vi, 92. Charm to endow a horse with swiftness . 145, 507 iii, 13. Charm for conducting a river into a new
channel 146, 348
vi, 106. Charm to ward off danger from fire. . 147, 514 iv, 3. Shepherd's charm against wild beasts and
robbers 147, 366
iii, 15. A merchant's prayer . . . .148,352
iv, 38. A. Prayer for success in gambling . . 149, 412 B. Prayer to secure the return of calves that
have strayed to a distance . . 150, 413 vii, 50. Prayer for success at dice . . .150, 548
vi, 56. Exorcism of serpents from the premises . 151, 487 x, 4. Charm against serpents, invoking the horse
of Pedu that slays serpents .... 152,605 xi, 2. Prayer to Bhava and *Sarva for protection
from dangers . . . . . . 155, 618
iv, 28. Prayer to Bhava and *Sarva for protection
from dangers 158, 406
vii, 9. Charm for finding lost property. . . 159, 542
vi, 128. Propitiation of the weather-prophet . . 160, 532
xi, 6. Prayer for deliverance from calamity, ad-
dressed to the entire pantheon . . . 160, 628
VIII. Charms in expiation of sin and defilement.
vi, 45. Prayer against mental delinquency . .163, 483
vi, 26. Charm to avert evil 163, 473
vi,. 114. Expiatory formula for imperfections in the
sacrifice 164, 528
vi, 115. Expiatory formulas for sins . . . 164,529 vi, 112. Expiation for the precedence of a younger
brother over an older 164,521
vi, 113. Expiation for certain heinous crimes . 165, 527
Contents. Xv
vi, 120. Prayer for heaven after remission of sins . 165, 529 vi, 27. Charm against pigeons regarded as ominous
birds 166, 474
vi, 29. Charm against ominous pigeons and owls . 166, 475 vii, 64. Expiation when one is defiled by a black
bird of omen 167, 555
vi, 46. Exorcism of evil dreams . . . .167, 485
vii, 115. Charm for the removal of evil character-
istics, and the acquisition of auspicious ones . 168, 564
IX. Prayers and imprecations in the interest of the
Brahmans.
v, 18. Imprecation against the oppressors of Brah- mans
v, 19. Imprecation against the oppressors of Brah- mans ........
v, 7. Prayer to appease Arati, the demon of grudge and avarice
xii, 4. The necessity of giving away sterile cows to the Brahmans
xi, 1. The preparation of the brahmaudana, the porridge given as a fee to the Brahmans
xii, 3. The preparation of the brahmaudana, the porridge given as a fee to the Brahmans
ix, 3. Removal of a house that has been presented to a priest as sacrificial reward
vi, 71. Brahmanical prayer at the receipt of gifts .
xx, 1 2 7. A kuntdpa-hymn
X. Cosmogonic and theosophic hymns.
xii, 1. Hymn to goddess Earth ....
xiii, 1. Prayer for sovereign power addressed to the god Rohita and his female Rohiwi
xi, 5. Glorification of the sun, or the primeval prin- ciple, as a Brahman disciple
xi, 4. Prawa, life or breath, personified as the supreme spirit
ix, 2. Prayer to Kama (love), personified as a pri- mordial power
XVI CONTENTS.
xix, 53. Prayer to Kala (time), personified as a pri- mordial principle
xix, 54. Prayer to Kala (time), personified as a pri- mordial principle
xi, 7. Apotheosis of the u^Msh/a, the leavings of the sacrifice ......
ix, 1 . Hymn to the honey-lash of the Asvins
Indexes : —
I. Index of Subjects
II. Index of Hymns in the order of the Atharva-veda
Additions and Corrections
Transliteration of Oriental Alphabets adopted for the
Translations of the Sacred Books of the East . 713
INTRODUCTION.
I. The names of the Atharva-veda and
THEIR MEANINGS.
The fourth Veda is known in Hindu literature by an
The com- unusually large number of appellations. Of
pound stem these the dvandva plural atharvangirasa^ is old,
atharvangiras. occurring Ay X ^ 2Q . jt jg the name found at
the head of the Atharvan MSS. themselves. The appear- ance of this name in a given text has not unfrequently been made the basis — partly or entirely — for estimating the rela- tive chronology of that text. But this criterion can claim only negative value, since the designation occurs in a text as late as the Aujanasa-smrzti, III, 44 *• It is found in a great variety of texts of the Vedic literature, as may be seen in the subsequent account of the attitude of Hindu literature towards the fourth Veda (p. xxviii ff.), but at no period does it positively exclude other designations.
