Riks of Madhuchchhandas
TRANSLATION AND NOTES : 1.1.1-5
Agnimīḷe purohitam yajṇ̃asya devamṛtvijam,
hotāram ratnadhātamam.
Rik 1.
ईळे (īḷe): to praise, in the ritualistic sense; but as a
secondary root of
ई
(i)
ईळ्
(īḷ) meant to seek, go towards, attain,
desire, adore, pray, ask for (cf.
मातरमन्न्मैट्ट, mataramannamaiṭṭa,
III. 48. 3). The former senses have been lost and only "to desire",
"pray" or "ask for" are left in later Sanskrit; but the other
senses must have existed, as the idea of desiring, asking is never
a primary sense of any root, but derived figuratively from
the physical sense "to go, seek, approach". We may therefore
render
ईळे
(īḷe), either "seek", "desire", "adore" or "pray to".
पुरोहितम्
(purohitam): Sayana—"Purohita", or else "placed
in the front of the sacrifice as the āhavanīya fire". The Purohita
of the Veda is the representative power in the sacrifice who stands
in front of the consciousness and the action and conducts it.
This is always the force of the "placing in front" which is so
common an idea in the hymns. Normally, this place belongs to
Agni who leads the sacrifice.
देवम्
(devam): Sayana —
दानादिगुणयुक्तम्
(dānādiguṇayuktam).
Sayana's dealing with the word Deva is peculiar. Sometimes
he renders it simply "god", sometimes he gives it some root
values,
दान
(dāna),
देवन
(devana), sometimes he makes it mean
the priest. There is not a single passage in the Veda where the
ordinary sense "god", "divine being" does not give a clear and
sufficient and the best sense. No doubt, the Vedic poets never
left out of sight its root meaning: the gods are the Shining Ones,
the Lords of Light as are the Dasyus the Dark or Black Ones, the
sons of Darkness.
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ऋत्विजम्
(ṛtvijam): "He who
sacrifices at the right season"
is the outward or ritualistic sense; but
ऋतु
(ṛtu), in the Veda, as
we shall see, is the order of the truth, its arranged law, time,
circumstance. Agni is the representative priest who sacrifices
according to the law, order, season of the Ritam.
होतरम्
(hotāram): Sayana —
"because he utters the Mantra"
and he quotes अहं होता स्तौमि
(aham hotā staumi); but he renders
it sometimes आह्वाता
(āhvātā), sometimes
होमनिष्पादक:
(homaniṣpādakaḥ), sometimes gives us the choice. Undoubtedly,
होता
(hotā) is the priest of the oblation, who gives the offering,
हु
(hu)
to offer, and not हू
(hū) to call. The hymn was an attendant
circumstance of the offering, therefore the invocation or praise
might also fall to the part of the
होता (hotā); but in the system of
the Rig-veda the proper name for the reciter of the Mantra is
ब्रह्मा
(brahmā). Agni is the
होतृ
(hotṛ), Brihaspati the
ब्रह्मा
(brahmā).
रत्न
(ratna): Sayana —
यागफ़लरूपाणां रत्नानामतिशयेन धारयितारं
पोषयितारं वा (yāgaphalarūpānāam ratnānāmatiśayena dhārayitāram poṣayitāram vā).
धा
(dhā) to hold and to nourish (cf.
धात्री,
dhātri,
nurse). But in other passages he takes
रत्नं = रमणीय धनं
(ratnam
=ramaṇīyam dhanam) which shows that he took it to mean
literally "that which is delightful" and made it wealth, as he
makes द्युम्न
(dyumna) that which is shining, and renders it
"wealth". We need not follow him.
रत्नं
(ratnam) means "delight"
or Ananda (cf. रम् रति रण् रण्व राध्
रञज्, ram, ratiḥ, raṇ, raṇva,
rādh, rañj, etc.), just as
द्युम्नम् (dyumnam) means "light",
धा
(dhā)
is to hold or else to place.
