4. With my eye do I slay thy eye, with poison
28 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
do I slay thy poison. O serpent, die, do not live; back upon thee shall thy poison turn!
5. O kairdta, speckled. one, upatvzmya (grass-
dweller ?), brown one, listen to me; ye black re-
pulsive reptiles, (listen to me)! Do not stand upon
the ground of my friend; cease with your poison
and make it known (to people ?) |!
6. I release (thee) from the fury of the black
serpent, the taimata, the brown serpent, the poison
that is not fluid, the all-conquering, as the bow-
string (is loosened) from the bow, as chariots (from
horses).
7. Both Aligt and Viligi, both father and mother,
we know your kin everywhere. Deprived of your
strength what will ye do?
8. The daughter of urugfl4, the evil one born
with the black—of all those who have run to their
hiding-place the poison is devoid of force.
9. The prickly porcupine, tripping down from the
mountain, did declare this: ‘Whatsoever serpents,
living in ditches, are heré, their poison is most
deficient in force.’
10. Tabuvam (or) not tabuvam, thou (O serpent)
art not-tabuvam. Through taébuvam thy poison is
bereft of force.
11. Tastuvam (or) not tastuvam, thou (O serpent)
art not tastuvam. Through tastuvam thy poison is
bereft of force.
VI, 12. Charm against snake-poison.
1. As the sun (goes around) the heavens I have
surrounded the race of the serpents. As night (puts
to rest) all animals except the hamsa bird, (thus) do
I with this (charm) ward off thy poison.
I. Charms to Cure Diseases. 29
2. With (the charm) that was found of yore by
the Brahmans, found by the /zshis, and found by
the gods, with (the charm) that was, will be, and is
now present, with this do I ward off thy poison.
3. With honey do I mix the rivers; the moun-
tains and peaks are honey. MHoney are the rivers
Parushmi and Sipala. Prosperity be to thy mouth,
prosperity to thy heart!
VII, 56. Charm against the poison of serpents, scorpions, and insects.
1. The poison infused by the serpent that is
striped across, by the black serpent, and by the’
adder ; that poison of the kankaparvan (‘with limbs
like a comb,’ scorpion) this plant has driven out.
2. This herb, ‘born of honey, dripping honey,
sweet as honey, honied, is the remedy for injuries;
moreover it crushes insects.
3. Wherever thou hast been bitten, wherever
thou hast been sucked, from there do we exorcise
for thee the poison of the small, greedily biting
insect, (so that it be) devoid of strength.
4. Thou (serpent) here, crooked, without joints,
and without limbs, that twisteth thy crooked jaws—
mayest thou, O Brvzhaspati, straighten them out, as
a (bent) reed!
5. The poison of the sarkofa (scorpion) that
creeps low upon the ground, (after he) has been
deprived of his strength, I have taken away; more-
over I have caused him to be crushed.
6. There is no strength in thy arms, in thy head,
nor in the middle (of thy body). Then why dost
thou so wickedly carry a small (sting) in thy tail ?
30 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
7. The ants devour thee, pea-hens hack thee to
pieces. Yea, every one of you shall declare the
poison of the sarko¢a powerless !
8. Thou (scorpion) that strikest with both, with
mouth as well as tail, in thy mouth there is no
poison: then what can there be in the receptacle
in thy tail? |
VI, 16. Charm against ophthalmia.
1. O Abayu, (and even if) thou art not dbayu,
strong is thy juice, O Abayu! We eat a gruel,
compounded of thee.
2. Vihalha is thy father’s name, Madavati thy
mother’s name. Thou art verily not such, as to
have consumed thy own self.
3. O Tauvilika, do be quiet! This howling one
has become quiet. O brown one, and brown-eared
one, go away! Go out, O Ala!
VI, 21. Charm to promote the growth of hair.
1. Of these three earths (our) earth verily is the
highest. From the surface of these I have now
plucked a remedy. .
2. Thou art the most excellent of remedies, the
best of plants, as Soma (the moon) is the lord in
the watches of the night, as Varuza (is king) among
the gods.
3. O ye wealthy, irresistible (plants), ye do
generously bestow benefits. And ye strengthen the
hair, and, moreover, promote its increase.
