# Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book IX/Hymn 6

6. Exalting the entertainment of guests.
[Brahman.—ṣaṭ paryāyāḥ. ātithyā uta vidyādevatyāḥ.]
This whole prose hymn is found in Pāipp. xvi., except a few verses, as noted below. It is not quoted by either Kāuç. or Vāit. In the Prāt., on the other hand, it has more than its fair share of notice. ⌊With regard to the paryāya-hymns in general, see pp. 471-2.⌋
Translated: Henry, 98, 137; Griffith, i. 448.
1. Whoever may know the obvious (pratyákṣa) bráhman, whose joints are the preparations (sambhārá), whose spine the verses (ṛ́c);
Ppp. reads, instead of our a, as follows: yo vā ekaṁ brahmā ’nuṣṭhā vidyāt sadya mahadvate, making an anuṣṭubh of the verse. The Anukr. is corrupt at this point, one ms. appearing to call the verse nāgī nāma tripād gāyatrū; one sees no reason why.
2. Whose hairs the chants (sā́man), [whose] heart the sacrificial formula (yájus) is called, [whose] litter (paristáraṇa) the oblation.
Ppp. reads chandāṅsi for sāmāni in a, and puts c before b. The unlingualized st of paristáraṇam is noted under Prāt. ii. 105. The 'obvious bráhman,' or 'bráhman in visible presence,' thus wondrously made up, is doubtless the guest, all attentions to whom the hymn proceeds to glorify by identifying them with sacred acts.
3. When in truth the lord of guests meets with his eyes the guests, he looks at a sacrificing to the gods.
Ppp. reads at the beginning yad atithipatiḥ preṣyate. The verse has one syllable too many for a regular sāmnī triṣṭubh; but the system of nomenclature affords no ⌊simple⌋ name for one of 23 syllables.
4. When he greets them, he enters upon consecration; when he offers (yāc) water, he brings forward the [sacrificial] waters.
Prá ṇayati is quoted as an example under Prāt. iii. 79. We have to read yā́cati apáḥ to make out the defined meter.
5. Just what waters are brought in at the sacrifice, those are the very ones.
Praṇīyánte also is quoted under Prāt. iii. 79.
6. When they fetch a gratification (tárpaṇa)—that is just the same as an animal for Agni-and-Soma that is bound [for sacrifice].
Ppp. adds after this verse yat khātam āharanti puroḍāçā eva te.
7. In that they prepare lodgings, they so prepare the seat (sádas) and oblation-holders (havirdhā́na).
8. In that they strew [a couch], that is a barhís.
Ppp. omits the second clause of vs. 7, and reads pari- for upa- in 8; it omits 9 here: see under 10, below.
9. In that they fetch a coverlet (? upariçayaná), thereby one gains possession of the heavenly (svargá) world.
Upariçayaná, lit. 'above-lying,' occurs only here; ⌊but cf. upariçaya, OB. iv. 296 c⌋. The minor Pet. Lex. renders it 'an elevated couch.' The verse lacks a syllable.
10. In that they fetch mattress and pillow, those are the enclosures (paridhí).
That is, the sticks laid about the altar-fire to shut it in. In this verse, the extra syllable is noted by the Anukr. Ppp. reads -barhaṇāni and paridhe ’va te; and it adds its version of 9: yat parṣeṇam (pariçayanam?) āharanti svar- etc.
11. In that they fetch ointment and unguent, that is sacrificial butter.
The pada-reading āñjana॰abhyañjanā is quoted under Prāt. iv. 42, as example of words that lose their own individual division in favor of separation from each other. Ppp. omits āñjana. The Anukr. reads 16 syllables, which may be obtained in more than one way (most probably -ranti āj-).
12. In that they fetch a morsel (khādá) before the serving-up (pariveṣá), that is the two sacrificial cakes.
Khādá is perhaps a special bit or bite, anticipatory of the proper meal. The verse is wanting in Ppp.
13. In that they call the food-maker (açanakṛ́t), they so call the maker of oblations.
Some of the mss. read haviḥkṛ́tam.
14. The grains of rice, of barley, that are scattered out—those are soma-shoots (aṅçú).
The Anukr. requires -yante aṅç- to be read, although the passage is quoted under Prāt. i. 69 as an example of the elision of initial a with the transfer of its nasalization to the eliding e. Ppp. reads at the end aṅçava eva te ‘nūpyante.
