Chapter III: The Rig Veda. the Upper Gods (2)

In this hymn Varuna is a water-god, who stands in mid-air and directs the rain; who, after the rain, reinstates the sun; who releases from sin (as water does from dirt?). According to this conception it would seem that Varuna were the 'coverer' rather than the 'encompasser.' It might seem probable even that Varuna first stood to Dyaus as cloud and rain and night to shining day, and that his counterpart, (Greek: Hohyranhos), stood in the same relation to (Greek: Zehys); that were connecte(Greek: Hohyranhos)d with (Greek: hyrheô) and Varuna with _vari_, river, _v[=a]ri_, water.[76]

It is possible, but it is not provable. But no interpretation of Varuna that ignores his rainy side can be correct. And this is fully recognized by Hillebrandt. On account of his "thousand spies," _i.e.,_ eyes, he has been looked upon by some as exclusively a night-god. But this is too one-sided an interpretation, and passes over the all-important, fact that it is only in conjunction with the sun (Mitra), where there is a strong antithesis, that the night-side of the god is exclusively displayed. Wholly a day-god he cannot be, because he rules night and rain. He is _par excellence_ the Asura, and, like Ahura Mazdao, has the sun for an eye, _i.e.,_ he is heaven. But there is no Varuna in Iranian worship and Ahura is a sectarian specialization. Without this name may one ascribe to India what is found in Iran?[77] It has been suggested by Bergaigne that Varuna and Vritra, the rain-holding demon, were developments from the same idea, one revered as a god, the other, a demon; and that the word means 'restrainer,' rather than 'encompasser.'

From all this it will be evident that to claim an original monotheism as still surviving in the person of Varuna, is impossible; and this is the one point we would make. Every one must admire the fine hymn in which he is praised, but what there is in it does not make it seem very old, and the intercalated month is decisive evidence, for here alone in the Rig Veda is mentioned this month, which implies the five-year cyclus, but this belongs to the Brahmanic period (Weber, _Vedische Beiträge_, p. 38). Every explanation of the original nature of Varuna must take into consideration that he is a rain-god, a day-god, and a night-god in turn, and that where he is praised in the most elevated language the rain-side disappears, although it was fundamental, as may be seen by comparing many passages, where Varuna is exhorted to give rain, where his title is 'lord of streams,' his position that of 'lord of waters.' The decrease of Varuna worship in favor of Indra results partly from the more peaceful god of rain appearing less admirable than the monsoon-god, who overpowers with storm and lightning, as well as 'wets the earth.'

The most valuable contribution to the study of Varuna is Hillebrandt's 'Varuna and Mitra.' This author has succeeded in completely overthrowing the old error that Varuna is exclusively a night-god.[78] Quite as definitively he proves that Varuna is not exclusively a day-god.

Bergaigne, on the other hand, claims an especially tenebrous character for Varuna.[79] Much has been written on luminous deities by scholars that fail to recognize the fact that the Hindus regard the night both as light and as dark. But to the Vedic poet the night, star-illumined, was bright. Even Hillebrandt speaks of "the bright heaven" of day as "opposed to the dark night-heaven in which Varuna also shows himself."[80]

In the Rig Veda, as it stands, with all the different views of Varuna side by side, Varuna is a universal encompasser, moral as well as physical. As such his physical side is almost gone. But the conception of him as a moral watcher and sole lord of the universe is in so sharp contrast to the figure of the rain-god, who, like Parjanya, stands in mid-air and upsets a water-barrel, that one must discriminate even between the Vedic views in regard to him.[81]

It is Varuna who lets rivers flow; with Indra he is besought not to let his weapons fall on the sinner; wind is his breath.[82]

On the other hand he is practically identified with the sun.[83] How ill this last agrees with the image of a god who 'lives by the spring of rivers,' 'covers earth as with a garment,' and 'rises like a secret sea (in fog) to heaven'![84] Even when invoked with the sun, Mitra, Varuna still gives rain: "To whomsoever ye two are kindly disposed comes sweet rain from heaven; we beseech you for rain ... you, the thunderers who go through earth and heaven" (v. 63),--a strange prayer to be addressed to a monotheistic god of light: "Ye make the lightning flash, ye send the rain; ye hide the sky in cloud and rain" (_ib_.). In the hymn preceding we read: "Ye make firm heaven and earth, ye give growth to plants, milk to cows; O ye that give rain, pour down rain!" In the same group another short hymn declares: "They are universal kings, who have _ghee_ (rain) in their laps; they are lords of the rain" (v. 68). In the next hymn: "Your clouds (cows) give nourishment, your streams are sweet." Thus the twain keep the order of the seasons (i. 2. 7-8) and protect men by the regular return of the rainy season. Their weapons are always lightning (above, i. 152. 2, and elsewhere). A short invocation in a family-book gives this prayer: "O Mitra-Varuna, wet our meadows with _ghee_; wet all places with the sweet drink" (iii. 62. 16).

The interpretation given above of the office of Varuna as regards the sun's path, is supported by a verse where is made an allusion to the time "when they release the sun's horses," _i.e_., when after two or three months of rain the sun shines again (v. 62. 1). In another verse one reads: "Ye direct the waters, sustenance of earth and heaven, richly let come your rains" (viii. 25. 6).

Now there is nothing startling in this view. In opposition to the unsatisfactory attempts of modern scholars, it is the traditional interpretation of Mitra and Varuna that Mitra was god of day (_i.e.,_ the sun), and Varuna the god of night (_i.e.,_ covering),[85] while native belief regularly attributes to him the lordship of water[86]. The 'thousand eyes' of Varuna are the result of this view. The other light-side of Varuna as special lord of day (excluding the all-heaven idea with the sun as his 'eye') is elsewhere scarcely referred to, save in late hymns and VIII. 41.[87] In conjunction with the storm-god, Indra, the wrath-side of Varuna is further developed. The prayer for release is from 'long darkness,' _i.e._, from death; in other words, may the light of life be restored (II. 27. 14-15; II. 28. 7). Grassmann, who believes that in Varuna there is an early monotheistic deity, enumerates all his offices and omits the giving of rain from the list;[88] while Ludwig derives his name from _var_ (= velle) and defines him as the lofty god who wills!

