Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1. The unburned vessel seems to symbolise the fragility, destructibility (5at. Br. XII, 1, 3, 23) of the person upon whom enchantments are practised. At Sat. Br. XIV, 9, 4, 11 = Brzh. Ar. VI, 4, 12 it figures in a sorcery practice against a wife's para- mour. The compound nilalohita is also connected with sorcery from the first. It occurs in RV. X, 85, 28 = AV. XIV, 1, 26 = Apast. Mantrabr. I, 6, 8 (Apast. Grzh. II, 5, 23) = Baudh. Gnli. I, 8 ; AV. VIII, 8, 24. The Atharvan ritual, Kaui\ 16, 20 (rubricating AV. VIII, 8, 24 d) ; 32, 17; 40, 4 ; 48, 40 ; 83, 4, leaves little room for doubt that in its view a dark blue and a red thread are here intended. This is also the tradition of Apast. Grz'h. II, 5, 23, and similarly vSaiikh. Grzh. I, 12, 8 prescribes, in connection with RV. X, 85, 28, a red and black cord upon which amulets are fastened. Only Baudh. I, 8 treats the compound as a symbolic representation of night and day ; see Winternitz, Das Altindische Hochzeitsrituell, pp. 6, 12, 67. It is, of course, possible to conclude that this is the true source of the symbolism : day and night rendered concrete by these two colours. Saya/za seems to have lost his grip upon Atharvan tradition when he says to our passage, 'the fire which is black from the rise of smoke and red from its flame/ Zimmer and Grill both co-ordinate nilalohite with ame patre, ' an das ungebrannte ' and ' am rotgebrannten,' obviously against the spirit of the Atharvan tradition. Cf. also the introduction to VII, 116, and Tait. S. IV, 5, io, 1. c. Raw meat is eaten by demons, and therefore realises symbolically their presence ; see V, 29, 6 ; VIII, 6, 23. 396 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 5. Identical with VII, 23. I have translated abhvam by ' gruesomeness,' because it has occurred to me at various times that it, as well as abhu (cf. RV. X, 1 29, 3), is related to nabhas, ' fog, cloud,' being in the current terms of comparative grammar = nbhuo-, and nbhii from root nebh. For this and the following two stanzas, cf. RV. V, 36, 3 ; VII, 1,19 ff. Stanza 6. b. The clever emendation of the Pet. Lex. anapatyatam, for anapadyatam, as is the reading of the MSS. of the vulgate, is now authenticated by quite a number of Shankar Pandit's MSS., and Saya/za (apatyarahityam) ; cf. the words apra- £*asta and apra^astva. IV, 18. Commentary to page 70. For the treatment of this hymn in the ritualistic texts, see the introduction to IV, 17. The hymn has been trans- lated by Grill2, pp. 25, 131 ff. Stanza 1.
2Saya/za (apatyarahityam) ; cf. the words apra- £*asta and apra^astva. IV, 18. Commentary to page 70. For the treatment of this hymn in the ritualistic texts, see the introduction to IV, 17. The hymn has been trans- lated by Grill2, pp. 25, 131 ff. Stanza 1. The Atharvanist loves to point to cosmic correspond- ences and harmonies as the foundation of his own righteous undertakings. This harmony furnishes the satyam, the unfailing basis (cf. rz'tam) for his own operations against the powers of evil. Professor Roth, as quoted by Grill, refers gyoXlh to the light 1 of the moon (cf. ^yotsna), thus establishing a closer parallelism between Padas a and b. I doubt whether the text will bear this strain. Saya/^a literally, 'the light of thee (the apamarga-plant) ;' cf. IV, 19, 3. The night is frequently viewed as illumined, starry (RV. X, 127 ; AV. XIX, 47, 1 ; 49> 6. 8). b. kritvsiYi/i either ' enchantments ' or ' witches.' Stanza 3. In our view the solution of the difficulty here lies in the assumption of a change of gender from yas in Pada b (the 1 Correct ' Night ' at the beginning of the stanza to ' Light.' IV, 19- COMMENTARY. 