Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1In I, 168, 6, kvAvaram is kuvavaram: Sakalya, forgetting this, and wishing to improve the metre, added na, thereby, in reality, destroying both the metre and the sense. Kva occurs as dissyllabic in the Rig-veda at least forty-one times. Verse 3. Note 1. The meanings of sumna in the first five Mazdalas are well explained by Professor Aufrecht in Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. iv, p. 274. As to suvita in the plural, see X, 86, 21, and VIII, 93, 29, where Indra is said to bring all suvitas. It frequently occurs in the singular: X, 148,1. & nak bhara suvitdm ydsya akan. Verse 4. Note 1, One might translate: ‘If you, sons of Présni, were mortals, the immortal would be your worshipper.’ But this seems almost too deep and elaborate a compliment for a primitive age. Langlois translates: ‘Quand vous ne NOTES. 1, 38, 5. 87 seriez pas immortels, (faites toutefois) que votre panégyriste jouisse d’une longue vie.’ Wilson’s translation is obscure : ‘That you, sons of Prisni, may become mortals, and your panegyrist become immortal.’ Sdyaza translates : ‘Though you, sons of Présni, were mortal, yet your worshipper would be immortal.’ Ludwig has, ‘ Wenn ihr, 0 kinder der Présni, sterbliche waret, der unsterbliche ware euer singer dann. Nicht werde euch unlieb der sanger, wie ein wildes tier auf der weide, nicht des Yama Pfad betrete er.’ I think it best to connect the fourth and fifth verses, and I feel justified in so doing by other passages where the same or a similar idea is expressed, viz. that if the god were the poet and the poet the god, then the poet would be more liberal to the god than the god istohim. Whether sy4t should have the udatta, I cannot tell. Thus I translated a passage, VII, 32, 18, in my History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 545: ‘If I were lord of as much as thou, I should support the sacred bard, thou scatterer of wealth, I should not abandon him to misery. I should award wealth day by day to him who magnifies, I should award it to whosoever it be.’ Another parallel passage is pointed out by Mr. J. Muir, (On the Interpretation of the Veda, p. 79; see also Sanskrit Texts, V, 303.) VIII, 19, 25: ‘If, Agni, thou wert a mortal, and I were an immortal, I should not abandon thee to malediction or to wretchedness; my worshipper should not be miserable or distressed.’ Still more to the point is another. passage, VIII, 44, 23: ‘ If I were thou, and thou wert I, then thy wishes should be fulfilled.’ See also VIII, 14, 1, 2. As to the metre it is clear that we ought to read martdsaé syAtana. Verse 5. Note 1. M4, though it seems to stand for na, retains its prohibitive sense. Note 2. Yadvasa is explained by Sayama as grass, and Wilson’s Dictionary, too, gives to it the meaning of meadow or pasture grass, whereas yava is barley. The Greek (ed or (ed is likewise explained as barley or rye, fodder for horses. See I, 91, 13. gava# nd yavaseshu, like cows in meadows. 88 VEDIC HYMNS.
2The Greek (ed or (ed is likewise explained as barley or rye, fodder for horses. See I, 91, 13. gava# nd yavaseshu, like cows in meadows. 88 VEDIC HYMNS. Note 3. The path of Yama can only be the path first followed by Yama, or that leads to Yama, as the ruler of the departed. X, 14, 8. sam gakkAasva pitrt-bhiz sim yaména. Meet with the fathers, meet with Yama (X, 14, 10; 15, 8). X, 14, 7. yamam pasy4si varuzam ka devdm. Thou wilt see (there) Yama and the divine Varuza. X, 165, 4. tasmai yamaya ndmaZ astu mritydve. Adoration to that Yama, to Death! WILSON: Never may your worshipper be indifferent to you, as a deer (is never indifferent) to pasture, so that he may not tread the path of Yama. BENFEY: Wer euch besingt, der sei euch nicht gleichgiltig, wie das Wild im Gras, nicht wand!’ er auf des Yama Pfad. Agoshya is translated insatiable by Professor Goldstiicker. Verse 6. Note 1. One of the meanings of nirvéti is sin. It is derived from the same root which yielded rita, in the sense of right. Nirriti was conceived, it would seem, as going away from the path of right, the German Vergehen. Nirriti was personified as a power of evil and destruction. VII, 104, 9. dhaye v4 tan pra-dddatu sémaz & v4 dadhatu nih-riteh upa-sthe. May Soma hand them over to Ahi, or place them in the lap of Nirvtti. I, 117, 5. susupvaémsam na nth-rited upd-sthe., Like one who sleeps in the lap of Nirviti. Here Sadyaza explains Nirrzti as earth, and he attaches the same meaning to the word in other places which will have to be considered hereafter. Cf. Lectures on the Science of Language, Second Series, p. 562. Wilson treats Nirvzti as a male deity, and translates the last words, ‘let him perish with our evil desires.’ Note 2. Padish¢é is formed as an optative of the Atmanepada, but with the additional s before the t, which, in the ordinary Sanskrit, is restricted to the so-called benedictive (Grammar, § 385; Bopp, Kritische Grammatik, ed. 1834, NOTES. 1, 38, 7. 89
