# Atharva-Veda Samhita/Book XII/Hymn 3

3. Cremation as a sacrifice.
⌊Partly prose—namely parts of vss. 55-60.⌋ Found also ⌊except vs. 28⌋ in Pāipp. xvii. (with slight differences of verse-order, noted under the verses). Nearly all the verses of the hymn are used, according to Kāuç. 60-63, and on the whole in their ​natural order, and combined especially with xi. 1 (often a verse from each hymn being quoted in the same rule), in the sava ceremony; very few verses anywhere else. Vāit. quotes only 4 verses.
1. Stand, a man (púmāṅs), upon men; go to the hide; call thither her who is dear to thee; of what age (? yā́vant) ye two first came together in the beginning, let that be your same age in Yama's realm.
Ppp. combines puṅso adhi and omits ihi in a. Kāuç. 60. 31 has the verse used when the sacrificer is made to stand upon the ox-hide which is to be his station during the ceremony. The various antecedents have been prepared to the accompaniment of the first verses of xi. 1.
2. So much [be] your sight, so many your powers (vīryà), so great your brilliancy (téjas), so many-fold your energies (vā́jina); Agni fastens on (sac) the body when [it is his] fuel (?); then, O paired ones (mithuná), shall ye come into being from what is cooked (pakvá).
The pada-text has yadā́: édhaḥ in c, as translated. Ppp. reads before it agniṁ çarīraṁ sajate, and after it atha; and in a, b it makes cakṣus and tejas change places. ⌊In OB. V. 258, pakvá is defined as 'the charred remains and ashes of a corpse.' Pāda d recurs in vs. 9.⌋ ⌊W. makes a query on the margin: "the husband and wife burnt together?? and born anew and alike out of the cremation?"⌋
3. Together in this world, together on the [road] the gods travel, together also unite ye (du.) in the realms of Yama; purified by purifiers, call ye to yourselves whatever seed (rétas) came into being from you.
All the mss. agree in the unaccented asmin in a. The verse appears to be quoted (as 'third verse') in Kāuç. 60. 33, to accompany a calling upon their offspring (apatya).
4. Enter together, ye sons, into the waters, coming together, ye rich in life, unto this living one (m.); of them (f.) share ye the one which (m.) they call immortal, the rice-dish which your (du.) generatrix cooks.
The meaning and connection are very obscure. 'Of them' seems to refer to the waters (f.). Ppp. removes one difficulty by reading vas instead of vām in d; it has in b ⌊-dhanyāt⌋ sametā ⌊cf. vs. 25⌋. In Kāuç. 60. 35 the verse is used when the pair lie down together, accompanied by their offspring, after a vessel of water has been set on the hide.
5. What one your (du.) father cooks, and what one [your] mother, in order to release from evil (riprá) and from pollution of speech—that hundred-streamed, heaven-going rice-dish hath permeated (vi-āp) with greatness both firmaments (nábhas).
Ppp. reads at the beginning yaṁ vaṣ pitā.
6. Both firmaments, and worlds of both kinds, what heaven-going ones are conquered of the sacrificers—which one of them is chiefly (? ágre) full of light, full of honey, in that combine ye (du.) with your sons in old age.
Ppp. combines in c yo ‘gre, and part of our mss. (P.M.W.T.) read the same.
​7. Take ye (du.) hold upon each forward direction; to this world they that have faith attach themselves (sac); what of you that is cooked is served up in the fire, combine ye, O husband-and-wife, in order to its guarding.
The verse is nearly accordant with vi. 122. 3. 'Forward' (prañc) is also 'eastern.' ⌊Note here again the sequence of the cardinal points (pradakṣiṇa), and cf. end of introd. to iii. 26.⌋ The Anukr. passes the irregularity of the second half-verse (11 + 11: 10 + 12 = 44) without notice. Kāuç. 61. 1 quotes this verse alone; and 61. 2 quotes 7-10 as used while they follow around the vessel of water. Ppp. reads, for c, d, as follows: mimāthāṁ pātṛ tad vāṁ pūrṇam astu çivāṁ pakvaṣ pitryāyaṇ ‘ty (‘bhy?) āmayat.
