________________
52
VEDIC HYMNS.
5; 90,7; VIII, 88, 5; IX, 72, 8: in the plural, I, 154, 1; V, 81, 3 ; VI, 31, 2; 49, 3.
Pârthivani also occurs by itself, when it refers to the earth, as opposed to the sky and heaven.
X, 32, 2. vi indra yåsi divyāni rokanã vi pârthivani ragaså.
Indra thou goest in the sky between the heavenly lights and the earthly.
VIII, 94, 9. & yé visvá párthivani papráthan rokanã diváh.
The Maruts who stretched out all the earthly lights, and the lights of heaven.
VI, 61, 11. d-paprúshî párthivani urú rágah antariksham.
Sarasvati filling the earthly places, the wide welkin, the sky. This is a doubtful passage.
Lastly, pârthivâni by itself seems to signify earth, sky, and heaven, if those are the three regions which Vishnu measured with his three steps; or east, the zenith, and west, if these were intended as the three steps of that deity. For we read :
I, 155, 4. yah pârthivani tri-bhíh ít vigâma-bhih urú krámishta.
He (Vishnu) who strode wide with his three strides across the regions of the earth.
These two concluding verses might also be taken as containing the actual invocation of the sacrificer, which is mentioned in verse 8. In that case the full stop at the end of verse 8 should be removed.
Digitized by Google
