Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1present. Cf. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, V, p. 402 ff. ; Scherman, Philosophische Hymnen, p. 76 ff. The personification of Kama as a supreme being suggests very quickly his power to protect those who worship him, and to destroy the enemies of the worshipper. The Atharvan naturally rings the changes upon these more ordinary divine qualities : the personal Kama is dealt with much in the same spirit as Agni, many of whose attributes are conferred upon him. For the relation of Kama to Agni, see Weber, Ind. Stud.V, 225 ff. In the ritual the entire hymn, as well as single stanzas of it, is degraded into ordinary witchcraft charms against enemies, without special signi- ficance : see Kam\ 49, 1 ; 48, 5 ; 24, 29, and cf. 46, 9, note ; Vait. Su. 24, 1 o 1. The hymn has been translated in full by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 529 ; Henry, Les livres VIII et IX de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 84, 118 ff. More or less frag- mentary translations are offered in the two works cited above ; cf. also Hillebrandt's Vedachrestomathie, p. 40 ff. Stanza 1. a, b. For the distinction between ghrz'ta and a'^ya, see the Grzhyasa^graha I, 106 (Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch. XXXV, p. 567). Stanza 2. This and the following stanza are rubricated along with certain other mantras in the du//svapnana^anaga^a, a series of stanzas designed to obviate the effect of evil dreams, in the Ga^amala, Ath. Pam. 32, 8. See Kam\ 46, 9, note. 3 Quoted in the Ath. ParLrish/as (e.g. 10) as kamasuktam. IX, 2. COMMENTARY. 593 b. Prof. Roth in the Pet. Lex., s. v. bhas, regards this passage as corrupt, and conjectures yasmad bibhatse ya£ ka na*bhinande, ' which I loathe and which I do not enjoy.' The motive of the correction, in addition to the poor metre, is the usual transitive use of abhi nand, ' take pleasure in,' and the like ; this does not seem to me to warrant so com- plete a transformation of the text. c. The Pada is hypermetric, and may be normalised by reading munka for mu^ami. But the imperative first sing, act. without ni is not elsewhere known in the Atharvan. Stanza 3. b. asvagata occurs but one other time, AV. XII, 5, 40, asvagata parih/zuta, a very obscure passage. The Pet. Lexs. translate ' heimatslosigkeit ; ' Ludwig, ' unfreiheit ' (cf. Der Rigveda, III, 284); Henry, * dependance.' The adjective asvaga occurs in a closely parallel passage, XII, 5, 45, asvagam apra^asa/^ karoti ; I would compare svastha and asvastha, c well ' and ' unwell ; ' svasthata and asvas- thata, ' well-being ' and 'diseasedness.' For avarti Va£*. S.
2ry, * dependance.' The adjective asvaga occurs in a closely parallel passage, XII, 5, 45, asvagam apra^asa/^ karoti ; I would compare svastha and asvastha, c well ' and ' unwell ; ' svasthata and asvas- thata, ' well-being ' and 'diseasedness.' For avarti Va£*. S. XXX, 12 has avarzti, ' trouble ' (Ludwig, ' verarmung ') ; cf. perhaps Avestan hamvareti of opposite meaning, ' defence, courage.5 Stanza 5. Vak Vira^- (cf. A7*and. Up. I, 13, 2) is the same Vak who is designated RV. VIII, 100, 11, 'as the milch-cow whom the gods begot;' cf. AV. VIII, 9, 2, and Oldenberg, Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch. XXXIX, 54 ft In Pada d the metre is sensibly relieved by dropping paj-avo (so also st. 16); nevertheless I should hesitate to correct, because the same RV. stanza states ' that multiform animals (pasavak) speak her (vak).' The argument may, of course, be turned the other way, by assuming that pa^avo is due to a reminiscence from that very stanza. Stanza 9. a, b. For indragm, nominative for vocative, coupled with kama, vocative, cf. Delbruck, Altindische Syntax, p. 105. [42] Q q 594 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. The