०१२

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सायण-भाष्यम्

‘ द्यावा’ इति नवर्चं द्वादशं सूक्तमाङ्गेर्हविर्धानस्यार्षं त्रैष्टुभमाग्नेयम् ।“ द्यावा’ इत्यनुक्रान्तम् । गतो विनियोगः ॥

Jamison Brereton

12 (838)
Agni
Havirdhāna Āṅgi
9 verses: triṣṭubh
On first reading, this hymn appears to be full of non-sequiturs and false starts, but further consideration allows some coherence to be wrung from it. It begins inno cently enough, with two verses devoted to the sacrifice initiated by Agni as Hotar, with Heaven and Earth as witnesses—picking up the topic of the last verse of the preceding hymn (X.11.9). In our view, the third verse continues that theme: an obla tion derived from a cow, probably ghee, is made into the fire; thus it is Agni’s “own acquisition.” This sacrificial event in some sense generates the gods and their cos mic activity, which is framed as a yájus or sacrificial formula, and it also generates the rain, the “heavenly ghee.” We may see here an early example of the famous Upaniṣadic doctrine of the Five Fires and the water-cycle, whereby the oblations, produced from the plants and animals on the earth, rise to heaven as smoke and return to earth as water, to start the cycle anew. The sacrifice begun in verse 1 seems to end with verse 4, where Heaven and Earth are again (as in vs. 1) called upon to hear us. What has been added conceptually is the notion that Heaven and Earth also participate in the cycle that the sacrifice controls, by producing rain (“honey”) in the course of time.
The second half of the hymn (vss. 5–8; vs. 9 is repeated from the preceding hymn, X.11.9) appears to be on another subject, or several other subjects, entirely. It begins with the worried speaker speculating on what wrong we have done to Varuṇa, con trasting the unfathomable reactions of that god with the more forthright and reliable Mitra. It ends (vs. 8cd) with the perhaps over-hopeful assertion that Mitra, along

with Aditi and Savitar, will declare us blameless to Varuṇa. But the verses in between (6–7) at first seem unconnected with this current drama. It is our contention, how ever, that these verses, especially verse 6 about Yama, provide the mythological sup
port for the poet’s hope that his relationship with Varuṇa can be repaired. Verse 6 needs to be read in the context of X.10, the famous dialogue between Yama and his twin sister Yamī, but also of X.13.4, another cryptic verse about Yama in this cycle of hymns. In X.10, as is well known, Yama and Yamī argue about her desire to have sex with him in order to produce offspring. He strongly resists, condemning (X.10.2) their possible pairing by characterizing it with the phrase also quoted in 6b of this hymn: sálakṣmā yád víṣurūpā bhávāti, “that (the female) will have the same ‘marks’ [=family characteristics] (though) dissimilar form [=gender]” in our rendering. This phrase has received many different inter pretations; we believe that it defines the forbidden incestuous partner Yamī as being of the same family but of a different shape—female rather than male—as Yama. The dialogue of X.10 ends with the issue unresolved. It is X.13.4 that seems to give us the answer. In that verse Yama “chose death” for the sake of the gods and for the sake of offspring “did not choose immortality.” It seems that Yama was born immortal (see esp. I.83.5) but chose to forego this state, in order to produce children and also to institute the sacrifice to the gods. This act of self-abnegation and the change of state it produced is, in our view, what is being celebrated in verse 6 here. The poet first (pāda a) mentions Yama’s “immortal (name),” which he does not want to think about—since it reminds him of the taint of incest (pāda b), but his other name, by implication the “mortal” one, is a happy one to think about and ensures Agni’s protection for the thinker. (Note that the actual name Yama is only mentioned in the second instance.) In the next verse (7) we move to the seat of Vivasvant, a common kenning for the ritual ground, but in this context it is important to remember that Yama is a descen dant of Vivasvant (see his patronymic in, e.g., nearby X.14.1 vaivasvatám…yamám). The juxtaposition of Yama in verse 6 and Vivasvant in verse 7 reminds the audience that Yama chose death in order to institute the sacrifice, and further reminds them that when they perform sacrifice they are replicating the actions of Yama, which transformed his bad reputation (“name difficult to contemplate”) into a good one. Thus, though we still have no idea why the gods do what they do (see 7ab, 8ab), we trust in the power of our sacrifice to make things right with these inscrutable gods.

010-019 ...{Loading}...
Jamison Brereton

The next ten hymns (X.10–19) form a Yama cycle, though the subject matter found in the individual hymns is quite various. Yama, the son of Vivasvant, is king of the land of the dead because he was the first mortal to die. Yet he was apparently born immortal (see esp. I.83.5) and chose to become mortal, subject to death, “for the sake of the gods…and for the sake of offspring” (X.13.4). The opening hymn in the cycle, the dialogue of Yama and his twin sister Yamī, on the fraught topic of embarking on incestuous sex in order to produce offspring, addresses Yama’s change of status and his choice, but in a deliberately oblique and misleading fashion, as Yama spurns the sexual advances of his sister, and at the end of their bitter argument there seems little likelihood of children. The last six hymns in this cycle (X.14–19) are collectively known as funeral hymns. The first, X.14, is devoted especially to Yama in his role as king of the realm of the dead, while the others, especially 15–18, concern various aspects of death and the treatment of the dead—for example, the forefathers who preceded us to Yama’s realm in X.15, the cremation fire in X.16, the funeral itself in X.

