१२०

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सायण-भाष्यम्

‘का राधत्’ इति द्वादशर्चं पञ्चमं सूक्तम् । अत्रानुक्रम्यते - ’का राधद्द्वादशान्त्या दुःस्वप्ननाशन्याद्या गायत्री द्वितीया ककुप् तृतीयाचतुर्थ्यौ काविराण्नष्टरूप्यौ पञ्चमी तनुशिरा षष्ट्यक्षरै: उष्णिग्विष्टारबृहती कृतिर्विराट् तिस्रो गायत्र्यः’ इति । अस्यायमर्थः । अनुवृत्तेः औशिजो दैर्घतमसः कक्षीवान् ऋषिः आद्या गायत्री। ‘विद्वांसौ’ इत्येषा ककुप् मध्यमपादस्य द्वादशाक्षरत्वात् । ‘मध्यमश्चेत्ककुप् ’ (अनु. ५. ३) इति हि तल्लक्षणम् । तृतीया ‘ता विद्वांसा’ इत्येषा काविराट् । ‘नवकयोर्मध्ये जागतः काविराट् ’ ( अनु. ६. ५) इत्युक्तलक्षणोपेतत्वात्। चतुर्थी ‘वि पृच्छामि इत्येषा नष्टरूपी । ‘नववैराजत्रयोदशैर्नष्टरूपी ’ (अनु. ६.६) इत्युक्तलक्षणोपेतत्वात् । ‘प्र या घोषे ’ इत्येषा पञ्चमी तनुशिरा । ’ एकादशिनोः परः षट्कस्तनुशिरा ’ ( अनु. ५. ५) इत्युक्तलक्षणोपेतत्वात् । श्रुतं गायत्रम् ’ इत्येषा षष्ठी यद्यपि पदसंख्यया उष्णिक् न भवति तथापि अक्षरसंख्यया उष्णिक् ।’ युवं हि ’ इति सप्तमी विष्टारबृहती । “अष्टिनोर्मध्ये दशकौ विष्टारबृहती’ (अनु. ७.५) इति तल्लक्षणोपेतत्वात् ।’ मा कस्मै ’ इति अष्टमी कृतिः । ‘जागतावष्टकश्च कृतिः’ (अनु. ६. ३ ) इत्युक्तलक्षणसद्भावात् । दुहीयन्’ इति नवमी विराट् । दशम्याद्याः तिस्रो गायत्र्यः । ‘आश्विनं वै’ इति वैशब्दप्रयोगात् तुह्यादिपरिभाषया इदमपि सूक्तम् आश्विनम् ।’ अध स्वप्नस्य’ इति अन्त्यया दुःस्वप्ननाशनं प्रतिपाद्यते । अतो ’ या तेनोच्यते सा देवता ’ ( अनु. २. ५) इति न्यायेन तदेव देवता ॥ सूक्तविनियोगो लैङ्गिकः । घर्माभिष्टवे आदितो नवर्चो विनियुक्ताः । सूत्र्यते हि - ’का राधद्धोत्राश्विना वामिति नवा भात्यग्निः’ ( आश्व. श्रौ. ४. ६ ) इति । ‘का राधद्धोत्राश्विना वामिति नव विच्छन्दसः’ (ऐ. ब्रा. १. २१) इत्यादिकं ब्राह्मणमनुसंधेयम् ॥

Jamison Brereton

120
Aśvins
Kakṣīvant Dairghatamasa
12 verses: gāyatrī 1, 10–12; kakubh 2, kāvirāj 3, naṣṭarūpī 4, tanuśirā 5, uṣṇih 6, viṣṭārabr̥hatī 7, kr̥ti 8, virāj 9
Even for Kakṣīvant, a master of enigmatic poetry, this is an especially puzzling hymn, and not surprisingly it has given rise to quite different interpretations. For example, in Geldner’s view the hymn concludes with the poet’s complaint that his patron has been ungenerous. Much of the hymn reflects that disappointment: Kakṣīvant pretends to be a simple man but creates metrically irregular, obscure verses, charac
terized by irony and hidden malice. While there is much to recommend in Geldner’s approach to the hymn, we have taken a different tack.
The most notable feature of this hymn is its strange metrical pattern. The hymn begins in gāyatrī (vs. 1), a simple and common meter, but then sinks gradually into metrical chaos and finally emerges gradually into gāyatrī once again (vss. 10–12). The metrical transitions are marked by verse 2 in kakubh and verse 9 in virāj. Both are rarer Vedic meters, but they are meters found elsewhere. However, the middle section (vss. 3–8) changes meter in every verse and with one exception (vs. 6 in uṣṇih), the meters are jagged and very unusual. The impression they make is one of dislocation and even poetic incompetence, although it is obviously an artful and deliberate incompetence.
This metrical structure underscores the theme of the hymn. The poet begins, in gāyatrī, with a question about who will earn the support of the Aśvins. The first two pādas are typical and formulaic. Indeed, they reflect a very old, traditional formula, since the phrasing of ab resembles lines from the Gāthās of Zarathustra: Yasna 33.2 tōi vārāi rādəntī, ahurahyā zaošē mazdā “These will bring success to his desire and will be to the liking of the Wise Lord.” If this formulaic identification is cor rect, then pāda c may stand in intentionally shocking contrast: it is a question not about a successful worshiper but about an incompetent one, and immediately after this question the poet’s meter begins to disintegrate. The poet does not have the knowledge he needs (2) and fears that he might become someone acetás “without insight,” a word that recalls ápracetas “inattentive” in 1c and the anxiety that pro pels the hymn. The Aśvins know a certain entranceway, “doors,” that the poet does not. Pirart (1995: 263) suggests that these doors are the “doors of riches,” after I.68.10, 72.8, and similarly IX.45.3 = 64.3, and Geldner, the “doors of awareness” after IX.10.6 and similarly VII.95.6. It would be fully in accord with Kakṣīvant’s enigmatic style to mean either and both, especially since the poet’s knowledge and his prosperity are bound together.
Because of his anxiety, the poet calls on the Aśvins to help him (3–4). Verses 5 and 6 are particularly problematic, but they appear to describe the poet’s shortcomings. His speech is not grand like that recited before the Bhr̥gavāna fire, the fire originally lit by Bhr̥gu that symbolizes the unity of all the clans, and it is not beautiful (5). His voice is rough, but he asks the Aśvins to hear his song as if it were the song that Takavāna sings (6). Takavāna appears only here, but judging from the context he is someone whose beautiful voice the poet hopes the Aśvins will hear instead of his own raspy one. The poet thus asks the Aśvins to overlook his faults, and not to consign him and his people to the evildoings of their enemies (7–8). In the last verses the crisis seems to have passed. The poet’s verse stabilizes (into virāj), and the poet can hope that his measured pādas will win him measures of goods (9). At the beginning of this verse he also demonstrates his ability to puzzle. The subject is a cow, suggested by the previous verse, but what does the cow represent? Although it looks back several verses, one possibility is his Speech (vs. 5). Before he couldn’t speak the way he wished, but now he hopes that his Speech will yield the milk that will bind the Aśvins to him.
In verse 10 the “horseless chariot” of the Aśvins is the hymn, which, safely back in gāyatrī, is now running smoothly. It will carry the poet to successful sacrifices (11). This then leaves a problem in interpreting the last verse. Perhaps the anxiety he expressed in the middle of the hymn was not real but imagined, a kind of a dream. This last verse then might be the dismissal of that anxiety and of the concern that he will not receive the patronage he deserves.

