Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book XIX/Hymn 35

35. The same.

[As 34.—pañcakam. 3. pathyāpan̄kti; 4. nicṛt triṣṭubh.]

This hymn is found with the preceding in Pāipp. (in xi.), and it has the same viniyoga.

Translated: Grohmann, Ind. Stud. ix. 419; Zimmer, p. 65; Bloomfield, 39, 674; Griffith, ii. 293.

1. Taking (grah) the name of Indra, the seers gave the jan̄giḍá, which the gods in the beginning made a remedy, spoiler of the víṣkandha.

The comm. (apparently by an oversight) explains at the end viṣkandhabheṣajam, while his text, according to SPP., agrees with ours.

2. Let that jan̄giḍá defend us, as a protector of riches his riches; which ⌊jan̄giḍá⌋ the gods, the Brahmans, made a protector round about, slayer of niggards.

The pada-mss. read at end of b dhána॰iva; ⌊SPP. emends to dhánā॰iva, which the translation implies;⌋ Ppp. gives dhanāi ’va.

3. The enemy of terrible aspect (-cákṣús), the evil-doer that has come—them do thou, O thousand-eyed one, make to vanish by thy watchfulness (? pratībodhá); thou art jan̄giḍá that protects round about.

The translation implies in a emendation to durhā́rdaṁ ghorácakṣuṣam, which is venturesome, but something has to be done to make sense. SPP. reads, with ⌊most of⌋ the mss. and the comm., durhā́rdaḥ sáṁghoraṁ (= atyantakrūram, comm.) cákṣus; the comm. ⌊joins cakṣus with⌋ nāçaya. Ppp. gives no help; its text (dūhārda saṁghora cakṣuṁ) apparently is meant for the same with ours. In b is implied, instead of the ā́ ’gamam of the mss. and both editions, ā́gatam, which may be confidently accepted on the authority of both Ppp. and the comm. ⌊But ā́dabhan is read by W's O., by two of SPP's mss., and by a third,* s.m.⌋ Our text emends at the end to jan̄giḍá; as all the authorities, including Ppp., give -ḍaḥ, this is retained in the translation. In d the comm. appears to have pratib-, but it is very probably an oversight of the ms. The Anukr. takes no notice of the deficiency of a syllable in c. *⌊The carefully corrected Dc.⌋

4. Me from the sky, me from the earth, from the atmosphere, me from the plants, me from what is, and me from what is to be—from every direction let the jan̄giḍá protect us about.

The majority of mss. accent in c mó ’tá bhavyā́t. One of the mss. of the Anukr. calls the verse a jagatī; for this there is no ground, but also as little for calling it nicṛt as a triṣṭubh.

5. What [witchcraft-]workers are made by the gods, and also what from mortals—all those may the all-healing jan̄giḍá make sapless.

The translation follows our text, which deviates widely from that of the mss. in a, b. All these have, without exception, yáḥ kṛṣṇávo; all further devakṛtā (p. deva॰kṛtāḥ), but with differences of accent; ⌊of SPP's authorities, 6 give correctly -vá-, and 8 give give -tā́ḥ;⌋ then they vary in b between yá and ya (all that pada-mss. yáḥ); all have utó (p. utó íti); ⌊but W's B. seems to read yátó;⌋ finally, they vary between vabhṛtenyàḥ (the majority), -tenyáḥ, -thenyàḥ, -tyenyàḥ (the pada-mss., vabhṛtenyàḥ, or -tényaḥ). SPP's text has yá (p. yé) ṛṣṇávo devákṛtā (p. -tāḥ) yá (p. yáḥ) utó vavṛté ‘nyáḥ (p. vavṛté: anyáḥ: but this would give for saṁhitā-text vavṛtè ‘nyáḥ), which, apart from the added accents, is the text of the comm., as SPP. reports; the comm., however, assumes in his explanation ye...anye in b instead of yáḥ...anyáḥ, and declares vavṛte = vavṛtire. Ppp., finally, gives ye ṛṣṇavo devakṛtā yo co bibhṛthebhyā. The case is evidently a rather desperate one. The word ṛṣṇavas, found in both Ppp. and comm., occurs nowhere else; the comm. gives for it one of his usual artificial and wholly worthless explanations, gantāro hiṅsakāḥ puruṣāḥ; b he makes to mean "also what other oppressors (bādhakās) go about."