1. To verse (ṛ́c), to chant (sā́man) we sacrifice, by (both) which men perform rites (kárman); these bear rule at the seat (sádas); they hand (yam) the offering to the gods.
The verse is SV. i. 369, which, however, reads yacāmahe in a, kṛṇváte in b, ví té for eté in c, and vakṣataḥ in d; GGS. iii. 2. 48, giving the pratīka, has yajāmahe. Ppp. also has kṛṇvate and vi te, but yachatām at the end. The comm. explains sadasi by etannāmake maṇḍape.
2 (57. 1). When (yád) I have asked verse ⌊and⌋ chant ⌊respectively⌋ for oblation ⌊and⌋ force, ⌊and⌋ sacrificial formula (yájus) for strength, let not therefore this Veda, asked, injure me, O lord of might (çácī-).
The construction of the six bare accusatives in the first line is made in accordance with the comm., and appears perhaps the most probable, though not beyond question. ⌊In c, Ppp. has bhūtir⌋ but whether for eṣa or for tasmāt is not clear from R's note.⌋
55 (57. 2). To Indra (?).
[Bhṛgu.—āindram . virāṭ paroṣṇih.]
For the true position of this verse, see the introduction to the preceding hymn. It is not found in Pāipp. This verse (separate from its predecessor) is used in Kāuç. (50. 1-3) for welfare on setting out upon a road, etc. (so at least the comm. determines: he pratīka is doubtful, being identical with that of xii. i. 47).
Translated: Henry, 21, 82; Griffith, i. 353.
1 (57. 2). The paths which are thine, downward from the sky, by which thou didst send the all—by those, O Vasu, do thou set us in what is pleasant.
The first two pādas nearly correspond to SV. i. 172 a, b: yé te pánthā adhó divó yébhir vyàçvam āírayaḥ; with the wholly different close utá çroṣantu no bhúvaḥ. The comm. (as also the Anukr.) regards the verse as addressed to Indra; 'O Vasu' may be 'O good one.' The construction seems so decidedly to call for a locative in c that sumnayā́ (p. sumna॰yā́, by Prāt. iv. 30) is rendered as if it were for -yāú, from -yú; the comm. glosses it with sumne sukhe. The irregular verse (8 + 7: 10 = 25) is but ill defined by the Anukr.
56 (58). Against poison of snakes and insects.
[Atharvan.—aṣṭarcam. mantroktavṛçcikadevatāham: 2. vānaspatyā; 4. brāhmaṇaspatyā.* ānuṣṭubham: 4. virāṭprastārapan̄kti.]
The first four verses are found in Pāipp. xx.† It is used in Kāuç. (32. 5) in a remedial rite against venomous bites, with the direction "do as stated in the text"; and vs. 5 accompanies, with vi. 56 etc., an offering in the ceremony of entering on Vedic study (139. 8). *⌊The mss. have -patyam ute ’dam: but the statement should refer rather to the verse than to the hymn.⌋ †⌊Also vs. 8: see below.⌋
Translated: Ludwig, p. 502; Grill, 5, 183; Henry, 21, 82; Griffith, i. 353; Bloomfield, 29, 552.
