14 . And whatsoever we have done, O Agni, out

of devotion for thee, with our feet , with our hands, with our bodies: (in those deeds of ours) the wise have held up the Rita, aspiring after it, like those who manage a chariot by means of the two pole-arms (?) .

15. And may we be born from the Dawn, the mother, as the seven priests , as the first worshippers among men . May we be the Angiras, the sons of Heaven. May we flaming break the rock which contains the prize of the contest .

16. And as our first, ancient fathers, O Agni, were aspiring after Rita --they attained to pure devotion , chanting their litanies. Cleaving the earth they disclosed the red (cows).

17. The pious men, well performing the acts (of worship), resplendent, melting the generations of the gods like ore , kindling Agni, strengthening Indra, went along , besieging the stall of cows.

18. He looked (on the gods) as on herds of cattle in a rich (pasture) , when the generations of the gods (were) near him, O mighty one . After (the generations) of the mortals the Urvasis have pined, for the growing strong of the Arya , of the nearer Ayu .

19. We have done our work for thee; we have been good workers--the brilliant dawns have shone out Rita ,--brightening the perfect Agni who manifoldly shines with fine splendour, (brightening) the god's beautiful eye.

20. We have recited these hymns for thee, the sage, O Agni, worshipper (of the gods) ; accept them! Blaze up; make us wealthier. Bestow great wealth on us, O bountiful one!

NOTES.

The Rishi is Vamadeva, the metre Trishtubh.--Verse 5 = TS. I, 6, 6, 4; III, 1, 11, 1; MS. I, 4, 3. Verse 6 = TA. VI, 2, 1. Verse 11 = TS. V, 5, 4, 4. Verse 16 = VS. XIX, 69; TS. II, 6, 12, 4. Verses 16-19 = AV. XVIII, 3, 21-24.

Verse 1.

Note [4:2:1:1]1. On this use of these infinitives, comp. Delbruck, Altindische Syntax, p. 412.--Manushah seems to be genitive; comp. II, 2, 6. havya' manushah; II, 2, 8. hotrabhih ... manushah; I, 76, 5. manushah havirbhih.

Verse 2.

Note [4:2:2:1]1. Comp. below, IV, 6, 9.

Verse 3.

Note [4:2:3:1]1. As to the horses of Rita, comp. above, III, 6, 6. In spite of the different accent there is no doubt that ghritasnuva, which occurs in that verse, is the same word as ghritasnu, in our verse, a compound of ghrita with a noun snu which seems to be different from sa'nu, and connected with the root sna (cf. ghritasna', IV, 6, 9; and see Bechtel, Hauptprobleme der Indogerm. Lautlehre, p. 211). Vridhasnu, on the other hand, seems to be no compound, but an adjective formed like vadhasnu, nishatsnu. It is evident, however, that the poet here employed the two words vridhasnu and ghritasnu as parallel expressions.