Atharva Veda on The Divine

entire pantheon. 1. To Agni we speak and to the trees, to the plants and to the herbs; to Indra, Brihaspati, and Sûya: they shall deliver us from calamity! 2. We speak to king Varuna, to Mitra, Vishnu and Bhaga. To Amsa and Vivasvant do we speak: they shall deliver us from calamity! 3. We speak to Savitar, the god, to Dhâtar, and to Pûshan; to first-born Tvashtar do we speak: they shall deliver us from calamity! 4. We speak to the Gandharvas and the Apsaras, to the Asvins and to Brahmanaspati, to the god whose name is Aryaman: they shall deliver us from calamity! 5. Now do we speak to day and night, to Sûrya (sun) and to Kandramas (moon), the twain; to all the Âdityas we speak: they shall deliver us from calamity! 6. We speak to Vâta (wind) and Parganya, to the atmosphere and the directions of space. And to all the regions do we speak: they shall deliver us from calamity! 7. Day and night, and Ushas (dawn), too, shall deliver thee from curses! Soma the god, whom they call Kandramas (moon), shall deliver me! 8. To the animals of the earth and those of heaven, to the wild beasts of the forest, to the winged birds, do we speak: they shall deliver us from calamity! 9. Now do we speak to Bhava and Sarva, to Rudra and Pasupati; their arrows do we know well: these (arrows) shall be ever propitious to us! 10. We speak to the heavens, and the stars, to earth, the Yakshas, and the mountains; to the seas.. the rivers, and the lakes: they shall deliver us from calamity! 11. To the seven Rishis now do we speak, to the divine waters and Pragâpati. To the Fathers with Yama at their head: they shall deliver us from calamity! 12. The gods that dwell in heaven, and those that dwell in the atmosphere; the mighty (gods) that are fixed upon the earth, they shall deliver us from calamity! 13. The Âdityas, Rudras, Vasus, the divine Atharvans in heaven, and the wise Angiras: they shall deliver us from calamity! 14.

1. We have heard it said that the mother of the black Apakit (pustules) is red: with the root (found by) the divine sage do I strike all these. 2. I strike the foremost one of them, and I strike also the middlemost of them; this hindmost one I cut off as a flake (of wool). B. Charm to appease jealousy. 3. With Tvashtar's charm I have sobered down thy jealousy; also thy anger, O lord, we have quieted. C. Prayer to Agni, the lord of vows. 4. Do thou, O lord of vows, adorned with vows, ever benevolently here shine! May we all, adoring thee, when thou hast been kindled, O Gâtavedas, be rich in offspring!

power. 1. Time, the steed, runs with seven reins (rays), thousand-eyed, ageless, rich in seed. The seers, thinking holy thoughts, mount him, all the beings (worlds) are his wheels. 2. With seven wheels does this Time ride, seven naves has he, immortality is his axle. He carries hither all these beings (worlds). Time, the first god, now hastens onward. 3. A full jar has been placed upon Time; him, verily, we see existing in many forms. He carries away all these beings (worlds); they call him Time in the highest heaven. 4. He surely did bring hither all the beings (worlds), he surely did encompass all the beings (worlds). Being their father, he became their son; there is, verily, no other force, higher than he. 5. Time begot yonder heaven, Time also (begot) these earths. That which was, and that which shall be, urged forth by Time, spreads out. 6. Time created the earth, in Time the sun burns. In Time are all beings, in Time the eye looks abroad. 7. In Time mind is fixed, in Time breath (is fixed), in Time names (are fixed); when Time has arrived all these creatures rejoice. 8. In Time tapas (creative fervour) is fixed; in Time the highest (being is fixed); in Time brahma (spiritual exaltation) is fixed; Time is the lord of everything, he was the father of Pragâpati. 9. By him this (universe) was urged forth, by him it was begotten, and upon him this (universe) was founded. Time, truly, having become the brahma (spiritual exaltation), supports Parameshthin (the highest lord). 10. Time created the creatures (pragâh), and Time in the beginning (created) the lord of creatures (Prâgapati); the self-existing Kasyapa and the tapas (creative fervour) from Time were born.

To the goal here he shall lead us, to old age; old age shall hand us over to death: then shall we be united with the cooked (porridge)! 56. Thee here we hand over to the southern direction, to Indra as sovereign lord, to the serpent that is striped across as guardian, to Yama as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive! To the goal here, &c. 57. Thee here we hand over to the western direction, to Varuna as sovereign lord, to the pridâku- serpent as guardian, to food as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal here, 58. Thee here we hand over to the northern direction, to Soma as sovereign lord, to the svaga- serpent as guardian, to the lightning as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal here, &c. 59. Thee here we hand over to the direction of the nadir, to Vishnu as sovereign lord, to the serpent with black-spotted neck as guardian, to the plants as bowmen: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal here, &c. 60. Thee here we hand over to the direction of the zenith, to Brihaspati as sovereign lord, to the light-coloured serpent as guardian, to the rain as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive. To the goal here, &c.

Thou, O crested (god), carriest in (thy hand), that smites thousands, a yellow, golden bow that slays hundreds; Rudra's arrow, the missile of the gods, flies abroad: reverence be to it, in whatever direction from here (it flies)! 13. The adversary who lurks and seeks to overcome thee, O Rudra, upon him thou dost fasten thyself from behind, as (the hunter) that follows the trail of a wounded (animal). 14. Bhava and Rudra, united and concordant, both strong (ugrau), ye advance to deeds of heroism: reverence be to both of them, in whatever direction (they are) from here! 15. Reverence be to thee coming, reverence to thee going; reverence, O Rudra, be to thee standing, and reverence, also, to thee sitting! 16. Reverence in the evening, reverence in the morning, reverence by night,reverence byday! I have offered reverence to Bhava and to Sarva, both. 17. Let us not with our tongue offend Rudra, who rushes on, thousand-eyed, overseeing all, who hurls (his shafts) forward, who is manifoldly wise! 18. We approach first the (god) that has dark horses, is black, sable, destructive, terrible, who casts down the car of Kesin: reverence be to him! 19. Do not hurl at us thy club, thy divine bolt; be not incensed at us, O lord of cattle! Shake over some other than us the celestial branch! 20. Injure us not, interpose for us, spare us, be not angry with us! Let us not contend with thee! 21. Do not covet our cattle, our men, our goats and sheep! Bend thy course elsewhere, O strong god (ugra), slay the offspring of the blasphemers! 22. He whose missile, fever and cough, assails the single (victim), as the snorting of a stallion, who snatches away (his victims) one by one, to him be reverence! 23. He who dwells fixed in the atmosphere, smiting the blasphemers of the god that do not sacrifice, to him be reverence with ten sakvarî-stanzas! 24. For thee the wild beasts of the forest have been placed in the forest: flamingoes, eagles, birds of prey, and fowls.

Success, might, plans, dominion, sovereignty, the six broad (regions), the year, libation (idâ), the orders to the priests (praisha), the draughts of soma (graha), oblations (are founded) upon the ukkhishta. 19. The (liturgies called) katurhotârah, the âpri-hymns, the triennial sacrifices, the (formulas called) nîvid, the sacrifices, the priestly functions, the cattle-sacrifice and the soma-oblations connected with it, are in the ukkhishta. 20. The half-months and months, the divisions of the year together with the seasons, the resounding waters, thunder, the great Vedic canon (sruti) are in the ukkhishta. 21. Pebbles, sand, stones, herbs, plants, grass, clouds, lightning, rain, are attached to, and are founded upon the ukkhishta. 22. Success, attainment, accomplishment, control, greatness, prosperity, supreme attainment, and wellbeing rest upon, rest in, have been deposited in the ukkhishta. 23. Whatever breathes with breath, and sees with sight, all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta. 24. The riks and the sâmans, the metres, the ancient legends (purânam) together with the yagus, all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta. 25. In-breathing and out-breathing, sight, hearing, imperishableness and perishableness, all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta. 26. Joys, pleasures, delights, jubilation and merriment, all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta. 27. The gods, the (deceased) Fathers, men, Gandharvas and Apsaras, all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta.

dangers. 1. O Bhava and Sarva, be merciful, do not attack (us); ye lords of beings, lords of cattle, reverence be to you twain! Discharge not your arrow even after it has been laid on (the bow), and has been drawn! Destroy not our bipeds and our quadrupeds! 2. Prepare not our bodies for the dog, or the jackal; for the aliklavas, the vultures, and the black birds! Thy greedy insects, O lord of cattle (pasupate), and thy birds shall not get us to devour! 3. Reverence we offer, O Bhava, to thy roaring, to thy breath, and to thy injurious qualities; reverence to thee, O Rudra, thousand-eyed, immortal! 4. We offer reverence to thee from the east, from the north, and from the -south; from (every) domain, and from heaven. Reverence be to thy atmosphere! 5. To thy face, O lord of cattle, to thy eyes, O Bhava, to thy skin, to thy form, thy appearance, (and to thy aspect) from behind, reverence be! 6. To thy limbs, to thy belly, to thy tongue, to thy mouth, to thy teeth, to thy smell (nose), reverence be! 7. May we not conflict with Rudra, the archer with the dark crest, the thousand-eyed, powerful one, the slayer of Ardhaka! 8. Bhava shall steer clear from us on all sides, Bhava shall steer clear from us, as fire from water! May he not bear malice towards us: reverence be to him! 9. Four times, eight times, be reverence to Bhava, ten times be reverence to thee, O lord of cattle! To thy (charge) have been assigned these five (kinds of) cattle: cows, horses, men, goats and sheep. 10. Thine, O strong god (ugra), are the four regions, thine the sky, thine the earth, and thine this broad atmosphere; thine is this all that has a spirit and has breath upon the earth. 11. Thine is this broad, treasure-holding receptacle within which all worlds are contained. Do thou spare us, O lord of cattle: reverence be to thee! Far from us shall go the jackals, evil omens, dogs; far shall go (the mourning women) who bewail rnisfortune with dishevelled hair! 12.

