Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book V/Hymn 28
28. With an amulet of three metals: for safety etc.
[Atharvan.—caturdaçarcam. trivṛddevatyam (agnyādīn mantroktān devān samprārthya trivṛtam astāut). trāiṣṭubham: 6. 5-p. atiçakvarī; 7, 9, 10, 12. kakummatyanuṣṭubh; 13. purauṣṇih.]
⌊The second half of 1 is prose.⌋ Found also (except vs. 2 and vss. 12-14) in Pāipp. ii. Used by Kāuç. twice, in company with i. 9 and i. 35, in a ceremony (11. 19) for obtaining one's desires and in one (52. 20) for winning splendor; and vss. i, 12-14 in one (58. 10, 11) for gaining length of life.
Translated: Ludwig, p. 387; Griffith, i. 234; Weber, xviii. 271.
1. Nine breaths with nine he combines (? sam-mā), in order to length of life for a hundred autumns; in the yellow (hárita), three; in silver, three; in iron (? áyas), three—enveloped with fervor.
'Yellow,' doubtless 'gold.' Ppp. reads rajasā for tapasā in d. The second half-verse can hardly be called anything but prose, though the Anukr. takes it as good triṣṭubh meter. It appears doubtful whether this verse belongs with the rest, and whether the nine prāṇagrahas, or the nine verses of the trivṛt stoma, are not rather intended in it.
2. Fire, sun, moon, earth, waters, sky, atmosphere, directions, and quarters, they of the seasons in concord with the seasons—let them rescue (pāray) me by this triple one.
The verse, as was noted above, is wanting in Ppp. One and another ms., here as later, reads tṛvṛ́t. To fill out the meter of c we have to make the harsh and unusual resolution of the first ā of ārtavās.
3. Let three abundances (póṣa) resort to the triple one; let Pūshan anoint it with milk, with ghee; affluence of food, affluence of man (púruṣa), affluence of cattle—let these resort hither.
Ppp. reads in a trivṛtaç; in c anyasya, and bhāumā both times (bhū- in d). We need in a to resolve tṛ-ayaḥ.
4. O Ādityas, sprinkle this man well with good (vásu); O Agni, do thou, thyself increasing, increase him; unite him, O Indra, with heroism; let the prospering triple one resort to him.
Ppp. has, for c, d, yasmin trivṛc chetāṁ pūṣayiṣṇur imam etc. (our c). Our mss. vary at the end between poṣayiṣṇú and -ṇúḥ, the majority having -ṇúḥ (only B.O.I, -ṇú); our text should be emended to -ṇúḥ. ⌊But SPP. reads -ṇú and notes no variants.⌋ The Anukr., as usual, does not note that a is a jagatī pāda.
5. Let earth, the all-bearing, protect thee with the yellow one; let Agni rescue [thee] in accord with the iron; let the silver one (árjuna), in concord with the plants, bestow (dhā) on thee dexterity, with favoring mind.
Ppp. reads in c vīrudbhis te arjuno saṁ-. The meter is like that of verse 4.
6. Triply born by birth [is] this gold: one was Agni's dearest; one fell away of Soma when injured; one they call the seed of devout waters; let that triple gold be thine in order to life-time.
Instead of vedhásām in d, a much easier reading would be vedhásas nom. (as tacitlyemended by Ludwig); and this is favored by Ppp., which has vedaso retā ”hus; it further gives in e trivṛtāstu te. With bcd compare TB. i. 1. 38. The name atiçakvarī given to the verse by the Anukr. demands 60 syllables, but only 57 (11 + 11 + 12: 11 + 12) can be fairly counted.
7. Triple life-time of Jamadagni, Kaçyapa's triple life-time, sight of the immortal (amṛ́ta) triply, three life-times have I made for thee.
