
Hymns of the Atharvaveda - Book 04

Contents
- Hymn 1: Cosmogonical and mystico-theological doctrine
- Hymn 2: To the unknown God (Missing Hymn)
- Hymn 3: A Charm against tigers, wolves, thieves and other noxious creatures
- Hymn 4: A charm to restore virile power
- Hymn 5: A lover's sleep-charm
- Hymn 6: A charm to make a poisoned arrow harmless
- Hymn 7: A charm to make a poisonous plant innocuous
- Hymn 8: A benediction at the consecration of a King
- Hymn 9: A charm addressed to a precious ointment for safety and wealth
- Hymn 10: A charm accompanying investiture with an amulet of shell
- Hymn 11: A glorification of the sacrificial gharma or milk caldron
- Hymn 12: A charm to mend a broken bone
- Hymn 13: A charm to restore a sick man to health
- Hymn 14: Accompanying the sacrifice of a he-goat
- Hymn 15: A charm to hasten the coming of the rains
- Hymn 16: On the omnipresence and omniscience of Varuna
- Hymn 17: A charm to secure freedom from various evils
- Hymn 18: A counter-charm against the incantations of enemies
- Hymn 19: A counter-charm and charm to secure general protection.
- Hymn 20: A charm for the acquisition of superhuman powers of sight
- Hymn 21: Glorification and benediction of cows
- Hymn 22: A benediction on a newly consecrated king
- Hymn 23: Magnification of Agni and prayer for his protection
- Hymn 24: A hymn of prayer and praise to Indra
- Hymn 25: A hymn of prayer and praise to Vāyu and Savitar
- Hymn 26: A hymn to Heaven and Earth
- Hymn 27: A hymn to the Maruts
- Hymn 28: A hymn to Bhava and Sarva
- Hymn 29: A hymn to Mitra-Varuna
- Hymn 30: A glorification of vāk or speech
- Hymn 31: A hymn to Manyu or Wrath
- Hymn 32: A hymn to Manyu
- Hymn 33: A prayer to Agni for protection and prosperity
- Hymn 34: Glorification of the Vishtāri sacrifice
- Hymn 35: Magnification of the Odana or oblation of milk and rice
- Hymn 36: A charm against fiends, human enemies, and other pests
- Hymn 37: A charm against Gandharvas and Apsarases
- Hymn 38: A charm for success in gambling
- Hymn 39: A prayer to various deities for health, wealth, and prosperity
- Hymn 40: A charm against rival worshippers
HYMN I

Cosmogonical and mystico-theological doctrine
1Eastward at first the prayer was generated:
Vena disclosed bright
flashes from the summit,
Disclosed
his deepest, nearest revelations, womb of the non-
existent
and existent.
2Let this Queen come in
front, her Father's daughter, found in
the worlds for earliest
generation.
For him they set this radiant vault in motion.
Let them prepare
warm milk for him who first would drink.
3He who was born as his all-knowing kinsman
declareth all the
deities' generations.
He from the midst
of prayer his prayer hath taken. On high,
below, spread forth
his godlike nature.
4For he, true to
the law of Earth and Heaven, established both
the mighty
worlds securely.
Mighty when born, he propped apart the mighty,
the sky, our
earthly home, and air's mid-region.
5He from the depth hath been reborn for
ever, Brihaspati the
world's sole Lord and Ruler.
From
light was born the Day with all its lustre: through this
let sages live endowed with splendour.
6The
sage and poet verily advanceth the statute of that mighty
God primeval.
He was born here with many more beside him:
they slumbered
when the foremost side was opened.
7The man who seeks the friend of Gods, Atharvan
the father,
and Brihaspati, with worship,
Crying to him,
Be thou all things' creator! the wise God, self-
dependent,
never injures.
Hymn II is missing
HYMN III
A Charm against tigers, wolves, thieves and other noxious creatures
1Three have gone hence and passed away,
the man, the tiger,
and the wolf.
Down, verily, the rivers
flow, down-goeth the celestial Tree,.
down let our foemen
bend and bow.
2On distant pathway go
the wolf, on pathway most remote the
thief!
On a far road
speed forth the rope with teeth, and the malicious
man!
3We crush and rend to pieces both thine
eyes, O Tiger, and thy
jaws and all the twenty claws we break.
4We break and rend the tiger first of creatures
that are armed.
with teeth;
The robber then, and then
the snake, the sorcerer, and then the
wolf.
5The thief who cometh near to-day departeth
bruised and crush-
ed to bits.
By nearest way let him
be gone. Let Indra slay him with his
bolt.
6Let the beast's teeth be broken off, shivered
and shattered be
his ribs!
Slack be thy bowstring: downward
go the wild beast that
pursues the hare!
7Open not what thou hast compressed, close
not what thou hast
not compressed.
Indra's and Soma's
child, thou art Atharvan's tiger-crushing
charm.
HYMN IV
A charm to restore virile power
1We dig thee from the earth, the Plant
which strengthens and
exalts the nerves,
The Plant which
the Gandharva dug for Varuna whose power
was lost.
2Let Ushas and let Sūrya rise, let
this the speech I utter rise.
Let the strong male Prajāpati
arise with manly energy.
3Sicut tui surgentis
(membrum virile) tanquam inflammatum
palpitat, hoc illud
tui ardentius haec herba faciat.
4Sursum
(estote) herbarum vires, taurorum vigor. Tu, Indra,
corporis
potens, virorum masculum robur in hoc homine
depone.
5Ros aquarum primigenitus atque arborum,
Somae etiam frater
es, vatum sacrorum masculus vigor es.
6Hodie, Agnis! hodie Savitar! hodie dea
Sarasvatis! hodie
Brahmanaspatis! hujus fascinum velut arcum
extende.
7Velut nervum in arcu ego tuum
fascinum extendo. Aggredere
(mulierem) semper indefessus
velut cervus damam.
8Quae sunt equi vires,
muli, capri, arietis, atque tauri, illas, cor-
poris potens!
in hoc homine depone.
HYMN V
A lover's sleep-charm
1The Bull who hath a thousand horns,
who rises up from out the
sea,
By him the strong and mighty
one we lull the folk to rest and.
sleep.
2Over the surface of the earth there breathes
no wind, there looks.
no eye.
Lull all the women, lull
the dogs to sleep, with Indra as thy
friend!
3The woman sleeping in the court, lying
without, or stretched on
beds,
The matrons with their
odorous sweets—these, one and all, we
lull to sleep.
4Each moving thing have I secured, have
held and held the eye
and breath.
Each limb and member
have I seized in the deep darkness of
the night.
5The man who sits, the man who walks, whoever
stands and clearly
sees
Of these we closely shut the eyes,
even as we closely shut this
house.
6Sleep
mother, let the father sleep, sleep dog, and master of the
home.
Let all her kinsmen sleep, sleep all the people who
are round
about.
7With soporific charm,
O Sleep, lull thou to slumber all the folk.
Let the rest
sleep till break of day, I will remain awake till
dawn, like
Indra free from scath and harm.
HYMN VI
A charm to make a poisoned arrow harmless
1The Brāhman first was brought to
life ten-headed and with faces
ten.
