The Orion, or Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas c11.83

c11.83

VERSE 13.—This seems to be also addressed by Indra to Indrânî, who is here called Vrishâkapâyî. This latter name has caused a difference of opinion, some considering Vrishâkapâyî to be the mother, some the wife of Vrishâkapi.* I do not see how the wife of Vrishâkapi, as such, could be introduced in the song, unless Vrishâkapi is understood to be the name of Indra himself. Commentators, who take Vrishâkapâyî to mean the wife of Vrishâkapi, accordingly adopt the latter view. Pischel and Geldner think that the verse is addressed by Vrishâkapi to his wife Vrishâkapâyî. The verse means, "O rich Vrishâkapâyî! having a good son and a daughter-in-law, let Indra swallow the bulls, your favourite and delightful oblation. Indra, &c." There has been much speculation as to who could be the son and the daughter-in-law of Vrishâkapâyî. But if Vrishâkapâyî be understood to mean the wife of Indra, it causes no such difficulty. The adjectives "having a good son," &c., are simply complimentary, corresponding to the statement of Indrânî, that she was the "mother of the brave" in verse 9. Indra accepting her statements, asks her to allow him to swallow the watery oblations said to come from Vrishâkapi in the last verse. The words priyam and havis are the same in both the verses, and I think that both of them refer to the same oblations