Vedic Hymns: I, 166. To the Maruts (the Storm-gods)

May the gods come to us with their help, praised by the songs of the Aṅgiras,—Indra with his powers, the Maruts with the storms, may Aditi with the Âdityas give us protection! p. 244 X, 66, 3. índrah vásu-bhih pári pâtu nah gáyam âdityaíh nah áditih sárma yakkhatu, rudráh rudrébhih deváh mrilayâti nah tváshtâ nah gnâ´bhih suvitâ´ya ginvatu. May Indra with the Vasus watch our house, may Aditi with the Âdityas give us protection, may the divine Rudra with the Rudras have mercy upon us, may Tvashtar with the mothers bring us to happiness! III, 54, 20. âdityaíh nah áditih srinotu yákkhantu nah marûtah sárma bhadrám. May Aditi with the Âdityas hear us, may the Maruts give us good protection! In another passage Varuna takes the place of Aditi as the leader of the Âdityas: VII, 35, 6. sám nah índrah vásu-bhih deváh astu sám âdityébhih várunah su-sámsah, sám nah rudráh rudrébhih gálâshah sám nah tváshtâ gnâ´bhih ihá srinotu. May Indra bless us, the god with the Vasus! May Varuna, the glorious, bless us with the Âdityas! May the relieving Rudra with the Rudras bless us! May Tvashtar with the mothers kindly hear us here! Even in passages where the poet seems to profess an exclusive worship of Aditi, as in V, 69, 3. prâtáh devî´m áditim gohavîmi madhyándine út-itâ sû´ryasya, I invoke the divine Aditi early in the morning, at noon, and at the setting of the sun, Mitra and Varuna, her principal sons, are mentioned immediately after, and implored, like her, to bestow blessings on their worshipper.

Mitra and Varuna, her principal sons, are mentioned immediately after, and implored, like her, to bestow blessings on their worshipper. Her exclusive worship appears once, in VIII, 19, 14. A very frequent expression is that of âdityâ´h áditih without any copula, to signify the Âdityas and Aditi: IV, 25, 3. káh devâ´nâm ávah adyá vrinîte káh âdityâ´n áditim gyótih îtte. Who does choose now the protection of the gods? Who asks the Âdityas, Aditi, for their light? VI, 51, 5. vísve âdityâh adite sa-góshâh asmábhyam sárma bahulám ví yanta. p. 245 All ye Âdityas, Aditi together, grant to us your manifold protection! X, 39, 11. ná tám râgânau adite kútah kaná ná ámhah asnoti duh-itám nákih bhayám. O ye two kings (the Asvins), Aditi, no evil reaches him from anywhere, no misfortune, no fear (whom you protect). Cf. VII, 66, 6. X, 63, 5. tâ´n â´ vivâsa námasâ suvriktí-bhih maháh âdityâ´n áditim svastáye. I cherish them with worship and with hymns, the great Âdityas, Aditi, for happiness' sake. X, 63, 17. evá platéh sûnúh avîvridhat vah vísve âdityâh adite manîshî´. The wise son of Plati magnified you, all ye Âdityas, Aditi! X, 65, 9. pargányâvâ´tâ vrishabhâ´ purîshínâ indravâyû´ (íti) várunah mitráh aryamâ´, devâ´n âdityâ´n áditim havâmahe yé pâ´rthivâsah divyâ´sah ap-sú yé. There are Parganya and Vâta, the powerful, the givers of rain, Indra and Vâyu, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, we call the divine Âdityas, Aditi, those who dwell on the earth, in heaven, in the waters.

There are Parganya and Vâta, the powerful, the givers of rain, Indra and Vâyu, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, we call the divine Âdityas, Aditi, those who dwell on the earth, in heaven, in the waters. We may not be justified in saying that there ever was a period in the history of the religious thought of India, a period preceding the worship of the Âdityas, when Aditi, the Infinite, was worshipped, though to the sage who first coined this name, it expressed, no doubt, for a time the principal, if not the only object of his faith and worship. Aditi and Daksha. Soon, however, the same mental process which led on later speculators from the earth to the elephant, and from the elephant to the tortoise, led the Vedic poets beyond Aditi, the Infinite. There was something beyond that Infinite which for a time they had grasped by the name of Aditi, and this, whether intentionally or by a mere accident of language, they called dáksha, literally power or the powerful. All this, no doubt, sounds strikingly modern, yet, though the passages in which this dáksha is mentioned are few in number, I should not venture to p. 246 say that they are necessarily modern, even if by modern we mean only later than 1000 b.c. Nothing can bring the perplexity of the ancient mind, if once drawn into this vortex of speculation, more clearly before us than if we read: X, 72, 4-5. âditeh dákshah agâyata dákshât ûm (íti) áditih pári,—áditih hí áganishta dáksha yâ´ duhitâ´ táva, tâ´m devâ´h ánu agâyanta bhadrâ´h amríta-bandhavah.

X, 72, 4-5. âditeh dákshah agâyata dákshât ûm (íti) áditih pári,—áditih hí áganishta dáksha yâ´ duhitâ´ táva, tâ´m devâ´h ánu agâyanta bhadrâ´h amríta-bandhavah. Daksha was born of Aditi, and Aditi from Daksha. For Aditi was born, O Daksha, she who is thy daughter; after her the gods were born, the blessed, who share in immortality. Or, in more mythological language: X, 64, 5. dákshasya vâ adite gánmani vraté râ´gânâ mitrâ´-várunâ â´ vivâsasi. Or thou, O Aditi, nursest in the birthplace of Daksha the two kings, Mitra and Varuna. Nay, even this does not suffice. There is something again beyond Aditi and Daksha, and one poet says: X, 5, 7. ásat ka sát ka paramé ví-oman dákshasya gánman áditeh upá-sthe. Not-being and Being are in the highest heaven, in the birthplace of Daksha, in the lap of Aditi. At last something like a theogony, though full of contradictions, was imagined, and in the same hymn from which we have already quoted, the poet says: X, 72, 1-4. devâ´nâm nú vayám gâ´nâ prá vokâma vipanyáyâ, ukthéshu sasyámâneshu yáh (yát?) pásyât ut-tare yugé. 1. bráhmanah pátih etâ´ sám karmâ´rah-iva adhamat, devâ´nâm pûrvyé yugé ásatah sát agâyata. 2. devâ´nâm yugé prathamé ásatah sát agâyata, tát â´sâh ánu agâyanta tát uttâná-padah pári. 3. bhû´h gagñe uttâná-padah bhuváh â´sâh agâyanta, áditeh dákshah agâyata, dákshât ûm (íti) áditih pári. 4. 1. Let us now with praise proclaim the births of the gods, that a man may see them in a future age, whenever these hymns are sung.

