Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s8.781

v2.c4.s8.781

Śauṣkala is the name of one of the sacrificial victims at the Puruṣamedha (‘horse sacrifice’) in the Yajurveda.¹ It means, according to the St. Petersburg Dictionary, ‘living on dried fish or flesh,’² or, according to the native lexicographers, ‘selling dried fish,’ while Sāyaṇa’s commentary on the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa explains the meaning to be one who catches fish with a hook, ‘angler.’