Translated: as RV. hymn, Ludwig, ii. 554, no. 932; Grassmann, ii. 415; as AV. hymn, Weber, v. 222; Zimmer, p. 307; Weber, xvii. 264; Griffith, i. 108; Bloomfield, 107, 354; further, by Winternitz, Hochzeitsrituell, p. 98.
1. I dig this herb, of plants the strongest, with which one drives off (bādh) her rival; with which one wins completely (sam-vid) her husband.
RV. reads in b the accus. vīrúdham. For d, Ppp. gives kṛṇute kevalaṁ patim. The comm. (with our Op.) has oṣadhīm in a; he understands throughout the herb in question to be the pāṭhā (cf. ii. 27. 4), though Kāuç. and the Anukr. speak only of bāṇāparṇī 'arrow leaf' (not identified).
2. O thou of outstretched leaves, fortunate, god-quickened, powerful, do thou thrust away my rival, make my husband wholly mine.
'Outstretched,' lit. supine; horizontal, with the face of the leaf upward. RV. has dhama for nuda in c, and the modern kuru for kṛdhi at the end. Ppp. offers only the first half-verse, in this form: uttānaparṇāṁ subhagāṁ sahamānāṁ sahasvatīm; MP. also has sahamāne instead of devajūte.
3. Since he has not named (grah) thy name, thou also stayest (ram) not with him as husband; unto distant distance make we my rival go.
This translation of the first half-verse follows closely our text. RV. has a very different version: nahy àsyā nā́ma gṛbhṇā́mi nó asmín ramate jáne 'since I name not her (its?) name, she (it?) also does not stay with (find pleasure in) this person (people?).' Winternitz applauds and accepts his commentator's explanation of b: "nor finds she pleasure in me" (taking ayaṁ janas in the much later sense of "I"), but it seems wholly unsatisfactory. The meter calls for emendation in a to jagráha 'I have named,' equivalent to the RV. reading; and R. makes the emendation, and retains the jáne of RV., rendering (as addressed by the woman using the charm to the plant) "I have not named [to her] thy name; and thou stayest (stayedst) not with the person (bei der Person)." The comm. regards the rival as addressed, and conveniently makes ramase = ramasva: "stay thou not with this my husband." Weber renders ramase by "kosest," thou dalliest not. No satisfactory solution of the difficulty is yet found.
4. Superior [am] I, O superior one; superior, indeed, to them (f.) that are superior; below [is] she that is my rival; lower [is] she than they (f.) that are lower.
RV. has the better reading áthā for adhás in c, allowing c and d to be combined into one sentence; and the comm. gives correspondingly adha. Ppp. is more discordant and corrupt: uttarā ā́ham uttarabhyo uttaro ed ādharabhyaḥ: adhaḥ sapatnī sāmarthy adhared adhārabhyaḥ. R. conjectures in a uttarāhāhamuttare, for úttarā ’hám ahamuttaré ⌊cf. iii. 8. 3⌋. The verse, even if scanned as 7 + 7: 8 + 7 = 29, ought to be called bhurij.
5. I am overpowering; likewise art thou very powerful; we both, becoming full of power, will overpower my rival.
The verse xix. 32. 5 is a variation on this. RV. reads átha for átho in b, and the older bhūtvī́ for bhūtvā́ in c.
6. I have put on (abhí) for thee the overpowering one (f.); I have put
