie,’ is ingenious, but too bold, for karza never means waves, nor nada river in the Rig-veda. The Vedarthayatna gives: ‘they rush with steeds that make the roar,’ taking karnaik for kartribhiZ, which again is simply impossible. The best explanation is that suggested by Pischel, Ved. Stud., p. 189. He takes nada for reed, and points out that whips were made of reeds. The karza would be the sharp point of the reed, most useful for a whip. I cannot, however, follow him in taking 4subhiz in the sense of accelerating. I think it refers to asva in the preceding pada.
3Stud., p. 189. He takes nada for reed, and points out that whips were made of reeds. The karza would be the sharp point of the reed, most useful for a whip. I cannot, however, follow him in taking 4subhiz in the sense of accelerating. I think it refers to asva in the preceding pada. Note 8. Hiramyasipra#. Sipra, in the dual sipre, is intended for the jaws, the upper and lower jaws, as in RV. I, 101, 10. vi syasva s{pre, open the jaws. See Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 249, note. RV. III, 32, 1; V, 36, 2, sipre and hand; VIII, 76,10; X, 96, 9. sfpre harizit davidhvatah ; X, 105, 5. siprabhydm siprizivan. In the plural, however, siprak, V, 54, 11 (siprad sirshasu vitata# hirazyayih), VIII, 9,25, is intended for something worn on the head, made of gold or gold threads. As we speak of the ears of a cap, that is, lappets which protect the ears, or of the checks of a machine, so in this case the jaws seem to have been intended for what protects the jaws, and not necessarily for the real jaw-bones of an animal, used as an helmet, and afterwards imitated in any kind of metal. As to siprin it may mean helmeted or possessed of jaws. To be possessed of jaws is no peculiar distinction, yet in several of the passages where siprin occurs, there is a clear reference to eating and drinking; see VI, 44, 14; VIII, 2, 28; 17,4; 32,24; 33,73 92,4; see also s{pravdn in VI, 17,2. It is possible therefore that like susipra, siprin also was used in the sense of possessed of jaw-bones, i.e. of strong jaw-bones. Even such epithets as hirazya-sipra, hari-sipra, hiri-sipra may mean possessed of golden, possibly of strong jaws. (M.M., Biographies of Words, p. 263, note.) Roth takes harisipra as yellow-jawed, hirisipra as goldencheeked, or with golden helmet, hirazyasipra, with golden 302 VEDIC HYMNS. helmet. A decision between golden-jawed or golden-helmeted is difficult, yet golden-jawed is applicable in all cases. In our passage we must be guided by davidhvatas, which together with s{pra occurs again X, 96, 9. spre vdgaya harizi davidhvata%, shaking the golden jaws, and it seems best to translate: O ye golden-jawed Maruts, shaking (your jaws), you go to feed. Note 4. If we retain the accent in prikshdm, we shall have to take it as an adverb, from priksha, quick, vigorous, like the German snél. This view is supported by Pischel, Ved. Stud. I, 96. If, however, we could change the accent into préksham, we might defend Sayaza’s interpretation. We should have to take pr¢ksham as the accusative of przksh, corresponding to the dative pvzkshé in the next verse. Priksh is used together with subh, ish, drg (VI, 62, 4), and as we have subham yé, we might take pr¢#ksham y4 in the sense of going for food, in search of food. But it is better to take pyzksham as an adverb. In the next verse prikshé is really a kind of infinitive, governing bhivana.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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