At Kaus. 46, 47. 48 this hymn is recited while washing off a person who has been struck by something. dropped by a black bird (crow, or the like). If he has been defiled ! (by the mouth of the bird) a fire-brand is carried around him. The two performances refer respectively to the two stanzas of the hymn. Previous translations by Grill ?, pp. 41,186; Henry, Le livre VII de l’Atharva-véda, pp. 25, 88 ; cf. Zimmer, Altindisches Leben, p. 88. The Anukra- mavi, mantroktadevatyam uta nairrvztam.
The Paippalada in much the same sense, yad asmat
krishvasakuner nishpatato na anase. Henry's criticism of
the reading abhinishpatan of the text is over severe:
Sayaza, quite correctly, abhimukham ... akasamargad
avapatan. The Pada is hyper-catalectic.
1 The MSS. upamr/shfam and apamr7shfam. Kesava, apa-
mrishfam. Sdyana,avamrish/am; cf.avamrzkshat of the text. But
SAyana in the quotation of Kausika’s text, apamr7sh/am.
556 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
b. The Paippalada, mukhena nirrzte tava. The bird of
misfortune is identified with the goddess of misfortune
herself.
VII, 65. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 72.
Employed at Kaus. 46, 49 as a purificatory charm for cleansing one’s self from evil deeds and defiling contact. Fagots derived from the apamAarga-tree are placed into a fire built of wood from the same tree. For the apamarga, see in general the introduction to IV, 17. Stanzas I, 2 are rubricated in the krityagava of the Gazamala, Ath. Paris. 32, 2 (see Kaus. 39, 7, note). Cf. also Ath. Paris. 19, 4. Previous translations by Grill?, pp. 38, 186; Henry, Le livre VII de l’Atharva-véda, pp. 25, 89. The Anukramazi, apamargaviruddaivatam.
Stanza l.
For prati#inaphala, see IV, 19, 7, and the note on IV,
17,2. Sayava, agrad 4rabhya phalasya mialaparyantam
Atmabhimukhas sparsane kavz¢akarahityadarsanat pratiki-
naphalatvam. The second hemistich is nearly identical with
FV} 1927 ‘c,d.
e. Sayaza, visvatomukha sarvatad prasrztasakhayukta. Perhaps, however, ‘looking in every direction, because the fruit turns one way, the branches another. The epithet is, too, of more general scope (fire and sun), and may refer to watchfulness against hostile influences.
Befouling contact with deformed persons is a standard subject in Vedic texts, and in the law-books: see Maitr. S. IV, 1, 9 (cf. the corresponding passages from the Kadzh. S. and the Kapishz/. S.); Tait. Br. III, 2, 8,11; Apast. Sea 2: iss Apast. Dhe T,°5; 1332252 Gant, Sere Vas. I, 18; cf. the introductions to VI, 112 and 113, and
Vii, 74. Commentary. 557
Delbriick, Die Indogermanischen Verwandtschaftsnamen, p. 201 ff.
VII, 70. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 90.
The following sorcery-practice (abhi#ara) is associated with the present hymn (together with VI, 54) at Kaus. 48, 27-28. A counter-offering is made, hostile to the person who has built a fire (for offering)’. Chaff is offered by means of a leaf of middling size*. The offering of chaff is the typical hostile sacrifice (Kaus. 14, 15; 63, 7); the sacrifice to the gods is thus frustrated by a sacrifice to the Rakshas (see Ait. Br. II, 7,1), who destroy the enemy (cf. st. 2, and Ludwig, Der Rigveda, IIT, 295).
The hymn has been rendered by Ludwig, ibid., p. 374; Grill?, pp. 46,187; Henry, Le livre VII de l Atharva-veda, pp. 26, 91. The Anukramavzi, mantroktadevatyam uta syenadevatakam (cf. st. 3). The hymn is largely identical with the passage Tait. Br. II, 4, 2, 1 ff.
a. Sdyava, mrztyuditau; the Pet. Lex., Mvztyu and
Nirvzti. Possibly, Mitra and Varumza, the typical heavenly
rulers.
VII, 74. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 18.
The hymn is tripartite, but no reason for the juxta- position of sts. 3 and 4 with 1 and 2 can be found. Pro- fessor Henry’s suggestions regarding this matter (Le livre VII de ! Atharva-veda, pp. 29, 95 ff.) are interesting. The norm of the seventh book is a single stanza for each hymn (cf. the quotations regarding this matter in the introduc- tions to I, 12 and IV, 38), but, after all, some diaskeuastic convenience must be at the bottom of the grouping.
ies Ais Sky 2, O 4; Lait, Br,.I, 7, 3, 7.
? Cf. madhyamaparvena, Maitr. S. I, 10, 20. The meaning of
the expression is uncertain.
