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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
18. Thou, O Agni, praised by us, help the glorious singer to gain prizes. May we accomplish our work with the help of the young active (Agni). O Heaven and Earth ! Bless us together with the gods. 9. Thou, O Agni, in the lap of thy parents, a god among gods, O blameless one, always watchful, be the body's creator and guardian to the singer. Thou, O beautiful one, pourest forth all wealth. 10. Thou, O Agni, art our guardian, thou art our father. Thou art the giver of strength ; we are thy kinsmen. H undredfold, thousandfold treasures come together in thee, who art rich in heroes, the guardian of the law, O undeceivable one. 11. Thee, O Agni, the gods have made for the living as the first living1, the clan-lord of the Nahusha2. They have made (the goddess) I /a the teacher of men (manusha), when a son of my father is born3. 12. Thou, O Agni, protect with thy guardians, O god, our liberal givers and ourselves, O venerable one ! Thou art the protector of kith and kin1 and of the cows, unremittingly watching over thy law. 131. Thou, O Agni, art kindled four-eyed, as the closest guardian for the sacrificer who is without (even) a quiver2. Thou acceptest in thy mind the hymn even of the poor3 who has made offerings4, that he may prosper without danger. 14. Thou, O Agni, gainest1 for the widely-re- 24 VEDIC HYMNS. nowned worshipper that property which is desirable and excellent. Thou art called the guardian and father even of the weak2 ; thou instructest the simple, thou, the greatest sage, the quarters of the world3. 15. Thou, O Agni, protectest on every side like well-stitched armour the man who gives sacrificial fees. He who puts sweet food (before the priests), who makes them comfortable in his dwelling, who kills living (victims), he (will reside) high in heaven 1. 16. Forgive, O Agni, this our fault (P)1, (look graciously at) this way which we have wandered from afar. Thou art the companion, the guardian, the father of those who offer Soma ; thou art the quick one2 who makes the mortals i?zshis3. 17. As thou didst for Manus, O Agni, for Angiras, O Angiras, for Yayati on thy (priestly) seat, as for the ancients, O brilliant one, come hither, conduct hither the host of the gods, seat them on the sacrificial grass, and sacrifice to the beloved (host). 18. Be magnified, O Agni, through this spell which we have made for thee with our skill or with our knowledge. And lead us forward to better things. Let us be united with thy favour, which bestows strength. NOTES. The Rtshi of the hymn is Hiraz/yastupa Angirasa. To him tradition ascribes the authorship of the collection I, 31- 35, probably because in X, 149, 5 the poet invokes Savitrz, 'as Hira/zyastupa the Angirasa has called thee, O SavitrzV Vedic theologians of course tried to find out where this invocation of Hira;zyastupa to Savitrz was preserved, and the hymn, I, 35, seemed to agree best with the conditions M AND ALA I, HYMN 3 I. 25
225 of the case (comp. Zeitschrift der D. Morg. Ges. XLII, 230). By this and many similar cases it is made probable that at the time when the Anukrama^i was composed, all real knowledge as to authors to whom the collections of the first Ma^ala belong, was lost. The metre is £agati ; only the verses 8, 16, 18 are Trish/ubh. Verse 1 =VS. 34, 12. Verse 8 = MS. IV, n, 1. Verse \% =. VS. 34, 13. With verse 16 comp. AV. Ill, Verse 1. Note 1. VidmanSpasa^ seems to be nom. plur., not gen. sing. Comp. I, 111, 1. takshan ratham . . . vidmanapasa//, ' they (the i^zbhus), active in their wisdom, have wrought the chariot/ Verse 2. Note 1. As to dvim&ta sayu/i, comp. Ill, 55, 6 (.yayu^ parastat adha mi dvimata) ; Pischel, Vedische Studien, II, 50. — On Agni's two mothers and his double birth see Bergaigne, Religion V^dique, II, 52. Note 2. By * living' I have translated ayii. See on this word, Bergaigne, Rel. Ved., I, 59 seq. Verse 3. Note 1. Probably Bergaigne (Rel. Ved. I, 55, note 2) is right in conjecturing bhava^ for bhava. In this case we should have to translate : ' Thou as the first hast become manifest to MitarLsvan.' Note 2. I believe that to mshik we have to supply devan ; see II, 37, 6 ; III, 7, 9 ; VI, 16, 2 ; 48, 4, &c. c Can it not be an adverb ? See vol. xxxii, p. 307 ; Lanman, p. 501,' M. M. Verse 4. Note 1. Comp. V, 58, 6. let Dyu (sky) roar down, the bull of the dawn. V, 59, 8. may Dyaus Aditi (the un- bounded) roar for our feast. 26 VEDIC HYMNS. Note 2. The translation of jvatra is purely conjectural. It rests on the supposition that the word is related to .nfouve, .ravas, &c. (thus Grassmann). Boehtlingk-Roth connect it with svad, which is phonetically impossible ; they give the meaning ' schmackhaft,' and paraphrase our passage : das mit einer Lockspeise (z. B. mit einem Spahn) von den Reibholzern abgenommene Feuer kann man hin und her tragen. Ludwig : mit Geprassel. I do not see how this translation would fit for a number of the passages in which the word occurs. Verse 5. Note 1. With the third Pada compare VI, i, 9. yak cihutim pari veda namobhi^. Note 2. Avivasasi cannot belong to the relative clause. The accent must be changed accordingly. Verse 6, Note 1. It is very curious to find here Agni as the pro- tector of the vr^inavartani, the man who follows crooked ways. Ludwig tries to explain the passage by under- standing the vidatha, in which Agni is here said to protect the sinner, as an asylum, but we have no reason to believe that the word could have this meaning. See the next note.
