Lexicon

of Rig Veda

ṛṇayāvan, purposeful rider

ṛṇa (1) riding, going, flying; (2) debt, duty. yāvan a rider, horseman, invader; (ifc.) going, driving, riding. Thus the word is a common epithet of the Maruts as of swift riders = śubhaṃyāvaḥ. Nevertheless many translators prefer not this clear and direct meaning but offer two not very plausible interpretations: (1) liberators from debt; (2) searcher-out of sin.