First drinker of the
Soma, he made poison ineffectual.
2Far
as the heavens and earth are spread in compass, far as the
Seven Rivers are extended,
So far my spell, the antidote
of poison, have I spoken hence,
3The
strong-winged Bird Garutmān first of all, O Poison fed
on
thee:
Thou didst not gripe or make him drunk: aye,
thou becamest
food for him.
4Whoever
with five fingers hath discharged thee from the crooked
bow,
I from the shaft have charmed away the poison of the fastening
band.
5The poison have I charmed away
from shaft, cement, and feather-
ed end;
Yea, from the
barb, the neck, the horn, the poison have I charmed
away.
6Feeble, O Arrow, is thy shaft, thy poison,
too, hath lost its
strength.
Made of a worthless tree,
thy bow, O feeble one, is impotent.
7The
men who brayed it, smeared it on, they who discharged it,
sent it forth,
All these are made emasculate, emasculate
the poison-hill.
8Thy diggers are emasculate,
emasculate, O, Plant art thou.
The rugged mountain that produced
this poison is emasculate.
HYMN VII
A charm to make a poisonous plant innocuous
1So may this water guard us on the bank
of Varanāvati.
Therein hath Amrit been infused: with
that I ward thy poison
off.
2Weak
is the poison of the East, weak is the poison of the North,
So too this poison of the South counts as a cake of curds and
meal.
3When he hath made of thee a cake,
broad, steaming, swelling up
with fat,
And even in hunger
eaten thee, then gripe him not, thou hideous
one!
4Intoxicater! like a shaft we make thy spirit
fly away, Like a pot
boiling on the fire, we with our word
remove thee hence.
5We set around thee
with the spell as 'twere a gathered arma-
ment.
Stay quiet
like a rooted tree. Dug up with mattocks, gripe not
thou.
6For coverings men have bartered thee, for
skins of deer and
woven cloths.
Thou art a thing of sale,
O Plant. Dug up with mattocks, gripe
not thou!
7None have attained to those of old, those
who wrought holy acts
for you.
Let them not harm our heroes
here. Therefore I set before you
this.
HYMN VIII
A benediction at the consecration of a King
1The Being lays the sap of life in beings:
he hath become the
sovran Lord of creatures.
Death comes
to this man's royal consecration: let him as King
own and
allow this kingdom.
2Come forward, turn
not back in scorn, strong guardian, slayer
of the foes.
Approach, O gladdener of thy friends. The Gods have blessed
and strengthened thee.
3All waited on
him as he came to meet them. He self-resplendent
moves endued
with glory.
That is the royal hero's lofty nature: he, manifold,
hath gained
immortal powers.
4Stride
forth to heaven's broad regions, thou, a tiger on a tiger's
skin.
Let all the people long for thee. Let heavenly floods
be rich in
milk.
5Heaven's waters
joyous in their milk, the waters of middle air,
and those
that earth containeth-
I with the gathered power and might
of all these waters sprinkle
thee,
6The
heavenly waters rich in milk have sprinkled thee with power
and might.
To be the gladdener of thy friends. May Savitar
so fashion thee.
7These, compassing the
tiger, rouse the lion to great joy and
bliss.
As strong
floods purify the standing ocean, so men adorn the
leopard
in the waters
HYMN IX
A charm addressed to a precious ointment for safety and wealth
1Approach! thou art the mountain's eye,
the living thing that
saveth us;
A gift bestowed by all
the Gods, yea, the defence that guardeth
life.
2Thou art the safeguard of the men, thou
art the safeguard of
the kine,
Thou standest ready to
protect the horses that are fleet of foot.
3Thou, also, Salve! art a defence that rends
and crushes
sorcerers.
Thou knowest, too, of Amrit, thou
art the delight of all who
live, a jaundice-curing balm art
thou.
4Whomso thou creepest over, Salve!
member by member, joint
by joint,
From him, like some
strong arbiter of strife, thou banishest
decline.
5No imprecation reaches him, no magic, no
tormenting fiend,
O Salve, Vishkandha seizes not the man
who carries thee about.
6From lying speech,
from evil dream, from wicked act and
sinfulness,
From
hostile and malignant eye,—from these, O Salve, protect
us
well.
7I, knowing this, O Salve, will
speak the very truth and not a
lie:
May I obtain both
horse and ox, may I obtain thy life, O man.
8Three are the slaves that serve the Salve,
Fever, Consumption,
and the Snake.
Thy father is the loftiest
of mountains, named the Triple-
peaked.
9Sprung from the Snowy Mountain's side,
this Ointment of the
Three-peaked hill.
Crushes and rends
all sorcerers and every witch and sorceress.
10If thou art from the Three-peaked hill
or hast thy name from
Yamunā,
These names are both
auspicious: by these two protect thou us,
O Salve!
HYMN X
A charm accompanying investiture with an amulet of shell
1Child of the wind firmament, sprung
from the lightning and the
light,
May this the gold-born
Shell that bears the pearl preserve us
from distress.
2Shell that wast born from out the sea,
set at the head of
things that shine!
With thee we slay
the Rākshasas and overcome voracious fiends.
3We stay disease and indigence, and chase
Sadānvās with the
Shell.
May the all-healing
Shell that bears the pearl preserve us from
distress.
4Born in the heaven, sprung from the sea,
brought to us hither
from the flood.
This gold-born Shell
shall be to us an amulet to lengthen life.
5From ocean sprang the Amulet, from Vritra
sprang the Lord of
Day:
May this protect us round about
from shaft of God and Asura.
6Peerless
'mid golden ornaments art thou: from Soma wast thou
born.
Thou gleamest on the quiver, thou art beautiful upon the car:
may it prolong our days of life!
7Bone
of the Good became the pearl's shell-mother endowed with
soul it moveth in the waters.
I bind this on thee for life,
strength, and vigour, for long life
lasting through a hundred
autumns.
May the pearl's mother keep and guard thee safely!
HYMN XI
A glorification of the sacrificial gharma or milk caldron
1The Bull supports the wide-spread earth
and heaven, the Bull
supports the spacious air between them.
The Bull supports the sky's six spacious regions: the universal
world hath he pervaded.
2The Bull is
Indra o'er the beasts he watches. He, Sakra
measures out
three several pathways.
He, milking out the worlds, the past,
the future, discharges all
the Gods' eternal duties.
3Being produced among mankind as Indra,
the Caldron works
heated and brightly glowing.
Let him
not, with good sons, pass off in vapour who hath not
eaten
of the Ox with knowledge.
4The Ox pours
milk out in the world of virtue: in earliest time,
he, Pavam5na,
swells it.
Parjanya is the stream, Maruts his udder, sacrifice
is the milk,
the meed his milking.
5That
which not sacrifice nor sacrificer, not giver nor receiver
rules and governs,
All-winning, all-supporting, all-effecting,—which
of all quadru-
peds, tell us! is the Caldron?
6May we, fame-seekers, reach the world of
virtue by service of
the Gharma and through fervour,
Whereby
the Gods went up to heaven, the centre of life eternal,
having
left the body.
7Prajāpati, supreme
and sovran ruler, Indra by form and by his
shoulder Agni,
Came to Visvānara, came to all men's Bullock: he firmly
forti-
fied and held securely.
