Hymns of the Atharva-Veda — SBE Vol. 42 (Clarendon Press, 1897) — second scan
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The translator’s English as printed. The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
, the sun ; Aufrecht, 1. c, p. 344, the moon, the father of sorcery ; Grassmann, in his translation of the Rigveda, I, 343, the starry heaven. In RV. I, 154, 6 the stars are said to be bhuri-^rmga, 'having many horns;' this seems to fortify Grassmann's view. Agni is also fitted for this epithet, since his flames and sparks may be viewed as horns. But lire (light) little befits the occasion.
Stanza 3.
c. Saya^a, pu/*yagandhaya^ ^obhanagandhayukta^. Pischel, 1. c, p. 57 ff., adduces proof that the Hindus of later times imagined that their women gave forth fragrance during intercourse ; hence, that the women here mentioned are awaiting their lovers. This narrow construction of the word is hardly necessary in the light of Manu V, 130; Marka/^eya Pura//a XXXV, 12, quoted by Pischel himself.
Stanza 5.
d. Saya;za, ida//z drtsyamknam harmyaw yathct dar^anaj-akti^unya^ tatha, * as these premises, though seen, are (themselves) devoid of the power of seeing.'
IV, 6. Commentary to page 35.
According to the commentators, Darila, Ke^ava, and Saya/^a, the performances for removing poison at Kaus. 28, 1-4 include the recitation of this as well as the next hymn (IV, 7). Kau^ika, however, rubricates only IV, 6, as follows : 1. i While reciting IV, 6, in a low voice, and makingp. 374 obeisance to Takshaka1, the patient is made to sip water and is sprinkled with water. 2. The same performance takes place with water into which has been put a branch of the krzmuka-tree, which has been ground to pieces, and then the patient is sprinkled with water warmed by quenching in it a heated old garment 2, or a heated old skin of an antelope, or a heated wisp of a broom 3. 3. In a watervessel which has been smeared with the dregs of ghee a mixed drink is stirred by means of two arrows (whose points) have been daubed (with poison ; cf. st. 7), and whose points are upward 4 ; then lumps of earth 5 are broken into it (while the hymns are being recited) stanza by stanza, and the mixture is drunk until vomiting takes place. 4. Then the patient is given to drink yellow curcuma in ghee (cf. IV, 7, 2, and especially 3)/
The hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III,5i2.
Stanza 1.
For the cosmogonic conception in the first hemistich, cf. Muir, Orig. Sanskrit Texts, I2, p. 21. In the Ramaya^a (cf. IV, 10, 22), the demon Rava^a is represented as a he cosmogonic conception in the first hemistich, cf. Muir, Orig. Sanskrit Texts, I2, p. 21. In the Ramaya^a (cf. IV, 10, 22), the demon Rava^a is represented as a
1 Takshaka Vaualeya, a serpent-god ; cf. Kaiu. 29, 1; 32, 20; 56, 13, and Ind. Stud. I, 35.
1 Takshaka Vaualeya, a serpent-god ; cf. Kaiu. 29, 1; 32, 20; 56, 13, and Ind. Stud. I, 35.
2 Darila, ^ir//avasa^ ; Ke^ava, dunnaka^, or dullaka/i The passages are not given in the edition.
3 The Sutra abounds in subtle symbolic allusions. The krzmukatree embodies the bow (karmuka) ; cf. sts. 4, 6. The garment, and the old antelope-skin refer to IV, 7, 6. For ^vala cf. Kau^. 27, 29, in the introduction to III, 7. Darila glosses avakara by ukura- /ikatrz/zani ; Kcrava by ukari^ika marg-anikatr/wam ; Sayawa has patitamar^-anika^akalai^ ; cf. Kamika, Introduction, p. xlv, bottom.
4 For urdhvaphalabhyam see Kaiwika, Introduction, p. Hi, s.v. phala. The poisoned arrows with their points upward symbolise the flight of the poison away from the patient ; cf. sts. 4, 5.
5 Darila glosses rayidhara/zapi/zdan by bhumis tanmayan piw^an. But Ke^ava (and Saya//a with him, as usual) has madanaphalani, ' fruit from the madana-plant/ And Ke^ava remarks anent this plant, yatha Mardayati.
p. 375
Brahma/za with ten heads. Sâya^a identifies the Brahmawa with Takshaka, in accordance with the Sutra, above.
