Vríshan, being derived from a root vrish, spargere, meant no doubt originally the male, whether applied to animals or men. In this sense vríshan occurs frequently in the Veda, either as determining the sex of the animal which is mentioned, or as standing by itself and meaning the male. In either case, however, it implies the idea of strength and eminence, which we lose whether we translate it by man or male.

Thus ásva is horse, but VII, 69, 1, we read:

â´ vâm ráthah—vrísha-bhih yâtu ásvaih.

May your chariot come near with powerful horses, i. e. with stallions.

The Háris, the horses of Indra, are frequently called vríshanâ

I, 177, 1. yuktvâ´ hárî (iti) vríshanâ.

Having yoked the bay stallions.

Vrishabá, though itself originally meaning the male animal, had become fixed as the name of the bull, and in this process it had lost so much of its etymological import that the Vedic poet did not hesitate to define vrishabhá itself by the addition of vríshan. Thus we find:

VIII, 93, 7. sáh vríshâ vrishabháh bhuvat.

May he (Indra) be a strong bull.

I, 54, 2. vríshâ vrisha-tvâ´ vrishabháh.

Indra by his strength a strong bull; but, literally, Indra by his manliness a male bull.

Even vrishabhá loses again its definite meaning; and as

bull in bull-calf means simply male, or in bull-trout, large, so vrishabhá is added to átya, horse, to convey the meaning of large or powerful:

I, 177, 2. yé te vríshanah vrishabhâ´sah indra—átyâh. Thy strong and powerful horses; literally, thy male bull-horses.

When vríshan and vrishabhá are used as adjectives, for instance with súshma, strength, they hardly differ in meaning:

VI, 19, 8. â´ nah bhara vríshanam súshmam indra.

Bring us thy manly strength, O Indra.

And in the next verse:

VI, 19, 9. â´ te súshmah vrishabháh etu.

May thy manly strength come near.

Vámsaga, too, which is clearly the name for bull, is defined by vríshan, I, 7, 8:

vríshâ yûthâ´-iva vámsagah.

As the strong bull scares the herds.

The same applies to varâ´ha, which, though by itself meaning boar, is determined again by vríshan:

X, 67, 7. vrísha-bhih varâ´haih.

With strong boars.

In III, 2, 11, we read:

vríshâ—nâ´nadat ná simháh.

Like a roaring lion.

If used by itself, vríshan, at least in the Rig-veda, can hardly be said to be the name of any special animal, though in later Sanskrit it may mean bull or horse. Thus if we read, X, 43, 8, vríshâ ná kruddháh, we can only translate like an angry male, though, no doubt, like a wild bull, would seem more appropriate.

I, 186, 5. yéna nápâtam apâ´m gunâ´ma manah-gúvah vríshanah yám váhanti.

That we may excite the son of the water (Agni), whom the males, quick as thought, carry along.