Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book X

Book X.

⌊This tenth book is the third of the second grand division of the Atharvan collection. For a general statement as to the make-up of the books of this division, reference should again be made to page 471. The Old Anukramaṇī describes the length of hymns 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 by giving the overplus of each hymn over 30 verses. The assumed normal length in the case of book ix. seems to be 20 verses. The whole book has been translated by Victor Henry, Les livres X, XI, et XII de l'Atharva-veda traduits et commentés, Paris, 1896. The bhāṣya again is lacking. There are no paryāya-hymns in this book.⌋

⌊The anuvāka-division of the book (as noted above, page 472) is into five anuvākas of two hymns each. The "decad"-division likewise is as described on page 472. A tabular conspectus for this book also may be acceptable:

Anuvākas	1		2		3		4		5
	$\scriptstyle {\overbrace {\quad \quad \quad \quad \quad } }$		$\scriptstyle {\overbrace {\quad \quad \quad \quad \quad } }$		$\scriptstyle {\overbrace {\quad \quad \quad \quad \quad } }$		$\scriptstyle {\overbrace {\quad \quad \quad \quad \quad } }$		$\scriptstyle {\overbrace {\quad \quad \quad \quad \quad } }$
Hymns	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Verses	32	33	25	26	50	35	44	44	27	34
Decad-div.	10+10+12	10+10+13	10+10+5	10+10+5	5 tens	3 tens+5	3 tens+14	3 tens+14	10+10+7	10+10+14

Sum of verses, 350. The sum of "decad"-sūktas is 35. In this book, therefore, the average length of the "decad"-sūktas is precisely 10 verses.⌋

Hymn- number		Page
X. Book the tenth
1	Against witchcraft and its practisers	562
2	The wonderful structure of man	567
3	With an amulet of varaṇá	572
4	Against snakes and their poison	575
5	Preparation and use of water-thunderbolts (largely prose)	579
6	With an amulet	585
7	Mystic: on the skambhá or frame of creation	589
8	Mystic	595
9	With the offering of a cow and a hundred rice-dishes	602
10	Extolling the cow (vaçā́)	605