Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book XIX

Book XIX.

⌊Supplementary hymns.⌋

⌊This nineteenth book forms a supplement to the three grand divisions of the Atharvan collection, and is shown to be a later addition by a considerable variety of cumulative evidence. The evidence concerns in part the contents of the book; in part, the character of its tradition as respects both text and division and extent; and in part, the relation of its text to the ancillary Vedic treatises, the Pada-pāṭha and the Pañcapaṭalikā and the Prātiçākhya, and to the Kāuçika and Vāitāna sūtras.⌋

⌊The contents of book xix. resemble in large measure those of the earlier books, and wear (as W. says: see the General Introduction) the aspect of after-gleanings: of hymn 1 with i. 15; h. 18 with iv. 40; h. 34 with ii. 4, and especially 34. 4 with ii. 4. 6; h. 39 with v. 4; h. 44 with iv. 9; h. 57 with vi. 46. Had these hymns of book xix. been parts of the original collection, we should have expected (as W. intimates) to find them in their respective places with those of the earlier books. But more conclusive evidence could hardly be wished than is offered by hymn 23 of book xix., which hymn, under the form of "Homage to parts of the AV.," is incidentally also in some sort a table of contents to the preceding eighteen books, and presupposes their existence as a collection, and in an arrangement substantially accordant with that which they show in our text: cf. the introduction to h. 23.⌋

⌊The general character of the tradition in this book is strikingly inferior to that of the preceding eighteen. Such a statement can be duly verified only by a detailed study of the verses of the book, with reference to their intelligibility as they stand, and to the multiplicity or wildness of the variants presented; but a casual glance at the footnotes on pages 478, 484-5, and 539 of the Bombay edition will give some idea of their multiplicity. Many of them (like trī́n nā́kaṅs at 27. 4: see W's note) "are of the superficial variety of discordant readings which swarm in this book and have no real importance." Others are blunders of the grossest sort, as to which there is substantial agreement among the authorities or even complete harmony: such for example is the impossible yásmāi...yacchati at 32. 2, where not a single one has the absolutely necessary yácchati: cf. W's note to 45. 5. Especially noteworthy is vs. 4 of h. 40 as illustrating "what this nineteenth book can do in the way of corruption even of a text that is intelligibly handed down elsewhere" (so Whitney: the AV. version is so utterly corrupt that he is forced to translate from the RV. version, RV. i. 46. 6). If degrees of corruption and badness are to be distinguished, perhaps we may set down 49. 2 as the worst in book xix., or possibly in books i.-xix.; in the latter case, vi. 22. 3 is surely a close second. The uncertainties of the tradition of this book as to the precise amount of material to be included in it, and as to its division and the numeration of the parts, are rehearsed in the sequel: cf. the references at p. 898, end of ¶2.⌋

⌊Relation of the text of book xix. to the ancillary Vedic treatises.—First, the Pada-paṭha appears to be very modern, as it is certainly very blundering and untrustworthy: see SPP's notes on pages 410 and 460 and especially 543, and W's note on hymn 68, and observe, for example, the wild resolution of vármā sīvyadhvám as várma: asi: vi॰adhvám at 58. 4. The corruptness of the text made Whitney doubt (in 1862: see his Prāt., p. 581) the existence of a pada-pāṭha.—Second, book xix. is entirely ignored by the Pañcapaṭalikā or Old Anukr., as is stated also by SPP. in his Critical Notice, vol. i., p. 24.—Third, "to the apprehension of the Prātiçākhya the Atharva-Veda comprehended only the first eighteen books of the present collection": so Whitney, Prāt., p. 581; cf. his Index of passages referred to by the AV. Prāt., p. 600 c, and especially his notes to Prāt. ii. 67 c and ii. 22.⌋

