# Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book XII/Hymn 2

2. The flesh-eating and the householder's fires.
⌊Partly prose—vss. 42, 44.⌋ Found also (except vss. 36, 52) in Pāipp. xvii., with slight differences of order, pointed out under the verses. The whole hymn (which is also an anuvāka) is quoted in Kāuç. 69. 7 (with vii. 62 and the mahā́çānti hymns), in the ceremony of preparing the house-fire; and a large proportion of the verses in this and other ceremonies; a few also are used in the Vāit.; ⌊and the hymn is cited by Dārila on Kāuç. 43. 5⌋.
Translated: Ludwig, p. 479 (omitting here vss. 21-26, 30-31); Henry, 188, 227; Griffith, ii. 102.—The RV. correspondents of a number of the verses (7, 8, 21-25, 26, 30, 31) are discussed in my Skt. Reader, pages 380 ff., 388.
1. Ascend the reeds (naḍá); no place for thee is here; this lead is thy portion; come! what yákṣma is in kine, [what] yákṣma in men, in company with that do thou go forth downward.
This and vss. 11, 54, and 55 are quoted together in Kāuç. 71. 5, when putting fuel on the flesh-eating (kravyād) fire; also, in 71. 8, vss. 1-4, 42, 43, 15, 16 (with iii. 21. 8), with quenching it. Ppp. combines te ‘tra in a.
​2. By evil-plotter and ill-plotter, by actor and helper, both all yákṣma and death do we thereby drive out from here.
Ppp. reads in c, d mṛtyūṅç ca sarvāṅs tene ’to yakṣmāṅç ca nir etc. The first half-verse is like a half-verse in MS. iv. 14. 17; TA. ii. 47: duḥçansānuçaṅsā́bhyāṁ ghanénā ’nughanéna ca ⌊cf. Kaṭha-hss., p. 72⌋.
3. Out from here do we drive death, perdition, out the niggard; whoso hates us, him, O non-flesh-eating Agni, do thou eat; whomso we hate, him do we impel to thee.
The pada-text has in c, ádhi; and most of the saṁhitā-mss. ádhy agne, in accordance with it, though one or two (Bs.E.) have áddhy agne, which is no various reading, but only an allowed equivalent. The case is like those in i. 22. 1 and v. 20. 12 above; the abbreviated reading adhy has been mistaken for adhi instead of addhi, and then accented accordingly. Bp. accents also akravya॰át. Our text emends to addhy àgne akravyāt, but should read instead agne, since there is no reason whatever for the accentuation addhí. A better reading would seem also to be kravyāt. Ppp. has adhy agne kravyād; but that, of course, might mean ‘kravyāt. Ppp. also has simply aṁ for yam u in d, omits the second u, and ends with suvāmaḥ. ⌊Ppp. reads yakṣmas for dviṣmas in d. So the Ppp. reading is adhy agne kravyād aṁ yakṣmas taṁ te pra suvāmaḥ.⌋
4. If the flesh-eating Agni, or if the tiger-like, hath entered this stall (goṣṭhá), being not at home (?), him, having made him to have beans for sacrificial butter, I send far forth; let him go unto the Agnis that have seat in the waters.
Part of the mss. (E.I.O.R.T.K.) have vyāghrás in a, and that is perhaps the true reading, since -ghrya seems to be found nowhere else. Ppp. reads in b anyokā viveça, and in c tan mā-. The Anukr. takes no notice of the redundant (tám intruded?) syllable in c. In Kāuç. 71. 6 the verse is used (with vss. 7 and 53) in making a libation of crushed beans with mother-of-pearl (? çukti) to the flesh-eating fire which is to be banished. ⌊The verse contains reminiscences of 7 and 8 below.⌋
5. If angry men put thee forth (pra-kṛ), with fury, a man having died, that, O Agni, is easy to be arranged by thee; we make thee flame up again.
Ppp. reads kṛtvā for kruddhās in a, mite for mṛte in b, and ca for tat in c. The Anukr. appears to sanction the resolution cakṛ-ur in a. The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 70. 6; also in Vāit. 5. 13, to accompany the removal of fire from the householder's to the other two fires.
