Hymns of the Atharvaveda - Book 06

HYMN X

A thanksgiving for life, hearing, and sight

1All hail for hearing to the Earth, to Trees, to Agni, sovran
Lord!
2All hail for breath to Air, for power to life to Vāyu, sovran
Lord!
3All hail for vision to the Stars, to Heaven, to Sūrya, sovran
Lord!

HYMN XI

An epithalamian charm to ensure the birth of a boy

1Asvattha on the Sami-tree. There a male birth is certified.
There is the finding of a son: this bring we to the women-folk.
2The father sows the genial seed, the woman tends and fosters it.
This is the finding of a son: thus hath Prajāpati declared.
3Prajāpati, Anumati, Sinivāli have ordered it.
Elsewhere may he effect the birth of maids, but here prepare a
boy.

HYMN XII

A charm against venomous serpents

1I, As the Sun goes round the heaven, have travelled round the
Serpents' race.
I ward thy poison off, as Night parts all else living from the
Sun.
2With this, discovered in the days of old by Brāhmans, Rishis,
Gods,
With this I ward thy poison off, thou Biter! formed and form-
ing now.
3With mead I mingle flowing streams: the hills and mountains
shall be mead.
Parushni and Sipālā mead. May it be well with mouth and
heart.

HYMN XIII

Homage to death

1Worship to weapons of the Gods! worship to weapons of the
Kings!
Then worship to the people's arms! worship, O Death, be paid
to thee!
2Let worship be to thy defence and to thine accusation paid.
Death! be this worship paid to thy good-will and thy malevo-
lence!
3Worship to thy physicians, to thy sorcerers be worship paid!
Death! let this reverence be done unto thy Brāhmans and thy
roots.

HYMN XIV

A charm against consumption

1Remove thou all Decline that lurks within the members and the
joints,
The firmly-settled heart-disease that racks the bones and rends
the limbs.
2From the consumptive man I pluck Decline as 'twere a severed
part.
I cut the bond that fetters him, even as a root of cucumber.
3Begone, Consumption, hence away, like a young foal that runs.
at speed.
Then, not pernicious to our men, flee, yearly visitant like grass!

HYMN XV

A charm for power and preeminence

1Most excellent of all the plants art thou: thy vassals are the
trees.
Let him be subject to our power, the man who seeks to injure
us.
2Whoever seeks to injure us, with kinsmen or no kin to aid,
May I be uppermost of all, even as this Plant is queen of trees.
3As Soma hath been made the best of all oblations 'mid the
plants,
So, as Talāsā is the queen of trees, may I be chief of all.

HYMN XVI

A medical charm

1O Ābayu, non-Ābayu, dire is thy juice, O Ābayu; we eat the
gruel made of thee.
2Vihalha is thy father's name, thy mother's is Madāvati.
Yea, verily thou art not he, thou who hast well protected life.
3Go thou to rest, Tauvilikā! This noisy cry hath sunk to rest.
Go hence, depart, Nirāla, thou! the tawny and the tawny-
eared.

HYMN XVII

A charm to ensure conception

1Even as this mighty Earth conceived the germ of all the things
that be,
So may the germ of life be laid in thee that thou mayst bear a
son.
2Even as this mighty Earth hath borne and bears the stately
forest trees,
So may the germ of life be borne in thee that thou mayst bear a
son.
3Even as this mighty Earth hath borne and bears the mountains
and the hills,
So may the germ of life be borne in thee that thou mayst bear
a son. p. a207
4Even as this mighty Earth supports the moving world that
dwells thereon,
So may the germ of life be borne in thee that thou mayst bear a
son.

HYMN XVIII

A charm to banish jealousy

1The first approach of Jealousy, and that which followeth the
first,
The pain, the fire that burns within thy heart we quench and
drive away.
2Even as the earth is dead to sense, yea, more unconscious than
the dead,
Even as a corpse's spirit is the spirit of the jealous man.
3The thought that harbours in thy heart, the fluttering doubt
that dwells therein.
Yea, all thy jealousy, like heat born of the dance, I banish
thence.

HYMN XIX

A prayer for purification

1Let the Gods purify me, let men purify me with a prayer.
Cleanse me all creatures that exist! may Pavamāna make me
pure.
2May Pavamāna make me pure for wisdom and for power and
life, and unassailed security. p. a208
3God Savitar, byboth of these, filter and pressing out this juice,
purify us that we may see.

HYMN XX

A charm against fever

1He goes away as 'twere from this fierce burning fire, inebriated
and lamenting he departs.
Let him, the lawless, seek another and not us. Worship be paid
to Fever armed with fiery heat.
2To Rudra and to Fever be our worship paid: worship be paid
to Varuna the splendid King!
Worship to Dyaus, to Earth, worship be paid to Plants!
3Thou who, aglow with heat, makest all bodies green, to thee,
red, brown, I bow, the Fever of the wood.

HYMN XXI

A charm to strengthen hair and promote its growth

1Of all the three terrestrial realms the ground is verily the best.
I from the skin that covers these gather a healing medicine.
2Thou art the best of medicines, most excellent of Plants art
thou,
As Soma 'mid the wandering stars, as Varuna among the Gods.
3Endowed with wealth, denying not, give freely fain to give your
gifts!
Ye stay the hair from falling off: ye strengthen and increase its
growth.

HYMN XXII

To the Maruts or Storm-Gods

1Dark the descent; the strong-winged birds are golden: they fly
aloft to heaven, enrobed in waters.
They have come hither from the seat of Order, and inundated
earth with streams of fatness.
2Ye make floods rich in milk, make plants propitious, what time
ye stir, O golden-breasted Maruts!
Pour down your showers of vigorous strength and favour there
where ye sprinkle mead, O Maruts, heroes!
3O Maruts, send ye down, streaming with water rain which, may,
filling all the sloping valleys,
Leap like a bold girl in a man's embraces, or like a matron
tumbled by her husband.

