Iii. Imprecations Against Demons, Etc. 87
24. The amulet . . . has come to me together
with rice and barley, together with might and pros-
perity.
25. The amulet . . . has come to me with a stream of honey and ghee together with sweet drink.
26. The amulet . . . has come to me together
with nourishment and milk, together with goods and
fortune.
27. The amulet . . . has come to me together
with brilliance and strength, together with glory and
reputation.
28. The amulet . . . has come to me together with all kinds of prosperity.
29. This amulet the gods shall give me unto
prosperity, the mighty amulet that strengthens
sovereignty and injures the rivals !
30. An (amulet) auspicious for me thou shalt
fasten upon (me), together with brahma (spiritual
exaltation) and brilliance ! Free from rivals, slaying
rivals, it has subjected my rivals.
31. This god-born amulet, the sap milked from
which these three worlds revere, shall render me
superior to him that hates me ; it shall ascend upon
my head unto excellence !
32. The amulet upon which the gods, the Fathers,
and men ever live, shall ascend upon my head unto
excellence !
33. As the seed grows in the field, in the furrow
drawn by the ploughshare, thus in me offspring,
cattle, and every kind of food shall grow up !
34. Upon whom, O thou amulet that prosperest the
sacrifice, I have fastened thee (that art) propitious,
him, O amulet, that yieldest a hundredfold sacrificial
reward, thou shalt inspire unto excellence !
88 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
35. This fire-wood that has been laid on together
with the oblations do thou, Agni, gladly accept :
may we in this kindled ^atavedas (fire), through
(this) charm, find favour, well-being, offspring, sight,
and cattle !
IV, 16. Prayer to Varu/za for protection against treacherous designs.
1. The great guardian among these (gods) sees
as if from anear. He that thinketh he is moving
stealthily — all this the gods know.
2. If a man stands, walks, or sneaks about, if he
goes slinking away, if he goes into his hiding-place ;
if two persons sit together and scheme, king Varu/za
is there as a third, and knows it.
3. Both this earth here belongs to king Varu#a,
and also yonder broad sky whose boundaries are far
away. Moreover these two oceans are the loins of
Varu/za ; yea, he is hidden in this small (drop of)
water.
4. He that should flee beyond the heaven far
away would not be free from king Varu/za. His
spies come hither (to the earth) from heaven, with
a thousand eyes do they watch over the earth.
5. King Varu/za sees through all that is between
heaven and earth, and all that is beyond. He has
counted the winkings of men s eyes. As a (winning)
gamester puts down his dice, thus does he establish
these (laws).
6. May all thy fateful toils which, seven by seven,
threefold, lie spread out, ensnare him that speaks
falsehood : him that speaks the truth they shall
let go !
Iii. Imprecations Against Demons, Etc. 89
7. With a hundred snares, O Varima, surround
him, let the liar not go free from thee, O thou
that observest men ! The rogue shall sit, his belly
hanging loose, like a cask without hoops, bursting
all about !
8. With (the snare of) Varu/za which is fastened
lengthwise, and that which (is fastened) broadwise,
with the indigenous and the foreign, with the divine
and the human, —
9. With all these snares do I fetter thee, O N. N-,
descended from N. N., the son of the woman N. N.:
all these do I design for thee.
II, 12. Imprecation against enemies thwarting holy work.
1. Heaven and earth, the broad atmosphere, the
goddess of the field, and the wonderful, far-striding
(Vishnu) ; moreover, the broad atmosphere guarded
by Vata (the wind) : may these here be inflamed,
when I am inflamed !
2. Hear this, O ye revered gods ! Let Bharad-
va^a recite for me songs of praise ! May he who
injures this our plan be bound in the fetter (of
disease) and joined to misfortune !
3. Hear, O soma-drinking Indra, what with
burning heart I shout to thee ! I cleave, as one
cleaves a tree with an axe, him that injures this
our plan.
4. With (the aid of) thrice eighty s&man-singers,
with (the aid of) the Adityas, Vasus, and Angiras —
may our father's sacrifices and gifts to the priests
aid us — do I seize this one with fateful fervour.
5. May heaven and earth look after me, may all the gods support me ! O ye Angiras, O ye fathers
90 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
devoted to Soma, may he who does harm enter into misfortune !
6. He who perchance despises us, O ye Maruts,
he who abuses the holy practice which is being
performed by us, may his evil deeds be firebrands
to him, may the heavens surround with fire the
hater of holy practices !
7. Thy seven in-breathings and thy eight mar-
rows, these do I cut for thee by means of my charm.
Thou shalt go to the seat of Yama, fitly prepared,
with Agni as thy guide !
8. I set thy footstep upon the kindled fire. May
Agni surround thy body, may thy voice enter into
breath !
VII, 70. Frustration of the sacrifice of an enemy.
1. Whenever yonder person in his thought, and
with his speech, offers sacrifice accompanied by
oblations and benedictions, may Nirrzti (the goddess
of destruction), allying herself with death, smite his
offering before it takes effect !
2. May sorcerers, Nirrzti, as well as Rakshas, mar
his true work with error ! May the gods, despatched
by Indra, scatter (churn) his sacrificial butter; may
that which yonder person offers not succeed !
3. The two agile supreme rulers, like two eagles
pouncing down, shall strike the sacrificial butter of
the enemy, whosoever plans evil against us !
4. Back do I tie both thy two arms, thy mouth
I shut. With the fury of god Agni have I destroyed
thy oblation.
5. I tie thy two arms, I shut thy mouth. With the fury of terrible Agni have I destroyed thy oblation.
Iii. Imprecations Against Demons, Etc. 9 1
II, 7. Charm against curses and hostile plots, undertaken with a certain plant.
