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Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book V

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1326356Atharva-Veda Samhita — Book VWilliam Dwight Whitney

Book V.

⌊The fifth book is made up of thirty-one hymns, divided into six anuvāka-groups, with five hymns in each group save the fourth, which has six hymns. The Old Anukramaṇī appears to take 60 verses as the norm of an anuvāka. The number of verses in each hymn ranges from 8 to 18. The Major Anukramaṇī assumes 8 verses as the normal length of a hymn of this book (see p. 142); but there are only two such hymns ("hymns" 9 and 10, both prose!). In fact,

There are in this book, 2 4 2 6 5 3 3 3 2 1 hymns,
Containing respectively 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 verses.

The entire book has been translated by Weber, Indische Studien, vol. xviii. (1898), pages 154-288. This is the first book to which the native commentary is missing.⌋

Hymn-
number
Page

V. Book the fifth

1 Mystic 220
2 Mystic 223
3 To various gods : for protection and blessings 224
4 To the plant kúṣṭha: against tahmán ⌊fever⌋ 227
5 To a healing plant, lāhṣā 228
6 ? ⌊Disconnected verses⌋ 230
7 Against niggardliness and its effects 232
8 Against enemies: to Indra and other gods 233
9 For protection: to various gods 235
10 For defense from all quarters 236
11 ⌊Dialogue between⌋ Varuṇa and Atharvan 236
12 Āprī-hymn: to various divinities 239
13 Against snakes' poison 242
14 Against witchcraft: with a plant 244
15 For exorcism: to a plant 246
16 Exorcism 247
17 The Brahman's wife 247
18 The Brahman's cow 250
19 The Brahman's cow 252
20 To the war-drum 254
21 To the war-drum 257
22 Against fever (takmán) 259
23 Against worms 261
24 To various gods as overlords 263
25 For successful conception 265
26 Accompanying a sacrifice 267
27 Āprī-hymn: to various divinities 269
28 With an amulet of three metals: for safety etc 272
29 To Agni: against demons 274
30 To lengthen out some one's life 276
31 Against witchcraft 278