Rohita and his female Rohinî. 1. Rise up, O steed, that art within the waters, enter this kingdom, rich in liberal gifts! Rohita (the red sun) who has begotten this all, shall keep thee well-supported for sovereignty! 2. The steed that is within the waters has risen up: ascend upon the clans that are sprung from thee! Furnishing soma, the waters, plants, and cows, cause thou four-footed and two-footed creatures to enter here! 3. Do ye, strong Maruts, children of Prisni (the cloud), allied with Indra, crush the enemies! Rohita shall hear you, that give abundant gifts, the thrice seven Maruts, who take delight in sweet (nourishment)! 4. Rohita has climbed the heights, he has ascended them, he, the embryo of women, (has ascended) the womb of births. Closely united with these women they found out the six broad (directions); spying out a road he has brought hither sovereignty. 5. Hither to thee Rohita has brought sovereignty; he has dispersed the enemies: freedom from danger has resulted for thee. To thee heaven and earth together with the revatî and sakvarî- stanzas shall yield gifts at will! 6. Rohita produced heaven and earth; there Parameshthin (the lord on high) extended the thread (of the sacrifice). There Aga Ekapâda (the one-footed goat, the sun) did fix himself; he made firm the heavens and earth with his strength. 7. Rohita made firm heaven and earth, by him the (heavenly) light was established, by him the firmament. By him the atmosphere and the spaces were measured out, through him the gods obtained immortality. 8. Rohita did ponder the multiform (universe) while preparing (his) climbings and advances. Having ascended the heaven with great might, he shall anoint thy royalty with milk and ghee! 9.

Brahman disciple. 1. The Brahmakârin (Brahmanical disciple) moves inciting both hemispheres of the world; in him the gods are harmonised. He holds the heavens and the earth, he fills the teacher with creative fervour (tapas). 2. The fathers, the divine folk, and all the gods severally follow the Brahmakârin; the Gandharvas did go after him, six thousand three hundred and thirty-three. He fills all the gods with creative fervour. 3. When the teacher receives the Brahmakârin as a disciple, he places him as a foetus inside (of his body). He carries him for three nights in his belly: when he is born the gods gather about to see him. 4. This earth is (his first) piece of firewood, the heaven the second, and the atmosphere also he fills with (the third) piece of firewood. The Brahmakârin. fills the worlds with his firewood, his girdle, his asceticism, and his creative fervour. 5. Prior to the brahma (spiritual exaltation) the Brahmakârin was born; clothed in heat, by creative fervour he arose. From him sprung the brâhmanam (Brahmanic life) and the highest brahma, and all the gods together with immortality (amrita). 6. The Brahmakârin advances, kindled by the firewood, clothed in the skin of the black antelope, consecrated, with long beard. Within the day he passes from the eastern to the northern sea; gathering together the worlds he repeatedly shapes them. 7. The Brahmakârin, begetting the brahma, the waters, the world, Pragâpati Parameshthin (he that stands in the hiahest place), and Virâg, having become an embryo in the womb of immortality, having forsooth, become Indra, pierced the Asuras. 8. The teacher fashioned these two hern spheres of the world, the broad and the deep, earth and heaven. These the Brahmakârin guards with his creative fervour (tapas): in him the gods are harmonised. 9. This broad earth and the heaven the Brahmakârin first brought hither as alms. Having made these into two sticks of firewood he reveres them upon them all beings have been founded.

Purified by (our) prayer, and clarified by the ghee are the soma-shoots, (and) these sacrificial grains. Enter the water; may the pot receive you! When ye have cookect this (porridge) go ye to the world of the pious (heaven)! 19. Spread out far unto great extent, with a thousand surfaces, in the world of the pious! Grandfathers, fathers, children, grandchildren--I am the fifteenth one that did cook thee. 20. The porridge has a thousand surfaces, a hundred streams, and is indestructible; it is the road of the gods, leads to heaven. Yonder (enemies) do I place upon thee: injure them and their offspring; (but) to me that brings gifts thou shalt be merciful! 21. Step upon the altar (vedi); make this woman thrive in her progeny; repel the demons.; advance her! May we in happiness be superior to all our equals! I bend down under our feet all those that hate us. 22. Turn towards her with cattle, (thou pot), face towards her, together with the divine powers! Neither curses nor hostile magic shall reach thee; rule in thy dwelling free from disease! 23. Properly built, placed with care, this altar (vedi) has been arranged of yore for the Brahmans porridge. Put it, O woman, upon the purified amsadhrl; place there the porridge for the divine (Brâhmanas)! 24. May this sacrificial ladle (sruk), the second hand of Aditi, which the seven Rishis, the creators of the beings, did fashion, may this spoon, knowing the limbs of the porridge, heap it upon the altar! 25. The divine (Brâhmanas) shall sit down to thee, the cooked saerfice: do thou again descending from the fire, approach them! Clarified by soma settle in the belly of the Brâhmanas; the descendants of the Rishis who eat thee shall not take harm! 26. O king Soma, infuse harmony into the good Brâhmanas who shall sit about thee! Eagerly do I invite to the porridge the Rishis, descended from Rishis, that are born of religious fervour, and gladly obey the call. 27.

She whom Visvakarman (the creator of all) did search out by means of oblations, when she had entered the surging (flood of the) atmosphere, she, the vessel destined to nourish, deposited in a secret place, became visible (to the gods) and the (heavenly) mothers. 61. Thou art the scatterer of men, the broadly expanding Aditi that yields milk according to wish. What is wanting in thee Pragâpati, first-born of the divine order (rita), shall supply for thee 62. Thy laps, O earth, free from ailment! Free from disease, shall be produced for us! May we attentively, throuoh our long lives, be bearers of bali-offerings to thee! 63. O mother earth, kindly set me down upon a well-founded place! With (father) heaven cooperating, O thou wise one, do thou place me into happiness and prosperity!

1. May this bounteous Nabhasaspati (the lord of the cloud) preserve for us (possessions) without measure in our house! 2. Do thou, O Nabhasaspati, keep strengthening food in our house, may prosperity and goods come hither! 3. O bounteous god, thou dost command thousandfold prosperity: of that do thou bestow upon iis, of that do thou give us, in that may we share with thee!

1. From kshetriya (inherited disease), from Nirriti (the goddess of destruction), from the curse of the kinswoman, from Druh (the demon of guile), from the fetter of Varuna do I release thee. Guiltless do I render thee through my charm; may heaven and earth both be propitious to thee! 2. May Agni together with the waters be auspicious to thee, may Soma together with the plants be auspicious. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti, from the curse of the kinswoman, from the Druh, from the fetter of Varuna do I release thee. Guiltless do I render thee through my charm; may heaven and earth both be propitious to thee! May the wind in the atmosphere auspiciously bestow upon thee strength, may the four quarters of the heaven be auspicious to thee. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c. 4. These four goddesses, the directions of space, the consorts of the wind, the sun surveys. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c. 5. Within these (directions) I assign thee to old age; forth to a distance shall go Nirriti and disease! Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c. 6. Thou hast been released from disease, from mishap, and from blame; out from the fetter of Druh, and from Grâhi (the demon of fits) thou hast been released. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c. 7. Thou didst leave behind Arâti (the demon of grudge), didst obtain prosperity, didst enter the happy world of the pious. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c. 8. The gods, releasing the sun and the ritam (the divine order of the universe) from darkness and from Grâhi, did take them out of sin. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c.

transmission of disease. 1. In the essence of earthly bliss, O ye gods, in strength of body (may he live)! May Agni, Sûrya, Brihaspati bestow upon him life's vigour! 2. Give life to him, O Gâtavedas, bestow in addition progeny upon him, O Tvashtar; procure, O Savitar, increase of wealth for him; may this one, who belongs to thee, live a hundred autumns! 3. May our prayer bestow upon us vigour, and possession of sound. progeny; ability and property do ye two, (O heaven and earth), bestow upon us!, May he, conquering lands with might, (live), O Indra, subjecting the others, his enemies! 4. Given by Indra, instructed by Varuna, sent by the Maruts, strong, he has come to us; may he, in the lap of ye two, heaven and earth, not suffer from hunger and not from thirst! 5. Strength may ye two, that are rich in strength, bestow upon him; milk may ye two, that are rich in milk, bestow upon him! Strength heaven and earth did bestow upon him; strength all the gods, the Maruts, and the waters. 6. With the gracious (waters) do I delight thy heart, mayest thou, free from disease, full of force, rejoice! Clothed in the same garment do ye two drink this stirred drink, taking on as a magic form the shape of the two Asvins! 7. Indra, having been wounded, first created this vigour, and this ever fresh divine food: that same belongs to thee. By means of that do thou, full of force, live (a hundred) autumns; may it not flow out of thee: physicians have prepared it for thee! PRAYERS FOR LONG LIFE AND HEALTH (ÂYUSHYÂNI).

