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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1jureth a Br£hma/za, whose kin are the gods, does not reach heaven by the road of the Fathers. 14. Agni is called our guide, Soma our heir, Indra slays those who curse (us): that the strong (sages) know. IX. PRAYERS AND IMPRECATIONS FOR BRAHMANS. 171 15. Like a poisoned arrow, O king, like an adder, O lord of cattle, is the terrible arrow of the Brahma/za : with that he smites those who revile (the gods). V, 19. Imprecation against the oppressors of Brahmans. 1. Beyond measure they waxed strong, just fell short of touching the heavens. When they in- fringed upon Bhrzgu they perished, the SrzVz£*aya Vaitahavyas. 2. The persons who pierced Brzhatsaman, the descendant of Angiras, the Brahma/za — a ram with two rows of teeth, a sheep devoured their offspring. 3. They who spat upon the Brahma/za, who desired tribute from him, they sit in the middle of a pool of blood, chewing hair. 4. The cow of the Brahman, when roasted, as far as she reaches does she destroy the lustre of the kingdom ; no lusty hero is born (there). 5. A cruel (sacrilegious) deed is her slaughter, her meat, when eaten, is sapless ; when her milk is drunk, that surely is accounted a crime against the Fathers. 6. When the king, weening himself mighty, de- sires to destroy the Brahma/za, then royal power is dissipated, where the Brahma/za is oppressed. 7. Becoming eight-footed, four-eyed, four-eared, four-jawed, two-mouthed, two-tongued, she dispels the rule of the oppressor of the Brahman. 8. That (kingdom) surely she swamps, as water a leaking ship ; misfortune strikes that kingdom, in which they injure a Brahma/za. 9. The trees chase away with the words : ' do not 172 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. come within our shade/ him who covets the wealth that belongs to a Brahma/za, O Narada ! 10. King Varu/za pronounced this (to be) poison, prepared by the gods : no one who has devoured the cow of a Brahma//a retains the charge of a kingdom. 1 1 . Those full nine and ninety whom the earth did cast off, because they had injured the offspring of a Brahma/za, were ruined irretrievably. 12. The kudi-plant (Christ's thorn) that wipes away the track (of death), which they fasten to the dead, that very one, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did declare (to be) thy couch. 13. The tears which have rolled from (the eyes of) the oppressed (Brahman), as he laments, these very ones, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did assign to thee as thy share of water. 14.
2one, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did declare (to be) thy couch. 13. The tears which have rolled from (the eyes of) the oppressed (Brahman), as he laments, these very ones, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did assign to thee as thy share of water. 14. The water with which they bathe the dead, with which they moisten his beard, that very one, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did assign to thee as thy share of water. 15. The rain of Mitra and Varu^a does not moisten the oppressor of Brahmans ; the assembly is not complacent for him, he does not guide his friend according to his will. V, 7. Prayer to appease Arati, the demon of grudge and avarice. 1. Bring (wealth) to us, do not stand in our way, O Arati ; do not keep from us the sacrificial reward as it is being taken (to us) ! Adoration be to the power of grudge, the power of failure, adoration to Arati ! IX. PRAYERS AND IMPRECATIONS FOR BRAHMANS. I 73 2. To thy advising minister, whom thou, Arati, didst make thy agent, do we make obeisance. Do not bring failure to my wish ! 3. May our wish, instilled by the gods, be fulfilled by day and night ! We go in quest of Ar&ti. Adoration be to Arati ! 4. Sarasvati (speech), Anumati (favour), and Bhaga (fortune) we go to invoke. Pleasant, honied, words I have spoken on the occasions when the gods were invoked. 5. Him whom I implore with Va/6 Sarasvati (the goddess of speech), the yoke-fellow of thought, faith shall find to-day, bestowed by the brown soma ! 6. Neither our wish nor our speech do thou frus- trate ! May Indra and Agni both bring us wealth ! Do ye all who to-day desire to make gifts to us gain favour with Arati ! 7. Go far away, failure ! Thy missile do we avert. I know thee (to be) oppressive and piercing, O Ar&ti ! 8. Thou dost even transform thyself into a naked woman, and attach thyself to people in their sleep, frustrating, O Ar&ti, the thought and intention of man. 9. To her who, great, and of great dimension, did penetrate all the regions, to this golden-locked Nirr/ti (goddess of misfortune), I have rendered obeisance. 10. To the gold-complexioned, lovely one, who rests upon golden cushions, to the great one, to that Arati who wears golden robes, I have rendered obeisance. 174 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. XII, 4. The necessity of giving away sterile cows to the Brahmans. 1 . ' I give/ he shall surely say, ' the sterile cow to the begging Brahmans' — and they have noted her — that brings progeny and offspring ! 2.
