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TWO NOTES ON YASNA 10
263
"Nicht sollen sie mir beliebig wie das Stierbanner sich einherbewegen, (wenn) sie (dich) geniessen; stracks vorwärts sollen sie gehen, (die) sich an dir begeistern; mit energischem Schaffensdrang sollen sie sich einstellen". Wolff 1
The above rendering does not seem satisfactory. The one who is drunk is himself likely to falter and not make some one else falter. The word drafsö is in the nominative and not accusative. And the connection between the two sentences also is not clear in the above rendering.
Prof. H. P. Schmidt has kindly supplied me with a completely different interpretation of the above passage offered by J. Kellens in his book Les noms-racines de l'Avesta, (Wiesbaden, 1974). This interpretation runs as follows : "when you are lying in the strainer", do not stagneto for me like the drop of milk (which, when coagulating does not pass through the strainer) ; let your intoxicating (jets) advance straight, let them come with a vital energy force".
This is, no doubt, a better interpretation of the passage. But it seems possible to modify a little Kellen's interpretation. It is difficult to imagine that the poet here thinks of a drop of coagulating milk passing through a strainer as the object of comparison. That would be a very special case. It is more likely that the poet thinks of the drop of milk which does not easily pass through the cow's teat when she, for some reason, holds back the flow of milk. The Haoma juice that does not pass easily through a strainer can be compared with a drop of milk that does not come through the teat.
1. "Nicht soll mir wer davon getrunken hat, wie das Stierbanner nach Belieben (?==
schwankend?) sich einherbewegen. Wunderbar mögen herbeikommen deinc
Räusche, wirksam mögen sie kommen". Lommel. 2. The book is not accessible to me. 3. āsito understood as in asito-gätu.
4. Cf. Skt. vára 'strainer, hair-sieve'. 5. acuire loc, sg. of acara 'non-movement', ma... acaire lit. ‘may you not be in
immobility": 6. Opc reason could be that she want to feed the calf first,
Madhu Vidyā/208
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