Release From Extract of Lb 6 Atarva Veda

115. For relief from sin.

[Brahman. vaipvadevam. dnnstnbham^\

Found also in Paipp. xvi. For the use of this hymn by Kaug., and in part by Vait,

with the preceding, see under that hymn ; Vait. has this one also alone in the agrayana

isti (8. 7), with ii. 16. 2 and v. 24. 7 ; and vs. 3 appears (30. 23) in the sautramam, next

after hymn 1 14.

Translated : Ludwig, p. 443 ; Zimmer, p. 182 (vss. 2, 3) ; Grill, 46, 172 ; Griffith, i. 308 ;

Bloomfield, 164, 529.

365 TRANSLATION AND NOTES. BOOK VI. -vi. 116

"I. If knowing, if unknowing, we have committed sins, do ye free us

from that, O all gods, accordant.

The reading sajosasas at the end in our text is, though evidently preferable*, hardly

more than an emendation, since it is read only by our P.M.T. ; SPP. gives sajosasas ;

the comm. takes the word as a nominative. With the verse may be compared VS.

viii. 13 f (prose). The redundant syllable in a is ignored by the Anukr.

2. If waking, if sleeping, I sinful have committed sin, let what is and

what is to be free me from that, as from a post (drufadd).

The verse nearly corresponds with one in TB. ii. 4. 49, which reads in a y. diva y.

ndktam, dkarat at end of b, and muncatuh (-/// ?) at end of d. With a, b is to be compared

VS. xx. 1 6 a, b, which has svdpne for svapdn, and, for b, faansi cakrtna vaydm.

Our svapdn in a is an emendation for svdpan, which all the authorities read, and which

SPP. accepts in his text. The pada mss. mostly accent enasydh in c (our D. has -ah,

the true reading), and SPP. wrongly admits it in his pada text. The comm. explains

drupada, doubtless correctly, by padabandhanartho drumah.

3. Being freed as if from a post, as one that has sweated from filth on

bathing, like sacrificial butter purified by a purifier let all cleanse

(fumb/i) me of sin.

This verse is found in several Yajus texts : in VS. (xx. 20), TB. (ii. 4. 49), K. (xxxviii. 5),

and MS. (iii.

ii. 10). TB.MS. add id after iva in a; in b, for snatva, VS. gives snatds,

and MS. sndtm; in d, TB.MS. read muncantu for $umbhantu, while VS. reads (better)

$undhantu and before \tapas instead of iifyi'e ; Ppp. reads vi^vdn nnincantu ; and it

further has sindhu for svinnas in b. This time the comm. gives kasthamayiit padabandhanat

as equivalent of drupadat. The Anukr. passes without notice the excess of

syllables in a. [/The vs. occurs also TB. ii. 6. 6^, with Id again, and with d as in VS.

And the Calc. ed. of TB. prints both times svinnd snatv6.\ [_As to qumbh, see BR.

vii. 261 top.J

116. For relief from guilt.

[Jdtikdyana. vdivasvatadevatyam. jagatam : 2. tnstubh.}

Found also in Paipp. xvi. The hymn is used by Kauc,. in the chapter of portents

(132. i), in a rite for expiation of the spilling of sacrificial liquids. As to the whole

aniwaka, see under hymn 114.

Translated : Ludwig, p. 443 ; Griffith, i. 309.

i. What that was Yama's the Karshlvanas made, digging down in the

beginning, food-acquiring, not with knowledge, that I make an oblation

unto the king, Vivasvant's son ; so let our food be sacrificial (yajfttya),

rich in sweet.

Perhaps better emend at beginning to yddy amdm [Bloomfield makes the same suggestion,

AJ P. xvii. 428, SBE. xlii. 45 7 J ; the comm. explains by yamasambandhi krnram.