Varuna's highest development ushers in the middle period of the Rig Veda; before the rise of the later All-father, and even before the great elevation of Indra. But when S[=u]rya and Dawn were chief, then Varuna was chiefest. There is no monotheism in the worship of a god who is regularly associated as one of a pair with another god. Nor is there in Varuna any religious grandeur which, so far as it exceeds that of other divinities, is not evolved from his old physical side. One cannot personify heaven and write a descriptive poem about him without becoming elevated in style, as compared with the tone of one that praises a rain-cloud or even the more confined personality of the sun. There is a stylistic but not a metaphysical descent from this earlier period in the 'lords of the atmosphere,' for, as we shall show, the elevation of Indra and Agni denotes a philosophical conception yet more advanced than the almost monotheistic greatness attained by Varuna. But one must find the background to this earlier period; and in it Varuna is not monotheistic. He is the covering sky united with the sun, or he whose covering is rain and dew. Indra treats Varuna as Savitar treats Mitra, supplants him; and for the same reason, because each represents the same priestly philosophy.

In the one extant hymn to Mitra (who is Indo-Iranian) it is Mitra that 'watches men,' and 'bears earth and heaven.' He is here (iii. 59) the kindly sun, his name (Mitra, 'friend') being frequently punned upon.

The point of view taken by Barth deserves comment. He says:[89] "It has sometimes been maintained that the Varuna of the hymns is a god in a state of decadence. In this view we can by no means concur; ... an appeal to these few hymns is enough to prove that in the consciousness of their authors the divinity of Varuna stood still intact." If, instead of 'still intact,' the author had said, 'on the increase, till undermined by still later philosophical speculation,' the true position, in our opinion, would have been given. But a distinction must be made between decadence of greatness and decadence of popularity. It has happened in the case of some of the Vedic inherited gods that exactly in proportion as their popularity decreased their greatness increased; that is to say, as they became more vague and less individual to the folk they were expanded into wider circles of relationship by the theosophist, and absorbed other gods' majesty.[89] Varuna is no longer a popular god in the Rig Veda. He is already a god of speculation, only the speculation did not go far enough to suit the later seers of Indra-Savitar-hood. Most certainly his worship, when compared in popularity with that of Agni and Indra, is unequal. But this is because he is too remote to be popular.

What made the popular gods was a union of near physical force to please the vulgar, with philosophical mysticism to please the priest, and Indra and Agni fulfilled the conditions, while awful, but distant, Varuna did not.

In stating that the great hymn to Varuna is not typical of the earliest stage of religious belief among the Vedic Aryans, we should add one word in explanation. Varuna's traits, as shown in other parts of the Rig Veda, are so persistent that they must be characteristic of his original function. It does not follow, however, that any one hymn in which he is lauded is necessarily older than the hymn cited from the first book. The earliest stage of religious development precedes the entrance into the Punj[=a]b. It may even be admitted that at the time when the Vedic Aryans became Hindus, that is, when they settled about the Indus, Varuna was the great god we see him in the great hymn to his honor. But while the relation of the [=A]dityas to the spirits of Ahura in Zoroaster's system points to this, yet it is absurd to assume this epoch as the starting point of Vedic belief. Back of this period lies one in which Varuna was by no means a monotheistic deity, nor even the greatest divinity among the gods. The fact, noticed by Hillebrandt, that the Vasishtha family are the chief praisers of Varuna, may also indicate that his special elevation was due to the theological conceptions of one clan, rather than of the whole people, since in the other family books he is worshipped more as one of a pair, Varuna and Mitra, heaven and sun.

ADITI.

The mother of Varuna and the luminous gods is the 'mother of kings,' Boundlessness (_aditi_)[90] a product of priestly theosophy. Aditi makes, perhaps, the first approach to formal pantheism in India, for all gods, men, and things are identified with her (i. 89. 10). Seven children of Aditi are mentioned, to whom is added an eighth (in one hymn).[91] The chief of these, who is, _par excellence_ the [=A]ditya (son of Aditi), is Varuna. Most of the others are divinities of the sun (x. 72). With Varuna stands Mitra, and besides this pair are found 'the true friend' Aryaman, Savitar, Bhaga, and, later, Indra, as sun (?). Daksha and Ança are also reckoned as [=A]dityas, and S[=u]rya is enumerated among them as a divinity distinct from Savitar. But the word _aditi,_ 'unbound,' is often a mere epithet, of Fire, Sky, etc. Moreover, in one passage, at least, _aditi_ simply means 'freedom' (i. 24. 1), less boundlessness than 'un-bondage'; so, probably, in i. 185. 3, 'the gift of freedom.' Ança seems to have much the same meaning with Bhaga, _viz.,_ the sharer, giver. Daksha may, perhaps, be the 'clever,' 'strong' one ([Greek: dexios]), abstract Strength; as another name of the sun (?). Aditi herself (according to Müller, Infinity; according to Hillebrandt, Eternity) is an abstraction that is born later than her chief sons, Sun and Varuna.[92] Zarathustra (Zoroaster, not earlier than the close of the first Vedic period) took the seven [=A]dityas and reformed them into one monotheistic (dualistic) Spirit (Ahura), with a circle of six moral attendants, thereby dynamically destroying every physical conception of them.

DAWN.

