RV 7.99

1 RV 7.99 ṛṣi: vasiṣṭha maitrāvaruṇi; devatā: viṣṇu, indrāviṣṇū; chandaḥ: triṣṭup p/rae maÇ?ya t/Nva v&xan/ n te? mih/Tvm! ANv! A?îuviNt , %/-e te? ivÒ/ rj?sI p&iw/Vya iv:[ae? dev/ Tvm! p?r/mSy? ivTse . 7-099-01 n te? iv:[ae/ jay?manae/ n ja/tae dev? mih/ç> pr/m! ANt?m! Aap , %d! A?Ståa/ nak?m! \/:vm! b&/hNt . 7-099-02 #ra?vtI xenu/mtI/ ih -U/t< sU?yv/isnI/ mnu?;e dz/Sya , Vy! AStåa/ raed?sI iv:[v! @/te da/xwR? p&iw/vIm! A/i-tae? m/yUoE>? . 7-099-03 %/é< y/}ay? c³wur! %lae/k< j/ny?Nta/ sUyR?m! %/;as?m! A/i¶m! , das?Sy icd! v&;iz/àSy? ma/ya j/¹wu?r! nra p&t/naJye?;u . 7-099-04 #NÔa?iv:[U †~ih/ta> zMb?rSy/ nv/ purae? nv/it< c? îiwòm! , z/t< v/icRn>? s/hö/ sda? n> . 7-099-07 2 Analysis of RV 7.99 p/rae maÇ?ya t/Nva v&xan/ n te? mih/Tvm! ANv! A?îuviNt , %/-e te? ivÒ/ rj?sI p&iw/Vya iv:[ae? dev/ Tvm! p?r/mSy? ivTse . 01 paró mā ́trayā tanúvā vr ̥dhāna ná te mahitvám ánu aśnuvanti ubhé te vidma rájasī pr ̥ thivyā ́ víṣṇo deva tvám paramásya vitse 7.099.01 1 MEN come not nigh thy majesty who growest beyond all bound and measure with thy body. Both thy two regions of the earth, O Visnu, we know: thou God, knowest the highest also.1 Interpretation: “You grow beyond any measure by your expansion (body =tanū, from root tan, ‘to stretch’, ‘to expand’)! And your greatness none can [here] comprehend (or follow), na te mahitvam anu aśnuvanti! We can know two of your spaces [being from] the Earth! O Vishnu, Godhead, you alone know of your transcendental space, tvam paramasya vitse!” Vocabulary: mātrā, f. measure (of any kind), quantity , size , duration , number , degree &c. RV. &c. &c.; unit of measure , foot VarBṛS. unit of time , moment Sus3r. Sa1rn3gS. (= nimeṣa VP. ; ifc. = lasting so many moments Gaut.); a minute portion , particle , atom , trifle ŚBr. &c. &c.; (ayā, ind. in small portions, in slight measure , moderately Daś. Suśr.; an element (5 in number) BhP.; matter, the material world MaitrUp. MBh. BhP. 1 Griffith’s translation 3 n te? iv:[ae/ jay?manae/ n ja/tae dev? mih/ç> pr/m! ANt?m! Aap , %d! A?Ståa/ nak?m! \/:vm! b&/hNt . 02 ná te viṣṇo jā ́yamāno ná jātó déva mahimnáḥ páram ántam āpa úd astabhnā nā ́kam r ̥ṣvám br ̥hántaṃ dādhártha prā ́cīṃ kakúbham pr ̥thivyā ́ḥ 7.099.02 2 None who is born or being born, God Visnu, hath reached the utmost limit of thy grandeur. The vast high vault of heaven hast thou supported, and fixed earth's eastern pinnacle securely. Interpretation: “None, who is born or being born into this world, O Godhead, could reach the end of your transcendent glory! You thus supported and held high the noble vastness of Heaven, and the peak of this wide Earth, kakubham pṛthivyāḥ, which is ever looking forward (eastward, towards the rising Sun), prācīm.” Vocabulary: ṛṣva, mfn. (ṛṣ ?) elevated , high RV. AV. VS.; sublime , great , noble (as gods) RV. kakubh, f. a peak , summit RV.; space , region or quarter of the heavens BhP. Kathās. &c. 4 #ra?vtI xenu/mtI/ ih -U/t< sU?yv/isnI/ mnu?;e dz/Sya , Vy! AStåa/ raed?sI iv:[v! @/te da/xwR? p&iw/vIm! A/i-tae? m/yUoE>? . 03 í rāvatī dhenumátī hí bhūtáṃ sūyavasínī mánuṣe daśasyā ́ ví astabhnā ródasī viṣṇav eté dādhártha pr ̥ thivī ́m abhíto mayū ́khaiḥ 7.099.03 3 Rich in sweet food be ye, and rich in milch−kine, with fertile pastures, fain to do men service. Both these worlds, Visnu, hast thou stayed asunder, and firmly fixed the earth with pegs around it. Interpretation: “Be rich, [O Heaven and Earth], in your impulsion of luminous force, irāvatī bhūtam, and of Knowledge, which is fostering us here, dhenumatī, impart on Man, manuṣe daśasyā, [O Vishnu], these two perfect fields of unity, sūyavasinī! Apart you put these two worlds (shining Firmaments) in