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

As the verse stands the first half is hopeless prose, and yet the second half is a good ^agati-pada. Henry, 1. c, p. J 25, makes the exceedingly ingenious and plausible suggestion that the first half consisted originally also of two £*agati-padas, and stood,

namo ruraya ^yavanaya dhrzsh;zave, namo ruraya ^odanaya dhr/sh^ave.

a. For ruraya, see the note to V, 22, 10 a, and cf. I, 25, 4 ;
for ^odanaya, Shankar Pandit with Saya/za and some MSS.
reads nodanaya.

b. purvakamakr/tvane is obscure. The Pet. Lexs. trans-
late it, ' alte wlinsche erfiillend ; ' Grohmann and Zimmer,
' nach altem triebe thatig.' Grohmann supposes that the

1 For haplology in Vedic Sanskrit, see the author in the
Proceedings of the American Oriental Society for 1893 (Journal,
vol. xvi, p. xxxiv).

Viii, I. Commentary. 569

word refers to the periodicity of the attacks of fever. Henry- thinks that the word is to be divided as a compound into purva-kamakr/tvan rather than purvakama-krztvan, and accordingly translates, ' qui, des temps immemorial, agit a sa guise.' Saya//a, piirvesham abhilasha/za//z kartitre Mettre, as if -krztvane were derived from root krzt, ' cut/ The com- bination kama/// kar occurs E.V. X, 61, 6, kamaw krzV/vane pitari yuvatyam, 'when the father was satisfying his desire on the young daughter' (cf. stanza 7), and this, when strictly applied to the compound, might yield the result ' having formerly satisfied his (sexual) love/ i. e. ' the takman due to (excessive) sexual intercourse., According to Sumita sexual love (kama) is one of the causes of fever (cf. Groh- mann, p. 386, note). But we must not omit the comparison of the (itself doubtful) word purvakrz'tvari, XII, 1, 14 c, which seems to mean ' anticipating (wishes) by deeds/ The present epithet may aim to conciliate the takman by extravagant praise of this sort. I have, however, adopted the rather non-committal rendering, ' he who in the past fulfilled desires.' This may refer to excesses, or to willingness.

For anyedyii^ and ubhayadyM, see the notes on I, 25, 4 a ; for avrata//, the note on VI, 20, 1 c.

VIII, 1. Commentary to page 53.

This is an almost impassioned prayer for long life : the heavenly powers, the vital principles, and the human being for whom the prayer is made are implored alike to co- operate in bringing about the result. In the ritual the hymn figures therefore as an ayushyam (sc. suktam), ' a hymn that bestows long life ; ' accordingly it holds mem- bership in the ayushyaga;/a of the Ga/zamala, Ath. Pari^. 32, 4 (Kaus\ 54, ii, note ; cf. also 139, 7). At Kau^. 55, 17 it is employed in the course of the investiture of the young Brahman with the holy cord ; at Kans. 58, 3. 11 in certain special ceremonies (brahma/zoktam, and rz*shihasta/£, Su. 4)

570 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-YEDA.

calculated to ensure longevity. Cf. also 5antikalpa 23 *; Ath. Pari*. 37, 2.

The hymn has been rendered by Muir, Original Sanskrit
Texts, V, 443 ff. ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 495 ff. ; Henry,
Les Jivres VIII et IX de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 1, 35 ff.

The obeisance to death is in the nature of indemnification for the loss of his victim. For Pada b, cf. AV. VII, 53, 2-6 ; for Pada d, RV. X, 66, 2.

The expression somo a;;wuman has a double meaning
that cannot be reproduced in translation. Soma (the moon)
with his rays, or soma (the plant) with its shoots. The
former meaning is likely to have been uppermost in the
mind of the writer who is here dealing with personified
gods. Cf. Hillebrandt, Soma, p. 300, note 3.

M. Henry points out very properly that Padas a and c allude to the sun : as the sun ascends, so shall the young Brahman ascend to life, and mount the very chariot of the sun, in order to reach the zenith of his life. Saya/*a suggests the senses and the body. In Pada d Saya/za has a^irvi/z for ^-frviA in Shankar Pandit's MSS. (the same MSS. at XIV, 1,21 also read ^frvir for ^-fvrir). The sense with this reading is quite as good as that in the text : ' then without decaying thou shalt hold converse, &c.' The passage is formulaic; cf. AV. XIV, 1, 21 ; RV. X, 85, 27. For vidatham, cf. the note on V, 20, 12.

