Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
120 we have ny arbuda;;^ vavrz'dhano asta/z, 'thou (Indra),having waxed mighty, didst prostrate Arbuda ; ' similarly VIII, 32, 3, ny arbudasya vish/apa//z varshma/2a//z brz'hatas tira, ' pierce the high resting-place of great Arbuda ; ' cf. also I, 51, 6; II, 14, 4. I believe that nyarbuda and nyarbudi owe their intrinsically meaningless prefix ni to such verbal juxtapositions which could be easily misunderstood. A still greater curiosity is the friendly relation of Arbudi and Nyarbudi, as ancillary war-gods, with Indra, notwith- 634 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. standing Indra's hostility to "Arbuda in the RV. Note also the apparent epithet of Indra, nardabuda, at TS. Ill, 3, 10, i. Whether it is in any way connected with this cycle of ideas it is impossible to say. The present hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, ,530-1. Stanza 1. Saya/za, ' Make manifest to the enemy our equipments for battle, so that fear shall arise in their minds.' For udaran Saya/^a proposes either c demons in the air/ udgatan antariksha^aran raksha/zpLra^adin, or ' fiery portents,' surya- ra^miprabhava ulkadaya antarikshya utpata^. For ami- trebhya^ Ludwig proposes a different construction, ' make all that visible with the enemy,' i. e. may their weapons and plans not remain hidden from us ! Stanza 2. b. For the construction of this Pada (repeated in st. 26 c), cf. Delbruck, Altindische Syntax, p. 106. e, d. The Padapa/^a reads samdrishta. and gupta, neuters plural in agreement with mitra/zi. Saya/za comments upon s&fndrishtak and gupta^, supplying ' warriors ' with it : this does not change the sense. Ludwig, ' erblickt soil euer verborgenes werden, so vile unsere freunde sind, o Arbudi.' For the eliptic vocative singular, arbude, cf. stanzas 3 and 11. Stanza 5. d. The word bhogebhi/^, ' with (thy) curves,' would seem to indicate that Arbudi is primarily a serpent ; cf. RV. VI, 75, 14 ; Tait. S. II, 1, 4, 5. 6 ; V, 4, 5, 4. But it may also refer to some snare-like machine, similar to a serpent. Saya^a, sarpaj-arirai^ parivesh/aya. Stanza 7. For women as mourners over the dead, and their con- ventional practices, see our essay on the subject, Contribu- tions, Second Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 336 ff. Our XI, 9- COMMENTARY. 635 explanation of krzdhukami', ' with short (mutilated) ears,' is very doubtful, and on p. 340 of the essay just quoted I have asked whether the entire stanza does not perchance refer to demons of the battle-field.
2I, 336 ff. Our XI, 9- COMMENTARY. 635 explanation of krzdhukami', ' with short (mutilated) ears,' is very doubtful, and on p. 340 of the essay just quoted I have asked whether the entire stanza does not perchance refer to demons of the battle-field. I do not place great confidence in Saya/za's naively ingenious explanation of krzdhukarTz? by ' short-eared, because all ear-ornaments have been removed.5 Ludwig is relieved by making a proper name of the word. Stanza 8. - a. The Pada is problematic : our translation implies that the women, bereft of their relatives who have fallen in battle, sit in a bent attitude longing for their lost kin. It would be possible to imagine another situation : with bent back the women who miss their relatives seek them on the battle-field, where Arbudi has pierced them. Saya/za offers nothing usable. Ludwig's translation is not clear, i die abreisst den ruckenwirbel, wahrend sie im geist den sohn sucht,' &c. Stanza 9. Saya/za presents futile etymologies for aliklava1 and ^ashkamada. P&da d, amitreshu samikshayan is cut of construction, and superfluous : samikshayan is in reality the nominative singular masculine of the participle (as in st. 6 b). The expression has assumed the character of a refrain (cf. stanzas 11 and 35), and is similar to the equally formulaic amitrebhyo drzse kuru, in stanzas 1,15, 22, and 24. Stanza 12. c. Saya/za reads urugrahaiA (uru/za//z graha//ai/£), and bahuvankai/^ (b&huna, vakrabandhanai^), i. e. ' with thy thighs and arms.' The parallelism is noteworthy, and uru- may be the correct reading. Conversely, of course, Saya;za may have accentuated an incidental parallelism. 