topics: |  india | philosophy | ancient | religion

misleading title change : marketing greed?

the publishers have short-changed wendy doniger (and the reader) by re-titling this book. it used to be called "the rig veda: an anthology", but at some point penguin started calling it just "the rig veda". the publisher may defend the change saying it was more compact - but i wonder if a motivation was also to give the impression that this was the entire text... no doubt it was better marketing.

at least in my case, i purchased this book because i respected doniger's work and thought i was buying an authoritative translation of the entire rigveda. at that time, like most indians, i had no idea about the rig veda and didn't know how voluminous the entire rig veda is. it has over a thousand hymns, most with ten stanzas - over 21000 lines of ancient sanskrit poetry.

doniger focuses on 108 hymns, about one tenth of the RV-saMhitA.

to put this in perspective: mahabharata - among the world's largest texts : 88000 stanzas (> 100K in many versions); homeric texts: Iliad: 15,693 lines ; Odyssey: 12,110 lines] (8th c. BC)

so - as the oldest text compilation, the rig veda holds its own on quantity - not to mention the superlative quality of many of its poems! many western scholars (e.g. arthur macdonell, keith), have waxed eloquent about its poetic qualities. sukumarI bhaTTAchArYa, in her prAchIn bhArAt: samAj o sahitYa (প্রাচীন ভারত সমাজ ও সাহিত্য, 1989), writes

most of the suktas of the rigveda - either then, or later - were used as hymns for propitiating the gods. yet the commentator shAyanAchArya, during the 14th c. re-emergence of the yaj~na tradition in vijayanagar, could not assign any fire sacrificial role for many of the suktas. many suktas are therefore secular. that is what induced haraprasad shAstrI to say - much like palgrave's golden treasury, rigved-saMhitA is primarily a poetry anthology.

it is clearly an anthology, possibly collated by about a dozen different priestly families. so haraprasad shAstrI may well have a point.

in any event, given the bulk, actually it's a good thing that we are being served an anthology. i like going into details of things i read, and having about a hundred hymns keeps things manageable.

what does the rig veda mean to the average educated indian?

most educated indians think of the rig veda as an obscure, almost irrelevant, religious text.

while the rg.veda is a compilation of prayers to gods, one may argue that in those days, this was one of the dominant forms of poetry - where the rich patron would seek to pacify the gods through yajnas. it is amazing how such a detailed encoding of the fire ritual and the pantheon of gods had emerged already at that early date. however, much of the moral and social fetishes of the later "religion" were not there. feasts involved bull sacrifices and eating of beef, soma - a kind of intoxicating wine - is highly praised and offered to most gods, there was no compunction in killing the enemy and plundering his wealth. organized religion requires god to be distant and omnipotent - here the gods are much closer - indra will sit with you at soma sessions, and some mortals may even make passes at his wife. agni, he who consumes his parents, comes and lives in your house, in the hearth.

the divines are powerful alright, but they are not at all distant.

thus, much of the religion that most hindus practice have very little to do with the rgveda. some of the mantras - indeed about sacrifices, prayers to the gods, offering them oblations, etc., much of it is sheer poetry. and like much good poetry, it is often ambiguous.

a hymn like the nAsadIya sukta captures your poetic imagination:

	  there was neither non-existence nor existence
	  there was neither the realm of space nor sky...
	  what stirred?  where?  in whose protection?
	  was there water, unfathomably deep?

it is the twists and turns of thought that are so novel to us, they
engages your attention immediately.

we start with the paradox of "there is nothing and also non-nothing".
then something stirs, in a question.  there is a hint of a "protector",
rather suddenly.  and why should water appear, and be deep?

partly of course, the novelty i feel, is a difference of culture.  for the
poets who composed these texts four thousand years ago, the idea of water
was very intimately associated with creation, and hence they may not have
found it as surprising as a modern reader.

flipping pages at random, i land on this interestng series of unexpected
co-occurrences, one of the signs of good poetry.  WD calls it
"the bird" (10.177):

	the wise see in their heart, in their spirit
		the bird anointed with the magic of the asura.
	the poets see him inside the ocean;
		the sages seek the footprints of his rays.

what modern poet could have imagined such juxtapositions?  how much soma
does one have to imbibe before coming up with a phrase like "footprints of
light"?  to see "a bird inside the ocean" (samudre antaH), clearly you
have to be a poet.

A culture of poetry

scholars have tried to reconstruct how this culture, living a pastoral
life four thousand years back (or longer), evolved such a fine sense of
poetry.  we get glimpses of a culture fascinated with poetry from hymns
like 10.71, which talks of how one fashions speech, "sifting it as
grain is sifted through a sieve".

it appears that groups of poets formed clubs or teams, and competed against
each other.  each team is called a sakhya - a group of friends.  the verses
are all composed in intricate meters, where every laghu and guru beat
has to be pronunced (or sung) perfectly, and the contest would go to the
better team.

a close analysis of vedic texts by TJ Elizarenkova paints the picture
of a culture where sakhyas would be patronized by rich lords, and
winning such contests would bring considerable social prestige.

sakhya members might vary in their styles:

	their flashes of insight are not equal.  some are like ponds that
	reach only to the mouth or shoulder; others are like ponds that one
	could bathe in. [stanza 7]

and each excels in a different sphere:
	one sits bringing to blossom the flower of the verses.  another
	sings a song in the shakvarI metre.  one, the brahmin, proclaims the
	knowledge of the ancient ways. another lays out the measure of the
	sacrifice. [10]

but sometimes,

	one person [grows] awkward and heavy ...  they no longer urge him
	forward in the contests.  he lives with falsehood like a milkless
	cow, for the speech that he has heard has no fruit or flower. [stanza 5]

however, leaving one team to join another would be a serious offence, and
here we have an imprecation against him:

	a man that abandons a friend who has learned with him no longer has
	a share in speech.  what he does hear he hears in vain, for he does
	not know the path of good action. [stanza 6]
	[such people] "weave on a weft of rags, without understanding" [stanza 8]

if someone wins a contest, the entire team shares in the spoils:

	all his friends rejoice in the friend who emerges with fame and
	victory in the contest.  he saves them from error and gives them
	food.  he is worthy to be pushed forward to win the prize. [9]

it is clear that there must have been some kind of a social impetus that
produced such a bright poetry.

but however we try to explain it, reading these lines today - especially
trying to pronoounce the sanskrit, fills you with a
sense of wonder.  in these sonorous verses, you can hear the voices of these
"rishis" - the seers who composed these poems, thousands of years old...
you wonder how these were composed, what contests they might have won, and
how they got selected for the eventual compilation, so they could be
preserved for posterity.   the gravitas of the sound fills your mind as you
pronounce "nAsadAsInno sadAsIt tadAnIM..." - and although you cannot claim to
understand beyond a few nuggets here and there - you feel the power
of the words flowing over you...

and later, the very fact that poets from so long back could have thought such
thoughts hold us in thrall.

what is sad is that except for the few verses used in religious ritual,
most of this fascinating text is quite unknown to the average indian.  as
you turn the pages, you find tales of indra, agni, uShas, marut.  much of
it is great poetry, and much of it, as WD repeatedly reminds us, is
ambiguous, paradoxical.

but to my mind, doniger is making too much of the ambiguities in meaning.  it
is just a bunch of bright people who are doing a poetry slam, and we make
interersting ideas, interesting sounds, we create suggestions, we make
dhvani.  like in all poetry, meaning is what it means to the listener.  to
look for an unique meaning in any poetry is to kill it.

