Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1- [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. He (also) gives (him) to drink a mixture of curds and ground sesame, along with four tips of millet-grass/ The chief point of relation be- tween the practices and the hymn is the application of a bandage or poultice of dust and sand which seems indi- cated in the fourth stanza with the words sikatavati dhanur. The first stanza of the hymn is quoted with variants in Yaska's Nirukta, III, 4, from an unknown source ; the Anukrama^t designates the hymn as yoshiddevatyam. Previous translations by Weber, Ind. Stud. IV, 441 ; Lud- wig, Der Rigveda, III, 508; Grill2, pp. 16, 76; cf. also Hillebrandt's Vedachrestomathie, p. 46. Stanza 1. In Yaska's Nirukta, III, 4, the stanza occurs in the fol- lowing version : amur ya yanti^amaya^ sarva lohitavasasa/^ : abhratara iva yoshas tish/^anti (Durga, tish//fcmtu) hata- vartmana^. Durga declares this to be an Atharvan-stanza, and says that the women are the blood-vessels (nadyak) which shall stand still, like brotherless maidens, debarred 1 The word pawsusikatabhi^, which I have translated as a copu- lative compound, 'dust and sand/ is regarded by the commen- tators as a descriptive. Darila, pa^suvat ^lakshwadhuli^ sikata valuka; Kcrava, rathyayiU pazrcsfin. 2 It is not quite clear whether the armakapalika is tied on as an amulet or as a bandage upon the wound : usually badhnati is the terminus technicus for the tying on of an amulet. Nor are the commentators agreed as to the meaning of the word ; Kej. keda- rammtika, and pankamrz'ttika. But the word occurs also in Tait. Ar. V, 2, 13 (cf. also Tait. S. V, 1, 6, 2), and in the commentary on the Tait. Ar., p. 394, it is explained as * potsherds deposited in the decayed portion of the village/ /fciraMane ^in/agramade^e avasthita bha/z^ama^. Sayawa to our passage, jushkaparikamr/t- tika kedaram/Yttika va. I, 17. COMMENTARY. 259 from the sa^tanakarma and the pi^adana (ancestral rites) practised by the family of their husband. In AV. I, 14, 2 the girl who has lost her father and mother is depicted as living in the house of her brother. Cf. Roth's comment, p. 25, and Zimmer, p. 328. The exact point of the com- parison is not quite clear, and Zimmers translation of hata- var^as as ' deprived of support or protection ' seems to import an occidental idea not in the text. See RV.
2f her brother. Cf. Roth's comment, p. 25, and Zimmer, p. 328. The exact point of the com- parison is not quite clear, and Zimmers translation of hata- var^as as ' deprived of support or protection ' seems to import an occidental idea not in the text. See RV. I, 124, 7 ; IV, 5, 5, and especially the statement, na*bhratrim upaya^eta, ' one may not marry a brotherless girl,' in the commentary on Nirukta III, 5 ; Manu III, 1 1 ; Ya^/zavalkya I, 53 ; Vasish^a XVII, 16 ; Gautama XXVIII, 20. b. lohita, with double entente, ' red ' and ' blood/ c. Read abhratareva ; the Anukrama^i, upon the strength of the apparently additional syllable, designates the stanza as a bhuri£\ Stanza 3. b. Ludwig rather whimsically translates sahasrasya hira- «am 'von den tausend gelben.' It would seem as though the stanza intends to bring out a distinction between hira' and dhamani, the former being the smaller and the latter the larger blood-vessels. Accordingly, ' veins ' and ' arteries.' And yet in VII, 35, 2 (see the note there) both hira and dhamani apparently have the more general sense of ' inte- rior canals,' such as entrails, vaginal passage, and the like. Naturally, the knowledge of internal physiology is of the vaguest sort. For hira, see Aufrecht in Kuhn's Zeitschrift, III, 199 ; Weber, Omina und Portenta, p. 346. Stanza 4. Our translation of this stanza derives its main support from the practices above, which seem to imply that sand is put upon or about the wound. Saya^a gives the passage a totally different bent ; he takes sikatavati dhanifr brzhati as the designation of one of the canals in the body which contains the sand that results in calculi in the bladder, sikata Yagamsi tadvati na^i, 'sikata, i.e. sand, the canal containing that.' He says, further, that it is the canal S 2 26o HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. (naaft) which generates calculi (a^mari), and finally describes it more explicitly as a ' kind of canal crooked like a bow, and the seat of the urine,' dhanur dhanurvad vakro mutra- sayo nadwisesha/i. And he quotes a similar statement from a Smr/ti, mutra^ayo dhanur vakro vastir ity abhidhiyate *. It would seem accordingly that he imagines the bladder, or some similar vessel, capable as it is of producing sand or calculi, a fitting agent to stop the flow of blood — an inter- esting conceit at any rate! Grill thinks that the entire stanza is a later addition. But Kaorika, at any rate, found it where it is, and the original diaskeuasis of the AV.
