The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Preface
• Introduction
• Errata
• Vedic Hymns
• Agnİ
• Savitṛ́
• MarÚtas
• VİṢṆu
• Dyá̄vĀ-pṚthiví̄
• Índra
• RudrÁ
• Apá̄Ṃ NÁpĀt
• MitrÁ
• Bṛ́haspÁti
• UṢÁs
• AgnÍ
• ParjÁnya
• PŪṢÁn
• Á̄pas
• Mitrá̄-vÁruṆĀ
• Sú̄rya
• AŚvÍnĀ
• VÁruṆa
• MaṆḌŪkĀs
• VÍŚve Devá̄Ḥ
• SÓma
• Funeral Hymn
• PitÁras
• Hymn of the Gambler
• PÚruṢa
• Rá̄trĪ
• Hymn of Creation
• YamÁ
• Vá̄ta
• Vocabulary
• Abbreviations

DYÁ̄VĀ-PṚTHIVÍ̄

Heaven and Earth are the most frequently named pair of deities in the RV. They are so closely associated that, while they are invoked as a pair in six hymns, Dyáus is never addressed alone in any hymn, and Pṛthiv in only one of three stanzas. The dual compound Dyá̄vā-Pṛthiví̄, moreover, occurs much oftener than the name of Dyáus alone. Heaven and Earth are also mentioned as ródasī the two worlds more than 100 times. They are parents, being often called pitárā, mātárā, jánitrī, besides being separately addressed as ‘father’ and ‘mother’. They have made and sustain all creatures; they are also the parents of the gods. At the same time they are in different passages spoken of as themselves created by individual gods. One of them is a prolific bull, the other a variegated cow, being both rich in seed. They never grow old. They are great and wide-extended; they are broad and vast abodes. They grant food and wealth, or bestow great fame and dominion. Sometimes moral qualities are attributed to them. They are wise and promote righteousness. As father and mother they guard beings, and protect from disgrace and misfortune. They are sufficiently personified to be called leaders of the sacrifice and to be conceived as seating themselves around the offering; but they never attained to a living personification or importance in worship. These two deities are quite co-ordinate, while in most of the other pairs one of the two greatly predominates.

i. 160. Metre: Jagatī.

See Page Number 37, Hymn Number 1 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 1

  té hí Dyá̄vā-Pṛthiví̄ viśváśaṃbhuvā,
• ṛtá̄varī, rájaso dhārayátkavī:
• sujánmanī dhiṣáṇe antár īyate
• devó deví̄ dhármaṇā Sú̄riaḥ śúciḥ.

These two, indeed, Heaven and Earth, are beneficial to all, observing order, supporting the sage of the air: between the two divine bowls that produce fair ereations the divine bright Sūrya moves according to fixed law.

The first two Pādas form an independent sentence; otherwise hí (p. 252) would accent īyate in c. Dyá̄vā-Pṛthiví̄: on the accent, and treatment in the Pada text, see note on i. 35, 1 b. viśvá-śaṃbhuvā: dec., p. 89; accent, note on i. 1, 4 b; final a and ā are never contracted with ṛ (19 a and note 5). ṛtá̄-varī: note that, when the final vowel of a cd. is Pragṛhya, this is in the Pada text first indicated by íti, and the cd. is then repeated and analysed; in the present case the suffix varī (f. of van, pp. 67 and 69, f. n. 2) is treated like the final member of a cd., and the final vowel of ṛtā is treated as metrically lengthened. dhārayát-kavī: a governing cd. (189 A 2 a); the gen. rájasas is dependent on -kavi, probably = Agni, who (in x. 2, 7) is said to have been begotten by Dyāvā-pṛthivī. dhiṣáṇe: the exact meaning of this word, here a designation of dyá̄vā-pṛthiví̄, is uncertain. antár īyate goes between with acc.; the same thing is said of Savitṛ in i. 35, 9 b. dhárman n. ordinance (dharmán m. ordainer) is the only stem in the RV. (dhárma is a later one).

See Page Number 38, Hymn Number 2 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 2

  uruvyácasā mahínī asaścátā,
• pitá̄ mātá̄ ca, bhúvanāni rakṣataḥ.
• sudhṛ́ṣṭame vapuṣíe ná ródasī,
• pitá̄ yát sīm abhí rūpáir ávāsayat.

As Father and Mother, far-extending, great, inexhaustible, the two protect (all) beings. Like two most proud fair women are the two worlds, since the Father clothed them with beauty.

uru-vyácasā: on the accent of this Bv. having wide extension, see p. 455 c α. The du. a-saścát-ā is a Bv. (as the accent shows, p. 455 c α) having no second, while á-saścant (also an epithet of Dyāvā-pṛthivī) is a Karmadhāraya (p. 455, f. n. 2), not a second = unequalled. su-dhṛ́ṣṭame: on the Pada analysis cp. note on i. 1, 1 c. vapuṣyè: cp. note on vīryà̄ṇi, i. 154, 1 a. pitá̄: the god here meant as the father of Dyāvā-pṛthivī may be Viśvakarman, who in RV. x. 81, 1. 2 is called ‘our father’ and is described as creating the earth and heaven. sīm: see p. 249. abhī avāsayat: ipf. cs. of 2. vas wear.

