Commentary on the Rig Veda

HYMN 2

THE second hymn of the first Section consists of three sub-hymns of three Riks each, in all nine. The third hymn is of twelve Riks, with four sub-hymns of three Riks each. These seven sub-hymns constitute a special hymnal litany called prauga, to be chanted by the sacrificer in the morning libation after the reception of the All-Gods. The deity of the first sub-hymn (of three Riks) is Vayu; of the second Indra-Vayu; of the third Mitra-Varuna.

Here is the first Rik of the sub-hymn to Vayu:

1. vā yavāyāhi darśateme somā ararkſtaḥ, teşām pāhi Śrudhi havam.
   vāyo iti ā pāhi darśata ime somāḥ aram’kſtāḥ, teşām pāhi śrudhi havam.

vāyo life of the world; darśata handsome ; āyāhi come; ime these (offered by us) ; somāḥ flowings of Soma pressed out; arañkſtāḥ decorated, well-accomplished, ready ; teşām them (genitive in the sense of accusative); pāhi drink; havam call, our call, śrudhi hear.

The terms are easy to understand. ararkstāḥ: the word alam denotes enough or decoration; it means, cultured, purified. The sacrificer hymns to Vayu, after lauding Agni, to drink the Soma. And Vayu is the life of the world ; hence even as embodied prāņa, he supports the organisation of the nerve-channels and the Chakras. Hence he is the support of the activity of the mind in man. If so, who then is Soma for the drink of whose pressings Vayu is invited ? We reply : that sap of Delight of Existence, divine, which flows into the plane of the Mind from the plane of Truth-Knowledge signified by the terms şta-cit, Truth-Consciousness, is termed as Soma in the Veda. The particular creeper of that name (Soma) is the external symbol in the sacrificial rite. We shall dwell upon the truth of the matter later at the end of the commentary on this sub-hymn.

Tr. Come, O Life beautiful, these soma-pressings are made ready. Drink of them. Hear the call.

1. vāya ukthebhirjarante tvā macchā jaritāraḥ, sutasomā, aharvidaḥ.
   vayo iti ukthebhiḥ jarante tvām acchā jaritāraḥ suta’somāḥ ahaḥ’vidaḥ.

vāyo God of life; tvām acchā turning to thee; jaritāraḥ the singers (pining for thee); ukthebhiḥ by their lauds (manifesting thee) ; jarante they praise ; of what kind are they ? sutasomāḥ those who have pressed out the soma; again of what kind ? aharvidaḥ those who have known, i.e., seen the light indicated by the term ahaḥ, Day.

Here this is to be noted. Though in the Nighanțu various synonyms of stotra (praise) are given e.g., rebhaḥ, kāruḥ, jaritā, etc. yet each term stresses some special feature of the one who praises. In the Veda, like the term jāra, the term jaritṛ also points to clandestine love; hence we have commented upon the term as stotāraḥ pining for thee. Likewise in Veda, words are renowned for their power of creation or manifestation. So it is apposite to comment upon the word uktha (derived from vac) as praises which bring out, manifest thee.

Tr. O Life, thy lovers laud thee with words that express Thee. They have pressed the Soma, they have known the Day.

1. vāyo tava prapļñcati dhenā jigāti dāśușe, urūci somapitaye.
   vāyo iti tava pra’pļñcati dhenā jigāti dā sușe urūci soma’ pitaye.

vayo O Life; praprñcati touching superbly (that is to say, filling); tava thy; dhenā the stream, the flow of tongue indicated by speech; somapitaye for drinking the Soma; urūci expanding; dāśuse to the giver, Yajamana; jigāti goes, carries.