I. Charms to Cure Diseases. 31
VI, 136. Charm with the plant nitatni to promote the growth of hair. _
1. As a goddess upon the goddess earth thou
wast born, O plant! We dig thee up, O nitatnt, that
thou mayest strengthen (the growth) of the hair.
2. Strengthen the old (hair), beget the new! That which has come forth render more luxurious!
3. That hair of thine which does drop off, and
that which is broken root and all, upon it do
I sprinkle here the all-healing herb.
VI, 137. Charm to promote the growth of hair.
1. The (plant) that Gamadagni dug up to promote
the growth of his daughter's hair, Vitahavya has
brought here from the dwelling of Asita.
2. With reins they had to be measured, with out-
stretched arms they had to be measured out. May
thy hairs grow as reeds, may they (cluster), black,
about thy head! ,
3. Make firm their roots, draw out their ends,
expand their middle, O herb! May thy hairs grow
as reeds, may they (cluster), black, about thy head!
IV, 4. Charm to promote virility.
1. Thee, the plant, which the Gandharva dug up
for Varuza, when his virility had decayed, thee, that
causest strength!, we dig up.
2. Ushas (Aurora), Sdrya (the sun), and this charm
of mine; the bull Pragdpati (the lord of creatures)
shall with his lusty fire arouse him!
1 The original, more drastically, sepaharshanim. By a few
changes and omissions in stanzas 3, 6, and 7 the direct simplicity of the original has been similarly veiled.
32 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
3. This herb shall make thee so -very full of
lusty strength, that thou shalt, when thou art excited,
exhale heat as a thing on fire!
4. The fire of the plants, and the essence of the
bulls shall arouse him! Do thou, O Indra, con-
troller of bodies, place the lusty force of men into
this person !
5. Thou (O herb) att the first-born sap of the
waters and also of the plants. Moreover thou art
the brother of Soma, and the lusty force of the
antelope buck!
6. Now, O Agni, now, O Savitar, now, O goddess
Sarasvati, now, O Brahmamzaspati, do thou stiffen
the pasas as a bow!
7. I stiffen thy pasas as a bowstring upon the
bow. Embrace thou (women) as the antelope buck
the gazelle with ever unfailing (strength) !
8. The strength of the horse, the mule, the goat
and the ram, moreover the strength of the bull
bestow upon him, O controller of bodies (Indra) !
VI, rrr. Charm against mania.
1. Release for me, O Agni, this person here,
who, bound and well-secured, loudly jabbers! Then
shall he have due regard for thy share (of the offer-
ing), when he shall be free from madness!
2. Agni shall quiet down thy mind, if it has been
disturbed! Cunningly do I prepare a remedy, that
thou shalt be freed from madness.
3. (Whose mind) has been maddened by the sin
of the gods, or been robbed of sense by the Rakshas,
(for him) do I cunningly prepare a remedy, that he
shall be free from madness.
4. May the Apsaras restore thee, may Indra, may
I. Charms to Cure Diseases. 35
Bhaga restore thee; may all the gods restore thee, that thou mayest be freed from madness!
IV, 37. Charm with the plant agasyzngi to drive out Rakshas, Apsaras and Gandharvas.
. With thee, O herb, the Atharvans first slew
i Rakshas, with thee Kasyapa slew (them), with
thee Kazva and Agastya (slew them).
2. With thee do we scatter the Apsaras and Gan-
dharvas. O agasyzngi (odina pinnata), goad (aga)
the Rakshas, drive them all away with thy smell!
3. The Apsaras, Gugguli, Pila, Naladi, Auksha-
gandhi, and Pramandani (by name), shall go to the
river, to the ford of the waters, as if blown away! |
Thither do ye, O Apsaras, pass away, (since) ye
have been recognised !
4. Where grow the asvattha (ficus religiosa) and
the banyan-trees, the great trees with crowns, thither
do ye, O Apsaras, pass away, (since) ye have been
recognised !
5. Where your gold and silver swings are, where
cymbals and lutes chime together, thither do ye,
O Apsaras, pass away, (since) ye have been recog-
nised.
6. Hither has come the mightiest of the plants
and herbs. May the agasvzngi ara¢aki pierce with
her sharp horn (tikshmasvzngi) !
