Atharva-Veda Samhita/Indexes and Other Auxiliary Matter/Index 7

7. The Names of the Seers of the Hymns, as given by the Anukramaṇī

⌊Whitney's exploitation of the Major Anukramaṇī.—In his Excerpts from the Anukramaṇī, Whitney has given most of the material of value to be found in that treatise, but of course without attempting to settle all doubtful points in such a way as might properly be expected of a critical editor of its text. One of the uses of the following Index will be to make the deficiencies of this part of his work more readily apparent. The Excerpts and Index together will make the task of producing a critical edition relatively easy.⌋

⌊Doubtful points.—In some cases, this Index does not tally perfectly with the Excerpts. Thus vi. 46 and 47, as well as 45, seem to be ascribed to "An̄giras Pracetas, with Yama": cf. the Excerpts. Again, mantroktarṣi of the Excerpt for vi. 48 may perhaps mean "Agni and Ṛbhu and Indra"; but I have not entered those names for this hymn in the Index. Whitney seems to have had a doubt as to vii. 27-29, whether they should not be ascribed rather to Bhṛgvan̄giras than to Medhātithi; and as to vii. 31, whether it should not be ascribed rather to Brahman than to Bhṛgvan̄giras; and as to vii. 33. What the Anukr. means to say about vi. 63 is not wholly clear.⌋

⌊Entire books of division III. ascribed each to a single seer.—It will be noticed that four entire books (all belonging to the third grand division: see p. 1035) are ascribed by the Major Anukramaṇī each to a single seer: books xiii. and xvii., each addressed to the Sun, are ascribed to Brahman as seer; the wedding verses, book xiv., most appropriately to Sāvitrī Sūryā; and the funeral verses, book xviii., to Atharvan (the Old Anukr. most appropriately calls them the Yama-hymns: p. 814). Further, so far as quasi-authorship goes, the Vrātya book, xv., is treated as a unit in that no seer is named for the whole nor for any part of it. As for book xvi., which puzzles us in more ways than one, there is good reason to think that tradition ascribes it to Prajāpati (see p. 792, ¶4); on the other hand, this is not wholly certain (p. 792, ¶5), and the Excerpts actually assign 3-4 to Brahman and 5-7 to Yama, and leave 2 and 8 and 9 without express assignment, unless indeed we are to assume that the statements for 1 and for 7 hold good respectively for 2 and for 8 and 9.⌋

⌊Value of these ascriptions of quasi-authorship.—The facts just cited would appear to be of some moment as differentiating the third grand division from the other two; but otherwise and in general, how much value, if any, is to be attached to these ascriptions is matter for special study. It would be interesting to compare the ascriptions of the AV. Anukr. with those of the RV. Anukr. and to see how far the two treatises agree as to hymns or verses common to both saṁhitās. The Puruṣa-hymn (xix. 6 = RV. x. 90) is ascribed by both treatises alike to Nārāyaṇa; and the Apratiratha-hymn (xix. 13 = RV. x. 103) similarly to Apratiratha. In this connection, cf. Dr. Ryder's pertinent observation at p. 739, ¶7.⌋

⌊Prominence of Atharvan and Brahman as seers.—The most prominent names among the "seers" are Atharvan and Brahman. To the former are ascribed 175 hymns or parts of hymns; and to the latter, 100. Then comes Atharvān̄giras with 17, and An̄giras with 16. The preponderance of ascriptions to Atharvan and Brahman may have something to do with the designation of the text as "Atharva-Veda" and "Brahma-Veda" (brahman suggests both Brahmán = 'God Brahm' and bráhman = 'incantation': cf. p. 931, top). It is perhaps matter for surprise that more hymns are not ascribed to the "dreadful An̄girases" (RV. x. 108. 10: cf. x. 14. 3 a).⌋

⌊Question of contrast between hymns of Atharvan and hymns of An̄giras.—Bloomfield, discussing at SBE. xlii., p. xviii, the name Atharvān̄giras as name of this Veda, opines that atharvan refers to the auspicious practices and an̄giras to the practices of hostile sorcery (yātú, abhicārá) of this Veda. Similarly Victor Henry, in his La magie dans l'Inde, p. 22. This opinion is not in the least degree supported by the general character of the hymns ascribed respectively to Atharvan and to An̄giras. Of those ascribed to Atharvan, nearly all are indeed intended for use in working good, and the infrequent exceptions (like iii. 18; vii. 35 and 70; vi. 138, a charm to make a man impotent) do not count for much. Of those ascribed to An̄giras, on the other hand, hardly more than one (vii. 90: this also is for destroying a man's virility) may be said to be for use in working evil. It is licit, however, to adjudge the facts last rehearsed as making rather against the critical value of the Anukramaṇī's ascriptions than against the acceptability of the opinion of Bloomfield and Henry.⌋