dhenā is among the synonyms of speech. So does Sayana explain in all the Riks. We explain it everywhere as dhārā, flow. Here is the reason. Generally in the Veda, rivers are described as dhenu, in some places in simile and in others as metaphor. The common feature there is pleasantness or nourishment. That is why Sayana comments upon dhenā in some places as speech that pleases, in some places as river that pleases, in others as woman that pleases. Just as cows full of milk become rivers that are pleasing, so too dhenā becomes a stream that is pleasing. The streaming of speech is accepted even in the commentary of Sayana. In “The seven speeches bore one seed” (3.1.6), he says, ’seven speeches, rivers.’ Sarasvati, the stream of speech is famous in the Veda. In beginning his commentary on the Mantra, iyam $ușmebhiḥ (6.61.2) as “Sarasvati is in the form of a deity and in the form of a river; as deity she has been lauded; now he lauds her in the form of river”, Sayana’s difficulty in the ascription of double form to Sarasvati is patent. Similarly in his commentary on the last Rik of the third Hymn, maho arṇaḥ. So it has to be understood that the word dhenā even though listed in the Nighanțu as a synonym of speech does not abandon its sense of flow.

Our line will be clear in passages such as, “Like rivers flow well the words (4.58.6), “He set his voice and stream in movement" (3.1.9). If it be said that dhenā may be stream enough, but why should it mean “flowing of the tongue which is indicated by speech”, we reply: it is said in this Rik that the stream of Vayu flows forth for the drinking of the Soma prepared by the Yajamana. Since speech itself cannot drink, by the process of indication, lakṣaṇā, what is spoken of is the special flowing of the tongue. Thus this is the expository meaning, not merely the word-meaning of the term dhenā. Pleasing or nourishing is only a part-meaning. If it is taken as dhārā, stream, then it fits in because of its sense of sustaining. Thus too is the adjective urūci, expanding, apposite. The flow giving up its contraction becomes expansive in order to take in the Soma juice. prapşñcati, encompassing fully, the adjective to dhenā, is also apposite. Here what is spoken of is the all-encompassing nature of the flow in the Soma that is pressed out and in the Yajamana who is giving. The stream of Vayu, the God of Life, effecting an excellent contact in the Yajamana and thus itself filling, is able to take the Soma libation to its content.

Those who follow the external meaning only say thus :

Vayu speaks: “O Yajamana, I shall drink the Soma given by you.” This taking of dhenā in the direct sense of speech, vāk, is after Sayana. Accordingly are the two adjectives explained. They say that the prapřñcati vāk means the speech that describes the virtues of Soma! And the urūci vāk is what goes forth to describe the many Yajamanas. On the other hand, Skandasvami holds that dhenā means jihvā, tongue, though he does not say that since the direct meaning of vāk is not feasible, it indicates jihvā, tongue.

But in our commentary following the inner sense, we have to consider: who is this Soma for the acceptance of whose libation Vayu is invoked and comes for the Yajamana throwing out his stream? We have said earlier that the pavamāna soma, the sap flowing from the worlds of șta-cit which is another name for Delight, ānanda, enters the worlds of the Mind and flows there. How then can such a Soma be pressed out by the Yajamana and be offered to Vayu ? True it is that the sap of the transcendent Saccidananda self-luminous, descends in the world of Mind and flows primarily for Indra, the lord of the Abode of Mind. It is the Soma spoken in sentences like, “We have drunk the Soma; we have become immortal”, “He is verily the Sap”, “Who indeed could labour to draw in the breath or who could have strength to breathe it out, if there were not that Bliss in the Ether?”, that becomes manifest in the many-tiered universal creation, suited to the conditions, in the microcosm and the macrocosm. Even as the divine Truth-Light concealed everywhere even in this obscure physical world becomes manifest in places by reason of evolution, so too Soma concealed everywhere stands as the sap that is the quintessence in the earth, in the growths of earth, in the objects of the senses, in the experiences of their objects. And it is he, the soul of rasa, that is externally symbolised by Soma creeper, that is ertracted, purified and offered to the Gods. In the inner sacrifice, the devotee of God, the sacrificer of Soma, extracts the flow of delight that runs in the experience of the sense-objects, divests it of his personal claims and enjoyments, and offers it to the Gods. This rasa becomes the food immortal of the Gods and thus do these eaters of the nectar, the Gods immortal, obtain nourishment in the sacrificer. This is the purport of words of invocation to the Gods Agni, Vayu or Indra viz., “ Svāhā ! This is not mine."

