
Hymns Of The Atharva-Veda
Excerpt from the Introduction
The present volume of translations comprises about one third of the entire material of the Atharva-veda in the text of the Saunaka-school. But it represents the contents and spirit of the fourth Veda in a far greater measure than is indicated by this numerical statement. The twentieth book of the Samhitâ, with the exception of the so-called kuntâpasûktini (hymns 127-136), seems to be a verbatim repetition of mantras contained in the Rig-veda, being employed in the Vaitâna-sûra at the sastras and stotras of the soma-sacrifice: it is altogether foreign to the spirit of the original Atharvan.
The nineteenth book is a late addendum, in general very corrupt; its omission (with the exception of hymns 26, 34, 35, 38, 39, 53, and 54) does not detract much from the general impression left by the body of the collection. The seventeenth book consists of a single hymn of inferior interest. Again, books XV and XVI, the former entirely Brahmanical prose, the latter almost entirely so, are of doubtful quality and chronology. Finally, books XIV and XVIII contain respectively the wedding and funeral stanzas of the Atharvan, and are largely coincident with corresponding Mantras of the tenth book of the Rig-veda: they are, granted their intrinsic interest, not specifically Atharvanic. Of the rest of the Atharvan (books I-XIII) there is presented here about one half, naturally that half which seemed to the translator the most interesting and characteristic. Since not a little of the collection rises scarcely above the level of mere verbiage, the process of exclusion has not called for any great degree of abstemiousness.
These successive acts of exclusion have made it possible to present a fairly complete history of each of the hymns translated. The employment of the hymns in the Atharvanic practices is in closer touch with the original purpose of the composition or compilation of the hymns than is true in the case of the other collections of Vedic hymns. Many times, though by no means at all times, the practices connected with a given hymn present the key to the correct interpretation of the hymn itself. In any case it is instructive to see what the Atharvan priests did with the hymns of their own school, even if we must judge their performances to be secondary.
I do not consider any translation of the AV. at this time as final. The most difficult problem, hardly as yet ripe for final solution, is the original function of many mantras, after they have been stripped of certain adaptive modifications, imparted to them to meet the immediate purpose of the Atharvavedin. Not infrequently a stanza has to be rendered in some measure of harmony with its connection, when, in fact, a more original meaning, not at all applicable to its present environment, is but scantily covered up by the secondary modifications of the text. This garbled tradition of the ancient texts partakes of the character of popular etymology in the course of the transmission of wofds. New meaning is read into the mantras, and any little stubbornness on their part is met with modifications of their wording.
The critic encounters here a very difficult situation: searching investigation of the remaining Vedic collections is necessary before a bridge can be built from the more original meaning to the meaning implied and required by the situation in a given Atharvan hymn. Needless to say the only correct and useful way to translate a mantra in the Atharvan, is to reproduce it with the bent which it has received in the Atharvan. The other Vedic collections are by no means free from the same taint. The entire Vedic tradition, the Rig-veda not excepted, presents rather the conclusion than the beginning of a long period of literary activity. Conventionality of subject-matter, style, form (metre), &c., betray themselves at every step: the 'earliest' books of the RV. are not exempt from the same processes of secondary grouping and adaptation of their mantras, though these are less frequent and less obvious than is the case in the Atharva-veda.
Obligations to previous translators: Weber, Muir, Ludwig, Zimmer, Grill', Henry, &c., are acknowledged in the introduction to each hymn. I regret that the work was in the hands of the printer prior to the appearance of Professor Henry's excellent version of books X-XII. The late lamented Professor Whitney kindly furnished me with the advance sheets of the late Shankar Pandurang Pandit's scholarly edition of the AV. with Sâyana's commentary, as also with many of the readings of the Cashmir text (the so-called Paippalâda-sâkhâ) of the AV. Neither the Paippalâda nor Sâyana sensibly relieves the task of its difficulty and responsibility.
MAURICE BLOOMFIELD.
BALTIMORE: April, 1896.
Hymns Of The Atharva-Veda - Translation
I. CHARMS TO CURE DISEASES AND POSSESSION BY DEMONS OF DISEASE (BHAISHAGYKNI).
V, 22. Charm against takman (fever) and related diseases.
1. May Agni drive the takman away from here, may Soma, the
press-stone, and Varuna, of tried skill; may the altar, the
straw (upon the altar), and the brightly-flaming fagots (drive
him away)! Away to naught shall go the hateful powers!
2. Thou that makest all men sallow, inflarning them like a searing
fire, even now, O takman, thou shalt become void of strength:
do thou now go away down, aye, into the depths!
The takman that is spotted, covered Nvith spots, like reddish
sediment, him thou, (O plant) of unremitting potency, drive
away down below!
4. Having made obeisance to the takman, I cast him down below:
let him, the champion of Sakambhara, return again to the Mahâvrishas!
5. His home is with the Mûgavants, his home with the Mahâvrishas.
From the moment of thy birth thou art indigenous with the Balhikas.
6. O takman, vyâla, vîgada, vyânga, hold off (thy missile) far!
Seek the gadabout slave-girl, strike her with thy bolt!
7. O takman, go to the Mûgavants, or to the Balhikas farther
away! Seek the lecherous Sûdra female: her, O takman, give a
good shaking-up!
8. Go away to the Mahâvrishas and the Mûgavants, thy kinsfolk,
and consume them! Those (regions) do we bespeak for the takman,
or these regions here other (than ours).
9. (If) in other regions thou dost not abide, mayest thou that
art powerful take pity on us! Takman, now, has become eager:
he will go to the Balhikas.
10. When thou, being cold, and then again deliriously hot, accompanied
by cough, didst cause the (sufferer) to shake, then, O takman,
thy missiles were terrible: from these surely exempt us!
11. By no means ally thyself with balâsa, cough and spasm! From
there do thou not return hither again: that, O takman, do I
ask of thee!
12. O takman, along with thy brother balâsa, along with thy
sister cough, along with thy cousin pâman, go to yonder foreign
folk!
13. Destroy the takman that returns on (each) third day, the
one that intermits (each) third day, the one that continues
without intermission, and the autumnal one; destroy the cold
takman, the hot, him that comes in summer, and him that arrives
in the rainy season!
14. To the Gandhâris, the Mâgavants, the Angas, and the Magadhas,
we deliver over the takman, like a servant, like a treasure!
VI, 20. Charm against takman (fever).
1. As if from this Agni (fire), that burns and flashes, (the
takman) comes. Let him then, too, as a babbling drunkard, pass
away! Let him, the impious one, search out some other person,
not ourselves! Reverence be to the takman with the burning weapon!
2. Reverence be to Rudra, reverence to the takman, reverence
to the luminous king Varuna! Reverence to heaven, reverence
to earth, reverence to the plants!
3. To thee here, that burnest through, and turnest all bodies
yellow, to the red, to the brown, to the takman produced by
the forest, do I render obeisance.
I, 25. Charm against takman (fever).
1. When Agni, having entered the waters, burned, where the
(gods) who uphold the order (of the universe) rendered homage
(to Agni), there, they say, is thy origin on high: do thou feel
for us, and spare us, O takman!
2. Whether thou art flame, whether thou art heat, or whether
from licking chips (of wood) thou bast arisen, Hrûdu by name
art thou, O god of the yellow: do thou feel for us, and spare
us, O takman!
3. Whether thou art burning, whether thou art scorching, or
whether thou art the son of king Varuna, Hrûdu by name art thou,
O god of the yellow: do thou feel for us, and spare us, O takman!
4. To the cold takman, and to the deliriously hot, the glowing,
do I render homage. To hirn that returns on the morrow, to him
that returns for two (successive) days, to the takman that returns
on the third day, homage shall be!
VII, 116. Charm against takman (fever).
1. Homage (be) to the deliriously hot, the shaking, exciting,
impetuous (takman)! Homage to the cold (takman), to him that
in the past fulfilled desires!
2. May (the takman) that returns on the morrow, he that returns
on two (successive) days, the impious one, pass into this frog!
V, 4. Prayer to the kushtha-plant to destroy takman (fever).
1. Thou that art born upon the mountains, as the most potent
of plants, come hither, O kushtha, destroyer of the takman,
to drive out from here the takman!
2. To thee (that growest) upon the mountain, the brooding-place
of the eagle, (and) art sprung from Himavant, they come with
treasures, having heard (thy fame). For they know (thee to be)
the destroyer of the takman.
3. The asvattha-tree is the seat of the gods in the third heaven
from here. There the gods procured the kushtha, the visible
manifestation of amrita (ambrosia).
4. A golden ship with golden tackle moved upon the heavens.
There the gods procured the kushtha, the flower of amrita (ambrosia).
5. The paths were golden, and golden were the oars; golden were
the ships, upon which they carried forth the kushtha hither
(to the mountain).
6. This person here, O kushtha, restore for me, and cure him!
Render him free from sickness for me!
7. Thou art born of the gods, thou art Soma's good friend. Be
thou propitious to my in-breathing and my out-breathing, and
to this eye of mine!
8. Sprung in the north from the Himavant (mountains), thou art
brought to the people in the east. There the most stiperior
varieties of the kushtha were apportioned.
9. 'Superior,' O kushtha, is thy name; 'superior' is the name
of thy father. Do thou drive out all disease, and render the
takman devoid of strength!
10. Pain in the head, affliction in the eye, and ailment of
the body, all that shall the kushtha heal-a divinely powerful
(remedy), forsooth!
XIX, 39. Prayer to the kushtha-plant to destroy takman (fever), and other ailments.
1. May the protecting god kushtha come hither from the Himavant:
destroy thou every takman, and all female spooks!
2. Three names hast thou, O kushtha, (namely: kushtha), na-ghâ-mâra
('forsooth-no-death'), and na-ghâ-risha ('forsooth-no-harm').
Verily no harm shall suffer (na ghâ . . . rishat) this person
here, for whom I bespeak thee morn and eve, aye the (entire)
day!
3. Thy mother's name is gîvalâ ('quickening'), thy father's
name is gîvanta ('living'). Verily no harm shall suffer this
person here, for whom I bespeak thee morn and eve, aye the entire
day!
4. Thou art the most superior of the plants, as a steer among
cattle, as the tiger among beasts of prey. Verily no harm shall
stiffer this person here, for whom I bespeak thee morn and eve,
aye the entire day!
5. Thrice begotten by the Sâmbu Angiras, thrice by the Âdityas,
and thrice by all the gods, this kushtha, a universal remedy,
stands together with soma. Destroy thou every takman, and all
female spooks!
6. The asvattha-tree is the seat of the gods in the third heaven
from here. There came to sight the amrita (ambrosia), there
the kushtha-plant was born.
7. A golden ship with golden tackle moved upon the heavens.
There came to sight the amrita, there the kushtha-plant was
born.
8. On the spot where the ship glided down, on the peak of the
Himavant, there came to sight the ambrosia, there the kushtha-plant
was born. This kushtha, a universal remedy, stands together
with soma. Destroy thou every takman, and all female spooks!
9. (We know) thee whom Ikshvâku knew of yore, whom the women,
fond of kushtha, knew, whom Vâyasa and Mâtsya knew: therefore
art thou a universal remedy.
10. The takman that returns on each third day, the one that
cominues without intermission, and the yearly one, ao thou,
(O plant) of unremitting strength, drive away down below!
I, 12. Prayer to lightning, conceived as the cause of fever, headache, and cough.
1. The first red bull, born of the (cloud-)womb, born of
wind and clouds, comes on thundering with rain. May he, that
cleaving moves straight on, spare our bodies; he who, a single
force, has passed through threefold!
2. Bowing down to thee that fastenest thyself with heat upon
every limb, we would reverence thee with oblations; we would
reverence with oblations the crooks and hooks of thee that hast,
as a seizer, seized the limbs of this person.
3. Free him from headache and also from cough, (produced by
the lightning) that has entered his every joint! May the flashing
(lightning), that is born of the cloud, and born of the wind,
strike the trees and the mountains!
4. Comfort be to my upper limb, comfort be to my nether; comfort
be to my four members, comfort to my entire body!
I, 22. Charm against jaundice and related diseases.
1. Up to the sun shall go thy heart-ache and thy jaundice:
in the colour of the red bull do we eovelop thee!
2. We envelop thee in red tints, unto long life. May this person
go unscathed, and be free of vellow colour!
3. The cows whose divinity is Rohini, they who, moreover, axe
(themselves) red (róhinin)-(in their) every form and every strength
we do envelop thee.
4. Into the parrots, into the ropanâkâs (thrush) do we put thy
jaundice, and, furthermore, into the hâridravas (yellow wagtail)
do we put thy jaundice.
VI, 14. Charm against the disease balâsa.
1. The internal disease that has set in, that crumbles the
bones, and crumbles the joints, every balâsa do thou drive out,
that which is in the limbs, and in the joints!
2. The balâsa of him that is afflicted with balâsa do I remove,
as one gelds a lusty animal. Its connection do I cut off as
the root of a pumpkin.
3. Fly forth from here, O balâsa, as a swift foal (after the
mare). And even, as the reed in every year, pass away without
slaying men!
VI, 105. Charm against cough.
1. As the-soul with the soul's desires swiftly to a distance
flies, thus do thou, O cough, fly forth along the soul's course
of flight!
2. As a well-sharpened arrow swiftly to a distance flies, thus
do thou, O cough, fly forth along the expanse of the earth!
3. As the rays of the sun swiftly to a distance fly, thus do
thou, O cough, fly forth along the flood of the sea!
I, 2. Charm against excessive discharges from the body.
1. We know the father of the arrow, Parg-anya, who furnishes
bountiful fluid, and well do we know his mother, Prithivi (earth),
the multiform!
2. O bowstring, turn aside from us, turn my body into stone!
Do thou firmly hold very far away the hostile powers and the
haters!
3. When the bowstring, embracing the wood (of the bow), greets
with a whiz the eaoer arrow, do thou, O Indra, ward off from
us the piercing missile!
4. As the point (of the arrow) stands in the way of heaven and
earth, thus may the muñga-grass unfailingly stand in the way
of sickness and (excessive) discharge!
II, 3. Charm against excessive discharges from the body, undertaken with spring-water.
1. The spring-water yonder which runs down upon the mountain,
that do I render healing for thee, in order that thou mayest
contain a potent remedy.
2. Then surely, yea quite surely, of the hundred remedies contained
in thee, thou art the most superior in checking discharges and
removing pain.
3. Deep down do the Asuras bury this great healer of wounds:
that is the cure for discharges, and thal hath removed disease.
4. The ants bring the remedy from the sea: that is the cure
for discharges, and that hath quieted disease.
5. This great healer of wounds has been gotten out of the earth:
that is the cure for discharges, and
that hath removed disease.
6. May the waters afford us welfare, may the herbs be propitious
to us I Indra's bolt shall beat off the Rakshas, far (from us)
shall fly the arrows cast by the Rakshas!
VI, 44. Charm against excessive discharges from the body.
1. The heavens have stood still, the earth has stood still,
all creatures have stood still. The trees that sleep erect have
stood still: may this disease of thine stand still!
2. Of the hundred remedies which thou hast, of the thousand
that have been collected, this is the most excellent cure for
discharges, the best remover of disease.
3. Thou art the urine of Rudra, the navel of amrita (ambrosia).
Thy name, forsooth, is vishânakâ, (thou art) arisen from the
foundation of the Fathers, a remover of diseases produced by
the winds (of the body).
I, 3. Charm against constipation and retention of urine.
1. We know the father of the arrow, Parganya, of hundredfold
power. With this (charm) may I render comfortable thy body:
make thy Outpouring upon the earth; out of thee may it come
with the sound bâl!
2. We know the father of the arrow, Mitra, &c.
3. We know the father of the arrow, Varuna, &c.
4. We know the father of the arrow, Kandra, &c.
5. We know the father of the arrow, Sûrya, &c.
6. That which has accumulated in thy entralls. thy canals, in
thy bladder-thus let thy urine be released, out completely,
with the sound bâl!
7, I split open thy penis like the dike of a lake--thus let
thy urine be released, out completely, with the sound bâl!
8. Relaxed is the opening of thy bladder like the ocean, the
reservoir of water--thus let thy urine be released, out completely,
with the sound bâl!
9. As an arrow flies to a distance when hurled from the bow-thus
let thy urine be released, out completely, with the sound bâl!
VI, 90. Charm against internal pain (colic), due to the missiles of Rudra.
1. The arrow that Rudra did cast upon thee, into (thy) limbs,
and into thy heart, this here do we now draw out away from thee.
2. From the hundred arteries which are distributed along thy
limbs, from all of these do we exorcise forth the poisons.
3. Adoration be to thee, O Rudra, as thou casteth (thy arrow);
adoration to the (arrow) when it has been placed upon (the bow);
adoration to it as it is being hurled; adoration to it when
it has fallen down!
I, 10. Charm against dropsy.
1. This Asura rules over the gods; the commands of Varuna,
the ruler, surely come true. From this (trouble), from the wrath
of the mighty (Varuna), do I, excelling in my incantation, lead
out this man.
2. Reverence, O king Varuna, be to thy wrath, for all falsehood,
O mighty one, clost thou discover. A thousand others together
do I make over to thee: this thy (man) shall live a hundred
autumns!
3. From the untruth which thou hast spoken, the abundant wrong,
with thy tongue--from king, Varuna I release thee, whose laws
do not fail.
4. I release thee from Vaisvânara (Agni), from the great flood.
Our rivals, O mighty one, do thou censure here, and give heed
to our prayer!
VII, 83. Charm against dropsy.
1. Thy golden chamber, king Varuna, is built in the waters!
Thence the king that maintains the laws shall loosen all shackles!
2. From every habitation (of thine), O king Varuna, from here
do thou free us! In that we have said, 'ye waters, ye cows;'
in that we have said, 'O Varuna,' from this (sin), O Varuna,
free us!
3. Lift from us, O Varuna, the uppermost fetter, take down the
nethermost, loosen the middlemost! Then shall we, O Âditya,
in thy law, exempt from guilt, live in freedom!
4. Loosen from us, O Varuna, all fetters, the uppermost, the
nethermost, and those imposed by Varuna! Evil dreams, and misfortune
drive away from us: then may we go to the world of the pious!
VI, 24. Dropsy, heart-disease, and kindred maladies cured by flowing water.
1. From the Himavant (mountains) they flow forth, in the
Sindhu (Indus), forsooth, is their assembling-place: may the
waters, indeed, grant me that cure for heart-ache!
2. The pain that hurts me in the eyes, and that which hurts
in the heels and the fore-feet, the waters, the most skilled
of physicians, shall put all that to rights!
3. Ye rivers all, whose mistress is Sindhu, whose queen is Sindhu,
grant us the remedy for that: through this (remedy) may we derive
benefit from you!
VI, 80. An oblation to the sun, conceived as one of the two heavenly dogs, as a cure for paralysis.
1. Through the air he flies, looking down upon all beings:
with the majesty of the heavenly dog, with that oblation would
we pay homage to thee!
2. The three kâlakâñga that are fixed upon the sky like gods,
all these I have called for help, to render this person exempt
from injury.
3. In the waters is thy origin, upon the heavens thy home, in
the middle of the sea, and upon the earth thy greatness. With
the majesty of the heavenly dog, with that oblation would we
pay homage to thee!
II, 8. Charm against kshetriya, hereditary disease.
1. Up have risen the majestic twin stars, the vikritau ('the
two looseners'); may they loosen the nethermost and the uppermost
fetter of the kshetriya (inherited disease)!
2. May this night shine (the kshetriya) away, may she shine
away the witches; may the plant, destructive of kshetriya, shine
the kshetriya away!
3. With the straw of thy brown barley, endowed with white stalks,
with the blossom of the sesame--may the plant, destructive of
kshetriya, shine the: kshetriya away!
4. Reverence be to thy ploughs, reverence to thy wagon-poles
and yokes! May the plant, destructive of kshetriya, shine the
kshetriya away!
5. Reverence be to those with sunken eyes reverence to the indicenous
(evils?), reverence to the lord of the field! May the plant,
destructive of kshetriya, shine the kshetriya away!
II, 10. Charm against kshetriya, hereditary disease.
1. From kshetriya (inherited disease), from Nirriti (the
goddess of destruction), from the curse of the kinswoman, from
Druh (the demon of guile), from the fetter of Varuna do I release
thee. Guiltless do I render thee through my charm; may heaven
and earth both be propitious to thee!
2. May Agni together with the waters be auspicious to thee,
may Soma together with the plants be auspicious. Thus from kshetriya,
from Nirriti, from the curse of the kinswoman, from the Druh,
from the fetter of Varuna do I release thee. Guiltless do I
render thee through my charm; may heaven and earth both be propitious
to thee!
May the wind in the atmosphere auspiciously bestow upon thee
strength, may the four quarters of the heaven be auspicious
to thee. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c.
4. These four goddesses, the directions of space, the consorts
of the wind, the sun surveys. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c.
5. Within these (directions) I assign thee to old age; forth
to a distance shall go Nirriti and disease! Thus from kshetriya,
from Nirriti &c.
6. Thou hast been released from disease, from mishap, and from
blame; out from the fetter of Druh, and from Grâhi (the demon
of fits) thou hast been released. Thus from kshetriya, from
Nirriti &c.
7. Thou didst leave behind Arâti (the demon of grudge), didst
obtain prosperity, didst enter the happy world of the pious.
Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c.
8. The gods, releasing the sun and the ritam (the divine order
of the universe) from darkness and from Grâhi, did take them
out of sin. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c.
III, 7. Charm against kshetriya, hereditary disease.
1. Upon the head of the nimble antelope a remedy grows! He
has driven the kshetriya (inherited disease) in all directions
by means of the horn.
2. The antelope has gone after thee with his four feet. O horn,
loosen the kshetriya that is knitted into his heart!
3. (The horn) that glistens yonder like a roof with four wings
(sides), with that do we drive out every kshetriya from thy
limbs.
4. The lovely twin stars, the vikritau ('the two looseners')
that are yonder upon the sky, shall loosen the nethermost and
the uppermost fetter of the kshetriya!
5. The waters, verily, are healers, the waters are scatterers
of disease, the waters cure all disease: may they. relieve thee
from the kshetriya!
6. The kshetriya that has entered into thee from the prepared
(magic) concoction, for that I know the remedy; I drive the
kshetriya out of thee.
7. When the constellations fade away, and when the dawn does
fade away, (then) shall he shine away from us every evil and
the kshetriya!
I, 23. Leprosy cured by a dark plant.
1. Born by night art thou, O plant, dark, black, sable. Do
thou, that art rich in colour, stain this leprosy, and the gray
spots!
2. The leprosy and the gray spots drive away from here--may
thy native colour settle upon thee--the white spots cause to
fly away!
3. Sable is thy hiding-place, sable thy dwelling-place, sable
art thou, O plant: drive away from here the speckled spots!
4. The leprosy which has originated in the bones, and that which
has originated in the body and upon the skin, the white mark
begotten of corruption, I have destroyed with my charm.
I, 24. Leprosy cured by a dark plant.
1. The eagle (suparna) that was born at first, his gall thou
wast, O plant. The Âsurî having conquered this (gall) gave it
to the trees for their colour.
2. The Âsurî was the first to construct this remedy for leprosy,
this destroyer of leprosy. She has destroyed the leprosy, has
made the skin of even colour.
3. 'Even-colour' is the name of thy mother; 'Even-colour' is
the name of thy father; thou, O plant, producest even colour:
render this (spot) of even colour!
4. The black (plant) that produces even colour has been fetched
out of the earth. Do thou now, pray, perfect this, construct
anew the colours!
VI, 83. Charm for curing scrofulous sores called apakit.
1. Fly forth, ye apakit (sores), as an eagle from the nest!
Sûrya (the sun) shall prepare a remedy, Kandramâs (the moon)
shall shine you away!
2. One is variegated, one is white, one is black, and two are
red: I have gotten the names of all of them. Go ye away without
slaying men!
3. The apakit, the daughter of the black one, without bearing
offspring will fly away; the boil will fly away from here, the
galunta (swelling) will perish.
4. Consume thy own (proper) oblation with gratification in thy
mind, when I here offer svâhâ in my mind!
VII, 76. A. Charm for curing scrofulous sores called apakit.
1. Ye (sores) fall easily from that which falls easily, ye
exist less than those that do not exist (at all); ye are drier
than the (part of the body called) sehu, more moist than salt.
2. The apakit (sores) that are upon the neck, and those that
are upon the shoulders; the apakit that are upon the vigâman
(some part of the body) fall off of themselves.
B. Charm for curing tumours called gâyânya.
3. The gâyânya that crushes the ribs, that which passes down
to the sole of the foot, and whichever is fixed upon the crown
of the head, I have driven out every one.
4. The gâyânya, winged, flies; he settles down upon man. Here
is the remedy both for sores not caused by cutting as well as
for wounds sharply cut!
5. We know, O gâyânya, thy origin, whence thou didst spring.
How canst thou slay there, in whose house we offer oblations?
C. Stanza sung at the mid-day pressure of the soma.
6. Drink stoutly, O Indra, slayer of Vritra, hero, of the soma in the cup, at the battle for riches! Drink thy fill at the mid-day pressure! Living in wealth, do thou bestow wealth upon us!
VII, 74. A. Charm for curing scrofulous sores called apakit.
1. We have heard it said that the mother of the black Apakit
(pustules) is red: with the root (found by) the divine sage
do I strike all these.
2. I strike the foremost one of them, and I strike also the
middlemost of them; this hindmost one I cut off as a flake (of
wool).
B. Charm to appease jealousy.
3. With Tvashtar's charm I have sobered down thy jealousy; also thy anger, O lord, we have quieted.
C. Prayer to Agni, the lord of vows.
4. Do thou, O lord of vows, adorned with vows, ever benevolently here shine! May we all, adoring thee, when thou hast been kindled, O Gâtavedas, be rich in offspring!
VI, 25. Charm against scrofulous sores upon neck and shoulders.
1. The five and fifty (sores) that gather together upon the
nape of the neck, from here they all shall pass away, as the
pustules of the (disease called) apakit!
2. The seven and seventy (sores) that gather together upon the
neck, from here they all shall pass away, as the pustules of
the (disease called) apakit!
3. The nine and ninety (sores) that gather together upon the
shoulders, from here they all shall pass away, as the pustules
of the (disease called) apakit!
VI, 57. Urine (gâlâsha) as a cure for scrofulous sores.
1. This, verily, is a remedy, this is the remedy of Rudra,
with which one may charm away the arrow that has one shaft and
a hundred points!
2. With gâlâsha (urine) do ye wash (the tumour), with gâlâsha
do ye sprinkle it! The gâlâsha is a potent remedy: do thou (Rudra)
with it show mercy to us, that we may live!
3. Both well-being and comfort shall be ours, and nothing whatever
shall injure us! To the ground the disease (shall fall): may
every remedy be ours, may all remedies be ours!
IV, 12. Charm with the plant arundhatî (lâkshâ) for the cure of fractures.
1. Rohan! art thou, causing to heal (rohanî), the broken
bone thou causest to heal (rohanî): cause this here to heal
(rohaya), O arundhatî!
2. That bone of thine which, injured and burst, exists in thy
person, Dhâtar shall kindly knit together again, joint with
joint!
3. Thy marrow shall unite with marrow, and thy joint (unite)
with joint; the part of thy flesh that has fallen off, and thy
bone shall grow together again!
4. Thy marrow shall be joined together with marrow, thy skin
grow together with skin! Thy blood, thy bone shall grow, thy
flesh grow together with flesh!
5. Fit together hair with hair, and fit together skin with skin!
Thy blood, thy bone shall grow: what is cut join thou together,
O plant!
6. Do thou here rise up, go forth, run forth, (as) a chariot
with sound wheels, firm feloe, and strong nave; stand upright
firmly!
7. If he has been injured by falling into a pit, or if a stone
was cast and hurt him, may he (Dhâtar, the fashioner) fit him
together, joint to joint, as the wagoner (Ribhu) the parts of
a chariot!
V, 5. Charm with the plant silâki (lâkshâ, arundhatî) for the cure of wounds.
1. The night is thy mother, the cloud thy father, Aryaman
thy grandfather. Silâkî, forsooth, is thy name, thou art the
sister of the gods.
2. He that drinks thee lives; (that) person thou dost preserve.
For thou art the supporter of all successive (generations),
the refuge of men.
3. Every tree thou dost climb, like a wench lusting after a
man. 'Victorious,' 'firmly founded,' 'saving,' verily, is thy
name.
4. The wound that has been inflicted by the club, by the arrow,
or by fire, of that thou art the cure: do thou cure this person
here!
5. Upon the noble plaksha-tree (ficus infectoria) thou growest
up, upon the asvattha (ficus religiosa), the khadira (acacia
catechu), and the dhava (grislea tomentosa); (thou growest up)
upon the noble nyagrodha (ficus indica, banyan-tree), and the
parna (butea frondosa). Come thou to us, O arundhatî!
6. O gold-coloured, lovely, sun-coloured, most handsome (plant),
mayest thou come to the fracture, O cure! 'Cure,' verily, is
thy name!
7. O gold-coloured, lovely, fiery (plant), with hairy stem,
thou art the sister of the waters, O lâkshâ, the wind became
thy very breath.
8. Silâkî is thy name, O thou that art brown as a goat, thy
father is the son of a maiden. With the blood of the brown horse
of Yama thou hast verily been sprinkled.
9. Having dropped from the blood of the horse she ran upon the
trees, turning into a winged brook. Do thou come to us, O arundhatî!
VI, 109. The pepper-corn as a cure for wounds.
1. The pepper-corn cures the wounds that have been struck
by missiles, it also cures the wounds from stabs. Anent it the
gods decreed: 'Powerful to secure life this (plant) shall be!'
2. The pepper-corns spake to one another, as they came out,
after having been created: 'He whom we shall find (as yet) alive,
that man shall not suffer harm!'
3. The Asuras did dig thee into the ground, the gods cast thee
up again, as a cure for disease produced by wind (in the body),
moreover as a cure for wounds struck by missiles.
I, 17. Charm to stop the flow of blood.
1. The maidens that go yonder, the veins, clothed in red
garments, like sisters without a brother, bereft of strength,
they shall stand still!
2. Stand still, thou lower one, stand still, thou higher one;
do thou in the middle also stand still! The most tiny (vein)
stands still: may then the great artery also stand still!
Of the hundred arteries, and the thousand veins, those in the
middle here have indeed stood still. At the same time the ends
have ceased (to flow).
4. Around you has passed a great sandy dike: stand ye still,
pray take your case!
II, 31. Charm against worms.
1. With Indra's great mill-stone, that crushes all vermin,
do I grind to pieces the worms, as lentils with a mill-stone.
2. I have crushed the visible and the invisible worm, and the
kurûru, too, I have crushed. All the algandu and the saluna,
the worms, we grind to pieces with our charm.
3. The algandu do I smite with a mighty weapon: those that have
been burned, and those that have not been burned, have become
devoid of strength. Those that are left and those that are not
left do I destroy with my song, so that not one of the worms
be left.
4. The worm which is in the entrails, and he that is in the
head, likewise the one that is in the ribs: avaskava and vyadhvara,
the worms, do we crush with (this) charm.
5. The worms that are within the mountains, forests, plants,
cattle, and the waters, those that have settled in our bodies,
all that brood of the worms do I smite.
II. 32. Charm against worms in cattle.
1. The rising sun shall slay the worms, the setting sun with
his rays shall slay the worms that are within the cattle!
2. The variegated worm, the four-eyed, the speckled, and the
white--I crush his ribs, and I tear off his head.
3. Like Atri, like Kanva, and like Gamadagni do I slay you,
ye worms! With the incantation of Agastya do I crush the worms
to pieces.
4. Slain is the king of the worms, and their viceroy also is
slain. Slain is the worm, with him his mother slain, his brother
slain, his sister slain.
5. Slain are they who are inmates with him, slain are his neighbours;
moreover all the quite tiny worms are slain.
6. I break off thy two horns with which thou deliverest thy
thrusts; I cut that bag of thine which is the receptacle for
thy poison.
V, 23. Charm against worms in children.
1. I have called upon heaven and earth, I have called upon
the goddess Sarasvatî, I have called upon Indra and Agni: 'they
shall crush the worm,' (I said).
2. Slay the worms in this boy, O Indra, lord of treasures! Slain
are all the evil powers by my fierce imprecation!
3. Him that moves about in the eyes, that moves about in the
nose, that gets to the middle of the teeth, that worm do we
crush.
4. The two of like colour, the two of different colour; the
two black ones, and the two red ones; the brown one, and the
brown-eared one; the (one like a) vulture, and the (one like
a) cuckoo, are slain.
5. The worms with white shoulders, the black ones with white
arms, and all those that are variegated, these worms do we crush.
6. In the east rises the sun, seen by all, slaying that which
is not seen; slaying the seen and the unseen (worms), and grinding
to pieces all the worms.
7. The yevâsha and the kashkasha, the egatka, and the sipavitnuka--the
seen worm shall be slain, moreover the unseen shall be slain!
8. Slain of the worms is the yevâsha, slain further is the nadaniman;
all have I crushed down like lentils with a mill-stone.
9. The worm with three heads and the one with three skulls,
the speckled, and the white--I crush his ribs and I tear off
his head.
10. Like Atri, like Kanva, and like Gamadagni do I slay you,
ye worms! With the incantation of Agastya do I crush the worms
to pieces.
11. Slain is the king of the worms, and their viceroy also is
slain. Slain is the worm, with him his mother slain, his brother
slain, his sister slain.
12. Slain are they who are inmates with him, slain are his neighbours;
moreover all the quite tiny worms are slain.
13. Of all the male worms, and of all the female worms do I
split the heads with the stone, I burn their faces with fire.
IV, 6. Charm against poison.
1. The Brâhmana was the first to be born, with ten heads
and ten mouths. He was the first to drink the soma; that did
render poison powerless.
2. As great as heaven and earth are in extent, as far as the
seven streams did spread, so far from here have I proclaimed
forth this charm that destroys poison.
3. The eagle Garutmant did, O poison, first devour thee. Thou
didst not bewilder him, didst not injure him, yea, thou didst
turn into food for him.
4. The five-fingered hand that did hurl upon thee (the arrow)
even from the curved bow--from the point of the tearing (arrow)
have I charmed away the poison.
5. From the point (of the arrow) have I charmed away the poison,
from the substance that has been smeared upon it, and from its
plume. From its barbed horn, and its neck, I have charmed away
the poison.
6. Powerless, O arrow, is thy point, and powerless is thy poison.
Moreover of powerless wood is thy powerless bow, O powerless
(arrow)!
7. They that ground (the poison), they that daubed it on, they
that hurled it, and they that let it go, all these have been
rendered impotent. The mountain that grows poisonous plants
has been rendered impotent.
8. Impotent are they that dig thee, impotent art thou, O plant!
Impotent is that mountain height whence this poison has sprung.
IV, 7. Charm against poison.
1. This water (vâr) in the (river) Varanâvatî shall ward
off (vârayâtai)! Amrita (ambrosia) has been poured into it:
with that do I ward off (vâraye) poison from thee.
2. Powerless is the poison from the east, powerless that from
the north. Moreover the poison from the south transforms itself
into a porridge.
3. Having made thee (the poison) that comes from a horizontal
direction into a porridge, rich in fat, and cheering, from sheer
hunger he has eaten thee, that hast an evil body: do thou not
cause injury!
4. Thy bewildering quality (madam), O (plant?) that art bewildering
(madivati), we cause to fall like a reed. As a boiling pot of
porridge do we remove thee by (our) charm.
5. (Thee, O poison) that art, as it were, heaped about the village,
do we cause to stand still by (our) charm. Stand still as a
tree upon its place; do not, thou that hast been dug with the
spade, cause injury!
6. With broom-straw (?), garments, and also with skins they
purchased thee: a thing for barter art thou, O plant! Do not,
thou that hast been dug with the spade, cause injury!
7. Those of you who were of yore unequalled in the deeds which
they performed-may the), not injure here our men: for this very
purpose do I engage you!
VI, 100. Ants as an antidote against poison.
1. The gods have given, the sun has given, the earth has
given, the three Sarasvatîs, of one mind, have given this poison-destroying
(remedy)!
2. That water, O ants, which the gods poured for you into the
dry land, with this (water), sent forth by the gods, do ye destroy
this poison!
3. Thou art the daughter of the Asuras, thou art the sister
of the gods. Sprung from heaven and earth, thou didst render
the poison devoid of strength.
VI, 13 Charm against snake-poison.
1. Varuna, the sage of heaven, verily lends (power) to rne.
With mighty charms do I dissolve thy poison. The (poison) which
has been dug, that which has not been dug, and that which is
inherent, I have held fast. As a brook in the desert thy poison
has dried up.
2. That poison of thine which is not fluid I have confined within
these (serpents?). I hold fast the sap that is in thy middle,
thy top, and in thy bottom, too. May (the sap) now vanish out
of thee from fright!
3. My lusty shout (is) as the thunder with the cloud: then do
I smite thy (sap) with my strong charm. With manly strength
I have held fast that sap of his. May the sun rise as light
from the darkness!
4. With my eye do I slay thy eye, with poison do I slay thy
poison. O serpent, die, do not live; back upon thee shall thy
poison turn!
5. O kairâta, speckled one, upatrinya (grass-dweller?), brown
one, listen to me; ye black repulsive reptiles, (listen to me)!
Do not stand upon the ground of my friend; cease with your poison
and make it known (to people?)!
6. I release (thee) from the fury of the black serpent, the
taimâta, the brown serpent, the poison that is not fluid, the
all-conquering, as the bowstring (is loosened) from the bow,
as chariots (from horses).
7. Both Âligî and Viligî, both father and mother, we know your
kin everywhere. Deprived of your strength what will ye do?
8. The daughter of urugûlâ, the evil one born with the black--of
all those who have run to their hiding-place the poison is devoid
of force.
9. The prickly porcupine, tripping down from the mountain, did
declare this: 'Whatsoever serpents, living in ditches, are here,
their poison is most deficient in force.'
10. Tâbuvam (or) not tâbuvam, thou (O serpent) art not tâbuvam.
Through tâbuvam thy poison is bereft of force.
11. Tastuvam (or) not tastuvam, thou (O serpent) art not tastuvam.
Through tastuvarn thy poison is bereft of force.
VI, 12. Charm against snake-poison.
1. As the sun (goes around) the heavens I have surrounded
the race of the serpents. As night (puts to rest) all animals
except the hamsa bird, (thus) do I with this (charm) ward off
thy poison.
2. With (the charm) that was found of yore by the Brahmans,
found by the Rishis, and found by the gods, with (the charm)
that was, will be, and is now present, with this do I ward off
thy poison.
3. With honey do I mix the rivers; the mountains and peaks are
honey. Honey are the rivers Parushnî and Sîpalâ. Prosperity
be to thy mouth, prosperity to thy heart!
VII, 56. Charm against the poison of serpents, scorpions, and insects.
1. The poison infused by the serpent that is striped across,
by the black serpent, and by the adder; that poison of the kankaparvan
('with limbs like a comb,' scorpion) this plant has driven out.
2. This herb, born of honey, dripping honey, sweet as honey,
honied, is the remedy for injuries; moreover it crushes insects.
3. Wherever thou hast been bitten, wherever thou hast been sucked,
from there do we exorcise for thee the poison of the small,
greedily biting insect, (so that it be) devoid of strength.
4. Thou (serpent) here, crooked, without joints, and without
limbs, that twisteth thy crooked jawsmayest thou, O Brihaspati,
straighten them out, as
a (bent) reed!
5. The poison of the sarkota (scorpion) that creeps low upon
the ground, (after he) has been deprived of his strength, I
have taken away; moreover I have caused him to be crushed.
6. There is no strength in thy arms, in thy head, nor in the
middle (of thy body). Then why dost thou so wickedly carry a
small (sting) in thy tail?
7. The ants devour thee, pea-hens hack thee to pieces. Yea,
every one of you shall declare the poison of the sarkota powerless!
8. Thou (scorpion) that strikest with both, with mouth as well
as tail, in thy mouth there is no poison: then what can there
be in the receptacle in thy tail?
VI, 16. Charm against ophthalmia.
1. O âbayu, (and even if) thou art not âbayu, strong is thy
juice, O âbayu! We eat a gruel, compounded of thee.
2. Vihalha is thy father's name, Madâvatî thy mother's name.
Thou art verily not such, as to have consumed thy own self.
3. O Tauvilikâ, do be quiet! This howling one has become quiet.
O brown one, and brown-eared one, go away! Go out, O âla!
4. Alasâlâ thou art first, silâñgalâlâ thou art the next, nîlâgalasâlâ
(thou art third?)!
VI, 21. Charm to promote the growth of hair.
1. Of these three earths (our) earth verily is the highest.
From the surface of these I have now plucked a remedy.
2. Thou art the most excellent of remedies, the best of plants,
as Soma (the moon) is the lord in the watches of the night,
as Varuna (is king) among the gods.
3. O ye wealthy, irresistible (plants), ye do generously bestow
benefits. And ye strengthen the hair, and, moreover, promote
its increase.
VI, 136. Charm with the plant nitatni to promote the growth of hair.
1. As a goddess upon the goddess earth thou wast born, O
plant! We dig thee up, O nitatni, that thou mayest strengthen
(the growth) of the hair.
2. Strengthen the old (hair), beget the new! That which has
come forth render more luxurious!
3. That hair of thine which does drop off, and that which is
broken root and all, upon it do I sprinkle here the all-healing
herb.
VI, 137. Charm to promote the growth of hair.
1. The (plant) that Gamadagni dug up to promote the growth
of his daughter's hair, Vâtahavya has brought here from the
dwelling of Asita.
2. With reins they had to be measured, with outstretched arms
they had to be measured out. May thy hairs grow as reeds, may
they (cluster), black, about thy head!
3. Make firm their roots, draw out their ends, expand their
middle., O herb! May thy hairs grow as reeds, may they (cluster),
black, about thy head!
IV, 4. Charm to promote virility.
1. Thee, the plant, which the Gandharva dug up for Varuna,
when his virility had decayed, thee, that causest strength[1],
we dig up.
2. Ushas (Aurora), Sûrya, (the sun), and this charm of mine;
the bull Pragâpati (the lord of creatures) shall with his lusty
fire arouse him!
3. This herb shall make thee so very full of lusty strength,
that thou shalt, when thou art excited, exhale heat as a thing
on fire!
4. The fire of the plants, and the essence of the bulls shall
arouse him! Do thou, O Indra, controller of bodies, place the
lusty force of men into this person!
5. Thou (O herb) art the first-born sap of the waters and also
of the plants. Moreover thou art the brother of Soma, and the
lusty force of the antelope buck!
6. Now, O Agni, now, O Savitar, now, O goddess Sarasvatî, now,
O Brahmanaspati, do thou stiffen the pasas as a bow!
7. I stiffen thy pasas as a bowstring upon the bow. Embrace
thou (women) as the antelope buck the gazelle with ever unfailing
(strength)!
8. The strength of the horse, the mule, the goat and the ram,
moreover the strength of the bull bestow upon him, O controller
of bodies (Indra)!
[1. The original, more drastically, sepaharshanîm. By a few changes and omissions in stanzas 3, 6, and 7 the direct simplicity of the original has been similarly veiled.]
1. Release for me, O Agni, this person here, who, bound and
well-secured, loudly jabbers! Then shall he have due regard
for thy share (of the offering), when he shall be free from
madness!
2. Agni shall quiet down thy mind, if it has been disturbed!
Cunningly do I prepare a remedy, that thou shalt be freed from
madness.
3. (Whose mind) has been maddened by the sin of the gods, or
been robbed of sense by the Rakshas, (for him) do I cunningly
prepare a remedy, that he shall be free from madness.
4. May the Apsaras restore thee, may Indra, may Bhaga restore
thee; may all the gods restore thee, that thou mayest be freed
from madness!
IV, 37. Charm with the plant agasringi to drive out Rakshas, Apsaras and Gandharvas.
1. With thee, O herb, the Atharvans first slew the Rakshas,
with thee Kasyapa slew (them), with thee Kanva and Agastya (slew
them).
2. With thee do we scatter the Apsaras and Gandharvas. O agasringi
(odina pinnata), goad (aga) the Rakshas, drive them all away
with thy smell!
3. The Apsaras, Guggulil, I'lli, Naladi, Aukshagandhi, and Pramandani
(by name), shall go to the river, to the ford of the waters,
as if blown away! Thither do ye, O Apsaras, pass away, (since)
ye have been recognised!
4. Where grow the asvattha (ficus religiosa) and the banyan-trees,
the great trees with crowns, thither do ye, O Apsaras, pass
away, (since) ye have been recognised!
5. Where your gold and silver swings are, where cymbals and
lutes chime together, thither do ye, O Apsaras, pass away, (since)
ye have been recog~ nised.
6. Hither has come the mightiest of the plants and herbs. May
the agasringi arâtaki pierce with her sharp horn (tîkshmasringî)!
7. Of the crested Gandharva, the husband of the Apsaras, who
comes dancing hither, I crush the two mushkas and cut off the
sepas.
8. Terrible are the missiles of Indra, with a hundred points,
brazen; with these he shall pierce the Gandharvas, who devour
oblations, and devour the avakâ-reed.
9. Terrible are the missiles of Indra, with a hundred points,
golden; with these he shall pierce the Gandharvas, who devour
oblations, and devour the avakd-reed.
10. All the Pisâkas that devour the avakâ-reeds, that burn,
and spread their little light in the waters, do thou, O herb,
crush and overcome!
11. One is like a dog, one like an ape. As a youth, with luxuriant
locks, pleasant to look upon, the Gandharva hangs about the
woman. Him do we drive out from here with our powerful charm.
12. The Apsaras, you know, are your wives; ye, the Gandharvas,
are their husbands. Speed away, ye immortals, do not go after
mortals!
II, 9. Possession by demons of disease, cured by an amulet of ten kinds of wood.
1. O (amulet) of ten kinds of wood, release this man from
the demon (rakshas) and the fit (grâhi) which has seized upon.(gagrâha)
his joints! Do thou, moreover, O plant, lead him forth to the
world of the living!
2. He has come, he has gone forth, he has joined the community
of the living. And he has become the father of sons, and the
most happy of men!
3. This person has come to his senses, he has come to the cities
of the living. For he (now) has a hundred physicians, and also
a thousand herbs.
4. The gods have found thy arrangement, (O amulet); the Brahmans,
moreover, the plants. All the gods have found thy arrangement
upon the earth.
5. (The god) that has caused (disease) shall perform the cure;
he is himself the best physician.
Let him indeed, the holy one, prepare remedies for thee, together
with the (earthly) physician!
IV, 6. Charm against demons (pisâka) conceived as the cause of disease.
1. May Agni Vaisvânara, the bull of unfailing strength, burn
up him that is evil-disposed, and desires to harm us, and him
that plans hostile deeds against us!
2. Between the two rows of teeth of Agni Vaisvânara do I place
him that plans to injure us, when we are not planning to injure
him; and him that plans to injure us, when we do plan to injure
him.
Those who hound us in our chambers, while shouting goes on in
the night of the new moon, and the other flesh-devourers who
plan to injure us, all of them do I overcome with might.
4. With might I overcome the Pisâkas, rob them of their property;
all evil-disposed (demons) do I slay: may my device succeed!
5. With the gods who vie with, and measure their swiftness with
this sun, with those that are in the rivers, and in the mountains,
do I, along with my cattle, consort.
6. I plague the Pisâkas as the tiger the cattle-owners. As dogs
who have seen a lion, these do not find a refuge.
7. My strength does not lie with Pisâkas, nor with thieves,
nor with prowlers in the forest. From the village which I enter
the Pisâkas vanish away.
8. From the village which my fierce power has entered the Pisâkas
vanish away; they do not devise evil.
9. They who irritate me with their jabber, as (buzzing) mosquitoes
the elephant, them I regard as wretched (creatures), as small
vermin upon people.
10. May Nirriti (the goddess of destruction) take hold of this
one, as a horse with the halter! The fool who is wroth with
me is not freed from (her) snare.
II, 25. Charm with the plant prisniparnî against the demon of disease, called kanva.
1. The goddess Prisniparnî has prepared prosperity for us,
mishap for Nirriti (the goddess of destruction). For she is
a fierce devourer of the Kanvas: her, the mighty, have I employed.
2. The Prisniparnî was first begotten powerful; with her do
I lop off the heads of the evil brood, as (the head) of a bird.
3. The blood-sucking demon, and him that tries to rob (our)
health, Kanva, the devourer of our offspring, destroy, O Prisniparnî,
and overcome!
4. These Kanvas, the effacers of life, drive into the mountain;
go thou burning after them like fire, O goddess Prisniparnî!
5. Drive far away these Kanvas, the effacers of life! Where
the dark regions are, there have I made these flesh-eaters go.
VI, 32. Charm for driving away demons (Rakshas and Pisâkas).
1. Do ye well offer within the fire this oblation with ghee,
that destroys the spook! Do thou, O Agni, burn from afar against
the Rakshas, (but) our houses thou shalt not consume!
2. Rudra has broken your necks, ye Pisâkas: may he also break
your ribs, ye spooks! The plant whose power is everywhere has
united you with Yama (death).
3. Exempt from danger, O Mitra and Varuna, may we here be; drive
back with your flames the devouring demons (Atrin)! Neither
aider, nor support do they find; smiting one another they go
to death.
II, 4. Charm with an amulet derived from the gangida tree, against diseases and demons.
1. Unto long life and great delights, for ever unharmed and
vigorous, do we wear the gangida, as an amulet destructive of
the vishkandha.
2. From convulsions, from tearing pain, from vishkandha, and
from torturing pain, the gangida shall protect us on all sides--an
amulet of a thousand virtues!
3. This gangida conquers the vishkandha, and smites the Atrin
(devouring demons); may this all-healing gangida protect us
from adversity!
4. By means of the invigorating gangida, bestowed by the gods
as an amulet, do we conquer in battle the vishkandha and all
the Rakshas.
5. May the hemp and may gangida protect me against vishkandha!
The one (gangida) is brought hither from the forest, the other
(hemp) from the sap of the furrow.
6. Destruction of witchcraft is this amulet, also destruction
of hostile powers: may the powerful gangida therefore extend
far our lives!
XIX, 34, Charm with an amulet derived from the gafigpida-tree, aoainst diseases and demons.
1. Thou art an Angiras, O gangida, a protector art thou,
O gangida. All two-footed and four-footed creatures that belong
to us the gangida shall protect!
2. The sorceries fifty-three in number, and the hundred performers
of sorcery, all these having lost their force, the gangida shall
render bereft of strength!
3. Bereft of strength is the gotten-up clamour, bereft of strength
are the seven debilitating (charms). Do thou, O gangida, hurl
away from here poverty, as an archer an arrow!
4. This gangida is a destroyer of witchcraft, and also a destroyer
of hostile powers. May then the powerful gangida extend far
our lives!
5. May the greatness of the gangida protect us about on all
sides, (the greatness) with which he has overcome the vishkandha
(and) the samskandha, (overcoming the powerful (disease) with
power!
6. Thrice the gods begot thee that hast grown up upon the earth.
The Brahmanas of yore knew thee here by the name of Angiras.
7. Neither the plants of olden times, nor they of recent times,
surpass thee; a fierce slayer is the gahaida, and a happy refuge.
8 And when, O gangida of boundless virtue, thou didst spring
up in the days of yore, O fierce (plant), Indra at first placed
strength in thee.
9. Fierce Indra, verily, put might into thee, O lord of the
forest! Dispersing all diseases, slay thou the Rakshas, O plant!
I o. The breaking disease and the tearing disease, the balâsa,
and the pain in the limbs, the takman that comes every autumn,
may the gangida render devoid of force!
XIX, 35. Charm with an amulet derived from the gangida-tree, against diseases and demons.
1. While uttering Indra's name the seers bestowed (upon men)
the gangida, which the gods in the beginning had made into a
remedy, destructive of the vishkandha.
2 . May that gangida protect us as a treasurer his treasures,
he whom the gods and the Brâhmanas made into a refuge that puts
to naught the hostile powers!
3. The evil eye of the hostile-minded, (and) the evil-doer I
have approached. Do thou, O thousandeyed one, watchfully destroy
these! A refuge art thou, O gangida.
4. May the gangida protect me from heaven, protect me from earth,
protect (me) from the atmosphere, protect me from the plants,
protect me from the past, as well as the future; may he protect
us from every direction of space!
5. The sorceries performed by the gods, and also those performed
by men, may the all-healing gangida render them all devoid of
strength!
VI, 85. Exorcism of disease by means of an amulet from the varana-tree.
1. This divine tree, the varana, shall shut out (vârayâtai).
The gods, too, have shut out (avîvaran) the disease that hath
entered into this man!
2. By Indra's command, by Mitra's and by Varuna's, by the command
of all the gods do we shut out thy disease.
3. As Vritra did bold fast these ever-flowing waters, thus do
I shut out (vâraye) disease from thee with (the help of) Agni
Vaisvânara.
VI, 127. The kîpudru-tree as a panacea.
1. Of the abscess, of the balâsa, of flow of blood, O plant;
of neuralgia, O herb, thou shalt not leave even a speck!
2. Those two boils (testicles) of thine, O balasa, that are
fixed upon the arm-pits-I know the remedy for that: the kîpudru-tree
takes care of it.
3. The neuralgia that is in the limbs, that is in the ears and
in the eyes-we tear them out, the neuralgia, the abscess, and
the pain in the heart. That unknown disease do we drive away
downward.
XIX, 38. The healing properties of bdellium.
1. [Neither diseases, nor yet a curse, enters this person,
O arundhatî!] From him that is penetrated by the sweet fragrance
of the healing bdellium, diseases flee in every direction, as
antelopes and as horses run.
2. Whether, O bdellium, thou comest from the Sindhu (Indus),
or whether thou art derived from the sea, I have seized the
qualities of both, that this person shall be exempt from harm.
VI, 91. Barley and water as universal remedies.
1. This barley they did plough vigorously, with yokes of
eight and yokes of six. With it I drive off to a far distance
the ailment from thy body.
2. Downward blows the wind, downward burns the sun, downward
the cow is milked: downward shall thy ailment pass!
3. The waters verily are healing, the waters chase away disease,
the waters cure all (disease): may they prepare a remedy for
thee!
VIII, 7. Hymn to all magic and medicinal plants, used as a universal remedy.
1. The plants that are brown, and those that are white; the
red ones and the speckled ones; the sable and the black plants,
all (these) do we invoke.
2. May they protect this man from the disease sent by the gods,
the herbs whose father is the sky, whose mother is the earth,
whose root is the ocean.
3. The waters and the heavenly plants are foremost; they have
driven out from every limb thy disease, consequent upon sin.
4. The plants that spread forth, those that are busby, those
that have a single sheath, those that creep along, do I address;
I call in thy behalf the plants that have shoots, those that
have stalks, those that divide their branches, those that are
derived from all the gods, the strong (plants) that furnish
life to man.
5. With the might that is yours, ye mighty ones, with the power
and strength that is yours, with that do ye, O plants, rescue
this man from this disease!
I now prepare a remedy.
6. The plants givalâ ('quickening'), na-ghâ-rishâ ('forsooth-no-harm'),
gîvanti ('living'), and the arundhatî, which removes (disease),
is full of blossoms, and rich in honey, do I call to exempt
him from injury.
7. Hither shall come the intelligent (plants) that understand
my speech, that we may bring this man into safety out of misery!
8. They that are the food of Agni (the fire), the offspring
of the waters, that grow ever renewing themselves, the firm
(plants) that bear a thousand names, the healing (plants), shall
be brought hither!
9. The plants, whose womb is the avaki (blyxa octandra), whose
essence are the waters, shall with their sharp horns thrust
aside evil!
10. The plants which release, exempt from Varuna (dropsy), are
strong, and destroy poison; those, too, that remove (the disease)
baldsa, and ward off witchcraft shall come hither!'
11. The plants that have been bought, that are right potent,
and are praised, shall protect in this village cow, horse, man,
and cattle!
12. Honied are the roots of these herbs, honied their tops,
honied their middles, honied their leaves, honied their blossoms;
they share in honey, are the food of immortality. May they yield
ghee, and food, and cattle chief of all!
13. As many in number and in kind the plants here are upon the
earth, may they, furnished with a thousand leaves, release me
from death and misery!
14. Tiger-like is the amulet (made of) herbs, a saviour, a protector
against hostile schemes: may it drive off far away from us all
diseases and the Rakshas!
15. As if at the roar of the lion they start with fright, as
if (at the roar) of fire they tremble before the (plants) that
have been brought hither. The diseases of cattle and men have
been driven out by the herbs: let them pass into navigable streams!
16. The plants release us from Agni Vaisvânara. Spreading over
the earth, go ye, whose king is the tree!
17. The plants, descended from Angiras, that grow upon the mountains
and in the plains, shall be for us rich in milk, auspicious,
comforting to the heart!
18. The herbs which I know, and those which I see with my sight;
the unknown, those which we know, and those which we perceive
to be charged with (power),--
19. All plants collectively shall note my words, that we may
bring this man into safety out of misfortune,--
20. The asvattha (ficus religiosa), and the darbha among the
plants; king Soma, amrita (ambrosia) and the oblation; rice
and barley, the two healing, immortal children of heaven!
21. Ye arise: it is thundering and crashing, ye plants, since
Parganya (the god of rain) is favouring you, O children of Prisni
(the spotted cloud), with (his) seed (water).
22. The strength of this amrita (ambrosia) do we crive this
man to drink. Moreover, I prepare a remedy, that he may live
a hundred years!
23. The boar knows, the ichneumon knows the healing plant. Those
that the serpents and Gandharvas know, I call hither for help.
24. The plants, derived from the Angiras, which the eagles and
the heavenly raghats (falcons) know, which the birds and the
flamingos know, which all winged (creatures) know, which all
wild animals know, I call hither for help.
25. As many plants as the oxen and kine, as many as the goats
and the sheep feed upon, so many plants, when applied, shall
furnish protection to thee!
26. As many (plants), as the human physicians know to contain
a remedy, so many, endowed with every healing quality, do I
apply to thee!
27. Those that have flowers, those that have blossoms, those
that bear fruit, and those that are without fruit, as if from
the same mother they shall suck sap, to exempt this man from
injury!
28. I have saved thee from a depth of five fathoms, and, too,
from a depth of ten fathoms; moreover, from the foot-fetter
of Yama, and from every sin against the gods.
VI, 96. Plants as a panacea.
1. The many plants of hundredfold aspect, whose king is Soma,
which have been begotten by Brihaspati, shall free us from calamity!
2. May they free us from (the calamity) consequent upon curses,
and also from the (toils) of Varuna; moreover, from the foot-fetter
of Yama, and every sin against the gods!
3. What laws we have infringed upon, with the eye, the mind,
and speech, either while awake, or asleep-may Soma by his (divine)
nature clear these (sins) away from us!
II, 32. Charm to secure perfect health.
1. From thy eyes, thy nostrils, ears, and chin--the disease
which is seated in thy head--from thy brain and tongue I do
tear it out.
2. From thy neck, nape of the neck, ribs, and spine--the disease
which is seated in thy fore-arm--from thy shoulders and arms
I do tear it out.
3. From thy heart, thy lungs, viscera, and sides; from thy kidneys,
spleen, and liver we do tear out the disease.
4. From thy entrails, canals, rectum, and abdomen; from thy
belly, guts, and navel I do tear out the disease.
5. From thy thighs, knees, heels, and the tips of thy feet--from
thy hips I do tear out the disease seated in thy buttocks, from
thy bottom the disease seated in thy buttocks.
6. From thy bones, marrow, sinews and arteries; from thy hands,
fingers, and nails I do tear out the disease.
7. The disease that is in thy every limb, thy every hair, thy
every joint; that which is seated in thy skin, with Kasyapa's
charm, that tears out, to either side we do tear it out.
IX, 8. Charm to procure immunity from all diseases.
1. Headache and suffering in the head, pain in the ears and
flow of blood, every disease of the head, do we charm forth
from thee.
2. From thy ears, from thy kankûshas the earpain, and the neuralgia--every
disease of the head do we charm forth from thee.
3. (With the charm) through whose agency disease hastens forth
from the ears and the mouth-every disease of the head do we
charm forth from thee.
4. (The disease) that renders a man deaf and blind--every disease
of the head do we charm forth from thee.
5. Pain in the limbs, fever in the limbs, the neuralgia that
affects every limb-every disease of the head do we charm forth
from thee.
6. (The disease) whose frightful aspect makes man tremble, the
takman (fever) that comes every autumn, do we charm forth from
thee.
7. The disease that creeps along the thighs, and then enters
the canals, out of thy inner parts do we charm forth.
8. If from the heart, from love, or from disgust, it arises,
from thy heart and from thy limbs the balâsa do we charm forth.
9. Jaundice from thy limbs, diarrhoea from within thy bowels,
the core of disease from thy inner soul do we charm forth.
10. To ashes (âsa) the balâsa shall turn; what is diseased shall
turn to urine! The poison of all diseases I have charmed forth
from thee.
11. Outside the opening (of the bladder) it shall run off; the
rumbling shall pass from thy belly! The poison of all diseases
I have charmed forth from thee.
12. From thy belly, lungs, navel, and heart-the poison of all
diseases I have charmed forth from thee.
13. (The pains) that split the crown (of the head), pierce the
head, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall
run off outside the opening (of the bladder)!
14. They that pierce the heart, creep along the ribs, without
doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside
the opening (of the bladder)!
15. They that pierce the sides, bore along the ribs, without
doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside
the opening (of the bladder)!
16. They that pierce crosswise, burrow in thy abdomen, without
doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside
the opening (of the bladder)!
17. They that creep along the rectum, twist the bowels, without
doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside
the opening (of the bladder)!
18. They that suck the marrow, and split the joints, without
doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside
the opening (of the bladder)!
19. The diseases and the injuries that paralyse thy limbs, the
poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from thee.
20. Of neuralgia, of abscesses, of inflation, or of inflammation
of the eyes, the poison of all diseases I have driven forth
from thee.
21. From thy feet, knees, thighs, and bottom; from thy spine,
and thy neck the piercing pains, from thy head the ache I have
removed.
22. Firm are the bones of thy skull, and the beat of thy heart.
At thy rising, O sun, thou didst remove the pains of the head,
quiet the pangs in the limbs.
taining long life and prosperity by transmission of disease.
1. In the essence of earthly bliss, O ye gods, in strength
of body (may he live)! May Agni, Sûrya, Brihaspati bestow upon
him life's vigour!
2. Give life to him, O Gâtavedas, bestow in addition progeny
upon him, O Tvashtar; procure, O Savitar, increase of wealth
for him; may this one, who belongs to thee, live a hundred autumns!
3. May our prayer bestow upon us vigour, and possession of sound.
progeny; ability and property do ye two, (O heaven and earth),
bestow upon us!, May he, conquering lands with might, (live),
O Indra, subjecting the others, his enemies!
4. Given by Indra, instructed by Varuna, sent by the Maruts,
strong, he has come to us; may he, in the lap of ye two, heaven
and earth, not suffer from hunger and not from thirst!
5. Strength may ye two, that are rich in strength, bestow upon
him; milk may ye two, that are rich in milk, bestow upon him!
Strength heaven and earth did bestow upon him; strength all
the gods, the Maruts, and the waters.
6. With the gracious (waters) do I delight thy heart, mayest
thou, free from disease, full of force, rejoice! Clothed in
the same garment do ye two drink this stirred drink, taking
on as a magic form the shape of the two Asvins!
7. Indra, having been wounded, first created this vigour, and
this ever fresh divine food: that same belongs to thee. By means
of that do thou, full of force, live (a hundred) autumns; may
it not flow out of thee: physicians have prepared it for thee!
PRAYERS FOR LONG LIFE AND HEALTH (ÂYUSHYÂNI).
III, 11. Prayer for health and long life.
1. I release thee unto life by means of (my) oblation, from
unknown decline, and from consumption. If Grâhi (seizure) has
caught hold (gagrâha) of this person here, may Indra and Agni
free him from that!
2. If his life has faded, even if he has passed away, if he
has been brought to the very vicinity of death, I snatch him
from the lap of Nirriti (the goddess of destruction): I have
freed him unto a life of a hundred autumns.
3. I have snatched him (from death) by means of an oblation
which has a thousand eyes, hundredfold strength, and -ensures
a hundredfold life, in order that Indra may conduct him through
the years across to the other side of every misfortune.
4. Live thou, thriving a hundred autumns, a hundred winters,
and a hundred springs! May Indra, Agni, Savitar, Brihaspati
(grant) thee a hundred years! I have snatched him (from death)
with an oblation that secures a life,of a hundred years.
5. Enter ye, O in-breathirig and out-breathing, as two bulls
a stable! Away shall go the other deaths, of which, it is said,
there are a hundred more!
6. Remain ye here, O in-breathing and out-breathing, do not
go away from here; do ye car anew to old age his body and his
limbs!
7. To old age I make thee over, into old age I urge thee; may
a happy old age guide thee! Away shall go the other deaths,
of which, it is said, there are a hundred more!
8. Upon thee (life unto) old age has been deposited, as a rope
is tied upon a bull. That death which has fettered thee at thy
birth with a firm rope, Brihaspati with the hands of the truth
did strip off from thee.
II, 28. Prayer for long life pronounced over a boy.
1. For thee alone, O (death from) old age, this (boy) shall
grow up: the other hundred kinds of death shall not harm him!
Like a provident mother in her lap Mitra shall befriend him,
shall save him from misfortune!
2. May Mitra or Varuna, the illustrious, cooperating, grant
him death from old age! Then Agni, the priest, who knows the
ways, promulgates all the races of the gods.
3. Thou, (O Agni), rulest over all the animals of the earth,
those which have been born, and those which are to be born:
may not in-breathing leave this one, nor yet out-breathing,
may neither friends nor foes slay him!
4. May father Dyaus (sky) and mother Prithivi (earth), co-operating,
grant thee death from old age, that thou mayest live in the
lap of Aditi a hundred winters, guarded by in-breathing and
outbreathing!
5. Lead this dear child to life and vigour, O Agni, Varuna,
and king Mitra! As a mother afford him protection, O Aditi,
and all ye gods, that he may attain to old age!
III, 31. Prayer for health and long life.
1. The gods are free from decrepitude; thou, O Agni, art
removed from the demon of hostility. I free thee from all evil
and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
2. (Vâyu), the purifying (wind), shall free thee from misfortune,
Sakra (Indra) from evil sorcery! I free thee from all evil and
disease, (and) unite thee with life.
3. The tame (village) animals are separate from the wild (forest
animals); the water has flowed apart from thirst. I free thee
from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
4. Heaven and earth here go apart; the paths go in every direction.
I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with
life.
5. 'Tvashtar is preparing a wedding for his daughter,' thus
(saying) does this whole world pass through. I free thee from
all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
6. Agni unites (life's) breaths, the moon is united with (life's)
breath. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee
with life.
7. By means of (life's) breath the gods aroused the everywhere
mighty sun. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite
thee with life.
8. Live thou by the (life's) breath of them that have life,
and that create life; do not die! I free thee from all evil
and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
9. Breathe thou with the (life's) breath of those that breathe;
do not die! I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite
thee with life.
10. Do thou (rise) up with life, unite thyself with life, (rise)
up with the sap of the plants! I free thee from all evil and
disease, (and) unite thee with life.
11. From the rain of Parganya we have risen up, immortal. I
free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.
VII, 53. Prayer for long life.
1. When, O Brihaspati, thou didst liberate (us) from existence
in yonder world of Yama, (and) from hostile schemes, then did
the Asvins, the physicians of the gods, with might sweep death
from us, O Agni!
2. O in-breathing and out-breathing, go along with the body,
do not leave it: may they be thy allies here! Live and thrive
a hundred autumns; Agni shall be thy most excellent shepherd
and overseer!
3. Thy vital force that has been dissipated afar, thy in-breathing
and thy out-breathing, shall come back again! Agni has snatched
them from the lap of Nirriti (the goddess of destruction), and
I again introduce them into thy person.
4. Let not his in-breathing desert him, nor his out-breathing
quit him and depart! I commit him to the Seven Rishis: may they
convey him in health to old age!
5. Enter, O in-breathing and out-breathing, like two bulls into
a stable: this person shall here flourish, an unmolested repository
for old age!
6. Life's breath we do drive into thee, disease we do drive
away from thee. May this excellent Agni endow us with life from
every source!
7. Ascending from the darkness of death to the highest firmament,
to Sûrya (the sun), the god among gods, we have reached the
highest light.
VIII, 1. Prayer for exemption from the dangers of death.
1. To the 'Ender,' to Death be reverence! May thy in-breathing
and thy out-breathing remain here! United here with (life's)
spirit this man shall be, sharing in the sun, in the world of
immortality (amrita)!
2. Bhaga has raised him up, Soma with his rays (has raised)
him up, the Maruts, the gods, (have raised) him up, Indra and
Agni (have raised) him up unto well-being.
3. Here (shall be) thy (life's) spirit, here thy inbreathing,
here thy life, here thy mind! We rescue thee from the toils
of Nirriti (destruction) by means of our divine utterance.
4. Rise up hence, O man! Casting off the footshackles of death,
do not sink down! Be not cut off from this world, from the sight
of Agni and the sun!
5. The wind, Mâtarisvan, shall blow for thee, the waters shall
shower amrita (ambrosia) upon thee, the sun shall shine kindly
for thy body! Death shall pity thee: do not waste away!
6. Thou shalt ascend and not descend, O man! Life and alertness
do I prepare for thee. Mount, forsooth, this imperishable, pleasant
car; then in old age thou shalt hold converse with thy family!
7. Thy mind shall not go thither, shall not disappear! Do not
become heedless of the living, do not follow the Fathers! All
the gods shall preserve thee here!
8. Do not long after the departed, who conduct (men) afar! Ascend
from the darkness, come to the light! We lay hold of thy hands.
9. The two dogs of Yama, the black and the brindled one, that
guard the road (to heaven), that have been despatched, shall
not (go after) thee! Come hither, do not long to be away; do
not tarry here with thy mind turned to a distance!
10. Do not follow this path: it is terrible! I speak of that
by which thou hast not hitherto gone. Darkness is this, O man,
do not enter it! Danger is beyond, security here for thee.
11. May the fires that are within the waters gLiard thee, may
(the fire) which men kindle guard thee, may Gâtavedas Vaisvânara
(the fire common to all men) guard thee! Let not the heavenly
(fire) together with the lightning burn, thee!
12. Let not the flesh-devouring (fire) menace thee: move afar
from the funeral pyre! Heaven shall guard thee, the earth shall
guard thee, the sun and moon shall guard thee, the atmosphere
shall guard thee against the divine missile!
13. May the alert and the watchful divinities guard thee, may
he that sleeps not and nods not guard thee, may he that protects
and is vigilant guard thee!
14. They shall guard thee, they shall protect thee. Reverence
be to them. Hail be to them!
15. Into converse with the living Vâyu, Indra, Dhâtar, and saving
Savitar shall put thee; breath and strength shall not leave
thee! Thy (life's) spirit do we call back to thee.
16. Convulsions that draw the jaws together, darkness, shall
not come upon thee, nor (the demon) that tears out the tongue
(?)! How shalt thou then waste away? The Âdityas and Vasus,
Indra and Agni shall raise thee up unto well-being!
17. The heavens, the earth, Pragâpati, have rescued thee. The
plants with Soma their king have delivered thee from death.
18. Let this man remain right here, ye gods, let him not depart
hence to yonder world! We rescue him from death with (a charm)
of thousandfold strength.
19. I have delivered thee from death. The (powers) that furnish
strength shall breathe upon thee. The (mourning women) with
dishevelled hair, they that wail lugubriously, shall not wail
over thee!
20. I have snatched thee (from death), I have obtained thee;
thou hast returned with renewed youth. O thou, that art (now)
sound of limb, for thee sound sight, and sound life have I obtained.
21. It has shone upon thee, light has arisen, darkness has departed
from thee. We remove from thee death, destruction, and disease.
VIII, 2. Prayer for exemption from the dangers of death.
1. Take hold of this (charm) that subjects to immortality
(life), may thy life unto old age not be cut off! I bring to
thee anew breath and life: not to mist and darkness, do not
waste away!
2. Come hither to the light of the living; I rescue thee unto
a life of a hundred autumns! Loosing the bands of death and
imprecation, I bestow upon thee long life extended very far.
3. From the wind thy breath I have obtained, from the sun thine
eye; thy soul I hold fast in thee: be together with thy limbs,
speak articulating with thy tongue!
4. With the breath of two-footed and four-footed creatures I
blow upon thee, as on Agni when he is born (as on fire when
kindled). I have paid reverence, O death, to thine eye, reverence
to thy breath.
5. This (man) shall live and shall not die: we rouse this man
(to life)! I make for him a remedy: O death, do not slay the
man!
6. The plant gîvalâ (quickening'), na-ghâ-rishâ ('forsooth-no-harm'),
and gîvantî ('living), a victorious, mighty saviour-plant do
I invoke, that he may be exempt from injury.
7. Befriend him, do not seize him, let him go, (O death); though
he be thy very own, let him abide here with unimpaired strength!
O Bhava and Sarva, take pity, grant Protection; misfortune drive
away, and life bestow!
8. Befriend him, death, and pity him: may he from here arise!
Unharmed, with sound limbs, hearing perfectly, through old age
carrying a hundred years, let him get enjoyment by himself (unaided)!
9. The missile of the gods shall pass thee by! I pass thee across
the mist (of death); from death I have rescued thee. Removing
far the flesh-devouring Agni, a barrier do I set around thee,
that thou mayest live.
10. From thy misty road that cannot be withstood, O death, from
this path (of thine) we guard this (man), and make our charm
a protection for him.
11. In-breathing and out-breathing. do I prepare for thee, death
in old age, long life, and prosperity. All the messengers of
Yama, that roam about, dispatched by Vivasvant's son, do I drive
away.
12. Arâti (grudge), Nirriti (destruction), Grâhi (seizure),
and the flesh-devouring Pisâkas (do we drive) away to a distance,
and hurl all wicked Rakshas away into darkness as it were.
13. I crave thy life's breath from the immortal, life-possessing
Agni Gâtavedas. That thou shalt not take harm, shalt be immortal
in (Agni's) company, that do I procure for thee, and that shall
be fulfilled for thee!
