Roth, arushá is an adjective, is said to be applied to the horses, cows, and other teams of the gods, particularly of the dawn, the Asvins, and Brihaspati. i. 118, 5. pári vâm ásvâh vápushah patangah, váyah vahantu arushah abhike. Here we find the váyah arushah of the Asvins, which it is better to translate by red birds, as immediately before the winged horses are mentioned. In fact, whenever arushá is applied to the vehicle of the Asvins, it is to be understood of these red birds, iv. 43, 6. In i. 92, 1 and 2 (not 20), árushî occurs three times, referring twice to the cows of the dawn, once to the dawn herself. In iv. 15, 6, tám árvantam ná sânasím arushám ná diváh sísum marmrigyánte divé-dive, arushá does not refer to the horse or any other animal of Agni. The verse speaks of a horse by way of comparison only, and says that the sacrificers clean or trim Agni, the fire, as people clean a horse. We cannot join arushám in the next pâda with árvantam in the preceding pâda, for the second ná would then be without any construction. The construction is certainly not easy, but I think it is safer to translate: they trim him (Agni), day by day, as they clean a strong horse, as they clean Arushá, the child of Dyu. In fact, as far as I know, arushá is never used as the name of the one single horse belonging to Agni, but always of two or more. In iii. 31, 21, antár (íti) krishnan arushaíh dhẩma-bhih gât, dhẩma-bhih is said to mean flames of lightning. But dhẩman in the Rig-veda does not mean flames, and it seems better to translate, with thy red companions, scil. the Maruts. That arushá in one or two passages means the red cloud, is true. But in x. 43, 9, arushá refers to the thunderbolt mentioned in the same verse; and in i. 114, 5, everything refers to Rudra, and not to a red cloud, in the proper sense of the word. Further on, where the meanings attributable to árushî in the Veda are collected, it is said that árushî means a red mare, also the teams of Agni and Ushas. Now, here, surely, a distinction should have been made between those passages in which árushî means a real horse, and those where it expresses the imaginary steeds of Agni. The former, it should be observed, occur in one Mandala only, and in places of somewhat doubtful authority, in viii. 55, 3, a Vâlakhilya hymn, and in viii. 68, 18, a dânastuti or panegyric. Besides, no passage is given where árushî means the horses of the dawn, and I doubt whether such a passage exists, while the verse where árushî is really used for the horses of Indra, is not mentioned at all. Lastly, two passages are set apart where árushî is supposed to mean flames. Now, it may be perfectly true that the red-horses of Agni are meant for flames, just as the redhorses of Indra may be the rays of the sun. But, in that case, the red-horses of Agni should always have been thus translated, or rather interpreted, and not in one passage only. In ix. III, 2, árushî is said to mean flames, but no further light is thrown upon that very difficult passage. Verse 1, note 2. A similar expression occurs iii. 61, 5, where it is said of Ushas, the dawn, that she lighted the lights in the sky, prá rokana ruruke ranvá-sandrik. Verse 2, note1. Although no name is given, the pronoun asya clearly refers to Indra, for it is he to whom the two bays belong. The next verse, therefore, must likewise be taken as addressed to Indra, and not to the sun or the morning-red, spoken of as a horse in the first verse. Verse 3, note1. The vocative maryâh, which I have translated by O men, had evidently become a mere exclamation at a very early time. Even in our passage it is clear that the poet does not address any men in particular, for he addresses Indra, nor is marya used in the general sense of men. It means males, or male offspring. It sounds more like some kind of asseveration or oath, like the Latin mehercle, or like the English O ye powers, and it is therefore quoted as a nipâta or particle in the Vâgasan. Prâtis. ii. 16. It certainly cannot be taken as addressed to the Maruts, though the Maruts are the subject of the next verse. Verse 3, note. Ushádbhih, an instrumental plural which attracted the attention of the author of the Vârttika to Pân. vii. 4, 48. It occurs but once, but the regular form, ushobhih, does not occur at all in the Rig-veda. The same grammarian mentions mâs, month, as changing the final s of its base into d before bhis. This, too, is confirmed by Rv. ii. 24, 5, where mâdbhíh occurs. Two other words, svavas, offering good protection, and svatavas, of independent strength, mentioned together as liable to the same change, do not occur with bhih in the Rig-veda, but the forms svavadbhih and svatavadbhih probably occurred in some other Vedic writings. Svatavadbhyah has been pointed out by Professor Aufrecht in the Vâgasan. Sanhitâ xxiv. 16, and svatavobhyah in Satap. Br. ii. 5, 1, 14. That the nom. svavân, which is always trisyllabic, is not to be divided into sva-vân, as proposed by Sâkalya, but into su-avân, is