a. Most of Shankar Pandit's MSS. read samushpala for samushyala. Saya/^a also, samushpala samyak uptaphala sati. The Pet. Lexs. derive the word (a air. Aey.) from a root ush = us, the weak form of va^, ' arousing love ; ' Ludwig, doubtfully, ' procuress.' We, with Weber (' zusam- men uns brennend '), derive the word from ush, ' burn/ Everything is uncertain.
The hostility of the ichneumon and the serpent is known
in Hindu literature from earliest to latest times1. The
putting together of the serpent by the ichneumon refers
perhaps to the cat-like antics of the animal over his prey.
It is a lame comparison at the best.
VI, 140. Commentary to page jio.
' When the upper two teeth come before the lower, then there is danger of death to the parents, and the following expiatory rite is prescribed,' says Kcrava at Kauj*. 46, 43-46. The performance consists in scattering or offering (rice, barley, or sesame : cf. Kauj. 7, 5) ; in making the child bite some of the kinds of grain indicated in the mantra (st. 2) ; in giving him some of the same grain cooked in ' holy water ' (Kaiu. 9, 8 ff.) to eat ; finally, in making the parents eat of the same dish.
The hymn has been rendered by Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 321 ; Grill2, pp. 49, 176 ff. (cf. also Weber, Indische Studien, V, 224 ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 343). These interpreters construe the hymn as a charm for avert -
3 Cf. Vzg. S. XXIV, 26, 32; Tait. S. V, 5, 12, 21.
Vi, 142. Commentary. 541
ing danger from the first pair of teeth in general, without reference to any irregularity in their appearance. Possibly this broader construction is the more original, Kausika's being a later refinement.
For vyaghrau, cf. the note on VI, no, 3 ; for the com-
bination Brahma/zaspati (Brzhaspati) Catavedas (Agni), the
note on VII, 53, 1.
VI, 142. Commentary to page 141.
At Kaui*. 24, 1, this hymn is recited while barley (or grain in general, yava), mixed with ghee, is swept into a furrow in the grain-field by means of the plough ; then (three) handfuls of seed are poured (into the furrow) \ one with each stanza of the hymn, and these finally are covered (with earth). Stanza 3 is recited at Kaus. 19, 27, while an amulet of barley is being fastened on a person to ensure him prosperity (cf. Kaur. 28, 20 in the introduction to VI, 91). The hymn is one of the class designated by the Atharva/nya-paddhati (at Kau^. 19, n) as push/ika man- tra/£, c stanzas that ensure prosperity.'
The hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda,
III, 463 ; Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 237 ; Grill2,
pp. 66, 177 ff. Cf. also Bergaigne et Henry, Manuel
Vedique, p. 156. The Anukrama/zi, yavyam.
c. Ludwig, and, independently, Aufrecht in Kuhn's Zeit- schrift, XXVII, 218, read primhi, ' fill,' for mrinihi Saya/za, vrimhi, which he also explains, l with a change of a letter,' as primhi puraya. Sensible suggestions these, but they do not prove that the .Saunakiya-poet did not make use of the bold yet natural figure of speech involved in mrinihi (' full unto bursting/ ' zum bersten voll '). Cf. the note on 111,1,2.
1 Cf. RV. VIII, 78, I0.
542 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
a. Saya//a, upasada^ upasattara/z (cf. Ill, 12,6 c) upagan- tara/£ karmakara/^. This is essentially correct. The western translators take the word as an abstract noun, ' stores ; ' Ludwig, ' ansatze ' (? ' aufspeicherungen ').
VII, 9. Commentary to page 159.
veda, pp. 4, 52.
Professor Henry cites the following interesting Alsatian charm : —
Hailcher antonius von patua
Schick mer was i verlore ha
Ter teifel wert's en sine kloye ha.
'Holy Antony of Padua, send to me what I have lost; the devil must have it in his claws/
1 The word nimr/^ya at the beginning of Sutra 14 seems to belong to the end of Sutra 13.
2 For the cross-roads, see the ncte in the introduction to VI, 1 1 1.
Vii, 12. Commentary. 543
VII, 11. Commentary to page 142.
