HYMN TO AGNI (THE GOD OF FIRE) AND THE
MARUTS (THE STORM-GODS).

1. Thou art called forth to this fair sacrifice for a draught of milk; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!

2. No god indeed, no mortal, is beyond the might1 of thee, the mighty one; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!

2

3. They who know of the great sky,' the Visve Devas without guile; with those Maruts come hither, O Agni!

4. The wild ones who sing their song,1 unconquerable by force; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!

3. WILSON: Who all are divine, and devoid of malignity, and who know (how to cause the descent) of great waters: come, Agni, with the Maruts.

BENFEY: Die guten Götter, welche all bestehen in dem weiten Raum-Mit diesen Marut's, Agni! komm !

LANGLOIS: Tous ces dieux bienfaiteurs (des hommes) connaissent ce vaste monde (où règne la lumière): Agni, viens avec les Marouts.

4. WILSON: Who are fierce, and send down rain, and are unsurpassed in strength: come, Agni, with the Maruts.

BENFEY: Die schrecklich-unbesiegbaren, die mächtiglich Licht angefacht-Mit diesen Marut's, Agni! komm!

LANGLOIS: Menaçants, doués d'une force invincible, ils peuvent obscurcir la lumière du soleil: Agni, viens avec les Marouts.

5. Yé subhra ghorá-varpasah su-kshatrasah risấdasah, marút-bhih agne a gahi.

6. Yé nakasya ádhi rokané diví devasah asate, marút-bhik agne a gahi.

7. Yé înkháyanti párvatân tiráh samudrám arnavám, marút-bhih agne a gahi.

8. A yé tanvánti rasmí-bhih tiráh samudrám ógasâ, marút-bhih agne & gahi.

9. Abhí tvâ pûrvá-pîtaye srigami somyám mádhu, marút-bhih agne a gahi.

5. WILSON: Who are brilliant, of terrific forms, who are possessors of great wealth, and are devourers of the malevolent come, Agni, with the Maruts.

BENFEY: Die glänzend-grau'ngestaltigen, hochherrschendfeindvernichtenden-Mit diesen Marut's, Agni! komm! LANGLOIS: Resplendissants, revêtus d'une forme terrible, ils peuvent donner les richesses, comme ils peuvent aussi détruire leurs ennemis Agni, viens avec les Marouts.

6. WILSON: Who are divinities abiding in the radiant heaven above the sun: come, Agni, with the Maruts.

BENFEY: Die Götter die im Himmel sind ob dem Lichtkreis des Göttersitz's-Mit diesen Marut's, Agni! komm!

LANGLOIS: Sous la vôute brillante du ciel, ces dieux s'élèvent et vont s'asseoir: Agni, viens avec les Marouts.

7. WILSON: Who scatter the clouds, and agitate the sea (with waves): come, Agni, with the Maruts.

BENFEY: Welche über das wogende Meer hinjagen die Wolkenschaar-Mit diesen Marut's, Agni! komm!

5. They who are brilliant, of awful shape, powerful, and devourers of foes; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni !

6. They who in heaven are enthroned as gods, in the light of the firmament;1 with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!

7. They who toss the clouds' across the surging sea;2 with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!

8. They who shoot with their darts across the sea with might; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni !

9. I pour out to thee for the early draught the sweet (juice) of Soma; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni!

LANGLOIS: Ils soulèvent et poussent les montagnes (de nuages) au-dessus de l'abîme des mers: Agni, viens avec les Marouts.

8. WILSON: Who spread (through the firmament), along with the rays (of the sun), and, with their strength, agitate the ocean come, Agni, with the Maruts.

BENFEY: Die mit Blitzen schleuderen mächtig über das Meer hinaus-Mit diesen Marut's, Agni! komm!

LANGLOIS: Ils étendent avec force les rayons à travers l'Océan (céleste): Agni, viens avec les Marouts.

9. WILSON: I pour out the sweet Soma juice for thy drinking, (as) of old: come, Agni, with the Maruts.

BENFEY: Ich giesse zu dem ersten Trank für dich des Soma Honig aus-Mit diesen Marut's, Agni! komm!

