Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book XIX/Hymn 34

34. With a jan̄giḍá-amulet: for protection etc.

[An̄giras.—daçakam. mantroktadevatyam uta vānaspatyam. ānuṣṭubham.]

Found also in Pāipp. xi. The comm. quotes it as used by Nakṣ. K. 19, in a mahāçānti ceremony called vāyavyā, with the binding on of an amulet from the jan̄giḍa tree. Hymn 35 is used in company with it.

Translated: Bloomfield, 38, 669; Griffith, ii. 291; verses 1 and 7 ab also by Grohmann, Ind. Stud. ix. 417-18.

1. Jan̄giḍá art though, jan̄giḍá; defender art thou, jan̄giḍá; what of ours is two-footed, four-footed—let jan̄giḍá defend it all.

Our emendation at the beginning to án̄girā asi ⌊suggested by vs. 6?⌋ is to be disapproved and withdrawn; it is not even necessary to change to vocative the jan̄giḍás at the end of a and b (though in the translation they may be understood as either nom. or voc); but the comm. has jan̄giḍa at end of b; ⌊the text of the comm. has jan̄giḍo ‘si jan̄giḍo rakṣitā ’si jan̄giḍa⌋. Compare iv. 12. 1; ix. 5. 16; RV. i. 191. 1 for similar repetitions, in part of nominatives where we should think it more natural to change in part to vocative. SPP. reads ⌊in a and b⌋, with all the mss., jan̄giḍás three times. Ppp. has at the beginning the corrupt jan̄giḍisi, but in both other instances ⌊in a and b⌋ -ḍas. Compare the hymn ii. 4, where alone this plant appears further. The comm. amuses himself (and us) with a number of his ludicrous derivations for jan̄giḍa—from roots jā or jan or ji with gir 'swallow'; or from jan̄gam, intensive.

2. The witchcrafts that are thrice fifty, and the witchcraft-makers that are a hundred—may the jan̄giḍá make them all of vanished brilliancy (-téjas) [and] sapless.

