The verse is nearly accordant with v. 31. 1 below. Ppp. reads in b yā sūtre nīl-. A raw vessel is one of unburnt clay (apakve mṛtpātre, comm.). The comm. defines "the blue-red one" as fire, blue with smoke, red with flame*; and the "raw flesh" as that of a cock or other animal used for the purposes of the charm. The kṛtyā appears to be a concrete object into which an evil influence is conveyed by sorcery, and which then, by depositing or burying, becomes a source of harm to those against whom the sorcery is directed (mantrāuṣadhādibhiḥ çatroḥ pīḍākarīm, comm. to iv. 18. 2). The comm. reads tvayā in d, and first pronounces it used by substitution for tvam, then retains it in its proper sense and makes jahi mean hantavyās: both are examples of his ordinary grammatical principles. The Anukr. ignores the metrical irregularity of c ⌊reject yā́ṁ.⌋ *⌊Bloomfield, on the basis of Kāuç., interprets it as a thread of blue and red; and this is confirmed by the Ppp. sūtre.⌋
5. Evil-dreaming, evil-living, demon, monster (abhvà), hags, all the ill-named (f.), ill-voiced—them we make disappear from us.
Ppp. has in a dussvapnaṁ durjīvataṁ, and, for c, d, durvācas sarvaṁ durbhūtaṁ tam ito nāç-. A couple of our mss. (I.H.p.m.) read abhū́m in b. The comm. gives -jīvatyam in a (with two of SPP's mss.), and (with our P.M.W.E.) asmín instead of asmán in d. He first defines abhvam simply as "great," and then as a special kind of demon or demoniac (quoting RV. i. 185. 2); and the durṇāmnīs as piçācīs having various bad appellations, such as chedikā and bhedikā. The verse is repeated as vii. 23. 1.
6. Death by hunger, death by thirst, kinelessness, childlessness—through thee, O off-wiper (apāmārgá), we wipe off all that.
The translation implies the obvious emendation of anapadyátām (p. anapa॰dyátam) in b to -apatyá-, which is read by the comm. and by three of SPP's mss. which follow him; SPP. very properly admits -apatyá- into his text (but forgets to emend his pada-text thoroughly, and leaves in it the absurd division anapaa॰tyátām.) ⌊Weber, however, discussing avadya, Berliner Sb., 1896, p. 272, defends the reading apadya-.⌋ The comm. says nothing of the sudden change here from sahadevī to apāmārga, which ought to be another plant (Achyranthes aspera: a weed found all over India, having very long spikes of retroflected flowers), but may possibly be used here as a synonym or appellation of the other. In his introduction, he speaks of darbha, apāmārga, and sahadevī as infused in the consecrated water.
7. Death by thirst, death by hunger, likewise defeat at dice—through thee, O off-wiper, we wipe off all that.
Ppp. omits this variation on vs. 6.
8. The off-wiper is indeed of all herbs the sole controller (vaçín); with it we wipe [off] what has befallen (ā́sthita) thee; then do thou go about free from disease.
Ppp. (in book ii.) has for b viçvāsām eka it patiḥ, combines in c mṛjmā ”sthitam, and reads at the end caraḥ. Āsthitam (also vi. 14. 1 and VS. vi. 15) has perhaps a more special sense than we are able to assign to it; the comm. paraphrases by kṛtyādibhir āpatitaṁ rogādikam.