8The
middle of the Bullock's neck, there where the shoulder-bar
is placed,
Extends as far to east of him as that is settled
to the west.
9He whosoever knows the
seven exhaustless pourings of the Ox,
Wins himself offspring
and the world: the great Seven Rishis
know this well.
10With feet subduing weariness, with legs
extracting freshening
draughts,
Through toil the plougher
and the Ox approach the honeyed
beverage.
11Assigned are these twelve nights, they
say, as holy to Prajāpati:
Whoever knows their proper
prayer performs the service of the
Ox.
12At evening he is milked, is milked at
early morn, is milked at
noon.
We know that streams of
milk that flow from him are in-
exhaustible.
HYMN XII
A charm to mend a broken bone
1Thou art the healer, making whole, the
healer of the broken
bone:
Make thou this whole, Arundhatī!
2Whatever bone of thine within thy body
hath been wrenched or
cracked,
May Dhātar set it
properly and join together limb by limb.
3With marrow be the marrow joined, thy limb united with
the
limb.
Let what hath fallen of thy flesh, and the bone
also grow again.
4Let marrow close with
marrow, let skin grow united with the
skin.
Let blood
and bone grow strong in thee, flesh grow together
with the
flesh.
5Join thou together hair with
hair, join thou together skin with
skin.
Let blood and
bone grow strong in thee. Unite the broken part,.
O Plant.
6Arise, advance, speed forth; the car hath
goodly fellies, naves,
and wheels!!
Stand up erect upon
thy feet.
7If he be torn and shattered,
having fallen into a pit, or a cast
stone have struck him,
Let the skilled leech join limb with limb, as 'twere the portions
of a car.
HYMN XIII
A charm to restore a sick man to health
1Gods, raise again the man whom ye, O
Gods, have humbled
and brought low.
Ye Gods, restore to
life again, him, Gods! who hath committed
sin.
2Here these two winds are blowing far as
Sindhu from a distant
land.
May one breathe energy to
thee, the other blow thy fault away.
3Hither,
O Wind, blow healing balm, blow every fault away, thou
Wind!
For thou who hast all medicine comest as envoy of the Gods.
4May the Gods keep and save this man, the
Maruts' host deliver
him.
All things that be deliver him
that he be freed from his offence.
5I
am come nigh to thee with balms to give thee rest and keep
thee safe.
I bring thee mighty strength, I drive thy wasting
malady away.
6Felicitous is this my hand,
yet more felicitous is this.
This hand contains all healing
balms, and this makes whole with
gentle touch.
7The tongue that leads the voice precedes.
Then with our tenfold-
branching hands.
With these two
healers of disease, we stroke thee with a soft
caress.
HYMN XIV
Accompanying the sacrifice of a he-goat
1The Goat was verily produced from Agni.
Through sorrow he
beheld, at first, his father.
Through
him at first the Gods attained to godhead, and, meet
for
sacrifices, were exalted.
2Bearing in
hands seethed viands, go with Agni to the cope of
heaven.
Reaching the sky that touches heaven, mix with the company of
Gods.
3From earth's high ridge to middle
air I mounted, and from mid-
air ascended up to heaven.
From the high pitch of heaven's cope I came into the world of
light.
4Mounting the sky they look not
round; they rise to heaven
through both the worlds,
Sages
who paid the sacrifice that pours its streams on every
side.
5First among all the deities, come forward,
thou who art eye of
Gods and men, O Agni.
Imploring, and
accordant with the Bhrigus, to heaven in safety
go the sacrificers!
6With milk and butter I anoint the mighty,
celestial Goat, strong-
winged, and full of juices.
Through
him will we attain the world of virtue, ascending to the
loftiest cope, to heaven.
7Set the Goat's
head toward the eastern region, and turn his right
side to
the southern quarter.
His hinder part turn to the western
quarter, and set his left side
to the northern region.
8Set the Goat's backbone upmost in the zenith,
and lay his belly
downward in the nadir; set his midportion
in mid-air between
them.
9O'er the
dressed Goat lay a dressed skin to robe him prepared,
in
perfect form, with all his members.
Rise upward to the loftiest
vault of heaven: with thy four feet
stand firmly in the regions.
HYMN XV
A charm to hasten the coming of the rains
1Let all the misty regions fly together,
let all the rain-clouds sped
by wind, assemble.
Let waters
satisfy the earth, the voices of the great mist-enve-
loped
Bull who roareth.
2Let them show forth,
the strong, the bounteous Maruts: let
plants and shrubs be
hung with drops of moisture.
Let floods of rain refresh the
ground with gladness and herbs
spring various with each form
and colour.
3Cause us who sing to see
the gathering vapours: out burst in
many a place the rush
of waters!
Let floods of rain refresh the ground with gladness;
and herbs
spring various with each form and colour.
4Apart, Parjanya! let the troops of Maruts,
roaring, swell the
song.
Let pouring torrents of the rain
that raineth rain upon the
earth.
05.
Up from the sea lift your dread might, ye Maruts: as light and
splendour, send the vapour upward!
Let waters satisfy the
earth, the voices of the great mist-enve-
loped Bull who
roareth.
6Roar, thunder, set the sea
in agitation, bedew the ground with
thy sweet rain, Parjanya!
Send plenteous showers on him who seeketh shelter, and let the
owner of lean kine go homeward.
7Let
the boon Maruts, let the springs and coiling serpents tend!
you well.
Urged by the Maruts let the clouds pour down their
rain upon.
the earth.
8Let lightning
flash on every side: from all the regions blow the
winds!
Urged by the Maruts let the clouds pour down their rain upon
the earth.
9May waters, lightning, cloud,
and rain, boon springs and serpents
tend you well.
Urged
by the Maruts let the clouds pour down their rain upon
the
earth.
10May he who hath become the plants'
high regent, suiting our
bodies, Agni of the Waters,
May
Jātavedas send us rain from heaven, Amrit and vital breath
to earthly creatures.
11Sending up waters
from the flood and ocean Prajapati move the
sea to agitation!
Forth flow the moisture of the vigorous stallion!
With this
thy roar of thunder come thou hither,
12Our
father, Lord divine pouring the torrents. Let the streams
breathe, O Varuna, of the waters.
Pour the floods down: along
the brooks and channels let frogs
with speckled arms send
out their voices.
13They who lay quiet
for a year, the Brāhmans who fulfil their
vows.
The
frogs, have lifted up their voice, the voice Parjanya hath.
inspired.
14Speak forth a welcome, female
frog! Do thou O frog, accost
the rain.
Stretch thy four
feet apart, and swim in the middle of the lake.
15Khanvakhā, ho! Khaimakhā, ho!
thou in the middle, Taduri!
Fathers, enjoy the rain from
one who strives to win the Marutes
heart.
16Lift up the mighty cask and pour down
water; let the wind
blow, and lightnings flash around us.
Let sacrifice be paid, and, widely scattered, let herbs and
plants
be full of joy and gladness.
HYMN XVI
On the omnipresence and omniscience of Varuna
1The mighty Ruler of these worlds beholds
as though from close
at hand,
The man who thinks he acts
by stealth: all this the Gods
perceive and know.
