१८०

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सायण-भाष्यम्

अथ चतुर्विंशेऽनुवाके द्वादश सूक्तानि । तत्र ’ युवो रजांसि ’ इति दशर्चं प्रथमं सूक्तमागस्त्यं त्रैष्टुभम् । तुह्यादिपरिभाषया इदमादिसूक्तपञ्चकमाश्विनम् । ’ युवोर्दशाश्विनं वै ’ इत्यनुक्रमणिका । एतदादीनि तृतीयवर्जितानि पञ्च सूक्तानि प्रातरनुवाकाश्विनशस्त्रयोस्त्रैष्टुभे छन्दसि विनियुक्तानि । ‘ अथाश्विनः’ इति खण्डे सूत्रितं - युवो रजांसीति पञ्चानां तृतीयमुद्धरेत्’ ( आश्व. श्रौ. ४. १५) इति ।।

Jamison Brereton

180
Aśvins
Agastya Maitrāvaruṇi
10 verses: triṣṭubh
Agastya’s trickery and virtuosic obscurity are fully on display in this hymn. As a consequence we are uncertain about the correctness of many details of our interpretation, but puzzling out the hymn provides an exhilarating ride—per haps appropriately, since the hymn begins and ends with the Aśvins’ chariot-drive around the cosmic spaces. This ring composition is signaled by the responsions between verses 1 and 10: the chariot “flies around” the airy realms and the (cosmic) floods in 1ab and “speeds around” heaven in 10c (a parallel with a clever twist in the Sanskrit, where the verb “flies” [dī́yat] is a close phonological match with the word for “heaven” [dyā́m]), and a physical feature of the chariot, its wheel-rims or fellies, is mentioned in both verses, but with different words (paví 1c, -nemi 10c). This ring composition provides a structure in which both the Aśvins’ journey to and participation in the sacrifice and the poet’s exploration of the boundaries of language can be anchored.
In our view the flying journey begun in verse 1 brings the Aśvins to the sacrifi cial ground and its ritual fire in verse 2, a fire that is itself characterized as having “wide flight,” that is, as physically spreading out and up when kindled. The next two verses depict several of the Aśvins’ earlier deeds as creating a reciprocal benefit for them at the current sacrifice. Verse 3 notes that they (primordially) put the milk in cows, a fact of nature that is often marveled at in the R̥gveda—that a “cooked” (that is, ready to consume) substance, milk, is derived from its container, the “raw” flesh of the living cow. Now this same milk is going into cups to provide the Aśvins’ oblation. Similarly, in verse 4 the sweet gharma drink that they produced for the mythological figure Atri comes back to them at this sacrifice. Both of these verses, particularly 3, bristle with difficulties.
With verse 5 the poet turns to his own situation and, in subsequent verses, that of his fellow singers and their patrons. In 5 he presents himself, in the 1st person sin gular, as a poor man beset with difficulties, expressing the hope that with his praise he can bring the Aśvins to his sacrifice and induce them to make gifts. Verse 6 has as its subject the poet’s patron, depicted in two punning verbs (6c) as actively involved in the sacrifice; the poet here (6d) hopes that this patron will act in good faith and according to his proper duty by receiving the Aśvins’ gifts and then redistributing them to the poet and his fellows. Verses 7 and 8 present a series of interlocking causal clauses with shifting subjects. In 7ab because “we singers” do our job of praising the gods, our patron is not stingy. “We singers” (of 7ab) in the 1st person plural transform into Agastya in the 3rd person singular (8cd) via a set of clauses in which the human half of the divine/human interface is left unspecified, and indeed other crucial grammatical information, like the verb in 8ab, is missing. In our inter
pretation, Agastya, who is of course the poet (who appeared in the 1st person sin gular in vs. 5), is the subject of the whole of verse 8, and he is calling the Aśvins to the Morning Pressing, the sacrifice appropriate to them, whose ritual substance, the soma, is characterized by the difficult hapax vírudra “apart from/without Rudra/ the Rudras [=Maruts].” We believe (after a suggestion of Geldner’s) that this word encodes a reference to Agastya’s mythological engagement with the Maruts (see especially the dialogue hymns I.165, 170, 171) and his attempts to ensure that the Maruts get a share in the sacrifice. Here, since the Maruts are associated with the Midday Pressing, the offering of soma to the Aśvins in the early morning would be made without the Maruts, despite Agastya’s loyalty to the Maruts and his general eagerness to provide them offerings. In any case, clearly Agastya has had ritual suc cess, crowned both by widespread praise (8c) and by the possession of thousands (presumably of cows or other livestock).

