Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book VI/Hymn 34

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1360473Atharva-Veda SamhitaBook VI, Hymn 34William Dwight Whitney

34. Praise and prayer to Agni.

[Cātana.—⌊pañcarcam.agnidāivatam. gāyatram.]

Only vss. 1, 3, 4 found in Pāipp. xix. It is also a RV. hymn, x. 187 (with exchange of place between vss. 2 and 3); in other texts is found only the last verse. As in the case of certain previous hymns with a refrain, one may conjecture that, with omission of the refrain, and combination of the remaining parts of verses, it was made into or viewed as three verses; but the case is a much less probable one than those we have had above. ⌊Cf. Oldenberg, Die Hymnen des RV., i. 245.⌋ The hymn is employed by Kāuç. (31. 4), with vii. 114. 2, in a remedial rite against demons; and it is added (note to 8. 25) to the cātana gaṇa.

Translated: by the RV. translators; and Florenz, 294 or 46; Griffith, i. 263.


1. Send thou forth the voice for Agni, bull of people (kṣití): may he pass us over our haters.

2. He who burns down the demons, Agni, with sharp heat (çocís): may he etc. etc.

RV. has vṛ́ṣā çukréṇa at beginning of b.


3. He who from distant distance shines over across the wastes: may he etc. etc.

Ppp. reads, for c, tiro viçvā ’dhirocate.


4. Who looks forth upon and beholds together all beings: may he etc. etc.

Ppp. reads nipaçyati in a.


5. Who, the bright Agni, was born on the further shore of this firmament (rájas): may he etc. etc.

Nearly all our mss. (all save O.D.K.), and the great majority of SPP's, read ajāyata, without accent, at end of b; both editions give áj-. RV. has asya, unaccented, in a. The verse is also found in TS. (iv. 2. 52), TB. (iii. 7. 81), and MS. (ii. 7. 12*), all beginning a with yát and c with tát, and having, instead of çukró agnír, çukráṁ jyótir (but MS. maháç citráṁ jyótir); all accent ájāyata, and TB.MS. accent asyá with our text. *⌊Also at iii. 2. 4, with the same reading, save pariṣad.⌋