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

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MANDALA V, HYMN 13.

ASHTAKA IV, ADHYÂYA 1, VARGA 5.

1. Praising we call 1 thee; praising let us kindle 1 thee, Agni, praising, for thy help.

2. Desirous of riches, we devise to-day an effective song of praise, of Agni the heaven-touching god 1.

3. May Agni take pleasure in our prayers, he who is the Hotri among men. May he sacrifice 1 to the divine host.

4. Thou, O Agni, art widely extended, the gladly accepted, desirable Hotri; through thee they spread out the sacrifice.

5. The priests make thee grow, O Agni, the greatest acquirer of wealth, the highly praised one. Bestow thou on us abundance of heroes.

6. Agni! Thou encompassest the gods as the felly (encompasses) the spokes (of a wheel). Thou strivest 1 for brilliant wealth.

NOTES.

The same Rishi. The metre is Gâyatrî.—Verse 2 = MS. IV, 10, 2 (cf. TS. V, 5, 6, 1). Verses 2–4 = SV. II, 755–757. Verse 4 = TB. II, 4, 1, 6; MS. IV, 10, 2. Verse 5 = TS. I, 4, 46, 3; MS. IV, 11, 4. Verse 6 = TS. II, 5, 9, 3. As the Sâma-veda forms a Trika of the verses 2–4, not 1–3 or 4–6, we have here an instance of those liberties which the arrangers of the Sâma-veda not unfrequently took with regard to the Rig-veda text (see H. O., Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, XXXVIII, 469 seq.);

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we have no reason, in such a case, to resort to such an expedient as changing the traditional order of verses in the Rig-veda text.

Verse 1.

Note 1. We have first the indicative, then the optative.

Verse 2.

Note 1. Divisprísah no doubt is genitive sing. referring to Agni, not nominative pl. referring to the worshippers.

Verse 3.

Note 1. Ludwig is right in observing here: 'eigentlich er spreche die yâgyâs als einladung für die götter.'

Verse 6.

Note 1. On riñgase, comp. Bartholomae, Indogermanische Forschungen, II, 281; Neisser, Bezzenberger's Beiträge, XX, 59. I take the form here as 2nd singular.