in which dâváne occurs and where it is to be taken as a dative*, nor is there any other instance in the Veda of a nomen actionis being formed by vana. It is better, therefore, in vi. 71, 2, to refer sréshthe to sávîmani, and to make allowance in the other passages for the idiomatic use of such phrases as dâváne vásûnâm or râyáh dâváne. The termination váne explains, as has been shown by Professor Benfey, Greek infinitives such as doûvar, i. e. Soeval or do Fevaι Sanskrit dâ-váne. The termination mane in dấ-mane, for the purpose of giving, explains, as the same scholar has proved, the ancient infinitives in Greek, such as dó-ueval. It may be added that the regular infinitives in Greek, ending in eva, as λeλoiπ-évaι, are likewise matched by Vedic forms such as ix. 61, 30. dhűrv-ane, or vi. 61, 13. vibhv-áne. In the termination ev, which stands for evi, like ets for eo, we have, on the contrary, not a dative, but a locative of an abstract noun in an, both cases, as we see from their juxta-position in vi. 71, 2, being equally applicable to express the relation which we are accustomed to call infinitive. Verses 9 and 10, note1. Although the names for earth, sky, and heaven vary in different parts of the Veda, yet the expression diváh rokanám occurs so frequently that we can hardly take it in this place in a sense different from its ordinary meaning. Professor Benfey thinks that rokaná may here mean ether, and he translates' come from heaven above the ether;' and in the next verse, 'come from heaven above the earth,' At first, every reader would feel inclined to take the two phrases, diváh vâ rokanất ádhi, and diváh vâ parthivât ádhi, as parallel; yet I believe they are not quite so. The following passages will show that the two words rokanám diváh belong together, and that they signify the light of heaven, or the bright place of heaven. viii. 98, 3. ágakkḥah rokanám diváh. * Rv. i. 61, 10; 122, 5; 134, 2; 139, 6; ii. 1, 10; iv. 29, 5; 32, 9; v. 59, 1; 4; 65, 3; viii. 25, 20; 45, 10; (92, 26); 46, 25; 27; 63, 5; 69, 17; 70, 12; ix. 93, 4; x. 32, 5; 44, 7; 50, 7. Thou (Indra) wentest to the light of heaven. i. 155, 3. ádhi rokané diváh. In the light of heaven. iii. 6, 8. uraú vâ yé antárikshe-diváh vâ yé rokané. In the highest light of heaven. ix. 86, 27. tritiye prishthé ádhi rokané diváh. On the third ridge, in the light of heaven. See also i 105, 5; viii. 69, 3. The very phrase which we find in our verse, only with kit instead of vâ, occurs again, i. 49, 1; viii. 8, 7; and the same sense must probably be assigned to viii. 1, 18, ádha gmáh ádha vâ diváh brihatáh rokanất ádhi. Either from the earth, or from the light of the great heaven, increase, O Indra! Rokaná also occurs in the plural: i. 146, 1. vísvâ diváh rokana. All the bright regions of heaven. Sâyana: 'All the bright palaces of the gods.' See iii. 12, 9. The same word rokaná, and in the same sense, is also joined with surya and naka. Thus, i. 14, 9. suryasya rokanất vísvân devan-hótâ ihá vakshati. May the Hotar bring the Visve Devas hither from the light of the sun, or from the bright realm of the sun. iii. 22, 3. yẩh rokané parástât suryasya. The waters which are above, in the bright realm of the sun, and those which are below. i. 19, 6. yé nấkasya ádhi rokané, diví devasah asate. They who in the light of the firmament, in heaven, are enthroned as gods. Here diví, in heaven, seems to be the same as the light of the firmament, nakasya rokané. Thus rokaná occurs also frequently by itself, when it clearly has the meaning of heaven. It is said of the dawn, i. 49, 4; of the sun, i. 50, 4; and of Indra, iii. 44, 4. vísvam a bhâti rokanám, they light up the whole sky. We also read of three rokanas, where, though it is difficult to say what is really meant, we must translate, the three skies. The cosmography of the Veda is, as I said before, somewhat vague and varying. There is, of course, the natural division of the world into heaven and earth (dyú and bhumi), and the threefold division into earth, sky, and heaven, where sky is meant for the region intermediate between heaven and earth (prithivĩ, antáriksha, dyú). There is also a fourfold division, for instance, viii. 97, 5. yát vâ ási rokané diváh samudrásya