The karslvanas are doubtless the plowmen, they of the kindred of krsfvan ( krslvala)

*the plower' : whatever offense, leading to death or to Yama's realm, they committed in

wounding the earth. The comm. calls the krsivanas Qudras, and their workmen the

karslvanas; in b, he reads na vidas for annavidas. The metrical irregularities are

ignored by the Anukr.

vi. 116- BOOK VI. THE ATHARVA-VEDA-SAMHITA. 366

2. Vivasvant's son shall make [us] an apportionment ; having a portion

of sweet, he shall unite [us] with sweet whatever sin of [our] mother's,

sent forth, hath come to us, or what [our] father, wronged,* hath done

in wrath.

For bhdgadheyam in a, Ppp. reads bhesajani. The two half-verses hardly belong

together. The comm. explains aparaddhas by asmatkrtdparddhena vimukhah san.

*[_In his ms. Whitney wrote "

guilty

"

(which seems much better) and then changed it

to "

wronged."J

3. If from [our] mother or if from our father, forth from brother,

from son, from thought (cttas\ this sin hath come to [us] as many

Fathers as have fastened on (sac) us, of them all be the fury propitious

[to us].

In most of the/fldfo-mss. agan at end of b is wrongly resolved into a : agan, instead

of ddgan (our Kp. has foagan). Cttasas the comm. understands to mean 4 our own

mind '

; we should be glad to get rid of the word ; its reduction to ca, or the omission

of bhratur or putrat, would rectify the redundant meter, which the Anukr. passes

unnoticed. The comm. paraphrases pari in b apparently by anyasmad api parijandt !

117. For relief from guilt or debt.

\K3ufika (anrnakdmah). dgncyam. trdistubham^\

Found also in Paipp. xvi. The hymn |_not i cd, 2 cdj occurs in TB. (iii. 7-98

-9), and

parts of it elsewhere, see under the verses. [_For i and 3, see also v. Schroeder, Tubinger

Katha-hss., p. 70 and 6i.J Hymns 117-119 are used in Kau$. (133. i) in the rite in

expiation of the portent of the burning of one's house ; and Kec,. (to Kaug. 46. 36) quotes

them as accompanying the satisfaction of a debt after the death of a creditor, by paymenj

to his son or otherwise ; the comm. gives (as part of the Kauc,. text) the pratlka

of 117. |_For the whole anuvaka, see under h. H4-J In Vait. (24. 15), in the agnistoma,

h. 1 17 goes with the burning of the vedL

Translated: Ludwig, p. 444 ; Griffith, i. 309.

i. What I eat (?) that is borrowed, that is not given back; with what

tribute of Yama I go about now, O Agni, I become guiltless (anrnd)

as to that ; thou knowest how to unfasten all fetters.

The translation implies emendation of dsmi to ddmi in a ; this is suggested by jaghasa

in vs. 2, and is adopted by Ludwig also ; but possibly apratittam asmi might be borne

as a sort of careless vulgar expression for " I am guilty of non-payment." More or less

of the verse is found in several other texts, with considerable variations of reading:

thus TS. (iii. 3. 8->); TA. (ii. 3. i), and MS. (iv. 14. 17) have padas a, b, c (as a, b, d

in TS.) ; in a, all with ydt kitsidam for apamityam and without asmi, and TA.MS.

with dpratltam, and TS. ending with mdyi (for ydt), and TA.MS. with mdye *hd; in

b, all put//;/rt before yamdsya, and TA.MS. have nidhina for balind, while MS. ends

with cdravas; in c (d in TS.), all read etdt for iddm^ and MS. accents dnrnas (c in

TS. is thai *vd sdn nirdvadaye tdt ; cf. our 2 a) ; d in TA. is jivann evd prdti tdt te

dadhami, with which MS. nearly agrees, but is corrupt at the end : j.e.p. hastanrnani.

