Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book XIX/Hymn 27

27. For protection etc.: with a triple amulet.

[Bhṛgvan̄giras.—pañcadaçakam. trivṛddevatyam uta cāndramasam. ānuṣṭubham: 3, 9. triṣṭubh; 10. jagatī ⌊? see under the verse⌋; 11. ārcy uṣṇih; 12. ārcy anuṣṭubh; 13. sāmnī triṣṭubh (11-13. 1-av.).]

Found (except verses 12 and 13) also in Pāipp. x. The comm. quotes from the Nakṣ. K. (17, 19) its use, in a mahāçānti called prājāpatyā, by one desiring progeny and cattle, and in case of the loss of progeny, with the binding on of an amulet made of three metals, gold and silver and copper.

Translated: Griffith, ii. 283.

1. Let the bull (ṛṣabhá) protect thee with the kine; let the virile one (vṛ́ṣan) protect thee with the vigorous ones (vājín); let Vāyu protect thee with bráhman; let Indra protect thee with Indra's powers (? indriyá).

The comm. reads in a vṛṣabhas.* In b, he naturally understands horses as intended, and connects vājin with the root vij (vājibhir vejanavadbhiḥ çīghragatibhir açvāiḥ). Of bráhman he gives three different and equally worthless explanations. To indriya he says indriyāṇy atre ’ndrasṛṣṭānī ’ndrajuṣṭāni vā, which gives us no help. *⌊But the text of the comm. has pātv ṛṣabhas.⌋

2. Let Soma protect thee with the herbs; let the sun protect with the asterisms; [let] the moon, Vṛitra-slayer, [protect] ⌊thee⌋ from the months; let the wind defend with breath.

All the mss. without exception read in c mādbhyás, instead of the mādbhís which we should have expected, and which the comm. has. It seems like a blundering confusion of the two cases (the reverse of that in 22. 1, above). The comm. makes nakṣatra here refer to the planets, most unnecessarily; he reads in d rakṣati, but glosses it with rakṣatu.

3. They call the heavens (dív) three, the earths three, the atmospheres three, the oceans four, the song of praise (stóma) triple, the waters triple: let these triple ones defend thee with the triple ones.

In Ppp., b and c have apparently dropped out, and d is made to end with trivṛtās trivṛttibhiḥ. The mss. vary between trivṛ́ta (which both editions read), trivṛ́tās, and trivṛ́tāt; the translation implies trivṛ́tas, which the comm. has, and which is pretty evidently the intent of the verse; ⌊cf. vs. 9 d, below⌋. The mss. to a great extent read tṛv- instead of triv-, as in other like cases. In a in our text, emend to tisráḥ. We need to combine trivṛtā ”pa ā- in c to make a good triṣṭubh. ⌊I doubt if it is a triṣṭubh. To reckon trī́ṇi to pāda a is very harsh. I suspect we have to pronounce pṛthvī́s in a, and to read and pronounce trī́ṇy antárikṣā in b. Thus the verse scans as 8 + 11: 11 + 11.⌋

4. The three firmaments (nā́ka), the three oceans, the three bright ones (bradhná), the three at the summit (? vāiṣṭapá), the three Mātariçvans, the three suns, do I arrange (kḷp) as thy guardians.

Nearly ail the mss. read in a nā́kaṅs, and a part also bradháṅs.* The comm. has badhnān, and ⌊some of⌋ our mss. also badh-, although SPP. strangely appears to find no badh- among his authorities. The pada-mss. give nā́kam and ⌊some of them⌋ bradhnán. Some mss. accent mātáriç- in c, and read goptrī́n in d. All these are of the superficial variety of discordant readings which swarm in this book, and have no real importance. The comm. explains his badhnān thus: trīn badhnān badhnaḥ sarvasya bandha ādhārabhūta ādityaḥ, in which he shows himself equal to the occasion after precisely his own fashion. The Anukr. takes no notice of the metrical irregularity (7 + 7: 9 + 7 = 30). ⌊Roth notes expressly that Ppp. reads vāiṣṭapān.⌋ *⌊Cf. note to 13. 8 above, and to 28. 2; also Müller's 1st quarto ed. of RV., vol. 1., preface, p. xii; and Pischel, Gram. der Prakrit-sprachen, §83.⌋

5. With ghee do I sprinkle thee all over, O Agni, increasing thee with sacrificial butter; of fire, of moon, of sun, let not the wily ones damage the breath.

The comm. takes the liberty of filling out c, d so as to mean "by the favor of the fire etc....thy breath, O man that wearest the threefold amulet." Some of SPP's mss. read in a ukhyāmi and ukṣyāmi.

6. Let not the wily ones damage your breath, nor your expiration nor flame (? háras); shining, all-possessing, run ye, O gods, with what is of the gods.

The translation implies emendation of devā́s in d to dévās; the comm. understands dévās, but doubtless only by his customary disregard of the accent. He understands vas in a ⌊altenatively⌋ as plur. majest. of the king on whom the amulet is bound, and haras in b as çatrubalāpahārakaṁ tejas. To dāivyena in d he supplies rathādinā sādhanena vegena vā. We are tempted to emend at the end to dāívyenā́ ”dhāvata; Ppp. reads māvata for dhāvata.

7. One unites Agni with breath; the wind is combined with breath; with breath the gods generated the sun that faces all ways. ⌊See p. xxxvi, n.⌋

All the mss. (save one of SPP's, which has -jāti) read sṛjati in a, and, as the meter favors it, it might better stand (our text emended to -anti). Ppp. gives for a prāṇenā ’gniṁ saṁ dadhata, and ⌊reads and⌋ combines at the end ⌊suryaṁ⌋ devā ’janayan.

8. Live thou with the life-time of the life-time-makers; live as one long-lived; do not die; live with the breath of the soulful (ātmanvánt); do not come under the control of death.

Nearly all the mss. read in a āyuḥkṛ́tām, and SPP. follows them, although the comm. gives -uṣk-. In c both the editions emend to ātmanvátām, all the mss. having ātmatvátām (p. ātma॰tvátām!); the comm. appears to imply -nvatām in his explanation, though (according to SPP.) his text also has -tvatām. Nearly all ⌊SPP's authorities⌋ accent after it jīvá; both editions read jīva, ⌊SPP.⌋ on very slender authority. Our úpa gās in d is an emendation, for the úd agās of the mss., SPP., and the comm.; the change was demanded by the requirements both of grammar and of the sense; and Ppp. supports it, reading upa gā v-.

9. The treasured (ni-dhā) treasure of the gods that Indra discovered by roads that the gods travel—the gold did the waters guard with triple ones; let those triple ones defend thee with the triple ones.

The last pāda is a repetition of 3 d, and has the same readings as there in mss.,* editions, and comm. Instead of índro ‘nv- in a, b the mss. give indrā ’nv- (p. indra: anu-); but this time SPP. also, as well as we, emends to the former reading, which is that of the comm. ⌊Nidhiṁ devā́nāṁ níhitaṁ yám índraḥ would be good rhythm.⌋ *⌊Or nearly so: but trivṛ́tā of 3 is here tṛvátā.⌋

10. Thirty-three deities and three heroisms guarded [it] within the waters, holding [it] dear; what gold there is upon this shining one (? candrá), therewith shall this man do heroisms.

All the mss. read in b priyā́yamā́ṇā (p. priyā́ya: mā́ṇā!); but here again SPP. has the courage to follow us in emending to priyāyámāṇās (p. priya॰yámāṇāḥ), since the comm. so understands it; it is only a question whether in pada-text -māṇā should not rather be read, as agreeing with the nearer of the two nouns; the comm. takes it as fem. (priyam ivā ”carantyaḥ). The Anukr. is curiously confused here; after correctly defining the verse devānāṁ nihitaṁ nidhim as a triṣṭubh, it proceeds to define āpo hiraṇyaṁ jugupuḥ as a jagatī, and takes no note of trayastriṅçad devatāḥ as a pratīka. Probably there is a quid pro quo here, by a slip of memory; but one does not see how this highly irregular* verse (13 + 11: 10 + 11 = 45) should be called simply a jagatī. ⌊With a, cf. 37. 1 c, below.⌋ *⌊Possibly we have to substitute the older grammatical equivalent in a, trī́ ca vīryā̀ (cf. 3 b); a ‘sti before ádhi would mend c.⌋

11. Ye, O gods, that are eleven in the sky, do ye, O gods, enjoy this oblation.

12. Ye, O gods, that are eleven in the atmosphere, do ye, O gods, enjoy this oblation.

13. Ye, O gods, that are eleven on the earth, do ye, O gods, enjoy this oblation.

With these three verses corresponds RV. i. 139. 11: yé devāso divy ékādaça sthá pṛthivyā́m ádhy ékādaça sthá: apsukṣíto mahināí ’kādaça sthá té devāso yajñám imáṁ juṣadhvam; VS. vii. 19 precisely agrees with this; MS. (in i. 3. 13) reads devās in a; TS. (in i. 4. 10) reads devās in both a and d ⌊and apsuṣádo in c⌋. The comm's text inserts in vs. 11 divyās after devās.

14. Freedom from rivals in front, behind us [is] fearlessness made; Savitar [protect] me on the south, the lord of Çachī me on the north.

15. From the sky let the Ādityas defend me, from the earth let the fires defend; let Indra-and-Agni defend me in front; let the Açvins yield refuge round about; crosswise let the inviolable [cow], let Jātavedas, defend [me]; let the being-makers be my defense on all sides.

These two verses are a repetition of 16. 1, 2 above, and in our mss., as usual, are read simply thus: asapatnám purástād íti dvé. The Anukr. does not repeat its definition of their meter; inasmuch as it reckons the hymn as of fifteen verses, it plainly takes the addition here as of two verses only; the comm., however, again counts three, making of ⌊our 15 a, b⌋ a separate verse*; ⌊cf. notes to 16. 2⌋. In general, the comm. does not comment for the second time a repeated passage; here, however, he gives a full explanation, as if it were the first appearance of the verses; and in 14 b (perhaps merely by an oversight?) he reads me instead of nas. *⌊The comm. in fact takes our vss. 11-13 as one vs., his 11; our 14 as his 12; our 15 ab as his 13; and our 15 c-f as his 14. Or, he says, we may take our 14 with 15 ab as one mantra. He reads agnis again in our e as in 16. 2 e.⌋