Atharva Veda on Devotion

O Agni, prepare the roads, that lead to the gods! By these: well- prepared (roads) may we reach the sacrifice, standing upon the firmament (that shines) with seven rays! 37. With the light with which the gods, having cooked the porridge for the Brâmanas, ascended to heaven, to the world of the pious, with that would we go to the world of the pious, ascending to the light, to the highest firmament!

1. Through one creation at a time this (cow) was born, when the fashioners of the beings did create the cows of many colours. (Therefore), when a cow doth beget twins portentously, growling and cross she injureth the cattle. 2. This (cow) doth injure our cattle: a flesh-eater, devourer, she hath become. Hence to a Brahman he shall give her; in this way she may be kindly and auspicious! 3. Auspicious be to (our) men, auspicious to (our) cows and horses, auspicious to this entire field, auspicious be to us right here! 4. Here be prosperity, licre be sap! Be thou here one that especially gives a thousandfold! Make the cattle prosper, thou mother of twins! 5. Where our pious friends live joyously, having left behind the ailments of their bodies, to that world the mother of twins did attain: may she not injure our men and our cattle! 6. Where is the world of our pious friends, where the world of thern that sacrifice with the agnihotra, to that world the mother of twins did attain: may she not injure our imen and our cattle!

1. Unity of heart, and unity of mind, freedom from hatred, do I procure for you. Do ye take delight in one another, as a cow in her (new-) born calf! 2. The son shall be devoted to his father, be of the same mind with his mother; the wife shall speak honied, sweet, words to her husband! 3. The brother shall not hate the brother, and the sister not the sister! Harmonious, devoted to the same purpose, speak ye words in kindly spirit! 4. That charm which causes the gods not to disagree, and not to hate one another, that do we prepare in your house, as a means of agreement for your folk. 5. Following your leader, of (the same) mind, do ye not hold yourselves apart! Do ye come here, co-operating, going along the same wagon-pole, speaking agreeably to one another! I render you of the same aim, of the same mind. 6. Identical shall be your drink, in common shall be your share of food! I yoke you together in the same traces: do ye worship Agni, joining together, as spokes around about the hub! 7. I render you of the same aim, of the same mind, all paying deference to one (person) through my harmonising charm. Like the gods that are guarding the ambrosia, may he (the leader) be welldisposed towards you, night and day!

Purified by (our) prayer, and clarified by the ghee are the soma-shoots, (and) these sacrificial grains. Enter the water; may the pot receive you! When ye have cookect this (porridge) go ye to the world of the pious (heaven)! 19. Spread out far unto great extent, with a thousand surfaces, in the world of the pious! Grandfathers, fathers, children, grandchildren--I am the fifteenth one that did cook thee. 20. The porridge has a thousand surfaces, a hundred streams, and is indestructible; it is the road of the gods, leads to heaven. Yonder (enemies) do I place upon thee: injure them and their offspring; (but) to me that brings gifts thou shalt be merciful! 21. Step upon the altar (vedi); make this woman thrive in her progeny; repel the demons.; advance her! May we in happiness be superior to all our equals! I bend down under our feet all those that hate us. 22. Turn towards her with cattle, (thou pot), face towards her, together with the divine powers! Neither curses nor hostile magic shall reach thee; rule in thy dwelling free from disease! 23. Properly built, placed with care, this altar (vedi) has been arranged of yore for the Brahmans porridge. Put it, O woman, upon the purified amsadhrl; place there the porridge for the divine (Brâhmanas)! 24. May this sacrificial ladle (sruk), the second hand of Aditi, which the seven Rishis, the creators of the beings, did fashion, may this spoon, knowing the limbs of the porridge, heap it upon the altar! 25. The divine (Brâhmanas) shall sit down to thee, the cooked saerfice: do thou again descending from the fire, approach them! Clarified by soma settle in the belly of the Brâhmanas; the descendants of the Rishis who eat thee shall not take harm! 26. O king Soma, infuse harmony into the good Brâhmanas who shall sit about thee! Eagerly do I invite to the porridge the Rishis, descended from Rishis, that are born of religious fervour, and gladly obey the call. 27.

given as a fee to the Brahmans. 1. (Thyself) a male, step thou upon the hide of the male (steer): go, call thither all that is dear to thee! At whatever age ye two formerly did first unite (in marriage), may that age be your common lot in Yama's kingdom! 2. Your sight shall be as clear (as formerly), your strength as abundant, your lustre as great, your vitality as manifold! When Agni, the (funeral-) pyre, fastens himself upon the corpse, then as a pair ye.shall rise from the (cooked) porridge! 3. Come ye together in this world, upon the road to the gods, and in Yama's realms! By purifications purified call ye together the offspring that has sprung from you! 4. Around the water united, sit ye down, O children; around this living (father) and the waters that refresh the living! Partake of these (waters), and of that porridge which the mother of you two cooks, and which is called amrita (ambrosia)! 5. The porridge which the father of you two, and which the mother cooks, unto freedom from defilement and foulness of speech, that porridge with a hundred streams (of ghee), leading to heaven, has penetrated with might both the hemispheres of the world. 6. In that one of the two hemispheres and the two heavenly worlds, conquered by the pious, which especially abounds in light, and is rich in honey, in that do ye in the fulness of time come together with your children! 7. Keep ever on in an easterly direction: this is the region that the faithful cling to! When your cooked porridge has been prepared on the fire, hold together, O man and wife, that ye may guard 8. When ye shall have reached the southerly direction, turn ye to this vessel! In that Yama, associated with the fathers, shall give abundant protection to your cooked porridge! 9. This westerly direction is especially favoured: in it Soma is ruler and consoler. To this hold, attach yourselves to the pious: then as a pair ye shall rise from the cooked porridge! 10.

1. Listen, ye folks, to this: (a song) in praise of a hero shall be sung! Six thousand and ninety (cows) did we get (when we were) with Kaurama among the Rusamas,-- 2. Whose twice ten buffaloes move right along, touether with their cows; the height of his chariot just misses the heaven which recedes from its touch. 3. This one (Kaurama) presented the seer with a hundred jewels, ten chaplets, three hundred steeds, and ten thousand cattle. 4. Disport thyself, O chanter, disport thyself as a bird upon a flowering tree; thy tongue glides quickly over the lips as a razor over the strop. 5. The chanters with their pious song hurry on blithely as cows; at home are their children, and at home the cows do they attend. 6. Bring hither, O chanter, thy poem, that which earns cattle and earns good things! Among the gods (kings) place thy voice as a manly archer his arrow! 7. Listen ye to the high praise of the king who rules over all peoples, the god who is above mortals, of Vaisvânara Parikshit! 8. 'Parikshit has procured for us a secure dwelling when he, the most excellent one, weat to his seat.' (Thus) the husband in Kuru-land, when he founds his household, converses with his wife. 9. 'What may I bring to thee, curds, stirred drink, or liquor?' (Thus) I the wife asks her husband in the kingdom of king Parikshit. 10. Like light the ripe barley runs over beyond the mouth (of the vessels). The people thrive merrily in the kingdom of king Parikshit. 11. Indra has awakened the poet, saying: 'Arise, move about, and sing; of me, the strong, verily, sing the praises; full every pious one shall offer thee (sacrificial reward)!' 12. Here, O cattle, ye shall be born, here, ye horses, here, ye domestics! And Pûshan also, who bestows a thousand (cows) as sacrificial reward, settles down here. 13. May these cattle, O Indra, not suffer harm, and may their owner not suffer harm; may the hostile folk, O Indra, may the thief not gain possession of them! 14.

1. Your minds, your purposes, your plans, do we cause to bend. Ye persons yonder, that are devoted to other purposes, we cause you to comply! 2. With my mind do I seize your minds: do ye with your thoughts follow my thought! I place your hearts in my control: come ye, directing your way after my course! 3. I have called upon heaven and earth, I have called upon the goddess Sarasvatî, I have called upon both Indra and Agni: may we succeed in this. O Sarasvatî! CHARMS TO SECURE PROSPERITY IN HOUSE, FIELD, CATTLE, BUSINESS, GAMBLING, AND KINDRED MATTERS.

1. This yearning love comes from the Apsaras, the victorious, imbued with victory. Ye gods, send forth the yearning love: may yonder man burn after me! 2. My wish is, he shall long for me, devoted he shall long for me! Ye gods, send forth the yearning love: may yonder man burn after me! 3. That yonder man shall long for me, (but) I for him nevermore, ye gods, send forth the yearning love: may yonder man burn after me! 4. Do ye, O Maruts, intoxicate him (With love); do thou, O mid-air, intoxicate him; do thou, O Agni, intoxicate him! May yonder man burn after me!

1. If air, or earth and heaven, if mother or father, we have injured, may this Agni Gârhapatya (household fire) without fail lead us out from this (crime) to the world of well-doing! 2. The earth is our mother, Aditi (the universe) our kin, the air our protector from hostile schemes. May father sky bring prosperity to us from the world of the Fathers; may I come to my (departed) kin, and not lose heaven! 3. In that bright world where our pious friends live in joy, having cast aside the ailments of their own bodies, free from lameness, not deformed in limb, there may we behold our parents and our children!

1. Thy golden chamber, king Varuna, is built in the waters! Thence the king that maintains the laws shall loosen all shackles! 2. From every habitation (of thine), O king Varuna, from here do thou free us! In that we have said, 'ye waters, ye cows;' in that we have said, 'O Varuna,' from this (sin), O Varuna, free us! 3. Lift from us, O Varuna, the uppermost fetter, take down the nethermost, loosen the middlemost! Then shall we, O Âditya, in thy law, exempt from guilt, live in freedom! 4. Loosen from us, O Varuna, all fetters, the uppermost, the nethermost, and those imposed by Varuna! Evil dreams, and misfortune drive away from us: then may we go to the world of the pious!

Arbudi and Trishamdhi shall pierce our enemies, so that, O Indra, slayer of Vritra, spouse of Sakî, we may slay the enemy by thousands! 24. The trees, and (growths) that are like trees, the plants and the herbs as well, the Gandharvas and the Apsaras, the serpents, gods, pious men, and (departed) Fathers, all those, O Arbudi, do thou make the enemies see, and spectres also make them see! 25. The Maruts, god Âditya, Brahmanaspati did rule over you; Indra, and Agni, Dhâtar, Mitra, and Pragâpati did rule over you; the seers did rule over you. Let them make evident to the enemies when (a man) has been pierced by thee, O Arbudi! 26. Ruling over all these, rise ye and arm yourselves! Ye divine folk are (our) friends: win ye the battle, and disperse to your various abodes!

1. May (love), the disquieter, disquiet thee; do not hold out upon thy bed! With the terrible arrow of Kâma (love) do I pierce thee in the heart. 2. The arrow, winged with longing, barbed with love, whose shaft is undeviating desire, with that, well-aimed, Kâma shall pierce thee in the heart! 3. With that well-aimed arrow of Kâma which parches the spleen, whose plume flies forward, which burns up, do I pierce thee in the heart. 4. Consumed by burning ardour, with parched mouth, do thou (woman) come to me, pliant, (thy) pride laid aside, mine alone, speaking sweetly and to me devoted! 5. I drive thee with a goad from thy mother and thy father, so that thou shalt be in my power, shalt come up to my wish. 6. All her thoughts do ye, O Mitra and Varuna, drive out of her! Then, having deprived her of her will,.put her into my power alone!

(nairbâdhyam havih). 1. Forth from his home do I drive that person yonder, who as a rival contends with us: through the oblation devoted to suppression Indra, has broken him to pieces. 2. Indra, the slayer of Vritra, shall drive him to the remotest distance, from which in all successive years he shall not again return! 3. He shall go to the three distances, he shall go beyond the five peoples; he shall go beyond the three ethers, whence he shall not again in all successive years return, while the sun is upon the heavens! VII 37. Curse against one that practises hostile charms. 1. The thousand-eyed curse having yoked his chariot has come hither, seeking out him that curses me, as a wolf the house of him that owns sheep. 2. Avoid us, O curse, as a burning fire (avoids) a lake! Strike here him that curses us, as the lightning of heaven the tree! 3. He that shall curse us when we do not curse, and he that shall curse us when we do curse, him do I hurl to death as a bone to a dog upon the ground.

calamities. 1. O Bhava and Sarva, I am devoted to you. Take note of that, ye under whose control, is all this which shines (the visible universe)! Ye who rule all these two-footed and four-footed creatures, deliver us from calamity! 2. Ye to whom belongs all that is near by, yea, all that is far; ye who are known as the most skilful archers among bowmen; ye who rule all these two-footed and four-footed creatures, deliver us from calamity! 3. The thousand-eyed slayers of Vritra both do I invoke. I go praising the two strong gods (ugrau) whose pastures extend far. Ye who rule all these two-footed and four-footed creatures, deliver us from calamity! 4. Ye who, united, did undertake many (deeds) of old, and, moreover, did visit portents upon the. people; ye who rule all these two-footed and fourfooted creatures, deliver us from calamity! 5. Ye from whose blows no one either among gods or men escapes; ye who rule all these twofooted and four-footed creatures, deliver us from calamity! 6. The sorcerer who prepares a spell, or manipulates the roots (of plants) against us, against him, ye strong gods, launch your thunderbolt! Ye who rule all these two-footed and four-footed creatures, deliver us from calamity. 7. Ye strong gods, favour us in battles, bring into contact with your thunderbolt the Kimîdin! I praise you, O Bhava and Sarva, call fervently upon you in distress: deliver us from calamity!

1. Heaven and earth, the broad atmosphere, the goddess of the field, and the wonderful, far- striding (Vishnu); moreover, the broad atmosphere guarded by Vâta (the wind): may these here be inflamed, when I am inflamed! 2. Hear this, O ye revered gods! Let Bharadvâga recite for me songs of praise! 'May he who injures this our plan be bound in the fetter (of disease) and joined to misfortune! 3. Hear, O soma-drinking Indra, what with burning heart I shout to thee! I cleave, as one cleaves a tree with an axe, him that injures this our plan. 4. With (the aid of) thrice eighty siman-singers, with (the aid of) the Âdityas, Vasus, and Angiras--may our father's sacrifices and gifts to the priests, aid us-do I seize this one with fateful fervour. 5. May heaven and earth look after me, may all the gods support me! O ye Angiras, O ye fathers devoted to Soma, may he who does harm enter into misfortune! 6. He who perchance despises us, O ye Maruts, he who abuses the holy practice which is beiog performed by us, may his evil deeds be firebrands to him, may the heavens surround with fire the hater of holy practices! 7. Thy seven in-breathings and thy eight marrows, these do I cut for thee by means of my charm. Thou shalt go to the seat of Yama, fitly prepared, with Agni as thy guide! 8. 1 set thy footstep upon the kindled fire. May Agni surround thy body, may thy voice enter into breath!

1. (Thy) kingdom hath come to thee: arise, endowed with lustre! Go forth as the lord of the people, rule (shine) thou, a universal ruler! All the regions of the compass shall call thee, O king; attended and revered be thou here! 2. Thee the clans, thee these regions, goddesses five, shall choose for empire! Root thyself upon the height, the pinnacle of royalty: then do thou, mighty, distribute goods among us! 3. Thy kinsmen with calls shall come to thee; agile Agni shall go with them as messenger! Thy wives, thy sons shall be devoted to thee; being a mighty (ruler) thou shalt behold rich tribute! 4. The Asvins first, Mitra and Varuna both, all the gods, and the Maruts, shall call thee! Then fix thy mind upon the bestowal of wealth, then do thou, mighty, distribute wealth among us! 5. Hither hasten forth from the farthest distance heaven and earth, both, shall be propitious to thee! Thus did this king Varuna (as if, 'the chooser') decree that; he himself did call thee: 'come thou hither'! 6. O Indra, Indra, come thou to the tribes of men, for thou hast agreed, concordant with the Varunas (as if,'the electors'), He did call thee to thy own domain (thinking): 'let him revere the gods, and manage, too, the people'! 7. The rich divinities of the roads, of manifold diverse forms, all coming together have given thee a broad domain. They shall all concordantly call thee; rule here, a mighty, benevolent (king), to up the tenth decade (of thy life)!

1. From kshetriya (inherited disease), from Nirriti (the goddess of destruction), from the curse of the kinswoman, from Druh (the demon of guile), from the fetter of Varuna do I release thee. Guiltless do I render thee through my charm; may heaven and earth both be propitious to thee! 2. May Agni together with the waters be auspicious to thee, may Soma together with the plants be auspicious. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti, from the curse of the kinswoman, from the Druh, from the fetter of Varuna do I release thee. Guiltless do I render thee through my charm; may heaven and earth both be propitious to thee! May the wind in the atmosphere auspiciously bestow upon thee strength, may the four quarters of the heaven be auspicious to thee. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c. 4. These four goddesses, the directions of space, the consorts of the wind, the sun surveys. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c. 5. Within these (directions) I assign thee to old age; forth to a distance shall go Nirriti and disease! Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c. 6. Thou hast been released from disease, from mishap, and from blame; out from the fetter of Druh, and from Grâhi (the demon of fits) thou hast been released. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c. 7. Thou didst leave behind Arâti (the demon of grudge), didst obtain prosperity, didst enter the happy world of the pious. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c. 8. The gods, releasing the sun and the ritam (the divine order of the universe) from darkness and from Grâhi, did take them out of sin. Thus from kshetriya, from Nirriti &c.

We speak to the sacrifice and the sacrificer, to the riks, the sâmans, and the healing (Atharvan) charms; we speak to the yagus-formulas and the invocations (to the gods): they shall deliver us from calamity! 15. We speak to the five kingdoms of the plants with soma the most excellent among them. The darbha-grass, hemp, and mighty barley: they shall deliver us from calamity! 16. We speak to the Arâyas (demons of grudge), Rakshas, serpents, pious men, and Fathers; to the one and a hundred deaths: they shall deliver us from calamity! 17. To the seasons we speak, to the lords of the seasons, and to the sections of the year; to the halfyears, years, and months: they shall deliver us from calamity! 18. Come, ye gods, from the south and the west; ye gods in the east come forth! From the east, from the north the mighty gods, all the gods assembled: they shall deliver us from calamity! 19, 20. We speak here to all the gods that hold to their agreements, promote the order (of the universe), together with all their wives: they shall deliver us from calamity! 21. We speak to being, to the lord of being, and also to him that controls the beings; to the beings all assembled: they shall deliver us from calamity! 22. The five divine regions, the twelve divine seasons, the teeth of the year, they shall ever be propitious, to us! 23. The amrita (ambrosia), bought for the price of a chariot, which Mâtalî knows as a remedy, that Indra stored away in the waters: that, O ye waters, furnish ye as a remedy! CHARMS IN EXPIATION OF SIN AND DEFILEMENT.

1. Arise and arm yourselves, ye nebulous spectres together with fiery portents; ye serpents, other brood, and Rakshas, run ye after the enemy! 2. He knows bow to rule your kingdom together with the red portents (of the heavens). The evil brood that is in the air and the heaven, and the human (powers) upon the earth, shall be obedient to the plans of Trishamdhi! 3. The brazen-beaked (birds of prey), those with beaks pointed as a needle, and those, too, with thorny beaks, flesh-devouring, swift as the wind, shall fasten themselves upon the enemies, together with the Trishamdhi-bolt (the bolt with three joints)! 4. Make away with, O Gâtavedas Âditya, many carcasses! This army of Trishamdhi shall be devoted to my bidding! 5. Arise thou divine person, O Arbudi, together with thy army! This tribute has been offered to you (Arbudi and Trishamdhi), an offerinor pleasing to Trishamdhi. 6. This white-footed, four-footed arrow shall fetter (?) Do thou, O magic spell, operate, together with the army of Trishamdhi, against the enemies! 7. May (the mourning woman) with suffused eyes hurry on, may she that hath short (mutilated?) ears shout when (a man) has been overcome by the army of Trishamdhi! Red portents shall be (visible)! 8. May the winged birds that move in the air and in the sky descend; beasts of prey and insects shall seize upon them; the vultures that feed upon raw flesh shall hack into (their) carcasses! 9. By virtue of the compact which thou, O Brihaspati, didst close with Indra and Brahman, by virtue of that agreement with Indra, do I call hither all the gods: on this side conquer, not over yonder! 10. Brihaspati, the descendant of Angiras, and the seers, inspired by (our) song, did fix the three- jointed (Trishamdhi) weapon upon the sky for the destruction of the Asuras. 11. Trishamdhi, by whom both yonder Âditya (the sun) and Indra, are protected, the gods did destine for (our) might and strencth. 12.

The earth which the Asvins have measured, upon which Vishnu has stepped out, which Indra, the lord of might, has made friendly to himself; she, the mother, shall pour forth milk for me, the son! 11. Thy snowy mountain heights, and thy forests, O earth, shall be kind to us! The brown, the black, the red, the multi-coloured, the firm earth, that is protected by Indra, I have settled upon, not suppressed, not slain, not wounded. 12. Into thy rniddle set us, O earth, and into thy navel, into the nourishing strength that has grown tip from thy body; purify thyself for us! The earth is the mother, and I the son of the earth; Paro-anya is the father; he, too, shall save us! 13. The earth upon which they (the priests) inclose the altar (vedi), upon which they, devoted to all (holy) works, unfold the sacrifice, upon which are set up, in front of the sacrifice, the sacrificial posts, erect and brilliant, that earth shall prosper us, herself prospering! 14. Him that hates us, O earth, him that battles against us, him that is hostile towards us with his mind and his weapons, do thou subject to us, anticipating (our wish) by deed! 15. The mortals born of thee live on thee, thou supportest both bipeds and quadrupeds. Thine, O earth, are these five races of men, the mortals, upon whom the rising sun sheds undying light with his rays. 16. These creatures all together shall yield milk for us; do thou, O earth, give us the honey of speech! 17. Upon the firm, broad earth, the all-begetting mother of the plants, that is supported by (divine) law, upon her, propitious and kind, may we ever pass-our lives! 18. A great gathering-place thou, great (earth), hast become; great haste, commotion, and agitation are upon thee. Great Indra protects thee unceasingly. Do thou, O earth, cause us to brighten as if at the sight of gold: not any one shall hate us! 19.

18. O Vâkaspati, the five seasons that we have, which have come about as the creation of Visvakarman, rialit here (they and) life's breath shall be to our friend; thee, O Parameshthin, Rohita shall envelop in life and lustre! 19. O Vâkaspati, good cheer and spirit, cattle in our stable, children in our wombs beget thou! Right here life's breath shall be to our friend; thee, O Parameshthin, I envelop in life and lustre. 20. God Savitar and Agni shall envelop thee, Mitra and Varuna surround thee with lustre! Treading down all powers of grudge come thou hither: thou hast made this kingdom rich in liberal gifts. 21. Thou, O Rohita, whom the brindled cow, harnessed at the side, carries, goest with brilliance, causing the waters to flow. 22. Devoted to Rohita is Rohinî his mistress, with beautiful colour (complexion), great, and lustrous: through her may we conquer booty of every description, through her win every battle! 23. This seat, Rohinî, belongs to Rohita; yonder is the path on which the brindled (female) goes! Her the Gandharvas and the Kasyapas lead forth, her the sages guard with diligence. 24. The radiant bay steeds of the sun, the immortal, ever draw the delightful chariot. Rohita, the drinker of ghee, the shining god, did enter the variegated heavens. 25. Rohita, the sharp-horned bull, who surpasses Agni and surpasses Sûrya, who props up the earth and the sky, out of him the gods frame the creations. 26. Rohita ascended the heaven from the great flood; Rohita has climbed all heights. 27. Create (the cow) that is rich in milk, drips with ghee: she is the milch-cowof the gods that does not refuse! Indra shall drink the Soma, there shall be secure possession; Agni shall sing praises: the enemies do thou drive out! 28. Agni kindled, spreads his flames, fortified by ghee, sprinkled with ghee. Victorious, all- conquering Agni shall slay them that are my rivals! 29. He shall slay them, shall burn the enemy that battles against us!

Brahman disciple. 1. The Brahmakârin (Brahmanical disciple) moves inciting both hemispheres of the world; in him the gods are harmonised. He holds the heavens and the earth, he fills the teacher with creative fervour (tapas). 2. The fathers, the divine folk, and all the gods severally follow the Brahmakârin; the Gandharvas did go after him, six thousand three hundred and thirty-three. He fills all the gods with creative fervour. 3. When the teacher receives the Brahmakârin as a disciple, he places him as a foetus inside (of his body). He carries him for three nights in his belly: when he is born the gods gather about to see him. 4. This earth is (his first) piece of firewood, the heaven the second, and the atmosphere also he fills with (the third) piece of firewood. The Brahmakârin. fills the worlds with his firewood, his girdle, his asceticism, and his creative fervour. 5. Prior to the brahma (spiritual exaltation) the Brahmakârin was born; clothed in heat, by creative fervour he arose. From him sprung the brâhmanam (Brahmanic life) and the highest brahma, and all the gods together with immortality (amrita). 6. The Brahmakârin advances, kindled by the firewood, clothed in the skin of the black antelope, consecrated, with long beard. Within the day he passes from the eastern to the northern sea; gathering together the worlds he repeatedly shapes them. 7. The Brahmakârin, begetting the brahma, the waters, the world, Pragâpati Parameshthin (he that stands in the hiahest place), and Virâg, having become an embryo in the womb of immortality, having forsooth, become Indra, pierced the Asuras. 8. The teacher fashioned these two hern spheres of the world, the broad and the deep, earth and heaven. These the Brahmakârin guards with his creative fervour (tapas): in him the gods are harmonised. 9. This broad earth and the heaven the Brahmakârin first brought hither as alms. Having made these into two sticks of firewood he reveres them upon them all beings have been founded.

Take into thy hands, O man, the press-stones that work together: the gods that are to be revered have come to thy sacrifice! Whatever three wishes thou dost choose, I shall here procure for thee unto fulfilment. 11. This, (O winnowing-basket), is thy purpose, and this thy nature: may Aditi, mother of heroes, take hold of thee! Winnow out those who are hostile to this (woman); afford her wealth and undiminished heroes! 12. Do ye, (O grains), remain in the (winnowing-) basket, while (the wind) blows over you; be separated, ye who are fit for the sacrifice, from the chaff! May we in happiness be superior to all our equals! I bend down under our feet those that hate us. 13. Retire, O woman, and return promptly! The stable of the waters (water-vessel) has settled upon thee, that thou mayest carry it: of these (the waters) thou shalt take such as are fit for sacrifice; having intelligently divided them off, thou shalt leave the rest behind! 14. These bright women, (the waters), have come hither. Arise, thou woman, and gather strength! To thee, that art rendered by thy husband a true wife, (and) by thy children rich in offspring, the sacrifice has come: receive the (water-) vessel! 15. The share of food that belongs to you of yore has been set aside for you. Instructed by the Rishis bring thou (woman) hither this water! May this sacrifice win advancement for you, win prAection, win offspring for you; may it be mighty, win cattle, and heroes for you! 16. O Agni, the sacrificial pot has settled upon thee: do thou shining, brightly glowing, heat it with thy glow! May the divine descendants of the Rishis, assembled about their share (of the porridge), full of fervour, heat this (pot) at the proper time! 17. Pure and clear may these sacrificial women, the waters bright, flow into the pot! The), have given us abundant offspring and cattle. May he that cooks the porridge go to the world of the pious (heaven)! 18.

These pure and clear sacrificial women (the waters) I put into the hands of the Brâhmanas severally. With whatever wish I pour this upon you, may Indra. accompanied by the Maruts grant this to me! 28. This gold is my immortal light, this ripe fruit of the field is my wish-granting cow. This treasure I present to the Brâhmanas: I prepare for myself a road that leads. to the Fathers in the heavens. 29. Scatter the spelt into Agni Gâtavedas (the fire), sweep away to a far distance the chaff! This (chaff) we have heard, is the share of the ruler of the house (Agni), and we know, too, what belonos to Nirriti (destruction) as her share. 30. Note, (O porridge), him that takes pains, and cooks and presses the soma; lift him up to the heavenly road, upon which, after he has reached the fullest age, he shall ascend to the highest firmament, the supreme heavens! 31. Anoint (with ghee), O adhvaryu (priest), the surface of this sustaining (porridge), make skilfully a place for the melted butter; with ghee do thou anoint all its limbs! I prepare for myself a road that leads to the Fathers in the heavens. 32. O sustaining (porridge), cast destruction and strife among such as are sitting about thee, and are not Brâhmanas! (But) the descendants of the -Rishis, that eat thee, being full of substance, spreading forth, shall not take harm! 33. To the descendants of the Rishis I make thee over, O porridge; those who are not descended from Rishis have no share in it! May Agni as my guardian, may all the Maruts, and all the gods watch over the cooked food! 34. Thee (the porridge) that milkest the sacrifice, art evermore abundant, the male milch-cow, the seat of wealth, we beseech for immortality of off-spring and long life with abundance of wealth. 35. Thou art a lusty male, penetratest heaven: go thou to the Rishis, descended from Rishis! Dwell in the world of the pious: there is a well-prepared (place) for us two! 36. Pack thyself up, go forth!

The northerly direction shall make our realm the very uppermost, in offspring, uppermost! The purusha is the metre pahkti: with all (our kin), endowed with all their limbs, may we be united! 11. This 'firm' direction (nadir) is Virâg (brilliancy): reverence be to her; may she be kind to my children and to me! Mayest thou, O goddess Aditi, who boldest all treasures, as an alert guardian guard the cooked porridge! 12. As a father his children do thou, (O earth), embrace us; may gentle winds blow upon us here on earth! Then the porridge which the two divinities (the sacrificer and his wife) are here preparing for us shall take note of our religious fer~our and our truth! 13. Whatever the black bird, that has come hither stealthily, has touched of that ahich has stuck to the rim, or whatever the wet-banded slavegirl does pollute-may ye, O waters, purify (that) mortar and pestle! 14. May this sturdy press-stone, with broad bottom, purified by the purifiers, beat away the Rakshas! Settle upon the skin, afford firm protection; may man and wife not come to grief in their children! 15. The (pestle of) wood has come to us together with the gods: it drives away the Rakshas and Pisâkas. Up it shall rise, shall let its voice resound through it let us conquer all the worlds! 16. The cattle clothed itself in sevenfold strength, those among them that are sleek and those that are poor. The thirty-three gods attend them mayest thou, (O cattle), guide us to the heavenly world! 17. To the bright world of heaven thou shalt lead us; (there) let us be united with wife and children! I take her hand, may she follow me there; neither Nirriti (destruction), nor Arâti (grudge), shall gain mastery over us! 18. May we get past the evil Grâhi (seizure)! Casting aside darkness do thou, (O pestle), let thy lovely voice resound; do not, O wooden tool, when raised, do injury; do not mutilate the grain devoted to the gods! 19.

As the lowing cow her young that craves the breast, ye gods shall greet with sounds of satisfaction this (porridge)! 38. With ghee thou hast covered it, hast made this place (for the porridge): may it, peerless, spread afar to heaven! Upon it shall rest the mighty eagle; gods shall offer it to the divinities! 39. Whatever the wife cooks aside from thee, (O husband), or the husband (cooks) unbeknown of thee, O wife, mix that together: to both of you it shall belong; bring it together into a single place! 40. As many of her children as dwell upon the earth, and the sons that have been begotten by him, all those ye shall call up to the dish: on shall come the young knowing their nest! 41. The goodly streams, swelling with honey, mixed with ghee, the seats of ambrosia, all these does he obtain, ascends to heaven. In sixty autumns the treasurer (of the porridge) shall fetch it! 42. The treasurer shall fetch this treasure: all outsiders round about shall not control it! The heaven-directed porridge, that has been presented and deposited by us, in three divisions has reached the thrte heavens. 43. May Agni burn the ungodly Rakshas; the flesh-devouring Pisâka shall have nothing here to partake of! We drive him away, hold him afar from us: the Âdityas and Angiras shall stay near 44. To the Âdityas and the Angiras do I offer this (food of) honey, mixed with ghee. Do ye two, (man and wife), with clean hands, without having injured a Brâhmana, performing pious deeds, go to that heavenly world! 45. I would obtain this highest part of it (the porridge), the place from which the highest lord permeates (the all). Pour butter upon it, anoint it witb plentiful ghee: this here is our share, fit for the Angiras! 46. For the sake of truth and holy strength do we make over this porridge as a hoarded treasure to the gods: it shall not be lost to us in gaming or in the assembly; do not let it go to any other person before me! 47.

Thou that hast produced, art rich in offspring, thy fetters do we loosen. 14. Thou dost shelter Agni within, (and) the domestics together with the cattle. Thou that hast produced, art rich in offspring, thy fetters do we loosen. 15. The expanse which is between heaven and earth, with that do I receive as a gift this house of thine; the middle region which is stretched out from the sky, that do I make into a receptacle for treasures; with that do I receive the house for this one. 16. Full of nurture, full of milk, fixed upon the earth, erected, holding food for all, O house, do thou not injure them that receive thee as a gift! 17. Enveloped in grass, clothed in reeds, like night does the house lodge the cattle; erected thou dost stand upon the earth, like a she-elephant, firm of foot. 18. The part of thee that was covered with mats unfolding do I loosen. Thee that hast been enfolded by Varuna may Mitra uncover in the morning! 19. The house built with pious word, built by seers, erected--may Indra and Agni, the two immortals, protect the house, the seat of Soma! 20. Chest is crowded upon chest, basket upon basket; there mortal man is begotten from whom all things spring. 21. In the house which is built with two facades, four facades, six facades; in the house with eight facades, with ten facades, in the 'mistress of dwelling.' Agni rests as if in the womb. Tuirning towards thee that art turned towards me, O house, I come to thee that injurest me not. For Agni and the waters, the first door to divine order, are within. 23. These waters, free from disease, destructive of disease, do I bring here. The chambers do I enter in upon in company with the immortal Agni (fire). 24. Do thou not fasten a fetter upon us; though a heavy load, become thou light! As a bride do we carry thee, O house, wherever we please. 25. From the easterly direction of the house reverence (be) to greatness, hail to the gods who are to be addressed with hail! 26.

The disease that racks and wastes thy limbs, and the sickness in thy heart, has flown as an eagle to a far distance, overcome by my charm. 10. The two sages Alert and Watchful, the sleepless and the vigilant, these two guardians of thy life's breath, are awake both day and night. 11. Agni here is to be revered; the sun shall rise here for thee: rise thou from deep death, yea from black darkness! 12. Reverence be to Yama, reverence to death; reverence to the Fathers and to those that lead (to them) [death's messengers?] That Agni who knows the way to save do I engage for this man, that he be exempt from harm! 13. His breath shall come, his soul shall come, his sight shall come, and, too, his strength! His body shall collect itself: then shall he stand firm upon his feet! 14. Unite him, Agni, with breath and sight, provide him with a body and with strength! Thou hast a knowledge of immortality: let him not now depart, let him not now become a dweller in a house of clay! 15. Thy in-breathing shall not cease, thy outbreathing shall not vanish; Sûrya (the sun), the supreme lord, shall raise thee from death with his rays! 16. This tongue (of mine), bound (in the mouth, yet) mobile, speaks within: with it I have charmed away disease, and the hundred torments of the takman (fever). 17. This world is most dear to the gods, unconquered. For whatever death thou wast destined when thou wast born, O man, that (death) and we call after thee: do not die before old age!

1. As the wind tears this grass from the surface of the earth, thus do I tear thy soul, so that thou, woman, shalt love, shalt not be averse to me! 2. If ye, O two Asvins, shall unite and bring together the loving pair-united are the fortunes of,both of you (lovers), united the thoughts, united the purposes! 3. When birds desire to chirp, lustily desire to chirp, may my call go there, as an arrow-point upon the shaft! 4. What is within shall be without, what is without shall be within! Take captive, O herb, the, soul of the maidens endowed with every chai-m! 5. Longing for a husband this woman hath come, I have come longing for a wife, As a loudly neighing horFe I have attained to my good fortune!

1. As the creeper embraces the tree on all sides, thus do thou embrace me, so that thou, woman, shalt love me, so that thou shalt not be averse to me! 2. As the eagle when he flies forth presses his wings against the earth, thus do I fasten down thy mind, so that thou, woman, shalt love me, so that thou shalt not be averse to me. 3. As the sun day by day goes about this heaven and earth, thus do I go about thy mind, so that thou, woman, shalt love me, so that thou shalt not be: averse to me.

1. Clinging to the ground thou didst grow, (O plant), that producest bliss for me; a hundred branches extend from thee, three and thirty grow down from thee: with this plant of a thousand leaves thy heart do I parch. 2. Thy heart shall parch (with love) for me, and thy mouth shall parch (with love for me)! Languish, moreover, with love for me, with parched mouth pass thy days! 3. Thou that causest affection, kindlest (love), brown, lovely (plant), draw (us) together; draw together yonder woman and myself, our hearts make the same! 4. As the mouth of him that hath not drunk dries tip, thus languish thou with love for me, with parched mouth pass thy days! 5. As the Ichneumon tears the serpent, and joins him together again, thus, O potent (plant), join together what hath been torn by love!

1. From thy head unto thy feet do I implant (love's) longing into thee. Ye gods, send forth the yearning love: may yonder man burn after me! 2. Favour this (plan), Anumati; fit it tooether, Âkûti! Ye gods, send forth the yearning love may yonder man burn after me! 3. If thou dost run three leagues away, (or even) five leagues, the distance coursed by a horseman, from there thou shalt again return, shalt be the father of our sons!

As the press-stone on the gathering skin dances upon the soma-sboots, thus do thou, O drum, lustily dance upon the booty! 11. A conqueror of enemies, overwhelming, foe-subduing, eager for the fray, victoriously crushing, as a speaker his speech do thou carry forth thy sound; sound forth here strength for victory in battle! 12. Shaking those that are unshaken, hurrying to the strife, a conqueror of enemies, an unconquerable leader, protected by Indra, attending to the hosts, do thou that crusheth the hearts of the enemies, quickly go! V, 21 Hymn to the battle-drum, the terror of the enemy. 1. Carry with thy voice, O drum, lack of heart, and failure of courage among the enemies! Disagreement, dismay, and fright, do we place into the enemies: beat them down, O drum! 2. Agitated in their minds, their sight, their hearts, the enemies shall run, frightened with terror, when our oblation has been offered! 3. Made of wood, equipped with the skin of the cow, at home with every clan, put thou with thy voice terror into the enemies, when thou hast been anointed with ghee! 4. As the wild animals of the forest start in fear from man, thus do thou, O drum, shout against the enemies, frighten them away, and bewilder their minds! 5. As goats and sheep run from the wolf, badly frightened, thus do thou, O drum, shout against the enemies, frighten them away, and bewilder their minds! 6. As birds start in fear from the eagle, as by day and by night (they start) at the roar of the lion, thus do thou, O drum, shout against the enemies, frighten them away, and bewilder their minds! 7. With the drum and the skin of the antelope all the gods, that sway the battle, have scared away the enemies. 8. At the noise of the beat of the feet when Indra disports himself, and at his shadow, our enemies yonder, that come in successive ranks, shall tremble! 9. The whirring of the bowstring and the drums shall shout at the directions where the conquered armies of the enemies go in successive ranks! 10.

1. Do ye agree, unite yourselves, may your minds be in harmony, just as the gods of old in harmony-. sat down to their share! 2. Same be their counsel, same their assembly, same their aim, in common their thought! The 'same' oblation do I sacrifice for you: do ye enter upon the same plan! Same be your intention, same your hearts! Same be your mind, so that it may be perfectly in common to you!

Thou, O crested (god), carriest in (thy hand), that smites thousands, a yellow, golden bow that slays hundreds; Rudra's arrow, the missile of the gods, flies abroad: reverence be to it, in whatever direction from here (it flies)! 13. The adversary who lurks and seeks to overcome thee, O Rudra, upon him thou dost fasten thyself from behind, as (the hunter) that follows the trail of a wounded (animal). 14. Bhava and Rudra, united and concordant, both strong (ugrau), ye advance to deeds of heroism: reverence be to both of them, in whatever direction (they are) from here! 15. Reverence be to thee coming, reverence to thee going; reverence, O Rudra, be to thee standing, and reverence, also, to thee sitting! 16. Reverence in the evening, reverence in the morning, reverence by night,reverence byday! I have offered reverence to Bhava and to Sarva, both. 17. Let us not with our tongue offend Rudra, who rushes on, thousand-eyed, overseeing all, who hurls (his shafts) forward, who is manifoldly wise! 18. We approach first the (god) that has dark horses, is black, sable, destructive, terrible, who casts down the car of Kesin: reverence be to him! 19. Do not hurl at us thy club, thy divine bolt; be not incensed at us, O lord of cattle! Shake over some other than us the celestial branch! 20. Injure us not, interpose for us, spare us, be not angry with us! Let us not contend with thee! 21. Do not covet our cattle, our men, our goats and sheep! Bend thy course elsewhere, O strong god (ugra), slay the offspring of the blasphemers! 22. He whose missile, fever and cough, assails the single (victim), as the snorting of a stallion, who snatches away (his victims) one by one, to him be reverence! 23. He who dwells fixed in the atmosphere, smiting the blasphemers of the god that do not sacrifice, to him be reverence with ten sakvarî-stanzas! 24. For thee the wild beasts of the forest have been placed in the forest: flamingoes, eagles, birds of prey, and fowls.

We shout to the hero with hymn and song we (shout) with a pleasing song. Take delight in our songs; may we not ever suffer harm! COSMOGONIC AND THEOSOPHIC HYMNS.

1. Truth, greatness, universal order (rita), strength. consecration, creative fervour (tapas), spiritual exaltation (brahma), the sacrifice, support the earth. May this earth, the mistress of that which was and shall be, prepare for us a broad domain! 2. The earth that has heights, and slopes, and great plains, that supports the plants of manifold virtue, free from the pressure that comes from the midst of men, she shall spread out for us, and fit. herself for us! 3. The earth upon which the sea, and the rivers and the waters, upon which food and the tribes of men have arisen, upon which this breathing, moving life exists, shall afford us precedence in drinking! 4. The earth whose are the four regions of space, upon which food and the tribes of men have arisen, which supports the manifold breathing, moving things, shall afford us cattle and other possessions also! 5. The earth upon which of old the first men unfolded themselves, upon which the gods overcame the Asuras, shall procure for us (all) kinds of cattle, horses, and fowls, good fortune, and glory! 6. The earth that supports all, furnishes wealth, the foundation, the golden-breasted resting-place of all living creatures, she that supports Agni Vaisvânara (the fire), and mates with Indra, the bull, shall furnish us with property! 7. The broad earth, which the sleepless gods ever attentively guard, shall milk for us precious honey, and, moreover, besprinkle us with glory! 8. That earth which formerly was water upon the ocean (of space), which the wise (seers) found out by their skilful devices; whose heart is in the highest heaven, immortal, surrounded by truth, shall bestow upon us brilliancy and strength, (and place us) in supreme sovereignty! 9. That earth upon which the attendant waters jointly flow by day and night unceasingly, shall pour out milk for us in rich streams, and, moreover, besprinkle us with glory! 10.