Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3: Order of the Sanskrit Alphabet

Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3

Language
English

Contents

Order of the Sanskrit Alphabet

v1.c3.1

a ā i ī u ū ṛ ṝ ḷ; e ai o au; k kh g gh, ṅ; c ch j jh ñ; ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ; t th d dh n; p ph b bh m; y r l v; ś ṣ s h.

v1.c3.2

Amśu.—1. Name of a protégé of the Aśvins in the Rigveda.¹ 2. Dhānamjayya, pupil of Amāvāsya Śāṇḍilyāyana, according to the Vamśa Brāhmaṇa.²

v1.c3.3

¹ viii. 5, 26. *Cf.* Ludwig, Translation of the Rigveda, 3, 160; Hopkins, *Journal of the American Oriental Society*, 17, 89; Sieg, *Die Sagenstoffe des Rgveda*, 129, suggests that he may be identical with Khela.

v1.c3.4

² *Indische Studien*, 4, 373.

v1.c3.5

Amhasas-pati.—This is the name of the intercalary month in the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā (vii. 30; xxii. 31). See Māsa.

v1.c3.6

Akra.—In several passages of the Rigveda¹ this word means, according to Geldner,² ‘horse.’ Roth³ suggests that ‘riding horse’ is the precise sense. *Cf.* Aśva.

v1.c3.7

¹ i. 143, 7; 189, 7; iii. 1, 12; iv. 6, 3; x. 77, 2.

v1.c3.8

² *Vedische Studien*, 1, 168, 169.

v1.c3.9

³ *Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft*, 48, 118. *Cf.* Max Müller, *Sacred Books of the East*, 32, 414.

v1.c3.10

1. Akṣa, ‘axle,’ is a part of a chariot often referred to in the Rigveda¹ and later. It was apparently² fastened to the body of the chariot (Kośa) by straps (akṣā-nah, lit. ‘tied to the axle,’ though this word is also³ rendered ‘horse’). The heating of the axle and the danger of its breaking were known.⁴ The part of the axle round which the nave of the wheel revolved was called Aṇi, ‘pin.’

v1.c3.11

¹ i. 30, 14; 166, 9; iii. 53, 17; vi. 24, 3; x. 89, 4, etc.

v1.c3.12

² Zimmer, *Altindisches Leben*, 246.

v1.c3.13

³ Rv. x. 53, 7. *Cf.* Roth, St. Petersburg Dictionary, *s.v.*

v1.c3.14

⁴ Rv. i. 164, 13.

v1.c3.15

2. Akṣa.—This word occurs frequently, from the Rigveda onwards, both in the singular and plural, meaning ‘die’ and ‘dice.’ Dicing, along with horse-racing, was one of the main amusements of the Vedic Indian; but, despite the frequent mention of the game in the literature, there is considerable difficulty in obtaining any clear picture of the mode in which it was played.

v1.c3.16

(1) *The Material.*—The dice appear normally to have been made of Vibhīdaka nuts. Such dice are alluded to in both the Rigveda¹ and the Atharvaveda,² hence being called ‘brown’ (*babhru*), and ‘born on a windy spot.’³ In the ritual game of dice at the Agnyādheya and the Rājasūya ceremonies the material of the dice is not specified, but it is possible that occasionally gold imitations of Vibhīdaka nuts were used.⁴ There is no clear trace in the Vedic literature of the later use of cowries as dice.⁵

v1.c3.17

¹ vii. 86, 6; x. 34, 1.

v1.c3.18

² Av. Paipp. xx. 4, 6.

v1.c3.19

³ Rv. x. 34, 5; Av. vii. 114, 7; Rv. x. 34, 1.

v1.c3.20

⁴ Sāyaṇa on Taittirīya Saṃhitā, i. 8, 6, 12; Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, v. 4, 4, 6.

v1.c3.21

⁵ Sāyaṇa, loc. cit., and on Rv. i. 41, 9; Mahīdhara on Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, x. 28.

v1.c3.22

(2) *The Number.*—In the Rigveda⁶ the dicer is described as ‘leader of a great horde’ (*senānīr mahato gaṇasya*), and in another passage⁷ the number is given as *tri-pañcāśaḥ*, an expression which has been variously interpreted. Ludwig,⁸ Weber,⁹ and Zimmer¹⁰ render it as fifteen, which is grammatically hardly possible. Roth¹¹ and Grassmann¹² render it as ‘consisting of fifty-three.’ Lüders¹³ takes it as ‘consisting of one hundred and fifty,’ but he points out that this may be merely a vague expression for a large number. For a small number Zimmer¹⁴ cites a reference in the Rigveda¹⁵ to one who fears ‘him who holds four’ (*caturaś cid dadamānāt*), but the sense of that passage is dependent on the view taken of the method of playing the game.

