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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
17. (The posts) which have been hewn on the earth and fastened down, and to which the sacrificial MANDALA III, HYMN 8. 253 ladles have been raised 1 : may they, giving bliss to our fields 2, eagerly seek precious goods for us among the gods. 8. May the Adityas, the Rudras, the Vasus, the good leaders, Heaven and Earth, the Earth 1 and the Air — may the gods unanimously bless this sacrifice ; may they raise up the banner of the sacrifice (the Yupa). 9. Like swans ranging themselves in rows, array- ing themselves in brightness the sacrificial posts have come to us. Led up by the sages they go forward as gods to the abode of the gods. 10. Like horns of horned animals the sacrificial posts with their head-pieces * are seen on the earth. Hearing (us) in the emulating call of the invoking (priests) may they protect us in the racings of battles. 11. O lord of the forest, rise with a hundred branches ; may we rise with a thousand branches (offspring) — thou whom this sharpened axe has led forward to great prosperity. NOTES. The same Rishi. The metre is Trish/ubh (verses 3 and 7 Anush/ubh). This Sukta is a collection of liturgical verses that refer to the erecting and anointing of the sacrificial post, and to the winding of a rope about it. See Aitareya Br&hma/za II, 2; A-walayana >Srautasutra III, 1, 8 seq. ; 5&nkhayana .Srautasutra V, 15, 2 seq. ; Schwab, Das Altindische Thier- opfer, 68 seq.; Bergaigne, Recherches sur l'Histoire de la Liturgie Vedique, 16. On the ritual acts referring to the sacrificial post which seem to be connected with ancient 2 54 VEDIC HYMNS. tree-worship, comp. also H. O., Religion des Veda, 90 seq., 256.— Verses 1-5 =TB. Ill, 6, 1, 1. 3; MS. IV, 13, 1. Verse 3 = MS. I, 2, 11. Verse 4=TA. I, 27, 2. Verse 10 = TB. II, 4, 7, 11. Verse n = TS. I, 3, 5, 1 ; VI, 3, 3, 3. Verse 1. Note 1, The tree of which the sacrificial post is made. Note 2. The post is anointed with butter, see Schwab, 1. c, 69. This butter is spoken of as honey also in the Ya^us, which refers to this rite, ' May the god Savitrz anoint thee with honey,' Taittiriya Sa//zhita I, % 6, 1. Note 3. In the lap of the mother Earth. Verse 2. Note 1. Amati has nothing to do with the verb am ; it is the contrary of mati. See Rig-veda IV, it, 6. amatim . . . amha/i . . . du^matim ; X, 33, 2, and such passages of the younger Vedic Sa;/zhitas as Va£\ Sa^h. XVII, 54 (apa amatim du^matim badhamana^). The same is the opinion of Geldner (Ved. Studien, II, 184, note 4). Note 2. The sacrificial post is addressed. Verse 3. Note 1. Comp. below, III, 24, 1. Verse 4.
2. . du^matim ; X, 33, 2, and such passages of the younger Vedic Sa;/zhitas as Va£\ Sa^h. XVII, 54 (apa amatim du^matim badhamana^). The same is the opinion of Geldner (Ved. Studien, II, 184, note 4). Note 2. The sacrificial post is addressed. Verse 3. Note 1. Comp. below, III, 24, 1. Verse 4. Note 1. The sacrificial post, round which a rope of grass (Schwab, Thieropfer, p. 49) is tied, is compared here with a well-dressed youth. This seems to contain an allusion to the Upanayana ceremony, at which the youth was invested with the sacred girdle, and which was considered as a second birth (comp. Pada B : ' He becomes more excellent when born'). There is no doubt that this rite is as old and older than the Rig-veda ; see H. O., Religion des Veda, 466 seq. It may be noted that several Gr/hya-sutras prescribe the use of our verse at the Upana- yana (A^valayana I, 20, 9, &c). MAiVDALA III, HYMN 8. 255 Verse 5. Note 1. Does this expression refer again to the second birth (see the preceding note) ? Note 2. The text has vidathe. Note 3. Comp. V, 76, 1. ut vipra/zam devaya^ vikdik asthu^. The conjecture devayam easily suggests itself, but it is not necessary. Verse 6. Note 1. In the Rig-veda, svaru means the sacrificial post itself, not, as in the later ritual texts (Schwab, Thieropfer, pp. 11, 74), that splinter of the wood of the sacrificial post (yupa^akala), with regard to which Katyayana (VI, 3, 1 7) prescribes : ' Yupa^akalam asyam (scil. ra^anayam) avaguhati.' ' He hides the splinter of the wood of the sacrificial post in the rope (tied round the post).' — See Weber, Indische Studien, IX, zzz. Verse 7. Note 1. Comp. below, IV, 6, 3. Note 2. Comp. VIII, 71, 12. kshaitraya sadhase. Verse 8. Note 1. The Earth is mentioned twice, firstly together with the Heaven, in the compound Dyava-Kshama, and then separately as Pr/thivi. Verse 10. Note 1. On the wooden head-piece of the sacrificial post (£ashala), see Schwab, Das Thieropfer, p. 9. 