1. Let us now with praise proclaim the births of the gods, that a man may see them in a future age, whenever these hymns are sung. 2. Brahmanaspati a blew them together like a smith (with p. 247 his bellows); in a former age of the gods, Being was born from Not-being. 3. In the first age of the gods, Being was born from Not-being, after it were born the Regions (space), from them Uttânapada; 4. From Uttânapad the Earth was born, the Regions were born from the Earth. Daksha was born of Aditi, and Aditi from Daksha. The ideas of Being and Not-being (τὸ ὄν and τὸ μὴ ὄν) are familiar to the Hindus from a very early time in their intellectual growth, and they can only have been the result of abstract speculation. Therefore dáksha, too, in the sense of power or potentia, may have been a metaphysical conception. But it may also have been suggested by a mere accident of language, a never-failing source of ancient thoughts. The name dáksha-pitarah, an epithet of the gods, has generally been translated by 'those who have Daksha for their father.' But it may have been used originally in a very different sense. Professor Roth has, I think, convincingly proved that this epithet dáksha-pitar, as given to certain gods, does not mean, the gods who have Daksha for their father, but that it had originally the simpler meaning of fathers of strength, or, as he translates it, 'preserving, possessing, granting faculties a.' This is particularly clear in one passage:

III, 27, 9. bhûtâ´nâm gárbham â´ dadhe, dákshasya, pitáram. I place Agni, the source of all beings, the father of strength … p. 248 After this we can hardly hesitate how to translate the next verse: VI, 50, 2. su-gyótishah—dáksha-pitrîn—devâ´n. The resplendent gods, the fathers of strength. It may seem more doubtful, when we come to gods like Mitra and Varuna, whom we are so much accustomed to regard as Âdityas, or sons of Aditi, and who therefore, according to the theogony mentioned before, would have the best claim to the name of sons of Daksha; yet here, too, the original and simple meaning is preferable; nay, it is most likely that from passages like this, the later explanation, which makes Mitra and Varuna the sons of Daksha, may have sprung. VII, 66, 2. yâ´—su-dákshâ dáksha-pitarâ. Mitra and Varuna, who are of good strength, the fathers of strength. Lastly, even men may claim this name; for, unless we change the accent, we must translate: VIII, 63, 10. avasyávah yushmâ´bhih dáksha-pitarah. We suppliants, being, through your aid, fathers of strength. But whatever view we take, whether we take dáksha in the sense of power, as a personification of a philosophical conception, or as the result of a mythological misunderstanding occasioned by the name of dáksha-pitar, the fact remains that in certain hymns of the Rig-veda (VIII, 25, 5) Dáksha, like Aditi, has become a divine person, and has retained his place as one of the Âdityas to the very latest time of Purânic tradition.

Aditi in her Cosmic Character. But to return to Aditi. Let us look upon her as the Infinite personified, and most passages, even those where she is presented as a subordinate deity, will become intelligible. Aditi, in her cosmic character, is the Beyond, the unbounded realm beyond earth, sky, and heaven, and originally she was distinct from the sky, the earth, and the ocean. Aditi is mentioned by the side of heaven and earth, which p. 249 shows that, though in more general language she may be identified with heaven and earth in their unlimited character, her original conception was different. This we see in passages where different deities or powers are invoked together, particularly if they are invoked together in the same verse, and where Aditi holds a separate place by the side of heaven and earth: I, 94, 16 (final). tát nah mitráh várunah mamahantâm áditih síndhuh prithivî´ utá dyaúh. May Mitra and Varuna grant us this, may Aditi, Sindhu (sea), the Earth, and the Sky! In other passages, too, where Aditi has assumed a more personal character, she still holds her own by the side of heaven and earth; cf. IX, 97, 58 (final): I, 191, 6. dyaûh vah pitâ´ prithivî´ mâtâ´ sómah bhrâ´tâ áditih svásâ. The Sky is your father, the Earth your mother, Soma your brother, Aditi your sister. VIII, 101, 15. mâtâ´ rudrâ´nâm duhitâ´ vásûnâm svásâ âdityâ´nâm amrítasya nâ´bhih, prá nú vokam kikitúshe gánâya mâ´ gâ´m ánâgâm áditim vadhishta.

VIII, 101, 15. mâtâ´ rudrâ´nâm duhitâ´ vásûnâm svásâ âdityâ´nâm amrítasya nâ´bhih, prá nú vokam kikitúshe gánâya mâ´ gâ´m ánâgâm áditim vadhishta. The mother of the Rudras, the daughter of the Vasus, the sister of the Âdityas, the source of immortality, I tell it forth to the man of understanding, may he not offend the cow, the guiltless Aditi! Cf. I, 153, 3; IX, 96, 15; Vâgasan. Samhitâ XIII, 49. VI, 51, 5. dyaũh pítar (íti) príthivi mâ´tah ádhruk ágne bhrâtah vasavah mriláta nah, vísve âdityâh adite sa-góshâh asmábhyam sárma bahulám vi yanta. Sky, father, Earth, kind mother, Fire, brother, bright gods, have mercy upon us! All Âdityas (and) Aditi together, grant us your manifold protection! X, 63, 10. su-trâ´mânam prithivî´m dyâ´m anehásam susármânam áditim su-pránîtim, daívîm nâ´vam su-aritrâ´m ánâgasam ásravantîm â´ ruhema svastáye. Let us for welfare step into the divine boat, with good oars, faultless and leakless—the well-protecting Earth, the peerless Sky, the sheltering, well-guiding Aditi! X, 66, 4. áditih dyâ´vâprithivî´ (íti). p. 250 Aditi, and Heaven and Earth. Where two or more verses come together, the fact that Aditi is mentioned by the side of Heaven and Earth may seem less convincing, because in these Nivids or long strings of invocations different names or representatives of one and the same power are not unfrequently put together. For instance, X, 36, 1-3. ushásânáktâ brihatî´ (íti) su-pésasâ dyâ´vâkshâ´mâ várunah mitráh aryamâ´, índram huve marútah párvatân apáh âdityâ´n dyâ´vâprithivî´ (íti) apáh svãr (íti svãh). 1.

X, 36, 1-3. ushásânáktâ brihatî´ (íti) su-pésasâ dyâ´vâkshâ´mâ várunah mitráh aryamâ´, índram huve marútah párvatân apáh âdityâ´n dyâ´vâprithivî´ (íti) apáh svãr (íti svãh). 1. dyaúh ka nah prithivî´ ka prá-ketasâ ritávarî (íty ritávarî) rakshatâm ámhasah risháh, mâ´ duh-vidátrâ níh-ritih nah îsata tát devâ´nâm ávah adyá vrinîmahe. 2. vísvasmât nah áditih pâtu ámhasah mâtâ´ mitrásya várunasya revátah svãh-vat gyótih avrikám nasîmahi. 3. 1. There are the grand and beautiful Morning and Night, Heaven and Earth, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman; I call Indra, the Maruts, the Waters, the Âdityas, Heaven and Earth, the Waters, the Heaven. 2. May Heaven and Earth, the provident, the righteous, preserve us from sin and mischief! May the malevolent Nirriti not rule over us! This blessing of the gods we ask for to-day. 3. May Aditi protect us from all sin, the mother of Mitra and of the rich Varuna! May we obtain heavenly light without enemies! This blessing of the gods we ask for to-day. Here we cannot but admit that Dyâ´vâkshâ´mâ, heaven and earth, is meant for the same divine couple as Dyâ´vâprithivî´, heaven and earth, although under slightly differing names they are invoked separately. The waters are invoked twice in the same verse and under the same name; nor is there any indication that, as in other passages, the waters of the sky are meant as distinct from the waters of the sea. Nevertheless even here, Aditi, who in the third verse is called distinctly the mother of Mitra and Varuna, cannot well have been meant for the same deity as Heaven and Earth, mentioned in the second verse; and the author of

p. 251 these two verses, while asking the same blessing from both, must have been aware of the original independent character of Aditi. Aditi as Mother. In this character of a deity of the far East, of an Orient in the true sense of the word, Aditi was naturally thought of as the mother of certain gods, particularly of those that were connected with the daily rising and setting of the sun. If it was asked whence comes the dawn, or the sun, or whence come day and night, or Mitra and Varuna, or any of the bright, solar, eastern deities, the natural answer was that they come from the Orient, that they are the sons of Aditi. Thus we read in IX, 74, 3. urvî´ gávyûtih áditeh ritám yaté. Wide is the space for him who goes on the right path of Aditi. In VIII, 25, 3, we are told that Aditi bore Mitra and Varuna, and these in verse 5 are called the sons of Daksha (power), and the grandsons of Savas, which again means might: nápâtâ sávasah manáh sûnû´ (íti) dákshasya su-krátû (íti). In X, 36, 3, Aditi is called the mother of Mitra and Varuna; likewise in X, 132, 6; see also VI, 67, 4. In VIII, 47, 9, Aditi is called the mother of Mitra, Aryaman, Varuna, who in VII, 60, 5 are called her sons. In X, 11, 1, Varuna is called yahváh áditeh, the son of Aditi (cf. VIII, 19, 12); in VII, 41, 2, Bhaga is mentioned as her son. In X, 72, 8, we hear of eight sons of Aditi, but it is added that she approached the gods with seven sons only, and that the eighth (mârtândá, addled egg) was thrown away: ashtaú putrâ´sah áditeh yé gâtâ´h tanvãh pári, devâ´n úpa prá ait saptá-bhih párâ mârtândám âsyat.

