Atharva Veda on Grief

1. The successful, victorious, skilfully gaming Apsarâ, that Apsarâ who makes the winnings in the game of dice, do I call hither. 2. The skilfully gaming Apsarâ who sweeps and heaps up (the stakes), that Apsarâ who takes the winnings in the game of dice, do I call hither. May she, who dances about with the dice, when she takes the stakes from the game of dice, when she desires to win for us, obtain the advantage by (her) magic! May she come to us full of abundance! Let them not win this wealth of ours! 4. The (Apsarâs) who rejoice in dice, who carry grief and wrath-tbat joyful and exulting Apsarâ, do I call hither. B. Prayer to secure the return of calves that have strayed to a distance. 5. They (the cattle) who wander along the rays of the sun, or they who wander along the flood of light) they whose bull (the. sun), full of strength, from afar protecting, with the day wanders about all the worlds-may he (the bull), full of strength, delighting in this offering, come to us together with the atmosphere! 6. Together with the atmosphere, O thou who art full of strength, protect the white (karkî) calf, O thou swift steed (the sun)! Here are many drops (of ghee) for thee; come hither! May this white calf (karkî) of thine, may thy mind, be here! 7. Together with the atmosphere, O thou who art full of strength, protect the white (karkî) calf, O thou swift steed (the sun)! Here is the fodder, here the stall, here do we tie down the calf. Whatever (are your) names, we own you. Hail!

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.

With thy broad embrace, with the clasp of thy arms crush the enemies, O Nyarbudi! 13. May their arms, and the artful scheme that is in their mind be confused! Not a thing shall remain of them, pierced by thee, O Arbudi! 14. May (the mourning women) beating them selves, run together, smiting their breasts and their thighs, not anointed, with dishevelled hair, howling, when a man has been slain, has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi! 15. The dog-like Apsaras, and also the Rûpakâs (phantoms), the plucking sprite, that eacerly licks within the vessel, and her that seeks out what has been carelessly hidden, all those do thou, O Arbudi, make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see! 16. (And also make them see) her that strides upon the mist, the mutilated one, who dwells with the mutilated; the vapoury spooks that are hidden, and the Gandharvas and Apsaras, the serpents, and other brood, and the Rakshas! 17. (And also) the spooks with fourfold teeth, black teeth, testicles like a pot, bloody faces, who are inherently frightful, and terrifying! 18. Frighten thou, O Arbudi, yonder lines of the enemy; the conquering and the victorious (Arbudi and Nyarbudi), the two comrades of Indra, shall conquer the enemies! 19. Dissolved, crushed, slain the enemy shall lie, O Nyarbudi! May victorious sprites, with fiery tongues and smoky crests, go with (our) army! 20. Of the enemies repulsed by this (army), O Arbudi, Indra, the spouse of Saki, shall slay each picked man: not a single one of those yonder shall escape! 21. May their hearts burst, may their life's breath escape upward! May dryness of the mouth overtake (our) enemies, but not (our) allies! 22. Those who are bold and those who are cowardly, those who turn (in flight) and those who are deaf (to danger?), those who are (like) dark goats, and those, too, who bleat like goats, all those, do thou, O Arbudi, make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see! 23.

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. 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!

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.

that slays serpents. 1. To Indra belongs the first chariot, to the gods the second chariot, to Varuna, forsooth, the third. The serpents' chariot is the last: it shall hit a post, and come to grief! 2. The young darbha-grass burns (the serpents?), the tail of the horse, the tail of the shaggy one, the seat of the wagon (burns the serpents?) 3. Strike down, O white (horse), with thy forefoot and thy hind-foot! As timber floating in water, the poison of the serpents, the fierce fluid, is devoid of strength. 4. Neighing loudly he dived down, and, again diving up, said: 'As timber floating in water, the poison of the serpents, the fierce fluid, is devoid of strength.' 5. The horse of Pedu slays the kasarnîla, the horse of Pedu slays the white (serpent), and also the black. The horse of Pedu cleaves the head of the ratharvî, the adder. 6. O horse of Pedu, go thou first: we come after thee! Thou shalt cast out the serpents from the road upon which we come! 7. Here the horse of Pedu was born; from here is his departure. Here are the tracks of the serpent- killing, powerful steed! 8. May the closed (serpent's jaw) not snap open, may the open one not close! The two serpents in this field, man and wife, they are both bereft of strength. 9. Without strength here are the serpents, those that are near, and those that are far. With a club do I slay the vriskika (scorpion), with a staff the serpent that has approached. 10. Here is the remedy for both the aghâsva and the svaga! Indra (and) Pedu's horse have put to naught the evil-planning (aghâyantam) serpent. 11. The horse of Pedu do we remember, the strong, with strong footing: behind he, staring forth, these adders. 12. Deprived are they of life's spirit, deprived of poison, slain by Indra with his bolt. Indra hath slain them: we have slain them. 13. Slain are they that are striped across, crushed are the adders! Slay thou the one that produces a hood, (slay) the white and the black in the darbha-grass! 14.

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.

