RV 133.1-3

[Sudalaimuthu Palaniappan]

The following are RV 133.1-3 from the Vedavid website.

ubhe punAmi rodasI Rtena druho dahAmi saM mahIranindrAH |
abhivlagya yatra hatA amitrA vailasthAnaM pari tRLhA asheran ||
abhivlagyA cidadrivaH shIrSA yAtumatInAm |
chindhi vaTUriNA padA mahAvaTUriNA padA ||
avAsAM maghava� jahi shardho yAtumatInAm |
vailasthAnake armake mahAvailasthe armake ||

R. T. H. Griffith translates this as follows:

1. With sacrifice I purge both earth and heaven: I burn up great she-fiends
who
    serve not Indra,
    Where throttled by thy hand the foes were slaughtered, and in the pit of
death
    lay pierced and mangled.

2. O thou who castest forth the stone crushing the sorceresses' heads,
    Break them with thy wide-spreading foot, with thy wide-spreading mighty
foot.

3. Do thou, O Maghavan, beat off these sorceresses' daring strength.
    Cast them within the narrow pit, within the deep and narrow pit.

What I am interested here is the word "vailasthAna". It has been translated as
"pit". MW gives the following meanings for relevant entries.

vailasthAna - Meaning n. a place like a hole , lurking-place , covert RV. ; a
burying-place MW

vaila - Meaning mf(%{I})n. (fr. %{vila} = %{bila}) relating or belonging to or
living in a hole or pit MW. (cf. %{baila}).

bila - Meaning n. (also written %{vila} ; ifc. f. %{A}) a cave , hole , pit ,
opening , aperture RV. &c. &c. ; the hollow (of a dish) , bowl (of a spoon or
ladle) &c. AV. VS. S3Br. S3rS. ; m. Calamus Rotang L. ; Indra's horse
Uccaih2-s3ravas L. ; N. of two kinds of fish L.

baila - Meaning mf(%{I})n. (fr. bila , also written %{vaila} q.v.) living in
holes (m. an animal living in holes) Car.; relating , to or derived from
animals in holes MBh.

A scholar by name Dr. R. Mathivanan interprets "vailasthAna" to refer to a
city of vELs or Dravidian chiefs. Can the Vedic scholars give what in their
view is the correct interpretation?

Regards
S. Palaniappan