Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book XV/Paryaya 6
6. Paryāya the sixth.
In this paryāya, the division of the Anukr. and of the mss. suits (except in vs. 8, which see) the sense, and has therefore been retained unchanged in our text.
Translated: Aufrecht, Ind. Stud. i. 132; Griffith, ii. 190.
1. ⌊1.⌋ He moved out toward the fixed quarter; ⌊2.⌋ after him moved out both earth and fire and herbs and forest trees and they of forest trees and plants. ⌊3.⌋ Verily both of earth and of fire and of herbs and of forest trees and of them of forest trees and of plants doth he become the dear abode who knoweth thus.
To make the metrical descriptions fit closely the subdivisions, we need to read ví-acal- in a and b, and só ag- in c: and so more or less throughout the hymn.
2. ⌊4.⌋ He moved out toward the upward quarter; ⌊5.⌋ after him moved out both right and truth and sun and moon and asterisms. ⌊6.⌋ Verily both of right and of truth and of sun and of moon and of asterisms doth he become the dear abode who knoweth thus.
In c, ca is to be inserted after ṛtásya.
3. ⌊7.⌋ He moved out toward the highest quarter; ⌊8.⌋ after him moved out both the verses and the chants and the sacrificial formulas and the bráhman. ⌊9.⌋ Verily both of the verses and of the chants and of the sacrificial formulas and of the bráhman doth he become the dear abode who knoweth thus.
4. ⌊10.⌋ He moved out toward the great quarter; ⌊11.⌋ after him moved out both the itihāsá ('narrative') and the purāṇá ('story of eld') and the gā́thās ('songs') and the nārāçansī́s ('eulogies'). ⌊12.⌋ Verily both of the itihāsá and of the purāṇá and of the gā́thās and of the nārāçansī́s doth he become the dear abode who knoweth thus.
5. ⌊13.⌋ He moved out toward the most distant quarter; ⌊14.⌋ after him moved out both the fire of offering and the householder's fire and the southern fire and the sacrifice and the sacrificer and the cattle. ⌊15.⌋ Verily both of the fire of offering and of the householder's fire and of the southern fire and of the sacrifice and of the sacrificer and of the cattle doth he become the dear abode who knoweth thus.
6. ⌊16.⌋ He moved out toward an unindicated quarter; ⌊17.⌋ after him moved out both the seasons and they of the seasons and the worlds and they of the worlds and the months and the half-months and day-and-night. ⌊18.⌋ Verily both of the seasons and of them of the seasons and of the worlds and of them of the worlds and of the months and of the half-months and of day-and-night doth he become the dear abode who knoweth thus.
Most of the mss. accent lóka in both b and c (R.s.m.K.D. have lokā́s; only R.s.m. has lokā́nām); our text makes the needed correction. ⌊With the almost unanimous support of his authorities, SPP. prints lókās, lókānām, which accentuation (albeit so isolated) he takes in this case to be "the genuine Atharvan accent": see his notes, p. 330 f.⌋
7. ⌊19.⌋ He moved out toward an unreturned quarter; from it he thought not that he should return; ⌊20.⌋ after him moved out both Diti and Aditi and Iḍā and Indrāṇī. ⌊21.⌋ Verily both of Diti and of Aditi and of Iḍā and of Indrāṇī doth he become the dear abode who knoweth thus.
Ánāvṛtta in a is obscure: the Pet. Lexx. render 'untrodden,' and Aufrecht, 'unvisited'; but both against the analogy of nā́ ”vartsyán (also of ánāvṛt and anāvartin; perhaps the true reading is anāvṛtyā́m ' not to be returned from.' Bp. reads avartsyán, the other pada-mss. ā॰vartsyán. I. accents indrāṇyā̀ç.
8. ⌊22.⌋ He moved out toward the quarters; ⌊no avasāna!⌋ after him moved out the virā́j and all the gods and all the deities. ⌊23.⌋ Verily both of virā́j and of all the gods and of all the deities doth he become the dear abode who knoweth thus.
There seems to be no good reason why this verse should not be divided, like all the rest, into three parts; but the Anukr. does not so prescribe, nor do the mss. set an avasāna-mark after the first vy àcalat: ⌊compare above, p. 772, ¶ 2⌋. The mss. all agree in accenting the second ánu.
9. ⌊24.⌋ He moved out toward all the intermediate directions; ⌊25.⌋ after him moved out both Prajāpati and the most exalted one and the father and the grandfather. ⌊26.⌋ Verily both of Prajāpati and of the most exalted one and of the father and of the grandfather doth he become the dear abode who knoweth thus.