In X, 63, 2, the gods in general are represented as born from Aditi, the waters, and the earth: yé sthá gâtâ´h áditeh at-bhyáh pári yé prithivyâ´h té me ihá sruta hávam. You who are born of Aditi, from the water, you who are born of the earth, hear ye all my call! The number seven, with regard to the Âdityas, occurs also in p. 252 IX, 114, 3. saptá dísah nâ´nâ-sûryâh saptá hótârah ritvígah, devâ´h âdityâ´h yé saptá tébhih soma abhí raksha nah. There are seven regions with their different suns, there are seven Hotars as priests, those who are the seven gods, the Âdityas, with them, O Soma, protect us! The Seven Âdityas. This number of seven Âdityas requires an explanation. To say that seven is a solemn or sacred number is to say very little, for however solemn or sacred that number may be elsewhere, it is not more sacred than any other number in the Veda. The often-mentioned seven rivers have a real geographical foundation, like the seven hills of Rome. The seven flames or treasures of Agni (V, 1, 5) and of Soma and Rudra (VI, 74, I), the seven paridhis or logs at certain sacrifices (X, 90, 15), the seven Harits or horses of the sun, the seven Hotar priests (III, 7, 7; 10, 4), the seven cities of the enemy destroyed by Indra (I, 63, 7), and even the seven Rishis (X, 82, 2; 109, 4), all these do not prove that the number of seven was more sacred than the number of one or three or five or ten used in the Veda in a very similar way. With regard to the seven Âdityas, however, we are still able to see that their number of seven or eight had something to do with solar movements. If their number had always been eight, we should feel inclined to trace the number of the Âdityas back to the eight regions, or the eight cardinal points of the heaven. Thus we read:

I, 35, 8. ashtaú ví akhyat kakúbhah prithivyâ´h. The god Savitar lighted up the eight points of the earth (not the eight hills). But we have seen already that though the number of Âdityas was originally supposed to have been eight, it was reduced to seven, and this could hardly be said in any sense of the eight points of the compass. Cf. Taitt. Âr. I, 7, 6. As we cannot think in ancient India of the seven planets, I can only suggest the seven days or tithis of the four parvans of the lunar month as a possible prototype of the p. 253 [paragraph continues] Âdityas. This might even explain the destruction of the eighth Âditya, considering that the eighth day of each parvan, owing to its uncertainty, might be represented as exposed to decay and destruction. This would explain such passages as, IV, 7, 5. yágishtham saptá dhâ´ma-bhih. Agni, most worthy of sacrifice in the seven stations. IX, 102, 2. yagñásya saptá dhâ´ma-bhih. In the seven stations of the sacrifice. The seven threads of the sacrifice may have the same origin: II, 5, 2. â´ yásmin saptá rasmáyah tatâ´h yagñásya netári, manushvát daívyam ashtamám. In whom, as the leader of the sacrifice, the seven threads are stretched out,—the eighth divine being is manlike (?). The sacrifice itself is called, X, 124, 1, saptá-tantu, having seven threads. X, 122, 3. saptá dhâ´mâni pari-yán ámartyah. Agni, the immortal, who goes round the seven stations.

Agni, the immortal, who goes round the seven stations. X, 8, 4. usháh-ushah hí vaso (íti) ágram éshi tvám yamáyoh abhavah vi-bhâ´vâ, ritâ´ya saptá dadhishe padâ´ni ganáyan mitrám tanvẽ svâ´yai. For thou, Vasu (Agni), comest first every morning, thou art the illuminator of the twins (day and night). Thou holdest the seven places for the sacrifice, creating Mitra (the sun) for thy own body. X, 5, 6. saptá maryâ´dâh kaváyah tatakshuh tâ´sâm ékâm ít abhí amhuráh gât. The sages established the seven divisions, but mischief befell one of them. I, 22, 16. átah devâ´h avantu nah yátah víshnuh vi-kakramé prithivyâ´h saptá dhâ´ma-bhih. May the gods protect us from whence Vishnu strode forth, by the seven stations of the earth! Even the names of the seven or eight Âdityas are not definitely known, at least not from the hymns of the Rig-veda. In II, 27, 1, we have a list of six names: Mitrá, Aryamán, Bhága, Váruna, Dáksha, Ámsah. These with Aditi would give us seven. In VI, 50, 1, we have Áditi, p. 254 [paragraph continues] Váruna, Mitrá, Agní, Aryamán, Savitár, and Bhága. In I, 89, 3, Bhága, Mitrá, Áditi, Dáksha, Aryamán, Váruna, Sóma, Asvínâ, and Sárasvatî are invoked together with an old invocation, pû´rvayâ ni-vídâ. In the Taittirîya-âranyaka, I, 13, 3, we find the following list: 1. Mitra, 2. Varuna, 3. Dhâtar, 4. Aryaman, 5. Amsa, 6. Bhaga, 7. Indra, 8. Vivasvat, but there, too, the eighth son is said to be Mârtânda, or, according to the commentator, Âditya.

The character of Aditi as the mother of certain gods is also indicated by some of her epithets, such as râ´ga-putrâ, having kings for her sons; su-putrâ´, having good sons; ugrá-putrâ, having terrible sons: II, 27, 7. pípartu nah áditih râ´ga-putrâ áti dvéshâmsi aryamâ´ su-gébhih, brihát mitrásya várunasya sárma úpa syâma puru-vî´râh árishtâh. May Aditi with her royal sons, may Aryaman carry us on easy roads across the hatreds; may we with many sons and without hurt obtain the great protection of Mitra and Varuna! III, 4, 11. barhíh nah âstâm áditih su-putrâ´. May Aditi with her excellent sons sit on our sacred pile! VIII, 67, 11. párshi dîné gabhîré â´ úgra-putre gíghâmsatah, mâ´kih tokásya nah rishat. Protect us, O goddess with terrible sons, from the enemy in shallow or deep water, and no one will hurt our offspring! Aditi identified with other Deities. Aditi, however, for the very reason that she was originally intended for the Infinite, for something beyond the visible world, was liable to be identified with a number of finite deities which might all be represented as resting on Aditi, as participating in Aditi, as being Aditi. Thus we read: I, 89, 10 (final). áditih dyaûh áditih antáriksham áditih mâtâ´ sáh pitâ´ sáh putráh, vísve devâ´h áditih páñka gánâh áditih gâtám áditih gáni-tvam. Aditi is the heaven, Aditi the sky, Aditi the mother, the p. 255 father, the son. All the gods are Aditi, the five clans, the past is Aditi, Aditi is the future.

father, the son. All the gods are Aditi, the five clans, the past is Aditi, Aditi is the future. But although Aditi may thus be said to be everything, heaven, sky, and all the gods, no passage occurs, in the Rig-veda at least, where the special meaning of heaven or earth is expressed by Aditi. In X, 63, 3, where Aditi seems to mean sky, we shall see that it ought to be taken as a masculine, either in the sense of Âditya, or as an epithet, unbounded, immortal. In I, 72, 9, we ought probably to read prithvî´ and pronounce prithuvî´, and translate 'the wide Aditi, the mother with her sons;' and not, as Benfey does, 'the Earth, the eternal mother.' It is more difficult to determine whether in one passage Aditi has not been used in the sense of life after life, or as the name of the place whither people went after death, or of the deity presiding over that place. In a well-known hymn, supposed to have been uttered by Sunahsepa when on the point of being sacrificed by his own father, the following verse occurs: I, 24, 1. káh nah mahyaí áditaye púnah dât, pitáram ka driséyam mâtáram ka. Who will give us back to the great Aditi, that I may see father and mother? As the supposed utterer of this hymn is still among the living, Aditi can hardly be taken in the sense of earth, nor would the wish to see father and mother be intelligible in the mouth of one who is going to he sacrificed by his own father. If we discard the story of Sunahsepa, and take the hymn as uttered by any poet who craves for the protection of the gods in the presence of danger and death, then we may choose between the two meanings of earth or liberty, and translate, either, Who will give us back to the great earth? or, Who will restore us to the great Aditi, the goddess of freedom?

