Translated: Ludwig, p. 507; Grill, 35, 123; Griffith, i. 141; Bloomfield, 61, 381; Weber, xviii. 32.—As for ointment and ointment-legends, see Bloomfield, AJP. xvii. 404 ff.
1. Come thou, rescuing the living one; of the mountain art thou for the eyes (?), given by all the gods, an enclosure (paridhí) in order to living.
Jīvám in a might also be coördinate with trā́yamāṇam; the comm. understands it as translated. The meter indicates that the true reading at the end of b is ákṣyam, and this is read by SPP., with the alleged support of all his authorities save one, which follows the comm. in giving ákṣam; our Bp. has ákṣam, and our edition accepted that (our Op. has akṣyàm, our I. ákṣyàm); but akṣya is unknown elsewhere, and its meaning in this connection is quite obscure; perhaps allusion is intended to a legend reported in MS. iii. 6. 3 (p. 62. 8; cf. also TS. vi. 1. 15 and ÇB. iii. 1. 3. 12): "Indra verily slew Vṛtra; his eye-ball flew away; it went to Trikakubh; that ointment of Trikakubh he spreads on." The ointment of this mountain is most efficacious for the eyes, and hence also for the other purposes here had in view. The comm. gives cakṣus as the value of his akṣam. Grill suggests emendation to akṣayyam or akṣaram. We have to make the harsh resolution ví-çu-e- in c or leave the pāda defective.
2. Protection (paripā́ṇa) of men (púruṣa), protection of kine art thou; in order to the protection of coursing (árvant) horses hast thou stood.
The comm. says in c "of horses and of mares (vaḑavānām)." The resolution ár-va-ta-ām fills up c quite unsatisfactorily; the Anukr. refuses all resolution, and counts the pāda as of 6 syllables.
3. Both art thou a protection, grinder-up of familiar demons (yātú), O ointment, and of what is immortal thou knowest; likewise art thou gratification (-bhójana) of the living, likewise remedy of jaundice (hárita-).
Contrary to rule, the a of asi in d has to be elided after átho in d; probably emendation to áthā ’si is called for; one of our mss. (O.) reads átho ‘si. Ppp. rectifies the meter of a by giving ute ’vā ’si; for c, d it has utā ’mṛtatvesye ”çiṣa utā ’saṣ pitṛbhojanam. The comm. takes amṛtasya as the drink of immortality, and -bhojana as either aniṣṭanivartanena pālaka or bhogasādhana. The last pāda hardly belongs with the rest.
4. Of whomsoever, O ointment, thou creepest over limb after limb, joint after joint, from thence thou drivest away the yákṣma, like a formidable mid-lier (madhyamaçī́).
