Page:Atharva-Veda samhita volume 2.djvu/432

AV. corruption, of both sense and meter, in b, pratárītā uṣ-, supported by the pada-reading pra॰tárītāḥ, is very strange; of our mss., only three (O.K., supported by Op. -tā: uṣ-) have the correct -to ’ṣ-; of SPP's, according to his account, about half support -to ’ṣ-, and he accordingly admits that reading into his text; we ought to have done the same by emendation. For hā́rdim āviçán (p. ā॰viçán) man-, the comm. reads hārdima...aviçat...mau-.⌋ What right the verse has here (or vs. 60, coming from the same RV. hymn) does not appear; neither Kāuç. nor the comm. uses it in the ritual; but the latter says, as if by way of excuse, that, as the Fathers enjoy the fruit of the soma-sacrifices which they have offered, soma is praised in the ceremonies for the Fathers. He explains the 'rivers' in c as the vasatīvarī waters. ⌊He says, p. 224²³, vṛṣā matīnām ityādīnāṁ tisṛṇām (vss. 58, 59, 60) pitṛmedha eva kāṇḍokto viniyogo ‘nusaṁdheyaḥ, which is not clear to me: should it be pitṛmedhakāṇḍa evokto?⌋

59. Let thy sparkling (? tveṣá) smoke cover, being in the sky, extended bright; for thou, O purifier, shinest like the sun with luster, with beauty (kṛpā́).

The verse is RV. vi. 2. 6 and SV. i. 83; both read ṛṇvati in a; ⌊in b, SV. combines diví sáṅ ch-: cf. diví ṣáṅ ch- at xvii. 1. 12⌋. The comm. explains kṛpā as = kṛpayā or stutyā. Vāit. (6. 11) uses the verse, with others, in the ceremony of establishing the fires.

60. Soma (índu) verily goes forward to Indra's rendezvous; the comrade does not violate (pra-mī) the comrade's agreements; thou rushest to join, as a male after females—soma, in the jar, by a road of a hundred tracks.

The verse corresponds to RV. ix. 86. 16, which has, however, important variants: in a, pró ayāsīd índur and niṛkṛtám; in b, saṁgíram; in c, yuvatíbhis and arṣati; in d, çatáyāmnā; SV. (i. 557; ii. 502) agrees with RV. except in the last item, having, like our text, -yāmanā. ⌊The meter shows that it is to be pronounced -yāmanā, whichever way it is written: cf. JAOS. x. 532.⌋ Our níṣkṛtim is hardly better than a corruption of the RV. reading; but the comm. understands it as Indra's "belly" (jaṭharalakṣaṇāṁ sthānam), and supports his opinion by quoting RV. iii. 35. 6. Saṁgirás, in b, is understood in the translation as saṁgíras (which is read by two or three mss., including our O.), the former being unintelligible; the comm. gives two explanations, both implying the accent -gír-, one from sam-gṛ 'agree,' the other from sam-gṛ or -gil 'swallow down,' thus finding in the verse another "belly" (saṁgiras = saṁgiram = udaram). Our text of c spoils both the meter and the connection, making the line render very lamely; the comm. reads yóṣā and takes it as an instrumental (like yuvatíbhis); in d he has the RV.SV. reading. The metrical definition of the Anukr. is worthless. ⌊The RV. verse is a good jagatī, and so is this, barring c, where the corruptions have spoiled meter as well as sense.⌋

61. They have eaten; they have revelled ⌊surely⌋; they have shaken off (áva) those that are dear; having own brightness (svábhānu), they have praised; inspired, youngest, we implore.

The verse corresponds to RV. i. 82. 2 a-d, and is found also in other texts: SV. i. 415; VS. iii. 51; TS. in i. 8. 5²; MS. in i. 10. 3. All these agree in reading in c priyā́s for priyā́n, and, for d, víprā náviṣṭhayā matī́; and they add a fifth pāda, a refrain, having nothing to do with the meaning of the verse. A majority of the AV.