256 VEDIC HYMNS. MAA^ALA III, HYMN 9. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 5-6. 1. We, thy friends1, have chosen thee for our protection, (we) the mortals (thee) the god, the offspring of the Waters, the blessed one with fine splendour 2, who gloriously advances, the unmenaced one. 2. When thou, finding pleasure in the wood, hast gone to thy mothers, the Waters, that return of thine, Agni, (to this world) should not be slighted, when dwelling afar thou hast come hither. 3. High above (all) pungent sharpness thou hast grown up *, and verily thou art kind-hearted. Some go forward here and there ; others sit around thee, in whose friendship thou abidest 2. 4. He who has passed beyond (all) failures, beyond all hindrances 1, the guileless, watchful ones 2 have found him as a lion (is found), when he had gone into the Waters ;
3Some go forward here and there ; others sit around thee, in whose friendship thou abidest 2. 4. He who has passed beyond (all) failures, beyond all hindrances 1, the guileless, watchful ones 2 have found him as a lion (is found), when he had gone into the Waters ; 5. He who had run as it were by his own might, Agni, who thus dwelt in concealment — Him Mata- mvan brought hither from afar, from the gods, when he had been produced by attrition (of the woods). 6. (And thus) the mortals have taken thee up, O carrier of sacrificial food towards the gods 1J be- cause thou, O (god) belonging to Manus, protectest all sacrifices by the power of thy mind, O youngest one ! 7 \ This is something glorious ; herein thy wonderful power shows itself even to the simple, that the cattle lie down round about thee when MAA7>ALA III, HYMN 9. 257 thou hast been kindled, O Agni, at the approach of darkness 2. 8. Make your offerings in (Agni), the best per- former of worship, the sharp one who purifies with his flames1. Serve ye obediently the god> the quick messenger, the agile, the old, the adorable. 9 1. Three hundred and three thousand gods and thirty and nine did service to Agni. They sprinkled him with ghee and spread out for him the sacrificial grass : then they made him sit down as a Hotrz. NOTES. The same Rishi. The metre is Brzhati ; the last verse is TrishAibh. — Verse i = SV. I, 62. Verse 2 = SV. I, 53. Verse 9=VS. XXXIII, 7 ; TB. II, 7, 12, 2. Verse 1. Note 1. For this expression, compare I, 30, 7; VIII, 21, 2. 9- Note 2. Comp. VIII, 19, 4. subhagam sudi'ditim. Verse 3. Note 1. Comp. I, 8r, 5. ati vuvam vavakshitha ; 102, 8. ati idam vuvam bhiivanam vavakshitha. Note 2. The different officiating priests seem to be alluded to. Verse 4. Note 1. Comp. 1,42, 7. ati na/£ sa^ata^ naya ; VII, 97,4. parshat na^ ati sa^ata^ ; Lanman, Noun-Inflection, 467. Note 2. The gods who searched for Agni. Verse 6. Note 1. For devebhya^ havyavahana, comp. X, 118, 5; H9> 13; I5°, i- [46] s 258 VEDIC HYMNS. Verse 7. Note 1. Comp. Prof, von Schroeder's translation of this verse, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXIX, 305. Note 2. Regarding apuarvare, comp. VIII, 1, 29; Geldner, Vedische Studien, II, 178. I cannot adopt the conclusions of Prof. Bloomfield, Contributions to the Interpretation of the Veda, Fifth Series, p. 36. ' Wild animals run away from the fire at night, tame animals are attracted by it.' M. M. Verse 8. Note 1. For this Pada, comp. VIII, 43, 31 ; 102, 11 ; X, 31,1. Verse 9. Note 1. This verse is identical with X, 52, 6. M AND ALA III, HYMN IO. 259 MAA^ALA III, HYMN 10. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 7-8. i \ Thee, O Agni, the highest king of human tribes, the god, thoughtful mortals kindle at their worship. 2. Thee, O Agni, the J&tvig, the Hotrz, they magnify at the sacrifices. Shine as the guardian of i?zta in thy own house 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.