Aditi and Diti. There is one other passage which might receive light if we could take Aditi in the sense of Hades, but I give this translation as a mere guess: p. 256 IV, 2, 11. râyé ka nah su-apatyâ´ya deva dítim ka râ´sva áditim urushya. That we may enjoy our wealth and healthy offspring, give us this life on earth, keep off the life to come! Cf. I, 152, 6. It should be borne in mind that Diti occurs in the Rig-veda thrice only, and in one passage it should, I believe, be changed into Aditi. This passage occurs in VII, 15, 12. tvám agne vîrá-vat yásah deváh ka savitâ´ bhágah, dítih ka dâti vâ´ryam. Here the name of Diti is so unusual, and that of Aditi, on the contrary, so natural, that I have little doubt that the poet had put the name of Aditi; and that later reciters, not aware of the occasional license of putting two short syllables instead of one, changed it into Aditi. If we remove this passage, then Diti, in the Rig-veda at least, occurs twice only, and each time together or in contrast with Aditi; cf. V, 62, 8, page 243. I have no doubt, therefore, that Professor Roth is right when he says that Diti is a being without any definite conception, a mere reflex of Aditi. We can clearly watch her first emergence into existence through what is hardly more than a play of words, whereas in the epic and Purânic literature this Diti (like the Suras) has grown into a definite person, one of the daughters of Daksha, the wife of Kasyapa, the mother of the enemies of the gods, the Daityas. Such is the growth of legend, mythology and religion!

Aditi in her Moral Character. Besides the cosmical character of Aditi, which we have hitherto examined, this goddess has also assumed a very prominent moral character. Aditi, like Varuna, delivers from sin. Why this should be so, we can still understand if we watch the transition which led from a purely cosmical to a moral conception of Aditi. Sin in the Veda is frequently conceived as a bond or a chain from which the repentant sinner wishes to be freed: VII, 86, 5. áva drugdhâ´ni pítryâ sriga nah áva yâ´ vayám kakrimá tanû´bhih, áva râgan pasu-trípam ná tâyúm srigá vatsám ná dâ´mnah vásishtham. Absolve us from the sins of our fathers, and from those p. 257 which we have committed with our own bodies. Release Vasishtha, O king, like a thief who has feasted on stolen cattle; release him like a calf from the rope a. VIII, 67, 14. té nah âsnáh vríkânâm â´dityâsah mumókata stenám baddhám-iva adite. O Âdityas, deliver us from the mouth of the wolves, like a bound thief, O Aditi! Cf. VIII, 67, 18. Sunahsepa, who, as we saw before, wishes to be restored to the great Aditi, is represented as bound (dita) by ropes, and in V, 2, 7, we read: súnah-sépam kit ní-ditam sahásrât yû´pât amuñkah ásamishta hí sáh, evá asmát agne ví mumugdhi pâ´sân hótar (íti) kikitvah ihá tú ni-sádya. O Agni, thou hast released the bound Sunahsepa from the stake, for he had prayed; thus take from us, too, these ropes, O sagacious Hotar, after thou hast settled here.

O Agni, thou hast released the bound Sunahsepa from the stake, for he had prayed; thus take from us, too, these ropes, O sagacious Hotar, after thou hast settled here. Expressions like these, words like dâ´man, bond, ní-dita, bound, naturally suggested á-diti, the un-bound or unbounded, as one of those deities who could best remove the bonds of sin or misery. If we once realise this concatenation of thought and language, many passages of the Veda that seemed obscure, will become intelligible. VII, 51, 1. âdityâ´nâm ávasâ nû´tanena sakshîmáhi sármanâ sám-tamena, anâgâh-tvé aditi-tvé turâ´sah imám yagñám dadhatu sróshamânâh. May we obtain the new favour of the Âdityas, their best protection; may the quick Maruts listen and place this sacrifice in guiltlessness and Aditi-hood. I have translated the last words literally, in order to make their meaning quite clear. ´gas has the same meaning as the Greek ἄγος, guilt, abomination; an-âgâs-tvá, therefore, as applied to a sacrifice or to the man who makes it, means guiltlessness, purity. Aditi-tvá, Aditi-hood, has a similar meaning, it means freedom from bonds, from anything that hinders the proper performance of a religious act; it may come to mean perfection or holiness. p. 258 Aditi having once been conceived as granting this adititvá, soon assumed a very definite moral character, and hence the following invocations: I, 24, 15. út ut-tamám varuna pâ´sam asmát áva adhamám ví madhyamim srathaya, átha vayám âditya vraté táva ánâgasah áditaye syâma.

I, 24, 15. út ut-tamám varuna pâ´sam asmát áva adhamám ví madhyamim srathaya, átha vayám âditya vraté táva ánâgasah áditaye syâma. O Varuna, lift the highest rope, draw off the lowest, remove the middle; then, O Âditya, let us be in thy service free of guilt before Aditi. V, 82, 6. ánâgasah áditaye devásya savitúh h savé, vísvâ vâmâ´ni dhîmahi. May we, guiltless before Aditi, and in the keeping of the god Savitar, obtain all goods! Professor Roth here translates Aditi by freedom or security. I, 162, 22. anâgâh-tvám nah áditih krinotu. May Aditi give us sinlessness! Cf. VII, 51, 1. IV, 12, 4. yát kit hí te purusha-trâ´ yavishtha ákitti-bhih kakrimá kit kit â´gah, kridhí sú asmâ´n áditeh ánâgân ví énâmsi sisrathah víshvak agne. Whatever, O youthful god, we have committed against thee, men as we are, whatever sin through thoughtlessness, make us guiltless of Aditi, loosen the sins on all sides, O Agni! VII, 93, 7. sáh agne enâ´ námasâ sám-iddhah ákkha mitrám várunam índram vokeh, yát sîm â´gah kakrimá tát sú mrila tát aryamâ´ áditih sisrathantu. O Agni, thou who hast been kindled with this adoration, greet Mitra, Varuna, and Indra. Whatever sin we have committed, do thou pardon it! May Aryaman, Aditi loose it! Here the plural sisrathantu should be observed, instead of the dual. VIII, 18, 6-7. áditih nah dívâ pasúm áditih náktam ádvayâh, áditih pâtu ámhasah sadâ´-vridhâ. utá syâ´ nah dívâ matíh áditih ûtyâ´ â´ gamat, sâ sám-tâti máyah karat ápa srídhah.

