3. What [defense] those gods fastened on themselves, when fighting for overlordship, what defense Indra made for himself, let that protect us on all sides.
Pāda b is altogether corrupt; the translation implies the reading ā́dhirājyāya yodhínaḥ, which differs a little from the emendation in our text, but which the Pet. Lex. assumes under ādhirājya. The mss. give (devā́) ’dhirājayódhehinaḥ, which the pada-text analyzes into (deva:) ádhi॰rāja: yáḥ: dhehi: naḥ (SPP. reports his pada-mss. as giving at the beginning devā, apparently by an oversight, as devā is no form*). The comm. has (devāḥ) dyurājayo (implying p. dyu॰r-) dehinaḥ, and this SPP. accepts, despite its unsatisfactory character; the comm. explains dyurājayas as divi dyuloke rājamānās, which is absurd, and adds that, since the wearing of armor implies a body (deha), the gods were embodied (dehinas), which is silly. The pada-mss. (and one of SPP's saṁhitā-mss.) strangely read sarvátas at the end instead of viçvátas; the comm. and both editions accept the latter; ⌊and since W. notes nothing to the contrary, his D. presumably has viçvátaḥ. The text, with b as translated, and with ca-kṛ-e in c ⌊making 11 + 8: 8 + 8⌋, answers excellently to the definition of the Anukr. *⌊W. means, I take it, no form which is usable in this connection.⌋
4. Defense for me may heaven-and-earth, defense may day, defense may the sun, defense for me may all the gods make; let not the affrontress (? pratīcikā́) reach me.
Some of the mss. leave pratīcikā accentless, and nearly all accent krán; both editions have kran and -kā́. The comm. seems to read agnis instead of áhas in b, and mo for mā́ in d. The comm. paraphrases pratīcikā as çatrusenā ’jñātapratikūlāñcanā (ka being added to pratīcī "ajñātārthe"); the ⌊minor⌋ Pet. Lex. conjectures 'discomfort' (Ungemach); the translation above is of course only tentative. To be compared with the verse is viii. 5. 18 above; found also in AÇS. i. 2. 1, which has our a, b (but reading agnis with our comm.), and, for third pāda, varma me santu tirçcikāḥ; and in Āp. xiv. 26. 1, with agnis in b, and, for c, d, varma me brahmaṇaspatir mā mā prāpad ato bhayam.
⌊Here ends the second anuvāka, with 11 hymns and 72 verses. If we counted hymn 16 as of 3 verses, there would be 73. Some mss. sum up the verses as 72, and thus support the numeration of hymn 16 as given by both editions (see p. 923).⌋
21. The meters.
[Brahman.—ekarcam. chāndasam. 1-av. 2-p. sāmnī bṛhatī.]
⌊Prose.⌋ ⌊Not found in Pāipp.⌋ The comm. finds the verse quoted by the appellation chandogaṇa in Nakṣatra Kalpa 18.—⌊The Anukr. says: idam Brahmā chandonukrāntivijñānāyā ’paçyat.—The meters are arranged, according to the number of their syllables, in an arithmetical progression ascending by a difference of 4. In VS. xxiii. 33, all these and kakúbh are mentioned.⌋
Translated: Griffith, ii. 279.
1. Gāyatrī, uṣṇih, anuṣṭubh, bṛhatī, pan̄kti, triṣṭubh-and-jagatī.
