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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Amdrak kavih Aditiz vivdsvan su-samsat mitrak atithiz sivas nak, kitra-bhanud ushasdm bhati d4gre. The wise poet, Aditi, Vivasvat, Mitra with his good company, our welcome guest, he (Agni) with brilliant light came at the head of the dawns. Here, though I admit that several renderings are possible, Aditi is meant as a name of Agni, to whom the whole hymn is addressed, and who, as usual, is identified with other gods, or, at all events, invoked by their names. We may translate dditik vivdsvan by ‘the brilliant Aditi,’ or ‘the unchecked, the brilliant,’ or by ‘ the bourtdless Vivasvat,’ but on no account can we take dditi here as the female goddess. The same applies to VIII, 19, 14, where Aditi, unless we suppose the goddess brought in in the most abrupt way, must be taken as a name of Agni; while in X, 92, 14, dditim anarvazam, to judge from other epithets given in the same verse, has most likely to be taken again as an appellative of Agni. In some passages it would, no doubt, be possible to take Aditi as the name of a female deity, if it were certain that no other meaning could be assigned to this word. But if we once know that Aditi was the name of a male deity also, the structure of these passages becomes far more perfect, if we take Aditi in that sense : NOTES. 1, 166, 12. 263 IV, 39, 3. 4andgasam tdm aditizZ krinotu sdk mitréna varuzena sa-géshah. May Aditi make him free from sin, he who is allied with Mitra and Varuna. We have had several passages in which Aditi, the female deity, is represented as sagéshaé or allied with other. Adityas, but if s4# is the right reading here, Aditi in this verse can only be the male deity. The pronoun sd cannot refer to tam. With regard to other passages, such as IX, 81, 5; VI, 51, 3, and even some of those translated above in which Aditi has been taken as a female goddess, the question must be left open till further evidence can be obtained. There is only one more passage which has been often dis-cussed, and where dditi was supposed to have the meaning of earth: VII, 18, 8. dus-Adhya% aditim srevayantak aketasak vi _ gagribhre pdrushzim.
2There is only one more passage which has been often dis-cussed, and where dditi was supposed to have the meaning of earth: VII, 18, 8. dus-Adhya% aditim srevayantak aketasak vi _ gagribhre pdrushzim. Professor Roth in one of his earliest essays translated this line, ‘The evil-disposed wished to dry the earth, the fools split the Parushzi,’ and he supposed its meaning to have been that the enemies of Sud4s swam across the Parushai in order to attack Sud4s. We might accept this translation, if it could be explained how by throwing themselves into the river, the enemies made the earth dry, though even then there would remain this difficulty that, with the exception of one other doubtful passage, discussed before, Aditi never means earth. We might possibly translate: ‘The evil-disposed, the fools, laid dry and divided the boundless river Parushzi.’ This would be a description of a stratagem very common in ancient warfare, viz. diverting the course of a river and laying its original bed dry by digging a new channel, and thus dividing the old river. This is also the sense accepted by Sayama, who does not say that vigraha means dividing the waves of a river, as Professor Roth renders k(labheda, but that it means dividing or cutting through its banks. In the Dictionary Professor Roth assigns to dditi in this passage the meaning of endless, inexhaustible. 264 VEDIC HYMNS. Kana. Note 5. Nothing is more difficult in the interpretation of the Veda than to gain an accurate knowledge of the power of particles and conjunctions. The particle kana, we are - told, is used both affirmatively and negatively, a statement which shows better than anything else the uncertainty to which every translation of Vedic hymns is as yet exposed. It is perfectly true that in the text of the Rig-veda, as we now read it, Zand means both indeed and no. But this very fact shows that we ought to distinguish where the first collectors of the Vedic hymns have not distinguished, and that while in the former case we read kana, we ought in the latter to read ka na. I begin with those passages in which dana is used emphatically, though originally it may have been a double negation. Ia. In negative sentences : I, 18,7. yasmat rité na s{dhyati yag#dh vipah-kitah and. Without whom the sacrifice does not succeed, not even that of the sage. V, 34, 5. na dsunvata sakate puishyata dana. He does not cling to a man who offers no libations, even though he be thriving. I, 24, 6. nahf te kshatrdm na sdhak nd manyim vayak kana amit ({ti) patayantak Apu. For thy power, thy strength, thy anger even these birds which fly up, do not reach. Cf. I, 100, 15. 1,155, 5. trétiyam asya ndkiZ & dadharshati vayah and patayantak patatrinah. This third step no one approaches, not even the winged birds which fly up. I, 55, 1. divak Ait asya varim& vi papratha, {ndram na mahna prithivi dana prati. The width of the heavens is stretched out, even the earth in her greatness is no match for Indra.
