I, 1
*
"Vedic Hymns, Part Ii (sbe46)\", by Hermann Oldenberg [1897],
p. 1
Vedic Hymns.
Ma\"N"D"Ala I, Hymn 1.
Ash\"T"Aka I, Adhyya 1, Varga 1-2.
1 1. I magnify 2 Agni, the Purohita, the divine ministrant of the sacrifice, the Hot"ri" priest, the greatest bestower of treasures.
2. Agni, worthy to be magnified by the ancient "Ri"shis and by the present ones--may he conduct the gods hither.
3. May one obtain through Agni wealth and welfare day by day, which may bring glory and high bliss of valiant offspring.
4. Agni, whatever sacrifice and worship 1 thou encompassest on every side, that indeed goes to the gods.
5. May Agni the thoughtful Hot"ri", he who is true and most splendidly renowned, may the god come hither with the gods.
6. Whatever good thou wilt do to thy worshipper, O Agni, that (work) verily is thine, O Agiras
7. Thee, O Agni, we approach day by day, O (god) who shinest in the darkness 1; with our prayer, bringing adoration to thee--
8. Who art the king of all worship, the guardian of "Ri"ta, the shining one, increasing in thy own house.
9. Thus, O Agni, be easy of access to us, as a father is to his son. Stay with us for our happiness.
p. 2
Notes.
The hymn is ascribed to Madhu"k"kh"andas Vai"s"vmitra, and may possibly belong to an author of the Vi"s"vmitra family. See my Prolegomena, p. 261. Metre, Gyatr. The hymn has been translated and commented upon by M. M., Physical Religion, pp. 170-173.
Verse 1 = Ts. Iv, 3, 13, 3; Ms. Iv, 10, 5. Verse 3 = Ts. Iii, 1, 11, 1; Iv, 3, 13, 5; Ms. Iv, 10, 4 (iv, 14, 16). Verse 4 = Ts. Iv, 1, 11, 1; Ms. Iv, 10, 3. Verse 7 = Sv. I, 14. Verses 7-9 = Vs. Iii, 22-24; Ts. I, 5, 6, 2; Ms. I, 5, 3.
Verse 1.
Note 1. This verse being the first verse of the Rig-veda as we now possess it, seems already to have occupied the same position in the time of the author of the hymns X, 20-26. For, after a short benediction, the opening words of this collection of hymns are also agnm "l"e, 'I magnify Agni.' Comp. my Prolegomena, p. 231.
Note 2. The verb which I translate by 'magnify'--being well aware that it is impossible to do full justice to its meaning by such a translation--is "d". There seems to me no doubt that this verb is etymologically connected with the substantives sh, 'food,' "d", "d", r (not with the root ya"g" of which Brugmann, Indogermanische Forschungen I, 171, thinks). We need not ask here whether the connection between "d" and sh is effected by a 'Wurzeldeterminativ' (root-determinative) d--in this case we should have here "d" for izhd, comp. n"d"a for nizhda, p"d" for pizhd, see Brugmann's Grundriss, vol. i, 591--or whether "d" is a reduplicated present of i"d" (of the type described by Brugmann, Grundriss, vol. ii, p. 854; comp. rte, &c.). The original meaning of "d"e at all events seems to be 'I give sap or nourishment.' Now in the Vedic poetry and ritual, the idea of sap or nourishment is especially connected with the different products coming from the cow, milk and
p. 3
butter. The footsteps of the goddess I"d" drip with butter. The words 'agnim "d"e' seem to me, consequently, originally to convey the idea of celebrating Agni by pouring sacrificial butter into the fire. There is a number of passages in the Rig-veda which, in my opinion, show clear traces of this original meaning of the verb. Thus we read X, 53, 2. y"g"mahai ya"g"yn hnta devn "l"mahai "d"yn "g"yena, 'let us sacrifice (ya"g") to the gods to whom sacrifice is due; let us magnify ("d") with butter those to whom magnifying is due.' V, 14, 3. tm h "s"s"vanta"h l"ate sru"k" devm gh"ri"ta"s"k"t agnm havyya v"lh"ave, 'for all people magnify this god Agni with the butter-dripping sacrificial spoon that he may carry the sacrificial food.' V, 28, I. devn "l"n havsh gh"ri"t"k", 'magnifying the gods with sacrificial food, (the spoon) filled with butter.' Comp. also I, 84, 18; Vi, 70, 4; Viii, 74, 6; X, 118, 3. Then, by a gradual development, we find the verb "d" or the noun "l"enya connected with such instrumentals as gir or grbh"h", 'to magnify by songs,' or stmai"h" 'by praises,' nmas by 'adoration,' and the like. The Rig-vedic texts, however, show us very clearly that even in such phrases the original meaning of "d" was not quite forgotten. For the word is not used indifferently of any praise offered to any god whatever. No god of the Vedic Pantheon is praised so frequently and so highly by the poets of the Rig-veda as Indra. Yet, with very few exceptions, the word "d" is avoided in connection with this god. The whole ninth Ma"n"d"ala contains nothing but praises of Soma Pavamna. Yet the word I"d" occurs, in the whole of this Ma"n"d"ala, in two passages only (5, 3; 66, 1) of which one is contained in an pr verse transferring artificially to Soma such qualifications as belong originally to Agni. On the other hand, in the invocations addressed to Agni, this verb and its derivatives are most frequently used. We may conclude that the idea of celebration, as conveyed by these words, had a connotation which qualified them for the employment with regard to Agni, the god nourished by offerings of butter, much better than for being addressed to Indra, the drinker of the Soma juice, or to the god Soma himself.