2If a man stands or walks or moves in secret,
goes to his lying-
down or his uprising,
What two men
whisper as they sit together, King Varuna knows:
he as the
third is present.
3This earth, too, is
King Varuna's possession, and the high
heaven whose ends
are far asunder.
The loins of Varuna are both the oceans,
and this small drop of
water, too, contains him.
4If one should flee afar beyond the heaven,
King Varuna would
still be round about him.
Proceeding
hither from the sky his envoys look, thousand-eyed,
over
the earth beneath them.
5All this the
royal Varuna beholdeth, all between heaven and
earth and
all beyond them.
The twinklings of men's eyelids hath he
counted. As one who
plays throws dice he settles all things.
6Those fatal snares of thine which stand
extended, threefold,
O Varuna, seven by seven,
May they
all catch the man who tells a falsehood, and pass un-
harmed
the man whose words are truthful.
7Varuna,
snare him with a hundred nooses! Man's watcher! let
not him
who lies escape thee.
There let the villain sit with hanging
belly and bandaged like a
cask whose hoops are broken.
8Varuna sends, and drives away, diseases:
Varuna is both native
and a stranger,
Varuna is celestial
and is human.
9I bind and hold thee fast
with all these nooses, thou son of such
a man and such a
mother.
All these do I assign thee as thy portion.
HYMN XVII
A charm to secure freedom from various evils
1We seize and hold thee, Conquering One!
the queen of medi-
cines that heal.
O Plant, I have endowed
thee with a hundred powers for every
man,
2Still conquering, banishing the curse,
mighty, with thy reverted.
bloom.
Thee and all Plants
have I invoked: Hence let it save us! was
my prayer.
3She who hath cursed us with a curse, or
hath conceived a
murderous sin,
Or seized our son to take
his blood, may she devour the child
she bare.
4What magic they have wrought for thee in
dish unbaked or
burnt dark-red,
What they have wrought
in flesh undressed,—conquer the
sorcerers therewith.
5Ill dream and wretchedness of life, Rākshasa,
monster, stingy
hags,
All the she-fiends of evil name
and voice, we drive away from
us.
6Death
caused by famine, caused by thirst, failure of children,.
loss of kine,
With thee, O Apāmārga, all this ill
we cleanse and wipe away.
7Death caused
by thirst, death caused by stress of hunger, loss at
play
with dice,
All this, O Apāmārga with thine aid
we cleanse and wipe away.
8The Apāmārga
is alone the sovran of all Plants that grow.
With this we
wipe away whate'er hath fallen on thee: go in
health!
HYMN XVIII
A counter-charm against the incantations of enemies
1The moonlight equalleth the sun, night
is the rival of the day.
I make effectual power my help:
let magic arts be impotent.
2Gods! if
one make and bring a spell on some man's house who
knows
it not,
Close as the calf that sucks the cow may it revert
and cling to
him.
3When one puts poison
in a dish of unbaked clay to kill a man,
It cracks when set
upon the fire with the sharp sound of many
stones.
4Endowed with thousand powers! adjure the
bald and those with
necks awry.
Back to its author turn
the spell like a dear damsel to her
friend!
5I with this Plant have ruined all malignant
powers of witchery.
The spell which they have laid upon thy
field, thy cattle, or thy
men.
6No
power had he who wrought the spell: he hurt his foot, he
broke his toe.
His act hath brought us happiness and pain
and sorrow to him-
self.
7Let Apāmārga
sweep away chronic disease and every curse,
Sweep sorceresses
clean away, and all malignant stingy hags.
8Sweep thou away the sorcerers, all stingy
fiendish hags away.
All this, O Apāmārga, with
thine aid we wipe away from us.
HYMN XIX
A counter-charm and charm to secure general protection.
1Thou breakest ties of kith and kin,
thou causest, too, relation-
ship:
So bruise the sorcerer's
offspring, like a reed that groweth in the
Rains.
2Thou hast been blessed with blessing by
the Brāhman, Kanva
Nārshada.
Thou fliest like
a flashing dart: there is no fear or danger, Plant!
within
the limit of thy range.
3Illumining,
as 'twere, with light, thou movest at the head of
plants.
The saviour of the simple man art thou, and slayer of the fiends.
4As once when time began the Gods with thee
expelled the
Asuras,
Even thence, O Plant, wast thou produced
as one who wipes and
sweeps away.
5Thy
father's name was Cleaver. Thou with thousand branches
cleavest
all.
Do thou, turned backward, cleave and rend the man who
treateth
us as foes.
6The evil sprang
from earth; it mounts to heaven and spreads to
vast extent.
Reverted, shaking him with might, thence on its maker let it
fall.
7For thou hast grown reverted,
and turned backward also is thy
fruit.
Remove all curses
far from me, keep most remote the stroke of
death.
8Preserve me with a hundred, yea, protect
me with a thousand
aids.
May mighty Indra, Lord of Plants!
give store of strength and.
power to thee.
HYMN XX
A charm for the acquisition of superhuman powers of sight
1It sees in front, it sees behind, it
sees afar away, it sees
The sky, the firmament, and earth:
all this, O Goddess, it
beholds.
2Through
thee, O godlike Plant, may I behold all creatures that
exist,
Three several heavens, three several earths, and these six regions
one by one.
3The pupil, verily, art thou
of that celestial Engle's eye.
On earth hast thou alighted
as a weary woman seeks her couch.
4The
God who hath a thousand eyes give me this Plant in my
right
hand!
I look on every one therewith, each Sūdra and
each Āryan man.
5Make manifest the
forms of things; hide not their essences from
sight.
And,
thou who hast a thousand eyes, look the Kimidins in the
face.
6Make me see Yātudhānas, make
thou Yātudhānis visible.
Make me see all Pisāchas
With this prayer, O Plant, I hold thee
fast.
7Thou art the sight of Kasyapa and of the
hound who hath four
eyes.
Make the Pisācha manifest
as Sūrya when he rides at noon.
8Kimidin,
Yātudhāna from their hiding-places have I dragged.
I look on every one with this, Sūdra and Aryan man alike.
9Make that Pisācha visible, the fiend
who flies in middle air,
The fiend who glides across the
sky, and him who deems the
earth his help.
HYMN XXI
Glorification and benediction of cows
1The kine have come and brought good
fortune: let them rest in
the cow-pen and be happy near us.
Here let them stay prolific, many-coloured, and yield through
many morns their milk for Indra.
2Indra
aids him who offers sacrifice and praise: he takes not what
is his, and gives him more thereto.
Increasing ever more
and ever more his wealth, he makes the
pious dwell within
unbroken bounds.
3These are ne'er lost,
no robber ever injures them: no evil-minded
foe attempts
to harass them.
The master of the kine lives a long life
with these, the Cows
whereby he pours his gifts and serves
the Gods.
4The charger with his dusty
brow o'ertakes them not, and never
to the shambles do they
take their way.
These Cows, the cattle of the pious worshipper,
roam over wide-
spread pasture where no danger is.
5To me the Cows seem Bhaga, they seem Indra,
they seem a
portion of the first poured Soma.
These present
Cows, they, O ye men, are Indra. I long for Indra
with my
heart and spirit.
