Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
11, 4; 2, 5, and elsewhere. Stanza 4. The tiger, as well as the lion (st. 7). is the king of animals : Sat. Br. V, 5, 4, 10 ; XII, 7, 1, 8 ; hence his skin is a mark of royalty. Control of the regions is a sine qua non of royalty; cf. e.g. Maitr. S. II, 1, 12, and the dig-vyastha- pana-mantra/z at Tait. S. I, 8, 13. 1. 2 ; Tait. Br. I, 7, 7, 1. 2. 1 I am inclined to think that ' sole ruler/ and not ' simple king/ as Weber (p. 141) renders it, is the meaning of ekara^-a ; cf. ekarag- in Ait. Br. VIII, 15, 1 (scholiast, eka eva rag-a); AV. Ill, 4, 1 ; RV. VIII, 37, 3, and ekav/Ysha, AV. IV, 22, 1. 5, a hymn which is rubricated in the sequel of this description (Kaus. 17, 28). Ke^ava, moreover, introduces Sutra n with the words, maha- bhishekavidhi/rc vakshyama^. The entire passage Kau^. 17, n-29 deals with this more pompous ceremony. IV, 9- COMMENTARY. 38 1 See in general, Contributions, Fourth Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XII, 432. d. The heavenly waters are the very ones with which the king is consecrated. By a bold figure of speech they, as they are about to moisten him, are said to long for him! Stanza 6. a. Some MSS. and Saya/za read abhi . . . asrz^an for abhi . . . asi;z>£an. Saya/za glosses, abhimukhyena sa;/zsrz^- antu. Stanza 7. c, d. The passage is not quite clear : subhuva/z may refer to the waters, or to the attendant priests (so Saya/za, seva- ka£*ana^). The word dvipinam harbours a double entente : dvipa is * island.' Vaguely, the position of the king, as he is surrounded by the consecrating water, suggests an island in the ocean. IV, 9. Commentary to page 6i. The hymn is rubricated at Kau^. 58, 8 in a practice calculated to bestow long life upon the young Aryan, after he has been invested with the holy cord (cf. Hir. Grzh. I, 11, 5), to wit : ' While reciting IV, 9, an amulet of salve is fastened (upon the youth). ' See also ^antikalpa 17 and 19 *; Ath. Pam. 4, 1. A persistent tradition has it that the mountain Trikakud (' Three-peaks '), in more modern times Triku/a or Tri^ota, between the Penjab and the Himalayas, is the source from which the salve is derived. See the Pet. Lex. under a/z^ana, trikakud, and traikakuda, and Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, pp. 29, 69. The Anu- krama^i describes the hymn as traikakuda/z^-anadaivatam ; it has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 507 ; Grill2, pp. 35, 123 ff., and exhibits noteworthy points of contact with RV. X, 97. 1 Erroneously quoted by Sayawa as Nakshatrakalpa. 382 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 1. b.
2a/z^-anadaivatam ; it has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 507 ; Grill2, pp. 35, 123 ff., and exhibits noteworthy points of contact with RV. X, 97. 1 Erroneously quoted by Sayawa as Nakshatrakalpa. 382 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 1. b. The majority of Shankar Pandit's MSS. read akshyam ; this he has taken into the text. Other MSS. read akshyam. But there is also MS. authority for aksham, the reading of the vulgate, and Saya/za, who glosses it by £akshu^, ' eye.' But aksham does not mean ' eye/ and akshyam is other- wise unquotable. Nevertheless, we have translated akshyam, for the passage seems to be a tantalising reverberation of 5at. Br. Ill, 1, 3, J2. ' When Indra slew Vrztra, he trans- formed that eye of his (VWtra's) into the mount Trikakud. The reason, then, why (ointment) from mount Trikakud (is used), is that he thereby puts eye into eye.' This seems to show that the ointment was applied about the eye *, and apparently silences Professor Roth's objection, as reported by Grill, that this is too narrow a view of the usefulness of the ointment. Cf. also Maitr. S. Ill, 6, 3; Tait. S. VI, 1, 1, 5, which are equally pertinent. Stanza 3. c, d. The Paippalada reads, uta*mrztatvasye".sisha uta *sa^ pitubho^-anam. Pada e looks like an appendage ; cf. XIX, 44, 2. Stanza 4. Cf. RV. X, 97, i2=Va£\ S. XII, 86. The difficult word of the stanza is madhyama^ir, all the renderings of which, both native and western, are mere conjectures. Saya^a, here, either 'wind' (i.e. who dwells in the middle region), or, arir mitram arer mitram iti nitu-astroktama/z^alama- dhyavarti ra^a. The gloss at RV. is similar to the latter interpretation. Still more fanciful is Mahidhara at Va^Y S. Stanza 5. Cf. II, 4, 2, and for the meaning of vishkandha, see the note on II, 4, 1. 