Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book II/Hymn 19

19. Against enemies: to Agni (fire).

[Atharvan.—āgneyam. 1-4. nicṛdviṣamāgāyatrī; 5. bhurigviṣamā.]

⌊Not metrical.⌋ This hymn (but not its four successors and counterparts) is found in Pāipp. ii.; also in MS. (i. 5. 2: in verse-order 1, 4, 3, 2, 5) and Āp. (vi. 21. 1: in verse-order 3, 4, 1, 2, 5); further, in K. Its first pratīka (but regarded by the schol. and by the comm. as including all the five hymns) is used by Kāuç. (47. 8) to accompany the purastād homas in the witchcraft rites. The Anukr. has a common description of the five hymns, 19-23, as pañca sūktāni pañcarcāni pañcādpatyni (? or -catapāty-) tripādgāyatrāṇy ekāvasānāni. ⌊The mss. blunder; but pañcāpatyāni is probably right; see note to Kāuç. 47. 8.⌋

Translated: Weber, xiii. 181; Griffith, i. 62.

1. O Agni! with the heat that is thine, be hot against him who hates us, whom we hate.

MS. leaves (in all the verses) the a of asmā́n unelided, and both MS. and Āp. insert ca before vayám.

2. O Agni! with the rage (háras) that is thine, rage against him who hates us, whom we hate.

Práti hara has to be strained in rendering, to preserve the parallelism of the expression. ⌊Or, 'with the seizing-force that is thine, force back him' etc.?⌋

3. O Agni! with the gleam (arcís) that is thine, gleam against him who hates us, whom we hate.

4. O Agni! with the burning (çocís) that is thine, burn against him who hates us, whom we hate.

5. O Agni! with the brilliancy (téjas) that is thine, make him unbrilliant who hates us, whom we hate.

Ppp. has jyotis for tejas, and prati daha for atejasaṁ kṛṇu; for the latter, MS. and Āp. read prati titigdhi (also K., tityagdhi).

The meter is alike in the four hymns 19-22; the Anukr. restores the a of asmān, and in vss. 1-4 scans 6 + 7 + 10 = 23, and, in vs. 5, 6 + 9 + 10 = 25.