Excerpts

Agni Sukta : Hymn to Agni RV 1.1

Appropriately placed at the very beginning of the RV, this hymn
invites Agni, the divine priest to come to the sacrifice. p.99


  
manuscript of rigveda - opening leaf - hymn to agni with the agni
sukta (RV 1.1), starting after "shrIgaNeshAya namaH". (click for 2-leaf view)
some comounds such as देवमृत्विजम् are shown analyzed.



              अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम् ।
              होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥१॥
	agnim ILe purohitaM yaj~nasya devam R^itvijam |
	hotAraM ratnadhAtamam ||

1. i pray to agni, the household priest who is the god of the
   sacrifice, the one who chants and invokes and brings most
   treasure.


              अग्निः पूर्वेभिरृषिभिरीड्यो नूतनैरुत ।
              स देवाँ एह वक्षति ॥२॥
	agniH pUrvebhir R^iShibhir IDyo nUtanair uta |
	sa devA.N eha vakShati ||

2. agni earned the prayers of the ancient sages, and of those of the
   present, too; he will bring the gods here.


              अग्निना रयिमश्नवत्पोषमेव दिवेदिवे ।
              यशसं वीरवत्तमम् ॥३॥
	agninA rayim ashnavat poSham eva dive-dive |
	yashasaM vIravattamam ||

3. through agni one may win wealth, and growth from day to day,
   glorious and most abounding in heroic sons.


              अग्ने यं यज्ञमध्वरं विश्वतः परिभूरसि ।
              स इद्देवेषु गच्छति ॥४॥
	agne yaM yaj~nam adhvaraM vishvataH paribhUr asi |
	sa id deveShu gachChati ||

4. agni, only the sacrificial ritual that you encompass on all sides
   goes to the gods.


              अग्निर्होता कविक्रतुः सत्यश्चित्रश्रवस्तमः ।
              देवो देवेभिरा गमत् ॥५॥
	agnir hotA kavikratuH satyash chitrashravastamaH |
	devo devebhir A gamat ||

5. agni, the priest with the sharp sight of a poet, the true and
   most brilliant, the god will come with the gods.


              यदङ्ग दाशुषे त्वमग्ने भद्रं करिष्यसि ।
              तवेत्तत्सत्यमङ्गिरः ॥६॥
	yad a~Nga dAshuShe tvam agne bhadraM kariShyasi |
	tavet tat satyam a~NgiraH ||

6. whatever good you wish to do for the one who worships you, agni,
   through you, o angiras, that comes true.


              उप त्वाग्ने दिवेदिवे दोषावस्तर्धिया वयम् ।
              नमो भरन्त एमसि ॥७॥
	upa tvAgne dive-dive doShAvastar dhiyA vayam |
	namo bharanta emasi ||

[angiras: ancient family of priests, often identified with vedic
gods such as agni or indra.  also: messenger to the gods]

7. to you, agni, who shine upon darkness, we come day after day,
   bringing our thoughts and homage.


              राजन्तमध्वराणां गोपामृतस्य दीदिविम् ।
              वर्धमानं स्वे दमे ॥८॥
	rAjantam adhvarANAM gopAm R^itasya dIdivim |
	vardhamAnaM sve dame ||

8. [we come] to you, the king over sacrifices, the shining guardian
   of the order, growing in your own house.


		स नः पितेव सूनवेऽग्ने सूपायनो भव ।
		सचस्वा नः स्वस्तये ॥९॥
	sa naH piteva sUnave.agne sUpAyano bhava |
	sachasvA naH svastaye ||



One thing about translations is that you miss not only the original
sounds, but also the prosody, which is very important in the RV.

thus this hymn is a classic example of the gAyatrI meter, used in
200+  hymns in the RV.  the gAyatrI has three lines with
eight syllables each, where each syllable's weight (guru
or laghu; heavy / light) is a matter of crucial import.

the patterns of this hymn, as with most gAyatrI,
have blocks of 8 syllables ending in the pattern "LHL?", where :

   L = laghu, light, short, notation: breve ˘
   H = guru, heavy, long, notation: macron ¯ :
			long vowels like A or double consonants
   ? = the last syllable can be either L or H

thus the first line would go:
		अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं
		H  L HH LHL L
		¯  ˘ ¯¯ ˘¯˘ ˘

for 8 meters with a LHL? ending (iambic pattern).

transln from Reading About the World, ed. by Paul Brians etal

from wsu.edu (Paul Brians)

I call upon Agni, the one placed in front, the divine priest of the
sacrifice, the invoker, the best bestower of gifts.

Agni is worthy of being called upon by seers past and present: may
he bring the gods here!

Through Agni may one obtain wealth and prosperity day by day,
splendid and abounding in heroic sons.

O Agni, the sacrifice and work of the sacrifice, which you encompass
on all sides--that alone goes to the gods.

May Agni, the invoker who has the powers of a sage, true and most
brilliant in glory, come here, a god with the gods!

Whatsoever favor you wish to do for a worshipper, Agni, that favor
of yours surely comes true, O Angiras [member of a priestly family].

O Agni, you who gleam in the darkness, to you we come day by day,
with devotion and bearing homage;

to you, ruler of the sacrifices, keeper of the Rta [cosmic law],
brightly shining, growing in your abode.

So, be of easy access to us, Agni, as a father to his son. Abide
with us for our well-being.

agni in the Rig Veda

more on agni from stavacademy
(this fascinating page has succinct summaries of the main rig vedic
personalities - indra, soma, agni, savitr, etc. )


agni is addressed in 200+ hymns.  second only to indra.

wood is his food and melted butter (ghee) is his drink.
his is the mouth through which the gods consume the items offered as
sacrifice.  he is born from wood (araNi, firewood sticks, ignited
by rubbing).  as soon as he is born, he devours his parents.

agni is closely associated with humans.  he literally lives with
us, as the fire in the hearth.  he is the 'lord of the house', the
only god who is called gr^ha-pati.
but he is also the guest (atithi).

John Muir: Agni the god of fire

		origin: Rigveda, passim
		from Metrical translations from Sanskrit, 1879


Great Agni, though thine essence be but one,
Thy forms are three; as fire thou blazest here,
As lightning flashest in the atmosphere,
In heaven thou flamest as the golden sun

It was in heaven thou hadst thy primal birth;
By art of sages skilled in sacred lore
Thou wast drawn down to human hearths of yore,
And thou abid’st a denizen of earth.

Sprung from the mystic pair, by priestly hands
In wedlock joined, forth flashes Agni bright;
But, oh! ye heavens and earth, I tell you right,
The unnatural child devours the parent brands.

	[mystic pair: The two sticks of wood, by the attrition of
	which fire is produced, represented as husband and wife.]

But Agni is a god; we must not deem
That he can err, or dare to comprehend
His acts, which far our reason's grasp transcend;
He best can judge what deeds a god beseem.

And yet this orphaned god himself survives:
Although his hapless mother soon expires,
And cannot nurse the babe as babe requires,
Great Agni, wondrous infant, grows and thrives.