1 aliklaba^ vmsh/aklaibyayukta viklaba^ tadvipaiita aliklaba^, ' viklabas are creatures afflicted by extraordinary impotence ; ' the converse of that are aliklabas (!); cf. the note on XI, 2, 2. 636 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 14. Cf. the essay quoted in the note on stanza 7 (especially p. 340, note). For pa/aurav of the vulgata, Shankar Pandit, following Saya/za and some MSS., has substituted pa/urav. Saya/m on Pada b, ura^ vaksha>fethala;/z pa/urau tatpra- de^au (£a) aghnana^. Here, doubtless, belongs too pa/ura in Tait. S. V, 7, 21, 2; 22, 1, a designation of a part of the body, described by the commentator as c ribs in the back.' The translation of the air. Key. aghanm/£ in Pada c is that of the Pet. Lex., and purely etymological. Saya?za, c distressed by the grief due to the loss of their husbands ' (aghena . . . arta^). Stanza 15. a, b. -All the matter pertaining to the female demons is extremely problematic.
3Key. aghanm/£ in Pada c is that of the Pet. Lex., and purely etymological. Saya?za, c distressed by the grief due to the loss of their husbands ' (aghena . . . arta^). Stanza 15. a, b. -All the matter pertaining to the female demons is extremely problematic. Saya/za takes svknvatik literally, * accompanied by the dog Sarameya as a playmate/ He explains rupaka/z as ' ghostly armies which by the force of magic are perceptible in outline merely ' (mayava^at keva- la//z rupamatre^a upalabhyamana/z senarupaka^). The word rupaka suggests the root rup, ' injure ;' cf. XI, 2, 3. c, d. Saya/za garbles his text, and comments as follows, patre anta^ madhye rerihati/zz puna^-punar lihatif/z durnihi- taishi/zi;/z dush/anikshiptam ikk/iantim vas&m (!) gam. Stanza 16. a. Our rendering of kha^ure reflects simply our own and Saya/za's perplexity, durabhutaw khaw khaduram (!) aka^e durade^e. Stanza 22. Much in this is obscure and bizarre. Saya/za does not help much, except that he agrees with the Pet. Lexs. in reading -vaUina/z for -vasina/z in Pada d ; see bastava.nna/z for bastavasina^ in VIII, 6, 12, and cf. V, 20, 2 b. Accord- ingly our rendering. The entire stanza seems to depict a blend of a human and demoniac army (£ das wilde heer '), altogether fit to strike terror into the heart of the enemy. XI, IO. COMMENTARY. 637 Stanza 23. Saya^a: ' Trisha;/zdhi is a certain god who routs armies, or designates a weapon, a club which has three joints ; ' cf. our remarks in the introduction to the hymn. The natural- istic basis of the quasi-divinity is (Rudra's) lightning. Stanza 24. Even the trees and other vegetation, as well as animate beings, may exercise their powers to the destruction of the enemy, as is stated unambiguously in the closely parallel stanzas VIII, 8, 14. 15, where the arrangement of the first two hemistichs is a different one. Cf also Kaiu. 73, 5. Stanza 25. For the loosely construed refrain at the end of this verse, see the note on stanza 9. XI, 10. Commentary to page 126. The hymn continues the subject of XI, 9, but the appeals for help to Arbudi and Nyarbudi are subordinated ; Tri- sha/^dhi is here the prominent figure : his momentous powers are engaged for the destruction of the enemy. For the employment of the hymn in the Atharvanic practices and the meaning of Trisha/^dhi, see the introduction to the preceding hymn, and the note on XI, 9, 23. It has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 531 fif. Stanza 1. For ketii, see the passages and the literature quoted by the Pet. Lex. s. v. 7) ; Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, I2, 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.
120 we have ny arbuda;;^ vavrz'dhano asta/z, 'thou (Indra),having waxed mighty, didst prostrate Arbuda ; ' similarly VIII, 32, 3, ny arbudasya vish/apa//z varshma/2a//z brz'hatas tira, ' pierce the high resting-place of great Arbuda ; ' cf. also I, 51, 6; II, 14, 4. I believe that nyarbuda and nyarbudi owe their intrinsically meaningless prefix ni to such verbal juxtapositions which could be easily misunderstood. A still greater curiosity is the friendly relation of Arbudi and Nyarbudi, as ancillary war-gods, with Indra, notwith- 634 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. standing Indra's hostility to "Arbuda in the RV. Note also the apparent epithet of Indra, nardabuda, at TS. Ill, 3, 10, i. Whether it is in any way connected with this cycle of ideas it is impossible to say. The present hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, ,530-1. Stanza 1. Saya/za, ' Make manifest to the enemy our equipments for battle, so that fear shall arise in their minds.' For udaran Saya/^a proposes either c demons in the air/ udgatan antariksha^aran raksha/zpLra^adin, or ' fiery portents,' surya- ra^miprabhava ulkadaya antarikshya utpata^. For ami- trebhya^ Ludwig proposes a different construction, ' make all that visible with the enemy,' i. e. may their weapons and plans not remain hidden from us ! Stanza 2. b. For the construction of this Pada (repeated in st. 26 c), cf. Delbruck, Altindische Syntax, p. 106. e, d. The Padapa/^a reads samdrishta. and gupta, neuters plural in agreement with mitra/zi. Saya/za comments upon s&fndrishtak and gupta^, supplying ' warriors ' with it : this does not change the sense. Ludwig, ' erblickt soil euer verborgenes werden, so vile unsere freunde sind, o Arbudi.' For the eliptic vocative singular, arbude, cf. stanzas 3 and 11. Stanza 5. d. The word bhogebhi/^, ' with (thy) curves,' would seem to indicate that Arbudi is primarily a serpent ; cf. RV. VI, 75, 14 ; Tait. S. II, 1, 4, 5. 6 ; V, 4, 5, 4. But it may also refer to some snare-like machine, similar to a serpent. Saya^a, sarpaj-arirai^ parivesh/aya. Stanza 7. For women as mourners over the dead, and their con- ventional practices, see our essay on the subject, Contribu- tions, Second Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 336 ff. Our XI, 9- COMMENTARY. 635 explanation of krzdhukami', ' with short (mutilated) ears,' is very doubtful, and on p. 340 of the essay just quoted I have asked whether the entire stanza does not perchance refer to demons of the battle-field.
2I, 336 ff. Our XI, 9- COMMENTARY. 635 explanation of krzdhukami', ' with short (mutilated) ears,' is very doubtful, and on p. 340 of the essay just quoted I have asked whether the entire stanza does not perchance refer to demons of the battle-field. I do not place great confidence in Saya/za's naively ingenious explanation of krzdhukarTz? by ' short-eared, because all ear-ornaments have been removed.5 Ludwig is relieved by making a proper name of the word. Stanza 8. - a. The Pada is problematic : our translation implies that the women, bereft of their relatives who have fallen in battle, sit in a bent attitude longing for their lost kin. It would be possible to imagine another situation : with bent back the women who miss their relatives seek them on the battle-field, where Arbudi has pierced them. Saya/za offers nothing usable. Ludwig's translation is not clear, i die abreisst den ruckenwirbel, wahrend sie im geist den sohn sucht,' &c. Stanza 9. Saya/za presents futile etymologies for aliklava1 and ^ashkamada. P&da d, amitreshu samikshayan is cut of construction, and superfluous : samikshayan is in reality the nominative singular masculine of the participle (as in st. 6 b). The expression has assumed the character of a refrain (cf. stanzas 11 and 35), and is similar to the equally formulaic amitrebhyo drzse kuru, in stanzas 1,15, 22, and 24. Stanza 12. c. Saya/za reads urugrahaiA (uru/za//z graha//ai/£), and bahuvankai/^ (b&huna, vakrabandhanai^), i. e. ' with thy thighs and arms.' The parallelism is noteworthy, and uru- may be the correct reading. Conversely, of course, Saya;za may have accentuated an incidental parallelism. 