Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book V/Hymn 1

1. Mystic.

[Bṛhaddiva Atharvan.—navakam. vāruṇam. trāiṣṭubham: 5. (?) parābṛhatī triṣṭubh; 7. virāj; 9. 3-av. 6-p. atyaṣṭi.]

Found also in Pāipp. vi. Much and variously used by Kāuç., but in situations that have nothing to do with the meaning of the hymn, and cast no light upon its difficulties: thus, it is employed with the following hymn in a battle-rite (15. 1), for victory; and the two hymns together again in a ceremony (22. 1) for welfare, while hymns 1 to 3 (and v. 1. 3 separately) are reckoned ⌊19. 1, note⌋ to the puṣṭika mantras; vs. 1 alone (with vi. 17 and another) appears in a ceremony (35. 12) against abortion; vss. 2-9, in one (35. 13 ff.) for the benefit of a person seized by jambha; vs. 3 is further applied in a charm (21. 12) for good-fortune in regard to clothing, vs. 4, in a women's rite (34. 20) for winning a husband; vs. 5 (with iii. 30, vi. 64, etc.) in a rite (12. 5) for harmony; vs. 6, in the nuptial ceremonies (76. 21), on marking seven lines to the north of the fire, and again (79. 1), with an offering at the beginning of the fourth-day observances; vs. 7, in a remedial rite (28. 12) for one in misery (amati), giving him a portion, and again, in the ceremony against false accusation (46. 1), with vii. 43; vs. 8 in a rite for prosperity (21. 15), on occasion of the division of an inheritance; and vs. 9, later (21. 17) in the last-mentioned ceremony.

The hymn is intentionally and most successfully obscure, and the translation given is in great part mechanical, not professing any real understanding of the sense. It is very probable that the text is considerably corrupted; and one cannot avoid the impression also that the lines are more or less disconnected, and artificially combined.

Translated: Ludwig, p. 394; Griffith, i. 187; Weber, xviii. 157.

1. He who came to (ā-bhū) the womb (yóni) with a special sacred text (? ṛ́dhan̄mantra), of immortal spirit (-ásu), increasing, of good birth, of unharmed spirit, shining like the days—Trita the maintainer maintained three (trí, neuter).

The Pet. Lexx. render ṛ́dhan̄mantra by "lacking speech"; Ludwig, by "of distinguished meditation." Ahe ’va (p. áhā॰iva) is perhaps rather to be understood as áhaḥ॰iva. Ppp. puts sujanmā in b before vardhamānas. As elsewhere, part of our mss. (Bp.p.m.P.M.W.) read tṛtás in d. The last pāda is two syllables short, the Anukr. taking no notice of the deficiency.

2. He who first attained to (ā-sad) the ordinances (dhárman) makes thence many wondrous forms; eager (? dhāsyú) he first entered the womb (yóni), he who understood (ā-cit) speech unspoken.

In b the translation follows Ppp., which reads kṛṇute for -uṣe; Ppp. also has a different c, yaç ca yoniṁ prathamā ”viveça; and it ends d with anucitāṁ jigāya.

3. He who left (ric) [his] body to thy heat (çóka), flows the gold; his [men] are bright (çúci) after; there they (two) assume (dhā) immortal names; let the clans (víç) send garments for us.

The first pāda might equally mean "he who left thy body (self) to the heat." In b, kṣárat might equally be pres. pple. qualifying híraṇyam. In d the translation assumes the reading asmé instead of asmāí; nearly all the mss. have the former (p. asmé íti; P.M.W. have asmāí, but doubtless only by the not infrequent error of substituting āi for e), and our understanding of the sense is too defective to justify emendations; Ppp., however, has asmi. In c, Ppp. reads atra dadhṛṣe ‘mṛt-. The Kāuç. use of the verse appears to be derived only from the occurrence of vástrāṇi in d.

4. When these formerly went further forth, approaching each unfading seat—the poet of the dry (? çuṣá), the two licking mothers—do ye (two) send for the sister (jāmí) a capable (dhúrya) spouse.

The translation is, of course, simple nonsense. None of ⌊our⌋ mss. accent gus in a; P.M. accent pūrvyàm before it; one (T.) combines -nto ‘juryám in b.

5. This great homage, verily, to thee, O broad-going one, do I a poet make with poesy (kā́vya); when the two (m.), going united (samyáñc) against the earth (kṣā́), [then] increase here the (two) great bank-wheeled (? ródhacakra) ones (f.).

