१०४

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सायण-भाष्यम्

‘ योनिः’ इति नवर्चम् एकादशं सूक्तं कुस्सस्यार्षं त्रैष्टुभम् ऐन्द्रम् । ‘योनिर्नव’ इत्यनुक्रान्तम् । सूक्तविनियोगो लैङ्गिकः ॥

Jamison Brereton

104
Indra
Kutsa Āṅgirasa
9 verses: triṣṭubh
At nine verses, this final hymn of the Kutsa Indra cycle is longer than its immediate predecessor by one verse. On this basis Oldenberg identified it as an Anhangslied (a supplementary hymn appended to the end of a divinity cycle), an opinion sup ported by the fact that, alone of the Kutsa hymns (I.94–98, 100–115), it lacks the Kutsa refrain always found in the last hemistich of the last verse of each hymn. (This applies only to trimeter hymns; the gāyatrī hymn I.97, not surprisingly, also lacks it.) But if “supplementary” suggests something attenuated or in decline, that suggestion is emphatically false. This hymn is extraordinary complex and challeng ing, especially in its mythological portion (vss. 3–5), and we are far from solving the many puzzles it presents. It may have been inserted just here in the Saṃhitā because the mythological portion in part concerns a foe named Kuyava, or the demon “of bad grain,” that is, bad harvest, mentioned as having been slain by Indra in the last verse of the preceding hymn (I.103.8ab). There are also several other lexical connec tions between I.103 and this hymn, particularly the two forms of śrád-dhā “trust” in each hymn, which may have encouraged the insertion, or even the composition, of this supplementary poem.
As in many hymns, an invitation to Indra to come to the sacrifice is found in the first verse. But some of the features of this verse give us a taste of what is to

come. For example, the apparently straightforward simile in pāda b, rendered here as “like a steed sounding off,” is actually a triple pun (impossible to convey in translation): the participle suvānáḥ can belong to three different verbs: “sound,” “impel,” and “press (of soma).” When Indra takes his seat on the ritual ground, he is compared to a horse neighing, to a horse that has been driven to the place where it takes its rest, and finally to soma (which itself is often compared to a horse) being pressed in its womb. In fact the same phraseology is applied to soma elsewhere (cf. IX.70.7).
The second verse introduces the theme that will dominate the mythological por tion, the importance of having Indra and the other gods on our side in the battle against the traditional, perhaps indigenous, enemies of the Ārya, identified as Dāsa (vs. 2) and Dasyu (vs. 5). The word “color” in the final pāda of the verse is a fre quent way of referring to a cohort, a unified group of people. Our urgent need for Indra and his aid returns after the mythological portion, in fact starting with the second half of verse 5. The poet twice asserts his trust in Indra’s power (6d, 7a); this may not be a mere repetition but refer rather to the two aspects of Indra’s power, as described in the first verse of the preceding hymn (I.103.1), partly in heaven and partly on earth. And he also issues a series of peremptory commands, especially negative commands, to Indra from verse 5ab through verse 8, which ends with a plea not to split our “eggs” or our “cups,” in our opinion male and female genitalia respectively. The final verse (9) is again a simple invitation to soma.
The problematic verses 3–5ab need to be interpreted within this outer frame work, the context of Indra’s martial aid to the embattled Ārya. Our interpretation of these verses is quite speculative and differs from those of others, but we have attempted to construct a coherent account, while supplying as little extraneous material as possible. What is immediately striking about the first of these verses (3) is the presence of two female figures, the “two maidens of Kuyava,” who are obviously rivers. More rivers appear in the second half of the next verse (4cd). Now the advance of the Ārya is often obstructed by rivers, which must be forded (see esp. III.33), and important battles are fought beside these barrier rivers (see esp. VII.18). The two maidens of Kuyava thus could be rivers initially controlled by forces impeding the progress of the Ārya. The charming image of the foamy riv
ers “bathing in milk” turns swiftly cruel: “may they both be smashed,” perhaps a reference to their violent confluence with a mightier river still, the Śiphā (otherwise unknown). This verse reminds us of V.30.9, in another Indra hymn, in which Indra confronts an enemy who “made women his weapons” and who has two streams, perhaps the same rivers as here. Once Indra recognizes the situation, he initiates battle.

