Hymns of Atharvaveda - Book 02

HYMN I

Glorification of the prime cause of all things

1Vena beholds That Highest which lies hidden, wherein this All
resumes one form and fashion.
Thence Prisni milked all life that had existence: the hosts that
know the light with songs extolled her.
2Knowing Eternity, may the Gandharva declare to us that highest
secret station.
Three steps thereof lie hidden in the darkness: he who knows
these shall be the father's father.
3He is our kinsman, father, and begetter: he knows all beings
and all Ordinances.
He only gave the Gods their appellations: all creatures go to
him to ask direction.
4I have gone forth around the earth and heaven, I have approached
the first-born Son of Order.
He, putting voice, as 'twere, within the speaker, stands in the
world, he, verily is Agni.
5I round the circumjacent worlds have travelled to see the far-
extended thread of Order.
Wherein the Gods, obtaining life eternal, have risen upward to
one common birthplace.

HYMN II

A charm to ensure success in gambling

1Lord of the World, divine Gandharva, only he should be
honoured in the Tribes and worshipped.
Fast with my spell, celestial God, I hold thee. Homage to thee!
Thy home is in the heavens.
2Sky-reaching, like the Sun in brightness, holy, he who averts
from us the Gods' displeasure.
Lord of the World, may the Gandharva bless us, the friendly
God who only must be worshipped.
3I came, I met these faultless, blameless beings: among the
Apsarases was the Gandharva.
Their home is in the sea—so men have told me,—whence they
come quickly hitherward and vanish.
4Thou, Cloudy! ye who follow the Gandharva Visvā-vasu, ye,
Starry! Lightning-Flasher!
You, O ye Goddesses, I truly worship.
5Haunters of darkness, shrill in voice, dice-lovers, maddeners of
the mind
To these have I paid homage, the Gandharva's wives, Apsarases.

HYMN III

A water-cure charm

1That little spring of water which is running downward from the
hill
I turn to healing balm for thee that thou mayst be good
medicine.
2Hither and onward! Well! Come on! Among thy hundred
remedies
Most excellent of all art thou, curing disease and morbid flow.
3The Asuras bury deep in earth this mighty thing that healeth
wounds.
This is the cure for morbid flow, this driveth malady away.
4The emmets from the water-flood produce this healing medicine:
This is the cure for morbid flow, this driveth malady away.
5Mighty is this wound-healing balm: from out the earth was it
produced.
This is the cure for morbid flow, this driveth malady away.
6Bless us the Waters! be the Plants auspicious!
May Indra's thunderbolt drive off the demons. Far from us fall
the shafts they shoot against us!

HYMN IV

A charm to ensure health and prosperity by wearing an amulet

1For length of life, for mighty joy, uninjured, ever showing
strength.
We wear Vishkandha's antidote, the Amulet of Jangida.
2Amulet of a thousand powers, Jangida save us, all around.
From Jambha, and from Viara, Vishkandha, and tormenting
pain.
3This overcomes Vishkandha, this chases the greedy fiends away:
May this our panacea, may Jangida save us from distress.
4With Jangida that brings delight, Amulet given by the Gods,
We in the conflict overcome Vishkandha and all Rākshasas.
5May Cannabis and Jangida preserve me from Vishkandha,—
that
Brought to us from the forest, this sprung from the saps of
husbandry.
6This Amulet destroys the might of magic and malignity:
So may victorious Jangida prolong the years we have to live.

