A demon by the name of Andhaka is in the epics a familiar victim of Siva, who is styled andhakaghatin in Maha- bharata XII, 10356, and Siva is'the later representative of Rudra. The Paippalada reads adhvagaghatin, ‘the slayer of the wayfarer.’ This suits admirably, since the hymn is intended as a prayer for protection against the dangers of a journey; cf. st. 4, and the practices (in the introduction). But its very suitableness lays it open to the suspicion of being an easy reading which shirks the difficulty involved in the less familiar ardhaka (andhaka).
For the last Pada, cf. XI, 9, 7.14; 10, 7, and our Con-
tributions, Second Series, Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, 339 ff.
The female mourners indicate, of course, the presence of
death.
b. The MSS. read sahasraghnim, -ghnydm, and -ghni.
The vulgate has adopted the impossible -ghnim ; Sayama,
-ghnydm ; and Shankar Pandit, -ghni. We have translated
the latter, as a locative singular from -hdn, with haste,
understood.
Cf. X, 1, 26; Sat. Br. XIV, 4, 2, 18: padani? means ‘tracking the steps,’ not ‘leading the steps’ (Pet. Lex.), as may be seen especially in the passage of the Sat. Br., where vindate is the synonym of ni.
b. The text has Zarato, not faratho: change the con-
struction accordingly to the third person.
Stanzas 15, 17:
St. 15 is formulaic: see, e.g. XI, 4,7. St. 17 is rubri-
cated in Ath. Paris. 298,
In the epic literature, Kesin is a demon slain by Krishza.
In RV. I, 164, 44, three Kesin are mentioned: they are
Agni, Sarya, and Vayu; further, RV. X, 1 36 is a hymn to
Xi, 2. Commentary. 621
Kesin, the sun, typified as a solitary hermit (muni); see Contributions, Third Series, Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XV, 167. Possibly the chariot of the sun is the object of Rudra’s attack. The entire stanza may, however, be taken differently: ‘The crushing chariot of the long-haired (kesin, i.e. Rudra)... we approach first.’ Sayaza advocates the construction which we have put into the text.
Cf. XII, 1, 49. 51. In Pada a, vane may bea metrically
superfluous gloss suggested by 4razydh. In Pada c, ya-
ksham is not quite clear: ‘thy spirit, or ‘thy reflection,
image.’ Sayawa adopts the hackneyed etymological ex-
planation of the word, pigyam svaripam.
a, b. Sayama, ‘ simsumara isa kind of crocodile, agagara a kind of serpent, pulikaya and the rest varieties of water animals.’ The last word occurs in the form pulikaya at Maitr. S. III, 14, 2 (between matsya and nakra); in the corresponding passage, Vag. S. XXIV, 21, in the form kulipaya (Mahidhara, galaga), and at Tait. S. V, 5, 13, 1 in the form kulikaya (commentary, bahupan matsyaviseshah). For the interchange between gutturals and labials, see Contributions, Sixth Series, Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch. XLVIII, p. 557, note1. For the obscure ragas& (Padapatha, ragasahk) Sayama reads ragasa (Atmiyena tegasa).
d. Many MSS. sarvan. Sdyaza with some MSS. reads sarvam for sdrvan, the obviously correct form which we
have in the vulgate.
Though Rudra here threatens men with poison, he is
elsewhere reported as himself drinking it. So clearly in
the Bhagavata-purava X, 31, and apparently also RV. X,
? Add the following possible cases of the correlation of gutturals and labials: riph=rikh; stupa=stuka; and cf. kapusdhala, ‘ back- hair’ (cf. Lat. caput), with kakubh, kakudh.
622 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
136, 7, if we take visha in its ordinary sense. The trans- lators here generally render it by ‘water, fluid’ (cf. st. 1 of the same hymn). See Muit, I.c., IV’, pp. 50, 320.
ce. The vulgata reads tasyai. This is corrected in the
Index Verborum to tasmai. Some of Shankar Pandit’s
MSS. now exhibit this obviously correct reading, which is
also the basis of Sdyaza’s comment.
c. Parallels to this interesting passage, together with
a valuable discussion of the position of sraddha, ‘faith, in
the Veda, are presented in Ludwig’s work, Der Rigveda,
III, 263 ff.
b. The stanza is repeated, RV. I, 114,7; Vag. S. XVI,
15; Tait. S. IV, 5, 10, 2; the second Pada appears there
in the more desirable form, ma na uikshantam uta ma na
ukshitam, ‘do not cause injury to our growing and grown
up (children).’ The Atharvan reading seems to be due to
a misunderstanding of the meaning of the root uksh, as
being derived from vah, ‘carry.’ Sdayaza, bharavahana-
kshamam madhyavayaskam, ‘the middle-aged man capable
of carrying burdens, and vakshatah(!) kritavahanavy4-
paran. Ludwig, ‘der uns faret... die uns faren werden.’
