I, 79
*
"Vedic Hymns, Part Ii (sbe46)\", by Hermann Oldenberg [1897],
p. 103
Ma\"N"D"Ala I, Hymn 79.
Ash\"T"Aka I, Adhyya 5, Varga 27-28.
I.
1. The golden-haired in the expanse 1 of the atmosphere, the roaring 2 snake, is hasting (through the air) like the wind; the brightly resplendent watcher of the dawn 3, he who is like the glorious, ever active and truthful (goddesses) 4.
2. By thy goings the beautifully-winged (birds) were disparaged 1; the black bull 2 has roared, when here 3 (all this happened). He has come as if with the bounteous smiling (women) 4. The mists fly, the clouds thunder.
3. When they have led him, who swells 1 with the milk of "Ri"ta, on the straightest paths of "Ri"ta, then Aryaman, Mitra, and Varu"n"a, he who walks round the earth 2, fill the leather-bag (the cloud) in the womb of the lower (atmosphere [?]) 3.
Ii.
4. Agni, who art lord of booty, rich in cows, young son of strength 1, bestow on us, O "G"tavedas, great glory.
5. Being lighted, a Vasu, a sage, Agni who is to be magnified by (pious) words, O (god) with many faces, shine to us so that riches may be ours.
6. Reigning 1 by night by thy own power, O Agni, and at the break of dawn, O god with sharp teeth, burn against the sorcerers.
p. 104
Iii.
7. Bless us, O Agni, with thy blessings, when our Gyatra song is brought forward (to thee), thou to whom reverence is due in all our prayers.
8. Bring us wealth, O Agni, which may be always conquering, excellent and invincible 1 in all battles.
9. Bestow on us, Agni, through thy kindness 1 wealth which may last all our life 2, and have mercy 3 on us that we may live.
Iv.
10. O Gotama 1, bring forward purified words, bring songs to the sharp-flaming Agni, desirous of his favour.
11. May he who tries to harm us, whether nigh or afar, fall down. Do thou lead us alone to increase.
12. The thousand-eyed Agni, who dwells among all tribes, scares away the Rakshas. The praiseworthy Hot"ri" (Agni) is praised 1.
Notes.
The same "Ri"shi. Metre, 1-3 Trish"t"ubh; 4-6 Ush"n"ih; 7-12 Gyatr.
What in the traditional text is one hymn, consists really of four independent hymns of three verses each. This is to be concluded from the well-known laws of arrangement of the Sa"m"hit, and is confirmed by the change of metre and by the reception of two of the four hymns into other Vedic Sa"m"hits: the second (verses 4-6) is found in the Sma-veda Ii, 911-913; V\"g". Sa"m"hit Xv, 35-37; Taitt.
p. 105
[paragraph continues] Sa"m"hit Iv, 4, 4, 5; Maitr. Sa"m"hit Ii, 13, 8; the third (verses 7-9) in the Sma-veda Ii, 874-876. Besides, verses 1-2 occur Taitt. Sa"m"h. Iii, 1, 11, 4-5; verse 2, Maitr. Sa"m"h. Iv, 12, 5; verse 4, Sma-veda I, 99; verses 8, 9, Maitr. Sa"m"h. Iv, 12, 4; verse 9, Maitr. Sa"m"h. Iv, 10, 6; Taitt. Br. Ii, 4, 5, 3.
Verse 1.
Note 1. As to visr I think we should compare Vii, 36, 1. v snun p"ri"thiv sasre urv, 'The wide earth has expanded with her surface.' Prof. Max Mller observes with regard to this Pda: when the sky sends forth the rain, the lightning appears.
Note 2. On dhni, see vol. xxxii, p. 112 (i, 64, 5), and Geldner, Vedische Studien, I, 268. I do not take the word with Geldner for an epithet of Vta, the wind, but of the snake, i. e. Agni, who very probably is to be understood here as in the whole T"ri"k"a, as the fire of the lightning.
Note 3. Perhaps we have here again a Pda of ten syllables, of the type which occurs several times in the preceding hymns. Or possibly the text should be corrected: ushsa"l"e n nved"h", 'a knower (of sacrifices, comp. Iv, 23, 4; V, 12, 3) like the dawns,' or ushsm nved"h" (with dissyllabic -m), 'a knower of the dawns.'--See Lanman, p. 565.
Note 4. The waters? Or the dawns?
Verse 2.
Note 1. On the nasalization of aminantan in the Sa"m"hit text, see my Prolegomena, p. 471.
Note 2. I. e. Par"g"anya, the thundering cloud. Comp. V, 83, 1; Vii, 10t, 1; Bergaigne, Rel. Vdique, III, 27 seq.
Note 3. Regarding ydi idm, comp. Iv, 5, 11. There the verb belonging to ydi must be supplied; in the same way our passage must be interpreted also, unless we resort to changing the text and accentuating the verb nonva, in which case the translation would be, 'when the black bull has bellowed here.'
p. 106
Note 4. The women may be the showers of rain. Or they could be understood as the dawns,. comp. ushsa"h" nved"h", verse 1.