We have devoted considerable space to Varuna because of the theological importance with which is invested his personality. If one admit that a monotheistic Varuna is the _ur_-Varuna, if one see in him a sign that the Hindus originally worshipped one universally great superior god, whose image effaced that of all the others,[93] then the attempt to trace any orderly development in Hindu theology may as well be renounced; and one must imagine that this peculiar people, starting with monotheism descended to polytheism, and then leapt again into the conception of that Father-god whose form, in the end of the Rig Vedic period, out-varunas Varuna as encompasser and lord of all. If, on the other hand, one see in Varuna a god who, from the 'covering,' heaven and cloud and rain, from earliest time has been associated with the sun as a pair, and recognize in Varuna's loftier form the product of that gradual elevation to which were liable all the gods at the hands of the Hindu priests; if one see in him at this stage the highest god which a theology, based on the worship of natural phenomena, was able to evolve; then, for the reception of those gods who overthrew him from his supremacy, because of their greater freedom from physical restraints, there is opened a logical and historical path--until that god comes who in turn follows these half-embodied ones, and stands as the first immaterial author of the universe--and so one may walk straight from the physical beginning of the Rig Vedic religion to its spiritual Brahmanic end.

We turn now to one or two phenomena-deities that were never much tampered with by priestly speculation; their forms being still as bright and clear as when the first Vedic worshipper, waiting to salute the rising sun, beheld in all her beauty, and thus praised

THE DAWN.[94]

As comes a bride hath she approached us, gleaming;
All things that live she rouses now to action.
A fire is born that shines for human beings;
Light hath she made, and driven away the darkness.

Wide-reaching hath she risen, to all approaching,
And shone forth clothed in garments white and glistening,
Of gold her color, fair to see her look is,
Mother of kine,[95] leader of days she gleameth.

Bearing the gods' eye, she, the gracious maiden,
--Leading along the white and sightly charger[96]
--Aurora, now is seen, revealed in glory,
With shining guerdons unto all appearing.

O near and dear one, light far off our foes, and
Make safe to us our kines' wide pasture-places.
Keep from us hatred; what is good, that bring us,
And send the singer wealth, O generous maiden.

With thy best beams for us do thou beam widely,
Aurora, goddess bright, our life extending;
And food bestow, O thou all goods possessing,
Wealth, too, bestowing, kine and steeds and war-cars

Thou whom Vasistha's[97] sons extol with praises,
Fair-born Aurora, daughter of Dyaus, the bright one,
On us bestow thou riches high and mighty,
--O all ye gods with weal forever guard us.

In the laudation of Varuna the fancy of the poet exhausts itself in lofty imagery, and reaches the topmost height of Vedic religious lyric. In the praise of Dawn it descends not lower than to interweave beauty with dignity of utterance. Nothing in religious poetry more graceful or delicate than the Vedic Dawn-hymns has ever been written. In the daily vision of Dawn following her sister Night the poet sees his fairest goddess, and in his worship of her there is love and admiration, such as is evoked by the sight of no other deity. "She comes like a fair young maiden, awakening all to labor, with an hundred chariots comes she, and brings the shining light; gleam forth, O Dawn, and give us thy blessing this day; for in thee is the life of every living creature. Even as thou hast rewarded the singers of old, so now reward our song" (I. 48).

The kine of Dawn are the bright clouds that, like red cattle, wander in droves upon the horizon. Sometimes the rays of light, which stretch across the heaven, are intended by this image, for the cattle-herding poets employed their flocks as figures for various ends.

The inevitable selfish pessimism of unripe reflection is also woven into the later Dawn-hymns: "How long will it be ere this Dawn, too, shall join the Dawns departed? Vanished are now the men that saw the Dawns of old; we here see her now; there will follow others who will see her hereafter; but, O Dawn, beam here thy fairest; rich in blessings, true art thou to friend and right. Bring hither (to the morning sacrifice) the gods" (I. 113).

Since the metre (here ignored) of the following hymn is not all of one model, it is probable that after the fourth verse a new hymn began, which was distinct from the first; but the argument from metre is unconvincing, and in any event both songs are worth citing, since they show how varied were the images and fancies of the poets: "The Dawns are like heroes with golden weapons; like red kine of the morning on the field of heaven; shining they weave their webs of light, like women active at work; food they bring to the pious worshipper. Like a dancing girl is the Dawn adorned, and opens freely her bosom; as a cow gives milk, as a cow comes forth from its stall, so opens she her breast, so comes she out of the darkness (verses 1-4) ...She is the ever new, born again and again, adorned always with the same color. As a player conceals the dice, so keeps she concealed the days of a man; daughter of Heaven she wakes and drives away her sister (Night). Like kine, like the waves of a flood, with sunbeams she appears. O rich Dawn, bring us wealth; harness thy red horses, and bring to us success" (I. 92). The homage to Dawn is naturally divided at times with that to the sun: "Fair shines the light of morning; the sun awakens us to toil; along the path of order goes Dawn arrayed in light. She extendeth herself in the east, and gleameth till she fills the sky and earth"; and again: "Dawn is the great work of Varuna and Mitra; through the sun is she awakened" (I. 124; III. 61. 6-7). In the ritualistic period Dawn is still mechanically lauded, and her beams "rise in the east like pillars of sacrifice" (IV. 51. 2); but otherwise the imagery of the selections given above is that which is usually employed. The 'three dawns' occasionally referred to are, as we have shown elsewhere,[98] the three dawn-lights, white, red, and yellow, as they are seen by both the Vedic poet and the Florentine.

Dawn becomes common and trite after awhile, as do all the gods, and is invoked more to give than to please. 'Wake us,' cries a later poet, 'Wake us to wealth, O Dawn; give to us, give to us; wake up, lest the sun burn thee with his light'--a passage (V. 79) which has caused much learned nonsense to be written on the inimical relations of Sun and Dawn as portrayed here. The dull idea is that Dawn is lazy, and had better get up before S[=u]rya catches her asleep. The poet is not in the least worried because his image does not express a suitable relationship between the dawn and the sun, nor need others be disturbed at it. The hymn is late, and only important in showing the new carelessness as regards the old gods.[99] Some other traits appear in VII. 75. 1 ff., where Dawn is 'queen of the world,' and banishes the _druhs_, or evil spirit. She here is daughter of Heaven, and wife of the sun (4, 5); _ib_. 76. 1, she is the eye of the world; and _ib_ 81. 4, she is invoked as 'mother.'

