Vedic Hymns, Part I — SBE Vol. 32 (trans. F. Max Müller, 1891)

5. We call down with worship the red boar of the sky, the god with braided hair, the blazing form ; may he who carries in his hand the best medicines grant us protection, shield, and shelter !

6. This speech is spoken for the father of the Maruts, sweeter than sweet, a joy! to Rudra; grant to us also, O immortal, the food of mortals, be gracious to us and to our kith and kin!

7. Do not slay our great or our small ones, ourp. 423 growing or our grown ones, our father or our mother, and do not hurt our own? bodies, O Rudra!

8. O Rudra, hurt us not in our kith and kin, nor in our own life, not in our cows, nor in our horses! Do not slay our men in thy wrath: carrying libations, we call on thee always.

g. Like a shepherd’, I have driven these praises near to thee; O father of the Maruts, grant us thy favour! For thy goodwill is auspicious, and most gracious, hence we desire thy protection alone.

10. Let thy cow-slaying and thy man-slaying be far away ', and let thy favour be with us, O ruler of heroes! Be gracious to us, and bless us, O god, and then give us twofold protection 3.

11. We have uttered our supplication to him, desiring his help; may Rudra with the Maruts hear our call. May Mitra, Varusa, Aditi, the River, Earth, and the Sky grant us this !

p. 424

NOTES.

Ascribed to Kutsa Angirasa. Metre, 1-9 Gagatt; 10, 11
Trishtubh. Verse 1=VS. XVI, 48; TS. IV, 5, 10, 1;
MS. II, 9, 9 (yatha na& sdm); verse 2=TS. IV, 5, 10, 2;
verse 7=VS. XVI, 15; TS. IV, 5, 10, 2; verse 8=VS.
XVI, 16; TS. III, 4, 11, 2; IV, 5, 10, 3; MS. IV, 12, 6
(4yushi ; havishmanto namas4 vidhema te); verse 10o=TS.
IV, 5, 10, 3.

Verse 1.

Note 1. TS. reads im&ém matim, and yatha nak sdm.

Note 2. Kapardin is an epithet not only of Rudra, but also of Pashan (VI, 55, 2; IX, 67,11), and of a Vedic clan, the Tritsus (VII, 83, 8) or Vasishthas; see Roth, Zur Literatur und Geschichte des Weda, pp. 94 seq. ; Oldenberg, Z.D.M.G. XLII, p. 207. Kaparda is the name of a shell, and the hair twisted together in the form of a shell seems to have suggested the name of kapardin.

Note 8. Kshaydd-vira means ‘ruling over heroes, just as mandad-vira (VIII, 69, 1) means ‘delighting heroes.’ This meaning is applicable to all passages where kshayadvira occurs, and there is no reason why we should translate it by ‘destroyer of heroes,’ which can hardly be considered as an epitheton ornans. No doubt, a god who rules and protects can also be conceived as punishing and destroying, and this is particularly the case with Rudra. Hence in certain passages Rudra may well be invoked as nvthan (IV 3, 6), just as we read of the Maruts (VII, 56, 17): ‘ May that bolt of yours which kills cattle and men be far from us! Incline to us,O Vasu, with your favours!’ See Muir, S.T. IV, p. 301, note.

Verse 2.

TS. reads 4yagé and prdsnitau. See Ludwig, Notes,
p. 265.
Verse 6.

Note 1. On the meaning of vardhana and vridh in Zend, see Darmesteter, Ormazd, pp. 41, 6; 92, I.

Incline to us,O Vasu, with your favours!’ See Muir,
S.T. IV, p. 301, note.

Verse 2.

TS. reads 4yagé and prdsnitau. See Ludwig, Notes,
p. 265.
Verse 6.

Note 1. On the meaning of vardhana and vridh in Zend, see Darmesteter, Ormazd, pp. 41, 6; 92, I.

p. 425

Verse 7.

Note 1. TS. reads priyd m4 nas tantvas rudra ririshak.
Priya, dear, used like ¢(Aos, in the sense of our own. See
Bergaigne, III, 152.

Verse 8.

_ See Colebrooke, Misc. Ess. I, p. 141 (ed. 1837); and

Svetdsvat. Up. in S.B.E. XV, p. 254, note. Ayushi for 4yau is supported by VS. and TS. I propose to read 4yau for 4yai. Bh4mitdsé is supported by TS. and Svet. Up., while VS. reads bhamina#, which Mahidhara refers to virdn. The last line is the same in RV. and VS., but the TS. reads havishmanto ndmas4 vidhema te, while the Svet. Up. reads havishmantad sadasi tva havamahe.