Translation: RITUALISTIC
I praise Agni, the Purohita¹ of the
sacrifice, the god,² the
Ritwik, the Hota who holds very much wealth.
Translation: PSYCHOLOGICAL
I seek the God-Will, the Priest set in
front of our sacrifice,
the divine offerer who sacrifices in the order of the truth, who
disposes utterly the delight.
¹Or, who is set in front
²Or, bountiful,
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Agniḥ pūrvebhirṛṣibhirīḍyo nūtanairuta,
sa devān eha vakṣati.
Rik 2.
ऋषि:
(ṛṣiḥ): lit. "seeker, attainer", so "knower",
from ऋष्
(ṛṣ) to go.
इह देवान्
(iha devān): the divine powers into the
mortal life and mortal being, वक्षति
(vakṣati) =
वह् + स + ति
(vah + sa
+ ti) This स
(sa) seems to have been either frequentative in force,
"he constantly or habitually bears", or intensive, "he entirely
bears", or desiderative, "he wills or intends to bear". From the
latter sense we have the use of स्
(s) for the future, cf.
नी
(nī),
नेष्यामि
(neṣyāmi), Gr.
luō, I loose,
lusō, I shall loose, and English, I will go, where the desiderative "will==wish, intend" has
acquired the sense of a simple future.
Translation:
The God-Will is desirable as to the ancient sages, so to the
new, for it is he that bringeth here the gods.
Agninā rayimaśnavat poṣameva divedive,
yaśasam vīravattamam.
Rik 3.
अश्नवत्
(aśnavat): Sayana—प्राप्नोति
(prāpnoti), but the
form gives a certain semi-imperative sense or the idea of a rule
of action or law of occurrence. "He shall attain."
अश्
(aś) to
possess, have, obtain, enjoy; Greek echō, I have.
यशसं
(yaśasam): Sayana —
दानादिना यशोयुक्तं
(dānādinā yaśoyuktam), so "famous"; but "a famous and men-fullest wealth" seems
an absurd way of talking. यश्
(yaś) is literally to go, strive towards,
attain; here it means success, fame; also from another sense "to
shine" = "splendour"; it is connected in sense with
या
(yā),
यत्
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(yat),
यस्
(yas). We have in the Veda
रयि
(rayi), wealth or felicity, often described as expansive, pervading, breaking down
obstacles on the way. There is therefore no inappropriateness
or violence in rendering it "enjoyment that attains" or "victorious riches".
वीरवत्तमम्
(viravattamam): Sayana —
अतिशयेन पुत्रभृत्यादिवीरपुरुषोपेतम्
(atiśayena putrabhṛtyādivīrapuruṣopetam). It is absurd to take
वीर = पुत्र
(vīra=putra) as Sayana does; it means "men, heroes,
strengths" and is often the equivalent of
नृ
(nṛ) which is never
used for servants in the Rig-veda.
रयिम्
(rayim): There are two words,
रयि
(rayi) from
रि
(ri)
to go and रयि
(rayi) from
रि
(ri) to attain, enjoy. The latter means
"enjoyment" or the things enjoyed, "felicity, prosperity, riches".
The former sense is found in the Upanishad where
रयि
(rayi),
movement or matter is opposed to
प्राण (prāṇa), life.
Translation: RITUALISTIC
By Agni one attains a wealth daily increasing, famous and
most full of men.
Translation: PSYCHOLOGICAL
By the God-Will one shall enjoy a felicity that shall increase
day by day, victorious, fullest of hero-powers.
Agne yam yajñamadhvaram viśvataḥ paribhūrasi,
sa id deveṣ̣u gacchati.
Rik 4.
