Kāṇḍa 12 — Pṛthivī Sūkta and other hymns

TrutHi high and potent Law. the ConsecratinfflUte, FervooTi Brahauti and Sacrifice uphold the JBarth*

Not over^^rowded by the crowd of Manu's sons, she

In whom the sea, and Sindhu, and the waters, ia

She who is Lady of the earth's four regions, in whom

On whom the men of old before us battled, on whom

May Earth, may Prithivt, always protected with

She who at first was water in the ocean, whom with

Jitmvf$$oMs: hmnsa boingt, dototnJints ol IIsdh, ptimoval Mab^ tbo Old QoniMUi Ifaaont.

She whom the Asvins measured out, o*er whom the

O Pfithivl, auspiciottsbe thy woodlands, auspicious

O Pritfaivl, thy centre and thy navel, HX forces that

Earth on whose surfoee they enclose the altar, and

The man who hates us, EJarthI who fights against

Produced from thee, on thee more mortal creatures :

In concert may these creatures yield us blessings.

Kind, ever gracious be the Earth we tread on, the

A vast abode hast thou become, the Mighty. Great

Affoi is in tbe earthy in plants ; the waters bold Agni

Agni gives shine and beat in heaven ; the spaeious

Dark-kneed, invested with a fiery mantle, Prithivl

On earth they offer sacrifice and dressed oblation to

Scent that hath risen from thee, O Earth, the fra-

Thy scent which entered and possessed the lotusj the

Thy scent in women and in men, the luck and light

Hither we call the firmly held, the all-supporting

Sitting at ease or rising up, standing or going oa our

I speak to Pfithivl the purifier, to patient Barth

Purified for our bodies flow the waters : we bring

Earth, be thine eastern and thy northern regions,

Brive us not from the west or east^ drive us not from

Tkeif who made tki world: aee XL 7. 4, note. &m7 Jmik iU com : ealled forth fay the power of their hymoe tiae jieavenly eowi or beams of light that had been imprisoned in the maidTe eloiid by tho demonof daikneaaillf MtfMa.' with long-oontinQedeaerifloe. •

May she, the Earth, assign to us the opulence for

May she, the Earth, whereon men sing and danoe

On whom is food, barley and rice, to whom tljese

Wliose castles are the work of Gods, and men wage

May Earth the Goddess, she who bears her treasure

Earth, bearing folk of many a yaried language with divers rites as suits their dwelling-plaoes. Pour, like a oonstant oow that never faileth, a thou«* sand streams of treasure to enrich me I

Thy many ways on which the people travel, the road

Supporting both the foolish and the weighty she

All sylvan beasts of thine that love the woodlands,

Gandharvas and Apsarases, Kimldins, and malignant

To whom the wingM bipeds fly together, birds of

The purifier, shrinking from the Serpent, she who

Base of the seat and sheds, on whom the sacrificial

Whom Yiffvakarman with oblation fojlowed, when she was set in mid-^air^s billowy ocean—

Thoa art the vessel that eontaineth people, Aditii

Let thy breasts, free from siekness and Consumption,-

Heaven, Earth, the realm of Middle Air have grant??

I am victorious, I am called the lord superior pa

There, when the (Jods, O Gknldess, named thee,

As the horse scattereth the dust, the people who

Whatever I sa v I speak with honey^sweetness, what*

Mild, gracious^ sweetly odorousi milky, with nectar

liOOff as, on thee, I look around, poaseaaing S4rya as 'a friend.

8caU ikai katk rum frm Am t s philosophical d6fiiiitioo<^ earUi if gmMawatt, shs who k sndovod with fragnuAoe or odoor, which it iMMdsd ss its psoulisr efasrsctsnitic as iwm, taste, is of water. i<j»«- f«i^:thsBaiiissoftha ApsarsassinlV. $7.9 ais aU dariTsd from limgimntplaaUorswsst sosnts. Oamdkar^Mt: their name bemg fanoi: Adly 4«ivsd from imcflUt, seent

This is no plafM to hold thee ; mount the Nadai this lead .is thine appointed share. Come hither.

With this we chase and banish all consumptive ma- lady and Death, With sinner and^malicious man, with helper and with minister. . .

I swe0p afur, for sacrifice to Fathers, . corpse-eating :

I drive eorpse^eating Agni;to a distance: sin-laden:

I quickly sweep away corpse^ting Agni, Death,:

Corpse-eating Agni, toil-worn, meet for praises^ I^

Ski^§MiAmi tiM bnsksMip snd d«tlrojer (of ooipMs) ; thefa- aofmlirt.

