BOOK XII

Hymns of the Atharva Veda, by Ralph T.H. Griffith, [1895], at sacred-texts.com

p. 75

HYMN I

A hymn of prayer and praise to Prithivī or deified Earth

1Truth, high and potent Law, the Consecrating Rite, Fervour,
  Brahma, and Sacrifice uphold the Earth.
  May she, the Queen of all that is and is to be, may Prithivī
   make ample space and room for us.
2Not over awded by the crowd of Manu's sons, she who hath
   many heights and floods and level plains;
  She who bears plants endowed with many varied powers, may
  Prithivī for us spread wide and favour us.
3In whom the sea, and Sindhu, and the waters, in whom our food
   and corn-lands had their being,
  In whom this all that breathes and moves is active, this Earth.
   assign us foremost rank and station!
4She who is Lady of the earth's four regions, in whom our food
   and corn-lands had their being,
  Nurse in each place of breathing, moving creatures, this Earth.
   vouchsafe us kine with milk that fails not!
5On whom the men of old before us battled, on whom the Gods
   attacked the hostile demons,
  The varied home of bird, and kine and horses, this Prithivī
   vouchsafe us luck and splendour!
6Firm standing-place, all-bearing, store of treasures, gold-breasted,
   harbourer of all that moveth.
  May Earth who bears Agni Vaisvānara, Consort of mighty
   Indra, give us great possessions
7May Earth, may Prithivī, always protected with ceaseless care by
   Gods who never slumber,
  May she pour out for us delicious nectar, may she bedew us
   with a flood of splendour.
8She who at first was water in the ocean, whom with their wond-
   rous powers the sages followed,
  May she whose heart is in the highest heaven, compassed about
   wit h truth, and everlasting, p. 76
  May she, this Earth, bestow upon us lustre, and grant us power
   in loftiest dominion.
9On whom the running universal waters flow day and night with
   never-ceasing motion,
  May she with many streams pour milk to feed us, may she
   bedew us with a flood of splendour.
10She whom the Asvins measured out, o'er whom the foot of
  Vishnu strode,
  Whom Indra, Lord of Power and Might, freed from all foemen
   for himself,
  May Earth pour out her milk for us, a mother unto me her son.
11O Prithivī, auspicious be thy woodlands, auspicious be thy hills
   and snow-clad mountains.
  Unslain, unwounded, unsubdued, I have set foot upon the
  Earth,
  On earth brown, black, ruddy and every-coloured, on the firm
   earth that Indra guards from danger.
12O Prithivī, thy centre and thy navel, all forces that have issued
   from thy body
  Set us amid those forces; breathe upon us. I am the son of
  Earth, Earth is my Mother. Parjanya is my Sire; may he
   promote me.
43Earth on whose surface they enclose the altar, and all-performers
   spin the thread of worship;
  In whom the stakes of sacrifice, resplendent, are fixed and raised
   on high before the oblation, may she, this Earth, prospering,
   make us prosper.
14The man who hates us, Earth! who fights against us, who
   threaten us with thought or deadly weapon, make him our
   thrall as thou hast done aforetime.
15Produced from thee, on thee move mortal creatures: thou
   bearest them, both quadruped and biped.
  Thine, Prithivī, are these Five human Races, for whom, though
   mortal, Sūrya as he rises spreads with his rays the light that is
   immortal.
16In concert may these creatures yield us blessings. With honey of
   discourse, O Earth, endow me.
17Kind, ever gracious be the Earth we tread on, the firm Earth,
  Prithivī, borne up by Order, mother of plants and herbs, the
   all-producer. p. 77
18A vast abode hast thou become, the Mighty. Great stress is on
   thee, press and agitation, but with unceasing care great Indra
   guards thee.
  So make us shine, O Earth, us with the splendour of gold. Let
   no man look on us with hatred.
19Agni is in the earth, in plants; the waters hold Agni in them,
   in the stones is Agni.