designs. 1. The great guardian among these (gods) sees as if from anear. He that thinketh he is moving stealthily--all this the gods know. 2. If a man stands, walks, or sneaks about, if he goes slinking away, if he goes into his hiding- place; if two persons sit together and scheme, king Varuna is there as a third, and knows it. 3. Both this earth here belongs to king Varuna, and also yonder broad sky whose boundaries are far away. Moreover these two oceans are the loins of Varuna; yea, he is hidden in this small (drop of) water. 4. He that should flee beyond the heaven far away would not be free from king Varuna. His spies come hither (to the earth) from heaven, with a thousand eyes do they watch over the earth. 5. King Varuna sees through all that is between heaven and earth, and all that is beyond. He has counted the winkings of men's eyes. As a (winning) gamester puts down his dice, thus does he establish these (laws). 6. May all thy fateful toils which, seven by seven, threefold, lie spread out, ensnare him that speaks falsehood: him that speaks the truth they shall let go! 7. With a hundred snares, O Varuna, surround him, let the liar not go free from thee, O thou that observest men! The rogue shall sit, his belly hanging loose, like a cask without hoops, bursting all about! 8. With (the snare of) Varuna which is fastened lengthwise, and that which (is fastened) broadwise, with the indigenous and the foreign, with the divine and the human,-- 9. With all these snares do I fetter thee, O N. N., descended from N. N., the son of the woman N. N.: all these do I design for thee.

from wood of the sraktya-tree. 1. This attacking talisman, (itself) a man, is fastened upon the man: it is full of force, slays enemies, makes heroes of men, furnishes shelter, provides good luck. 2. This talisman slays enemies, makes strong men, is powerful, lusty, victorious, strong; as a man it advances against sorceries and destroys them. 3. With this talisman Indra slew Vritra, with it he, full of device, destroyed the Asuras, with it he conquered both the heaven and earth, with it he conquered the four regions of space. 4. This talisman of sraktya assails and attacks. With might controlling the enemies, it shall protect us on all sides! 5. Agni has said this, and Soma has said this; Brihaspati, Savitar, Indra (have said) this. These divine purohitas, (chaplains) shall turn back for me (upon the sorcerer) the sorceries with aggressive amulets! 6. I have interposed heaven and earth, also the day, and also the sun. These divine purohitas (chaplains) shall turn back for me (upon the sorcerer) the sorceries with aggressive amulets! 7. (For) the folk that make an armour of the talisman of sraktya--like the sun ascending the sky, it subjects and beats off the sorceries. 8. With the amulet of sraktya, as if with a seer of powerful spirit, I have gained all battles, I slay the enemies, the Rakshas. 9. The sorceries that come from the Angiras, the sorceries that come from the Asuras, the sorceries that prepare themselves, and those that are prepared by others, both these shall go away to a distance across ninety navigable streams! 10. As an armour upon him the gods shall tie the amulet, Indra, Vishnu, Savitar, Rudra, Agni, Pragâpati, Parameshthin, Virâg,Vaisvânara, and the seers all. 11. Thou art the most superb of plants, as if a steer among the cattle, as if a tiger among beasts of prey. (The amulet) that we did seek, that have we found, a guardian at our side. 12.

The Sâdhyas (blessed) go holding up with might one support of the net, the Rudras another, the Vasus another, (Still) another is upheld by the Âdityas. 13. All the gods shall go pressing from above with might; the Angiras shall go on the middle (of the net), slaying the mighty army! 14. The trees, and (growths) that are like trees, the plants and the herbs as well; two-footed and four-footed creatures do I impel, that they shall slay yonder army! 15. The Gandharvas and Apsaras, the serpents and the gods, holy men and (deceased) Fathers, the visible and invisible (beings), do I impel, that they shall slay yonder army! 16. Scattered here are the fetters of death; when thou steppest upon them thou shalt not escape! May this hammer slay (the men) of yonder army by the thousand! 17. The gharma (sacrificial hot drink) that has been heated by the fire, this sacrifice (shall) slay thousands! Do ye, Bhava and Sarva, whose arms are mottled, slay yonder army! 18. Into the (snare of) death they shall fall, into hunger, exhaustion, slaughter, and fear! O Indra and Sarva, do ye with trap and net slay yonder army! 19. Conquered, O foes, do ye flee away; repelled by (our) charm, do ye run! Of yonder host, repulsed by Brihaspati, not one shall be saved! 20. May their weapons fall from their (hands), may they be unable to lay the arrow on (the bow)! And then (our) arrows shall smite them, badly frightened, in their vital members! 21. Heaven and earth shall shriek at them, and the atmosphere, along with the divine powers! Neither aider, nor support did they find; smiting one another they shall go to death! 22. The four regions are the she-mules of the god's chariot, the purodâsas (sacrificial rice-cakes) the hoofs, the atmosphere the seat (of the wagon). Heaven and earth are its two sides, the seasons the reins, the intermediate regions the attendants, Vâk (speech) the road. 23.

I cook, and I give (to the Brahmans), and so, too, my wife, at my religious rite and practice.-- With the birth of a son the world of children has arisen (for you): do ye two hold on to a life that extends beyond (your years)! 48. In that place exists no guilt, and no duplicity, not even if he goes conspiring with his friends. This full dish of ours has here been deposited: the cooked (porridge) shall come back again to him that cooks it! 49. kind deeds we shall perform for our friends: all that hate us shall go to darkness (hell)!--As (fruitful) cow, and (strong) steer, they (man and wife) shall during, every successive period of their lives drive away man-besetting death! 50. The fires (all) know one another, that which lives in plants, and lives in the waters, and all the (light-) gods that glow upon the heaven. The gold (here) becomes the light of him that cooks (the porridge). 51. This (naked skin) among the hides is born upon man (alone), all other animals are riot naked. Clothe yourselves, (ye Brahmans), in sheltering garments: (even) the face of the porridge is a homespun garment! 52. What falsehood thou shalt speak at play and in the assembly, or the falsehood that thou shalt speak through lust for gain--put on together, (O man and wife), this same garment, deposit upon it every blemish! 53. Produce rain, go to the gods, let smoke arise from (thy) surface; all-embracing, about to be covered with ghee, enter as a co-dweller this place! 54. In many ways heaven assumes within itself a different form, according to circumstances. It (the heaven) has laid aside its black form, purifying itself to a bright (form); the red form do I sacrifice fot thee into the fire. 55. Thee here we hand over to the eastern direction, to Agni as sovereign lord, to the black serpent as guardian, to Âditya as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive!

1. The arms, the arrows, and the might of the bows; the swords, the axes, the weapons, and the artful scheme that is in our mind; all that, O Arbudi, do thou make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see! 2. Arise, and arm yourselves; friends are ye, O divine folk! May our friends be perceived and protected by you, O Arbudi (and Nyarbudi)! 3. Arise (ye two), and take hold I With fetters and shackles surround ye the armies of the enemy, O Arbudi (and Nyarbudi)! 4. The god whose name is Arbudi, and the lord Nyarbudi, by whom the atmosphere and this great earth has been infolded, with these two companions of Indra do I pursue the conquered (king) with my army. 5. Arise, thou divine person, O Arbudi, together with thy army! Crushing the army of tlie enemy, encompass them with thy embraces! 6. Thou, Arbudi, makest appear the sevenfold spectral brood. Do thou, when the oblation has been poured, rise up with all. these, together with the army! 7. (The female mourner), beating herself, with tear-stained face, with short (mutilated?) ears, with dishevelled hair, shall lament, when a man has been slain, pierced by thee, O Arbudi! 8. She curves her spine while longing in her heart for her son, her husband, and her kin, when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi! 9. The aliklavas and the gâshkamadas, the vultures, the strong-winged hawks, the crows, and the birds (of prey) shall obtain their fill! Let them make evident to the enemy, when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi! 10. Then, too, every wild beast, insect, and worm shall obtain his fill on the human carcass, when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi! 11. Seize ye, and tear out in-breathing and outbreathing, O Nyarbudi (and Arbudi): deep- sounding groans shall arise! Let them make it evident to the enemy, when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi! 12. Scare them forth, let them tremble; bewilder the enemies with fright!

1. May the serpent, ye gods, not slay us along with our children and our men! The closed (jaw) shall not snap open, the open one not close! Reverence (be) to the divine folk! 2. Reverence be to the black serpent, reverence to the one that is striped across! To the brown svaga reverence; reverence to the divine folk! 3. I clap thy teeth upon thy teeth, and also thy jaw upon thy jaw; I press thy tongue against thy tongue, and close up, O serpent, thy mouth.

