Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s1.76

v1.c3.s1.76

Āṇi.—This word, which is found in the Rigveda,¹ but rarely later,² appears to be best taken with Roth³ and Zimmer⁴ as denoting the part of the axle of the chariot which is inserted into the nave of the wheel. Sāyaṇa renders it as lynch-pin, and this sense is accepted by Leumann,⁵ being apparently also found in the Nirukta.⁶ In one place in the Rigveda⁷ the word appears by synecdoche to denote the whole chariot, but the passage is, according to Geldner,⁸ completely obscure.