Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1a Brahmanical disciple, engaged in the practice of his holy vows ; next, by an easy transition, all the functions and powers of the BrahmaMrin are made the basis of a momentary cosmo- gonic and philosophical account of the origin and existence of the universe. This allegory is carried out with all the feeble consistency that characterises Hindu speculations of this sort, and the more gladly so, as it offers a good oppor- tunity for the apotheosis of Brahmanism, and the Brahmanic caste. The purely physical qualities of the sun peep out in a variety of stanzas, especially 1, 5, 6, 11, 23, and 26. Cf. the manipulation of the first stanza at Gop. Br. I, 2, 1. Stanza 3. Saya/za fitly quotes Apastamba's Dharmasutra, I, 1, 1, 15~17- Cf. also Gautama I, 8 ; Vish/m XXX, 44-45 5 Vasish/Aa II, 3-5 ; Manu II, 146-8. See also Kau^. $$y 18, note; Sat. Br. XI, 5, 4, 12. Stanza 4. It is not easy to differentiate the synonyms pnMti and XI, 5- COMMENTARY. 627 piparti at the end of the two hemistichs. Saya/za, przVzati purayati . . . piparti purayati palayati va. Ludwig and Scherman render piparti by ' fordem.' Stanza 6. e. This Pada is peculiarly suggestive of the sun : cf. RV. X, 136, 5. In the preceding Pada the apparently trivial dirgha^majTu^, cwith long beard,' probably refers to the rays of the sun. Stanza 7. For the identification of the brahma, or some kindred primeval principle, with Indra, cf. AV. X, 7, 29 fif. See also stanza 16. Stanza 11. The two Agnis are explained by Saya/za, correctly, we believe, as the fire of the sun and the terrestrial fire, eko *gni^ anudyatsuryatmako vartate, apara^ parthivo*gni/£ przthivya upari vartate. And further : ' The combined rays of this (terrestrial) fire and the sun, exceedingly strong in their fusion, expand upon heaven and earth/ Stanza 12. Saya^a regards Varu;/a (cf. stanzas 14, 15) as the subject of the first hemistich, abhikrandan . . . megheshu stanita//z gargitam kurvan syatlhga/i (! Shankar Pandit ; the MSS. have syamtiga/i) syeta.va.ma.rn gaXapxxnam prapta^ evam- bhuto varu^a^. There is no reason for thus separating the two hemistichs. Sayana is squeamish about endowing a BrahmaHrin with a brihak kMpa/i ; but he enacts here the r61e of Pra^apati, and the predication of a penis is as natural as that of the more commonplace semen (retas). Stanza 13. d. Ludwig, ' ihr a^ya ist der mensch, regen und wasser.' We have translated with Sayana. Cf. RV. X, 51, 8, ghritam ka*pam purusha^ /£au*shadhinam, which carries the note of a vague relationship with our passage, but does not remove the obscurity.
