Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book III/Hymn 5

5. For prosperity: with a parṇá-amulet.

[Atharvan.—aṣṭakam. sāumyam. ānuṣṭubham: 1. puro‘nuṣṭup triṣṭubh; 8. virāḍurobṛhatī.]

Found (except vs. 8) in Pāipp. iii. Used by Kāuç. (19. 22), with viii. 5 and x. 3, 6, to accompany the binding on of an amulet for general prosperity (tejobalāyurdhanādipuṣṭaye, comm.). And the comm. quotes it from Nakṣ. K. ⌊comm. should say Çānti K.—Bloomfield⌋ as employed in a mahāçānti named ān̄girasī. ⌊In the prior draft, W. writes "For success of a king: with" etc. as title of this hymn. Its place in the collection, next after iii. 3 and 4, and its second vs., seem to justify that title.⌋

Translated: Weber, xvii. 1 94; Griffith, i. 86; Bloomfield, 114, 331.—Vss. 6 and 7, Zimmer, p. 184, with comment.

1. Hither hath come this parṇá-amulet, strong, by strength slaughtering our rivals; force of the gods, milk of the herbs, let it quicken me with splendor unremittingly.

Ppp. has for d mayi rāṣṭraṁ jinvatv aprayucchan. Áprayāvan in d, which is read by all the mss. (hence by both editions) and the comm., is unquestionably to be emended (as suggested by BR., v. 1015) to -yāvam ⌊Skt. Gram.² §995 b, root yu; cf. yuch⌋; the word is quoted in the Prāt. text (iv. 56), but not in a way to determine its form (aprayāvādi-). As the later verses show, parṇa is to be understood here as the tree of that name (Butea frondosa: comm. palāçavṛkṣa). The comm. raises no objection to áprayāvan, and explains it as either māṁ vihāyā ’napagantā san (with irregular exchange of case-forms), or else aprayātar, i.e. sarvadā dhāryamāṇa.

2. In me [maintain] dominion, O parṇá-amulet, in me maintain wealth; may I in the sphere of royalty be familiar (? nijá), supreme.

Compare the nearly corresponding vi. 54. 2, which suggests emendation of nijás to yujás ⌊'may I be supreme above [any] ally or fellow-king' (yujás as abl.)⌋. Ppp. has rāṣṭram for kṣatram in a, and its d reads yajā bhūyāsam uttarā, supporting the emendation. Our Bp. reads in c -vargré, as some of the mss. do in the other occurrences of this obscure word: the comm. explains it by āvarjane svādhīnī-karaṇe 'appropriation,' and nija by ananyasahāya. ⌊BR. give 'beständig' for nija.⌋

3. The dear amulet which the gods deposited hidden in the forest-tree—that let the gods give to us to wear, together with length of life (ā́yus).

Ppp. has for b vājiṁ devāḥ priyaṁ nidhim, and its second half-verse is taṁ ma indras sahā ”yuṣā maṇiṁ dadātu bhartave.

4. The parṇá, Soma's formidable power, hath come, given by Indra, governed (çās) by Varuṇa; may I, shining greatly, wear it in order to length of life for a hundred autumns.

The translation implies emendation in c of the unmanageable priyāsam to bhriyāsam, an obvious improvement, adopted also by Weber, and supported by the reading of Ppp., tam ahaṁ bibharmi; the comm., too, though reading priy-, glosses it with bhriyāsaṁ dhārayeyam. In b, Ppp. has sakhyas for çiṣṭas. The comm. finds in sómasya parṇás in a allusion to the origin of the parṇa-tree from a leaf (parṇa) of soma, and quotes for it TS. iii. 5. 7¹. Rócamānas in c he uses as nam, qualifying tám. The metrical definition of the verse is wanting in the Anukr. mss.; we may call it a nicṛt triṣṭubh. ⌊See Weber's note on parṇá.⌋

5. The parṇá-amulet hath ascended me, in order to great unharmedness, so that I may be superior to patron (aryamán) and to ally (saṁvíd).

Saṁvíd is here taken as corresponding noun to the common adjective saṁvidāná (the Pet. Lex., "possession"; Weber, "favor"); the comm. makes it samānajñānāt or samabalāt; and aryaman, according to him, comes from arīn yamayati, and means adhikabalaḥ purupradātā ca, Ppp. combines mahyā ’riṣṭ- in b, and has for d manuṣyā adhi saṁçataḥ (or saṁmataḥ). All the mss., and SPP's text, read uttarás in c; our úttaras is a necessary emendation. ⌊As to aryamán, cf. Weber's note.⌋

6. They that are clever chariot-makers, that are skilful smiths—subjects to me do thou, O parṇá, make all people (jána) round about.

Ppp. begins yat takṣāṇo rath-, and its second half-verse is sarvāṅs tvā ’nṛṇa randhayo ’pastiṁ kṛṇu medinam. The comm. renders dhīvānas by dhīvarā mātsikāḥ 'fishermen,' and gives the technical definition of the caste of rathakāras. Weber (p. 196 ff.) treats with much fulness of these and other caste matters. Upastīn the comm. explains, nearly enough correctly, by sevārthaṁ samīpe vidyamānān upāsīnām vā.

7. They that are kings, king-makers, that are charioteers and troop-leaders—subjects to me do thou, O parṇá, make all people round about.

Our Bp. reads in b grāma॰ṇyàḥ, emended to ॰nyàḥ; Kp. has grāmanyàḥ; Op. and D. (and, so far as appears, all SPP's pada-mss.) grāmaṇyàḥ; the word is divided by the RV. pada-text (grāma॰nī́ḥ), as in all reason it should be; and its division seems favored, if not required, by our Prāt. iii. 76. Ppp. has a quite different text: upastir astu vāiçya uta çūdra utā ”ryaḥ for a, b, with c, d as in its version of vs. 6 (but with tān ṛṇa ⌊intending tān parṇa?⌋ instead of tvā ’nṛṇa). Weber, on authority of ÇB. iii. 4. 1. 7, proposes to emend a to yé ‘rājāno; the comm. explains the rā́jānas by anyadeçādhipāḥ; and rājakṛ́tas by rājye ‘bhiṣiñcanti ’ti sacivāḥ. ⌊In SPP's Corrections (to p. 364), his J. P. are reported as dividing grāma॰nyàḥ.⌋

8. Parṇá art thou, body-protecting; a hero, from the same womb (yóni) with me a hero; with the year's brilliancy—therewith I bind thee on, O amulet.

Wanting in Ppp. The second pāda is damaged, in meter and in sense, by the apparently intruded vīrás.

The anuvāka ⌊1.⌋ ends here, having 5 hymns and 33 verses; the old Anukr. says: triṅçannimittāḥ ṣaḍṛceṣu (mss. -ḍarc-) kāryās tisraḥ.