Note [1:31:7:1]1. The phrase begins as if a relative clause were to follow attached to the words 'that mortal.' But, instead of this, afterwards a relative clause follows referring to 'thou, O Agni.'

Note [1:31:7:2]2. Roth (Ueber gewisse Kurzungen des Wortendes, p. 4) and Bartholomae (Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXIX, 559) think that a dative (like tatrishana'ya) is required; Agni gives comfort to both thirsty races, gods and men. Roth takes tatrishana[h] for an abbreviation of tatrishana'ya; Bartholomae conjectures tatrisha'ya. It would be more easy to change the form into a dative with the ending -a (= -ai); comp. Kluge, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXV, 309 Pischel-Geldner, I, 61; Aufrecht, Festgruss an Bohtlingk, I; J. Schmidt, Pluralbildungen, 234. But why not leave the nominative? Agni, being thirsty himself, quenches the thirst of other beings. Comp. J. Schmidt, Pluralbildungen, 309.

Verse 11.

Note [1:31:11:1]1. Ayum ayave. See verse 2, note 2.

Note [1:31:11:2]2. The names Nahus, Nahusha have much the same value as Manus, Manusha. But it seems that not all the Aryan tribes, but only a certain part of them, were considered as descendants of Nahus. Comp. Bergaigne, Rel. Vedique, II, 324.

Note [1:31:11:3]3. The last words are very obscure. Mamaka occurs only in one other passage, belonging to the same collection of hymns, I, 34, 6: there the Asvins are invoked to bestow blessings on 'my son' (mamakaya sunave). 'When a son of my father is born' may mean 'When I am

born,' or 'When a new issue is born within our tribe:' then--thus we may possibly supply--the goddess Ila, the teacher of mankind, will be the new-born child's teacher also. Another possible explanation would be to take Mamaka as a proper name. Or Prof. Max Muller may be right, who writes: 'Could not pituh yat putrah mamakasya ga'yate refer to Agni, who, in III, 29, 3, was called ilayah putrah. Her father and husband (Manu) is also the father of mankind, therefore of the poet who says: Whenever the son of my father is born, they made Ila (his mother) the teacher of man.'

Verse 12.

Note [1:31:12:1]1. Trata' tokasya tanaye seems to be nothing else but trata' tokasya tanayasya, which would have had one syllable too much.

Verse 13.

Note [1:31:13:1]1. Comp. on this verse, Pischel, I, 216 seq.

Note [1:31:13:2]2. Agni is to protect the man who has no quiver, and cannot, therefore, protect himself. The four eyes of the divine guardian seem to signify that he can look in all directions, and perhaps also that he has the power of seeing invisible bad demons. The watchdogs of Yama also are four-eyed, X, 14, 10. 11; comp. H. O., Religion des Veda, 474, note 4. Comp. nishangin, Rig-veda III, 30, 15; V, 57, 2; X, 103, 3.

Note [1:31:13:3]3. On kiri, comp. Pischel loc. cit.