There is, at times, so close a resemblance between Dawn-hymns and Sun-hymns that the imagery employed in one is used in the other. Thus the hymn VI. 64 begins: "The beams of Dawn have arisen, shining as shine the waters' gleaming waves. She makes good paths, ... she banishes darkness as a warrior drives away a foe (so of the sun, IV. 13. 2; X. 37. 4; 170. 2). Beautiful are thy paths upon the mountains, and across the waters thou shinest, self-gleaming" (also of the sun). With the last expression may be compared that in VI. 65. 5: "Dawn, whose seat is upon the hills."

Dawn is intimately connected not only with Agni but with the Twin Horsemen, the Açvins (equites)--if not so intimately connected as is Helen with the Dioskouroi, who, _pace_ Pischel, are the Açvins of Hellas. This relationship is more emphasized in the hymns to the latter gods, but occasionally occurs in Dawn-hymns, of which another is here translated in full.

TO DAWN (IV. 52).

The Daughter of Heaven, this beauteous maid,
Resplendent leaves her sister (Night),
And now before (our sight) appears.

Red glows she like a shining mare,
Mother of kine, who timely comes--
The Horsemen's friend Aurora is.

Both friend art thou of the Horsemen twain,
And mother art thou of the kine,
And thou, Aurora, rulest wealth.

We wake thee with our praise as one
Who foes removes; such thought is ours,
O thou that art possesst of joy.

Thy radiant beams beneficent
Like herds of cattle now appear;
Aurora fills the wide expanse.

With light hast thou the dark removed,
Filling (the world), O brilliant one.
Aurora, help us as thou us'st.

With rays thou stretchest through the heaven
And through the fair wide space between,
O Dawn, with thy refulgent light.

It was seen that Savitar (P[=u]shan) is the rising and setting sun. So, antithetic to Dawn, stands the Abendroth with her sister, Night. This last, generally, as in the hymn just translated, is lauded only in connection with Dawn, and for herself alone gets but one hymn, and that is not in a family-book. She is to be regarded, therefore, less as a goddess of the pantheon than as a quasi-goddess, the result of a poet's meditative imagination, rather than one of the folk's primitive objects of adoration; somewhat as the English poets personify "Ye clouds, that far above me float and pause, ye ocean-waves ... ye woods, that listen to the night-bird's singing, O ye loud waves, and O ye forests high, and O ye clouds that far above me soared; thou rising sun, thou blue rejoicing sky!"--and as in Greek poetry, that which before has been conceived of vaguely as divine suddenly is invested with a divine personality. The later poet exalts these aspects of nature, and endows those that were before only half recognized with a little special praise. So, whereas Night was divine at first merely as the sister of divine Dawn, in the tenth book one poet thus gives her praise:

HYMN TO NIGHT (X. 127).

Night, shining goddess, comes, who now
Looks out afar with many eyes,
And putteth all her beauties on.

Immortal shining goddess, she
The depths and heights alike hath filled,
And drives with light the dark away.

To me she comes, adorned well,
A darkness black now sightly made;
Pay then thy debt, O Dawn, and go.[100]

The bright one coming put aside
Her sister Dawn (the sunset light),
And lo! the darkness hastes away.

So (kind art thou) to us; at whose
Appearing we retire to rest,
As birds fly homeward to the tree.

To rest are come the throngs of men;
To rest, the beasts; to rest, the birds;
And e'en the greedy eagles rest.

Keep off the she-wolf and the wolf,
Keep off the thief, O billowy Night,
Be thou to us a saviour now.

To thee, O Night, as 'twere an herd,
To a conqueror (brought), bring I an hymn
Daughter of Heaven, accept (the gift).[101]

THE AÇVINS.

The Açvins who are, as was said above, the 'Horsemen,' parallel to the Greek Dioskouroi, are twins, sons of Dyaus, husbands, perhaps brothers of the Dawn. They have been variously 'interpreted,' yet in point of fact one knows no more now what was the original conception of the twain than was known before Occidental scholars began to study them.[102] Even the ancients made mere guesses: the Açvins came before the Dawn, and are so-called because they ride on horses _(açva, equos)_ they represent either Heaven and Earth, or Day and Night, or Sun and Moon, or two earthly kings--such is the unsatisfactory information given by the Hindus themselves.[103]

Much the same language with that in the Dawn-hymns is naturally employed in praising the Twin Brothers. They, like the Dioskouroi, are said to have been incorporated gradually into the pantheon, on an equality with the other gods,[104] not because they were at first human beings, but because they, like Night, were adjuncts of Dawn, and got their divinity through her as leader.[105] In the last book of the Rig Veda they are the sons of Sarany[=u] and Vivasvant, but it is not certain whether Sarany[=u] means dawn or not; in the first book they are born of the flood (in the sky).[106] They are sons of Dyaus, but this, too, only in the last and first books, while in the latter they are separated once, so that only one is called the Son of the Sky.[107] They follow Dawn 'like men' (VIII. 5. 2) and are in Brahmanic literature the 'youngest of the gods.'[108]

The twin gods are the physicians of heaven, while to men they bring all medicines and help in times of danger. They were apparently at first only 'wonder-workers,' for the original legends seem to have been few. Yet the striking similarity in these aspects with the brothers of Helen must offset the fact that so much in connection with them seems to have been added in books one and ten. They restore the blind and decrepit, impart strength and speed, and give the power and seed of life; even causing waters to flow, fire to burn, and trees to grow. As such they assist lovers and aid in producing offspring.