The hymn is rubricated together with I, 13 at Kaiis. 38, 8 in a somewhat obscure practice which concerns rather I, 13 than the present. It is employed once more at the upakarma, the initiation to the study of the Veda, Kaiu. 139, 8. Cf. also .Santikalpa 15. Previous translations by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 463 ; Grill2, pp. 66, 178 ; Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 5, 54. The Anukra- mam, sarasvatam.
VII, 12. Commentary to page 138.
For the general aspects of the subject of this hymn, see Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 253 ff. ; Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, 173 ff. Ke.yava prefaces his exposition of the short performance connected with this hymn at Kau^. 38, 27. 28 as follows, atha sabha^ayakarmaz/y u^yante, sabhastam- bhanam karma ^ayakarma tada sabhasadadharmadhikara- nadi ^ayate, c here are told the performances which procure victory in the assembly ; it is a rite which lends stability to the assembly, procures victory, then promotes the judicial acts, and so forth, of those who sit in the assembly.' The practices are as follows : 38, 27. ' While reciting AV. VII, 12, the performer eats (a milk-porridge ; cf. Kam\ 7, 6). 28. He takes hold of the pillars of the assembly-hall, and pays his respects to (the assembly-hall).'
The hymn is translated in Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, V, 438 ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 253 ; Zimmer, 1. c, 173 ; Grill2, pp. 70, 178 ff. ; Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva- veda, pp. 5, 55 ; cf. also Hillebrandt, Vedachrestomathie, p. 44. The Anukramaf/i designates the entire hymn as sabhyam ; st. 1 as dvidevatyo*ta pitrya ; st. 2 as sabhya ; st. 3 as aindri ; st. 4 as mantroktadevatya.
The metre of Padas a, b, d is irregular (Anukr., bhurik- trish/ubh) ; a is catalectic, b hypercatalectic ; but we may
544 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
read duhitraii (cf. Amer. Journ. Phil. V, p. 27). Similarly d may be perfected by reading pitra/L
d. For the appeal to the Fathers for help, cf. II, 12, 4.
a. For vidma of the 5aunakiya school the Paippalada
reads veda vaf, and Grill and Hillebrandt adopt this
version for metrical reasons. But the metre is not really
improved by the change.
b. narish/a, 'mirth' (cf. XI, 8, 24), refers to the social not the political side of the sabha, which, in addition to being the meeting of the council, is also the occasion and place for gaming (cf. AV. XII, 3, 46), and social intercourse (cf. RV. VI, 28, 6). The word, too, perhaps conveys a double entente, nar, ' man/ and stha, ' place,' or suggests a quasi-superlative, 'most favourable to men.' Thus the variant form narish///a, V&g. S. XXX, 6, presents the effect of this kind of folk-etymology upon the word. Saya/za (as if the word were a compound na-rish/a), ahi/^sita parair anabhibhavya.
VII, 13. Commentary to page 93.
According to Kaur. 48, 35-36, the hymn is spoken
against the enemies that are to be deprived of power,
the second stanza while fixing one's regard upon them.
Cf. also Santikalpa 15 1. The hymn has been rendered
by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 241 ; Grill2, pp. 23, 179;
Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 5, 56. The
Anukramazzi, saumyam.
Cf. Ludwig, 1. c, p. 265. That the sun takes away the strength of those who are asleep while it rises or sets, is a notion abundantly elaborated in connection with all holy practices. Such persons are designated as suryabhyudita, and suryabhinimrukta (-mlukta, -mlupta), and they are
1 Quoted erroneously by Sayawa as Nakshatrakalpa.
Vii, 35- Commentary. 545
regarded as being guilty of one of the ' deadly ' sins. See the writer in the Proceedings of the American Oriental Society, 1894 (Journal, vol. xvi, p. cxix), and cf. Maitr. S. IV, 1, 9; Tait. Br. Ill, 2, 8, 11 ; Ait. Br. I, 3, 14; Gobh. Grih. Ill, 3, 34; Apast. Dh. II, 5, 12. 13. 14, and else- where.
VII, 35. Commentary to page 98.