The word ehi at the end of Pada c is metrically super-
fluous. Saya/za seems to follow a redaction which does
not exhibit it, since he neglects to comment upon it.

1 Cited erroneously, as usual, by Sayarca as Nakshatrakalpa.

Viii, I. Commentary. 57 1

a. Saya/za does not comment upon preshitau, but supplies (iti sesha/i) the verb badhatam. The word is at any rate suspicious, being readily derivable from the language that belongs to the myth of the two dogs (cf. RV. X, 14, 11 b, 1 2 b). Henry, after stating the difficulty very clearly, changes it to pishatam, fairly similar in sound, but quotable only at AV. IV, 6, 7, and not very suitable in meaning. We have retained preshitau, and have supplied * go after ' (anu £ar, RV. X, 14, 12 b) from sheer conservatism1, recognising, however, quite clearly that the original text is disfigured by reminiscences from the RV., and that some other word is very likely to have been thrown out by the glossarial preshitau.

Cf. the abhayaga/za of the Ga/zamala, Ath. Pari.?. 32, 12, excerpted in Kaui*. 16, 8, note.

Frequently rubricated in the Ath. Parmsh/as : 13, 1 ;
i,5; 17,1; 1 8 2, 1. 13. The fires in the waters are the
lightning in the clouds; cf. RV. VIII, 43, 9, and the parallel
versions.

The adjectives and participles are momentarily per-
sonified in the manner of Roman divinities like Fabulinus,
Edusa, Potina, and the like. Bodha and Pratibodha, Asva-
pna and G&grivi are said to be i^zshis at AV. V, 30, 10,
and Saya/za here speaks of all six personifications as
Rishis.

Stanza 15^

Bohtlingk's lexicon, Whitney in the Index Verborum, and Saya;/a (glossing the word by sa;//modaya) propose sa;;/- mude for samiide. As natural as this correction seems, it is nevertheless not unavoidable : samud in the sense of

1 The Paippalada has the same word, preshitau.

572 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.

' conversation ' makes excellent sense in the light of st. 6d and VIII, 2, 3 d. The word in either form is air. Aey.

a. Saya;/a renders ^ambha/k sa/zzhanur by ' the Asura Cambria with shut teeth1,' and it may be that nothing more specific than some such folk-lore notion is contained in the word. See, however, our full discussion of the word at AV. II, 4, 1. Ludwig, ' der zahn mit den kiefern.'

b. The rendering of the expression ma^ihva (PadapaMa, ^ihva a) barhi/2 is mere guess-work. It would seem as though the words at any rate depicted some evil influence, parallel with ^-ambha and tamas in Pada a. Saya/za, barhir iva ayamavistaropetcl uhyamana ^*ihva raksha^prabhr/te/z sa;/z- bandhini, ' the tongue of the Rakshas, or the like, spread wide as the sacrificial straw/ Ludwig suggests, ^ihva abarhi>£, ' nicht (soil) die zunge an sich reissen.' Henry, ' the tongue (of the fire) shall not gain hold of the barhis (but only of the libation) ' — an unexpected ritual statement, unlikely in this connection, aside from the difficulty of sup- plying a fitting verb with the preposition a. The verb that is required is vidat (Pada a). Our rendering is based upon a compound ^ihva-abarhi/z : see the root J. barh with a. Non liquet.

For Pada b, cf. VIII, 2, 4 ; for c, d, Contributions, Second Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 336 ff.

The stanza recurs with variants at RV. X, 161, 5, and AV. XX, 96, 10.

Saya/^a glosses vy avat with vyaukMzt, thus obviously
deriving the word from the root vas, ' shine.' An extra-
ordinary instance of grammatical insight in the midst of

1 He offers also alternately, sa;^hatahanur ^ambha/^ asthuladanto ma vindatu . . . bhaksayitum.

Viii, 2. Commentary. 573

numberless inaptitudes. Whitney, in the Index Verborum, doubtfully suggests the same correct derivation.

VIII, 2. Commentary to page 55.

