Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s3.308

v2.c4.s3.308

Bhrātṛvya is found in one passage of the Atharvaveda,¹ where, being named with brother and sister, it must be an expression of relationship. The sense appears to be ‘(father’s) brother’s son,’ ‘cousin,’² this meaning alone accounting for the sense of ‘rival,’ ‘enemy,’ found elsewhere in the Atharvaveda,³ and repeatedly in the other Saṃhitās and the Brāhmaṇas.⁴ In an undivided family the relations of cousins would easily develop into rivalry and enmity. The original meaning may, however, have been ‘nephew,’⁵ as the simple etymological sense would be ‘brother’s son’; but this seems not to account for the later meaning so well. The Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā⁶ prescribes the telling of a falsehood to a Bhrātṛvya, who, further, is often given the epithets ‘hating’ (dviṣan) and ‘evil’ (apriya, pāpman) in the later Saṃhitās and the Brāhmaṇas.⁷ The Atharvaveda⁸ also contains various spells, which aim at destroying or expelling one’s ‘rivals.’