V, 2
*
"Vedic Hymns, Part Ii (sbe46)\", by Hermann Oldenberg [1897],
p. 366
Ma\"N"D"Ala V, Hymn 2.
Ash\"T"Aka Iii, Adhyya 8, Varga 14-15.
1. The young mother carries in secret the boy confined 1; she does not yield him to the father. People do not see before them his fading 2 face laid down with the Arti 3.
2. Who is that boy, O young woman, whom thou, the Pesh 1, carriest? It is the queen who has borne him. Through many autumns the fruit of the womb has increased. I saw him born when his mother gave birth to him.
3. I saw him the gold-toothed, brilliant-coloured preparing his weapons far from his dwelling-place 1. After I have offered to him the ambrosia cleared (from all impure mixture) 2--what may the Indra-less, the hymnless do to me?
4. I saw him, the highly shining (Agni), walking far from his dwelling-place, like (a bull) together with the herd 1. Those (women) have not held him, for he has been born. The young women become grey 2.
5. Who have separated my young bull from the cows that 1 had no cow-herd, not even a stranger? May those who have held him, let him loose. May he, the knowing one, lead the cattle towards us.
6. Him, the king of dwellings (?) 1, the dwelling-place of people, the Artis have laid down 2 among men. May the spells of Atri loose him. May the reproachers become reproachable (themselves).
7. Thou hast loosed the bound "S"una"h"s"epa from
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the thousand sacrificial posts; for he toiled (worshipping thee). Thus, O Agni, loose from us the fetters, O knowing Hot"ri", sitting down here.
8 1. For thou hast gone away 2 from me, because thou wert angry; (this) the protector of the laws of the gods 3 has told me. (But) Indra, the knowing one, has looked after thee. Instructed by him, O Agni, I have come hither.
9. Agni shines with mighty light; he makes all things visible by his greatness. He conquers godless, wicked wiles. He sharpens his two horns in order to pierce the Rakshas.
10. And may the roarings of Agni mount up to the sky, with sharp weapons in order to kill the Rakshas. In his rapture his flames break down (everything); the godless hindrances do not hold him back.
11. This song of praise, O strong-born (Agni), I, the priest, have fashioned for thee, as a skilful workman (builds) a chariot 1. If thou acceptest that (praise), O god Agni, may we conquer thereby waters together with the sun.
12. May the bull 1 with mighty neck, grown strong, with no foe to resist him, get together the niggard's wealth. Thus the immortal (gods) have spoken to this Agni: may he grant protection to the man who has spread the Barhis; may he grant protection to the man who brings offerings.
Notes.
The "Ri"shi of verses I, 3-8, 10-12, is Kumra treya, or V"ri"s"a "G"na; or both are the "Ri"shis of these verses. Of the verses 2 and 9 V"ri"s"a alone is the "Ri"shi. The metre is
p. 368
[paragraph continues] Trish"t"ubh (verse 12, "S"akvar).--Verse 9 = Av. Viii, 3, 24. Verses 9, 10 = Ts. I, 2, 14, 7. Verse 11 = Tb. Ii, 4, 7, 4.
A part of this hymn is very obscure. I do not think, as does Prof. Geldner (Festgruss an Roth, 192), that the story of the "S"t"yyanakam (see Sya"n"a's commentary, and compare Pa"k"avi"m"s"a Brhma"n"a Xiii 3, 12), of the Purohita V"ri"s"a, who drives with the king on the royal chariot and kills a boy, throws any real light on the difficult points of the hymn. Nor does it seem to me that, as is the opinion of Prof. Hillebrandt (Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlndischen Gesellschaft, Xxxiii, 248 seq.), the first six verses, which Hillebrandt considers as an independent hymn, contain a description of how the fire which they try to produce by the attrition of the Ara"n"is, does not appear. In my opinion the hymn--which is really one hymn as the tradition gives it--is a prayer of a person who suffers, who feels himself bound by the fetters of distress (verse 7) and persecuted by the power of Rakshas (verses 9, 10). Agni, formerly resplendent, has decayed and has forsaken him: may Agni be restored to his former might (verse 6), and may we ourselves be released from all distress (verse 7, &c.). Possibly the hymn is connected with the rite of Punardheya, where the sacrificial fire which has brought no luck to the sacrificer, is extinguished, and after an interval a new fire is established (H. O., Religion des Veda, p. 353). There may of course be other special points, beyond the reach of our conjectures, which, if known, would elucidate several of the obscure allusions so frequent in the first verses of the hymn.
