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Sapta devalokah
107
He says that Adhidiv is a fitting name for the world of Varuna since he lives in the highest heaven; that Indra's world is called Abaraita because Indra himself is called aparājita invincible':' that Rocana, the world of Brahman, is the oldest designation of the heaven's space of light' (Lichtraum); that Riadhaman as the name of the world of Väyu, appears to be reminiscent of stadhamasi svariyotih occurring in the VS 5. 32;2 and that Apodaka 'waterless' is self-explained as the name of Agni's world.
It appears that Luders has been led to the above interpretation of the passage in the Kaus. Br. because in this passage the world of Mrtyu is characterised as pradiva and Luders believes (0.62) that in the AV 18.2.48 Pradiv is mentioned as the name of the heaven in which the fathers live. There is probably nothing wrong in identifying the Mflyuloka of the KB with the third and the highest heaven in which the fathers live, of the AV. But there is nothing in the AV verse to indicate that it purports to give the names of the three heavens. The verse in question reads as: udanválil dyaút avamd pilumatlli madhyamd tfitya há pradya úr di vdsyam pitara asate. Lüders believes that this verse gives udanvalt. Pilumall, and Pradıv as the names of the lowest, the middle, and the third (which is apparçntly the highest) heaven respectively. But these three worlds can easily be interpreted as only giving the special characteristics or the location of the three heavens, and hence they need not be looked upon as proper names. Thus, according to this verse, the lowest heaven is characterized by water, the middle one by pilu,' and the third by the fathers. The prefix bra in Pradiv is only indicative of the highest location among the
1. It may, however, be noted that in the RV. 3.12.4 and 8.38,2 Agni, together
with Indra, is also called aparājita. In the VS 28.2, perhaps, tanūnapāt agni is called aparajita. In the AV 10.2.33 Brahm á is said to have entered the
golden púh which is aparijită. . 2. The connection between VS 5.32 and KB 20.1 is not clear. In the VS, as
explained by the commentator, the mantra is addressed to the branch of the U dumbara tree. The word stadhäman occurs once again in the VS 18.38. Here it is Agni who is said to be riadhaman. Apparently the association of Vayu with tta, as given in the Kaus. Br., is based on some different tradition and
not on the Vaj. San. 3. Incidentally pratididam is the reading accepted by E. R. Sree Krishna Sarma. 4. The words udanvalí and pilumati are accented on the last syllable in Varuna
1.62.4. udanvati is also to be found in the Roth-Whitney edition. 5. Whitney, following the commertator's 'worthless etymological gucss', trans
lates pilu as 'stars (?)'. Dut verse 35 of this hymn scenis to suggest that the
Madhu Vidyā/104
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