{"collection":"Hinduism","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/hin/sbe32/sbe3257.htm","path":"hin/sbe32/sbe3257.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe32/sbe3257.htm","text":"Vedic Hymns, Part I (SBE32), by Max M\u00fcller, [1891]\n1. O father of the Maruts, let thy favour come near, and do not deprive us of the sight of the sun; may the hero (Rudra) be gracious to our horse 1, and may we increase in offspring, O Rudra!\n2. May I attain to a hundred winters through the most blissful medicines which thou hast given! Put away far 1 from us all hatred, put away anguish, put away sicknesses in all directions!\n3. In beauty thou art the most beautiful of all that exists, O Rudra, the strongest of the strong, thou wielder of the thunderbolt! Carry us happily to the other shore of our anguish, and ward off all assaults of mischief 1.\n4. Let us not incense thee, O Rudra, by our worship, not by bad praise, O hero, and not by divided praise! Raise up our men by thy medicines, for I hear thou art the best of all physicians.\n5. He who is invoked 1 by invocations and libations, may I pay off 2 that Rudra with my hymns of praise. Let not him who is kind-hearted 3, who readily hears our call, the tawny, with beautiful cheeks, deliver us to this wrath!\n6. The manly hero with the Maruts has gladdened me, the suppliant, with more vigorous health. May I without mischief find shade, as if from sunshine 1, may I gain the favour of Rudra!\n7. O Rudra, where is thy softly stroking hand which cures and relieves 1? Thou, the remover of all heaven-sent mischief, wilt thou, O strong hero, bear with me?\n8. I send forth a great, great hymn of praise to the bright tawny bull. Let me reverence 1 the fiery god 2 with prostrations; we celebrate the flaring name 3 of Rudra.\n9. He, the fierce god, with strong limbs, assuming many forms, the tawny Rudra, decked himself with brilliant golden ornaments. From Rudra, who is lord of this wide world, divine power 1 will never depart.\n10. Worthily thou bearest arrows and bow, worthily, O worshipful 1, the golden, variegated chain; worthily thou cuttest every fiend 2 here to pieces, for there is nothing indeed stronger than thou, O Rudra.\n11. Praise him, the famous, sitting in his chariot 1, the youthful, who is fierce and attacks like a terrible wild beast 2 (the lion). And when thou hast been praised, O Rudra, be gracious to him who magnifies thee, and let thy armies 3 mow down others than us!\n12. O Rudra, a boy indeed makes obeisance to his father who comes to greet him 1: I praise the lord of brave men, the giver of many gifts, and thou, when thou hast been praised, wilt give us thy medicines.\n13. O Maruts, those pure medicines of yours, the most beneficent and delightful, O heroes, those which Manu 1, our father, chose, those I crave from Rudra, as health and wealth.\n14. May the weapon of Rudra avoid us 1, may the great anger of the flaring one pass us by.\n[paragraph continues] Unstring thy strong bows 2 for the sake of our liberal lords, O bounteous Rudra, be gracious to our kith and kin.\n15. Thus, O tawny and manly god, showing thyself 1, so as neither to be angry nor to kill, be mindful of our invocations 2, and, rich in brave sons, we shall magnify thee in the congregation.\nAscribed to Gritsamada. Metre, Trishtubh. See Muir, S. T. IV, 309; Geldner and Kaegi, p. 90. Bergaigne, III, 153; Leop. v. Schroeder, Indiens Literatur and Cultur, 343. Verse 1 = TB. II, 8, 6, 9; verse 2 = TB. II, 8, 6, 8; verse 10 = T\u00c2. IV, 5, 7; verse 11 =TS. IV, 5, 10, 3; AV. XVIII, 1, 40; verse 14 = VS. XVI, 50; TS. IV, 5, 10. 4; verse 15 = TB. II, 8, 6, 9.