TB. (iii. 7. 98

) corresponds only in the first half-verse (with it precisely agrees ApS.

in xiii. 22, 5) : thus, yany apamitydny dprattttany dsmi yamdsya balina cdrami; its

367 TRANSLATION AND NOTES. BOOK VI. -vi. Il8

other half-verse corresponds with our 2 a, b. MB. (ii. 3. 20) has^/ kusfdam apradattam

maye 'ha yetia yamasya nidhind cardni : idam tad agne anrno bhavdwi jlvann

tva pratidatte daddni. |_This suggests bhavani as an improvement in our c.J Finally

GB. (11.4.8) quotes the pratlka in this form: yat kusidarn apamityam apratltam.

Ppp. reads for a, b apamrtyum apratltam yad asminnasyena, etc., and, for d, jivanna

tna prati daddmi sarvam (nearly as TA. d, above). The comm. takes balina as =

balavatd.

2. Being just here we give it back ; living, we pay it in (ni-hr) for the

living; what grain I have devoured having borrowed [it], now, O Agni,

I become guiltless as to that.

With the first half-verse nearly agrees TB. (as above ; also ApSM as above), which

reads, however, tdd ydtaydmas for dadma enat. The comm. has dadhmas for dadtnas

in a ; he explains ni hardmas by nitaram niyawena vd ^pdkurwah. Ppp. has etat at

nd of a ; in c, apamrtyu again, also (c, d) jaghdsd agnir md tasmdd anrnam krnotu.

Apamttyam in this verse also would be a more manageable form, as meaning ' what is

to be measured (or exchanged) off,' i.e. in repayment. Jaghasa in our text is a misprint

for -ghds-.

3. Guiltless in this [world], guiltless in the higher, guiltless in the

third world may we be ; the worlds traversed by the gods and traversed

by the Fathers all the roads may we abide in guiltless.

The verse is found in TB. (iii. 7. 98-9), TA. (ii. 154), and ApS. (xiii. 22. 5), with

-mi/is tr- at junction of a and b (except in TB. as printed), with ntd inserted before

pilryanas and ca lokas omitted after it (thus rectifying the meter, of which the Anukr.

ignores the irregularity), and with ksiyewa (bad) at the end. Anrnd means also * free

from debt or obligation

'

; there is no English word which (like German schuldlos)

covers its whole sense. The comm. points out that it has here both a sacred and a profane

meaning, applying to what one owes to his fellow-men, and what duties to* the

gods. Ppp. combines anrnd *smin in a, and has the readings of TB. etc. in C, and

adima for a ksiyema at the end.

118. For relief from guilt.

[A'auft'Aa (anrnakSmafi). Sgneyam. trdistubham^\

Found also in Paipp. xvi. |_The Katha-version of vss. i and 2 is given by v. Schroeder,

Tubinger Katha-hss., p. 70 f. J Is not used by Vait., nor by Kauc,. otherwise than with

|_the whole amwdka andj hymn 117: [_see under hymns 1 14 and I I7j.


i. If (ydt} with our hands we have done offenses, desiring to take up

the course (?) of the dice, let the two Apsarases, fierce-(/^;^-)seeing,

fierce-conquering, forgive today that guilt (rnd) of ours.

Our mss., like SPP's, waver in b between gatnum and #////;;/ QY gantfiw, but it is a

mere indistinctness of writing, m& gatnum (which not even Bohtlingk's last supplement

gives) is doubtless the genuine reading, as given by SPP. ; our gayd/M is an unsuccessful

conjecture. The comm. paraphrases the word with gantavyam qabdasparqadiirisayam,

and upalips- with anubhamtum icchantah : desiring to sense the sound, feeling, etc.* ;


our knowledge of the ancient Hindu game of dice is not sufficient to enable us to translate

the pada intelligently. The verse is found also in several Yajus texts, TB. (iii. 7.

123), TA. (ii. 4. i), and MS. (iv. 14. 17) ; all read cakdra in a, and vagntim (MS. vagmtim)

for gatnum in b, and TB.TA. end b with ttpajighnamdnah (while MS. has the

corrupt reading dvajighram apati) ; in c, d, TB.TA. have the version diirepa$ya (TA.

ugrampaqya) ca rdstrabhfc ca tany apsardsdv dnu dattdm rnani, and MS., very corruptly,

ugrdm pa$yac ca rastrabhfc ca tany apsardsdm dnu datta 'nrnani. The comm.,

heedless of the accent, takes the first two words in c as vocatives. Ppp. reads, in a, b,

kilvisam aksam aktam avilipsamdndh.

2. O fierce-seeing one ! realm-bearing one ! [our] offenses, what happened

at the dice forgive ye that to us ; may there not come in

Yama's world one having a rope on, desiring to win from us debt (rnd)

from debt.

Two of the other texts (TA.MS., as above) have this verse also, and with unimportant

variations in the first half : TA. simply omits nas in b, thus rectifying the meter ;

MS. does the same, but it is also corrupt at the beginning, reading ugrdm pa$yt*d

rastrabhrt k-. Ppp. reads ;/. rdstrabhrtas kilvisam y. a. a. dattan i>as tat. But in

the difficult and doubtful second half, the readings are so diverse as to show themselves

mere corrupt guesses : thus, TA. wen na rnan rndva it samdno y. /. a. aya; MS. ndmna

(p. rttt : itaJi) rnan rndvan ipsamdno y. 1. nidhtr djaraya ; Ppp. (c) nrni'dno nrnva

yad ayacchamano. The comm. explains rnan (nah) as either for rnan or for rnat;

the pada-text gives the latter, of course. The f>ada-text does not divide crts-, as it

doubtless should, into airts-, in c; the comm. reads instead ecchamanas ( = rnam grahitum

abhita icchati) and explains adhirajjus by asmadgrahandya pa$ahastah. The

other texts, it will have been noticed, mentioned rastrabhrt instead of ugrajit as second

Apsaras in the first verse. The irregularities of meter are passed unnoticed by the

Anukr. [_B6htlingk, ZDMG. Iii. 250, discusses the vs. at length. He suggests for c,

rndhmd no nd rndm drtsamdno^ or perhaps ;//;/djin vajibhir mo *ttardm mad devapatni apsarasdpadttam. The comm. reads

abhyemi in b. By analogy with abhyaiwi, the pada-text understands upatwi as upaatmi

in a. Our #ada-mss. also leave ma unaccented in c. The comm. paraphrases

adhl *tam with madvijndpanam citte 'vadhdrayatam.

1 19. For relief from guilt or obligation.

(anrnakdmah). dgneyam. trdtstnbhamJ\

Found also in Paipp. xvi. (in the verse-order i, 3, 2). All the verses occur, but not

together, in TA. [See also v. Schroeder, Zwei Hss., p. 15, for vss. 2 and 3; and

Tubinger Katha-hss., pp. 70, 75, for i, 2, and 3.J Is not used by Vait., nor by Kauc,.

otherwise than with [_the whole anuvdka and withj hymns 117 and 118; see under

|_hymns 114 and Ii7j.


369 TRANSLATION AND NOTES. BOOK VI. -vi. I2O

1. If (ydt), not playing, I make debt, also, O Agni, promise (sam-gr)

not intending to give, may Vai^vanara, our best over-ruler, verily lead us

up to the world of the well-done.

Ppp. puts aham before rnam in a, and reads nnim for nd it in d. The first halfverse

has correspondents in TB. (iii. 7. 121) and TA. (ii. 4. I '). In a, TB. reads cakara

and TA. babhuva for krndmi and TB. puts y&t after rndm; for b, TB. reads ydd va

*ddsyant$amjagardjdnebhyah, and TA. dditsan vd samjagdra j. LFor b, cf. vi. 71. 3 b.J

2. I make it known to Vai9vanara, if [there is on my part] promise of

debt to the deities ; he knows how to unfasten all these bonds ; so may

we be united with what is cooked (pakvd).

