rigvedic parye divi

7/28/2019 Rigvedic Parye Divi

1/15

R I G V E D I C pdrye d iv iby

F . B . J . K U I P E RLeiden

1. T h e w o r d p d r ya - h a s a t t r a c t e d l e ss a t te n t i o n t h a n m i g h t b e e x p e c t edo n a c c o u n t o f i ts m e a n i n g , w h i c h w o u l d s e e m t o b e o f d i re c t i m p o r t a n c ef o r o u r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e g e n e r a l c h a r a c t e r o f t h e R i g v e d a . I t se e m si n d e e d t o b e l o n g t o a g r o u p o f w o r d s t h a t a r e s tr ic t ly c o n f in e d t o t h iso l d e s t c o l le c t i o n o f V e d i c h y m n s . T h e f e w o c c u r r e n c e s o f i t i n la t e rV e d i c t e x ts a r e m e r e l y q u o t a t i o n s o f R i g v e d i c m a n t r a s . 1 I t s h o u l d b en o t e d t h a t t h e Y a j u r v e d i c w o r d p d r y3 - " o n t h e o t h e r s i d e " a n d i t s o p -p o s i t e avdry3- " o n t h is s i d e ' 2 a r e b a s e d o n t h e p o s t - R i g v e d i c o p p o s i t i o npdrd:avdr~ ( V S . , T S . , A B . ) . I n i t s e a r l i e s t o c c u r r e n c e s t h i s w o r d i s s t il la c c e n t e d p d r ya - ( V S M , X X V . 1 , V S K . X X V I I . 1 ; 2 ) l ik e t h e R i g v e d i cw o r d , w i t h w h i c h it m u s t o r ig i n a l l y h a v e b e e n id e n t ic a l . A f t e r th e s p e c if icR i g v e d i c m e a n i n g h a d f a ll e n i n t o d e s u e tu d e , t h e w o r d r e m a i n e d in u sea s t h e o p p o s i t e o f avdryd- a n d a d o p t e d t h e a c c e n t u a t i o n o f t h e la t t e rw o r d ( w h ic h w a s p e r h a p s d u e t o t h e f o r m a l a n a l o g y o f th e g e r u n d iv e sl i ke dcdry3-, atitdryd-; s e e A l t i n d i s c h e G r a m m a t i k I I / 2 , p . 7 9 3 ) .

T h e R i g v e di c w o r d p d r ya - h a d i n d e e d a q u i t e d if f e re n t m e a n i n g . I t i sa n o r m a l - y a - d e r i v a f i v e3 o f pdrd-, w h o s e o r i g i n a l m e a n i n g " c r o s s i n g " i ss ti ll p r e s e r v e d in t h e b a h u v r i h i - c o m p o u n d supdrd- " e a s y t o b e c r o s s e d " . 4A s e a r l y a s t h e o l d e s t t e x t s , h o w e v e r , p d r d - h a d c o m e t o d e n o t e " f u r t h e rb a n k , t h e o p p o s i t e s i de , t h e e n d o r l i m i t o f a n y t h i n g " . I t i s u s e d w i t hr e f e r e n c e t o a r o a d (ddhvana.h p drd m V , 5 4 . 1 0 ) a s w e l l a s t o t h e s e a o r ar i v e r (samudrdsya . . . pdr d I . 167.2, slndho.h pdr ~ X . 1 5 5.3 ), b u t m o r e p a r t i -1 Cf. SV. 1.318, JS. 1.33.6, TS. 1.6.12.1, MS. IV .12.3. (19. 184 ,17) = RS. VII.27.1;an d TS. 1.6.12.3, MS. IV .12.3 (p. 182,13), KS. VIII.16 (p. 101,1), X XX VI II.7 (p.108,13) = RS. III.22.14; SV. 1.280. II.I 03 2 (1682), JS. 1.19.6, IV.27.7 = RS . VII.32.14;SV. II.218 (868), JS. III.19.13 = RS. V IL32.21 ; SV. II.994 (1644), JS. IV.27.3 = RS.VIII.92.9.Cf. TS. IV.5.8.2; V II.3.16.1, MS. III.15.1, KS. XV II.15 (el. KSA. I II.6!), KK S.XXVII.5.3 Cf. Wackernagel-Debrunner, Altindische Grammatik, II /2, p. 806.4 See Renou, Etu des vOdiquesetpd.nin~ennes,II I, p. 36, VII, p. 55, Kratylos,V, p. 93;for the accent see W ackemagel, Altind. Gramm.,II/1, p. 294.


2/15

170 F . B . J . K U IP E Rc u l a r l y i t i s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h w o r d s d e n o t i n g " d a r k n e s s " o r " d i s t r e s s " .T h e m o s t c h a r a c t e ri s ti c s t a n z a i s (ttdri.sma tdma sas pdrd m asy6 " w i r s i n da n s E n d e d i e s e r F i n s t e r n i s g e l a n g t ' 5 ( I .9 2 . 6 ; 1 8 3 . 6; 1 8 4 . 6 ; V I 1 . 7 3 .1 ) . I nt h e f i rs t o f t he s e p a s s a g e s t h es e w o r d s a r e f o l l o w e d b y t h e p ~ d a u.sduch 6n tf vay find k.r.noti " d i e U s .a s b e s t i m m t a u f l e u c h t e n d d i e Z e i t e n " . E l s e -w h e r e a n a t t e m p t h a s b e e n m a d e t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t t h i s p a s s a g e re f e r st o t h e e n d o f th e y e a r . 6 C f . t h e Y a j u r v e d i c m a n t r a v imueyadhvam aghnyddevaydnd, dganma tdmasas pdr6m asy6/ jy6t i r dpdm a " b e y e u n y o k e d , y ei n v io l a b le , g o d w a r d - s t r id i n g ( o x e n ) . W e h a v e c o m e t o th e e n d o f t h isg l o o m , w e h a v e a t t a i n e d t h e l ig h t ' 7 ( V S M . X I 1 .7 3 e tc .) . S u c h a n a p p l i -c a t i o n i s a l s o p l a u s i b l e i n I I . 3 3 . 3 pdr.si .na.hpdrdrn dthhasa.h svasti, vi~vdabh~tf r@ aso yuyodhi " f i i h r u n s h e i l a n d a s E n d e d e r N o t , w e h r e a l l eA n f~ tlle v o n G e b r e s t e a b ! " . F r o m t h e n a m e o f t h e in t e r c a l a r y m o n t hathhasaspati- VS. , ( c f . alhhaspatyc~- T S . , M S . ) w e m a y i n f e r t h a t 6rhhas-c o u l d d e n o t e t h e c ri ti ca l p e r i o d a t th e e n d o f t h e y e a r. I t m a y h o w e v e ra l s o h a v e b e e n u s e d i n a g e n e r a l s e n s e , f i k e vi.spit6- i n V I I . 6 0 . 7

pravrdj~ ein nady~ gddhdm ast ipd rdrh no asy6 vi.spit6sya par.san" A u c h i m V e r l a u f e in e s S t ro m e s f in d e r si c h e in e F u r t ; m S g e n s ic u n s a nd a s a n d e r e U f e r d i e s e r W i d e r w ~ t r t i g k e i t h i n i i b e r h e l f e n " , a n d duritdt- inX . 1 6 1 . 3 ~atdrh ydthem drh garddo ndy~tl'ndro v igvasya dur i t f sya p dr fm" a u f d a s s ih n [v iz . a d is e a s ed p e r so n ] i n d r a h u n d e r t H e r b s t e l a n g a n d a sj e ns e it ig e U f e r j e g li c h e r G e f a h r f i i h r e" . T h e g e n e r a l m e a n i n g o f a ne s c a p e f r o m a d a n g e r i s a l so i m p f i e d i n V I I I . 1 9 .3 4

yfrn dditydso adruha.hpdrfrh nfyatha m6rtyam" w e l c h e n S t e r b l i c h e n i h r t r u g l o s e n , ~ d i t y a ' s a n s a n d e r e U f e r f i i h r e t " .

