Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Thus we find: VIII, 93, 7. sd& vrtsha vrishabha/ bhuvat. May he (Indra) be a strong bull. I, 54, 2. vrfsha vrisha-tvaé vrishabha&. Indra by his strength a strong bull; but, literally, Indra by his manliness a male bull. Even vrishabha loses again its definite meaning ; and as 140 VEDIC HYMNS. bull in bull-calf means simply male, or in bull-trout, large, so vrishabha is added to dtya, horse, to convey the meaning of large or powerful : I, 177, 2. yé te vréshanak vrishabhésak indra—atyas. Thy strong and powerful horses; literally, thy male bullhorses. When vr/shan and vrishabha are used as adjectives, for instance with sushma, strength, they hardly differ in meaning : VI, 19, 8. & nak bhara vréshanam sishmam indra. Bring us thy manly strength, O Indra. And in the next verse: VI, 19, 9. & te sishmak vrishabhas etu. May thy manly strength come near. Vamsaga, too, which is clearly the name for bull, is defined by vr/shan, I, 7, 8: vrisha ydtha-iva vamsagah. As the strong bull scares the herds. The same applies to varéha, which, though by itself meaning boar, is determined again by vréshan : X, 67, 7. vrtsha-bhik varghaih. With strong boars. In III, 2, 11, we read : vrishi—nfnadat na simhah. Like a roaring lion. If used by itself, vvéshan, at least in the Rig-veda, can hardly be said to be the name of any special animal, though in later Sanskrit it may mean bull or horse. Thus if we read, X, 43, 8, vrésha na kruddhad, we can only translate like an angry male, though, no doubt, like a wild bull, would seem more appropriate. I, 186, 5. yéna ndpatam apim gundma manak-givahk vrishanah yam vahanti. That we may excite the sqn of the water (Agni), whom the males, quick as thought, carry along. Here the males are no doubt the horses or stallions of Agni. But, though this follows from the context, it would be wrong to say that vréshan by itself means horse. NOTES, I, 85, 12. 141 If used by itself, vrfshan most frequently means man, and chiefly in his sexual character. Thus: I, 140, 6. vrésha-iva patni# abhi eti réruvat. Agni comes roaring like a husband to his wives. I, 179, 1. Api dm (iti) nd patniz vrishanahk gagamyuh. Will the husbands now come to their wives? II, 16, 8. sakr¢t su te sumati-bhis—sdm pdatnibhiZ na vrishanah nasimahi. May we for once cling firmly to thy blessings, as husbands cling to their wives. V, 47,6. upa-prakshé vr/shanak médamanak divak patha vadhvaz yanti akkha. The exulting men come for the embrace on the path of heaven towards their wives. In one or two passages vréshan would seem to have a still more definite meaning, particularly in the formula sirak drfsike vr/shanah ka paimsye, which occurs IV, 41, 6; X, 92, 7. Seealso I, 179, 1. In all the passages which we have hitherto examined vrishan clearly retained its etymological meaning, though even then it was not always possible to translate it by male.
2Seealso I, 179, 1. In all the passages which we have hitherto examined vrishan clearly retained its etymological meaning, though even then it was not always possible to translate it by male. The same meaning has been retained in other languages in which this word can be traced. Thus, in Zend, arshan (the later gushan) is used to express the sex of animals in such expressions as aspahé arshné, gen. a male horse; varazahe arshné, gen. a male boar; géus arshndé, gen. a male ox ; but likewise in the sense of man or hero, as arsha husrava, the hero Husrava. In Greek we find dponv and &ppnv used in the same way to distinguish the sex of animals, as dpoeves Uno, Body dpceva. In Latin the same word may be recognised in the proper name Varro, and in v4ro and b4ro. We now come to another class of passages in which vrishan is clearly intended to express more than merely the masculine gender. In some of them the etymological meaning of spargere, to pour forth, seems to come out again, and it is well known that Indian commentators are very fond of explaining vréshan by giver of rain, giver of 142 VEDIC HYMNS, good gifts, bounteous. The first of these meanings may indeed be admitted in certain passages, but in others it is more than doubtful. II. Vréshan, fertilising. I, 181, 8. veéshA vam meghds may be translated, your raining cloud. I, 129, 3. dasma’ hi sma vréshazam pinvasi tvakam. Thou art strong, thou fillest the rainy skin, i. e. the cloud. See also