Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book VI/Hymn 65

65. For success against enemies.

[Atharvan (?).—cāndram utāi ”ndram; pārāçaryam. ānuṣṭubham: 1. pathyāpan̄kti.]

Found also (vss. 1, 2) in Pāipp. xix. Used by Kāuç. (14. 7), with i. 2, 19-21, vi. 66, 67, 97-99, in a rite for victory over enemies; belongs (note to 14.7) to the aparājita gaṇa.

Translated: Ludwig, p. 372; Griffith, i. 281.

1. Down (áva) [be] the fury, down the drawn [arrow], down the two mind-yoked arms. O demolisher (parāçará), do thou vex (ard) away the vehemence (çúṣma) of them; then get us wealth.

One can hardly help emending manyús in a to dhánus 'bow.' For ā́yatā used pregnantly of an arrow ready to be launched, cf. vi. 38. 4 and xi. 2. 1 and vi. 66. 2. The combined idea of crushing and removing in parāçara cannot be briefly rendered; the comm. regards it as an epithet of Indra. For adhā nas in e, Ppp- reads better arvāñcam, as antithesis to parāñcam; the comm. has atha instead of adha.

2. The handless shaft, O gods, which ye cast at the handless ones—I hew [off] the arms of the foes with this oblation.

Apparently the oblation itself is the "shaft," called 'handless' (nāirhastá) because it makes 'handless' (nírhasta): so the comm. Ppp. has for second half-verse our 3 c, d. Our second half-verse is identical with iii. 19, 2 c, d, above.

3. Indra made the handless one first for the Asuras. Let my warriors conquer by means of stanch Indra as ally (medín).

The last half-verse, as noted above, is found in Ppp. as 2 c, d.