Broad-nosed, life-stealing, . . the two as messengers of Yama wander among men; may these two give us back here to-day auspicious life that we may see the sun.
urū-ṇasáu: the second syllable is metrically lengthened; on the cerebralization of the dental n see 65 b; here we have the normal use of au as āv before a vowel within a Pāda; broad-nosed, that is, keen-scented. asutṛ́pā u-: on the Sandhi see 22; the literal meaning delighting in lives implies delighting in taking them, while they wander among men as Yama’s messengers. udumbaláu: this word occurs here only, and there is no means of throwing any light on its sense; the au of this dual, as of dūtáu, for ā, shows the same irregularity as in the preceding stanzas. caratas: in order to seek out the lives of those about to go to the abode of Yama. asmábhyam: dat. pl. of ahám. dṛśáye: dat. inf., with attracted acc. (200 B 4). dātām: 3. du. ipv. root ao. of dā give; as having already marked us for their victims, let them give back our life to-day.
See Page Number 173, Hymn Number 13 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
For Yama press the Soma, to Yama offer the oblation; to Yama goes the sacrifice well prepared, with Agni as its messenger.
juhutā: with metrically lengthened final vowel; 2. pl. ipv. of hu sacrifice addressed to those officiating at the sacrifice. Yamám: acc. of the goal (197, 1; cf. 204, 1 b ). Agnídūtas: the idea underlying this figurative expression is that the smoke of the sacrificial fire goes up to heaven where Yama dwells.
See Page Number 173, Hymn Number 14 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
To Yama offer the oblation abounding in ghee, and step forth; may he guide us to the gods that we may live a long life.
juhóta: the irr. strong form (p. 144, B. 3 α) with a long vowel in the second syllable is here utilized for metrical purposes, as the regular form juhuta has its final vowel lengthened in 13 b. prá tiṣṭhata: step forward, in order to offer the oblation; cp. the use of prá bhṛ bring forward an oblation. á̄ yamat: inj. of root ao. of yam extend; this form constitutes a play on the name of Yama. nas: acc. governed by á̄ yamad; cp. ix. 44, 5, sá naḥ Sómo devéṣu á̄ yamat may he, Soma, guide us to the gods; on the loc., cp. 204 B 1 b. á̄yus: cognate acc. (197 A 4). prá jīváse: cp. p. 463, f. n. 8. The meaning of cd is: ‘may he keep us (the survivors) to the worship of the gods (and not lead us to the Fathers), so that we may enjoy long life on earth’ (cp. 12 c, d) .
See Page Number 174, Hymn Number 15 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
To Yama the king offer the most honied oblation. This obeisance is for the seers born of old, the ancient makers of the path.
juhotana: again the strong form to suit the metre (cp. 14 b) . pathikṛ́dbhyas: because they were the first, after Yama had shown the way, to tread the path leading to Yama’s abode (the pitṛyá̄ṇa the road of the Fathers ). This stanza is a Bṛhatī in the middle of Anuṣṭubhs, differing from them only by the addition of four syllables in the third Pāda (see p. 444, 9 b ).
See Page Number 174, Hymn Number 16 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
It flies through the three Soma vats. The six earths, the one great (world), triṣṣubh, gāyatrī and (the other) metres, all these are placed in Yama.
The meaning of a b in this final stanza is obscure, partly because the subject is not expressed in a, and partly because it is uncertain whether b is syntactically connected with a or not. The probability is that here we have two sentences, one consisting of a, the other of b-d. The first then probably means that the Soma draught is ready for Yama; the second expresses the greatness of Yama by stating that all things are contained in him. tríkadrukebhis: this word, occurring six times in the RV., always appears in the pl., and always except here in the locative. It is four times directly connected with Soma, and once alludes to it; e. g. tríkadrukeṣu apibat sutásya he (Indra) drank of the pressed Soma in the three vessels (i. 32, 3) . The term tríkadruka in the ritual of the Brāhmaṇas is the name of three days in a Soma ceremony. The metaphor of flying is applied to the flowing Soma compared with a bird, as ‘ the god flies like a bird to settle in the vats ’ (ix. 3, 1) . The allusion therefore seems to be to the Soma which the priests are called upon to press in 13 a. ṣáḍ urví̄ḥ: this expression is probably equivalent to the three heavens and three earths: cp. tisró dyá̄vaḥ níhitā antár asmin, tisró bhú̄mīr úparāḥ, ṣáḍvidhānāḥ the three heavens are placed within him (Varuṇa) and the three earths below, forming a sixfold order (vii. 87, 5) . ékam íd bṛhát: by this expression is probably meant the universe, otherwise spoken of as víśvam ékam, idám ékam c., the one being contrasted with the six; cp. i. 164, 6, ví yás tastámbha ṣáḷ imá̄ rájāṃsi . . kím ápi svid ékam? who propped asunder these six spaces; what pray is the one? triṣṭúbh, gāyatrí̄: these two names of metres are only mentioned in this and one other hymn of the tenth Maṇḍala. This and the following four hymns (x. 15-18) are among the latest in the RV. The concluding stanza here, as in some hymns addressed to other deities, sums up the greatness of the god by saying that he embraces all things; cp. i. 32, 15 (Indra); v. 13, 6 (Agni).
Two hymns (x. 15 and 54) are addressed to the Pitaras or Fathers, the blessed dead who dwell in the third heaven, the third or highest step of Viṣṇu. The term as a rule applies to the early or first ancestors, who followed the ancient paths, seers who made the paths by which the recent dead go to join them. Various groups of ancestors are mentioned, such as the Aṅgirases and Atharvans, the Bhṛgus and Vasiṣṭhas, who are identical in name with the priestly families associated by tradition with the composition of the Atharvaveda and of the second and seventh Maṇḍalas of the Rigveda. The Pitaras are classed as higher, lower, and middle, as earlier and later, who though not always known to their descendants, are known to Agni. They revel with Yama and feast with the gods. They are fond of Soma, and thirst for the libations prepared for them on earth, and eat the offerings along with him. They come on the same car as Indra and the gods. Arriving in their thousands they range themselves on the sacrificial grass to the south, and drink the pressed draught. They receive oblations as their food. They are entreated to hear, intercede for, and protect their worshippers, and besought not to injure their descendants for any sin humanly committed against them. They are invoked to give riches, children, and long life to their sons, who desire to be in their good graces. The Vasiṣṭhas are once collectively implored to help their descendants. Cosmical actions, like those of the gods, are sometimes attributed to the Fathers. Thus they are said to have adorned the sky with stars, to have placed darkness in the night and light in the day; they found the light and generated the dawn. The path trodden by the Fathers (pitṛyá̄ṇa) is different from that trodden by the gods (devayá̄na).
x. 15. Metre: Triṣṭubh; 11 Jagatī.
See Page Number 176, Hymn Number 1 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Let the lower, let the higher, let the middlemost Soma-loving Fathers arise; let those Fathers who, friendly, knowing right, have gone to life eternal, favour us in our invocations.
úd īratām: note that cd. verbs are often repeated by means of the prp. (here úd twice) alone. ávare (on the dec., see 120 c 1) c.: these three words refer to the Pitṛs dwelling in the three divisions of the world, earth, air, heaven (cp. yé pá̄rthive rájasi in 2 c; and the division of heaven into three, the lowest, the middlemost, and the third in which the Fathers sit: AV. xviii. 2, 49). Sāyaṇa thinks that here the degrees of their holiness is meant, but in this same stanza, when it appears in the AV. (xviii. 1, 44) , he thinks that degrees of merit or of age are intended; but degrees of age are expressly mentioned in 2 b by pú̄rvāsas and úparāsas. ásum: life in the heavenly world, immortal life (the Pitaras are called immortal in AV. vi. 41, 3) as opposed to terrestrial life. īyur: 3. pl. pf. act. of i go.
See Page Number 177, Hymn Number 2 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Let this obeisance be made to-day to the Fathers who have departed earlier and later, who have seated themselves in the terrestrial air or who are now in settlements with fair abodes.
pú̄rvāsas: in x. 14, 2. 7 the prn. form pú̄rve is used (see 120, 2) . īyúr: in x. 14, 2. 7 the more distinctive cd. pareyúr appears. á̄ níṣattās (pp. of sad sit, cp. 67 a, b; cp. á̄ niṣádya in x. 14, 5). pá̄rthive rájasi: in the atmospheric region above the earth; here the Pitaras in the air intermediate between heaven and earth are meant, while in b and d those in heaven and on earth respectively are intended. suvṛjánāsu vikṣú: cp. the frequent má̄nuṣīṣu vikṣú human settlements, with reference to the Fathers present at the funeral offerings on earth.
