Mantra 39: “All the gods have taken their seat upon the
Supreme, Imperishable One (akshare) in the Veda. What will one who does
not know this do, with the Veda? But they who know have assembled.”
They who know must mean all the rishis and the devas such as
Indra, Varuna etc.,
Mantra 40: “She became glorious (bhagavati) because
of the sacrifice (suyavasat; suya also means soma). O, Divine Cow, (aghnye)
eat the grass and drink the water at all seasons, roaming at will.”
This mantra seems to be addressed to the Divine Mother to
bestow us with riches. Also refers to sacrifice as a way to please her. And to
endow us, her children, with food and water in plenty.
Mantra 41: The mantra is: “Gowri has fashioned out of water
(or, making sounds with water), has formed one-footed, two-footed, four-footed,
eight-footed and nine-footed. She is thousand-syllabled (sahasrakshara)
in the highest heaven (parame vyoman).”
Gowri has several meanings: a young virgin, wife of Varuna,
earth and speech (vac). Later, this term was also applied to Parvathi. Is
the word Gowri applied to Divine Mother or to Mother Earth who has given birth
to all kinds of creatures and as one who has become thousands?
May be, the poet is using the word Gowri to apply to Vac,
Goddess of Speech (later became Saraswati). In that case the two footed, four-footed
etc., may apply to the meters (chandas) of Vedic hymns and to speech in
general with thousands of letters and syllables.
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