Another difficulty is the verb áyugdhvam, which is not found again in the Rig-veda together with távishî. Távishî, vigour, is construed with dhâ, to take strength, V, 32, 2. adhatthâh; V, 55, 2. dadhidhve; X, 102, 8. adhatta; also with vas, IV, 16, 14; with pat, X, 113, 5, &c. But it is not likely that to put vigour into the cows could be expressed in Sanskrit by 'you join vigour in the cows.' If távishî must be taken in the sense which it seems always to possess, viz. vigour, it would be least objectionable to translate, 'when you joined vigour, i. e. when you assumed vigour, while being among the Ârunîs.' The Ârunîs being the cows of the dawn, â´runîshu might simply mean in the morning. Considering, however, that the Maruts are said to eat up forests, â´runî in this place, is best taken in the sense of red flames, viz. of fire or forest-fire (dâvâgni), so that the sense would be, 'When you, Storms, assume vigour among the flames, you eat up forests, like elephants.' Benfey: 'Wenn mit den rothen eure Kraft ihr angeschirrt. Die rothen sind die Antilopen, das Vehikel der Maruts, wegen der Schnelligkeit derselben.'

Verse 8.

Note 1. As pisá does not occur again in the Rig-veda, and as Sâyana, without attempting any etymological arguments, simply gives it as a name of deer, it seems best to adopt that sense till something better can be discovered. Supís, too, does not occur again. In VII, 18, 2, pís is explained by gold, &c.; VII, 57, 3, the Maruts are called visvapís.

Note 2. Kshápah can only be the accusative plural, used in a temporal sense. It is so used in the expression kshápah usráh ka, by night and by day, lit. nights and days (VII, 15, 8). In VI, 52, 15, we find kshápah usrâ´h in the same sense.

[paragraph continues] IV, 53, 7. kshapâ´bhih áha-bhih, by night and by day. I, 44, 8, the loc. plur. vyúshtishu, in the mornings, is followed by kshápah, the acc. plur., by night, and here the genitive kshapáh would certainly be preferable, in the sense of at the brightening up of the night. The acc. plur. occurs again in I, 116, 4, where tisráh is used as an accusative (II, 2, 2; VIII, 41, 3). Kshapáh, with the accent on the last, must be taken as a genitivus temporalis, like the German Nachts (I, 79, 6). In VIII, 19, 31. kshapáh vástushu means at the brightening up of the night, i. e. in the morning. Thus, in III, 50, 4, Indra is called kshapâ´m vastâ´ ganitâ´ sû´ryasya, the lighter up of nights, the parent of the sun. In VIII, 26, 3, áti kshapáh, the genitive may be governed by áti. In IV, 16, 19, however, the accusative kshápah would be more natural, nor do I see how a genitive could here be accounted for:

dyâ´vah ná dyumnaíh abhí sántah aryáh kshapáh madema sarádah ka pûrvî´h.

May we rejoice many years, overcoming our enemies as the days overcome the nights by splendour.