Problem Of Apadha In The Rgiveda - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided text on the "Problem of Apadha in the Rgveda" by Dr. Smt. Y. S. Shah:

The article addresses the long-standing difficulty in interpreting the meaning and grammatical form of the Vedic word 'Apadha' as it appears in Rgveda (RV) II, 12, 3. This verse reads: "Yo gā udājapadhā valasya" (He who drove forth the cows imprisoned by Vala).

The author highlights that the interpretation of Vedic hymns and individual words has been a challenge since the time of Yaska, and despite extensive efforts by commentators and Orientalists, many obscure Vedic words remain mysterious. 'Apadha' is presented as one such word.

Traditional Interpretations:

Sāyaṇa: Interprets 'apadhā' as an adjective of 'gaḥ' (cows), meaning "imprisoned." Grammatically, he derives it from the root 'dhā' (to place/put) with the prefix 'apa' (away/down), plus the termination 'ñi' in an impersonal sense, followed by the addition of 'a', making it an ablative singular.
Venkata Madhava: Translates it as "fastā" (imprisoned) and takes it as an adjective of 'gaḥ' (cows), meaning "cattle." He indirectly suggests a feminine base ending in 'ā'.

Western Scholars' Interpretations:

Roth: Considers it to be the instrumental of 'apadhā' + 'et'.
Ludmiga: Suggests it is instrumental in sense, meaning "wedge" or "key."
Hillebrandt: Believes it to be a locative from 'apadhā'.
Grassmann: Translates it as "a hiding place."
Griffith: Translates it as "from the cave."
Peterson: Views it as a Vedic locative similar to 'guha' in the next verse, translating it as "cave."
Zimmerman: Translates it as "from the enclosure," comparing it to another verse.
Macdonell: Translates it as "by the unclosing." Based on feminine forms, he argues it must be the instrumental singular of 'Apadha'. He interprets 'Valasya' as objective genitive, meaning "by opening (the cave of) Vala."
Velankar: Seems to follow Roth, taking 'Apadha' as the instrumental singular of 'Apadha' by analogy with another verse.

The Author's Proposed Interpretation:

The author, Dr. Y. S. Shah, proposes a new interpretation based on grammatical analysis and analogy:

Grammatical Form: She argues that 'apadhā' is actually the accusative plural of 'apādhā', a feminine form derived from 'apa' + 'dhā' by applying the affix 'añ' according to Pāṇinian rule III, 3, 106. This would mean the word refers to "cows" (plural feminine accusative).
Analogy: She draws an analogy with the word 'nidhā' which appears as 'nidhāu' in RV X, 73, 11. The commentary on the Nirukta explains 'nidhāu' as related to 'nidham' (accusative plural) and supports the idea of such formations.
Accent: The accent of 'apadhā' also resembles that of 'nidhāu', further supporting the proposed grammatical form.
Padapatha and Visarga: The author suggests that the Padapatha has presented the word as 'apadhā' without a final visarga. She posits that the original form in the Samhita-Patha might have been 'apadhāḥ' (with a visarga), which was later elided due to morphophonemic changes. This elision might have been missed by the author of the Padapatha.
Precedent for Variation: She points out that Yaska himself notes differences of opinion among Padapathakaras regarding the splitting of Samhita text and the recognition of visarga. Examples are given, such as the word "adhivāsam" being treated differently by various scholars. Yaska's conclusion that "avagrahaḥ anavagrahaḥ" (the separation is not a separation) signifies the inconsistency in Padapatha traditions.
Conclusion: The author concludes that the possibility of an originally existent but morphophonemically elided visarga in 'apadhāḥ' resolves the discrepancies and unnecessary efforts in interpreting the word by traditional commentators and modern Orientalists.

In essence, Dr. Shah argues that 'Apadha' is not an ablative or instrumental singular, but rather the accusative plural feminine of 'apādhā', referring to the "cows" themselves, and that its form in the Padapatha is the result of a common elision of the visarga.