01 का राधद्धोत्राश्विना - गायत्री

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का रा॑ध॒द्धोत्रा॑श्विना वां॒ को वां॒ जोष॑ उ॒भयोः॑ ।
क॒था वि॑धा॒त्यप्र॑चेताः ॥

02 विद्वांसाविद्दुरः पृच्छेदविद्वानित्थापरो - ककुप्

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वि॒द्वांसा॒विद्दुरः॑ पृच्छे॒दवि॑द्वानि॒त्थाप॑रो अचे॒ताः ।
नू चि॒न्नु मर्ते॒ अक्रौ॑ ॥

03 ता विद्वांसा - काविराट्

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ता वि॒द्वांसा॑ हवामहे वां॒ ता नो॑ वि॒द्वांसा॒ मन्म॑ वोचेतम॒द्य ।
प्रार्च॒द्दय॑मानो यु॒वाकुः॑ ॥

04 वि पृच्छामि - नष्टरूपी

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वि पृ॑च्छामि पा॒क्या॒३॒॑ न दे॒वान्वष॑ट्कृतस्याद्भु॒तस्य॑ दस्रा ।
पा॒तं च॒ सह्य॑सो यु॒वं च॒ रभ्य॑सो नः ॥

05 प्र या - तनुशिरा

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प्र या घोषे॒ भृग॑वाणे॒ न शोभे॒ यया॑ वा॒चा यज॑ति पज्रि॒यो वा॑म् ।
प्रैष॒युर्न वि॒द्वान् ॥

06 श्रुतं गायत्रम् - उष्णिक्

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श्रु॒तं गा॑य॒त्रं तक॑वानस्या॒हं चि॒द्धि रि॒रेभा॑श्विना वाम् ।
आक्षी शु॑भस्पती॒ दन् ॥

07 युवं ह्यास्तम् - विष्टारबृहती

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यु॒वं ह्यास्तं॑ म॒हो रन्यु॒वं वा॒ यन्नि॒रत॑तंसतम् ।
ता नो॑ वसू सुगो॒पा स्या॑तं पा॒तं नो॒ वृका॑दघा॒योः ॥

08 मा कस्मै - कृतिः

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मा कस्मै॑ धातम॒भ्य॑मि॒त्रिणे॑ नो॒ माकुत्रा॑ नो गृ॒हेभ्यो॑ धे॒नवो॑ गुः ।
स्त॒ना॒भुजो॒ अशि॑श्वीः ॥

09 दुहीयन्मित्रधितये युवाकु - विराट्

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दु॒ही॒यन्मि॒त्रधि॑तये यु॒वाकु॑ रा॒ये च॑ नो मिमी॒तं वाज॑वत्यै ।
इ॒षे च॑ नो मिमीतं धेनु॒मत्यै॑ ॥

10 अश्विनोरसनं रथमनश्वम् - गायत्री

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अ॒श्विनो॑रसनं॒ रथ॑मन॒श्वं वा॒जिनी॑वतोः ।
तेना॒हं भूरि॑ चाकन ॥

11 अयं समह - गायत्री

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अ॒यं स॑मह मा तनू॒ह्याते॒ जनाँ॒ अनु॑ ।
सो॒म॒पेयं॑ सु॒खो रथः॑ ॥

12 अध स्वप्नस्य - गायत्री

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अध॒ स्वप्न॑स्य॒ निर्वि॒देऽभु॑ञ्जतश्च रे॒वतः॑ ।
उ॒भा ता बस्रि॑ नश्यतः ॥