1 Saya^aon st. 3, anakti ^akshushi anene^ti a%-anam. IV, IO. COMMENTARY. 383 Stanza 7. d. We have taken purusha in the sense which it fre- quently has in the Veda, namely, 'menial, servitor.' Cf. RV. X, 97, 4; AV. X. 1, 17 ; Sat. Br. VI, 3, 1, 22 ; and probably also RV. VI, 39, 5 (discussed erroneously by Pischel, Vedische Studien, I, 43). Ludwig, ' und dein leben, o mensch ; ' Grill, * auch deinen lebensgeist, du mann ! ' Saya//a reads purushas with some MSS. (both Sa//zhit& and Padapa/^a), all of which, however, present the word as an enclitic without udatta. With the nominative the sense is, * may I as thy servitor (O salve) obtain horses, &c.' Stanza 8. For balasa, see the discussion in the note on V, 22, it.
3(both Sa//zhit& and Padapa/^a), all of which, however, present the word as an enclitic without udatta. With the nominative the sense is, * may I as thy servitor (O salve) obtain horses, &c.' Stanza 8. For balasa, see the discussion in the note on V, 22, it. The poison of the serpent is considered as a disease ; hence it is mentioned along with takman and balasa. Stanza 9. Cf. Tait. Ar. VI, 10, 2 ; Hir. Gr/h. I, 11, 5. IV, 10. Commentary to page 62. The hymn is employed at Kam\ 58, 9 in connection with a practice for bestowing long life and prosperity upon the young Brahmanical disciple after the investiture: 'While reciting IV, 10 an amulet of pearl is fastened (upon the youth)., Cf. also vSantikalpa in the introduction to XIX, 34. The hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rig- veda, III, 462; Grill2, pp. 36, 1241?. Cf. also Pischel in Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morg. Gesellsch. XXXVI, 135 ff. The Anukrama^i, .sankhamamsuktam. Stanza 1. In this and the subsequent stanzas the fanciful sources of the pearl, some of which become commonplace in the later literature, are paralleled with great fidelity in the imaginations of Arabic and classical writers ; see Pischel, I.e. The glint on the surface of both pearl and shell 384 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. suggests gold ; and the changes are rung upon this com- parison. See also Yaska's Nigha^/u I, 2, where kmana is put among the names for gold ; cf. especially st. 6. Stanza 2. a. Saya;za, rokananam ro^amananaw bhasvara^aw nak- shatradinam. He has in mind, doubtless, the beautiful stanza RV. X, 68, 11, 'as a black steed with pearls, thus did the Fathers stud the sky with stars.' Stanza 3. b. For sadanva^, see our note on II, 14, 1 d. Stanza 5. b. Saya/za, ' from the body of Vritra,, or from the cloud.' The latter alternative hits the point. According to the familiar Hindu notion, the pearl is a drop of rain, and thus it here breaks through the cloud, like the sun, itself a small sun. Stanza 6. Pada a accounts for the presence of the word kwana among the names for gold, Yaska's Nigh. I, 2. With Pada c cf. RV. I, 35, 4. The extra fifth Pada is formulaic, and betrays its character as an appendage by the change of person (tarishat) ; see the note on II, 4, 6. Stanza 7. e. The MSS. available for the vulgate read kans-anas; so also the majority of Shankar Pandit's MSS. The emendation of the Pet. Lex. to kar^anas is now substan- tiated by Saya/za (kanrana^ kr/Vanasaz/zbandhi manik), and a minority of Shankar Pandit's MSS. IV, 12. Commentary to page 19.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