Verse 9.

Note 1. As to the simile, see RV. X, 127, 8, and Muir
S.T. IV, p. 304, note.
Verse 10.

Note 1. TS. reads 4rdt te, goghna (°€), purushaghné, kshayadviraya, rdksh4 for mrz/4, deva brahi.

Note 2. I take dvibdrh4Z, which stands for dvibdrhaZ, as an adjective to sarma, or possibly as an adverb, see Lanman, p. 560. It can hardly refer to Rudra, as Grassmann supposes. See J. Schmidt, Pluralbildungen der Neutra, pp. 132 seq.

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MANDALA II, HYMN 33.ASH7AKA II, ADHYAYA 7, VARGA 16-18.

To Rupra, THE FATHER OF THE MARUTS
(THE SToRM-Gops).

1. O father of the Maruts, let thy favour come near, and do not deprive us of the sight of the sun ; may the hero (Rudra) be gracious to our horse’, and may we increase in offspring, O Rudra !

2. May I attain to a hundred winters through the most blissful medicines which thou hast given! Put away far! from us all hatred, put away anguish, put away sicknesses in all directions !

3. In beauty thou art the most beautiful of all that exists, O Rudra, the strongest of the strong, thou wielder of the thunderbolt! Carry us happily to the other shore of our anguish, and ward off all assaults of mischief !.

4. Let us not incense thee, O Rudra, by our worship, not by bad praise, O hero, and not by divided praise! Raise up our men by thy medicines, for I hear thou art the best of all physicians.

5. He who is invoked? by invocations and libations, may I pay off? that Rudra with my hymns of praise. Let not him who is kind-hearted *, who readily hears our call, the tawny, with beautiful cheeks, deliver us to this wrath !

6. The manly hero with the Maruts has gladdened me, the suppliant, with more vigorous health. May I without mischief find shade, as if from sunshine ', may I gain the favour of Rudra!

p. 427

7. O Rudra, where is thy softly stroking hand which cures and relieves!? Thou, the remover of all heaven-sent mischief, wilt thou, O strong hero, bear with me?

8. I send forth a great, great hymn of praise to the bright tawny bull. Let me reverence? the fiery god* with prostrations; we celebrate the flaring name ° of Rudra.

Thou, the remover of all heaven-sent mischief, wilt thou, O strong hero, bear with me?

8. I send forth a great, great hymn of praise to the bright tawny bull. Let me reverence? the fiery god* with prostrations; we celebrate the flaring name ° of Rudra.

9. He, the fierce god, with strong limbs, assuming many forms, the tawny Rudra, decked himself with brilliant golden ornaments. From Rudra, who is lord of this wide world, divine power ! will never depart.

10. Worthily thou bearest arrows and _ bow, worthily, O worshipful?, the golden, variegated chain; worthily thou cuttest every fiend? here to pieces, for there is nothing indeed stronger than thou, O Rudra.

11. Praise him, the famous, sitting in his chariot’, the youthful, who is fierce and attacks like a terrible wild beast? (the lion). And when thou hast been praised, O Rudra, be gracious to him who magnifies thee, and let thy armies ? mow down others than us!

12. O Rudra, a boy indeed makes obeisance to his father who comes to greet him’: I praise the lord of brave men, the giver of many gifts, and thou, when thou hast been praised, wilt give us thy medicines.

13. O Maruts, those pure medicines of yours, the most beneficent and delightful, O heroes, those which Manu’, our father, chose, those I crave from Rudra, as health and wealth.

14. May the weapon of Rudra avoid us!, may the great anger of the flaring one pass us by.

p. 428

Unstring thy strong bows? for the sake of our liberal lords, O bounteous Rudra, be gracious to our kith and kin.

15. Thus, O tawny and manly god, showing thyself!, so as neither to be angry nor to kill, be mindful of our invocations 2, and, rich in brave sons, we shall magnify thee in the congregation.

NOTES. Il, 33, 2. 429

NOTES.

Ascribed to Gritsamada. Metre, Trishtubh. See Muir,
S.T. IV, 309; Geldner and Kaegi, p. 90. Bergaigne, III,
153; Leop. v. Schroeder, Indiens Literatur und Cultur,
343. Verse 1=TB. II, 8, 6,9; verse 2=TB. II, 8, 6, 8;
verse 10=TA. IV, 5, 7; verse 11=TS. IV, 5, 10,3; AV.
XVIII, 1, 40; verse 14=VS. XVI, 50; TS. IV, 5, 10, 4;
verse 15= TB. II, 8, 6, 9.

Verse 1L.