०६१

सर्वाष् टीकाः ...{Loading}...

सायण-भाष्यम्

‘अस्मा इदु प्र तवसे ’ इति षोडशर्चं चतुर्थं सूक्तं नोधस आर्षमैन्द्रं त्रैष्टुभम् । अनुक्रान्तं च– ‘अस्मा इदु षोळश’ इति । अस्य सूक्तस्य नोधा द्रष्टा इत्येतद्ब्राह्मणे समाम्नायते- अस्मा इदु प्र तवसे तुरायेति नोधास्त एते प्रातःसवने ’ ( ऐ. ब्रा. ६. १८) इति । षळहस्तोत्रियावापवत्सु चतुर्विंशमहाव्रतादिष्वहःसु माध्यंदिने सवने ब्राह्मणाच्छंसिशस्त्रे ‘ ब्रह्मणा ते ब्रह्मयुजा ’ इत्यस्या आरम्भणीयाया ऊर्ध्वमहीनसूक्तसंज्ञमेतच्छंसनीयम्। तथा च सूत्रितम्- ‘अस्मा इदु प्र तवसे शासद्वह्निरितीतरावहीनसूक्ते ’ ( आश्व. श्रौ. ७. ४ ) इति । ब्राह्मणं च भवति-’त एते प्रातःसवने षळहस्तोत्रियाञ्छस्त्वा माध्यंदिनेऽहीनसूक्तानि शंसन्ति ’ इति ॥

Jamison Brereton

61
Indra
Nodhas Gautama
16 verses: triṣṭubh
The three Indra hymns by Nodhas share a ritual context: judging from their last verses (I.61.16, 62.13, 63.9) they were all composed to accompany the Hāriyojana (“Fallow-bay-yoking”) oblation, when Indra’s pair of horses is yoked up for the god’s return journey to heaven after the sacrifice is complete. The parts of these hymns before the final verse do not seem to reflect this ritual moment, and the three hymns are quite different, though they all display Nodhas’s remarkable poetic skill.
This first hymn, I.61, is a masterpiece of intricate structure and verbal trickery. We will summarize the main points here, but for more detailed treatment see the lengthy discussion in Jamison (2007: 60–68). The most obvious structural device is the fronted repetition of a deictic pronoun: each of the sixteen verses except the last (which is an extra-hymnic summary verse) begins with either the dative asmaí “for him” or the genitive asyá “of him,” followed by two emphasizing particles, always referring to Indra (except in vs. 12—see below). The dative sequence is the more common and frames the hymn (vss. 1–6, 8, 12, 15); the genitive sequence is found primarily in the center of the hymn (vss. 7, 9–11, 13–14).
This rigid structural device both parallels and counterpoints the semantic structure of the hymn. In general in this hymn the dative verses express the ritual here-and-now, with the production and presentation of hymns and ritual offer ings “to/for just this one,” while the genitive verses concern Indra’s great deeds. Especially in the dative verses numerous co-referential adjectival datives reinforce the fronted pronoun, as well as strategically placed dative tokens of the god’s name. Curiously, in the genitive verses the genitive several times (vss. 7, 10, 11) seems to have quite a loose syntactic connection to the rest of the sentence, and Indra may appear in another case in the same verse, as in

61.10ab asyéd evá śávasā śuṣántaṃ, ví vr̥ścad vájreṇa vr̥trám índraḥ
Of just this one [gen.]—in (his) expansion Indra [nom.] hewed apart snorting Vr̥tra with his mace.