397 male sorcerer) to tasyam (the witch) in Pada c. The entire second hemistich describes the punishment of sorcerers, for which cf. V, 23, 13. If we were to change tasya/zz dag- dhayam to tasmin dagdhe the sense would be obvious. Cf. V, 14, 6, yadi stn yadi va puman krity&m £akara pap- mane. Grill emends ama to amayam (sc. sthalyam) with a result somewhat as follows : * He who practises sorcery in an unburned vessel and then puts it upon the fire to bake, his magic vessel cracks as though hit by great stones.' Saya/za deprives himself of possible helpfulness by reading dugdh&yam for dagdhayam (pratikare/^a riktikrztaya;/z . . . krztyayam, 'upon his sorcery rendered impotent by the counter-charm '). Stanza 4. b. The vulgate's vi'grivaw Papaya (Padapa^a, vigrivan papaya) is at the base of our rendering. Shankar Pandit's MSS. seem to* read unanimously £/zayaya (^ayaya), 'lay.' Saya^a, kshayaya (kshaya^z prapaya). Cf. RV. VII, 104, 24. Stanza 6. The first three Padas are identical with the first three of V, 31, 11. IV, 19. Commentary to page 71. For the employment of this hymn in the ritualistic texts, see the introduction to IV, 17. It has been translated by Grill2, pp. 34, 132 ff. Cf. Zimmer, pp. 66-67. Stanza 1. The sense of the first hemistich seems to be that the plant in its dual role of destroyer of enemies and protector of friends depletes and increases families or clans.
317. It has been translated by Grill2, pp. 34, 132 ff. Cf. Zimmer, pp. 66-67. Stanza 1. The sense of the first hemistich seems to be that the plant in its dual role of destroyer of enemies and protector of friends depletes and increases families or clans. Saya/za erroneously derives -krtt from root kart, c cut,' to wit, jatru- nkm kartaka^ . . .^amaya/2 saha^a/^ ^atrava^ tesham api kartayita asi. For Pada d, cf. VI,. 14, 3 c. Stanza 2. The words ka/zvena narshadena (RV. X, 31, 11) seem to be a gloss upon brahma^ena ; cf. IV, 37, 1 ; VI, 52, 3, &c. 398 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. S&ya/za regards the avr. Aey. paryuktd as = pariyukta (vini- yukta*si); cf. our remarks on haplology, Proc. Amer. Or. Soc, April, j 893 (Journ., vol. xvi, p. xxxiv ff.). But pari yug" is not quotable elsewhere. The stanza figures in one of the abhayaga/za of the Ga/zamala ; see Kau^. 16, 8, note. Stanza 4. The order of the statement here is really to be reversed : when thou, O plant, wast begotten as apamarga (' wiping out '), then the gods drove out the Asuras with thee. Stanza 5. For 'thy father's name/ cf. the note on V, 5, 1. For pratyak, see pratyan and pratiHnaphalas in st. 7, and the note on IV, 17, 2. Stanza 6. A cosmogonic brahmodya, pressed into the service of incantation ! Cf. Contributions, Third Series, Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XV, 172 ff. We have presented a purely philological translation of the stanza without attempting to bend it to the situation any further than is warranted by the wording. Grill takes asat in the sense of ' wrong,' and similarly Saya//a, asatkalpa/;z krztyarupam. But a glance at the word in Jacob's Concordance to the principal Upani- shads reveals the subjective character of the proceeding. The asat is simply 'chaos/ manipulated as one of the primary cosmic forces: the sat, tad, satyam, or rztam would apparently have done just as well. For kartaram in the sense of ' evil-doer/ cf. V, 14, 11. IV, 20. Commentary to page 68. The hymn is addressed to a magic plant which is sup- posed to impart the power to expose hidden demons, wizards, and their hostile practices. The attributes of the plant are not stated in the hymn with sufficient clearness to enable us to point out its place in the redundant Indian IV, 20. COMMENTARY. 399 flora. The Kaiuika, 28, 7, mentions the name of the plant as sadawpushpa ; this is glossed by Darila with trisa^- dhya and by Kcrava with sa/^dhya (probably a corruption of trisa^dhya). The Sutra reads: a pa.syati*ti sadaw- pushpama/zi//z badhnati, ' with AV.
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.
