THE RIG VEDA devotee of the latter rather than the former. (A similar juxtaposition occurs in v. 19.) Indrani refers sarcastically to ‘friend’, in contrast to the ‘enemy’ who is Vr$akapi’s true ally.
5. The text has the unmarked sex (wild pig), but there may ^^11 be sexual overtones best conveyed by making the animal female.
6. A double entendre, for the private parts of the goddess and the sacred instruments of the ritual. The first meaning lends sexual overtones to the ‘head’ she threatens to cut off (an innuendo made explicit in v. 7), and the second places it in the context of a xitvw beheading. That Indram is referring to her sexual charms is made clear by the following verse, in which she boasts that she is so con- sunanaate a bed-mate that she certainly need not stoop to a liaison with Vfsakapi.
7. A tr/^le entendre', a term of respect for a mother goddess, a term often used for a whore, or a possible indication that Indraiu reaUy is his mother. (It is also the term used in the sexual banter o the horse sacrifice.) These ambiguities carry over into the next phrase, for a woman ‘easily won’ is being insidted for her pronus- cuity, while a deity ‘easily won’ is praised for her generosity to the worshipper.
8. He may be bragging that he will soon have her again, or accepting either of the alternatives suggested by Indrani: that she will kill him (v. 5) or allow him to have her (v. 6, in which Vfsakapi may misunderstand her implication that she is too good for him), an acceptance of the Liebestod that plays a part in later myths of the seductive, destructive goddess. He accepts her threat, and he lusts for her.
9. The verb connotes the rushing of blood to the surface of the skin, causing horripilation and erection. It indicates fear as well as desire, both relevant here: fear of the goddess and desire for the woman.
10. A pun: it may mean that she has no virile husband, or that she has no heroic sons. Indra is her husband, and the Maruts are sometimes said to be her sons. Here, Indrani contests the previous assertion, that she has a husband to protect her.
II- Double entendre', sacrificial meeting-place or rendezvous. The public sacrifice is one made to gods with their wives (Indrani with her man).
12. The word denotes a woman who is (a) beautiful, therefore (b) loved by her husband, therefore (c) fortunate in the most impor- tant way for a woman; her husband will live long.
WOMEN 15. This IS a common metaphor for Soma Vf?akapi’s wife im- plies that even though her offering is not a Soma offering, it is just as good.
14 Verses 16-17 have inspired many imaginative interpretations. Apparently Indr3ni refers first to Vr?akapi, whom she accuses of Jaching power (both sexual and religious), and then to India, uhom she praises for having this power, Vj-jakapi’s wife then retorts that Indra is not powerful, preasely because he is sexually active, while her husband // powerful, because he is (now, if not necessarily formerly) celibate and self-controlled (a statement that she then supports with v 18). Moreover, Indra is sexually active because he represents potential power, while Vrfakapi, apparently having already bad Indrani, is now immune ro sexual stimulation. The ‘hairy organ’ is most likely hers, which opens in response to him (cf 9.112 4), the verb also serves to describe the male organ, which swells in its excitement, and thus the ‘haiiy organ’ may be lus, it IS quite lil.elj that the ambiguitj is intentional. Sjpna says that IndrJnl speaks the first verse, wishing to have intercourse u ith Indra, and that Indra speaks the second, not vv ishing to linvc inter- course with her, in this gloss, the one who is (is not) powerful, rcspcaivcly, is the woman, who docs or docs not exate her hus- band, Indra, in refusing her, argues that his power lies m the fact that he is immune to sexual stimulation finally, one may sec the reversals between the two verses ns a result of tlic transfer of v irilc powers rather than as a contrast between two static descriptions • in the first verse, Indra is not powerful, but the monkcj is; in the second, the situation is reversed The most likclj interpretation, however, is that Indrjpi praises tlic virile Indra and mocks the Impotent Vr^ahapi in the first verse, and Vpikapi’s wife praises the self controlled Vr?3kapi and mocks the pnapic India m the second.