HYMN V

Invitation to, and praise of Indra

1Indra, be gracious, drive thou forth, come, Hero, with thy two
bay steeds.
Taste the libation, hither, enjoying meath and the hymn, come,
fair, to the banquet.
2O Indra, even as one athirst, fill thee with meath as 'twere from
heaven.
Sweet-toned, the raptures of this juice have come to thee as to
the light.
3Swift-conquering Indra, Mitra like, smote, as a Yati, Vritra
dead.
Like Bhrigu he cleft Vala through, and quelled his foes in Soma's
rapturous joy.
4O Indra, let the juices enter thee. Fill full thy belly, sate thee,
mighty one! Let the hymn bring thee.
Hear thou my call, accept the song I sing, here, Indra, with thy
friends enjoy thyself, to height of rapture.
5Now will I tell the manly deeds of Indra, the first that he
achieved, the thunder-wielder.
He slew the Dragon, then disclosed the waters, and cleft the
channels of the mountain torrents.
6He slew the Dragon lying on the mountain: his heavenly bolt of
thunder Tvashtar fashioned.
Like lowing kine in rapid flow descending the waters glided
downward to the ocean.
7Impetuous as a bull he chose the Soma, and quaffed the juices
in three sacred beakers. p. a38
Maghavan grasped the thunder for his weapon, and smote to
death this first-born of the dragons.

HYMN VI

A prayer to Agni for protection

1Half-years and seasons strengthen thee, O Agni, the years, and
all the Verities, and Rishis! p. a39
Flash forth with thy celestial effulgence: illumine all four regions
of the heavens.
2Kindle thee, Agni, and make this man prosper: rise up erect
for high and happy fortune.
Agni, be those uninjured who adore thee, and may thy priests be
glorious and no others.
3These Brāhmans have elected thee, O Agni: be thou propitious
in our sacred chamber.
Slayer of rivals, Agni, quell our foemen: watch in our house
with care that never ceases.
4Seize, Agni, on thy power and firmly hold it: contend thou with
the Friend by way of friendship.
Placed in the centre of our fellows, Agni, flash forth to be
invoked by kings around thee.
5Past those who slay, past enemies, past thoughtless men, past
those who hate,
Yea, Agni, hear us safe past all distresses: give thou us opulence
with men about us.

HYMN VII

A counter-charm against imprecation and malignity

1Hated by sinners, sprung from Gods, this Plant that turns the
curse away
Hath washed from me all curses, as water makes clean from
spot and stain.
2All curses of a rival, each curse of a female relative, Curse
uttered by an augry priest, all these we tread beneath our feet.
3Spread on the surface of the earth, downward from heaven thy
root depends:
With this that hath a thousand joints keep thou us safe on every
side.
4Guard on all sides this woman, guard my children, us, and all
our wealth!
Let not malignity o'ercome, nor adversaries conquer us.
5Upon the curser fall his curse! Dwell we with him whose heart
is true!
We split the cruel villain's ribs whose evil eye bewitches us.

HYMN VIII

A charm against hereditary disease (kshetriya)

1Twin Stars of happy omen, named Releasers, have gone up.
May they
Loose, of inherited disease, the uppermost and lowest bond.
2Vanish this Night, extinct in Dawn! Let those who weave their
spells depart.
So let the plague-destroying Plant remove inherited disease.
3With straw of barley tawny-brown in colour with its silvery ears,
with stalk and stem of Sesamum-
So let the plague-destroying Plant remove inherited disease.
4Let homage to thy ploughs be paid, our homage to the pole and
yokes.
So let the plague-destroying Plant remove inherited disease.
5Homage to men with blinking eyes, homage to those who hear
and act! To the Field's Lord be homage paid.
So let the plague-destroying Plant remove inherited disease.

HYMN IX

A charm to cure dangerous disease

1Free this man, Dasavriksha! from the demon, from Grāhi who
hath seized his joints and members,
And raise him up again, O Tree, into the world of living men.
2He hath arisen and come once more, rejoined the band of those
who live.
May he become the sire of sons, and of all men most fortunate.
3He hath returned to consciousness, rejoined the living's firm
abodes,
For hundred leeches are in this, yea, and a thousand healing
herbs.
4The Gods, the Brāhman-priests, and plants observed the way to
gather thee:
All deities described the way men gather thee upon the earth.
5Let him who made it also heal: he, truly, is the deftest leech.
Pure, with a leech he verily shall give thee medicines that heal.

