Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1not quite do justice to ka7am. d. The Paippalada has for diyate the preferable reading ^iyate, ' his property is wrung (from him).' For the inter- change of the sound-groups di and gi (dy and gy)y see the writer in Amer. Journ. Phil. VII, 482. Stanza 4. a. vilohita, designation of some disease, also IX, 8, 1; perhaps, ' flow of blood from the nose.' Henry, Les livres VIII et IX de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 105, 142, 'decomposition du sang.' Both translations are purely etymological, but we may note that the word occurs in connection with other ailments of the head at IX, 8, 1. Cf. also lohita VI, 127, r, note. c, d. The passage is not quite clear, sa^vidyam, air. Aey., may mean ' possession.' Ludwig, ' name.' At any rate there seems to be an attempt to etymologise upon, or explain, vaja as a derivative from the root vas, ' control : ' the character of the vaja, quasi ' controller/ is such that she cannot be deceived (duradabhna). We should expect u^yate for u^yase: the Paippalada also reads u^yase. The Pet. Lexs. translate duradabhna (also st. 19), by ' getting the better of gates/ i.e. ' not to be confined.' This is ingeniously improbable, and contrary to the more usual rendering of the perfect passive participle. The prefixes dur- and a- represent a double negative for emphasis ; the word is a stronger version of diWabha. Stanza 4 may be suspected of having stood originally [42] u u 658 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. after 5, because its second hemistich seems to summarise the statements made in the remaining three hemistichs of the two stanzas. Stanza 5. b. viklfndu, cnr. Aey., perhaps i catarrh ; ' cf. vikleda (root klid), ■ moisture.' d. Ludwig emends ya to yan, but the feminine is un- objectionable (supply, dhenM, or the like). Stanza 6. For the custom of marking cattle, see Zimmer, Altin- disches Leben, p. 234. The sense of a sku is not quite certain. For Sat. Br. I, 2, 1, 5. 8, Bohtlingk's Lexicon renders it f durch stochern zerkleinern ; ' Eggeling, Sacred Books, XII, 33, 'pull towards oneself;' Pet. Lex., 'divide off.' For £ wz>£ate, see the next note. Stanza 12. c, d. If we compare a vra^anti in st. 28, and Sat. Br. XII, i, 3, 22, it seems possible that the passive a vriskyate must be substituted in one or another case (stanzas 6, 12, 26, 34) for $. vrtskate ; cf. the parallel roots j^yut and ^ut, and the note on VI, 136, 3. The Pet. Lex. s. v. suggests the same correction for a number of passages in other texts.
2ve a vriskyate must be substituted in one or another case (stanzas 6, 12, 26, 34) for $. vrtskate ; cf. the parallel roots j^yut and ^ut, and the note on VI, 136, 3. The Pet. Lex. s. v. suggests the same correction for a number of passages in other texts. The dative manyave, in that case, involves zeugma : here the middle of the same verb, in the sense of ' infringe upon,' is* certainly required, as is shown by st. 51. Stanza 16. For Narada in this and several of the following stanzas, see the note on V, 19, 9. Stanza 18. The sense is as follows : Though he did not perceive her udder, because a young and sterile cow is deficient in this mark of prospective maternity, yet when he gives her away, she becomes a fruitful source of blessings. XII, 4- COMMENTARY. 659 Stanza 22. d. The cow belongs not even to every ordinary Brahma/za, but only to him that knows all her mystic properties ; cf. the numberless occurrences in the Brahma/zas of the expres- sions, ya evam veda, &c, and ya eva//z vidvan, &c. Stanza 23. The divinities that belong to the earth are in all pro- bability the Brahma^as themselves; cf. the note on XII, 3, 38. The stanza betrays sharp competition between the Brahma/zas. Stanza 24. e, d. Ludwig proposes to read either vidvan for vidyan, or narada for narada/4. Neither seems necessary : vidyat is the optative of narration, a moderated form of categorical statement. A better way to ease the construction is to read sa ha for saha in Pada d. Stanza 27. The statement is significant : it seems as though stanzas of a more antique and floating character respecting the va^a existed prior to the Atharvan redaction. For va^et read, of course, vaset with the Index Verborum ; cf. the note on III, 4, 7. Stanzas 29, 30. d. Ludwig suggests ^ighaz/zsasi, and this is correct as far as the change of the third person to the second person is concerned. The attraction of the proper third person in st. 30 has operated. But I have furthermore changed both stems to glgdiMsa.- from the root gam : the sense is much simplified. In st. 30 d read y&knytiys. with the Index Ver- borum. Stanza 31. Cf. the interesting parallel stanza .Sat. Br. Ill, 4, 2, 7. It may be questioned whether the real gods are supposed to mediate between the va^a and the Brahmans, or whether deva and brahman are used synonymously. Cf. the notes on st. 23 and st. 40. U u 2 660 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 32. a, b.
