Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book XIV/Hymn 1
1. Marriage ceremonies.
The hymn (except vss. 4, 62, which are wanting altogether, and 41, 42, which occur in other books) is found also in Pāipp. xviii., with petty differences of order, noted under the verses. A large part of the anuvāka or hymn corresponds to the wedding hymn (x. 85) in the Rig-Veda. The Vāit. does not treat the marriage ceremony, and only four or five of the verses of the book are quoted by it; but a large part of them are used in the sections (75-79) of the Kāuç. which deal with the subject.
Translated: in so far as it corresponds to RV. verses, by the RV. translators; further, the parts that are peculiar to our text, by Ludwig, p. 470; and, as AV. hymn, all of it, by Weber, Ind. Stud. v. 195-204 (see 178 ff.); Griffith, ii. 159.—-A large part of the wedding-hymn is given in my Sanskrit Reader, pages 89-90: the notes thereon (at pages 389-390) may be consulted, and also the notes at pages 398-401.
1. By truth is the earth established (ut-stabh); by the sun is the sky established; by righteousness the Ādityas stand; Soma is set (çritá) upon the sky.
The verse is RV. x. 85. 1, without variant. The pada-text also reads úttabhitā, by Prāt. iv. 62, the s being omitted by ii. 18. Kāuç. directs vss. 1 and 23 to be used in preparing the sacrificial fire, at the beginning of the chapter on the marriage-rites (75. 6: according to the comm., vss. 1-16 are meant, and 23-24); and again, near the end of the chapter (79. 16), the whole book is directed to be so used. ⌊Ppp. has satvena for satyena at the beginning.⌋ ⌊Cf. MP. i. 6. 1, and Wint., p. 66.⌋
2. By Soma are the Ādityas strong; by Soma is the earth great; likewise in the lap of these asterisms is Soma placed (ā-dhā).
Is RV. X. 85. 2, without variant. ⌊Cf. MP. i. 9. 2; Wint., p. 74; MGS. i. 14. 8 and p. 157.⌋
3. One thinks himself to have drunk Soma when they crush up an herb; what Soma the priests (brahmán) know, of that no earthly man partakes.
RV. (x. 85. 3) reads at the end káç caná for pā́rthivas. In b, Bs.P.M.W.T. read -piṣanti, D. -pīṣanti; Ppp. has -piçanti. The pratīka is quoted in GB. i. 2.9 ⌊printed 8⌋.
4. When, O Soma, they drink thee ⌊up⌋, then thou fillest thyself up again; Vāyu is Soma's defender; the month is norm (ā́kṛti) of the years (sámā).
RV. (x. 85. 5) reads deva for soma in a. The verse (as noted above) is wanting in Ppp.
5. Guarded by covering-arrangements, defended by watchmen (?? bárhata), O Soma, thou standest hearing the pressing-stones; no earthly one partakes of thee.
Is RV. X. 85. 4, without variant. All this talk about the moon as identical with Soma at the beginning of the Sūryā-hymn seems very meaningless unless Sūryā is really the moon, who every month "goes to" her spouse the sun.
6. Intention (cítti) was the pillow, sight was the ointment, heaven [and] earth were the coffer (kóça), when Sūryā went to her husband.
Is RV. x. 85. 7, without variant.
7. The rāíbhī was the parting [song] (?? anudéyī), the nārāçaṅsī́ was the welcoming one (? nyócanī); Sūryā's garment verily was excellent; she goes adorned with song (gā́thā).
Is RV. x. 85. 6, which reads at the end páriṣkṛtam (p. pári॰kṛtam) for páriṣkṛtā (which our p. and s. both have). The translation given ventures new conjectures for anudéyī (lit. 'to be given after') and nyócanī (lit. 'making wonted or at home'); the Pet. Lexx. say 'dowry' ⌊so BR. iii. 569, OB. i. 52: but cf. BR. i. 205 and v. 987⌋ and 'ornament'; Ludwig 'vom Hause mitgegeben' and '[ins neue Haus] einführend'; Weber, 'train' and 'hand-maid.'
8. The laudations (stóma) were the cross-pieces (?? pratidhí); meter was the kurī́ra, the opaçá; of Sūryā the Açvins were the wooers, Agni was the forerunner.
Is RV. x. 85. 8, without variant. For kurī́ra and opaçá, women's head-dresses or parts of such, compare vi. 138. In this connection the commentators' explanation of pratidhí "cross-pieces on the chariot-pole" is extremely unlikely; it must rather be some article of a woman's dress. Ppp. reads and combines paridhayaṣ k-.
9. Soma was the bride-seeker; both Açvins were wooers, when Savitar gave to her husband Sūryā, praising (çaṅs) with her mind.
Is RV. x. 85. 9, without variant, save that our pada-mss. falsely leave adadāt unaccented. 'Praising,' apparently 'assenting gladly.' Ppp. reads at end ‘dadhāt.
10. Mind was her cart; heaven also was [its] canopy; the two draft-oxen were white (çukrá), when Sūryā went to her husband.
RV. (x. 85. 10) has at end gṛhám instead of pátim.