6O Cows, ye fatten
e'en the worn and wasted, and make the
unlovely beautiful
to look on.
Prosper my home, ye with auspicious voices! Your
power is
magnified in our assemblies.
7In goodly pasturage, bright-hued, prolific, drinking pure
water at
fair drinking-places,
Never be thief or sinful
man your master, and may the dart of
Rudra still avoid you!
HYMN XXII
A benediction on a newly consecrated king
1Exalt and strengthen this my Prince,
O Indra, Make him sole
lord and leader of the people.
Scatter his foes, deliver all his rivals into his hand in struggles
for precedence.
2Give him a share in
village, kine, and horses, and leave his
enemy without a
portion.
Let him as King be head and chief of Princes, Give
up to him,
O Indra, every foeman.
3Let
him be treasure-lord of goodly treasures, let him as King be
master of the people.
Grant unto him great power and might,
O Indra, and strip his
enemy of strength and vigour.
4Like milch-kine yielding milk for warm
libations, pour, Heaven
and Earth! on him full many a blessing.
May he as King be Indra's well-beloved, the darling of the kine,
the plants, the cattle.
5I join in league
with thee victorious Indra, with whom men
conquer and are
ne'er defeated.
He shall make thee the folk's sole lord and
leader, shall make
thee highest of all human rulers.
6Supreme art thou, beneath thee are thy
rivals, and all, O King,
who were thine adversaries.
Sole
lord and leader and allied with Indra, bring, conqueror, thy
foremen's goods and treasures.
7Consume,
with lion aspect, all their hamlets, with tiger aspect,
drive
away thy foemen.
Sole lord and leader and allied with Indra,
seize, conqueror,
thine enemies' possessions.
HYMN XXIII
Magnification of Agni and prayer for his protection
1I fix my heart on wise and ancient Agni,
the Five Tribes' Lord,
in many a place enkindled.
We seek
him who hath entered all our houses. May he deliver
us from
grief and trouble.
2As thou conveyest
offerings, Jātavedas! and fashionest the sacri-
fice
with knowledge,
So bear thou to the Gods the prayer we utter.
May he deliver
us from grief and trouble.
3I pray to Agni in each act successful,
employed in every sacrifice,
the strongest,
Fiend-slayer,
served with fatness, strengthening worship. May
he deliver
us from grief and trouble.
4We invoke
the oblation-bearer, well-born Agni Jātavedas,
Him,
Vaisvānara, almighty. May he set us free from trouble.
5With whom as friend the Rishis gave their
power new splendour,
with whom they kept aloof the Asuras'
devices,
Agni, with whom Indra subdued the Panis. May he
deliver us.
from grief and trouble.
6Through
whom the Gods discovered life eternal, through whom
they
stored the plants with pleasant juices,
Through whom they
brought to men the light of heaven. May
he deliver us from
grief and trouble.
7I, suppliant, praise
and ever call on Agni, sole Lord of all this
world, of all
that shineth,
Of what exists and shall exist hereafter. May
he deliver us from
grief and trouble.
HYMN XXIV
A hymn of prayer and praise to Indra
1I think of Indra, only him for ever,
fiend-slayer, May these lauds
of mine come near him.
He
cometh to the pious offerer's calling. May he deliver us from
grief and trouble.
2Who with strong arms
o'ercame his strong opponents, who
broke and crushed the
power of the demons,
Who won the rivers and the kine in battle.
May he deliver us
from grief and trouble.
3Ruler of men, finder of light, the hero:
the pressing-stones
declare his valour, master.
Of sweetest
sacrifice with seven Hotars. May he deliver us from
grief
and trouble.
4The lord of barren cows
and bulls and oxen, finder of light for
whom the posts are
planted,
For whom the bright juice flows cleansed by devotion.
May he
deliver us from grief and trouble.
5Whose favour those desire who offer Soma,
whom, arrow-bearer,
men invoke in battle,
On whom the
hymn depends, in whom is power, May he deliver
us from grief
and trouble.
6Why was born, first, for
active operation, whose valour as the
first hath been awakened,
Who raised his bolt when he encountered Ahi. May he deliver
us
from grief and trouble.
7Strong
Lord, who leadeth hosts to meet for battle, who sendeth
riches
both of earth and heaven,
I, suppliant, praise and ever call
on Indra. May he deliver us
from grief and trouble.
HYMN XXV
A hymn of prayer and praise to Vāyu and Savitar
1I think on Vāyu's and Savitar's
holy rites, ye twain who penetrate
and guard the living world:
Ye who have come to be this All's pervaders, deliver us, ye
two
from grief and trouble.
2Ye who
have counted up the earth's expanses, and in the sky
smoothed
out the air's mid-region,
Whose going-forth hath ne'er been
reached by any, deliver us,
ye two, from grief and trouble.
3Beauteously bright! men rest in thy dominion
when thou hast
risen up and hastened onward.
Ye, Vāyu,
Savitar, preserve all creatures. Deliver us, ye, twain,
from
grief and trouble.
4Hence, Vāyu,
Savitar drive evil action, chase Simidā away, drive
off the demons.
Ye give us store of energy and power. Deliver
us, ye twain,
from grief and trouble.
5Of their own selves let Savitar and Vāyu send favourable
strength
and wealth and plenty.
Here give us perfect freedom
from consumption. Deliver us, ye
twain, from grief and trouble.
6Ye, Savitar and Vāyu, to assist us,
enjoy the hymn and the
delightful cheerer.
Come hither
downward from the stream of blessing. Deliver us,
ye twain,
from grief and trouble.
7Like noblest
benisons they have stayed in the God loving man's
abode.
I glorify bright Savitar and Vāyu. Deliver us, ye twain,
from
grief and trouble.
A hymn to Heaven and Earth
1O Heaven and Earth, I think on you,
wise, givers of abundant
gifts, ye who through measureless
expanses have spread forth.
For ye are seats and homes of
goodly treasures. Deliver us, ye
twain from grief and trouble.
2Yea, seats and homes are ye of goodly treasures,
grown strong,
divine, blessed, and far-extending,
To me,
O Heaven and Earth, be ye auspicious. Deliver us, ye
twain,
from grief and trouble.
3I call on you
who warm and cause no sorrow, deep, spacious,
meet to be
adored by poets.
To me, O Heaven and Earth, be ye auspicious.
Deliver us, ye
twain, from grief and trouble.
4Ye who maintain Amrit and sacrifices, ye
who support rivers
and human beings,
To me, O Heaven and
Earth, be ye auspicious, Deliver us, ye
twain, from grief
and trouble.
5Ye by whom cows and forest
trees are cherished within whose
range all creatures are
included,
To me, O Heaven and Earth, be ye auspicious. Deliver
us, ye
twain, from grief and trouble.
6Ye who delight in nectar and in fatness, ye without whom
men
have no strength or power,
To me, O Heaven and Earth,
be ye auspicious. Deliver us, ye
twain, from grief and trouble.
7The grief that pains me here, whoever caused
it, not sent by fate,
hath sprung from human action.
I,
suppliant, praise Heaven, Earth, and oft invoke them. Deliver
us, ye twain, from grief and trouble.