LANGLOIS: A toi cette première libation; je t'offre la douce boisson du soma: Agni, viens avec les Marouts.

COMMENTARY.

This hymn is ascribed to Medhâtithi, of the family of Kanva. The metre is Gâyatrî throughout.

Verse 1, note1. Gopîthá is explained by Yâska and Sâyana as drinking of Soma. I have kept to the literal signification of the word, a draught of milk. In the last verse of our hymn the libation offered to Agni and the Maruts is said to consist of Soma, but Soma was commonly mixed with milk. The other meaning assigned to gopîthá, protection, would give the sense: Thou art called for the sake of protection.' But pîtha has clearly the sense of drinking in soma-pîthá, Rv. i. 51, 7, and must therefore be taken in the same sense in gopîthá.

Verse 2, note1. The Sanskrit krátu expresses power both of body and mind.

Verse 3, note 1. The sky or welkin (rágas) is the proper abode of the Maruts, and they who know of' means simply 'they who dwell' in the great sky. The Vedic poets distinguish commonly between the three worlds, the earth, prithivĩ, f., or pẩrthiva, n.; the sky, rágas; and the heaven, dyú: see i. 6, 9, note 1. The phrase maháh rágasah occurs i. 6, 10; 168, 6, &c. Sâyana takes rágas for water or rain: see on this my article in Kuhn's Zeitschrift, vol. xii. p. 28. The identification of ragas with peßos (Leo Meyer, in Kuhn's Zeitschrift, vol. vi. p. 19) must remain doubtful until stronger evidence has been brought forward in support of a Greek B representing a Sanskrit g, even in the middle of a word. See my article in Kuhn's Zeitschrift, vol. xv. p. 215; Curtius, Grundzüge, p. 421.

Verse 3, note 2. The appellation Vísve devah, all gods together, or, more properly, host-gods, is often applied to the Maruts; cf. i. 23, 8; 10. Benfey connects this line with the preceding verse, considering Vísve devah, it seems, inappropriate as an epithet of the Maruts.

Verse 3, note 3. On adrúh, without guile or deceit,

without hatred, see Kuhn's excellent article, Zeitschrift für die Vergleichende Sprachforschung, vol. i. pp. 179, 193. Adrúh is applied to the Maruts again in viii. 46, 4, though in connection with other gods. It is applied to the Visve Devas, Rv. i. 3, 9; ix. 102, 5: the Âdityas, Rv. viii. 19, 34; 67, 13: the Rudras, Rv. ix. 73, 7: to Heaven and Earth, Rv. ii. 41, 21; iii. 56, 1; iv. 56, 2; vii. 66, 18: to Mitra and Varuna, Rv. v. 68, 4: to Agni, Rv. vi. 15, 7; viii. 44, IO. The form adhrúk occurs in the sixth Mandala only.

Verse 4, note 1. Sâyana explains arká by water. Hence Wilson: 'Who are fierce and send down rain.' But arká has only received this meaning of water in the artificial system of interpretation first started by the authors of the Brahmanas, who had lost all knowledge of the natural sense of the ancient hymns. The passages in which arká is explained as water in the Brâhmanas are quoted by Sâyana, but they require no refutation. On the singing of the Maruts see note to i. 38, 15. The perfect in the Veda, like the perfect in Homer, has frequently to be rendered in English by the present.

Verse 6, note 1. Naka must be translated by firmament, as there is no other word in English besides heaven, and this is wanted to render dyú. Like the Jewish firmament, the Indian nấka, too, is adorned with stars; cf. i. 68, 10. pipésa nakam stríbhih. Dyú, heaven, is supposed to be above the rágas, sky or welkin. Kuhn's Zeitschrift, vol. xii. p. 28.

Sâyana: In the radiant heaven above the sun.' See note 1 to i. 6, 9; p. 34.

Verse 7, note 1. That párvata (mountain) is used in the sense of cloud, without any further explanation, is clear from many passages:

i. 57, 6. tvám tám indra párvatam mahẩm urúm vágrena vagrin parva-sáh kakartitha.

Thou, Indra, hast cut this great broad cloud to pieces with thy lightning. Cf. i. 85, 10.

We actually find two similes mixed up together, such