subhráh vah súshmah krúdhmî mánâmsi dhúnih múnihiva sárdhasya dhrishnóh. Your strength is brilliant, your minds furious; the shout of the daring host is like one possessed. We have likewise the dative sárdhâya, the instrumental sárdhena, and the acc. plur. sárdhân; and in most cases, except in two or three where sárdha seems to be used as an adjective, meaning strong, these words are applied to the host of the Maruts. But the other word sárdhas is equally well authenticated, and we find of it, not only the nominative, accusative, and vocative sing. sárdhas, but likewise the nom. plur. sárdhâmsi. The nominative singular occurs in our very hymn: i. 37, 5. krîlám yát sárdhah mấrutam. Which is the sportive host of the Maruts. i. 127, 6. sáh hí sárdhah ná marutam tuvi-svánih. For he (Agni) is strong-voiced like the host of the Maruts. iv. 6, 10. tuvi-svanásah marutam ná sárdhah. Thy flames (Agni) are strong-voiced like the host of the Maruts. v. 46, 5. utá tyát nah mẩrutam sárdhah a gamat. May also that host of the Maruts come to us. ii. 1, 5. tvám narẩm sárdhah asi puru-vásuh. Thou (Agni), full of riches, art the host of the men. This host of men seems to me intended again for the Maruts, although it is true that in thus identifying Agni with different gods, the poet repeats himself in the next verse: ii. 1, 6. tvám sárdhah marutam. Thou art the host of the Maruts. If this repetition seems offensive, the first narẩm sárdhas might be taken for some other company of gods. Thus we find : vii. 44, 5. srinótu nah daívyam sárdhah agníh srinvántu vísve mahishah ámûrâh. May the divine host, may Agni, hear us, may the Visve hear us, the strong, the wise. Or iii. 19, 4. sáh a vaha devá-tâtim yavishtha sárdhah yát adyá divyám yágâsi. There are two passages in which the nom. sing. árvân, and one in which the acc. sing. árvânam, occur, apparently meaning horse. But in i. 163, 13, and ix. 97, 25, árvân stands in the Pada text only, the Sanhitâ has árva ákkha and árva iva. In x. 46, 5, the text híri-smasrum ná árvânam dhána-arkam is too doubtful to allow of any safe induction, particularly as the Sâma-veda gives a totally different reading. I do not think therefore that árvat, horse, admits in the nom. and acc. sing. of any forms but árvâ and árvantam. Pânini (vi. 4, 127) allows the forms arvân and arvânam, but in anarvan only, which, as we saw, has nothing in common with árvat, horse. Benfey: 'die rascheste (keinen Renner habend, uneinholbar),' the quickest (having no racer, hence not to be reached). The masculine anarvanam after the neuter sárdhas is curious; sárdhas means might, but it is here used to express a might or an aggregate of strong men or gods, and the nom. plur. yé, who, in the next verse, shows the same transition of thought, not only from the singular to the plural, but also from the neuter to the masculine, which must be admitted in anarvẩnam. It would be possible, if necessary, to explain away the irregularity of anarvanam by admitting a rapid transition from the Maruts to Indra, the eldest among the Maruts (cf. i. 23, 8. índra-gyeshthâh márutganâh), and it would be easier still to alter sárdhas into sárdham, as an accusative singular of the masculine noun sárdha, which has the same meaning as the neuter sárdhas. There is one passage, v. 56, 9, which would seem to give ample countenance to such a conjecture: tám vah sárdham rathe-súbham- a huve. I call hither this your host, brilliant on chariots. tám vah sárdham marutam-gira úpa bruve. I call with my voice on this your host of Maruts. viii. 93, 16. srutám vah vritrahán-tamam prá sárdham karshanînẩm, a sushe. I pant for the glorious, victorious, host of the quick Maruts. From this sárdha we have also the genitive sárdhasya, vii. 56, 8 (4): subhráh vah súshmah krúdhmî mánâmsi dhúnih múnihiva sárdhasya dhrishnóh. Your strength is brilliant, your minds furious; the shout of the daring host is like one possessed. We have likewise the dative sárdhâya, the instrumental sárdhena, and the acc. plur. sárdhân; and in most cases, except in two or three where sárdha seems to be used as an adjective, meaning strong, these words are applied to the host of the Maruts. But the other word sárdhas is equally well authenticated, and we find of it, not only the nominative, accusative, and vocative sing. sárdhas, but likewise the nom. plur. sárdhâmsi. The nominative singular occurs in our very hymn: i. 37, 5. krîlám yát sárdhah marutam. Which is the sportive host of the Maruts. i. 127, 6. sáh hí sárdhah ná marutam