v1.c3.23

⁶ x. 34, 12.

v1.c3.24

⁷ x. 34, 8.

v1.c3.25

⁸ See his translation.

v1.c3.26

⁹ *Über das Rājasūya*, 72.

v1.c3.27

¹⁰ *Altindisches Leben*, 284.

v1.c3.28

¹¹ Following Sāyaṇa on Rv. x. 34, 8.

v1.c3.29

¹² In his translation.

v1.c3.30

¹³ *Das Würfelspiel im alten Indien*, 25.

v1.c3.31

¹⁴ *Op. cit.*, 283.

v1.c3.32

¹⁵ i. 41, 9.

v1.c3.33

(3) *The Method of Play.*—In several passages of the later Samhitās and Brāhmaṇas lists are given of expressions connected with dicing. The names are Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, Āskanda, and Abhibhū in the Taittirīya Saṃhitā.¹⁶ In the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā,¹⁷ among the victims at the Puruṣamedha, the kitava is offered to the Akṣarāja, the ādinava-darśa to the Kṛta, the kalpin to the Tretā, the adhi-kalpin to the Dvāpara, the sabhā-sthāṇu to the Āskanda. The lists in the parallel version of the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa are kitava, sabhāvin, ādinava-darśa, bahiḥ-sad, and sabhā-sthāṇu,¹⁸ and Akṣarāja, Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali. From the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa¹⁹ it appears that another name of Kali was Abhibhū, and the parallel lists in the Taittirīya and Vājasaneyi Saṃhitās suggest that Abhibhū and Akṣarāja are identical, though both appear in the late Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa list. The names of some of these throws go back even to the Rigveda and the Atharvaveda. Kali occurs in the latter,²⁰ and Lüders²¹ shows that in a considerable number of passages in the former Kṛta means a ‘throw’ (not ‘a stake’²² or ‘what is won’²³), and this sense is clearly found in the Atharvaveda.²⁴ Moreover, that there were more throws (ayāḥ) than one is proved by a passage in the Rigveda,²⁵ when the gods are compared to throws as giving or destroying wealth.

v1.c3.34

¹⁶ iv. 3, 3, I. 2.

v1.c3.35

¹⁷ xxx. 18.

v1.c3.36

¹⁸ iii. 4, 1, 16. These must be persons conversant with dicing, but the exact sense of the names is unknown.

v1.c3.37

¹⁹ v. 4, 4, 6.

v1.c3.38

²⁰ vii. 114, 1.

v1.c3.39

²¹ Op. cit., 43 et seq.

v1.c3.40

²² St. Petersburg Dictionary, s.v.

v1.c3.41

²³ Grassmann's Dictionary, s.v.

v1.c3.42

²⁴ vii. 52. See Rv. x. 42, 9 (kṛtam vicinoti); 43, 5; x. 102, 2; v. 60, 1; ix. 97, 58; i. 132, 1; x. 34, 6; i. 100, 9; viii. 19, 10.

v1.c3.43

²⁵ x. 116, 9.

v1.c3.44

The nature of the throws is obscure. The St. Petersburg Dictionary conjectures that the names given above were applied either to dice marked 4, 3, 2, or 1, or to the sides of the dice so marked, and the latter interpretation is supported by some late commentators.²⁶ But there is no evidence for the former interpretation, and, as regards the latter, the shape of the Vibhīdaka nuts,²⁷ used as dice, forbids any side being properly on the top. Light is thrown on the expressions by the description of a ritual game²⁸ at the Agnyādheya and at the Rājasūya ceremonies. The details are not certain,²⁹ but it is clear that the game consisted in securing even numbers of dice, usually a number divisible by four, the Kṛta, the other three throws then being the Tretā, when three remained over after division by four; the Dvāpara, when two was the remainder; and the Kali, when one remained. If five were the dividing number, then the throw which showed no remainder was Kali, the Kṛta was that when four was left, and so on. The dice had no numerals marked on them, the only question being what was the total number of the dice themselves.

v1.c3.45

²⁶ Ānandagiri on Chāndogya Upaniṣad, iv. 1. 4; Nīlakaṇṭha on Mahābhārata, iv. 50, 24.

v1.c3.46

²⁷ Lüders, op. cit., 18.

v1.c3.47

²⁸ Baudhāyana Śrauta Sūtra, ii. 8, 9; Āpastamba Śrauta Sūtra, v. 19, 4; 20, 1, with Rudradatta's note, for the Agnyādheya. Āpastamba, xviii. 18, 16 *et seq.*, describes the Rājasūya game, and *cf.* Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, iv. 4, 6; Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, i. 7, 10, 5; Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, v. 4, 4, 6; Kātyāyana Śrauta Sūtra, xv. 7, 5 *et seq.* For Kṛta as four, see Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, xiii. 3, 2, 1; Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, i. 5, 11, 1.