Verses 9–10 return to the gods’ chariot journey and are relatively straightfor ward, with a particularly uncomplicated demand for horses for us and our patrons in 9cd.

Jamison Brereton Notes

Aśvins

01 युवो रजांसि - त्रिष्टुप्

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युवो᳓ र᳓जांसि सुय᳓मासो अ᳓श्वा
र᳓थो य᳓द् वाम् प᳓रि अ᳓र्णांसि दी᳓यत्
हिरण्य᳓या वाम् पव᳓यः प्रुषायन्
म᳓ध्वः पि᳓बन्ता उष᳓सः सचेथे

02 युवमत्यस्याव नक्षथो - त्रिष्टुप्

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युव᳓म् अ᳓त्यस्य अ᳓व नक्षथो य᳓द्
वि᳓पत्मनो न᳓रियस्य प्र᳓यज्योः
स्व᳓सा य᳓द् वां विश्वगूर्ती भ᳓राति
वा᳓जाय ई᳓ट्टे मधुपाव् इषे᳓ च

03 युवं पय - त्रिष्टुप्

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युव᳓म् प᳓य उस्रि᳓यायाम् अधत्तम्
पक्व᳓म् आमा᳓याम् अ᳓व पू᳓र्वियं गोः᳓
अन्त᳓र् य᳓द् · वनि᳓नो वाम् ऋतप्सू
ह्वारो᳓ न᳓ शु᳓चिर् य᳓जते हवि᳓ष्मान्

04 युवं ह - त्रिष्टुप्

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युवं᳓ ह घर्म᳓म् म᳓धुमन्तम् अ᳓त्रये
अपो᳓ न᳓ क्षो᳓दो अवृणीतम् एषे᳓
त᳓द् वां नराव् अश्विना प᳓श्वïष्टी
र᳓थ्येव चक्रा᳓ प्र᳓ति यन्ति म᳓ध्वः

05 आ वाम् - त्रिष्टुप्

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आ᳓ वां दाना᳓य ववृतीय दस्रा
गो᳐᳓र् ओ᳓हेण तौग्रियो᳓ न᳓ जि᳓व्रिः
अपः᳓ क्षोणी᳓ सचते मा᳓हिना वां
जूर्णो᳓ वाम् अ᳓क्षुर् अं᳓हसो यजत्रा

06 नि यद्युवेथे - त्रिष्टुप्

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नि᳓ य᳓द् युवे᳓थे नियु᳓तः सुदानू
उ᳓प स्वधा᳓भिः सृजथः पु᳓रंधिम्
प्रे᳓षद् वे᳓षद् · वा᳐᳓तो न᳓ सूरि᳓र्
आ᳓ महे᳓ ददे सुव्रतो᳓ न᳓ वा᳓जम्

07 वयं चिद्धि - त्रिष्टुप्

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वयं᳓ चिद् धि᳓ वां जरिता᳓रः सत्या᳓
विपन्या᳓महे वि᳓ पणि᳓र् हिता᳓वान्
अ᳓धा चिद् धि᳓ ष्म अश्विनाव् अनिन्द्या
पाथो᳓ हि᳓ ष्मा वृषणाव् अ᳓न्तिदेवम्

08 युवां चिद्धि - त्रिष्टुप्

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युवां᳓ चिद् धि᳓ ष्मा अश्विनाव् अ᳓नु द्यू᳓न्
वि᳓रुद्रस्य प्रस्र᳓वणस्य सातउ᳓
अग᳓स्तियो नरां᳓ नृ᳓षु प्र᳓शस्तः
का᳓राधुनीव चितयत् सह᳓स्रैः

09 प्र यद्वहेथे - त्रिष्टुप्

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प्र᳓ य᳓द् व᳓हेथे महिना᳓ र᳓थस्य
प्र᳓ स्यन्द्रा याथो म᳓नुषो न᳓ हो᳓ता
धत्तं᳓ सूरि᳓भ्य उत᳓ वा सुअ᳓श्व्यं
ना᳓सतिया रयिषा᳓चः सियाम

10 तं वाम् - त्रिष्टुप्

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तं᳓ वां र᳓थं वय᳓म् अद्या᳓ हुवेम
स्तो᳓मैर् अश्विना सुविता᳓य न᳓व्यम्
अ᳓रिष्टनेमिम् प᳓रि द्या᳓म् इयानं᳓
विद्या᳓मेषं᳓ वृज᳓नं जीर᳓दानुम्