p. 4
Last comes, I believe, the meaning of "d" as contained in a very small number of passages such as Vii, 91, 2. ndravy sustut"h" vm iyn mr"d"km "t"t"e suvitm "k"a nvyam, 'Indra and Vyu! Our beautiful praise, approaching you, asks you for mercy and for new welfare.' Here the construction of "d" is such as if in English the phrase, 'men magnify the gods for obtaining mercy,' could be expressed in the words 'men magnify the gods mercy.'
I conclude by quoting the more important recent literature referring to "d": Prof. Max Mller's note on V, 60, 1 (s. B. E. vol. xxxii, p. 354); Physical Religion, p. 170; Bezzenberger, Nachrichten von der Gttinger Gesellsch. d. Wissensch. 1878, p. 264; Bechtel, Bezzenberger's Beitrge, X, 286; Bartholomae, ibid. Xii, 91; Arische Forschungen, II, 78; Indogermanische Forschungen, Iii, 28, note 1; Brugmann, Indogermanische Forschungen, I, 171; K. F. Johansson, Indogermanische Forschungen, II, 47. Comp. also Bartholomae, Arische Forschungen, I, 21; Iii, 52, and Joh. Schmidt, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, Xxxii, 389.
Verse 4.
Note 1. 'Worship' is a very inadequate translation of adhvara, which is nearly a synonym of ya"g"a, by the side of which it frequently stands. Possibly in the designation of the sacrifice as ya"g"a the stress was laid on the element of prayer, praises, and adoration; in the designation as adhvara on the actual work which was chiefly done by the Adhvaryu.--Prof. Max Mller writes: 'I accept the native explanation a-dhvara, without a flaw, perfect, whole, holy. Adhvara is generally an opus operatum; hence adhvaryu, the operating priest.' Comp. Physical Religion, p. 171. Bury's derivation of adhvara from madhu (mdhu-ara, Bezzenberger's Beitrge, Vii, 339) is much more ingenious than convincing.
Verse 7.
Note 1. I have translated dshvastar as a vocative which, as is rendered very probable by the accent, was also the opinion of the diaskeuasts of the Sa"m"hit text.
p. 5
[paragraph continues] The author of the sacrificial formula which is given in "s"val. "S"raut. Iii, 12, 4 and Skh. G"ri"hy. V, 5, 4, evidently understood the word in the same way; there Agni is invoked as doshvastar and as prtarvastar, as shining in the darkness of evening and as shining in the morning. That this may indeed be the true meaning of the word is shown by Rig-veda Iii, 49, 4, where Indra is called kshapm vast 'the illuminator of the nights' (kshapm is gen. plur., not as Bartholomae, Bezzenberger's Beitrge, Xv, 208, takes it, loc. sing.). The very frequent passages, however, in which case-forms of dosh stand in opposition to words meaning 'dawn' or 'morning'--which words in most cases are derived from the root vas--strongly favour the opinion of Gaedicke (Der Accusativ im Veda, 177, note 3) and K. F. Johansson (Bezzenberger's Beitrge, Xiv, 163), who give to dshvastar the meaning 'in the darkness and in the morning.' This translation very well suits all Rig-veda passages in which the word occurs. If this opinion is accepted, doshvastar very probably ought to be written and accented as two independent words, dosh vstar. See M. M., Physical Religion, p. 173.
