# Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book X/Hymn 5

5. Preparation and use of water-thunderbolts.
⌊The hymn is mingled prose and verse: 22-24, 42-43, 45-50, and parts of 7-14 and 36-41 are metrical. Cf. Whitney, Index, p. 5.⌋ This hymn, which by the mss. is given and numbered as one,* without any intimation of a subdivision, is by the Anukr. divided into four† parts, which are even ascribed to different authors. ⌊Part A = verses 1-24; B = 25-35; C = 37-41; D = 42-50.⌋ Verses 1-41, or the first three divisions, are found also in Pāipp. xvi.; part of the last division (vss. 45, 42 c, d, 43, 44, in this order), in Pāipp. i.—⌊"Water-thunderbolts" appears to me to be nothing more than a highfalutin name, well befitting the black magic of this hymn, for handfuls of water hurled with much hocus-pocus.⌋
*⌊Bp. does indeed begin anew at vs. 41 (not vs. 42!) to number the verses as 1 etc.⌋
†⌊Just where vs. 36 belongs—if it does not form a division by itself—is not clear; it goes well as an ending to the group of vss. 25-35 and is cited with them (Keçava, p. 352$^{31}$: iti dvādaçabhiḥ). On the other hand, the Anukr. expressly defines division B as ekādaça; and the corrupt mārtvī or mārtvi of the Anukr. seems to contain an ascription of authorship for vs. 36. Dr. Ryder suggests that Mārīca may be intended (cf. vii. 62, 63; x. 10). See my arrangement of the Anukr. extracts just before vs. 25.⌋
⌊A carefully digested report of the ritual uses of this hymn, even now that Caland has done so much to elucidate them, would require more detailed study than I can at present give to it. Vāit. takes no notice of the hymn. The principal uses are treated in Kāuç. 49. I give them, following Caland, Altindisches Zauberritual, p. 171 f.—With the first halves of vss. 1-6 the performer washes the jar for the water; with the second halves of vss. 1-6 he begins to make use of (yunakti) the water (49. 3, 4). With vss. 7-14 he heats a part of it (see Keçava, p. 352$^{19}$); and with the seven vss. 15-21 and with vs. 42 and vs. 50 he hurls "water-bolts" (49. 13). This last is done seven times (Caland, p. 172, n. 6): namely, to the east, with vss. 15, 42, 50; to the south, with vss. 16, 42, 50; to the west, with vss. 17, 42, 50; and so on, to the north, nadir, center, and zenith.—With vss. 25-36 he makes his Viṣṇu-strides (49. 14) against the foe.—Other citations under the verses.⌋
Translated: Henry, 14, 62; Griffith, ii. 18.
1. Indra's force are ye; Indra's power are ye; Indra's strength are ye; Indra's heroism are ye; Indra's manliness are ye; unto a conquering junction (yóga) with brahman-junctions I join you.
The pada-text marks a pāda-division after each stha; but the Anukr. lumps all ⌊up to the avasāna-mark⌋ together as an abhikṛti-pāda (25 syll.), and reckons the whole verse (25: 6 + 8 = 39) mechanically as 2l pan̄kti, because it contains nearly 40 syllables. Ppp. has in succession balam, nṛmṇam, çuklam, vīryam, and in c, indrayogāis.
⌊Render: 'for a use conducive to victory, with uses of incantation [or with masterly uses] [or with Brahman uses] I use you.' In brahma- I am inclined to see a triple çleṣa, the second sense being like that in the title Brahma-jāla-sutta (of the Dīghanikāya), 'the boss-net, the master-net.' In the first and second senses, brahma- is pertinent: not so in the sense of Brahman, in which last, however, it serves well enough for a point of departure for kṣatram, considering what black magic this is.⌋
2. Indra's force etc. etc.; unto a conquering junction, with kṣatrá-junctions I join you.
The connection of vss. 1 and 2 indicates that bráhman and kṣatrá, as often elsewhere, typify the Brahman and Kshatriya classes or castes.
3. Indra's force etc. etc.; unto a conquering junction, with Indra-junctions I join you.
Ppp. reads in c annayogāis.
4. Indra's force etc. etc.; unto a conquering junction, with Soma-junctions I join you.
Ppp. has this time brahmayogāis.
5. Indra's force etc. etc.; unto a conquering junction, with water-junctions I join you.
Ppp. reads apāṁ yogāis.
6. Indra's force etc. etc.; unto a conquering junction; let all existences wait upon (upa-sthā) me; joined to me are ye, O waters.
