Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book VI/Hymn 35

35. Prayer to Agni Vāiçvānara.

[Kāuçika.—viçvānaradāivatam. gāyatram.]

Found also in Pāipp. xix., and in the Çrāuta-Sūtras of Āçvalāyana (viii. 11.4) and Çān̄khāyana (x. 9. 17); the first verse, further, in VS. and MS. This hymn and the one following are called by Kāuç. (31. 5) vāiçvānarīya, and used in a general remedial rite; and verse 35. 2 is reckoned (note to 32. 27) to the aṅholin̄ga gaṇa. In Vāit, hymn 35 appears alone in the agnicayana (29. 5), with i. 21 and vii. 84, accompanying the covering of the first courses of bricks.

Translated: Florenz, 295 or 47; Griffith, i. 264.

1. Let Vāiçvānara, for our aid, come forth hither from the distance—Agni, unto our good praises.

AÇS. has this verse precisely as in our text, and so has VS. at xviii. 72 ⌊and ÇÇS. has the pratīka, a⌋, but VS. xxvi. 8 has again the first two pādas, with agnír ukthéna vā́hasā (see under the next verse) for third; and MS. iii. 16. 4 has the latter version, with the further variant of ūtyā́ prá (i.e., doubtless, útya ā́ prá) at the end of a. Ppp. has the bad reading ūtāyā pra; it further exchanges the third pādas of 1 and 2, and reads as 2 c upe ’māṁ suṣṭutiṁ mama.

2. Vāiçvānara, our ally (sajū́s), hath come unto this our offering—Agni, at our songs, in our distresses.

The two Sūtras have for c agnir ukthena vāhasā (found in VS.MS. in combination with 1 a, b); Ppp., as also noticed above, has for c our 1 c. The translation given implies that áṅhasu (which is read by all the mss. without exception, and is quoted so in the commentary to Prāt. iv. 32) is the same with the usual áṅhaḥsu; no stem áṅhan is found anywhere else; the comm. foolishly explains it by abhigantavyeṣu, adj. to uktheṣu. The translation, moreover, represents the pada-text reading of ā́gamat in a as ā́: agamat; but it seems altogether likely that the true meaning is ā́: gamat 'may he come.'

3. May Vāiçvānara shape the praise and song of the An̄girases; may he extend to them brightness (dyumná) [and] heaven (svàr).

Of the two Sūtras, ÇÇS. supports our cākḷpat (comm. cakṛpat) in sense by reading jījanat; AÇS. has the better reading cākanat 'take pleasure in.' AÇS. also has an̄girobhyas in a (both preserve the a of an̄g-); Ppp. has no an̄girobhis. In b, Ppp. and ÇÇS. have yajñam for uktham; AÇS. has stoma for -mam, and in c omits ā (if it is not a misprint); Ppp. has pra instead of āi ’ṣu.