A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s2.229

v1.c8.s2.229

² Translated by A. A. *Macdonell*, Hymns from the Rigveda, pp. 88 ff. The hymn has also been translated by J. *Muir*, Metrical Translations from Sanskrit Writers, pp. 190 ff. *L. v. Schroeder* (Mysterium und Mimus im Rigveda, pp. 377 ff.) explains the poem as a drama in form of a monologue. *Charpentier* (Die Suparṇasage, pp. 83 ff.) thinks that it was composed for “didactic purposes.” It seems to me more probable that this soliloquy of a gambler is part of a ballad, in which some epic story was told like that of Yudhiṣṭhira or Nala.