Vanaparva, 10,316 ff. The original text is too lengthy to be cited, but I shall give its substance. We are there told that the body of Chyavana, when performing austerity in a certain place, became encrusted with an ant-hill; that king Saryāti came then to the spot with his 4000 wives and his single daughter Sukanya; that the rishi, seeing her, became enamoured of her and endeavoured to gain her affections, but without eliciting from her any reply. Seeing, however, the sage's eyes gleaming out from the ant-hill, and not knowing what they were, the princess pierced them with a sharp instrument, whereupon Chyavana became incensed, and afflicted the king's army with a stoppage of urine and of the other necessary function. When the king found out the cause of the infliction, and supplicated the rishi for its removal, the latter insisted on receiving the king's daughter to wife, as the sole condition of his forgiveness. Sukanya accordingly lived with the rishi as his spouse. One day, however, she was seen by the Aśvins, who endeavoured, but without effect, to persuade her to desert her decrepit husband, and choose one of them in his place. They then told her they were the physicians of the gods, and would restore her husband to youth and beauty, when she could make her choice between him and one of them. Chyavana and his wife consented to this proposal; and, at the suggestion of the Aśvins, he entered with them into a neighbouring pond, when the three came forth of like celestial beauty, and each asked her to be his bride. She, however, recognized and chose her own husband. Chyavana, in gratitude for his restoration to youth, then offered to compel Indra to admit the Asvins to a participation in the Soma ceremonial, and fulfilled his promise in the course of a sacrifice which he performed for king Saryati. On that occasion Indra objected to such an honour being extended to the Asvins, on the ground that they wandered about among men as physicians, changing their forms at will; but Chyavana refused to listen to the objection, and carried out his intention, staying the arm of Indra when he was about to launch a thunderbolt, and creating a terrific demon, who was on the point of devouring the king of the gods, and was only prevented by the timely submission of the latter. 388

389 See the similar account of Chyavana's power in the passage from the Anusasana parva quoted in the 1st vol. of this work, second edition, p. 470 f.

(6) Remarks on the Asvins by Professor Goldstücker.

I have been favoured by Professor Goldstücker with the following note on the Aśvins:

The myth of the Asvins is, in my opinion, one of that class of myths in which two distinct elements, the cosmical and the human or historical, have gradually become blended into one. It seems necessary, therefore, to separate these two elements in order to arrive at an understanding of the myth. The historical or human element in it, I believe, is represented by those legends which refer to the wonderful cures effected by the Aśvins, and to their performances of a kindred sort; the cosmical element is that relating to their luminous nature. The link which connects both seems to be the mysteriousness of the nature and effects of the phenomena of light, and of the healing art at a remote antiquity. That there might have been some horsemen or warriors of great renown who inspired their contemporaries with awe by their wonderful deeds, and more especially by their medical skill, appears to have been also the opinion of some old commentators mentioned by Yaska, for some "legendary writers," he says, took them for "two kings, performers of holy acts;" and this view seems likewise borne out by the legend in which it is narrated that the gods refused the Asvins admittance to a sacrifice on the ground that they had been on too familiar terms with men. It would appear then that these Aśvins, like the Ribhus, were originally renowned mortals, who, in the course of time, were translated into the companionship of the gods; and it may be a matter of importance to investigate whether, besides this a priori view, there are further grounds of a linguistic or grammatical character for assuming that the hymns containing the legends relating to these human Aśvins are posterior or otherwise to those descriptive of the cosmical gods of the same name.

Their very

The luminous character of the latter can scarcely be matter of doubt, for the view of some commentators-recorded by Yaska,-according to which they were identified with "heaven and earth," appears not to be countenanced by any of the passages known to us. name, it would seem, settles this point, since aśva, the horse, literally, "the pervader," is always the symbol of the luminous deities, especially of the sun. The difficulty, however, is to determine their position

amongst these deities and to harmonize with it the other myths connected with them. I may here, however, first observe that, though Yaska records opinions which identify the Aśvins with "day and night," and "sun and moon," the passage relied upon by Professor Roth to prove that Yaska himself identified them with Indra and Aditya (the sun), does not bear out any such conclusion. For the passage in question, as I understand it, means: "their time is after the (latter) half of the night when the (space's) becoming light is resisted (by darkness); for the middlemost Aśvin (between darkness and light) shares in darkness, whilst (the other), who is of a solar nature (aditya), shares in light." There is this verse relating to them: "In nights," 389 etc. Nor does Durga, the commentator on Yāska, attribute to the latter the view which Professor Roth ascribes to him. His words, as I interpret them, are: "their time is after the (latter) half of the night when the (space's) becoming light is resisted,' (means) when, after the (latter) half of the night, darkness intersected by light makes an effort against light, that is the time of the Asvins.

.. Then the nature of the middlemost (between them) is a share in that darknesss which penetrates into light; and the solar one (aditya) assumes that nature which is a share in the light penetrating into darknesss. These two are the middlemost and the uppermost: this is the teacher's (ie. Yāska's) own opinion, for, in order to substantiate it, he gives as an instance the verse 'Vasatishu sma,' 111 390 etc.

