VI, 142. Blessing during the sowing of seed.
1 . Raise thyself up, grow thick by thy own might,
O grain ! Burst every vessel ! The lightning in the
heavens shall not destroy thee !
2. When we invoke thee, god grain, and thou
dost listen, then do thou raise thyself up like the
sky, be inexhaustible as the sea !
3. Inexhaustible shall be those that attend to
thee, inexhaustible thy heaps ! They who give thee
as a present shall be inexhaustible, they who eat
thee shall be inexhaustible !
VI, 79. Charm for procuring increase of grain.
1. May this bounteous Nabhasaspati (the lord of
the cloud) preserve for us (possessions) without
measure in our house !
2. Do thou, O Nabhasaspati, keep strengthening
142 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
food in our house, may prosperity and goods come hither !
3. O bounteous god, thou dost command thou-
sandfold prosperity : of that do thou bestow upon
us, of that do thou give us, in that may we share
with thee !
VI, 50. Exorcism of vermin infesting grain in the field.
1. Slay ye the tarda ('borer'), the samanka
('hook'), and the mole, O Asvins; cut off their
heads, and crush their ribs ! Shut their mouths, that
they shall not eat the barley; free ye, moreover,
the grain from danger !
2. Ho tarda (' borer '), ho locust, ho ^abhya
(' snapper'), upakvasa ! As a Brahman (eats not) an
uncompleted sacrifice, do ye, not eating this barley,
without working injury, get out!
3. O husband of the tarda (-female), O husband
of the vagha (-female), ye of the sharp teeth, listen
to me ! The vyadvaras (' rodents ') of the forest,
and whatever other vyadvaras (there are), all these
we do crush.
VII, 11. Charm to protect grain from lightning.
With thy broad thunder, with the beacon, elevated
by the gods that pervade this all, with the lightning
do thou not destroy our grain, O god ; nor do thou
destroy it with the rays of the sun !
II, 26. Charm for the prosperity of cattle.
1. Hither shall come the cattle which have strayed to a distance, whose companionship Vdyu
Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. 1 43
(the wind) enjoys ! (The cattle) whose structure of
form Tvash/ar knows, Savitar shall hold in place in
this stable!
2. To this stable the cattle shall flow together,
Brzhaspati skilfully shall conduct them hither!
Sinivcllt shall conduct hither their van : do thou,
O Anumati, hold them in place after they have
arrived !
3. May the cattle, may the horses, and may the
domestics flow together ; may the increase of the
grain flow together! I sacrifice with an oblation
that causeth to flow together !
4. I pour together the milk of the cows, I pour
together strength and sap with the ghee. Poured
together shall be our heroes, constant shall be the
cows with me the owner of the cows !
5. I bring hither the milk of the cows, I have
brought hither the sap of the grain. Brought
hither are our heroes, brought hither to this house
are our wives !
Ill, 14. Charm for the prosperity of cattle.
1. With a firmly founded stable, with wealth, with
well-being, with the name of that which is born on
a lucky day do we unite you (O cattle) !
2. May Aryaman unite you, may Pushan, Brz-
haspati, and Indra, the conqueror of booty, unite
you ! Do ye prosper my possessions !
3. Flocking together without fear, making ordure
in this stable, holding honey fit for soma, free from
disease, ye shall come hither !
4. Right here come, ye cows, and prosper here
like the saka-bird ! And right here do ye beget
(your young) ! May ye be in accord with me !
144 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
5. May your stable be auspicious to you, prosper
ye like the ^ari-birds and parrots ! And right
here do ye beget (your young) ! With us do we
unite you.
6. Attach yourselves, O cows, to me as your pos-
sessor ; may this stable here cause you to prosper !
Upon you, growing numerous, and living, may we,
increasing in wealth, alive, attend !
VI, 59. Prayer to the plant arundhatt for pro- tection to cattle.
1. Thy foremost protection, O Arundhatt, do thou
bestow upon steer and milch-kine, upon (cattle of)
the age when weaned from their mother, upon (all)
four-footed creatures !
2. May Arundhatt, the herb, bestow protection
along with the gods, render full of sap the stable,
free from disease our men !
3. The variegated, lovely, life-giving (plant) do
I invoke. May she carry away for us, far from the
cattle, the missile hurled by Rudra !
VI, 70. Charm to secure the attachment of a cow to her calf.
1. As meat, and liquor, and dice (abound) at the
gambling-place, as the heart of the lusty male
hankers after the woman, thus shall thy heart, O
cow, hanker after the calf!
2. As the elephant directs his steps after the
steps of the female, as the heart of the lusty male
hankers after the woman, thus shall thy heart, O
cow, hanker after the calf!
3. As the felloe, and as the spokes, and as the
Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. 1 45
nave (of the wheel is joined) to the felloe, as the
heart of the lusty male hankers after the woman,
thus shall thy heart, O cow, hanker after the calf!
Ill, 28. Formula in expiation of the birth of twin-calves.
1. Through one creation at a time this (cow) was
born, when the fashioners of the beings did create
the cows of many colours. (Therefore), when a
cow doth beget twins portentously, growling and
cross she injureth the cattle.
2. This (cow) doth injure our cattle : a flesh-eater,
devourer, she hath become. Hence to a Brahman
he shall give her ; in this way she may be kindly
and auspicious !
3. Auspicious be to (our) men, auspicious to (our)
cows and horses, auspicious to this entire field,
auspicious be to us right here !
4. Here be prosperity, here be sap ! Be thou
here one that especially gives a thousandfold !
Make the cattle prosper, thou mother of twins !
5. Where our pious friends live joyously, having
left behind the ailments of their bodies, to that
world the mother of twins did attain : may she not
injure our men and our cattle !
