IV, 38. A. Prayer for success in gambling.
1. The successful, victorious, skilfully gaming
Apsara, that Apsara who makes the winnings in the
game of dice, do I call hither.
2. The skilfully gaming Apsara who sweeps and
heaps up (the stakes), that Apsara who takes the
winnings in the game of dice, do I call hither.
3. May she, who dances about with the dice,
when she takes the stakes from the game of dice,
when she desires to win for us, obtain the advantage
15O HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
by (her) magic ! May she come to us full of abun- dance ! Let them not win this wealth of ours !
4. The (Apsaras) who rejoice in dice, who carry
grief and wrath — that joyful and exulting Apsara, do
I call hither.
B. Prayer to secure the return of calves that have strayed to a distance.
5. They (the cattle) who wander along the rays
of the sun, or they who wander along the flood of
light, they whose bull (the sun), full of strength, from
afar protecting, with the day wanders about all the
worlds — may he (the bull), full of strength, delight-
ing in this offering, come to us together with the
atmosphere !
6. Together with the atmosphere, O thou who
art full of strength, protect the white (karki) calf,
O thou swift steed (the sun) ! Here are many drops
(of ghee) for thee ; come hither ! May this white
calf (karki) of thine, may thy mind, be here !
7. Together with the atmosphere, O thou who
art full of strength, protect the white (karki) calf,
O thou swift steed (the sun)! Here is the fodder,
here the stall, here do we tie down the calf. What-
ever (are your) names, we own you. Hail !
VII, 50. Prayer for success at dice.
1. As the lightning at all times smites irresistibly
the tree, thus would I to-day irresistibly beat the
gamesters with my dice !
2. Whether they be alert, or not alert, the fortune
of (these) folks, unresisting, shall assemble from all
sides, the gain (collect) within my hands !
Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. 151
3. I invoke with reverence Agni, who has his
own riches ; here attached he shall heap up gain
for us ! I procure (wealth) for myself, as if with
chariots that win the race. May I accomplish au-
spiciously the song of praise to the Maruts !
4. May we by thy aid conquer the (adversary's)
troop ; help us (to obtain) our share in every con-
test! Make for us, O Indra, a good and ample
road ; crush, O Maghavan, the lusty power of our
enemies !
5. I have conquered and cleaned thee out (?) ;
I have also gained thy reserve. As the wolf plucks
to pieces the sheep, thus do I pluck thy winnings.
6. Even the strong hand the bold player conquers,
as the skilled gambler heaps up his winnings at
the proper time. Upon him that loves the game
(the god), and does not spare his money, (the game,
the god) verily bestows the delights of wealth.
7. Through (the possession of) cattle we all
would suppress (our) wretched poverty, or with
grain our hunger, O thou oft implored (god) ! May
we foremost among rulers, unharmed, gain wealth
by our cunning devices !
8. Gain is deposited in my right hand, victory in
my left. Let me become a conqueror of cattle,
horses, wealth, and gold !
9. O dice, yield play, profitable as a cow that is
rich in milk ! Bind me to a streak of gain, as the
bow (is bound) with the string!
VI, 56. Exorcism of serpents from the premises.
1. May the serpent, ye gods, not slay us along with our children and our men ! The closed (jaw)
152 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
shall not snap open, the open one not close ! Rever- ence (be) to the divine folk !
2. Reverence be to the black serpent, reverence
to the one that is striped across ! To the brown
sva^a reverence ; reverence to the divine folk !
3. I clap thy teeth upon thy teeth, and also thy
jaw upon thy jaw ; I press thy tongue against thy
tongue, and close up, O serpent, thy mouth.
X, 4. Charm against serpents, invoking the horse of Pedu that slays serpents.
1. To Indra belongs the first chariot, to the gods
the second chariot, to Varu^a, forsooth, the third.
The serpents' chariot is the last : it shall hit a post,
and come to grief !
2. The young darbha-grass burns (the serpents ?),
the tail of the horse, the tail of the shaggy one, the
seat of the wagon (burns the serpents ?).