ádhi vishťápi, yát parthive sádane vritrahan-tama, Whether thou, O greatest killer of Vritra, art in the light of heaven, or in the basin of the sea, or in the place of the earth, or in the sky, come hither! v. 52, 7. yé vavridhánta parthivâh yé uraú antárikshe a, vrigáne vâ nadinâm sadhá-sthe vâ maháh diváh. The Maruts who grew, being on the earth, those who are in the wide sky, or in the compass of the rivers, or in the abode of the great heaven. But very soon these three or more regions are each spoken of as threefold. Thus, i. 102, 8. tisráh bhumîh trîni rokanẩ. The three earths, the three skies. ii. 27, 9. trí rokana divya dhârayanta. The Adityas support the three heavenly skies. v. 69, I. trĩ rokana varuna trîn utá dyun trîni mitra dhârayathah rágâmsi. Mitra and Varuna, you support the three lights, and the three heavens, and the three skies. Here there seems some confusion, which Sâyana's commentary makes even worse confounded. What can rokana mean as distinct from dyú and rágas? The fourth verse of the same hymn throws no light on the subject, and I should feel inclined to take divya-parthivasya as one word, though even then the cosmic division here adopted is by no means clear. However, there is a still more complicated division alluded to in iv. 53, 5: tríh antariksham savita mahi-tvanẩ trĩ rágâmsi pari-bhűh trîni rokana, tisráh dívah prithivih tisráh invati. Here we have the sky thrice, three welkins, three lights, three heavens, three earths. A careful consideration of all these passages will show, I think, that in our passage we must take diváh vâ rokanất ádhi in its usual sense, and that we cannot separate the two words. In the next verse, on the contrary, it seems equally clear that diváh and parthivât must be separated. At all events there is no passage in the Rig-veda where parthiva is joined as an adjective with dyú. Parthiva as an adjective is frequently joined with rágas, never with dyú. See i. 81, 5; 90, 7; viii. 88, 5; ix. 72, 8: in the plural, i. 154, 1; v. 81, 3; vi. 31, 2; 49, 3. Parthivâni also occurs by itself, when it means the earth, as opposed to the sky and heaven. x. 32, 2. ví indra yâsi divyẩni rokanẩ ví pẩrthivâni rágasâ. Indra thou goest in the sky between the heavenly lights and the earthly. viii. 94, 9. a yé vísvâ parthivâni papráthan rokanẩ diváh. The Maruts who stretched out all the earthly lights, and the lights of heaven. vi. 61, 11. â-paprúshî parthivâni urú rágah antáriksham. Sarasvatî filling the earthly places, the wide welkin, the sky. This is a doubtful passage. Lastly, parthivâni by itself seems to signify earth, sky, and heaven, if those are the three regions which Vishnu measured with his three steps; or east, the zenith, and west, if these were intended as the three steps of that deity. For we read: i. 155, 4. yáh parthivâni tri-bhí ít vígâma-bhih urú krámishta. He (Vishnu) who strode wide with his three strides across the regions of the earth. These two concluding verses might also be taken as containing the actual invocation of the sacrificer, which is mentioned in verse 8. In that case the full stop at the end of verse 8 should be removed. MANDALA I, SÛKTA 19. ASHTAKA I, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 36–37. 1. Práti tyám kẩrum adhvarám go-pîthấya prá hûyase, marút-bhih agne a gahi. 2. Nahí deváh ná mártyah maháh táva krátum paráh, marút-bhih agne a gahi. 3. Yé maháh rágasah vidúh vísve devasah adrúhah, marút-bhih agne & gahi. 4. Yé ugrah arkám ânrikúh ánâdhrishtâsah ógasâ, marút-bhih agne a gahi. 1. WILSON: Earnestly art thou invoked to this perfect rite, to drink the Soma juice: come, Agni, with the Maruts. BENFEY: Zu diesem schönen Opfer wirst du gerufen, zum Trank der Milch !-Mit diesen Marut's, Agni! komm! LANGLOIS Le sacrifice est préparé avec soin; nous t'appelons à venir goûter des nos libations: Agni, viens avec les Marouts. 2. WILSON: No god nor man has power over a rite (dedicated) to thee, who art mighty come, Agni, with the Maruts. BENFEY: Denn nicht ein Gott, kein Sterblicher ragt über dein, des Grossen, Macht Mit diesen Marut's, Agni! komm! LANGLOIS: Aucun dieu, aucun mortel n'est assez fort pour lutter contre un être aussi grand que toi: Agni, viens avec les Marouts. |