v1.c3.48

²⁹ See Caland, *Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft*, 62, 123 *et seq.*

v1.c3.49

There is no reason to doubt that the game as played in the Rigveda was based on the same principle, though the details must remain doubtful. The number of dice used was certainly large,³⁰ and the reference to throwing fours,³¹ and losing by one, points to the use of the Kṛta as the winning throw. The Atharvaveda,³² on the other hand, possibly knew of the Kali as the winning throw. In one respect the ordinary game must have differed from the ritual game. In the latter the players merely pick out the number of dice required—no doubt to avoid ominous errors, such as must have happened if a real game had been played. In the secular game the dice were thrown,³³ perhaps on the principle suggested by Lüders:³⁴ the one throwing a certain number on the place of playing, and the other then throwing a number to make up with those already thrown a multiple of four or five. This theory, at any rate, accounts for the later stress laid on the power of computation in a player, as in the Nala.

v1.c3.50

³⁰ Rv. x. 34, 8.

v1.c3.51

³¹ Rv. i. 41, 9. In x. 34, 2, the loss is ascribed to *akṣasya chaparasya*, which confirms the explanation of Dvāpara given in Pāṇini, ii. 1, 10.

v1.c3.52

³² vii. 114, 1.

v1.c3.53

³³ Rv. x. 34, 1. 8. 9; Av. iv. 38, 3.

v1.c3.54

³⁴ *Op. cit.* 56.

v1.c3.55

No board appears to have been used, but a depression on which the dice were thrown (adhi-devana, devana,³⁵ iriṇa³⁶), was made in the ground. No dice box was used, but reference is made to a case for keeping dice in (akṣa-vapana³⁷). The throw was called graha³⁸ or earlier grābha.³⁹ The stake is called vij.⁴⁰ Serious losses could be made at dicing : in the Rigveda a dicer laments the loss of all his property, including his wife.⁴¹ Lüders⁴² finds a different form of the game referred to in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad.⁴³

v1.c3.56

³⁵ Adhidevana in Av. v. 31, 6; vi. 70, 1; Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, i. 6, 11; iv. 4, 6, etc.; devana in Rv. x. 43, 5. The falling of the dice on the ground is referred to in Av. vii. 114, 2.

v1.c3.57

³⁶ Rv. x. 34, 1.

v1.c3.58

³⁷ Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, v. 3, 1, 11.

v1.c3.59

³⁸ Av. iv. 38, 1 et seq.; cf. vii. 114, 5.

v1.c3.60

³⁹ Rv. viii. 81, 1; ix. 106, 3.

v1.c3.61

⁴⁰ Rv. i. 92, 10; ii. 12, 5; lakṣa in ii. 12, 4, and often dhana. So Lüders, op. cit., 10, n. 5; 62, n. 1. Roth and Zimmer, op. cit., 286, render ‘he makes the dice secretly disappear’ (i. 92, 10).

v1.c3.62

⁴¹ Rv. x. 34, 2. For cheating at play cf. Rv. v. 85, 8; vii. 86, 6; 104 14; Av. vi. 118.

v1.c3.63

⁴² Op. cit., 61.

v1.c3.64

⁴³ iv. 1, 4; 6. According to Nīlakaṇṭha on Harivaṃśa, ii. 61, 39, the stake was divided into ten parts, and the Kali then took one, the Dvāpara three, the Tretā six, and the Kṛta all ten. This explanation seems harsh. Cf. Roth, Gurupūjākaumudī, 1-4; Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, 283-287; Lüders, Das Würfelspiel im alten Indien; Caland, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 62, 123 et seq.; Keith, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1908, 823 et seq.

v1.c3.65

3. Akṣa.—In the Chāndogya Upaniṣad (vii. 3, 1) this word seems to denote the nut of the Vibhīdaka (Terminalia bellerica).

v1.c3.66

Akṣata or Akṣita.—In one passage of the Atharvaveda,¹ dealing with the Jāyānya, mention is made of a remedy for sores designated both Akṣita and Sukṣata, or, according to the reading of the Kauṣika Sūtra, Akṣata and Sukṣata, while Sāyaṇa has Akṣita and Sukṣita. Bloomfield² renders ‘not caused by cutting’ and ‘caused by cutting.’ Formerly³ he suggested ‘tumour’ or ‘boil.’ Whitney⁴ thinks that two varieties of Jāyānya are meant. Ludwig⁵ reads with Sāyaṇa akṣita, which he renders by ‘not firmly established’ in the invalid. Zimmer⁶ finds it a disease Kṣata.

v1.c3.67

¹ vii. 76, 4.