IV, 22, 6; and possibly V, 83, 6. It may be that, when applied to Soma too, vréshan retained something of its etymological meaning, that it meant gushing forth, poured out, though in many places it is impossible to render vréshan, as applied to Soma, by anything but strong. All we can admit is that vréshan, if translated by strong, means also strengthening and invigorating, an idea not entirely absent even in our expression, a strong drink. III. Vré¢shan, strong. I, 80, 2. sdk tva amadat vr/shi mddak, s6mak—sutah. This strong draught inspirited thee, the poured out Soma-juice. I, 91, 2. tvdm vrtsh4 vrisha-tvébhiz. Thou, Soma, art strong by strength. I, 175, 1. vrésha te vréshve induk vagi sahasra-sftamah. For thee, the strong one, there is strong drink, powerful, omnipotent. In the ninth Mazdala, specially dedicated to the praises of Soma, the inspiriting beverage of gods and men, the repetition of vréshan, as applied to the juice and to the god who drinks it, is constant. Indo vr/sha or vrtfsh4 indo are incessant invocations, and become at last perfectly meaningless. IV. Vréshan, epitheton ornans. There can be no doubt, in fact, that already in the hymns of the Veda, v7/shan had dwindled away to a mere epitheton ornans, and that in order to understand it correctly, we must, as much as possible, forget its etymological NOTES. I, 85, 12. 143
3IV. Vréshan, epitheton ornans. There can be no doubt, in fact, that already in the hymns of the Veda, v7/shan had dwindled away to a mere epitheton ornans, and that in order to understand it correctly, we must, as much as possible, forget its etymological NOTES. I, 85, 12. 143 colouring, and render it by hero or strong. Indra, Agni, the Asvins, Vishzu, the Ribhus (IV, 35, 6), all are vr¢shan, which means no longer male, but manly, strong. In the following passages vr/shan is thus applied to Indra : I, 54,2. yak dhvishtuna sdvasd rédasi (iti) ubhé (iti) vrisha vrisha-tv& vrishabhak ni-rifigate. (Praise Indra) who by his daring strength conquers both heaven and earth, a bull, strong in strength. I, 100, 1. sah yah vrtshA vrishnyebhik sdm-ok4k mahdk divak prithivy&# ka sam-rit satind-satva havyak bhdreshu marttvan nak bhavatu indraz ati. He who is strong, wedded to strength, who is the king of the great sky and the earth, of mighty might, to be invoked in battles,—may Indra with the Maruts come to our help! I, 16,1. & tv4 vahantu hdrayak vrishanam séma-pitaye, Indra tva sfira-kakshasah. May the bays bring thee hither, the strong one, to the Soma-draught, may the sunny-eyed horses (bring) thee, O Indra! IV, 16, 20. eva it indraya vrishabh&ya vr/shne brdhma akarma bh7/gavas na rdtham. Thus we have made a hymn for Indra, the strong bull, as the Bhvigus make a chariot. X, 153, 2. tvam vrishan vrdshé {t asi. Thou, O hero, art indeed a hero; and not, Thou, O male, art indeed a male; still tess, Thou, O bull, art indeed a bull. I, 101, 1. avasydvak vrishanam vagra-dakshivam marutvantam sakhy&ya havamahe. Longing for help we call as our friend the hero who wields the thunderbolt, who is accompanied by the Maruts. VIII, 6, 14. nf sish#e indra dharzas{m vagram gaghantha dasyavi, vrésh4 hi ugra srinvishé. Thou, O Indra, hast struck the strong thunderbolt against Sushva, the fiend ; for, terrible one, thou art called hero! VIII, 6, 40. vavridhandh ipa dyavi vrisha vagri aroravit vritra-hé soma-pfitamak. 144 VEDIC HYMNS. Growing up by day, the hero with the thunderbolt has roared, the Vritra-killer, the great Soma-drinker. V, 35,4. vrésha hi asi ridhase gagnishé vrtshai te savah. Thou (Indra) art a hero, thou wast born to be bounteous ; in thee, the hero, there is might. V. Varshish¢ha, strongest, best, oldest. It is curious to watch the last stage of the meaning of vrishan in the comparative and superlative varshiyas and varshish¢ha. In the Veda, varshish¢fa still means excellent, but in later Sanskrit it is considered as the superlative of vriddha, old, so that we see v7¢shan, from meaning originally manly, vigorous, young, assuming in the end the meaning of old. (M.M., Sanskrit Grammar, § 252.) Yet even thus, when vzéshan means simply strong or hero, its sexual sense is not always forgotten, and it breaks out, for instance, in such passages as, I, 32, 7. vréshvahk vadhrif prati-m&nam bubhdshan purutra vritrak asayat vi-astah.
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.
