General Index to the 49 Volumes of the Sacred Books of the East (SBE Vol. 50; comp. M. Winternitz, 1910)

There is no allusion in the ritual to any precious sub- stances gotten from a distance. The description here

1 In this spirit Sayawa, mam eva nari/^ pa^yat mamai*va*nuku- lam. But he offers also our rendering as an alternative, mam eva patye pradawayat.

n n 2

548 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.

given would suit either saindhavam, ' salt/ or guggulu, ' bdellium ' (cf. XIX, 38, 2). Perhaps, however, it simply tries to magnify the cost and potency of some ordinary substance (Katu. 36, 25) by deriving it fictitiously from an unknown country far away.

Stanza 2,

Note the subtle symbolism of Kaus. 36, 27 : the jealous man drinks water which has actually cooled the heated axe.

VII, 50. Commentary to page 150.

For the practices associated with this hymn, see the introduction to the first part of IV, 38. Stanzas t, 2, 5, 8, 9 seem to have been composed directly with reference to the situation1: st 3 (==RV. V, 60, 1) ; st. 4 ( = RV. I, 102, 4) ; and stanzas 6. 7 ( = RV. X, 42, 9. 10) are adapted secondarily to the purpose in hand ; see the notes below. Previous renderings by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 455; Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 285; Grill2, pp. 71, 180; Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 18, 75 ff. Cf. also Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, V, 430. The Anukra- ma/zi, aindram, composed by kitavabandhanakamo*ngira/z

(cf. st. 1).

d, badhyasam is ambiguous. Saya^a reads vadhyasam
(hanishyami) ; the Anukrama^i, above, has in mind the
root bandh, ' bind.' Of Western translators, Grill, 'fahn'
(fangen) ; the rest, ' slay.'

Adapted from a hymn to the Maruts, RV. V, 60, 1 ;
Maitr. S. IV, 14, 11 ; Tait. Br. II, 7, 12. 4. Pada b con-
tains the words vi £ayat kritam na/z, derived from the
sphere of the gamester's speech. Note the word kriti.ni
in the preceding stanza.

1 In the case of the second stanza this is not altogether certain : it savours of the Maruts. One may imagine Indra as the speaker.

Vii, 50- Commentary. 549

Adapted from an Indra-hymn ; cf. RV. I, 102, 4. The
words vayam ^ayema . . . bhare-bhare render the stanza
usable on the present occasion.

The words saz/zlikhitam and saz/zrudham are hopelessly obscure. I have rendered sa//zlikhitam as though it meant ' scratched clean/ ' cleaned out/ The rendering of sa?#- rtidham is purely etymological. Saya/za, loke hi kitava/i asmin pade pratikitavam aksha^alakadibhi^ sa/^rotsyami*ti ankan kurvanti tatrai * va ka sa//zrundhanti. tadrzsak prati- kitavo*tra sa//zbodhyate, he kitava samlikhltam padeshu samyag ankan likhitavantam api tvam a^-aisham . . . saw- roddharam api tvam a^aisha/zz ^ayami. yadva sa;^likhi- ta;// samyag likhita/^ kihrntam padam abhilakshya tvaw ^ayami, uta api ka sa/;zrudrram . . . tadrtsam sthanam abhi- lakshya tvam ^-ayami. The Pet. Lexs. regard both words as obscure termini of the game. Ludwig, ' ich hab dir abgewonnen das zusammengekratzte, ich hab dir abge- wonnen das zusammengescharrte., Grill, ' was du ein- streichst,' and, c was du zuriickbehiertst.' Henry, ' (je t'ai) gratte de fond en comble (?), et j'ai gagne l'enjeu total (?).'

Adapted from an Indra-hymn, RV. X, 42, 9 = AV. XX, 89, 9 (cf. also RV. X, 43, 5), where the gamester and the game appear by way of comparison. In Pada c, devakamo is felt in our version to have the double sense 'loving play/ and ' loving the gods.5 It may be questioned whether the same intention is present in the RV.

Adapted from RV. X, 42, io, &c. = AV. XX, 17, 10, &c.
Its juxtaposition in the RV. with the preceding stanza,
and the occurrence of ^ayema, have brought it into the
Atharvan compilation.

550 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.

VII, 52. Commentary to page 136.

This hymn is catalogued in the ga;za or series called sa;//manasyani in Kaiu. 1 2, 5, and is accompanied by the practices described at AV. Ill, 30. It is rubricated further at Kaus1. 9, 2, in the series designated by the Ga^amala, Ath. Parii*. 32, 26, as the great jantiga/za. The first stanza of the hymn is found, with variants, Maitr. S. II, 2, 6 ; Tait. Br. II, 4, 4, 6. The hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 428 (cf. also p. 344) ; Grill2, pp. 31, 181 ff. ; Henry, Le livre VII de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 19, 79. The Anukrama/zi designates it as sa/zzmanasyam a^vinam.