3Padish¢é is formed as an optative of the Atmanepada, but with the additional s before the t, which, in the ordinary Sanskrit, is restricted to the so-called benedictive (Grammar, § 385; Bopp, Kritische Grammatik, ed. 1834, NOTES. 1, 38, 7. 89 § 329, note). Pad means originally to go. Thus RV. IX, 73, 9, Atra kartdm d4va padati dprabhu/, may the impotent go down into the pit. In certain constructions it gradually assumed the meaning of to perish, and native commentators are inclined to explain it by pat, to fall. One can watch the transition of meaning from going into perishing in such phrases as VS. XI, 46, m4 p4dy Ayusha/ pur, literally, ‘may he not go before the time, but really intended for ‘may he notdie before the time.’ In the Rig-veda padish/a is generally qualified by some words to show that it is to be taken in malam partem. Thus in our passage, and in ITI, 53, 213; VII, 104,16; 17. InI, 79, 11, however, padisha sah is by itself used in a maledictory sense, pereat, may he perish! In another, VI, 20, 5, padi by itself conveys the idea of perishing. This may have some weight in determining the origin of the Latin pestis (Corssen, Kritische Beitrage, p. 396), for it shows that, even without prepositions, such as 4 or vi, pad may have an ill-omened meaning. In the Aitareya-brahmawa VII, 14 (History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 471), pad, as applied to a child’s teeth, means to go, to fall out. With sam, however, pad has always a good meaning, and this shows that originally its meaning was neutral. Another translation, suggested by Ludwig, might be: ‘Let not one dreadful Nirriti (sin) after another strike us.’ Verse 7. Note 1. The only difficult word is avatém. Sdyana explains it, ‘without wind.’ But it is hardly possible to understand how the Maruts, themselves the gods of the storm, the sons of Rudra, could be said to bring clouds without wind. Langlois, it is true, translates without any misgivings: ‘Ces dieux peuvent sur un sol desséché faire tomber la pluie sans l’accompagner de vent.’ Wilson: ‘ They send down rain without wind upon the desert.’ Benfey saw the incongruous character of the epithet, and explained it away by saying that the winds bring rain, and after they have brought it, they moderate their violence in order not to drive it away again; hence rain without wind. Yet even 90 VEDIC HYMNS.
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 I, 168, 6, kvAvaram is kuvavaram: Sakalya, forgetting this, and wishing to improve the metre, added na, thereby, in reality, destroying both the metre and the sense. Kva occurs as dissyllabic in the Rig-veda at least forty-one times. Verse 3. Note 1. The meanings of sumna in the first five Mazdalas are well explained by Professor Aufrecht in Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, vol. iv, p. 274. As to suvita in the plural, see X, 86, 21, and VIII, 93, 29, where Indra is said to bring all suvitas. It frequently occurs in the singular: X, 148,1. & nak bhara suvitdm ydsya akan. Verse 4. Note 1, One might translate: ‘If you, sons of Présni, were mortals, the immortal would be your worshipper.’ But this seems almost too deep and elaborate a compliment for a primitive age. Langlois translates: ‘Quand vous ne NOTES. 1, 38, 5. 87 seriez pas immortels, (faites toutefois) que votre panégyriste jouisse d’une longue vie.’ Wilson’s translation is obscure : ‘That you, sons of Prisni, may become mortals, and your panegyrist become immortal.’ Sdyaza translates : ‘Though you, sons of Présni, were mortal, yet your worshipper would be immortal.’ Ludwig has, ‘ Wenn ihr, 0 kinder der Présni, sterbliche waret, der unsterbliche ware euer singer dann. Nicht werde euch unlieb der sanger, wie ein wildes tier auf der weide, nicht des Yama Pfad betrete er.’ I think it best to connect the fourth and fifth verses, and I feel justified in so doing by other passages where the same or a similar idea is expressed, viz. that if the god were the poet and the poet the god, then the poet would be more liberal to the god than the god istohim. Whether sy4t should have the udatta, I cannot tell. Thus I translated a passage, VII, 32, 18, in my History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 545: ‘If I were lord of as much as thou, I should support the sacred bard, thou scatterer of wealth, I should not abandon him to misery. I should award wealth day by day to him who magnifies, I should award it to whosoever it be.’ Another parallel passage is pointed out by Mr. J. Muir, (On the Interpretation of the Veda, p. 79; see also Sanskrit Texts, V, 303.) VIII, 19, 25: ‘If, Agni, thou wert a mortal, and I were an immortal, I should not abandon thee to malediction or to wretchedness; my worshipper should not be miserable or distressed.’ Still more to the point is another. passage, VIII, 44, 23: ‘ If I were thou, and thou wert I, then thy wishes should be fulfilled.’ See also VIII, 14, 1, 2. As to the metre it is clear that we ought to read martdsaé syAtana. Verse 5. Note 1. M4, though it seems to stand for na, retains its prohibitive sense. Note 2. Yadvasa is explained by Sayama as grass, and Wilson’s Dictionary, too, gives to it the meaning of meadow or pasture grass, whereas yava is barley. The Greek (ed or (ed is likewise explained as barley or rye, fodder for horses. See I, 91, 13. gava# nd yavaseshu, like cows in meadows. 88 VEDIC HYMNS.
