Ancient Sanskrit Online

Indra, the mighty god whose heroic deeds first brought fertility to the world, is praised throughout the Rigveda. In killing the monstrous snake Vritra -- the name means 'hindrance', from the root /vr, vrnóti -- as described in the Lesson 3 text, he freed the waters and made terrestrial life possible: índra ósadhîr asanod áhâni, vánaspátîmr asanod antáriksam (III, 34, 10) 'Indra won the plants, the days, he won the trees ('forest-lords'), the atmosphere'. The relationship of the poets with the gods is reciprocal and complex. At the beginning of this lesson text Indra is described as yajñávrddha 'strengthened by worship', and elsewhere in the Rigveda this too is explained as a divine gift: ahám dâm grnaté pû´rvyam vásu, ahám bráhma krnavam máhyam várdhanam (X, 49, 1) 'I shall give to the singer the ancient boon, I shall make prayer the means of growth for me'.

Reading and Textual Analysis

The text is verses 2-6 of VI, 21 (462), from a powerful sequence of 30 songs addressed to Indra, many of which, like VI, 21, are among the oldest in the Rigveda. The metre is again tristubh. The poets' perception of themselves as belonging to a continuum of worship and praise, as described in verses 5 and 6, is a constant theme of the Rigveda: úd îratâm ávara út párâsa, ún madhyamâ´h pitárah somyâ´sah, ásum yá îyúr avrkâ´ rtajñâ´s, té no avantu pitáro hávesu (X, 15, 1) 'may they rise up, the more recent, the distant, and those from the middle past, the inspired fathers; may those who have left life, not harming, knowing Truth, the fathers, may they bring help at our invocations'.

tám u stusa índaram yó vídâno
gírvâhasam gîrbhír yajñávrddham
yásya dívam áti mahnâ´ prthivyâ´h
purumâyásya riricé mahitvám

• tám -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <sás, sâ´, tát> that; he, she, it -- him
• u -- particle; <u> and, now -- now
• stuse -- verb; 1st person singular middle present of </stu, stusé> praise -- I praise
• índram -- noun; accusative singular masculine of <índra> Indra -- Indra # Often to be read as trisyllabic, índara.
• yás -- relative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <yás, yâ´, yát> who, which -- who
• vídânas -- participle; nominative singular masculine perfect middle participle of </vid, véda> know -- knowing, wise
• gírvâhasam -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <gírvâhas> brought by song -- brought by song
• gîrbhís -- noun; instrumental plural feminine of <gír> song -- by means of songs
• yajñávrddham -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <yajñávrddha> strengthened by worship -- strengthened by worship
• yásya -- relative pronoun; genitive singular masculine of <yás, yâ´, yát> who, which -- of whom
• dívam -- noun; accusative singular masculine of <dyú, dív> sky, heaven, day -- heaven
• mahnâ´ -- noun; instrumental singular neuter of <mahán> greatness -- in greatness
• prthivyâ´s -- noun; ablative singular feminine of <prthivî´> earth -- than the earth
• purumâyásya -- adjective; genitive singular masculine of <purumâyá> wonderful -- wonderful
• áti riricé -- verb; 3rd person singular middle perfect of </ric, rinákti> leave + preverb <áti> beyond -- exceeds # As in the last lesson text, the preverb here does double duty.
• mahitvám -- noun; nominative singular neuter of <mahitvá> greatness, majesty -- majesty

sá ít támo avayunám tatanvát
sû´riyena vayúnavac cakâra
kadâ´ te mártâ amr´tasya dhâ´ma
íyaksanto ná minanti svadhâvah