v1.c3.68

² Hymns of the Atharvaveda, 17, 562.

v1.c3.69

³ Journal of the American Oriental Society, 13, cxvii. et seq.

v1.c3.70

⁴ Translation of the Atharvaveda, 442.

v1.c3.71

⁵ Translation of the Rigveda, 3, 500.

v1.c3.72

⁶ Altindisches Leben, 377.

v1.c3.73

Akṣā-vapana. See Akṣa.

v1.c3.74

Akṣu.—The word occurs in two passages of the Atharvaveda¹ and one of the Rigveda.² Roth³ renders it by ‘net,’ while Böhtlingk⁴ suggests ‘axle of a car.’ Geldner⁵ sees in it a stake or pole used with a fishermen’s net (Jāla),⁶ the pole of a wagon,⁷ and the pole of a house, whether vertical or horizontal, he leaves uncertain (see Vamśa).⁸ Bloomfield⁹ takes it as a covering of wickerwork stretched across a beam and sloping down to both sides—like a thatched roof, and this best explains the epithet ‘thousand-eyed’ (i.e., with countless holes) ascribed to it. In the other Atharvaveda passage¹⁰ he accepts the sense ‘net,’ and doubts if the word in the Rigveda is not an adjective (a-kṣu) as it is taken by Sāyaṇa. See also Gṛha.

v1.c3.75

¹ viii. 8, 18 (akṣujālābhyām); ix. 3, 18.

v1.c3.76

² i. 180, 5.

v1.c3.77

³ St. Petersburg Dictionary, s.v.

v1.c3.78

⁴ Dictionary, s.v.

v1.c3.79

⁵ Vedische Studien, 1, 136.

v1.c3.80

⁶ Av. viii. 8, 18.

v1.c3.81

⁷ Av. i. 180, 5.

v1.c3.82

⁸ ix. 3, 18.

v1.c3.83

⁹ Hymns of the Atharvaveda, 598.

v1.c3.84

¹⁰ Av. viii. 8, 18. Cf. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, 153, 265; Whitney, Translation of the Atharvaveda, 506, 526; Oldenberg, Ṛgveda-Noten, 1, 179.

v1.c3.85

Agasti.—This form of Agastya’s name occurs once in the Atharvaveda,¹ where he appears as a favourite of Mitra and Varuṇa.

v1.c3.86

¹ iv. 9, 3. Cf. Sieg, Die Sagenstoffe des Ṛgveda, 127, n. 5.

v1.c3.87

Agastya.—This is the name of a sage, of mythical character, who plays a great part in the later literature. He was a Māna,¹ and therefore is called Mānya² and son of Māna, and only once is there a reference³ to the legend prevalent in later times that he was a son of Mitra and Varuṇa.

v1.c3.88

¹ Rv. vii. 33, 10 (Agastya), 13 (Māna).

v1.c3.89

² Rv. i. 165, 15=166, 15=167, 11=168, 10; 165, 14; 177, 5; 184, 4 (Mānya); i. 189, 8; 117, 11 (Mānasya sūnu).

v1.c3.90

³ Rv. vii. 33, 13. Cf. Geldner, Vedische Studien, 2, 138 et seq.

v1.c3.91

His greatest feat was the reconciliation of Indra and the Maruts after Indra had been annoyed at his proposing to give the Maruts an offering to the exclusion of Indra. This feat is the subject of three hymns of the Rigveda,⁴ and is often referred to in the Brāhmaṇas,⁵ though the exact details and significance of the legend are variously treated by Oldenberg,⁶ Sieg,⁷ Hertel,⁸ and von Schroeder.⁹

v1.c3.92

⁴ Rv. i. 165; 170; 171.

v1.c3.93

⁵ Taittirīya Saṃhitā, vii. 5, 5, 2; Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, ii. 7, 11, 1; Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, ii. 1, 8; Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā, x. 11; Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa, xxi. 14, 5; Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, v. 16; Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa, xxvi. 9.

v1.c3.94

⁶ Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 39, 60 et seq.

v1.c3.95

⁷ Die Sagenstoffe des Rgveda, 108-119.

v1.c3.96

⁸ Vienna Oriental Journal, 18, 152-154.

v1.c3.97

⁹ Mysterium und Mimus im Rigveda, 91 et seq.

v1.c3.98

He also appears in a strange dialogue with Lopāmudrā in the Rigveda,¹⁰ which appears to show him as an ascetic who finally yields to temptation. Von Schroeder¹¹ regards it as a ritual drama of vegetation magic.

v1.c3.99

¹⁰ i. 179. Cf. Sieg, op. cit., 120-126; Oldenberg, op. cit., 66-68.

v1.c3.100

¹¹ Op. cit., 156-172.

