Ill, 15. COMMENTARY. 353
worked up in the comparatively late indramaha or indra- mahotsava festival, Kaur. 140, 16; Ath. Paris*. 19 1 ; and sts. 7, 8, which are scarcely connected with the body of the hymn, are rubricated in Kaas*. 70, 13. 14. The Anukramam, vaisvadevam utai*ndragnam ; the author is pa;zyakamo *tharva.
Previous translations: Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 215; Zimmer, p. 258 ; Weber, Ind. Stud. XVII, 247 ff. ; Grill2, pp. 69, 113 ff. Cf. also Hillebrandt's Vedachrestomathie,
Indra who gathers in the stakes at all contests (dhana- ^■ft, dhanaw^aya) is their possessor (Mna), and hence in the position to bestow wealth (dhanada). The same attributes are given to Agni in various passages of the RV., justifying the appeal to him in the sequel (st. 3 ff.).
The first two Padas are repeated in a different connec- tion at VI, 55, 1 ; cf. Tait. S. V, 7, 2, 3.
Cf. RV. Ill, 18, 3, where the stanza occurs in its proper
connection. The word i^Mmano doubtless suggested its
adaptability for the present mixtum compositum.
The brackets about the two first Padas are designed to show the looseness of the connection with the rest ; but there is no reason for doubting that they were put here by the Atharvan poet. They were put here because they speak of the ' far road which we have travelled.' Saya/za treats them as an independent (fourth) stanza, and then continues with the following divisions, thoroughly subver- sive of good sense : our 4 b-f and 5 a, b (six Padas) = 5 ; our 5 c, d and 6 a, b = 6 ; our 6 c, d = 7 ; our 7 = 8; our 8 = 9.
a. Weber emends .yaramm to sara^im, translating, ' Diesen
Weg du glattestest uns, o Agni ! '
[42] a a
354 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
e. The Paippalada reads, sawrara;/a havir ida;/z ^usha- ntam. But the plural is vague.
f. £aritam and utthitam are rendered in accordance with
Grill and Saya/za, bantam a^arita/^ vikrayadikam utthi-
ta.m tasmad vyavaharad utpannaw labhayuktaw dhanam.
The other translators, flatly, 'our going and our departure/
d. devari is metrically superfluous : the sense, too, ' devas who shut off gain,' has an Avestan rather than a Vedic ring. The word is a gloss, suggested by devak in Pada b.
Stanzas 7, 8.
The two stanzas seem to have no connection with the rest of the hymn. They are Ya^us-formulas (st. 8, with variants in Tait. S. IV, I, io, i ; Maitr. S. II, 7, 7 ; Ka///. S. XVI, 7 ; Va£\ S. XI, 75), and are employed fittingly as puronuvakya and yagya in connection with a pumahuti at Kauj. 70, 13. 14, on the occasion of the ceremony of build- ing the householder's fire (agnyadhanam). The Atharvan tradition regards six stanzas as the normal number for the hymns of the third book (see AV. XIX, zi and 23, and Ath. Park 46 y 9. 10).
Ill, 18. Commentary to page 107.
This hymn is a repetition with variants of RV. X, 145. The Anukramam there gives it the name indra^y-upanishad (Sha^gururishya, indra/zyrzshika ; Saya^a, indra^ya ar- sham) 1. It constitutes also a part of the Apast. Mantra- brahma/za I, 15, 1-6, and the stanzas are employed at Apast. Gr/h. Ill, 9, 5. 6 (cf. Kau.r. 33, 7 ; Gobh. Grzh. II, 6, 6 ff.) in a charm practised with the pa/a-plant (clypea
1 Cf. for the relation of Indra^i to marital life, our Contribu- tions, Sixth Series, Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morg. Gesellsch. XLVIII, 55i ^; 579-
Ill, 1 8. COMMENTARY. 355
hernandifolia ; cf. our introduction to II, 27). The prac- tices of Kaujika (36, 19-21) differ entirely from those of Apastamba. The plant which is used there is the bazza- parzzi (so also Kau^. 36, 38). Darila glosses, ^arapunkha ; Ke.rava, masika (cf. Kau,rika, Introduction, p. liii)1. It seems to have been suggested to the ritualist by the epithet uttanaparzza in stanza 2, but Sayazza there has in mind again the pa/a, since he quotes AV. II, 27, 4? and in his comment on st. 1 sa)/s outright, pa/Mkhyam oshadhim. Kau.rika's performance is as follows: 36, 19. 'While reciting III, 18, a bazzaparzzi-plant is mashed, mixed with a spray (of milk) from a red she-goat, and scattered round about the bed (of the rival woman). 20. While reciting stanza 6 a, a leaf (of the plant) is fastened beneath the bed. 21. While reciting stanza 6 b (a leaf) is thrown upon the (bed)/ We would draw especial attention to the totally different employment of the stanzas in Apast. Grzh. Ill, 9, 5. 6, in illustration of the loose, subjective symbolism which governs their manipulation. The general purpose of the practice is. however, there the same as with Kau^ika.