Smoke-bannered Agni, god with crackling voice
And flaming hair, when thou dost pierce the gloom
At early dawn, and all the world illume,
Both heaven and earth and gods and men rejoice.

In every home thou art a welcome guest,
The household tutelary lord, a son,
A father, mother, brother, all in one,
A friend by whom thy faithful friends are blest.

A swift-winged messenger, thou tallest down
from heaven to crowd our hearths the race divine,
To taste our food, our hymns to hear, benign,
And all our fondest aspirations crown.

Thou, Agni, art our priest: divinely wise,
In holy science versed, thy skill detects
The faults that mar our rites, mistakes corrects,
And all our acts completes and sanctifies.

Thou art the cord that stretches to the skies,
The bridge that scans the chasm, profound and vast,
Dividing earth from heaven, o’er which at last
The good shall safely pass to Paradise.

But when, great god, thine awful anger glows,
And thou revealest thy destroying force,
All creatures flee before thy furious course,
As hosts are chased by overpowering foes.

Thou levellest all thou touchest; forests vast
Thou shear’st, like beards which barber's razor shaves.
Thy wind-driven flames roar loud as ocean's waves,
And all thy track is black when thou hast past.

But thou, great Agni, dost not always wear
That direful form; thou rather lov’st to shine
Upon our hearths, with milder flame benign,
And cheer the homes where thou art nursed with care.

Yes! thou delightest all those men to bless
Who toil unwearied to supply the food
Which thou so lovest — logs of well-dried wood,
And heaps of butter bring, thy favourite mess.

Though I no cow possess, and have no store
Of butter, nor an axe fresh wood to cleave,
Thou, gracious god, wilt my poor gift receive:
These few dry sticks I bring — I have no more.

Preserve us, lord; thy faithful servants save
From all the ills by which our bliss is marred;
Tower like an iron wall our homes to guard,
And all the boons bestow our hearts can crave.

And when away our brief existence wanes,
When we at length our earthly homes must quit,
And our freed souls to worlds unknown shall flit,
Do thou deal gently with our cold remains.

And then, thy gracious form assuming, guide
Our unborn part across the dark abyss
Aloft to realms serene of light and bliss,
Where righteous men among the gods abide.

nAsadIya sukta : creation hymn RV 10.129

This short hymn, ,though linguistically simple, is conceptually extremely
provocative and has, indeed provided hundreds of complex commentary among
Indian theologians and western scholars.  p.25


              नासदासीन्नो सदासीत्तदानीं नासीद्रजो नो व्योमा परो यत् ।
              किमावरीवः कुह कस्य शर्मन्नम्भः किमासीद्गहनं गभीरम् ॥१॥
	nAsad AsIn no sad AsIt tadAnIM nAsId rajo no vyomA paro yat |
	kim AvarIvaH kuha kasya sharmann ambhaH kim AsId gahanaM gabhIram ||

roman with diacritics and lighter padaccheda:
	nāsadāsīn no sadāsīt tadānīṃ nāsīd rajo no vyomāparo yat |
	kimāvarīvaḥ kuha kasya śarmannambhaḥ kimāsīd ghahanaṃ ghabhīram ||


1. There was neither non-existence nor existence then;
   there was neither the realm of space or nor sky which is beyond.
   What stirred?  Where?  In whose protection?
   Was there water, bottomlessly deep?


              न मृत्युरासीदमृतं न तर्हि न रात्र्या अह्न आसीत्प्रकेतः ।
              आनीदवातं स्वधया तदेकं तस्माद्धान्यन्न परः किं चनास ॥२॥
	na mR^ityur AsId amR^itaM na tarhi na rAtryA ahna AsIt praketaH |
	AnId avAtaM svadhayA tad ekaM tasmAd dhAnyan na paraH kiM chanAsa ||

2. There was neither death nor immortality then.
   There was no distinguishing sign of night nor of day.
   That one breathed, windless, by its own impulse.
   Other than that there was nothing beyond.


              तम आसीत्तमसा गूळ्हमग्रेऽप्रकेतं सलिलं सर्वमा इदम् ।
              तुच्छ्येनाभ्वपिहितं यदासीत्तपसस्तन्महिनाजायतैकम् ॥३॥
	tama AsIt tamasA gULham agre .apraketaM salilaM sarvam A idam |
	tuchChyenAbhv apihitaM yad AsIt tapasas tan mahinAjAyataikam ||

3. Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning;
   with no distinguishing sign, all this was water.
   The life force that was covered with emptiness,
   that one arose through the power of heat.


              कामस्तदग्रे समवर्तताधि मनसो रेतः प्रथमं यदासीत् ।
              सतो बन्धुमसति निरविन्दन्हृदि प्रतीष्या कवयो मनीषा ॥४॥
	kAmas tad agre sam avartatAdhi manaso retaH prathamaM yad AsIt |
	sato bandhum asati nir avindan hR^idi pratIShyA kavayo manIShA ||

4. Desire came upon that one in the beginning;
   that was the first seed of mind.
   Poets seeking in their heart with wisdom
   found the bond of existence in nonexistence.


              तिरश्चीनो विततो रश्मिरेषामधः स्विदासी३दुपरि स्विदासी३त् ।
              रेतोधा आसन्महिमान आसन्स्वधा अवस्तात्प्रयतिः परस्तात् ॥५॥
	tirashchIno vitato rashmir eShAm adhaH svid AsI3d upari svid AsI3t |
	retodhA Asan mahimAna Asan svadhA avastAt prayatiH parastAt ||

5. Their cord was extended across. Was there below?
   Was there above? There were seed-placers; there were powers.
   There was impulse beneath; there was giving-forth above.


              को अद्धा वेद क इह प्र वोचत्कुत आजाता कुत इयं विसृष्टिः ।
              अर्वाग्देवा अस्य विसर्जनेनाथा को वेद यत आबभूव ॥६॥
	ko addhA veda ka iha pra vochat kuta AjAtA kuta iyaM visR^iShTiH |
	arvAg devA asya visarjanenAthA ko veda yata AbabhUva ||

6. Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it?
   Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation?
   The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.
   Who then knows whence it has arisen?


              इयं विसृष्टिर्यत आबभूव यदि वा दधे यदि वा न ।
              यो अस्याध्यक्षः परमे व्योमन्सो अङ्ग वेद यदि वा न वेद ॥७॥
	iyaM visR^iShTir yata AbabhUva yadi vA dadhe yadi vA na |
	yo asyAdhyakShaH parame vyoman so a~Nga veda yadi vA na veda ||


7. Whence this creation has arisen – perhaps it formed itself,
   or perhaps it did not – the one who looks down on it,
   in the highest heaven, only he knows –
   or perhaps he does not know.


---
NOTE: the name nAsadIya comes from the first line - nAsadAsInno sadAsIt:
	asad = non-existence.
	sad = existence
	na-asad Asin = there was no non-existence
	no sad asit = there was no existence


  [Apte:
   असत् a. 1. Not being or existing; तदभावे सदप्यसत् H.3.3; असति त्वयि
		Ku.4.12; Ms.9.154.   2.  Non-existent, unreal; आत्मनो
		ब्रह्मणो$भेदमसन्तं कः करिष्यति. ...
        n. (त्) 1.  Non-existence, non-entity; नासदासीन्नो सदासीत् Rv.1.129.1;
     		असद्वा इदमग्र आसीत् ततो वै सदजायत Tait. Up.2.7.1; नासतो विद्यते
     		भावः Bg.2.16. Ms.12.118;1.11,14,74.]