17. (The posts) which have been hewn on the earth and fastened down, and to which the sacrificial MANDALA III, HYMN 8. 253 ladles have been raised 1 : may they, giving bliss to our fields 2, eagerly seek precious goods for us among the gods. 8. May the Adityas, the Rudras, the Vasus, the good leaders, Heaven and Earth, the Earth 1 and the Air — may the gods unanimously bless this sacrifice ; may they raise up the banner of the sacrifice (the Yupa). 9. Like swans ranging themselves in rows, array- ing themselves in brightness the sacrificial posts have come to us. Led up by the sages they go forward as gods to the abode of the gods. 10. Like horns of horned animals the sacrificial posts with their head-pieces * are seen on the earth. Hearing (us) in the emulating call of the invoking (priests) may they protect us in the racings of battles. 11. O lord of the forest, rise with a hundred branches ; may we rise with a thousand branches (offspring) — thou whom this sharpened axe has led forward to great prosperity. NOTES. The same Rishi. The metre is Trish/ubh (verses 3 and 7 Anush/ubh). This Sukta is a collection of liturgical verses that refer to the erecting and anointing of the sacrificial post, and to the winding of a rope about it. See Aitareya Br&hma/za II, 2; A-walayana >Srautasutra III, 1, 8 seq. ; 5&nkhayana .Srautasutra V, 15, 2 seq. ; Schwab, Das Altindische Thier- opfer, 68 seq.; Bergaigne, Recherches sur l'Histoire de la Liturgie Vedique, 16. On the ritual acts referring to the sacrificial post which seem to be connected with ancient 2 54 VEDIC HYMNS. tree-worship, comp. also H. O., Religion des Veda, 90 seq., 256.— Verses 1-5 =TB. Ill, 6, 1, 1. 3; MS. IV, 13, 1. Verse 3 = MS. I, 2, 11. Verse 4=TA. I, 27, 2. Verse 10 = TB. II, 4, 7, 11. Verse n = TS. I, 3, 5, 1 ; VI, 3, 3, 3. Verse 1. Note 1, The tree of which the sacrificial post is made. Note 2. The post is anointed with butter, see Schwab, 1. c, 69. This butter is spoken of as honey also in the Ya^us, which refers to this rite, ' May the god Savitrz anoint thee with honey,' Taittiriya Sa//zhita I, % 6, 1. Note 3. In the lap of the mother Earth. Verse 2. Note 1. Amati has nothing to do with the verb am ; it is the contrary of mati. See Rig-veda IV, it, 6. amatim . . . amha/i . . . du^matim ; X, 33, 2, and such passages of the younger Vedic Sa;/zhitas as Va£\ Sa^h. XVII, 54 (apa amatim du^matim badhamana^). The same is the opinion of Geldner (Ved. Studien, II, 184, note 4). Note 2. The sacrificial post is addressed. Verse 3. Note 1. Comp. below, III, 24, 1. Verse 4.
2. . du^matim ; X, 33, 2, and such passages of the younger Vedic Sa;/zhitas as Va£\ Sa^h. XVII, 54 (apa amatim du^matim badhamana^). The same is the opinion of Geldner (Ved. Studien, II, 184, note 4). Note 2. The sacrificial post is addressed. Verse 3. Note 1. Comp. below, III, 24, 1. Verse 4. Note 1. The sacrificial post, round which a rope of grass (Schwab, Thieropfer, p. 49) is tied, is compared here with a well-dressed youth. This seems to contain an allusion to the Upanayana ceremony, at which the youth was invested with the sacred girdle, and which was considered as a second birth (comp. Pada B : ' He becomes more excellent when born'). There is no doubt that this rite is as old and older than the Rig-veda ; see H. O., Religion des Veda, 466 seq. It may be noted that several Gr/hya-sutras prescribe the use of our verse at the Upana- yana (A^valayana I, 20, 9, &c). MAiVDALA III, HYMN 8. 255 Verse 5. Note 1. Does this expression refer again to the second birth (see the preceding note) ? Note 2. The text has vidathe. Note 3. Comp. V, 76, 1. ut vipra/zam devaya^ vikdik asthu^. The conjecture devayam easily suggests itself, but it is not necessary. Verse 6. Note 1. In the Rig-veda, svaru means the sacrificial post itself, not, as in the later ritual texts (Schwab, Thieropfer, pp. 11, 74), that splinter of the wood of the sacrificial post (yupa^akala), with regard to which Katyayana (VI, 3, 1 7) prescribes : ' Yupa^akalam asyam (scil. ra^anayam) avaguhati.' ' He hides the splinter of the wood of the sacrificial post in the rope (tied round the post).' — See Weber, Indische Studien, IX, zzz. Verse 7. Note 1. Comp. below, IV, 6, 3. Note 2. Comp. VIII, 71, 12. kshaitraya sadhase. Verse 8. Note 1. The Earth is mentioned twice, firstly together with the Heaven, in the compound Dyava-Kshama, and then separately as Pr/thivi. Verse 10. Note 1. On the wooden head-piece of the sacrificial post (£ashala), see Schwab, Das Thieropfer, p. 9. 