the vastness, O Vishnu, vi astabhnā rodasī viṣṇav ete, holding the Earth, dādhartha pṛthivīm, with your all-measuring (or all shaping) rays of Light, abhito mayūkhaiḥ!” Vocabulary: suyava, mfn. (in Padap. for sū-y-) having good pasturage, abounding in grass RV.; -sin mfn. having good pasturage ib.; -syu mfn. desirous of good pasturage RV.; su-yava, from yu, ‘to unite’; daśasya, Nom. (fr. śas = Lat. decus ; cf. dāś and yaśas) -yati (Impv. -yā, -ya ; p. -yat) , to render service , serve , worship , favour , oblige (with acc.) RV.; to accord , do favour to (dat.) RV. mayūkha, m. (prob. fr. mi) a kind of peg (esp. for hanging woven cloth or skins upon) RV. AV. Br. ŚrS.; a ray of light, flame, brightness, lustre Up. Kāv. Var. &c. 5 %/é< y/}ay? c³wur! %lae/k< j/ny?Nta/ sUyR?m! %/;as?m! A/i¶m! , das?Sy icd! v&;iz/àSy? ma/ya j/¹wu?r! nra p&t/naJye?;u . 04 urúṃ yajñā ́ya cakrathur ulokáṃ janáyantā sū ́ryam uṣā ́sam agním dā ́sasya cid vr ̥ ṣaśiprásya māyā ́ jaghnáthur narā pr ̥ tanā ́ j iyeṣu 7.099.04 4 Ye have made spacious room for sacrificing by generating Surya, Dawn, and Agni. O Heroes, ye have conquered in your battles even the bull−jawed Dasa's wiles and magic. Interpretation: “Vast you two, [O Vishnu and Indra], have made this wide world for Sacrifice, brining to birth this Surya, Usha and Agni! And of the Demon with the jaws of bull you have destroyed the Powers, O Heroes, narā, in the sacrificing of the hostile armies, pṛtanājyeṣu.” Vocabulary: dāsa, m. fiend, demon N.; of certain evil beings conquered by Indra (e.g. Namuci, Pipru , Śambara , Varcin &c.) RV.; savage, barbarian, infidel (also dāsa, opp. to ārya; cf. dasyu) slave , servant RV. AV. Mn. &c. pṛtanājya, n. ‘rushing together in battle’, close combat , fight RV. pṛtanā, f. battle , contest , strife RV. VS. Br.; a hostile armament, army RV. &c. &c. ; (in later times esp. a small army or division consisting of 243 elephants, as many chariots, 729 horse, and 1215 foot= 3 Vahinis); pl. men, mankind Naigh. ii. 3. ājya, 2 n. ( añj Vārtt. on Pāṇ. 3-1 , 109) , melted or clarified butter (used for oblations , or for pouring into the holy fire at the sacrifice , or for anointing anything sacrificed or offered) RV. AV. VS. &c.; (in a wider sense) oil and milk used instead of clarified butter at a sacrifice. 6 #NÔa?iv:[U †~ih/ta> zMb?rSy/ nv/ purae? nv/it< c? îiwòm! , z/t< v/icRn>? s/hö/ sda? n> . 07 váṣaṭ te viṣṇav āsá ā ́ kr ̥ṇomi tán me juṣasva śipiviṣṭa havyám várdhantu tvā suṣṭutáyo gíro me yūyám pāta suastíbhiḥ sádā naḥ 7.099.07 7 O Visnu, unto thee my lips cry Vasat! Let this mine offering, Sipivista, please thee. May these my songs of eulogy exalt thee. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with blessings. Interpretation: “Vashat to you, O Vishnu, I articulate in my Call, āsa ā kṛṇomi! That offering of mine, tan me havyam, You should enjoy, juṣasva, who is pervaded by the Rays, śipiviṣṭa, (or whose world is pervaded by rays). May these perfect affirmations of my Voice, suṣṭutayo giro me, increase You, vardhayantu tvā! And you, [O Gods,] protect us always with your perfect beings, suastibhiḥ sadā naḥ.” Vocabulary: āsan, n. (defective Pāṇ. 6-1 , 63) , mouth , jaws RV. AV. VS. ŚBr. TBr. śipiviṣṭa, mfn. (accord. to Sāy.) pervaded by rays (applied to Rudra-Śiva and Vishnu ; cf. RTL. 416) RV. &c. &c. śipi, m. a ray of light Nir. v , 8 9 Appendix The anti-divine forces from the Vedas: das, 1. 4. (p. dasamāna; impf. p l . adasyan) to suffer want, become exhausted RV. iv, 134 , 5 (Nir. i . 