Vedic Hymns, Part I — SBE Vol. 32 (trans. F. Max Müller, 1891)
The translator’s English as printed (F. Max Müller). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
Daksha was born of Aditi, and Aditi from Daksha. For Aditi was born, O Daksha, she who is thy daughter; after her the gods were born, the blessed, who share in immortality.
Or, in more mythological language:
X, 64, 5. dakshasya va adite ganmani vraté ragana mitravaruva 4 vivdsasi.
Or thou, O Aditi, nursest in the birthplace of Daksha the two kings, Mitra and Varuza.
Nay, even this does not suffice. There is something again beyond Aditi and Daksha, and one poet says:
X, 5,7. asat ka sdt ka paramé vi-oman ddkshasya ganman ddited upd-sthe.
Not-being and Being are in the highest heaven, in the birthplace of Daksha, in the lap of Aditi.
At last something like a theogony, though full of contradictions, was imagined, and in the same hymn from which we have already quoted, the poet says:
X,72,1-4. devanam nu vaydm gana pra vokama vipanyay4, ukthéshu sasyamaneshu yah (ydt?) pasyat ut-tare yugé. 1.
brahmanak patiz et s4m karmérad-iva adhamat, devanam pirvyé yugé dsatah sat agdyata. 2.
devinam yugé prathamé dsata/ sat agdyata, tat 4:44 anu agayanta tat uttand-padaz pari. 3.
bhi gagie utténd-padahk bhuvdh aséh agdyanta, adites dakshak agayata, dakshat vm (iti) AditiZ pari. 4.
1, Let us now with praise proclaim the births of the gods, that a man may see them in a future age, whenever these hymns are sung.
2. Brahmazaspati* blew them together like a smith (with
® Bréhmanaspiti, literally the lord of prayer, or the lord of the sacrifice, sometimes a representative of Agni (I, 38, 13, note), butp. 247 his bellows); in a former age of the gods, Being was born from Not-being.
3. In the first age of the gods, Being was born from Not-being, after it were born the Regions (space), from them Uttanapada ;
4. From Uttanapad the Earth was born, the Regions were born from the Earth. Daksha was born of Aditi, and Aditi from Daksha.
The ideas of Being and Not-being (rd dv and 16 pi dv) are familiar to the Hindus from a very early time in their intellectual growth, and they can only have been the result of abstract speculation. Therefore ddksha, too, in the sense of power or potentia, may have been a metaphysical conception. But it may also have been suggested by a mere accident of language, a never-failing source of ancient thoughts. The name daksha-pitara4, an epithet of the gods, has generally been translated by ‘those who have Daksha for their father.’ But it may have been used originally in a very different sense. Professor Roth has, I think, convincingly proved that this epithet daksha-pitar, as given to certain gods, does not mean, the gods who have Daksha for their father, but that it had originally the simpler meaning of fathers of strength, or, as he translates it, ‘preserving, possessing, granting faculties*.’ This is particularly clear in one passage :
III, 27,9. bhdténam garbham 4 dadhe, dakshasya pitéram.
I place Agni, the source of all beings, the father of strength.....
bhdténam garbham 4 dadhe, dakshasya pitéram.
I place Agni, the source of all beings, the father of strength.....
by no means identical with him (see VII, 41, 1); sometimes performing the deeds of Indra, but again by no means identical with him (see II, 23, 18. {ndrena yugi—nih apm aubgah arnavdm ; cf. VIII, 96,15). In II, 26, 3, he is called father of the gods (devinam pit4ram); in II, 23, 2, the creator of all beings (visvesham ganit4), ® The accent in this case cannot help us in determining whether d4ksha-pitar means having Daksha for their father (Aoxpomdrap), or father of strength. In the first case d4éksha would rightly retain its accent (d4ksha-pitar) as a Bahuvrihi; in the second, the analogy of such Tatpurusha compounds as grzh4-pati (Pax. VI, 2, 18) would be sufficient to justify the pOrvapadaprakritisvaratvam.
p. 248
After this we can hardly hesitate how to translate the next verse:
VI, 50, 2. su-vydtishak—daksha-pitré¢n—devin.
The resplendent gods, the fathers of strength.
It may seem more doubtful, when we come to gods like Mitra and Varuza, whom we are so much accustomed to regard as Adityas, or sons of Aditi, and who therefore, according to the theogony mentioned before, would have the best claim to the name of sons of Daksha; yet here, too, the original and simple meaning is preferable; nay, it is most likely that from passages like this, the later explanation, which makes Mitra and Varumna the sons of Daksha, may have sprung.