Verse 1.
Note 1. The boy very probably is Agni.--With the words smubdham gh bibharti, cf. I, 158, 5. ssamubdham ava-dhu"h".
Note 2. Not without hesitation I translate mint as if it were the middle minnm. Possibly the word means: 'which violates (the ordinances),' i. e. which does not shine and bring luck to men as it usually does. N seems, as it
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usually does (cf. Delbrck, Altindische Syntax, p. 543), to belong to the whole clause, and not to mina.
Note 3. Bhtlingk-Roth and Grassmann conjecture aratnu; Hillebrandt, artu; Geldner (Festgruss an Roth, 192), rtau. Geldner seems to be right (cf. verse 6), though it will scarcely be possible to determine what concrete being was here thought of. Geldner says, 'Gemeint ist die Pi"s"k"ik, welche die Gluth des Feuers entfhrt hat;' but, as has already been observed, I do not think that this traditional story on the meaning of our hymn is of any real value.
Verse 2.
Note 1. The meaning of Pesh is unknown. The word seems anyhow to describe the wrong mother as low or contemptible. Agni is degraded by sojourning with her, while his proper nature is glorious, for he is the queen's son.
Verse 3.
Note 1. Agni has forsaken his proper dwelling.
Note 2. On vip"r"kvat, cf. Taitt. Sa"m"hit Iii, 1, 6, 2. yun"g"mi tisr"h" vip"r"k"a"h" sryasya te; V"g". Sa"m"hit IX, 4. samp"r"k"au stha"h" sm m bhadrna p"ri"ktam; vip"r"k"au stha"h" v m ppmn p"ri"ktam. Vi-p"ri"k" seems to mean, consequently, 'to free something from an admixture,' and am"r"tam vip"r"kvat seems to be ambrosia in which dwells the power of getting free from bad admixtures. Thus in the passage quoted from the Taitt. Sa"m"hit the Sun is referred to as thrice cleared from all impure elements. It is quite uncertain whether the expression used here refers or not to the myth of the churning of the ocean (Geldner, loc. cit.), and I do not think that we should translate am"r"tam vip"r"kvat, as Geldner does, 'das was sich als Nektar ausscheidet.'
Verse 4.
Note 1. I read with Bhtlingk-Roth sumdytham.
Note 2. The young women seem to be hostile beings of
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the same kind as the young woman mentioned in verse 2. They try to seize Agni, but he has been born already; his fiery, unassailable nature has been formed. I do not pretend to know what it means that then those female foes become grey with age. 'I think they are the Dawns who hold Agni in the dark; but when he escapes and is actually born, they, the Dawns, become grey.' M. M.
Verse 5.
Note 1. The relative pronoun yshm seems to refer both to the bull (maryakm) and to the cows (gbhi"h"). The bull probably is Agni who has been separated from the cows, i. e. the oblations, prayers, &c. (?) 'Possibly the bull Agni, the rising sun, has been separated from the cows, the clouds or dawns.' M. M.
Verse 6.
Note 1. Vasm r"g"nam. I cannot follow the interpretation of Pischel, Vedische Studien, I, 210.
Note 2. Or n dadu"h", 'they have bound him'? Cf. va s"ri"g"antu in the third Pda, and nditam in verse 7.
Verse 8.
Note 1. The whole verse is nearly identical with X, 32, 6.
Note 2. I consider aye"h" (cf. Bartholomae, Arische Forschungen, Ii, 72, 76; Studien zur Indogermanischen Sprachgeschichte, I, 21) as 2nd sing. pluperfect of the root i.
Note 3. Varu"n"a?
Verse 11.
Note 1. With the second Pda compare I, 130, 6; V, 29, 15.
Verse 12.
Note 1. The bull of course is Agni.
