v. 32, 4. svadháyâ mádantam. Vritra who delights in his strength.

vii. 47, 3. svadháyâ mádantîh.

The waters who delight in their strength. See x. 124, 8. In other passages, however, as we shall see, the same phrase (and this is rather unusual) requires to be taken in a different sense, so as to mean to rejoice in food.“ i. 164, 38. svadháyâ gribhîtáh.

Held or grasped by his own strength. iii. 17, 5. svadháyâ ka sambhúh.

He who blesses by his own strength.

iii. 35, 10. índra píba svadháyâ kit sutásya agnéh vâ pâhi gihváyâ yagatra.

Indra drink of the libation by thyself (by thy own power), or with the tongue of Agni, O worshipful.

To drink with the tongue of Agni is a bold but not unusual expression. v. 51, 2. agnéh pibata gihváyâ.

x. 15, 3. yé svadháyâ sutásya bháganta pitváh.

Those who by themselves share in the offered draught. i. 165, 6. kvã sya vah marutah svadha âsit yát mẩm ékam sam-ádhatta ahi-hátye.

Where was that custom of yours, O Maruts, that ye should have joined me who stand alone in the fight with Ahi?

vii. 8, 3. káyâ nah agne ví vasah su-vriktím kẩm ûm (íti) svadhẩm rinavah sasyámânah.

In what character dost thou light up our altar, and what character dost thou assume when thou art praised?

iv. 58, 4. venất ékam svadháyâ níh tatakshuh.

They (the gods) made one out of the sun, by their own power.

iv. 45, 6. vísvân ánu svadháyâ ketathah patháh.

You (Asvins) look after all the paths by your own strength.

i. 64, 4. sâkám gagñire svadháyâ.

They (the Maruts) were born together according to their nature; very much like ánu svadhẩm, i. 6, 4. One can hardly render it here by 'they were born by their own strength,' or 'by spontaneous generation.'

In other passages, however,svadháyâ, meaning originally by its own power, or nature, comes to mean, by itself, sponte suđ.

vii. 78, 4. a asthât rátham svadháyâ yugyámânam.

She, the dawn, mounted the chariot which was harnessed by itself, by its own power, without requiring the assistance of people to put the horses to.

X. I29, 2. ấnît avâtám svadháyâ tát ékam.

That only One breathed breathlessly, by its own strength, i. e. by itself.

In the same sense svadhabhih is used in several passages: i. 113, 13. amrítâ karati svadhabhih.

The immortal Dawn moves along by her own strength, i. e. by herself.

viii. 10, 6. yát vâ svadhẩbhih adhi-tíshthathah rátham. Or whether ye mount your chariot by your own strength, ye Asvins.

i. 164, 30. gîváh mritásya karati svadhabhih ámartyah mártyena sá-yonih.

The living moves by the powers of the dead, the immortal is the brother of the mortal.

iii. 26, 8. várshishtham rátnam akrita svadhabhih.

He (Agni) made the best jewel by his own powers, i. e. by himself.

v. 60, 4. varẩh-iva ít raivatấsah híranyaih abhí svadhấbhih tanvãh pipisre.

Like rich suitors, they (the Maruts) by their own strength, i. e. themselves, adorn their bodies with gold ornaments.

There are doubtful passages in which the meaning of svadhabhih, too, is doubtful. Thus, i. 180, 6. In vi. 2, 8, svadha looks like an adverb, instead of svadháyâ, and would then refer to párigmâ. The same applies to viii. 32, 6.

But svadha means also food, lit. one's own portion, the sacrificial offering due to each god, and lastly, food in general.

i. 108, 12. yát indrâgnî (íti) út-itâ suryasya mádhye diváh svadháyâ mâdáyethe (íti).

Whether you, Indra and Agni, delight in your food at the rising of the sun or at midday.

x. 15, 12. tvám agne îlitáh gâta-vedah ávât havyẩni surabhíni kritvĩ, prá adâh pitrí-bhyah svadháyâ té akshan addhí tvám deva prá-yatâ havïmshi. 13. yé ka ihá pitárah yé ka ná ihá yẩn ka vidmá yẩn ûm (íti) ka ná pra-vidmá, tvám vettha

yáti té gâta-vedah svadhabhih yagñám sú-kritam gushasva. 14. yé agni-dagdhah yé ánagni-dagdhâh mádhye diváh svadháyâ mâdáyante, tébhih sva-rất ásu-nîtim etẩm yathâ-vasám tanvam kalpayasva.

12. Thou, O Agni Gâtavedas, hast carried, when implored, the offerings which thou hast rendered sweet: thou hast given them to the fathers, they fed on their share. Eat thou, O god, the proffered oblations. 13. Our fathers who are here, and those who are not here, our fathers whom we know and those whom we do not know, thou knowest how many they are, O Gâtavedas, accept the well-made sacrifice with the sacrificial portions. 14. They who, whether burnt by fire or not burnt by fire, rejoice in their offering in the midst of heaven, give to them, O king, that life, and thy (their) own body, according to thy will.

iii. 4, 7. saptá prikshẩsah svadháyâ madanti.