Our own translation is a makeshift.
b. The Pet. Lexs. and Muir translate asasmsiktagilé-
bhyaz by ‘devouring unchewed food.’ We with Sayaza
and Ludwig.
XI, 4. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 218.
In.the Upanishads, praza, ‘ breath,’ is frequently identified with brahma and atman. See, e.g. Kaushitaki Up. II, 1, 2; III,2; IV, 20; Tait. Up. III, 3. Very frequently Agni and Sirya take the place of these abstractions, e.g. Maitri
Xi, 4. Commentary. 623
pe. Vier. 5-6. 93; Prasna Up. 1,5. 7.8; II, 8. Prava is the personified breath of life, itself at the base of all existence (Katha Up. VI, 2), and fits naturally into the system of monotheistic-pantheistic thought which from the earliest beginnings of Hindu literature runs in a parallel current with polytheism. A noteworthy feature of this hymn is the predication to Praza of the qualities of a rain- god (Parganya). As such he quickens the life of plants and animals, and the account of this action of his is pursued with a great deal of detail and repetition. Equally remark- able is the outspoken identification of Praza in sts, 21 and 22 with the sun in the form of the hamsa. This is a round- about way of saying that praza (4tmdn) is identical with brahma, brahm&. See Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, V, 393 ff.; Scherman, Philosophische Hymnen aus der Rig- | und Atharva-veda-samhita, p. 69 ff., each of whom offers a partial translation.
In the ritual of the Atharvan the hymn figures as an ayushyam (sc. siktam), ‘ bestowing long life,’ and therefore forms a part of the ayushyagawa in the Gazamala, Ath. Paris. 32, 4 (see Kaus. 54,11, note). Cf. also Kaus. 139, 7. At Kaus. 55, 17 it is employed in the course of the investi- ture of the disciple with the holy cord; at Kaus. 58, 3. 11 in certain special ceremonies (brahmavoktam and ,v7shi- hastah, Si. 4), calculated to ensure longevity. The last stanza of the hymn is in our opinion constructed with this purpose directly in view: see the note on the passage. Cf. also SAntikalpa 15,191.
The four component parts of a storm are wind, thunder, lightning, and rain; see our Contributions, Sixth Series, Zeitschr. d. Deutsch. Morgenl. Gesellsch. XLVIII, 569-70, and cf. especially the vayu krandadishdi, ‘the wind hastening along with clamour’ (RV. X, 100, 2). We have therefore assumed that krdnda is the wind, ‘the roarer, par excel- lence. See also st. 15.
1 Erroneously quoted by Sayaza as Nakshatrakalpa.
624 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
Cf. Prasna Up. II, 10: ‘When thou, O Praza, sprinklest
the rain, then are these creatures full of joy ; (they think):
“food shall we have according to wish.”’ Praza here, as
elsewhere in this composition, approaches closely to the
character of Parganya; see the hymn, RV. V, 83. For
St.i5; ch stow7s
The verse is formulaic; see, e.g. XI, 2, 15.
Sayaza, ‘by his going out he causes the death of all
living beings.’ For Pada b of this and the following stanza,
cf. the similar sentiments assembled by Scherman, l.c.,
Pp- 35; 59-
The epithet anadvdn, ‘ox,’ suggests AV. IV, 11, where
supreme divine power is attributed to an ox. See Muir,
Original Sanskrit Texts, V, 399, and Jacob’s Concordance,
s. v. anaduh.
In the ritualistic literature the terms atharvawa and angi- rasa are differentiated, so that the former means ‘holy; being the equivalent of santa, while the latter means ‘ per- taining to sorcery,’ being the equivalent of abhi#arika. Cf. Kaus. -47,-2. 12; Vait. SQ. 5, 10; Gopatha-Br. I, 2, 18; Rig-vidhana IV, 6,4. See Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XI, 387 ff.; Amer. Journ. Phil. XI, p. 332, note; and the introduction to the present work. Especially in the passages quoted from the Vaitana-sitra and the Gopatha-Brahmazma this distinction is expressed clearly, and there seems to be no good reason to doubt that the writer here has it in mind. For angirasth (sc. oshadhiz), see also AV. VIII, 5,9; 7, 17.24. Cf. also
XIX, 39, 5.