See Page Number 178, Hymn Number 3 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
I have won hither the bountiful Fathers and the grandson and the wide stride of Viṣṇu: they who, sitting on the strew, shall partake of the pressed drink with the offering to the dead, come most gladly here.
á̄-avitsi (1. s. Ā. s ao. of 2. vid find ); = I have induced to come to this offering. nápātam: it is somewhat uncertain who is meant by this; according to Prof. Geldner’s ingenious explanation Yama (with whom the Pitaras are associated) is intended, because in the VS. (xxix. 60) Viṣṇu (here coupled with nápātam) is called the husband of Aditi, whose son (TS. vi. 5, 6, 2) was Vivasvant, the father of Yama (see note on x. 14, 1); but it is doubtful whether this later statement was part of the mythological belief of the RV., where Yama is the grandson of Tvaṣṭṛ (x. 17, 1) . On the other hand, the word may be used elliptically to designate Agni = sáhaso nápātam (Agni is called náptre sáhasvate in viii. 102, 7) = sáhasaḥ sūnúm son of strength, a frequent epithet of Agni, for which once (vi. 4, 4) sūno son alone is used in an Agni hymn; and below (9 c) Agni is invoked to come with the Fathers: á̄gne yāhi suvidátrebhiḥ pitṛ́bhiḥ. There is here also a good example of the fanciful interpretations of Sāyaṇa: Víṣṇor (= yajñasya) nápātam (= vināśābhāvam) the non-destruction of the sacrifice. vikrámaṇam: Viṣṇu’s third step (= the highest heaven), where the Fathers dwell (cp. i. 154, 5) . bhájanta: 3. pl. inj. Ā. of bhaj share, with partitive gen. (202 A e ) . pitvás: gen. of pitú (p. 81) . á̄-gamiṣṭhās: accent, p. 453, 9 A b.
See Page Number 179, Hymn Number 4 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Ye Fathers that sit on the strew, come hither with aid; these offerings we have made to you: enjoy them; so come with most beneficent aid; then bestow on us health and blessing free from hurt.
bárhiṣadaḥ pitaraḥ: see note on viii. 48, 7 c. ūtí̄: inst. of ūtí (p. 81, f. n. 4) . arvá̄k: hither; the vb. á̄ gata come is easily to be supplied from c. cakṛmā: with metrical lengthening of the final syllable. juṣádhvam: accented because it forms a new sentence (p. 466, 19 b ) . té: as such, as enjoying our offerings. gata: 2. pl. [ ] ipv. root ao. of gam go. áthā: metrically lengthened. dadhāta: 2. pl. pr. ipv. of dhā place, with irr. strong form of the pr. stem instead of the normal dhatta (p. 144 B 1 b ) .
See Page Number 179, Hymn Number 5 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Invited are the Soma-loving Fathers to the dear deposits placed on the strew; let them come; let them listen here; let them speak for us; let them aid us.
úpa-hūtās: pp. of hū call. nidhíṣu: the offerings deposited on the sacrificial grass. gamantu: 3. pl. ipv. root ao. of gam go. śruvantu: 3. pl. ipv. root ao. of śru hear.
See Page Number 180, Hymn Number 6 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Bending the knee, sitting down to the south do ye all greet favourably this sacrifice; injure us not, O Fathers, by reason of any sin that we may have committed against you through human frailty.
á̄-acyā (gd. of ac bend ): note that the suffix -yā is much oftener long than short (164), but in the Pada text it is always short. já̄nu: probably the left knee; cp. the ŚB. ii. 4, 2, 2, where the gods bend the right knee, the Fathers the left knee. In rites connected with the dead, the auspicious direction is reversed, left being substituted for right. dakṣiṇatás: to the right (of the védi altar ), that is, to the south, because the south is the region of Yama and the Pitaras. gṛṇīta: 2. pl. ipv. of 1. gṛ sing. hiṃsiṣṭa: 2. pl. inj. iṣ ao. of hiṃs injure. kéna cid yád á̄gaḥ for kéna cid á̄gasā yád, the substantive being put into the rel. instead of the principal clause. vas: dat. of disadvantage (p. 314 B 1) . puruṣátā: inst. s. identical in form with the stem (97, 1, p. 77). kárāma: 1. pl. root ao. sb. (p. 171) ; in the sense of an indefinite past.
See Page Number 180, Hymn Number 7 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Sitting in the lap of the ruddy (dawns) bestow wealth on the worshipping mortal. To your sons, O Fathers, present a share of those riches; so do ye here bestow strength.
á̄sīnāsas: irr. pr. pt. Ā. of ās sit: 158 α. aruṇí̄nām: aruṇá ruddy is the colour of dawn, and the f. of this adj. sometimes appears as an epithet of the dawns; that these are here meant is also indicated by vii. 9, 1; 63, 3, where Agni and Sūrya are said to awake or arise uṣásām upásthāt from the lap of the dawns. dhatta and dadhāta: here both the regular and the irr. ipv. of dhā are used (cp. note on 4 d) . tásya vásvaḥ: referring to rayím in b; on the form of the gen. see p. 81. té: anaphoric use (cp. p. 294 b ) .
See Page Number 181, Hymn Number 8 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Those forefathers of ours, the Soma-loving, the Vasiṣṣhas, who fare after him to the Somadraught, with them let Yama, sharing their gifts, eat the oblations at pleasure, he the eager with them the eager.
anu-ūhiré: the derivation and meaning are somewhat doubtful; most probably pf. of vah drive, in this case meaning who have driven after Yama to the Soma-draught; it may possibly come from ūh consider, then meaning who have been considered worthy of the Somadraught. Vásiṣṭhās: as one of the groups of ancient seers. saṃrarāṇás (pf. pt. Ā. of rā give ): sharing with them their gifts to their descendants (cp. 7 b c) .
See Page Number 181, Hymn Number 9 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Who, gasping, have thirsted among the gods, knowing oblations, having praise fashioned for them with songs: with them the bountiful Fathers, the true, the wise that sit at the heating vessel, come hither, O Agni.
tātṛṣúr: pf. of tṛṣ, with long red. vowel (139, 9) ; such vowels regularly appear in their short form in the Pada text (cp. note on iii. 59, 1 b) . devatrá̄: in heaven; trā is one of the suffixes which in the Pada text is separated, being treated as the second member of a cd. stomá-taṣṭāsas: this Tp., fashioned with praise, otherwise used with matí = hymn, is here applied to persons and thus comes to have the sense of a Karmadhāraya Bv. (189, 1) = taṣṭá-stomāsas; the latter kind of cd., with a pp. as first member, does not exist in the RV. arkáis: to be taken with the preceding word = by means of songs. arvá̄ṅ: 93 b. kavyáis: this word occurs in only two other passages, the original meaning apparently being = kaví wise (cp. kavyá-tā wisdom ); here it may be intended to denote a particular group of Fathers (cp. x. 14, 3) . gharmasádbhis: probably in heaven; cp. x. 16, 10, sá gharmám invāt paramé sadhásthe: may he (Agni) further the gharma in the highest abode; this word as well as jéhamānās may be intended to contrast with tātṛṣúr; cp. vii. 103, 9.
See Page Number 181, Hymn Number 10 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
They who are true, eating the oblation, drinking the oblation, having the same car with Indra and the gods, with those thousand god-praising remote forefathers that sit at the heating vessel, come, O Agni.
sa-rátham: this word, primarily a Bv., having the same car, is then often used as a cognate acc. (p. 300, 4) with yā = go (on a journey) with the same car (here with dhā in place of yā); then adverbially (p. 301, 5 b ) . dádhānās: pr. pt. Ā. of dhā put (cp. p. 460, f. n. 3) ; the pf. pt. Ā. would be dadhāná̄s (159). sahásram: agreeing with pitṛ́bhis: more usual would be sahásreṇa pitṛ́bhis: cp. 194 B 1 b (p. 291) ; párais: the primary meaning of this word is farther (opposed to nearer ávara, less often úpara, ántara), more remote, then also higher; there is no opposition here to pú̄rvais (opposed to which are ávara and úpara), which in any case would be in the reverse order, pú̄rvaiḥ paráiḥ; the meaning is the remote, the early Fathers; cp. vi. 21, 6, párāṇi pratná̄ remote, ancient deeds opposed to ávarāsas later men.
