Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1— Verses 1-5 = VS. XII, 47-51 ; TS. IV, 2, 4, 2. 3; MS. II, 7, 11. — A sort of commentary on this hymn is found in the 5atapatha Brahma/za VII, 1, 1, 22 seq. Verse 1. Note 1. In the traditional text the words, ' a horse, a racer,' are accusatives. But it is the atya who attains 286 VEDIC HYMNS. (san) the vay^a and who is called va^-fn (comp. M. M., vol. xxxii, pp. 116, 442, and on sapti, ibid. p. 102): see I, 130, 6; III, 2, 7 ; 38, 1 (V, 30, 14; IX, 93, 1 ; 96, 15, &c.) ; VII, 24, 5 ; IX, 43, 5 J 82, % \ «5, 5 ; 86, 3 ; 96, 20 ; X, 96, 10 (I, 52, i, and III, 2, 3 do not contradict this). Pischel (Vedische Studien, I, 105) believes that atyam na stands for atya^ na, which seems impossible to me. But I think that we should correct the text and read atya/; na sapti^. The preceding accusatives have caused the blunder. Verse 2. Note 1. Comp. Grassmann, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XVI, 165. Note 2. Comp. ketii/z ar^/ava^ suryasya, VII, 63, 2. Verse 3. Note 1. In the translation of dhish^ya I have followed Pischel, Vedische Studien, II, 87, though this translation is quite uncertain. Should the meaning be : ' the gods who dwell on the dhish/zya altars ' ? Verse 4. Note 1. Agni purishya, i. e. the fire dwelling in the soil (comp. Roth in Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXVI, 64), is mentioned very frequently in the Mantras belonging to the Agni- £ayana, i. e. to the construction of the brick altar. Agni is considered as residing in the soil used at that rite. Now in the Ya^us texts the whole of our hymn occurs among the texts to be recited at the Agni^ayana (Taitt. Sawn. IV, 2, 4, 2, &c. ; comp. also A^valayana Srautasutra IV, 8, 20). Perhaps we may conjecture, therefore, that the Agni^ayana rite in its simplest form was known already in the Rig-veda period, and that our hymn was destined for it. — The prava^a fires (fires dwelling on the hill-sides) may be the fires dwelling in the rivers which run down the prava^as or descents. M AND ALA III, HYMN 23. 287 MAiVZ?ALA III, HYMN 23. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 23. i. Produced by attrition, well preserved in his abode, the young sage, the leader of worship, Agni ever young in the forests1 that grow old — G^tavedas, has here assumed immortality 2. 2. The two Bharatas 1, Devasravas and Devavata, in the midst of wealth have produced by attrition Agni the skilful (god). Agni, look forth with mighty wealth, and then be 2 for us a guide of food day by day. 3 1. The ten fingers have brought him to the birth, the ancient, beloved (Agni), well born in his mothers 2. Praise, O Deva^ravas, the Agni of Devavata who 3 should be the lord of people. 4. I have laid 1 thee 2 down in the best (place) of the earth 3, in the place of I/a 3, in the auspiciousness of days. O Agni, as the god who has belonged to Manus 4, shine with wealth on the Dr/shadvati, on the Apaya, on the Sarasvati* 5 = 111, 1, 23. NOTES.
24. I have laid 1 thee 2 down in the best (place) of the earth 3, in the place of I/a 3, in the auspiciousness of days. O Agni, as the god who has belonged to Manus 4, shine with wealth on the Dr/shadvati, on the Apaya, on the Sarasvati* 5 = 111, 1, 23. NOTES. The 7?/shis are Deva^ravas Bharata and Devav&ta Bha- rata (see verse 2) ; the metre is Trish/ubh (verse 5 Satobr/hati). — No verse occurs in the other Sawhitas. Verse 1. Note 1. The { forests ' are the fuel. c Does the poet mean : Never consumed in the consumed wood or forests, 288 VEDIC HYMNS. i. e. the fire burns and is kept alive while the wood is burnt up?' M. M. Note 2. Or, ' he has received the drink of immortality ' — which may refer to the ghee offered in the fire. Verse 2. Note 1. On the tribe of the Bharatas having their seats, as verse 4 seems to show, on the borders of the Saras vati and of the Drzshadvati, see H. O., Buddha (first edition), 413 seq. Note 2. This is an imperative in -tat, signifying, as Delbruck has shown (Syntaktische Forschungen, III, 3 seq. ; Altindische Syntax, 363), an injunction to be carried out after something else has been done or has happened. Agni is first to look about (vi pajya), and shall then become (bhavatat) a guide of food, i. e. he shall lead plenty of food to the worshipper's house. — Prof. Max Muller translates isham neta, ' a guide to food.' Verse 