dual number of the verb in the next Pada may be due to the dual number of indragm. d. This seems to be the full form of the Pada which occurs previously (st. 4) in a defective form. Stanza 12. The same stanza with one variant occurs in a different connection at III, 6, 7. This, as well as the next stanza, seems to be interpolated. Stanza 13. It is impossible to reproduce the chain of puns in this clap-trap stanza ; yava-yavano, moreover, is somewhat ambiguous, as yavan may come either from yu, ' ward off' (so we, with Whitney in the Index Verborum), or ya, ' go ' (so Ludwig). The Pet. Lexs. do not analyse the word, simply translating it 'abwehrend.' Cf. in a general way the hymns II, 7 ; VI, 91. Stanza 16, Pada a ends at trivarutham (read .yarma as three syllables) ; udbhii seems to be a gloss. Pada b is hypermetric, and may be relieved by casting out brahma and krz'tam (Henry). For Padas c, d, cf. st. 5 c, d, apparently the more original source of the passage. Stanza 19. At IsSl Upanishad IV, the 'one' (ekam) is similarly lauded, nai*nad deva &pnuvan purvam arshat (ar^at). Cf. Ath. Paru. 48, 2. Stanza 22. Cf. Va^. S. XXIV, 25, 29 ; AV. II, 31, 2 ; VI, 50, 3. Stanza 23. Manyu is ' courage,' personified ; cf. RV. X, 83, 84. Stanza 25. The purpose of the passage seems to be to ensure whole- some desires, fit and capable of realisation ; evil thoughts, IX, 3- COMMENTARY.
325, 29 ; AV. II, 31, 2 ; VI, 50, 3. Stanza 23. Manyu is ' courage,' personified ; cf. RV. X, 83, 84. Stanza 25. The purpose of the passage seems to be to ensure whole- some desires, fit and capable of realisation ; evil thoughts, IX, 3- COMMENTARY. 595 unfit for fulfilment, shall not trouble the suppliant. But dhi'ya^ may refer perhaps to the hostile prayers of the* enemy, which shall not injure him that prays to Kama. IX, 3. Commentary to page 193. The character of this hymn is such that its proper object did not reveal itself clearly, until its application appeared plainly stated in the Kaorika. Zimmer, p. 153 (cf. the translation, p. 151 fif.), supposes that the hymn is a charm to free one's house from imaginary witchcraft practices, which have been placed as fetters upon it (cf. stanzas 5, 6, 24). Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 464 fif., translates the hymn under the title, ' Removal of a house,' without stating the precise situation ; he comes very near the truth, yet misses the main point. Grill2, pp. 60, 188 ff., fails to find any reason for a removal, and construes the hymn (just as III, 12) as a dedicatory ceremony after the erection, and before occupation. And Henry, Les livres VI 1 1 et IX de 1' Atharva- veda, pp. 87, 121 ff., seems to underrate the significance of its employment in the Sutra. He suggests that the hymn alludes to the building of a house, but accentuates the successive removals of the ancillary frame, the scaffolding, as the house advances from stage to stage. The Kaujika treats the hymn in 66, 22-30, and Ke^ava epitomises the treatment very well by designating the ceremony as ^alasavam, i.e. the solemn bestowal upon a priest of a house as dakshma. See his comment on Kaus. 64-66, especially page 365, lines 1, 2, and cf. also the intro- duction to XI, T. The Kauiika's rather elaborate treatment is as follows : Su. 22. ' While reciting AV. IX, 3, that which is about to be given along with the house is (placed) within (the house) covered up. 23. It is recommended, moreover, that the objects mentioned in the hymn (be given as addi- tional gifts). 24. While reciting st. 18 the door is removed. 25. While reciting st. 22 they take up the water-vessel and the fire and enter the house. 26. That (water-vessel) is anointed with the dregs (of ghee) after they have arrived Qq2 596 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. within (the house), while the (entire) hymn is being recited, 27.
