Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book IX/Hymn 4
4. Accompanying the gift of a bull.
[Brahman.—caturviṅçakam. ārṣabham. trāiṣṭubham: 8. bhurij; 6, 10, 24. jagatī; 11-17, 19, 20, 23. anuṣṭubh; 18. upariṣṭād bṛhatī; 21. āstārapan̄kti.]
Found also in Pāipp. xvi. (in the verse-order 1-3, 5, 4, 6, 8, 7, 9, 10-13, 15, 14, 16-22, 24, 23). Not noticed in Vāit., and not in Kāuç. in a way to cast any light whatever upon it; the hymn is quoted in Kāuç. 24. 19 (with vi. 111) in the ceremony of turning a bull loose, and vs. 24 separately in the same ceremony in Kāuç. 24. 21; also vs. 1 in 66. 18 in connection with a bull; the hymn is reckoned (see note to Kāuç. 19. 1) among the puṣṭika mantras.
Translated: Henry, 90, 128; Griffith, i. 438.—For some of the vss. the reader may consult Hillebrandt, Ved. Myth. i. 330, 516, 382, 358, 525.
1. The bright bull of a thousand, rich in milk, bearing all forms in his bellies, desiring to accomplish (? çikṣ) what is excellent for his giver, the sacrificer—he, the ruddy one of Brihaspati, hath stretched ⌊ā-tan⌋ the line (tántu).
That is, doubtless, 'has extended or performed the sacrifice.'
2. He who in the beginning became the counterpart (pratimā́) of the waters, prevailing (prabhū́) for everything, like the divine earth, father of young (vatsá), lord of the inviolable [kine]—let him set (kṛ) us in thousandfold prosperity.
3. A male (púmāṅs), [yet] pregnant, big (sthávira), rich in milk, the bull bears a trunk (kábandha) of good (vásu); him, sacrificed to Indra, let Agni Jātavedas carry by the roads traveled by the gods.
W. reads in b vásoṣ ká-.
4. Father of calves, lord of the inviolable [kine], also father of great gulfs (gárgara); calf, afterbirth, fresh milk, beestings, curd, ghee—that [is] his seed.
The verse occurs also in TS. (iii. 3. 92), MS. (ii. 5. 10), and K. (xiii. 9). In b, MS. reads utā́ ’yám for átho; for d, TS. has āmíkṣā mástu ghṛtám asya rétaḥ, and MS. the same, save yóniḥ for rétaḥ.
5. The gods' portion [was] that load, the sap of waters, of plants, of ghee; the mighty one (çakrá) chose a drink of soma; a great stone became what [was his] body.
This verse also is found in TS. and MS. (as above), in both texts preceding our vs. 4 (in MS. one other verse intervenes, our xviii. 4. 28). Both have, for a, devā́nām eṣá upanāhá āsīt; for b, TS. has apā́ṁ gárbha óṣahīṣu nyàktaḥ, and MS. apā́m pátir vṛṣabhá óṣadhīnām; in c, both have drapsám for bhakṣám and pūṣā́ for çakráḥ; in d, after abhavat, MS. has yát tád ā́sīt, and TS. tád eṣām.
6. Thou bearest a vessel filled with soma, shaper (tvástṛ) of forms, generator of cattle; propitious to thee be these pudenda (? prajanū́) that are here; to us, O ax, confirm those that are yonder.
Ppp. reads at the beginning somasya; its second half-verse is unintelligible. The verse is with no propriety called a jagatī (11 + 11: 13 + 12 = 47).
7. Sacrificial butter he bears; ghee [is] his seed; thousandfold prosperity—that they call the sacrifice; the bull, clothing himself in Indra's form—let him, O gods, come propitious to us, being given.
Ppp. reads in b sahasrapoṣas, and in d ‘smā and çivāi ’tu.
8. Indra's force, Varuṇa's two arms, the Açvins' two shoulders, of the Maruts this hump; they who are wise, poets, who are skilful (manīṣín), call him Brihaspati brought together.
