Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
115. c. I am inclined to think that Ludwig is correct in emending the air. Aey. ush/zihaksharo to ushmhaksharo = ushm'ha aksharo, and in rendering aksharo by om (the pra^ava) ; cf. 5ankh. Sr. I, 1, 36 (pra^avo ye ya^-amahe vasha^kara^). For other suggestions, cf. Henry's careful discussion in his note (1. c, p. 27 fif.). 1 Cf. Bergaigne, La Religion Vedique, III, 23. XIII, I. COMMENTARY. 665 Stanza 16. The five stanzas beginning here are rubricated at the godana-ceremony, the trimming of the youth's beard at the time of puberty, Kau.y. 54, 10. Their connection with the rest of the hymn is problematic. In stanza 18 d Rohita, as a variant of Agni in 17 d, is mentioned, and this alone may have induced the diaskeuasts to place the entire series here. Stanza 17. This and the next two stanzas exhibit the word va^aspati. They, along with other stanzas containing the same word, are known in the ritual (Kauj. 41, 15) as va/£aspatilinga/2 (sc. rikdik), and are employed at practices designed to ensure gain in business, while addressing the rising sun. d. The word parameshMin seems to refer for the nonce to the young man, who, during the moment of his consecra- tion, assumes in the exorbitant language of his environment the role of the lord on high. Stanza 18. According to the Index Verborum the MSS. read nau for no (both times ?). Stanza 21. Here begin the stanzas devoted to Rohim. Cf. RV. I, 39, 6 ; VIII, 7, 28. Both these passages have the nomi- native rohita/^, so that he himself appears as the side horse, the speckled mares or cows of the sky being the main draught-animals. The Atharvan form smacks of adapta- tion, decidedly. For, apparently, Rohita is here in the car, and the speckled female is the side-horse. The gloss on this stanza, Kaui*. 24, 42. 43, which states distinctly that rohita is the sun, pr/shati the sky (dyu), conceives of the latter as a cow1, rather than a mare, as one would expect in the case of the female of the red steed. This is quite 1 The stanza is cited by the Ath. Paddhati (Kauj. 19, 1, note), as one of the push/ika mantra^. 666 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. in accord with the usual description of the dawn ; cf. RV. I, 113, 2; V, 64, 7; 80, 2-4. Stanza 22. The word surf, very common as a masculine, is here, and here alone, feminine. It seems chosen, with conscious straining, for the purpose of alluding to Surya, the female of the sun.
2description of the dawn ; cf. RV. I, 113, 2; V, 64, 7; 80, 2-4. Stanza 22. The word surf, very common as a masculine, is here, and here alone, feminine. It seems chosen, with conscious straining, for the purpose of alluding to Surya, the female of the sun. We should not forget in this connection the fact that there is another Rohi/zi, the constellation of that name, corresponding to another male divinity of light, the moon ; see Tait. S. II, 3, 5, 1 ; Tait. Br. Ill, 1,1,2; 4, 2 (cf. also Tait. S. I, 1, 7, 7). It is not unlikely that the existence of one of these pairs stimulated the completion of the other. These notions are plastic, and elusive in their multiplicity. Stanza 23. Cf. the similar mantra, Vait. Su. 36, 27. For a possible relation of this stanza and the rohim-episode of the hymn to a certain part of the ceremonies at the horse-sacrifice, see our above-cited essay, p. 435 fif. Stanza 25. This and the next stanza are recited at the £itrakarma, a rite designed to procure prosperity, during the full moon of the month £aitra ; see Kau^. 18, 25. Stanza 27. Addressed at the a^yatantra, Kaiu. 137, 10, to him that constructs the fire-altar (vedi). The adjectives payasvatizw, &c, refer doubtless primarily to the earth, the cosmic altar (cf. st. 46). Stanza 31. b. For utpipanam, cf. our discussion, I.e., 441 ff. Stanza 32. c. The Paippalada reads ra.rrnibhL& for ajmana ; this suggests rasmina, 'with his ray,' but the singular instru- mental is rare, and in this connection doubtful. XIII, I. COMMENTARY. 667 Stanza 33. The Vira^* is another personification of the shining female heaven (dawn), and the male sun is viewed here as her calf rather than her husband. The ' bull of prayers' again must refer to the sun : it seems to mean ' he to whom prayers are chiefly directed/ a conception which is fortified imme- diately by the epithet sukraprtshtAa, which I take to be an equivalent of somapr/sh/^a (st. 12). In Pada c it would seem natural to read ghrztenaktam, ' anointed with ghee/ for ghrztenarkam, establishing thus a certain balance be- tween this expression and brahma santam in Pada d. But the construction of abhi ar£ with two accusatives is secure, e.g. AV. VII, 14, 1 ; 72, 1, and at Tait. Br. II, 8, 8, 9 c we have, tarn arkafr abhy ar^anti vatsam. Each reading seems equally good under the circumstances. Stanza 39. d. The Paippalada reads vipa^yantam for vipa^itam ; the reading is not favoured by the metre, and seems in every way inferior. Stanza 40. a. The text as it stands can hardly be sustained.