30.9 Because the Dāsa made women his weapons, what can they do to me? His armies lack strength.

Since he [=Indra] distinguished both his [=Dāsa’s?] streams, therefore Indra advanced on the Dasyu to fight. The point may be that though rivers are formidable natural obstructions, they are also, by grammatical gender, feminine, and females are, by nature, weak. Conceiving of rivers as women robs them of their power and allows them to be overcome. The analogue of Indra’s distinguishing the streams in V.30.9 may be found in our verse 5ab, where the “guide” of the Dasyu, which we interpret both physically as the streambed and metaphorically as his strategy, is revealed. It is another female who reveals and recognizes it, and, on the basis of shared lexicon, we think that Dawn is the figure lurking behind this unidentified feminine. Dawn regularly makes things visible and knows the way forward, and here she leads the Aryan forces to the very seat of the enemy.
These Ārya forces are personified in Āyu in verse 4ab. His “navel” has been effaced for two reasons. On the one hand, the mythic hero Āyu is the son of the Apsaras Urvaśī and the mortal king Purūravas, but his lot was cast with mortals when his mother abandoned him (see X.95), and in this sense his true origins have been, at the least, muddied. But there is a more positive aspect to this phrase; since he and the other Ārya continue to move forward into ever new territory, where they came from recedes into the background: their future is forward.
What remains to be explained is the emphasis on the rivers’ “carrying away” (áva-√bhR̥3a, 3b; √bhR̥4b). Here we feel there may be a latent ritual reference. The “final bath” (avabhr̥thá, a derivative of áva-√bhr̥) of the sacrificer and his wife at the end of the classical śrauta ritual is purificatory, removing all ritual pollution. And it is a commonplace in Vedic that rivers and moving waters in general carry away stain. The mention of bathing in 3c, combined with the emphasis on “carry
ing away,” suggests that a notion of expiation and ritual cleansing has been super imposed on this battle scene. What is not clear is what is being carried away. Is it pollution produced by some offense of the enemy? An even more speculative idea is inspired by the mention of “foam” (phénam 3b): in a well-known myth Indra cuts off the head of the demon Namuci with the foam of waters (see VIII.14.13), having tricked him by forswearing all conventional weapons. It is possible that the rivers here are carrying away the defilement that Indra acquired from this underhanded killing. It is worthy of note that the Namuci myth is treated in V.30.7–8, right before the verse cited above about enemy streams.
The last word has not been said about this dense and fascinating hymn, but we hope to have advanced the discussion.

Jamison Brereton Notes

Indra

01 योनिष्थ इन्द्र - त्रिष्टुप्

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यो᳓निष् ट इन्द्र निष᳓दे अकारि
त᳓म् आ᳓ नि᳓ षीद स्वानो᳓ न᳓ अ᳓र्वा
विमु᳓च्या व᳓यो अवसा᳓य अ᳓श्वान्
दोषा᳓ व᳓स्तोर् व᳓हीयसः प्रपित्वे᳓

02 ओ त्ये - त्रिष्टुप्

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ओ᳓ तिये᳓ न᳓र इ᳓न्द्रम् ऊत᳓ये गुर्
नू᳓ चित् ता᳓न् सद्यो᳓ अ᳓ध्वनो जगम्यात्
देवा᳓सो मन्युं᳓ दा᳐᳓सस्य श्चम्नन्
ते᳓ न आ᳓ वक्षन् सुविता᳓य व᳓र्णम्

03 अव त्मना - त्रिष्टुप्

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अ᳓व त्म᳓ना भरते के᳓तवेदा
अ᳓व त्म᳓ना भरते फे᳓नम् उद᳓न्
क्षीरे᳓ण स्नातः कु᳓यवस्य यो᳓षे
हते᳓ ते᳓ स्याताम् प्रवणे᳓ शि᳓फायाः

04 युयोप नाभिरुपरस्यायोः - त्रिष्टुप्

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युयो᳓प ना᳓भिर् उ᳓परस्य आयोः᳓
प्र᳓ पू᳓र्वाभिस् तिरते रा᳓ष्टि शू᳓रः
अञ्जसी᳓ · कुलिशी᳓ वीर᳓पत्नी
प᳓यो हिन्वाना᳓ उद᳓भिर् भरन्ते

05 प्रति यत्स्या - त्रिष्टुप्

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प्र᳓ति य᳓त् स्या᳓ नी᳓था अ᳓दर्शि द᳓स्योर्
ओ᳓को ना᳓छा स᳓दनं जानती᳓ गात्
अ᳓ध स्मा नो मघवञ् चर्कृता᳓द् इ᳓न्
मा᳓ नो मघे᳓व निष्षपी᳓ प᳓रा दाः

06 स त्वम् - त्रिष्टुप्

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स᳓ त्वं᳓ न इन्द्र सू᳓रिये सो᳓ अप्सु᳓
अनागास्त्व᳓ आ᳓ भज जीवशंसे᳓
मा᳓ अ᳓न्तराम् भु᳓जम् आ᳓ रीरिषो नः
श्र᳓द्धितं ते महत᳓ इन्द्रिया᳓य

07 अधा मन्ये - त्रिष्टुप्

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अ᳓धा मन्ये श्र᳓त् ते अस्मा अधायि
वृ᳓षा चोदस्व महते᳓ ध᳓नाय
मा᳓ नो अ᳓कृते पुरुहूत यो᳓नाव्
इ᳓न्द्र क्षु᳓ध्यद्भ्यो व᳓य आसुतिं᳓ दाः

08 मा नो - त्रिष्टुप्

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मा᳓ नो वधीर् इन्दर+ मा᳓ प᳓रा दा
मा᳓ नः प्रिया᳓ भो᳓जनानि प्र᳓ मोषीः
आण्डा᳓ मा᳓ नो मघवञ् छक्र नि᳓र् भेन्
मा᳓ नः पा᳓त्रा भेत् सह᳓जानुषाणि

09 अर्वाङेहि सोमकामम् - त्रिष्टुप्

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अर्वा᳓ङ् ए᳓हि सो᳓मकामं तुवाहुर्
अयं᳓ सुत᳓स् त᳓स्य पिबा म᳓दाय
उरुव्य᳓चा जठ᳓र आ᳓ वृषस्व
पिते᳓व नः शृणुहि हूय᳓मानः