History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.21

v6.c81.21

Prof Apte following Whitney relies on the fact (p 409) that vrata is frequently employed in the Ṛgveda with verbs of motion such as *anu-i*, *anu-car*, *anu-gā*, *anu-vṛt*. But these roots take on another meaning (viz ‘to follow or observe’) owing to the presence of ‘anu’ and in almost all the passages where the forms of these roots with *anu* occur there is no indication whatever of physical motion, but only that of ‘obeying or observing’ Besides, the root ‘*car*’ itself is not used in the sense of physical motion in several passages of the Ṛgveda, but in the sense of ‘performing’ and 'observing'. Vide⁹ Ṛg. I. 52. 6, III. 54. 2, VI. 9.6, VII. 89. 5. Moreover, in words like *brahmacārī* (Ṛg X. 109. 5) and *vratacāriṇaḥ* (Ṛg VII. 103. 1) the meaning of a physical motion, if it was the original one at all, is totally absent and the meaning 'performing' or 'observing' is the only one possible. Some occurrences of the roots 'saśc' and 'sac' in which the meaning of physical motion is inapplicable but the meaning 'resort to, accept or be united to' appears to be intended are found in Ṛg. II 1 13, VII. 28. 4 (for forms of 'saśc') and IV. 12. 2., VII. 85. 5, VIII. 4 9, IX. 95. 4 (for forms of 'sac').