tuvi-svánih. Thy flames (Agni) are strong-voiced like the host of the Maruts. v. 46, 5. utá tyát nah marutam sárdhah a gamat. ii. 1, 5. tvám narẩm sárdhah asi puru-vásuh. Thou (Agni), full of riches, art the host of the men. This host of men seems to me intended again for the Maruts, although it is true that in thus identifying Agni with different gods, the poet repeats himself in the next verse: ii. 1, 6. tvám sárdhah marutam. Thou art the host of the Maruts. If this repetition seems offensive, the first narẩm sárdhas might be taken for some other company of gods. Thus we find : vii. 44, 5. srinótu nah daívyam sárdhah agníh srinvántu vísve mahishah ámûrâh. May the divine host, may Agni, hear us, may the Visve hear us, the strong, the wise. Or iii. 19, 4. sáh a vaha devá-tâtim yavishtha sárdhah yát adyá divyám yágâsi. There are two passages in which the nom. sing. árvân, and one in which the acc. sing. árvânam, occur, apparently meaning horse. But in i. 163, 13, and ix. 97, 25, árvân stands in the Pada text only, the Sanhitâ has árvå ákkha and árvå iva. In x. 46, 5, the text híri-smasrum ná árvânam dhána-arkam is too doubtful to allow of any safe induction, particularly as the Sâma-veda gives a totally different reading. I do not think therefore that árvat, horse, admits in the nom. and acc. sing. of any forms but árvâ and árvantam. Pânini (vi. 4, 127) allows the forms arvân and arvânam, but in anarvan only, which, as we saw, has nothing in common with árvat, horse. Benfey: die rascheste (keinen Renner habend, uneinholbar),' the quickest (having no racer, hence not to be reached). The masculine anarvanam after the neuter sárdhas is curious; sárdhas means might, but it is here used to express a might or an aggregate of strong men or gods, and the nom, plur. yé, who, in the next verse, shows the same transition of thought, not only from the singular to the plural, but also from the neuter to the masculine, which must be admitted in anarvấnam. It would be possible, if necessary, to explain away the irregularity of anarvẩnam by admitting a rapid transition from the Maruts to Indra, the eldest among the Maruts (cf. i. 23, 8. índra-gyeshthâh márutganâh), and it would be easier still to alter sárdhas into sárdham, as an accusative singular of the masculine noun sárdha, which has the same meaning as the neuter sárdhas. There is one passage, v. 56, 9, which would seem to give ample countenance to such a conjecture: tám vah sárdham rathe-súbham- a huve. I call hither this your host, brilliant on chariots. tám vah sárdham marutam-gira úpa bruve. I call with my voice on this your host of Maruts. viii. 93, 16. srutám vah vritrahán-tamam prá sárdham karshanînẩm, a sushe. I pant for the glorious, victorious, host of the quick Maruts. From this sárdha we have also the genitive sárdhasya, vii. 56, 8 (4): subhráh vah súshmah krúdhmî mánâmsi dhúnih múnihiva sárdhasya dhrishnóh. Your strength is brilliant, your minds furious; the shout of the daring host is like one possessed. We have likewise the dative sárdhâya, the instrumental sárdhena, and the acc. plur. sárdhân; and in most cases, except in two or three where sárdha seems to be used as an adjective, meaning strong, these words are applied to the host of the Maruts. But the other word sárdhas is equally well authenticated, and we find of it, not only the nominative, accusative, and vocative sing. sárdhas, but likewise the nom. plur. sárdhâmsi. The nominative singular occurs in our very hymn: i. 37, 5. krîlám yát sárdhah marutam. Which is the sportive host of the Maruts. i. 127, 6. sáh hí sárdhah ná marutam tuvi-svánih. For he (Agni) is strong-voiced like the host of the Maruts. iv. 6, 10. tuvi-svanásah marutam ná sárdhah. Thy flames (Agni) are strong-voiced like the host of the Maruts. v. 46, 5. utá tyát nah marutam sárdhah a gamat. ii. 1, 5. tvám narẩm sárdhah asi puru-vásuh. Thou (Agni), full of riches, art the host of the men. This host of men seems to me intended again for the Maruts, although it is true that in thus identifying Agni with different gods, the poet repeats himself in the next verse: ii. I, 6. tvám sárdhah mẩrutam. Thou art the host of the Maruts. If this repetition seems offensive, the first naram sárdhas might be taken for some other company of gods. Thus we find : vii. 44, 5. srinótu nah daívyam sárdhah agníh srinvántu vísve mahishah ámûrâh. May the divine host, may Agni, hear us, may the Visve hear us, the strong, the wise. Or iii. 19, 4. sáh a vaha devá-tâtim yavishtha sárdhah yát adyá divyám yágâsi. |