11, 4; 2, 5, and elsewhere. Stanza 4. The tiger, as well as the lion (st. 7). is the king of animals : Sat. Br. V, 5, 4, 10 ; XII, 7, 1, 8 ; hence his skin is a mark of royalty. Control of the regions is a sine qua non of royalty; cf. e.g. Maitr. S. II, 1, 12, and the dig-vyastha- pana-mantra/z at Tait. S. I, 8, 13. 1. 2 ; Tait. Br. I, 7, 7, 1. 2. 1 I am inclined to think that ' sole ruler/ and not ' simple king/ as Weber (p. 141) renders it, is the meaning of ekara^-a ; cf. ekarag- in Ait. Br. VIII, 15, 1 (scholiast, eka eva rag-a); AV. Ill, 4, 1 ; RV. VIII, 37, 3, and ekav/Ysha, AV. IV, 22, 1. 5, a hymn which is rubricated in the sequel of this description (Kaus. 17, 28). Ke^ava, moreover, introduces Sutra n with the words, maha- bhishekavidhi/rc vakshyama^. The entire passage Kau^. 17, n-29 deals with this more pompous ceremony. IV, 9- COMMENTARY. 38 1 See in general, Contributions, Fourth Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XII, 432. d. The heavenly waters are the very ones with which the king is consecrated. By a bold figure of speech they, as they are about to moisten him, are said to long for him! Stanza 6. a. Some MSS. and Saya/za read abhi . . . asrz^an for abhi . . . asi;z>£an. Saya/za glosses, abhimukhyena sa;/zsrz^- antu. Stanza 7. c, d. The passage is not quite clear : subhuva/z may refer to the waters, or to the attendant priests (so Saya/za, seva- ka£*ana^). The word dvipinam harbours a double entente : dvipa is * island.' Vaguely, the position of the king, as he is surrounded by the consecrating water, suggests an island in the ocean. IV, 9. Commentary to page 6i. The hymn is rubricated at Kau^. 58, 8 in a practice calculated to bestow long life upon the young Aryan, after he has been invested with the holy cord (cf. Hir. Grzh. I, 11, 5), to wit : ' While reciting IV, 9, an amulet of salve is fastened (upon the youth). ' See also ^antikalpa 17 and 19 *; Ath. Pam. 4, 1. A persistent tradition has it that the mountain Trikakud (' Three-peaks '), in more modern times Triku/a or Tri^ota, between the Penjab and the Himalayas, is the source from which the salve is derived. See the Pet. Lex. under a/z^ana, trikakud, and traikakuda, and Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, pp. 29, 69. The Anu- krama^i describes the hymn as traikakuda/z^-anadaivatam ; it has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 507 ; Grill2, pp. 35, 123 ff., and exhibits noteworthy points of contact with RV. X, 97. 1 Erroneously quoted by Sayawa as Nakshatrakalpa. 382 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 1. b.
2a/z^-anadaivatam ; it has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 507 ; Grill2, pp. 35, 123 ff., and exhibits noteworthy points of contact with RV. X, 97. 1 Erroneously quoted by Sayawa as Nakshatrakalpa. 382 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 1. b. The majority of Shankar Pandit's MSS. read akshyam ; this he has taken into the text. Other MSS. read akshyam. But there is also MS. authority for aksham, the reading of the vulgate, and Saya/za, who glosses it by £akshu^, ' eye.' But aksham does not mean ' eye/ and akshyam is other- wise unquotable. Nevertheless, we have translated akshyam, for the passage seems to be a tantalising reverberation of 5at. Br. Ill, 1, 3, J2. ' When Indra slew Vrztra, he trans- formed that eye of his (VWtra's) into the mount Trikakud. The reason, then, why (ointment) from mount Trikakud (is used), is that he thereby puts eye into eye.' This seems to show that the ointment was applied about the eye *, and apparently silences Professor Roth's objection, as reported by Grill, that this is too narrow a view of the usefulness of the ointment. Cf. also Maitr. S. Ill, 6, 3; Tait. S. VI, 1, 1, 5, which are equally pertinent. Stanza 3. c, d. The Paippalada reads, uta*mrztatvasye".sisha uta *sa^ pitubho^-anam. Pada e looks like an appendage ; cf. XIX, 44, 2. Stanza 4. Cf. RV. X, 97, i2=Va£\ S. XII, 86. The difficult word of the stanza is madhyama^ir, all the renderings of which, both native and western, are mere conjectures. Saya^a, here, either 'wind' (i.e. who dwells in the middle region), or, arir mitram arer mitram iti nitu-astroktama/z^alama- dhyavarti ra^a. The gloss at RV. is similar to the latter interpretation. Still more fanciful is Mahidhara at Va^Y S. Stanza 5. Cf. II, 4, 2, and for the meaning of vishkandha, see the note on II, 4, 1. 