Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1by pamiw'kshapatram, and this we have adopted as the sense here. But Danla at 47, 25 has ku/Mramukham, 'the blade of an axe ! ' Cf. the note on Kaur. 47, 25 in the introduction to II, 12. VI, 26. COMMENTARY. 473 comment upon this Sutra at Kaui". 31, 16, and our remarks in the above-cited Contributions, pp. 325-6). Stanzas 1-3. d. The word vakak in the refrain is translated by Kuhn as ' swarms/ by the Pet. Lexs. and Florenz as 'buzzing.' But the apa^it are not insects (see VI, 83), and Saya/za's va^aniya dosha^ designates the low water-mark of his hermeneutical capacity. As it seems impossible to retain the word, we may perhaps resort to the emendation paka^, remembering the well-known confusion in the MSS. of v and p1. The sense would then be ' may they (the tumours) pass away like the pustules of the apa^it.' The implication would then be that the tumours in question are * hard and large' (Wise, I.e., 3T6), and that the apa^it are more easily brought to the point of breaking open. VI, 26. Commentary to page 163. The ritual treats this as a remedial charm, fit to remove all diseases (sarvarogabhaisha^yam). The performances, Kauj-. 30, 17. 18, are as follows: By night the hymn is recited, parched grains of corn are poured into a sieve, and then cast away. On the next day three bali-ofTerings are thrown into the water for Sahasraksha (' the thousand-eyed divinity/ cf. st. 3), and (three) puddings of rice are thrown and scattered upon the cross-roads2. The ceremony is symbolic for the most part : the sieve is always the tangi- ble expression of passing through and out (cf. Kau^. 26, 2 in the introduction to I, 1 2), and general dispersion is the salient motif. The hymn is also rubricated in the Santi- kalpa, chapter 15, in a rite directed against the goddess of 1 Cf. upolava and upolapa, Kau^ika, Introduction, p. xlviii. 2 Cf. the sentiment in st. 2 of the hymn : the cross-roads are the most convenient spot at which to part company. For the character of the cross-roads in general, see the note on p. 519 in the introduc- tion to VI, in. 474 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. misfortune (nimti^arma), and in the papmaga#a and the takman&yanaga^a of the Ga^amclla, Ath. ParLr. 32, 7. 12 (cf. Kauj. 26, 1 ; 30, 17, notes). It has been translated by Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, 282. The Anu- kramam, papmadevatcikam. Stanza 1. b. The Pada is formulaic, being repeated at V, 22, 9 b. Stanza 3. b. For the epithet sahasdiksha, see the note on IV, 20, 4. * Thousand-eyed ' here refers to the power of infallibly spy- ing out victims ; cf.
2I, 282. The Anu- kramam, papmadevatcikam. Stanza 1. b. The Pada is formulaic, being repeated at V, 22, 9 b. Stanza 3. b. For the epithet sahasdiksha, see the note on IV, 20, 4. * Thousand-eyed ' here refers to the power of infallibly spy- ing out victims ; cf. especially the ' thousand-eyed curse ' at VI, 37, 1. VI, 27. Commentary to page 166. The pigeon as a bird of omen is well known in Teutonic mythology; cf. Gothic hraivadubo, literally * carcass -dove/ as the name of the turtle, and see Grimm, Deutsche Mytho- logie, p. 659 ff. The present hymn is the Atharvanic equivalent of RV. X, 165, 1-3, and the archaic locative &sh/n in 3 b (cf. Ath. Pr&tLs'&khya I, 74) seems to indicate a certain superiority of the Atharvan text, which is, how- ever, not borne out by 2 b and 3 c, whose Rig-vedic form is metrically preferable. Cf. Adbhuta-Brahma/za 6 and 8 (Weber, Omina und Portenta, pp. 325, 330) ; Hultzsch, Prolegomena zu des Vasantar^a vSakuna, p. 7. At Kaus. 46, 7 this and the two following hymns are recited while the 'great consecration5 (maha^anti) is being poured (cf. Kau^-. 9, 6, note). The Anukrama^i defines the three hymns as yamyany uta nairrztani. The present hymn has been treated by Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, p. 282 ff. Stanza 2. b. The RV., grzheshu for grtham na/z. The Atharvan reading almost looks as though anaga(/z) were understood in the sense of 'not arriving' (an-a-ga^). The accent of VI, 37- COMMENTARY. 475 the stem is both anagas and anagas, and the Padapa/^a does not divide it, thus apparently indicating its own doubt as to the character of the word. Saya;/a, anaparadhaka^. VI, 29. Commentary to page 166. For the general character of this hymn and its treat- ment in the ritual, see the introduction to VI, 27. It has been treated by Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, p. 287 ff. VI, 32. Commentary to page 36. The practice connected with this hymn at Kaiu. 31, 3 consists in digging a ditch near the fire, filling it with hot water, and in sacrificing into it a rice-cake after circum- ambulating it thrice and muttering the hymn. The hot water near the fire is doubtless emblematic of the well- known properties of Agni as the most obvious enemy of spooks and uncanny hostile forces. Darila, pi.ya^ana.yanam. The hymn figures also in the £atanaga/za, ' list of hymns with which (demons, &c.) are chased away' in the Ga^amala, Ath. Parii*. 32, 3 (cf. Kauj. 8, 25, note). It has been trans- lated by Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, 291 fif. Stanza 3. The second hemistich is repeated at VIII, 8, 21.