See Page Number 183, Hymn Number 11 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Ye Fathers that have been devoured by fire come hither; sit you down each on his seat, ye that have good guidance; eat the oblations proffered on the strew; then bestow wealth accompanied entirely by strong sons.
Ágni-ṣvāttās: with the voc. accent on the first syllable; the ordinary accent would be Agni-ṣvāttá̄s like other Tps. formed with Agni, but such cds. with a pp. as second member usually accent the first (cp. p. 456, 2 α) . svāttá̄s: pp. of svād sweeten (cp. 67 b ) . sádaḥsadaḥ: itv. cd. (p. 282 a; p. 454, 10 a ) , governed by sadata. sadata: 2. pl. ipv. a ao. of sad sit (147, 5) . supraṇītayas: having good guidance, well led, coming in good order; the Pada text does not recognize the cerebralization of the n (65 a, b ). attá̄, áthā: final a metrically lengthened. prá-yatāni: pp. of yam. dadhātana: irr. strong form (cp. note on 7 d) and suffix tana (p. 925) .
See Page Number 184, Hymn Number 12 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Thou, O Agni, having been implored, O Jātavedas, hast conveyed the oblations, having made them fragrant. Thou hast presented them to the Fathers; with the funeral offering they have eaten them; do thou, O god, eat the oblations proffered.
īḷitás: by us. jāta-vedas: a very frequent and exclusive epithet of Agni; it is a Bv. as its accent shows, meaning having knowledge of created things as explained by the RV. itself: víśvā veda jánimā jātávedāḥ Jātavedas knows all creations (vi. 15, 13) ; this is also the explanation of Sāyaṇa here: jātaṃ, sarvaṃ jagad, vetti, iti jātavedāḥ. ávāṭ: 2. s. s ao. of vah carry (144, 5) . ḍhavyá̄ni: for havyá̄ni (54). kṛtví̄: gd. of kṛ (163, 1) . adās: 2. s. root ao. of dā (148, 1 a ) . akṣan: 3. pl. root ao. of ghas eat (p. 170, e ) . addhí: 2. s. ipv. of ad eat.
See Page Number 185, Hymn Number 13 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Both the Fathers who are here and who are not here, both those whom we know and whom we know not, thou knowest how many they are, O Jātavedas; enjoy the sacrifice well prepared with funeral offerings.
yé ca: supply sánti. vidmá 1. pl. pf. of vid know (p. 154, 3) ; the 1. pl. pr. is vidmás. yá̄ṃś ca: Sandhi, 40 a. yāṁ̆ u: 39, and p. 25, f. n. 2. pra-vidmá: know exactly. vettha: 2. s. pf. of vid know (p. 154, 3) . yáti: cp. 118 a. té: supply sánti.
See Page Number 185, Hymn Number 14 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Those who, burnt with fire and not burnt with fire, are exhilarated by the funeral offering in the midst of heaven, as sovereign ruler do thou with them fit his body according to thy power for this spirit-guidance.
yé̆ ánagnidagdhāḥ: that is, buried. mádhye diváḥ: note that the Fathers enjoy in heaven the funeral offering conveyed to them by Agni, as well as eating the oblations offered them on the sacrificial grass (11 c) . tébhis: in association with them (199 A 1) , as they know the path of the dead. svará̄ṭ: as sovereign lord who acts according to his will (yathāvaśám); the subject is Agni who is addressed in 9 c and 10 c (Agne), and in 12 a and 13 c (jātavedas) or mentioned in 11 a (Ágniṣvāttās), and in this stanza itself (Agnidagdhá̄s). tanvàṃ kalpayasva: the body of the deceased; the words svayáṃ tanvàṃ kalpayasva (VS. xxiii. 15) are explained in ŚB. xiii. 2, 7, 11: svayáṃ rūpáṃ kuruṣva yādṛ́śam ichási assume thyself the form that thou desirest; cp. also iii. 48, 4 b and vii. 101, 3 b yathāvaśáṃ tanvàṃ cakra (= cakre) eṣáḥ he has taken a body according to his will; the corresponding Pāda in the AV. (xviii. 3, 59) reads yathāvaśáṃ tanvàḥ kalpayāti may he fashion our bodies according to his will; cp. also in the following funeral hymn (x. 16, 4) the hemistich: yá̄s te śivá̄s tanvò, jātavedas, tá̄bhir vahainaṃ sukṛ́tām u lokám with those which are thy auspicious bodies, O Jātavedas, conduct him to the world of the righteous. ásunītim etá̄m: dependent, like tanvàṃ, on kalpayasva: prepare his body and this spirit-leading = prepare it for this spirit-leading; Agni conducts the spirit (ásu| of the dead man, who is cremated, to the next world (cp. x. 16, 4, just quoted) where it unites with a new body (tanú̄); cp. x. 14. 8 cd: ástam ehi; sáṃ gachasva tanvà̄ go home; unite with thy (new) body; and x. 16, 5 sáṃ gachatá̄ṃ tanvà̄, jātavedaḥ let him (the deceased) unite with a (new) body, O Jātavedas.
This is one, among the secular hymns, of a group of four which have a didactic character. It is the lament of a gambler who, unable to resist the fascination of the dice, deplores the ruin he has brought on himself and his family. The dice (akṣá̄s) consisted of the nuts of a large tree called vibhí̄daka ( Terminalia bellerica ), which is still utilized for this purpose in India.
x. 34. Metre: Triṣṭubh; 7. Jagatī.
See Page Number 186, Hymn Number 1 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
The dangling ones, born in a windy place, of the lofty (tree) gladden me as they roll on the dice-board. Like the draught of the Soma from Mūjavant, the enlivening Vibhīdaka has pleased me.
várvṛtānās: int. pt. of vṛt turn. Maujavatásya: coming from Mount Mūjavant as the best. achān: 3. s. s ao. of chand (p. 164, 5). Verbs meaning to please take the dat. (p. 311 h ) .
See Page Number 186, Hymn Number 2 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
She does not scold me, she is not angry: she was kind to friends and to me. For the sake of a die too high by one I have driven away a devoted wife.
mimetha: pf. of mith dispute. jihīḷa: pf. of hīḍ be angry (cp. p. 3, f. n. 2) . sákhibhyas: dat. (p. 313, 3) . ekaparásya: according to the accent this is a Tp. adj., exceeding by one, alluding to an unlucky throw (called kali) in which when the number of dice thrown is divided by four one remains over (while in the best throw, the kṛta, nothing remains over). ápa arodham: root ao. of rudh obstruct. The meaning of the stanza is: ‘rejecting the kindly advice of my wife, I gambled and lost’.
See Page Number 188, Hymn Number 3 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
My mother-in-law hates me; my wife drives me away: the man in distress finds none to pity him: ‘ I find no more use in a gambler than in an aged horse that is for sale. ’
ápa ruṇaddhi (3. s. pr. of rudh) : turns him away when he asks for money to gamble with. nāthitás: the gambler speaks of himself in the 3. prs. áśvasya ᴗ iva: agreeing with kitavásya. járatas: pr. pt. of jṝ waste away. kitavásya bhógam: objective gen. (p. 320, B b ) .
See Page Number 188, Hymn Number 4 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Others embrace the wife of him for whose possessions the victorious die has been eager. Father, mother, brothers say of him, ‘ we know him not, lead him away bound ’.
ágṛdhat: a ao. of gṛdh be greedy, governing védane, loc. of the object (p. 325, 1 c ) . vājí̄: to be read with a short final (p. 437, a 4, cp. p. 441, 4 a) ; accent, p. 450, b. āhur: pf. of ah say. jānīmas: 1. pl. pr. of jñā know. náyatā: accented as beginning a new sentence (p. 466, 19 a ) ; final vowel metrically lengthened (cp. p. 441, line 2) . baddhám: as a debtor.
