Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1gain.' 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. rik&k), c the stanzas that mention the word karki (cf. sts. 6, 7).' They are employed in a rite, designed, according to the scholiasts, to secure the pros- perity of cattle (Saya^a, gopush/ikarma ; Ke^ava, go^anti), as follows : ' The karkipravada stanzas are recited over a young cow, upon which are placed twelve halters, and which is anointed with the dregs of ghee. Then, while 4 14 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. pronouncing Padas 7 c and 7 d, the things indicated in (these) mantras are done (i. e. fodder is given to the young cow, and she is fastened with the halters)., In consideration of these practices, and the statements of the stanzas them- selves, we have thought that the purport of the hymn is a more special one, to wit, to secure the return of the young cows from pasture, and have formulated the caption accordingly. The stanzas are also employed at Kaii^. 66, 13 at a so-called sava, or formal bestowal of the dakshi^a : a karki (young white cow), together with an anubandhya, a cow designed for the cattle-sacrifice, are given to the priests as a particular kind of reward. This part of the hymn has been rendered by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 455. Stanza 5. Because the Tait. S. Ill, 4, 7, 1 mentions an Apsaras by the name of mari/£i, Saya;za connects this stanza with the preceding gambling charm. The true sense seems to be that the cows which wander ' in den tag hinein ' are in charge of the daily sun ; as he comes daily without fail, so do the young cows return. But the text is vague and fanciful, marred moreover by an anacoluthon. Stanza 6. Saya;/a explains karki by karkavar/za ^ubhra iya.m gau/i. Accordingly we, ' white calf.' V, 4. Commentary to page 4. Next to the soma-plant the kush//za is one of the most valued members of the Vedic flora. According to the medical books it is costus speciosus, or arabicus. The word is not mentioned in the Rig-veda, but is common in the Atharvan where three hymns, V, 4 ; VI, 95 ; XIX, 39, are devoted to accounts of its origin and its healing properties. It is the prince of remedies, like unto the steer among domestic animals, and the tiger among the beasts of prey. Like the soma, his good friend and companion, COMMENTARY. 415 he grows upon the mountains, especially upon the high peaks of the Himalaya.
2. It is the prince of remedies, like unto the steer among domestic animals, and the tiger among the beasts of prey. Like the soma, his good friend and companion, COMMENTARY. 415 he grows upon the mountains, especially upon the high peaks of the Himalaya. In fact both soma and kush///a came from the third heaven ; the kush//£a grew originally under that wonderful a^vattha-tree (ficus religiosa), under whose shelter the gods themselves are accustomed to assemble. A pretty myth tells how a golden ship (soma, the moon ?), with golden tackle and oars, descends from heaven, and alights upon the Himavant mountains, bringing kush//£a, the visible embodiment of the heavenly ambrosia. The use of the plant is varied, its effect most reliable. Hence it is designated as VLfvabhesha^-a, ' all-cure.' and vuvadha- virya, ' potent at all times.' Headache, consumption, and afflictions of the eye are cured by it. But especially it seems to have been regarded as the specific against fever (takman) in all its forms. It seems to have been a fragrant plant since in AV. VI, 102, 3 it is employed in a love-charm in connection with salve, licorice, and spikenard. The kush/^a itself must have been prepared as a salve, since in Kaus. 28, 13 the patient is anointed with a mixture of ground kush//za with butter ; cf. especially Ke^ava's gloss to the passage. Curiously enough in the later literature kush/Aa is the ordinary designation of leprosy, doubtless a species of euphemism ; cf. Wise, Hindu System of Medicine, p. 258 ff. Excellent accounts of the kush/Zza- plant are given by Grohmann, Indische Studien, IX, p. 419 ff., and Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 63 ff. The employment of this hymn in the Kaujika-sutra is of a general character : all the stanzas of the Atharvan which contain the word kush//^a are classed together at 28, 13 as kush/Zzalinga/* (sc. rik&h) ; while they are being recited the patient is anointed with kush/^a, ground up with butter, which is rubbed in without pressure (apratiharam : see Pet. Lex. s.v. har with prati, and Bohtlingk's Lexicon, vol. ii. p. 290 c). Darila describes this, quite precisely, as a cure for fever, while Ke^ava sets it up for a variety of diseases, ra^ayakshma (a kind of consumption; see Zimmer, I.e., p. 375), headache, leprosy (kush^/za), and pain in all limbs. The Ga/zamala, Ath. Parii-. 32, 7, counts the hymn as 41 6 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. takmanlyana, ' destructive of takman ' (see Kaitf. 26, 1, note), but the Anukrama/zi describes it as yakshmana^ana- kush/^adaivatyam, the author being Bhrzgu-Angiras.