The first three padas have correspondents in TA. (ii. 6. i '), which reads, in a, b, vedaydmo

yddi nrndm, and, in c, p&$dn pramucan (i.e. -cam) prd veda; Ppp. also has/ra

veda instead of veda sdrvdn. Our d, which seems quite out of place here, occurs again

at the end of xii. 3. 55-60, which see (TA. has instead sd no muncdtu duritad avadyat).

The comm. explains pakvena here as paripakvena svargddiphalena, or the ripened

fruit of our good works. The Anukr. seems to allow the contraction sdi *tdn in c.

3. Let Vai^vanara the purifier purify me, if (ydt) I run against a

promise, an expectation (afd), not acknowledging, begging with my mind;

what sin is therein, that I impel away.

The whole verse, this time, has its correspondent in TA. (ii. 6. i 2

), which, however,

reads for a v. pdvaydn nah pavitrair (Ppp. means the same, but substitutes pavayd

nas) ; and has, in d, dtra for tdtra and dva for dfia. Ppp has sathgalam near beginning

of b. The comm. reads -dhavani in b, and explains by abhimukhyena prapnavani ; the

minor Pet. Lex. suggests emendation to ati-dhav- * transgress/ Ludwig emends a$am

to asam (referring to devatasu in 2 b) ; the reading and pada division a$am are vouched

for by Prat. iv. 72, to which rule the word is the counter-example ; the comm. explains it

by devadtndm abhilasam. |_Bergaignc comments on root sit, ReL Vtd. iii. 44. J

120. To reach heaven.

[Kdufika. mantroktadevatyam . /. jagatl ; 2. pankti ; j. tnstubh . ]

Found also in Paipp. xvi. [Von. Schroeder's Zivei Hss., p. 16, and Tnbinger

Katha-hss., p. 76, may also be consulted for all three vss.J Not used by Kau$. otherwise

than with the whole amwaka : see under hymn 1 14;

Translated: Ludwig, p. 442 ; Grill, 72, 173; Griffith, i. 311 ; Bloomfield, 165, 529.

I. If (ydt) atmosphere, earth, and sky, if father or mother we have

injured (hius)> may this householder's-fire lead us up from that to the

world of the well-done.

The first half-verse is found, without variation, in a number of other texts : in TS.

(i.8. 53), TB. (iii. 7. 124), TA. (ii.6. 2 8

), MS. (i. 10. 3), A^S. (ii. 7. n); they do not

agree entirely in the second half which they put in place of ours. Ppp. agrees with some

of them, reading agnir md tasmdd enaso gdrhapatyah pramuncatu. Only b is really

jagatt.


2. May mother earth, Aditi our birthplace, brother atmosphere, [save]

us from imprecation ; may our father heaven be weal to us from paternal

[guilt] ; having gone to my relatives (jdmi), let me not fall down from

[their?] world.

The verse is. found also in TA. (ii. 6. 29), which reads at end of a dbhiqasta faahj

and, in c, d, bhavdsi jdmt mitva (jamtut itva f) ma wvitsi lokan : the variants are of

the kind that seem to show that the text was unintelligible to the text-makers, and that we

are excusable in finding it extremely obscure. Ppp. brings no help.* Our translation

implies in b abhfyastyds, but the pada reading is abhtyastya, as if instr. ; the comm..

understands -tyas. Our pada mss. also leave ma unaccented in d. Ludwig and Grill

supply lokdt to pitrydt : "from the paternal world.' 7 The comm. divides alternatively

jami mrtva and jamim rtvd. The verse is a good tristubh, though capable of being

contracted to 40 syllables. *|_Grill reports a Ppp. reading trdta for bhrata, although

I do not find it in Roth's collations. Might it represent a trail) antdriksam ?\

3. Where the well-hearted, the well-doing revel, having abandoned

disease of their own selves, not lame with their limbs, undamaged in

heaven (svargd) there may we see [our] parents and sons.