⌊Consistency in the ascriptions.—Consistency does nevertheless characterize these ascriptions to a certain degree. Thus the frequency with which each of the hymns of a related pair or of a larger group (e.g. the Mṛgāra hymns) is ascribed to the same seer is significant. Significant also are such facts as follow. Of the seven hymns ascribed to Garutman, every one is an incantation to be used against poison: v. 13 and vi. 12 and x. 4, in particular, against snake-poison. Each of the three hymns ascribed to Kāṇva is an incantation against worms. Each of Jamadagni's three has for its purpose to win a woman's love. Of those ascribed to Yama or to Yama with An̄giras (disregarding xvi. 8 and 9, they number 13), all but one refer either to "Death" or to "his brother Sleep" (cf. p. 994, ¶4). Thus ten, as appears from the duḥsvapna etc. of the Excerpts, refer to evil dreams; and one (vii. 64) to the omen of a "black bird" as Yama's "messenger of death"; and one (xii. 3) to cremation of the dead. Verse 13 of this last also makes reference to the black bird, and so does xix. 57. Of the four ascribed to Bādarāyaṇi,* two (iv. 38; vii. 109) are for success in gambling.⌋

*⌊Weber suspected that the author of the Anukr. may have been a Vedantist, and that it was thus not unnatural that the name of Bādarāyaṇi should appear among his ascriptions (see above, p. 218, top). Weber derived his suspicion from a remark by the author of the Anukr. on the last verse of book iv., Brahmāṇaṁ sarvatra Jātavedābhimukhyenāstāut. If the author bases his remark upon the letter of our text (which has bráhma, neuter), let us hope that his philosophical acumen was more penetrant than his philological.⌋

⌊Palpably fabricated ascriptions.—Not a few of the ascriptions are palpably fabricated from a word in the text. Of this kind are Up-heater and Forth-heater (Ucchocana and Praçocana) as seers of vi. 103 and 104, and Deliverance and Release (Unmocana and Pramocana) as seers of vi. 105 and 106. Strangely enough, none of these four words (or "names") occurs in any of these four hymns, but rather (the first two) in vii. 95 and (the second two) in v. 30, which latter furthermore is also ascribed to Unmocana.⌋

⌊Alphabetical index of seer-names and of passages ascribed to them.—This Index was made by Whitney, but was carefully revised by Dr. Ryder and again by me.⌋

Agastya vi. 133

An̄giras ii. 3; 35. iv. 39. 1-8. v. 12. vi. 83-84. vii. 50-51; 77; 90. xix. 22; 34-35. See also Atharvān̄giras and Pratyan̄girasa and Bhṛgvan̄giras

An̄giras Pracetas, with Yama, vi. 45-47

Atharvan i. 1-3; 9-11; 15; 20-21; 23; 27; 30; 34-35. ii. 4; 7; 13; 19-23; 29; 34. iii. 1-5; 8; 10; 15-16; 18; 26-27; 30. iv. 3-4; 10; 15; 22 (? or Vasiṣṭha?); 30; 34. v. 5-6; 7-8 (?); 11; 24; 28. vi. 1-7; 13; 17-18; 32. 3; 36-40; 50; 58-62; 64-69; 73-74; 78-80; 85-90; 92; 97-99; 109-113; 124-126; 138-140. vii. 1-7; 13-14; 18; 34-38; 45. 2; 46-49; 52; 56; 61; 70-73; 76; 78-81; 85-87; 91-92; 94; 97-99; 105-106. viii. 7; 9. ix. 1-2. x. 3; 7; 9. xi. 2-3; 7. xii. 1. xviii. 1-4 (the whole book). xix. 14-20; 23-24; 26; 37-38. See also Bṛhaddiva Atharvan; also Sindhudvīpa Atharvākṛti

Atharvan Vītahavya vi. 136-137

Atharvān̄giras iv. 8. vi. 72; 94; 101; 128-132. vii. 74; 115-118. xix. 3-4; 5 (?). Cf. An̄giras

Atharvācārya viii. 10. Cf. xii. 5 (Kaçyapa)

Apratiratha xix. 13

Ātharvaṇa: cf. Bhṛgu Ātharvaṇa

Ucchocana vi. 103

Uddālaka iii. 29. vi. 15

Unmocana v. 30. vi. 105

Uparibabhrava vi. 30-31. vii. 8-9; 75

Ṛbhu iv. 12

Kapiñjala ii. 27. vii. 95-96

Kabandha vi. 75-77

Kaçyapa x. 10. xii. 4-5

Kaçyapa Mārīca vii. 62-63

Kan̄kāyana vi. 70. xi. 9

Kāṇva ii. 31-32. v. 23

Kutsa x. 8

Kāurupathi vii. 58. xi. 8

Kāuçika vi. 35; 117-121. x. 5. 25-35

Garutman (so! not -mant) iv. 6-7. v. 13. vi. 12; 100. vii. 88. x. 4

Gārgya vi. 49. xix. 7-8 Gopatha xix. 25; 47-48; 50

Gopatha, with Bharadvāja, xix. 49 (?)

Cātana i. 7-8; 16; 28. ii. 14; 18; 25. iv. 36. v. 29. vi. 32. 1-2; 34. viii. 3-4

Jagadbījampuruṣa iii. 6

Jamadagni vi. 8-9; 102

Jāṭikāyana vi. 33; 116

Tvaṣṭṛ vi. 81

Draviṇodas i. 18

Druhvaṇa (?) vi. 63

Nārāyaṇa x. 2. xix. 6

Pativedana ii. 36

Prajāpati ii. 30. iv. 35. vi. 11. vii. 102. xvi. 1 (but see p. 792, ¶4); 2 (?). xix. 46

Pratyan̄girasa x. 1. Cf. An̄giras

Pramocana vi. 106

Praçocana vi. 104

Praskaṇva vii. 39-44; 45. 1

Babhrupin̄gala vi. 14

Bādarāyaṇi iv. 37-38. vii. 59; 109

Bṛhacchukra vi. 53. Cf. Çukra

Bṛhaddiva Atharvan v. 1-3. Cf. Atharvan

Bṛhaspati x. 6

Brahman i. 17; 19; 22; 24; 26; 31-32. ii. 15-17; 24; 33. iii. 12; 14; 23; 28; 31. iv. 5; 16; 21; 33 ; 39. 9-10. v. 9-10; 20-21; 25-27. vi. 26; 41; 54-55; 71; 114-115. vii. 19-22; 24; 32; 33 (?); 53; 54. 1; 60; 66-67; 103-104; 111. viii. 1-2. ix. 4; 6-7; 9-10. x. 5. 37-41. xi. 1; 5. xiii. 1-4 (the whole book). xvi. 3-4. xvii. 1 (the whole book). xix. 1; 9-12; 21; 28-30; 36; 40-43; 51-52; 58-71

Brahman, with Bhṛgvan̄giras, iii. 11

Brahmāskanda iv. 31-32

Bhaga vi. 82

Bharadvāja ii. 12

Bharadvāja, with Gopatha, xix. 49 (?)

Bhāgali vi. 52

Bhārgava vii. 113-114

Bhārgava Vāidarbhi xi. 4

Bhṛgu iii. 13; 24-25. iv. 9; 14. vi. 27-29; 122-123. vii. 15-17; 54. 2; 55; 84; 107-108; 110. ix. 5. xii. 2. xix. 32-33; 44-45; 53-55

Bhṛgu Ātharvaṇa ii. 5

Bhṛgvan̄giras i. 12-14; 25. ii. 8-10. iii. 7. iv. 11. v. 4; 22. vi. 20; 42-43; 91; 95-96; 127. vii. 30-31; 93. viii. 8. ix. 3; 8. xi. 10. xix. 27; 39. Cf. An̄giras; and see introduction to this Index

Bhṛgvan̄giras Brahman xix. 72

Bhṛgvan̄giras, with Brahman, iii. 11

Mayobhū v. 17-19

Mātṛnāman ii. 2. iv. 20. viii. 6

Mārīca: cf. Kaçyapa Mārica. See p. 579, ¶P

Mṛgāra iv. 23-29

Medhātithi vii. 25-29 (but see introduction to this Index)

Yama vii. 23; 64; 100-101. xii. 3. xvi. 5-7; 8-9 (?). xix. 56-57

Yama, with An̄giras Pracetas, vi. 45-47

Varuṇa vii. 112

Vasiṣṭha i. 29. iii. 19-22. iv. 22 (? or Atharvan?)

Vāmadeva iii. 9. vii. 57

Viçvāmitra iii. 17. v. 15-16. vi. 44; 141-142

Vihavya x. 5. 42-50

Vītahavya: cf. Atharvan

Vena ii. i. iv. 1-2

Çaṁtāti i. 33. iv. 13. vi. 10; 19; 21-24; 51; 56-57; 93; 107. vii. 68-69. xi. 6

Çambhū ii. 28

Çukra ii. 11. iv. 17-19; 40. v. 14; 31. vi. 134-135. vii. 65. viii. 5. Cf. Bṛhacchukra

Çunaḥçepa vi. 25. vii. 83

Çāunaka ii. 6. vi. 16; 108. vii. 10-12; 82

Savitṛ ii. 26. xix. 31

Sāvitrī Sūryā xiv. 1-2 (the whole book). See p. 739, ¶5

Sindhudvīpa i. 4-5. vii. 89. x. 5. 1-24. xix. 2

Sindhudvīpa Atharvākṛti i. 6. Cf. Atharvan