3The Ga/zamala, Ath. Parii-. 32, 7, counts the hymn as 41 6 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. takmanlyana, ' destructive of takman ' (see Kaitf. 26, 1, note), but the Anukrama/zi describes it as yakshmana^ana- kush/^adaivatyam, the author being Bhrzgu-Angiras. The hymn has been translated by Grohmann, I.e., 419 ff. ; Zimmer, I.e., 63 ff., and Grill2, pp. 9, 141. Stanza 2. b. Himavant is identical with Himalaya. c. Professor Roth, cited by Grill in his note, suspects srutva and suggests srutva. The latter seems more difficult, and I am at a loss to appreciate why the reputation of the kush//m among men might not be so stated. Stanza 3. The entire verse is repeated in AV. VI, 95, 1 ; and with a single variant in XIX, 39, 6. a. A tree as the seat of the gods occurs in RV. X, 135, 1, yasmin vrzkshe supala^e devai^ sampibate yama^, ' the tree of beautiful foliage within which Yama drinks with the gods;' cf. also RV. I, 164, 20. 22, and Kuhn, Die Herab- kunft des Feuers und des Gottertrankes \ pp. 126 ff. b. trztiyasyam it6 divi indicates the parallelism which this myth establishes between the kush^a and the soma. The a^vattha-tree is elsewhere said to drip with soma (Kuhn, I.e., 128). The same expression is employed for soma at Tait. S. VI, 1, 6, 1 ; Tait. Br. I, i, 3, 10; III, 2, 1, 1; cf. our Contributions, Fifth Series, Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XVI, 11 ; also the Pet. Lex. s.v. div. 1, c, and tridiva. e, d. For amr/tasya kakshanam, cf. RV. I, 13, 5. The Pada is replaced in AV. XIX, 39, 6. 7 by tata/z kush//zo a^*ayata ; the word avanvata is rendered variously : Roth, in Grill's note, c (dorthin) wollten haben ; ' Grohmann, p. 421, ' spendeten ; ' Zimmer, p. 64, ' dort besassen ; ' Grill, i dort ward den Gottern zu teil.' Stanza 4. c. The vulgata here and at VI, 95, 2, which is a repeti- tion of this stanza, reads pushyam. We have rendered V, 4- COMMENTARY. 417 pushpam, with some of the MSS., and Whitney, Index Verborum, s.v. If we retain pushyam the sense would not be changed materially ; the two words are hopelessly blended, since the writing of Devanagari MSS. in such a case is totally unreliable. Stanza 5. a. The Anukrama/zi designates the stanza as bhuri^, on account of the apparently hypermetrical first Pada. This may be corrected so as to yield an anush/ubh, either by crasis of panthana asan, or by substituting the older form pantha(s). The former is the more conservative alternative, since the nominative plural panthas does not occur in the Atharvan. d.
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.
1gain.' 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. rik&k), c the stanzas that mention the word karki (cf. sts. 6, 7).' They are employed in a rite, designed, according to the scholiasts, to secure the pros- perity of cattle (Saya^a, gopush/ikarma ; Ke^ava, go^anti), as follows : ' The karkipravada stanzas are recited over a young cow, upon which are placed twelve halters, and which is anointed with the dregs of ghee. Then, while 4 14 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. pronouncing Padas 7 c and 7 d, the things indicated in (these) mantras are done (i. e. fodder is given to the young cow, and she is fastened with the halters)., In consideration of these practices, and the statements of the stanzas them- selves, we have thought that the purport of the hymn is a more special one, to wit, to secure the return of the young cows from pasture, and have formulated the caption accordingly. The stanzas are also employed at Kaii^. 66, 13 at a so-called sava, or formal bestowal of the dakshi^a : a karki (young white cow), together with an anubandhya, a cow designed for the cattle-sacrifice, are given to the priests as a particular kind of reward. This part of the hymn has been rendered by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 455. Stanza 5. Because the Tait. S. Ill, 4, 7, 1 mentions an Apsaras by the name of mari/£i, Saya;za connects this stanza with the preceding gambling charm. The true sense seems to be that the cows which wander ' in den tag hinein ' are in charge of the daily sun ; as he comes daily without fail, so do the young cows return. But the text is vague and fanciful, marred moreover by an anacoluthon. Stanza 6. Saya;/a explains karki by karkavar/za ^ubhra iya.m gau/i. Accordingly we, ' white calf.' V, 4. Commentary to page 4. Next to the soma-plant the kush//za is one of the most valued members of the Vedic flora. According to the medical books it is costus speciosus, or arabicus. The word is not mentioned in the Rig-veda, but is common in the Atharvan where three hymns, V, 4 ; VI, 95 ; XIX, 39, are devoted to accounts of its origin and its healing properties. It is the prince of remedies, like unto the steer among domestic animals, and the tiger among the beasts of prey. Like the soma, his good friend and companion, COMMENTARY. 415 he grows upon the mountains, especially upon the high peaks of the Himalaya.