256 VEDIC HYMNS. MAA^ALA III, HYMN 9. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 5-6. 1. We, thy friends1, have chosen thee for our protection, (we) the mortals (thee) the god, the offspring of the Waters, the blessed one with fine splendour 2, who gloriously advances, the unmenaced one. 2. When thou, finding pleasure in the wood, hast gone to thy mothers, the Waters, that return of thine, Agni, (to this world) should not be slighted, when dwelling afar thou hast come hither. 3. High above (all) pungent sharpness thou hast grown up *, and verily thou art kind-hearted. Some go forward here and there ; others sit around thee, in whose friendship thou abidest 2. 4. He who has passed beyond (all) failures, beyond all hindrances 1, the guileless, watchful ones 2 have found him as a lion (is found), when he had gone into the Waters ;
3Some go forward here and there ; others sit around thee, in whose friendship thou abidest 2. 4. He who has passed beyond (all) failures, beyond all hindrances 1, the guileless, watchful ones 2 have found him as a lion (is found), when he had gone into the Waters ; 5. He who had run as it were by his own might, Agni, who thus dwelt in concealment — Him Mata- mvan brought hither from afar, from the gods, when he had been produced by attrition (of the woods). 6. (And thus) the mortals have taken thee up, O carrier of sacrificial food towards the gods 1J be- cause thou, O (god) belonging to Manus, protectest all sacrifices by the power of thy mind, O youngest one ! 7 \ This is something glorious ; herein thy wonderful power shows itself even to the simple, that the cattle lie down round about thee when MAA7>ALA III, HYMN 9. 257 thou hast been kindled, O Agni, at the approach of darkness 2. 8. Make your offerings in (Agni), the best per- former of worship, the sharp one who purifies with his flames1. Serve ye obediently the god> the quick messenger, the agile, the old, the adorable. 9 1. Three hundred and three thousand gods and thirty and nine did service to Agni. They sprinkled him with ghee and spread out for him the sacrificial grass : then they made him sit down as a Hotrz. NOTES. The same Rishi. The metre is Brzhati ; the last verse is TrishAibh. — Verse i = SV. I, 62. Verse 2 = SV. I, 53. Verse 9=VS. XXXIII, 7 ; TB. II, 7, 12, 2. Verse 1. Note 1. For this expression, compare I, 30, 7; VIII, 21, 2. 9- Note 2. Comp. VIII, 19, 4. subhagam sudi'ditim. Verse 3. Note 1. Comp. I, 8r, 5. ati vuvam vavakshitha ; 102, 8. ati idam vuvam bhiivanam vavakshitha. Note 2. The different officiating priests seem to be alluded to. Verse 4. Note 1. Comp. 1,42, 7. ati na/£ sa^ata^ naya ; VII, 97,4. parshat na^ ati sa^ata^ ; Lanman, Noun-Inflection, 467. Note 2. The gods who searched for Agni. Verse 6. Note 1. For devebhya^ havyavahana, comp. X, 118, 5; H9> 13; I5°, i- [46] s 258 VEDIC HYMNS. Verse 7. Note 1. Comp. Prof, von Schroeder's translation of this verse, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXIX, 305. Note 2. Regarding apuarvare, comp. VIII, 1, 29; Geldner, Vedische Studien, II, 178. I cannot adopt the conclusions of Prof. Bloomfield, Contributions to the Interpretation of the Veda, Fifth Series, p. 36. ' Wild animals run away from the fire at night, tame animals are attracted by it.' M. M. Verse 8. Note 1. For this Pada, comp. VIII, 43, 31 ; 102, 11 ; X, 31,1. Verse 9. Note 1. This verse is identical with X, 52, 6. M AND ALA III, HYMN IO. 259 MAA^ALA III, HYMN 10. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 7-8. i \ Thee, O Agni, the highest king of human tribes, the god, thoughtful mortals kindle at their worship. 2. Thee, O Agni, the J&tvig, the Hotrz, they magnify at the sacrifices. Shine as the guardian of i?zta in thy own house 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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