Page:Atharva-Veda samhita.djvu/286

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iii. 17-
BOOK III. THE ATHARVA-VEDA-SAṀHITĀ.
116

That is, apparently, let all these good things come as the reward of successful agriculture. The verse, not found in RV., but occurring in VS. (ib. 71; and thence quoted in the Vasiṣṭha Dharmasūtra ii. 34 and explained in ii. 35), as well as in TS.MS.K. (as above), has many difficult and questionable points. For pavīrávat (Ppp. puts it before lān̄galam) VS. accents pávīravat, and TS.MS.K. substitute pávīravam; for suçīmam all have suçevam 'very propitious'; the Pet. Lex. suggests susīmam 'having a good parting' i.e. of furrows, or 'even-furrowed'; and R. refers to MB. i. 5. 2, sīmānaṁ nayāmi. Ppp. reads suveçam, which probably means suçevam. The impracticable somasat-saru (so in pada-text) is somapít-saru in VS., MS., K., and Vasiṣṭha, and soma-pitsalaṁ in Ppp.; Vas. renders it "provided with a handle for the drinker of soma," implying the division somapi-tsaru; Weber conjectures a noun uman 'strap,' and emends to soma (= sa-uma) satsaru, "with strap and handle." But TS. reads sumatí॰tsaru, and this is adopted in the translation, mati being taken not as from man but as the word found in matīkṛ and its derivatives, and related with matya etc. (Weber also refers to this meaning and connection.) The comm. explains suçīmam by karṣakasya sukhakaram, without telling how he arrives at such a sense; and somasatsaru (disregarding the pada-division) as from tsaru, either "a concealed going in the ground" (root tsar, explained by chadmagatāu), or else "a kind of part to be held by the plowman's hand"; in either case "a producer of the soma-sacrifice" (i.e. soma-sa). For ratha-vahā́na 'the frame that carries a chariot when not in use,' and prasthā́vat, here virtually 'with the chariot on it,' see R. in the Festgruss an Böhtlingk, p. 95 ff.; the comm. interprets as açvabalīvardādikaṁ rathavāhanasamartham. VS. reads at the beginning of c tád úd vapati, and TS. úd ít kṛṣati; Ppp. has dadata kṛṣata; VS.TS.MS.Ppp. give for e prapharvyàṁ (Ppp. -yāṁ) ca pī́varīm ⌊and VS.TS. invert the order of d and e⌋; the comm. also has pīvarīm (= sthūlām); prapharvī he explains as prathamavayāḥ kanyā. The first pāda is defective unless we resolve la-ān̄-. ⌊Zimmer, p. 236, refers to Sir H. M. Elliot's Memoirs, ii. 341, for a description of the Penjab plow.⌋


4. Let Indra hold down the furrow; let Pūshan defend it; let it, rich in milk, yield to us each further summer.

This verse is found only in RV. (iv. 57. 7), which reads ánu yachatu for abhí rakșatu; Ppp. has mahyaṁ instead of abhi. We had the second half-verse above, as iii. 10. 1 c, d.


5. Successfully (çunám) let the good plowshares thrust apart the earth; successfully let the plowmen follow the beasts of draft; O Çunāsīrā, do ye (two), dripping (?) with oblation, make the herbs rich in berries for this man.

VS. (xii. 69) and MS. (ii. 7. 12) have the whole of this verse; RV. (iv. 57. 8) and TS. (iv. 2. 56), only the first two pādas. For suphālā́s in a, VS. (also our I.) has sú phā́lās, and RV.TS. naḥ phā́lās, both preferable readings; RV.VS. have kṛṣantu for tudantu. In b, TS. gives abhí for ánu (our P.M. have ábhínu); MS. has kinā́ço abhy ètu vāhāíḥ; RV.VS., -çā abhí yantu vāhāíḥ. In c, the comm. gives toṣamāṇā, explaining it by tuṣyantāu. In d, the mss. vary (as everywhere where the word occurs) between -pippalā́s and -piṣpalā́s; about half are for each; VS. MS. end the pāda with kartanā ’smé. Ppp. has a peculiar version: çunaṁ kenāço anv etu vāhaṁ çunaṁ phālo vinadann ayatu bhūmim: çunāsīrā haviṣā yo yajātrāi supippalā oṣadhayas santu tasmāi. The comm. ⌊quoting Yaska⌋ declares Çunāsīrāu to be Vāyu and Āditya (wind and sun); or else, he says, Çuna is god of happiness and Sīra of the plow.