Hymns of the Atharva-Veda — SBE Vol. 42 (Clarendon Press, 1897) — second scan

bows as fagots upon a fire built of bows ; next, placing arrows as fagots upon a fire built of arrows ; and in the presentation (to the king by the chaplain, the purohita) of a bow that has been anointed with the dregs of ghee, and has been polished off. The entire list of hymns is further employed at the ceremonies connected with the beginning of the study of the Veda (upâkarma) at Kaur. 139, 7; the hymns VI, 97-99, at the indramaha-festival, Kaus. 140, 10.

Stanza 3.

Repeated at XIX, 13, 6, and with variants, RV. X, 103, 6; SV. II, 1204; Maitr. S. II, 10, 4; Tait. S. IV, 6, 4, 2; Vâg. S. XVII, 38. The stanza is primarily addressed to Indra, but Indra and king are at this stage of Vedic literature perfectly synonymous; cf. the note on III, 3, 2, and Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 251.

VI, 99. Commentary to page 123.

In the Kaiuika the hymn is employed along with, and in precisely the same situations as VI, 97 ; see the introduction there, and cf. also Vait. Su. 18, 16. Previously translated by Grill2, pp. 18, 168 ff. The Anukrama/zi, aindram.

Stanza 1.

e, d. Cf. RV. X, 128, 9, which suggests by its word adhira^am the possibility that eka^am in our stanza is some

Vr, IOO. COMMENTARY. 5II

sort of a secondary product of ekara^am. But this is not favoured by the metre, and we may compare, in support of our rendering, eka^anman, as the designation of a king, ' of singular birth,' quoted by the Pet. Lex. from the Trika/z^a^esha.

Stanza 2.

The first hemistich is formulaic ; cf. I, 20, 2.

VI, 100. Commentary to page 27.

The equivalence of the word upa^ika with upa^ihvika, upadika, and upadipika1, and its meaning of 'ant/ was established by the present translator in ' Seven Hymns of the Atharva-veda,' Amer. Journ. Phil. VII, 482 ff. The upa^ikd are a kind of ants, fancied to be endowed with the power of digging up beneficent, healing water : according to sts. i, 2 the gods themselves furnished them with this quality. They are, accordingly, brought into contact with the bodies of poisoned persons in every possible manner. According to Kaor. 31, 26, a lump from an ant-hill is fastened (as an amulet) upon the poisoned person ; he is given some of it to drink (in water) ; is made to rinse his mouth with the same mixture; and is besmeared with a solution of it in warm water. Cf. also the introduction to II, 3. In addition to the numerous passages bearing upon this subject, that have been cited in the above-mentioned article, see also Va£*. S. XXXVII, 4 ^ Katy. Sv. XXVI, 1, 6 ; Tait. Br. I, 1, 3, 4 ; 2, i, 3 5 Tait- Ar.

ater. Cf. also the introduction to II, 3. In addition to the numerous passages bearing upon this subject, that have been cited in the above-mentioned article, see also Va£*. S. XXXVII, 4 ^ Katy. Sv. XXVI, 1, 6 ; Tait. Br. I, 1, 3, 4 ; 2, i, 3 5 Tait- Ar. IV, 2, 3 ; Apast. Sr. V, 1, 7 ; XV, 2, i ; 16, 5 ; Ath. Paru. 67, 2 (cf. Weber, Omina und Portenta, p. 324) ; Yaska's Nigha/z/avas III, 29 = Kautsavaya 67 (cf. Roth's Erlauterungen, p. 35) ; and the scholiast at Tait. S. I, 1, 3 (p. 19 of the edition of the Bibliotheca Indica). For upadika, &c, the Pali forms of the word, see Morris in the London Academy of Nov. 19, J 892, vol. xlii, p. 462.

1 Cf. also dehika, uddehika, and upadehika, * names of ants that throw up earth/ and see Grill2, p. 81, note. And again, cf. utpadika (with variants), Pet. Lex. s. v. utpadaka 3.

p. 512

The hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda,
III, 51 J (cf. also pp. 343, 507). See also Bergaigne et
Henry, Manuel Vedique, p. 153.