15. The mortar and pestles—those are the pressing-stones.
The Anukr. expects us to read yā́ni ul-. Ppp. omits yāni and reads -musalam, which is easier; it also omits eva te at the end.
16. The sieve ⌊çū́rpa⌋ is the soma-strainer (pavítra); the chaff is the pomace (ṛjīṣā́); the waters are those of pressing.
That is, ⌊the waters are⌋ those used in facilitating the pressing of the Soma. ⌊Is not çū́rpa rather 'winnowing-basket'?⌋ The 'pomace' is the refuse stalks from which the soma has been pressed. ⌊All of SPP's and of W's pada-mss. seem to agree in reading ṛjīṣā́ as fem.⌋ Ppp. reads rajīṣaḥ. It omits abhiṣavaṇīr āpaḥ here: but see vs. 17.
17. The spoon is the sacrificial spoon, the stirring-stick the spit (? nékṣaṇa), the kettles the wooden vessels, the drinking-vessels those of Vāyu, this [earth] itself the black antelope's skin.
Ppp. reads -kalaçaṣ kumbhīm eva kṛṣṇājinaṁ vāyavyāni pātrāṇi; and it also has abhiṣavaṇīr āpaḥ in this verse, after āyavanam, instead of in vs. 16. The Anukr. defines the verse as if it were metrical, and intends us to read it as 10 + 16 + 8 = 34 syllables.
18. The lord of guests verily makes for himself a sacrificer's brā́hmaṇa in that he looks at the [portions] to be partaken of, saying "is this larger, or this?"
Several of the mss. (O.R.D.) accent at the end bhū́yā́s (D. bhū́yā́ḥ 3), which is the far preferable reading; bhū́yās (read by I.) could be borne, since in RV. and AV. the usage does not seem yet established that the protracted final syllable is acute, in addition to whatever accent the word may have on other syllables ⌊Skt. Gram. §78⌋; but bhūyās, as our edition reads, in accordance with nearly all the mss. compared up to the time of its publication, is nothing but a blunder. The protracted words are quoted in Prāt. i. 105. The verse counts naturally 18 + 8 + 8 = 34 syllables (the second and third pādas being really metrical). ⌊Scan rather 10 + 8 + 8 + 8 with the Anukr.⌋ Ppp. reads kṛṇute and avekṣata.
19. In that he says "take up the larger one," he thereby makes his breath longer (várṣīyāṅs).
Ppp. has a quite different text: yad āha bhūyo ’ddhara te prajāṁ cāt ’va paçūṅç ca vardhayate... (?) prāṇaṁ kṛṇute: yat saṁpṛchati kāmam eva tenā ’va rundhe: kāmo ha pṛṣṭo yājāti: yad udakam upasiñcaty apa eva tenā ’va rundhe. ⌊Then follows 20.⌋
20. [In that] he presents [it], he brings libations near.
21. Of them, brought near, the guest makes libations in himself;
22. With his hand as sacrificial spoon, at his breath as stake, with the sound of swallowing as utterance of váṣaṭ.
'The sound of swallowing,' lit. the sound sruk. Ppp. reads in 21 ātmani j- for ātmáṅ j- and has in 22 çulkāreṇa vaṣaṭkāreṇa srucā hastena.
23. These same guests, both loved (priyá) and unloved, [as] priests (ṛtvíj), make [one] go to the heavenly world.
This verse is wanting here in Ppp.; but it is inserted below, just before our vs. 49 ⌊and without variant except cārtvijas, which may be a slip of Roth's pen for cartvijas⌋.
24. He who, knowing thus, shall partake, not hating, he shall not partake the food of one hating, not of one that is doubted, nor of one doubting (?).
25. Verily every such one has his sin devoured, whose food they partake of.
26. Verily every such one has his sin undevoured whose food they partake not of.
'Devoured,' doubtless 'destroyed, removed' by the eating of the guests. Ppp. reads for vs. 26 sarvā upaço jagdhapāpmānaṁ yasyā ’nnam açnāti. One of the Anukr. mss. (but doubtless by a misreading ⌊?⌋) calls 25 as well as 26 a sāmny anuṣṭubh ⌊16 syllables⌋. ⌊Vss. 25 and 26 have each 15 (āsurī gāyatrī).⌋ Read in 25 jagdhá- (an accent-sign slipped out).
27. Verily he who presents [the food] hath always his pressing-stones harnessed, his cleanser wet, his sacrifice extended, his ceremony of offering assumed.
Ppp. reads sutasomas instead of yuktagrāvā, and puts vitatādhvaras as last of the four epithets; it also sets the whole paragraph after our 28.