"Vedic Hymns, Part Ii (sbe46)\", by Hermann Oldenberg [1897],
p. 1
Vedic Hymns.
Ma\"N"D"Ala I, Hymn 1.
Ash\"T"Aka I, Adhyya 1, Varga 1-2.
1 1. I magnify 2 Agni, the Purohita, the divine ministrant of the sacrifice, the Hot"ri" priest, the greatest bestower of treasures.
2. Agni, worthy to be magnified by the ancient "Ri"shis and by the present ones--may he conduct the gods hither.
3. May one obtain through Agni wealth and welfare day by day, which may bring glory and high bliss of valiant offspring.
4. Agni, whatever sacrifice and worship 1 thou encompassest on every side, that indeed goes to the gods.
5. May Agni the thoughtful Hot"ri", he who is true and most splendidly renowned, may the god come hither with the gods.
6. Whatever good thou wilt do to thy worshipper, O Agni, that (work) verily is thine, O Agiras
7. Thee, O Agni, we approach day by day, O (god) who shinest in the darkness 1; with our prayer, bringing adoration to thee--
8. Who art the king of all worship, the guardian of "Ri"ta, the shining one, increasing in thy own house.
9. Thus, O Agni, be easy of access to us, as a father is to his son. Stay with us for our happiness.
p. 2
Notes.
The hymn is ascribed to Madhu"k"kh"andas Vai"s"vmitra, and may possibly belong to an author of the Vi"s"vmitra family. See my Prolegomena, p. 261. Metre, Gyatr. The hymn has been translated and commented upon by M. M., Physical Religion, pp. 170-173.
Verse 1 = Ts. Iv, 3, 13, 3; Ms. Iv, 10, 5. Verse 3 = Ts. Iii, 1, 11, 1; Iv, 3, 13, 5; Ms. Iv, 10, 4 (iv, 14, 16). Verse 4 = Ts. Iv, 1, 11, 1; Ms. Iv, 10, 3. Verse 7 = Sv. I, 14. Verses 7-9 = Vs. Iii, 22-24; Ts. I, 5, 6, 2; Ms. I, 5, 3.
Verse 1.
Note 1. This verse being the first verse of the Rig-veda as we now possess it, seems already to have occupied the same position in the time of the author of the hymns X, 20-26. For, after a short benediction, the opening words of this collection of hymns are also agnm "l"e, 'I magnify Agni.' Comp. my Prolegomena, p. 231.
Note 2. The verb which I translate by 'magnify'--being well aware that it is impossible to do full justice to its meaning by such a translation--is "d". There seems to me no doubt that this verb is etymologically connected with the substantives sh, 'food,' "d", "d", r (not with the root ya"g" of which Brugmann, Indogermanische Forschungen I, 171, thinks). We need not ask here whether the connection between "d" and sh is effected by a 'Wurzeldeterminativ' (root-determinative) d--in this case we should have here "d" for izhd, comp. n"d"a for nizhda, p"d" for pizhd, see Brugmann's Grundriss, vol. i, 591--or whether "d" is a reduplicated present of i"d" (of the type described by Brugmann, Grundriss, vol. ii, p. 854; comp. rte, &c.). The original meaning of "d"e at all events seems to be 'I give sap or nourishment.' Now in the Vedic poetry and ritual, the idea of sap or nourishment is especially connected with the different products coming from the cow, milk and
p. 3
butter. The footsteps of the goddess I"d" drip with butter. The words 'agnim "d"e' seem to me, consequently, originally to convey the idea of celebrating Agni by pouring sacrificial butter into the fire. There is a number of passages in the Rig-veda which, in my opinion, show clear traces of this original meaning of the verb. Thus we read X, 53, 2. y"g"mahai ya"g"yn hnta devn "l"mahai "d"yn "g"yena, 'let us sacrifice (ya"g") to the gods to whom sacrifice is due; let us magnify ("d") with butter those to whom magnifying is due.' V, 14, 3. tm h "s"s"vanta"h l"ate sru"k" devm gh"ri"ta"s"k"t agnm havyya v"lh"ave, 'for all people magnify this god Agni with the butter-dripping sacrificial spoon that he may carry the sacrificial food.' V, 28, I. devn "l"n havsh gh"ri"t"k", 'magnifying the gods with sacrificial food, (the spoon) filled with butter.' Comp. also I, 84, 18; Vi, 70, 4; Viii, 74, 6; X, 118, 3. Then, by a gradual development, we find the verb "d" or the noun "l"enya connected with such instrumentals as gir or grbh"h", 'to magnify by songs,' or stmai"h" 'by praises,' nmas by 'adoration,' and the like. The Rig-vedic texts, however, show us very clearly that even in such phrases the original meaning of "d" was not quite forgotten. For the word is not used indifferently of any praise offered to any god whatever. No god of the Vedic Pantheon is praised so frequently and so highly by the poets of the Rig-veda as Indra. Yet, with very few exceptions, the word "d" is avoided in connection with this god. The whole ninth Ma"n"d"ala contains nothing but praises of Soma Pavamna. Yet the word I"d" occurs, in the whole of this Ma"n"d"ala, in two passages only (5, 3; 66, 1) of which one is contained in an pr verse transferring artificially to Soma such qualifications as belong originally to Agni. On the other hand, in the invocations addressed to Agni, this verb and its derivatives are most frequently used. We may conclude that the idea of celebration, as conveyed by these words, had a connotation which qualified them for the employment with regard to Agni, the god nourished by offerings of butter, much better than for being addressed to Indra, the drinker of the Soma juice, or to the god Soma himself.
