The hymn is ascribed to Praskanva Kanva, who is the reputed author of the whole group of the hymns, I, 44-50. It is certain that these hymns really belong to a branch of the great Kanva family, for which the name Praskanva is characteristic. Comp. my Prolegomena, p. 260.

The metre is Barhata Pragatha. Verse 1 = SV. I, 40. Verses 1-2 = SV. II, 1130-1131. Verse 11 = TB. II, 7, 12, 6. Verse 13 = SV. I, 50; VS. 33, 15; TB. II, 7, 12, 5.

This Agni-hymn contains a number of allusions which show that it was destined for the morning service. The same may be said of the next hymn, I, 45, and of the whole collection of Praskanva hymns, which are addressed exclusively to the devah prataryavanah, viz. Agni in his special character as a matutinal deity, the two Asvins, the Dawn, the rising Sun. From the mention of the Soma tiroahnya 45, 10; 47, 1, and from other circumstances, Bergaigne has very ingeniously drawn the conclusion that in the Praskanva collection an ancient Asvinasastra is preserved; see Recherches sur l'histoire de la Liturgie Vedique, 45.

Verse 1.

Note [1:44:1:1]1. I believe that the text, I may perhaps not say requires, but very strongly invites, a slight correction. The tradition gives agne vivasvat ushasah kitram ra'dhah amartya. To connect vivasvat with ra'dhah and to make the genitive ushasah depend on ra'dhah would give an expression which is not, strictly speaking, impossible but in every case very unusual. Nothing, on the other hand, is more frequent than combinations of the locative of a noun derived from vi-vas with the genitive ushasah, 'at the rising of the dawn' (ushasah vyushtau, vyushtishu, vyushi; comp. the phrase vasto usra'h treated of by Kaegi, Festgruss an Bohtlingk, 48; vastoh usra'h, Bartholomae, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XV, 185). I think that such

a phrase should be restored in our verse, and propose to read agne vivasvan ushasah, &c. The word vivasvan occurs in VIII, 102, 22. agnim idhe vivasvabhih. The expression used here would thus be similar to that of III, 15, 2. tvam nah asya'h ushasah vyushtau ... bodhi gopa'h; comp. IV, 1, 5, &c.

Verse 3.