Atharva Veda on Family

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!

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.

May Indra and Agni, to whom belong the children (of men), protect us! 22. King Soma, who guards and pities us, and the lords of the beings shall take pity on us! 23. May Bhava and Sarva cast the lightning, the divine missile, upon him that performs evil, fashions a spell, and does wrong! 24. If thou art come two-footed, (or) four-footed, prepared by the fashioner of the spell, multiform, do thou, having become eight-footed, again go away from here, O misfortune! 25. Anointed, ornamented, and well equipped, go away, carrying every misfortune! Know, O spell, thy maker, as a daughter her own father! 26. Go away, O spell, do not stand still, track (the enemy) as a wounded (animal)! He is the game, thou the hunter: he is not able to put thee down. 27. Him that first hurls (the arrow), the other, laying on in defence, slays with the arrow, and while the first deals the blow, the other returns the blow. 28. Hear, verily, this speech of mine, and then return whence thou camest, against the one that fashioned thee! 29. Slaughter of an innocent is heinous, O spell: do not slay our cow, horse, or serving-man! Wherever thou hast been put down, thence thee do we remove. Be lighter than a leaf! 30. If ye are enveloped in darkness, covered as if by a net--we tear all spells out from here, send them back again to him that fashioned them. 31. The offspring of them that fashion the spell, practise magic, or plot against us, crush thou, O spell, leave none of them! Slay those that fashion the spell! 32. As the sun is released from darkness, abandons the night, and the streaks of the dawn, thus every misery, (every) device prepared by the fashioner of the spell, (every) misfortune, do I leave behind, as an elephant the dust.

sacrifice. 1. In the ukkhishta are deposited name (quality) and form, in the ukkhishta the world is deposited. Within the ukkhishta Indra and Agni, and the all are deposited. 2. In the ukkhishta heaven and earth, and all beings, are deposited; in the ukkhishta are deposited the waters, the ocean, the moon, and the wind. 3. In the ukkhishta are both being and non-being, death, strength (food), and Pragâpati. The (creatures) of the world are founded upon the ukkhishta; (also) that which is confined and that which is free, and the grace in me. 4. He who fastens what is firm, the strong, the leader, the brahma, the ten creators of the all, the divinities, are fixed on all sides to the ukkhishta as the (spokes of the) wheel to the nave. 5. Rik, Sâman, and Yagus, the singing of the sâmans, their introductions, and the stotras are in the ukkhishta. The sound 'him' is in the ukkhishta, and the modulations and the music of the sâman. That is in me. 6. The prayer to Indra and Agni (aindrâgnam), the call to the soma, as it is being purified (pâvamâmam), the mahânâmnî-verses, the singing of the mahâvrata, (these) divisions of the service are in the ukkhishta, as the embryo in the mother. 7. The ceremony of the consecration of the king (râgasûya), the vâgapeya, the agnishtoma, and the cattle-sacrifice belonging to it, the arka and the horse-sacrifice, and the most delightful (sacrifice) for which fresh barhis is strewn, are in the ukkhishta. 8. The preparation of the sacred fire (agnyâdheyam), the consecration for the soma-sacrifice (dikshâ), the sacrifice by which (special) wishes are fulfilled, together with the metres, the sacrifices that have passed out, and the extended sacrifices (satra), are lounded upon the ukkhishta. 9. The agnihotra, faith, the call vashat, vows and asceticism, sacrificial rewards, what is sacrificed (to the gods) and given (to the priests) are contained in the ukkhishta. 10.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

