Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book III/Hymn 26

26. Homage to the gods of the quarters etc. ⌊snake charms?⌋.

[Atharvan.—rāudram; pratyṛcam agnyādibahudevatyam. ⌊trāiṣṭubham:⌋ 1-6. 5-p. viparītapādalakṣmyā ⌊?⌋: 1. triṣṭubh; 2, 5, 6. jagatī; 3, 4. bhurij.]

A prose hymn, found also in Pāipp. iii. (except vs. 2, perhaps accidentally omitted, and vs. 6). A similar invocation occurs further in TS. v. 5. 10^3-5, not so closely related that the readings need to be compared in detail. Hymns 26 and 27 are called in Kāuç. digyukte 'connected with the quarters,' and are used (14. 25), with vi. 13, in a battle-rite, for victory over a hostile army; and also (50. 13), with vi. 1 etc., in a ceremony for good-fortune (and the comm. regards them as signified by yuktayos in 50. 17, in a charm against serpents, scorpions, etc.; but this is probably a mistake ⌊?⌋); yet again, the comm. adds them in a ceremony (51. 3-5) of tribute to the quarters.

⌊"Serpent-incantation" (Schlangenzauber) is the title given to this hymn and the next by Weber. Roth (in his notes) rejects Weber's view; but Griffith accepts it. I think the two hymns are snake charms for the following reasons. They are employed by Kāuç. (50. 17) in connection with vi. 56 and xii. i. 46, which latter are clearly directed against snakes etc. See also Keçava on Kāuç. 50. 17, 18, 19, Bloomfield, p. 354 f. Keçava shows, I think, that the comm. is not mistaken about yuktayos. Weber, in his valuable notes, observes, p. 292, that the schol. to TS. v. 5. 10 reckons that passage as belonging to a sarpāhuti. It is likely that the bali-haraṇa (of Kāuç. 51. 3, 4), with which this hymn is employed (see Keçava), is a sarpabali.—This hymn and the next are reckoned to the rāudragaṇa (note to Kāuç. 50.13); cf. Anukr. Weber's note, p. 297, that these hymns are not used by Kāuç., should be deleted. Whitney in his note to vi. 56 duly reports the connection of iii. 26 and 27 with that snake charm. That he does not do so here and at xii. 1. 46 is, I think, an oversight.⌋

⌊With all this accords Ppp's colophon, rakṣāmantram. The hymn is virtually a paritta—cf. Jātaka, ii. p. 34¹⁶. What seems to be a very old snake paritta is found in Cullavagga, v. 6, and Jātaka, ii. p. 145, no. 203, and in the Bower Manuscript, ed. Hoernle, part vi, p. 234.—Note that the sequence of the quarters in this hymn and the next, as also in the parallels thereto cited from AV.TS.TB.MS., is pradakṣiṇa-order.⌋

Translated: Weber, xvii. 291; Griffith, i. 120.

1. Ye gods that are in this eastern quarter, missiles by name—of you there the arrows are fire: do ye be gracious to us, do ye bless (adhi-brū) us; to you there be homage, to you there hail!

The corresponding utterance in TS. reads: "missiles by name are ye; your houses there are in front (in the east); fire is your arrows, ocean (salilá)"—and similarly in what follows. Ppp. prefixes rakṣa (once rakṣaḥ) at the beginning of each verse. The comm. appears to take devā́s throughout as a vocative (he devāḥ); he defines it as meaning "Gandharvas"; the arrows are either fire or else Agni. The Anukr. apparently restores yé asyā́ṁ, and also makes the refrain to be of 11 + 10 = 21 syllables; then the initial "pādas" of 1, of 3 and 4, of 5, of 2, and of 6 count respectively as 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27 syllables, and the complete numbers vary from 44 to 48 syllables. ⌊The Anukr. ought to call vs. 2 nicṛt and vs. 5 virāj.—For "gods" as an address to the serpents, cf. vi. 56. 1, where they are called "god-people."⌋

2. Ye gods that are in this southern quarter, impetuous (? aviṣyú) by name—of you there the arrows are love (kā́ma): do ye be etc. etc.

The comm. reads avasyavas instead of aviṣyavas. In TS., the name in this quarter is "smearers" (nilimpa), and the arrows are "the Fathers, sea (ságara)."

3. Ye gods that are in this western quarter, vāirājás by name—of you there the arrows are the waters: do ye be etc. etc.

The name in Ppp. is virājas. In TS., the name is "thunderbolt-wielders" (vajrín), and the arrows are "sleep, thicket (gáhvara)."

4. Ye gods that are in this northern quarter, piercing by name—of you there the arrows are wind: do ye be etc. etc.

In the north, according to TS., the name is "down-standers (avasthā́van)" and the arrows "the waters, ocean (samudrá)."

5. Ye gods that are in this fixed quarter, smearers (nilimpá) by name—of you there the arrows are the herbs: do ye be etc. etc.

Ppp. reads vilimpās for nil-, and makes the arrows to be food (anna). TS. calls the quarter "here (ihá)" and puts it after the one "above" (our vs. 6); the name is "fleshly, earthly," and the arrows (as in Ppp.) "food." The comm. explains nilimpās as nitarāṁ liptāḥ.

6. Ye gods that are in this upward quarter, helpful (ávasvant) by name—of you there the arrows are Brihaspati: do ye be etc. etc.

In this quarter (upári) according to TS., the name is "overlords," and the arrows "rain, the helpful one." Ppp. adds at the end iti rakṣāmantram, and our verse viii. 3. 1 follows. TS. adds an imprecation, nearly like that in our hymn 27: tébhyo vo námas té no mṛḍayata té yáṁ dviṣmó yáç ca no dvéṣṭi táṁ vo jámbhe dadhāmi.