The intermediate hymns, X.11–13, have less superficially clear connections to the Yama saga, but both X.12 (vss. 6–7) and X.13 (vss. 4–5) make important comments on Yama and on Yama’s choice.

There is also an underlying unifying theme, that of duality and twinned-ness: the absolute disjunction between and the ultimate complementarity and unity of the mortal and the immortal, life and death, men and gods, men and women, heaven and earth, sacred and profane. It is appropriate that the cycle should begin with the dialogue between the primal twins, Yama and Yamī, whose very names mean “twin” and who bridge the gap between mortal and immortal.

01 द्यावा ह - त्रिष्टुप्

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द्या᳓वा ह क्षा᳓मा प्रथमे᳓ ऋते᳓न
अभिश्रावे᳓ भवतः सत्यवा᳓चा
देवो᳓ य᳓न् म᳓र्तान् यज᳓थाय कृण्व᳓न्
सी᳓दद् धो᳓ता प्रतिअ᳓ङ् स्व᳓म् अ᳓सुं य᳓न्

02 देवो देवान्परिभूऋड़्तेन - त्रिष्टुप्

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देवो᳓ देवा᳓न् · परिभू᳓र् ऋते᳓न
व᳓हा नो हव्य᳓म् प्रथम᳓श् चिकित्वा᳓न्
धूम᳓केतुः समि᳓धा भा᳓ऋजीको
मन्द्रो᳓ हो᳓ता नि᳓त्यो वाचा᳓ य᳓जीयान्

03 स्वावृग्देवस्यामृतं यदी - त्रिष्टुप्

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स्वा᳓वृग् देव᳓स्य अमृ᳓तं य᳓दी गो᳓र्
अ᳓तो जाता᳓सो धारयन्त उर्वी᳓
वि᳓श्वे देवा᳓ अ᳓नु त᳓त् ते य᳓जुर् गुर्
दुहे᳓ य᳓द् ए᳓नी दिवियं᳓ घृतं᳓ वाः᳓

04 अर्चामि वाम् - त्रिष्टुप्

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अ᳓र्चामि वां व᳓र्धाया᳓पो घृतस्नू
द्या᳓वाभूमी शृणुतं᳓ रोदसी मे
अ᳓हा य᳓द् द्या᳓वो अ᳓सुनीतिम् अ᳓यन्
म᳓ध्वा नो अ᳓त्र पित᳓रा शिशीताम्

05 किं स्विन्नो - त्रिष्टुप्

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किं᳓ स्विन् नो रा᳓जा जगृहे क᳓द् अस्य
अ᳓ति व्रतं᳓ चकृमा को᳓ वि᳓ वेद
मित्र᳓श् चिद् धि᳓ ष्मा जुहुराणो᳓ देवा᳓ञ्
छ्लो᳓को न᳓ याता᳓म् अ᳓पि वा᳓जो अ᳓स्ति

06 दुर्मन्त्वत्रामृतस्य नाम - त्रिष्टुप्

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दुर्म᳓न्तु अ᳓त्र अमृ᳓तस्य ना᳓म
स᳓लक्ष्मा य᳓द् वि᳓षुरूपा भ᳓वाति
यम᳓स्य यो᳓ मन᳓वते सुम᳓न्तु
अ᳓ग्ने त᳓म् ऋष्व पाहि अ᳓प्रयुछन्

07 यस्मिन्देवा विदथे - त्रिष्टुप्

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य᳓स्मिन् देवा᳓ विद᳓थे माद᳓यन्ते
विव᳓स्वतः स᳓दने धार᳓यन्ते
सू᳓र्ये ज्यो᳓तिर् अ᳓दधुर् मासि᳓ अक्तू᳓न्
प᳓रि द्योतनिं᳓ चरतो अ᳓जस्रा

08 यस्मिन्देवा मन्मनि - त्रिष्टुप्

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य᳓स्मिन् देवा᳓ म᳓न्मनि संच᳓रन्ति
अपीचि᳓ये न᳓ वय᳓म् अस्य विद्म
मित्रो᳓ नो अ᳓त्र अ᳓दितिर् अ᳓नागान्
सविता᳓ देवो᳓ व᳓रुणाय वोचत्

09 श्रुधी नो - त्रिष्टुप्

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श्रुधी᳓ नो अग्ने स᳓दने सध᳓स्थे
युक्ष्वा᳓ र᳓थम् अमृ᳓तस्य द्रवित्नु᳓म्
आ᳓ नो वह रो᳓दसी देव᳓पुत्रे
मा᳓किर् देवा᳓नाम् अ᳓प भूर् इह᳓ स्याः