implied by Vârttika to Pân. viii. 4, 48, and distinctly stated in the Siddhânta-Kaumudî. That the final n of the nom. su-avân disappeared before semi-vowels is confirmed by the Sâkalaprâtisâkhya, Sûtra 287; see also Vâgasan. Prâtis. iii. Sûtra 135 (Weber, Ind. Stud. vol. iv. p. 206). On the proper division of su-avas, see Aufrecht, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, vol. xiii. p. 499. Verse 4, note1. At must here take vyûha and be pronounced as an iambus. This is exceptional with ât, but there are at least two other passages where the same pronunciation is necessary. i. 148, 4. ất rokate váne a vi-bhẩ-vâ, though in the line immediately following it is monosyllabic. Also in v. 7, 10. at agne áprinatah. Verse 4, note 2. Svadhã, literally one's own place, afterwards, one's own nature. It was a great triumph for the science of Comparative Philology that, long before the existence of such a word as svadhâ in Sanskrit was known, it should have been postulated by Professor Benfey in his Griechische Wurzel-lexicon, published in 1839, and in the appendix of 1842. Svadha was known, it is true, in the ordinary Sanskrit, but there it only occurred as an exclamation used on presenting an oblation to the manes. It was also explained to mean food offered to deceased ancestors, or to be the name of a personification of Mâyâ or worldly illusion, or of a nymph. But Professor Benfey, with great ingenuity, postulated for Sanskrit a noun svadhẩ, as corresponding to the Greek Oos and the German sitte, O. H. G. sit-u, Gothic sid-u. The noun svadha has since been discovered in the Veda, where it occurs very frequently; and its true meaning in many passages where native tradition had entirely misunderstood it, has really been restored by means of its etymological identification with the Greek e0os or 0os. See Kuhn's Zeitschrift, vol. ii. p. 134, vol. xii. p. 158. The expressions ánu svadhẩm and svadhẩm ánu are of frequent occurrence. They mean, according to the nature or character of the persons spoken of, and may be translated by as usual, or according to a person's wont. Thus in our passage we may translate, The Maruts are born again, i. e. as soon as Indra appeared with the dawn, according to their wont; they are always born as soon as Indra appears, for such is their nature. i. 165, 5. índra svadhẩm ánu hí nah babhutha. For, Indra, according to thy wont, thou art ours. viii. 20, 7. svadhẩm ánu sríyam nárah-váhante. According to their wont, the men (the Maruts) carry splendour. viii. 88, 5. ánu svadhẩm vavakshitha. Thou hast grown (Indra) according to thy nature. iv. 33, 6. ánu svadhẩm ribhávah gagmuh etẩm. According to their nature, the Ribhus went to her, scil. the cow; or, according to this their nature, they came. iv. 52, 6. úshah ánu svadhẩm ava. Dawn, help! as thou art wont. i. 33, 11. ánu svadhẩm aksharan ấpah asya. As usual, or according to his nature, i. e. his strength, the waters flowed. i. 88, 6. âsâm ánu svadhẩm. According to the nature of these libations. vii. 56, 13. ánu svadhẩm ayudhaih yákkhamânâh. According to their nature, stretching forth with their weapons. iii. 51, 11. yáh te ánu svadhẩm ásat suté ní yakkha tanvãm. Direct thy body to that libation which is according to thy nature, or better, according to thy taste. In all these passages svadha may be rendered by manner, habit, usage, and ánu svadhẩm would seem to correspond to the Greek lovs. Yet the history of these words in Sanskrit and Greek has not been exactly the same. First of all we observe in Greek a division between Oos and Oos, and whereas the former comes very near in meaning to the Sanskrit svadha, the latter shows in Homer a much more primitive and material sense. It means in Homer, not a person's own nature, but the own place, for instance, of animals, the haunts of horses, lions, fish; in Hesiod, also of men. Svadha in the Veda does not occur in that sense, although etymologically it might take the meaning of one's own place cf. dhâ-man, familia, etc. Whether in Greek Oos, from meaning lair, haunt, home, came, like vouós and vóuos, to mean habit, manner, character, which would be quite possible, or whether eos in that meaning represents a second start from the same point, which in Sanskrit was fixed in svadha, is impossible to determine. In Sanskrit svadha clearly shows the meaning of one's own nature, power, disposition. It does not mean power or nature in general, but always the power of some one, the peculiarity, the individuality of a person. This will appear from the following passages: ii. 3, 8. tisráh devih svadháyâ barhíh a idám ákkhidram pântu. May the three goddesses protect by their power the sacred pile unbroken. iv. 13, 5. káyâ yâti svadháyâ. By what inherent power does he (the Sun) move on? By a power which requires no chariot, i. e. by himself without a chariot. The same expression occurs again x. 27, 19. In some places 'mad,' to delight, joined with svadháyâ, seems to mean to revel in his strength, proud of his might. |