This in substance is the truth of Soma.

Tr. O Life, thy filling stream moves towards the giver, widening to drink the Soma.

To effect this purification and consecration of the Soma libation, the Yajamana on earth aspiring to ascend to the world of the Gods, needs to have his nervous system in the body purified and full of life-strength. That is why the Grace of Vayu (God of life) is to be sought first. Even then the purification or the culturing of the experiences of the senses is not effected by the Grace of Vayu, the Lord of life alone, without the grace of the God presiding over the Mind. That is why the Yajamana prays in the second sub-hymn to both Indra and Vayu. It is to be noted that wholesome activity of life and mind in the body is conducted by Vayu and Indra. Though the world of Svar like the rising place of the Sun, the Light of Truth-Consciousness, ṣta-cit, is primarily the realm of the Pure Mind, the special abode of Indra, still he is the deity of the Mind of many-planes. He is the lord of even the sense-mind. In fact the word indriya is derived from the word Indra. It is also possible to say that of all the indriyas, senses, the first secret sense is mind. We recall: “Mind, six indriyas”. Panini has it (5.2.93): “Indriya : sign of Indra, seen by Indra; created by Indra; enjoyed by Indra; or given by Indra.” Here are given options by linga, dịşta, etc. The commentator’s remark is to be kept in mind : “Here the word vā (or) governing each points to the freedom of each option.”

Thus the purport of the Seers is that without the help of Indra, the sovereign of all the senses, Vayu is not in a position to take his due share of the Soma. It is a matter of common experience that life-activity bereft of the power of the mind is not wholesome. It is thus that in the application of the second sub-hymn covering Indra and Vayu, the three parts are to Vayu and one to Indra: “Indra had the fourth part and Vayu three parts" (Ait. Br. 9.1), so proclaim the Aitareyins. In the Brahmana it is also said that Indra is the charioteer of Vayu: “With his steeds of yoking and Indra for charioteer.” This indicates the guiding quality of the power of mind open to the Grace of Indra, its service in beneficence and the consequent sharing of Soma in opulence by the life-force embodied in physical nervous organism.

And this is the first Rik in the second sub-hymn to Indra-Vayu :

4. indravā yū ime sutā upaprayobhirāgatam, indavo vāmus anti hi.
   indravāyū iti ime sutāḥ upa prayaḥ’bhiḥ ā gatam, indavaḥ vām uśanti hi.

indravā yū O Indra and Vayu ; ime these Soma juices; sutāḥ pressed out; prayobhiḥ with pleasing, satisfying (things); upāgatam come; hi for; indavaḥ moistening (gladdening soma juices) ; vām you both (Indra and Vayu); usanti desire.

“ prayobhiḥ, with foods to be given to us”, says Sayana. praya means what pleases, priņayitſ, as it is derived from root priñ. What pleases the Yaja-mana is prayaḥ. Hence our explanation : whatever may be the pleasing gifts--things or glories—that are in the giving of Indra and Vayu, may they come with them.

Tr. O Indra and Vayu, here are the pressings of Soma : come with your satisfying things : for the gladdeners desire you.