3. Note 1. Should this Satobrzhati, standing alone among Trish/ubh verses, be considered as forming a distich to- gether with verse 3? Comp. H. O., Die Hymnen des Rig- veda, vol. i, p. 102, note 7. Note 2. The woods. Note 3. Agni, not Devavata, is referred to. Verse 4. Note 1. Or, 'he has laid/ The form may be first or third person, present or perfect. Note 2. Agni is addressed. Note 3. The best place of the earth, the place of I/a (i. e. of the nourishment coming from the cow, of the ghee offered into Agni) is the sacrificial ground or more especially the spot on which the sacrificial fire is estab- lished. Note 4. Or ' to men.' The Padapa/^a has manushe, but manushaA seems more probable. MAiVDALA III, HYMN 24. 289 MAiV£>ALA III, HYMN 24. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 24. i . Agni, be victorious in battles ; thrust away the plotters. Difficult to overcome, overcoming malign powers, bestow splendour on (the worshipper) who fits out the sacrifice as a vehicle \ 2. Agni, thou art kindled with nourishment *, the immortal offerer of a feast (to the gods). Accept graciously our worship. 3. Agni, wakeful one, son of strength, into whom offerings are poured, sit down with thy splendour on this sacrificial grass of mine. 4. Agni, together with all Agnis, with the gods exalt our prayers and those who are respectful at the sacrifices. 5. Agni, give wealth to the worshipper, abun- dance in valiant men ; further us 1 that wre may be rich in sons. NOTES.
34. Agni, together with all Agnis, with the gods exalt our prayers and those who are respectful at the sacrifices. 5. Agni, give wealth to the worshipper, abun- dance in valiant men ; further us 1 that wre may be rich in sons. NOTES. The Rtshi is Vuvamitra, the metre Gayatri, the first verse Anush/ubh. On this combination of a begin- ning Anush/ubh with Gayatris following, comp. H. O., Die Hymnen des Rig-veda, vol. i, p. 148. — Verse 1 = VS. IX, 37. Verse 5 = TS. II, 2, 12, 6 ; MS. IV, 12, 2 ; 14, 6. [46] U 29O VEDTC HYMNS. Verse 1. Note 1. See above, III, 8, 3, and on ya^avahas, I, 127, 8, note 1 ; Bergaigne, Religion Vedique, II, 287, note 2. Verse 2. Note 1. I/a: especially designating the nourishment coming from the cow (personified as I/a), such as ghee. Verse 5. Note 1. Literally, ' sharpen us.' MA2VDALA III, HYMN 25. 29 1 MAA/"Z?ALA III, HYMN 25. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 25. i. Agni, thou art for ever the wise son of Heaven and of the Earth, the all-wealthy one. In thy peculiar way1 sacrifice here to the gods, O intelli- gent one ! 2. Agni, the knowing, obtains (for his worshipper) heroic powers ; he obtains (for him) strength, being busy for the sake of immortality. Bring then the gods hither, O (Agni), rich in food. 3. Agni, the wise, shines on Heaven and Earth, the two immortal goddesses who encompass all people — he who rules through his strength, and who is full of light through adoration. 4. Agni and Indra, come hither to the sacrifice in the house of the worshipper rich in pressed (Soma), never failing, ye two gods, at the drink of Soma. 5. Agni, thou art kindled in the house of the waters, (our) own (god), O son of strength, Catavedas, who exaltest the abodes (in which thou dwellest) by thy blessing. NOTES. The same Rishi. Metre, Vira^*.— Verse 4= MS. IV, 12, 6. Verse 1. Note 1. On r/dhak, see Pischel, Vedische Studien, II, 45. U 2 292 VEDIC HYMNS. MAA^ALA III, HYMN 26. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 26-27. i. With our offerings revering in our mind Agni Vaisv&nara, the follower of truth, the finder of the sun — we, the Ku^ikas *, desirous of goods, call with our prayers the god who gives rain, the charioteer, the cheerful. 2. We call that beautiful Agni to help us,VaLrva- nara, Matarisvan the praiseworthy1 ; we the men (call) Brzhaspati 2 for (the worship) of the divine host, the priest who hears us, the guest who swiftly glides along. 3. Vaisv&nara, neighing like a horse, is kindled by the women 1, by the Kusikas, from age to age ; may this Agni give us abundance in valiant men and in horses and treasures, he who wakes among the immortals. 4. May the Va^as * come forward, the Agnis with their powers. United2 they have harnessed the spotted deer for their triumphal procession 3. The Maruts, mightily growing, the all-wealthy, make the mountains tremble, the unbeguiled ones.