⌊Relation of book xix. to Kāuçika.—The sūtra-citations do not imply recognition of the text of book xix. as an integral part of the saṁhitā.—Bloomfield has made a critical separation of the more original vidhāna-matter from the gṛhya-matter in the text of Kāuçika, and styles the former "Atharva-sūtra" or "Vidhāna-sūtra": see his Introd. to Kāuç., p. xxviii., and his essay in Göttingische gelehrte Anzeigen, 1902, p. 489. His Vidhāna-sūtra comprehends the text of Kāuç. from the beginning of kaṇḍikā 7 to the end of kaṇḍikā 52, excepting perhaps most of the matter (42. 19 to 43. 20) just preceding the vaçāçamana, and excepting the vaçāçamana itself (43. 21 to 45. 19): that is, his Vidhāna-sūtra runs from 7. 1 to 42. 18 and from 46. 1 to 52. 21.*—Now it is in the first place to be noted that no verse whatever is cited in the text of the "Vidhāna-sūtra" (whether by pratīka or by technical designation or in sakalapāṭha) which is also to be found in book xix., with the single exception of prā́ṇa prāṇám.† In the second place, disregarding the verses cited by technical designation (the "jivās-verses": see below) and those which are cited in full and by pratīka besides (33. 3; 52. 5; 72. 1: see below), it appears that there are in the entire text of Kāuçika only six pratīkas which might seem at first blush to imply the recognition of book xix. as part of the Atharvan text by Kāuçika. The six pratīkas cover some eleven verses. Including with them a seventh pratīka, devásya tvā, I give them in tabular form:

6. 37	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	tvám agne vratapā́ asi		(xix. 59 1-3)		[Dārila, in full; RV.MS.TS.VS.]
		kā́mas tád ágre	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	(xix. 52. 1‡)		[RV.TB.TA.]
45. 17		kā́mas tád ágre
68. 29		kā́mas tád
57. 26		ágne samídham ā́hārṣam		(xix. 64. 1-4)		[Daç. Kar., in full; AGS.PGS.ÇGS.HGS.GGS.MB.]
66. 1		vā́n̄ ma āsán		(xix. 60. 1)		[TS.TA.PGS.]
91. 3	$\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}$	áyuto ‘hám		(xix. 51. 1)		[?]
		devásya tvā savitús		(xix. 51. 2)		[Passim.]
139. 10		ávyacasaç ca		(xix. 68. 1)		[Daç. Kar.; Ath. Paddh.; Keçavī.]

The place of citation in Kāuçika is given at the left; the place of occurrence in AV. is given in parentheses; and the texts, other than AV., in which the mantras occur, are noted at the right in square brackets.⌋ *⌊This delimitation of the Vidhāna-sūtra differs slightly from Bloomfield's as given in the places just cited: it has been revised with the help of a friendly note from him.⌋ †⌊The verse prā́ṇa prāṇám (xix. 44. 4) is cited at 47. 16, which is a part of Bloomfield's "Vidhāna-sūtra," and seems to have been overlooked by him at p. xxxi.⌋ ‡⌊Keçava (on 6. 37) and Darila (on 45. 17) understand the whole AV. hymn of five verses as intended by kā́mas tád.⌋

⌊Citations by pratīka.—The three phrases, (1) devásya tvā savitúḥ prasavé and (2) açvínor bāhúbhyām and (3) pūṣṇó hástābhyām, are unvaried as between the AV. text and the citations by Kāuç. (in full at 2. 1 and 2. 21 and 137. 18: the citation at 91. 3 is by pratīka with áyuto ‘hám) and by Vāit. (in full at 3. 9): what follows hástābhyām is, at Kāuç. 2. 1, agnáye júṣṭaṁ nír vapāmi (as at TS. i. 1. 4²); at 2. 21 and in Vāit., it is prasūtaḥ praçiṣā paristṛṇāmi (Vāit. pratigṛhnāmi); and at 137. 18 it is ā́ dade (as at TS. i. 3. 1¹ and very often); while AV. xix. differs from all these in adding prásūta ā́ rabhe. The phrases are of such extremely frequent occurrence (see introd. to h. 51) that they may be called a commonplace of the sūtra-literature; and, as W. intimates, the pratīka-citation by Kāuç. is not to be regarded as having any special reference to our book xix.,—much less the citations in full by Kāuç. and Vāit. The case is a typical and striking one. Of the same type are the hymns tvám agne vratapā́ asi and ágne samídham ā́hārṣam, both of which, besides, are given by the scholia in sakalapāṭha. For the rest, so far as any necessary connection with book xix. is concerned, vā́n̄ ma āsán and kā́mas tád and ávyacasaç ca may fairly be regarded as kalpajā mantrās. Only for áyuto ‘hám am I unable to point out occurrences elsewhere than in book xix.; but it may be noted that the comm., at p. 499⁴, takes áyuto ‘hám and the immediately following devásya tvā as one sūkta of sacrificial formulas, yajurmantrātmakaṁ sūktam.⌋