1 1. 'nie*c arc all items lued in a sarrifirc of expiation for one w ho his violated n vow of chastity. Tlicy arc al'O ured In the horse racnl cc, for the stallion brral s a jevt's vow cf chauhy m this certmonv.
(tl r So ta suhi’iUiK), to whom Indra p'tfris ti'C cvpeit (d - I'drtst), THE RIG VEDA where Vt^akapi has been performing his vow of expiation non-Soma offerers, and the ‘closer’ houses of civilization under t c plough^thcre may also be overtones of a contrast between a barren woman and one who has cropped..., 18. She may be referring to herself and Indra, as a married couple, or to herself and V|'5alcapi, as a reconciled i o couple.
19. A possible allusion to the rape of Indranl.
20. The beast may be Vf^akapi, the scapegoat who has taken dra’s many sins and given Indra his own fertile powers. Or it^^f be Vr§akapi’s wife, accused of inciting Vfjakapi to his sacriiege against Indranl., 21. Par^u’s name means ‘rib’; as the wife of the first man (an one who is said in many texts to be androgynous) she shares anatomical description with Eve. Whether she is here identifie with Vr§akapi’s wife (or, indeed, with Indrani), or merely stan for all womankind who benefit from the fertility of the gods, is an open question.
10.40 Th Courtship of Ghosd The hymn begins and ends with an invocation to the Alvins* The central verses are set in the mouth of a woman, one or two instances in the entire Kig Veda where this occurs;^ and according to Indian tradition, Ghosa is actually the author 01 this hymn. Though women do speak in some of the dialogue hymns,2 they do not invoke the gods, and even here it is unlikely that Ghosa was in fact the author. In the hymOj Ghosa reminds the Asvins of the many people they have helped in the past, including at least one (Sinjara) who has regained his vidlity. In this context it is relevant to note that the word for ‘widow’ is also interpreted by the commentaries, here and elsewhere, as referring to the wife of an impotent man. The hymn continues with Ghosa’s image of a happy marriage (v. 9), at which the bride’s parents weep and reminisce, and people wear wedding clothes rather than funeral clothes (v. 10). She asks them to bless her future husband (w. 11-13), and the hymn ends, as it begins, with a question WOMEN about where the Airins may be found, and the implied hope tliat they arc going to the poet’s house.
/ Where is your brilliant chariot going, O Heroes, and who has adorned it for its good journey as it comes, glorious at dawn, brought by thought and care morning after mormng into house after house?
2 Where are the ASvins in the cvemng, where in the morn- ing, where do they stop and where have they spent the night? Who invites you as a widow takes her husband’s brother to her bed, as a young woman takes a young man to a room?
^ Early in the morning you arc awakened, hke two old men praised by a bard, and worthy of sacrifice you go into house after house. For whom do you remain in shadow, O Heroes, and to whose Soma offerings do you come like two sons of kings?
y Like hunters tracking wild elephants wc summon you with the oblation at dawn and at dusk. To the mao who offers the oblation at the right time, j ou who arc heroes and husbands of beauty bring nourishment.
/ Ghofa, the daughter of a king, came to you, Alvins, and said, T beg you, O Heroes; be with me b) day and by night, ns you gi\c power to the racehorse to atin the prize of horses and chariots ‘You wise Alvins move about on jour chariot, driving It 111 c Kutsa* to the houses of the singers. Your bees bring raw lionej bj mouth, as a woman brings honey in a pot / 'You came to the aid of Bhupu, joii came to \’a^a, jou came to Siiijara^ and U<-tna* The ricrificcr enjojs jour fricndshii>; I beg, fora faaour, watit tour help.
‘You reicue Kp i and bava. jou rocue the \ otthipper and the widou. You A<\ irt open the tl undrnni' ct>w ‘pen v hit 'ea en mouilit to gu c re- arth, f ‘She hit Itocoa'c a joj'ie wou'S'i, the joun'' n.an } ii run ftHA) to her. I’Ijnis wa/itrg ti'-’oc jKo.xra Lave I 10 II 12 ^3 ^4 the rig VEDA Sprouted and flow to him as rivers flow to a valley. On day he becomes a husband.