HYMN XXIII

To the Waters

1Here flow the restless ones, they flow unceasing through the day
and night,
Most excellently wise I call the Goddess Waters hitherward.
2Let the deft Waters, summoned, give permission that we bear
them off,
And quickly set us on our way.
3Let all the people celebrate the rite of Savitar the God.
Sweet unto us be Waters, Plants propitious!

HYMN XXIV

To the Rivers

1Forth from the Hills of Snow they stream, and meet in Sindhu
here or there.
To me the sacred Waters gave the balm that heals the heart's
disease.
2Whatever rupture I have had that injured eyes or heels or toes.
All this the Waters, skilfullest physicians, shall make well again,
3All Rivers who have Sindhu for your Lady, Sindhu for your
Queen,
Give us the balm that heals this ill: this boon let us enjoy from
you.

HYMN XXV

A charm to remove pustules or scrofulous swellings (apachitas)

1May all the five-and-fifty which meet round the tendons of the
neck.
Depart and vanish hence away like plaguing insects buzz and
hum!
2Those seventy-and-seven which meet round the upper vertebrae,
Let them all vanish hence away like plaguing insects' buzz and
hum!
3Those nine-and-ninety which, combined, attack the shoulder
round about,
Let them all vanish hence away like plaguing insects' buzz and
hum!

HYMN XXVI

To Affliction

1Let me go free, O Misery: do thou, the mighty, pity us.
Set me uninjured in the world of happiness, O Misery.
2From thee, from thee who fliest not from us, O Misery, we fly.
Then at the turning of the paths let Misery fall on someone else.
3May the immortal, thousand eyed, dwell otherwhere apart from
us.
Let him afflict the man we hate: smite only him who is our foe.

HYMN XXVII

A charm to avert misfortune foreshown by the coming of a dove

1Gods! whatsoe'er the Dove came hither seeking, sent to us as
the envoy of Destruction,
For that let us sing hymns and make atonement, Well be it with
our quadrupeds and bipeds!
2Auspicious be the Dove that hath been sent us, a harmless bird,
O Gods, that seeks our dwelling!
May Agni, Sage, be pleased with our oblation, and may the
missile borne on wings avoid us.
3Let not the arrow that hath wings distract us. Beside the fire-
place, on the hearth it settles.
May it bring welfare to our men and cattle: here let the Dove,
ye Gods, forbear to harm us.

HYMN XXVIII

A charm to avert misfortune foreshown by the coming of a dove

1Drive forth the Dove, chase it with holy verses: rejoicing bring
we hither food and cattle,
Obliterating traces of misfortune. Most fleet may it fly forth and
leave us vigour.
2These men have strengthened Agni's might, these men have
brought the kine to us.
They have sung glory to the Gods. Who is the man that con-
quers them?
3Be reverence paid to him who, while exploring the path for
many, first approached the river,
Lord of this world of quadrupeds and bipeds; to him be rever-
ence paid, to Death, to Yama!

HYMN XXIX

A charm to avert misfortune foreshown by the coming of a dove and an owl

1On these men yonder fall the winged missile: the screeching of
the Owl is ineffective,
And that the Dove beside the fire hath settled. p. a213
2Thine envoys who came hither, O Destruction, sent or not sent
by thee unto our dwelling,
The Dove and Owl, effectless be their visit!
3Oft may it fly to us to save our heroes from slaughter, oft perch
here to bring fair offspring,
Turn thee and send thy voice afar: cry to the region far away;
That I may see thee in the home of Yama reft of all thy power,
that I may see thee impotent.

HYMN XXX

A charm to promote the growth of hair

1Over a magic stone, beside Sarasvati, the Gods Ploughed in this
barley that was blent with mead.
Lord of the plough was Indra, strong with hundred powers: the
ploughers were the Maruts they who give rich gifts.
2Thy joy in hair that falleth or is scattered, wherewith thou sub-
jectest a man to laughter
To other trees, far from thee will I drive it. Grow up, thou
Samī, with a hundred branches.
3Auspicious, bearing mighty leaves, holy one, nurtured by the rain,
Even as a mother to her sons, be gracious, Samī to our hair.

HYMN XXXI

To Sūrya the Sun-God

1This spotted Bull hath come and sat before his mother in the
east.
Advancing to his father Heaven. p. a214
2As expiration from his breath his radiance penetrates within.
The Bull shines out through all the sky.
3He rules supreme through thirty realms—One winged with song
hath made him mount
Throughout the days at break of morn.

HYMN XXXII

A charm against fiends and goblins

1With butter, in his hall v4here fire is burning, perform that sacri-
fice which quells the goblins.
Burn from afar against the demons Agni! Afflict not in thy fury
us who praise thee.
2Let Rudra break your necks, O ye Pisāchas, and split your ribs
asunder, Yātudhānas!
Your herb of universal power with Yama hath allied itself.
3Here, Mitra-Varuna! may we dwell safely: with splendour drive
the greedy demons backward,
Let them not find a surety or a refuge, but torn away go down
to Death together.

HYMN XXXIII

A prayer to Indra for riches

1He who controls this air and men who aid his strength, and
wood, and heaven, the lofty seat which Indra loves.
2The bold whose overpowering might the boldest never hath
defied,— p. a215
As erst still, unassailable is Indra's wrath, and fame, and force.
3May he bestow on us that wealth, far-spreading, bright with
yellow hue.
Indra is mightiest Lord among the folk.

HYMN XXXIV

To Agni for protection from enemies

1Send forth thy voice to Agni, to the manly hero of our homes,
So may he bear us past our foes.
2That Agni who with sharpened flame of fire consumes the
Rākshasas,
So may he bear us past our foes.
3He who from distance far remote shineth across the tracts of
land,
May he transport us past our foes.
4He who beholds all creatures, who observes them with a careful
eye,
May he transport us past our foes.
5That brilliant Agni who was born beyond this region of the air,
May he transport us past our foes!

HYMN XXXV

To Agni Vaisvānara

1Forth from the distance far away Vaisvānara come to succour
us! Agni approach our eulogies!
2Vaisvānara with friendly thoughts hath come to this our sacrifice,
Agni who saves from woe, to lauds.
3Vaisvānara hath formed the hymn and laud of the Angirases. To
these may he bring glorious right.

HYMN XXXVI

In praise of Agni Vaisvānara

1Holy Vaisvānara we seek, the Lord of light and endless life, the
burning One who fadeth not.
2He hath directed all things; he sends forth the Seasons in his
might, furthering sacrifice's power.
3Agni Kāma in other homes shines forth the sole imperial Lord
of all that is and is to be.

HYMN XXXVII

A charm to divert Imprecation personified

1Hitherward, having yoked his steeds, came Imprecation,
thousand-eyed,
Seeking my curser, as a wolf the home of one who owneth sheep.
2Avoid us, Imprecation! as consuming fire avoids the lake.
Smite thou the man who curses us, as the sky's lightning strikes
the tree.
3Who curses us, himself uncursed, or, cursed, who curses us
again,
Him cast I as a sop to Death, as to a dog one throws a bone.

HYMN XXXVIII

A prayer for surpassing strength and energy

1What energy the lion hath, the tiger, adder, and burning fire,
Brāhman, or Sūrya,
And the blest Goddess who gave birth to Indra, come unto us
conjoined with strength and vigour!
2All energy of elephant and panther, all energy of gold, men, kine,
and waters, p. a217
And the blest Goddess who gave birth to Indra come unto us
conjoined with strength and vigour.
3Might in car, axles, in the strong bull's courage, in Varuna's
breath, in Vāta, in Parjanya,
In Warrior, in the war-drum stretched for battle, in the man's
roar and in the horse's mettle,
May the blest Goddess who gave birth to Indra come unto us
conjoined with strength and vigour.

HYMN XXXIX

A priest's prayer for power and glory

1Let sacrifice, like fame, thrive sped by Indra, inspired, well-
ordered, with a thousand powers.
To highest rank raise me who bring oblation, me who move
forth to far-extended vision.
2We will pay sacrifice and serve with worship our glorious Indra,
famous for his glories.
Give thou us sway which Indra hath promoted, and in this boon
of thine may we be famous.
3Indra was glorious at his birth; Agni, Soma were born
renowned.
And glorious am I, the most illustrious of all that is.

HYMN XL

A prayer for peace and security

1Here may we dwell, O Heaven and Earth, in safety. May Savitar
and Soma send us safety.
Our safety be the wide air: ours be safety through the oblation
of the Seven Rishis. p. a218
2May the Four Quarters give this hamlet power: Savitar favour
us and make us happy!
May Indra make us free from foes and danger: may wrath of
Kings be turned to other places.
3Make thou us free from enemies both from below and from
above.
O Indra, give us perfect peace, peace from behind and from be-
fore.

HYMN XLI

A prayer for protection, long life, and various blessings

1For mind, for intellect, for thought, for purpose, for intelligence,.
For sense, for hearing, and for sight, let us adore with sacrifice.
2For expiration, vital air, and breath that amply nourishes,
Let us with sacrifice adore Sarasvatī whose reach is wide.
3Let not the Rishis, the divine, forsake us, our own, our very
selves, our lives' protectors.
Do ye, immortal, still attend us mortals, and give us vital power
to live the longer.

HYMN XLII

A charm to reconcile estranged friends

1I loose the anger from thy heart as 'twere the bowstring from a
bow,
That we, one-minded now, may walk together as familiar
friends.
2Together let us walk as friends: thy wrathful feeling I remove.
Beneath a heavy stone we cast thy wrath away and bury it.
3I trample on thine anger thus, I tread it down with heel and toe:
So dost thou yield thee to my will, to speak no more rebelliously.

HYMN XLIII

The same

1For stranger and for friend alike this Darbha-grass removeth
wrath.
Soother of Anger is it called because it calms the angry man.
2This Plant that hath abundant roots spreads to the place where
waters meet.
Soother of anger is the name Darbha-grass that springs from
earth.
3We draw thine obstinacy forth, set in thy mouth and in thy jaw:
So dost thou yield thee to my will. to speak no more rebelli-
ously.

HYMN XLIV

A charm to remove disease

1Firm stood the heaven, firm stood the earth, firm stood this
universal world.
Firm stood the trees that sleep erect: let this thy malady be still.
2Of all thy hundred remedies, a thousand remedies combined.
This is the surest cure for flux, most excellent to heal disease.
3Thou art the stream that Rudra pours, the closest kin of Amrita.
Thy name is called Vishānakā: thou sprangest from the Fathers'
root, removing illness caused by wind.

HYMN XLV

A prayer for preservation from mental sin and evil promptings

1Sin of the Mind, avaunt! begone! Why sayest thou what none
should say?
Go hence away, I love thee not. Go to the forests and the trees.
My heart is in our homes and cows.
2Whatever wrong we have committed, sleeping or waking, by
ill-wish, dislike, or slander,
All these offences, which deserve displeasure, may Agni take
from us and keep them distant.
3Indra and Brāhmanaspati! whatever foolish deed we plan,
May provident Angirasa preserve us from the sin and woe.

HYMN XLVI

A charm against evil dreams

1Thou, neither quick nor dead, O Sleep, art fraught with Amrit
of the Gods.
Thy name is Araru: thy sire is Yama; Varunāni bare thee.
2We know thy birth, O Sleep, thou art son of the sisters of the
Gods; the minister of Yama thou, thou art Antaka, thou art
Death.
So well we know thee who thou art. Sleep, guard us from the
evil dream.
3As men discharge a debt, as they pay up an eighth and half-an-
eighth,
So the whole evil dream do we pay and assign unto our foe.

HYMN XLVII

To accompany the three daily libations

1Dear to all men, all-prosperer, all-creating, may Agni, guard us•
at the morn's libation.
May he, the brightly pure one, give us riches: may we have life
enjoying food together.
2At this our second offering may Indra, Maruts, and Visve Devas
never fail us.
Still may the favour of the Gods be with us, blest with long life
and speaking words that please them.
3We pour this third libation of the Sages who fashioned forth
the cup in proper order.
Winners of heaven, may they, Sudhanvan's children, lead our
fair sacrifice to happy fortune.

HYMN XLVIII

Formulas to be used at the three daily libations

1Thou art the Hawk, Gāyatri's lord: I hold thee fast. Happily
bear me to the goal of this my sacrifice. All hail!
2Thou art the Ribhu, lord of Jagatī: I hold thee fast. Happily
bear me to the goal of this my sacrifice. Al I hail!
3Thou art the Bull, the Trishtup's lord: I hold thee fast. Happily
bear me to the goal of this my sacrifice. All hail!

HYMN XLIX

In praise of Agni

1O Agni, in thy body man hath never found a wounded part.
The Ape devours the arrow's shaft as a cow eats her after-
birth.
2Thou like a fleece contractest and expandest thee what time the
upper stone and that below devour.
Closely compressing head with head and breast with breast he
crunches up the tendrils with his yellow jaws.
3The Eagles have sent forth their voice aloud to heaven: in the
sky's vault the dark impetuous ones have danced.
When they come downward to repair the lower stone, they,
dwellers with the Sun, have gained abundant seed.

HYMN L

A charm for the destruction of vermin

1Destroy the rat, the mole, the boring beetle, cut off their heads
and crush their ribs, O Asvins.
Bind fast their mouths; let them not eat our barley: so guard,
ye twain, our growing corn from danger.
2Ho! boring beetle, ho! thou worm, ho! noxious grub and
grasshopper!
As a priest leaves the unfinished sacrifice, go hence devouring
not, injuring not this corn.
3Hearken to me, lord of the female borer, lord of the female
grub! ye rough-toothed vermin!
Whate'er ye be, dwelling in woods, and piercing, we crush and
mangle all those piercing insects.

HYMN LI

A prayer for purification and forgiveness of sins

1Cleansed by the filter of the Wind comes Soma past all our
enemies, meet friend of Indra.
2May the maternal Waters make us ready: cleanse us with fat-
ness they who cleanse with fatness!
The Goddesses bear off each blot and tarnish: I come forth
from the waters cleansed and stainless.
3O Varuna, whatever the offence may be, the sin which men
commit against the heavenly folk— p. a224
When, through our want of thought we violate thy laws, punish
us not, O God, for that iniquity.

HYMN LII

A charm against noxious reptiles and insects

1Slaying the Rākshasas, the Sun mounts upward in the front of
heaven,
Āditya, from the mountains, seen of all, destroying things
unseen.
2The kine had settled in their pen, wild animals sought their lairs
The wavelets of the brooks had passed away, and were beheld
no more.
3I have brought Kanva's famous Plant, life-giving, and itself
inspired,
The medicine that healeth all: may it suppress my hidden foes.

HYMN LIII

A prayer for recovery and preservation of health and security

1May Heaven and Earth, wise pair, may lofty Sukra grant me
this thing by reason of the guerdon.
May Agni, Soma mark through this libation: may Vāyu,
Savitar, and Bhaga guard us.
2Again return to us our breath and spirit, again come back to us
our life and vision!
Vaisvānara, unscathed, our bodies' guardian, stand between us
and every woe and danger!
3We are again united with our bodies, with happy mind, with
spirit, strength, and splendour. p. a225
May Tvashtar here make room for us, and freedom and smooth
whate'er is injured in our bodies.

HYMN LIV

A benediction on a newly elected King

1Win the love of Indra that his friend may reach yet higher state.
Increase, as rain the grass, this man's dominion and his lofty
fame.
2Confirm the princely power in him, Agni and Soma! grant him
wealth.
In all the circuit of his rule make him yet higher for your
friend.
3The man who shows us enmity, whether a stranger or akin,
Thou wilt give up entire to me who sacrifice and press the juice.

HYMN LV

A prayer for general protection and prosperity

1Of all the many God-frequented pathways that traverse realms
between the earth and heaven,
Consign me, all ye Gods to that which leadeth to perfect and
inviolable safety.
2Maintain us in well-being Summer, Winter Dew-time and Spring,
Autumn, and Rainy Season
Give us our share of cattle and of Children. May we enjoy
your unassailed protection.
3Pay to the Year your lofty adoration, to the first Year, the
second, and the present.
Many we abide in the auspicious favour and gracious love of
these who claim our worship.

HYMN LVI

A charm against snakes

1Let not the serpent slay us, O Gods, with our children and our
folk.
Let it not close the opened mouth nor open that which now is
closed.
2Be worship paid unto the black, worship to that with stripes
across!
To the brown viper reverence, reverence to the demon brood!
3I close together fangs with fang, I close together jaws with jaw.
I close together tongue with tongue, I close together mouth
with mouth.

HYMN LVII

A charm for a wound or bruise

1This is a medicine indeed, Rudra's own medicine is this,
Wherewith he warns the arrow off one-shafted, with a hundred
tips.
2Besprinkle it with anodyne, bedew it with relieving balm:
Strong, soothing is the medicine: bless us therewith that we
may live.
3Let it be health and joy to us. Let nothing vex or injure us.
Down with the wound! Let all to us be balm, the whole be
medicine.

HYMN LVIII

A priest's prayer for power and glory

1May Indra Maghavan give me name and glory. May Heaven
and Earth, this couple, make me famous.
May Savitar the deity make me honoured. Here may the man
who gives the guerdon love me.
2Indra from Heaven and Earth receiveth glory among the plants
the Waters have their glory;
Even so may we be glorious'mid all the Universal Gods.
3Indra and Agni were renowned, famous was Soma at his birth;
So too am I illustrious, most glorious of all that is.

HYMN LIX

A charm to protect cattle and men

1First, O Arundhatī, protect our oxen and milky kine:
Protect each one that is infirm, each quadruped that yields no
milk.
2Let the Plant give us sheltering aid, Arundhatī allied with Gods;
Avert Consumption from our men and make our cow-pen rich
in milk.
3I welcome the auspicious Plant, life-giving, wearing every hue.
Far from our cattle may it turn the deadly dart which Rudra
casts.