8. Attaining unto the southern quarter, turn ye (du.) about unto this vessel; in it shall Yama, in concord with the Fathers, assure abundant protection unto your cooked [offering].
'In it': i.e., as the gender shows, in the vessel. Some of our mss. make very bad work with vām in c, reading vāyám (P.M.W.), vayám (Bs.s.m.), varā́m (R.), vāṁ yam (T.). It is absurd of the Anukr. to reckon the verse (11 + 11: 12 + 11 = 45) a jagatī.
9. This western of the quarters verily is a thing to be preferred, in which Soma is over-ruler and favorer; to it resort (çri) ye (du.); attach yourselves to the well-doers; then, O paired ones, shall ye come into being from what is cooked.
The last pāda is identical with 2 d above. But Ppp. reads instead adhā pakvena saha saṁ bhavema, which is nearly identical with vi. 119. 2 d and the concluding pāda of SS-60 below. The Anukr. takes no notice of the deficiency of the first pāda.
10. A superior realm, having superiority by progeny, may the northern of the quarters make our (pl.) apex (? ágra); a five-fold (pā́n̄ta) meter hath the man become; may we come into being together with all, having all their limbs.
Ppp. reads pan̄ktiç chandaṣ at the beginning of c. We have to resolve pa-ān- in order to make a full pāda.
11. This fixed [quarter] is virā́j; homage be to it; let it be propitious to [my] sons and to me; do thou, O goddess Aditi, having all choice things, like an active herdsman defend our cooked [offering].
The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 61. 3, next after the four preceding ones.
12. Do thou embrace us, as a father his sons; let propitious winds blow here for us on the earth; what rice-dish the two deities cook here, let that know our penance and also truth.
Ppp. reads çagdā for bhūmāu in b, and vittam for vettu at the end. 'That' (tát) in d is neuter, and so not correlative to 'what' (yám m.) in c. P.M.W. read svaja naḥ at end of a. The verse lacks two syllables of being a good jagatī. ⌊The verse is quoted at Kāuç. 61. 4.⌋
​13. Whenever the black bird, coming hither, hath sat upon the orifice, surprising (tsar) what is resolved (vi-sañj), or when the barbarian woman (dāsī́) with wet hands smears over—cleanse, ye waters, the mortar [and] pestle.
Ppp. combines in a çakune ’ha, and reads in c dāsī vā yad, and in d ⌊cf. vss. 21 and 26 and note to vi. 115. 3⌋ çundhatā ”paḥ. Kāuç. quotes the verse in 8. 14, and the coram, also under 2. 6, but they cast no light on the obscure first half-verse. The verse is a good triṣṭubh, yet the Anukr. attempts to give it some special description, of which the text is corrupt and unintelligible (yad-yat kṛṣṇa ity āthā).
14. Let this pressing-stone, broad-based, vigor-bestowing, purified by purifiers, smite away the demon; mount thou the hide; yield great protection; let not the husband-and-wife fall into evil proceeding from sons (pāútra).
Ppp. has at the end gāthām, with which, of course, dampatī would have to be understood as vocative, unaccented. Expressions like that in d are found in several of the Sūtras: in AGS. i. 13. 7, mā ’ham pāutram aghaṁ ni yām (should be gām, probably); in PGS. i. 5. 11, yathe ’yaṁ strī pāutram aghaṁ na rodāt; and the same in HGS. i. 19. 7, with pāutram ānandam as antithesis to it. The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 61. 18 (in connection with xi. 1. 9), to accompany the setting of mortar, pestle, and winnowing basket, after sprinkling, upon the hide.
15. The forest tree hath come to us together with the gods, forcing off the demon, the piçācás; he shall rise up (ut-çri), shall speak forth his voice; with him may we conquer all worlds.
Ppp. reads and combines sāu ’cchrāyātāi in c, and reads api for abhi in d. According to Kāuç. 61. 21, one sets up the pestle with this verse; in 125. 3 the verse is used with reference to the sacrificial post ⌊in case it puts forth fresh shoots⌋; and similarly in Vāit. 10. 8 ⌊in the paçubandha⌋.