Sayaza explains hamsa, alternately, as either the sun, or breath. The latter, if it withdraws from man, produces
Xi, 4. Commentary. 625
death, and consequently annuls all distinctions of time. There can be no doubt that the former is the correct inter- pretation. The stanza contains a blend of two personifica- tions of the sun. As hamsa the sun figures at AV. X, 8, 7; X11, 3, 34; Tait. Ar. 11,.15,.8; Tait. Br, III, 10, 9, 11; cf. the words hasmsa and paramahamwsa in Jacob’s Concordance to the principal Upanishads. The second conception of the sun underlies Pada a; it is that of the aga ekapad, or ekapada, for which see Roth, Ydska’s Nirukta, Erlauterungen, p. 165; Bergaigne, La Religion Védique, III, p. 20 ff.; Henry, Les Hymnes Rohitas, p. 25. We would refer any one that doubts that aga ekapad is the sun to Tait. Br. III, 1, 2, 8, ‘Aga Ekapad has risen in the east, delighting all beings. At his urging (prasavam) all the gods go, &c.
Sayaza again suggests that the human body, with breath as the dominating force, is the subject of the stanza. The human body, consisting of skin, blood, and six other elements, is eight-wheeled, and held in position by one felloe, breath. Doubtless, the sun is again presented mys- tically. At AV. X, 8, 7 (cf. Muir, l.c., I,9; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, ITI, 395) the stanza occurs with the variant éka- kakram for ash/akakram. In this form it is obviously a continuation of st. 21: we are at a loss to explain the mystic thought which underlies the change of eka to ashda ; cf. ash/dkakra in AV. X, 2, 31. The stanza posits a theo- sophic riddle (brahmodya; cf. Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XV, 172 ff.); the second hemistich recurs in a different connec- tion at AV. X, 8, 13.
Stanzas 24-26.
The last three stanzas impart to the hymn the character of a conjuration, in accordance with its employment in the Kausika. See the introduction. In the last stanza apam garbha is ‘fire’ (cf. RV. I, 164, 52; Tait. S. IV, 2, 3, 3), either the fire in the body, or, perhaps more probably, the fire of which the Brahman disciple takes care. See Sankh.
626 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
Grih. II, 10; Asv. Grih. I, 20, 1c-21 ; Par. Grzh. II, 4,1 ff. ; Gobh. Grzh. II, 10, 46.
XI, 5. COMMENTARY TO PAGE 214.
This hymn has been subjected to the treatment of a number of prominent scholars: see Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, V, 399 ff. ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, 452 ff. ; Scher- man, Philosophische Hymnen aus der Rig- und Athar- va-veda-Samhita, p. 84 ff.; cf. also Bergaigne et Henry, Manuel Védigque, p. 161 ff. Neither of these scholars seems to us to state quite correctly the origin of this peculiar type of speculation. In our Contributions, Third Series, Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XV, 167 ff., we have endeavoured to show that RV. X, 136 contains the glorification of the sun as a muni, a solitary ascetic: the present hymn may be under- stood best from a similar starting-point. The sun, who con- tributes elsewhere many of his qualities to the speculations regarding the primeval principle of the universe, is here for the nonce imagined as a BrahmaZarin, a Brahmanical disciple, engaged in the practice of his holy vows; next, by an easy transition, all the functions and powers of the Brahmafarin are made the basis of a momentary cosmo- gonic and philosophical account of the origin and existence of the universe. This allegory is carried out with all the feeble consistency that characterises Hindu speculations of this sort, and the more gladly so, as it offers a good oppor- tunity for the apotheosis of Brahmanism, and the Brahmanic caste. The purely physical qualities of the sun peep out in a variety of stanzas, especially 1, 5, 6, 11, 23, and 26. Cf. the manipulation of the first stanza at Gop. Br. I, 2, 1.
Sayaza fitly quotes Apastamba’s Dharmasitra, I, 1, 1,
15-17. Cf. also Gautama I, 8; Vishvwu XXX, 44-45;
Vasishzka II, 3-5; Manu II, 146-8. See also Kaus. 55,
18, note; Sat. Br. XI, 5, 4, 12.
Stanza 4, It is not easy to differentiate the synonyms prz7ati and
Xi, 5. Commentary. 627
piparti at the end of the two hemistichs. Sayama, przati
pirayati ... piparti pirayati palayati va. Ludwig and
Scherman render piparti by ‘ fordern.’
e. This Pada is peculiarly suggestive of the sun: cf. RV.
X, 136, 5. In the preceding Pada the apparently trivial
dirghasmasruZ, ‘with long beard, probably refers to the
rays of the sun.
For the identification of the brahma, or some kindred
primeval principle, with Indra, cf. AV. X, 7, 29 ff. See also
stanza 16.