ORIENTAL SERIES.

SARANYUSARASWA TA. 283
SAKA^Ytf. * The fleet runner. 7 A
daughter of TwasWri.
She has been identified with the Greek Erinnys. The "begin-
ning of this myth is in a hymn of the J?g-veda, which says
" i . Twashtfri makes a wedding for his daughter. (Hearing) this,
the whole world assembles. The mother of Yama, the wedded
wife of the great Yivaswat (the sun), disappeared.
2. They
concealed the immortal (bride) from, mortals. Making (another)
of like appearance, they gave her to Vivaswat. Saranyu bore
the two Aswins, and when she had done so she deserted the two
twins." In the Nirukta the story is expanded as follows :
" Sarawyu, the daughter of Twashfri, bore twins to Vivaswat,
the son of Aditi. She then substituted for herself another
female of similar appearance, and fied in the form of a mare.
Vivaswat in like manner assumed the shape of a horse and
followed her. From their intercourse sprang two Aswins, while
Manu was the offspring of Savarwa (or the female of like appearance)."
The Erihad-devata has another version of the same
story: "Twashfoi had twin children, (a daughter) Sara?zyu and
(a son) Tri-siras. He gave Sarawyu in marriage to Vivaswat, to
whom she bore Yama and Yami, who also were twins. Creat-
ing a female like herself without her husband's knowledge, and
making the twins over in charge to her, Sarawyu took the form
of a mare and departed Vivaswat, in ignorance, begot on the
female who was left Manu, a royal J?ishi, who resembled his fathei
in glory ; but discovering that the real Sara%yu, TwashWs
daughter, had gone away, Vivaswat followed her quickly, taking
the shape of a horse of the same species as she. Recognising
him in that form, she approached him with the desire of sexual
connection, which he gratified In their haste his seed fell on
the ground, and she, being desirous of offspring, smelled it.
From this act sprang the two Kumaras (youths), Nasatya and
Dasra, who were lauded as Aswins (sprung from a horse)."
Muir*$ Texts, v. 227. See the Pnranic version under " Sanjna."
SABASWATA. i. In the Maha-bharata the J&shi Saraswata
is represented as being the son of the personified river SaraswatL
In a time of great drought he was fed with fish by his mother,
and so was enabled to keep up his knowledge of the Vedas,
while other Brahmans were reduced to such straits for the means
of subsistence that study was neglected and the Vedas were
lost. "WTien the drought was over, the Brahmans flockod to