utá syâ´ nah dívâ matíh áditih ûtyâ´ â´ gamat, sâ sám-tâti máyah karat ápa srídhah. May Aditi by day protect our cattle, may she, who never deceives, protect by night; may she, with steady increase, protect us from evil! And may she, the thoughtful Aditi, come with help to p. 259 us by day; may she kindly bring happiness to us, and carry away all enemies! Cf. X, 36, 3, page 251. X, 87, 18. â´ vriskyantâm áditaye duh-évâh. May the evil-doers be cut off from Aditi! or literally, may they be rooted out before Aditi! II, 27, 24. ádite mítra váruna utá mrila yát vah vayám kakrimá kát kit â´gah, urú asyâm ábhayam gyótih indra mâ´ nah dîrghâ´h abhí nasan támisrâh. Aditi, Mitra, and also Varuna forgive, if we have committed any sin against you. May I obtain the wide and fearless light, O Indra! May not the long darkness reach us! VII, 87, 7. yáh mriláyâti kakrúshe kit â´gah vayám syâma várune ánâgâh, ánu vratâ´ni áditeh ridhántah yuyám pâta svastí-bhih sádâ nah. May we be sinless before Varuna, who is gracious even to him who has committed sin, and may we follow the laws of Aditi! Protect us always with your blessings! Lastly, Aditi, like all other gods, is represented as a giver of worldly goods, and implored to bestow them on her worshippers, or to protect them by her power: I, 43, 2. yáthâ nah áditih kárat pásve nrí-bhyah yáthâ gáve, yáthâ tokâ´ya rudríyam. That Aditi may bring Rudra's favour to our cattle, our men, our cow, our offspring.

That Aditi may bring Rudra's favour to our cattle, our men, our cow, our offspring. I, 153, 3. pîpâ´ya dhenúh áditih ritâ´ya gánâya mitrâvarunâ havih-dé. Aditi, the cow, gives food to the righteous man, O Mitra and Varuna, who makes offerings to the gods. Cf. VIII, 101, 15. I, 185, 3. aneháh dâtrám áditeh anarvám huvé. I call for the unrivalled, uninjured gift of Aditi. Here Professor Roth again assigns to Aditi the meaning of freedom or security. VII, 40, 2. dídeshtu devî´ áditih réknah. May the divine Aditi assign wealth! X, 100, 1. â´ sarvá-tâtim áditim vrinîmahe. We implore Aditi for health and wealth. I, 94, 15. yásmai tvám su-dravinah dádâsah anâgâh-tvám p. 260 adite sarvá-tâtâ, yám bhadréna sávasâ kodáyâsi pragâ´-vatâ râ´dhasâ té syâma. To whom thou, possessor of good treasures, grantest guiltlessness, O Aditi, in health and wealth a, whom thou quickenest with precious strength and with riches in progeny, may we be they! Cf. II, 40, 6; IV, 25, 5; X, 11, 2. The principal epithets of Aditi have been mentioned in the passages quoted above, and they throw no further light on the nature of the goddess. She was called devî´, goddess, again and again; another frequent epithet is anarván, uninjured, unscathed. Being invoked to grant light (VII, 82, 10), she is herself called luminous, gyótishmatî, I, 136, 3; and svâ´rvatî, heavenly. Being the goddess of the infinite expanse, she, even with greater right than the dawn, is called úrûkî, VIII, 67, 12; uruvyákas, V, 46, 6; uruvragâ, VIII, 67, 12; and possibly prithvî´ in I, 72, 9. As supporting everything, she is called dhârayátkshiti, supporting the earth, I, 136, 3; and visváganyâ, VII, 10, 4. To her sons she owes the names of râ´gaputrâ, II, 27, 7; suputrâ´, III, 4, 11; and ugráputrâ, VIII, 67, 11: to her wealth that of sudravinas, I, 94, 15, though others refer this epithet to Agni. There remains one name pastyẫ, IV, 55, 3; VIII, 27, 5, meaning housewife, which again indicates her character as mother of the gods.

I have thus given all the evidence that can be collected from the Rig-veda as throwing light on the character of the goddess Aditi, and I have carefully excluded everything that rests only on the authority of the Yagur- or Atharva-vedas, or of the Brâhmanas and Âranyakas, because in all they give beyond the repetitions from the Rig-veda, they seem to me to represent a later phase of thought that ought not to be mixed up with the more primitive conceptions of the Rig-veda. Not that the Rig-veda is free from what seems decidedly modern, or at all events secondary and late. But it is well to keep the great collections, as such, p. 261 separate, whatever our opinions may be as to the age of their component parts. In the Atharva-veda Aditi appears more unintelligible, more completely mythological, than in the Rig-veda. We read, for instance, Atharva-veda VII, 6, 1: ‘Aditi is the sky, Aditi is the welkin, Aditi is mother, is father, is son; all the gods are Aditi, and the five clans of men; Aditi is what was, Aditi is what will be. ‘We invoke for our protection the great mother of the well-ruling gods, the wife of Rita, the powerful, never-aging, far-spreading, the sheltering, well-guiding Aditi.’ In the Taittirîya-âranyaka and similar works the mythological confusion becomes greater still. Much valuable material for an analytical study of Aditi may be found in B. and R.'s Dictionary, and in several of Dr. Muir's excellent contributions to a knowledge of Vedic theogony and mythology.

In the Taittirîya-âranyaka and similar works the mythological confusion becomes greater still. Much valuable material for an analytical study of Aditi may be found in B. and R.'s Dictionary, and in several of Dr. Muir's excellent contributions to a knowledge of Vedic theogony and mythology. Aditi as an Adjective. But although the foregoing remarks give as complete a description of Aditi as can be gathered from the hymns of the Rig-veda, a few words have to be added on certain passages where the word áditi occurs, and where it clearly cannot mean the goddess Aditi, as a feminine, but must be taken either as the name of a corresponding masculine deity, or as an adjective in the sense of unrestrained, independent, free. V, 59, 8. mímâtu dyaúh áditih vîtáye nah. May the boundless Dyú (sky) help us to our repast! Here Aditi must either be taken in the sense of Âditya, or better in its original sense of unbounded, as an adjective belonging to Dyú, the masculine deity of the sky. Dyú or the sky is called áditi or unbounded in another passage, X, 63, 3: yébhyah mâtâ´ mádhu-mat pínvate páyah pîyû´sham dyaûh áditih ádri-barhâh. The gods to whom their mother yields the sweet milk, and the unbounded sky, as firm as a rock, their food. IV, 3, 8. kathâ´ sárdhâya marútâm ritâ´ya kathâ´ sûré brihaté prikkhyámânah, práti bravah áditaye turâ´ya. p. 262 How wilt thou tell it to the host of the Maruts, how to the bright heaven, when thou art asked? How to the quick Aditi?

How wilt thou tell it to the host of the Maruts, how to the bright heaven, when thou art asked? How to the quick Aditi? Here Aditi cannot be the goddess, partly on account of the masculine gender of turâ´ya, partly because she is never called quick. Aditi must here be the name of one of the Âdityas, or it may refer back to sûré brihaté. It can hardly be joined, as Professor Roth proposes, with sárdhâya marútâm, owing to the intervening sûré brihaté. In several passages áditi, as an epithet, refers to Agni: IV, 1, 20 (final). vísveshâm áditih yagñíyânâm vísveshâm átithih mâ´nushânâm. He, Agni, the Aditi, or the freest, among all the gods; he the guest among all men. The same play on the words áditi and átithi occurs again: VII, 9, 3. ámûrah kavíh áditih vivásvân su-samsát mitráh átithih siváh nah, kitrá-bhânuh ushásâm bhâti ágre. The wise poet, Aditi, Vivasvat, Mitra with his good company, our welcome guest, he (Agni) with brilliant light came at the head of the dawns. Here, though I admit that several renderings are possible, Aditi is meant as a name of Agni, to whom the whole hymn is addressed, and who, as usual, is identified with other gods, or, at all events, invoked by their names. We may translate áditih vivásvân by 'the brilliant Aditi,' or 'the unchecked, the brilliant,' or by 'the boundless Vivasvat,' but on no account can we take áditi here as the female goddess. The same applies to VIII, 19, 14, where Aditi, unless we suppose the goddess brought in in the most abrupt way, must be taken as a name of Agni; while in X, 92, 14, áditim anarvánam, to judge from other epithets given in the same verse, has most likely to be taken again as an appellative of Agni. In some passages it would, no doubt, be possible to take Aditi as the name of a female deity, if it were certain that no other meaning could be assigned to this word. But if we once know that Aditi was the name of a male deity also, the structure of these passages becomes far more perfect, if we take Aditi in that sense:

p. 263 IV, 39, 3. ánâgasam tám áditih krinotu sáh mitréna várunena sa-góshâh. May Aditi make him free from sin, he who is allied with Mitra and Varuna. We have had several passages in which Aditi, the female deity, is represented as sagóshâh or allied with other Âdityas, but if sáh is the right reading here, Aditi in this verse can only be the male deity. The pronoun sá cannot refer to tám. With regard to other passages, such as IX, 81, 5; VI, 51, 3, and even some of those translated above in which Aditi has been taken as a female goddess, the question must be left open till further evidence can be obtained. There is only one more passage which has been often discussed, and where áditi was supposed to have the meaning of earth: VII, 18, 8. duh-âdhyãh áditim sreváyantah aketásah ví gagribhre párushnîm. Professor Roth in one of his earliest essays translated this line, 'The evil-disposed wished to dry the earth, the fools split the Parushnî,' and he supposed its meaning to have been that the enemies of Sudâs swam across the Parushnî in order to attack Sudâs. We might accept this translation, if it could be explained how by throwing themselves into the river, the enemies made the earth dry, though even then there would remain this difficulty that, with the exception of one other doubtful passage, discussed before, áditi never means earth. We might possibly translate: 'The evil-disposed, the fools, laid dry and divided the boundless river Parushnî.' This would be a description of a stratagem very common in ancient warfare, viz. diverting the course of a river and laying its original bed dry by digging a new channel, and thus dividing the old river. This is also the sense accepted by Sâyana, who does not say that vigraha means dividing the waves of a river, as Professor Roth renders kûlabheda, but that it means dividing or cutting through its banks. In the Dictionary Professor Roth assigns to áditi in this passage the meaning of endless, inexhaustible.

p. 264 Kaná. Note 5. Nothing is more difficult in the interpretation of the Veda than to gain an accurate knowledge of the power of particles and conjunctions. The particle kaná, we are told, is used both affirmatively and negatively, a statement which shows better than anything else the uncertainty to which every translation of Vedic hymns is as yet exposed. It is perfectly true that in the text of the Rig-veda, as we now read it, kaná means both indeed and no. But this very fact shows that we ought to distinguish where the first collectors of the Vedic hymns have not distinguished, and that while in the former case we read kaná, we ought in the latter to read ka ná. I begin with those passages in which kaná is used emphatically, though originally it may have been a double negation. I a. In negative sentences: I, 18, 7. yásmât rité ná sídhyati yagñáh vipah-kítah kaná. Without whom the sacrifice does not succeed, not even that of the sage. V, 34, 5. ná ásunvatâ sakate púshyatâ kaná. He does not cling to a man who offers no libations, even though he be thriving. I, 24, 6. nahí te kshatrám ná sáhah ná manyúm váyah kaná amî´ (íti) patáyantah âpúh. For thy power, thy strength, thy anger even these birds which fly up, do not reach. Cf. I, 100, 15. I, 155, 5. tritî´yam asya nákih â´ dadharshati váyah kaná patáyantah patatrínah. This third step no one approaches, not even the winged birds which fly up.

This third step no one approaches, not even the winged birds which fly up. I, 55, 1. diváh kit asya varimâ´ ví papratha, índram ná mahnâ´ prithivî´ kaná práti. The width of the heavens is stretched out, even the earth in her greatness is no match for Indra. I b. In positive sentences: VII, 32, 13. pûrvî´h kaná prá-sitayah taranti tám yáh índre kármanâ bhúvat. p. 265 Even many snares pass him who is with Indra in his work. VIII, 2, 14. ukthám kanâ sasyámânam ágoh aríh â´ kiketa, ná gâyatrám gîyámânam. He (Indra) marks indeed a poor man's prayer that is recited, but not a hymn that is sung. (Doubtful.) VIII, 78, 10. táva ít indra ahám â-sásâ háste dâ´tram kaná â´ dade. Hoping in thee alone, O Indra, I take even this sickle in my hand. I, 55, 5. ádha kaná srát dadhati tvíshi-mate índrâya vágram ni-ghánighnate vadhám. Then indeed they believe in Indra, the majestic, when he hurls the bolt to strike. I, 152, 2. etát kaná tvah ví kiketat eshâm. Does one of them understand even this? IV, 18, 9. mámat kaná used in the same sense as mámat kit. I, 139, 2. dhîbhíh kaná mánasâ svébhih akshá-bhih. V, 41, 13. váyah kaná su-bhvãh â´ áva yanti. VII, 18, 9. âsúh kaná ít abhi-pitvám gagâma. VIII, 91, 3. â´ kaná tvâ kikitsâmah ádhi kaná tvâ ná imasi. We wish to know thee, indeed, but we cannot understand thee. X, 49, 5. ahám randhayam mrígayam srutárvane yát mâ ágihîta vayûnâ kaná ânu-shák. VI, 26, 7. ahám kaná tát sûrí-bhih ânasyâm.

VI, 26, 7. ahám kaná tát sûrí-bhih ânasyâm. May I also obtain this with the lords. I c. Frequently kaná occurs after interrogative pronouns, to which it imparts an indefinite meaning, and principally in negative sentences: I, 74, 7. ná yóh upabdíh ásvyah srinvé ráthasya kát kaná, yát agne yâ´si dûtyâ´m. No sound of horses is heard, and no sound of the chariot, when thou, O Agni, goest on thy message. I, 81, 5. ná tvâ´-vân indra káh kaná ná gâtáh ná ganishyaté. No one is like thee, O Indra, no one has been born, no one will be! p. 266 I, 84, 20. mâ´ te râ´dhâmsi mâ´ to ûtáyah vaso (íti) asmâ´n kádâ kaná dabhan. May thy gifts, may thy help, O Vasu, never fail us! Many more passages might be given to illustrate the use of kaná or kás kaná and its derivatives in negative sentences. Cf. I, 105, 3; 136, 1; 139, 5; II, 16, 3; 23, 5; 28, 6; III, 36, 4; IV, 31, 9; V, 42, 6; 82, 2; VI, 3, 2; 20, 4; 47, 1; 3; 48, 17; 54, 9; 59, 4; 69, 8; 75, 16; VII, 32, 1; 19; 59, 3; 82, 7; 104, 3; VIII, 19, 6; 23, 15; 24, 15; 28, 4; 47, 7; 64, 27, 66, 13; 68, 19; IX, 61, 27; 69, 6; 114, 4; X, 33, 9; 39, 11; 48, 5; 49, 10; 59, 8; 62, 9; 85, 3; 86, 11; 95, 1; 112, 9; 119, 6; 7; 128, 4; 129, 2; 152, 1; 168, 3; 185, 2. I d. In a few passages, however, we find the indefinite pronoun kás kaná used in sentences which are not negative: III, 30, 1. títikshante abhí-sastim gánânâm índra tvát â´ káh kaná hí pra-ketáh.

