Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book VI/Hymn 117

117. For relief from guilt or debt.

[Kāuçika (anṛṇakāmaḥ).—āgneyam. trāiṣṭubham.]

Found also in Pāipp. xvi. The hymn ⌊not 1 cd, 2 cd⌋ occurs in TB. (iii. 7. 9^8-9), and parts of it elsewhere, see under the verses. ⌊For 1 and 3, see also v. Schroeder, Tübinger Kaṭha-hss., p. 70 and 61.⌋ Hymns 117-119 are used in Kāuç. (133. 1) in the rite in expiation of the portent of the burning of one's house; and Keç. (to Kāuç. 46. 36) quotes them as accompanying the satisfaction of a debt after the death of a creditor, by payment to his son or otherwise; the comm. gives (as part of the Kāuç. text) the pratīka of 117. ⌊For the whole anuvāka, see under h. 114.⌋ In Vāit. (24. 15), in the agniṣṭoma, h. 117 goes with the burning of the vedi.

Translated: Ludwig, p. 444; Griffith, i. 309.

1. What I eat (?) that is borrowed, that is not given back; with what tribute of Yama I go about—now, O Agni, I become guiltless (anṛṇá) as to that; thou knowest how to unfasten all fetters.

The translation implies emendation of ásmi to ádmi in a; this is suggested by jaghasa in vs. 2, and is adopted by Ludwig also; but possibly apratīttam asmi might be borne as a sort of careless vulgar expression for "I am guilty of non-payment." More or less of the verse is found in several other texts, with considerable variations of reading: thus TS. (iii. 3. 8^1-2), TA. (ii. 3. 1⁸), and MS. (iv. 14. 17) have pādas a, b, c (as a, b, d in TS.); in a, all with yát kúsīdam for apamítyam and without asmi, and TA.MS. with ápratītam, and TS. ending with máyi (for yát), and TA.MS. with máye ’há; in b, all put yéna before yamásya, and TA.MS. have nidhínā for balínā, while MS. ends with cárāvas; in c (d in TS.), all read etát for idám, and MS. accents ánṛṇas (c in TS. is ihāt ’vá sán nirávadaye tát: cf. our 2 a); d in TA. is jī́vann evá práti tát te dadhāmi, with which MS. nearly agrees, but is corrupt at the end: j.e.p. hastā́nṛṇāni. TB. (iii. 7. 9⁸) corresponds only in the first half-verse (with it precisely agrees ĀpÇS. in xiii. 22, 5): thus, yā́ny apāmítyāny ápratīttāny ásmi yamásya balínā cárāmi; its other half-verse corresponds with our 2 a, b. MB. (ii. 3. 20) has yat kusīdam apradattam maye ’ha yena yamasya nidhinā carāṇi: idaṁ tad agne anṛṇo bhavāmi jīvann eva pratidatte dadāni. ⌊This suggests bhavāni as an improvement in our c.⌋ Finally GB. (ii. 4. 8) quotes the pratīka in this form: yat kusīdam apamityam apratītam. Ppp. reads for a, b apamṛtyum apratītaṁ yad asininnasyena, etc., and, for d, jīvanna ena prati dadāmi sarvam (nearly as TA. d, above). The comm. takes balinā as = balavatā.

2. Being just here we give it back; living, we pay it in (ni-hṛ) for the living; what grain I have devoured having borrowed [it], now, O Agni, I become guiltless as to that.

With the first half-verse nearly agrees TB. (as above; also ĀpÇS., as above), which reads, however, tád yātayāmas for dadma enat. The comm. has dadhmas for dadmas in a; he explains ni harāmas by nitarāṁ niyamena vā ’pākurmaḥ. Ppp. has etat at end of a; in c, apamṛtyu again, also (c, d) jaghāsā agnir mā tasmād anṛṇaṁ kṛṇotu. Apamítyam in this verse also would be a more manageable form, as meaning 'what is to be measured (or exchanged) off,' i.e. in repayment. Jaghā́sa in our text is a misprint for -ghás-.

3. Guiltless in this [world], guiltless in the higher, guiltless in the third world may we be; the worlds traversed by the gods and traversed by the Fathers—all the roads may we abide in guiltless.

The verse is found in TB. (iii. 7. 9^8-9), TA. (ii. 15⁴), and ĀpÇS. (xiii. 22. 5), with -miṅs tṛ- at junction of a and b (except in TB. as printed), with utá inserted before pitṛyā́ṇās and ca lokā́s omitted after it (thus rectifying the meter, of which the Anukr. ignores the irregularity), and with kṣīyema (bad) at the end. Anṛṇá means also 'free from debt or obligation'; there is no English word which (like German schuldlos) covers its whole sense. The comm. points out that it has here both a sacred and a profane meaning, applying to what one owes to his fellow-men, and what duties to the gods. Ppp. combines anṛṇā ’smin in a, and has the readings of TB. etc. in c, and adīma for ā kṣiyema at the end.