Alternate translation, quoted in Max Müller

Müller gives the provenance of this verse as follows;
	"I subjoin a metrical translation of this hymn, which I
	owe to the kindness of a friend."
		- A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature p. 563
		  source: creationmyths.org

Nor aught nor naught existed; yon bright sky
Was not, nor heaven's broad woof outstretched above.
What covered all? what sheltered? what concealed?
Was it the water's fathomless abyss?

There was not death - hence was there naught immortal,
There was no confine betwixt day and night;
The only One breathed breathless in itself,
Other than it there nothing since has been.

Darkness there was, and all at first was veiled
In gloom profound, - an ocean without light. -
The germ that still lay covered in the husk
Burst forth, one nature, from the fervent heat.

Then first came Love upon it, the new spring
Of mind - yea, poets in their hearts discerned,
Pondering, this bond between created things
And uncreated. Comes this spark from earth,

Piercing and all-pervading, or from heaven?
Then seeds were sown, and mighty power arose -
Nature below, and Power and Will above.
Who knows the secret? who proclaimed it here,

Whence, whence this manifold creation sprang? -
The gods themselves came later into being. -
Who knows from whence this great creation sprang? -
He from whom all this great creation came.

He from whom all this great creation came.
Whether his will created or was mute,
The Most High seer that is in highest heaven,
He knows it, - or perchance e'en He knows not.

Alternate translation, Ralph T.H. Griffith & J.L. Shastri, [1896]

1. Then was not non-existent nor existent: there was no realm of air, no
   sky beyond it.
   What covered in, and where? and what gave shelter? Was water there,
   unfathomed depth of water?

2. Death was not then, nor was there aught immortal: no sign was there,
   the day's and night's divider.
   That One Thing, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from it
   was nothing whatsoever.

3. Darkness there was: at first concealed in darkness this All was
   indiscriminated chaos.
   All that existed then was void and form less: by the great power of
   Warmth was born that Unit.

4. Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire, the primal seed and
   germ of Spirit.
   Sages who searched with their heart's thought discovered the
   existent's kinship in the non-existent.

5. Transversely was their severing line extended: what was above it then,
   and what below it?
   There were begetters, there were mighty forces, free action here and
   energy up yonder

6. Who verily knows and who can here declare it, whence it was born and
   whence comes this creation?
   The Gods are later than this world's production. Who knows then whence
   it first came into being?


7. He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did
   not form it,
   Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily knows it,
   or perhaps he knows not.

aditi and the birth of the gods (RV 10.72)

this creation hymn poses several different and paradoxical answers to the
riddle of origins.   it is evident from the tone of the very first verse that
the poet regards creation as a mysterious subject, and a desperate series of
eclectic hypotheses (perhaps quoted from various sources) tumbles out right
away:
	- the 'craftsman' image (the priest, brhamanaaspati or br^haspati, lord
		of inspired speech);
	- the philosophical paradox of non-existence
	- the paradox of mutual creation aditi and dakSa, the female principle
		of creation or infinity and the male principle of virile
		efficacy, creating one another.
	- contradiction -the earth born from the crouching divinity and then
		born from the quarters of the sky.  p.37


---



		देवानां नु वयं जाना प्र वोचाम विपन्यया ।
		उक्थेषु शस्यमानेषु यः पश्यादुत्तरे युगे ॥१॥
	devAnAM nu vayaM jAnA pra vochAma vipanyayA |
	uktheShu shasyamAneShu yaH pashyAd uttare yuge || 01

1. let us now speak with wonder of the births of the gods -- so that
   someone may see them when the hymns are chanted at a later age.


		ब्रह्मणस्पतिरेता सं कर्मार इवाधमत् ।
		देवानां पूर्व्ये युगेऽसतः सदजायत ॥२॥
 	brahmaNas patir etA saM karmAra ivAdhamat |
	devAnAm pUrvye yuge .asataH sad ajAyata || 02

2. the lord of sacred speech, like a smith, fanned them together.
   [FN. "them" = heaven and earth]
   in the earliest age of the gods, existence was born out of
   non-existence.


		देवानां युगे प्रथमेऽसतः सदजायत ।
		तदाशा अन्वजायन्त तदुत्तानपदस्परि ॥३॥
 	devAnAM yuge prathame .asataH sad ajAyata |
	tad AshA anv ajAyanta tad uttAnapadas pari || 03


3. in the earliest age of the gods, existence was born out of
   non-existence. after this the quarters of the sky were born from her
   who crouched with legs spread.

[the term uttanapAda in yoga means with feet upwards, but is also
used for a woman giving birth, the mother goddess often depicted in early
sculptures.  WD suggests the parturition interpretation and identifies
her with aditi]


		भूर्जज्ञ उत्तानपदो भुव आशा अजायन्त ।
		अदितेर्दक्षो अजायत दक्षाद्वदितिः परि ॥४॥
 	bhUr jaj~na uttAnapado bhuva AshA ajAyanta |
	aditer dakSho ajAyata dakShAd v aditiH pari || 04

4. the earth was born from her who crouched with legs spread, and from
   the earth the quarters of the sky were born.  from aditi, dakSa was
   born, and from dakSa aditi was born.

[WD suggests "incestuous overtones" in this tale of aditi and dakSa.]


		अदितिर्ह्यजनिष्ट दक्ष या दुहिता तव ।
		तां देवा अन्वजायन्त भद्रा अमृतबन्धवः ॥५॥
 	aditir hy ajaniShTa dakSha yA duhitA tava |
	tAM devA anv ajAyanta bhadrA amR^itabandhavaH || 05

5. for aditi was born as your daughter, o dakSa and after her were born the
   blessed gods, the kinsmen of immortality.


		यद्देवा अदः सलिले सुसंरब्धा अतिष्ठत ।
		अत्रा वो नृत्यतामिव तीव्रो रेणुरपायत ॥६॥
 	yad devA adaH salile susaMrabdhA atiShThata |
	atrA vo nR^ityatAm iva tIvro reNur apAyata || 06

6. when you gods took your places there in the water with your hands joined
   together, a thick cloud of mist arose from you like dust from dancers.


		यद्देवा यतयो यथा भुवनान्यपिन्वत ।
		अत्रा समुद्र आ गूळ्हमा सूर्यमजभर्तन ॥७॥
 	yad devA yatayo yathA bhuvanAny apinvata |
	atrA samudra A gULham A sUryam ajabhartana || 07

7. when you gods like magicians caused the worlds to swell, you drew forth
   the sun that was hidden in the ocean.

[WD interprets yati as magician, but this may also be a class of
sages or asscetics.  pinv = to swell up, as in a breast with milk;
e.g. this line from the gIta govinda:
	pInapayodharabhArabhareNa hariM parirabhya sarAgam
		: a gopI with heavy breasts embraces Hari...
]


		अष्टौ पुत्रासो अदितेर्ये जातास्तन्वस्परि ।
		देवाँ उप प्रैत्सप्तभिः परा मार्ताण्डमास्यत् ॥८॥
 	aShTau putrAso aditer ye jAtAs tanvas pari |
	devA.N upa prait saptabhiH parA mArtANDam Asyat || 08

8. eight eons there are of aditi, who were born of her body.  with seven she
   went forth among the gods, but she throw mArtANDa, the sun, aside.


