Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book VII/Hymn 40 (41)

1498539Atharva-Veda SamhitaBook VII, Hymn 40 (41)William Dwight Whitney

40 (41). Prayer and praise to Sarasvant.

[Praskaṇva.—dvyṛcam. sārasvatam. trāiṣṭubham: 1. bhurij.]

Found also in Pāipp. xx. Kāuç. makes no use of the hymn; but it is quoted by Vāit. (8. 2), with hymn 68, as accompanying offerings to Sarasvatī and Sarasvant at the full-moon sacrifice.

Translated: Henry, 14, 70; Griffith, i. 345.


1. [He] whose [established] course all the cattle go, in whose course stand the waters, in whose course the lord of prosperity is entered—him, Sarasvant, we call to aid.

The verse is found in several other texts: TS. (iii. 1. 113), MS. (iv. 10. 1), AÇS. (iii. 8. 1), ÇÇS. (vi. 11. 8); and it is a supplement (Aufrecht,2 p. 678) to RV. vii. 96. All these agree in reading vratám in b, puṣṭipátis (the comm. also has this) in c, and huvema at the end. Ppp. has vrate in a and vratam in b, and juhuvema at the end.


2. We, putting on abundance of wealth [and] ambition (?), would ⌊here⌋ call hither to [us] Sarasvant, a bestower coming to meet his bestower (dāçvā́ṅs), lord of prosperity, standing in wealth, seat of wealths.

The translation implies substitution of the Ppp. reading, çravasyam, for -syúm in c: the construction is hard enough, even with that change. Ppp. also has rayīṇām for rayiṣṭhām in b, and vasānam (which seems better) at end of c. SPP. reads in a the impossible form dāçváṅsam (the comm. has -vāṅs-), alleging for it the support of most of his authorities; if any of ours have it, the fact was overlooked. ⌊Bp.1 has dāçvàṅsam; Bp.2 dāçvàṅssam!