The Açvins are brilliantly described, Their bird-drawn chariot and all its appurtenances are of gold; they are swift as thought, agile, young, and beautiful. Thrice they come to the sacrifice, morning, noon, and eve; at the yoking of their car, the dawn is born. When the 'banner before dawn' appears, the invocation to the Açvins begins; they 'accompany dawn.' Some variation of fancy is naturally to be looked for. Thus, though, as said above, Dawn is born at the Açvins yoking, yet Dawn is herself invoked to wake the Açvins; while again the sun starts their chariot before Dawn; and as sons of Zeus they are invoked "when darkness still stands among the shining clouds (cows)."[109]

Husbands or brothers or children of Dawn, the Horsemen are also S[=u]ry[=a]'s husbands, and she is the sun's daughter (Dawn?) or the sun as female. But this myth is not without contradictions, for S[=u]ry[=a] elsewhere weds Soma, and the Açvins are the bridegroom's friends; whom P[=u]shan chose on this occasion as his parents; he who (unless one with Soma) was the prior bridegroom of the same much-married damsel.[110]

The current explanation of the Açvins is that they represent two periods between darkness and dawn, the darker period being nearer night, the other nearer day. But they probably, as inseparable twins, are the twinlights or twilight, before dawn, half dark and half bright. In this light it may well be said of them that one alone is the son of bright Dyaus, that both wed Dawn, or are her brothers. They always come together. Their duality represents, then, not successive stages but one stage in day's approach, when light is dark and dark is light. In comparing the Açvins to other pairs[111] this dual nature is frequently referred to; but no less is there a triality in connection with them which often in describing them has been ignored. This is that threefold light which opens day; and, as in many cases they join with Dawn, so their color is inseparable. Strictly speaking, the break of red is the dawn and the white and yellow lights precede this[112]. Thus in V. 73. 5: "Red birds flew round you as S[=u]ry[=a] stepped upon your chariot"; so that it is quite impossible, in accordance with the poets themselves, to limit the Açvins to the twilight. They are a variegated growth from a black and white seed. The chief function of the Açvins, as originally conceived, was the finding and restoring of vanished light. Hence they are invoked as finders and aid-gods in general (the myths are given in Myriantheus).

Some very amusing and some silly legends have been collected and told by the Vedic poets in regard to the preservation and resuscitating power of the Açvins--how an old man was rejuvenated by them (this is also done by the three Ribhus, master-workmen of the gods); how brides are provided by them; how they rescued Bhujyu and others from the dangers of the deep (as in the classical legends); how they replaced a woman's leg with an iron one; restored a saint's eye-sight; drew a seer out of a well, etc, etc. Many scholars follow Bergaigne in imagining all these miracles to be anthropomorphized forms of solar phenomena, the healing of the blind representing the bringing out of the sun from darkness, etc. To us such interpretation often seems fatuous. No less unconvincing is the claim that one of the Açvins represents the fire of heaven and the other the fire of the altar. The Twins are called _n[=a]saty[=a],_ the 'savers' (or 'not untrue ones[113]'); explained by some as meaning 'gods with good noses[114].'

HYMN TO THE HORSEMEN.

Whether ye rest on far-extended earth, or on the sea in house upon it made, 'come hither thence, O ye that ride the steeds. If ever for man ye mix the sacrifice, then notice now the Kanva [poet who sings]. I call upon the gods [Indra, Vishnu[115]] and the swift-going Horsemen[116]. These Horsemen I call now that they work wonders, to seize the works (of sacrifice), whose friendship is preëminently ours, and relationship among all the gods; in reference to whom arise sacrifices ... If, to-day, O Horsemen, West or East ye stand, ye of good steeds, whether at Druhyu's, Anu's, Turvaça's, or Yadu's, I call ye; come to me. If ye fly in the air, O givers of great joy; or if through the two worlds; or if, according to your pleasure, ye mount the car,--thence come hither, O Horsemen.

From the hymn preceding this, the following verses[117]:

Whatever manliness is in the aether, in the sky, and among
the five peoples, grant us that, O Horsemen ... this hot
_soma_-drink of yours with laudation is poured out; this
_soma_ sweet through which ye discovered Vritra ... Ascend
the swift-rolling chariot, O Horsemen; hither let these my
praises bring ye, like a cloud ... Come as guardians of
homes; guardians of our bodies. Come to the house for (to
give) children and offspring. Whether ye ride on the same
car with Indra, or be in the same house with the Wind;
whether united with the Sons of Boundlessness or the Ribhus,
or stand on Vishnu's wide steps (come to us). This is the
best help of the horsemen, if to-day I should entice them to
get booty, or call them as my strength to conquer in
battle.... Whatever medicine (ye have) far or near, with
this now, O wise ones, grant protection.... Awake, O Dawn,
the Horsemen, goddess, kind and great.... When, O Dawn, thou
goest in light and shinest with the Sun, then hither comes
the Horsemen's chariot, to the house men have to protect.
When the swollen _soma_-stalks are milked like cows with
udders, and when the choric songs are sung, then they that
adore the Horsemen are preëminent....

Here the Açvins are associated with Indra, and even find the evil demon; but, probably, at this stage Indra is more than god of storms.

Some of the expanded myths and legends of the Açvins may be found in i. 118, 119, 158; x. 40. Here follows one with legends in moderate number (vii. 71):

Before the Dawn her sister, Night, withdraweth;
The black one leaves the ruddy one a pathway.
Ye that have kine and horses, you invoke we;
By day, at night, keep far from us your arrow.

Come hither, now, and meet the pious mortal,
And on your car, O Horsemen, bring him good things;
Keep off from us the dry destroying sickness,
By day, at night, O sweetest pair, protect us.

Your chariot may the joy-desiring chargers,
The virile stallions, bring at Dawn's first coming;
That car whose reins are rays, and wealth upon it;
Come with the steeds that keep the season's order.

Upon the car, three-seated, full of riches,
The helping car, that has a path all golden,
On this approach, O lords of heroes, true ones,
Let this food-bringing car of yours approach us.