The Breaker-up, the Burster, the Destroyer, and the

Corpse-eating Agni we expel, the Agni who bewilders

We drive thee forth to other folk, to alien cattle,

Whereon the Deities, whereon men too have pnri-

On Agni here, the Breaker-np, we wipe imparitieis

Wipe all a^ay on lead and reed, on Agoi, him Vha breaketh up, Then on a black^hued sheepi and on 1^ eudiioii paid that racks the bead.

Gk> onward, Death, pursue thy special pathway apart

Divided from the dead are these, the living : now ia

Here I erect this rampart for the living : let none of

Wipe off poUttUon, lay it in the lead and in theblack- hued sheep, And headache in the cushion \ then be cleansed and fit to sacrifice.

Rise up erect, eross over, my companions : the stream

Beeoming pure and bright and purifying beg^n th€[^

On pathways swept by wind, directed upward, pass-

Thefint line istaken from'^. V. }L 18. 3. Efaamg MrUff$ foottUp : prerenting the premature return of the Ckxl oif Death. *AToid> iiig the path of Death.'— Wilson ; * That your war mav avoid the hiMise ofDeMh.'— Max MiiUer. Cf. A. V. 13. 13, note.

Taken fiom ¥. V. X. 18. 7. £/« ; the oorpss.

I with oblation separate both classes, and with my prayer dispart their several portions. I offer food that wastes not to the Fathers^ and to these men give life of long duration.

Both c/ffMM : the Fathers or Manes and the liTing mourners.

Taken from '^\.7L 18. 0. One behind tks other: in nutural Oder, Um oldest lint fetching the end of the jouniej of life.

Tftken hoot R. Y. X. IS. 5. So eon$iiiuU: that thej maj peat awaj in due order of eenioritj. Ordoiner : a DiTlne Being, the ar- nnger, maintainer, and manager of all things. He is assoeii^ with' Tvashfar and PrajipatI, and sometimes identified with the ktter.

What man acquires bv plough, by war, all that he wins by toil of- hand, -^ — -

From any evil we have done, act of impurity or sin, Let waters purge me and from all that comes from

By pathways travelled by the Qods these waters^

Drive off Carnivorous Agni, thou Agni who entest

The Flesh-eater hath entered him : he hath pursued

He who holds Gods within himself^ the rampart and

Prolong the lives of those who live, O Agni Let

Subduing all our adversaries, Agni, give us their

Grasp ye this Indra, ftirtherer, satisfier: he will

Seize with firm hold the Ox who boundeth forward :

The;^ sever from the Qods, they live in sin and

The faithless, who troxa lust of wealth abide with

Among tame beasts the black ewe is thy portion; and

LiTe y<rar foil lives and find old age deliglitfbl» all of

As the days follow days in elose sooeession, as with

iliKfi: bare maMiing PfitliiTl or Eartb.

Effacing Mrityu's footstep ye came hither, to further

This Btania, taken with the last pAda Taried from 1^ V. X. IS. 1, la recited with the two following stantas when the tmrlal of the remains of the oremated oorpse has been oompleted, and the k^ eepa- ratinff the dead from tlie Uring (atania 29) haa been laid down. Deaui: Mptyu, the Ckxl of Death ; distinct from Yama the Begent of the Departed.

Taken, with the last pida vaiied, ftxNn 9. Y. X. la 3. iTe haw4 g<m€ firth: from the burial-ground after completion* of oor dutica there. For da$ieing and for lawfkUr : to return to ovr ugual jojoiia life. So, with 11% after a militaiy f unersl, the band letoma plajing lively airs.

That Agni, Fathers I who, himself immortal, hath entered and possessed our mortal bosoms. Even him I grasp and hold the Gk>d within me. Let him not hate us, may we never hate him.

Taken from 1^ V. X. 18. 4. Tki$ rmi^^ari: rtpreeenied by a kg of wood and a stone deposited hj the AdhTaiyn aa a line of dcmarea* tion between the dead and the linng, limitingt as it were, the jnnsdie> tion of Death until the natural time for his approseb. Tkiumnnm ' represented hj the stone, or by a newly-iaised mound of earth.

TTnholy, flplendour'reft is he^ his sacrifice unfit to eati KravyAd depriyes of tiltb. of cow, of riches hiin

Oft as a greedy beggar speaks the mortal who has

When a dame's husband dies the house is tangled

MoONTi male from male, the skin. Go thither: summon' those whom thou lovest, one and all, to meet thee;

So strong your sight, so many be yomrpowenpSO

U Ood-w^fdpaikwai^: on yonr journey to hsaven.

Ai/oiioaim: mXIow the sacriScial waters to shaiw the tasked preparing the o!iktton of mushed rioe. "-ww uie lass off

That which your mother and your siro, to banish sia

Live with your sons, when life on earth is ended

Approach the eastern, yea, the eastern region : this

Together in tiiis world, in God-wanl pitthwaj, to- gether be ye in the realms of Yama. Invite, made pure with metins of purifying, what* ever seed of yours hath been developed.

