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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1of names embodies largely a superficial personification of fragrant cosmetics and ointments: bdellium, spikenard, fragrant salve, &c. 1 According to Ke^ava and Sayawa he puts pulverised leaves of jami into a jami-fruit, and feeds the patient upon that. Cf. Kau,r. 47> 23- 2 As there is no mention of the jami in the hymn, one is almost tempted to identify the a^a^nngi with it. 3 Shankar Pandit, erroneously, Nakshatrakalpa 17 and 21. 4 Cf. our note on VI, in, 4. 4-IO HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. For aukshagandhi, cf. auksham in our note on II, 36, 7, and in the introduction to I, 34 ; pramandani' reminds us of pramanda, Kaorika, Introduction, p. lii. See also Kuhn, 1. c, 127. b. Bohtlingk, in his lexicon, proposes avajvase, dative infinitive, ' to blow away.' Saya/za and the Paippalada read iva svasam for ava^vasam. The former glosses, susht/m nauprera/zakiu-alam yatha titirshavo ^*ana upaga- £/?anti. f. Saya^a reads pratibaddha/z for pratibuddha^ (nirud- dhagataya^) in this and the subsequent stanzas. Stanza 4. We have adopted Shankar Pandit's arrangement of sts. 4-6, to wit : his st. 4 is made up of vulgata 4 a, b + 3 e, f, which is repeated by all his MSS. ; his st. 5 is the rest of vulg. 4 ; and his st. 6 is vulg. 5 + 6. Sayaz/a does not insert the additional hemistich, but he also differs from the vulgate in his arrangement. b. The Pet. Lex. suggests ^ikha;^ini//, vocative, ' crested/ as an epithet of the Apsaras ; cf. the same epithet of the Gandharva in st. 7. Saya/za simply ' peacocks.' We prefer the poetic figure : the crowns of the great trees are likened unto crests. Stanza 7. a. For the epithet anr/tyata//, cf. the parinr/tyati apsara in IV, 38, 3. Stanza 8. c, d. The epithet avakada, ' devouring avaka-reeds ' (blyxa octandra), is clear. The Gandharvas live on the shores of waters, and the avaka is the typical water-plant. See our Contributions, Second Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 342 ff. (especially 349 ff.) ; Roth, in Festgruss an Otto von Bohtlingk, p. 97 ff. Less certain is havirada, ' devouring oblations.' The sense of the hemistich might be taken pregnantly: The Gandharvas who devour our oblation, though their natural food is the avaka-reed, &c. But IV, S7' COMMENTARY. 4II I have in mind RV. X, 95, 16, where the Apsaras Urva^i exclaims that upon eating a drop of ghee her appetite was cloyed for ever (cf. Hariva;//^a 1377 ; Vish//u-pura//a IV, 6, 28, and Geldner, Vedische Studien, I, pp. 263, 282). The Atharvan is reminiscent, and fond of generalising salient features of legends.
2Urva^i exclaims that upon eating a drop of ghee her appetite was cloyed for ever (cf. Hariva;//^a 1377 ; Vish//u-pura//a IV, 6, 28, and Geldner, Vedische Studien, I, pp. 263, 282). The Atharvan is reminiscent, and fond of generalising salient features of legends. It seems possible that the Gandharvas are substituted for the Apsaras who represent the Apsaras par excellence, Urva^i. Saya/za on the AV. evinces his customary and astonishing talent of dodging difficulties by means of bad variant readings, to wit : abhi- hradan abhigatahladan prapta^allyayan va. Stanza 10. Professor von Roth in Festgruss an Otto von Boht- lingk, pp. 97 fT., proposes to read ^yotayamamakan (Pada- paz7za, ^yotaya mamakan) as one word, and interprets the word in his inimitably ingenious manner as^pLra/kadipika, ' will o' the wisp, Jack o' lanthorn.' Yet we have adopted the simpler solution of the difficulty, proposed by Whitney in Festgruss an Rudolf von Roth, p. 91. He proposes ^yotayamanakan, comparing pravartamanaka, RV. I, 191, 1 6. In both cases the suffix ka is truly diminutive, indi- cating that the action of the verb is undertaken by a dimi- nutive agent ; cf. also ava^arantika, AV. V, 13, 19 (see the note there), and the Mantrabrahma/za of the Sama-veda II, 7, 3, athai*sha//z (sc. krimi/zam) bhinnaka/z kumbha/z. ' Little shiner ' would be the literal translation of ^yotaya- manakan, and Roth's comparison with the will o' the wisp may yet hold good. Stanza 11. b. The epithet sarvake^aka reminds one of hairiness as a sign of sexual power, RV. I, 126, 7 ; X, 86, 16. a very suitable attribute of the Gandharva ; cf. also kapi in vrzshakapi in X, 86. But the word for 'hair' in both these passages is roma, while sarvakejaka naturally refers to the hair of the head ; RV, X, 136, 6. Yet the two conceptions may be connected. 