2). Stanza 13. d. Ludwig, ' ihr a^ya ist der mensch, regen und wasser.' We have translated with Sayana. Cf. RV. X, 51, 8, ghritam ka*pam purusha^ /£au*shadhinam, which carries the note of a vague relationship with our passage, but does not remove the obscurity. S s 2 628 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 24. For brahma bhra^at (again the sun), cf. Kaiu. 97, 8 (p. 253). XI, 6. Commentary to page 160. The hymn is rubricated, Kau^. 9, 2. 4, in the two so-called jantiga/zas (cf. Ath. Parly. 32, 26. 27). These are lists of purificatory hymns and stanzas, employed especially at the preparation of the .yantyudaka, 'holy water' (Kaoy. 9, 8 ff.). According to the Ga/zamala, Ath. Park 32, 32 the hymn, with the exception of stanzas 7, 9, 22, and 23, which strike a different key, is a member of the a^holingaga^a, a list of stanzas characterised by the presence of the word a/^has, * misfortune, calamity ; ' cf. Kaoy. 32, 27. The chief interest of the hymn lies in the clear and fairly complete presenta- tion of the pantheon of the time. This is very much on the plane of the Ya^us-texts and the Brahma/zas. Stanza 9. For the group of divinities addressed in this stanza, see the introduction to XI, 2. Stanza 14. For the use of the word bhesha^ani as an equivalent of ' holy ' Atharvan charms, cf. 5ankh. Sr. XVI, 2, 9 ; A^v. Sr. X, 7, 3 ; Tank. Br. XII, 9, 10. See the introduction to the present volume. Stanza 15. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 72, assumes that saha is the designation of a plant, and this view may be supported from the Hindu lexicographers. In the Index Verborum the word figures under the stem sahas. Our rendering implies the adjective saha, ' mighty/ Stanza 17. The entire stanza and certain turns of its expression are formulaic; see III, 7, 9. 10, and cf. the Pet. Lex. under artava. XI, 7- COMMENTARY. 629 Stanzas 19, 20. The two are identical, except that sarvan and sarvabhi^ are substituted in 20, for vfovan and vfovabhi^ in 19. Cf. Kauj.56, 13; 74,3. Stanza 23. The little story (akhyayika) here alluded to is not, to our knowledge, illumined by the rest of the literature. Matali is mentioned once more, RV. X, 14, 3, in a totally different connection. Cf. Kaiu. 58, 25, and Kau^ika, Index D, under the stanza. XI, 7. Commentary to page 226. The Vedic writings are extremely shifty in assigning to a first cause the creation and maintenance of the universe, in the course of their cosmogonic speculations.
3tion. Cf. Kaiu. 58, 25, and Kau^ika, Index D, under the stanza. XI, 7. Commentary to page 226. The Vedic writings are extremely shifty in assigning to a first cause the creation and maintenance of the universe, in the course of their cosmogonic speculations. There are purely philosophical abstractions like sat (being) and asat (non-being), tad (that), eka (the only) ; cosmic forces like brahma, kala (time), kama (love), pra/?a (breath) ; and per- sonal creators like Pra^apati, Purusha, VLrvakarman, Hira- /zyagarbha, and Paramesh/^in-. But further, in the course of the speculations of the Brahma^as, universal or special cosmogonic power is attributed to all sorts of trivial circum- stances, even down to the special features and implements of the sacrifice. The priestly power (cf. XI, 5), and the priestly activity, are made to stand for the cosmic force with which they aim to establish relations. Saya;/a is quite right, therefore, in correlating the present hymn with such a statement as is made in Tait. Br. I, 1, 9, 1 (cf. also Mait. S. II, 1, 12), where divinities are born of the leavings of the brahmaudana (see XI, 1 ; XII, 3) which had been eaten by Aditi. The hymn is nothing but a momentary symbolic transfer of the divine, or pantheistic attributes to a certain ritualistic feature made prominent for the time being. The writer knows that he is simply transferring his most fulsome cosmogonic conceptions in order to accen- tuate a to him important ritualistic act, the consumption of the leavings of the sacrifice. The veil is thin ; everything 6^0 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. that is said here fits the brahma, or some other embodi- ment, and Saya/za boldly establishes the equation ukkhlshta. = brahma. Accordingly, too, in at least two stanzas (15, 16) the ukkhxshfa is personified as the masculine u£Mish/as, quite in the manner of the relation of the neuter brahma to the masculine brahman. We may note, however, that the road for this drastic transfer is opened in a measure by the philosophical position of the word anna, ' food.5 This is a prominent link in the chain that unites man to the universe. See, e.g. Tait. Up. Ill, 3, and the stately array of passages in Jacob's Concordance to the principal Upani- shads, s.v. The interest of the hymn lies rather in the attempt which it makes to exploit exhaustively the chief concerns of Brahmanical existence and belief. Except for its metrical form it belongs to Brahma/za literature. See Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, vol. v, p. 396 ff., and Scherman, Philosophische Hymnen aus der Rig- und Atharva-veda-Sa#zhita, p.
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.