1. From thy eyes, thy nostrils, ears, and chin--the disease which is seated in thy head--from thy brain and tongue I do tear it out. 2. From thy neck, nape of the neck, ribs, and spine--the disease which is seated in thy fore-arm-- from thy shoulders and arms I do tear it out. 3. From thy heart, thy lungs, viscera, and sides; from thy kidneys, spleen, and liver we do tear out the disease. 4. From thy entrails, canals, rectum, and abdomen; from thy belly, guts, and navel I do tear out the disease. 5. From thy thighs, knees, heels, and the tips of thy feet--from thy hips I do tear out the disease seated in thy buttocks, from thy bottom the disease seated in thy buttocks. 6. From thy bones, marrow, sinews and arteries; from thy hands, fingers, and nails I do tear out the disease. 7. The disease that is in thy every limb, thy every hair, thy every joint; that which is seated in thy skin, with Kasyapa's charm, that tears out, to either side we do tear it out.

1. Headache and suffering in the head, pain in the ears and flow of blood, every disease of the head, do we charm forth from thee. 2. From thy ears, from thy kankûshas the earpain, and the neuralgia--every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee. 3. (With the charm) through whose agency disease hastens forth from the ears and the mouth- every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee. 4. (The disease) that renders a man deaf and blind--every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee. 5. Pain in the limbs, fever in the limbs, the neuralgia that affects every limb-every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee. 6. (The disease) whose frightful aspect makes man tremble, the takman (fever) that comes every autumn, do we charm forth from thee. 7. The disease that creeps along the thighs, and then enters the canals, out of thy inner parts do we charm forth. 8. If from the heart, from love, or from disgust, it arises, from thy heart and from thy limbs the balâsa do we charm forth. 9. Jaundice from thy limbs, diarrhoea from within thy bowels, the core of disease from thy inner soul do we charm forth. 10. To ashes (âsa) the balâsa shall turn; what is diseased shall turn to urine! The poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from thee. 11. Outside the opening (of the bladder) it shall run off; the rumbling shall pass from thy belly! The poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from thee. 12. From thy belly, lungs, navel, and heart-the poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from 13. (The pains) that split the crown (of the head), pierce the head, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)! 14. They that pierce the heart, creep along the ribs, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)! 15.

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).

1. For thee alone, O (death from) old age, this (boy) shall grow up: the other hundred kinds of death shall not harm him! Like a provident mother in her lap Mitra shall befriend him, shall save him from misfortune! 2. May Mitra or Varuna, the illustrious, cooperating, grant him death from old age! Then Agni, the priest, who knows the ways, promulgates all the races of the gods. 3. Thou, (O Agni), rulest over all the animals of the earth, those which have been born, and those which are to be born: may not in-breathing leave this one, nor yet out-breathing, may neither friends nor foes slay him! 4. May father Dyaus (sky) and mother Prithivi (earth), co-operating, grant thee death from old age, that thou mayest live in the lap of Aditi a hundred winters, guarded by in-breathing and outbreathing! 5. Lead this dear child to life and vigour, O Agni, Varuna, and king Mitra! As a mother afford him protection, O Aditi, and all ye gods, that he may attain to old age!

1. Take hold of this (charm) that subjects to immortality (life), may thy life unto old age not be cut off! I bring to thee anew breath and life: not to mist and darkness, do not waste away! 2. Come hither to the light of the living; I rescue thee unto a life of a hundred autumns! Loosing the bands of death and imprecation, I bestow upon thee long life extended very far. 3. From the wind thy breath I have obtained, from the sun thine eye; thy soul I hold fast in thee: be together with thy limbs, speak articulating with thy tongue! 4. With the breath of two-footed and four-footed creatures I blow upon thee, as on Agni when he is born (as on fire when kindled). I have paid reverence, O death, to thine eye, reverence to thy breath. 5. This (man) shall live and shall not die: we rouse this man (to life)! I make for him a remedy: O death, do not slay the man! 6. The plant gîvalâ (quickening'), na-ghâ-rishâ ('forsooth-no-harm'), and gîvantî ('living), a victorious, mighty saviour-plant do I invoke, that he may be exempt from injury. 7. Befriend him, do not seize him, let him go, (O death); though he be thy very own, let him abide here with unimpaired strength! O Bhava and Sarva, take pity, grant Protection; misfortune drive away, and life bestow! 8. Befriend him, death, and pity him: may he from here arise! Unharmed, with sound limbs, hearing perfectly, through old age carrying a hundred years, let him get enjoyment by himself (unaided)! 9. The missile of the gods shall pass thee by! I pass thee across the mist (of death); from death I have rescued thee. Removing far the flesh-devouring Agni, a barrier do I set around thee, that thou mayest live. 10. From thy misty road that cannot be withstood, O death, from this path (of thine) we guard this (man), and make our charm a protection for him. 11. In-breathing and out-breathing. do I prepare for thee, death in old age, long life, and prosperity.

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!