1. The gods, O king, did not give to thee this (Cow) to eat. Do not, O prince, seek to devour the cow of the Brâhmana, which is unfit to be eaten! 2. The prince, beguiled by dice, the wretched one who has lost as a stake his own person, he may, perchance, eat the cow of the Brâhmana, (thinking), 'let me live to-day (if) not to-morrow'! 3. Enveloped (is she) in her skin, as an adder with evil poison; do not, O prince, (eat the cow) of the Brâhmana: sapless, unfit to be eaten, is that cow! 4. Away does (the Brâhmana) take regal power, destroys vigour; like fire which has caught does he burn away everything. He that regards the Brâhmana as fit food drinks of the poison of the taimâta-serpent. 5. He who thinks him (the Brahman) mild, and slays him, he who reviles the gods, lusts after wealth, without thought, in his heart Indra kindles a fire; him both heaven and earth hate while he lives. 6. The Brâhmana must not be encroached upon, any more than fire, by him that regards his own body! For Soma is his (the Brâhmana's) heir, Indra protects him from hostile plots. 7. He swallows her (the cow), bristling with a hundred hooks, (but) is unable to digest her, he, the fool who, devouring the food of the Brahmans, thinks, 'I am eating a luscious (morsel).' 8. (The Brahman's) tongue turns into a bow. string, his voice into the neck of an arrow; his windpipe, his teeth are bedaubed with holy fire: with these the Brahman strikes those who revile the gods, by means of bows that have the strength to reach the heart, discharged by the gods. 9. The Brâhmanas have sharp arrows, are armed with missiles, the arrow whi ch they hurl goes not in vain; pursuing him with their holy fire and their wrath, even from afar, do they pierce him. 10. They who ruled over a thousand, and were themselves ten hundred, the Vaitahavya, when they devoured the cow of the Brâhmana, perished. 11. The cow herself, when slaughtered, came down upon the Vaitahavyas.

Thy spirit, O lord of cattle, is within the waters, to strengthen thee the heavenly waters flow. 25. The dolphins, great serpents (boas), purîkayas (water-animals), sea-monsters, fishes, ragasas at which thou shootest-there exists for thee, O Bhava, no distance, and no barrier. At a glance thou lookest around the entire earth; from the eastern thou slayest in the northern ocean. 26. Do not, O Rudra, contaminate us with fever, or with poison, or with heavenly fire: cause this lightning to descend elsewhere than upon us! 27. Bhava rules the sky, Bhava rules the earth; Bhava has filled the broad: atmosphere. Reverence be to him in whatever direction from here (he abides)! 28. O king Bhava, be merciful to thy worshipper, for thou art the lord of living beasts! He who believes the gods exist, to his quadruped and biped be merciful! 29. Slay neither our great nor our small; neither those of us that are riding, nor those that shall ride; neither our father, nor our mother. Cause no injury, O Rudra, to our own persons! 30. To Rudra's howling dogs, who swallow their food without blessing, who have wide jaws, I have made this obeisance. 31. Reverence, O god, be to thy shouting hosts, reverence to thy long-haired, reverence to thy reverenced, reverence to thy devouring hosts! May well-being and security be to us!

exposes demons and enemies. 1. He sees here, he sees yonder, he sees in the distance, he sees--the sky, the atmosphere as well as the earth, all that, O goddess, he sees. 2. The three heavens, the three earths, and these six directions severally; all creatures may I see through thee, O divine plant! 3. Thou art verily the eyeball of the divine eagle; thou didst ascend the earth as a weary woman a palanquin. 4. The thousand-eyed god shall put this plant into my right hand: with that do I see every one, the Sûdra as well as the Ârya. 5. Reveal (all) forms, do not hide thy own self; moreover, do thou, O thousand-eyed (plant), look the Kimîdins in the face! 6. Reveal to me the wizards, and reveal the witches, reveal all the Pisâkas: for this purpose do I take hold of thee, O plant! 7. Thou art the eye of Kasyapa, and the eye of the four-eyed bitch. Like the sun, moving in the bright day, make thou the Pisâka evident to me! 8. 1 have dragged out from his retreat the sorcerer and the Kimîdin. Through this (charm) do I see every one, the Sûdra as well as the Ârya. 9. Him that flies in the air, him that moves across the sky, him that regards the earth as his resort, that Pisâka do thou reveal (to me)!

1. If air, or earth and heaven, if mother or father, we have injured, may this Agni Gârhapatya (household fire) without fail lead us out from this (crime) to the world of well-doing! 2. The earth is our mother, Aditi (the universe) our kin, the air our protector from hostile schemes. May father sky bring prosperity to us from the world of the Fathers; may I come to my (departed) kin, and not lose heaven! 3. In that bright world where our pious friends live in joy, having cast aside the ailments of their own bodies, free from lameness, not deformed in limb, there may we behold our parents and our children!

1. Swift as the wind be thou, O steed, when joined (to the chariot); at Indra's urging go, fleet as the mind! The Maruts, the all-possessing, shall harness thee,Tvashtar shall put fleetness into thy 2. With the fleetness, O runner, that has been deposited in thee in a secret place, (with the fleetness) that has been made over to the eagle, the wind, and moves in them, with that, O steed, strong with strength, do thou win the. race, reaching the goal in the contest! 3. Thy body, O steed, leading (our) body, shall run, a pleasure to ourselves, delight to thyself! A god, not stumbling, for the support of the great, he shall, as if upon the heaven, found his own light!

We speak to the sacrifice and the sacrificer, to the riks, the sâmans, and the healing (Atharvan) charms; we speak to the yagus-formulas and the invocations (to the gods): they shall deliver us from calamity! 15. We speak to the five kingdoms of the plants with soma the most excellent among them. The darbha-grass, hemp, and mighty barley: they shall deliver us from calamity! 16. We speak to the Arâyas (demons of grudge), Rakshas, serpents, pious men, and Fathers; to the one and a hundred deaths: they shall deliver us from calamity! 17. To the seasons we speak, to the lords of the seasons, and to the sections of the year; to the halfyears, years, and months: they shall deliver us from calamity! 18. Come, ye gods, from the south and the west; ye gods in the east come forth! From the east, from the north the mighty gods, all the gods assembled: they shall deliver us from calamity! 19, 20. We speak here to all the gods that hold to their agreements, promote the order (of the universe), together with all their wives: they shall deliver us from calamity! 21. We speak to being, to the lord of being, and also to him that controls the beings; to the beings all assembled: they shall deliver us from calamity! 22. The five divine regions, the twelve divine seasons, the teeth of the year, they shall ever be propitious, to us! 23. The amrita (ambrosia), bought for the price of a chariot, which Mâtalî knows as a remedy, that Indra stored away in the waters: that, O ye waters, furnish ye as a remedy! CHARMS IN EXPIATION OF SIN AND DEFILEMENT.

who had roasted for themselves the last she-goat of Kesaraprâbandhâ. 12. The one hundred and one persons whom the earth did cast off, because they had injured the offspring of a Brâhmana, were ruined irretrievably. 13. As a reviler of the gods does he live among mortals, having swallowed poison, he becomes more bone (than flesh). He that injureth a Brâhmana, whose kin are the gods, does not reach heaven by the road of the Fathers. 14. Agni is called our guide, Soma our heir, Indra slays those who curse (us): that the strong (sages) know. 15. Like a poisoned arrow, O king, like -an adder, O lord of cattle, is the terrible arrow of the Brâhmana: with that he smites those who revile (the gods).

1. As the lightning at all times smites irresistibly the tree, thus would I to-day irresistibly beat the gamesters with my dice! 2. Whether they be alert, or not alert, the fortune of (these) folks, unresisting, shall assemble from all sides, the gain (collect) within my hands! 3. I invoke with reverence Agni, who has his own riches; here attached he shall beap up gain for us! I procure (wealth) for myself, as if with chariots that win the race. May I accomplish auspiciously the song of praise to the Maruts! 4. May we by thy aid conquer the (adversary s) troop; help us (to obtain) our share in every contest! Make for us, O Indra, a good and ample road; crush, O Maghavan, the lusty power of our enemies! 5. I have conquered and cleaned thee out (?); I have also gained thy reserve. As the wolf plucks to pieces the sheep, thus do I pluck thy winnings. 6. Even the strong hand the bold player conquers, as the skilled gambler heaps up his winnings at the proper time. Upon him that loves the game (the god), and does not spare his money, (the game, the god) verily bestows the delights of wealth. 7. Through (the possession of) cattle we all would suppress (our) wretched poverty, or with grain our hunger, O thou oft implored (god)! May we foremost among rulers, unharmed, gain wealth by our cunning devices! 8. Gain is deposited in my right hand, victory in my left. Let me become a conqueror of cattle, horses, wealth, and gold! 9. O dice, yield play, profitable as a cow that is rich in milk! Bind me to a streak of gain, as the bow (is bound) with the string!

