०१५

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सायण-भाष्यम्

‘अग्निर्होता ’ इति दशर्चं पञ्चमं सूक्तं वामदेवस्यार्षं गायत्रम् । अत्रेयमनुक्रमणिका – अग्निर्होता दश गायत्रमृषिर्बोधत् इत्याभ्यां सोमकं साहदेव्यमभ्यवदत्पराभ्यामस्याश्विनावायुरयाचत’ इति । ‘बोधद्यत्’ इति द्वृचेन सोमकराजा स्तूयते ‘एष वाम्’ इति द्वृचेनाश्विनौ शिष्टाभिः षड्भिरग्निः स्तूयते। अतस्ता एव क्रमेण देवताः । सूक्तविनियोगो लैङ्गिकः । पशोः पर्यग्निकरणे • अग्निर्होता नः’ इत्याद्यस्तृचोऽनुवचनीयः । तथा च सूत्रितम् - ’अग्निर्होता न इति तृचं पर्यग्नयेऽन्वाह’ (आश्व. श्रौ. ३.२) इति । प्रातरनुवाकेऽप्याग्नेये क्रतौ गायत्रे छन्दस्याश्विनशस्त्रे चायं तृचो विनियुक्तः । तथा च सूत्रितम् – ’अग्निर्होता नो अध्वर इति तिस्रः ’ ( आश्व. श्रौ. ४. १३) इति ॥

Jamison Brereton

15 (311)
Agni (1–6), Somaka Sāhadevya (7–8), Aśvins (9–10)
Vāmadeva Gautama
10 verses: gāyatrī
This final hymn of the Agni cycle in Maṇḍala IV consists of ten verses. Its length marks it as out of order in the cycle, since it follows a sequence of shorter hymns, but its internal structure is not entirely clear. It is generally agreed that the first three verses form a tr̥ca dedicated to Agni, and could therefore, as an independent hymn, be properly placed in the Agni cycle. The next three verses (4–6) could also form a tr̥ca to Agni and could likewise be properly placed, but the mention of Sr̥ñjaya Daivavāta suggests that the final four verses (7–10), a dānastuti to Somaka Sāhadeva, belong with verses 4–6, since Somaka’s father, Sahadeva, is elsewhere (Aitareya Brāhmaṇa 7.34) identified as a Sr̥ñjaya.
We are of the opinion that the hymn consists of an originally independent sin gle tr̥ca (vss. 1–3), and a second tr̥ca (vss. 4–6) with a loosely attached four-verse dānastuti (7–10), but that it is unlikely that either of the tr̥cas formed a part of the original cycle. Note especially that the two preceding hymns, IV.13–14, are really not standard Agni hymns, but more generally applicable to the divinities of dawn, and this change in subject matter suggests that these dawn-centered hymns were added at some point at the end of the Agni cycle proper. Only later were the frag ments found in IV.15 appended to that enlarged cycle.
In any case, all three verses of the first tr̥ca concern Agni’s circling of the sacri fice, a ritual act characteristic of the animal sacrifice, as we have seen previously in this maṇḍala (IV.6.3–5). The second tr̥ca, especially its second verse (5), seems to concern militant Agni and suggests that only a mortal who is a hero himself can

control such a fire: the implication is that Sr̥ñjaya Daivavāta, mentioned in verse 4, is such a man. This provides a transition to the “praise of the gift” in verses 7–10, where a prince of the Sr̥ñjaya family is the patron. The poet praises Prince Sāhadevya for giving him two horses (playfully in vs. 7) and prays to the Aśvins to reward the prince with a long life. There is another, more subtle connection between 4–6 and 7–10: the last verse of the tr̥ca (vs. 6) alludes to the ritual drink soma (as “the red child of heaven”), though it is not named; the name (or hypo
coristic: note the -ka-suffix characteristic of nicknames) of the patron in 7–10 is Somaka (vs. 9).

Jamison Brereton Notes

Agni

01 अग्निर्होता नो - गायत्री

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अ॒ग्निर् होता॑ नो अध्व॒रे
वा॒जी (अश्वस्) सन् परि॑ णीयते ।
दे॒वो दे॒वेषु॑ य॒ज्ञियः॑ ॥

02 परि त्रिविष्थ्यध्वरम् - गायत्री

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परि॑ त्रिवि॒ष्ट्य्(=त्रिवारम्) अ॑ध्व॒रं
यात्य् अ॒ग्नी र॒थीर् इ॑व ।
आ दे॒वेषु॒ प्रयो॒(=अन्नम्) दध॑त् ॥

03 परि वाजपतिः - गायत्री

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परि॒ वाज॑-पतिः क॒विर्
अ॒ग्निर् ह॒व्यान्य् अ॑क्रमीत् ।
दध॒द् रत्ना॑नि दा॒शुषे॑ ॥

04 अयं यः - गायत्री

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अ॒यं यः सृञ्ज॑ये पु॒रो दै॑ववा॒ते स॑मि॒ध्यते॑ ।
द्यु॒माँ अ॑मित्र॒दम्भ॑नः ॥

05 अस्य घा - गायत्री

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अस्य॑ घा वी॒र ईव॑तो॒ऽग्नेरी॑शीत॒ मर्त्यः॑ ।
ति॒ग्मज॑म्भस्य मी॒ळ्हुषः॑ ॥

06 तमर्वन्तं न - गायत्री

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तमर्व॑न्तं॒ न सा॑न॒सिम॑रु॒षं न दि॒वः शिशु॑म् ।
म॒र्मृ॒ज्यन्ते॑ दि॒वेदि॑वे ॥

07 बोधद्यन्मा हरिभ्याम् - गायत्री

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बोध॒द्यन्मा॒ हरि॑भ्यां कुमा॒रः सा॑हदे॒व्यः ।
अच्छा॒ न हू॒त उद॑रम् ॥

08 उत त्या - गायत्री

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उ॒त त्या य॑ज॒ता हरी॑ कुमा॒रात्सा॑हदे॒व्यात् ।
प्रय॑ता स॒द्य आ द॑दे ॥

09 एष वाम् - गायत्री

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ए॒ष वां॑ देवावश्विना कुमा॒रः सा॑हदे॒व्यः ।
दी॒र्घायु॑रस्तु॒ सोम॑कः ॥

10 तं युवम् - गायत्री

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तं यु॒वं दे॑वावश्विना कुमा॒रं सा॑हदे॒व्यम् ।
दी॒र्घायु॑षं कृणोतन ॥