28. To Prajāpati, verily, is his offering extended who presents.
29. He who presents verily strides Prajāpati's strides after [him].
This verse is wanting in Ppp.
30. [The fire] that is the guests', that is the fire of libations (āhavanī́ya); the one in the dwelling (véçman), that is the householder's fire (gā́rhapatya); the one in which they cook, that is the southern fire (dakṣiṇāgní).
Ppp. reads sā ”havanīyo yo ‘nnakaraṇasya ⌊intending -karaṇas sa?⌋ dakṣiṇāgnir yo veç- sa gār-. The metrical definition of the Anukr. requires us to restore at the beginning yó átith-.
[Paryāya III.—navakaḥ. 31-36, 39. 3-p. pipīlikamadhyā gāyatrī; 37. sāmnī bṛhatī; 38. pipīlikatnadhyo ’ṣṇih.]
31. Verily both what is sacrificed and what is bestowed of the houses doth he partake of who partakes before a guest.
That is, doubtless, 'doth he eat up, devour, destroy.' Ppp. omits gṛhāṇām, and puts next vss. 34 and 33, omitting 35 and 39 ⌊and 32 and 36 also⌋. The Anukr. describes the paragraphs as if they were metrical, and defines them as if the text read pū́rvo átither.
32. Verily both the milk and the sap of the houses doth he etc. etc.
33. Verily both the refreshment and the fatness of the houses doth he etc. etc.
Ppp. reads payas instead of sphātim.
34. Verily both the progeny and the cattle of the houses doth he etc. etc.
​35. Verily both the fame and the glory of the houses doth he etc. etc.
36. Verily both the fortune (çrī́) and the alliance (? saṁvíd) of the houses doth he etc. etc.
The Pet. Lexx. interpret saṁvíd as 'possessions.'
37. He verily is a guest, namely (yát) one versed in sacred learning (çrótriya); before him one should not partake.
The meaning intended ought to be that a guest is the equivalent of such a sage; but the literal sense is as translated. The verse lacks one syllable (unless we read ná açnīyāt) of being full measure.
38. When the guest hath partaken he should partake, in order to the soulfulness of the sacrifice, in order to the integrity of the sacrifice; that is the [proper] course.
The verse is an uṣṇih only as containing (if we resolve açitā́vati át-) 28 syllables (11 + 14 + 3). The pada-text reads açītá॰vati. Ppp. has açitāvaty açnīyāt tad vrataṁ yajñasyā ’vichedāya yajñasya guptaye yajñasya sātmatvāya. ⌊Cf. Oldenberg, IFA. vi. 184: also Skt. Gram. §960.⌋
39. That verily is specially sweet which comes from the cow (adhigavá), either milk (kṣīrá) or flesh; that he should not partake of.
That is, doubtless, he should leave it for his guest. The verse is wanting in Ppp. The so-called gāyatrī is to be thus divided: 7 + 11 + 6 = 24.
[Paryāya IV.—daçakaḥ. a of 40-43. prājāpatyā ’nuṣṭubh; a of 44. bhurij; b of 40-43. 3-p . gāyatrī; b of 44. 4-p. prastārapan̄kti.]
40. He who, thus knowing, pouring out milk, presents [it]—as much as, having sacrificed with a very successful agniṣṭomá, one gets possession of, of so much thereby does he get possession.
The mss. are divided between reckoning ten verses (with the Anukr. ⌊cf. the quotations etc. at the end of the hymn⌋) in this section, or only five, with two parts to each; the latter method was adopted in our edition as the better. The second part in the first five verses, though doubtless meant only as prose, divides into three subdivisions of eight syllables each, like a real gāyatrī. Ppp. begins all the verses with yat, instead of sa ya evaṁ vidvān, and reads in 40 b yā. ag. sapṛṣṭhene ’ṣṭvā ’varundhe.
41. He who, thus knowing, pouring out butter (sarpís), presents [it]—as much as, having sacrificed with a very successful atirātrá, one gets etc. etc.
Ppp. reads in b āhnena samṛddhena for atirātreṇa.
42. He who, thus knowing, pouring out honey, offers [it]—as much as, having sacrificed with a very successful session-sitting, one gets etc. etc.
Ppp. reads in b rātreṇa samṛddhena. The Anukr. expects, of course, the resolution mádhu up-.
​43. He who, thus knowing, pouring out meat, presents [it]—as much as, having sacrificed with a very successful twelve-day sacrifice, one gets etc. etc.