6. The Ādityas, the Rudras, the Vasus [have set] thee again; again, O Agni, the priest (brahmán), conductor of good; Brahmaṇaspati hath set thee again, in order to length of life-time to a hundred autumns.
With the first half-verse is to be compared that of VS. xii. 44 (also in TS. iv. 2. 3$^5$; MS. i. 7. l), which inserts sám indhatām after vásavas, and reads, for b, púnar brahmā́ṇo (Ppp. also brahmāṇo) vasunītha (MS. vasudhīte) yajñāíḥ ⌊MS. agne⌋. ⌊But see also WZKM. xi. 120.⌋ The verse (10 + 10: 10 + 11 = 41; but c has really 11 syll.) is artificially described by the Anukr. It is made in Vāit. 28. 22 to accompany the laying of fuel in the ukhya.
​7. If the flesh-eating Agni hath entered our house, seeing this other Jātavedas, him I take afar for the Fathers' sacrifice; let him kindle the hot drink (gharmá) in the highest station.
The verse is also RV. x. 16. 10, where is read vas for nas in a, devám for dūrám in c, and invāt for indhām in d. It is used in Kāuç. 71. 6 with vs. 4 (see note to latter).
8. I send far forth the flesh-eating Agni; let him go, carrying evil (riprá-), to Yama's subjects; here let this other Jātavedas carry the oblation, a god to the gods, foreknowing.
The verse is also RV. x. 16. 9 (and VS. xxxv. 19 ⌊with yamarā́jyam⌋): our text defaces the meter of c, d by omitting evá after ihá and inserting devás. ⌊Cf. MGS. ii. 1. 8 and p. 149.⌋ This and the two following verses are used in Kāuç. 71. 12 to accompany the removed fire. ⌊The same three vss. are quoted by the comm. to 81. 33.⌋
9. I, being sent, take the flesh-eating Agni, a death, making people fixed with the thunderbolt; I, knowing, separate (? ni-çās) him from the householder's fire; also in the world of the Fathers be he [their] portion.
Ppp. reads iṣitaṁ in a, and, in d, lokaṁ paramo yotu. The sense of b is so strange that we cannot but suspect a corrupt text. ⌊Roth would read tṛṅhantam, ZDMG. xlviii. 107.⌋ In d, nearly all the saṁhitā-mss. (all save Bs.E.) read loké ‘pi, which is therefore probably the true text. The description by the Anukr. of this fairly regular triṣṭubh is very strange.
10. The flesh-eating Agni, active, praiseworthy, I send forth by the roads that the Fathers go; come thou not back by those that the gods go; be thou just there (átra); watch thou over the Fathers.
Ppp. reads, in c-d, mā devayānāis pathibhir ā gā ’trāi ’va, which does not help the defective meter; of this the Anukr. takes no notice.
11. They kindle the devouring one (sáṁkasuka) in order to well-being, becoming cleansed, bright, purifying; he abandons evil (riprá), passes over sin; Agni, kindled, purifies with a good purifier.
Ppp. combines ene ’ti in c. The Anukr. does not heed that the first pāda is properly jagatī. The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 71. 5 (see note to vs. 1). ⌊Caland, WZKM. viii. 368, thinks that this verse (not xviii. 4. 41) is intended at Kāuç. 86. 18.⌋ ⌊Over "devouring," as rendering of sáṁkasuka (which occurs in vss. 11-14, 19, 40), W. has interlined 'crushing' in three instances.⌋
12. God Agni the devouring hath ascended the backs of the sky; being released out of sin, he hath released us from imprecation.
Some of our mss. (P.M.W.E.) read nír éṇaso in c. Ppp. reads, here and below, saṁkusika-.
13. On this devouring Agni do we wipe off evils; we have become fit for sacrifice, cleansed; may he prolong our life-times.
14. The crushing ⌊sáṁkasuka⌋, the bursting (víkasuka), the destroying (nirṛthá) and the noiseless (? nisvará)—they, of like possessions (? sávedas), have made from far thy yákṣma to disappear afar.