⌊Citations by technical designation.—Thrice in the text of Kāuç. (at 3. 4; 58. 7; 90. 22), as also once in Vāit. (at 1. 19), we meet the prescription jīvābhir ācamya. The "jīvā́s-verses," says Dārila (on 3. 4), mean "four verses beginning with jīvā́ stha." They are associated, both at Kāuç. 3. 4 and at Vāit. 1. 18, 19 as well, with other sūtra-material, and in particular also with the five prapads (which are called in Vāit. prapadanas and which Dārila characterizes as kalpaja): considering this fact, the citation may well be viewed as containing no distinct reference to our book xix., albeit indeed the verses are found there as 69. 1-4; and the entire absence of sakalapāṭha both in text and in scholia, if taken in connection with the mode of citation (by a technical name and so without iti), does not appear to be inconsistent with this view.⌋

⌊Citations in sakalapāṭha.—The most conclusive evidence to show that book xix. was not recognized by Kāuç. is afforded by the five verses which, although occurring in our xix., are yet cited by Kāuç. in full (sakalapāṭha): these are 59. 3; 33. 3 and 44. 4; and 52. 5 and 72. 1. As to the first of the five, ā́ devā́nām ápi pánthām aganma, cited at 5. 12, Bloomfield has already remarked in his note that the sakalapāṭha shows that it is regarded as coming from some other source than our book xix., and it is in fact not infrequent elsewhere (RV.MS.TS.ÇB.); moreover, it is a part of the same group as tvám agne vratapā́ asi, of which group, as already noted, Dārila (on 6. 37) gives the sakalapāṭha. The verses tvám bhū́mim (cited in full at 2. 1: a later citation, at 137. 32, is naturally by pratīka) and prā́ṇa prāṇám (cited in full at 47. 16) have not been found, so far as I know, except at xix. 33. 3 and 44. 4; but of the former Dārila expressly says that it is kalpaja. Finally, there remain the cases of yát kāma and yásmāt kóçāt. These are peculiar in that they are cited at 92. 30 and 139. 25 by pratīka, and immediately thereafter (at 92. 31 and 139. 26) in sakalapāṭha: cf. Bloomfield's Introduction, p. xxix. The verse yát kāma is found at xix. 52. 5, and yásmāt kóçāt at the end of the book, and neither elsewhere.⌋

⌊Relation of book xix. to Vāitāna.—Still less than Kāuçika, does Vāitāna imply by its citations a recognition of the text of book xix. as an integral part of the saṁhitā.—In all Vāitāna there are only seven sūtras (Garbe gives five) that cite passages occurring in book xix.: they are Vāit. 1. 18 and 19, citing the apratiratha hymn and the "jivā́s-verses"; 3. 5 and 19. 12, citing ā́ devā́nam; 3. 9, citing devásya tvā; 28. 14, citing yád agne yā́ni kā́ni cit; and 37. 19, citing sahásrabāhus. Of these, the devásya tvā, the "jīvā́s-verses," and the ā́ devā́nām are cited also by Kāuç. and have already been sufficiently discussed. Of the remaining three: the puruṣa hymn (sahásrabāhus: xix. 6) appears also in RV.VS.TA.SV.; and the verse yád agne yā́ni kā́ni cit (xix. 64. 3) is common to RV., and to the Yajus texts, MS.K.Kap.TS.VS.; while the apratiratka hymn (āçúḥ çíçānaḥ: xix. 13. 2 ff.) is found in RV. and the Yajus texts just named and in SV. also.⌋

⌊Divisions of the book.—The prapāṭhaka-division is not found in this book, having ended with book xviii.; nor does any decad-division appear. The following statements refer to the hymns as printed, divided, and numbered in the Berlin edition. The book numbers 72 hymns, with 456 verses, and is divided into seven anuvākas. If the verses numbered 455, a precisely even division would give 65 to each anuvāka, and it appears that the division aims in general to make each anuvāka as nearly of that length as may be without breaking hymns: but hymn 20 is put into anuvāka 2 rather than 3, because it forms a subject-group with hymns 17-19; for a like reason the limit of anuvāka 4 is set after hymn 33 and not before it; and that of anuvāka 5, after hymn 45 and not before it. A tabular conspectus follows:

Anuvākas	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Hymns	9	1	6	7	12	9	18
Verses	59	72	65	68	74	63	55

Supplement.—Book XIX.

After-gleanings (72 hymns), chiefly from the traditional sources of division I.

Book XIX.—Supplementary Hymns
1	With an oblation for confluence	898
2	Praise and prayer to the waters	899
3	Praise to Agni	900
4	To various divinities	901
5	Praise and prayer to Indra	902
6	Purusha and his sacrifice	902
7	To the lunar asterisms: for blessings	906
8	For well-being: to the asterisms etc.	909
9	For appeasement and weal: to various divinities	912
10	For well-being	915
11	For well-being	917
12	For success and long life	918
13	For success in war: ⌊Apratiratha hymn⌋	918
14	For safety	921
15	For safety and success	921
16	For safety and protection	923
17	For protection: to various gods	924
18	For protection: to various gods	925
19	For protection by various gods	926
20	For protection by various gods	927
21	The meters	928
22	Homage to parts of the Atharva-Veda	929
23	Homage to parts of the Atharva-Veda	931
24	For prosperity: with a certain garment	934
25	To a horse	936
26	For long life etc.: with something golden	936
27	For protection etc.: with a triple amulet	938
28	For various blessings: with an amulet of darbhá	941
29	Continuation of the foregoing	942
30	For protection etc.: with an amulet of darbhá	943
31	For various blessings: with an amulet of udumbára	944
32	For long life etc.: with an amulet of darbhá	947
33	For various blessings: with an amulet of darbhá	949
34	With a jan̄giḍá-amulet: for protection etc.	950
35	The same	953
36	With a çatávāra-amulet: for protection etc.	955
37	With an amulet: for various blessings	956
38	With gúggulu: against disease	957
39	With húṣṭha: against diseases	959
40	To various divinities: for various blessings	961
41	For some one's welfare	963
42	Extolling the bráhman etc.	963
43	To various gods: for attaining heaven	965
44	With an ointment: against diseases etc.	966
45	With an ointment etc.: for various objects	969
46	With and to an amulet called ástṛta 'unsubdued'	972
47	To night: for protection	974
48	To night: for protection	977
49	Praise and prayer to night	978
50	To night: for protection	983
51	Accompanying acceptance (?)	985
52	Of and to desire (kā́ma)	985
53	Praise of time (kālá)	987
54	Praise of time	989
55	To Agni	991
56	To sleep (or dream)	993
57	Against evil-dreaming	996
58	For various blessings	998
59	For successful sacrifice	1000
60	For physical abilities	1001
61	For length of life etc.	1002
62	For popularity	1003
63	To Bṛihaspati: for sundry blessings	1003
64	To Agni: with fuel	1003
65	Praise of the sun	1005
66	To Agni: for aid	1005
67	For long life and prosperity	1005
68	With ceremonial performance	1006
69	To the waters: for long life	1007
70	For long life	1008
71	For various blessings	1008
72	For the favor of the gods	1009