Vedic and Philological Studies

Mandala Two

[9]

[RV II.1.1 – 2]
II.1

(1) आशुशुक्षणि Rt शुच् to blaze, shine (cf शुक्र), to be bright and so also to be pure; brightness, clearness and cleanness are easily associated ideas. In the Vedic use of शुच् , शुचिः, even I think for शुक्रः, the ideas of light and purity are, I think, always or almost always blended. “Thou art he who blazest up with thy lustres”, or, with the idea of purity carried in the action, “Thou art he who burnest out in the purity of thy illuminations.”

In the physical sense, the fire of lightning, the fire struck out from the flints or from Indra’s thunderbolt, the fire burning from the fuel or perhaps the forest fire. In the psychological, the fire of the seven sacred rivers, the fire from the thunderbolt of Indra, the fire that feeds on the material of the physical and vital life.

अश्मनः. This may mean “from the stone all round”, but more naturally it means “thou art born about (all round) the thunderbolt”. For अश्मा in this sense of [incomplete]

नृणां नृपते—cf वसूनां वसुपतिः etc. नृ may mean men = विश्पतिः, but more probably the gods. Agni is नृपति lord of the divine Purushas, as he is later addressed ग्नावः, possessor of the divine Prakritis.

(2) ऋत्वियं S. seems to take this in the sense of आर्त्विज्यं. It is rather the office of Potâ etc performed according to the right seasons.

*अग्नित्

ऋतायतः. Here is one of the passages in which ऋत may very readily be taken in the sense of sacrifice; but we are bound by

Page 470

the psychological [incomplete]

Thou, O Flame, blazest out into purity, thou with thy illuminations; thou from the waters, thou enringing the thunderbolt, thou from the pleasant growths and warmths of earth art born in thy light of purity, O master of the godheads.

[10]

[RV II.5, 3.1 – 2]

Notes on Veda

II.5. Important hymn indicating the symbolic nature of the Vedic sacrifice & priesthood. Agni as the sevenfold priest of the sacrifice. The Sisters & the Mother’s sister evident as symbolical figures. Connection of the Brahmans with the Brahman—the Eighth Ray in man the mental being. The Seven Rays & the (Seven) Cows—(sisters) ascending from the domains of the three to the Highest (Varnam .. Varam)

भुवनं is interpreted by Sayana in its etymological significance, a becoming, creature, भुतजातानि; he does not accept the ordinary sense, world. But to arrive at this original poverty of meaning we have to get rid of the plain & natural sense of other words also & to disregard the connections of thought in the Veda. Eg II.3.1 समिद्धो अग्निर्निहितः पृथिव्यां प्रत्यङ् विश्वानि भुवनान्यस्थात् where the natural sense is that Agni placed in the earth (the physical world) rises up fronting all the other worlds, the Rajas, Div, the other heavens. This sense is confirmed by the second rik. नराशंसः प्रति धामान्यंजन्. Mighty in his manifestation brightening those seats by his reflected lustres (प्रति), तिस्रो दिवः प्रति मन्हा स्वर्चिः, brilliantly luminous in his greatness towards the three heavens. Evidently भुवनानि.. धामानि.. दिवः refer to the same conception.

Page 471

[11]

[RV II.30 – 34]

II.30.The Enemy—The Patron.

1 “Savitri”—creator of Truth
“अक्तुः” = movement. अक्तुरपां

2 सिनं = strength cf सेना army
सि, सिन् = to cut

2 “धुनयो” rivers—धु = to rush, sweep, not tremble. Therefore the Maruts are rushers, धुनयः, धूतयः, sweepers on of things. “अर्थं” goal of movement—यंत्यर्थं,

3 मिहं—rain or mist cf मिहं वपंति (Maruts) VIII.7.4

4 अश्रा (तपुषा) stone = वज्र—(5) दिवो अश्मानं “असुरस्य” for Vritra, but may here mean Strong one—

4-5 “शत्रुं” to be killed “तोकस्य सातौ तनयस्य भूरेः” “अर्धं कृणुतादिंद्र गोनां” all by the stone of heaven hurled down from above.

4 ‘वृकद्वरसो’ of the असुरस्य वीराः
‘बृहस्पति’ as a name of Indra—not altogether conclusive.

5 “अर्धं” गोनां = wealth.

