Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1H. O., Religion des Veda, 186, note 1). See von Bradke, Dyaus Asura, p. 13. [46] R 242 VEDIC HYMNS. Verse 4. Note 1. See verse 3, note 1. Verse 5. Note 1. All this is very enigmatical. In the parallel pas- sage, IV, 5, 8, we have, instead of ripa^ agram, the reading rupa>£ agram, which is confirmed by verse 7 of the same hymn (agre rupa^) and by X, 13, 3 (p&nka padani rupa/£ ami aroham) ; in support of the reading ripa^, on the other side, the verse, X, 79, 3 (ripaV* upasthe anta^), may be quoted. The meaning of nip is unknown ; rip means ' deceit ' and ' deceiver : ' but what is the summit of the deceiver? Bergaigne (Religion Wdique, II, 77 seq.) has tried to solve the riddle, but it is really hopeless. — The meaning of the following words, pad&m ve/z, is not quite so obscure ; there is at least some probability that the bird is Agni himself (cf. below, III, 7, 7), or possibly the sun. The latter explanation is advocated by Prof. Max Muller, who writes : ' May it not be a description of sunrise ? priyam ripa^ agram I do not understand ; but padam vtk is the place of the bird, as in I, 130, 3. vek na garbham, the nest of the bird or of the sun. This nest is covered by a stone, is in fact the vra^a, which has to be opened to let out the light of day. It is also the yoni or the altar. Ripa^ agram may possibly be the summit of the Pam or of Vr/tra, X, 79, 3-' Note 2. See above, I, 36, 1 , note 1. Note 3. Sapta-^irshan (' seven-headed ') occurs again in two other passages of the Rig-veda (VIII, 51, 4, and X, 6j, 1) ; in both it is an epithet of words which signify ' hymn ' or ' prayer ' (arka, dhi'). Possibly a similar word should be supplied here. But why are the prayers called ' seven- headed ?' Does this refer to unknown technicalities of the Vedic liturgy ? Does it stand in connection with the seven tones of the scale, with the expression sapta dhitaya^, with the number of the seven Hotrts ? ' Celui qui a sept tetes est sans doute un personnage equivalent a lui seul au MAiTOALA III, HYMN 5. 243 groupe des sept pretres,' says Bergaigne (II, 145), which is very ingenious, but should not be given as a doubtless fact. — Prof. Max Mliller observes that saptajirshan may be, like saptasya, the vra^*a of Pa/zi, opened by Agni, IV, 51,4, and that Brzhaspati is called saptasya, IV, 50, 4, and saptagu, X, 47, 6. Verse 6. Note 1. Agni is here called i*?zbhu in his quality as a skilful artisan. See Bergaigne, Religion Vedique, II, 408.
2Verse 6. Note 1. Agni is here called i*?zbhu in his quality as a skilful artisan. See Bergaigne, Religion Vedique, II, 408. Note 2. There seems to be no doubt that sasa (comp. sasya) means ' herb ' or possibly ' grain ' in X, 79, 3 ; the text there has sasam na pakvam ; comp. I, 66y 2. yava^ na pakva^. The same meaning is quite admissible in I, 51, 3 ; V, 2i, 4 ; VIII, 72, 3 ; though these passages are too uncer- tain for deciding anything. I cannot find any reason for believing that we have here and in IV, 5, 7 ; 7,7 (see below), another word derived from the root sas, and meaning ' the sleeper.' At all events I neither pretend to know what mysteries are hidden under the c skin of the herbs/ nor what stories may have happened to the ' peau du dormeur ' (Bergaignd, II, 78 seq.). Note 3. See verse 5, note 1. Verse 7. Note 1. Yonim, literally fwomb.' Note 2. Probably Heaven and Earth. Verse 8. Note 1. Prof. Max Mliller refers this to the grass of the barhis, or the. tender blades in which the spark is caught and kept alive by ghee. Verse 9. Note 1. Comp. above, I, 36, 1, note 2. Verse 10. Note 1. I have adopted, though I do not believe it cer- tain, Grassmann's opinion on the meaning of pari in this connection. Comp. H. O., Religion des Veda, 123, note 4. R 2 544 VEDIC HYMNS. MAA^ALA III, HYMN 6. ASH7AKA II, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 26-27. i. Bring forward, ye pious singers, stirred in your thoughts1, (the ladle) which is turned towards the gods. Carrying (the sacrificial butter) from left to right2 it turns eastward, rich in strength, bringing the offering to Agni, full of ghee. 2. When born thou hast filled the two worlds, nay thou hast even exceeded them, O friend of sacrifices1. May, O Agni, thy seven-tongued horses2 move along, by the greatness of heaven and earth3. 