The translation implies emendation at the end to anīnaçan, which seems altogether necessary. Yet MS. (iv. 14. 17) and TA. (ii. 4$^5$) strangely have instead of it acīcatam (not -tan). ⌊But see Kaṭha-hss., p. 72, where the Berlin ms. is reported as reading cīcatan. The TA. comm. renders acīcatam by cātayantu.⌋ In b, TA. reads nisvanáḥ, and MS. nírṛto and nísvanaḥ; in c, MS. has ‘smad (not ‘smád!) for te, and TA. té ye ‘smád (but the ye perhaps a blunder of the edition*); both ánāgasas instead of sávedasas (which looks like a mere blunder, intended to have the sense of saṁvidānā́s). Then TA. has sáṁhus-, víkus-, in a, and with it agrees Āp. (ix. 3. 22, a and b only, with vikiro yaç ca viṣkiraḥ for b). Moreover, both MS. and TA. accent yakṣmám.* Some of our mss. (Bp.I.K.) read nirrathás in b, but this is only an example of the frequent confusion of ṛ and ra. Ppp. has ⌊vikasukas in a, like our text⌋, savedhasas in c, and ucidyavo (for anīnaçam) at the end. *⌊The Poona ed., p. 126, gives té ‘smád, but notes one ms. as having te ye ‘smad; and it accents yákṣmam.⌋
15. The flesh-eating one that is in our horses, heroes, that is in our kine, goats-and-sheep, do we thrust out—the fire that obstructs the people.
Ppp. combines in a no ‘çv-, and reads for b yo goṣu yo ‘jāviṣu; ⌊and puts the verse after 16⌋. This verse and the one following are quoted with others (see note to vs. 1) in Kāuç. 71. 8.
16. Thee from inexhaustible (? ánya) men, kine, horses, thee the flesh-eating one do we thrust out—the fire that obstructs life.
Ludwig gets rid of the difficulty of ánya by taking it as anyá and the nouns in a, b as datives. Ppp. reads ajñānā for anyebhyas tvā; in c it puts nis after kravyādam. Some of our mss. (Bs.I.) combine niṣ kr- (níḥ and kr- should be separated in our edition). The Anukr. very unnecessarily scans the verse as 8 + 6: 8 + 9, while it is easily read into a regular anuṣṭubh.
17. On what the gods wiped off, on what human beings (manuṣyà) also—on that having wiped off the drops of ghee (?), O Agni, do thou mount the sky.
All our mss. have amṛjata unaccented save one (E.), which has ásṛjata. ⌊All of SPP's have amṛjata save his J., which has, s.m., ámṛjala. Ghṛtastā́vas in c is translated after the Pet. Lexx., but the rendering is in the highest degree doubtful, on account both of form and of sense. Probably the reading is corrupt. Ppp. gives no help, as most of vss. 17, 18 is lost out of the ms.; ⌊but their order appears to be inverted⌋. Our mss. seem to read -stā́- very plainly ⌊and SPP. reports no variant⌋, but that need not prevent our understanding instead -snā́-, if more acceptable.
18. Being kindled, O Agni, thou to whom oblations are made, go (kram) thou not away against us; shine just here by day, and that [we] long see the sun.
Or dyavi, in c, 'in the sky' (so Ludwig). The last pāda is also i. 6. 3 d. ⌊Cf. also note to vi. 19. 2.⌋ There is no good reason for calling the verse nicṛt.
19. Wipe ye off on the lead; wipe ye off on the reeds; and what on the consuming fire; likewise on the dark (rāmá) ewe; headache on the pillow.