44. He who, thus knowing, pouring out water, presents [it]—he arrives at (gam) firm standing in order to the generating of progeny; he becomes loved of progeny—he who, thus knowing, pouring out water, presents [it].
The second part of the verse, though not metrical ⌊seems to be scanned as 11 + 11 + 8 + 8 by the Anukr. (which, with the mss., reckons pratiṣṭā́m to the second pāda!)⌋. Ppp. reads in b gachati sarvam āyur eti: na punar ā jarasaṣ pra mīyate ya etc.
45. For him the dawn utters hing; Savitar preludes (pra-stu); Brihaspati with refreshment (ūrjáyā) sings the udgīthá; Tvashṭar with prosperity responds (prati-hṛ); all the gods [are] the conclusion (nidhána); the conclusion of thrift, of progeny, of cattle becometh he who knoweth thus.
Here and in the following verses ⌊cf. PB. iv. 9. 9⌋ are had in view the five successive parts or divisions of a sāman, of which the udgītha is the central and principal: cf. Chānd. Upan. ii. 2 ff. In this section also the majority of the mss. divide and number in accordance with our edition; the rest, with the Anukr., number the subdivisions successively. Our edition assumes the subdivision nidhánam bhū́tyāḥ to be repeated at the end of each of the four paragraphs; the Anukr. ⌊counting 10 (not 12) avasānarcas: cf. p. 546 below⌋ is against this; as for the mss., their testimony is nothing, since they all, in any case, write such an addition only the first time and the last, omitting all intermediate occurrences; it is altogether probable that the edition is right. The artificial description by the Anukr. of b as an uṣṇih, implies resolving ūrjáyā úd, and either púṣṭi-ā or víçu-e. Ppp. adds vāi after tasmāi, and bhūtyā after savitā, and reads ūrjā for ūrjayā.
46. For him the rising sun utters hing; cow-gathering time (saṁgavá) preludes; noon sings the udgīthá; afternoon responds; the setting [sun is] the conclusion: the conclusion of etc. etc.
Ppp. combines madhyandino ’d. The ⌊nicṛt⌋ "dissimilar gāyatrī," b, divides as 8 + 9 + 6 = 23.
47. For him the cloud, forming (bhū), utters hing; thundering, it preludes; lightenng, it responds; raining, it sings the udgīthá; holding up, it is the conclusion: the conclusion of etc. etc.
Ppp. reads vidyotamānaḥ pra stāuti stanayann ud gāyati aparāhṇa prati harati astaṁyaṁ nidhanam. The "dissimilar gāyatrī," b, is this time 10 + 6 + 6 = 22. Bp.Bp.$^2$p.m.D. read várṣam, and several of the saṁhitā-mss. varṣaṁn instead of -ṣann. Cf. Chānd. Upan. ii. 3.
​48. [When] he meets the guests with his eyes, he utters hing; [when] he greets [them], he preludes; [when] he offers water, he sings the udgīthá; [when] he presents [food], he responds; the remnant (úchiṣṭa) [of the food] is the conclusion: the conclusion of etc. etc.
Ppp. seems again to mix in matter from vs. 46, reading yācaty udakavaty aparāhṇa* prati harati. ⌊See also note to vs. 23.⌋ The first subdivision makes the 30 syllables required by the Anukr. if we give syllabic value (-ti) to the thrice-occuring verb-ending -ty; and similarly we get 16 for b. *⌊The phonetic resemblance of udakavati to ud gāyati (cf. note to ii. 13. 3) and of aparāhṇa to upa harati is obviously the occasion for the confusion.⌋
49. When (yát) he calls the distributor, then he is just summoning (ā-çrāvay-).
That is, he is virtually an adhvaryu summoning the agnīdh to do his duty. The verse is made an āsurī gāyatrī by resolving -ty twice. Ppp. inserts before this verse our vs. 23 above; and it omits eva tat.
50. When [the distributor] assents, then he is just answering the summons.
That is, as an agnīdh. Again, to justify the definition of the Anukr., we must read prati-ā́çrāvayati evá. ⌊A hyphen is missing after the pra of pratyā́çr-.⌋ Ppp. again omits eva tat at the end.
51. When the servers, with drinking-vessels in their hands, both the former and the latter, go forward, they are just cup-bearing priests.
Bp. gives the false accentuation camasa॰ádh- (instead of -sá॰adh-). Ppp. reads yat pariveṣṭārā ’vasatāṁ prabhibhyante cam-. To make 30 syllables, we must resolve ca ápare (or else camasá-adh-).