This is the second in the sub-hymn to Indra-Vayu:

5. vāyavindrasca cetathaḥ sutānām vājinivasū, tāvā yātamupadravat.
   vāyo iti indraḥ ca cetathaḥ sutānām vājinivasū iti vājini’vasū, tau āyātam upa dravat.

vāyo Othou Vayu ; indrasca and Indra; sutānām the soma-juices that are pressed out (genetive in the sense of accusative); cetathaḥ know; vājinivasū full of substance and plenitude ; tau you both; dravat speedily; upāyātam approach.

vājinivasū: the ritualistic explanation is that vājini is the series of sacrificial rituals and Indra-Vayu dwell, vasataḥ, in it. Sayana gives many meanings to vāja, food, strength, battle, speed, etc. Here he takes vāja to mean food, anna; what constitutes the series of oblations of this vāja is vājini ; and Indra-Vayu dwell in it. But our meaning of vāja is the same throughout. It is plenitude or fullness-though we can accept in this the inclusion of strength, food, etc., these have to be taken symbolically. We take the word vasu everywhere as a material substance denoting wealth. But for Sayana the word vasu—like vāja-does not have one meaning.

Tr. O Vayu, O Indra, become conscious of the pressing of Soma, O rich in plenitude, hither running approach.

Here ends the third group in the first Chapter of the first Eighth.

And this is the third Rik in the sub-hymn to Indra-Vayu:

6. vāyavindrasca sunvata āyātamupa nişkſtam, makşvi’tthā dhiyā narā.
   vāyo iti indraḥ ca sunvataḥ ā yātam upa niņ’kstam, makşu itthā dhiyā narā.

vāyo indrasca both of you, Vayu and Indra ; sunvataḥ of him who is pressing out (of the Yaja-mana); nişkſtam fully accomplished (regarding what is to be offered to you); makşu soon, quickly; itthā thus or with the right (ready to receive what we are to give) dhiyā with intelligence (consciousness to bear) joined; upāyātam do come; narā leaders, O you Gods,—vocative.

itthā : it is to be taken as thus or as right, truth, according to the aptness or context. For both the uses are seen in the Veda.

niskặtam: purified Soma, says Sayana. The spot called vedi, altar, says Skandasvami. We say it is some product of the pressing of Soma carried out in completion. This would be clear on a deliberation on the purport of this sub-hymn.

Tr. O Vayu and Indra, come to the perfected gift of the presser of Soma, soon with thought inclined, O Leaders!

Hence we proceed to speak in brief of the glory of the Grace of Indra and Vayu.

First, the Soma juices that are pressed out yearn for Indra and Vayu; hence their speedy acquisition is prayed for, when Vayu and Indra come knowing (the workings of the) flowing Soma. Vayu and Indra are the lords of life and mind. It means that the sap of immortal delight-denoted by the term Soma-flowing from the higher regions gets quarter in the nervous system full of life-strength, and in the mind full of sattva (enlightenment). vājini-vasū (full of plenitude and substance) is used to denote this plenitude and riches.

Some unusual activity ensues with the flow of this stream in the mind and life as a result of which there commences the play of the Consciousness of Immortality in the mortal. And it is this resultant action which is worked out fully that is said to be nişkſtam, fully accomplished. In the completion of this task there has to be the presence of Vayu and Indra who are co-partners in this. Hence they are prayed to, both of them, to come with a readiness of intelligence to accomplish the purpose. We have taken dhi in the general sense of buddhi. But in truth, its place is above the sense-mind, above the discriminating mind, but below the șta-cit, Truth-Consciousness; it is in between them. Here is the first use of dhi. The full use of it will be clear in the consideration of the purport of the third sub-hymn.

And this is the first Rik in the third sub-hymn to Mitra-Varuna :

7. mitram huve pūtadakşam varuņam ca risādasam, dhiyam ghștācim sādhantā.
   mitram huve pūta’dakşam varuņam ca risādasam, dhiyam ghṛtācim sādhantā.

pūtadakşam him whose skill of understanding is purified; mitram huve Mitra I call; risādasam who swallows, eats the hurters (that is who destroys them); varuram ca and Varuna (I call). How made are those both, Varuna and Mitra ? ghṛtācim, ghștāci is that which attains luminosity, ghệtam; that luminous dhiyam sustaining thought; sādhantā effecting.

