12. Grant us, Agni, for our chariot and for our house a ship which has its own rudders and which has feet , which may save our strong men and our liberal lords and our people, and which may be a shelter for us.

13. Approve, O Agni, our hymn alone. May Heaven and Earth and the Rivers, delightful by their own nature , going their way , (choose for us) bliss in cows and crops, long days; may the red (Dawns) choose food for us as a choice boon.

NOTES.

The Rishi is Dirghatamas Aukathya, the metre Gagati; the two last verses are Trishtubh (comp. above the note on the metre of I, 94); the tenth verse, which is considered as either Gagati or Trishtubh, begins with one Gagati Pada which is followed by three Padas in Trishtubh.--No verse occurs in the other Samhitas.

Verse 1.

Note [1:140:1:1]1. Pra bhara (Padap. pra bhara) and vasaya (Padap. vasaya) may be 1st person.

Note [1:140:1:2]2. Possibly the 'womb' or 'receptacle' (yoni) here means ghrita or the like, for it is said of Agni that 'his womb is ghrita' (II, 3, 11), and he is called ghritayonih. This receptacle 'is to him like a drink,' because he consumes the ghrita by which he is surrounded.

Verse 2.

Note [1:140:2:1]1. The terrestrial and the celestial birth. Comp. Bergaigne, I, 28 seq.

Note [1:140:2:2]2. Bergaigne (I, 29) translates: '... s'elance trois fois sur la nourriture,' which he explains as referring to 'the three sacrifices of the morning, the midday, and the evening.' But tri-vrit clearly is an epithet of annam, not an adverb. The explanation of Sayana, who understands the threefold food as sacrificial butter, sacrificial cakes (purodasa), and Soma, may be correct.

Note [1:140:2:3]3. On the locative samvatsare, comp. Delbruck, Altindische Syntax, p. 117.

Note [1:140:2:4]4. The last words evidently refer to Agni's tongue, i. e. his flames, wiping off as it were the firewood. But it is not clear what the tongue of the other one is. Sayana thinks of the sacrificial spoon conceived as the tongue of the officiating priest: which is very artificial, but perhaps not too artificial for a verse like this.

Verse 3.

Note [1:140:3:1]1. The 'two mothers' of Agni may be the two worlds (comp. Bergaigne, I, 238) or the two kindling-sticks. -Ubha' (masc.) instead of ubhe is to be remarked.

Note [1:140:3:2]2. Agni increases the wealth of the worshipper who has lighted the fire and may thus be considered as Agni's father. Comp. Satapatha Brahmana XII, 5, 2, 15. Or the father may be Heaven; on Agni as imparting strength to Heaven, see I, 164, 51.

Verse 4.

Note [1:140:4:1]1. The verse begins with feminines; the guvah (comp. I, 134, 1), literally the quick ones, seem to be something like the niyutah of Agni. Then follow masculines; the horses of Agni are male (comp. Bergaigne, I, 143).

Verse 5.