Atharva Veda
Section - 1
Translator
– Maurice Bloomfield
I. CHARMS TO CURE DISEASES AND POSSESSION BY DEMONS
OF DISEASE (BHAISHAGYKNI).
V,
22. Charm against takman (fever) and related diseases.
1. May
Agni drive the takman away from here, may Soma, the press-stone, and Varuna, of
tried skill; may the altar, the straw (upon the altar), and the
brightly-flaming fagots (drive him away)! Away to naught shall go the hateful
powers!
2. Thou
that makest all men sallow, inflarning them like a searing fire, even now, O
takman, thou shalt become void of strength: do thou now go away down, aye, into
the depths!
3. The
takman that is spotted, covered Nvith spots, like reddish sediment, him thou,
(O plant) of unremitting potency, drive away down below!
4.
Having made obeisance to the takman, I cast him down below: let him, the
champion of Sakambhara, return again to the Mahâvrishas!
5. His
home is with the Mûgavants, his home with the Mahâvrishas. From the moment of
thy birth thou art indigenous with the Balhikas.
6. O takman,
vyãla, ví gada, vyánga, hold off (thy missile) far! Seek the gadabout
slave-girl, strike her with thy bolt!
7. O
takman, go to the Mûgavants, or to the Balhikas farther away! Seek the
lecherous Sûdra female: her, O takman, give a good shaking-up!
8. Go
away to the Mahâvrishas and the Mûgavants, thy kinsfolk, and consume them!
Those (regions) do we bespeak for the takman, or these regions here other (than
ours).
9. (If)
in other regions thou dost not abide, mayest thou that art powerful take pity
on us! Takman, now, has become eager: he will go to the Balhikas.
10. When
thou, being cold, and then again deliriously hot, accompanied by cough, didst
cause the (sufferer) to shake, then, O takman, thy missiles were terrible: from
these surely exempt us!
11. By
no means ally thyself with balâsa, cough and spasm! From there do thou not
return hither again: that, O takman, do I ask of thee!
12. O
takman, along with thy brother balâsa, along with thy sister cough, along with
thy cousin pâman, go to yonder foreign folk!
13.
Destroy the takman that returns on (each) third day, the one that intermits
(each) third day, the one that continues without intermission, and the autumnal
one; destroy the cold takman, the hot, him that comes in summer, and him that
arrives in the rainy season!
14. To
the Gandhâris, the Mâgavants, the Angas, and the Magadhas, we deliver over the
takman, like a servant, like a treasure!
VI,
20. Charm against takman (fever).
1. As if
from this Agni (fire), that burns and flashes, (the takman) comes. Let him
then, too, as a babbling drunkard, pass away! Let him, the impious one, search
out some other person, not ourselves! Reverence be to the takman with the
burning weapon!
2.
Reverence be to Rudra, reverence to the takman, reverence to the luminous king
Varuna! Reverence to heaven, reverence to earth, reverence to the plants!
3. To
thee here, that burnest through, and turnest all bodies yellow, to the red, to
the brown, to the takman produced by the forest, do I render obeisance.
I,
25. Charm against takman (fever).
1. When
Agni, having entered the waters, burned, where the (gods) who uphold the order
(of the universe) rendered homage (to Agni), there, they say, is thy origin on
high: do thou feel for us, and spare us, O takman!
2.
Whether thou art flame, whether thou art heat, or whether from licking chips
(of wood) thou bast arisen, Hrûdu by name art thou, O god of the yellow: do
thou feel for us, and spare us, O takman!
3.
Whether thou art burning, whether thou art scorching, or whether thou art the
son of king Varuna, Hrûdu by name art thou, O god of the yellow: do thou feel
for us, and spare us, O takman!
4. To
the cold takman, and to the deliriously hot, the glowing, do I render homage.
To hirn that returns on the morrow, to him that returns for two (successive)
days, to the takman that returns on the third day, homage shall be!
VII,
116. Charm against takman (fever).
1.
Homage (be) to the deliriously hot, the shaking, exciting, impetuous (takman)!
Homage to the cold (takman), to him that in the past fulfilled desires!
’2. May (the takman) that returns on the morrow, he that returns on two (successive) days, the impious one, pass into this frog!
’2. May (the takman) that returns on the morrow, he that returns on two (successive) days, the impious one, pass into this frog!
V,
4. Prayer to the kushtha-plant to destroy takman (fever).
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 me!
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!
XIX,
39. Prayer to the kushtha-plant to destroy takman (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!
I,
12. Prayer to lightning, conceived as the cause of fever, headache, and cough.
1. The
first red bull, born of the (cloud-)womb, born of wind and clouds, comes on
thundering with rain. May he, that cleaving moves straight on, spare our
bodies; he who, a single force, has passed through threefold!
2.
Bowing down to thee that fastenest thyself with heat upon every limb, we would
reverence thee with oblations; we would reverence with oblations the crooks and
hooks of thee that hast, as a seizer, seized the limbs of this person.
3. Free
him from headache and also from cough, (produced by the lightning) that has
entered his every joint! May the flashing (lightning), that is born of the
cloud, and born of the wind, strike the trees and the mountains!
4.
Comfort be to my upper limb, comfort be to my nether; comfort be to my four
members, comfort to my entire body!
I,
22. Charm against jaundice and related diseases.
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.
VI,
14. Charm against the disease balâsa.
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!
VI, 105. Charm against cough.
1. As
the-soul with the soul’s desires swiftly to a distance flies, thus do thou, O
cough, fly forth along the soul’s course of flight!
2. As a
well-sharpened arrow swiftly to a distance flies, thus do thou, O cough, fly
forth along the expanse of the earth!
3. As the
rays of the sun swiftly to a distance fly, thus do thou, O cough, fly forth
along the flood of the sea!
I, 2.
Charm against excessive discharges from the body.
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!
II,
3. Charm against excessive discharges from the body, 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, and
that hath removed disease.
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!
VI,
44. Charm against excessive discharges from the body.
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).
I,
3. Charm against constipation and retention of urine.
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!
VI,
90. Charm against internal pain (colic), due to the missiles of Rudra.
1. The
arrow that Rudra did cast upon thee, into (thy) limbs, and into thy heart, this
here do we now draw out away from thee.
2. From
the hundred arteries which are distributed along thy limbs, from all of these
do we exorcise forth the poisons.
3.
Adoration be to thee, O Rudra, as thou casteth (thy arrow); adoration to the
(arrow) when it has been placed upon (the bow); adoration to it as it is being
hurled; adoration to it when it has fallen down!
I,
10. Charm against dropsy.
1. This
Asura rules over the gods; the commands of Varuna, the ruler, surely come true.
From this (trouble), from the wrath of the mighty (Varuna), do I, excelling in
my incantation, lead out this man.
2.
Reverence, O king Varuna, be to thy wrath, for all falsehood, O mighty one,
clost thou discover. A thousand others together do I make over to thee: this
thy (man) shall live a hundred autumns!
3. From
the untruth which thou hast spoken, the abundant wrong, with thy tongue–from
king, Varuna I release thee, whose laws do not fail.
4. I release
thee from Vaisvânara (Agni), from the great flood. Our rivals, O mighty one, do
thou censure here, and give heed to our prayer!
VII,
83. Charm against dropsy.
1. Thy
golden chamber, king Varuna, is built in the waters! Thence the king that
maintains the laws shall loosen all shackles!
2. From
every habitation (of thine), O king Varuna, from here do thou free us! In that
we have said, ‘ye waters, ye cows;’ in that we have said, ‘O Varuna,’ from this
(sin), O Varuna, free us!
3. Lift
from us, O Varuna, the uppermost fetter, take down the nethermost, loosen the
middlemost! Then shall we, O Âditya, in thy law, exempt from guilt, live in
freedom!
4.
Loosen from us, O Varuna, all fetters, the uppermost, the nethermost, and those
imposed by Varuna! Evil dreams, and misfortune drive away from us: then may we
go to the world of the pious!
VI,
24. Dropsy, heart-disease, and kindred maladies cured by flowing water.
1. From
the Himavant (mountains) they flow forth, in the Sindhu (Indus),
forsooth, is their assembling-place: may the waters, indeed, grant me that cure
for heart-ache!
2. The
pain that hurts me in the eyes, and that which hurts in the heels and the
fore-feet, the waters, the most skilled of physicians, shall put all that to
rights!
3. Ye
rivers all, whose mistress is Sindhu, whose queen is Sindhu, grant us the
remedy for that: through this (remedy) may we derive benefit from you!
VI,
80. An oblation to the sun, conceived as one of the two heavenly dogs, as a
cure for paralysis.
1.
Through the air he flies, looking down upon all beings: with the majesty of the
heavenly dog, with that oblation would we pay homage to thee!
2. The
three kâlakâñga that are fixed upon the sky like gods, all these I have called
for help, to render this person exempt from injury.
3. In
the waters is thy origin, upon the heavens thy home, in the middle of the sea,
and upon the earth thy greatness. With the majesty of the heavenly dog, with
that oblation would we pay homage to thee!
II,
8. Charm against kshetriya, hereditary disease.
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!
II,
10. Charm against kshetriya, hereditary disease.
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.
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.
III,
7. Charm against kshetriya, hereditary disease.
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!
I, 23. Leprosy cured by a dark plant.
1. Born
by night art thou, O plant, dark, black, sable. Do thou, that art rich in
colour, stain this leprosy, and the gray spots!
2. The leprosy and the gray spots drive away from here–may thy native colour settle upon thee–the white spots cause to fly away!
3. Sable is thy hiding-place, sable thy dwelling-place, sable art thou, O plant: drive away from here the speckled spots!
4. The leprosy which has originated in the bones, and that which has originated in the body and upon the skin, the white mark begotten of corruption, I have destroyed with my charm.
2. The leprosy and the gray spots drive away from here–may thy native colour settle upon thee–the white spots cause to fly away!
3. Sable is thy hiding-place, sable thy dwelling-place, sable art thou, O plant: drive away from here the speckled spots!
4. The leprosy which has originated in the bones, and that which has originated in the body and upon the skin, the white mark begotten of corruption, I have destroyed with my charm.
I, 24. Leprosy cured by a dark plant.
1. The
eagle (suparna) that was born at first, his gall thou wast, O plant. The Âsurî
having conquered this (gall) gave it to the trees for their colour.
2. The
Âsurî was the first to construct this remedy for leprosy, this destroyer of
leprosy. She has destroyed the leprosy, has made the skin of even colour.
3.
‘Even-colour’ is the name of thy mother; ‘Even-colour’ is the name of thy
father; thou, O plant, producest even colour: render this (spot) of even
colour!
4. The black
(plant) that produces even colour has been fetched out of the earth. Do thou
now, pray, perfect this, construct anew the colours!
VI, 83. Charm for curing scrofulous sores called apakit.
1. Fly
forth, ye apakit (sores), as an eagle from the nest! Sûrya (the sun) shall
prepare a remedy, Kandramâs (the moon) shall shine you away!
2. One
is variegated, one is white, one is black, and two are red: I have gotten the
names of all of them. Go ye away without slaying men!
3. The
apakit, the daughter of the black one, without bearing offspring will fly away;
the boil will fly away from here, the galunta (swelling) will perish.
4.
Consume thy own (proper) oblation with gratification in thy mind, when I here
offer svâhâ in my mind!
VII, 76.
A. Charm
for curing scrofulous sores called apakit.
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!
VII, 74.
A. Charm
for curing scrofulous sores called apakit.
1. We
have heard it said that the mother of the black Apakit (pustules) is red: with
the root (found by) the divine sage do I strike all these.
2. I
strike the foremost one of them, and I strike also the middlemost of them; this
hindmost one I cut off as a flake (of wool).
B. Charm
to appease jealousy.
3. With
Tvashtar’s charm I have sobered down thy jealousy; also thy anger, O lord, we
have quieted.
C.
Prayer to Agni, the lord of vows.
4. Do
thou, O lord of vows, adorned with vows, ever benevolently here shine! May we
all, adoring thee, when thou hast been kindled, O Gâtavedas, be rich in
offspring!
VI,
25. Charm against scrofulous sores upon neck and 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!
VI, 57. Urine (gâlâsha) as a cure for scrofulous sores.
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!
IV, 12. Charm with the plant arundhatî (lâkshâ) for the cure 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!
V,
5. Charm with the plant silâki (lâkshâ, arundhatî) for the 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!
come to us, O arundhatî!
VI, 109. The pepper-corn as a cure for wounds.
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.
I, 17. Charm to stop the flow of blood.
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).
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!
II, 31. Charm against worms.
1. With
Indra’s great mill-stone, that crushes all vermin, do I grind to pieces the
worms, as lentils with a mill-stone.
2. I
have crushed the visible and the invisible worm, and the kurûru, too, I have
crushed. All the algandu and the saluna, the worms, we grind to pieces with our
charm.
3. The
algandu do I smite with a mighty weapon: those that have been burned, and those
that have not been burned, have become devoid of strength. Those that are left
and those that are not left do I destroy with my song, so that not one of the
worms be left.
4. The
worm which is in the entrails, and he that is in the head, likewise the one
that is in the ribs: avaskava and vyadhvara, the worms, do we crush with (this)
charm.
5. The
worms that are within the mountains, forests, plants, cattle, and the waters,
those that have settled in our bodies, all that brood of the worms do I smite.
II. 32. Charm against worms in cattle.
1. The
rising sun shall slay the worms, the setting sun with his rays shall slay the
worms that are within the cattle!
2. The
variegated worm, the four-eyed, the speckled, and the white–I crush his ribs,
and I tear off his head.
3. Like
Atri, like Kanva, and like Gamadagni do I slay you, ye worms! With the
incantation of Agastya do I crush the worms to pieces.
4. Slain
is the king of the worms, and their viceroy also is slain. Slain is the worm,
with him his mother slain, his brother slain, his sister slain.
5. Slain
are they who are inmates with him, slain are his neighbours; moreover all the
quite tiny worms are slain.
6. I
break off thy two horns with which thou deliverest thy thrusts; I cut that bag
of thine which is the receptacle for thy poison.
V, 23. Charm against worms in children.
1. I
have called upon heaven and earth, I have called upon the goddess Sarasvatî, I
have called upon Indra and Agni: ‘they shall crush the worm,’ (I said).
2. Slay
the worms in this boy, O Indra, lord of treasures! Slain are all the evil
powers by my fierce imprecation!
3. Him
that moves about in the eyes, that moves about in the nose, that gets to the
middle of the teeth, that worm do we crush.
4. The
two of like colour, the two of different colour; the two black ones, and the
two red ones; the brown one, and the brown-eared one; the (one like a) vulture,
and the (one like a) cuckoo, are slain.
5. The
worms with white shoulders, the black ones with white arms, and all those that
are variegated, these worms do we crush.
6. In
the east rises the sun, seen by all, slaying that which is not seen; slaying
the seen and the unseen (worms), and grinding to pieces all the worms.
7. The
yevâsha and the kashkasha, the egatka, and the sipavitnuka–the seen worm shall
be slain, moreover the unseen shall be slain!
8. Slain
of the worms is the yevâsha, slain further is the nadaniman; all have I crushed
down like lentils with a mill-stone.
9. The
worm with three heads and the one with three skulls, the speckled, and the
white–I crush his ribs and I tear off his head.
10. Like
Atri, like Kanva, and like Gamadagni do I slay you, ye worms! With the
incantation of Agastya do I crush the worms to pieces.
11.
Slain is the king of the worms, and their viceroy also is slain. Slain is the
worm, with him his mother slain, his brother slain, his sister slain.
12.
Slain are they who are inmates with him, slain are his neighbours; moreover all
the quite tiny worms are slain.
13. Of
all the male worms, and of all the female worms do I split the heads with the
stone, I burn their faces with fire.
IV, 6. Charm against poison.
1. The
Brâhmana was the first to be born, with ten heads and ten mouths. He was the
first to drink the soma; that did render poison powerless.
2. As
great as heaven and earth are in extent, as far as the seven streams did
spread, so far from here have I proclaimed forth this charm that destroys
poison.
3. The
eagle Garutmant did, O poison, first devour thee. Thou didst not bewilder him,
didst not injure him, yea, thou didst turn into food for him.
4. The
five-fingered hand that did hurl upon thee (the arrow) even from the curved
bow–from the point of the tearing (arrow) have I charmed away the poison.
5. From
the point (of the arrow) have I charmed away the poison, from the substance
that has been smeared upon it, and from its plume. From its barbed horn, and
its neck, I have charmed away the poison.
6.
Powerless, O arrow, is thy point, and powerless is thy poison. Moreover of
powerless wood is thy powerless bow, O powerless (arrow)!
7. They
that ground (the poison), they that daubed it on, they that hurled it, and they
that let it go, all these have been rendered impotent. The mountain that grows
poisonous plants has been rendered impotent.
8.
Impotent are they that dig thee, impotent art thou, O plant! Impotent is that
mountain height whence this poison has sprung.
IV, 7. Charm against poison.
1. This
water (vâr) in the (river) Varanâvatî shall ward off (vârayâtai)! Amrita
(ambrosia) has been poured into it: with that do I ward off (vâraye) poison
from thee.
2.
Powerless is the poison from the east, powerless that from the north. Moreover
the poison from the south transforms itself into a porridge.
3.
Having made thee (the poison) that comes from a horizontal direction into a
porridge, rich in fat, and cheering, from sheer hunger he has eaten thee, that
hast an evil body: do thou not cause injury!
4. Thy
bewildering quality (madam), O (plant?) that art bewildering (madivati), we
cause to fall like a reed. As a boiling pot of porridge do we remove thee by
(our) charm.
5.
(Thee, O poison) that art, as it were, heaped about the village, do we cause to
stand still by (our) charm. Stand still as a tree upon its place; do not, thou
that hast been dug with the spade, cause injury!
6. With
broom-straw (?), garments, and also with skins they purchased thee: a thing for
barter art thou, O plant! Do not, thou that hast been dug with the spade, cause
injury!
7. Those
of you who were of yore unequalled in the deeds which they performed-may the),
not injure here our men: for this very purpose do I engage you!
VI,
100. Ants as an antidote against poison.
1. The
gods have given, the sun has given, the earth has given, the three Sarasvatîs,
of one mind, have given this poison-destroying (remedy)!
2. That
water, O ants, which the gods poured for you into the dry land, with this
(water), sent forth by the gods, do ye destroy this poison!
3. Thou
art the daughter of the Asuras, thou art the sister of the gods. Sprung from
heaven and earth, thou didst render the poison devoid of strength.
VI, 13 Charm against snake-poison.
1.
Varuna, the sage of heaven, verily lends (power) to rne. With mighty charms do
I dissolve thy poison. The (poison) which has been dug, that which has not been
duo-, and that which is inherent, 1 have held fast. As a brook in the desert
thy poison has dried up.
2. That
poison of thine which is not fluid I have confined within these (serpents?). I
hold fast the sap that is in thy middle, thy top, and in thy bottom, too. May
(the sap) now vanish out of thee from fright!
3. My
lusty shout (is) as the thunder with the cloud: then do I smite thy (sap) with
my strong charm. With manly strength I have held fast that sap of his. May the
sun rise as light from the darkness!
4. With
my eye do I slay thy eye, with poison do I slay thy poison. O serpent, die, do
not live; back upon thee shall thy poison turn!
5. O
kairâta, speckled one, upatrinya (grass-dweller?), brown one, listen to me; ye
black repulsive reptiles, (listen to me)! Do not stand upon the ground of my
friend; cease with your poison and make it known (to people?)!
6. I
release (thee) from the fury of the black serpent, the taimâta, the brown
serpent, the poison that is not fluid, the all-conquering, as the bowstring (is
loosened) from the bow, as chariots (from horses).
7. Both
Âligî and Viligî, both father and mother, we know your kin everywhere. Deprived
of your strength what will ye do?
8. The
daughter of urugûlâ, the evil one born with the black–of all those who have run
to their hiding-place the poison is devoid of force.
9. The
prickly porcupine, tripping down from the mountain, did declare this:
‘Whatsoever serpents, living in ditches, are here, their poison is most
deficient in force.’
10.
Tâbuvam (or) not tâbuvam, thou (O serpent) art not tâbuvam. Through tâbuvam thy
poison is bereft of force.
11. Tastuvam
(or) not tastuvam, thou (O serpent) art not tastuvam. Through tastuvarn thy
poison is bereft of force.
VI, 12. Charm against snake-poison.
1. As
the sun (goes around) the heavens I have surrounded the race of the serpents.
As night (puts to rest) all animals except the hamsa bird, (thus) do I with
this (charm) ward off thy poison.
2. With
(the charm) that was found of yore by the Brahmans, found by the Rishis, and
found by the gods, with (the charm) that was, will be, and is now present, with
this do I ward off thy poison.
3. With
honey do I mix the rivers; the mountains and peaks are honey. Honey are the
rivers Parushnî and Sîpalâ. Prosperity be to thy mouth, prosperity to thy
heart!
VII, 56. Charm against the poison of serpents, scorpions, and insects.
1. The
poison infused by the serpent that is striped across, by the black serpent, and
by the adder; that poison of the kankaparvan (‘with limbs like a comb,’
scorpion) this plant has driven out.
2. This
herb, born of honey, dripping honey, sweet as honey, honied, is the remedy for
injuries; moreover it crushes insects.
3.
Wherever thou hast been bitten, wherever thou hast been sucked, from there do
we exorcise for thee the poison of the small, greedily biting insect, (so that
it be) devoid of strength.
4. Thou
(serpent) here, crooked, without joints, and without limbs, that twisteth thy
crooked jawsmayest thou, O Brihaspati, straighten them out, as
a (bent) reed!
a (bent) reed!
5. The
poison of the sarkota (scorpion) that creeps low upon the ground, (after he)
has been deprived of his strength, I have taken away; moreover I have caused
him to be crushed.
6. There
is no strength in thy arms, in thy head, nor in the middle (of thy body). Then
why dost thou so wickedly carry a small (sting) in thy tail?
7. The
ants devour thee, pea-hens hack thee to pieces. Yea, every one of you shall
declare the poison of the sarkota powerless!
8. Thou
(scorpion) that strikest with both, with mouth as well as tail, in thy mouth
there is no poison: then what can there be in the receptacle in thy tail?
VI, 16. Charm against ophthalmia.
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?)!
VI, 21. Charm to promote the growth of hair.
1. Of
these three earths (our) earth verily is the highest. From the surface of these
I have now plucked a remedy.
2. Thou
art the most excellent of remedies, the best of plants, as Soma (the moon) is
the lord in the watches of the night, as Varuna (is king) among the gods.
3. O ye
wealthy, irresistible (plants), ye do generously bestow benefits. And ye
strengthen the hair, and, moreover, promote its increase.
VI, 136. Charm with the plant nitatni to promote the growth of hair.
1. As a
goddess upon the goddess earth thou wast born, O plant! We dig thee up, O
nitatni, that thou mayest strengthen (the growth) of the hair.
2.
Strengthen the old (hair), beget the new! That which has come forth render more
luxurious!
3. That
hair of thine which does drop off, and that which is broken root and all, upon
it do I sprinkle here the all-healing herb.
VI, 137. Charm to promote the growth of hair.
1. The
(plant) that Gamadagni dug up to promote the growth of his daughter’s hair,
Vâtahavya has brought here from the dwelling of Asita.
2. With
reins they had to be measured, with outstretched arms they had to be measured
out. May thy hairs grow as reeds, may they (cluster), black, about thy head!
3. Make
firm their roots, draw out their ends, expand their middle., O herb! May thy
hairs grow as reeds, may they (cluster), black, about thy head!
IV, 4. Charm to promote virility.
1. Thee,
the plant, which the Gandharva dug up for Varuna, when his virility had
decayed, thee, that causest strength[1], we dig up.
2. Ushas
(Aurora), Sûrya, (the sun), and this charm of mine; the bull Pragâpati (the
lord of creatures) shall with his lusty fire arouse him!
3. This
herb shall make thee so very full of lusty strength, that thou shalt, when thou
art excited, exhale heat as a thing on fire!
4. The
fire of the plants, and the essence of the bulls shall arouse him! Do thou, O
Indra, controller of bodies, place the lusty force of men into this person!
5. Thou
(O herb) art the first-born sap of the waters and also of the plants. Moreover
thou art the brother of Soma, and the lusty force of the antelope buck!
6. Now,
O Agni, now, O Savitar, now, O goddess Sarasvatî, now, O Brahmanaspati, do thou
stiffen the pasas as a bow!
7. I
stiffen thy pasas as a bowstring upon the bow. Embrace thou (women) as the
antelope buck the gazelle with ever unfailing (strength)!
8. The
strength of the horse, the mule, the goat and the ram, moreover the strength of
the bull bestow upon him, O controller of bodies (Indra)!
[1. The original, more drastically, sepaharshanîm. By a few changes and omissions in stanzas 3, 6, and 7 the direct simplicity of the original has been similarly veiled.]
[1. The original, more drastically, sepaharshanîm. By a few changes and omissions in stanzas 3, 6, and 7 the direct simplicity of the original has been similarly veiled.]
VI,
111. Charm against mania.
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!
IV,
37. Charm with the plant agasringi to drive out Rakshas, 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!
II, 9. Possession by demons of disease, cured by an amulet of 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!
Let him indeed, the holy one, prepare remedies for thee, together with the (earthly) physician!
IV, 6. Charm against demons (pisâka) conceived as the cause 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.
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.
II, 25. Charm with the plant prisniparnî against the demon 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.
VI, 32. Charm for driving away demons (Rakshas and 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.
II,
4. Charm with an amulet derived from the gangida tree, 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.
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!
I0. 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!
XIX,
35. Charm with an amulet derived from the gangida-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!
VI, 85. Exorcism of disease by means of an amulet from the 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.
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.
VI, 127. The kîpudru-tree as a panacea.
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.
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.
XIX, 38. The healing properties of bdellium.
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.
VI,
91. Barley and water as universal remedies.
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!
VIII, 7. Hymn to all magic and medicinal plants, used as a 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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
VI,
96. Plants as a panacea.
1. The
many plants of hundredfold aspect, whose king is Soma, which have been begotten
by Brihaspati, shall free us from calamity!
2. May
they free us from (the calamity) consequent upon curses, and also from the
(toils) of Varuna; moreover, from the foot-fetter of Yama, and every sin
against the gods!
3. What laws we have infringed upon, with the eye, the mind, and speech, either while awake, or asleep-may Soma by his (divine) nature clear these (sins) away from us!
3. What laws we have infringed upon, with the eye, the mind, and speech, either while awake, or asleep-may Soma by his (divine) nature clear these (sins) away from us!
II, 32. Charm to secure perfect health.
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.
IX, 8. Charm to procure immunity from all diseases.
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 thee.
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. 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.
II, 29. Charm for obtaining long life and prosperity by 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!
Atharva Veda
Section -2
II. PRAYERS FOR LONG LIFE AND HEALTH (ÂYUSHYÂNI).
III,
11. Prayer for health and long life.
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.
II, 28. Prayer for long life pronounced over a boy.
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!
III, 31. Prayer for health and long life.
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.
VII, 53. Prayer for long life.
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.
VIII, 1. Prayer for exemption from the dangers of death.
1. To
the ‘Ender,’ to Death be reverence! May thy in-breathing and thy out-breathing
remain here! United here with (life’s) spirit this man shall be, sharing in the
sun, in the world of immortality (amrita)!
2. Bhaga
has raised him up, Soma with his rays (has raised) him up, the Maruts, the
gods, (have raised) him up, Indra and Agni (have raised) him up unto
well-being.
3. Here
(shall be) thy (life’s) spirit, here thy inbreathing, here thy life, here thy
mind! We rescue thee from the toils of Nirriti (destruction) by means of our
divine utterance.
4. Rise
up hence, O man! Casting off the footshackles of death, do not sink down! Be
not cut off from this world, from the sight of Agni and the sun!
5. The
wind, Mâtarisvan, shall blow for thee, the waters shall shower amrita
(ambrosia) upon thee, the sun shall shine kindly for thy body! Death shall pity
thee: do not waste away!
6. Thou
shalt ascend and not descend, O man! Life and alertness do I prepare for thee.
Mount, forsooth, this imperishable, pleasant car; then in old age thou shalt
hold converse with thy family!
7. Thy
mind shall not go thither, shall not disappear! Do not become heedless of the
living, do not follow the Fathers! All the gods shall preserve thee here!
8. Do
not long after the departed, who conduct (men) afar! Ascend from the darkness,
come to the light! We lay hold of thy hands.
9. The
two dogs of Yama, the black and the brindled one, that guard the road (to
heaven), that have been despatched, shall not (go after) thee! Come hither, do
not long to be away; do not tarry here with thy mind turned to a distance!
10. Do
not follow this path: it is terrible! I speak of that by which thou hast not
hitherto gone. Darkness is this, O man, do not enter it! Danger is beyond,
security here for thee.
11. May
the fires that are within the waters gLiard thee, may (the fire) which men
kindle guard thee, may Gâtavedas Vaisvânara (the fire common to all men) guard
thee! 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 thee!
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.
VIII,
2. Prayer for exemption from the dangers of death.
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. 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. 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. 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!
IV, 9. Salve (âñgana) as a protector of life and limb.
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!
IV, 10.
The pearl and its shell as an amulet bestowing long 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!
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!
XIX,
26. Gold as an amulet for long life.
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!
Atharva Veda
Section -3
III. IMPRECATIONS AGAINST DEMONS, SORCERERS, AND
ENEMIES (ÂBHIKÂRIKÂNI AND KRITYÂPRATIHARANÂNI).
I,
7. Against sorcerers and demons.
1. The
sorcerer (yâtudhâna) that vaunts himsel and the Kimîdin do thou, O Agni, convey
hither! For thou, O god, when lauded, becomest the destroyer of the demon.
2.
Partake of the ghee, of the sesame-oil, O Agni Gâtavedas, that standest on
high, conquerest by thyself! Make the sorcerers howl!
3. The
sorcerers and the devouring (atrin) Kimîdin shall howl! Do ye, moreover, O Agni
and Indra, receive graciously this our oblation!
4. Agni
shall be the first to seize them, Indra with his (strong) arms shall drive them
away! Every wizard, as soon as he comes, shall proclaim himself, saying, ‘I am
he’!
5. We
would see thy might, O Gâtavedas; disclose to us the wizards, O thou that
beholdest men! May they all, driven forth by thy fire, disclosing themselves,
come to this spot!
6. Seize
hold, O Gâtavedas: for our good thou wast born! Become our messenger, O Agni,
and make the sorcerers howl!
7. Do
thou, O Agni, drag hither the sorcerers, bound in shackles; then Indra with his
thunderbolt shall cut off their heads!
I,
8. Against sorcerers and demons.
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!
I, 16. Charm with lead, against demons and sorcerers.
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.
VI, 2. The soma-oblation directed against Demons (rakshas).
1. Press
the soma, ye priests, and rinse it (for renewed pressing), in behalf of Indra
who shall listen to the song of the worshipper, and to my call!
2. Do
thou, O doughty (Indra), whom the drops of soma enter as birds a tree, beat off
the hostile brood of the Rakshas!
3. Press
ye the soma for Indra, the soma-drinker, who wields the thunderbolt! A youthful
victor and ruler is he, praised by many men.
II, 14. Charm against a variety of female demons, conceived 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!
III, 9. Against vishkandha and kâbava (hostile demons).
1. Of karsapha
and visapha heaven is the father and earth the mother. As, ye gods, ye have
brought on (the trouble), thus do ye again remove it!
2.
Without fastening the), (the protecting plants?) held fast, thus it has been
arranged by Manu. The vishkandha do I render impotent, like one who gelds
cattle.
3. A
talisman tied to a reddish thread the active (seers) then do fasten on: may the
fastenings render impotent the eager, fiery kâbava!
4. And
since, O ye eager (demons), ye walk like gods by the wile of the Asuras, the
fastening (of the amulet) is destructive to the kâbava, as the ape to the dog.
5. I
revile thee, the kâbava, unto misfortune, (and) shall work harm for thee.
Accompanied with curses ye shall go out like swift chariots!
6. A
hundred and one vishkandha are spread out along the earth; for these at the
beginning they brought out thee, the amulet, that destroys vishkandha.
IV, 20. Charm with a certain plant (sadampushpâ) which exposes demons and enemies.
1. He
sees here, he sees yonder, he sees in the distance, he sees–the sky, the
atmosphere as well as the earth, all that, O goddess, he sees.
2. The
three heavens, the three earths, and these six directions severally; all
creatures may I see through thee, O divine plant!
3. Thou
art verily the eyeball of the divine eagle; thou didst ascend the earth as a
weary woman a palanquin.
4. The
thousand-eyed god shall put this plant into my right hand: with that do I see
every one, the Sûdra as well as the Ârya.
5.
Reveal (all) forms, do not hide thy own self; moreover, do thou, O
thousand-eyed (plant), look the Kimîdins in the face!
6.
Reveal to me the wizards, and reveal the witches, reveal all the Pisâkas: for
this purpose do I take hold of thee, O plant!
7. Thou
art the eye of Kasyapa, and the eye of the four-eyed bitch. Like the sun,
moving in the bright day, make thou the Pisâka evident to me!
8. 1
have dragged out from his retreat the sorcerer and the Kimîdin. Through this
(charm) do I see every one, the Sûdra as well as the Ârya.
9. Him
that flies in the air, him that moves across the sky, him that regards the
earth as his resort, that Pisâka do thou reveal (to me)!
IV,
17. Charm with the apâmârga-plant, against sorcery, 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!
IV,
18. Charm with the apâmârga-plant, against sorcerers and demons.
1. Night
is like unto the sun, the (starry) night is similar to day. The truth do I
engage for help: the enchantments shall be devoid of force!
2. He, O
ye gods, who prepares a spell, and carries it to the house of one that knows
not (of it), upon him the spell, returning, shall fasten itself like a suckling
calf upon its mother!
3. The
person that prepares evil at home, and desires with it to harm another, she is
consumed by fire, and many stones fall upon her with a loud crash.
4.
Bestow curses, O thou (apâmârga), that hast a thousand homes, upon the (demons)
visikha (‘crestless’), and vigrîva (‘crooked-neck’)! Turn back the spell upon
him that has performed it, as a beloved maid (is brought) to her lover!
5. With
this plant I have put to naught all spells, those that they have put into thy
field, thy cattle, and into thy domestics.
6. He
that has undertaken them has not been able to accomplish them: he broke his
foot, his toe. He performed a lucky act for us, but for himself an injury.
7. The
apâmârga-plant shall wipe out (apa mârshtu) ‘inherited ills, and curses; yea,
it shall wipe out all witches, and all grudging demons (arâyî)!
8.
Having wiped out all sorcerers, and all grudging demons, with thee, O apâmârga,
we wipe all that (evil) out.
IV, 19. Mystic power of the apâmârga-plant, against demons and sorcerers.
1. On
the one hand thou deprivest of kin, on the other thou now procurest kinfolk. Do
thou, moreover, cut the offspring of him that practises spells, as a reed that
springs up in the rain!
2. By a
Brâhmana thou hast been blest, by Kanva, the descendant of Nrishad. Thou goest
like a stronor army; where thou hast arrived, O plant, there there is no fear.
3. Thou
goest at the head of the plants, spreading lustre, as if with a light. Thou art
on the one hand the protector of the weak, on the other the slayer of the
Rakshas.
4. When
of yore, in the beginning, the gods drove out the Asuras with thee, then, O
plant, thou wast begotten as apâmârga (‘wiping out’).
5. Thou
cuttest to pieces (vibhindatî), and hast a hundred branches; vibhindant
(‘cutting to pieces’) is thy father’s name. Do thou (turn) against, and cut to
pieces (vi bhindhi) him that is hostile towards us!
6.
Non-being arose from the earth, that goes to heaven, (as) a great expansion.
Thence, verily, that, spreading vapours, shall turn against the performer (of
spells)!
7. Thou
didst grow backward, thou hast fruit which is turned backward. Ward off from me
all curses, ward off very far destructive weapons!
8.
Protect me with a hundredfold, guard me with a thousandfold (strength)! Indra,
the strong, shall put strength into thee, O prince of plants!
VII, 65. Charm with the apâmârga-plant, against curses, and the consequences of sinful deeds.
1. With
fruit turned backward thou verily didst grow, O apâmârga: do thou drive all
curses quite far away from here!
2. The
evil deeds and foul, or the sinful acts which we have committed, with thee, O
apâmârga, whose face is turned to every side, do we wipe them out (apa
mrigmahe).
3. If we
have sat together with one who has black teeth, or diseased nails, or one who
is deformed, with thee, O apâmârga, we wipe all that out (apa mrigmahe).
X, 1. Charm to repel sorceries or spells.
1. The
(spell) which they skilfully prepare, as a bride for the wedding, the multiform
(spell), fashioned by hand, shall go to a distance: we drive it away!
2. The
(spell) that has been brought forward by the fashioner of the spell, that is
endowed with head, endowed with nose, endowed with ears, and multiform, shall
go to a distance: we drive it away!
3. (The
spell) that has been prepared by a Sadra, prepared by a Râga, prepared by a
woman, prepared by Brahmans, as a wife rejected by her husband, shall recoil
upon her fabricator, (and) his kin!
4. With
this herb have I destroyed all spells, that which they have put into thy field,
into thy cattle, and into thy men.
5. Evil
be to him that prepares evil, the curse shall recoil upon him that utters
curses: back do we hurl it against him, that it may slay him that fashions the
spell.
6.
Pratikîna (‘ Back-hurler’), the descendant of Angiras, is our overseer and
officiator (purohita): do thou drive
back again (pratîkîh) the spells, and slay yonder fashioners of the spells!
back again (pratîkîh) the spells, and slay yonder fashioners of the spells!
7. He
that has said to thee (the spell): ‘go on’! upon that enemy, that antagonist do
thou turn, O spell: do not seek out us, that are harmless!
8. He
that has fitted together thy joints with skill, as the wagoner (Ribhu) the
joints of a chariot, to him go, there is thy course: this person here shall
remain unknown to thee!
9. They
that have prepared thee and taken hold of thee, the cunning wizards-this is
what cures it, destroys the spell, drives it back the opposite way – with it do
we bathe thee.
10.
Since we have come upon tile wretched (spell), as upon (a cow) with a dead
calf, flooded away (by a river), may all evil go away from me, and mav
possessions come to me!
11. If
(thy enemies) have made (offerings) to thy Fathers, or have called thy name at
the sacrifice, may these herbs free thee from every indigenous evil!
12. From
the sin of the gods, and that of the fathers, from mentions of (thy) name, from
(evil schemes) concocted at home, may the herbs free thee with might, through
(this) charm, (and these) stanzas, (that are) the milk of the Rishis!
13. As
the wind stirs up the dust from the earth, and the cloud from the atmosphere,
thus may all misfortune, driven by my charm, go away from me!
14.
Stride away (O spell), like a loudly braying she-ass, that has been loosened
(from the tether); reach those that have fabricated thee, driven from here by
(my) forceful charm!
15.
‘This is the way, O spell,’ with these words do we lead thee. Thee that hast
been sent Out against us do we send back again. Go this way like a crushing
army, with heavy carts, thou that art multiform, and crowned by a crest(?)!
16. In
the distance there is light for thee, hitherward there is no road for thee;
away from us take thy course! By another road cross thou ninety navigable
streams, hard to cross! Do not injure, go away!
17. As
the wind the trees, crush down and fell (the enemy), leave them neither cow,
nor horse, nor serving-man! Turn from here upon those that have fabricated
thee, O spell, awaken them to childlessness!
18. The
spell or the magic which they have buried against thee in the sacrificial straw
(barhis), in the field, (or) in the burial-ground, or if with superior skill
they have practised sorcery against thee, that art simple and innocent, in thy
household fire,–
19. The
hostile, insidious instrument which they have brought hither has been
discovered; that which has been dug in we have detected. It shall go whence it
has been brought hither; there, like a horse, it shall disport itself, and slay
the offspring of him that has fashion’ed the spell!
20.
Swords of good brass are in our house: we know how many joints thou hast, O
spell! Be sure to rise, go away from hence! O stranger, what seekest thou here?
21. I
shall hew off, O spell, thy neck, and thy feet: run away! May Indra and Agni,
to whom belong the children (of men), protect us!
22. King
Soma, who guards and pities us, and the lords of the beings shall take pity on
us!
23. May
Bhava and Sarva cast the lightning, the divine missile, upon him that performs
evil, fashions a spell, and does wrong!
24. If
thou art come two-footed, (or) four-footed, prepared by the fashioner of the
spell, multiform, do thou, having become eight-footed, again go away from here,
O misfortune!
25.
Anointed, ornamented, and well equipped, go away, carrying every misfortune!
Know, O spell, thy maker, as a daughter her own father!
26. Go
away, O spell, do not stand still, track (the enemy) as a wounded (animal)! He
is the game, thou the hunter: he is not able to put thee down.
27. Him
that first hurls (the arrow), the other, laying on in defence, slays with the
arrow, and while the first deals the blow, the other returns the blow.
28.
Hear, verily, this speech of mine, and then return whence thou camest, against
the one that fashioned thee!
29.
Slaughter of an innocent is heinous, O spell: do not slay our cow, horse, or
serving-man! Wherever thou hast been put down, thence thee do we remove. Be
lighter than a leaf!
30. If
ye are enveloped in darkness, covered as if by a net–we tear all spells out
from here, send them back again to him that fashioned them.
31. The
offspring of them that fashion the spell, practise magic, or plot against us,
crush thou, O spell, leave none of them! Slay those that fashion the spell!
32. As
the sun is released from darkness, abandons the night, and the streaks of the
dawn, thus every misery, (every) device prepared by the fashioner of the spell,
(every) misfortune, do I leave behind, as an elephant the dust.
V,
31. Charm to repel sorceries or spells.
1. The
spell which they have put for thee into an unburned vessel, that which they
have put into mixed grain, that which they have put into raw meat, that do I
hurl back again.
2. The
spell which they have put for thee into a cock, or that which (they have put)
into a goat, into a crested animal, that which they have put into a sheep, that
do I hurl back again.
3. The
spell which they have put for thee into solipeds, into animals with teeth on
both sides, that which they have put into an ass, that do I hurl back again.
4. The
magic which they have put for thee into moveable property, or into personal
possession, the spell which they have put into the field, that do I hurl back
again.
5. The
spell which evil-scheming persons have put for thee into the gârhapatya-fire,
or into the housefire, that which they have put -into the house, that do I hurl
back again.
6. The
spell which they have put for thee into the assembly-hall, that which (they
have put) into the gaming-place, that which they have put into the dice, that
do I hurl back again.
7. The
spell which they have put for thee into the army, that which they have put into
the arrow and the weapon, that which they have put into the drum, that do I
hurl back again.
8. The
spell which they have placed down for thee in the well, or have buried in the
burial-ground, that which they have put into (thy) home, that do I hurl back
again.
9. That
which they have put for thee into human bones, that which (they have put) into
the funeral fire, to the consuming, burning, flesh-eating fire do I hurl that
back again.
10. By
an unbeaten path he has brought it (the spell) hither, by a (beaten) path we
drive it out from here. The fool in his folly has prepared (the spell) aorainst
those that are surely wise.
11. He
that has undertaken it has not been able to accomplish it: he broke his foot,
his toe. He, luckless, performed an auspicious act for us, that are lucky.
12. Him
that fashions spells, practises magic, digs after roots, sends out curses,
Indra, shall slay with his mighty weapon, Agni shall pierce with his hurled
(arrow)!
V, 14. Charm to repel sorceries or spells.
1. An
eagle found thee out, a boar dug thee out with his snout. Seek thou, O plant,
to injure him that seeks to injure (us), strike down him that prepares spells
(against us’!
2.
Strike down the wizards, strike down him that prepares spells (against us);
slay thou, moreover, O plant, him that seeks to injure us!
3.
Cutting out from the skin (of the enemy) as if (from the skin) of an antelope,
do ye, O gods, fasten the spell upon him that prepares it, as (one fastens) an
ornament!
4. Take
hold by the hand and lead away the spell back to him that prepares it! Place it
in his very presence, so that it shall slay him that prepares the spell!
5. The
spells shall take effect upon him that prepares the spells, the curse upon him
that pronounces the curse! As a chariot with easy-going wheels, the spell shall
turn back upon him that prepares the spell!
6.
Whether a woman, or whether a man has prepared the spell for evil, we lead that
spell to him as a horse with the halter.
7.
Whether thou hast been prepared by the gods, or hast been prepared by men, we
lead thee back with the help of Indra as an ally.
8. O
Agni gainer of battles, do thou gain the battles! With a counter-charm do we
hurl back the spell upon him that prepares the spell.
9. Hold
ready, (O plant,) thy weapon, and strike him, slay the very one that has
prepared (the spell)! We do not whet thee for the destruction of him that has
not practised (spells).
10. Go
as a son to his father, bite like an adder that has been stepped upon. Return
thou, O spell, to him that prepares the spell, as one who overcomes his
fetters!
11. As
the shy deer, the antelope, goes out to the mating (buck), thus the spell shall
reach him that prepares it!
12.
Straighter than an arrow may it (the spell) fly against him, O ye heaven and
earth; may that spell take hold again of him that prepares it, as (a hunter)
of his game!
of his game!
13. Like
fire (the spell) shall progress in the teeth of obstacles, like water along its
course! As a chariot with easy-going wheels the spell shall turn back upon him
that prepares the spell!
VIII, 5. Prayer for protection addressed to a talisman made from wood of the sraktya-tree.
1. This
attacking talisman, (itself) a man, is fastened upon the man: it is full of
force, slays enemies, makes heroes of men, furnishes shelter, provides good
luck.
2. This
talisman slays enemies, makes strong men, is powerful, lusty, victorious,
strong; as a man it advances against sorceries and destroys them.
3. With
this talisman Indra slew Vritra, with it he, full of device, destroyed the
Asuras, with it he conquered both the heaven and earth, with it he conquered
the four regions of space.
4. This
talisman of sraktya assails and attacks. With might controlling the enemies, it
shall protect us on all sides!
5. Agni
has said this, and Soma has said this; Brihaspati, Savitar, Indra (have said)
this. These divine purohitas, (chaplains) shall turn back for me (upon the
sorcerer) the sorceries with aggressive amulets!
6. I
have interposed heaven and earth, also the day, and also the sun. These divine
purohitas (chaplains) shall turn back for me (upon the sorcerer) the sorceries
with aggressive amulets!
7. (For)
the folk that make an armour of the talisman of sraktya–like the sun ascending
the sky, it subjects and beats off the sorceries.
8. With
the amulet of sraktya, as if with a seer of powerful spirit, I have gained all
battles, I slay the enemies, the Rakshas.
9. The
sorceries that come from the Angiras, the sorceries that come from the Asuras,
the sorceries that prepare themselves, and those that are prepared by others,
both these shall go away to a distance across ninety navigable streams!
10. As
an armour upon him the gods shall tie the amulet, Indra, Vishnu, Savitar,
Rudra, Agni, Pragâpati, Parameshthin, Virâg,Vaisvânara, and the seers all.
11. Thou
art the most superb of plants, as if a steer among the cattle, as if a tiger
among beasts of prey. (The amulet) that we did seek, that have we found, a
guardian at our side.
12. He
that wears this talisman, verily is a tiger, a lion as well, and, too, a bull;
moreover a curtailer of enemies.
13. Him
slay not the Apsaras, nor the Gandharvas, nor mortal men; all reoions does he
rule, that wears this talisman.
14.
Kasyapa has created thee, Kasyapa has produced thee. Indra wore thee in human
(battle); wearing thee in the close combat he conquered. The gods did make the
talisman an armour of thousandfold strength.
15. He
that plans to harm thee with sorceries, with (unholy) consecrations and
sacrifices–him beat thou back, O Indra, with thy thunderbolt that hath a
hundred joints!
16. This
talisman verily does assail, full of might, victorious. Offspring and wealth it
shall protect, provide defence, abound in luck!
17.
Remove our enemies in the south, remove our enemies in the north; remove, O
Indra, our enemies in the west: light, O hero, place in front (east) of us!
18. An
armour for me be heaven and earth, an armour day, an armour the sun! An armour
for me be Indra and Agni; Dhâtar shall bestow (dadhAtu) an armour upon me!
19. The
armour of Indra and Agni, that is thick and strong, all the gods united do not
pierce. This great (armour) shall protect my body on all sides, that I may
obtain long life, and reach old age!
20. The
divine talisman has ascended upon me,unto completc exemption from injury.
Assemble about this post that protects the body, furnishes threefold defence,
in order to (secure) strength!
21. Into
it Indra shall deposit manliness: do ye, O gods, assemble about it for long
life, for life lasting a hundred autumns, that he may reach old age.
22. May
Indra who bestows welfare, the lord of the people, the slayer of Vritra, the
controller of enemies, he that conquereth and is unconquered, the soma-drinking
bull that frees from danger, fasten the amulet upon thee: may it protect thee
on each and every side, by day and by night!
X, 3. Praise of the virtues of an amulet derived from the 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. As
the wind breaks with might the trees, the lords of the forest, thus do thou
break my rivals, those formerly born, and the latter born! The varana shall
watch over thee!
14. As
the wind and the fire consume the trees, the lords of the forest, thus, do thou
consume my rivals, those formerly born, and the latter born! The varana shall
watch over thee!
15. As,
ruined by the wind, the trees lie prostrate, thus do thou ruin and prostrate my
rivals, those formerly born, and the latter born! The varana shall watch over
thee!
16. Do
thou cut off, O varana, before their appointed time and before old age, those
that aim to injure him in his cattle, and threaten his sovereignty!
17. As
the sun is resplendent, as in him brilliance has been deposited, thus shall the
amulet of varana hold fast for me reputation and prosperity, shall sprinkle me
with brilliance, and anoint me with splendour!
18. As
splendour is in the moon, and in the sun, the beholder of men, thus shall the
amulet of varana hold fast, &c.
19. As
splendour is in the earth, as in this Gâtavedas (the fire), thus shall the
amulet of varana hold fast, &c.
20. As
splendour is in the maiden, as in this appointed chariot, thus shall the amulet
of varana hold fast, &c.
21. As
splendour is in the soma-draught, as splendour is in the honey-mixture (for
guests), thus shall the amulet of varana hold fast, &c.
22. As
splendour is in the agnihotra-oblation, as splendour is in the call vashat,
thus shall the amulet of varana hold fast, &c.
23. As
splendour is in the sacrificer, as (splendour) has been deposited in the
sacrifice, thus shall the amulet of varana hold fast, &c.
24. As
splendour is in Pragâpati, as in this Parameshthin (the lord on high), thus
shall the amulet of varana hold fast, &c.
25. As
immortality is in the gods, as truth has been deposited in them, thus shall the
amulet of varana hod fast, &c.
X,
6. Praise of the virtues of amulet of khadira-wood in the shape of a
ploughshare.
1. The
head of the hostile rival, of the enemy that bates me, do I cut off with might.
2. This
amulet, produced by the ploughshare, will prepare an armour for me: full of
stirred drink it has come to me, together with sap and lustre.
3. If
the skilful workman has injured thee with his hand or with his knife, the
living bright waters shall purify thee from that, (so that thou shalt be)
bright!
4. This
amulet has a golden wreath, bestows faith and sacrifice and might; in our house
as a guest it shall dwell!
5.
Before it (the amulet as a guest) ghee, surâ (liquor), honey, and every kind of
food we place. The amulet having gone to the gods shall, as a father for his
sons, plan for us growing good, more and more day after day!
6. The
amulet which Brihaspati tied, the ploughshare dripping with ghee, the strong
khadira, unto strength, that Agni did fasten on; that yields him ghee more and
more day after day: with it those that hate me do thou slay!
7. This
amulet which Brihaspati tied that Indra did fasten on, for strength and
heroism; that yields him might more and more, &c.
8. The
amulet which Brihaspati tied . . . that Soma did fasten on unto perfect hearing
and seeing; that verily yields him lustre more and more, &c.
9. The
amulet which Brihaspat, tied . . . that Sûrya did fasten on, with that he
conquered these directions of space; that yields him prosperity moreand more,
&c.
10. The
amulet which Brihaspati tied wearing that amulet Kandramas (the moon) conquered
the golden cities of the Asuras and the Dânavas; that yields him fortune more
and more, &c.
11. The
amulet which Brihaspat’ tied for swift Vâta (wind), that yields him strength
more and more, &c.
12, The
amulet which Brihaspati tied for swift Vâta, with that amulet, O Asvins, do ye
guard this plough-land; that yields the two physicians (the Asvins) might more
and more, &c.
13. 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 slay!
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 . . . 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!
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!
IV, 16. Prayer to Varuna for protection against treacherous designs.
1. The
great guardian among these (gods) sees as if from anear. He that thinketh he is
moving stealthily–all this the gods know.
2. If a
man stands, walks, or sneaks about, if he goes slinking away, if he goes into
his hiding-place; if two persons sit together and scheme, king Varuna is there
as a third, and knows it.
3. Both
this earth here belongs to king Varuna, and also yonder broad sky whose
boundaries are far away. Moreover these two oceans are the loins of Varuna;
yea, he is hidden in this small (drop of) water.
4. He
that should flee beyond the heaven far away would not be free from king Varuna.
His spies come hither (to the earth) from heaven, with a thousand eyes do they
watch over the earth.
5. King
Varuna sees through all that is between heaven and earth, and all that is beyond.
He has counted the winkings of men’s eyes. As a (winning) gamester puts down
his dice, thus does he establish these (laws).
6. May
all thy fateful toils which, seven by seven, threefold, lie spread out, ensnare
him that speaks falsehood: him that speaks the truth they shall let go!
7. With
a hundred snares, O Varuna, surround him, let the liar not go free from thee, O
thou that observest men! The rogue shall sit, his belly hanging loose, like a
cask without hoops, bursting all about!
8. With
(the snare of) Varuna which is fastened lengthwise, and that which (is
fastened) broadwise, with the indigenous and the foreign, with the divine and
the human,–
9. With
all these snares do I fetter thee, O N. N., descended from N. N., the son of
the woman N. N.: all these do I design for thee.
II, 12. Imprecation against enemies thwarting holy work.
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!
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!
VII, 70. Frustration of the sacrifice of an enemy.
1.
Whenever yonder person in his thought, and with his speech, offers sacrifice
accompanied by oblations and benedictions, may Nirriti (the goddess of
destruction), allying herself with death, smite his offering before it takes
effect!
2. May
sorcerers, Nirriti, as well as Rakshas, mar his true work with error! May the
gods, despatched by Indra, scatter (churn) his sacrificial butter; may that
which yonder person offers not succeed!
3. The
two agile supreme rulers, like two eagle-s pouiicing down, shall strike the
sacrificial butter pf the enemy, whosoever plans evil against us!
4. Back
do I tie both thy two arms, thy mouth I shut. With the fury of god Agni, have I
destroyed thy oblation.
5. I tie
thy two arms, I shut thy mouth. With the fury of terrible Agni have I destroyed
thy oblation.
II, 7. Charm against curses and hostile plots, undertaken with a certain plant.
1. The
god-begotten plant, hated by the wicked, which wipes away the curses (of the
enemies), like water a foul spot it has washed away all curses from me.
2. The
curse of the rival and the curse of the kinswoman, the curse which the Brahman
shall utter in wrath, all that (do thou put) under our feet!
3. From
heaven her root is suspended, from the earth it rises up; with her that has a
thousand shoots do thou protect us on all sides!
4.
Protect me, protect my offspring, protect our goods; let not ill-will overcome
us, let not hostile schemes overcome us!
5. The
curse shall go to the curser; joint possession shall we have with the friend.
Of the enemy who bewitches with (his) eye we hew off the ribs.
III, 6. The asvattha-tree as a destroyer of enemies.
1. A
male has sprung from a male, the asvattha (ficus religiosa) from the khadira
(acacia catechu). May this slay my enemies, those whom I hate and those who
hate me!
2. Crush
the enemies, as they rush on, O asvattha, ‘displacer,’ allied with Indra, the
slayer of Vritra, (allied) with Mitra and Varuxa!
3. As
thou didst break forth, O asvattha, into the great flood (of the air), thus do
thou break up all those whom I hate and those who hate me!
4. Thou
that goest conquering as a conquering bull, with thee here, O asvattha, may we
conquer our rivals!
5. May
Nirriti (the goddess of destruction), O asvattha, bind in the toils of death
that cannot be loosened those enemies of mine whom I hate and who hate me!
6. As
thou climbest up the trees, O asvattha, and renderest them subordinate, thus do
thou split in two the head of iny enemy, and overcome him!
7. They
(the enemies) shall float down like a ship cut loose from its moorings! There
is no returning again for those that have been driven out by the ‘displacer.’
8. I
drive them out with my mind, drive them out with my thought, and also with my
incantation. We drive them out with a branch of the asvattha-tree.
VI,
75. Oblation for the suppression of enemies (nairbâdhyam havih).
1. Forth
from his home do I drive that person yonder, who as a rival contends with us:
through the oblation devoted to suppression Indra, has broken him to pieces.
2.
Indra, the slayer of Vritra, shall drive him to the remotest distance, from
which in all successive years he shall not again return!
3. He
shall go to the three distances, he shall go beyond the five peoples; he shall
go beyond the three ethers, whence he shall not again in all successive years
return, while the sun is upon the heavens!
VII
37. Curse against one that practises hostile charms.
1. The
thousand-eyed curse having yoked his chariot has come hither, seeking out him
that curses me, as a wolf the house of him that owns sheep.
2. Avoid
us, O curse, as a burning fire (avoids) a lake! Strike here him that curses us,
as the lightning of heaven the tree!
3. He
that shall curse us when we do not curse, and he that shall curse us when we do
curse, him do I hurl to death as a bone to a dog upon the ground.
VII,
13. Charm to deprive enemies of their strength.
1. As
the rising sun takes away the lustre of the stars, thus do I take away the
strength of both the women and the men that hate me.
2. As
many enemies as ye are, lookina out auainst me, as I come on–of those that hate
me do I take away the strenorth, as the sun takes away the strength of persons
asleep (while it rises).
(My humble salutations to
the Translator for the
collection)
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