iii. 16, 3 (raí); iv. 31, 15; viii. 46, 24 (srávah); iv. 22, 9 (nrimná); v. 67, 1 (kshatrá); vi. 45, 31 (mûrdhán). In some passages, however, it may be taken in the sense of oldest (i. 37, 6; v. 7, 1), though by no means necessarily. Várshishtha is derived in reality from vríshan, in the sense of strong, excellent. See note to i. 85, 12, page 126. Verse 1, note 3. Paptata, the second person plural of the Let of the reduplicated base of pat. It is curiously like the Greek TίTTETE, but it has the meaning of flying rather than falling: see Curtius, Grundzüge, p. 190. Two other forms formed on the same principle occur in the Rig-veda, paptah and paptan : ii. 31, 1. prá yát váyah ná páptan. May your birds fly after you. x. 95, 15. púrûravah ma mrithâh mã prá paptah. Purûravas, do not die, do not fly away! Verse 2, note 1. Though svadhiti-vân does not occur again, it can only mean he who holds the axe, or, it may be the sword or the thunderbolt, the latter particularly, if Indra is here intended. Svadhiti signifies axe: iii. 2, 10. Svá-dhitim ná tégase. They adorned Agni like an axe to shine or to cut. The svádhiti is used by the butcher, i. 162, 9; 18; 20; and by the wood-cutter or carpenter, iii. 8, 6; 11; x. 89, 7, &c. In v. 32, 10, a devĩ svádhitih is mentioned, possibly the lightning, the companion of Indra and the Maruts. Verse 2, note 2. The felly of the chariot of the Maruts is frequently mentioned. It was considered not only as an essential part of their chariot, but likewise as useful for crushing the enemy: v. 52, 9. utá pavyẩ ráthânâm ádrim bhindanti ógasâ. They cut the mountain (cloud) with the felly of their chariot. i. 166, 10. pavíshu kshurah ádhi. On their fellies are sharp edges. In v. 31, 5, fellies are mentioned without horses and chariot, which were turned by Indra against the Dasyus, (i. 64, 11.) I doubt, however, whether in India or elsewhere the fellies or the wheels of chariots were ever used as weapons of attack, as detached from the chariot; (see M. M., On Pavîrava, in Beiträge zur vergleichenden Sprachforschung, vol. iii. p. 447.) If we translate the figurative language of the Vedic poets into matter-of-fact terms, the fellies of the chariots of the Maruts may be rendered by thunderbolts; yet by the poets of the Veda, as by the ancient people of Germany, thunder was really supposed to be the noise of the chariot of a god, and it was but a continuation of the same belief that the sharp wheels of that chariot were supposed to cut and crush the clouds; (see M. M., loc. cit. p. 444.) Verse 3, note1. That the vasîs are small weapons, knives or daggers, we saw before, p. 59. Sâyana here explains vasî by a weapon commonly called âra, or an awl. In x. 101, 10, vâsîs are mentioned, made of stone, asman-máyî. The difficulty begins with the second half. Medha, as here written in the Pada text, could only be a plural of a neuter medhám, but such a neuter does nowhere exist in the Veda. We only find the masculine médha, sacrifice, which is out of the question here, on account of its accent. Hence the passage iii. 58, 2, ûrdhvẩh bhavanti pitárâ-iva médhâh, is of no assistance, unless we alter the accent. The feminine medha means will, thought, prayer: i. 18, 6; ii. 34, 7; iv. 33, 10; v. 27, 4; 42, 13; vii. 104, 6; viii. 6, 10; 52, 9; ix. 9, 9; 26, 3; 32, 6; 65, 16; 107, 25; X. 91, 8. The construction does not allow us to take medha as a Vedic instrumental instead of medháyâ, nor does such a form occur anywhere else in the Rig-veda. Nothing remains, I believe, than to have recourse to conjecture, and the addition of a single Visarga in the Pada would remove all difficulty. In the next line, if tuvi-dyumnasah be the subject, it would signify the priests. This, however, is again without any warrant from the Rig-veda, where tuvi-dyumná is always used as an epithet of gods. I therefore take it as referring to the Maruts, as an agere in the nominative, following the vocatives marutah s-picii The conception that the Maruts stir up the Pests is not of unfrequent occurrence in the Rig-veda: 4. v. 59, 6. That ûrdhvá is used of the mind, In the sense of roused, may be seen in i, 119, 2; 134, 1; 544 The idea in the poet's mind seems to have been that the thunderbolts of the Maruts rouse up me as they stir the tops of the forest trees. T 1. me. On dhan in the sense of to agitate, The Erst question is, which is the dia? If gridhrâh were the subject, her translate it by the eager poets, the sense of visvâ ahâni. The sense Sam be: Day by day did the eager poets sing As rendering. One pas- I this funsun is right, the adjective is explained :, mi does not stand by itself. Secondly, áhâni se: a neu usei avery in the sense of day after The any smiar passage that might be quoted is Smith a very doubtful To take áhâni as a A fieras vrà viz s á hani, without ceasing, would be too bold in the present state sir men. If then we take áhâni as the sabers gridurak wid have to be taken as a vocative, mteniei ie the Mars. Now, it is perfectly true, by self griten, hawk, does not occur again as a ne of the Muruts, but yeni, hawk, and particularly a Steg bank fix. 96.6), is not only a common simile applied to the Nurds, but is actually used as one of their names: 36. 