Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1idyute 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. Padas a and c, apparently each hypermetric, may be restored by reading, with elision and crasis, bhagasya, and maha'budhneva. d. pitr/shu, ' with her relatives,' as stated more explicitly in st. 2. So also Saya/za. Cf. the words pitrzshad and ama^iir in the lexicons. But there seems to be intended, too, an allusion to the manes, i. e. to death ; cf. the intro- duction, Stanza 2. a, b. Saya^a, here and in the next stanza, refers ra^an to Soma, supporting his hypothesis by a reference to RV. X, 85, 40, where Soma is said to have been the first to woo the maiden, being followed by Gandharva, Agni, and man. Cf. also Vas. Dharm. XXVIII, 5. c, d. It depends upon circumstances whether the girl lives with her (widowed) mother, or her father, or, after the decease of her parents, with her brother ; cf. for the latter contingency, AV. I, 17, 1. 1 Unless the word faanahata, Kaiw. 36, 15, has misled the author of that very late and bungling performance. I, 14. COMMENTARY. 255 Stanza 3. a. Saya//a comments upon kulapa instead of kulapa(/z) of the Sa;//hita and Padapa/^a. d. The MSS. unanimously have this Pada in the form a .rirsh/za^ jam6pyat (Padap., jam opyat). Saya;/a emends to samopyat, commenting, .rirasa^ sa;/zvapanat bhumau sa/^pa- tanat, ' until her head sinks to the ground/ This coin- cides with the reading of the Paippalada, and is accepted by Shankar Pandit and Whitney ; see Festgruss an Rudolf von Roth, p. 90. For the interchange between s and s, see our article in the Proc. Amer. Or. Soc, May, 1886 (Journal, vol. xiii, p. cxx). The text in this form might mean ' until she scatters from her head,' i. e. ' until she becomes bald.' Even after the authority of the Paippalada I venture to repeat, very hesitatingly, my suggestion (Amer. Journ. Phil. VII, p. 476), that a sirshnik ke^am opyat may have been the original text of the Saunakiya-^akha. ' Let her scatter her hair from her head/ or * let her scatter the hair of her head,5 either by growing bald, or as a sign of mourning (cf. Contributions, Second Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, pp. 336 ff.). Opya as a noun is very strange, and sam + a -h upyat (precative) would seem to require an expressed object in the accusative. We are reminded, too, of the expression kejan pra vapanti, 'they let down their hair,' AV.
2ies, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, pp. 336 ff.). Opya as a noun is very strange, and sam + a -h upyat (precative) would seem to require an expressed object in the accusative. We are reminded, too, of the expression kejan pra vapanti, 'they let down their hair,' AV. XIX, 32, 2, as a sign of mourning. Stanza 4. a, b. The juxtaposition of Ka^yapa and Gaya reminds one of Ka^yapa of Gayd, who plays a conspicuous part in the Buddha legend. Asita is another worthy in the same narrative. See the words in the Pet. Lex., and cf. our note on IV, 20, 7. c. ^ami, in the broader sense of the word in the later language, 'female relatives of the householder.' Saya;/a, striya/fc ; cf. Nirukta III, 6. 256 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. I, 16. Commentary to page 65. The Kaimka, 47, 23-4, presents this hymn in the sixth book, devoted to the witchcraft practices (abhiMrikam), as follows: 33. 'While reciting AV. 1, 16 he who performs the practice collects ground lead, and puts it into the food (of his enemy), or upon the ornaments (upon his person). 24. With a staff, made from a decayed bamboo-reed, as long as an arm, and ornamented *, he strikes (the enemy)/ According to the Paribhasha-sutra, Ka.us. 8, 18, the word ' lead ' in these practices is to be construed very broadly, including both lead itself, ' river-lead ' (i. e. according to the commentators, river-foam), iron-filings, and the head of a lizard. In Contributions, Third Series, Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XV, pp. 157 ff, I have endeavoured to show that this class of practices is founded upon the famous legend of Indra and Namu^i, in which Indra slays Namu^i with the ' foam of the waters.' The other substances seem to be substituted for practical reasons, being more easily obtained and more readily handled. They may, of course, have been regarded as available for this purpose for other reasons, that escape us. The hymn has been translated by Weber, Ind. Stud. IV, 409; Grill2, pp. 1, 75. The Anukramam describes the hymn as /£atanam, ' charm to chase away with,' and accord- ingly it figures in the series called £atanaga#a in the Ga/zamala, Ath. Paris*. 32, 3 ; see Kaos*. 8, 25 note. Stanza 1. a. In Apastamba's Dharmasutra I, n, 31, 21 we have: ' During the day the sun protects the creatures, during the night the moon. Therefore let him eagerly strive to pro- tect himself on the night of the new-moon by purity, con- 1 The term alawkn'ta here seems to mean technically 'anointed (with ghee);' see Darila at Kaux. 48, 3, and c£ Kauj. 47, 40. 44. I, 17. COMMENTARY.
