History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.29

v6.c81.29

It would have been noticed that in some of the passages quoted above (in note 11) on vrata, verbal forms of the root ‘mī’ or ‘mī’ occur For the correct understanding of these passages the exact meaning of the root ‘mī’ is very important The Nighaṇṭu (II 19) includes ‘mināti’ among verbs meaning ‘vadha’ (killing or harming) In the Dhātupāṭha the meaning of the root ‘mī’ is hiṃsā’ (killing, annihilating, breaking) Vide Pāṇini VII 3 81 (mināter-nigame) The forms of ‘mī’ or ‘mī’ with or without the preposition ‘ā’ or ‘pra’ occur more than 50 times in the Ṛgveda and often in connection with *vrata* Whitney felt that the occurrences of the forms of ‘mī’ or ‘mī’ presented some difficulty about his theory of the derivation of vrata and its meanings, but Prof. Apte, who derived his inspiration from Whitney, feels no such misgivings as Whitney felt, holds, relying on his own interpretation of Ṛg I 124 3, that ‘mī’ or ‘mī’ is a verb of *motion* and has the primary sense of ‘miss, deviate, wander or stray from’ (p 411) Over a dozen verses at least will clearly show that Prof. Apte has been led astray by his preconceived theory about vrata meaning ‘tracks of luminaries’ and that ‘mī’ or ‘mī’ cannot at all be construed in the sense of ‘miss’ or ‘deviate’ in the Ṛgveda Ṛg I. 71. 10 ‘old age destroys me as (the dark or clouded) sky destroys (distinctness of) forms’ (nabho na rūpam jarimā mināti’); I. 124 2¹³ ‘(the dawn) which does not violate divine laws but destroys the spans of human life’, I. 179. 1 (Lopāmudrā says to Agastya) ‘old age destroys the beauty of limbs’ (mināti śriyaṃ jarimā tanūnām); VII 84 4 (Varuṇa) who is an Āditya, who destroys the false ones and who, the valiant one, imparts immeasurable wealth’. Vide also Ṛg I 92 11, I. 117 3, III. 32 8, IV. 30 23, V 7. 4, V 82. 2 for other examples where forms of ‘mī’ or ‘mī’ occur It is unnecessary to adduce more examples about ‘mī’. It is impossible, if Prof Apte is to be followed, that old age misses or deviates from beauty or that Aśvins miss or deviate from the wiles of the demon or that Varuṇa misses falsehood (or false men) Prof Apte relies (p 411)