But what may appear superficially to be clumsy composition serves a larger structural purpose: it seems that the logical structure of the hymn requires a two-way opposition, between dative asmaí and something else: the something else is genitive asyá even when a different case form might have been more appropriate, for a variety of other cases would have obscured the bipartite contrastive structure of the hymn. Here we see an example of clausal morphosyntax subordinated to and indeed distorted by the imposition of a larger literary and rhetorical pattern.
The poet Nodhas also lays a few traps for us by playing on the expectations he has created. Most notable of them is verse 12, which begins with the dative asmaí and therefore appears to return us from the mythological past to the realm of the current-day poet of verses 1–5, an expectation reinforced by the verb prá bharā, a standard lexeme for presenting a hymn to a divinity. But the phrase in verse 12 quickly goes awry. At the opening of the next pāda, where Indra’s name has been prominently placed in previous verses (índrāya 1d, 4d, 5b, 8b), we find, most shock ingly, the name of his arch-enemy, vr̥trā́ya, immediately followed by the accusative object vájram, Indra’s weapon, not the word for hymn we were expecting. The poet has simply tricked us, having laid a trap with conventional phraseology and syntax and with the stylistic patterns established earlier in the hymn. He also skillfully exploits the morphological ambiguity of the verb form bharā: given the pattern set in verses 1–5 we are primed to interpret bharā as a 1st sg. subjunctive (“I shall pres
ent”), but as the half verse unfolds, it becomes clear that bharā must rather be taken as a metrically lengthened 2nd singular imperative (“bear down!”).
The meter of this hymn is often irregular, with a number of ten-syllable lines, but again this irregularity should not be taken as a sign of poor poetic technique. Rather the hymn seems to be phrase-driven rather than meter-driven, and the metri cal rests that result from “missing syllables” serve to isolate and emphasize crucial nominal phrases—an effect also heightened by the copious examples of alliteration.
With all the poetic fireworks on display the actual contents of the hymn may seem almost beside the point, but we will provide a brief sketch. The first five verses (“dative verses”) are variations on a theme: the poet’s verbal offerings to Indra. The sixth verse, also a dative verse, modulates to the distant past and the god Tvaṣṭar’s gift of the newly fashioned mace to Indra. Verse 7 combines two rare Indra myths: his appropriation of his father’s soma right after his birth and the Emuṣa myth, in which the god Viṣṇu steals a mess of rice porridge while Indra shoots the boar Emuṣa. (For further on this myth, see Introduction, p. 40.) Verses 8–12 treat the Vr̥tra myth for the most part, though with some detours. Verses 13–15 generalize the praise of Indra’s deeds and bring it back to the present time and to the present poet, Nodhas, who names himself in verse 14, while the final verse, 16, summarizes the hymn that precedes and names the ritual application, the “Fallow-bay-yoking” oblation.
It is difficult to do justice to this tour de force of poetic craft, and many of its finest effects have not been discussed here. It is, unfortunately, even more difficult to do justice to it in English translation.

Jamison Brereton Notes

Indra For general discussion of the intricate structure of this hymn, see the published

introduction. as well as Jamison 2007: 60-68.

01 अस्मा इदु - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्मा᳓ इ᳓द् उ प्र᳓ तव᳓से तुरा᳓य
प्र᳓यो न᳓ हर्मि स्तो᳓मम् मा᳓हिनाय
ऋ᳓चीषमाय अ᳓ध्रिगव ओ᳓हम्
इ᳓न्द्राय · ब्र᳓ह्माणि रात᳓तमा

02 अस्मा इदु - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्मा᳓ इ᳓द् उ प्र᳓य इव प्र᳓ यंसि
भ᳓रामि आङ्गूष᳓म् बा᳓धे सुवृक्ति᳓
इ᳓न्द्राय हृदा᳓ म᳓नसा मनीषा᳓
प्रत्ना᳓य प᳓त्ये धि᳓यो मर्जयन्त

03 अस्मा इदु - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्मा᳓ इ᳓द् उ त्य᳓म् उपमं᳓ सुवर्षा᳓म्
भ᳓रामि · आङ्गूष᳓म् आसि᳓येन
मं᳓हिष्ठम् · अ᳓छोक्तिभिर् मतीनां᳓
सुवृक्ति᳓भिः · सूरिं᳓ वावृध᳓ध्यै

04 अस्मा इदु - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्मा᳓ इ᳓द् उ · स्तो᳓मं सं᳓ हिनोमि
र᳓थं न᳓ · त᳓ष्टेव त᳓त्सिनाय
गि᳓रश् च · गि᳓र्वाहसे सुवृक्ति᳓
इ᳓न्द्राय विश्वमिन्व᳓म् मे᳓धिराय

05 अस्मा इदु - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्मा᳓ इ᳓द् उ स᳓प्तिम् इव श्रवस्या᳓
इ᳓न्द्राय अर्कं᳓ जुहु᳓वा स᳓म् अञ्जे
वीरं᳓ दान᳓ओकसं वन्द᳓ध्यै
पुरां᳓ गूर्त᳓श्रवसं दर्मा᳓णम्

06 अस्मा इदु - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्मा᳓ इ᳓द् उ त्व᳓ष्टा तक्षद् व᳓ज्रं
सुअ᳓पस्तमं स्वरि᳓यं र᳓णाय
वृत्र᳓स्य चिद् · विद᳓द् ये᳓न म᳓र्म
तुज᳓न्न् ई᳓शानस् तुजता᳓ कियेधाः᳓