The Anukr. quotes this verse by the first words that are peculiar to it, viz. viçvānī mā, but its description applies to the whole (25: 6 + 11 + 6 = 48); probably jagatī-garbhā is an oversight for triṣṭubgarbhā. The Kāuç. quotes the common pratīka of the six verses at 49. 3, in a witchcraft-ceremony; and their common second part (jiṣṇave yogāya) at 49. 4, to accompany the 'joining of waters' (ity apo yunakti). According to the editor of Kāuç., vss. 6 and 7 are quoted also in 49. 24, 25; but it does not appear why the 'sixth' and 'seventh' verses of this hymn should be intended. ⌊Caland, p. 173, in fact understands xiii. 3. 6, 7 as intended.⌋ According to the comm. to Kāuç. 47. 31, these verses, with vss. 15-21, 42, 50, accompany the hurling of 'water-thunderbolts' (udavajra: cf. vs. 50 below), whatever those may be; it is perhaps their preparation that is the subject of these verses; in Kāuç. 49. 13, only vss. 15-21, 42, 50 are quoted together, in connection with the same ⌊cf. the introduction⌋. ⌊See above, p. lxxvi.⌋
7. Agni's portion are ye, sperm (? çukrám) of the waters, O heavenly waters; put ye splendor in us; with the ordinance (dhā́man) of Prajāpati I set you for this world.
Ppp. reads devīr āpo.
8. Indra's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
9. Soma's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
10. Varuṇa's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
11. Mitra-and-Varuṇa's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
​12. Yama's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
13. The Fathers' portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
14. God Savitar's portion are ye, sperm of the etc. etc.
In these verses, Pāipp. makes 9 and 10, also 11 and 12, change places. After our 13 it inserts two more verses, beginning bṛhaspater and prajāpater; and in our 14 it omits devasya, and reads çuklaṁ devīr āpo. To read dhattana for dhatta ⌊and pronounce dhā́manā would make a regular anuṣṭubh of the refrain. The Anukr., as usual, gives no real description of the agglomeration, but calls 11 and 14 pan̄kti because they count up 40 syllables (9: 8 + 7: 8 + 8 = 40), and the others bṛhatī because they have nearly 36 syllables. As to the alleged quotation of vs. 7 in Kāuç. 49. 25, see above, note to vs. 6.
15. What of you, O waters, is the portion of waters within the waters, of the nature of sacrificial formula, sacrificing to the gods, that now I let go; that let me not wash down against myself; that do we let go against him who hates us, whom we hate; him may I slay (vadh), him may I lay low, with this spell (bráhman), with this act, with this weapon (mení).
⌊Render c: 'therewith (i.e. apām bhāgena = udavajreṇa) do we let fly against (abhyati-sṛj) him or do we shoot against him who' etc.; i.e. ati-sṛj is used intransitively and "him" is governed by the abhi-.⌋ ⌊Pādas b, c are repeated below as xvi. 1. 4, 5.⌋ At the beginning of c read téna (accent-sign slipped out of place).
16. What of you, O waters, is the wave of the waters within the waters, etc. etc.
17. What of you, O waters, is the young (vatsá) of the waters within the waters, etc. etc.
18. What of you, O waters, is the bull of the waters within the waters etc. etc.
19. What of you, O waters, is the golden embryo of the waters within the waters, etc. etc.
20. What of you, O waters, is the heavenly spotted stone of the waters within the waters, etc. etc.
21. What of you, O waters, are the fires of the waters within the waters, of the nature of sacrificial formula, sacrificing to the gods, them now I let go; them let me not wash down against myself; them we let go against him who hates us, etc. etc.
⌊For c: 'with them do we let fly against him who' etc., as in vs. 15.⌋ In vss. 17-21, after apām, Ppp. reads bindur, vego, vatso, gāvo, garbho respectively. For the quotations in Kāuç. of the common pratīka of vss. 15-21, together with those of vss. 42 and 50, ⌊see the introduction⌋. In all the verses it is possible only by violence to make out the structure called for by the Anukramaṇī. ⌊Delete the accent-mark over agnáyo.⌋
22. What untruth soever we have spoken since a three years' period,—let the waters protect me from all that difficulty, from distress.
We had the second half-verse as vii. 64. 1 c, d; and Ppp. has again the same variants as there; it also reads in a āikahāyanāt. The word trāihāyaṇā́t (p. trāihāyanā́t) is noted in Prāt. iv. 83. The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 46. 50 in a. prāyaçcitta ceremony ⌊Keç.: for lying or cheating⌋; and it is reckoned (see note to Kāuç. 32. 27) as belonging to the aṅholin̄ga gaṇa. The Anukr. does not heed the redundant syllable in a.
23. I send you forth to the ocean; go ye unto your own lair; uninjured, of completed years (?); and let nothing whatever ail (am) us.