HYMN XXVII
A hymn to the Maruts
1I think upon the Maruts: may they bless
me, may they assist
me to this wealth in battle.
I call
them like swift well-trained steeds to help us. May they
deliver us from grief and trouble.
2Those
who surround the never-failing fountain for ever, and
bedew
the plants with moisture,
The Maruts, Prini's sons, I chiefly
honour. May they deliver us
from grief and trouble.
3Bards, who invigorate the milk of milch-kine,
the sap of growing
plants, the speed of coursers
To us
may the strong Maruts be auspicious. May they deliver us
from grief and trouble.
4They who raised
water from the sea to heaven and send it from
the sky to
earth in showers,
The Maruts who move mighty with their waters,
may they
deliver us from grief and trouble.
5They who delight in nectar and in fatness,
they who bestow
upon us health and vigour.
The Maruts
who rain mighty with their waters, may they deliver
us from
grief and trouble.
6Whether with stormy
might the Maruts established this All, or
Gods with their
celestial power,
Ye, kindly Gods, are able to restore it.
May they deliver us from
grief and trouble.
7Potent in battles is the Maruts' army,
impetuous train, well-
known, exceeding mighty.
I, suppliant,
praise and oft invoke the Maruts. May they deliver
us from
grief and trouble.
HYMN XXVIII
A hymn to Bhava and Sarva
1I Reverence you—mark this—Bhava and
Sarva, ye under whose
control is this that shineth.
Lords
of this world both quadruped and biped. Deliver us, ye
twain,
from grief and trouble.
2Lords of all
near and even of what is distant, famed as the best
and skilfullest
of archers,
Lords of this world both quadruped and biped,
Deliver us, ye
twain, from grief and trouble.
3Thousand-eyed foe-destroyers, I invoke
you, still praising you
the strong, of wide dominion:
Lords of this world both quadruped and biped, Deliver us, ye
twain, from grief and trouble.
4Ye who
of old wrought many a deed in concert, and showed
among mankind
unhappy omens;
Lords of this world both quadruped and biped,
Deliver us, ye
twain, from grief and trouble.
5Ye from the stroke of whose destroying
weapon not one among
the Gods or men escapeth,
Lords of
this world both quadruped and biped, Deliver us, ye
twain,
from grief and trouble.
6Hurl your bolt,
strong Gods, at the Yātudhāna, him who makes
ready
roots and deals in magic:
Lords of this world both quadruped
and biped, Deliver us, ye
twain, from grief and trouble.
7Comfort and aid us, ye strong Gods, in
battles, at each Kimidin
send your bolt of thunder.
I,
suppliant, praise and ever call on Bhav and Sarva. Set us free
from grief and trouble.
HYMN XXIX
A hymn to Mitra-Varuna
1You twain, O Mitra, Varuna, I honour,
Lawstrengtheners, wise,
who drive away oppressors.
Ye
who protect the truthful in his battles, deliver us, ye twain,
from grief and trouble.
2Ye the wise
Gods who drive away oppressors, ye who protect
the truthful
in his battles,
Who come, men's guards, to juice pressed
forth by Babhru,.
deliver us, ye twain, from grief and trouble.
3Mitra and Varuna who help Agasti, Atri,
and Angiras, and
Jamadagni,
Ye who help Kasyapa, who help
Vasishtha, deliver us, ye twain,
from grief and trouble.
4Mitra and Varuna, who help Syāvāsva,
Atri, and Purumilha,
and Vadhryasva,
Ye who help Vimada
and Saptavadhri, deliver us, ye twain,
from grief and trouble.
5Ye, Varuna, Mitra, who give aid to Kutsa,
Gavishthira,
Bharadvāja, Visvāmitra,
Who help
Kakshivan and give aid to Kanva, deliver us, ye
twain, from
grief and trouble.
6Ye, Mitra, Varuna,
who help Trisoka, Medhātithi, and Usanā
son of
Kavi,
Ye, Gotama's and Mudgala's protectors, deliver us,
ye twain,
from grief and trouble.
7Whose
straight-reined car that keeps the track of goodness assails
and ruins him who walks perversely
I, suppliant, praise with
constant invocation Mitra and Varuna.
Save us from affliction.
HYMN XXX
A glorification of vāk or speech
1I travel with the Rudras and the Vasus,
with the Ādityas and
All-Gods I wander.
I hold aloft
both Varuna and Mitra, I hold aloft Indra and
both the Asvins.
2I am the Queen, the gatherer-up of treasures,
most thoughtful,
first of those who merit worship.
The
Gods, making me enter many places, in diverse spots have
set mine habitation.
3I, verily, myself
announce and utter the word that Gods, and
men alike shall
welcome.
I make the man I love exceeding mighty, make him
a sage, a
Rishi, and a Brāhman.
4Through
me alone all eat the food that feeds them, each man
who sees,
breathes, hears, the word out-spoken.
They know it not, but
yet they dwell beside me. Hear, one and
all, the truth as
I declare it.
5I bend the bow for Rudra
that his arrow may strike and slay
the hater of devotion.
I rouse and order battle for the people, and I have penetrated
Earth and Heaven.
6I cherish and sustain
high-swelling Soma, and Tvashtar I support,
Pashan, and Bhaga.
I load with wealth the zealous sacrificer who pours the juice
and
offers his oblation.
7On the world's
summit I bring forth the Father: my home is in
the waters,
in the ocean.
Thence I extend o'er all existing creatures,
and touch even
yonder heaven with my forehead.
8I breathe a strong breath like the wind
and tempest, the while I
hold together all existence.
Beyond this wide earth and beyond the heavens I have become
so mighty in my grandeur.
HYMN XXXI
A hymn to Manyu or Wrath
1Borne on with thee, O Manyu girt by
Maruts, let our brave men,
impetuous, bursting forward,
March on, like flames of fire in form, exulting, with pointed
arrows, sharpening their weapons.
2Flashing
like fire, be thou, O conquering Manyu, invoked, O
victor,
as our army's leader.
Slay thou our foes, distribute their
possession: show forth thy
vigour, scatter those who hate
us.
3O Manyu, overcome those who assail
us. On! breaking, slaying,
crushing down the foemen.
They
have not hindered thine impetuous vigour: mighty! sole
born!
reduce them to subjection.
4Alone of
many thou art worshipped, Manyu: sharpen the spirit
of each
clan for combat.
With thee to aid, O thou of perfect splendour,
we raise the
glorious battle-shout for conquest.
5Unyielding, bringing victory like Indra,
O Manyu be thou here
our sovran ruler.
To thy dear name.
O victor, we sing praises: we know the
spring from which
thou art come hither.
6Twin-borne with
power, destructive bolt of thunder the highest
conquering
might is thine, subduer!
Be friendly to us in thy spirit,
Manyu! O much-invoked, in
shock of mighty battle!
7For spoil let Varuna and Manyu give us
the wealth of both sides
gathered and collected;
And let
our enemies with stricken spirits, o'er-whelmed with.
terror,
sling away defeated.
HYMN XXXII
A hymn to Manyu
1He who hath reverenced thee, Manyu,
destructive bolt! breeds.
for himself forthwith all conquering
energy.