^ mourn the living; they are transformed at the samfice. Men have pondered deeply the long span. It is a ^ essing ior the fathers who have arranged this; the ^es are a joy for the husbands to embrace.
^ not learned this — tell it to us — how a young man reste in the lap of a young woman. Let us go to the hoi^e a bull fhU of seed and fond of cows. This we desire, O Asvins.
Yoi^ favour has come, O Asvins rich In prizes. Desires becoming flrmly rooted in hearts.^ As a pair, you of beauty have become our protectors; let ^go as loved ones to the home of a good firiend.
. eloquent wealth and strong sons, as you joice in e house of a man. Husbands of beauty, make ^ ^t:e one can drink well; clear away the hatred^ stands Ip^e a post in the path.'
_^ere, and m whose houses, will they rejoice today, the ondicms i^vins, husbands of beauty? Who has detained em. o the house of what inspired priest or sacrificer have they gone?
NOTES r. The other is the Apala song, 8.9 r traveUrthjV charioteer of Indra. Aa chariottaa who ttilchSLfers 4* The commentator identifies him with Atri j « 5. The Alvins ata asked to give cows as rawa^ would reward Brahmins with cows taken from the rn.l/ ^ The seven mouths arc probably simply recurrent number in the Vedas! ’ '=““8 6. The lack of pronouns in this sentence leaves an.
may well have been intended in the original. One can WOMEN 'our desires are rooted in jour hearts’ - but perhaps this goes against the force of the verse 7. Perhaps the hatred of a rejecting husband. Cf. 8,91 4, 10.8 j The Marriage of Suiyd The divine prototype for human marriages is the hierogamy of SOrya (daughter of Surya, the sun) and Soma (here, for the only time in die R/g Veda, regarded as the moon, as well as the sacred plant and its expressed juice). Later marriages are modelled upon this one, and the bride is called Surya. The first nineteen verses refer to the myth of die marriage of Surya and Soma; subsequent verses also refer back to Sury.a (vv. 20, 35 and 38) and to Soma (40-41), though die former seems merely to designate the bride and the latter is a reference to Soma m ins other aspect, his drotl de seigmir over all brides. Verses 20-47 present formulaic verses, some of a highly magical nature, to be reared at a wedding.
r The earth is propped up by truth; die sky is propped up by the sun. Through the Law the Adity.as stand firm and Soma IS placed in the sky.
a Through Soma the Aditjas arc mighty; through Soma the earth is great. And in the l.ap of these constellations Soma has been set.* 3 One thin! s he has drunk Sonia v hen they press the plant- But the Soma that the Brahmins know - no one c\cr cats tlnt.- ^ Hidden by those charged with selling )ou.* protected h\ those who live on hit’h, O Soma. \ou sttnd listening to the prcssing'Stoncs No cirthlin'c vats sou j When ihej drink sou ssiio arc a jjod. then jou arc fdlej up aeam. Vusu is the puirshau of Sonia; the moon is the or-c that s'vapes the years, (• ^lle Kailthi metre* ' as the won an s!io fate her,s— the N ■Sri jOid mc'rc * wa! the rirl ''oji-ro' p4-r^,{ n,- fine diet sai edorned iij the to ^ i,* jOj THE RIG VEDA 7 Intelligence was the pillow; sight was the baliD. Heaven and Earth were the hope-chest when Suty^ went to her husband.
8 The hymns of praise were the shafts ® and metre was the diadem and coiffure. The Alvins were the suitors o Surya, and Agni was the one who went in front.® p Soma became the bridegroom and the two Alvins were the suitors, as Savitr ® gave Surya to her husband and she said ‘Yes’ in her heart.
10 Thought was her chariot and the sky was its canopy* The two luminaries^® were the two carriage animals when Surya went to the house.
11 Your two cattle, yoked with the verse and the chant, went with the same accord. You had hearing for your two wheels. In the sky the path stretched on and on.
