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ORIGIN OF BRAHMIN GOTRAS
03
Indus vallcy urban cultures, rcorganization of socicty into castes, and progressive opening up of now, sparsely settled, and hcavily woodcd tcrritorics to the cast. This gave opportunity for cach group of pricsts to be attached to or aclopted by scvcral Aryan clans, which must have been thic origin of Brahmin pravaras.
TRITA ĀRTYA; THE ORIGINS OF EPIC AND SAGA
11. The Avcstan Vadhaghna can be cquated without difficulty to Indra himself under thc title of vadhasnu, bcarcr of the death-dcaling weapon, though vajrin, vajra-hasta, ctc. arc thc usual adjcctivs. Vadhásnu is actually uscd of Soma (=inlu) in ix.54.3. Wc hicar of the gods shooting down upon men (v.41.13) and Agni brcaking down walls (vii.5.5) with a vadhasna. Indra's weapons have thc same name in i.165.6 (vadhasnaiḥ); cquivalent forms vadha, vadhar, etc. arc found in considerablc profusion : vi.83.4, Indra-Varuņa vadhanibhir vanvanti ; So, Trikiras bcing a purohita of Indra might be rcficcted in the association of Azi Dahāka with Vadhaghna in thc Avcsta.
or the block of seven hynus (1.51-57) ascribcd to Savya Angiras and all dcdicated to Indra, 1.53 begins "Let us sing a hymn to grcat Indra, dcdicatc chants to him in the abode of Vaivasvata”. The location is reminiscent of the Var of Yima. "Thou (Indra) hast crushed under thy irresistiblc chariotwhcel thc twicc ten tribal kings with thcir 60,099 mcn, who fought against kinless (abandhuni) Subravas. Thou didst aid Susravas with tly support, Indra ; with thy protection thou gavest to the victoriously advancing (turvayīnam*), Kutsa, Alithigva, Āyu into the hands of the grcat young king" (1.53.9-10). I suggest that this fits thc Avcstan Husravah very well, though here the v titlc of Kavi is not mentioncd, and thc opponcnt Aurvasāra is not recognizable.
Even morc instructive is the serics of references to Trita Aptya. Lct us first report what thc meticulous Grassmann (col. 557) has to say : "Trita is originally 'the third and therefore set up against a 'second' (viii.47.16).1) Dcsignation of a god who is probably obliged for his name and worship (1.187.1 ; i.163.2.-3; 1.52.5 ; viii.7.24) to a pic-vcdic point of vicw, bccausc of which he also occurs often in thc Zend. Alrcady in thc Rgveda, his original being appcars obscured, in that hc shows to a certain cxtent as the background for thc world of vcdic gods. Thus he appcars in å definitc manner as the predc
* I trcat I trvayāna as an adjective, without yielding to the temptation to take that and the allicd luralyn as “T'uranian". It is an adjective of Agni in i.174.3, of Cyavāna in x.01.2. It seems to be a namc by itselfin vi.18.13; that k rcpcats the substance ofi.63.11 abovc. without the name of Susrayas. Sayana turns tlic meaning complctcly around and makes Indra hcrc thc protector of Kutsa, Ayu. Atithigva. Onc may comparc X.10.3-0, 8 whcrc the same characters and a Savyn) ppcar wiilc 3.8'spcaks of Indra hclping Atithugva against Karañja and Parnaya. Velankar, in the Ann..Bhan. darkar. O. R. Inst. xxiii. 1842.057-008 Con Divodäsa and the other Atithigvar) identifics Kutsa with Ayu and Atitbigva for thc hymn.under discussion, whilc maling out a good cayc for more than onc Atithi ya and several Kutsas (which latter is clear, thic name being representative of n tribc).
