Vedic Hymns, Part II: Hymns to Agni (Mandalas I–V) — SBE Vol. 46 (trans. Hermann Oldenberg, 1897)

Verse 19.

Note 1. I. e. the dawns have sent forth their shine, which is a visible manifestation of the eternal law of Rita..

Note 2. The construction is : we have been good workers, brightening &c. The words, 'the brilliant dawns have shone out Rita,, are a parenthesis.

Verse 20. Note 1. The text is nearly identical with the first hemistich of I, 73, 10 (see above).

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p. 3ASH7AKA III, ADHYAYA 4, VARGA 20-22.i. Draw Rudra hither for your protection1, the king of sacrifice, the truly sacrificing Hotri of the two worlds 2, the golden-coloured Agni, before the unseen thunderbolt (strikes you).

2. This is the home which we have prepared for. thee as a well-dressed, loving wife (prepares the marriage-bed) for her husband1. Directed hitherward, dressed (in offerings and prayers?)2 sit down. These (sacrificial ladles or prayers ?) are turned towards thee, O most skilful one 3 !

3. To him who hears us, who is not proud, who beholds men, to the merciful, immortal god recite a prayer, O worshipper, a hymn — (to Agni) whom the presser (of Soma), the Madhu-presser, magnifies like the pressing-stone \

4. Thou who art well-intentioned, give heed to this our toiling \ to this i^zta 2, O observer of i?zta ! When will our hymns share in thy rejoicings ? When will our friendship dwell in thy house ?

5. How wilt thou, O Agni, before Varu/za, and how wilt thou, and which sin of ours wilt thou blame before Dyaus ? How wilt thou speak to bountiful Mitra, to the Earth? What (wilt thou say) to Aryaman, to Bhaga ?

6. What wilt thou say, O Agni, when thou hast grown strong on the Dhish/zya altars1? What to strong Vâta who goes forward in triumph 2 ? To the Nasatya 3 who goes round the earth 4, to . . . 5 ? What, O Agni, to Rudra, the man-killer ?

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7. How (wilt thou speak) to great Pushan who brings prosperity ? What (wilt thou say) to martial Rudra, the giver of offerings1? What sin2 wilt thou announce to wide-ruling Vishnu, what, O Agni, to the mighty weapon (of the gods) ?

8. How wilt thou answer, when thou art asked, to the righteous x host of the Maruts ? How to the mighty Sun, to the quick Aditi 2 ? Accomplish thy work, O 6atavedas, thou who knowest the Heaven !

9. I magnify 1 the Rita, of the cow 2 ruled by Jâta. and also by the raw one3, the honey-sweet, ripe (milk), O Agni. Though being black this (cow) swells of bright drink, of ... 4 milk.

10. With 7?zta indeed, with the milk of the back1, the bull has been anointed, Agni the man. Without trembling he moved on bestowing his vigour. The speckled bull has poured out his bright udder 2.

111. By the Rzts. the Angiras have broken the rock and cleft it asunder ; they have shouted together with the cows. Prosperously the men have surrounded2 the Dawn. The Sun appeared when Agni (the fire) had been born 3.

The speckled bull has poured out his bright udder 2.

111. By the Rzts. the Angiras have broken the rock and cleft it asunder ; they have shouted together with the cows. Prosperously the men have surrounded2 the Dawn. The Sun appeared when Agni (the fire) had been born 3.

12. By the Jâta. the immortal, uninjured1 goddesses, the Waters, O Agni, with their honey-sweet waves have sped forward 2 for ever to flow (along their course), like a racer incited by shouting when (the race-liorses) are let loose.

13. Go never on thy crooked way to the spirit (which avenges the guilt) of anybody1, of a vassal who has trespassed, or of a friend. Require not (of us) a sinful brother's debt2. May we not have to suffer under the spirit which avenges a friend's or a (hostile) deceivers guilt 3.

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14-. Protect us, O Agni, with all thy protection, thou who art protected, O martial one 1, and art gladdened (by us). Sparkle forth, and destroy even strong evil ! Slay the Rakshas even though it has grown large.

15. Be gracious, O Agni, through these our hymns. Touch, O hero, this wealth moved by our prayers. And accept, O Angiras, our sacred words. May the praise, beloved by the gods, resound to thee \

16. I, the priest, have rehearsed to thee the omniscient one, O Agni, worshipper (of the gods), all these songs, these inmost words, these recitations and words of wisdom, to thee the wise one, with prayers and hymns.

NOTES.

The same Rishi and metre. — Verse 1 = S V. I, 69 ; TS.
I, 3, 14, 1 ; TB. II, 8, 6, 9 ; MS. IV, 11, 4. Verse 6 =
MS. IV, 11,4.

Verse 1.

Note 1. On the identification of Agni with Rudra, comp.
Bergaigne, Rel. Vedique, III, 36 ; von Bradke, Dyaus Asura,
p. 54 (Rig-veda I, 27, 10 ; III, 2, 5; VIII, 72, 3).