  Agni abideth deep in men: Agnis abide in cows and steeds.
20Agni gives shine and heat in heaven: the spacious air is his, the
  God's
  Lover of fatness, bearer of oblation, men enkindle him.
21Dark-kneed, invested with a fiery mantle, Prithivī sharpen me
   and give me splendour!
22On earth they offer sacrifice and dressed oblation to the Gods.
  Men, mortals, live upon the earth by food in their accustomed
   way.
  May that Earth grant us breath and vital power. Prithivī give
   me life of long duration!
23Scent that hath risen from thee, O Earth, the fragrance which.
   growing herbs and plants and waters carry,
  Shared by Apsarases, shared by Gandharvas therewith make
   thou me sweet: let no man hate me.
24Thy scent which entered and possessed the lotus, the scent
   which they prepared at Sūryā's bridal,
  Scent which Immortals Earth! of old collected, therewith make
   thou me sweet: let no man hate me.
25Thy scent in women and in men, the luck and light that is in.
   males,
  That is in heroes and in steeds in sylvan beasts and elephants,
  The splendid energy of maids, therewith do thou unite us,.
  Earth! Let no man look on us with hate.
26Rock earth, and stone, and dust, this Earth is held together,.
   firmly bound.
  To this gold-breasted Prithivī mine adoration have I paid.
27Hither we call the firmly held, the all-supporting Prithivī,
  On whom the trees, lords of the wood, stand evermore immov-
   able.
28Sitting at ease or rising up, standing or going on our way.
  With our right foot and with our left we will not reel upon the
   earth. p. 78
29I speak to Prithivī the purifier, to patient Earth who groweth
   strong through Brahma.
  O Earth, may we recline on thee who bearest strength, increase,
   portioned share of food, and fatness.
30Purified for our bodies flow the waters: we bring distress on
   him who would attack us.
  I cleanse myself, O Earth, with that which cleanseth.
31Earth, be thine eastern and thy northern regions, those lying
   southward and those lying westward.
  Propitious unto me in all my movements. Long as I tread the
   ground let me not stumble.
32Drive us not from the west or east, drive us not from the north
   or south,
  Be gracious unto us, O Earth: let not the robbers find us; keep
   the deadly weapon far away.
33Long as, on thee, I look around, possessing Sūrya as a friend,
  So long, through each succeeding year, let not my power of
   vision fail.
34When, as I lie, O Earth, I turn upon my right side and my left,
  When stretched at all our length we lay our ribs on thee who
   meetest us.
  Do us no injury there, O Earth who furnishest a bed for all.
35Let what I dig from thee, O Earth, rapidly spring and grow
   again.
  O Purifier, let me not pierce through thy vitals or thy heart.
36Earth, may thy summer, and thy rains, and autumn, thy winter,
   and thy dewy frosts, and spring-time.
  May thy years, Prithivī! and ordered seasons, and day and
   night pour out for us abundance.
37The purifier, shrinking from the Serpent, she who held fires that
   lie within the waters,
  Who gives as prey the God-blaspheming Dasyus, Earth choosing
  Indra for her Lord, not Vritra, hath clung to Sakra, to the
  Strong and Mighty.
38Base of the seat and sheds, on whom the sacrificial stake is
   reared,
  On whom the Yajus-knowing priests recite their hymns and
   chant their psalms,
  And ministers are busied that Indra may drink the Soma juice; p. 79
39On whom the ancient Rishis, they who made the world, sang
   forth the cows,
  Seven worshippers, by session, with their fervent zeal and
   sacrifice;
40May she, the Earth, assign to us the opulence for which we
   yearn,
  May Bhaga share and aid the task and Indra come to lead the
   way.
41May she, the Earth, whereon men sing and dance with varied
   shout and noise,
  Whereon men meet in battle, and the war-cry and the drum
   resound,
  May she drive off our foemen, may Prithivī rid me of my foes.
42On whom is food, barley and rice, to whom these Races Five
   belong,
  Homage to her, P arjanya's wife, to her whose marrow is the
   rain!
43Whose castles are the work of Gods, and men wage war upon
   her plain
  The Lord of Life make Prithivī, who beareth all things in her
   womb, pleasant to us on every side!
44May Earth the Goddess, she who bears her treasure stored up
   in many a place, gold, gems, and riches,
  Giver of opulence, grant great possessions to us bestowing them
   with love and favour.
45Earth, bearing folk of many a varied language with divers rites
   as suits their dwelling-places,
  Pour, like a constant cow that never faileth, a thousand streams
   of treasure to enrich me!
46Thy snake, thy sharply stinging scorpion, lying concealed, be-
   wildered, chilled with cold of winter,
  The worm, O Prithivī, each thing that in the Rains revives and
   stirs,
  Creeping, forbear to creep on us! With all things gracious bless
   thou us.
47Thy many ways on which the people travel, the road for car and
   wain to journey over,
  Thereon meet both the good and bad, that pathway may we
   attain without a foe or robber. With all things gracious bless
   thou us. p. 80
48Supporting both the foolish and the weighty she bears the death
   both of the good and evil.
  In friendly concord with the boar, Earth opens herself for the
   wild swine that roams the forest.
49All sylvan beasts of thine that love the woodlands, man-eaters,.
   forest-haunting, lions, tigers,
  Hyena, wolf, Misfortune, evil spirit, drive from us, chase the
   demons to a distance.
50Gandharvas and Apsarases, Kimīdins, and malignant sprites,
  Pisāchas all, and Rākshasas, these keep thou, Earth! afar from
   us.
51To whom the winged bipeds fly together, birds of each various
   kind, the swans, the eagles;
  On whom the Wind comes rushing, Mātarisvan, rousing the
   dust and causing trees to tremble, and flame pursues the blast.
   hither and thither;
52Earth, upon whom are settled, joined together, the night and
   day, the dusky and the ruddy, Prithivī compassed by the rain
   about her,
  Happily may she stablish us in each delightful dwelling place.
53Heaven, Earth, the realm of Middle Air have granted me this
   ample room,
  Agni, Sun, Waters, all the Gods have joined to give me mental
   power.
54I am victorious, I am called the lord superior on earth,
  Triumphant, all-o'erpowering the conqueror on every side
55There, when the Gods, O Goddess, named thee, spreading thy
   wide expanse as thou wast broadening eastward,
  Then into thee passed many a charm and glory: thou madest
   for thyself the world's four regions.
56In hamlets and in woodland, and in all assemblages on earth,
  In gatherings, meeting of the folk, we will speak glorious things
   of thee.
57As the horse scattereth the dust, the people who dwelt upon
   the land, at birth, she scattered,
  Leader and head of all the world, delightful, the trees' protectress
   and the plants' upholder.
58Whate'er I say I speak with honey-sweetness, whatever I behold
   for that they love me.
  Dazzling, impetuous am I: others who fiercely stir I slay. p. 81
59Mild, gracious, sweetly odorous, milky, with nectar in her breast,
  May Earth, may Prithivī bestow her benison, with milk, on me.
60Whom Visvakarman with oblation followed, when she was set
   in mid-air's billowy ocean
  A useful vessel, hid, when, for enjoyment, she was made mani-
   fest to those with mothers.
61Thou art the vessel that containeth people, Aditi, granter of the
   wish, far-spreading.
  Prajāpati, the first-born Son of Order, supplieth thee with what-
   soe'er thou lackest.
62Let thy breasts, frec from sickness and Consumption, be.
  Prithivī, produced for our advantage.
  Through long-extended life wakeful and watching still may we
   be thy tributary servants.
63O Earth, my Mother, set thou me happily in a place secure.
  Of one accord with Heaven, O Sage, set me in glory and in
   wealth.