Kāṇḍa 16 — Charms, mostly prose

Let go the bull of the waters; let go the heavenly fires.

Breaking, breaking about, killing, slaughtering;—

Dimming , mind-slaying, digging, out-burning, self-spoiling, body-spoiling.

That one now I let go; that one let me not wash down against myself;—

That one do we let go against him who hates us, whom we hate.

Thou art tip (ágra) of the waters; I let you go down unto the ocean.

The fire that is in the waters, it do I let go, the dimming, digging, body-spoiling one.

The fire that entered into you, O waters, this is that; what of you is terrible, this is that.

May pour upon you with Indra's Indra-power (indriyá).

Free from defilement (-riprá) the waters; let them away from us defilement;—

Let them carry forth from us sin; let them carry forth evil-dreaming.

With propitious eye look at me, O waters; with propitious body touch my skin.

We call the propitious fires that sit in the waters. Put in me dominion splendor, O divine .

Out of evil-eating (?) with refreshment speech rich in honey.

Rich in honey are ye; may I speak speech rich in honey.

Invoked of me the guardian (gopā́); invoked guardianship.

Well-hearing ears, ears hearing what is excellent; may I hear excellent encomium (çlóka).

Let both well-hearing and listening (úpaçruti) not desert me—eagle-like sight, unfailing light.

Spread (prastará) of the seers art thou; homage be to the spread of the divine ones (dāíva).

May I be the head (mūrdhán) of riches, the head of my equals.

Let both breaking (? rujá) and longing (vená) not desert me; let both the head (mūrdhán) and the distributer (? vídharman) not desert me.

Let both the kettle (?) and the cup (camasá) not desert me; let both the maintainer (dhartṛ́) and the supporter (dharúṇa) not desert me.

Let both the releaser (vimoká) and the wet-rimmed one not desert me; let both him of wet drops (-dā́nu) and Mātariçvan not desert me.

Brihaspati my soul, manly-minded by name, hearty (hṛ́dya).

Free from torment my heart, a wide pasture, an ocean am I by extent (vídharman).

May I be the navel of riches, the navel of my equals.

Of good seat (? svāsát) art thou, of good dawns, an immortal among mortals.

Let not breath quit me; nor let expiration, deserting me, go away.

Let the sun protect me from the sky, Agni from the earth, Vāyu from the atmosphere, Yama from men (manuṣyà), Sarasvatī from them of the earth.

O breath-and-expiration, do not desert me; let me not perish (pra-mī) among the people (jána).

With well-being today, O waters, may I, whole with my whole train (-gaṇá), attain dawns and evenings.

Puissant (çákvarī) are ye; may cattle approach me; let Mitra-and-Varuṇa me breath-and-expiration; let Agni assign me dexterity.

We know thy place of birth (janítra), O sleep; thou art son of seizure (grā́hi), agent of Yama; ender art thou, death art thou; so, O sleep, do we comprehend thee here; do thou, O sleep, protect us from evil-dreaming.

We know thy place of birth, O sleep; thou art son of perdition, agent etc. etc.

We know thy place of birth, O sleep; thou art son of ill-success (ábhūti), agent etc. etc.

We know thy place of birth, O sleep; thou art son of extermination (nírbhūti), agent etc. etc.

We know thy place of birth, O sleep; thou art son of calamity (párābhūti), agent etc. etc.

We know thy place of birth, O sleep; thou art son of the wives (-jāmí) of the gods, agent of Yama; ender art thou, death art thou; so, O sleep, do we comprehend thee here; do thou, O sleep, protect us from evil-dreaming.

We have conquered today, we have won today; we have become guiltless.

O dawn, of what evil-dreaming we have been afraid, let that fade away (apa-vas).

Carry that away to him that hates; carry that away to him that curses.

Whom we hate, and who hates us, to him we make it go.

Heavenly dawn, in concord with speech; heavenly speech, in concord with dawn;—

The lord of dawn, in concord with the lord of speech; the lord of speech, in concord with the lord of dawn:—

Let them carry away for yon man the niggards (arā́ya), the ill-named ones, the sadā́nvās,—

The kumbhī́kās, the spoilers (dūṣī́kā), the revilers (pī́yaka),—

Waking evil-dreaming, sleeping evil-dreaming.

Boons that will not come, plans of non-acquisition, fetters of hatred that does not release:—

That, O Agni, let the gods carry away for yon man, that he may be impotent (vádhri), faltering, not good (sādhú).

With that I pierce him; with ill-success I pierce him; with extermination I pierce him; with calamity I pierce him; with seizure I pierce him; with darkness I pierce him.

I demand against him with the terrible, cruel demands (prāiṣá) of the gods.

I set him in the two tusks of Vāiçvānara.

So, not so, may she swallow down.

Whoso hates us, him let self (ātmán) hate; whomso we hate, let him hate self.}}

Let us disportion our hater from heaven, from earth, from atmosphere.

O thou of good ways (suyāman), of sight (cākṣuṣá).

Now (idám) do I wipe off evil-dreaming on him of such-and-such lineage, son of such-and-such a mother.

What I went at on such-and-such an occasion, what at evening, what in early night;—

What when awake, what when asleep, what by day, what by night;—

What day by day I go at, from that do I cut him off (ava-day).

Him do thou smite, with him amuse thyself (? mand), his ribs do thou crush in.

Let him not live; him let breath quit.

Ours what is conquered, ours what has shot up, ours right (ṛtá), ours brilliancy, ours bráhman, ours heaven (svàr), ours the sacrifice, ours cattle, ours progeny, ours heroes. From that we disportion him yonder: so-and-so, of such-and-such lineage, son of such-and-such mother, who is yonder; let him not be released from the fetter of seizure. Of him now (idám) I involve the splendor, brilliancy, breath, lifetime; now I make him fall downward.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of perdition. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of ill-success. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of extermination. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of calamity. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of the wives of the gods. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of Brihaspati. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of Prajāpati. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of the seers. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of them of the seers. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of the Angirases. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of them of the Angirases. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of the Atharvans. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of them of the Atharvans. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of the forest trees. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of them of the forest trees. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of the seasons. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of them of the seasons. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of the months. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of the half-months. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of day-and-night. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of the two congruent (sam-yánt) days. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of heaven-and-earth. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of Indra-and-Agni. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of Mitra-and-Varuṇa. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours is etc. etc.; let him not be released from the fetter of king Varuṇa. Of him now etc. etc.

Ours what is conquered, ours what has shot up, ours right, ours brilliancy, ours bráhman, ours heaven, ours the sacrifice, ours cattle, ours progeny, ours heroes. From that we disportion him yonder: so-and-so, of such-and-such lineage, son of such-and-such mother, who is yonder; let him not be released from the fetter, the shackle of death. Of him now I involve the splendor, brilliancy, breath, life-time; now I make him fall downward.

Ours what is conquered, ours what has shot up; I have withstood all fighters, niggards.

That Agni says; that, too, Soma says: may Pūshan set me in the world of the well-done.

We have gone to heaven (svàr); to heaven have we gone; we have united (sam-gam) with the sun's light;—

In order to becoming better (vásyas-). Rich in good (vásu-) the sacrifice; good may I win (van); rich in good may I be; good put thou in me.