• sás -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <sás, sâ´, tát> that; he, she, it -- he
• ít -- emphatic particle; <ít> indeed, just -- it is
• támas -- noun; accusative singular neuter of <támas> darkness -- the darkness
• avayunám -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <avayuná> without distinction, without certainty -- without distinction
• tatanvát -- participle; accusative singular neuter perfect active participle of </tan, tanute> stretch, stretch out -- extending
• sû´ryena -- noun; instrumental singular masculine of <sû´rya> sun -- with the sun
• vayúnavat -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <vayúnavant> possessing distinction, certainty -- distinct # The important word vayúna, with its derivatives a-vayuná and vayúna-vant, is as yet undeciphered. This translation is simply a suggestion.
• cakâra -- verb; 3rd person singular active perfect of </kr, krnóti> do, make -- he makes
• kadâ´ -- interrogative adverb; <kadâ´> when? -- when?
• te -- personal pronoun; dative/genitive singular enclitic form of <tvám> you -- your
• mártâs -- noun; nominative plural masculine of <márta> mortal -- mortals
• amr´tasya -- adjective; genitive singular masculine of <amr´ta> immortal, undying -- of the immortal
• dhâ´ma -- noun; accusative singular neuter of <dhâ´man> foundation, just law, precept -- precept
• íyaksantas -- participle; nominative plural masculine desiderative present active participle of </yaj, yájati> worship -- longing to worship # (The verb from which this participle derives is debated by scholars.)
• ná -- particle; <ná> not -- not
• minanti -- verb; 3rd person plural active present of </mî, minâ´ti> vary, transgress -- do they transgress
• svadhâvas -- noun; vocative singular masculine of <svadhâ´vant> possessing inherent power, self-powerful -- O self-powerful one

yás tâ´ cakâ´ra sá kúha svid índrah
kám â´ jánam carati kâ´su viksú
kás te yajñó mánase çám várâya
kó arká indra katamáh sá hótâ

• yás -- relative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <yás, yâ´, yát> who, which -- who
• tâ´ -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural neuter of <sás, sâ´, tát> that; he, she, it -- those things
• cakâ´ra -- verb; 3rd person singular active perfect of </kr, krnóti> do, make -- he does
• sás -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <sás, sâ´, tát> that; he, she, it -- that
• kúha -- interrogative adverb; <kúha> where? -- where?
• svit -- enclitic particle; <svit> pray? -- pray?
• índras -- noun; nominative singular masculine of <índra> Indra -- Indra
• kám -- interrogative pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <kás, kâ´, kát, kím> who, which, what? -- what
• jánam -- noun; accusative singular masculine of <jána> person, people -- people
• â´ carati -- verb; 3rd person singular active present of </car, cárati> move + preverb <â´> (intensifies or reverses meaning) -- he frequents
• kâ´su -- interrogative pronoun; locative plural feminine of <kás, kâ´, kát, kím> who, which, what? -- among which
• viksú -- noun; locative plural feminine of <víç> settlement, folk -- settlements
• kás -- interrogative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <kás, kâ´, kát, kím> who, which, what? -- which?
• te -- personal pronoun; dative/genitive singular enclitic form of <tvám> you -- your
• yajñás -- noun; nominative singular masculine of <yajñá> worship -- worship
• mánase -- noun; dative singular neuter of <mánas> understanding, spirit -- to the understanding # The meaning 'spirit' is later; see Lesson 9.
• çám -- indeclinable; <çám> blessing, blessed -- blessed
• várâya -- noun; dative singular masculine of <vára> wish -- to the wish
• kás -- interrogative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <kás, kâ´, kát, kím> who, which, what? -- which
• arkás -- noun; nominative singular masculine of <arká> song of praise, eulogy -- eulogy
• indra -- noun; vocative singular masculine of <índra> Indra -- O Indra
• katamás -- interrogative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <katamás, katamâ´, katamát> who, which (of many) -- which
• sás -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <sás, sâ´, tát> that; he, she, it -- the
• hótâ -- noun; nominative singular masculine of <hótr> celebrant -- celebrant

idâ´ hí te vévisatah purâjâ´h
pratnâ´sa âsúh purukrt sákhâyah
yé madhyamâ´sa utá nû´tanâsa
utâ´vamásya puruhûta bodhi

