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JUNE, 1927
VEDIO STUDIES
105
VEDIC STUDIES. By A, VENKATASUBBIAH, M.A., PH.D. (Continued from page 66.)
3. Svasara. The attempts so far made at the elucidation of the meaning of this word are not satis. factory. The author of the Vedic Nighantu has mentioned this word three times once (1,9) as n synonym of ahas, day, once (3, 4) as a synonym of gyha, dwelling, and once (4, 2) without mentioning any meaning. The deficiency in this last instance is made good by Yaska who has interpreted it as ahas. This meaning ahas is repeated by Uvata and Mahidhara in their commentary on VS. 26, 11 and by Devaraja in his commentary on the Nighantu. Saya na, on the other hand, has, in his RV. commentary, made use not only of the meanings ahas and grha (with suitable modifications, as for instance, yâgâhan 9, 94, 2; kulâya 2, 19, 2; goshtha 2, 2, 2, etc.) but bas in addition interpreted the word as aditya in 5, 62, 2, as márga in 6, 68, lo, and as sarira in 1, 34, 7; see Geldner, Ved. Studien, 3, 111.
Roth has assigned to this word the meanings (1) Hürde, Stall; (2) Gewohnter Ort, Wohnplatz, Wohnung, Nistplatz der Vögel ; that is to say, he has confined himself to the meaning grha and rejected the meaning ahas. This meaning, however, hardly yields good sense in many of the passages where the word occurs; and Geldner has, therefore, in his article on this word (Ved. Studien, 3, 110 ff.), investigated anew its meaning, and starting with the assumption that it means both a plavo and a time of day (as declared by the author of the Nighantu), has come to the conclusion that suusara means (1) Frühtrieb, Morgenweide; the time before 8amgava when the cows graze freely on the pasture; (2) Frühausflug aus dem Nest, dic Morgenatzung with regard to birds; and (3) die Frühmesse, Frühlibation, and, upalakshanena, all the three savandni or libations. This interpretation is approved of by Macdonnell (see his Vedic Index, H.V. ahan, go, suarara) and apparently by Oldenberg also who translates (RV. Noten 1, 260)3, 60, 6c as 'Diese Weiden bieten sich dir dar.' Hillebrandt, on the other hand, translates (Lieder des RV., p. 80) 5, 62, 2c as Ihr macht alle Milchströmo des (himmlischen) Stalles strotzen' and seems therefore still to follow Roth in his interpretation of the word.
It seems to me that the translations given above of 3, 60, 6 and 5, 62, 2 by Oldenberg and Hillebrandt are bardly satisfactory. Nor are Geldner's translations (given in his RV. Übersetzung) of 1, 34, 7cd ("Drei Entfernungen kommt ihr Wagenlenker Aśvin her zu Frühmesse wie der Windhauch zur Frühweide'), 2, 19, 2cd (' dass die Labsale der Flüsse forteil. ten wie Vögel zu den Futterplätzen ') and 3, 60, 6cd (Dir stehen diese [Soma-) weiden zur Verfügung auf Geheiss der Götter und nach den Satzungen des Menschen ') any better : they indicate that the meanings proposed by Geldner for the word 'svasara are not correct and that they need to be revised.
The reason for such incorrectness, too, is not far to seek. Geldner has begun his ex. position (Ved. Studien, 3, 11l) with the observations (1) that the verses 2, 34, 8: dhenur na bigve suasareshu pinvale ; 2, 2, 2: abhi två naktir ushaso vardsire 'gne vatsam na svasareshu dhenaval : 8, 88, 1: abhi vatsam na svasareshu dhenava indram gírbhir narámahe ; 9, 94, 2: dhiyah pinvanáh svasare na gåva playantir abhi vdvaśra indum show that the cows ooze with milk and low for their calves at the time or place of svasara, and (2) that the verses 1, 186, 5: situm na pipyushiva veti sindhuh and 2, 16, 8: dhenur na valsam yarasasyo pipynushi show that the milch-cow longs for and returns to her calf when she is pipyushi or yavasasya pipyushi.
8 In his RV, Glossar, Goldner gives two meanings only, 'Frühweide, Frühatzung, fig. für die Morgunlibation 1, 3, 8; 2, 34, 6; 8, 90, 1' for this word. It is uncertain whether he has given up the other meanings or merely abutained from reproducing them here as being (in his opinion) inappropriate in the verses referred to.