1. Upon this (person) the Vasus, Indra, Pûshan, Varuna, Mitra, and Agni, shall bestow goods (vasu)! The Âdityas, and, further, all the gods shall hold him in the higher light! 2. Light, ye gods, shall be at his bidding: Sûrya (the sun), Agni (fire), or even gold! Inferior to us shall be our rivals! Cause him to ascend to the highest heaven 3. With that most potent charm with which, O Gâtavedas (Agni), thou didst bring to Indra the (soma-) drink, with that, O Agni, do thou here strengthen this one; grant him supremacy over his kinsmen! 4. Their sacrifice and their glory, their increase of wealth and their thoughtful plans, I have usurped, O Agni. Inferior to us shall be our rivals! Cause him to ascend to the highest heaven!

with a certain plant. 1. The god-begotten plant, hated by the wicked, which wipes away the curses (of the enemies), like water a foul spot it has washed away all curses from me. 2. The curse of the rival and the curse of the kinswoman, the curse which the Brahman shall utter in wrath, all that (do thou put) under our feet! 3. From heaven her root is suspended, from the earth it rises up; with her that has a thousand shoots do thou protect us on all sides! 4. Protect me, protect my offspring, protect our goods; let not ill-will overcome us, let not hostile schemes overcome us! 5. The curse shall go to the curser; joint possession shall we have with the friend. Of the enemy who bewitches with (his) eye we hew off the ribs.

Arbudi and Trishamdhi shall pierce our enemies, so that, O Indra, slayer of Vritra, spouse of Sakî, we may slay the enemy by thousands! 24. The trees, and (growths) that are like trees, the plants and the herbs as well, the Gandharvas and the Apsaras, the serpents, gods, pious men, and (departed) Fathers, all those, O Arbudi, do thou make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see! 25. The Maruts, god Âditya, Brahmanaspati did rule over you; Indra, and Agni, Dhâtar, Mitra, and Pragâpati did rule over you; the seers did rule over you. Let them make evident to the enemies when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi! 26. Ruling over all these, rise ye and arm yourselves! Ye divine folk are (our) friends: win ye the battle, and disperse to your various abodes!

varana-tree. 1. Here is my varana-amulet, a bull that destroys the rivals: with it do thou close in upon thy enemies, crush them that desire to injure thee! 2. Break them, crush them, close in upon them: the amulet shall be thy vanguard in front! With the varana the Devas (gods) did ward off (avârayanta) the onslaught of the Asuras (demons) day after day. 3, This thousand-eyed, yellow, golden varanaamulet is a universal cure; it shall lay low thy enemies: be thou the first to injure those that hate thee! 4. This varana will ward off (vârayishyate) the spell that has been spread against thee; this will protect thee from human danger, this will protect thee from all evil! 5. This divine tree, the varana, shall shut out (vârayâtâi)! The gods, too, have shutout (avivaran) the disease that has entered into this (man). 6. If when asleep thou shalt behold an evil dream; as often as a wild beast shall run an inauspicious course; from (ominous) sneezing, and from the evil shriek of a bird, this varana- amulet will protect thee (vârayishyate). 7. From Arâti (grudge), Nirriti (misfortune), from sorcery, and from danger; from death and overstrong weapons the varana will protect thee. 8. The sin that my mother, that my father, that my brothers and my sister have committed; the sin that we (ourselves) have committed, from that this divine tree will protect us. 9. Through the varana are confused my enemies and my (rival) kin. To untraversed gloom they have gone: they shall go to the nethermost darkness! 10. (May) I (be) unharmed, with cows unharmed, long-lived, with undiminished men! This varana-amulet shall guard me in every region (of space)! 11. This varana upon my breast, the kingly, divine tree, shall smite asunder my enemies, as Indra the Dasyus, the Asuras (demons)! 12. Long-lived, a hundred autumns old, do I wear this varana: kingdom and rule, cattle and strength, this shall bestow upon me! 13.

1. Arise and arm yourselves, ye nebulous spectres together with fiery portents; ye serpents, other brood, and Rakshas, run ye after the enemy! 2. He knows bow to rule your kingdom together with the red portents (of the heavens). The evil brood that is in the air and the heaven, and the human (powers) upon the earth, shall be obedient to the plans of Trishamdhi! 3. The brazen-beaked (birds of prey), those with beaks pointed as a needle, and those, too, with thorny beaks, flesh-devouring, swift as the wind, shall fasten themselves upon the enemies, together with the Trishamdhi-bolt (the bolt with three joints)! 4. Make away with, O Gâtavedas Âditya, many carcasses! This army of Trishamdhi shall be devoted to my bidding! 5. Arise thou divine person, O Arbudi, together with thy army! This tribute has been offered to you (Arbudi and Trishamdhi), an offerinor pleasing to Trishamdhi. 6. This white-footed, four-footed arrow shall fetter (?) Do thou, O magic spell, operate, together with the army of Trishamdhi, against the enemies! 7. May (the mourning woman) with suffused eyes hurry on, may she that hath short (mutilated?) ears shout when (a man) has been overcome by the army of Trishamdhi! Red portents shall be (visible)! 8. May the winged birds that move in the air and in the sky descend; beasts of prey and insects shall seize upon them; the vultures that feed upon raw flesh shall hack into (their) carcasses! 9. By virtue of the compact which thou, O Brihaspati, didst close with Indra and Brahman, by virtue of that agreement with Indra, do I call hither all the gods: on this side conquer, not over yonder! 10. Brihaspati, the descendant of Angiras, and the seers, inspired by (our) song, did fix the three- jointed (Trishamdhi) weapon upon the sky for the destruction of the Asuras. 11. Trishamdhi, by whom both yonder Âditya (the sun) and Indra, are protected, the gods did destine for (our) might and strencth. 12.

1. Beyond measure they waxed strong, just fell short of touching the heavens. When they infringed upon Bhrigu they perished, the Sriñgaya Vaitahavyas. 2. The persons who pierced Brihatsâman, the descendant of Angiras, the Brâhmana--a ram with two rows of teeth, a sheep devoured their offspring. 3. They who spat upon the Brâhmana, who desired tribute from him, they sit in the middle of a pool of blood, chewing hair. 4. The cow of the Brahman, when roasted, as far as she reaches does she destroy the lustre of the kingdom; no lusty hero is born (there). 5. A cruel (sacrilegious) deed is her slaughter, her meat, when eaten, is sapless; when her milk is drunk, that surely is accounted a crime against the Fathers. 6. When the king, weening himself mighty, desires to destroy the Brâhmana, then royal power is dissipated, where the Brâhmana is oppressed. 7. Becoming eight-footed, four-eyed, four-eared, four-jawed, two-mouthed, two-tongued, she dispels the rule of the oppressor of the Brahman. 8. That (kingdom) surely she swamps, as water a leaking ship; misfortune strikes that kingdom, in which they injure a Brâhmana. 9. The trees chase away with the words: 'do not come within our shade,' him who covets the wealth that belongs to a Brâhmana, O Nârada! 10. King Varuna pronounced this (to be) poison, prepared by the gods: no one who has devoured the cow of a Brâhmana retains the charge of a kingdom. 11. Those full nine and ninety whom the earth did cast off, because they had injured the offspring of a Brâhmana, were ruined irretrievably. 12. The kûdî-plant (Christ's thorn) that wipes away the track (of death), which they fasten to the dead, that very one, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did declare (to be) thy couch. 13. The tears which have rolled from (the eyes of) the oppressed (Brahman), as he laments, these very ones, O oppressor of Brahmans, the gods did assign to thee as thy share of water. 14.

He that wears this talisman, verily is a tiger, a lion as well, and, too, a bull; moreover a curtailer of enemies. 13. Him slay not the Apsaras, nor the Gandharvas, nor mortal men; all reoions does he rule, that wears this talisman. 14. Kasyapa has created thee, Kasyapa has produced thee. Indra wore thee in human (battle); wearing thee in the close combat he conquered. The gods did make the talisman an armour of thousandfold strength. 15. He that plans to harm thee with sorceries, with (unholy) consecrations and sacrifices--him beat thou back, O Indra, with thy thunderbolt that hath a hundred joints! 16. This talisman verily does assail, full of might, victorious. Offspring and wealth it shall protect, provide defence, abound in luck! 17. Remove our enemies in the south, remove our enemies in the north; remove, O Indra, our enemies in the west: light, O hero, place in front (east) of us! 18. An armour for me be heaven and earth, an armour day, an armour the sun! An armour for me be Indra and Agni; Dhâtar shall bestow (dadhAtu) an armour upon me! 19. The armour of Indra and Agni, that is thick and strong, all the gods united do not pierce. This great (armour) shall protect my body on all sides, that I may obtain long life, and reach old age! 20. The divine talisman has ascended upon me,unto completc exemption from injury. Assemble about this post that protects the body, furnishes threefold defence, in order to (secure) strength! 21. Into it Indra shall deposit manliness: do ye, O gods, assemble about it for long life, for life lasting a hundred autumns, that he may reach old age. 22. May Indra who bestows welfare, the lord of the people, the slayer of Vritra, the controller of enemies, he that conquereth and is unconquered, the soma-drinking bull that frees from danger, fasten the amulet upon thee: may it protect thee on each and every side, by day and by night!

1. With thy broad thunder,with the beacon, elevated by tile gods that pervade this all, with the lightning do thou not destroy our grain, O god; nor do thou destroy it with the rays of the sun!

