3. We know the father of the arrow, Varu/za, &c.
4. We know the father of the arrow, Sandra, &c.
5. We know the father of the arrow, Surya, &c.
6. That which has accumulated ift thy entrails, in
thy canals, in thy bladder — thus let thy urine be
released, out completely, with the sound bal !
7. I split open thy penis like the dike of a lake —
thus let thy urine be released, out completely, with
the sound bal !
I, Charms to Cure Diseases. I I
8. Relaxed is the opening of thy bladder like the
ocean, the reservoir of water — thus let thy urine be
released, out completely, with the sound bal !
9. As an arrow flies to a distance when hurled
from the bow — thus let thy urine be released, out
completely, with the sound bal !
VI, 90. Charm against internal pain (colic), due to the missiles of Rudra.
1. The arrow that Rudra did cast upon thee, into
(thy) limbs, and into thy heart, this here do we now
draw out away from thee.
2. From the hundred arteries which are distributed
along thy limbs, from all of these do we exorcise
forth the poisons.
3. Adoration be to thee, O Rudra, as thou casteth
(thy arrow) ; adoration to the (arrow) when it has
been placed upon (the bow) ; adoration to it as it is
being hurled; adoration to it when it has fallen
down !
I, 10. Charm against dropsy.
1. This Asura rules over the gods; the com-
mands of Varu/za, the ruler, surely come true.
From this (trouble), from the wrath of the mighty
(Varu;za), do I, excelling in my incantation, lead out
this man.
2. Reverence, O king Varu/za, be to thy wrath,
for all falsehood, O mighty one, dost thou discover.
A thousand others together do I make over to thee :
this thy (man) shall live a hundred autumns !
3. From the untruth which thou hast spoken, the
abundant wrong, with thy tongue — from king Varu/za
I release thee, whose laws do not fail.
12 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
4. I release thee from Vai^vdnara (Agni), from the
great flood. Our rivals, O mighty one, do thou cen-
sure here, and give heed to our prayer !
VII, 83. Charm against dropsy.
1. Thy golden chamber, king Vanma, is built in
the waters! Thence the king that maintains the
laws shall loosen all shackles !
2. From every habitation (of thine), O king
Vanma, from here do thou free us ! In that we have
said, ' ye waters, ye cows ; ' in that we have said,
'O Vanma/ from this (sin), O Vanma, free us!
3. Lift from us, O Vanma, the uppermost fetter,
take down the nethermost, loosen the middlemost !
Then shall we, O Aditya, in thy law, exempt from
guilt, live in freedom !
4. Loosen from us, O Vanma, all fetters, the
uppermost, the nethermost, and those imposed by
Vanma ! Evil dreams, and misfortune drive away
from us : then may we go to the world of the
pious !
VI, 24. Dropsy, heart-disease, and kindred maladies cured by flowing water.
1. From the Himavant (mountains) they flow
forth, in the Sindhu (Indus), forsooth, is their as-
sembling-place : may the waters, indeed, grant me
that cure for heart-ache !
2. The pain that hurts me in the eyes, and that
which hurts in the heels and the fore-feet, the
waters, the most skilled of physicians, shall put all
that to rights !
3. Ye rivers all, whose mistress is Sindhu, whose
queen is Sindhu, grant us the remedy for that :
through this (remedy) may we derive benefit from
you!
VI, 80. An oblation to the sun, conceived as one of the two heavenly dogs, as a cure for paralysis.
1. Through the air he flies, looking down upon
all beings : with the majesty of the heavenly dog,
with that oblation would we pay homage to thee !
2. The three kalaka/^*a that are fixed upon the
sky like gods, all these I have called for help, to
render this person exempt from injury.
3. In the waters is thy origin, upon the heavens
thy home, in the middle of the sea, and upon the
earth thy greatness. With the majesty of the
heavenly dog, with that oblation would we pay
homage to thee !