3sam. Each reading seems equally good under the circumstances. Stanza 39. d. The Paippalada reads vipa^yantam for vipa^itam ; the reading is not favoured by the metre, and seems in every way inferior. Stanza 40. a. The text as it stands can hardly be sustained. The Paippalada reads, devo devam ar^ayasi. Henry, without a knowledge of this, emends to devo devan ar^ayasi ; cf. our remarks, 1. c, p. 437. We have finally accepted this in our rendering : the extant 5aunakiya reading must have arisen on the basis of the reading devo deva^mar^ayasi with anticipatory anusvara. Stanza 41. A cosmic charade (brahmodyam) = AV. IX, 9, 17, and RV. I, 164, 17 (with the variant anta/£ for asmin in Padad). The subject of the riddle is the dawn. Her calf is the sun, as in st. 33. The disappearance of the dawn at sunrise is depicted prettily, though rather mystically in the second hemistich. The meaning of Pada d is that though a cow she does not beget her calf in this earthly herd : her calf 668 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. is heavenly. Cf. Haug, Vedische Rathselfragen und Rath- selspriiche, p. 24, for other explanations that seem to us decidedly strained. Stanza 42. Another, profoundly mystic, charade, essentially identical with IX, 10, 21 and RV. I, 164, 41. Whatever the inde- pendent solution may be (cf. Haug, 1. c, p. 47 ff.), the presence of the stanza here seems to be in some way due to the word pada in 41 b. There the word indicates the part of the body; here, with characteristic jugglery, the metrical ' foot/ The varying light or rays (feet) of the dawn may have suggested the metres with their varying feet, even if the brahmodyam was not really constructed primarily with a view to the answer ' dawn/ It has at any rate no direct bearing upon Rohita, and seems to appear here by way of expanding the laudation of the female divinity of the preceding stanza. Stanza 45. Beginning here Surya appears in the role of a cosmic sacrificer, and the elements of the sacrifice familiar in the liturgies are boldly projected into the visible universe. With all the extravagance of the fancies they are on the whole intelligible, and at times not wanting in beauty. Stanza 56. Employed at Kaoy. 49, 26 in a conjuration against an enemy. Pada b, /xr) irpos tov rj\iov optxtiv, Hes. 'Epya kclI rj^ipat 725. XIX, 26. Commentary to page 63. The hymn is not employed in the Kau^ika 1. It is quoted by Saya;za from the 5antikalpa 1J2, as follows: agne^ pra^atam iti suktena agneyim agnibhaye sarvakamasya ka.. This Saya/za expounds, iti vihitayam agneyyakhyayaw 1 Cf.
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.
115. c. I am inclined to think that Ludwig is correct in emending the air. Aey. ush/zihaksharo to ushmhaksharo = ushm'ha aksharo, and in rendering aksharo by om (the pra^ava) ; cf. 5ankh. Sr. I, 1, 36 (pra^avo ye ya^-amahe vasha^kara^). For other suggestions, cf. Henry's careful discussion in his note (1. c, p. 27 fif.). 1 Cf. Bergaigne, La Religion Vedique, III, 23. XIII, I. COMMENTARY. 665 Stanza 16. The five stanzas beginning here are rubricated at the godana-ceremony, the trimming of the youth's beard at the time of puberty, Kau.y. 54, 10. Their connection with the rest of the hymn is problematic. In stanza 18 d Rohita, as a variant of Agni in 17 d, is mentioned, and this alone may have induced the diaskeuasts to place the entire series here. Stanza 17. This and the next two stanzas exhibit the word va^aspati. They, along with other stanzas containing the same word, are known in the ritual (Kauj. 41, 15) as va/£aspatilinga/2 (sc. rikdik), and are employed at practices designed to ensure gain in business, while addressing the rising sun. d. The word parameshMin seems to refer for the nonce to the young man, who, during the moment of his consecra- tion, assumes in the exorbitant language of his environment the role of the lord on high. Stanza 18. According to the Index Verborum the MSS. read nau for no (both times ?). Stanza 21. Here begin the stanzas devoted to Rohim. Cf. RV. I, 39, 6 ; VIII, 7, 28. Both these passages have the nomi- native rohita/^, so that he himself appears as the side horse, the speckled mares or cows of the sky being the main draught-animals. The Atharvan form smacks of adapta- tion, decidedly. For, apparently, Rohita is here in the car, and the speckled female is the side-horse. The gloss on this stanza, Kaui*. 24, 42. 43, which states distinctly that rohita is the sun, pr/shati the sky (dyu), conceives of the latter as a cow1, rather than a mare, as one would expect in the case of the female of the red steed. This is quite 1 The stanza is cited by the Ath. Paddhati (Kauj. 19, 1, note), as one of the push/ika mantra^. 666 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. in accord with the usual description of the dawn ; cf. RV. I, 113, 2; V, 64, 7; 80, 2-4. Stanza 22. The word surf, very common as a masculine, is here, and here alone, feminine. It seems chosen, with conscious straining, for the purpose of alluding to Surya, the female of the sun.
