46 E. IV. Hopkins, 



is told, TS. 2. 4. 12 (6. 5. 1. 1, of the iikthyani; of. SB. 4. 2. 3. 10, 

 Visnu assists Indra and he kills Vrtra, when he has lost the iiuiya 

 of sacrifice). 



Indra killed Vrtra and lost strenji,th. The jj'ods sought an 

 expiation prciyascittam, for him. Nothing did him any good save 

 the " bitter vSoma " (rite), 18. 5. 2; with the same opening ib. 11. 1, 

 vyabhraiisata for lyarthat, and the remedy as the Smyanflya (in TS. 

 2. 5. 3. 2, his strength enters earth and becomes plants). 



A word here on the Soma that flowed from Vrtra's nose and 

 became arjiinaui, with brown-tufted stalks ; and from his cut- up 

 omentum, lohitatnlani, red-tufted, 9. 5. 7. There is first the putika 

 substitute for Soma, see ib. 5. 1 ; arjuncmi are substitutes for 

 substitutes, ib. 1. 4. The piitika fell from the GayatrJ, shot by 

 Soma-guards, the gods found ilti (help) in it, hence p-ilti-ka. Gods 

 ascend to sacrifice openly b}' the Soma-rite ; of men of old there 

 was asuta; of gods, sitla. Soma obtained kingship b}' austerities 

 and became glorious, 11. 3. 9. The priest is Soma, the god Pusan 

 is cattle ; thus in sacrifice the}' magnif}' their own divinit}-, they 

 " have made a skin " (protection), 23. 16. 5. On the piltika, see 

 also 8. 4. 1—2 (cf. TS, 6. 1. 6. 1), on metres fetching the Soma and 

 the Gayatri bringing it with hands and teeth (three pressings). The 

 description resembles Kath 34. 3 {loliitatfila), rather than SB. 4. 5. 

 10. 2 f. Nor does the Great Brah. here seem the earlier, as it also 

 appears to have a later version of the Visvavasu stor}", which in 

 PB. is disjunct, while in TS. it immediately follows the Kadru story, 

 as in SB. 3. 2. 4. 1. In TS., V. stole the Soma, 6. 1. 6. 5, and, 

 being a Gandharva fond of women, is tempted to sell Soma for a 

 woman. Vac. Similar is the well-known version in SB., whereas the 

 PB. has the story separated from the stor}- of Gayatri (above), 6. 9. 

 22 : " The metres verily brought the Soma hither. The Gandharva 

 Visvavasu stole it and therewith entered the water. The divinities 

 sought after him. Visnu spied him in the water. He, A'isnu, anxi- 

 ously considered, " Is this one here really he ? " (sa vyakaiiksad ayam 

 nil 3 )ic^ Hi (S. nviti vitarke, ayam somapaharta bhavcn no veti). 

 He poked him with his foot. Hence the drops were scattered 

 separately " (etc., to explain etc asrgram indavah, RV. 9. 62. 1 a). 



To return to Vrtra : Indra on smiting him thought he had not 

 overthrown him and fled to the farthest distance. Pie there took 



obtaining the overlordship of heaven by means of a Saman (Yama), so that 

 it could not be taken from him, anapajayyam, 11. 10. 21 and and •• YamI 

 made Yama get to heaven by the same Saman." il). 22. 



