Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book III/Hymn 27
27. The same: with imprecation on enemies.
[Atharvan.—rāudram; agnyādibahudevatyam. āṣṭikam: 1-6. 5-p. kakummatīgarbhā ’ṣṭi ; 2. atyaṣṭi; 5. bhurij.]
⌊A prose hymn.⌋ Found (except vs. 3, apparently omitted by accident) in Pāipp. iii., after h. 26, but at some distance from it. Compare xii. 3. 55-60, where the quarters are rehearsed with the same adjuncts. Compare further TS. v. 5. 101, 2 (a passage immediately preceding that parallel with our h. 26; a bit of brāhmaṇa between the two explains that these divinities are to protect the fire-altar when constructed); and MS. ii. 13. 21: both these omit all mention of arrows. A yet fainter parallelism is to be noted with TB. iii. 11. 5. For the concluding imprecation, compare also VS. xv. 15. For the use in Kāuç. with h. 26, see under that hymn. ⌊For the general significance of the hymn, see my addition to the introduction to h. 26.⌋
Translated: Weber, xvii. 295; Griffith, i. 121.
1. Eastern quarter; Agni overlord; black serpent defender; the Ādityas arrows: homage to those overlords; homage to the defenders; homage to the arrows; homage be to them; who hates us, whom we hate, him we put in your jaws (jámbha).
Ppp. has ṛṣibhyas instead of iṣubhyas, and vas instead of ebhyas; and it adds further to the imprecation tam u prāṇo jahātu, which our text has in a similar connection at vii. 31. 1; x. 5. 25-35; xvi. 7. 13. The "defender" is in each case a kind of serpent; and this, which is but an insignificant item in our two hymns, has a more important bearing on the application of the corresponding TS. and MS. passages. The TS. passage runs thus: "thou art the eastern quarter, convergent by name; of thee there Agni is overlord, the black serpent defender; both he who is overlord and he who is guardian, to them (two) be homage; let them be gracious to us; whom we hate and who hates us, him I put in the jaws of you (two)"; and the MS. version differs only in one or two slight points. The comm. supplies each time to the name of the quarter asmadanugrahārthaṁ vartatām or something equivalent. There seems to be no natural way of dividing these verses into 5 pādas; the refrain is probably counted by the Anukr. as 42 syllables, and the addition of the other part brings the number in each verse up to from 62 to 66 syllables (aṣṭi is properly 64).
2. Southern quarter; Indra overlord; cross-lined [serpent] defender; the Fathers arrows: homage to those etc. etc.
Ppp. makes the Vasus arrows. MS. calls the serpent tiraçcī́narāji; TS. makes the adder (pṛ́dāku) defender here.
3. Western quarter; Varuna overlord; the adder (pṛ́dāku) defender; food the arrows: homage to those etc. etc.
The comm. explains pṛdākus as kutsitaçabdakārī: an absurd fancy. TS. and MS. give here Soma as overlord, and the constrictor as defender.
4. Northern quarter; Soma overlord; the constrictor (svajá) defender; the thunderbolt (açáni) arrows: homage to those etc. etc.
5. Fixed quarter; Vishṇu overlord; the serpent with black-spotted (kalmā́ṣa-) neck defender; the plants arrows: homage to those etc. etc.
Ppp. reads kulmāṣa-; the comm. explains the word by kṛṣṇavarṇa. TS. calls the quarter iyám 'this'; in MS. it is ávācī 'downward'; TS. treats of it after the upward one, and makes Yama the overlord. In our edition, an accent-mark under the -kṣi- of rakṣitā́ has slipped to the right, under -tā.
6. Upward quarter; Brihaspati overlord; the white (çvitrá) [serpent] defender; rain the arrows: homage to those etc. etc.
Ppp. has here the thunderbolt (açani) for arrows. Part of the mss. (including our E.O.K.Kp.) give citrá instead of çvitrá as name of the serpent; TS. reads çvitrá, but MS. (probably by a misreading) citrá. TS. calls the quarter bṛhadī́ 'great.' TS. (after the manner of the AV. mss.) leaves out the repeated part of the imprecation in the intermediate verses (2-5); MS. gives it in full every time. ⌊Reference to this vs. as made by Bergaigne, Rel. véd. iii. 12 (cf. Baunack, KZ. xxxv. 527), is hardly apt.⌋