11. Haltered with verse (ṛ́c) and chant (sā́man), thy two oxen went peaceful (? sāmaná); ears were thy (two) wheels; in the sky the wandering track.
Abhíhita seems to be the correlative to abhidhānī. Our 'ears' (p. çrótre íti) is a bad variant to RV. (x. 85. 11) çrótram, 'hearing.' RV. also has in b itas for āitām. We have to gain in c a syllable by harsh resolution in order to make a full pāda. Ppp. reads in a upahitāu.
12. Clean were the (two) wheels of thee as thou wentest; out-breathing (vyāná) was the inserted axle; a cart made of mind did Sūryā ascend when going forth to her husband.
Is RV. x. 85. 12, without variant. The pada-reading manasmayam in c is by Prāt. iv. 24. ⌊Here Roth's Collation says "çacī wie Vulgata"!⌋
13. The bridal (vahatú) of Sūryā, which Savitar sent off (ava-sṛj), has gone forth; in the Maghās are slain the kine; in the Phalgunīs is the wedding.
RV. (x. 85. 13) reads in c aghā́su* ⌊Ppp. has the same⌋, and hanyante without the antithetical accent which all our mss. give, and which our text ought to read, and, for d, árjunyoḥ páry uhyate. The Maghā stars are what we call the Sickle, in the neck of Leo; the Phalgunī stars are the rectangle β, θ, δ 93 Leonis; arjunī = phalgunī; the moon is in the latter either one or two days after it is in the former.† From such utterly indefinite data the attempt to extract a date is wasted labor. 'Is the wedding': vy ùhyate is the verb corresponding to vivāha 'wedding,' lit. 'driving away'; Ppp. reads instead vi havyate. The second half-verse is quoted in Kāuç. 75. 5, in the general definition of the time for wedding. ⌊With reference to this much-discussed verse, see: Weber, in Abh. der Berliner Ak. for 1861 (Nakṣatra-essay), p. 364, and in Sb. for 1894, p. 804; Jacobi, Festgruss an Roth, p. 69; Wint., p. 32.⌋
*⌊Weber discusses the readings aghā́su and maghā́su, and deems the RV. reading to be in this case the secondary one: Sb. 1894, p. 807.⌋ †⌊Concerning these asterisms (no's 10, and 11, 12) see Whitney, JAOS. vi. 332-4, or Oriental and Linguistic Studies, ii. 352-3. It is not impertinent to note that the regents of the Phalgunīs are Bhaga and Aryaman, and that those of the Maghās are the Manes. For the latter, cf. TB. iii. 1. 48: só ‘tra juhoti: pitṛ́bhyaḥ svā́hā, maghā́bhyaḥ svā́hā, ’naghā́bhyaḥ svā́hā, gadā́bhyaḥ svā́hā, ’rundhatī́bhyaḥ svā́he, ’ti; but better TS. iv. 4. 10.⌋
14. When, O Açvins, ye went asking, with your three-wheeled [chariot], to Sūryā's bridal, where was one wheel of yours? where stood ye for pointing out?
The verse corresponds, without variant, to RV. x. 85. 14 a, b and 15 c, d. The sense of the questions is wholly obscure.
15. When ye went, O lords of beauty, unto the wooing of Sūryā, all the gods assented to that [deed] of yours; Pūshan as son chose a father.
This verse, again, corresponds to parts of two in the RV., namely x. 85. 15 a, b and 14 c, d; the only variant is that RV. reads pitárāu for -ram in d, and Ppp. pitarā ’vṛ-, which doubtless means the same. Metrically the verse is as much virāj as vs. 14.
16. The two wheels of thee, O Sūryā, the priests (brahmán) know seasonably; further, the one wheel that is in secret—that, verily, the enlightened (addhātí) know.
Is RV. x. 85. 16. All our mss. accent in a sū́rye and in d ⌊all save D.⌋ vidúḥ; our edition corrects both words to accordance with RV. Close correspondence with RV. x. 85 ceases with vs. 16, at the end of the Sūryā-hymn proper. ⌊SPP. reads sū́rye with all his authorities, and vidúḥ with nearly all. He adds: "the correction to viduḥ is not inevitable." But I do not see how the accented form is to be rendered.⌋
17. We make offering to Aryaman of good connections, husband-finder; like a gourd from its bond, from here I release, not from yonder.
This verse is found as RV. vii. 59. 12, a late and ungenuine appendage to that hymn, and having no pada-text; its reading is very different, namely: tryàmbakaṁ yajāmahe sugándhim puṣṭivárdhanam: urvārukám iva bándhanān mṛtyór mukṣīya mā́ ’mṛ́tāt; and with this agree TS. (i. 8. 62) and MS. (i. 10. 4), except that they accent sugandhím in b; VS. (iii. 60) has tryàmbakam in a; for b, sugandhím pativédanam; for d, itó mukṣīya mā́ ’mútaḥ. Ppp. has at end muñca mā ‘mutaḥ. Vāit. 9. 19 quotes the RV. verse in the cāturmāsya ceremony, giving the text in full; Kāuç. 75. 22 makes our verse accompany an oblation offered when the wooer comes in. The Anukr. takes no notice of the redundant syllable in c (read -kám ’va). ⌊For 17, 18, cf. MP. i. 5. 7, and Wint., p. 56.⌋
18. I release [her] from here, not from yonder; I make her well-bound yonder, that she, O gracious Indra, may be rich in sons, well-portioned.
