a, b. The expression a roha, * ascend,' harbours two double ententes, borrowed from other well-known events in life. First, sexual connection, in a manner similar to the union of the two sticks with which fire is churned (see e. g. VI, 11, 1, and cf. Ill, 6, 1) ; secondly, the various acts of ascend- ing which form parts of the consecration of a king, the ra^asuya (cf. Kaor. 17, 3. 9 ; AV. IV, 8). The rule of the king is indicated clearly in the next Pada (cf. AV. I, 10, 1), and in the anointing of the post, prescribed at Kaar. 43, 10. The word vira^an in Pada b, which we have rendered ' ruling,' again suggests the alternate meaning, ' shining ; * cf. 'the shining roof in AV. Ill, 7, 3. The va^a is a very important part of the house ; sometimes it splits, and elaborate performances are prescribed in Kaiu. 135 to meet that misfortune.
1 Still worse is the alternate interpretation, miyamanaw dhan- yadikaw mana#z tasya patni palayitr/.
Ill, 12. COMMENTARY. 347
c, d. Both Padas are hypermetric ; the first may be mended by excluding grzha/zam (so in our version), which seems to have crept in from st. 9 c ; the second by chang- ing sarvavira^ to suvira^ or saving. The translators render upasattaro, erroneously, by 'inmates;' this is certainly incorrect, as may be gathered from Va£\ S. XXVII, 2. 4, ma ka. rishad upasatta te agne ; AV. II, 6, 2, ma te rishann upasattaro agne. Saya/za, upavadanakartara^ ; Ludwig, fancifully, ' nicht sollen dich verletzen die belagerer der hauser ! '
Occurs with many variants in the Gnhya-sutras of Asv., Par., £ankh., Hir., Apast., Bharadva^-a, Manava ; see the introduction, and Professor Kirste's edition of the Hira^ya- ke^in, p. 54, notes.
b. The reading ^agata saha, also in Hir. and Bhar. ; Man. has ^agada saha ; Par. ^*agadai^ saha ; the other texts show still greater differences. For^-agat, see Zimmer, p. 150, and AV. IX, 3, 17. Oldenberg in the Sacred Books, vol. xxix, pp. 345, 395, and xxx, p. 205, renders both^agat and ^"agada by ' companion;' Ludwig, ' mit dem lebenden ; ' Weber, ' nebst allem was sich riihrt.' The others, as above. Saya^a, gamana.rilena gavadina saha.
c, d. Saya/za has kumbha^ which approaches the reading
of 5ankh., kumbhya^ ; and kaWir, like Apast. and Bhar.
The last seems preferable to kala^air of our texts ; cf. the
note on VI, 59, 3 b.
In the Paippalada this stanza is wanting here, appear- ing (with variants) in another hymn ; Grill in his transla- tion places it before stanza 7, without a statement of his motive. Cf. Kau^. 43, 10; Vait. Su. 16, 1 (with the vikara, adhvaryo for nari), and in general AV. IX, 3, 32, and Kaur. 66, 25.
c. Saya^a reads patrim and samindhi (sa#zdiptan kuru).
Shankar Pandit, with most of his MSS., reads ima//z patrzn,
referring imam to the house.
348 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
d. Weber emends, abhf ksharaty enan, but neither change is necessary. See II, 12, 4, ish^apurtam avatu na^.
Identical with AV. IX, 3, 23, and quoted frequently in the Atharva-ParLrish/as (16 ; 19 3, 3, &c).
Ill, 13. Commentary to page 146.
The first six stanzas of this hymn recur in Tait. S. V, 6, 1, 2-4 ; Maitr. S. II, 13, 1, in connection with certain oblations of water (kumbhesh/aka/^, or apa?/z graha^), and they are evi- dently originally at home in the Ya^us-ritual. The etymolo- gical puns, heaped up in the first four stanzas, explain the various names of water quite in Nirukta and Brahma;za-style. The seventh stanza does not occur in the Ya^us-sa^hitas ; it is the one that is characteristically Atharvanic : it narrows down the general subject of the praise of the waters to the special subject in hand, the deflection of a river from its course1. The Kau^ika, 40, 1-6, supplies the very inter- esting practices engaged in for the same purpose, to wit : ' 1. He who desires that a river shall go a certain way, walks along that way, pouring out water, while reciting the pre- sent hymn. 2. He sticks up the (kinds of grass or reeds called) ka^a, dividhuvaka, and vetasa 2. 3. While reciting st. 7 a, he places gold upon the mouth of the river (that is, the point from which the river shall branch into the desired channel). 4. With st. 7 b he ties a frog, striped like the reed-plant ishika, through the arm-pits (pits of the fore- feet) with two threads, one red and the other blue 3 (and places him into the outlet). 5. With st. 7 c he envelopes
1 For its employment in the Vaitana-sutra, see the note on the stanza.
2 For the explanation of these varieties of water-plants, see Darila and Ke^ava. Sayaraa, ka^a^aivalapa/erakavetasa^akha^.