3is of producing sand or calculi, a fitting agent to stop the flow of blood — an inter- esting conceit at any rate! Grill thinks that the entire stanza is a later addition. But Kaorika, at any rate, found it where it is, and the original diaskeuasis of the AV. postulates four or more stanzas for each hymn of the first book ; see Seven Hymns of the Atharva-veda, Amer. Journ. Phil. VII, 470 ff. Against this, there is only the deviation in the metre. c. The P&da is a formula ; see RV. I, 191, 6. I, 18. Commentary to page 109. Saya^a, in the introduction to the hymn, describes the practices associated with it at Kaui". 42, 19-21 as designed to remove the blemishes of a woman afflicted with the evil characteristics mentioned in the samudrika-treatises. These blemishes are supposed to be on her face, hands, feet, and other members, mukhahastapadadyangeshu samu- drikoktadurlaksha/zayuktaya^ striy&s taddoshanivrzttaye. The samudrika-books (treatises on chiromancy) treat of both good and evil characteristics, for in his comment on st. 1 c he says, yani samudrika^astraprasiddhani . . . sau- bhagyakara/zi £ihnani santi. Cf. Pet. Lex. under 2. sarau- dra, and Ke^ava to Kau.9. 42, 19, samudrike strilaksha^a^ vyakhyatam, and note also Kaus. 18, 38, samudra ity a^akshate karma. The practices of the Kaurika are as follows : 42, 19. 'While reciting AV. I, 18, the face of the woman afflicted 1 Cf. with these statements Sayazza's comment on vasti, I, 3, 6, dhanurakaro mutrajayo vastir u/fyate. I, 1 8. COMMENTARY. 26 1 with evil characteristics is sprinkled after each verse, com- mencing at the braid of hair at the right. 20. Having made an offering of chaff from a vessel made of the wood of a palajra-tree (butea frondosa), he pours the rest (of the chaff) after (the first oblation). 21. Chaff, husks, refuse of grain, and shavings are placed upon the heel of her left foot.' There are good and evil characteristics (lakshmi = lak- sha#a, cf. AV. VII, 115), and the main point of the prac- tices is their removal by washing, and by placing all kinds of offal wThere it will easily drop from the person under treatment, and cause symbolically the removal of the bad points. The hymn has been translated by Weber, Ind. Stud. IV, 411 ff. ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 498 (cf. also 338) ; and Geldner, Vedische Studien, I, pp. 313 ff, where the charm is interpreted erroneously as directed against the house-cat. Cf. our brief criticism in the Journ. Am. Or. Soc. XV, 153, note. Stanza 1. a. Saya^a reads lakshmam for lakshmyam, commenting, asaubhagyakara^/ £ihnam.
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.
1- [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. He (also) gives (him) to drink a mixture of curds and ground sesame, along with four tips of millet-grass/ The chief point of relation be- tween the practices and the hymn is the application of a bandage or poultice of dust and sand which seems indi- cated in the fourth stanza with the words sikatavati dhanur. The first stanza of the hymn is quoted with variants in Yaska's Nirukta, III, 4, from an unknown source ; the Anukrama^t designates the hymn as yoshiddevatyam. Previous translations by Weber, Ind. Stud. IV, 441 ; Lud- wig, Der Rigveda, III, 508; Grill2, pp. 16, 76; cf. also Hillebrandt's Vedachrestomathie, p. 46. Stanza 1. In Yaska's Nirukta, III, 4, the stanza occurs in the fol- lowing version : amur ya yanti^amaya^ sarva lohitavasasa/^ : abhratara iva yoshas tish/^anti (Durga, tish//fcmtu) hata- vartmana^. Durga declares this to be an Atharvan-stanza, and says that the women are the blood-vessels (nadyak) which shall stand still, like brotherless maidens, debarred 1 The word pawsusikatabhi^, which I have translated as a copu- lative compound, 'dust and sand/ is regarded by the commen- tators as a descriptive. Darila, pa^suvat ^lakshwadhuli^ sikata valuka; Kcrava, rathyayiU pazrcsfin. 2 It is not quite clear whether the armakapalika is tied on as an amulet or as a bandage upon the wound : usually badhnati is the terminus technicus for the tying on of an amulet. Nor are the commentators agreed as to the meaning of the word ; Kej. keda- rammtika, and pankamrz'ttika. But the word occurs also in Tait. Ar. V, 2, 13 (cf. also Tait. S. V, 1, 6, 2), and in the commentary on the Tait. Ar., p. 394, it is explained as * potsherds deposited in the decayed portion of the village/ /fciraMane ^in/agramade^e avasthita bha/z^ama^. Sayawa to our passage, jushkaparikamr/t- tika kedaram/Yttika va. I, 17. COMMENTARY. 259 from the sa^tanakarma and the pi^adana (ancestral rites) practised by the family of their husband. In AV. I, 14, 2 the girl who has lost her father and mother is depicted as living in the house of her brother. Cf. Roth's comment, p. 25, and Zimmer, p. 328. The exact point of the com- parison is not quite clear, and Zimmers translation of hata- var^as as ' deprived of support or protection ' seems to import an occidental idea not in the text. See RV.