Ye freed from his old age the man Cyav[=a]na;
Ye brought and gave the charger swift to Pedu;
Ye two from darkness' anguish rescued Atri;
Ye set J[a=]husha down, released from fetters.[118]

This prayer, O Horsemen, and this song is uttered;
Accept the skilful[sic] poem, manly heroes.
These prayers, to you belonging, have ascended,
O all ye gods protect us aye with blessings![119]

The sweets which the Açvins bring are either on their chariot, or, as is often related, in a bag; or they burst forth from the hoof of their steed. Pegasus' spring in Helicon has been compared with this. Their vehicles are variously pictured as birds, horses, ships, etc. It is to be noticed that in no one of their attributes are the Açvins unique. Other gods bring sweets, help, protect, give offspring, give healing medicines, and, in short, do all that the Açvins do. But, as Bergaigne points out, they do all this pacifically, while Indra, who performs some of their wonders, does so by storm. He protects by not injuring, and helps by destroying foes. Yet is this again true only in general, and the lines between warlike, peaceful, and 'sovereign' gods are often crossed.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: Such for instance as the hymn to the Açvins,
RV. ii. 39. Compare verses 3-4: 'Come (ye pair of Açvins)
like two horns; like two hoofs; like two geese; like two
wheels; like two ships; like two spans'; etc. This is the
content of the whole hymn.]

[Footnote 2: _Deva_ is 'shining' (deus), and _S[=u]rya_
(sol, [Greek: áelios]) means the same.]

[Footnote 3: Let the reader note at the outset that there is
scarcely an activity considered as divine which does not
belong to several gods (see below).]

[Footnote 4: From _su, sav_, enliven, beget, etc. In RV. iv.
53.6 and vii, 63.2, _pra-savitar_.]

[Footnote 5: RV. VII. 66. 14-15; compare X. 178. 1. In the
notes immediately following the numbers all refer to the Rig
Veda.]

[Footnote 6: V. 47, 3; compare vs. 7, and X. 189. 1-2.]

[Footnote 7: Compare X. 177. 1.]

[Footnote 8: X. 37. 9.]

[Footnote 9: V. 63. 7. Varuna and Mitra set the sun's car in
heaven.]

[Footnote 10: 1 IV. 13. 2-5; X. 37, 4; 85, 1. But _ib_. 149.
1. Savitar holds the sky 'without support.']

[Footnote 11: VII 63.1; I. 115.11; X. 37. 1.]

[Footnote 12: III. 61.4; VII. 63. 3.]

[Footnote 13: VII 78.3.]

[Footnote 14: I. 56,4; IX. 84. 2; Compare I. 92. 11; 115, 2;
123. 10-12. V. 44. 7, and perhaps 47.6, are late. VII. 75.
5, is an exception (or late).]

[Footnote 15: _La Religion Védique_, I.6; II. 2.]

[Footnote 16: Ehni, _Yama,_ p. 134.]

[Footnote 17: RV., IV. 54. 2. Here the sun gives life even
to the gods.]

[Footnote 18: Ten hundred and twenty-eight hymns are
contained in the 'Rig Veda Collection.']

[Footnote 19: IV. 14.]

[Footnote 20: X. 37; 158; 170; 177; 189. Each has its own
mark of lateness. In 37, the dream; in 158, the triad; in
170, the sun as _asurah[=a]_; in 177, the mystic tone and
the bird-sun (compare Garutman, I. 164; X. 149); in 189, the
thirty stations.]

[Footnote 21: See Whitney in _Colebrooke's Essays_, revised
edition, ii. p. 111.]

[Footnote 22: iv. 54]

[Footnote 23: Two 'laps' below, besides that above, the word
meaning 'middle' but also 'under-place.' The explanation of
this much-disputed passage will be found by comparing I.
154. 5 and VII. 99. 1. The sun's three places are where he
appears on both horizons and in the zenith. The last is the
abode of the dead where Yama reigns. Compare IV. 53. The
bracketed verses are probably a late puzzle attached to the
word 'lap' of the preceding verse.]

[Footnote 24: Doubtful.]

[Footnote 25: The Spirit, later of evil spirits, demons (as
above, the _asurah[=á]_). Compare Ahura.]

[Footnote 26: A numerical conception not paralleled in the
Rig Veda, though mountains are called protuberances
('elevations') in other places.]

[Footnote 27: The last stanza is in the metre of the first;
two more follow without significant additions.]

[Footnote 28: The texts are translated by Muir, OST, V. p.
171 ff.]

[Footnote 29: _La Religion Védique_, II. p. 428. Compare
Hillebrandt, _Soma_ p. 456.]

[Footnote 30: I. 138. 4.]

[Footnote 31: VI. 56. 1.]

[Footnote 32: In I. 23. 13-15 P[=u]shan is said to bring
king _(soma),_ "whom he found like a lost herd of cattle."
The fragment is late if, as is probable, the 'six' of vs. 15
are the six seasons. Compare VI. 54. 5, "may P[=u]shan go
after our kine."]

[Footnote 33: Compare VI. 54.]

[Footnote 34: He is the 'son of freeing,' from darkness? VI.
55. 1.]

[Footnote 35: IV. 57. 7.]

[Footnote 36: VI. 17. 11; 48. 11 ff.; IV. 30. 24 ff. He is
called like a war-god with the Maruts in VI. 48.]

[Footnote 37: So, too, Bhaga is Dawn's brother, I. 123. 5.
P[=u]shan is Indra's brother in VI. 55. 5. Gubernatis
interprets P[=u]shan as 'the setting sun.']

[Footnote 38: Contrast I. 42, and X. 26 (with 1. 138. 1). In
the first hymn P[=u]shan leads the way and drives away
danger, wolves, thieves, and helps to booty and pasturage.
In the last he is a war-god, who helps in battle, a
'far-ruler,' embracing the thoughts of all (as in III. 62.
9).]