18. O Vâkaspati, the five seasons that we have, which have come about as the creation of Visvakarman, rialit here (they and) life's breath shall be to our friend; thee, O Parameshthin, Rohita shall envelop in life and lustre! 19. O Vâkaspati, good cheer and spirit, cattle in our stable, children in our wombs beget thou! Right here life's breath shall be to our friend; thee, O Parameshthin, I envelop in life and lustre. 20. God Savitar and Agni shall envelop thee, Mitra and Varuna surround thee with lustre! Treading down all powers of grudge come thou hither: thou hast made this kingdom rich in liberal gifts. 21. Thou, O Rohita, whom the brindled cow, harnessed at the side, carries, goest with brilliance, causing the waters to flow. 22. Devoted to Rohita is Rohinî his mistress, with beautiful colour (complexion), great, and lustrous: through her may we conquer booty of every description, through her win every battle! 23. This seat, Rohinî, belongs to Rohita; yonder is the path on which the brindled (female) goes! Her the Gandharvas and the Kasyapas lead forth, her the sages guard with diligence. 24. The radiant bay steeds of the sun, the immortal, ever draw the delightful chariot. Rohita, the drinker of ghee, the shining god, did enter the variegated heavens. 25. Rohita, the sharp-horned bull, who surpasses Agni and surpasses Sûrya, who props up the earth and the sky, out of him the gods frame the creations. 26. Rohita ascended the heaven from the great flood; Rohita has climbed all heights. 27. Create (the cow) that is rich in milk, drips with ghee: she is the milch-cowof the gods that does not refuse! Indra shall drink the Soma, there shall be secure possession; Agni shall sing praises: the enemies do thou drive out! 28. Agni kindled, spreads his flames, fortified by ghee, sprinkled with ghee. Victorious, all- conquering Agni shall slay them that are my rivals! 29. He shall slay them, shall burn the enemy that battles against us!

With the flesh-devouring Agni do we burn our rivals. 30. Smite them down, O Indra, with the thunderbolt, with thy (strong) arm! Then have I overpowered my rivals with Agni's brilliant strengths. 31. O Agni, subject our rivals to us; confuse, O Brihaspati, the kinsman that is puffed up! O Indra and Agni, O Mitra and Varuna, subjected they shall be, unable to vent their wrath against 32. Do thou, god Sûrya (the sun), when thou risest, beat down my rivals, beat them down with a stone: they shall go to the nethermost darkness! 33. The calf of Virâg, the bull of prayers, carrying the bright (soma) upon his back, has ascended the atmosphere. A song accompanied by ghee they sing to the calf; himself brahma (spiritual exaltation) they swell him with their brahma (prayer). 34. Ascend the heavens, ascend the earth sovereignty ascend thou, and possessions ascend thou! Offspring ascend thou, and immortality ascend thou, unite thy body with Rohita! 35. The gods that hold sovereignty, who go about the sun, with these allied, Rohita, kindly disposed, shall bestow sovereignty upon thee! 36. The sacrifices purified by prayer lead thee forth; the bay steeds that travel upon the road carry thee: thou shinest across the swelling ocean. 37. In Rohita who conquers wealth, conquers cattle, and conquers booty, heaven and earth are fixed. Of thee that hast a thousand and seven births, let me announce the origin over the extent of the world! 38. Glorious thou goest to the intermediate directions and the directions (of space), glorious (in the sight) of animals and the tribes of men, glorious in the lap of the earth, of Aditi: may I like Savitar be lovely! 39. Being yonder thou knowest (what takes place) here; being here thou beholdest these things. Here (men) behold the inspired sun that shines upon the sky. 40. A god thou praisest the gods, thou movest within the flood. They kindle (him), a universal fire; him the highest sages know. 41.

All-embracing, about to be covered with ghee, enter, (O pot), as a co-dweller this space!-- Take hold of the winnowing-basket, that has been grown by the rain: the spelt and the chaff it shall sift out! 20. Three regions are constructed after the pattern of the Brâhmana: yonder heaven, the earth, and the atmosphere.--Take the (soma-) shoots, and hold one another, (O man and wife)! They (the shoots) shall swell (with moisture), and again go back into the winnowing-basket! 21. Of manifold variegated colours are the animals, one colour hast thou, (O porridge), when successfully prepared.--Push these (soma-) Shoots upon this red skin; the press-stone shall purify them as the washer-man his clothes! 22. Thee, the (pot of) earth, I place upon the earth: your substance is the same, though thine, (O pot), is modified. Even though a blow has cracked or scratched thee, do not therefore burst: with this verse do I cover that up! 23. Gently as a mother embrace the son: I unite thee, (pot of) earth, with the earth! Mayest thou, the hollow pot, not totter upon the altar, when thou art pressed by the tools of sacrifice and the 24. May Agni who cooks thee protect thee on the east, Indra with the Maruts protect thee on the south! May Varuna on the west support thee upon thy foundation, may Soma on the north hold thee together! 25. Purified by the purifiers, the (waters) flow pure from the clouds, they reach to the spaces of heaven, and of the earth. They are alive, refresh the livino, and are firmly rooted: may Agni heat them, after they have been poured into the vessel! 26. From heaven they come, into the earth they penetrate; from the earth they penetrate into the atmosphere. May they, now pure, yet purify themselves further; may they conduct us to the heavenly world! 27. Whether ye are over-abundant or just sufficient, ye are surely clear, pure, and immortal: cook, ye waters, instructed by the husband and wife, obliging and helpful, the porridge! 28.

As the lowing cow her young that craves the breast, ye gods shall greet with sounds of satisfaction this (porridge)! 38. With ghee thou hast covered it, hast made this place (for the porridge): may it, peerless, spread afar to heaven! Upon it shall rest the mighty eagle; gods shall offer it to the divinities! 39. Whatever the wife cooks aside from thee, (O husband), or the husband (cooks) unbeknown of thee, O wife, mix that together: to both of you it shall belong; bring it together into a single place! 40. As many of her children as dwell upon the earth, and the sons that have been begotten by him, all those ye shall call up to the dish: on shall come the young knowing their nest! 41. The goodly streams, swelling with honey, mixed with ghee, the seats of ambrosia, all these does he obtain, ascends to heaven. In sixty autumns the treasurer (of the porridge) shall fetch it! 42. The treasurer shall fetch this treasure: all outsiders round about shall not control it! The heaven-directed porridge, that has been presented and deposited by us, in three divisions has reached the thrte heavens. 43. May Agni burn the ungodly Rakshas; the flesh-devouring Pisâka shall have nothing here to partake of! We drive him away, hold him afar from us: the Âdityas and Angiras shall stay near 44. To the Âdityas and the Angiras do I offer this (food of) honey, mixed with ghee. Do ye two, (man and wife), with clean hands, without having injured a Brâhmana, performing pious deeds, go to that heavenly world! 45. I would obtain this highest part of it (the porridge), the place from which the highest lord permeates (the all). Pour butter upon it, anoint it witb plentiful ghee: this here is our share, fit for the Angiras! 46. For the sake of truth and holy strength do we make over this porridge as a hoarded treasure to the gods: it shall not be lost to us in gaming or in the assembly; do not let it go to any other person before me! 47.

1. When Agni, having entered the waters, burned, where the (gods) who uphold the order (of the universe) rendered homage (to Agni), there, they say, is thy origin on high: do thou feel for us, and spare us, O takman! 2. Whether thou art flame, whether thou art heat, or whether from licking chips (of wood) thou bast arisen, Hrûdu by name art thou, O god of the yellow: do thou feel for us, and spare us, O takman! 3. Whether thou art burning, whether thou art scorching, or whether thou art the son of king Varuna, Hrûdu by name art thou, O god of the yellow: do thou feel for us, and spare us, O takman! 4. To the cold takman, and to the deliriously hot, the glowing, do I render homage. To hirn that returns on the morrow, to him that returns for two (successive) days, to the takman that returns on the third day, homage shall be!

1. That which has caused thee to miscarry do we drive away from thee, that very thing do we deposit outside of thee, away in a far place. 2. Into thy womb shall enter a male germ, as an arrow into a quiver! May a man be born there, a son ten months old! 3. A male son do thou produce, and after him a male shall be born! Thou shalt be the mother of sons, of those who are born, and those whom thou shalt bear! 4. By the effective seed which bulls put forth do thou obtain a son; be a fruitful milch-cow! 5. Pragâpati's (the lord of creatures) work do I perform for thee: may the germ enter into thy womb! Obtain thou, woman, a son who shall bring prosperity to thee, and bring thou pi-osperity to him! 6. The plants whose father was the sky, whose mother the earth, Whose root the (heavenly) ocean--may those divine herbs aid thee in obtaining a son!

1. What this black bird flying forth towards (me) has dropped here--may the waters protect me from all that misfortune and evil! 2. What this black bird has brushed here with thy mouth, O Nirtiti (goddess of misfortune)-may Agni Gârhapatya (the god of the household fire) free me from this sin!