See Page Number 189, Hymn Number 5 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
When I think to myself, ‘ I will not go with them; I shall be left behind by my friends as they depart (to play)’, and the brown ones, thrown down, have raised their voices, I go straight, like a courtesan, to their place of assignation.
ā-dí̄dhye: 1. s. pr. Ā. of dhī think. daviṣāṇi: iṣ ao. sb. of du go (of which other forms occur in the AA. and the YV.); some scholars think the sense of play to be so necessary that this must be an irr. form (iṣ ao. sb.) from div play (like a-ṣṭhaviṣam, in a Sūtra, from ṣṭhiv spit ). ebhis: with the friends. áva hīye: ps. of 1. hā leave; I am left behind with abl. (cp. 201 A 1). uptās: pp. of vap strew. ákrata: 3. pl. Ā. root ao. of kṛ, accented because still dependent on yád. Here we have a Jagatī Pāda interposed in a Triṣṭubh stanza (cp. p. 445, f. n. 7) ; the same expression, vá̄cam akrata, by ending a Pāda in vii. 103, 8 produces a Jagatī Pāda in a Triṣṭubh stanza. The final vowel of the vb. is here nasalized to avoid the hiatus at the end of the Pāda (cp. i. 35, 6 a) ; viii. 29, 6 a; see p. 23, f. n. 1). émi íd: I go at once (p. 218) . eṣām: of the dice.
See Page Number 189, Hymn Number 6 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
The gambler goes to the assembly hall, asking himself, ‘ shall I conquer ’, trembling with his body. The dice run counter to his desire, bestowing on his adversary at play the lucky throws.
tanvà̄: accent, p. 450, 2 b. śú̄śujānas: as this pt. is the only form of the vb. occurring, and is itself only found in one other passage (also with tanvà̄), its exact meaning is doubtful; but it must express either fear or confidence. tiranti: 3. pl. pr. of tṝ cross. pratidí̄van: dec., 90, 3; dat. with verbs of giving (200 A 1) . á̄ dadhatas: N. pl. pr. pt. of dhā (156, p. 181, top) agreeing with akṣá̄sas; with prp. following (p. 462, 13 a α) . kṛtá̄ni: probably in the specific sense of the highest throws, pl. of n. kṛtám.
See Page Number 190, Hymn Number 7 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
The dice are hooked, piercing, deceitful, burning and causing to burn; presenting gifts like boys, striking back the victors, sweetened with honey by magic power over the gambler.
tāpayiṣṇávas: causing the gambler to pain others by his losses. kumārá-deṣṇās: giving gifts and then taking them back like children. punarháṇas: winning back from the winner, equivalent in sense to the preceding word; Sandhi, 65 b. sáṃ-pṛktās: pp. of pṛc mix. barháṇā: inst. s. (p. 77) ; with objective gen. (p. 320) .
See Page Number 191, Hymn Number 8 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Their host of three fifties plays like god Savitṛ whose laws are true: they bow not before the wrath of even the mighty; even a king pays them obeisance.
tripañcāśás: the evidence is in favour of interpreting this word as meaning consisting of three fifties, not consisting of fifty-three, as the number of dice normally used. devá iva Savitá̄: the point of the comparison is that the action of the dice is as independent of the will of others as the action of Savitṛ, who observes fixed laws of his own (iv. 53, 4; x. 139, 3) , and whose will and independent dominion no being, not even Indra, Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman, Rudra can resist (ii. 38, 7. 9; v. 82, 2) . ná̄: the only example in the RV. of the metrical lengthening of ná. namante, námas: with dat. (p. 311, k and 312, 2 a ) .
See Page Number 191, Hymn Number 9 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
They roll down, they spring upward. Though without hands, they overcome him that has hands. Divine coals thrown down upon the gaming-board, being cold, they burn up the heart.
Every Pāda in this stanza contains an antithesis: nīcá̄—upári; ahastá̄saḥ — hástavantam; divyá̄ḥ — íriṇe; śītá̄ḥ — nír dahanti. divyá̄s: alluding to their magic power over the gambler; cp. barháṇā in 7 d. áṅgārās: the dice are compared with bits of charcoal lying in a hollow; cp. ŚB. v. 3, 1, 10: adhidévanaṃ vá̄ agnís, tásya eté ’ṅgārā yád akṣá̄ḥ the gaming-board is fire, the dice are its coals.
See Page Number 192, Hymn Number 10 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Forsaken the wife of the gambler is grieved, the mother (too) of the son that wanders who knows where. Indebted, fearing, desiring money he approaches at night the house of others.
hīná̄: pp. of hā leave. putrásya: the gambler. tapyate must be supplied with mātá̄. ṛṇā-vá̄: lengthening of final a before v (15, 1 c ) . bíbhyat: pr. pt. of bhī fear. úpa eti: probably for the purpose of stealing, to explain c. náktam: see 178, 2; 195 A 5 a.
See Page Number 192, Hymn Number 11 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
It pains the gambler when he sees a woman, the wife of others, and their well-ordered home. Since he yokes the brown horses in the morning, he falls down (in the evening) near the fire, a beggar.
tatāpa: used impersonally with the acc.; this and the following two perfects may be translated as presents, because they express habitual actions continued into and included in the pr. (213 A a ) . dṛṣṭvá̄ya: gd. of dṛś see, agreeing with kitavám as the virtual subject (210). stríyam (p. 88, β) : jāyá̄m as apposition, a woman who is the wife of others; that is, when he sees the wives of others and their comfortable homes, he is reminded of the unhappiness of his own wife and the bareness of his own home. áśvān: the brown dice are here figuratively called horses, which he yokes; that is, he begins a long spell of gambling with them. papāda: he consequently falls down, exhausted and overcome, on the ground beside the fire in the evening, having lost everything.
See Page Number 193, Hymn Number 12 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
To him who as the general of your great throng, as king has become the first of your host, I stretch forth my ten fingers—‘I withhold no money—this is truth I say’.
yó vaḥ: no specific die is meant, the expression only implying a chief, in the abstract, of the total number of dice played with. dáśa kṛṇomi prá̄cīḥ: I put the ten (sc. fingers) forward, that is, I stretch out my two hands. prá̄cīs: A. pl. f. of prá̄ñc, used predicatively (198, 1) . tásmai: dat. of advantage (200 B 1) . ná dhaná̄ ruṇadhmi: that is, ‘I have no money left for you;’ these words in sense come after prá̄cīs, expressing what is implied by that gesture. ṛtám: predicative, I say this as true (198, 1) .
See Page Number 194, Hymn Number 13 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
‘ Play not with dice; ply thy tillage; rejoice in thy property, thinking much of it; there are thy cattle, O gambler, there thy wife ’: this Savitṛ here, the noble, reveals to me.
This stanza is spoken by the gambler, who in a-c quotes the advice of Savitṛ. dīvyas: 2. s. inj. of div play with má̄ (p. 240) . ramasva: with loc. (204, 1 a ) . tátra: cattle and wife can be regained by acquiring wealth. caṣṭe: 3. s. pr. of cakṣ. me: dat. (200 A c ) . ayám: as actually present. aryás: noble, as upholder of moral law.
See Page Number 194, Hymn Number 14 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Pray make friendship, be gracious to us. Do not forcibly bewitch us with magic power. Let your wrath, your enmity now come to rest. Let another now be in the toils of the brown ones.
mṛḷátā (2. pl. ipv. of mṛḍ, p. 3, n. 2) : accented as beginning a new sentence; with final vowel metrically lengthened. nas: dat. (p. 311, f ) . carata ᴗ abhí: with prp. following the vb. (p. 468, 20 A) . dhṛṣṇú: acc. adv. (p. 301, b ) . In this final stanza the gambler adjures the dice to release him from their magical power.
There are six or seven hymns dealing with the creation of the world as produced from some original material. In the following one, the well-known Puruṣa-sūkta or Hymn of Man, the gods are the agents of creation, while the material out of which the world is made is the body of a primaeval giant named Puruṣa. The act of creation is here treated as a sacrifice in which Puruṣa is the victim, the parts when cut up becoming portions of the universe. Both its language and its matter indicate that it is one of the very latest hymns of the Rigveda. It not only presupposes a knowledge of the three oldest Vedas, to which it refers by name, but also, for the first and only time in the Rigveda, mentions the four castes. The religious view is moreover different from that of the old hymns, for it is pantheistic: ‘Puruṣa is all this world, what has been and shall be’. It is, in fact, the starting-point of the pantheistic philosophy of India.
x. 90. Metre: Anuṣṭubh; 16 Triṣṭubh.