1Thus we find: VIII, 93, 7. sd& vrtsha vrishabha/ bhuvat. May he (Indra) be a strong bull. I, 54, 2. vrfsha vrisha-tvaé vrishabha&. Indra by his strength a strong bull; but, literally, Indra by his manliness a male bull. Even vrishabha loses again its definite meaning ; and as 140 VEDIC HYMNS. bull in bull-calf means simply male, or in bull-trout, large, so vrishabha is added to dtya, horse, to convey the meaning of large or powerful : I, 177, 2. yé te vréshanak vrishabhésak indra—atyas. Thy strong and powerful horses; literally, thy male bullhorses. When vr/shan and vrishabha are used as adjectives, for instance with sushma, strength, they hardly differ in meaning : VI, 19, 8. & nak bhara vréshanam sishmam indra. Bring us thy manly strength, O Indra. And in the next verse: VI, 19, 9. & te sishmak vrishabhas etu. May thy manly strength come near. Vamsaga, too, which is clearly the name for bull, is defined by vr/shan, I, 7, 8: vrisha ydtha-iva vamsagah. As the strong bull scares the herds. The same applies to varéha, which, though by itself meaning boar, is determined again by vréshan : X, 67, 7. vrtsha-bhik varghaih. With strong boars. In III, 2, 11, we read : vrishi—nfnadat na simhah. Like a roaring lion. If used by itself, vvéshan, at least in the Rig-veda, can hardly be said to be the name of any special animal, though in later Sanskrit it may mean bull or horse. Thus if we read, X, 43, 8, vrésha na kruddhad, we can only translate like an angry male, though, no doubt, like a wild bull, would seem more appropriate. I, 186, 5. yéna ndpatam apim gundma manak-givahk vrishanah yam vahanti. That we may excite the sqn of the water (Agni), whom the males, quick as thought, carry along. Here the males are no doubt the horses or stallions of Agni. But, though this follows from the context, it would be wrong to say that vréshan by itself means horse. NOTES, I, 85, 12. 141 If used by itself, vrfshan most frequently means man, and chiefly in his sexual character. Thus: I, 140, 6. vrésha-iva patni# abhi eti réruvat. Agni comes roaring like a husband to his wives. I, 179, 1. Api dm (iti) nd patniz vrishanahk gagamyuh. Will the husbands now come to their wives? II, 16, 8. sakr¢t su te sumati-bhis—sdm pdatnibhiZ na vrishanah nasimahi. May we for once cling firmly to thy blessings, as husbands cling to their wives. V, 47,6. upa-prakshé vr/shanak médamanak divak patha vadhvaz yanti akkha. The exulting men come for the embrace on the path of heaven towards their wives. In one or two passages vréshan would seem to have a still more definite meaning, particularly in the formula sirak drfsike vr/shanah ka paimsye, which occurs IV, 41, 6; X, 92, 7. Seealso I, 179, 1. In all the passages which we have hitherto examined vrishan clearly retained its etymological meaning, though even then it was not always possible to translate it by male.
2Seealso I, 179, 1. In all the passages which we have hitherto examined vrishan clearly retained its etymological meaning, though even then it was not always possible to translate it by male. The same meaning has been retained in other languages in which this word can be traced. Thus, in Zend, arshan (the later gushan) is used to express the sex of animals in such expressions as aspahé arshné, gen. a male horse; varazahe arshné, gen. a male boar; géus arshndé, gen. a male ox ; but likewise in the sense of man or hero, as arsha husrava, the hero Husrava. In Greek we find dponv and &ppnv used in the same way to distinguish the sex of animals, as dpoeves Uno, Body dpceva. In Latin the same word may be recognised in the proper name Varro, and in v4ro and b4ro. We now come to another class of passages in which vrishan is clearly intended to express more than merely the masculine gender. In some of them the etymological meaning of spargere, to pour forth, seems to come out again, and it is well known that Indian commentators are very fond of explaining vréshan by giver of rain, giver of 142 VEDIC HYMNS, good gifts, bounteous. The first of these meanings may indeed be admitted in certain passages, but in others it is more than doubtful. II. Vréshan, fertilising. I, 181, 8. veéshA vam meghds may be translated, your raining cloud. I, 129, 3. dasma’ hi sma vréshazam pinvasi tvakam. Thou art strong, thou fillest the rainy skin, i. e. the cloud. See also IV, 22, 6; and possibly