6. Where is the world of our pious friends, where
the world of them that sacrifice with the agnihotra,
to that world the mother of twins did attain : may
she not injure our men and our cattle !
VI, 92. Charm to endow a horse with swiftness.
1. Swift as the wind be thou, O steed, when
joined (to the chariot) ; at Indra's urging go, fleet as
[42] l
146 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
the mind ! The Maruts, the all-possessing, shall har- ness thee,Tvash/ar shall put fleetness into thy feet!
2. With the fleetness, O runner, that has been
deposited in thee in a secret place, (with the fleetness)
that has been made over to the eagle, the wind, and
moves in them, with that, O steed, strong with
strength, do thou win the race, reaching the goal in
the contest !
3. Thy body, O steed, leading (our) body, shall
run, a pleasure to ourselves, delight to thyself!
A god, not stumbling, for the support of the great,
he shall, as if upon the heaven, found his own light!
Ill, 13. Charm for conducting a river into a new
channel.
1 . Because of yore, when the (cloud-) serpent was
slain (by Indra), ye did rush forth and shout (ana-
data), therefore is your name ' shouters ' (nadya^
' rivers ') : that is your designation, ye streams !
2. Because, when sent forth by Vanma, ye then
quickly did bubble up; then Indra met (apnot) you,
as ye went, therefore anon are ye ' meeters ' (apa^
4 waters ') !
3. When reluctantly ye flowed, Indra, forsooth,
did with might choose (avivarata) you as his own,
ye goddesses ! Therefore f choice ' (var * water ') has
been given you as your name !
4. One god stood upon you, as ye flowed accord-
ing to will. Up breathed (ud dnishuA) they who
are known as ' the great ' (mshik). Therefore * up-
breather ' (udakam ' water ') are they called !
5. The waters are kindly, the waters in truth were ghee. These waters, truly, do support Agni and
Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. 1 47
Soma. May the readily flowing, strong sap of the
honey-dripping (waters) come to me, together with
life's breath and lustre !
6. Then do I see them and also do I hear them ;
their sound, their voice doth come to me. When,
ye golden-coloured, I have refreshed myself with
you, then I ween, ambrosia (amrzta) am I tasting !
7. Here, ye waters, is your heart, here is your
calf, ye righteous ones ! Come ye, mighty ones, by
this way here, by which I am conducting you here !
VI, 106. Charm to ward off danger from fire.
1. Where thou comest, (O fire), and where thou
goest away, the blooming durva-plant shall grow :
a well-spring there shall rise up, or a lotus-laden pool !
2. Here (shall be) the gathering place of the
waters, here the dwelling-place of the sea ! In the
midst of a pond our house shall be : turn, (O fire),
away thy jaws !
3. With a covering of coolness do we envelop
thee, O house ; cool as a pond be thou for us ! Agni
shall furnish the remedy !
IV, 3. Shepherd's charm against wild beasts and
robbers.
1. Three have gone away from here, the tiger,
man, and wolf. Out of sight, forsooth, go the
rivers, out of sight (grows) the divine tree (the
banyan-tree ?) : out of sight the enemies shall retreat !
2. The wolf shall tread a distant path, and the
robber one still more distant! On a distant path
shall move the biting rope (the serpent), on a distant
path the plotter of evil !
148 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
3. Thy eyes and thy jaw we crush, O tiger, and also all thy twenty claws.
4. We crush the tiger, the foremost of animals,
armed with teeth. Next, too, the thief, and then
the serpent, the wizard, and also the wolf.
5. The thief that approacheth to-day, crushed to
pieces he goeth away. Where the paths are preci-
pitate he shall go, Indra shall slay him with his
bolt !
6. The teeth of the wild beast are dulled, and
broken are his ribs. Out of thy sight the dragon
shall go, down shall tumble the hare-hunting
beast !
7. The (jaw, O beast,) that thou shuttest together,
thou shalt not open up ; that which thou openest up,
thou shalt not shut together! — Born of Indra, born
of Soma, thou, (my charm), art Atharvan's crusher
of tigers.
Ill, 15. A merchant's prayer.
1. Indra, the merchant, do I summon: may he
come to us, may he be our van ; driving away the
demon of grudge, the waylayers, and wild beasts,
may he, the possessor, bestow wealth upon me !
2. May the many paths, the roads of the gods,
which come together between heaven and earth,
gladden me with milk and ghee, so that I may
gather in wealth from my purchases !
3. Desirous do I, O Agni, with firewood and
ghee offer oblations (to thee), for success and
strength; according to ability praising (thee) with
my prayer, do I sing this divine song, that I may
gain a hundredfold !
4. (Pardon, O Agni, this sin of ours [incurred
Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. 1 49
upon] the far road which we have travelled !) May
our purchases and our sales be successful for us ;
may what I get in barter render me a gainer ! May
ye two (Indra and Agni) in accord take pleasure in
this oblation ! May our transactions and the accru-
ing gain be auspicious to us !
5. The wealth with which I go to purchase, de-
siring, ye gods, to gain wealth through wealth, may
that grow more, not less ! Drive away, O Agni, in
return for the oblation, the gods who shut off gain !
6. The wealth with which I go to purchase, de-
siring, ye gods, to gain wealth through wealth, may
Indra, Pra^apati, Savitar, Soma, Agni, place lustre
into it for me !
7. We praise with reverence thee, O priest (Agni)
Vai^vanara. Do thou over our children, selves,
cattle, and life's breath watch !
8. Daily, never failing, shall we bring (oblations to
thee), O Gatavedas, (as if fodder) to a horse stand-
ing (in the stable). In growth of wealth and nutri-
ment rejoicing, may we, O Agni, thy neighbours,
not take harm !