A s a c o n s e q u e n c e o f t h e R i g v e d i c s ty l e, w h i c h u s e s m y t h o l o g i c a l a l lu -s i o n s t o d e n o t e a c t u a l e v e n t s , i t i s o f t e n i m p o s s i b l e t o d e t e r m i n e w h a tk i n d o f " d i s t re s s " is m e a n t . B u t t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f pdr6- t o t h e e n d o f5 All Ge rm an translations tha t have been added to the quotations a re by Geldner.The present writer has abstained from adding personal comments except where thisis essential for the interpretation. The absence of any commen t does no t imply tha the accepts Geldner's rendering in all respects.6 See llJ, IV, p. 233. Cf. however Renou, Etudes vddiques,III . pp. 35, 52.Transl. by Eggeling, SBE, 41, p. 331.


3/15

RIGVEDIC p d r ye d i v [ 17 1t h e y e a r i s q u i t e c l e a r i n t h e b rg h m a . n a s , e . g . T S . V I I , 5 . 1 . 2 sarhvatsardh/va[ samu drds , t dsya i ' t d t pdrdrh y dd a t ird t ra~t . I n d e e d , t h e c u r r e n t e x -p r e s s i o n p d r d m a g - " t o a t t a in t h e e n d " ( cf . s va s t i t e p d r d m a i f ya S B .I I . 3 .4 . 2 2 ) i s o f t e n u s e d w i t h r e f e r e n c e t o t h e y e a r , e . g. svast i sarhvatsarasyap d r a m a ~ n ute ya eva r h ved a . 8 T h i s i s r i t u a l i s t i c p r o s e a s c o m p a r e dw i t h t h e m y t h o l o g i c a l e x p r e s si o n s pdrdm drhhasa .h , t dmasas pdrdm.2 . T h e a d j e c t i v e p d r y a - o c c u r s 1 7 t i m e s in t h e R i g v e d a , a n d m o s t l y int h e f a m i l y c o l l e c t i o n s : I V 2, V I 6 a n d V I P ( b e si d e s: I x I I P I X 1 X 1). T h er e s t r i c t io n o f i ts u s e t o t h e o l d e s t te x t , a n d n o t a b l y t o t h e o l d e s t p a r t s o fi t, m a y b e d u e t o i t s f o r m i n g p a r t o f th e t e r m i n o l o g y o f th e a n c i e n t N e wY e a r ' s f e s ti v al . I n s u c h a c o n n e x i o n it s ee m s a t l e a st to b e u s e d i nV I . 6 6 . 8

t okd vd g6 .su t rnay e yrrn aps{tsd vrajdrh dc~rtdp d r ye 6 d h a d yr.h

T h i s h y m n d o e s n o t i n i t s fi rs t p a r t r e f e r t o a n y s p e c i a l c e r e m o n y a s i t i so n l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e m i r a c u l o u s b i r t h o f th e M a r u t s ( st. I - 5 ) a n dt h e i r w o r s h i p ( s t. 6 - 1 1 ) . B u t in s t. 8 i t i s s t a t e d t h a t h e , w h o m t h e M .a s s i s t , i s u n a s s a i l a b l e : " N i c h t g i b t e s e i n e n W e h r e r n o c h D b e r w i n d e rd e ss en , d e m i h r M a r u t i m K a m p f u m d e n S i e g e rp r e is b e is te h t, o d e r w e n ne s s ic h u r n d e n S a m e n , u m K t i h e, u m l e ib l ic h e N a c h k o m m e n s c h a f t , u mW a s s e r h a n d e lt . E r s p r e n g t d ie K u h h t i r d e n o c h i n d e r l e tz t e n ( S t u n d e )d e s T a g e s a u f " . T h e e x a c t g r a m m a t i c a l e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e w o r d s p d r y eddha dyr .h r e m a i n s u n c e r t a i n : M a x M i i ll e r, S B E , 3 2 p . 3 6 9 a l s o r e n d e re d" a t t h e c l o se o f th e d a y " b u t i n a n o t e o n I V . 1 6.1 1 G e l d n e r c o n t e m p l a t e dt h e p o ss i b il it y o f a ss u m i n g a n " I n k o n g r u e n z d e r K a s u s " ( li ke G r a s s m a n n ) .H o w e v e r t h a t m a y b e , i t c a n n o t b e q u e s t i o n e d t h a t i t s m e a n i n g i s m o r eo r l e s s s i m i l a r t o t h a t o f p d r y e d i v L N o w i t is i n t e r e st i n g t h a t i n V I . 2 5 . 4t h e s a m e w o r d s t okd vd grs.u tdnaye yd d aps~ a r e f o l l o w e d b y v l k r d n d a s iurvdr~su brrvai te , w h i c h i s a g a i n c l o s e l y c o n n e c t e d w i t h V I . 3 1 . 1 v i t okdapsfi t rna ye ca s~rd 'voc anta car.sa .ndyo v[vdca.h . O f th e s e p a s sa g e s , w h i c ha l l b e l o n g t o t h e s i x t h b o o k , t h e l a s t t w o r e f e r to t h e vivdc-, w h i c h s e e m st o h a v e b e e n t h e t e c h n i c a l t e r m f o r t h e R i g v e d i c p o t l a t c h f e s t i v a l 2 S i n c et h i s vlvdc-, i f t h i s a s s u m p t i o n i s c o r r e c t , se e m s t o h a v e t a k e n p l a c e d u r i n gt h e N e w Y e a r f e st iv a l, t h e w o r d s p d r y e 6 d h a d yr.h , a p p a r e n t l y u s e d w i thr e f e r e n c e to t h e s a m e f e st iv a l , d e s e r v e n o t i c e . I t s h o u l d b e o b s e r v e d t h a t8 Cf. AB. IV.13.8; 14.2-8; 15.7,8; 29.8 ; 30.9,13. But p~rr- may also denote the endof the night, e .g. SB. II.3.4.23 etdno eva2s.detdd rdtreb svast ipt2rrrn sama~nute.9 See 11J, IV, p. 268ff.


4/15

1 7 2 F . B . J . K U IP ERt h e f r e q u e n c y o f o c c u r r e n c e o f vlvdc- c o r r e s p o n d s m o r e o r l e ss to t h a t o fp d r ya - ; c f . 11 I I I 1 VI z VH z X 1 ( fo r vivac-) w i t h th o s e m e n t i o n e d a b o v e f o rpdrya- , viz . 11 1I I 1 IV 2 V I e V I I 4 IX 1 X 1.

C l e a r r e f e re n c e t o t h e s a m e f e s ti v a l i s f o u n d i n V I .3 3 . T h e p o e t p r a y sf o r I n d r a ' s m i g h t ie s t in t o x i c a t i o n (6ji.st.ha.h .. .. m dd o), w h i c h s la y s in t h eb a t t l e s t h e f o r c e s o f r e s i s t a n c e , t h e e n e m i e s (v.rtrd sarndtsu sasdhadamitrtin). T h e s e c o n d s t a n z a r u n s a s f o l l o w s :

tvdrh h~ndrdvase vlvdcohdvante car.san,dyah. g~rasa tautvdrh v[preb hir vi pan. fthr agdy astv6ta i t sdnita vdjam drva

" D e n n d i c h , I n d r a , r u f e u d i e s t r e i t e n d e n V S l k e r z u m B e i s t a n d ( i mK a m p f ) u m d e n H e l d e n p re i s. D u b i st d u t c h d i e R e d e k u n d i g e n m i t d e nP a .n i's ( K n a u s e r n ) f e r ti g g e w o r d e n . V o n d i r b e g i i n st i g t g e w i n n t d e r R e n -n e r d e n S i e g e r p r e is " . T h e th i r d s t a n z a r e p e a ts t h e p r a y e r t h a t I n d r a s h a l lo v e r c o m e t h e D ~ s i c a n d t h e A r y a n f o rc e s o f re s is ta n c e (ubhdydrh am itrdnddsd v.rtrdn.y dry d ca ), t h e f i f t h , t h a t h e s h a l l b e a l i f e - l o n g f r i e n d a n dh e l p e r " w h e n w e i n v o k e T h e e i n o u r a c q u i s it i o n o f th e s u n , i n t h e c o n t e s tb e t we e n t h e t wo p a r t i e s , i n b a t t l e s , O h e r o ["(svdr.sdtd yd d dhv dydm asi tvdy~dhyan to nem ddhitdp.rtsgt d~ra). T h e s i x t h a n d l a s t s t a n z a e n d s w i t h th ew o r d s itthd g.rn.dnto ma hinasya ~drm an divl .sydma pd ry e go.sdtamd.h " A l s ol o b p r e i s e n d m S c h t e n w i t i n d e s M ~ t c h t i g e n S c h u t z a m e n t s c h e i d e n d e nT a g e d i e m e i s t e n K i i h e g e w i n n e n " .

