[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Vedic Index of Names and Subjects](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912) › v1.c3.778 # Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.778 Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.778 - **Language:** English ### [v1.c3.778](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.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. - [Previous: v1.c3.777](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.777) - [Next: v1.c3.779](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.779) - [Up: v1.c3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.778](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.778) · Pramāṇa