See Page Number 195, Hymn Number 1 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Thousand-headed was Puruṣa, thousand-eyed, thousand-footed. He having covered the earth on all sides, extended beyond it the length of ten fingers.
sahásraśīrṣā c.: that is, having innumerable heads, eyes, and feet, as representing all created beings (cp. 2) . sahasrākṣás: of the very numerous Bv. cds. formed with sahásra this and sahasraarghá are the only ones with irr. accent (cp. p. 455, 10 c ) . daśāṅgulám: probably only another way of expressing that his size was greater even than that of the earth. atiṣṭhat: ipf. of sthā stand.
See Page Number 196, Hymn Number 2 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Puruṣa is this all, that has been and that will be. And he is the lord of immortality, which he grows beyond through food.
Puruṣa is coextensive with the whole world including the gods. bhávyam: a late and irregular cadence. amṛtatvásya: of the immortals, the gods. yád: there is some doubt as to the construction of d; the parallelism of áty atiṣṭhat in 1 d and of áty aricyata in 5 c indicates that Puruṣa is the subject and yád (the gods) the object, and that the former exceeds the latter ánnena, that is, by means of sacrificial food. The words have also been interpreted to mean: who (the gods) grow up by (sacrificial) food; or, and of that which grows by food, that is, creatures other than the gods. In these interpretations the meaning of áti does not seem to be sufficiently brought out.
See Page Number 196, Hymn Number 3 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Such is his greatness, and more than that is Puruṣa. A fourth of him is all beings, three-fourths of him are what is immortal in heaven.
etá̄vān asya: irr. Sandhi for etá̄vāṁ̆ asya (occurring also in x. 85, 45: putrá̄n á̄), is a sign of lateness, this being the regular post Vedic Sandhi (39). átas: equivalent to an ab. after the cpv. (201, 3) . jyá̄yāṃś ca: on the Sandhi, see 40 a. Pú̄ruṣas: a metrical lengthening for Púruṣas (cp. the Pada text) to avoid a sequence of four short syllables, cp. 5 b. amṛ́tam: equivalent to amṛtatvá.
See Page Number 197, Hymn Number 4 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
With three quarters Puruṣa rose upward; one quarter of him here came into being again. Thence he spread asunder in all directions to what eats and does not eat.
úd ait (3. s. ipf. of i go, p. 130) : to the world of immortals. ihá: in this world. púnar: that is, from his original form. tátas: from the earthly quarter. ví akrāmat abhí: distributed himself to, developed into. sāśana-anaśané: animate creatures and inanimate things; this cd. represents the latest stage of Dvandvas in the RV. (186 A 1, end) .
See Page Number 197, Hymn Number 5 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
From him Virāj was born, from Virāj Puruṣa. When born he reached beyond the earth behind and also before.
tásmād: from the undeveloped quarter of Puruṣa. Virá̄ḷ: as intermediate between the primaeval Puruṣa and the evolved Puruṣa; cp. x. 72, 4: Áditer Dákṣo ajāyata, Dákṣād u Áditiḥ pári from Aditi Dakṣa was born, and from Dakṣa Aditi. On the Sandhi, see p. 3, n. 2. With c d cp. 1 c d. átho: 24.
See Page Number 198, Hymn Number 6 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
When the gods performed a sacrifice with Puruṣa as an oblation, the spring was its melted butter, the summer its fuel, the autumn its oblation.
Here the gods are represented as offering with the evolved Puruṣa an ideal human sacrifice to the primaeval Puruṣa. átanvata: 3. pl. ipf. Ā. of tan stretch; this vb. is often used figuratively in the sense of to extend the web of sacrifice = to carry out, perform. dhavís: 54.
See Page Number 198, Hymn Number 7 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
That Puruṣa, born in the beginning, they besprinkled as a sacrifice on the strew: with him the gods, the Sādhyas, and the seers sacrificed.
jātám agratás: the evolved Puruṣa, born from Virāj (5 b), the same as in 6 a. prá-aukṣan: 3. pl. ipf. of 1. ukṣ sprinkle. ayajanta: = yajñám átanvata in 6 b. Sādhyá̄s: an old class of divine beings (here probably in apposition to devá̄s), cp. 16 d. ṛ́ṣayaś ca yé: and those who were seers, a frequent periphrastic use of the rel. = simply ṛ́ṣayas.
See Page Number 199, Hymn Number 8 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
From that sacrifice completely offered was collected the clotted butter: he made that the beasts of the air, of the forest, and those of the village.
tásmād: ab. of the source (201 A 1) . sáṃbhṛtam: as finite vb. pṛṣad-ājyám: accent, p. 455, 10 d 1. paśú̄n: Sandhi, 40, 2. tá̄ṃś: attracted to paśú̄n for tát (pṛṣadājyám); Sandhi, 40, 1 a. vāyavyà̄n: one of the rare cases where the independent Svarita remains in pronunciation (p. 448, 1) ; à̄n here remains unaffected by Sandhi because it is at the end of a Pāda (p. 31, f. n. 3) ; this is one of several indications that the internal Pādas (those within a hemistich) as well as the external Pādas were originally independent (cp. p. 465, f. n. 4) . āraṇyá̄n: that is, wild. grāmyá̄ś ca yé = grāmyá̄n, that is, tame; cp. ṛ́ṣayaś ca yé in 7 d.
See Page Number 199, Hymn Number 9 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
From that sacrifice completely offered were born the hymns and the chants; the metres were born from it; the sacrificial formula was born from it.
ṛ́cas: the Rigveda. sá̄māni: the Sāmaveda. jajñire: 3. pl. pf. Ā. of jan beget. yájus: the Yajurveda. This is the first (implicit) mention of the three Vedas. The AV. was not recognized as the fourth Veda till much later.
See Page Number 200, Hymn Number 10 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
From that arose horses and all such as have two rows of teeth. Cattle were born from that; from that were born goats and sheep.
yé ké ca: whatever animals besides the horse, such as asses and mules, have incisors above and below. ajāváyas: a pl. Dv. (186 A 2) ; Dvandvas are not analysed in the Pada text.
See Page Number 200, Hymn Number 11 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
When they divided Puruṣa, into how many parts did they dispose him? What (did) his mouth (become) ? What are his two arms, his two thighs, his two feet called?
vi-ádadhur: when the gods cut up Puruṣa as the victim; here the Padapāṭha again (see note on viii. 48, 2 a, 10 c) accents the prp. in a subordinate clause (p. 469, 20 B) . káu: the dual ending au for the normal ā before consonants (cp. note on x. 14, 10 a) ; ká̄ and pá̄dā before ū̆: 22. ucyete: 3. du. pr. ps. of vac speak: Pragṛhya, 26 b.
See Page Number 201, Hymn Number 12 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
His mouth was the Brāhman, his two arms were made the warrior, his two thighs the Vaiśya; from his two feet the Śūdra was born.
In this stanza occurs the only mention of the four castes in the RV. brāhmaṇò ’sya: Sandhi accent, p. 465, 17, 3. rājanyàs: predicative nom. after a ps. (196 b ) . kṛtás attracted in number to rājanyàḥ, for kṛtáu (cp. 194, 3) . yád váiśyas: the periphrastic use of the rel. (cp. 7 d and 8 d) , lit. his two thighs became that which was the Vaiśya. padbhyá̄m: abl. of source (77, 3 a, p. 458, 1) .
See Page Number 201, Hymn Number 13 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
The moon was born from his mind; from his eye the sun was born; from his mouth Indra and Agni, from his breath Vāyu was born.
Note that candrá-mās is not analysed in the Pada text. cákṣos: ab. of cákṣu used only in this passage = the usual cákṣus; in the Funeral Hymn (x. 16, 3) sú̄ryas and cákṣus, vá̄tas and ātmá̄ are also referred to as cognate in nature.
See Page Number 202, Hymn Number 14 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
From his navel was produced the air; from his head the sky was evolved; from his two feet the earth, from his ear the quarters: thus they fashioned the worlds.
ná̄bhyās: ab. of ná̄bhi inflected according to the ī dec. (p. 82 a ) . śīrṣṇás: ab. of śīrṣán (90, 1 a; p. 458, 2) . sám avartata: this vb. is to be supplied in c; cp. ádhi sám avartata in x. 129, 4. akalpayan: ipf. cs. of kḷp; they (the gods) fashioned.