Arya and Dāsa will we conquer with thine aid,
with thee the
conqueror, with conquest conquest-sped.
2Manyu was Indra, yea, the God was Manyu;
Manyu was Hotar
Varuna, Jātavedas.
The tribes of
human lineage worship Manyu. Accordant, with
thy fervour,
Manyu! guard us.
3Come hither, Manyu,
mightier than the mighty: smite, with thy
fervour, for ally,
our foemen.
Slayer of foes, of Vritra, and of Dasyu, bring
thou to us all kinds
of wealth and treasure.
4For thou art, Manyu, of surpassing vigour,
fierce, queller of the
foe, and self-existent,
Shared
by all men, victorious, subduer: vouchsafe to us superior
strength in battles.
5I have departed
still without a portion, wise God! according to
thy will,
the mighty.
I, feeble man, was wroth with thee, O Manyu.
Come in thy
proper form and give us vigour.
6Come hither, I am all thine own: advancing,
turn thou to me,
victorious, all-bestowing.
Come to me,
Manyu, wielder of the thunder: bethink thee of
thy friend,
and slay the Dasyus.
7Approach, and on
our right hand hold thy station, then let us
slay a multitude
of foemen.
The best of meath I offer to support thee: may
we be first to
drink thereof in quiet.
HYMN XXXIII
A prayer to Agni for protection and prosperity
1Chasing our pain with splendid light,
O Agni, shine thou wealth
on us.
His lustre flash our
pain away.
2For goodly fields, for pleasant
homes, for wealth we sacrifice to
thee.
His lustre flash
our pain away!
3Best praiser of all these
be he, and foremost be our noble chiefs.
His lustre flash
our pain away!
4So that thy worshipper
and we, thine, Agni! in our sons may
live.
His lustre
flash our pain away!
5As ever conquering
Agni's beams of splendour go to every side,
His lustre flash
our pain away.
6To every side thy face
is turned, thou art triumphant everywhere.
His lustre flash
our pain away!
7O thou whose face looks
every way, bear off our foes as in a
ship.
His lustre
flash our pain away!
8As in a ship across
the flood, transport us to felicity. His lustre
flash our
pain away
HYMN XXXIV
Glorification of the Vishtāri sacrifice
1The head of this is prayer, its back
the Brihat, Odanas's belly is
the Vāmadevya;
Its
face reality, its sides the metre, Vishtāri sacrifice produced
from fervour.
2Boneless, cleansed, purified
by him who cleanseth, they go res-
plendent to the world
of splendour.
Fire burneth not their organ of enjoyment:
much pleasure have
they in the world of Svarga.
3Never doth want or evil fortune visit those
who prepare oblation
called Vishtāri.
He goes unto
the Gods, he dwells with Yama, he joys among
Gandharvas meet
for Soma.
4Yama robs not of generative
vigour the men who dress oblation
called Vishtāri.
Borne on his car, a charioteer, he travels: endowed with wings
he soars beyond the heavens.
5Strongest
is this, performed, of sacrifices: he hath reached
heaven
who hath prepared Vishtāri.
The oval-fruited lotus spreads
his fibre: there bloom the nelo-
phar and water-lilies.
Abundant with their overflow of sweetness, these streams shall
reach thee in the world of Svarga, whole lakes with lotus-
blossom shall approach thee.
6Full lakes
of butter with their banks of honey, flowing with wine,
and
milk and curds and water
Abundant with their overflow of
sweetness, these streams shall
reach thee in the world of
Svarga, whole lakes with lotus-
blossom shall approach thee.
7I give four pitchers, in four several places,
filled to the brim with
milk and curds and water.
Abundant
with their overflow of sweetness, these streams shall
reach
thee in the world of Svarga, whole lakes with lotus-
blossom
shall approach thee.
8I part this Odana
among the Brāhmans, Vishtāri, conquering
worlds
and reaching heaven.
Let me not lose it: swelling by its
nature, be it my perfect Cow
to grant all wishes!
HYMN XXXV
Magnification of the Odana or oblation of milk and rice
1Odana which Prajāpati, the firstborn
of Order, dressed with
fervour for the Brāhman,
which
guards the worlds from breaking atIthe centre,—I with this
Odana will conquer Mrityu.
2Whereby
the World-Creators vanquished Mrityu, that which
they found
by fervour, toil and trouble,
That which prayer first made
ready for the Brāhman,—I with
this Odana will conquer
Mrityu.
3That which upholds the Earth,
the all-sustainer, that which hath
filled air's middle realm
with moisture,
Which, raised on high in grandeur, stablished
heaven,—I with
this Odana will conquer Mrityu.
4From which the months with thirty spokes
were moulded, from
which the twelve-spoked year was formed
and fashioned.
Which circling day and night have ne'er o'ertaken,—I
with this
Odana will conquer Mrityu.
5Which
hath become breath-giver, life-bestower; to which the
worlds
flow full of oil and fatness,
To whom belong all the refulgent
regions,—I with this Odana
will conquer Mrityu.
6From which, matured, sprang Amrit into
being, which hath
become Gāyatris lord and ruler,
In which the perfect Vedas have been treasured,—I with this
Odana will conquer Mrityu,
7I drive away
the hostile God-despiser: far off be those who are
mine adversaries,
I dress Brahmaudana that winneth all things. May the Gods
hear me who believe and trust them.
HYMN XXXVI
A charm against fiends, human enemies, and other pests
1Endowed with true strength, let the
Bull, Agni Vaisvānara, burn
them up.
Him who would
pain and injure us, him who would treat us as
a foe.
2Him who, unharmed, would injure us, and
him who, harmed,
would do us harm,
I lay between the doubled
fangs of Agni, of Vaisvānara.
3Those
who, what time the moon is dark, hunt with loud cry and
answering
shout,
Flesh-eaters, others who would harm,—all these I overcome
with
might.
4I conquer the Pisāchas
with my power, and take their wealth
away.
All who would
injure us I slay. Let mine intention have success.
5With Gods who flee with him, and match
their rapid motion
with the Sun,
I with those animals
who dwell in rivers and on hills am found.
6I trouble the Pisāchas as the tiger
plagues men rich in kine.
They, even as dogs when they have
seen a lion, find no hiding-
place.
7Naught
with Pisāchas can I do, with thieves, with roamers of the
wood.
Pisāchas flee and vanish from each village as
I enter it.
8Into whatever village this
mine awful power penetrates,
Thence the Pisāchas flee
away, and plot no further mischief
there.
9Those who enrage me with their prate, as
flies torment an
elephant,
I deem unhappy creatures, like
small insects troublesome to
man.
10Destruction
seize upon the man, as with a cord they hold a
horse,
The fool who is enraged with me! He is not rescued from the
noose.
HYMN XXXVII
A charm against Gandharvas and Apsarases
1With thee, O Plant, in olden time Atharvans
smote and slew the
fiends.
Kasyapa smote with thee, with
thee did Kanava and Agastya
smite.
2With
thee we scare and drive away Gandharvas and Apsarases.
O
Ajasringi, chase the fiends. Cause all to vanish with thy
smell.
3Let the Apsarases, puffed away,
go to the river, to the ford,—
Guggulū, Pīlā,
Naladi, Aukshagandhi, Pramandini.