1. The god-begotten plant, hated by the wicked,
which wipes away the curses (of the enemies), like
water a foul spot it has washed away all curses
from me.
2. The curse of the rival and the curse of the
kinswoman, the curse which the Brahman shall utter
in wrath, all that (do thou put) under our feet !
3. From heaven her root is suspended, from the
earth it rises up ; with her that has a thousand
shoots do thou protect us on all sides !
4. Protect me, protect my offspring, protect our
goods; let not ill-will overcome us, let not hostile
schemes overcome us !
5. The curse shall go to the curser; joint pos-
session shall we have with the friend. Of the
enemy who bewitches with (his) eye we hew off
the ribs.
Ill, 6. The asvattha-tree as a destroyer of enemies.
1. A male has sprung from a male, the asvattha
(ficus religiosa) from the khadira (acacia catechu).
May this slay my enemies, those whom I hate and
those who hate me !
2. Crush the enemies, as they rush on, O awattha,
'displacer/ allied with Indra, the slayer of Vrztra,
(allied) with Mitra and Varu^a !
3. As thou didst break forth, O a^vattha, into the
great flood (of the air), thus do thou break up all
those whom I hate and those who hate me !
4. Thou that goest conquering as a conquering
92 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
bull, with thee here, O a^vattha, may we conquer our rivals !
5. May NirWti (the goddess of destruction),
O a^vattha, bind in the toils of death that cannot
be loosened those enemies of mine whom I hate
and who hate me !
6. As thou climbest up the trees, O a^vattha, and
renderest them subordinate, thus do thou split in two
the head of my enemy, and overcome him !
7. They (the enemies) shall float down like a
ship cut loose from its moorings ! There is no
returning again for those that have been driven out
by the ' displaced
8. I drive them out with my mind, drive them
out with my thought, and also with my incantation.
We drive them out with a branch of the asvattha-
tree.
VI, 75. Oblation for the suppression of enemies (nairbadhya^ havi^).
1. Forth from his home do I drive that person
yonder, who as a rival contends with us : through
the oblation devoted to suppression Indra has
broken him to pieces.
2. Indra, the slayer of Wz'tra, shall drive him to
the remotest distance, from which in all successive
years he shall not again return !
3. He shall go to the three distances, he shall
go beyond the five peoples ; he shall go beyond
the three ethers, whence he shall not again in all
successive years return, while the sun is upon the
heavens !
Iii. Imprecations Against Demons, Etc. 93
VI, 37. Curse against one that practises hostile
charms.
1. The thousand-eyed curse having yoked his
chariot has come hither, seeking out him that curses
me, as a wolf the house of him that owns sheep.
2. Avoid us, O curse, as a burning fire (avoids)
a lake ! Strike here him that curses us, as the
lightning of heaven the tree !
3. He that shall curse us when we do not curse,
and he that shall curse us when we do curse, him
do I hurl to death as a bone to a dog upon the
ground.
VII, 13. Charm to deprive enemies of their strength.
1. As the rising sun takes away the lustre of the
stars, thus do I take away the strength of both the
women and the men that hate me.
2. As many enemies as ye are, looking out against
me, as I come on — of those that hate me do I take
away the strength, as the sun takes away the strength
of persons asleep (while it rises).
IV.
CHARMS PERTAINING TO WOMEN (STRIKARMAAT).
II, 36. Charm to obtain a husband.
1. May, O Agni, a suitor after our own heart
come to us, may he come to this maiden with our
fortune ! May she, agreeable to suitors, charming
at festivals, promptly obtain happiness through a
husband !
2. Agreeable to Soma, agreeable to Brahma,
arranged by Aryaman, with the unfailing certainty
of god Dhatar, do I bestow upon thee good fortune,
the acquisition of a husband.
3. This woman shall obtain a husband, since king
Soma makes her lovely ! May she, begetting sons,
become a queen ; may she, going to her husband,
shine in loveliness !
4. As this comfortable cave, O Maghavan (Indra),
furnishing a safe abode, hath become pleasing to ani-
mals, thus may this woman be a favourite of fortune
(Bhaga), beloved, not at odds with her husband !
5. Do thou ascend the full, inexhaustible ship of
Bhaga (fortune) ; upon this bring hither the suitor
who shall be agreeable (to thee) !
6. Bring hither by thy shouts, O lord of wealth,
the suitor, bend his mind towards her; turn thou the
right side of every agreeable suitor towards (her) !
7. This gold and bdellium, this balsam, and
Iv. Charms Pertaining to Women. 95
Bhaga (fortune), too ; these have prepared thee for
husbands, that thou mayest obtain the one that is
agreeable.
8. Hither to thee Savitar shall lead the husband
that is agreeable ! Do thou, O herb, bestow (him)
upon her !
VI, 60. Charm for obtaining a husband.
1. This Aryaman (wrooer) with loosened crest
of hair comes hither in front (of the procession),
seeking a husband for this spinster, and a wife for
this wifeless man.
2. This maid, O Aryaman, has wearied of going
to the wedding-feasts of other women. Now shall,
without fail, O Aryaman, other women go to her
wedding-feast !
3. Dhatar (the creator) supports (dadhara) this
earth, Dhatar supports the heavens, and the sun.
May Dhatar furnish this spinster with a husband
after her own heart!
VI, 82. Charm for obtaining a wife.
1. I call the name of him that comes here, that
hath come here, and is arriving ; I crave (the name)
of Indra, Vrztra's slayer, the Vasava of hundred-
fold strength.
2. The road by which the A^vins carried away
as a bride Sury&, Savitar s daughter, 'by that road/
Bhaga (fortune) told me, 'thou shalt bring here a
wife ' !
3. With thy wealth-procuring, great, golden hook,
O Indra, husband of Sdiki, procure a wife for me
that desireth a wife !