Ii. Prayers for Long Life and Health. 6 1
IV, 9. Salve (a/^ana) as a protector of life and
limb.
1. Come hither! Thou art the living, protecting
eye-ointment of the mountain, given by all the gods
as a safeguard, unto life.
2. Thou art a protection for men, a protection
for cattle, thou didst stand for the protection of
horses and steeds.
3. Thou art, O salve, both a protection that
crushes the sorcerers, and thou hast knowledge of
immortality (amr/ta), Moreover, thou art food for
the living, and thou art, too, a remedy against
jaundice.
4. From him over whose every limb and every
joint thou passest, O salve, thou dost, as a mighty
intercepter, drive away disease.
5. Him that bears thee, O salve, neither curse,
nor sorcery, nor burning pain does reach ; nor does
the vishkandha come upon him.
6. From evil scheme, from troubled dream, from
evil deed, and also from foulness ; from the evil eye
of the enemy, from this protect us, O salve !
7. Knowing this, O salve, I shall speak the truth,
avoid falsehood. May I obtain horses and cattle,
and thy person, O serving-man !
8. Three are servants of the salve : the takman
(fever), the balasa, and the serpent. The highest
of the mountains, Trikakud ('Three-peaks') by
name, is thy father.
9. Since the salve of Trikakud is born upon the
Himavant, it shall demolish all the wizards and all
the witches.
62 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
10. Whether thou art derived from the (mountain)
Trikakud, or art said to come from the (river)
Yamuna, both these names of thine are auspicious :
with these, O salve, protect us !
IV, 10. The pearl and its shell as an amulet bestowing long life and prosperity.
i. Born of the wind, the atmosphere, the light-
ning, and the light, may this pearl shell, born of
gold, protect us from straits !
2. With the shell which was born in the sea, at
the head of bright substances, we slay the Rakshas
and conquer the Atrins (devouring demons).
3. With the shell (we conquer) disease and
poverty ; with the shell, too, the Sadanvas. The
shell is our universal remedy; the pearl shall pro-
tect us from straits !
4. Born in the heavens, born in the sea, brought
on from the river (Sindhu), this shell, born of gold,
is our life-prolonging amulet.
5. The amulet, born from the sea, a sun, born
from Wztra (the cloud), shall on all sides protect
us from the missiles of the gods and the Asuras !
6. Thou art one of the golden substances, thou
art born from Soma (the moon). Thou art sightly
on the chariot, thou art brilliant on the quiver.
[May it prolong our lives !]
7. The bone of the gods turned into pearl ; that,
animated, dwells in the waters. That do I fasten
upon thee unto life, lustre, strength, longevity, unto
a life lasting a hundred autumns. May the (amulet)
of pearl protect thee !
Ii. Prayers for Long Life and Health. 63
XIX, 26. Gold as an amulet for long life.
1. The gold which is born from fire, the immortal,
they bestowed upon the mortals. He who knows
this deserves it ; of old age dies he who wears it.
2. The gold, (endowed by) the sun with beautiful
colour, which the men of yore, rich in descendants,
did desire, may it gleaming envelop thee in lustre !
Long-lived becomes he who wears it !
3. (May it envelop) thee unto (long) life, unto
lustre, unto force, and unto strength, that thou shalt
by the brilliancy of the gold shine forth among
people !
4. (The gold) which king Varu;/a knows, which
god Brzhaspati knows, which Indra, the slayer of
Wztra, knows, may that become for thee a source
of life, may that become for thee a source of lustre !
III.
IMPRECATIONS AGAINST DEMONS, SORCERERS,
And Enemies (Abhizarikani and
Ktf/TYAPRATIHARATVANI).
I, 7. Against sorcerers and demons.
1. The sorcerer (yatudhana) that vaunts himself,
and the Kimldin do thou, O Agni, convey hither !
For thou, O god, when lauded, becomest the de-
stroyer of the demon.
2. Partake of the ghee, of the sesame-oil, O Agni
Catavedas, that standest on high, conquerest by
thyself ! Make the sorcerers howl !
3. The sorcerers and the devouring (atrin) Kimi-
din shall howl ! Do ye, moreover, O Agni and
Indra, receive graciously this our oblation f
4. Agni shall be the first to seize them, Indra
with his (strong) arms shall drive them away!
