3. Praise to Agni.
[Atharvan̄giras.—caturṛcam. āgneyam. trāiṣṭubham: 2. bhurij.]
The hymn occurs also in Pāipp. xx., but only in fragments, not intelligible beyond the first half-verse. The comm. notices that the hymn has the same pratīka as ix. 1, and labors to point out that it ⌊xix. 3⌋ and its successor have features adapting them to the same use as the two parts of ix. 1; and that hence they may also be regarded as quoted (Kāuç. 10. 24; 12. 15; etc.) by that pratīka: this is, of course, a worthless bit of special pleading. Vāit. (16. 12), wishing to quote ix. 1 only, adds the specification madhusūktena.
Translated: Griffith, ii. 260.
1. Forth from the sky, from the earth, from the atmosphere, out of the forest trees, the herbs—whithersoever borne, O Jātavedas, come thou, enjoying, thence to us.
The translation implies emendation to jātavedas, voc., in c. SPP. reads in d táta stutó j-, with nearly all the mss.; one or two read tátas-tato j-; ⌊this report coincides virtually with the Index, p. 124 b: but, if I understand the Collation Book, P. and M., which Whitney here intends, read tátas tató j-, which is neither one thing nor the other, but a confusion between the āmreḍita and tátas + stutó;⌋ and the comm. has tatas-tataḥ. The mss. also, almost without exception, give bíbhṛtas or bíbhratas in c; here SPP's text agrees with ours, and with the comm. Ppp. has for b vātā paçubhyo ay oṣadhībhyaḥ, evidently intending the text which TB. has in a corresponding verse (in i. 2. 122), vā́tāt paçúbhyo ádhy óṣadhībhyaḥ. For c, d TB. has yátra-yatra jātavedaḥ sambabhū́va ⌊so Calc. ed., text, p. 32, comm., p. 91; but Poona ed. has aright sambabhū́tha, text and comm., p. 83⌋ táto no agne juṣámāṇa é ‘hi; Āp. (in v. 13. 4) agrees with TB. ⌊precisely: reading sambabhūtha⌋.
2. What thy greatness is in the waters, what in the woods, what in the herbs, in the cattle, within the waters—all thy bodies (tanū́), O Agni, grasp together; with them come to us, a giver of property, unfailing.
Two or three of our mss., ⌊and (six) half⌋ of SPP's, read tanvā̀ḥ in c, and some of ours have bharasva instead of rabhasva, probably as an only accidental variation, though bharasva would be a very good reading. A little emendation would rid us of the otiose repetition of apsú in the first line. ⌊In d we have to pronounce nāí ‘hi, with double sandhi (as often in Ppp.).⌋
3. What thy heavenly (svargá) greatness is, among the gods, what body of thine entered into the Fathers, what prosperity of thine was spread among men (manuṣyà)—therewith, O Agni, assign wealth to us.
The translation implies at end of a svargás ⌊so SPP.⌋; our text has -gé on the authority of only a single ms., and against the comm. ⌊svargaḥ⌋ and the parallel texts ⌊suvargáḥ⌋ as found in TB. (in i. 2. 21-2) and Āp. (in v. 13. 4). Both these read further, for b, yás ta ātmā́ paçúṣu práviṣṭaḥ, and, for d, táyā no agne juṣámāṇa é ‘hi; while TB. has in c prathé for paprathé ⌊so Calc. ed., text and comm.: but Poona aright, paprathé⌋. The Anukr. takes no notice of the redundant syllable in c.
4. To him of hearing ears, the poet, worthy to be known, I apply for gifts (rātí) with words, with speeches; whence [there is] fear, be there no fear for us; pacify (ava-yaj), O Agni, the wrath (héḍas) of the gods.
The verse is found also in Āp. xiv. 17. 1, but with very different b: namobhir nākam upa yāmi çaṅsan; with tat kṛdkī naḥ at end of c; and, for d, ‘gne devānām ava heḍa iyakṣva: cf. also Āp. v. 5. 8, which is far more different. ⌊In c, asty is a misprint for astv.⌋