Vii, 64. Commentary. 555
125, Proc. Amer. Or. Soc, May, 1886 (Journal, vol. xiii, p. cxxi); see also Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXIII, 94.
d. arbhaka (cf. pu^/zadhi in st. 8) suggests forcibly the
kushumbha of II, 32, 6; RV. I, 191, 15, and kumbha of
the Sama-veda Mantra-brahma/m II, 7, 3. See the notes on
H> 32> 5- 6. Ludwig, simply 'kleines;' Grill, ' winziges
ding ; ' Henry ' menu (dard).'
For the ants, cf. the introduction, and VI, 100 ; for mayurya^,.RV. I, 1.91, 14, and Zimmer, p. 90.
VII, 64. Commentary to page 167.
At Kaiu. 46, 47. 48 this hymn is recited while washing off a person who has been struck by something dropped by a black bird (crow, or the like). If he has been defiled * (by the mouth of the bird) a fire-brand is carried around him. The two performances refer respectively to the two stanzas of the hymn. Previous translations by Grill2, pp. 41, 186 ; Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 25, 88 ; cf. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 88. The Anukra- ma/n, mantroktadevatyam uta nairrztam.
The Paippalada in much the same sense, yad asmat
kr/sh/za^akuner nishpatato na ana^e. Henry's criticism of
the reading abhinishpatan of the text is over severe :
Saya/za, quite correctly, abhimukham . . . aklramargad
avapatan. The Pada is hyper-catalectic.
1 The MSS. upamnsh/am and apamrzsh/am. Ke^ava, apa-
mr/sh/am. Sayazza, avamrzsh/am; cf. avamrz'kshat of the text. But
Saya/za in the quotation of Kaiwikas text, apamr/sh/am.
556 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
b. The Paippalada, mukhena niir/te tava. The bird of
misfortune is identified with the goddess of misfortune
herself.
VII, 65. Commentary to page 72.
Employed at Kaas\ 46, 49 as a purificatory charm for cleansing one's self from evil deeds and defiling contact. Fagots derived from the apamarga-tree are placed into a fire built of wood from the same tree. For the apamarga, see in general the introduction to IV, 17. Stanzas 1, 2 are rubricated in the kr/tyaga?/a of the Ga;zamala, Ath. Paru\ 32, 2 (see Kau^. 39, 7, note). Cf. also Ath. Paru. 19, 4. Previous translations by Grill2, pp. 38, 186 ; Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 25, 89. The Anukrama?zi, apamargaviruddaivatam.
For prati^ihaphala, see IV, 19, 7, and the note on IV, 17, 2. Saya/^a, agrad arabhya phalasya mulaparyantam atmabhimukha//z sparine ka/2/akarahityadar.ranat prati^i- naphalatvam. The second hemistich is nearly identical with IV, 19,7 c, d.
c. Saya/za, vLrvatomukha sarvata// prasr/ta^akhayukta. Perhaps, however, * looking in every direction/ because the fruit turns one way. the branches another. The epithet is, too, of more general scope (fire and sun), and may refer to watchfulness against hostile influences.
Befouling contact with deformed persons is a standard subject in Vedic texts, and in the law-books : see Maitr. S. IV, 1, 9 (cf. the corresponding passages from the Ka/A. S. and the Kapish/A. S.) ; Tait. Br. Ill, 2, 8, 11 ; Apast. Sx. IX, 12, 11 ; Apast. Dh. II, 5, 12, 22 ; Gaut. XV, 16; Vas. I, 18 ; cf. the introductions to VI, 112 and 113, and
Vii, 74- Commentary. 557
Delbruck, Die Indogermanischen Verwandtschaftsnamen, p. 201 ff.
VII, 70. Commentary to page 90.
The following sorcery-practice (abhi^ara) is associated with the present hymn (together with VI, 54) at Kau^. 48, 27-28. A counter-offering is made, hostile to the person who has built a fire (for offering) 1. Chaff is offered by means of a leaf of middling size 2. The offering of chaff is the typical hostile sacrifice (Kaui*. 14, 15; 6$, 7); the sacrifice to the gods is thus frustrated by a sacrifice to the Rakshas (see Ait. Br. II, 7, 1), who destroy the enemy (cf. st. 2, and Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 295).
The hymn has been rendered by Ludwig, ibid., p. 374 ; Grill2, pp. 46, 187; Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 26, 91. The Anukrama/n, mantroktadevatyam uta ^yenadevatakam (cf. st. 3). The hymn is largely identical with the passage Tait. Br. II, 4, 2, 1 ff.
a. Saya;?a, mrztyudutau ; the Pet. Lex., Mrztyu and
Nirrzti. Possibly, Mitra and Varu/za, the typical heavenly
rulers.