[Footnote 39: For the traits just cited compare IV. 57. 7;
VI. 17. 11; 48. 15; 53; 55; 56. I-3; 57. 3-4; 58. 2-4; II.
40; X. 17. 3 ff.; 26. 3-8; I. 23. 14; all of I. 42, and 138;
VIII. 4. 15-18; III. 57. 2. In X. 17. 4, Savitar, too,
guides the souls of the dead.]

[Footnote 40: That is to say, one hymn is addressed to Bhaga
with various other gods, VII. 41. Here he seems to be
personified good-luck ("of whom even the king says,' I would
have thee,'" vs. 2). In Ihe Br[=a]hmanas 'Bhaga is blind,'
which applies better to Fortune than to the Sun.]

[Footnote 41: The hymn is sung before setting out on a
forray for cattle. Let one observe how unsupported is
the assumption of the ritualists as applied to this hymn,
that it must have been "composed for rubrication."]

[Footnote 42: After Muir, V. p. 178. The clouds and cattle
are both called _gàs_ 'wanderers,' which helped in the
poetic identification of the two.]

[Footnote 43: Compare IX. 97. 55, "Thou art Bhaga, giver of
gifts."]

[Footnote 44: _Bhágam bhakshi_! Compare baksheesh. The word
as 'god' is both Avestan, _bagha_, and Slavic, _bogu_ (also
meaning 'rich'). It may be an epithet of other gods also,
and here it means only luck.]

[Footnote 45: Literally 'possessed of _bhaga,' i.e_.,
wealth.]

[Footnote 46: May Bhaga be _bhágav[=a]n, i.e_., a true
_bhaga_-holder. Here and below a pun on the name (as
above).]

[Footnote 47: Mythical being, possibly the sun-horse.
According to Pischel a real earthly racer.]

[Footnote 48: I.22.17, etc; 154 ff.; VII. too.]

[Footnote 49: VII. 100. 5-6. Vishnu (may be the epithet of
Indra in I.61.7) means winner (?),]

[Footnote 50: VI. 69; VII. 99. But Vishnu is ordered about
by Indra (IV. 18. 11; VIII. 89. 12).]

[Footnote 51: I.154. 5. In II. 1. 3, Vishnu is one with Fire
(Agni).]

[Footnote 52: Thus, for example, Vishnu in the Hindu
trinity, the separate worship of the sun in modern sects,
and in the cult of the hill-men.]

[Footnote 53: X. 149.]

[Footnote 54: II.41.20.]

[Footnote 55: vi.70.]

[Footnote 56: I.160.4; IV. 56.1-3; VII. 53. 2.]

[Footnote 57: I. 185. 8. _(J[=a]spati)._ The expiatory power
of the hymn occurs again in I. 159.]

[Footnote 58: I. 185. 1.]

[Footnote 59: IV. 56. 7.]

[Footnote 60: I. 22. 15.]

[Footnote 61: X. 18. 10 (or: "like a wool-soft maiden").]

[Footnote 62: The lightning. In I. 31. 4, 10 "(Father) Fire
makes Dyaus bellow" like "a bull" (v. 36. 5). Dyaus "roars"
in vi. 72. 3. Nowhere else is he a thunderer.]

[Footnote 63: 1. 24. 7-8. The change in metaphor is not
unusual.]

[Footnote 64: This word means either order or orders (law);
literally the 'way' or 'course.']

[Footnote 65: 1. 24 (epitomized).]

[Footnote 66: Perhaps better with Ludwig "of (thee) in
anger, of (thee) incensed."]

[Footnote 67: Or: "Being (himself) in the (heavenly) flood
he knows the ships." (Ludwig.)]

[Footnote 68: An intercalated month is meant (not the
primitive 'twelve days').]

[Footnote 69: Or 'very wise,' of mental strength.]

[Footnote 70: VIII. 41. 7; VII. 82. 6 (Bergaigne); X. 132.
4.]

[Footnote 71: Compare Bergaigne, _La Religion Védique_, iii.
pp. 116-118.]

[Footnote 72: The insistence on the holy seven, the 'secret
names' of dawn, the confusion of Varuna with Trita. Compare,
also, the refrain, viii. 39-42. For X. 124, see below.]

[Footnote 73: Compare Hillebrandt's Varuna and Mitra, p. 5;
and see our essay on the Holy Numbers of the Rig Veda (in
the _Oriental Studies_).]

[Footnote 74: Varuna's forgiving of sins may be explained as
a washing out of sin, just as fire burns it out, and so
loosens therewith the imagined bond, V. 2. 7. Thus, quite
apart from Varuna in a hymn addressed to the 'Waters,' is
found the prayer, "O waters, carry off whatever sin is in me
... and untruth," I. 23. 22.]

[Footnote 75: But as in iv. 42, so in x. 124 he shares glory
with Indra.]

[Footnote 76: Later, Varuna's water-office is his only
physical side. Compare [=A]it. [=A]r. II. I. 7. 7, 'water
and Varuna, children of mind.' Compare with _v[=a]ri, oùrá_
= _v[=a]ra_, and _var[=i]_, an old word for rivers,
_var[s.]_ (= _var_ + _s_), 'rain.' The etymology is very
doubtful on account of the number of _var_-roots. Perhaps
dew _(ersa)_ and rain first as 'coverer.' Even _var = vas_
'shine,' has been suggested (ZDMG. XXII. 603).]

[Footnote 77: The old comparison of _Varena cathrugaosha_
turns out to be "the town of Varna with four gates"!]

[Footnote 78: In _India: What Can it Teach us_, pp. 197,
200, Müller tacitly recognizes in the physical Varuna only
the 'starry' night-side.]

[Footnote 79: _Loc. cit._, III. 119. Bergaigne admits Varuna
as god of waters, but sees in him identity with Vritra a
'restrainer of waters.' He thinks the 'luminous side' of
Varuna to be antique also (III. 117-119). Varuna's cord,
according to Bergaigne, comes from 'tying up' the waters;
'night's fetters,' according to Hillebrandt.]