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.
1present. Cf. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, V, p. 402 ff. ; Scherman, Philosophische Hymnen, p. 76 ff. The personification of Kama as a supreme being suggests very quickly his power to protect those who worship him, and to destroy the enemies of the worshipper. The Atharvan naturally rings the changes upon these more ordinary divine qualities : the personal Kama is dealt with much in the same spirit as Agni, many of whose attributes are conferred upon him. For the relation of Kama to Agni, see Weber, Ind. Stud.V, 225 ff. In the ritual the entire hymn, as well as single stanzas of it, is degraded into ordinary witchcraft charms against enemies, without special signi- ficance : see Kam\ 49, 1 ; 48, 5 ; 24, 29, and cf. 46, 9, note ; Vait. Su. 24, 1 o 1. The hymn has been translated in full by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 529 ; Henry, Les livres VIII et IX de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 84, 118 ff. More or less frag- mentary translations are offered in the two works cited above ; cf. also Hillebrandt's Vedachrestomathie, p. 40 ff. Stanza 1. a, b. For the distinction between ghrz'ta and a'^ya, see the Grzhyasa^graha I, 106 (Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch. XXXV, p. 567). Stanza 2. This and the following stanza are rubricated along with certain other mantras in the du//svapnana^anaga^a, a series of stanzas designed to obviate the effect of evil dreams, in the Ga^amala, Ath. Pam. 32, 8. See Kam\ 46, 9, note. 3 Quoted in the Ath. ParLrish/as (e.g. 10) as kamasuktam. IX, 2. COMMENTARY. 593 b. Prof. Roth in the Pet. Lex., s. v. bhas, regards this passage as corrupt, and conjectures yasmad bibhatse ya£ ka na*bhinande, ' which I loathe and which I do not enjoy.' The motive of the correction, in addition to the poor metre, is the usual transitive use of abhi nand, ' take pleasure in,' and the like ; this does not seem to me to warrant so com- plete a transformation of the text. c. The Pada is hypermetric, and may be normalised by reading munka for mu^ami. But the imperative first sing, act. without ni is not elsewhere known in the Atharvan. Stanza 3. b. asvagata occurs but one other time, AV. XII, 5, 40, asvagata parih/zuta, a very obscure passage. The Pet. Lexs. translate ' heimatslosigkeit ; ' Ludwig, ' unfreiheit ' (cf. Der Rigveda, III, 284); Henry, * dependance.' The adjective asvaga occurs in a closely parallel passage, XII, 5, 45, asvagam apra^asa/^ karoti ; I would compare svastha and asvastha, c well ' and ' unwell ; ' svasthata and asvas- thata, ' well-being ' and 'diseasedness.' For avarti Va£*. S.
2ry, * dependance.' The adjective asvaga occurs in a closely parallel passage, XII, 5, 45, asvagam apra^asa/^ karoti ; I would compare svastha and asvastha, c well ' and ' unwell ; ' svasthata and asvas- thata, ' well-being ' and 'diseasedness.' For avarti Va£*. S. XXX, 12 has avarzti, ' trouble ' (Ludwig, ' verarmung ') ; cf. perhaps Avestan hamvareti of opposite meaning, ' defence, courage.5 Stanza 5. Vak Vira^- (cf. A7*and. Up. I, 13, 2) is the same Vak who is designated RV. VIII, 100, 11, 'as the milch-cow whom the gods begot;' cf. AV. VIII, 9, 2, and Oldenberg, Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch. XXXIX, 54 ft In Pada d the metre is sensibly relieved by dropping paj-avo (so also st. 16); nevertheless I should hesitate to correct, because the same RV. stanza states ' that multiform animals (pasavak) speak her (vak).' The argument may, of course, be turned the other way, by assuming that pa^avo is due to a reminiscence from that very stanza. Stanza 9. a, b. For indragm, nominative for vocative, coupled with kama, vocative, cf. Delbruck, Altindische Syntax, p. 105. [42] Q q 594 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. The dual number of the verb in the next Pada may be due to