3This third step no one approaches, not even the winged birds which fly up. I, 55, 1. divak Ait asya varim& vi papratha, {ndram na mahna prithivi dana prati. The width of the heavens is stretched out, even the earth in her greatness is no match for Indra. Tb. In positive sentences : VII, 32,13. parviZ and prd-sitayah taranti t4m yds {ndre karmawa bhivat. NOTES. 1, 166, {2, °* 265 Even many snares pass him who is with Indra in his work. VIII, 2,14. uktham Zana sasyA4mdnam dgok arth 4 kiketa, na gayatram giya4manam. He (Indra) marks indeed a poor man’s prayer that is recited, but not a hymn that is sung. (Doubtful.) VIII, 78,10. tava it indra ahdm 4-sd4s4 hdste détram Zand & dade. Hoping in thee alone, O Indra, I take even this sickle in my hand. I, 55, 5- adha and srdt dadhati tvishi-mate indraya vagram ni-ghdnighnate vadhdm. Then indeed they believe in Indra, the majestic, when he hurls the bolt to strike. I, 152, 2. etat Aand tvak vi kiketat eshAm. Does one of them understand even this? IV, 18, 9. mamat and used in the same sense as mamat Ait. I, 139, 2. dhibhiZ and manasa svébhiz aksha-bhi, V, 41,13. vayak kana su-bhvah 4 ava yanti. VII, 18, 9. 4su% and {t abhi-pitvam gagdma. VIII, 91, 3. & Zand tva Aikitsimak ddhi and tva nd imasi. We wish to know thee, indeed, but we cannot understand thee. X, 49, 5. ahdm randhayam mrégayam srutdrvane yat ma 4gihita vayun& Zand anu-shak. VI, 26, 7. ahdm &ané tat siri-bhiZ Anasy4m. May I also obtain this with the lords. Ic. Frequently #ana occurs after interrogative pronouns, to which it imparts an indefinite meaning, and principally in negative sentences : I, 74, 7. nd yok upabdih Asvyak srinvé réthasya kat and, yat agne y4si dityam. No sound of horses is heard, and no sound of the chariot, when thou, O Agni, goest on thy message. I, 81, 5. nd tva-van indra kak Rand nd gatds nd ganishyaté. No one is like thee, O Indra, no one has been born, no one will be! 266 VEDIC HYMNS. I, 84, 20. mf te raidhdmsi m& te titdyah vaso (iti) asman kad4 #and dabhan. May thy gifts, may thy help, O Vasu, never fail us! Many more passages might be given to illustrate the use of Zand or kas and and its derivatives in negative sentences. Cf. I, 105, 33 136,1; 139, 5; II, 16, 3; 23,5; 28,6; III, 36, 4; IV, 31,93 V, 42, 6; 82,2; VI, 3,2; 20,4; 47,1; 33 48,17; 54,93 59,43 69,8; 75,16; VII, 32,1; 19; 59, 33 82,7; 104, 3; VIII, 19, 6; 23,153 24,15; 28, 4; 47,73 64,2; 66,13; 68,19; IX, 61, 27; 69,6; 114, 43 X; 33,93 39,11; 48,.53 49, 10; 59,8; 62,9; 85,3; 86, 11; 95,13 112, 9; 119,63; 7; 128, 4; 129, 2; 152, 1; 168, 3; 185, 2. Id. Ina few passages, however, we find the indefinite pronoun kas £and used in sentences which are not negative: III, 30,1. titikshante abh{-sastim g4nandm indra tvdt & kak Rand hi pra-ketdh. They bear the scoffing of men; for, Indra, from thee comes every wisdom. I, 113, 8. ushaéZ mrttdm kam and bodhayantt. Ushas, who wakes every dead (or one who is as if dead).