2description of the dawn ; cf. RV. I, 113, 2; V, 64, 7; 80, 2-4. Stanza 22. The word surf, very common as a masculine, is here, and here alone, feminine. It seems chosen, with conscious straining, for the purpose of alluding to Surya, the female of the sun. We should not forget in this connection the fact that there is another Rohi/zi, the constellation of that name, corresponding to another male divinity of light, the moon ; see Tait. S. II, 3, 5, 1 ; Tait. Br. Ill, 1,1,2; 4, 2 (cf. also Tait. S. I, 1, 7, 7). It is not unlikely that the existence of one of these pairs stimulated the completion of the other. These notions are plastic, and elusive in their multiplicity. Stanza 23. Cf. the similar mantra, Vait. Su. 36, 27. For a possible relation of this stanza and the rohim-episode of the hymn to a certain part of the ceremonies at the horse-sacrifice, see our above-cited essay, p. 435 fif. Stanza 25. This and the next stanza are recited at the £itrakarma, a rite designed to procure prosperity, during the full moon of the month £aitra ; see Kau^. 18, 25. Stanza 27. Addressed at the a^yatantra, Kaiu. 137, 10, to him that constructs the fire-altar (vedi). The adjectives payasvatizw, &c, refer doubtless primarily to the earth, the cosmic altar (cf. st. 46). Stanza 31. b. For utpipanam, cf. our discussion, I.e., 441 ff. Stanza 32. c. The Paippalada reads ra.rrnibhL& for ajmana ; this suggests rasmina, 'with his ray,' but the singular instru- mental is rare, and in this connection doubtful. XIII, I. COMMENTARY. 667 Stanza 33. The Vira^* is another personification of the shining female heaven (dawn), and the male sun is viewed here as her calf rather than her husband. The ' bull of prayers' again must refer to the sun : it seems to mean ' he to whom prayers are chiefly directed/ a conception which is fortified imme- diately by the epithet sukraprtshtAa, which I take to be an equivalent of somapr/sh/^a (st. 12). In Pada c it would seem natural to read ghrztenaktam, ' anointed with ghee/ for ghrztenarkam, establishing thus a certain balance be- tween this expression and brahma santam in Pada d. But the construction of abhi ar£ with two accusatives is secure, e.g. AV. VII, 14, 1 ; 72, 1, and at Tait. Br. II, 8, 8, 9 c we have, tarn arkafr abhy ar^anti vatsam. Each reading seems equally good under the circumstances. Stanza 39. d. The Paippalada reads vipa^yantam for vipa^itam ; the reading is not favoured by the metre, and seems in every way inferior. Stanza 40. a. The text as it stands can hardly be sustained.
3sam. Each reading seems equally good under the circumstances. Stanza 39. d. The Paippalada reads vipa^yantam for vipa^itam ; the reading is not favoured by the metre, and seems in every way inferior. Stanza 40. a. The text as it stands can hardly be sustained. The Paippalada reads, devo devam ar^ayasi. Henry, without a knowledge of this, emends to devo devan ar^ayasi ; cf. our remarks, 1. c, p. 437. We have finally accepted this in our rendering : the extant 5aunakiya reading must have arisen on the basis of the reading devo deva^mar^ayasi with anticipatory anusvara. Stanza 41. A cosmic charade (brahmodyam) = AV. IX, 9, 17, and RV. I, 164, 17 (with the variant anta/£ for asmin in Padad). The subject of the riddle is the dawn. Her calf is the sun, as in st. 33. The disappearance of the dawn at sunrise is depicted prettily, though rather mystically in the second hemistich. The meaning of Pada d is that though a cow she does not beget her calf in this earthly herd : her calf 668 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. is heavenly. Cf. Haug, Vedische Rathselfragen und Rath- selspriiche, p. 24, for other explanations that seem to us decidedly strained. Stanza 42. Another, profoundly mystic, charade, essentially identical with IX, 10, 21 and RV. I, 164, 41. Whatever the inde- pendent solution may be (cf. Haug, 1. c, p. 47 ff.), the presence of the stanza here seems to be in some way due to the word pada in 41 b. There the word indicates the part of the body; here, with characteristic jugglery, the metrical ' foot/ The varying light or rays (feet) of the dawn may have suggested the metres with their varying feet, even if the brahmodyam was not really constructed primarily with a view to the answer ' dawn/ It has at any rate no direct bearing upon Rohita, and seems to appear here by way of expanding the laudation of the female divinity of the preceding stanza. Stanza 45. Beginning here Surya appears in the role of a cosmic sacrificer, and the elements of the sacrifice familiar in the liturgies are boldly projected into the visible universe. With all the extravagance of the fancies they are on the whole intelligible, and at times not wanting in beauty. Stanza 56. Employed at Kaoy. 49, 26 in a conjuration against an enemy. Pada b, /xr) irpos tov rj\iov optxtiv, Hes. 'Epya kclI rj^ipat 725. XIX, 26. Commentary to page 63. The hymn is not employed in the Kau^ika 1. It is quoted by Saya;za from the 5antikalpa 1J2, as follows: agne^ pra^atam iti suktena agneyim agnibhaye sarvakamasya ka.. This Saya/za expounds, iti vihitayam agneyyakhyayaw 1 Cf.
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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