Satapatha Bramhana Part 03

SR No.: 007679
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Julius Eggeling
Publisher: Oxford
Publication Year: 1894
Total Pages: 2382
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 45 MB

Page 1181

638
mar2, § 1070, c). Similarly Sâyana, îsâm veda îsitavyatvena gânâtu (!). The word tríshamdhe is metrically superfluous and grammatically unassimilable: it has been omitted in our translation. At best it must be emended to trishamdhir. The construction of Pâda b is problematic; perhaps it is to be put with what follows, 'may the evil brood, &c., together with the red portents, &c.' The arunah ketávah are personified as evil forces in this hymn; see the matter referred to in stanza 1.
HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
Stanza 6.
The sense of the first hemistich is extremely obscure. According to Dârila to Kaus. 16, 25, and Sâyana on our passage, the sitipadi is a cow. But this fails to accord directly with the verbs asyati, Kaus. 16, 26, and sám patatu in stanza 20 of our hymn: they point to some missile, an arrow, or the like, and accordingly we have saravyâ in the present stanza. But what is a 'white-footed, four-footed arrow?' We can merely refer back to the solution proposed in the introduction to XI, 9: apparently a white-footed cow is chased as a symbolic arrow into the camp of the enemy. Cf. Kaus. 14, 22 where likewise a sitipadî (Dârila, meshî) is let go (avasrigati, ordinarily employed with arrows). The latter Sûtra evidently relates to AV. III, 19, 8, 'fly forth, O arrow, after thou hast been hurled.' Sâyana reads in our stanza sam patatu for sám dyatu (dîyatu, 'fly'?), and evades the difficult' four-footed arrow by paraphrasing saravya as an adjective agreeing with gaúk, to wit, saravyâ sarûnâm bânânâm samûhah... sarasamhatirûpâ bhûtvâ (gauh) sam patatu satrûn samprâpnotu. This resembles our own tentative explanation.
Stanza 7.
Cf. the notes on XI, 9, 7. 14. Possibly female demons, or spectres rather than mourners are referred to. Sâyana refers dhamakshi and kridhukarni to the army of the enemy; this he supposes to be blinded by magic smoke, and bewildered by the noise of battle (alpasrotrâ patahadhvaninâ hatasravanâsâmarthyâ).
Digitized by Google