		सप्तभिः पुत्रैरदितिरुप प्रैत्पूर्व्यं युगम् ।
		प्रजायै मृत्यवे त्वत्पुनर्मार्ताण्डमाभरत् ॥९॥
 	saptabhiH putrair aditir upa prait pUrvyaM yugam |
	prajAyai mR^ityave tvat punar mArtANDam Abharat || 09

8. with seven sons aditi went forth into the earliest age. but she bore
   mArtANDa so that he would in turn beget offspring and soon die.

Alternate translation, Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1896]

1. Let us with tuneful skill proclaim these generations of the Gods,
   That one may see them when these hymns are chanted in a future age.

2. These Brahmanaspati produced with blast and smelting, like a Smith,
   Existence, in an earlier age of Gods, from Non-existence sprang.

3. Existence, in the earliest age of Gods, from Non-existence sprang.
   Thereafter were the regions born. This sprang from the Productive Power.

4. Earth sprang from the Productive Power the regions from the earth were born.
   Daksa was born of Aditi, and Aditi was Daksa's Child.

5. For Aditi, O Daksa, she who is thy Daughter, was brought forth.
   After her were the blessed Gods born sharers of immortal life.

6. When ye, O Gods, in yonder deep closeclasping one another stood,
   Thence, as of dancers, from your feet a thickening cloud of dust arose.

7. When, O ye Gods, like Yatis, ye caused all existing things to grow,
   Then ye brought Surya forward who was lying hidden in the sea.

8. Eight are the Sons of Adid who from her body sprang to life.
   With seven she went to meet the Gods she cast Martanda far away.

9. So with her Seven Sons Aditi went forth to meet the earlier age.
   She brought Martanda thitherward to spring to life and die again.

Origins of sacred speech : Hymn 10.71

This hymn speaks of the origins of the sacred word, speech or language
(vAc, f., a goddess), and of its ritual recreation in the verbal context
of the Vedic sacrifice.  the social nature of speech is emphasized, the
birth of speech in friendship ... p.61

[sanskrit text and gloss added before each final translation by Doniger]


		बृहस्पते प्रथमं वाचो अग्रं यत प्रेरत नामधेयं दधानाः |
		यदेषां श्रेष्ठं यदरिप्रमासीत् प्रेणा तदेषां निहितं गुहाविः ||ऋ10/71/1
	bR^ihaspate prathamaM vAcho agraM yat prairata nAmadheyaM dadhAnAH |
	yad eShAM shreShThaM yad aripram AsIt preNA tad eShAM nihitaM guhAviH || X.01

analysis:
प्रथमं नामधेयं दधाना: यत् प्र ऐरत् : names for substances as uttered in the beginning
वाच: अग्रम : the first instance of speech
एषां यत् श्रेष्ठं यत् अरिप्रं आसीत् : produced from innocent knowledge
प्रेणा - through love or affection [vedic skt, instr. from preman, love]
एषां तत् गुहा निहितं प्रेणा आवि : that which was secret and was revealed by love

1. br^haspati! when they set in motion the first beginning of speech, giving
   names, their most pure and perfectly guarded secret was revealed through
   love.

[why WD chooses to render preNA as "desire" is not clear, but it may have
something to do wiith this translation by Max Mueller:]
Max Mueller: X. 71, 1
   O Brihaspati (lord of brih or speech), when men, giving names, sent forth
   the first beginning of speech, then whatever was best and faultless in
   them, hidden within them, became manifested through desire.
        - giffordlectures


		सक्तुमिव तित `उना पुनन्तो यत्र धीरा मनसा वाचमक्रत |
		अत्रा सखायः सख्यानि जानते भद्रैषां लक्ष्मीर्निहिताधि वाचि ||
	saktum iva tita 'unA punanto yatra dhIrA manasA vAcham akrata |
	atrA sakhAyaH sakhyAni jAnate bhadraiShAM lakShmIr nihitAdhi vAchi || 02

2. when the wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as
   grain is sifted through a sieve, then friends recognized their
   friendships.  a good sign was placed on their speech.


		यज्ञेन वाचः पदवीयमायन् तामन्वविन्दन्नृषिषु प्रविष्टाम |
		तामाभृत्या व्यदधुः पुरुत्रा तां सप्त रेभा अभि सं नवन्ते ||
	yaj~nena vAchaH padavIyam Ayan tAm anv avindann R^iShiShu praviShTAm |
	tAm AbhR^ityA vy adadhuH purutrA tAM sapta rebhA abhi saM navante || 03

3. through the sacrifice they traced the path of speech and found it inside
   the sages.  they held it an portioned it out to many; together the seven
   singers praised it.


		उत त्व: पश्यन न ददर्श वाचमुत त्व: शृण्वन न शृणोत्येनाम|
		उतो त्वस्मै तन्वं वि सस्रे जायेव पत्य उशती सुवासाः ||
	uta tvaH pashyan na dadarsha vAcham uta tvaH shR^iNvan na shR^iNoty enAm |
	uto tvasmai tanvaM vi sasre jAyeva patya ushatI suvAsAH || 04

4. one who looked did not see speech, and another who listens does not hear
   it.  it reveals itself to someone as a loving wife, beautifully dressed,
   reveals her body to her husband.


		उत त्वं सख्ये स्थिरपीतमाहुर्नैनं हिन्वन्त्यपि वाजिनेषु |
		अधेन्वा चरति माययैष वाचं शुश्रुवाँ अफलाम पुष्पाम ||
	uta tvaM sakhye sthirapItam Ahur nainaM hinvanty api vAjineShu |
	iadhenvA charati mAyayaiSha vAchaM shushruvA.N aphalAm apuShpAm || 05

5. one person, they said, has grown awkward and heavy in this friendship;
   they no longer urge him forward in the contests.  he lives with falsehood
   like a milkless cow, for the speech that he has heard has no fruit or
   flower.


		यस्तित्याज सचिविदं सखायं न तस्य वाच्यपि भागो अस्ति |
		यदीं शृणोत्यलकं शृणोति नहि प्रवेद सुकृतस्य पन्थाम ||
	yas tityAja sachividaM sakhAyaM na tasya vAchy api bhAgo asti |
	yad IM shR^iNoty alakaM shR^iNoti nahi praveda sukR^itasya panthAm || 06

6. a man that abandons a friend who has learned with him no longer has a
   share in speech.  what he does hear he hears in vain, for he does not know
   the path of good action.


		अक्षण्वन्तः कर्णवन्तः सखायो मनोजवेष्वसमा बभूवुः |
		आदघ्नास उपकक्षास उ त्वे हृदा इव स्नात्वा उत्वे ददृश्रे ||
	akShaNvantaH karNavantaH sakhAyo manojaveShv asamA babhUvuH |
	AdaghnAsa upakakShAsa u tve hradA iva snAtvA u tve dadR^ishre || 07

7. friends have eyes and ears, but their flashes of insight are not equal.
   some are like ponds that reach only to the mouth or shoulder; others are
   like ponds that one could bathe in.