III, 30, 1. títikshante abhí-sastim gánânâm índra tvát â´ káh kaná hí pra-ketáh. They bear the scoffing of men; for, Indra, from thee comes every wisdom. I, 113, 8. ushâ´h mritám kám kaná bodháyantî. Ushas, who wakes every dead (or one who is as if dead). I, 191, 7. âdrishtâh kím kaná ihá vah sárve sâkám ní gasyata. Invisible ones, whatever you are, vanish all together! II. We now come to passages in which kaná stands for ka ná, and therefore renders the sentence negative without any further negative particle. It might seem possible to escape from this admission, by taking certain sentences in an interrogative sense. But this would apply to certain sentences only, and would seem forced even there: II, 16, 2. yásmât índrât brihatáh kím kaná îm rité. Beside whom, (beside) the great Indra, there is not anything. II, 24, 12. vísvam satyám magha-vânâ yuvóh ít â´pah kaná prá minanti vratám vâm. Everything, you mighty ones, belongs indeed to you; even the waters do not transgress your law. p. 267 IV, 30, 3. vísve kaná ít anâ´ tvâ devâ´sah indra yuyudhuh. Even all the gods do not ever fight thee, O Indra. V, 34, 7. duh-gé kaná dhriyate vísvah â´ purú gánah yáh asya távishîm ákukrudhat. Even in a stronghold many a man is not often preserved who has excited his anger. VII, 83, 2. yásmin âgâ´ bhávati kím kaná priyám. In which struggle there is nothing good whatsoever. VII, 86, 6. svápnah kaná ít ánritasya pra-yotâ´.

VII, 86, 6. svápnah kaná ít ánritasya pra-yotâ´. Even sleep does not remove all evil. In this passage I formerly took kaná as affirmative, not as negative, and therefore assigned to prayotâ´ the same meaning which Sâyana assigns to it, one who brings or mixes, whereas it ought to be, as rightly seen by Roth, one who removes. VIII, 1, 5. mahé kaná tvâ´m adri-vah párâ sulkâ´ya deyâm, ná sahásrâya ná ayútâya vagri-vah ná satâ´ya sata-magha. I should not give thee up, wielder of the thunderbolt, even for a great price, not for a thousand, not for ten thousand (?), not for a hundred, O Indra, thou who art possessed of a hundred powers! VIII, 51, 7. kadâ´ kaná starî´h asi. Thou art never sterile. VIII, 52, 7. kadâ´ kaná prá yukkhasi. Thou art never weary. VIII, 55, 5. kákshushâ kaná sam-náse. Not to be reached even with eye. X, 56, 4. mahimnáh eshâm pitárah kanâ îsire. Note 6. Considering the particular circumstances mentioned in this and the preceding hymn, of Indra's forsaking his companions, the Maruts, or even scorning their help, one feels strongly tempted to take tyágas in its etymological sense of leaving or forsaking, and to translate, by his forsaking you, or, if he should forsake you. The poet may have meant the word to convey that idea, which no doubt would be most appropriate here; but it must be confessed, at the same time, that in other passages where tyágas occurs, that meaning could hardly be ascribed to it. Strange as it may seem, no one who is acquainted with the general

p. 268 train of thought in the Vedic hymns can fail to see that tyágas in most passages means attack, onslaught; it may be even the instrument of an attack, a weapon. How it should come to take this meaning is indeed difficult to explain, and I do not wonder that Professor Roth in his Dictionary simply renders the word by forlornness, need, danger, or by estrangement, unkindness, malignity. But let us look at the passages. and we shall see that these abstract conceptions are quite out of place: VIII, 47, 7. ná tám tigmám kaná tyágah ná drâsad abhí tám gurú. No sharp blow, no heavy one, shall come near him whom you protect. Here the two adjectives tigmá, sharp, and gurú, heavy, point to something tangible, and I feel much inclined, to take tyágas in this passage as a weapon, as something that is let off with violence, rather than in the more abstract sense of onslaught. I, 169, 1. maháh kit asi tyágasah varûtâ´. Thou art the shielder from a great attack. IV, 43, 4. káh vâm maháh kit tyágasah abhî´ke urushyátam mâdhvî dasrâ nah ûtî´. Who is against your great attack? Protect us with your help, O Asvins, ye strong ones. Here Professor Roth seems to join maháh kit tyágasah abhî´ke urushyátam, but in that case it would be impossible to construe the first words, káh vâm. I, 119, 8. ágakkhatam krípamânam parâ-váti pitúh svásya tyágasâ ní-bâdhitam. You went from afar to the suppliant, who had been struck down by the violence of his own father.

You went from afar to the suppliant, who had been struck down by the violence of his own father. According to Professor Roth tyágas would here mean forlornness, need, or danger. But níbâdhita is a strong verb, as we may see in VIII, 64, 2. padâ´ panî´n arâdhásah ní bâdhasva mahâ´n asi. Strike the useless Panis down with thy foot, for thou art great. X, 18, 11. út svañkasva prithivi mâ´ ní bâdhathâh. Open, O earth, do not press on him (i. e. the dead, who is p. 269 to be buried; cf. M. M., Über Todtenbestattung, Zeitschrift der D. M. G., vol. ix, p. xv). VII, 83, 6. yátra râ´ga-bhih dasá-bhih ní-bâdhitam prá su-dâ´sam â´vatam trítsu-bhih sahá. Where you protected Sudâs with the Tritsus, when he was pressed or set upon by the ten kings. Another passage in which tyágas occurs is, VI, 62, 10. sánutyena tyágasâ mártyasya vanushyatâ´m ápi sîrshâ´ vavriktam. By your covert attack turn back the heads of those even who harass the mortal. Though this passage may seem less decisive, yet it is difficult to see how tyágasâ could here, according to Professor Roth, be rendered by forlornness or danger. Something is required by which enemies can be turned back. Nor can it be doubtful that sîrshâ´ is governed by vavriktam, meaning turn back their heads, for the same expression occurs again in I, 33, 5. párâ kit sîrshâ´ vavriguh té indra áyagvânah yágva-bhih spárdhamânâh. Professor Ben fey translates this verse by, 'Kopfüber flohn sie alle vor dir;' but it may be rendered more literally, 'These lawless people fighting with the pious turned away their heads.'

Professor Ben fey translates this verse by, 'Kopfüber flohn sie alle vor dir;' but it may be rendered more literally, 'These lawless people fighting with the pious turned away their heads.' X, 144, 6. evá tát índrah índunâ devéshu kit dhârayâte máhi tyágah. Indeed through this draught Indra can hold out against that great attack even among the gods. X, 79, 6. kím devéshu tyágah énah kakartha. What insult, what sin hast thou committed among the gods? In these two passages the meaning of tyágas as attack or assault is at least as appropriate as that proposed by Professor Roth, estrangement, malignity. There remains one passage, VI, 3, 1. yám tvám mitréna várunah sa-góshâh déva pâ´si tyágasâ mártam ámhah. I confess that the construction of this verse is not clear to me, and I doubt whether it is possible to use tyágasâ as a verbal noun governing an accusative. If this were possible, one might translate, 'The mortal whom thou, O God (Agni), p. 270 [paragraph continues] Varuna, together with Mitra, protectest by pushing back evil.' More probably we should translate, 'Whom thou protectest from evil by thy might.' If it be asked how tyágas can possibly have the meaning which has been assigned to it in all the passages in which it occurs; viz. that of forcibly attacking or pushing away, we can only account for it by supposing that tyag, before it came to mean to leave, meant to push off, to drive away with violence (verstossen instead of verlassen). This meaning may still be perceived occasionally in the use of tyag; e. g. devâs tyagantu mâm, may the gods forsake me! i. e. may the gods drive me away! Even in the latest Sanskrit tyag is used with regard to an arrow that is let off. 'To expel' is expressed by nis-tyag. Those who believe in the production of new roots by the addition of prepositional prefixes might possibly see in tyag an original ati-ag, to drive off; but, however that may be, there is evidence enough to show that tyag expressed originally a more violent act of separation than it does in ordinary Sanskrit, though here, too, passages occur in which tyag may be translated by to throw, to fling; for instance, khe dhûlim yas tyaged ukkair mûrdhni tasyaiva sâ patet, he who throws up dust in the air, it will fall on his head. Ind. Spr. 1582.

