Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book I/Hymn 31
31. To the divine guardians of the quarters.
[Brahman.—āçāpālīyam, vāstoṣpatyam. ānuṣṭubham: 3. virāṭtriṣṭubh; 4. parānuṣṭuptriṣṭubh.]
Found in Pāipp. i. The hymn is called in Kāuç. (38. 11) āçāpālīyam, and is also reckoned by the schol. (8. 23, note) to the vāstoṣpatīyāni or vāstu gaṇa. It is used with xii. 1 in the ceremony (38. 16) for establishing a house, and again, except vs. 3, as dṛṅhaṇāni 'establishers' in a like rite (38. 11); it appears in one of the sava-sacrifices (64. 1) with an offering of four dishes (catuḥçarāva), and in the portent ceremony (127. 6) against obscuration of the "Seven Sages" (the Dipper, or Charles's Wain) by a comet. Verse 2 (32. 27, note; but the comm. says instead vs. 1, quoting its pratika) is reckoned among the aṅholin̄gās, and applied in rites for healing, security, long life, etc.; and vs. 4 (50. 11) in one for good fortune in the night. In Vāit. (36. 20) the hymn (as āçāpālīya) accompanies in the açvamedha the turning loose of the sacrificial horse. And the comm. quotes it as used in Nakṣ. Kalpa 14 in the adbhuta mahāçanti.
Translated: Weber, iv. 425; Ludwig, p. 372; Griffith, i. 35.
1. To the four immortal region-guardians of the regions (áçā), to the overseers of existence (bhūtá), would we now pay worship (vidh) with oblation.
The verse occurs also in TB. (ii. 5. 33) and AÇS. (ii. 10. 18): in the latter, without variants; TB. inserts tvā after ā́çānām in a. The comm. paraphrases āçās by prācyādidiças, which is plainly its meaning here.
2. Ye, O gods, who are the four region-guardians of the regions—do ye release us from the fetters (pā́ça) of perdition (nírṛti), from every distress (áṅhas).
The comm. reads stana for sthana in b. The Anukr. does not note b as metrically deficient, doubtless making the harsh resolution ca-tu-ā́-ro.
3. Unlamed I sacrifice to thee with oblation; unmaimed I make oblation to thee with ghee; the god that is fourth region-guardian of the regions, he shall bring hither to us welfare (subhūtá).
At the beginning, áçrāmas is read by half the mss. (including our E. I. O. Op. K. Kp.) and by the comm.; SPP. gives ásr- in his text, as we in ours. Açlonas in b in our edition is an erratum for áçloṇas, Ppp. has for a, b açroṇas te haviṣā vidhema maçrāmas te ghṛt-; the comm. also reads açroṇas. Ppp. gives turyas in c: the word perhaps means simply '[any] one of the four.' The Anukr. appears not to sanction the resolutions to tu-ā which would fill out a and b. The pada-mss. mark the division between c and d after devas, as the sense, but not the meter, demands.
4. Well-being (svastí) be to our mother and father, well-being to kine, to creatures (jágat), to men (púruṣa); all welfare [and] beneficence (? suvidátra) be ours; long may we see the sun.
For jagate in b Ppp- has uta, with manifest advantage to both meter and sense; and it reads pū́ruṣebhyas (with our H.s. m.), and in d dṛçeva. Many of the saṁhitā-mss. (including our H. K.) give ṇo after pitré in a. The comm. gives three different interpretations (taking it always, however, from vid and not from dā) for the ambiguous suvidátra. The Anukr. appears to read no 'stu in c, and ji-óg and sū́-ri-am in d ⌊rather, jyóg and sū́ryam, so as to make 11 + 11 : 11 + 8?⌋. ⌊As jagat, see Zimmer, p. 150.⌋