[Footnote 80: _Loc. cit._, p. 13.]

[Footnote 81: One of the chief objections to Bergaigne's
conception of Varuna as restrainer is that it does not
explain the antique union with Mitra.]

[Footnote 82: II. 28. 4, 7; VII. 82. 1, 2; 87.2]

[Footnote 83: vii. 87. 6; 88. 2.]

[Footnote 84: viii. 41. 2, 7, 8. So Varuna gives _soma_,
rain. As a rain-god he surpasses Dyaus, who, ultimately, is
also a rain-god (above), as in Greece.]

[Footnote 85: Compare Çat. Br. V. 2.5.17, "whatever is dark
is Varuna's."]

[Footnote 86: In II. 38. 8 _varuna_ means 'fish,' and 'water
in I.184. 3.]

[Footnote 87: V. 62. I, 8; 64.7; 61. 5; 65. 2; 67. 2; 69.1;
VI. 51.1; 67. 5. In VIII. 47.11 the [=A]dityas are
themselves spies.]

[Footnote 88: Introduction to Grassmann, II. 27; VI. 42.
Lex. s. v.]

[Footnote 89: _Religions of India,_ p. 17.]

[Footnote 90: The Rik knows, also, a Diti, but merely as
antithesls to Aditi--the 'confined and unconfined.' Aditi is
prayed to (for protection and to remove sin) in sporadic
verses of several hymns addressed to other gods, but she has
no hymn.]

[Footnote 91: Müller (_loc. cit._, below) thinks that the
'sons of Aditi' were first eight and were then reduced to
seven, in which opinion as in his whole interpretation of
Aditi as a primitive dawn-infinity we regret that we cannot
agree with him.]

[Footnote 92: See Hillebrandt, _Die Göttin Aditi_; and
Müller, SBE, xxxii., p. 241, 252.]

[Footnote 93: That is to say, if one believe that the
'primitive Aryans' were inoculated with Zoroaster's
teaching. This is the sort of Varuna that Koth believes to
have existed among the aboriginal Aryan tribes (above, p.
13, note 2).]

[Footnote 94: VII. 77.]

[Footnote 95: Clouds.]

[Footnote 96: The sun.]

[Footnote 97: The priest to whom, and to whose family, is
ascribed the seventh book.]

[Footnote 98: JAOS., XV. 270.]

[Footnote 99: Much theosophy, and even history (!), has been
read into II. 15, and IV. 30, where poets speak of Indra
slaying Dawn; but there is nothing remarkable in these
passages. Poetry is not creed. The monsoon (here Indra) does
away with dawns for a time, and that is what the poet says
in his own way.]

[Footnote 100: Transferred by Roth from the penultimate
position where it stands in the original. Dawn here pays
Night for the latter's malutinal withdrawing by withdrawing
herself. Strictly speaking, the Dawn is, of course, the
sunset light conceived of as identical with that preceding
the sunrise ([Greek: usas, hêôs], 'east' as 'glow').]

[Footnote 101: Late as seems this hymn to be, it is
interesting in revealing the fact that wolves (not tigers or
panthers) are the poet's most dreaded foes of night. It
must, therefore have been composed in the northlands, where
wolves are the herdsman's worst enemies.]

[Footnote 102: Myriantheus, _Die Açvins_; Muir, OST. v.
p.234; Bergaigne, _Religion Védique,_ II. p. 431; Müller,
_Lectures_, 2d series, p. 508; Weber, _Ind. St_. v. p. 234.
S[=a]yana on I. 180. 2, interprets the 'sister of the
Açvins' as Dawn.]

[Footnote 103: Muir, _loc. cit_. Weber regards them as the
(stars) Gemini.]

[Footnote 104: Weber, however, thinks that Dawn and Açvins
are equally old divinities, the oldest Hindu divinities in
his estimation.]

[Footnote 105: In the Epic (see below) they are called the
lowest caste of gods (Ç[=u]dras).]

[Footnote 106: X. 17. 2; I. 46. 2.]

[Footnote 107: I. 181. 4 (Roth, ZDMG. IV. 425).]

[Footnote 108: T[=a]itt. S. VII. 2. 7. 2; Muir, _loc. cit_.
p. 235.]

[Footnote 109: vii. 67. 2; viii. 5. 2; x. 39. 12; viii. 9.
17; i. 34. 10; x. 61. 4. Muir, _loc. cit._ 238-9. Compare
_ib_. 234, 256.]

[Footnote 110: Muir, _loc. cit_. p. 237. RV. vi. 58. 4; x.
85. 9ff.]

[Footnote 111: They are compared to two ships, two birds,
etc.]

[Footnote 112: In _Çat. Br_. V. 5. 4. it to the Açvins a
red-white goat is sacrificed, because 'Açvins are
red-white.']

[Footnote 113: Perhaps best with Brannhofer, 'the savers'
from _nas_ as in _nasjan_ (AG. p. 99).]

[Footnote 114: _La Religion Védique_, II. p. 434. That
_n[=a]snya_ means 'with good noses' is an epic notion,
_n[=a]satyadasr[=a]u sunas[=a]u,_ Mbh[=a]. I. 3. 58, and for
this reason, if for no other (though idea is older), the
etymology is probably false! The epithet is also Iranian.
Twinned and especially paired gods are characteristic of the
Rig Veda. Thus Yama and Yam[=i] are twins; and of pairs
Indra-Agni, Indra-V[=a]yu, besides the older Mitra-Varuna,
Heaven-Earth, are common.]

[Footnote 115: Perhaps to be omitted.]

[Footnote 116: _Pischel_, Ved. St. I. p. 48. As swift-going
gods they are called 'Indra-like.']

[Footnote 117: VIII. 9 and 10.]

[Footnote 118: Doubtful]

[Footnote 119: The last verse is not peculiar to this hymn,
but is the sign of the book (family) in which it was
composed.]

* * * * *