title. Four of its stanzas (1, 3, 5,6) appear in a different arrangement, and in connection with other material, in RV. VII, 55, and, as usual, the Atharvan recension smacks of adaptation to a particular purpose’. The Rigveda form itself, however, is open to the same suspicion; both ver- sions may have draughted into service materials whose original connection in olden times (puraza) has passed out of sight. Professor Aufrecht, Ind. Stud. IV, 337 ff., presented as early as 1858 a peculiarly lucid interpretation of both hymns (cf. Zimmer, pp. 149, 308), and more recently Pro- fessor Pischel, Vedische Studien, II, 55 ff., has made a determined attempt—in our opinion unsuccessful—to vin- dicate the interpretation of the Rigveda version as under-_ taken by Shadgurusishya and the Brzhaddevata. Accord- ing to Pischel, Vasish¢/a entered the house of Varuva after he had fasted three days in order to steal food, and employed this charm to put all waking persons and dogs to sleep ?.
There is at any rate no question as to the purpose of the stanzas as arranged by the Atharvan diaskeuasts. Darila describes it as maithunakaravavighnanasakartar, ‘removing obstacles in the way of an assignation. The practices are stated at Kaus. 36, 1-4, as follows: 1. ‘While’ reciting IV, 5 a sleeping-charm is performed. 2. The house is sprinkled with water from a vessel which has been anointed with the dregs of ghee, and the rest is poured upon the inside of the door. 3. The same act is repeated naked. 4. Then a mortar ® is addressed (with the hymn); next, the northern corner (of the house), the southernmost foot of the
’ Note especially asyai in st. 6 of the AV. for sdrve in st. 5 of RV. ; also svaptu for sdstu (archaic) in the same stanzas.
* Pischel argues that Brahmans are known to have committed thefis in later times (Mrzkkhakasikaé 46, 10, &c.; see also Rig- vidhana I, 26, 2; Manu XI, 251). Qn the same principle it. might be argued that Vedic Rishis acted as clowns (viddshaka) and. even cooks, as in modern times. Cf. also Paw&. Br. XXI, 11, 2.
* Does the mortar symbolise the vulva, just:as the pestle the membrum virile, Kaus. 40, 16 (see IV, 4, introduction) ?
Iv, 6. Commentary. 73
woman’s bed, and the ropes (of the bed).’ The hymn is rubricated also in Ath. Paris. 8, 1, and it has been trans- lated by Aufrecht, 1. c.; Grill’, pp. 53, 119 ff. The Anu- kramazi, varshabham.
a. ‘ Having a thousand horns, of Agni, RV. V, 1, 8; Met, Fit, Fe eV ALM, 3. 12 (cf, RV. V,-2, 9). Sayaza, both here and at RV. VII, 55, 7, suggests Stirya, the sun; Aufrecht, |. c., p. 344, the moon, the father of sorcery; Grassmann, in his translation of the Rigveda, I, 343, the starry heaven. In RV. I, 154, 6 the stars are said to be bhuri-syvznga, ‘having many horns;’ this seems to fortify Grassmann’s view. Agni is also fitted for this: epithet, since his flames and sparks may be viewed as horns. But fire (light) little befits the occasion.
e. Sdyava, puvyagandhayaz sobhanagandhayuktadZ. Pischel, l. c., p. 57 ff., adduces proof that the Hindus of later times imagined that their women gave forth fragrance during intercourse ; hence, that the women here mentioned are awaiting their lovers. This narrow construction of the word is hardly necessary in the light of Manu V, 130; Markandeya Puraza XXXV, 12, quoted by Pischel himself.
d. Sdyaua, idam drisyamanam harmyam yatha darsa-
nasaktisinyam tatha, ‘as these premises, though seen, are
(themselves) devoid of the power of seeing.’
IV, 6. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 25,
According to the commentators, Darila, Kesava, and Sayama, the performances for removing poison at Kaus. 238, 1—4 include the recitation of this as well as the next hymn (IV, 7). Kausika, however, rubricates only IV, 6, as fol- lows: 1. ‘ While reciting IV, 6, in a low voice, and making
374 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
obeisance to Takshaka}, the patient is made to sip water and is sprinkled with water. 2. The same performance takes place with water into which has been put a branch of the kyzmuka-tree, which has been ground to pieces, and then the patient is sprinkled with water warmed by quench- ing in it a heated old garment*, or a heated old skin of an antelope, or a heated wisp of a broom*. 3. In a water- vessel which has been smeared with the dregs of ghee a mixed drink is stirred by means of two arrows (whose points) have been daubed (with poison ; cf. st. 7), and whose points are upward *; then lumps of earth® are broken into it (while the hymns are being recited) stanza by stanza, and the mixture is drunk until vomiting takes place. 4. Then the patient is given to drink yellow curcuma in ghee (cf. IV, 7, 2, and especially 3).’
The hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rig- veda, IIT, 512.
For the cosmogonic conception in the first hemistich, cf.
Muir, Orig. Sanskrit Texts, I*, p. 21. In the Ramayava
(cf. IV, 10, 22), the demon Ravava is represented as a
* Takshaka Vaisaleya, a serpent-god ; cf. Kaus. 29, 1; 32, 20; 56, 13, and Ind. Stud. I, 35.
> Darila, girmavasah; Kesava, dunnakaf, or dullakaZ. ‘The passages are not given in the edition.
* The Sitra abounds in subtle symbolic allusions. The kr?muka- tree embodies the bow (karmuka) ; cf. sts. 4,6. The garment, and the old antelope-skin refer to IV, 7,6. For gvala cf. Kaus. 27, 29, in the introduction to III, 7. Darila glosses avakara by ukura- fikatvimani; Kesava by ukaridika marganikatrzzam; Sdyaza has patitamarganikasakalaih ; cf. Kausika, Introduction, p. xlv, bottom.
* For drdhvaphalabhyam see Kausika, Introduction, p. lii, s.v. phala. ‘The poisoned arrows with their points upward symbolise the flight of the poison away from the patient ; cf. sts. 4, 5.
° Darila glosses rayidharazapivdan by bhimis tanmayan pizdan. But Kesava (and Sdyava with him, as usual) has madanaphalani,
‘fruit from the madana-plant. And Kesava remarks anent this plant, yatha £Aardayati.
Iv, 6. Commentary. 375
Brahmavza with ten heads. Sdyava identifies the Brahmava with Takshaka, in accordance with the Sfitra, above.
CR Vaz. S. XXXVI, “26; “and for the ‘seven ‘rivers,
Max Miiller, Chips from a German Workshop, I, 63;
Muir, l.c., p. 490, note; Zimmer, Altindisches Leben,
p. 21. ; Stanza 3.
The poison is evidently a plant (Sayama, kandavisha), since the eagle is constantly associated with the origin and functions of medicinal and magic plants; see I, 24,1; II, 27,2; IV, 20, 3; V, 14, 1, and especially our note on IV, 20, 3. For amimadaZ in Pada c, cf. madavati in IV, 7, 4a.
e. The rendering of apaskambha is mere conjecture. Neither the root skambh nor stambh occurs with the pre- position apa. The Pet. Lexs., and Zimmer, 1. c., p. 300, ‘the fastening of the point upon the shaft of the arrow ;’ Ludwig, ‘widerhaken.’ Sdyava has two explanations neither of which is satisfactory, apaskabhyate vidharyate antarikshe iti apaskambhaz kramukavrzkshah (cf. Kaus. 28, 2, above) tasya salyad sakalat ... yadva avaskabhyate dhanushi dharyate iti apaskambho bawak. Our own ‘tearing (arrow)’ is based upon the supposition that apa+skambh may mean ‘uproot, or the like, as opposite of skambh.
For the parts of the arrow as described here, sec
Zimmer, l.c., p. 300. Sdyana, pra#ganat pralepat.. .
apasht#at apakrish/avasthad etatsamgfad vishopadanat.
We have translated apash¢sak khringat, ‘from its barbed
horn, deriving apdsh¢/a from the root as in dsri, ‘ corner ;’
cf. ash¢A/ivantau, ‘ the knees.’
Sayaza ascends the dizziest height of absurdity in his rendering of kulmalat, to wit: kutsitapravzimalak fa yad
376 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
i ee ire SCL
udbhutasz visham, ‘the poison sprung from the filth of
loathsome animals.’
Sayaza agrees with all Western authorities in deriving
dpishan from the root pish, to wit : aushadham apimshan.
He glosses vishagiri by kandamtladivishotpattihetu’ par-
vatah.
IV, 7. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 26.
The practices, Kaus. 28, 1-4, obviously refer to this
hymn as well as IV, 6. See the introduction to the pre-
ceding hymn. Translations are offered by Ludwig, Der
Rigveda, III, 201 ; Grill’, pp. 28, 121 ff. The Anukramawi,
vanaspatyam.
All Western interpreters regard varavavati as a river ; cf., in addition to the authorities given above, Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 20. Sayava, varava nama vrzksha- viseshak te asy4m santisti varavavati; cf. varava (crataeva roxburghii), AV. VI, 85,1; X, 3, 2 ff., where the same puns upon derivatives of the root var are displayed. The formation of the word varazavati might be compared with sitikavati and hladikavati in RV. X, 16, 14=AV. XVIII, 3, 60; see our Contributions, Second Serics, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, p. 341 ff. Cf. also madavati in st. 4 (cf. IV, 6, 3c), as a designation of the poisonous plant. varazavati would then be the name of the curative plant. the antidote, ‘affording protection.’ But the ceremonies in the Satra (28, 1) begin with the use of water, and the
appearance of var in Pada a also points to the name of a river.
di Ci. RY as 7 rer Apast. Src pa, Rear this and the next stanza the ritual, above, Kaus. 28, 4.
a. In deciding upon the meaning of tiryam we have had in mind the evident concatenation of st. 2 with 3 a,b. The
IV, 7. COMMENTARY. et yd
thought is continued, and, as is customary in catenary con- structions, a new motif is added, tiryas (sc. visham) in addition to the prafyam, &c. of stanza 2. Since prakyam, &c. indicate directions, we have regarded tiryam in the same light, i.e. as a variant of tirya#k ; cf. X, 2, 11. 24. 25. 28; 8,19; XI, 4, 25; XV, 3, 6. Sayavza also attributes tiryam to vishdm, but in the sense of ‘secret, hidden,’ tiro- bhavam prakdannatvena prayuktam. This rendering is certainly possible. The Western translators all err because they attribute the word to karambham: Pet. Lexs. and Zimmer=tilya, ‘made from sesame;’ Ludwig, ‘ einen breiten kuchen ;’ Grill emends to atiriya (=ati + riya), ‘overflowing.’ |
b. The vulgate reads pibasphakam (Padapazha in Whit- ney’s Index, pibak+phakdm). Shankar Pandit’s MSS. read pibaspakam (Padap. pibak+pakam); Sayaza, piva- spakam, ‘a rich mess.’ For udarathim, see RV. I, 187, 10. The Pet. Lexs., and Grill, ‘dampfend ;’ Ludwig, ‘ hoch- aufgegangen ;’ Sayama, ‘ prosperous’ (udriktartiganakam). Our own translation, ‘cheering, is equally conjectural.
Far from clear (cf. VI, 44, 1). Ludwig, ‘ wie einen wall (eine aufschiittung) um das dorf richten wir auf;’ Grill, upon the basis of the Pet. Lex., ‘als wie mit einer heeres- schaar umstellen wir dich mit dem wort.’ Sayama, ‘the poison which is heaped up like a throng of people’ (gana- samtham iva upakitasz visham). He adds that the com- parison with the throng suggests the power of the poison (gramadrzsh/antena vishasya prabalyam uktam), and thus nearly meets our own rendering, which, to be sure, suggests the frequency of the poison, rather than its strength.
a, b. The Siitra (28, 2) ought to be helpful here. Three articles are mentioned there, dirsa, agina, and avakara, two of which are given here in the same terms. It would seem to follow that the third, avakara, is identical with pavasta,
378 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
and accordingly Sayava says outright, pavastaiz pavanaya astaik sammarganitrizaihx. All this may be correct: the implication appears to be that the poisonous plant, itself worthless, is bartered for worthless things, stray wisps of broom-straw, old garments, and worn-out skin. But the word garat, ‘old, is not mentioned in the hymn, and the symbolism of the Siitra is obscure; we cannot therefore regard all this as in any way secure. Moreover the diffi- cult task of making this interpretation fit the only other occurrence of pavasta (dual, pavdste), RV. X, 27, 7, remains. Sayavza quotes the passage and glosses the dual by dyava- pvithivi, here as well as in the RV.
Repeated at V, 6, 2 in an equally obscure connection. Sayama, ‘those enemies, O people, who were hostile to you in the witchcraft-practices which they performed, may they not by these practices injure our men here.’
IV, 8. COMMENTARY TO PAGE III.
This hymn is founded upon certain practices, well known in connection with the consecration of a king throughout the Vedic literature. Professor Weber has recently devoted to this subject a characteristically excellent treatise, ‘ Uber die Koénigsweihe, den Ragastya, Transactions of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences, 1893. Two noteworthy performances are indicated in the hymn: the king is sprinkled with water, derived from holy rivers, and mixed with the essence of holy plants (sintyudakam: see Kaus. 17, 1, and g, 1 ff); and he steps upon a tiger-skin. Both practices figure prominently in the descriptions of the ragastya in the Yagus-samhitas, Brahmavas, and Siitras: see the index to Weber’s treatise under ‘salbung, and ‘tiger-fell” The hymn reflects throughout the spirit of antique popular institutions, and a genuine hades: of the dignity of royalty.