The first light that was thrown on this verse came from Prof. Roth. He showed (Z. D. M. G. XLI, p. 673) that vairadeya means weregild, the German wergelt, the price to be given for a man killed. Vaira would here be derived from vîra, man, the Goth. waír, the Latin vir, and vairadeya would mean what is to be given as the value of a man. Still I doubt whether Prof. Roth has discovered the true meaning of the verse. He translates: 'So ist auch mancher Mann nicht zu loben, mehr ein Pani (unfromm, gegen die Götter karg, zugleich Bezeichnung habsüchtiger Dämonen), obschon man ihn einen Menschen nennt—nur am Wergeld steht er den andern gleich.' I confess I do not see much point in this. It is quite clear that the poet praises a charitable woman, and wishes to say that she is sometimes better than a man, if he gives nothing. Now the weregild, if we may say so, for women was generally, though not always, less than that for men, and I therefore propose to read sâ´ vaíradeye ít samâ´, and translate: 'Even though many an unpraiseworthy miser (Pani) is called man, she is like him in weregild, i. e. she is worth as much, even though she is a woman.' On uta, see Delbrück, Syntaktische Forschungen, V, p. 528.

Verse 9.

Note 1. Purumîlha is here clearly the man from whom benefits are expected, and therefore could not be the same as Purumîlha Vaidadasvi, mentioned by the commentator, who accepted gifts from Dhvasra and Purushanti. Nor can Taranta Vaidadasvi in the next verse be taken for a recipient, but only for a giver, and therefore, most likely, a prince. The whole story, however, is by no means clear, and I doubt whether the commentator drew his information from any source except his own brain.

Verse 11.

I agree with Ludwig that a new hymn begins with verse 11.

Verse 12.

Note 1. I have adopted the reading Rodasî´ vibhrâ´gate in my translation; cf. VI, 66, 6, where Rodasî is compared with a rókah.

Note 2. Roth (K. Z. XXVI, 51) takes sriyâ´dhi as sriyás ádhi, but such a sandhi has not yet been established in the hymns of the Rig-veda, see Oldenberg, Proleg. p. 459, Anm. 1. Oldenberg himself suggests sríyóऽdhi, and would translate, 'They whose charms shine over the two worlds on their chariots.' Pischel (Ved. Stud. p. 54) translates yéshâm sriyâ´ by 'for whose sake.'

Verse 15.

Note 1. On itthâ´ dhiyâ´, see Pischel, Ved. Stud. p. 184.

Verse 16.

Note 1. The Pada ought to have puru-kandrâ´, as suggested by Grassmann and Ludwig.

Verses 17-19.