This hymn, like the preceding, is a prolonged prayer designed to ensure long life (ayushyam), and, accordingly, it is employed in the ritual on all occasions that demand the use of VIII, 1. But the last stanza (28) adds a special feature to the present hymn which it does not share with the preceding. From this it appears that the life-bestowing element which the poet has in mind is (an amulet of) the putudru-tree 1, and, accordingly, the hymn is employed independently, at Kauj*. 58, 14 ff., in the ceremony of giving a name to a child (namakara^a) : (the child is placed upon the lap of the mother) and an uninterrupted stream of water (avi/^innam ; cf. aMidyamanam in st. 1 b) is turned upon it. Then an amulet derived from the putudru-tree is fastened upon it, and it is given drink. Individual stanzas of the hymn are employed in other ceremonies connected with the sacramental moments (sa7//skara) in the child's life: they will be noted below. Cf. also 5antikalpa 17.

The hymn has been translated by Muir, Original Sanskrit

Texts, V, 447 ff. ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 496 ff. ; Henry,

Les livres VIII et IX de l'Atharva-veda, pp. 4, 39 ff.

a. Shankar Pandit's MSS., and Sayaz/a, read .mush/im for jrush/im of the vulgate (cf. the note on III, 30, 7). Saya/^a glosses, .mush/im prasnutim . . . upakramasva . . . yadva kumarasya haste aviMinnam udakadhara;^ ninayed (cf. Kauj., above) . . . tasya .mush/im. All this can only mean, insipidly, 'take hold of this heap of immortality

1 The Atharvanists gloss the word with devadaru (pinus deodora) ; so also the gloss at Apast. Sr. VII, 5, 6. The Atharvawiya- paddhati at Kau.r. 58, 15, jala (vatica robusta). Cf. also putadru and pitudaru in the lexicons.

574 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.

(amrz'ta) ;' but our own rendering (cf. VIII, i, 7. 8) is pro- blematic. The Pet. Lex. (s.v. jriishri), 'fasse vertrauen zum nichtsterben ;' Muir, 'this boon of immortality;' Ludwig and Henry, 'this composition about immortality.' None of these renderings do justice to the meaning of .mish/i.

For the character of the epithets in this stanza, see the notes on VIII, 7, 6 ; XIX, 39, 2.

The second hemistich occurs in a different connection at
Kaui". 97, 6, in a practice destined to restore peace in a
quarrelling family. For Pada d, cf. RV. X, 18, 4.

b. For ga.ram mrityum I read ^aramrztyum ; cf. II, 13, 2 ; 28, 2. 4.

This and the following stanza are again employed in
a general way in course of the practices at Kaui\ 97, 3 ; cf.
the note on st. 9. See also Santikalpa 15.

Employed variously in the practices connected with childhood and youth : at the nirzzaya/za, the ceremony of taking the child out of the house for the first time, Kaus. 58, 18 ; at the £udakara;z.a, 'the making of the crest,' Kaiu\ 54, 17 ; cf. also the Paddhatis in the note on Kerns. 58, 17. For abhuriyau, cf. Bergaigne, Etudes sur le lexique du Rig-veda, p. 108 ff. ; Pischel, Vedische Studien, I, 53 ff. Sayazza reads adhuriyau (praptamke .sriprade stam).

Cf. Kauj. 58, 17 ; Vait. Su. 10, 6 ; Ath. Park. 33, 4.

See Kam\ 53, 19 (godana) ; 55, 3 (upanayana) ; and also the Paddhatis at Kau.s\ 58, 17. Cf. AV. VI, 68.

Viii, 5- Commentary. 575

Employed at the annapnu-ana, the ceremony at which the child is given solid food for the first time, Kaus. 58, 19; cf. also 58, 17, note. For balasa, see the note on V, 22, 11.

See Kaiu. 58, 20, and cf. 58, 17, note. Also Ath. ParLr. 4, 4. For ima;/z me, cf. AV. I, 10, 3d; VIII, 2, 20 d.

See Kaus. 58, 21, and cf. 58, 19, note.

VIII, 5. Commentary to page 79.

The hymn is addressed to an amulet made of the srak- tya-tree, defined by the commentators with great unanimity as the tilaka-tree (clerodendrum phlomoides). A briefer hymn, II, 11, is addressed to the same amulet. The appli- cation of both in the ritual is of the general sort, and does not cast light upon the special properties of the tree, that fitted it for such use. Some etymological allusion, or other, is likely to have been considered in its application, perhaps a punning derivation, more or less vague, from srakti, ' corner,' i. e. c bristling.' Cf. for the sraktya-amulet in general, Seven Hymns of the Atharva-veda, Amer. Journ. Phil. VII, p. 477 ff-