412 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. IV, 38. Commentary to page 149. Both the internal evidence of the stanzas themselves (including the metre), and their employment in the ritual prove the composite character of this hymn. The Anu- krama^i, too, significantly describes the hymn as dvideva- tyam. A gambling song of four stanzas is combined with cattle-charm of three stanzas, apparently for the purely formal reason that every hymn of the fourth book must consist of at least seven stanzas ; cf. AV. XIX, 23, 4 ; Gop. Br. I, 1, 8; Ath. Pari.?. 46, 9. 10; Ind. Stud. IV, 433 ; XVII, 178 ; Kaorika, Introduction, p. xli. Saya/za is the only authority that makes a blend of the two parts. He comments upon yasam rzshabho, &c, in st. 5, as follows: yasam apsarasam . . .
3Gop. Br. I, 1, 8; Ath. Pari.?. 46, 9. 10; Ind. Stud. IV, 433 ; XVII, 178 ; Kaorika, Introduction, p. xli. Saya/za is the only authority that makes a blend of the two parts. He comments upon yasam rzshabho, &c, in st. 5, as follows: yasam apsarasam . . . se^anasamartha^ pati^. The practices connected with' the gambling-song are reported at Kaar. 41, 10-13, as follows: 10. 'Under the constellation purva asha^a^1 the gambler digs a pit (in the gambling-house), ti. Under the constellation uttara. %.$\Adhkh he (again) fills up the pit. 12. He smoothes the place where the play takes place. 13. While reciting IV, 38, 1-4; VII, 50 ; and VII, 109 he throws dice which have been steeped (in curds and honey during the three nights [and days] beginning with" the thirteenth day of the month ; see Kauj*. 7, 19)!' This part of the hymn has been rendered by Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, V,- 430 ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, 111,454; Grill2, pp. 71, 140 ff. ; cf. also A. Holtzmann, Zeitschr. d. Deutsche Morg. Gesellsch. XXXIII, 631 ff. 1 The name ashadM^ means ' invincible/ Here, as frequently elsewhere, its symbolic suggestiveness is utilised to secure success or victory for the person who performs under the two constellations of that name; cf. Weber, Nakshatra, II, 374, 389. IV, 38. COMMENTARY. 413 Stanza 1. Cf. Zimmer, pp. 283-5. The kr/tam, or the kr/tani in Pada c (cf. sts. 2 c and 3 b), are either the winnings, or the winning numbers, or combinations, of the dice. Cf. Apast. Sr. V, 1, 20. Stanza 2. a. Saya^a, vi^invatim ekatra nirbadhe kosh^e tri^aturan akshan vueshe/za samu£/£invati//z sa^ghikurvatim. Muir, ' who collects and scatters ; ' Ludwig, { die aufhaufende, zuschuttende.' These technical terms are very obscure : the scholiasts are untrustworthy because they have in mind different games and different times. Stanza 3. Saya^a combines Padas e and f with 4 a, b, making his fourth stanza, and then continues as follows : 4 c, d + 5 a, b = 5; 5 c— f=6; 6 = 7; 7 = 8. His comment on this stanza is rendered very problematic through bad readings : ada- dhanas for adadana ; jeshanti (ava^eshayanti) for sishati ; prahan for praham. For parinr/tyati, cf. ,anr/tyata/£ . . . gandharvasya, IV, 37, 7. We have assumed with great reluctance that sishati is a desiderative participle from sa = san, 'gain.' Stanza 4. We read pramodate for pramodante with Saya;^a and two of Shankar Pandit's MSS., and bibhrati for bibhrati. The anacoluthon in the second hemistich is thus easily removed. B. The three stanzas are designated at Kaiu\ 21, 11 as karkipravada^ (sc.