The verse has two jagatī-pādas, though called by the Anukr. simply bhurij. Read at the end of b kakút.
9. Rich in milk, thou stretchest unto the people (víç) of the gods; thee they call Indra, thee Sarasvant; he gives a thousand [kine] with one face who makes offering (ā-hu) of a bull to a Brahman.
⌊Cf. Oldenberg, IFA. vi. 183.⌋
10. Brihaspati, Savitar bestowed on thee vigor (váyas); from Tvashṭar, from Vāyu was brought forth thy soul (ātmán); with mind in the atmosphere I make offering (hu) of thee; let heaven-and-earth both be thy barhís.
Ppp. reads manas for vayas in a. The Anukr. calls the verse jagatī, though two of its pādas are triṣṭubh.
11. He who goes speaking out greatly among the kine, like Indra among the gods—of that bull let the worshiper (brahmán) praise together the members excellently.
All our mss. (save O.) read, like the edition, tásya ṛṣa- in c, although the passage is quoted as example under the Prāt. rule (iii. 46) that a or ā + ṛ make ar. Ppp. reads in a āindrī ’va. The paddhati (note to Kāuç. 24. 19) has the verse whispered in the right ear of the released bull.
12. His sides were Anumati's; his flanks (? anūvṛ́j) were Bhaga's; of his knees (aṣṭhīvánt) Mitra said: those are wholly mine.
All the nouns are duals. The Anukr. takes no notice of the redundant syllable in c. ⌊Henry would emend thus: -vántābrav-, i.e. -vántā abrav-. Ppp. reads at the beginning pārçvay āstām.
13. His rump was the Ādityas'; his two thighs were Brihaspati's; his tail [was] the heavenly wind's; therewith he shakes the herbs.
Ppp. reads in b çroṇīy āstām.
15. His intestines (gúdā) were Sinīvālī's; they called his skin Sūryā's; they called his feet (pl.) the upstander's (utthātṛ́), when they prepared (kalpay-) the bull.
The pada-text reads, like the saṁhitā, utthātúḥ, by Prāt. iv. 62. Ppp. combines gudā ”saṁ; it also makes our 14 c, d and 15 c, d exchange places. ⌊Ppp. puts yat before ṛṣabham, and for akalpayan it has vika...(gap).⌋
15. His breast (kroḍá) was Jāmiçaṅsa's; his vessel [was] maintained as Soma's, when all the gods, coming together, distributed (vi-kalpay-) the bull.
We had jāmiçaṅsa above (ii. 10. 1) as 'imprecation of sisters'; the word does not occur elsewhere. What part of the bull is his 'vessel' is obscure. The first pāda has a redundant syllable.
16. Those dew-claws (kúṣṭhikā) [were] Saramā's; they assigned the hoofs to the tortoises (kūrmá); the content of his bowels they maintained for the worms, the çavartás.
The mss. are divided between çavarta (P.s.m.I.O.R.p.m.T.D.Kp.) and çvavarta (Bp.E.R.s.m.); while M. and P.p.m. have çvaçavarta, and W. çaçavarta. The occurrence of çavartá in TS. (v. 7. 231: also in connection with ū́badhya) determined the reading of our text. But our pada-text divides the word (Bp. çva॰vartá; D.Kp. ça॰v-), which favors the reading çva-, since it implies a combination of the two recognizably independent words çvan and varta, 'occurring in dogs,' or something of the sort. Ppp. apparently has çivaratrebhyo. ⌊Roth suggests that çavarta may be for çavavarta 'Aaswurm, Made.'⌋
17. With his horns he pushes the demon; with his eye he slays ruin; with his ears he hears what is excellent—he who is the inviolable lord of kine.
Ppp. reads in a, b rakṣa riṣad rātī. The Prāt. (ii. 70) notes that the reading in d is not yás pát-. Some of the mss. (Bp.I.K.) accent aghnyàs.
18. With a hundred-fold sacrifice he sacrifices; the fires burn him not; all the gods quicken him, who makes offering of a bull to a Brahman.