The rendering is very literal, and does not disguise the obscurity of the connection. Ppp. reads for b agnis saṁkusikaç ca yaḥ, which is more manageable: 'and on [that] which [is] the consuming fire': i.e. 'on the fire.' ⌊Caland, KZ. xxxiv. 457, comparing Avestan locutions, says that agnāu saṁkasuke ca yat is locative to agniḥ saṁkasukaç ca yaḥ: cf. vs. 40 and i. 30. 1.⌋ The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 71. 16; 86. 19, with vss. 13 and 40: see above, under vs. 13. The mss. in general, according to their wont, read in a mṛḍhvam (but Bs. mṛḍhḍham). ⌊For çīrṣakti, see ref's under i. 12. 3.⌋
20. Having settled what is foul upon the lead [and] headache upon the pillow, having wiped off on the black ewe, be ye cleansed, fit for sacrifice.
Compare xiv. 2. 67. ⌊Cf. MGS. ii. 1. 10.⌋
21. Go away, O death, along a distant road which is thine here, other than that the gods go upon; I speak to thee having sight, hearing; let these many heroes be here.
The verse (except d) is RV. x. 18. 1, and found also in VS. (xxxv. 7), TB. (iii. 7. 14$^5$), and TA. (iii. 15. 2: vi. 7. 3). RV. has svás for our eṣás in b, and, for d, mā́ naḥ prajā́ṁ rīriṣo mó ’tá vīrā́n, and the other texts agree with it, save that VS. has anyás for svás in b. Ppp. omits iha in d. ⌊Cf. MB. i. 1. 15; also MGS. ii. 18. 2 m.⌋ The verse is used several times in Kāuç.: at 71. 11, 21; 72. 13; 86. 24.
22. These living ones have turned away from the dead; our invocation of the gods hath been auspicious (bhadrá) today; we have gone forward unto dancing, unto laughter; may we, rich in heroes, address counsel.
The verse (again with exception of d) is RV. x. 18. 3, and found also in TA. (vi. 10. 2). The last pāda in the other texts is drā́ghīya ā́yuḥ prataráṁ (TA. -rā́ṁ) dádhānāḥ; our d is identical with RV. i. 117. 25 d. TA.* has ā́ ’vavartin in a, and agāmā in c. ⌊With b cf. RV. x. 53. 3 d.⌋ The verse is used (with vs. 29) in Kāuç. 71. 18 and 86. 21. ⌊At vs. 30, W. wrote "speak to the counsel," and then interlined suggestion of "council."⌋ *⌊TA. has also prā́ñjo for prā́ñco.⌋
23. I set this enclosure for the living; let not another of them now go to that goal; living a hundred numerous autumns, let them set an obstacle to death with a mountain.
24. Mount, choosing old age for life-time, pressing on, one after another, as many as ye be; you here let Tvashṭar, him of good births, in accord [with you], lead on to living your whole life-time.
The verse is (once more with exception of the last pāda) RV. x. 18. 6, and found also in TA. (vi. 10. 1). RV. reads ṣṭha after yáti in b, and ihá for tā́n vas in c, and its d is dirghám ā́yuḥ karati jīváse vaḥ. TA. differs from RV. by having gṛṇānā́s in a, surátnas (for sajóṣās) in c, and karatu in d. Ppp. puts the verse after our 25, and combines in a-b vṛṇānā ’nu. The verse is used in Kāuç. 72. 13 with vss. 21, 32, 44, 55, and others from elsewhere.
25. As days take place (bhū) one after another, as seasons go along with seasons, as an after one does not desert (hā) a preceding—so, O creator (dhā́tṛ), arrange their life-times.
This verse is RV. x. 18. 5, found also in TA. (vi. 10. 1). For sākám, at end of b, RV. reads sādhú, and TA. kḷptā́ḥ.
26. The stony one flows (rī); take ye hold together; play the hero, pass over, O friends; quit here them that are of evil courses; may we pass up unto powers (? vā́ja) that are free from disease.
The verse is RV. x. 53. 8, and found also in VS. (xxxv. 10) and TA. (vi. 3. 2). RV. has út tiṣṭhata for vīráyadhvam in b, jahāma and (for durévās) áçevās in c, and çivā́n vayám (for anamīvā́m) in d. ⌊VS. agrees with RV. save that it accents sákhāyaḥ in b and reads, for c, átra jahīmó ‘çivā yé ásan.⌋ TA. agrees in general with RV., but has revatīs ⌊unaccented⌋ for rīyate in a, and in d puts út tarema after abhí vā́jān. Vss. 26 and 27 are quoted in Kāuç. 71. 24 and 86. 27 to accompany the symbolical act of crossing over northward; and in Vāit. 12. 11 to accompany (at any time) the crossing of streams.
27. Stand up, pass over, O friends; the stony river here runs (syand); quit ye here them that are unpropitious; may we pass up unto propitious pleasant powers.
This variation of vs. 26 gives part of the RV. variants to that vs. ⌊For a discussion of the RV. verse, see notes to my Skt. Reader, p. 388.⌋ Ppp. makes b identical with 26 a. The use by Kāuç. was stated in the preceding note.
28. Take ye hold on that of all the gods in order to splendor, becoming cleansed, clear, purifying; stepping over difficult tracks, may we revel a hundred winters with all our heroes.
The first half-verse is identical with vi. 62. 3 a, b, save that the latter begins with vāiçvānarī́m. We have doubtless to supply nā́vam 'boat.' But Ppp. has sūnṛtām for varcase in a; and the comm. to Nirukta vi. 12 quotes the pratīka in this form, explaining sūnṛtām by vācam (Roth). According to Kāuç. 72. 6, it is a young heifer (vatsatarī) that is caused to be laid hold on.
​29. By upward roads, full of wind, by distant (pára) ones, stepping over those that are lower (ávara), thrice seven times did the departed (páreta) seers bear back death with the track-obstructor.
Ppp. reads for b apakrāmanto duritaṁ parehi. In Kāuç. 71. 18 and 86. 21, this verse is quoted with vs. 22 'for the purpose expressed in the texts' (mantroktam); and in 71. 19 and in 86. 22 the second half-verse is quoted to accompany 'the effacement (lup) of the tracks to the streams.' ⌊W's "(lup)" was intended to express his doubt as to the warrantableness of Bloomfield's change of lup to yup. Caland expresses the same doubt, WZKM. viii. 369: cf. his Todtengebräuche, p. 120.⌋
30. Come ye, obstructing the track of death, assuming further on a longer life-time; sitting in your station, thrust ye [away] death; then may we, living, speak to the council.
The first half-verse is RV. x. 18. 2 a, b, and is found also in TA. (vi. 10. 2); for our é ’ta, RV. reads yád āíta, TA. yád āima (āima unaccented, unless there is a misprint ⌊Poona ed. rightly āíma, p. 444⌋); and TA. has pratarā́m in b. ⌊Cf. MGS. ii. i. 13 and p. 153.⌋ The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 71. 20 and 86. 23 in connection with doing something to (symbolical) boats; and the second half-verse in Kāuç. 72. 10. Ppp. reads pratiram in b, and jīvās in d, thus in the latter pāda rectifying the meter. The Anukr. takes no notice of the irregularities in a and d, perhaps because they balance each other. ⌊As to vidátham, cf. note to vs. 22, and Bloomfield in JAOS. xix.$^2$ 14.⌋
31. Let these women, not widows, well-spoused, touch themselves with ointment, with butter; tearless, without disease, with good treasures (-rátna), let the wives ascend first to the place of union (yóni).
This verse is repeated below, as xviii. 3. 57. It is RV. x. 18. 7, and found also in TA. (vi. 10. 2). RV. has viçantu, and TA. mṛçantām, for our spṛçantām in b, and TA. suçévas for surátnās in c; RV. also combines anaçrávo ‘nam- in c. Ppp. reads saṁ viçanta in b; and it adds another corresponding verse for the men: ime vīrar avidhavās sujānayā narā ”ñjanena sarpiṣā etc. (d) syonād yoner adhi talpaṁ vṛheyuḥ ⌊intending ruheyuḥ⌋. With our verse, in Kāuç. 72. 11, grass shoots dipped in butter are handed to the women; and 72. 12 appears to quote the Ppp. verse (the pratīka is given as ime jīvā avidhavāḥ sujāmaya) to accompany a similar act to the men.