\nNote 1. The words abh\u00ed nah v\u00eer\u00e1h \u00e1rvati kshameta admit of different interpretation. Grassmann has: 'Der Held sei huldreich unsren schnellen Rossen;' Muir: 'May the hero spare our horses;' Ludwig: 'Unser held m\u00f6ge t\u00fcchtig zu Rosse sein.' The passages quoted by Ludwig from the Sat. Br. III, 7, 3, 1, and IV, 3, 4, 14, do not bear out the meaning of t\u00fcchtig sein, to be strong, they rather mean, to suffer, to submit to, with a dative. Yet v\u00eer\u00e1h by itself may mean son or offspring (III, 4, 9; VII, 1, 21; 56, 24), and if abhi-ksham in our passage could mean to be capable and strong, Ludwig's translation would be justified. But if we take v\u00eer\u00e1, hero, as intended for Rudra, as Indra also is often called simply v\u00eera, abhi kshameta would lend itself to the translation of 'to be gracious,' or 'to spare,' and I therefore translate: 'May the hero (Rudra) be gracious to our horse.' It should be understood in the same sense in verse 7, at least I see no reason to vary the translation as Geldner does, and also Ludwig, while Muir is right and consistent. Our poet uses the verb abhiksham frequently, II, 28, 3; 29, 2 (abhikshant\u00e2rah?). It seems confined to the second Mandala.\nNote 1. Vitar\u00e1m, wherever it occurs, is always joined with v\u00ed in the Rig-veda.\nNote 1. If r\u00e1pas is derived from rap, to whisper, it would have meant originally what is whispered, that is, slander, accusation, and then only crime. Latin cr\u00eemen also meant originally what is heard, Leumund. Cr\u00eemen is not connected with the Greek \u03ba\u03c1\u03af\u03bd\u03c9. The \u00ee in cr\u00eemen has to be accounted for like the \u00ee in l\u00eeber, from lubh (libh). The r is irregular, unless we find an analogy in increpare.\nNote 1. H\u00e1vate, we expect h\u00fby\u00e1te. Ludwig's explanation has not solved the difficulty, and suh\u00e1vah points back to yo havate. Oldenberg suggests an anacoluthon, He who invokes\u2014may I.\nNote 2. I formerly took \u00e1va dish\u00eeya in the sense of 'to unloose,' used originally with reference to tethered horses. As horses are unloosed before they can do their work, so the gods are, as it were, unloosed by prayer, or set off, so that they may fulfil what they are asked to do; see RV. I. 25, 3. In the passage quoted by Ludwig from the TS. I, 8, 6, 2, the same meaning seemed quite appropriate: \u00e1va Rudr\u00e1m adimahi\u2014y\u00e1th\u00e2 nah sr\u00e9yasah k\u00e1rat, 'We unloosed Rudra, that he might make us happier.' Ludwig takes it to mean, 'We have bound, tied, or obliged Rudra, so that he make us happy,' but the preposition ava is against this interpretation. Muir proposes 'to avert' or 'to propitiate,' the latter being adopted by Geldner.\nHowever, in an article lately published by Roth on Wergeld in the Veda (Z. D. M. G. XLI, 672), ava-day has been recognised as an almost technical legal term, meaning 'to pay off, to compound.' Thus, T\u00e2ndya Br. XVI, 1, 12, we read y\u00e2h satam vairam tad dev\u00e2n avadayate, 'He portions off, i. e. he satisfies, or pacifies, the gods who were offended, by giving a hundred cows.' With nih, we find TB. I, 6, 10, 1. prag\u00e2\u00b4 rudr\u00e2\u00b4n n\u00edr \u00e1va dayate; the same occurs in Maitr. S. I, 10, 20, where we also read, griheshv eva Rudram nir ava dayata esha te Rudra bh\u00e2gas. See also Ait. Br. II, 7, 1. There is a verse quoted, \u00e1v\u00e2mba Rudr\u00e1m adimahi, in TS. I, 8, 6, 2;\nand again in MS. I, 10, 4; K\u00e2th. IX, 7; Kap. S. VIII, 10; VS. III, 58, and this gives us the right key to our verse, namely, 'May I pay off, may I pacify, Rudra with my songs of praise,' dish\u00eeya being the optat. of the aorist, adimahi the aor. ind.\nNote 3. On rid\u00fbd\u00e1rah, see Benfey, Quantit\u00e4tsversch. V, 1; p. 25; Geldner, K. Z. XXVIII, 201; Ludwig, S\u00fcsses in seinem bauche habend; Bergaigne, mis\u00e9ricordieux. The meaning is doubtful.\nNote 1. Ghr\u00edn\u00eeva, divided into ghr\u00edni-iva, is a difficult form. Various attempts have been made to explain it. Grassmann translates: 'Wie Schatten von der Gluth m\u00f6g unversehrt ich des Rudra Huld erreichen,' preferring to write ghriner va. Ludwig, in his notes: 'Bei hitze,' taking ghrini as a locative. Muir: 'Shade in the heat.' Geldner: 'Vor Sonnengluth den Schatten,' taking ghrin\u00ee as an instrumental. Lanman (p. 379) takes the same view, though he admits that this would be the only example of an instrumental in the masculine, contracted to \u00ee. He translates: 'As by the heat unharmed, to shelter bring me.' He adds: 'It may be ablative with elision and crasis,' and this is likewise Roth's view. Weber thinks that we may retain ghrin\u00eeva in the Samhit\u00e2 text, but should divide it into ghrin\u00ee-iva, 'like a man suffering from heat' (Ind. Stud. XIII, p. 58). I think we must take into account a parallel passage, VI, 16, 38. \u00fbpa kh\u00e2y\u00e2\u00b4m iva ghr\u00edneh \u00e1ganma s\u00e1rma te vay\u00e1m, see M. M., Preface to translation of Rig-veda, p. cxliii. Probably the apparent irregularity of the metre led to the change of ghr\u00edner iva to ghr\u00edn\u00eeva, but ghr\u00edner iva can be scanned \u0306 \u0304 \u0306; see M. M., l. c., p. cxlviii.