Indian Antiquary Vol 56

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 81

APRIL, 1927)
VEDIO STUDIES
đốtait | iran vatarna study's kasumdrg gútâm mậta Metry 6mm arocs || deod' nam cakehun subhaga váhanti svetám nayanti sudr' sikam áfram usha' adarsi ; 7, 78, 2–3: práti shim agnir jarate 8ámiddhah práti vipraso malibhir grnántah|usha' yati jyotisha ba'dhamana visva timansi durita' pa devi' || eta' u tyd'h prity adróran purustaj jyotir yacchantir ush/so vibháti'h aj janan sú'ryam yajñám agnim apdci' nam támo agad ájushtam : 1, 113, 9; úsho yad agnim samidhe cakúrtha vi yád a'vas cákshasd sü'ryasya. But while these passages represent Agni as showing himself (as being born) after the Dawn, the verse 4, 3, 11 makes out that Ayni was born first and the Dawn afterwards; compare also 7, 9, 3: citrábhanur ushisam bhâty igre. AV. 3, 15, 4: ima'm agne saránim mimreho no
yum údhvánam agama dúram íunám no astu prapano vikrayás ca pratipanch phalinam má krņotu ! idám havyám samvidd naú jushetham
sunim no astu caritám útthitam call Sprinkle, O Agni, this our path, this road which we have followed from a distance. May our bargain and sale be pleasing (i.e., turn out favourable); may the barter make me abounding in fruit (i.e., may the barter be fruitful to me). Do ye two enjoy this oblation in concord. May our transaction and trading be pleasing (i.e., favourable)." Sarani-road, path, and not himed, offence or Verdruss ; see Apte. Accordingly I take the verb mrsh in the sense of 'to sprinkle,' a meaning which the author of the Dhatupátha assigns to it, but of its use in which no example has been up to now met with. The expression sprinkle this our path' means probably make our path smooth and easy to travel '; compare the expressions tánunapat pathártásya ya'nan mádhvd samañján svadayá sujihua in RV.10,110,2; a' no dadhikrd'h pathu'm anaktu in 7, 44,5; and madhuddya devo devebhyo devayanan patho anaktu in TB. 3, 6, 2, 1. RV. 7, 70, 1: å visvavárd 'svind gatam nah
pri tát stha' nam aváci vám prthivyá'm svo ni vaji' sunú prshtho asthad
'yál sedáthur dhruváse ná yonim | " Come, 0 ye Asvins that have all desirable things; this your place in the earth has been praised. Like a powerful horse, it stood up with pleasing (i.e., pleasure-giving ; comfortable) back on which you sat as if settling permanently in a house." Sunaprshthah=priyaprshthah or vitaprahthak which is used many times in the RV. as an epithet of aśva, atya, hari, etc.; see Grassmann 8.v. This word does not signify schlichten Rücken habend' (Roth in PW.) or, dessen Rücken eben ist' (Grassmann) but means 'having a pleasing (i.e., comfortable) back'; compare the word sushadah'easy or comfortable to sit upon that is used as an epithet of arvan in vs. 11, 44: dsur bhava vájy arvan prthur bhava sushadas tvam. Compare also sagmdso asváh in RV.7, 97, 6: tim sagma' so arushd' 80 ásvd br' haspátim sahavd' ho vahanti and éagma hari in 8, 2, 27: éha hári brahmayújd éagma' vakshathah 8ákhayam.
. This word bagma too has been wrongly understood and explained by Roth and other exegetists. It does not mean "hilfreich, mittheilsam, entgegenkommend, gütig' as explained by Roth (PW), or
vermögend, stark, kräftig' as explained by Grassmann, or lakta as alternatively explained by Siyana in 7, 97, 6, but sukha or sukhakara as explained by the author of the Nighantu and by Sayana himself in 7, 97, 6 and other passages. Sa mail payubhih (in), 130, 10; 1, 143, 8) means by happinesf-conferring protections and is the equivalent of ajasrain payubhik, airedhadbhih payubhih, adabdhebhin päyubhin or arishxebhih pdyubhih ( for references see Grassmann, s.v. påyu ; compare mayobhar útih in 1, 117, 19; and 1, 94, 9): fagmo rathah (6, 74, 8 ) moans a 'chariot that gives happiness or comfort; & comfortable chariot' and is the equivalent of sukho rathah (for references, see Grass. s.v. sukha); fagmd harf and lagmáso ahah in the above-mentioned passages mean horses that carry one comfortably: bagmåsah putra aditeh (7, 60, 5) is equivalent to dambhuvah adityal in 1, 106, 2 and means the happiness-conferring Adityas': and dagma vajal in 10, 31, 5 meang happiness-ccnferring riches. Similarly, sagma has the meaning of
happiness conferring in the three other verses where it occurs as an epithet of Indra and the Soma juice (6, 44, 2), of vdk or speech (5, 43, 11) and of samsad or company (7, 84, 3).