3a/za, ' list of hymns with which (demons, &c.) are chased away' in the Ga^amala, Ath. Parii*. 32, 3 (cf. Kauj. 8, 25, note). It has been trans- lated by Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, 291 fif. Stanza 3. The second hemistich is repeated at VIII, 8, 21. Saya/za renders ^ataram by abhignam svaminam, 'experienced master.' Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 528, bottom, cder sie kennt.' VI, 37. Commentary to page 93. The hymn is rubricated at Kaui*. 48, 23-26, in prac- tices designed to repel the sorcery-practices of enemies. A white lump (of earth) 1 is given to a dog (cf. st. 3), an 1 So Kcrava and Saya^a, .yvetam/Yttika. 476 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. amulet of tkrk/ia.1 is put on, an oblation (of ingu/a-oil, Kaur. 47, 3) is poured, and fagots (of vadhaka-wood, Kaii*. 47, 13 ; cf. AV. VIII, 8, 3) are laid on the fire. The practice is based upon symbolic realisations of suggestions contained in the hymn 2. Previous translations: Grill2, pp. 25, 161 ff. ; Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, 297. The Anukrama/zi, £andramasam. Stanza 1. a. For the epithet ' thousand-eyed/ see the note on IV, 20, 4, and especially VI, 26, 3. Saya^a identifies it out- right with Indra, indra^ japatha^ .yapakriyaya^ karta. Stanza 2. d. The sentiment of this Pada and of the first hemistich of the next stanza are worked up anew in VII, 59. That mantra is accompanied, Kaus. 47, 37, by an interesting practice : wood from a tree struck by lightning is put on the fire, to symbolise the destruction of the enemy by lightning. Stanza 3. c. pesh/ram may mean 'flesh' rather than 'bone/ in accordance with our note on IV, 12, 2. Saya/za reads pesh/am (pish/amaya^ khadyam). For avakshamam (Pada- pa^a, ava-kshamam) we have ventured a new interpreta- tion, 'down upon the ground/ from ava and kshaman 'ground.' Saya^a, avadagdham ; Pet. Lex., 'abfindung' ('sop'); Grill, 'brock-en;' Florenz, c knochenrest ;' Boht- 1 According to Darila ' an amulet consisting of a bone ' (? asthi- kamam ; cf. pe'sh/ram in st. 3) ; according to Kcrava and Sayawa ' an amulet of pal aja- wood/ Cf. the mantra in Kauj. 13, 12. 2 Saya«a thinks that st. 3 is referred to in Kaur. 47, 37 under the pratika, y6 nah .rapat. But the lightning is not mentioned in st. 3, but rather in st. 2. Hence the little hymn VII, 59 is doubt- less the one intended at Kauj. 47, 37 : it consists of sentiments contained in VI, 37, 3 and 2, and begins also with the words, yo na>& japat. VI, 3^. COMMENTARY. 477 lingk's Lexicon, 'lean;' Whitney in the Index Verborum shelters the word under the root ksham with ava. Cf.
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.