1. The (spell) which they skilfully prepare, as a bride for the wedding, the multiform (spell), fashioned by hand, shall go to a distance: we drive it away! 2. The (spell) that has been brought forward by the fashioner of the spell, that is endowed with head, endowed with nose, endowed with ears, and multiform, shall go to a distance: we drive it 3. (The spell) that has been prepared by a Sadra, prepared by a Râga, prepared by a woman, prepared by Brahmans, as a wife rejected by her husband, shall recoil upon her fabricator, (and) his kin! 4. With this herb have I destroyed all spells, that which they have put into thy field, into thy cattle, and into thy men. 5. Evil be to him that prepares evil, the curse shall recoil upon him that utters curses: back do we hurl it against him, that it may slay him that fashions the spell. 6. Pratikîna (' Back-hurler'), the descendant of Angiras, is our overseer and officiator (purohita): do thou drive back again (pratîkîh) the spells, and slay yonder fashioners of the spells! 7. He that has said to thee (the spell): 'go on'! upon that enemy, that antagonist do thou turn, O spell: do not seek out us, that are harmless! 8. He that has fitted together thy joints with skill, as the wagoner (Ribhu) the joints of a chariot, to him go, there is thy course: this person here shall remain unknown to thee! 9. They that have prepared thee and taken hold of thee, the cunning wizards-this is what cures it, destroys the spell, drives it back the opposite way - with it do we bathe thee. 10. Since we have come upon tile wretched (spell), as upon (a cow) with a dead calf, flooded away (by a river), may all evil go away from me, and mav possessions come to me! 11. If (thy enemies) have made (offerings) to thy Fathers, or have called thy name at the sacrifice, may these herbs free thee from every indigenous evil! 12.

shape of a ploughshare. 1. The head of the hostile rival, of the enemy that bates me, do I cut off with might. 2. This amulet, produced by the ploughshare, will prepare an armour for me: full of stirred drink it has come to me, together with sap and lustre. 3. If the skilful workman has injured thee with his hand or with his knife, the living bright waters shall purify thee from that, (so that thou shalt be) bright! 4. This amulet has a golden wreath, bestows faith and sacrifice and might; in our house as a guest it shall dwell! 5. Before it (the amulet as a guest) ghee, surâ (liquor), honey, and every kind of food we place. The amulet having gone to the gods shall, as a father for his sons, plan for us growing good, more and more day after day! 6. The amulet which Brihaspati tied, the ploughshare dripping with ghee, the strong khadira, unto strength, that Agni did fasten on; that yields him ghee more and more day after day: with it those that hate me do thou slay! 7. This amulet which Brihaspati tied that Indra did fasten on, for strength and heroism; that yields him might more and more, &c. 8. The amulet which Brihaspati tied... that Soma did fasten on unto perfect hearing and seeing; that verily yields him lustre more and more, &c. 9. The amulet which Brihaspat, tied... that Sûrya did fasten on, with that he conquered these directions of space; that yields him prosperity moreand more, &c. 10. The amulet which Brihaspati tied wearing that amulet Kandramas (the moon) conquered the golden cities of the Asuras and the Dânavas; that yields him fortune more and more, &c. 11. The amulet which Brihaspat' tied for swift Vâta (wind), that yields him strength more and more, &c. 12, The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, with that amulet, O Asvins, do ye guard this plough-land; that yields the two physicians (the Asvins) might more and more, &c. 13.

Take into thy hands, O man, the press-stones that work together: the gods that are to be revered have come to thy sacrifice! Whatever three wishes thou dost choose, I shall here procure for thee unto fulfilment. 11. This, (O winnowing-basket), is thy purpose, and this thy nature: may Aditi, mother of heroes, take hold of thee! Winnow out those who are hostile to this (woman); afford her wealth and undiminished heroes! 12. Do ye, (O grains), remain in the (winnowing-) basket, while (the wind) blows over you; be separated, ye who are fit for the sacrifice, from the chaff! May we in happiness be superior to all our equals! I bend down under our feet those that hate us. 13. Retire, O woman, and return promptly! The stable of the waters (water-vessel) has settled upon thee, that thou mayest carry it: of these (the waters) thou shalt take such as are fit for sacrifice; having intelligently divided them off, thou shalt leave the rest behind! 14. These bright women, (the waters), have come hither. Arise, thou woman, and gather strength! To thee, that art rendered by thy husband a true wife, (and) by thy children rich in offspring, the sacrifice has come: receive the (water-) vessel! 15. The share of food that belongs to you of yore has been set aside for you. Instructed by the Rishis bring thou (woman) hither this water! May this sacrifice win advancement for you, win prAection, win offspring for you; may it be mighty, win cattle, and heroes for you! 16. O Agni, the sacrificial pot has settled upon thee: do thou shining, brightly glowing, heat it with thy glow! May the divine descendants of the Rishis, assembled about their share (of the porridge), full of fervour, heat this (pot) at the proper time! 17. Pure and clear may these sacrificial women, the waters bright, flow into the pot! The), have given us abundant offspring and cattle. May he that cooks the porridge go to the world of the pious (heaven)! 18.