The first stanza is described by the Anukrama/zi as kakummaty anush/ubh, but the irregularity vanishes, if we read suebhia^ . . . ara/zebhia^. The Tait. Br. — but not the Maitr. S. — substitutes the classical forms svai'^ and ara/zai/z, thus disguising the metre still further.

a. Cf. the parallel P&da, RV. X, 30, 6 c.

b. The text as it stands1 yields the following transla- tion : ' may we not struggle with one another in fateful spirit/ But a suggestion of Grill seemed to me too fasci- nating to resist, he emends manasa daivyena to manasa- daivyena^ manasa adaivyena, and our translation presup- poses this text. At RV. II, 23, 12 we have, adevena manasa yo risha/zyati . . . ^-fgha/zzsati, ' he who attacks in a spirit displeasing to the gods . . . (and) desires to murder/ Prof. Henry's rendering, 'ne point lutter contre l'esprit divin,' though possible grammatically, imposes upon manas

1 Shankar Pandit, with Saya^a and many MSS., reads yushmahi for yutsmahi. Saya^a, ma viyukta bhuma. Another variant yukh- mahi is nothing but a misspelling of yutsmahi ; cf. Kaujika, Intro- duction, p. lxi, and variant forms like kaputsala and kapu^ala (Bohtlingk's Lexicon).

Vii, 53- Commentary. 55 1

the meaning of ' law, decree/ and the like, and has an un-Vedic flavour according to my judgment.

c, d. Literally, * may the noises not arise when there is frequent (continuous) slaughter1,' &c.

It is not at all clear what the day of Indra has to do with the cessation of carnage. Is it that Indra by fighting his battle removes all need of fighting enemies ? Or, is the day of Indra simply the battle-day? The latter seems more natural. The word ahani seems to harbour one of the inevitable puns, suggesting ' non-slaying,' i. e. perhaps 'the end of any need of fighting on the part of men.' See also Prof. Henry's careful discussion of the passage.

VII, S3- Commentary to page 52.

The hymn belongs to the class of ayushyazzi, ' hymns designed to prolong life ; ' cf. the ayushyagazza, Ath. Pan\s\ 32, 4, at Kaui\ 54, 11, note, and the Anukramam, ayu- shyam uta barhaspatyam lrvanam. The ayushya-hymns are very uniform in character ; the present one exhibits especially noteworthy points of contact with VIII, 1. Kauj\ 55, 17 prescribes its employment, along with many more of a similar character, at the ceremony of investiture (upana- yana)2. The seventh stanza, familiar in the Sazzzhitas and the ritual, is employed at Kaus. 24, 32 on rising from sleep during the agrahayazzi, the spring-festival at the full-moon of the month agrahayazza, or marga^irsha. At Vait. Su. 24, 4 it is spoken in stepping out of the bath (symbolic application : as the sun rises from the celestial sea ; cf. XI, 5, 26). Cf. also Kaui*. 55, 15, note ; 58, 18, note, and Ath. ParLr. 43, 1.

The hymn has been translated by Muir, Original San-

1 Sayazza reads vinihrute, and glosses, kau/ilye nimitte ghosha/z vaimanasyanibandhana/z jabda/z . . . utthita ma bhuvan, yadva bahula.?abdena tamo vivakshyate . . . vireshe/za stainyadikau/ilya- nimitte bahule tamasi . . . ghosha/z ma bhuvan.

2 Cf. also *5antikalpa 17, 18, which is quoted by Sayazza erroneously as Nakshatrakalpa.

552 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.

skrit Texts, V, 443; Grill2, pp. 15, 183 ff. ; Henry, Le
livre VII de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 20, 80 ff. Cf. also Ludwig,
Der Rigveda, III, 341.

Repeated with variants at Y&g. S. XXVII, 9 ; Maitr. S. II, 12, 5; Tait S. IV, 1, 7, 4 ; Tait. Ar. X, 48 (Andhra- version). Br/haspati and Agni are here one and the same divinity; see VI, 140, 1, and Bergaigne, La Religion Vedique, I, 300 ; III, 84. 174. Agni figures prominently in the ayushya-hymns. See II, 28, 2 ; III, 11,4; 31, 1. 6; VIII, 1, 11.

Cf. VIII, 1, 1. 3. Pada b is a £*agati in the midst of
trishAibh Padas, as frequently elsewhere. Read taav. The
Anukramaz/i, bhung*.

a, b. The Paippalada reads, ma tva pra//o hasid yas tve
pravish/o ma*pano*vahaya para gat. For Pada b, cf.
Maitr. S. I, 6, 1 (p. 86, 1. 1) : Tait. S. V, 7, 9, 1. Pada a is
a trish/ubh ; b a catalectic anushAibh. The Anukrama/zi,
ush/zikgarbha*rshi pankti^. Problematic attempts at cor-
rection are made by Grill and Henry.