32, 7. It may be questioned whether the real gods are supposed to mediate between the va^a and the Brahmans, or whether deva and brahman are used synonymously. Cf. the notes on st. 23 and st. 40. U u 2 660 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 32. a, b. The call svadha is the ordinary and typical exclama- tion in connection with formulas addressed to the Fathers, in distinction from svaha, the call to the gods. The con- struction of the hemistich involves a zeugma. If we compare expressions like a sfiryaya vrtskyaite, Tait. Br. II, i, 2, 10 ; a vmv£yantam aditaye dureva/z, RV. X, 87, 18, it would seem as though the datives pitr/bhyo and devatabhya^ are to be construed with na a vrtskyate (vrtskate), derived from the sense of Pada 4 ; cf. also st. 28 d. See in general the note on st. 12. Stanza 38. Brzhaspati is the divine representative of the Brahmans : he undertakes to collect the debt incurred by the un- righteous owner of the vaisS. from his descendants by causing the priests to dun them for the debt. Stanza 41. For viliptyam (MSS. also viliptim) the Paippalada has vilaptim (for vilapatim ?). Neither form seems to suggest anything usable. Perhaps viluptf, ' miscarrying,' a deriva- tive of vilupta, ' destroyed,' in the neuter ' dead offspring ' is the true reading, of which the extant forms are perplexed popular etymologies (viliptf, ' soiled;' vilapati, 'whining'). Only it does not appear clear why vilupti should have been misunderstood ; hence the suggestion is very problematic. Stanza 42. c. The Paippalada reads tan for tarn: 'And Narada replied to them ' — a more facile reading. Stanzas 43-47. There seems to be considerable disorder in the arrange- ment of these stanzas. We should naturally expect 47 immediately after 43. This may have been displaced by 44 : the concordance of kasya(/£) in 43, and viliptya^ in 44 XIII, I. COMMENTARY. 66 1 (cf. vilipt? ya in the otherwise identical st. 46) renders stanza 44 suspicious. The original order, throwing out 44, may have been 43, 47, 46, 45. XIII, 1. Commentary to page 207. The thirteenth book of the Atharvan consists of four hymns devoted to the worship of a divinity called Rohita, and his female Rohim. There can be no doubt that ' the red ' sun and his accompanying female, who in the course of the literature is designated as Ushas, Surya, Surya Savitri, or Dyu1, are primarily in the mind of the poet. Rohita accordingly is identified with Agni (stanzas 1, 1 1. 12), Surya (stanzas 1, 32. 45 ; 2, 1) and other manifestations of the sun 2.
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.
1not quite do justice to ka7am. d. The Paippalada has for diyate the preferable reading ^iyate, ' his property is wrung (from him).' For the inter- change of the sound-groups di and gi (dy and gy)y see the writer in Amer. Journ. Phil. VII, 482. Stanza 4. a. vilohita, designation of some disease, also IX, 8, 1; perhaps, ' flow of blood from the nose.' Henry, Les livres VIII et IX de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 105, 142, 'decomposition du sang.' Both translations are purely etymological, but we may note that the word occurs in connection with other ailments of the head at IX, 8, 1. Cf. also lohita VI, 127, r, note. c, d. The passage is not quite clear, sa^vidyam, air. Aey., may mean ' possession.' Ludwig, ' name.' At any rate there seems to be an attempt to etymologise upon, or explain, vaja as a derivative from the root vas, ' control : ' the character of the vaja, quasi ' controller/ is such that she cannot be deceived (duradabhna). We should expect u^yate for u^yase: the Paippalada also reads u^yase. The Pet. Lexs. translate duradabhna (also st. 19), by ' getting the better of gates/ i.e. ' not to be confined.' This is ingeniously improbable, and contrary to the more usual rendering of the perfect passive participle. The prefixes dur- and a- represent a double negative for emphasis ; the word is a stronger version of diWabha. Stanza 4 may be suspected of having stood originally [42] u u 658 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. after 5, because its second hemistich seems to summarise the statements made in the remaining three hemistichs of the two stanzas. Stanza 5. b. viklfndu, cnr. Aey., perhaps i catarrh ; ' cf. vikleda (root klid), ■ moisture.' d. Ludwig emends ya to yan, but the feminine is un- objectionable (supply, dhenM, or the like). Stanza 6. For the custom of marking cattle, see Zimmer, Altin- disches Leben, p. 234. The sense of a sku is not quite certain. For Sat. Br. I, 2, 1, 5. 8, Bohtlingk's Lexicon renders it f durch stochern zerkleinern ; ' Eggeling, Sacred Books, XII, 33, 'pull towards oneself;' Pet. Lex., 'divide off.' For £ wz>£ate, see the next note. Stanza 12. c, d. If we compare a vra^anti in st. 28, and Sat. Br. XII, i, 3, 22, it seems possible that the passive a vriskyate must be substituted in one or another case (stanzas 6, 12, 26, 34) for $. vrtskate ; cf. the parallel roots j^yut and ^ut, and the note on VI, 136, 3. The Pet. Lex. s. v. suggests the same correction for a number of passages in other texts.