"Bank-wheeled," i.e. rolling on between their banks. Tát in our text (beginning of c) is a misprint for yát. Prāt. iii. 4 determines ū; ii. 97 determines ṣú; vāvṛdhéte (p. vav-) is by iii. 13. The Kāuç. use of the verse seems suggested simply by samyáñcāu. The irregular verse (9 + 11: 11 + 12 = 43) is very imperfectly defined by the Anukr. ⌊The London ms. of the Anukr. is here in disorder: and perhaps we ought to read puro-bṛhatī for parā-.⌋

6. Seven bourns (maryā́dā) did the poets fashion; unto one of these verily went one distressed; in the nest of the nearest (upamá) community (? āyú) stood the pillar (skambhá), at the release (visargá) of the roads, in the supports (dharúṇa).

The verse is a RV. one, from a mystic and obscure hymn (x. 5. 6); RV. puts íd after ékām in b, and in c accents upamásya nīḍé, which alone is acceptable; all our mss. give úpamasya, which our edition follows; and all save one (D.) read nīḍe without accent, which we emended to nīḍé. Ppp. gives in b tāsām anekām, and omits, probably by an oversight, the second half-verse. "The life of mankind is compared to a racetrack, on which the gods have marked many (seven) stations; each generation (yuga) reaches only one such goal, getting as far as the place where the next begins; there its road terminates." R.

7. Also, of immortal spirit, vowed (? vráta), I go performing; spirit, soul, of the body then (? tát) with kine (? sumádgu); and either the mighty one (çakrá) assigns treasure, or as the oblation-giver pursues (? sac) with refreshment.

This verse and vs. 5 ⌊4?⌋ are the most utterly hopeless of the hymn; even the conjectures of the comm. respecting them would be welcome. Ludwig renders sumádgu by "erfreut gegangen." For b, Ppp. reads asurāṣ pūtas svadhayā samadgu; in c, vā jyeṣṭho ratnā. Vā́ in c in our text is a misprint for vā. The verse lacks only one syllable of being a full triṣṭubh, and that deficiency might be made up by reading either çakrás or rátnam as trisyllabic. ⌊A barytone vráta is unknown elsewhere.⌋

8. Also son prays (? īḍ) father for dominion; they called for well-being him of the chief bourn (?); may they see now, O Varuṇa, those that are thy shapes (viṣṭhā́); mayest thou make wondrous forms of the one much rolling hither.

The translation implies emendation in b to the compound jyeṣṭhámaryādam,* i.e. 'him who has received the best domain.' In d our āvárvṛtatas is for the -rvrat- of all the mss.; it can hardly be that the text of this pāda is not further corrupt. The verbs in c, d are augmentless forms, and may, of course, be rendered indicatively. Ppp- begins the verse with putro vā yat pit-, and ends b with svasti. The Kāuç. use of this verse and the next is apparently founded on the occurrence in them of "son" and "father" and "half." The second pāda is properly jagatī. *⌊No ms. has -dām.⌋

9. Half with half milk thou mixest (? pṛç); with half, O Asura (?), thou increasest [thy] vehemence (?). We have increased the helpful (çagmíya) companion, Varuṇa, lively (iṣirá) son of Aditi; poet-praised wondrous forms have we spoken for him—the (two) firmaments (ródasī) of true speech.

This translation implies several emendations (or, at least, alterations): in b, çúṣmam, which Ppp. has, instead of the vocative çuṣma, and asura, again with Ppp. (perhaps better amūra* 'not foolish'? cf. 11. 5, below); in c, ávīvṛdhāma, which also Ppp. gives, while one or two of our mss. offer ávi॰vṛdhāma (D.) and avivṛdhāma (Kp.). In f ought to be accented ávocāma; the pada-mss., as elsewhere in such cases, mark the pāda-division after the word, thus reckoning it to e, which is obviously wrong. Some of our mss. (O.D.K.) accent in a pṛṇákṣi, which is the better reading, the case being one of antithetical accent. Ppp. further has çavasā for payasā in a, vardhayase ‘sura in b, aditer in d, and -vācāu at the end. The verse (11 + 11: 11 + 11: 10 (9?) + 11 = 65 [64?]) is more nearly an aṣṭi than an atyaṣṭi. *⌊This is given by some of SPP's authorities.⌋