1. May, O Agni, a suitor after our own heart come to us, may he come to this maiden with our fortune! May she, agreeable to suitors, charming at festivals, promptly obtain happiness through a husband! 2. Agreeable to Soma, agreeable to Brahma, arranged by Aryaman, with the unfailing certainty of god Dhâtar, do I bestow upon thee good fortune, the acquisition of a husband. 3. This woman shall obtain a hnsband, since king Soma makes her lovely! May she, begetting sons, become a queen; may she, going to her husband, shine in loveliness! 4. As this comfortable cave, O Maghavan (Indra), furnishing a safe abode, hath become pleasing to animals, thus may this woman be a favourite of fortune (Bhaga), beloved, not at odds with her husband! 5. Do thou ascend the full, inexhaustible ship of Bhaga (fortune); upon this bring, hither the suitor who shall be agreeable (to thee)! 6. Bring hither by thy shouts, O lord of wealth, the suitor, bend his mind towards her; turn thou the right side of every agreeable suitor towards (her)! 7. This gold and bdellium, this balsam, and Bhaga (fortune), too; these have prepared thee for husbands, that thou mayest obtain the one that is agreeable. 8. Hither to thee Savitar shall lead the husband that is agreeable! Do thou, O herb, bestow (him) upon her!

1. This warrior, O Indra, do thou strengthen for me, do thou install this one as sole ruler (bull) of the Vis (the people); emasculate all his enemies, subject them to him in (their) contests! 2. To him apportion his share of villages, horses, and cattle; deprive of his share the one that is his enemy! May this king be the pinnacle of royalty; subject to him, O Indra, every enemy! 3. May this one be the treasure-lord of riches, may this king be the tribal lord of the Vis (the people)! Upon this one, O Indra, bestow great lustre, devoid of lustre render his enemy! 4. For him shall ye, O heaven and earth, milk ample good, as two milch-cows yielding warm milk! May this king be favoured of Indra, favoured of cows, of plants, and cattle! 5. I unite with thee Indra who has supremacy, through whom one conquers and is not (himself) conquered, who shall install thee as sole ruler of the people, and as chief of the human kings. 6. Superior art thou, inferior are thy rivals, and whatsoever adversaries are thine, O king! Sole ruler, befriended of Indra, victorious, bring thou hither the supplies of those who act as thy enemies! 7. Presenting the front of a lion do thou devour all (their) people, presenting the front of a tiger do thou strike down the enemies! Sole ruler, befriended of Indra, victorious, seize upon the supplies of those who act as thy enemies!

1. Heaven and earth, the broad atmosphere, the goddess of the field, and the wonderful, far- striding (Vishnu); moreover, the broad atmosphere guarded by Vâta (the wind): may these here be inflamed, when I am inflamed! 2. Hear this, O ye revered gods! Let Bharadvâga recite for me songs of praise! 'May he who injures this our plan be bound in the fetter (of disease) and joined to misfortune! 3. Hear, O soma-drinking Indra, what with burning heart I shout to thee! I cleave, as one cleaves a tree with an axe, him that injures this our plan. 4. With (the aid of) thrice eighty siman-singers, with (the aid of) the Âdityas, Vasus, and Angiras--may our father's sacrifices and gifts to the priests, aid us-do I seize this one with fateful fervour. 5. May heaven and earth look after me, may all the gods support me! O ye Angiras, O ye fathers devoted to Soma, may he who does harm enter into misfortune! 6. He who perchance despises us, O ye Maruts, he who abuses the holy practice which is beiog performed by us, may his evil deeds be firebrands to him, may the heavens surround with fire the hater of holy practices! 7. Thy seven in-breathings and thy eight marrows, these do I cut for thee by means of my charm. Thou shalt go to the seat of Yama, fitly prepared, with Agni as thy guide! 8. 1 set thy footstep upon the kindled fire. May Agni surround thy body, may thy voice enter into breath!

1. (Thy) kingdom hath come to thee: arise, endowed with lustre! Go forth as the lord of the people, rule (shine) thou, a universal ruler! All the regions of the compass shall call thee, O king; attended and revered be thou here! 2. Thee the clans, thee these regions, goddesses five, shall choose for empire! Root thyself upon the height, the pinnacle of royalty: then do thou, mighty, distribute goods among us! 3. Thy kinsmen with calls shall come to thee; agile Agni shall go with them as messenger! Thy wives, thy sons shall be devoted to thee; being a mighty (ruler) thou shalt behold rich tribute! 4. The Asvins first, Mitra and Varuna both, all the gods, and the Maruts, shall call thee! Then fix thy mind upon the bestowal of wealth, then do thou, mighty, distribute wealth among us! 5. Hither hasten forth from the farthest distance heaven and earth, both, shall be propitious to thee! Thus did this king Varuna (as if, 'the chooser') decree that; he himself did call thee: 'come thou hither'! 6. O Indra, Indra, come thou to the tribes of men, for thou hast agreed, concordant with the Varunas (as if,'the electors'), He did call thee to thy own domain (thinking): 'let him revere the gods, and manage, too, the people'! 7. The rich divinities of the roads, of manifold diverse forms, all coming together have given thee a broad domain. They shall all concordantly call thee; rule here, a mighty, benevolent (king), to up the tenth decade (of thy life)!

The disease that racks and wastes thy limbs, and the sickness in thy heart, has flown as an eagle to a far distance, overcome by my charm. 10. The two sages Alert and Watchful, the sleepless and the vigilant, these two guardians of thy life's breath, are awake both day and night. 11. Agni here is to be revered; the sun shall rise here for thee: rise thou from deep death, yea from black darkness! 12. Reverence be to Yama, reverence to death; reverence to the Fathers and to those that lead (to them) [death's messengers?] That Agni who knows the way to save do I engage for this man, that he be exempt from harm! 13. His breath shall come, his soul shall come, his sight shall come, and, too, his strength! His body shall collect itself: then shall he stand firm upon his feet! 14. Unite him, Agni, with breath and sight, provide him with a body and with strength! Thou hast a knowledge of immortality: let him not now depart, let him not now become a dweller in a house of clay! 15. Thy in-breathing shall not cease, thy outbreathing shall not vanish; Sûrya (the sun), the supreme lord, shall raise thee from death with his rays! 16. This tongue (of mine), bound (in the mouth, yet) mobile, speaks within: with it I have charmed away disease, and the hundred torments of the takman (fever). 17. This world is most dear to the gods, unconquered. For whatever death thou wast destined when thou wast born, O man, that (death) and we call after thee: do not die before old age!

varana-tree. 1. This divine tree, the varana, shall shut out (vârayâtai). The gods, too, have shut out (avîvaran) the disease that hath entered into this man! 2. By Indra's command, by Mitra's and by Varuna's, by the command of all the gods do we shut out thy disease. 3. As Vritra did bold fast these ever-flowing waters, thus do I shut out (vâraye) disease from thee with (the help of) Agni Vaisvânara.

O Agni, prepare the roads, that lead to the gods! By these: well- prepared (roads) may we reach the sacrifice, standing upon the firmament (that shines) with seven rays! 37. With the light with which the gods, having cooked the porridge for the Brâmanas, ascended to heaven, to the world of the pious, with that would we go to the world of the pious, ascending to the light, to the highest firmament!

1. Indra, the merchant, do I summon: may he come to us, may he be our van; driving away the demon of grudge, the waylayers, and wild beasts, may he, the possessor, bestow wealth upon 2. May the many paths, the roads of the gods, which come together between heaven and earth, c,ladden me with milk and ghee, so that I may gather in wealth from my purchases! 3. Desirous do I, O Agni, with firewood and ghee offer oblations (to thee), for success and strength; according to ability praising (thee) with my prayer, do I sing this divine song, that I may gain a hundredfold! 4. (Pardon, O Agni, this sin of ours [incurred upon] the far road which we have travelled!) May our purchases and our sales be successful for us; may what I get in barter render me a gainer! May ye two (Indra and Agni) in accord take pleasure in this oblation! May our transactions and the accruing gain be auspicious to us! 5. The wealth with which I go to purchase, desiring, ye gods, to gain wealth through wealth, may that grow more, not less! Drive away, O Agni, in return for the oblation, the gods who shut off 6. The wealth with which I go to purchase, desiring, ye gods, to gain wealth through wealth, may Indra, Pragâpati, Savitar, Soma, Agni, place lustre into it for me! 7. We praise with reverence thee, O priest (Agni) Vaisvdnara. Do thou over our children, selves, cattle, and life's breath watch! 8. Daily, never failing, shall we bring (oblations to thee), O Gâtavedas, (as if fodder) to a horse standing (in the stable). In growth of wealth and nutriment rejoicing, may we, O Agni, thy neighbours, not take harm!

1. Of these three earths (our) earth verily is the highest. From the surface of these I have now plucked a remedy. 2. Thou art the most excellent of remedies, the best of plants, as Soma (the moon) is the lord in the watches of the night, as Varuna (is king) among the gods. 3. O ye wealthy, irresistible (plants), ye do generously bestow benefits. And ye strengthen the hair, and, moreover, promote its increase.

