i. 92, 2. rúsantam bhânúm árushîh asisrayuh. The red dawns obtained bright splendour. Here ushásah, the dawns, occur in the same line, so that we may take árushîh either as an adjective, referring to the dawns, or as a substantive, as a name of the dawn or of her cows. i. 30, 21. ásve ná kitre arushi. Thou bright, red dawn, thou, like a mare. Here, too, the vocative arushi is probably to be taken as an adjective, particularly if we consider the next following verse: iv. 52, 2. ásvâ-iva kitra árushî mâta gávâm ritá-varî sákhâ abhût asvínoh ushah. The dawn, bright and red, like a mare, the mother of the cows (days), the never-failing, she became the friend of the Asvins. x. 5, 5. saptá svásrîh árushîh. The seven red sisters. The feminine Arushi as a Substantive. If used as a substantive, árushî seems to mean the dawn. It is likewise used as a name of the horses of Agni, Indra, and Soma; also as a name for mare in general. It means dawn in x. 8, 3, though the text points here so clearly to the dawn, and the very name of dawn is mentioned so immediately after, that this one passage seems hardly sufficient to establish the use of árushî as a recognized name of the dawn. Other passages, however, would likewise gain in perspicuity, if we took árushî by itself as a name of the dawn, just as we had to admit in several passages arushá by itself as a name of the morning. Cf. i. 71, I. Arushî means the horses of Agni, in i. 14, 12: yukshvá hí árushîh ráthe harítah deva rohítah. Yoke, O god (Agni), the red-horses to the chariot, the bays, the ruddy. i. 72, 10. prá nîkîh agne árushîh agânan. They knew the red-horses, Agni, coming down. In viii. 69, 5, árushî refers to the horses of Indra, whether as a noun or an adjective, is somewhat doubtful: a hárayah sasrigrire árushîh. The bay horses were let loose, the red-horses; or, possibly, thy bright red-horses were let loose. Soma, as we saw, was frequently spoken of as arusháh hárih. In ix. 111, 2, tridhấtu-bhih árushîbhih seems to refer to the same red-horses of Soma, though this is not quite clear. The passages where árushî means simply a mare, without any reference to colour, are viii. 68, 18, and viii. 55, 3. It is curious that Arusha, which in the Veda means red, should in its Zendic form aurusha, mean white. That in the Veda it means red and not white is shown, for instance, by x. 20, 9, where svetá, the name for white, is mentioned by the side of arushá. Most likely arushá meant originally brilliant, and became fixed with different shades of brilliancy in Sanskrit and Persian. Arushá presupposes a form ar-vas, and is derived from a root ar in the sense of running or rushing. See Chips from a German Workshop, vol. ii. pp. 135, 137. Having thus explained the different meanings of arushá and árushî in the Rig-veda, I feel it incumbent, at least for once, to explain the reasons why I differ from the classification of Vedic passages as given in the Dictionary published by Messrs. Boehtlingk and Roth. Here, too, the passages in which arushá is used as an adjective are very properly separated from those in which it appears as a substantive. To begin with the first, it is said that 'arushá means ruddy, the colour of Agni and his horses; he (Agni) himself appears as a red-horse.' In support of this, the following passages are quoted: iii. 1, 4. ávardhayan su-bhágam saptá yahvih svetám gagñânám arushám mahi-tva, sísum ná gâtám abhí âruh ásvâh. Here, however, it is only said that Agni was born brilliant-white, and grew red, that the horses came to him as they come to a new-born foal. Agni himself is not called a red-horse. iii. 7, 5. Here, again, vríshnah arushásya is no doubt * See v. 1, 4. svetáh vâgî gâyate ágre áhnâm. x. 1, 6. arusháh gâtáh padé ilâyâh. 14 i. 92, 2. rúsantam bhânúm árushîh asisrayuh. Here ushásah, the dawns, occur in the same line, so that we Thou bright, red dawn, thou, like a mare. Here, too, the vocative arushi is probably to be taken as an adjective, particularly if we consider the next following verse: iv. 52, 2. ásvâ-iva kitra árushî mâta gávâm ritá-varî sákhâ abhût asvínoh ushah. The dawn, bright and red, like a mare, the mother of the cows (days), the never-failing, she became the friend of the Asvins, x. 5, 5. saptá svásrîh árushîh. The seven red sisters. The feminine Arushi as a Substantive. If used as a substantive, árushî seems to mean the dawn. It is likewise used as a name of the horses of Agni, Indra, and Soma; also as a name for mare in general. It means dawn in x. 8, 3, though the text points here so clearly to the dawn, and the very name of dawn is mentioned so immediately after, that this one passage seems hardly sufficient to establish the use of árushî as a recognized