Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book I/Hymn 29

29. For a chief's success: with an amulet.

[Vasiṣṭha.—ṣaḍṛcam. abhīvartamaṇisūktam. ānuṣṭubham.]

Found (except vs. 4) in Pāipp. i., and (with the same exception, in RV., chiefly x. 174 ⌊:namely, AV. verses 1, 2, 3, 6 correspond respectively with RV. verses 1, 2, 3, 5. See Oldenberg, Die Hymnen des RV., i. 243⌋. Kāuç. uses the hymn in the ceremony of restoration of a king, with preparing and binding on an amulet made of the rim of a chariot-wheel (16. 29: the comm. says, vss. 1-4); the last two verses are specifically prescribed for the binding on. The comm. quotes the hymn as employed by the Nakṣatra Kalpa (19) in a mahāçānti called māhendrī.

Translated: Weber, iv. 423; Griffith, i. 33.

1. With an over-rolling amulet (maṇí), wherewith Indra increased—therewith, O Brahmaṇaspati, make us increase unto royalty (rāṣṭrá).

Abhi, literally 'on to,' so as to overwhelm. Our version spoils the consistency of the verse by reading -vāvṛdhé and vardhaya in b and d for RV. (x. 174. i) -vāvṛte and vartaya, which Ppp. also gives (Ppp. vartayaḥ). Ppp. further has imam for asmān in c. RV. reads havíṣā for maṇínā in a. The long ī of abhīvarta (p. abhi॰v-) is noted by Prāt. iii. 12.

2. Rolling over our rivals, over them that are niggards to us, do thou trample on him who fights—on whoever abuses (durasy-) us.

RV. (x. 174. 2) has in d irasyáti; Ppp., by a not infrequent blunder, reads durasyatu. Pāda a lacks a syllable, unless we resolve -patnān into three syllables.

3. Thee hath god Savitar, hath Soma made to increase, thee have all existences (bhūtá) [made to increase], that thou mayest be over-rolling.

The connection is again spoiled in our text by the substitution of avīvṛdhat in b for avīvṛtat (which is read by RV. x. 174. 3); with the former it is impossible to render the prefix abhi. This time Ppp. gives abhībhṛçat instead, doubtless a mere corruption.

4. The over-rolling, overcoming, rival-destroying amulet be bound upon me unto royalty, unto the perishing (parābhū́) of rivals.

The verse is wanting in both RV. and Ppp. Its excision, with the following verse (which, however, Ppp. has), would leave the hymn of normal length, and composed of four out of the five verses of RV. x. 174 ⌊, of the fourth of which the excision is called for⌋.

5. Up hath gone yon sun, up this spell (vácas) of mine, that I may be slayer of foes, without rivals, rival-slayer.

RV. X. 159. 1 a, b is to be compared (b reading úd ayám māmakó bhágaḥ); Ppp. appears to mix the versions of b, giving, ungrammatically, ayam with vacas. ⌊Cf. also MP. i. 16. 5.⌋

6. A rival-destroying bull, conquering royalty, overpowering—that I may bear rule over these heroes and the people (jána).

RV. (i. 174. 5) has instead of a our 5 d (found also as x. 6. 30 c, and xix. 46. 7 b); in c it reads bhūtānām. ⌊Cf. MP. i. 16. 5.⌋