Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book XIX/Hymn 24

24. For prosperity: with a certain garment.

[Atharvan.—aṣṭāu. mantroktabahudevatyam uta brāhmaṇaspatyam. ānuṣṭubham: 4-6, 8. triṣṭubh; 7. 3-p. ārṣī gāyatrī.]

The hymn, except vs. 2, is found also in Pāipp. xv. The comm. points out that it is prescribed by Nakṣatra Kalpa 17-18 to be used in a mahāçānti ceremony called tvāṣṭrī, on occasion of the loss (kṣaya) of a garment.

Translated: Ludwig, p. 458; Griffith, ii. 281.

1. With what [garment] the gods caused to wrap god Savitar, with that, O Brahmaṇaspati, do ye wrap this man in order to royalty.

The translation implies emendation in b of ádhārayan to ádhāpayan; this, obviously suggested by the whole sense of the hymn (and proposed in the Pet. Lex.), is supported by the Ppp. text, which reads devā ’diyāpayan. The comm. reads -dhār-, but explains it as if it were -dhāp-: paritaḥ sarvata ācchādayan. Many of the mss. have adhārayan, unaccented. The comm. quotes TS. vi. 1. 1⁴, to the effect that "this same garment belongs to all the gods," to explain why the verb in the second half-verse is plural.

2. Wrap ye this man [as] Indra in order to life-time, to great dominion, that [it] may conduct him unto old age; may he long watch over dominion.

All the mss., both here and in the next verse, read at end of c nayā́m, which SPP. therefore accepts, although both form and accent are indefensible; the comm. has both times naya; the translation implies our emendation to náyāt, the propriety of which can hardly be questioned, especially as it is supported by a corresponding verse three times repeated, with variations, in HGS. i. 4. 8: parī ’mam indra brahmaṇe mahe çrotrāya (or rāṣṭrāya, or poṣāya) dadhmasi: athāi ’naṁ jarimā ṇayej jyok çrotre (or rāṣṭre, or poṣe) adhi jāgarat: of these three forms, the first is intended for a Brahman, the second for a Kṣatriya, the third for a Vāiçya: compare our next verse. The comm., ⌊in 2 a and 3 a, appears to have had before him indramāyuṣe and somamāyuṣe, whatever his accentuation and pada-text may have been: this he understands as indra mā ”yuṣe and soma mā ”yuṣe, his vocative indra⌋ agreeing with HGS. and giving an easier and better text; ⌊his mā goes easily as an appositive with imám, but the following enam is quite out of joint with it⌋.

3. Wrap ye this man [as] Soma in order to life-time, to great instruction (çrótra), that [it] may conduct him unto old age; may he long watch over instruction.

It is perhaps only by an accident that vs. 2 is omitted in Ppp.; at any rate, this verse shows what would have been read for verse 2 by it; it has somam, not soma, in a;* and naya, with the comm., in c; further, in a it gives pare ’maṁ. *⌊Strictly speaking, it has somamāyuṣe, with a possibility for the same objectionable division as appears under vs. 2, which see.⌋

4. Wrap, set ye him for us with splendor; make him one to die of old age; [make] long life-time; Bṛihaspati furnished (pra-yam) this garment to king Soma for wrapping himself.

This is a repetition of ii. 13. 2, above. The comm. mentions that the verse has been already explained where it first occurred, but adds: "the sense, however, is compendiously this," and proceeds to give the same exposition over again, word for word (unless, indeed, the editor is responsible for the repetition). For the parallel passages etc., see the note to ii. 13. 2.

5. Go thou safely (sú) unto old age; wrap thyself in the garment; become thou protector of the people (?) against imprecation; and live thou a hundred numerous autumns; and wrap further about (upa-sam-vyā) thee abundance of wealth.