The first pāda is corrupt in the mss., and very doubtful; the translation implies yā́ḥ kṛtyā́ḥ, which is most naturally suggested by the connection, and takes tripañcāçís as an indefinite large number (like tisráḥ pañcāçátaḥ, RV. i. 133. 4), and as formed like triṣaptá, triṇavá, etc., in spite of the important objection that none of these make a fem. in ī, and that the word most naturally means 'fifty-three, composed of fifty-three,' or the like. ⌊W's conjecture, yā́ḥ kṛtyā́ḥ, nearly coincides with that of Geldner (KZ. xxvii. 218), yā́ç ca kṛtyā́ḥ. Geldner's is metrically better; and he takes trip- as an indefinitely large number (cardinal), as does W.⌋ It was this word tripañcāçá, applied to the set of dice in RV. ⌊x. 34. 8⌋ (but perhaps meaning 'thrice fifty'), that suggested the not very happy emendation in our edition to akṣa-kṛtyā́s. The mss. read mostly jāgṛtsyas tr- (with various accent, most often on -syás: p. jāgṛtsyáḥ: tripañca॰ açī́ḥ!), also jyā-, yyā-, and (two of SPP's) yāgṛtsyás; this last the comm. also has, and understands it as yā(ḥ) gṛtsyas, explaining the latter as = gardhanaçīlās ⌊SPP's pada-text accordingly, yā́ḥ: gṛ́tsyaḥ⌋, and tripañcāçīs as tryadhikapañcaçatsaṁkhyākās, both as epithets of kṛtyās (understood). ⌊With this reading, we can take gṛ́tsyas as nom. pl. fem. to gṛ́tsa and render 'what fifty-three clever or sly [witchcrafts there are]'; but gṛ́tsa, in such an application and with such sinister meaning, has rather slender support, to wit, VS. xvi. 25, as cited by BR. ii. 778.⌋ Ppp. gives yā kṛcchrā tripañcāçīç ch-, which, while it is itself (emended to yāḥ kṛcchrās) not wholly unacceptable, also favors our yā́ḥ kṛtyā́s; there is insufficient reason for the feminine words if kṛtyās be not expressed. ⌊I cannot here attach much value to the evidence of Ppp.: on the one hand, it confuses surd and sonant very often (kovidam for govidam, xix. 13. 5: cf. xi. 5. 4, note); and, on the other, the relation of its cch to ts may be somewhat like that discussed under x. 9. 23 (ṛchára, ṛtsára, etc.). The mss. are decidedly in favor of gṛtsyas as against kṛtyās; but Whitney's objection as to the omission of kṛtyās seems to me a weighty argument in favor of his conjecture.⌋ Our vínaṣṭatejasas in c was an emendation, which, now that the comm. also reads it, may be regarded as sufficiently established; the mss. mostly vinaktatéjasas (also vinaktu t-, viniṣṭat-, bhanakti t-, minaktu t- ⌊etc.⌋: pada-readings, vinaktu [as independent word or as compounded with téjasaḥ] or also vinakta॰t-). SPP. strangely contents himself with vinaktu téjasas, which certainly he would be unable to translate into anything even simulating sense. Ppp. is corrupt, and brings no help; it has sarva vyunaktu tej-. ⌊Did not SPP. understand his reading thus: 'Let the amulet separate them all from their téjas (ablative)'? The instrum. téjasā, which good authorities give, would also be a proper construction with root vic: 'Let the amulet part them all with their efficiency (téjas),' i.e. rob the wizards of their power to make their witchcrafts efficacious against us. Whitney's reading and rendering are wholly satisfactory in themselves: but vinaktu téjasas or -sā seems to me no less so; and it has much stronger support (directly or indirectly) from the mss., and even from Ppp., than has RW's vínaṣṭatejasas.—After writing the above, I notice that Bloomfield, p. 672, interprets SPP's reading quite differently: the way in which he construes vic does not seem to me admissible.⌋

3. Sapless the artificial noise, sapless the seven that fall apart; away from here, O jan̄giḍá, make fall (çat) misery, as an archer (ástṛ) an arrow.

The first half-verse is perhaps corrupt, as it is certainly unintelligible. The pada-text makes in a the astonishing division kṛtrím: anna॰adám; many of the saṁhitā-mss. read kṛtṛ́m-. All the mss. accent vísrasas, and SPP. with them; our text emends to visrásas. The minor Pet. Lex. suggests that the saptá visrúhas of RV. vi. 7. 6 may be meant: ingenious, but not comforting, as no one has any idea what the latter signifies. The comm's guess is this: mūrdhaniṣṭheṣu...saptasu cchidreṣv abhicarato ’tpāditāḥ sapta niṣyandāḥ. In a, b, the reading of Ppp. is rasaṁ kṛtrimaṁ nāḍam arasas s-. In c the mss. have much unimportant variation of accent. At the end, Ppp. gives sādhayā. The translation gives to çātaya the meaning ascribed to it by the Hindu grammarians, since it suits the connection; the comm. renders the word by tanūkuru, of which it is hard to see the reason or sense.

4. A spoiler of witchcraft verily is this, likewise a spoiler of niggardry; likewise may the powerful jan̄giḍá lengthen out our life-times.

The majority of mss. leave ayám in a unaccented; and they divide pretty evenly between tāriṣat and tārṣat at the end; ⌊cf. under iv. 10. 6⌋. Ppp. reads kṛtyādūṣaṇa vāyam atho ‘rāt-. With the verse compare ii. 4. 6, which is nearly the same.

5. Let that greatness of the jan̄giḍá protect us all about, wherewith [it] overpowered the víṣkandha with force, [being] a counteracting force (?).