3 Cf. the introduction to VII, 116, and the notes on IV, 17, 4 ; VIII, 8, 24.
Ill, 13. COMMENTARY. 349
the frog in an avaka-plant (blyxa octandra) 1. 6. With st. 7 d he pours water (over the frog) 2.'
The symbolism of these performances is unmistakable : they anticipate the presence of the water with all its life. The gold (40, 3) reflects * the golden-coloured, clear, pure waters ' (AV. I, ^ 1 : see also st. 6 of our hymn) ; the river grasses and reeds symbolise the river-vegetation. Above all the frog, securely tied so that he cannot leap away, and the water-bringing avaka affiliate this practice with one of the most interesting practices of Vedic common life ; see our article, ' On a Vedic group of charms for extin- guishing fire by means of water-plants and a frog,' in the second series of Contributions, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 343 ff.
The hymn has been translated by Weber, Indische
Studien, XVII, 240 ff. ; cf. also Bergaigne et Henry,
Manuel Vedique, p. 143. The Anukramam, varu«am (cf.
Kauj. 40, 7), uta sindhvabdaivatam.
The etymologies in this and the next three stanzas are dominated by that punning spirit which has made etymo- logy by far the feeblest product of the linguistic endeavours of the Hindus. In the present instance, however, the deri- vation of nadi", ' river/ from nad, * roar/ is likely enough. The mythological event alluded to is the well-known rush of the waters over the dead body of the (cloud-) dragon Vrztra, slain by Indra ; cf. e.g. RV. I, 32.
Varu^a (and Mitra) are also instrumental in procuring water, but it is rather the quiet streaming down of refresh-
1 Cf. Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, p. 349, and add -Sat. Br. XIII, 8, 3, 13; La/y. St. Ill, 5, 13 ff.
2 Kam. 40, 7-10 continues with an expiatory performance, con- sisting chiefly of oblations to Varuwa, the god of the waters, in case this new watercourse should threaten the surrounding country with an inundation. The hymn is employed further with many others at Kauj. 41, 12 for sprinkling certain oblations, offered by one about to start upon a business tour. Cf. also Ath. Pam. 10.
350 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
ing rain, than the storm-flood at the time of the monsoon. The notion of conquest by thunderbolts, as weapons used against demon serpents, is not present. See Bergaigne, La Religion Vedique, III, 12% fif. (especially pp. 125-6). The root valg, which here represents the motion of the waters, seems to contain an almost playful touch : it is used of the gamboling of animals. The allusion to Indra's ' meeting of the waters as they went ' is obscure. The Maitr. S. reads sa//zpra£yuta for yat preshita.
b. The lexicons and the translators derive avivarata from var, ' enclose.' Saya/za, correctly, it seems to us, from var, 'choose,' avivarata vrztavan yushman svatmasat kartum 3\kkkd£. What sense is there in saying of Indra that he hindered the waters, and when did the waters flow against his will (' contre le gre d' Indra,' Bergaigne)? An obvious paradox. Soma is said, RV. IX, 94, 1, to purify himself by acting wisely in choosing the waters : apo vrmanik pavate kaviyan; cf. also V, 48, 1. Indra here is said to appro- priate the waters for his purpose, the benefaction of men.
The exact mythic attitude of this stanza is not clear. Is Indra the subject of apy atish/^at or some god hindering, or trying to hinder? Cf. RV. VIII, 6, 16: < He, O Indra, who lay confining thy great waters, him didst thou smite.' Cf. also RV. I, 32, 12, where one god, or a certain god (deva eka^), resists Indra. The verb apy atish/^at means either to stand upon (so Saya^a, adhyatish/Zzat), or ' stand in the way' (Pet. Lex.). We incline to the former view. The way in which the word mahir in Pada c is utilised is somewhat obscure : it seems to be brought in partly for the sake of furnishing an etymological basis (sit venia verbo) for the m of udakam, and partly (note the iti), to infuse a dash of archaism into the reminiscence.