2f her brother. Cf. Roth's comment, p. 25, and Zimmer, p. 328. The exact point of the com- parison is not quite clear, and Zimmers translation of hata- var^as as ' deprived of support or protection ' seems to import an occidental idea not in the text. See RV. I, 124, 7 ; IV, 5, 5, and especially the statement, na*bhratrim upaya^eta, ' one may not marry a brotherless girl,' in the commentary on Nirukta III, 5 ; Manu III, 1 1 ; Ya^/zavalkya I, 53 ; Vasish^a XVII, 16 ; Gautama XXVIII, 20. b. lohita, with double entente, ' red ' and ' blood/ c. Read abhratareva ; the Anukrama^i, upon the strength of the apparently additional syllable, designates the stanza as a bhuri£\ Stanza 3. b. Ludwig rather whimsically translates sahasrasya hira- «am 'von den tausend gelben.' It would seem as though the stanza intends to bring out a distinction between hira' and dhamani, the former being the smaller and the latter the larger blood-vessels. Accordingly, ' veins ' and ' arteries.' And yet in VII, 35, 2 (see the note there) both hira and dhamani apparently have the more general sense of ' inte- rior canals,' such as entrails, vaginal passage, and the like. Naturally, the knowledge of internal physiology is of the vaguest sort. For hira, see Aufrecht in Kuhn's Zeitschrift, III, 199 ; Weber, Omina und Portenta, p. 346. Stanza 4. Our translation of this stanza derives its main support from the practices above, which seem to imply that sand is put upon or about the wound. Saya^a gives the passage a totally different bent ; he takes sikatavati dhanifr brzhati as the designation of one of the canals in the body which contains the sand that results in calculi in the bladder, sikata Yagamsi tadvati na^i, 'sikata, i.e. sand, the canal containing that.' He says, further, that it is the canal S 2 26o HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. (naaft) which generates calculi (a^mari), and finally describes it more explicitly as a ' kind of canal crooked like a bow, and the seat of the urine,' dhanur dhanurvad vakro mutra- sayo nadwisesha/i. And he quotes a similar statement from a Smr/ti, mutra^ayo dhanur vakro vastir ity abhidhiyate *. It would seem accordingly that he imagines the bladder, or some similar vessel, capable as it is of producing sand or calculi, a fitting agent to stop the flow of blood — an inter- esting conceit at any rate! Grill thinks that the entire stanza is a later addition. But Kaorika, at any rate, found it where it is, and the original diaskeuasis of the AV.
3is of producing sand or calculi, a fitting agent to stop the flow of blood — an inter- esting conceit at any rate! Grill thinks that the entire stanza is a later addition. But Kaorika, at any rate, found it where it is, and the original diaskeuasis of the AV. postulates four or more stanzas for each hymn of the first book ; see Seven Hymns of the Atharva-veda, Amer. Journ. Phil. VII, 470 ff. Against this, there is only the deviation in the metre. c. The P&da is a formula ; see RV. I, 191, 6. I, 18. Commentary to page 109. Saya^a, in the introduction to the hymn, describes the practices associated with it at Kaui". 42, 19-21 as designed to remove the blemishes of a woman afflicted with the evil characteristics mentioned in the samudrika-treatises. These blemishes are supposed to be on her face, hands, feet, and other members, mukhahastapadadyangeshu samu- drikoktadurlaksha/zayuktaya^ striy&s taddoshanivrzttaye. The samudrika-books (treatises on chiromancy) treat of both good and evil characteristics, for in his comment on st. 1 c he says, yani samudrika^astraprasiddhani . . . sau- bhagyakara/zi £ihnani santi. Cf. Pet. Lex. under 2. sarau- dra, and Ke^ava to Kau.9. 42, 19, samudrike strilaksha^a^ vyakhyatam, and note also Kaus. 18, 38, samudra ity a^akshate karma. The practices of the Kaurika are as follows : 42, 19. 'While reciting AV. I, 18, the face of the woman afflicted 1 Cf. with these statements Sayazza's comment on vasti, I, 3, 6, dhanurakaro mutrajayo vastir u/fyate. I, 1 8. COMMENTARY. 26 1 with evil characteristics is sprinkled after each verse, com- mencing at the braid of hair at the right. 20. Having made an offering of chaff from a vessel made of the wood of a palajra-tree (butea frondosa), he pours the rest (of the chaff) after (the first oblation). 21. Chaff, husks, refuse of grain, and shavings are placed upon the heel of her left foot.' There are good and evil characteristics (lakshmi = lak- sha#a, cf. AV. VII, 115), and the main point of the prac- tices is their removal by washing, and by placing all kinds of offal wThere it will easily drop from the person under treatment, and cause symbolically the removal of the bad points. The hymn has been translated by Weber, Ind. Stud. IV, 411 ff. ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 498 (cf. also 338) ; and Geldner, Vedische Studien, I, pp. 313 ff, where the charm is interpreted erroneously as directed against the house-cat. Cf. our brief criticism in the Journ. Am. Or. Soc. XV, 153, note. Stanza 1. a. Saya^a reads lakshmam for lakshmyam, commenting, asaubhagyakara^/ £ihnam.
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.