Verse 3.
Note 1. I propose to read pynam.
Note 2. On pri"g"man, see Joh. Schmidt, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, Xxv, 86; Bartholomae, Bezzenberger's Beitrge, XV, 27 seq.; Bergaigne, Rel. Vd. Ii, 505; and compare especially X, 93, 4. The word evidently is connected not with the verb gam, but with kshm, 'the earth,' of which we find the genitives gm"h" and "g"m"h".
Note 3. It does not seem probable to me that para means here the lower pressing-stone, as Grassmann, Ludwig, and Pischel (Vedische Studien, I, 109) suggest (Grassmann: den Schlauch beim untern Pressstein. Ludwig: den schlauch an des steines ort. Pischel: sie legen das Fell mitten auf den Stein). I propose to supply r"g"asa"h"; comp. I, 62, 5. r"g"a"h" param; Iv, 1, 11. r"g"asa"h" asy ynau, and especially Iv, 17, 14, where we find the 'womb of the atmosphere' (r"g"asa"h" asy ynau) mentioned, quite as in our passage, together with the leather-bag (tv"k"), i. e. the cloud.--Bergaigne (Rel. Vd. Ii, 505) translates and explains, 'arrose la peau dans le sjour de l'infrieur,' c'est--dire fait couler les eaux du ciel pour l'Agni terrestre.
Verse 4.
Note 1. See above, I, 26, 10, note 1.
Verse 6.
Note 1. R"g"an seems to be the participle of r"g"; comp. Viii, 19, 3i. kshap"h" vstushu r"g"asi. Now it is very improbable that of this participle a vocative should occur; see Lanman, 509. I believe, therefore, that we should accentuate r"g"an (comp. the remarks of Bartholomae, Bezzenberger's Beitrge, Xv, 204).
Verse 8.
Note 1. Comp. Ix, 63, 11. raym dush"t"ram.
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Verse 9.
Note 1. As to su"k"etn, comp. I, 159, 5.
Note 2. Comp. Vi, 59, 9. raym vi"s"vyuposhasam.
Note 3. Mr"d"km is a second object of dhehi, not an epithet of raym. Comp. Viii, 7, 30.
Verse 10.
Note 1. Comp. above, 78, 2, note 1.
Verse 12.
Note 1. On the use of the middle of g"ri" with passive meaning, comp. Delbrck, Altindische Syntax, 264.
"Vedic Hymns, Part Ii (sbe46)\", by Hermann Oldenberg [1897],
p. 103
Ma\"N"D"Ala I, Hymn 79.
Ash\"T"Aka I, Adhyya 5, Varga 27-28.
I.
1. The golden-haired in the expanse 1 of the atmosphere, the roaring 2 snake, is hasting (through the air) like the wind; the brightly resplendent watcher of the dawn 3, he who is like the glorious, ever active and truthful (goddesses) 4.
2. By thy goings the beautifully-winged (birds) were disparaged 1; the black bull 2 has roared, when here 3 (all this happened). He has come as if with the bounteous smiling (women) 4. The mists fly, the clouds thunder.
3. When they have led him, who swells 1 with the milk of "Ri"ta, on the straightest paths of "Ri"ta, then Aryaman, Mitra, and Varu"n"a, he who walks round the earth 2, fill the leather-bag (the cloud) in the womb of the lower (atmosphere [?]) 3.
Ii.
4. Agni, who art lord of booty, rich in cows, young son of strength 1, bestow on us, O "G"tavedas, great glory.
5. Being lighted, a Vasu, a sage, Agni who is to be magnified by (pious) words, O (god) with many faces, shine to us so that riches may be ours.
6. Reigning 1 by night by thy own power, O Agni, and at the break of dawn, O god with sharp teeth, burn against the sorcerers.
p. 104
Iii.
7. Bless us, O Agni, with thy blessings, when our Gyatra song is brought forward (to thee), thou to whom reverence is due in all our prayers.
8. Bring us wealth, O Agni, which may be always conquering, excellent and invincible 1 in all battles.
9. Bestow on us, Agni, through thy kindness 1 wealth which may last all our life 2, and have mercy 3 on us that we may live.
Iv.
10. O Gotama 1, bring forward purified words, bring songs to the sharp-flaming Agni, desirous of his favour.
11. May he who tries to harm us, whether nigh or afar, fall down. Do thou lead us alone to increase.
12. The thousand-eyed Agni, who dwells among all tribes, scares away the Rakshas. The praiseworthy Hot"ri" (Agni) is praised 1.
Notes.
The same "Ri"shi. Metre, 1-3 Trish"t"ubh; 4-6 Ush"n"ih; 7-12 Gyatr.