The hymn has been translated by Weber, Ind. Stud. V, 222; XVII, 264 ff. ; Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 307. The Rigveda version by Ludwig (932) and Grassmann in their well-known works 2 ; the version of the Apast. Man- trabr. by Winternitz, Das altindische Hochzeitsrituell, p. 98. The Ath. Anukramazzi, atharva*nena suktena sapatni- prazzuttyai vazzapar/zam oshadhim astaut.
a. Sayazza here and at RV., uttanapar/ze uttanani urdhva- mukhani par/zani patraz^i yasya/L
1 According to the Pet. Lex. the common name for this plant is uzwhali, similar to the indigo-plant ; it is also known as suryavaztfrf. Both bazzaparzzi and ^arapunkha seem to mean * having arrow-form leaves/
2 The RV. version seems on the whole secondary to that of the AV. : dhama for zzuda in st. 2 c ; kuru for kn'dhi in 2 d.
a a 2
356 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
c. I read adha, ' now/ upon the basis of adha in some
MSS., Saya/za's adha, and with reference to atha in the
RV. Most MSS. read adha^ (' low shall be my rival/ &c) ;
this is the text adopted by the vulgata, and Shankar
Pandit.
A very similar stanza occurs XII, i, 54; Saya^a is seduced by its pratika, aham asmi sahamana(>4), to confuse it with the present, and to suppose that Kau^. 38, 30 quotes it, instead of XII, 1, 54.
The Sutra does not place the plant about and upon the
husband, but about and upon the rival. Saya/*a follows
through thick and thin. Apast. Grih. Ill, 9, 6 correlates
the stanza with the husband : ' she embraces the hus-
band with her arms/ with the stanza alluding to the word
upadhana (Mantrabr. I, 15, 6).
Ill, 23. Commentary to page 97.
This hymn furnishes the mantras for the well-known house-practice, called puwsavanam in the Grzhya-sutras 1. The Atharvanic form of it is described in Kauj. 35, 1-4, as follows: 1. Now the rites for producing a son. 2. (They are made) in behalf of the woman after she has laid aside the linen soiled by her menses, under a male constellation. 3. While reciting III, 23 an arrow is broken to pieces over her head, and (a piece of the arrow) is fastened (upon her as an amulet). 4. Into a cup made from a plough (the practitioner) puts milk of a cow which has a calf of a colour identical with her own, and rice and barley, mashes it up, adds to the mixture two adhyandzi plants, or leaves from a great pala.ra (butea frondosa) and a vidart (batatas pani-
1 Cf. Sahkh. I, 19. 20; Aw. I, 13; Par. I, 14; Gobh. II, 6; Khad. II, 2, 17 ff. ; Hir. II, 2 ; Apast. VI, 14, 9.
Ill, 23. COMMENTARY. 357
culata), and does with the mixture as in the case of the
paidva-ceremony (i.e. he puts it up the right nostril of
the woman with his right thumb; cf. Kauj. 32, 21, in the
introduction to X, 4) 1.
Stanzas 2-4 are repeated with variants in vSafikh. Grih. I, 19, 6 ; stanzas 2, 4, 5 (entire or in part) in Hir. Grth. I, 25, 1. The hymn has been translated by Weber, Ind. Stud. V, 223 ; XVII, 285 ff. ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 477 ff. ; Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 319. The Anukrama/zi, /£andramasam uta yonidevatyam, brahma*nena putraw prarthayad yonim abhish/uya pra^aya, iti.
d. Ten lunar months reconcile this statement with the
biological facts; see Weber, Nakshatra, II, 313; Zimmer,
Hir. Grih. I, 25, 1, yani prabhu^i virya/zy rz'shabha ^ana- yantu nak, tais tva/^ garbhi/d bhava . . . prasur dhenuga bhava. 5ankh. Grih. I, 19, 6, purusha^ for rishsbhak.
a. Ludwig, 'das pra^apatyam vollziehe ich dir;' Zim-
mer, 'ich verschafTe dir Zeugungsfahigkeit;' Weber, 'ich
thu dir an das Zeugungswerk ' (Ind. Stud. XVII, 286) ;
' ich schaff5 dir Zeugungsfahigkeit ' (ib. V, 224) ; Saya^a,
pra^apatina . . . nirmitaw pra^otpattikarara karma.
Cf. VIII, 7, 2, and perhaps III, 9, 1. The plants are
undefined ; see the Sutra, and Sankh. Grih. I, 19, 1 ; 20,
3.4.