3Ludwig tries to explain the passage by under- standing the vidatha, in which Agni is here said to protect the sinner, as an asylum, but we have no reason to believe that the word could have this meaning. See the next note. Note 2. On the derivation and meaning of vidatha various opinions have been pronounced in the last years, which have been collected by Prof. Max Muller in his note on V, 59, % (vol. xxxii, p. 349 seq. ; see also Bartholomae, Studien zur indogermanischen Sprachgeschichte, I, 41). Without trying to discuss here all different theories, I im- mediately proceed to state my own opinion, though I am far from claiming certainty for it. It will, however, I believe, solve the difficulties tolerably well. I propose to derive vidatha from vi-dha ; the dh was changed into d by the same 'Hauchdissimilationsgesetz' (Brugmann, Grundriss der vergleichenden Grammatik, vol. i, p. 355 seq.), accord- ing to which Arian #bhaudhati was changed into Sanskrit MAiVDALA I, HYMN 31. 2 J
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.
18. Thou, O Agni, praised by us, help the glorious singer to gain prizes. May we accomplish our work with the help of the young active (Agni). O Heaven and Earth ! Bless us together with the gods. 9. Thou, O Agni, in the lap of thy parents, a god among gods, O blameless one, always watchful, be the body's creator and guardian to the singer. Thou, O beautiful one, pourest forth all wealth. 10. Thou, O Agni, art our guardian, thou art our father. Thou art the giver of strength ; we are thy kinsmen. H undredfold, thousandfold treasures come together in thee, who art rich in heroes, the guardian of the law, O undeceivable one. 11. Thee, O Agni, the gods have made for the living as the first living1, the clan-lord of the Nahusha2. They have made (the goddess) I /a the teacher of men (manusha), when a son of my father is born3. 12. Thou, O Agni, protect with thy guardians, O god, our liberal givers and ourselves, O venerable one ! Thou art the protector of kith and kin1 and of the cows, unremittingly watching over thy law. 131. Thou, O Agni, art kindled four-eyed, as the closest guardian for the sacrificer who is without (even) a quiver2. Thou acceptest in thy mind the hymn even of the poor3 who has made offerings4, that he may prosper without danger. 14. Thou, O Agni, gainest1 for the widely-re- 24 VEDIC HYMNS. nowned worshipper that property which is desirable and excellent. Thou art called the guardian and father even of the weak2 ; thou instructest the simple, thou, the greatest sage, the quarters of the world3. 15. Thou, O Agni, protectest on every side like well-stitched armour the man who gives sacrificial fees. He who puts sweet food (before the priests), who makes them comfortable in his dwelling, who kills living (victims), he (will reside) high in heaven 1. 16. Forgive, O Agni, this our fault (P)1, (look graciously at) this way which we have wandered from afar. Thou art the companion, the guardian, the father of those who offer Soma ; thou art the quick one2 who makes the mortals i?zshis3. 17. As thou didst for Manus, O Agni, for Angiras, O Angiras, for Yayati on thy (priestly) seat, as for the ancients, O brilliant one, come hither, conduct hither the host of the gods, seat them on the sacrificial grass, and sacrifice to the beloved (host). 18. Be magnified, O Agni, through this spell which we have made for thee with our skill or with our knowledge. And lead us forward to better things. Let us be united with thy favour, which bestows strength. NOTES. The Rtshi of the hymn is Hiraz/yastupa Angirasa. To him tradition ascribes the authorship of the collection I, 31- 35, probably because in X, 149, 5 the poet invokes Savitrz, 'as Hira/zyastupa the Angirasa has called thee, O SavitrzV Vedic theologians of course tried to find out where this invocation of Hira;zyastupa to Savitrz was preserved, and the hymn, I, 35, seemed to agree best with the conditions M AND ALA I, HYMN 3 I. 25
