[paragraph continues] We do not know the age of Mânya nor that of Agastya. We do not know whether they were Contemporaries or not. But supposing that Mânya was present at the sacrifice, vípra might be meant for Mânya; and in the last words, too, 'the singer has recited these prayers for you,' the singer (garitâ´) might again be Mânya, the powerful poet whose services the sacrificer had engaged, and whose famous dialogue between Indra and the Maruts was considered a safe means of winning their favour. It would be in keeping with all this, if in the last verse the sacrificer once more informed the Maruts that this hymn of praise was the work of the famous poet Mândârya, the son of Mâna, and if he then concluded with the usual prayer for safety, food, and progeny.

No verse of this hymn occurs in the Sâma-veda; verse 3 = VS. XXXIII, 27; verse 4 = VS. XXXIII, 78; verse 6 = TB. II, 8, 3, 5; verse 8 = TB. 11, 8, 3, 6; verse 9 = VS. XXXIII, 79.

Verse 1.

Note 1. As samânî´ occurs in the Veda as the feminine of samâna (cf. IV, 51, 9; X, 191, 3; 4), samânyâ´ might, no doubt, be taken as an instrumental, belonging to subhâ´. We should then have to translate: 'With what equal splendour are the Maruts endowed?' Sâyana adopts the same explanation, while Wilson, who seems to have read samânyâh, translates 'of one dignity.' Professor Roth, s. v. myaksh, would seem to take samânyâ´ as some kind of substantive, and he refers to another passage, I, 167, 4, sâdhâranyâ´-iva marútah mimikshuh, without, however, detailing his interpretation of these passages.

It cannot be said that Sâyana's explanation is objectionable, yet there is something awkward in qualifying by an adjective, however indefinite, what forms the subject of an interrogative sentence, and it would be possible to avoid this, by taking samânyâ´ as an adverb. It is clearly used as an adverb in III, 54, 7; VIII, 83, 8.

Note 2. Mimikshuh is the perfect of myaksh, in the sense of to be firmly joined with something. It has therefore a more definite meaning than the Latin miscere and the Greek μίσγειν, which come from the same source, i. e.

from a root mik or mig, in Sanskrit also mis in mis-ra; (see Curtius, Grundzüge, p. 300.) There may be indeed one or two passages in the Veda where myaksh seems to have the simple meaning of mixing, but it will be seen that they constitute a small minority compared with those where myaksh has the meaning of holding to, sticking to; I mean

X, 104, 2. mimikshúh yám ádrayah indra túbhyam.

The Soma which the stones have mixed for thee.

This form cannot be derived from mimiksh, but is the 3rd pers. plur. perf. Parasm. of myaksh. It may, however, be translated, 'This Soma which the stones have grasped or squeezed for thee,' as may be seen from passages quoted hereafter, in which myaksh is construed with an accusative.

II, 3, 11. ghritám mimikshe.