At Kau^. 36, 33-34 there is a composite charm for pre- venting a woman from begetting a son, or from begetting offspring at all. If it is intended that a certain woman shall not beget a male son the hymn VII, 34 is recited1 ; if she shall not beget a child at all the hymn VII, 35 is recited : in either case the urine of a she-mule is rubbed with two stone disks, and put into the food or the cos- metics of the woman. And the person practising the charm looks at the parting in the hair of the woman. The charm is full of symbolism. The she-mule is sterile : * She-mules do not propagate ' (Tait. S.VII, 1,1,3; Ait. Br. IV, 9, 1 ; cf. Adbhuta-brahma^a 7). The rubbing between two stones is symbolic castration. The eyes are fixed with evil intent upon the woman's parting in the hair (simanta) : this seems to be the obverse of the simantonnayana, the well-known ceremony during a woman's pregnancy, in- tended to ensure successful issue. Cf. also Ath. Pari.?. 7.
The hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rig-
veda, III, 477 ; and by Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva-
veda, pp. 13, 67.
The stanza seems hardly in touch with the remaining
two, or with the construction imparted to the whole by
the Sutra. Ludwig omits it in his rendering of the hymn.
Its sense, taken by itself, is that of a battle-song. Pada b
is identical with VII, 34, 1 b.
1 4 O Agni, drive away the rivals of mine that are already born ; drive away, O G'atavedas, those that are not yet born. Place under my feet those that fight against me. May we, exempt from guilt, live in thy freedom ! '
[42] n n
546 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
The rendering of the words hira/z and dhamani/i is necessarily vague: see the note on I, 17, 3, and cf. VI, 90, 2. Ludwig, 'darme/ and 'adern.' Sayaz/a, very pre- cisely, ' small veins/ and ' thick arteries/ That may be the correct philological interpretation of the words, but in that case the stanza must have been originally constructed as a charm to stop flow of blood from the body.
VII, 36-37. Commentary to page 96.
Both stanzas are recited at the ' rites of the fourth day ' (/£aturthikarma), the performances immediately preceding the consummation of marriage. At ~Kaus. 79, 3 bride and bridegroom anoint one another while reciting VII, 36; at 79, 7 the bride1 envelops the bridegroom in her robe while reciting VII, 37.
Previous renditions by Weber, Indische Studien, V, 248 ;
Grill, pp. 55, 179 ; Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva-veda,
PP- I3> 67. The Anukrama/zi (VII, $6), mantroktakshi-
devatyam ; (VII, 37), lihgoktadevatyam.
a, b. The sense is: ' May our eyes with their brightness, our faces with their freshness, inspire us with love for one another ! '
For manu^ata, cf. XIV, 2, 41. The second hemistich is nearly identical with VII, 38, 4 c5 d.
VII, 38. Commentary to page 103.
For the practices associated with this hymn, see the
introduction to VI, 139. The charm is there undertaken
by a woman, here by a man. It has been translated by
1 Not so the Paddhatis, vastre^ax^adayati tau, i. e. the priest envelops the two. But this is contrary to the context of the stanza.
Vii, 45- Commentary. 547
Weber, Indische Studien, V, 249 ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda,
III, 515; Grill2, pp. 59, 179; Henry, Le livre VII de
l'Atharva-veda, pp. 14, 68. The Anukrama;n, vanas-
patyam.
b. For mawpa^yam, cf. IV, 20, 1, and note. The abso- lutely literal translation of the word is ' the plant that sees me1/ but the formation is so artificial that it may also mean ' the he-sees-me-plant,' i. e., in effect, the plant that draws his attention towards me. The epithet abhirorudam suggests that the plant may in reality be so strongly scented as to draw tears.
For legends of Indra's seduction by a female demon, see
Sahkh. Br. XXIII, 4; Ktth. S. XIII, 5 (Indische Studien,
III, 479 ; V, 249, 453) J cf. the note on I, 24, 1.
The sense is : In this affair of our love my voice shall rule; thine shall rule in the assembly, where it is fitting that a man's voice shall be listened to. Padas c, d are nearly identical with VII, 37 c, d. Cf. Maitr. S IV, 7, 4 (p. 97, 1. 15).
VII, 45. Commentary to page 107.
For the practices connected with this hymn, see the introduction to VI, 18. It has been translated previously by Weber, Indische Studien, V, 250; Ludwig, Der Rig- veda, III, 514; Grill2, pp. 29, 180; Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva-veda, pp. J 6, 72 ff. The Anukrama/zi, irshya- panayanam.