Is RV. x. 85. 25, without variant ⌊save that our text does not give muñcāmi the antithetical accent⌋. Prāt. ii. 65 teaches the combination -tas karam. Ppp. begins pre ’to muñcata mā ’mutah. The mantrapāṭha ⌊MP. i. 4. 5⌋ of the Āpastamba Gṛhya-Sūtra (see Winternitz, Altind. Hochzeitsrituell etc., p. 54) has a varying version, reading in a muñcā́ti mā́ ⌊Oxford text ná⌋, and in b karat.
19. I release thee from Varuṇa's fetter, with which the very propitious Savitar bound thee; in the lair (yóni) of righteousness, in the world of the well-done, be it pleasant for thee accompanied by the wooer (-sambhalá).
20. Let Bhaga lead thee hence, grasping thy hand; let the Açvins carry thee forth by a chariot; go to the houses, that thou mayest be housewife; thou, having control, shalt speak unto the council.
RV. (x. 85. 26) begins with pūṣā́ instead of bhágas. In Kāuç. (76. 10) the verse accompanies the leading of the bride out of her house.
21. Let what is dear succeed (sam-ṛdh) here for thy progeny; watch thou over this house in order to housewife-ship; mingle thy self (tanū́) with this husband; then shalt thou in advanced age speak to the council.
RV. (x. 85. 27) reads in a prajáyā (as does also Ppp.), and in c-d sṛjasvā́ ’dhā jívrī viddátham ā́ vadāthaḥ. Our d is the same with viii. 1. 6 d above, and our mss. here also read jírvis (except Bs.I., jívis), which ought to have been adopted in our text. The Āpastamba text (Winternitz, p. 74 ⌊MP. i. 9. 4⌋) has jīvrī. The verse, with several others, is quoted in Kāuç. 77. 20 in connection with the bride^s entering her new abode. The verse lacks two syllables of being a full jagatī. ⌊Vs. discussed by Bloomfield, JAOS. xix.2 14; cf. Baunack, KZ. xxxv. 495, 499.⌋
22. Be ye (two) just here; be not separated; attain your whole lifetime, sporting with sons [and] grandsons, rejoicing, well-homed.
RV. (x. 85. 42) reads své gṛhé instead of svastakāú, and Ppp. has the same. Ppp. also has dīrgham for viçvam in b. ⌊Cf. MP. 1. 8. 8 and note.⌋
23. These two move on one after the other by magic; two sporting young ones go about the ocean; the one looks abroad upon all beings; thou, the other, disposing the seasons art born new.
24. Ever new art thou, being born; sign of the days, thou goest to the apex of the dawns; thou disposest to the gods their share as thou comest; thou extendest, O moon, a long life-time.
These two verses are repeated here from vii. 81. 1, 2; ⌊see the notes to those verses: also the Anukr. extracts at p. 739, ¶4. which refer vs. 23 to sun and moon and vs. 24 to the moon⌋. Most of verse 23 we had also as xiii. 2. 11. In order to make sure that the two right ones are reproduced, all our mss. read here pūrvāparáṁ návonavaḥ (instead of, as usual, pūrvāparám íti dvé). They are RV. x. 85. 18, 19, and are found also in other texts, as to which and the various readings see the notes to vii. 81. 1, 2. Ppp. has in 23 d (with RV.) jāyate punaḥ, and in 24 (also with RV.) bhavati, eti, and dadhāti (but apparently tirase). In Kāuç. 75. 6, vs. 23 (according to the comm., both 23 and 24) is used with vs. 1; in 79. 28, vs. 64 is allowed instead of vs. 24, in case the latter is not known.
25. Give thou away the çāmulyà; share out goods to the priests (brahmán); it, becoming a walking (padvánt) witchcraft, enters the husband [as] a wife.
26. It becomes blue-red; [as] witchcraft, infection, it is driven away (?); her relations (jñātí) thrive; her husband is bound in bonds.
Is RV. X. 85. 28, without variant. Vy àjyate is translated as coming from root aj instead of añj, 'is smeared.' Pāda a perhaps refers to the bloody discoloration of the garment; d to its ill effects if not duly expiated. The Āp.-text (Wint., p. 67 ⌊MP. i. 6. 8⌋) has for a nīlalohité bhavataḥ, as if the garments were two. RV. and AV. pada-texts have āsaktīḥ undivided.
27. Unlovely becomes [his] body, glistening in that evil way, when the husband wraps his own member with the bride's garment.
RV. (x. 85. 30) reads at the beginning açrīrā́, and at the end -dhítsate; Ppp. also has açrīrā; ⌊and tanus for tanū́s⌋. Most of our mss. (all save P.M.W.) give vā́sasas in c, and this is accordingly more probably to be regarded as the AV. reading. ⌊So SPP. with all his authorities.⌋ ⌊The Berlin ed. has vā́sasā, to accord with the RV.⌋ An̄ga might mean 'body' (so the translators). ⌊For vss. 27, 28, 29, cf. respectively MP. i. 17. 8, 10, 9, and see Wint., p. 100.⌋
28. Carving on, carving open, also cutting over apart; see the forms of Sūryā; them also the priest (brahmán) cleans (çumbh).