The third pāda apparently belongs to 'us,' though out of construction. ⌊As to -hāyas, of. viii. 2. 7, note, and Bergaigne, Rel. Véd., iii. 287.⌋ The last pāda occurred above, as vi. 57. 3 b. The first two pādas, with the first word of the third, are found also in several sūtras: ÇÇS. iv. 11. 6; LÇS. ii. i. 7; PGS. i. 3. 14; AÇS. iii. 11. 6; Āp. xiii. 18. 1; iv. 14. 4; the first three read in b abhi gacchata, the others api gacchata (and Āp. iv. 14. 4 has acchidraḥ instead of ariṣṭāḥ); the end of the verse is entirely different from ours, and more or less discordant in the various works. ⌊See also MGS. ii. 11. 18 and the Index, p. 157.⌋ Kāuç. quotes the verse at 6. 17, in a parvan ceremony; and with vs. 24, at 136. 6. Ppp. reads in a vo ’pasṛjāmi ⌊and inverts the order of vss. 23 and 24⌋.
24. Free from defilement (-riprá) [are] the waters; [let them carry] away from us defilement, forth from us sin, mishap (duritá), they of good aspect; let them carry forth evil dreaming, forth filth.
The verse is in part repeated below, as xvi. 1. 10, 11.
[B$^1$. (vss. 25-35). Kāuçika.—ekādaça. viṣṇukramadevatyā uta pratimantroktadevatyāḥ. 25-35. 3-av. 6-p. yathākṣaraṁ çakvaryatiçatvarī.]
[B$^2$. (vs. 36). Mārtvī (?).—5-p. atiçākvarātijāgatagarbhā ’ṣṭi. See introduction.]
25. Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, earth-sharpened (-sáṁçita), Agni-brightened; after earth I stride out; from earth we disportion him who hates us, whom we hate; let him not live; him let breath quit.
The Pāipp. version of sections B. and C. agrees with that of our text with only trifling differences; the details are not furnished. It is not difficult to read this and the following verses of B. into çakvarī and atiçakvarī verses, as required by the Anukr. (this, for example, as 10 + 10: 9 + 8: 9 + 10 = 56). The whole section, apparently, is quoted by its common pratīka in Kāuç. 6. 14, to accompany the taking of the Viṣṇu strides in a parvan ceremony; and again in 49. 14 ⌊after hurling the water-bolts: cf. introd.⌋. ⌊Cf. vii. 31. 1 d.⌋
26. Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, atmosphere-sharpened, Vayu-brightened; after atmosphere I stride out; from atmosphere we disportion him who etc. etc.
27. Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, sky-sharpened, sun-brightened; after the sky I stride out; from the sky we disportion him who etc. etc.
A single ms. (R.) reads dyāúḥsaṁçitaḥ.
28. Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, quarter-sharpened, mind-brightened; after the quarters I stride out; from the quarters we disportion him who etc. etc.
​29. Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, region-sharpened, wind-brightened; after the regions I stride out; from the regions we disportion him who etc. etc.
30. Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, verse-(ṛ́c-)sharpened, chant-(sā́man-)brightened; after the verses I stride out; from the verses we disportion him who etc. etc.
Some of the mss. (E.s.m.R.K.) read in a -hā ṛks-.
31. Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, sacrifice-sharpened, bráhman-brightened; after the sacrifice I stride out; from the sacrifice we disportion him who etc. etc.
32. Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, herb-sharpened, sóma-brightened; after the herbs I stride out; from the herbs we disportion him who etc. etc.
Read in b krame (an accent-sign slipped out of place).
33. Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, water-sharpened, Varuṇa-brightened; after the waters I stride out; from the waters we disportion him who etc. etc.
Read apó at beginning of b (an accent-sign slipped out of place).
34. Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, plowing-sharpened, food-brightened; after plowing I stride out; from plowing we disportion him who etc. etc.
35. Vishṇu's stride art thou, rival-slaying, breath-sharpened, man-(púruṣa-)brightened; after breath I stride out; from breath we disportion him who etc. etc.
⌊Correct the edition: read -saṁçitaḥ for -saçitaḥ.⌋
36. Ours [is] what is conquered, ours what has shot up; I have withstood (abhi-sthā) all fighters, niggards; now do I involve (ni-veṣṭ) the splendor, brightness, breath, life-time of him of such-and-such lineage, son of such-and-such mother; now do I make him fall (pad) downward.
⌊As to the place of this vs. in the general divisions of the hymn and its possible ascription to Mārīca, see the introd. and the Anukr. excerpts above.⌋ With this vs. compare xvi. 8. 1; ⌊also the mantra cited at Kāuç. 47. 22⌋. The vs. reads naturally as 62 syllables (11 + 11: 15 + 13 + 12 = 62), but can be brought by forced resolutions up to a full aṣṭi (64 syll.). Abhy aṣṭhām is by Prāt. ii. 92.