This seems to be distinctly ritualistic (sautra) in charac- ter. The calf may be the frog of the Sutra above. Cf.
Ill, 14. COMMENTARY. 35 1
also its use in Vait. Su. 29, 13, for which see the introduc- tion to VI, 106. The waters are cows, because the frog, the water-animal, is their child. Or the new river-bed may be the calf; cf. RV. Ill, 3% 1.
Ill, 14. Commentary to page 143.
For the employment of the hymn in the ritual, see our
introduction to II, 26. Cf. also Ath. Pam. 16. The Anu-
krama/zi, nanadevatyam uta gosh^adevatakam. Previous
translations: Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 469; Weber, Ind.
Stud. XVII, 244 ff. ; Grill 2, pp. 64, 112 ff.
c, d. Saya^a defines ahar^ata by ahany-ahani ^ayate. The expression occurs once more, V, 28, 12, and 'aus- picious* comes very near to its sense. Its opposite is anahar^ata, 6ankh. Sr. XIV, 51, 2-5, 'born on an unlucky day' = papanakshatre ^ata^, Kaor. 46, 25, and elsewhere. Cf. Weber, Nakshatra, II, 314-15 note. Either it is, ' born on a good (pu/^ya) day/ or ' born by day in distinction from night' (cf. nakta^ata, I, 23, 1). The word adr/sh/a, II, 31, 2; RV. I, 191, 1 ff., &c, would then approach the opposite meaning. Cf. aharbha^* and ahardris. ' With the name ' may mean ' with the kind, or species ; ' cf. V, 4,8.
Both milk and honey are frequently added to the Soma.
Hence the milk is here spoken of as honey, Soma being the
middle term as it were. Cf. Hillebrandt, Soma und ver-
wandte Gotter, pp. 219, 238 ff.
b. jake^va (Padap. i-aka iva) has occasioned unnecessary discussion. The word is not treated at all independently in the lexicons. The Western authorities generally regard it as ace. plur. neut. of sakrit, ^aknas, &c. Saya^a's saka.
352 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
makshikd has good support in the literature. At Tait. S. V, 5, 12, i ; Maitr. S. Ill, 14, 13 ; V&g. S. XXIV, 32 the word occurs in connection with other animals (Mahidhara, jakuntl ; Madhava, ^aka makshike*ty eke, dirgha-kan/o mr/gavuesha ity apare), and as the word is preceded or followed there by suka, ' parrot,' and s&ri (see the note on st. 5), there is no doubt but what Saya^a has hit the point. I should not be surprised to find the ^aka identical with the krzsa, mentioned at Kau.r. 10, 2, along with suka, and sarika. Cf. also Tait. S. V, 5, 18, 1, and commentary. Grill suggests an improbable remedy, jakeva = jaka(m) iva or saka iva, ' like vegetables ' (cf. German, ' wie 's unkraut '■).
b. jaruakeva (Padap. ^aruaka iva) is doubtful. Sayana, helplessly, ksha/zena sahasra.ro *bhivardhamana/& pramvi- seshak ; the suggestion seems incredible even from Saya/za. sari ( = sari, sarika, and sarika) is a certain bird which, like the parrot (^uka), imitates the human voice ; see Tait. S. V, 5, 12, 1 ; Maitr. S. Ill, 14, 14; V*g- S. XXIV, 33. It appears there in connection with juka, * parrot,' and saka (cf. st. 4). It seems hardly possible that our passage does not harbour these very two words, and accordingly I have emended to ^amukeva ( = sarisuka/i iva, with double sandhi). Cf. also Kaui*. 10, 2. The translators have again endea- voured to find sakrit, ^aknas in the second part of the word. For further suggestions, all of which seem to me to be silenced by the considerations advanced in this and the preceding notes, see Grill, 1. c.
Ill, 15. Commentary to page 148.
The Sutra rubricates the hymn in various non-significant practices. At Kaui". 50, 12 the merchant, while reciting the hymn, sets up (or, loads up) his ware (or, his shop), after it has been anointed with the dregs of ghee. At 59, 6 the person who desires merchandise recites the hymn. Cf. Gobh. IV, 8, 19 ff. ; Khad. IV, 3, 7. The hymn is also