VII, 74. Commentary to page 18.
The hymn is tripartite, but no reason for the juxta- position of sts. 3 and 4 with 1 and 2 can be found. Pro- fessor Henry's suggestions regarding this matter (Le livre VII de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 29, 95 ff) are interesting. The norm of the seventh book is a single stanza for each hymn (cf. the quotations regarding this matter in the introduc- tions to I, 12 and IV, 38), but, after all, some diaskeuastic convenience must be at the bottom of the grouping.
1 Cf. Tait. S. II, 2, 9, 4 ; Tait. Br. I, 7, 3, 7.
2 Cf. madhyamapar/zena, Maitr. S. I, 10, 20. The meaning of the expression is uncertain.
558 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
For the history of the interpretation of the apa£it-hymns, see the introduction to VI, 83 (cf. also VI, 2,5 and VII, 76). The practice connected with this part of the hymn is described at Kaiu. 32, 8-10, to wit : 8. ' With a bow made of bamboo, which is darbhyusha 1 (? cf. Kaui\ 35, 28 in the introduction to III, 25, and Kaiuika, Introduction, p. li), and has a bowstring made of black wool, with black arrows that have bunches of wool (tied ?) to their points (the pus- tules are hit), while the (two first stanzas of) the hymn are being recited. 9. With the fourth stanza (?) 2 the bow is brought near (the pustules) and they are hit (with the arrows). 10. (The patient is then washed off at the time when the stars fade away [at dawn] with water) which has been warmed by quenching in it a burning bunch of wool 3.' The arrow of bamboo in the practice symbolises the root (found by) the divine sage in st. 1 ; the flake of black wool embodies the statement in st. 2 d.
Cf. for the colours mentioned here, VI, 83, 2. 3, and more generally I, 23 and 24.
1 Saya//a, darbhusha.
2 This can hardly be the fourth stanza of the present hymn, which belongs to a totally different sphere. Kcrava fuses VII, 74, 1. 2 with VII, 76, 1. 2, and thus obtains a hymn of four stanzas. As extraordinary as this seems it may yet be true, and we may note that VII, 76, 1. 2 are also endowed with independent individuality, being separated in the ritual from the remainder of the hymn. See the introduction to VII, 76. But the matter is rendered uncertain on account of Kauj. 31, 16, where we have apa&ta a susrasa iti, i.e. the pratikas of VI, 83, and VII, 76, rubricated together. Ke^ava's hypothesis may be based upon a confusion of the two pratikas apa&ta^ (VI, 83), and apa/£itam (VII, 74). Saya//a in his introduc- tion to VII, 76 makes this very blunder, reading, apa&tam a susrasa^ for Kaimka's (31, 16) apa&ta a susrasa^.
3 For the rendering of this Sutra, see Kaur. 27, 29 in the intro- duction to III, 7.
Vii, 76. Commentary. 559
Stanza 3 is rubricated at Kaus. 36, 25 along with VI, 18
and VII, 45; see the introduction to VI, 18 for the prac-
tices against jealousy.
Stanza 4 is rubricated at Kaus. 1, 34; Vait. 1, 13. He
who enters upon the performance of the new-moon and
full-moon sacrifices recites the stanza while placing fagots
upon the fire. Cf. also Ath. Pari.?. 10.
VII, 76. Commentary to page 17.
The hymn is tripartite, the first two parts being closely related in subject matter. The third part (st. 6) appears in this connection for reasons — perhaps diaskeuastic — altogether obscure. The entire hymn has been rendered by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 500 ; Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 30, 97 ff.
For the history of the interpretation of the apa£it-hymns, see the introduction to VI, 83 (cf. also VI, 25 and VII, 74). The practices connected with the first part of the hymn are described at Kaiu. 3r, 16-17, where it is rubricated along with VI, 83 : see the introduction to that hymn. Saya//a blunderingly quotes the pratika at Kslus. 31, 16 as apa^itam (!for apa^ita: VII, 74 for VI, 83); see the note to the introduction to VII, 74, p. 558.