the dual number of indragm. d. This seems to be the full form of the Pada which occurs previously (st. 4) in a defective form. Stanza 12. The same stanza with one variant occurs in a different connection at III, 6, 7. This, as well as the next stanza, seems to be interpolated. Stanza 13. It is impossible to reproduce the chain of puns in this clap-trap stanza ; yava-yavano, moreover, is somewhat ambiguous, as yavan may come either from yu, ' ward off' (so we, with Whitney in the Index Verborum), or ya, ' go ' (so Ludwig). The Pet. Lexs. do not analyse the word, simply translating it 'abwehrend.' Cf. in a general way the hymns II, 7 ; VI, 91. Stanza 16, Pada a ends at trivarutham (read .yarma as three syllables) ; udbhii seems to be a gloss. Pada b is hypermetric, and may be relieved by casting out brahma and krz'tam (Henry). For Padas c, d, cf. st. 5 c, d, apparently the more original source of the passage. Stanza 19. At IsSl Upanishad IV, the 'one' (ekam) is similarly lauded, nai*nad deva &pnuvan purvam arshat (ar^at). Cf. Ath. Paru. 48, 2. Stanza 22. Cf. Va^. S. XXIV, 25, 29 ; AV. II, 31, 2 ; VI, 50, 3. Stanza 23. Manyu is ' courage,' personified ; cf. RV. X, 83, 84. Stanza 25. The purpose of the passage seems to be to ensure whole- some desires, fit and capable of realisation ; evil thoughts, IX, 3- COMMENTARY.
325, 29 ; AV. II, 31, 2 ; VI, 50, 3. Stanza 23. Manyu is ' courage,' personified ; cf. RV. X, 83, 84. Stanza 25. The purpose of the passage seems to be to ensure whole- some desires, fit and capable of realisation ; evil thoughts, IX, 3- COMMENTARY. 595 unfit for fulfilment, shall not trouble the suppliant. But dhi'ya^ may refer perhaps to the hostile prayers of the* enemy, which shall not injure him that prays to Kama. IX, 3. Commentary to page 193. The character of this hymn is such that its proper object did not reveal itself clearly, until its application appeared plainly stated in the Kaorika. Zimmer, p. 153 (cf. the translation, p. 151 fif.), supposes that the hymn is a charm to free one's house from imaginary witchcraft practices, which have been placed as fetters upon it (cf. stanzas 5, 6, 24). Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 464 fif., translates the hymn under the title, ' Removal of a house,' without stating the precise situation ; he comes very near the truth, yet misses the main point. Grill2, pp. 60, 188 ff., fails to find any reason for a removal, and construes the hymn (just as III, 12) as a dedicatory ceremony after the erection, and before occupation. And Henry, Les livres VI 1 1 et IX de 1' Atharva- veda, pp. 87, 121 ff., seems to underrate the significance of its employment in the Sutra. He suggests that the hymn alludes to the building of a house, but accentuates the successive removals of the ancillary frame, the scaffolding, as the house advances from stage to stage. The Kaujika treats the hymn in 66, 22-30, and Ke^ava epitomises the treatment very well by designating the ceremony as ^alasavam, i.e. the solemn bestowal upon a priest of a house as dakshma. See his comment on Kaus. 64-66, especially page 365, lines 1, 2, and cf. also the intro- duction to XI, T. The Kauiika's rather elaborate treatment is as follows : Su. 22. ' While reciting AV. IX, 3, that which is about to be given along with the house is (placed) within (the house) covered up. 23. It is recommended, moreover, that the objects mentioned in the hymn (be given as addi- tional gifts). 24. While reciting st. 18 the door is removed. 25. While reciting st. 22 they take up the water-vessel and the fire and enter the house. 26. That (water-vessel) is anointed with the dregs (of ghee) after they have arrived Qq2 596 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. within (the house), while the (entire) hymn is being recited, 27.
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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