Stanza 1. c. The Pet. Lex. suggests three rivers named Sarasvati, or perhaps simply three rivers in general. But some personified group of divinities is more likely to be in the mind of the writer, probably three of the Apri divinities, Sarasvati, Ida, Bharati. This conclusion was arrived at before inspecting Saya/za, who has, sarasvatyas trayirupa^1, yad va Ida sarasvati bharati. See Oldenberg, Die Religion des Veda, p. 243.

Stanza 2. The vulgate erroneously emends upa^ika^) of the MSS. to upa^ika(A) ; cf. ' Seven Hymns &c.,' p. 483 (18 of the reprint). Saya^a manipulates the text still further : he deva/z vah yushmaka^z sawbandhinya^ upa^ika^ . . . nirudake sthane . . . udakam . . . aksharayan.

VI, 102. Commentary to page 101.

For the practices connected with this hymn, see the introduction to II, 30, above. The rites of Kau^ika (35, 21) seek especially to realise in practice the similes of this hymn (sts. 2, 3). The Anukramam designates it as asvinam, spoken by one who is abhisa^/manaskama^. It has been translated by Weber, Ind. Stud. V, 243 fif. ; Grill2,

PP- 54, i^9 ff-

Stanza 1.

The comparison seems to be derived from the practices
in ploughing. Cf. RV. IV, 57, 4. 8; AV. Ill, 17, 5. 6.
The A^vins play a part in agriculture ; see RV. I, 117, 21.

Stanza 2.
a, b. Both ragaLSvak and prishlyam are problematic.
Saya/za, yatha asvasveshtfca/t przshfyam ^ankubaddha/zz

1 Cf. Oldenberg, Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch.
XXXIX, 54 ff.

VI, IO5. COMMENTARY.

agriculture ; see RV. I, 117, 21.

Stanza 2.
a, b. Both ragaLSvak and prishlyam are problematic.
Saya/za, yatha asvasveshtfca/t przshfyam ^ankubaddha/zz

1 Cf. Oldenberg, Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch.
XXXIX, 54 ff.

p. 513

sabandhanaraggri/^ lilaya akhidati unmulayati tadvat, cas a noble horse uproots with ease the halter fastened to a peg.' Altogether unlikely. Roth, as quoted by Grill, and

Bohtlingk's Lexicon, s.v. przsh/ya, regard the latter as related to (in fact a feminine of) prash/i, ' side-horse/ and accordingly we have translated, without any feeling of certainty. Cf. X, 8, 8. But przshtya may possibly be identical with przsh/ivah (arva), XVIII, 4, 10, 'the horse which carries burdens upon its back,' and ra^cLyva/^ simply the 'horse of the king/ The point then would be that ordinary horses follow the royal stallion on expeditions, or processions.

c. The edition of Roth and Whitney reads tr/^ma. But many MSS. read tr/nam ; this is accepted by Whitney in the Index Verborum, and is rendered certain by Kau^.

35, 21.

Stanza 3.

The ingredients of the love-mixture are worked up in the Kaorika; the sweetwood figures especially in charms of this sort ; cf. I, 34, 4. In Pâda c Sayazza regards turo as a genitive of tiir, agreeing with bhagasya, tvarama/msya saubhagyakarasya devasya.

VI, 105. Commentary to page 8.

The practice attached to this hymn in Kauj. 31, 27 is designated by Darila as a cure for coughs, and by Ke^ava as a cure for coughs and expectoration (kase j-leshmapatane ka). The Sutra is as follows : yatha mano*va diva ity arish/ena, 'While reciting AV. VI, 105 and VII, 107 he performs the practice prescribed (for the cure of the disease called arish/a).' This latter disease seems to be a nervous trouble in the nature of epilepsy or St. Vitus dance (Darila, arish/am . . . angaspandanakalahalabhutadi, see Kaorika, Introduction, p. xlv). The practice according to Kaur. 28, 15 consists in making the patient take a few steps away from his house (Darila, kani^it padani grz'han nishkrâmayati [cod. nusramayati]), after having previously, in accordance with the Paribhasha-sutras, Kau^. [42] L 1

p. 514

7, 18 and 7, 7 (cf. also Kes. at 28, 15; 31, 27), fed him with a churned drink and porridge. The patient, as he leaves his habitual place, is, doubtless, supposed to leave the disease behind him.

AV.