3moon. Therefore let him eagerly strive to pro- tect himself on the night of the new-moon by purity, con- 1 The term alawkn'ta here seems to mean technically 'anointed (with ghee);' see Darila at Kaux. 48, 3, and c£ Kauj. 47, 40. 44. I, 17. COMMENTARY. 257 tinence, and rites adapted to the season.' Cf. also AV. IV, 36, 3 ; Tait. S. II, 2, 2, 2 ; Maitr. S. II, 1, 11. The accu- sative ratrim is not favoured by the metre, and we should expect r£tryam. Saya/za, sarvasya/^ ratrau udasthu^ uttish- /^anti. b. Saya^a reads bhra£*am for vra^am, to wit: rktxlm raganinz bhragam bhra^amanam ; or again, bhra^amanarn . . . purushaw hi^situm udasthu^. He repeats this read- ing when quoting the stanza in his comment on II, 9, 1. Cf. also the note on vatabhra^a/^, I, [2, ib. c. Saya/za takes turiya in the sense of ' fourth,' as allud- ing to the well-known legend of the three older brothers of Agni who were worn out in the sacrificial service before the present Agni ; see RV. X, 51 and 52 ; Sat. Br. I, 2, 3, 1 ; Tait. S. II, 6,6; Mahabh. Ill, 222, 7 = 14214, &c. (cf. Ludwig, Der Rigveda, V, 504-5). But turiya is the equiva- lent of tura, e. g. RV. VIII, 52, 7. Stanza 2. For the uses of lead in the ritualistic texts, see Weber, 1. c, p. 410, and our article on Indra and Namu^i, quoted above in the introduction. Stanza 3. For a full discussion of vishkandha, either some disease, or, as seems to us more likely, a kind of demon, see the note on II, 4, 1. I, 17. Commentary to page 22. This charm against flow of blood is the only one of the kind in the Atharvan. Ke^ava specifies that it is employed against internal and external flow of blood and (excessive) menstruation, atha lohita/^ vahati ^ariramadhye bahis ka. . . . rudhiravra^e . . . strira^aso^tipravartane bhaisha^ya/^ rudhirapravahe ka. The Kau^ika attaches to it the fol- lowing performances at 26, j 0-13 : 'While reciting AV. I, 17 (the practitioner) strews dust and sand around (the wound) with a bamboo-staff containing five joints (accord- [42] S 258 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. ing to Kcrava he places the staff upon the wound [cf. Kaiu. 36, 9, sa/^stabhya], and then strews the dust and sand 1). 11. He ties on mud from a marsh2. 12. He gives (the patient a solution of it) to drink. 13.
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.
1idyute 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. Padas a and c, apparently each hypermetric, may be restored by reading, with elision and crasis, bhagasya, and maha'budhneva. d. pitr/shu, ' with her relatives,' as stated more explicitly in st. 2. So also Saya/za. Cf. the words pitrzshad and ama^iir in the lexicons. But there seems to be intended, too, an allusion to the manes, i. e. to death ; cf. the intro- duction, Stanza 2. a, b. Saya^a, here and in the next stanza, refers ra^an to Soma, supporting his hypothesis by a reference to RV. X, 85, 40, where Soma is said to have been the first to woo the maiden, being followed by Gandharva, Agni, and man. Cf. also Vas. Dharm. XXVIII, 5. c, d. It depends upon circumstances whether the girl lives with her (widowed) mother, or her father, or, after the decease of her parents, with her brother ; cf. for the latter contingency, AV. I, 17, 1. 1 Unless the word faanahata, Kaiw. 36, 15, has misled the author of that very late and bungling performance. I, 14. COMMENTARY. 255 Stanza 3. a. Saya//a comments upon kulapa instead of kulapa(/z) of the Sa;//hita and Padapa/^a. d. The MSS. unanimously have this Pada in the form a .rirsh/za^ jam6pyat (Padap., jam opyat). Saya;/a emends to samopyat, commenting, .rirasa^ sa;/zvapanat bhumau sa/^pa- tanat, ' until her head sinks to the ground/ This coin- cides with the reading of the Paippalada, and is accepted by Shankar Pandit and Whitney ; see Festgruss an Rudolf von Roth, p. 90. For the interchange between s and s, see our article in the Proc. Amer. Or. Soc, May, 1886 (Journal, vol. xiii, p. cxx). The text in this form might mean ' until she scatters from her head,' i. e. ' until she becomes bald.' Even after the authority of the Paippalada I venture to repeat, very hesitatingly, my suggestion (Amer. Journ. Phil. VII, p. 476), that a sirshnik ke^am opyat may have been the original text of the Saunakiya-^akha. ' Let her scatter her hair from her head/ or * let her scatter the hair of her head,5 either by growing bald, or as a sign of mourning (cf. Contributions, Second Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, pp. 336 ff.). Opya as a noun is very strange, and sam + a -h upyat (precative) would seem to require an expressed object in the accusative. We are reminded, too, of the expression kejan pra vapanti, 'they let down their hair,' AV.
