Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.152

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.