6 क्रतुं—either force xράτoς (will-power) or sacrifice—यजमा - नस्य
‘रध्रस्य’ यजमानस्य चोदौ —“wealthy” or “rapturous” in connection with Soma. ‘अस्मिन्भयस्थे कृणुतमु लोकं’ in connection with, अर्धं कृणुतादिंद्र गोनां

7 ‘The Patron—यो मा सुन्वंतमुप गोभिरायत् = the god or inner power—of the Sacrifice’ ‘तमन्’ to be darkness or inertia cf तंन्द्रन्

8.9.10. “The Enemy”

Saraswati “मरुत्वती” slays the enemies of whom the chief is that famous वृषभं शंडिकानां, evidently Vritra, slain by Indra.

Page 472

Brihaspati makes visible, manifests or else discerns, distinguishes अभिख्याय & slays them himself तिगितेन (तेजसा) which can only mean the vajra. He who hurts man is to be exposed on all sides to द्रुह्. These spiritual enemies are to be slain अस्माकेभिः सत्वभिः शूरैः (वीर्या कृधि यानि कर्त्वानि), हत्वी & their wealth brought. Obviously the Cows etc. & the wealth is to be रयिं सर्ववीरं अपत्यसाचं श्रुत्यं

9 “स सनुत्य” either “trying to conquer” जिघत्नुः or to slay or else “constant” or else “trying to save” but this is improbable द्रुहे रीषंतं परि धेहि राजन् cf v. 7

Why अभिख्याय? Because they are गुह्या रिप आयोः II.32.2

10 ‘अस्माकेभिः सत्वभिः शूर शूरैः’ cf अस्माकेभिर्नृभिः

सत्वभिः like the Angiras Rishis, Indra’s fighters.

अनुधूपितासः. Probably धू to sweep, drive away—“swept along in rout”

11 ‘दैव्यं जनं’ here seems to be “the heavenly people”

रयिं सर्वंवीरं. We have seen that the heroes are the heroic powers which slay the spiritual enemy. This then means a spiritual wealth full of all kinds of heroic energies—all that are needed for the victory. अपत्य must therefore be spiritual offspring of the अपस्, children of our works, & श्रुत्यं “having the श्रुति or divine hearing, inspiration, knowledge”.

---

II.30.
1 Savitri—Indra Ahighna, the Waters
2 Vritra, Aditi, the Waters.
3 Indra, Vritra.
4 Brihaspati, Indra, Vritra.
5 Indra
6 Indra, Soma
7 Indra
8 Saraswati Marutvati, Indra
9 Brihaspati or Indra & Brihaspati.
10 Brihaspati.
11 Maruts.

Page 473

---

II.31.
1 Image of the birds around the nest with double meaning वयः—“birds” and “births in the being, souls”

वस्मनः = home, dwelling-place, the nest of the birds, the embodied being of the man.

श्रवस्यवो. श्रवः = the call of the birds (cf हृषीवंतो), their joyous cries, and the voices of the truth; the divine hearing

वनर्षदः “sitting on the trees” and “taking up their abode in the delight”. वन = Lat. venus—cf वनिता etc.

2 वाजयुं—“seeking plenty” of the wealth—cf 3. वाजसातये पाणिभिः feet, hooves of the horses, lit. organ of action—पण् to act, deal—cf Tamil—पण् , Gr. ponos, Lat. penis.
‘पद्या’ = “path” or “trampling”

“उदवत” cannot mean “protect”, it is “advance upward”

3 अवृकाभिरूतिभिः—increasings, not torn to pieces by the enemies, the वृकद्वरसो असुरस्य वीरान् of II.30.

4 भुवनस्य सक्षणिः. S. भूतजातस्य सेवनीयः; but सक्षणिः surely governs भुवनस्य, and is not its object, perhaps it means, he who cleaves to, embraces the world to enjoy it. Twashtri is the Deva as Maker, Lord and Enjoyer of the world through the female energies, ग्नाः—the image of the Vrishabha & the Cows, the Lord and the Wife or Wives always present in the Veda.

“पुरंधिः”. Sayana takes as an epithet of पूषा; but it seems rather to be the wife of the Aςwins, Suryâ. Otherwise there is no meaning in the अश्विनावधा पती; the Aςwins, the two husbands, being a hardly possible locution without any indication of the wife. पुरंधिः may be of either gender. It means either “many-thoughted”, (Suryâ is the daughter or active female power resultant from Surya, the Lord of the Truth, the Light), or “holder of the house”, या पुरं धारयति सा, (the house is the embodied being of man).