Note 2. The second Pada of this verse is identical with
VI, 16, 46.

Verse 2.

Note 1. Cf. Hirzel, Gleichnisse und Metaphern im Rigveda, p. 69.

Note 2. On parivita^ Saya/za remarks, yash/avyadevais te^obhir va parivita^. In the commentary on I, 128, t, on the other hand, he says, ritvigbh\/z paridhibhir va parito vesh/ita^.

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Note 3. I take su-apaka as a compound of su and a-paka
(comp. Va£\ Sawh. XX, 44 = Taitt. Br. II, 6, 8, 4 = Maitr.
Samh. Ill, 11, 1, where Tvash/rz is called apctka^). In
Rig-veda VI, 1 1 , 4 we read : adidyutat sii apaka^ vibhava ;
in VI, \1, 1. a yasmin tve sii apake ya^atra, &c. Should
we not correct in both passages suapaka^, suapake ?

Verse 3.

Note 1. The pressing-stone (gravan) is frequently considered as speaking, as praising the gods. Cf. Hillebrandt, Vedische Mythologie, I, p. 152 sq.

Verse 4.

Note 1. The Padapa/^a has ^amyai. I think it should be samyâk.

Note 2. I. e. to this sacrifice, which is considered as one of the chief manifestations of Rita.. See H. O., Religion des Veda, p. 197.

Verse 6.

Note 1. At the Soma sacrifice fire burns on eight altars called Dhish/zya ; see Weber, Indische Studien, X, pp. 366,

375-

Note 2. See vol. xxxii, p. 164.

I. e. to this sacrifice, which is considered as one of the chief manifestations of Rita.. See H. O., Religion des Veda, p. 197.

Verse 6.

Note 1. At the Soma sacrifice fire burns on eight altars called Dhish/zya ; see Weber, Indische Studien, X, pp. 366,

375-

Note 2. See vol. xxxii, p. 164.

Note 3. This is the only passage in the Rig-veda in which nasatya occurs in the singular.

Note 4. On pari^man, cf. above, I, 79, 3 note.

Note 5. Kshe (cf. Lanman, pp. 440, 448, 534) is evidently corrupt. But neither Bollensen's conjecture, uksh/ze, nor those of Ludwig (£akshe, yakshe), carry conviction.

Verse 7.

Note 1. It is very strange to find Rudra here designated as * giver of offerings.' But it seems too bold to explain havi^-de as a dative of havi//-ad ('eater of offerings ').

Note 2. I read with Grassmann repa/£ (' sin ') for reta^
(' sperm ').

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Verse 8.

Note 1. The text has rMya, used as an adjective (see
Bergaigne, Rel. Vedique, III, 216).

Note 2. Aditi is masculine and seems to be an epithet
(' unrestrained, free ') of the Sun. Cf. vol. xxxii, p. 262 ;
Bergaigne, III, 92. Probably at the same time the word
is intended to allude to the goddess Aditi.

Verse 9.

Note 1. The text has i/e, on which Ludwig says, ' so viel wie ni/e.' tie of course cannot be the same as ni/e, but should we not conjecture ni/e? Cf. above, IV, 1, 11. vr/shabhasya ni/e, and IV, 1, 12. ritasya. yona vr/shabhasya ni/e. The translation would be, ' By Rita, the Rita, is restrained in the nest of the cow/

Note 2. The ' Rita, of the cow/ if the reading is correct
(see note 1), seems to be the milk.

Note 3. The ' raw one ' is the cow as opposed to the ripe milk.

Note 4. The meaning of ^amarya (airat; keyo^vov) is unknown. Cf. Bergaigne, II, 398, note 1. Saya^a reads ga. amarye/za. c I should prefer ga. amartyena/ M. M.

Verse 10.

Note 1. Does this mean, with the milk that comes from the ridge of heaven ? Cf. IV, 20, 4. sam andhasa mamada^ pr/sh/yfcyena.

Note 2. This Pada seems to be an imitation of VI, 66, 1, where Frisni (' the speckled one ') is the mother of the Maruts : sakrit jukram duduhe prisnik tfdha/fc. See vol. xxxii, p. 368.

Verse 11.

Note 1. Here we have again the same myth of the Angiras and the cows, to which so many allusions are found in the preceding hymns.

Note 2. The red cows of the myth are the dawns ; the

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Angiras besiege the stronghold in which these cows are imprisoned.

Note 3. On the kindling of the fire as a charm by which the sun is made to rise, see H. O., Religion des Veda, p. 109 seq. The Angiras kindle the fire for performing their sacrifice ; thereby they make the sun rise.

Verse 12.

Note 1. The same epithet is applied to the waters also in X, 104, 8.

Note 2. The optative dadhanyu^ is very strange. Probably we ought to read dadhanvu/£.

Verse 13.