The northerly direction shall make our realm the very uppermost, in offspring, uppermost! The purusha is the metre pahkti: with all (our kin), endowed with all their limbs, may we be united! 11. This 'firm' direction (nadir) is Virâg (brilliancy): reverence be to her; may she be kind to my children and to me! Mayest thou, O goddess Aditi, who boldest all treasures, as an alert guardian guard the cooked porridge! 12. As a father his children do thou, (O earth), embrace us; may gentle winds blow upon us here on earth! Then the porridge which the two divinities (the sacrificer and his wife) are here preparing for us shall take note of our religious fer~our and our truth! 13. Whatever the black bird, that has come hither stealthily, has touched of that ahich has stuck to the rim, or whatever the wet-banded slavegirl does pollute-may ye, O waters, purify (that) mortar and pestle! 14. May this sturdy press-stone, with broad bottom, purified by the purifiers, beat away the Rakshas! Settle upon the skin, afford firm protection; may man and wife not come to grief in their children! 15. The (pestle of) wood has come to us together with the gods: it drives away the Rakshas and Pisâkas. Up it shall rise, shall let its voice resound through it let us conquer all the worlds! 16. The cattle clothed itself in sevenfold strength, those among them that are sleek and those that are poor. The thirty-three gods attend them mayest thou, (O cattle), guide us to the heavenly world! 17. To the bright world of heaven thou shalt lead us; (there) let us be united with wife and children! I take her hand, may she follow me there; neither Nirriti (destruction), nor Arâti (grudge), shall gain mastery over us! 18. May we get past the evil Grâhi (seizure)! Casting aside darkness do thou, (O pestle), let thy lovely voice resound; do not, O wooden tool, when raised, do injury; do not mutilate the grain devoted to the gods! 19.

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.

All thy climbings, advances, and all thy ascents with which thou, (Rohita, the sun), fillest the heavens and the atmosphere, having strengthened thyself with their brahma and payas (spiritual and physical essence) do thou keep awake (do thou watch over) among the people in the kingdom of the (earthly) Rohita (the king)! 10. The peoples that have originated from thy tapas (heat, or creative fervour), have followed here the calf, the gâyatri. They shall enter thee with kindly spirit; the calf Rohita with its mother shall come on! 11. High on the firmament Rohita has stood, a youth, a sage, begettinu all forms. As Agni he shines with piercing light, in the third space he did assume lovely (forms). 12. A bull with a thousand horns, Gâtavedas (fire), endowed with sacrifices of ghee, carrying soma upon his back, rich in heroes, he shall, when implored, not abandon me, nor may I abandon thee: abundance in cattle and abundance in heroes procure for me! 14. Rohita is the generator of the sacrifice, and its mouth; to Rohita I offer oblations with voice, ear, and mind. To Rohita the gods resort with glad mind: he shall cause me to rise through elevation derived from the assembly! 14. Rohita arranged a sacrifice for Visvakarman; from it these brilliant, qualities have come to me. Let me announce thy origin over the extent of the world! 15, Upon thee have ascended the brihatî and the pankti (metres), upon thee the kakubh with splendour, O Gâtavedas. Upon thee the vashat-call, whose syllables make an ushnihâ, has ascended, upon thee Rohita with his seed has ascended. 16. This one clothes himself in the womb of the earth, this one clothes himself in heaven, and in the atmosphere. This one at the station of the brown (sun) did attain unto the worlds of light. 17. O Vâkaspati (lord of speech), the earth shall be pleasant to us, pleasant our dwelling, agrecable our couches! Right here life's breath shall be to our friend; thee, O Parameshthin, Agni shall envelop in life and lustre!

