Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s4.874

v2.c4.s4.874

Medhātithi,¹ Medhyātithi² (‘having a guest at the sacrifice’) appear to be the names of one and the same man, a descendant of Kaṇva and a famous Vedic Ṛṣi, to whom the authorship of various hymns³ is attributed in the Anukramaṇī (Index). To him Indra is said in the Rigveda⁴ to have come in the form of a ram: this myth is perpetuated in the Subrahmaṇyā formula⁵ recited by the priest while the Soma is being carried within the sacrificial enclosure, when Indra is hailed as ‘ram of Medhātithi.’ He appears also as a rival of Vatsa, whom he accused of low birth, but who convinced him of his error by undergoing a fire ordeal (cf. Divya).⁶ In the Atharvaveda⁷ he is mentioned with many other sages, and occurs elsewhere⁸ also as a sage.