Lexicon

of Rig Veda

kṣapāvat, possessor of night

The word occurs five times in the Veda. Its exact meaning is unknown. There are two two conjectural versions of the etymology of the word.

1) The variant offered by Padapatha: kṣapā-vat, where kṣapā means night, a characteristic aspect of the worlds of the Earth, the darkness of consciousness in them, while -vat is a suffix meaning possession. Agni, who shines brightly even in the darkness of the worlds of the Earth, reigns over the Night. Interpretations belonging to this version are: master / ruller / lord of nights / night (Sri Aurobindo, Kashyap, Saraswati, Wilson); possessing the night (Wilson); shining even in the nights (Saraswati); glory of the night (Ganguly)

2) Another variant: kṣa-pāvat, where kṣa means earth, field, dwelling, and pāvat, protecting. Interpretations belonging to this version are: protector/guardian of/on earth (Griffith, Oldenberg, Jamison, T. Elizarenkova); ruler of the earth (Sri Aurobindo)

Another variant with an unknown etymological justification is given by Griffith and Kashyap: at night.

See also:

•  earth (pṛthivī)

•  night (kṣap)