See Page Number 38, Hymn Number 3 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 3

  sá váhniḥ putráḥ pit^aróḥ pavítravān
• puná̄ti dhí̄ro bhúvanāni māyáyā.
• dhenúṃ ca pṛ́śniṃ vṛṣabháṃ surétasaṃ
• viśvá̄hā śukráṃ páyǒ asya dukṣata.

That son of the two parents, the driver, the purifier, wisely purifies beings by his mysterious power. He has always milked from the speckled cow and from the bull abounding in seed his shining moisture.

putrás: by the son of the parents (Heaven and Earth) Agni is meant; for he is expressly said to have been begotten by Heaven and Earth (RV. x. 2, 7), cp. note on 1 b; he is especially called váhni as the one who conveys (vahati) the gods to the sacrifice; he is very frequently called pāvaká purifier (a term seldom applied to any other deity); he purifies beings in his character of priest. Sāyaṇa thinks the Sun is meant, and explains purifies by illumines. dhenúm: the term cow is often used in the RV. in the sense of earth. ca is here used with the first acc. instead of the second (cp. p. 228, 1). vṛṣabhám: Dyaus is called a bull in other passages also, and is said to have been made by Agni to roar for man (i. 31, 4). su-rétasam: alludes to the shedding of rain. viśvá̄hā is a cd. adv. resulting from the juxtaposition of víśvā áhā as an acc. of time (cp. p. 300, 5) = for all days equivalent to áhā víśvā which also occurs. dukṣata: unaugmented sa ao. (141 a) without initial aspiration (which is, however, restored in the Pada text), from duh milk (with two acc., 198, 2). The general meaning of c d is that Agni as the priest of sacrifice causes heaven to fertilize the earth, and the latter to be productive.

See Page Number 38, Hymn Number 4 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 4

  ayáṃ devá̄nām apásām apástamo
• yó jajá̄na ródasī viśváśaṃbhuvā.
• ví yó mamé rájasī sukratūyáyā
• ajárebhiḥ skámbhanebhiḥ, sám ānṛce.

He of the active gods is the most active who has created the two worlds that are beneficial to all. He who with insight has measured out the two spaces (and upheld them) with unaging supports, has been universally praised.

In this stanza (cp. 2) the father of Heaven and Earth is celebrated. apásām: partitive gen. (p. 321, b α). ví . . . mamé: this expression is also used of Viṣṇu (see i. 154, 1. 3) and other gods. rájasī: the heavenly and the terrestrial spaces. The initial vowel of d must be restored. sám ānṛce: red. pf. of arc sing(139, 6), the Ā. being used in the ps. sense; Sāyaṇa explains it in an act. sense as pūjitavān has honoured, which he further interprets to mean sthāpitavān has established!

See Page Number 38, Hymn Number 5 in PDF for Sanskrit Version

• 5

  té no gṛṇāné, mahinī, máhi śrávaḥ,
• kṣatráṃ, Dyāvā-Pṛthivī, dhāsatho bṛhát.
• yénābhí kṛṣṭí̄s tatánāma viśváhā
• paná̄yiam ójǒ asmé sám invatam.

So being lauded, O great ones, bestow on us, O Heaven and Earth, great fame and ample dominion. Bring for us praiseworthy strengthby which we may always extend over the peoples.

té: N. du. f., used anaphorically (p. 294, b). gṛṇāné: pr. pt. of 1. gṛ sing, Ā. used in ps. sense. mahinī: there are six adjectives meaning great, formed from the root mah be great: by far the commonest is máh (81); mahánt (85 a) is also common; mahá and mahín are not common, but are inflected in several cases; máhi and mahás (83, 2 a α) are used in the N. A. sing. only, the former very often, the latter rarely. kṣatrám: without ca. dhāsathas: 2. du. sb. s ao. (p. 162, 2) of dhā bestow, to be construed with the dat. nas. abhí . . . tatánāma: pf. sb. of tan stretch(140, 1, p. 156). viśvá-hā is an adv. formed with the suffix hā = dhā (p. 212 β) meaning literally in every manner = always(cp. viśvá̄hā in 3 d); on the accent cp. note on viśvátas in i. 1, 4 b. paná̄yya: see 162, 2. ójǒ: final o is pronounced short before ǎ (p. 437, a 4), but the rhythm of the break here (–ᴗ–) is abnormal (p. 440, f. n. 6). asmé: properly loc. of vayám (p. 104), but also used as a dat., is Pragṛhya; it is dat. here (200 A 1). invatam: 2. du. ipv. of inv, a secondary root produced by a transfer from the fifth class (i-nu) to the first, ínv-a (133, 3 b).