Agni (fire) and Savitri (sun).--Sāyaṇa explains this word
as meaning literally either ‘not protecting (na-pāt, from
pā, kṛt aff. śatṛ) or not allowing to fall down (na-pāt
from the caus. of pat, kṛt aff. kvip) the waters’, fire or
sun drying up the water; or ‘the grandson of the waters’,
water bringing forth plants and trees, and plants and trees
being the cause of fire; the latter explanation, apparently
more congenial with the vaidik poetry than the former, is
also given by Yāska. Comp. ap and apānnaptṛ. [The word has
two accents, viz. the udātta on the second and third syllable
and is given by the Padatext of the Ṛgveda as representing
not a compound, but two distinct words; that it may be
analyzed so, is indubitable from passages where it occurs
e. g. in the form napātamapām. On the other hand it must be ob-
served that the double accent belongs also to other and similar
Tatpur. mentioned in the Gaṇa to Pāṇ. VI. 2. 140. (comp. e. g.
tanūnapāt) and that this Gaṇa would comprise more words
than those mentioned in the present edition of Pāṇ. and the
ordinary Gaṇa lists as well as in the Kāśikā, if we may believe
the Svaramañjarī of Nṛsinha, which mentions e. g. śukagra-
nthinau (not referring this word to VI. 2. 141.) and concludes
with ityādi; it may be observed too, that the Nighanṭu
mentions apānnapāt as one of the thirty-two pada enumerated
V. 4., and that Sāyaṇa in his comm. cannot have looked
upon it otherwise than as a compound when he writes e. g.
apāṃnapātsaṃjñako'gniḥ; comp. also the remark of Patanjali
s. v. apānnaptṛ. The genitive plur. as a former part of a com-
pound, is of rare occurrence, but met with also in other
compounds beginning with apām, e. g. apāṃvatsa, apānnātha,
apāmpati &c. and in the Tatpur. devānāṃpriya (Pāṇini VI. 3. 21.
Vārtt. 4.). E. apām (gen. plur. of ap) and napāt.