3. Strike down, O white (horse), with thy fore-
foot and thy hind-foot ! As timber floating in water,
the poison of the serpents, the fierce fluid, is devoid
of strength.
4. Neighing loudly he dived down, and, again
diving up, said : ' As timber floating in water, the
poison of the serpents, the fierce fluid, is devoid of
strength/
5. The horse of Pedu slays the kasanzila, the
horse of Pedu slays the white (serpent), and also
the black. The horse of Pedu cleaves the head of
the ratharvi, the adder.
6. O horse of Pedu, go thou first : we come after
thee ! Thou shalt cast out the serpents from the
road upon which we come !
7. Here the horse of Pedu was born ; from here
Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. 1 53
is his departure. Here are the tracks of the serpent- killing, powerful steed !
8. May the closed (serpent's jaw) not snap open,
may the open one not close ! The two serpents in
this field, man and wife, they are both bereft of
strength.
9. Without strength here are the serpents, those
that are near, and those that are far. With a club
do I slay the vrzs/Aka, (scorpion), with a staff the
serpent that has approached.
10. Here is the remedy for both the aghasva and
the sva^a! Indra (and) Pedus horse have put to
naught the evil-planning (aghayantam) serpent.
11. The horse of Pedu do we remember, the
strong, with strong footing: behind lie, staring forth,
these adders.
12. Deprived are they of life's spirit, deprived of
poison, slain by Indra with his bolt. Indra hath
slain them : we have slain them.
1 3. Slain are they that are striped across, crushed
are the adders! Slay thou the one that produces
a hood, (slay) the white and the black in the darbha-
grass !
14. The maiden of the Kirata-tribe, the little one
digs up the remedy, with golden spades, on the
mountain's back.
15. Hither has come a youthful physician: he
slays the speckled (serpent), is irresistible. He,
forsooth, crushes the sva^a and the vrzs&ika. both.
16. Indra did set at naught for me the serpent,
(and so did) Mitra and Varima, Vata and Par^anya
both.
17. Indra did set at naught for me the serpent, the adder, male and female, the sva^a, (the serpent)
154 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
that is striped across, the kasar/dla, and the dasonasi.
1 8. Indra slew thy first ancestor, O serpent, and
since they are crushed, what strength, forsooth, can
be theirs ?
19. I have gathered up their heads, as the fisher-
man the karvara (fish). I have gone off into the
rivers midst, and washed out the serpent's poison.
20. The poison of all serpents the rivers shall
carry off! Slain are they that are striped across,
crushed are the adders !
21. As skilfully I cull the fibre of the plants, as
I guide the mares, (thus), O serpent, shall thy poison
go away !
22. The poison that is in the fire, in the sun, in
the earth, and in the plants, the kanda-poison, the
kanaknaka, thy poison shall go forth, and come !
23. The serpents that are sprung from the fire,
that are sprung from the plants, that are sprung
from the water, and originate from the lightning ;
they from whom great brood has sprung in many
ways, those serpents do we revere with obeisance.
24. Thou art, (O plant), a maiden, Taudi by
name ; Ghrzta/H, forsooth, is thy name. Underfoot
is thy place : I take in hand what destroys the
poison.
25. From every limb make the poison start ; shut
it out from the heart ! Now the force that is in thy
poison shall go down below !
26. The poison has gone to a distance : he has
shut it out ; he has fused the poison with poison.
Agni has put away the poison of the serpent, Soma
has led it out. The poison has gone back to the
biter. The serpent is dead !
Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. 1 55
XI, 2. Prayer to Bhava and 6arva for protection from dangers.
1. O Bhava and 6arva, be merciful, do not attack
(us) ; ye lords of beings, lords of cattle, reverence be
to you twain ! Discharge not your arrow even after
it has been laid on (the bow), and has been drawn!
Destroy not our bipeds and our quadrupeds !
2. Prepare not our bodies for the dog, or the
jackal ; for the aliklavas, the vultures, and the black
birds ! Thy greedy insects, O lord of cattle (pasu-
pate), and thy birds shall not get us to devour !