spirit. 1. Reverence to Prâna, to whom all this (universe) is subject, who has become the lord of the all, on whom the all is supported! 2. Reverence, O Prâna, to thy roaring (wind), reverence, O Prâna, to thy thunder, reverence, O Prâna, to thy lightning, reverence, O Prâna, to thy rain! When Prâna calls aloud to the plants with his thunder, they are fecundated, they conceive, and then are produced abundant (plants). 4. When the season has arrived, and Prâna calls aloud to the plants, then everything rejoices, whatsoever is upon the earth. 5. When Prâna has watered the great earth with rain, then the beasts rejoice; (they think): 'strength, forsooth, we shall now obtain.' 6. When they had been watered by Prâna, the plants spake in concert: 'thou hast, forsooth, prolonged our life, thou hast made us all fragrant.' 7. Reverence be, O Prâna, to thee coming, reverence to thee going; 'reverence to thee standing, and reverence, too, to thee sitting! 8. Reverence be to thee, O Prâna, when thou breatbest in (primate), reverence when thou breathest out! Reverence be to thee when thou art turned away, reverence to thee when thou art turned hither: to thee, entire, reverence be here! 9. Of thy dear form, O Prâna, of thy very dear form, of the healing power that is thine, give unto us, that we may live! 10. Prâna clothes the creatures, as a father his dear son. Prâna, truly, is the lord of all, of all that breathes, and does not breathe. 11. Prâna is death, Prâna is fever. The gods worship Prana. Prâna shall place the truth-speaker in the highest world 12. Prâna is Virâg (power, lustre), Prâna is Deshtrî (the divinity that guides): all worship Prâna. Prâna verily is sun and moon. They call Prâna Pragâpati. 13. Rice and barley are in-breathing and outbreathing. Prâna is called a steer. In-breathing forsooth, is founded upon barley; rice is called out-breathing. 14. Man breathes out and breathes in when within the womb. When thou, O Prâna, quickenest him, then is he born again.

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.

Counted drops penetrate into the earth, commensurate with the breaths of life and the plants. The uncounted golden (drops), that are poured into (the porridge), have, (themselves) pure, established complete purity. 29. The boiling waters rise and sputter, cast up foam and many bubbles. Unite, ye waters, with this grain, as a woman who beholds her husband in the proper season! 30. Stir up (the grains) as they settle at the bottom: let them mingle their inmost parts with the waters! The water here I have measured with cups; measured was the grain, so as to be according to these regulations. 31. Hand over the sickle, with haste bring promptly (the grass for the barhis); without giving pain let them cut the plants at the joints! They whose kingdom Soma rules, the plants, shall not harbour anger against us! 32. Strew a new barhis for the porridge: pleasing to its heart, and lovely to its sight it shall be! Upon it the gods together with the goddesses shall enter; settle down to this (porridge) in proper order, and cat it! 33. O (instrument of) wood, settle down upon the strewn barhis, in keeping with the divinities and the agnishloma rites! Well shaped, as if by a carpenter (Tvashtar) with his axe, is thy form. Longing for this (porridge) the (gods) shall be seen about the vessel! 34. In sixty autumns the treasurer (of the porridge) shall fetch it, by the cooked grain he shall obtain heaven; the parents and the children shall live upon it. Bring thou this (man) to heaven, into the presence of Agni! 35. (Thyself) a holder, (O pot), hold on to the foundation of the earth: thee, that art immoveable the gods (alone) shall move! Man and wife, alive, with living children, shall remove thee from the hearth of the fire! 36. Thou hast conquered and reached all worlds; as many as are our wishes, thou hast satisfied them. Dip ye in, stirring stick and spoon! Place it (the por idge) upon a single dish! 37. Lay (ghee) upon it, let it spread forth, anoint this dish with ghee!

1. Listen, ye folks, to this: (a song) in praise of a hero shall be sung! Six thousand and ninety (cows) did we get (when we were) with Kaurama among the Rusamas,-- 2. Whose twice ten buffaloes move right along, touether with their cows; the height of his chariot just misses the heaven which recedes from its touch. 3. This one (Kaurama) presented the seer with a hundred jewels, ten chaplets, three hundred steeds, and ten thousand cattle. 4. Disport thyself, O chanter, disport thyself as a bird upon a flowering tree; thy tongue glides quickly over the lips as a razor over the strop. 5. The chanters with their pious song hurry on blithely as cows; at home are their children, and at home the cows do they attend. 6. Bring hither, O chanter, thy poem, that which earns cattle and earns good things! Among the gods (kings) place thy voice as a manly archer his arrow! 7. Listen ye to the high praise of the king who rules over all peoples, the god who is above mortals, of Vaisvânara Parikshit! 8. 'Parikshit has procured for us a secure dwelling when he, the most excellent one, weat to his seat.' (Thus) the husband in Kuru-land, when he founds his household, converses with his wife. 9. 'What may I bring to thee, curds, stirred drink, or liquor?' (Thus) I the wife asks her husband in the kingdom of king Parikshit. 10. Like light the ripe barley runs over beyond the mouth (of the vessels). The people thrive merrily in the kingdom of king Parikshit. 11. Indra has awakened the poet, saying: 'Arise, move about, and sing; of me, the strong, verily, sing the praises; full every pious one shall offer thee (sacrificial reward)!' 12. Here, O cattle, ye shall be born, here, ye horses, here, ye domestics! And Pûshan also, who bestows a thousand (cows) as sacrificial reward, settles down here. 13. May these cattle, O Indra, not suffer harm, and may their owner not suffer harm; may the hostile folk, O Indra, may the thief not gain possession of them! 14.

15. They call Prâna Mâtarisvan (the wind); Prâna, forsooth, is called Vâta (the wind). The past and the future, the all, verily is supported upon Prâna. 16. The holy (âtharvana) plants, the magic (ângirasa) plants, the divine plants, and those produced by men, spring forth, when thou, O Prâna, quickenest them. 17, When Prâna has watered the great earth with rain, then the plants spring forth, and also every sort of herb. 18. Whoever, O Prâna, knows this regarding thee, and (knows) on what thou art supported, to him all shall offer tribute in yonder highest world. 19. As all these creatures, O Prâna, offer thee tribute, so they shall offer tribute (in yonder world) to him who hears thee, O far-famed one! 20. He moves as an embryo within the gods; having arrived, and being in existence, he is born again. Having arisen he enters with his mights the present and the future, as a father (goes to) his 21. When as a swan he rises from the water he does not withdraw his one foot. If in truth he were to withdraw it, there would be neither to-day, nor to-morrow, no night and no day, never would the dawn appear. 22. With eight wheels, and one felloe he moves, containing a thousand sounds (elements), upward in the east, downward in the west. With (his) half he produced the whole world: what is the visible sign of his (other) half? 23. He who rules over this (all) derived from every source, and over everything that movesreverence be to thee, O Prâna, that wieldest a swift bow against others (the enemies)! 24. May Prâna, who rules over this (all) derived from every source, and over everything that moves, (may he) unwearied, strong through the brahma, adhere to me! 25. Erect he watches in those that sleep, nor does lie lie down across. No one has heard of his sleeping in those that sleep. 26. O Prâna, be not turned away from me, thou shalt not be other than myself! As the embryo of the waters (fire), thee, O Prâna, do bind to me, that I may live.

May the four directions of space bow down to me, and the six broad (regions) carry ghee to me! 12. They (the enemies) shall float down like a boat cut loose from its moorings! There is no returning again for those who have been struck by our missiles. 13. Agni is a defence, Indra a defence, Soma a defence. May the gods, who by their defence ward off (the enemy), ward him off! 14. With his men reduced, driven out, the hated (enemy) shall go, shunned by his own friends! And down upon the earth do the lightnings alight; may the strong god crush your enemies! 15. This mighty lightning supports both moveable and immoveable things, as well as all thunders. May the rising sun by his resources and his majesty hurl down my enemies, lie the mighty one! 16. With that triple-armoured powerful covering of thine, O Kâma, with the charm that has been made into an Invulnerate armour spread (over thee), with that do thou drive away those who are my enemies; may breath, cattle, and life give them a wide berth! 17. With the weapon with which the god drove forth the Asuras, with which Indra led the Dasyus to the nethermost darkness, with that do thou, O Kâma, drive forth far away from this world those who are my enemies! 18. As the gods drove forth the Asuras, as Indra. forced the demons into the nethermost darkness, thus do thou, O Kâma, drive forth far away from this world those who are my enemies! 19. Kâma was born at first; him neither the gods, nor the Fathers, nor men have equalled. To these art thou superior, and ever great; to thee, O Kâma, do I verily offer reverence. 20. As great as are the heavens and earth in extent, as far as the waters have swept, as far as fire; to these art thou superior, &c. 21. Great as are the directions (of space) and the intermediate direction on either side, great as are the regions and the vistas of the sky; to these art thou superior, &c. 22.

