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JUNE, 1927]
VEDIC STUDIES
107
5. sayam gato yamayamena Madhavah !!
gavas tato goshtham upetya satvaram huikdrahoshaih parihûtasamgatán svakân svakän vatsataran apa yayan muhur lihantyah Sravad audhasam payah
Srimad Bhagavata 10, 13, 23-24. 6. vimucyamáneshu sandhyopásanáñjali-mukuleshu... vighatamâneshu cakra
vakamithuneshu.... mukhari bhavalsu mathyamâneshu arnavúrnassv iva abhyarna-tarnaka-svand karnanodirnena dhenushyanam dirgha-rambhitaraveņa gopuramukheshu
Yagastilaka-campû 2, p. 10. The first of these passages describes the return home of the cows from the pascimardtri. gocara, longing (utsuka) for their calves and with their udders oozing milk. Paścimardtrigocara means the pasture in which the cows graze in the last part of the night ; and hence this verse describes the return home of the cows before the pratardoha 10 The other passages refer to the return home of the milch-cows in the evening and likewise represent these cows as eager to rejoin their calves, lowing to them, and hastening to them (goshtham upetya satvaram) with their udders oozing milk (prasnutastanam; prasravena; sravad audhasam payah).
This eagerness of the tows to join their calves, their lowing to them and their hastening to them with udders oozing milk are features that figure also in innumerable verses of the RV. that contain comparisons. Compare for instance 10, 149, 4: váśréva vatsam sumánd dúhand patir ita jaya'm abhi no ny ètu ; 10, 75, 4: abhi tud sindho sídum in na mátáro vásra' arshanti páyaseva dhenavah; 1,38, 8: vdbréva vidyún mimáli vatsam na mata' sishakti ; 1, 32, 2: vdsra' iva dhenavah syandamånd áñjah samudrám dva jagmur d'pah; 1, 164, 28: gaúr amímed anu vatsám mishántam mardha' nam hi'n akrnon má'tavá' u Sr'kvåņam gharmám abhl vävasâna' mi'máti máyúm páyate páyobhin; 9, 86, 2: ásykshata ráthydso yátha prthak dhenúr ná vatsám páyasábhí vajrinam. In the same way, the lowing of the calves for their mother-Cows and the licking of the calves by the cow (see Bhagavata, 10, 13, 24 cited above) are likewise referred to in many RV. verses; compare, in respect of the former, 1, 164,9: ámêmed vatsó anu gá'm apaśyat ; 9, 94, 4: tám udvaśdnám matayah sacantc; 10, 1, 2: prá mátr' bhyo ádhi kánikradad gâh and in respect of the latter, 3, 41,5; rihánti sávasas pátim | indram vatsám ná mátárah ; 3, 55, 13: anyásyd vatsám rihati' mimaya ; 1, 186, 7: si' sum nú gá'vas táruņam rihanti; 3, 33, 3: valsám iva mätará samrihané.
The passages cited above describe the return home of the milch-cows in the early morning (before the pratar-doha) and in the evening (before the sayam-doha) only. I do not know of any which describes their return home at the samgava timell (before the samgava milking)"; but it can not be doubted that, at that time too, the milch-cows would be eager to rejoin
10 The prútardoha takos place in the morning and the cow are immediately after driven out again to tho paature. This pasture can not be denoted by the word pascimardtri-gocara which means the parture in which the cowa graze in the last part of the night. (This is what is called Siru-vidu in Tamil. See Tiruppavai translated in Ind. Ant., vol. LV, p. 103, stanza 8. It is there referred to as being peculiar to buffaloes; but the custom seems to survive even in regard to cows in some placet S.K.J
11 That they did return home before the samgara time is clearly indicated by Tait. Br., 1, 5, 3, 1: mitrasya samgava tal punyam tejasvy ahal tasemat tarhi palaval samayanti and Bhatta-Bhaskara's comment diganteshu caritvi vraja samá gacchanti thereon.
12. This is perhaps due to the fact that while the pratandoha and sayamdoha are universal, the samgava-doha as well as the return home of the cows at that time, is not. Compare for instance the passage in the Raghuvamia beginning with 2, 1: atha prajânám adhipa prabhate jaya pratigrá hitp gandhumalyám vana ya pita-pratibaddha-vatsam yabodhano dhenum rahermumoca which states that the king let loose the cow order to go and graza in the forest at daybreak after the morning-milking, and ending with 2, 15: sa ncåra patani digantará ni kytvå dinânte nilaya ya gantum | pracakrame pallavardgatamnt prabhd palangasya maneca dhenuh which says that the milch-oow turned her face home in the evening after having roamed about all the day. It is obvious from this passage that Vasishtha's homadhenu did not return home, and was not milked, at sa mgawa time. Compare also the epithet dingta-vihrli-pratydgaan that is applied to dhonuvargam in the Harshacarita passage cited above.