name of the dawn. wise gain in perspicuity, if we took árushî by itself as a Other passages, however, would likename of the dawn, just as we had to admit in several passages arushá by itself as a name of the morning. Cf. i. 71, 1. Arushî means the horses of Agni, in i. 14, 12: yukshvá hí árushîh ráthe harítah deva rohítah. Yoke, O god (Agni), the red-horses to the chariot, the bays, the ruddy. i. 72, 10. prá nîkîh agne árushîh agânan. They knew the red-horses, Agni, coming down. In viii. 69, 5, árushî refers to the horses of Indra, whether as a noun or an adjective, is somewhat doubtful: a hárayah sasrigrire árushîh. The bay horses were let loose, the red-horses; or, possibly, thy bright red-horses were let loose. Soma, as we saw, was frequently spoken of as arusháh hárih. In ix. III, 2, tridhấtu-bhih árushîbhih seems to refer to the same red-horses of Soma, though this is not quite clear. The passages where árushî means simply a mare, without any reference to colour, are viii. 68, 18, and viii. 55, 3. It is curious that Arusha, which in the Veda means red, should in its Zendic form aurusha, mean white. That in the Veda it means red and not white is shown, for instance, by x. 20, 9, where svetá, the name for white, is mentioned by the side of arushá. Most likely arushá meant originally brilliant, and became fixed with different shades of brilliancy in Sanskrit and Persian. Arushá presupposes a form ar-vas, and is derived from a root ar in the sense of running or rushing. See Chips from a German Workshop, vol. ii. pp. 135, 137. Having thus explained the different meanings of arushá and árushî in the Rig-veda, I feel it incumbent, at least for once, to explain the reasons why I differ from the classification of Vedic passages as given in the Dictionary published by Messrs. Boehtlingk and Roth. Here, too, the passages in which arushá is used as an adjective are very properly separated from those in which it appears as a substantive. To begin with the first, it is said that 'arushá means ruddy, the colour of Agni and his horses; he (Agni) himself appears as a red-horse.' In support of this, the following passages are quoted: iii. I, 4. ávardhayan su-bhágam saptá yahvih svetám gagñânám arushám mahi-tva, sísum ná gâtám abhí âruh ásvâh. Here, however, it is only said that Agni was born brilliant-white*, and grew red, that the horses came to him as they come to a new-born foal. Agni himself is not called a red-horse. iii. 7, 5. Here, again, vríshnah arushásya is no doubt * See v. I, 4. svetáh vâgî gâyate ágre áhnâm. x. 1, 6. arusháh gâtáh padé ilâyâh. meant for Agni. But vríshan by itself does not mean horse, though it is added to different names of horses to qualify them as male horses; cf. vii. 69, 1. a vâm ráthah vrísha-bhih yâtu ásvaih, may your chariot come near with powerful horses, i. e. with stallions. See note to i. 85, 12. We are therefore not justified in translating arushá vríshan by red-horse, but only by the red male, or the red hero. In iii. 31, 3, agníh gagne guhva régamânah maháh putrẩn arushásya pra-yákshe, I do not venture to say who is meant by the maháh putrấn arushásya, whether Âdityas or Maruts, but hardly the sons of Agni, as Agni himself is mentioned as only born. But, even if it were so, the father of these sons (putra) could hardly be intended here for a horse. iv. 6, 9. táva tyé agne harítah ghrita-snah róhitâsah riguánkah su-áñkah, arushasah vríshanah rigu-mushkah. Here, so far from Agni being represented as a red-horse, his different horses, the Haríts or bays, the Róhitas or ruddy, and the arushasah vríshanah, the red stallions, are distinctly mentioned. Here vríshan may be translated by stallion, instead of simply by male, because arushá is here a substantive, the name of a horse. v. I, 5. gánishta hí gényah ágre áhnâm hitáh hitéshu arusháh váneshu. Here arusháh is simply an adjective, red, referring to Agni who is understood throughout the hymn to be the object of praise. He is said to be kind to those who are kind to him, and to be red in the woods, i. e. brilliant in the wood which he consumes; cf. iii. 29, 6. Nothing is said about his equine nature. In v. 12, 2 and 6, vi. 48, 6, we have again simply arushá vríshan, which does not mean the red-horse, but the red male, the red hero, i. e. Agni. In vi. 49, 2, diváh sísum sáhasah sûnúm agním yagñásya ketúm arushám yágadhyai, there is no trace of Agni being conceived as a horse. He is called the child of the sky or of Dyu, the son of strength (who is produced by strong rubbing of wood), the light or the beacon of the sacrifice, and lastly Arushá, which, for reasons stated above, I take to be used here as a name. Next follow the passages in which, according to Professor |