⌊The verse is found in PGS. (i. 4. 12), HGS. (i. 4. 2), and MP. (ii. 2. 7). In a, PGS. omits sú, while HGS.MP. have jarā́ṁ gacchāsi; in b, all three texts read kṛṣṭīnā́m and abhiçastipā́vā; all three end c with suvarcās; and PGS. has for d rayiṁ ca putrān anu saṁvyayasva, adding āyuṣmatī ’dam paridhatsva vāsaḥ.⌋ In b, the translation follows Ppp. ⌊and the three texts just cited⌋ in reading kṛṣṭīnā́m 'people' instead of the absurd gṛṣṭīnā́m 'heifers,' which is given by all the mss. and the comm., both here and in the nearly accordant verse ii. 13. 3: see note to ii. 13. 3 ⌊and cf. Roth, ZDMG. xlviii. 110⌋. The comm. is driven by the reading gṛṣ- into taking abhiçasti- from ças 'cut': abhito viçasanaṁ hiṅsā. ⌊Our abhiçastipā́ u, at the end of b in vss. 5 and 6, would seem, in view of the -pā́vā of the other texts, to be a faulty assimilation to the end of d in vs. 4, páridhātavā́ u, such as may be found elsewhere.⌋

6. Thou hast wrapped thyself in this garment in order to well-being; thou hast become protector of thine allies (?) against imprecation; and live thou a hundred numerous autumns; living, pleasant (cā́ru), thou shalt share out good things.

The translation implies in b ábhūr āpīnā́m ⌊see below⌋, or else an analysis of the ms. reading vāpīnā́m ⌊misprinted vap- in foot-note of Berlin ed.⌋ into u and āpīnā́m (the pada-mss. have ábhūḥ: vāpīnā́m). The vaçā́nām of our text* is a conjecture provoked by the gṛṣṭīnā́m of vs. 5; as that is got rid of, this naturally falls away also. The comm. has again gṛṣṭīnām, and this time interprets abhiçasti- as a fear on the part of the 'heifers' of losing their skins (tvagādānabhīti ⌊cf. note to ii. 13. 3⌋)! The Ppp. text appears to give us no variants. The HGS. has a corresponding verse (in i. 4. 3), reading in a, b adhi dhāḥ ⌊one ms. correctly ’dhithāḥ⌋ svastaye ‘bhūr āpīṇām† abhiçastipāvā: and, for d, vasūni cāyyo vi bhajā sa jīvan; the variant to cā́rus, taken in connection with the small appropriateness of cā́rus, makes its genuineness suspicious. ⌊MP., at ii. 2. 8, also has āpīnā́m; and it agrees otherwise with HGS., save that it has dhā for dhāḥ, cāryó for cāyyo, and ví bhajāsi (agreeing with AV.). Kirste, in his note to HGS., p. 8, mentions as further variants cāyo and cārye. MB., at i. 1. 6, has c, ending with suvarcās, and d, reading cārye.⌋ *⌊Misprinted vaçānā́m.⌋ †⌊One ms. correctly āpīnām.⌋ ⌊See page xxxvi, note.⌋

7. We, companions, call to aid Indra the very mighty at every conjuncture, in every contest (? vā́ja).

This verse is, without variant, RV. i. 30.7; also found in SV. (i. 163; ii. 93), VS. (xi. 14), TS. (in iv. 1. 2¹), MS. (in ii. 7. 2), ⌊MP. i. 6. 3⌋. Sákhāyas, in c, which might be either nominative or vocative, the comm. prefers to take as nominative.

8. Of golden color, unaging, of excellent heroes, having old age as death, do thou enter into union (sam-viç) with progeny: this Agni says, and this Soma says, this Bṛihaspati, Savitar, Indra.

The second half-verse we had above as viii. 5. 5 a, b ⌊which see; and pāda c occurred at xvi. 9. 2⌋; the comm. does not notice the repetition. He explains saṁ viça as used in the sense of nirviça 'enjoy'; or else, he says, of praviça = svagṛham adhitiṣṭha. Ppp. reads in a ajayas suv-.