RV. (x. 85. 35) reads at the end tú çundhati ⌊cf. BR. vii. 261, top⌋. Weber ⌊p. 190⌋ sees in the verse a comparison of the blood on the bride's garment with that from the sacrificial victim when dismembered, the priest having power to cleanse both stains away.
29. Harsh is that, sharp, barbed, poisoned; that is not to be eaten; what priest (brahmán) knows Sūryā, he indeed deserves the bride's [garment].
RV. (x. 85. 34) inserts another etát after káṭukam, and reads vidyā́t for véda in c. The omission of káṭukam (with, in RV., etát) would rectify the meter of a; as it stands, it is an extremely poor "bṛhatī" pāda. Áttave 'to be eaten' is very strange here. Sūryā in c is generally understood to mean 'the Sūryā-hymn.'
The following four verses are found in no other text.
30. That priest verily takes this garment, pleasant, well-omened, who goes over the expiation, by whom the wife takes no harm.
The pada-text reads prā́yaçcittim, undivided; if we had -ttam, yéna would apply to it, instead of to brahmā́. Ppp. reads, for a, b: sa vāi taṁ syono harati brahma vāsas suman̄galan.
31. Do ye (two) bring together a successful (sámṛddha) portion, speaking right in right-speakings; O Brahmaṇaspati, make the husband shine (ruc) for her; let the wooer (sambhalá) speak this speech agreeably (cā́ru).
According to Kāuç. 75. 8, 9, this verse is addressed to the wooer and his companion, when they are sent out to win the bride; the second half-verse to the priest (who is one of them?). 'Make shine,' doubtless 'set in a favorable light' The verse ⌊scanned by the Anukr. as 11 + 9: 12 + 12 = 44⌋ may best be read as 11 + 11: 12 + 12; ⌊but d has a bad cadence⌋. Ppp. reads mṛtyodyena at end of b, and ṣumbhalo in d.
32. May ye be just here; may ye not go away; may ye, O kine, increase this man with progeny; going in beauty, ruddy, with soma-splendor—may all the gods turn (kṛ) your minds hither.
In Kāuç. 79. 17 this verse (according to the commentators, this and the next) seems to be directed to accompany the paying (in kine) the price demanded for the bride; but surely that cannot have been its original sense. The first pāda is identical with iii. 8. 4 a; c has a redundant syllable. The pada-text writes çúbham: yatīḥ, but the expression is, so far as accent is concerned, treated as if a compound: compare 2. 52 below. No reason is discoverable for the accent of krán in d.
33. May ye, O kine, enter this man together with progeny; this man minisheth (mī) not the share of the gods; for this man shall Pūshan, and all the Maruts, for this man shall Dhātar, Savitar quicken (sū) you.
Ppp. reads viçadhvam at end of a. This verse indicates distinctly that the preceding one is meant as a wish for prosperity in respect to kine.
34. Free from thorns, straight, let the roads be by which [our] comrades go a-wooing for us; together with Bhaga, together with Aryaman—let Dhātar unite [us] with splendor.
The first half-verse is RV. x. 85. 23 a, b, which, however, reads ⌊with MP.⌋ pánthās for ⌊our metrically bad⌋ -thānas; the second half goes on: sám aryamā́ sám bhágo no ninīyāt etc. ⌊cf. MP. i. 1. 2⌋; our text is a foolish and inconsistent substitute. Kāuç. 77. 3 gives the verse, with 2. 11, as to be used when the bridal train starts off home; in 75. 12 it ⌊according to Daça Kar., only the first half-verse⌋ is made to accompany the sending out of a guard for the bride. ⌊Cf. Wint., p. 40.⌋
35. Both what splendor is placed in dice, and what in strong drink—what splendor, O Açvins, is in kine, with that splendor favor (av) ye this woman.
All our mss. accent açvínā in c; our edition makes the necessary correction to açvinā. ⌊SPP. adopts and defends the reading açvínā.⌋ Ppp. puts the verse after our vs. 36. The Anukr. does not heed that the first pāda lacks a syllable. According to Kāuç. 75. 27, this verse, with 43 below, is used in connection with pouring of water on the bride; and again, in 139. 15, this and the next, with several others from different books, accompany a libation ⌊in the fire⌋ in the ceremony of initiation into Vedic study; both also (35, 36) are reckoned as belonging to the varcasya gaṇa (see note to Kāuç. 13. 1). ⌊Cf. ix. 1. 18; vi. 69. 1.⌋
36. With what [splendor] the backsides of the courtezan (mahānagnī́), O Açvins, or with what the strong drink, with what the dice were flooded (abhi-sic), with that splendor favor ye this woman.