VII, 66, 2. yd—su-daksh4 daksha-pitara.
Mitra and Varuaa, who are of good strength, the fathers of strength.
Lastly, even men may claim this name; for, unless we change the accent, we must translate:
VIII, 63, 10. avasydvak yushmabhik daksha-pitarah.
We suppliants, being, through your aid, fathers of strength.
But whatever view we take, whether we take daksha in the sense of power, as a personification of a philosophical conception, or as the result of a mythological misunderstanding occasioned by the name of daksha-pitar, the fact remains that in certain hymns of the Rig-veda (VIII, 25, 5) Daksha, like Aditi, has become a divine person, and has retained his place as one of the Adityas to the very latest time of Purazic tradition.
Aditi in her Cosmic Character.
But to return to Aditi. Let us look upon her as the Infinite personified, and most passages, even those where she is presented as a subordinate deity, will become intelligible.
Aditi, in her cosmic character, is the Beyond, the unbounded realm beyond earth, sky, and heaven, and originally she was distinct from the sky, the earth, and the ocean. Aditi is mentioned by the side of heaven and earth, which
p. 249
Aditi, in her cosmic character, is the Beyond, the unbounded realm beyond earth, sky, and heaven, and originally she was distinct from the sky, the earth, and the ocean. Aditi is mentioned by the side of heaven and earth, whichp. 249 shows that, though in more general language she may be identified with heaven and earth in their unlimited character, her original conception was different. This we see in passages where different deities or powers are invoked together, particularly if they are invoked together in the same verse, and where Aditi holds a separate place by the side of heaven and earth:
I, 94, 16 (final). t4t nak mitréZ vdruzak mamahantém aditi# sindhuA prithivi utd dyaud.
May Mitra and Varuza grant us this, may Aditi, Sindhu
(sea), the Earth, and the Sky!
In other passages, too, where Aditi has assumed a more personal character, she still holds her own by the side of heaven and earth; cf. IX, 97, 58 (final) :
I, 191, 6. dyauh vak pité prithivi mat& sémaf bhrata
Aditiz svdsA.
The Sky is your father, the Earth your mother, Soma your brother, Aditi your sister.
VIII, 101, 15. mat& rudriz4m duhitd vdstindm svdsd Adityan4m amrttasya nabhiZ, pra nu vokam fikitushe ganaya m& giém d4n4g4m dditim vadhish‘a.
The mother of the Rudras, the daughter of the Vasus, the sister of the Adityas, the source of immortality, I tell it forth to the man of understanding, may he not offend the cow, the guiltless Aditi! Cf. I, 153,33; IX, 96,15; Vagasan. Samhité XIII, 49.
VI, 51, 5. dyaiiz pitar (iti) pr¢thivi mâta# adhruk agne bhrata’ vasava# mri/dta nak, visve Adityah adite sa-géshak asmabhyam sdrma bahuldm vi yanta.
Sky, father, Earth, kind mother, Fire, brother, bright gods, have mercy upon us! All Adityas (and) Aditi together, grant us your manifold protection!
X, 63, 10. su-trimazam prithivim dyém anehdsam sus4rmazam dditim su-prdnitim, dafvim nâvam su-aritrém dndgasam dsravantim 4 ruhema svastdye.
Let us for welfare step into the divine boat, with good oars, faultless and leakless—the well-protecting Earth, the peerless Sky, the sheltering, well-guiding Aditi!
X, 66, 4. Aditi dyâvaprithivi ({ti).
p. 250
Aditi, and Heaven and Earth.
Where two or more verses come together, the fact that Aditi is mentioned by the side of Heaven and Earth may seem less convincing, because in these Nivids or long strings of invocations different names or representatives of one and the same power are not unfrequently put together. For instance,
X, 36, 1-3. ushdsandkté brzhati ({ti) su-pésasa dydvakshima vdruzahk mitréz aryam&, indram huve marutak parvatan apd% adityaén dyâvaprithivi ({ti) apd’ svar ({ti svah). 1.
dyauk ka nak prithivi ka prd-ketasA ritdvari ({ty ritdvari) rakshatam dmhasa# rishas, m& duk-vidatra nth-ritik nak isata tat devindm dvahk adyd vrinimahe. 2.
visvasmat nak aditiz patu dmhasak mata mitrdsya vdrunasya revatah svah-vat gyoti# avrikdm nasimahi. 3.