The term dakṣa occurs everywhere in the sense of strength; so does Sayana explain it. Still a scrutiny of its uses in many places shows that the strength is the strength of skill in understanding. Accepting the manifoldness of strength, bala, we would say that the term dakṣa indicates an intelligence of discriminating between good and bad, true and untrue, and deciding upon the truth of things. Hence the word dakṣa is commonly taken to mean skill in intelligence. Mahidhara says it means skill of the sense of perception. Others, the moderns included, are confused. We shall consider this again while explaining the meaning of the last Rik of this hymn.

gḥṛtācim: adjective of dhī. The root ghṛ belonging to the 3rd conjugation is in the sense of flow as well as luminosity. Its use in the sense of luminousness is to be seen in mantras as “I make the Flame luminous with ghee-offering.” The adjective is apposite in the sense of luminous and hence bright, shining thought. It also occurs in the sense of flow. That is why ghṛta means commonly clarified butter. But in the Veda, ghṛta is luminous. Here alone for the first time in Rik Samhita is ghṛta in the form of ghṛtācī used as an adjective to dhī. This is one of the symbolic terms that are pre-eminent in the bringing out of the secret sense of the Veda; like the term kavi, kratu, bhadra, dakşa, şta, etc. it is used in its settled sense in the mantras, but never losing its derivative sense. We shall consider ahead the purport of this sub-hymn.

Tr. Mitra of purified understanding I call, and Varuna who destroys our hurters, together effecting a clear luminous thought.

Here is the second Rik in the sub-hymn to Mitra-Varuna :

8. ṛtena mitrāvaruņāvṛtāvsdhāvṛtāspṛśā, kratum bṛhantamāśāthe.
   ṛtena mitrāvarunau ṛtaʼvṛdhau ṛtaʼspṛśā kratum bṛhantam āśāthe.

ṛtena by the truth (by means of truth alone); mitrāvarunau O Mitra and Varuna (both of you); bịhantam vast; kratum conscious firm will (that is, will-power of effectuating action); āśāthe pervade (attain for enjoyment); of what kind are the Mitra-Varuna ? ſtāvşdhau increasers of the Truth; again of what kind ? ștaspşšā touching the Truth.

Rta is Truth or the Truth-Law everywhere in the Veda. This is indeed the first of the terms that are significant for bringing out the secret sense of the Veda. Mitra and Varuna are the increasers of ſta, ſtāvsdhau, those who increase the Truth in the Yajamana. They are those "whose touch is on the Truth”, ștaspěšā, because their contact with Truth is inherently present. And their one means of increasing the Truth is Truth alone. That is why the instrumental (ṛtena) is used in the sense of the instrument of action. Their will is engaged in the conscious performance of such activity. That is why it is said ’you pervade the will’ kratum āśāthe.

Externally, it is well known that kratu stands for sacrifice. And hence in the outer sense, they take the Rik to mean that Mitra and Varuna, enjoyers of the Yajna, who come to the place of the sacrifice, to enjoy the sacrifice, bịhantam, most developed in its limbs and sublimbs, and replete with food. But in our sense it is to be understood as follows: when the inner sacrifice is begun, when the inner flame of the seer-will is lit, and when the chief prāņa –charioteer of Mind-has obtained by the grace of the pleased Indra and Vayu, the capacity to press the soma, Mitra and Varuna, distinguished with the said qualities, increasers of Truth, attain to and enjoy the effectuating will-power abundant or large, vast by its truth, denoted by the term kratu.

Tr. By the Truth Mitra and Varura whose touch is on the Truth, and who increase the Truth, enjoy a vast will-power.

