ORIENTAL SERIES.

330
VACHVAHANA.
them, " through his mind, with Yach," from whom "he created
"
the waters ; or, as this last sentence is differently translated,
u He created the waters from the world [in
the
form] of speech
(Yach)." In the Kathaka Upanishad this idea is more distinctly
formulated :
" Prajapati was this universe. Yach was a second
to him. He associated sexually with her ; she became pregnant ;
she departed from him ; she produced these creatures ; she again
entered into Prajapati."
The Aitareya Brahmawa and the /Satapatha Brahmana have a
story of the Gandharvas having stolen the soma juice, or, as one
"
calls it, King Soma," and that as the Gandharvas were fond of
women, Yach was, at her own suggestion, "turned into a female"
by the gods and .ffishis, and went to recover it from them.
In the Atharva-veda she is identified with Yiraj, and is the
daughter of Kama (desire),
"
That daughter of thine, Kama,
is called the cow, she whom sages denominate Yach- Yiraj."
The Maha-bharata also calls her " the mother of the Yedas,"
and says, "A voice derived from Brahma entered into the ears
of them all ;
the celestial Saraswatl was then produced from the
heavens." Here and "in the later mythology, Saraswatl was
identified with Yach, and became under different names the
spouse of Brahma and the goddess of wisdom and eloquence, and
is invoked as a muse," generally under the name of Saraswatl,
but sometimes as Yach.
The Bhagavata Purawa recognises her as "the slender and
enchanting daughter " of Brahma, for whom he had a passion,
and from whom mankind was produced, that is the female Yiraj.
(See Yiraj and $ata-rupa.) Saraswatl, as wife of Brahma and
goddess of wisdom, represents perhaps the union of power and
intelligence which was supposed to operate in the work of crea-
tion. According to the Padma Purawa, Yach was daughter of
Daksha, wife of Kasyapa, and mother of the Gandharvas and
Apsarases.
YADAYA, YAJ9AVANALA. The submarine fire which
" devours the water of the ocean," causing it to throw off the
vapours
which are condensed into rain and snow. The word is
also written YacZava and BacZava. See Aurva.
YAHANA. tA vehicle.' Most of the gods are represented as
having animals as their vahanas. Brahma has the Hansa, swan
or goose ; Yishnu has Garuda, half eagle, half man ; Siva, the