52. Of them, none soever is not an invoker (áhotṛ).
Ppp. reads vāi instead of na; and then it adds as follows: yat prātar upaharati prātassavanam eva tat: yad yavo ’paharati mādhyadinam eva tat savanam: yat sāyam upaharati tṛtīyam eva tad yad atithipatir avabhṛtham eva tat prāhvayanti; and it omits our vs. 53; ⌊R. does not expressly note such omission⌋.
53. Verily when the lord of guests goes up unto the houses serving the guests, then he is even going down unto the purifactory bath (avabhṛ́tha).
⌊Ppp. omits eva tat.⌋
54. When he apportions [them], he is apportioning sacrificial fees; when he follows [them], then he is even shifting the place of sacrifice (ud-ava-sā).
⌊Ppp. omits eva tat.⌋ ⌊Cf. Oldenberg, IFA. vi. 183.⌋
​55. He ⌊the guest?⌋, being invited (úpahūta), feeds (bhakṣay-) on the earth; in him ⌊locative⌋, invited ⌊nominative⌋, [he ⌊the host?⌋ feeds on] what of every form [there is] on the earth.
⌊Whitney's first "on" is intended as a rendering of the locative relation of "earth"; his second "on" goes with "feeds." He has tried to indicate this by putting the first after the parenthesis and the second within the brackets. The inherent ambiguity of the English combination is such that I do not know how to remove it for the non-Sanskritist save by an express statement.⌋
The sense of this and the following verses is very obscure; it is here translated as if the guest were the subject of the first bhakṣayati, and the entertainer (in recompense for the entertainment given) of the second ⌊bhakṣayati (supplied)⌋. Ppp. adds pṛthivyāṁ tat pṛthivyām ā bhāti svargo loko bhavati ya evaṁ veda. Only vs. 56 has the full number of syllables (27) belonging to an ārcī bṛhatī; 55, 58, 59 have only 26 syllables (a number for which the system affords no separate name), and 57 has only 24.
56. He, being invited, feeds in the atmosphere; in him, invited, [he feeds on] what of every form [there is] in the atmosphere.
Ppp. adds antarikṣe patanty antarikṣā ”bhāti ⌊svargo etc.⌋.
57. He, being invited, feeds in the sky (dív); in him, invited, [he feeds on] what of every form [there is] in the sky.
Ppp. adds divi tapati divy ā bhāti ⌊svargo etc.⌋.
58. He, being invited, feeds among the gods; in him, invited, [he feeds on] what of every form [there is] among the gods.
Ppp. adds deveṣu patati ⌊intending tapati?⌋ deveṣu bhāti ⌊svargo etc.⌋.
58. He, being invited, feeds in the worlds; in him, invited, [he feeds on] what of every form [there is] in the worlds.
Ppp. adds lokeṣu patati lokeṣu bhāti ⌊svargo loko bhavati ya evaṁ veda⌋.
60. He, whoever invited,—
61. Obtains this world, obtains yon [world].
The translation implies emendation in 60 to úpahāta-upahūtaḥ (as repeated word); it seems impossible to give the verse a meaning as it stands. Vss. 60-62 are wanting in Ppp. The metrical definition of 61 demands the resolution -ti amúm.
62. Worlds rich in light conquereth he who knoweth thus.
⌊The quotations from the Old Anukr. for the six paryāyas may here be given together: I. yo vidyāyāṁ daça sapta ca pūrvaḥ syāt; II. dvitīyaḥ syāt trayodaça; III. tṛtīyo navako dṛṣṭaḥ; IV. and V. tasmād dvāu daçakāu parāu; VI. ṣaṣṭhaṁ tu caturdaçakam āhuḥ.—Cf. SPP's "Critical Notice," vol. i., p. 20, where they are printed in metrical form.⌋
⌊The summations of gaṇas and (gaṇa-) avasānarcas may be given as follows: I. av., 17; II. av., 13; III. av., 9; IV. av., 5; av., 10*; V. [g., 4;] av. 10†; VI. av. 14.—Total of av., 73.⌋ *⌊Cf. note to vs. 40.⌋ †⌊Cf. note to vs. 45.⌋
⌊Here ends the third anuvāka, with 2 hymns and 100 verses: that is 1 artha-sūkta of 38 verses and 1 paryāya-sūkta with 6 paryāyas and 62 verses.⌋