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.
1Amdrak kavih Aditiz vivdsvan su-samsat mitrak atithiz sivas nak, kitra-bhanud ushasdm bhati d4gre. The wise poet, Aditi, Vivasvat, Mitra with his good company, our welcome guest, he (Agni) with brilliant light came at the head of the dawns. Here, though I admit that several renderings are possible, Aditi is meant as a name of Agni, to whom the whole hymn is addressed, and who, as usual, is identified with other gods, or, at all events, invoked by their names. We may translate dditik vivdsvan by ‘the brilliant Aditi,’ or ‘the unchecked, the brilliant,’ or by ‘ the bourtdless Vivasvat,’ but on no account can we take dditi here as the female goddess. The same applies to VIII, 19, 14, where Aditi, unless we suppose the goddess brought in in the most abrupt way, must be taken as a name of Agni; while in X, 92, 14, dditim anarvazam, to judge from other epithets given in the same verse, has most likely to be taken again as an appellative of Agni. In some passages it would, no doubt, be possible to take Aditi as the name of a female deity, if it were certain that no other meaning could be assigned to this word. But if we once know that Aditi was the name of a male deity also, the structure of these passages becomes far more perfect, if we take Aditi in that sense : NOTES. 1, 166, 12. 263 IV, 39, 3. 4andgasam tdm aditizZ krinotu sdk mitréna varuzena sa-géshah. May Aditi make him free from sin, he who is allied with Mitra and Varuna. We have had several passages in which Aditi, the female deity, is represented as sagéshaé or allied with other. Adityas, but if s4# is the right reading here, Aditi in this verse can only be the male deity. The pronoun sd cannot refer to tam. With regard to other passages, such as IX, 81, 5; VI, 51, 3, and even some of those translated above in which Aditi has been taken as a female goddess, the question must be left open till further evidence can be obtained. There is only one more passage which has been often dis-cussed, and where dditi was supposed to have the meaning of earth: VII, 18, 8. dus-Adhya% aditim srevayantak aketasak vi _ gagribhre pdrushzim.
2There is only one more passage which has been often dis-cussed, and where dditi was supposed to have the meaning of earth: VII, 18, 8. dus-Adhya% aditim srevayantak aketasak vi _ gagribhre pdrushzim. Professor Roth in one of his earliest essays translated this line, ‘The evil-disposed wished to dry the earth, the fools split the Parushzi,’ and he supposed its meaning to have been that the enemies of Sud4s swam across the Parushai in order to attack Sud4s. We might accept this translation, if it could be explained how by throwing themselves into the river, the enemies made the earth dry, though even then there would remain this difficulty that, with the exception of one other doubtful passage, discussed before, Aditi never means earth. We might possibly translate: ‘The evil-disposed, the fools, laid dry and divided the boundless river Parushzi.’ This would be a description of a stratagem very common in ancient warfare, viz. diverting the course of a river and laying its original bed dry by digging a new channel, and thus dividing the old river. This is also the sense accepted by Sayama, who does not say that vigraha means dividing the waves of a river, as Professor Roth renders k(labheda, but that it means dividing or cutting through its banks. In the Dictionary Professor Roth assigns to dditi in this passage the meaning of endless, inexhaustible. 264 VEDIC HYMNS. Kana. Note 5. Nothing is more difficult in the interpretation of the Veda than to gain an accurate knowledge of the power of particles and conjunctions. The particle kana, we are - told, is used both affirmatively and negatively, a statement which shows better than anything else the uncertainty to which every translation of Vedic hymns is as yet exposed. It is perfectly true that in the text of the Rig-veda, as we now read it, Zand means both indeed and no. But this very fact shows that we ought to distinguish where the first collectors of the Vedic hymns have not distinguished, and that while in the former case we read kana, we ought in the latter to read ka na. I begin with those passages in which dana is used emphatically, though originally it may have been a double negation. Ia. In negative sentences : I, 18,7. yasmat rité na s{dhyati yag#dh vipah-kitah and. Without whom the sacrifice does not succeed, not even that of the sage. V, 34, 5. na dsunvata sakate puishyata dana. He does not cling to a man who offers no libations, even though he be thriving. I, 24, 6. nahf te kshatrdm na sdhak nd manyim vayak kana amit ({ti) patayantak Apu. For thy power, thy strength, thy anger even these birds which fly up, do not reach. Cf. I, 100, 15. 1,155, 5. trétiyam asya ndkiZ & dadharshati vayah and patayantak patatrinah. This third step no one approaches, not even the winged birds which fly up. I, 55, 1. divak Ait asya varim& vi papratha, {ndram na mahna prithivi dana prati. The width of the heavens is stretched out, even the earth in her greatness is no match for Indra.