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. As the wind tears this grass from the surface of the earth, thus do I tear thy soul, so that thou, woman, shalt love, shalt not be averse to me! 2. If ye, O two Asvins, shall unite and bring together the loving pair-united are the fortunes of,both of you (lovers), united the thoughts, united the purposes! 3. When birds desire to chirp, lustily desire to chirp, may my call go there, as an arrow-point upon the shaft! 4. What is within shall be without, what is without shall be within! Take captive, O herb, the, soul of the maidens endowed with every chai-m! 5. Longing for a husband this woman hath come, I have come longing for a wife, As a loudly neighing horFe I have attained to my good fortune!

1. May (love), the disquieter, disquiet thee; do not hold out upon thy bed! With the terrible arrow of Kâma (love) do I pierce thee in the heart. 2. The arrow, winged with longing, barbed with love, whose shaft is undeviating desire, with that, well-aimed, Kâma shall pierce thee in the heart! 3. With that well-aimed arrow of Kâma which parches the spleen, whose plume flies forward, which burns up, do I pierce thee in the heart. 4. Consumed by burning ardour, with parched mouth, do thou (woman) come to me, pliant, (thy) pride laid aside, mine alone, speaking sweetly and to me devoted! 5. I drive thee with a goad from thy mother and thy father, so that thou shalt be in my power, shalt come up to my wish. 6. All her thoughts do ye, O Mitra and Varuna, drive out of her! Then, having deprived her of her will,.put her into my power alone!

1. Clinging to the ground thou didst grow, (O plant), that producest bliss for me; a hundred branches extend from thee, three and thirty grow down from thee: with this plant of a thousand leaves thy heart do I parch. 2. Thy heart shall parch (with love) for me, and thy mouth shall parch (with love for me)! Languish, moreover, with love for me, with parched mouth pass thy days! 3. Thou that causest affection, kindlest (love), brown, lovely (plant), draw (us) together; draw together yonder woman and myself, our hearts make the same! 4. As the mouth of him that hath not drunk dries tip, thus languish thou with love for me, with parched mouth pass thy days! 5. As the Ichneumon tears the serpent, and joins him together again, thus, O potent (plant), join together what hath been torn by love!

1. The bull with a thousand horns who rose out of the sea, with the aid of him, the mighty one, do we put the folks to sleep. 2. The wind blows not over the earth. No one looks on. Do thou then, befriended of Indra, put all women and dogs to sleep! 3. The women that lie upon couches and upon beds, and they that rest in litters, the women all that exhale sweet fragrance, do we put to sleep. 4. Every moving thing I have held fast. Eye and breath I have held fast. I have held fast all limbs in the deep gloom of the night. 5. Of him that sits, and him that walks, of him that stands and looks about, of these the eyes we do shut, just as these premises (are shut). 6. The mother shall sleep, the father shall sleep, the dog shall sleep, the lord of the house shall sleep! All her relations shall sleep, and these people round about shall sleep! 7. O sleep, put thou to sleep all people with the magic that induces sleep! Put the others to sleep until the sun rises; may I be awake until the dawn appears, like Indra, unharmed, uninjured!

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. Thou who art neither alive nor dead, the immortal child of the gods art thou, O Sleep! Varunânî is thy mother, Yama (death) thy father, Araru is thy name. 2. We know, O Sleep, thy birth, thou art the son of the divine women-folk, the instrument of Yama (death)! Thou art the ender, thou art death! Thus do we know thee, O Sleep: do thou, O Sleep, protect us from evil dreams! 3. As one pays off a sixteenth, an eighth, or an (entire) debt, thus do we transfer every evil dream upon our enemy.

given as a fee to the Brahmans. 1. (Thyself) a male, step thou upon the hide of the male (steer): go, call thither all that is dear to thee! At whatever age ye two formerly did first unite (in marriage), may that age be your common lot in Yama's kingdom! 2. Your sight shall be as clear (as formerly), your strength as abundant, your lustre as great, your vitality as manifold! When Agni, the (funeral-) pyre, fastens himself upon the corpse, then as a pair ye.shall rise from the (cooked) porridge! 3. Come ye together in this world, upon the road to the gods, and in Yama's realms! By purifications purified call ye together the offspring that has sprung from you! 4. Around the water united, sit ye down, O children; around this living (father) and the waters that refresh the living! Partake of these (waters), and of that porridge which the mother of you two cooks, and which is called amrita (ambrosia)! 5. The porridge which the father of you two, and which the mother cooks, unto freedom from defilement and foulness of speech, that porridge with a hundred streams (of ghee), leading to heaven, has penetrated with might both the hemispheres of the world. 6. In that one of the two hemispheres and the two heavenly worlds, conquered by the pious, which especially abounds in light, and is rich in honey, in that do ye in the fulness of time come together with your children! 7. Keep ever on in an easterly direction: this is the region that the faithful cling to! When your cooked porridge has been prepared on the fire, hold together, O man and wife, that ye may guard 8. When ye shall have reached the southerly direction, turn ye to this vessel! In that Yama, associated with the fathers, shall give abundant protection to your cooked porridge! 9. This westerly direction is especially favoured: in it Soma is ruler and consoler. To this hold, attach yourselves to the pious: then as a pair ye shall rise from the cooked porridge! 10.