[_The first half we had at iii. 28. 5-J The verse corresponds to TA. ii. 6. 2 10

, which

reads mddante at end of a, tanvam svaydni at end of b, a$lonangair (so Ppp. also) in

C (also dhrtas, but this is doubtless a misprint |_the Poona ed. reads in fact Ahrntds^

and pitdram ca putrdm at the end. The comm. reads tanvds in b, with part of the mss.

(including our P.M.I.O.), and a$ronds in c. |_For the substance of the vs., cf. Weber,

Sb. 1894, p. 775. J

121. For release from evil.

[A'dufika. [caturrcamJ] mantroktadevatyam. /, 2. tristubh ; 3,4. anustubh^

Found also in Paipp. xvi. [_For vss. 3^4, cf. v. Schroeder, Zwei Hss., p. 15, Titbingcr

Katha-hss., p. 75. J Used by Kauc,. (52. 3) with vi. 63 and 84, in a rite for release fiom

various bonds; |_and with the whole amivaka see under h. II4_|.

Translated : Ludwig, p. 442 ; Zimmer, p. 182 (3 vss.) ; Griffith, i. 31 1.

i. An untier, do thou untie off us the fetters that are highest, lowest,

that are Varuna's ; remove (nis-su) from us evil-dreaming [and] difficulty;

then may we go to the world of the well-done.

Visand (p. vfasana) is doubtless 'antler' here, as at iii. 7. i, 2 Lwhich seej (though

neither* Kaug. nor the schol. nor our comm. make mention of such an article as used

here); but it was necessary to render it etymologically, to bring out the word-play

between it and vf sya ; the comm. treats it as a participle (=vimitftcati), disregarding,

as usual, the accent (really vi-sa + ana \JSkt* Gram. 1150 ej). The second pida is

the same with vii. 83. 4 b. The proper readings in c are (see note to Prat. ii. 86) dnssvdfinyam

and nissva, which the mss. almost without exception

* abbreviate to ditsvap- and

nisva^ just as they abbreviate dattvd to datvd^ or, in vs. 2 a, rdjjvdm to rdjvdm (see

my Skt. Gr. 232). SPP. here gives in his jvz;;/////5-text ;// sva, with all his authorities

; our text has nih sva, with only one of ours (O.) : doubtless the true metrical form

is nts sitvd 'smdt. |_Cf. Roth, ZDMG. xlviii. 119, note.J Ppp. lacks our second halfverse,

having instead 2 a, b. *|_That is, if we take the occurrences of the words as a

whole in AV.J

37 1

, TRANSLATION AND NOTES. BOOK VI. -vi. 122

2. If (ydt) thou art bound in wood, and if in a rope; if thou art bound

in the earth, and if by a spell (vdc) may this householder's-fire lead us

up from that to the world of the well-done.

The second half-verse here is the same with 120. I c, d, and seems unconnected with

the first half. Ppp. reads, in a, d&runa and rajva, and omits the second half-verse,

thus reducing the hymn to three verses, the norm of the book.

3. Arisen are the two blessed stars named the Unfasteners; let them

bestow here of immortality (amfta) ; let the releaser of the bound advance.

The first half-verse is the same with ii. 8. 1 a, b; compare also iii. 7.4 a, b. The

verse corresponds to TA. ii.6. n, which has, for a, ami LAV. iii. 7.4, amu\y& subhdge

divi) and, in d, etdd for prat *tu.

4. Go thou apart ; make room ; mayest thou free the bound one fft>m the

bond ; like a young fallen out of the womb, do thou dwell along all roads.

A corresponding verse is found in TA. (ii.6. 14), which has, for a, vtjihirsva lokan

krdhi,* and, at the end, dnu sva (Z\SQ patJuts after sdrvari). Ppp. reads at the end anu

gachdi and this is what the comm. gives as paraphrase of dnu ksiya. The Anukr. seems

to authorize the contraction jw;/yi *va in c. *|_In ^yfines lot yfiny&s.\

Release From Extract of Lb 6 Atarva Veda

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Transcript of Release From Extract of Lb 6 Atarva Veda