12 The two luminaries were your wheels as you journeyed, the outward breath was made into the axle. Surya mounted a chariot made of thought as she went to her husband.
ip The wedding procession of Surya went forward as Savitr sent it off. When the sun is in Agha^ they kill the catde,^ and when it is in Arjuni^ she is brought home.
i^ When you Alvins came to the wedding in your fhree- wheeled chariot, asking for Surya for yourselves, all the gods gave you their consent, and Pusan, the son, chose you as his two fathers.^® ij When you two husbands of beauty came as suitors for Surya, where was your single wheel Where did you two stand to point the way?^® 1 6 Your two wheels, Surya, the Brahmins know in their measured rotmds. But the one wheel that is hidden, only the inspired know that.
IJ To Surya, to the gods, to Mitra and Varuna, who are provident for all creation, to them I have bowed down.
1 8 These two^® change places through their power of illusion, now forward, now backward. Like two children ■WOMEN at p]a7 they circle the sacrificial ground. The one gazes upon all creatures, and the other is born again and again marking the order of the seasons.
ry He^’ becomes ne'w and again new as he is born, going in front of the dawns as the banner of the days. As he arrives he apportions to the gods tlieir share. The moon stretches out the long span of lifc.^® 20 Mount the world of immortahty, O Surya,i® that is adorned ■with red flowers^ and made of fragrant wood,“ carved -with many forms and painted ■with gold, rolling smoothly on its fine wheels. Prepare an exquisite weddmg ■voyage for your husband 21 ‘Go away from here! For this woman has a husband.’ Tlius I implore Vi^vavasu"* with words of praise as I bow to him. ‘Look for another girl who is ripe and still hves in her father’s house. Tiiat is your birthright; find It, 22 ‘Go aw.ay from here, Viivavasu, we implore you as \vc bow. Look for another girl, unlling and ready. Leave tlic wife to unite witli her husband.’
2J May the roads be straight and thornless on which our fnends go courting.*’’ May Aryaman and Bhaga united lead us together. O Gods, may the united household be easy to manage, a/ 1 free }ou from Varum’s snare, with vhich the gentle SaMU-** bound jou In the scat of the Law, in Uic world of good action, I place )ou unharmed witli your husband.
*/ I free her from here, but not from there.** I have bound her firmly there, so that through the grace of Indra she will have fine sons and be fortunate in her husband's lo\ c.
-f 1 ct Pu'fan lead sou from here, taking you In the hand; let the,\^\ins caiT) )ou in thetr chariot. Go home to lie nu'tircis of the home ssith the right to jpeaL commaadi to the iMihercd peopV.”
a’ Ms) hippir.eis Ivc fated for you hcic’* thtoJi’h aoor pio; rr.). Waith oscr th s hou»e a* trl t*; houie.
The rig VEDA your body wxtli that of your Husband, and even to to speak to the gathered people.^e appears, a magic spirit; 2? the stain is bo^H f family prospers, and her husband is bound in the bonds.ss D^^fT gown, and distribute wealth to the like f-JiP ^ magic spirit walking on feet, and husbijn^ y hecomes ugly and sinisterly pale, if the come from her own people and follow receive T ^ bridal procession, may the gods who Let nr» u them back whence they have come.®^ ^ ^5dng in ambush, fall upon the the danf them on good paths avoid Wish he^tb'^" auspicious signs; come and look at her. Znart / w husband’s love, and hvmn ic <,hi ^■ ’ • ^ priest who knows the Surya by^ IS able to receive the bridal gown.
colourfo??^- pieces 33 _ see the j?<y I take vour h^d priest alone pizrifies.
yom hus^^^r ^-n so that with me as Aiyaman, Savitr, PurandM3» - the sodfl^ to me to be mistress of the boost ® Pusan,37 rouse her to be most eaaer to n7po<-<» m whom men sow thek =eed.?o ‘Ke her thighs in her deske for us and we fo will plant our penis in her. desire.