The seven horses delight in their food.

X. 14, 7. ubhẩ ragânâ svadháyâ mádantâ.
The two kings delighting in their food.

ix. 113, 10. yátra kẩmâh ni-kâmẩh ka, yátra bradhnásya vishtápam, svadha ka yátra tríptih ka tátra mẩm amrítam kridhí.

Where wishes and desires are, where the cup of the bright Soma is, where there is food and rejoicing, there make me immortal.

i. 154, 4. yásya trĩ purna mádhunâ padāni ákshiyamand svadháyâ mádanti.

He (Vishnu) whose three places, full of sweet, imperishable, delight or abound in food.

V. 34, I. svadha ámitâ,

His unlimited portion or offering.

ii. 35, 7. dhenúh svadhẩm pîpâya.

The cow yields her food, her portion, her milk. i. 168, 9. ất ít svadhấm ishirấm pári apasyan. Thereafter (the Maruts) saw the vigorous food. i. 176, 2. ánu svadha yám upyáte.

After whom, or for whom, his food is scattered.

In the tenth book svadha is used very much as it occurs in the later Sanskrit, as the name of a peculiar sacrificial

rite.

X. 14, 3. yẩn ka devẩh vavridhúh yé ka devẩn svẩhâ anyé svadháyâ anyé madanti.

Those whom the gods cherish, and those who cherish the gods, the one delight in Svâhâ, the others in Svadhâ; or, in praise and food.

3

Verse 4, note 3. The expression garbha-tvám â-îriré is matched by that of iii. 60, 3. saudhanvanấsah amrita-tvám a îrire, the Saudhanvanas (the Ribhus) obtained immortality. The idea that the Maruts assumed the form of a garbha, lit. of an embryo or a new-born child, is only meant to express that the storms burst forth from the womb of the sky as soon as Indra arises to do battle against the demon of darkness. As assisting Indra in this battle, the Maruts, whose name retained for a long time its purely appellative meaning of storms, attained their rank as deities by the side of Indra, or, as the poet expresses it, they assumed their sacred name. This seems to be the whole meaning of the later legend that the Maruts, like the Ribhus, were not originally gods, but became deified for their works.

Váhni.

Verse 5, note1. Sâyana explains váhnibhih in the sense of Marúdbhih, and he tells the oft-repeated story how the cows were carried off by the Panis from the world of the gods, and thrown into darkness, and how Indra with the Maruts conquered them and brought them back. Everybody seems to have accepted this explanation of Sâyana, and I myself do not venture to depart from it. Yet it should be stated that the use of váhni as a name of the Maruts is by no means well established. Váhni is in fact a most difficult word in the Veda. In later Sanskrit it means fire, and is quoted also as a name of Agni, the god of fire, but we do not learn why a word which etymologically means carrier, from vah, to carry, should have assumed the meaning of fire. It may be that vah, which in Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin means chiefly to carry, expressed originally the idea of moving about (the German be-wegen), in which case váh-ni, fire, would have been formed with the same purpose as

ag-ní, ig-nis, fire, from Sk. ag, ay-w, ag-o. But in Sanskrit Agni is so constantly represented as the carrier of the sacrificial oblation, that something may be said in favour of the Indian scholastic interpreters who take váhni, as applied to Agni, in the sense of carrier. However that may be, it admits of no doubt that váhni, in the Veda also, is distinctly applied to the bright fire or light. In some passages it looks very much like a proper name of Agni, in his various characters of terrestrial and celestial light. It is used for the sacrificial fire:

v. 50, 4. yátra váhnih abhí-hitah. Where the sacrificial fire is placed. It is applied to Agni:

vii. 7, 5. ásâdi vritáh váhnih â-gaganvan agníh brahma. The chosen light came nigh, and sat down, Agni, the priest. Here Agni is, as usual, represented as a priest, chosen like a priest, for the performance of the sacrifice. But, for that very reason, váhni may here have the meaning of priest, which, as we shall see, it has in many places, and the translation would then be more natural: He, the chosen minister, came near and sat down, Agni, the priest.

viii. 23, 3. váhnih vindate vásu.

Agni finds wealth (for those who offer sacrifices?).

More frequently váhni is applied to the celestial Agni, or other solar deities, where it is difficult to translate it in English except by an adjective:

iii. 5, 1. ápa dvấrâ támasah váhnih âvar (íty âvah). Agni opened the two doors of darkness.

i. 16o, 3. sáh váhnih putráh pitríh pavítra-vân punati dhirah bhúvanâni mâyáyâ.

That light, the son of the two parents, full of brightness, the wise, brightens the world by his power.

Agni is even called váhni-tama (iv. 1, 4), which hardly means more than the brightest.

ii. I7, 4. ất ródasi (íti) gyótisha váhnih ẩ atanot.

Then the luminous (Indra) stretched out or filled heaven and earth with his light.

ii. 38, 1. út ûm (íti) syáh deváh savitấ―váhnih asthất. The bright Savitar, the luminous,. arose.

Besides this meaning of light or fire, however, there are