Atharva Veda on Healing

1. Headache and suffering in the head, pain in the ears and flow of blood, every disease of the head, do we charm forth from thee. 2. From thy ears, from thy kankûshas the earpain, and the neuralgia--every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee. 3. (With the charm) through whose agency disease hastens forth from the ears and the mouth- every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee. 4. (The disease) that renders a man deaf and blind--every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee. 5. Pain in the limbs, fever in the limbs, the neuralgia that affects every limb-every disease of the head do we charm forth from thee. 6. (The disease) whose frightful aspect makes man tremble, the takman (fever) that comes every autumn, do we charm forth from thee. 7. The disease that creeps along the thighs, and then enters the canals, out of thy inner parts do we charm forth. 8. If from the heart, from love, or from disgust, it arises, from thy heart and from thy limbs the balâsa do we charm forth. 9. Jaundice from thy limbs, diarrhoea from within thy bowels, the core of disease from thy inner soul do we charm forth. 10. To ashes (âsa) the balâsa shall turn; what is diseased shall turn to urine! The poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from thee. 11. Outside the opening (of the bladder) it shall run off; the rumbling shall pass from thy belly! The poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from thee. 12. From thy belly, lungs, navel, and heart-the poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from 13. (The pains) that split the crown (of the head), pierce the head, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)! 14. They that pierce the heart, creep along the ribs, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)! 15.

1. The gods are free from decrepitude; thou, O Agni, art removed from the demon of hostility. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life. 2. (Vâyu), the purifying (wind), shall free thee from misfortune, Sakra (Indra) from evil sorcery! I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life. 3. The tame (village) animals are separate from the wild (forest animals); the water has flowed apart from thirst. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life. 4. Heaven and earth here go apart; the paths go in every direction. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life. 5. 'Tvashtar is preparing a wedding for his daughter,' thus (saying) does this whole world pass through. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life. 6. Agni unites (life's) breaths, the moon is united with (life's) breath. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life. 7. By means of (life's) breath the gods aroused the everywhere mighty sun. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life. 8. Live thou by the (life's) breath of them that have life, and that create life; do not die! I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life. 9. Breathe thou with the (life's) breath of those that breathe; do not die! I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life. 10. Do thou (rise) up with life, unite thyself with life, (rise) up with the sap of the plants! I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life. 11. From the rain of Parganya we have risen up, immortal. I free thee from all evil and disease, (and) unite thee with life.

1. From thy eyes, thy nostrils, ears, and chin--the disease which is seated in thy head--from thy brain and tongue I do tear it out. 2. From thy neck, nape of the neck, ribs, and spine--the disease which is seated in thy fore-arm-- from thy shoulders and arms I do tear it out. 3. From thy heart, thy lungs, viscera, and sides; from thy kidneys, spleen, and liver we do tear out the disease. 4. From thy entrails, canals, rectum, and abdomen; from thy belly, guts, and navel I do tear out the disease. 5. From thy thighs, knees, heels, and the tips of thy feet--from thy hips I do tear out the disease seated in thy buttocks, from thy bottom the disease seated in thy buttocks. 6. From thy bones, marrow, sinews and arteries; from thy hands, fingers, and nails I do tear out the disease. 7. The disease that is in thy every limb, thy every hair, thy every joint; that which is seated in thy skin, with Kasyapa's charm, that tears out, to either side we do tear it out.

1. This barley they did plough vigorously, with yokes of eight and yokes of six. With it I drive off to a far distance the ailment from thy body. 2. Downward blows the wind, downward burns the sun, downward the cow is milked: downward shall thy ailment pass! 3. The waters verily are healing, the waters chase away disease, the waters cure all (disease): may they prepare a remedy for thee!

varana-tree. 1. This divine tree, the varana, shall shut out (vârayâtai). The gods, too, have shut out (avîvaran) the disease that hath entered into this man! 2. By Indra's command, by Mitra's and by Varuna's, by the command of all the gods do we shut out thy disease. 3. As Vritra did bold fast these ever-flowing waters, thus do I shut out (vâraye) disease from thee with (the help of) Agni Vaisvânara.

universal remedy. 1. The plants that are brown, and those that are white; the red ones and the speckled ones; the sable and the black plants, all (these) do we invoke. 2. May they protect this man from the disease sent by the gods, the herbs whose father is the sky, whose mother is the earth, whose root is the ocean. 3. The waters and the heavenly plants are foremost; they have driven out from every limb thy disease, consequent upon sin. 4. The plants that spread forth, those that are busby, those that have a single sheath, those that creep along, do I address; I call in thy behalf the plants that have shoots, those that have stalks, those that divide their branches, those that are derived from all the gods, the strong (plants) that furnish life to man. 5. With the might that is yours, ye mighty ones, with the power and strength that is yours, with that do ye, O plants, rescue this man from this disease! I now prepare a remedy. 6. The plants givalâ ('quickening'), na-ghâ-rishâ ('forsooth-no-harm'), gîvanti ('living'), and the arundhatî, which removes (disease), is full of blossoms, and rich in honey, do I call to exempt him from injury. 7. Hither shall come the intelligent (plants) that understand my speech, that we may bring this man into safety out of misery! 8. They that are the food of Agni (the fire), the offspring of the waters, that grow ever renewing themselves, the firm (plants) that bear a thousand names, the healing (plants), shall be brought hither! 9. The plants, whose womb is the avaki (blyxa octandra), whose essence are the waters, shall with their sharp horns thrust aside evil! 10. The plants which release, exempt from Varuna (dropsy), are strong, and destroy poison; those, too, that remove (the disease) baldsa, and ward off witchcraft shall come hither!' 11. The plants that have been bought, that are right potent, and are praised, shall protect in this village cow, horse, man, and cattle! 12.

shoulders. 1. The five and fifty (sores) that gather together upon the nape of the neck, from here they all shall pass away, as the pustules of the (disease called) apakit! 2. The seven and seventy (sores) that gather together upon the neck, from here they all shall pass away, as the pustules of the (disease called) apakit! 3. The nine and ninety (sores) that gather together upon the shoulders, from here they all shall pass away, as the pustules of the (disease called) apakit!

undertaken with spring-water. 1. The spring-water yonder which runs down upon the mountain, that do I render healing for thee, in order that thou mayest contain a potent remedy. 2. Then surely, yea quite surely, of the hundred remedies contained in thee, thou art the most superior in checking discharges and removing pain. 3. Deep down do the Asuras bury this great healer of wounds: that is the cure for discharges, and thal hath removed disease. 4. The ants bring the remedy from the sea: that is the cure for discharges, and that hath quieted disease. 5. This great healer of wounds has been gotten out of the earth: that is the cure for discharges, that hath removed disease. 6. May the waters afford us welfare, may the herbs be propitious to us I Indra's bolt shall beat off the Rakshas, far (from us) shall fly the arrows cast by the Rakshas!

They that pierce the sides, bore along the ribs, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)! 16. They that pierce crosswise, burrow in thy abdomen, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)! 17. They that creep along the rectum, twist the bowels, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)! 18. They that suck the marrow, and split the joints, without doing injury, without causing disease, they shall run off outside the opening (of the bladder)! 19. The diseases and the injuries that paralyse thy limbs, the poison of all diseases I have charmed forth from thee. 20. Of neuralgia, of abscesses, of inflation, or of inflammation of the eyes, the poison of all diseases I have driven forth from thee. 21. From thy feet, knees, thighs, and bottom; from thy spine, and thy neck the piercing pains, from thy head the ache I have removed. 22. Firm are the bones of thy skull, and the beat of thy heart. At thy rising, O sun, thou didst remove the pains of the head, quiet the pangs in the limbs.

1. Release for me, O Agni, this person here, who, bound and well-secured, loudly jabbers! Then shall he have due regard for thy share (of the offering), when he shall be free from madness! 2. Agni shall quiet down thy mind, if it has been disturbed! Cunningly do I prepare a remedy, that thou shalt be freed from madness. 3. (Whose mind) has been maddened by the sin of the gods, or been robbed of sense by the Rakshas, (for him) do I cunningly prepare a remedy, that he shall be free from madness. 4. May the Apsaras restore thee, may Indra, may Bhaga restore thee; may all the gods restore thee, that thou mayest be freed from madness!

ten kinds of wood. 1. O (amulet) of ten kinds of wood, release this man from the demon (rakshas) and the fit (grâhi) which has seized upon.(gagrâha) his joints! Do thou, moreover, O plant, lead him forth to the world of the living! 2. He has come, he has gone forth, he has joined the community of the living. And he has become the father of sons, and the most happy of men! 3. This person has come to his senses, he has come to the cities of the living. For he (now) has a hundred physicians, and also a thousand herbs. 4. The gods have found thy arrangement, (O amulet); the Brahmans, moreover, the plants. All the gods have found thy arrangement upon the earth. 5. (The god) that has caused (disease) shall perform the cure; he is himself the best physician. Let him indeed, the holy one, prepare remedies for thee, together with the (earthly) physician!

1. Upon the head of the nimble antelope a remedy grows! He has driven the kshetriya (inherited disease) in all directions by means of the horn. 2. The antelope has gone after thee with his four feet. O horn, loosen the kshetriya that is knitted into his heart! 3. (The horn) that glistens yonder like a roof with four wings (sides), with that do we drive out every kshetriya from thy limbs. 4. The lovely twin stars, the vikritau ('the two looseners') that are yonder upon the sky, shall loosen the nethermost and the uppermost fetter of the kshetriya! 5. The waters, verily, are healers, the waters are scatterers of disease, the waters cure all disease: may they. relieve thee from the kshetriya! 6. The kshetriya that has entered into thee from the prepared (magic) concoction, for that I know the remedy; I drive the kshetriya out of thee. 7. When the constellations fade away, and when the dawn does fade away, (then) shall he shine away from us every evil and the kshetriya!

of fractures. 1. Rohan! art thou, causing to heal (rohanî), the broken bone thou causest to heal (rohanî): cause this here to heal (rohaya), O arundhatî! 2. That bone of thine which, injured and burst, exists in thy person, Dhâtar shall kindly knit together again, joint with joint! 3. Thy marrow shall unite with marrow, and thy joint (unite) with joint; the part of thy flesh that has fallen off, and thy bone shall grow together again! 4. Thy marrow shall be joined together with marrow, thy skin grow together with skin! Thy blood, thy bone shall grow, thy flesh grow together with flesh! 5. Fit together hair with hair, and fit together skin with skin! Thy blood, thy bone shall grow: what is cut join thou together, O plant! 6. Do thou here rise up, go forth, run forth, (as) a chariot with sound wheels, firm feloe, and strong nave; stand upright firmly! 7. If he has been injured by falling into a pit, or if a stone was cast and hurt him, may he (Dhâtar, the fashioner) fit him together, joint to joint, as the wagoner (Ribhu) the parts of a chariot!

1. The heavens have stood still, the earth has stood still, all creatures have stood still. The trees that sleep erect have stood still: may this disease of thine stand still! 2. Of the hundred remedies which thou hast, of the thousand that have been collected, this is the most excellent cure for discharges, the best remover of disease. 3. Thou art the urine of Rudra, the navel of amrita (ambrosia). Thy name, forsooth, is vishânakâ, (thou art) arisen from the foundation of the Fathers, a remover of diseases produced by the winds (of the body).

Neither the plants of olden times, nor they of recent times, surpass thee; a fierce slayer is the gahaida, and a happy refuge. 8 And when, O gangida of boundless virtue, thou didst spring up in the days of yore, O fierce (plant), Indra at first placed strength in thee. 9. Fierce Indra, verily, put might into thee, O lord of the forest! Dispersing all diseases, slay thou the Rakshas, O plant! I o. The breaking disease and the tearing disease, the balâsa, and the pain in the limbs, the takman that comes every autumn, may the gangida render devoid of force!

1. Thou that art born upon the mountains, as the most potent of plants, come hither, O kushtha, destroyer of the takman, to drive out from here the takman! 2. To thee (that growest) upon the mountain, the brooding-place of the eagle, (and) art sprung from Himavant, they come with treasures, having heard (thy fame). For they know (thee to be) the destroyer of the takman. 3. The asvattha-tree is the seat of the gods in the third heaven from here. There the gods procured the kushtha, the visible manifestation of amrita (ambrosia). 4. A golden ship with golden tackle moved upon the heavens. There the gods procured the kushtha, the flower of amrita (ambrosia). 5. The paths were golden, and golden were the oars; golden were the ships, upon which they carried forth the kushtha hither (to the mountain). 6. This person here, O kushtha, restore for me, and cure him! Render him free from sickness for 7. Thou art born of the gods, thou art Soma's good friend. Be thou propitious to my in-breathing and my out-breathing, and to this eye of mine! 8. Sprung in the north from the Himavant (mountains), thou art brought to the people in the east. There the most stiperior varieties of the kushtha were apportioned. 9. 'Superior,' O kushtha, is thy name; 'superior' is the name of thy father. Do thou drive out all disease, and render the takman devoid of strength! 10. Pain in the head, affliction in the eye, and ailment of the body, all that shall the kushtha heal- a divinely powerful (remedy), forsooth!

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. 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.

transmission of disease. 1. In the essence of earthly bliss, O ye gods, in strength of body (may he live)! May Agni, Sûrya, Brihaspati bestow upon him life's vigour! 2. Give life to him, O Gâtavedas, bestow in addition progeny upon him, O Tvashtar; procure, O Savitar, increase of wealth for him; may this one, who belongs to thee, live a hundred autumns! 3. May our prayer bestow upon us vigour, and possession of sound. progeny; ability and property do ye two, (O heaven and earth), bestow upon us!, May he, conquering lands with might, (live), O Indra, subjecting the others, his enemies! 4. Given by Indra, instructed by Varuna, sent by the Maruts, strong, he has come to us; may he, in the lap of ye two, heaven and earth, not suffer from hunger and not from thirst! 5. Strength may ye two, that are rich in strength, bestow upon him; milk may ye two, that are rich in milk, bestow upon him! Strength heaven and earth did bestow upon him; strength all the gods, the Maruts, and the waters. 6. With the gracious (waters) do I delight thy heart, mayest thou, free from disease, full of force, rejoice! Clothed in the same garment do ye two drink this stirred drink, taking on as a magic form the shape of the two Asvins! 7. Indra, having been wounded, first created this vigour, and this ever fresh divine food: that same belongs to thee. By means of that do thou, full of force, live (a hundred) autumns; may it not flow out of thee: physicians have prepared it for thee! PRAYERS FOR LONG LIFE AND HEALTH (ÂYUSHYÂNI).

of disease, called kanva. 1. The goddess Prisniparnî has prepared prosperity for us, mishap for Nirriti (the goddess of destruction). For she is a fierce devourer of the Kanvas: her, the mighty, have I employed. 2. The Prisniparnî was first begotten powerful; with her do I lop off the heads of the evil brood, as (the head) of a bird. 3. The blood-sucking demon, and him that tries to rob (our) health, Kanva, the devourer of our offspring, destroy, O Prisniparnî, and overcome! 4. These Kanvas, the effacers of life, drive into the mountain; go thou burning after them like fire, O goddess Prisniparnî! 5. Drive far away these Kanvas, the effacers of life! Where the dark regions are, there have I made these flesh-eaters go.

Brahmans. 1. 'I give,' he shall surely say,'the sterile cow to the begging Brahmans'--and they have noted her- -that brings progeny and offspring! 2. With his offspring does he trade, of his cattle is he deprived, that refuses to give the cow of the gods to the begging descendants of the Rishis. 3. Through (the gift of) a cow with broken horns his (cattle) breaks down, through a lame one he tumbles into a pit, through a mutilated one his house is burned, through a one-eyed one his property is given away. 4. Flow of blood attacks the cattle-owner from the spot where her dung is deposited: this understanding there is about the vasâ (the sterile cow); for thou (sterile cow) art said to be very difficult to deceive! 5. From the resting-place of her feet the (disease) called viklindu overtakes (the owner, or the cattle). Without sickness breaks down (the cattle) which she sniffs upon with her nose. 6. He that pierces her ears is estranged from the gods. He thinks: 'I am making a mark (upon her),' (but) he diminishes his own property. 7. If any one for whatsoever purpose cuts her tail then do his colts die, and the wolf tears his calves. 8. If a crow has injured her hair, as long as she is with her owner then do his children die: decline overtakes them without (noticeable) sickness. 9. If the serving-maid sweeps together her dung, that bites as lye, there arises from this sin disfigurement that passeth not away. 10. The sterile cow in her very birth is born for the gods and Brâhmanas. Hence to the Brahmans she is to be given: that, they say, guarantees the security of one's own property. 11. For those that come requesting her the cow has been created by the gods. Oppression of Brahmans it is called, if he keeps her for himself. 12. He that refuses to give the cow of the gods to the descendants of the Rishis who ask for it, infringes upon the gods, and the wrath of the Brâhmanas. 13. Though he derives benefit from this sterile cow, another (cow) then shall he seek!

From that death, the lord of cattle, do I rescue thee: do not fear! 24. Free from harm thou shalt not die; thou shalt not die: do not fear! Verily, they do not die there, they do not go to the nethermost darkness;-- 25. Verily, every creature lives there, the cow, the horse, and man, where this charm is performed, as the (protecting) barrier for life. 26. May it preserve thee from sorcery, from thy equals and thy kin! Undying be, immortal, exceedingly vital; thy spirits shall not abandon thy body! 27. From the one and a hundred deaths, from the dangers that are surmountable, from that Agai Vaisvânara (the funeral pyre?) may the gods deliver thee! 28. Thou, the remedy called p6tudru, art the body of Agni, the deliverer, slayer of Rakshas, slayer of rivals, moreover thou chasest away disease. V. 30. Prayer for exemption from disease and death. 1. From near thy vicinity, from near thy distance (do I call): remain here, do not follow; do not follow the Fathers of yore! Firmly do I fasten thy life's breath. 2. Whatever sorcery any kinsman or stranger has practised against thee, both release and deliverance with my voice do I declare for thee. 3. If thou hast deceived or cursed a woman or a man in thy folly, both release and deliverance with my voice do I declare for thee. 4. If thou liest (ill) in consequence of a sin committed by thy mother or thy father, both release and deliverance with my voice do I declare for thee. 5. Fight shy of the medicine which thy mother and thy father, thy sister and thy brother let out against thee: I shall cause thee to live unto old age! 6. Remain here, O man, with thy entire soul; do not follow the two messengers of Yama: come to the abodes of the living! 7. Return when called, knowing the outlet of the path (death), the ascent, the advance, the road of every living man! 8. Fear not, thou shalt not die: I shall cause thee to live unto old age! I have charmed away from thy limbs the disease that wastes the limbs. 9.

1. When, O Brihaspati, thou didst liberate (us) from existence in yonder world of Yama, (and) from hostile schemes, then did the Asvins, the physicians of the gods, with might sweep death from us, O Agni! 2. O in-breathing and out-breathing, go along with the body, do not leave it: may they be thy allies here! Live and thrive a hundred autumns; Agni shall be thy most excellent shepherd and overseer! 3. Thy vital force that has been dissipated afar, thy in-breathing and thy out-breathing, shall come back again! Agni has snatched them from the lap of Nirriti (the goddess of destruction), and I again introduce them into thy person. 4. Let not his in-breathing desert him, nor his out-breathing quit him and depart! I commit him to the Seven Rishis: may they convey him in health to old age! 5. Enter, O in-breathing and out-breathing, like two bulls into a stable: this person shall here flourish, an unmolested repository for old age! 6. Life's breath we do drive into thee, disease we do drive away from thee. May this excellent Agni endow us with life from every source! 7. Ascending from the darkness of death to the highest firmament, to Sûrya (the sun), the god among gods, we have reached the highest light.

1. [Neither diseases, nor yet a curse, enters this person, O arundhatî!] From him that is penetrated by the sweet fragrance of the healing bdellium, diseases flee in every direction, as antelopes and as horses run. 2. Whether, O bdellium, thou comest from the Sindhu (Indus), or whether thou art derived from the sea, I have seized the qualities of both, that this person shall be exempt from harm.

1. Right here do I erect a firm house: may it stand upon a (good) foundation, dripping with ghee! Thee may we inhabit, O house, with heroes all, with strong heroes, with uninjured heroes! 2. Right here, do thou, O house, stand firmly, full of horses, full of cattle, full of abundance! Full of sap, ful.] of ghee, full of milk, elevate thyself unto great happiness! 3. A supporter art thou, O house, with broad roof, containing purified grain! To thee may the calf come, to thee the child, to thee the milch-cows, when they return in the evening! 4. May Savitar, Vâyu, Indra, Brihaspati cunningly erect this house! Alay the Alaruts sprinkle it with moisture and with ghee; may king Bhaga let our ploughing take root! 5. O mistress of dwelling, as a sheltering and kindly goddess thou wast erected by the gods in the bealrinina; clothed in grass, be thou kindly disposed; give us, moreover, wealth along with heroes! 6. Do thou, O cross-beam, according to regulation ascend the post, do thou, mightily ruling, hold off the enemies! May they that approach thee reverently, O house, not suffer injury, may we with all our heroes live a hundred autumns! 7. Hither to this (house) hath come the tender child, hither the calf along with (the other) domestic animals; hither the vessel (full) of liquor, together with bowls of sour milk! 8. Carry forth, O woman, this full jar, a stream of ghee mixed with ambrosia! Do thou these drinkers supply with ambrosia; the sacrifice and the gifts (to the Brahmans) shall it (the house) protect! 9. These waters, free from disease, destructive of disease, do I carry forth. The chambers do I enter in upon together with the immortal Agni (fire).

1. Thy foremost protection, O Arundhatî, do thou bestow upon steer and milch-kine, upon (cattle of) the age when weaned from their mother, upon (all) four-footed creatures! 2. May Arundhatî, the herb, bestow protection along with the gods, render full of sap the stable, free from disease our men! 3. The variegated, lovely, life-giving (plant) do I invoke. May she carry away for us, far from the cattle, the missile hurled by Rudra!

against diseases and demons. 1. Unto long life and great delights, for ever unharmed and vigorous, do we wear the gangida, as an amulet destructive of the vishkandha. 2. From convulsions, from tearing pain, from vishkandha, and from torturing pain, the gangida shall protect us on all sides--an amulet of a thousand virtues! 3. This gangida conquers the vishkandha, and smites the Atrin (devouring demons); may this all- healing gangida protect us from adversity! 4. By means of the invigorating gangida, bestowed by the gods as an amulet, do we conquer in battle the vishkandha and all the Rakshas. 5. May the hemp and may gangida protect me against vishkandha! The one (gangida) is brought hither from the forest, the other (hemp) from the sap of the furrow. 6. Destruction of witchcraft is this amulet, also destruction of hostile powers: may the powerful gangida therefore extend far our lives! XIX, 34, Charm with an amulet derived from the gafigpida- tree, aoainst diseases and demons. 1. Thou art an Angiras, O gangida, a protector art thou, O gangida. All two-footed and four- footed creatures that belong to us the gangida shall protect! 2. The sorceries fifty-three in number, and the hundred performers of sorcery, all these having lost their force, the gangida shall render bereft of strength! 3. Bereft of strength is the gotten-up clamour, bereft of strength are the seven debilitating (charms). Do thou, O gangida, hurl away from here poverty, as an archer an arrow! 4. This gangida is a destroyer of witchcraft, and also a destroyer of hostile powers. May then the powerful gangida extend far our lives! 5. May the greatness of the gangida protect us about on all sides, (the greatness) with which he has overcome the vishkandha (and) the samskandha, (overcoming the powerful (disease) with power! 6. Thrice the gods begot thee that hast grown up upon the earth. The Brahmanas of yore knew thee here by the name of Angiras. 7.

1. The heavens have stood, the earth has stood, all creatures have stood. The mountains have stood upon their foundation, the horses in the stable I have caused to stand. 2. Him that has control of departure, that has control of coming home, return, and turning in, that shepherd do I also call. 3. O Gâtavedas (Agni), cause thou to turn ill; a hundred way's hither shall be thine, a thousand modes of return shall be thine: with these do thou restore us again!

Honied are the roots of these herbs, honied their tops, honied their middles, honied their leaves, honied their blossoms; they share in honey, are the food of immortality. May they yield ghee, and food, and cattle chief of all! 13. As many in number and in kind the plants here are upon the earth, may they, furnished with a thousand leaves, release me from death and misery! 14. Tiger-like is the amulet (made of) herbs, a saviour, a protector against hostile schemes: may it drive off far away from us all diseases and the Rakshas! 15. As if at the roar of the lion they start with fright, as if (at the roar) of fire they tremble before the (plants) that have been brought hither. The diseases of cattle and men have been driven out by the herbs: let them pass into navigable streams! 16. The plants release us from Agni Vaisvânara. Spreading over the earth, go ye, whose king is the tree! 17. The plants, descended from Angiras, that grow upon the mountains and in the plains, shall be for us rich in milk, auspicious, comforting to the heart! 18. The herbs which I know, and those which I see with my sight; the unknown, those which we know, and those which we perceive to be charged with (power),-- 19. All plants collectively shall note my words, that we may bring this man into safety out of misfortune,-- 20. The asvattha (ficus religiosa), and the darbha among the plants; king Soma, amrita (ambrosia) and the oblation; rice and barley, the two healing, immortal children of heaven! 21. Ye arise: it is thundering and crashing, ye plants, since Parganya (the god of rain) is favouring you, O children of Prisni (the spotted cloud), with (his) seed (water). 22. The strength of this amrita (ambrosia) do we crive this man to drink. Moreover, I prepare a remedy, that he may live a hundred years! 23. The boar knows, the ichneumon knows the healing plant. Those that the serpents and Gandharvas know, I call hither for help. 24.

1. Of the abscess, of the balâsa, of flow of blood, O plant; of neuralgia, O herb, thou shalt not leave even a speck! 2. Those two boils (testicles) of thine, O balasa, that are fixed upon the arm-pits-I know the remedy for that: the kîpudru-tree takes care of it. 3. The neuralgia that is in the limbs, that is in the ears and in the eyes-we tear them out, the neuralgia, the abscess, and the pain in the heart. That unknown disease do we drive away downward.

1. The internal disease that has set in, that crumbles the bones, and crumbles the joints, every balâsa do thou drive out, that which is in the limbs, and in the joints! 2. The balâsa of him that is afflicted with balâsa do I remove, as one gelds a lusty animal. Its connection do I cut off as the root of a pumpkin. 3. Fly forth from here, O balâsa, as a swift foal (after the mare). And even, as the reed in every year, pass away without slaying men!

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.

1. This, verily, is a remedy, this is the remedy of Rudra, with which one may charm away the arrow that has one shaft and a hundred points! 2. With gâlâsha (urine) do ye wash (the tumour), with gâlâsha do ye sprinkle it! The gâlâsha is a potent remedy: do thou (Rudra) with it show mercy to us, that we may live! 3. Both well-being and comfort shall be ours, and nothing whatever shall injure us! To the ground the disease (shall fall): may every remedy be ours, may all remedies be ours!

1. The pepper-corn cures the wounds that have been struck by missiles, it also cures the wounds from stabs. Anent it the gods decreed: 'Powerful to secure life this (plant) shall be!' 2. The pepper-corns spake to one another, as they came out, after having been created: 'He whom we shall find (as yet) alive, that man shall not suffer harm!' 3. The Asuras did dig thee into the ground, the gods cast thee up again, as a cure for disease produced by wind (in the body), moreover as a cure for wounds struck by missiles.

1. On Trita the gods wiped off this sin, Trita wiped it off on human beings; hence if Grâhi (attack of disease) has seized thee, may these gods remove her by means of their charm! 2. Enter into the rays, into smoke, O sin; go into the vapours, and into the fog! Lose thyself on the foam of the river! 'Wipet off, O Pûshan, the misdeeds upon him that practiseth abortion! 3. Deposited in twelve places is that which has been wiped off Trita, the sins belonging to humanity. Hence if Grâhi has seized thee, may these gods remove her by means of their charm!

1. We know the father of the arrow, Parg-anya, who furnishes bountiful fluid, and well do we know his mother, Prithivi (earth), the multiform! 2. O bowstring, turn aside from us, turn my body into stone! Do thou firmly hold very far away the hostile powers and the haters! 3. When the bowstring, embracing the wood (of the bow), greets with a whiz the eaoer arrow, do thou, O Indra, ward off from us the piercing missile! 4. As the point (of the arrow) stands in the way of heaven and earth, thus may the muñga-grass unfailingly stand in the way of sickness and (excessive) discharge!

1. Up have risen the majestic twin stars, the vikritau ('the two looseners'); may they loosen the nethermost and the uppermost fetter of the kshetriya (inherited disease)! 2. May this night shine (the kshetriya) away, may she shine away the witches; may the plant, destructive of kshetriya, shine the kshetriya away! 3. With the straw of thy brown barley, endowed with white stalks, with the blossom of the sesame--may the plant, destructive of kshetriya, shine the: kshetriya away! 4. Reverence be to thy ploughs, reverence to thy wagon-poles and yokes! May the plant, destructive of kshetriya, shine the kshetriya away! 5. Reverence be to those with sunken eyes reverence to the indicenous (evils?), reverence to the lord of the field! May the plant, destructive of kshetriya, shine the kshetriya away!

over an older. 1. May this (younger brother) not slay the oldest one of them, O Agni; protect him that he be not torn out by the root! Do thou here cunningly loosen the fetter of Grâhi (attack of disease); may all the gods give thee leave! 2. Free these three, O Agni, from the three fetters with which they have been shackled! Do thou cunningly loosen the fetters of Grâhi; release them all, father, sons, and mother! 3. The fetters with which the older brother, whose younger brother has married before him, has been bound, with which he has been encumbered and shackled limb by limb, may they be loosened; since fit for loosening they are! Wipe off, O Pûshan, the misdeeds upon him that practiseth abortion!

She whom Visvakarman (the creator of all) did search out by means of oblations, when she had entered the surging (flood of the) atmosphere, she, the vessel destined to nourish, deposited in a secret place, became visible (to the gods) and the (heavenly) mothers. 61. Thou art the scatterer of men, the broadly expanding Aditi that yields milk according to wish. What is wanting in thee Pragâpati, first-born of the divine order (rita), shall supply for thee 62. Thy laps, O earth, free from ailment! Free from disease, shall be produced for us! May we attentively, throuoh our long lives, be bearers of bali-offerings to thee! 63. O mother earth, kindly set me down upon a well-founded place! With (father) heaven cooperating, O thou wise one, do thou place me into happiness and prosperity!

The plants, derived from the Angiras, which the eagles and the heavenly raghats (falcons) know, which the birds and the flamingos know, which all winged (creatures) know, which all wild animals know, I call hither for help. 25. As many plants as the oxen and kine, as many as the goats and the sheep feed upon, so many plants, when applied, shall furnish protection to thee! 26. As many (plants), as the human physicians know to contain a remedy, so many, endowed with every healing quality, do I apply to thee! 27. Those that have flowers, those that have blossoms, those that bear fruit, and those that are without fruit, as if from the same mother they shall suck sap, to exempt this man from injury! 28. 1 have saved thee from a depth of five fathoms, and, too, from a depth of ten fathoms; moreover, from the foot-fetter of Yama, and from every sin against the gods.

1. With a firmly founded stable, with wealth, with well-being, with the name of that which is born on a lucky day do we unite you (O cattle)! 2. May Aryaman unite you, may Pûshan, Brihaspati, and Indra, the conqueror of booty, unite you! Do ye prosper my possessions! Flocking together without fear, making ordure in this stable, holding honey fit for soma, free from disease, ye shall come hither! 4. Right here come, ye cows, and prosper here like the sakâ-bird! And right here do ye beget (your youn(y)! May ye be in accord with me! 5. May your stable be auspicious to you, prosper ye like the sâri-birds and parrots! And right here do ye beget (your young)! With us do we unite you. 6. Attach yourselves, O cows, to me as your possessor; may this stable here cause you to prosper! Upon you, growing numerous, and living, may we, increasing in wealth, alive, attend!

as hostile to men, cattle, and home. 1. Nissâlâ, the bold, the greedy demon (?dhishana), and (the female demon) with long-drawn howl, the bloodthirsty; all the daughters of Kanda, the Sadânvâs do we destroy. 2. We drive you out of the stable, out of the axle (of the wagon), and the body of the wagon; we chase you, O ye daughters of Magundî, from the house. 3. In yonder house below, there the grudging demons (arâyî) shall exist; there ruin shall prevail, and all the witches! 4. May (Rudra), the lord of beings, and Indra. drive forth from here the Sadânvâs; those that am seated on the foundation of the house Indra shall overcome with his thunderbolt! 5. Whether ye belong to (the demons) of inherited disease, whether ye have been dispatched by men, or whether ye have originated from the Dasyus (demon-like aborigines), vanish from here, O ye Sadânvâs! 6. About their dwelling-places I did swiftly course, as if on a race-course. I have won all contests with you: vanish from here, O ye Sadânvâs!

life and prosperity. 1. Born of the wind, the atmosphere, the lightning, and the light, may this pearl shell, born of gold, protect us from straits! 2. With the shell which was born in the sea, at the head of bright substances, we slay the Rakshas and conquer the Atrins (devouring demons). 3. With the shell (we conquer) disease and poverty; with the shell, too, the Saânvâs. The shell is our universal remedy; the pearl shall protect us from straits! 4. Born in the heavens, born in the sea, brought on from the river (Sindhu), this shell, born of gold, is our life-prolonging amulet. 5. The amulet, born from the sea, a sun, born from Vritra (the cloud), shall on all sides protect us from the missiles of the gods and the Asuras! 6. Thou art one of the golden substances, thou art born from Soma (the moon). Thou art sightly on the chariot, thou art brilliant on the quiver. [May it prolong our lives!] 7. The bone of the gods turned into pearl; that, animated, dwells in the waters. That do I fasten upon thee unto life, lustre, strength, longevity, unto a life lasting a hundred autumns, May the (amulet) of pearl protect thee!

demons, and enemies. 1. We take hold, O victorious one, of thee, the mistress of remedies. I have made thee a thing of thousandfold strength for ever), one, O plant! 2. Her, the unfailingly victorious one, that wards off curses, that is powerful and defensive; (her and) all the plants have I assembled, intending that she shall save us from this (trouble)! 3. The woman who has cursed us with a curse, who has arranged dire misfortune (for us), who has taken hold of our children, to rob them of their strengthmay she eat (her own) offspring! 4. The magic spell which they have put into the unburned vessel, that which they have put into the blue and red thread, that which they have put into raw flesh, with these slay thou those that have prepared the spell! 5. Evil dreams, troubled life, Rakshas, gruesomeness, and grudging demons (arâyî), all the evil- named, evil-speakinor (powers), these do we drive out from us. 6. Death from hunger, and death from thirst, poverty in cattle, and failure of offspring, all that, O apâmârga, do we wipe out (apa mrigmahe) with thee. 7. Death from thirst, and death from hunger, moreover, ill-luck at dice, all that, O apâmârga, do we wipe out with thee. 8. The apâmârga is sole ruler over all plants, with it do we wipe mishap from thee: do thou then live exempt from disease!

1. Come hither! Thou art the living, protecting eye-ointment of the mountain, given by all the gods as a safeguard, unto life. 2. Thou art a protection for men, a protection for cattle, thou didst stand for the protection of horses and steeds. 3. Thou art, O salve, both a protection that crushes the sorcerers, and thou hast knowledge of immortality (amrita). Moreover, thou art food for the living, and thou art, too, a remedy aorainst jaundice. 4. From him over whose every limb and every joint thou passest, O salve, thou dost, as a mighty intercepter, drive away disease. 5. Him that bears thee, O salve, neither curse, nor sorcery, nor burning pain does reach; nor does the,vishkandha come upon him. 6. From evil scheme, from troubled dream, from evil deed, and also from foulness.; from the evil eye of the enemy, from this protect us, O salve! 7. Knowing this, O salve, I shall speak the truth, avoid falsehood. May I obtain horses and cattle, and thy person, O serving-man! 8. Three are servants of the salve: the takman (fever), the balâsa, and the serpent. The highest of the mountains, Trikakud ('Three-peaks') by name, is thy father. 9. Since the salve of Trikakud is born upon the Himavant, it shall demolish all the wizards and all the witches. 10. Whether thou art derived from the (mountain) Trikakud, or art said to come from the (river) Yamunâ, both these names of thine are auspicious: with these, O salve, protect us!

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!

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.

of disease. 1. May Agni Vaisvânara, the bull of unfailing strength, burn up him that is evil-disposed, and desires to harm us, and him that plans hostile deeds against us! 2. Between the two rows of teeth of Agni Vaisvânara do I place him that plans to injure us, when we are not planning to injure him; and him that plans to injure us, when we do plan to injure him. Those who hound us in our chambers, while shouting goes on in the night of the new moon, and the other flesh-devourers who plan to injure us, all of them do I overcome with might. 4. With might I overcome the Pisâkas, rob them of their property; all evil-disposed (demons) do I slay: may my device succeed! 5. With the gods who vie with, and measure their swiftness with this sun, with those that are in the rivers, and in the mountains, do I, along with my cattle, consort. 6. I plague the Pisâkas as the tiger the cattle-owners. As dogs who have seen a lion, these do not find a refuge. 7. My strength does not lie with Pisâkas, nor with thieves, nor with prowlers in the forest. From the village which I enter the Pisâkas vanish away. 8. From the village which my fierce power has entered the Pisâkas vanish away; they do not devise evil. 9. They who irritate me with their jabber, as (buzzing) mosquitoes the elephant, them I regard as wretched (creatures), as small vermin upon people. 10. May Nirriti (the goddess of destruction) take hold of this one, as a horse with the halter! The fool who is wroth with me is not freed from (her) snare.

