Atharva Veda on Strength

sacrifice. 1. In the ukkhishta are deposited name (quality) and form, in the ukkhishta the world is deposited. Within the ukkhishta Indra and Agni, and the all are deposited. 2. In the ukkhishta heaven and earth, and all beings, are deposited; in the ukkhishta are deposited the waters, the ocean, the moon, and the wind. 3. In the ukkhishta are both being and non-being, death, strength (food), and Pragâpati. The (creatures) of the world are founded upon the ukkhishta; (also) that which is confined and that which is free, and the grace in me. 4. He who fastens what is firm, the strong, the leader, the brahma, the ten creators of the all, the divinities, are fixed on all sides to the ukkhishta as the (spokes of the) wheel to the nave. 5. Rik, Sâman, and Yagus, the singing of the sâmans, their introductions, and the stotras are in the ukkhishta. The sound 'him' is in the ukkhishta, and the modulations and the music of the sâman. That is in me. 6. The prayer to Indra and Agni (aindrâgnam), the call to the soma, as it is being purified (pâvamâmam), the mahânâmnî-verses, the singing of the mahâvrata, (these) divisions of the service are in the ukkhishta, as the embryo in the mother. 7. The ceremony of the consecration of the king (râgasûya), the vâgapeya, the agnishtoma, and the cattle-sacrifice belonging to it, the arka and the horse-sacrifice, and the most delightful (sacrifice) for which fresh barhis is strewn, are in the ukkhishta. 8. The preparation of the sacred fire (agnyâdheyam), the consecration for the soma-sacrifice (dikshâ), the sacrifice by which (special) wishes are fulfilled, together with the metres, the sacrifices that have passed out, and the extended sacrifices (satra), are lounded upon the ukkhishta. 9. The agnihotra, faith, the call vashat, vows and asceticism, sacrificial rewards, what is sacrificed (to the gods) and given (to the priests) are contained in the ukkhishta. 10.

1. O âbayu, (and even if) thou art not âbayu, strong is thy juice, O âbayu! We eat a gruel, compounded of thee. 2. Vihalha is thy father's name, Madâvatî thy mother's name. Thou art verily not such, as to have consumed thy own self. 3. O Tauvilikâ, do be quiet! This howling one has become quiet. O brown one, and brown-eared one, go away! Go out, O âla! 4. Alasâlâ thou art first, silâñgalâlâ thou art the next, nîlâgalasâlâ (thou art third?)!

1. Hanker thou after my body, my feet, hanker after my eyes, my thighs! The eyes of thee, as thou lustest after me, and thy hair shall be parched with love? 2. I make thee cling to my arm, cling to my heart, so that thou shalt be in my power, shalt come up to my wish! 3. The cows, the mothers of the ghee, who lick their young, in whose heart love is planted, shall make yonder woman bestow love upon:me!

given as a fee to the Brahmans. 1. O Agni, come into being! Aditi here in her throes, longing for sons, is cooking the porridge for the Brahmans, The seven Rishis, that did create the beings, shall here churn thee, along with progeny! 2. Produce the smoke, ye lusty friends; unharmed by wiles go ye into the contest! Here is the Agni (fire) who gains battles, and commands powerful warriors, with whom the gods did conquer the demons. 3. O Agni, to a great heroic deed thou wast aroused, to cook the Brahman's porridge, O Gâtavedas! The seven Rishis, that did create the beings, have produced thee. Grant her (the wife) wealth together with undiminished heroes! 4. Burn, O Agni, after having been kindled by the firewood, bring skilfully hither the gods that are to be revered! Causing the oblation to cook for these (Brahmans), do thou raise this (sacrificer) to the highest firmament! 5. The, threefold share which was of yore assigned to you (belongs) to the gods, the (departed) Fathers, and to the mortals (the priests). Know your shares! I divide them for you: the (share) of the gods shall protect this (woman)! 6. O Agni, possessed of might, superior, thou dost without fail prevail! Bend down to the ground our hateful rivals!--This measure, that is being measured, and has been measured, may constitute thy kin into (people) that render thee tribute! 7. Mayest thou together with thy kin be endowed with sap! Elevate her (the wife) to great heroism! Ascend on high to the base of the firmament, which they call 'the world of brightness'! 8. This great goddess earth, kindly disposed, shall receive the (sacrificial) skin! Then may we go to the world of well-doing (heaven)! 9. Lay these two press-stones, well coupled, upon the skin; crush skilfully the (soma-) shoots for the sacrificer! Crush down, (O earth), and beat down, those who are hostile to her (the wife); lift up high, and elevate her offspring! 10.

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.

1. I call -upon thee, O Indra, from afar, upon thee for protection against tribulation. I call the strong avenger that has many names, and is of unequalled birth. 2. Where the hostile weapon now rises against us,threatening to slay, there do we place the two arms of Indra round about. 3. The two arms of Indra, the protector, do we place round about us: let him protect us! O god Savitar, and king Soma, render me of confident mind, that I may prosper!

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.

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.

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.

1. Take hold of this (charm) that subjects to immortality (life), may thy life unto old age not be cut off! I bring to thee anew breath and life: not to mist and darkness, do not waste away! 2. Come hither to the light of the living; I rescue thee unto a life of a hundred autumns! Loosing the bands of death and imprecation, I bestow upon thee long life extended very far. 3. From the wind thy breath I have obtained, from the sun thine eye; thy soul I hold fast in thee: be together with thy limbs, speak articulating with thy tongue! 4. With the breath of two-footed and four-footed creatures I blow upon thee, as on Agni when he is born (as on fire when kindled). I have paid reverence, O death, to thine eye, reverence to thy breath. 5. This (man) shall live and shall not die: we rouse this man (to life)! I make for him a remedy: O death, do not slay the man! 6. The plant gîvalâ (quickening'), na-ghâ-rishâ ('forsooth-no-harm'), and gîvantî ('living), a victorious, mighty saviour-plant do I invoke, that he may be exempt from injury. 7. Befriend him, do not seize him, let him go, (O death); though he be thy very own, let him abide here with unimpaired strength! O Bhava and Sarva, take pity, grant Protection; misfortune drive away, and life bestow! 8. Befriend him, death, and pity him: may he from here arise! Unharmed, with sound limbs, hearing perfectly, through old age carrying a hundred years, let him get enjoyment by himself (unaided)! 9. The missile of the gods shall pass thee by! I pass thee across the mist (of death); from death I have rescued thee. Removing far the flesh-devouring Agni, a barrier do I set around thee, that thou mayest live. 10. From thy misty road that cannot be withstood, O death, from this path (of thine) we guard this (man), and make our charm a protection for him. 11. In-breathing and out-breathing. do I prepare for thee, death in old age, long life, and prosperity.

The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, wearing that, Savitar through it conquered this light; that yields him abundance more and more, &c. 14. The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, wearing that, the waters ever run undiminished; that verily yields them ambrosia more and more, &c. 15. The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, that comforting amulet king Varuna did fasten on; that verily yields him truth more and more, &c. 16. The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, wearing that the gods did conquer all the worlds in battle; that verily yields them conquest more and more, &c. 17. The amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, that comforting amulet the divinities did fasten on; that verily yields them- all more and more, &c. 18. The seasons did fasten it on; the divisions (of the year) did fasten it on. Since the year did fasten it on, it guards every being. 19. The intermediate directions did fasten it on; the directions did fasten it on. The amulet created by Pragâpati has subjected those that hate me. 20. The Atharvans did tie it on, the descendants of the Atharvans did tie it on; with these allied, the Angiras cleft the castles of the Dasyus. With it those that hate me do thou slay! 21. That Dhâtar did fasten on: (then) he shaped the being. With it those that hate me do thou 22. The amulet which Brihaspati tied for the gods, destructive of the Asuras, that has come to me together with sap and lustre. 23. The amulet... has come to me together with cows, goats, and sheep, together with food and offspring. 24. The amulet... has come to me together with rice and barley, together with might and prosperity. 25. The amulet has come to me with a stream of honey and ghee together with sweet drink. 26. The amulet has come to me together with nourishment and milk, together with goods and fortune. 27. The amulet... has. come to me together with brilliance and strength, together with glory and reputation. 28. The amulet...

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.

dangers. 1. O Bhava and Sarva, be merciful, do not attack (us); ye lords of beings, lords of cattle, reverence be to you twain! Discharge not your arrow even after it has been laid on (the bow), and has been drawn! Destroy not our bipeds and our quadrupeds! 2. Prepare not our bodies for the dog, or the jackal; for the aliklavas, the vultures, and the black birds! Thy greedy insects, O lord of cattle (pasupate), and thy birds shall not get us to devour! 3. Reverence we offer, O Bhava, to thy roaring, to thy breath, and to thy injurious qualities; reverence to thee, O Rudra, thousand-eyed, immortal! 4. We offer reverence to thee from the east, from the north, and from the -south; from (every) domain, and from heaven. Reverence be to thy atmosphere! 5. To thy face, O lord of cattle, to thy eyes, O Bhava, to thy skin, to thy form, thy appearance, (and to thy aspect) from behind, reverence be! 6. To thy limbs, to thy belly, to thy tongue, to thy mouth, to thy teeth, to thy smell (nose), reverence be! 7. May we not conflict with Rudra, the archer with the dark crest, the thousand-eyed, powerful one, the slayer of Ardhaka! 8. Bhava shall steer clear from us on all sides, Bhava shall steer clear from us, as fire from water! May he not bear malice towards us: reverence be to him! 9. Four times, eight times, be reverence to Bhava, ten times be reverence to thee, O lord of cattle! To thy (charge) have been assigned these five (kinds of) cattle: cows, horses, men, goats and sheep. 10. Thine, O strong god (ugra), are the four regions, thine the sky, thine the earth, and thine this broad atmosphere; thine is this all that has a spirit and has breath upon the earth. 11. Thine is this broad, treasure-holding receptacle within which all worlds are contained. Do thou spare us, O lord of cattle: reverence be to thee! Far from us shall go the jackals, evil omens, dogs; far shall go (the mourning women) who bewail rnisfortune with dishevelled hair! 12.

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.

1. Up to the sun shall go thy heart-ache and thy jaundice: in the colour of the red bull do we eovelop thee! 2. We envelop thee in red tints, unto long life. May this person go unscathed, and be free of vellow colour! 3. The cows whose divinity is Rohini, they who, moreover, axe (themselves) red (róhinin)-(in their) every form and every strength we do envelop thee. 4. Into the parrots, into the ropanâkâs (thrush) do we put thy jaundice, and, furthermore, into the hâridravas (yellow wagtail) do we put thy jaundice.

1. The other enemies conquer with might; beat back, O Gâtavedas, those that are not yet born! Enrich this kingdom unto happiness, may all the gods acclaim this man! 2. Of these hundred entrails of thine, as well as of the thousand canals, of all these have I closed the openings with a stone. 3. The upper part of the womb do I place below, there shall come to thee neither offspring nor birth! I render thee sterile and devoid of offspring; a stone do I make into a cover for thee.

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.

Pisâkas). 1. Do ye well offer within the fire this oblation with ghee, that destroys the spook! Do thou, O Agni, burn from afar against the Rakshas, (but) our houses thou shalt not consume! 2. Rudra has broken your necks, ye Pisâkas: may he also break your ribs, ye spooks! The plant whose power is everywhere has united you with Yama (death). 3. Exempt from danger, O Mitra and Varuna, may we here be; drive back with your flames the devouring demons (Atrin)! Neither aider, nor support do they find; smiting one another they go to death.

1. Hither shall come Varuna, Soma, Agni; Brihaspati with the Vasus shall come hither! Come together, O ye kinsmen all, of one mind, to the glory of this mighty guardian! 2. The fire that is within your souls, the scheme that hath entered your minds, do I frustrate with my oblation, with my ghee: delight in me shall ye take, O kinsmen! 3. Remain right here, go not away from us; (the roads) at a distance Pûshan shall make impassable for you! Vistoshpati shall urgently call you back: delight in me shall ye take, O kinsmen!

1. Against the devouring demons who, in the night of the full-moon, have arisen in throngs, may Agni, the strong, the slayer of the sorcerers, give us courage! 2. To the lead Varuna gives blessing, to the lead Agni gives help. Indra gave me the lead: unfailingly it dispels sorcery. 3. This (lead) overcomes the vishkandha, this smites the devouring demons (atrin); with this I have overwhelmed all the brood of the Pisâkas. 4. If thou slayest our cow, if our horse or our domestic, we pierce thee with the lead, so that thou shalt not slay our heroes.

1. The maidens that go yonder, the veins, clothed in red garments, like sisters without a brother, bereft of strength, they shall stand still! 2. Stand still, thou lower one, stand still, thou higher one; do thou in the middle also stand still! The most tiny (vein) stands still: may then the great artery also stand still! Of the hundred arteries, and the thousand veins, those in the middle here have indeed stood still. At the same time the ends have ceased (to flow). 4. Around you has passed a great sandy dike: stand ye still, pray take your case!

1. May this oblation carry hither the sorcerers, as a river (carries) foam! The man or the woman who has performed this (sorcery), that person shall here proclaim himself! 2. This vaunting (sorcerer) has come hither: receive him with alacrity! O Brihaspati, put him into subjection; O Agni and Soma, pierce him through! 3. Slay the offspring of the sorcerer, O soma-drinking (Indra), and subject (him)! Make drop out the farther and the nearer eye of the braggart (demon)! 4. Wherever, O Agni Gâtavedas, thou perceivest the brood of these hidden devourers (atrin), do thou, mightily strengthened by our charm, slay them: slay their (brood), O Agni, piercing them a hundredfold!

1. May assembly and meeting, the two daughters of Pragâpati, concurrently aid me! May he with whom I shall meet co-operate with me, may I, O ye Fathers, speak agreeably to those assembled! 2. We know thy name, O assembly: 'mirth,' verily, is thy name; may all those that sit assembled in thee utter speech in harmony with me! 3. Of them that are sitting together I take to myself the power and the understanding: in this entire vathering render, O Indra, me successful! 4. If your mind has wandered to a distance, or has been enchained here or there, then do we turn it hither: may your mind take delight in me!

who had roasted for themselves the last she-goat of Kesaraprâbandhâ. 12. The one hundred and one persons whom the earth did cast off, because they had injured the offspring of a Brâhmana, were ruined irretrievably. 13. As a reviler of the gods does he live among mortals, having swallowed poison, he becomes more bone (than flesh). He that injureth a Brâhmana, whose kin are the gods, does not reach heaven by the road of the Fathers. 14. Agni is called our guide, Soma our heir, Indra slays those who curse (us): that the strong (sages) know. 15. Like a poisoned arrow, O king, like -an adder, O lord of cattle, is the terrible arrow of the Brâhmana: with that he smites those who revile (the gods).

1. As the best of the plants thou art reputed, O herb: turn this man for me to-day into a eunuch that wears his hair dressed! 2. Turn him into a eunuch that wears his hair dressed, and into one that wears a hood! Then Indra with a pair of stones shall break his testicles both! 3. O eunuch, into a eunuch thee I have turned;O castrate, into a castrate thee I have turned; O weakling, into a weakling thee I have turned! A hood upon his head, and a hair-net do we place. 4. The two canals, fashioned by the gods, in which man's power rests, in thy testicles............ I break them with a club. 5. As women break reeds for a mattress with a stone, thus do I break thy member

1. Upon this (person) the Vasus, Indra, Pûshan, Varuna, Mitra, and Agni, shall bestow goods (vasu)! The Âdityas, and, further, all the gods shall hold him in the higher light! 2. Light, ye gods, shall be at his bidding: Sûrya (the sun), Agni (fire), or even gold! Inferior to us shall be our rivals! Cause him to ascend to the highest heaven 3. With that most potent charm with which, O Gâtavedas (Agni), thou didst bring to Indra the (soma-) drink, with that, O Agni, do thou here strengthen this one; grant him supremacy over his kinsmen! 4. Their sacrifice and their glory, their increase of wealth and their thoughtful plans, I have usurped, O Agni. Inferior to us shall be our rivals! Cause him to ascend to the highest heaven!

1. The gold which is born from fire, the immortal, they bestowed upon the mortals. He who knows this deserves it; of old age dies he who wears it. 2. The gold, (endowed by) the sun with beautiful colour, which the men of yore, rich in descendants, did desire, may it gleaming envelop thee in lustre! Long-lived becomes he who wears it! 3. (May it envelop) thee unto (long) life, unto lustre, unto force, and unto strength, that thou shalt by the brilliancy of the gold shine forth among people! 4. (The gold) which king Varuna knows, which god Brihaspati knows, which Indra, the slayer of Vritra, knows, may that become for thee a source of life, may that become for thee a source of lustre! IMPRECATIONS AGAINST DEMONS, SORCERERS, AND ENEMIES (ÂBHIKÂRIKÂNI AND KRITYÂPRATIHARANÂNI).

1. This plant is born of honey, with honey do we dig for thee. Of honey thou art begotten, do thou make us full of honey! 2. At the tip of my tongue may I have honey, at my tongue's root the sweetness of honey! In my power alone shalt thou then be, thou shalt come up to my wish! 3. Sweet as honey is my entrance, sweet as honey my departure. With my voice do I speak sweet as honey, may I become like honey! 4. I am sweeter than honey, fuller of sweetness than licorice. Mayest thou, without fail, long for me alone, (as a bee) for a branch full of honey! 5. I have surrounded thee with a clinging sugarcane, to remove aversion, so that thou shalt not be averse to me!

1. Of yore, (O Agni), thou wast worthy of supplication at the sacrifice; thou wast the priest in olden times, and now anew shalt sit (at our sacrifice)! Delight, O Agni, thy own body, and, sacrificing, bring good fortune here to us! 2. Him that hath been born under the (constellation) gyeshihaghnî ('she that slays the oldest'), or under the vikritâu ('they that uproot'), save thou from being torn up by the root by Yama (death)! May be (Agni) guide him across all misfortunes to long life, to a life of a hundred autumns! 3. On a tiger (-like) day the hero was born; born under a (good) constellation he becometh a mighty hero. Let him not slay, when he grows up, his father, let him not injure the mother that hath begotten him!

tree, against diseases and demons. 1. While uttering Indra's name the seers bestowed (upon men) the gangida, which the gods in the beginning had made into a remedy, destructive of the vishkandha. 2. May that gangida protect us as a treasurer his treasures, he whom the gods and the Brâhmanas made into a refuge that puts to naught the hostile powers! 3. The evil eye of the hostile-minded, (and) the evil-doer I have approached. Do thou, O thousandeyed one, watchfully destroy these! A refuge art thou, O gangida. 4. May the gangida protect me from heaven, protect me from earth, protect (me) from the atmosphere, protect me from the plants, protect me from the past, as well as the future; may he protect us from every direction of space! 5. The sorceries performed by the gods, and also those performed by men, may the all-healing gangida render them all devoid of strength!

1. The brilliancy that is in the lion, the tiger, and the serpent; in Agni, the Brâhmana, and Surya (shall be ours)! May the lovely goddess that bore Indra come to us, endowed with lustre! 2. (The brilliancy) that is in the elephant, panther, and in gold; in the waters, cattle, and men (shall be ours)! May the lovely goddess that bore Indra come to us, endowed with lustre! 3. (The brilliancy) that is in the chariot, the dice, in the strenath of the bull; in the wind, Parganya, and in the fire of Varuna (shall be ours)! May the lovely goddess that bore Indra come to us, endowed with lustre! 4. (The brilliancy) that is in the man of royal caste, in the stretched drum, in the strength of the horge, in the shout of men (shall be ours)! May the lovely goddess that bore Indra come to us, endowed with lustre!

power. 1. From Time the waters did arise, from Time the brahma (spiritual exaltation), the tapas (creative fervour), the regions (of space did arise). Through Time the sun rises, in Time he goes down again. 2. Through Time the wind blows, through Time (exists) the great earth; the great sky is fixed in Time. In Time the son (Pragâpati) begot of yore that which was, and that which shall be. 3. From Time the Riks arose, the Yagus was born from Time; Time put forth the sacrifice, the imperishable share of the gods. 4. Upon Time the Gandharvas and Apsarases are founded, upon Time the worlds (are founded), in Time this Angiras and Atharvan rule over the heavens. 5. Having conquered this world and the highest world, and the holy (pure) worlds (and) their holy divisions; having by means of the brahma (spiritual exaltation) conquered all the worlds, Time, the highest God, forsooth, hastens onward.

1. Hither shall come the cattle which have strayed to a distance, whose companionship Vâyu (the wind) enjoys! (The cattle) whose structure of form Tvashtar knows, Savitar shall hold in place in this stable! 2. To this stable the cattle shall flow together, Brihaspati skilfully shall conduct them hither! Sînîvâlî shall conduct hither their van: do thou, O Anumati, hold them in place after they have arrived! 3. May the cattle, may the horses, and may the domestics flow together; may the increase of the grain flow together! I sacrifice with an oblation that causeth to flow together! 4. I pour together the milk of the cows, I pour together strength and sap with the ghee. Poured together shall be our heroes, constant shall be the cows with me the owner of the cows! 5. I bring hither the milk of the cows, I have brought hither the sap of the grain. Brought hither are our heroes, brought hither to this house are our wives.

1. We know the father of the arrow, Parganya, of hundredfold power. With this (charm) may I render comfortable thy body: make thy Outpouring upon the earth; out of thee may it come with the sound bâl! 2. We know the father of the arrow, Mitra, &c. 3. We know the father of the arrow, Varuna, &c. 4. We know the father of the arrow, Kandra, &c. 5. We know the father of the arrow, Sûrya, &c. 6. That which has accumulated in thy entralls. thy canals, in thy bladder-thus let thy urine be released, out completely, with the sound bâl! 7, I split open thy penis like the dike of a lake--thus let thy urine be released, out completely, with the sound bâl! 8. Relaxed is the opening of thy bladder like the ocean, the reservoir of water--thus let thy urine be released, out completely, with the sound bâl! 9. As an arrow flies to a distance when hurled from the bow-thus let thy urine be released, out completely, with the sound bâl!

1. For thee alone, O (death from) old age, this (boy) shall grow up: the other hundred kinds of death shall not harm him! Like a provident mother in her lap Mitra shall befriend him, shall save him from misfortune! 2. May Mitra or Varuna, the illustrious, cooperating, grant him death from old age! Then Agni, the priest, who knows the ways, promulgates all the races of the gods. 3. Thou, (O Agni), rulest over all the animals of the earth, those which have been born, and those which are to be born: may not in-breathing leave this one, nor yet out-breathing, may neither friends nor foes slay him! 4. May father Dyaus (sky) and mother Prithivi (earth), co-operating, grant thee death from old age, that thou mayest live in the lap of Aditi a hundred winters, guarded by in-breathing and outbreathing! 5. Lead this dear child to life and vigour, O Agni, Varuna, and king Mitra! As a mother afford him protection, O Aditi, and all ye gods, that he may attain to old age!

1. Agni, our skilful vanguard, shall attack, burning, against their schemes and hostile plans! Gâtavedas shall bewilder the plans of the enemy, and deprive them (of the use) of their hands! 2. This fire has confused the schemes that are in your mind; it shall blow you from your home, blow you away from everywhere! 3. O Indra, bewildering their schemes, come hither with thy (own) plan: with the impact of the fire and the wind scatter them to either side! 4. O ye plans of theirs, fly ye away; O ye schemes, be ye confused! Moreover, what now is in their mind, do thou drive that out of them! 5. Do thou, O (goddess) Apvi, confusing their plans, go forth (to them), and seize their limbs! Attack them, burn with flames into their hearts; strike the enemy with fits, (strike our) opponents with darkness! 6. That army yonder o( the enemy, that comes against us fighting with might, do ye, O Maruts, strike with planless darkness, that one of them shall not know the other!

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!

has come to me together with all 'kinds of prosperity. 29, This amulet the gods shall give me unto prosperity, the mighty amulet that strengthens sovereignty and injures the rivals! 30. An (amulet) auspicious for me thou shalt fasten upon (me), together with brahma (spiritual exaltation) and brilliance! Free from rivals, slaying rivals, it has subjected my rivals. 31. This god-born amulet, the sap milked from which these three worlds revere, shall render me superior to him that hates me; it shall ascend upon my head unto excellence! 32. The amulet upon which the gods, the Fathers, and men ever live, shall ascend upon my head unto excellence! 33. As the seed grows in the field, in the furrow drawn by the ploughshare, thus in me offspring, cattle, and every kind of food shall grow up! 34. Upon whom, O thou amulet that prosperest the sacrifice, I have fastened thee (that art) propitious, him, O amulet, that yieldest a hundredfold sacrificial reward, thou shalt inspire unto excellence! 35. This fire-wood that has been laid on together with the oblations do thou, Agni, gladly accept: may we in this kindled Gâtavedas (fire), through (this) charm, find favour, well-being, offspring, sight, and cattle!

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!

1. The bull with a thousand horns who rose out of the sea, with the aid of him, the mighty one, do we put the folks to sleep. 2. The wind blows not over the earth. No one looks on. Do thou then, befriended of Indra, put all women and dogs to sleep! 3. The women that lie upon couches and upon beds, and they that rest in litters, the women all that exhale sweet fragrance, do we put to sleep. 4. Every moving thing I have held fast. Eye and breath I have held fast. I have held fast all limbs in the deep gloom of the night. 5. Of him that sits, and him that walks, of him that stands and looks about, of these the eyes we do shut, just as these premises (are shut). 6. The mother shall sleep, the father shall sleep, the dog shall sleep, the lord of the house shall sleep! All her relations shall sleep, and these people round about shall sleep! 7. O sleep, put thou to sleep all people with the magic that induces sleep! Put the others to sleep until the sun rises; may I be awake until the dawn appears, like Indra, unharmed, uninjured!

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.

Thy spirit, O lord of cattle, is within the waters, to strengthen thee the heavenly waters flow. 25. The dolphins, great serpents (boas), purîkayas (water-animals), sea-monsters, fishes, ragasas at which thou shootest-there exists for thee, O Bhava, no distance, and no barrier. At a glance thou lookest around the entire earth; from the eastern thou slayest in the northern ocean. 26. Do not, O Rudra, contaminate us with fever, or with poison, or with heavenly fire: cause this lightning to descend elsewhere than upon us! 27. Bhava rules the sky, Bhava rules the earth; Bhava has filled the broad: atmosphere. Reverence be to him in whatever direction from here (he abides)! 28. O king Bhava, be merciful to thy worshipper, for thou art the lord of living beasts! He who believes the gods exist, to his quadruped and biped be merciful! 29. Slay neither our great nor our small; neither those of us that are riding, nor those that shall ride; neither our father, nor our mother. Cause no injury, O Rudra, to our own persons! 30. To Rudra's howling dogs, who swallow their food without blessing, who have wide jaws, I have made this obeisance. 31. Reverence, O god, be to thy shouting hosts, reverence to thy long-haired, reverence to thy reverenced, reverence to thy devouring hosts! May well-being and security be to us!

1. This warrior, O Indra, do thou strengthen for me, do thou install this one as sole ruler (bull) of the Vis (the people); emasculate all his enemies, subject them to him in (their) contests! 2. To him apportion his share of villages, horses, and cattle; deprive of his share the one that is his enemy! May this king be the pinnacle of royalty; subject to him, O Indra, every enemy! 3. May this one be the treasure-lord of riches, may this king be the tribal lord of the Vis (the people)! Upon this one, O Indra, bestow great lustre, devoid of lustre render his enemy! 4. For him shall ye, O heaven and earth, milk ample good, as two milch-cows yielding warm milk! May this king be favoured of Indra, favoured of cows, of plants, and cattle! 5. I unite with thee Indra who has supremacy, through whom one conquers and is not (himself) conquered, who shall install thee as sole ruler of the people, and as chief of the human kings. 6. Superior art thou, inferior are thy rivals, and whatsoever adversaries are thine, O king! Sole ruler, befriended of Indra, victorious, bring thou hither the supplies of those who act as thy enemies! 7. Presenting the front of a lion do thou devour all (their) people, presenting the front of a tiger do thou strike down the enemies! Sole ruler, befriended of Indra, victorious, seize upon the supplies of those who act as thy enemies!

Success, might, plans, dominion, sovereignty, the six broad (regions), the year, libation (idâ), the orders to the priests (praisha), the draughts of soma (graha), oblations (are founded) upon the ukkhishta. 19. The (liturgies called) katurhotârah, the âpri-hymns, the triennial sacrifices, the (formulas called) nîvid, the sacrifices, the priestly functions, the cattle-sacrifice and the soma-oblations connected with it, are in the ukkhishta. 20. The half-months and months, the divisions of the year together with the seasons, the resounding waters, thunder, the great Vedic canon (sruti) are in the ukkhishta. 21. Pebbles, sand, stones, herbs, plants, grass, clouds, lightning, rain, are attached to, and are founded upon the ukkhishta. 22. Success, attainment, accomplishment, control, greatness, prosperity, supreme attainment, and wellbeing rest upon, rest in, have been deposited in the ukkhishta. 23. Whatever breathes with breath, and sees with sight, all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta. 24. The riks and the sâmans, the metres, the ancient legends (purânam) together with the yagus, all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta. 25. In-breathing and out-breathing, sight, hearing, imperishableness and perishableness, all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta. 26. Joys, pleasures, delights, jubilation and merriment, all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta. 27. The gods, the (deceased) Fathers, men, Gandharvas and Apsaras, all gods in the heavens, founded upon heaven, were born of the ukkhishta.

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. 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.

1. Indra, the merchant, do I summon: may he come to us, may he be our van; driving away the demon of grudge, the waylayers, and wild beasts, may he, the possessor, bestow wealth upon 2. May the many paths, the roads of the gods, which come together between heaven and earth, c,ladden me with milk and ghee, so that I may gather in wealth from my purchases! 3. Desirous do I, O Agni, with firewood and ghee offer oblations (to thee), for success and strength; according to ability praising (thee) with my prayer, do I sing this divine song, that I may gain a hundredfold! 4. (Pardon, O Agni, this sin of ours [incurred upon] the far road which we have travelled!) May our purchases and our sales be successful for us; may what I get in barter render me a gainer! May ye two (Indra and Agni) in accord take pleasure in this oblation! May our transactions and the accruing gain be auspicious to us! 5. The wealth with which I go to purchase, desiring, ye gods, to gain wealth through wealth, may that grow more, not less! Drive away, O Agni, in return for the oblation, the gods who shut off 6. The wealth with which I go to purchase, desiring, ye gods, to gain wealth through wealth, may Indra, Pragâpati, Savitar, Soma, Agni, place lustre into it for me! 7. We praise with reverence thee, O priest (Agni) Vaisvdnara. Do thou over our children, selves, cattle, and life's breath watch! 8. Daily, never failing, shall we bring (oblations to thee), O Gâtavedas, (as if fodder) to a horse standing (in the stable). In growth of wealth and nutriment rejoicing, may we, O Agni, thy neighbours, not take harm!

power. 1. Time, the steed, runs with seven reins (rays), thousand-eyed, ageless, rich in seed. The seers, thinking holy thoughts, mount him, all the beings (worlds) are his wheels. 2. With seven wheels does this Time ride, seven naves has he, immortality is his axle. He carries hither all these beings (worlds). Time, the first god, now hastens onward. 3. A full jar has been placed upon Time; him, verily, we see existing in many forms. He carries away all these beings (worlds); they call him Time in the highest heaven. 4. He surely did bring hither all the beings (worlds), he surely did encompass all the beings (worlds). Being their father, he became their son; there is, verily, no other force, higher than he. 5. Time begot yonder heaven, Time also (begot) these earths. That which was, and that which shall be, urged forth by Time, spreads out. 6. Time created the earth, in Time the sun burns. In Time are all beings, in Time the eye looks abroad. 7. In Time mind is fixed, in Time breath (is fixed), in Time names (are fixed); when Time has arrived all these creatures rejoice. 8. In Time tapas (creative fervour) is fixed; in Time the highest (being is fixed); in Time brahma (spiritual exaltation) is fixed; Time is the lord of everything, he was the father of Pragâpati. 9. By him this (universe) was urged forth, by him it was begotten, and upon him this (universe) was founded. Time, truly, having become the brahma (spiritual exaltation), supports Parameshthin (the highest lord). 10. Time created the creatures (pragâh), and Time in the beginning (created) the lord of creatures (Prâgapati); the self-existing Kasyapa and the tapas (creative fervour) from Time were born.

1. I release thee unto life by means of (my) oblation, from unknown decline, and from consumption. If Grâhi (seizure) has caught hold (gagrâha) of this person here, may Indra and Agni free him from that! 2. If his life has faded, even if he has passed away, if he has been brought to the very vicinity of death, I snatch him from the lap of Nirriti (the goddess of destruction): I have freed him unto a life of a hundred autumns. 3. I have snatched him (from death) by means of an oblation which has a thousand eyes, hundredfold strength, and -ensures a hundredfold life, in order that Indra may conduct him through the years across to the other side of every misfortune. 4. Live thou, thriving a hundred autumns, a hundred winters, and a hundred springs! May Indra, Agni, Savitar, Brihaspati (grant) thee a hundred years! I have snatched him (from death) with an oblation that secures a life,of a hundred years. 5. Enter ye, O in-breathirig and out-breathing, as two bulls a stable! Away shall go the other deaths, of which, it is said, there are a hundred more! 6. Remain ye here, O in-breathing and out-breathing, do not go away from here; do ye car anew to old age his body and his limbs! 7. To old age I make thee over, into old age I urge thee; may a happy old age guide thee! Away shall go the other deaths, of which, it is said, there are a hundred more! 8. Upon thee (life unto) old age has been deposited, as a rope is tied upon a bull. That death which has fettered thee at thy birth with a firm rope, Brihaspati with the hands of the truth did strip off from thee.

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. 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.

10. One is on the hither side, the other on the farther side of the back of the heavens; secretly are deposited the two receptacles of the brâhmanam (Brahmanic life). These the Brahmakârin protects by his tapas (creative fervour); understandingly he performs that brahma (spiritual exaltation) solely. 11. One on the hither side, the other away from the earth, do the two Agnis come together between these two hemispheres (of the world). To them adhere the rays firmly; the Brahmakârin by his tapas (creative fervour) enters into the (rays). 12. Shouting forth, thundering, red, white he carries a great penis along the earth. The Brahmakârin sprinkles seed upon the back of the earth; through it the four directions live. 13. Into fire, the sun, the moon, Mâtarisvan (wind), and the waters, the Brahmakârin places the firewood; the lights from these severally go into the clouds, from them come sacrificial butter, the purusha (primeval man), rain, and water. 14. Death is the teacher, (and) Varuna, Soma, the plants, milk; the clouds were the warriors: by these this light has been brought hither. 15. Varuna, having become the teacher, at home prepares the ghee solely. Whatever he desired from Pragâpati, that the Brahmakârin furnished, as Mitra (a friend) from his own Atman (spirit, or person). 16. The Brahmakârin is the teacher, the Brahmakârin Pragâpati. Pragâpati rules (shines forth, vi râgati); Virâg (heavenly power, or light) became Indra, the ruler. 17. Through holy disciplehood. (brahmakâryam), through tapas (creative fervour), the king protects his kingdom. The teacher by (his own) brahmakâryam (holy life) seeks (finds) the Brahmakârin. 18. Through holy disciplehood the maiden obtains a young husband, through holy disciplehood the steer, the horse seeks to obtain fodder. 19. Through holy disciplehood, through creative fervour, the gods drove away death. Indrajorsooth, by his holy disciplehood brought the light to the gods. 20.

(fever), and other ailments. 1. May the protecting god kushtha come hither from the Himavant: destroy thou every takman, and all female spooks! 2. Three names hast thou, O kushtha, (namely: kushtha), na-ghâ-mâra ('forsooth-no-death'), and na-ghâ-risha ('forsooth-no-harm'). Verily no harm shall suffer (na ghâ... rishat) this person here, for whom I bespeak thee morn and eve, aye the (entire) day! 3. Thy mother's name is gîvalâ ('quickening'), thy father's name is gîvanta ('living'). Verily no harm shall suffer this person here, for whom I bespeak thee morn and eve, aye the entire day! 4. Thou art the most superior of the plants, as a steer among cattle, as the tiger among beasts of prey. Verily no harm shall stiffer this person here, for whom I bespeak thee morn and eve, aye the entire day! 5. Thrice begotten by the Sâmbu Angiras, thrice by the Âdityas, and thrice by all the gods, this kushtha, a universal remedy, stands together with soma. Destroy thou every takman, and all female spooks! 6. The asvattha-tree is the seat of the gods in the third heaven from here. There came to sight the amrita (ambrosia), there the kushtha-plant was born. 7. A golden ship with golden tackle moved upon the heavens. There came to sight the amrita, there the kushtha-plant was born. 8. On the spot where the ship glided down, on the peak of the Himavant, there came to sight the ambrosia, there the kushtha-plant was born. This kushtha, a universal remedy, stands together with soma. Destroy thou every takman, and all female spooks! 9. (We know) thee whom Ikshvâku knew of yore, whom the women, fond of kushtha, knew, whom Vâyasa and Mâtsya knew: therefore art thou a universal remedy. 10. The takman that returns on each third day, the one that cominues without intermission, and the yearly one, ao thou, (O plant) of unremitting strength, drive away down below!

Apsaras and Gandharvas. 1. With thee, O herb, the Atharvans first slew the Rakshas, with thee Kasyapa slew (them), with thee Kanva and Agastya (slew them). 2. With thee do we scatter the Apsaras and Gandharvas. O agasringi (odina pinnata), goad (aga) the Rakshas, drive them all away with thy smell! 3. The Apsaras, Guggulil, I'lli, Naladi, Aukshagandhi, and Pramandani (by name), shall go to the river, to the ford of the waters, as if blown away! Thither do ye, O Apsaras, pass away, (since) ye have been recognised! 4. Where grow the asvattha (ficus religiosa) and the banyan-trees, the great trees with crowns, thither do ye, O Apsaras, pass away, (since) ye have been recognised! 5. Where your gold and silver swings are, where cymbals and lutes chime together, thither do ye, O Apsaras, pass away, (since) ye have been recog~ nised. 6. Hither has come the mightiest of the plants and herbs. May the agasringi arâtaki pierce with her sharp horn (tîkshmasringî)! 7. Of the crested Gandharva, the husband of the Apsaras, who comes dancing hither, I crush the two mushkas and cut off the sepas. 8. Terrible are the missiles of Indra, with a hundred points, brazen; with these he shall pierce the Gandharvas, who devour oblations, and devour the avakâ-reed. 9. Terrible are the missiles of Indra, with a hundred points, golden; with these he shall pierce the Gandharvas, who devour oblations, and devour the avakd-reed. 10. All the Pisâkas that devour the avakâ-reeds, that burn, and spread their little light in the waters, do thou, O herb, crush and overcome! 11. One is like a dog, one like an ape. As a youth, with luxuriant locks, pleasant to look upon, the Gandharva hangs about the woman. Him do we drive out from here with our powerful charm. 12. The Apsaras, you know, are your wives; ye, the Gandharvas, are their husbands. Speed away, ye immortals, do not go after mortals!

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.

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.

I cook, and I give (to the Brahmans), and so, too, my wife, at my religious rite and practice.-- With the birth of a son the world of children has arisen (for you): do ye two hold on to a life that extends beyond (your years)! 48. In that place exists no guilt, and no duplicity, not even if he goes conspiring with his friends. This full dish of ours has here been deposited: the cooked (porridge) shall come back again to him that cooks it! 49. kind deeds we shall perform for our friends: all that hate us shall go to darkness (hell)!--As (fruitful) cow, and (strong) steer, they (man and wife) shall during, every successive period of their lives drive away man-besetting death! 50. The fires (all) know one another, that which lives in plants, and lives in the waters, and all the (light-) gods that glow upon the heaven. The gold (here) becomes the light of him that cooks (the porridge). 51. This (naked skin) among the hides is born upon man (alone), all other animals are riot naked. Clothe yourselves, (ye Brahmans), in sheltering garments: (even) the face of the porridge is a homespun garment! 52. What falsehood thou shalt speak at play and in the assembly, or the falsehood that thou shalt speak through lust for gain--put on together, (O man and wife), this same garment, deposit upon it every blemish! 53. Produce rain, go to the gods, let smoke arise from (thy) surface; all-embracing, about to be covered with ghee, enter as a co-dweller this place! 54. In many ways heaven assumes within itself a different form, according to circumstances. It (the heaven) has laid aside its black form, purifying itself to a bright (form); the red form do I sacrifice fot thee into the fire. 55. Thee here we hand over to the eastern direction, to Agni as sovereign lord, to the black serpent as guardian, to Âditya as bowman: do ye guard it for us, until we arrive!

Purified the waters shall flow for our bodies; what flows off from us that do we deposit upon him we dislike: with a purifier, O earth, do I purify myself! 31. Thy easterly regions, and thy northern, thy southerly (regions), O earth, and thy western, shall be kind to me as I walk (upon thee)! May I that have been placed into the world not fall 32. Do not drive us from the west, nor from the east; not from the north, and not from the south! Security be thou for us, O earth: waylayers shall not find us, hold far away (their) murderous weapon! 33. As long as I look out upon thee, O earth, with Sûrya (the sun) as my companion, so long shall my sight not fall, as year followeth upon year! 34. When, as I lie, I turn upon my right or left side, O earth; when stretched out we lie with our ribs upon thee pressing against (us), do not, O earth, that liest close to everything, there injure us! 35. What, O earth, I dig out of thee, quickly shall that grow again: may I not, O pure one, pierce thy vital spot, (and) not thy heart! 36. Thy summer, O earth, thy rainy season, thy autumn, winter, early spring, and spring; thy decreed yearly seasons, thy days and nights shall yield us milk 37. The pure earth that starts in fright away from the serpent, upon whom were the fires that are within the waters, she that delivers (to destruction) the blasphemous Dasyus, she that takes the side of Indra, not of Vritra, (that earth) adheres to Sakra (mighty Indra), the lusty bull. 38. Upon whom rests the sacrificial hut (sadas) and the (two) vehicles that hold the soma (havirdhâne), in whom the sacrificial post is fixed, upon whom the Brâhmanas praise (the gods) with riks and sâmans, knowing (also) the yagur-formulas; upon whom the serving-priests (ritvig) are employed so that Indra shall drink the soma;-- 39.

Thy forest animals, the wild animals homed in the woods, the man-eating lions, and tigers that roam; the ula, the wolf, mishap, injury (rikshikâ), and demons (rakshas), O earth, drive away from us! 50. The Gandharvas, the Apsaras, the Arâyas and Kimîdins; the Pisâkas and all demons (rakshas), these, O earth, hold from us! 51. The earth upon whom the biped birds fly together, the flamingoes, eagles, birds of prey, and fowls; upon whom Mâtarisvan, the wind, hastens, raising the dust, and tossing the trees-as the wind blows forth and back the flame bursts after;-- 52. The earth upon whom day and night jointly, black and bright, have been decreed, the broad earth covered and enveloped with rain, shall kindly place us into every pleasant abode! 53. Heaven, and earth, and air have here given me expanse; Agni, Sûrya, the waters, and all the gods together have given me wisdom. 54. Mighty am I, 'Superior' (uttara) by name, upon the earth, conquering am I, all-conquering, completely conquering every region. 55. At that time, O goddess, when, spreading., (prathamânâ) forth, named (prithivî 'broad') by the gods, thou didst extend to greatness, then prosperity did enter thee, (and) thou didst fashion the four regions. 56. In the villages and in the wilderness, in the assembly-halls that are upon the earth; in the gatherings, and in the meetings, may we hold forth agreeably to thee! 57. As dust a steed did she, as soon as she was born, scatter these people, that dwelt upon the earth, she the lovely one, the leader, the guardian of the world, that holds the trees and plants. 58. The words I speak, honied do I speak them: the things I see they furnish me with. Brilliant I am and alert: the others that rush (against me) do I beat down. 59. Gentle, fragrant, kindly, with the sweet drink (kîlâla) in her udder, rich in milk, the broad earth together with (her) milk shall give us courage! 60.

With the flesh-devouring Agni do we burn our rivals. 30. Smite them down, O Indra, with the thunderbolt, with thy (strong) arm! Then have I overpowered my rivals with Agni's brilliant strengths. 31. O Agni, subject our rivals to us; confuse, O Brihaspati, the kinsman that is puffed up! O Indra and Agni, O Mitra and Varuna, subjected they shall be, unable to vent their wrath against 32. Do thou, god Sûrya (the sun), when thou risest, beat down my rivals, beat them down with a stone: they shall go to the nethermost darkness! 33. The calf of Virâg, the bull of prayers, carrying the bright (soma) upon his back, has ascended the atmosphere. A song accompanied by ghee they sing to the calf; himself brahma (spiritual exaltation) they swell him with their brahma (prayer). 34. Ascend the heavens, ascend the earth sovereignty ascend thou, and possessions ascend thou! Offspring ascend thou, and immortality ascend thou, unite thy body with Rohita! 35. The gods that hold sovereignty, who go about the sun, with these allied, Rohita, kindly disposed, shall bestow sovereignty upon thee! 36. The sacrifices purified by prayer lead thee forth; the bay steeds that travel upon the road carry thee: thou shinest across the swelling ocean. 37. In Rohita who conquers wealth, conquers cattle, and conquers booty, heaven and earth are fixed. Of thee that hast a thousand and seven births, let me announce the origin over the extent of the world! 38. Glorious thou goest to the intermediate directions and the directions (of space), glorious (in the sight) of animals and the tribes of men, glorious in the lap of the earth, of Aditi: may I like Savitar be lovely! 39. Being yonder thou knowest (what takes place) here; being here thou beholdest these things. Here (men) behold the inspired sun that shines upon the sky. 40. A god thou praisest the gods, thou movest within the flood. They kindle (him), a universal fire; him the highest sages know. 41.