"Vedic Hymns, Part Ii (sbe46)\", by Hermann Oldenberg [1897],
p. 366
Ma\"N"D"Ala V, Hymn 2.
Ash\"T"Aka Iii, Adhyya 8, Varga 14-15.
1. The young mother carries in secret the boy confined 1; she does not yield him to the father. People do not see before them his fading 2 face laid down with the Arti 3.
2. Who is that boy, O young woman, whom thou, the Pesh 1, carriest? It is the queen who has borne him. Through many autumns the fruit of the womb has increased. I saw him born when his mother gave birth to him.
3. I saw him the gold-toothed, brilliant-coloured preparing his weapons far from his dwelling-place 1. After I have offered to him the ambrosia cleared (from all impure mixture) 2--what may the Indra-less, the hymnless do to me?
4. I saw him, the highly shining (Agni), walking far from his dwelling-place, like (a bull) together with the herd 1. Those (women) have not held him, for he has been born. The young women become grey 2.
5. Who have separated my young bull from the cows that 1 had no cow-herd, not even a stranger? May those who have held him, let him loose. May he, the knowing one, lead the cattle towards us.
6. Him, the king of dwellings (?) 1, the dwelling-place of people, the Artis have laid down 2 among men. May the spells of Atri loose him. May the reproachers become reproachable (themselves).
7. Thou hast loosed the bound "S"una"h"s"epa from
p. 367
the thousand sacrificial posts; for he toiled (worshipping thee). Thus, O Agni, loose from us the fetters, O knowing Hot"ri", sitting down here.
8 1. For thou hast gone away 2 from me, because thou wert angry; (this) the protector of the laws of the gods 3 has told me. (But) Indra, the knowing one, has looked after thee. Instructed by him, O Agni, I have come hither.
9. Agni shines with mighty light; he makes all things visible by his greatness. He conquers godless, wicked wiles. He sharpens his two horns in order to pierce the Rakshas.
10. And may the roarings of Agni mount up to the sky, with sharp weapons in order to kill the Rakshas. In his rapture his flames break down (everything); the godless hindrances do not hold him back.
11. This song of praise, O strong-born (Agni), I, the priest, have fashioned for thee, as a skilful workman (builds) a chariot 1. If thou acceptest that (praise), O god Agni, may we conquer thereby waters together with the sun.
12. May the bull 1 with mighty neck, grown strong, with no foe to resist him, get together the niggard's wealth. Thus the immortal (gods) have spoken to this Agni: may he grant protection to the man who has spread the Barhis; may he grant protection to the man who brings offerings.
Notes.
The "Ri"shi of verses I, 3-8, 10-12, is Kumra treya, or V"ri"s"a "G"na; or both are the "Ri"shis of these verses. Of the verses 2 and 9 V"ri"s"a alone is the "Ri"shi. The metre is
p. 368
[paragraph continues] Trish"t"ubh (verse 12, "S"akvar).--Verse 9 = Av. Viii, 3, 24. Verses 9, 10 = Ts. I, 2, 14, 7. Verse 11 = Tb. Ii, 4, 7, 4.
A part of this hymn is very obscure. I do not think, as does Prof. Geldner (Festgruss an Roth, 192), that the story of the "S"t"yyanakam (see Sya"n"a's commentary, and compare Pa"k"avi"m"s"a Brhma"n"a Xiii 3, 12), of the Purohita V"ri"s"a, who drives with the king on the royal chariot and kills a boy, throws any real light on the difficult points of the hymn. Nor does it seem to me that, as is the opinion of Prof. Hillebrandt (Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlndischen Gesellschaft, Xxxiii, 248 seq.), the first six verses, which Hillebrandt considers as an independent hymn, contain a description of how the fire which they try to produce by the attrition of the Ara"n"is, does not appear. In my opinion the hymn--which is really one hymn as the tradition gives it--is a prayer of a person who suffers, who feels himself bound by the fetters of distress (verse 7) and persecuted by the power of Rakshas (verses 9, 10). Agni, formerly resplendent, has decayed and has forsaken him: may Agni be restored to his former might (verse 6), and may we ourselves be released from all distress (verse 7, &c.). Possibly the hymn is connected with the rite of Punardheya, where the sacrificial fire which has brought no luck to the sacrificer, is extinguished, and after an interval a new fire is established (H. O., Religion des Veda, p. 353). There may of course be other special points, beyond the reach of our conjectures, which, if known, would elucidate several of the obscure allusions so frequent in the first verses of the hymn.