5 The next three verses present more than one difficulty of both sense & syntax, but Sayana’s solutions seem to be

Page 474

unacceptable. Sayana supposes the hymn to be a prayer to the Viςvadevas to join in and favour with their impelling force an armed expedition with “food” as its object. He takes वाज, चनः, वयः, श्रवः all in the sense of food, but is obliged to take वाजं in 7. not as food, but strength since both वाज & श्रवः cannot convey one & the same idea. This is enough to show that he is wrong either about श्रवः there or about वाज in the two earlier verses. None of these words need have the significance he gives it. वाज as a hundred passages of the Veda prove means wealth, plenty—श्रवः means “knowledge” that comes to the inner hearing. वयः may mean food, from वी to eat, but more naturally “birth, growth, age, manifestation, state of being, wide extension” —cf वियत्, वयुनं, etc—चनः, delight.Wide being, knowledge of the truth, delight (sat, chit, ananda) are the forms of the वाज, the plenty which is the goal of the human journey aided by the divine impulsions जूजुवत्.. अपीजुवा.

स्थातुश्च “वयः त्रिवया” उपस्तिरे. स्थातुः here is opposed to जगतां in the second pada. Day and Night are the goddesses who impel on their journey those who move; their journey in the chariot is the ascent of the hill, पृथिव्याः सानौ, the material world being the first level of the three त्रिषु सानुषु (cf I.10.2. सानोः सानुमारुहत्); the vital and mental worlds follow, when these three open out, are manifested in their wideness रोदसी उर्वी (स्तुषे वां पृथिवि), the soul is त्रिवयाः, it has the wideness of the three births; but there is also the स्थातुर्वयः, the manifested extension or state of being of the Stable, the Divine who presides over the movement of the earth life; that is now spread out, opened out as a basis for the accomplished higher life. The result is चनः, the delight cf वनर्षदः in v. 1.

6 धिया शमि. Possibly शमि is for शम्या or it may be the indeclinable form used adverbially. Thought (word, धी, शंसः) and action (achievement अपस् , दंसः) are the means of the attainment, the chariot.

7 एता उद्यता These activities raised by the labour of the Aryan

Page 475

(चर्षणि) to the higher levels—(cf I.10.1, 2. उद् येमिरे— सानोः सानुमारूहत्)

नव्यसे—for something new वाजाय or सुविताय.

अतक्षन् The idea is that of the chariot, the Thought & the Action fashioned into a chariot for the divine journey, a common idea in the Veda. The chariot fashioned is the धिइति, the thought and the divine power has to take possession of it as the horse that attains to the goal सप्तिर्न रथ्यो अह धीतिमश्याः

(1) Mitra, Varuna, Adityas, Rudras, Vasus.
(2) Visve Devah.
(3) Indra and the Maruts.
(4) Twashtri, the “Gna”s, Bhaga, Brihaddiva, Rodasi, Pusha, Purandhi (Suryâ), A¸cwins.
(5) Day & Night, Earth & Heaven.
(6) Ahir Budhnya, Aja Ekapad, Trita, Ribhuksha, Savitri, Apam Napat.
(7) Visve Devah.

त्रिवयाः

[Several blank lines]

शमि

उद्यम् in the sense of rising or raising up.

The Chariot fashioned

The Deva as the Horse सप्तिः रथ्यः

---

32.

1 वचसः S. वक्तुः, it should rather be the Word that seeks the truth.

ऋतायतः”. यज्ञमिच्छतः is absurd, either seeking the truth or performing the rite.

ते .. उपस्तुते. Probably with a vocative force, “O you who are they affirmed in whom is our life, it is here enlarging itself; seeking substance I place (establish) your largeness.”

Page 476

2 गुह्या रिपः “secret harms” or those who do harm, secret enemies

तस्य S. सख्यस्य—but in reality it means “that” which we seek, beyond earth and heaven, that which comes by ष्टि.

3 “श्रुष्टिं”. S. सुखकरीं—but it is from श्रु, cf शुश्रूषा, and is probably equivalent to श्रुति .. in any case “श्रुष्टी in various passages of the Veda cannot mean शीघ्रं, if “श्रुष्टिं means सुखकरीं or सुखं.

श्रुष्टिं दुहानां धेनुं पिप्युषीमसश्चतं

पिप्युषी active or intransitive—“nourishing” or “growing fat”. Here active.

“वाजिनं” symbolism of the Horse. वचसा हिनोमि.

4 वीरं—as the horse is a figure, so वीर also is a figure—it is the internal “hero” or personal force.

उक्थ्यं the hero who has the उक्थ

राका

6 सिनीवाली

दिदिडि्ढ—S. either दिह् or दिश् in the former case = form.