That is, apparently, give her all the attractions which these various seductive things are known to possess. 'Courtezan,' lit. 'great naked woman,' emending to -nagnyā́s: ⌊but all authorities, both SPP's and W's, have -naghnyā́s⌋. The verse has a distant likeness to one in PGS. ii. 6. 12. The ṣ of aṣicyanta is by Prāt. ii. 92, where this example is quoted in the commentary. The redundant syllable in the first pāda passes unheeded by the Anukr. For the use of the verse in Kāuç. see the note to the preceding verse. Ppp. puts the verse before our 35 as noted above, and the ms. reads for a: yan mā nagnā jaghnam.
37. He who shines (dī) without fuel within the waters, whom the devout (vípra) praise at the sacrifices (adhvará)—O child of the waters, mayest thou give waters rich in honey, with which Indra increased, full of heroism.
The verse is RV. x. 30. 4, which accents dī́dayat, and reads at the end vīryā̀ya. Ppp. combines in a yo ‘nidhmo. Kāuç. 75. 14 makes the verse accompany the piercing (pra-vyadh) of a stick of wood (loga) in the water.
38. Now do I remove (apa-ūh) the glistening seizer (grābhá), body-spoiling; what sheen is excellent, that I draw up (ud-ac).
Ppp. reads in the first half-verse tanūdūṣim athi nudāmi. For its second half it has yaç çivo bhadro rocanas tena tvām api nudāmi, making a fair half-anuṣṭubh. According to Kāuç. 75. 15, 16, the thing (the pierced piece of wood) is removed with the first two pādas; and with the third water is drawn up (anvīpam 'in the direction of the current') and is then presented with vs. 39. The verse (9 + 8: 11 = 28) is described by the Anukr. with mechanical correctness.
39. Let the Brahmans take for her [water] for bathing; let them draw up (?) waters that slay not a hero; let her go about the fire of Aryaman, O Pūshan; father-in-law and brother-in-law are looking on (prati-īkṣ).
The translation implies the obvious emendation of ajantu to acantu in b. ⌊Cf. the MP. reading acantu, and also xi. 1. 2, where vacant answers to the RV. reading vā́cam. There is also something wrong about d, where a plural verb is made to agree with two singular subjects. The Āpast. mantra-text (Wint., p. 43 ⌊MP. i. 1. 7-8⌋) has in both pādas (as well as in other respects) better readings: ā́ ’syāí brāhmaṇā́ḥ snápanaṁ harantu: ávīraghnīr úd acantv ā́paḥ*: aryamṇó agním pári yantu kṣiprám prátī ”kṣantāṁ çvaçrúvo devárāç ca. Ppp. reads in a-b ā ’smāi harantu snapanaṁ brahmaṇā ’vīr-; and in c, ‘gniṁ pary eti kṣipraṁ. ⌊The kṣipram of Ppp. and MP. suggests that⌋ our pūṣan in c may be a corruption for oṣám; ⌊cf. also vii. 73. 6 a⌋. The use of the verse by Kāuç. 75. 17 was noticed in the preceding note; in 76. 20, the second half-verse accompanies the leading of the bride thrice about the fire (in Āpast. the laying of a ring of darbha-grass upon her head). The Anukr. does not heed the lack of a syllable in b. *⌊Oxford text āpaḥ: misprint?⌋
40. Weal be to thee gold, and weal be waters; weal be the post (methí), weal the perforation (tárdman) of the yoke; weal be for thee the waters having a hundred cleansers (-pavítra); for weal, too, mingle thyself with thy husband.
Ppp. is much corrupted in this verse, but can be seen to read metis for methis in b; in c it combines tā ”paḥ, and in d it omits u. In Kāuç. 76. 12, the verse is muttered (according to the paddhati, it and the following verse) while the bride is bound to the right yoke-pole and the left yoke-hole, and a piece of gold is fastened to her forehead. Purification by the yoke-hole (apparently growing out of the occurrence of the next verse in RV.) plays a part in various versions of the marriage-rites; ⌊cf. note to vs. 41⌋. Āpast. (Wint., p. 44 ⌊MP. i. 1. 10⌋) has this same verse with unimportant variations (medhī in b, etc). ⌊Cf. Wint., p. 46.⌋ The verse (11 + 12: 11 + 11 = 45) is slightly irregular ⌊but has triṣṭubh-cndences throughout⌋.
41. In the hole of the chariot, in the hole of the cart, in the hole of the yoke, O thou of a hundred activities, having thrice purified Apālā, O Indra, thou didst make her sun-skinned.
The verse is RV. viii. 80 (91). 7, which has for sole variant pūtvī́ in c. Prāt. ii. 64 prescribes the combination triṣ p-, but part of our mss. (O.R.K.) read triḥ. The Āpast. version (Wint., p. 43 ⌊MP. i. 1. 9⌋) is quite corrupt. ⌊Cf. MGS. i. 8. 11 and p. 149.⌋ In Ppp. the verse is not found among the marriage verses, but in book iv., ⌊and without variant⌋. ⌊For a careful treatment of the Apālā story, see H. Oertel, in JAOS. xviii.1 26.⌋ ⌊The MP. version of this verse furnishes Böhtlingk occasion for some interesting general critical remarks, Berichte der sächsischen Gesellschaft, Feb. 5, 1898, p. 4.⌋
42. Hoping for well-willing, offspring, good-fortune, wealth, becoming obedient (ánuvrata) to thy husband, gird thyself in order to immortality.