T h e t r a n s l a ti o n " a m e n t s c h e id e n d e n T a g " ( L u d w i g , G e l d n e r ) o r " a mE n t s c h e i d u n g s t a g e '1 ~ d a t e s b a c k t o R o t h , P W . I V , c o l . 6 8 2, w h o a s s u m e da s e m a n t i c d e v e l o p m e n t " d e r l e tz t e , g u s s e r s t e " > " d e n A u s s c h l a g g e b e n d ,e n t s c h e i d e n d " . S i n c e S a y a n . a 's e x p l a n a t i o n i s n o t d i s c u s si b l e , 11 Gr a s s -m a n n , L u d w i g , G e l d n e r a n d H i l l e b r a n d t h a v e a ll a c c e p t e d t h is re n d e r in g .S ti ll , t h o u g h i t c a n n o t b e d o u b t e d t h a t i n a ll p a s s a g es c o n c e r n e d t h e r ei s a r e f e r e n c e t o s o m e " d e c i s i o n " , t h e t r a n s l a t i o n " l a s t , f in a l, d e c i s i v e "i s n o t s e l f- a p p a r e n t . T h e b a si c w o r d pard- a t b e s t d e n o t e s " e n d , l i m i t " ,b u t n e v e r " d e c i s i o n " . A n d i t s u s e i n t h e s e n s e o f " e n d " i s r e s t r ic t e d t os u c h P a s sa g e s a s S B . XI . 1 . 6 . 6 a n d 1 5 sd yd tha nad ya lpard m parapdgyed,evdrh svdsy d 'yus.a.h pardrn pa rac akh yau (-u.h), w h e r e t h e h u m a n l if e f in d si ts n a t u r a l l i m i t i n i ts e n d . I n a ll o t h e r c o n t e x t s , h o w e v e r , w h e r e t h e r ei s a p r o s p e c t b e y o n d t h e e n d o f d is t re s s o r d a r k n e s s , pard- m e a n s n o tx0 H iUebrand t , Lieder des l~gveda, pp. 32, 88 (cf. p. 43).11 E.g. paraniye agamini ca d ivase (VI.17.14), sautye 'hani, sautye divase (VI I .32 .14 ;21), taratffye divase (VII .83 .5) .


5/15

RIGVEDICpdrye d iv[ 17 3" e n d " , b u t " t h e f u r t h e r b a n k o r s h o r e " , i.e . i t i m p l ie s t h e c o n n o t a t i o n o fr e s c ue a n d s a l va t i on . C f . RS . V I I I . 19 . 34 yd m ddi tydso adruha.h pardrhndyatha mdrtyam " w e l c he n S t e r b l i c he n i h r tr ug l o s e n ,a ,d i t y a ' s a n s a n d e r eU f e r f i i h r e t " . I n t h e l i g h t o f t h e R i g v e d ic u s a g e t h e w o r d s svasti sarh-vatsarasya pdr am a~nute ( A B . ) c a n o n l y m e a n " h e [ cr o ss es t h e p e r i o d o fc ri si s an d ] a t t a i n s i n s a f e t y t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e n e w y e a r " . L i k e w i s e" t h e o t h e r s i d e o f t h e d a r k n e s s " m e a n s t h e n e w l i g h t i n V S. 1 2.7 3 dganmatdrnasas pdrrrn asyd / jy6 t ir dpdma, (c f . LB. XL 2.2 .21) . So , i f drhhas- c a nr e f e r to t he c r i t ic a l pe r i o d a t t he e n d o f t he ye a r , pdrdrh 6rhhasas, w h e nu s e d i n th i s sp e ci fi c m e a n i n g , m u s t d e n o t e t h e n e w y e a r . C o n s e q u e n t l yt h e w o r d s div i pdry e c a n n o t i n t h e m s e lv e s i m p l y a n y t h i n g e ls e t h a n " o nt h e fi rs t d a y o f t h e n e w p e r i o d " . R o t h ' s t r a n s l a t i o n w a s n o t m a t e r i a ll yi n c o r r e c t, s in c e t h i s d a y a p p a r e n t l y w a s c o n n e c t e d w i t h a " d e c i s i o n " o fc o s m i c , a s w e l l a s s o c ia l, i m p o r t a n c e , b u t i t w a s r a t h e r a p a r a p h r a s i s t h a na s tr i ct r e n d e r i n g o f t h e w o r d . I n c o n c l u s i o n a t t e n t i o n m a y b e d r a w n t oa f e w a s pe c t s o f t he c on t e s t t o w h i c h t h i s hy m n ( RS . V I .33 ) r e fe r s . F i r s to f a l l , i t s t r ikes us tha t the pr i zes ( s t . 2 vd ja- ) o f th i s s o c ia l c o m b a t t h a tw a s f o u g h t o n N e w Y e a r ' s d a y , c o n s is t n o t o n l y i n v a l i a n t s o n s a n dcat t le (s t . 2 ~ ra sd tau , 5 go.sdtamd.h), b u t a l so i n t h e " a c q u i s i t i o n o f t h es un" ( s t . 4 svgzr.sdtd). T h e w o r d nemddhiti- f u r t h e r s ugge s t s t he i n f e r e nc et h a t t h e c o n t e s t w a s o n e b e t w e e n t w o p a r ti e s, w h i c h r e m i n d s u s o f su c hf a m i l i a r ph r a s e s a s ubhdye havante (e.g. II1.32.14), w hi ch S~yan.a pa ra -p h r a s e d w i t h ubhayapdr~vavart idhandrthino jand havante. T he s e a r e t hevfvd co . .. car.san, ya.h m e n t i o n e d i n t h e s e co n d s ta n z a . I t r e m a i n s u n -c e r ta i n , w h a t e x a c t l y w a s c o v e r e d b y t h e t e r m prts(t i n s t . 4, whic h ba t t l e sa p p a r e n t l y w e r e t h e r e p l i c a s o f t h e m y t h i c a l o n e s ( s t . 1 samdtsu), b u tL t i d e r s h a s r i g h t l y s u p p o s e d t h a t s u c h t e r m s d o n o t a l w a y s d e n o t e r e a lm i l i t a r y c o m b a t s . S t. 2 d c l e ar l y r e fe r s t o a r u n n i n g - m a t c h w i t h r a c e -ho r s e s .

T h e s a m e c o n t e s t m u s t b e p r e s u p p o s e d f o r t h e o t h e r p a s s a g es o f th eb o o k V I . I n V I . 1 7 I n d r a i s i n v o k e d t o w i n th e " p r i z e s " ( st . 2 citrdrh abh it.rndhi vdjdn ), t o b r i ng ( ba c k ) t he s un ( s t . 3 dvi.h s~ryarh kr.nuhO, j u s t a she ha s c r e a t e d t h i s w or l d i n t he be g i nn i ng ( st . 6-7 ). T h e go ds c hoos e( a n ew ) I n d r a f o r t h e a c q u i s i ti o n o f t h e s u n ( s t. 8 sv(tr.sdtd v.rn. ta indr amdtra), n o w t h a t a d e m o n t h r e a t e n s th e p o s i ti o n o f th e g o d s (ddevo yd dab hy agthLst.a dev dn ). TM A f t e r a s e c ond r e f e r e nc e t o I nd r a ' s V . r t r a - s l a y i nga s t h e m y t h i c a l p r o t o t y p e o f t h e a c t u a l e v e n ts , t h e p o e t r e v e r t s to t h ea c t ua l s i t ua t i on i n s t . 14 :lz See IIJ , IV, p. 220f.


