Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.778

v1.c3.778

Aṣṭa-karṇī is an expression which occurs in one passage of the Rigveda,¹ and which Roth ² was at first inclined to interpret as a proper name. There can, however, be no doubt that it means a cow, not a man, as suggested by Grassmann. The exact reason why a cow should be so described is uncertain. Roth³ was later inclined to see in it the sense ‘having pierced ears,’ similar epithets being at a later period known to Pāṇini⁴ (*bhinna-karṇa, chinna-karṇa*). Grassmann’s more obvious rendering, ‘having the sign for (the number) 8 marked on the ear,’ is supported by the similar epithets, ‘having the mark of a lute on the ear’ (*karkari-karṇyaḥ*), ‘having the mark of a sickle on the ear’ (*dātra-karṇyaḥ*), ‘having the mark of a stake on the ear’ (*sthūṇā-karṇyaḥ*), ‘having the ears bored’ (*chidra-karṇyaḥ*), and *viṣṭya-karṇyaḥ*, given in the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā.⁵ The simple meaning, ‘with marked ears,’ is, however, supported by the same passage of the Maitrāyaṇī, where the verb *akṣ* occurs in the sense ‘to mark.’ In the Atharvaveda the mark used is the Mithuna, no doubt as a magical device to secure fertility.