v1.c3.101

In another passage of the Rigveda¹² he appears as helping in the Aśvins’ gift of a leg to Viśpalā. Sāyaṇa holds that he was the Purohita of Khela, and Sieg¹³ accepts this view, while Pischel¹⁴ thinks that Khela is a deity, Vivasvant.

v1.c3.102

¹² i. 117, 11; cf. i. 116, 15.

v1.c3.103

¹³ Op. cit., 128.

v1.c3.104

¹⁴ Vedische Studien, 1, 171-173.

v1.c3.105

Geldner¹⁵ shows from the Rigveda¹⁶ that Agastya, as brother of Vasiṣṭha—both being miraculous sons of Mitra and Varuṇa—introduces Vasiṣṭha to the Tṛtsus. There are two other references to Agastya in the Rigveda, the one¹⁷ including him in a long list of persons, the other alluding to his sister’s sons (nadbhyaḥ),¹⁸ apparently Bandhu, etc. In the Atharvaveda¹⁹ he appears as connected with witchcraft, and in a long list of sages.²⁰ In the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā²¹ cows, with a peculiar mark on their ears (viṣṭya-karṇyaḥ), are associated with him.

v1.c3.106

¹⁵ Vedische Studien, 2, 138, 143.

v1.c3.107

¹⁶ Rv. vii. 33, 10. 13.

v1.c3.108

¹⁷ vii. 5, 26. Sieg, 129, suggests that this refers to the Khela legend.

v1.c3.109

¹⁸ x. 60, 6.

v1.c3.110

¹⁹ ii. 32, 3; iv. 37, 1. Perhaps for this reason the Rigveda Anukramaṇī ascribes to him (Rv. i. 191) a magic hymn.

v1.c3.111

²⁰ xviii. 3, 15.

v1.c3.112

²¹ iv. 2, 9. Cf. Ludwig, Translation of the Rigveda, 3, 117; Sieg, Die Sagenstoffe des Rgveda, 106-129; Macdonell, Bṛhad-devatā, 2, 136 et seq.; Oldenberg, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 42, 221; Rgveda-Noten, 1, 110.

v1.c3.113

Agāra

v1.c3.114

Agāra.—This rare word is found as ‘house’ in the Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad.¹

v1.c3.115

¹ ii. 15. Cf. āgara, ‘chamber’ (?), n Av. iv. 36, 3; Bloomfield, Hymns of the Atharvaveda, 407. Agāra occurs also in Āśvalāyana Gṛhya Sūtra, i. 7, 21.

v1.c3.116

Agni-dagdha.—This epithet (‘burnt with fire’)¹ applies to the dead who were burned on the funeral pyre. This is one of the two normal methods of disposing of the dead, the other being burial (*an-agnidagdhāḥ*, ‘not burnt with fire’).² The Atharvaveda³ adds two further modes of disposal to those—viz., casting out (*paroptāḥ*), and the exposure of the dead (*uddhitāḥ*). The exact sense of these expressions is doubtful. Zimmer⁴ considers that the former is a parallel to the Iranian practice of casting out the dead to be devoured by beasts, and that the latter refers to the old who are exposed when helpless.⁵ Whitney⁶ refers the latter expression to the exposure of the dead body on a raised platform of some sort.

v1.c3.117

¹ Rv. x. 15, 14; Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, iii. 1, 1, 7; dagdhāḥ, Av. xviii. 2, 34.

v1.c3.118

² Rv., loc. cit.; =nikhātāḥ, Av. xviii. 2, 34.

v1.c3.119

³ Loc. cit.

v1.c3.120

⁴ Altindisches Leben, 402.

v1.c3.121

⁵ Rv. viii, 51, 2.

v1.c3.122

⁶ Translation of the Atharvaveda, 841.

v1.c3.123

Burial was clearly not rare in the Rigvedic period: a whole hymn⁷ describes the ritual attending it. The dead man was buried apparently in full attire, with his bow in his hand, and probably at one time his wife was immolated to accompany him, in accordance with a practice common among savage tribes. But in the Vedic period both customs appear in a modified form: the son takes the bow from the hand of the dead man, and the widow is led away from her dead husband by his brother or other nearest kinsman. A stone is set between the dead and the living to separate them. In the Atharvaveda,⁸ but not in the Rigveda, a coffin (*vṛkṣa*) is alluded to. In both Saṃhitās⁹ occur other allusions to the ‘house of earth’ (*bhūmi-gṛha*). To remove the apparent discrepancy between burning and burial, by assuming that the references to burial are to the burial of the burned bones, as does Oldenberg,¹⁰ is unnecessary and improbable, as burning and burial subsisted side by side in Greece for many years.

v1.c3.124

⁷ x. 18. The interpretation of v. 8 is a famous crux, see Patnī.