6/15

1 7 4 F . B . J . K U IP ER

s6 no vdjdya ~rdvasa i~d cardyd dheh i dyu m 6ta indra v lpranbhar6dvdje n.rv6ta indra s~rfnd iv i ca sm aidh i pd rye na indra

"Mach unsere Redner gl~inzend, dass sie Lohn, Ruhm, Speisegenuss undReichtum (davontragen), o Indrat (Mach) unter Bharadv~ja die Lohn-herren m~tnnerreich, o Indra, und sei am entscheidenden Tage fiir uns,o Indra!" The poet concludes with the words (st. 15): ayd vdjarh dev6-hi tarh sane m a m 6de m a ~atdthimd.h suvfrd .h "Mit diesem (Liede) m~Schtenwir den gottbestimmten Lohn verdienen. Wir wollen, hundert Winterlebend, als Meister frohlocken". Note the sacred character of the contest(vdjarh devdhitam). The last p~da is the usual final prayer for vital energyand variant sons (suvtrd.h!).

RS. VI.23 is a conventional praise of Indra, who is said to distributeall riches (st. 10 k.s6yad in magh6na.h . . . indro rd y6 vi~v6vdrasya ddtd) . Inthe initial stanzas he is addressed with the words

. . .yd t d vd yu k t d b h yd m m a g h a va n h 6 r i b h yd mbibhrad vdjram bdhv6r indra ydsi (1)y6 d vd d i v l pdr ye s fi .sv im indrav.rtrah6tyk 'vasi g~rasdtauydtd vd d6k.sasya bibhy~t.so 6b ibh ya d6randhaya.h g6rdhata indra d6syfm (2)

"Ob du mit dem geschirrten Falbenpaar, die Keule in den Armen tragen,ausziehst, o gabenreicher Indra; Oder ob du am entscheidenden Tagedem Somabereiter beistehst, Indra, in dem Feindekampf um den Helden-preis, oder als du selbst furchtlos, w~thrend der Entschlossene Furchthatte, die iiberm~ichtigen Dasyu's unterwarfst, Indra". It should benoted that d i v l p d r ye is here associated with v.rtrahdtya- and g~rasdti-"acquisition of variant sons".

A similar situation seems to be presupposed in VI.26.1grudh f na indra hvdydm as i t vdmah6 vdjasya sdtafi vdv.r.sdn,d.hsc~rh y6 d v f~6 ' yan ta ~ ra sd tdugr6rh n6 'va .h pd ry e 6han dd.h

"Erh~ire uns, Indra, wir rufen dich inbriinstig um grosser Beute Gewinnan. Wenn die Stiimme in der Schlacht aneinander geraten, so gib uns andem entscheidenden Tage deinen starken Schutzl" The poem was corn-


7/15

RIGVEDICpdrye d iv[ 17 5p o s e d o n t h e o c c a si o n o f a vdjasya sdt# (2). The vdfin- a n d t h e vdjineyd-i n v o k e I n d r a ' s a i d w h i le f i g h ti n g f o r c a t tl e (g6.su yfidhya n 2). In dr a g ivest he s e e r i n s p i r a t i on a t t he arkdsati- (? " K a m p f u m d ie S o n n e " G e ld n er ).I n d r a i s e x p e c t ed t o w i n , i n r e w a r d o f th i s h y m n , h u n d r e d s a n d t h o u s a n d s(5 prd yd c chatd sahdsrd ~(tra ddr .s i) . T h e p o e t e x pe c ts h o n o u r a n d g l o r yf o r h i s pa t r o n a n d f o r h i m s e l f ( st . 7- 8).

RS . V I . 40 .5 i s f u l l y i nc onc l u s i ve :yd d i n d ra d iv i p d r ye yd d r dh d gyd d vd svd sddane yd tra vdsidto no yaj~dm dvase niy~tvdnsaj6.sd.h p d h i girvan, o m ar~d bhi.h

" W e nn du , I nd r a , a m e n t s c he i de nde n T a ge s e i e s a bs e i t s , ode r s e i e s i me i g e n e n H a u s e , o d e r w o d u a u c h b i s t , ( k o m m ) y o n d a m i t d e n N i y u t -g e s p a n n e n , z u u n s e r e m O p f e r u n s z u m B e i s ta n d ! T r i n k , d u L o b b e g e h r e n -de r , e in t r~ i c h ti g m i t de n M a r u t ! " T h i s is the c on c l u s i on o f a b r i e f i nv i -t a t i o n t o I n d r a t o a t t e n d t h e S o m a s a cr if ic e . I t is n o t s u r p r i si n g t h a tG e l d n e r h e r e t o o k t h e w o r d s div i pdry e t o m e a n " a m T a g e d e s S o m a -op fe rs wie 9 , 1 , 7" (a l th ou gh S~ya.na in th i s ve ry passag e exp la ins pdraged~rade~e dyu lokdkhye i n s t e a d o f sautye 'hani) .I n b o o k V I I t h e h y m n V I I .3 2 c o n t a i n s c le a r ev id e n ce o f s o m e f o r m o fc on t e s t . T he i nvoke r s , de s i r i ng w e a l t h ( s t . 2 jaritdro vas@dvo) t r y t oa t t r a c t I n d r a t o t he i r s a c r if ic e i n de f i a nc e o f o t he r i nv oke r s ( 1 ), t he po e te xpe c t s w e a l t h , w h i c h w i l l be d i s t r i bu t e d a m ong h i s pe op l e ( 7 ) , a nd t hes t i m u l a t i ng f o r c e o f li be r a l it y , w h i c h is t o r o us e t n d r a ' s , i s e x to l l e d (s t. 8prn.dnn it p.r.natd mdya.h). I n d e e d , a r e s o l u t e a t ti t u d e o n t h e p a r t o f t h ew o r s h i p p e r s h a s a " m a g i c a l " i m p o r t a n c e ( st . 9 ) :

md sredhata somino ddk.satd mahdk.rn. ud hvd rh rd yd dt~ jetardn, ir ij ja ya ti k.sdti p~.sya tind devdsa.h kava tndve

" B l e i b t n i c h t s t e c k e n , i h r S o m a v o l l e n , m a c h e t e s d e m G r o s s e n r e c h t !M a c h e t , d a s e r R e i c h t u m h e r a u s s c h l a g e . N u r d e r M e i s t e r g e w i n n t ( d a sSpie l ) ; e r wohnt g l i i ck l i ch , gede ih t . D ie G/S t t e r s ind n ich t f i i r den S t i im-pe r " . T h i s i de a r e c u r s i n s t. 21 (s e e be l ow ) . T he n e x t s ta nz a s (10 - 13)r e f e r t o t h e p a t r o n ' s c h a r i o t (ndki.h suddso rdtham p dr y dsa) a n d t h e vdja-.T hi s i de a r e c u r s i n s t . 14 - 15 :

kd s tdm indra tvdvasum d m drtyo dadhar.sat igraddhd i t te maghavan pdrye divi


8/15

176 F.B.J . KUIPERvd fl vdjarh si .sdsati (14)magh6na.h sm a v.rt rahdtye.su coda yayd d 6 d a t i p r i yd vd sutdv a prdn. ft[ haryag va sftribhirv t~vd tarem a dur i td (15)

