Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book VII/Hymn 47 (49)

1500432Atharva-Veda SamhitaBook VII, Hymn 47 (49)William Dwight Whitney

47 (49). To Kuhū (goddess of the new moon).

[Atharvan.—dvyṛcam. mantroktadevatyam. 1. jagatī; 2. triṣṭubh.]

Found also in Pāipp. xx. Further, in TS. iii. 3. 115, MS. iv. 12. 6, K. xiii. 16, AÇS. i. 10. 8, ÇÇS. ix. 28. 3. This hymn, with the preceding (or also 48 and 49?) and hymn 6, makes up (Kāuç. 59. 18, note), according to the schol., a patnīvantagaṇa (not acknowledged nor used in the Kāuç. text). In Vāit. (i. 16), it and hymn 48, paired respectively with 79 and 80, are used on the days of new and full moon at the parvan sacrifices.

Translated: Henry, 17, 74; Griffith, i. 348.


1. The goddess Kuhū, well-doing, working with knowledge, in this sacrifice I call upon with good call; may she confirm to us wealth having all choice things; let her give a hero of hundred-fold value, worthy of praise.

All the other texts read ahám for devī́m in a, and for sukṛ́tam AÇS.ÇÇS. give suvṛtam and TS. subhágām (Ppp. has amṛtam); all, in b, have suhávām, which is better (so also the comm.). Their second half-verse is different from ours: sā́ no dadātu çrávaṇam pitṝṇā́ṁ tásyāi* te devi havíṣā vidhema; and Ppp. gives the same, but with ā (for ), çrāvaṇaṁ, and ta (for te). Our Bp. divides vidmanā॰ápasam; two of SPP's mss. give -nā́॰áp-. For çatadāya, see Roth in ZDMG. xli. 672; the comm. says bahudhanam bahupradaṁ vā. The meter is not full jagatī. *⌊TS. pitṛṇā́ṁ tásyās.⌋


2. May Kuhū, spouse of the gods, [mistress] of the immortal, invocable, enjoy this our libation; let her listen eager to our sacrifice today; let her, knowing {cikitúṣī), assign abundance of wealth.

Asya, in b, ought of course to be asyá (so TS.MS.), but this, so far as noted, is read by only a single ms. (our D.), and both printed texts give asya. At end of a, ÇÇS. has patnīr (h-); at end of b, TS. has ciketu, MS.AÇS. çrṇotu, and ÇÇS. kṛṇotu. Instead of our c, all give saṁ (MS. sá; misprint?) dāçúṣe kirátu bhū́ri vāmám; and Ppp. has the same, save kirate, and puṣṭā (for vāmam). At the end, ÇÇS. has dadātu; just before, TS.MS.ÇÇS. read cikitúṣe and AÇS. yajamāne. The comm. gives several diverse explanations of amṛtasya patnī.