V, 83, 6. It may be that, when applied to Soma too, vréshan retained something of its etymological meaning, that it meant gushing forth, poured out, though in many places it is impossible to render vréshan, as applied to Soma, by anything but strong. All we can admit is that vréshan, if translated by strong, means also strengthening and invigorating, an idea not entirely absent even in our expression, a strong drink. III. Vré¢shan, strong. I, 80, 2. sdk tva amadat vr/shi mddak, s6mak—sutah. This strong draught inspirited thee, the poured out Soma-juice. I, 91, 2. tvdm vrtsh4 vrisha-tvébhiz. Thou, Soma, art strong by strength. I, 175, 1. vrésha te vréshve induk vagi sahasra-sftamah. For thee, the strong one, there is strong drink, powerful, omnipotent. In the ninth Mazdala, specially dedicated to the praises of Soma, the inspiriting beverage of gods and men, the repetition of vréshan, as applied to the juice and to the god who drinks it, is constant. Indo vr/sha or vrtfsh4 indo are incessant invocations, and become at last perfectly meaningless. IV. Vréshan, epitheton ornans. There can be no doubt, in fact, that already in the hymns of the Veda, v7/shan had dwindled away to a mere epitheton ornans, and that in order to understand it correctly, we must, as much as possible, forget its etymological NOTES. I, 85, 12. 143
3IV. Vréshan, epitheton ornans. There can be no doubt, in fact, that already in the hymns of the Veda, v7/shan had dwindled away to a mere epitheton ornans, and that in order to understand it correctly, we must, as much as possible, forget its etymological NOTES. I, 85, 12. 143 colouring, and render it by hero or strong. Indra, Agni, the Asvins, Vishzu, the Ribhus (IV, 35, 6), all are vr¢shan, which means no longer male, but manly, strong. In the following passages vr/shan is thus applied to Indra : I, 54,2. yak dhvishtuna sdvasd rédasi (iti) ubhé (iti) vrisha vrisha-tv& vrishabhak ni-rifigate. (Praise Indra) who by his daring strength conquers both heaven and earth, a bull, strong in strength. I, 100, 1. sah yah vrtshA vrishnyebhik sdm-ok4k mahdk divak prithivy&# ka sam-rit satind-satva havyak bhdreshu marttvan nak bhavatu indraz ati. He who is strong, wedded to strength, who is the king of the great sky and the earth, of mighty might, to be invoked in battles,—may Indra with the Maruts come to our help! I, 16,1. & tv4 vahantu hdrayak vrishanam séma-pitaye, Indra tva sfira-kakshasah. May the bays bring thee hither, the strong one, to the Soma-draught, may the sunny-eyed horses (bring) thee, O Indra! IV, 16, 20. eva it indraya vrishabh&ya vr/shne brdhma akarma bh7/gavas na rdtham. Thus we have made a hymn for Indra, the strong bull, as the Bhvigus make a chariot. X, 153, 2. tvam vrishan vrdshé {t asi. Thou, O hero, art indeed a hero; and not, Thou, O male, art indeed a male; still tess, Thou, O bull, art indeed a bull. I, 101, 1. avasydvak vrishanam vagra-dakshivam marutvantam sakhy&ya havamahe. Longing for help we call as our friend the hero who wields the thunderbolt, who is accompanied by the Maruts. VIII, 6, 14. nf sish#e indra dharzas{m vagram gaghantha dasyavi, vrésh4 hi ugra srinvishé. Thou, O Indra, hast struck the strong thunderbolt against Sushva, the fiend ; for, terrible one, thou art called hero! VIII, 6, 40. vavridhandh ipa dyavi vrisha vagri aroravit vritra-hé soma-pfitamak. 144 VEDIC HYMNS. Growing up by day, the hero with the thunderbolt has roared, the Vritra-killer, the great Soma-drinker. V, 35,4. vrésha hi asi ridhase gagnishé vrtshai te savah. Thou (Indra) art a hero, thou wast born to be bounteous ; in thee, the hero, there is might. V. Varshish¢ha, strongest, best, oldest. It is curious to watch the last stage of the meaning of vrishan in the comparative and superlative varshiyas and varshish¢ha. In the Veda, varshish¢fa still means excellent, but in later Sanskrit it is considered as the superlative of vriddha, old, so that we see v7¢shan, from meaning originally manly, vigorous, young, assuming in the end the meaning of old. (M.M., Sanskrit Grammar, § 252.) Yet even thus, when vzéshan means simply strong or hero, its sexual sense is not always forgotten, and it breaks out, for instance, in such passages as, I, 32, 7. vréshvahk vadhrif prati-m&nam bubhdshan purutra vritrak asayat vi-astah.
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.