Every wizard, as soon as he comes, shall proclaim
himself, saying, ' I am he ' !
5. We would see thy might, O Catavedas ; dis-
close to us the wizards, O thou that beholdest men !
May they all, driven forth by thy fire, disclosing
themselves, come to this spot !
6. Seize hold, O (^atavedas : for our good thou
wast born ! Become our messenger, O Agni, and
make the sorcerers howl !
7. Do thou, O Agni, drag hither the sorcerers,
bound in shackles-; then Indra with his thunderbolt
shall cut off their heads !
Til. IMPRECATIONS AGAINST DEMONS, ETC. 65
I, 8. Against sorcerers and demons.
1. May this oblation carry hither the sorcerers, as
a river (carries) foam ! The man or the woman
who has performed this (sorcery), that person shall
here proclaim himself!
2. This vaunting (sorcerer) has come hither :
receive him with alacrity ! O Brzhaspati, put him
into subjection ; O Agni and Soma, pierce him
through !
3. Slay the offspring of the sorcerer, O soma-
drinking (Indra), and subject (him) ! Make drop
out the farther and the nearer eye of the braggart
(demon) !
4. Wherever, O Agni Gatavedas, thou perceivest
the brood of these hidden devourers (atrin), do thou,
mightily strengthened by our charm, slay them : slay
their (brood), O Agni, piercing them a hundredfold!
I, 16. Charm with lead, against demons and sorcerers.
1. Against the devouring demons who, in the
night of the full-moon, have arisen in throngs, may
Agni, the strong, the slayer of the sorcerers, give us
courage !
2. To the lead Varu^a gives blessing, to the lead
Agni gives help. Indra gave me the lead : unfail-
ingly it dispels sorcery.
3. This (lead) overcomes the vishkandha, this
smites the devouring demons (atrin) ; with this I
have overwhelmed all the brood of the Pua^as.
4. If thou slayest our cow, if our horse or our
66 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
domestic, we pierce thee with the lead, so that thou shalt not slay our heroes.
VI, 2. The soma-oblation directed against demons (rakshas).
i. Press the soma, ye priests, and rinse it (for
renewed pressing), in behalf of Indra who shall
listen to the song of the worshipper, and to my
call !
2. Do thou, O doughty (Indra), whom the drops
of soma enter as birds a tree, beat off the hostile
brood of the Rakshas !
3. Press ye the soma for Indra, the soma-drinker,
who wields the thunderbolt ! A youthful victor and
ruler is he, praised by many men.
II, 14. Charm against a variety of female demons, conceived as hostile to men, cattle, and home.
1. Niss&li, the bold, the greedy demon (?dhi-
sha/za), and (the female demon) with long-drawn
howl, the bloodthirsty ; all the daughters of A'a^a,
the Sadanvas do we destroy.
2. We drive you out of the stable, out of the axle
(of the wagon), and the body of the wagon ; we
chase you, O ye daughters of Magundi, from the
house.
3. In yonder house below, there the grudging
demons (arayl) shall exist ; there ruin shall prevail,
and all the witches !
4. May (Rudra), the lord of beings, and Indra,
drive forth from here the Sadanvas ; those that are
seated on the foundation of the house Indra shall
overcome with his thunderbolt !
Ill, IMPRECATIONS AGAINST DEMONS, ETC. 6j
5. Whether ye belong to (the demons) of inherited
disease, whether ye have been dispatched by men,
or whether ye have originated from the Dasyus
(demon-like aborigines), vanish from here, O ye
Sad&nv&s !
6. About their dwelling-places I did swiftly
course, as if on a race-course. I have won all
contests with you : vanish from here, O ye Sa-
danv&s !
Ill, 9. Against vishkandha and kabava (hostile demons).
1. Of karcapha and visapha heaven is the father
and earth the mother. As, ye gods, ye have
brought on (the trouble), thus do ye again re-
move it!
2. Without fastening they (the protecting plants ?)
held fast, thus it has been arranged by Manu. The
vishkandha do I render impotent, like one who
gelds cattle.
3. A talisman tied to a reddish thread the active
(seers) then do fasten on : may the fastenings render
impotent the eager, fiery k&bava !
4. And since, O ye eager (demons), ye walk like
gods by the wile of the Asuras, the fastening (of the
amulet) is destructive to the kabava, as the ape to
the dog.
