The Social and Military Position of the Ruling Caste in Ancient India, as Represented by the Sanskrit Epic c2.s5.481

c2.s5.481

³ The oil was probably for loss of friction, used of bhalla in general, viii. 25. 9 (dhāv, ‘wash in oil,’ v. 19. 3 ff.). In ix. 28. 5, çilādhāutaḥ (çaraḥ) is ‘polished by stone.’ In Manu, however, agnijvalitatejana, ‘with the point ignited,’ vii. 90, may mean ‘with sharpness of fire,’ used figuratively, but from the context seems literal. That the ‘glowing’ often means merely sharpness may be shown by such examples as viii. 90. 68 (note also avakraga); R. vi. 51. 73, niçitam bāṇaṃ jvalantam iva tejasā . . ādāya dhanuḥcreṣṭhe yojayāmāsa. Compare in the following vs. 87: jagrāha ca çaraṃ tīkṣṇaṃ tam astreṇa ca saṃdadhe, āgneyena tato ‘streṇa yojayāmāsa sāyakaṃ, sa jajvāla mahābāṇaḥ. Compare, too, R. vi. 69. 3 ff.: ‘the sharp feather-clothed arrows’ are çikhisaṃsparçāḥ. In R. vi. 54. 49, all sorts of weapons are dīpta, i. e. bright or sharp: compare ib. 59, pradiptāsyāḥ . . anye, of men; and R. vi. 58. 44, dṛṣṭvā çūlaṃ jvalantam.