Let not the heavenly (fire) together with the lightning burn, thee! 12. Let not the flesh-devouring (fire) menace thee: move afar from the funeral pyre! Heaven shall guard thee, the earth shall guard thee, the sun and moon shall guard thee, the atmosphere shall guard thee against the divine missile! 13. May the alert and the watchful divinities guard thee, may he that sleeps not and nods not guard thee, may he that protects and is vigilant guard thee! 14. They shall guard thee, they shall protect thee. Reverence be to them. Hail be to them! 15. Into converse with the living Vâyu, Indra, Dhâtar, and saving Savitar shall put thee; breath and strength shall not leave thee! Thy (life's) spirit do we call back to thee. 16. Convulsions that draw the jaws together, darkness, shall not come upon thee, nor (the demon) that tears out the tongue (?) How shalt thou then waste away? The Âdityas and Vasus, Indra and Agni shall raise thee up unto well-being! 17. The heavens, the earth, Pragâpati, have rescued thee. The plants with Soma their king have delivered thee from death. 18. Let this man remain right here, ye gods, let him not depart hence to yonder world! We rescue him from death with (a charm) of thousandfold strength. 19. I have delivered thee from death. The (powers) that furnish strength shall breathe upon thee. The (mourning women) with dishevelled hair, they that wail lugubriously, shall not wail over 20. 1 have snatched thee (from death), I have obtained thee; thou hast returned with renewed youth. O thou, that art (now) sound of limb, for thee sound sight, and sound life have I obtained. 21. It has shone upon thee, light has arisen, darkness has departed from thee. We remove from thee death, destruction, and disease.

varana-tree. 1. Here is my varana-amulet, a bull that destroys the rivals: with it do thou close in upon thy enemies, crush them that desire to injure thee! 2. Break them, crush them, close in upon them: the amulet shall be thy vanguard in front! With the varana the Devas (gods) did ward off (avârayanta) the onslaught of the Asuras (demons) day after day. 3, This thousand-eyed, yellow, golden varanaamulet is a universal cure; it shall lay low thy enemies: be thou the first to injure those that hate thee! 4. This varana will ward off (vârayishyate) the spell that has been spread against thee; this will protect thee from human danger, this will protect thee from all evil! 5. This divine tree, the varana, shall shut out (vârayâtâi)! The gods, too, have shutout (avivaran) the disease that has entered into this (man). 6. If when asleep thou shalt behold an evil dream; as often as a wild beast shall run an inauspicious course; from (ominous) sneezing, and from the evil shriek of a bird, this varana- amulet will protect thee (vârayishyate). 7. From Arâti (grudge), Nirriti (misfortune), from sorcery, and from danger; from death and overstrong weapons the varana will protect thee. 8. The sin that my mother, that my father, that my brothers and my sister have committed; the sin that we (ourselves) have committed, from that this divine tree will protect us. 9. Through the varana are confused my enemies and my (rival) kin. To untraversed gloom they have gone: they shall go to the nethermost darkness! 10. (May) I (be) unharmed, with cows unharmed, long-lived, with undiminished men! This varana-amulet shall guard me in every region (of space)! 11. This varana upon my breast, the kingly, divine tree, shall smite asunder my enemies, as Indra the Dasyus, the Asuras (demons)! 12. Long-lived, a hundred autumns old, do I wear this varana: kingdom and rule, cattle and strength, this shall bestow upon me! 13.

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.

All the messengers of Yama, that roam about, dispatched by Vivasvant's son, do I drive away. 12. Arâti (grudge), Nirriti (destruction), Grâhi (seizure), and the flesh-devouring Pisâkas (do we drive) away to a distance, and hurl all wicked Rakshas away into darkness as it were. 13. I crave thy life's breath from the immortal, life-possessing Agni Gâtavedas. That thou shalt not take harm, shalt be immortal in (Agni's) company, that do I procure for thee, and that shall be fulfilled for thee! 14. May heaven and earth, the bestowers of happiness, be auspicious and harmless to thee; may the sun-shine, and the wind blow comfort to thy heart; may the heavenly waters, rich in milk, flow upon thee kindly! 15. May the plants be auspicious to thee! I have raised thee from the lower to the upper earth: there may both the Âdityas, the sun and the moon,. protect thee. 16. Whatever garment for clothing, or whatever girdle thou makest for thyself, agreeable to thy body do we render it; not rough to thy touch shall it be! 17. When thou, the barber, shearest with thy sharp well-whetted razor our hair and beard, do not, while cleansing our face, rob us of our life! 18. Rice and barley shall be auspicious to thee, causing no balâsa, inflicting no injury! They two drive away disease, they two release from calamity. 19. Whatever thou eatest or drinkest, the grain of the plough-land or milk, whatever is or is not to be eaten, all that food do I render for thee free from poison. 20. To day and to night both do we commit thee: from the demons that seek to devour, do ye preserve this (man) for me! 21. A hundred years, ten thousand years, two, three, four ages (yuga) do we allot to thee; Indra and Agni, and all the gods without anger shall favour thee! 22. To autumn thee, to winter, spring and summer, do we commit; the rains in which grow the plants shall be pleasant to thee! 23. Death rules over bipeds, death rules over quadrupeds.

spirit. 1. Reverence to Prâna, to whom all this (universe) is subject, who has become the lord of the all, on whom the all is supported! 2. Reverence, O Prâna, to thy roaring (wind), reverence, O Prâna, to thy thunder, reverence, O Prâna, to thy lightning, reverence, O Prâna, to thy rain! When Prâna calls aloud to the plants with his thunder, they are fecundated, they conceive, and then are produced abundant (plants). 4. When the season has arrived, and Prâna calls aloud to the plants, then everything rejoices, whatsoever is upon the earth. 5. When Prâna has watered the great earth with rain, then the beasts rejoice; (they think): 'strength, forsooth, we shall now obtain.' 6. When they had been watered by Prâna, the plants spake in concert: 'thou hast, forsooth, prolonged our life, thou hast made us all fragrant.' 7. Reverence be, O Prâna, to thee coming, reverence to thee going; 'reverence to thee standing, and reverence, too, to thee sitting! 8. Reverence be to thee, O Prâna, when thou breatbest in (primate), reverence when thou breathest out! Reverence be to thee when thou art turned away, reverence to thee when thou art turned hither: to thee, entire, reverence be here! 9. Of thy dear form, O Prâna, of thy very dear form, of the healing power that is thine, give unto us, that we may live! 10. Prâna clothes the creatures, as a father his dear son. Prâna, truly, is the lord of all, of all that breathes, and does not breathe. 11. Prâna is death, Prâna is fever. The gods worship Prana. Prâna shall place the truth-speaker in the highest world 12. Prâna is Virâg (power, lustre), Prâna is Deshtrî (the divinity that guides): all worship Prâna. Prâna verily is sun and moon. They call Prâna Pragâpati. 13. Rice and barley are in-breathing and outbreathing. Prâna is called a steer. In-breathing forsooth, is founded upon barley; rice is called out-breathing. 14. Man breathes out and breathes in when within the womb. When thou, O Prâna, quickenest him, then is he born again.

The maiden of the Kirâta-tribe, the little one digs up the remedy, with golden spades, on the mountain's back. 15. Hither has come a youthful physician: he slays the speckled (serpent), is irresistible. He, forsooth, crushes the svaga and the vriskika both. 16. Indra did set at naught for me the serpent, (and so did) Mitra and Varuna, Vâta and Parganya 17. Indra did set at naught for me the serpent, the adder, male and female, the svaga, (the serpent) that is striped across, the kasarnîla, and the dasonasi. 18. Indra slew thy first ancestor, O serpent, and since they are crushed, what strength, forsooth, can be theirs? 19. I have gathered up their heads, as the fisherman the karvara (fish). I have gone off into the river's midst, and washed out the serpent's poison. 20. The poison of all serpents the rivers shall carry off! Slain are they that are striped across, crushed are the adders! 21. As skilfully I cull the fibre of the plants, as I guide the mares, (thus), O serpent, shall thy poison go away! 22. The poison that is in the fire, in the sun, in the earth, and in the plants, the kândâ-poison, the kanaknaka, thy poison shall go forth, and come! 23. The serpents that are sprung from the fire, that are sprung from the plants, that are sprung from the water, and originate from the lightning; they from whom great brood has sprung in many ways, those serpents do we revere with obeisance. 24. Thou art, (O plant), a maiden, Taudî by name.; Ghritâkî, forsooth, is thy name. Underfoot is thy place: I take in hand what destroys the poison. 25. From every limb make the poison start; shut it out from the heart! Now the force that is in thy poison shall go down below! 26. The poison has gone to a distance: he has shut it out; he has fused the poison with poison. Agni has put away the poison of the serpent, Soma has led it out. The poison has gone back to the biter. The serpent is dead!

When kept she injures (his) folk, if he refuses to give her after she has been asked for! 14. The sterile cow is as a treasure deposited for die Brâhmanas: they come here for her, with whomsoever she is born. 15. The Brâhmanas come here for their own, when they come for the sterile cow. The refusal of her is, as though he were oppressing them in other concerns. I& If she herds up to her third year, and no disease is discovered in her, and he finds her to be a sterile cow, O Nârada, then must he look for the Brâhmanas. 17. If he denies that she is sterile, a treasure deposited for the gods, then Bhava and Sarva, both, come upon him, and hurl their arrow upon him. 18. Though he does not perceive upon her either udder, or tits, yet both yield him milk, if he has prevailed upon himself to give away the sterile cow. 19. Hard to cheat, she oppresses him, if, when asked for, he refuses to give her. His desires are not fulfilled, if he aims to accomplish them without giving her away. 20. The gods did ask for the sterile cow, making the Brâhmana their mouthpiece. The man that does not give (her) enters into the wrath of all of these. 21. Into the wrath of the cattle enters he that gives not the sterile cow to the Brâhmanas; if he, the mortal, appropriates the share deposited for the gods. 22. Even if a hundred other Brâhmanas beg the owner for the sterile cow, yet the gods did say anent her: 'The cow belongs to him that knoweth thus.' 23. He that refuses the sterile cow to him that knoweth thus, and gives her to others, difficult to dwell upon is for him the earth with her divinities. 24. The gods did beg the sterile cow of him wilh whom she was born at first. That very one Nârada recognised and drove forth in company with the gods. 25. The sterile cow renders childless, and poor in cattle, him that yet appropriates her, when she has been begged for by the Brâhmanas. 26.

1. Ye (sores) fall easily from that which falls easily, ye exist less than those that do not exist (at all); ye are drier than the (part of the body called) sehu, more moist than salt. 2. The apakit (sores) that are upon the neck, and those that are upon the shoulders; the apakit that are upon the vigâman (some part of the body) fall off of themselves. B. Charm for curing tumours called gâyânya. 3. The gâyânya that crushes the ribs, that which passes down to the sole of the foot, and whichever is fixed upon the crown of the head, I have driven out every one. 4. The gâyânya, winged, flies; he settles down upon man. Here is the remedy both for sores not caused by cutting as well as for wounds sharply cut! 5. We know, O gâyânya, thy origin, whence thou didst spring. How canst thou slay there, in whose house we offer oblations? C. Stanza sung at the mid-day pressure of the soma. 6. Drink stoutly, O Indra, slayer of Vritra, hero, of the soma in the cup, at the battle for riches! Drink thy fill at the mid-day pressure! Living in wealth, do thou bestow wealth upon us!

cure of wounds. 1. The night is thy mother, the cloud thy father, Aryaman thy grandfather. Silâkî, forsooth, is thy name, thou art the sister of the gods. 2. He that drinks thee lives; (that) person thou dost preserve. For thou art the supporter of all successive (generations), the refuge of men. 3. Every tree thou dost climb, like a wench lusting after a man. 'Victorious,' 'firmly founded,' 'saving,' verily, is thy name. 4. The wound that has been inflicted by the club, by the arrow, or by fire, of that thou art the cure: do thou cure this person here! 5. Upon the noble plaksha-tree (ficus infectoria) thou growest up, upon the asvattha (ficus religiosa), the khadira (acacia catechu), and the dhava (grislea tomentosa); (thou growest up) upon the noble nyagrodha (ficus indica, banyan-tree), and the parna (butea frondosa). Come thou to us, O arundhatî! 6. O gold-coloured, lovely, sun-coloured, most handsome (plant), mayest thou come to the fracture, O cure! 'Cure,' verily, is thy name! 7. O gold-coloured, lovely, fiery (plant), with hairy stem, thou art the sister of the waters, O lâkshâ, the wind became thy very breath. 8. Silâkî is thy name, O thou that art brown as a goat, thy father is the son of a maiden. With the blood of the brown horse of Yama thou hast verily been sprinkled. 9. Having dropped from the blood of the horse she ran upon the trees, turning into a winged brook. Do thou come to us, O arundhatî!