• idâ´ -- adverb; <idâ´> at this moment -- at this moment
• hí -- particle; <hí> for, because -- for
• te -- personal pronoun; dative/genitive singular enclitic form of <tvám> you -- belonging to you
• vévisatas -- participle; genitive singular masculine present active intensive participle of </vis, vivesti> be active -- indefatigable
• purâjâ´s -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <purâjâ´> born aforetime -- born aforetime
• pratnâ´sas -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <pratná> ancient -- ancient
• âsúr -- verb; 3rd person plural active perfect of </as, ásti> be -- they are
• purukrt -- adjective; vocative singular masculine of <purukr´t> doing much -- you who does much
• sákhâyas -- noun; nominative plural masculine of <sákhi> friend -- friends # The declension is irregular.
• yé -- relative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <yás, yâ´, yát> who, which -- who
• madhyamâ´sas -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <madhyamá> middle, middle one -- those from the middle past
• utá -- conjunction; <utá> and -- and
• nû´tanâsas -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <nû´tana> now existing -- those now existing
• utá -- conjunction; <utá> and -- and
• avamásya -- adjective; genitive singular masculine of <avamá> lowest, most recent -- the most recent one
• puruhûta -- adjective; vocative singular nominative of <puruhûtá> much invoked -- O much invoked
• bodhi -- verb; 2nd person singular active aorist imperative of </budh, bódhati> wake, observe -- observe

tám prchánto ávarâsah párâni
pratnâ´ ta indra çrútiyâ´nu yemuh
árcâmasi vîra brahmavâho
yâ´d evá vidmá tâ´t tvâ mahâ´ntam

• tám -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <sás, sâ´, tát> that; he, she, it -- him
• prchántas -- participle; nominative plural masculine present active participle of </prach, prcháti> ask, ask for -- invoking
• ávarâsas -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <ávara> lower, more recent -- the more recent
• párâni -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <pára> former, farther -- former
• pratnâ´ -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <pratná> ancient -- ancient
• te -- personal pronoun; dative/genitive singular enclitic form of <tvám> you -- your
• indra -- noun; vocative singular masculine of <índra> Indra -- Indra
• çrútyâ -- noun; accusative plural neuter of <çrútya> deed worthy of fame -- deeds of fame
• ánu yemur -- verb; 3rd person plural active perfect of </yam, yáchati> extend, stretch out + preverb <ánu> after -- they have reached out to
• árcâmasi -- verb; 1st person plural active present of </arc, árcati> praise -- we praise
• vîra -- noun; vocative singular masculine of <vîrá> hero, man, strong son -- O hero
• brahmavâhas -- adjective; vocative singular masculine of <bráhmavâhas> brought by prayer -- brought by prayer
• yâ´t -- adverb; <yâ´t> so far as, in as much as -- in as much as
• evá -- adverb; <evá> so, just -- just
• vidmá -- verb; 1st person plural active perfect of </vid, véda> know -- we understand
• tâ´t -- adverb; <tâ´t> so -- so
• tvâ -- personal pronoun; accusative singular enclitic form of <tvám> you -- you
• mahâ´ntam -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <mahánt> great, mighty -- mighty one

Lesson Text

tám u stusa índaram yó vídâno
gírvâhasam gîrbhír yajñávrddham
yásya dívam áti mahnâ´ prthivyâ´h
purumâyásya riricé mahitvám

sá ít támo avayunám tatanvát
sû´riyena vayúnavac cakâra
kadâ´ te mártâ amr´tasya dhâ´ma
íyaksanto ná minanti svadhâvah

yás tâ´ cakâ´ra sá kúha svid índrah
kám â´ jánam carati kâ´su viksú
kás te yajñó mánase çám várâya
kó arká indra katamáh sá hótâ

idâ´ hí te vévisatah purâjâ´h
pratnâ´sa âsúh purukrt sákhâyah
yé madhyamâ´sa utá nû´tanâsa
utâ´vamásya puruhûta bodhi

tám prchánto ávarâsah párâni
pratnâ´ ta indra çrútiyâ´nu yemuh
árcâmasi vîra brahmavâho
yâ´d evá vidmá tâ´t tvâ mahâ´ntam

Translation

Him now I praise, Indra, who is wise,
Brought by song, by means of songs, strengthened by worship;
Of whom -- beyond heaven in greatness, wonderful --
The majesty exceeds the earth.

He it is makes the darkness, extending without distinction
With the sun to be distinct.
When do mortals, longing to worship the just law of you, the immortal one,
Not transgress it, O self-powerful?

Who does those things, where pray is that Indra?
What people does he frequent, among which settlements?
Which worship is blessed, O Indra, to your understanding,
To your wish; which eulogy, which the celebrant of many?

For at this moment there are belonging to you, O indefatigable one, those born aforetime,
Ancient friends, you who does much;
Those who are from the middle past, and those now existing,
And, O much invoked, observe the most recent one.

Invoking him, the more recent ones
Have reached out to your former ancient deeds of fame, Indra.
Just in as much as we understand,
So do we praise you, hero brought by prayer, mighty one.

Grammar

26. The Perfect System: the perfect tense.

The sense of a continuum described in the introduction to the lesson, of both human and divine activity, is brought out by the usual function of the perfect tense. It can appear alongside the imperfect as a simple narrative tense, as in the Lesson 3 text: ví vájrena parisádo jaghâna 'he struck away the surrounding coils with a weapon'. It can also describe the present outcome of a previous action, as in the Lesson 1 text: prstó víçvâ ósadhîr â´ viveça 'invoked, he has entered all the plants'. But most often it describes a past action that continues into the present, and can be translated by the present tense, with the implication 'and always has', as in the first verse of this lesson text, 'whose majesty exceeds (áti riricé) the earth'.

Forms of the perfect are marked by reduplication, like ri-ric-é, from the root /ric 'leave'. The general rules of reduplication were given in section 13.2. In addition, in the formation of the perfect, when the vowel of the root is r it reduplicates as a or â: /vrdh, vâ-vrdh-. Reduplication is generally easy to recognise, but examples 156 and 157 below illustrate how a root with an initial sibilant followed by a hard consonant reduplicates.

The forms of the perfect tense that would occur from the root /kr 'do, make', which reduplicates with a prefixed ca-, are given in the table in order to show the endings. The table also shows how the root between reduplicating prefix and ending can vary, in this case kr, kár, kâ´r and kr. No first person dual forms occur, and the second person plural middle is formed from /dhâ only, dadhidhvé. Note that the first and third persons singular middle are identical, and that the endings may be attached with a connecting -i-, as in the 3rd person middle plural.

Roots ending in -â, like /dhâ, take the anomalous ending -au in the first and third persons singular active, as in example number 155 below. A few roots, including /yam 'extend, stretch out', in some forms contract the reduplication and the root to e, as in the last verse of the lesson text, ánu yemur 'they have reached out'.

• áhann áhim ánu apás tatarda, prá vaksánâ abhinat párvatânâm (I, 32, 1) 'he destroyed the dragon, released the waters, split open the fertile places of the mountains' [151]
• yáh pûrvyâ´bhir utá nû´tanâbhir, gîrbhír vâvrdhé grnatâ´m r´sînâm (VI, 44, 13) 'who grows with the ancient and the present songs of singing seers' [152]
• agním sumnâ´ya dadhire puró jánâh (III, 2, 5) 'the people place (have always placed, and still do) Agni in front for favour' [153]
• sá sû´ryah [...] krsnâ´ támâmsi tvísyâ jaghâna (X, 89, 2) 'he is the sun, he destroys the black darknesses with energy' (tvísi, f) [154]
• yá imâ´m máhya râtím, devó dadaú mártyâya svadhâ´vân (IV, 5, 2) 'the self-powerful god who has given (/dâ 'give') this gift to me, a mortal' [155]
• suvijñânám cikitúse jánâya, sác câ´sac [sát ca ásat] ca vácasî pasprdhâte (VII, 104, 12) 'it is a clear distinction to an observant person, the true and the untrue (lit. 'being and non-being'), the two speeches are in conflict (/sprdh 'be in conflict')' [156]
• idám vápur nivácanam janâsaç, cáranti yán nadyàs tasthúr â´pah (V, 47, 5) 'this, people, is a marvellous saying, that the streams move but the waters stand still (/sthâ 'stand')' (the perfect tense occurring with the present; the waters stand, have always stood, and always will) [157]

As in Greek, the root vid 'know' forms a perfect without reduplication and with present meaning. The form of the root is either vid- or ved-: véda 'I know, he knows', Greek oida; vidmá 'we know', Greek idmen. In the same way /vid forms perfect participles without reduplication and with present meaning; see examples 165 and 169 in section 27.1 below, and vídânas in the first line of the lesson text.

• nâ´hám veda bhrâtrtvám nó svasrtvám (X, 108, 10) 'I know neither brotherhood nor sisterhood' [158] (=93)
• vidúr dvésâmsi yótave (Lesson 5 text) 'they know to keep enmities away' [159]
• védâ [véda] yó vînâ´m padám, antáriksena pátatâm, véda nâváh samudríyah (I, 25, 7) '(Varuna) who knows the course of the birds flying through airy space, the course of the sea-faring boat' [160]

26.1. Moods of the Perfect System.

The endings are the same as the endings of the Present System, but the root is reduplicated.

• stómo babhûtu agnáye (I, 127, 10) 'praise be to Agni' (perfect imperative) [161]
• tát sú nah çárma yachata, â´dityâ yán múmocati (Lesson 5 text) 'extend for sure that refuge to us, O Adityas, that will make free' (perfect subjunctive) [162]
• práti me stómam áditir jagrbhyât (V, 42, 2) 'may Aditi welcome my praise' (perfect optative, from /grabh 'take') [163]

27. Perfect participles.

27.1. Perfect active participles in -vâms.

The table below shows the masculine forms that are found. Note that in the instrumental, dative, ablative and genitive singular, and the accusative and genitive plural, -vâms- becomes -us-. These cases are often susceptible to change, and are called 'weak' -- compare the syncopation of the vowel in the same set of cases in the declension of râ´jan described in section 22 of the last lesson. Forms are given for cikitvâ´ms, from /cit, cétati 'perceive, observe'.

The feminine is made from the weak stem with the secondary ending -î, cikitúsî, and declines like devî´, as described in section 17.3. Only two neuter forms, both accusative singular, occur in the Rigveda, one of them, tatanvát, in the second verse of this lesson text.

• cikitvâ´m [cikitvâ´n] abhí paçyati, krtâ´ni yâ´ ca kártvâ (I, 25, 11) '(Varuna) discerns, observant, which things are done and which are yet to do' [164] (quoted in section 15.3 above)
• védad ávidvâñ chrnávac [ávidvân çrnávat] ca vidvâ´n (V, 30, 3) 'the one not knowing will know, and the one knowing will hear' [165]
• suvijñânám cikitúse jánâya (VII, 104, 12) 'it is a clear distinction to an observant person' [166] (see 156)
• chardír yéna dâçúse yáchati tmánâ (Lesson 2 text) 'with which by his nature he extends a shield for the worshipper (from /dâç, which like /vid forms a perfect participle without reduplication. It is regularly used in a nominal sense)' [167]
• sû´rya âtmâ´ jágatas tasthúsaç [tasthúsas] ca (I, 115, 1) 'the sun, the breath of all that moves and stands (from /sthâ)' [168] (=127)
• tâ´ vidvâ´msâ havâmahe vâm, tâ´ no vidvâ´msâ mánma vocetam adyá (I, 120, 3) 'as such we call upon you two knowing ones, so, knowing, may you today speak (optative) the thought for us' [169]

27.2. Perfect middle participles.

Perfect middle participles are formed by adding the suffix -âna to the reduplicated stem, and follow the declension of adjectives in -a described in section 6.

• abhí dvijánmâ trî´ rocanâ´ni, víçvâ rájâmsi çuçucânó [çuçucânás] asthât (I, 149, 4) 'of double birth, (Agni) has risen above the three spheres of light, all the airy regions, shining bright (from /çuc 'be bright')' [170]
• áhann áhim párvate çiçriyânám (I, 32, 2) 'he destroyed the dragon lying (from /çri 'lie') on the mountain' [171] (elsewhere, in IV, 19, 3, the dragon is described as susupâná, another perfect middle participle, from /svap 'sleep'; see example 123 in the last lesson)
• samârâné ûrmíbhih pínvamâne, anyâ´ vâm anyâ´m ápi eti çubhre (III, 33, 2) 'going together (sam-ârâná, from /r 'go'), swelling with waves, each of you approaches the other, you beautiful ones' [172]

28. Nouns of one syllable ending in consonants.

Monosyllabic nouns ending in consonants are ancient, and of frequent occurrence in Rigveda. Among the examples already encountered, all of which are feminine nouns, are vâ´c 'voice, speech', gír 'song', áp 'water', rís 'harm', vyús 'brightening', srídh 'failure, misfortune' and víç 'settlement, folk'. Two more feminine abstract nouns, çúbh 'splendour' and û´rj 'power' occurred in the vocatives çubhas patî and ûrjâm pate in examples 141 and 148. There are some masculines, like pád 'foot' (strong stem pâ´d-) and mâ´s 'moon, month', and a few neuter singulars, which have no ending in the nominative/accusative/vocative, like svàr 'sunlight' in the Lesson 4 text, and bhâ´s 'light' -- bhâ´svatî described dawn in example 100.

Because of the phonological rule that prohibits two consonants at the end of a word, as described in section 18 of Lesson 4, the -s of the nominative singular is always lost, giving a range of endings according to the rule of permitted finals: of the nouns listed above the forms vâ´k, gî´r (the vowel is also long before endings beginning with consonants, see example 176 below), and vít (from víç) are found in the text. áp 'water' lengthens the initial vowel in the nominative plural, as in example 177. In the weak cases the accent often moves to the ending.

The dual masculine/feminine endings are similar to those for the masculine nouns in -a described in section 6: pâ´dâ or pâ´dau 'two feet', ablative padbhyâ´m, locative padós.

• esá grâ´veva jaritâ´ ta indra, íyarti vâ´cam brhád âçusânáh (V, 36, 4) 'this singer of yours, Indra, like the cantor, sends his voice forth on high, sparing no effort' [173] (=132)
• kím etâ´ vâcâ´ krnavâ távâhám [táva ahám] (X, 95, 2) 'what shall I do with this speech of yours?' [174]
• tvâ´m naksanta no gírah [gíras] (VIII, 92, 27) 'let our songs reach you' [175] (=4)
• gírvâhasam gîrbhír [gîrbhís] yajñávrddham (lesson text) 'brought by song, accompanied by songs, strengthened by worship' [176]
• â´yann â´po [â´pas] áyanam ichámânâh (lesson 3 text) 'off went the waters, longing to be gone' [177]
• ahám etâ´ [etâ´s] mánave viçváçcandrâh, sugâ´ [sugâ´s] apáç [apás] cakara vájrabâhuh (I, 165, 8) 'I, weapon-armed, have made for man these all-bright waters flowing freely (su-gá)' [178]
• sá no dívâ sá risáh [risás] pâtu náktam (Lesson 1 text) 'may he protect us day and night from harm' [179]
• sû´rye jyótir ádadhur mâsí aktû´n (X, 12, 7) '(when the gods) placed light in the sun, twilight rays in the moon' [180]
• çám vâ´to vâtu arapâ´ ápa srídhah [srídhas] (Lesson 5 text) 'let the wholesome wind blow a blessing, blow away misfortunes' [181]
• râ´jâ viçâ´m ási (VIII, 95, 3) '(for) you are the king of settlements' [182]
• kám â´ jánam carati kâ´su viksú (lesson text) 'what people does he frequent, among which settlements?' [183]

Monosyllables are also regularly found at the end of simple compounds, as in the vocative puru-krt 'doing much' in this lesson text, and ratna-bhâ´j 'dispensing treasure' which occurs in the Lesson 4 text in the genitive, ratnabhâ´jas.

