Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book VI/Hymn 57

57. With a certain remedy against disease.

[Çaṁtāti.—1, 2. rāudryāu; anuṣṭubh; 3. ⌊?⌋; pathyābṛhatī.]

Found also in Pāipp. xix. Used by Kāuç. (31. 11) in a healing rite, while treating a bruise ⌊? akṣata: cf. Bloomfield, Introd. p. xliii⌋ with foam of urine; and vs. 3 is reckoned (9. 2) to the bṛhachānti gaṇa, and employed, with vi. 19 etc. (41. 14), in a rite for welfare.

Translated: Griffith, i. 276; Bloomfield, 19, 488.

1. This verily is a remedy; this is Rudra's remedy; wherewith one may spell away (apa-brū) the one-shafted (-téjana), hundred-tipped arrow.

The comm. has at the end upabruvat. He regards the remedy as used against the vraṇaroga, and the arrow of c, d as that of Mahadeva, used tripurasaṁhṛtisamaye.

2. Pour ye on with the jālāṣá; pour in with the jālāṣá; the jālāṣá is a formidable remedy; with it do thou be gracious to us, unto life (jīvás).

Ppp. has, for second half-verse, jālāṣe bhadraṁ bheṣajaṁ tasyo no dehi jīvase, which is better. The comm. reads jal- in all three cases; and it has the RV. form mṛḻa in d; it understands the foam of cows' urine to be intended by jalāṣa ⌊See Bloomfield, AJP. xii. 425⌋.

3. [Be there] both weal for us and kindness (máyas) for us, and let nothing whatever ail (am) us; down with [our] complaint (rápas)! be every remedy ours; be all remedy ours.

Pāda b and the first two words of our c occur at RV. x. 59. 8 e, d, 9 f, e, 10 f, e, where, however, we have mó ṣú te instead of mā́ ca nas, and dyāúḥ pṛthivi before kṣamā́ rápas, making a complete pāda. ⌊Cf. also RV. viii. 20. 26.⌋ The comm. explains kṣamā by kṣāntir upaçamo bhavatu. Our b occurs also elsewhere (as AV. x. 5. 23 c, and RV. ix. 114. 4 d ⌊this time with mó ca nas⌋). The first pāda lacks a syllable ⌊unheeded by the Anukr.: read çáṁ cā́stu no?⌋ . ⌊The Anukr. scans as 7 + 8: 12 + 8: but perhaps the "12-syllabled pāda" contains, as the RV. hints, the damaged remnants of two (8 + 8).⌋ ⌊Ppp. omits our last pāda, sárvam etc.⌋