Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1ire stanza to aditya, ' the sun/ I, 12. COMMENTARY. 25 1 Both readings are worthless ; I have substituted in my article on the Seven Hymns, vata-abhra-g-a/i. It is refreshing to see for once an emendation rendered abso- lutely certain by a later discovery. The entire P&da presents the stereotyped four component parts of a storm, vata, abhra, stanayitnu, and vrzsh/i ; in this way they are catalogued in a variety of Vedic texts ; see the article en .yushma just quoted, 1. c, pp. 569-70. c. Read tanvar^ugo with crasis of sandhi-hiatus. The juxtaposition of rigugd and rug-an is of the punning order. d. Read trayadha 1. — Cf. the statements about Vishnu, who himself single passes through three regions, e.g. RV. VIII, 29, 7, Xxmy eka urugayo vi £akrame. Resting upon this parallelism I have taken ekam q^as as in apposition with the subject of the clause. Stanza 2. a. .roll's, the salient symptom of fever, AV. I, 25, 2, 4 ; V, 22, 2 ; VI, 20, 3. c. I have translated anka as ' crook ' and samanka synonymically as ' hook/ Both translations are purely tentative ; anka may mean i hook/ and at present any ren- dering of samanka is an enfant perdu. The word occurs once more in the Atharvan, VI, 50, 1, apparently as the name of some pestiferous insect, or animal which destroys grain. I do not know how to mediate between the two uses of the word. Saya^a, ankan a^ana^ilan suryasya anu^aran samankan sama^anajilan samipe vartamanan antarangan api parivarabhutan devan. d. The text of the Sa/^hita reads asya, the Padapa/^a, asya. If the latter is correct in its interpretation, this is the only instance in the Rig and Atharvan- vedas of asya as a masculine. Looked at purely by itself asya grabhita may stand for asya(/z) grabhita, and this opens out the 1 Cf. my article, On certain irregular Vedic subjunctives or imperatives, Amer. Journ. Phil. V, p. 27 (12 of the reprint). 252 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. possibility that the stanza stood originally in some other connection where a feminine was appropriate. Stanza 3. The stanza, in accordance with its context, is employed in Kauj. 27, 34, along with the so-called mrzgara-suktani, in a more general remedial charm, designated by Darila as a sarvabhaisha^yam. a. jirshaktf, probably for ^irshasakti with haplology ; see Proceedings of the American Oriental Society, 1893 (Journal, vol. xvi), p. xxxv. The poet puns upon the word in Pada d with sa^atam, although sakti is more likely to come from sa^*, rather than sa£. b. The masculine yo is difficult.
2asakti with haplology ; see Proceedings of the American Oriental Society, 1893 (Journal, vol. xvi), p. xxxv. The poet puns upon the word in Pada d with sa^atam, although sakti is more likely to come from sa^*, rather than sa£. b. The masculine yo is difficult. I have referred it to the lightning (usriyo vr/sha, or .nishma^), which involves a considerable ellipsis, indicated by the parenthesis in the translation. But it seems to me possible to refer yo to kisa(^) in Pada a, and to translate more simply, ' Release him from headache, and also from cough, which has entered every joint of him/ Namely kas, feminine, jostles with its thematic pendant kasa, masculine, in AV. V, 22, 10 and 11 (kasa, instrumental feminine in 10; but kasam, accusa- tive masculine in 11). It requires no violent stretch of the grammatical imagination to suppose that the poet uncon- sciously has shifted his position from the feminine in Pada a to its masculine doublet kasa in Pdda b. The masculine form prevails in the classical period. c. For .nishmo, see the article on the word, cited above, where several close parallels to this passage are assembled. I, 14. Commentary to page 107. The history of the interpretation of this hymn is of interest. Weber, Ind. Stud. IV, 408 (cf. also V, 218); Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 459 ; and Zimmer, Altin- disches Leben, p. 314, translated and interpreted the hymn as a marriage-hymn. Zimmer thought that the stanzas were spoken at the end of the ceremony, as the bridegroom I, 14. COMMENTARY. 253 assumed charge of the bride. The present writer, following the indications of the practices connected with the hymn in the Kaimka (36, 15-17), thought that it was a charm of a woman against a rival, and dealt with the hymn and the ritual in this sense in an article devoted to the subject in Seven Hymns of the Atharva-veda, Amer. Journ. Phil. VII, pp. 473-6. It is of interest to find now that Saya^a construes the hymn in the very same spirit. The proceedings in the Kaus. are somewrhat as follows : 36, 15. ' While reciting AV. I, 14, the wreath, pillow (?), tooth-brush, and hair (of the woman against whom the charm is undertaken are placed) into the skin of a cow slain by Rudra, or of a funeral cow, and buried in the cavity of a mortar under a pile of three stones1. 16. The hymn is recited while the wreath is being ground up. 17.
