Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book II/Hymn 1

1. Mystic.

[Vena.—brahmātmadāivatam. trāiṣṭubham: 3. jagatī.]

Found in Pāipp. ii., and parts of it in other texts, as pointed out under the several verses. ⌊Von Schroeder gives what may be called a Kaṭha-recension of nearly all of it in his Tübinger Kaṭha-hss., pp. 88, 89.⌋ Used by Kāuç. (37. 3) in addressing various articles out of whose behavior afterward signs of success or the contrary, and the like oracular responses, are to be drawn (the comm. gives them in a more expanded detail). And Vāit. (29. 14) applies vs. 3 in the upavasatha rite of the agnicayana.

Translated: Weber, xiii. 129; Ludwig, p. 393; Scherman, Philosophische Hymnen, p. 82; Deussen, Geschichte, i.¹ 253; Griffith, i. 41.

1 . Vena (the longing one?) saw that which is highest in secret, where everything becomes of one form; this the spotted one (pṛ́çni) milked [when] born; the heaven-(svàr-)knowing troops (vrá) have shouted at it.

A bit of labored obscurity, like the verses that follow; books iv. and v. begin similarly; no attempt will be made here to solve the riddles. The comm. explains at great length (nine 4to pages), but evidently without any traditional or other understanding; he guesses and etymologizes this way and that, giving in part wholly discordant alternative interpretations. In this verse he first takes véna as = Āditya; and then, after a complete exposition on this basis, he says: yadvā: venaḥ parjanyātmā madhyamasthāno devaḥ, and gives another; pṛçni to him is "the common name of sky and sun." The translation given implies emendation in c of jā́yamānās to -nā; but the epithet might belong to vrā́s (so Ludwig and the comm.), or be the second object of aduhat (so Weber). The variants of the parallel versions of other texts make the impression (as often in other cases) of rather aimless stumbling over matters not understood. VS. (xxxii. 8) and TA. (x. 1. 3) have the first half-verse: VS. reads in a paçyan níhitaṁ gúhā sád, and TA. páçyan víçvā bhúvanāni vidvā́n; both have ékanīḍam at end of b. The pratīka is quoted in ÇÇS. xv. 3. 8, with the addition iti pañca, apparently referring to this hymn. Ppp. has padam for guhā in a, ekanaḍam in b, dhenur for pṛçnis in c (with -nās at the end), and, for d, svarvido 'bhyanuktir virāṭ. The phrase abhy ànūṣata vrā́ḥ occurs also in RV. iv. 1. 16 d; Pischel (Ved. Stud. ii. 121 ⌊and 321⌋) takes vrā́s to mean "women"; the comm. etymologizes it as āvṛtātmānaḥ prajāḥ. ⌊Cf. RV. x. 123. 2.⌋

2. May the Gandharva, knowing of the immortal, proclaim that highest abode that is in secret; three quarters (padá) of it [are] deposited in secret; whoso knoweth them, he shall be the father's father.

Ppp. begins with pṛthag (for pra tad), and for amṛtasya has -taṁ na, probably intending the amṛ́taṁ nú of VS. (xxxii. 9) and TA. (x. 1. 3-4: TA. reads also voce). In b, TA. gives nā́ma (for dhā́ma); and for paramám TA. has níhitam, and VS. víbhṛtam, while VS. ends with gúhā sát and TA. with gúhāsu. In c, Ppp. and TA. give padā́, and Ppp. nihatā; and TA., this time with the concurrence of Ppp., ends the pāda again with gúhāsu. In d, TA. has tád for tā́ni, and savitús for sá pitúṣ, while Ppp. gives vas for yas at the beginning. Prāt. ii. 73 prescribes the combination pitúṣ p- (in d), and both editions read it, though nearly all our saṁhitā-mss., and part of SPP's, read -túḥ p- instead. To make a good triṣṭubh pāda, we must resolve pṛ-d at the beginning. ⌊Hillebrandt, Ved. Mythol. i. 433, discusses the verse.⌋

3. He, of us the father, the generator, and he the connection (bándhu), knoweth the abodes, the beings all; who of the gods is the sole nomenclator, of him all beings come to inquire.