1 The complicated practice is not clear in every detail. For phala^amasa and adhya«^/e, see Kaurika, Introduction, pp. lii and xlv, and *Sahkh. Grih. I, 19, 1 ff. The Gr/'hya-texts, cited in the preceding note, contain quite a number of parallels. There seems to be a cheap symbolism in the choice of the names of the two plants, adhyaw^a : aWa, ' egg,' and vidari : vi dar, ' burst, cleave/
358 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
Ill, 25. Commentary to page 102.
The practices of the Sutra, Kaiu. 35, 22-28, embody symbolically a large portion of the statements and similes of the hymn, to wit : 22. ' While reciting the hymn he (who wishes to subject a woman) pushes her with his thumb (cf. st. 1). 23. He puts on (the fire) twenty-one (pieces of kudi-wood) \ with their thorns to the east (or forward ; cf. st. 3), adorned (i. e. anointed with ghee), over which the hymn has been pronounced. 24. (Then he puts on the fire) the twenty-one tips of the kudi, together with threads (which have been wound about them). 25. For a period of three days (literally, nights) he burns thrice each day kush/^a (costus speciosus) dipped in butter. 26. Having put the mattress (?) of his couch face downward he sleeps upon it (three nights) 2. 27. He places warm water into a tripod, fastens 3 it to the foot (of his bed), and lies agitating it with his great toes. 28. By means of a bow which is darbhyusha (? cf. Kaiu. 32, 8, in the introduction to VII, 74, and Kaonka, Introduction, p. li), and has a bowstring of hemp, with an arrow whose barb is a thorn, whose plume is derived from an owl, whose shaft is made of black ala-wood (see Kau^ika, Introduction, p. xlvi), he
1 The word kudi is to be supplied from the next Sutra. For kudi=badari, 'Christ's thorn/ see Kausika, Introduction, p. xliv. Darila observantly sees in this practice the symbolic realisation of st. 3, ya plihanam iti lihgat.
2 This translation of the Sutra is a doubtful paraphrase of Ke^ava's and Saya;/as statements. The Sutra is: dirghotpale *vagrzliya sa/rcvLyati. Darila, mamkakese (! ? maw^akam) adha^ krzta (? krztva) tatra sazrcvuati; Ke^ava, kha/vam adhomukhapa/- /ikaw grzhitva . . . svapiti ; Saya/za, kha/vaya adhomukhapa/Zikaw gn'hitva triratra/rc svapiti. The practice refers symbolically to st. ib, 'do not hold out upon thy bed/ All this does not explain dirghotpale; cf. the equally difficult utpale, Kauy. 36, 7 (see the introduction to IV, 5).
3 Read, apparently, with Saya^/a and one MS. prabadhya- for prabaddha-.
Ill, 28. COMMENTARY. 359
pierces the heart of an effigy * made of potter's clay ' (ibid. p. xlvii). The last Sutra embodies st. 2.
For Kama in general as a cosmic force, see the introduc-
tion to IX, 2. For Kama as the god of love, Weber, Ind.
Stud. V, 225 ; Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, V, 407 ;
Zimmer, p. 300. In both forms he is brought into close
relation with Agni (fire) ; cf. Hir. Grih. I, 3, 7,
The hymn has been translated by Weber, Ind. Stud. V, 224 ; XVII, 290 ff. ; Muir, 1. a, p. 407 ; Ludwig, Der Rig- veda, III, 516 ; Zimmer, p. 307 ; Grill2, pp. 53, 115 ff.; cf also Bergaigne et Henry, Manuel Vedique, p. 144. The Anukrama/zi, maitravaruzza^z kameshudevataka/^ ka.
b. Saya/za reads drithak, glossing, iayanavishayam ada-
ram ma karshi^, ' have no regard for matters connected
with the bed (sleep).'
b. sa//zkalpa, literally 'determination.' Saya/za, with
naive picturesqueness, \dam me syad idam me syad iti
bhogavishayasa/zzkalpanam. Cf. Tait. S. Ill, 4, 7, 3.
c. Grill regards nfmanyu^ as the equivalent of nfrman-
yu/z, 'versohnt' The word seems, however, to have a
slightly different meaning, lit. ( having laid down your
pride or anger.' Saya/za, nyakk/Vtapra/zayakalahcL
c, d. The passage is formulary, being repeated at I, 34, 2 ; VI, 9, 2 ; Pada d is repeated at VI, 42, 3 ; 43, 3.
Ill, 28. Commentary to page 145.
Contrary to modern superstitions which regard the birth
of twins as auspicious, and prize animals born in pairs,
the prevailing Hindu view is that the birth of twins is an