What in the traditional text is one hymn, consists really of four independent hymns of three verses each. This is to be concluded from the well-known laws of arrangement of the Sa"m"hit, and is confirmed by the change of metre and by the reception of two of the four hymns into other Vedic Sa"m"hits: the second (verses 4-6) is found in the Sma-veda Ii, 911-913; V\"g". Sa"m"hit Xv, 35-37; Taitt.
p. 105
[paragraph continues] Sa"m"hit Iv, 4, 4, 5; Maitr. Sa"m"hit Ii, 13, 8; the third (verses 7-9) in the Sma-veda Ii, 874-876. Besides, verses 1-2 occur Taitt. Sa"m"h. Iii, 1, 11, 4-5; verse 2, Maitr. Sa"m"h. Iv, 12, 5; verse 4, Sma-veda I, 99; verses 8, 9, Maitr. Sa"m"h. Iv, 12, 4; verse 9, Maitr. Sa"m"h. Iv, 10, 6; Taitt. Br. Ii, 4, 5, 3.
Verse 1.
Note 1. As to visr I think we should compare Vii, 36, 1. v snun p"ri"thiv sasre urv, 'The wide earth has expanded with her surface.' Prof. Max Mller observes with regard to this Pda: when the sky sends forth the rain, the lightning appears.
Note 2. On dhni, see vol. xxxii, p. 112 (i, 64, 5), and Geldner, Vedische Studien, I, 268. I do not take the word with Geldner for an epithet of Vta, the wind, but of the snake, i. e. Agni, who very probably is to be understood here as in the whole T"ri"k"a, as the fire of the lightning.
Note 3. Perhaps we have here again a Pda of ten syllables, of the type which occurs several times in the preceding hymns. Or possibly the text should be corrected: ushsa"l"e n nved"h", 'a knower (of sacrifices, comp. Iv, 23, 4; V, 12, 3) like the dawns,' or ushsm nved"h" (with dissyllabic -m), 'a knower of the dawns.'--See Lanman, p. 565.
Note 4. The waters? Or the dawns?
Verse 2.
Note 1. On the nasalization of aminantan in the Sa"m"hit text, see my Prolegomena, p. 471.
Note 2. I. e. Par"g"anya, the thundering cloud. Comp. V, 83, 1; Vii, 10t, 1; Bergaigne, Rel. Vdique, III, 27 seq.
Note 3. Regarding ydi idm, comp. Iv, 5, 11. There the verb belonging to ydi must be supplied; in the same way our passage must be interpreted also, unless we resort to changing the text and accentuating the verb nonva, in which case the translation would be, 'when the black bull has bellowed here.'
p. 106
Note 4. The women may be the showers of rain. Or they could be understood as the dawns,. comp. ushsa"h" nved"h", verse 1.
Verse 3.
Note 1. I propose to read pynam.
Note 2. On pri"g"man, see Joh. Schmidt, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, Xxv, 86; Bartholomae, Bezzenberger's Beitrge, XV, 27 seq.; Bergaigne, Rel. Vd. Ii, 505; and compare especially X, 93, 4. The word evidently is connected not with the verb gam, but with kshm, 'the earth,' of which we find the genitives gm"h" and "g"m"h".
Note 3. It does not seem probable to me that para means here the lower pressing-stone, as Grassmann, Ludwig, and Pischel (Vedische Studien, I, 109) suggest (Grassmann: den Schlauch beim untern Pressstein. Ludwig: den schlauch an des steines ort. Pischel: sie legen das Fell mitten auf den Stein). I propose to supply r"g"asa"h"; comp. I, 62, 5. r"g"a"h" param; Iv, 1, 11. r"g"asa"h" asy ynau, and especially Iv, 17, 14, where we find the 'womb of the atmosphere' (r"g"asa"h" asy ynau) mentioned, quite as in our passage, together with the leather-bag (tv"k"), i. e. the cloud.--Bergaigne (Rel. Vd. Ii, 505) translates and explains, 'arrose la peau dans le sjour de l'infrieur,' c'est--dire fait couler les eaux du ciel pour l'Agni terrestre.
Verse 4.
Note 1. See above, I, 26, 10, note 1.
Verse 6.
Note 1. R"g"an seems to be the participle of r"g"; comp. Viii, 19, 3i. kshap"h" vstushu r"g"asi. Now it is very improbable that of this participle a vocative should occur; see Lanman, 509. I believe, therefore, that we should accentuate r"g"an (comp. the remarks of Bartholomae, Bezzenberger's Beitrge, Xv, 204).
Verse 8.
Note 1. Comp. Ix, 63, 11. raym dush"t"ram.
p. 107
Verse 9.
Note 1. As to su"k"etn, comp. I, 159, 5.
Note 2. Comp. Vi, 59, 9. raym vi"s"vyuposhasam.
Note 3. Mr"d"km is a second object of dhehi, not an epithet of raym. Comp. Viii, 7, 30.
Verse 10.
Note 1. Comp. above, 78, 2, note 1.
Verse 12.
Note 1. On the use of the middle of g"ri" with passive meaning, comp. Delbrck, Altindische Syntax, 264.