Ppp. reads triyāyuṣam; and, at the end, nas kṛdhi for te ‘karam. JUB. iv. 3. 1 has this version: triyāyuṣaṁ kaçyapasya jamadagnes triyāyuṣam: trīṇy amṛtasya puṣpāṇi trīṇ āyūṅṣi me ‘kṛṇoḥ; and several of the Gṛhya-Sūtras (ÇGS. i. 28; HGS. i. 9. 6; ⌊MP. ii. 7. 2; MGS. i. 1. 24 (cf. p. 150)⌋; MB. i. 6. 8) give the first half-verse, with a different ending; ⌊also VS. iii. 62. GGS. ii. 9. 21 gives the pratīka.⌋ There is no reason for calling the meter kakummatī.
8. When the three eagles (suparṇá) went with the triple one, becoming, mighty ones (çakrá), a single syllable, they bore back death along with (sākám) the immortal, warding off (antar-dhā) all difficulties.
'Warding off,' literally 'interposing [something between] themselves [and]'; 'along with,' doubtless = 'by means of' (cf. vii. 53. 1: xii. 2. 29). 'Single syllable,' or 'the one indissoluble': probably the syllable om is intended.
9. From the sky let the yellow one protect thee; from the midst let the silver one protect thee; from the earth let that made of iron protect [thee]; this [man] hath gone forward to strongholds of the gods.
Ppp. combines at the end -purā ’yam. This verse also is called kakummatī by the Anukr. without any reason.
10. These [are] three strongholds of the gods; let them defend thee on all sides; bearing these, do thou, possessing splendor, become superior to them that hate thee.
It needs only the usual resolution tu-ám in c to make this verse a regular anuṣṭubh.
11. The stronghold of the gods, deathless (amṛ́ta) gold, what god first bound on in the beginning, to him I pay homage, [my] ten extended [fingers]; let him approve my binding-on the triple one.
Ppp. has at the end trivṛtā vadhena. The translation implies in d the reading manyatām, which is given in our edition, though against part of the mss., that read manyantām. ⌊'Let him (or it) assent to my binding-on,' dative infinitive.⌋
12. Let Aryaman fasten (cṛt) thee on, let Pūshan, let Brihaspati; what is the name of the day-born one, therewith we fasten thee over.
For the obscure third pāda compare iii. 14. 1. The verse is a regular anuṣṭubh, if b is properly read, as ā́ pūṣā́ ā́ bṛ́haspátiḥ (so the pada-text). This and the two following verses, which are not found in Ppp., seem to be independent of what precedes.
13. Thee with the seasons, with them of the seasons; thee unto lifetime, unto splendor; with the brilliancy of the year—with that we make [thee] of closed jaw (? sáṁhanu).
The verse is repeated as xix. 37.4 ⌊in our ed.; but SPP's repeats iii. 10. 10 instead⌋. It is found also in HGS. i. 11. 2, with tvā omitted at the end of b, and, for c, d, saṁvatsarasya dhāyasā tena sann anu gṛhṇāsi! this gives us no help toward understanding the obscure last pāda; the translation implies emendation to sáṁhanum, and understands the verse as directed against involuntary opening of the jaws (divaricatio maxillae inferioris): cf. viii. 1. 16. The Anukr. foolishly calls the verse a purauṣṇih.
14. Snatched (lup) out of ghee, anointed over with honey, fixing the earth, unmoved, rescuing, splitting [our] rivals, and putting them down, do thou ascend me in order to great good-fortune.
The verse agrees nearly with xix. 33. 2. The mss. read bhindánt (p. bhindán) for bhindát in c. A corresponding verse is found in a RV. khila to x. 128: ghṛtād ulluptam madhumat suvarṇaṁ dhanaṁjayaṁ dharuṇaṁ dhārayiṣṇu: ṛṇak sapatnān adharāṅç ca kṛṇvad ā roha mām mahate sāubhagāya. ⌊Given also by von Schroeder, Tübinger Kaṭha-hss., p. 36.⌋