अध्वरम्
(adhvaram): Sayana—हिंसारहितम्
(himsārahitam),
because it is not destroyed by the Rakshasas, from
अ
(a) privative+dhvara (ध्वृ,
dhvṛ to hurt). But अध्वर
(adhvara) is used by
itself to mean sacrifice and it is quite impossible that the word
"unhurt" used by itself can have come to mean sacrifice. It must
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express some essential quality of the sacrifice or it could not thus
have been singled out. It is a notable fact that
अध्वर
(adhvara)
is continually used for the sacrifice when there is a question of
the sacrifice travelling or moving on the path towards the gods,
as here. I therefore take अध्वर
(adhvara) from an original root
अध्
(adh) to move and connect it with
अध्वन्
(adhvan), path; it means
the moving or travelling sacrifice, the sacrifice regarded as a
pilgrimage of the soul or its gifts towards the gods.
Translation: RITUALISTIC
O Agni, the unhurt sacrifice that thou encompassest on all
sides, that goes to the gods.
Translation: PSYCHOLOGICAL
O God-Will, whatsoever sacrifice in the path
thou encompassest with thy being on every side, that indeed arrives to
the gods.
Agnirhotā kavikratuḥ satyaścitraśravastamaḥ,
devo devebhirā gamat.
Rik 5.
कविक्रतु:
(kavikratuḥ): Sayana takes
कवि
(kavi) here=
क्रान्त
(krānta) and
क्रतु:
(kratuḥ)= either knowledge or work.
It means then the priest whose work or whose knowledge
moves. But there is absolutely no reason to take
कवि
(kavi)
in any other than its natural and invariable sense,
कवि
(kavi) is
the seer, the one who has the divine or supramental knowledge.
क्रतु
(kratu): from
कृ
(kṛ) or rather old root
क्र
(kra) to divide,
to do, make, shape, work. From the sense "divide" comes that
of the discerning mind, Sayana's
प्रज्ञान (prajñana); cf. Greek
kritos, judge etc.; and this is the sense of karuthi in Tamil which
means mind. But from the sense "to do"
क्रतु
(kratu) means (1)
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work, (2) power of work, strength, cf. Greek
kratos, strength,
(3) will or working force of the mind. For this last sense cf.
Isha Upanishad क्रतो कृतम् स्मर
(krato kṛtam smara) where the collocation
क्रतो कृतम्
(krato kṛtam) shows that that power of the mind
is meant which conducts or dictates the work or action. Agni is
the divine Seer-Will that works with the perfect supramental
knowledge.
सत्य:
(satyaḥ)'. Sayana explains "true in its fruits"; but the
collocation of "seer-will" and
श्रवस्
(śravas), inspired knowledge,
indicates rather the sense "true in his being" and therefore "true
in knowledge", श्रवस्
(śravas), and "in will"
क्रतु:
(kratuḥ).
श्रवस्
(śravas) is the supramental knowledge called the Truth,
ॠतम्
(ṛtam),
the Vijnana of the Upanishads.
कविक्रतु: (kavikratuḥ) means having
the will that is full of that knowledge, the vijñanamaya will, the
divine ajñāna,
सत्य: (satyaḥ) means "vijñanamaya
in his substance".
चित्रश्रवस्तम:(citraśravastamaḥ): Sayana — 'having most varied .
kinds of fame', —an insipid and meaningless epithet for a
god. श्रवस्
(śravas) is used like
श्रुति
(śruti) to indicate the inspired
hymn; it must therefore be capable of meaning inspired knowledge. There are two kinds of supramental knowledge,
दृष्टि
(ḍṛṣti) and
श्रुति
(śruti), sight and hearing, revelation and inspiration, but
श्रवस्
(śravas) is usually used to indicate the knowledge
gained by the supramental faculties.
Translation: RITUALISTIC
Agni, the priest, who sets in motion the knowledge (or
work), true in his fruit, very varied in his fame, may he come
with the gods.
Translation: PSYCHOLOGICAL
The God-Will, Priest of our offering, true in his being, with
the will of the seer, with richest variety of inspired knowledge,
may he come to us divine with the powers divine.
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