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— Verses 1-5 = VS. XII, 47-51 ; TS. IV, 2, 4, 2. 3; MS. II, 7, 11. — A sort of commentary on this hymn is found in the 5atapatha Brahma/za VII, 1, 1, 22 seq. Verse 1. Note 1. In the traditional text the words, ' a horse, a racer,' are accusatives. But it is the atya who attains 286 VEDIC HYMNS. (san) the vay^a and who is called va^-fn (comp. M. M., vol. xxxii, pp. 116, 442, and on sapti, ibid. p. 102): see I, 130, 6; III, 2, 7 ; 38, 1 (V, 30, 14; IX, 93, 1 ; 96, 15, &c.) ; VII, 24, 5 ; IX, 43, 5 J 82, % \ «5, 5 ; 86, 3 ; 96, 20 ; X, 96, 10 (I, 52, i, and III, 2, 3 do not contradict this). Pischel (Vedische Studien, I, 105) believes that atyam na stands for atya^ na, which seems impossible to me. But I think that we should correct the text and read atya/; na sapti^. The preceding accusatives have caused the blunder. Verse 2. Note 1. Comp. Grassmann, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XVI, 165. Note 2. Comp. ketii/z ar^/ava^ suryasya, VII, 63, 2. Verse 3. Note 1. In the translation of dhish^ya I have followed Pischel, Vedische Studien, II, 87, though this translation is quite uncertain. Should the meaning be : ' the gods who dwell on the dhish/zya altars ' ? Verse 4. Note 1. Agni purishya, i. e. the fire dwelling in the soil (comp. Roth in Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXVI, 64), is mentioned very frequently in the Mantras belonging to the Agni- £ayana, i. e. to the construction of the brick altar. Agni is considered as residing in the soil used at that rite. Now in the Ya^us texts the whole of our hymn occurs among the texts to be recited at the Agni^ayana (Taitt. Sawn. IV, 2, 4, 2, &c. ; comp. also A^valayana Srautasutra IV, 8, 20). Perhaps we may conjecture, therefore, that the Agni^ayana rite in its simplest form was known already in the Rig-veda period, and that our hymn was destined for it. — The prava^a fires (fires dwelling on the hill-sides) may be the fires dwelling in the rivers which run down the prava^as or descents. M AND ALA III, HYMN 23. 287 MAiVZ?ALA III, HYMN 23. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 23. i. Produced by attrition, well preserved in his abode, the young sage, the leader of worship, Agni ever young in the forests1 that grow old — G^tavedas, has here assumed immortality 2. 2. The two Bharatas 1, Devasravas and Devavata, in the midst of wealth have produced by attrition Agni the skilful (god). Agni, look forth with mighty wealth, and then be 2 for us a guide of food day by day. 3 1. The ten fingers have brought him to the birth, the ancient, beloved (Agni), well born in his mothers 2. Praise, O Deva^ravas, the Agni of Devavata who 3 should be the lord of people. 4. I have laid 1 thee 2 down in the best (place) of the earth 3, in the place of I/a 3, in the auspiciousness of days. O Agni, as the god who has belonged to Manus 4, shine with wealth on the Dr/shadvati, on the Apaya, on the Sarasvati* 5 = 111, 1, 23. NOTES.
24. I have laid 1 thee 2 down in the best (place) of the earth 3, in the place of I/a 3, in the auspiciousness of days. O Agni, as the god who has belonged to Manus 4, shine with wealth on the Dr/shadvati, on the Apaya, on the Sarasvati* 5 = 111, 1, 23. NOTES. The 7?/shis are Deva^ravas Bharata and Devav&ta Bha- rata (see verse 2) ; the metre is Trish/ubh (verse 5 Satobr/hati). — No verse occurs in the other Sawhitas. Verse 1. Note 1. The { forests ' are the fuel. c Does the poet mean : Never consumed in the consumed wood or forests, 288 VEDIC HYMNS. i. e. the fire burns and is kept alive while the wood is burnt up?' M. M. Note 2. Or, ' he has received the drink of immortality ' — which may refer to the ghee offered in the fire. Verse 2. Note 1. On the tribe of the Bharatas having their seats, as verse 4 seems to show, on the borders of the Saras vati and of the Drzshadvati, see H. O., Buddha (first edition), 413 seq. Note 2. This is an imperative in -tat, signifying, as Delbruck has shown (Syntaktische Forschungen, III, 3 seq. ; Altindische Syntax, 363), an injunction to be carried out after something else has been done or has happened. Agni is first to look about (vi pajya), and shall then become (bhavatat) a guide of food, i. e. he shall lead plenty of food to the worshipper's house. — Prof. Max Muller translates isham neta, ' a guide to food.' Verse 3. Note 1. Should this Satobrzhati, standing alone among Trish/ubh verses, be considered as forming a distich to- gether with verse 3? Comp. H. O., Die Hymnen des Rig- veda, vol. i, p. 102, note 7. Note 2. The woods. Note 3. Agni, not Devavata, is referred to. Verse 4. Note 1. Or, 'he has laid/ The form may be first or third person, present or perfect. Note 2. Agni is addressed. Note 3. The best place of the earth, the place of I/a (i. e. of the nourishment coming from the cow, of the ghee offered into Agni) is the sacrificial ground or more especially the spot on which the sacrificial fire is estab- lished. Note 4. Or ' to men.' The Padapa/^a has manushe, but manushaA seems more probable. MAiVDALA III, HYMN 24. 