Kāṇḍa 1 — Charms and incantations

Now may V&cbaspati assign to me the strength and

Come thou again, Vdchaspati, come with divine

Here, even here, spread sheltering arms like the two

V&chaspati hath been invoked : may he invite us

Wb know the father of the shaft, Parjanya, hberal

Do thou, O Bowstring, bend thyself around us:

When, closely clinging round the wood, the bow-

As in its flight the arrow's point hangs between earth and firmament, So stand this Munja grass between ailment and dysenteric ill !

Munja grots : mufija (Saccharum Munja) is a soit of rush or grass which grows to the height of about ten feet. It is used in basket-work, and the mekkal^ or girdle worn by Brilhinans is made from it. It

Whatever hath gathered, as it flowed, in bowels,.

I lay the passage open as one cleaves the dam thai

Now hath the portal been unclosed as of the sea thai

Even as the arrow flies away when loosened from the archer's bow, Thus let the burthen be discharged from channels that are checked no more.

Along their paths the Mothers go, sisters of priestly

May yonder Waters near the Sun, or those where-

I call the Waters, Groddesses, hitherward where our

Amrit is in the Waters, in the Waters balm.

The Waters be to us for driak^ Goddesses, for our

Within the Waters — Soma thus hath told me— dwell

O Waters, teem with medicine to keep my body safe

The Waters bless us, all that rise in desert lands or

Bring the Eimidiii hither» bring the Y4tudb&Da self- declared ,

O J4tavedas, Lord Supreme, controller of our bodies,

Let Ydtudhd^nas mourn, let all greedy Kimidins

May Agni seize upon them first, may strong-armed

Let us behold thy strength, O Jdtavedas. Viewer

O J&tavedas, seize on them : for our advantage art

O Agni, bring thou hitherward the Y&tudh&nas

this t Literally, a quidnunc ; a vile and treacherous spy and informer. The Ydtudhdna : one of a class of evil spirits, demons, or sorcerers, explained by Sayapa as Rllkshasas, but in the Veda apparently distinct from those violent and voracious ogres. In Bigveda VII. 104 and X. 87 there are two long series of imprecations directed against R&kshasas and Yitudhanas. The Daityu's slaughterer: Dasyus is the general

This sacrifice shall bring the Y&tudh^nas as the flood

This one hath come confessing all : do ye receive him

O Soma-drinker, strike and bring the Y&tudh&na's

As thou, () Agni J&tavedas, knowest the races of these secret greedy beings, So strengthened by the power of prayer, O Agni, crushing them down a hundred tinges destroy them.

This Lord is the Gods' ruler ; for the wishes of Varupa the King must be accomplished.

Loftiest cope of heaven : highest pitch of earthly happiness.

Thou broughtest milk : the allusion is obscure. Jatavedas, the sapient Agni, appears to have strengthened Indra at some critical time with milk or Soma juice, but the particulars appear to be undisooverable.

I free thee from VaisvAnara, from the great surging

Born from the womb, brought forth from wind and from the cloud, the first red bull comes onward thundering with the rain.

Have brought the babe : from those distant regions. Cf. ' Where do you come from, baby, dear? Out of the everywhere into here.' — G. Mac Donald : Baby.

Well be it with my upper frame, well be it with my

HoMAGB to thee, the Lightning's flash, homage to thee, the Thunder's roar I

Homage to thee, Child of the Flood whence thou collectest fervent heat !

Yea, homage be to thee, O Ofeptitig of the Flood !

Thou, Arrow, which the host of Gods created, mak-

As from the tree a wreath, have I assumed her for- tune and her fame :

King Yama, let this maiden be surrendered as a wife

Queen of thy race is she, O King : to thee do we

7%e host of Gods: all the Gods together. Assembly: congre- gatioti for saorificial purposes.

Let the streams flow together, let the winds and

Come to my call, Blent Offerings, come ye very nigh-

All river founts that blend their streams for ever

All streams of melted butter, and all streams of

Mat potent Agni who destroys the demons bless

VaruQa's benison hath blessed the lead, and Agni

This overcomes Yishkandha, this drives the voraci-

If thou destroy a cow of ours, a human being, or a steed, We pierce tbee with this piece of lead so that thou mayst not slay our men.

Thosh maidens there, the veins, who run their course

Stay still, thou upper vein, stay still, thou lower,

Among a thousand vessels charged with blood,

A mighty rampart built of sand hatb circled and

We drive away the Spotted Hag, Misfortune, and

Let Savitar, Mitra, Varuna, and Aryaroan drive

Each fearful sign upon thy body, in thyself, each in-

Antelope-foot, and Bullock-tooth, Cow-terrifier,

Let not the piercers find us, nor let those who wound

Turned from us let the arrows fall, those shot and

Whoever treateth us as foes, be he our own or strange

The rival and non-riva), be who in his hatred curses us — May all the deities injure him ! My nearest, closest niail is prayer.

Mat it glide harmless by in this our sacrifice, O Soma, God ! Marruts, be gracious unto us.

Mitra and Varuflia, yq twain, turn carefully away from us The deadly dart that flies to-da^y, th§ n^ismle of the wicked ones.

Ward off from thia iide and from that, O Varni^a,

My nearest, closest mail is prayer : these words are the conclud

Lord of the clans, giver of bliss, fiend-slayer, mighty

Indra, subdue our enemies, lay low the men who fight with us : Down into nether darkness send the man who shows us enmity :

Strike down the fiend, strike down the foes, break

This stanza is taken from Kigveda X. 152. 1, a hymn addressed to Indra and ascribed to a Rishi S&sa (Ruler) of the family of Bharadv&ja.

