Madhuvidya

Author(s): S D Laddu, T N Dharmadhikari, Madhvi Kolhatkar, Pratibha Pingle
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 65

M. A. MEHENDALE
VANARGU
Vanargú- has been analysed and interpreted by most Vedic scholarsi as vánar + gu (< Vgå or Vgam) meaning moving in the wood, wandering in the forest'. According to an entry (4. gu) in BR Vgā appears as gu2 at the end of a compound in ádhrigu and vanargú. However, ádhrigu has already been supposed to contain -gu-<gó' bull or cow'. This word has been recently very thoroughly examined by W. Wüst, PHMA 3.117 -19 (1957) and 4.5-39 (1958), who assigns to it the meaning " verschnittene Rinder (Stiere) habend”.
According to the lexicons vanargu- is attested four times : RV 1.145.5, 10.4.6; AV 4.36.7; and SV 6.4.9.
RV 1.145.5 is addressed to agni :
sá i mrgó ápyo vanargúr úpa tvacy upamásyär ni dhayil vy abravīd vayúnā mártyebhyo 'gnir vidvā stacid dhi satyáḥ||
Geldner's translation: “Er, das Wassertier, der Waldgänger, wurde auf die oberste Haut (der Erde) niedergesetzt.-Er hat den Sterblichen die rechten Wege verkündet, denn Agni, der Wissende, ist der wahre Kenner des Rechten".
Now as early as 1894, Bergaigne, in Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique de Paris, Vol. 8. 482, had expressed great doubt regarding the above explanation and suggested that vanargú in the above verses is better interpreted as "taureau des bois” (-gu- <góc 'bull '). In spite of the correct lead given by Bergaigne, he
1 For example Grassmann and Böhtlingk-Roth. Nighantu 8. 24 gives it in the list of words meaning stena. Other references can be found later in this paper.
2 For possible explanation of -g- from V gam- (rather ✓ga.) see Wackernagel-Debrunner Alt. Gr. II 2, $287 e note (pp. 471-72) and § 320 a ß note (p. 496). Otherwise at the end of a compound gam>ga-, P. 8. 2. 48.
3 Bergaine's reference RV 1. 145. 4. to be corrected as 1. 145. 5. 4 Wackernagel, Alt. Gr. II 1 $ 42 d & p.99.
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