Zend Avesta Part 03

SR No.: 007673
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: L H Mills
Publisher: Oxford
Publication Year: 1887
Total Pages: 2618
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 49 MB

Page 598

VEDIC HYMNS.
itself is an άπαξ λεγόμενον. Sim avartata is found only in the last Mandala, X, 90, 14; 129, 4. Bhatá also, in the sense of what is, occurs in the tenth Mandala only. It is used three times (X, 55, 2; 58, 12; 90, 2) as opposed to bhavya, i.e. what is and what will be; and once more in the sense of all that is (X, 85, 17). Åtmadáh, in the sense of giving life, is another &ma deyóuevov. Prasish is restricted to Mandalas I (I, 145, 1), IX (IX, 66, 6; 86, 32), and our passage. Himávat, & af leyóuevov. The repetition of the relative pronoun in verses 2 and 4 is unusual. In the tenth verse the compound yát-kamah is modern, and the insertion of etấni between tvát and anyáh is at all events exceptional. The passage V, 31, 2 is not parallel, because in tvát indra vásyah anyát, the ablative tvát is governed by vásyah. In VI, 21, 10, ná tvãvân anyáh amrita tvát asti, anyáh is separated from tvát by a vocative only, as in VIII, 24, 11.
But when we say that a certain hymn is modern, we must carefully consider what we mean. Our hymn, for instance, must have existed not only previous to the Bråhmana period, for many Brâhmanas presuppose it, but previous to the Mantra period also. It is true that no verse of it occurs in the Sâma-veda, but in the Sâma-veda-brâhmana IX, 9, 12, verse i at least is mentioned. Most of its verses, however, occur in the Vagasaneyi-samhità, in the Taittiriyasamhita, and in the Atharva-veda-samhita, nay, the last verse, to my mind the most suspicious of all, occurs most frequently in the other Samhitås and Brahmanas.
But though most of the verses of our hymn occur in other Samhitas, they do not always occur in the same order.
In the Våg. Samh. we have the first verse in XIII, 4, but no other verse of our hymn follows. We have the first verse again in XXIII, 1, but not followed by verse 2, but by verse 3 (XXIII, 3)". Then we have verse i once more
a The last line is here, tasmai ta indo havisha vidhema, let us sacrifice to him with thy oblation, O Soma!
b Var. lect. nimeshatán.
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