1by pamiw'kshapatram, and this we have adopted as the sense here. But Danla at 47, 25 has ku/Mramukham, 'the blade of an axe ! ' Cf. the note on Kaur. 47, 25 in the introduction to II, 12. VI, 26. COMMENTARY. 473 comment upon this Sutra at Kaui". 31, 16, and our remarks in the above-cited Contributions, pp. 325-6). Stanzas 1-3. d. The word vakak in the refrain is translated by Kuhn as ' swarms/ by the Pet. Lexs. and Florenz as 'buzzing.' But the apa^it are not insects (see VI, 83), and Saya/za's va^aniya dosha^ designates the low water-mark of his hermeneutical capacity. As it seems impossible to retain the word, we may perhaps resort to the emendation paka^, remembering the well-known confusion in the MSS. of v and p1. The sense would then be ' may they (the tumours) pass away like the pustules of the apa^it.' The implication would then be that the tumours in question are * hard and large' (Wise, I.e., 3T6), and that the apa^it are more easily brought to the point of breaking open. VI, 26. Commentary to page 163. The ritual treats this as a remedial charm, fit to remove all diseases (sarvarogabhaisha^yam). The performances, Kauj-. 30, 17. 18, are as follows: By night the hymn is recited, parched grains of corn are poured into a sieve, and then cast away. On the next day three bali-ofTerings are thrown into the water for Sahasraksha (' the thousand-eyed divinity/ cf. st. 3), and (three) puddings of rice are thrown and scattered upon the cross-roads2. The ceremony is symbolic for the most part : the sieve is always the tangi- ble expression of passing through and out (cf. Kau^. 26, 2 in the introduction to I, 1 2), and general dispersion is the salient motif. The hymn is also rubricated in the Santi- kalpa, chapter 15, in a rite directed against the goddess of 1 Cf. upolava and upolapa, Kau^ika, Introduction, p. xlviii. 2 Cf. the sentiment in st. 2 of the hymn : the cross-roads are the most convenient spot at which to part company. For the character of the cross-roads in general, see the note on p. 519 in the introduc- tion to VI, in. 474 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. misfortune (nimti^arma), and in the papmaga#a and the takman&yanaga^a of the Ga^amclla, Ath. ParLr. 32, 7. 12 (cf. Kauj. 26, 1 ; 30, 17, notes). It has been translated by Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, 282. The Anu- kramam, papmadevatcikam. Stanza 1. b. The Pada is formulaic, being repeated at V, 22, 9 b. Stanza 3. b. For the epithet sahasdiksha, see the note on IV, 20, 4. * Thousand-eyed ' here refers to the power of infallibly spy- ing out victims ; cf.
2I, 282. The Anu- kramam, papmadevatcikam. Stanza 1. b. The Pada is formulaic, being repeated at V, 22, 9 b. Stanza 3. b. For the epithet sahasdiksha, see the note on IV, 20, 4. * Thousand-eyed ' here refers to the power of infallibly spy- ing out victims ; cf. especially the ' thousand-eyed curse ' at VI, 37, 1. VI, 27. Commentary to page 166. The pigeon as a bird of omen is well known in Teutonic mythology; cf. Gothic hraivadubo, literally * carcass -dove/ as the name of the turtle, and see Grimm, Deutsche Mytho- logie, p. 659 ff. The present hymn is the Atharvanic equivalent of RV. X, 165, 1-3, and the archaic locative &sh/n in 3 b (cf. Ath. Pr&tLs'&khya I, 74) seems to indicate a certain superiority of the Atharvan text, which is, how- ever, not borne out by 2 b and 3 c, whose Rig-vedic form is metrically preferable. Cf. Adbhuta-Brahma/za 6 and 8 (Weber, Omina und Portenta, pp. 325, 330) ; Hultzsch, Prolegomena zu des Vasantar^a vSakuna, p. 7. At Kaus. 46, 7 this and the two following hymns are recited while the 'great consecration5 (maha^anti) is being poured (cf. Kau^-. 9, 6, note). The Anukrama^i defines the three hymns as yamyany uta nairrztani. The present hymn has been treated by Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, p. 282 ff. Stanza 2. b. The RV., grzheshu for grtham na/z. The Atharvan reading almost looks as though anaga(/z) were understood in the sense of 'not arriving' (an-a-ga^). The accent of VI, 37- COMMENTARY. 475 the stem is both anagas and anagas, and the Padapa/^a does not divide it, thus apparently indicating its own doubt as to the character of the word. Saya;/a, anaparadhaka^. VI, 29. Commentary to page 166. For the general character of this hymn and its treat- ment in the ritual, see the introduction to VI, 27. It has been treated by Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, p. 287 ff. VI, 32. Commentary to page 36. The practice connected with this hymn at Kaiu. 31, 3 consists in digging a ditch near the fire, filling it with hot water, and in sacrificing into it a rice-cake after circum- ambulating it thrice and muttering the hymn. The hot water near the fire is doubtless emblematic of the well- known properties of Agni as the most obvious enemy of spooks and uncanny hostile forces. Darila, pi.ya^ana.yanam. The hymn figures also in the £atanaga/za, ' list of hymns with which (demons, &c.) are chased away' in the Ga^amala, Ath. Parii*. 32, 3 (cf. Kauj. 8, 25, note). It has been trans- lated by Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, 291 fif. Stanza 3. The second hemistich is repeated at VIII, 8, 21.