"Welcher Sterbliche, o Indra, wagt sich an den, der dich besitzt? Im Ver-trauen auf dich, du Gabenreichster, sucht am entscheidenden Tage derPreisk~mpfer den Siegespreis zu gewinnen. - Ermutige in den Schlachtendie G~Snner, die liebe Giiter verschenken! Unter deiner Anfiihrung, duFalbenfahrer, m~chten wir mAt den Lohnherrn fiber alle F/ihrhchkeitenhinwegkommen". Cf. I I J , IV, p. 238. In st. 20 the poet reverts to the ideasexpressed in st. 9:

tardn, ir i t si .sdsati vdja m p(trarhdhyd yu j~d va ind ram puruhf~tdth nam e girdnem #h t6 .s leva sudrvdtm (20)nd du.st.ut f m dr tyo vindate vdsund sr~dhantarh ra yir nagatsu.sdkt i r in maghavan td tbhyam mdvatede.sn, drh y d t pd ry e div i (21)"Nur der Meister will den Siegerpreis gewinnen mat der Wunscherfiillung

im Bunde. Ich biege euch mit der Lobrede den vielgerufenen Indra herwie der Zimmermann eine Radfelge aus gutem Holze. - Nicht finder einSterblicher durch schlechtes Lobfied Gut, nicht kommt der Reichtum zudem, der stecken bleibt. Fiir dich, du G6nner, ist es eine Leichtigkeit,meinesgleichen an dem entscheidenden Tage zu schenken". The remain-ing stanzas (22-27) state that the poet's party consists of agvaydmto . . .vdf ino gawdnta.h "nach Rossen, nach Rindern verlangend[e] ... Preis-k/impfer" (st. 23), that Indra must be invoked in every "bat tle" (bhdre-bhare ca hdvya.h 24), that indra shall dispell the "enemies" (amitrdn), thathe shall make the goods easy to be acquired (suvOdd no vds~ k.rdhi 25),and that he must be a helper in the mahftdhand-. This last word is ob-viously a technical term for this kind of contest. Particularly interestingis stanza 26: glk .sa n. o asmin p uruh f t t a ydm ani f i v d j y6 t i r ag~mahi "Strengdich au f dieser Fahrt fiJr uns an, o Vielgerufener! Lebend m6chten wirdas (Sonnen)licht erreichen". The last words may be compared on theone hand with svas t [ te pdr dm ag fya SB. II.3.4.22, u.sdsam u.sasam ad~ya,a h d m d s o j y6 t i r a g t'ya TB. IIL11.5.3, and on the other hand with d g a n m at d m a s as p d r d m a s y d , j y 6 t i r d p d m a VS. XIL73. They corroborate ourinference that people had to stand a period o f crisis during these contests


9/15

RIGVEDICpdrye div[ 177a n d t h a t t h e y h o p e d t o a t t a i n i n s a f e t y t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a n e w p e r i o d ,w h o s e m a i n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c w a s " l i g h t " .A s f o r t h e w o r d mahddhand, i t m a y b e c a l l e d t o m i n d t h a t a c u r r e n tp h r a s e u s e d i n c o n n e x i o n w i t h th e c o n t e s t s is hitd dhdne " b e i m a u s g e s e t z te nK a m p f p r e i s ' l a C f . H o m . X 1 63 " r~ ~ ~ y ~ x s Z ~ ~s0Xov. So thec o m p o u n d mahddhand- is m o s t l y re n d e r e d b y " g r o s s e t K a m p f p r e i s , g r o ss eB e u te , g r o ss e r K a m p f " ( R o t h , G r a s s m a n n ) . 14 A l t h o u g h t h e a c ce n t d o e sn o t a l l o w u s t o d e c i d e , w h e t h e r t h e w o r d i s a tatpuru.sa-compound o r abahuvr;hi, ~ t h e p a r a l l e l i s m b e t w e e n X . 8 4 . 6 rnahddhandsya. . , sarhsgj i a n d ,e .g . , X .84 .7 sdrhsrs, t.arh dhd nam ubh dya m, I I I . 1 6 .6 sdrh rd yd bh~yasd s rja,X . 1 9 . 7 td rayyd sdrh srjantu na.h c o n f i r m s t h e t r a d i ti o n a l i n t e r p r e ta t i o n .A p p a r e n t l y t h e w o r d mahddhand- w a s a n a n t i q u e " p o t l a t c h - t e r m " , c f.e s p e c i a l ly t h e v a r i a n t o f o u r s t a n z a V I I . 3 2 . 2 5 i n V I . 4 6 . 4 asmdkam bodhyavitd mahddha nd tan~.sv aps~ s~rye " s e i u n s S c h i i t z e r i m g r o s s e n K a m p fu m d i e e i g e n e n L e ib e r , u m W a s s e r u n d S o n n e ! " , w h e r e w e m e e t w i t h th ec la s si ca l f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e v a r i o u s o b j e c ts f o r w h i c h t h e v l vdc- w a sf o u g h t . A p a r t f r o m a f e w q u o t a t i o n s i n l a t e r V e d ic te x ts . 16 t h e w o r d d o e sn o t o c c u r i n t h e p o s t - R i g v e d i c l i t e r a tu r e , w h i le in t h e R i g v e d a i t o c c u r sm a i n l y i n t h e b o o k s I a n d V I . 17 B e s i d e mahddhand- t h e r e o c c u r s i n t h eb o o k s I a n d X a l s o t h e te r m pradhdna-, a p p a r e n t l y in s o m e w h a t th e s a m em e a n i n g (pradhdn asya sdta~, pradhd ne, -e.su). T h e u s e o f th i s ( a p p a r e n t l ym o r e r e c e n t ) t e r m i n th e l a te s t b o o k s o f t h e R i g v e d a s h o w s t h a t e v e n a tt h a t p e r i o d t h e c o n t e s t s w e r e s t i l l i n u s e .

T h e p a s s a g e i n V I I . 8 3 . 5 i s f a r le s s c l e a r. H e r e I n d r a a n d V a r u n .a a r ea d d r e s s e d i n t h e w o r d s : yuvdrh hl vdsv a ubhdyasya rdjath6 'dha sm a no'va tam pdrye d iv i " d a i h r t i b e r b e i d e r l e i G u t g e b i e t e t , s o s t e h e t u n s n u na m e n t s c h e i d e n d e n T a g e b e i ! " N o t e t h e n e x t s ta n z a , w h i c h ru n s : yuvdrhhavanta ubhdydsa djLsv indrarh ca v dsv o vdru.narh ca sd tdye " e u c h , d e nI n d r a u n d V a r u . n a , r u f e n b e i d e P a r t e i e n i n d e n S c h l a c h t e n u m d a s G u tz u g e w i n n e n " . T h e w o r d djLsu m a y b e t t e r b e r e n d e r e d " i n t h e c o n t e s ts " .

F i n a l l y t h e w o r d s pdrye d iv i o c c u r i n t h e S o m a h y m n I X . 1 . 7tdrn fm d.nv~.h sam ary d d g.rbhn, dn ti y6.sa.no dd~asvdsara.h pdrye divi

la Cf. Pischel, Vedische S tudien, I, p. 171, and Geldner, passim in his translation.14 Bu t Geldn er, Glossar: "Schlacht, Krieg".15 See W ackerna gel, Altind. Gramm.,1I/1, p. 241 and p. 299 (maharathr-).16 See in th e Vedic Concordance: ma no asmin mahddhane, indrarh vayarh mahadhane,and mahadhanasya puruhata sams.rji.17 13 V I8 VI I VI IP IX 1 X 1. But 1.40.8 = VI.66.8; VII.32.25 = VI.46.4; and V III.75.12 = VI.59.7.


10/15

178 v. B. J. KUIPER

"lhn fassen die zehn feinen Frauen im Wettbewerb an, die Schwesternam entscheidenden Tage". The context, which is very little character-istical, allows no inference. On the one hand the hymn concludes witha reference to the V.rtra-slaying (10 asydd ind ro m dde.sv d vidvd v.rtrd.nijighnate) and to his giving of presents, on the other hand it is said thatthe worshippers come to Soma day after day (5 tvdm dchd cardmasi tddid 6rthath d ivd-dive). Geldner (ad VI.40.5) takes the words p d r ye d i vi asreferring to the day devoted to Soma-pressing (unlike Sfiyana!).