2The Greek (ed or (ed is likewise explained as barley or rye, fodder for horses. See I, 91, 13. gava# nd yavaseshu, like cows in meadows. 88 VEDIC HYMNS. Note 3. The path of Yama can only be the path first followed by Yama, or that leads to Yama, as the ruler of the departed. X, 14, 8. sam gakkAasva pitrt-bhiz sim yaména. Meet with the fathers, meet with Yama (X, 14, 10; 15, 8). X, 14, 7. yamam pasy4si varuzam ka devdm. Thou wilt see (there) Yama and the divine Varuza. X, 165, 4. tasmai yamaya ndmaZ astu mritydve. Adoration to that Yama, to Death! WILSON: Never may your worshipper be indifferent to you, as a deer (is never indifferent) to pasture, so that he may not tread the path of Yama. BENFEY: Wer euch besingt, der sei euch nicht gleichgiltig, wie das Wild im Gras, nicht wand!’ er auf des Yama Pfad. Agoshya is translated insatiable by Professor Goldstiicker. Verse 6. Note 1. One of the meanings of nirvéti is sin. It is derived from the same root which yielded rita, in the sense of right. Nirriti was conceived, it would seem, as going away from the path of right, the German Vergehen. Nirriti was personified as a power of evil and destruction. VII, 104, 9. dhaye v4 tan pra-dddatu sémaz & v4 dadhatu nih-riteh upa-sthe. May Soma hand them over to Ahi, or place them in the lap of Nirvtti. I, 117, 5. susupvaémsam na nth-rited upd-sthe., Like one who sleeps in the lap of Nirviti. Here Sadyaza explains Nirrzti as earth, and he attaches the same meaning to the word in other places which will have to be considered hereafter. Cf. Lectures on the Science of Language, Second Series, p. 562. Wilson treats Nirvzti as a male deity, and translates the last words, ‘let him perish with our evil desires.’ Note 2. Padish¢é is formed as an optative of the Atmanepada, but with the additional s before the t, which, in the ordinary Sanskrit, is restricted to the so-called benedictive (Grammar, § 385; Bopp, Kritische Grammatik, ed. 1834, NOTES. 1, 38, 7. 89
3Padish¢é is formed as an optative of the Atmanepada, but with the additional s before the t, which, in the ordinary Sanskrit, is restricted to the so-called benedictive (Grammar, § 385; Bopp, Kritische Grammatik, ed. 1834, NOTES. 1, 38, 7. 89 § 329, note). Pad means originally to go. Thus RV. IX, 73, 9, Atra kartdm d4va padati dprabhu/, may the impotent go down into the pit. In certain constructions it gradually assumed the meaning of to perish, and native commentators are inclined to explain it by pat, to fall. One can watch the transition of meaning from going into perishing in such phrases as VS. XI, 46, m4 p4dy Ayusha/ pur, literally, ‘may he not go before the time, but really intended for ‘may he notdie before the time.’ In the Rig-veda padish/a is generally qualified by some words to show that it is to be taken in malam partem. Thus in our passage, and in ITI, 53, 213; VII, 104,16; 17. InI, 79, 11, however, padisha sah is by itself used in a maledictory sense, pereat, may he perish! In another, VI, 20, 5, padi by itself conveys the idea of perishing. This may have some weight in determining the origin of the Latin pestis (Corssen, Kritische Beitrage, p. 396), for it shows that, even without prepositions, such as 4 or vi, pad may have an ill-omened meaning. In the Aitareya-brahmawa VII, 14 (History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 471), pad, as applied to a child’s teeth, means to go, to fall out. With sam, however, pad has always a good meaning, and this shows that originally its meaning was neutral. Another translation, suggested by Ludwig, might be: ‘Let not one dreadful Nirriti (sin) after another strike us.’ Verse 7. Note 1. The only difficult word is avatém. Sdyana explains it, ‘without wind.’ But it is hardly possible to understand how the Maruts, themselves the gods of the storm, the sons of Rudra, could be said to bring clouds without wind. Langlois, it is true, translates without any misgivings: ‘Ces dieux peuvent sur un sol desséché faire tomber la pluie sans l’accompagner de vent.’ Wilson: ‘ They send down rain without wind upon the desert.’ Benfey saw the incongruous character of the epithet, and explained it away by saying that the winds bring rain, and after they have brought it, they moderate their violence in order not to drive it away again; hence rain without wind. Yet even 90 VEDIC HYMNS.
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.
No commentary for this page.