A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s2.194

v1.c8.s2.194

(The Sūryāsūkta, Ṛv. X, 85,² may also be included in the Ṛgvedic ballad poetry. This particular hymn describes the marriage of Sūryā (the sun-daughter, as the dawn is here called) with Soma (the moon), at which the two Aśvins were the match-makers. This hymn consists of 47 verses, which are somewhat loosely connected.) The verses nearly all refer to the marriage ritual, and most of them, as we know from the Gṛhyasūtras, the manuals of domestic ritual, were used also at the marriage of ordinary mortals. Yet I do not think that these verses were merely compiled from the ritual (as is the case with some of the funeral hymns) so that they would have to be regarded as a kind of compilation of all the benedictions used in the marriage-rites, like a chapter in a prayer-book. It is much more probable that (it is an ancient ballad describing the marriage of Sūryā partly in narrative stanzas, partly in addresses to the Aśvins and Sūryā, and partly by the insertion of the mantras (benedictions, incantations) recited at the various stages of the marriage ceremony. But among the benedictions which we find in this Sūryāsūkta, there are many which, with their simple, warm, hearty tone, remind us of the funeral hymns discussed above. Thus the bridal pair is addressed in the beautiful words: