60 . E. VV. Hopkins, 



Brahman, (but) the son of a slave-woman." Vatsa rephes as a matter 

 of course : " Let us walk through fire in the regular way ito see) 

 whether of us two is the better Brahman. '' Having said this, and 

 chaunting his own (Vatsa) Srunan, " Vatsa passed through, and not 

 a hair of him was burned, " 14. 6. 6. The expression used is form- 

 ulaic [ci. TS. 2. 5. 8. 3, yataro luai brahmlyan). 



What became of Medhatithi the passage does not say ; only that 

 he also walked through the tire, chaunting his own (Maidhatitha) 

 Saman; but in 15. 10. 11, the same saint by means of the same 

 Saman is said to have procured cows with strong udders, out of 

 the (demon called) "split rock'' (? see note).^ 



The most interesting Kanva Saman is that invented lj\' Kanva 

 himself. He once chaunted a Saman without any effect till he 

 overheard a cat sneezing. That gave him the cue and he added 

 the sneeze-sound. (7.9 {as-kfira-iiidhanam), which is efficacious in 

 witchcraft, 8. 1. 1; 2. 2; one of the earliest examples of the good- 

 luck sneeze. - 



* Tlie text lias ftma -■«/ JIrdh(7ittthih Kdnvo Viblumiitkad vyndlinlr i;(i, 

 iidasrjata^ and S. says (as translated above) : vibludanasVad etalsaiHJnakdd 

 (isurCid vyiidliu'tr vivrddhodhaskd. gd iidasrjata^ iidmraniavdt. The word vyndliiu 

 occurs only here, and Vibliinduka is unknown as a demon. On the othei- 

 hand, as Vibhindn is a man who gave cows to j\Iedliatitlii Kanva. HV. 

 8. 2. 41, and, in JB. '.\. 2:33. Medhatitlii is the •• house-lord." \\liri holds 

 a sacrificial session with this same Maidhatitha Saman for the Vibhindn- 

 klyas, to get cattle (text, JAOS. 18. 38). it is possible that the text above 

 is corrupt (perhaps J'/'h/iiitduklvrh/ivo ov Vd/hhiiidu/c<> dfvdd/nrir \ of. tryndlid,). 

 The verb does not nee<l an ablative; of. 23. 15. i^, ddi/ynli. . . pasdn 

 ndasrjoiifa ; pasdn . . nfsrjdnf/ (= lahliantr). 



* Apropos : The danger of inauspicious sounds, on the other hand, is 

 so great that the holy texts are altered to avoid them. For example, as 

 gird gird might suggest the "swallowing" of the chaunter, these words 

 are pronounced irii ird, which are auspicious, 8. (5. 8—9 (with comment- 

 ary on gird and garii^yati) ; and the dangerous use of a negative is to be 

 avoided by changing jki to mt or even to j?/, in na sausifia/n, RV. 6. 4<S. 1, 

 and "thus the singer becomes the better for his ehaunt," 8. (5. 12. Ono- 

 matopoetica. like as for sneezing, abound. Thus //iit is the grunt of cattle. 

 12. 10. 14; //7.S is the sound of I'ain. 8. 8. lU ; <tf is the note of a frog. 

 12. 4. IG. Besides these, the ordinary language is but slightly chaiigefl 

 to produce a Saman effect, as wlien Prajapati's call to his cattle is given 

 (as the Srnddliya Saman) sned/ii-yd, rki-yd, 15. 5. 35, etc. Compare this 

 stohha (of the Mahavilivsamitra, " whereby gods removed ill,") lid yd ilia 

 yd iihd {iti. piisiin cvd'itcna nydti/K/nta, 13. G. 13. The J/iii grunt has be- 

 come a sacred syllable of greeting, like /inmiud. 12. lO. 13 (7. 10. 15). 



