Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s17.170

v1.c3.s17.170

Tājad-bhaṅga (‘easily broken’) is apparently the name of a tree or plant in the Atharvaveda.¹ The Kauśika Sūtra² treats it as a compound word, and its commentator makes it out to be the castor-oil plant (eraṇḍa). Whitney,³ however, treats the expression as two separate words, and thinks that the passage means ‘may they be broken suddenly (tājat) like hemp (bhaṅga).’