Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. 155
XI, 2. Prayer to Bhava and Sarva for protection from dangers.
1. O Bhava and Sarva, be merciful, do not attack
(us); ye lords of beings, lords of cattle, reverence be
to youtwain! 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. lo 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,
156 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.
11. 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), carriest 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) !
13. [he 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. Keverence 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 Sarva, both.
17. Let us not with our tongue offend Rudra, who
Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. Ts 7
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 Kesin: 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, ragasas, ac
which thou shootest—there exists for thee, O Bhava,
no distance, and no barrier. Ata 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!
158 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
27, Bhava rules the sky, Bhava rules the earth ;
Bhava has filled the broad atmosphere. Reverence
be to him in whatever direction from here (he
abides) !
28. O king Bhava, be merciful to thy worshipper,
for thou art the lord of living beasts! He who
believes the gods exist, to his quadruped and biped
be merciful !
29. Slay neither our great nor our small; neither
those of us that are riding, nor those that shall ride;
neither our father, nor our mother. Cause no injury,
O Rudra, to our own persons!
30. To Rudra’s howling dogs, who swallow their
food without blessing, who have wide jaws, I have
made this obeisance.
31. Reverence, O god, be to thy shouting hosts,
reverence to thy long-haired, reverence to thy
reverenced, reverence to thy devouring hosts! May
well-being and security be to us!
IV, 28. Prayer to Bhava and Sarva for protection from calamities.
1. O Bhava and Sarva, I am devoted to you.
Take note of that, ye under whose control is all this
which shines (the visible universe)! Ye who rule
all these two-footed and four-footed creatures, deliver
us from calamity!
2. Ye to whom belongs all that is near by, yea,
all that is far; ye who are known as the most skil-
ful archers among bowmen; ye who rule all these
two-footed and four-footed creatures, deliver us from
calamity |!
3. The thousand-eyed slayers of Vrztra both do
Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. 159
I invoke. I go praising the two strong gods (ugrau)
whose pastures extend far. Ye who rule all these
two-footed and four-footed creatures, deliver us from
calamity!
4. Ye who, united, did undertake many (deeds) of
old, and, moreover, did visit portents upon the
people; ye who rule all these two-footed and four-
footed creatures, deliver us from calamity!
5. Ye from whose blows no one either among
gods or men escapes; ye who rule all these two-
footed and four-footed creatures, deliver us from
calamity!
6. The sorcerer who prepares a spell, or manipu-
lates the roots (of plants) against us, against him,
ye strong gods, launch your thunderbolt! Ye who
rule all these two-footed and four-footed creatures,
deliver us from calamity.
7. Ye strong gods, favour us in battles, bring into
contact with your thunderbolt the Kimidin! I praise
you, O Bhava and Sarva, call fervently upon you in
distress: deliver us from calamity !
VII, 9. Charm for finding lost property.
1. On the distant path of the paths Pishan was
born, on the distant path of heaven, on the distant
path of the earth. Upon the two most lovely places
both he walks hither and away, knowing (the way).
2. Pfishan knows these regions all; he shall lead
us by the most dangerless (way). Bestowing well-
being, of radiant glow, keeping our heroes undi-
minished, he shall, alert and skilful, go before us!
3. O Piishan, under thy law may we never suffer harm: as praisers of thee are we here!
4. Pashan shall from the east place his right hand
160 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
about us, shall bring again to us what has been lost: we shall come upon what has been lost!
VI, 128. Propitiation of the weather-prophet.
1. When the stars made Sakadhfiima their king
they bestowed good weather upon him: ‘ This shall
be his dominion,’ they said.
2. Let us have good weather at noon, good
weather at eve, good weather in the early morning,
good weather in the night!
3. For day and night, for the stars, for sun and
moon, and for us prepare good weather, O king
Sakadhima! |
4. To thee, O Sakadhima, ruler of the stars, that
gavest us good weather in the evening, in the night,
and by day, let there ever be obeisance !
XI, 6. Prayer for deliverance from calamity, addressed to the entire pantheon.