7. Of the crested Gandharva, the husband of the
Apsaras, who comes dancing hither, I crush the
two mushkas and cut off the sepas.
8. Terrible are the missiles of Indra, with a hun-
dred points, brazen; with these he shall pierce the
Gandharvas, who devour oblations, and devour the
avak4-reed.,
34 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
9. Terrible are the missiles of Indra, with a hun-
dred points, golden; with these he shall pierce the
Gandharvas, who devour oblations, and devour the
avak4-reed. |
10. All the Pisd#as that devour the avak4-reeds,
that burn, and spread their little light in the waters,
do thou, O herb, crush and overcome!
11. One is like a dog, one like an ape. As
a youth, with luxuriant locks, pleasant to look upon,
the Gandharva hangs about the woman. Him do
we drive out from here with our powerful charm.
12. The Apsaras, you know, are your wives; ye,
the Gandharvas, are their husbands. Speed away,
ye immortals, do not go after mortals!
II, 9. Possession by demons of disease, cured by an amulet of ten kinds of wood.
1. O (amulet) of ten kinds of wood, release this
man from the demon (rakshas) and the fit (grahi)
which has seized upon (gagraha) his joints! Do
thou, moreover, O plant, lead him forth to the world
of the living!
2. He has come, he has gone forth, he has joined
the community of the living. And he has become
the father of sons, and the most happy of men!
3. This person has come to his senses, he has
come to the cities of the living. For he (now) has
a hundred physicians, and also a thousand herbs.
4. The gods have found thy arrangement, (O
amulet); the Brahmans, moreover, the plants. All
the gods have found thy arrangement upon the earth.
5. (The god) that has caused (disease) shall per- form the cure; he is himself the best physician.
I, Charms to Cure Diseases. 35
Let him indeed, the holy one, prepare remedies for thee, together with the (earthly) physician !
IV, 36. Charm against demons (pisdéa) conceived as the cause of disease.
1. May Agni Vaisvanara, the bull of unfailing
strength, burn up him that is evil-disposed, and
desires to harm us, and him that plans hostile deeds
against us!
_ 2. Between the two rows of teeth of Agni Vais-
vanara do I place him that plans to injure us, when
we are not planning to injure him; and him that
plans to injure us, when we do plan to injure him.
3. Those who hound us in our chambers, while
shouting goes on in the night of the new moon, and
the other flesh-devourers who plan to injure us, all
of them do I overcome with might.
4. With might I overcome the PisdZas, rob them
of their property; all evil-disposed (demons) do
I slay: may my device succeed!
5. With the gods who vie with, and measure their
swiftness with this sun, with those that are in the
rivers, and in the mountains, do I, along with my
cattle, consort.
6. I plague the Pisd#as as the tiger the cattle-
owners. As dogs who have seen a lion, these do
not finda refuge.
7. My strength does not lie with Pisdéas, nor
with thieves, nor with prowlers in the forest. From
the village which I enter the Pisdsas vanish away.
8. From the village which my fierce power has
entered the Pis4éZas vanish away; they do not devise
evil.
36 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA.
9. They who irritate me with their jabber, as
(buzzing) mosquitoes the elephant, them I regard as
wretched (creatures), as small vermin upon people.
10. May Nirvdti (the goddess of destruction) take
hold of this one, as a horse with the halter! The
fool who is wroth with me is not freed from (her)
snare.
II, 25. Charm with the plant pvzsniparzi against the demon of disease, called kazva.
1. The goddess Przsniparmi has prepared pros-
perity for us, mishap for Nirvzti (the goddess of
destruction). For she is a fierce devourer of the
Kazvas: her, the mighty, have I employed.
2. The Przsniparzi was first begotten power-
ful; with her do I lop off the heads of the evil
brood, as (the head) of a bird.
3. The blood-sucking demon, and him that tries
to rob (our) health, Kazva, the devourer of our
offspring, destroy, O Pvzsniparzi, and overcome!
4. These Kazvas, the effacers of life, drive into
the mountain; go thou burning after them like fire,
O goddess Przsniparai!
5. Drive far away these Kazvas, the effacers of
life! Where the dark regions are, there have
I made these flesh-eaters go.