Birds in Sanskrit Literature be left for identification with would be either the Bearded Vulture or Pallas's Fishing Eagle.* 230 शृंगाल—the same as गोमायु. Both these names, like कोष्टा, फेरव, घोरवासन, etc. for the jackal, refer to his extreme noisiness. and should be from root to blow violently' (M.W.) and hence to make a noise. g is probably a Fox who is of a solitary habit and utters a single cry at time (एक: सूक एक पद: सुगाल: per com. on हिरण्यकेशी श्रौतसून, 24.7.23) but सूक' in 'एक्सक' should mean cry or call and the compound ges should be rendered as an animal that utters a single cry at a time. This will help to distinguish , the jackal, from एकस्क, the fox in the श्रौत text गोमायु as a homonym may be explained as (i) गवि भूमो मिमाति मायुः, one that makes a noise on the ground, and hence the jackal; and (ii) af arg, one that is noisy in the sky or air, and therefore a noisy bird. sg as a bird is thus the same as tary in the second sense. Now try is listed as a particular bird in at page 397 with other birds frequenting a dry region (जाङ्गल देश), while जम्बुक (जम्बु in the printed text is an error), the jackal, is also mentioned in the same passage as one of the animals found in the same zone. That the term rg is appli- cable to a noisy bird like the Peacock, which has a loud call, is also clear from the following: सृगालोऽपि मयूर उच्यते – "मयुः मयूरो गोमायुः सुगालचेति शब्दितः” इतिनामरत्नमालावचनात् । विश्वरूपटीका on याज्ञवल्क्यस्मृति, प्रायश्चित्ताध्याय, Verse 266 (Trivandram ed.). The next question is what particular bird is this गोमायु of पालकाप्य or शृगाल of the Mahabharata ? That it is a noisy bird is clear enough, and when consider other characteristic names for the jackal indicative of his other habits, e.g. (a cheat) and (carrion eater) we would be justi- fied in expecting similar qualities in the bird as well. Now all these traits are present in the Tawny Eagle in the fullest measure, for he is not only very noisy on the wing but also eats carrion and is always eager to cheat other birds of prey of their booty. He is a fast bird too (see para. 8 iv Sec. A of this Article). Hardly any other fast-flying bird fulfills all the conditions that the name demands. Considering everything
- This Eagle prefers to build its large nest, lined with twigs and green leaves, on
solitary cotton trees (Bombax malabaricum) which stand as landmarks in an Indian river-bed. During floods the tree is naturally surrounded by water on all sides. The picture of Asvins securing you holding on to such a tree in the midst of a flood like a large bird () carrying twigs & leaves in RV.1.182. 7 would seem to be based on the habits of this Eagle. Eagles, Falcons and Allied Birds therefore try and should be the Tawny Eagle. There are several other animal-names as well that are shared by birds, e.g., gors and (Pelican), w (Tree-Pie), we (Black Eagle), (Cherrug Falcon), etc. 231 fufa fr. fafe 'black' and white', and the word interpreted in both the senses should mean birds with black as well as with white necks, and, looking round for large sized birds with great wing-power, the Black-necked and the White-necked Storks at once present themselves, and both these must be included for purposes of the verse. The Black-necked Stork is mentioned elsewhere in the Epic as the 'fearful black-necked and red-legged bird'-"gonfrate- शकुना रक्तपादा भयानका:" MBh. 5.143.25. The शितिकण्ठाः (note the plural) are therefore these big Storks and not the Peacocks. -the Adjutant Stork; cf. the frequent use of the term for this bird, a fast flier that soars high with Vultures. -the Cherrug Falcon. g-the same as Frier, the Golden Eagle, the fastest of all others in the verse. It will be noticed that ga is placed the last with an emphatic and the sense is that even the Golden Eagles fall behind. my chariot'. The •significance of the principal sentence, (एते पक्षिण:) रथं दृष्ट्वा पश्चात्पतन्ति, is that these birds with great power of wing at the very sight of Arjuna's fast- moving chariot fall back of their own accord since they know that they cannot compete with it, much less outstrip it, even if they tried their best. It is an excellent poetic thought based upon the indifference of the birds of the sky to what does not concern them below. 13. The Indian Hobby is a small Falcon (11.5"), black above and light ferrugineous below. The European species, known as the Hobby, is slightly larger and has the lower parts white. It is very fast and active on the wing and of rather crepuscular habits. Teraferer is one of the "brown- eyed" Falcons in the v. . 4.21. Harprasad Shastri translates the name as "having short wings" but does not identify the bird. The wings of the Hobby, like those of other Falcons, are of course long and it cannot be described as a short-winged bird. Formerly it was trained for hawking small birds like the Hoopoes, King-crows, Larks, etc., and writing about its performance on the wing, H.C. Donald says that its wonderful evolu- tions in the air cannot help attracting attention and if watched for a few seconds it will be seen to constantly change direction and turn and twist
- The three Eagles, two of whom are calling loudly (1), in the higher regions,
mentioned in the following verse should be the Tawny Eagles under discussion:- "वयः सुपर्णा उपरस्य माधू नाकस्य पृष्ठे अघि विष्टपि श्रिताः । स्वर्गा लोका अमृतेन विष्ठा इषमूर्ज यजमानाय दुह्लाम् ।। AV.18.4.4.
