Here the males are no doubt the horses or stallions of Agni. But, though this follows from the context, it would be wrong to say that vríshan by itself means horse.

If used by itself, vríshan most frequently means man, and chiefly in his sexual character. Thus:

I, 140, 6. vríshâ-iva pátnîh abhí eti róruvat.

Agni comes roaring like a husband to his wives.

I, 179, i. ápi ûm (íti) nú pátnîh vríshanah gagamyuh.

Will the husbands now come to their wives?

II, 16, 8. sakrít sú te sumatí-bhih—sám pátnîbhih ná vríshanah nasîmahi.

May we for once cling firmly to thy blessings, as husbands cling to their wives.

V, 47, 6. upa-prakshé vríshanah módamânâh diváh pathâ´ vadhvãh yanti ákkha.

The exulting men come for the embrace on the path of heaven towards their wives.

In one or two passages vríshan would seem to have a still more definite meaning, particularly in the formula sû´rah drísîke vríshanah ka paûmsye, which occurs IV, 41, 6; X, 92, 7. See also I, 179, 1.

In all the passages which we have hitherto examined vríshan clearly retained its etymological meaning, though even then it was not always possible to translate it by mal e.

The same meaning has been retained in other languages in which this word can be traced. Thus, in Zend, arshan (the later gushan) is used to express the sex of animals in such expressions as aspahé arshnô, gen. a male horse; varâzahe arshnô, gen. a male boar; géus arshnô, gen. a male ox; but likewise in the sense of man or hero, as arsha husrava, the hero Husrava. In Greek we find ἄρσην and ἄῤῥην used in the same way to distinguish the sex of animals, as ἄρσενες ἵπποι, βοῦν ἄρσενα. In Latin the same word may be recognised in the proper name Varro, and in vâro and bâro.

We now come to another class of passages in which vríshan is clearly intended to express more than merely the masculine gender. In some of them the etymological meaning of spargere, to pour forth, seems to come out again, and it is well known that Indian commentators are very fond of explaining vríshan by giver of rain, giver of

good gifts, bounteous. The first of these meanings may indeed be admitted in certain passages, but in others it is more than doubtful.

II. Vríshan, fertilising.

I, 181, 8. vríshâ vâm megháh may be translated, your raining cloud.

I, 129, 3. dasmáh hí sma vríshanam pinvasi tvákam.

Thou art strong, thou fillest the rainy skin, i. e. the cloud.

See also IV, 22, 6; and possibly V, 83, 6.

It may be that, when applied to Soma too, vríshan retained something of its etymological meaning, that it meant gushing forth, poured out, though in many places it is impossible to render vríshan, as applied to Soma, by anything but strong. All we can admit is that vríshan, if translated by strong, means also strengthening and invigorating, an idea not entirely absent even in our expression, a strong drink.