Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book VI/Hymn 36

36. In praise of Agni.

[Atharvan (svastyayanakāmaḥ).—āgneyam. gāyatram.]

Found also, imperfect, in Pāipp. xix., and in other texts, as SV. (ii. 1058-60), etc., mentioned under the several verses. For the use of the hymn with its predecessor by Kāuç. (31. 5), see under the latter.

Translated: Florenz, 296 or 48; Griffith, i. 264.

1. To Vāiçvānara, the righteous, lord of right, of light, we pray for unfailing heat (gharmá).

The Sāman version, as also that in VS. (xxvi. 6), in MS. (iv. 11. 1), and AÇS. (viii. 10. 3), is precisely accordant with ours; that in ÇÇS. (iii. 3. 5) has bhānum instead of gharmám in c.

2. He shaped himself unto all things; he, the controlling one, sends out the seasons, drawing out the vigor (váyas) of the sacrifice.

The verse is corrupt in Ppp., but the second and third pādas in it exchange places, as they do in the SV. version. SV. also reads, for a, yá idám pratipaprathé, and has svàr for váyas in c; it and all the other versions read ṛtū́n; our ṛtū́ṅr is quoted in Prāt. ii. 29, and in the comment to i. 68. The comm. reads in a viçvāḥ and cakṛpe, and some of our authorities (P.I.K.), with the great majority of SPP's, also have víçvāḥ; but SPP. gives víçvā in his text, as we have done. AÇS. (viii. 9. 7) and ÇÇS. (x. 11. 9) read instead viçvam, and cākḷpat. TB. (ii. 4. 1^9-10) makes an anuṣṭubh verse of our 3 b, c and 2 a, b; it reads, for our 2 a, sá idám práti paprathe.

3. Agni, in distant domains, the desire of what is and is to be, bears rule as the one universal ruler.

Or, it may be (so Florenz), 'Agni, as Kāma, rules over what has been and is to be,' etc.; the comm. explains kāmas as kāmayitā kāmaprado vā. SV. (also VS. xii. 117) reads priyéṣu for páreṣu in a; AÇS. (viii. 10.3) has instead pratneṣu. ÇÇS. (iii. 5. 8) has our text without variant; also TB. (see above), in b, c. ⌊Cf. iii. 21. 4 and Muir, v. 403.⌋