Best of the regions is indeed this western wherein

Ever victorious is the northern region : may the east

This siedfast .realm is Queen. To her be homage I

Embrace us as a father clasps his children. Here on

If the dark bird hath come to us and, stealing tjhe

Tliispressing-stone, broad-based and strength-bestow*

Together with the Gods, banning Pis&ohasand de-

Seven victims held the sacrificial essence, the bright

rAjf Aasif ; the handle ol the peatk.

Qr4tU : the female demon wha seuee and doetroys men.

Soon to be, decked with butter, all-eorbracing, come . to this world wherewith one birtb unites thee;

Three worlds hath Power Divine marked out and

Manifold,, various are tht^ shapes of victims. Thou

Earth upon earth I set thee. This thy body is con^-

Thou for thy son slialt yearn as yearns a mothen

Drops flow, made pure by filters, from the rain-cloud ^

From heaven they come, they visit earth, and rising.

Yea, and supreme, alike in conformation, and brilii*.;

Numbered, they visit earth, these drops of moisture,

Heated, they rage and boil in agitation, they cast

Take up these rice-grains lying at the bottom.: let

Present the sickly : quickly bring it hither. Let

Boiikf^om mrik Iteiihee : I place the earthen pitcher on the

In many a shape hath heaven transformed ito body,

To the eastern region, to Agni the Regent, tQ Asita

Jiaditke wi^rlds: aacrifice being the eilpoweffal element m creation. T/u bufato, $irong^inumed : the mighty Odaoa which, whea oflfered to the Gods, flies up to heaven. '

Sourea of immriaUty : the streams of Soi&4 iuioe which hestoj xm the worshippers eternal life in heaven. A*«^ •uHtmrn: eL

AUikeMmionr€nmim.rnikrudiifUum:tm9^

This meath do I announce, mingled with butter, to

To Deities, to Truth, to holy Fervour this treasure*

I cook the offering, I present oblation : only my wife

There is no fault in this, no reservation, none when it

Tq those we love may we do acts that please them.

Perfectly do theT Agnis know each other, one visitor

Man hath received this skin of his from nature : of

Whatever tlioa may say at diee, in meeting, what.

8iMn$ wuUm Suh : regarded m a tjpe of Tama. *^

To the southern region, to Indra the Regent, to

To the western region, to Varuna the R«gf »*• ^

Win thou the rain : approach the Gods. Around

To the stedfast region, to Vishpu the Regent, to

Timhr ^pUmU : entering theo^ in the ahape ol tke lightning eontsined fai ndn. Of riven: the wstenof the ooeeo of air, the doiidt in whieh Agiii dweUt in the form of lightning.. QM %$ Me f^r eeeXLl. Sa.

On the strewn grass, Yanaspati, be seated; oommen*'

In sixt^ antamns o^ay the Treasure-Guardian seek

On the earth's breast Qtand firmly as supporter :

AH wishes that have blessed those with fblfilment,

Thou hast poured oil and made the worlds : let heaVen,

I onrt the gift, shall be his word : and straightway

He trades and traffics with his sons, and in his cattle suffers loss Who will not giVe the Cow of Gods to Ilishis' child- ren when they beg.

Tk$ (7Mf ^G^dt: Iha belongs to hoi/ priests. ' 4 r«f I; a bsma eow; a sow ; tlie woid being fimciAiU/ oonneeted witk fisfe, power, aotbociiy, eootroL

Fierce fever where her droppings fall attacks the master of the kine. So have they named her Va«4, fur thou art called uncontrollable.

Fi/UiiPM^; the meaning kunoertain; perhaps, disMdntMii, general deoaj.

Whoever twitches up her ears is separated from the

If to his own advantage one applies the long hair of

They perish through a hornless cow, a lame cow sinks them in a pit. Tbrouffh a maimed cow his house is burnt : a one* eyed cow destroys his wealth.

What time the D&si woman throws lye on the drop* pings of the Cow, Misshapen birth arises thence, inseparable from that sin.

For Gods and Brfthmans is the Cow produced when

The God-created Cow belongs to those who come to

Then let him seek another Cow, whatever his profit

Like a rich- treasure stored away in safety is the

So when the Br&hmans come nnto the Cow they

SpeMmg wkai i$ not nndeniood: that Is, giTing warnings which

Whoso calls her a worthless Cow, the stored-up treasure of the Gods, Bhava and Sarva, both of ihem^ move round and shoot a shaft at him.