Sáṁskandha occurs nowhere else, and is in the translation assumed to be a word made as the opposite and contrary of víṣkandha; it may, of course, be only a variation of the latter, another evil of the same sort, as understood by the Pet. Lexx. and the comm. (yena rogeṇa skandhaḥ saṁnataḥ saṁlagno bhavati sa rogaḥ saṁskandhaḥ). The majority of the mss. read in c sāsáha (p. sasaha ⌊with various accent⌋); but sāsahé (as in our text) is in accordance with the nearly invariable use of the root in AV. as middle, ⌊and is read by one of SPP's mss.⌋. Ppp. reads sāsahā, and combines in d ojo ‘jasā. The comm. reads and explains in c viṣkandham ojasā saha (favoring sāsaha).

6. Thrice the gods generated thee that art settled (ni-sthā) upon the earth; and Brahmans of old know thee thus as An̄giras by name.

All the mss. read at the beginning tṛṣṭvā́ (p. the same); but even SPP. emends to tríṣ ṭvā, as we had done; the comm. has the latter. Ppp. gives niṣ ṭvā. The comm. reads tiṣṭhantam in b instead of niṣṭhitam. Some of the mss. are discordant as to the accent of an̄girās in c.

7. Not the former herbs surpass thee, not thee the recent; a formidable dispeller [is] the jan̄giḍá, a protector round about, of good omen.

Some of SPP's mss. read návā at end of b. The comm. has jan̄giḍa in c; ⌊in both text and comment of the comm., the ḍa-sound is, naturally enough, spelled with a la. Our pada-mss. read in d paripā́naḥ, without division.

8. So then when thou didst come into being, O jan̄giḍá, ⌊O thou⌋ of unmeasured heroism, Indra of old, O formidable one, ⌊in the beginning (agratás)⌋, gave unto thee heroism.

The translation follows our text, which, however, is more thoroughly altered from that of the mss. than in any instance thus far; and, of course, in a manner open to question. At the beginning, all the saṁhita-mss. give áthopadā́nábhagavo ⌊one, bhá-⌋, which the pada-mss. divide thus: átho íti: padā́: ná: bhagavaḥ ⌊one, -váḥ⌋; but the comm. understands it as átho ’padāna bh-, and SPP. follows him (p. átha: upadāna: bh-); the comm. explains upadāna by upādīyate svīkriyate kṛtyānirharaṇādivyāpāreṣu—which is utterly implausible. Ppp. gives no help, giving açvayopadāni bh-. For c, the mss. read purā́ ta ugrā́ grasata (úp-), p. purā́: te: ugrā́: grasate: úpa: etc.; and SPP. emends only by changing ugrā́ to ugrā́ḥ ⌊in p.⌋, as the comm. understands. The latter explains it to mean: "Indra, perceiving that formidable creatures will devour (purā grasate = bhakṣayiṣyanti!) thee, O jan̄giḍa, gave" etc. Ppp. has a text for c-d that would make good sense: purā ta ugrāya sato ’pendro (i.e., by the usual double combination, sate: upá) 'to thee, being before formidable, Indra added further heroic quality.'

9. To thee, O forest tree, the formidable Indra imparted (ā-dhā) formidableness; expelling all diseases (ámīvā), do thou smite the demons, O herb.

With the first half-verse compare iv. 19. 8 d. For this verse there are no variants of any consequence, and the two editions agree throughout with one another and with the comm. Ppp. reads in a-b vanaspataya indro ’j-, and, for c, amīvās sarvā rakṣāṅsi.

10. The crusher, the burster, the balā́sa, the side-ache, the takmán of every autumn, may the jan̄giḍá make sapless.

The two names in a are found nowhere else; the comm. regards them as names of specific diseases, the one meaning 'wholly injurious,' the other 'especially injurious.' The root çṛ has not been found with ā as prefix ⌊except, as noted by OB. vi. 209, at GB. i. 2. 18⌋. The words might of course also be epithets. The only variants concern the accent of pṛṣṭyāmayam; the majority of mss. agree with the editions; some have pṛṣṭyā̀mayam. Ppp. reads at the beginning āçarīraṁ, and in d arasaṁ.