See Page Number 202, Hymn Number 15 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Seven were his enclosing sticks; thrice seven were the faggots made, when the gods performing the sacrifice bound Puruṣa as the victim.
paridháyas: the green sticks put round the sacrificial fire to fence it in, generally three in number. saptá: as a sacred number. tanvāná̄s: cp. 8 h. ábadhnan: 3. pl. ipf. of bandh; cp. púruṣeṇa havíṣā in 6 a and táṃ yajñáṃ Púruṣam in 7 a b. paśúm: as appositional acc. (198).
See Page Number 203, Hymn Number 16 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
With the sacrifice the gods sacrificed to the sacrifice: these were the first ordinances. These powers reached the firmament where are the ancient Sādhyas, the gods.
ayajanta: this vb. ordinarily takes the acc. of the person worshipped and the inst. of that with which he is worshipped (308, 1 f ) ; the meaning here is: they sacrificed to Puruṣa (here appearing as a sacrifice, like Viṣṇu in the Brāhmaṇas) with the sacrifice in which he was the victim. té mahimá̄naḥ: probably the powers residing in the sacrifice. This stanza is identical with i. 164, 50.
The goddess of night, under the name of Rá̄trī is invoked in only one hymn (x. 127) . She is the sister of Uṣas, and like her is called a daughter of heaven. She is not conceived as the dark, but as the bright starlit night. Decked with all splendour she drives away the darkness. At her approach men, beasts, and birds go to rest. She protects her worshippers from the wolf and the thief, guiding them to safety. Under the name of nákta n., combined with uṣás, Night appears as a dual divinity with Dawn in the form of Uṣá̄sā-náktā and Náktoṣá̄sā, occurring in some twenty scattered stanzas of the Rigveda.
x. 127. Metre: Gāyatrī.
See Page Number 203, Hymn Number 1 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Night approaching has looked forth in many places with her eyes: she has put on all glories.
ví akhyat: a ao. of khyā see (147 a 1) . ā-yatí̄: pr. pt. f. of ā + i go (95 a ) . deví̄: accent, p. 450, b; metre, p. 437, a 4. akṣábhis: 99, 4; the eyes are stars. ádhi adhita: root ao. Ā. of dhā put (148, 1 a ) . śríyas (A. pl. of śrí̄; 100 b, p. 87) ; the glories of starlight.
See Page Number 204, Hymn Number 2 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
The immortal goddess has pervaded the wide space, the depths, and the heights: with light she drives away the darkness.
á̄ aprās: 3. s. s ao. of prā fill (144, 5) . deví̄: cp. 1 b. jyótiṣā: with starlight.
See Page Number 204, Hymn Number 3 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
The goddess approaching has turned out her sister Dawn; away too will go the darkness.
nír askṛta: 3. s. root ao. of kṛ do; the s is here not original (Padapāṭha akṛta), but is probably due to the analogy of forms such as niṣ-kuru (AV.); it spread to forms in which kṛ is compounded with the prps. pári and sám (pariṣkṛṇvánti, páriṣkṛta, sáṃskṛta). Uṣásam: Dawn here used in the sense of daylight (dec., 83, 2 a ) . nír u — ápa íd u: in the second clause the pcl. is used anaphorically (p. 221, 2) , with special emphasis (íd) on the second prp., = and the darkness will also be dispelled by the starlight (cp. 2 c) . hāsate: 3. s. sb. Ā. of the s ao. of 2. hā go forth (p. 162, 2) .
See Page Number 205, Hymn Number 4 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
So to us to-day thou (hast approached), at whose approach we have come home, as birds to their nest upon the tree.
sá̄: p. 294, b; a vb. has here to be supplied, the most natural one being hast come, from āyatí̄ in 3 b. yásyās . . te for tváṃ yásyās, a prs. prn. often being put in the rel. clause. yá̄man: loc. (90). ní . . ávikṣmahi: s ao. Ā., we have turned in (intr.). vasatím: governed by a cognate vb. to be supplied, such as return to. váyas: N. pl. of ví bird (99, 3 a ).
See Page Number 205, Hymn Number 5 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Home have gone the villages, home creatures with feet, home those with wings, home even the greedy hawks.
ní avikṣata: 3. pl. Ā. s ao. of viś enter. grá̄māsas: = villagers. ní: note the repetition of the prp. throughout, in place of the cd. vb.: a common usage.
See Page Number 205, Hymn Number 6 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Ward off the she-wolf and the wolf, ward off the thief, O Night; so be easy for us to pass.
yāváyā: cs. of yu separate; this and other roots ending in ú, as well as in i, ṛ, may take Guṇa or Vṛddhi in the cs. (168, 1 c ) , but the Padapāṭha invariably gives yavaya; the final vowel is metrically lengthened (in b it is long by position before st). vṛkyàm: accent, p. 450, 2 b. áthā: final metrically lengthened (cp. p. 214) .
See Page Number 206, Hymn Number 7 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
The darkness, thickly painting, black, palpable, has approached me: O Dawn, clear it off like debts.
úpa asthita: 3. s. Ā. of root ao. of sthā stand. pépiśat: int. pr. pt. of piś paint, as if it were material. úṣas: Dawn, as a counterpart of Night, is invoked to exact = remove the darkness from Rātrī, as one exacts money owing. In hymns addressed to a particular deity, another who is cognate or in some way associated, is not infrequently introduced incidentally. yātaya: cs. of yat.
See Page Number 206, Hymn Number 8 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Like kine I have delivered up to thee a hymn— choose it O daughter of heaven, O Night—like a song of praise to a victor.
úpa á̄ akaram (1. s. root ao. of kṛ): I have driven up for thee my song of praise, as a herdsman delivers up in the evening the cows which he has herded since the morning; cp. i. 114, 9, úpa te stómān paśupá̄ iva ᴗ á̄karam I have driven up songs of praise for thee like a herdsman. vṛṇīṣvá: 2. s. ipv. Ā. from vṛ choose. b is parenthetical. stómam is to be supplied with á̄karam. jigyúṣe: dat. of pf. pt. of ji conquer (157 b α) .
In the following cosmogonic poem the origin of the world is explained as the evolution of the existent (sát) from the non-existent (ásat). Water thus came into being first; from it was evolved intelligence by heat. It is the starting-point of the natural philosophy which developed into the Sāṅkhya system.
x. 129. Metre: Triṣṭubh.
See Page Number 207, Hymn Number 1 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
There was not the non-existent nor the existent then; there was not the air nor the heaven which is beyond. What did it contain? Where? In whose protection? Was there water, unfathomable, profound?
Cf. ŚB. x. 5, 3, 1: ná ᴗ iva vá̄ idám ágré५sad āsīd ná ᴗ iva sạ́d āsīt verily this (universe) was in the beginning neither non-existent nor existent as it were. tadá̄nīm: before the creation. āsīt: the usual form of the 3. s. ipf. of as be; the rarer form occurs in 3 b. nó: for ná u (24). víomā: the final vowel metrically lengthened (cp. p. 440, 4 B) . parás: adv.; on the accent cp. note on ii. 35, 6 c. á̄ avarīvar: 3. s. ipf. int. of vṛ cover (cp. 173, 3) ; what did it cover up = conceal or contain? kúha: where was it? kásya śárman: who guarded it? kím: here as an inter. pcl. (p. 225) . ámbhas: cp. 3 b, and TS., á̄po vá̄ idám ágre salilám āsīt this (universe) in the beginning was the waters, the ocean.
See Page Number 208, Hymn Number 2 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
There was not death nor immortality then. There was not the beacon of night, nor of day. That one breathed, windless, by its own power. Other than that there was not anything beyond.
rá̄tryās: gen. of rá̄trī (p. 87) . áhnas: gen. of áhan (91, 2) . á̄nīt: 3. s. ipf. of an breathe (p. 143, 3 a ) . tásmād: governed by anyád (p. 317, 3) . dha for ha: 54. anyán ná: 33. parás: cp. note on 1 b. āsa: pf. of as be (135, 2) .