389 Nir. xii. 1, tayoḥ kālaḥ ūrdhvam ardharātrāt prākāśībhāvasyānuvishṭambham anu (the last word is omitted in Durga MS. I. O. L., No. 206) tamobhāgo hi madhyamo jyotirbhāga ādityaḥ; tayor eshā bhavati Vasātishu sma, etc.

390 Durga I. O. L., No. 206: Tayoḥ kāla ūrdhvam ardharātrāt prakāśībhāvasyāns vishļambham | jyotishā vyatibhidyamānam ūrdhvam ardharātrāt tamo yada jyotir anu vishṭabhnāti so'śvinoḥ kālaḥ | [tataḥ prabhṛiti sandhistotram purodayād āśvinam, udite sauryāṇi] | tatra yat tamo 'nuvishṭam (the MS. of Professor Müller, Lect. 2nd series, p. 490, reads 'nupravishṭam) jyotishi tadbhāgo madhyamasya rūpam (the MS. of Prof. M. ibid.: tadbhāgo madhyamaḥ | tan madhyamasya rūpam): yaj jyotis tamasy anuvishṭam (the same, ibid. anupravishṭam) tadbhāgam tadrūpam adityaḥ | tāv etau madhyamottamāv iti svamatam āchāryasya | yataḥ samarthanayodāharati tayor eshā bhavati Vasātishu smeti. Professor Roth, in his illustrations of Nirukta, xii. 1, very correctly observes that the verse quoted by Yāska (vāsatishu sma, etc.) does not bear out the view that the Asvins are Indra and Aditya; but the proper inference to be drawn from this circumstance would seem to be, not that Yaska quoted a verse irrelevant to his view, but that Professor Roth attributed to him a view which he had not entertained, and that it may be preferable to render Aditya, as proposed above, "the solar (As'vin)," or the Asvin of a solar nature.

To judge, therefore, from these words, it is the opinion of Yāska that the Asvins represent the transition from darkness to light, when the intermingling of both produces that inseparable duality expressed by the twin nature of these deities. And this interpretation, I hold, is the best that can be given of the character of the cosmical Asvins. It agrees with the epithets by which they are invoked, and with the relationship in which they are placed. They are young, yet also ancient, beautiful, bright, swift, etc; and their negative characterthe result of the alliance of light with darkness-is, I believe, expressed by dasra, the destroyer, and also by the two negatives in the compound näsatya (na+a-satya), though their positive character is again redeemed by the ellipsis of "enemies, or diseases," to dasra, and by the sense of nāsatya, not un-true, i.e. truthful. They are the parents of Pushan, the sun; for they precede the rise of the sun; they are the sons of the sky, and again the sons of Vivasvat and Saranyu. Vivasvat, I believe, here implies the firmament "expanding" to the sight through the approaching light; and though Saranyu is to Professor Müller one of the deities which are forced by him to support his dawn-theory, it seems to me that the etymology of the word, and the character of the myths relating to it, rather point to the moving air, or the dark and cool air, heated, and therefore set in motion, by the approach of the rising sun. The Asvins are also the husbands or the friends of Surya, whom I take for the representative of the weakest manifestation of the sun; and I believe that Sayana is right when, by the sister of the Asvins, he understands Ushas, the dawn. The mysterious phenomenon of the intermingling of darkness -which is no longer complete night—and of light—which is not yet dawn-seems to agree with all these conceptions, and with the further details of a cosmical nature, which are so fully given in the preceding paper.

258

SECTION XVI.

SOMA.

Reference has been already made to the important share which the exhilarating juice of the soma-plant assumes in bracing Indra for his conflict with the hostile powers in the atmosphere, and to the eagerness of all the gods to partake in this beverage.

Soma is the god who represents and animates this juice, an intoxicating draught which plays a conspicuous part in the sacrifices of the Vedic age. He is, or rather was in former times, the Indian Dionysus or Bacchus. Not only are the whole of the hymns in the ninth book of the Rig-veda, one hundred and fourteen in number, besides a few in other places, dedicated to his honour, but constant references to the juice of the soma occur in a large proportion of the other hymns. It is clear therefore, as remarked by Professor Whitney (Journal of the American Oriental Society, iii. 299), that his worship must at one time have attained a remarkable popularity. This circumstance is thus explained by the writer to whom I have referred: "The simple-minded Arian people, whose whole religion was a worship of the wonderful powers and phenomena of nature, had no sooner perceived that this liquid had power to elevate the spirits, and produce a temporary frenzy, under the influence of which the individual was prompted to, and capable of, deeds beyond his natural powers, than they found in it something divine : it was to their apprehension a god, endowing those into whom it entered with godlike powers; the plant which afforded it became to them the king of plants; the process of preparing it was a holy sacrifice; the instruments used therefor were sacred. The high antiquity of this cultus is attested by the references to it found occurring in the Persian Avesta ; 391 it seems, however, to have received a new impulse on Indian territory."

391 See Dr. Windischmann's Essay on the Soma-worship of the Arians, or the