3. Heaven and Earth the worshipful 1 establish thee as Hotrz for the house, whenever the pious human tribes offering food magnify the bright light. 4. (Thou art) seated, the great one, in a firm place1, between the two mighty Heavens2, thou who art longed for — (between) the two united 3 never- ageing, inviolable wives, the two juice-yielding milch- cows 4 of the far-reigning one 5. 5. Thy, the great (god's) laws, O Agni, are great. Through the power of thy mind thou hast spread out the two worlds. Thou hast become a messenger at thy birth, thou, O bull, the leader of the tribes* 6. Or bind to the pole by means of thy (art of) harnessing the two long-maned, red (horses) of 7?/ta, that swim in ghee1, and carry hither, O god, all gods ; perform splendid worship, O Gatavedas ! 71. Even from heaven thy shining lights have shone ; thy splendour follows many resplendent dawns, when the gods, O Agni, praised the cheerful Hotrz's work2 who eagerly burns in the forests3. MAiVDALA III, HYMN 6. 245
371. Even from heaven thy shining lights have shone ; thy splendour follows many resplendent dawns, when the gods, O Agni, praised the cheerful Hotrz's work2 who eagerly burns in the forests3. MAiVDALA III, HYMN 6. 245 8. Whether it be the gods who rejoice in the wide air, or those who dwell in the heavenly light, or those who are helpful1, ready to hear our call, and worshipful ; or whether the horses of thy chariot, O Agni, have turned themselves hither — 9. Come hither with them, O Agni, on one chariot or on many chariots, for thy horses are powerful. Bring hither, after thy nature, the thirty and the three gods with their wives, and rejoice (in the Soma). 10. He is the Hotrz whose sacrifice even the two wide worlds salute over and over again for the sake of prosperity. Turned to the east1, the two well- established2 (goddesses, Heaven and Earth), the righteous, true ones stand as at the sacrifice3 of (Agni) the right-born. II = HI, T, 23. NOTES. The same Rishi and metre. — Verse i=TB. II, 8, 2, 5 ; MS. IV, 14, 3. Verse 9 = AV. XX, 13, 4. Verso 1. Note 1. The translation of manana is conjectural, and based only on the etymology. The passage at it ra^anam manana^ agrzbh;zata, IX, 70, 3, does not help us much. * Does not X, 47, 7. stomal hrzdisprisak manasa va^ya- mana^, indicate the original reading, manasa va^yamanam?' M. M. Note 2. The sru£a/£ are called dakshi/zavr/ta/£, I, 144, 1. By the word dakshk&va/ the poet probably intended to designate the ladle also as procuring a Dakshi/za (sacrificial fee) to the priest. 246 VEDIC HYMNS. Verse 2. Note 1. On praya^yu, see M. M., vol. xxxii, p. 335, and Pischel, Ved. Studien, I, 98. Note 2. The flames of Agni. Note 3. Comp. below, 7, 10. The meaning seems to be : by thy (Agni's) greatness which is equal to that of Heaven and Earth. Verse 3. Note 1. I refer ya£7ziyasa/£, though it is a plural, to Heaven and Earth. Comp. Delbriick, Altindische Syn- tax, 103. Verse 4. Note 1. The Padapa/^a has dhruva^. I think it should be dhruve, comp. II, 41, 5. dhruve sadasi uttame . . . asate; IX, 40, 2. dhruve sadasi sidati. Note 2. I.e. Heaven and Earth. Note 3. Askra seems derived from a-sa£ (Joh. Schmidt, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXV, 71). Note 4. Or ' the two milch-cows which instantly give milk/ if sabar- is to be connected with the Greek a^ap ; comp. Bartholomae, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XV, 17. Note 5. Vish/zu is not the only god who is called uru- gaya, and there is no reason therefore why the epithet should not be referred here to Agni. Verse 6. Note 1. Comp. Lanman, Noun- Inflection, pp. 402,413. — See below, IV, 2, 3. Verse 7. Note 1. See Geldner, Vedische Studien, I, 114 seq. Note 2. Should the accent be apa^? Comp. Ill, 1, 3, note 3. Note 3. It is very probable that u^adhak (comp. Ill, 34, 3 ; VII, 7, 2) is an epithet of Agni. We should expect the genitive ; ui-adhak, which violates the construction, seems MAiVZ>ALA III, HYMN 6. 247
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.