2. It is the prince of remedies, like unto the steer among domestic animals, and the tiger among the beasts of prey. Like the soma, his good friend and companion, COMMENTARY. 415 he grows upon the mountains, especially upon the high peaks of the Himalaya. In fact both soma and kush///a came from the third heaven ; the kush//£a grew originally under that wonderful a^vattha-tree (ficus religiosa), under whose shelter the gods themselves are accustomed to assemble. A pretty myth tells how a golden ship (soma, the moon ?), with golden tackle and oars, descends from heaven, and alights upon the Himavant mountains, bringing kush//£a, the visible embodiment of the heavenly ambrosia. The use of the plant is varied, its effect most reliable. Hence it is designated as VLfvabhesha^-a, ' all-cure.' and vuvadha- virya, ' potent at all times.' Headache, consumption, and afflictions of the eye are cured by it. But especially it seems to have been regarded as the specific against fever (takman) in all its forms. It seems to have been a fragrant plant since in AV. VI, 102, 3 it is employed in a love-charm in connection with salve, licorice, and spikenard. The kush/^a itself must have been prepared as a salve, since in Kaus. 28, 13 the patient is anointed with a mixture of ground kush//za with butter ; cf. especially Ke^ava's gloss to the passage. Curiously enough in the later literature kush/Aa is the ordinary designation of leprosy, doubtless a species of euphemism ; cf. Wise, Hindu System of Medicine, p. 258 ff. Excellent accounts of the kush/Zza- plant are given by Grohmann, Indische Studien, IX, p. 419 ff., and Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 63 ff. The employment of this hymn in the Kaujika-sutra is of a general character : all the stanzas of the Atharvan which contain the word kush//^a are classed together at 28, 13 as kush/Zzalinga/* (sc. rik&h) ; while they are being recited the patient is anointed with kush/^a, ground up with butter, which is rubbed in without pressure (apratiharam : see Pet. Lex. s.v. har with prati, and Bohtlingk's Lexicon, vol. ii. p. 290 c). Darila describes this, quite precisely, as a cure for fever, while Ke^ava sets it up for a variety of diseases, ra^ayakshma (a kind of consumption; see Zimmer, I.e., p. 375), headache, leprosy (kush^/za), and pain in all limbs. The Ga/zamala, Ath. Parii-. 32, 7, counts the hymn as 41 6 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. takmanlyana, ' destructive of takman ' (see Kaitf. 26, 1, note), but the Anukrama/zi describes it as yakshmana^ana- kush/^adaivatyam, the author being Bhrzgu-Angiras.
3The Ga/zamala, Ath. Parii-. 32, 7, counts the hymn as 41 6 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. takmanlyana, ' destructive of takman ' (see Kaitf. 26, 1, note), but the Anukrama/zi describes it as yakshmana^ana- kush/^adaivatyam, the author being Bhrzgu-Angiras. The hymn has been translated by Grohmann, I.e., 419 ff. ; Zimmer, I.e., 63 ff., and Grill2, pp. 9, 141. Stanza 2. b. Himavant is identical with Himalaya. c. Professor Roth, cited by Grill in his note, suspects srutva and suggests srutva. The latter seems more difficult, and I am at a loss to appreciate why the reputation of the kush//m among men might not be so stated. Stanza 3. The entire verse is repeated in AV. VI, 95, 1 ; and with a single variant in XIX, 39, 6. a. A tree as the seat of the gods occurs in RV. X, 135, 1, yasmin vrzkshe supala^e devai^ sampibate yama^, ' the tree of beautiful foliage within which Yama drinks with the gods;' cf. also RV. I, 164, 20. 22, and Kuhn, Die Herab- kunft des Feuers und des Gottertrankes \ pp. 126 ff. b. trztiyasyam it6 divi indicates the parallelism which this myth establishes between the kush^a and the soma. The a^vattha-tree is elsewhere said to drip with soma (Kuhn, I.e., 128). The same expression is employed for soma at Tait. S. VI, 1, 6, 1 ; Tait. Br. I, i, 3, 10; III, 2, 1, 1; cf. our Contributions, Fifth Series, Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XVI, 11 ; also the Pet. Lex. s.v. div. 1, c, and tridiva. e, d. For amr/tasya kakshanam, cf. RV. I, 13, 5. The Pada is replaced in AV. XIX, 39, 6. 7 by tata/z kush//zo a^*ayata ; the word avanvata is rendered variously : Roth, in Grill's note, c (dorthin) wollten haben ; ' Grohmann, p. 421, ' spendeten ; ' Zimmer, p. 64, ' dort besassen ; ' Grill, i dort ward den Gottern zu teil.' Stanza 4. c. The vulgata here and at VI, 95, 2, which is a repeti- tion of this stanza, reads pushyam. We have rendered V, 4- COMMENTARY. 417 pushpam, with some of the MSS., and Whitney, Index Verborum, s.v. If we retain pushyam the sense would not be changed materially ; the two words are hopelessly blended, since the writing of Devanagari MSS. in such a case is totally unreliable. Stanza 5. a. The Anukrama/zi designates the stanza as bhuri^, on account of the apparently hypermetrical first Pada. This may be corrected so as to yield an anush/ubh, either by crasis of panthana asan, or by substituting the older form pantha(s). The former is the more conservative alternative, since the nominative plural panthas does not occur in the Atharvan. d.
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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