HYMN X

Absolution and benediction

1From family sickness, kinsmen's curse, Destruction, from Druh,
from Varuna's noose I free and save thee.
With spell and prayer I make thee pure and sinless: to thee be
both, the Earth and Heaven, auspicious!
2Gracious to thee be Agni with the Waters, let Soma with the
Plants be kind and bless thee.
From family sickness, kinsmen's curse, Destruction, from Druh,
from Varuna's noose I thus release thee.
3May kind Wind strengthen thee in air's mid-region, to thee may
heaven's four quarters be auspicious.
From family sickness, kinsmen's curse, Destruction, from Druh,
from Varuna's curse I thus release thee.
4These Goddesses, four regions of the heavens, on whom the
Sun looks kindly, wives of Vāta—
From family sickness, kinsmen's curse, Destruction, from Druh,
from Varuna's noose I thus release thee.
5For long life, in the midst of these I set thee. Away pass Nirriti,
away Consumption!
From family sickness, kinsmen's curse, Destruction, from Druh,
from Varuna's noose I thus release thee.
6Thou hast been freed from Phthisis and from trouble, from
shame, and from the snare of Druh and Grain.
From family sickness, kinsmen's curse, Destruction, from Druh,
from Varuna's noose I thus release thee.
7Joy hast thou found, and left ill-will behind thee: thou hast
attained the happy world of virtue.
From family sickness, kinsmen's curse, Destruction, from Druh,
from Varuna's noose I thus release thee.
8The Gods have freed from, sinfulness, redeeming the Sun, the
Law from darkness and from Grāhi.
From family sickness, kinsmen's curse, Destruction, from Druh,
from Varuna's noose I thus release thee.
With spell and prayer I make thee pure and sinless: to thee be
both, the Earth and Heaven, auspicious!

HYMN XI

Counter-charm, with an amulet, against an enemy's spell

1Dart against dart, destroyer of destruction, thou art the missile
sent to meet the missile.
Reach thy superior, thou; surpass thine equal.
2Sraktya art thou, an Amulet art thou, a counter-charm of spells,
Reach thy superior, thou; surpass thine equal.
3Use spells against the man we hate, against the man who hateth
us.
Reach thy superior, thou; surpass thine equal.
4A prince art thou, giver of speech, thou art our bodies' strong
defence.
Reach thy superior, thou; surpass thine equal.
5Fulgent art thou, and splendid, thou art heavenly lustre, thou
art light.
Reach thy superior, thou; surpass thine equal.

HYMN XII

A prayer for vengeance on a malicious rival worshipper

1The spacious Firmament, and Earth and Heaven, the Field's
Queen, and the wonderful Wide-Strider,
Yea, the broad middle air which Vāta guardeth, may these now
burn with heat while I am burning.
2Listen to this, ye Gods who merit worship. Hymns here are sung
for me by Bharadvāja.
Bound in the noose may he be doomed to trouble whoever mars
this that our mind hath purposed.
3Hear this my call, O Indra, Soma-drinker, as with a burning
heart I oft invoke thee.
I smite, as 'twere a tree felled with a hatchet, the man who
marreth this my plan and purpose.
4Together with thrice-eighty Sāma-singers, Angirases, and Vasus,
and Ādityas,
May the felicity of the Fathers guard us. I seize that man with
fire that Gods have kindled.
5O Heaven and Earth, regard me with your favour, and, all ye
Gods, stand on my side and help me.
Angirases, Fathers worthy of the Soma! woe fall on him who,
caused the hateful outrage!
6Whoever either scorns us, O ye Maruts, or blames devotion
which we now are paying.
Let his own wicked deeds be fires to burn him. May Heaven
consume the man who hates devotion.
7Thy sevenfold vital breath, thine eight marrows I rend away
with prayer.
With Agni as thine envoy, go, prepared, to Yama's dwelling
place.
8In Jātavedas kindled flame I set the place assigned to thee.
Let fire consume thy body, and thy voice go to the general
breath.