a. Our purely verbal translation savours of mere verbiage. In Contributions, Second Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 324, we suggested, with a view to both metre and sense, a susraso susrastara/*, ' they fall off more easily than the easily falling one ' (i.e. they fall off most easily) 1. Professor
1 Ludwig, * leichter sturzend als das leicht sturzende.'
560 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
Henry, 1. c, p. 97, very justly points out that this leaves a in the air, and himself suggests, very ingeniously, a susraso *sisraso, ' thou hast made fall those who fall easily.' This makes good sense, and fills out the metre. Yet I am not convinced : the first person asisrasam, or the third, asisrasat, rather than the second person, asisrasat, would be in accord- ance with the ordinary tone of such incantations, and, after all, the parallelism of each of the remaining three Padas seems to demand an ablative dependent upon a compara- tive. Sayana reads asusrasa^, and glosses, susrasa/^ atyar- iham sravantya/^ sarvada puyadisrava/2a.rila/£ . . . asusrasa^ & samantad nirava^esha;^ srava;za.rila bhavantu. The Paip- palada, namannasa;^ svayaz/zsrasann asatibhyo vasattara ! For the sense in general, cf. Bhagavadgita I, 30, gandi^va. srawsate hastat.
c. The word sehu is quotable in addition only Ka^. S. XXXIV, 12 (sehiu- ka pliha ka), where it obviously desig- nates some part of the body. The Pet. Lexs., ' a certain dry substance ; ' Ludwig, ' rosin.' Professor Henry makes the Pada over into arasad arasatara, but I cannot believe that our lectio difficillima is at fault. The Hindus must have associated dryness with this organ. Saya/za, seho/i sdhur nama viprakir/zavayava^ atyantam ni^saras tula- dirupa/z, apparently, ' a substance whose parts are scattered exceedingly dry, having the form of cotton-wool, or the like.'
c. vi^aman, 'a part of the body.' Saya;za, ' genital organs : ' vueshe/za ^ayate apatyam atre^ti vi^ama guhya- pradcra/z l. The Pet. Lexs., ' members of the body which are in pairs : ' this seems to be the meaning at Sat Br. Ill, 6, 2, 1. Ludwig, 'ankle.'
For the nature of the disease ^ayanya, and the general character of this charm, see Contributions, Second Series,
1 Saya/za at RV. VII, 50, 2, (vi^aman parushi), vividhag-anman i parushi.
Vii, ?6. Commentary. 56 1
Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 320 ff. Ke^ava and Saya^a define the disease as ra^ayakshma, identifying it with the ^ayenya in the story told at Tait. S. II, 3, 5, 1-3. The practice associated with this part of the hymn at Kau.y. 32, 11 is very obscure ; it seems to consist in tying on the patient an amulet consisting of the string of a lute ; in tying on with (this) string some other part of a lute (?) ; and tying on three fragments of the viri/za-plant (andropogon muricatus) that have fallen down of themselves 1. I am tempted to regard the ^ayanya as syphilis, etymologically either congenital disease (root ^an), or venereal disease (^aya, ' woman ') 2 : in that case the musical instruments may refer to the nautch- girls, and the disease is cured homoeopathically (attractio si milium) and symbolically by the realisation of their presence by means of the amulets. Cf. in addition to the renderings mentioned above, Kuhn in Zeitschrift fur ver- gleichende Sprachforschung, XIII, 155, and Zimmer, Altin- disches Leben, p. 377.
Cf. Contributions, Second Series, 1. c, XI, 328 ff. ; Fourth Series, I.e., XII, 438 ff. ; Johansson, Indogermanische P^orschungen, II, 22 ; Zeitschrift fur vergleichende Sprach- forschung, XXXII, 435 ff. Saya^a explains talidya as follows, talid iti antikanama, antike bhava^ talidyam . . . asthisamipagata^ mawsam. For nir astam (Padapa/V£a, nik astam), which we correct to nir astham 3, Saya^a reads nirha^ tarn (nirharatu). Shankar Pandit accepts this read-
1 Sayawa condenses the performance as follows, vi^atantri- khandam vadyakha/^a/rc jahkhakha;/d/a;^ va sa^patya abhimantrya badhniyat.
2 Cf. Henry, 1. c, p. 98. viri/za seems to allude to manhood.
8 Instances of the stem astha-, in addition to those quoted in Amer. Journ. Phil. XII, 438, are, sa te masthat, for sa te ma sthat in Maitr. S. I, 1, 2 (von Schroeder's edition). The expression means ' he shall not hurl at thee/ The same expression at Tait. Br. Ill, 2, 2, 8, and Apast. Sr. I, 4, 14. At Tait. Br. the formula is pro- nounced ahi/Tzsayai, ' in order to be exempt from injury.' This favours the connection of astha- with the root as, * throw.' [42] O O
562 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
ing because Saya//a ' has doubtless preserved the genuine reading/ We can see nothing in this but an unusually- clever emendation, which, however, leaves in tam an awkward remnant.