Muk, too, is used in a similar manner; for instance, vagram mokshyate té mahendrah, Mahâbh. XIV, 263. Cf. Dhammapada, ver. 389. Verse 13. Note 1. Sámsa, masc., means a spell, whether for good or for evil, a blessing as well as a curse. It means a curse, or, at all events, a calumny: I, 18, 3. mâ´ nah sámsah árarushah dhûrtíh prának mártyasya. Let not the curse of the enemy, the onslaught of a mortal hurt us. I, 94, 8. asmâ´kam sámsah abhí astu duh-dhyãh. May our curse overcome the wicked! III, 18, 2. tápa sámsam árarushah. Burn the curse of the enemy! p. 271 VII, 25, 2. âré tám sámsam krinuhi ninitsóh. Take far away the curse of the reviler! Cf. VII, 34, 12. It means blessing: II, 31, 6. utá yah sámsam usígâm-iva smasi. We desire your blessing as a blessing for suppliants. X, 31, 1. â´ nah devâ´nâm úpa vetu sámsah. May the blessing of the gods come to us! X, 7, 1. urushyá nah urú-bhih deva sámsaih. Protect us, god, with thy wide blessings! II, 23, 10. mâ´ nah duh-sámsah abhi-dipsúh îsata prá susámsâh matí-bhih târishîmahi. Let not an evil-speaking enemy conquer us; may we, enjoying good report, increase by our. prayers! In some passages, however, as pointed out by Grassmann, sámsa may best be rendered by singer, praiser. Grassmann marks one passage only, II, 26, 1. rigúh ít sámsah vanavat vanushyatáh. May the righteous singer conquer his enemies. He admits, however, doubtfully, the explanation of B. R., that rigúh sámsah may be taken as one word, meaning, 'requiring the right.' This explanation seems surrendered by B. R. in the second edition of their Dictionary, and I doubt whether sámsah can mean here anything but singer. That being so, the same meaning seems more appropriate in other verses also, which I formerly translated differently, e. g.

VII, 56, 19. imé sámsam vanushyatáh ní pânti. They, the Maruts, protect the singer from his enemy. Lastly, sámsa means praise, the spell addressed by men to the gods, or prayer: I, 33, 7. prá sunvatáh stuvatáh sámsam âvah. Thou hast regarded the prayer of him who offers libation and praise. X, 42, 6. yásmin vayám dadhimá sámsam índre. Indra in whom we place our hope. Cf. âsams, Westergaard, Radices Linguae Sanscritae, s. v. sams. 214:a Schleicher, Compendium, § 36, αἴθω, αἰθήρ, αἴθουσα; and § 49, aides, aidilis aestas. 215:a Ápa-tya; cf. Bopp, Accentuationssystem, § 138, ἔπι-σσαι, Nachkommen. 217:a Tylor, Early History of Mankind, p. 262. 217:b Spiegel, who had formerly identified harmyá with the Zend zairimya in zairimyanura, has afterwards recalled this identification; see Spiegel, Av. Ubers. I, p. 190; Commentar über den Avesta, I, p. 297; Justi, Handbuch, p. 119; Haug, Pahlavi Glossary, p. 22. According to the Parsis, the Hairimyanura, a daêva animal which appears at the rising of the sun, is the turtle, and Darmesteter (Ormazd et Ahriman, p. 283) identifies zair in zair-imya with the Greek χελ-ύς, Sanskrit har-muta. 227:a Kuhn, Zeitschrift, vol. ix, p. 233. 233:a Sana is an old Aryan word, though its meanings differ. Hesychius and Eustathius mention κάννα as being synonymous with ψίαθος, reed. Pollux gives two forms, κάννα and κάνα, (Pollux X, 166 πτανάκα δέ ἐστι ψίαθος ἡ ἐν τοῖς ἀκατίοις ἣν καὶ κάναν καλοῦσιν. VII, 176 κάνναι δὲ τὸ ἐκ κανάβων πλέγμα) This is important, because the same difference of spelling occurs also in κάνναβις and κάναοβς or κάννβος, a model, a lay figure, which Lobeck derives from κάνναι. In Old Norse we have hanp-r, in A. S. hænep, hemp, Old High-Germ. hanaf.

The occurrence of the word sana is of importance as showing at how early a time the Aryans of India were acquainted with the uses and the name of hemp. Our word hemp, the A. S. hænep, the Old Norse hanp-r, are all borrowed from Latin cannabis, which, like other borrowed words, has undergone the regular changes required by Grimm's law in Low-German, and also in High-German. hanaf. The Slavonic nations seem to have borrowed their word for hemp (Lith. kanapẽ) from the Goths, the Celtic nations (Ir. canaib) from the Romans (cf. Kuhn, Beiträge, vol. ii, p. 382). The Latin cannabis is borrowed from Greek, and the Greeks, to judge from the account of Herodotus, most likely adopted the word from the Aryan Thracians and Scythians (Her. IV, 74; Pictet, Les Aryens, vol. i, p. 314). Κάννβις being a foreign word, it would be useless to attempt an explanation of the final element bis, which is added to sana, the Sanskrit word for hemp. It may be visa, fibre, or it may be anything else. Certain it is that the main element in the name of hemp was the same among the settlers in Northern India, and among the Thracians and Scythians through whom the Greeks first became acquainted with hemp. The history of the word κάνναβις must be kept distinct from that of the Greek κάννα or κάνα, reed. Both spellings occur, for Pollux, X, 166, writes πτανάκα δέ ἐστι ψίαθος ἡ ἐν τοῖς ἀκατίοις ἣν καὶ κάναν καλοῦσιν, but VII, 176, κάνναι δὲ τὸ ἐκ κανάβων πλέγμα. This word κάννα may be the same as the Sanskrit sana, only with this difference, that it was retained as common property by Greeks and Indians before they separated, and was applied differently in later times by the one and the other.

235:a Grimm, Deutsche Grammatik, vol. iii, pp. 400, 409. There is not yet sufficient evidence to show that Sanskrit sv, German sn, and Sanskrit n are interchangeable, but there is at least one case that may be analogous. Sanskrit svañg, to embrace, to twist round a person, German slango, Schlange, snake, and Sanskrit nâga, snake. Grimm, Deutsche Grammatik, vol. iii, p. 364. 236:a See Benfey, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, vol. ii, p. 216. 242:a Lectures on the Science of Language, Second Series, p. 499. 246:a Bráhmanaspáti, literally the lord of prayer, or the lord of the sacrifice, sometimes a representative of Agni (I, 38, 13, note), but p. 247 by no means identical with him (see VII, 41, 1); sometimes performing the deeds of Indra, but again by no means identical with him (see II, 23, 18. índrena yugâ´—níh apâ´m aubgah arnavám; cf. VIII, 96, 15). In II, 26, 3, he is called father of the gods (devâ´nâm pitáram); in II, 23, 2, the creator of all beings (vísveshâm ganitâ´). 247:a The accent in this case cannot help us in determining whether dáksha-pitar means having Daksha for their father (Λοκροπάτωρ), or father of strength. In the first case dáksha would rightly retain its accent (dáksha-pitar) as a Bahuvrîhi; in the second, the analogy of such Tatpurusha compounds as grihá-pati (Pân. VI, 2, 18) would be sufficient to justify the pûrvapadaprakritisvaratvam. 257:a See M. M., History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, 2nd ed., p. 541. 260:a On sarvátâti, salus, see Benfey's excellent remarks in Orient and Occident, vol. ii, p. 519. Professor Roth takes aditi here as an epithet of Agni.