9) TS. i , 6 , 11 , 3; dasa, m. ( from root das) a demon , vi , 21 , 11.; dasyu m. ( from root das) enemy of the gods (e.g. šambara, šuṣṇa, cumuri , dhuni ; a l l conquered by Indra, Agni , &c.), impious man (ca l led a-šraddha, a-yajña, a-yajyu, a-pṛnat, a-vrata, anya-vrata, a-karman) , barbarian (cal led a-nās, or an-ās ’ugly-faced', adhara, infer ior, a-mānuṣa, inhuman'), robber (ca l led dhanin) RV. AV. &c.; the mouthless Dividers who mar our self-expression, anā�so dásyūm ̐r… mr̥dhrávācaḥ 5.029.10 dāsa, m. f iend, demon; N. of certain evi l beings conquered by Indra (e.g. Namuci , P ipru, Šambara, Varcin &c.) RV.; savage, barbarian, inf idel (al so dāsa, opp. to ārya; cf . dasyu); slave, servant RV. AV. Mn. &c.; mf( ī )n. f iendish, demoniacal , barbarous, impious RV. d i t i , f. N. of a dei ty answering to A-di t i (q.v.) as Sura to A-sura and without any dist i nct character AV. vi i , 7 , 1 &c. VS. xvi i i , 22; in ep. daughter of Daksha and wife of Kašyapa and mother of the Daityas (see s.v.) MBh. Hariv. Pur.; (the Maruts are also descr ibed as her progeny or derived from the embryo in her womb divided into p ieces by Indra) Hariv. 239; R. i , 46 , i 2 f . cutt ing , spl i t t ing , divid ing L.; d istr ibut ing, l ibera l i ty (a lso personi f ied cf . 1. di t i ) RV. dai tya m. a son of Dit i , a demon Mn. MBh. &c. mf(%{A})n. belonging to the Dai tyas MBh. R. danu, f . N. of a daughter of Dakṣa (by Kašyapa [or danāyū] ŠBr. i , 6 , 3 , 9] , mother of the Dānavas) MBh., Hariv. , R. dānu, mfn. va l iant, victor, conqueror; m. a class of demons (cf . dānava) RV. (f . , i , 54 , 7) ŠBr. dānava, m. (fr. 2. dānu) a class of demons often ident i f ied with the Daityas or Asuras and held to be implacable enemies of the gods or Devas RV. AV. ŠBr. Mn. MBh. &c. (descr ibed as chi ldren of Danu and Kašyapa , sometimes reckoned as 40 in number MBh. i , 252 ; sometimes as 100 &c.) asura, mfn. (2. as Uṇ.) , spir i tua l , incorporeal , divine RV. AV. VS.; m. a spir i t , good spir i t , supreme spir i t (said of Varuṇa) RV. VS.; 10 the chief of the evi l spir i ts RV. i i , 30 , 4 and vi i , 99 , 5; an evi l spir i t , demon, ghost, opponent of the gods RV. vi i i , 96 , 9 x AV. &c. [these Asuras are often regarded as the chi ldren of Dit i by Kašyapa (see dai tya) as such they are demons of the f i rst order in perpetual host i l i ty with the gods, and must not be confounded with the Rakshasas or imps who animate dead bodies and disturb sacr i f i ces. rakṣas, m. an evi l being or demon, a Rākshasa (q.v. ; in VP. ident i f ied with Nirr i t i or Nairr i ta) RV. &c. &c. rākṣasa, mf( i)n. (fr. rakṣas) belonging to or l ike a Rakshas, demoniacal , infested by demons Ai tBr. &c. &c. ; (with vivāha, or dharma or vidhi m. ‘one of the 8 forms of marr iage ’, the vio lent se izure or rape of a gir l after the defeat or destruct ion of her re lat ives see Mn. i i i , 33); m. a Rakshas or demon in general , an evi l or mal ignant demon ( the Rākshasas are sometimes regarded as produced from Brahmā's foot, sometimes with Rāvaṇa as descendants of Pulastya, el sewhere they are styled chi ldren of Khasā or Su-rasa ; according to some they are dis t inguishable into 3 classes, one being of a semi-divine benevolent nature and ranking with Yakshas &c.; another corresponding to Ti tans or re lent less enemies of the gods; and a thi rd answering more to nocturnal demons, imps, f iends, gobl ins, going about at night, haunt ing cemeteries, disturbing sacr i f ices and even devouring human beings; this last class is the one most commonly mentioned; their chief place of abode was Laṅkā in Ceylon ; in R. v , 10 , 17 &c.; they are ful ly descr ibed; cf . a lso IW. 310 RTL. 237) Kauṣ. Up. &c.; N. of a mal ignant spir i t supposed to haunt the four corners of a house VarBṛS. paṇi , m. a