96 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
VI, 78. Blessing for a married couple.
1. Through this oblation, that causes prosperity,
may this man flourish anew ; may he excel the wife
that they have brought to him with his sap !
2. May he excel in strength, excel in royalty !
May this couple be inexhaustible in wealth that
bestows thousandfold lustre !
3. Tvash/ar begot (for thee) a wife, Tvash/ar
for her begot thee as a husband. May Tvash/ar
bestow upon you two a thousand lives, may he
bestow upon you long life!
VII, 36. Love-charm spoken by a bridal couple.
The eyes of us two shine like honey, our foreheads
gleam like ointment. Place me within thy heart ;
may one mind be in common to us both !
VII, 37. Charm pronounced by the bride over the bridegroom.
I envelope thee in my garment that was produced
by Manu (the first man), that thou shalt be mine
alone, shalt not even discourse of other women !
VI, 81. A bracelet as an amulet to ensure conception.
1. A holder art thou, holdest both hands, drivest
off the Rakshas. An acquirer of offspring and
wealth this bracelet hath become !
2. O bracelet, open up the womb, that the embryo be put (into it) ! Do thou, O limit (-setting bracelet),
Iv. Charms Pertaining to Women. 97
furnish a son, bring him here (£ gamaya), thou that comest here (dgame) !
3. The bracelet that Aditi wore, when she desired
a son, Tvash/ar shall fasten upon this woman, intend-
ing that she shall beget a son.
Ill, 23. Charm for obtaining a son (pu^savanam).
1. That which has caused thee to miscarry do we
drive away from thee, that very thing do we deposit
outside of thee, away in a far place.
2. Into thy womb shall enter a male germ, as an
arrow into a quiver! May a man be born there,
a son ten months old !
3. A male son do thou produce, and after him
a male shall be born ! Thou shalt be the mother
of sons, of those who are born, and those whom
thou shalt bear !
4. By the effective seed which bulls put forth do thou obtain a son ; be a fruitful milch-cow !
5. Pra^apati's (the lord of creatures) work do
I perform for thee : may the germ enter into thy
womb ! Obtain thou, woman, a son who shall bring
prosperity to thee, and bring thou prosperity to him!
6. The plants whose father was the sky, whose
mother the earth, whose root the (heavenly) ocean
— may those divine herbs aid thee in obtaining
a son !
VI, 11. Charm for obtaining a son (pu/^savanam).
1. The a^vattha (ficus religiosa) has mounted the
^ami (mimosa suma) : then a male child was pro-
duced. That, forsooth, is the way to obtain a son ;
that do we bring to (our) wives.
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98 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
2. In the male, forsooth, seed doth grow, that is
poured into the female. That, forsooth, is the way
to obtain a son ; that has been told by Pra^apati.
3. Pra^apati, Anumati, and Sinivali have fashioned
him. May he (Pra^apati) elsewhere afford the birth
of a female, but here he shall bestow a man !
VII, 35. An incantation to make a woman sterile.
1. The other enemies conquer with might; beat
back, O Gatavedas, those that are not yet born!
Enrich this kingdom unto happiness, may all the
gods acclaim this man !
2. Of these hundred entrails of thine, as well as
of the thousand canals, of all these have I closed the
openings with a stone.
3. The upper part of the womb do I place below,
there shall come to thee neither offspring nor birth !
I render thee sterile and devoid of offspring ; a stone
do I make into a cover for thee.
VI, 17. Charm to prevent miscarriage.
1. As this great earth conceives the germs of the
beings, thus shall thy embryo be held fast, to produce
a child after pregnancy !
2. As this great earth holds these trees, thus
shall thy embryo be held fast, to produce a child
after pregnancy !
3. As this great earth holds the mountains and
the peaks, thus shall thy embryo be held fast, to
produce a child after pregnancy !
4. As this great earth holds the animals scattered
Iv. Charms Pertaining to Women. 99
far, thus shall thy embryo be held fast, to produce a child after pregnancy !
I, 11. Charm for easy parturition.
1. Aryaman as active hotar-priest shall utter for
thee the vasha/-call at this (soma-) pressing, O
Ptishan! May (this) woman, (herself) begotten in
the proper way, be delivered, may her joints relax,
that she shall bring forth !
2. Four directions has the heaven, and also four
the earth : (from these) the gods created the embryo.
May they open her, that she shall bring forth !
3. May Sushan open : her womb do we cause
to gape. Do thou, O Stisha/za, loosen the womb,
do thou, O Bishkala, let go (the embryo) !
4. Attached not at all to the flesh, nor to the fat,
not at all to the marrow, may the splotched, moist,
placenta come down to be eaten by a dog ! May
the placenta fall down !
5. I split open thy vagina, thy womb, thy canals ;
I separate the mother and the son, the child along
with the placenta. May the placenta fall down !
6. As flies the wind, as flies the mind, as fly the
winged birds, so do thou, O embryo, ten months
old, fall along writh the placenta ! May the placenta
fall down !
I, 34. Charm with licorice, to secure the love of a woman.
1. This plant is born of honey, with honey do we
dig for thee. Of honey thou art begotten, do thou
make us full of honey !
2. At the tip of my tongue may I have honey, at my tongue's root the sweetness of honey ! In my
IOO HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
power alone shalt thou then be, thou shalt come up to my wish !
3. Sweet as honey is my entrance, sweet as honey
my departure. With my voice do I speak sweet as
honey, may I become like honey !
4. I am sweeter than honey, fuller of sweetness
than licorice, Mayest thou, without fail, long for
me alone, (as a bee) for a branch full of honey !