558 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
For the history of the interpretation of the apazit-hymns, see the introduction to VI, 83 (cf. also VI, 25 and VII, 76). The practice connected with this part of the hymn is described at Kaus. 32, 8-10, to wit: 8. ‘ With a bow made of bamboo, which is darbhytisha! (? cf. Kaus. 35, 28 in the introduction to III, 25, and Kausika, Introduction, p. li), and has a bowstring made of black wool, with black arrows that have bunches of wool (tied?) to their points (the pus- tules are hit), while the (two first stanzas of) the hymn are being recited. 9. With the fourth stanza (?)* the bow is brought near (the pustules) and they are hit (with the arrows). 10.(The patient is then washed off at the time when the stars fade away |at dawn] with water) which has been warmed by quenching in it a burning bunch of wool ®.’ The arrow of bamboo in the practice symbolises the root (found by) the divine sage in st. 1; the flake of black wool embodies the statement in st. 2 d.
Cf. for the colours mentioned here, VI, 83, 2. 3, and more generally I, 23 and 24.
1 Sayana, darbhtisha.
* This can hardly be the fourth stanza of the present hymn, which belongs to a totally different sphere. Kesava fuses VII, 74, 1. 2 with VII, 76, 1. 2, and thus obtains a hymn of four stanzas. <As extraordinary as this seems it may yet be true, and we may note that VII, 76, 1. 2 are also endowed with independent individuality, being separated in the ritual from the remainder of the hymn. See the introduction to VII, 76. But the matter is rendered uncertain on account of Kaus. 31, 16, where we have apadita a susrasa iti, i.e. the pratikas of VI, 83, and VII, 76, rubricated together. Kesava’s hypothesis may be based upon a confusion of the two pratikas apafitahk (VI, 83), and apagitam (VII, 74). Sayava in his introduc- tion to VII; 76 makes this very blunder, reading, apasitam 4 susrasa# for Kausika’s (31, 16) apakita 4 susrasad.
* For the rendering of this Sfitra, see Kaus. 27, 29 in the intro- duction to III, 7.
Vii, 76. Commentary. 559
Stanza 3 is rubricated at Kaus. 36, 25 along with VI, 18
and VII, 45; see the introduction to VI, 18 for the prac-
tices against jealousy.
Stanza 4 is rubricated at Kaus. 1, 34; Vait. 1,13. He
who enters upon the performance of the new-moon and
full-moon sacrifices recites the stanza while placing fagots
upon the fire. Cf. also Ath. Paris. 10.
VII, 76. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 17.
The hymn is tripartite, the first two parts being closely related in subject matter. The third part (st. 6) appears | in this connection for reasons—- perhaps diaskeuastic — altogether obscure. The entire hymn has been rendered by Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 500 ; Henry, Le livre VII de l Atharva-véda, pp. 30, 97 ff.
fig
For the history of the interpretation of the apafit-hymns, see the introduction to VI, 83 (cf. also VI, 25 and VIL, 74). The practices connected with the first part of the hymn are described at Kaus. 31, 16-17, where it is rubricated along with VI, 83: see the introduction to that hymn. Sdayaza blunderingly quotes the pratika at Kaus. 31,16 as apakitam (!for apakita: VII, 74 for VI, 83); see the note to the introduction to VII, 74, p. 558.
a. Our purely verbal translation savours of mere verbiage. In Contributions, Second Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 324, we suggested, with a view to both metre and sense, 4 susraso susrastara/, ‘they fall off more easily than the easily falling one’ (i.e. they fall off most easily)’. Professor
' Ludwig, ‘leichter stiirzend als das leicht stiirzende.’
560 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
Henry, l.c., p. 97, very justly points out that this leaves 4 in the air, and himself suggests, very ingeniously, 4 susraso s sisraso, ‘thou hast made fall those who fall easily.’ This makes good sense, and fills out the metre. Yet I am not convinced : the first person asisrasam, or the third, astsrasat, rather than the second person, asisrasaz, would be in accord- ance with the ordinary tone of such incantations, and, after all, the parallelism of each of the remaining three Padas seems to demand an ablative dependent upon a compara- tive. Sdayava reads asusrasak, and glosses, susrasa# atyar- tham sravantyad sarvada ptiyddisravamasilak . . . Asusrasak a4 samantad niravasesham sravawasila bhavantu. The Paip- palada, ndmannasam svayamsrasann asatibhyo vasattara! For the sense in general, cf. Bhagavadgita I, 30, gazdi=va sramsate hastat.
