Some remarks on Apsarases, dogs and gandharvas

In the following, I explore several possible meanings of the epithet śvànvant-, attributed to the Apsarases in both Atharvaveda Saṁhitās but not found outside these texts. While it is extremely difficult to arrive at any firm conclusions, I highlight the fact that this epithet only occurs in passages where the Apsarases are depicted as being threatening and harmful. With this in mind, I suggest that the‘dogs’ (śván-) that accompany the Apsarases are most likely a metaphorical reference to either death or the Gandharvas. One way of making sense of the latter metaphor, I propose, is to view the figure of the Gandharva alongside related figures from other branches of Indo-European mythology.