v1.c3.125

⁸ xviii. 2, 25; 3, 70.

v1.c3.126

⁹ Rv. vii. 89, 1; Av. v. 30, 14; xviii. 2, 52.

v1.c3.127

¹⁰ Religion des Veda, 571.

v1.c3.128

Burning was, however, equally usual, and it grew steadily in frequency, for in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad¹¹ the adornment of the body of the dead with curd (Āmikṣā), clothes, and ornaments, in order to win the next world, is referred to as something erroneous and wrong, and in the funeral Mantras of the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā¹² only burning seems to be contemplated; the verses which refer to burial here really alluding to the burial of the ashes in the burying-ground (śmaśāna).¹³ The body was wrapped in fat,¹⁴ as we learn from the funeral hymn in the Rigveda, a goat being apparently burned with it,¹⁵ to act as a guide on the way to the next world. According to the Atharvaveda¹⁶ a draft-ox was burned presumably for the dead to ride with in the next world. It was expected that the dead would revive with his whole body and all his limbs (sarva-tanūḥ sāṅgaḥ),¹⁷ although it is also said¹⁸ that the eye goes to the sun, the breath to the wind, and so forth.

v1.c3.129

¹¹ viii. 8, 5.

v1.c3.130

¹² xxxv. Cf. also Kauśika Sūtra, 80 et seq., which treats the Atharvaveda hymns, xviii. 1-3, as intended for burning only.

v1.c3.131

¹³ Av. v. 31, 8; x. 1, 18; Taittirīya Saṃhitā, v. 2, 8, 5; 4, 11, 3.

v1.c3.132

¹⁴ Rv. x. 16, 7.

v1.c3.133

¹⁵ Rv. x. 16, 4. But aja may mean ‘the unborn part,’ as Weber prefers to take it, Proceedings of the Berlin Academy, 1895, 847.

v1.c3.134

¹⁶ xii. 2, 48.

v1.c3.135

¹⁷ Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, iv. 6, 1, 1; xi. 1, 8, 6; xii. 8, 3, 31. Cf. Av. xi. 3, 32. This fact probably explains the use of śeṣaḥ in Rv. x. 16, 5. The dead enjoy sexual pleasures in the next world; see Muir, Sanskrit Texts, 5, 307, n. 462.

v1.c3.136

¹⁸ Rv. x. 16, 3.

v1.c3.137

Before burial or burning, the corpse was washed,¹⁹ a clog (kūdī) being tied to the foot to prevent the deceased returning to earth.²⁰

v1.c3.138

¹⁹ Av. v. 19, 14.

v1.c3.139

²⁰ Av. v. 19, 12; see Roth, Festgruss an Böhtlingk, 98; Bloomfield, American Journal of Philology, 12, 416. Cf. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, 401-407; Roth, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 8, 468 et seq.; Siebenzig Lieder, 150 et seq.; Oldenberg, Religion des Veda, 570 et seq.; Caland, Die altindischen Todten- und Bestattungsgebräuche; von Schroeder, Indiens Literatur und Cultur, 40-42; Hillebrandt, Vedische Mythology, 3, 413-423; Rituallitteratur, 87 et seq.; Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, 165, 166; Proceedings of the Berlin Academy, 1895, 815 et seq.

v1.c3.140

Agni-bhū Kāśyapa is mentioned in the Vamśa Brāhmaṇa¹ as a pupil of Indrabhū Kāśyapa.

v1.c3.141

¹ Indische Studien, 4, 374.

v1.c3.142

Agni-śāla.—This term, which designates part of the sacrificial apparatus,¹ is applied in the Atharvaveda² to a part of an ordinary house, presumably the central hall where the fireplace was.

v1.c3.143

¹ Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, xix. 18.

v1.c3.144

² ix. 3, 7. Cf. Bloomfield, *Hymns of the Atharvaveda*, 598; Zimmer, *Altindisches Leben*, 154.

v1.c3.145

Aghā.—In the wedding hymn of the Rigveda¹ it is said that cows are slain in the Aghās, and the wedding takes place at the Arjunīs (dual). The Atharvaveda² has the ordinary Maghās instead. It is impossible to resist the conclusion that the reading of the Rigveda was deliberately altered because of the connection of the slaughter of kine with sin (*agha*)—possibly, too, with a further desire to emphasize the contrast with *aghnyā*, a name for ‘cow.’ Moreover, in the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa³ occurs the formula ‘Svāhā to the Maghās, Svāhā to the Anaghās.’ See also Nakṣatra.

v1.c3.146

¹ x. 85, 13.

v1.c3.147

² xiv. 1, 13.