16. Seven sacrifices (médha) the cattle enclosed—which ⌊the relative pronoun⌋ of them was full of light, and which was pining; to them thirty deities attach themselves; do thou (m.) conduct us (pl.) unto the heavenly (svargá) world.
Our Bp. reads tarn in c, and a few of the saṁhitā-mss. (P.M.W.E.) agree with it; tā́m is certainly wrong, but tám would be an acceptable improvement. Ppp. has medhasvān instead of jyotiṣmān (and the latter must be taken as having the sense of the former); also cakarṣa in b, and neṣi in d. ⌊For neṣa, see Gram. § 896.⌋ The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 61. 13, to accompany the handling or stroking of something by the two spouses ⌊with their offspring⌋. Pāda b has a redundant syllable, unnoticed by the Anukr., unless we contract to yāi ’ṣām.
17. Unto the heavenly world shalt thou conduct us (pl.); may we be united with wife, with sons; I grasp [her (?)] hand; let her (?) come here after me; let not destruction pass us, nor the niggard.
The last pāda is nearly the same with vi. 124. 3 d; cf. also ii. 7. 4 c, d. Ppp. ends d with no ‘rātiḥ. The verse is a good triṣṭubh, and its description by the Anukr. is absurd. Kāuç. 61. 14 uses the latter half-verse, not in a way to cast light on its meaning.
​18. The seizure (grā́hi), evil (pāpmán)—may we go beyond them (pl.); dissipate thou the darkness; mayest thou speak forth what is agreeable; made of forest tree, uplifted, do not injure; do not crush to pieces ⌊vi-çṛ⌋ the god-loving rice-grain.
Jihiṅsīr in c is a misprint fox jíhiṅsīr, which all the ⌊i.e. W's⌋ mss. read. ⌊So read 9 of SPP's authorities: and 4 have jáhiṅsīs; but SPP. prints jihiṅsīs, accentless, with 3 of his mss. Perhaps the accent is to be regarded as antithetical.⌋ A part of our mss. (O.T.K.D.R.p.m.) read çarīs in d; Ppp. has çarāis ⌊see the references under vi. 32. 2⌋. The verse (with xi. 1. 9 b) accompanies in Kāuç. 61. 22 the pounding with the pestle.
19. About to become all-expanded, ghee-backed, go thou, of like origin (sáyoni), unto that world; hand thou (upa-yam) the rain-increased sieve; let that winnow away the husk, the chaff.
The first half-verse is identical with 53 c, d below. Some mss. (I.O.D.K.: also half of the Kāuç. mss.) read palā́vām in d. Ppp. has vidvān instead of etam in b. With c, according to Kāuç. 61. 23, the çūrpa is grasped; with a (or the whole verse?), according to 24, it is raised; with d, according to 25, the sifting is done. The third pāda lacks a syllable, unless we may resolve çu-úrpam. ⌊For "sieve," here and in vs. 20, read rather "winnowing-basket"?⌋
20. The three worlds are commensurate with the brā́hmaṇa: yon heaven, namely, earth, atmosphere; having seized the [soma-] stalks, take ye (du.) hold after; let them swell up (ā-pyā); let them come again to the sieve.
All our mss. (except D.) read asāu, unaccented, in b; emendation to asāú was plainly necessary. All the saṁhitā-mss. (except E.) separate in c gṛbhītvā́ anv-, which, accordingly, might perhaps as well have been left, though the Prāt. does not recognize the case of irregular hiatus. Ppp. seems to combine the two words in the usual fashion; but it has -rabhetām; also, in b, pṛthivyām ant-. The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 61. 27 in connection with touching the winnowed grains (?); and, in 28, the last words of d (punar etc.), with scattering them, apparently, again on the sieve.
21. Manifoldly separate [are] the forms of cattle; thou becomest one-formed together with success; that red skin—that thrust thou [away]; the pressing-stone shall cleanse like a fuller (? malagá) the garments.
Or b may be 'thou comest into being one-formed with success.' Malagá occurs nowhere else; its use with iva makes it impossible to tell whether the pada-text would divide mala॰gaḥ. Ppp. reads bhavati in b and malagāi ’va in d. ⌊Again, as in vss. 13 and 26, it reads çundhāti for çumbhāti: cf. note to vi. 115. 3.⌋ The quotation in Kāuç. 61. 26 casts no light on the meaning. Our text ought to read sámṛddhyā at end of b. The verse is very ill named jagatī by the Anukr.; the treatment of iva in d as only one syllable makes a regular triṣṭubh of it.
22. Thee that art earth I make enter into earth; this like body of thee [is] separated; whatever of thee is burnt (? dyuttá), [or] scratched by driving (árpaṇa); with that do not leak; I cover that over by a spell (bráhman).
Ppp. reads, for a, bhūmyāṁ bhūmim adhi dhārayāmi; in c, arpaṇaṁ ca; in d, çuçror apa tad, thus restoring the meter. The verse (12 + 11: 11 + 13 = 47) is very ill defined simply as a jagatī. In Kāuç. 61. 30, the verse accompanies the smearing of a vessel (kumbhī); in Vāit. 28. 12, the fashioning of a kettle.
23. Mayest thou welcome as a mother a son; I unite (sam-dhā) thee that art earth with the earth; a kettle, a vessel, do not stagger upon the sacrificial hearth, overhung by the implements of offering [and] by sacrificial butter.
The first pāda is apparently addressed to the earth, differently from the others. Ppp. puts the verse before our vs. 22, and reads in c kumbhīr vedyāṁ saṁ carantāṁ. One or two of our mss. (Bs.O.) read uṣā́ in c.
24. Let Agni, cooking, defend thee on the east; let Indra, with the Maruts, defend on the south; may Varuṇa fix thee in the maintenance (dharúṇa) of the western [quarter]; on the north may Soma give thee together.
Ppp. corrects the meter of b by reading rakṣāt; and that of d by having varuṇas instead of somas. The verse is irregular, but by no means a jagatī. ⌊If we make varuṇas and somas exchange places, as suggested by Ppp., and read rakṣāt with Ppp., the vs. becomes a good triṣṭubh.⌋ In Kāuç. 61. 32 it is used when arranging the fire about the kettle.
25. Purified with purifiers, they purify themselves from the cloud; they go both to heaven and to earth [as their] worlds; them, lively, rich in life, firm-standing, poured into the vessel (pā́tra), let the fire kindle about.
Ppp. puts the verse after our vs. 26, and reads at end of b dharmaṇā (cf. RV. x. 16. 3 b), and in c, d jīvadhānyāt sametā ⌊cf. vs. 4⌋ pātrā ”siktāt. The verse is defective by a syllable in a, but the Anukr. passes this without notice. Kāuç. 61. 34 quotes the verse to accompany putting into the strainer.
26. They come from the sky, they fasten on (sac) the earth; from the earth they fasten upon the atmosphere; being cleansed, they just cleanse themselves; let them conduct us to the heavenly world.
The accent of çúmbhante in c is unmotived. Ppp. reads ⌊cf. vss. 13 and 21 and note to vi. 115. 3⌋ çundhanti, which (or çumbhanti) is decidedly preferable. That the reading in a is diváḥ p- is noted in the comm. to Prāt. ii. 68.
27. Both as it were prevailing (prabhú) and also commensurate, also bright and clean, immortal—as such do ye, O waters, directed, helping, cook the rich-dish for the two spouses, ye of good refuge.
The translation implies in d emendation of āpaḥ॰çíkṣantīḥ to ā́paḥ çíkṣ-, the former seeming wholly unacceptable. Ppp. combines and reads praçiṣṭā ”pas sīkṣ-. Our text reads with the mss.
28. The numbered drops (stoká) fasten on the earth, being commensurate with breaths-and-expirations, with herbs; being scattered on, unnumbered, of good color, the clean ones have obtained all cleanness.
This verse, as noted above, is wanting in Ppp. It is quoted in Kāuç. 61. 36 to accompany the scattering in of the rice-grains after washing.
29. They struggle up (ud-yudh), they dance on, being heated; they hurl foam and abundant drops (bindú); like a woman that is in her season, seeing her husband, unite yourselves, O waters, with these rice-grains.
The translation assumes the emendation, made in our edited text, of ṛ́tviyā yā́, for the ṛ́tviyāya of all the mss. ⌊See SPP's note on this matter, p. 231. He says ṛtviya = māithuna. Ppp. reads ṛtviyāvāis tāis taṇḍ-. In Kāuç. 61. 37 the verse accompanies the making of the water to boil.
30. Make thou them stand up, as they sit on the bottom; let them touch themselves all over with the waters; I have measured with vessels (pā́tra) the water that is here; measured are the rice-grains that are these directions.
The last pāda is translated as if yádīmā́ḥ (p. yádi imā́ḥ) were meant as equivalent to yád imā́ḥ, corresponding to the yád etát of c. Ppp. has sṛjantām at end of b.
⌊Here, at the end of a decad-division, ends the twenty-sixth prapāṭhaka.⌋
31. Reach thou forth the sickle (párçu), hasten, take [it] quickly; let them, not harming, cut (dā) the herbs at the joint; they of whom Soma compassed the kingship—let the plants be without wrath toward us.
One or two of our mss. read in a páraçum (M.W.; O. párárçum); and, as usual, some (O.D.R.) accent rā́jyam in c. Ppp. has harantu for harāu ’ṣam in a; and, in c, soma yāsām. Amanyutāḥ is undivided in the pada-text. In Kāuç. 61. 38 the first pāda is used with handing over the sickle for gathering the darbha-grass; the second pāda,* in 61. 39, with cutting it above the joints; and in 1. 24, 25 both for a similar purpose; so also the first pāda (or the verse) in 8. 11; and yet again both in the comm. to 137. 4. *⌊Quoted as oṣadhīr dāntu parvan at i. 25 and 61. 39. According to Daç. Kar. (note to 137. 4), the quotation pra yacha parçum covers a pāda and a half, that is, it includes the ahiṅsantas which is omitted in the quotation of b.⌋
32. Strew ye a new barhís for the rice-dish; be it dear to the heart, agreeable to the eye; on it let the gods [and] the divine ones (f.) settle (viç) together; sitting down (ni-sad), let them partake of this with the seasons.
The mss. read in b priyā́m, but our text makes the unavoidable emendation to -yám. Some of the mss. also are bothered over the unusual combination lgva in b: ⌊thus Bs. has vaglàv astu; R. valgáv astu; T. valgvustu. And again, in d, Bs. reads -çnan ṛ́t-, and O.s.m.R. -çnanty ṛt-. The verse accompanies in Kāuç. 61. 40 the strewing of the barhis.
33. O forest tree, sit on the strewn barhís, being commensurate with the Agni-praises (agniṣṭomá), with the deities; like a form well made by an artisan (tváṣṭṛ) with a knife, so (enā́) let the eager ones be seen round about in the vessel (pā́tra).
Bp. and Bs.s.m. read svádhiyā at end of c. The anomalous hiatus enā́ (p. enā́) ehā́ḥ is noted in Prāt. iii. 34. Ppp. reads svadhityāināhyāṣ pari pātre dadṛçyām, which is welcome as ridding us of the wholly unsupported form dadṛçrām; ⌊cf. Gram. §813⌋. In Kāuç. 61. 43, the verse accompanies the setting of a vessel (pātrī) upon the barhis; in Vāit. 10. 7, the laying of the sacrificial post upon the same (the editor of Kāuç. regards it as quoted also in 15. 11, but the verse there intended must be rather vi. 125. 1).
34. In sixty autumns may he (?) seek unto the treasure-keepers; may he attain unto the sky with the cooked [offering]; may both fathers [and] sons live upon him; make thou this one to go unto the heaven-going end of the fire.
The last pāda admits of various other constructions. Both here and in vs. 41 (where pāda a is repeated) Bp. reads at the beginning çaṣṭhyā́m. In c, O.p.m.R. accent jīvā́n. Ppp. puts the verse after our vs. 35, and reads, for a, ṣaṣṭyām çaradbhyaṣ paridadhma enam; for c, upāi ’naṁ putrān pitaraç ca sīdām; in d, imam for etam. There is no reason why the Anukr. should regard the verse as anything but a regular triṣṭubh. In Kāuç. 62. 9 it accompanies the setting down of the rice-dish westward from the fire.
35. A maintainer, maintain thyself in the maintenance of the earth; thee that art unmoved let the deities make to move (cyu); thee shall the two spouses, living, having living sons, cause to remove (ud-vas) out of the fire-holder.
Ppp. combines -vyā ’cyutam in a-b, omits the meter-disturbing (and probably intrusive) tvā of c, reads in c -putrā, and in d ud vāsayāthaṣ p-. The Anukr. takes no notice of the redundant syllable in our c. In Kāuç. 61. 41, the verse accompanies the removal of the vessel; in Vāit. 10. 9, the insertion of the end of the sacrificial post in the ground.
36. Thou hast come together unto all the worlds, having conquered; however many [be] the desires, thou hast made them wholly satisfied; plunge ye (du.) in—both the stirring-stick [and] the spoon; take thou him up upon one vessel.
This obscure verse wins no light from Kāuç. (62. 1), which says simply iti mantroktam, connecting it with xi. 1. 24. Some of our mss. (P.M.W.T.) read abhí for ádhi in d. We should expect in c gāhetām, as the nouns are not vocative. Ppp. reads in a samāgān abhicikya, and in b kāmān samitāu purastāt. ⌊See p. lxxxviii.⌋
37. Strew thou on, spread forward, smear over with ghee this vessel; as a lowing cow (usrā́) [toward] a young [calf] desiring the teat, do ye, O gods, utter the sound hing toward this one.
'Strew on': i.e., specifically, make an upastaraṇa or covering of butter. In Ppp. the second half-verse is wholly corrupt The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 61. 45, as accompanying the operation described, and the next verse is added in 61. 46 when the operation is completed.
38. Thou hast strewn on, hast made that world; let the broad unequalled heavenly world (svargá) spread itself out; to it shall resort (çri) the mighty eagle; the gods shall reach him forth to the deities.
Ppp. begins with apāskārāir, and makes çrayātāi and suparṇas change places in c.
​39. What in any case thy wife cooks beyond thee, or thy husband, O wife, in secret from thee, that do ye unite; that be yours together; agreeing (? sampāday-) together upon one world.
Kāuç. 62. 11 quotes the verse (iti mantroktam), but casts no light upon it. ⌊Has a second pácati fallen out after jāye?⌋
40. How many of her fasten on (sac) the earth, what sons came forth into being from us (pl.)—all those do ye (du.) call to you in the vessel;. knowing the navel, the young ones (çíçu) shall come together.
The mss. (excepting R.D.) leave sacante in a unaccented. Ppp. reads after it ‘smat. The verse, especially the first pāda, is obscure. 'Navel' = 'central point, place of union.' The Anukr. does not heed the deficiency of a syllable in c; it means us, perhaps, to resolve ta-ā́n.
41. What streams (dhā́rā) of good (vásu) [there are], fattened with honey, mixed with ghee, navels of immortality—all those doth the heaven-goer (? svargá) take possession of; in sixty autumns may he seek unto the treasure-keepers.
The last and obscurest pāda is identical with 34 a. The Anukr. perhaps accepts the redundant syllable of b and the deficient of c as balancing each other. The verse is used, with 44 below, in Kāuç. 62. 18, to accompany the further pouring in of juices. Ppp. reads samaktās for prapīnās in a, and dhāmayas at end of b, and combines -pā ’bh- in d.
42. He shall seek unto it, [as] treasure-keepers unto a treasure; let those who are others be not lords (ánīçvara) about; given by us, deposited, heaven-going, with three divisions it has ascended to three heavens (svargá).
Ppp. again combines in a -pā ’bhy. Kāuç. 62. 10 makes the verse accompany the division of the rice-dish into three parts. There is no reason for calling it bhurij, as the Anukr. does.
43. Let Agni burn the demon that is godless; let the flesh-eating piçācá not have a draught here; we thrust him, we bar him away from us; let the Ādityas, the An̄girases, fasten on him.
Doubtless we should emend to rundhmas in c. Ppp. reads in d ādityā no an̄g-, thus rectifying the meter. The Anukr. notices this time the redundance of the pāda. Doubtless, as often elsewhere, we are to contract to ādityāí ’nam. In Kāuç. 62. 14 the verse is made to accompany the carrying of fire around the offering. ⌊BR. render the force of pra by defining pra-pā as 'sich an's Trinken machen.'⌋
44. To the Ādityas, the An̄girases, I announce this honey mingled with ghee; with cleansed hands, not smiting down [anything of] the Brahman's, go ye (du.), O well-doers, unto this heavenly world (svargá).
The description by the Anukr. is quite wrong. The use by Kāuç. 62. 18 was noted above, under vs. 41 . ⌊For the use of the genitive, W. has noted a reference to Delbrück's Altindische Syntax, p. 161.⌋
​45. I have obtained this highest division of it, from which world the most exalted one obtained [it] completely; pour thou on the butter (sarpís); anoint with ghee; this is the portion of our An̄giras here.
Ppp. has in a a different order of words: idaṁ kāṇḍam uttamaṁ prāpam asya. The verse (with xi. 1. 31: the first half of each) is quoted in Kāuç. 62. 15, and again (the second half of each) in 62. 17, in connection with anointing the vessel with butter.
46. Unto truth, unto penance, and unto the deities, we deliver this deposit (nidhí), [this] treasure (çevadhí); let it not be lost (ava-gā) in our play, nor in the meeting; do not ye release it to another in preference to (purā́) me.
One or two of our mss. (R.D.) accent at the end mát; and the word is not found without accent unless here and at xi. 4. 26. ⌊SPP. reads mát with 8 of his authorities, against 7 that have mat.⌋ Ppp. reads in b dadhmas. This and the two following verses are quoted, with a number of others, in Kāuç. 68. 27, at a later point in the rice-dish ceremony. ⌊With c, cf. 52 a.⌋
47. I cook; I give; verily upon my action [and] deed (? karúṇa) the wife; a virgin (? kāúmāra) world hath been born, a son; take ye (du.) hold after vigor (váyas) that hath what is superior.
The translation here is purely mechanical. Ppp. puts the verse after our vs. 48, and reads in a, for dadāmi, ud vadāmi ⌊thus suggesting the probably correct restoration of the pāda (aham u dadādmi)⌋, and in c putrās. The verse (10 + 11: 11 + 11 = 43) is very ill described by the Anukr.
48. No offense is here, nor support (? ādhārá), nor that one goes agreeing (sam-am) with friends; this vessel of ours is set down not empty; the cooked [dish] shall enter again him that cooked it.
This verse is little more intelligible than the preceding. Ppp. puts c after d, and reads at the end of c astu instead of etat. ⌊It is hardly worth while to discuss the accent of ásti.⌋
49. May we do what is dear to them that are dear; whosoever hate [us], let them go to darkness; milch-cow, draft-ox, each coming vigor (váyas)—let them thrust away the death that comes from men.
Or, 'that concerns, comes upon, men' (pāúruṣeya). The Anukr. seems to accept the two redundant syllables of c (evá an intrusion) as compensating for the deficiency in a. According to Kāuç. 62. 19, the verse is used of 'the milch-cow etc.' north of the fire.
50. The fires ire in concord, one with another—he that fastens on the herbs, and he that [fastens on] the rivers; as many gods as send heat (ā-tap) in the sky—gold hath become the light of him that cooks.
