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AN EXEGETICAL NOTE ON THE ATHARVAVEDIC
PHRASE AGATASYA PANTHĀH'
by
Miss Yashodhara Wadhwani In the whole bulk of Sanskrit literature, it is in only two passages of the Atharva Veda (=AV) that we come across the phrase ágatasya pànthaḥ (in an irregular accusative form opàntkām). This phrase poses an exegetical problem because none of the meanings that are attested elsewhere for agata seem to fit satisfactorily in this case. Let us first survey those attested meanings and present them in a chronological order :
The vocable agata is generally used adjectivally, with connotations both active and passive. In the active sense, we have the following varied shades of meaning:
1A who (or which) has not gone (physically), e. g. i not moved to or
reached some place, ii not left a certain place, and iii (rare) never
absent from a place; 1B who (or which) has not gone (figuratively) e. g. i not accomplished
something, ii not attained some state and iii not undergone some
experience. 1C which has not passed already, future (e. g. future time)
ID (in Mimārs) who or which has not gone sufficiently far or is
lagging behind. In the passive sense, we have : 2 Ai (rare) that which is difficult to attain, unattainable 2 Aii that which has not yet been reached or attained 2 B (in Astronomy) that which is yet to be passed, untraverned 3 that which is not understood or comprehended.2
Apart from these adjectival senses, agata is also found in use as a neuter noun, in the sense of "the future!',
With this picture in mind, let us now turn to agata in the phrase dgatasya panthaḥ. One of its occurrences is found in AV xi, 10.164 : vāyúr amítrāņām işvagrány áficatu/indra eşām bābán práti bhanaktu
má śakan pratidhám íşum/ aditya eşām astrám vi pāśayatu candrám ā yutām ágatasya pantham