3f the woman against whom the charm is undertaken are placed) into the skin of a cow slain by Rudra, or of a funeral cow, and buried in the cavity of a mortar under a pile of three stones1. 16. The hymn is recited while the wreath is being ground up. 17. Three tufts of hair are tied (each) with a black thread (and buried under) a pile of three stones, the stones each alternately above (each tuft).' Then follows in Sutra 18 a subsidiary rite for digging the 'fortune ' up again (Ke^ava), saubhagya- kara/zam : ' Then one digs her fortune up with the formula, " That fortune of thine which they have buried into a pile of three stones, or four stones, that we now dig up, along with offspring and wealth.'' ' Throughout the hymn and the ritual the spirit of fierce hatred manifests itself in allusions to the burial rites. Thus in the ritual the anustara/zi ; in stanzas 1, 3, the word pitr/shu, translated above * with her relatives,5 may also mean (with 1 The Sutra bristles with difficulties; nishpramanda has been translated by ' pillow,' because Saya/za says, tadupabhuktamalya- kandukadantadhavanake^anam . . . (ni)khananadikarmam. But the word nishpramanda is none too certain ; some MSS. and Ke^ava read nipramanda, and Darila's comment on the word is unintel- ligible (kru/ayavargag-enduka^ ; cf. pramanda=induka^, Kau.?. 8, 17; 25, 11; 32, 29, and Kaiwika, Introduction, p. Hi). I trans- late kora by ' skin/ because Ke^ava says, faanahata tasya^ ^armawa **vesh/ya (the passage is not extracted in the edition). But cf. the word anta^ko^am in st. 4 c. Both Darila and Ke^ava explain faanahata, ' slain by Rudra/ as=^varahata, 'killed by fever.' 254 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. double entente) ' among the Fathers or manes.' The first hemistich of the third stanza, considered by itself, might be readily interpreted as being uttered at the funeral of a maiden ; indeed, it seems possible that material of this sort has been worked over for the occasion. The secondary employment of stanzas, composed primarily for the burial service, is possibly to be assumed for stanzas 2-4 of RV. VII, 55 (see Aufrecht, Ind. Stud. IV, 342), and for AV. II, 12, 7-8 (q. v.). The Anukramam makes the following curious statement in regard to our hymn : namas te astu (I, 13), bhagam asya (I, 14), iti sukte vaidyute dve anushAibhe, prathama//z vaidyuta;^ para/^ vkrunam vo*ta yamya//z va, prathamena vidyutam astaud, dvitiyena tadartha//z yamam. There seems to be no reason for associating these hymns, nor for regarding I, 14 as having any relation to lightning 1. Stanza 1.
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.
1ire stanza to aditya, ' the sun/ I, 12. COMMENTARY. 25 1 Both readings are worthless ; I have substituted in my article on the Seven Hymns, vata-abhra-g-a/i. It is refreshing to see for once an emendation rendered abso- lutely certain by a later discovery. The entire P&da presents the stereotyped four component parts of a storm, vata, abhra, stanayitnu, and vrzsh/i ; in this way they are catalogued in a variety of Vedic texts ; see the article en .yushma just quoted, 1. c, pp. 569-70. c. Read tanvar^ugo with crasis of sandhi-hiatus. The juxtaposition of rigugd and rug-an is of the punning order. d. Read trayadha 1. — Cf. the statements about Vishnu, who himself single passes through three regions, e.g. RV. VIII, 29, 7, Xxmy eka urugayo vi £akrame. Resting upon this parallelism I have taken ekam q^as as in apposition with the subject of the clause. Stanza 2. a. .roll's, the salient symptom of fever, AV. I, 25, 2, 4 ; V, 22, 2 ; VI, 20, 3. c. I have translated anka as ' crook ' and samanka synonymically as ' hook/ Both translations are purely tentative ; anka may mean i hook/ and at present any ren- dering of samanka is an enfant perdu. The word occurs once more in the Atharvan, VI, 50, 1, apparently as the name of some pestiferous insect, or animal which destroys grain. I do not know how to mediate between the two uses of the word. Saya^a, ankan a^ana^ilan suryasya anu^aran samankan sama^anajilan samipe vartamanan antarangan api parivarabhutan devan. d. The text of the Sa/^hita reads asya, the Padapa/^a, asya. If the latter is correct in its interpretation, this is the only instance in the Rig and Atharvan- vedas of asya as a masculine. Looked at purely by itself asya grabhita may stand for asya(/z) grabhita, and this opens out the 1 Cf. my article, On certain irregular Vedic subjunctives or imperatives, Amer. Journ. Phil. V, p. 27 (12 of the reprint). 252 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. possibility that the stanza stood originally in some other connection where a feminine was appropriate. Stanza 3. The stanza, in accordance with its context, is employed in Kauj. 27, 34, along with the so-called mrzgara-suktani, in a more general remedial charm, designated by Darila as a sarvabhaisha^yam. a. jirshaktf, probably for ^irshasakti with haplology ; see Proceedings of the American Oriental Society, 1893 (Journal, vol. xvi), p. xxxv. The poet puns upon the word in Pada d with sa^atam, although sakti is more likely to come from sa^*, rather than sa£. b. The masculine yo is difficult.