Here, as usual elsewhere ⌊cf. BR. iv. 1088, citations from TB., TS., AB.⌋, -praçnam is of infinitival value. Ppp. begins quite differently: sa no bandhur janitā sa vidhartā dhārmaṇi veda etc.; its c, d are our 5 c, d, with variants for which see under vs. 5. VS. (xxxii. 10) and TA. (x. 1. 4) have a verse made up like that of Ppp., differing from the latter in the first half only by having vidhātā́ and dhā́māṇi. A corresponding verse in RV. (x. 82. 3) reads in a yás for sá and again for sá utá, accents of course véda in b, and has nāmadhā́s in c and anyā́ for sárvā in d; and with it agrees in all points VS. xvii. 27; while TS. (iv. 6. 2) and MS. (ii. 10. 3) also follow it closely in a, c, d (MS. vidhartā́ in a) but have a different b: yó naḥ sató abhy ā́ sáj jajā́na. Our O. has the RV. readings, véda in b and nāmadhā́s in c; and the latter is given by the comm. and by nearly half of SPP's authorities; the latter's text, however, agrees with ours. The verse is no jagatī at all, but, if we make the frequent (RV.) combination só 'tá in c, a perfectly regular triṣṭubh.

4. About heaven-and-earth at once I went; I approached (upa-sthā) the first-born of righteousness (ṛtá), abiding in beings as speech in the speaker; eager (?) is he; is he not Agni (fire)?

Of this verse, only the first pāda is found in VS. (xxxii. 12 a) and TA. (x. i. 4), VS. reading itvā́ for āyam, and TA. having at the end yanti sadyáḥ. Ppp. has for first half pari viçvā bhuvanāny āyam upācaṣṭe prathamajā ṛtasya, and for d dhāsraṁ neṣaṇa tveṣo agniḥ. The accus. vā́cam in c suggests emendation to -ṣṭhā́m, in apposition with prathamajā́m; but then the comm. agrees with Ppp. in reading instead -jās, and emendation without any traceable sense to guide us is of no avail. The combination bhuvaneṣṭhā́ (p. -ne॰sthā́) is noted under Prāt. ii. 94. In the pada-text of b is noted from our mss. no other reading than úpa: atiṣṭhe; but S PP. gives úpa: ā॰tiṣṭhe, and reports no various readings; as ā॰tiṣṭhe (without any accent) is an impossible form ⌊Skt. Gr. §1083 a⌋ this is perhaps simply a blunder in his text; the comm., with a minority of SPP's mss., has -tiṣṭhet.

5. Around all beings I went, the web (tántu) of righteousness stretched out for beholding, where the gods, having attained immortality (amṛ́ta) bestirred themselves (?īraya-) upon the same place of union (yóni).

The proper rendering of d is especially doubtful, but ádhi, by its independent accent (which is established by Prāt. iv. 5), is clearly only a strengthener of the locative sense of yónāu. In b, perhaps better 'to behold the web' etc. (the comm. absurdly explains the particle kám as sukhātmakam brahma). The second half-verse is, as noted above, found in VS., TA., and Ppp., combined into one verse with our 3 a, b; Ppp. has in it ānaçānā samāne dhāmann adhī ”rayanta; VS. reads tṛtī́ye dhā́man for our samāné yónāu; TA., tṛtī́ye dhā́māny abhy āírayanta. Ppp. has as vs. 5 something quite different: for a, pari dyāvāpṛthivī sadyā ”yam (exchanging 4 a and 5 a: see under 4); for b, our own b; for c, d devo devatvam abhirakṣamāṇas samānaṁ bandhuṁ viparicchad ekaḥ. The first pāda requires the harsh resolution vi-çu-ā to make it full ⌊víçvāni would be easier⌋.