The locative singular of this same compound occurs in a passage not altogether textually certain, Mahabh. Ill, 305, 20 = 17066, where the Bombay edition has atharvangi- rasi jrutam, but the Calcutta, atharva^irasi mitam. The locative singular (apparently neuter) of the stem atharvangi- rasa occurs rarely, Ya^av. I, 312 (kujalam atharvangirase). A specimen of a derivative adjective from the compound may be seen at Manu XI, 33, atharvangirasi/z sruttA; cf. Mahabh. VIII, 40, 33 = 1848, krztyam atharv&ngirasim.
1 See Glvananda's Dharmajastrasawgraha, vol. i, p. 514.
XV111 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
The name atharvan, with a great variety of derivatives, is employed growingly as the designation of
Meaning of , *.* t& , . . , . ,,..
each of the the Veda; the name angiras by itself is so terms atharvan rare as to arrest attention when it is met.
and angiras.
At TS. VII, 5, ii, 2 = Kanaka Ajvamedha- grantha, V, 2, occurs the formula angirobhya^ svaha, pre- ceded by rtgbhyak, &c. svaha : it is, as far as is known, the solitary occurrence of this designation of the Atharva- veda in a Vedic text1. Quite frequently, however, the members of the compound atharvangirasa^ are separated so that each is mentioned by itself, but always in more or less close conjunction with one another. This shows that the compound is not a congealed formula, but that the texts are conscious of the fact that each has a distinct individuality, and a right to separate existence. In other words, the AV. actually consists of atharvan and angiras matter, and the question arises what elements in the make- up of this Veda these terms refer to. The answer, I believe, may now be given with a considerable degree of certainty : the term atharvan refers to the auspicious practices of the Veda, the bhesha^-ani (AV. XI, 6, 14), those parts of the Veda which are recognised by the Atharvan ritual and the orthodox Brahmanical writings, as santa., ' holy,5 and paush/ika, ' conferring prosperity ; ' the term angiras refers to the hostile sorcery practices of the Veda, the yatu (Sat. Br. X, 5, 2, 20), or abhiHra2, which is terrible (ghora).
In an article entitled, ' On the position of the Vaitana- sutra in the literature of the Atharva-veda/ Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XI, 387 ff, I pointed out that the above-mentioned distinction is clearly made at Vait. Su. 5, 10, where two lists of plants are differentiated, one as atharva^ya^, the other as angirasya/*. The same distinction is maintained at Gop. Br. I, 2, 18. The former refers to the list of plants
1 In texts not Vedic the term angirasa/fc occurs occasionally as an abbreviated form of atharvangirasa^. Thus in the first superscription of the AV. Prati- jakhya, the 6aunakiya Aaturadhyayika, and in Pacini V, 2, 37. Cf. also Gop. Br. I, 1, 8.
2 For the distinction between janta and abhUarika see Kslus. 3, 19, and note 5 on p. 1 1 of our edition.
Introduction. Xix
catalogued at Kauy. 8, 16, and there distinctly described as sant&k, ' holy ;' the second list is stated at Vait. Su. 5, 10 itself to be angirasa, in the obscure terms, kapurviparva- rodakavWkkdvatina^/anirdahantibhir angirasibhi/£. These names are in general unknown, the text is not quite certain, but the designation of the last, nirdahanti, shows that the list is designed for unholy sorcery practices (abhiMrika) *. The adjective angirasa is in general in the ritualist texts of the AV. equivalent to abhiHrika. Thus sa/^bhara angi- rasa^, Kauj. 47, 2, means ' utensils for sorcery 2 ; ' da;/^/a angirasa^, Kauj. 47, 13, means ' staff for sorcery;' agnir angirasa/z, Kaui*. 14, 30, means 'sorcery-fire3.' The fifth kalpa of the AV., usually known as Angirasa-kalpa, bears also the names AbhiHra-kalpa, and Vidhana-kalpa, ' text- book of sorcery ; ' see ibid. XI, 376 fif.