1a Brahmanical disciple, engaged in the practice of his holy vows ; next, by an easy transition, all the functions and powers of the BrahmaMrin are made the basis of a momentary cosmo- gonic and philosophical account of the origin and existence of the universe. This allegory is carried out with all the feeble consistency that characterises Hindu speculations of this sort, and the more gladly so, as it offers a good oppor- tunity for the apotheosis of Brahmanism, and the Brahmanic caste. The purely physical qualities of the sun peep out in a variety of stanzas, especially 1, 5, 6, 11, 23, and 26. Cf. the manipulation of the first stanza at Gop. Br. I, 2, 1. Stanza 3. Saya/za fitly quotes Apastamba's Dharmasutra, I, 1, 1, 15~17- Cf. also Gautama I, 8 ; Vish/m XXX, 44-45 5 Vasish/Aa II, 3-5 ; Manu II, 146-8. See also Kau^. $$y 18, note; Sat. Br. XI, 5, 4, 12. Stanza 4. It is not easy to differentiate the synonyms pnMti and XI, 5- COMMENTARY. 627 piparti at the end of the two hemistichs. Saya/za, przVzati purayati . . . piparti purayati palayati va. Ludwig and Scherman render piparti by ' fordem.' Stanza 6. e. This Pada is peculiarly suggestive of the sun : cf. RV. X, 136, 5. In the preceding Pada the apparently trivial dirgha^majTu^, cwith long beard,' probably refers to the rays of the sun. Stanza 7. For the identification of the brahma, or some kindred primeval principle, with Indra, cf. AV. X, 7, 29 fif. See also stanza 16. Stanza 11. The two Agnis are explained by Saya/za, correctly, we believe, as the fire of the sun and the terrestrial fire, eko *gni^ anudyatsuryatmako vartate, apara^ parthivo*gni/£ przthivya upari vartate. And further : ' The combined rays of this (terrestrial) fire and the sun, exceedingly strong in their fusion, expand upon heaven and earth/ Stanza 12. Saya^a regards Varu;/a (cf. stanzas 14, 15) as the subject of the first hemistich, abhikrandan . . . megheshu stanita//z gargitam kurvan syatlhga/i (! Shankar Pandit ; the MSS. have syamtiga/i) syeta.va.ma.rn gaXapxxnam prapta^ evam- bhuto varu^a^. There is no reason for thus separating the two hemistichs. Sayana is squeamish about endowing a BrahmaHrin with a brihak kMpa/i ; but he enacts here the r61e of Pra^apati, and the predication of a penis is as natural as that of the more commonplace semen (retas). Stanza 13. d. Ludwig, ' ihr a^ya ist der mensch, regen und wasser.' We have translated with Sayana. Cf. RV. X, 51, 8, ghritam ka*pam purusha^ /£au*shadhinam, which carries the note of a vague relationship with our passage, but does not remove the obscurity.