Daksha was born of Aditi, and Aditi from Daksha. For Aditi was born, O Daksha, she who is your daughter; after her the gods were born, the blessed, who share in immortality.
Or, in more mythological language:
X, 64, 5. dakshasya va adite ganmani vraté ragana mitravaruva 4 vivdsasi.
Or you, O Aditi, nursest in the birthplace of Daksha the two kings, Mitra and Varuza.
Nay, even this does not suffice. There is something again beyond Aditi and Daksha, and one poet says:
X, 5,7. asat ka sdt ka paramé vi-oman ddkshasya ganman ddited upd-sthe.
Not-being and Being are in the highest heaven, in the birthplace of Daksha, in the lap of Aditi.
At last something like a theogony, though full of contradictions, was imagined, and in the same hymn from which we have already quoted, the poet says:
X,72,1-4. devanam nu vaydm gana pra vokama vipanyay4, ukthéshu sasyamaneshu yah (ydt?) pasyat ut-tare yugé. 1.
brahmanak patiz et s4m karmérad-iva adhamat, devanam pirvyé yugé dsatah sat agdyata. 2.
devinam yugé prathamé dsata/ sat agdyata, tat 4:44 anu agayanta tat uttand-padaz pari. 3.
bhi gagie utténd-padahk bhuvdh aséh agdyanta, adites dakshak agayata, dakshat vm (iti) AditiZ pari. 4.
1, Let us now with praise proclaim the births of the gods, that a man may see them in a future age, whenever these hymns are sung.
2. Brahmazaspati* blew them together like a smith (with
® Bréhmanaspiti, literally the lord of prayer, or the lord of the sacrifice, sometimes a representative of Agni (I, 38, 13, note), butp. 247 his bellows); in a former age of the gods, Being was born from Not-being.
3. In the first age of the gods, Being was born from Not-being, after it were born the Regions (space), from them Uttanapada ;
4. From Uttanapad the Earth was born, the Regions were born from the Earth. Daksha was born of Aditi, and Aditi from Daksha.
The ideas of Being and Not-being (rd dv and 16 pi dv) are familiar to the Hindus from a very early time in their intellectual growth, and they can only have been the result of abstract speculation. Therefore ddksha, too, in the sense of power or potentia, may have been a metaphysical conception. But it may also have been suggested by a mere accident of language, a never-failing source of ancient thoughts. The name daksha-pitara4, an epithet of the gods, has generally been translated by ‘those who have Daksha for their father.’ But it may have been used originally in a very different sense. Professor Roth has, I think, convincingly proved that this epithet daksha-pitar, as given to certain gods, does not mean, the gods who have Daksha for their father, but that it had originally the simpler meaning of fathers of strength, or, as he translates it, ‘preserving, possessing, granting faculties*.’ This is particularly clear in one passage :
III, 27,9. bhdténam garbham 4 dadhe, dakshasya pitéram.
I place Agni, the source of all beings, the father of strength.....
bhdténam garbham 4 dadhe, dakshasya pitéram.
I place Agni, the source of all beings, the father of strength.....
by no means identical with him (see VII, 41, 1); sometimes performing the deeds of Indra, but again by no means identical with him (see II, 23, 18. {ndrena yugi—nih apm aubgah arnavdm ; cf. VIII, 96,15). In II, 26, 3, he is called father of the gods (devinam pit4ram); in II, 23, 2, the creator of all beings (visvesham ganit4), ® The accent in this case cannot help us in determining whether d4ksha-pitar means having Daksha for their father (Aoxpomdrap), or father of strength. In the first case d4éksha would rightly retain its accent (d4ksha-pitar) as a Bahuvrihi; in the second, the analogy of such Tatpurusha compounds as grzh4-pati (Pax. VI, 2, 18) would be sufficient to justify the pOrvapadaprakritisvaratvam.
p. 248
After this we can hardly hesitate how to translate the next verse:
VI, 50, 2. su-vydtishak—daksha-pitré¢n—devin.
The resplendent gods, the fathers of strength.
It may seem more doubtful, when we come to gods like Mitra and Varuza, whom we are so much accustomed to regard as Adityas, or sons of Aditi, and who therefore, according to the theogony mentioned before, would have the best claim to the name of sons of Daksha; yet here, too, the original and simple meaning is preferable; nay, it is most likely that from passages like this, the later explanation, which makes Mitra and Varumna the sons of Daksha, may have sprung.
