History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.43

v6.c81.43

The word ‘mahivrata’ occurs five times and is applied to Soma (IX. 97 7, IX 100. 9), to Agni (I 45. 3, X. 115. 3) and to Varuṇa (VI 68 9) and the word ‘mahāmahivrata’ to Soma (IX. 48 2). In all these cases the meaning ‘whose commands or laws are great or many’ would be quite appropriate The word ‘mahi’ by itself occurs in over 110 passages in the Ṛgveda, in all of which ‘mahi’ stands for ‘mahat’ and qualifies words like ‘śravas’ (food or fame), kṣatra (‘prowess’ as in I. 54 8 and 11), namaḥ, śarma (in I. 93 8), dātra (‘gift’, as in I. 116 6), enas (in II 12. 10), karma (II. 22 1), Mahitvana (in II 23 4), varūtha, draviṇa (III. 1 22), rakṣas (IV 3 14) Prof Apte (p 475) quite unnecessarily suggests three separate meanings of ‘mahivrata’, the first of which is ‘of great dominion’, ‘of great tracks’, ‘of great exploits’ and expands that meaning by interpolating the words ‘mighty or resplendent sway or sphere’. ‘Mahi’ hardly ever means ‘resplendent’ by itself