3. abhi sa-pübbik mitha vapanta väta-svanasah mucked each other with their beaks, the hawks, The the wind, strove together. Aguh might be the aorist of gai, to sing, or of gâ, to go: ã i. 174, 8. sánân tố te indra návych a aguh. New poets, O Indra, sang these thy old deeds. iii. 56, 2. gấvah ấ aguh. The cows approached. If then the sense of the first line is, 'Days went and came back to you,' the next question is whether we are to extend the construction to the next words, imẩm dhíyam vârkâryẩm ka devím, or whether these words are to be joined to krinvántah, like bráhma. The meaning of vârkârya is, of course, unknown. Sâyana's interpretation as 'what is to be made by means of water' is merely etymological, and does not help us much. It is true that the object of the hymn, which is addressed to the Maruts, is rain, and that literally vârkârya might be explained as 'that the effect of which is rain.' But this is far too artificial a word for Vedic poets. Possibly there was some other word that had become unintelligible and which, by a slight change, was turned into vârkârya, in order to give the meaning of rain-producing. It might have been karkârya, glorious, or the song of a poet called Vârkara. The most likely supposition is that vârkârya was the name given to some famous hymn, some pæan or song of triumph belonging to the Gotamas, possibly to some verses of the very hymn before us. In this case the epithet devi would be quite appropriate, for it is frequently used for a sacred or sacrificial song: iv. 43, 1. devím su-stutím; iii. 18, 3. imẩm dhíyam sata-séyâya devím. See, however, the note to verse 6. The purport of the whole line would then be that many days have gone for the Maruts as well as for the famous hymn once addressed to them by Gotama, or, in other words, that the Gotamas have long been devoted to the Maruts, an idea frequently recurring in the hymns of the Veda, and, in our case, carried on in the next verse, where it is said that the present hymn is like one that Gotama composed when he saw the Maruts or spoke of them as wild boars with iron tusks. The pushing up the lid of the well for to drink, means that they obtained rain from the adjective in the nominative, following the vocatives marutah su-gâtâh. The conception that the Maruts stir up the forests is not of unfrequent occurrence in the Rig-veda: cf. i. 171, 3; v. 59, 6. That ûrdhvá is used of the mind, in the sense of roused, may be seen in i. 119, 2; 134, 1; 144, 1; vii. 64, 4. The idea in the poet's mind seems to have been that the thunderbolts of the Maruts rouse up men to prayer as they stir the tops of the forest trees. Verse 3, note 2. On dhan in the sense of to agitate, see B. and R. s. v. Verse 4, note 1. The first question is, which is the subject, áhâni or grídhrâh? If grídhrâh were the subject, then we should have to translate it by the eager poets, and take áhâni in the sense of visvâ ahâni. The sense then might be: Day by day did the eager poets sing around you this prayer.' There would be several objections, however, to this rendering. First, grídhrâh never occurs again as signifying poets or priests. One pas sage only could be quoted in support, ix. 97, 57, kaváyah ná grídhrâh (not gridhrah), like greedy poets. But even here, if this translation is right, the adjective is explained by kaví, and does not stand by itself. Secondly, áhâni by itself is never used adverbially in the sense of day after day. The only similar passage that might be quoted is iii. 34, 10, and that is very doubtful. To take áhâni as a totally different word, viz. as á+hâni, without ceasing, without wearying, would be too bold in the present state of Vedic interpretation. If then we take áhâni as the subject, grídhrâh would have to be taken as a vocative, and intended for the Maruts. Now, it is perfectly true, that by itself grídhra, hawk, does not occur again as a name of the Maruts, but syená, hawk, and particularly a strong hawk (ix. 96, 6), is not only a common simile applied to the Maruts, but is actually used as one of their names: vii. 56, 3. abhí sva-pűbhih mitháh vapanta vấta-svanạsah syenah aspridhran. They plucked each other with their beaks (?), the hawks, rushing like the wind, strove together. |