3This third step no one approaches, not even the winged birds which fly up. I, 55, 1. divak Ait asya varim& vi papratha, {ndram na mahna prithivi dana prati. The width of the heavens is stretched out, even the earth in her greatness is no match for Indra. Tb. In positive sentences : VII, 32,13. parviZ and prd-sitayah taranti t4m yds {ndre karmawa bhivat. NOTES. 1, 166, {2, °* 265 Even many snares pass him who is with Indra in his work. VIII, 2,14. uktham Zana sasyA4mdnam dgok arth 4 kiketa, na gayatram giya4manam. He (Indra) marks indeed a poor man’s prayer that is recited, but not a hymn that is sung. (Doubtful.) VIII, 78,10. tava it indra ahdm 4-sd4s4 hdste détram Zand & dade. Hoping in thee alone, O Indra, I take even this sickle in my hand. I, 55, 5- adha and srdt dadhati tvishi-mate indraya vagram ni-ghdnighnate vadhdm. Then indeed they believe in Indra, the majestic, when he hurls the bolt to strike. I, 152, 2. etat Aand tvak vi kiketat eshAm. Does one of them understand even this? IV, 18, 9. mamat and used in the same sense as mamat Ait. I, 139, 2. dhibhiZ and manasa svébhiz aksha-bhi, V, 41,13. vayak kana su-bhvah 4 ava yanti. VII, 18, 9. 4su% and {t abhi-pitvam gagdma. VIII, 91, 3. & Zand tva Aikitsimak ddhi and tva nd imasi. We wish to know thee, indeed, but we cannot understand thee. X, 49, 5. ahdm randhayam mrégayam srutdrvane yat ma 4gihita vayun& Zand anu-shak. VI, 26, 7. ahdm &ané tat siri-bhiZ Anasy4m. May I also obtain this with the lords. Ic. Frequently #ana occurs after interrogative pronouns, to which it imparts an indefinite meaning, and principally in negative sentences : I, 74, 7. nd yok upabdih Asvyak srinvé réthasya kat and, yat agne y4si dityam. No sound of horses is heard, and no sound of the chariot, when thou, O Agni, goest on thy message. I, 81, 5. nd tva-van indra kak Rand nd gatds nd ganishyaté. No one is like thee, O Indra, no one has been born, no one will be! 266 VEDIC HYMNS. I, 84, 20. mf te raidhdmsi m& te titdyah vaso (iti) asman kad4 #and dabhan. May thy gifts, may thy help, O Vasu, never fail us! Many more passages might be given to illustrate the use of Zand or kas and and its derivatives in negative sentences. Cf. I, 105, 33 136,1; 139, 5; II, 16, 3; 23,5; 28,6; III, 36, 4; IV, 31,93 V, 42, 6; 82,2; VI, 3,2; 20,4; 47,1; 33 48,17; 54,93 59,43 69,8; 75,16; VII, 32,1; 19; 59, 33 82,7; 104, 3; VIII, 19, 6; 23,153 24,15; 28, 4; 47,73 64,2; 66,13; 68,19; IX, 61, 27; 69,6; 114, 43 X; 33,93 39,11; 48,.53 49, 10; 59,8; 62,9; 85,3; 86, 11; 95,13 112, 9; 119,63; 7; 128, 4; 129, 2; 152, 1; 168, 3; 185, 2. Id. Ina few passages, however, we find the indefinite pronoun kas £and used in sentences which are not negative: III, 30,1. titikshante abh{-sastim g4nandm indra tvdt & kak Rand hi pra-ketdh. They bear the scoffing of men; for, Indra, from thee comes every wisdom. I, 113, 8. ushaéZ mrttdm kam and bodhayantt. Ushas, who wakes every dead (or one who is as if dead).
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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