HYMN LX

The wooing of a bride

1With forelock loosened o'er his brow here comes the wooer of
the bride, p. a228
Seeking a husband for this maid, a wife for this unmarried man.
2Wooer! this girl hath toiled in vain, going to others' marriages.
Now to her wedding, verily, wooer! another maid shall come.
3Dhātar upholds the spacious earth, upholds the sky, upholds the
Sun.
Dhātar bestow upon this maid a husband suited to her wish!

HYMN LXI

A prayer for prosperity and greatness

1The Waters send me what is sweet and pleasant, Sūra bring all
I need for light and vision!
The deities, and all of pious nature, and Savitar the God afford
me freedom!
2I set the heaven and the earth asunder, I brought all seven sea-
sons into being.
My word is truth, what I deny is falsehood, above celestial Vāk,
above the nations.
3I gave existence to the earth and heaven, I made the seasons and
the seven rivers.
My word is truth; what I deny is falsehood, I who rejoice in
Agni's, Soma's friendship.

HYMN LXII

A prayer for purification and riches

1Cleanse us Vaisvānara with rays of splendour! With breath and
clouds let quickening Vāyu cleanse us. p. a229
And, rich in milky rain, let Earth and Heaven, worshipful, holy,
cleanse us with their water.
2Lay hold on Sūnritā whose forms and regions have fair smooth
backs, her who is all men's treasure.
Through her may we, in sacrificial banquets singing her glory, be
the lords of riches.
3For splendour, seize on her whom all men worship, becoming
pure yourselves, and bright, and brilliant.
Here, through our prayer rejoicing in the banquet, long may we
look upon the Sun ascending.

HYMN LXIII

The symbolical liberation of a sacrificial victim

1That collar round thy neck, not to be loosened, which Nirriti
the Goddess bound and fastened,
I loose for thy long life and strength and vigour. Eat, liberated,
food that brings no sorrow.
2To thee, sharp-pointed Nirriti, be homage! Loose thou the
binding fetters wrought of iron.
To me, in truth, again doth Yama give thee. To him, to Yama,
yea, to Death, be homage!
3Compassed by death which comes in thousand manners, here
art thou fastened to the iron pillar.
Unanimous with Yama and the Fathers, make this man rise and
reach the loftiest heaven.
4Thou, mighty Agni, good and true, gatherest up all precious
things.
Bring us all treasures as thou art enkindled at libation's place.

HYMN LXIV

To promote unanimity in an assembly

1Agree and be united: let your minds be all of one accord,
Even as the Gods of ancient days, unanimous, await their share.
2The rede is common, common the assembly, common the law,
so be their thoughts united.
I offer up your general oblation: together entertain one common
purpose.
3One and the same be your resolve, be all your hearts in har-
mony:
One and the same be all your minds that all may happily con-
sent.

HYMN LXV

A sacrificial charm against enemies

1The angry spirit hath relaxed: loose are the arms that act with
mind.
Do thou, destroyer, overcome and drive these foemen's might
away, and then bring opulence to us.
2The shaft for handless fiends which, Gods! ye cast against the
handless ones,
With this, in shape of sacrifice, I rend the arms of enemies.
3Indra made first for Asuras the shaft designed for handless foes:
Victorious shall my heroes be with Indra as their constant
friend.

HYMN LXVI

A charm for the destruction and plunder of enemies

1Handless be every foeman who assaileth, they who with missiles
come to fight against us!
Dash them together with great slaughter, Indra! and let their
robber chief run pierced with arrows.
2Ye who run hither bending bows, brandishing swords and cast-
ing darts.
Handless be ye, O enemies! Let Indra mangle you to-day.
3Handless be these our enemies! We enervate their languid
limbs.
So let us part among ourselves, in hundreds, Indra! all their
wealth.

HYMN LXVII

A charm for the destruction and plunder of enemies

1Indra and Pūshan have gone forth along the ways on every side.
To-day those hosts of enemies must flee bewildered far away.
2Ye foes, come hitherward dismayed like serpents when their
heads are gone.
Let Indra slay each bravest one of you whom Agni hath con-
fused.
3Gird thou a bullock's hide on these, make those as timid as the
deer.
Let the foe flee away, and let his kine come hither-ward to us.

HYMN LXVIII

A charm to accompany the shaving of the beard

1Savitar hath come hither with the razor: come thou, O Vāyu,
with the heated water.
One-minded let Ādityas, Rudras, Vasus moisten the hair: shave
ye who know King Soma.
2Let Aditi shave the beard, and let the Waters bathe it with their
strength: p. a232
Prajāpati restore his health for sight and days of lengthened life!
3The razor used by Savitar, for shaving, who knoweth Varuna
and royal Soma,
Even with this shave ye this man, O Brāhman. Let him be rich
in horses, kine, and children.

HYMN LXIX

A priest's prayer for power and glory

1Mine be the glory in the hill, in vales, in cattle, and in gold,
Mine be the sweetness that is found in nectar and in flowing
wine!
2With your delicious honey balm me, Asvins, Lords of splendid
light!
That clear and resonant may be the voice I utter to mankind.
3In me be strength, in me be fame, in me the power of sacrifice:
Prajāpati establish this in me as firm as light in heaven!

HYMN LXX

A benediction on cow and calf

1As wine associates with flesh, as dice attend the gaming-board,
As an enamoured man's desire is firmly set upon a dame,
So let thy heart and soul, O Cow, be firmly set upou thy calf.
2As the male elephant pursues with eager step his female's track,
As an enamoured man's desire is firmly set upon a dame,
So let thy heart and soul, O Cow, be firmly set upon the calf.
3Close as the felly and the spoke, fixt as the wheel-rim on the
nave,
As an enamoured man's desire is firmly set upon a dame,
So let thy heart and soul, O Cow, be firmly set upon thy calf.

HYMN LXXI

A priest's benediction after meat

1What food I eat of varied form and nature, food whether gold,
or horse, sheep, goat, or bullock,
Whatever gift I have received, may Agni the Hotar make it
sacrifice well-offered.
2Whatever, sacrificed or not, hath reached me, bestowed by men
and sanctioned by the Fathers,
Whereby my heart seems to leap up, may Agni the Hotar make
that sacrifice well-offered.
3What food I eat unjustly, Gods! or, doubtful between bestow-
ing and refusing, swallow,
Through greatness of Vaisvānara the mighty may that same food
be sweet to me and blessed!

HYMN LXXII

A charm to restore or increase virile power

1Sicut anguis niger ad voluntatem se extendit, Asurarum arte
magica formas novas efficiens, sic fascinum tuum, partem cum
parte, conjunctum, hic hymnus efficiat.
2Velut penis (tayadarus quem ventus permagnum fecit, quantus.
est onagri penis, tantus penis tuus increscat.
3Quantum estonagri membrum masculinum, elephanti, asinique,
quantum est fortis equi, tantus penis tuus increscat.

HYMN LXXIII

A King's charm to conciliate his discontented kinsmen

1Let Varuna come hither, Soma, Agni, Brihaspati come hither
with the Vasus!
Unanimous, ye kinsmen, come united, come to the glory of this
mighty guardian.
2The inclination which your hearts have harboured, the purpose
which hath occupied your spirits,
This I annul with sacrifice and butter. In me be your sweet
resting-place, O kinsmen.
3Stand even here; forsake me not. Before us may Pūshan make
your path unfit to travel.
Vāstoshpati incessantly recall you! In me be your sweet resting-
place, O kinsmen!

HYMN LXXIV

A King's charm to secure the fidelity of his people

1Close gathered be your bodies: be your minds and vows in.
unison!
Here present Brāhmanaspati and Bhaga have assembled you.
2Let there be union of your minds, let there be union of your
hearts:
All that is troubled in your lot with this I mend and harmonize.
3As, free from jealousy, the strong Ādityas have been the Vasus'
and the Rudras' fellows.
So free from jealousy, Lord of Three Titles! cause thou these
people here to be one-minded.

HYMN LXXV

A charm to effect the removal of an enemy

1Forth from his dwelling drive that man, the foeman who
assaileth us:
Through the Expellent sacrifice hath Indra rent and mangled
him.
2Indra, Foe-Slayer, drive him forth into the distance most
remote,
Whence never more shall be return in all the years that are to
come.
3To the three distances, beyond mankind's Five Races, let him go,
Beyond the three skies let him go, whence he shall never come-
again
In all the years that are to be, long as the Sun is in the heaven.

HYMN LXXVI

A benediction on a new-born Kshatriya child

1Those who are sitting round this babe prepare him to be looked
upon.
Let Agni thoroughly inflamed with all his tongues rise from his-
heart.
2For length of life I use the name of Agni the Consuming God,
Whose smoke the sage who knows the truth beholds proceeding.
from his mouth.
3The man who knows his fuel laid in order by the Kshatriya
Sets not his foot upon the steep declivity that leads to Death.
4Those who encompass slay him not: he goes not near his lurk—
ing foes
The Kshatriya who, knowing well, takes Agni's name for length
of life.

HYMN LXXVII

A charm to bring the cattle home

1Firm stands the heaven, firm stands the earth, firm stands this
universal world,
Firm stand the rooted mountains. I have put the horses in the
stall.
2I call the Herdsman, him who knows the way to drive the
cattle forth,
Who knows the way to drive them home, to drive them back
and drive them in.
3O Jātavedas turn them back: a hundred homeward ways be
thine!
Thou hast a thousand avenues: by these restore our kine to us.

HYMN LXXVIII

A nuptial benediction

1Let this man be again bedewed with this presented sacrifice.
And comfort with the sap of life the bride whom they have
brought to him.
2With life's sap let him comfort her, and raise her high with
princely sway.
In wealth that hath a thousand powers, this pair be inexhausti-
ble!
3Tvashtar formed her to be thy dame, Tvashtar made thee to be
her lord.
Long life let Tvashtar give you both. Let Tvashtar give a
thousand lives.

HYMN LXXIX

A prayer for seasonable rain and prosperity

1May this our Lord of Cloudy Sky, bedewed with liquid drops
preserve unequalled riches in our homes.
2Lord of the Cloudy Sky, bestow vigour and strength on our
abodes. Let wealth and treasure come to us.
3Thou, God bedewed with drops, art Lord of infinite prosperity.
Grant us thereof, give us thereof: may we enjoy this boon of
thine.

HYMN LXXX

A prayer for help and protection

1He flieth in the firmament observing all the things that be:
We with this offering will adore the greatness of the Heavenly
Hound. p. a237
2The three, the Kālakānjas, set aloft in heaven as they were
Gods
All these I call to be our help and keep this man secure from
harm.
3In waters is thy birth, in heaven thy station, thy majesty on
earth and in the ocean.
We with this offering will adore the greatness of the Heavenly
Hound.

HYMN LXXXI

A charm to facilitate child-birth

1Thou art a grasper, holding fast both hands: drivest fiends
away.
A holder both of progeny and riches hath this Ring become.
2Prepare accordantly, O Ring, the mother for the infant's birth.
On the right way bring forth the boy. Make him come hither.
I am here.
3The Amulet which Aditi wore when desirous of a son,
Tvashtar hath bound upon this dame and said, Be mother of a
boy.

HYMN LXXXII

A charm to win a bride

1I call the name of him who comes, hath come, and still draws-
nigh to us. p. a238
Foe-slaying Indra's name I love, the Vasus' friend with hundred
powers.
2Thus Bhaga spake to me: Let him bring thee a consort by the
path.
Whereon the Asvins brought the bride Sūryā the child of
Savitar.
3Great, Indra. is that hook of thine, bestowing treasure, wrought
of gold:
Therewith, O Lord of Might, bestow a wife on me who long to
wed.

HYMN LXXXIII

A charm against sores and pustules (apachitas)

1Hence, Sores and Pustules, fly away even as the eagle from his
home.
Let Sūrya bring a remedy, the Moon shine forth and banish
you.
2One bright with variegated tints, one white, one black, a couple
red:—
The'names of all have I declared. Begone, and injure not our
men.
3Hence, childless, shall the Pustule flee, grand-daughter of the
dusky one.
The Boil shall fly away from us, the morbid growth shall vanish
hence.
Taste, happy in thy mind, thine own oblation, as I with Svāhā
with my heart present it.