14. May heaven and earth, the bestowers of happiness, be auspicious
and harmless to thee; may the sun-shine, and the wind blow comfort
to thy heart; may the heavenly waters, rich in milk, flow upon
thee kindly!
15. May the plants be auspicious to thee! I have raised thee
from the lower to the upper earth: there may both the Âdityas,
the sun and the moon, . protect thee.
16. Whatever garment for clothing, or whatever girdle thou makest
for thyself, agreeable to thy body do we render it; not rough
to thy touch shall it be!
17. When thou, the barber, shearest with thy sharp well-whetted
razor our hair and beard, do not, while cleansing our face,
rob us of our life!
18. Rice and barley shall be auspicious to thee, causing no
balâsa, inflicting no injury! They two drive away disease, they
two release from calamity.
19. Whatever thou eatest or drinkest, the grain of the plough-land
or milk, whatever is or is not to be eaten, all that food do
I render for thee free from poison.
20. To day and to night both do we commit thee: from the demons
that seek to devour, do ye preserve this (man) for me!
21. A hundred years, ten thousand years, two, three, four ages
(yuga) do we allot to thee; Indra and Agni, and all the gods
without anger shall favour thee!
22. To autumn thee, to winter, spring and summer, do we commit;
the rains in which grow the plants shall be pleasant to thee!
23. Death rules over bipeds, death rules over quadrupeds. From
that death, the lord of cattle, do I rescue thee: do not fear!
24. Free from harm thou shalt not die; thou shalt not die: do
not fear! Verily, they do not die there, they do not go to the
nethermost darkness;--
25. Verily, every creature lives there, the cow, the horse,
and man, where this charm is performed, as the (protecting)
barrier for life.
26. May it preserve thee from sorcery, from thy equals and thy
kin! Undying be, immortal, exceedingly vital; thy spirits shall
not abandon thy body!
27. From the one and a hundred deaths, from the dangers that
are surmountable, from that Agai Vaisvânara (the funeral pyre?)
may the gods deliver thee!
28. Thou, the remedy called p6tudru, art the body of Agni, the
deliverer, slayer of Rakshas, slayer of rivals, moreover thou
chasest away disease.
V. 30. Prayer for exemption from disease and death.
1. From near thy vicinity, from near thy distance (do I call):
remain here, do not follow; do not follow the Fathers of yore!
Firmly do I fasten thy life's breath.
2. Whatever sorcery any kinsman or stranger has practised against
thee, both release and deliverance with my voice do I declare
for thee.
3. If thou hast deceived or cursed a woman or a man in thy folly,
both release and deliverance with my voice do I declare for
thee.
4. If thou liest (ill) in consequence of a sin committed by
thy mother or thy father, both release and deliverance with
my voice do I declare for thee.
5. Fight shy of the medicine which thy mother and thy father,
thy sister and thy brother let out against thee: I shall cause
thee to live unto old age!
6. Remain here, O man, with thy entire soul; do not follow the
two messengers of Yama: come to the abodes of the living!
7. Return when called, knowing the outlet of the path (death),
the ascent, the advance, the road of every living man!
8. Fear not, thou shalt not die: I shall cause thee to live
unto old age! I have charmed away from thy limbs the disease
that wastes the limbs.
9. The disease that racks and wastes thy limbs, and the sickness
in thy heart, has flown as an eagle to a far distance, overcome
by my charm.
10. The two sages Alert and Watchful, the sleepless and the
vigilant, these two guardians of thy life's breath, are awake
both day and night.
11. Agni here is to be revered; the sun shall rise here for
thee: rise thou from deep death, yea from black darkness!
12. Reverence be to Yama, reverence to death; reverence to the
Fathers and to those that lead (to them) [death's messengers?]!
That Agni who knows the way to save do I engage for this man,
that he be exempt from harm!
13. His breath shall come, his soul shall come, his sight shall
come, and, too, his strength! His body shall collect itself:
then shall he stand firm upon his feet!
14. Unite him, Agni, with breath and sight, provide him with
a body and with strength! Thou hast a knowledge of immortality:
let him not now depart, let him not now become a dweller in
a house of clay!
15. Thy in-breathing shall not cease, thy outbreathing shall
not vanish; Sûrya (the sun), the supreme lord, shall raise thee
from death with his rays!
16. This tongue (of mine), bound (in the mouth, yet) mobile,
speaks within: with it I have charmed away disease, and the
hundred torments of the takman (fever).
17. This world is most dear to the gods, unconquered. For whatever
death thou wast destined when thou wast born, O man, that (death)
and we call after thee: do not die before old age!
IV, 9. Salve (âñgana) as a protector of life and limb.
1. Come hither! Thou art the living, protecting eye-ointment
of the mountain, given by all the gods as a safeguard, unto
life.
2. Thou art a protection for men, a protection for cattle, thou
didst stand for the protection of horses and steeds.
3. Thou art, O salve, both a protection that crushes the sorcerers,
and thou hast knowledge of immortality (amrita). Moreover, thou
art food for the living, and thou art, too, a remedy aorainst
jaundice.
4. From him over whose every limb and every joint thou passest,
O salve, thou dost, as a mighty intercepter, drive away disease.
5. Him that bears thee, O salve, neither curse, nor sorcery,
nor burning pain does reach; nor does the,vishkandha come upon
him.
6. From evil scheme, from troubled dream, from evil deed, and
also from foulness.; from the evil eye of the enemy, from this
protect us, O salve!
7. Knowing this, O salve, I shall speak the truth, avoid falsehood.
May I obtain horses and cattle, and thy person, O serving-man!
8. Three are servants of the salve: the takman (fever), the
balâsa, and the serpent. The highest of the mountains, Trikakud
('Three-peaks') by name, is thy father.
9. Since the salve of Trikakud is born upon the Himavant, it
shall demolish all the wizards and all the witches.
10. Whether thou art derived from the (mountain) Trikakud, or
art said to come from the (river) Yamunâ, both these names of
thine are auspicious: with these, O salve, protect us!
IV, 10. The pearl and its shell as an amulet bestowing long life and prosperity.
1. Born of the wind, the atmosphere, the lightning, and the
light, may this pearl shell, born of gold, protect us from straits!
2. With the shell which was born in the sea, at the head of
bright substances, we slay the Rakshas and conquer the Atrins
(devouring demons).
3. With the shell (we conquer) disease and poverty; with the
shell, too, the Saânvâs. The shell is our universal remedy;
the pearl shall protect us from straits!
4. Born in the heavens, born in the sea, brought on from the
river (Sindhu), this shell, born of gold, is our life-prolonging
amulet.
5. The amulet, born from the sea, a sun, born from Vritra (the
cloud), shall on all sides protect us from the missiles of the
gods and the Asuras!
6. Thou art one of the golden substances, thou art born from
Soma (the moon). Thou art sightly on the chariot, thou art brilliant
on the quiver. [May it prolong our lives!]
7. The bone of the gods turned into pearl; that, animated, dwells
in the waters. That do I fasten upon thee unto life, lustre,
strength, longevity, unto a life lasting a hundred autumns,
May the (amulet) of pearl protect thee!
XIX, 26. Gold as an amulet for long life.
1. The gold which is born from fire, the immortal, they bestowed
upon the mortals. He who knows this deserves it; of old age
dies he who wears it.
2. The gold, (endowed by) the sun with beautiful colour, which
the men of yore, rich in descendants, did desire, may it gleaming
envelop thee in lustre! Long-lived becomes he who wears it!
3. (May it envelop) thee unto (long) life, unto lustre, unto
force, and unto strength, that thou shalt by the brilliancy
of the gold shine forth among people!
4. (The gold) which king Varuna knows, which god Brihaspati
knows, which Indra, the slayer of Vritra, knows, may that become
for thee a source of life, may that become for thee a source
of lustre!
IMPRECATIONS AGAINST DEMONS, SORCERERS, AND ENEMIES (ÂBHIKÂRIKÂNI AND KRITYÂPRATIHARANÂNI).
I, 7. Against sorcerers and demons.
1. The sorcerer (yâtudhâna) that vaunts himsel and the Kimîdin
do thou, O Agni, convey hither! For thou, O god, when lauded,
becomest the destroyer of the demon.
2. Partake of the ghee, of the sesame-oil, O Agni Gâtavedas,
that standest on high, conquerest by thyself! Make the sorcerers
howl!
3. The sorcerers and the devouring (atrin) Kimîdin shall howl!
Do ye, moreover, O Agni and Indra, receive graciously this our
oblation!
4. Agni shall be the first to seize them, Indra with his (strong)
arms shall drive them away! Every wizard, as soon as he comes,
shall proclaim himself, saying, 'I am he'!
5. We would see thy might, O Gâtavedas; disclose to us the wizards,
O thou that beholdest men! May they all, driven forth by thy
fire, disclosing themselves, come to this spot!
6. Seize hold, O Gâtavedas: for our good thou wast born! Become
our messenger, O Agni, and make the sorcerers howl!
7. Do thou, O Agni, drag hither the sorcerers, bound in shackles;
then Indra with his thunderbolt shall cut off their heads!
I, 8. Against sorcerers and demons.
1. May this oblation carry hither the sorcerers, as a river
(carries) foam! The man or the woman who has performed this
(sorcery), that person shall here proclaim himself!
2. This vaunting (sorcerer) has come hither: receive him with
alacrity! O Brihaspati, put him into subjection; O Agni and
Soma, pierce him through!
3. Slay the offspring of the sorcerer, O soma-drinking (Indra),
and subject (him)! Make drop out the farther and the nearer
eye of the braggart (demon)!
4. Wherever, O Agni Gâtavedas, thou perceivest the brood of
these hidden devourers (atrin), do thou, mightily strengthened
by our charm, slay them: slay their (brood), O Agni, piercing
them a hundredfold!
nst demons and sorcerers.
1. Against the devouring demons who, in the night of the
full-moon, have arisen in throngs, may Agni, the strong, the
slayer of the sorcerers, give us courage!
2. To the lead Varuna gives blessing, to the lead Agni gives
help. Indra gave me the lead: unfailingly it dispels sorcery.
3. This (lead) overcomes the vishkandha, this smites the devouring
demons (atrin); with this I have overwhelmed all the brood of
the Pisâkas.
4. If thou slayest our cow, if our horse or our domestic, we
pierce thee with the lead, so that thou shalt not slay our heroes.
VI, 2. The soma-oblation directed against Demons (rakshas).
1. Press the soma, ye priests, and rinse it (for renewed
pressing), in behalf of Indra who shall listen to the song of
the worshipper, and to my call!
2. Do thou, O doughty (Indra), whom the drops of soma enter
as birds a tree, beat off the hostile brood of the Rakshas!
3. Press ye the soma for Indra, the soma-drinker, who wields
the thunderbolt! A youthful victor and ruler is he, praised
by many men.
II, 14. Charm against a variety of female demons, conceived as hostile to men, cattle, and home.
1. Nissâlâ, the bold, the greedy demon (?dhishana), and (the
female demon) with long-drawn howl, the bloodthirsty; all the
daughters of Kanda, the Sadânvâs do we destroy.
2. We drive you out of the stable, out of the axle (of the wagon),
and the body of the wagon; we chase you, O ye daughters of Magundî,
from the house.
3. In yonder house below, there the grudging demons (arâyî)
shall exist; there ruin shall prevail, and all the witches!
4. May (Rudra), the lord of beings, and Indra. drive forth from
here the Sadânvâs; those that am seated on the foundation of
the house Indra shall overcome with his thunderbolt!
5. Whether ye belong to (the demons) of inherited disease, whether
ye have been dispatched by men, or whether ye have originated
from the Dasyus (demon-like aborigines), vanish from here, O
ye Sadânvâs!
6. About their dwelling-places I did swiftly course, as if on
a race-course. I have won all contests with you: vanish from
here, O ye Sadânvâs!
III, 9. Against vishkandha and kâbava (hostile demons).
1. Of karsapha and visapha heaven is the father and earth
the mother. As, ye gods, ye have brought on (the trouble), thus
do ye again remove it!
2. Without fastening the), (the protecting plants?) held fast,
thus it has been arranged by Manu. The vishkandha do I render
impotent, like one who gelds cattle.
3. A talisman tied to a reddish thread the active (seers) then
do fasten on: may the fastenings render impotent the eager,
fiery kâbava!
4. And since, O ye eager (demons), ye walk like gods by the
wile of the Asuras, the fastening (of the amulet) is destructive
to the kâbava, as the ape to the dog.
5. I revile thee, the kâbava, unto misfortune, (and) shall work
harm for thee. Accompanied with curses ye shall go out like
swift chariots!
6. A hundred and one vishkandha are spread out along the earth;
for these at the beginning they brought out thee, the amulet,
that destroys vishkandha.
IV, 20. Charm with a certain plant (sadampushpâ) which exposes demons and enemies.
1. He sees here, he sees yonder, he sees in the distance,
he sees--the sky, the atmosphere as well as the earth, all that,
O goddess, he sees.
2. The three heavens, the three earths, and these six directions
severally; all creatures may I see through thee, O divine plant!
3. Thou art verily the eyeball of the divine eagle; thou didst
ascend the earth as a weary woman a palanquin.
4. The thousand-eyed god shall put this plant into my right
hand: with that do I see every one, the Sûdra as well as the
Ârya.
5. Reveal (all) forms, do not hide thy own self; moreover, do
thou, O thousand-eyed (plant), look the Kimîdins in the face!
6. Reveal to me the wizards, and reveal the witches, reveal
all the Pisâkas: for this purpose do I take hold of thee, O
plant!
7. Thou art the eye of Kasyapa, and the eye of the four-eyed
bitch. Like the sun, moving in the bright day, make thou the
Pisâka evident to me!
8. I have dragged out from his retreat the sorcerer and the
Kimîdin. Through this (charm) do I see every one, the Sûdra
as well as the Ârya.
9. Him that flies in the air, him that moves across the sky,
him that regards the earth as his resort, that Pisâka do thou
reveal (to me)!
IV, 17. Charm with the apâmârga-plant, against sorcery, demons, and enemies.
1. We take hold, O victorious one, of thee, the mistress
of remedies. I have made thee a thing of thousandfold strength
for ever), one, O plant!
2. Her, the unfailingly victorious one, that wards off curses,
that is powerful and defensive; (her and) all the plants have
I assembled, intending that she shall save us from this (trouble)!
3. The woman who has cursed us with a curse, who has arranged
dire misfortune (for us), who has taken hold of our children,
to rob them of their strengthmay she eat (her own) offspring!
4. The magic spell which they have put into the unburned vessel,
that which they have put into the blue and red thread, that
which they have put into raw flesh, with these slay thou those
that have prepared the spell!
5. Evil dreams, troubled life, Rakshas, gruesomeness, and grudging
demons (arâyî), all the evil-named, evil-speakinor (powers),
these do we drive out from us.
6. Death from hunger, and death from thirst, poverty in cattle,
and failure of offspring, all that, O apâmârga, do we wipe out
(apa mrigmahe) with thee.
7. Death from thirst, and death from hunger, moreover, ill-luck
at dice, all that, O apâmârga, do we wipe out with thee.
8. The apâmârga is sole ruler over all plants, with it do we
wipe mishap from thee: do thou then live exempt from disease!
IV, 18. Charm with the apâmârga-plant, against sorcerers and demons.
1. Night is like unto the sun, the (starry) night is similar
to day. The truth do I engage for help: the enchantments shall
be devoid of force!
2. He, O ye gods, who prepares a spell, and carries it to the
house of one that knows not (of it), upon him the spell, returning,
shall fasten itself like a suckling calf upon its mother!
3. The person that prepares evil at home, and desires with it
to harm another, she is consumed by fire, and many stones fall
upon her with a loud crash.
4. Bestow curses, O thou (apâmârga), that hast a thousand homes,
upon the (demons) visikha ('crestless'), and vigrîva ('crooked-neck')!
Turn back the spell upon him that has performed it, as a beloved
maid (is brought) to her lover!
5. With this plant I have put to naught all spells, those that
they have put into thy field, thy cattle, and into thy domestics.
6. He that has undertaken them has not been able to accomplish
them: he broke his foot, his toe. He performed a lucky act for
us, but for himself an injury.
7. The apâmârga-plant shall wipe out (apa mârshtu) 'inherited
ills, and curses; yea, it shall wipe out all witches, and all
grudging demons (arâyî)!
8. Having wiped out all sorcerers, and all grudging demons,
with thee, O apâmârga, we wipe all that (evil) out.
IV, 19. Mystic power of the apâmârga-plant, against demons and sorcerers.
1. On the one hand thou deprivest of kin, on the other thou
now procurest kinfolk. Do thou, moreover, cut the offspring
of him that practises spells, as a reed that springs up in the
rain!
2. By a Brâhmana thou hast been blest, by Kanva, the descendant
of Nrishad. Thou goest like a stronor army; where thou hast
arrived, O plant, there there is no fear.
3. Thou goest at the head of the plants, spreading lustre, as
if with a light. Thou art on the one hand the protector of the
weak, on the other the slayer of the Rakshas.
4. When of yore, in the beginning, the gods drove out the Asuras
with thee, then, O plant, thou wast begotten as apâmârga ('wiping
out').
5. Thou cuttest to pieces (vibhindatî), and hast a hundred branches;
vibhindant ('cutting to pieces') is thy father's name. Do thou
(turn) against, and cut to pieces (vi bhindhi) him that is hostile
towards us!
6. Non-being arose from the earth, that goes to heaven, (as)
a great expansion. Thence, verily, that, spreading vapours,
shall turn against the performer (of spells)!
7. Thou didst grow backward, thou hast fruit which is turned
backward. Ward off from me all curses, ward off very far destructive
weapons!
8. Protect me with a hundredfold, guard me with a thousandfold
(strength)! Indra, the strong, shall put strength into thee,
O prince of plants!
VII, 65. Charm with the apâmârga-plant, against curses, and the consequences of sinful deeds.
1. With fruit turned backward thou verily didst grow, O apâmârga:
do thou drive all curses quite far away from here!
2. The evil deeds and foul, or the sinful acts which we have
committed, with thee, O apâmârga, whose face is turned to every
side, do we wipe them out (apa mrigmahe).
3. If we have sat together with one who has black teeth, or
diseased nails, or one who is deformed, with thee, O apâmârga,
we wipe all that out (apa mrigmahe).
X, 1. Charm to repel sorceries or spells.
1. The (spell) which they skilfully prepare, as a bride for
the wedding, the multiform (spell), fashioned by hand, shall
go to a distance: we drive it away!
2. The (spell) that has been brought forward by the fashioner
of the spell, that is endowed with head, endowed with nose,
endowed with ears, and multiform, shall go to a distance: we
drive it away!
3. (The spell) that has been prepared by a Sadra, prepared by
a Râga, prepared by a woman, prepared by Brahmans, as a wife
rejected by her husband, shall recoil upon her fabricator, (and)
his kin!
4. With this herb have I destroyed all spells, that which they
have put into thy field, into thy cattle, and into thy men.
5. Evil be to him that prepares evil, the curse shall recoil
upon him that utters curses: back do we hurl it against him,
that it may slay him that fashions the spell.
6. Pratikîna (' Back-hurler'), the descendant of Angiras, is
our overseer and officiator (purohita): do thou drive back again
(pratîkîh) the spells, and slay yonder fashioners of the spells!
7. He that has said to thee (the spell): 'go on'! upon that
enemy, that antagonist do thou turn, O spell: do not seek out
us, that are harmless!
8. He that has fitted together thy joints with skill, as the
wagoner (Ribhu) the joints of a chariot, to him go, there is
thy course: this person here shall remain unknown to thee!
9. They that have prepared thee and taken hold of thee, the
cunning wizards-this is what cures it, destroys the spell, drives
it back the opposite way - with it do we bathe thee.
10. Since we have come upon the wretched (spell), as upon (a
cow) with a dead calf, flooded away (by a river), may all evil
go away from me, and mav possessions come to me!
11. If (thy enemies) have made (offerings) to thy Fathers, or
have called thy name at the sacrifice, may these herbs free
thee from every indigenous evil!
12. From the sin of the gods, and that of the fathers, from
mentions of (thy) name, from (evil schemes) concocted at home,
may the herbs free thee with might, through (this) charm, (and
these) stanzas, (that are) the milk of the Rishis!
13. As the wind stirs up the dust from the earth, and the cloud
from the atmosphere, thus may all misfortune, driven by my charm,
go away from me!
14. Stride away (O spell), like a loudly braying she-ass, that
has been loosened (from the tether); reach those that have fabricated
thee, driven from here by (my) forceful charm!
15. 'This is the way, O spell,' with these words do we lead
thee. Thee that hast been sent Out against us do we send back
again. Go this way like a crushing army, with heavy carts, thou
that art multiform, and crowned by a crest(?)!
16. In the distance there is light for thee, hitherward there
is no road for thee; away from us take thy course! By another
road cross thou ninety navigable streams, hard to cross! Do
not injure, go away!
17. As the wind the trees, crush down and fell (the enemy),
leave them neither cow, nor horse, nor serving-man! Turn from
here upon those that have fabricated thee, O spell, awaken them
to childlessness!
18. The spell or the magic which they have buried against thee
in the sacrificial straw (barhis), in the field, (or) in the
burial-ground, or if with superior skill they have practised
sorcery against thee, that art simple and innocent, in thy household
fire,--
19. The hostile, insidious instrument which they have brought
hither has been discovered; that which has been dug in we have
detected. It shall go whence it has been brought hither; there,
like a horse, it shall disport itself, and slay the offspring
of him that has fashion'ed the spell!
20. Swords of good brass are in our house: we know how many
joints thou hast, O spell! Be sure to rise, go away from hence!
O stranger, what seekest thou here?
21. I shall hew off, O spell, thy neck, and thy feet: run away!
May Indra and Agni, to whom belong the children (of men), protect
us!
22. King Soma, who guards and pities us, and the lords of the
beings shall take pity on us!
23. May Bhava and Sarva cast the lightning, the divine missile,
upon him that performs evil, fashions a spell, and does wrong!
24. If thou art come two-footed, (or) four-footed, prepared
by the fashioner of the spell, multiform, do thou, having become
eight-footed, again go away from here, O misfortune!
25. Anointed, ornamented, and well equipped, go away, carrying
every misfortune! Know, O spell, thy maker, as a daughter her
own father!
26. Go away, O spell, do not stand still, track (the enemy)
as a wounded (animal)! He is the game, thou the hunter: he is
not able to put thee down.
27. Him that first hurls (the arrow), the other, laying on in
defence, slays with the arrow, and while the first deals the
blow, the other returns the blow.
28. Hear, verily, this speech of mine, and then return whence
thou camest, against the one that fashioned thee!
29. Slaughter of an innocent is heinous, O spell: do not slay
our cow, horse, or serving-man! Wherever thou hast been put
down, thence thee do we remove. Be lighter than a leaf!
30. If ye are enveloped in darkness, covered as if by a net--we
tear all spells out from here, send them back again to him that
fashioned them.
31. The offspring of them that fashion the spell, practise magic,
or plot against us, crush thou, O spell, leave none of them!
Slay those that fashion the spell!
32. As the sun is released from darkness, abandons the night,
and the streaks of the dawn, thus every misery, (every) device
prepared by the fashioner of the spell, (every) misfortune,
do I leave behind, as an elephant the dust.
V, 31. Charm to repel sorceries or spells.
1. The spell which they have put for thee into an unburned
vessel, that which they have put into mixed grain, that which
they have put into raw meat, that do I hurl back again.
2. The spell which they have put for thee into a cock, or that
which (they have put) into a goat, into a crested animal, that
which they have put into a sheep, that do I hurl back again.
3. The spell which they have put for thee into solipeds, into
animals with teeth on both sides, that which they have put into
an ass, that do I hurl back again.
4. The magic which they have put for thee into moveable property,
or into personal possession, the spell which they have put into
the field, that do I hurl back again.
5. The spell which evil-scheming persons have put for thee into
the gârhapatya-fire, or into the housefire, that which they
have put -into the house, that do I hurl back again.
6. The spell which they have put for thee into the assembly-hall,
that which (they have put) into the gaming-place, that which
they have put into the dice, that do I hurl back again.
7. The spell which they have put for thee into the army, that
which they have put into the arrow and the weapon, that which
they have put into the drum, that do I hurl back again.
8. The spell which they have placed down for thee in the well,
or have buried in the burial-ground, that which they have put
into (thy) home, that do I hurl back again.
9. That which they have put for thee into human bones, that
which (they have put) into the funeral fire, to the consuming,
burning, flesh-eating fire do I hurl that back again.
10. By an unbeaten path he has brought it (the spell) hither,
by a (beaten) path we drive it out from here. The fool in his
folly has prepared (the spell) aorainst those that are surely
wise.
11. He that has undertaken it has not been able to accomplish
it: he broke his foot, his toe. He, luckless, performed an auspicious
act for us, that are lucky.
12. Him that fashions spells, practises magic, digs after roots,
sends out curses, Indra, shall slay with his mighty weapon,
Agni shall pierce with his hurled (arrow)!
rceries or spells.
1. An eagle found thee out, a boar dug thee out with his
snout. Seek thou, O plant, to injure him that seeks to injure
(us), strike down him that prepares spells (against us'!
2. Strike down the wizards, strike down him that prepares spells
(against us); slay thou, moreover, O plant, him that seeks to
injure us!
3. Cutting out from the skin (of the enemy) as if (from the
skin) of an antelope, do ye, O gods, fasten the spell upon him
that prepares it, as (one fastens) an ornament!
4. Take hold by the hand and lead away the spell back to him
that prepares it! Place it in his very presence, so that it
shall slay him that prepares the spell!
5. The spells shall take effect upon him that prepares the spells,
the curse upon him that pronounces the curse! As a chariot with
easy-going wheels, the spell shall turn back upon him that prepares
the spell!
6. Whether a woman, or whether a man has prepared the spell
for evil, we lead that spell to him as a horse with the halter.
7. Whether thou hast been prepared by the gods, or hast been
prepared by men, we lead thee back with the help of Indra as
an ally.
8. O Agni gainer of battles, do thou gain the battles! With
a counter-charm do we hurl back the spell upon him that prepares
the spell.
9. Hold ready, (O plant,) thy weapon, and strike him, slay the
very one that has prepared (the spell)! We do not whet thee
for the destruction of him that has not practised (spells).
10. Go as a son to his father, bite like an adder that has been
stepped upon. Return thou, O spell, to him that prepares the
spell, as one who overcomes his fetters!
11. As the shy deer, the antelope, goes out to the mating (buck),
thus the spell shall reach him that prepares it!
12. Straighter than an arrow may it (the spell) fly against
him, O ye heaven and earth; may that spell take hold again of
him that prepares it, as (a hunter)
of his game!
13. Like fire (the spell) shall progress in the teeth of obstacles,
like water along its course! As a chariot with easy-going wheels
the spell shall turn back upon him that prepares the spell!
VIII, 5. Prayer for protection addressed to a talisman made from wood of the sraktya-tree.
1. This attacking talisman, (itself) a man, is fastened upon
the man: it is full of force, slays enemies, makes heroes of
men, furnishes shelter, provides good luck.
2. This talisman slays enemies, makes strong men, is powerful,
lusty, victorious, strong; as a man it advances against sorceries
and destroys them.
3. With this talisman Indra slew Vritra, with it he, full of
device, destroyed the Asuras, with it he conquered both the
heaven and earth, with it he conquered the four regions of space.
4. This talisman of sraktya assails and attacks. With might
controlling the enemies, it shall protect us on all sides!
5. Agni has said this, and Soma has said this; Brihaspati, Savitar,
Indra (have said) this. These divine purohitas, (chaplains)
shall turn back for me (upon the sorcerer) the sorceries with
aggressive amulets!
6. I have interposed heaven and earth, also the day, and also
the sun. These divine purohitas (chaplains) shall turn back
for me (upon the sorcerer) the sorceries with aggressive amulets!
7. (For) the folk that make an armour of the talisman of sraktya--like
the sun ascending the sky, it subjects and beats off the sorceries.
8. With the amulet of sraktya, as if with a seer of powerful
spirit, I have gained all battles, I slay the enemies, the Rakshas.
9. The sorceries that come from the Angiras, the sorceries that
come from the Asuras, the sorceries that prepare themselves,
and those that are prepared by others, both these shall go away
to a distance across ninety navigable streams!
10. As an armour upon him the gods shall tie the amulet, Indra,
Vishnu, Savitar, Rudra, Agni, Pragâpati, Parameshthin, Virâg,Vaisvânara,
and the seers all.
11. Thou art the most superb of plants, as if a steer among
the cattle, as if a tiger among beasts of prey. (The amulet)
that we did seek, that have we found, a guardian at our side.
12. He that wears this talisman, verily is a tiger, a lion as
well, and, too, a bull; moreover a curtailer of enemies.
13. Him slay not the Apsaras, nor the Gandharvas, nor mortal
men; all reoions does he rule, that wears this talisman.
14. Kasyapa has created thee, Kasyapa has produced thee. Indra
wore thee in human (battle); wearing thee in the close combat
he conquered. The gods did make the talisman an armour of thousandfold
strength.
15. He that plans to harm thee with sorceries, with (unholy)
consecrations and sacrifices--him beat thou back, O Indra, with
thy thunderbolt that hath a hundred joints!
16. This talisman verily does assail, full of might, victorious.
Offspring and wealth it shall protect, provide defence, abound
in luck!
17. Remove our enemies in the south, remove our enemies in the
north; remove, O Indra, our enemies in the west: light, O hero,
place in front (east) of us!
18. An armour for me be heaven and earth, an armour day, an
armour the sun! An armour for me be Indra and Agni; Dhâtar shall
bestow (dadhAtu) an armour upon me!
19. The armour of Indra and Agni, that is thick and strong,
all the gods united do not pierce. This great (armour) shall
protect my body on all sides, that I may obtain long life, and
reach old age!
20. The divine talisman has ascended upon me,unto completc exemption
from injury. Assemble about this post that protects the body,
furnishes threefold defence, in order to (secure) strength!
21. Into it Indra shall deposit manliness: do ye, O gods, assemble
about it for long life, for life lasting a hundred autumns,
that he may reach old age.
22. May Indra who bestows welfare, the lord of the people, the
slayer of Vritra, the controller of enemies, he that conquereth
and is unconquered, the soma-drinking bull that frees from danger,
fasten the amulet upon thee: may it protect thee on each and
every side, by day and by night!
X, 3. Praise of the virtues of an amulet derived from the varana-tree.
1. Here is my varana-amulet, a bull that destroys the rivals:
with it do thou close in upon thy enemies, crush them that desire
to injure thee!
2. Break them, crush them, close in upon them: the amulet shall
be thy vanguard in front! With the varana the Devas (gods) did
ward off (avârayanta) the onslaught of the Asuras (demons) day
after day.
3, This thousand-eyed, yellow, golden varanaamulet is a universal
cure; it shall lay low thy enemies: be thou the first to injure
those that hate thee!
4. This varana will ward off (vârayishyate) the spell that has
been spread against thee; this will protect thee from human
danger, this will protect thee from all evil!
5. This divine tree, the varana, shall shut out (vârayâtâi)!
The gods, too, have shutout (avivaran) the disease that has
entered into this (man).
6. If when asleep thou shalt behold an evil dream; as often
as a wild beast shall run an inauspicious course; from (ominous)
sneezing, and from the evil shriek of a bird, this varana-amulet
will protect thee (vârayishyate).
7. From Arâti (grudge), Nirriti (misfortune), from sorcery,
and from danger; from death and overstrong weapons the varana
will protect thee.
8. The sin that my mother, that my father, that my brothers
and my sister have committed; the sin that we (ourselves) have
committed, from that this divine tree will protect us.
9. Through the varana are confused my enemies and my (rival)
kin. To untraversed gloom they have gone: they shall go to the
nethermost darkness!
10. (May) I (be) unharmed, with cows unharmed, long-lived, with
undiminished men! This varana-amulet shall guard me in every
region (of space)!
11. This varana upon my breast, the kingly, divine tree, shall
smite asunder my enemies, as Indra the Dasyus, the Asuras (demons)!
12. Long-lived, a hundred autumns old, do I wear this varana:
kingdom and rule, cattle and strength, this shall bestow upon
me!
13. As the wind breaks with might the trees, the lords of the
forest, thus do thou break my rivals, those formerly born, and
the latter born! The varana shall watch over thee!
14. As the wind and the fire consume the trees, the lords of
the forest, thus, do thou consume my rivals, those formerly
born, and the latter born! The varana shall watch over thee!
15. As, ruined by the wind, the trees lie prostrate, thus do
thou ruin and prostrate my rivals, those formerly born, and
the latter born! The varana shall watch over thee!
16. Do thou cut off, O varana, before their appointed time and
before old age, those that aim to injure him in his cattle,
and threaten his sovereignty!
17. As the sun is resplendent, as in him brilliance has been
deposited, thus shall the amulet of varana hold fast for me
reputation and prosperity, shall sprinkle me with brilliance,
and anoint me with splendour!
18. As splendour is in the moon, and in the sun, the beholder
of men, thus shall the amulet of varana hold fast, &c.
19. As splendour is in the earth, as in this Gâtavedas (the
fire), thus shall the amulet of varana hold fast, &c.
20. As splendour is in the maiden, as in this appointed chariot,
thus shall the amulet of varana hold fast, &c.
21. As splendour is in the soma-draught, as splendour is in
the honey-mixture (for guests), thus shall the amulet of varana
hold fast, &c.
22. As splendour is in the agnihotra-oblation, as splendour
is in the call vashat, thus shall the amulet of varana hold
fast, &c.
23. As splendour is in the sacrificer, as (splendour) has been
deposited in the sacrifice, thus shall the amulet of varana
hold fast, &c.
24. As splendour is in Pragâpati, as in this Parameshthin (the
lord on high), thus shall the amulet of varana hold fast, &c.
25. As immortality is in the gods, as truth has been deposited
in them, thus shall the amulet of varana hod fast, &c.
X, 6. Praise of the virtues of amulet of khadira-wood in the shape of a ploughshare.
1. The head of the hostile rival, of the enemy that bates
me, do I cut off with might.
2. This amulet, produced by the ploughshare, will prepare an
armour for me: full of stirred drink it has come to me, together
with sap and lustre.
3. If the skilful workman has injured thee with his hand or
with his knife, the living bright waters shall purify thee from
that, (so that thou shalt be) bright!
4. This amulet has a golden wreath, bestows faith and sacrifice
and might; in our house as a guest it shall dwell!
5. Before it (the amulet as a guest) ghee, surâ (liquor), honey,
and every kind of food we place. The amulet having gone to the
gods shall, as a father for his sons, plan for us growing good,
more and more day after day!
6. The amulet which Brihaspati tied, the ploughshare dripping
with ghee, the strong khadira, unto strength, that Agni did
fasten on; that yields him ghee more and more day after day:
with it those that hate me do thou slay!
7. This amulet which Brihaspati tied that Indra did fasten on,
for strength and heroism; that yields him might more and more, &c.
8. The amulet which Brihaspati tied . . . that Soma did fasten
on unto perfect hearing and seeing; that verily yields him lustre
more and more, &c.
9. The amulet which Brihaspat, tied . . . that Sûrya did fasten
on, with that he conquered these directions of space; that yields
him prosperity moreand more, &c.
10. The amulet which Brihaspati tied wearing that amulet Kandramas
(the moon) conquered the golden cities of the Asuras and the
Dânavas; that yields him fortune more and more, &c.
11. The amulet which Brihaspat' tied for swift Vâta (wind),
that yields him strength more and more, &c.
12, The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, with that
amulet, O Asvins, do ye guard this plough-land; that yields
the two physicians (the Asvins) might more and more, &c.
13. The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, wearing
that, Savitar through it conquered this light; that yields him
abundance more and more, &c.
14. The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, wearing
that, the waters ever run undiminished; that verily yields them
ambrosia more and more, &c.
15. The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, that comforting
amulet king Varuna did fasten on; that verily yields him truth
more and more, &c.
16. The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, wearing
that the gods did conquer all the worlds in battle; that verily
yields them conquest more and more, &c.
17. The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, that comforting
amulet the divinities did fasten on; that verily yields them-
all more and more, &c.
18. The seasons did fasten it on; the divisions (of the year)
did fasten it on. Since the year did fasten it on, it guards
every being.
19. The intermediate directions did fasten it on; the directions
did fasten it on. The amulet created by Pragâpati has subjected
those that hate me.
20. The Atharvans did tie it on, the descendants of the Atharvans
did tie it on; with these allied, the Angiras cleft the castles
of the Dasyus. With it those that hate me do thou slay!
21. That Dhâtar did fasten on: (then) he shaped the being. With
it those that hate me do thou slay!
22. The amulet which Brihaspati tied for the gods, destructive
of the Asuras, that has come to me together with sap and lustre.
23. The amulet . . . has come to me together with cows, goats,
and sheep, together with food and offspring.
24. The amulet . . . has come to me together with rice and barley,
together with might and prosperity.
25. The amulet has come to me with a stream of honey and ghee
together with sweet drink.
26. The amulet has come to me together with nourishment and
milk, together with goods and fortune.
27. The amulet . . . has. come to me together with brilliance
and strength, together with glory and reputation.
28. The amulet . . . has come to me together with all 'kinds
of prosperity.
29, This amulet the gods shall give me unto prosperity, the
mighty amulet that strengthens sovereignty and injures the rivals!
30. An (amulet) auspicious for me thou shalt fasten upon (me),
together with brahma (spiritual exaltation) and brilliance!
Free from rivals, slaying rivals, it has subjected my rivals.
31. This god-born amulet, the sap milked from which these three
worlds revere, shall render me superior to him that hates me;
it shall ascend upon my head unto excellence!
32. The amulet upon which the gods, the Fathers, and men ever
live, shall ascend upon my head unto excellence!
33. As the seed grows in the field, in the furrow drawn by the
ploughshare, thus in me offspring, cattle, and every kind of
food shall grow up!
34. Upon whom, O thou amulet that prosperest the sacrifice,
I have fastened thee (that art) propitious, him, O amulet, that
yieldest a hundredfold sacrificial reward, thou shalt inspire
unto excellence!
35. This fire-wood that has been laid on together with the oblations
do thou, Agni, gladly accept: may we in this kindled Gâtavedas
(fire), through (this) charm, find favour, well-being, offspring,
sight, and cattle!
IV, 16. Prayer to Varuna for protection against treacherous designs.
1. The great guardian among these (gods) sees as if from
anear. He that thinketh he is moving stealthily--all this the
gods know.
2. If a man stands, walks, or sneaks about, if he goes slinking
away, if he goes into his hiding-place; if two persons sit together
and scheme, king Varuna is there as a third, and knows it.
3. Both this earth here belongs to king Varuna, and also yonder
broad sky whose boundaries are far away. Moreover these two
oceans are the loins of Varuna; yea, he is hidden in this small
(drop of) water.
4. He that should flee beyond the heaven far away would not
be free from king Varuna. His spies come hither (to the earth)
from heaven, with a thousand eyes do they watch over the earth.
5. King Varuna sees through all that is between heaven and earth,
and all that is beyond. He has counted the winkings of men's
eyes. As a (winning) gamester puts down his dice, thus does
he establish these (laws).
6. May all thy fateful toils which, seven by seven, threefold,
lie spread out, ensnare him that speaks falsehood: him that
speaks the truth they shall let go!
7. With a hundred snares, O Varuna, surround him, let the liar
not go free from thee, O thou that observest men! The rogue
shall sit, his belly hanging loose, like a cask without hoops,
bursting all about!
8. With (the snare of) Varuna which is fastened lengthwise,
and that which (is fastened) broadwise, with the indigenous
and the foreign, with the divine and the human,--
9. With all these snares do I fetter thee, O N. N., descended
from N. N., the son of the woman N. N.: all these do I design
for thee.
II, 12. Imprecation against enemies thwarting holy work.
1. Heaven and earth, the broad atmosphere, the goddess of
the field, and the wonderful, far-striding (Vishnu); moreover,
the broad atmosphere guarded by Vâta (the wind): may these here
be inflamed, when I am inflamed!
2. Hear this, O ye revered gods! Let Bharadvâga recite for me
songs of praise! 'May he who injures this our plan be bound
in the fetter (of disease) and joined to misfortune!
3. Hear, O soma-drinking Indra, what with burning heart I shout
to thee! I cleave, as one cleaves a tree with an axe, him that
injures this our plan.
4. With (the aid of) thrice eighty siman-singers, with (the
aid of) the Âdityas, Vasus, and Angiras--may our father's sacrifices
and gifts to the priests, aid us-do I seize this one with fateful
fervour.
5. May heaven and earth look after me, may all the gods support
me! O ye Angiras, O ye fathers devoted to Soma, may he who does
harm enter into misfortune!
6 . He who perchance despises us, O ye Maruts, he who abuses
the holy practice which is beiog performed by us, may his evil
deeds be firebrands to him, may the heavens surround with fire
the hater of holy practices!
7. Thy seven in-breathings and thy eight marrows, these do I
cut for thee by means of my charm. Thou shalt go to the seat
of Yama, fitly prepared, with Agni as thy guide!
8. I set thy footstep upon the kindled fire. May Agni surround
thy body, may thy voice enter into breath!
VII, 70. Frustration of the sacrifice of an enemy.
1. Whenever yonder person in his thought, and with his speech,
offers sacrifice accompanied by oblations and benedictions,
may Nirriti (the goddess of destruction), allying herself with
death, smite his offering before it takes effect!
2. May sorcerers, Nirriti, as well as Rakshas, mar his true
work with error! May the gods, despatched by Indra, scatter
(churn) his sacrificial butter; may that which yonder person
offers not succeed!
3. The two agile supreme rulers, like two eagle-s pouiicing
down, shall strike the sacrificial butter pf the enemy, whosoever
plans evil against us!
4. Back do I tie both thy two arms, thy mouth I shut. With the
fury of god Agni, have I destroyed thy oblation.
5. I tie thy two arms, I shut thy mouth. With the fury of terrible
Agni have I destroyed thy oblation.
II, 7. Charm against curses and hostile plots, undertaken with a certain plant.
1. The god-begotten plant, hated by the wicked, which wipes
away the curses (of the enemies), like water a foul spot it
has washed away all curses from me.
2. The curse of the rival and the curse of the kinswoman, the
curse which the Brahman shall utter in wrath, all that (do thou
put) under our feet!
3. From heaven her root is suspended, from the earth it rises
up; with her that has a thousand shoots do thou protect us on
all sides!
4. Protect me, protect my offspring, protect our goods; let
not ill-will overcome us, let not hostile schemes overcome us!
5. The curse shall go to the curser; joint possession shall
we have with the friend. Of the enemy who bewitches with (his)
eye we hew off the ribs.
III, 6. The asvattha-tree as a destroyer of enemies.
1. A male has sprung from a male, the asvattha (ficus religiosa)
from the khadira (acacia catechu). May this slay my enemies,
those whom I hate and those who hate me!
2. Crush the enemies, as they rush on, O asvattha, 'displacer,'
allied with Indra, the slayer of Vritra, (allied) with Mitra
and Varuxa!
3. As thou didst break forth, O asvattha, into the great flood
(of the air), thus do thou break up all those whom I hate and
those who hate me!
4. Thou that goest conquering as a conquering bull, with thee
here, O asvattha, may we conquer our rivals!
5. May Nirriti (the goddess of destruction), O asvattha, bind
in the toils of death that cannot be loosened those enemies
of mine whom I hate and who hate me!
6. As thou climbest up the trees, O asvattha, and renderest
them subordinate, thus do thou split in two the head of iny
enemy, and overcome him!
7. They (the enemies) shall float down like a ship cut loose
from its moorings! There is no returning again for those that
have been driven out by the 'displacer.'
8. I drive them out with my mind, drive them out with my thought,
and also with my incantation. We drive them out with a branch
of the asvattha-tree.
VI, 75. Oblation for the suppression of enemies (nairbâdhyam havih).
1. Forth from his home do I drive that person yonder, who
as a rival contends with us: through the oblation devoted to
suppression Indra, has broken him to pieces.
2. Indra, the slayer of Vritra, shall drive him to the remotest
distance, from which in all successive years he shall not again
return!
3. He shall go to the three distances, he shall go beyond the
five peoples; he shall go beyond the three ethers, whence he
shall not again in all successive years return, while the sun
is upon the heavens!
VII 37. Curse against one that practises hostile charms.
1. The thousand-eyed curse having yoked his chariot has come
hither, seeking out him that curses me, as a wolf the house
of him that owns sheep.
2. Avoid us, O curse, as a burning fire (avoids) a lake! Strike
here him that curses us, as the lightning of heaven the tree!
3. He that shall curse us when we do not curse, and he that
shall curse us when we do curse, him do I hurl to death as a
bone to a dog upon the ground.
VII, 13. Charm to deprive enemies of their strength.
1. As the rising sun takes away the lustre of the stars,
thus do I take away the strength of both the women and the men
that hate me.
2. As many enemies as ye are, lookina out auainst me, as I come
on--of those that hate me do I take away the strenorth, as the
sun takes away the strength of persons asleep (while it rises).
IV. CHARMS PERTAINING TO WOMEN (STRIKARATÂNI).
II, 36. Charm to obtain a husband.
1. May, O Agni, a suitor after our own heart come to us,
may he come to this maiden with our fortune! May she, agreeable
to suitors, charming at festivals, promptly obtain happiness
through a husband!
2. Agreeable to Soma, agreeable to Brahma, arranged by Aryaman,
with the unfailing certainty of god Dhâtar, do I bestow upon
thee good fortune, the acquisition of a husband.
3. This woman shall obtain a hnsband, since king Soma makes
her lovely! May she, begetting sons, become a queen; may she,
going to her husband, shine in loveliness!
4. As this comfortable cave, O Maghavan (Indra), furnishing
a safe abode, hath become pleasing to animals, thus may this
woman be a favourite of fortune (Bhaga), beloved, not at odds
with her husband!
5. Do thou ascend the full, inexhaustible ship of Bhaga (fortune);
upon this bring, hither the suitor who shall be agreeable (to
thee)!
6. Bring hither by thy shouts, O lord of wealth, the suitor,
bend his mind towards her; turn thou the right side of every
agreeable suitor towards (her)!
7. This gold and bdellium, this balsam, and Bhaga (fortune),
too; these have prepared thee for husbands, that thou mayest
obtain the one that is agreeable.
8. Hither to thee Savitar shall lead the husband that is agreeable!
Do thou, O herb, bestow (him) upon her!
VI, 60. Charm for obtaining a husband.
1. This Aryaman (wooer) with loosened crest of hair comes
hither in front (of the procession), seeking a husband for this
spinster, and a wife for this wifeless man.
2. This maid, O Aryaman, has wearied of going to the wedding-feasts
of other women. Now shall, without fail, O Aryaman, other women
go to her wedding-feast!
3. Dhâtar (the creator) supports (didhhra) this earth, Dhâtar
supports the heavens, and the sun. May Dhatar furnish this spinster
with a husband after her own heart).
VI, 82. Charm for obtaining a wife.
1. I call the name of him that comes here, that hath come
here, and is arriving; I crave (the name) of Indra, Vritra's
slayer, the Visava, of hundredfold strength.
2. The road by which the Asvins carried away as a bride Sûryâ,
Savitar's daughter,'by that road,' Bhaga (fortune) told me,
'thou shalt bring here a wife'!
With thy wealth-procuring, great, golden hook, O Indra, husband
of Sakî, procure a wife for me that desireth a wife!
VI, 78. Blessing for a married couple.
1. Through this oblation, that causes prosperity, may this
man flourish anew; may he excel the wife that they have brought
to him with his sap!
2. May he excel in strength, excel in royalty! May this couple
be inexhaustible in wealth that bestows thousandfold lustre!
3. Tvashtar begot (for thee) a wife, Tvashtar for her begot
thee as a husband. May Tvashtar bestow upon you two a thousand
lives, may he bestow upon you long life!
VII, 36. Love-charm spoken by a bridal couple.
1. The eyes of us two shine like honey, our foreheads gleam like ointment. Place me within thy heart; may one mind be in common to us both!
VII, 37. Charm pronounced by the bride over the bridegroom.
1. I envelope thee in my garment that was produced by Manu (the first man), that thou shalt be mine alone, shalt not even discourse of other women!
et to ensure conception.
1. A holder art thou, holdest both hands, drivest off the
Rakshas. An acquirer of offspring and wealth this bracelet hath
become!
2. O bracelet, open up the womb, that the embryo be put (into
it)! Do thou, O limit (-setting bracelet), furnish a son, bring
him here (A gamaya), thou that comest here (Agame)!
3. The bracelet that Aditi wore, when she desired a son.Tvashtar
shall fasten upon this woman, intending that she shall beget
a son.
III, 23. Charm for obtaining a son (pumsavanam).
1. That which has caused thee to miscarry do we drive away
from thee, that very thing do we deposit outside of thee, away
in a far place.
2. Into thy womb shall enter a male germ, as an arrow into a
quiver! May a man be born there, a son ten months old!
3. A male son do thou produce, and after him a male shall be
born! Thou shalt be the mother of sons, of those who are born,
and those whom thou shalt bear!
4. By the effective seed which bulls put forth do thou obtain
a son; be a fruitful milch-cow!
5. Pragâpati's (the lord of creatures) work do I perform for
thee: may the germ enter into thy womb! Obtain thou, woman,
a son who shall bring prosperity to thee, and bring thou pi-osperity
to him!
6. The plants whose father was the sky, whose mother the earth,
Whose root the (heavenly) ocean--may those divine herbs aid
thee in obtaining a son!
VI, 11. Charm for obtaining a son (pumsavanam).
1. The asvattha (ficus religiosa) has mounted the samî (mimosa
suma): then a male child was produced. That, forsooth, is the
way to obtain a son; that do we bring to (our) wives.
2. In the male, forsooth, seed doth grow, that is poured into
the female. That, forsooth, is the way to obtain a son; that
has been told by Pragâpati.
3. Pragâpati, Anumati, and Sinîvâlî have fashioned him. May
he (Pragâpati) elsewhere afford the birth of a female, but here
he shall bestow a man!
VII, 35. An incantation to make a woman sterile.
1. The other enemies conquer with might; beat back, O Gâtavedas,
those that are not yet born! Enrich this kingdom unto happiness,
may all the gods acclaim this man!
2. Of these hundred entrails of thine, as well as of the thousand
canals, of all these have I closed the openings with a stone.
3. The upper part of the womb do I place below, there shall
come to thee neither offspring nor birth! I render thee sterile
and devoid of offspring; a stone do I make into a cover for
thee.
VI, 17. Charm to prevent miscarriage.
1. As this great earth conceives the germs of the beings,
thus shalt thy embryo be-beld fast, to produce a child after
pregnancy!
2. As this great earth holds these trees, thus shall thy embryo
be held fast, to produce a child after pregnancy!
3. As this great earth holds the mountains and the peaks, thus
shall thy embryo be held fast, to produce a child after pregnancy!
4. As this great earth holds the animals scattered far, thus
shall thy embryo be held fast, to produce a child after pregnancy!
I, 11. Charm for easy parturition.
1. Aryaman as active hotar-priest shall utter for thee the
vashat-call at this (soma-) pressing, O Pûshan! May (this) woman,
(herself) begotten in
the proper way, be delivered, may her joints relax, that she
shall bring forth!
2. Four directions has the heaven, and also four the earth:
(from these) the gods created the embryo. May they open her,
that she shall bring forth!
3. May Sûshan open: her womb do we cause to gape. Do thou, O
Sûshan, loosen the womb, do thou, O Bishkalâ, let go (the ernbryo)!
4. Attached not at all to the flesh, nor to the fat, not at
all to the marrow, may the splotched, moist, placenta come down
to be eaten by a dog! May the placenta fall down!
5. I split open thy vagina, thy womb, thy canals; I separate
the mother and the son, the child along with the placenta. May
the placenta fall down!
6. As flies the wind, as flies the mind, as fly the winged birds,
so do thou, O embryo,. ten months old, fall along with the placenta!
May the placenta fall down!
I, 34. Charm with licorice, to secure the love of a woman.
1. This plant is born of honey, with honey do we dig for
thee. Of honey thou art begotten, do thou make us full of honey!
2. At the tip of my tongue may I have honey, at my tongue's
root the sweetness of honey! In my power alone shalt thou then
be, thou shalt come up to my wish!
3. Sweet as honey is my entrance, sweet as honey my departure.
With my voice do I speak sweet as honey, may I become like honey!
4. I am sweeter than honey, fuller of sweetness than licorice.
Mayest thou, without fail, long for me alone, (as a bee) for
a branch full of honey!
5. I have surrounded thee with a clinging sugarcane, to remove
aversion, so that thou shalt not be averse to me!
II, 30. Charm to secure the love of a woman.
1. As the wind tears this grass from the surface of the earth,
thus do I tear thy soul, so that thou, woman, shalt love, shalt
not be averse to me!
2. If ye, O two Asvins, shall unite and bring together the loving
pair-united are the fortunes of,both of you (lovers), united
the thoughts, united the purposes!
3. When birds desire to chirp, lustily desire to chirp, may
my call go there, as an arrow-point upon the shaft!
4. What is within shall be without, what is without shall be
within! Take captive, O herb, the, soul of the maidens endowed
with every chai-m!
5. Longing for a husband this woman hath come, I have come longing
for a wife, As a loudly neighing horFe I have attained to my
good fortune!
VI, 8. Charm to secure the love of a woman.
1. As the creeper embraces the tree on all sides, thus do
thou embrace me, so that thou, woman, shalt love me, so that
thou shalt not be averse to me!
2. As the eagle when he flies forth presses his wings against
the earth, thus do I fasten down thy mind, so that thou, woman,
shalt love me, so that thou shalt not be averse to me.
3. As the sun day by day goes about this heaven and earth, thus
do I go about thy mind, so that thou, woman, shalt love me,
so that thou shalt not be: averse to me.
VI, 9. Charm to secure the love of a woman.
1. Hanker thou after my body, my feet, hanker after my eyes,
my thighs! The eyes of thee, as thou lustest after me, and thy
hair shall be parched with love?
2. I make thee cling to my arm, cling to my heart, so that thou
shalt be in my power, shalt come up to my wish!
3. The cows, the mothers of the ghee, who lick their young,
in whose heart love is planted, shall make yonder woman bestow
love upon me!
VI, 102. Charm to secure the love of a woman.
1. As this draught animal, O ye Asvins, comes on, and proceeds,
thus may thy soul come on, and proceed to me!
2. I draw to myself thy mind, as the leading stallion the female
side-horse. As the stalk of grass torn by the wind, thus shall
thy mind fasten itself upon me!
3. A coaxing mixture of salve, of sweet wood, of kushtha, and
of spikenard, do I deftly pick out with the hands of Bhaga (good
fortune).
III, 25. Charm to arouse the passionate love of a woman.
1. May (love), the disquieter, disquiet thee; do not hold
out upon thy bed! With the terrible arrow of Kâma (love) do
I pierce thee in the heart.
2. The arrow, winged with longing, barbed with love, whose shaft
is undeviating desire, with that, well-aimed, Kâma shall pierce
thee in the heart!
3. With that well-aimed arrow of Kâma which parches the spleen,
whose plume flies forward, which burns up, do I pierce thee
in the heart.
4. Consumed by burning ardour, with parched mouth, do thou (woman)
come to me, pliant, (thy) pride laid aside, mine alone, speaking
sweetly and to me devoted!
5. I drive thee with a goad from thy mother and thy father,
so that thou shalt be in my power, shalt come up to my wish.
6. All her thoughts do ye, O Mitra and Varuna, drive out of
her! Then, having deprived her of her will,.put her into my
power alone!
VII, 139. Charm to arouse the passionate love of a woman.
1. Clinging to the ground thou didst grow, (O plant), that
producest bliss for me; a hundred branches extend from thee,
three and thirty grow down from thee: with this plant of a thousand
leaves thy heart do I parch.
2. Thy heart shall parch (with love) for me, and thy mouth shall
parch (with love for me)! Languish, moreover, with love for
me, with parched mouth pass thy days!
3. Thou that causest affection, kindlest (love), brown, lovely
(plant), draw (us) together; draw together yonder woman and
myself, our hearts make the same!
4. As the mouth of him that hath not drunk dries tip, thus languish
thou with love for me, with parched mouth pass thy days!
5. As the Ichneumon tears the serpent, and joins him together
again, thus, O potent (plant), join together what hath been
torn by love!
VII, 38. Charm to secure the love of a man.
1. This potent herb do I dig out: it draws toward me the
eve, causes (love's) tears. It brings back him who has gone
to a distance, rejoices him that approaches me.
2. By (the plant) with which the Âsurî allured Indra away from
the gods, by that do I subject thee, that I may be well-beloved
of thee!
3. Thy face is turned towards Soma (the nioon), thy face is
turned towards Sûrya (the sun), thy face is turned towards all
the gods: 't is tliee here that we do invoke.
4. My speech, not thine, (in this matter) hath weight: in the
assembly, forsooth, do thou speak! To me alone shalt thou belong,
shalt not even discourse of other women!
5. Whether thou art beyond the haunts of men, or whether across
the river, this very herb, as if a captive bound, shall bring,
thee back to me!
VI, 130. Charm to arouse the passionate love of a man.
1. This yearning love comes from the Apsaras, the victorious,
imbued with victory. Ye gods, send forth the yearning love:
may yonder man burn after me!
2. My wish is, he shall long for me, devoted he shall long for
me! Ye gods, send forth the yearning love: may yonder man burn
after me!
3. That yonder man shall long for me, (but) I for him nevermore,
ye gods, send forth the yearning love: may yonder man burn after
me!
4. Do ye, O Maruts, intoxicate him (With love); do thou, O mid-air,
intoxicate him; do thou, O Agni, intoxicate him! May yonder
man burn after me!
VI, 131. Charm to arouse the passionate love of a man.
1. From thy head unto thy feet do I implant (love's) longing
into thee. Ye gods, send forth the yearning love: may yonder
man burn after me!
2. Favour this (plan), Anumati; fit it tooether, Âkûti! Ye gods,
send forth the yearning love may yonder man burn after me!
3. If thou dost run three leagues away, (or even) five leagues,
the distance coursed by a horseman, from there thou shalt again
return, shalt be the father of our sons!
VI, 132. Charm to arouse the passionate love of a man.
1. Love's consuming longing, together with yearning, which
the gods have poured into the waters, that do I kindle for thee
by the law of Varuna!
2. Love's consuming longing, together with yearning, which the
all-gods (visve devâh) have poured into the waters, that do
I kindle for thee by the law of Varuna!
3. Love's consuming longing, together with yearning, which Indrâni
has poured into the waters, that do I kindle for thee by the
law of Varuna!
4. Love's consuming longing, together with yearning, which Indra
and Agni have poured into the waters, that do I kindle for thee
by the law of Varuna!
5. Love's consuming longing, together with yearning, which Mitra
and Varuna have poured into the waters, that do I kindle for
thee by the law of Varuna!
IV, 5. Charm at an assignation.
1. The bull with a thousand horns who rose out of the sea,
with the aid of him, the mighty one, do we put the folks to
sleep.
2. The wind blows not over the earth. No one looks on. Do thou
then, befriended of Indra, put all women and dogs to sleep!
3. The women that lie upon couches and upon beds, and they that
rest in litters, the women all that exhale sweet fragrance,
do we put to sleep.
4. Every moving thing I have held fast. Eye and breath I have
held fast. I have held fast all limbs in the deep gloom of the
night.
5. Of him that sits, and him that walks, of him that stands
and looks about, of these the eyes we do shut, just as these
premises (are shut).
6. The mother shall sleep, the father shall sleep, the dog shall
sleep, the lord of the house shall sleep! All her relations
shall sleep, and these people round about shall sleep!
7. O sleep, put thou to sleep all people with the magic that
induces sleep! Put the others to sleep until the sun rises;
may I be awake until the dawn appears, like Indra, unharmed,
uninjured!
VI, 77. Charm to cause the return of a truant woman.
1. The heavens have stood, the earth has stood, all creatures
have stood. The mountains have stood upon their foundation,
the horses in the stable I have caused to stand.
2. Him that has control of departure, that has control of coming
home, return, and turning in, that shepherd do I also call.
3. O Gâtavedas (Agni), cause thou to turn ill; a hundred way's
hither shall be thine, a thousand modes of return shall be thine:
with these do thou restore us again!
VI, 18. Charm to allay jealousy.
1. The first impulse of jealousy, moreover the one that comes
after the first, the fire, the heart-burning, that do wc waft
away from thee.
2. As the earth is dead in spirit, in spirit more dead than
the dead, and as the spirit of him that has died, thus shall
the spirit of the jealous (man) be dead!
3. Yon fluttering little spirit that has been fixed into thy
heart, from it the jealousy do I remove, as air from a water-skin.
VII, 45. Charm to allay jealousy.
1. From folk belonging to all kinds of people, from the Sindhu
(Indus) thou hast been brought hither: from a distance, I ween,
has been fetched the very remedy for jealousy.
2. As if a fire is burning him, as if the forest-fire burns
in various directions, this jealousy of his do thou quench,
as a fire (is quenched) with water!
I, 14. A woman's incantation against her rival.
1. I have taken unto myself her fortune and her glory, as
a wreath off a tree. Like a mountain with broad foundation may
she sit a long time with her parents!
2. This woman shall be subjected to thee as thy wife, O king
Yama; (till then) let her be fixed to the house of her mother,
or her brother, or her father!
3. This woman shall be the keeper of thy house, O king (Yama),
and her do we make over to thee! May she long sit with her relatives,
until (her hair) drops from her head!
4. With the incantation of Asita, of Kasyapa, and of Gaya do
I cover up thy fortune, as women cover (something) within a
chest.
III, 18. Charm of a woman against a rival or co-wife.
1. I dig up this plant, of herbs the most potent, by whose
power rival women are overcome, and husbands are obtained.
2. O thou (plant) with erect leaves, lovely, do thou, urged
on by the gods, full of might, drive away my rival, make my
h usband mine alone!
3. He did not, forsooth, call thy name, and thou shalt not delight
in this' husband! To the very farthest distance do we drive
our rival.
4. Superior am I, O superior (plant), superior, truly, to superior
(women). Now shall my rival be inferior to those that are inferior!
5. I am overpowering, and thou, (O plant), art completely overpowering.
Having both grown full of power, let us overpower my rival!
6. About thee (my husband) I have placed the overpowering (plant),
upon thee placed the very overpowering one. May thy mind run
after me as a calf after the cow, as water along its course!
VI, 138. Charm for depriving a man of his virility.
1. As the best of the plants thou art reputed, O herb: turn
this man for me to-day into a eunuch that wears his hair dressed!
2. Turn him into a eunuch that wears his hair dressed, and into
one that wears a hood! Then Indra with a pair of stones shall
break his testicles both!
3. O eunuch, into a eunuch thee I have turned;O castrate, into
a castrate thee I have turned; O weakling, into a weakling thee
I have turned! A hood upon his head, and a hair-net do we place.
4. The two canals, fashioned by the gods, in which man's power
rests, in thy testicles . . . . . . . . . . . . I break them
with a club.
5. As women break reeds for a mattress with a stone, thus do
I break thy member.
I, 18. Charm to remove evil bodily characteristics from a woman.
1. The (foul) mark, the lalâmî (with spot on the forehead),
the Arâti (grudging demon), do we drive out. Then the (signs)
that are auspicious (shall remain) with us; (yet) to beget offspring
do we bring the Arâti!
2. May Savitar drive out uncouthness from her feet, may Varuna,
Mitra, and Aryaman (drive it) out from her hands; may Anumati
kindly drive it out for us! For happiness the gods have created
this woman.
3. The fierceness that is in thyself, in thy body, or in thy
look, all that do we strike away with our charm. May god Savitar
prosper thee!
4. The goat-footed, the bull-toothed, her who scares the cattle,
the snorting one, the vilîdhî (the driveling one), the lalâmî
(with spot on the forehead), these do we drive from us.
VI, 110. Expiatory charm for a child born under an unlucky star.
1. Of yore, (O Agni), thou wast worthy of supplication at
the sacrifice; thou wast the priest in olden times, and now
anew shalt sit (at our sacrifice)! Delight, O Agni, thy own
body, and, sacrificing, bring good fortune here to us!
2. Him that hath been born under the (constellation) gyeshihaghnî
('she that slays the oldest'), or under the vikritâu ('they
that uproot'), save thou from being torn up by the root by Yama
(death)! May be (Agni) guide him across all misfortunes to long
life, to a life of a hundred autumns!
3. On a tiger (-like) day the hero was born; born under a (good)
constellation he becometh a mighty hero. Let him not slay, when
he grows up, his father, let him not injure the mother that
hath begotten him!
VI, 140. Expiation for the irregular appearance of the first pair of teeth.
1. Those two teeth, the tigers, that have broken forth, eager
to devour father and mother, do thou, O Brahmanaspati Gâtavedas,
render auspicious!
2. Do ye eat rice, eat barley, and eat, too, beans, as well
as sesamum! That, O teeth.. is the share deposited for your
enrichment. Do not injure father and mother!
3. Since ye have been invoked, O teeth, be ye in unison kind
and propitious! Elsewhere, O teeth, shall pass away the fierce
(qualities) of your body! Do not injure father and mother!
V.
CHARMS PERTAINING TO ROYALTY (RÂGAKARMÂNI).
IV, 8. Prayer at the consecration of a king.
1. Himself prosperous (bhûto), he does put strength into
the beings (bhûteshu); he became the chief lord of the beings
(bhûtânâm). To his consecration death does come: may he, the
king, favour this kingdom!
2. Come forth hither-do not glance away-as a mighty guardian,
slayer of enemies! Step hither, thou who prosperest thy friends:
the gods shall bless thee!
3. As he did step hither all (men) did attend him. Clothed in
grace, he moves, shining by his own lustre. This is the great
name of the manly Asura; endowed with every form (quality) he
entered upon immortal (deeds).
4. Thyself a tiger, do thou upon this tiger-skin stride (victorious)
through the great regionst All the clans shall wish for thee,
and the heavenly waters, rich in sap!
5. The heavenly waters, rich in sap, flow joyously, (and too)
those in the sky and upon the earth: with the lustre of all
of these do I sprinkle thee.
6. They have sprinkled thee with their lustre., the heavenly
waters rich in sap. May Savitar thus fashion thee, that thou
shalt prosper thy friends!
7. (The waters) thus embracing him, the tiger, promote him,
the lion, to great good fortune. Him, the leopard in the midst
of the waters, as though standing in the ocean, the beneficent
(floods, or the vigorous priests) cleanse thoroughly!
III, 3. Charm for the restoration of an exiled king.
1. (Agni) has shouted loud: may he here well perform his
work! Spread thyself out, O Agni, over the far-reaching hemispheres
of the world! The all-possessing Maruts shall engage thee: bring
hither that (king) who devoutly spends the offering!
2. However far he be, the red (steeds) shall urge hither Indra,
the seer, to friendship, since the gods, (chanting) for him
the gâyatri, the brihatî, and the arka (songs), infused courage
into him with the sautrâmanî-sacrifice!
3. From the waters king Varuna shall call thee, Soma shall call
thee from the mountains, Indra shall cite thee to these clans!
Turn into an eagle and fly to these clans!
4. An eagle shall bring hither from a distance him that is fit
to be called, (yet) wanders exiled in a strange land! The Asvins
shall prepare for thee a path, easy to travel! Do ye, his kinfolk,
gather close about him!
5. Thy opponents shall call thee; thy friends have chosen. thee!
Indra, Agni, and all the gods have kept prosperity with this
people.
6. The kinsman or the stranger that opposes thy call, him, O
Indra, drive away; then render this (king) accepted here!
III, 4. Prayer at the election of a king.
1. (Thy) kingdom hath come to thee: arise, endowed with lustre!
Go forth as the lord of the people, rule (shine) thou, a universal
ruler! All the regions of the compass shall call thee, O king;
attended and revered be thou here!
2. Thee the clans, thee these regions, goddesses five, shall
choose for empire! Root thyself upon the height, the pinnacle
of royalty: then do thou, mighty, distribute goods among us!
3. Thy kinsmen with calls shall come to thee; agile Agni shall
go with them as messenger! Thy wives, thy sons shall be devoted
to thee; being a mighty (ruler) thou shalt behold rich tribute!
4. The Asvins first, Mitra and Varuna both, all the gods, and
the Maruts, shall call thee! Then fix thy mind upon the bestowal
of wealth, then do thou, mighty, distribute wealth among us!
5. Hither hasten forth from the farthest distance heaven and
earth, both, shall be propitious to thee! Thus did this king
Varuna (as if, 'the chooser') decree that; he himself did call
thee: 'come thou hither'!
6. O Indra, Indra, come thou to the tribes of men, for thou
hast agreed, concordant with the Varunas (as if,'the electors'),
He did call thee to thy own domain (thinking): 'let him revere
the gods, and manage, too, the people'!
7. The rich divinities of the roads, of manifold diverse forms,
all coming together have given thee a broad domain. They shall
all concordantly call thee; rule here, a mighty, benevolent
(king), to up the tenth decade (of thy life)!
III, 5. Praise of an amulet derived from the parna-tree, designed to strengthen royal power.
1. Hither hath come this amulet of parna-wood, with its might
mightily crushing the enemy. (It is) the strength of the gods,
the sap of the waters: may it assiduously enliven me with energy!
2. The power to rule thou shalt hold fast in me, O amulet of
parna-wood; wealth (thou shalt hold fast) in me! May I, rooted
in the domain of royalty, become the chief!
3. Their very own amulet which the gods deposited secretly in
the tree, that the gods shall give us to wear, together with
life!
4. The parna has come hither as the mighty strength of the soma,
given by Indra, instructed by Varuna. May I, shining brilliantly,
wear it, unto long life, during a hundred autumns!
5. The amulet of parna-wood has ascended upon me unto complete
exemption from injury, that I may rise superior (even) to friends
and alliances!
6. The skilful builders of chariots, and the ingenious workers
of metal, the folk about me all, do thou, O parna, make my aids!
7. The kings who (themselves) make kings, the charioteers, and
leaders of hosts, the folk about me all, do thou, O parna, make
my aids!
8. Thou art the body-protecting parna, a 'liero, brother of
me, the hero. Along with the brilliancy of the year do I fasten
thee on, O amulet!
IV, 22. Charm to secure the superiority of a king.
1. This warrior, O Indra, do thou strengthen for me, do thou
install this one as sole ruler (bull) of the Vis (the people);
emasculate all his enemies, subject them to him in (their) contests!
2. To him apportion his share of villages, horses, and cattle;
deprive of his share the one that is his enemy! May this king
be the pinnacle of royalty; subject to him, O Indra, every enemy!
3. May this one be the treasure-lord of riches, may this king
be the tribal lord of the Vis (the people)! Upon this one, O
Indra, bestow great lustre, devoid of lustre render his enemy!
4. For him shall ye, O heaven and earth, milk ample good, as
two milch-cows yielding warm milk! May this king be favoured
of Indra, favoured of cows, of plants, and cattle!
5. I unite with thee Indra who has supremacy, through whom one
conquers and is not (himself) conquered, who shall install thee
as sole ruler of the people, and as chief of the human kings.
6. Superior art thou, inferior are thy rivals, and whatsoever
adversaries are thine, O king! Sole ruler, befriended of Indra,
victorious, bring thou hither the supplies of those who act
as thy enemies!
7. Presenting the front of a lion do thou devour all (their)
people, presenting the front of a tiger do thou strike down
the enemies! Sole ruler, befriended of Indra, victorious, seize
upon the supplies of those who act as thy enemies!
I, 9. Prayer for earthly and heavenly success.
1. Upon this (person) the Vasus, Indra, Pûshan, Varuna, Mitra,
and Agni, shall bestow goods (vasu)! The Âdityas, and, further,
all the gods shall hold him in the higher light!
2. Light, ye gods, shall be at his bidding: Sûrya (the sun),
Agni (fire), or even gold! Inferior to us shall be our rivals!
Cause him to ascend to the highest heaven
3. With that most potent charm with which, O Gâtavedas (Agni),
thou didst bring to Indra the (soma-) drink, with that, O Agni,
do thou here strengthen this one; grant him supremacy over his
kinsmen!
4. Their sacrifice and their glory, their increase of wealth
and their thoughtful plans, I have usurped, O Agni. Inferior
to us shall be our rivals! Cause him to ascend to the highest
heaven!
VI, 38. Prayer for lustre and power.
1. The brilliancy that is in the lion, the tiger, and the
serpent; in Agni, the Brâhmana, and Surya (shall be ours)! May
the lovely goddess that bore Indra come to us, endowed with
lustre!
2. (The brilliancy) that is in the elephant, panther, and in
gold; in the waters, cattle, and men (shall be ours)! May the
lovely goddess that bore Indra come to us, endowed with lustre!
3. (The brilliancy) that is in the chariot, the dice, in the
strenath of the bull; in the wind, Parganya, and in the fire
of Varuna (shall be ours)! May the lovely goddess that bore
Indra come to us, endowed with lustre!
4. (The brilliancy) that is in the man of royal caste, in the
stretched drum, in the strength of the horge, in the shout of
men (shall be ours)! May the lovely goddess that bore Indra
come to us, endowed with lustre!
VI, 39. Prayer for glory (yasas).
1. The oblation that yields glory, sped on by Indra, of thousandfold
strength, well offered, prepared with might, shall prosper!
Cause me, that offers the oblation, to continue long beholding
(light), and to rise to supremacy!
2. (That he may come) to us, let us honour with obeisance glory-owning
Indra, the glorious one with glory-yielding (oblations)! Do
thou (the oblation) grant us sovereignty sped on by Indra; may
we in thy favour be glorious!
3. Glorious was Indra born, glorious Agni, glorious Soma. Glorious,
of all beings the most glorious, am I.
VIII, 8. Battle-charm.
1. May Indra churn (the enemy), he, the churner, Sakra (mighty),
the hero, that pierces the forts, so that we shall slay the
armies of the enemies a thousandfold!
2. May the rotten rope, wafting itself against yonder army,
turn it into a stench. When the enemies see from afar our smoke
and fire, fear shall they lay into their hearts!
3. Tear asunder those (enemies), O asvattha (ficus religiosa),
devour (khâda) them, O! khadira (acacia catechu) in lively style!
Like the tâgadbhanga (ricinus communis) they shall be broken
(bhagyantâm), may the vadhaka (a certain kind of tree) slay
them with his weapons (vadhaih)!
4. May the knotty âhva-plant put knots upon yonder (enemies),
may the vadhaka slay them with his weapons! Bound up in (our)
great trap-net, they shall quickly be broken as an arrow-reed!
5. The atmosphere was the net, the great regions (of space)
the (supporting) poles of the net: with these Sakra (mighty
Indra) did surround and scatter the army of the Dasyus.
6. Great, forsooth, is the net of great Sakra, who is rich in
steeds: with it infold thou all the enemies, so that not one
of them shall be released!
7. Great is the net of thee, great Indra, hero, that art equal
to a thousand, and hast hundredfold might. With that (net) Sakra
slew a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, a hundred million foes,
having surrounded them with (his) army.
8. This great world was the net of great Sakra: with this net
of Indra I infold all those (enemies) yonder in darkness,
9. With great dejection, failure, and irrefragable misfortune;
with fatigue, lassitude, and confusion, do I surround all those
(enemies) yonder.
10. To death do I hand them over, with the fetters of death
they have been bound. To the evil messengers of death do I lead
them captive.
11. Guide ye those (foes), ye messengers of death; ye messengers
of Yama, infold them! Let more than thousands be slain; may
the club of Bhava crush them!
12. The Sâdhyas (blessed) go holding up with might one support
of the net, the Rudras another, the Vasus another, (Still) another
is upheld by the Âdityas.
13. All the gods shall go pressing from above with might; the
Angiras shall go on the middle (of the net), slaying the mighty
army!
14. The trees, and (growths) that are like trees, the plants
and the herbs as well; two-footed and four-footed creatures
do I impel, that they shall slay yonder army!
15. The Gandharvas and Apsaras, the serpents and the gods, holy
men and (deceased) Fathers, the visible and invisible (beings),
do I impel, that they shall slay yonder army!
16. Scattered here are the fetters of death; when thou steppest
upon them thou shalt not escape! May this hammer slay (the men)
of yonder army by the thousand!
17. The gharma (sacrificial hot drink) that has been heated
by the fire, this sacrifice (shall) slay thousands! Do ye, Bhava
and Sarva, whose arms are mottled, slay yonder army!
18. Into the (snare of) death they shall fall, into hunger,
exhaustion, slaughter, and fear! O Indra and Sarva, do ye with
trap and net slay yonder army!
19. Conquered, O foes, do ye flee away; repelled by (our) charm,
do ye run! Of yonder host, repulsed by Brihaspati, not one shall
be saved!
20. May their weapons fall from their (hands), may they be unable
to lay the arrow on (the bow)! And then (our) arrows shall smite
them, badly frightened, in their vital members!
21. Heaven and earth shall shriek at them, and the atmosphere,
along with the divine powers! Neither aider, nor support did
they find; smiting one another they shall go to death!
22. The four regions are the she-mules of the god's chariot,
the purodâsas (sacrificial rice-cakes) the hoofs, the atmosphere
the seat (of the wagon). Heaven and earth are its two sides,
the seasons the reins, the intermediate regions the attendants,
Vâk (speech) the road.
23. The year is the chariot, the full year is the body of the
chariot, Virâg, the pole, Agni the front part of the chariot.
Indra is the (combatant) standing on the left of the chariot,
Kandramas (the moon) the charioteer.
24. Do thou win here, do thou conquer here, overcome, win, hail!
These here shall conquer, those yonder be conquered! Hail to
these here, perdition to those yonder! Those yonder do I envelop
in blue and red!
I, 19. Battle-charm against arrow-wounds.
1. The piercing (arrows) shall not hit us, nor shall the
striking arrows hit us! Far away fron, us O Indra, to either
side, cause the arrow-shower to fall!
2. To either side of us the arrows shall fall, those that have
been shot and shall be shot! Ye divine and ye human arrows,
pierce ye mine enemies!
3. Be he our own, or be he strange, the kinsman, or the foreianer,
who bear enmity towards us, those enemies of mine Rudra shall
pierce with a shower of arrows!
4. Him that rivals us, or does not rival us, him that curses
us with hate, may all the gods injure my charm protects me from
within!
III, 1. Battle-charm for confusing the enemy.
1. Agni shall skilfully march against our opponents, burning
against their schemes and hostile plans; Gâtavedas shall confuse
the army of our opponents and deprive them (of the use) of their
hands!
2. Ye Maruts are mighty in such matters: advance ye, crush ye,
conquer ye (the enerny)! These Vasus when implored did crush
(them). Agni, vily, as their vanauard shall skilfully attack!
3. O Maghavan, the hostile army which contends against us--do
ye, O Indra, Vritra's slayer, and Agni, burn against them!
4. Thy thunderbolt, O Indra, who hast been driven forward swiftly
by thy two bay steeds, shall advance, crushing the enemies.
Slay them that resist, pursue, or flee, deprive their schemes
of fulfilment!
5. O Indra, confuse the army of the enemy; with the impact of
the fire and the wind scatter them to either side!
6. Indra shall confuse the army, the Miaruts shall slay it with
might! Agni shall rob it of its sight; vanquished it shall turn
about!
III, 2. Battle-charm for confusing the enemy.
1. Agni, our skilful vanguard, shall attack, burning, against
their schemes and hostile plans! Gâtavedas shall bewilder the
plans of the enemy, and deprive them (of the use) of their hands!
2. This fire has confused the schemes that are in your mind;
it shall blow you from your home, blow you away from everywhere!
3. O Indra, bewildering their schemes, come hither with thy
(own) plan: with the impact of the fire and the wind scatter
them to either side!
4. O ye plans of theirs, fly ye away; O ye schemes, be ye confused!
Moreover, what now is in their mind, do thou drive that out
of them!
5. Do thou, O (goddess) Apvi, confusing their plans, go forth
(to them), and seize their limbs! Attack them, burn with flames
into their hearts; strike the enemy with fits, (strike our)
opponents with darkness!
6. That army yonder o( the enemy, that comes against us fighting
with might, do ye, O Maruts, strike with planless darkness,
that one of them shall not know the other!
VI, 97. Battle-charm of a king upon the eve of battle.
1. Superior is the sacrifice, superior Agni, superior Soma,
superior Indra. To the end that I shall be superior to all hostile
armies do we thus, offering the agnihotra, reverently present
this oblation!
2. Hail be, ye wise Mitra and Varuna: with honey swell ye our
kingdom here, (so that it shall) abound in offspring! Drive
far to a distance misfortune, strip off from us sin, even after
it has been committed!
3. With inspiration follow ye this strong hero; cling close,
ye friends, to Indra (the king), who conquers villages, conquers
cattle, has the thunderbolt in his arm, overcomes the host arrayed
(against him), crushing it with might!
VI, 99. Battle-charm of a king on the eve of battle.
1. I call -upon thee, O Indra, from afar, upon thee for protection
against tribulation. I call the strong avenger that has many
names, and is of unequalled birth.
2. Where the hostile weapon now rises against us,threatening
to slay, there do we place the two arms of Indra round about.
3. The two arms of Indra, the protector, do we place round about
us: let him protect us! O god Savitar, and king Soma, render
me of confident mind, that I may prosper!
XI, 9. Prayer to Arbudi and Nyarbudi for help in battle.
1. The arms, the arrows, and the might of the bows; the swords,
the axes, the weapons, and the artful scheme that is in our
mind; all that, O Arbudi, do thou make the enemies see, and
spectres also make them see!
2. Arise, and arm yourselves; friends are ye, O divine folk!
May our friends be perceived and protected by you, O Arbudi
(and Nyarbudi)!
3. Arise (ye two), and take hold! With fetters and shackles
surround ye the armies of the enemy, O Arbudi (and Nyarbudi)!
4. The god whose name is Arbudi, and the lord Nyarbudi, by whom
the atmosphere and this great earth has been infolded, with
these two companions of Indra do I pursue the conquered (king)
with my army.
5. Arise, thou divine person, O Arbudi, together with thy army!
Crushing the army of tlie enemy, encompass them with thy embraces!
6. Thou, Arbudi, makest appear the sevenfold spectral brood.
Do thou, when the oblation has been poured, rise up with all.
these, together with the army!
7. (The female mourner), beating herself, with tear-stained
face, with short (mutilated?) ears, with dishevelled hair, shall
lament, when a man has been slain, pierced by thee, O Arbudi!
8. She curves her spine while longing in her heart for her son,
her husband, and her kin, when (a man) has been pierced by thee,
O Arbudi!
9. The aliklavas and the gâshkamadas, the vultures, the strong-winged
hawks, the crows, and the birds (of prey) shall obtain their
fill! Let them make evident to the enemy, when (a man) has been
pierced by thee, O Arbudi!
10. Then, too, every wild beast, insect, and worm shall obtain
his fill on the human carcass, when (a man) has been pierced
by thee, O Arbudi!
11. Seize ye, and tear out in-breathing and outbreathing, O
Nyarbudi (and Arbudi): deep-sounding groans shall arise! Let
them make it evident to the enemy, when (a man) has been pierced
by thee, O Arbudi!
12. Scare them forth, let them tremble; bewilder the enemies
with fright! With thy broad embrace, with the clasp of thy arms
crush the enemies, O Nyarbudi!
13. May their arms, and the artful scheme that is in their mind
be confused! Not a thing shall remain of them, pierced by thee,
O Arbudi!
14. May (the mourning women) beating them selves, run together,
smiting their breasts and their thighs, not anointed, with dishevelled
hair, howling, when a man has been slain, has been pierced by
thee, O Arbudi!
15. The dog-like Apsaras, and also the Rûpakâs (phantoms), the
plucking sprite, that eacerly licks within the vessel, and her
that seeks out what has been carelessly hidden, all those do
thou, O Arbudi, make the enemies see, and spectres also make
them see!
16. (And also make them see) her that strides upon the mist,
the mutilated one, who dwells with the mutilated; the vapoury
spooks that are hidden, and the Gandharvas and Apsaras, the
serpents, and other brood, and the Rakshas!
17. (And also) the spooks with fourfold teeth, black teeth,
testicles like a pot, bloody faces, who are inherently frightful,
and terrifying!
18. Frighten thou, O Arbudi, yonder lines of the enemy; the
conquering and the victorious (Arbudi and Nyarbudi), the two
comrades of Indra, shall conquer the enemies!
19. Dissolved, crushed, slain the enemy shall lie, O Nyarbudi!
May victorious sprites, with fiery tongues and smoky crests,
go with (our) army!
20. Of the enemies repulsed by this (army), O Arbudi, Indra,
the spouse of Saki, shall slay each picked man: not a single
one of those yonder shall escape!
21. May their hearts burst, may their life's breath escape upward!
May dryness of the mouth overtake (our) enemies, but not (our)
allies!
22. Those who are bold and those who are cowardly, those who
turn (in flight) and those who are deaf (to danger?), those
who are (like) dark goats, and those, too, who bleat like goats,
all those, do thou, O Arbudi, make the enemies see, and spectres
also make them see!
23. Arbudi and Trishamdhi shall pierce our enemies, so that,
O Indra, slayer of Vritra, spouse of Sakî, we may slay the enemy
by thousands!
24. The trees, and (growths) that are like trees, the plants
and the herbs as well, the Gandharvas and the Apsaras, the serpents,
gods, pious men, and (departed) Fathers, all those, O Arbudi,
do thou make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see!
25. The Maruts, god Âditya, Brahmanaspati did rule over you;
Indra, and Agni, Dhâtar, Mitra, and Pragâpati did rule over
you; the seers did rule over you. Let them make evident to the
enemies when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi!
26. Ruling over all these, rise ye and arm yourselves! Ye divine
folk are (our) friends: win ye the battle, and disperse to your
various abodes!
XI, 10. Prayer to Trishamdhi for help in battle.
1. Arise and arm yourselves, ye nebulous spectres together
with fiery portents; ye serpents, other brood, and Rakshas,
run ye after the enemy!
2. He knows bow to rule your kingdom together with the red portents
(of the heavens). The evil brood that is in the air and the
heaven, and the human (powers) upon the earth, shall be obedient
to the plans of Trishamdhi!
3. The brazen-beaked (birds of prey), those with beaks pointed
as a needle, and those, too, with thorny beaks, flesh-devouring,
swift as the wind, shall fasten themselves upon the enemies,
together with the Trishamdhi-bolt (the bolt with three joints)!
4. Make away with, O Gâtavedas Âditya, many carcasses! This
army of Trishamdhi shall be devoted to my bidding!
5. Arise thou divine person, O Arbudi, together with thy army!
This tribute has been offered to you (Arbudi and Trishamdhi),
an offerinor pleasing to Trishamdhi.
6. This white-footed, four-footed arrow shall fetter (?). Do
thou, O magic spell, operate, together with the army of Trishamdhi,
against the enemies!
7. May (the mourning woman) with suffused eyes hurry on, may
she that hath short (mutilated?) ears shout when (a man) has
been overcome by the army of Trishamdhi! Red portents shall
be (visible)!
8. May the winged birds that move in the air and in the sky
descend; beasts of prey and insects shall seize upon them; the
vultures that feed upon raw flesh shall hack into (their) carcasses!
9. By virtue of the compact which thou, O Brihaspati, didst
close with Indra and Brahman, by virtue of that agreement with
Indra, do I call hither all the gods: on this side conquer,
not over yonder!
10. Brihaspati, the descendant of Angiras, and the seers, inspired
by (our) song, did fix the three-jointed (Trishamdhi) weapon
upon the sky for the destruction of the Asuras.
11. Trishamdhi, by whom both yonder Âditya (the sun) and Indra,
are protected, the gods did destine for (our) might and strencth.
12. All the worlds the gods did conquer through this oblation,
(and) by the bolt which Brihaspati, the descendant of Angiras,
did mould into a weapon for the destruction of the Asuras.
13. With the bolt which Brihaspati, the descendant of Angiras,
did, mould into a weapon for the destruction of the Asuras do
I, O Brihaspati, annihilate yonder army: I smite the enemies
with force.
14. All the gods that eat the oblation offered with the call
vashat are coming over. Receive this oblation graciously; conquer
on this side, not over yonder!
15. May all the gods come over: the oblation is pleasing to
Trishamdhi. Adhere to the great compact under which of yore
the Asuras were conquered!
16. Vâyu (the wind) shall bend the points of the enemies' bows,
Indra shall break their arms, so that they shall be unable to
lay on their arrows, Âditya (the sun) shall send their missiles
astray, and Kandramas (the moon) shall bar the way of (the enemy)
that has not (as yet) started!
17. If they have come on as citadels of the gods, if they have
constituted an inspired charm as their armour, if they have
gathered courage through the protections for the body and the
bulwarks which they have made, render all that devoid of force!
18. Placing (our) purohita (chaplain), together with the flesh-devourer
(Agni) and death, in thy train, do thoti, O Trishamdhi, go forth
with thy army, conquer the enemies, advance!
19. O Trishamdhi, envelop thou the enemies in darkness; may
not a single one of those, driven forth by the speckled ghee,
be saved!
20. May the white-footed (arrow?) fly to yonder lines of the
enemy, may yonder armies of the enemies be to-day put to confusion,
O Nyarbudi!
21. The enemies have been confused, O Nyarbudi: slay each picked
man among them, slay them with this army!
22. The enemy with coat-of-mail, he that has no coat-of-mail,
and he that stands in the battle-throng, throttled by the strings
of their bows, by the fastenings of their coats-of-mail, by
the battle-throng, they shall lie!
23. Those w ith armour and those without armour, the enemies
that are shielded by armour, all those, O Arbudi, after they
have been slain, dogs shall devour upon the ground!
24. Those that ride on chariots, and those that have no chariots,
those that are mounted, and those that are not mounted, all
those, after they have been slain, vultures and strong-winged
hawks shall devour!
25. Counting its dead by thousands, the hostile army, pierced
and shattered in the clash of arms, shall lie!
26. Pierced in a vital spot, shrieking in concert with the birds
of prey, wretched, crushed, prostrate, (the birds of prey) shall
devour the enemy who attempts to hinder this oblation of ours
directed against (him)!
27. With (the oblation) to which the gods flock, which is free
from failure,-with it Indra, the slayer of Vritra, shall slay,
and with the Trishamdhi-bolt (the bolt with three joints)!
V, 20. Hymn to the battle-drum.
1. High sounds the voice of the drum, that acts the warrior,
the wooden (drum), equipped with the skin of the cow. Whetting
thy voice, subduing the enemy, like a lion sure of victory,
do thou loudly thunder against them!
2. The wooden (instrument) with fastened (covering) has thundered
as a lion, as a bull roars to the cow that longs to mate. Thou
art a bull, thy enemies are eunuchs; thou ownest Indra's foesubduing
fire!
3. Like a bull in the herd, full of might, lusty, do thou, O
snatcher of booty, roar against them! Pierce with fire the heart
of the enemy; with -broken ranks the foe shall run and scatter!
4. In victorious battles raise thy roar! What may be captured,
capture; sound in many places! Favour, O drum, (our deeds) with
thy divine voice; bring to (us) with strength the property of
the enemy!
5. When the wife of the enemy hears the voice of the drum, that
speaks to a far distance, may she, aroused by the sound, distressed,
snatch her son to her arms, and run, frightened at the clash
of arms!
6. Do thou, O drum, sound the first sound, ring brilliantly
over the back of the earth! Open wide thy maw at the enemies
host; resound brightly, joyously, O drum!
7. Between this heaven and earth thy noise shall spread, thy
sounds shall quickly part to every side! Shout thou and thunder
with swelling sound; make music at thy friend's victory, having,
(chosen) the good side!
8. Manipulated with care, its voice shall resound! Make bristle
forth the weapons of the warriors! Allied to Indra do thou call
hither the warriors; with thy friends beat vigorously down the
enemies!
9. A shouting herald, followed by a bold army, spreading news
in many places, sounding through the village, eager for success,
knowing the way, do thou distribute glory to many in the battle!
10. Desiring advantage, gaining booty, full mighty, thou hast
been made keen by (my) song, and winnest battles. As the press-stone
on the gathering skin dances upon the soma-sboots, thus do thou,
O drum, lustily dance upon the booty!
11. A conqueror of enemies, overwhelming, foe-subduing, eager
for the fray, victoriously crushing, as a speaker his speech
do thou carry forth thy sound; sound forth here strength for
victory in battle!
12. Shaking those that are unshaken, hurrying to the strife,
a conqueror of enemies, an unconquerable leader, protected by
Indra, attending to the hosts, do thou that crusheth the hearts
of the enemies, quickly go!
V, 21 Hymn to the battle-drum, the terror of the enemy.
1. Carry with thy voice, O drum, lack of heart, and failure
of courage among the enemies! Disagreement, dismay, and fright,
do we place into the enemies: beat them down, O drum!
2. Agitated in their minds, their sight, their hearts, the enemies
shall run, frightened with terror, when our oblation has been
offered!
3. Made of wood, equipped with the skin of the cow, at home
with every clan, put thou with thy voice terror into the enemies,
when thou hast been anointed with ghee!
4. As the wild animals of the forest start in fear from man,
thus do thou, O drum, shout against the enemies, frighten them
away, and bewilder their minds!
5. As goats and sheep run from the wolf, badly frightened, thus
do thou, O drum, shout against the enemies, frighten them away,
and bewilder their minds!
6. As birds start in fear from the eagle, as by day and by night
(they start) at the roar of the lion, thus do thou, O drum,
shout against the enemies, frighten them away, and bewilder
their minds!
7. With the drum and the skin of the antelope all the gods,
that sway the battle, have scared away the enemies.
8. At the noise of the beat of the feet when Indra disports
himself, and at his shadow, our enemies yonder, that come in
successive ranks, shall tremble!
9. The whirring of the bowstring and the drums shall shout at
the directions where the conquered armies of the enemies go
in successive ranks!
10. O sun, take away their sight; O rays, run after them; clinging
to their feet, fasten yourselves upon them, when the strength
of their arms is gone!
11. Ye strong Maruts, Prisni's children, with Indra as an ally,
crush ye the enemies; Soma the king (shall crush them), Varuna
the king, Mahâdeva, and
also Mrityu (death), and Indra!
12. These wise armies of the gods, having the sun as their ensign,
shall conquer our enemies! Hail!
VI.
CHARMS TO SECURE HARMONY, INFLUENCE IN THE ASSEMBLY, AND THE LIKE (SÂMMANASYÂNI, ETC.).
III, 30. Charm to secure harmony.
1. Unity of heart, and unity of mind, freedom from hatred,
do I procure for you. Do ye take delight in one another, as
a cow in her (new-) born calf!
2. The son shall be devoted to his father, be of the same mind
with his mother; the wife shall speak honied, sweet, words to
her husband!
3. The brother shall not hate the brother, and the sister not
the sister! Harmonious, devoted to the same purpose, speak ye
words in kindly spirit!
4. That charm which causes the gods not to disagree, and not
to hate one another, that do we prepare in your house, as a
means of agreement for your folk.
5. Following your leader, of (the same) mind, do ye not hold
yourselves apart! Do ye come here, co-operating, going along
the same wagon-pole, speaking agreeably to one another! I render
you of the same aim, of the same mind.
6. Identical shall be your drink, in common shall be your share
of food! I yoke you together in the same traces: do ye worship
Agni, joining together, as spokes around about the hub!
7. I render you of the same aim, of the same mind, all paying
deference to one (person) through my harmonising charm. Like
the gods that are guarding the ambrosia, may he (the leader)
be welldisposed towards you, night and day!
VI, 73. Charm to allay discord.
1. Hither shall come Varuna, Soma, Agni; Brihaspati with
the Vasus shall come hither! Come together, O ye kinsmen all,
of one mind, to the glory of this mighty guardian!
2. The fire that is within your souls, the scheme that hath
entered your minds, do I frustrate with my oblation, with my
ghee: delight in me shall ye take, O kinsmen!
3. Remain right here, go not away from us; (the roads) at a
distance Pûshan shall make impassable for you! Vistoshpati shall
urgently call you back: delight in me shall ye take, O kinsmen!
VI, 74. Charm to allay discord.
1. May your bodies be united, may your mindg and your purposes
(be united)! Brahmanaspati here has brought you together, Bhaga
has brought you together.
2. Harmony of mind (I procure) for you, and also harmony of
heart. Moreover with the aid of Bhaga's exertions do I cause
you to agree.
3. As the Âdityas are united with the Vasus, as the fierce (Rudras),
free from grudge, with the Maruts, thus, O three-named (Agni),
without grudge, do thou render these people here of the same
mind!
VII, 52. Charm against strife and bloodshed.
1. May we be in harmony with our kinfolk, in harmony with
strangers; do ye, O Asvins, establish here agreement among us!
2. May we agree in mind and thought, may we not struggle with
one another, in a spirit displeasing to the gods! Ma not the
din of frequent battle-carnage arise, may the arrow not fly
when the day of Indra has arrived!
VI, 64. Charm to allay discord.
1. Do ye agree, unite yourselves, may your minds be in harmony,
just as the gods of old in harmony-. sat down to their share!
2. Same be their counsel, same their assembly, same their aim,
in common their thought! The 'same' oblation do I sacrifice
for you: do ye enter upon the same plan!
Same be your intention, same your hearts! Same be your mind,
so that it may be perfectly in common to you!
VI, 42. Charm to appease anger.
1. As the bowstring from the bow, thus do I take off thy
anger from thy heart, so that, having become of the same mind,
we shall associate like friends!
2. Like friends we shall associate-I take off thy anger. Under
a stone that is heavy do we cast thy anger.
3. I step upon thy anger with my heel and my fore-foot, so that,
bereft of will, thou shalt not speak, shalt come up to my wish!
VI, 43. Charm to appease anger.
1. This darbha-grass removes the anger of both kinsman and
of stranger. And this remover of wrath, 'appeaser of wrath'
it is called.
2. This darbha-grass of many roots, that reaches down into the
ocean, having risen from the earth, 'appeaser of wrath' it is
called.
3. Away we take the offensiveness that is in thy jaw, away (the
offensiveness) in thy mouth, so that, bereft of will, thou shalt
not speak, shalt come up to my wish!
II, 27. Charm against opponents in debate, undertaken with the pâtâ-plant.
1. May the enemy not win the debate! Thou art mighty and
overpowering. Overcome the debate of those that debate against
us, render them devoid of force, O plant!
2. An eagle found thee out, a boar dug thee out with his snout.
Overcome the debate of those that debate against us, render
them devoid of force, O plant!
3. Indra placed thee upon his arm in order to overthrow the
Asuras. Overcome the debate of those that debate against us,
render them devoid of force, O plant!
4. Indra did eat the pâtâ-plant, in order to overthrow the Asuras.
Overcome the debate of those that debate against us, render
them devoid of force, O plant!
5. By means of thee I shall conquer the enemy, as Indra (conquered)
the Sâlâvrikas. Overcome the debate of those that debate against
us, render them devoid of force, O plant!
6. O Rudra, whose remedy is the urine, with black crest of hair,
performer of (strong) deeds,overcome thou the debate of those
that debate against us, render them devoid of force, O plant!
7. Overcome thou the debate of him that is hostile to us, O
Indra! Encourage us with thy might! Render me superior in debate!
VII, 12. Charm to procure influence in the assembly.
1. May assembly and meeting, the two daughters of Pragâpati,
concurrently aid me! May he with whom I shall meet co-operate
with me, may I, O ye Fathers, speak agreeably to those assembled!
2. We know thy name, O assembly: 'mirth,' verily, is thy name;
may all those that sit assembled in thee utter speech in harmony
with me!
3. Of them that are sitting together I take to myself the power
and the understanding: in this entire vathering render, O Indra,
me successful!
4. If your mind has wandered to a distance, or has been enchained
here or there, then do we turn it hither: may your mind take
delight in me!
VI, 94. Charm to bring about submission to one's will.
1. Your minds, your purposes, your plans, do we cause to
bend. Ye persons yonder, that are devoted to other purposes,
we cause you to comply!
2. With my mind do I seize your minds: do ye with your thoughts
follow my thought! I place your hearts in my control: come ye,
directing your way after my course!
3. I have called upon heaven and earth, I have called upon the
goddess Sarasvatî, I have called upon both Indra and Agni: may
we succeed in this. O Sarasvatî!
CHARMS TO SECURE PROSPERITY IN HOUSE, FIELD, CATTLE, BUSINESS, GAMBLING, AND KINDRED MATTERS.
III, 12. Prayer at the building of a house.
1. Right here do I erect a firm house: may it stand upon
a (good) foundation, dripping with ghee! Thee may we inhabit,
O house, with heroes all, with strong heroes, with uninjured
heroes!
2. Right here, do thou, O house, stand firmly, full of horses,
full of cattle, full of abundance! Full of sap, ful.] of ghee,
full of milk, elevate thyself unto great happiness!
3. A supporter art thou, O house, with broad roof, containing
purified grain! To thee may the calf come, to thee the child,
to thee the milch-cows, when they return in the evening!
4. May Savitar, Vâyu, Indra, Brihaspati cunningly erect this
house! Alay the Alaruts sprinkle it with moisture and with ghee;
may king Bhaga let our ploughing take root!
5. O mistress of dwelling, as a sheltering and kindly goddess
thou wast erected by the gods in the bealrinina; clothed in
grass, be thou kindly disposed; give us, moreover, wealth along
with heroes!
6. Do thou, O cross-beam, according to regulation ascend the
post, do thou, mightily ruling, hold off the enemies! May they
that approach thee reverently, O house, not suffer injury, may
we with all our heroes live a hundred autumns!
7. Hither to this (house) hath come the tender child, hither
the calf along with (the other) domestic animals; hither the
vessel (full) of liquor, together with bowls of sour milk!
8. Carry forth, O woman, this full jar, a stream of ghee mixed
with ambrosia! Do thou these drinkers supply with ambrosia;
the sacrifice and the gifts (to the Brahmans) shall it (the
house) protect!
9. These waters, free from disease, destructive of disease,
do I carry forth. The chambers do I enter in upon together with
the immortal Agni (fire).
VI, 142. Blessing during the sowing of seed.
1. Raise thyself up, grow thick by thy own might, O grain!
Burst every vessel! The lightning in the heavens shall not destroy
thee!
2. When we invoke thee, god grain, and thou dost listen, then
do thou raise thyself up like the sky, be inexhaustible as the
sea!
3. Inexhaustible shall be those that attend to thee, inexhaustible
thy heaps! Theywhogivethee as a present shall be inexhaustible,
they who eat thee shall be inexhaustible!
VI, 79. Charm for procuring increase of grain.
1. May this bounteous Nabhasaspati (the lord of the cloud)
preserve for us (possessions) without measure in our house!
2. Do thou, O Nabhasaspati, keep strengthening food in our house,
may prosperity and goods come hither!
3. O bounteous god, thou dost command thousandfold prosperity:
of that do thou bestow upon iis, of that do thou give us, in
that may we share with thee!
VI, 50. Exorcism of vermin infesting grain in the field.
1. Slay ye the tarda ('borer'), the samanka ('hook'), and
the mole, O Asvins; cut off their heads, and crush their ribs!
Shut their mouths, that they shall not eat the barley; free
ye, moreover, the grain from danger!
2. Ho tarda ('borer'), ho locust, ho gabhya ('snapper'), upakvasa!
As a Brahman (eats not) an uncompleted sacrifice, do ye, not
eating this barley, without working injury, get out!
3. O husband of the tardâ (-female), O husband Of the vaghâ
(-female), ye of the sharp teeth, listen to me! The vyadvaras
('rodents') of the forest, and whatever other vyadvaras (there
are), all these we do crush.
VII, 11. Charm to protect grain from lightning.
1. With thy broad thunder,with the beacon, elevated by the gods that pervade this all, with the lightning do thou not destroy our grain, O god; nor do thou destroy it with the rays of the sun!
II, 26. Charm for the prosperity of cattle.
1. Hither shall come the cattle which have strayed to a distance,
whose companionship Vâyu (the wind) enjoys! (The cattle) whose
structure of form Tvashtar knows, Savitar shall hold in place
in this stable!
2. To this stable the cattle shall flow together, Brihaspati
skilfully shall conduct them hither! Sînîvâlî shall conduct
hither their van: do thou, O Anumati, hold them in place after
they have arrived!
3. May the cattle, may the horses, and may the domestics flow
together; may the increase of the grain flow together! I sacrifice
with an oblation that causeth to flow together!
4. I pour together the milk of the cows, I pour together strength
and sap with the ghee. Poured together shall be our heroes,
constant shall be the cows with me the owner of the cows!
5. I bring hither the milk of the cows, I have brought hither
the sap of the grain. Brought hither are our heroes, brought
hither to this house are our wives.
III, 14. Charm for the prosperity of cattle.
1. With a firmly founded stable, with wealth, with well-being,
with the name of that which is born on a lucky day do we unite
you (O cattle)!
2. May Aryaman unite you, may Pûshan, Brihaspati, and Indra,
the conqueror of booty, unite you! Do ye prosper my possessions!
Flocking together without fear, making ordure in this stable,
holding honey fit for soma, free from disease, ye shall come
hither!
4. Right here come, ye cows, and prosper here like the sakâ-bird!
And right here do ye beget (your youn(y)! May ye be in accord
with me!
5. May your stable be auspicious to you, prosper ye like the
sâri-birds and parrots! And right here do ye beget (your young)!
With us do we unite you.
6. Attach yourselves, O cows, to me as your possessor; may this
stable here cause you to prosper! Upon you, growing numerous,
and living, may we, increasing in wealth, alive, attend!
VI, 59. Prayer to the plant arundhatî for protection to cattle.
1. Thy foremost protection, O Arundhatî, do thou bestow upon
steer and milch-kine, upon (cattle of) the age when weaned from
their mother, upon (all) four-footed creatures!
2. May Arundhatî, the herb, bestow protection along with the
gods, render full of sap the stable, free from disease our men!
3. The variegated, lovely, life-giving (plant) do I invoke.
May she carry away for us, far from the cattle, the missile
hurled by Rudra!
VI, 70. Charm to secure the attachment of a cow to her calf.
1. As meat, and liquor, and dice (abound) at the gambling-place,
as the heart of thf. lusty male hankers after the woman, thus
shall thy heart, O cow, hanker after the calf!
2. As the elephant directs his steps after the steps of the
female, as the heart of the lusty male hankers after the woman,
thus shall thy heart, O cow, hanker after the calf!
3. As the felloe, and as the spokes, and as the nave (of the
wheel is joined) to the felloe, as the heart of the lusty male
hankers after the woman, thus shall thy heart, O cow, hanker
after the calf!
III, 28. Formula in expiation of the birth of twin-calves.
1. Through one creation at a time this (cow) was born, when
the fashioners of the beings did create the cows of many colours.
(Therefore), when a cow doth beget twins portentously, growling
and cross she injureth the cattle.
2. This (cow) doth injure our cattle: a flesh-eater, devourer,
she hath become. Hence to a Brahman he shall give her; in this
way she may be kindly and auspicious!
3. Auspicious be to (our) men, auspicious to (our) cows and
horses, auspicious to this entire field, auspicious be to us
right here!
4. Here be prosperity, licre be sap! Be thou here one that especially
gives a thousandfold! Make the cattle prosper, thou mother of
twins!
5. Where our pious friends live joyously, having left behind
the ailments of their bodies, to that world the mother of twins
did attain: may she not injure our men and our cattle!
6. Where is the world of our pious friends, where the world
of thern that sacrifice with the agnihotra, to that world the
mother of twins did attain: may she not injure our imen and
our cattle!
VI, 92. Charm to endow a horse with swiftness.
1. Swift as the wind be thou, O steed, when joined (to the
chariot); at Indra's urging go, fleet as the mind! The Maruts,
the all-possessing, shall harness thee,Tvashtar shall put fleetness
into thy feet!
2. With the fleetness, O runner, that has been deposited in
thee in a secret place, (with the fleetness) that has been made
over to the eagle, the wind, and moves in them, with that, O
steed, strong with strength, do thou win the. race, reaching
the goal in the contest!
3. Thy body, O steed, leading (our) body, shall run, a pleasure
to ourselves, delight to thyself! A god, not stumbling, for
the support of the great, he shall, as if upon the heaven, found
his own light!
III, 13. Charm for conducting a river into a new channel.
1. Because of yore, when the (cloud-) serpent was slain (by
Indra), ye did rush forth and shout (anadatâ), therefore is
your name 'shouters' (nadyah rivers'): that is your designation,
ye streams!
2. Because, when sent forth by Varuna, ye then quickly did bubble
up; then Indra met (âpnot) you, as ye went, therefore anon are
ye 'meeters' (âpah waters')!
3. When reluctantly ye flowed, Indra, forsooth, did with might
choose (avîvarata) you as his own, ye goddesses! Therefore 'choice'
(vâr 'water') has been given you as your name!
4. One god stood upon you, as ye flowed according to will. Up
breathed (ud ânishuh) they who are known as 'the great' (mahîh).
Therefore 'upbreather' (udakam 'water') are they called!
5. The waters are kindly, the waters in truth were ghee. These
waters, truly, do support Agni and Soma. May the readily flowing,
strong sap of the honey-dripping (waters) come to me, together
with life's breath and lustre!
6. Then do I see them and also do I hear them; their sound,
their voice doth come to me. When, ye golden-coloured, I have
refreshed myself with you, then I ween, ambrosia (amrita) am
I tasting!
7. Here, ye waters, is your heart, here is your calf, ye righteous
ones! Come ye, mighty ones, by this way here, by which I am
conducting you here!
VI, 106. Charm to ward off danger from fire.
1. Where thou comest, (O fire), and where thou goest away,
the blooming dûrvâ-plant shall grow: a well-spring there shall
rise up, or a lotus-laden pool!
2. Here (shall be) the gathering place of the waters, here the
dwelling-place of the sea! In the midst of a pond our house
shall be: turn, (O fire), away thy jaws!
With a covering of coolness do we envelop thee, O house; cool
as a pond be thou for us! Agni shall furnish the remedy!
IV, 3. Shepherd's charm against wild beasts and robbers.
1. Three have gone away from here, the tiger, man, and wolf.
Out of sight, forsooth, cm the rivers, out of siaht (grows the
divine tree (the banyan-tree?): out of sight the enemies shall
retreat!
2. The wolf shall tlead a distant path, and the robber one still
more distant! On a distant path shall move the biting rope (the
serpent), on a distant path the plotter of evil!
3. Thy eyes and thy jaw we crush, O tiger, and also all thy
twenty claws.
4. We crush the tiger, the foremost of animals, armed with teeth.
Next, too, the thief, and then the serpent, the wizard, and
also the wolf.
5. The thief that approacheth to-day, crushed to pieces he goeth
away. Where the paths are precipitate he shall go, Indra shall
slay him with his bolt!
6. The teeth of the wild beast are dulled, and broken are his
ribs. Out of thy sight the dragon shall go, down shall tumble
the hare-hunting beast!
7. The (jaw, O beast,) that thou shuttest together, thou shalt
not open up; that which thou openest up, thou shalt not shut
together!--Born of Indra, born of Soma, thou, (my charm), art
Atharvan's crusher of tigers.
III, 15. A merchant's prayer.
1. Indra, the merchant, do I summon: may he come to us, may
he be our van; driving away the demon of grudge, the waylayers,
and wild beasts, may he, the possessor, bestow wealth upon me!
2. May the many paths, the roads of the gods, which come together
between heaven and earth, c,ladden me with milk and ghee, so
that I may gather in wealth from my purchases!
3. Desirous do I, O Agni, with firewood and ghee offer oblations
(to thee), for success and strength; according to ability praising
(thee) with my prayer, do I sing this divine song, that I may
gain a hundredfold!
4. (Pardon, O Agni, this sin of ours [incurred upon] the far
road which we have travelled!) May our purchases and our sales
be successful for us; may what I get in barter render me a gainer!
May ye two (Indra and Agni) in accord take pleasure in this
oblation! May our transactions and the accruing gain be auspicious
to us!
5. The wealth with which I go to purchase, desiring, ye gods,
to gain wealth through wealth, may that grow more, not less!
Drive away, O Agni, in return for the oblation, the gods who
shut off gain!
6. The wealth with which I go to purchase, desiring, ye gods,
to gain wealth through wealth, may Indra, Pragâpati, Savitar,
Soma, Agni, place lustre into it for me!
7. We praise with reverence thee, O priest (Agni) Vaisvdnara.
Do thou over our children, selves, cattle, and life's breath
watch!
8. Daily, never failing, shall we bring (oblations to thee),
O Gâtavedas, (as if fodder) to a horse standing (in the stable).
In growth of wealth and nutriment rejoicing, may we, O Agni,
thy neighbours, not take harm!
IV, 38. A. Prayer for success in gambling.
1. The successful, victorious, skilfully gaming Apsarâ, that
Apsarâ who makes the winnings in the game of dice, do I call
hither.
2. The skilfully gaming Apsarâ who sweeps and heaps up (the
stakes), that Apsarâ who takes the winnings in the game of dice,
do I call hither.
May she, who dances about with the dice, when she takes the
stakes from the game of dice, when she desires to win for us,
obtain the advantage by (her) magic! May she come to us full
of abundance! Let them not win this wealth of ours!
4. The (Apsarâs) who rejoice in dice, who carry grief and wrath-tbat
joyful and exulting Apsarâ, do I call hither.
B. Prayer to secure the return of calves that have strayed to a distance.
5. They (the cattle) who wander along the rays of the sun,
or they who wander along the flood of light) they whose bull
(the. sun), full of strength, from afar protecting, with the
day wanders about all the worlds-may he (the bull), full of
strength, delighting in this offering, come to us touether with
the atmosphere!
6. Together with the atmosphere, O thou who art full of strength,
protect the white (karkî) calf, O thou swift steed (the sun)!
Here are many drops (of ghee) for thee; come hither! May this
white calf (karkî) of thine, may thy mind, be here!
7. Together with the atmosphere, O thou who art full of strength,
protect the white (karkî) calf, O thou swift steed (the sun)!
Here is the fodder, here the stall, here do we tie down the
calf. Whatever (are your) names, we own you. Hail!
VII, 50. Prayer for success at dice.
1. As the lightning at all times smites irresistibly the
tree, thus would I to-day irresistibly beat the gamesters with
my dice!
2. Whether they be alert, or not alert, the fortune of (these)
folks, unresisting, shall assemble from all sides, the gain
(collect) within my hands!
3. I invoke with reverence Agni, who has his own riches; here
attached he shall beap up gain for us! I procure (wealth) for
myself, as if with chariots that win the race. May I accomplish
auspiciously the song of praise to the Maruts!
4. May we by thy aid conquer the (adversary s) troop; help us
(to obtain) our share in every contest! Make for us, O Indra,
a good and ample road; crush, O Maghavan, the lusty power of
our enemies!
5. I have conquered and cleaned thee out (?); I have also gained
thy reserve. As the wolf plucks to pieces the sheep, thus do
I pluck thy winnings.
6. Even the strong hand the bold player conquers, as the skilled
gambler heaps up his winnings at the proper time. Upon him that
loves the game (the god), and does not spare his money, (the
game, the god) verily bestows the delights of wealth.
7. Through (the possession of) cattle we all would suppress
(our) wretched poverty, or with grain our hunger, O thou oft
implored (god)! May we foremost among rulers, unharmed, gain
wealth by our cunning devices!
8. Gain is deposited in my right hand, victory in my left. Let
me become a conqueror of cattle, horses, wealth, and gold!
9. O dice, yield play, profitable as a cow that is rich in milk!
Bind me to a streak of gain, as the bow (is bound) with the
string!
VI, 56. Exorcism of serpents from the premises.
1. May the serpent, ye gods, not slay us along with our children
and our men! The closed (jaw) shall not snap open, the open
one not close! Reverence (be) to the divine folk!
2. Reverence be to the black serpent, reverence to the one that
is striped across! To the brown svaga reverence; reverence to
the divine folk!
3. I clap thy teeth upon thy teeth, and also thy jaw upon thy
jaw; I press thy tongue against thy tongue, and close up, O
serpent, thy mouth.
X, 4. Charm against serpents, invoking the horse of Pedu that slays serpents.
1. To Indra belongs the first chariot, to the gods the second
chariot, to Varuna, forsooth, the third. The serpents' chariot
is the last: it shall hit a post, and come to grief!
2. The young darbha-grass burns (the serpents?), the tail of
the horse, the tail of the shaggy one, the seat of the wagon
(burns the serpents?).
3. Strike down, O white (horse), with thy forefoot and thy hind-foot!
As timber floating in water, the poison of the serpents, the
fierce fluid, is devoid of strength.
4. Neighing loudly he dived down, and, again diving up, said:
'As timber floating in water, the poison of the serpents, the
fierce fluid, is devoid of strength.'
5. The horse of Pedu slays the kasarnîla, the horse of Pedu
slays the white (serpent), and also the black. The horse of
Pedu cleaves the head of the ratharvî, the adder.
6. O horse of Pedu, go thou first: we come after thee! Thou
shalt cast out the serpents from the road upon which we come!
7. Here the horse of Pedu was born; from here is his departure.
Here are the tracks of the serpent-killing, powerful steed!
8. May the closed (serpent's jaw) not snap open, may the open
one not close! The two serpents in this field, man and wife,
they are both bereft of strength.
9. Without strength here are the serpents, those that are near,
and those that are far. With a club do I slay the vriskika (scorpion),
with a staff the serpent that has approached.
10. Here is the remedy for both the aghâsva and the svaga! Indra
(and) Pedu's horse have put to naught the evil-planning (aghâyantam)
serpent.
11. The horse of Pedu do we remember, the strong, with strong
footing: behind he, staring forth, these adders.
12. Deprived are they of life's spirit, deprived of poison,
slain by Indra with his bolt. Indra hath slain them: we have
slain them.
13. Slain are they that are striped across, crushed are the
adders! Slay thou the one that produces a hood, (slay) the white
and the black in the darbha-grass!
14. The maiden of the Kirâta-tribe, the little one digs up the
remedy, with golden spades, on the mountain's back.
15. Hither has come a youthful physician: he slays the speckled
(serpent), is irresistible. He, forsooth, crushes the svaga
and the vriskika both.
16. Indra did set at naught for me the serpent, (and so did)
Mitra and Varuna, Vâta and Parganya both.
17. Indra did set at naught for me the serpent, the adder, male
and female, the svaga, (the serpent) that is striped across,
the kasarnîla, and the dasonasi.
18. Indra slew thy first ancestor, O serpent, and since they
are crushed, what strength, forsooth, can be theirs?
19. I have gathered up their heads, as the fisherman the karvara
(fish). I have gone off into the river's midst, and washed out
the serpent's poison.
20. The poison of all serpents the rivers shall carry off! Slain
are they that are striped across, crushed are the adders!
21. As skilfully I cull the fibre of the plants, as I guide
the mares, (thus), O serpent, shall thy poison go away!
22. The poison that is in the fire, in the sun, in the earth,
and in the plants, the kândâ-poison, the kanaknaka, thy poison
shall go forth, and come!
23. The serpents that are sprung from the fire, that are sprung
from the plants, that are sprung from the water, and originate
from the lightning; they from whom great brood has sprung in
many ways, those serpents do we revere with obeisance.
24. Thou art, (O plant), a maiden, Taudî by name.; Ghritâkî,
forsooth, is thy name. Underfoot is thy place: I take in hand
what destroys the poison.
25. From every limb make the poison start; shut it out from
the heart! Now the force that is in thy poison shall go down
below!
26. The poison has gone to a distance: he has shut it out; he
has fused the poison with poison. Agni has put away the poison
of the serpent, Soma has led it out. The poison has gone back
to the biter. The serpent is dead!
XI, 2. Prayer to Bhava and Sarva for protection from dangers.
1. O Bhava and Sarva, be merciful, do not attack (us); ye
lords of beings, lords of cattle, reverence be to you twain!
Discharge not your arrow even after it has been laid on (the
bow), and has been drawn! Destroy not our bipeds and our quadrupeds!
2. Prepare not our bodies for the dog, or the jackal; for the
aliklavas, the vultures, and the black birds! Thy greedy insects,
O lord of cattle (pasupate), and thy birds shall not get us
to devour!
3. Reverence we offer, O Bhava, to thy roaring, to thy breath,
and to thy injurious qualities; reverence to thee, O Rudra,
thousand-eyed, immortal!
4. We offer reverence to thee from the east, from the north,
and from the -south; from (every) domain, and from heaven. Reverence
be to thy atmosphere!
5. To thy face, O lord of cattle, to thy eyes, O Bhava, to thy
skin, to thy form, thy appearance, (and to thy aspect) from
behind, reverence be!
6. To thy limbs, to thy belly, to thy tongue, to thy mouth,
to thy teeth, to thy smell (nose), reverence be!
7. May we not conflict with Rudra, the archer with the dark
crest, the thousand-eyed, powerful one, the slayer of Ardhaka!
8. Bhava shall steer clear from us on all sides, Bhava shall
steer clear from us, as fire from water! May he not bear malice
towards us: reverence be to him!
9. Four times, eight times, be reverence to Bhava, ten times
be reverence to thee, O lord of cattle! To thy (charge) have
been assigned these five (kinds of) cattle: cows, horses, men,
goats and sheep.
10. Thine, O strong god (ugra), are the four regions, thine
the sky, thine the earth, and thine this broad atmosphere; thine
is this all that has a spirit and has breath upon the earth.
11. Thine is this broad, treasure-holding receptacle within
which all worlds are contained. Do thou spare us, O lord of
cattle: reverence be to thee! Far from us shall go the jackals,
evil omens, dogs; far shall go (the mourning women) who bewail
rnisfortune with dishevelled hair!
12. Thou, O crested (god), carriest in (thy hand), that smites
thousands, a yellow, golden bow that slays hundreds; Rudra's
arrow, the missile of the gods, flies abroad: reverence be to
it, in whatever direction from here (it flies)!
13. The adversary who lurks and seeks to overcome thee, O Rudra,
upon him thou dost fasten thyself from behind, as (the hunter)
that follows the trail of a wounded (animal).
14. Bhava and Rudra, united and concordant, both strong (ugrau),
ye advance to deeds of heroism: reverence be to both of them,
in whatever direction (they are) from here!
15. Reverence be to thee coming, reverence to thee going; reverence,
O Rudra, be to thee standing, and reverence, also, to thee sitting!
16. Reverence in the evening, reverence in the morning, reverence
by night,reverence byday! I have offered reverence to Bhava
and to Sarva, both.
17. Let us not with our tongue offend Rudra, who rushes on,
thousand-eyed, overseeing all, who hurls (his shafts) forward,
who is manifoldly wise!
18. We approach first the (god) that has dark horses, is black,
sable, destructive, terrible, who casts down the car of Kesin:
reverence be to him!
19. Do not hurl at us thy club, thy divine bolt; be not incensed
at us, O lord of cattle! Shake over some other than us the celestial
branch!
20. Injure us not, interpose for us, spare us, be not angry
with us! Let us not contend with thee!
21. Do not covet our cattle, our men, our goats and sheep! Bend
thy course elsewhere, O strong god (ugra), slay the offspring
of the blasphemers!
22. He whose missile, fever and cough, assails the single (victim),
as the snorting of a stallion, who snatches away (his victims)
one by one, to him be reverence!
23. He who dwells fixed in the atmosphere, smiting the blasphemers
of the god that do not sacrifice, to him be reverence with ten
sakvarî-stanzas!
24. For thee the wild beasts of the forest have been placed
in the forest: flamingoes, eagles, birds of prey, and fowls.
Thy spirit, O lord of cattle, is within the waters, to strengthen
thee the heavenly waters flow.
25. The dolphins, great serpents (boas), purîkayas (water-animals),
sea-monsters, fishes, ragasas at which thou shootest-there exists
for thee, O Bhava, no distance, and no barrier. At a glance
thou lookest around the entire earth; from the eastern thou
slayest in the northern ocean.
26. Do not, O Rudra, contaminate us with fever, or with poison,
or with heavenly fire: cause this lightning to descend elsewhere
than upon us!
27. Bhava rules the sky, Bhava rules the earth; Bhava has filled
the broad: atmosphere. Reverence be to him in whatever direction
from here (he abides)!
28. O king Bhava, be merciful to thy worshipper, for thou art
the lord of living beasts! He who believes the gods exist, to
his quadruped and biped be merciful!
29. Slay neither our great nor our small; neither those of us
that are riding, nor those that shall ride; neither our father,
nor our mother. Cause no injury, O Rudra, to our own persons!
30. To Rudra's howling dogs, who swallow their food without
blessing, who have wide jaws, I have made this obeisance.
31. Reverence, O god, be to thy shouting hosts, reverence to
thy long-haired, reverence to thy reverenced, reverence to thy
devouring hosts! May well-being and security be to us!
IV, 28. Prayer to Bhava and Sarva for protection from calamities.
1. O Bhava and Sarva, I am devoted to you. Take note of that,
ye under whose control, is all this which shines (the visible
universe)! Ye who rule all these two-footed and four-footed
creatures, deliver us from calamity!
2. Ye to whom belongs all that is near by, yea, all that is
far; ye who are known as the most skilful archers among bowmen;
ye who rule all these two-footed and four-footed creatures,
deliver us from calamity!
3. The thousand-eyed slayers of Vritra both do I invoke. I go
praising the two strong gods (ugrau) whose pastures extend far.
Ye who rule all these two-footed and four-footed creatures,
deliver us from calamity!
4. Ye who, united, did undertake many (deeds) of old, and, moreover,
did visit portents upon the. people; ye who rule all these two-footed
and fourfooted creatures, deliver us from calamity!
5. Ye from whose blows no one either among gods or men escapes;
ye who rule all these twofooted and four-footed creatures, deliver
us from calamity!
6. The sorcerer who prepares a spell, or manipulates the roots
(of plants) against us, against him, ye strong gods, launch
your thunderbolt! Ye who rule all these two-footed and four-footed
creatures, deliver us from calamity.
7. Ye strong gods, favour us in battles, bring into contact
with your thunderbolt the Kimîdin! I praise you, O Bhava and
Sarva, call fervently upon you in distress: deliver us from
calamity!
VII, 9. Charm for finding lost property.
1. On the distant path of the paths Pûshan was born, on the
distant path of heaven, on the distant path of the earth. Upon
the two most lovely places both he walks hither and away, knowing
(the way).
2. Pûshan knows these regions all; he shall lead us by the most
dangerless (way). Bestowing well-being, of radiant glow, keeping
our heroes undiminished, he shall, alert and skilful, go before
us!
3. O Pûshan, under thy law may we never suffer harm: as praisers
of thee are we here!
4. Pûshan shall from the east place his right hand about us,
shall bring again to us what has been lost: we shall come upon
what has been lost!
VI, 128. Propitiation of the weather-prophet.
1. When the stars made Sakadhûma their king they bestowed
good weather upon him: 'This shall be his dominion,' they said.
2. Let us have good weather at noon, good weather at eve, good
weather in the early morning, good weather in the niyht
3. For day and night, for the stars, for sun and moon, and for
us prepare good weather, O king Sakadhûma!
4. To thee, O Sakadhûma, ruler of the stars, that gavest us
good weather in the evening in the night, and by day, let there
ever be obeisance!
XI, 6. Prayer for deliverance from calamity, addressed to the entire pantheon.
1. To Agni we speak and to the trees, to the plants and to
the herbs; to Indra, Brihaspati, and Sûya: they shall deliver
us from calamity!
2. We speak to king Varuna, to Mitra, Vishnu and Bhaga. To Amsa
and Vivasvant do we speak: they shall deliver us from calamity!
3. We speak to Savitar, the god, to Dhâtar, and to Pûshan; to
first-born Tvashtar do we speak: they shall deliver us from
calamity!
4. We speak to the Gandharvas and the Apsaras, to the Asvins
and to Brahmanaspati, to the god whose name is Aryaman: they
shall deliver us from calamity!
5. Now do we speak to day and night, to Sûrya (sun) and to Kandramas
(moon), the twain; to all the Âdityas we speak: they shall deliver
us from calamity!
6. We speak to Vâta (wind) and Parganya, to the atmosphere and
the directions of space. And to all the regions do we speak:
they shall deliver us from calamity!
7. Day and night, and Ushas (dawn), too, shall deliver thee
from curses! Soma the god, whom they call Kandramas (moon),
shall deliver me!
8. To the animals of the earth and those of heaven, to the wild
beasts of the forest, to the winged birds, do we speak: they
shall deliver us from calamity!
9. Now do we speak to Bhava and Sarva, to Rudra and Pasupati;
their arrows do we know well: these (arrows) shall be ever propitious
to us!
10. We speak to the heavens, and the stars, to earth, the Yakshas,
and the mountains; to the seas.. the rivers, and the lakes:
they shall deliver us from calamity!
11. To the seven Rishis now do we speak, to the divine waters
and Pragâpati. To the Fathers with Yama at their head: they
shall deliver us from calamity!
12. The gods that dwell in heaven, and those that dwell in the
atmosphere; the mighty (gods) that are fixed upon the earth,
they shall deliver us from
calamity!
13. The Âdityas, Rudras, Vasus, the divine Atharvans in heaven,
and the wise Angiras: they shall deliver us from calamity!
14. We speak to the sacrifice and the sacrificer, to the riks,
the sâmans, and the healing (Atharvan) charms; we speak to the
yagus-formulas and the invocations (to the gods): they shall
deliver us from calamity!
15. We speak to the five kingdoms of the plants with soma the
most excellent among them. The darbha-grass, hemp, and mighty
barley: they shall deliver us from calamity!
16. We speak to the Arâyas (demons of grudge), Rakshas, serpents,
pious men, and Fathers; to the one and a hundred deaths: they
shall deliver us from calamity!
17. To the seasons we speak, to the lords of the seasons, and
to the sections of the year; to the halfyears, years, and months:
they shall deliver us from calamity!
18. Come, ye gods, from the south and the west; ye gods in the
east come forth! From the east, from the north the mighty gods,
all the gods assembled: they shall deliver us from calamity!
19, 20. We speak here to all the gods that hold to their agreements,
promote the order (of the universe), together with all their
wives: they shall deliver us from calamity!
21. We speak to being, to the lord of being, and also to him
that controls the beings; to the beings all assembled: they
shall deliver us from calamity!
22. The five divine regions, the twelve divine seasons, the
teeth of the year, they shall ever be propitious, to us!
23. The amrita (ambrosia), bought for the price of a chariot,
which Mâtalî knows as a remedy, that Indra stored away in the
waters: that, O ye waters, furnish ye as a remedy!
VIII.
CHARMS IN EXPIATION OF SIN AND DEFILEMENT.
VI, 45. Prayer against mental delinquency.
1. Pass far away, O sin of the mind! Why dost thou utter
things not to be uttered? Pass away, I love thee not! To the
trees, the forests go on! With the house, the cattle, is my
mind.
2. What wrongs we have committed through imprecation, calumny,
and false speech, either awake, or asleep--Agni shall put far
away from us all offensive evil deeds!
3. What, O Indra Brahmanaspati, we do falselymay Praketas ('care-taker')
Ângirasa protect us from misfortune, and from evil!
VI, 26. Charm to avert evil.
1. Let me go, O evil; being powerful, take thou pity on us!
Set me, O evil, unharmed, into the world of happiness!
2. If, O evil, thou dost not abandon us, then do we abandon
thee at the fork of the road. May evil follow after another
(man)!
3. Away from us may thousand-eyed, immortal (evil) dwell! Him
whom we hate may it strike, and him whom we hate do thou surely
smite!
VI, 114. Expiatory formula for imperfections in the sacrifice.
1. The god-angering (deed), O ye gods, that we, the (Brahman)
gods, have committed, from that do ye, O Âdityas, release us,
by virtue of the order of the universe!
2. By virtue of the order of the universe do ye, O reverend
Âdityas, release us here, if, O ye carriers of the sacrifice,
though desirous of accomplishing (the sacrifice), we did not
accomplish (it)!--
3. (If), when sacrificing with the fat (animal), when offering
oblations of ghee with the spoon, when desiring to benefit you,
O all ye gods, we have contrary to desire, not succeeded!
VI, 115. Expiatory formulas for sins.
1. From the sins which knowingly or unknowingly we have committed,
do ye, all gods, of one accord, release us!
2. If awake, or if asleep, to sin inclined, I have committed
a sin, may what has been, and what shall be, as if from a wooden
post, release me!
3. As one released from a wooden post, as one in a sweat by
bathing (is cleansed) of filth, as ghee is clarified by the
sieve, may all (the gods) clear me from sin!
VI, 112. Expiation for the precedence of a younger brother over an older.
1. May this (younger brother) not slay the oldest one of
them, O Agni; protect him that he be not torn out by the root!
Do thou here cunningly loosen the fetter of Grâhi (attack of
disease); may all the gods give thee leave!
2. Free these three, O Agni, from the three fetters with which
they have been shackled! Do thou cunningly loosen the fetters
of Grâhi; release them all, father, sons, and mother!
3. The fetters with which the older brother, whose younger brother
has married before him, has been bound, with which he has been
encumbered and shackled limb by limb, may they be loosened;
since fit for loosening they are! Wipe off, O Pûshan, the misdeeds
upon him that practiseth abortion!
VI, 113. Expiation for certain heinous crimes.
1. On Trita the gods wiped off this sin, Trita wiped it off
on human beings; hence if Grâhi (attack of disease) has seized
thee, may these gods remove her by means of their charm!
2. Enter into the rays, into smoke, O sin; go into the vapours,
and into the fog! Lose thyself on the foam of the river! 'Wipet
off, O Pûshan, the misdeeds upon him that practiseth abortion!
3. Deposited in twelve places is that which has been wiped off
Trita, the sins belonging to humanity. Hence if Grâhi has seized
thee, may these gods remove her by means of their charm!
VI, 120. Prayer for heaven after remission of sins.
1. If air, or earth and heaven, if mother or father, we have
injured, may this Agni Gârhapatya (household fire) without fail
lead us out from this (crime)
to the world of well-doing!
2. The earth is our mother, Aditi (the universe) our kin, the
air our protector from hostile schemes. May father sky bring
prosperity to us from the world of the Fathers; may I come to
my (departed) kin, and not lose heaven!
3. In that bright world where our pious friends live in joy,
having cast aside the ailments of their own bodies, free from
lameness, not deformed in limb, there may we behold our parents
and our children!
VI, 27. Charm against pigeons regarded as ominous birds.
1. O ye gods, if the pigeon, despatched as the messenger
of Nirriti (the goddess of destruction), hath come here seeking
(us out), we shall sing his praises, and prepare (our) ransom.
May our two-footed and four-footed creatures be prosperous!
2. Auspicious to us shall be the pigeon that has been despatched;
harmless, ye gods, the bird shall be to our house! The sage
Agni shall verily take pleasure in our oblation; the winged
missile shall avoid us!
3. The winged missile shall not do us injury: upon our hearth,
our fireplace he (the pigeon) takes his steps! Propitious he
shall be to our cattle and
our domestics; may not, ye gods, the pigeon here do harm to
us!
VI, 29. Charm against ominous pigeons and owls.
1. Upon those persons yonder the winged missile shall fall!
If the owl shrieks, futile shall this be, or if the pigeon takes
his steps upon the fire!
2. To thy two messengers, O Nirriti, who come here, despatched
or not despatched, to our house, to the pigeon and to the owl,
this shall be no place to step upon!
3. He shall not fly hither to slaughter (our) men; to keep (our)
men sound he shall settle here! Charm .him very far away unto
a distant region, that (people) shall behold you (i.e. him)
in Yama's house devoid of strength, that they shall behold you
bereft of power!
VII, 64. Expiation when one is defiled by a black bird of omen.
1. What this black bird flying forth towards (me) has dropped
here--may the waters protect me from all that misfortune and
evil!
2. What this black bird has brushed here with thy mouth, O Nirtiti
(goddess of misfortune)-may Agni Gârhapatya (the god of the
household fire) free me from this sin!
VI, 46. Exorcism of evil dreams.
1. Thou who art neither alive nor dead, the immortal child
of the gods art thou, O Sleep! Varunânî is thy mother, Yama
(death) thy father, Araru is thy name.
2. We know, O Sleep, thy birth, thou art the son of the divine
women-folk, the instrument of Yama (death)! Thou art the ender,
thou art death! Thus do we know thee, O Sleep: do thou, O Sleep,
protect us from evil dreams!
3. As one pays off a sixteenth, an eighth, or an (entire) debt,
thus do we transfer every evil dream upon our enemy.
VII, 115. Charm for the removal of evil characteristics, and the acquisition of auspicious ones.
1. Fly forth from here, O evil mark, vanish from here, fly
forth to yonder place! Upon him that hates us do we fasten thee
with a brazen hook.
2. The unsavoury mark which flying has alighted upon me, as
a creeper upon a tree, that mayest thou put away from us, away
from here, O golden-handed
(golden-rayed) Savitar (the sun), bestowing goods upon us!
3. Together with the body of the mortal, from his birth, one
and a hundred marks are born. Those that are most foul do we
drive away from here; the auspicious ones, O Gâtavedas (Agni),
do thou hold fast for us!
4. These (marks) here I have separated, as cows scattered upon
the heather. The pure marks shall remain, the foul ones I have
made to disappear!
IX.
PRAYERS AND IMPRECATIONS IN THE INTEREST OF THE BRAHMANS.
V, 18. Imprecation against the oppressors of Brahmans.
1. The gods, O king, did not give to thee this (Cow) to eat.
Do not, O prince, seek to devour the cow of the Brâhmana, which
is unfit to be eaten!
2. The prince, beguiled by dice, the wretched one who has lost
as a stake his own person, he may, perchance, eat the cow of
the Brâhmana, (thinking), 'let me live to-day (if) not to-morrow'!
3. Enveloped (is she) in her skin, as an adder with evil poison;
do not, O prince, (eat the cow) of the Brâhmana: sapless, unfit
to be eaten, is that cow!
4. Away does (the Brâhmana) take regal power, destroys vigour;
like fire which has caught does he burn away everything. He
that regards the Brâhmana as fit food drinks of the poison of
the taimâta-serpent.
5. He who thinks him (the Brahman) mild, and slays him, he who
reviles the gods, lusts after wealth, without thought, in his
heart Indra kindles a fire; him both heaven and earth hate while
he lives.
6. The Brâhmana must not be encroached upon, any more than fire,
by him that regards his own body! For Soma is his (the Brâhmana's)
heir, Indra protects him from hostile plots.
7. He swallows her (the cow), bristling with a hundred hooks,
(but) is unable to digest her, he, the fool who, devouring the
food of the Brahmans, thinks, 'I am eating a luscious (morsel).'
8. (The Brahman's) tongue turns into a bow. string, his voice
into the neck of an arrow; his windpipe, his teeth are bedaubed
with holy fire: with these the Brahman strikes those who revile
the gods, by means of bows that have the strength to reach the
heart, discharged by the gods.
9. The Brâhmanas have sharp arrows, are armed with missiles,
the arrow whi ch they hurl goes not in vain; pursuing him with
their holy fire and their wrath, even from afar, do they pierce
him.
10. They who ruled over a thousand, and were themselves ten
hundred, the Vaitahavya, when they devoured the cow of the Brâhmana,
perished.
11. The cow herself, when slaughtered, came down upon the Vaitahavyas.
who had roasted for themselves the last she-goat of Kesaraprâbandhâ.
12. The one hundred and one persons whom the earth did cast
off, because they had injured the offspring of a Brâhmana, were
ruined irretrievably.
13. As a reviler of the gods does he live among mortals, having
swallowed poison, he becomes more bone (than flesh). He that
injureth a Brâhmana, whose kin are the gods, does not reach
heaven by the road of the Fathers.
14. Agni is called our guide, Soma our heir, Indra slays those
who curse (us): that the strong (sages) know.
15. Like a poisoned arrow, O king, like -an adder, O lord of
cattle, is the terrible arrow of the Brâhmana: with that he
smites those who revile (the gods).
V, 19. Imprecation against the oppressors of Brahmans.
1. Beyond measure they waxed strong, just fell short of touching
the heavens. When they infringed upon Bhrigu they perished,
the Sriñgaya Vaitahavyas.
2. The persons who pierced Brihatsâman, the descendant of Angiras,
the Brâhmana--a ram with two rows of teeth, a sheep devoured
their offspring.
3. They who spat upon the Brâhmana, who desired tribute from
him, they sit in the middle of a pool of blood, chewing hair.
4. The cow of the Brahman, when roasted, as far as she reaches
does she destroy the lustre of the kingdom; no lusty hero is
born (there).
5. A cruel (sacrilegious) deed is her slaughter, her meat, when
eaten, is sapless; when her milk is drunk, that surely is accounted
a crime against the Fathers.
6. When the king, weening himself mighty, desires to destroy
the Brâhmana, then royal power is dissipated, where the Brâhmana
is oppressed.
7. Becoming eight-footed, four-eyed, four-eared, four-jawed,
two-mouthed, two-tongued, she dispels the rule of the oppressor
of the Brahman.
8. That (kingdom) surely she swamps, as water a leaking ship;
misfortune strikes that kingdom, in which they injure a Brâhmana.
9. The trees chase away with the words: 'do not come within
our shade,' him who covets the wealth that belongs to a Brâhmana,
O Nârada!
10. King Varuna pronounced this (to be) poison, prepared by
the gods: no one who has devoured the cow of a Brâhmana retains
the charge of a kingdom.
11. Those full nine and ninety whom the earth did cast off,
because they had injured the offspring of a Brâhmana, were ruined
irretrievably.
12. The kûdî-plant (Christ's thorn) that wipes away the track
(of death), which they fasten to the dead, that very one, O
oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did declare (to be) thy couch.
13. The tears which have rolled from (the eyes of) the oppressed
(Brahman), as he laments, these very ones, O oppressor of Brahmans,
the gods did assign to thee as thy share of water.
14. The water with which they bathe the dead, with which they
moisten his beard, that very one, O oppressor of Brahmans, the
gods did assign to thee as thy share of water.
15. The rain of Mitra and Varuna does not moisten the oppressor
of Brahmans; the assembly is not complacent for him, he does
not guide his friend according to his will.
V, 7. Prayer to appease Arâti, the demon of grudge and avarice.
1. Bring (wealth) to us, do not stand in our way, O Arâti;
do not keep from us the sacrificial reward as it is being taken
(to us)! Adoration be to the power of grudge, the power of failure,
adoration to Arâti!
2. To thy advising minister, whom thou, Arâti, didst make thy
agent, do we make obeisance. Do not bring failure to my wish!
3. May our wish, instilled by the gods, be fulfilled by day
and night! We go in quest of Arâti. Adoration be to Arâti!
4. Sarasvatî (speech), Anumati (favour), and Bhaga (fortune)
we go to invoke. Pleasant, honied, words I have spoken on the
occasions when the gods were invoked.
5. Him whom I implore with Vâk Sarasvatî (the goddess-of speech),
the yoke-fellow of thought, faith shall find to-day, bestowed
by the brown soma!
6. Neither our wish nor our speech do thou frustrate! May Indra
and Agni both bring us wealth! Do ye all who to-day desire to
make gifts to us gain favour with Arâti!
7. Go far away, failure! Thy missile do we avert. I know thee
(to be) oppressive and piercing, O Arâti!
8. Thou dost even transform thyself into a naked woman, and
attach thyself to people in their sleep, frustrating, O Arâti,
the thought, and intention of man.
9. To her who, great, and of great dimension, did penetrate
all the regions, to this golden-locked Nirriti (goddess of misfortune),
I have rendered obeisance.
10. To the gold-complexioned, lovely one, who rests upon golden
cushions, to the great one, to that Arâti who wears golden robes,
I have rendered obeisance.
XII, 4. The necessity of giving away sterile cows to the Brahmans.
1. 'I give,' he shall surely say,'the sterile cow to the
begging Brahmans'--and they have noted her--that brings progeny
and offspring!
2. With his offspring does he trade, of his cattle is he deprived,
that refuses to give the cow of the gods to the begging descendants
of the Rishis.
3. Through (the gift of) a cow with broken horns his (cattle)
breaks down, through a lame one he tumbles into a pit, through
a mutilated one his house is burned, through a one-eyed one
his property is given away.
4. Flow of blood attacks the cattle-owner from the spot where
her dung is deposited: this understanding there is about the
vasâ (the sterile cow); for thou (sterile cow) art said to be
very difficult to deceive!
5. From the resting-place of her feet the (disease) called viklindu
overtakes (the owner, or the cattle). Without sickness breaks
down (the cattle) which she sniffs upon with her nose.
6. He that pierces her ears is estranged from the gods. He thinks:
'I am making a mark (upon her),' (but) he diminishes his own
property.
7. If any one for whatsoever purpose cuts her tail then do his
colts die, and the wolf tears his calves.
8. If a crow has injured her hair, as long as she is with her
owner then do his children die: decline overtakes them without
(noticeable) sickness.
9. If the serving-maid sweeps together her dung, that bites
as lye, there arises from this sin disfigurement that passeth
not away.
10. The sterile cow in her very birth is born for the gods and
Brâhmanas. Hence to the Brahmans she is to be given: that, they
say, guarantees the security of one's own property.
11. For those that come requesting her the cow has been created
by the gods. Oppression of Brahmans it is called, if he keeps
her for himself.
12. He that refuses to give the cow of the gods to the descendants
of the Rishis who ask for it, infringes upon the gods, and the
wrath of the Brâhmanas.
13. Though he derives benefit from this sterile cow, another
(cow) then shall he seek! When kept she injures (his) folk,
if he refuses to give her after she has been asked for!
14. The sterile cow is as a treasure deposited for die Brâhmanas:
they come here for her, with whomsoever she is born.
15. The Brâhmanas come here for their own, when they come for
the sterile cow. The refusal of her is, as though he were oppressing
them in other concerns.
I& If she herds up to her third year, and no disease is
discovered in her, and he finds her to be a sterile cow, O Nârada,
then must he look for the Brâhmanas.
17. If he denies that she is sterile, a treasure deposited for
the gods, then Bhava and Sarva, both, come upon him, and hurl
their arrow upon him.
18. Though he does not perceive upon her either udder, or tits,
yet both yield him milk, if he has prevailed upon himself to
give away the sterile cow.
19. Hard to cheat, she oppresses him, if, when asked for, he
refuses to give her. His desires are not fulfilled, if he aims
to accomplish them without giving her away.
20. The gods did ask for the sterile cow, making the Brâhmana
their mouthpiece. The man that does not give (her) enters into
the wrath of all of these.
21. Into the wrath of the cattle enters he that gives not the
sterile cow to the Brâhmanas; if he, the mortal, appropriates
the share deposited for the gods.
22. Even if a hundred other Brâhmanas beg the owner for the
sterile cow, yet the gods did say anent her: 'The cow belongs
to him that knoweth thus.'
23. He that refuses the sterile cow to him that knoweth thus,
and gives her to others, difficult to dwell upon is for him
the earth with her divinities.
24. The gods did beg the sterile cow of him wilh whom she was
born at first. That very one Nârada recognised and drove forth
in company with the gods.
25. The sterile cow renders childless, and poor in cattle, him
that yet appropriates her, when she has been begged for by the
Brâhmanas.
26. For Agni and Soma, for Kâma, for Mitra, and for Varuna,
for these do the Brâhmanas beg her: upon these he infringes,
if he gl ves her not.
27. As long as the owner does not himself hear the stanzas referring
to (the giving away of) her, she may herd among his cattle;
(only) if he has not heard (them) may she pass the night in
his house.
28. He that has listened to the stanzas, yet has permitted her
to herd among the cattle, his life and prosperity the angry
gods destroy.
29. The sterile cow, even when she rambles freely, is a treasure
deposited for the gods. Make evident thy true nature when thou
desirest to go to thy (proper) stable!
30. She makes evident her nature when she desires to go to her
(proper) stable. Then indeed the sterile cow puts it into the
minds of the Brahmans to beg (for her).
31. She evolves it in her mind, that (thought) reaches the gods.
Then do the Brahmans come to beg for the sterile cow.
32. The call svadhâ befriends him with the Fathers, the sacrifice
with the gods. Through the gift of the sterile cow the man of
royal caste incurs not the anger of (her), his mother.
33. The sterile cow is the mother of the man of royal caste:
thus was it from the beginning. It is said to be no (real) deprivation
if she is given to the Brahmans.
34. As if he were to rob the ghee ladled up for Agni (the fire)
from the (very) spoon, thus, if he gives not the sterile cow
to the Brahmans, does he infringe upon Agni.