3a/za, ' list of hymns with which (demons, &c.) are chased away' in the Ga^amala, Ath. Parii*. 32, 3 (cf. Kauj. 8, 25, note). It has been trans- lated by Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, 291 fif. Stanza 3. The second hemistich is repeated at VIII, 8, 21. Saya/za renders ^ataram by abhignam svaminam, 'experienced master.' Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 528, bottom, cder sie kennt.' VI, 37. Commentary to page 93. The hymn is rubricated at Kaui*. 48, 23-26, in prac- tices designed to repel the sorcery-practices of enemies. A white lump (of earth) 1 is given to a dog (cf. st. 3), an 1 So Kcrava and Saya^a, .yvetam/Yttika. 476 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. amulet of tkrk/ia.1 is put on, an oblation (of ingu/a-oil, Kaur. 47, 3) is poured, and fagots (of vadhaka-wood, Kaii*. 47, 13 ; cf. AV. VIII, 8, 3) are laid on the fire. The practice is based upon symbolic realisations of suggestions contained in the hymn 2. Previous translations: Grill2, pp. 25, 161 ff. ; Florenz, Bezzenberger's Beitrage, XII, 297. The Anukrama/zi, £andramasam. Stanza 1. a. For the epithet ' thousand-eyed/ see the note on IV, 20, 4, and especially VI, 26, 3. Saya^a identifies it out- right with Indra, indra^ japatha^ .yapakriyaya^ karta. Stanza 2. d. The sentiment of this Pada and of the first hemistich of the next stanza are worked up anew in VII, 59. That mantra is accompanied, Kaus. 47, 37, by an interesting practice : wood from a tree struck by lightning is put on the fire, to symbolise the destruction of the enemy by lightning. Stanza 3. c. pesh/ram may mean 'flesh' rather than 'bone/ in accordance with our note on IV, 12, 2. Saya/za reads pesh/am (pish/amaya^ khadyam). For avakshamam (Pada- pa^a, ava-kshamam) we have ventured a new interpreta- tion, 'down upon the ground/ from ava and kshaman 'ground.' Saya^a, avadagdham ; Pet. Lex., 'abfindung' ('sop'); Grill, 'brock-en;' Florenz, c knochenrest ;' Boht- 1 According to Darila ' an amulet consisting of a bone ' (? asthi- kamam ; cf. pe'sh/ram in st. 3) ; according to Kcrava and Sayawa ' an amulet of pal aja- wood/ Cf. the mantra in Kauj. 13, 12. 2 Saya«a thinks that st. 3 is referred to in Kaur. 47, 37 under the pratika, y6 nah .rapat. But the lightning is not mentioned in st. 3, but rather in st. 2. Hence the little hymn VII, 59 is doubt- less the one intended at Kauj. 47, 37 : it consists of sentiments contained in VI, 37, 3 and 2, and begins also with the words, yo na>& japat. VI, 3^. COMMENTARY. 477 lingk's Lexicon, 'lean;' Whitney in the Index Verborum shelters the word under the root ksham with ava. Cf.
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.