II, 8. Charm against kshetriya, hereditary disease.
1. Up have risen the majestic twin stars, the
viirztau (' the two looseners ') ; may they loosen the
nethermost and the uppermost fetter of the kshetriya
(inherited disease) !
2. May this night shine (the kshetriya) away, may
she shine away the witches ; may the plant, destruc-
tive of kshetriya, shine the kshetriya away !
3. With the straw of thy brown barley, endowed
with white stalks, with the blossom of the sesame —
may the plant, destructive of kshetriya, shine the
kshetriya away !
4. Reverence be to thy ploughs, reverence to thy
14 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
wagon-poles and yokes ! May the plant, destructive of kshetriya, shine the kshetriya away !
5. Reverence be to those with sunken eyes (?),
reverence to the indigenous (evils ?), reverence to
the lord of the field ! May the plant, destructive of
kshetriya, shine the kshetriya away !
II, 10. Charm against kshetriya, hereditary disease.
1. From kshetriya (inherited disease), from Nirrzti
(the goddess of destruction), from the curse of the
kinswoman, from Druh (the demon of guile), from
the fetter of Varu/za do I release thee. Guiltless
do I render thee through my charm ; may heaven
and earth both be propitious to thee !
2. May Agni together with the waters be auspicious
to thee, may Soma together with the plants be
auspicious. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirrzti, from
the curse of the kinswoman^ from the Druh, from
the fetter of Vanma do I release thee. Guiltless
do I render thee through my charm; may heaven
and earth both be propitious to thee !
3. May the wind in the atmosphere auspiciously
bestow upon thee strength, may the four quarters
of the heaven be auspicious to thee. Thus from
kshetriya, from Nirrzti &c.
4. These four goddesses, the directions of space,
the consorts of the wind, the sun surveys. Thus
from kshetriya, from Nirnti &c.
5. Within these (directions) I assign thee to old
age; forth to a distance shall go Nirrzti and disease !
Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c.
6. Thou hast been released from disease, from
I. Charms to Cure Diseases. 1 5
mishap, and from blame; out from the fetter of
Druh, and from Grahi (the demon of fits) thou hast
been released. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirrzti &c.
7. Thou didst leave behind Arati (the demon of
grudge), didst obtain prosperity, didst enter the
happy world of the pious. Thus from kshetriya,
from Nirmi &c.
8. The gods, releasing the sun and the r/tam (the
divine order of the universe) from darkness and
from Grahi, did take them out of sin. Thus from
kshetriya, from Nirmi &c.
Ill, 7. Charm against kshetriya, hereditary disease.
1. Upon the head of the nimble antelope a remedy
grows! He has driven the kshetriya (inherited
disease) in all directions by means of the horn.
2. The antelope has gone after thee with his four
feet. O horn, loosen the kshetriya that is knitted
into his heart !
3. (The horn) that glistens yonder like a roof
with four wings (sides), with that do we drive out
every kshetriya from thy limbs.
4. The lovely twin stars, the vi^rztau (' the two
looseners ') that are yonder upon the sky, shall
loosen the nethermost and the uppermost fetter of
the kshetriya !
5. The waters, verily, are healers, the waters are
scatterers of disease, the waters cure all disease:
may they relieve thee from the kshetriya !
6. The kshetriya that has entered into thee from
the prepared (magic) concoction, for that I know the
remedy : I drive the kshetriya out of thee.
1 6 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
7. When the constellations fade away, and when
the dawn does fade away, (then) shall he shine away
from us every evil and the kshetriya !
I, 23, Leprosy cured by a dark plant.
1. Born by night art thou, O plant, dark, black,
sable. Do thou, that art rich in colour, stain this
leprosy, and the gray spots !
2. The leprosy and the gray spots drive away
from here — may thy native colour settle upon thee —
the white spots cause to fly away !
3. Sable is thy hiding-place, sable thy dwelling-
place, sable art thou, O plant: drive away from
here the speckled spots !
