०६६

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सायण-भाष्यम्

‘आ चिकितान’ इति षड़ृचं दशमं सूक्तं रातहव्यस्यार्षम् आनुष्टुभं मैत्रावरुणम् । अत्रानुक्रमणिका - आ चिकितानानुष्टुभं तु ’ इति । आद्यस्तृचो दशरात्रे चतुर्थेऽहनि प्रउगशस्त्रे मैत्रावरुणस्य । सूत्रितं च – ’ आ चिकितान सुक्रतू त्यमु वो अप्रहणम् ’ ( आश्व. श्रौ. ७. ११ ) इति ॥

Jamison Brereton

66 (420)
Mitra and Varuṇa
Rātahavya Ātreya
6 verses: anuṣṭubh
This hymn shows similarities to the preceding hymn, attributed to the same poet. Note especially the first line, whose beginning, ā́ cikitāna sukrátū “Here are the two of strong resolve, o perceptive mortal,” uses similar lexical elements as 65.1a yáś cikéta sá sukrátuḥ “He who is perceptive has strong resolve.” In V.65 the poet singles out Mitra, especially in the last three verses of the hymn. Here the poet addresses Varuṇa alone in the first verse and Mitra alone in the last. This strategy has the effect of defining a beginning and ending to the hymn, but there are also thematic reasons for this distribution of divine names as well. Verse 1 mentions the “truth” (r̥tá), which is particularly associated with Varuṇa, who presides over the truth, and in verse 6 the poet hopes that his people will take their places (yátemahi) under the gods’ protection. The root √yat “arrange,” here in the middle voice in the sense of “take one’s place,” is characteristically associated with Mitra’s task of “arranging” peoples according to the alliances among them, as was noted in the introduction to V.65.
Renou characterizes this hymn as a eulogy of poetic power and an r̥tá, and he is right that these are central concerns of the poet. The power of the hymn is indi rectly suggested in verses 1–2. In verse 1 the hymn is “set in place” (dadhītá) in the ritual, and this act finds a social and cosmological echo in the next verse, where the rule of Mitra and Varuṇa “is set in place” (dhāyi) in the way that the sun is set in place. That is to say, in terms of the verse sequence of the poem, the hymn appears in the ritual and then the rule of the gods appears. In verses 3–4 there is an extended description of the poet’s work that implicitly compares it to a raid. As they often are in the R̥gveda, the “chariots” sought by the poet (vs. 4) may be hymns or even sacrifices that journey to the gods. In verse 5 the gods perceive the hymn of the poet, brought to them by the “beacon of the peoples.” While interpreters have variously identified this beacon, we believe that it is most likely Agni (cf. V.11.2), who trans ports hymns and offerings to the gods.
One of the poet’s strategies that makes this hymn interesting but difficult to interpret is his use of indeterminate ellipsis (cf. vss. 1, 2, 3) and obscure reference (esp. vs. 5). Verses 5–6 are the most intriguing example, because they form the cli max of the hymn. In 5ab the poet dramatically declares that he will enunciate the “lofty truth,” but as is often the case, this lofty truth that he expresses in 5cd is an abstruse one. By the double reference of yā́mabhiḥ to a poet’s entreaties and to river courses, the words of the poet are compared to flowing streams. These streams flow over Heaven and Earth, which expand for the poet in response. In this reading of the hemistich, the masculine dual jrayasānaú “who extend” would be completed by dyā́vā or the like, “Heaven and Earth.” This is suggested by the vocative pr̥thivi
in 5a, echoed by pr̥thú in c, for dyā́vā regularly appears alongside the nominative pr̥thivī́, as in I.159.1, II.12.13, II.41.20, VI.11.1, VII.69.1, and VIII.72.9. But the poet’s words carrying their entreaties also flow beyond to Mitra and Varuṇa, who likewise become even greater through them. Verse 6 then is a phalaśruti, a “declara
tion of benefit,” expressing the expectation of the poet and his people that they will live safely under the rule of Mitra and Varuṇa.

01 आ चिकितान - अनुष्टुप्

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आ चि॑कितान सु॒क्रतू॑ दे॒वौ म॑र्त रि॒शाद॑सा ।
वरु॑णाय ऋ॒तपे॑शसे दधी॒त प्रय॑से म॒हे ॥

02 ता हि - अनुष्टुप्

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ता हि क्ष॒त्रमवि॑ह्रुतं स॒म्यग॑सु॒र्य१॒॑माशा॑ते ।
अध॑ व्र॒तेव॒ मानु॑षं॒ स्व१॒॑र्ण धा॑यि दर्श॒तम् ॥

03 ता वामेषे - अनुष्टुप्

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ता वा॒मेषे॒ रथा॑नामु॒र्वीं गव्यू॑तिमेषाम् ।
रा॒तह॑व्यस्य सुष्टु॒तिं द॒धृक्स्तोमै॑र्मनामहे ॥

04 अधा हि - अनुष्टुप्

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अधा॒ हि काव्या॑ यु॒वं दक्ष॑स्य पू॒र्भिर॑द्भुता ।
नि के॒तुना॒ जना॑नां चि॒केथे॑ पूतदक्षसा ॥

05 तदृतं पृथिवि - अनुष्टुप्

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तदृ॒तं पृ॑थिवि बृ॒हच्छ्र॑वए॒ष ऋषी॑णाम् ।
ज्र॒य॒सा॒नावरं॑ पृ॒थ्वति॑ क्षरन्ति॒ याम॑भिः ॥

06 आ यद्वामीयचक्षसा - अनुष्टुप्

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आ यद्वा॑मीयचक्षसा॒ मित्र॑ व॒यं च॑ सू॒रयः॑ ।
व्यचि॑ष्ठे बहु॒पाय्ये॒ यते॑महि स्व॒राज्ये॑ ॥