32. I separate (vy-ā-kṛ) these two by oblation; I shape them apart with a spell (bráhman); I make for the Fathers unwasting svadhā́; I unite these with a long life-time.
Ppp. reads for c sudhāṁ pitṛbhyo amṛtam duhānā. From Vāit. 6. 2 the separation would appear to be that of the other two fires when taken from the householder's fire; but Kāuç. 70. 10 has it repeated while one looks upon the householder's and the flesh-eating fires; the latter is most likely to be its true application. It is also quoted in Kāuç. 72. 13 with several other verses, from this hymn and elsewhere, as noted under vs. 24.
33. What Agni, O Fathers, hath entered into our hearts, an immortal into mortals, that god do I enclose in me; let him not hate us, nor let us [hate] him.
Ppp. reads in b amartyas for amṛtas, and, in c, mahyaṁ taṁ prati gṛh-. The verse is found also in TS. (v. 7. 9$^1$) and MS. (i. 6. 1); both read, for b, ámartyo mártyāṅ āvivéça; for c, d, TS. has tám ātmán pári gṛhṇīmahe vayám mā́ só asmā́ṅ avahā́ya párā gāt, and MS. tám ātmáni pári gṛhṇīmasī ’há néd eṣó asmā́n avahā́ya parā́yat. The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 70. 15 for recitation while the hearts are touched.
34. Having turned away from the householder's fire, go ye forth to the right with the flesh-eating one; do ye what is dear to the Fathers, to self, what is dear to the priests (brahmán).
Ppp. reads, for a, b, apāvartyā ’gniṁ gārhapatyaṁ kravyādā ’py etu dakṣiṇā; and, in d, kṛṇuta (not -tā). Kāuç. 71. 4 quotes the verse, to accompany a corresponding action. ⌊Caland, Todtengebräuche, Note 417, would read krávyādaḥ, as voc.⌋
35. The flesh-eating Agni that is unremoved (á-nir-ā-hita), taking to himself the double-portioned riches of the oldest son, destroys [him] with ruin.
Ppp. begins with vibhā-; it omits our vs. 36.
36. What one plows, what one wins (van), and what one gains (vid) by pay (vasná)—all that is not a mortal's, if the flesh-eating one be unremoved.
As usual in such cases, in most of the mss. it is wholly doubtful whether vastena or -sne- or -sre- is intended in b; the true reading is vasnéna. The verse, as noted above, is wanting in Ppp. Bp. reads ásti at end of c.
37. He becomes unfit for sacrifice, of smitten splendor; not by him is the oblation to be eaten; [him] the flesh-eating one cuts off from plowing, kine, riches, whom it pursues.
Ppp. reads, in a, ye agnayo for ayajñiyó; and, in c, kṛṣtiṁ gāṁ dhanaṁ. Bp. has in b ná: énena. The bhavati which spoils the meter of a is doubtless an intrusion ⌊although Ppp. also has it⌋.
38. A mortal, going down to mishap, speaks forth repeatedly with greedy ones (? gṛ́dhya); whom (pl.) the flesh-eating Agni, from near by, after-knowing, follows (? vi-tāv).
The translation is purely mechanical, the sense being wholly obscure. Nothing corresponding to vitā́vati is found anywhere else; the Pet. Lex. suggests emendation to vidhāvati; Ludwig, alternatively, to vitāmyati or vitāmati. Yet c, d are repeated below as 52 c, d (that verse is wanting in Ppp., which, however, has these two pādas in vs. 50). The much corrupted version of Ppp. gives no help as to the verse in general: bahu krudhīṣ pra vadanty anti tarmato ‘nveti ca: kravyādam agnir ⌊intending kravyād yam ag-?⌋ anuvidvān vibhāvati (vitāvati?).
39. The houses are united with seizure (grā́hi) when a woman's husband dies; a knowing priest (brahmán) is to be sought, who shall remove the flesh-eating one.
Ppp. reads in b yat strīyām mriyate. 'United' (in a), i.e. 'caused to be affected.'
​40. What evil (riprá), pollution we have committed, and what ill-doing, from that let the waters cleanse me, and from the crushing Agni what.