See Page Number 208, Hymn Number 3 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Darkness was in the beginning hidden by darkness; indistinguishable, this all was water. That which, coming into being, was covered with the void, that One arose through the power of heat.
gūḷhám: pp. of guh hide (69 c, cp. 3 b γ, p. 3 and 13) . ās: 3. s. ipf. of as be (p. 142, 2 b ) ; this form is also found twice (i. 85, 1. 7) alternating with āsīt. b is a Jagatī intruding in a Triṣṭubh stanza (cp. p. 445, f. n. 7) . ābhú: the meaning of this word is illustrated by ā-babhú̄va in 6 d and 7 a. mahiná̄ = mahimná̄ (90, 2, p. 69) .
See Page Number 209, Hymn Number 4 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Desire in the beginning came upon that, (desire) that was the first seed of mind. Sages seeking in their hearts with wisdom found out the bond of the existent in the non-existent.
ádhi sám avartata: 3. s. ipf. Ā. of vṛt turn, with sám come into being; ádhi upon makes the verb transitive = come upon, take possession of. tád that = tád ékam in 2 c, the unevolved universe. One of the two prps. here is placed after the vb. (cp. 191 f, and p. 468, 20 A a ) . yád: referring to ká̄mas is attracted in gender to the predicate n. rétas. satás: they found the origin of the evolved world in the unevolved. prati-íṣyā: the gd. in ya has often a long final vowel (164, 1) which is always short in the Padapāṭha. manīṣá̄: inst. of f. in ā (p. 77) .
See Page Number 210, Hymn Number 5 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Their cord was extended across: was there below or was there above? There were impregnators, there were powers; there was energy below, there was impulse above.
raśmís: the meaning of this word here is uncertain, but it may be an explanation of bándhu in 4 c: the cord with which the sages (referred to by eṣām) in thought measured out the distance between the existent and non-existent, or between what was above and below; cp. viii. 25, 18, pári yó raśmínā divó ántān mamé pṛthivyá̄ḥ who with a cord has measured out the ends of heaven and earth; cp. also the expression sú̄traṃ vítatam (in AV. x. 8, 37) the extended string with reference to the earth. āsīt: accented because in an antithetical sentence (p. 468, 19 B β) . The ī is prolated, and that syllable (and not ā) has the Udātta, as in the final syllable of a sentence in questions (Pāṇini viii. 2, 97) ; the second question upári svid āsī3t is quoted by Pāṇini (viii. 2, 102) as coming under this rule, but without accent. retodhá̄s and mahimá̄nas are contrasted as male and female cosmogonic principles, to which correspond respectively práyatis and svadhá̄. In TS. iv. 3, 11, 1, mention is made of tráyo mahimá̄naḥ connected with fertility. svadhá̄: this is one of the five examples of a N. f. in ā left uncontracted with a following vowel: it is probable that the editors of the Saṃhitā text treated these forms as ending in āḥ, while the Padapāṭha gives them without Visarjanīya, doubtless owing to the greatly increasing prevalence of the nominatives in ā.
See Page Number 211, Hymn Number 6 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Who knows truly? Who shall here declare, whence it has been produced, whence is this creation? By the creation of this (universe) the gods (come) afterwards: who then knows whence it has arisen?
vocat: a ao. inj. of vac. kutás: b has one syllable too many (p. 441, 4 a ). arvá̄k: the sense is that the gods, being part of the creation, are later than the period preceding the creation, and therefore can know nothing of the origin of the universe. áthā: with metrically lengthened final vowel (p. 440, 4; cp. 179, 1) .
See Page Number 211, Hymn Number 7 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Whence this creation has arisen; whether he founded it or did not: he who in the highest heaven is its surveyor, he only knows, or else he knows not.
a and b are dependent on veda in d. asya: of this universe. b is defective by two syllables (p. 440, 4 a ) : possibly a metrical pause expressive of doubt may have been intended. vyòman: loc. (90, 2) . véda: the accent is due to the formal influence of yádi (p. 246, 3 a ) .
Three hymns are addressed to Yama, the chief of the blessed dead. There is also another (x. 10) , which consists of a dialogue between him and his sister Yamī. He is associated with Varuṇa, Bṛhaspati, and especially Agni, the conductor of the dead, who is called his friend and his priest. He is not expressly designated a god, but only a being who rules the dead. He is associated with the departed Fathers, especially the Aṅgirases, with whom he comes to the sacrifice to drink Soma.
Yama dwells in the remote recess of the sky. In his abode, which is the home of the gods, he is surrounded by songs and the sound of the flute. Soma is pressed for Yama, ghee is offered to him, and he comes to seat himself at the sacrifice. He is invoked to lead his worshippers to the gods, and to prolong life.
His father is Vivasvant and his mother Saraṇyū. In her dialogue with him Yamī speaks of Yama as the ‘only mortal’, and elsewhere he is said to have chosen death and abandoned his body. He departed to the other world, having found out the path for many, to where the ancient Fathers passed away. Death is the path of Yama. His foot-fetter (páḍbīśa) is spoken of as parallel to the bond of Varuṇa. The owl (úlūka) and the pigeon (kapóta) are mentioned as his messengers, but the two four-eyed, broad-nosed, brindled dogs, sons of Saramā (sārameyáu) are his regular emissaries. They guard the path along which the dead man hastens to join the Fathers who rejoice with Yama. They watch men and wander about among the peoples as Yama’s messengers. They are besought to grant continued enjoyment of the light of the sun.
As the first father of mankind and the first of those that died, Yama appears to have originally been regarded as a mortal who became the chief of the souls of the departed. He goes back to the Indo-Iranian period, for the primaeval twins, from whom the human race is descended, Yama and Yamī, are identical with the Yima and Yimeh of the Avesta. Yama himself may in that period have been regarded as a king of a golden age, for in the Avesta he is the ruler of an earthly, and in the RV. that of a heavenly paradise.
x. 135. Metre: Anuṣṭubh.
See Page Number 212, Hymn Number 1 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Beside the fair-leaved tree under which Yama drinks together with the gods, there our father, master of the house, seeks the friendship of the men of old.
yásmin: the loc. is often used in the sense of beside, near (cp. 203, 2) . saṃpíbate: drinks Soma with. átrā: with metrically long final vowel (cp. 433, 2 A) . nas: our i. e. of me and the other members of the family. pitá̄: my deceased father. purāṇá̄n: ancient ancestors; Sandhi, 39. ánu venati: that is, associates with them.
See Page Number 213, Hymn Number 2 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Him seeking the friendship of the men of old, faring in this evil way, I looked upon displeased: for him I longed again.
In this and the preceding stanza a son speaks of his father who has gone to the world of Yama. amuyá̄: inst. s. f. of the prn. ayám used adverbially with shift of accent (p. 109) ; with this is combined the inst. s. f. of the adj. pāpá similarly used, the two together meaning in this evil way, that is, going to the abode of the dead. asūyán: being displeased, that is, with him, opposed to aspṛhayam, I longed for him, that is, to see him again. acākaśam: ipf. int. of kāś, with shortening of the radical vowel (174) .
See Page Number 213, Hymn Number 3 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
The new car, O boy, the wheelless, which thou didst make in mind, which has one pole, but faces in all directions, thou ascendest seeing it not.
In this stanza (and the next) the dead boy is addressed; he mounts the car which he imagines is to take him to the other world. acakrám: perhaps because the dead are wafted to Yama by Agni. éka and viśvátas are opposed: though it has but one pole, it has a front on every side. ápaśyan: because dead.
See Page Number 214, Hymn Number 4 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
The car, O boy, that thou didst set rolling forth away from the priests, after that there rolled forth a chant placed from here upon a ship.
The departure of the dead is followed by a funeral chant. praávartayas: 2. s. ipf. cs. of vṛt turn; accent, p. 464, 17, 1; p. 469, β; analysed by the Padapāṭha, as prá ávartayas; cp. note on viii. 48, 2 a. ánu prá avartata: 3. s. ipf. Ā. of vṛt: accent, p. 464, 17, 1; p. 466, 19; p. 468, 20 a. víprebhyas: the priests officiating at the funeral; abl. governed by pári (176, 1 a ) ; Sandhi, 43, 2 a. sám á̄-hitam: accent, p. 462, 13 b. nāví: the funeral chant is placed on a boat as a vehicle to convey it from here (itás) to the other world.
