18. Not brother-in-law-slaying, not husband-slaying be thou here, propitious to the cattle, of easy control, very splendid, having progeny, hero-bearing, loving brothers-in-law (?), pleasant, do thou worship (sapary) this householder's fire.
Our mss. differ, as in the preceding verse, between devṛ́kāmā and devák- in c. The first three pādas agree nearly with RV. x. 85. 44 a-c, but the latter begins a with ághoracakṣus (like our 17 a) ⌊and omits ihá⌋, reads sumánās instead of suyámā in b, and in c omits prajā́vatī and gives devákāmā; its fourth pāda is the commonplace phrase çáṁ no bhava dvipáde çáṁ cátuṣpade. Ppp. reads for a, b: adevaraghni patiraghny edhi syonaṣ paçubhyas sumanas suvīraḥ; and, for c, d (given, as noted above, as second half of the preceding verse): prajāvatī vīrasūr devṛkāme ’mam agn- etc.; it thus gets rid of the syonā whose apparent intrusion spoils the triṣṭubh-character of our c, d. ⌊The ms. reckons syonā́ to d (by placing the mark of pāda-division before it); but the integrity of imám etc. as a pāda (without syonā́) is palpable. Likely our text represents a blend of two readings: vīrasū́ur devákāmā sionā́ (RV.), and prajā́vatī vīrasū́r devṛ́kāmā (Ppp.): cf. under vs. 17.—Perhaps the corruption at xviii. 1. 39 below is in part due to a confused blending of two readings.⌋
19. Stand up from here; desiring what hast thou (f.) come hither? I [am] thine overcomer, O Iḍā, out of [my] own house; thou that hast come hither, O perdition, seeking the empty—stand up, O niggard; fly forth; rest not here.
This exorcism accompanies, according to Kāuç. 77. 16, a complete sprinkling of her new home by the bride. All our mss. ⌊and all SPP's authorities⌋ have at end of c ājagándha; our edition ⌊not SPP's⌋ makes the, as it seems, necessary emendation to -ntha, which Ppp. also appears to have. ⌊See Roth, ZDMG. xlviii. 108.⌋ Ppp. further reads in a -ṭhā ’daṣ kim, combines ā ’gā ’haṁ, and begins c with açūnyeṣī. In b the translation assumes the pada-reading iḍe—not īḍe, as previous translators prefer to understand; it is hard to tell which word is more out of place. The verse is once more a very poor sort of triṣṭubh. ⌊It may be counted as 44 syllables. Pādas a, b, c scan easily as 11 + 12: 11; but the good triṣṭubh cadence of d casts suspicion on the integrity of its prior part.⌋
20. When this bride hath worshiped the householder's, the former (pū́rva) fire, then, O woman, do thou pay homage to Sarasvatī and to the Fathers.
Ppp. (which not rarely substitutes āi for ī) seems to agree with all our mss. in reading asaparyāit ⌊see the note to vi. 32. 2⌋. Prāt. ii. 65 prescribes the combination námas k- in d. The first pāda (10 syll.) is both irregular and defective. By Kāuç. 77. 23, the ver.se, with vs. 46 below, is to accompany the homage paid by the bride to the deities mentioned.
21. Take this protection, defense, to spread under this woman; O Sinīvālī, let her have progeny; may she be in the favor of Bhaga.