Ye have become attentive
since the Apsarases have past away.
4Where
great trees are, Asvatthas and Nyagrodhas with their
leafy
crests,
There where your swings are green and bright, and
lutes and
cymbals sound in tune,
'Ye have become attentive
since the Apsarases have past away.
5Hither
hath come this one, the most effectual of herbs and
plants.
6Let Ajasringi penetrate, Arā4aki with
sharpened horn.
7From the Gandharva,
dancing near, the lord of the Apsarases,
Wearing the tuft
of hair, I take all manhood and virility.
8With those dread hundred iron spears, the
darts of Indra, let it
pierce.
The Blyxa-fed Gandharvas,
those who bring no sacrificial gift.
9With
those dread hundred golden spears, the darts of Indra, let
it pierce.
The Blyxa-fed Gandharvas, those who bring no sacrificial
gift.
10O Plant, be thou victorious,
crush the Pisāchas, one and all,
Blyxa-fed, shining
in the floods, illumining the selfish ones.
11Youthful, completely decked with hair,
one monkey-like, one
like a dog,—
So the Gandharva, putting
on a lovely look, pursues a dame.
Him with an efficacious
charm we scare and cause to vanish
hence.
12Your wives are the Apsarases, and ye,
Gandharvas, are their
lords.
Run ye, immortal ones, away:
forbear to interfere with men!
HYMN XXXVIII
A charm for success in gambling
1Hither I call the Apsaras, victorious,
who plays with skill,
Her who comes freely fort to view,
who wins the stakes in games
of dice.
2Hither I call that Apsaras who scatters and who gathers
up.
The Apsaras who plays with skill and takes her winnings
in the
game.
3Dancing around us with
the dice, winning the wager by her
play.
May she obtain
the stake for us and gain the victory with skill.
May she
approach us full of strength: let them not win this
wealth
of ours.
4Hither I call that Apsaras,
the joyous, the delightful one—
Those nymphs who revel in
the dice, who suffer grief and yield
to wrath.
5Who follow in their course the rays of
Sūrya, or as a particle of
light attend him.
Whose
leader from afar, with store of riches, compasses quickly
all the worlds and guards them.
Pleased, may he come to this
our burnt oblation, together with
the Air, enriched with
treasure.
6Together with the Air, O rich
in treasure, guard here the white
cow and the calf, O mighty!
Here are abundant drops for thee, come hither! Here is thy
white calf, let thy mind be with us.
7Together
with the Air, O rich in treasure, keep the white calf in
safety here, O mighty!
Here is the grass, here is the stall,
here do we bind the calf. We
are your masters, name by name.
All Hail!
HYMN XXXIX
A prayer to various deities for health, wealth, and prosperity
1Agni no earth kath had mine homage.
May he bless me.
As I have bowed me down to Agni on the
earth, so let the
Favouring Graces bow them down to me.
2Earth is the Cow, her calf is Agni. May
she with her calf Agni
yield me food, strength, all my wish,
life first of all, and off-
spring, plenty, wealth. All Hail!
3Vāyu in air hath had mine homage.
May he bless me.
As I have bowed me down to Vāyu in
the air, so let the Favour-
ing Graces bow them down to me.
4Air is the Cow, her calf is Vāyu.
May she with her calf Vāyu
yield me food, strength,
all my wish, life first of all, and off-
spring, plenty,
wealth. All Hail!
5The Sun in heaven
hath had my homage. May he bless me.
As I have bowed me down
unto the Sun in heaven, so let the
Favouring Graces bow them
down to me.
6Heaven is the Cow, her calf Āditya.
May she yield with her calf
the Sun food, strength, and all
my wish, life first of all, and
offspring, plenty, wealth.
All Hail!
7To Chandra in the quarters
have I bowed me. May he bless me.
As unto Chandra in the
quarters I have bent, so let the Favour-
ing Graces bow them
down to me.
8The quarters are the Cows,
their calf is Chandra. May they
yield with their calf the
Moon food, strength and all my wish,
life first of all, and
offspring, plenty, wealth. All Hail!
9Agni
moves having entered into Agni, the Rishis' son, who
guards
from imprecations,
I offer unto thee with reverent worship.
Let me not mar the
Gods' appointed service.
10Skilled in all ways, O God, O Jātavedas,
I offer what is cleansed
by heart and spirit.
To all thy
seven mouths, O Jātavedas. Do thou accept with
pleasure
my libation.
HYMN XL
A charm against rival worshippers
1O Jātavedas, eastward sacrificers,
as foes assail us from the
eastern quarter.
May they,
turned back, be pained for harming Agni. I drive
them backward
with mine incantation.
2O Jātavedas,
southward sacrificers as foes assail us from the
southern
quarter.
May they, turned back, be pained for harming Yama.
I smite
them backward with mine incantation.
3O Jātavedas, westward sacrificers
as foes assail us from the
western quarter.
For harming
Varuna be they turned and troubled! I smite them
backward
with mine incantation.
4Jātavedas,
northward sacrificers as foes assail us from the
northern
quarter.
For harming Soma be they turned and troubled! I
smite them
backward with mine incantation.
5O Jātavedas, nether sacrificers, as
foes assail us from the stead-
fast quarter.
For harming
Earth let them be turned and troubled. I smite
them backward
with mine incantation.
6Those who pay
sacrifice, O Jātavedas, from air assail us from
the
midway quarter.
For harming Vāyu be they turned and
troubled! I smite them
backward with mine incantation.
7The sacrificers from above assail us, O
Jātavedas, from the lofty
quarter.
For wronging Sūrya
be they turned and troubled! I smite them
backward with mine
incantation.
8Those from all points assail
us, Jātavedas, who sacrifice from
intermediate regions.
For wronging Prayer let them be turned and troubled, I smite
them backward with mine incantation.
Suggestions for Further Reading
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book One
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Two
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Three
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Four
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Five
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Six
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Seven
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Eight
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Nine
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Ten
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Eleven
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Twelve
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Thirteen
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Fourteen
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Fifteen
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Sixteen
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Seventeen
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Eighteen
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Nineteen
- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, Book Twenty
- Hymns Of The Atharva-Veda
- Hymns of the Sama veda
- The Rig Veda translation
- Yajur Veda: The Veda Of The Black Yajus School
- Essays On Dharma
- Esoteric Mystic Hinduism
- Introduction to Hinduism
- Hindu Way of Life
- Essays On Karma
- Hindu Rites and Rituals
- The Origin of The Sanskrit Language
- Symbolism in Hinduism
- Essays on The Upanishads
- Concepts of Hinduism
- Essays on Atman
- Hindu Festivals
- Spiritual Practice
- Right Living
- Yoga of Sorrow
- Happiness
- Mental Health
- Concepts of Buddhism
- General Essays
Source: The Hymns of the Atharvaveda. translation by Ralph T.H. Griffith [1895-6]. The text has been reformatted by Jayaram V for Hinduwebsite.com. As far as the presentation of the material is concerned, this online version does not follow the original book. While all possible care has been taken to reproduce the text accurately, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or the authenticity of the text produced. We strongly recommend to use this text for general reading and understanding and refer the original edition for serious studies and academic projects .