[C. (vss. 37-41). Brahman.—pañca. pratimantroktadevatyāḥ. 37. virāṭ purastādbṛhatī; 38. purāuṣṇih; 39, 41. ārṣī gāyatrī; 40. virāḍ viṣamā gāyatrī.]
37. I turn after the sun's turn (āvṛ́t), after his turn to the right; let it yield (yam) me property; [let] it [yield] me Brahman-splendor.
The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 6. 15, in a parvan ceremony, accompanying a turn to the right (vss. 25-35 were quoted in the next preceding rule). ⌊Cf. also MB. i. 6. 19, where the comm. cites also GGS. ii. 10. 27.⌋
​38. I turn toward the quarters full of light; let them yield me property, let them etc. etc.
The metrical description of the Anukr. does not fit the verse (11: 8 + 8) quite accurately. The resolution abhi-ā́v- is implied in all these verses.
39. I turn toward the seven seers; let them yield etc. etc.
40. I turn toward the bráhman; let it yield etc. etc.
41. I turn toward the Brahmans; let them yield etc. etc.
[D. (vss. 42-50). Vihavya.—navarcam. prājāpatyam. ānuṣṭubham: 44. 3-p. gāyatragarbhā ’nuṣṭubh (?); 50. triṣṭubh.]
42. Whom we hunt, him will we lay low with deadly weapons; by our spell (bráhman) have we made him fall (pad) into the opened mouth of the most exalted one.
Only the latter half-verse is found in Ppp. ⌊namely, in i.⌋. The pada-text in d reads bráhmaṇā: ā́: apīp-. The quotation of the verse, with vss. 15-21, 50, in Kāuç. was noted above, ⌊see introd.⌋.
43. The missile hath closed upon him with the two tusks of Vāiçvānara; let this offering (ā́huti) devour him, the very powerful divine fuel.
Ppp. reads saṁvatsarasya instead of vāiçvānarasya.
44. King Varuṇa's bond art thou; do thou bind so-and-so, of such-and-such lineage, son of such-and-such mother, in food, in breath.
There is apparently something wrong, perhaps an omission, in the text of the Anukr. at this point; it reads tripād gāyatragarbhā st anuṣṭubh, and then passes to vs. 50, taking no notice of vss. 48, 49 (which are redundant triṣṭubhs: but see the note to vs. 49), ⌊nor of vs. 47⌋. Our present verse (prose) reads most naturally as 10: 12 + 7 = 29 syllables.
45. What food of thine, O Lord of earth (bhū́), dwells upon the earth (pṛthivī́)—of that, O lord of earth, do thou furnish unto us, O Prajāpati.
The Anukr. implies the contraction of ṣiyati in b to kṣyati (cf. above, 2. 22, 23). Ppp. ⌊in i.⌋ puts this verse before our vs. 42.
46. The heavenly waters have I honored; with sap have we been mingled; rich in milk, O Agni, have I come; unite me here with splendor.
47. Unite me, O Agni, with splendor, with progeny, with life-time; may the gods know me as such; may Indra know, together with the seers.
These two verses we had above, as vii. 89. 1, 2. Neither they nor the two that follow are found in Ppp. here.
48. What, O Agni, the pair utter in curses today, what harshness of speech the reciters produce: the shaft that is born of fury of the mind—with that pierce thou the sorcerers in the heart.
​49. Crush away the sorcerers with heat; crush away, O Agni, the demon with flame; crush away with burning the false worshipers; crush away the greatly gleaming ones that feed on lives.
These two verses are viii. 3. 12, 13. As usual in such a case, only the first words are given here in the mss. (both pada and saṁhitā): thus, yád agna íti dvé. Unfortunately it was overlooked by us that yád agne begins not only viii. 3. 12, but also vii. 61. 1; and, though both passages fit about equally ill into the connection here, yet the meter of vii. 61. 1, 2, being anuṣṭubh, implies a less oversight on the part of the Anukr., and, on the whole, the chance is in favor of the latter passage (vii. 61. 1, 2) being the one here intended. If in any one of the mss. accessible to us since the publication of the text there occurs anything to settle the question, it has been overlooked by us. ⌊SPP. fills out the pratīka with viii. 3. 12, 13; but herein he may merely have followed the Berlin edition.⌋
50. I, knowing, hurl at this man, to split his head, the four-pointed (-bhṛṣṭí) thunderbolt of the waters; let it crush all his limbs: to this on my part let all the gods assent.
The Anukr., strictly understood, implies the resolution va-jṛ-am in a. For the quotations of the verse, with other verses of the hymn, by Kāuç., see above ⌊introduction⌋.
⌊The hymn exceeds the norm by 20 verses and the quoted Anukr. says viṅçatiḥ.⌋
⌊Here ends the twenty-second prapāṭhaka.⌋