Ppp. reads sindhum in b, and dadhatu* (for pacatas) in d. In Kāuç. 62. 22, the verse (with xi. 1. 28) is made to accompany the laying on of a piece of gold; it is also quoted in 68. 27, with vss. 46-48, etc.: see note to vs. 46. The Anukr. does not notice the lack of a syllable in a. *⌊Intending dadhato?⌋
​51. This one of skins (tvác) hath come into being on man; not naked are all the animals (paçú) that are other; ye (du.) cause to wrap (paridhā) yourselves (ātmán) with authority (kṣatrá), a home-woven garment, the mouth of the rice-dish.
The translation is as literal as possible; but other constructions may be made in the second half-verse. Ppp. leaves the hiatus between a and b, babhūva an-; it combines -gnās sarve in b; and it reads in c dhāpayeta, with a division-line after it. Kāuç. 62. 23 makes the verse accompany the depositing of such a garment, with gold. ⌊Has the vs. anything to do with the legend, cited under ii. 13. 3, about the cow and her skin, which the gods took from man and gave to the cow?⌋
52. What [untruth] thou shalt speak at the dice, what at the meeting, or what untruth thou shalt speak from desire of gain—clothing yourselves (du.) in the same web (tántu), ye shall settle in it all pollution.
Ppp. rectifies the meter of a by reading vadasi; in b it has dhane instead of vadās; in c it gives saha for abhi. The Anukr. does not notice the deficiency in a. The verse is quoted in Kāuç. 63. 1 (next after vs. 51), with the explanation 'the two become dressed in the same garment.' ⌊With a, cf. 46 c.⌋
53. Win thou rain; go unto the gods; thou shalt make smoke fly up out of the skin; about to become all-expanded, ghee-backed, go thou, of like origin, unto that world.
The second half-verse is identical with 19 a, b above. Ppp. begins b with tatas instead of tvacas; and it has a different second half: viçvavyacā viçvakarmā svargas sayoniṁ lokam upa yāhy ekam, which seems less unintelligible. In Kāuç. 63. 5 the verse is quoted (together with xi. 1. 28 b) with the direction 'he draws off [the garment?].'
54. The heaven-goer hath variously changed his body, as he finds (? vidé) in himself one of another color; he hath conquered off the black one, purifying a shining one (rúçat); the one that is red, that I offer (hu) to thee in the fire.
The adjectives here are all fem., relating to 'body' (tanū́). The defective meter of b helps to make the isolated ⌊or rather, unusual?⌋ vidé ⌊see Gram. §613⌋ suspicious; the Anukr. takes no notice of the deficiency. The first half-verse is corrupt in Ppp., so that the comparison gives us no help. In Kāuç. 63. 8 the verse accompanies the scattering on of other husks (phalīkaraṇān). ⌊For the form ajāit, see the references under vi. 32. 2.⌋
55. To the eastern quarter, to Agni as overlord, to the black [serpent] as defender, to Āditya having arrows, we commit thee here; guard ye him for us until our coming; may he lead on our appointed [life-time] here unto old age; let old age commit us unto death; then may we be united with the cooked [offering].
56. To the southern quarter, to Indra as overlord, to the cross-lined [serpent] as defender, to Yama having arrows, we commit thee here; guard ye etc. etc.
57. To the western quarter, to Varuṇa as overlord, to the pṛ́dāku as defender, to food having arrows, we commit thee here; guard ye etc. etc.
58. To the northern quarter, to Soma as overlord, to the constrictor as defender, to the thunderbolt having arrows, we commit thee here; guard ye etc. etc.
Our edition follows all the mss. in accenting rakṣitré ‘çányāi; it should be, of course, -trè.
59. To the fixed quarter, to Vishṇu as overlord, to the spotted-necked [serpent] as defender, to the herbs having arrows, we commit thee here; guard ye etc. etc.
Ppp. reads vīrudbhyas for oṣadhībhyas.
60. To the upward quarter, to Brihaspati as overlord, to the white [serpent] as defender, to rain having arrows, we commit thee here; guard ye etc. etc.
⌊Here ends the third anuvāka, with 1 hymn and 60 verses. The quoted Anukr. says svargaḥ ṣaṣṭiḥ, i.e., 'the svarga[-hymn] is sixty.' The stem svarga, in one form or another, occurs a dozen times in the hymn.⌋