2). Stanza 13. d. Ludwig, ' ihr a^ya ist der mensch, regen und wasser.' We have translated with Sayana. Cf. RV. X, 51, 8, ghritam ka*pam purusha^ /£au*shadhinam, which carries the note of a vague relationship with our passage, but does not remove the obscurity. S s 2 628 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 24. For brahma bhra^at (again the sun), cf. Kaiu. 97, 8 (p. 253). XI, 6. Commentary to page 160. The hymn is rubricated, Kau^. 9, 2. 4, in the two so-called jantiga/zas (cf. Ath. Parly. 32, 26. 27). These are lists of purificatory hymns and stanzas, employed especially at the preparation of the .yantyudaka, 'holy water' (Kaoy. 9, 8 ff.). According to the Ga/zamala, Ath. Park 32, 32 the hymn, with the exception of stanzas 7, 9, 22, and 23, which strike a different key, is a member of the a^holingaga^a, a list of stanzas characterised by the presence of the word a/^has, * misfortune, calamity ; ' cf. Kaoy. 32, 27. The chief interest of the hymn lies in the clear and fairly complete presenta- tion of the pantheon of the time. This is very much on the plane of the Ya^us-texts and the Brahma/zas. Stanza 9. For the group of divinities addressed in this stanza, see the introduction to XI, 2. Stanza 14. For the use of the word bhesha^ani as an equivalent of ' holy ' Atharvan charms, cf. 5ankh. Sr. XVI, 2, 9 ; A^v. Sr. X, 7, 3 ; Tank. Br. XII, 9, 10. See the introduction to the present volume. Stanza 15. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 72, assumes that saha is the designation of a plant, and this view may be supported from the Hindu lexicographers. In the Index Verborum the word figures under the stem sahas. Our rendering implies the adjective saha, ' mighty/ Stanza 17. The entire stanza and certain turns of its expression are formulaic; see III, 7, 9. 10, and cf. the Pet. Lex. under artava. XI, 7- COMMENTARY. 629 Stanzas 19, 20. The two are identical, except that sarvan and sarvabhi^ are substituted in 20, for vfovan and vfovabhi^ in 19. Cf. Kauj.56, 13; 74,3. Stanza 23. The little story (akhyayika) here alluded to is not, to our knowledge, illumined by the rest of the literature. Matali is mentioned once more, RV. X, 14, 3, in a totally different connection. Cf. Kaiu. 58, 25, and Kau^ika, Index D, under the stanza. XI, 7. Commentary to page 226. The Vedic writings are extremely shifty in assigning to a first cause the creation and maintenance of the universe, in the course of their cosmogonic speculations.
3tion. Cf. Kaiu. 58, 25, and Kau^ika, Index D, under the stanza. XI, 7. Commentary to page 226. The Vedic writings are extremely shifty in assigning to a first cause the creation and maintenance of the universe, in the course of their cosmogonic speculations. There are purely philosophical abstractions like sat (being) and asat (non-being), tad (that), eka (the only) ; cosmic forces like brahma, kala (time), kama (love), pra/?a (breath) ; and per- sonal creators like Pra^apati, Purusha, VLrvakarman, Hira- /zyagarbha, and Paramesh/^in-. But further, in the course of the speculations of the Brahma^as, universal or special cosmogonic power is attributed to all sorts of trivial circum- stances, even down to the special features and implements of the sacrifice. The priestly power (cf. XI, 5), and the priestly activity, are made to stand for the cosmic force with which they aim to establish relations. Saya;/a is quite right, therefore, in correlating the present hymn with such a statement as is made in Tait. Br. I, 1, 9, 1 (cf. also Mait. S. II, 1, 12), where divinities are born of the leavings of the brahmaudana (see XI, 1 ; XII, 3) which had been eaten by Aditi. The hymn is nothing but a momentary symbolic transfer of the divine, or pantheistic attributes to a certain ritualistic feature made prominent for the time being. The writer knows that he is simply transferring his most fulsome cosmogonic conceptions in order to accen- tuate a to him important ritualistic act, the consumption of the leavings of the sacrifice. The veil is thin ; everything 6^0 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. that is said here fits the brahma, or some other embodi- ment, and Saya/za boldly establishes the equation ukkhlshta. = brahma. Accordingly, too, in at least two stanzas (15, 16) the ukkhxshfa is personified as the masculine u£Mish/as, quite in the manner of the relation of the neuter brahma to the masculine brahman. We may note, however, that the road for this drastic transfer is opened in a measure by the philosophical position of the word anna, ' food.5 This is a prominent link in the chain that unites man to the universe. See, e.g. Tait. Up. Ill, 3, and the stately array of passages in Jacob's Concordance to the principal Upani- shads, s.v. The interest of the hymn lies rather in the attempt which it makes to exploit exhaustively the chief concerns of Brahmanical existence and belief. Except for its metrical form it belongs to Brahma/za literature. See Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, vol. v, p. 396 ff., and Scherman, Philosophische Hymnen aus der Rig- und Atharva-veda-Sa#zhita, p.
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.