The last clause seems a false construction, the true one being something like the version of Ppp.: agnis saṁkusikaç ca yaḥ; but Ludwig fills it out to "and [from that] which [arises] from Agni Saṁkasuka." ⌊As to the construction, see Caland as cited under vs. 19.⌋ ⌊As to saṁkasuka, cf. note to vs. 11.⌋ Ppp. further reads duritaṁ (for çamalam) in a; and it has çundhantu in c ⌊cf. note to vi. 115. 3 and the VS. variant there⌋. The Anukr. understands the verse as 6 + 8: 8 + 8 = 30 syllables; but the pada-mss., less acceptably, mark the pāda division as occurring after cakṛmá. The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 71. 16 and 86. 19 in company with others, as noted under vs. 13.
41. These fore-knowing ones (f.) have turned hither upward from below by roads that the gods go upon; upon the back of the virile (vṛṣabhá) mountain the ancient streams (sarít) go about new.
'Waters' (ā́pas) is doubtless to be supplied with the adjectives in a, b. Ppp. combines tā ’dharād at the beginning, and reads ṛṣabhasya in c. It is doubtless by a blunder (catasras for tisras) that the Anukr. appears to reckon this regular triṣṭubh to the anuṣṭubhs of the hymn. The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 72. 3.
42. O non-flesh-eating Agni, push out the flesh-eating one; bring the god-sacrificing one.
The Anukr. scans this verse as 5 + 6 + 8 = 19 syllables, acknowledging the unelided a of akravyāt, and separating nuda ā́ dev-. The prose yajus (as it really is) is quoted in Kāuç. 69. 8 as accompanying the bringing of a light from the frying-pan (bhraṣṭra), and in 71. 8 with other verses, as noted under vs. 1 above. ⌊The first half-verse is defaced in Ppp.⌋
43. The flesh-eating one entered into this man; he has gone after the flesh-eating one; having made two tigers severally, I take him, who is other than propitious.
Ppp. reads pra viveça in a, and nānā ’haṁ in c. The verse is quoted, with others (see note to vs. 1), in Kāuç. 71. 8.
44. Concealment of the gods, defense (paridhí) of men (manuṣyà), the householder's fire is set (çritá) between both classes.
In accordance with the Anukr., the mss. interpose no stroke of interpunction in this verse, which plainly is not metrical, though the last 8 syllables read like an anuṣṭubh pāda. It is quoted, with others (see note to vs. 24), in Kāuç. 72. 13. Ppp. reads ubhayād in c. ⌊The medial avasāna is lacking in SPP. and should be deleted from the Berlin ed.⌋
45. Lengthen thou out, O Agni, the life-time of the living; let them who are dead go unto the world of the Fathers; do thou, a good householder's fire, burning away the niggard, assign to this man an ever better dawn.
46. Overcoming, O Agni, all [our] rivals, do thou assign to us their refreshment [and] wealth.
The Anukr. agrees with the mss. in reckoning these two triṣṭubh pādas as a whole verse.
47. Take ye hold after this saving (pápri) carrier (váhni) Indra; he shall carry you out of difficulty [and] reproach; by him smite away the on-flying shaft; by him ward off (pari-pā) Rudra's hurled [missile].
Ppp. reads, for b, sa yo vidvān vijahāti mṛtyum; ⌊and its d is like ours⌋. The verse (13 + 11: 11 + 11 = 46) is unintelligibly ill described by the Anukr. One of the four dissyllabic words in a is apparently an intrusion—perhaps most probably índram, since one does not see why Indra should make his appearance in this Agni hymn (but see vs. 54), and the epithet vahni belongs especially to Agni. In Kāuç. 72. 7 the verse is used (next after vs. 28) to accompany laying hold on a bull ⌊cf. introd. to iv. 22⌋.
48. Lay ye hold after the draft-ox [as] float (plavá); he shall carry you out of difficulty [and] reproach; mount this boat of Savitar; may we cross over misery by the six wide [directions].