Here is the third Rik in the sub-hymn to Mitra-Varuna:

9. kavi no mitrā varuņā tuvijā tā urukṣayā, dakşam dadhāte apasam.
   kavi iti naḥ mitrāvarunā tuvi’jātau uru’kṣayā, dakşam dadhā te iti apasam.

kavi endowed with intellect (seers of the beyond-sense); tuvijā tau born in many or born variedly; urukṣayā broad-housed (thus become); mitrāvarunā Gods Mitra and Varuna; naḥ our; apasam active (effecting action, executive) ; dakşam discriminating skill of the intellect; dadhāte they uphold.

kavi—in the Veda it does not have the usual sense of one with intellect; it indicates wealth of vision. It is explained as seer of extended vision, seer of what transcends the senses.

tuvijātau—in the Veda the term tuvi denotes force. And as force in the sense of army indicates many, the word tuvi also means many. It is also one of the synonyms of bahu, many. Sayana comments upon it as born variously, in many ways, because of the service done to many. We explain it thus: the Gods manifest themselves in many ways in the Yajamana, in their own form or in their activities; this manifestation itself is their birth; hence they are born in many ways.

uru-because uru is among the synonyms of bahu, many, urukṣayā, says Sayana, means many-housed. In the Veda uru means spread-out and therefore broad, large. Hence it is to be taken that this dwelling is in the spread-out vast.

In the commentary of Sayana, ca (and) is taken to be understood and Mitra-Varuna are said to uphold both dakşam, strength and apasam act together. There is no necessity to take ca as understood. apasam is the adjective of dakşa. If it were not the adjective but a substantive by itself, then its first letter would have been unaccented. This is not a case of an unaccented first letter. If it be said that were it an adjective, then it would have qualified in gender the substantive but the term apa is not so, we point out that it should be taken as apasvi dakşam, in the sense of possessive indication in the manner of rayim yasasam, etc. explained before. Even otherwise it is to be noted that in the Veda the term apas is used, its gender depending upon what is predicated. Also in the Veda, even the names of substances bear qualitative significance to indicate the force of their derivative meaning e.g., gotamaḥ, angirastamaḥ, indratamaḥ, apastamā, etc. are common usages in the Veda.

In 1.160.4 (ayam devānām apasām apastamaḥ), apa means act; it indicates he who has the act. Sayana explains it as one with excellent action among the active. In 6.61.13 (apasāmapastamā), Sayana explains vegavatinām vegavattamā, the most speedy of the speedy. In 10.75.7 his commentary reads “among the active she is active in the form of speed." In 10.53.9, “among the doers of auspicious actions, one with the most auspicious action.” In 10.115.2, Sayana’s commentary: apasvitamaḥ, most efficient amongst the active. The possessive sense has been dropped.

dakşam – it has been commented upon before. Mitra-Varuna uphold the skill of discriminating intelligence-signified by the word dakşa-achieving fruitful action. It has been established earlier while dealing with the meaning of pūtadakşa, purified discernment, that though ordinarily the term dakṣa is included in the synonyms of strength, bala, it is a speciality of intelligence that is signified. In this Rik it is said that Mitra and Varuna well conjoined in harmony, bear the skill of knowledge of discrimination, characterised by skill in works. This means there is some special knowledge relating to works that is dependent on Mitra and Varuna in conjunction. This has to be taken as another way of saying of the passage: Mitra, the pūtadakşa, and Varuna the risādasa. What is this work or knowledge ? Who are these Mitra and Varuna? What is their relevance here? We explain :

The subject-matter of the first triad in this Hymn is the equipment of the vital Prana in the oblation of Soma; for that purpose Vayu alone is individually lauded. Thereafter comes the matter of the preparation of the mental plane for the play of ṣta-cit, Truth-Consciousness in man, the sacrificer; for that purpose are lauded Indra-Vayu to arrive, yoked with the intellect. The subject of the last triad, however, is the accomplishment of the activity of sta, Truth in the mental being by which the intellect shall be well cultured and the activity rendered ample. Mitra and Varuna are invoked for this purpose. And these two are the famous twins among the celebrated Four-group, Mitra, Varuna, Aryaman and Bhaga of common dwelling (1.136.2). These are capable of accomplishing such an illumined intelligence. This is declared first by the passage ghstācim dhiyam sādhantā.