It is worth while to follow out this specific use of the term angirasa in non-Atharvan texts, lest it be
ang^ra-Tin suspected of being an Atharvanic refinement. non-Atharvan The Rig-vidhana IV, 6, 4, has the following i-loka : ' He against whom those that are skilled in the Angirasakalpas practice sorcery repels them all with the Pratyangirasakalpa 4.' The term pratyangirasa is the exact equivalent of pratyabhiMra/za, ' counter- witch- craft5' (AV. II, 11, 2), and the krztyapratihara/zani, Ath. Pari.?. 32, 2 (cf. Kau^. 39, 7, note). The texts of the sort called atharva/zapratyangirakalpam (! see Ind. Stud. I, 469) deal with the same theme, as does the Ya^iir-vidhana (Agni-pura^a, 259, 10) in the expression pratyangireshu (sc. karmasu). Cf. also the titles of works, pratyangiratatva, pratyangirapa?X£anga, and pratyangirasukta, mentioned in Bohtlingk's Lexicon, as probably dealing with the same theme. We may connect with this pejorative use of the
1 Cf. AV. Ill, 2, 5 ; VII, 108, 2 ; IX, 2, 4; 5, 31 ; XIV, 2, 48.
2 Darila, ghoradravya/zi.
3 Kcfava, angirasoxgni^ H«</alagni,#.
* yam angirasakalpais tu tadvido * bhi^aranti sa pratyangirasakalpena sarvaws tan pratibadhate. Cf. also the following jlokas, and IV, 8, 3 ; Ath. Parij. 3, I ; and see Rudolf Meyer's preface to his edition of the Rig-vidhana, p. xxxi.
5 Sayawa, nivaryate parakr/tabhiMra^anita krz'tya anena iti pratyabhi£a- rawa^.
XX HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
word angirasa the fact that the Vishnu- pura^a (Wilson's translation, V, 383) and the Bhavishya-purawa count the Angirasa as one of the four Vedas of the Parsis (Maga), the other three, Vada, Vi^vavada, and Vidut, also conveying thinly veiled disparagement of the religious books of an exotic religion ; cf. Wilson in Reinaud's Memoire sur l'lnde, p. 394; Ind. Stud. I, 292, note; Weber, Ind. Lit.2, p. 164, note. We may then regard it as certain that the words angiras and angirasa are reflected by the ceremonial literature in the sense of abhL£ara and abhi^arika. Far more important is the evidence of certain texts of greater antiquity, and higher dignity, wrhich have occasion to mention the Atharvan inci- dentally, and enunciate clearly this twofold character of the Veda. They make the very same distinction between atharvan and angiras that appeared above in the ritualistic passage, Vait. Su. 5, 10 (Gop. Br. I, 2, 18). At 5ankh. 5r. XVI, 2, 1 fif., on the occasion of the horse-sacrifice, recita- tions are made from the ordinary Vedic classes of literature, the rik&k, ya^uwshi, samani, and also the remoter literary categories which the Brahma^as and Sutras report, with great unanimity and considerable variety, as having been in existence in their time : the itihasa (akhyana), pura/za, sarpavidya, &C.1 The Atharvan figures immediately after the Rik and Saman, and that too twice, in its double character as Atharvan and Angiras, and, what is more im- portant, bhesha^am, i.e. remedial charms, are recited from the Atharvan; ghoram, i.e. sorcery, abhi/£arikam, from the Angiras 2. The commentator regards bhesha^am and ghoram as distinct works, bhesha^agranthasya*tharva//i- kanam . . . ghoram atharva/zo grantha^. The same subject is treated in almost identical terms in Asv. Sr. X, 7, 1 ff. : again atharva/zo veda/i and angiraso veda^ are treated indi- vidually, and again the former is correlated with bhesha^am, the latter with ghoram 3. Once more this theme is handled
1 Cf. Max Miiller, History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 40 ff.
2 atharvavedo veda/z so*yam iti bhesha^aw nigadet . . . angiraso vedo veda>4 so * yam iti ghoram nigadet.
3 Scholiast, ghoram iti abhi/£aradipratipadakam ity artha//. Cf. RV. X, 34, 14, ma* no ghorewa £arata*bhi dhrtshnu.
Introduction. Xxi
by the 5at. Br. XIII, 4, 3, 3 ff. : here also atharvan and angiras are recognised individually ; the correlation with bhesha^-am and ghoram is wanting, but the individuality of the two categories is clearly implied in the behest to recite on the third and fourth days respectively one section each of the Atharvans and the Ahgiras, each of which are distinctly said to be a Veda \