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.
1of names embodies largely a superficial personification of fragrant cosmetics and ointments: bdellium, spikenard, fragrant salve, &c. 1 According to Ke^ava and Sayawa he puts pulverised leaves of jami into a jami-fruit, and feeds the patient upon that. Cf. Kau,r. 47> 23- 2 As there is no mention of the jami in the hymn, one is almost tempted to identify the a^a^nngi with it. 3 Shankar Pandit, erroneously, Nakshatrakalpa 17 and 21. 4 Cf. our note on VI, in, 4. 4-IO HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. For aukshagandhi, cf. auksham in our note on II, 36, 7, and in the introduction to I, 34 ; pramandani' reminds us of pramanda, Kaorika, Introduction, p. lii. See also Kuhn, 1. c, 127. b. Bohtlingk, in his lexicon, proposes avajvase, dative infinitive, ' to blow away.' Saya/za and the Paippalada read iva svasam for ava^vasam. The former glosses, susht/m nauprera/zakiu-alam yatha titirshavo ^*ana upaga- £/?anti. f. Saya^a reads pratibaddha/z for pratibuddha^ (nirud- dhagataya^) in this and the subsequent stanzas. Stanza 4. We have adopted Shankar Pandit's arrangement of sts. 4-6, to wit : his st. 4 is made up of vulgata 4 a, b + 3 e, f, which is repeated by all his MSS. ; his st. 5 is the rest of vulg. 4 ; and his st. 6 is vulg. 5 + 6. Sayaz/a does not insert the additional hemistich, but he also differs from the vulgate in his arrangement. b. The Pet. Lex. suggests ^ikha;^ini//, vocative, ' crested/ as an epithet of the Apsaras ; cf. the same epithet of the Gandharva in st. 7. Saya/za simply ' peacocks.' We prefer the poetic figure : the crowns of the great trees are likened unto crests. Stanza 7. a. For the epithet anr/tyata//, cf. the parinr/tyati apsara in IV, 38, 3. Stanza 8. c, d. The epithet avakada, ' devouring avaka-reeds ' (blyxa octandra), is clear. The Gandharvas live on the shores of waters, and the avaka is the typical water-plant. See our Contributions, Second Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 342 ff. (especially 349 ff.) ; Roth, in Festgruss an Otto von Bohtlingk, p. 97 ff. Less certain is havirada, ' devouring oblations.' The sense of the hemistich might be taken pregnantly: The Gandharvas who devour our oblation, though their natural food is the avaka-reed, &c. But IV, S7' COMMENTARY. 4II I have in mind RV. X, 95, 16, where the Apsaras Urva^i exclaims that upon eating a drop of ghee her appetite was cloyed for ever (cf. Hariva;//^a 1377 ; Vish//u-pura//a IV, 6, 28, and Geldner, Vedische Studien, I, pp. 263, 282). The Atharvan is reminiscent, and fond of generalising salient features of legends.
2Urva^i exclaims that upon eating a drop of ghee her appetite was cloyed for ever (cf. Hariva;//^a 1377 ; Vish//u-pura//a IV, 6, 28, and Geldner, Vedische Studien, I, pp. 263, 282). The Atharvan is reminiscent, and fond of generalising salient features of legends. It seems possible that the Gandharvas are substituted for the Apsaras who represent the Apsaras par excellence, Urva^i. Saya/za on the AV. evinces his customary and astonishing talent of dodging difficulties by means of bad variant readings, to wit : abhi- hradan abhigatahladan prapta^allyayan va. Stanza 10. Professor von Roth in Festgruss an Otto von Boht- lingk, pp. 97 fT., proposes to read ^yotayamamakan (Pada- paz7za, ^yotaya mamakan) as one word, and interprets the word in his inimitably ingenious manner as^pLra/kadipika, ' will o' the wisp, Jack o' lanthorn.' Yet we have adopted the simpler solution of the difficulty, proposed by Whitney in Festgruss an Rudolf von Roth, p. 91. He proposes ^yotayamanakan, comparing pravartamanaka, RV. I, 191, 1 6. In both cases the suffix ka is truly diminutive, indi- cating that the action of the verb is undertaken by a dimi- nutive agent ; cf. also ava^arantika, AV. V, 13, 19 (see the note there), and the Mantrabrahma/za of the Sama-veda II, 7, 3, athai*sha//z (sc. krimi/zam) bhinnaka/z kumbha/z. ' Little shiner ' would be the literal translation of ^yotaya- manakan, and Roth's comparison with the will o' the wisp may yet hold good. Stanza 11. b. The epithet sarvake^aka reminds one of hairiness as a sign of sexual power, RV. I, 126, 7 ; X, 86, 16. a very suitable attribute of the Gandharva ; cf. also kapi in vrzshakapi in X, 86. But the word for 'hair' in both these passages is roma, while sarvakejaka naturally refers to the hair of the head ; RV, X, 136, 6. Yet the two conceptions may be connected. 