०३७

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सायण-भाष्यम्

‘उप नो वाजाः’ इत्यष्टर्चं पञ्चमं सूक्तं वामदेवस्यार्षमार्भवं त्रैष्टुभम्। पञ्चम्याद्याश्चतस्रोऽनुष्टुभः । तथा चानुक्रान्तम्- उप नोऽष्टौ चतुरनुष्टुबन्तम्’ इति । व्यूढे दशरात्रे षष्ठेऽहनि वैश्वदेवशस्त्रे आद्याः चतस्रः शस्याः । ‘ उप नो वाजा इति त्रयोदशार्भवं चतस्रश्च’ (आश्व. श्रौ. ८. ८) इति हि सूत्रितम् ॥

Jamison Brereton

37 (333)
R̥bhus
Vāmadeva Gautama
8 verses: triṣṭubh 1–4, anuṣṭubh 5–8
Meter divides this hymn into two parts: the first half is in trimeter and the second in dimeter. That might indicate that the two parts were originally two different hymns, but the two parts show a thematic unity. Running through the hymn is the explicit and implicit image of the horse, although the meaning of the horse is constantly

changing. The first verse does not mention a horse, but it invites the R̥bhus to come in their chariots to the sacrifice, so the horse implicitly carries the R̥bhus. In 4a the bahuvrīhi pī́voaśva might mean “(having) fat horses,” but we have taken it to refer to the butter offerings belonging to the R̥bhus, and therefore we have translated “(hav
ing) horses of fat,” just as the R̥bhus’ “blazing chariots” in the bahuvrīhi śucádratha likely refers to the sacrificial fires. In 4b the R̥bhus themselves are addressed as prize winning horses. The theme then becomes more pronounced in the second half of the hymn. In verse 5b they are summoned as a team of horses, and in 5d at least one of them is called a horseman. In verse 6 the sacrificer’s horse, here probably the hymn, is a steed that makes him a winner. And finally in verse 8 the wealth that the R̥bhus bring may be a horse, but this verse is problematic and discussed in more detail below.
One of the lexical features of the hymn is the wording of the invocation to the Vājas and R̥bhukṣans. These are elliptical plurals. The “Vājas” refers to all three R̥bhus, who are most commonly named R̥bhu, Vāja, and Vibhvan. “R̥bhukṣan,” which means “Master of the R̥bhus,” can refer to Indra, but it can also be a name for one of the R̥bhus, that is, the R̥bhu who is named “R̥bhu.” The plural R̥bhukṣans here, therefore, are probably again just the three R̥bhus. In verse 5 the poet encodes two R̥bhus in the appellative use of their names: R̥bhu in R̥bhú “craftsman” (5a) and Vāja in vā́ja “prize” (5b). The name of the third R̥bhu, Vibhvan or Vibhū, does not appear in this verse, or anywhere else in the hymn. However, he may be the horseman (aśvín) in 5cd, for horses are “wide-ranging” (vibhú), as in III.6.9b vibhávo hí áśvāḥ “for your horses are wide-ranging.” The word aśvínam also anticipates the invocation of the Nāsatyas, that is, the Aśvins, in verse 8. The addition of the Aśvins may point to the use of this hymn in an Atirātra or Overnight Soma Rite, since in that rite the Aśvins are summoned in the early morning after the soma-pressing day.
Verse 3 poses some difficulty because tryudā́ya, here translated “thrice ascend ing,” is a hapax of unsure meaning. Perhaps wisely, Geldner does not try translating it at all. Sāyaṇa links tri- “three” to the three soma pressings, but the R̥bhus do not receive soma at the Morning or Midday Pressings. Therefore, while -udā́ya likely does describe soma pressing (sávana), tri- may refer to three soma offerings to the three R̥bhus.
But the most problematic verse is the last, and our interpretation is tentative. The verse appears to refer to a Horse Sacrifice. In the classical rite the horse is released to wander through various territories before it is finally sacrificed. Here the horse is the wealth that the R̥bhus, Indra, and the Aśvins bring from surround
ing lands. As the sacrificial horse is slaughtered and cut up, so wealth is generously apportioned to the sacrificers.

01 उप नो - त्रिष्टुप्

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उप॑ नो वाजा अध्व॒रमृ॑भुक्षा॒ देवा॑ या॒त प॒थिभि॑र्देव॒यानैः॑ ।
यथा॑ य॒ज्ञं मनु॑षो वि॒क्ष्वा॒३॒॑सु द॑धि॒ध्वे र॑ण्वाः सु॒दिने॒ष्वह्ना॑म् ॥

02 ते वो - त्रिष्टुप्

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ते वो॑ हृ॒दे मन॑से सन्तु य॒ज्ञा जुष्टा॑सो अ॒द्य घृ॒तनि॑र्णिजो गुः ।
प्र वः॑ सु॒तासो॑ हरयन्त पू॒र्णाः क्रत्वे॒ दक्षा॑य हर्षयन्त पी॒ताः ॥

03 त्र्युदायं देवहितम् - त्रिष्टुप्

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त्र्यु॒दा॒यं दे॒वहि॑तं॒ यथा॑ वः॒ स्तोमो॑ वाजा ऋभुक्षणो द॒दे वः॑ ।
जु॒ह्वे म॑नु॒ष्वदुप॑रासु वि॒क्षु यु॒ष्मे सचा॑ बृ॒हद्दि॑वेषु॒ सोम॑म् ॥

04 पीवोअश्वाः शुचद्रथा - त्रिष्टुप्

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पीवो॑अश्वाः शु॒चद्र॑था॒ हि भू॒तायः॑शिप्रा वाजिनः सुनि॒ष्काः ।
इन्द्र॑स्य सूनो शवसो नपा॒तोऽनु॑ वश्चेत्यग्रि॒यं मदा॑य ॥

05 ऋभुमृभुक्षणो रयिम् - अनुष्टुप्

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ऋ॒भुमृ॑भुक्षणो र॒यिं वाजे॑ वा॒जिन्त॑मं॒ युज॑म् ।
इन्द्र॑स्वन्तं हवामहे सदा॒सात॑मम॒श्विन॑म् ॥

06 सेदृभवो यमवथ - अनुष्टुप्

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सेदृ॑भवो॒ यमव॑थ यू॒यमिन्द्र॑श्च॒ मर्त्य॑म् ।
स धी॒भिर॑स्तु॒ सनि॑ता मे॒धसा॑ता॒ सो अर्व॑ता ॥

07 वि नो - अनुष्टुप्

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वि नो॑ वाजा ऋभुक्षणः प॒थश्चि॑तन॒ यष्ट॑वे ।
अ॒स्मभ्यं॑ सूरयः स्तु॒ता विश्वा॒ आशा॑स्तरी॒षणि॑ ॥

08 तं नो - अनुष्टुप्

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तं नो॑ वाजा ऋभुक्षण॒ इन्द्र॒ नास॑त्या र॒यिम् ।
समश्वं॑ चर्ष॒णिभ्य॒ आ पु॒रु श॑स्त म॒घत्त॑ये ॥