Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s17.536

v1.c3.s17.536

Tri-yuga, neut., is an expression occurring in the Rigveda¹ where it is said that the plants (oṣadhi) were born ‘three ages’ before the gods (devebhyas triyugaṃ purā). The commentator on the Nirukta² thinks that the ages here meant are the Yugas of the later Indian chronology, the sense of the passage being that the plants were born in the first Yuga. The author of the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa³ understands three seasons—spring, the rains, and autumn—to be meant in the verse, taking the two words triyugaṃ purā separately as ‘formerly, in the three seasons.’ The vague sense ‘three ages’ is quite adequate: the use of ‘three’ in such cases is a favourite feature in folklore. *Cf.* Yuga.