HYMN XIII

A youth's Investiture ceremony (godānam)

1Strength-giver, winning lengthened life, O Agni, with face and
back shining with molten butter,
Drink thou the butter and fair milk and honey, and, as a sire
his sons, keep this man safely.
2For us surround him, cover him with splendour, give him long
life, and death when age removes him.
The garment hath Brihaspati presented to Soma, to the King, to
w rap about him.
3Thou for our w eal hast clothed thee in the mantle: thou hast
become our heifers' guard from witchcraft.
Live thou a hundred full and plenteous autumns, and wrap thee
in prosperity of riches.
4Come hither, stand upon the stone: thy body shall become a
stone.
The Universal Gods shall make thy life a hundred autumns
long.
5So may the Universal Gods protect thee, whom we divest of
raiment worn aforetime.
So after thee, well-formed and growing stronger, be born a
multitude of thriving brothers.

HYMN XIV

A charm to banish vermin and noxious creatures

1Forth from the hall the bold, the sharp, the greedy one, the
single-voiced,
Sadānvās, and all progeny of Chanda we exterminate.
2We drive you forth from cattle-shed, from axle, from within the
wain,
Ye daughters of Magundi, we frighten and chase you from out
homes.
3Yonder let the Arāyis dwell, there where that house is down
below.
Let utter indigence and all the Yātudhānis settle there.
4May Bhūtapati drive away, and Indra, the Sadānvās hence.
Let Indra with his bolt quell those who sit upon our dwelling's
floor.
5Whether ye be of farm and field, or whether ye be sent by men,
Or be ye sprung from Dasyu race, vanish, Sadānvās, and begone.
6I have gone round their homes as runs a fleet-foot racer round
the post,
And in all races conquered you. Vanish, Sadānvās, and begone.

HYMN XV

A charm against fear

1As Heaven and Earth are not afraid, and never suffer loss or
harm,
Even so, my spirit, fear not thou.
2As Day and Night are not afraid, nor ever suffer loss or harm,
Even so, my spirit, fear not thou.
3As Sun and Moon are not afraid, nor ever suffer loss or harm.
Even so. my spirit, fear not thou.
4As Brāhmanhood and Princely Power fear not, nor suffer loss,
or harm,
Even so, my spirit, fear not thou.
5As Truth and Falsehood have no fear, nor ever suffer loss or
harm,
Even so, my spirit, fear not thou.
6As What Hath Been and What Shall Be fear not, nor suffer loss
or harm,
Even so, my spirit, fear not thou.

HYMN XVI

A prayer for general protection

1Guard me from death, Inhaling and Exhaling! All bliss to you!
2Guard me from overhearing, Earth and Heaven! All hail to
you!
3Do thou, O Sūrya, with thine eye protect me! All hail to
thee!
4Agni Vaisvānara, with all Gods preserve me! All hail to thee!
5Preserve me with all care. O All-Sustainer! All hail to thee!

HYMN XVII

A prayer to an amulet for health and strength

1Power art thou, give me power. All hail!
2Might art thou, give me might. All hail!
3Strength art thou, give me strength. All hail!
4Life art thou, give me life. All hail!
5Ear art thou, give me hearing! Hail!
6Eye art thou, give me eyes. All hail!
7Shield art thou, shield me well. All hail

HYMN XVIII

A charm against enemies, goblins, and other evil creatures

1Destruction of the foe art thou, give me the scaring of my foes.
All hail!
2The rival's ruiner art thou, give me to drive my rivals off. All
hail!
3Arāyis' ruiner art thou, give me to drive Arāyis off. All hail!
4Pisa-chas' ruiner art thou, give me to drive Pisāchas off. All
hail!
5Sadānvās' ruiner art thou, give me to drive Sadānvās off. All
hail!

HYMN XIX

A prayer to Agni for aid against an enemy

1Burn thou, O Agni, with that heat of thine against the man
who hates us, whom we hate.
2Flame thou, O Agni, with that flame of thine against the man
who hates us, whom we hate.
3Shine out, O Agni, with that sheen of thine against the man who
hates us, whom we hate.
4Blaze thou, O Agni, with that blaze of thine against the man
who hates us, whom we hate.
5O Agni, with the splendour that is thine darken the man who
hates us, whom we hate.

hymns 20-23 were omitted

HYMN XXIV

A charm against the magic arts of fiends

1O Serabhaka, Serabha, back fall your arts of witchery! Back,
Kimidins! let your weapon fall.
Eat your possessor; eat ye him who sent you forth;
2Srvridhaka, O Sevridha, back fall your arts of witchery! Back,
Kimidins! let your weapon fall, etc.
3O Mroka, Anumroka, back return your arts of witchery! Back,
Kimidins! let your weapon fall, etc.
4O Sarpa, Anusarpa, back return your arts of witchery! Back, 'i
Kimidins! let your weapon fall, etc.
5Back fall your witcheries, Jūrni! back your weapon, ye
Kimidinis, etc.
6Back fall your spells, Upabdi! back your weapon, ye Kimidinis,
etc.
7Back fall your witchcrafts, Arjuni! your weapon, ye Kimidinis,
etc,
8Back, O, Bharūji! fall your charms, your weapon, ye Kimidinis.
Eat your possessor; eat ye him who sent you forth; eat your
own flesh.

HYMN XXV

A charm against fiends who cause abortion

1The Goddess Prisniparni hath blest us, and troubled Nirriti.
Fierce crusher of the Kanvas she: her have I gained, the mighty
one.
2Victorious in the olden time this Prisniparni was brought forth:
With her I cleave, as 'twere a bird's, the head of the Detestables.
4The hateful fiend who drinks the blood, and him who take away
the growth,
The Kanva who devours the germ, quell, Prisniparni! and!
destroy.
5Drive and imprison in a hill these Kanvas harassers of life:
Follow them Prisniparni, thou Goddess, like fire consuming.
them.
6Drive thou away these Kanvas, drive the harassers of life afar.
Whither the shades of darkness go, I send the fiends who feed
on flesh.

There is no verse 3 in the copytex

HYMN XXVI

A benediction on homeward coming cattle

1Let them come home, the cattle that have wandered, whom Vāyu
hath delighted to attend on,
Whose forms and figures are well known to Tvashtar. These cows
let Savitar drive within this stable.
2Let the beasts stream together to this cow-pen. Brihaspati who
knoweth lead them hither!
Let Sinivāli guide the foremost homeward. When they have
come, Anumati! enclose them.
3Together stream the cattle! stream together horses and the
men!
Hitherward press all growth of grain! I offer sacrifice with mixt
oblation.
4I pour together milk of kine, with butter blending strength and
juice.
Well sprinkled be our men, as true to me as cows are to their
herd!
5Hither I bring the milk of cows, hither have brought the juice
of corn.
Hitherward have our men been brought, hitherward to this
house our wives.

HYMN XXVII

A charm against an opponent in debate

1Let not the enemy win the cause! Strong and predominant art
thou.
Refute mine adversary's speech. Render them dull and flat, O
Plant.
2The strong-winged bird discovered thee, the boar unearthed thee
with his snout.
Refute mine adversary's speech. Render them dull and flat, O
Plant.
3Yea, Indra laid thee on his arm, to cast the Asuras to the
ground.
Refute mine adversary's speech. Render them dull and flat, O
Plant.
4Indra devoured the Pātā plant that he might lay the Asuras
low.
Refute mine adversary's speech! Render them dull and flat, O
Plant.
5With this I overcome my foes as Indra overcame the wolves.
Refute mine adversary's speech! Render them dull and flat, O
Plant.
6O Rudra, Lord of Healing Balms, dark-crested, skilful in thy
work!—
Refute mine adversary's speech. Render them dull and flat, O
Plant.
7Indra, defeat the speech of him who meets us with hostility.
Comfort us with thy power and might. Make me superior in
debate.

HYMN XXVIII

A prayer for a boy's long and happy life

1This Child, Old Age! shall grow to meet thee only: none of
the hundred other deaths shall harm him.
From trouble caused by friends let Mitra guard him, as a kind
mother guards the son she nurses.
2Mitra or Varuna the foe-destroyer, accordant, grant him death
in course of nature!
Thus Agni, Hotar-priest, skilled in high statutes, declareth all
the deities' generations.
3Thou art the Lord of all terrestrial cattle, of cattle born and to
be born hereafter.
Let not breath drawn or breath emitted fail him. Let not his
friends, let not his foemen slay him.
4Let Heaven thy father and let Earth thy mother, accordant, give
thee death in course of nature,
That thou mayst live on Aditi's bosom, guarded, a hundred
winters, through thy respirations.
5Lead him to life, O Agni, and to splendour, this dear child,
Varuna! and thou King Mitra!
Give him protection, Aditi! as a mother; All Gods, that his be
life of long duration;