1. To Agni we speak and to the trees, to the
plants and to the herbs; to Indra, Brzhaspati, and
Stirya: they shall deliver us from calamity !
2. We speak to king Varuza, to Mitra, Vishzu
and Bhaga. To Amsa and Vivasvant do we speak:
they shall deliver us from calamity !
3. We speak to Savitar, the god, to Dhatar, and to
Pashan ; to first-born Tvash¢ar do we speak: they
shall deliver us from calamity!
4. We speak to the Gandharvas and the Apsaras,
to the Asvins and to Brahmazaspati, to the god
whose name is Aryaman: they shall deliver us from
calamity !
5. Now do we speak to day and night, to Sdrya
Vii. Charms to Secure Prosperity. 161
(sun) and to Kandramas (moon), the twain; to all
the Adityas we speak: they shall deliver us from
calamity !
6. We speak to Vata (wind) and Parganya, to the
atmosphere and the directions of space. And to all
the regions do we speak: they shall deliver us from
calamity!
7. Day and night, and Ushas (dawn), too, shall
deliver thee from curses! Soma the god, whom they
call Aandramas (moon), shall deliver me!
8. To the animals of the earth and those of heaven,
to the wild beasts of the forest, to the winged birds,
do we speak: they shall deliver us from calamity!
9. Now do we speak to Bhava and Sarva, to Rudra
and Pasupati; their arrows do we know well: these
(arrows) shall be ever propitious to us!
10. We speak to the heavens, and the stars, to
earth, the Yakshas, and the mountains; to the seas,
the rivers, and the lakes: they shall deliver us from
calamity !
11. To the seven /zshis now do we speak, to the
divine waters and Pragapati. To the Fathers with
Yama at their head: they shall deliver us from
calamity !
12. The gods that dwell in heaven, and those that
dwell in the atmosphere; the mighty (gods) that
are fixed upon the earth, they shall deliver us from
calamity !
13. The Adityas, Rudras, Vasus, the divine Athar-
vans in heaven, and the wise Angiras: they shall
deliver us from calamity !
14. We speak to the sacrifice and the sacrificer, to
the vzks, the sdmans, and the healing (Atharvan)
charms; we speak to the yagus-formulas and the
162 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
invocations (to the gods): they shall deliver us from calamity !
15. We speak to the five kingdoms of the plants
with soma the most excellent among them. The
darbha-grass, hemp, and mighty barley: they shall
deliver us from calamity!
16. We speak to the Arayas (demons of grudge),
Rakshas, serpents, pious men, and Fathers; to the
one and a hundred deaths: they shall deliver us
from calamity!
17. To the seasons we speak, to the lords of the
seasons, and to the sections of the year; to the half-
years, years, and months: they shall deliver us from
calamity !
18. Come, ye gods, from the south and the west ;
ye gods in the east come forth! From the east, from
the north the mighty gods, all the gods assembled:
they shall deliver us from calamity !
19, 20. We speak here to all the gods that hold to
their agreements, promote the order (of the universe),
together with all their wives: they shall deliver us
from calamity !
21. We speak to being, to the lord of being, and
also to him that controls the beings; to the beings
all assembled: they shall deliver us from calamity !
22. The five divine regions, the twelve divine
seasons, the teeth of the year, they shall ever be
propitious to us!
23. Ihe amrzta (ambrosia), bought for the price of
a chariot, which Matali knows as a remedy, that Indra
stored away in the waters: that, O ye waters, furnish
ye as a remedy!
Waits CHARMS IN EXPIATION OF SIN AND DEFILEMENT.
VI, 45. Prayer against mental delinquency.
1. Pass far away, O sin of the mind! Why dost
thou utter things not to be uttered? Pass away,
I love thee not! To the trees, the forests go on! —
With the house, the cattle, is my mind.
2. What wrongs we have committed through
imprecation, calumny, and false speech, either awake,
or asleep—Agni shall put far away from us all
offensive evil deeds!
3. What, O Indra Brahmazaspati, we do falsely—-
may Pragetas (‘care-taker’) Angirasa protect us
from misfortune, and from evil!