Vedic Hymns, Part II (SBE46), by Hermann Oldenberg [1897], at sacred-texts.com

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MANDALA I, HYMN 70.

ASHTAKA I, ADHYÂYA 5, VARGA 14.

1. May we, the poor 1, succeed in many (pious) thoughts 2. May Agni with his pure splendour attain everything—

2. He who understands the divine laws and the birth of the human race.

3. He who is the child of the waters, the child of the trees, the child of that which stands, and the child of that which moves.

4. Even in the rock (they have done homage [?]) to him, in his dwelling 1. (He is) like a protector [?] 2 of the clans, the immortal one, he who is of a good mind.

5. For he, Agni, (shows himself as) an earth-protecting (lord) of riches 1 to the man who satisfies him with well-spoken (prayers).

6. Protect, O knowing one, these beings, thou who knowest the birth of gods and men 1.

7. He whom many nights (and dawns), in their different forms 1, may increase, whom that which moves 2 and that which stands (increases), the god penetrated by Rita—

8. That Hotri who has sat down in the sun 1, has been successfully worshipped 2 (by the human sacrificers), he who truly accomplishes all his works.

9. On the cows, on the trees thou hast conferred excellence. May all men bring us tribute in the sun 1.

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10. In many places men have worshipped thee. They have brought (thee) to different places 1 as sons (divide) the property of an aged father 2.

11 1. (He is) like a greedy man 2 who goes straight (to his aim), like a mighty archer, like a fearful avenger [?] 3, impetuous in contests 4.

NOTES.

The same Rishi and metre.

Verse 1.

Note 1. I adopt Bergaigne's opinion on the word arí (see Religion Védique, II, 218 seq.).

Note 2. The Padapâtha has manîshâ´ instead of manîshâ´h. See my Prolegomena, 385; Lanman, 363. Prof. Max Müller proposes to translate: 'May we by wisdom overcome many enemies!' He writes: 'Is not vanema almost a standing formula as applied to enemies? Let us conquer the enemies. The enemies are masculine in VII, 48, 3. vísvân aryáh … vanvan, feminine in VI, 16, 27. vanvántah aryáh árâtîh. VIII, 39, 2. vísvâh aryáh árâtîh. X, 133, 3. vísvâh árâtayah aryáh. IV, 50, 11. gagastám aryáh vanúshâm árâtîh (repeated VII, 97, 9; cf. I, 29, 4).' For my translation I refer to II, 5, 7. stómam … vanéma; II, 11, 12. dhíyam vanema; I, 122, 14. aryáh gírah; X, 148, 3. aryáh vâ gírah abhí arka vidvâ´n.

Verse 4.

Note 1. Or: even in the rock (they have done homage) to him, and in the (human) dwelling? I believe we must supply a verb on which the dative asmai depends. Ludwig proposes to read duronám: 'within the stone is his dwelling.' Comp. II, 1, 1; VI, 48, 5.

Note 2. I do not understand visâ´m ná vísvah. Ludwig translates 'er ist der menschen allgemeiner, unsterblicher

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fürsorger.' But vísva does not mean 'allgemein,' and Ludwig omits ná, 'like.' One should expect a phrase like visâ´m ná vispátih, which of course is metrically impossible. Is it too bold to correct vísvah into vispâ´h, a word hitherto not found in the texts, but formed exactly like stipâ´, pasupâ´, tanûpâ´ and others?—Prof. Max Müller takes asmai as dependent on svâdhî´h and vísvah as belonging at the same time to amrítah and to visâ´m. He translates: 'To him also who dwells in the rock and in the house, every immortal like every one among men is well disposed.'

Verse 5.

Note 1. Comp. VII, 10, 5. sá hí kshápâvân ábhavat rayînâ´m.

Verse 6.

Note 1. Most probably we have here not the accusative mártân but the genitive mártâm, which was confounded by the arrangers of the traditional text with the accusative and treated according to the Sandhi rules which govern the ending -ân. See . Lanman, Noun-Inflection, 353 Bartholomae, Studien zur indogermanischen Sprachgeschichte, I, 48.

Verse 7.

Note 1. Lanman (p. 422) takes kshapáh vírûpâh as accusatives, and translates, 'Whom through many nights and mornings all beings worship.' I believe that they are nominatives, and that we should accentuate kshápah. As vírûpa is a regular epithet of náktoshâ´sâ, I think that kshápah is to be understood as an elliptic plural similar to the elliptic duals ushâ´sâ or áhanî (comp. Delbrück, Altindische Syntax, 102), and that it means, 'the nights (and mornings).'—Comp. VI, 38, 4. várdhân mâ´sâh sarádah dyâ´vah índram, 'May months, years, days increase Indra's greatness.'

Note 2. Of course ka rátham is a mistake for karátham, as first pointed out by Benfey.

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Verse 8.

Note 1. On the locative sṽar, see Lanman, 488; Joh. Schmidt in Kuhn's Zeitschrift, XXVII, 306; Bartholomae in Bezzenberger's Beiträge, XV, 42. Comp. X, 61, 14. sṽah ná yé trishadhasthé nishedúh.

Note 2. Comp. X, 53, 2. árâdhi hótâ nishádâ yágîyân.

Verse 9.

Note 1. Is it not more probable that tribute was brought to Agni (comp. V, 1, 10) than to the human worshippers? Possibly we should change sṽah nah (sṽar nah of the Samhitâpâtha) into svarnah, a vocative of the stem sṽarnri = sṽarnara. The translation would be, 'All men have brought tribute to thee, O sun-hero!'

Verse 10.

Note 1. Comp. V, 11, 4. agním nárah ví bharante grihégrihe.

Note 2. Regarding the metre, comp. above, 69, 8, note 1.

Verse 11.

Note 1. This verse may possibly be a later addition. See Bergaigne, Recherches sur l’Histoire de la Samhitâ, I, 61.

Note 2. On gridhnú, comp. Pischel, Ved. Studien, I, 231.

Note 3. Comp. I, 32, 14. áheh yâtâ´ram.

Note 4. See above, 66, 6.