225 of the case (comp. Zeitschrift der D. Morg. Ges. XLII, 230). By this and many similar cases it is made probable that at the time when the Anukrama^i was composed, all real knowledge as to authors to whom the collections of the first Ma^ala belong, was lost. The metre is £agati ; only the verses 8, 16, 18 are Trish/ubh. Verse 1 =VS. 34, 12. Verse 8 = MS. IV, n, 1. Verse \% =. VS. 34, 13. With verse 16 comp. AV. Ill, Verse 1. Note 1. VidmanSpasa^ seems to be nom. plur., not gen. sing. Comp. I, 111, 1. takshan ratham . . . vidmanapasa//, ' they (the i^zbhus), active in their wisdom, have wrought the chariot/ Verse 2. Note 1. As to dvim&ta sayu/i, comp. Ill, 55, 6 (.yayu^ parastat adha mi dvimata) ; Pischel, Vedische Studien, II, 50. — On Agni's two mothers and his double birth see Bergaigne, Religion V^dique, II, 52. Note 2. By * living' I have translated ayii. See on this word, Bergaigne, Rel. Ved., I, 59 seq. Verse 3. Note 1. Probably Bergaigne (Rel. Ved. I, 55, note 2) is right in conjecturing bhava^ for bhava. In this case we should have to translate : ' Thou as the first hast become manifest to MitarLsvan.' Note 2. I believe that to mshik we have to supply devan ; see II, 37, 6 ; III, 7, 9 ; VI, 16, 2 ; 48, 4, &c. c Can it not be an adverb ? See vol. xxxii, p. 307 ; Lanman, p. 501,' M. M. Verse 4. Note 1. Comp. V, 58, 6. let Dyu (sky) roar down, the bull of the dawn. V, 59, 8. may Dyaus Aditi (the un- bounded) roar for our feast. 26 VEDIC HYMNS. Note 2. The translation of jvatra is purely conjectural. It rests on the supposition that the word is related to .nfouve, .ravas, &c. (thus Grassmann). Boehtlingk-Roth connect it with svad, which is phonetically impossible ; they give the meaning ' schmackhaft,' and paraphrase our passage : das mit einer Lockspeise (z. B. mit einem Spahn) von den Reibholzern abgenommene Feuer kann man hin und her tragen. Ludwig : mit Geprassel. I do not see how this translation would fit for a number of the passages in which the word occurs. Verse 5. Note 1. With the third Pada compare VI, i, 9. yak cihutim pari veda namobhi^. Note 2. Avivasasi cannot belong to the relative clause. The accent must be changed accordingly. Verse 6, Note 1. It is very curious to find here Agni as the pro- tector of the vr^inavartani, the man who follows crooked ways. Ludwig tries to explain the passage by under- standing the vidatha, in which Agni is here said to protect the sinner, as an asylum, but we have no reason to believe that the word could have this meaning. See the next note.
3Ludwig tries to explain the passage by under- standing the vidatha, in which Agni is here said to protect the sinner, as an asylum, but we have no reason to believe that the word could have this meaning. See the next note. Note 2. On the derivation and meaning of vidatha various opinions have been pronounced in the last years, which have been collected by Prof. Max Muller in his note on V, 59, % (vol. xxxii, p. 349 seq. ; see also Bartholomae, Studien zur indogermanischen Sprachgeschichte, I, 41). Without trying to discuss here all different theories, I im- mediately proceed to state my own opinion, though I am far from claiming certainty for it. It will, however, I believe, solve the difficulties tolerably well. I propose to derive vidatha from vi-dha ; the dh was changed into d by the same 'Hauchdissimilationsgesetz' (Brugmann, Grundriss der vergleichenden Grammatik, vol. i, p. 355 seq.), accord- ing to which Arian #bhaudhati was changed into Sanskrit MAiVDALA I, HYMN 31. 2 J
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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