		हृदा तष्टेषु मनसो जवेषु यद्ब्राह्मणाः संयजन्ते सखायः |
		अत्राह त्वं वि जहुर्वेद्याभिरोहब्रह्माणो विचरन्त्यु त्वे ||
	hR^idA taShTeShu manaso javeShu yad brAhmaNAH saMyajante sakhAyaH |
	atrAha tvaM vi jahur vedyAbhir ohabrahmANo vi charanty u tve || 08

8. when the intuitions of the mind are shaped in the heart, when brahmins
   perform sacrifices together as friends, some are left behind for lack of
   knowledge, while others surpass them with the power to praise.


		इमे ये नार्वाङ्न परश्चरन्ति न ब्राह्मणासो न सुतेकरासः |
		त एते वाचमभिपद्य पापया सिरीस्तन्त्रं तन्वते अप्रजज्ञयः ||
	ime ye nArvA~N na parash charanti na brAhmaNAso na sutekarAsaH |
	ta ete vAcham abhipadya pApayA sirIs tantraM tanvate aprajaj~nayaH || 09

9. those who move neither near nor far, who are not real brahmins nor
   pressers of the somA; using speech in a bad way, they weave on a weft of
   rags, without understanding.


		सर्वे नन्दन्ति यशसागतेन सभासाहेन सख्या सखायः |
		किल्बिषस्पृत पितुषणिर्ह्येषामरं हितो भवति वाजिनाय ||
	sarve nandanti yashasAgatena sabhAsAhena sakhyA sakhAyaH |
	kilbiShaspR^it pituShaNir hy eShAm araM hito bhavati vAjinAya || 10

10 all his friends rejoice in the friend who emerges with fame and victory in
   the contest.  he saves them from error and gives them food.  he is worthy
   to be pushed forward to win the prize.


		ऋचां त्वः पोषमास्ते पुपुष्वान्गायत्रं त्वो गायति शक्वरीषु ।
		ब्रह्मा त्वो वदति जातविद्यां यज्ञस्य मात्रां वि मिमीत उ त्वः ॥११॥
	R^ichAM tvaH poSham Aste pupuShvAn gAyatraM tvo gAyati shakvarIShu |
	brahmA tvo vadati jAtavidyAM yaj~nasya mAtrAM vi mimIta u tvaH || 11

11 one sits bringing to blossom the flower of the verses.  another sings a
   song in the shakvarI metre.  one, the brahmin, proclaims the knowledge of
   the ancient ways. another lays out the measure of the sacrifice.

[notes:
   br^haspati: literally, "lord of sacred speech"
   seven singers: the first poets and seers
   somA: the juice is purified by filtering through a sieve
   verse11: the hotr^ priest sits mostionless and invokes the gods
   	the udgAtr^ sings
	the brahmin must make sure no mistakes are committed
	the adhvaryu is responsible for ritual activities - measuring the
	   sacrificial area and pressing the somA,
]

Verbal contests and teams (sakhyas) in Vedic times

Comment on this stanza from TJ Elizarenkova's extremely erudite
[elizarenkova-1995-language-style-of|Language and Style of the Vedic Rsis], 1995:

TJE: the principle of collective creativity is represented by a "corporation" of
Rsis who were trained for verbal contests. In the Rg Veda this corporation is
called sAkhya - literally "sodality." Valuable information is provided by hymn
10.71. Setting aside speculations concerning the nature of speech ("the wise
ones created Speech with (their) thought in stanza 2 et al.), as well as the
classification of the sodality members according to their ability and
training (stanza 4, 5, and 7), let us consider what is said about their
collective art:
[10.71.stanza6]
	He who abandoned (in distress) his friend of like mind,
	He has no claims on Speech! Whatever he listens to, he hears in vain:
	For he has not recognized the path of good action!;"

[10.71.stanza 10:
	All (his) friends rejoice in the friend who has returned with the
		fame of a winner in the contest.
	For he is saving them from sin and obtaining food for them. He has
		been duly released into the contest.]

These quotations show that both the defeat of a member and his victory in the
contest (entailing substantial rewards) were shared equally by the rest of
the sodality. A breach of these corporative principles resulted in grave
consequences for the offender.

A few words about the kind of contests for which the sodalities were training
their members. The most convincing theory has been put forward by Kuiper in
his article "The Ancient Aryan Verbal Contest," [22] which has been discussed
above. Verbal contests were part of the annual rites of regeneration at the
time of the winter solstice, when the confrontation of Chaos and Cosmos took
place. Poets entered the competitions as representatives of their
patrons. Verbal contests along with chariot races and military contentions
(as well as die-casting, in later times) were held with the aim of "winning
the sun" and establishing order in the universe. The goddess Usas presided
over the distribution of generous gifts during these contests.

This sketch of the religious and social status of the Vedic Rsis is based
mainly on research done by Western scholars. It should be noted that interest
in this range of problems has been growing lately among Indian scholars as
well. The realization of the special role of the Rsis in the archaic Aryan
society of the RgVedic period has stimulated research in this area: much work
has been published both in English and in modern Indian languages (Hindi,
Marathi, Gujarati).

Alternate translation, Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1896]

10.71

1. WHEN men, Bṛhaspati, giving names to objects,
	sent out Vāk's first and earliest utterances,
   All that was excellent and spotless, treasured within them,
	was disclosed through their affection.
2 Where, like men cleansing corn-flour in a cribble,
	the wise in spirit have  created language,
  Friends see and recognize the marks of friendship: their speech retains the
	blessed sign imprinted.
3 With sacrifice the trace of Vāk they foIlowed,
	and found her harbouring within the Ṛṣis.
  They brought her, dealt her forth in many places:
	seven singers make her tones resound in concert.
4 One man hath ne’er seen Vāk, and yet he seeth:
	one man hath hearing but  hath never heard her.
  But to another hath she shown her beauty
	as a fond well-dressed woman to her husband.
5 One man they call a laggard, dull in friendship:
	they never urge him on to deeds of valour.
  He wanders on in profitless illusion:
	the Voice he heard yields neither fruit,nor blossom.
6 No part in Vāk hath he who hath abandoned
	his own dear friend who knows the truth of friendship.
  Even if he hears her still in vain he listens:
	naught knows he of the path of righteous action.
7 Unequal in the quickness of their spirit are
	friends endowed alike with eyes and hearing.
  Some look like tanks that reach the mouth or shoulder,
	others like pools of water fit to bathe in.
8 When friendly Brahmans sacrifice together
	with mental impulse which the heart hath fashioned,
  They leave one far behind through their attainments,
	and some who count as Brahmans wander elsewhere.
9 Those men who step not back and move not forward,
	nor Brahmans nor preparers of libations,
  Having attained to Vāk in sinful fashion
	spin out their thread in ignorance like spinsters.
10 All friends are joyful in the friend who cometh in triumph,
	having conquered in assembly.
   He is their blame-averter, food-provider prepared is he
	and fit for deed of vigour.
11 One plies his constant task reciting verses.
	one sings the holy psalm in Sakvari measures.
   One more, the Brahman, tells the lore of being,
	and one lays down the rules of sacrificing.

