The Mind as Wish-Car in the Veda

THE SUBJECT of this paper hinges on RV. 1. 32. 8b, m.no r'hdna dti yanty (se. vrtrain) dpah. The passage has been discussed in a lively fashion (and misunderstood) for about seventy years, so that it may not be amiss to recall briefly the principal points of view under which it has been treated. The Pet. Lex., under ruh, starts with the suggestion that its two difficult words, mdno ru'hdnah, mean 'etwa, ihren willen erreichend.' Grassmann, in his Lexicon, s. vs. manas 18) and runhdna, treats the passage as doubtful, but in his Translation, vol. 2, p. 34, ventures on 'lustig steigend,' explaining on p. 505 that he is taking mainas adverbially in the sense of manasa. This idea, accepted for a time by others, more or less enthusiastically or doubtingly, seems to break down in the end thru the growing conviction that niano is accusative, governed by ruihMnadh, which really cannot get along without an accusative. Thus Ludwig, 964 (as others after him), 'Ihn . . . ein herz sich fassend, ueberschreiten die wasser' (comparing, not very aptly, 9B. 3. 9. 4. 14, ta ha svam eva vasai'M ceruh). In ZDMG xxxv. 717 comes Pischel's memorable emendation to manor uhadn(h), in the sense of 'flowing for Manu'; its fitness impresses, almost to this day, Oldenberg, who supports it with additional reasons in his Rigveda Notenr, 1. 33. Geldner, in his RV. Glossary, takes ruh in the sense of rudh, 'shut off'; in connection with nmanas, 'shut off one's heart,' 'be hardhearted.' And finally Pischel, whose emendation has in the meantime been criticized by Ludwig, Der Rig-Veda, vol. 5, p. 471, gives up, reluctantly we may suppose, mdanor uhdnd(h), and refers to the expressions samaruruhur ditmdnam, and jfianam arohati prajjnah, Buddhacarita 4. 24, 12. 59, which would seem to point to the meaning 'take heart,' 'determine,' for mano ruh. I refrain from criticizing any of these views in the hope that mine will commend itself. The expression mnno ruimnah is primarily to be taken in its most literal sense, 'mounting their mind.' There exists a Hindu notion that the mind is the vehicle

Art · Literature · Wish · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy