The author of this allegory therefore took bâla or vâla in vâlakhilya, not in the sense of Child, but identified it with bâla, hair.
The commentator remarks with regard to tapas: nâtra tapa upavâsâdirûpam, kimtu srashtavyam vastu kîdrisam iti paryâlokanarûpam.
xlvi:b A similar omission was pointed out by Professor Roth. Verses 21-24 of the 53rd hymn of the third Mandala, which contain imprecations against Vasishtha, are left out by the writer of a Pada MS., and by a copyist of Sâyana's commentary, probably because they both belonged to the family of Vasishtha. See my first edition of the Rig-veda, vol. ii, p. lvi, Notes.
xlvii:a Sâyana (RV. X, 88, 18) quotes these hymns as Vâlakhilya-samhitâ. In the Mahâbhârata XII, 59; 110 seq. the Vâlakhilyas are called the ministers of King Vainya, whose astrologer was Garga, and his domestic priest Sukra; see Kern, Brihat-samhitâ, transl. p. 11.
xlvii:b This is a criterion of some importance, and it might have been mentioned, for instance, by Professor Bollensen in his interesting article on the Dvipadâ Virâg hymns ascribed to Parâsara (I, 65-70) that not a single verse of them occurs in any of the other Vedas.
xlvii:c Sâyana in his commentary (RV. X, 27, 15) speaks of eight, while in the Ait. Âr. V, 10, the first six are quoted (containing fifty-six verses, comm.), as being used together for certain sacrificial purposes.
xlvii:d Lest Saunaka be suspected of having applied this epithet, tigmategas, to the Vâlakhilyas in order to fill the verse (pâdapûranârtham), I may point out that the same epithet is applied to the Vâlakhilyas in the Maitry-upanishad 2, 3. The nom. plur. which occurs there is tigmategasâh, and the commentator remarks: tigmategasas tîvrategasoऽtyûrgitaprabhâvâh; tegasâ ityevamvidha etakkhâkhâsaṅketapâthas khândasah sarvatra. See also Maitr. Up. VI, 29.
l:a The Prâtisâkhya takes into account both the Sâkala and Bâshkala sâkhâs, as may be seen from Sûtra 1057.
lii:a See Prâtisâkhya, Sûtra 309 seqq., where several more instances of the same kind are given. I should prefer to take devapurohiti as one word, but that was not the intention of the authors of the Samhitâ and Pada texts.
Next: Part 4
Hinduism
« Previous: Vedic Hymns, Part I (SBE32): Preface to the First Edition...
Next: Vedic Hymns, Part I (SBE32): Preface to the First Edition... »