4. The leprosy which has originated in the bones,
and that which has originated in the body and upon
the skin, the white mark begotten of corruption,
I havq destroyed with my charm.
I, 24. Leprosy cured by a dark plant.
1. The eagle (supar/za) that was born at first, his
gall thou wast, O plant The Asuri having conquered
this (gall) gave it to the trees for their colour.
2. The Asuri was the first to construct this remedy
for leprosy, this destroyer of leprosy. She has
destroyed the leprosy, has made the skin of even
colour.
3. ' Even-colour ' is the name of thy mother;
' Even-colour ' is the name of thy father ; thou, O
plant, producest even colour : render this (spot) of
even colour !
4. The black (plant) that produces even colour has
been fetched out of the earth. Do thou now, pray,
perfect this, construct anew the colours !
I. Charms to Cure Diseases. 1 7
VI, 83. Charm for curing scrofulous sores called apa^it.
1. Fly forth, ye apa^it (sores), as an eagle from
the nest ! Siirya (the sun) shall prepare a remedy,
Aandramas (the moon) shall shine you away !
2. One is variegated, one is white, one is black,
and two are red : I have gotten the names of all
of them. Go ye away without slaying men !
3. The apa/£it, the daughter of the black one,
without bearing offspring will fly away; the boil
will fly away from here, the galunta (swelling) will
perish.
4. Consume thy own (proper) oblation with grati-
fication in thy mind, when I here offer svaha in my
mind!
VII, 76. A. Charm for curing scrofulous sores called apa^it.
1. Ye (sores) fall easily from that which falls
easily, ye exist less than those that do not exist (at
all) ; ye are drier than the (part of the body called)
sehu, more moist than salt.
2. The apa/£it (sores) that are upon the neck, and
those that are upon the shoulders ; the apa^it that
are upon the vi^*aman (some part of the body) fall
off of themselves.
B. Charm for curing tumours called ^ayanya.
3. The^ayanya that crushes the ribs, that which
passes down to the sole of the foot, and whichever
is fixed upon the crown of the head, I have driven
out every one.
1 8 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
4. The ^ayanya, winged, flies; he settles down
upon man. Here is the remedy both for sores not
caused by cutting, as well as for wounds sharply
cut!
5. We know, O ^ayanya, thy origin, whence thou
didst spring. How canst thou slay there, in whose
house we offer oblations ?
C. Stanza sung at the mid-day pressure of the soma.
6. Drink stoutly, O Indra, slayer of Vntra, hero,
of the soma in the cup, at the battle for riches !
Drink thy fill at the mid-day pressure ! Living in
wealth, do thou bestow wealth upon us !
VII, 74. A. Charm for curing scrofulous sores called apa^it.
1. We have heard it said that the mother of the
black apa/£it (pustules) is red : with the root (found
by) the divine sage do I strike all these.
2. I strike the foremost one of them, and I strike
also the middlemost of them; this hindmost one
I cut off as a flake (of wool).
B. Charm to appease jealousy.
3. With Tvash/ar's charm I have sobered down
thy jealousy ; also thy anger, O lord, we have
quieted.
C. Prayer to Agni, the lord of vows.
4. Do thou, O lord of vows, adorned with vows,
ever benevolently here shine ! May we all, adoring
thee, when thou hast been kindled, O 6£tavedas, be
rich in offspring !
I. Charms to Cure Diseases. 1 9
VI, 25. Charm against scrofulous sores upon neck and shoulders.
1. The five and fifty (sores) that gather together
upon the nape of the neck, from here they all shall
pass away, as the pustules of the (disease called)
apa^it !
2. The seven and seventy (sores) that gather to-
gether upon the neck, from here they all shall pass
away, as the pustules of the (disease called) apa^it !
3. The nine and ninety (sores) that gather together
upon the shoulders, from here they all shall pass
away, as the pustules of the (disease called) apa/^it !