' In this spirit Sdyava, mam eva narim pasyat mamaisvasnuk(- lam. But he offers also our rendering as an alternative, mam eva patye pradarsayat.
Nn 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 (Kaus. 36, 25) by deriving it fictitiously from an
unknown country far away.
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 1, 2, 5, 8,9 seem to have been composed directly with reference to the situation?» st:.3°(=RV.-V, 60; 2); st. 44 = RAE 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; Grill?, pp. 71, 180; Henry, Le livre VII de l’Atharva-véda, pp. 18, 75 ff. Cf. also Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, V, 430. The Anukra- mazi, aindram, composed by kitavabandhanakamosngiraz (cl. sti)
d. badhydsam is ambiguous. Sdyava reads vadhydsam
(hanishyami); the Anukramavi, 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; Faitorre Il) 70a, a ae
tains the words vi fayat krztam nak, derived from the
sphere of the gamester’s speech. Note the word krztam
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 vayadm gayema ... bhdre-bhare render the stanza
usable on the present occasion.
The words sawlikhitam and saszridham are hopelessly obscure. I have rendered samlikhitam as though it meant ‘scratched clean,’ ‘cleaned out.’ The rendering of samz- rudham is purely etymological. Sayavza, loke hi kitavaz asmin pade pratikitavam akshasalakadibhiZ sasrotsydmi: ti ankan kurvanti tatraixva £a samzrundhanti. tadvzsaxz prati-. kitavostra sambodhyate, he kitava samlikhitasz padeshu samyag ankan likhitavantam api tvam agaisham ... sav- roddharam api tvam agaisham gayami. yadva sazzlikhi- tam samyag likhitawz Aihnitazz padam abhilakshya tvam gayami, uta api fa samzrudham.. . tad7zsasz sthanam abhi- lakshya tvam gayami. 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, ‘was du zuriickbehieltst.. Henry, ‘(je t’ai) gratté de fond en comble (?), et j'ai gagné 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.’ It may be questioned whether the same intention is present in the RV.
Adapted from RV. X, 42, 10, &.=AV, XX, 17, 10, &c. Its juxtaposition in the RV. with the preceding stanza. and the occurrence of gayema, 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 gava or series called sammanasyani in Kaus. 12, 5, and is accompanied by the practices described at AV. III, 30. It is rubricated further at Kaus. 9, 2, in the series designated by the Gazamala, Ath. Paris. 32, 26, as the great santigava. The first stanza of the hymn is found, with variants, Maitr. S. IT, 2, 67 Tai Br. II, 4, 4, 6. The hymn has been translated by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 428 (cf. also p. 344); Grill®, pp. 31, 181 ff.; Henry, Le livre VII de l’Atharva-véda, pp. 19, 79. The Anukramavzi designates it as simemanasyam asvinam.
The first stanza is described by the Anukramazi as kakummaty anush/ubh, but the irregularity vanishes, if we read suébhiak ... arazebhiak. The Tait. Br.—but not the Maitr. S.—substitutes the classical forms svaiz and arazaif, thus disguising the metre still further.
a. Cf. the parallel Pada, RV. X, 30, 6 c.
b. The text as it stands! 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 rishavyati ...eighassati, ‘he who attacks in a spirit displeasing to the gods . . . (and) desires to murder.’ Prof. Henry’s rendering, ‘ne point lutter contre lesprit divin,’ though possible grammatically, imposes upon mdnas
* Shankar Pandit, with Sayama and many MSS., reads yushmahi for yutsmahi. Sdyava, ma viyukta bhima. Another variant yus/- mahi is nothing but a misspelling of yutsmahi ; cf. Kausika, Intro-
duction, p. Ixi, and variant forms like kaputsala and kapu/ala (Bohtlingk’s Lexicon),
Vi, 53. Commentary. 551
the meaning of ‘law, decree,’ and the like, and has an un-Vedic flavour according to my judgment.
ce, d. Literally, ‘may the noises not arise when there is frequent (continuous) slaughter 1,’ &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 dhani 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, 53. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 52.
The hymn belongs to the class of ayushyavwi, ‘hymns designed to prolong life;’ cf. the 4yushyagava, Ath. Paris. 32, 4, at Kaus. 54, 11, note, and the Anukramawzt, Ayu- shyam uta barhaspatyam asvinam. The ayushya-hymns are very uniform in character; the present one exhibits especially noteworthy points of contact with VIII, 1. Kaus. 55,17 prescribes its employment, along with many more of a similar character, at the ceremony of investiture (upana- yana)*. The seventh stanza, familiar in the Saszhitas and the ritual, is employed at Kaus. 24, 32 on rising from sleep during the agrahayavi, the spring-festival at the full-moon of the month agrahayava, or margasirsha. At Vait. Sd. 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 Kaus. 55, 15, note ;°58, 18, note, and Ath. Paris. 43, 1.
The hymn has been translated by Muir, Original San-
' Sayama reads vinihrute, and glosses, kau/ilye nimitte ghoshah
vaimanasyanibandhanad sabdah ... utthitd ma bhfivan, yadva bahulasabdena tamo vivakshyate . .. visesheva stainyadikau/ilya- nimitte bahule tamasi ... ghoshaA ma bhfivan.
2 Cf. also SAantikalpa 17, 18, which is quoted by Sayana erroneously as Nakshatrakalpa.
552 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
skrit Texts, V, 443; Grill?, pp. 15, 182 ff.; Henry, ie
livre VII de l’‘Atharva-véda, pp. 20, 80 ff. Cf. also Ludwig,
Der Rigveda, IIT, 341.
Stanza l.
Repeated with variants at Vag. S. XXVII, 9; Maitr. Ss LE 1.3,257-< Dette LV ode ot oe Oi Ar. X, 48 (Andhra- eric Brihaspati and Agni are here one and the same divinity ; see VI, 140, 1, and Bergaigne, La Religion Védique, I, 300; III, 84.174. Agni figures prominently in the A4yushya-hymns. See II, 28, 2; III, 13, 4; 31,1. 6; WILE tage
Cf. VIII, 1, 1. 3. Pada b is a gagati in the midst of
trish¢ubh Padas, as frequently elsewhere. Read taadv. The
Anukramavi, bhurig.
a, b. The Paippalada reads, ma tva prazo hasid yas tve
pravishto maspanosvahdya para gat. For Pada b, cf.
Maitr. S. I, 6,1 (p. 86,1. 1); Tait. S. V,-7, 9, 1.” Pages
a trishzubh; b a catalectic anushfubh. The Anukramazéi,
ushvikgarbhasrshi panktiZ. 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 Kaus. 32, 5-7, to wit: 5. ‘ While reciting the hymn (the patient is given to eat the sweetwood) mentioned in the mantra!. 6. Natural mud, and mud from an ant-hill are
* Cf. st. 2. Thus Kesava, gyesh/himadhu=yash/madhu (cf. the introduction to I, 34, and Kaus. 38, 17). Dérila, madhfdvapa, ‘earth from a bee-hive’ (cf. Kaus. 29, 10 in the note on V, 13, 7).
Vil, 56. COMMENTARY. 553
pulverised, (sewed up in the skin of a living animal | freshly
slain] and fastened as an amulet upon the patient)!.
7. He is given to drink (yellow curcuma in ghee) *.’
Stanza 5 is rubricated, along with sundry mantras against serpents and other disturbing forces, at Kaus. 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; Grill*, pp. 5, 183 ff.; Henry, Le livre VII de
lAtharva-véda, pp. 21, 82 ff. The Anukramazi, man-
troktavrvzskikadevatakam.
For tiraskiragi and asita, see the note on VI, 56, 2; for prédaku ® (cf. wapdadts, wépdad.s, and wdpdos), see Zimmer, p. 94. Grill’s sturdy attempt to determine the specific character of the pr/daku yields no acceptable result. The meaning of kankdparvan, ‘ Scorpion’ (? Sayawa, dazzsaka- viseshat), can merely be conjectured. Kesava and the Anukramawi describe the entire charm as a cure for the bite of scorpions, vvzskikabhaishagyam. The Paippalada has angaparvavo. See kankata, satindkankata, and pra- kanikata, RV. I, 191, 1. 7.
Seeeetee t Vil 7, 12% RV. F101, 16.13. madht7,
am. ey., is apparently made for the occasion (type vadhi&),
to ensure completer assonance with the preceding mddhu ;
the ordinary madhvi would be less agreeable. But the
Atharvan presents quite a list of such feminines; see
Lanman, Noun-Inflection, pp. 402, 406.
' Cf. Kaus. 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.
* Thus according to D4rila who refers to Kaus. 28, 4 (see the introduction to 1V, 6, also a charm against serpents).
* Sayana, pardayati kutsitam sabdayati.
554 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
a. For yato dashfdm, cf. the formulaic yato dash/éat,
Kaus. 28,7; 32, 5 (see the note on V, 13, 4).- The expres-
sion tryipradamsin suggests asutr/p, RV. X, 14, 12, &c.;
Ludwig, ‘ bitter-zanig.’
Ludwig suggests krzoti for krizoshi, but this sort of anacoluthon is common in the Atharvan. The.appeal to Brzhaspati is natural as soon as we substitute Brahmavzeas- 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. Sdyavza 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 vrztram 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 (parisishta) chapter Kaus. 139 (see above, and cf. Kausika, Introduction, p. xxv ff.).
a. The Pet. Lexs. and Zimmer, p. 95, deal with sarkdza as a serpent, Grill and Henry as ‘scorpion.’ The former compares karkafa and karka/aka, ‘crab,’ but more signifi- cant seem to me to be karkofa 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, 1,463 4, 9. 15), and the description in the sequel favours the scorpion. Cf. for the interchange of s and k, Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, XXV,
Vii, 64. Commentary. 555
125, Proc. Amer. Or. Soc., May, 1886 (Journal, vol. xiii, p. cxxi); see also Kuhn’s Zeitschrift, X XIII, 94.
d. arbhaka (cf. puk/adht in st. 8) suggests forcibly the
kushumbha of II, 32,6; RV. I, 191, 15, and kumbha of
the Sama-veda Mantra-brahmama II, 7,3. See the notes on
II, 32, 5. 6. Ludwig, simply ‘kleines;’ Grill, ‘ winziges
ding ;’ Henry ‘ menu (dard).’
For the ants, cf. the introduction, and VI, 100; for. maytiryaz, RV. I, 191, 14, and Zimmer, p. go.
VII, 64. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 167.