2ve a vriskyate must be substituted in one or another case (stanzas 6, 12, 26, 34) for $. vrtskate ; cf. the parallel roots j^yut and ^ut, and the note on VI, 136, 3. The Pet. Lex. s. v. suggests the same correction for a number of passages in other texts. The dative manyave, in that case, involves zeugma : here the middle of the same verb, in the sense of ' infringe upon,' is* certainly required, as is shown by st. 51. Stanza 16. For Narada in this and several of the following stanzas, see the note on V, 19, 9. Stanza 18. The sense is as follows : Though he did not perceive her udder, because a young and sterile cow is deficient in this mark of prospective maternity, yet when he gives her away, she becomes a fruitful source of blessings. XII, 4- COMMENTARY. 659 Stanza 22. d. The cow belongs not even to every ordinary Brahma/za, but only to him that knows all her mystic properties ; cf. the numberless occurrences in the Brahma/zas of the expres- sions, ya evam veda, &c, and ya eva//z vidvan, &c. Stanza 23. The divinities that belong to the earth are in all pro- bability the Brahma^as themselves; cf. the note on XII, 3, 38. The stanza betrays sharp competition between the Brahma/zas. Stanza 24. e, d. Ludwig proposes to read either vidvan for vidyan, or narada for narada/4. Neither seems necessary : vidyat is the optative of narration, a moderated form of categorical statement. A better way to ease the construction is to read sa ha for saha in Pada d. Stanza 27. The statement is significant : it seems as though stanzas of a more antique and floating character respecting the va^a existed prior to the Atharvan redaction. For va^et read, of course, vaset with the Index Verborum ; cf. the note on III, 4, 7. Stanzas 29, 30. d. Ludwig suggests ^ighaz/zsasi, and this is correct as far as the change of the third person to the second person is concerned. The attraction of the proper third person in st. 30 has operated. But I have furthermore changed both stems to glgdiMsa.- from the root gam : the sense is much simplified. In st. 30 d read y&knytiys. with the Index Ver- borum. Stanza 31. Cf. the interesting parallel stanza .Sat. Br. Ill, 4, 2, 7. It may be questioned whether the real gods are supposed to mediate between the va^a and the Brahmans, or whether deva and brahman are used synonymously. Cf. the notes on st. 23 and st. 40. U u 2 660 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 32. a, b.
32, 7. It may be questioned whether the real gods are supposed to mediate between the va^a and the Brahmans, or whether deva and brahman are used synonymously. Cf. the notes on st. 23 and st. 40. U u 2 660 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. Stanza 32. a, b. The call svadha is the ordinary and typical exclama- tion in connection with formulas addressed to the Fathers, in distinction from svaha, the call to the gods. The con- struction of the hemistich involves a zeugma. If we compare expressions like a sfiryaya vrtskyaite, Tait. Br. II, i, 2, 10 ; a vmv£yantam aditaye dureva/z, RV. X, 87, 18, it would seem as though the datives pitr/bhyo and devatabhya^ are to be construed with na a vrtskyate (vrtskate), derived from the sense of Pada 4 ; cf. also st. 28 d. See in general the note on st. 12. Stanza 38. Brzhaspati is the divine representative of the Brahmans : he undertakes to collect the debt incurred by the un- righteous owner of the vaisS. from his descendants by causing the priests to dun them for the debt. Stanza 41. For viliptyam (MSS. also viliptim) the Paippalada has vilaptim (for vilapatim ?). Neither form seems to suggest anything usable. Perhaps viluptf, ' miscarrying,' a deriva- tive of vilupta, ' destroyed,' in the neuter ' dead offspring ' is the true reading, of which the extant forms are perplexed popular etymologies (viliptf, ' soiled;' vilapati, 'whining'). Only it does not appear clear why vilupti should have been misunderstood ; hence the suggestion is very problematic. Stanza 42. c. The Paippalada reads tan for tarn: 'And Narada replied to them ' — a more facile reading. Stanzas 43-47. There seems to be considerable disorder in the arrange- ment of these stanzas. We should naturally expect 47 immediately after 43. This may have been displaced by 44 : the concordance of kasya(/£) in 43, and viliptya^ in 44 XIII, I. COMMENTARY. 66 1 (cf. vilipt? ya in the otherwise identical st. 46) renders stanza 44 suspicious. The original order, throwing out 44, may have been 43, 47, 46, 45. XIII, 1. Commentary to page 207. The thirteenth book of the Atharvan consists of four hymns devoted to the worship of a divinity called Rohita, and his female Rohim. There can be no doubt that ' the red ' sun and his accompanying female, who in the course of the literature is designated as Ushas, Surya, Surya Savitri, or Dyu1, are primarily in the mind of the poet. Rohita accordingly is identified with Agni (stanzas 1, 1 1. 12), Surya (stanzas 1, 32. 45 ; 2, 1) and other manifestations of the sun 2.
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.