Let not the heavenly (fire) together with the lightning burn, thee! 12. Let not the flesh-devouring (fire) menace thee: move afar from the funeral pyre! Heaven shall guard thee, the earth shall guard thee, the sun and moon shall guard thee, the atmosphere shall guard thee against the divine missile! 13. May the alert and the watchful divinities guard thee, may he that sleeps not and nods not guard thee, may he that protects and is vigilant guard thee! 14. They shall guard thee, they shall protect thee. Reverence be to them. Hail be to them! 15. Into converse with the living Vâyu, Indra, Dhâtar, and saving Savitar shall put thee; breath and strength shall not leave thee! Thy (life's) spirit do we call back to thee. 16. Convulsions that draw the jaws together, darkness, shall not come upon thee, nor (the demon) that tears out the tongue (?) How shalt thou then waste away? The Âdityas and Vasus, Indra and Agni shall raise thee up unto well-being! 17. The heavens, the earth, Pragâpati, have rescued thee. The plants with Soma their king have delivered thee from death. 18. Let this man remain right here, ye gods, let him not depart hence to yonder world! We rescue him from death with (a charm) of thousandfold strength. 19. I have delivered thee from death. The (powers) that furnish strength shall breathe upon thee. The (mourning women) with dishevelled hair, they that wail lugubriously, shall not wail over 20. 1 have snatched thee (from death), I have obtained thee; thou hast returned with renewed youth. O thou, that art (now) sound of limb, for thee sound sight, and sound life have I obtained. 21. It has shone upon thee, light has arisen, darkness has departed from thee. We remove from thee death, destruction, and disease.

1. Raise thyself up, grow thick by thy own might, O grain! Burst every vessel! The lightning in the heavens shall not destroy thee! 2. When we invoke thee, god grain, and thou dost listen, then do thou raise thyself up like the sky, be inexhaustible as the sea! 3. Inexhaustible shall be those that attend to thee, inexhaustible thy heaps! Theywhogivethee as a present shall be inexhaustible, they who eat thee shall be inexhaustible!

Below the superior (region), above the inferior (region) here, the cow has arisen supporting (her) calf by the foot. Whither is she turned; to which half (of the universe), forsooth, has she aone away; where, forsooth, does she beget? Verily not in this herd! 42. One-footed, two-footed, four-footed is she; eight-footed, nine-footed became she, the thousand-syllabled (consisting of thousand elements) pankti (quinary stanza) of the universe: the oceans from her flow forth upon (the world). 43. Ascending the heaven, immortal, receive kindly my song! The sacrifices purified by prayer lead thee forth; the bay steeds that travel upon the road carry thee. 44. That do I know of thee, O immortal, where thy march is upon the sky, where thy habitation is in the highest heaven. 45. Sûrya (the sun) surveys the sky, Sûrya the earth, Sûrya the waters. Sûrya is the single eye of being: he has ascended the great heavens. 46. The broad (directions) where the fagots that fence in (the fire), the earth turned itself into a fire-altar. There Rohita laid on for himself these two fires, cold and heat. 47. Laying on cold and heat, using the mountains as sacrificial posts, the two fires of Rohita who knows the (heavenly) light, into which (the fires) rain (flowed) as ghee, carried out the sacrifice. 48. The fire of Rohita who knows the (heavenly) light is kindled by prayer. From it heat, from it cold, from it the sacrifice was produced. 49. The two fires swelling through prayer, increased through prayer, sacrificed into with prayer; the two fires of Rohita who knows the (heavenly) light, kindled through prayer, carried out the sacrifice. 50. One is deposited in truth, the other is kindled in the waters. The two fires of Rohita who knows the (heavenly) light, kindled through prayer, carried out the sacrifice. 51.

(fever), and other ailments. 1. May the protecting god kushtha come hither from the Himavant: destroy thou every takman, and all female spooks! 2. Three names hast thou, O kushtha, (namely: kushtha), na-ghâ-mâra ('forsooth-no-death'), and na-ghâ-risha ('forsooth-no-harm'). Verily no harm shall suffer (na ghâ... rishat) this person here, for whom I bespeak thee morn and eve, aye the (entire) day! 3. Thy mother's name is gîvalâ ('quickening'), thy father's name is gîvanta ('living'). Verily no harm shall suffer this person here, for whom I bespeak thee morn and eve, aye the entire day! 4. Thou art the most superior of the plants, as a steer among cattle, as the tiger among beasts of prey. Verily no harm shall stiffer this person here, for whom I bespeak thee morn and eve, aye the entire day! 5. Thrice begotten by the Sâmbu Angiras, thrice by the Âdityas, and thrice by all the gods, this kushtha, a universal remedy, stands together with soma. Destroy thou every takman, and all female spooks! 6. The asvattha-tree is the seat of the gods in the third heaven from here. There came to sight the amrita (ambrosia), there the kushtha-plant was born. 7. A golden ship with golden tackle moved upon the heavens. There came to sight the amrita, there the kushtha-plant was born. 8. On the spot where the ship glided down, on the peak of the Himavant, there came to sight the ambrosia, there the kushtha-plant was born. This kushtha, a universal remedy, stands together with soma. Destroy thou every takman, and all female spooks! 9. (We know) thee whom Ikshvâku knew of yore, whom the women, fond of kushtha, knew, whom Vâyasa and Mâtsya knew: therefore art thou a universal remedy. 10. The takman that returns on each third day, the one that cominues without intermission, and the yearly one, ao thou, (O plant) of unremitting strength, drive away down below!

1. The many plants of hundredfold aspect, whose king is Soma, which have been begotten by Brihaspati, shall free us from calamity! 2. May they free us from (the calamity) consequent upon curses, and also from the (toils) of Varuna; moreover, from the foot-fetter of Yama, and every sin against the gods! 3. What laws we have infringed upon, with the eye, the mind, and speech, either while awake, or asleep-may Soma by his (divine) nature clear these (sins) away from us!

1. This Aryaman (wooer) with loosened crest of hair comes hither in front (of the procession), seeking a husband for this spinster, and a wife for this wifeless man. 2. This maid, O Aryaman, has wearied of going to the wedding-feasts of other women. Now shall, without fail, O Aryaman, other women go to her wedding-feast! 3. Dhâtar (the creator) supports (didhhra) this earth, Dhâtar supports the heavens, and the sun. May Dhatar furnish this spinster with a husband after her own heart).

given as a fee to the Brahmans. 1. O Agni, come into being! Aditi here in her throes, longing for sons, is cooking the porridge for the Brahmans, The seven Rishis, that did create the beings, shall here churn thee, along with progeny! 2. Produce the smoke, ye lusty friends; unharmed by wiles go ye into the contest! Here is the Agni (fire) who gains battles, and commands powerful warriors, with whom the gods did conquer the demons. 3. O Agni, to a great heroic deed thou wast aroused, to cook the Brahman's porridge, O Gâtavedas! The seven Rishis, that did create the beings, have produced thee. Grant her (the wife) wealth together with undiminished heroes! 4. Burn, O Agni, after having been kindled by the firewood, bring skilfully hither the gods that are to be revered! Causing the oblation to cook for these (Brahmans), do thou raise this (sacrificer) to the highest firmament! 5. The, threefold share which was of yore assigned to you (belongs) to the gods, the (departed) Fathers, and to the mortals (the priests). Know your shares! I divide them for you: the (share) of the gods shall protect this (woman)! 6. O Agni, possessed of might, superior, thou dost without fail prevail! Bend down to the ground our hateful rivals!--This measure, that is being measured, and has been measured, may constitute thy kin into (people) that render thee tribute! 7. Mayest thou together with thy kin be endowed with sap! Elevate her (the wife) to great heroism! Ascend on high to the base of the firmament, which they call 'the world of brightness'! 8. This great goddess earth, kindly disposed, shall receive the (sacrificial) skin! Then may we go to the world of well-doing (heaven)! 9. Lay these two press-stones, well coupled, upon the skin; crush skilfully the (soma-) shoots for the sacrificer! Crush down, (O earth), and beat down, those who are hostile to her (the wife); lift up high, and elevate her offspring! 10.

The earth which the Asvins have measured, upon which Vishnu has stepped out, which Indra, the lord of might, has made friendly to himself; she, the mother, shall pour forth milk for me, the son! 11. Thy snowy mountain heights, and thy forests, O earth, shall be kind to us! The brown, the black, the red, the multi-coloured, the firm earth, that is protected by Indra, I have settled upon, not suppressed, not slain, not wounded. 12. Into thy rniddle set us, O earth, and into thy navel, into the nourishing strength that has grown tip from thy body; purify thyself for us! The earth is the mother, and I the son of the earth; Paro-anya is the father; he, too, shall save us! 13. The earth upon which they (the priests) inclose the altar (vedi), upon which they, devoted to all (holy) works, unfold the sacrifice, upon which are set up, in front of the sacrifice, the sacrificial posts, erect and brilliant, that earth shall prosper us, herself prospering! 14. Him that hates us, O earth, him that battles against us, him that is hostile towards us with his mind and his weapons, do thou subject to us, anticipating (our wish) by deed! 15. The mortals born of thee live on thee, thou supportest both bipeds and quadrupeds. Thine, O earth, are these five races of men, the mortals, upon whom the rising sun sheds undying light with his rays. 16. These creatures all together shall yield milk for us; do thou, O earth, give us the honey of speech! 17. Upon the firm, broad earth, the all-begetting mother of the plants, that is supported by (divine) law, upon her, propitious and kind, may we ever pass-our lives! 18. A great gathering-place thou, great (earth), hast become; great haste, commotion, and agitation are upon thee. Great Indra protects thee unceasingly. Do thou, O earth, cause us to brighten as if at the sight of gold: not any one shall hate us! 19.