Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book IV/Hymn 22
22. For the success and prosperity of a king.
[Vasiṣṭha (? Atharvan ?).—āindram. trāiṣṭubham.]
Found in Pāipp. iii. (with vs. 3 before vs. 2), and most of it also in TB. (ii. 4. 77-8). Used by Kāuç. (14. 24) in a rite for victory in battle (the editor of Kāuç. regards the next hymn also as included, but evidently by an error), and also in the ceremony of consecration of a king (17. 28) ⌊Weber, Rājasūya, p. 142⌋; and the comm. mistakenly regards it as quoted at 72. 7, giving the pratīka as imam indra, instead of imam indram, as Kāuç. really reads (xii. 2. 47, evidently the verse intended). The Anukr. spreads itself at very unusual length over the character of the hymn: imam indra vardhaye ’ti vasiṣṭha āindraṁ trāiṣṭubhaṁ so ‘tharvā kṣatriyāya rājñe candramase prathamābhiḥ pañcabhir niramitrīkaraṇamukhyene ’ndram aprārthayad grāmagavāçvādi sarvaṁ rājyopakaraṇaṁ ca tataḥ parābhyām antyābhyām indrarūpeṇa svayam eva kṣatriyaṁ rājānaṁ candramasain āçiṣā prāṇudad iti. Probably Vasiṣṭha is the intended ṛṣi-name, and so ‘tharvā (one ms. sāuth-) a misreading for something else.
Translated; Ludwig, p. 457; Zimmer, 165; Grill, 67, 135; Griffith, i. 162; Bloomfield, 115, 404; Weber, xviii. 91.—Cf. Hillebrandt, Veda-chrestomathie, p. 43.
1. Increase, O Indra, this Kshatriya for me; make thou this man sole chief of the clans (víç); unman (nis-akṣ) all his enemies; make them subject to him in the contests for preeminence.
The comm. (with one of SPP's mss.) has in b the strange reading vṛṣām for viçām; and it treats aham and uttareṣu in d as two separate words. He takes akṣṇuhi as from akṣ 'attain' (akṣū vyāptāu), and so explains it (nirgatavyāptikān kuru). ⌊See Delbrück's discussion, Gurupūjākāumudī, p. 48-9.⌋ TB. combines a of this verse (reading kṣatríyāṇām for -yam me) with b, c, d of our vs. 3. In our edition, an anusvāra is substituted for an accent-mark over the syllable -nra- in d.
2. Portion thou this man in village, in horses, in kine; unportion that man who is his enemy; let this king be the summit of authorities (kṣatrá); O Indra, make every foe subject to him.
Ppp. elides the a of amitras in b, and in c has the better reading varṣman 'at the summit,' which is also offered by the comm., and by three of SPP's mss. TB. has várṣman, but as first word of a very different half-verse, our iii. 4. 2 c, d, which it adds to our first half-verse here to make a complete verse; in a it has imám ā́ instead of é ’mám, and in b nír amúm instead of níṣ ṭám, thus rectifying the meter (the Anukr. takes no notice of the metrical irregularity of our b); and it leaves asya without accent at the end. Nearly half the mss. (including our P.M.W.I.K.) have in d çátrūṅ, and the comm. seems to understand çatrūn. ⌊TB. combines yò ’mítro, against the meter.⌋
3. Let this man be riches-lord of riches; let this king be people-lord of people; in him, O Indra, put great splendors; destitute of splendor make thou his foe.
As noted above, TB. combines the last three pādas of this verse with our 1 a; it reads asmāí instead of asmín at beginning of c. The comm. foolishly gives himself much vain trouble to prove that the epithets in a and b are not repetitious.
4. For him, O heaven-and-earth, milk ye much that is pleasant (vāmá), like two milch kine that yield the hot-draught (gharmá-); may this king be dear to Indra, dear to kine, herbs, cattle.
Ppp. combines dughe ’va in b, and has bhūyās in c; and at the end it agrees with TB. in reading utā́ ’pā́m for paçūnā́m. TB. further has asmé in a, and -dúghe ’va dhenúḥ in b ⌊but see Prāt. i. 82 n.⌋; and it prefixes sám to duhāthām. Probably it is the loss of that prefix or of some other that causes duhāthām to stand in all the mss. without accent at the beginning of the pāda: an inadmissible anomaly, though read in both texts; we ought to have emended to duhā́thām. The comm. explains that gharma- in b signifies the pravargya. ⌊The meter requires the prefix.⌋
5. I join to thee Indra who gives superiority (? utttarā́vant), by whom men conquer, are not conquered; who shall make thee sole chief of people (jána), also uppermost of kings descended from Manu.
Ppp. reads in a tam uttarāvantam indra. TB. has in b jáyāsi and parājáyāsāi, and in the second half-verse sá tvā ’kar ekavṛṣabháṁ svā́nām átho rājann utt-. The comm. explains uttarā́vantam by atiçayitotkarṣavantam.
6. Superior [art] thou, inferior thy rivals, whosoever, O king, are thine opposing foes; sole chief, having Indra as companion, having conquered, bring thou in the enjoyments (bhójana) of them that play the foe.
Ppp. has in a adhare santv anye. TB. puts together a and c as first half of a verse to the other half of which our text has nothing corresponding; and it reads ékavṛṣā for ehavṛṣás. The comm. takes prati and çatravas in b as two independent words; he paraphrases bhójanāni by bhogasādhanāni dhanāni.
7. Of lion-aspect, do thou devour (ad) all the clans (viç); of tiger-aspect, do thou beat down the foes; sole chief, having Indra as companion, having conquered, seize thou on (ā-khid) the enjoyments of them that play the foe.
Ppp. has only the second half-verse, and reads for d çatrūyatām abhi tiṣṭhā mahāṅsi (our vii. 73. 10 etc.: see under that verse). The whole verse is wanting in TB. The comm., with one of SPP's mss., reads ápa for áva in b. He paraphrases addhi (which is a frequent expression for the action of a ruler upon his subjects) very properly by bhun̄kṣva; and ā khida, less acceptably, by ācchindhi.