Responsion in the Rigveda.

• Author: Klein, Jared S.

[section]0. AMONG THE FORMS OF REPETITION found in the Rigveda, the most abstract is that of syntactic pattern. Where the repeated pattern is itself a construction rather than a set of appositional terms occupying the same syntactic rank, it is traditionally termed a responsion. In this paper I wish to investigate the nature and types of stanza-internal responsions in the Rigveda.

[section] 1. The most characteristic feature of responsions is that they typically possess a vertical dimension. That is, their internal linear (= horizontal) constituents may generally be placed in vertical alignment and match up, to a greater or lesser extent, on a word-for-word basis. Where the alignment is exact, we may speak of a perfect (vertical) responsion. In a restricted number of cases the correspondence may be not only word-for-word, but syllable-for-syllable. We shall term such instances parisyllabic. The following passages both represent perfect responsions, the first of which is parisyllabic:

(1) a. IX.106.6ab asmabhyam gatuvittamo I devebhyo madhumattamah For us, the best of the finders of a way; for the heavenly ones, the best of those possessing sweetness.

2. VI.28.1b sidantu gosthe ranayantv asme Let them sit in the cowstall; let them rejoice among us.

   The two cola of (a) are articulated over a stretch of two padas, one colon per pada. Semantically, they represent a contrast (asmabhyam/devebhyah). In (b) the responsion appears within a single tristubh pada, the five-syllable opening housing one colon and the six-syllable break + cadence the second.

   Responsive cola may be overtly conjoined (2a-c). They may show parallel or chiastic word-order (a, b, respectively), as well as slight differences in their internal structures (c):

   (2) a. VI.60.1a snathad vrtram uta sanoti vajam He pierces the obstacle and wins booty.

2. VI.69. 1c jusetham yajnam dravinam ca dhattam Enjoy the worship and create wealth.

3. VII.24.1d dado vasuni mamadas ca somaih Thou shalt give goods, and thou shalt exhilarate thyself with the somas.

   In (2b, c) the presence of ca loosens the rigid word-correspondence of the individual cola. Elsewhere, the responsion is interrupted by additional words, which may appear initially, finally, or medially (3a-c, respectively). In the latter two passages the extra word is a verb gapped in the partner colon. In (d) the two medial words of each colon are balanced but not themselves responsive:

   (3) a. III.24.1ab agne sahasva prtana / abhimatir apasya O Agni, win the battles; cast off those plotting evil.

2. I.32.9c uttara sur adharah putra asit Above was the mother, below the son.

3. II.32.8cd indranim ahva utaye / varunanim svastaye I have called Indrani for aid, Varunani for well-being.

4. I.29.4ab sasantu tya aratayo / bodhantu sura ratayah Let these non-givers sleep; let the givers awake, O hero.

   Among the cohesive features linking the terms of the above responsions are homoioteleuton (sasantu/bodhantu, indranim/varunanim, utaye/svastaye) and paronomasia (aratayo/ratayah). Semantically, we find similar actions (a, c), contrast of position (b), and double antithesis (of subject and verb) (d). All of these passages show parallel word-order with the exception of (a), which is chiastic.

   The responsions seen in (1)-(3) all involve dicola. Responsive tricola and tetracola are also attested. (4a-c) illustrate two-word tricola occurring within a single pada, two padas, and one and a half padas, respectively:

   (4) a. VI.23.4b babhrir vajram papih somam dadir gah Bearer of a cudgel, drinker of soma, giver of cows...

2. I.l18.2cd pinvatam ga jinvatam arvato no / vardhayatam asvina viram asme Swell the cows; quicken our coursers; strengthen, O Asvins, the hero among us.

3. VIII.101.l5ab mata rudranam duhita vasunam / svasadityanam amrtasya nabhih Mother of the Rudras, daughter of the Vasus, sister of the Adityas, the nave of immortality...

   (a) is notable for its verb + object structure involving three agent nouns in -i- built to reduplicated stems. In (b) the responsive cola form a Behaghel sequence with additions of nah at the end of colon 2 and vocative as well as final pronoun in colon 3. Here a tighter link between the first two cola than between these and the third is indicated by rhyming verb stems, semantic similarity of objects, and the pada-boundary. (c) might actually be thought to contain a tetracolon. To the three tightly constructed sequences of noun of relationship (fem.) + genitive in the initial three cola is added a fourth containing the same construction in reverse order; moreover, the term nabhih may be seen as signaling a relational status superior to those of the temporal world.

   The ambiguous status of (4c) may serve as a transition to those passages containing rather clear instances of two-word tetracola:

   (5) a. VIII.48.3ab apama somam amrta abhuma / aganma jyotir avidama devan We have drunk soma; we have become immortal; we have gone to the light; we have found the heavenly ones.

2. IX.71.3b.d vrsayate nabhasa vepate mati //.../ nenikte apsu yajate parimani Through the (rain-)cloud he becomes a bull; through the thought he becomes inspired.... He is washed in the waters; he is worshipped in fullness.

3. II.16.2cd jathare somam tanvi saho maho / haste vajram bharati sirsani kratum In his stomach soma, in his body great power, he bears a cudgel in his hand, determination in his head.

   VIII.48.3ab is probably the best known responsive tetracolon in the Rigveda. Its uninterrupted structure, its perfect vertical parisyllabism (5+6/5+6), coming as close to horizontal isosyllabism as the tristubh meter allows, as well as the loftiness of its content have all contributed to its familiarity and the high esteem in which it is held. Less obvious is the responsion in (b), whose cola appear in the final padas of each distich of this jagati stanza. We find here a chiastic vertical syllable count (7+5/5+7), and the different padas show variant verb-initial syntactic constructions ([V+N.sub.instr] in b, [V+N.sub.loc] in d). (c) illustrates a gapped responsive tetracolon with bharati applying to each of the locative + object structures. Notable in the second colon is the addition of the rhyme-producing maho (saho maho).

   All the passages cited so far have contained two-word responsions. Three-word responsions are illustrated in (6a-c):

   (6) a. II.15.7c prati srona sthad vy anag acasta The lame one stood firm; the sightless one looked out.

2. VIII.35.12a hatam ca satrun yatatam ca mitrinah Smite the rivals and align the friendly ones (on your side).

3. I.10.1ab gayanti tva gayatrino / (a)rcanty arkinah The singers sing thee; the praisers sing the song of praise.

   Each of these passages shows vertical word-for-word correspondence, either within the pada (a, b) or across a pada-boundary (c). Because ca appears within each colon in (b), we have counted it as an integral member of the responsion. Notable in (c) is the widespread paronomasia (gayanti... gayatrinah, arcanty...