The last pāda is the same with 9 d. Ppp. has sarve instead of viçve in c.
19. Having given a bull to Brahmans, one makes his mind wider; he beholds (ava-paç) prosperity of the inviolable [kine] in his own stall.
Ppp. reads in a brāhmaṇāya vṛṣabhaṁ, and in d vi paçyatu. In a, we have to combine (as not very rarely elsewhere) -bhya rṣ-.
20. Let there be kine, let there be progeny, also let there be own strength; let the gods approve all that for the giver of a bull.
Ppp. puts tat after sarvam in c.
21. Let this burly (pípāna) one, a very Indra, bestow conspicuous wealth; let this one [bestow] a well-milking cow, constantly with calf; let him yield (duh) inspired will beyond the sky.
Ppp. has very different readings, which in part are less unacceptable than those of our text: for a, b, ayaṁ pipānā indriyaṁ gayāṁ bibharti tejanī: in d, vipaçyataṁ puro divaḥ. ⌊For pípāna, cf. Bloomfield, AJP. xii. 443.⌋
22. Of reddish form, clouded (? nabhasá), vigor-giving, vehemence of Indra, all-formed, he hath come to us, assigning to us life-time and progeny; and with abundances of wealth let him attach himself to (abhi-sac) us.
The last half-verse agrees nearly with xviii. 4. 62 c, d, where dádhatas and sacadhvam make better meter. It is not impossible to resolve asmábhi-am in c, but sacantām, which some of the mss. read (P.p.m.W.D.), is forbidden by the sense. Ppp. has a wholly different line: prajām asmabhyaṁ dadhato rayiṁ ca dīrghāyutvāya çataçāradāya. ⌊Bloomfield translates the verse at ZDMG. xlviii. 566, but overlooks the accent of nabhasó: cf. támas-ā and tamasā́ (saṁhitā-form at xi. 9. 22).⌋
23. Here in this stall, O closeness (upapárcana), be thou close unto us; unto [us] what seed the bull has; unto [us], O Indra, thy heroism.
This is a variant of RV. vi. 28. 8 (with which TB. ii. 8. 812 and LÇS. iii. 3. 4 precisely agree); RV. has, for a, b, úpe ’dám upapárcanam āsú góṣū́ ’pa pṛcyatām, with rétasi for yád rétas in c, and vīryè at the end: a very different sense; the Pet. Lexx. understand upa-pṛc as signifying here sexual union. We have to combine irregularly goṣṭho ’pa in order to rectify the meter of b; the Anukr. does not heed the irregularity.
24. This young male we set toward you here; with him go ye (fem.) playing according to your wills; abandon us not with birth, ye wellportioned ones; and with abundances of wealth attach yourselves to us.
The last pāda is the same with xviii. 4. 62 d. The verse is found, in much more acceptable form, in TS. (iii. 3. 91, followed, after one intervening verse, by our vss. 5, 4 above) and PGS. (iii. 9. 6, disagreeing with TS. in only one word); they read, for a, etáṁ yúvānam pári (but PGS. patiṁ) vo dadāmi (omitting atra); in b, priyéṇa for váçāṅ ánu; in c, çāpta for hāsiṣṭa; and, for d, rāyás póṣeṇa sám iṣā́ madema (nearly our iii. 15. 8 c). Ppp. agrees with our text, only combining dadhmo ‘tra in a. But for the accent of janúṣā (in TS. also), we might render, with Stenzler, 'ye who are by birth well-portioned.' Bp.R.p.m. have at end of c subhagās. The Anukr. weakly calls the verse (12 + 12: 11 + 11) a jagatī, in spite of the triṣṭubh cadence of its first pāda. It is quoted in Kāuç. 24. 21, to accompany the sending away of an older bull and the release of a new one. ⌊See also note to Kāuç. 25. 24.⌋
⌊Here ends the second anuvāka with 2 hymns and 55 verses. The quoted Anukr. says "sāhasre"⌋