3isance. 174 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. XII, 4. The necessity of giving away sterile cows to the Brahmans. 1 . ' I give/ he shall surely say, ' the sterile cow to the begging Brahmans' — and they have noted her — that brings progeny and offspring ! 2. With his offspring does he trade, of his cattle is he deprived, that refuses to give the cow of the gods to the begging descendants of the i?/shis. 3. Through (the gift of) a cow with broken horns his (cattle) breaks down, through a lame one he tumbles into a pit, through a mutilated one his house is burned, through a one-eyed one his property is given away. 4. Flow of blood attacks the cattle-owner from the spot where her dung is deposited : this under- standing there is about the vaici (the sterile cow) ; for thou (sterile cow) art said to be very difficult to deceive ! 5. From the resting-place of her feet the (disease) called viklindu overtakes (the owner, or the cattle). Without sickness breaks down (the cattle) which she sniffs upon with her nose. 6. He that pierces her ears is estranged from the gods. He thinks : ' I am making a mark (upon her)/ (but) he diminishes his own property. 7. If any one for whatsoever purpose cuts her tail then do his colts die, and the wolf tears his calves. 8. If a crow has injured her hair, as long as she is with her owner then do his children die : decline overtakes them without (noticeable) sickness. 9. If the serving-maid sweeps together her dung, IX. PRAYERS AND IMPRECATIONS FOR BRAHMANS. I 75 that bites as lye, there arises from this sin disfigure- ment that passeth not away. 10. The sterile cow in her very birth is born for the gods and Brahma/zas. Hence to the Brahmans she is to be given : that, they say, guarantees the security of one's own property. 11. For those that come requesting her the cow has been created by the gods. Oppression of Brahmans it is called, if he keeps her for himself. 12. He that refuses to give the cow of the gods to the descendants of the i?zshis who ask for it, infringes upon the gods, and the wrath of the Brahma/zas. 13. Though he derives benefit from this sterile cow, another (cow) then shall he seek ! When kept she injures (his) folk, if he refuses to give her after she has been asked for ! 14. The sterile cow is as a treasure deposited for the Brahma/zas : they come here for her, with whom- soever she is born. 15. The Brahma^as come here for their own, when they come for the sterile cow. The refusal of her is, as though he were oppressing them in other concerns. 16.
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.
1jureth a Br£hma/za, whose kin are the gods, does not reach heaven by the road of the Fathers. 14. Agni is called our guide, Soma our heir, Indra slays those who curse (us): that the strong (sages) know. IX. PRAYERS AND IMPRECATIONS FOR BRAHMANS. 171 15. Like a poisoned arrow, O king, like an adder, O lord of cattle, is the terrible arrow of the Brahma/za : with that he smites those who revile (the gods). V, 19. Imprecation against the oppressors of Brahmans. 1. Beyond measure they waxed strong, just fell short of touching the heavens. When they in- fringed upon Bhrzgu they perished, the SrzVz£*aya Vaitahavyas. 2. The persons who pierced Brzhatsaman, the descendant of Angiras, the Brahma/za — a ram with two rows of teeth, a sheep devoured their offspring. 3. They who spat upon the Brahma/za, who desired tribute from him, they sit in the middle of a pool of blood, chewing hair. 4. The cow of the Brahman, when roasted, as far as she reaches does she destroy the lustre of the kingdom ; no lusty hero is born (there). 5. A cruel (sacrilegious) deed is her slaughter, her meat, when eaten, is sapless ; when her milk is drunk, that surely is accounted a crime against the Fathers. 6. When the king, weening himself mighty, de- sires to destroy the Brahma/za, then royal power is dissipated, where the Brahma/za is oppressed. 7. Becoming eight-footed, four-eyed, four-eared, four-jawed, two-mouthed, two-tongued, she dispels the rule of the oppressor of the Brahman. 8. That (kingdom) surely she swamps, as water a leaking ship ; misfortune strikes that kingdom, in which they injure a Brahma/za. 9. The trees chase away with the words : ' do not 172 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. come within our shade/ him who covets the wealth that belongs to a Brahma/za, O Narada ! 10. King Varu/za pronounced this (to be) poison, prepared by the gods : no one who has devoured the cow of a Brahma//a retains the charge of a kingdom. 1 1 . Those full nine and ninety whom the earth did cast off, because they had injured the offspring of a Brahma/za, were ruined irretrievably. 12. The kudi-plant (Christ's thorn) that wipes away the track (of death), which they fasten to the dead, that very one, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did declare (to be) thy couch. 13. The tears which have rolled from (the eyes of) the oppressed (Brahman), as he laments, these very ones, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did assign to thee as thy share of water. 14.