An analogous phrase occurs in III.32.14:vivds,a y6n md dhis.dn. ~ ja jdnastgtvai pu rd p dr yd d indram 6hnah.6Thhaso y6tra pfp6ra d ydth d nonav6va ydn tam ubh6ye havante

"'Wenn die Dhi.san.a reich erfiillt, (neu)geboren hat, will ich den Indra vordem entscheidenden Tag preisen, auf dass er uns an diesem aus der Notheraushelfe. Ihn rufen beide Teile an wie den zu Schiffe fahrenden".Again there is a reference to two parties and to a (period of) 6rhhas-,whereas the last p~da is no doubt due to the current phrase nar d nd par .s i(cf. V.25.9, V.4.9, IX.70.10, VHI.83.3, etc.). Just as in VII.32.14-15 thewords pdrye d iv i were associated with duritd that had to be overcome(see above), so it is here the drhhas- from which the party of the poethopes to be rescued. Indra's primordial act (6-11) had been madepossible by the Soma sacrifice (12). Like Manu (5), the poet himself hasin earlier days strengthened the god (13) and hopes to strengthen himagain, Here the reference to the end of the year seems rather clear.

The same meaning seems to be expressed by the words 6han pdryd yain IV.16.11

ydsi k~t tsena sar6tham avasy~srod6 vdtasya hdryor fgdna.hrjrd vdjarh nd g ddhy arh y~tyfl.sankav i r yd d dhan pdrydya bh~.sat

"Du f/ihrst mit Kutsa auf dem gleichen Wagen als Hilfesuchender, indemdu (die Rosse) des V~ta anstachelst, du der Gebieter der Falben, diebeiden Schimmelrosse festzuhalten suchend wie die deckenhohe Beute,auf dass der Kavi sich fiir die entscheidende (Stunde) am Tage bereithalte". (or "fiir den entscheidenden Tag", cf. Geldner ad VI.66.8). Inst. 9 the seer U~anas is said to be in great distress on account of theacquisition of the sun (svdr .sdtd . . . nddhamdnam), but he shall overcome


11/15

RIGVEDICp d r ye d i v l 17 9th e d( t syu- w ho ha s no ( e f f e c t i ve ) m a n t r a a t h i s d i s pos a l (n l md yd vd ndbrahmd d~syur arta). T h e pdrya- (dhar?) s e e m s a g a i n t o b e c o n n e c t e dw i t h t h e " a c q u i s i t i o n o f t he s u n " .3 . I n t h e r e m a i n i n g p a s s ag e s p d r ya - i s a s s o c ia t e d w i t h o t h e r w o r d s t h a nt h o s e f o r " d a y " . F i r st o f a ll t h e w o r d s pdrye dhdne i n V I I I .92 . 9 c a l l f o rm e n t i o n :

it'k.sd n. a indra rdy d d purft vidvdrh rd.sam advd na.h pd rye dhdne

" S u c h e u n s R e i c h t u m z u v e r s c h af f e n a ls d e r V i e lk u n d i g e , o . . . , s t e h u n sb e i, w e n n d e r G e w i n n z u r E n t s c h e i d u n g s t e h t ! " S t a n z a s 1 - 1 0 c o n t a i nt h e u s u a l i n v o c a t i o n o f I n d r a , t h e m ahdndrh dd td vdjdndrh n.rt~.h, in s t . 11t he r e is ( a s i n V I I .32 . 1 ) a r e f e r e nc e t o o t he r p r a i s e r s w h o m us t be o u t d on e :(tydma dhfvato dhly6 'rvadbhi.h Aakra godare / jd ye m a p.rts~ vajrava.h" W o h l a n ! W i r w o l l e n d i e D i c h t u n g e n d e s D i c h t e n d e n ( w i e ) m i t R e n n -p f e r d e n i n d e n K / i m p f e n b e si eg e n , d u m / i c h ti g e r, R i n d e r h e r a u s s c h l ag e n -de r K e u l e n t r ~ i ge r " . T h i s s ub j e c t r e c u r s i n s t . 31 - 32 :

m d na indra abhy ~d iiaO s~ro ak tf i.sv d yam antvd yu jd vanema td t (31)tvdy~d indra yu jd vayd m pr dt i bruvimahi sp(dha.ht vd m a s md ka m td va s ma s i (32)

" N i c h t s o ll en , I n d r a , d i e D r o h u n g e n a u f u n s a b z ie l en , w e n n d i e S o n n ei m D u n k e l n i s t [b ei N a c h t ] . M i t d i r i m B u n d e w o l l e n w i r d ie s e g e w i n n e n .- M i t d ir , I n d r a , i m B u n d e w o l l e n w i r d e n N e b e n b u h l e r n d i e r i ch t ig e A n t -w o r t g e be n . D u b i st u n s , w i r s i n d d e i n . " U n f o r t u n a t e l y th e fi rs t o f th e s es t anz as i s d i f f i cu l t . I t h a s b een a m p ly d is cu ss ed b y A t k in s , JA O S , 7 0 (1 9 5 0 ) ,p . 33 , w h o t r a ns l a t e s it a s f o l l ow s : " L e t no t t he s un ' s de si gns , I nd r a , t a k e[ ho s ti le ] a i m a t u s a t t h e e n d s o f n ig h t s . M a y w e a s y o u r c o m p a n i o n so b t a i n th i s " . I f w e c o n s t r u e ( li k e G e l d n e r ) s~ro akt~.su, i t i s t e m p t i ngt o i n t e r p r e t t he s e w or ds a s a r e f e re nc e t o t he w i n t e r s o l st ic e , bu t t he hy m na s a w h o l e is no t e xp l i c it . Bu t i t i s c l e a r t ha t t he po e t i s c onc e r ne d w i t ha c o n t e s t f o r w e a l t h ( e .g . 9 rdyd d , 10 @ d y d h i Aatdvdjayd, i .sd sahdsravd-j a y d , 25 d~vdya gdy at i . . . gdve) a n d t h e w o r d s dvd na.h pd rye dhdne m a y b ei n t e r p r e t e d a s " h e l p u s i n r e g a r d o f t h is s t a k e t h a t b e l o n g s to t h e N e wY e a r ( 's f e st iv a l) " . R o t h ' s r e n d e r in g " i r a en t s ch e i d en d e n K a m p f " h a sn o w r i g h t l y b e e n a b a n d o n e d .

I n 1 . 1 21 a g a i n m e n t i o n i s m a d e o f p r iz e s (vd ja - ) a n d t h e g i v i n g o fpresents . Cf . 14-15:


12/15

] 8 0 F , B . J . K U I P E Rt v 6 rh n o a s y d i n d r a d u rh ti n, d y ~ .hp ~ h l v a j r i v o d u r i t d d a b h f k ep r 6 n o v d j a n r a t h y b 6 g v a b u d h y a ni.sd y a n d h i g r6 v a se s fm r." d y a i (14). . . d n o b h a j a m a g h a v a n g 6 . s v a r y 6m f ~ h h i. st h ~ s t e s a d h a m d d a .h s y a m a (15 cd)