1. The unburned vessel seems to symbolise the fragility, destructibility (5at. Br. XII, 1, 3, 23) of the person upon whom enchantments are practised. At Sat. Br. XIV, 9, 4, 11 = Brzh. Ar. VI, 4, 12 it figures in a sorcery practice against a wife's para- mour. The compound nilalohita is also connected with sorcery from the first. It occurs in RV. X, 85, 28 = AV. XIV, 1, 26 = Apast. Mantrabr. I, 6, 8 (Apast. Grzh. II, 5, 23) = Baudh. Gnli. I, 8 ; AV. VIII, 8, 24. The Atharvan ritual, Kaui\ 16, 20 (rubricating AV. VIII, 8, 24 d) ; 32, 17; 40, 4 ; 48, 40 ; 83, 4, leaves little room for doubt that in its view a dark blue and a red thread are here intended. This is also the tradition of Apast. Grz'h. II, 5, 23, and similarly vSaiikh. Grzh. I, 12, 8 prescribes, in connection with RV. X, 85, 28, a red and black cord upon which amulets are fastened. Only Baudh. I, 8 treats the compound as a symbolic representation of night and day ; see Winternitz, Das Altindische Hochzeitsrituell, pp. 6, 12, 67. It is, of course, possible to conclude that this is the true source of the symbolism : day and night rendered concrete by these two colours. Saya/za seems to have lost his grip upon Atharvan tradition when he says to our passage, 'the fire which is black from the rise of smoke and red from its flame/ Zimmer and Grill both co-ordinate nilalohite with ame patre, ' an das ungebrannte ' and ' am rotgebrannten,' obviously against the spirit of the Atharvan tradition. Cf. also the introduction to VII, 116, and Tait. S. IV, 5, io, 1. c. Raw meat is eaten by demons, and therefore realises symbolically their presence ; see V, 29, 6 ; VIII, 6, 23. 396 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 5. Identical with VII, 23. I have translated abhvam by ' gruesomeness,' because it has occurred to me at various times that it, as well as abhu (cf. RV. X, 1 29, 3), is related to nabhas, ' fog, cloud,' being in the current terms of comparative grammar = nbhuo-, and nbhii from root nebh. For this and the following two stanzas, cf. RV. V, 36, 3 ; VII, 1,19 ff. Stanza 6. b. The clever emendation of the Pet. Lex. anapatyatam, for anapadyatam, as is the reading of the MSS. of the vulgate, is now authenticated by quite a number of Shankar Pandit's MSS., and Saya/za (apatyarahityam) ; cf. the words apra- £*asta and apra^astva. IV, 18. Commentary to page 70. For the treatment of this hymn in the ritualistic texts, see the introduction to IV, 17. The hymn has been trans- lated by Grill2, pp. 25, 131 ff. Stanza 1.
2Saya/za (apatyarahityam) ; cf. the words apra- £*asta and apra^astva. IV, 18. Commentary to page 70. For the treatment of this hymn in the ritualistic texts, see the introduction to IV, 17. The hymn has been trans- lated by Grill2, pp. 25, 131 ff. Stanza 1. The Atharvanist loves to point to cosmic correspond- ences and harmonies as the foundation of his own righteous undertakings. This harmony furnishes the satyam, the unfailing basis (cf. rz'tam) for his own operations against the powers of evil. Professor Roth, as quoted by Grill, refers gyoXlh to the light 1 of the moon (cf. ^yotsna), thus establishing a closer parallelism between Padas a and b. I doubt whether the text will bear this strain. Saya/^a literally, 'the light of thee (the apamarga-plant) ;' cf. IV, 19, 3. The night is frequently viewed as illumined, starry (RV. X, 127 ; AV. XIX, 47, 1 ; 49> 6. 8). b. kritvsiYi/i either ' enchantments ' or ' witches.' Stanza 3. In our view the solution of the difficulty here lies in the assumption of a change of gender from yas in Pada b (the 1 Correct ' Night ' at the beginning of the stanza to ' Light.' IV, 19- COMMENTARY. 