1 Saya^aon st. 3, anakti ^akshushi anene^ti a%-anam. IV, IO. COMMENTARY. 383 Stanza 7. d. We have taken purusha in the sense which it fre- quently has in the Veda, namely, 'menial, servitor.' Cf. RV. X, 97, 4; AV. X. 1, 17 ; Sat. Br. VI, 3, 1, 22 ; and probably also RV. VI, 39, 5 (discussed erroneously by Pischel, Vedische Studien, I, 43). Ludwig, ' und dein leben, o mensch ; ' Grill, * auch deinen lebensgeist, du mann ! ' Saya//a reads purushas with some MSS. (both Sa//zhit& and Padapa/^a), all of which, however, present the word as an enclitic without udatta. With the nominative the sense is, * may I as thy servitor (O salve) obtain horses, &c.' Stanza 8. For balasa, see the discussion in the note on V, 22, it.
3(both Sa//zhit& and Padapa/^a), all of which, however, present the word as an enclitic without udatta. With the nominative the sense is, * may I as thy servitor (O salve) obtain horses, &c.' Stanza 8. For balasa, see the discussion in the note on V, 22, it. The poison of the serpent is considered as a disease ; hence it is mentioned along with takman and balasa. Stanza 9. Cf. Tait. Ar. VI, 10, 2 ; Hir. Gr/h. I, 11, 5. IV, 10. Commentary to page 62. The hymn is employed at Kam\ 58, 9 in connection with a practice for bestowing long life and prosperity upon the young Brahmanical disciple after the investiture: 'While reciting IV, 10 an amulet of pearl is fastened (upon the youth)., Cf. also vSantikalpa in the introduction to XIX, 34. The hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rig- veda, III, 462; Grill2, pp. 36, 1241?. Cf. also Pischel in Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morg. Gesellsch. XXXVI, 135 ff. The Anukrama^i, .sankhamamsuktam. Stanza 1. In this and the subsequent stanzas the fanciful sources of the pearl, some of which become commonplace in the later literature, are paralleled with great fidelity in the imaginations of Arabic and classical writers ; see Pischel, I.e. The glint on the surface of both pearl and shell 384 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. suggests gold ; and the changes are rung upon this com- parison. See also Yaska's Nigha^/u I, 2, where kmana is put among the names for gold ; cf. especially st. 6. Stanza 2. a. Saya;za, rokananam ro^amananaw bhasvara^aw nak- shatradinam. He has in mind, doubtless, the beautiful stanza RV. X, 68, 11, 'as a black steed with pearls, thus did the Fathers stud the sky with stars.' Stanza 3. b. For sadanva^, see our note on II, 14, 1 d. Stanza 5. b. Saya/za, ' from the body of Vritra,, or from the cloud.' The latter alternative hits the point. According to the familiar Hindu notion, the pearl is a drop of rain, and thus it here breaks through the cloud, like the sun, itself a small sun. Stanza 6. Pada a accounts for the presence of the word kwana among the names for gold, Yaska's Nigh. I, 2. With Pada c cf. RV. I, 35, 4. The extra fifth Pada is formulaic, and betrays its character as an appendage by the change of person (tarishat) ; see the note on II, 4, 6. Stanza 7. e. The MSS. available for the vulgate read kans-anas; so also the majority of Shankar Pandit's MSS. The emendation of the Pet. Lex. to kar^anas is now substan- tiated by Saya/za (kanrana^ kr/Vanasaz/zbandhi manik), and a minority of Shankar Pandit's MSS. IV, 12. Commentary to page 19.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
No commentary for this page.