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MANDALA III, HYMN I.
223
stands, the clause being considered, even without a subordinating word, as a dependent one. See Delbrück, Altindische Syntax, p. 42; A. Mayr, Sitzungsberichte der phil. hist. Classe der Kais. Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vol. LXVIII (Vienna, 1871), 248, 259.- If we were to consider vákshi as a locative infinitive (see Bartholomae's theory on such infinitives, Indogermanische Forschungen, II, 271 seqq.), the translation would be: Thou hast made me, O Agni, a strong carrier of Soma at the carrying (of the oblations),' &c. I do not think, however, this interpretation of vákshi very probable, nor is it, as far as I can see, favoured by any passage which contains the word.–For sómasya tavásam, Prof. Max Müller suggests the translation 'strong of Soma,' i.e. full of Soma.
Note 2. The text has vidáthe.
Note 3. The traditional text has ákkha didyat, which means,'shining towards or as far as the gods. The verb dî with akkha occurs still in two other passages of this Mandala, in 15, 5 and 55, 3. In the first of these passages the text seems to be correct: devấn ákklia didyânah,
shining as far as the gods. In the second passage I believe that we ought to read ákkha dîdhye parvyảni, 'I think of the ancient things,' or more exactly,' I send my thoughts to the ancient things. In the same way it seems to me very probable that in our verse didhyat would be the correct reading, for the participle refers to the priest who says of himself, • I make the stone ready;' and this priest does not send his light (didyat) but his thoughts (didhyat) to the gods. Comp. I, 132,5 = 139, 1. devấn ákkha na dhîtáyal; III, 4, 3, and numerous passages which represent the mati, the girah, &c., as going towards (ákkha) the gods, such as III, 39, 1; 42, 3; VII, 10, 3; 36, 9; X, 43, 1; 47, 6.Prof. von Roth (Zeitschrift der D. Morg. Ges., XLVIII, 108) speaks of the ‘häufige Verwechslungen von Formen der beiden Wurzeln 2 di scheinen und i dhî wahrnehmen, denken.' The reading didyat in our verse, and didye III, 55, 3, may rest on the influence of III, 15, 5. devấn ákkha didyânah.
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