412 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. IV, 38. Commentary to page 149. Both the internal evidence of the stanzas themselves (including the metre), and their employment in the ritual prove the composite character of this hymn. The Anu- krama^i, too, significantly describes the hymn as dvideva- tyam. A gambling song of four stanzas is combined with cattle-charm of three stanzas, apparently for the purely formal reason that every hymn of the fourth book must consist of at least seven stanzas ; cf. AV. XIX, 23, 4 ; Gop. Br. I, 1, 8; Ath. Pari.?. 46, 9. 10; Ind. Stud. IV, 433 ; XVII, 178 ; Kaorika, Introduction, p. xli. Saya/za is the only authority that makes a blend of the two parts. He comments upon yasam rzshabho, &c, in st. 5, as follows: yasam apsarasam . . .
3Gop. Br. I, 1, 8; Ath. Pari.?. 46, 9. 10; Ind. Stud. IV, 433 ; XVII, 178 ; Kaorika, Introduction, p. xli. Saya/za is the only authority that makes a blend of the two parts. He comments upon yasam rzshabho, &c, in st. 5, as follows: yasam apsarasam . . . se^anasamartha^ pati^. The practices connected with' the gambling-song are reported at Kaar. 41, 10-13, as follows: 10. 'Under the constellation purva asha^a^1 the gambler digs a pit (in the gambling-house), ti. Under the constellation uttara. %.$\Adhkh he (again) fills up the pit. 12. He smoothes the place where the play takes place. 13. While reciting IV, 38, 1-4; VII, 50 ; and VII, 109 he throws dice which have been steeped (in curds and honey during the three nights [and days] beginning with" the thirteenth day of the month ; see Kauj*. 7, 19)!' This part of the hymn has been rendered by Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, V,- 430 ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, 111,454; Grill2, pp. 71, 140 ff. ; cf. also A. Holtzmann, Zeitschr. d. Deutsche Morg. Gesellsch. XXXIII, 631 ff. 1 The name ashadM^ means ' invincible/ Here, as frequently elsewhere, its symbolic suggestiveness is utilised to secure success or victory for the person who performs under the two constellations of that name; cf. Weber, Nakshatra, II, 374, 389. IV, 38. COMMENTARY. 413 Stanza 1. Cf. Zimmer, pp. 283-5. The kr/tam, or the kr/tani in Pada c (cf. sts. 2 c and 3 b), are either the winnings, or the winning numbers, or combinations, of the dice. Cf. Apast. Sr. V, 1, 20. Stanza 2. a. Saya^a, vi^invatim ekatra nirbadhe kosh^e tri^aturan akshan vueshe/za samu£/£invati//z sa^ghikurvatim. Muir, ' who collects and scatters ; ' Ludwig, { die aufhaufende, zuschuttende.' These technical terms are very obscure : the scholiasts are untrustworthy because they have in mind different games and different times. Stanza 3. Saya^a combines Padas e and f with 4 a, b, making his fourth stanza, and then continues as follows : 4 c, d + 5 a, b = 5; 5 c— f=6; 6 = 7; 7 = 8. His comment on this stanza is rendered very problematic through bad readings : ada- dhanas for adadana ; jeshanti (ava^eshayanti) for sishati ; prahan for praham. For parinr/tyati, cf. ,anr/tyata/£ . . . gandharvasya, IV, 37, 7. We have assumed with great reluctance that sishati is a desiderative participle from sa = san, 'gain.' Stanza 4. We read pramodate for pramodante with Saya;^a and two of Shankar Pandit's MSS., and bibhrati for bibhrati. The anacoluthon in the second hemistich is thus easily removed. B. The three stanzas are designated at Kaiu\ 21, 11 as karkipravada^ (sc.
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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