Page:Atharva-Veda samhita volume 2.djvu/519

yoyavad, and, in b, ni miṣate rejati; its c is wholly corrupt. The comm. connects na yoyuvat with what follows, and explains it thus: na vibhajamānaṁ vibhaktaṁ nā ”sīt kiṁ tu viçvam ekākāram evā ’bhūt. The RV. khila, in vs. 4, has pāda e, twice repeated.

3. The men-watching lookers that are thine, O night, ninety [and] nine—eighty are they [and] eight, also seven [and] seventy of thine;—

In b, SPP's pada-mss. have navatī́ḥ. In c, the decided majority accent açī́tis, and all santi, which SPP. emends to sánti, thus changing "the ancient accent," and without sufficient reason, since santi is defensible, 3 c to 5 b inclusive being of the nature of a parenthesis, extending the navatír náva of 3 b. The khila ⌊vs. 2⌋ to RV. x. 127 has a corresponding verse ⌊as also has ÇÇS. at ix. 28. 10⌋, with yuktā́sas for draṣṭā́ras, with santu in c, and ⌊so the khila, at least⌋ the accent saptá in d. The Atharvan mss. vary between sápta and saptá; our text gives the former, SPP. the latter, which is better, as being the usual Atharvan accent, and having ⌊about⌋ half the mss. in its favor. The comm. explains the draṣṭā́ras as "troop-gods" (gaṇadevās), and does not so much as hint at any connection with the stars, which nevertheless we cannot well question to be meant, in their various and manifold groupings. A ca after aṣṭāú in c would be a welcome addition to both meter and sense.

4. And sixty and six, O wealthy one; fifty [and] five, O pleasant one; four and forty, three and thirty, O mighty (vājín) one;—

Ppp. has in b naçaṁnihi, in d vādini.

5. And two of thine and twenty of thine, O night; eleven the least (avamá)—with those protectors today do thou protect us, O daughter of the sky.

At beginning of d all the authorities ⌊with one unimportant variant⌋ read ná, which seems impossible. We emended it to ní (cf. ní pāti in ix. 10. 23); SPP., following that blind guide the comm., reads nú; this is entirely unacceptable, both on account of the sense, and because nú cannot stand at the beginning of a pāda: cf. note to v. 6. 5. The authorities are much at odds as to the accent of duhitar divas, the majority having duhitár divás. Ppp. reads in b rātrī ek-.

6. Let no demon, [no] mischief-plotter master us; let no evil-plotter master us; let no thief today master our kine, nor a wolf our sheep;—

The mss. have at the beginning rákṣā (p. rákṣa), as 2d sing, imperative, and pāda d of RV. vi. 71. 3 (the verse is found also in VS. ⌊xxxiii. 69⌋ TS. ⌊i. 4. 24¹⌋ TB. ⌊ii.4. 4⁷⌋ MS. ⌊i. 3. 27⌋) gives the same, ⌊as does RV. vi. 75. 10 d⌋. The translation follows our conjectured emendation, which, in view of the implausibility of the impv. rákṣa standing so alone, has a right to consideration. Ppp. reads mākir ṇo a-. The comm. reckons our 6 a, b as a whole verse ⌊his 6⌋; our 6 c, d and 7 a, b as his vs. 7; our 7 c, d and 8 a, b as his vs. 8; our 8 c, d and 9 a, b as his vs. 9; and our 9 c, d and 10 as his vs. 10; thus making the sixth verse instead of the tenth to consist of two padas only, while yet counting ten verses in the hymn. SPP., on the other hand ⌊see his Critical Notice in vol. i., p. 24⌋, counts vs. 6 as our edition does, but adds our 8 a, b to our vs. 7 to form his vs. 7, thus making it of six pādas; and then counts our 8 c, d and 9 a, b as his vs. 8, and our 9 c, d and 10 as his vs. 9. This is in accordance with