v1.c3.148

³ iii. 1, 4, 8. Cf. Weber, *Naxatra*, 2, 364; Proceedings of the Berlin Academy, 1894, 804; Jacobi, *Festgruss an Roth*, 69; Winternitz, *Das altindische Hochzeitsrituell*, 32; Whitney, *Translation of the Atharvaveda*, 742; Thibaut, *Indian Antiquary*, 24, 95.

v1.c3.149

Aghāśva.—The name of a serpent in the Atharvaveda.¹

v1.c3.150

¹ x. 4, 10. Cf. Zimmer, *Altindisches Leben*, 95.

v1.c3.151

A-ghnyā.—See Māmsa.

v1.c3.152

Aṅka.—The Taittirīya Saṃhitā¹ and Brāhmaṇa² refer to two Aṅkas and two Nyaṅkas as parts of a chariot. The meaning of these terms is quite obscure. The commentators refer them to the sides or wheels. Zimmer³ compares the Greek *ἄντυγες*⁴ and thinks that the Aṅkau were the upper border of the body of the chariot (*kośa, vandhura*), and the Nyaṅkau the lower rims for greater security. Oldenberg⁵ confesses that the exact sense is impossible to make out, but considers that the terms at once refer to parts of the chariot and to divinities, while Böhtlingk⁶ takes the term as referring to divinities alone.

v1.c3.153

¹ i. 7, 7, 2.

v1.c3.154

² ii. 7, 8, 1. Cf. Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa, i. 7, 5.

v1.c3.155

³ *Altindisches Leben*, 251, 252.

v1.c3.156

⁴ Iliad, v. 728. Cf. Smith's *Dictionary of Antiquities*, i, 578.

v1.c3.157

⁵ *Sacred Books of the East*, 29, 364, on Pāraskara Gṛhya Sūtra, iii. 14, 6.

v1.c3.158

⁶ Dictionary, *s.v.*

v1.c3.159

Aṅga.—The name occurs only once in the Atharvaveda¹ in connection with the Gandhāris, Mūjavants, and Magadhas, as distinct peoples. They appear also in the Gopatha Brāhmaṇa² in the compound name Aṅga-magadhāḥ. As in later times they were settled on the Sone and Ganges,³ their earlier seat was presumably there also. See also Vaṅga.

v1.c3.160

¹ v. 22, 14.

v1.c3.161

² ii. 9.

v1.c3.162

³ Cf. Zimmer, *Altindisches Leben*, 35; Bloomfield, *Hymns of the Atharvaveda*, 446, 449; Pargiter, *Journal of the Royal* Asiatic Society, 1908, 852, inclines to regard them as a non-Aryan people that came over-sea to Eastern India. There is nothing in the Vedic literature to throw light on this hypothesis.

v1.c3.163

Aṅga Vairocana.—He is included in the list of anointed kings in the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa.¹ His Purohita was Udamaya, an Ātreya.

v1.c3.164

¹ viii. 22. Cf. Oldenberg, *Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft*, 42, 214.

v1.c3.165

Aṅgārāvakṣayaṇa.—A word of doubtful meaning found in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.¹ It is rendered ‘tongs’ by Max Müller and Böhtlingk in their translations. The St. Petersburg Dictionary explains it as ‘a vessel in which coals are extinguished,’ and Monier-Williams as ‘an instrument for extinguishing coals.’ The smaller St. Petersburg Dictionary renders the word ‘coal-shovel or tongs.’ Cf. Ulmukāvakṣayaṇa.

v1.c3.166

¹ iii. 9, 18.

v1.c3.167

Aṅgiras.—The Aṅgirases appear in the Rigveda¹ as semi-mythical beings, and no really historical character can be assigned even to those passages² which recognize a father of the race, Aṅgiras. Later, however, there were definite families of Aṅgirases, to whose ritual practices (*ayana*, *dvirātra*) references are made.³

v1.c3.168

¹ Cf. Hillebrandt, *Vedische Mythologie*, ii. 156-169.

v1.c3.169

² Rv. i. 45, 3; 139, 9; iii. 31, 7, etc.; Chāndogya Upaniṣad, i, 2, 10.

v1.c3.170

³ Av. xviii. 4, 8, but this may be mythical; Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa, xx. 11, 1; Taittirīya Saṃhitā, vii. 1, 4, 1. Cf. Macdonell, *Vedic Mythology*, 142, 143.

v1.c3.171

Aṅguṣṭha.—As a measure of size this word appears in the Kāṭhaka Upaniṣad (iv. 12; vi. 17).

v1.c3.172

**A-cyut.**—He acted as Pratihartṛ at the Sattra celebrated by the Vibhindukīyas and described in the Jaiminīya Brāhmaṇa.¹

v1.c3.173

¹ iii. 233. See *Journal of the American Oriental Society*, 18, 38.