• prá vâm sá mitrâvarunâv rtâ´vâ, vípro mánmâni dîrghaçrúd [dîrgha-çrút] iyarti (VII, 61, 2) 'to you, Mitra and Varuna, he, the far-famed holy poet, sends forth his thoughts' [184] (the conclusion of the verse is example number 56 in Lesson 3)
• çárma yachata dvipáde cátuspade (X, 37, 11) 'extend protection to the two-footed (dvi-pád), to the four-footed' [185] (=126)

29. Comparative and Superlative.

As in Greek, there are two ways of forming both the comparative (English better, wiser) and the superlative (best, most wise). The secondary formation, which adds the endings -tara (Greek -tero) for the comparative, and -tama (compare Latin -timo, ultimo, English ultimate), for the superlative, occurs most frequently. The more ancient forms of the primary formation, -îyâms, like Greek -iôn, Latin -ior (comparative) and -istha, -isto, (superlative) occur only slightly less frequently in the Rigveda, but become progressively less common in the later language.

29.1. Primary formation.

The masculine endings of the comparative in -î-yâms are parallel to those of the perfect active participle in -vâms, with the weak form -yas-: nominative singular návîyân 'newer', dative singular návîyase (vocative návîyas). In addition, neuter singular forms occur frequently: the nominative/accusative ending is -yas. The endings of the oblique cases are the same as for the masculine. The feminine again is formed by adding the secondary suffix -î to the weak stem, návîyasî. The shorter form of the suffix without -î- is also found, návyâms, and some comparatives, like vásyâms 'better', are always formed in this way. No dual forms occur.

• tám yuñjâthâm mánaso yó jávîyân (I, 183, 1) 'may you two harness that which is swifter (masculine) than understanding' [186] (=55, 73)
• idám pitré marútâm ucyate vácah, svâdóh svâ´dîyo [svâ´dîyas] rudrâ´ya várdhanam (I, 114, 6) 'this speech is addressed to the father of the Maruts, sweeter (neuter) than the sweet (svâdú), the means of growth for Rudra' [187]
• ákrnutam antáriksam várîyo [várîyas], áprathatam jîváse no rájâmsi (VI, 69, 5) 'You two made the atmosphere broader (neuter, from várîyâms, comparative of urú), you spread out the airy regions for us to live' [188]
• mánma çrudhi návîyasah (I, 131, 6) 'listen to the thought of a newer one' [189]

Superlatives in -istha follow the declension in -a given in section 6.

• asmé vo astu sumatíç cánisthâ (VII, 57, 4) 'may your most gracious favour be upon us' [190] (=12)
• çócâ [çóca] çocistha dîdihí viçé máyah (VIII, 60, 6) 'be bright (/çuc, çócati), O brightest one, shine happiness for the folk' [191]
• máno jávistham patáyatsu antáh (VI, 9, 5) 'among flying things the understanding is swiftest (compare jávîyâms, example number 186)' [192]
• svâ´disthâ dhîtír ucáthâya çasyate (I, 110, 1) 'the sweetest (compare svâ´dîyâms, example number 187) thought is sung for praise' [193]
• tád ékam, devâ´nâm çréstham vápusâm apaçyam (V, 62, 1) 'I saw that one, the finest (comparative çréyâms) of the marvels of the gods' [194] (=91, 142)

29.2. Secondary formation.

The majority of adjectives in -tara and -tama also decline regularly as adjectives in -a as described in section 6.