" B e h t i t e du , I nd r a , u ns vo r s o l c he m T 0be lw o lle n, vo r M i s s e r f o l g i n de rE n t s c he i dungs s t unde , du K e u l e n t r / i ge r ! G e w ~i h r e uns G e w i nne , W a ge nf ii ll e n d e, m i t R o s s e n a l s A b s c h l u ss , z u r L a b u n g , z u m R u h m , z u r G u n s t -b e z e ig u n g ! - . . . G i b u n s e in e n A n t e il a n d e n K i i h e n de s r e ic h e n P a t r o n s ,d u G a b e n r e i c h e r [ W i r w o l l e n d e i n e f r e i g e b i g s t e n Z e c h g e n o s s e n s e i n l " .T h e a i m o f t he c on t e s t , a s u s ua l , i s e xp r e s s ed i n t he w or ds " f o r c e " ( is- )," s oc i a l p r e s t i ge " (d rd v a s - ) a n d " v i t a l e n e r g y " (sfmr. ' ta-, cf . s u v f r y a - etc.) .O n t he o t he r h a n d t he r e i s a re f e r e nc e t o K u t s a a nd t he S u . s rj a- m y t h i nc on ne x i on w i t h t he d i s a ppe a r a n c e o f t he s un , c f . s t . 10 p u r d y 6 t s ~ r a st 6 m a s o 6 p f t e s t d m a d riv a h, p h a l i g d , h h e t i m a s y a " W e n n d ie S o n n e v or d e mV e r s c hw i nde n i m D unke l n i s t , s c h l e ude r e , du H e r r de s P r e s s s t e i n s , da sG e s c h o s s n a c h d e m R / i u b e r ! " ( L u d w i g : e h d u n k e l d i e so n n e e r e il t h a t t e ,s i m i la r ly G r a s s m a n n ) . G e l d n e r ' s i d e a t h a t th i s r e fe r s t o t h e m o m e n t o ft w i li g h t ( a s i n t h e N a m u c i - m y t h ) d o e s n o t s e em v e r y p l a u si b le . T h ep a ss ag e m a y r a th e r m e a n t h a t I n d r a m u s t h u r l h is w e a p o n a t t h e p h a l i g d - isdur i ng t he w i n t e r s o l s t i c e , a s t he a nnua l a c t o f svfzr.sati-. G e l d n e r t a k e st h e se w o r d s a s a q u o t a t i o n , b u t a l t h o u g h th e n e x t p ~ d a s a r e a g a i n c o n -c e r ne d w i t h the m y t h i c a l p r o t o t ype , v i z . the gu.sn , - m y t h , a n d t he f o l l ow -i ng s t a n z a ( 11) e x t o l s I nd r a ' s m y t h i c a l V . r tr a -s la y i ng , t he r e i s no r e a s o nw h y w e s h o u l d n o t i n t e r p r e t t h e i m p e r a t i v e o f s ta n z a 1 0b a s r e f e r ri n g t ot h e a c t u a l s it u a t io n , a t w h i c h th e m y t h i c a l a c t m u s t b e r e p e at e d . A sG e l d n e r r ig h t ly r e m a r k s w i t h r eg a r d t o t h is h y m n : " M y t h o s u n d G e g e n -w a r t f li es se n m e h r f a c h i n e i n a n d e r " ( O b e r s . I , p . 164). To th i s ac t ua l i tya l ludes a l so s t . 12

t v d m i n d r a n 6 r y o y d t h 6 v o n r ~ nt~sth a vd ta sy a suy(zjo vdzhis , .hdny d t r h t e k a v y 6 u g 6 n a m a n d i n a r h d d dv r tr a h6 n , a m p d r y a r h t a t a k .s a v 6 j r a m

A s i t is h a r d t o d i s jo i n th e s u b o r d i n a t e c l a u s e o f p ~ d a c f r o m t h e p r i n c i p a ls e n t e nc e i n d , a nd a s m a n d [ n - i s t h e c u r r e n t e p i t h e t o f S o m a ( c f. h d r i m . . .la For phal ig(u el. Venkatasubbiah, Ind . A nt ., 56 (1927), pp. 136-139, J. J. M eyer,Tri logie t ier Vegetat ionsmi ichte , III, p. 137 n. 1, p. 166 n. 1, A. Master, B S O A S , X I,p. 297 ff., Liiders, Varu.na (I), p. 170 n. 13.


13/15

RIGVEDICpd rye div[ 181mandinam 8c) Geldner's alternative translation seems preferable: "Indra ,du der Mannhafte, der du die Menschen um Hilfe angehst, besteige desV~ta sch6ngeschirrte bestfahrende (Rosse); den dir K~vya U~anas gab,den ergrtzenden, (diesen) entscheidenden feindetrtenden Vajra hatte ergezimmert".19 The Soma offered to Indra accordingly functions as hisweapon. In the context of the whole hymn the translation "Vajra con-nected with the New Year's festival" would seem quite legitimate butthe context is too vague to allow certain conclusions. The translation"erfolgreich, wirksam" (Roth) is merely conjectured.

The connexion with a contest is quite certain in VII.27.1:indram nt iro nemrdhi td havanteyr t pdryd yunr ja te dh lyas td .hg~ro n .#dtd gfvasag cakdn6d grm ati vrajd bhajd tvrrh na.h

"Den Indra rufen die M/~nner im Wettstreit, dass er diese ausschlag-gebenden Lieder (an seinem Wagen) spanne. Der du als Held im Man-nerkampf die ~rbermacht begehrst, gib du uns Anteil an der (erbeuteten)Rinderhtirde[" The n(.sdti- must obviously be interpreted in accordancewith sv&r.sdtd, m edh rsdta u, vdjasdtau, dhrnasdtau. Since this is a pro-ductive type of compounds in the poetic idiom of the Rigveda, nr- canonly be the common word for "man" and n # d t d must be compared totokrsd tau "a t the acquisition of progeny", ~ r a s d ta (u ) "at the acquisitionof valiant sons". In other words, the meeting of the two parties (nemdt-dhiti-) is the Rigvedic vlvdc-; cf. e.g. Vi.31.1 v i tokd a ps f i t rnaye ca s~rd'vocanta car.sa.nryo vlvdca.h, VI.33.2 t vdrh h~ndrd ' vase v[vdco hrvan tecar.sa~rya.h ~rasdtau. See above p. 171 and p. 174 (VI.23.2; 26.1), andI I J , IV, p. 270ff. Hence the pdryd dh tya .h are apparently the "prayers(or hymns) connected with the New Year('s festival)" (cf. p. 171 ft.).Geldner points to Kau.s. Br. XXVI.15 where p~da b is quoted with thefollowing comment: parya.h] part~rdhyds, tad antar~pam, anto nava m amahar, ante "ntarh dadhati "(in this) 'effective' denotes the highest; this is asymbol of the end; the ninth day is the end; in the end he places the end"(Keith). But the real meaning o f p d r y a - and its connexion with the v[vac-is likely to have soon fallen into oblivion in the post-Rigvedic period.

The meaning of k r r t u - p d r y a - in X.27.16 was probably similar to thatof pdrya dh lya .h , but this part of the hymn is very obscure. However,in st. 20 the idea of an individual death seems to be associated with thatofa cosmic death. Geldner translates it as follows: "Diese beiden Rinderla Thusalso Oldenberga.L


14/15

1 8 2 F . B . J . K U IP ER

d e s T o d e s s i n d f ii r m i c h a n g e s p a n n t ; t r e ib e s ie d o c h j a n i c h t a n , w a r t enoc h e i n W e i l c he n ! A uc h d i e G e w / i s s e r e r r e i c he n s e i n Z i e l , a uc h h i n t e rde r S o nne i s t d i e V e r n i c h t un g z u r i ic kge b l i e be n" . S t il l t h i s doe s no t he l pus m a t e r i a l l y i n i n t e r p r e t i ng s t . 16

da~dndrn dkarh kapildtrh sam dnfrht6rh hinvanti kr6tave pdrydy a

" D e n d e n z e h n g e m e i n sa m e n e i n e n K a p i l a , d e n tr e ib e n s ie a n z u e n t-s c h e i d e n d e m E n t s c h l u s s ". T h e e n d o f t h e s t a n z a m e n t i o n s a n e w l y b o r nc h i l d ( A gn i ? ) , a nd t he ne x t s t a nz a r e f e rs t o t he d i c e . T he r e m a y pos s i b l ybe a n a l l u s i on t o t he r e ne w a l o f t he f ir e a t t he N e w Y e a r ' s f e s t i va l, bu t t hec o n t e x t i s a g a i n t o o v a g u e .

