4. That food (? íṣ) O Açvins, which, full of light, shall make us pass through the darkness, may ye give (rā) to us.
The verse corresponds to RV. i. 46. 6, and is translated from the RV. text, the AV. version being utterly corrupt, and offering a very noteworthy measure of what this nineteenth book can do in the way of corruption even of a text that is intelligibly handed down elsewhere. The ms. reading is mā́ naḥ píparid açvinā jyótiṣmatī támas tiráḥ: tā́m asmāí rāsatām íṣum. Our text differs from that of RV. only by reading pī́parid (which is an oversight for the pī́parad ⌊Grammar §869 c⌋ of the RV.) and rāsathām (which is bad); ⌊RV. has rāsāthām, to be taken as augmentless s-aorist, 2d person dual middle⌋. The comm. differs from RV. by giving mā́ at the beginning; ⌊his text, furthermore, has rāsātām; but his comment has rāsāthām, like RV.⌋; he understands açvinā correctly as vocative. SPP. clings to rāsatām, and thinks to make it answer by accenting açvínā (on the authority, ⌊probably⌋ accidental, of a single ms.). ⌊I suppose Whitney means to imply that, if SPP. intends to make rāsatām a 3d person dual imperative middle of the s-aorist, but from an a-stem, as explained at Grammar §896, the form ought to be rāsetām, corresponding to the 3d singular rāsatām there noticed.⌋ There is really no way but to adopt the RV. text throughout; any attempt at compromise simply spoils the verse. The comm. takes mā pīparat as pāram mā gamayatu, and b as its antithesis, supplying karotu to tiras; and he refers at the end to yā as read çākhāntare (i.e., in RV.).
41. For some one's welfare.
[Brahman.—ekarcam. mantroktatapodevatyam. trāiṣṭubham.]
Not found in Pāipp. No viniyoga.
Translated: Griffith, ii. 298.
1. Desiring what is excellent, the heaven-finding seers in the beginning sat down in attendance upon (upa-ni-sad) ardor [and] consecration; thence [is] born royalty, strength, and force; let the gods make that submissive to this man.
Asmé 'to us' would be an acceptable emendation in d; ⌊but TS. has asmāí⌋. The comm. glosses upaníṣedus simply by prāptās; in his explanation of c, d there is a considerable lacuna. A corresponding verse is found in TS. (in v. 7.43; repeated without variation in TA. iii. it. 9): bhadrám páçyanta úpa sedur ágre tápo dīkṣā́m ṛ́ṣayaḥ suvarvídaḥ: tátaḥ kṣatrám bálam ójaç ca jātáṁ tád asmāí devā́ abhí sáṁ namantu.
42. Extolling the bráhman etc.
[Brahman.—catasras. mantroktabrahmadevatyam. 1. anuṣṭubh; 2. 3-av. kakummatī pathyāpan̄kti; 3. triṣṭubh; 4. jagatī.]
Only fragments of this hymn are found in Pāipp.; ⌊Roth's Collation says that the hymn probably stood somewhere near the beginning⌋. No viniyoga is given.
Translated: Griffith, ii. 298.
1. The bráhman is invoker (hótṛ) the bráhman is the sacrifice; by the bráhman the sacrificial posts are set up; the officiating priest (adhvaryú) is born from the bráhman; within the bráhman is put the oblation.