07 अस्येदु मातुः - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्ये᳓द् उ मातुः᳓ स᳓वनेषु सद्यो᳓
महः᳓ पितु᳓म् पपिवा᳓ञ् चा᳓रु अ᳓न्ना
मुषाय᳓द् वि᳓ष्णुः पचतं᳓ स᳓हीयान्
वि᳓ध्यद् वराहं᳓ तिरो᳓ अ᳓द्रिम् अ᳓स्ता

08 अस्मा इदु - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्मा᳓ इ᳓द् उ · ग्ना᳓श् चिद् देव᳓पत्नीर्
इ᳓न्द्राय अर्क᳓म् अहिह᳓त्य ऊवुः
प᳓रि द्या᳓वापृथिवी᳓ जभ्र उर्वी᳓
न᳓ अस्य ते᳓ महिमा᳓नम् प᳓रि ष्टः

09 अस्येदेव प्र - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्ये᳓द् एव᳓ प्र᳓ रिरिचे महित्व᳓न्
दिवᳶ᳓ पृथिव्याᳶ᳓ प᳓र्य् अन्त᳓रिक्षात् +++(स्वस्मिन् पूरणाय)+++।
स्व-रा᳓ड् इ᳓न्द्रो द᳓म आ᳓ विश्व᳓-गूर्तस्+++(←गुर् उद्यमने)+++
स्वरि᳓र्+++(=स्वरणीयः)+++ अ᳓म-त्रो+++(←अम् गतिशब्दादौ)+++ ववक्षे+++(←वह्)+++ र᳓णाय ।

10 अस्येदेव शवसा - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्ये᳓द् एव᳓ · श᳓वसा शुष᳓न्तं
वि᳓ वृश्चद् · व᳓ज्रेण वृत्र᳓म् इ᳓न्द्रः
गा᳓ न᳓ व्राणा᳓ · अव᳓नीर् अमुञ्चद्
अभि᳓ श्र᳓वो · दाव᳓ने स᳓चेताः

11 अस्येदु त्वेषसा - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्ये᳓द् उ त्वेष᳓सा रन्त सि᳓न्धवः
प᳓रि य᳓द् · व᳓ज्रेण सीम् अ᳓यछत्
ईशानकृ᳓द् · दाशु᳓षे दशस्य᳓न्
तुर्वी᳓तये · गाधं᳓ तुर्व᳓णिः कः

12 अस्मा इदु - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्मा᳓ इ᳓द् उ प्र᳓ भरा तू᳓तुजानो
वृत्रा᳓य व᳓ज्रम् ई᳓शानः कियेधाः᳓
गो᳓र् न᳓ प᳓र्व · वि᳓ रदा तिरश्चा᳓
इ᳓ष्यन्न् अ᳓र्णांसि अपां᳓ चर᳓ध्यै

13 अस्येदु प्र - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्ये᳓द् उ · प्र᳓ ब्रूहि पूर्विया᳓णि
तुर᳓स्य · क᳓र्माणि न᳓व्य उक्थइः᳓
युधे᳓ य᳓द् · इष्णान᳓ आ᳓युधानि
ऋघाय᳓माणो निरिणा᳓ति श᳓त्रून्

14 अस्येदु भिया - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्ये᳓द् उ भिया᳓ गिर᳓यश् च दॄळ्हा᳓+
द्या᳓वा च भू᳓मा जनु᳓षस् तुजेते
उ᳓पो वेन᳓स्य जो᳓गुवान ओणिं᳓
सद्यो᳓ भुवद् · वीरि᳓याय नोधाः᳓

15 अस्मा इदु - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

अस्मा᳓ इ᳓द् उ त्य᳓द् अ᳓नु दायि एषाम्
ए᳓को य᳓द् वव्ने᳓ भू᳓रेर् ई᳓शानः
प्र᳓ ए᳓तशं सू᳓रिये पस्पृधानं᳓
सउ᳓वश्विये · सु᳓ष्विम् आवद् इ᳓न्द्रः

16 एवा ते - त्रिष्टुप्

विश्वास-प्रस्तुतिः ...{Loading}...

एवा᳓ ते हारियोजना सुवृक्ति᳓
इ᳓न्द्र ब्र᳓ह्माणि गो᳓तमासो अक्रन्
आ᳓ एषु विश्व᳓पेशसं धि᳓यं धाः
प्रात᳓र् मक्षू᳓ धिया᳓वसुर् जगम्यात्