Volume 1 - Sanskrit Web

ii. 34- BOOK II. THE ATHARVA-VEDA-SAICIHITA. 78
In the TS. version, this verse comes second (the verse-order being 5, i, 3, 4, 2). Both
TS. and K. have at the beginning yhdm, which Ppp. supports by reading esain, and
which rectifies the meter of a : this gives quite a different application to c, and a different
cast to the meaning of the verse. TS. has also ca {or yds in b, aydm ('jdm) for sd
in c, and it ends (better) with ydjamdnasya santu. K. (Weber) has for b cattispada
uta ye dvipddah, and for c niskritds te yajhiyam bhdgam yantu; and Ppp. differs from
it only slightly, adding va after uta in b, and ending c with yajTiiyd ydiUi lokain.
Apparently it is the lord of cattle who is to be bribed to content himself with his sacrificial
share, in lieu of taking the whole. The Anukr. does not heed the irregularities of
meter in a, b.
|_The Ppp. form of b seems to be catuspaddm uta vd ye dvipadah .'J
2. Do ye, releasing {pra-muc) the seed of being, assign progress
{gattl) to the sacrificer, O gods ; what hath stood brought hither (icpdkrtd),
strenuous {qaqamand), let it go upon the dear path of the gods.
TS. (and K. ?) rectifies the meter of a (whose irregularity the Anukr. ignores) by reading
pramuncdtndnds ; it also \iZ& jtvdm for priydm in d. Ppp. gives gopa for retas in a,
and in b makes dhatta and devas change places; in d it reads eti. Priydm may qualify
the subject in d :
' let it, dear [to the gods], go ' etc. Upakrta and (ai^amdnd have their
usual technical senses,
' brought to the sacrifice ' and
'
efficient in the performance of
religious duty'; the latter is explained by the comm. alternatively, as "being put to
death " or " leaping up " (root faf) Devas is, according to him, first " the breaths, sight
!
etc.," then " the gods, Agni etc." [_E. Sieg Aiscxissts pathas, Gurupiijdkaumudi, p. 98.J
3. They who, giving attention to (anu-dhi) the one being bound,
looked after [him] with mind and with eye — let the divine Agni at first
{dgre) release them, he the all-working, in
unison with {sam-rd) progeny.
TS. and MS. (i. 2. 15) have badhydmdnds iox did/tydnds, and TS. follows it with
abhydiks-; and in c combines agnts tan; MS. also has tan.
Both read in A prajapatis
for viqvdkarmd ; and TS. ends with samviddnds. Ppp. has in c mutnukta devas, and,
for d, prajdpatis prajabhis samviddndm ; it then adds another verse : yesdth prano
na badhnanti baddham gaz'dm pa^iindm uta pdurusdndnt : indras tdm (i.e. tan agre
pra etc.). The comm. reads in a vadhyamdnam, which is better ; he explains samrardnas
hy saha ^abddyamdnas, as if from the root rd 'bark'! Comparison with the
next verse seems to show the other animals, comrades of the victim, to be aimed at in
the verse. |_Cf. Weber's notes, p. 209, and esp. his reference to QB. iii. 7. 45. — MS.
has idn, p. tan: see above, page xc.J
4. The cattle that are of the village, all-formed, being of various
forms, manifoldly of one form — let the divine Vayu at first release
them, Prajapati, in unison with progeny.
TS. and K. have dranyas 'of the forest' in a, iox grdmyas, and TS. combines vdyis
tan in c, and ends again with -viddnah. TA. (iii. 11) has two versions (vss. 29, 32),
of which the second precisely agrees with TS., while the first has grdmyas, like our
text (and agnis tan in c). Ppp. is quite different : ya dranyds paqavo vi^varupd uta
ye ktiriipdh : . . . mumukta devah prajdpatis prajabhis samviddndm.
5. Foreknowing, let them first (ptin'a) receive the breath {prd>td)
coming to [them] forth from the limbs. Go to heaven; stand firm with
thy bodies ;
go to paradise {svargd) by god-traveled roads.