HYMN LXXXIV

A charm to accompany the symbolical loosing of sacrificial victims

1Thou in whose dread mouth I present oblation, that these bound
victims may obtain their freedom,
The people deem that thou art Earth: I know thee thoroughly,
and I say thou art Destruction.
2Be thou enriched, O Welfare, with oblations, here among us is
thine allotted portion.
Free—Hail to thee!—from sin those here and yonder.
3Do thou, Destruction, thus, without a rival, release us from the
iron bonds that hind us.
To me doth Yama verily restore thee. To him, to Yama, yea, to
Death be worship!
4Thou hast been fastened to an iron pillar, here compassed with
a thousand deaths around thee.
In full accord with Yama and the Fathers, send this man up-
ward to the loftiest heaven.

HYMN LXXXV

A charm against Consumption

1Let Varana the heavenly tree here present keep disease away.
The Gods have driven off Decline that entered and possessed
this man. p. a240
2We with the speech of Indra and of Mitra and of Varuna.
We with the speech of all the Gods will drive Decline away from
thee.
3Even as Vritra checked and stayed these waters flowing every
way,
With Agni, God of all mankind. I check and banish thy Decline.

HYMN LXXXVI

A glorification of a newly consecrated King

1This is the Lord of Indra, this the Lord of Heaven, the Lord of
Earth,
The Lord of all existing things: the one and only Lord be thou,
2The Sea is regent of the floods, Agni is ruler of the land,
The Moon is regent of the stars: the one and only Lord be
thou.
3Thou art the King of Asuras, the crown and summit of man-
kind:
Thou art the partner of the Gods: the one and only Lord be
thou.

HYMN LXXXVII

A benediction addressed to a newly elected King

1Here art thou: I have chosen thee. Stand stedfast and immov-
able.
Let all the clans desire thee: let not thy kingdom fall away.
2Be even here: fall not away: be like a mountain unremoved.
Stand stedfast here like Indra's self, and hold the kingship in
the grasp.
3This man hath Indra stablished, made secure by constant sacri-
fice.
Soma, and Brāhmanaspati here present bless and comfort him!

HYMN LXXXVIII

A benediction addressed to a newly elected King

1Firm is the sky, firm is the earth, and firm is all this living
world;
Firm are these mountains on their base, and stedfast is this King
of men.
2Stedfast may Varuna the King, stedfast the God Brihaspati,
Stedfast may Indra stedfast, too, may Agni keep thy stedfast
reign.
3Firm, never to be shaken, crush thy foemen, under thy feet lay
those who strive against thee.
One-minded, true to thee be all the regions: faithful to thee, the
firm, be this assembly!

HYMN LXXXIX

A man's love charm

1This strength that Soma hath bestowed, the head of her who
gladdeneth,—
With that which thence hath been produced we make thy spirit
sorrowful.
2We make thy spirit sorrowful, we fill thy mind with pain and
grief.
As smoke accompanies the wind, so let thy fancy follow me.
3May Varuna and Mitra, may Sarasvati the Goddess,
May the centre of the earth, and both her limits bring thee close
to me.

HYMN XC

A charm to cure a poisoned man

1The shaft that Rudra hath shot forth against thy members and
thy heart,
Here do we draw from thee to-day, and turn it hence to every
side.
2From all the hundred vessels spread throughout the members of
thy frame.
From all those vessels and canals we call the poisonous matter
forth.
3Worship to thee, the archer, and O Rudra, to thy levelled shaft!
Yea, worship to thine arrow when it left the bow, and when it
fell!

HYMN XCI

A charm against disease

1They made this barley ready with a team of eight, a team of six.
With this I drive to westward, far away, thy bodily disease.
2Vita breathes downward from above, and downward Sūrya sends
his heat:
Downward is drawn the milch-cow's milk: so downward go thy
malady!
3The Waters verily bring health, the Waters drive disease away.
The Waters cure all malady: may they bring medicine for thee.

HYMN XCII

A charm to strengthen and inspirit a war-horse

1Be fleet as wind, Strong Steed, when thou art harnessed; go
forth as swift as thought at lndra's sending.
Let the possessors of all wealth, the Maruts, yoke thee, and
Tvashtar in thy feet lay swiftness.
2That speed, that lies concealed in thee, O Charger, speed granted
to the hawk or wind that wandered,
Therewith, Strong Steed, saving in shock of battle endowed
with might by might win thou the contest.
3Bearing thy body, Charger, may thy body run blessing us and
winning thee protection.
May he, unswerving, to uphold the mighty, stablish his lustre as
a God in heaven.

HYMN XCIII

A prayer for protection from poison

1Yama, Death direly fatal, the Destroyer, with his black crest,
Sarva the tawny archer,
And all the Gods uprisen with their army, may these on every
side avoid our heroes.
2With mind, burnt offerings, butter, and libation, to royal Bhava
and the archer Sarva,
To these the worshipful I pay my worship: may they turn else-
where things with deadly venom.
3Save us, All-Gods and all-possessing Maruts, from murderous
stroke and things that slay with poison.
Pure is the might of Varuna, Agni, Soma. May Vāta's and
Parjanya's favour bless us.

HYMN XCIV

A charm to reconcile a King's discontented people

1We bend your minds in union, bend in harmony your hopes and
plans:
You there, who turn to sundered ways, we bend and bow in
unison.
2I with my spirit make your spirits captive: these with their
thoughts follow my thought and wishes.
I make your hearts submissive to mine order closely attending
go where I precede you.
3I have invoked both Heaven and Earth, invoked divine
Sarasvati,
Indra and Agni have I called: Sarasvati, so may we thrive!

HYMN XCV

A charm to remove disease

1In the third heaven above us stands the Asvattha tree, the seat
of Gods.
There the Gods gained the Kushtha plant, embodiment of end-
less life.
2There moved through heaven a golden ship, a ship with cordage
wrought of gold.
There Gods obtained the Kushtha plant, the flower of immor-
tality.
3Thou art the infant of the plants, the infant of the Snowy Hills:
The germ of every thing that is: free this my friend from his
disease.