Cf. RV. I, 150, 10, &c. See the index to v. Schroeder's
edition of the Maitr. S., and the introduction to the present
hymn.

VII, 56. Commentary to page 29.

A series of shallow therapeutical practices are prescribed by Kaui*. 32, 5-7, to wit : 5. * While reciting the hymn (the patient is given to eat the sweetwood) mentioned in the mantra1. 6. Natural mud, and mud from an ant-hill are

1 Cf. st. 2. Thus Kcrava, ^yesh/^imadhu=yash/imadhu (cf. the introduction to I, 34, and Kau^. 38, 17). Darila, madhudvapa, * earth from a bee-hive ' (cf. Kaur. 29, 10 in the note on V, 13, 7).

Vii, 5^- Commentary. 553

pulverised, (sewed up in the skin of a living animal [freshly-
slain] and fastened as an amulet upon the patient)1.
7. He is given to drink (yellow curcuma in ghee) V

Stanza 5 is rubricated, along with sundry mantras against serpents and other disturbing forces, at Kau^. 139, 8, in the course of practices, preparatory to the study of the Vedas.

The hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda,
III, 502; Grill2, pp. 5, 183 ff.; Henry, Le livre VII de
TAtharva-veda, pp. 21, 82 ff. The Anukrama/n, man-
t rok tavrz jvHkad evatakam .

For tiraj^ira^i and asita, see the note on VI, 56, 2 ; for prz'daku3 (cf. irapbaXis, 7r6pba\i$, and irapbos), see Zimmer, p. 94. Grill's sturdy attempt to determine the specific character of the prz'daku yields no acceptable result. The meaning of kankaparvan, ' Scorpion ' (? Saya/za, damsaka.- vueshat), can merely be conjectured. Kcrava and the Anukrama/zi describe the entire charm as a cure for the bite of scorpions, vrz^ikabhaisha^yam. The Paippalada has angaparva/zo. See kankata, satinakahkata, and pra- kankata, RV. I, 191, 1. 7.

Cf. I, 34, 1 ; VIII, 7, 12 ; RV. I, 191, 10. 13. madhu//, air. Aey., is apparently made for the occasion (type vadhu), to ensure completer assonance with the preceding madhu ; the ordinary madhvi' would be less agreeable. But the Atharvan presents quite a list of such feminines ; see Lanman, Noun-Inflection, pp. 402, 406.

1 Cf. Kaiu. 26, 43, in the introduction to II, 8. Ants especially are a famous antidote against poison ; see the introduction to VI, 100, and cf. st. 7.

2 Thus according to Darila who refers to Kaus\ 28, 4 (see the introduction to IV, 6, also a charm against serpents).

3 Sayawa, pardayati kutsitazrc jabdayati.

554 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.

a. For yato dash/am, cf. the formulaic yato dash/a//, Kauy. 28, 7 ; 32, 5 (see the note on V, 13, 4). The expres- sion triprdidsLmsin suggests asutr/p, RV. X, 14, 12, &c. ; Ludwig, ' bitter-zanig.'

Ludwig suggests krinotl for knV/oshi, but this sort of anacoluthon is common in the Atharvan. The appeal to Brzhaspati is natural as soon as we substitute Brahma;zas- pati, and remember that brahma is the ordinary Athar- vanic word for ' hymn.' Or, again, Brzhaspati, as the companion and double of Indra and Agni, represents their constant hostility towards all vicious forces. Saya/m refers the stanza to the victim of the serpent : the contortions of his body and face are supposed to be described in the first hemistich, the cure in the second. Very plausible, but we are cautioned by such an expression as vritram viparvam, RV. I, 187, 1, which is favourable to the construction of viparur as an epithet of the serpent.

In the Paippalada these stanzas are wanting ; they have the character of a production somewhat independent of the preceding stanzas. To such a view also points the sepa- rate quotation of this stanza (and the rest?) in the late (pamish/a) chapter Kau^. 139 (see above, and cf. Kaurika, Introduction, p. xxv ff.).

a. The Pet. Lexs. and Zimmer, p. 95, deal with ^arko/a as a serpent, Grill and Henry as ' scorpion/ The former compares karka/a and karkafeka, ' crab/ but more signifi- cant seem to me to be karko/a and karko/aka, both of which are mentioned as names of serpents. There is, how- ever, in the mind of the Atharvan writer but little difference between both kinds of vermin (cf. AV. XII, 1,46 ; 4, 9. 15), and the description in the sequel favours the scorpion. Cf. for the interchange of s and k, Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXV,