Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book III/Hymn 19

19. To help friends against enemies.

[Vasiṣṭha.—aṣṭarcam. vāiçvadevam uta cāndramasam utāi ”ndram. ānuṣṭubham: 1. pathyābṛhatī; 3. bhurigbṛhatī; 6. 3-av. 6-p. triṣṭupkakummatīgarbhā ’tijagatī; 7. virāḑāstārapan̄kti; 8. pathyāpan̄kti.]

The verses are found in Pāipp. iii. (in the verse-order 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 7, 6, 8). The hymn is applied by Kāuç. (14. 22-24) in a rite for gaining victory over a hostile army, and reckoned (14. 7, note) to the aparājita gaṇa. The Vāit. uses vs. 1 in the agnicayana (28. 15) in connection with lifting the ukhya fire, and vss. 6-8 in a sattra sacrifice (34. 16, 17), with mounting a chariot and discharging an arrow.

Translated: John Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, i.² 283; Ludwig, p. 234; Weber, xvii. 269; Griffith, i. 109.

1. Sharpened up is this incantation (? bráhman) of mine; sharpened up [my] heroism, strength; sharpened up, victorious, be the unwasting authority (kṣatrá) [of them] of whom I am the household priest (puróhita).

Or bráhman and kṣatrám may signify respectively the Brāhman and Kṣatriya quality or dignity of the puróhita and his constituency. The verse is found also in VS. (xi. 81), TS. (iv. 1. 10³), TA. (ii. 5. 2, vs. 15), MS. (ii. 7. 7), and K. (xvi. 7, Weber). The first two of these agree in all their readings, omitting idám in a and ajáram astu in c, and reading in c, d jiṣṇú yásyā ’hám ásmi; and TA.MS. differ from them only by adding me before jiṣṇú; Ppp. has kṣatraṁ me jiṣṇu, but agrees with our text in d. The comm. moreover has jiṣṇu, and the translation implies it; jiṣṇús can only be regarded as a blunder. Ppp. further gives mayī ’dam for ma idam in a, and mama for balam in b. Our original c has apparently got itself mixed up with vs. 5 c.

2. Up I sharpen the royalty of them, up their force, heroism, strength; I hew [off] the arms of the foes with this oblation.

The translation implies emendation of the syāmi of all the mss. and of both editions to çyāmi; it is obviously called for (suggested first by the Pet. Lex.), and the comm., reads çyāmi; Ppp. probably intends it by paçyāmi. The latter half-verse is found again below as vi. 65. 2 c, d; its text is confused here in Ppp. (vṛçcāmi çatrūṇāṁ bāhū sam açvām açvān aham). The Anukr. ignores the redundant syllable in a.

3. Downward let them fall, let them become inferior, who shall fight against (pṛtany-) our bounteous patron (sūrí); I destroy the enemies by my incantation; I lead up our own men.

Ppp. reads adhas pad- at the beginning, and indram for sūrim in b. The second half-verse is found in VS. (xi. 82 c, d), TS. (iv. 1.10³), and MS. (ii. 7. 7), with the various readings kṣiṇómi and svā́ṅ; the comm. also gives kṣiṇomi. The comm. renders sūrím by kāryākāryavibhāgajñam. The Anukr. should call the verse virāṭ prastārapan̄kti, since it properly scans as 11 + 11: 8 + 8 = 38.

4. Sharper than an ax, also sharper than fire, sharper than Indra's thunderbolt—[they] of whom I am the household priest.

Emendation to indravajrā́t would rectify the meter of c; but the Anukr. apparently accepts the redundancy there as balancing the deficiency in a.

5. The weapons of them I sharpen up; their royalty having good heroes, I increase; be their authority unwasting, victorious; their intent let all the gods aid.

The translation again (as in vs. 2) implies emendation of syāmi in a to çyāmi, which is read by Ppp. and by the comm. Most of our mss. (all save O.Op.), as of SPP's, accent in b súvīram, and both editions have adopted the reading; but it ought, of course, to be suvī́ram, as always elsewhere (and as the comm. here describes the word). Ppp. has vardhayasva at end of b, and its d is ugram eṣāṁ cittaṁ bahudhā viçvarūpā. The definition of the verse as triṣṭubh is wanting in the Anukr. ⌊London ms.⌋, doubtless by an error of the manuscripts, which are confused at this point. ⌊The Berlin ms. does give it.⌋

6. Let their energies (vā́jina) be excited, O bounteous one (maghávan); let the noise of the conquering heroes arise; let the noises, the clear (ketumánt) halloos, go up severally; let the divine Maruts, with Indra as their chief, go with the army.

With the first two pādas compare RV. x. 103. 10 a, d: úd dharṣaya maghavann ā́yudhāni...úd ráthānāṁ jáyatṁ yantu ghóṣāḥ. Some of our mss. (P.M.W.O.Op.Kp.), as of SPP's, read in c ulūláyas, but both editions give -lul-; the comm. has ullulayas, and declares it an imitative word. The omission either of ululáyas or of ketumántas would make a jagatī pāda of c, and that of devā́s would do the same for d; as the verse stands, the Anukr. scans it 11 + 11: 8 + 8: 6 + 8 = 52. Part of our mss. (I.O.Op.) agree with the comm. in ending this verse with úd īratām, and throwing the two remaining pādas into vs. 7, to the great detriment of the sense, as well as against the probable earlier form of the verse. Ppp. reads: uddharṣantāṁ vājināṁ vājinābhy ad vāirāṇāṁ jayatām etu ghoṣāḥ: pṛthag ghoṣā ulalayaṣ ketumantu udīratām; with e and f as in our text.

7. Go forth, conquer, O men; formidable be your arms (bāhú); having sharp arrows, slay them of weak bows; having formidable weapons, having formidable arms (bāhú), [slay] the weak ones.

The first half-verse is RV. x. 103. 13 a, c (found also in SV. ii. 1212; VS. xvii. 46), without variation; TS. (iv. 6. 4⁴) has the same two pādas together, but reads úpa pré ’ta jáyatā nara sthirā́ vaḥ etc. Ppp. has the first half-verse (with pra yatā and vas), adding as second half indro vaç çarma yacchaty anādhṛṣyā yathā ’satā. The verse is not virāj ⌊7 + 8; 11 + 12⌋, if the obviously proper resolutions are made.

8. Being let loose, fly thou away, O volley, thou that art sharpened up by incantation; conquer the enemies; go forth; slay of them each best one; let no one soever of them yonder be released.

Pādas a-c and e are RV. vi. 75. 16, a verse found also in a number of other texts: SV. ii. 1213; VS. xvii. 45; TS. iv. 6. 4⁴; TB. iii. 7. 6²³; ĀpÇS. iii. 14. 3. RV.SV.VS. agree throughout, having gácha for jáya at beginning of c, and, for d, mā́ ’mī́ṣāṁ káṁ canó ’c chiṣaḥ; the others have this d, except that they put eṣām in place of amī́ṣām; they also give viça for padyasva at end of c, and TS. has the nom. -çitā, which is better, at end of b, while TB. and ĀpÇS. alter to ávasṛṭaḥ párā pata çaró (for çáro?) bráhmasaṁçitaḥ. Our d is found again as xi. 10. 21 b; our e, as viii. 8. 19 d; xi. 9. 20 d; 10. 19 d. The presence of -saṁçite in this verse gives it a kind of right to stand as part of the hymn, of which sam-çā is the unifying word; vss. 6 and 7 are probably later additions. In Ppp., vss. 6-8, with RV. x. 103. 10, form a piece by themselves; vs. 8 ends with pra padyasva sā māiṣāṁ kaṁ cano ’c chiṣaḥ (nearly as RV.). Correct the accent-mark in d so as to read váraṁ-varam.