HYMN XXIX

A benediction on a sick man

1Gods, give him all that earth hath best with bodily strength and
happy fate.
Agni and Sūrya grant him life, Brihaspati give him eminence!
2Bestow thou life on him, O Jātavedas. Store him with future
progeny, O Tvashtar.
Send him, O Savitar, full growth of riches. Let this thy servant
live a hundred autumns.
3May this our prayer bring strength and goodly offspring. Give,
both of you one-minded, strength and riches.
Let him with might win fields and victory, Indra! setting beneath
his feet the rest, his rivals.
4As Indra's gift, by Varuna instructed the fierce one came to us
sent by the Maruts.
Let him, O Heaven and Earth, rest in your bosom. Let him not
hunger, let him not be thirsty.
5Ye twain endowed with vigour, grant him vigour. Ye who are
rich in milk, give milk to feed him.
These twain have given him vigour, Earth and Heaven, and all
the Gods, the Maruts, and the Waters.
6With health-bestowing drops thine heart I comfort: all-bright
again, and undiseased, enjoy them.
Drest in like robes let these two drink the mixture, wearing
the Asvins' form as an illusion.
7Erst Indra, wounded, made this strengthening portion, eternal
food: thine is it, here presented.
With this live full of vigour through the autumns. Let not thy
strength be drained. Leeches have helped thee.

HYMN XXX

A man's love-charm

1As the wind shake this Tuft of Grass hither and thither on the
ground.
So do I stir and shake thy mind, that thou mayst be in love
with me, my darling, never to depart.
2Ye, Asvins, lead together, ye unite and bring the loving pair.
Now have the fortunes of you twain, now have your vows and
spirits met.
3When eagles, calling out aloud, are screaming in the joy of
health,
Then to my calling let her come, as to the arrow's neck the
shaft.
4Let what is inward turn outside, let what is outward be within:
Seize and possess, O Plant, the mind of maidens rich in every
charm.
5Seeking a husband she hath come! and I came longing for a
wife:
Even as a loudly-neighing steed may fate and fortune have I
met.

HYMN XXXI

A charm against all sorts of worms

1With Indra's mighty millstone, that which crushes worms of
every sort,
I bray and bruise the worms to bits like vetches on the grinding
stone.
2The Seen and the Invisible, and the Kurūru have I crushed:
Alāndus, and all Chhalunas, we bruise to pieces with our spell.
3I kill Alāndus with a mighty weapon: burnt or not burnt they
now have lost their vigour .
Left or not left, I with the spell subdue them: let not a single
worm remain uninjured.
4The worm that lives within the ribs, within the bowels, in the
head.
Avaskava and Borer, these we bruise to pieces with the spell.
5Worms that are found on mountains, in the forests, that live in
plants, in cattle, in the waters,
Those that have made their way within our bodies,—these I
destroy, the worms' whole generation.

HYMN XXXII

A charm against worms or bots in cows

1Uprising let the Sun destroy, and when he sinketh, with his
beams.
The Worms that live within the cow.
2The four-eyed worm, of every shape, the variegated, and the
white
I break and crush the creature's ribs, and tear away its head
besides.
3Like Atri I destroy you, Worms! in Kanva's, Jamadagni's way:
I bray and bruise the creeping things to pieces with Agastya's•
spell.
4Slain is the sovran of these Worms, yea, their controlling lord
is slain:
Slain is the Worm, his mother slain, brother and sister both are
slain.
5Slain are his ministers, and slain his followers and retinue:
Yes, those that seemed the tiniest things, the Worms have all
been put to death.
6I break in pieces both thy horns wherewith thou pushest here
and there:
I cleave and rend the bag which holds the venom which is•
stored in thee.