As the Sun rises let thy sore disease and yellowness

With ruddy hues we compass thee that thou mayst

DevatyAs that are red of hue, yea, and the ruddy-

To parrots and to starlings we transfer thy sickfy

O Plant, thou sprangest up at night, dusky, dark- coloured, black in hue !

Expel the leprosy, remove from him the spots and

Dark is the place of thy repose, dark is the plaee

I with my spell have chased away the pallid sign of

THE HYUNS OF {BOOK /.

First, before all, the strong-winged Bird was born ;

L€t thine otm colour come to thee: addressed to the patient. Acoordii^ to Dr. Qrill, the address to the Plant is continued : * Let the peculiar colour of the disease enter into thee, that is^ absorb it^ so that the patient may recover.'

One-coloured, is thy mother's name. One-coloured is

Cauud hf infection : two varieties of the disease appear to be meanti (1) communicated by contact, breathing the same air, eating with, or wearing the clothes or ornaments of a leper, and (2) caused by the sufferer's own sins, irregularities in eating and fasting, indi- gestible food, mental agitation, excessive fatigue, etc.

Whin Agni blazed when he had pierced the Waters, whereat the Law-observers paid him homage,

The banuher of Upro^y : this p&da is probably an explanatory gloss. By omitting it and resolving prathaimeddm into prathamd iddm the regular Anushtup metre is restored.

Omercolomrtd : contrasting with the patient's spotted skin.

I oflTer homage to the chilly Fever, to his fierce burn- ing glow I oflfer homage. Be adoration paid to Fever coming each other day, the third, or two days running.

Let that Destructive Weapon be far distant from us, O ye Gods ; far be the Stone ye wont to hurl.

Our friend be that Celestial Grace, Indra and Bhaga

Thou, OflFspring of the Waterflood, ye Maruts, with

Further us rightly, favour ye our bodies with your

There on the bank those Vipers He, thrice-seven,

Far let her go, cutting her way, brandishing, as it

Not many have had power Enough ; the feeble odes

Go forward, feet, press quickly on, bring to the house

God Agni hath come forth to us, fiend-slayer, chaser

Consume the Y&tudH&nas, God ! meet the Eimidins

She who hath cursed us with a curse, or hath con-

Let her, the Y&tudh&nt eat son, sister, ahd her

With that victorious Amulet which strengthened Indra*s power and might

Thou whose path is black : the same epithet, kriskndvartani^ is

Soma and Savitar the God have strengthened and

The twain : Agni and Indra, or Agni and Soma ; both Indra and Soma being associated with Agni as allies in the destruction of demons. ArAyts : Ariyi is originally the personification as a female fiend of the illiberal impiety which refuses to give oblations to the Gods and guerdon to the priests. The word was afterwards used as the designa^ tion of a class of malevolent spirits : * ArUyt, one-eyed, limping hag,

Yon Sun hath mounted up on high, and this my word

Destroyer of my rivals, strong, victorious, with royal

Guard and protect this man, all Gods and Vasus.

This and the following stanza are addressed to the amulet, which reminds one of the old Teutonic Siegerstein or Stone of Victoiy.

All Gods who dwell on earth or in the heavens,

You, claiming Anuy&jas or Pray&jas, sharers, or not

The first line is taken, with one variation, from Higveda X. 159. 1.

Herk will we serve with sacrifice the great Con- trollers of the world.

Ye, Guardians of the regions, Gods who keep the

Full old age : extending to at leaslr a hundred years. Prayers for life to last for a hundred winters or autumns are of frequent

Anuydjai or Praydjat : PraylLjas consist of texts and oblations forming part of the introductory ceremony at a Soma sacrifice, and Anuyajas are the secondary or final offerings : * Voropfer and Nachop-

Mat they, the golden-hued, the bright, the splendid^ they wherein Savitar was born and Agni,

Their gtation is in midmost air: the Plants, (^ medicinal

Trembling: not yet firmly established. Hemispheres: rddasi; a dual meaning heaven and earth, without the antariksha or inter- mediate air. Ground : hhiUmis ; here the land as a portion of the

The one: Earth. The other : Heaven.

From honey sprang this Plant to life : with honey

My tongue hath honey at the tip, and sweetest honey at the root : Thou yieldest to my wish and will, and shalt be mine and only mine.

My coming in is honey-sweet, and honey-sweet my

Distilling fatness : ghritaa^hiZtas ; literally, dropping ^Aftto, melted and clarified butter or oil, used figuratively for fertility and prosperity : * When I washed my steps with butter, And the rock poured me out rivers of oil:' Job, 29. 6: and * Thou cro\vnest the year with thy good* ness; And thy paths drop fatness:' Psalm LXY. 11.

Around thee have I girt a zone of sugar-cane to

This Ornament of Gold which Daksha's children bound, with benevolent thoughts, on Sat^nlka,

This man no fiends may conquer, no Pia&chas, for

My coming in my going forth: all my doings; my general

Licorice : madiigha is an imspecified shrub or plant that yields a sweet juice : see YI. 102. 3 for its employment in combination with other sweet plants.

To banish hate: and, of course, to inspire love. My darling, never to depart : more literally : * that thou mayst never go away,^ or become ulienated from me. So in the Eddie Hfivarmdl, the Lay of the High One, Woden says : * The seventeenth (song or charm) I know : That the young maid shall never forsake me.'

Vashat to thee, O PAshan ! At this birth let Arya- man the Sage perform as Hotar-priest.

/ %tnd a thousand others forth : I intercede for this man only. I resign to thee all others to punish as thou wilt.

Tfu noose : borne by Varuna as the moral Governor of the world, to entangle and capture the evil-doer.

Vaisvdnara : belonging to, or ruling all men j here meaning Varuna. Call thou thy bi^others : call the other Adityas that they may see that thou hast pardoned the penitent and restored him to favour.