To you38 first of aU they led Surya. cirrliur. ■ ^ t bridal procession. Give her back to Agni, now as a wife with progeny. usbands, ayo ay ay ye 34 3J 37 3^ WOMEN $9 Agm has given the wife back again, together with long hfe and beauty. Let her have a long hfc-span, and let her husband hve for a hundred autumns.
yo Soma first possessed her, and the Gandharva possessed her second. Agm was your third husband, and the fourth was the son of a man.
yt Soma gave her to the Gandharva, and the Gandharva ^ve her to Agm Agm gave me wealth and sons - and her.
42 Stay here and do not separate Enjoy your whole hfe-span playmg with sons and grandsons and rejoicing in your own home.
49 Let Prajapatl create progeny for us, let Aryaman anoint^® us into old age. Free from evil signs, enter the world of your husband Be good luck for our two-legged creatures and good luck for our four-legged creatures.
44 Have no evil eye; do not be a husband-killer. Be friendly ^ animals,"*- good-tempered and glowing unth beauty. Bringing forth strong sons, prosper ns one beloved of the gods and eager to please. Be good luck for our two-legged creatures and good luck for our four-lcpacd creatures. * y/ Generous Indra, give this woman fine sons and tlie good fortune of her husband's love. Place ten sons in her and make her husband the clcacnth.*^ ytf Be on empress over your husband’s father, an empress o'vcr)our husband’s mother; be -an empress over jour husband's sister and an empress o\er your husband’s brothers.
4' l.ei all the gods and the v.atcrs together anoint our two hearts together Let Mltarisv an*" together with the Creator and together s'ltli her who shoas tiie was join the two of us togctlirr THE RIG VEDA NOTES 1. The first Soma in this verse is the drink that strengthens the gods; the second is the plant that grows on earth; and the third is the moon.
2. Verses 3-5 play upon the different Somas: the plant that is pressed, the god that the Brahmins know, the god protected m heaven, the plant between the pressing-stones, the juice that t ey drink, the moon that is drained of Soma and filled again, waxing an waning.
3. Seven gods guard Soma, among whom Vayu is foremost (see verse 5).
4. Two Vedic metres used in the Wedding hymn; their gtam matical gender is feminine. The songs {gathas) are feminine, like the metres. They may be personified as women helping Surya to dress or as adornments actually stitched upon the dress.
5. The word may refer to the dowry; cf. 10. 13 5. 5-6.
6. Of the chariot that takes the bride to the home of the bride- groom. Cf. the magical chariots in 10.135 and 1.164.
7. The Asvins are elsewhere said to be the brothers and/or the husbands of Surya, but here they are the unsuccessful suitors. They are, in any case, her brothers.
8. Agni heads the procession and serves, as the messenger, his usual function.
9. Savitf is here another name for Surya, the father of the bride.
10. Probably a designation for the two months of summer, re- garded as particularly auspicious for marriages.
11. Two constellations of summer.
12. The cattle are slaughtered for the wedding feast.
13. Pu?an is, like the Alvins, both a brother and a lover of Surya; here he is the son of the Alvins, who choose Surya for themselves instead of acting as intermediaries. Pu§an is also, appropriately, as the god of safe roads and journeys, the one who supervises the wedding procession, 14. Here, and in verse 14, the two wheels of the solar chariot (identified by Sayana as the sun and moon) are contrasted, with the mysterious single wheel, perhaps the nocturnal sun, or the year.
15. The path to the secret sim in heaven, or the path to the groom’s house.
16. After the verse of closing benediction (v. 17), two more WOMEN verses describe the sun and moon before turning to the human bridal couple The heavenly bodies dtcle m the sky as the married couple -will soon (v. 38) circle the fire. The second half of verse 18 refers first to the sun and then to the moon.
17. The moon.
18 His life, or the life of the gods, or of the sacrificcr, or just tunc in general 19 The bride is addressed as SQrya, as is SOrya herself, and the verse refers to both at once. The chariot that takes the bride to the house of the groom is here assimilated to the world of immortality that SOrya wins in the sky.