289 MAiV£>ALA III, HYMN 24. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 24. i . Agni, be victorious in battles ; thrust away the plotters. Difficult to overcome, overcoming malign powers, bestow splendour on (the worshipper) who fits out the sacrifice as a vehicle \ 2. Agni, thou art kindled with nourishment *, the immortal offerer of a feast (to the gods). Accept graciously our worship. 3. Agni, wakeful one, son of strength, into whom offerings are poured, sit down with thy splendour on this sacrificial grass of mine. 4. Agni, together with all Agnis, with the gods exalt our prayers and those who are respectful at the sacrifices. 5. Agni, give wealth to the worshipper, abun- dance in valiant men ; further us 1 that wre may be rich in sons. NOTES.
34. Agni, together with all Agnis, with the gods exalt our prayers and those who are respectful at the sacrifices. 5. Agni, give wealth to the worshipper, abun- dance in valiant men ; further us 1 that wre may be rich in sons. NOTES. The Rtshi is Vuvamitra, the metre Gayatri, the first verse Anush/ubh. On this combination of a begin- ning Anush/ubh with Gayatris following, comp. H. O., Die Hymnen des Rig-veda, vol. i, p. 148. — Verse 1 = VS. IX, 37. Verse 5 = TS. II, 2, 12, 6 ; MS. IV, 12, 2 ; 14, 6. [46] U 29O VEDTC HYMNS. Verse 1. Note 1. See above, III, 8, 3, and on ya^avahas, I, 127, 8, note 1 ; Bergaigne, Religion Vedique, II, 287, note 2. Verse 2. Note 1. I/a: especially designating the nourishment coming from the cow (personified as I/a), such as ghee. Verse 5. Note 1. Literally, ' sharpen us.' MA2VDALA III, HYMN 25. 29 1 MAA/"Z?ALA III, HYMN 25. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 25. i. Agni, thou art for ever the wise son of Heaven and of the Earth, the all-wealthy one. In thy peculiar way1 sacrifice here to the gods, O intelli- gent one ! 2. Agni, the knowing, obtains (for his worshipper) heroic powers ; he obtains (for him) strength, being busy for the sake of immortality. Bring then the gods hither, O (Agni), rich in food. 3. Agni, the wise, shines on Heaven and Earth, the two immortal goddesses who encompass all people — he who rules through his strength, and who is full of light through adoration. 4. Agni and Indra, come hither to the sacrifice in the house of the worshipper rich in pressed (Soma), never failing, ye two gods, at the drink of Soma. 5. Agni, thou art kindled in the house of the waters, (our) own (god), O son of strength, Catavedas, who exaltest the abodes (in which thou dwellest) by thy blessing. NOTES. The same Rishi. Metre, Vira^*.— Verse 4= MS. IV, 12, 6. Verse 1. Note 1. On r/dhak, see Pischel, Vedische Studien, II, 45. U 2 292 VEDIC HYMNS. MAA^ALA III, HYMN 26. ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 1, VARGA 26-27. i. With our offerings revering in our mind Agni Vaisv&nara, the follower of truth, the finder of the sun — we, the Ku^ikas *, desirous of goods, call with our prayers the god who gives rain, the charioteer, the cheerful. 2. We call that beautiful Agni to help us,VaLrva- nara, Matarisvan the praiseworthy1 ; we the men (call) Brzhaspati 2 for (the worship) of the divine host, the priest who hears us, the guest who swiftly glides along. 3. Vaisv&nara, neighing like a horse, is kindled by the women 1, by the Kusikas, from age to age ; may this Agni give us abundance in valiant men and in horses and treasures, he who wakes among the immortals. 4. May the Va^as * come forward, the Agnis with their powers. United2 they have harnessed the spotted deer for their triumphal procession 3. The Maruts, mightily growing, the all-wealthy, make the mountains tremble, the unbeguiled ones.
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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