2one, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did declare (to be) thy couch. 13. The tears which have rolled from (the eyes of) the oppressed (Brahman), as he laments, these very ones, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did assign to thee as thy share of water. 14. The water with which they bathe the dead, with which they moisten his beard, that very one, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did assign to thee as thy share of water. 15. The rain of Mitra and Varu^a does not moisten the oppressor of Brahmans ; the assembly is not complacent for him, he does not guide his friend according to his will. V, 7. Prayer to appease Arati, the demon of grudge and avarice. 1. Bring (wealth) to us, do not stand in our way, O Arati ; do not keep from us the sacrificial reward as it is being taken (to us) ! Adoration be to the power of grudge, the power of failure, adoration to Arati ! IX. PRAYERS AND IMPRECATIONS FOR BRAHMANS. I 73 2. To thy advising minister, whom thou, Arati, didst make thy agent, do we make obeisance. Do not bring failure to my wish ! 3. May our wish, instilled by the gods, be fulfilled by day and night ! We go in quest of Ar&ti. Adoration be to Arati ! 4. Sarasvati (speech), Anumati (favour), and Bhaga (fortune) we go to invoke. Pleasant, honied, words I have spoken on the occasions when the gods were invoked. 5. Him whom I implore with Va/6 Sarasvati (the goddess of speech), the yoke-fellow of thought, faith shall find to-day, bestowed by the brown soma ! 6. Neither our wish nor our speech do thou frus- trate ! May Indra and Agni both bring us wealth ! Do ye all who to-day desire to make gifts to us gain favour with Arati ! 7. Go far away, failure ! Thy missile do we avert. I know thee (to be) oppressive and piercing, O Ar&ti ! 8. Thou dost even transform thyself into a naked woman, and attach thyself to people in their sleep, frustrating, O Ar&ti, the thought and intention of man. 9. To her who, great, and of great dimension, did penetrate all the regions, to this golden-locked Nirr/ti (goddess of misfortune), I have rendered obeisance. 10. To the gold-complexioned, lovely one, who rests upon golden cushions, to the great one, to that Arati who wears golden robes, I have rendered obeisance. 174 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. XII, 4. The necessity of giving away sterile cows to the Brahmans. 1 . ' I give/ he shall surely say, ' the sterile cow to the begging Brahmans' — and they have noted her — that brings progeny and offspring ! 2.
3isance. 174 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. XII, 4. The necessity of giving away sterile cows to the Brahmans. 1 . ' I give/ he shall surely say, ' the sterile cow to the begging Brahmans' — and they have noted her — that brings progeny and offspring ! 2. With his offspring does he trade, of his cattle is he deprived, that refuses to give the cow of the gods to the begging descendants of the i?/shis. 3. Through (the gift of) a cow with broken horns his (cattle) breaks down, through a lame one he tumbles into a pit, through a mutilated one his house is burned, through a one-eyed one his property is given away. 4. Flow of blood attacks the cattle-owner from the spot where her dung is deposited : this under- standing there is about the vaici (the sterile cow) ; for thou (sterile cow) art said to be very difficult to deceive ! 5. From the resting-place of her feet the (disease) called viklindu overtakes (the owner, or the cattle). Without sickness breaks down (the cattle) which she sniffs upon with her nose. 6. He that pierces her ears is estranged from the gods. He thinks : ' I am making a mark (upon her)/ (but) he diminishes his own property. 7. If any one for whatsoever purpose cuts her tail then do his colts die, and the wolf tears his calves. 8. If a crow has injured her hair, as long as she is with her owner then do his children die : decline overtakes them without (noticeable) sickness. 9. If the serving-maid sweeps together her dung, IX. PRAYERS AND IMPRECATIONS FOR BRAHMANS. I 75 that bites as lye, there arises from this sin disfigure- ment that passeth not away. 10. The sterile cow in her very birth is born for the gods and Brahma/zas. Hence to the Brahmans she is to be given : that, they say, guarantees the security of one's own property. 11. For those that come requesting her the cow has been created by the gods. Oppression of Brahmans it is called, if he keeps her for himself. 12. He that refuses to give the cow of the gods to the descendants of the i?zshis who ask for it, infringes upon the gods, and the wrath of the Brahma/zas. 13. Though he derives benefit from this sterile cow, another (cow) then shall he seek ! When kept she injures (his) folk, if he refuses to give her after she has been asked for ! 14. The sterile cow is as a treasure deposited for the Brahma/zas : they come here for her, with whom- soever she is born. 15. The Brahma^as come here for their own, when they come for the sterile cow. The refusal of her is, as though he were oppressing them in other concerns. 16.
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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