Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book IV/Hymn 35

35. Extolling a rice-mess offering.

[Prajāpati.—ātimartyam.* trāiṣṭubham: 3. bhurij; 4. jagatī.]

Not found in Pāipp. Used by Kāuç. (66. 11) in the sava sacrifices, with a sava for escaping death (atimṛtyu) and, according to the comm., also in the ceremony of expiation for the birth of twin calves (109. 1; he reads yam odanam iti, instead of yamāu janayati, which the edition has). *⌊The Berlin Anukr. reads ātimārcyam.⌋

Translated: Ludwig, p. 438; Griffith, i. 177; Weber, xviii. 139.

1. The rice-mess which Prajāpati, first-born of righteousness, cooked with fervor (tápas) for Brahmán; which, separator of the worlds, shall not harm (?)—by that rice-mess let me overpass death.

For the obscure and questionable nā́ ’bhiréṣāt in c (no tense-stem réṣa occurs elsewhere in AV.) the comm. reads nābhir ekā; Ludwig, ignoring accent and pada-text (ná: abhi॰réṣāt), understands nābhi-reṣāt "breach of the navel"; two of our mss. (O.Op.) read nā́bhiréṣāṁ ⌊and Weber conjectured nā́bhir eṣām⌋. The refrain is found also as concluding pāda of a verse in ĀpÇS. iv. 11. 3. The Anukr. does not note that b is jagatī.

2. That by which the being-makers overpassed death; which they discovered by fervor, by toil (çráma); which the bráhman of old cooked for Brahmán—by that rice-mess let me overpass death.

The comm. explains bhūtakṛ́tas as prāṇināṁ kartāro devāḥ, but ṛṣayas is always the noun used with it.

3. That which sustained the all-nourishing earth; which filled the atmosphere with sap; which, uplifted, established the sky with might—by that rice-mess let me overpass death.

The comm. explains viçvabhojasam by kṛtsnasya prāṇijātasya bkogyabhūtām.

4. That out of which were fashioned the thirty-spoked months; out of which was fashioned the twelve-spoked year; that which circling days-and-nights did not attain—by that rice-mess let me overpass death.

SPP. gives in c the pada-reading ahorātrā́ḥ, as required by the participle pariyántas; all the pada-mss. have -trā́; the comm. has paryantas, but explains it as paryāvartamānās, and says nothing about the abnormal form. The verse (11 + 13: 11 + 11 = 46) is in no respect a jagatī; the ejection of yásmāt in b would make it regular.

5. That which became breath-giving, possessing breath-giving ones (?); for which worlds rich in ghee flow; whose are all the light-filled directions—by that rice-mess let me overpass death.

The pada-text does not divide prāṇadáḥ, and it makes the division prāṇadá॰vān, which the translation follows; our text (either by a misprint or by an unsuccessful

attempt at emendation) reads -dā́vān; -dā́vā, as nom. of -dā́van, might be an improvement; the comm. reads -davām, viewing it as gen. pl. of prāṇa-dū, from dū 'burn,' and he explains it as "moribund" (mumūrṣu: prāṇāir jigamiṣubhiḥ paritāpyante)!

6. From which, when cooked, the immortal (amṛ́ta) came into being; which was the over-lord of the gāyatrī́; in which are deposited the Vedas of all forms—by that rice-mess let me overpass death.

Or amṛta is to be taken as the drink of immortality; the comm. (who simply adds dyulokastham) apparently so understands it.

7. I beat down the hater, the god-insulter; what rivals are mine, let them be [driven] away; I cook the all-conquering bráhman-rice-mess; let the gods hear me who am full of faith.

The comm. reads in a devapīyūn; brahmāudanám he explains as brāhmaṇebhyo deyam odanam.

The seventh anuvāka, of 5 hymns and 37 verses, ends here; the old Anukr. says sapta cā ’pi bodhyāḥ.