5. I revile thee, the kabava, unto misfortune,
(and) shall work harm for thee. Accompanied with
curses ye shall go out like swift chariots !
6. A hundred and one vishkandha are spread out
along the earth ; for these at the beginning they
brought out thee, the amulet, that destroys vi-
shkandha.
68 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
IV, 20. Charm with a certain plant (sadawpushpd) which exposes demons and enemies.
1. He sees here, he sees yonder, he sees in the
distance, he sees — the sky, the atmosphere as well
as the earth, all that, O goddess, he sees.
2. The three heavens, the three earths, and these
six directions severally ; all creatures may I see
through thee, O divine plant !
3. Thou art verily the eyeball of the divine
eagle ; thou didst ascend the earth as a weary
woman a palanquin.
4. The thousand-eyed god shall put this plant
into my right hand : with that do I see every one,
the 6udra as well as the Arya.
5. Reveal (all) forms, do not hide thy own self;
moreover, do thou, O thousand-eyed (plant), look
the Kimidins in the face !
6. Reveal to me the wizards, and reveal the
witches, reveal all the Pi^a^as : for this purpose do
I take hold of thee, O plant !
7. Thou art the eye of Ka^yapa, and the eye of
the four-eyed bitch. Like the sun, moving in the
bright day, make thou the Pua^a evident to me !
8. I have dragged out from his retreat the sor-
cerer and the Kimidin. Through this (charm) do I
see every one, the .Sudra as well as the Arya.
9. Him that flies in the air, him that moves across
the sky, him that regards the earth as his resort,
that Pisa/£a do thou reveal (to me) !
Iii. Imprecations Against Demons, Etc. 69
IV, 17. Charm with the aparnarga-plant, against sorcery, demons, and enemies.
1. We take hold, O victorious one, of thee, the
mistress of remedies. I have made thee a thing of
thousandfold strength for every one, O plant !
2. Her, the unfailingly victorious one, that wards
off curses, that is powerful and defensive ; (her and)
all the plants have I assembled, intending that she
shall save us from this (trouble) !
3. The woman who has cursed us with a curse, who
has arranged dire misfortune (for us), who has taken
hold of our children, to rob them of their strength —
may she eat (her own) offspring !
4. The magic spell which they have put into the
unburned vessel, that which they have put into the
blue and red thread, that which they have put into
raw flesh, with these slay thou those that have
prepared the spell !
5. Evil dreams, troubled life, Rakshas, gruesome-
ness, and grudging demons (arayi), all the evil-
named, evil-speaking (powers), these do we drive
out from us.
6. Death from hunger, and death from thirst,
poverty in cattle, and failure of offspring, all that,
O apamarga, do we wipe out (apa mr^'mahe) with
thee.
7. Death from thirst, and death from hunger,
moreover, ill-luck at dice, all that, O apamarga, do
we wipe out with thee.
8. The apamarga is sole ruler over all plants,
with it do we wipe mishap from thee : do thou then
live exempt from disease !
70 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
IV, 1 8. Charm with the apdmarga-plant, against sorcerers and demons.
i. Night is like unto the sun, the (starry) night is
similar to day. The truth do I engage for help :
the enchantments shall be devoid of force !
2. He, O ye gods, who prepares a spell, and
carries it to the house of one that knows not (of it),
upon him the spell, returning, shall fasten itself like
a suckling calf upon its mother !
3. The person that prepares evil at home, and
desires with it to harm another, she is consumed by
fire, and many stones fall upon her with a loud
crash.
4. Bestow curses, O thou (apamarga), that hast
a thousand homes, upon the (demons) vmkha
(' crestless '), and vigriva (' crooked-neck ') ! Turn
back the spell upon him that has performed it, as
a beloved maid (is brought) to her lover !
5. With this plant I have put to naught all spells,
those that they have put into thy field, thy cattle,
and into thy domestics.
6. He that has undertaken them has not been
able to accomplish them : he broke his foot, his toe.
He performed a lucky act for us, but for himself
an injury.
7. The ap&marga-plant shall wipe out (apa
marshal) inherited ills, and curses ; yea, it shall
wipe out all witches, and all grudging demons
(arayi) !
8. Having wiped out all sorcerers, and all grudg-
ing demons, with thee, O apamarga, we wipe all
that (evil) out.