See Page Number 214, Hymn Number 5 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Who generated the boy? Who rolled out his car? Who pray could tell us this to-day, how his equipment (?) was?
These questions seem to be asked by Yama on the deceased boy’s arrival: Who was his father? Who performed his funeral? With what equipment was he provided for the journey? nír avartayat: cp. yáṃ prá̄vartayo rátham in 4 a b. anudéyī: this word occurs only in this and the following verse; it is a f. of anu-déya, which occurs in the sense of to be handed over; the exact sense is nevertheless uncertain. It not improbably means that with which the deceased was supplied for the journey to Yama’s abode.
See Page Number 215, Hymn Number 6 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
As the equipment was, so the top arose; in front the bottom extended; behind the exit was made.
The sense of this stanza is obscure, chiefly because the object of which the details are here given is uncertain. The car on which the deceased is supposed to be conveyed may be meant. There is evidently correspondence between yáthā and tátas, ágram and budhnás, purástād and paścá̄d. There is no doubt about the grammatical forms or the meaning of the individual words (except anudéyī). If the reference is to the car, the general sense of the stanza is: in proportion to the equipment is the height of the top, the space on the floor in front, and the size of the exit at the back.
See Page Number 215, Hymn Number 7 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
This is the seat of Yama that is called the abode of the gods. This is his flute that is blown. He it is that is adorned with songs.
The boy here arrives at the abode of Yama. sá̄danam: note that the vowel of this word is always short in the Pada text, the compilers of which seem to have regarded it as a metrical lengthening; sá̄danam occurs about a dozen times in the RV., beside the much commoner sádanam. nāḷí̄s: with s in the nom. (100, I a ) . There is one syllable too many in c (cp. p. 428, 2 a ) . ayám: Yama. páriṣkṛtas: note that the Pada text removes the unoriginal s (p. 145, f. n. 1; cp. note on x 127, 3 a ) . gīrbhís: dec. 82; accent, p. 458, c 1.
This god, as Vá̄ta, the ordinary name of wind, is addressed in two short hymns. He is invoked in a more concrete way than his doublet Vāyú, who is celebrated in one whole hymn and in parts of others. Vāta’s name is frequently connected with forms of the root vā, blow, from which it is derived. He is once associated with the god of the rain-storm in the dual form of Vātā-Parjanyá̄, while Vāyu is often similarly linked with Indra as Índra-Vāyú̄. Vāta is the breath of the gods. Like Rudra he wafts healing and prolongs life; for he has the treasure of immortality in his house. His activity is chiefly mentioned in connexion with the thunderstorm. He produces ruddy lights and makes the dawns to shine. His swiftness often supplies a comparison for the speed of the gods or of mythical steeds. His noise is also often mentioned.
x. 168. Metre: Triṣṭubh.
See Page Number 215, Hymn Number 1 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
(I will) now (proclaim) the greatness of Vāta’s car: its sound goes shattering, thundering. Touching the sky it goes producing ruddy hues; and it also goes along the earth scattering dust.
mahimá̄nam: the vb. can easily be supplied, the most obvious one being prá vocam according to the first verse of i. 32, Índrasya nú vīryà̄ṇi prá vocam, and of i. 154 Víṣṇor nú kaṃ vīryà̄ṇi prá vocam. ruján: similarly the Maruts are said to split the mountain with the felly of their cars (v. 52, 9), and their sound is thunder (i. 23, 11) . stanáyan: used predicatively like a finite vb. (207) or eti may be supplied. aruṇá̄ni: alluding to the ruddy hue of lightning, with which the Maruts are particularly associated. asya: accent, p. 452. utó: 24. pṛthivyá̄: inst. expressing motion over (199, 4) .
See Page Number 217, Hymn Number 2 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
The hosts of Vāta speed on together after him: they go to him as women to a festival. The god, the king of all this world, united with them, goes on the same car.
sáṃ prá īrate: 3. pl. pr. Ā. of īr; p. 468, 20 a. viṣṭhá̄s: though the derivation is vi-stha (not analysed in the Pada text), the meaning is uncertain. It is probably the subject with which yóṣās are compared, the sense being: the rains follow the storm wind (apá̄ṃ sákhā in 3 c), and accompany him on his course. sarátham: an adv. based on the cognate acc. (197, 4). īyate: from ī go according to the fourth class, from which the pr. forms īyase, īyate, īyante, and the pt. í̄yamāna occur; c is a Jagatī Pāda.
See Page Number 218, Hymn Number 3 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Going along his paths in the air he rests not any day. The friend of waters, the first-born, the holy, where pray being born, whence has he arisen?
pathíbhis: inst. in local sense (199, 4) . í̄yamānas: see note on 2 c. áhas: acc. of duration of time (197, 2) ; cp. also 4 b and the Padapāṭha. apá̄ṃ sákhā: as accompanied by rain (cp. note on 2 a) . prathama-já̄s: 97, 2. ṛtá̄vā: 15 c. kvà: = kúa (p. 448) . jātás: as a finite verb (208); cp. x. 129, 6 b. kúta á̄ babhūva = what is his origin (cp. x. 129, 6 d) ; on the use of the pf. cp. 213 A a.
See Page Number 218, Hymn Number 4 in PDF for Sanskrit Version
Breath of the gods, germ of the world, this god fares according to his will. His sounds are heard, (but) his form is not (seen). To that Vāta we would pay worship with oblation.
ātmá̄: cp. x. 90, 13, where Vāyu is said to have been produced from the breath of Puruṣa; and x. 16, 3, where breath is allied to wind. gárbhas: Vāta is here called germ of the world as Agni is in x. 45, 6. asya: accent, p. 452. ghóṣās: cp. 1 b. śṛṇvire: 3. pl. Ā. pr. of śru with ps. sense (p. 145, γ). ná rūpám: the vb. dṛśyate is here easily supplied. vidhema: with dat. (200 A f ) .
Finite verbal forms are here given under the root from which they are derived, as also the prepositions with which they are compounded, even when separated from them. Nominal verbal forms (participles, gerunds, gerundives, infinitives), on the other hand, appear in their alphabetical order.
a. = adjective. A. = accusative. Ā = Ātmanepada, middle voice. AA. = Aitareya Āraṇyaka. ab. = ablative. acc. = accusative. act. = active. adv. = adverb, adverbial. ao. = aorist. Arm. = Armenian. Av. = Avesta, Avestic. Bv. = Bahuvrīhi compound. cd. = compound. cj. = conjunction. cog. = cognate. corr. = correlative. cpv. = comparative. cs. = causative. D. = dative. dat. = dative. dec. = declension. dem. = demonstrative. den. = denominative. der. = derivative. Dv. = Dvandva compound. ds. = desiderative. du. = dual. emph. = emphatic, emphasizing. enc. = enclitic. Eng. = English. f. = feminine. ft. = future. G. = genitive. gd. = gerund. gdv. = gerundive. gen. = genitive. Gk. = Greek. Go. = Gothic. gov. = governing compound. I. = instrumental. ij. = interjection. ind. = indicative. indec. = indeclinable. inf. = infinitive. inj. = injunctive. inst. = instrumental. int. = intensive. inter. = interrogative. ipf. = imperfect. ipv. = imperative. irr. = irregular. itv. = iterative. K. = Karmadhāraya compound. m. = masculine. mid. = middle. L. = locative. Lat. = Latin. lc. = locative. Lith. = Lithuanian. N. = nominative. n. = neuter. neg. = negative. nm. = numeral. nom. = nominative. OG. = Old German. OI. = Old Irish. OP. = Old Persian. op. = optative. ord. = ordinal. OS. = Old Saxon. OSl. = Old Slavonic. P. = Parasmaipada, active voice. pcl. = particle. pf. = perfect. pl. = plural. poss. = possessive. pp. = past passive participle. ppf. = pluperfect. pr. = present. prn. = pronoun. proh. = prohibitive. prp. = preposition. prs. = person, personal. ps. = passive. pt. = participle. red. = reduplicated. ref. = reflexive. rel. = relative. rt. = root. s. = singular. sb. = subjunctive. sec. = secondary. sf. = suffix. Slav. = Slavonic. spv. = superlative. syn. = syntactical. Tp. = Tatpuruṣa compound. V. = vocative. vb. = verb, verbal. voc. = vocative. YV. = Yajurveda.