Verse 1.
Note 1. The boy very probably is Agni.--With the words smubdham gh bibharti, cf. I, 158, 5. ssamubdham ava-dhu"h".
Note 2. Not without hesitation I translate mint as if it were the middle minnm. Possibly the word means: 'which violates (the ordinances),' i. e. which does not shine and bring luck to men as it usually does. N seems, as it
p. 369
usually does (cf. Delbrck, Altindische Syntax, p. 543), to belong to the whole clause, and not to mina.
Note 3. Bhtlingk-Roth and Grassmann conjecture aratnu; Hillebrandt, artu; Geldner (Festgruss an Roth, 192), rtau. Geldner seems to be right (cf. verse 6), though it will scarcely be possible to determine what concrete being was here thought of. Geldner says, 'Gemeint ist die Pi"s"k"ik, welche die Gluth des Feuers entfhrt hat;' but, as has already been observed, I do not think that this traditional story on the meaning of our hymn is of any real value.
Verse 2.
Note 1. The meaning of Pesh is unknown. The word seems anyhow to describe the wrong mother as low or contemptible. Agni is degraded by sojourning with her, while his proper nature is glorious, for he is the queen's son.
Verse 3.
Note 1. Agni has forsaken his proper dwelling.
Note 2. On vip"r"kvat, cf. Taitt. Sa"m"hit Iii, 1, 6, 2. yun"g"mi tisr"h" vip"r"k"a"h" sryasya te; V"g". Sa"m"hit IX, 4. samp"r"k"au stha"h" sm m bhadrna p"ri"ktam; vip"r"k"au stha"h" v m ppmn p"ri"ktam. Vi-p"ri"k" seems to mean, consequently, 'to free something from an admixture,' and am"r"tam vip"r"kvat seems to be ambrosia in which dwells the power of getting free from bad admixtures. Thus in the passage quoted from the Taitt. Sa"m"hit the Sun is referred to as thrice cleared from all impure elements. It is quite uncertain whether the expression used here refers or not to the myth of the churning of the ocean (Geldner, loc. cit.), and I do not think that we should translate am"r"tam vip"r"kvat, as Geldner does, 'das was sich als Nektar ausscheidet.'
Verse 4.
Note 1. I read with Bhtlingk-Roth sumdytham.
Note 2. The young women seem to be hostile beings of
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the same kind as the young woman mentioned in verse 2. They try to seize Agni, but he has been born already; his fiery, unassailable nature has been formed. I do not pretend to know what it means that then those female foes become grey with age. 'I think they are the Dawns who hold Agni in the dark; but when he escapes and is actually born, they, the Dawns, become grey.' M. M.
Verse 5.
Note 1. The relative pronoun yshm seems to refer both to the bull (maryakm) and to the cows (gbhi"h"). The bull probably is Agni who has been separated from the cows, i. e. the oblations, prayers, &c. (?) 'Possibly the bull Agni, the rising sun, has been separated from the cows, the clouds or dawns.' M. M.
Verse 6.
Note 1. Vasm r"g"nam. I cannot follow the interpretation of Pischel, Vedische Studien, I, 210.
Note 2. Or n dadu"h", 'they have bound him'? Cf. va s"ri"g"antu in the third Pda, and nditam in verse 7.
Verse 8.
Note 1. The whole verse is nearly identical with X, 32, 6.
Note 2. I consider aye"h" (cf. Bartholomae, Arische Forschungen, Ii, 72, 76; Studien zur Indogermanischen Sprachgeschichte, I, 21) as 2nd sing. pluperfect of the root i.
Note 3. Varu"n"a?
Verse 11.
Note 1. With the second Pda compare I, 130, 6; V, 29, 15.
Verse 12.
Note 1. The bull of course is Agni.