This verse also is found in Ppp. away from the rest, in book xx., and with much difference of text: thus, b-d, praco bahur atho balam: indrāṇy anuvratā san nahye amṛtāya kam. In Kāuç. 76. 7, the verse is used, with 2. 70, when the bride is girded with a bond, a yoke-rope (yoktra). The Āpast. version (Wint., p. 45 ⌊MP. i. 2. 7⌋) has tanū́m for rayím in b, agnér for pátyur in c, and, for d, sáṁ nahye sukṛtā́ya kám. Vāit. 2. 6, again, makes it accompany the girding of the sacrificer's wife at the sacrifice. ⌊In the Berlin ed., correct kam to kám.⌋
43. As the ⌊mighty (? vṛ́ṣā)⌋ river (síndhu) won (? sū) the supremacy of the streams (nadī́), so be thou supreme (samrā́jñī), having gone away to thy husband's home.
Perhaps síndhu should be rendered 'Indus' (so Zimmer, p. 317; Weber, p. 199). Suṣuve, lit. 'impelled for one's self,' is employed here in an unusual sen.se; the word is quoted as example under Prāt. ii. 91; iv. 82. Ppp. reads sūṣuve vṛkāt. By Kāuç. 75. 27, the verse accompanies the emergence of the bride from the bath (with vs. 35, above).
44. Be thou supreme among fathers-in-law, supreme also among brothers-in-law; be thou supreme over sister-in-law, supreme also over mother-in-law.
The verse is RV. x. 85. 46, which, however, reads for a, s. çváçure bhava; for b, s. çvaçrvā́m bhava; for c, nánāndari s. bhava; for d, s. ádhi devṛ́ṣu; and MB. (i. 2. 20) agrees throughout with RV. (çvaçryām in b must be a blunder). ⌊MP. i. 6. 6 follows RV., but with çvaçruvā́m in b: cf. Wint, p. 66.⌋
45. They (f.) who spun, wove, and who stretched [the web], what divine ones (f.) gave the ends about, let them wrap thee in order to old age; [as] one long-lived put about thee this garment.
Ppp. combines in a yā ’kṛntan. The verse is found also in PCS. (i. 4. 13), HGS. (i. 4. 2), MB. (i. 1. 5). All end a with yā atanvata; in b, all insert ca after yās; and PGS. reads tantūn abhito* tatantha, and MB. devyo antān abhito tatantha; for c, they have tās tvā devīr (MB. devyo) jarasā (PGS. -se) saṁvyayantv (PGS. -yasva); in d, only HGS. has āyuṣmān. ⌊Cf. MP. ii. 2. 5, and Wint., p. 47, and MGS. i. 10. 8 and p. 154.⌋ The verse has an extra syllable in a which the Anukr. does not notice. In Kāuç. 76. 4, this and vs. 53 accompany the putting of a hitherto unused garment upon the bride. ⌊The same two vss. are referred to by the name paridhāpanīye at 79. 13: so the schol.⌋ *⌊This sandhi is of course not to be laid at the door of the accurate Stenzler: it is doubtless the true reading of PGS., and occurs (not only in MB., but also) in Bhavadeva's Paddhati, as Stenzler observes in his Transl., p. 12.⌋
⌊The corruption of abhito ‘dadanta (so AV.) to abhito tatantha (PGS. MB. Bhavadeva) is of peculiar text-critical interest, not merely because it is a senseless and unintelligent perversion, but because it is revealed as a corruption by the ignorant failure of the persons responsible for it to change their sandhi in such a way (abhitas tatantha) as to fit their blunder.—This interest is heightened by the fact that we can see the probable occasion of the perversion, to wit, the occurrence in the preceding pāda of the words for 'spun,' 'wove,' 'stretched web' (root tan). These technical terms of clothmaking lend a semblance of appropriateness to the introduction of tantūn tan 'stretch the warp' in pāda b.—Roth had already booked tatantha among the cases of exchange between sonants and surds at ZDMG. xlviii. 108.⌋
46. They bewail the living one (m.); they lead away the sacrifice (adhvará); the men sent their thoughts after ⌊root dhī...ánu⌋ a long reach (prásiti); what is lovely (vāmá) for the Fathers who came together here; joy to the husbands for embracing the wife.
This is a literal version of this extremely obscure verse. RV. (x. 40. 10) reads in a ví mayante adhvaré; in b, the equivalent dīdhiyus ⌊so also Ppp.⌋; in c, the equivalent sameriré; in d, jánayas (for our janáye, which might better have been emended in the edition to jánaye); ⌊Ppp. reads and combines janayaṣ⌋. The Āpast. text (Wint., p. 42 ⌊MP. i. 1. 6⌋) reads at the beginning jīvām. The verse is used, with 2. 59, in Kāuç. 79. 30, simply to accompany a libation, at the very close of the marriage rites. In two Sūtras (AGS. ⌊i. 8. 4⌋ and ÇGS. ⌊i. 15. 2⌋) it is directed to be used when the bride, on the journey to her new home, wails or cries; this is plainly only on account of the word 'bewail' (rudanti) at the beginning. ⌊Cf. Lanman's Skt. Reader, p. 387; Winternitz, p. 42; and Bloomfield, who devotes 9 pages to the stanza in AJP. xxi. 411-9.⌋
47. I maintain for thee, in order to progeny, a pleasant, firm (dhruvá) stone in the lap of the divine earth; stand thou on that, one to be exulted after, of excellent glory; let Savitar make for thee a long life-time.