bargainer, miser, niggard (esp. one who i s sparing of sacr i f i c ial oblat ions) RV. AV.; N. of a class of envious demons watching over treasures RV. (esp. x , 108) AV. ŠBr. aṃh, to press together, to st rangle L. aṃhas n. anxiety , trouble RV. &c. ahi , m. ( from aṃh), a snake RV. &c.; the serpent of the sky, the demon Vṛtra RV. vṛt ra, m. (only once in TS.) or n. (most ly in pl .) "coverer, investor, restra iner", an enemy, foe, host i le host RV. TS.; m. N. of the Vedic personi f icat ion of an imaginary mal ignant inf luence or demon of darkness and drought (supposed to take possession of the clouds, causing them to obstruct the clearness of the sky and keep back the 11 waters; Indra is represented as batt l ing with this evi l inf luence in the pent up clouds poet i ca l l y p ictured as mountains or cast les which are shattered by his thunderbolt and made to open their receptacles [cf . esp. RV. i , 31] ; as a Dānava, Vṛtra is a son of Tvaṣṭṛ, or of Danu, and is often ident i f ied with Ahi , the serpent of the sky, and associated with other evi l spir its, such as Šuṣṇa, Namuci , P ipru, Šambara, Uraṇa, whose mal ignant inf luences are general ly exercised in producing darkness or drought) RV. &c. &c.; a thunder-cloud RV. iv , 10 , 5 (cf . Naigh. i , 10) vala, m. " enclosure", a cave, cavern RV. AV. Br.; a cloud Naigh. i , 10; a beamor pole KātyŠr. Sch.; N. of a demon (brother of Vṛ i tra, and conquered by Indra; in later language cal led bala q.v. ) šuṣṇa, 1 m. the sun L. f i re L.; m. `" Hisser " 'N. of a demon slain by Indra RV. (accord. to some a drought demon ; (cf. šuṣ) n. st rength (= bala) Naigh. i i , 9.; ‘ the Strength that destroys’. (RV 5.29.9) namuci , m. (according to Pāṇ. 6-3, 75 = na + muc, "not loosing", sci l . the heavenly waters i .e. "preventing rain"); N. of a demon sla in by Indra and the Ašvins RV. VS. Br. MBh. &c.; N. of the god of love L. p ipru, m. ( fr . pṛ) N. of a demon conquered by Indra RV.; p i rate Slav, “desir ing to pass, cross i l legal ly, as i t were”; ‘ the demon of the evil satisfactions’ (RV 5.29.10) šambara, N. of a demon ( in RV. often mentioned with Suṣṇa, Arbuda, P ipru &c.; he is the chief enemy of Divo-dāsa At i thigva, for whose del iverance he was thrown down a mountain and slain by Indra; in epic and later poetry he is a lso a foe of the god of love) RV. &c. &c.; of a juggler (a lso ca l led šambarasiddhi) Ratnāv. = māyā; sorcery, magic (prob. w.r. for šāmbar ī) L.; n. water Naigh. i , 12 (but Sāh. censures the use of šambara in this sense) power, might Naigh. i i , 9; sorcery, magic Kathās. (pr inted saṃ-vara) any vow or a part ic. vow (with Buddhists) L.; (p l . ) the fastnesses of šambara RV. šambala, m. n. (al so -wri tten sambala, or saṃ-vala q.v.) provender or provis ions for a journey, stock for travel l ing Kāv. Kāraṇḍ.; "a bank, shore"; envy, jea lousy L. arbuda, m. Ved. a serpent- l ike demon (conquered by Indra, a descendant of Kadrū therefore ca l led Kādraveya ŠBr. Ai tBr.; said to be the author of RV. x , 94 Rānukr.) RV. &c.; a swel l ing, tumour, polypus Sušr. &c.; ten mi l l ions VS. xvi i , 2 , &c.; N. of a mountain in the west of India (commonly cal led Abū, a place of p i lgr image of the Ja inas, and celebrated for i ts Ja ina temples) 12 uraṇa, m. (fr. vṛ; cf . ūrṇu-), a ram, sheep, young ram ŠBr. , MBh. &c.; N. of an Asura (s la in by Indra) RV. i i , 14 , 4. varcin, m. N. of a demon (slain by Indra or by Indra and Vishnu joint ly) RV. cumuri , m. N. of a demon (whom Indra sent to s leep to favour Dabhi1t i ) RV. i i , v i f . x. dabhī t i , an injurer , enemy RV. iv , 41 , 4; N. of a man (favoured by Indra, by the Ašvins, i , 112 , 23).