HYMN XXXIII

1From both thy nostrils, from both eyes, from both thine ears,
and from thy chin,
Forth from thy brain and tongue I root Consumption seated in
thy head.
2Forth from the neck and from the nape, from dorsal vertebrae
and spine.
From arms and shoulder-blades I root Consumption seated in
thine arms.
3Forth from thy heart and from thy lungs, from thy gall-bladder
and thy sides,
From kidneys, spleen and liver thy Consumption we eradicate.
4From bowels and intestines, from the rectum and the belly, I
Extirpate thy Consumption, from flanks, navel and mesentery.
5Forth from thy thighs and from thy knees, heels and the fore-
parts of thy feet.
Forth from thy loins and hips I draw Consumption setted in
thy loins.
6Forth from thy marrows and thy bones, forth from thy tendons
and thy veins
I banish thy Consumption, from thy hands, thy fingers, and thy
nails.
7In every member, every hair, in every joint wherein it lies,
We with the exorcising spell of Kasyapa drive far away Con-
sumption settled in thy skin.

HYMN XXXIV

A prayer accompanying an animal sacrifice

1May this, of all the beasts that Pasupati rules, Lord of animals,.
quadruped and biped,
Come, purchased, to the sacrificial portion. May growth of
wealth attend the sacrificer.
2Loosing the seed of future-time existence, give good success, O
Gods, to him who worships.
May what is present, duly brought, the victim, go to the deities'
beloved region.
3Those who are looking, deep in meditation, on the bound ani-
mal with eye and spirit
To them, the first, may Agni, God, give freedom, rejoicing in his
creatures, Visvakarman.
4Tame animals of every shape, though varied in colour, manifold.
alike in nature
To them, the first, may Vāyu, God, give freedom, Prajāpati.
rejoicing in his creatures.
5Let those who know receive before all others the vital breath
proceeding from the body.
Go to the sky. Stay there with all thy members. By paths which
Gods have travelled go to Svarga.

HYMN XXXV

Expiation for an imperfectly performed sacrifice

1We who enjoying it have grown no richer, for whom the sacred
altar-fires have sorrowed,
We who compounded with deficient worship,—may Visvakarman
make our service prosper.
2Rishis have called the sacrifice's patron amerced through sin,
sorrowing for his offspring.
Those drops of meath whereof the missed enjoyment,—may
Visvakarman with those drops unite us.
3Regarding niggard churls as Soma-drinkers, skilful in sacrifice,
weak at the meeting,
Whatever sin the captive hath committed, do thou for weal
release him, Visvakarman!
4Awful are Rishis: unto them be homage, and to their eye and
truthfulness of spirit!
Loud homage to Brihaspati, O mighty! Homage to thee, O
Visvakarman! Guard us.
5The eye of sacrifice, source, and beginning—with voice, ear,
spirit unto him I offer.
To this our sacrifice wrought by Visvakarman may the Gods
come gracious and kindly-hearted.

HYMN XXXVI

A charm to secure a husband for a marriageable girl

1To please us may the suitor come, O Agni, seeking this maid and
bringing us good fortune.
Approved by wooers, lovely in assemblies, may she be soon
made happy with a husband.
2As bliss beloved by Soma, dear to Prayer, and stored by Arya-
man,
With the God Dhātar's truthfulness I work the bridal oracle.
3O Agni, may this woman find a husband. Then verily King Soma
makes her happy.
May she bear sons, chief lady of the household, blessed and
bearing rule beside her consort.
4As this lair, Maghavan! that is fair to look on was dear to wild
things as a pleasant dwelling,
So may this woman here be Bhaga's darling. Loved by her lord
and prizing his affection.
5Mount up, embark on Bhaga's ship, the full, the inexhaustible,
Thereon bring hitherward to us the lover whom thou fain
wouldst wed.
6Call out to him, O Lord of Wealth! Make thou the lover well-
inclined.
Set each on thy right hand who is a lover worthy of her choice.
7Here is the Bdellium and the gold, the Auksha and the bliss are
here:
These bring thee to the husbands, so to find the man whom thou.
wouldst have.
8May Savitar lead and bring to thee the husband whom thy heart
desires.
O Plant, be this thy gift to her!

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