F i n a l ly t h e w o r d pdrya- s e e m s t o be a s s oc i a t e d w i t h 6vas- i n IV .25 .1 .P a r a l l e l pa s s a ge s quo t e d a bove s ugge s t t ha t i n t he l a s t s t a nz a t he r e i s ar e f e r e nc e t o a c on t e s t : tndrarh k.siyfnta ut6 y~tdhyam~na, indrath n6rovdjay6nto havante " d e n I n d r a [ ru f en ] d i e f r ie d l ic h W o h n e n d e n u n d d i eK / i m p f e n d e n , d e n I n d r a d i e n a c h d e m S i e g e r p r e i s s t r e b e n d e n M / i n n e r "( s t. 8 ). Bu t t he p r a y e r f o r li gh t (jy6ti.s- 3 ) a n d t h e w o r d s vfs ta usrd.h " b e iA n b r u c h d e s M o r g e n s " ( s t. 2 ) a l l o w n o f u r t h e r i n fe r en c e s. T h e f i r sts t a n z a r u n s a s f o l lo w s :

k6 ady 6 ndtryo dev6kama ug6nn[ndrasya sa khy 6rh jujo.sak6 vd mah~ 'vase pdrydyas6m iddhe aghast sut6som a ~t. e

" W e l c h e r M a n n h a f t e , G 6 t t e r l i e b e n d e h a t s i c h h e u t e n a c h W u n s c h d e rF r e u n d s c h a f t I n d r a ' s z u e r f r e u e n ? O d e r w e r r u f f ( ih n ) b e i a u s g e p r e ss t e mS o m a u n d e n t f l a m m t e m F e u e r z u g r o s s e m B e i s t an d f ii r d e n e n t s c h e id e n -d e n (T a g) a u f ? " R o t h a n d G r a s s m a n n t a k e pdrya-, i n t h e s e ns e " d u r c h -he l f e nd , e r f o l g r e i c h" , a s a n a d j e c t i ve w h i c h de f i ne s t he 6vas- . L u d w i gs i m i la r ly r e n d e r s " z u g r o s z e r z u r e t te n d e r g n a d e " , G r a s s m a n n " u mgr os s e n h ii l fe r e i c he n Be i s t a n d" . " A s s i s t a n c e i n the N e w Y e a r ( ' s c on -t e s ts ) " s e e m s t h e m o s t n a t u r a l i n t e r p r e t a ti o n .4. Conclusions. I n t h e p r e c e d i n g p a g e s t h e w o r d pdrya- h a s b e e ns t u d i ed i n t h e l i g h t o f th e t h e o r y t h a t t h e n u c l e u s o f th e R i g v e d a , a n dp a r t i c u l a r ly th e h y m n s t o I n d r a , a r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h a N e w Y e a r ' s fe s ti v al ,a n d w i t h c e r e m o n i a l c o n t e s ts w h i c h a i m e d a t t h e a c q u i s i t io n o f w e a l t ha n d s o c ia l p re s ti g e, a t p r o l o n g a t i o n o f l if e a n d n e w v i t a l e n e r g y ( m a n i -f e s t ing i t s e lf i n t he b e ge t t i ng o f va l i a n t s ons ), a n d a t t he " a c q u i s i t i on o f


15/15

RIGVEDICpdrye div[ 183t he s u n" , t h a t i s, a c o s m i c re ne w a l . I t m a y be u s e f u l f i rs t t o s t a t e t her e s u lt s o f o u r e n q u i r y t h a t h a v e n o d i r e ct b e a r i n g o n t h i s th e o r y .T h e e x a c t m e a n i n g o f pdrya- c a n n o t b e " h e l p i n g t h r o u g h , e f f e c t i v e ,s u c c e s sf u l " , w h i c h h a s b e e n c o n j e c t u r e d f r o m t h e c o n t e x t . A s a n a d je c -t iv e d e r i v e d f r o m p & d - " t h e o t he r s i de , t he e n d ( o f d i s t r e s s) " , i t c a n o n l yd e n o t e t h a t w h i c h is c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e e n d o f s o m e t h i n g . S o t h e q u es -t i o n m u s t b e p u t : W h a t p e r i o d w a s cl o se d b y t h e pdrya- dyfi-? F r o m t hef a c t t h a t arhhasaspat# i s t h e n a m e o f a n i n t e r c a l a r y m o n t h i n V S. V I I .3 0 ,X X I .31 i t i s l e g i t i m a t e t o i n f e r t ha t drhhas- i t se l f c o u l d d e n o t e t h e p e r i o do f c o s m i c c ri si s a t t h e e n d o f th e y e a r . H e n c e pdrdrn drhhasah m ay h a v eb e e n a m y t h i c a l e x p r e s si o n t o d e n o t e , w h a t i n t h e s t y le o f t h e b r a h m a n ,asw a s e xp r e s s e d m or e d i r e c t l y by sarhvatsardsya p~rd m ( SB , A B ) . A t a n yr a te , i t h a s n e v e r b e e n q u e s t i o n e d t h a t t h e w o r d s pdrye divf r e f e r t o ad e ci si ve m o m e n t .

I f t h e t h e o r y o f t h e N e w Y e a r ' s f e s ti v a l i s a c ce p t e d , t h i s s t u d y c o r r o -b o r a t e s i t in s o f a r a s i t f u r n i sh e s o n e o f t h e R i g v e d i c t e r m s f o r t h e N e wY e a r ' s d a y . H o w e v e r , t h a t t h e w o r d m e a n s " N e w Y e a r " c a n a t b es t b em a d e p l a u s ib l e o n e t y m o l o g i c a l g r o u n d s b u t c a n n o t d e f i n it iv e l y b ep r o v e d f r o m i ts e ty m o l o g y . F r o m a m e t h o d o l o g i c a l p o i n t o f v ie w t h eo n l y t h in g t h a t c a n b e d o n e i s t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t t h e w o r d s pdrye divlo c c u r i n h y m n s t h a t d e a l w i t h s u c h s u bj e ct s a s svglr.sdti-, ~ ra sd ti - (nr.'.st~ti-)a n d vdjast~ti-a n d t h a t , c o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e y f u r n i s h a n e x a c t d a t e f o r t h ec on t e s t s (vDdc-). I f t h e g e n e r a l t h e o r y o f th e r e l ig i o u s a n d s o c ia l c o n -c e p t i ons u nde r l y i ng t he s e no t i on s o f t he a c qu i s i ti on o f t he s u n ( e tc .) isa c c e p t e d , t h i s d a t e m u s t b e t h e N e w Y e a r ' s d a y . I t w o u l d s e e m th a t i nt h e m a j o r i t y o f it s o c c u r re n c e s t h e c o n n e x i o n ofpdrya- w i t h s uc h c on t e s t sc a n b e m a d e a c c e p t a b le . S o m e p as s ag e s a r e t o o v a g u e t o a l lo w a n ydefini te s ta tement (e .g. VI .40.5, VII .83.5, X.27.16, 1 .121.12, IV.25.1) .O n l y i n I X .1 . 7 t h e r e se e m s t o b e a c o n t r a d i c t i o n b e t w e e n th e w o r d spdrye div l a n d divd-dive i n s t . 5, f o r w h i c h no s a t i s f a c t o r y e xp l a na t i onc a n b e fo u n d .

A s a n a d d i t io n a l f a c t i n s u p p o r t o f o u r e x p l a n a ti o n it m a y b e p o i n t e do u t t h a t pdrya-, l i k e a l l t h e " p o t l a t c h - t e r m s " , d o e s n o t s u r v i v e i n t h ep o s t - R i g v e d i c l i te r a t u re a n d t h a t i t is p a r t i c u l a r l y f r e q u e n t i n t h o s e b o o k sw h e r e a l s o s u c h te r m s a s vlvdc-, mahddhan d- o c c u r . T h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a tt h e " o t h e r s i d e " d e n o t e d b y pdrya- m u s t h a v e b e e n t h a t o f th e ( n e w )ye a r w o u l d s e e m s u f f i c ie n t l y w a r r a n t e d .

rigvedic parye divi

Documents