1 aliklaba^ vmsh/aklaibyayukta viklaba^ tadvipaiita aliklaba^, ' viklabas are creatures afflicted by extraordinary impotence ; ' the converse of that are aliklabas (!); cf. the note on XI, 2, 2. 636 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 14. Cf. the essay quoted in the note on stanza 7 (especially p. 340, note). For pa/aurav of the vulgata, Shankar Pandit, following Saya/za and some MSS., has substituted pa/urav. Saya/m on Pada b, ura^ vaksha>fethala;/z pa/urau tatpra- de^au (£a) aghnana^. Here, doubtless, belongs too pa/ura in Tait. S. V, 7, 21, 2; 22, 1, a designation of a part of the body, described by the commentator as c ribs in the back.' The translation of the air. Key. aghanm/£ in Pada c is that of the Pet. Lex., and purely etymological. Saya?za, c distressed by the grief due to the loss of their husbands ' (aghena . . . arta^). Stanza 15. a, b. -All the matter pertaining to the female demons is extremely problematic.
3Key. aghanm/£ in Pada c is that of the Pet. Lex., and purely etymological. Saya?za, c distressed by the grief due to the loss of their husbands ' (aghena . . . arta^). Stanza 15. a, b. -All the matter pertaining to the female demons is extremely problematic. Saya/za takes svknvatik literally, * accompanied by the dog Sarameya as a playmate/ He explains rupaka/z as ' ghostly armies which by the force of magic are perceptible in outline merely ' (mayava^at keva- la//z rupamatre^a upalabhyamana/z senarupaka^). The word rupaka suggests the root rup, ' injure ;' cf. XI, 2, 3. c, d. Saya/za garbles his text, and comments as follows, patre anta^ madhye rerihati/zz puna^-punar lihatif/z durnihi- taishi/zi;/z dush/anikshiptam ikk/iantim vas&m (!) gam. Stanza 16. a. Our rendering of kha^ure reflects simply our own and Saya/za's perplexity, durabhutaw khaw khaduram (!) aka^e durade^e. Stanza 22. Much in this is obscure and bizarre. Saya/za does not help much, except that he agrees with the Pet. Lexs. in reading -vaUina/z for -vasina/z in Pada d ; see bastava.nna/z for bastavasina^ in VIII, 6, 12, and cf. V, 20, 2 b. Accord- ingly our rendering. The entire stanza seems to depict a blend of a human and demoniac army (£ das wilde heer '), altogether fit to strike terror into the heart of the enemy. XI, IO. COMMENTARY. 637 Stanza 23. Saya^a: ' Trisha;/zdhi is a certain god who routs armies, or designates a weapon, a club which has three joints ; ' cf. our remarks in the introduction to the hymn. The natural- istic basis of the quasi-divinity is (Rudra's) lightning. Stanza 24. Even the trees and other vegetation, as well as animate beings, may exercise their powers to the destruction of the enemy, as is stated unambiguously in the closely parallel stanzas VIII, 8, 14. 15, where the arrangement of the first two hemistichs is a different one. Cf also Kaiu. 73, 5. Stanza 25. For the loosely construed refrain at the end of this verse, see the note on stanza 9. XI, 10. Commentary to page 126. The hymn continues the subject of XI, 9, but the appeals for help to Arbudi and Nyarbudi are subordinated ; Tri- sha/^dhi is here the prominent figure : his momentous powers are engaged for the destruction of the enemy. For the employment of the hymn in the Atharvanic practices and the meaning of Trisha/^dhi, see the introduction to the preceding hymn, and the note on XI, 9, 23. It has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 531 fif. Stanza 1. For ketii, see the passages and the literature quoted by the Pet. Lex. s. v. 7) ; Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, I2, 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.
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