20. Kli/titika flowers and Salmah wood.
21. A Gandharva who possesses girls before their marriage. This verse and the next arc an exorasm against his droit de seigptitr, like that of Soma (cf. v. 40). ViSvavasu, Soma, and the Alvins arc all rejected suitors.
22. This is a benediction to the families of the bride and groom, and perhaps in particular for the disappointed suitors 23. Savitf IS the father of Surya In this verse the bride loosens her braids as a sign of release from her parents’ house, a binding that is metaphorically attracted to the well-known bonds or snares of Varuna (sec 7 86 and 7.89) 24. From her pnrents’ house, but not from her husband’s house.
25 This formula usually rxfers to tlic right of a man to speak in the nsscmbly. It may mean that here, or refer to the wife’s right to command servants 26 This IS a bcncdiaion ns she enters the house of the groom. 27. Verses aS-3o and 54-3 concern the defloration of the bndc and the staining of the bridal gown with her blood Tins blood becomes a magic spirit, potent and dmgerous though not neccs- ratily evil; the defloration is an auspiaous event but too jwuerful to allow Its emblem to remain prc'cnt afterwards 'fhe power of the blood is tran'fcrrcd to the bride’s familv and to the husband, and though Udv is a good power it becomes evil if flilawcd to pol- lute the husband (v 30) «>r to compete w iih the wiCe hcnelf as an istlir rt^ (r.:i}) exercising hb d’^it d( /-ir'cv'. Soou takes upon bi n'c’f the first and most powerful »tt|-TOi o'" the blood of deflora. tl''wi.
js. Oouh’f meaning, the of marfbj. c that inl’c them sod Tlin tiJC VEDA 30. Almost certainly the body of the husband.
31. This verse is to be spoken if the bridal party encounters 3 funeral procession on the road; verse 52 is to be spolrcn at a cross- roads, 32. The robe again, ns in verses 28-30.
33. Literally, this verse describes the cutting up of the robe; but the words usually refer to the cutting up of the sacrificial anima, and there is a further overtone of the physical injury of the deflora- tion itself, the sacrifice of the maidenhead on the altar of marriage* 34. A reference to the bride in terms of the paradigmatic Surya, the colours arc the purple and red of the blood (v, 28).
35. The good fortune of being beautiful and therefore loved by her long-lived husband, as in verses 25 and 33., 36. Gods who arc concerned with marriage. Purandhi is the bringer of abundance. - 37. Here invoked not as the son of the Alvins, as in the myth o Surya (v. 14), but as the god of safe roads and journeys and as the one who prepares the bride for the sexual act.
38. This may refer to the priests but more likely refers to the various divinities who possess the bride before her marriage - the Gandharvas (like Vi^vavasu in verses 21—2), Soma (w. 40-41), in particular, Agni.
39. This is addressed to the bridal couple, 40. Here and in verses 44 and 47, auspicious unguents are placed on the bridal couple to ensure good fortune and, perhaps, lubricity. Here the action is metaphorical and intended to bestow long life! in verse 44 the ointment is placed on the bride’s eyes to prevent the evil eye, and in verse 47 it is placed over their two hearts to make them soften and fuse. Cf. the unguent on the widow’s eyes m 41. A general hope, as well as a reference to the particular evil sign represented by the blood of defloration (vv, 28-30, 34“5)* 42. Domestic animals {palus).
43. A strange wish. Later JHindu tradition regards the husband as being reborn as the son of his wife. This verse may merely imply that she should care for her husband as the eleventh male dependent upon her.