\nNote 1. G\u00e1l\u00e2sha by itself occurs but once more as an epithet of Rudra, VII, 35, 6, and twice in composition, g\u00e1l\u00e2shabheshaga; see I, 43, 4. The second p\u00e2da begins with h\u00e1stah.\nNote 1. Namasy\u00e1 is difficult, but we can hardly take it for namasy\u00e2masi, masi being supplied from grin\u00eemasi. Nor do we gain by taking namasy\u00e2\u00b4 for an instrumental. Perhaps it is best to take it as a 1st pers. of the imperative.\nNote 2. The meaning of kalmal\u00eekin is unknown.\nNote 3. I think it is best to translate n\u00e2\u00b4ma by name, though, no doubt, it implies more than the mere name. Geldner's 'majest\u00e4tisch Wesen' is right, but it is only one side of n\u00e2ma. See VIII, 20, 13, note 1.\nNote 1. On vai, see Delbr\u00fcck, Syntax, p. 483. On asurya, see von Bradke, Dyaus Asura, pp. 29, 34.\nNote 1. I have changed yagat\u00e1m into yagata.\nNote 2. \u00c1rhan id\u00e1m dayase v\u00edsvam \u00e1bhvam has been rendered in different ways. Grassmann: 'Du theilst alle diese Macht aus.' Ludwig: 'Du besitzest all dise gewalt.' Geldner: 'Du besitzest h\u00f6chste Macht.' Muir: 'Thou possessest all this vast world.' Dayase is used, no doubt, in the sense of cutting and distributing, but never in the sense of possessing. In several places, however, it has been translated by to cut and to destroy, e. g. X, 80, 2. agn\u00edh vritr\u00e2\u00b4ni dayate pur\u00fb\u00b4ni, 'Agni cuts up many enemies.' VI, 22, 9. v\u00edsv\u00e2h agurya dayase v\u00ed m\u00e2y\u00e2\u00b4h, 'thou destroyest all deceits.' See also IV, 7, 10; VI, 6, 5. As to \u00e1bhva in the sense of fiend, we had it before in I, 39, 8. \u00e2\u00b4 y\u00e1h nah \u00e1bhvah \u00ee\u00b4shate, v\u00ed t\u00e1m yuyota. In other places it assumes a more neutral character, meaning monster, or monstrous power; see B.-R. s. v. 'To distribute power' is not a Vedic conception, nor does \u00e1bhva ever mean power in the sense of 'ungeheure Macht, or Urkraft' (Delbr\u00fcck, Chrest. p. 49).\nNote 1. AV. XVIII, 1, 40, has gartas\u00e1dam g\u00e1n\u00e2n\u00e2m r\u00e2\u00b4g\u00e2nam, and any\u00e1m asm\u00e1t te. Garta-sad, literally, sitting\nin the hole, probably the place of the chariot where the king sat, separated from the driver. These divided chariots can be seen in the ancient monuments of Assyria and Babylon. The king seems to stand in a box of his own, fighting, while the charioteer holds the reins, so as not to interfere with the king. See, however, Bergaigne, III, 122 seq.; Z. D. M. G. XL, 681.\nNote 2. The mrig\u00e1 bh\u00eem\u00e1 is probably meant for the lion, cf. I, 154, 2, and Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 78.\nNote 3. As to the sen\u00e2s of Rudra, see TS. IV, 5, 2, 1, sen\u00e2n\u00ee; AV. XI, 2, 31; P\u00e2r. Grihy. III, 8, 11.\nNote 1. The sense would be better if v\u00e1ndam\u00e2nam could be changed to v\u00e1ndam\u00e2nah.\nNote 1. That father Manu obtained health and wealth from Rudra was mentioned before, I, 114, 2, and it is curious that the Vedic authority of Manu's Smriti should be based on the yell-known sentence, yat kimka Manur abrav\u00eet tad bheshagam, Taitt. Samh. II, 2, 10, 2; cf. M. M., Hist. of Anc. Sansk. Lit. p. 89.\nNote 1. The VS. reads p\u00e1ri no rudr\u00e1sya het\u00edr vrinaktu, p\u00e1ri tvesh\u00e1sya durmat\u00edr agh\u00e2y\u00f3h. Vrigy\u00e2h is the 3rd pers. sing. in s of the aor. opt.\nNote 2. Rudra is called sthiradhanvan; see also IV, 4, 5; VIII, 19, 20; X, 116, 5; 6; 120, 4; 134, 2; Maitr. S. II, 9, 9.\nNote 1. Kekit\u00e2na, the vocative of the participle.\nNote 2. Muir seems to translate bodhi, which S\u00e2yana explains by budhyasva, by 'think of us now.' The TB. reads havanasr\u00fbh.","title":"Vedic Hymns, Part I (SBE32): Vedic Hymns: II, 33. To Rudra, the Father of the Maruts (the Storm-gods)","type":"page"}