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166
VSM : Golden Jubilee Volume
baða ustānazasto
zbayciti aváinhe "[Whom ) sometimes she (viz, the cow ) who longs to be milked as she feels (lit, is with the pain of swelling, (invokes for assistauce, with outstretched hands ), sometimes also the pauper who follows the doctrine of Truth but is deprived of his rights; " (Gershevitch ).
As regads the earlier translations of the difficult line Gershevitch pronounces the judgenient: "None of the translations suggested for dvūčina pioc hačimna inspires confidence." (Commentary p. 230). As regards his own rendering Gershevitch is aware that it is based on "guess-work." In spite of G.'s comments it still seems preferable to follow Bartholomae and translate yim dvačina pibe hočimna......zbayeiti avainhe as 'whom any two coming together for protection call (s) for help.' 'Any two' may refer to an association like that of a warrior and liis charioteer, or that of a warrior and his priest. But the actual call for help inay go out from only one of them and lieuce the use of the singular forms ustānazasti and zbayeiti. The author of the stanza first refers to large associations in which influential persons like vispaiti give the call for help for themselves and for mauy others of whom they are the lead; next, lie passes on to smaller associations of any two personis of whom one may be superior and the other not quite so; in the end he comes to a pauper, who is nobody's head (and nobody's superior ), a lone person, who, all the same, feels entitled for help as he is the follower of the doctrine of Truth.
Madhu Vidyā/205
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