Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book VI/Hymn 6

6. Against enemies.

[Atharvan.—brāhmaṇaspatyam; sāumyam. ānuṣṭubham.]

Found also in Pāipp. xix. For the use of the hymn by Kāuç. 59. 7, see under the preceding hymn; by Kāuç. 50. 13, see under vi. 1; by Vāit. 16. 9, see under vi. 3.

Translated: Ludwig, p. 430; Florenz, 255 or 7; Griffith, i. 247.

1. Whatever godless one, O Brahmaṇaspati, plots against us—every such one mayest thou make subject to me the sacrificer, the soma-presser.

Ppp. has abhidāsati at end of b.

2. Whatever ill-famed one, O Soma, shall aim at us of good fame, smite upon his face with the thunderbolt; may he go away crushed (sam-piṣ).

Notwithstanding the direct antithesis with duḥçáṅsa, all the mss. in a read susaṅçínas; both editions emend to suçáṅsínas, which is also read by Ppp., and by the commentary. ⌊Unless I misunderstand R's note, Ppp. again reads abhidāsati at end of b. In d, SPP's áyati is a misprint for ayati.⌋

3. Whoever, O Soma, shall assail us, of the same kindred and also a stranger—draw (tṛ) away his strength, like the great sky, even now (?).

Ppp. reads, in a, ye na somā ’bhidāsataḥ. The verse is RV. x. 133. 5, which reads indra for soma in a, áva for ápa in c, and ádha tmánā at the end. For this last, the vadhatmánā (not divided in the pada-text) of all the AV. mss. seems merely an unintelligent corruption (altered in our text to vadha tmánā). The comm., however, naturally makes no difficulty of understanding it as = vadhātmanā (explaining it by açanirūpeṇa) and as qualifying āyudhena understood. The emendation mahī́m ’va would give a better sense: 'as the sky [subjects] the earth.' ⌊To my thinking, it is licit, without emendation, to interpret mahī́va as a correct graphic representation of mahī́m iva with "elision and crasis" (see references under this head in my Noun-Inflection, JAOS. x. 599, and p. 331 top), as in RV. iv. i. 3, ráthyeva = ráthiam iva.⌋