Cerberus, The Dog of Hades The History of an Idea by Maurice Bloomfield

Author:Maurice Bloomfield [Bloomfield, Maurice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2006-08-25T00:00:00+00:00

THE DUAL ÇABALĀU.

The two dogs of Yama derive their proper names from their color epithets. The passages above make it clear that Çyāma (rarely Çyāva), "the black," is the moon dog, and that Çabala, "the spotted, or brindled," is the sun dog. In one early passage (Rig-Veda, x. 14. 10) both dogs are named in the dual as Çabalāu. But for a certain Vedic usage one might think that "the two spotted ones" was their earliest designation. The usage referred to is the eliptic dual: a close or natural pair, each member of which suggests the other, may be expressed through the dual of one of them, as when either mātarāu or pitarāu, literally, "the two mothers," and "the two fathers," each mean "the two parents."[18] From this we may conclude that Çabalāu means really Çabala and Çyāma, and not the two Çabalas, that is, "the two spotted ones."

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