e. The word séhu is quotable in addition only K4z&. S. XXXIV, 12 (sehus £a pliha 4a), where it obviously desig- nates some part of the body. The Pet. Lexs., ‘a certain dry substance ;’ Ludwig, ‘rosin.’ Professor Henry makes the Pada over into arasdd arasdtara, but I cannot believe that our lectio difficillima is at fault. The Hindus must have associated dryness with this organ. Sayama, sehok sehur nama viprakirvzdvayavak atyantam nifsdras tdla- diripa, apparently, ‘a substance whose parts are scattered exceedingly dry, having the form of cotton-wool, or the like.’
ec. vigiman, ‘a part of the body.’ Sayama, ‘genital
organs :’ visesheva gayate apatyam atresti vigima guhya-
pradesaz'. The Pet. Lexs., ‘members of the body which
are in pairs :’ this seems to be the meaning at Sat. Br. III,
6,2, 1. Ludwig, ‘ankle.’
For the nature of the disease gaydnya, and the general
character of this charm, see Contributions, Second Series,
CitGERFPF fe
* Sdyanva at RV. VII, 50, 2, (vigdman parushi), vividhaganmani parushi.
Vii, 76. Commentary. 561
Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 320 ff. Kesava and Sayava define the disease as ragayakshma, identifying it with the gayénya in the story told at Tait. S. II, 3, 5, 1-3. The practice associated with this part of the hymn at Kaus. 32, 11 is very obscure ; it seems to consist in tying on the patient an amulet consisting of the string of a lute; in tying on with (this) string some other part of a lute (?); and tying on three fragments of the viriva-plant (andropogon muricatus) that have fallen down of themselves’. I am tempted to regard the gaydnya as syphilis, etymologically either congenital disease (root gan), or venereal disease (gaya, ‘woman ’)?: in that case the musical instruments may refer to the nautch- girls, and the disease is cured homoeopathically (attractio similium) and symbolically by the realisation of their presence by means of the amulets. Cf. in addition to the renderings mentioned above, Kuhn in Zeitschrift fiir ver- gleichende Sprachforschung, XIII, 155, and Zimmer, Altin- disches Leben, p. 377.
Cf. Contributions, Second Series, ].c., XI, 328 ff. ; Fourth Series, lc. XII, 438 ff.; Johansson, Indogermanische Forschungen, II, 22; Zeitschrift ftir vergleichende Sprach- forschung, XXXII, 435 ff. Sayavza explains talidya as follows, talid iti antikanama, antike bhavam talidyam .. . asthisamipagatawe mamsam. For nir astam (Padapda¢za, nif astam), which we correct to nir 4stham ?, Sdyava reads nirhad tam (nirharatu). Shankar Pandit accepts this read-
* Sayawa condenses the performance as follows, viztantri- khandam vadyakhandam sankhakhandam va sampatya abhimanirya badhniyat.
* Cf. Henry, 1. c., p. 98. viriza seems to allude to manhood.
* Instances of the stem astha-, in addition to those quoted in Amer. Journ. Phil. XII, 438, are, sa te masthat, for sa te ma sthat in Maitr. S. I, 1, 2 (von Schroeder’s edition). The expression means ‘he shall not hurl at thee.’ The same expression at Tait. Br. III, 2, 2, 8, and Apast. Sr. I, 4, 14. At Tait. Br. the formula is pro- nounced ahims4yai, ‘in order to be exempt from injury.” This favours the connection of astha- with the root as, ‘ throw.’
(42] ome)
562 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
i ee eae eS ee ne
ing because Sdyava ‘has doubtless preserved the genuine
reading.’ We can see nothing in this but an unusually
clever emendation, which, however, leaves in tam an awkward
remnant.
For the conception of the flight of disease to and from the body, cf. RV. X, 97,13; AV. VI, 83, 1. 2,and Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 322-3. In the second hemistich we have emended 4kshitasya to dkshatasya on the strength of the Sitra and its commentators (e.g. Kaus. 31, 11). Sdyava, on the other hand, reads sukshitasya for sukshatasya (akshitasya Rirakalavasthanarahitasya...sukshitasya firakalam avasthi- tasya). There can be no doubt that the indication of the Satra is to be preferred.
The gaydnya is here personified as an evil being, the knowledge of whose nature or origin (perhaps with reference to the story in Tait. S. II, 3, 5, 2) confers exemption from his attacks. See the note on I, 2, 1. Note the fourfold alliteration in the first hemistich: it cannot be reproduced in translation.
For the ritual application’ of st. 6 (=RV. VI, 47, 6),
see Vait. Si. 16,14. In Pada c, 4 vvzshasva with double
entente, ‘manifest thy lusty strength;’ cf. the common
formula, atra pitaro madayadhvasz yathabhagam avrzsha-
yadhvam (Kausika, Index C), with the same double meaning
starting from the opposite point of view.