Hymn of the night rAtri-sukta (RV 10.127)

This is the only Rig Vedic hymn dedicated to the goddess of night, sister of
Dawn and, like Dawn, a bright creature, full of coloured stars, in contrast
with the feared darkness of black night that is banished (verses 3 and 7).



manuscript of rAtri-sukta, from U.Penn library (no date)



		रात्री व्यख्यदायती पुरुत्रा देव्यक्षभिः ।
		विश्वा अधि श्रियोऽधित ॥१॥
	rAtrI vy akhyad AyatI purutrA devy akShabhiH |
	vishvA adhi shriyo.adhita || 01

1. The goddess Night was drawn near, looking about many sides with her
   eyes. She has put on all her glories.
   [her eyes = stars]


		ओर्वप्रा अमर्त्या निवतो देव्युद्वतः ।
		ज्योतिषा बाधते तमः ॥२॥
	orv aprA amartyA nivato devy udvataH |
	jyotiShA bAdhate tamaH || 02

2. The immortal goddess has filled the wide space, the depths and the
   heights. She stems the tide of darkness with her light.

		निरु स्वसारमस्कृतोषसं देव्यायती ।
		अपेदु हासते तमः ॥३॥
	nir u svasAram askR^itoShasaM devy AyatI |
	aped u hAsate tamaH || 03

3. The goddess has drawn near, pushing aside her sister the
   twilight. Darkness, too, will give way.

   [UShas = dawn.  WD takes it as "twilight".
   ALT transl:
   Goddess of night comes and opens the path for the goddess Ushas by which
   darkness vanishes.]


		सा नो अद्य यस्या वयं नि ते यामन्नविक्ष्महि ।
		वृक्षे न वसतिं वयः ॥४॥
	sA no adya yasyA vayaM ni te yAmann avikShmahi |
	vR^ikShe na vasatiM vayaH || 04

4. As you came near to us today, we turned homeward to rest, as birds go
   to their home in a tree.

		नि ग्रामासो अविक्षत नि पद्वन्तो नि पक्षिणः ।
		नि श्येनासश्चिदर्थिनः ॥५॥
	ni grAmAso avikShata ni padvanto ni pakShiNaH |
	ni shyenAsash chid arthinaH || 05

5. People who live in villages have gone home to rest, and animals with
   fee, and animals with wings, even the ever-searching hawks.

		यावया वृक्यं वृकं यवय स्तेनमूर्म्ये ।
		अथा नः सुतरा भव ॥६॥
	yAvayA vR^ikyaM vR^ikaM yavaya stenam Urmye |
	athA naH sutarA bhava || 06

6. Ward off the she-wolf and the wolf; ward off the thief. O night full
   of waves, be easy for us to cross over.

		उप मा पेपिशत्तमः कृष्णं व्यक्तमस्थित ।
		उष ऋणेव यातय ॥७॥
	upa mA pepishat tamaH kR^iShNaM vyaktam asthita |
	uSha R^iNeva yAtaya || 07

7. Darkness – palpable, black, and painted – has come upon me. O Dawn,
   banish it like a debt.

		उप ते गा इवाकरं वृणीष्व दुहितर्दिवः ।
		रात्रि स्तोमं न जिग्युषे ॥८॥
	upa te gA ivAkaraM vR^iNIShva duhitar divaH |
	rAtri stomaM na jigyuShe || 08

8. I have driven this hymn to you as the herdsman drives cows. Choose and
   accept it, O Night, daughter of the sky, like a song of praise  to a
   conquerer.

Alternate translation, Ralph T.H. Griffith and J.L. Shastri, [1896]

1. With all her eyes the Goddess Night looks forth approaching many a spot:
   She hath put all her glories on.

2. Immortal. she hath filled the waste, the Goddess hath filled height and depth:
   She conquers darkness with her light.

3. The Goddess as she comes hath set the Dawn her Sister in her place:
   And then the darkness vanishes.

4. So favour us this night, O thou whose pathways we have visited
   As birds their nest upon the tree.

5. The villagers have sought their homes, and all that walks and all that flies,
   Even the falcons fain for prey.

6. Keep off the she-wolf and the wolf, O Urmya, keep the thief away;
   Easy be thou for us to pass.

7. Clearly hath she come nigh to me who decks the dark with richest hues:
   O Morning, cancel it like debts.

8. These have I brought to thee like kine. O Night, thou Child of Heaven, accept
   This laud as for a conqueror.

Hymn to the Sun (sUrya): RV 1.50=

		उदु त्यं जातवेदसं देवं वहन्ति केतवः ।
		दृशे विश्वाय सूर्यम् ॥१॥
	ud u tyaM jAtavedasaM devaM vahanti ketavaH |
	dR^ishe vishvAya sUryam || 01

1. his brilliant banners draw upwards the god who knows all
   creatures, so that everyone may see the sun.

		अप त्ये तायवो यथा नक्षत्रा यन्त्यक्तुभिः ।
		सूराय विश्वचक्षसे ॥२॥
	apa tye tAyavo yathA nakShatrA yanty aktubhiH |
	sUrAya vishvachakShase || 02

2. the constellations, along with the nights, steal away like
   thieves, making way for the sun who gazes on everyone.

		अदृश्रमस्य केतवो वि रश्मयो जनाँ अनु ।
		भ्राजन्तो अग्नयो यथा ॥३॥
	adR^ishram asya ketavo vi rashmayo janA.N anu |
	bhrAjanto agnayo yathA || 03

3. the rays that are his banners have become visible from the
   distance, shining over mankind like blazing fires.

		तरणिर्विश्वदर्शतो ज्योतिष्कृदसि सूर्य ।
		विश्वमा भासि रोचनम् ॥४॥
	taraNir vishvadarshato jyotiShkR^id asi sUrya |
	vishvam A bhAsi rochanam || 04

4. crossing space, you are the maker of light, seen by everyone.
   o sun you illumine the whole wide realm of space.

		प्रत्यङ्देवानां विशः प्रत्यङ्ङुदेषि मानुषान् ।
		प्रत्यङ्विश्वं स्वर्दृशे ॥५॥
	pratya~N devAnAM vishaH pratya~N~N ud eShi mAnuShAn |
	pratya~N vishvaM svar dR^ishe || 05

5. you rise up facing all the groups of gods, facing mankind,
   facing everyone, so that they can see the sunlight.

		येना पावक चक्षसा भुरण्यन्तं जनाँ अनु ।
		त्वं वरुण पश्यसि ॥६॥
	yenA pAvaka chakShasA bhuraNyantaM janA.N anu |
	tvaM varuNa pashyasi || 06

6. he is the eye with which, o purifying varuna, you look upon the
   busy one among men.

		वि द्यामेषि रजस्पृथ्वहा मिमानो अक्तुभिः ।
		पश्यञ्जन्मानि सूर्य ॥७॥
	vi dyAm eShi rajas pR^ithv ahA mimAno aktubhiH |
	pashya~n janmAni sUrya || 07

7. you cross heaven and the vast realm of space, o sun, measuring
   days by nights, looking upon the generations.

		सप्त त्वा हरितो रथे वहन्ति देव सूर्य ।
		शोचिष्केशं विचक्षण ॥८॥
	sapta tvA harito rathe vahanti deva sUrya |
	shochiShkeshaM vichakShaNa || 08

8. seven bay mares carry you in the chariot, o sun god with hair of
   flame, gazing from afar.