• tác citrám râ´dha â´ bhara, úso yád dîrghaçrúttamam (Lesson 4 text) 'bring hither that radiant favour, O dawn, which is most famed (superlative of dîrgha-çrút 'far-famed' in example 184 above)' [195]
• îyús té [îyúr té] yé pû´rvatarâm ápaçyan, vyuchántîm usásam mártyâsah (I, 113, 11) 'those are gone, the mortal men who saw the earlier (comparative of pû´rva 'previous') dawn shining out' [196]
• agnír íd dhí prácetâ [ít hí prácetâs], agnír vedhástama [vedhástamas] r´sih (VI, 14, 2) 'for Agni is indeed mindful, Agni is the most honourable (superlative of vedhás) seer' [197]
• ávidvâmso [ávidvâmsas] vidústaram sapema (VI, 15, 10) 'may we, ignorant, honour the one who knows better (vidústara, from the weak form of the perfect participle vidvâ´ms)' [198]
• yád vo vayám praminâ´ma vratâ´ni, vidúsâm devâ [devâs] ávidustarâsah (X, 2, 4) 'when we, more ignorant, O gods, neglect the holy laws of you, the wise ones' [199]

A few adjectives formed with -tara or the reduced forms -ra and -ma, having affinity with pronouns, exhibit some forms that are like yá, as described in section 11. The numeral éka 'one' in section 25 of the last lesson similarly showed elements of both declensions. The Lesson 3 text contains an example of such a word: úttara 'higher', used with a temporal sense, 'future', occurs with both adjectival and pronominal endings. In this lesson text the adjectives madhyamá, literally 'most in the middle', ávara 'lower, more recent' and avamá 'lowest, most recent', all similarly used in a temporal sense, behave in the same way. In the last verse of the lesson text ávarâsas 'the more recent ones' is the nominative plural masculine adjectival form. But in the first line of X, 15, quoted in the Textual Analysis at the beginning of this lesson, úd îratâm ávara [ávare] út párâsah 'may they rise up, the more recent, the distant (fathers)', ávare shows the nominative plural masculine pronominal ending.

30. Interrogatives.

Interrogatives are distinguished by an initial k-, like Latin qu- (quis, quid, quando, quomodo). The pronoun ká 'who, which, what?', repeated four times in the third verse of the lesson text, follows the usual pronominal declension described in section 11, with the addition of an alternative neuter nominative and accusative form, kím. This has already been encountered in a compound adjective in the first verse of the Lesson 3 text: kim-yú 'what-desiring?' An old nominative singular masculine is preserved in the indeclinable forms nákis and mâ´kis, Greek mêtis, 'not any one'.

ká forms a number of derivative interrogatives, like ka-tamá 'which of many?', also in the third verse of in the lesson text. The form is that of a secondary superlative in -tama, as described above, and there is a parallel comparative form, ka-tará 'which of two?' Both these follow the pronominal declension. Of other derivatives of ká, the indeclinables kadâ´ 'when?', kúha 'where?', and kathâ´ 'how?', the first two of which also occur in the lesson text, are regularly found.

The particle cit 'even, all' following ká gives an indefinite or general sense: 'whoever, whatever, anyone, anything'.

• kó arká indra katamáh sá hótâ (lesson text) 'which eulogy, Indra, which the celebrant of many?' [200]
• katarâ´ pû´rvâ katarâ´parâyóh [katarâ´ áparâ ayós], kathâ´ jâté kavayah kó ví veda (I, 185, 1) 'which of these two (heaven and earth) is earlier, which later, how were they born, O sages, who knows for certain?' [201]
• kím sá r´dhak krnavad yám sahásram, mâsó jabhâ´ra çarádaç ca pûrvî´h (IV, 18, 4) 'what will he (Indra) separately do, whom she bears for a thousand months and many autumns?' [202]
• índra nákis tvâ [nákis tvâ] práti asti esâm, víçvâ jâtâ´ni abhí asi tâ´ni (VI, 25, 5) 'Indra, none of these equals you (práti + /as), you are above all those creatures' [203]
• yád dha yâ´nti marútah, sám ha bruvate ádhvan â´, çrnóti káç cid [kás cit] esâm (I, 37, 13) 'when indeed the storm gods travel, indeed they speak among themselves on the way; anyone hears them' (/çru 'hear' takes the genitive of the person heard) [204] (first two lines = 134)