1H. O., Religion des Veda, 186, note 1). See von Bradke, Dyaus Asura, p. 13. [46] R 242 VEDIC HYMNS. Verse 4. Note 1. See verse 3, note 1. Verse 5. Note 1. All this is very enigmatical. In the parallel pas- sage, IV, 5, 8, we have, instead of ripa^ agram, the reading rupa>£ agram, which is confirmed by verse 7 of the same hymn (agre rupa^) and by X, 13, 3 (p&nka padani rupa/£ ami aroham) ; in support of the reading ripa^, on the other side, the verse, X, 79, 3 (ripaV* upasthe anta^), may be quoted. The meaning of nip is unknown ; rip means ' deceit ' and ' deceiver : ' but what is the summit of the deceiver? Bergaigne (Religion Wdique, II, 77 seq.) has tried to solve the riddle, but it is really hopeless. — The meaning of the following words, pad&m ve/z, is not quite so obscure ; there is at least some probability that the bird is Agni himself (cf. below, III, 7, 7), or possibly the sun. The latter explanation is advocated by Prof. Max Muller, who writes : ' May it not be a description of sunrise ? priyam ripa^ agram I do not understand ; but padam vtk is the place of the bird, as in I, 130, 3. vek na garbham, the nest of the bird or of the sun. This nest is covered by a stone, is in fact the vra^a, which has to be opened to let out the light of day. It is also the yoni or the altar. Ripa^ agram may possibly be the summit of the Pam or of Vr/tra, X, 79, 3-' Note 2. See above, I, 36, 1 , note 1. Note 3. Sapta-^irshan (' seven-headed ') occurs again in two other passages of the Rig-veda (VIII, 51, 4, and X, 6j, 1) ; in both it is an epithet of words which signify ' hymn ' or ' prayer ' (arka, dhi'). Possibly a similar word should be supplied here. But why are the prayers called ' seven- headed ?' Does this refer to unknown technicalities of the Vedic liturgy ? Does it stand in connection with the seven tones of the scale, with the expression sapta dhitaya^, with the number of the seven Hotrts ? ' Celui qui a sept tetes est sans doute un personnage equivalent a lui seul au MAiTOALA III, HYMN 5. 243 groupe des sept pretres,' says Bergaigne (II, 145), which is very ingenious, but should not be given as a doubtless fact. — Prof. Max Mliller observes that saptajirshan may be, like saptasya, the vra^*a of Pa/zi, opened by Agni, IV, 51,4, and that Brzhaspati is called saptasya, IV, 50, 4, and saptagu, X, 47, 6. Verse 6. Note 1. Agni is here called i*?zbhu in his quality as a skilful artisan. See Bergaigne, Religion Vedique, II, 408.
2Verse 6. Note 1. Agni is here called i*?zbhu in his quality as a skilful artisan. See Bergaigne, Religion Vedique, II, 408. Note 2. There seems to be no doubt that sasa (comp. sasya) means ' herb ' or possibly ' grain ' in X, 79, 3 ; the text there has sasam na pakvam ; comp. I, 66y 2. yava^ na pakva^. The same meaning is quite admissible in I, 51, 3 ; V, 2i, 4 ; VIII, 72, 3 ; though these passages are too uncer- tain for deciding anything. I cannot find any reason for believing that we have here and in IV, 5, 7 ; 7,7 (see below), another word derived from the root sas, and meaning ' the sleeper.' At all events I neither pretend to know what mysteries are hidden under the c skin of the herbs/ nor what stories may have happened to the ' peau du dormeur ' (Bergaignd, II, 78 seq.). Note 3. See verse 5, note 1. Verse 7. Note 1. Yonim, literally fwomb.' Note 2. Probably Heaven and Earth. Verse 8. Note 1. Prof. Max Mliller refers this to the grass of the barhis, or the. tender blades in which the spark is caught and kept alive by ghee. Verse 9. Note 1. Comp. above, I, 36, 1, note 2. Verse 10. Note 1. I have adopted, though I do not believe it cer- tain, Grassmann's opinion on the meaning of pari in this connection. Comp. H. O., Religion des Veda, 123, note 4. R 2 544 VEDIC HYMNS. MAA^ALA III, HYMN 6. ASH7AKA II, ADHYAYA 8, VARGA 26-27. i. Bring forward, ye pious singers, stirred in your thoughts1, (the ladle) which is turned towards the gods. Carrying (the sacrificial butter) from left to right2 it turns eastward, rich in strength, bringing the offering to Agni, full of ghee. 2. When born thou hast filled the two worlds, nay thou hast even exceeded them, O friend of sacrifices1. May, O Agni, thy seven-tongued horses2 move along, by the greatness of heaven and earth3. 3. Heaven and Earth the worshipful 1 establish thee as Hotrz for the house, whenever the pious human tribes offering food magnify the bright light. 4. (Thou art) seated, the great one, in a firm place1, between the two mighty Heavens2, thou who art longed for — (between) the two united 3 never- ageing, inviolable wives, the two juice-yielding milch- cows 4 of the far-reigning one 5. 5. Thy, the great (god's) laws, O Agni, are great. Through the power of thy mind thou hast spread out the two worlds. Thou hast become a messenger at thy birth, thou, O bull, the leader of the tribes* 6. Or bind to the pole by means of thy (art of) harnessing the two long-maned, red (horses) of 7?/ta, that swim in ghee1, and carry hither, O god, all gods ; perform splendid worship, O Gatavedas ! 71. Even from heaven thy shining lights have shone ; thy splendour follows many resplendent dawns, when the gods, O Agni, praised the cheerful Hotrz's work2 who eagerly burns in the forests3. MAiVDALA III, HYMN 6. 245
371. Even from heaven thy shining lights have shone ; thy splendour follows many resplendent dawns, when the gods, O Agni, praised the cheerful Hotrz's work2 who eagerly burns in the forests3. MAiVDALA III, HYMN 6. 245 8. Whether it be the gods who rejoice in the wide air, or those who dwell in the heavenly light, or those who are helpful1, ready to hear our call, and worshipful ; or whether the horses of thy chariot, O Agni, have turned themselves hither — 9. Come hither with them, O Agni, on one chariot or on many chariots, for thy horses are powerful. Bring hither, after thy nature, the thirty and the three gods with their wives, and rejoice (in the Soma). 10. He is the Hotrz whose sacrifice even the two wide worlds salute over and over again for the sake of prosperity. Turned to the east1, the two well- established2 (goddesses, Heaven and Earth), the righteous, true ones stand as at the sacrifice3 of (Agni) the right-born. II = HI, T, 23. NOTES. The same Rishi and metre. — Verse i=TB. II, 8, 2, 5 ; MS. IV, 14, 3. Verse 9 = AV. XX, 13, 4. Verso 1. Note 1. The translation of manana is conjectural, and based only on the etymology. The passage at it ra^anam manana^ agrzbh;zata, IX, 70, 3, does not help us much. * Does not X, 47, 7. stomal hrzdisprisak manasa va^ya- mana^, indicate the original reading, manasa va^yamanam?' M. M. Note 2. The sru£a/£ are called dakshi/zavr/ta/£, I, 144, 1. By the word dakshk&va/ the poet probably intended to designate the ladle also as procuring a Dakshi/za (sacrificial fee) to the priest. 246 VEDIC HYMNS. Verse 2. Note 1. On praya^yu, see M. M., vol. xxxii, p. 335, and Pischel, Ved. Studien, I, 98. Note 2. The flames of Agni. Note 3. Comp. below, 7, 10. The meaning seems to be : by thy (Agni's) greatness which is equal to that of Heaven and Earth. Verse 3. Note 1. I refer ya£7ziyasa/£, though it is a plural, to Heaven and Earth. Comp. Delbriick, Altindische Syn- tax, 103. Verse 4. Note 1. The Padapa/^a has dhruva^. I think it should be dhruve, comp. II, 41, 5. dhruve sadasi uttame . . . asate; IX, 40, 2. dhruve sadasi sidati. Note 2. I.e. Heaven and Earth. Note 3. Askra seems derived from a-sa£ (Joh. Schmidt, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXV, 71). Note 4. Or ' the two milch-cows which instantly give milk/ if sabar- is to be connected with the Greek a^ap ; comp. Bartholomae, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XV, 17. Note 5. Vish/zu is not the only god who is called uru- gaya, and there is no reason therefore why the epithet should not be referred here to Agni. Verse 6. Note 1. Comp. Lanman, Noun- Inflection, pp. 402,413. — See below, IV, 2, 3. Verse 7. Note 1. See Geldner, Vedische Studien, I, 114 seq. Note 2. Should the accent be apa^? Comp. Ill, 1, 3, note 3. Note 3. It is very probable that u^adhak (comp. Ill, 34, 3 ; VII, 7, 2) is an epithet of Agni. We should expect the genitive ; ui-adhak, which violates the construction, seems MAiVZ>ALA III, HYMN 6. 247
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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