1. An eagle found thee out, a boar dug thee out with his snout. Seek thou, O plant, to injure him that seeks to injure (us), strike down him that prepares spells (against us'! 2. Strike down the wizards, strike down him that prepares spells (against us); slay thou, moreover, O plant, him that seeks to injure us! 3. Cutting out from the skin (of the enemy) as if (from the skin) of an antelope, do ye, O gods, fasten the spell upon him that prepares it, as (one fastens) an ornament! 4. Take hold by the hand and lead away the spell back to him that prepares it! Place it in his very presence, so that it shall slay him that prepares the spell! 5. The spells shall take effect upon him that prepares the spells, the curse upon him that pronounces the curse! As a chariot with easy-going wheels, the spell shall turn back upon him that prepares the spell! 6. Whether a woman, or whether a man has prepared the spell for evil, we lead that spell to him as a horse with the halter. 7. Whether thou hast been prepared by the gods, or hast been prepared by men, we lead thee back with the help of Indra as an ally. 8. O Agni gainer of battles, do thou gain the battles! With a counter-charm do we hurl back the spell upon him that prepares the spell. 9. Hold ready, (O plant,) thy weapon, and strike him, slay the very one that has prepared (the spell)! We do not whet thee for the destruction of him that has not practised (spells). 10. Go as a son to his father, bite like an adder that has been stepped upon. Return thou, O spell, to him that prepares the spell, as one who overcomes his fetters! 11. As the shy deer, the antelope, goes out to the mating (buck), thus the spell shall reach him that prepares it! 12. Straighter than an arrow may it (the spell) fly against him, O ye heaven and earth; may that spell take hold again of him that prepares it, as (a hunter) of his game! 13. Like fire (the spell) shall progress in the teeth of obstacles, like water along its course!

1. May we be in harmony with our kinfolk, in harmony with strangers; do ye, O Asvins, establish here agreement among us! 2. May we agree in mind and thought, may we not struggle with one another, in a spirit displeasing to the gods! Ma not the din of frequent battle-carnage arise, may the arrow not fly when the day of Indra has arrived!

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!

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!

Thou that hast produced, art rich in offspring, thy fetters do we loosen. 14. Thou dost shelter Agni within, (and) the domestics together with the cattle. Thou that hast produced, art rich in offspring, thy fetters do we loosen. 15. The expanse which is between heaven and earth, with that do I receive as a gift this house of thine; the middle region which is stretched out from the sky, that do I make into a receptacle for treasures; with that do I receive the house for this one. 16. Full of nurture, full of milk, fixed upon the earth, erected, holding food for all, O house, do thou not injure them that receive thee as a gift! 17. Enveloped in grass, clothed in reeds, like night does the house lodge the cattle; erected thou dost stand upon the earth, like a she-elephant, firm of foot. 18. The part of thee that was covered with mats unfolding do I loosen. Thee that hast been enfolded by Varuna may Mitra uncover in the morning! 19. The house built with pious word, built by seers, erected--may Indra and Agni, the two immortals, protect the house, the seat of Soma! 20. Chest is crowded upon chest, basket upon basket; there mortal man is begotten from whom all things spring. 21. In the house which is built with two facades, four facades, six facades; in the house with eight facades, with ten facades, in the 'mistress of dwelling.' Agni rests as if in the womb. Tuirning towards thee that art turned towards me, O house, I come to thee that injurest me not. For Agni and the waters, the first door to divine order, are within. 23. These waters, free from disease, destructive of disease, do I bring here. The chambers do I enter in upon in company with the immortal Agni (fire). 24. Do thou not fasten a fetter upon us; though a heavy load, become thou light! As a bride do we carry thee, O house, wherever we please. 25. From the easterly direction of the house reverence (be) to greatness, hail to the gods who are to be addressed with hail! 26.

From the southerly direction of the house, &c.! 27. From the westerly direction of the house, &c.! 28. From the northerly direction of the house, &c.! 29. From the firm direction (nadir) of the house, &c.! 30. From the upright direction (zenith) of the house, &c.! 3 1. From every direction of the house reverence (be) to greatness, hail to the gods who are to be addressed with hail!