44. Assistant and messenger of Agni.
45. An unknown goddess, perhaps responsible for showing the bride the way to her husband’s home and heart. Cf. Atbarva Veda WOMEN i' 10 109 The TMpe and Bjetunt of the Trahmin's Wife This hymn exhorts the king to restore the Brahmin’s abducted wife, It alludes to the parallel instance of the m)rth of Soma’s flbducuon and return of the wife of Bfhaspati. The two parallels are closely mtertwined. Soma is called a kmg (an epithet that he has even when he is regarded as the incarnation o me sacred Soma plant and Soma drink, an aspect of the god not immediately relevant to this hymn), and so he is r h j Bfhaspati both as the culprit h retummg the woman to her husband) and as me king (v. 2), whose responsibility it is to see jusUcc done. , °'^“''’‘^'^>s*occthe god whose wife Soma abducts is Brhaspati, hord of Sacred Speech’, the Brahmm of the gods, the poet is “hlc to speak of Soma returnmg ‘the Brahmin’s wife’.
orcover, Soma ‘gives back’ all brides after he has exercised us drottdeietgneiir{%cc 10,85) Verse 2 is thus an extended pun: oma returns the wife of Byhaspati as the king returns the wife of a human Bralunin.
An cqui\'alcnt ambiguity may be seen in the question of ^ sin or offence for whicli the hymn seeks cxpiauon. W'hen the poet refers to such expiation, one assumes that it is tntant to apply to Soma’s offence. But later Hindu tradition regards the offence, and the expiation, as that of the husband or even of the wafe. As Slyana tells the story: ‘Speech v-as the u ife of Brhaspiu One day she offended him because she w-as BO ugly, and so he abandoned her Then the gods deliberating among thcmscUcs, made her free from offence I'-c ugliness) and gate her back to Bj-haspaii.’ The hymn allows of either interpretation, smcc the phrase ‘Brahmin- offi-icc^ in the first acr'C could be cither an offence /a a I rihmin or one ewes/ him, and scr'c 7 do^ not sat who'c ^pinuta U Ixnng performed But the In ran tt'clf diiea not h ime the Brahmin or his v ifc. and one it im lined to thiM. r t! r p>i! v,t.l fi to ctptjie the »ia o^ the adviherrr - sr I to pmjj the ftdulicroui cod So”sa.
ny 'THE RIG VEDA ny 'THE RIG VEDA X These were the first to speak about the sifi against tlie Brahmin: the boundless ocean, Matarisvan,^ the fierce- flowing heat,” strong firc^ that brings the force of life, and the divine waters who arc first-born in the sacre order.
2 King Soma was the first who gave tlie Brahmin s wife back again, without a grudge; Varuna and hfltra agreed to go with her, and Agni, the summoning priest, took her by the hand and Jed her back.^ ^ He® must be grasped by her own hand, as a token, when they have said, ‘She is the Brahmin’s wife.’ She did not stay for a messenger to be sent. Thus is the kingdom of ^ ruler protected.
^ The gods and the seven sages who settled down to asceticism in the ancient time spoke about her: ‘The wim of a Brahmin is dangerous, if she is taken away; she plants disorder in the highest heaven.’
/ He lives as a chaste student, a servant eagerly serving; he becomes a limb of the gods.® In that way, Brhaspati won back his wife again, when she had be'en carried on by Soma, just as the gods won back the sacrificial spoon taken by Soma.’
The gods gave back again, and men gave back. Kings, keeping their promises, should give back the Brahmin s wife.
/ When they gave back the Brahmin’s wife and with the gods’ aid erased the sin, they enjoyed the rich essence of the earth and then went on to the wide-striding realm.® notes I. An assistant of Agni, sometimes identified with the wind.
z. Tapas, ritual or ascetic heat (cf. ro.ipo).
3. Fire as an element.
4, Soma, the Gandharva, and Agni are the three immortal hus- bands of the bride before she marries a mortal (10.85.40).
5- This verse seems to say that Bjrhaspati himself must take her by the hand, and not a messenger. But Sayapa suggests that the gods •WOMEN itc here speaking to Bfkaspati, and it may be that ‘he* is her son, a token of their union Later myths tell us that a son, Budha, was horn to Soma and restored to his father m a sunilar way.
6 ‘He’ IS probably Bjrhaspatl, who lives m chastity because he lacks a wife, by serving the gods zealously, he obtains their aid in winning her back