v1.c3.174

**Aja, Ajā.**—This is the ordinary name for goat in the Rigveda¹ and the later literature. The goat is also called Basta, Chāga, Chagala. Goats and sheep (*ajāvayaḥ*) are very frequently mentioned together.² The female goat is spoken of as producing two or three kids,³ and goat's milk is well known.⁴ The goat as representative of Pūṣan plays an important part in the ritual of burial.⁵ The occupation of a goatherd (*ajapāla*) was a recognized one, being distinguished from that of a cowherd and of a shepherd.⁶

v1.c3.175

¹ *Aja* in Rv. x. 16, 4; i. 162, 2. 4; Av. ix. 5, 1; Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, xxi. 9, etc.; *ajā* in Rv. viii. 70, 15; Av. vi. 71, 1; Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, xxiii., 56, etc.

v1.c3.176

² Rv. x. 90, 10; Av. viii. 7, 25; Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, iii. 43, etc.

v1.c3.177

³ Taittirīya Saṃhitā, vi. 5, 10, 1.

v1.c3.178

⁴ Taittirīya Saṃhitā, iv. 1, 6, 1; v. 1, 7, 4. Cf. Hillebrandt, *Vedische Mythologie*, 3, 364, n. 4.

v1.c3.179

⁵ Rv. x. 16, 4, etc. *Cf.* p. 9.

v1.c3.180

⁶ Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, xxx. 11; Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, iii. 4, 9, 1.

v1.c3.181

**Aja.**—The Ajas are named in one verse of the Rigveda¹ as having been defeated by the Tṛtsus under Sudās. They are there mentioned with the Yakṣus and Śigrus, and Zimmer² conjectures that they formed part of a confederacy under Bheda against Sudās. The name has been regarded as a sign of totemism,³ but this is very uncertain, and it is impossible to say if they were or were not Āryans.

v1.c3.182

¹ vii. 18, 19.

v1.c3.183

² *Altindisches Leben*, 127. Cf. Ludwig, *Translation of the Rigveda*, 3, 173.

v1.c3.184

³ Cf. Macdonell, *Vedic Mythology*, 153; Keith, *Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society*, 1907, 929; Aitareya Āraṇyaka, 200, 21; Risley, *Peoples of India*, 83 et seq.

v1.c3.185

**Ajakāva.**—This name of a poisonous scorpion occurs once in the Rigveda.¹

v1.c3.186

¹ vii. 50, 1. Cf. Zimmer, *Altindisches Leben*, 99.

v1.c3.187

**Aja-gara** ('goat-swallower') occurs in the Atharvaveda¹ and in the list of animals at the Aśvamedha,² or horse sacrifice, as the name of the boa-constrictor. Elsewhere³ it is called Vāhasa. It denotes a person at the snake feast in the Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa.⁴

v1.c3.188

¹ xi. 2, 25; xx. 129, 17.

v1.c3.189

² Taittirīya Saṃhitā, v. 5, 14, 1; Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, iii. 14, 19; Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, xxiv. 38.

v1.c3.190

³ Taittirīya Saṃhitā, v. 5, 13, 1; Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, xxiv. 34.

v1.c3.191

⁴ xxv. 15, in the form of Ajagāva, with which *cf.* Ajakāva.

v1.c3.192

Aja-mīḍha.—The Ajamīḍhas, or descendants of Ajamīḍha, are referred to in a hymn of the Rigveda.¹ Ludwig² and Oldenberg³ deduce from the use of this patronymic that Ajamīḍha was the seer of that hymn.

v1.c3.193

¹ iv. 44, 6.

v1.c3.194

² Translation of the Rigveda, 3, 123, 135.

v1.c3.195

³ *Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft*, 42, 215.

v1.c3.196

Aja-śṛṅgī.—This plant (‘goat’s horn’), equated by the commentator with Viṣāṇin (the *Odina pinnata*), is celebrated as a demon-destroyer in the Atharvaveda.¹ Its other name is Arāṭakī.² Weber³ suggests that it is the *Prosopis spicigera* or *Mimosa suma*.

v1.c3.197

¹ iv. 37.

v1.c3.198

² iv. 37, 6.

v1.c3.199

³ *Indische Studien*, 18, 144. *Cf.* Bloomfield, *Hymns of the Atharvaveda*, 408, 409; Zimmer, *Altindisches Leben*, 68; Caland, *Altindisches Zauberritual*, 89.

v1.c3.200

Ajāta-śatru.—He is mentioned as a King of Kāśī (Kāśya) in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka¹ and Kauṣītaki² Upaniṣads, where he instructs the proud Brāhmaṇa Bālāki as to the real nature of the self. He is not to be identified with the Ajātasattu of the Buddhist texts.³

First 200 of 8,103 passages. Read on

Linked texts (36)