Stanza 2.
Cf. Vkg. S. XXXVIII, 26, and for the seven rivers,
Max Muller, Chips from a German Workshop, I, 63 ;
Muir, 1. c, p. 490, note ; Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 21.
Stanza 3.
The poison is evidently a plant (Saya/za, kandavisha),
since the eagle is constantly associated with the origin and
functions of medicinal and magic plants; see I, 24, 1; II,
27, 2 ; IV, 20, 3 ; V, 14, 1, and especially our note on IV,
20, 3. For amimada^ in Pada c, cf. madavati in IV, 7, 4 a.
Stanza 4.
c. The rendering of apaskambha is mere conjecture. Neither the root skambh nor stambh occurs with the preposition apa. The Pet. Lexs., and Zimmer, 1. c, p. 300, ' the fastening of the point upon the shaft of the arrow ; ' Ludwig, ' widerhaken.' Saya;za has two explanations neither of which is satisfactory, apaskabhyate vidharyate antarikshe iti apaskambha^ kramukavrzksha^ (cf. Kaui". 28, 2, above) tasya ^alyad jakalat . . . yadva avaskabhyate dhanushi dharyate iti apaskambho bana/i. Our own ' tearing (arrow) ' is based upon the supposition that apa + skambh may mean ' uproot/ or the like, as opposite of skambh.
Stanza 5.
For the parts of the arrow as described here, see
Zimmer, 1. c, p. 300. Saya^a, pra^-anat pralepat . . .
apash/Mt apakr/sh^vasthad etatsaw^Tzad vishopadanat.
on the supposition that apa + skambh may mean ' uproot/ or the like, as opposite of skambh.
Stanza 5.
For the parts of the arrow as described here, see Zimmer, 1. c, p. 300. Saya^a, pra^-anat pralepat . . . apash/Mt apakr/sh^vasthad etatsaw^Tzad vishopadanat. We have translated apash/M£ kkrihgkt, ' from its barbed horn/ deriving apâshMa from the root as in a^ri, ' corner ; ' cf. ash//nvantau, ' the knees/
Saya/za ascends the dizziest height of absurdity in his rendering of kulmalat, to wit : kutsitaprammala£ ka. yadp. 376 udbhuta//z visham, 'the poison sprung from the filth of loathsome animals.'
Stanza 7.
Saya/za agrees with all Western authorities in deriving apishan from the root pish, to wit : aushadham api;/zshan. He glosses vishagiri by kandamuladivishotpattihetu/z parvata/z.
IV, 7. Commentary to page 26.
The practices, Kau.y. 28, 1-4, obviously refer to this hymn as well as IV, 6. See the introduction to the preceding hymn. Translations are offered by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 201 ; Grill2, pp. 28, 121 ff. The Anukrama/zi, vanaspatyam.
Stanza 1.
All Western interpreters regard varazzavati as a river ; cf., in addition to the authorities given above, Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 20. Saya/za, vara/za nâma vrzkshaviseshâA te asyam santi*ti vara/zâvati ; cf. vara^a (crataeva roxburghii), AV. VI, 85, 1 ; X, 3, 2 ff., where the same puns upon derivatives of the root var are displayed. The formation of the word vara/zavati might be compared with .ritikavati and hladikavati in RV. X, 16, i4 = AV. XVIII, 3, 60 ; see our Contributions, Second Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, p. 341 ff. Cf. also madavati in st. 4 (cf. IV, 6, 3 c), as a designation of the poisonous plant, vara/zavati would then be the name of the curative plant, the antidote, ' affording protection/ But the ceremonies in the Sutra (28, 1) begin with the use of water, and the appearance of var in Pada a also points to the name of a river.
Stanza 2.
d. Cf. RV. I, 187, 10; Apast. Sv. XII, 4, 13. Cf. for this and the next stanza the ritual, above, Kau^. 28, 4.
Stanza 3.
a. In deciding upon the meaning of tiryam we have had in mind the evident concatenation of st. 2 with 3 a, b. Thep. 377 thought is continued, and, as is customary in catenary constructions, a new motif is added, tirya//z (sc. visham) in addition to the pra^yam, &c. of stanza 2. Since pra^yam, &c. indicate directions, we have regarded tiryam in the same light, i.e. as a variant of thyank ; cf. X, 2, 11.-24. 25- 28; 8, 19; XI, 4, 25; XV, 3, 6.
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