48. Wherewith Agni grasped the right hand of this earth, therewith grasp I thy hand; do not stagger in company with me, with both progeny and riches.
The last pāda ⌊prajayā etc.⌋ is wanting in Ppp., ⌊which puts the vs. after 50⌋. The verse accompanies in Kāuç. 76. 19 the seizing of the bride's hand to lead her about the fire. The Anukr. seems to overlook the vs.; though, if the last pāda were omitted, it would fall under the general definition of the hymn, as an anuṣṭubh. ⌊As to vss. 48-51, cf. Wint., p. 48 f. For the pāṇigrahaṇa, he cites Rāmāyaṇa, i. 75 (Gorresio: or i. 73 Schlegel).⌋
49. Let god Savitar grasp thy hand; let king Soma make thee to have good offspring; let Agni, Jātavedas, make the spouse well-portioned, long-lived, for her husband.
Ppp. has this verse next after our vs. 47, by removing ⌊as noted⌋ 48 to after 50. The Anukr. takes no notice of the deficiency of two syllables in c.
50. I grasp thy hand in order to good-fortune, that with me as husband thou mayest be long-lived; Bhaga, Aryaman, Savitar, Purandhi ⌊púraṁdhi⌋—the gods have given thee to me in order to housewifeship.
The verse is RV. x. 85. 36, which varies only by reading at the beginning gṛbhṇā́mi. MB. (i. 2. 16) has precisely the RV. form of the verse; HGS. (i. 20. 1) and Āpast. (Wint., p. 49 ⌊MP. i. 3. 3⌋) read in a suprajāstvāya, and HGS. has also gṛhnāmi and (at end of b) asat. ⌊Cf. MGS. i. 10. 15 a, and p. 150.⌋ ⌊As to puraṁdhi, cf. WZKM. iii. 268; and Pischel, Ved. Stud. i. 202-216.⌋
51. Bhaga hath grasped thy hand; Savitar hath grasped thy hand; thou art [my] spouse by ordinance (dhárman), I thy house-lord.
Ppp. reads dhātā for bhagas in a, inserts te before hastam in b, and adds after b two pādas: bhagas te h. a. and aryamā te h. a., ⌊then finishing with our c, d⌋. One of the subsidiary treatises (see note to Kāuç. 76. 10) substitutes the verse for vs. 20 above (see note there).
52. Be this woman mine, bringing prosperity (pósya); Brihaspati hath given thee to me; in company with me ⌊as husband⌋ do thou live, rich in offspring, a hundred autumns.
Bp. and Bs.p.m. give in c (as does Ppp.) prajā́vatī, and I.K. prajā́vati; prajā́vatī is evidently the preferable reading; ⌊and is implied in the translation⌋. ⌊Of SPP's authorities, 4 have prajā́vatī against 6 with prajāvati (which latter he adopts): but not less than 7 have (like W's I.K.) the impossible prajā́vati, which supports both readings or neither!⌋ The verse is found also in PGS. i. 8. 19, and in a khila to RV. x. 85 (Aufrecht2, p. 682); both have prajāvatī; in a, both have dhruvāi ’dhi poṣye (RV. -ṣyā) mayi. ⌊See also MP. i. 8. 9: that also has prajā́vatī.⌋
53. Tvashṭar disposed (vi-dhā) the garment for beauty, by direction of Brihaspati, of the poets; therewith let Savitar and Bhaga envelop this woman, like Sūryā, with progeny.
In Kāuç. 76. 4, this verse is used with vs. 45, above ⌊which see⌋, with dressing the bride in a new garment ⌊cf. Wint., p. 47⌋; and the same is repeated in Kāuç. 79. 13 at another point in the ceremonies. The full number of syllables is to be obtained in b only by a harsh resolution. Ppp. has in c nāryaṁ ⌊cf. note to vs. 59⌋, and at the end the decidedly better reading prajāyāi.
54. Let Indra-and-Agni, heaven-and-earth, Mātariçvan, Mitra-and-Varuṇa, Bhaga, both Açvins, Brihaspati, the Maruts, the bráhman. Soma, increase this woman with progeny.
Ppp. has again nāryaṁ in d. Only a is a real jagatī pāda, even by number of syllables (and doubtless we are to read -pṛthvī́); the second definition of it in the Anukr. notices this.
55. Brihaspati first prepared (kḷp) the hairs on the head of Sūryā; with this, O Açvins, do we thoroughly adorn (çubh) this woman for her husband.
It looks as if prathamás were an intrusion in a. ⌊in c, Ppp. has for a third time nāryaṁ.⌋ In Kāuç. 79. 14 the verse is made to accompany the parting of the bride's hair with a blade of darbha-grass; according to the paddhati, this verse and the next are used together for the purpose.