HYMN XCVI

A prayer for deliverance from sin and sorrow

1The many plants of hundred shapes and forms that Soma rules
as King, p. a245
Commanded by Brihaspati, deliver us from grief and woe!
2Let them release me from the curse and from the noose of
Varupa,
Free me from Yama's fetter, and from every sin against the
Gods!
3From every fault in look, in word, in spirit that we, awake or
sleeping, have committed,
May Soma, with his godlike nature, cleanse us.

HYMN XCVII

A prayer for the success and prosperity of a King

1The sacrifice is victor, Agni victor, victorious is Soma, Indra
conquers:
So will we bring oblation unto Agni, this sacrifice that I may
win all battles.
9Praise to you, Mitra-Varupa, hymn-singers! Here swell with
meath dominion blest with children.
Far into distant regions drive Destruction, and even from
committed sin absolve us.
3In this strong hero be ye glad and joyful: cleave ye to him even
as ye cleave to Indra.
Victorious, kine-winner, thunder-wielder, who quells a host and
with his might destroys it.

HYMN XCVIII

Praise of Indra

1Indra be victor, never to be vanquished, to reign among the
Kings as sovran ruler! p. a246
Here be thou meet for praise and supplication, to be revered
and waited on and worshipped.
2Thou fain for glory, an imperial ruler, hast won dominion over
men, O Indra,
Of these celestial tribes be thou the sovran: long-lasting be thy
sway and undecaying!
3Thou governest the north and eastern regions, Indra! fiend-
slayer! thou destroycst foemen.
Thou hast won all, far as the rivers wander. Bull, called to
help, on our right hand thou goest.

HYMN XCIX

A prayer for protection in battle

1Indra, before affliction comes, I call thee from the wide expanse.
The mighty guardian, born alone, wearer of many names, I call.
2Whatever deadly missile launched to-day flies forth to slaughter
us.
We take both arms of Indra to encompass us on every side.
3We draw about us both the arms of Indra, our deliverer. May
they protect us thoroughly.
O Savitar, thou God, O royal Soma, make thou me pious-
minded for my welfare.

HYMN C

A charm against poison

1The Gods and Sūrya gave the gift, the Earth and Heaven best-
owed the boon.
The three Sarasvatis in full accord bestowed the antidote.
2That water, Upajīkās! which Gods poured for you on thirsty land,
With that same water sent by Gods, drive ye away this poison
here. p. a247
3The daughter of the Asuras art thou, and sister of the Gods.
Thou who hast sprung from heaven and earth hast robbed the
poison of its power.

HYMN CI

A charm to promote virile vigour (Appendix)

1Taurum age, palpita, incresce et teipsum extende: per totum
membrum increscat penis: hoc tu caede feminam.
2Quo debilem stimulant, quo aegrum excitant (homines), hoc, O
Brahmanaspatis, hujus penem in arcus modum extende.
3Velut nervum in arcu ego tuum fascinum extendo. Aggredere
(mulierem) semper indefessus velut cervus damam.

HYMN CII

A man's love charm

1Even as this ox, O Asvins, steps and turns together with his
mate,
So let thy fancy turn itself, come nearer, and unite with me.
2I, as the shaft-horse draws the mare beside him, draw thee to
myself.
Like grass that storm and wind have rent, so be thy mind at-
tached to me!
3Swiftly from Bhaga's hands I bear away a love-compelling charm
Of ointment and of sugar-cane, of Spikenard and the Kushtha
plant.

HYMN CIII

A charm to check the approach of a hostile army

1Brihaspati and Savitar prepare a rope to bind you fast!
Let Bhaga, Mitra, Aryaman, and both the Asvins make the
bond.
2I bind together all of them, the first, the last, the middlemost.
Indra hath girded these with cord: bind them together, Agni,
thou!
3Those yonder who approach to fight, with banners raised along
their ranks,
Indra hath girded these with cord: bind them together, Agni,
thou!

HYMN CIV

The same

1We bind our foemen with a bond that binds them close and
holds them fast.
Their breath and respiration I dissever, and their lives from
life.
2This bond, made keen by Indra, I have formed with heat of holy
zeal.
Securely bind our enemies, O Agni, who are standing here.
3Indra and Agni bind them fast, Soma the King, and both the
Friends!
May Indra, girt by Maruts, make a bond to bind our enemies.

HYMN CV

A charm to cure cough

1Rapidly as the fancy flies forth with conceptions of the mind.
So following the fancy's flight, O Cough, flee rapidly away.
2Rapidly as an arrow flies away with keenly-sharpened point,
So swiftly flee away, O Cough, over the region of the earth!
3Rapidly as the beams of light, the rays of Sūrya, fly away,
So, Cough! fly rapidly away over the current of the sea!

HYMN CVI

A charm to protect a house from fire

1Let flowery Dūrvā grass grow up about thine exit and
approach.
There let a spring of water rise, or lake with blooming lotuses.
2This is the place where waters meet, here is the gathering of the
flood.
Our home is set amid the lake: turn thou thy jaws away from
it.
3O House, we compass thee about with coolness to envelop thee.
Cool as a lake be thou to us. Let Agni bring us healing balm!

HYMN CVII

A charm to protect men and cattle

1Entrust me, Visvajit, to Trāyamānā.
Guard, Trāyamānā, all our men, guard all our wealth of
quadrupeds.
2To Visvajit entrust me, Trāyamānā.
O Visvajit, guard all our men, etc.
3To Visvajit entrust me, O Kalyāni.
Guard, O Kalyāni, all our men, etc. p. a250
4To Sarvavid entrust me, O Kalyāni.
O Sarvavid, guard all our men, guard all our wealth of
quadrupeds.

HYMN CVIII

A prayer for wisdom

1Intelligence, come first to us with store of horses and of kine!
Thou with the rays of Sūrya art our worshipful and holy one.
2The first, devout Intelligence, lauded by sages, sped by prayer,
Drunk by Brahmachāris, for the favour of the Gods I call.