[8] गुंगूर् From गृ—therefore a creative Shakti of expression, Sinivali possibly of force (सिनं, सेना), राका of joy cf सुभगा. The latter is the giver, the second the producer, the first, the creator by expression, in thought or consciousness, as Sinivali the creator in force.

इंद्राणीं. Not Indra force for increase, Varuna force for the “good-state”

(1) Dyavaprithivi 2.
(1) Indra. 4.
(5) Raka. 6.7. Sinivali
(8) Gungur, Sinivali, Raka, Saraswati, Indrani, Varunani.

---

33.
1 सूर्यस्य “संदृशो” clear instance of संदृक् = sight, vision and not form or appearance.

cf स्वर्दृक्, स्वर्दृशे and ज्योतिषः प्रवसथानि

अभि अर्वति क्षमेत not “prevail over the enemy”, but prevail or “put forth his force in” अर्वत् the Horse, the Prana.

Page 477

cf v. 7 अभि मा चक्षमीथाः

“प्रजायेमहि प्रजाभिः”. Proof of the sense of प्रजा = may we be born to ourselves in our offspring.

Horse, Hero, Praja together.

2 वितरं—cf आयुः प्रतरं (II.32.1) Either drive away dispersingly cf विषूचीः or adj. of .द्वेषः

विषूचीः of various kinds or scattered various ways or adverse, alien to us.

3 अभीतीः

4 सहूती. Probably “confusion of the offerings”

5 अवदिषीय — अवखंडयामि — पृथिक्करोमि — दो अवखंडने — ष must be as in स्तुषे, गृणीषे

ऋदूदरः

“बभ्रु” Rudra—elsewhere Agni.

मनायै mind or wrath. Probably state of mind, evil or wrong being understood, or simply (inferior) mentality, cause of error in नमस् etc.

6 त्वक्षीयसा वयसा S. दीप्तेन

“विवासेयं” Evidently “dwell in” or “establish everywhere in the दुरोण”

7 अभि चक्षमीथाः D. [Dutt] ক্ষমা কর but it must be the same as in 1.

जलाषः

8 कल्मलीकिनं S. ज्वलंतं—fanciful etymology

10 “निष्कं” यजतं विश्वरूपं

अर्हन् S. अर्चनार्ह.

अभ्वं— either “destroyest all this shapeless force” of the Vritras etc दयसे or “dividest into form the chaos or Night from which the universe is born”

दयसे = to give, to destroy. Cf I.10.6. वसु दयमानः

11 नि वपंतु attack, assail or cast down.

12 कुमारः. Probably Agni.

Page 478

सप्ततिं. Here and in I.11.1. associated with wealth—वाजानां सप्ततिं पतिं

14 परि वृज्याः—cf आवृज् .. परावृज्.. I.33.

V. 1. Rudra, Pita marutam, Surya

2 – 5 Rudra. 6. Vrishabha Marutwan. 7 – 11 Rudra

12.Rudra-Kumara. 13 Maruts 14 – 15 Rudra

---

34.
1 धारावराः not covering with showers, but probably like ऋतावर etc

“अर्चिनः” not “worshipping”; probably “luminous” or else “chanting the hymn”

“भृमिं”

2 “खादिनो” द्यावो न स्तुभिश्चितयंत खादिनो.

वृष्टयः S. rainers, & अभ्रियाः lightnings

3 “उक्षंते” diffuse, scatter. To sprinkle horses is absurd, so also अश्वान् = व्याप्तान् लोकान्

कर्ण probably “makers” कारक

4 पृक्षे. S. dative—in that case “for satisfaction, pleasure”, or “for the lord who satisfies, gives प्रयः”, even Mitra. It may be locative “in the Priksha, ie the Ananda”

“ऋजिप्यासः” S. अकुटिलं प्राप्नुवंतो गच्छंतः

5 “रप्शदुधभिः” gushing, flowing—cf विरप्शी. S. महोधस्कैः, but रप्शत् is obviously a participial adjective.

7 आपानं. S. आप्नुवंतं!

“इषं” वृजनेषु कारवे and coupled with मेधां & सहः but see 8.

9 चक्रिया. S. शक्त्या (ऋष्ट्या)—why not two wheels or actions? तपुषा—is it used as a noun?

10 “निदे” नवमानस्य

11 विष्णोः. S. व्यापकस्य (सोमस्य)

एषस्य. S. ऐषणीय प्रार्थनीय—rather “desiring”

Page 479