35. The sterile cow has the purodasa (sacrificial cake) for
her calf, she yields plentiful milk, helps in this world, and
fulfils all wishes for him that gives her (to the Brahmans).
36. The sterile cow fulfils all wishes in the kingdom of Yama
for him that gives her. But they say that hell falls to the
lot of him that withholds her, when she has been begged for.
37. The sterile cow, even if she should become fruitful, lives
in anger at her owner: 'since he did regard me as sterile (without
giving me to the Brahmans), he shall be bound in the fetters
of death!'
38, He who thinks that the cow is sterile, and (yet) roasts
her at home, even his children qnd grandchildren Brihaspati
causes to be importuned (for her).
39. Fiercely does the (supposed) sterile cow burn when she herds
with the cattle, though she be a (fruitful) cow. She verily,
too, milks poison for the owner that does not present her.
40. It pleases the cattle when she is given to the Brahmans;
moreover, the sterile cow is pleased, when she is made an offering
to the gods (Brahmans).
41. From the sterile cows which the gods, returning from the
sacrifice, created, Nârada picked out as (most) terrible the
viliptî.
42. In reference to her the gods reflected: 'Is she a sterile
cow, or not?' And Nârada in reference to her said: 'Of sterile
cows she is the most sterile!'
43. 'How many sterile cows (are there), O Nârada, which thou
knowest to be born among men?' About these do I ask thee, that
knowest: 'Of which may the non-Brâhmana not eat?'
44. Of the viliptî, of her that has born a sterile cow, and
of the sterile cow (herself), the non-Brâhmana, that hopes for
prosperity, shall not eat!
45. Reverence be to thee, O Nârada, that knowest thoroughly
which sterile cow is the most terrible, by withholding which
(from the Brahmans) destruction is.incurred.
46. The viliptî, O Brihaspati, her that has, begotten a sterile
cow, and the sterile cow (herself), the non-Brâhmana, that hopes
for prosperity, shall not eat!
47. Three kinds, forsooth, of sterile cows are there: the viliptî,
she that has begotten a sterile cow, and the sterile cow (herself).
These he shall give to the Brahmans; (then) does he not estrange
himself from Pragâpati.
48. 'This is your oblation, O Brâhmanas,' thus shall he reflect,
if he is supplicated, if they ask him for the sterile cow, terrible
in the house of him that refuses to give her.
49. The gods animadverted in reference to Bheda and the sterile
cow, angry because he had not given her, in these verses-and
therefore he (Bheda) perished.
50. Bheda did not present the sterile cow, though requested
by Indra: for this sin the gods crushed him in battle.
51. The counsellors that advise the withholding (of the sterile
cow), they, the rogues, in their folly, conflict with the wrath
of Indra.
52. They who lead the owner of cattle aside, then say to him:
'do not give,' in their folly they run into the missile hurled
by Rudra.
53. And if he roasts the sterile cow at home, whether he makes
a sacrifice of her, or not, he sins against the gods and Brâhmanas,
and as a cheat falls from heaven.
XI, 1. The preparation of the brahmaudana, the porridge given as a fee to the Brahmans.
1. O Agni, come into being! Aditi here in her throes, longing
for sons, is cooking the porridge for the Brahmans, The seven
Rishis, that did create the beings, shall here churn thee, along
with progeny!
2. Produce the smoke, ye lusty friends; unharmed by wiles go
ye into the contest! Here is the Agni (fire) who gains battles,
and commands powerful warriors, with whom the gods did conquer
the demons.
3. O Agni, to a great heroic deed thou wast aroused, to cook
the Brahman's porridge, O Gâtavedas! The seven Rishis, that
did create the beings, have produced thee. Grant her (the wife)
wealth together with undiminished heroes!
4. Burn, O Agni, after having been kindled by the firewood,
bring skilfully hither the gods that are to be revered! Causing
the oblation to cook for these (Brahmans), do thou raise this
(sacrificer) to the highest firmament!
5. The, threefold share which was of yore assigned to you (belongs)
to the gods, the (departed) Fathers, and to the mortals (the
priests). Know your shares! I divide them for you: the (share)
of the gods shall protect this (woman)!
6. O Agni, possessed of might, superior, thou dost without fail
prevail! Bend down to the ground our hateful rivals!--This measure,
that is being measured, and has been measured, may constitute
thy kin into (people) that render thee tribute!
7. Mayest thou together with thy kin be endowed with sap! Elevate
her (the wife) to great heroism! Ascend on high to the base
of the firmament, which they call 'the world of brightness'!
8. This great goddess earth, kindly disposed, shall receive
the (sacrificial) skin! Then may we go to the world of well-doing
(heaven)!
9. Lay these two press-stones, well coupled, upon the skin;
crush skilfully the (soma-) shoots for the sacrificer! Crush
down, (O earth), and beat down, those who are hostile to her
(the wife); lift up high, and elevate her offspring!
10. Take into thy hands, O man, the press-stones that work together:
the gods that are to be revered have come to thy sacrifice!
Whatever three wishes thou dost choose, I shall here procure
for thee unto fulfilment.
11. This, (O winnowing-basket), is thy purpose, and this thy
nature: may Aditi, mother of heroes, take hold of thee! Winnow
out those who are hostile to this (woman); afford her wealth
and undiminished heroes!
12. Do ye, (O grains), remain in the (winnowing-) basket, while
(the wind) blows over you; be separated, ye who are fit for
the sacrifice, from the chaff! May we in happiness be superior
to all our equals! I bend down under our feet those that hate
us.
13. Retire, O woman, and return promptly! The stable of the
waters (water-vessel) has settled upon thee, that thou mayest
carry it: of these (the waters) thou shalt take such as are
fit for sacrifice; having intelligently divided them off, thou
shalt leave the rest behind!
14. These bright women, (the waters), have come hither. Arise,
thou woman, and gather strength! To thee, that art rendered
by thy husband a true wife, (and) by thy children rich in offspring,
the sacrifice has come: receive the (water-) vessel!
15. The share of food that belongs to you of yore has been set
aside for you. Instructed by the Rishis bring thou (woman) hither
this water! May this sacrifice win advancement for you, win
prAection, win offspring for you; may it be mighty, win cattle,
and heroes for you!
16. O Agni, the sacrificial pot has settled upon thee: do thou
shining, brightly glowing, heat it with thy glow! May the divine
descendants of the Rishis, assembled about their share (of the
porridge), full of fervour, heat this (pot) at the proper time!
17. Pure and clear may these sacrificial women, the waters bright,
flow into the pot! The), have given us abundant offspring and
cattle. May he that cooks the porridge go to the world of the
pious (heaven)!
18. Purified by (our) prayer, and clarified by the ghee are
the soma-shoots, (and) these sacrificial grains. Enter the water;
may the pot receive you! When ye have cookect this (porridge)
go ye to the world of the pious (heaven)!
19. Spread out far unto great extent, with a thousand surfaces,
in the world of the pious! Grandfathers, fathers, children,
grandchildren--I am the fifteenth one that did cook thee.
20. The porridge has a thousand surfaces, a hundred streams,
and is indestructible; it is the road of the gods, leads to
heaven. Yonder (enemies) do I place upon thee: injure them and
their offspring; (but) to me that brings gifts thou shalt be
merciful!
21. Step upon the altar (vedi); make this woman thrive in her
progeny; repel the demons.; advance her! May we in happiness
be superior to all our equals! I bend down under our feet all
those that hate us.
22. Turn towards her with cattle, (thou pot), face towards her,
together with the divine powers! Neither curses nor hostile
magic shall reach thee; rule in thy dwelling free from disease!
23. Properly built, placed with care, this altar (vedi) has
been arranged of yore for the Brahmans porridge. Put it, O woman,
upon the purified amsadhrl; place there the porridge for the
divine (Brâhmanas)!
24. May this sacrificial ladle (sruk), the second hand of Aditi,
which the seven Rishis, the creators of the beings, did fashion,
may this spoon, knowing the limbs of the porridge, heap it upon
the altar!
25. The divine (Brâhmanas) shall sit down to thee, the cooked
saerfice: do thou again descending from the fire, approach them!
Clarified by soma settle in the belly of the Brâhmanas; the
descendants of the Rishis who eat thee shall not take harm!
26. O king Soma, infuse harmony into the good Brâhmanas who
shall sit about thee! Eagerly do I invite to the porridge the
Rishis, descended from Rishis, that are born of religious fervour,
and gladly obey the call.
27. These pure and clear sacrificial women (the waters) I put
into the hands of the Brâhmanas severally. With whatever wish
I pour this upon you, may Indra. accompanied by the Maruts grant
this to me!
28. This gold is my immortal light, this ripe fruit of the field
is my wish-granting cow. This treasure I present to the Brâhmanas:
I prepare for myself a road that leads. to the Fathers in the
heavens.
29. Scatter the spelt into Agni Gâtavedas (the fire), sweep
away to a far distance the chaff! This (chaff) we have heard,
is the share of the ruler of the house (Agni), and we know,
too, what belonos to Nirriti (destruction) as her share.
30. Note, (O porridge), him that takes pains, and cooks and
presses the soma; lift him up to the heavenly road, upon which,
after he has reached the fullest age, he shall ascend to the
highest firmament, the supreme heavens!
31. Anoint (with ghee), O adhvaryu (priest), the surface of
this sustaining (porridge), make skilfully a place for the melted
butter; with ghee do thou anoint all its limbs! I prepare for
myself a road that leads to the Fathers in the heavens.
32. O sustaining (porridge), cast destruction and strife among
such as are sitting about thee, and are not Brâhmanas! (But)
the descendants of the -Rishis, that eat thee, being full of
substance, spreading forth, shall not take harm!
33. To the descendants of the Rishis I make thee over, O porridge;
those who are not descended from Rishis have no share in it!
May Agni as my guardian, may all the Maruts, and all the gods
watch over the cooked food!
34. Thee (the porridge) that milkest the sacrifice, art evermore
abundant, the male milch-cow, the seat of wealth, we beseech
for immortality of off-spring and long life with abundance of
wealth.
35. Thou art a lusty male, penetratest heaven: go thou to the
Rishis, descended from Rishis! Dwell in the world of the pious:
there is a well-prepared (place) for us two!
36. Pack thyself up, go forth! O Agni, prepare the roads, that
lead to the gods! By these: well-prepared (roads) may we reach
the sacrifice, standing upon the firmament (that shines) with
seven rays!
37. With the light with which the gods, having cooked the porridge
for the Brâmanas, ascended to heaven, to the world of the pious,
with that would we go to the world of the pious, ascending to
the light, to the highest firmament!
XII, 3. The preparation of the brahmaudana, the porridge given as a fee to the Brahmans.
1. (Thyself) a male, step thou upon the hide of the male
(steer): go, call thither all that is dear to thee! At whatever
age ye two formerly did first unite (in marriage), may that
age be your common lot in Yama's kingdom!
2. Your sight shall be as clear (as formerly), your strength
as abundant, your lustre as great, your vitality as manifold!
When Agni, the (funeral-) pyre, fastens himself upon the corpse,
then as a pair ye.shall rise from the (cooked) porridge!
3. Come ye together in this world, upon the road to the gods,
and in Yama's realms! By purifications purified call ye together
the offspring that has sprung from you!
4. Around the water united, sit ye down, O children; around
this living (father) and the waters that refresh the living!
Partake of these (waters), and of that porridge which the mother
of you two cooks, and which is called amrita (ambrosia)!
5. The porridge which the father of you two, and which the mother
cooks, unto freedom from defilement and foulness of speech,
that porridge with a hundred streams (of ghee), leading to heaven,
has penetrated with might both the hemispheres of the world.
6. In that one of the two hemispheres and the two heavenly worlds,
conquered by the pious, which especially abounds in light, and
is rich in honey, in that do ye in the fulness of time come
together with your children!
7. Keep ever on in an easterly direction: this is the region
that the faithful cling to! When your cooked porridge has been
prepared on the fire, hold together, O man and wife, that ye
may guard it!
8. When ye shall have reached the southerly direction, turn
ye to this vessel! In that Yama, associated with the fathers,
shall give abundant protection to your cooked porridge!
9. This westerly direction is especially favoured: in it Soma
is ruler and consoler. To this hold, attach yourselves to the
pious: then as a pair ye shall rise from the cooked porridge!
10. The northerly direction shall make our realm the very uppermost,
in offspring, uppermost! The purusha is the metre pahkti: with
all (our kin), endowed with all their limbs, may we be united!
11. This 'firm' direction (nadir) is Virâg (brilliancy): reverence
be to her; may she be kind to my children and to me! Mayest
thou, O goddess Aditi, who boldest all treasures, as an alert
guardian guard the cooked porridge!
12. As a father his children do thou, (O earth), embrace us;
may gentle winds blow upon us here on earth! Then the porridge
which the two divinities (the sacrificer and his wife) are here
preparing for us shall take note of our religious fer~our and
our truth!
13. Whatever the black bird, that has come hither stealthily,
has touched of that ahich has stuck to the rim, or whatever
the wet-banded slavegirl does pollute-may ye, O waters, purify
(that) mortar and pestle!
14. May this sturdy press-stone, with broad bottom, purified
by the purifiers, beat away the Rakshas! Settle upon the skin,
afford firm protection; may man and wife not come to grief in
their children!
15. The (pestle of) wood has come to us together with the gods:
it drives away the Rakshas and Pisâkas. Up it shall rise, shall
let its voice resound
through it let us conquer all the worlds!
16. The cattle clothed itself in sevenfold strength, those among
them that are sleek and those that are poor. The thirty-three
gods attend them mayest thou, (O cattle), guide us to the heavenly
world!
17. To the bright world of heaven thou shalt lead us; (there)
let us be united with wife and children! I take her hand, may
she follow me there; neither Nirriti (destruction), nor Arâti
(grudge), shall gain mastery over us!
18. May we get past the evil Grâhi (seizure)! Casting aside
darkness do thou, (O pestle), let thy lovely voice resound;
do not, O wooden tool, when raised, do injury; do not mutilate
the grain devoted to the gods!
19. All-embracing, about to be covered with ghee, enter, (O
pot), as a co-dweller this space!--Take hold of the winnowing-basket,
that has been grown by the rain: the spelt and the chaff it
shall sift out!
20. Three regions are constructed after the pattern of the Brâhmana:
yonder heaven, the earth, and the atmosphere.--Take the (soma-)
shoots, and hold one another, (O man and wife)! They (the shoots)
shall swell (with moisture), and again go back into the winnowing-basket!
21. Of manifold variegated colours are the animals, one colour
hast thou, (O porridge), when successfully prepared.--Push these
(soma-) Shoots upon this red skin; the press-stone shall purify
them as the washer-man his clothes!
22. Thee, the (pot of) earth, I place upon the earth: your substance
is the same, though thine, (O pot), is modified. Even though
a blow has cracked or scratched thee, do not therefore burst:
with this verse do I cover that up!
23. Gently as a mother embrace the son: I unite thee, (pot of)
earth, with the earth! Mayest thou, the hollow pot, not totter
upon the altar, when thou art pressed by the tools of sacrifice
and the ghee!
24. May Agni who cooks thee protect thee on the east, Indra
with the Maruts protect thee on the south! May Varuna on the
west support thee upon thy foundation, may Soma on the north
hold thee together!
25. Purified by the purifiers, the (waters) flow pure from the
clouds, they reach to the spaces of heaven, and of the earth.
They are alive, refresh the livino, and are firmly rooted: may
Agni heat them, after they have been poured into the vessel!
26. From heaven they come, into the earth they penetrate; from
the earth they penetrate into the atmosphere. May they, now
pure, yet purify themselves further; may they conduct us to
the heavenly world!
27. Whether ye are over-abundant or just sufficient, ye are
surely clear, pure, and immortal: cook, ye waters, instructed
by the husband and wife, obliging and helpful, the porridge!
28. Counted drops penetrate into the earth, commensurate with
the breaths of life and the plants. The uncounted golden (drops),
that are poured into (the porridge), have, (themselves) pure,
established complete purity.
29. The boiling waters rise and sputter, cast up foam and many
bubbles. Unite, ye waters, with this grain, as a woman who beholds
her husband in the proper season!
30. Stir up (the grains) as they settle at the bottom: let them
mingle their inmost parts with the waters! The water here I
have measured with cups; measured was the grain, so as to be
according to these regulations.
31. Hand over the sickle, with haste bring promptly (the grass
for the barhis); without giving pain let them cut the plants
at the joints! They whose kingdom Soma rules, the plants, shall
not harbour anger against us!
32. Strew a new barhis for the porridge: pleasing to its heart,
and lovely to its sight it shall be! Upon it the gods together
with the goddesses shall enter; settle down to this (porridge)
in proper order, and eat it!
33. O (instrument of) wood, settle down upon the strewn barhis,
in keeping with the divinities and the agnishloma rites! Well
shaped, as if by a carpenter (Tvashtar) with his axe, is thy
form. Longing for this (porridge) the (gods) shall be seen about
the vessel!
34. In sixty autumns the treasurer (of the porridge) shall fetch
it, by the cooked grain he shall obtain heaven; the parents
and the children shall live upon it. Bring thou this (man) to
heaven, into the presence of Agni!
35. (Thyself) a holder, (O pot), hold on to the foundation of
the earth: thee, that art immoveable the gods (alone) shall
move! Man and wife, alive, with living children, shall remove
thee from the hearth of the fire!
36. Thou hast conquered and reached all worlds; as many as are
our wishes, thou hast satisfied them. Dip ye in, stirring stick
and spoon! Place it (the por idge) upon a single dish!
37. Lay (ghee) upon it, let it spread forth, anoint this dish
with ghee! As the lowing cow her young that craves the breast,
ye gods shall greet with sounds of satisfaction this (porridge)!
38. With ghee thou hast covered it, hast made this place (for
the porridge): may it, peerless, spread afar to heaven! Upon
it shall rest the mighty eagle; gods shall offer it to the divinities!
39. Whatever the wife cooks aside from thee, (O husband), or
the husband (cooks) unbeknown of thee, O wife, mix that together:
to both of you it shall belong; bring it together into a single
place!
40. As many of her children as dwell upon the earth, and the
sons that have been begotten by him, all those ye shall call
up to the dish: on shall come the young knowing their nest!
41. The goodly streams, swelling with honey, mixed with ghee,
the seats of ambrosia, all these does he obtain, ascends to
heaven. In sixty autumns the treasurer (of the porridge) shall
fetch it!
42. The treasurer shall fetch this treasure: all outsiders round
about shall not control it! The heaven-directed porridge, that
has been presented and deposited by us, in three divisions has
reached the thrte heavens.
43. May Agni burn the ungodly Rakshas; the flesh-devouring Pisâka
shall have nothing here to partake of! We drive him away, hold
him afar from us: the Âdityas and Angiras shall stay near it!
44. To the Âdityas and the Angiras do I offer this (food of)
honey, mixed with ghee. Do ye two, (man and wife), with clean
hands, without having injured a Brâhmana, performing pious deeds,
go to that heavenly world!
45. I would obtain this highest part of it (the porridge), the
place from which the highest lord permeates (the all). Pour
butter upon it, anoint it witb plentiful ghee: this here is
our share, fit for the Angiras!
46. For the sake of truth and holy strength do we make over
this porridge as a hoarded treasure to the gods: it shall not
be lost to us in gaming or in the assembly; do not let it go
to any other person before me!
47. I cook, and I give (to the Brahmans), and so, too, my wife,
at my religious rite and practice.--With the birth of a son
the world of children has arisen (for you): do ye two hold on
to a life that extends beyond (your years)!
48. In that place exists no guilt, and no duplicity, not even
if he goes conspiring with his friends. This full dish of ours
has here been deposited: the cooked (porridge) shall come back
again to him that cooks it!
49. kind deeds we shall perform for our friends: all that hate
us shall go to darkness (hell)!--As (fruitful) cow, and (strong)
steer, they (man and wife) shall during, every successive period
of their lives drive away man-besetting death!
50. The fires (all) know one another, that which lives in plants,
and lives in the waters, and all the (light-) gods that glow
upon the heaven. The gold (here) becomes the light of him that
cooks (the porridge).
51. This (naked skin) among the hides is born upon man (alone),
all other animals are riot naked. Clothe yourselves, (ye Brahmans),
in sheltering garments: (even) the face of the porridge is a
homespun garment!
52. What falsehood thou shalt speak at play and in the assembly,
or the falsehood that thou shalt speak through lust for gain--put
on together, (O man and wife), this same garment, deposit upon
it every blemish!
53. Produce rain, go to the gods, let smoke arise from (thy)
surface; all-embracing, about to be covered with ghee, enter
as a co-dweller this place!
54. In many ways heaven assumes within itself a different form,
according to circumstances. It (the heaven) has laid aside its
black form, purifying itself to a bright (form); the red form
do I sacrifice fot thee into the fire.
55. Thee here we hand over to the eastern direction, to Agni
as sovereign lord, to the black serpent as guardian, to Âditya
as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive! To the goal
here he shall lead us, to old age; old age shall hand us over
to death: then shall we be united with the cooked (porridge)!
56. Thee here we hand over to the southern direction, to Indra
as sovereign lord, to the serpent that is striped across as
guardian, to Yama as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we
arrive! To the goal here, &c.
57. Thee here we hand over to the western direction, to Varuna
as sovereign lord, to the pridâku-serpent as guardian, to food
as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal
here, &c.
58. Thee here we hand over to the northern direction, to Soma
as sovereign lord, to the svaga-serpent as guardian, to the
lightning as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive.
To the goal here, &c.
59. Thee here we hand over to the direction of the nadir, to
Vishnu as sovereign lord, to the serpent with black-spotted
neck as guardian, to the plants as bowmen: do ye guard it for
us, until we arrive. To the goal here, &c.
60. Thee here we hand over to the direction of the zenith, to
Brihaspati as sovereign lord, to the light-coloured serpent
as guardian, to the rain as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until
we arrive. To the goal here, &c.
IX, 3. Removal of a house that has been presented to a priest as sacrificial reward.
1. The fastenings of the buttresses, the supports, and also
of the connectinc, beams of the house, that abounds in treasures,
do we loosen.
2. O (house) rich in all treasures! the fetter which has been
bound about thee, and the knot which has been fastened upon
thee, that with my charm do I undo, as Brihaspati (undid) Vala.
3. (The builder) has drawn thee to,,ether, pressed thee together,
placed firm knots upon thee. Skilfully, as the priest who butchers
(the sacrificial animal), do we with Indra's aid disjoint thy
limbs.
4. From thy beams, thy bolts, thy frame, and thy thatch; from
thy sides, (O house) abounding in treasures, do we loosen the
fastenings.
5. The fastenings of the dove-tailed (joints), of the reed (-covering),
of the frame-work, do we loosen here from the 'mistress of dwelling.'
6. The ropes which they have tied within thee for comfort, these
do we loosen from thee; be thou propitious to our persons, O
mistress of dwelling, after thou hast (again) been erected!
7. A receptacle for Soma, a house for Agni, a seat for the mistresses
(of the house), a seat (for the priests), a seat for the gods
art thou, O goddess house!
8. Thy covering of wicker-work, with thousand eyes, stretched
out upon thy crown, fastened down and laid on, do we loosen
with (this) charm.
9. He who receives thee as a gift, O house, and he by whom thou
hast been built, both these, O mistress of dwelling, shall live
attaining old age!
10. Return to him in the other world, firmly bound, ornamented,
(thou house), which we loosen limb by limb, and joint by joint!
11. He who built thee, O house, brought together (thy) timbers,
he, a Pragâpati on high, did construct thee, O house, for his
progeny (pragâyai).
12. We render obeisance to him (the builder); obeisance to the
giver, the lord of the house; obeisance to Agni who serves (the
sacrifice); and obeisance to thy (attendant) man!
13. Reverence to the cattle and the horses, and to that which
is born in the house! Thou that hast produced, art rich in offspring,
thy fetters do we loosen.
14. Thou dost shelter Agni within, (and) the domestics together
with the cattle. Thou that hast produced, art rich in offspring,
thy fetters do we loosen.
15. The expanse which is between heaven and earth, with that
do I receive as a gift this house of thine; the middle region
which is stretched out from the sky, that do I make into a receptacle
for treasures; with that do I receive the house for this one.
16. Full of nurture, full of milk, fixed upon the earth, erected,
holding food for all, O house, do thou not injure them that
receive thee as a gift!
17. Enveloped in grass, clothed in reeds, like night does the
house lodge the cattle; erected thou dost stand upon the earth,
like a she-elephant, firm of foot.
18. The part of thee that was covered with mats unfolding do
I loosen. Thee that hast been enfolded by Varuna may Mitra uncover
in the morning!
19. The house built with pious word, built by seers, erected--may
Indra and Agni, the two immortals, protect the house, the seat
of Soma!
20. Chest is crowded upon chest, basket upon basket; there mortal
man is begotten from whom all things spring.
21. In the house which is built with two facades, four facades,
six facades; in the house with eight facades, with ten facades,
in the 'mistress of dwelling.' Agni rests as if in the womb.
Tuirning towards thee that art turned towards me, O house, I
come to thee that injurest me not. For Agni and the waters,
the first door to divine order, are within.
23. These waters, free from disease, destructive of disease,
do I bring here. The chambers do I enter in upon in company
with the immortal Agni (fire).
24. Do thou not fasten a fetter upon us; though a heavy load,
become thou light! As a bride do we carry thee, O house, wherever
we please.
25. From the easterly direction of the house reverence (be)
to greatness, hail to the gods who are to be addressed with
hail!
26. From the southerly direction of the house, &c.!
27. From the westerly direction of the house, &c.!
28. From the northerly direction of the house, &c.!
29. From the firm direction (nadir) of the house, &c.!
30. From the upright direction (zenith) of the house, &c.!
3 1. From every direction of the house reverence (be) to greatness,
hail to the gods who are to be addressed with hail!
VI, 71. Brahmanical prayer at the receipt of gifts.
1. The varied food which I consume in many places, my gold,
my horses, and, too, my cows, goats, and sheep: everything whatsoever
that I have received as a gift--may Agni, the priest, render
that an auspicious offering!
2. The gift that has come to me by sacrifice, or without sacrifice,
bestowed by the Fathers, granted by men, through which my heart,
as it were, lights up with joy--may Agni, the priest, render
that an auspicious offering!
3. The food that I, O gods, improperly consume, (the food) I
promise, intending to give of it (to the Brahmans), or not to
give of it, by the might of mighty Vaisvânara (Agni) may (that)
food be for me auspicious and full of honey!
XX, 127. A kuntâpa-hymn.
A.
1. Listen, ye folks, to this: (a song) in praise of a hero
shall be sung! Six thousand and ninety (cows) did we get (when
we were) with Kaurama among the Rusamas,--
2. Whose twice ten buffaloes move right along, touether with
their cows; the height of his chariot just misses the heaven
which recedes from its touch.
3. This one (Kaurama) presented the seer with a hundred jewels,
ten chaplets, three hundred steeds, and ten thousand cattle.
B.
4. Disport thyself, O chanter, disport thyself as a bird
upon a flowering tree; thy tongue glides quickly over the lips
as a razor over the strop.
5. The chanters with their pious song hurry on blithely as cows;
at home are their children, and at home the cows do they attend.
6. Bring hither, O chanter, thy poem, that which earns cattle
and earns good things! Among the gods (kings) place thy voice
as a manly archer his arrow!
C.
7. Listen ye to the high praise of the king who rules over
all peoples, the god who is above mortals, of Vaisvânara Parikshit!
8. 'Parikshit has procured for us a secure dwelling when he,
the most excellent one, weat to his seat.' (Thus) the husband
in Kuru-land, when he founds his household, converses with his
wife.
9. 'What may I bring to thee, curds, stirred drink, or liquor?'
(Thus) I the wife asks her husband in the kingdom of king Parikshit.
10. Like light the ripe barley runs over beyond the mouth (of
the vessels). The people thrive merrily in the kingdom of king
Parikshit.
D.
11. Indra has awakened the poet, saying: 'Arise, move about,
and sing; of me, the strong, verily, sing the praises; full
every pious one shall offer thee (sacrificial reward)!'
12. Here, O cattle, ye shall be born, here, ye horses, here,
ye domestics! And Pûshan also, who bestows a thousand (cows)
as sacrificial reward, settles down here.
13. May these cattle, O Indra, not suffer harm, and may their
owner not suffer harm; may the hostile folk, O Indra, may the
thief not gain possession of them!
14. We shout to the hero with hymn and song we (shout) with
a pleasing song. Take delight in our songs; may we not ever
suffer harm!
X.
COSMOGONIC AND THEOSOPHIC HYMNS.
XII, 1. Hymn to goddess Earth.
1. Truth, greatness, universal order (rita), strength. consecration,
creative fervour (tapas), spiritual exaltation (brahma), the
sacrifice, support the earth. May this earth, the mistress of
that which was and shall be, prepare for us a broad domain!
2. The earth that has heights, and slopes, and great plains,
that supports the plants of manifold virtue, free from the pressure
that comes from the midst of men, she shall spread out for us,
and fit. herself for us!
3. The earth upon which the sea, and the rivers and the waters,
upon which food and the tribes of men have arisen, upon which
this breathing, moving life exists, shall afford us precedence
in drinking!
4. The earth whose are the four regions of space, upon which
food and the tribes of men have arisen, which supports the manifold
breathing, moving thinas, shall afford us cattle and other possessions
also!
5. The earth upon which of old the first men unfolded themselves,
upon which the gods overcame the Asuras, shall procure for us
(all) kinds of cattle, horses, and fowls, good fortune, and
glory!
6. The earth that supports all, furnishes wealth, the foundation,
the golden-breasted resting-place of all living creatures, she
that supports Agni Vaisvânara (the fire), and mates with Indra,
the bull, shall furnish us with property!
7. The broad earth, which the sleepless gods ever attentively
guard, shall milk for us precious honey, and, moreover, besprinkle
us with glory!
8. That earth which formerly was water upon the ocean (of space),
which the wise (seers) found out by their skilful devices; whose
heart is in the highest heaven, immortal, surrounded by truth,
shall bestow upon us brilliancy and strength, (and place us)
in supreme sovereignty!
9. That earth upon which the attendant waters jointly flow by
day and night unceasingly, shall pour out milk for us in rich
streams, and, moreover, besprinkle us with glory!
10. The earth which the Asvins have measured, upon which Vishnu
has stepped out, which Indra, the lord of might, has made friendly
to himself; she, the mother, shall pour forth milk for me, the
son!
11. Thy snowy mountain heights, and thy forests, O earth, shall
be kind to us! The brown, the black, the red, the multi-coloured,
the firm earth, that is protected by Indra, I have settled upon,
not suppressed, not slain, not wounded.
12. Into thy rniddle set us, O earth, and into thy navel, into
the nourishing strength that has grown tip from thy body; purify
thyself for us! The earth is the mother, and I the son of the
earth; Paro-anya is the father; he, too, shall save us!
13. The earth upon which they (the priests) inclose the altar
(vedi), upon which they, devoted to all (holy) works, unfold
the sacrifice, upon which are set up, in front of the sacrifice,
the sacrificial posts, erect and brilliant, that earth shall
prosper us, herself prospering!
14. Him that hates us, O earth, him that battles against us,
him that is hostile towards us with his mind and his weapons,
do thou subject to us, anticipating (our wish) by deed!
15. The mortals born of thee live on thee, thou supportest both
bipeds and quadrupeds. Thine, O earth, are these five races
of men, the mortals, upon whom the rising sun sheds undying
light with his rays.
16. These creatures all together shall yield milk for us; do
thou, O earth, give us the honey of speech!
17. Upon the firm, broad earth, the all-begetting mother of
the plants, that is supported by (divine) law, upon her, propitious
and kind, may we ever pass-our lives!
18. A great gathering-place thou, great (earth), hast become;
great haste, commotion, and agitation are upon thee. Great Indra
protects thee unceasingly. Do thou, O earth, cause us to brighten
as if at the sight of gold: not any one shall hate us!
19. Agni (fire) is in the earth, in the plants, the waters hold
Agni, Agni is in the stones; Agni is within men, Agnis (fires)
are within cattle, within horses.
20. Agni glows from the sky, to Agni, the god, belongs the broad
air. The mortals kindle Agni, the bearer of oblations, that
loveth ghee.
21. The earth, clothed in Agni, with dark knees, shall make
me brilliant and alert!
22. Upon the earth men give to the gods the sacrifice, the prepared
oblation; upon the earth mortal men live pleasantly by food.
May this earth give us breath and life, may she cause me to
reach old age!
23. The fragrance, O earth, that has arisen upon thee, which
the plants and the waters hold, which the Gandharvas and the
Apsaras have partaken of, with that make me fragrant: not any
one shall hate us!
24. That fragrance of thine which has entered into the lotus,
that fragrance, O earth, which the immortals of yore gathered
up at the marriage of Sûryâ, with that make me fragrant: not
any one shall hate us!
25. That fragrance of thine which is in men, the loveliness
and charm that is in male and female, that which is in steeds
and heroes, that which is in the wild animals with trunks (elephants),
the lustre that is in the maiden, O earth, with that do thou
blend us: not any one shall hate us!
26. Rock, stone, dust is this earth; this earth is supported,
held together. To this golden-breasted earth I have rendered
obeisance.
27. The earth, upon whom the forest-sprung trees ever stand
firm, the all-nourishing, compact earth, do we invoke.
28. Rising or sitting, standing or walking, may we not stumble
with our right or left foot upon the earth!
29. To the pure earth I speak, to the ground, the soil that
has grown through the brahma (spiritual exaltation). Upon thee,
that holdest nourishment, prosperity, food, and ghee, we would
settle down, O earth!
30. Purified the waters shall flow for our bodies; what flows
off from us that do we deposit upon him we dislike: with a purifier,
O earth, do I purify myself!
31. Thy easterly regions, and thy northern, thy southerly (regions),
O earth, and thy western, shall be kind to me as I walk (upon
thee)! May I that have been placed into the world not fall down!
32. Do not drive us from the west, nor from the east; not from
the north, and not from the south! Security be thou for us,
O earth: waylayers shall not find us, hold far away (their)
murderous weapon!
33. As long as I look out upon thee, O earth, with Sûrya (the
sun) as my companion, so long shall my sight not fall, as year
followeth upon year!
34. When, as I lie, I turn upon my right or left side, O earth;
when stretched out we lie with our ribs upon thee pressing against
(us), do not, O earth, that liest close to everything, there
injure us!
35. What, O earth, I dig out of thee, quickly shall that grow
again: may I not, O pure one, pierce thy vital spot, (and) not
thy heart!
36. Thy summer, O earth, thy rainy season, thy autumn, winter,
early spring, and spring; thy decreed yearly seasons, thy days
and nights shall yield us milk
37. The pure earth that starts in fright away from the serpent,
upon whom were the fires that are within the waters, she that
delivers (to destruction) the blasphemous Dasyus, she that takes
the side of Indra, not of Vritra, (that earth) adheres to Sakra
(mighty Indra), the lusty bull.
38. Upon whom rests the sacrificial hut (sadas) and the (two)
vehicles that hold the soma (havirdhâne), in whom the sacrificial
post is fixed, upon whom the Brâhmanas praise (the gods) with
riks and sâmans, knowing (also) the yagur-formulas; upon whom
the serving-priests (ritvig) are employed so that Indra shall
drink the soma;--
39. Upon whom the seers of yore, that created the beings, brought
forth with their songs the cows, they the seven active (priests),
by means of the satra-offerings, the sacrifices, and (their)
creative fervour (tapas);--
40. May this earth point out to us the wealth that we-crave;
may Bhaga (fortune) add his help, may Indra come here as (our)
champion!
41. The earth upon whom the noisy mortals sing and dance, upon
whom they fight, upon whom resounds the roaring drum, shall
drive forth our enemies, shall make us free from rivals!
42. To the earth upon whom are food, and rice and barley, upon
whom live these five races of men, to the earth, the wife of
Parganya, that is fattened by rain, be reverence!
43. The earth upon whose ground the citadels constructed by
the gods unfold themselves, every region of her that is the
womb of all, Pragâpati shall make pleasant for us!
44. The earth that holds treasures manifold in secret places,
wealth, jewels, and gold shall she give to me; she that bestows
wealth liberally, the kindly goddess, wealth shall she bestow
upon us!
45. The earth that holds people of manifold varied speech, of
different customs, according to their habitations, as a reliable
milch-cow that does not kick, shall she milk for me a thousand
streams of wealth!
46. The serpent, the scorpion with thirsty fangs, that hibernating
torpidly lies upon thee; the worm, and whatever living thing,
O earth, moves in the rainy season, shall, when it creeps, not
creep upon us: with what is auspicious (on thee) be gracious
to us!
47. Thy many paths upon which people go, thy tracks for chariots
and wagons to advance, upon which both good and evil men proceed,
this road, free from enemies, and free from thieves, may we
gain: with what is auspicious (on thee) be gracious to us!
48. The earth holds the fool and holds the wise, endures that
good and bad dwell (upon her); she keeps company with the boar,
gives herself up to the wild hog.
49. Thy forest animals, the wild animals homed in the woods,
the man-eating lions, and tigers that roam; the ula, the wolf,
mishap, injury (rikshikâ), and demons (rakshas), O earth, drive
away from us!
50. The Gandharvas, the Apsaras, the Arâyas and Kimîdins; the
Pisâkas and all demons (rakshas), these, O earth, hold from
us!