VII, 66, 2. yd—su-daksh4 daksha-pitara.
Mitra and Varuaa, who are of good strength, the fathers of strength.
Lastly, even men may claim this name; for, unless we change the accent, we must translate:
VIII, 63, 10. avasydvak yushmabhik daksha-pitarah.
We suppliants, being, through your aid, fathers of strength.
But whatever view we take, whether we take daksha in the sense of power, as a personification of a philosophical conception, or as the result of a mythological misunderstanding occasioned by the name of daksha-pitar, the fact remains that in certain hymns of the Rig-veda (VIII, 25, 5) Daksha, like Aditi, has become a divine person, and has retained his place as one of the Adityas to the very latest time of Purazic tradition.
Aditi in her Cosmic Character.
But to return to Aditi. Let us look upon her as the Infinite personified, and most passages, even those where she is presented as a subordinate deity, will become intelligible.
Aditi, in her cosmic character, is the Beyond, the unbounded realm beyond earth, sky, and heaven, and originally she was distinct from the sky, the earth, and the ocean. Aditi is mentioned by the side of heaven and earth, which
p. 249
Aditi, in her cosmic character, is the Beyond, the unbounded realm beyond earth, sky, and heaven, and originally she was distinct from the sky, the earth, and the ocean. Aditi is mentioned by the side of heaven and earth, whichp. 249 shows that, though in more general language she may be identified with heaven and earth in their unlimited character, her original conception was different. This we see in passages where different deities or powers are invoked together, particularly if they are invoked together in the same verse, and where Aditi holds a separate place by the side of heaven and earth:
I, 94, 16 (final). t4t nak mitréZ vdruzak mamahantém aditi# sindhuA prithivi utd dyaud.
May Mitra and Varuza grant us this, may Aditi, Sindhu
(sea), the Earth, and the Sky!
In other passages, too, where Aditi has assumed a more personal character, she still holds her own by the side of heaven and earth; cf. IX, 97, 58 (final) :
I, 191, 6. dyauh vak pité prithivi mat& sémaf bhrata
Aditiz svdsA.
The Sky is your father, the Earth your mother, Soma your brother, Aditi your sister.
VIII, 101, 15. mat& rudriz4m duhitd vdstindm svdsd Adityan4m amrttasya nabhiZ, pra nu vokam fikitushe ganaya m& giém d4n4g4m dditim vadhish‘a.
The mother of the Rudras, the daughter of the Vasus, the sister of the Adityas, the source of immortality, I tell it forth to the man of understanding, may he not offend the cow, the guiltless Aditi! Cf. I, 153,33; IX, 96,15; Vagasan. Samhité XIII, 49.
VI, 51, 5. dyaiiz pitar (iti) pr¢thivi mâta# adhruk agne bhrata’ vasava# mri/dta nak, visve Adityah adite sa-géshak asmabhyam sdrma bahuldm vi yanta.
Sky, father, Earth, kind mother, Fire, brother, bright gods, have mercy upon us! All Adityas (and) Aditi together, grant us your manifold protection!
X, 63, 10. su-trimazam prithivim dyém anehdsam sus4rmazam dditim su-prdnitim, dafvim nâvam su-aritrém dndgasam dsravantim 4 ruhema svastdye.
Let us for welfare step into the divine boat, with good oars, faultless and leakless—the well-protecting Earth, the peerless Sky, the sheltering, well-guiding Aditi!
X, 66, 4. Aditi dyâvaprithivi ({ti).
p. 250
Aditi, and Heaven and Earth.
Where two or more verses come together, the fact that Aditi is mentioned by the side of Heaven and Earth may seem less convincing, because in these Nivids or long strings of invocations different names or representatives of one and the same power are not unfrequently put together. For instance,
X, 36, 1-3. ushdsandkté brzhati ({ti) su-pésasa dydvakshima vdruzahk mitréz aryam&, indram huve marutak parvatan apd% adityaén dyâvaprithivi ({ti) apd’ svar ({ti svah). 1.
dyauk ka nak prithivi ka prd-ketasA ritdvari ({ty ritdvari) rakshatam dmhasa# rishas, m& duk-vidatra nth-ritik nak isata tat devindm dvahk adyd vrinimahe. 2.
visvasmat nak aditiz patu dmhasak mata mitrdsya vdrunasya revatah svah-vat gyoti# avrikdm nasimahi. 3.
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