2asakti with haplology ; see Proceedings of the American Oriental Society, 1893 (Journal, vol. xvi), p. xxxv. The poet puns upon the word in Pada d with sa^atam, although sakti is more likely to come from sa^*, rather than sa£. b. The masculine yo is difficult. I have referred it to the lightning (usriyo vr/sha, or .nishma^), which involves a considerable ellipsis, indicated by the parenthesis in the translation. But it seems to me possible to refer yo to kisa(^) in Pada a, and to translate more simply, ' Release him from headache, and also from cough, which has entered every joint of him/ Namely kas, feminine, jostles with its thematic pendant kasa, masculine, in AV. V, 22, 10 and 11 (kasa, instrumental feminine in 10; but kasam, accusa- tive masculine in 11). It requires no violent stretch of the grammatical imagination to suppose that the poet uncon- sciously has shifted his position from the feminine in Pada a to its masculine doublet kasa in Pdda b. The masculine form prevails in the classical period. c. For .nishmo, see the article on the word, cited above, where several close parallels to this passage are assembled. I, 14. Commentary to page 107. The history of the interpretation of this hymn is of interest. Weber, Ind. Stud. IV, 408 (cf. also V, 218); Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 459 ; and Zimmer, Altin- disches Leben, p. 314, translated and interpreted the hymn as a marriage-hymn. Zimmer thought that the stanzas were spoken at the end of the ceremony, as the bridegroom I, 14. COMMENTARY. 253 assumed charge of the bride. The present writer, following the indications of the practices connected with the hymn in the Kaimka (36, 15-17), thought that it was a charm of a woman against a rival, and dealt with the hymn and the ritual in this sense in an article devoted to the subject in Seven Hymns of the Atharva-veda, Amer. Journ. Phil. VII, pp. 473-6. It is of interest to find now that Saya^a construes the hymn in the very same spirit. The proceedings in the Kaus. are somewrhat as follows : 36, 15. ' While reciting AV. I, 14, the wreath, pillow (?), tooth-brush, and hair (of the woman against whom the charm is undertaken are placed) into the skin of a cow slain by Rudra, or of a funeral cow, and buried in the cavity of a mortar under a pile of three stones1. 16. The hymn is recited while the wreath is being ground up. 17.
3f the woman against whom the charm is undertaken are placed) into the skin of a cow slain by Rudra, or of a funeral cow, and buried in the cavity of a mortar under a pile of three stones1. 16. The hymn is recited while the wreath is being ground up. 17. Three tufts of hair are tied (each) with a black thread (and buried under) a pile of three stones, the stones each alternately above (each tuft).' Then follows in Sutra 18 a subsidiary rite for digging the 'fortune ' up again (Ke^ava), saubhagya- kara/zam : ' Then one digs her fortune up with the formula, " That fortune of thine which they have buried into a pile of three stones, or four stones, that we now dig up, along with offspring and wealth.'' ' Throughout the hymn and the ritual the spirit of fierce hatred manifests itself in allusions to the burial rites. Thus in the ritual the anustara/zi ; in stanzas 1, 3, the word pitr/shu, translated above * with her relatives,5 may also mean (with 1 The Sutra bristles with difficulties; nishpramanda has been translated by ' pillow,' because Saya/za says, tadupabhuktamalya- kandukadantadhavanake^anam . . . (ni)khananadikarmam. But the word nishpramanda is none too certain ; some MSS. and Ke^ava read nipramanda, and Darila's comment on the word is unintel- ligible (kru/ayavargag-enduka^ ; cf. pramanda=induka^, Kau.?. 8, 17; 25, 11; 32, 29, and Kaiwika, Introduction, p. Hi). I trans- late kora by ' skin/ because Ke^ava says, faanahata tasya^ ^armawa **vesh/ya (the passage is not extracted in the edition). But cf. the word anta^ko^am in st. 4 c. Both Darila and Ke^ava explain faanahata, ' slain by Rudra/ as=^varahata, 'killed by fever.' 254 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. double entente) ' among the Fathers or manes.' The first hemistich of the third stanza, considered by itself, might be readily interpreted as being uttered at the funeral of a maiden ; indeed, it seems possible that material of this sort has been worked over for the occasion. The secondary employment of stanzas, composed primarily for the burial service, is possibly to be assumed for stanzas 2-4 of RV. VII, 55 (see Aufrecht, Ind. Stud. IV, 342), and for AV. II, 12, 7-8 (q. v.). The Anukramam makes the following curious statement in regard to our hymn : namas te astu (I, 13), bhagam asya (I, 14), iti sukte vaidyute dve anushAibhe, prathama//z vaidyuta;^ para/^ vkrunam vo*ta yamya//z va, prathamena vidyutam astaud, dvitiyena tadartha//z yamam. There seems to be no reason for associating these hymns, nor for regarding I, 14 as having any relation to lightning 1. Stanza 1.
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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