The man who hath no knowledge of her ndder and

If he withholds the Cow they beg, she lies rebellious

WiUiholdiog her from BrAhmans, he incurs the anger

Whoso to others, not to him who hath this know*

The Deities begged the Cow from him with whom at

The Cow deprives of progeny and makes him poor

Tke mrm: the bol/ traU recited hj tlie BnimiMis who aik for

If hundred other Biihmans beg the Cow of him who

Roaming in many a place the Cow is the stored trea«

By Svadhft to the Fathers, by sacrifice to the Deities, By giving them the Cow, the Prince doth not incur ' the mother's wrath.

Btee-cahe: puro^d^a ; m sacrifioial oake of groimd riee vtiuJly diTided into pieoes mud offered in ooe or more cope.

Enraged against her owner roams the Cow when she hath been impregned* He deemed me fruitless, is her thought ; let him be bound in snares of Death 1

The animal is happy when it is bestowed upon the

Nftrada chose the terrible Viliptt out of all the cows Which the Qods formed and framed when they had

The Gods considered her in doubt whether she were

How many cows, O NArada, knowest thou, born

Viliptt, oow, and she who drops no second calf,

Homage, O N&rada, to thee who hast quick know^

Viliptt, O Brihaspati, cow, mother of no second calf— « Of these none not a Brfthman should eat if he hope

.Threefold are kine, Vilipil, cow, the mother of no

He gave her not U> us,, so spake the Gods, in anger,

Solicited by Indra, still Bheda refused ta give this^

They who seduce the owner of the Cow and say,.

If in his home one cooks the Cow, sacrificed or not

This thought fie settles in his mind, This surely goeth to the Qod». Then rerily the Brahman priests approach that they may beg the Cow.

The Prince's mother is the Cow : so was it ordered from of old. She, when bestowed upon the priests, cannot be given hack, they say.

Good milker, with rice-cake as calf, she in the world

In Tama's realm the Cow fulfils each wish for him

Whoever looking on the Cow as fruitless, cooks her flesh at home, !3riha8pati compels his sons and children of his sons to beg.

Criated by toil and holy fervour, found by de^ votion, resting in right; 2 Invested with truth, surrounded with honour, compassed about with glory ;

Girt round with inherent power, f«>rtified with faith, protected by consecration, installed at sacrifice.

The glory, the heroism, and the favouring fortune depart 7 The energy and vigour, the power and might, the speech and mental strength, the glory and dutv ;

Devotion and princely sway, kingship and people, brilliance and honour, and splendour and wealth ;

Long life and goodly form, and name and fame, in- breathmg and expiration, and sights and hearing;

Milk and flavour, and food and nourishment, and right and truth, and action and fulfilment, and children and cattle; 11 All these blessings of a Kshatriya depart from him when he oppresseth the BrAhman ana taketh to himself the Br4hman's cow.

Terrible is she, this Br&hman*s cow, ahd fearfully venomous, visibly witchcraft. 13 In her are all hor- rors and all deaths. 14 In her are all dreadful deeds, all slaughters of mankind* 15 This, tlie Brdh man's cow, being appropriated, holdeth bound in the fetter of Death the' oppressor of the Br&hman, the blas-

A hundred-^killing bolt is she : she slays the Brihman's injurer.

Therefore the Brihmana' cow is held inviolable by the wise.

Yitthlp uit cktMfit aa tpithsi lottcwi, Httb^^idi iiiTested vMkM^/Sit tU.atsj^^ tlM sonpoiiMl being iroowtaiii. C(.

Following him, the Br&liman's cow extinguisheth

§vmidd: apparently a famalo demon, or a disease attrOnttei to her kflaenoe. 'Hay all the rivefs keep ns free from SimUA* (9.Y. VII. 50.). Cr.A-V.IV.25.4.

Quickly, when he is smitten down by death, , the

Quickly around his funeral fire dance women with

Bluda : nothiog further appaan to bo known of this refused to give hie oow to Indra.

Quickly they ask about him. What is this ? What

Destroy Aogirast I the wretch who robs and wrongs

Of evil womb, thou witchcraft hid, for Yaisvadevl is

Consuming, burning all things up, the thunderbolt

Bearing off wrong, thou givest in that world to him

Become a bolt, an arrow through his sin, be terribly

O Cow, break thou the head of him who wrongs the

Let Agni bum the spiteful wretch when crushed to

Rend, rend to bits, rend through and through, scorch

Consume thou, even from the root, the Br&hmana'

That he may go from Yama's home a&r into the

So, Goddess Cow, do thou from him, the Br&hmans'

With hundred-knotted thunderbolt, sharpened and

Strike off the shoulders and the head.

Cow, become a tracker through the curse the Br4h«

Tear out his sinews, cause his flash to fiUl in pieces

Crush thou his bones togethe/, strike and beat tho

Dislocate all his limbs and joints.

From earth let the Carnivorous Agni drive him, let

From heaven let S4rya drive him and consume himu