Here this must be understood: we mark this style of the Rishis in the Mantras of the Hymns. After having stated something, in passing to another topic they repeat some keyword of the previous passage and by means of this echo in the next, the seers of the Mantras indicate the connection between the two the previous and the next. Thus does the repetition of a word already used become purposive. Generally this is the common style among all the seers. Here the term dhī connects the two; the repetition in dhiyā narā, dhiyam sādhantā is to be noted.

The term dhī is now to be considered. Even though in ordinary parlance, the term mati means buddhi or dhī still in the Veda there is a difference between mati and dhī. Mati means intellection, ordinary buddhi (intelligence) function of mind or its state; it even indicates at times, fury, frenzy, etc. like the term manyu, anger. But dhī is the consciousness that holds ; dhī also implies the operation of dhī. Indra-Vayu are prayed to previously to come with this dhī. Now that dhī is to be rendered accomplished, rich and luminous for the contact with the activity of sta-cit, Truth-Consciousness. For that purpose are Mitra-Varuna called by lauds. In the field of dhī so described, there are two obstructions to the activity of sta-cit or to its correct reflection. One of them is the obscuration of the discrimination between truth and falsehood, good and evil, as a result of which there ensues a perplexity regarding truth. The other, as a result of the combination of many causes, obstructs the elevation, well-knit by Truth, of dhī and brings about a disharmony which strikes at the well-coordinated activities of dhī and effects in consequence a poverty of dhī and futility of its operations. Here the accomplishment of the purification is brought about by the grace of Varuna, the destroyer of all evil and who stands covering All. Existent in man as the Power of sta-cit, he ends all the wicked opponents who strike at our progress. That is why Varuna is said to be risādasa. Like Varuna, Mitra in the form of the Power of Truth-Light, establishes the Ananda of ṛta in man by bringing about the state of harmony, happiness, benevolence and equality of dhī consequent to the establishment of the wealth of purity by Varuna.

Thus joined, the two deities increasing the Truth by means of the Truth, maintain in man the touch of the Truth. They enjoy in us the vast kratu. bịhan is great or widespread or large, the vast; kratuḥ is fruitful effort resorting to action. That is indispensable for the accomplishment of 1.1.4] (38) [1.1.2 the purpose. Both the Light and Power are wanted in the inner sacrifice of the seers of the Veda. The dhi-intelligence-gets illumined by the operation of the Light of the Truth (ghſtācim). The effort becomes fruitful and large by the operation of the Force of the Truth (kratum bshantam). In the course of the self-manifestation of the glories of the Truth, the discriminating intelligence engaged in activity becomes stabilised and steady (dakşam dadhāte apasam). This purified intelligence-discriminative or deciding-engages itself in action according to the Truth, a special power of the Truth is born and effects well the work decreed by Indra and Vayu. Thus is achieved the liberation of discerning action and intelligence from taint, confusion, etc. Many hymns to Mitra and Varuna elsewhere support the same purport. They are not illustrated here for want of space. Here is an instance from Medhatithi : “We invoke to drink the Soma, Mitra and Varuna; manifesting and with purified skill of understanding. Increasing the Truth by the Truth, Guards of the Light of Truth, Mitra and Varuna, I call.” (1.23.4,5.)

This is to be borne in mind. The fruit of Sacrifice is the attainment of Truth and gain of the supreme Beatitude. That this is the accomplishment special to Agni has been subtly indicated in the first hymn (to Agni). In the second are declared : the preliminary work to be done by Vayu and Indra in the pressing of the Soma libation; the work of Mitra and Varuna to follow, as a result of which is effected the equipment of the general mental being of man by means of the power of delight of Soma and by the increase of Truth.

Throughout the Rig Veda we see that the effort of the Seers in the inner sacrifice is twofold: one is the maturing in body and mind of man by means of which they get equipped for the object to be attained. The other is the attainment of Truth and its Delight which is indicated by the term Soma, by which the work of the Supreme Godhead in the form of Immortality in man is fulfilled.

Here ends the fourth group in the first Chapter of the first Eighth.