5. I have surrounded thee with a clinging sugar-
cane, to remove aversion, so that thou shalt not be
averse to me !
II, 30. Charm to secure the love of a woman.
1. As the wind tears this grass from the surface
of the earth, thus do I tear thy soul, so that thou,
woman, shalt love, shalt not be averse to me !
2. If ye, O two A^vins, shall unite and bring
together the loving pair — united are the fortunes of
both of you (lovers), united the thoughts, united the
purposes !
3. When birds desire to chirp, lustily desire to
chirp, may my call go there, as an arrow-point upon
the shaft !
4. What is within shall be without, what is with-
out shall be within! Take captive, O herb, the
soul of the maidens endowed with every charm !
5. Longing for a husband this woman hath come,
I have come longing for a wife. As a loudly neigh-
ing horse I have attained to my good fortune !
VI, 8. Charm to secure the love of a woman.
1. As the creeper embraces the tree on all sides, thus do thou embrace me, so that thou, woman,
Iv. Charms Pertaining to Women. 10 1
shalt love me, so that thou shalt not be averse to me !
2. As the eagle when he flies forth presses his
wings against the earth, thus do I fasten down thy
mind, so that thou, woman, shalt love me, so that
thou shalt not be averse to me.
3. As the sun day by day goes about this heaven
and earth, thus do I go about thy mind, so that
thou, woman, shalt love me, so that thou shalt not
be averse to me.
VI, 9. Charm to secure the love of a woman.
1. Hanker thou after my body, my feet, hanker
after my eyes, my thighs ! The eyes of thee, as
thou lustest after me, and thy hair shall be parched
with love !
2. I make thee cling to my arm, cling to my
heart, so that thou shalt be in my power, shalt come
up to my wish !
3. The cows, the mothers of the ghee, who lick
their young, in whose heart love is planted, shall
make yonder woman bestow love upon me !
VI, 102. Charm to secure the love of a woman.
1. As this draught animal, O ye Asvins, comes
on, and proceeds, thus may thy soul come on, and
proceed to me !
2. I draw to myself thy mind, as the leading
stallion the female side-horse. As the stalk of
grass torn by the wind, thus shall thy mind fasten
itself upon me !
3. A coaxing mixture of salve, of sweet wood, of
kush/^a, and of spikenard, do I deftly pick out with
the hands of Bhaga (good fortune).
[02 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
Ill, 25. Charm to arouse the passionate love of a woman.
1. May (love), the disquieter, disquiet thee; do
not hold out upon thy bed! With the terrible
arrow of Kama (love) do I pierce thee in the heart.
2. The arrow, winged with longing, barbed with
love, whose shaft is undeviating desire, with that,
well-aimed, Kama shall pierce thee in the heart !
3. With that well-aimed arrow of Kama which
parches the spleen, whose plume flies forward, which
burns up, do I pierce thee in the heart.
4. Consumed by burning ardour, with parched
mouth, do thou (woman) come to me, pliant, (thy)
pride laid aside, mine alone, speaking sweetly and
to me devoted !
5. I drive thee with a goad from thy mother and
thy father, so that thou shalt be in my power, shalt
come up to my wish.
6. All her thoughts do ye, O Mitra and Varu/za,
drive out of her ! Then, having deprived her of her
will, put her into my power alone !
VI, 139. Charm to arouse the passionate love of a woman.
1. Clinging to the ground thou didst grow, (O
plant), that producest bliss for me; a hundred
branches extend from thee, three and thirty grow
down from thee : with this plant of a thousand
leaves thy heart do I parch.
2. Thy heart shall parch (with love) for me, and thy mouth shall parch (with love for me) ! Languish,
Iv. Charms Pertaining to Women. Io3
moreover, with love for me, with parched mouth pass thy days !
3. Thou that causest affection, kindlest (love),
brown, lovely (plant), draw (us) together; draw
together yonder woman and myself, our hearts make
the same !
4. As the mouth of him that hath not drunk dries
up, thus languish thou with love for me, with
parched mouth pass thy days !
5. As the ichneumon tears the serpent, and joins
him together again, thus, O potent (plant), join
together what hath been torn by love !
VII, 38. Charm to secure the love of a man.
1. This potent herb do I dig out: it draws toward
me the eye, causes (love's) tears. It brings back
him wTho has gone to a distance, rejoices him that
approaches me.
2. By (the plant) with which the Asurf allured
Indra away from the gods, by that do I subject thee,
that I may be well-beloved of thee !
3. Thy face is turned towards Soma (the moon),
thy face is turned towards Surya (the sun), thy face
is turned towards all the gods : 't is thee here that
we do invoke.
4. My speech, not thine, (in this matter) hath
weight : in the assembly, forsooth, do thou speak !
To me alone shalt thou belong, shalt not even
discourse of other women !
5. Whether thou art beyond the haunts of men,
or whether across the river, this very herb, as if
a captive bound, shall bring thee back to me !
104 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
VI, 130. Charm to arouse the passionate love of a man.
1. This yearning love comes from the Apsaras,
the victorious, imbued with victory. Ye gods, send
forth the yearning love : may yonder man burn
after me !
2. My wish is, he shall long for me, devoted he
shall long for me ! Ye gods, send forth the yearning
love : may yonder man burn after me !
3. That yonder man shall long for me, (but) I for
him nevermore, ye gods, send forth the yearning
love : may yonder man burn after me !
4. Do ye, O Maruts, intoxicate him (with love) ;
do thou, O mid-air, intoxicate him ; do thou, O Agni,
intoxicate him ! May yonder man burn after me !