397 male sorcerer) to tasyam (the witch) in Pada c. The entire second hemistich describes the punishment of sorcerers, for which cf. V, 23, 13. If we were to change tasya/zz dag- dhayam to tasmin dagdhe the sense would be obvious. Cf. V, 14, 6, yadi stn yadi va puman krity&m £akara pap- mane. Grill emends ama to amayam (sc. sthalyam) with a result somewhat as follows : * He who practises sorcery in an unburned vessel and then puts it upon the fire to bake, his magic vessel cracks as though hit by great stones.' Saya/za deprives himself of possible helpfulness by reading dugdh&yam for dagdhayam (pratikare/^a riktikrztaya;/z . . . krztyayam, 'upon his sorcery rendered impotent by the counter-charm '). Stanza 4. b. The vulgate's vi'grivaw Papaya (Padapa^a, vigrivan papaya) is at the base of our rendering. Shankar Pandit's MSS. seem to* read unanimously £/zayaya (^ayaya), 'lay.' Saya^a, kshayaya (kshaya^z prapaya). Cf. RV. VII, 104, 24. Stanza 6. The first three Padas are identical with the first three of V, 31, 11. IV, 19. Commentary to page 71. For the employment of this hymn in the ritualistic texts, see the introduction to IV, 17. It has been translated by Grill2, pp. 34, 132 ff. Cf. Zimmer, pp. 66-67. Stanza 1. The sense of the first hemistich seems to be that the plant in its dual role of destroyer of enemies and protector of friends depletes and increases families or clans.
317. It has been translated by Grill2, pp. 34, 132 ff. Cf. Zimmer, pp. 66-67. Stanza 1. The sense of the first hemistich seems to be that the plant in its dual role of destroyer of enemies and protector of friends depletes and increases families or clans. Saya/za erroneously derives -krtt from root kart, c cut,' to wit, jatru- nkm kartaka^ . . .^amaya/2 saha^a/^ ^atrava^ tesham api kartayita asi. For Pada d, cf. VI,. 14, 3 c. Stanza 2. The words ka/zvena narshadena (RV. X, 31, 11) seem to be a gloss upon brahma^ena ; cf. IV, 37, 1 ; VI, 52, 3, &c. 398 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. S&ya/za regards the avr. Aey. paryuktd as = pariyukta (vini- yukta*si); cf. our remarks on haplology, Proc. Amer. Or. Soc, April, j 893 (Journ., vol. xvi, p. xxxiv ff.). But pari yug" is not quotable elsewhere. The stanza figures in one of the abhayaga/za of the Ga/zamala ; see Kau^. 16, 8, note. Stanza 4. The order of the statement here is really to be reversed : when thou, O plant, wast begotten as apamarga (' wiping out '), then the gods drove out the Asuras with thee. Stanza 5. For 'thy father's name/ cf. the note on V, 5, 1. For pratyak, see pratyan and pratiHnaphalas in st. 7, and the note on IV, 17, 2. Stanza 6. A cosmogonic brahmodya, pressed into the service of incantation ! Cf. Contributions, Third Series, Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XV, 172 ff. We have presented a purely philological translation of the stanza without attempting to bend it to the situation any further than is warranted by the wording. Grill takes asat in the sense of ' wrong,' and similarly Saya//a, asatkalpa/;z krztyarupam. But a glance at the word in Jacob's Concordance to the principal Upani- shads reveals the subjective character of the proceeding. The asat is simply 'chaos/ manipulated as one of the primary cosmic forces: the sat, tad, satyam, or rztam would apparently have done just as well. For kartaram in the sense of ' evil-doer/ cf. V, 14, 11. IV, 20. Commentary to page 68. The hymn is addressed to a magic plant which is sup- posed to impart the power to expose hidden demons, wizards, and their hostile practices. The attributes of the plant are not stated in the hymn with sufficient clearness to enable us to point out its place in the redundant Indian IV, 20. COMMENTARY. 399 flora. The Kaiuika, 28, 7, mentions the name of the plant as sadawpushpa ; this is glossed by Darila with trisa^- dhya and by Kcrava with sa/^dhya (probably a corruption of trisa^dhya). The Sutra reads: a pa.syati*ti sadaw- pushpama/zi//z badhnati, ' with AV.
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.
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