		अयुक्त सप्त शुन्ध्युवः सूरो रथस्य नप्त्यः ।
		ताभिर्याति स्वयुक्तिभिः ॥९॥
	ayukta sapta shundhyuvaH sUro rathasya naptyaH |
	tAbhir yAti svayuktibhiH || 09

10. we have come up out of the darkness seeing the higher light
    around us going to the sun the god among gods the highest light.

		उद्वयं तमसस्परि ज्योतिष्पश्यन्त उत्तरम् ।
		देवं देवत्रा सूर्यमगन्म ज्योतिरुत्तमम् ॥१०॥
	ud vayaM tamasas pari jyotiSh pashyanta uttaram |
	devaM devatrA sUryam aganma jyotir uttamam || 10

11. as you rise today o sun you who are honoured as a friend
    climbing to the highest sky make me free of heartache and yellow

		उद्यन्नद्य मित्रमह आरोहन्नुत्तरां दिवम् ।
		हृद्रोगं मम सूर्य हरिमाणं च नाशय ॥११॥
	udyann adya mitramaha Arohann uttarAM divam |
	hR^idrogam mama sUrya harimANaM cha nAshaya || 11

12. let us place my yellow pallor among parrots and thrushes, or let
    us place my yellow pallor among other yellow birds in yellow

		शुकेषु मे हरिमाणं रोपणाकासु दध्मसि ।
		अथो हारिद्रवेषु मे हरिमाणं नि दध्मसि ॥१२॥
	shukeShu me harimANaM ropaNAkAsu dadhmasi |
	atho hAridraveShu me harimANaM ni dadhmasi || 12

13. this aditya has risen with all his dominating force, hurling my
    hateful enemy down into my hands. let me not fall into my enemy’s
    hands!

The Bird (10.177)

		पतंगमक्तमसुरस्य मायया हृदा पश्यन्ति मनसा विपश्चितः ।
		समुद्रे अन्तः कवयो वि चक्षते मरीचीनां पदमिच्छन्ति वेधसः ॥१॥
	pataMgam aktam asurasya mAyayA hR^idA pashyanti manasA vipashchitaH .
	samudre antaH kavayo vi chakShate marIchInAm padam ichChanti vedhasaH ..

	the wise see in their heart, in their spirit
		the bird anointed with the magic of the asura.
	the poets see him inside the ocean;
		the sages seek the footprints of his rays.


		पतंगो वाचं मनसा बिभर्ति तां गन्धर्वोऽवदद्गर्भे अन्तः ।
		तां द्योतमानां स्वर्यं मनीषामृतस्य पदे कवयो नि पान्ति ॥२॥
	pataMgo vAcham manasA bibharti tAM gandharvo .avadad garbhe antaH .
	tAM dyotamAnAM svaryam manIShAm R^itasya pade kavayo ni pAnti ..

	the bird carries in his heart
		speech that the divine youth spoke of inside the womb.
	the poets guard this revelation
		that shines like the sun in the footprint of order.


		अपश्यं गोपामनिपद्यमानमा च परा च पथिभिश्चरन्तम् ।
		स सध्रीचीः स विषूचीर्वसान आ वरीवर्ति भुवनेष्वन्तः ॥३॥
	apashyaM gopAm anipadyamAnam A cha parA cha pathibhish charantam .
	sa sadhrIchIH sa viShUchIr vasAna A varIvarti bhuvaneShv antaH ..

	i have seen the cowherd who never tires,
		moving to and fro along the paths.
	clothing himself in those that move towards the same center
		but spread apart, he rolls on and on inside the worlds.

Soma

from macdonell:

the soma sacrifice formed the centre of the ritual of the RV, and the god
soma one of the most prominent deities.  with rather more than 120 hymns
(all those in mandala ix, and about half a dozen in others) addressed to
him.
soma has terrible and sharp weapons, which he grasps in his hand; he wields a
bow and a thousand-pointed shaft. he has a car which is heavenly, drawn by a
team like vayu's. he is also said to ride on the same car as indra. he is the
best of charioteers. in about half a dozen hymns he is associated with indra,
agni, pusan, and rudra respectively as a dual divinity. he is sometimes
attended by the maruts, the close allies of indra. he comes to the sacrifice
and receives offerings on the sacred grass.

the soma juice, which is intoxicating, is frequently termed madhu or sweet
draught, but oftenest called indu the bright drop.
the colour of soma is brown (babhru), ruddy (aruNa), or
more usually tawny (hari).

the whole of the ninth book consists of incantations chanted over the
tangible soma, while the stalks are being pounded by stones, the juice passes
through a woollen strainer [pavitra], and flows into wooden vats, in which
it is offered to the gods on the litter of sacred grass (barhis).

it is offered almost exclusively to vayu or indra. the filtered soma flows
into jars (kalasa) or vats (drona), where it is mixed with water and also
with milk, by which it is sweetened.

the exhilarating power of soma led to its being regarded as a divine drink
bestowing immortal life. hence it is called amr^ta 'draught of
immortality'. all the gods drink soma; they drank it to gain immortality; it
confers immortality not only on gods, but on men. it has, moreover, medicinal
powers: soma heals whatever is sick, making the blind to see and the lame to
walk. soma also stimulates the voice, and is called 'lord of speech'. he
awakens eager thought: he is a generator of hymns, a leader of poets, a seer
among priests. hence his wisdom is much dwelt upon; thus he is a wise seer,
and he knows the races of the gods.

the intoxicating effect of soma most emphasized by the poets is the stimulus
it imparts to indra in his conflict with hostile powers. that soma
invigorates indra for the fight with vr^tra is mentioned in innumerable
passages. through this association indra's warlike exploits and cosmic
actions come to be attributed to soma independently. he is a victor
unconquered in fight, born for battle. as a warrior he wins all kinds of
wealth for his worshippers.

though soma is several times regarded as dwelling or growing on the mountains
(like haoma in the avesta), his true origin and abode are regarded as in
heaven. soma is the child of heaven, is the milk of heaven, and is purified
in heaven. he is the lord of heaven; he occupies heaven, and his place is the
highest heaven. thence he was brought to earth. the myth embodying this
belief is that of the eagle that brings soma to indra, and is most fully
dealt with in the two hymns iv. 26 and 27. being the most important of herbs,
soma is said to have been born as the lord (pati) of plants, which also have
him as their king; he is a lord of the wood (vanaspati), and has generated
all plants. but quite apart from his connexion with herbs, soma is, like
other leading gods, called a king: he is a king of rivers; a king of the
whole earth; a king or father of the gods; a king of gods and mortals. in a
few of the latest hymns of the rv. soma begins to be mystically identified
with the moon; in the av. soma several times means the moon; and in the
brahmanas this identification has already become a commonplace.

we know that the preparation and the offering of soma (the avestan haoma) was
already an important feature of indo-iranian worship, in both the RV. and the
avesta it is stated that the stalks were pressed, that the juice was yellow,
and was mixed with milk; in both it grows on mountains, and its mythical home
is in heaven, whence it comes down to earth; in both the soma draught has
become a mighty god and is called a king; in both there are many other
identical mythological traits relating to soma.

it is possible that the belief in an intoxicating divine beverage, the home
of which was in heaven, goes back to the indo-european period. it must then
have been regarded as a kind of honey mead (skt. madhu, gk. methu,
anglo-saxon medu).

the name of soma (= haoma) means pressed juice, being derived from the root
su (= av. hu) press.