2ies, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, pp. 336 ff.). Opya as a noun is very strange, and sam + a -h upyat (precative) would seem to require an expressed object in the accusative. We are reminded, too, of the expression kejan pra vapanti, 'they let down their hair,' AV. XIX, 32, 2, as a sign of mourning. Stanza 4. a, b. The juxtaposition of Ka^yapa and Gaya reminds one of Ka^yapa of Gayd, who plays a conspicuous part in the Buddha legend. Asita is another worthy in the same narrative. See the words in the Pet. Lex., and cf. our note on IV, 20, 7. c. ^ami, in the broader sense of the word in the later language, 'female relatives of the householder.' Saya;/a, striya/fc ; cf. Nirukta III, 6. 256 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. I, 16. Commentary to page 65. The Kaimka, 47, 23-4, presents this hymn in the sixth book, devoted to the witchcraft practices (abhiMrikam), as follows: 33. 'While reciting AV. 1, 16 he who performs the practice collects ground lead, and puts it into the food (of his enemy), or upon the ornaments (upon his person). 24. With a staff, made from a decayed bamboo-reed, as long as an arm, and ornamented *, he strikes (the enemy)/ According to the Paribhasha-sutra, Ka.us. 8, 18, the word ' lead ' in these practices is to be construed very broadly, including both lead itself, ' river-lead ' (i. e. according to the commentators, river-foam), iron-filings, and the head of a lizard. In Contributions, Third Series, Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XV, pp. 157 ff, I have endeavoured to show that this class of practices is founded upon the famous legend of Indra and Namu^i, in which Indra slays Namu^i with the ' foam of the waters.' The other substances seem to be substituted for practical reasons, being more easily obtained and more readily handled. They may, of course, have been regarded as available for this purpose for other reasons, that escape us. The hymn has been translated by Weber, Ind. Stud. IV, 409; Grill2, pp. 1, 75. The Anukramam describes the hymn as /£atanam, ' charm to chase away with,' and accord- ingly it figures in the series called £atanaga#a in the Ga/zamala, Ath. Paris*. 32, 3 ; see Kaos*. 8, 25 note. Stanza 1. a. In Apastamba's Dharmasutra I, n, 31, 21 we have: ' During the day the sun protects the creatures, during the night the moon. Therefore let him eagerly strive to pro- tect himself on the night of the new-moon by purity, con- 1 The term alawkn'ta here seems to mean technically 'anointed (with ghee);' see Darila at Kaux. 48, 3, and c£ Kauj. 47, 40. 44. I, 17. COMMENTARY.
3moon. Therefore let him eagerly strive to pro- tect himself on the night of the new-moon by purity, con- 1 The term alawkn'ta here seems to mean technically 'anointed (with ghee);' see Darila at Kaux. 48, 3, and c£ Kauj. 47, 40. 44. I, 17. COMMENTARY. 257 tinence, and rites adapted to the season.' Cf. also AV. IV, 36, 3 ; Tait. S. II, 2, 2, 2 ; Maitr. S. II, 1, 11. The accu- sative ratrim is not favoured by the metre, and we should expect r£tryam. Saya/za, sarvasya/^ ratrau udasthu^ uttish- /^anti. b. Saya^a reads bhra£*am for vra^am, to wit: rktxlm raganinz bhragam bhra^amanam ; or again, bhra^amanarn . . . purushaw hi^situm udasthu^. He repeats this read- ing when quoting the stanza in his comment on II, 9, 1. Cf. also the note on vatabhra^a/^, I, [2, ib. c. Saya/za takes turiya in the sense of ' fourth,' as allud- ing to the well-known legend of the three older brothers of Agni who were worn out in the sacrificial service before the present Agni ; see RV. X, 51 and 52 ; Sat. Br. I, 2, 3, 1 ; Tait. S. II, 6,6; Mahabh. Ill, 222, 7 = 14214, &c. (cf. Ludwig, Der Rigveda, V, 504-5). But turiya is the equiva- lent of tura, e. g. RV. VIII, 52, 7. Stanza 2. For the uses of lead in the ritualistic texts, see Weber, 1. c, p. 410, and our article on Indra and Namu^i, quoted above in the introduction. Stanza 3. For a full discussion of vishkandha, either some disease, or, as seems to us more likely, a kind of demon, see the note on II, 4, 1. I, 17. Commentary to page 22. This charm against flow of blood is the only one of the kind in the Atharvan. Ke^ava specifies that it is employed against internal and external flow of blood and (excessive) menstruation, atha lohita/^ vahati ^ariramadhye bahis ka. . . . rudhiravra^e . . . strira^aso^tipravartane bhaisha^ya/^ rudhirapravahe ka. The Kau^ika attaches to it the fol- lowing performances at 26, j 0-13 : 'While reciting AV. I, 17 (the practitioner) strews dust and sand around (the wound) with a bamboo-staff containing five joints (accord- [42] S 258 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. ing to Kcrava he places the staff upon the wound [cf. Kaiu. 36, 9, sa/^stabhya], and then strews the dust and sand 1). 11. He ties on mud from a marsh2. 12. He gives (the patient a solution of it) to drink. 13.
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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