p. 4
Last comes, I believe, the meaning of "d" as contained in a very small number of passages such as Vii, 91, 2. ndravy sustut"h" vm iyn mr"d"km "t"t"e suvitm "k"a nvyam, 'Indra and Vyu! Our beautiful praise, approaching you, asks you for mercy and for new welfare.' Here the construction of "d" is such as if in English the phrase, 'men magnify the gods for obtaining mercy,' could be expressed in the words 'men magnify the gods mercy.'
I conclude by quoting the more important recent literature referring to "d": Prof. Max Mller's note on V, 60, 1 (s. B. E. vol. xxxii, p. 354); Physical Religion, p. 170; Bezzenberger, Nachrichten von der Gttinger Gesellsch. d. Wissensch. 1878, p. 264; Bechtel, Bezzenberger's Beitrge, X, 286; Bartholomae, ibid. Xii, 91; Arische Forschungen, II, 78; Indogermanische Forschungen, Iii, 28, note 1; Brugmann, Indogermanische Forschungen, I, 171; K. F. Johansson, Indogermanische Forschungen, II, 47. Comp. also Bartholomae, Arische Forschungen, I, 21; Iii, 52, and Joh. Schmidt, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, Xxxii, 389.
Verse 4.
Note 1. 'Worship' is a very inadequate translation of adhvara, which is nearly a synonym of ya"g"a, by the side of which it frequently stands. Possibly in the designation of the sacrifice as ya"g"a the stress was laid on the element of prayer, praises, and adoration; in the designation as adhvara on the actual work which was chiefly done by the Adhvaryu.--Prof. Max Mller writes: 'I accept the native explanation a-dhvara, without a flaw, perfect, whole, holy. Adhvara is generally an opus operatum; hence adhvaryu, the operating priest.' Comp. Physical Religion, p. 171. Bury's derivation of adhvara from madhu (mdhu-ara, Bezzenberger's Beitrge, Vii, 339) is much more ingenious than convincing.
Verse 7.
Note 1. I have translated dshvastar as a vocative which, as is rendered very probable by the accent, was also the opinion of the diaskeuasts of the Sa"m"hit text.
p. 5
[paragraph continues] The author of the sacrificial formula which is given in "s"val. "S"raut. Iii, 12, 4 and Skh. G"ri"hy. V, 5, 4, evidently understood the word in the same way; there Agni is invoked as doshvastar and as prtarvastar, as shining in the darkness of evening and as shining in the morning. That this may indeed be the true meaning of the word is shown by Rig-veda Iii, 49, 4, where Indra is called kshapm vast 'the illuminator of the nights' (kshapm is gen. plur., not as Bartholomae, Bezzenberger's Beitrge, Xv, 208, takes it, loc. sing.). The very frequent passages, however, in which case-forms of dosh stand in opposition to words meaning 'dawn' or 'morning'--which words in most cases are derived from the root vas--strongly favour the opinion of Gaedicke (Der Accusativ im Veda, 177, note 3) and K. F. Johansson (Bezzenberger's Beitrge, Xiv, 163), who give to dshvastar the meaning 'in the darkness and in the morning.' This translation very well suits all Rig-veda passages in which the word occurs. If this opinion is accepted, doshvastar very probably ought to be written and accented as two independent words, dosh vstar. See M. M., Physical Religion, p. 173.