3. Reverence we offer, O Bhava, to thy roaring,
to thy breath, and to thy injurious qualities ;
reverence to thee, O Rudra, thousand-eyed, im-
mortal !
4. We offer reverence to thee from the east, from
the north, and from the south ; from (every) domain,
and from heaven. Reverence be to thy atmosphere !
5. To thy face, O lord of cattle, to thy eyes,
O Bhava, to thy skin, to thy form, thy appearance,
(and to thy aspect) from behind, reverence be !
6. To thy limbs, to thy belly, to thy tongue, to
thy mouth, to thy teeth, to thy smell (nose),
reverence be !
7. May we not conflict with Rudra, the archer
with the dark crest, the thousand-eyed, powerful one,
the slayer of Ardhaka !
8. Bhava shall steer clear from us on all sides,
Bhava shall steer clear from us, as fire from water !
May he not bear malice towards us : reverence be
to him !
9. Four times, eight times, be reverence to Bhava,
I56 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
ten times be reverence to thee, O lord of cattle !
To thy (charge) have been assigned these five
(kinds of) cattle : cows, horses, men, goats and
sheep.
10. Thine, O strong god (ugra), are the four
regions, thine the sky, thine the earth, and thine
this broad atmosphere; thine is this all that has
a spirit and has breath upon the earth.
1 1. Thine is this broad, treasure-holding receptacle
within which all worlds are contained. Do thou
spare us, O lord of cattle : reverence be to thee !
Far from us shall go the jackals, evil omens, dogs ;
far shall go (the mourning women) who bewail mis-
fortune with dishevelled hair !
12. Thou, O crested (god), earnest in (thy hand),
that smites thousands, a yellow, golden bow that slays
hundreds ; Rudra's arrow, the missile of the gods,
flies abroad : reverence be to it, in whatever direc-
tion from here (it flies) !
1 3. The adversary who lurks and seeks to over-
come thee, O Rudra, upon him thou dost fasten
thyself from behind, as (the hunter) that follows the
trail of a wounded (animal).
14. Bhava and Rudra, united and concordant,
both strong (ugrau), ye advance to deeds of heroism :
reverence be to both of them, in whatever direction
(they are) from here !
15. Reverence be to thee coming, reverence to
thee going; reverence, O Rudra, be to thee standing,
and reverence, also, to thee sitting !
16. Reverence in the evening, reverence in the
morning, reverence by night, reverence by day ! I have
offered reverence to Bhava and to 6arva, both.
1 7. Let us not with our tongue offend Rudra, who
Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. 1 57
rushes on, thousand-eyed, overseeing all, who hurls (his shafts) forward, who is manifoldly wise !
18. We approach first the (god) that has dark
horses, is black, sable, destructive, terrible, who
casts down the car of Keiin : reverence be to him !
19. Do not hurl at us thy club, thy divine bolt;
be not incensed at us, O lord of cattle ! Shake over
some other than us the celestial branch !
20. Injure us not, interpose for us, spare us, be not angry with us ! Let us not contend with thee !
21. Do not covet our cattle, our men, our goats
and sheep ! Bend thy course elsewhere, O strong
god (ugra), slay the offspring of the blasphemers !
22. He whose missile, fever and cough, assails
the single (victim), as the snorting of a stallion, who
snatches away (his victims) one by one, to him be
reverence !
23. He who dwells fixed in the atmosphere, smit-
ing the blasphemers of the god that do not sacrifice,
to him be reverence with ten sakvari-stanzas !
24. For thee the wild beasts of the forest have
been placed in the forest : flamingoes, eagles, birds
of prey, and fowls. Thy spirit, O lord of cattle, is
within the waters, to strengthen thee the heavenly
waters flow.
25. The dolphins, great serpents (boas), purikayas
(water-animals), sea-monsters, fishes, ra^asas, at
which thou shootest — there exists for thee, O Bhava,
no distance, and no barrier. At a glance thou lookest
around the entire earth ; from the eastern thou
slayest in the northern ocean.
26. Do not, O Rudra, contaminate us with fever,
or with poison, or with heavenly fire : cause this
lightning to descend elsewhere than upon us !