This and the remaining verses of the hymn are given by Ppp. in the order 49-51, 54, 53, 55, 48 (52 being wanting). ⌊Cf. MGS. ii. i. 14 and p. 146.⌋ In Kāuç. 72.8, this verse and the next are used (next after vss. 28, 47) in laying hold on a couch (talpa); the third pāda in 71. 23 and 86. 26, in causing some one to embark on a (symbolical) boat containing gold and barley. There is no good reason for calling the verse bhurij.
49. Day-and-night thou goest after, bearing, standing comfortable (kṣemyá), prolonging [life], having good heroes; bearing, O couch, healthful (ánātura), well-minded ones (m.), do thou long be for us smelling of men (púrusagandhi).
The description of the Anukr. seems to require us to resolve -ra-ā-tre in a. The use by Kāuç. was noticed under the preceding verse.
50. They fall under the wrath of the gods, they live always evilly, after whom the flesh-eating fire, from near by, like a horse, scatters reeds.
Ppp. reads in a deveṣu, and this is the usual and regular construction with ā-vraçc. Further, for d it has our 38 d and 52 d. The Anukr. gives iva two syllables in d. Our Bp. reads antikā́n (instead of -kā́t here and in 38 c and 52 c. ⌊One could easily scan d as an anuṣṭubh pāda, áçvevānvápate naḍám (Gram. §233 a), if it were worth scanning.⌋
51. Whoever, without faith, from desire of riches then sit together with the flesh-eating one, they verily feed the fire (ā-dhā) about the pot (kumbhī́) of others ⌊always⌋.
That is, doubtless, never have a fire of their own. The pada-text in a-b is dhana॰kāmyā́: ā́t: kravya॰ádā; Ppp. has a different reading, -kāmyāṣ krav-, thus getting rid of the difficult ā́t. ⌊The mark of pāda division is after at; it should be before it.⌋ The Anukr. seems to authorize the resolution ṣa-ām in c.
52. He desires, as it were, to fly forth with his mind; repeatedly he returns again—they whom the flesh-eating Agni, from near by, after-knowing follows.
We had the obscure second half-verse above as 38 c, d. The verse is wanting in Ppp., as already noted. The substitution of patati for pipatiṣati would rectify the meter of a. ⌊Pāda b seems clearly to refer to rebirth: cf. Praçna Upanishad, i. 9.⌋
53. A black ewe [is] of cattle [thy] portion; lead, too, they call thy gold (? candrá), O flesh-eating one; ground beans ⌊are⌋ thy portion [as] oblation; seek (sac) thou the thicket of the forest-spirit (araṇyānī́).
Ppp. reads (better) uta for api in b. The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 71. 6 (with vss. 4 and 7: see note to vs. 4), and again in 71. 14, in connection with setting down the light (dīpa).
54. Having made offering of withered (? járat) cane (iṣī́kā), of tilpíñja, of dáṇḍana, of reeds; having made fuel of this, Indra removed Yama's fire.
Various kinds of red or cane are doubtless named in a, b. Jarant is lit. 'aged.' Ppp. reads in c tān indre ’dhmaṁ. The Anukr. does not note c as defective; we may resolve either índṛ-a or kṛtu-ā́. The verse is quoted (with vss. 1, 11, 55: see note to vs. 1) in Kāuç. 71. 5, to accompany the feeding of the flesh-eating fire.
55. Having sent in opposition an opposing (pratyáñc) song (arká), I, foreknowing, have entered abroad on the road; I have directed away the lifebreaths of them yonder; these here I unite with long life-time.
The first half-verse is difficult and doubtful. The use made of the verse by Kāuç. gives no help; it is quoted in 71. 5 as noted above, under vs. 54; and in 72. 13 with several other verses, as noted under vs. 24. Ppp. reads ācakāra at end of b. ⌊W. has overlooked the hí and the accent of the two perfects: perhaps, 'since I have entered [and] have directed..., [accordingly] I unite' etc. Henry, p. 238, inserts another hí after amī́ṣām.⌋
⌊Here ends the second anuvāka, with 1 hymn and 55 verses. The quoted Anukr. says "naḍas" tu pañconā.⌋