51. The earth upon whom the biped birds fly together, the flamingoes,
eagles, birds of prey, and fowls; upon whom Mâtarisvan, the
wind, hastens, raising the dust, and tossing the trees-as the
wind blows forth and back the flame bursts after;--
52. The earth upon whom day and night jointly, black and bright,
have been decreed, the broad earth covered and enveloped with
rain, shall kindly place us into every pleasant abode!
53. Heaven, and earth, and air have here given me expanse; Agni,
Sûrya, the waters, and all the gods together have given me wisdom.
54. Mighty am I, 'Superior' (uttara) by name, upon the earth,
conquering am I, all-conquering, completely conquering every
region.
55. At that time, O goddess, when, spreading., (prathamânâ)
forth, named (prithivî 'broad') by the gods, thou didst extend
to greatness, then prosperity did enter thee, (and) thou didst
fashion the four regions.
56. In the villages and in the wilderness, in the assembly-halls
that are upon the earth; in the gatherings, and in the meetings,
may we hold forth agreeably to thee!
57. As dust a steed did she, as soon as she was born, scatter
these people, that dwelt upon the earth, she the lovely one,
the leader, the guardian of the world, that holds the trees
and plants.
58. The words I speak, honied do I speak them: the things I
see they furnish me with. Brilliant I am and alert: the others
that rush (against me) do I beat down.
59. Gentle, fragrant, kindly, with the sweet drink (kîlâla)
in her udder, rich in milk, the broad earth together with (her)
milk shall give us courage!
60. She whom Visvakarman (the creator of all) did search out
by means of oblations, when she had entered the surging (flood
of the) atmosphere, she, the vessel destined to nourish, deposited
in a secret place, became visible (to the gods) and the (heavenly)
mothers.
61. Thou art the scatterer of men, the broadly expanding Aditi
that yields milk according to wish. What is wanting in thee
Pragâpati, first-born of the divine order (rita), shall supply
for thee
62. Thy laps, O earth, free from ailment! Free from disease,
shall be produced for us! May we attentively, throuoh our long
lives, be bearers of bali-offerings to thee!
63. O mother earth, kindly set me down upon a well-founded place!
With (father) heaven cooperating, O thou wise one, do thou place
me into happiness and prosperity!
XIII, 1. Prayer for sovereign power addressed to the god Rohita and his female Rohinî.
1. Rise up, O steed, that art within the waters, enter this
kingdom, rich in liberal gifts! Rohita (the red sun) who has
begotten this all, shall keep thee well-supported for sovereignty!
2. The steed that is within the waters has risen up: ascend
upon the clans that are sprung from thee! Furnishing soma, the
waters, plants, and cows, cause thou four-footed and two-footed
creatures to enter here!
3. Do ye, strong Maruts, children of Prisni (the cloud), allied
with Indra, crush the enemies! Rohita shall hear you, that give
abundant gifts, the thrice seven Maruts, who take delight in
sweet (nourishment)!
4. Rohita has climbed the heights, he has ascended them, he,
the embryo of women, (has ascended) the womb of births. Closely
united with these women they found out the six broad (directions);
spying out a road he has brought hither sovereignty.
5. Hither to thee Rohita has brought sovereignty; he has dispersed
the enemies: freedom from danger has resulted for thee. To thee
heaven and earth together with the revatî and sakvarî-stanzas
shall yield gifts at will!
6. Rohita produced heaven and earth; there Parameshthin (the
lord on high) extended the thread (of the sacrifice). There
Aga Ekapâda (the one-footed goat, the sun) did fix himself;
he made firm the heavens and earth with his strength.
7. Rohita made firm heaven and earth, by him the (heavenly)
light was established, by him the firmament. By him the atmosphere
and the spaces were measured out, through him the gods obtained
immortality.
8. Rohita did ponder the multiform (universe) while preparing
(his) climbings and advances. Having ascended the heaven with
great might, he shall anoint thy royalty with milk and ghee!
9. All thy climbings, advances, and all thy ascents with which
thou, (Rohita, the sun), fillest the heavens and the atmosphere,
having strengthened thyself with their brahma and payas (spiritual
and physical essence) do thou keep awake (do thou watch over)
among the people in the kingdom of the (earthly) Rohita (the
king)!
10. The peoples that have originated from thy tapas (heat, or
creative fervour), have followed here the calf, the gâyatri.
They shall enter thee with kindly spirit; the calf Rohita with
its mother shall come on!
11. High on the firmament Rohita has stood, a youth, a sage,
begettinu all forms. As Agni he shines with piercing light,
in the third space he did assume lovely (forms).
12. A bull with a thousand horns, Gâtavedas (fire), endowed
with sacrifices of ghee, carrying soma upon his back, rich in
heroes, he shall, when implored, not abandon me, nor may I abandon
thee: abundance in cattle and abundance in heroes procure for
me!
14. Rohita is the generator of the sacrifice, and its mouth;
to Rohita I offer oblations with voice, ear, and mind. To Rohita
the gods resort with glad mind: he shall cause me to rise through
elevation derived from the assembly!
14. Rohita arranged a sacrifice for Visvakarman; from it these
brilliant, qualities have come to me. Let me announce thy origin
over the extent of the world!
15, Upon thee have ascended the brihatî and the pankti (metres),
upon thee the kakubh with splendour, O Gâtavedas. Upon thee
the vashat-call, whose syllables make an ushnihâ, has ascended,
upon thee Rohita with his seed has ascended.
16. This one clothes himself in the womb of the earth, this
one clothes himself in heaven, and in the atmosphere. This one
at the station of the brown (sun) did attain unto the worlds
of light.
17. O Vâkaspati (lord of speech), the earth shall be pleasant
to us, pleasant our dwelling, agrecable our couches! Right here
life's breath shall be to our friend; thee, O Parameshthin,
Agni shall envelop in life and lustre!
18. O Vâkaspati, the five seasons that we have, which have come
about as the creation of Visvakarman, rialit here (they and)
life's breath shall be to our friend; thee, O Parameshthin,
Rohita shall envelop in life and lustre!
19. O Vâkaspati, good cheer and spirit, cattle in our stable,
children in our wombs beget thou! Right here life's breath shall
be to our friend; thee, O Parameshthin, I envelop in life and
lustre.
20. God Savitar and Agni shall envelop thee, Mitra and Varuna
surround thee with lustre! Treading down all powers of grudge
come thou hither: thou hast made this kingdom rich in liberal
gifts.
21. Thou, O Rohita, whom the brindled cow, harnessed at the
side, carries, goest with brilliance, causing the waters to
flow.
22. Devoted to Rohita is Rohinî his mistress, with beautiful
colour (complexion), great, and lustrous: through her may we
conquer booty of every description, through her win every battle!
23. This seat, Rohinî, belongs to Rohita; yonder is the path
on which the brindled (female) goes! Her the Gandharvas and
the Kasyapas lead forth, her the sages guard with diligence.
24. The radiant bay steeds of the sun, the immortal, ever draw
the delightful chariot. Rohita, the drinker of ghee, the shining
god, did enter the variegated heavens.
25. Rohita, the sharp-horned bull, who surpasses Agni and surpasses
Sûrya, who props up the earth and the sky, out of him the gods
frame the creations.
26. Rohita ascended the heaven from the great flood; Rohita
has climbed all heights.
27. Create (the cow) that is rich in milk, drips with ghee:
she is the milch-cowof the gods that does not refuse! Indra
shall drink the Soma, there shall be secure possession; Agni
shall sing praises: the enemies do thou drive out!
28. Agni kindled, spreads his flames, fortified by ghee, sprinkled
with ghee. Victorious, all-conquering Agni shall slay them that
are my rivals!
29. He shall slay them, shall burn the enemy that battles against
us! With the flesh-devouring Agni do we burn our rivals.
30. Smite them down, O Indra, with the thunderbolt, with thy
(strong) arm! Then have I overpowered my rivals with Agni's
brilliant strengths.
31. O Agni, subject our rivals to us; confuse, O Brihaspati,
the kinsman that is puffed up! O Indra and Agni, O Mitra and
Varuna, subjected they shall be, unable to vent their wrath
against us!
32. Do thou, god Sûrya (the sun), when thou risest, beat down
my rivals, beat them down with a stone: they shall go to the
nethermost darkness!
33. The calf of Virâg, the bull of prayers, carrying the bright
(soma) upon his back, has ascended the atmosphere. A song accompanied
by ghee they sing to the calf; himself brahma (spiritual exaltation)
they swell him with their brahma (prayer).
34. Ascend the heavens, ascend the earth sovereignty ascend
thou, and possessions ascend thou! Offspring ascend thou, and
immortality ascend thou, unite thy body with Rohita!
35. The gods that hold sovereignty, who go about the sun, with
these allied, Rohita, kindly disposed, shall bestow sovereignty
upon thee!
36. The sacrifices purified by prayer lead thee forth; the bay
steeds that travel upon the road carry thee: thou shinest across
the swelling ocean.
37. In Rohita who conquers wealth, conquers cattle, and conquers
booty, heaven and earth are fixed. Of thee that hast a thousand
and seven births, let me announce the origin over the extent
of the world!
38. Glorious thou goest to the intermediate directions and the
directions (of space), glorious (in the sight) of animals and
the tribes of men, glorious in the lap of the earth, of Aditi:
may I like Savitar be lovely!
39. Being yonder thou knowest (what takes place) here; being
here thou beholdest these things. Here (men) behold the inspired
sun that shines upon the sky.
40. A god thou praisest the gods, thou movest within the flood.
They kindle (him), a universal fire; him the highest sages know.
41. Below the superior (region), above the inferior (region)
here, the cow has arisen supporting (her) calf by the foot.
Whither is she turned; to which half (of the universe), forsooth,
has she aone away; where, forsooth, does she beget? Verily not
in this herd!
42. One-footed, two-footed, four-footed is she; eight-footed,
nine-footed became she, the thousand-syllabled (consisting of
thousand elements) pankti (quinary stanza) of the universe:
the oceans from her flow forth upon (the world).
43. Ascending the heaven, immortal, receive kindly my song!
The sacrifices purified by prayer lead thee forth; the bay steeds
that travel upon the road carry thee.
44. That do I know of thee, O immortal, where thy march is upon
the sky, where thy habitation is in the highest heaven.
45. Sûrya (the sun) surveys the sky, Sûrya the earth, Sûrya
the waters. Sûrya is the single eye of being: he has ascended
the great heavens.
46. The broad (directions) where the fagots that fence in (the
fire), the earth turned itself into a fire-altar. There Rohita
laid on for himself these two fires, cold and heat.
47. Laying on cold and heat, using the mountains as sacrificial
posts, the two fires of Rohita who knows the (heavenly) light,
into which (the fires) rain (flowed) as ghee, carried out the
sacrifice.
48. The fire of Rohita who knows the (heavenly) light is kindled
by prayer. From it heat, from it cold, from it the sacrifice
was produced.
49. The two fires swelling through prayer, increased through
prayer, sacrificed into with prayer; the two fires of Rohita
who knows the (heavenly) light, kindled through prayer, carried
out the sacrifice.
50. One is deposited in truth, the other is kindled in the waters.
The two fires of Rohita who knows the (heavenly) light, kindled
through prayer, carried out the sacrifice.
51. The fire which the wind brightens up, and that which Indra
and Brahmanaspati (brighten up), the two fires of Rohita who
knows the (heavenly) light, kindled through prayer, carried
out the sacrifice.
52. Having fashioned the earth into an altar, having made the
heavens (his) sacrificial reward, then having made heat into
fire, Rohita created all that has breath through rain (serving)
as ghee.
53. Rain fashioned itself into ghee, heat into fire, the earth
into an altar. Then Agni by (his) songs fashioned the high mountains.
54. Having fashioned by means of songs the high (mountains),
Rohita spake to the earth: In thee all shall be born, what is
and what shall be.
55. The sacrifice first, (and then) what is and what shall be
was born. From that this all was born, and whatever here appears,
brought hither by the sage Rohita.
56. He who kicks a cow with his foot, and he who micturates
towards the sun--of thee do I tear out the root; thou shalt
henceforth not cast a shadow!
57. Thou that passest across me, casting thy shadow against
me, between me and the fire--of thee do I tear out the root;
thou shalt henceforth not cast a shadow!
58. He, O god Sûrya, that to-day passes between thee and me,
upon him our evil dream, our foulness, and our misfortunes do
we wipe off.
59. May we not miss our way, may we not, O Indra, miss the sacrifice
of him that presses the soma; may.not the powers of grudge intercept
us!
60. The (guiding) thread stretched out among the gods, that
accomplishes the sacrifice, that, by pouring oblations, may
we attain!
XI, 5. Glorification of the sun, or the primeval principle, as a Brahman disciple.
1. The Brahmakârin (Brahmanical disciple) moves inciting
both hemispheres of the world; in him the gods are harmonised.
He holds the heavens and the earth, he fills the teacher with
creative fervour (tapas).
2. The fathers, the divine folk, and all the gods severally
follow the Brahmakârin; the Gandharvas did go after him, six
thousand three hundred and thirty-three. He fills all the gods
with creative fervour.
3. When the teacher receives the Brahmakârin as a disciple,
he places him as a foetus inside (of his body). He carries him
for three nights in his belly: when he is born the gods gather
about to see him.
4. This earth is (his first) piece of firewood, the heaven the
second, and the atmosphere also he fills with (the third) piece
of firewood. The Brahmakârin. fills the worlds with his firewood,
his girdle, his asceticism, and his creative fervour.
5. Prior to the brahma (spiritual exaltation) the Brahmakârin
was born; clothed in heat, by creative fervour he arose. From
him sprung the brâhmanam (Brahmanic life) and the highest brahma,
and all the gods together with immortality (amrita).
6. The Brahmakârin advances, kindled by the firewood, clothed
in the skin of the black antelope, consecrated, with long beard.
Within the day he passes from the eastern to the northern sea;
gathering together the worlds he repeatedly shapes them.
7. The Brahmakârin, begetting the brahma, the waters, the world,
Pragâpati Parameshthin (he that stands in the hiahest place),
and Virâg, having become an embryo in the womb of immortality,
having forsooth, become Indra, pierced the Asuras.
8. The teacher fashioned these two hern spheres of the world,
the broad and the deep, earth and heaven. These the Brahmakârin
guards with his creative fervour (tapas): in him the gods are
harmonised.
9. This broad earth and the heaven the Brahmakârin first brought
hither as alms. Having made these into two sticks of firewood
he reveres them upon them all beings have been founded.
10. One is on the hither side, the other on the farther side
of the back of the heavens; secretly are deposited the two receptacles
of the brâhmanam (Brahmanic life). These the Brahmakârin protects
by his tapas (creative fervour); understandingly he performs
that brahma (spiritual exaltation) solely.
11. One on the hither side, the other away from the earth, do
the two Agnis come together between these two hemispheres (of
the world). To them adhere the rays firmly; the Brahmakârin
by his tapas (creative fervour) enters into the (rays).
12. Shouting forth, thundering, red, white he carries a great
penis along the earth. The Brahmakârin sprinkles seed upon the
back of the earth; through it the four directions live.
13. Into fire, the sun, the moon, Mâtarisvan (wind), and the
waters, the Brahmakârin places the firewood; the lights from
these severally go into the clouds, from them come sacrificial
butter, the purusha (primeval man), rain, and water.
14. Death is the teacher, (and) Varuna, Soma, the plants, milk;
the clouds were the warriors: by these this light has been brought
hither.
15. Varuna, having become the teacher, at home prepares the
ghee solely. Whatever he desired from Pragâpati, that the Brahmakârin
furnished, as Mitra (a friend) from his own Atman (spirit, or
person).
16. The Brahmakârin is the teacher, the Brahmakârin Pragâpati.
Pragâpati rules (shines forth, vi râgati); Virâg (heavenly power,
or light) became Indra, the ruler.
17. Through holy disciplehood. (brahmakâryam), through tapas
(creative fervour), the king protects his kingdom. The teacher
by (his own) brahmakâryam (holy life) seeks (finds) the Brahmakârin.
18. Through holy disciplehood the maiden obtains a young husband,
through holy disciplehood the steer, the horse seeks to obtain
fodder.
19. Through holy disciplehood, through creative fervour, the
gods drove away death. Indrajorsooth, by his holy disciplehood
brought the light to the gods.
20. The plants, that which was and shall be, day and night,
the tree, the year along with the seasons, have sprung from
the Brahmakârin.
21. The earthly and the heavenly animals, the wild and the domestic,
the wingless and the winged (animals), have sprung from the
Brahmakârin.
22. All the creatures of Pragâpati (the creator) severally carry
breath in their souls. All these the brahma, which has been
brought hither in the Brahmakârin, protects.
23. This, that was set into motion by the gods, that is insurmountable,
that moves shining, from it has sprung the brâhmanam (Brahmanical
life), the highest brahma, and all the gods, together with immortality
(amrita).
24, 25. The Brahmakârin carries the shining brahma: into this
all the gods are woven. Producing in-breathing and out-breathing,
as well as through-breathing; speech, mind, heart, brahma, and
wisdom, do thou furnish us with sight, hearing, glory, food,
semen, blood, and belly!
26. These things the Brahmakârin fashioned upon the back of
the (heavenly) water. He stood in the sea kindled with tapas
(creative fervour). He, when he has bathed, shines vigorously
upon the earth, brown and ruddy.
XI, 4. Prâna, life or breath, personified as the supreme spirit.
1. Reverence to Prâna, to whom all this (universe) is subject,
who has become the lord of the all, on whom the all is supported!
2. Reverence, O Prâna, to thy roaring (wind), reverence, O Prâna,
to thy thunder, reverence, O Prâna, to thy lightning, reverence,
O Prâna, to thy rain!
When Prâna calls aloud to the plants with his thunder, they
are fecundated, they conceive, and then are produced abundant
(plants).
4. When the season has arrived, and Prâna calls aloud to the
plants, then everything rejoices, whatsoever is upon the earth.
5. When Prâna has watered the great earth with rain, then the
beasts rejoice; (they think): 'strength, forsooth, we shall
now obtain.'
6. When they had been watered by Prâna, the plants spake in
concert: 'thou hast, forsooth, prolonged our life, thou hast
made us all fragrant.'
7. Reverence be, O Prâna, to thee coming, reverence to thee
going; 'reverence to thee standing, and reverence, too, to thee
sitting!
8. Reverence be to thee, O Prâna, when thou breatbest in (primate),
reverence when thou breathest out! Reverence be to thee when
thou art turned away, reverence to thee when thou art turned
hither: to thee, entire, reverence be here!
9. Of thy dear form, O Prâna, of thy very dear form, of the
healing power that is thine, give unto us, that we may live!
10. Prâna clothes the creatures, as a father his dear son. Prâna,
truly, is the lord of all, of all that breathes, and does not
breathe.
11. Prâna is death, Prâna is fever. The gods worship Prana.
Prâna shall place the truth-speaker in the highest world
12. Prâna is Virâg (power, lustre), Prâna is Deshtrî (the divinity
that guides): all worship Prâna. Prâna verily is sun and moon.
They call Prâna Pragâpati.
13. Rice and barley are in-breathing and outbreathing. Prâna
is called a steer. In-breathing forsooth, is founded upon barley;
rice is called out-breathing.
14. Man breathes out and breathes in when within the womb. When
thou, O Prâna, quickenest him, then is he born again.
15. They call Prâna Mâtarisvan (the wind); Prâna, forsooth,
is called Vâta (the wind). The past and the future, the all,
verily is supported upon Prâna.
16. The holy (âtharvana) plants, the magic (ângirasa) plants,
the divine plants, and those produced by men, spring forth,
when thou, O Prâna, quickenest them.
17, When Prâna has watered the great earth with rain, then the
plants spring forth, and also every sort of herb.
18. Whoever, O Prâna, knows this regarding thee, and (knows)
on what thou art supported, to him all shall offer tribute in
yonder highest world.
19. As all these creatures, O Prâna, offer thee tribute, so
they shall offer tribute (in yonder world) to him who hears
thee, O far-famed one!
20. He moves as an embryo within the gods; having arrived, and
being in existence, he is born again. Having arisen he enters
with his mights the present and the future, as a father (goes
to) his son.
21. When as a swan he rises from the water he does not withdraw
his one foot. If in truth he were to withdraw it, there would
be neither to-day, nor to-morrow, no night and no day, never
would the dawn appear.
22. With eight wheels, and one felloe he moves, containing a
thousand sounds (elements), upward in the east, downward in
the west. With (his) half he produced the whole world: what
is the visible sign of his (other) half?
23. He who rules over this (all) derived from every source,
and over everything that movesreverence be to thee, O Prâna,
that wieldest a swift bow against others (the enemies)!
24. May Prâna, who rules over this (all) derived from every
source, and over everything that moves, (may he) unwearied,
strong through the brahma, adhere to me!
25. Erect he watches in those that sleep, nor does lie lie down
across. No one has heard of his sleeping in those that sleep.
26. O Prâna, be not turned away from me, thou shalt not be other
than myself! As the embryo of the waters (fire), thee, O Prâna,
do bind to me, that I may live.
IX, 2. Prayer to Kâma (love), personified as a primordial power.
1. To the bull that slays the enemy, to Kâma, do I render
tribute with ghee, oblation, and (sacrificial) melted butter.
Do thou, since thou hast been extolled, hurl down my enemies
by thy great might!
2. The evil dream which is offensive to my mind and eye, which
harasses and does not please me, that (dream) do I let loose
upon my enemy. Having praised Kâma may I prevail!
3,. Evil dreams, O Kâma, and misfortune, O Kâma, childlessness,
ill-health, and trouble, do thou, a strong lord, let loose upon
him that designs evil against us!
4. Drive them away, O Kâma, thrust them away, O Kâma; may they
that are my enemies fall into trouble! When they have been driven
into the nethermost darkness, do thou, O Agni, burn up their
d welling- places!
5. That milch-cow, O Kâma, whom the sages call Vâk Virâg (ruling,
or resplendent speech), is said to be thy daughter; by her drive
away my enemies; breath, cattle, and life shall give them a
wide birth!
6. With the strength of Kâma, Indra, king Varuna, and Vishnu,
with the impelling force (savena) of Savitar, with the priestly
power of Agni, do I drive forth the enemies, as a skilled steersman
a boat.
7. My sturdy guardian, strong Kâma, shall procure for me full
freedom from enmity! May the gods collectively be my refuge,
may all the gods respond to this, my invocation!
8. Taking pleasure in this (sacrificial) melted butter, and
ghee do ye, (O gods), of whom Kâma is the highest, be joyful
in this place, procuring for me full freedom from enmity!
9. O Indra and Agni, and Kâma, having formed an alliance, do
ye hurl down my enemies; when they have fallen into the nethermost
darkness, do thou, O Agni, burn up after them their dwelling
places!
10. Slay thou, O Kâma, those that are my enemies, hurl them
down into blind darkness. Devoid of vigour, Without sap let
them all be; they shall not live a single day!
11. Kâma has slain those that are my enemies, a broad space
has he furnished me to thrive in. May the four directions of
space bow down to me, and the six broad (regions) carry ghee
to me!
12. They (the enemies) shall float down like a boat cut loose
from its moorings! There is no returning again for those who
have been struck by our missiles.
13. Agni is a defence, Indra a defence, Soma a defence. May
the gods, who by their defence ward off (the enemy), ward him
off!
14. With his men reduced, driven out, the hated (enemy) shall
go, shunned by his own friends! And down upon the earth do the
lightnings alight; may the strong god crush your enemies!
15. This mighty lightning supports both moveable and immoveable
things, as well as all thunders. May the rising sun by his resources
and his majesty hurl down my enemies, lie the mighty one!
16. With that triple-armoured powerful covering of thine, O
Kâma, with the charm that has been made into an Invulnerate
armour spread (over thee), with that do thou drive away those
who are my enemies; may breath, cattle, and life give them a
wide berth!
17. With the weapon with which the god drove forth the Asuras,
with which Indra led the Dasyus to the nethermost darkness,
with that do thou, O Kâma, drive forth far away from this world
those who are my enemies!
18. As the gods drove forth the Asuras, as Indra. forced the
demons into the nethermost darkness, thus do thou, O Kâma, drive
forth far away from this world those who are my enemies!
19. Kâma was born at first; him neither the gods, nor the Fathers,
nor men have equalled. To these art thou superior, and ever
great; to thee, O Kâma, do I verily offer reverence.
20. As great as are the heavens and earth in extent, as far
as the waters have swept, as far as fire; to these art thou
superior, &c.
21. Great as are the directions (of space) and the intermediate
direction on either side, great as are the regions and the vistas
of the sky; to these art thou superior, &c.
22. As many bees, bats, kurûru-worms, as many vaghas and tree-serpents
as there are; to these art thou superior, &c.
23. Superior art thou to all that winks (lives), superior to
all that stands still (is not alive), superior to the ocean
art thou, O Kâma, Manyu! To these art thou superior, &c.
24. Not, surely, does the wind equal Kâma, not the fire, not
the sun, and not the moon. To these art thou superior, &c.
25. With those auspicious and gracious forms of thine, O Kâma,
through which what thou wilst becometh reaL with these do thou
enter into us, and elsewhere send the evil thoughts!
XIX, 53. Prayer to Kâla (time), personified as a primordial power.
1. Time, the steed, runs with seven reins (rays), thousand-eyed,
ageless, rich in seed. The seers, thinking holy thoughts, mount
him, all the beings (worlds) are his wheels.
2. With seven wheels does this Time ride, seven naves has he,
immortality is his axle. He carries hither all these beings
(worlds). Time, the first god, now hastens onward.
3. A full jar has been placed upon Time; him, verily, we see
existing in many forms. He carries away all these beings (worlds);
they call him Time in the highest heaven.
4. He surely did bring hither all the beings (worlds), he surely
did encompass all the beings (worlds). Being their father, he
became their son; there is, verily, no other force, higher than
he.
5. Time begot yonder heaven, Time also (begot) these earths.
That which was, and that which shall be, urged forth by Time,
spreads out.
6. Time created the earth, in Time the sun burns. In Time are
all beings, in Time the eye looks abroad.
7. In Time mind is fixed, in Time breath (is fixed), in Time
names (are fixed); when Time has arrived all these creatures
rejoice.
8. In Time tapas (creative fervour) is fixed; in Time the highest
(being is fixed); in Time brahma (spiritual exaltation) is fixed;
Time is the lord of everything, he was the father of Pragâpati.
9. By him this (universe) was urged forth, by him it was begotten,
and upon him this (universe) was founded. Time, truly, having
become the brahma (spiritual exaltation), supports Parameshthin
(the highest lord).
10. Time created the creatures (pragâh), and Time in the beginning
(created) the lord of creatures (Prâgapati); the self-existing
Kasyapa and the tapas (creative fervour) from Time were born.
XIX, 54. Prayer to Kâla (time), personified as a primordial power.
1. From Time the waters did arise, from Time the brahma (spiritual
exaltation), the tapas (creative fervour), the regions (of space
did arise). Through Time the sun rises, in Time he goes down
again.
2. Through Time the wind blows, through Time (exists) the great
earth; the great sky is fixed in Time. In Time the son (Pragâpati)
begot of yore that which was, and that which shall be.
3. From Time the Riks arose, the Yagus was born from Time; Time
put forth the sacrifice, the imperishable share of the gods.
4. Upon Time the Gandharvas and Apsarases are founded, upon
Time the worlds (are founded), in Time this Angiras and Atharvan
rule over the heavens.
5. Having conquered this world and the highest world, and the
holy (pure) worlds (and) their holy divisions; having by means
of the brahma (spiritual exaltation) conquered all the worlds,
Time, the highest God, forsooth, hastens onward.
XI, 7. Apotheosis of the ukkhishta, the leavings of the sacrifice.
1. In the ukkhishta are deposited name (quality) and form,
in the ukkhishta the world is deposited. Within the ukkhishta
Indra and Agni, and the all are deposited.
2. In the ukkhishta heaven and earth, and all beings, are deposited;
in the ukkhishta are deposited the waters, the ocean, the moon,
and the wind.
3. In the ukkhishta are both being and non-being, death, strength
(food), and Pragâpati. The (creatures) of the world are founded
upon the ukkhishta; (also) that which is confined and that which
is free, and the grace in me.
4. He who fastens what is firm, the strong, the leader, the
brahma, the ten creators of the all, the divinities, are fixed
on all sides to the ukkhishta as the (spokes of the) wheel to
the nave.
5. Rik, Sâman, and Yagus, the singing of the sâmans, their introductions,
and the stotras are in the ukkhishta. The sound 'him' is in
the ukkhishta, and the modulations and the music of the sâman.
That is in me.
6. The prayer to Indra and Agni (aindrâgnam), the call to the
soma, as it is being purified (pâvamâmam), the mahânâmnî-verses,
the singing of the mahâvrata, (these) divisions of the service
are in the ukkhishta, as the embryo in the mother.
7. The ceremony of the consecration of the king (râgasûya),
the vâgapeya, the agnishtoma, and the cattle-sacrifice belonging
to it, the arka and the horse-sacrifice, and the most delightful
(sacrifice) for which fresh barhis is strewn, are in the ukkhishta.
8. The preparation of the sacred fire (agnyâdheyam), the consecration
for the soma-sacrifice (dikshâ), the sacrifice by which (special)
wishes are fulfilled, together with the metres, the sacrifices
that have passed out, and the extended sacrifices (satra), are
lounded upon the ukkhishta.
9. The agnihotra, faith, the call vashat, vows and asceticism,
sacrificial rewards, what is sacrificed (to the gods) and given
(to the priests) are contained in the ukkhishta.
10. The (soma-sacrifice) that lasts one night (ekarâtra), and
that which lasts two nights (dvirâtra), the (condensed soma-sacrifice
called) sadyahkrî, and
(that which is called) prakrî, the (Songs called) ukthya, are
woven and deposited in the ukkhishta; (also the parts) of the
sacrifice subtle through (higher) knowledge.
11. The soma-sacrifice that lasts four nights (katûrâtra), five
nights (pañkarâtra), six nights (shadrâtra), and along (with
them) those that last double the time; the sixteenfold stotra
(shodasin), and the soma-sacrifice that lasts seven nights (saptarâtra),
all the sacrifices which were founded upon immortality (amrita),
were begotten of the ukkhishta.
12. The pratihâra-passages (in the sâman-songs), and their final
syllables, the (soma-sacrifices called) visvagit and abhgit,
the soma-sacrifice that ends
with the day (sâhna), and that which lasts into the next day
(atirâtra), are in the ukkhishta--the soma-sacrifice also that
lasts twelve days. That is in me.
13. Liberality, accomplishment, possession, the call svadhâ,
nurture, immortality (amrita), and might, all inner desires
are satisfied according to wish in the ukkhishta.
14. The nine earths, oceans, heavens, are founded upon the ukkhishta.
The sun shines in the ukkhishta, and day and night also. That
is in me.
15. The (soma-sacrifice called) upahavya, the offering on the
middle day of a sacrifice lasting a year (vishûvant), and the
sacrifices that are secretly presented, Ukkhishta, the sustainer
of the universe, the father of the generator (Pragâpati), supports.
16. Ukkhishta, the father of the generator, the grandson of
the spirit (asu), the primal ancestor (grandfather), the ruler
of the universe, the lusty bull dwells upon the earth.
17. Order (rita), truth (satya), creative fervour (tapas), sovereignty,
asceticism, law and works; past, future, strength, and prosperity,
are in the ukkhishta-force in force.
18. Success, might, plans, dominion, sovereignty, the six broad
(regions), the year, libation (idâ), the orders to the priests
(praisha), the draughts of soma (graha), oblations (are founded)
upon the ukkhishta.
19. The (liturgies called) katurhotârah, the âpri-hymns, the
triennial sacrifices, the (formulas called) nîvid, the sacrifices,
the priestly functions, the cattle-sacrifice and the soma-oblations
connected with it, are in the ukkhishta.
20. The half-months and months, the divisions of the year together
with the seasons, the resounding waters, thunder, the great
Vedic canon (sruti) are in the ukkhishta.
21. Pebbles, sand, stones, herbs, plants, grass, clouds, lightning,
rain, are attached to, and are founded upon the ukkhishta.
22. Success, attainment, accomplishment, control, greatness,
prosperity, supreme attainment, and wellbeing rest upon, rest
in, have been deposited in the ukkhishta.
23. Whatever breathes with breath, and sees with sight, all
gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta.
24. The riks and the sâmans, the metres, the ancient legends
(purânam) together with the yagus, all gods in the heavens,
founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta.
25. In-breathing and out-breathing, sight, hearing, imperishableness
and perishableness, all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven,
were born of the ukkhishta.
26. Joys, pleasures, delights, jubilation and merriment, all
gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta.
27. The gods, the (deceased) Fathers, men, Gandharvas and Apsaras,
all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the
ukkhishta.
IX, 1. Hymn to the honey-lash of the Asvins.
1. From heaven, from earth, from the atmosphere, from the
sea, from the fire, and from the wind, the honey-lash hath verily
sprung. This, clothed in amrita (ambrosia), all the creatures
revering, acclaim in their hearts.
2. Great sap of all forms (colours) it hath-they call thee moreover
the seed of the ocean. Where the honey-lash comes bestowing
gifts, there life's breath, and there immortality has settled
down.
3. Men severally, contemplating it profoundly, behold its action
upon the earth: from the fire and from the wind the honey-lash
hath verily sprung, the strong child of the Maruts.
4. Mother of the Âdityas, daughter of the Vasus, breath of life
of created beings, nave of immortality, the honey-lash, golden-coloured,
dripping ghee, as a great embryo, moves among mortals.
5. The god's begot the lash of honey, from it came an embryo
having all forms (colours). This, as soon as born, (while yet)
young its mother nourishes; this, as soon as born, surveys all
the worlds.
6. Who knows it and who perceives it, the inexhaustible, soma-holding
cup that has come from the heart of it (the honey-lash)? 'Tis
the wise priest: he shall derive inspiration from it!
7. He knows them, and he perceives them, the inexhaustible breasts
of it (the honey-lash), that yield a thousand streams. Nourishment
they pour out -without recalcitration.
8. The great (cow) that loudly gives forth the sound 'him,'
that bestows strength, and goes with loud shouts to the holy
act, bellowing with lust for the three (male) gharmas (fires),
she lows, and drips with (streams) of milk.
9. When the waters, the mighty bulls, self-sovereign, wait upon
(the cow), swollen with milk, (then) they, the waters, pour
nourishment (upon her), and cause her to pour nourishment at
will for him that knoweth this.
10. The thunder is thy voice, O Pragâpati; as a bull thou hurlest
thy fire upon the earth. From the fire, and from the wind the
honey-lash hath verily sprung, the strong child of the Maruts.
11. As the soma at the morn ing-pressure is dear to the Asvins,
thus in my own person, O Asvins, lustre shall be sustained!
12. As the soma at the second (mid-day) pressure is dear to
Indra and Agni, thus in my own person, O Indra, and Agni, lustre
shall be sustained!
13. As the soma at the third pressure (evening) is dear to the
Ribhus, thus in my own person, O Ribhus, lustre shall be sustained!
14. May I beget honey for myself; may I obtain honey for myself!
Bringing milk, O Agni, I have come:. endow me with lustre!
15. Endow me, O Agni, with lustre, endow me with offspring and
with life! May the gods take note of this (prayer) of mine;
may Indra together with the Rishis (take note of it)!
16. As bees carry together honey upon honey, thus in my own
person, O Asvins, lustre shall be sustained!
17. As the bees pile this honey upon honey, thus in my own person,
O Asvins, lustre, brilliance, strength, and force shall be sustained!
18. The honey that is in the mountains, in the heights; in the
cows, and in the horses; the honey which is in the surâ (brandy)
as it is being poured out, that shall be in me!
19. O Asvins, lords of brightness, anoint me with the honey
of the bee, that I may speak forceful speech among men!
20. The thunder is thy speech, O Pragâpati; as a bull thou hurlest
thy fire upon earth and heaven. All animals live upon it (the
earth), and she with it (Pragâpati's fire) fills nourishment
and food.
21. The earth is the staff, the atmosphere the embryo, the heaven
the whip (itself?), the lightning the whip-cord; of gold is
the tip (of the whip?).
22. He that knoweth the seven honies of the whip becomes rich
in honey; (to wit), the Brâhmana, the king, the cow, the ox,
rice, barley, and honey as the seventh.
23. Rich in honey becomes he, rich in honey become his appurtenances,
worlds rich in honey does he win, he that knoweth thus.
24. When in a bright sky it thunders, then Pragâpati manifests
himself to (his) creatures (pragâh). Therefore do I stand with
the sacred cord suspended from the right shoulder (prâkinopavita),
saying, 'O Pragâpati, watch over me!' The creatures (pragâh)
watch over him, Pragâpati watches over him, that knoweth thus.
Suggestions for Further Reading
- Essays On Dharma
- Esoteric Mystic Hinduism
- Introduction to Hinduism
- Hindu Way of Life
- Essays On Karma
- Hindu Rites and Rituals
- The Origin of The Sanskrit Language
- Symbolism in Hinduism
- Essays on The Upanishads
- Concepts of Hinduism
- Essays on Atman
- Hindu Festivals
- Spiritual Practice
- Right Living
- Yoga of Sorrow
- Happiness
- Mental Health
- Concepts of Buddhism
- General Essays