[=u]shan, art thou praised.

We seek of thee success, which far
From ill, and near to wealth shall be;
For full prosperity to-day;
And full prosperity the morn.[42]

To BHAGA (vii. 41).

Early on Agni call we, early Indra call;
Early call Mitra, Varuna, the Horsemen twain;
Early, too, Bhaga, P[=u]shan, and the Lord of Strength;
And early Soma will we call, and Rudra too.

This stanza has been prefixed to the hymn by virtue of the catch-word
'early' (in the morning), with which really begins this prosaic poem
(in different metre):

The early-conquering mighty Bhaga call we,
The son of Boundlessness, the gift-bestower,[43]
Whom weak and strong, and e'en the king, regarding,
Cry _bhagam bhakshi_, 'give to me the giver.'[44]

O Bhaga, leader Bhaga, true bestower,
O Bhaga, help this prayer, to us give (riches),
O Bhaga, make us grow in kine and horses,
O Bhaga, eke in men, men-wealthy be we!

And now may we be rich, be _bhaga_-holders,[45]
Both at the (day's) approach, and eke at midday,
And at the sun's departure, generous giver.
The favor of the gods may we abide in.

O gods, (to us) be Bhaga really _bhaga_,[46]
By means of him may we be _bhaga_-holders.
As such an one do all, O Bhaga, call thee,
As such, O Bhaga, be to-day our leader.

May dawns approach the sacrifice, the holy
Place, like to Dadhikr[=a],[47] like horses active,
Which bring a chariot near; so, leading Bhaga,
Who finds good things, may they approach, and bring him.

As this is the only hymn addressed to Bhaga, and as it proves itself
to have been made for altar service (in style as well as in special
mention of the ceremony), it is evident that Bhaga, although called
Aditi's son, is but a god of wealth and (like Anca, the Apportioner)
very remotely connected with physical functions. But the hymn appears
to be so late that it cannot throw much light on the original
conception of the deity. We rather incline to doubt whether Bhaga was
ever, strictly speaking, a sun-god, and think that he was made so
merely because the sun (Savitar) was called _bhaga_. A (Greek: Zehys)
Bagaios was worshipped by the Phrygians, while in the Avesta and as a
Slavic god Bhaga has no especial connection with the sun. It must be
acknowledged, however, that every form of the sun-god is especially
lauded for generosity.

VISHNU.

In the person of Vishnu the sun is extolled under another name, which
in