56. This [is] that form in which the young woman (yóṣā) dressed herself; I desire to know with [my] mind the wife (jāyá) moving about; I will go after her with nine-fold (? návagva) comrades: who, knowing, unloosened (vi-cṛt) these fetters?
This obscure verse gets no light from Ppp., the other texts, or the sūtras. The pada-text reads in c ánu: artiṣye; doubtless it is only a contraction for ánu vartiṣye.
57. I loosen (vi-sā) in me the form of her; he verily shall know, seeing the nest of mind; I eat not stolenly; I was freed (ud-muc) by mind, myself untying (çrath) the fetters of Varuṇa.
Ppp. reads at the end pāçam. This verse and doubtless the next (its pratīka, which is pra tvā muñcāmi, would also designate vs. 19 above) are used, with vii. 78. 1, by Vāit. 4. 11, to accompany the ungirding of the sacrificer's wife. Both are used also by Kāuç. 76. 28 with the ungirding of the bride.
58. I release thee from Varuṇa's fetter, with which the very propitious Savitar bound thee; wide space (loká), an easy road here, do I make for thee, O bride (vadhū́), with thy husband.
59. Raise ye [your weapons]; may ye smite away the demon; set this woman in what is well done; inspired Dhātar found for her a husband; let king Bhaga go in front, foreknowing.
⌊Ppp. combines a-b thus: hanāthe imāṁ; and that is followed by⌋ nāryaṁ ⌊for nārīm, as in 53, 54, 55*⌋ in b. Kāuç. 76. 32 uses vss. 59, 60, 62 at the setting out of the bride for her new home. This verse also is an irregular triṣṭubh (11 + 10: 12 + 11 = 44). *⌊Cf. the Ppp. variant bhūmyaṁ for bhū́mim, xiii. 2. 40, 41.⌋
60. Bhaga fashioned the four feet; Bhaga fashioned the four frame-pieces (? úṣyala); Tvashṭar adorned (piç) the straps (? várdhra) along in the middle; let her be to us of excellent omen.
Kāuç. uses the verse not only as stated in the preceding note, but also (76. 25), more properly, with 2. 31, when the bride mounts the couch (talpa). Ppp. reads in a padas; in b, catvāry aṣpadāni; in c, madhyato varadhrāṁ. ⌊For úṣyala, cf. note to vi. 139. 3.⌋ ⌊For the addition to the Anukr. at this point, see above, p. 740, ¶2, and especially the note to XV. 5. 7.⌋
61. The well-flowered (sukiṅçuká), all-formed bridal-car (vahatú), golden-colored, well-rolling, well-wheeled, do thou mount, O Sūryā, to the world of the immortal; make thou a bridal -car pleasant to husbands.
The verse is RV. x. 85. 20, which reads çalmalím in a for vahatúm, and in d pátye for pátibhyas, and kṛṇuṣva for kṛṇu tvám. MB. (i. 3. 11) also has çalmalim, patye, and kṛṇuṣva, but further in b suvarṇavarṇaṁ sukṛtam, and in c nābhim for lokam. ⌊Cf. MP. i. 6. 4; MGS. i. 13. 6 and p. 157.⌋ Kāuç. 77. 1 combines it with 2. 30, as used when the bride is made to mount the vehicle that takes her to her new home. Ppp. has in c sukṛtasya loke. The verse is a good triṣṭubh.
62. Her, not brother-slaying, O Varuṇa; not cattle-slaying, O Brihaspati; not husband-slaying, possessing sons, O Indra—bring [her] for us, O Savitar.
The Āpast text (Wint., p. 41 ⌊MP. i. 1. 3⌋) has a corresponding but quite different verse: reading ápatighnīm in b, and, for c, d, indrā́ ‘putraghnīṁ lakṣmyàṁ tā́m asyāi savitaḥ suva. The Anukr. does not heed the deficiency of a syllable in a. For the use of the verse in Kāuç. (76. 32), see the note to vs. 59. It is wanting (as above noticed) in Ppp.
63. Injure ye not the maiden (kumārī́), ye (two) pillars, on the god-made road; the door of the divine house we make pleasant, a road for the bride.
Or, 'we make a pleasant road' etc. In Kāuç. 77. 20, the verses 2. 26; 1. 21, 63, 64, in this order, are used to accompany the bride's stepping forward into the house. ⌊Cf. Wint., p. 72, top.⌋
64. Let the bráhman be yoked after, the bráhman before, the bráhman at the end, in the middle, the bráhman everywhere; going forward to an impenetrable stronghold of the gods, do thou (f.), propitious, pleasant, bear rule in thy husband's world.
Besides the use of the verse in Kāuç. 77. 20, as noticed just above, it is quoted, with 2. 8, in 77. 2, when the bride sets out, with a Brahman in front. In 79. 28, it is allowed to be substituted for vs. 23; and in that case (? 79. 32) the ceremony is called brāhmya instead of sāurya.
⌊Here ends the first anuvāka, with 1hymn (but see page 739, top) and 64 verses. The quoted Anukr. says ādyaḥ sāuryaç catuḥṣaṣṭiḥ (see p. 738).⌋