26. Agni drives off the demons, he of bright brightness, immortal, bright, purifying, laudable.
This verse is RV. vii. 15. 10, and is found also in TB. (ii. 4. 16) and MS. (iv. 11. 5); the text is the same in all. ⌊Ritual uses, above.⌋
⌊Here ends the third artka-sūkta and the quoted Anukr. says tṛtīyaṁ tu.⌋
4. Against sorcerers and demons: to Indra and Soma.
[Cātana.—pañcaviṅçakam. mantroktadevatyam. jāgatam: 8-14, 16, 17, 19, 22, 24. triṣṭubh; 20, 23. bhurij; 25. anuṣṭubh.]
Found also in Pāipp. xvi. (with exchange of order between 4 and 5, and between 19 and 20). It is, with no change of order of verses, and with only few and insignificant variants, RV. vii. 104; not a verse occurs further in any other text, so far as known.
⌊No ritual use of the hymn is prescribed either by Kāuç. or by Vāit. But the comm. regards this hymn as used with the preceding one in a variety of practices: see h. 3.⌋
Translated: by the RV. translators; and as AV. hymn by Henry, 10, 47; Griffith, i. 396.
1. O Indra-and-Soma, burn the demon, oppress (ubj) [him]; put (arpay-) down, ye two bulls, them that thrive in darkness; crush away, scorch down the fools (acít); slay, push, pin (çā) down the devourers.
Tamovṛ́dh may be (so Ludwig) 'increaser of darkness.' The comm. has nothing better than hiṅs to suggest for ubj.
2. O Indra-and-Soma, against ⌊abhí⌋ the evil-plotter, the evil, let heat boil all up ⌊sam-yas⌋ like a fiery pot; assign unavoidable hate unto the brahman-hating, flesh-eating kimīdín of terrible aspect.
The construction and meaning of the first half-verse are doubtful; the comm. glosses yayastu with simple gacchatu. RV. has agnivā́ṅ instead of -mā́ṅ in b. In our edition, the accent-sign which should stand under gni in this word has slipped to the right, under māṅ. ⌊Here W. seems to take sam as intensive and to render its force by "all up." Neither in BR. nor in the Index is it joined with yas: but cf. saṁ-yāsa.⌋
3. O Indra-and-Soma, pierce ye the evil-doers within their hiding-place (vavrá), in untenable darkness, whence there shall not come up again any one soever of them; be that your furious might unto overpowering.
RV. reads at beginning of c yáthā nā́ ’taḥ pún-. In our edition read duṣkṛ́to in a.
4. O Indra-and-Soma, cause to roll (vṛt) from the sky the deadly weapon, from the earth also, a shattering for the evil-plotter; shape out from the mountains (párvata) the noisy one, wherewith ye burn down the increasing demon.
The comm. glosses svaryà with svaraṇārha. Ppp. has the easier reading pra harataṁ for vartayatam in a.
